“Dial back the gravity to ten percent,” Kim said. “I need to feel her.”
If Ben had an objection, he didn’t voice it. Nance made an announcement over the ship’s speakers as Ben turned down the artificial gravity and inertial dampeners. Kim suddenly felt the spin, which caused her stomach to lurch.
“Oh God!” Rena said.
“Just hold on,” Ben said.
Kim pulled the throttle back, then used the lone starboard wing engine to turn their tumble into a spin.
“Where’s that fighter?” Kim asked as the simulated gravity pulled her back into her seat.
“It’s still there,” Nance said, “but it’s waiting to engage.”
“To see if we survive,” Ben said.
“I’m going to be sick,” Rena announced.
“Almost got it,” Kim said.
The controls felt slick in her hands. She had been out of control a few times in her life, but nothing seemed to match the fear and pressure of getting the Echo back under control.
She had it finally figured out. There were three moves left to regain control, but Kim hesitated. Looking at their position relative to the fighter and the jump point. They would have to engage the Imperium ship before making the jump to hyperspace. And Kim wasn’t sure if they would survive another encounter.
“Ben, do we have enough power for lasers?”
“One shot,” Ben said. “Maybe two. After that, we’ll lose power to the engines.”
“Better make that shot count then,” Kim said. “Correcting now.”
She moved the joystick and pressed the throttle forward. Her foot moved the starboard engine, and suddenly they were no longer spinning but shooting through space like a rocket.
“Fifteen seconds to the jump point,” Nance said.
“That fighter is getting close,” Rena said.
Kim pressed her right foot forward, spinning the dead port engine around. The reticle was leading the incoming fighter slightly. Kim knew the pilot was waiting for a kill shot. No more deflections, and or winging them. He wanted to vaporize the Echo.
“Now!” Kim said, squeezing the shot off with her thumb on the joystick in her right hand. The lasers on the left engine shot a blaze of yellow light that streaked right in front of the enemy fighter. The shot was a miss, but it caused the pilot to pull up for a second, before trying to re-engage.
“You missed,” Rena said.
“I never meant to hit him,” Kim said.
“What?”
“He’s preparing to fire again,” Nance said.
Kim saw a flash of light a split second before her hand pressed the button that fired the hyperdrive. Time seemed to slow, including the lasers racing straight toward them from the Imperium fighter. Kim’s gut tightened as the lasers neared in what felt like super slow motion, then everything disappeared.
Chapter 17
Ben couldn’t breathe. He felt his entire body trembling as time stretched into a moment that seemed to last for days. Then suddenly, everything was normal again. The planet and moon from the Knoxx system were gone on the display screen, replaced by the swirling glow of hyperspace.
“We made it!” Kim said triumphantly. “Holy crap, that was so close!”
“Too close,” Nance said.
“We’re alive?” Rena asked. “How do you do this?” How do you rush into danger like that? I felt so helpless.”
“Normally,” Ben said. “We prefer to avoid danger whenever possible.”
“That entire mission was a disaster,” Nance said.
“Don’t think we won’t let Webb know it,” Ben said, as he looked at his control panel. “But the good news is we made it. At least for now.”
The Zexum supply was down to half, and the heat monitors on the fusion chamber were almost in the red.
“Auxiliary batteries are completely drained,” Nance said.
“We can start bringing the other systems back online,” Ben said. “But we’ll have to wait until we’re out of hyperspace to see what’s left of the engine that blew.”
“Do we have what we need to repair it?” Kim asked.
“Maybe,” Ben said. “I just don’t know. How long until we’re out of hyperspace?”
“It’s a short jump,” Nance said. “Twenty-two minutes.”
“Okay,” Ben said. “Kim, that was outstanding.”
“I know,” she said in a playfully cocky manner. “It’s what I do best.”
She winked at Ben, who couldn’t help but smile even though he felt as if he’d just lost a leg. His arm was broken, the pain was constant, and soon he’d have to put on his helmet and go on extravehicular activity to assess the damage on the engine.
“Magnum, would you mind going EVA with me?”
The big man gave Ben a thumbs-up.
“Great, we can hook life support lines to the wing. I’m going to leave the art grav dialed down. I don’t think I’m up for a climb across the hull.”
“Roger that,” Nance said. “I’ll monitor all systems from here.”
“What can we do?” Lieutenant Liachov asked.
“You’ve already saved our lives,” Ben said. “The repairs could take a while. Especially with this bum arm of mine, but we’ll get it done. Thanks.”
“Anything to help,” Rena said. “I think I’ll lie down. I still feel like I might be sick.”
“I’ll get you some water,” Kim said. “I’m too amped up to sit around.”
Ben was moving slowly as he headed for the stairs. Kim caught up with him quickly. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were sparkling.
“You okay?”
“I will be once the ship is fixed,” Ben said.
“No really,” Kim said. “Your arm is broken. Can’t someone else fix the engine?”
“I doubt it,” Ben said. “You were spectacular, by the way.”
Kim shrugged and looked down, but Ben could tell she was smiling.
“Did you mean that? What you said on the bridge about my flying?”
“Every word,” Ben said.
She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close, locking her lips on his. Ben was glad she didn’t notice the grimace of pain on his face. He did his best to hide it as she pulled back, grinning, then hurried upstairs.
Ben felt more than heard Magnum approach. The big man had a distinct presence. He was dangerous, but Ben didn’t fear him. In fact, it was comforting to be near Magnum. They walked down the stairs together, Ben moving slowly, Magnum staying close beside him and not rushing him in the least.
“I’ll need a little help with my space suit,” Ben said. The bulky suit was still on, just unzipped with his upper body out and the arms of the suit wrapped around his waist.
Magnum nodded. He worked carefully to get the suit up and around Ben’s arm, which was held snug against his chest with the sling. They left it there, since Ben’s suit was bulky enough that they could seal it up over the arm. The empty sleeve hung loose. They added several tools to the pouch around Ben’s middle, and Magnum added a few to his own suit. Then, under Ben’s direction, Magnum hoisted two coils of hose and put them over one shoulder. He also carried a metal box with tools inside. The box was lined with thin magnetic sheets so that the tools stayed in place, even in zero-gravity.
“Ben, Magnum,” Nance’s voice carried over the com-link. “One minute until we exit hyperspace.”
“Roger that,” Ben said. “Everything else okay?”
“Affirmative. We’re green across the board. All systems back online, and the auxiliary batteries are charging.”
“Good news at last,” Ben said to Magnum. “Let’s hope our luck holds out.”
The big man nodded. Ben started to head for the air lock, but Magnum stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. When Ben turned back around, he was surprised to see a look of shame on Magnum’s face.
“What?” Ben asked. “What’s wrong?”
Magnum shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“For wh
at?” Ben asked, confused and a little worried.
“Should have stayed with you,” Magnum said. “Shouldn’t have let those bastards get the drop on me.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” Ben said. “We both let our guards down.”
“You got hurt.”
“And you helped save all our lives,” Ben said. “I saw what those Lancet ARs can do on the moon. The man with the scar on his face blasted a boulder clean in two with one shot. If they had fired just once while they were on the ship, we’d have been stranded there. The Echo would have vented all her atmosphere. A lot of people would have died. You stepped up. That’s what’s important. You did what I couldn’t do. And you’re helping me now.”
“I’m sorry,” Magnum said, his voice husky with shame.
“I’m sorry too,” Ben said. “But I don’t blame you. No one does. We’ll learn from it.”
The big man nodded, and suddenly time stretched in the familiar way as they transitioned back to normal space.
“Time to get moving,” Ben said.
Magnum lifted the helmet over Ben’s head and made sure it was sealed.
“We are out of hyperspace,” Nance said. “Life support, water plant, hydro-generator, and the fusion reactor are all green. I’ll be running diagnostics on those systems and monitoring the work on the port wing engine.”
“Radar?” Ben asked.
“We’re clear,” Kim replied, “in the middle of nowhere. Our friends upstairs are all good and enjoying being outside of the gravity bubble.”
“Alright, monitor us on the external cameras,” Ben said. “And keep your com-link on. It may take a while to get a full assessment done of the damage.”
“Roger that,” Kim said.
“We’re watching,” Nance added.
“You ready?” Ben asked Magnum as the big man sealed up his helmet. He gave Ben a thumbs-up. “Alright, we’re going out.”
They squeezed into the air lock and then floated out of the ship in zero-gravity. Ben’s arm hurt a little less without gravity pulling on it. It still throbbed, the deep ache of the broken bone worked to sap his strength, but they had a lot of work to do. There was no time to nurse his injury, or even to rest. He would just have to push through.
They made their way to the rear deflector shield generator first. It was undamaged but would require replacement of the main fuse. Fortunately, the system had come with several replacements for that fuse, and Magnum had one in his pouch. Ben used the electric screwdriver and opened the panel that opened into the main housing of the unit. Magnum pulled the old fuse and tossed it. Ben watched the bit of junk go tumbling through space until it disappeared from view as it floated out past the illumination projected by the ship’s exterior running lights.
Magnum replaced the screws and secured the deflector shield’s housing. They checked all their tools and made sure everything was secure before moving on.
“The deflector shield fuse is replaced,” Ben said over the com-link. “We’re moving on to the port wing engine.”
“Roger that,” Nance said. “I’ll run a preliminary check on the deflector system.”
“Go ahead and shut down all power to the engines,” Ben said. “I don’t want to get a surprise shock if the circuitry is exposed.”
“The main drive is down,” Kim said. “I’m shutting off the power now.”
Ben felt weak and trembly. His stomach was tight, and the ache in his arm was getting worse. He wanted to close his eyes. They burned with fatigue, and the cold of outer space seemed to be seeping into his space suit, but there was nothing else to be done. The engine had to be repaired, and while they could afford a few days in between star systems, Ben refused to take a break.
When they reached the damaged engine, Magnum set to work attaching the hoses to an exterior life support nozzle. It was covered with a simple heat-resistant plate that popped off easily and was attached to the hull with a short tether. Ben crawled over the busted engine. From the outside, the engine looked fine.
“No visual damage,” Ben said. “That’s a plus.”
Magnum joined him and attacked the hose that would act as their tether and replace their small air tanks as the main source of breathable air. Once it was attached, Magnum helped Ben in removing the screws that held on the outer housing around the engine. Inside they found a real mess.
“Well, damn,” Ben said. “The power supply is fried.”
“Do we have another?” Kim asked.
“Yeah, we can replace it,” Ben said. “But we’ll have to replace the wiring too. They’re all melted.”
“What about the other engine components?” Nance asked. “Did it throw a rod or seize up?”
“Well, that’s possible,” Ben said. “Although my guess is the power supply overheated to the point of combustion. At that point it ceased to produce energy and would have burned a lot longer if we hadn’t been in space.”
“Thank God for little miracles,” Kim said.
“Can you test the engine?” Nance asked. “Make sure there’s no other damage.”
“I can do a visual inspection,” Ben said, “once we remove the power supply and all the fried wiring. But it’ll take time.”
“What’s the alternative?” Kim asked.
“Well, if we assume it’s just the power supply, then I can bring it inside and do the work while we’re in hyperspace.”
“We don’t have a jump point between here and the Briggs system,” Nance said.
“I know,” Ben replied. “I could replace it while we drift toward the planet. Holt said we’ve got to come in slowly, no outward sign that we’re there, right? So, while the systems are off, I could repair it.”
“That would save a lot of time,” Kim said. “But if there’s more damage to the engine than the power supply, we’d be screwed.”
“That’s true,” Ben said. “Let us get this thing disassembled, then we can make a decision.”
It took Ben and Magnum three hours to remove the power supply and check the ruined wiring. Some parts were melted away to nothing, which made their work easy. Others were fried but still connected. They had to follow the wiring past the damaged section, cut the rubber coating, and sever the wire. When they were done, Ben made sure the housing was replaced while Magnum coiled up their life support lines.
Ben had never been so tired. His hand was visibly shaking, and his legs felt numb. Pain shot through his broken arm with every shiver, which came every few minutes. An uncontrollable trembling as if his core body temperature was getting too low. He didn’t say anything, knowing that if he spoke up, the others would insist he go back inside the ship. Magnum was competent, but Ben didn’t trust anyone working on the vital components of his ship but himself.
When they got back to the air lock, Ben felt a sense of relief. They came inside, and Ben slumped down onto one of the crates in the cargo hold.
“You need rest,” Magnum said.
“I know,” Ben said. “But we have some decisions to make. Help me out of this space suit and we’ll gather upstairs. Then we can both get some rest.”
They walked slowly toward the engineering bay and passed a row of bodies. The dead outlaws had been moved by the freedom fighters. They were still in their space suits, but the air tanks had been removed, along with their weapons. It was a startling sight that reminded Ben of just how much was at stake. He didn’t want to take any chances, but he owed it to Lieutenant Liachov and her band of soldiers to get them home as quickly as possible. It seemed like a small thing, but it was something Ben could do. He wasn’t a soldier and couldn’t fight in their war against the Royal Imperium, but he could get them back in the fight, with a ship full of new weapons that might make a difference. And he wasn’t going to let anything stop him from doing all he could after the freedom fighters had saved his crew and his ship.
Chapter 18
The work outside the ship had been difficult and left Ben sweating completely through his clothes despite feeling
cold inside his space suit. They left the ruined power supply on the workbench in the engineering bay, and Magnum helped Ben up the stairs. Even with the artificial gravity turned down to just ten percent, he ran out of strength halfway up the first flight of stairs.
“I can carry you,” Magnum said, with a note of compassion in his deep voice.
“No,” Ben said. “I can make it.”
“You’re dehydrated,” Magnum said.
“And I smell,” he tried to joke. “I’ll get cleaned up before we sit with the girls.”
Ben ended up letting Magnum help him up the stairs. It wasn’t as humiliating as being carried, but once his thighs began to cramp, he knew his strength was nearly gone.
On the main deck, he shuffled to his cabin. Pulling off his clothes wasn’t easy, but he got undressed and showered. His arm was swollen to nearly twice its normal size, just below the elbow.
After he slowly dried off, he was halfway through getting dressed and pondering how best to get a shirt on without hurting his arm too badly in the process, when Kim barged into his room without knocking.
“What the hell, Ben? You look terrible.”
“I don’t feel much better,” he replied.
“So stop,” Kim demanded. “Get in bed.”
“No, there’s work to do.”
“And it will be waiting on you when you feel better.”
“We don’t know that,” Ben said. “Just help me with his shirt. I need to drink something.”
Kim grumbled the entire time, but was gentle with the shirt. His arm was too swollen to fit into the sleeve, so she cut it off. When they emerged from the cabin Nance was waiting.
“You don’t look good,” she said, handing him a cup of Chembrew ale. “Magnum says you’re dehydrated. Drink this, then we’ll get you some water.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“We can have this discussion later, you know,” Nance said.
“Don’t think I didn’t try to convince him,” Kim said. “He’s stubborn.”
Jump Point: Kestrel Class Saga Book 2 Page 12
