Kaine's Sanction

by D. M. Pruden

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Hayden.” The intensity of her own fear almost overwhelmed him, but he struggled to lend her what little calm he could find.

  “You can’t do anything to me. But they will kill everyone and take you if you don’t try to resist them.”

  “Hold me.”

  He pulled her close. He fought to retain his own consciousness as he, through his contact with her, sensed every human emotive signal snuffed out. All that remained was the raw presence of the Malliac and Stella. Her energy grew in intensity. Panic rose among the enemy as they experienced her power.

  A blinding flash filled his mind.

  When it cleared, it was all gone.

  Darkness enshrouded the disabled bridge. Stella was limp in his arms. Before she collapsed, while still connected to her, he saw that she had not simply pushed the Malliac away.

  He had watched her destroy them.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Taking Stock

  CRADLING AN UNCONSCIOUS Stella, Hayden floated, blind in the dark, eerie silence. Only the faint hiss of airflow from the vents told him the environmental system was operational. Nobody would suffocate in the short term, but that was all he was sure of.

  He called out but received no reply, not even the moaning of the injured. A jolt of panic shot through him at the thought he might be the only survivor.

  His fear was replaced just as quickly by joy as Stella stirred in his arms.

  “Hayden?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Where are we? Why is everything so dark?”

  “We’re still on the bridge. The power is out, along with gravity. We’ve got breathable air for the moment, but I don’t know anything else. I don’t even know if the crew still live.”

  After a moment, Stella’s body relaxed. “Everyone nearby is alive.”

  “How can you tell?”

  Her arms wrapped around his neck and hugged him tighter. He relished her warmth, and his anxiousness dissipated.

  “Even if someone is unconscious, I can still detect them if they’re near me.”

  “Is anyone here?” There was panic in Cora’s voice.

  “Cora?”

  “Oh, thank goodness. Is that you, Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, are you okay?”

  “Mmm...yeah, I think so. My head hurts like hell, and I’m hoping the lights are out.”

  “Yes, they are.”

  “Whew! That’s a relief. What the heck happened? The last thing I remember is the ship taking a hit.”

  “Kind of hard to explain, but the Malliac are gone. Is there anything you can do about the power or the gravity?”

  “Well, some light would help. Did you happen to snag a torch from the emergency kit?”

  “No, I haven’t begun looking for it.”

  “Okay, never mind.”

  He heard a rustling of fabric and other noises as Cora moved blindly about. “Ah, there it is.”

  “What did you find?”

  Her response was the familiar clicking of her workstation keyboard. After several, tense minutes, dimmed lighting came on.

  Unconscious crewmen and loose debris floated about the bridge. Those like the captain, who had time to strap themselves in, were tethered to their seats, their relaxed limbs hanging strangely in front of them like those of a person floating in water.

  “What is our status, Cora?”

  “I can’t tell from here. I need to get to engineering.” She pushed away from her station and floated to the hatchway.

  “Do you want me to come help?”

  She grabbed the doorframe and turned to address him. “Excuse me for saying so, sir, but until the cap’n wakes up, you are now in command and your place is here. I’ll keep you informed of what I find.”

  He nodded, grateful the subdued lighting hid his embarrassment. Cora said, “You should strap these people in. If I can get the gravity back online, I’ll try to ease it up to normal, but I can’t always guarantee a smooth transition. We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  “What about others on the ship?” said Stella.

  “I imagine most were at their combat stations, but we might find a few who didn’t get strapped in. Why don’t you come with me, and we’ll secure those we find floating loose?”

  She tried to push herself away to join Cora, but Hayden held on to her, an unspoken question in his eyes.

  “I’ll be all right.” She kissed him on the cheek and disengaged from his arms. Cora sported a big grin. They left together without her saying a word.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Pavlovich Down

  WITHIN AN HOUR, gravity and minimal power levels were restored. Most of the crew regained consciousness with no more than a headache as a reminder of their ordeal. Nine, including Pavlovich, did not awaken and were transported to the infirmary for assessment.

  Doctor San worked diligently on the unconscious patients, focusing first on the captain as per Hayden’s orders. After two anxious hours, Hayden was summoned from the bridge to the med-bay.

  The first face he saw when he arrived was Pavlovich’s. He sat upright in his bed, his uniform replaced by a flimsy hospital gown, various tubes and monitors connected to him. Bandages covered his eyes.

  “Is that you, XO? Report!” he barked.

  Glad to see that Pavlovich’s disposition was unchanged, Hayden delivered a concise summary of the status of Scimitar and her crew.

  The colour drained from the captain’s face. “Eight more dead? What section were they in?”

  “Simmons and Chen perished when the rail gun was destroyed.” He swallowed the lump in his throat.

  “And the rest of them?”

  “The others who died were in multiple locations throughout the ship.”

  “What the hell happened?”

  “We...we don’t know. Doctor San has yet to determine cause of death.”

  “Where is that quack?”

  “Right here, Captain,” said the synth, emotionlessly, as if insults from Pavlovich were a normal occurrence. “We’ve had our hands full dealing with the crew members who’ve had difficulty regaining consciousness, like yourself.”

  “All right, then. Let’s begin with what you do know.”

  The doctor looked to Hayden before answering. “Based on initial diagnostic MRI scans made on all the surviving victims, it appears you all suffered varying degrees of brain trauma in the area surrounding your cortical implants. I’ll need further tests to confirm the full extent of any damage, but the long-term prognosis for everyone is favourable.”

  “How long before I can see?”

  The android shook its head. “I don’t know yet. It may be days, or weeks.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Captain, your injury can be repaired, and you will regain your sight, but you will be out of commission for some time.”

  Pavlovich’s jaw flexed while the blood pressure monitor behind him registered a series of shrill beeps. “The girl is responsible for this?” he said, his voice barely audible.

  “Yes, sir.” Sweat spread under Hayden’s arms. “It was our only chance at survival. We’d lost all power, weapons, and gravity and were taking on heavy damage.”

  “And we’re still easy targets for when they regroup and return.”

  “No, we’re not. The Malliac who attacked us are...”

  “Yes, Lieutenant? What are they?”

  “They’re all dead.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I was in physical contact with Stella and saw everything that happened aboard their ship. They all perished.”

  “She killed them with her mind? Along with eight members of my crew?”

  Hayden’s shoulders slumped. “Yes.”

  “Kaine, we’re damned lucky she didn’t kill us all. Oh, wait…excuse me, but you were always safe, weren’t you? Your LINK is disabled. It’s every other life aboard that you gambled with.”

  “Captain, I believe that is out of line,” said
Doctor San, far more sharply than Hayden had ever heard a synth address anyone. “With the tactical situation as dire as it was, the lieutenant had no other course of action except the one he took. Any other decision would have made this conversation impossible.”

  “Kaine, I really want to confine you to your quarters for what you did, but I’m forced to admit that your actions saved the ship, and most of our lives.” Pavlovich laid his head back against he pillow. “And besides, if I threw you in the brig, I’ve run out of qualified officers to assume command while I’m stuck here.” A slight smile curled up at the edges of his mouth. “Well done, Lieutenant. It appears I may not regret promoting you after all.”

  Then, just as quickly, his mood became sombre. “I’m making you responsible for the girl. If anyone aboard gets so much as an anxiety attack, I’ll put her into suspended animation and throw you in irons.”

  “You’re not in command, Captain,” cautioned the doctor.

  Pavlovich let his head sink back into the pillow again. “Of course, Doctor.” In a more measured tone, he said, “You are commanding now, Mister Kaine. Make good decisions. Our survival depends on you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Captain Kaine

  SCIMITAR’S BRIDGE SEEMED larger without the dominating presence of Pavlovich. Hayden had relieved the captain many times during his duty shifts, but he always felt secure in the knowledge that he was only a comm call away from doing anything too stupid.

  Now, with Pavlovich laid up in medical for an indeterminate period, he realized how big the man’s shoes were to fill. Every decision he made from this point on was his responsibility, as were the lives of the people under his command. He felt naked.

  Pavlovich’s appointment of Ensign Kwok as Hayden’s second had done little to assuage his trepidation. He imagined every eye was fixed on him, waiting for the inevitable disaster.

  He swallowed the lump in his throat.

  “Cora, a status report, please.” Relieved that his first official order was out of the way, he sat back in the uncomfortable chair and forced his shoulders to relax a bit.

  What the hell am I doing here? Only three months ago I was an undistinguished cadet on the admiral’s shit list who aspired to a diplomatic career. Now I’m in command of an ancient warship, and this isn’t a training drill.

  “Cap’n?”

  Cora’s voice snapped him rudely back to the present. He wondered why the captain didn’t answer her until he realized she spoke to him.

  Way to go, Kaine.

  “I’m sorry, Cora. I was distracted.” It was about as lame an excuse as he could have come up with, but he couldn’t think of any other way out of the embarrassing situation.

  “Do you want the good news first, sir?” Her smile was gracious, as if his faux pas had never occurred. Some did not hide their critical expressions.

  “Let’s start with the bad,” he said, determined to listen closely to every word spoken on the bridge from this point forward.

  Cora relayed a litany of far too many inoperative systems that were beyond any hope of immediate repair. As she recited the desperate condition of Scimitar, panic seized him. They were all going to die out here, and it would be under his short-lived command.

  “I see.” Uncertain, he cleared his throat and glanced about, noting the stricken look in the eyes of most of the crew. Only Gunney seemed to take the damage report in stride.

  “What is the rest?”

  “Environmental systems are fully operational, and gravity plating works on only about half the decks. Navigation control and manoeuvring engines are functioning, and one of the main drives is relatively undamaged. It will be up and running in about four hours. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to make any better than one percent of light speed with the rest of them offline.”

  “How long to effect repairs?”

  She regarded him, confused. “Cap’n, there is no way to repair our damage outside of a space dock facility.”

  Hayden was stunned. Up to this moment, he had experienced Cora as a magician who only needed time to make everything aboard the dated hulk hum along smoothly. She worked a miracle before using whatever scrap parts she scrounged up and put to creative use. It never occurred to him that some things might be beyond her ability to fix.

  Everyone seemed to be watching him, waiting for him to make the decisions and give the commands that would save them. How the hell did Pavlovich survive in the captain’s chair all these years? His respect for the big man increased by the second.

  “Navigation report, please, Mister Kwok.” Time and data were what he needed now. Gather as much information as possible before deciding. “How long will it take us to get back to the Mu Arae system?”

  “You want us to go back there?” she said.

  Hayden realized how idiotic his request sounded. More importantly, however, was Kwok’s apparent challenge. If he knew anything about command, he understood the necessity to nip that kind of thing in the bud, or there could be a mutiny before the end of the shift.

  “It was an inquiry, Ensign Kwok, not a statement of intent. I want to know everything. Now, please answer my question.” He hoped he’d put enough authority into his voice.

  The pilot snapped up straight in her chair. “Yes, sir.” She hurriedly checked her console before answering. “At our best speed we would reach the planet Dulcinea in ten months.”

  “Thank you. We clearly don’t want to make that our first choice, especially with the Malliac looking for us.”

  A few faces showed some relief.

  Emboldened by his minor victory, he continued. “How far are we from the wormhole?”

  Kwok again referred to the console. “Our position is stable, and we are now at zero relative motion to our original target coordinates, though we’ve drifted ten thousand kilometres from it since the attack.”

  It was hardly a choice. Going back to Mu Arae in the hope that they might somehow repair the jump-gate was risky. They would never survive another attack, and he was pretty sure they were not forgotten by the aliens, based on his brief glimpse into their intentions through Stella’s connection.

  It was impossible for Scimitar to continue to the nearest colony planet. At one percent of light speed, they would all be dead before the ship arrived.

  The only other available option was the Glenatat star-gate, though that path was fraught with far too many unknowns. Assuming it even existed, they still had to pass through it in one piece. Even if they accomplished those impossible challenges, they still had to hope whomever lay on the other side of it was less hostile than the Malliac, if they found anyone at all. They could just as easily discover themselves floating far from any habitable system somewhere across the galaxy.

  “Set a course to take us back to the wormhole, Mister Kwok. As soon as the engine repairs are completed, we will get underway.”

  Finding the mythical Glenatat home world was their only chance. If any decision he made was going to doom them, he wanted to make the one that would give them the most hope.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  A Boost of Courage

  HAYDEN DECIDED TO take advantage of the repair time to seek out Stella. They had not spoken since the attack twenty hours before, all their time and energies consumed by the chaotic aftermath. Though well trained and no strangers to emergencies, the crew of Scimitar had never faced such a dire situation.

  With all the losses, their complement was down by almost a third. Those deaths and the injuries sustained by the survivors, coupled with their extensive damage, meant repair and recovery operations would take far longer than anyone wanted.

  He didn’t require Stella’s ability to discern how everyone was coping. Everywhere he went, he saw the same thing in everyone’s eyes: shock and the accompanying fear they might be attacked again before they were ready, perhaps finished off for good by the Malliac.

  He tried his best to reassure those he spoke to and keep morale up, but this was a seasoned crew with fa
r more spacefaring experience than he. Everyone was acutely aware of how precarious the situation was. He felt like a naive fool, hopelessly in over his head.

  Worse still, they didn’t trust him. He could tell by the way they responded to him, by the slight hesitation when asked a question or given direction. While ready to go along with indulging the captain’s appointment of him as first officer, they now questioned that decision. With Pavlovich out of commission and the ship in such a desperate situation, he agreed they had reason to doubt his untested leadership.

  Stella was assisting in the infirmary; he found her taking inventory of the depleted supplies. She looked exhausted, having worked continually since the gravity was restored and the injured began flowing into Medical.

  “Hayden, is everything all right? You look terrible.”

  Until her comment, he hadn’t felt the strain of the past twenty-hours.

  “I’m okay. Nothing a few stimms can’t address.”

  “I’m sorry, but we’ve run out of stimulants.”

  “I was kidding.” He offered a weak smile. “Well, I think I was. Some strong coffee will do.”

  “You’re exhausted. Why don’t you take a rest?”

  “I can’t afford to while the crew is working their asses off.” He scanned around the room. “It looks like things quieted down here, though. You should take advantage of it yourself and get some sleep.”

  It was her turn to smile weakly at him. “I feel the same as you. Besides, I don’t think I could after what happened.”

  Hayden soberly recalled the horrific visions. He suspected that what he shared with her was only a fraction of her experience. “Perhaps later, when this is behind us...”

  His hand located hers, and their fingers intertwined. He looked into the dark, blue ocean of her eyes, and his fatigue, doubt, and fear lifted. He didn’t know if his relief came from an empathic connection to her or something else, and he didn’t care. He wanted to lean forward and kiss her, but a clatter behind them reminded him of where they were.

  Stella released his hand and stepped away, wincing in pain.