by T. R. Harris
The effect was almost instantaneous! Within a minute, the two outer pirate ships fired up their backwells and streaked off in the opposite direction from Kaylor’s line of approach. A few moments later, the umbilical broke away from the third pirate ship and it began a wide sweep behind the circular ship using its chemical drive. But then the unexpected happened. The pirate continued its sweep, and ended up facing Kaylor and his phantom fleet, just sitting there.
“He’s not leaving!” Jym shouted the obvious.
Kaylor was staring so intently at the pirate ship on the screen that he almost felt as if he and the pirate captain were looking directly into each other’s eyes, daring each other to act. But neither waivered.
As the seconds passed, Jym began to fidget, glancing from his screen, then to Kaylor and back again, repeatedly. And still Kaylor stared.
Finally Jym had had enough. He reached for his own pilot stick, determined to change course if Kaylor wouldn’t—
Just then the pirate moved! For an instant, they both stopped breathing — as the pirate came straight for them! But then it turned about and bolted away in the opposite direction, disappearing visually as it sank into its own event horizon.
The two of them let out simultaneous cries of victory — and relief!
Kaylor collapsed back into his chair, closing his eyes momentarily. His ruse had worked, but barely. As he sat there with his eyes closed, Kaylor tried to wonder just what the pirate captain had been thinking Maybe it was the fact that three pirate ships were working in unison that had given him more courage than sense. Or maybe he was just a ruthless bastard. Either way, that was too close.
The pirate ships were off-screen before Kaylor and Jym powered down and slipped in next to the stricken ship, but they knew the pirates were still lurking in the area. Kaylor’s plan was to attach an umbilical of his own and go aboard the ship for a quick survey and to see if anyone was left alive, including any abandoned pirates. Then they would attach grapples to the big ship and pull it away before the pirates worked up the courage to come back. There would be plenty of time for salvage on the way to Nimor, where they would register the salvage and make it all official.
Jym opened the outer viewport shield so he and Kaylor could get their first real look at the huge ship in natural light. The ship was huge, easily five or six times the mass of Kaylor’s ship, yet the configuration was all wrong. Very few ships were circular in design and it had only a few nodes interrupting the smoothness of its hull. It was a beautiful ship and Kaylor was literally salivating thinking of what riches it held inside.
So it was with almost childlike enthusiasm that Kaylor suited up and began the trek through the umbilical and into what he had mentally began to refer to as his “retirement.”
Chapter Two: Entry
Even though the scans indicated that there was an atmosphere and gravity aboard the ship, Kaylor nevertheless wore an environment suit as he crossed the umbilical. There was an airlock on the other side that still worked and once he was safely through, he raised the visor on his helmet and took in a deep gulp of air. There was a strong trace of ozone, along with the distinctive scent of burning flesh. Even though the smell was offensive, he keep the visor up so he could hear better, cautious of any threats that still lingered within the ship.
He found himself in a wide corridor that curved off in either direction following the gentle circumference of the ship. Proceeding carefully, he soon came upon two dead Jakreans, their gray flesh burned in several spots, gray tunics stained with blood. He wasn’t surprised to find Jakreans aboard; after all, they were the workhorses of the galaxy, semi-intelligent beings who followed orders and had no imagination of their own. Kaylor was sure he’d find several more, just like these, during his survey.
Next he came upon a wide window set in the wall to his right. Inside was a vast room lined with row upon row of what appeared to be hiberpods. He’d never seen so many in one room! Entering through an open doorway, he found three more dead Jakreans along with another being, this one taller and dressed all in silver. Its head was large, with a long slopping forehead and a crest of long white hair. The creature had been shot in the back and had fallen on its side. Red blood pooled under the creature, and there was a laser weapon still in the dead grasp of the creature. Looks like he at least tried to put up a fight.
Moving closer to the pods, Kaylor noticed that they were all occupied by creatures still hooked to the fluid tubes - yet each one he could see had a small, bloody puncture wound at its temple!
All the canopies on the pods were open and quick count of the rows put the total pods at 80. Moving quickly past the dead silver creature, Kaylor confirmed that each of the creatures in the pods had the same wound to their temples, the type of wound that would have been made by the weapon held by the dead silver being.
They had all been assassinated. But that didn’t make any sense. The creatures in the pods were all primes, mostly male, well-muscled and about average height. He didn’t recognize the species, but that wasn’t unusual. With over 8,000 known primes in the Juirean Expansion, Kaylor wasn’t up on every one of them.
Yet these creatures had been intentionally killed, and not by the pirates, but rather by the apparent owners the ship.
“Are you seeing this” Kaylor asked through his communit.
Jym answered immediately. “This is strange. Those hiberpods are some of the most expensive I’ve ever seen. You don’t put just anyone in them, and then turn around and kill them all. But you better get moving. The pirates won’t stay gone forever.”
Jym was right. Once they got the grapples on and slipped into a well, he’d have plenty of time to come back for a more thorough accounting.
He left the pod room and proceeded down the corridor, passing three more dead Jakreans and two more of the silver creatures. Everything was silent. There was no indication that anyone else was aboard — or alive.
After a while, Kaylor came upon a wide stairway on his left that led toward the center of the ship. Logically, this would lead to the bridge.
The command center was situated in the central dome area he’d seen from outside. All the control consoles were located on the outer wall, and opposite them was a central bank of equipment and computers towering about four meters high. Kaylor could clearly see where one of the blasts from the pirates had penetrated the command dome, slashing through a section of the consoles before being contained by sealing foam. The room was airtight now, and even some of the electronics were still functioning.
He moved to one of the consoles and began a quick survey of the controls he could see. They were magnificent, some of the most sophisticated he’d ever seen! Then turning his attention to the equipment bank behind him, Kaylor was equally impressed by the navigation and life support units he could see. This was the mother lode! Not only were there salvageable units here, but they were also probably the most expensive he’d ever seen. And he hadn’t even been to the generator room yet!
And there was the computer core! The single-most valuable piece of equipment aboard, besides the massive gravity generators. But this was something he could easily haul back to his ship. Moving to the equipment bank, Kaylor flicked the four securing latches at each corner of the one-meter-square module. He grabbed the two side handles of the core and pulled the unit from its rack. Instantly, he noticed that the three steady orange lights in the equipment bank above the core suddenly turned yellow and began to oscillate from right to left. Before he could ponder why, he was interrupted—
“Kaylor!” It was Jym on the communit.
“Yes, I know, I better hurry up.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Pirates”
“No. You’re not going to believe this, but I’m picking up gamma particles.”
Kaylor was stunned by the comment. “Strong”
“Yes. I think the source is right in the room there with you.”
Kaylor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why would th
ey have a nuclear device onboard”
“Could be a self-destruct of some kind,” Jym offered.
“Can you pin-point the source” Having let the computer core fall to the deck, Kaylor frantically scanned the room, looking for any kind of unit that looked like a self-destruct control. Seeing none, he was about grab the core and head for the exit when Jym spoke.
“The source is about four feet in front of you, in the equipment bank. And the signal’s getting stronger.”
Directly in front of Kaylor was the recess opening left by the computer’s central core. Bending down, Kaylor inserted himself into the gap and turned on his helmet light. In the back of the recess was a rectangular box with a control panel and a lighted display. And on the display a counter was clicking down numbers!
Kaylor knew Jym could see this, too. “What do you know about this”
“I’ll run it through the Library.” In a moment Jym came back on the line. “It’s a self-destruct alright. A timer is counting down. At zero, we’re nothing but atoms.”
“How much time do we have Can we get out of range in time” Kaylor gritted his teeth in anger. He was so close to the big score, and now it looked as though he’d have to abandon the salvage.
“Oh no!” Jym screamed in his ear.
“What’s wrong”
“At the pace of the countdown, the bomb will go off in less than seven minutes.”
Kaylor was stunned. There was no way he could get back to his ship in less than five, and it would take Jym at least 10 minutes just to charge up the generators to get away on his own! It was impossible.
As the sense of resignation once again descended on Kaylor, he simply stated, “Then we’ll have to disarm it.”
There was a moment’s silence on the comm-line before Jym came back on. “I’m seeing if there are any instructions for disarming a thing like that. Give me a moment.”
“A moment’s all we have.”
In less than thirty seconds, Jym came back on the line. “I’ve got something. The controls appear to be a simple degradation program. It says if we can reverse the contacts, the process should be reversed, adding time instead of subtracting it.”
That sounded simple enough. Maybe there was hope! Kaylor inserted himself further into the opening until he was only inches from the control panel. Then pulling a small tool kit from a utility pocket on his environment suit, he took out a motorized screw extractor and set to work taking off the outer panel. The work went quickly and soon he was looking into the guts of the control unit. There were wires and connectors and several circuit boards. “Which one is the timer”
“It says to follow the leads from the display panel.”
“Got it. It’s right here in front.”
Taking at gripping tool from the kit, Kaylor reached into the unit, past the maze of wires and to the circuit board beyond. Positioning the gripper, he was just about to lock down on the board when he felt a painful clamping on both of his ankles — and he was suddenly yanked out of the opening!
He flew across the room, landing hard on top of the command console, shocked and dazed, his ribs burning. As he regained his senses, Kaylor found he was face-to-face with one of the primes from the hiberpods, naked accept for a sheet wrapped around his lower torso. And this one definitely was not dead. Instead, the creature was glaring at him, clinching his fists and baring his teeth in a sign of challenge.
Then it charged!
Raising his arm in defense, Kaylor did so just in time to block the strike from the creature. Instantly, Kaylor let out a scream, as he heard and felt his arm break from the incredible impact. Intense pain coursed through his arm like fire before the suit could inject a pain killer, bringing with it at least a bearable degree of relief.
But the creature wasn’t done. He grabbed Kaylor by his suit and threw him off the console, sending him once again flying across the room. This creature was incredibly strong.
Landing hard on the floor with another spasm of pain, this time in his right shoulder, Kaylor rolled to his right and managed to pull his weapon as he did so. He pointed it at his attacker, who hesitated, staring at the weapon. Then when no shot came, the creature pounced again.
Just in time, the targeting computer locked on and Kaylor depressed the trigger. A ball of blue lightening flashed out of the barrel, striking the creature directly in the chest.
He was thrown back against the control console, screaming in pain — but he didn’t go down! Instead the insane creature swiped at his chest, at the already-blistering skin and burned hair. He was stunned, but only momentarily.
Kaylor was shocked that the creature was still alive, but his shock soon turned to terror as the creature pushed off from the console and leapt in the air toward—
Just then, Kaylor’s stomach seemed to rise up in his mouth and he nearly vomited, as the gravity wells for the ship dissolved, leaving Kaylor - and his attacker — weightless and disoriented.
The charging creature was caught unprepared. The lack of gravity caused him to remain airborne — and he flew directly over Kaylor; even as he passed, the beast still tried to reach down and grab him! But he missed by a hair, and with his head turned back toward Kaylor, the creature slammed into the opposite wall with a dull thud, striking a sharp protrusion on the bulkhead. Instantly, the wild beast went limp, and small droplets of blood began to fill the air around the drifting body.
Kaylor lay on the deck, bruised and battered, totally in shock. In the zero gravity, he began to drift upward slightly, until the magnets in his boots activated and he found himself in a standing position.
Then he became aware of the screaming in his helmet. It was Jym.
“I’m.I’m all right,” he said unsurely.
“The BOMB, Kaylor! Hurry!”
The bomb THE BOMB!
Regaining his senses, Kaylor ignored the pain in his broken arm and dove for the computer core opening. The timer was down to 94-93-92. Looking around, Kaylor found the gripper tool floating near the top of the opening. Grabbing it with his good right hand, he positioned it quickly onto the circuit board and pulled.
Nothing happened! It would not come out!
“Try again!” Jym screamed.
With only one good arm, Kaylor did his best to reposition the gripper more to the center of the board and pulled. This time it popped out. Then twisting the board around, Kaylor tried three times in rapid succession to get the board back into the slot. Then on the fourth try, success!
Instantly, the counter - which was now down to16 — began to click upwards. 17-18-19.
Kaylor was in too much pain to celebrate. His ribs burned, his broken arm was screaming pain and his right shoulder was throbbing. He let himself relax in the ease of weightlessness, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.
“Are we going to live” asked Jym’s equally exhausted voice.
“For a little while longer, I’m afraid.”
After a few moments it was time to get back to work. Extracting himself from the recess opening, Kaylor found the still-unconscious creature drifting near the ceiling to his right. The blood bubbles hadn’t grown any more numerous, so the wound must have sealed itself, and from the slow, rhythmic movements of the creature’s chest, Kaylor could tell he was still alive.
Making a decision he hoped he wouldn’t live to regret, Kaylor pulled a connecting cord from his suit and fastened one end of it to a corner latch on the computer core. Then reaching up, he grasped a bare foot of the creature, and began to move towards the exit, trailing the core and the creature behind him like a couple of bizarre, floating balloons.
“Set the grapples, Jym,” he commanded. “I’m on my way back.”
Chapter Three: The Unwanted Guest
Within the hour, they were back in the well, half a million kilometers away from the location of the attack, with the large derelict ship in tow. Kaylor found Jym in the aft cargo hold, cinching down the last of five cargo straps around the still-unconscious creature, now firmly
secured to one of the work benches in the room. Jym wasn’t taking any chances; he’d seen what this thing could do.
Kaylor wore a blue cast encasing his broken left arm and had placed a torso brace around his bruised ribs for support and comfort. The pain medication was helping, but still his arm throbbed. In any event, he didn’t question Jym’s caution.
Finally Jym asked the question: “What are we going to do with him”
Kaylor had thought about this. “He may come in handy,” he began. “This creature obviously was cargo aboard the ship. He could be a witness to what happened, verifying that pirates attacked the ship and not us.”
“Then why did he attack you”
Kaylor let out a snort. “Well, only my ass was sticking out of the opening in the equipment bank. He probably thought I was one of the pirates.”
“Then we’ll have to convince him that we’re not.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem, if he doesn’t go berserk when he wakes up. I don’t know how intelligent this thing is, but he acted like a wild animal when he attacked me.”
“You should consider yourself lucky that you’re not dead. Take a look at this.” Jym led him over to a computer screen set in the wall above a small work desk. Punching a few keys, he pulled up an image that Kaylor recognized as a transparency scan.
“Before I bandaged the head wound, I took a scan of the skull to see how deep the puncture was. Look at this.” Jym pointed at the image, to a section indicating the thickness of the skull. “The bone structure is extremely dense and thick. The wound is shallow, but the trauma caused a slight swelling in the brain, right here. It will go down, and there shouldn’t be any permanent damage.”
“So Lucky for him.”
Jym glared at him, annoyed. Then he switched images. “Since the skull structure was so thick, I also did a full body scan, and here, look at the bones in the arm.” On the screen was a cross section of what appeared to be an almost solid structure.
“That’s a bone It looks like some sort of metal rod.”
