Starship Revenant (The Galactic Wars Book 3) (6 page)

“
T
here are
multiple air locks on the port and starboard side, and atop the superstructure,” Zoey said.

“This ship isn’t designed to form a hard seal. We’ll have to do an EVA walk,” Declan said. “Mitch, suit up.”

His face crinkled up. “Why me?”

“Cause it’s your turn.”

“I’ll go,” Zoey said.

“No, you’ll stay here.”

“I know how to operate the access hatch, and I know my way around the ship. 8-Ball and I are…
were
… stationed aboard the
Scorpion
. It’s identical to the
Revenant
.”

Declan reluctantly agreed. “Mitch, show
Commander Ballbreaker
to the airlock, and help her suit up.”

Mitch had a little glint in his eye. “With pleasure, sir.”

She rolled her eyes and followed him down to the airlock.

Declan maneuvered the
Zephyr
alongside one of the airlock hatches on the starboard side of the
Revenant
. He extended a magnetic docking arm that latched onto the hull. The two ships drifted through the green clouds in a synchronous orbit around the unseen proto-planet at the center of the nebula.

Zoey was skeptical of the spacesuits hanging from the bulkheads in the
Zephyr’s
airlock. There were a dozen of them. “How old are those suits?”

“They work just fine,” Mitch said.

She arched an eyebrow at him.

“Do you know how much a new pressurized spacesuit costs?”

“When was the last time anybody used one of these?”

“I don’t know,” Mitch said. “Maybe six months ago?”

“And you’re sure these things will hold pressure?”

“Well, that one has a slow leak,” he gestured to one of the suits. “But it’s within limits. The rest of them are fine.”

“And they maintain temperature?”

“Look, these aren’t SK-7s, but they get the job done.”

Zoey shook her head, then began to peel out of her uniform.

Mitch's eyes were glued to her.

“Turn around. You’re not getting a free show.”

He frowned, then turned to face the bulkhead. “I didn’t want to watch anyway. Let me know when it’s safe to turn around. I don’t want to catch a glimpse of something scary.”

Zoey shook her head and stripped down.

These were
SK-2, Advanced Extra Vehicular Activity
suits. They were at least 50 years old, and weren’t very advanced by modern standards. They had several main components—the bladder, the lower torso assembly, the upper torso assembly, the helmet, and gloves.

Zoey grabbed a pair of absorbency undergarments from a bin in the bulkhead and slipped them on. If you had to
go
in one of these older spacesuits, this was the only way. Modern suits had duel pressurized locking zippers that created a perfect seal.

Zoey slipped into a formfitting bodysuit made out of wicking material. This was primarily to absorb sweat. Then she put on the bladder—a liquid cooled jumpsuit, regulated by the suit’s CPU.

She slipped into the lower torso assembly, like a pair of pants, and pulled the locking ring over her hips. She pulled the upper torso assembly overhead and slipped her arms into the sleeves. She locked the two sections together. The gloves were already attached to the locking rings on the sleeves, but could easily be removed if necessary.

She attached the helmet and pressurized the suit. It was bulkier than an SK-7, and had less mobility when fully pressurized. You could slip an SK-7 on over your skivvies and be ready to roll. The SK-2 wasn’t quite as antiquated as the old Apollo suits that the first astronauts used several hundred years ago, but it wasn’t state-of-the-art either. Modern technology had advanced quite a bit since the debut of the SK-2.

The suit had an old, musty smell. It was well worn, and some of the materials looked like they were deteriorating. The suit didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

The SK-2s were one size fits all. The gloves could be interchanged for different size hands, and the upper and lower torso sections had expandable fabric to compensate for size differences. The center locking ring was the only sticking point.

Mitch slipped on his suit, which was a little snug, in contrast to Zoey’s, which was a tad large on her. Mitch’s belly was flush against the center locking ring. He had to suck in his gut to attach the upper and lower sections. He pulled the helmet over his head and locked it in place.

Zoey activated her comm system—it was part of the upper torso assembly. “Can you hear me?”

Her voice filtered through the speaker in Mitch’s suit. “Loud and clear.”

“
Zephyr
, what about you?”

“Unfortunately,” Declan replied.

“What’s our oxygen supply like?” Zoey asked.

“Roughly 2 hours.”

Zoey lifted her brow. “That’s it?”

“Of course, that depends on how much you breathe. How much you talk. How hard you exert yourself.”

Zoey shook her head. “These suits are fully shielded, right?”

“Yes,” Declan said, crackling over the comm link. “You’ve got protection from ultraviolet and particle radiation.”

“If there’s a reactor leak aboard the
Revenant
, we could be stepping into some high dose ionizing radiation.”

Fusion reactors were generally safe, and meltdown was impossible. Still, the inner components of the reactor were radioactive. But unlike fission reactors, the fusion reactor cores would only be dangerous for about a hundred years after being decommissioned. In comparison, byproducts of nuclear fission, such as Np-237, have a half life of 2 million years.

Mitch looked a little nervous upon hearing that.

“I’m not picking up anything on the sensors,” Declan said.

Zoey grimaced. “That’s because the sensors aren’t working.”

“Oh, right,” Declan said. “Look, the suits are equipped with dosimeters. I’m getting a clear readout on your vitals. If there’s anything to be concerned about, I’ll let you know.”

“I feel better already.” Zoey’s voice was thick with sarcasm.

Mitch grabbed a retractable safety line and attached it to his suit with a carabiner. Zoey did the same.

“You ready,” Mitch asked.

Zoey nodded.

Mitch closed the hatch to the airlock and made sure the seal was secure. He pressed a button on the wall and expelled the atmosphere from the airlock. Air whooshed through the vents. It was safer than just opening the outer hatch and running the risk of being swept out into space with the rush of exiting atmosphere.

He pressed another button. The outer hatch disengaged and slid open. They were roughly 25 yards from the outer hull of the
Revenant
. The ship looked ominous against the luminescent green nebula and the electrical storm flashing around it.

Zoey gazed at the ship in awe. It wasn’t often that she got to see the outside of an
Avenger
class star destroyer while it was in space. Even in dry dock, these ships looked powerful and majestic. But floating free, in their native habitat, they were a sight to behold. And no one had seen this particular ship in 25 years. It was like discovering the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean.

The stories of the
Revenant
were often told on long deployments in deep space. Usually to frighten junior officers, or enlisted fresh out of boot camp. Everyone had a different version of the fateful events, and each story had morphed so far from the original that nobody knew what the truth was anymore. The only thing that was for certain was that the ship went missing, and the crew along with it.

Zoey’s heartbeat pulsed. She couldn’t help but feel the thrill of discovery. She was going to be one of the first to set foot aboard.

Mitch fired a magnetic harpoon that attached to the
Revenant’s
hall. He secured the line to the bulkhead in the airlock. He wound it taught and tugged on it to test its strength. “These suits don’t have built in propulsion, so we’re on our own.”

Mitch grabbed the line and pulled himself toward the
Revenant
. He spoke into his comm line. “We are leaving the
Zephyr
.”

“Roger that,” Declan said.

Zoey followed behind Mitch. It was an eerie feeling, floating through space in the middle of a nebula. It was like crossing a tight rope between two skyscrapers—except there was no up or down. If you were afraid of heights, this definitely wasn’t the place for you. If you lost your grip, or if the safety harness broke, it would be a long cold death as you drifted off into space.

Within a few moments they had reached the hull of the
Revenant
. Mitch activated the magnetic soles on his boots. He placed his feet against the hull, and they snapped into place with a firm attachment.

Zoey followed suit.

Mitch took a few steps on the hull and looked back at the
Zephyr
. He had a grin on his face as he rotated around, taking in the view from all angles. “This is cool.”

Zoey cautiously let go of the tethered line they had crossed on. Her boots clanked against the hull as she marched to the manual control for the airlock hatch. She knelt down and opened a fairing that covered the control panel. She pressed the button, and the display came to life. The ship still had power.

She had to enter a four digit passcode in order to access airlock functions. It was a generic code used by every UPDF ship. At least, she hoped it was still the same code. The codes were programmable and could be unique to each Navy ship. But the UPDF had mandated that all hatch access codes should be the same to facilitate emergency rescue operations.

She entered
0000
into the keypad. A moment later, the display flashed:
access granted
. The Navy figured they would make the code so simple, no one could forget it. It was like the old nuclear football code.

Before she could open the outer hatch, the inner hatch had to be sealed. She keyed in the commands, and a moment later, the external hatch released and slid open. A rush of air blew out of the airlock.

Mitch and Zoey climbed into the airlock and sealed the hatch behind them. Zoey pushed the button on the bulkhead and pressurized the compartment. An overhead light flashed green, and a klaxon sounded.

Zoey’s fist mashed another button, and the inner hatch slid open.

The corridor in front of her was pitch black.

She activated her helmet lights. Two brilliant beams pierced the darkness. Dust and debris floated in the air. A pencil, a piece of paper, a coffee mug tumbling end over end. Her magnetic boots were keeping her affixed to the deck, but the ship’s gravity generators weren’t working.

There was clearly some available power. But the main system was off-line. Even the emergency lighting wasn’t functioning. It was possible that after all this time the ship went into some kind of hibernation mode to preserve energy.

“I hope you’re not afraid of the dark,” Zoey said.

Mitch gulped with fear. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

As Zoey stepped into the passageway, she felt a chill run down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck stood tall. Goosebumps rose on her flesh, like skyscrapers. She didn’t know if it was just her imagination or not, but there was something chilling about this place. It felt like evil.

T
he Officer
of the Deck sneered at their appearance. One side of his lip curled up, and his big amphibian eyes grew even wider. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this tattered group of Saarkturains—or what appeared to be Saarkturains.

Malik, Saaja, and Walker stood at attention. With his battle armor and face shield, Walker blended in. Though they all stood out. Perhaps the fact that they were covered in dirt and mud drew some of the attention away from Walker.

“Permission to come aboard?” Malik said.

The OOD hesitated. When he spoke, he did so in Saarkturese. “Permission granted.” He looked them up and down again. “Perhaps you would like to freshen up before you meet with Emperor Tyvelon?”

“We had a little… engine trouble on the way over,” Malik said.

The OOD glanced at the damaged thruster. “Yes, so it seems.”

“We were ambushed by raiders. We had to make an unexpected stop on a rather unfriendly planet.”

“I see.” His big round eyes were suspicious. “Well, if we can be of any assistance in repairing your ship, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you.”

The OOD’s eyes found Bailey sitting at the top of the ramp in the Phantom. “And that… thing? What function does it serve?”

“It’s highly trained in tactical explosive detection, gas detection, search and rescue.”

“I can assure you, there are no hidden explosives, or poison gas aboard the
Korvectus
. But the ship is large. I can’t promise you won’t get lost.” His tone was condescending. “I guess I will allow the beast on board.”

“He’s very well behaved,” Malik said. “Years of extensive training.” The only training Bailey had was fighting nasty arthropods on Thantos 6.

Walker motioned for Bailey. He bolted down the ramp and sat alongside Walker.

The OOD stared at Walker, but he couldn’t see through his visor. It perturbed him a little.

Bailey gave a subtle growl as the OOD stepped close. Walker petted Bailey’s head to settle him down.

The OOD turned up his nose. “Follow me. I’ll show you to your temporary quarters.”

As they followed him off the flight deck, Walker saw a slew of prisoners offloaded from a transport ship. They were humans. Frightened and tattered. Wide eyes and hopeless faces. But they were healthy, for the most part. There weren’t any wounded—the Decluvians had either killed the wounded, or left them to die on Delta Vega.

Walker clenched his jaw. He knew that these people were going to be slaves, or worse. But now was not the time to do anything about it.

The OOD led Walker and the others through a network of passageways to a small berthing compartment with four bunks. But they weren’t ordinary bunks. There were misting stations above each bunk, in case you needed to rehydrate your amphibian skin during the night.

“There are bathing facilities down the hall. There is also a pool if you’d like to take a dip. The 2nd deck mess hall is just forward from here. There are a variety of insects, worms, and slugs from across the galaxy, if you get hungry. Just don’t spoil your appetite. I’ll send someone to fetch you for the ceremony.”

“Thank you,” said Malik.

“If that’s all, I’ll be returning to my post?”

Malik nodded, and the OOD marched away.

Bailey leapt into one of the bunks and settled in for a nap.

The ship was hot and humid. It felt like a swamp. And that was just how the Decluvian’s liked it.

Walker peeled off his helmet and took a deep breath. “We’ve got to do something about those prisoners.”

“Whoa. Hang on,” Malik said. “Let’s not get carried away.”

“If those were Saarkturians, how would you feel?”

Malik frowned. “Let’s just stick to the plan.”

“What plan is that?”

“We’ll attend the ceremony,” Malik said. “You stay here with Bailey. We’ll say you weren’t feeling well. We’ll have dinner, then we’ll say thank you, and be on our way.”

“I say we make a new plan. This fleet is on a mission to exterminate mankind. This may be our only chance to do something. We need to kill the Emperor, free the hostages, and destroy the ship.”

“If my people have formed an alliance with the Decluvians, then I must honor that alliance.”

“We’re talking about the annihilation of my people.” The veins in Walker’s neck were popping out.”

Saaja intervened. “Let’s all take a deep breath and calm down. The agreement we made was to help each other get off the planet and get each other to safety. None of us are exactly safe just yet.”

Malik gave her a sideways glance.

“You don’t really trust the Decluvians, do you?” she said. “They’ve never held to an agreement before.”

“I’m sure Prince Valinok had his reasons.”

“He’s a boy,” Saaja said. “He’s not qualified to make these decisions. He’s too young to remember our history. If he’s been taught anything of our history at all.”

“This conversation is veering into a treasonous direction.” Malik grew visibly uncomfortable.

“I am merely stating fact.” Saaja’s eyes burned into him.

Malik was quiet.

“He couldn’t have orchestrated an arrangement like this on his own. Someone is pulling the strings. I wonder what he had to agree to in order to get the Decluvians to wage war?”

“It makes no difference,” Malik said. “We are warriors, not politicians. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with such things.”

“Can you not think for yourself?” Saaja said.

Malik clenched his jaw. His pale face was beginning to flush red. “The bottom line is that the humans are occupying a sacred land.” His gaze met Walker’s. “No offense.”

“Because a 6000 year old scripture dictates this sector is off limits, that makes it okay to exterminate a sentient species?”

“It wasn’t like there was a no trespassing sign on New Earth when we settled it,” Walker said.

Malik’s eyes snapped back to Saaja. “Are you suggesting we should ignore scripture?”

“I’m not suggesting what you should or shouldn’t believe,” Saaja said. “I’m just saying, I’m not comfortable with annihilating a species because a book written 6000 years ago says to do so.”

“I’m not asking either one of you to betray your allegiance,” Walker said. “But I took an oath that I would support and defend the Constitution of the United Planetary Federation against all enemies foreign and domestic. If I have the ability to make a difference in the outcome of this war, I’m sworn to take it.”