Restoration

by Daniel C McWhorter

  “Okay,” Luanne said. “But what about multiple hits on a single target? Do you think that would do it?”

  “It’s possible. It might disrupt them for a few seconds at least. Why?” Jaime asked.

  “It could give us an edge if we get into a firefight.”

  “It might but targeting and timing the pulses has to be precise. That might be tough to pull off in the heat of battle, especially against a moving target.”

  “Right but can you modify the SHAS remote control system to slave everyone’s EM emitters to me and Sam?”

  The Space Heavy Assault Suit was state-of-the-art combat gear, and it afforded significant offensive and defensive capabilities to the wearer. At the moment Luanne was most interested in the ability of one SHAS operator to control another’s suit.

  It was as a fail safe. In the event an operator was killed or knocked unconscious, it provided a means of extracting the soldier from the fight—or even continuing the fight in extreme situations. She was asking Jaime to modify that capability to allow her and Sam to target and fire the squad’s EM pulse emitters without having to take full control of each suit.

  “Yeah, that might work. I’ll get on it,” Jaime said.

  “How long?”

  “Ten minutes to code and sync it…no way to test it though.”

  “Understood, do it.”

  * * *

  Main Propulsion Assistant Linda Sewell twisted her body around in the cramped maintenance shaft so her left hand could reach the opening.

  “Hand me that spanner, will ya, Gustov?” she asked.

  Damage Control Assistant Gustov Pichler scrounged through the toolbox on the floor in front of him for a minute before coming up with the requested tool.

  “Here you go. Let me know when it’s locked in and I will cycle the control relay,” he replied.

  “Just about there,” she called back.

  The two crew members had been working on the mis-aligned magnetic field emitter for the better part of the last hour. The Admiral had called down several times for status reports and he was upset that the job was taking so long. His last call had come two minutes ago and Gustov had assured him that the emitter would be back online in five minutes.

  Gustov looked nervously at the display on his left sleeve to confirm the time.

  “Three minutes until he calls again, Linda,” he said.

  “I got it, go ahead and cycle the relay.”

  Gustov tapped his sleeve-mounted holopad several times, causing a holodisplay to appear on the wall in front of him. He gestured and poked at the holodisplay for nearly a minute before he got the desired result—a graduated green bar appeared at the right-hand side of the display indicating the emitter was back online and charging normally.

  “It’s online, testing calibration now,” he said to Linda as she extracted herself from the maintenance shaft.

  He waved his hand across the display and made a few more gestures as the view shifted to a three-dimensional model of the ship and the gravimetric energy field surrounding it.

  “Alignment looks good, the emitter is charged…engaging.”

  Gustov and Linda watched as the bubble of energy at the front of the ship slowly morphed from an oblong egg-shape with several dimples running down its left side to a near perfect sphere.

  “Emitter is engaged, counter-mass field is stable,” Gustov said.

  Linda tapped the holopad mounted on her left sleeve.

  “How does it look from your end, Aisha?” she asked.

  “Looks good,” came the response. “I will let the bridge know.”

  “Okay, we will clean up here and then head back to the bridge.”

  “You head back, Gustov, I will finish up here. Thanks for the help.”

  “No problem, see ya down there,” he said.

  Gustov gathered a few things before departing down through the door behind him.

  Linda closed and sealed the hatch covering the maintenance shaft and checked a few things on the adjacent holodisplay before gathering up the rest of her tools.

  Once she was sure that Gustov was not coming back, she pulled a data cube from the inner pocket of her jacket and placed it into the reader below the holodisplay. She input her authenticator and typed out a coded message for her handlers back on Earth.

  It would take almost thirty minutes for the message to arrive but there wasn’t anything she could do about that—she was taking a big risk just sending it! She waited for confirmation that her message transmitted successfully before retrieving her data cube.

  They better hurry up and get here! she thought as she exited the maintenance bay.

  A few minutes later Gustov arrived on the bridge.

  “Good work,” Adee said as Gustov walked to his pod.

  “Thanks, sorry it took so long. A bolt sheared off the control arm and jammed the articulator. It’s good to go now.”

  “Hmm, that’s not good. Let’s inspect all the emitters the next time we take the field generator offline.”

  “Will do, Admiral.”

  “Where’s Linda?” Adee asked.

  “She’s wrapping up. She should be here shortly.”

  “Very well. Aisha...what’s our status?”

  “Green across the board, Admiral,” she answered. “I can give you 100% anytime you need it.”

  “Okay, stand by,” Adee said. “Distance to Kutanga?”

  Tactical Officer Robert Spears checked his console. “Two-five-three K, final decel pulse in nineteen minutes eight seconds.”

  “Alright. Liz, bring us alongside her…Z minus three hundred meters.”

  “Z minus three hundred aye,” Helmsman Elizabeth Stanton replied.

  “Are our friends still back there?” Adee asked.

  Robert checked his console. “Yep, they’re still there,” he said.

  The holodisplay covering the forward section of the bridge shifted to a three-dimensional view of the space behind Endeavor. A red circle appeared around a small white dot.

  “They have matched our course and speed and are holding fifty K aft at Z minus ten.”

  “Liz, recalculate final decel at 100%…how long can we wait and not overshoot?”

  “One sec,” she replied—performing several calculations on her console before answering—“twenty-three minutes thirty-seven seconds, Admiral.”

  “Robert…”

  “Calculating now…they will overshoot by over 60,000 kilometers, sir.”

  “What are you thinking?” Yin asked.

  “Well,” Adee answered. “They have been matching our speed changes with our field emitters at forty percent.”

  “I get it, we’re going to slam on the brakes and let them blow on by,” she said.

  “If it works, it will take them at least an hour to circle back around.”

  “And they’ve got to be running low on fuel…they haven’t refueled since they left Earth.”

  “Here’s hoping,” Adee said.

  “Deceleration plan updated,” Liz called out. “Final pulse in twenty-three minutes eight seconds.”

  “Excellent, notify the crew, Elisha. I want everyone in their pods in twenty minutes.”

  “Pods in twenty, aye,” the Communications Officer replied.

  “What if it’s not us they are chasing?” Yin asked.

  “Then this maneuver will tell us for sure. If they disengage and go after Kutanga…well, then we must try harder to discourage them,” Adee said.

  “Let’s hope for their sake that’s not necessary.”

  “Agreed!”

  CHAPTER 41

  APRIL 6, 2075 02:02 PM GST

  GFN Peacekeeper Headquarters

  Zurich, Switzerland

  “So, what the hell happened?” President August Hilliard asked the assembled group. “I thought you said that our biggest problem would be getting them to disconnect?”

  “As I said, sir,” Dianne Merkel replied. “Aneni detected our subterfuge and ended the connection. It
was not Christian’s fault.”

  Veronika Horvat leaned forward and raised her hand to get the President’s attention. “If I may, sir…”—she paused to confirm his acknowledgment, continuing only after he nodded his consent—“Based on our review of the interaction with Aneni, it appears that Kutanga is equipped with highly advanced sensors. She scanned the surrounding space to a distance of several million kilometers using a combination of laser and gravimetric sensors. When the interceptors weren’t where we said they were she decided to play it safe and disconnect from Christian.”

  Dianne continued. “That’s right, sir, and she also detected our attempt to alter Christian’s storage array. I’m sure he’s running a full diagnostic, and it’s only a matter of time before he knows exactly what we tried to do.”

  “So? Reset him if you have to. I don’t care about that, what I want to know is how a private corporation constructed a highly advanced AI—and even more advanced interstellar ship—and we knew nothing about it. Can anyone at this table explain that to me?”

  The President looked around the table waiting to see if anyone volunteered.

  After several seconds of uneasy silence, Veronika finally spoke. “This isn’t an excuse…but the truth is we knew they were building something, we just didn’t know what. Adekunle Gbadamosi has a reputation for doing outrageous things and all our intel pointed to this being just another one of his crazy ventures. Obviously, a lot got missed along the way and we have to fix that.”

  The President glared at her for several seconds before directing his attention to Vice Admiral Langenburg. “And what about you, Marco, anything you’d like to add?”

  The Vice Admiral cleared his throat and took a sip from his coffee mug before answering. “No, sir. This was not on our radar until Secretary Merkel requested Peacekeeper support to retrieve her fugitives. We do not routinely patrol the outer solar system…and, quite frankly, it’s illegal for us to do so.”

  “I knew that damn treaty would get us in trouble one of these days. We will have to revisit that after this is over Estelle.”

  Secretary Dumonde nodded in agreement. “Yes, Mister President,” she said.

  “So, what’s the plan then? Can Epsilon Six hold them until the interceptors arrive?”

  Admiral Langenburg cast his eyes across the table to Captain Bachmann, silently re-directing the President's question.

  “Assuming they continue at current course and speed,” Bachmann said. “Vanguard One and Two will intercept Endeavor in just about three hours from now, and, based on the last update, E-Six should be engaging her right about now.”

  “What about Kutanga? Do we know where it is?”

  “Yes, sir, Vanguard has it on scan and the location matches the plot E-Six sent.”

  “So, we’ve got them, that’s good.”

  “Yes and no, sir. We know where they are but you have to remember that they are not just sitting still in space. Based on the data we are getting from the Vanguard crews, Kutanga is traveling at nearly 300,000 kilometers per hour—and that’s with just her thrusters. Once her gravity drive is fully charged…well, we won’t be able to catch her.”

  “Well then, we can’t let that happen, can we?”

  “No, sir. E-Six has been ordered to stop her at all costs.”

  “How long until we know something?”

  “At least thirty minutes, probably more like an hour, sir. They have to secure the ship and then transmit an update, which will take almost thirty minutes to get here…maybe sooner if they can get through to us on Galileo’s quantum array.”

  “Alright, I am going back to my office. Inform me the minute you hear anything.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Everyone stood quietly as the President exited the room. There was nothing left to do now but wait and to those remaining at the table, the next hour would feel like an eternity. It wasn’t just the fate of the fugitives at stake but their own careers as well.

  CHAPTER 42

  APRIL 6, 2075 02:13 PM GST

  GFN Transport Ship

  Asteroid Belt, Inner Solar System

  “Why aren’t they slowing down, Ryan?” Luanne asked.

  “I’m not sure ma’am,” he replied. “I expected the decel pulse two minutes ago.”

  “Distance to Kutanga?”

  “Seventy-four thousand,” Jaime answered.

  Luanne enlarged the tactical display projecting in the air in front of her. “How much longer can we wait, Ryan?”

  “Fifty-four seconds,” he replied.

  “Engage pulse drive. Match Kutanga’s speed and bring us alongside her. Try to keep Kutanga between us and Endeavor.”

  “Roger. Pulse initiated, decel in forty-eight seconds.”

  The deceleration pulse lasted a little more than seven minutes and when it finally ended, the transport ship was five thousand kilometers behind Kutanga and closing at twenty kilometers per second.

  “Bullseye, nice job, Ryan,” Sam said.

  “Thanks,” Ryan replied. “Four minutes thirty-two seconds to intercept.”

  “What do you think, Sam,” Luanne asked. “Dock or walk?”

  “I vote for dock if we can, I already did my walk time for this week rescuing Bravo.”

  “What do you think, Ryan?” She asked.

  “The docking collar should be compatible. I can do it so long as nobody is shooting at us.”

  “Take us in close. They won’t shoot if there is a chance they might hit Kutanga.”

  “Endeavor has completed its decel pulse,” Jaime said. “They are three clicks to starboard, Z plus one.”

  “Helmets on, everybody, this could get hot,” Luanne called.

  “Three minutes fifty seconds to intercept,” Ryan announced.

  “Shit, Endeavor fired,” Sam yelled. “Two missiles…twenty-seven seconds to impact!”

  Everyone scrambled to put on their helmets, except Ryan who was busy flying the ship.

  “Standby for emergency pulse,” Ryan said.

  Ryan gestured furiously across his console, causing the familiar high-pitched whine to emanate throughout the ship. There wasn’t enough time for the gravity field to fully develop, so Ryan collapsed the aft bubble manually four seconds before the incoming missiles reached his ship. The sudden release of magnetic and gravimetric energy had the desired effect. Both missiles were deflected away from the craft and continued into empty space without detonating.

  “Fuck me, that was close,” Sam said. “What now?”

  “What did that do to our speed, Ryan?” Luanne asked.

  “A little too fast but I think I can burn it off before we hit.”

  “Alright everyone, get below and gear up,” Luanne ordered.

  “And try to go easy on the brakes, Ryan,” Sam said. “I didn’t come this far to end up smashed against the bulkhead.”

  “No worries, I got this, Chief.”

  The five members of Alpha team not piloting the ship exited their pods and made their way quickly down the shaft to the cargo bay. It took them less than sixty seconds to climb into their assault suits. They left the retaining clamps engaged to reduce the risk of getting thrown around during Ryan’s docking maneuver.

  “Ready when you are,” Luanne informed Ryan.

  “Just in time, standby.”

  The ship’s engines roared as Ryan struggled to burn off the excess speed they gained from the gravity pulse. The team’s armor protected them from the worst of the shaking, bouncing and vibration that permeated the ship but the suits were a poor substitute for acceleration pods. The roar lasted for more than a minute, shutting down only after a large impact rocked the transport ship and everyone inside it.

  “Sorry about that,” Ryan called over TacNet. “We hit but we’re still in one piece.”

  “Will the docking collar engage?” Sam asked.

  “Working on it…”—several more minutes passed—“partial seal only but it will have to do.”

  “Alright team, gr
ab your weapons and get up top,” Luanne ordered. “We have a job to do.”

  The team made their way back up the ladder and lined up single file in front of the airlock.

  “Get suited up, Ryan. Sam, try the authenticator,” Luanne said.

  Sam opened the transport’s airlock and floated the short distance to the Kutanga. He opened the control console on the left side of the door and inserted a data cube he held in his left hand. A holodisplay appeared and several messages flashed by as the authenticator negotiated with the airlock control system. A few seconds passed before the display turned green. The airlock door rolled to the side revealing a small, dark compartment.

  Sam turned on his suit lights, raised his rifle to the ready position and floated inside. The compartment was three meters square and had another airlock door in the wall directly opposite where Sam had entered.

  “It’s clear,” he said.

  Petty Officers Tad Durand and Marcia Bianchi were the first inside, quickly followed by Senior Chief Jaime Gonzales. Luanne waited for Ryan to enter before removing the data cube and following him inside.

  The walls glowed a faint red as the airlock door returned to the closed position. The glow shifted to yellow to signal the start of the pressurization cycle. Luanne handed Sam the data cube, which he inserted into the slot next to the inner airlock door. After several more seconds, the room glowed green and the inner airlock hissed open.

  Sam was first into the hallway, with Durand and Bianchi close behind—their mag-boots holding them securely to the deck. They watch their left as Luanne, Jaime and Ryan moved to the right. The hallway was only about ten meters long with sharp turns at either end.

  “You’re up Tad,” Sam said.

  Petty Officer Durand pulled two small drones from a pouch on his right thigh and tossed them into the air. One went up the left branch and the other zoomed to the right. Unlike the barely visible micro drone Yin had used against them on Luna, these drones were nearly three inches square and packed with an array of sensors. They worked together to analyze and map the interior of the ship, providing Alpha team with real-time data on the ship's layout.