by Paul Rix
"You heard Garrett. We're an easy target at the moment. How do we make a four-kilometer-long spaceship harder to be hit by whatever weapons the enemy has available? I'm open to any thoughts."
Thompson cleared his throat. "Captain Maxwell. My priority is still to save Grand President Trask and Consort Magdalena. Whatever we decide, we cannot risk their lives."
"Are you serious?" said O'Brien. "Trask abandoned you to die here on Britannic. The narcissist didn't think twice about saving his own skin at the expense of everyone on the vessel."
"That may be the case, Dr. O'Brien. But we swore an oath to protect him with our lives. We cannot simply forget that promise."
Maxwell held up her hand. "I understand your duty, major. My responsibility is to do all I can to save this vessel and everyone aboard. Since the grand president is no longer here, he's not my priority. Trask made his choice and will have to take care of himself. I'm sure Garrett will do all he can to save him."
Thompson was about to object when a guard from Garrett's ship burst into the room. He was red in the face and wheezing. Thompson glared at him for several seconds before saying, "I ordered you to keep your eyes on Garrett. Is anyone on the ship with him?"
With fear in his eyes, the guard replied. "He gave us no choice. The ship kept us prisoner. When Garrett returned, he said you wanted to see us."
"Where is his ship now?"
"I saw it launch away from Britannic before it disappeared behind the hull."
"Okay. Join the squad back in the chamber and continue your hydration and protein loading."
The guard didn't need to be told twice. He was quickly through the hatch and into the central core."
"As I was saying," said a frustrated Maxwell. "Any suggestions on protecting Britannic?"
"I have an idea," said Takahashi. "But I'm not sure it will be popular."
"Go on. We have nothing else yet."
"Well, captain. We all know the ship is currently rotating around its center of mass, with each rotation taking approximately eight minutes. Instead of slowing the rate of rotation, we increase it, thereby making it harder for the enemy ship to fire sustained shots at one part of the hull."
"Hold on," O'Brien interrupted. "That would require using the thrusters fore and aft."
"That is correct."
"When we were in engineering several days ago, you told me it would be unwise to use the thrusters because the propellant could be unstable."
"I said that was a possibility. But we won't know for sure until we light up the thrusters."
"What's the chance of success?" asked Maxwell.
"I cannot say for sure. We performed no research to verify the storage of propellant for extended periods. By its very nature, however, the propellant will have degraded."
"You're not filling me with confidence, Sakura. Are there any other options?"
Takahashi wasn't ready to give up. "Wait. We can test the thrusters with small incremental burns. If they don't explode, then we increase the burn time."
"And if there is an explosion?" O'Brien asked as he stared intently at Takahashi.
"It won't be fatal. The outer hull will rupture and any adjoining compartments likely destroyed. If we seal the central core, then we can contain any widespread damage."
Maxwell nodded. "There are only supplies and equipment stored near the forward thrusters. Nothing critical. But the engineering section and main engines are located close to the aft thrusters."
"That's my concern too," Takahashi agreed. "If the main fuel tanks are ruptured, then we effectively destroy the rear half of Britannic."
"Doing Delta's job for her!" said O'Brien.
"If we do nothing, then we'll be allowing her to destroy the ship anyway," said Maxwell.
"So you're giving the order to proceed with this plan?"
"I don't think we have any alternative."
"My squad is at that end of Britannic," Thompson said. "I want them moved if we're going to do this."
"Where to?" Maxwell asked. "There is nowhere else on the ship to accommodate that many people. Their best bet is to seal themselves in the chamber and take their chances, like the rest of us."
Thompson glanced helplessly at O'Brien and Takahashi. Both of them attempted to avoid eye contact with him.
Maxwell didn't have time for sympathy or debate. There was no telling how soon Delta might attack. "Major, if it makes you feel any better, I'll be in the engineering section. If anything cataclysmic happens, I'll find out a fraction of a second before you."
Thompson forced a grim smile before leaving the room.
"Sakura, you're with me. Luke, you remain here in case Garrett tries to make contact again. You can relay messages via internal comms."
O'Brien scowled. "I don't think we should try this. You could get us killed."
"I'm not happy about it either. But I believe it's the best hope we have to survive. At the very least, it may give Garrett more time to locate Delta's ship. You know me well enough by now to understand I'm not a naturally reckless person."
"Prove me wrong," he replied. "And both of you stay safe."
***
Less than five minutes later, Maxwell sealed the hatch to the engineering section behind her. Takahashi had already strapped herself into the restraints next to the main control console. She looked pale and stared at the controls as if she had never seen them before.
"Now we're here, I'm not sure I want to do this," she said. Her voice cracked, revealing the nerves she was feeling.
Maxwell floated across to the monitoring station that displayed thruster performance information. "As captain, this is my decision, Sakura."
"But this was my suggestion."
"I didn't hear anyone else offering ideas. And I have full confidence this will work. Britannic has taken care of us for two thousand years. She will not let us down now."
Takahashi smiled weakly at Maxwell's attempt at humor. "Standing in front of these controls, I realize the enormity of what we're about to do. Thousands of lives are depending on us."
"Isn't that why they selected you to be chief engineer? All the bridge crew were chosen because we're the best. Millions of people on Earth put their faith in us to take care of their loved ones."
"You're not making this any easier!"
"Sakura, what I'm saying is you wouldn't be standing there now if they hadn't recognized your skills. This moment is exactly what you trained for."
Sighing, Takahashi concentrated on the controls in front of her before making some adjustments via the touch screens. Thirty seconds later, she glanced back at Maxwell, looking more composed than she had done earlier.
"I've synchronized the aft and forward thrusters so that they balance one another. We want to increase the rotation rate, not induce a wobble that could shake Britannic apart."
"What can I do?" Maxwell asked. Her heart was beating faster and her hands felt clammy, but she was relieved to hear her voice sounding steady under pressure. She knew her most important role was to keep Takahashi calm and focused.
"Can you instruct the forward tanks to begin stirring? We need to get that propellant mixed properly after such a long time. Slowly at first and keep checking the pressure. It can't go above fifteen bar, or fifteen times atmospheric pressure."
Maxwell did as she was told, the months of intense training at the complex coming back to her as if it were only yesterday. "Tank pressure is stabilizing at ten bar," she called out after three minutes.
"Thanks, captain. Now the same process for the aft propellant tanks."
Maxwell whispered a small prayer as the propellant in the aft tanks was stirred. She knew that the enormous oxidizer tank was on the other side of the wall. Her immediate concern was the tank pressure as it quickly rose to thirteen bar. Her hand hovered over the controls to cancel the procedure, but the pressure stabilized at fourteen bar.
"Okay, Sakura, I think we're ready to go."
"Are you sure? The readings look to be in th
e safe zone, but one small leak will rip this section apart."
"We have to try. We've already taken longer than I wanted. Our luck will run out soon if we don't try something. Start with a five-second firing to calibrate the thrust."
"Fingers crossed!" said Takahashi as she keyed in the firing sequence.
Chapter 50
Garrett paced around Raptor's bridge, ignoring the dull ache across his body, and frustrated at failing to locate Scorpion. For thirty minutes he had used the full frequency spectrum of Raptor's scanners and, although he knew that his ship's equipment wasn't military spec, he had expected to detect some hint of Delta's whereabouts. The dampening field in her ship was the most sophisticated defense that he had ever encountered.
Delta's lack of activity was also disturbing as she did not seem to be the most patient or rational of people. Following their brief conversation, he had waited for her to attack him; Raptor was an easy target. What was she waiting for other than her supporting forces to arrive?
The comms channel suddenly sprang to life. It was O'Brien. "Hey, Oz, have you found anything yet?"
"Sorry, Luke. Delta seems to want to play a game of cat and mouse. Is Lacey with you?"
"No. She and Sakura are in the engineering section. She's taken your suggestion to heart and is planning to use the thrusters to dodge any attacks. I don't know how successful she'll be."
Garrett shared O'Brien's skepticism. However, he knew that wasn't something the doctor needed to hear. "It's worth a try to disrupt Scorpion's targeting systems. Wish her luck. I'll let you know if the situation changes out here."
"Thanks, Oz. I appreciate everything you're doing. We all do."
The comms channel went silent again, leaving Garrett to his own thoughts.
"What's your game?" he asked aloud as the view screen continued to show only a field of stars against the inky emptiness of space.
Raptor was now on the third of its corkscrew-shaped orbits around and along the length of Britannic. Garrett had gradually increased the distance from Britannic and was currently five kilometers from the ark.
"Computer. Are there any other scans you can perform?"
"Run diagnostics."
After only two seconds, the computer replied.
"Then why can't you detect Delta's ship?"
Garrett shook his head; his instincts told him Delta was close by. She wouldn't leave after almost succeeding. She wanted to complete what she'd started.
"You performed scans of Scorpion while it was docked to Britannic. What did you discover?"
"What about propulsion? There must be a heat signature."
That would explain the lack of any telltale exhaust plumes or streams of energy. Although quantum fusion was a reliable and efficient method of creating almost unlimited supplies of energy, the reactors were enormous. Larger than the size of Scorpion. Garrett wasn't aware of anywhere in the Stellar Cluster that had successfully built a quantum fusion reactor small enough to fit inside a spaceship. If that were the case, it had huge ramifications for space travel by slashing the journey time between worlds. But that would have to wait for another day.
"From your analysis, is Raptor capable of causing serious damage to Scorpion?"
"What if we fly directly at Scorpion and ram it at high speed?"
Garrett swore under his breath. He had secretly hoped a suicide run would be his best chance. Sacrificing himself to save Britannic's crew had seemed like a fair exchange; he felt almost cheated. Now he had to tackle the problem from another perspective. And fast.
I need to get inside Delta's head. What would I do in her position? She has plenty of firepower at her disposal and a massive target to aim at. The only irritation is a small civilian vessel, which is of no consequence, and a single Marine who has killed half of her team. She can't leave witnesses to her heinous crimes so why is she taking so long?
It was as if Delta was reading his mind. At that very moment, Raptor shuddered violently from a massive explosion. It felt as if something powerful had hit the ship near the engine.
"Report," he demanded, as he frantically studied the information scrolling quickly on the screen in front of him. Delta was finally showing her hand.
Those were next to the engine compartment. "Maneuver one hundred and eighty degrees so we're facing the threat. Can you triangulate the enemy's location?"
Raptor's violent turn was too aggressive for the artificial gravity plate, and Garrett held tightly to the console to avoid being thrown from his chair.
A small red square appeared on the view screen to designate the location, but still Scorpion remained invisible.
Garrett felt like he was fighting a ghost. He had no target to aim at or weapons to defend himself. Perhaps it had been presumptuous to promise Captain Maxwell that he would defend her and her ship.
His heart sank as Scorpion finally appeared. It had moved about thirty degrees from the red square and was bearing down on him. Delta was taking him out of the game.
There was no time for any avoiding action as Raptor shuddered once again under the onslaught from Scorpion's weapons. The deflectors were doing their best to dissipate the effects of the high-energy particle beams but were ineffective against an incessant barrage.
Garrett was helpless as Delta continued to fire at Raptor. Another explosion rocked the ship, this one large enough to shake Garrett's teeth. He was sure the ship would disintegrate but, miraculously, it held together. Seconds later the power failed, plunging him into darkness with no ability to see what was happening outside the ship.
As he prepared for the next few moments to be his last, he was filled with a reassuring tranquility, knowing he would soon return to Mercy.
Chapter 51
"All of Raptor's systems have shut down. The hull has been breached, and she's drifting without power."
Delta cast a satisfied look at the screen. The battered remains of Garrett's ship revolved slowly, revealing the fatal wounds inflicted upon it. Jets of condensed oxygen streamed from various cracks in the hull as the ship's atmosphere leaked out into space. Scarred hull plates spun slowly away to expose sparking electronics.
Although Raptor was no match for the might of Scorpion's weapons, Delta felt an enormous release of tension. Garrett had been a thorn in her side and wiped out almost her entire squad. But more than that, he had jeopardized her future and given Frederick an opportunity to carry out his traitorous acts.
"Finish it off," she commanded.
Rankin coughed nervously. "Your Grace. The extended use of the dampening f
ield, as well as firing the particle beams, has depleted our energy reserves by twenty-four percent. Raptor is as good as destroyed. I strongly recommend we save all power for destruction of Britannic."
Delta's face turned red. She didn't enjoy being corrected, and her loathing for Garrett urged her to obliterate him and his ship. Destruction of Britannic had to be the priority. Her first attempt had been a failure. She couldn't permit herself any more mistakes.
And Raptor wasn't going anywhere. She would take absolute pleasure in blasting it to oblivion. Her lips curled into a smile at the prospect.
"Thank you, corporal. Move in closer to the ark and locate the hangar doors."
The image on the screen quickly changed from Garrett's broken ship to the unimaginable bulk of Britannic. It really was a colossal structure from this range. Delta stared at it and wondered how Scorpion's weapons could destroy it.
In his eagerness to impress Delta and escape his confinement, Trask had been overly forthcoming on Britannic's weak spots. Delta had expected the immense propulsion exhausts to offer the best chance. That was until Trask explained that the propulsive section of the ark was the most heavily reinforced because of the extreme pressure and heat created by the engines.
Britannic's weakest point on the hull was the enormous door, allowing access to the hangar. Although the risk had been identified during the design process, the ship's architects had deemed the risk to the crew acceptable because of the thick bulkhead separating the hangar from the rest of the ship.
Delta smiled once more as she recalled the look of shock on Trask's face as she thanked him for the information before leaving him in the brig. Had the old man really thought she would need him as her mentor?
As Britannic continued its ponderous rotation, the hangar door came into view. It had taken a lot of damage and a small hole was evidence of a breach.
So that's how Garrett re-entered the ship!
