Douglas Kendall

by Jason the Rescuer

  And then Dalton stepped around from the side, grinning up at his tall friend. He brushed his dark hair away from his eyes, and said brightly, "Hi, Jason! We're all right!"

  "Dalton!", Jason cried, blinking in disbelief at the sight of his smiling young friend, completely recovered. After so long alone in the isolation of his little jail, convinced that Dalton was dead, and they were keeping the information from him, seeing Dalton alive and well again was too much. Jason grabbed him, and hugged him tightly. Then he held him out at arms length, and in his joy lifted him high up into the air. Setting him down again, Jason exclaimed, "Dalton, I thought for sure you were gone." His voice shook and he had to wipe his eyes to see clearly.

  Then Dalton told him the devastating news that he had decided to stay aboard the colony ship with Monique and pilot it onward to the new world. Jason was too stunned at this revelation to speak

  Durdaine seeing Jason subdued, pocketed the hand-gun, the very sight of which made him nervous anyway, and began happily explaining what Dalton's genetics meant to them, and why he planned to stay here with them. He told Jason that he would have to go before he caused any more trouble. Durdaine still regarded him as a pirate, and promised to shoot him with his own gun if he did not leave immediately.

  Durdaine's daughter Ethera now appeared, having come to again torment Jason through the panel in the door. She looked aghast at Jason standing in the open doorway, and then at her father. She grew furious that Jason had been released, and began ranting about something very important, something about an unwanted pregnancy, but her father was busy happily explaining all about their recovered special Y-chromosome. Jason and Dalton exchanged glances. If Durdaine stopped to listen to his daughter, there was going to be more trouble.

  Suddenly, Dalton loudly announced that he would now go see his beloved Monique, who he had not seen since before they had been knocked unconscious. He turned quickly from Jason, and jostled against Durdaine as he passed him in his hurry to get to Monique. Then, he turned around again, ran back, and warmly embraced Jason once more. "I'll miss you forever, Jason!"

  Dalton said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "You've done so much for me! I'll never forget you! You're the best friend I ever had!" Before Jason could speak, Dalton secretly palmed over the gun which he had just pickpocketed from Durdaine, then turned, and dashed off down the hallway, quickly disappearing around a corner.

  Jason stood dumbly, staring at Durdaine babbling on about how the mission would finally be a success. He did not hear a word. Dalton was staying! Jason would have to sail away alone.

  He could not believe it! But Dalton wanted to be with Monique!

  How could Dalton dump his future as Jason's partner in the rescue business for just a mere girl?!

  Jason looked at Ethera who was becoming enraged at being ignored. She suddenly screamed that Jason was an impostor, a pirate! There were no others aboard the ship, his computer had faked them. And, Jason had taken her aboard and seduced her.

  And now she was pregnant with his baby! She was pregnant by Jason!

  Everyone now became very quiet. Ethera and her father stared at each other. He was devastated and stunned realizing that his daughter had known all of this and had not told him before. Ethera looked down at the floor, too ashamed to look up at her father. He became red-faced with rage, and turned glaring at Jason. He grabbed for the gun in the pocket of his robe to kill him. It was now gone! He looked down to check his other pockets, then looked up to find Jason holding the gun, a wide grin splitting his face almost ear to ear. Jason bid him a good day, shrugged apologetically at Ethera, and then backed slowly away...

  As soon as he had backed around a corner into the next corridor, he wheeled around and dashed off to make his way up to the nose cone, and back across to his sailship. Durdaine summoned guards, but Jason remained one step ahead. The guards at the hatch exiting Colonist Segment #1 had been alerted that Jason was escaping. They grabbed their billy clubs, and nervously waited inside the hatch for him, but when Jason appeared brandishing his terrifying hand-gun, they dropped their clubs, and fled down the opposite hallway. Jason yanked the hatch lever over to unlock it, then threw it open. Just before he left, he glanced around the little guard room at the pictures of Conover painted on the walls, and thought to himself that Conover would be the last world he ever wanted to set foot on.

  He heard men coming, and quickly pulled himself out into the axis tunnelway, and raced toward the nose of the colony ship as fast as he could in the near zero-gravity.

  It was slow progress without the special slippers that would have made his feet stick to the floor. He slipped and stumbled if he tried to go fast. He heard the sound of many voices rise behind him. They were in pursuit! He checked his gun. Only two bullets left! He hurried on as fast as he could.

  The colonists pursuing him were wearing the sticky slippers, and were rapidly approaching. Sweat broke out on Jason's forehead, and he ground his teeth in frustration. He had to take ridiculously slow steps or risk just uselessly sliding his feet along the ground. He weighed only a few kilograms this close to the axis of the colony ship. If they caught up, he might be able to frighten them off with the gun again. But if there was a fight, he would only be able to shoot two of them. That would probably frighten them away for sure. But what if they punished Dalton in revenge?! Jason hurried on the best he could.

  Jason thought morosely: Dalton! Why the hell did he have to stay behind?! And why had Dalton and Monique taken off in the sailship so long ago to begin with? Jason had never had a chance to ask Dalton about that. Just what was going on between him and Monique? Love? Had Dalton tried to escape in the sailship, and was he now staying behind just so he could be with the girl he loved? For some strange reason, Jason felt awestruck at the idea.

  Then the shouting behind him grew so loud that he turned to look, and found to his dismay that the approaching posse was so close he could now see their angry faces. The ones in the front were carrying large sheets of metal before them. All the rest were armed with clubs. Shields! They thought they were now shielded from his bullets by the metal plates! He hurried on, but they were closing fast. Where the hell was the nose cone air lock?! According to the signs he had passed, he had passed from Cargo Segment #2 to #1 already. The nose cone would be next.

  Where the hell was it?! They were almost upon him! Only a few paces away! He would not get to the air lock in time.

  Jason kept looking over his shoulder at the large party overtaking him. The colonists were crying out in triumph already. They would have him in less than a minute. How horrible everything was! Durdaine would stick him back in that damn cell again. Or maybe kill him for what he had done to Ethera. Durdaine ran the colony ship with an iron fist.

  A slight narrowing of the axis tunnelway indicated that Jason had finally reached the beginning of the nose cone section.

  But the air lock was just too far away. Jason made ready to turn and face his pursuers. In the mood he was in, he was ready to go down fighting. What a mess everything had become!

  But just as he came to a stop, and began to turn, he noticed handholds on the wall of the axis tunnelway. That was right! He had seen them before! The nose cone segment had handholds that led all the way to the air locks. Jason grabbed the nearest one, and glanced back at the colonists. They had come to a stop waiting to see what Jason would do. Jason pulled out his gun and waved it threateningly. The colonists quickly arranged the metal shields in front of them. They did not retreat this time.

  Someone yelled for Jason to surrender. He could see them peeking between the shields. What a bunch of cowards, he thought. Jason made an obscene gesture, then with a mighty pull on the handhold from his massive arm (stronger than ever after all the exercise during his confinement) Jason propelled himself suddenly and rapidly forward. As he expertly shot off down the tunnelway toward the air lock, he was thankful for all his years of practice in low-gravity environments.

  The colonists cried out in surpr
ise and dismay, and took off after him in hot pursuit. Jason yanked himself along from handhold to handhold, easily pulling ahead of the colonists.

  Soon, he could see the air lock in the dimness ahead. It was closed! He could swear he had left it open.

  As soon as he reached it, he smacked the button to open it, and the air lock began to cycle. He looked behind him. He could see the colonists in the distance rapidly approaching. Jason banged the cycle button again and again. The colonists approached rapidly. Jason pulled out his gun to shoot, but hesitated, again worried about any reprisal directed toward Dalton. They were almost upon him!

  He heard a soft hiss behind him. The hatch was opening!

  Jason turned, and as soon as the hatch was open enough, he squeezed through, grabbed the inside handle, and pulled at the hatch with all his might. It began to close just as the colonists arrived behind. Fortunately, the hatch mechanism was pneumatic, and though there was a loud wheezing sound, Jason managed to close and re-lock it without causing any damage that might have prevented the air lock cycling. Jason smacked the inside cycle button, and quickly began tugging on his spacesuit as the colonists began pounding on the hatch. By the time it occurred to them to try tugging the hatch open, the pressure inside was so low that the pressure in the axis tunnelway held the inner hatch firmly shut.

  The air lock outer hatch swung open, and Jason, aboard his spacebike, shot out. He had barely jetted his way beyond the nose of the colony ship when Durdaine, from the communicator panel next to the inner air lock hatch, ordered the PF24 to close the outside nose cone. But it was too late. Jason had safely escaped.

  When PF24 reported this to Excarver Durdaine, he raged in frustration for a few moments, then took a deep breath, turned, and walked slowly back with his hands behind his back, his thick eyebrows came together as he thought. The rogue, at least, was now gone forever. He still had Dalton. Everything would be all right. Now to convince his daughter to abort her ridiculous pregnancy. She would easily listen to reason...

  Jason's head was spinning when he reached his ship. All was as he had left it weeks before on the day he had been jailed aboard that damn colony ship. There was still no gravity, though. How empty the sailship now would be without Dalton. He sadly pulled himself up to the pilot room. The blood stains on the transparent dome were gone! His little robots must have automatically cleaned up. Everything about this mission had gone wrong. He climbed into the pilot chair. There he was, again surrounded by the flashing displays and indicator lights of his beloved sailship. At least he still had that. He slowly worked the controls to jettison the old broken gravitonic sail. He then sent out a new one to get gravity working aboard the sailship again. Soon he could feel his weight pulling him downward into the pilot chair.

  Dalton had stayed behind. Ethera now hated him, and claimed she was having a baby by him. Probably just lying to make him feel bad. Even the colony ship really was not rescued. Even if Dalton back there could get it moving, it would take centuries to get to either the target new world or Conover, with one generation of colonists being replaced by the next and on and on; poor Dalton and Monique would grow old and die aboard that ship.

  Jason sadly activated the maneuvering jets to get far enough away from the colony ship to raise his gravitonic sails. Best to just get away and be on his own again. Jason saw Dalton's virtual-reality helmet near his feet. It had landed there after he had activated gravity again. He angrily kicked it away.

  26. DEPARTURE

  At a safe enough distance, in the direction of the nearby gravitonic current, Jason cut the jets, then sent out gravitonic struts, and sails. He activated all systems prior to launch. He noticed that a sensor in a cabinet of the living quarter was malfunctioning again. Hadn't he fixed that yet?!

  Before sailing away, he had an idea. He ordered his computer to radio the colony ship. PF24 answered but would take no direction. It was being controlled by Excarver Durdaine now.

  PF24 had switched over control to the leader of the colonists when it could no longer locate Jason for direction. Jason requested communication with Durdaine. PF24 put Durdaine on the radio...

  Tersely came the familiar voice, "This is Excarver Durdaine!

  What do YOU want?"

  "Excarver, old boy, I have a little favor to ask. I'm about to sail away. Let me say good-bye to Dalton and Monique, would you?"

  "What?!," came the angry reply. "You've lied to us, made fools out of us, and... and violated my daughter. Now you have the GALL to ask a favor?!"

  Pretending he was hurt, Jason pointed out, "Excarver! How can you feel that way? Remember, I repaired your colony ship for you."

  "YOU?! It is clear to me now that it was young DALTON who did all the work. WHILE YOU WERE BUSY SEDUCING MY DAUGHTER!

  You're no rescuer! You are not with the Infinity City Militia Guard. You're just a PIRATE! The only good thing you did was allow poor lost Dalton the chance to escape from you, and return to where he belongs. You'll get nothing from us! Now, get away from us before I train our lasers on that sailship of yours, and blast you into atoms!"

  Jason was flabbergasted by Durdaine's reaction. The ingratitude! "Durdaine!", he shouted back hotly. "I spent weeks in that control room of yours. I personally repaired the damage from the gravitonic whirlpool."

  Durdaine shouted back, "Yes, and how do we know what kind of job you did? How do we know the ship won't blow up or take us in the wrong direction now? You aren't even a qualified technician!

  You're just another rogue from that Infinity City!" Durdaine began sputtering hysterically. "You probably caused our damage in the first place! Just so you could come along later and get treated like some sort of savior. Fooling innocent young girls!

  Shooting innocent, unarmed colonists! Be off with you, I say!"

  Jason himself was now furious. After all the time and effort he had put into repairing that damn colony ship, this was his only reward! Insults from a raving lunatic! A small, quiet voice in the back of Jason's mind pointed out that he should never have gotten involved with the daughter of the leader of the entire ship. But Jason did not care, and pounded the arm of his pilot chair in frustration. How could they now treat him like this?! After all he had done for them!

  In short, tense words, Jason suddenly revealed to Durdaine just exactly how far off course the gravitonic whirlpool had thrown them.

  Oddly, Durdaine had grown completely calm again. "More of your lies, Jason. I've heard enough from you. I'm cutting this line..."

  "Durdaine!", interrupted Jason. "It'll take you hundreds of years to get to either your new world or Conover! Ask your computer if you don't believe me. PF24! What is closest? The target world or Conover?"

  "The target world," answered the computer.

  Before Durdaine could say a word, Jason quickly asked,

  "PF24, how far away is the target world, in integer light-years??"

  "82 light-years," came the answer.

  There was silence from the radio. Jason smugly grinned.

  Now HE had the upper hand! "All right, Excarver, put Dalton and Monique on the line, and maybe I'll let Conover know where you are. I'll even arrange a fleet of personnel transport sailships from Infinity City to take your people safely to their destination."

  But there was something that Jason did not know about Excarver Durdaine. Something that Durdaine was not even consciously aware of himself. He ENJOYED his absolute power aboard the colony ship. He was absolute ruler of his little microcosm. And deep down he had grown used to the power, and did not want it to end. Durdaine angrily responded, "MORE of your lies! You go to hell! You've sabotaged our computer just to give a false estimate, you pirate! But Dalton will get it fixed.

  HE'S Conovarian; one of the Pure! And YOU'LL never see him again! EVER!!"

  Durdaine now shouted at the computer: "PF24! Aim the lasers at the Infinity City sailship, and commence firing immediately. Emergency priority!"

  "Firing will commence in 42 seconds," dutifully reported the
computer.

  Jason viciously swore back at Durdaine who only laughed.

  Jason roared in frustration. But just before he cut the connection, he yelled back at Durdaine to tell his damn PF24

  computer to reactivate its intuitive hemisphere to maintain the colony ship. The colony ship had barely lasted five years without the repair capabilities of PF24's intuitive hemisphere.

  Jason thought angrily to himself: Why in the hell do I even care?! He killed the radio in disgust.

  He did not have much time. PF24 would already be wheeling the colony ship's great lasers around for proper aim, opening the turrets in the sides of the ship, and warming up the reactor that would supply power for the destructive bursts of photonic energy.

  Jason's first post in the Militia Guard had been chief of one of Infinity City's photonic cannon emplacements. Knowing the awesome capability of a good laser, Jason quickly set to work.

  Fortunately, his sails were already all up and ready. He ordered his computer to run the gravitonic generator up to full power. While the sound of the powerful generator rose, Jason fired his jets. His wonderful sailship computer, using the three little robots, had automatically refueled the jets from the cargo hold spare tanks while Jason had been incarcerated back on the colony ship.

  He jetted his ship over to the nearby current spouting out from the far away whirlpool. He had rescued the colony ship from this current, so long ago it now seemed. His computer reported that it detected a threatening build up of thermal energy from the colony ship laser turrets. That would be their reactors dumping off excess energy, surmised Jason. They were ready to fire!

  His sailship entered the huge, raging gravitonic current, the great, billowing sails caught hold, and away he instantly sailed at hundreds of times the speed of light.

  Jason watched the astronavigation display, and saw himself rapidly moving away from the colony ship. Jason sadly whispered to himself, "Good-bye, Dalton. Good-bye, little buddy. Hope you and Monique have a good life there."

  27. THE TAPE