“You can,” I insisted, looking at him. “I’m going to find some way to get to the machine, and then you’ll have to work it for me.”
“I don’t know how,” he insisted. “Even if I did, there’s no way to get to it.”
“Nothing is completely foolproof. There has to be some way to override security on that door.”
“But if he finds out what we’re doing...”
“Sometimes you have to take risks, August!” I almost yelled. “If we don’t try, there will be no chance at all.” Grabbing up my pile of components, I stood up and hurried to my little table, where I dumped them.
There was silence for a moment as I made sure I had all the parts I needed. The wire—I must have dropped it—
His pale hand appeared in my peripheral vision, handing me the coil. I took it without looking up. “Thank you,” I mumbled.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, sitting at the table. “I’ll try.”
Timid or not, he was all I had right now. And his humble, “I’m sorry”, which was something I would not have done, touched a chord in my heart. “Thanks. For now let’s focus on building the transmitter.”
“All right. What do you want me to do?”
I handed him a glass tube. “You’re going to have to figure out how to create a vacuum.”
XX
When we finished our work three hours later, I was thoroughly exhausted. After bidding me goodnight, he left to go get a new cabin, and I changed and dropped into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
But it was not a restful sleep. My dreams were plagued with images of the Doctor lurching around the bridge, holding his head, with a look of intense pain on his face, and the Captain yelling frantic orders at officers who ignored his words, while a smiling Commander Howitz held a giant blaster that pointed at everyone at once, and August cowered in a corner. Guilders was never anywhere to be seen; he was invisible.
I bolted up when the Commander’s blaster was fired in my dream, adrenaline rushing through my body. In a shocked state, I merely sat there for several minutes, staring at the bland wall of my quarters.
Then I let out a long breath. It had only been a dream.
Letting myself go limp, I dropped back down again and looked at the equally bland ceiling. I listened to the faint humming of the life support systems, then rolled over on my side and shut my eyes.
Finally I sat up, throwing the blankets off and swinging my legs over the side of the bed, letting them hit the floor hard. It was no use. I couldn’t sleep.
Grabbing up my wristcom, I checked the time. 3:00. The day shift wouldn’t begin for another three hours.
I strapped the comm on and formed a decision. August had told me that for the reversal of eradication to work, the victim had to be in the same room as the device. So even once we got the machine away from Commander Howitz’s quarters, we would have to get the Doctor as well. And right now, no one knew where he was.
I didn’t allow my mind to suggest the possibility that we might not be able to get to the machine.
I dressed in the dark, feeling vaguely that the light would attract the attention of one of my adversaries, though the sensible part of me knew that was impossible. Then I unlocked my door and slipped out into the dim halls.
Although I knew it was futile, I tried his room first. It wasn’t locked, and I peered in, my eyes still adjusted to the darkness.
Nothing. He wasn’t there.
Fighting the urge to cry just at the sight of his empty room, I resolutely kept on down the hall. Someone, somewhere, had to know where he was.
For a moment I contemplated asking Commander Howitz to allow me to go see him. I quickly discarded the idea, however, when I remembered that he’d likely used the machine in the first place to keep me from consulting the Doctor. He would probably fear that if I saw him again now, I would be more unwilling than ever to come with him.
That was impossible, since I was already as unwilling as I could possibly be.
Shaking away these thoughts, I tried to think logically. Who might know where the Doctor was being held?
Well, what was keeping him from simply walking out of whatever room he was in? He must be guarded—at least, it was highly likely. As far as I knew, the majority of the mutineers, if not all of them, were from engineering.
And all but the first engineer’s quarters were on D-Deck.
Deciding it was as good a theory as any, I slipped into the elevator and rode it down.
When the elevator doors opened again, the long row of cabin doors made my spirits sink. I couldn’t knock on every one of them. That would be absurd, and besides, someone was sure to realize what I was doing long before I was done.
Kerwin. The young man I’d treated the day of the mutiny. He was an engineering mate—surely he’d know something.
Kerwin—Merritt was his last name. I began walking down the hall, eyeing every name plate carefully. I tried to keep my boots from ticking on the hard floor as I stepped along, reading each name. No—not that one—that wasn’t it—
There it was. Ensign Kerwin Merritt.
I raised my finger to press his door chime, then hesitated for an instant. It was so early—was it right to wake him?
This wasn’t some ordinary situation. This was about life and death. He could get his sleep later.
Resolutely, I pressed the chime and waited. Silence for a moment, a moment in which he would have had plenty of time to get up and cross the room. I rang again.
This time it was only a few seconds before the door slid open and his youthful face appeared before me, blinking sleepily in the dim light. He looked so much younger when he was sleepy, I felt like I’d awakened a little boy, and a twinge of guilt pecked me. But I shook it off. This was no time for etiquette.
“Kerwin, it’s me, Andi Lloyd,” I said quietly.
“Yes?” he muttered, trying to open his eyes wider.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but it’s important. Do you have any idea where they’re keeping Doctor Lloyd? I need to find him, so I can help him.”
He stared at me groggily, clearly trying to think. I fought back the urge to reach out, grab his shoulders and shake him. No matter that he was three inches taller than me; he still looked like a sleepy little boy.
“Doctor... Lloyd...” he muttered. “Doctor Lloyd... I think I heard something... just a minute...”
I bit my lip to keep myself from bursting with impatience. I didn’t have a minute! We only had until noon to save the Doctor!
He opened his eyes a bit wider and the tiniest spark of realization appeared in them. “Doctor Lloyd, yes. I don’t know the cabin number, but I know Ensign Shelhammer is guarding him. In his own room I think... there are two guards.”
Shelhammer. I nodded as I impressed the name on my memory. “Thank you, Kerwin. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“Any time,” he murmured, retreating into the room and letting the door close again.
I crept down the hall, scanning the name plates for a “Shelhammer.” It was at the far end of the hall—“Ensign Darren Shelhammer.” I didn’t know him—he was probably a part of the night crew.
Suppressing the knotty feeling in the pit of my stomach, I pressed the door chime and waited.
This time I didn’t have to push it twice. Before I expected it, the door shot open and a stern, stalwart, broad-shouldered man appeared before me, blaster in hand.
Recovering from the silence the shock had forced on me, I spoke falteringly. “I’m—I’m Andi Lloyd. I just—is the Doctor awake?”
He furrowed his brows. “Why?”
“I just—want to see him.” I looked pleadingly into the man’s eyes. Surely he would see how desperate I was. “I just want to see how he’s doing, only for a moment.”
He looked doubtfully at me, the inflexibility of his expression not abating. We stood like this for a moment, and then I heard another voice. “What is it, Darren?”
Another crewman, shorter and slight
er, pushed past the first one. He saw me then, and looked sorry. “Miss Lloyd.”
I nodded. I recognized him, though I didn’t know his name. He’d been in sickbay the week before, and I’d helped the Doctor set his broken finger.
“You just wanted to visit your father?”
“I wanted to see the Doctor, yes.”
He looked up at the taller guard. “She can come in for a moment.” This was said in a quiet but authoritative tone.
Darren looked unsure about this. “But the Commander said...”
Without acknowledging that his partner had spoken, the shorter guard nodded at me. “Only a moment.”
Looking my thanks, I moved past the men into the room, trying not to tremble with the fear of what I might find there.
Even after the dim corridors, the room was dark. I could just barely make out a thin form seated in a low chair in one corner. The Doctor.
His head was bowed stiffly over his hands, which were lying listlessly across his bony knees.
As my eyes became more accustomed to the gloom, I saw that his face was dazed and moist. Water covered the front of his half-open shirt and had dripped down onto his pant legs. He stared at his hands, and didn’t look up as I approached. Tears ran unchecked down my cheeks as I noted the gauntness of his cheekbones and the increased lines on his forehead. I hardly recognized him.
Kneeling in front of him, I took his damp hands in mine. His fingers were wrinkled from excessive immersion in water, and his skin was cold and clammy. Looking up into his eyes, I pleaded, “Doctor, do you know me?”
There was a moment of silence, and then he looked into my face. “Remind me again of your name?”
“Andi. It’s me, Andi.”
There was a momentary pause, then he spoke slowly, his voice quiet and tense. “I knew someone by that name. She was my daughter.”
“That’s me. I am your daughter, Doctor.”
He looked me in the eyes, and hazy surprise registered. “Lavinia? What are you doing here? Where is Sara?”
I squeezed his hands gently. “Sara’s gone. It’s me, Andi.”
He looked down at my hands, and his trembled. Then he looked closely at me again. There was a moment of gripping silence as he studied my face, and then a flash of recognition lit up his eyes. He grasped my hands tighter. “Andi!”
I smiled through my tears. “Doctor, we know what’s wrong with you.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Yes. We’re going to help you. We’re going to help you remember everything again.”
He sighed. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“You don’t have to. Don’t worry. Just try to hang on until I come back. Try to remember.”
“Remember what?”
I leaned close to him. “Do you remember the time Crash took us out for our first space flight? You got sick.”
He looked confused again. “Crash?”
“Eagle Crash, your nephew. Do you remember him? Do you remember when your parents died and you had to raise Sara by yourself? Do you remember when she married Miles Crash and left you alone? Do you remember when she died, and Crash came to live with us? Don’t you remember, Doctor?”
His fingers gripped tighter, and his face twisted as he tried desperately to recall the things I said. “Crash... Sara... Sara was my sister. You were her best friend. She had blonde hair and blue eyes.”
I had never met the beautiful Sara Crash, but I had seen pictures of her. I nodded.
“She left me alone. My parents left me. Journey left me.”
My tears started up again. He’d rarely talked to me about his parents, and I didn’t know who Journey was. But it was clear that he was remembering.
“Then I found the child. She needed me. I took her because I had to, but I kept her because I loved her. She did not leave me.”
My heart threatened to break. “Doctor...” my trembling voice began, but a hand was laid firmly on my shoulder, and the guard named Darren spoke.
“You should go now.”
Before standing up, I gave his hands one last squeeze and whispered, “I trust you, Doctor. I’ll be back—we’ll save you. Wait for me—keep remembering.”
The lost look had come back to his face, but he nodded before looking back down at his wet hands. “I must wash my hands,” he said softly. “I must wash them.”
Guided through the dark by the tall lieutenant, I stumbled out of the room and just barely took the time to grasp the other guard’s hand warmly for a moment before stepping out into the comparative brightness of the corridor. The door slid shut behind me.
It took me several moments to recover sufficiently to even walk down the hall. I rubbed the rough sleeve of my uniform across my eyes, trying to wipe away the tears.
Now I knew where he was. I had to think. We still had get to the machine—and then get him out. Then we had to work the machine—but we also had to get help. We couldn’t get the ship back on our own. The Commander and the two scientists were too smart for that.
I had to outsmart them. Glancing at my wristcom, I saw that it was already past four. Could it really have been over an hour since I woke up?
I couldn’t wait any longer to contact Crash. If I did, he wouldn’t be able to make it in time to help us.
XXI
Slipping down the empty corridors, I tried to relax, to keep my heart beating at a normal rate. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the elevator and directed it to take me to C-Deck. From there I hurried to my quarters and picked up the transmitter we’d built the night before. It was too large to hide beneath my jacket—but there was a brown shoulder bag hanging from a hook next to my closet. I used it sometimes to carry medical supplies.
Grabbing it, I thrust the transmitter in. It kept the bag from closing all the way, but the flap went far enough to hide it and not attract attention. That would have to do.
I hurried to the mess hall, hoping that I could finish before it opened. Because of my frequent service there, I had complete access to it, so I should have no problem getting to the generator. What I would have a problem with, I realized, was actually running the generator. There was no way I could generate the power needed. I didn’t think August could—and running my eyes mentally over Kerwin’s slight, boyish figure, I didn’t think he could do it either.
There was nothing to do but try it. I could think of something later if that didn’t work.
The mess hall was empty and almost completely dark when I entered. I didn’t dare activate the lights for fear of attracting attention, so I wove my way carefully through the mass of tables and chairs.
“Oomph!” I struggled to repress a cry as the back of a chair unexpectedly plunged into the pit of my stomach. I rubbed it, squinting, and gave the seat a wide berth.
I knew the way well enough that I was able to make it to the bar without any more mishaps, and I slipped behind it, keeping one hand on the transmitter to protect it.
I felt over the wall beside the galley door until my fingers found the keypad, and then I visualized where the numbers were in my mind and entered the access code. After letting off a beep that made me cringe by its contrast to the silence, it blinked green and the door slid open.
It was dark in there, too, though not as black as the mess hall. Green and blue lights from the temperature regulators and ovens gave the room a spooky and unnerving aspect, but I walked in bravely, letting the door slide shut behind me.
With the help of the lights, it was easy to find my way across the room to the pantry door. My footsteps echoed off the metal floor, but I kept reassuring myself that there was no one near enough to hear them. When I reached the pantry, I entered the access code with confidence. It was a good thing I had such a good head for numbers.
I took one step into the pitch black pantry, and then a hand gripped my shoulder. With a shriek, I fought against it, pulling away into the shelves ahead of me.
“Andi?” A voice hissed at my ear. “Is that you
?”
I stopped fighting as I recognized the voice. It was Eduardo, the young galley assistant.
Turning, I looked where I thought his eyes must be. “Yes, it’s me.” I kept my voice in a whisper, as he had. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m supposed to open snack bar in a few minutes, for the night crew,” he said, quietly, but not in a whisper. Letting go of my shoulder, he reached back and turned on a light. I blinked in the unexpected brightness and squinted up at his strong, dark face.
“What are you doing here?”
I hesitated. Could I trust him? I had met him occasionally while helping out, and he’d always been nice to me. But then, so had Mr. Jarvis, and he was helping the mutineers.
“I’m on the Captain’s side,” he reassured, as if answering my unspoken question.
Still, I hesitated. Then, eyeing his muscular arms and strong, broad-shouldered form, I decided to take a chance. He could help me.
I pulled the transmitter from the bag and held it up. “I need to contact my cousin, Eagle Crash.”
His brown eyes widened. “So... you need to use the generator?”
I nodded. “Can you get it going?”
For an instant he just looked at me, and I felt fear rise in my stomach. Would he betray me?
Finally he started towards the back of the room, where the generator chamber was. “We need to hurry.”
I ran after him, and watched as he opened the door, then we slipped into the tiny, oddly shaped chamber. When he turned on the light I beheld the long, cylindrical generator with its giant crank sticking out towards us. Multiple wires connected the generator to circuit boards covering the walls.
Eduardo stepped forward and surveyed the wires that emerged from the machine, then the gadget in my hand.
“How many connections can it take?” he asked.
“Five.”
He blew out slowly, then approached one of the panels. “I think the connections to the ovens make the most efficient use of power.”
I nodded, and nervously pulled out the long antenna as he began carefully unplugging different connections. “I’m not an electrical engineer or anything,” he cautioned, “but I’ll see what I can do.”
Firmament: Radialloy Page 13
