by G J Ogden
Sterling continued to watch his officers and crew set to work and took a moment to reflect on the events of the last few hours. It had taken the crew of the Invictus a full hour to fully recover from the deleterious effects of Lieutenant Razor’s experimental ‘rebound’ surge maneuver. Twenty injuries had been reported in the aftermath and more than half the crew had to be treated for nausea and intense headaches. Mercifully, the injuries were minor – mostly cuts and bruises from falls due to the extreme dizziness and nausea that the triple-surge had caused.
Mercifully, the disorientation the surge had caused had also spared Sterling the embarrassment of his bridge crew hearing his panicked cries. Sterling’s intense experience had actually roused his senses sooner than the others, allowing him to return to his feet and man his station before his officers. For a time, the nightmare scenes he had witnessed remained strong in his mind. However, as was always the case, Sterling was soon able to regain mastery over his emotions and bury these darker thoughts deep in his psyche.
It wasn’t all good news, though. As Lieutenant Razor had stated, the ‘rebound’ surge had burned out their surge field generator and left the ship momentarily defenseless. Fortunately, once the rest of the bridge crew were back at their posts, an analysis of the system showed that the Sa’Nerra had long-since departed. As a result, Far Deep Nine, like the other installations in the system, was completely deserted. The destruction of the Sa’Nerran mining ship had apparently removed any reason for the aliens to continue their occupation.
“Penny for your thoughts?” said Banks, snapping Sterling back into the moment.
Sterling smiled at her. “I’m just thinking that I hope this pays off,” he replied, glancing over at Colicos, who was still propped up against the wall, looking clammy and pale. “Because if Colicos can’t do what we need, I’m not sure we have another card to play.”
“There is only one other,” replied Banks, folding her arms. “We stand and fight the Sa’Nerra, right down to the last ship and the last commando. If that’s not enough, then maybe it’s just our time.”
Sterling shook his head. “These alien bastards don’t get to decide when it’s our time,” he replied, glaring over at Colicos. “That cowardly piece of garbage got us into this mess, and he’s going to get us out of it.”
He advanced toward Colicos, who was finally beginning to recover. However, Sterling’s rapid advance quickly turned the scientist's complexion more ashen again.
“Come on, doctor, no rest for the wicked,” Sterling said, grabbing the man by the collar of his tailored shirt and yanking him toward his old lab.
“Really, Captain, such brutishness does not become you,” Colicos protested. The scientist managed to shake off Sterling’s hold on him and step away, angrily straightening his shirt collar as he did so. “I will make my own way there, thank you.”
“Then get a move on, doctor,” Sterling hit back, giving him another gentle shove. “Or I’ll have Commander Banks drag you to the lab by your hair. And I promise that you won’t be able to shake her off quite so easily.”
Colicos glanced over to Banks, who merely smiled and flashed her eyes at him. “This endeavor is pointless,” Colicos said, continuing to protest. However, he was also now making his way swiftly toward the lab. “I don’t know what you expect me to achieve in just a few days. It took me years to progress my research to the level where neural control was possible.”
“Then you’ve already done all the hard work, haven’t you?” replied Sterling, shoving Colicos in the back again to remind him he was still there. “Besides, we may not even have a few days, so I’m going to need this neural blocking device within eighteen hours. Twenty-four at the most.”
Colicos spun around, red-faced. “That’s impossible!” he screeched. “Even for a man of my brilliance.”
“If you’re so brilliant then it shouldn’t be any trouble, should it?” Sterling hit back. “Just get it done, otherwise I’ll leave you here to rot with the rest of these corpses.”
James Colicos continued to protest for the remainder of their short journey to the lab. For the most part, Sterling managed to filter out the scientist’s babbling, though by the time they reached the laboratory space he was still close to shooting the man and being done with him there and then.
“Get to work, doctor,” Sterling said, shoving Colicos in front of the nearest workbench. “I don’t care what you have to do, and which bodies you have to pull out of cold storage to do it. Get me that neural control blocker, and while you’re at it, figure out how to fix my chief engineer’s brain too. You have eighteen hours to do both, otherwise you’re going to become a permanent resident.”
Colicos looked ready to protest again, but Banks took a pace toward him, muscles bulging inside the sleeves of her tunic. The scientist’s jaw snapped shut and he quietly shuffled away to another part of the lab.
“I want a security detail on him around the clock,” Sterling said, turning to Lieutenant Shade, who had followed Colicos like a shadow. “He doesn’t so much as take a crap without a commando watching him, understood?”
“I beg your pardon!” Colicos exclaimed, but Sterling ignored the man.
“And he doesn’t sleep until he’s done,” Sterling went on, still addressing Shade. “I don’t care if you have to whip him, stick him with a cattle prod or pump him full of stims to keep him working. Whatever it takes, is that clear?”
“It will be my genuine pleasure, Captain,” Shade said, drilling into the scientist with her eyes. Colicos still appeared to be reeling from the prospect of a commando watching him go to the bathroom.
Ordinarily, the sadistic nature of his weapons officer’s reply might have perturbed Sterling. However, on this occasion, he hoped that Shade did have to resort to more arcane and medieval techniques in order to motivate the scientist. It was as much as the man deserved.
“Commander Banks and I are going to check the station for any supplies and equipment,” Sterling continued. “Keep me apprised of any developments.”
“Aye, sir. Would you like me to assign you a security escort?” Shade replied.
“No, this place is dead,” Sterling said, noticing another rotting corpse at the far end of the lab. “Besides, your commandoes have enough to deal with recovering the bodies and watching that asshole.” Sterling nodded toward Colicos as he said this. The scientist folded his arms and muttered something under his breath. Sterling couldn’t quite catch what Colicos had said, but he was certain it wasn’t complimentary. Sterling then rejoined Commander Banks and the two of them began to head out of the lab.
“If you’re looking for useful supplies, Captain, then I suggest you check storage sub-level two,” Colicos called out.
Sterling stopped and turned to face the scientist. “What’s your definition of ‘useful supplies’, doctor?” he replied, curious and suspicious as to why the man was suddenly trying to be helpful.
“It’s where I stored the food I brought here from Oasis Colony, along with the tools and components that I will require for this impossible task you have set me. Your engineer might also find them of use when it comes to rebuilding your surge field generator.”
“I’ll check it out,” Sterling replied, still more than a little suspicious. “Anything else down there that I should be aware of?”
“Nothing that concerns you, Captain,” Colicos snapped.
Sterling sighed then glanced at Banks. “See if you can persuade our resident genius to loosen his tongue,” he said, returning his gaze to the scientist. “Perhaps a couple of broken toes will do.”
Banks moved toward Colicos and the scientist jolted back, knocking into a workbench and scattering its contents onto the floor.
“Fine, fine!” Colicos called, holding up his hands. “Really, Captain, you are most uncivilized.”
“What else is in sub-level two, doctor?” Sterling asked. “The truth this time.”
“A substantial supply of silver, if you must know,” Colicos relu
ctantly answered. “Which is all mine and not to be requisitioned by you or Fleet!”
Sterling snorted and shook his head. “The Void colonies are all but gone, doctor, so I don’t think you’ll be needing spending money any time soon,” he hit back. “Besides, Commander Graves and Lieutenant Razor can made good use of silver in medical and engineering applications.”
“Even so, it is mine,” Colicos snapped, his tone forceful and insistent. “You may be a brute, but I trust you are also not a common thief. If you want or need it then you must trade for something I want.”
“And what might that be?” said Sterling. He was genuinely curious about what appealed to Colicos more than wealth and status.
“I want my own quarters,” the scientist hit back. “I want my dignity and, eventually, my freedom.”
“Pull off this impossible task, doctor, and I’ll grant you your own quarters,” Sterling replied, considering that to be a fair bargain. “However, assuming we all live through this, your ultimate fate is not mine to decide.” Colicos’ eyes narrowed, but for once the scientist kept his mouth shut. “Now, is that everything we need to be aware of down there?” Sterling added. He was impatient to leave – he’d spent more than enough time in Colicos’ presence as it was.
“Yes, Captain, that is all,” Colicos replied. The man then turned his back to Sterling and began to pick up the tools that he’d knocked onto the floor earlier. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I apparently have a lot of work to do.”
Sterling turned to Banks and extended a hand toward the exit, inviting his first officer to take the lead. “After you, Commander,” he said. “Let’s go and explore the dungeons.”
Chapter 15
Hidden depths
Sterling turned the handle and pushed open the manually-operated steel door that led onto sub-level two of Far Deep Nine. The tarnished hinges groaned and Sterling found himself needing to push harder to drive back the years of accumulated grime that was gathering underneath the door. As he entered, boots sticking to the tacky floor tiles, yellow ceiling lights flickered on and hummed softly. A thick layer of dust obscured the light diffusers, causing the room to remain in gloomy darkness.
“I think whatever is stored down here probably rotted away years ago,” said Commander Banks, stepping through door after Sterling and scrunching up her nose. “It smells like damp and decay.”
Sterling pressed on into the storage room and ran his finger through the dust that had settled on top of a stack of metal crates.
“Well, at least we can be pretty sure the Sa’Nerra never plundered these stores,” Sterling said, rubbing the tacky black grime between his fingers. “So maybe we’ll find something useful down here, after all.” He raised his left forearm and accessed a schematic of the sub-level on his computer. “The main storage area appears to be a few sections along,” he added, wiping his hand clean on the seat of his pants. “We should probably start there and work our way back.”
Sterling and Banks moved through the subterranean maze, popping open the lids of every container and crate they came across along the way.
“This feels like opening presents on Christmas morning,” Banks said, lifting the lid on another crate and peering inside.
“You must have received some pretty crappy gifts then,” Sterling said, sifting through the contents of a barrel-shaped container, which was filled with an assortment of spare parts for the machinery on the station. “Most of the stuff in these crates is junk.”
“Actually, I never really experienced Christmas, so I wouldn’t know,” Banks replied, moving on to another container.
Sterling remembered that Banks had been orphaned as a child and had spent her childhood bouncing around various orphanages and foster homes, before signing up to Fleet at age sixteen. Sterling had also spent his youth moving from place to place, never settling anywhere for long. Despite their short tenure on the ship, the Invictus had ironically felt like more of a home than either of them had experienced before.
He moved on to another crate and found a collection of power cells. “Here you go then, a gift from me to you,” he said, picking out one of the cells and offering it to Banks.
Banks smiled as she took the cell, clutching it to her chest like a teddy bear. “Really, Captain, you shouldn’t have,” she said, sarcastically, before tossing the cell back into the crate. “I mean you really, really shouldn’t have.”
Sterling laughed and the two officers continued to inventory the stores, in time discovering several crates that contained items of value. These included meal trays and medical supplies, along with several crates of electronic and mechanical components that could be adapted for use on the Invictus.
“Wow…”
Sterling glanced over his shoulder to see Banks staring down into a square chest about the size of a food hamper. Her face was lit by something from within, as if the crate had an internal light source.
“Is that a good ‘wow’ or a bad ‘wow’?” Sterling asked, moving beside his first officer and peering into the chest. “Wow…” he then said, as it became clear what the box contained.
“There’s enough silver in here to buy an entire cruiser at one of the shipyards on the Void planets,” Banks said, digging her hand into the chest and allowing the thin silver bars to slip through her fingers.
“Make sure Razor takes this one, and keeps it well hidden from Colicos,” Sterling said, inspecting one of the shiny bars like a magpie eyeing up a piece of jewelry. “If we can’t make Colicos pay with his life, we’ll make him pay with his fortune instead.”
“Aye, sir,” Banks said, enthusiastically, remaining mesmerized by the vast quantity of silver in front of her.
Sterling left his first officer to admire the hoard and continued to scour the room, using the flashlight function on his computer to supplement the subdued, yellow overhead lighting. Moving along the far wall, he suddenly felt a chill wash over his body and he physically shivered.
“Did someone just step on your grave?” Banks said, closing the lid of the chest and glancing over at Sterling.
Sterling hugged his body and rubbed the tops of his arms. “Whoever is was must have been an Eskimo,” he replied. “It’s freezing over here.”
Banks moved closer, tapping commands into her computer as she approached. “It’s not you,” she said, eyes still on her screen. “The temperature drops sharply here, by over ten degrees.”
Sterling scowled then moved closer to the wall, running his hand across the surface.
“The wall feels colder here too,” he said, making use of his physical sense of touch while Banks continued to scan the area using more twenty-fourth century methods.
He crouched and ran his hand down the wall almost to where it met the floor. He felt a cold breeze drift over his skin, making the hairs on the back of his hand stand on end.
“There’s definitely something behind this wall,” said Banks, still focused on her computer. “But whatever it is, it’s not on the architectural plan.”
Sterling heard a sound, like a knife clattering onto the deck in the wardroom, and he froze.
“Did you hear that?” he whispered to Banks.
His first officer nodded and instinctively they both went to neural comms. Then another sound filtered into the room, closer than the first.
“Lieutenant, do you have anyone on sub-level two?” Sterling asked his weapons officer over the neural link.
“Negative, Captain, we’re all on level one,” Shade replied. Her voice was distant. The dense structure of the research station was interfering with neural communications. “Do you need assistance, Captain?” she added. There was another sound, this time clearer and more distinct. Footsteps. “Negative, Lieutenant, but stand by,” Sterling replied, tapping his interface to close to link. He then nodded to Banks and they both drew their weapons.
“I’ll circle around to the right,” Banks said through the link, though she had already begun to move away.
Sterling nodde
d, then headed directly toward the source of the noise, staying low with his weapon held ready. He saw a shadow flicker across the deck and moved into cover, watching the intruder creep further into the room. Suddenly, the shadow turned and came directly toward him. His heart leapt in his chest and he sprang out of cover, weapon raised.
“Don’t move!” Sterling called out, aiming the weapon at the silhouetted figure’s head.
Banks appeared out of nowhere a moment later, pistol also trained on the intruder. The figure froze and its hands shot toward the ceiling.
“Don’t shoot, it’s just me,” a panicked voice cried.
Sterling advanced and activated the torchlight on his computer, shining it into the intruder’s face. He cursed and breathed a sigh of relief. It was Ensign Keller.
“What the hell are you doing down here, Ensign?” Sterling said, lowering his pistol to his side. “I nearly blasted your head off!”
“Sorry, Captain, it’s just that everyone else is busy and I was at a loose end,” the helmsman replied, rushing through his words. “I bumped into the scientist, James Colicos, and he said you were down here. So, I thought I’d lend a hand.”
“You might have let us know that first,” said Sterling as Banks stepped out of the shadows, glowering at the ensign.
“Yes, sir,” Keller replied, standing to attention. “Sorry, sir.”
“Well, since you’re here, you may as well make yourself useful,” replied Sterling. He started walking back to the false wall they’d discovered earlier. “It looks like there’s something back here. We could use some help finding a way through.”
Keller appeared intrigued and hurried over to the wall. He rested his hand on the surface then began to trace the same line Sterling had done until he discovered the air gap near the floor.
“Maybe we can just force it?” said Keller, looking at Banks.
Sterling nodded to his first officer and she rested her hands on the wall and braced herself against it. The metal groaned and Sterling saw the panels flex, but the wall did not move.
