Derelict: Tomb (Derelict Saga Book 2)

by Paul E. Cooley

  Engines? Green. Fuel Cells? Red. Backup power? 113 STDM. Hull integrity? 100%. Oxygen? 72 STDM.

  She read the numbers and frowned. They had 113, no, make that 112 now, standard minutes of emergency power reserves. The shuttle’s fuel cells were empty. Without any fuel, it was impossible to know if the engines would even start, let alone take a crew anywhere. They had enough O2 to hide out here for another 72 standard minutes. After that, they’d have to switch to their suits permanently and survive between trips to the refill stations.

  But she didn’t think that was going to be an option. The shuttle bay’s hull integrity had obviously been compromised long before their skiff ruptured the aft plates. That meant the deck plates might be brittle like the ones they’d found on the bow and Mira’s belly. Depending on what happened during the additional stabilization burns, they might have to relocate. Considering the existing damage, the thruster packs she and her squad had placed just over an hour ago might come straight through the deck plates.

  Kali had two problems she needed to solve ASAP--getting her squad to a safe area, and finding a way to communicate with S&R Black. The shuttle was safe, for now. But once they ran out of power and O2, it would be little more than a metal coffin. You forgot your other problem, she told herself, which is how you’re going to deal with Elliott.

  The marine’s suit was barely holding together. He was still unconscious and his block reports weren’t looking good. They could boost him with another nannie shot, but there was no guarantee it would do more than spin up his organs to an unsafe level. Then again, she might have to risk it. If she didn’t, he might die anyway.

  Between the blood loss, the momentary exposure to near absolute zero and vacuum, the damage to his dermis had to be severe. When she’d opened his suit for the nannie injection, she’d seen the signs of third-degree frostbite. The skin in those spots was dead and would soon begin to rot. The nannies would do their best to detach and clean the areas, but if he had significant internal injuries, they wouldn’t even bother.

  So while they worked on his brain, his heart, his lungs, and whatever else might be damaged, a life-threatening infection was almost a certainty. If I had some fucking schematics, she said to herself, we could try and get an autodoc powered up. Right. If only.

  “First things first,” she said aloud. “Let’s see if I can use you, you ancient piece of shit.”

  Kali flipped through the shuttle’s menus looking for its interfaces. As she began scrolling through the list, the shuttle bounced up and down. Crystals of bloody ice, left over from the dead pilot, floated near the control panels on their way to the ceiling, but she didn’t notice. When she found the list of neural interfaces, she bit her lip.

  The shuttle did have pilot and co-pilot block interfaces, but one or both appeared damaged. Of course they are, she said to herself. “Dickerson?” she said over the suit comms. “What have we got?”

  “Well, Corporal, the exact same shit it said in the skiff inventory. Everything looks good.”

  She checked her block. Sure enough, the skiff’s inventory had the contents in the locker. She rolled her eyes, shocked he hadn’t sounded more sarcastic. “Point taken,” she said. “Four nannie injectors.”

  “That’s right, Corporal. The temperature back here just hit above freezing.”

  “Good. Connect to Elliott’s block. I want to know how he’s doing.”

  Dickerson paused for a moment before he spoke. When he finally did, there was an edge to his voice she hadn’t heard before. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he was on the verge of crying. “Bad shape, Corporal. I don’t think his heart weathered the shock too well. The nannies are keeping him pumping, but we have got to find a fucking autodoc if we’re going to keep him alive.”

  “Hit him with another injector. That should still leave us with the four from the locker. If we go exploring, I’ve a feeling we’ll find more of them,” she said.

  “Aye,” Dickerson said.

  “Hey, Boss,” Carbonaro said, “any luck on the comms?”

  “Not yet, Carb. Going to try something in a minute.”

  “Aye, Boss.”

  She waited for either marine to ask more questions, but they didn’t. Both Carbonaro and Dickerson were probably opening Elliott’s suit so they could hit him with another injection. Hopefully that would keep them busy.

  Refocusing on the neural interfaces, she activated the co-pilot side, and sent a connection request. Her HUD lit with a new set of options. When she found the “non-verbal communication” menu, she quickly selected it and tied into it.

  Without a working computer on the other end of the connection, it felt as though she’d suddenly opened a part of her mind to the vacuum outside. A dark space she couldn’t really explain sat at the edge of her thoughts. She gritted her teeth and sent an image of S&R Black at the empty space in her mind.

  Nothing happened. She concentrated harder, sending the image over and over again into the void. Her head hurt. The concussion made focusing difficult and damned near painful, but she struggled to hold the image intact. It started to slip from her when the emptiness filled with a presence.

  Corporal, Black said, where are you?

  Kali’s pursed lips turned into a grin. Black. We’re in Mira’s shuttle bay. We need an extraction. ASAP!

  What is your status?

  Elliott is going to die if we don’t get an extraction right now. She managed to keep the thoughts from coming out in a scream, but it was a near thing.

  Black said nothing for a moment. The silence lasted so long she thought the connection had been broken. An extraction is not possible at this time, the AI said.

  What do you mean it’s not possible? Explain. Quickly.

  Mira is still stabilizing, Black said. Until we have finished firing all thruster packs, it will be impossible to perform an extraction. In addition, the stabilization process has resulted in more debris breaking loose. Further complicating your situation, an incoming KBO has made it necessary to tow Mira.

  Goddammit! Kali thought to the AI. Connect me to someone in the command crew. Now!

  That is not possible at this time, Black said. The interference--

  Fuck the interference! she mentally screamed at the presence. Get me someone!

  Black paused. Corporal, please remain calm. The Trio sent me an updated file with interior schematics. It will take a few moments to appear on your block. Our connection is very slow. Are you using an amplifier?

  We’re in a disabled shuttle, she thought. I’m interfaced through one of its remaining neural connections.

  She felt Black grin, and her skin prickled with goose flesh. She suddenly didn’t trust the AI. Not. One. Bit.

  Corporal. I’m showing extensive damage to the shuttle bay. The thruster packs may have punctured another deck plate in your area. I suggest you lead your squad away from there as soon as possible.

  Kali blinked. Leave? Now? And go where?

  Her HUD glowed with an incoming data stream. Black was indeed sending her a new file. We have our equipment from the skiff, but the med kit isn’t going to do shit for Elliott. He is going to die. Do you understand?

  Yes, Corporal, the AI said, its voice devoid of emotion. I have marked Mira’s emergency autodoc installations as well as the medical bay. I suggest your squad make its way inside the ship and to those areas.

  I can’t save him! I don’t have any fucking power!

  Black seemed to sigh in her mind. The sensation was even worse than feeling it smile. The schematics contain information for emergency power generators as well as a list of all oxygen refill stations. Depending on Lance Corporal Elliott’s condition, your squad should be able to evacuate him to a safe zone.

  Her HUD flashed. The download was at 50%. If we go inside Mira, we won’t be able to communicate with you. Worse, an extraction team won’t be able to find us.

  That is a risk, Corporal, Black said. However, there are multiple communication arrays within Mira.
It is very likely you will find ways to boost your signal to reach me. Black paused. If not the command crew.

  What is the source of the interference? Kali asked.

  Unknown at this time, Black said. Lieutenant Nobel and I are working to solve the problem.

  The shuttle shuddered again, its bulkheads rattling as if from a quake. Her body tried to leap out of the chair, but the magnetics kept her in place. Something crashed against the shuttle’s hull, and metal debris splashed across the shuttered canopy window.

  One of the thrusters has punctured the deck plates above you, Black said. I suggest you move with all haste, Corporal.

  80% downloaded. She switched over to comms. “Dickerson. You got him stabilized?”

  “Hit him with another injector, Corporal.”

  “Good. Get him back in his suit. We are leaving in two minutes.”

  Dickerson paused before he replied. “Aye, Corporal. On it.”

  Black. Why did the Trio hold back the schematics?

  She felt the AI grin again. I do not have the answer to that question, Corporal.

  “Bullshit,” she said aloud. She wasn’t sure if she hid the thought from the AI. In fact, she was sure she hadn’t. Do I now have all the updates?

  As soon as the file finishes downloading, you will have everything I’m able to give you at this time.

  “What the fuck does that mean?” she said aloud.

  You now have the file, Black said. She checked her HUD. Black was right--she had finally finished downloading it. I must stress that you need to escape from the shuttle bay as soon as possible.

  Any last recommendations?

  Black paused. Do not come in contact with exo-solar material. It may be extremely hazardous.

  “No shit,” she said aloud. Tell the command crew I’ll check in as soon as I can.

  Good luck, Corporal.

  The presence disappeared from her mind leaving her staring at her HUD. She leaned back in the chair. They just got the goddamned shuttle warmed up. They had enough oxygen and power to stay here for more than an hour, and now they had to abandon it.

  Seething, she opened the file and quickly scanned the schematics. The pressure doors leading into the ship from the shuttle bay were near the bay’s middle. They must have walked right past them in the darkness. She cursed, marked the position on her HUD, deactivated her magnetics, and rose from the chair.

  She had to get the squad moving. She had to get Elliott to a trauma station. And more importantly, she had to find a way to get off this fucking wreck.

  Chapter Seven

  Ah, the good old days when he was a 2nd Lieutenant in charge of one NCO and three squads. The days when there was a salty sergeant under his command who gave good advice, and always seemed to know what to do. When all he had to worry about was getting through the next training mission, the next round of combat with the rebels, and staying alive.

  When they promoted him to the rank of captain, Dunn knew everything would change. He just didn’t know how much he’d miss being out in the shit. Trapped here in his command chair, he felt as useless as Colonel Heyes back on Trident Station. At least the colonel had risen to a position where he could do little harm. If Dunn screwed something up now, there was no help, no one coming to the rescue.

  Half a kilometer away, Mira, humankind’s greatest accomplishment and most spectacular failure, tumbled and floated through space without a care in the universe. She’d already taken one of his marines from him. How much more would she take?

  Dunn watched the camera feeds from inside S&R Black’s cargo bay. The marines hustled to prepare the harness, gather supplies, and make any last minute adjustments to their plan.

  An alert flashed across his block. Black, the ship’s AI, wanted to have a conversation. Great. He accepted the connection. Yes, Black?

  Captain, the AI said, I have an update on Kalimura’s squad.

  Despite the fact Black was only speaking in his mind, he leaned forward in his chair. Tell me.

  I made contact with Corporal Kalimura. She and her squad made it to Mira’s shuttle bay.

  Patch me through. Now.

  Black paused. I am unable to complete that request, Captain.

  Why? The uneasy calm he’d managed to achieve over the last twenty minutes evaporated. Now his stomach felt as though snakes crawled inside it.

  Corporal Kalimura and her squad are no longer within communications range, Black said. They were only able to connect to me via a shuttle’s backup communications system.

  Why can’t they simply fly out of the shuttle bay?

  Too much damage, the AI said. During the connection, I was able to capture some of Kalimura’s feed. The shuttle bay is filled with debris and there is no guarantee any of the shuttles are flightworthy.

  Dunn’s considered that for a moment. Where have they gone?

  LCpl Elliott was seriously wounded in the skiff crash, Captain. Kalimura is leading her squad to find an autodoc or suitable medical facilities aboard Mira. The AI continued before he had a chance to ask a question. The corporal managed to find weapons and supplies from the crashed skiff.

  Dunn frowned. How did the skiff crash? What happened?

  The skiff’s thrusters sustained damage and vented their fuel into space. As a result, Corporal Kalimura ejected her squad from the craft.

  His mind raced. How did she get supplies from it? If they had to mag-walk on Mira’s exterior, we could have picked them up!

  Black’s presence pulled back from him for a moment, just as a human would when unexpectedly yelled at. When Black once again came forward, the thoughts had a serenity to them that helped calm him. Captain. The ship had to be stabilized, the skiff had to be refueled, as did the SV-52.

  He blinked. Something didn’t add up here. Black? When did you know they reached the shuttle bay?

  The AI paused. He felt the sentient fumbling for the right words to say. I knew they had reached the shuttle bay when I told you they had crashed.

  What? A wave of rage and confusion pulsed in his mind. The thought of his hand closing around the neck of a featureless body raced through the connection. Black pulled back again in horror. Why didn’t you tell me?

  Captain, Black said, please calm down. If I had told you their situation, you would have either stalled the stabilization procedure and risked a disastrous rescue mission, or been unfocused during the stabilization routine. In either case, the mission would have been in jeopardy.

  Oh? And what mission would that be, Black?

  A question mark appeared as an image in his mind. I don’t understand the question, Captain.

  Very simple, Black, Dunn said. Heyes wants us to bring back Mira. I want to get my people back. Which is more important?

  Black paused again. Captain. My priorities are to secure your personnel before worrying about Mira. However, the two are now intertwined. I cannot help you rescue Corporal Kalimura’s squad if Mira is destroyed by KBO-9413. I could not allow you to mount a rescue attempt until Mira was stabilized. If such an attempt ran into trouble, our limited resources vastly impact the chances for success.

  He shook his head. Black? You follow my orders.

  Yes, Captain. However, I’m also programmed to protect my crew.

  He opened his mouth and then closed it. He’d nearly shouted at the top of his lungs. Dunn took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Black? You are very different since the upgrade.

  The AI said nothing for a moment. An image of a simple micro-processor appeared through the connection. Four micro-processors appeared surrounding the first. Then the view zoomed out as more and more processors appeared. The processors continued to multiply at an exponential rate until only a sheet of black remained.

  Dunn shivered. Is that what happened?

  More or less, Captain, the AI said. The Trio’s upgrade was purpose built for this mission.

  He pulled back from the connection to keep Black from reading his thoughts. As angry and confused as he was, it would b
e impossible to keep the AI from probing every synapse firing in his mind.

  Purpose built? What the hell did that mean? S&R Black was the last S&R ship at Trident Station to receive the upgrade. And that upgrade, so far as he knew, was merely to supplement storage, diagnostic capabilities, and a few sensors.

  He searched through his block until he found the maintenance report for the upgrade. It was as he remembered. Nothing was mentioned about changes to the AI decision-making algorithms or the personality. But Black had changed in fundamental ways.

  The old personality didn’t react unless asked to. It provided information and helped make decisions, but unless the ship and its crew were incapacitated or in stasis, it was forbidden to take action on its own. That was the rule for all military AIs. None were allowed free reign. Except for...

  “Shit,” he said aloud.

  He had to calm himself again. If he continued sending violent thoughts to Black, who knew how the AI would react? Once his heart rate slowed, he brought the connection back to life.

  Tell me something, Black. Are you going to follow my orders?

  Of course, Captain.

  Then here’s an order, Black. If you have information, you share it when you have it. My job is to make the decisions that affect my marines. And the mission. Is that understood?

  Black paused once more. He could feel the AI struggling to justify what it had done. After a moment, she simply said, Aye, sir.

  Dunn clenched his fists. He couldn’t tell whether the AI was using the marine affirmative as a way of communicating compliance, or if she was simply being a smart ass. The latter possibility wasn’t good.

  Black. Is there anything else you haven’t told me?

  No, sir, she said. Nothing I can tell you at this time.

  That’s not the same as a definitive ‘no,’ Black.

  Yes, sir, Black said. I understand that.

  Then explain what you mean, Dunn said. This was like talking to a petulant child. Actually, it was worse. Most petulant children didn’t have the power to kill you anytime they wanted. For all he knew, Black could decide killing the entire crew was preferable to being interfered with. He fought to keep his facial expression neutral and his thoughts clear. Letting the AI sense his unease would give it too much of an advantage.