by D. M. Pruden
“Your father paid attention to your education,” he said, hoping a neutral topic would distract him from his feelings. He wondered if they flashed before Stella like a red cape in front of a bull. He didn’t like the prospect of being so exposed.
“I am educated to the equivalent of two doctorates in archaeology and astronomy.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty,” she said while she stared out the view port, an amused half smile on her face.
Hayden shook his head. Why was he always drawn to the brilliant ones?
His pulse accelerated when he realized what he just asked himself. Was he attracted to Stella? They only met a few weeks ago and had only one significant, if intense and ill-fated encounter.
He jumped, slightly, as she slipped her hand slip into his. His heart pounded, and he didn’t know if it was from fear or excitement. He looked at her, and she returned his gaze. Whose emotions was he experiencing? Were they his own, or was she broadcasting her feelings to him?
He disentangled his fingers from her grip. “Stella, we really shouldn’t...”
She took a step back and raised her hands to her temples. “Yes, of course you’re right. We should keep our emotions neutral.”
She grimaced and doubled over in pain.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know...oh! It feels like burning needles.”
She looked up, the same expression of horror on her face as before.
“It’s them...” She pitched forward, falling into Hayden’s arms.
A flash of intense, unfamiliar, and alien emotions washed over Hayden. The experience was almost debilitating as he held Stella’s now limp body. Vivid images burst upon his consciousness. A bizarre ship designed to look more like a beetle with a hundred legs and antennae jutting out at all angles. It glowed an eerie fluorescent blue. Views of Scimitar and feelings that reminded him of Stella filled his awareness.
Hayden instinctively tried to flag the bridge with his deactivated LINK. He cursed under his breath and picked her up. He called out for help, but nobody responded.
He rounded the corner and almost tripped over a body on the floor. Putting Stella down, he bent over the inert form of Cora and felt for a pulse. She was alive.
He looked farther up the corridor to see two other crewmen, lying motionless. Panic seized his guts as he lifted Stella and ran toward the infirmary. Every crewman he passed was either unconscious or rolling on the deck, clutching their head in pain.
He burst into the medical centre, grateful to see the synths were unaffected. They took charge of the young woman, administering the same sedatives they’d administered before.
“How many others are affected?” he asked.
“We are getting multiple alerts throughout the engineering and science sections of the ship,” it said.
Those were the areas he had carried Stella through. Maybe whatever happened to them was limited to her proximity. He was positive that she must be the cause of the incapacitation of the crew.
Hayden moved to the wall console and activated a voice link to the bridge. “This is Kaine. Crewmen down in section D. Is anyone affected up there?”
Pavlovich’s angry voice responded through the speakers. “Several people got sudden headaches, but nobody is down. What the hell is going on? Is the girl responsible?”
“I honestly don’t know, sir. I think so; she’s in medical now and the synths are putting her under again. But there is a bigger problem. The Malliac found us and are on their way.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Malliac
HAYDEN BURST THROUGH the hatchway, breathless. He quickly assessed the situation on the bridge. All the crew were focused on their tasks, in no apparent distress.
“Is everyone all right?” he asked as he assumed his station.
“A nagging hangnail still bothers me, and my stools are a little loose lately, but otherwise, I’m fine. How are you, Lieutenant? Nice of you to join us.” Hayden still was not used to the captain’s sense of humour.
“I mean, is anyone still affected by...?”
“By the girl? It seems that we all felt better as soon as you had her put under. What the hell happened, Kaine? You were supposed to be watching her.”
“I was, sir. It came on her right in front of me. She passed out and...” He hesitated, unsure if full disclosure was wise. The captain chose to interpret his hesitation as something else.
“Could she provide any specifics before she collapsed?”
“Ah, no. Er, yes...”
Pavlovich eyed him sardonically. “Which one is it, XO?”
“She...um, described some attributes which might helpful. They appear to be accelerating on an aggressive curve. They will be upon us in less than ten minutes and be travelling at least one-half light speed when they arrive.”
“Did she give us any idea of an approach vector?”
“It seems to be the same ship that flushed us out of the Odyssey wreck. That would put them on our tail.”
“That much from an empathic contact, eh?” Pavlovich turned to the tactical alcove. “Hear that, Gunney? Their acceleration will be doing most of the work for you.”
“I could do more if we slowed down. Or stopped...” said the perpetually grumpy cyborg.
“Neither of which is going to happen,” said Cora as she entered the bridge. “You’re not gonna to tear my baby apart with that kind of manoeuvre just to make your guns hotter.”
Hayden smiled to see her up and about, seemingly unaffected by her recent ordeal. “How are you?” he asked as she sat at her station.
“Just a small headache now, and a bruise where I hit my arm when I fainted,” she replied. She faced him and lowered her voice so only he could hear. “I had the strangest experience that someone was looking out for me.”
He was speechless. She winked at him and returned her attention to her interface.
“All systems green, Cap’n, and awaiting your orders,” she said.
“Well, Cora, we are going to slow down somewhat,” he said. “We need to be more manoeuvrable and can’t do that at this speed. Plus, Gunney wants some extra oomph to the rail guns. Fire retros and reduce velocity to fifteen percent of light speed over the next five minutes.”
She shook her head, and her hands flew over her console, “That’s gonna stress the gravity plating as well as the inertial dampers, but you’re the captain, Cap’n.”
“Sound emergency deceleration alert. All hands combat conditions. Rangers prepare for potential boarding action,” ordered Hayden.
Pavlovich grinned at him. “You seem to be more efficient without your implant, Kaine. I’ll make a career officer out of you yet.”
He smiled back. “Not if I have anything to say about it,” he said. “Sir,” he added as an afterthought.
Pavlovich’s smile broadened, and he shook his head. “If you’re going to be a politician, you need to learn to be a better liar. I think they call it diplomacy.”
“Yes, Captain, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Their banter was interrupted by the intense shaking caused by the retro-engines straining to slow down Scimitar. Hayden felt himself grow heavier as the gravity plating struggled to compensate.
The ship jerked to the starboard. Cora’s panel lit up.
“We’ve been hit. Some kind of energy pulse.”
“Get a fix on the source and fire rail guns!” ordered Pavlovich.
The deck plates thrummed as all the aft weapons unleashed their projectiles.
The bridge crew waited, anxious for a report from the gunnery officer.
“Anything, Gunney?”
“I don’t think so, sir. Hard to tell. We don’t know how far behind us they are. The dispersal might not be...”
“Hit registered!” called Hayden from his station. “Readings suggest plasma being released.”
A cheer rang up but was cut short by another, more intense shaking of the ship. The pull of gravity fluctuat
ed, along with the lights. Cora’s voice rose above the mayhem of automated alert buzzers.
“Direct hit on our engine section. Sub-light engines are out. Guns two and five, damaged. Stabilization out.”
“Helm, can you halt our spin?” said Hayden.
“There’s no power to manoeuvring thrusters.”
“The rotational stress will tear us apart,” said Pavlovich.
Kaine strapped himself in to his chair as a precaution against the grav-plating going out. If that happened, though, he doubted the harness would do much good. They would all be bloody smears on the bulkheads.
“I need a minute, Cap’n,” said Cora, panic in her voice for the first time since Hayden had met her. Her fingers danced across her console. “There, try it now, Helm.”
The gravitational pull stabilized as the helmsman fired the manoeuvring engines to stop their death spiral.
“Where did that shot come from?” the captain asked.
“A second vessel is coming from a different vector,” announced Hayden, reading the information from his station interface. He missed the efficiency of his LINK.
“Give me ship condition and course,” said the captain.
Cora recited the grim news. “On emergency power. Engines and weapons are offline. Structural damage on all aft decks. Hull breaches in sections A through D. We are drifting at eleven percent of light speed with zero spin.”
Pavlovich swallowed hard and glanced at Hayden. “Casualties?”
“Six confirmed fatalities and eight unaccounted for.”
The captain slammed his fist into the arm of his seat. “And we’re as good as dead as well. We can’t even see the ghost that killed us.”
“I don’t think their intention was to kill us, sir, at least, not yet,” said Hayden. “They intend to board us.”
“How you know this?” said Pavlovich.
“I...I can’t explain, sir, but I believe they are after the girl.”
At that moment, a loud boom sounded throughout the ship, and it was jerked by contact with something massive.
The captain said, “Get the rangers to the airlocks.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Boarded
RANGER EAGLE SQUAD waited at the entrance to airlock number five.
“I really hope they pick this one,” said Ender.
“Be careful what you wish for,” said Atan.
“Aww, c’mon, Chief, you’ve been fixing for a real fight since we came through the light-gate.”
She looked at her second in command and grinned.
“That’s what I thought,” said the corporal, grinning back.
A deafening boom echoed around them.
“It’s this one! I just know it.”
“Stow it,” Atan said, all business. She lowered the visor on her helmet, and he followed her lead.
“You and Tin-key move to the other end of the corridor. We’ll trap them in our crossfire. Remember, particle weapons only. Lasers won’t work on these bastards. Keep behind the bulkheads.”
“Aye, Chief,” he said. He and the synth moved to their positions.
She and Win-key retreated the other direction to use another bulkhead for cover. She crouched in a shooting posture as the larger synth assumed a post across the narrow corridor from her.
Another clang of metal rang out. Atan activated her comm link. “Bridge, this is Eagle Squad registering enemy movement at Airlock Five.”
The XO’s voice replied on her receiver. “Acknowledged. Stand alert. We’ve got similar activity at Airlocks Two and Four.”
“Roger, that. Standing ready,” she said.
She noted the time index on her HUD display and glanced at the life indicators of her team. She said a silent prayer that they would all still be active at the end of all this. Though not a religious person, she still believed she should take all the help she could get.
An explosion rattled through the deck plating. Atan trained her weapon at the hatchway.
“Bridge: Eagle Squad; External hull breach at A-Five.”
She didn’t hear if her message was acknowledged, because a second blast blew open a jagged, gaping hole where the hatch used to be. Inside the dark opening she saw nothing.
Controlling her breathing, Atan flipped through the various visual filters available to her visor. Nothing gave an indication of who or what would enter through the breach. Her eyes never left her display. She didn’t believe the Malliac could be completely undetectable.
Then she saw it. A faint distortion twisted the otherwise featureless hole in the wall.
“They have some kind of energy shield!” she shouted while taking aim. All four of the Rangers let loose with their PK 506 projectile weapons. Unable to see their intended targets, all they could do was use everything they had in the hope that the invaders could be killed or injured.
Impacts rippled on the alien shielding, confirming their target location and a focus for them to concentrate their withering fire. Empty shell casings rattled to the floor as they emptied their clips at the unseen foe.
Her enemy’s position now reasonably established, Atan raised her arm cannon and fired. A massive explosion shook the deck.
The others followed her lead and unleashed their own weapons to similar effect.
An energy bolt, black as night, flashed from the airlock and slammed into Ender. His armour shattered, and he was hurled ten metres further down the corridor. Before she realized what had happened, a second beam took out Tin-key. Her eyes darted to her readout, but she saw no life indicators for either Ranger.
“Bridge: Eagle Squad is down two. No effect on aggressor with anything.” She didn’t really think there was anything Ops could do to help her, but it was her duty to report the progress of the engagement.”
“Roger, ES. We’re going to try something. Turn your gravity compensation to maximum.”
She risked a glance at Win-key, who nodded that he had heard the message. She activated her suit’s grav-comp and continued to lay down fire at the breach.
The grav plating hummed beneath her feet and her HUD told her that Ops had turned up the artificial gravitation in this section to six times Earth normal. The ripple of the alien shield intensified and dropped closer to the deck.
With a renewed determination, she unleashed a barrage of shells from her arm cannon at the only indicator she had of the invaders’ location. After three massive blasts to the shielded specter, the distortion winked out. Atan had no way to know if the enemy was dead, injured, or simply lost its shield cover, so she released another withering round of PK 506 fire until her last clip was empty.
Without warning, a different ripple appeared above where the previous one had vanished, and a black bolt shot from the opening at her. The bulkhead took most of the blast, but she was thrown backward into the wall. Pain wracked her body. She was pretty sure ribs were broken and her shoulder was dislocated. If the servos in her armour hadn’t been fried, she still might have been able to put up a fight, but as things stood, she was trapped inside a 500 kg coffin, unable to move or defend herself.
She had a view of the breach in the door. Though she couldn’t see the Malliac, she knew it was only a matter of minutes before they took out Win-key and gained access to the ship.
A searing pain exploded in the centre of her skull. She fought to keep her eyes open and tried in vain to lift the arm cannon.
With stars flashing across her vision, she realized she was losing consciousness.
It was over. She had failed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Stella Acts
ISHMAEL GABRIEL ENTERED the infirmary to the sounds of explosions reverberating throughout the ship. He needed to see Stella and took advantage of the battle to leave his quarters to find her.
The medical synth stopped him inside the doorway. “You are not authorized to be here. Please return to your designated emergency station.”
“Not without my daughter.”
“I realize s
he is important to you, sir, but she is perfectly fine and safe.”
“I don’t want her to be alone when they reach here. You hear that noise out there? That battle is being lost. They are coming for her. Let me stay with her in our final moments.”
“You are not permitted to be here during a combat alert.” It moved forward to escort him out.
Gabriel raised his arms in surrender. “All right, I will go. But first, tell me how she is.”
The synth changed its manner. “She rests comfortably and is in no distress.”
“I don’t believe you. Show me the readouts so I may satisfy myself that is the case.”
After a moment of consideration, it said, “Of course. Please come this way to see for yourself.”
After it turned to lead him to Stella, he pulled a small unit from his pocket and pressed it against the machine’s back. The device emitted a brilliant flash, and the android collapsed to the floor, immobile.
Confident that it was no longer a concern, he advanced to the medical bed where Stella lay. Though under sedation, her brow was wrinkled by some internal anguish.
He deftly adjusted the pumps administering the drugs. “Don’t worry, my darling girl. We are leaving here right away.”
Shortly, the sedatives flowing into her body were replaced by the required stimulants to bring her out of her coma. A minute after that, Stella opened her eyes and peered groggily at her father.
“Papa? What has happened?”
“The Malliac are here. The soldiers are holding them off and will keep them occupied while we leave, but we must hurry.”
She started to sit up and paused to steady herself. “Where are we going?”
He eased her to a sitting position and then permitted her a moment to adjust. “We are getting off this vessel. We will take an escape pod. The star-gate is near, and we will soon be safe.”
“What about everyone else?”
Gabriel hesitated. “They aren’t coming.”
“We’re leaving them? They will be killed. He will die.”
He assisted her to stand and steadied her while her balance returned. “Yes, I’m afraid they will all perish. It cannot be helped.”
