Dreams among Stars (11 page)

I took a bite from the porridge I mixed together. Then as Agatha impatiently looked at me continued to recount my findings. “The time window for starting the breaking sequence is closing quickly. The longer we wait, the more strain the ships structure has to withstand. Yet it is in a desolate condition. We are facing a race against the time and if we don’t win it, then we have to continue the flight to the next star on our route, which means at least another 600 years of flight.”

I drank up my tea and poured me a fresh cup, then I went on.

“
Also a huge amount of the ships energy reserves is bound within the ships vegetation, which we have to retrieve to perform the necessary repairs. The engines energy should not be affected, but sadly the maintenance center at A 7, as well as the other two centers are still cut from this maintenance center. I am searching for a way to reactivate some of the maintenance drones, so maybe we can fix it even from here. Probably though I have to visit them personally. Still the most sincere problem… “ lost in thought I grabbed my bowl of porridge and wolfed it down “The most sincere problem are these Iron Warriors, as long as they hold the reins of power and the people aboard are not working together we just don’t stand a chance to patch everything up and fire the engines.”
 

With a black look Agatha stated “We cannot win this war. Our strength does not even suffice to protect the area around you sleepers.” I nodded and drank my fresh tea. “Very well, we still have a lot to do, so lets think while at it and maybe a solution will come to us.”

After that we went to work together, firstly we straightened up the maintenance center, after I created glasses at a fabber with surprisingly well filled material tanks, she engaged herself with the small maintenance and cleaning drones of the center with soaring enthusiasm. After only half a day small robots flitted unresting through the room, mending smaller and greater damages and removed even the tiniest dust grain.

It had been TRB-19 from which I had retrieved the data about our missions success late last night.

Namely the data had already been sent here, but never reached any of the other centers.

Probably that even was a good thing, as by protocol a whole crew technicians would have been wakened and the outcome of a confrontation on that scale was more than dubious.

So I blocked off the corresponding signal for now, until I had a better picture of our situation and could make sure the exit area wasn’t a death trap anymore.

Then I found another old acquaintance, after managing to get access to the controls of the maintenance robots I was greeted by the signal from RDX 13, which was in standby mode and waited for energy and instructions.

Through power loss it had forgotten its original orders and instead had repaired the connection between itself and the maintenance center with the few energy it received.

And while Agatha was busy with the drones in the central and with learning how to use the glasses which she had dubbed Bee, I managed to recharge RDX 13 and reprogram it,

I ordered it to set the other robots upright and connect them, where necessary fix faulty connections and subsequently repair the broken robots, where possible.

Robots beyond repair were dismantled for spare parts and after the first day a good dozen robots was in working condition.

In the meantime Agatha somehow had found a way to retrieve freshly plucked plants with the small drones from the outside and had cooked a vegetable stew and made a salad as dinner.

We sat together and regarded our day’s work with satisfaction.

As we relished our food a strange idea slowly formed in my mind.

“
Listen Agatha, if the Flying Hustler knew about the ships situation… could we
win them over as allies?”
 

It was a crazy idea, but either way we had to find a way out of the center.

So we decided to catch one of the soldiers, to interrogate and maybe even turn him over to our side.

The plan was simple, early in the morning we would sneak out through one of of the maintenance tunnels and stun one of the soldiers. A maintenance robot then should carry our victim.

Before going to sleep I prepared a small presentation, if it would be impressive enough to yield the desired effect would remain to be seen.

This night I slept deeply and dreamlessly. It was a restful sleep. Agatha on the other hand seemingly had not been able to get a wink of sleep. She had been a housewife for all of her life. Admittedly a housewife of a tribe locked within a perpetual conflict, still to get into a fight by herself worried her more than she was willing to admit.

I didn’t want to part from my guns, so I had the fabber produce a stun gun for her. This way she would have a reliable weapon for her own.

As we descended into the maintenance tunnel a sharp stench wafted towards us .

Over time plants and animals had gotten into the tunnel and gave it a unique musty smell.

Progress was more difficult than anticipated, at numerous spots the ground was extremely slippery and at other location we had to cut through thick vegetation.

Luckily there weren’t any predators living in the tunnels.

And that is why it took it a good hour to reach the exit hatch that was only a 200 meters away.

Behind us the maintenance robots had started cleaning the tunnel, after witnessing the tunnels state I instructed the maintenance center with a standing order to clear and clean all maintenance tunnels.

The exit surprisingly easily opened up, it was located within a mall stone formation on a tiny mound and was barely bedecked with soil.

We didn’t even have to look hard for a victim, in fact we were spoilt for choice.

After we had so easily caught the two guards off-guard, the Flying Hustlers became more careful and so we had a group of five warriors lie in hiding before us.

They secured their group to all sides, so I decided to repeat an old trick.

After I explained my plan to Agatha I used Marple to relay the order to have some robots drive out of the centers entrance.

A short while after the group was in tumult and as they were hurrying towards the forests edge Agatha and I felled them one by one from behind.

The last two fighters barely managed to turn around startled before slumping to the ground.

We inspected the fallen and decided on the warrior with the least muscles, hoping that he would compensate the lack of these with more intelligence, or at least would be more easily intimidated.

With slow speed a maintenance robot had followed us, we loaded the stupefied soldier on it and and made our way back to the hatch.

It still was unclear to me why no advanced weaponry was used, but that made things easier for me and my ally.

The way back was arduous, so we were happy when after half of the distance the tunnel was already cleared up.

Even as both of us were not very large persons we had to mind our heads within the tunnel.

After our successful return and having put the inanimate freight on a chair and tying him up good I had to laugh, it was a scene like right from a movie set.

“
Now we just have to darken everything and have a light shine directly into his face and it would be perfect.” Agatha looked at me uncomprehendingly and I realized yet again how different our wolds were.
 

The daze was meant to last for a hour, with the state the tunnel had been in, we probably would not have managed to be back in time, as it was we had a few minutes more to prepare ourselves for the confrontation.

Interrogation techniques certainly weren’t among my talents and a short discussion with Agatha revealed here to be equally clueless about this area.

So I decided to stick to what I was best in and spice it up with a few supplements taken from movies I had seen.

After we finished with our preparations I realized that the setting was not very different from the joke I made earlier.

The prisoner sat turned towards a huge screen and towering at each side two maintenance robots were guarding him and indeed there was a lamp ready, which should bedazzle him when he woke.

As I turned on the lamp I hoped Agatha had grasped my explanations about the concept of good cop and bad cop. With a sluggish shaking of his head the Flying Hustler awakened, after he loudly sucked a dangerously long strand of drool back in he slowly raised his head. That was when I stepped before the lamp and into his line of sight and hoped it would look like I came out of the light.

“
Welcome to the wonderful world of technology” I said with portending spreading out my arms.
 

“
Do you know who I am?”
 

Agatha wasn’t waiting for long, when no reaction happened she stepped up from my side and slapped him without hesitation right in the face with her flat hand.

“
Answer!” Wow - I could never threaten anyone as convincingly, on the other hand a great amount of Agathas anger was genuine.
 

I grabbed her for the next strike upraised hand and charmingly coaxed the prisoner “Now come on and talk else I cannot hold her back.” He swallowed nervously and said “No” while shaking his head.

It was obvious he couldn’t make head or tail of the situation.

“
So why did you attack us?” He looked to the ground at that question, however when Agatha bore down on him he hurriedly replied “We received your description from the Benefactors soldiers with the orders to either capture or kill you.”
 

I silently swore to myself, at the flight from the waking area I had been much more visible as I had believed to have been.

It was clear that we would not get any useful informations from the guy, so this was already the end of the interrogation, but now the more difficult part would ensue.

“
We would like to show you something.” I explained “but first let me introduce myself. I am Helen your new maintenance technician and there is something you urgently need to see.”
 

After we loosened his bonds a bit we played the advertisement of the colonization mission, which had driven myself and so many others to volunteer to the madness of this generation flight.

Which kind of reaction I expected had not been clear to me, but the glazed eyes and his mumbling “the legends are true” were a very satisfying reaction. When he looked at me with an idolizing look I savored to push him into elation with the the words “Yes and soon we reach our goal.” It was an euphoria we were about to turn against him soon.

“
Should we untie you?” I asked “Or do you still want to kill me?” His awestruck “No” left no doubt that he was sincerely impressed.
 

We untied him and guided him to a table at which we three took place in such a manner that another screen was in his line of sight.

On the table we had placed tea and some synthetic cookies. While we were sitting together homely, a rendering of the ship turned on the screen.

Agatha as well as I were watching our prisoners face from the corners of our eyes and were hoping our plan would work out.

As the ship was overspread with red breaches and broke apart his eyes widened and his face turned pale.

Agatha looked at me questioningly and I nodded.

Obviously furious she jumped up and barked “Well do you think this is a game? This” and she waved to the screen “this is what is in store for us!” silently I had stepped to her side “Calm now, you are frightening him. Its at least another 20 years until its about to happen.”

I was very aware that those words would not frighten him less and that was planned as well.

He gulped “But why?” he managed to say and I rejoiced inwardly. “Come I’ll show you” and I lead him to the terminal on which I had done my analysis.

Using a blueprint of the ship I explained how the sectors were structured and then I showed him the rift along the ships hull.

“
And when we need to break in the future, this is where the ship could break apart.”
 

Searching I looked into his face “Without help I won’t be able to accomplish anything. So much has to be repaired that I won’t be able to do that all by myself, especially not when people are trying to kill me.”

He did believe me, that much I could see, but he was at a loss.

“
How could I help? None of the others would believe me if I told them.”
 

“
Does your troop have a leader?” I asked “And do you believe, that you could convince him to meet with us?”
 

He considered our question a while, after affirming that there was a leader.

“
Oh, what is your name?” Agatha asked, eying her suspiciously because of the sudden friendliness he replied “I am Hask, Hask Brenner” towards me he continued “Our leader is Jorn Kimming and I very much doubt that he would let himself be convinced. Sorry.”
 

I hesitated a while and then I asked the most difficult question “We expected as much. Would you be willing to lure him into a trap?”

After some persuasion finally Hask agreed to help us. We risked telling him how we had managed to capture him and as the Flying Hustlers hadn’t seen where we came from, we all quickly agreed to just repeat the plan.

I crafted a stun gun for Hask, but set it so it couldn’t fire into Marples or Bees direction as a precaution.

Psyched he soaked up my explanation of how to use it and I happily appraised him to be a loyal ally.

Sadly not everyone would be brought to their senses that easily.

If the Benefactor knew about the ships situation, would he be willing to end this madness?

There was no time to waste, ask explained that his comrades surely would have sent a runner to call for reinforcements, or maybe even the soldiers of the Iron Warriors.

As the tunnel had been cleaned farther than the 200 meters towards the hatch, it did bot even take us 10 minutes to reach the exit.