“Sir, the Penning trap is beyond repair.” Jeff wondered how Green had managed to suppress an almighty curse.
“Then get rid of it!”
That meant Karim-6. Shit!
“Yes, Sir!”
On the other hand … as long as they were fixing the positioning system, they couldn’t be killed in another mission.
Another siren went off.
“We can’t eject the Penning trap.”
“Say that again?” Jeff was aghast.
“I said, we can’t eject the Penning trap. The damn thing must be totally shot. It’s a miracle it didn’t blow up in our faces in the Acheron System.
“Can’t you do it manually?” Irons asked. “There’s an emergency ejector.”
Green didn’t answer, but Jeff could hear the engineer talking to his men.
“Lieutenant Green?” the Major was getting impatient.
“The ejection system has been destroyed.”
Green’s words were followed by a lengthy silence. Jeff’s felt a knot in his stomach. Their antimatter store had turned into a ticking time bomb that they couldn’t get rid of. And the countdown had started. They would be blown up together with the ship. The old Agadir-class bombers didn’t have rescue capsules on board.
Major Irons was the first to recover. “Lieutenant Rutherford. Give me a precise overview of our position.”
It took a moment before the answer came. “We’re fifty-two light years away from Sigma-7 and forty-five light years from the Karim System. The next star system is a binary star system of the A and G class. No known planets.”
“Distance?”
“Two point three light years.”
Jeff bit his lip. They were in the middle of an interstellar void and without the hyperdrive they had no chance of reaching a safe haven. If the voltage in the Penning trap dropped, they would have to leave the ship in just their combat suits. Jeff got goose bumps. These were high-tech spacesuits with an integrated life support system. He would neither suffocate nor die of thirst. An Armstrong Mark Six space suit could even supply him with liquid food for a certain amount of time. In his combat suit he could drift through space for weeks and slowly starve to death.
Not a great prospect.
“Where’s the next star system with a planet we could survive on?” Irons asked. His voice was matter-of-fact.
“Sigma-7,” Joanne replied.
“Not a single planet with a breathable atmosphere within forty-five light years?”
“No. The best I have to offer is a Mars-like planet.”
“Distance?”
“Six point two light years.”
“Lieutenant Green?”
The engineer grunted. “No can do. We can manage one light year at most. Definitely no more.”
“Corporal Herrmannsson,” Irons commanded. “Give me a medium-range location scan. We need somewhere we can land. A stray planet, a comet, something!”
“Give me a minute, Sir,” Finni answered.
“I don’t want to dampen your mood but the voltage in the antimatter trap is hitting rock bottom,” Green said.
“How long do we have left?” Jeff asked.
“An hour. At most!”
“Corporal Hermmannsson, what’s with the scan? You heard what Green said—time is short.”
“OK, I’ve got a result. Unfortunately not what we’d hoped for. I’ve got an asteroid five light months away.”
“An asteroid?”
“Or a planetesimal. Judging by the size and shape, it’s similar to Ceres in the terrestrial Solar System. Looks like it has high metal content. Interesting!” His voice rose an octave as he spoke the last word.
“What do you mean?” Irons asked.
“It’s moving very fast. Almost at half the speed of light. Maybe it was hurled out of its system by a neutron star or a black hole.”
“What direction is it flying in?”
“Roughly toward Sigma-7.”
“Lieutenant Rutherford, set a course,” Irons commanded.
“You want to us to set down on that thing?” Joanne asked, dumbfounded. “Even if the asteroid is moving at half the speed of life, it would take us a hundred years to reach Sigma-7.”
“Unfortunately, we have no other option,” Irons said. “Lieutenant Green, please prepare for hyperflight!”
“I’d prefer not to use the hyperdrive anymore.”
“Nor would I, but we don’t have much choice.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Jeff swallowed. Irons really wanted to set down on a bare asteroid. Surely that wasn’t their only option! “If we can’t make radio contact, we’ll never be found.” He made an effort to hide the panic in his voice, without much success.
“With a bit of luck, they’ll find us,” Irons said softly.
“With a bit of luck?” Joanne practically shouted. “Like that’s going to happen.”
“Unfortunately, we have no choice.”
Jeff could just picture it. Sitting in his space suit on a dead asteroid. In eternal darkness, waiting for a miracle that would probably never come.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Owl said. He hadn’t spoken for some time.
“Corporal Owens!” Irons voice was stern. “I want you to send a maximum-strength signal toward Sigma-7. Report our situation and the trajectory of the asteroid.”
“Yes, Sir.” Owl’s voice had dropped to almost a whisper.
“Ready to enter hyperspace. But I wouldn’t bet another dime on that thing. If the horizon collapses during flight …” Green didn’t finish his sentence, but Jeff knew exactly what would happen. Then they would be sitting forever in a mini universe within hyperspace, with no way back. On the other hand, they would be dead meat in any case when the antimatter bomb in the fuel depot exploded in an hour. Perhaps that would be a more humane death than starving slowly on a bare, black lump of asteroid in an interstellar void.
“We’ll give it a try,” Irons said decisively. “Lieutenant Rutherford, enter hyperspace.”
“Course set. Flight time in hyperspace nine minutes. I’ve programmed an exit point close to the positioning signal at an adjusted speed. Activating … now.”
The ship vibrated as the stars disappeared behind the windows. The vibration intensified quickly, and a metallic grinding noise reverberated through the cabin.
“What is that?” Irons asked.
“The horizon hasn’t stabilized. Looks like gravitational gradients are affecting the ship.”
“Will the hyperdrive hold out?” Jeff asked.
“God knows.”
“Lieutenant Green!” Irons barked.
“Sir?”
“Order your men to bring the emergency equipment into the lock. Plus any other tools they can get together in fifteen minutes.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Shall I pack any weapons?” Castles asked.
“We’re unlikely to need any on an asteroid,” Jeff said sardonically.
Irons hesitated. “There are some handguns and grenades in the emergency depot. We won’t need more.”
Jeff concentrated on his controls. The status indicator of the hyperdrive was glowing dark red. Numerous other systems had also failed. The ship had really had it. If only the hyper radio was still working!
Suddenly Jeff slammed forward against his console. If his visor hadn’t been closed, he would have broken his nose. But even with it on, he knew he’d have a big bruise on his forehead.
“What’s going on?” Irons sounded alarmed.
“The hyperdrive!” Green cursed. “The horizon is forming singularities. We have to switch off, or the ship will be torn apart by the gradients.”
“No!” Irons said sharply. “How long still?”
“Two minutes,” Joanne said.
“The drive can manage two more minutes,” Irons said.
“You’re going to kill us!” Green screamed. “We have to switch off!”
“Get a hold of yourself, Lieutenant Gr
een!”
“Jesus!”
The vibrations were getting stronger. Jeff’s teeth were chattering so hard he was sure one would break. He heard a rumbling noise above his head and looked up. The ceiling cladding was beginning to come loose.
“One more minute,” Joanne shrieked. Her voice was so distorted, Jeff had trouble understanding her.
“I’m switching off now,” Green screamed.
“If you shut down now, I’ll shoot you!” Irons threatened.
“For fuck’s sake!” Green screamed, but he pulled his hand away from the console.
“Thirty more seconds!”
The rattling didn’t stop. Dazzling white light flashed outside the windows.
Hawking radiation.
Jeff’s stomach contracted. He had been warned about this phenomenon at the Academy. Individual elements of the horizon peeled away and exploded in a torrent of hard radiation. It was the last warning sign of a collapsing hyperfield.
“Twenty seconds.”
“Major Irons!” Green screamed.
“Hold on!” Irons voice was calm.
Jeff closed his eyes. He could still see the flashes of light and thought he could feel heat of the gamma radiation on his skin.
“Ten seconds.”
The vibrations worsened. Suddenly, an invisible hand lifted Jeff clean out of his seat. Without the belt he would have hit the ceiling. Joanne screamed. More alarm sirens wailed. At any moment, the ship would fall apart and they would be crushed by the debris.
Then—abruptly—there was silence. Jeff was sitting back in his seat. The vibrations had ceased and the alarm sirens had stopped. A quiet creaking noise moved through the metal girders of the cockpit, then that sound subsided, too. Breathing heavily, Jeff straightened up and looked around. He could see stars outside the cockpit windows. He exhaled slowly. The hyperdrive and the horizon had held out. They’d made it back to the normal universe. But had they come out in the right place?
“Lieutenant Green! Status!” Irons commanded.
The engineer coughed. “The hyperdrive actually made it.” His coughing turned into hysterical laughter.
“Get a grip, man! Give me the status of the systems.”
Green took a deep breath. “Yes, Sir. Most of the systems are offline, including the life support system. We’ve got several holes in the hull and some of the Vernier engines have failed. Voltage in the defective antimatter trap is still falling.”
“Time until malfunction?”
“Half an hour at most.”
“Lieutenant Rutherford?”
Joanne didn’t answer. Jeff turned around to look at her. The navigator was clasping her space helmet with her hands. Through the slightly fogged-up visor, Jeff could see blood on her forehead. “You OK, Joanne?”
“Yeah, I’m all right,” she said eventually. “I hit the console and banged my head. I’ll be OK in a sec.”
“Lieutenant Rutherford!” Irons’ voice was low but urgent.
“Yes, Sir. The maneuver was successful. We’re where we want to be. The asteroid must be somewhere in front of us.
“Corporal Herrmannsson?”
“I can see it. It really is right in front of us. Distance around sixty thousand miles. We’re approaching it at around two hundred and fifty miles per second. I’m transferring the vectors to the onboard computer.”
“Good, make a detailed analysis of the object. Lieutenant Rutherford, start the alignment maneuver. Bring us to standstill at a distance of three hundred miles, so we can find a place to land.”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Strange …”
“What’s strange, Corporal Herrmannsson?” Irons asked.
“The metal content is very high for an asteroid. There are also significant variations in density. As if it had huge empty spaces inside it.”
“cavitys?” Jeff asked. He was no astronomer and didn’t know what was normal for an asteroid and what wasn’t.
“Not of that size. Huh.”
“What?” Irons asked.
“The surface is composed not only of metallic compounds but also of complex alloys.”
“Which means …?”
“The predominant alloying elements are aluminum and copper, with traces of manganese and silicon. Other parts seem to consist of a nickel alloy with chromium and iron. Jesus, at home we call that Inconel-X and use it for most of our spaceships.”
“Are you trying to say that there are artificial structures on this asteroid?” the major asked.
Jeff leaned forward and looked out of the window. He couldn’t see anything. The object was too far away. Maybe there was a secret base there. Then they would be saved.
“No,” Finni replied after what felt like an eternity. “The whole thing seems to be made of these alloys. It isn’t an asteroid. It’s a man-made object.”
“With a diameter of almost six hundred miles?” Irons scoffed. “Impossible. Our largest space station is just three miles in diameter. Neither we nor the Alliance could have built anything of that size. You must be mistaken.”
“I’m not mistaken.” Finni sounded offended. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Then maybe something’s wrong with the instruments.”
“The instruments are working just fine!”
Irons frowned. “Give me a topographic scan.”
A three-dimensional hologram appeared between Irons’ and Jeff’s consoles. It had the approximate shape of a sphere and rotated slowly. It looked like an asteroid.
“Alignment maneuver completed,” Joanne announced.
Jeff leaned forward again. The object couldn’t be more than a few hundred miles away from them now. But all he could see was a huge black area that blocked out the stars behind it.
“I can’t see a thing,” Green grumbled.
“Of course not,” Irons answered dryly. “We’re in the middle of an interstellar void. There’s no sun here, so there’s no light to reflect off a celestial body. We’ll have to produce some light ourselves. Lieutenant Castle!”
“Sir?”
“Are the fusion rockets ready?”
A few second passed. “Laffette one is offline, but number two is ready to load.”
“Fire tangentially. Safety distance times two, radial one K. Active mass forty megatons.”
“Roger. Lafette two loaded and ready to fire.”
“Then fire!”
The firing of the rocket occurred in complete silence. They couldn’t hear anything in the cockpit.
“Rocket ejected. Detonation in three, two, one ….”
Jeff squeezed his eyes shut to block out the light, then gradually opened them. He saw an alien object directly in front of them.
Jesus Christ! What is that?
“What the hell …?” Joanne’s voice trailed off before she could finish her question.
“Holy shit!” Finni whispered.
Even Major Irons let out a gasp of surprise.
That was no asteroid. It wasn’t a natural object at all. Sure, it had the nearly spherical shape of an asteroid, but it was made completely out of metal. The surface was covered in all kinds of weird projections—antenna-like structures that reached far into space, craggy outcrops, and jagged protrusions. It looked sinister and utterly inhospitable.
Jeff got goose bumps. Bizarre, totally bizarre.
The proportions were all wrong. Suspended in the middle of space, it looked like a megalomaniacal sculpture by a depressed and crazy artist—maybe something by H.R. Giger or Picasso.
The bright light of the fusion rocket faded away, plunging the thing in front of them back into total darkness. Jeff shook himself. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
“What the hell is that?” Joanne finished her sentence second time round.
“If only I knew,” Irons said in a strained voice.
Jeff turned around to look at him. It was the first time he had ever heard the major sound uncertain. “What sh
all we do?” he asked.
“Twenty minutes till the Penning trap gives up the ghost,” Green said.
“There’s your answer,” the major replied.
“You don’t seriously want to land on that thing?” Jeff asked.
“You mean dock,” Joanne said.
Dock … yes, it really did appear to be a giant spaceship or space station. But it seemed to be dead. There was no sign of life. No lights, no movement, nothing …
“Corporal Owens, call on all frequencies,” Irons seemed to have recovered himself.
“Call?” Owens looked confused. “Call who?”
“Our involuntary hosts. Who else?”
“You really think there are people living down there?”
“Aliens maybe …” Jeff whispered.
“Captain Austin?”
Jeff turned round to look at the major. He could only guess at the expression in his eyes behind the visor. “That thing can’t have been built by humans.”
Irons leaned forward to look out of the windows again. Jeff did the same. The outline of the mysterious object had merged back into the darkness of the interstellar void.
“I think you’re right,” Irons said. “Looks like we’ve discovered an alien artifact for the first time in human history.”
“This far inside the known sector?” Joanne retorted.
“It seems to be dead. It’s drifting far beyond our inhabited systems at half the speed of light. It might have been here for thousands of years without a chance of being discovered. In fact, it might have been sneaking its way through space for millions of years.”
“But it’s so damn big,” Green said.
“It’s flying at half the speed of light. Maybe the aliens never discovered hyperdrive technology. It might be a generational spaceship aboard which some catastrophe occurred.”
“What kind of catastrophe?” Green asked.
“We’ll soon find out,” Irons said grimly.
“How?”
“Lieutenant Rutherford. Search for a place to land.”
Joanne gave a desperate laugh. “What do I look for? How should I know where’s a good place to land?”
“Something that looks like a lock or a hangar. Some place from where we can get inside the thing.”
“I don’t know—”
“Make a decision. We don’t have much time.”
“Sir!” Owl piped up.
“Yes? Did you get a reply?”
The Dark Ship Page 4
