Archaea 2: Janis (22 page)

I could see a number of small jets of what looked like some sort of gas venting into the bell housing.

“You are definitely venting, Les, I can see at least three, maybe four vents in your bell housing.” As I spoke, I realized how desperate their situation was. If we didn't do something, they were going to all die, a horribly slow, agonizingly brutal death in the freezing dark.

“Yeah, I knew it. We have it fairly well contained, we're all forward and have bulks closed amidships, we couldn't secure hatches aft of bulkhead 20, it's just a slagged mess back there.”

“Well, hang tough for a few moments Les.”

“Will do Dak, it's not like I have a choice...”

I had the beginnings of an idea, but it was pretty far out there, bordering on the impossible. Of course, we did impossible things all the time these days.

“Janis, I have a crazy idea, dear.”

“Of course, sir.”

I took a deep breath while Pauli and Yak chuckled softly.

“Now don't you two start...” I warned them, with a brief eyebrow twitch just to make sure they knew I meant business.

“Janis, given our current power output and slipspace gear, can we take the Starry Dawn in tow for a run back to Vega 6?”

“Certainly sir. Our gear and power output are more than adequate for the task.”

“Thanks dear, please plot a course to Vega 6 with enough delta-v to place us into a parking orbit reasonably near New Turiana Orbital Control... and Janis?”

“Yes sir?”

“When I say reasonably close, I don't mean inside of a meter, dear.”

“Of course sir.” she said smoothly, while Yak and Pauli laughed. I waved them into silence with an eyebrow, and opened comms with Les.

“Les, I have a procedure here that is... well, a little unorthodox.”

“Dak, I wouldn't expect anything less from you, mister.”

“Hah, well... this is going to be a little bit beyond the norm, even for me. I am going to take you in tow, and we'll just mosey on over to Vega 6.”

Les kept the channel open while he laughed, just to make sure I know exactly how crazy I sounded. As if I didn't know. I was keenly aware.

“Dak, that's impossible! There's no way you can--”

“I know it sounds a little far-fetched--”

“A little? Good grief man, it's not possible.”

“Well, it's really our only option. Now listen, you'll have to just trust me, we have a little more under the hood here than you might think.”

A brief moment of silence while Les considered his options and realized he had none. I gave him all the time he needed.

“Well, okay Dak, though I can't imagine this will work... what do we need to do?”

“Well, just sit tight, mostly. Cross fingers and toes if you can. Think happy thoughts, and enjoy the ride.”

“Happy thoughts, aye”, he laughed.

I chuckled a bit at the face Gene was about to make, and opened the 1MC.

“All hands, we have made contact with the Starry Dawn, and they are in a pretty bad spot. They have been hulled and don't have power or maneuvering.”

I took a moment to smile.

“And so, I figured we would just... take them in tow and get the back to Vega 6. That is all.”

As I clicked off the 1MC, I realized I was probably missing the end-all be-all face to end all faces from Gene right about now. He was strangely silent... hopefully he was awake back there, I'd sure hate for him to miss this.

I brought up the docking screen and locked on to their amidships dock, rolling the Archaea smartly over and sliding the lock home like a pro. I energized the bolts, and we were ready to go.

“Les, we're locked on, and ready... this will be a pretty fast run – hang in there, okay?”

“Sure thing Dak, we're good to go. You know, we've got a pool going over here on whether or not this will work.”

“Oh yeah? What's the over-under?”

“You don't want to know, Dak.”

“Well, a man could make a lot of money, betting on a sure thing.”

“Are there any sure things, Dak?”

“Sure enough, Les...”

I energized the stasis field and waited as it built. It was mass-based, and with us bolted on the lock, it should just keep building until it has us in the bubble. In theory, anyway.

“All hands, secure for slipspace” I said on the 1MC as confidently as I knew how, and watched as the field slowly energized. Once it flashed greens, all that remained was the shiny red button marked EXECUTE.

Chapter 16

“NTOC, this is Captain Dak Smith of the independent Archaea, requesting orbital lane on behalf of the Starry Dawn, currently disabled and unable to maneuver or communicate.”

Yak and I stopped completely, we were both looking forward to this. Our arrival on Vega 6 was far less terrifying than our arrival on Solis, but it was a clenching experience nonetheless.

“Archaea, your current vector for high-orbit is clear. Please confirm Starry Dawn?”

“That is affirmative, NTOC. Terran Service destroyer Starry Dawn, under the command of Captain Les Scott. They are disabled, out of power and require immediate aid.”

I looked back at the captain, but try as hard as I might, I couldn't come close to the same eyebrow inclination. He smiled at my attempt.

“NTOC, did you copy my last?”

“Archaea, copy Starry Dawn in need to immediate assistance.  Archaea, we are a little confused. Do you have the Starry Dawn in tow?”

“NTOC, that's affirmative, we have her in tow.”

“Archaea... that's... well, that's impressive, sir. Please let them know support vessels are underway to their orbit.”

“NTOC, copy, and thanks.”

The captain took a deep breath, and said across the bridge “Well, that went a lot better than I expected. I guess they're used to us just popping into orbit now?”

An alert flashed on my screen from Janis.

“Sir, Janis is reporting that her TSR node on the orbital station ghosted an inbound track on their screens...” I trailed off, realizing how impossible that was.

“Pauli, that's impressive, to say the least. Can she communicate with these nodes while we're in slipspace?”

“No sir, she can't...” I was having one of those moments where I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. I seemed to be having those moments more and more lately.

“Well, let's just ask her... Janis, how was your TSR node on the NTOC station aware of our arrival?”

“Sir, the moment of your arrival was known. I simulated the appropriate approach vector in their gravimetric data to help reduce any complications related to the manner of our arrival in-system.”

“Janis, how... no, belay that. I know how. Thanks to you, the scope jockeys at the NTOC orbital station were spared from having to ask impossible questions for which we might not have answers. Well done, dear.”

“Thank you sir”, she said proudly.

“Yak, please open comms to Starry Dawn”

“Sir, comms are open now.”

“Very well”, he paused briefly. “Les, we have you in a high orbit around Vega 6, and are going to cut you loose so the rescue folks from NTOC can come assist. Everything going okay over there?”

“We're doing great, Dak – thanks again. Would you believe, I seem to have won a significant amount of money from my crew today?”

“I wouldn't doubt it for a moment, Les. Serves them right, they should never doubt the word of a Captain – some lessons are more expensive than others...”

“That's the truth, Dak. Safe travels, mister.”

“Same to you Les, keep the wheels down.”

After he blew the bolts, we watched the massive hull of the Starry Dawn fall away from our upper lock, as we rotated down towards the deserts of Vega 6, far below.

*****

We raced the dawn coming down from orbit, and I set the Archaea down as silently as possible a short distance from the insurgent camp. This early only a few people were up and about, and they seemed pretty alarmed at our arrival. I suppose a ship the size of the Archaea gliding in on lifters isn't really something you want to see first thing in the morning before coffee.

Pauli, Yak and I headed aft and met Gene and Shorty in the wardroom. Tosh and Emily were awake, and raring to get going, but the rest of the kids had to be roused from what looked like the most comfortable sleep ever. I loved the acceleration hammocks, so I could imagine how nice it was for them – they're warm, soft, and about as cuddly as it gets.

Soon we had them all awake, and Shorty was passing around some hot cocoa, and helping the little ones get untangled from their hammocks. For some of them, I was afraid I might have to send Gene for his toolbox, they were pretty much welded in, and grumpy at getting up. 

“Well kids, we're here”, I said with a smile, though my heart was already breaking at the thought of saying goodbye to these wonderful kids. No more pirate adventures on the bridge deck, no more junior engineers, no more coder kids, no more games of 'Yak-attack' and crazy games on the 'fun' deck. I missed every one of them already.

All things come to an end, however, and for these kids, their adventure was really just beginning. As hard as it was, I led everyone aft to the cargo bay, and Gene lowered the ramp to the caliche hardpan of the desert. Of course, only Gene and I were prepared for the crushing wave of heat that roasted in off the desert, even this early in the morning it was fearsome.

I led the way down the ramp, and towards a growing group of people, some holding weapons at the ready – I realized they had no idea who we were... luckily they weren't the shoot-first types, or we might have had a pretty bad start to the day.

“Howdy folks! I am Captain Dak Smith, of the Archaea – is Cal Emerson here?” I called out, as blinded as I was by the rising light of Vega, it was hard to pick out faces.

“Captain Smith!” Cal called out, stepping forward. “Why are you back so soon? Were there problems?”

“Well Cal, you could say that, but we can discuss the particulars in a moment – first, I would like to introduce you to our passengers, newly arrived from Solis.” I stepped aside, and one by one, the kids stepped forward, terrified but also excited, blinking in the morning light.

“TOSH!” he screamed, and broke into a run towards us. Tosh burst into tears and met him halfway, leaping up for a hug the likes of which the galaxy has never known. Cal looked up at me with tears streaming down his cheeks, and I nodded with a smile.

The frozen tableau shattered, the kids rushed into the crowd, cheering and laughing.

I turned back at my crew, and was relieved to see that I wasn't the only one overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment, amid the blazing hot dawn of a bright new day.

*****

Yak and I sure missed those kids.

I know we weren't the only ones, Gene and Pauli were pretty glum for a while, and Captain Smith would occasionally start sentences with 'You know, Emily would have...' so I guess it's fair to say we all missed them.

The short amount of time we got to spend with those kids really drove it home for us what it means to do the right thing, to put our lives on the line for what we believe in.

Those children may never forget what we did, and I wasn't sure if anything we could do would ever matter quite so much – though it's hard to tell what the future will hold.  

Of course, the Captain was an immediate hero as far as the service was concerned, or should I say, even more of a hero. Saving Captain Scott and the surviving crew of the Starry Dawn was a big part of it, but after the reports they both filed about the rogue status of AV, and being faced with the overwhelming evidence of the children and the ruined hulk of the Starry Dawn, the service severed all contracts with AV, turning them out into the cold.

We don't know what that will mean for them, but we know one thing for sure, the Archaea will not be welcomed anywhere in AV space. That doesn't seem to bother the captain, of course. The Galaxy is vast, and he's definitely not one to worry... about anything, it seems.

For my part, I am looking forward to some rest, some relaxation, and of course, some serious, unbelievably expensive shopping. That's for tomorrow, though – for today, I was content to sit with Yak and Pauli, watching Gene and the Captain argue the finer points of grilling with the smell of steaks cooked to perfection wafting through the hot evening air.

The sun was setting on the inner sea, and the impossibly mauve sky piled high with pink and violet clouds was the perfect backdrop for the Archaea, towering above us, the center of our universe – our home.

Epilogue

The chairman leaned in over the durachrome table, his ancient fingers wrinkled like parchment, his yellow-stained fingernails clearly audible in the room as they clicked on the surface of the impossibly polished table.

“What of the Solis-One?” he asked in a low voice.

“Gone, no survivors.” the operations minister said.

“And M-1?” the chairman asked quietly.

“Also gone, sir.”

The silence around the table was oppressive.

“And Solis?”

“Mortality rate was 100%, sir. Operations have stopped on Solis at this time.” the resource minister said quietly.

The chairman fixed his gaze on the operations minister.

“What do you know about the frigate?”

“Not much sir, network systems throughout Solis were wiped, and are unrecoverable. The information we had appears to have been lost with the Solis-One.”

“So we don't know anything?”

The research minister cleared his throat, an almost deafening sound in the utter silence of the cavernous room.

“Yes? Do you have anything to add?” the chairman's eyes fixed on the research minister.

“Sir, this is just a minor setback for the project. We are in version nine, and almost on target. If we can repopulate the colony...”

The chairman nodded, and leaned back in his chair imperceptibly.

“I agree. Proceed with the contract for Mr. Martigan. The colony will be populated.”