Kato's War

by Andrew C Broderick

  “Yes!” Allen snapped. “It’s a fine balance between leaving here safely, and getting there in enough time. You know that. If they’d have given us the ten hours launch window we were supposed to have, instead of four…”

  “Yeah.”

  “Spinning the warp machinery up now, Captain,” Wilson said. “We already have an initial solution computed. We can go whenever you’re ready. It’s as good a time as any.”

  Elias nodded, and looked at Wilson. “Do it.”

  “Aye.” Wilson scanned his display one last time, his practiced eye and brilliant mind taking in and processing the data all in one go. “May God keep and protect us.” He pressed the blue square at the bottom of his midair control panel. Kato involuntarily grabbed the sides of his seat as the view outside turned black. All eyes turned to the Solar System display, and fixed on the small, glowing cone representing IIX. It began to move, slowly at first, away from the Red Planet. “We’re gonna do point six billion kilometers in around eight minutes,” Wilson said. Kato got goose bumps as he thought about how fast their equivalent physical speed would be.

  Elias smiled, and shook his head in wonder, never taking his eyes off the display. IIX cut a straight line in towards the Sun on a tangential path that intersected the orbit of Earth. Then their track took them back outside of the Blue Planet’s orbit, and back across the orbit of Mars. They now headed quickly towards the asteroid belt. “Range: three hundred million K,” Allen said. “ETA: four minutes, twenty-two seconds.”

  “Very good,” Elias said. “The technology’s holding up so far.”

  “If anyone notices physical ill effects, I need to know immediately,” Karla said. The others nodded. Kato and Martin both remained transfixed on the Solar System display. “How does this thing work?” Kato asked.

  “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” Martin said.

  Kato managed a weak smile. Then a look of concern crossed his face. “Can they detect us coming in?” he asked Elias.

  “No, since we’re outside of spacetime. As soon as we dewarp they’ll know we’re there, of course. What happens then is anybody’s guess.” Kato nodded. Soon, the display zoomed in and just showed the sand-colored dot. The space between it and Huo X-37-B was now just discernible, at the much smaller scale. Soon, IIX was also visible. She tracked in towards the other ship, and was beginning to slow down.

  “Gravitometry?” Allen asked.

  “I honestly don’t know,” Wilson said. “Nothing to compare the readings to. Once we dewarp, I can get our exact position from radar, and re-cal from that.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “What’s the deal with gravitometers?” Kato asked Martin.

  “Two things,” Martin said. “One, when we’re warping, we’re riding waves in spacetime. The structure of the fabric of the universe, if you will. As Einstein proposed, this is shaped by gravitational fields. We have the most sensitive gravity detectors ever built. And two, we’re completely blind when we’re warping. There’s no way we’d know where we’re going otherwise!”

  “The X-37-B’s traveling at a fair clip,” Elias said. “Dewarp somewhere between her and Ceres, so we can match her speed.”

  “Aye,” Allen said. “Gravs are good. Dewarp in five seconds. Standby…”

  Stars reappeared outside. The Sun was much smaller. “BINGO!” Allen said excitedly. “Huo’s right where she should be, heading in at twenty-one kilometers a second. We’re one hundred and five thousand kilometers from Ceres. Which is over there, by the way.” Everybody’s eyes followed where Allen pointed. The thousand kilometer-wide dwarf planet was about the size of a pea held at arm’s length.

  “Hold on,” Allen said. He turned IIX. The ZPR engines kicked in again, pushing everyone back in their seats. “Intercept in forty-two minutes.” The other ship was not yet visible.

  Kato looked at Ceres again, which was now directly in front of them. “Seung Yi,” he said slowly. “Never thought I’d be this close to him again. Or that we’d both exist hundreds of years later…” IIX picked up speed.

  “I’m monitoring all frequencies, to see if they’ve picked us up yet,” another man said. He looked around twenty-five, with short black hair. “I’m Mark Watney, by the way,” he said to Kato. This is it, Kato thought. If there was any chance of rescuing her, it would be then. Another hour, and she would be lost forever. Can’t think about that. Let’s think about… kittens. Haven’t even seen one in centuries. Kato decided he would get a cat once all this was over.

  Elias cleared his throat, and pressed a button. “Huo X-37-B, this is the Interplanetary Interstellar Explorer. Please acknowledge.” Nothing. Elias tried the transmission again, with similar results. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Every eye on the bridge was glued on him.

  “Range to that ship?” he asked.

  “Just over eighteen thousand kilometers,” Wilson said.

  Elias hit the transmit button again. “Huo X-37-B, this is the Interplanetary Interstellar Explorer. We have reason to believe you have a prisoner aboard; Zara Sasake-Robbins. You are in violation of international space law. Dock with us, and deliver her to our custody.” He touched the button again, ceasing transmission. “And nobody gets hurt,” he added.

  Chapter 34

  Huo X-37-B was less than five kilometers away. Everyone stared, rapt, at a telescope image of the ship. It appeared to be little more than a power and engine block at the rear, connected by a long thin metal truss to a cockpit and living quarters at the front. The only reason any of these things existed was because of the articles attached to the metal frame; large, white, cargo containers. There was a cluster of six of these at the rear of the ship, centered around the ship’s backbone. Forward of these was another identical cluster. Huo had her cockpit pointed away from Ceres. Her engines shone brightly as she shed the last of her great speed on approach to her home port. IIX’s engines also worked as hard as they could, to match Huo’s deceleration.

  “I’ll bet most of those containers are empty,” Allen said, “in order to have made the trip from Earth in eight days.” Nods of agreement.

  “Got the science suite on it now,” Mark said. “Scan the entire thing, just like you did when you intercepted Eternity, with this fine gentleman aboard.” He indicated Kato. A glowing x-ray like image of the other ship rendered slowly in 3D, in the center of the bridge above the location display. Nobody dared even breathe. “One… two… three…” Mark counted off the occupants as they were shown in the ship’s quarters. “Six… seven… eight.”

  “Those freighters only have a max of eight crew,” Wilson said.

  “How’d you know she’s not one of the occupants?” Elias said.

  “They’re all hanging out in the main, open area. None of them looks to be confined.”

  Oh God, Kato thought. All this and she’s not even there. Looks of concern and disappointment all around. Silence. “Wait! There!” Mark said, pointing excitedly at the now-complete display of the other ship’s inner structure. “There’s someone in that cargo container!”

  “My God! You’re right!” Elias said. “Holy sh… crap! They stuck her in one of those!”

  “She’s very much alive,” Mark said, “though inactive. She probably hasn’t a clue where she is.” Kato stared, blinking, at the image.

  “Allen, get us alongside Huo. Meanwhile, I’ll keep trying to hail them.”

  Soon, Huo X-37-B was a mere one hundred meters away. The Sun shone brilliantly on her white fore section, which was shaped like a larger version of the crew compartment and cockpit from one of the old space shuttles. The excess width of that part cast a long shadow down the side of the ship, leaving the forward of the visible cargo containers, including the one that held Zara, in shadow.

  “Huo X-37-B, we know you have Zara Sasake-Rob
bins confined in a cargo container,” Elias said. “Dock with us now, and hand her over.” Still no response. Elias clenched his teeth. “Grrrr!”

  Wilson narrowed his eyes, and looked at Elias. “You know, I don’t think they could get her to us even if they wanted to. Those containers will be sealed, and it doesn’t look like there’s a way to get in there from the crew compartment. There’s no access to her, until the container is unloaded and opened!”

  “Christ, you’re right!” Elias said, wide-eyed. “In fact, the crew might not even know she’s there. It could be they just loaded what they thought was an empty container. Think, guys. What can we do?”

  Kato began to turn a sickly shade of green, and turned to his right. “It’s over, Martin.” Kato shook his head. “It’s over.”

  “Kato, stop panicking,” Martin said sternly. “You’ve pulled off the impossible several times now. We can do this. Hang in there.” Kato sighed.

  “We could mate with the container like we did with Eternity, cut a hole in the side, and extract her that way,” Mark said.

  Suddenly, a jarring male voice filled the cabin. His accent was a mixture of Korean and Chinese. It was a thin, high, rattling voice. “I can, and am, coming to get you. Back off now, or you will face unimaginable torture. You will wish you had never existed.” Then, there was utter silence on the bridge. Jaws fell open and eyes widened in fear. The hair stood up on the back of the necks of everyone present. After a long moment, Elias looked at Kato. “Was that…”

  Kato nodded. “It was Seung Yi. I’d know his voice anywhere. He’s definitely alive.”

  Precious seconds ticked by. “I’m muting the comms. From Ceres, anyway,” Elias said. “We have a job to do.” He looked directly at Allen. “We’ll give it the ‘kiss.’ Pull up next to the container. Then, stretch the smart skin out to form a seal, cut a hole in the vessel, and go get her. Wilson, go down to the docking controls and get ready.”

  “Aye,” Allen said. He began to maneuver IIX closer to the other ship, very carefully. Wilson unbuckled, and clambered towards the back of the bridge as though he was climbing down a ladder. He used the handholds in the floor, as the ship was still under power at half a gravity.

  “By the way, everybody,” Allen said, “we’re only eighty-one hundred K from Ceres now. We have twenty minutes to get this done.” Everybody turned around, Ceres was behind them now, and looked out a viewport at the rear of the bridge. The body was much larger now; about the size of a tennis ball held at arm’s length. Craters and other surface details could be seen.

  IIX was ten meters from Huo X-37-B, and closing slowly. She filled up everyone’s field of view. Suddenly, the other ship began to roll about her axis.

  “CRAP!” three crewmembers said at once.

  “She’s trying to stop us mating,” Elias said. “No way we can get this done now.”

  Kato closed his eyes, and held tensely onto his seat. “Ideas, people,” Elias said. Others looked off into the distance, their brilliant minds working quickly.

  “Lasers!” Mark said at last. “We have powerful scientific lasers, normally used for vaporizing rock!”

  “Put a hole in it?” Wilson asked, incredulously, over the intercom from his post further back in the ship.

  “No. Cut the container free. It’s anchored at both ends. Once free, it’ll float away from the ship, and then we can do what we want with it.”

  “Right. It’s all we’ve got,” Elias said. “Do it.”

  Chapter 35

  Seung Yi watched, rapt, from his palatial suite atop the main pyramid. A very high magnification telescope image displayed both ships. He squinted against the great light from both craft’s engines. Their bodies were only just visible, as the optics compensated for the glare. IIX had maneuvered almost right up to Huo X-37-B. Then, the freighter began to roll. Obviously, she was trying to defend herself against the imposter. Seung Yi managed the merest crack of a smile, and sighed with relief. IIX appeared to back off slightly, but stayed in formation with Huo X-37-B. Both of them were descending quickly towards his world’s surface, decelerating as they did so. The cargo that he, and the entire dynasty, had worked so hard for, would be there in less than twenty minutes. The telescope image gradually grew clearer, as the distance decreased. Seung Yi never took his eyes off it. Then, something completely unexpected happened: a cargo container broke free from the freighter. It tumbled off into space, like a shot put finally released from its spin. Seung Yi began to shake his head slowly. “No!” he snarled. Then he began to mutter under his breath, his face like thunder, his tone not a plea, but one of absolute fury. “No, no, no. Oh no. Not this time. I’ve come too far for you to get away.”

  Seung Yi’s mind flashed back centuries. Absolute humiliation at losing his prized, and extremely expensive, spaceship. He became a laughingstock. Being stripped naked in front of the world would have been better. Then, he had gradually descended into madness. His days were a blur. Agony beyond knowing. The inner walls of an asylum. Many drugs that messed up his vision. Then eventual release… into a world that now saw him as weak and disturbed.

  “Chase it down!” Elias ordered. Allen turned the ship on a dime, causing her occupants to hold onto their seats, and pursued the long, white container. The freighter appeared to rush off upwards. She was still decelerating with respect to Ceres. The container was not, and hence, neither was IIX. Both were falling very quickly towards the surface of the dwarf planet.

  “The laws of physics are on my side,” Seung Yi said to himself with great satisfaction as he watched. “They can’t stop in time. Every last one of them will die.”

  IIX was now alongside the container. “How in the heck are we going to stop it tumbling?” Wilson asked, panic evident in his voice.

  “I’m gonna use the exhaust from the close maneuvering thrusters,” Allen said. “If we hit it just right, near the top, we can hopefully exert enough force stop it. I’m thankful it’s just an axial spin, not a precession.” Zara’s flying prison was now dead ahead of them. Everyone watched, rapt, as barely-visible bursts of gas were emitted towards the long object. It gradually came to a halt.

  “Kiss of life!” Elias ordered. “The surface is coming up very rapidly indeed!”

  Allen deftly turned IIX ninety degrees to the right, repositioning the ship side on to the container, two meters away. Wilson, situated in the side corridor behind the bridge that led to the hatch, immediately commanded the ship’s skin to stretch out and pucker against the side of the container. “Seal is good! Pressurized!” Wilson said. Kato, Mark and Karla floated behind him in the now weightless environment of the side corridor, looking directly at a circle of the cargo container’s white skin. “Cutting…” A circle of the white metal fell away from them, glowing at the edges. There, in the dimly lit void beyond, was Zara. Wilson dodged to one side, while Kato propelled himself straight through the opening at speed.

  “DAD!” the wide-eyed girl screamed. “What… how…”

  “No time!” Kato yelled. “I’ll explain later. Just get in there!” Father and daughter pushed themselves off the far wall of the container. Being very practiced in moving in zero gravity, they shot through the one-and-a-half meter opening as one, back into IIX. Karla caught Zara, and Mark caught Kato.

  “Sealing!” Wilson yelled. The tube of the ship’s skin crimped itself off. The end, resembling an octopus’s sucker, detached from the now-empty box.

  “Allen, can you get us around Ceres, since we can’t stop in? I’ll be a close call,” Elias said.

  “Doing it!” The main engines lit up. There was no time to wait for everybody to strap in. The occupants of the side tunnel were thrown uncomfortably against the wall due to the sudden acceleration.

  “The surface is still coming up pretty darn quickly! Compute a solution and warp us the hell out
of here!” Elias yelled.

  “Already on it! Computing fifty percent done. I just set a random point far away as our destination. Stand by to warp in forty-five seconds.”

  Chapter 36

  Seung Yi was aghast, as IIX streaked laterally across the surface of Entara, her engines shining like the Sun. His pupils contracted like those of a snake. “Oh no. Not this time. I vowed to make her pay, and pay she will. There… is… one… option… left…” He paused for a few seconds, weighing something very heavy in his heart. “Put me through to the Advanced Antimatter Facility,” he said at last. “Show me the containment field control panel.” The two-by-thee meter panel took his up entire display, save for an inset box showing the action outside in space. The array of containment bottles on the display were all showing one hundred percent.

  ENTARA ONLY EXISTS BECAUSE OF ME. IT IS MINE TO DO WITH AS I PLEASE.

  “Display field control system.” The prompt for the three alphanumeric passwords appeared. Seung Yi recalled the sequences easily. All three were entered, as he touched virtual buttons on the midair screen. Another panel was then displayed. One red button, in the bottom left corner, read: DISABLE ANTIMATTER CONTAINMENT SYSTEM. One last look at the rapidly disappearing IIX. “You crossed the wrong person. You will pay with your lives.” Seung Yi reached out. His finger hovered over the button for a few seconds. Then, he pressed it. How long would it take? Would he feel anything? What about… Ceres was consumed by the savage, boiling heart of a new star. Seconds later, any object within millions of kilometers was vaporized by heat and light beyond comprehension. The wave of pure energy expanded in all directions, as though looking for its next targets. Jupiter’s atmosphere was buffeted, as it was the closest planet.