Owens urged Sharné down the docking umbilical before the gravity failed altogether. He could see to the end of the reinforced docking tube. He was having increasing difficulty in concentrating, but did note that Hec had opened the airlock.
Their progress was excruciatingly slow as they tried to travel down the bucking docking tube. Finally, they stumbled the last meter and practically fell through the Holmes’ outer airlock’s opening. Hec immediately sealed it behind them.
The deck was now shaking so violently that they had to crawl through the inner lock. Hec sealed it as soon as they were through. The Holmes was still attached to the disintegrating Light Saber and could not completely compensate for the larger ship’s gyrations. In spite of the higher gravity level within the Holmes, Owens managed to pull himself up to his feet. For the moment, Sharné was content to remain sitting on the deck.
“Hec, is there any way that we can break away from the ship?” Owens asked in a strained voice.
“I now believe we can, Boss. The Saber has been taking a mean pounding. The last of their shields just went down and this docking structure has been shaking like a wet dog. It’s definitely weakened. I think one good yank and we can pull away, although we will be taking some of the umbilical with us, and unless we can shed the unbalanced mass, we won’t be able to enter subspace.”
Owens’ thoughts cleared a little, as he began to catch his breath. “Wait, don’t do just it yet, I have an idea. Are our shields and inertia canceling fields strong enough to withstand the breakup of the Saber if we stay attached to her?
“I’m sorry Boss, if those ships continue to fire at the Saber, then the answer is a definite no. Now if they were to stop firing, the core would complete its automatic shutdown and the ship, with all of its systems down, it would finish breaking apart. That wouldn’t put too much of a strain on us, we’d look like just another chunk of debris. But I wouldn’t count on it. I don’t think they want any prisoners. It looks like they mean to keep firing until they fully breach the reactor core. If that happens, we wouldn’t survive the explosion. Then we really would be a piece of debris.”
“Damn, I was hoping we could ride it out; look like part of the Saber’s wreckage. It might have bought us some time.”
“Time is something we don’t have a lot of right now, Boss. Based on my damage assessment, I estimate we have sixty seconds, maybe less, until the Saber blows.”
“Then get us out of here now, reaction drives to full emergency. Try to rip us away from the Saber. If you’re successful, keep the Saber between us and the other ships for as long as you can. I only hope our hull holds together.”
Hec had fired the maneuvering thrusters before Owens had finished speaking. The docking assembly must have been even weaker than Hec had estimated because the dock superstructure was already starting to give way before Hec fired the reaction drives. When Hec did engage the engines, the process of separation accelerated. The sounds of tearing bolts and wrenching metal became louder as the vibrations telegraphed from the Holmes’ outer hull and grated on Owens’ raw nerves.
The ship shuddered from the stress of pulling away from the Saber, tearing apart the docking structure’s last linked struts that joined the two ships. They finally parted and suddenly all sound and vibration ceased. Hec quickly determined they were no longer attached to the Saber and unnecessarily told Owens of their successful separation from the dying ship.
Owens turned to Sharné. She had risen from the deck and was sagging against a bulkhead, obviously feeling the heavier gravity aboard the Holmes. He said to Sharné, “Let’s get to the bridge.” Then to Hec, “Lower the gravity to one standard.” He turned and even with the now diminished gravity, began staggering down the short corridor, leaving a trail of blood from his still flowing shoulder.
Relieved by the lighter gravity, Sharné followed closely behind him and said, “Owens, you are still bleeding, although it does appear to have slowed. It looks to be a serious wound; you really need immediate medical attention.”
Although the Holmes now provided firm footing, Owens momentarily stumbled, then he caught himself. Without turning, he mumbled, “I know. Just let me get to the pilot seat, then we’ll see what can be done.”
His voice sounded weak. She hoped he would make it that far. As big as he was, she wasn’t sure how far she could drag him if he were to pass out. It seemed to take forever, but they finally crossed the threshold into the bridge. She watched anxiously as Owens barely had the strength to collapse into the large pilot seat centered before an arcing bank of controls.
She was momentarily distracted by a large holo-screen floating above the controls, displaying the four ships in a three dimensional tactical grid. One green blip, the Holmes, was moving away from a yellow blip. Further out were two red blips. Together, the Golstar ship’s positions formed a triangle. Beneath each of the colored blips were sets of numbers and equations, flashing with changing data. Her attention was drawn back to Owens when he started to talk.
With eyes now closed, Owens said, “Hec, you have full command and control; I can’t seem to think very clearly right now.” His voice was fading. A small pool of blood formed on the deck beneath Owens’ dripping arm.
“It’s alright, Boss. I have ship control.” Hec quickly responded. The AI then addressed Sharné. “Madam, you will have to stop the bleeding. I can’t help him in here. My manipulators are limited in this room to the maintenance access-ways.”
“My name is Sharné. Where is the aid station?”
“There’s an emergency kit on the bulkhead directly behind you.”
She spotted the large shiny metal case with the age-old Red Cross symbol. She quickly released it from its mounting bracket and found it to be surprisingly heavy. She took it over to where Owens sat, opened the case and stared blankly at the interior.
“What do I do now?” she asked. “I’m not familiar with these contents.”
Owens mumbled something she could not make out.
Hec took over, “Relax, Boss; I’ll take it from here. First,” he directed Sharné, “take out the large gold box with the display and keypad on the top; it’ll turn itself on when it’s removed from the case.” Hec waited for Sharné to remove the mini-doc from the case. She carefully lifted it up and away from the case. A low humming could immediately be heard coming from inside of the mechanism.
“Okay, now position it about three inches above the wound. Make sure the display reads ‘Auto-Mode Ready’ and then press the prominent, green pressure bar directly below the keypad.” She did as instructed and the box now began to vibrate. It chirped to itself in musical tones and a green indicator flashed on its top. “You can release it now,” Hec instructed.
“Release it?” she questioned.
“Yes. It’s okay, just let it go.”
Hesitantly, she removed her hands. The mini-doc remained suspended over the wound. She could just see flashes of movement from beneath the box and the musical tones changed in pitch and tempo. She was mesmerized by the industrious little machine.
“It’s cleaning and sealing the wound now. You’ve never used a mini-doc before?” Hec asked.
“No, no, we don’t use them.” Sharné was now frowning at the busy little box.
“Well, we’ve only been using them for the last twenty-five years or so. The military kept them to themselves for over half a century before releasing them for public use. They’re really handy.”
“Yes.” She paused then finally said, “They are indeed.” She tore her eyes away from the fascinating little machine and looked up at the holo-screen. The yellow blip was gone from the grid and there was more separation between the two red blips and the green one. A ragged sigh escaped her lips. Her heart ached for the captain and her crew. The Light Saber was gone. She wondered bleakly how everything had gone so wrong.
Hec answered her unasked question, “The core breached a few seconds ago. They held on longer than had I estimated. I couldn’t detect any escape vehicl
es. I’m very sorry.”
“I’m sorry too.” Owens said. His eyes were still closed but his voice was a little stronger. “Hec, what are those ships doing now? Have they noticed us yet?
“They’re still stationary; I don’t pretend to know what they’re planning to do next. But as a precaution I took our shields and reaction engines off-line when we lost the Saber as a shield. We are now tumbling without control, but our momentum is carrying us away from those ships at a fairly acceptable rate of speed. Our internal gravity and damping fields are compensating nicely.
“Good thinking, Hec.”
“Thanks. There are quite a few fair-sized chunks of the Saber still out there, and with part of the docking assembly that remains attached to us, it’s a good chance they’ll think we’re a just another piece of the wreckage.”
“I hope so,” Owens said. His voice was beginning to sound a little stronger. “Hec, give me your assessment of what went on out there” Owens asked.
“Well, I’m pretty sure there was some sort of take-over by what had to be some ringers planted in those ships’ crews. I don’t see how it could have been done any other way. Another ship carrying the bad guys couldn’t have snuck up on those battlewagons, so it had to an inside job.”
Sharné asked, “So, you believe it was a mutiny?
“I think that’s the only answer,” Hec responded. “But it couldn’t have been the entire crew. Otherwise, why would they have waited to attack? Had they attacked during our docking, the Saber’s secondary shields would have been down and it would have been over a lot quicker. I doubt if they would have received much return fire from the Saber if that had been the case. No, it’s my bet it was a take-over by people planted within the crews. It must have taken time execute their plan and then consolidate their control.”
“Yeah, we’re on the same track,” Owens said. His voice was almost normal. “Go on.”
“I think the mutineers are small in number, probably less than half of the original crew complement remaining in each ship. Since they moved to disable the Saber’s engines at the beginning, a short-handed crew wouldn’t really matter to the attackers.”
“So,” Owens interjected, “they just sat there, firing at a nice large immobile target, not having to worry about moving their ships.”
“Seems logical,” Hec agreed. “But you know firing weapons is one thing and piloting a very large spacecraft is another. It had to have taken a little time to organize. Right now, I would imagine they’re feeling out the controls and AI interfaces. However, soon they’ll be ready. And since they went to all of this trouble, I don’t think it will be too long though before they begin to check out the larger pieces of debris.”
Owens sighed, “Unfortunately, I think you’re right.” He opened his eyes and squinted at the holo-screen. “We really do need to get rid of this docking rig. The sooner we can reach the protection of subspace, the better.” He paused; his brow wrinkled in thought. He finally said, “But the only way to get rid of that junk is to do it manually, outside on the hull. And as your external grapples are positioned around the storage hatches, that task falls to me. I’ll have to go outside. You agree?”
There was a brief pause before Hec answered. “I agree, but with one condition… and unless you agree to it, I swear I’ll seal the hatches. You’re the boss, but you’re going to have to do this one thing for me before I let you go out.”
Owens frowned as he lifted the now inert mini-doc off his shoulder. “Alright, what’s the condition?”
“I want you to go to the medical recovery capsule and first get a transfusion. The mini-doc wasn’t attached to a blood synthesizer. All you received from it was a little fortified plasma when it sealed your wound. A transfusion won’t take that long and you really need some of the serious life-juice before you go outside. Without a transfusion, you could very well pass out and with no external manipulators at that area; I don’t have any way of retrieving you.”
The meaning of their conversation finally penetrated Sharné’s shock-fogged brain. She quickly turned away from the holo-screen and gaped at Owens. “Outside, you are planning to go outside of the ship?” She felt an irrational stab of fear.
Owens grunted and levered himself out of the chair. With a slight grimace, he said, “Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but we really need to ditch the wreckage that’s still riding our hull.”
“Why?”
“Our exterior has to be clean; it’s the only way we can make it into subspace. A larger ship wouldn’t require a spacewalk. It would have external manipulators or servitors that could do the job.”
“But,” Hec chimed in, “the Holmes is not equipped with manipulators in the area where docking cleats are, and we don’t carry a servitor. So, it will need to be done manually and that means the Boss must physically go outside.”
“There is no other way?”
“I’m afraid not.” Owens sighed tiredly.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No spare suits, so even if you were qualified to join me, I’d still have to go it alone. There’s only one spacesuit onboard and it’s tailored to fit me. I’m afraid all you can do right now, is to wait here.” He saw the concern etched on her face. “Believe me, I’m not exactly keen on taking a walk outside, but I’m the only one who can do the job. But, that being the case, I also have to admit Hec is right. No external manipulators or extra suit means if I lose consciousness when I’m out on the hull, I’m going to stay out.”
He extended his hand to Sharné. “Here, will you put this away for me?” He gave her the mini-doc. To Hec he said, “You got a deal, but while I’m in the capsule, I want you to keep me updated on our two friends. I need to know the moment they start moving.”
Then he gingerly stood up. He felt a wave of dizziness and he swayed on his feet. He waited for it to pass. It finally did and slowly, carefully he made to leave the bridge.
Sharné wondered for a moment if she should volunteer to accompany him to the medical capsule, then immediately suppressed the urge. She decided not let him know of her continued concern. Besides, she rationalized, he would probably prefer to handle it on his own and Hec would be closely monitoring him. She kept silent but was puzzled by her unexpected feelings towards Owens.
He was not in any immediate danger, yet she worried about him. She wondered where the sudden protective instinct had come from. She knew Owens for only a few hours. Yes, he had shown tremendous courage and stamina; she still marveled at his ability to walk after the amount of blood he had lost. And yes, she had to admit she was personally grateful. Had he not taken it upon himself to carry her to safety, she doubted her ability to have made it on her own. Without Owens, it was very likely that she would have shared in the fate of the Saber’s captain and crew. As she thought it through, she concluded her inclinations toward Owens must stem from feelings of gratitude; that, and her duty to safeguard Golstar’s savior.
Oblivious to her self-analysis, Owens left the bridge and Sharné absently watched his broad, retreating back without saying another word. She suddenly remembered the solid mass still resting in her hands and carefully put the mini-doc in its case and replaced it in its rack. Then, after a further moment of thought, she asked in a quiet voice, “Hec? Who exactly are you?”
CHAPTER 24
Aboard the Righteous Fist and Light Avenger, there was boisterous jubilation at the Saber’s destruction and more importantly, the destruction of the man from Confederated Planets. Amidst the din of the celebrating crew members, the two leaders of the twin mutinies conferred over the ship-to-ship com.
Linden, the lead mutineer aboard the Light Avenger, shared the victory with his counterpart. “This day was too long in coming. However, a key battle in our holy war has finally been won. The loss of his foul tool will surely weaken the Grand Patriarch. A new, brighter path cannot be far away. I feel it.”
The mutineer leader aboard the Righteous Fist agreed with Linden. “Yes, it is truly a mome
ntous day for our people. The Founder has indeed smiled upon us. What little is left of the dark-bringer’s tainted conveyance, the Light Saber, is now slowly dispersing in all directions.”
“It is doubtful any could have survived.”
“True, but I do regret the loss of innocent life.”
“As do I. It is unfortunate to lose good men and women who were only doing their duty. But temper your regret with the knowledge that it is ultimately the Grand Patriarch’s responsibility so many have died. Had he not embarked on his blasphemous path, none of those lives would have been forfeited.”
“Yes, of course you are right. The Grand Patriarch holds the ultimate responsibility. Without his ruinous scheme, none of this would have been warranted. The loss of fellow Golstar citizens, though regrettable, was absolutely necessary to prevent a far greater evil. Again, I rejoice in that the attack was successful.”
“Which leads us to our final task,” Linden said heavily. “While I admit I do not relish it, any existing piece of the Light Saber that remains large enough to harbor survivors must be systematically tracked down and thoroughly destroyed. There must be no uncertainty as to the dark-bringer’s fate.”
“I concur,” the other agreed. “A final cleansing must be undertaken before we leave.”
Linden continued, “However, I believe we will need to make an accommodation in order to achieve that cleansing.”
The other asked, “Accommodation?”
“Yes,” Linden replied. “The Light Avenger has expended most of its limited resources in destroying the Light Saber and as much as I am loath to admit, the Light Saber was able to return fire with some effectiveness. As a result, we incurred damage beyond this small, make-shift crew’s ability to repair.”
Shadows of Golstar Page 25
