phil jones2

by J. R. Karlsson

'Bridge, number one. Call it a bridge.'

  Smith furrowed his brows. 'I see no troubled waters crossing under it, Captain. One moment as I lay this buffoon down.'

  To Phil’s faint relief, Smith didn’t immediately drop the Captain. He had been vaguely wondering if the man treated all his superior officers with such contempt, and what he’d do if they weren’t conscious.

  The turbulence that buffeted the craft and nearly sent him off his feet indicated that they were passing through the planet's atmosphere. Soon they would come face to face with the mothership responsible for sending the Scavanger crashing into the planet's surface. How exactly were they meant to challenge such a huge vessel if they couldn't escape it?

  Phil realised that as the Captain he was probably supposed to have the answer to that question. He raised his arm and looked at his glove hopefully, but it was obscured by his hazard suit. There was no familiar tightening and no suggestions being beamed into his head with which to escape this fate. It was up to him and his crew to fight their way out of this potential disaster, it seemed.

  He followed Smith in a daze, wondering if there was anything he could do to prevent the inevitable assault about to be unleashed upon them.

  'Smith to Hanniman, RJ and Darwin are in considerable distress near the entrance ramp, if you could get them to sick-bay and treat them that would be useful.'

  'Agent Smith, I'm an Engineer, not a doctor!'

  Smith paused briefly in his stride. 'Is your title not Doctor Hanniman?'

  'Yes... but that's a Doctorate in applied...'

  Smith cut him off. 'You are a Doctor, Doctor Hanniman. You have patients awaiting you, get to it.'

  A series of incomprehensible grumbles issued from the comm system before being cut out.

  'Hanniman has basic medical training, and our engines are running at more than full capacity already thanks to your... interventions. We can afford his absence.'

  Phil would have argued the point but he wasn't an expert on the intricate details of hyperwarp engines. Hopefully the stasis field would hold long enough under any sort of sustained bombardment from the vast mothership.

  They reached the cockpit without incident, Smith managing to keep him from bumping into anything vital that could trigger a self destruct mechanism. They were greeted by the flustered dark features of their new pilot, Trigger Hawkins.

  'Captain, that vast mothership is powering up its weapons for a sustained bombardment.'

  Smith quickly seated himself at tactical and was immersed in a series of rapid button-presses.

  Phil still didn't feel anything from the glove, he was on his own in this critical situation.

  'Steady as she goes, Ensign.'

  Trigger took several deep breaths and continued his course directly toward the giant Voravian vessel.

  'I have control over both engines and weapons, Captain.' Smith intoned smoothly. 'We may use them whenever you are ready.'

  Now if only Phil knew exactly what it was they were meant to do.

  'Threat analysis, number one.'

  Smith stared at him as if he had taken leave of his senses. 'The Voravian mothership is capable of destroying us at any given moment, Captain Jones. Might I advise that we avoid flying directly toward it?'

  Phil nodded. 'Evasive manoeuvres Ensign Hawkins, we'll try and outrun it back to the fleet. Smith, see if you can disable their weapons a second time.'

  He looked at him as if he had sprouted three heads, clearly there was some logistical impossibility involving the combination of the flight pattern and the order. Nevertheless he swung around to his console without complaint and attempted to do just that.

  'The enemy mothership is closing fast, Captain. Judging from their last attack they'll be in weapons range within one minute.' Annika informed him.

  'Smith, I need you to keep us out of weapons range, divert all the power you can to the engines and let's see if we can outrun them.'

  'Captain, you just informed me that you wanted their weapons disabled, I can't do that if we're trying to keep out of range.'

  Phil shrugged, trying not to sound indecisive. 'Belay the weapons order then, we'll save our fire power for when it's needed. Get us as far away from that thing as you can.'

  The engines increased their volume as Smith started to stretch them further, the blue and purple hyperwarp seemed to flicker over the screen without quite initialising.

  'Something is blocking us from entering hyperwarp.' Smith said.

  'Can we out-run them without it?'

  The tactical officer shook his head. 'Not likely, we may be smaller but it means nothing in space. That ship probably has thrusters the size of our vessel.'

  The rear-view screen clearly showed the giant sphere growing closer with each passing moment.

  'They'll be in weapon's range within 30 seconds, Captain.' said Annika.

  'Shields full to rear, prepare for evasive manoeuvres, Ensign.'

  Hawkins' shaking hands fluttered over the instrumentation as he braced himself for incoming laser fire. His nervous disposition seemed contagious and didn't give Phil any great degree of confidence in the man's capabilities. He was from the flagship of the fleet though, surely he couldn't be that incompetent?

  An explosion to their right was pumped through the invisible speakers, making both Phil and Trigger jump.

  'Evade those blasts, Ensign!' Phil shouted at him, heart pounding at being startled like that.

  The frantic man's hands flew into action, pressing keys innumerable and tugging wildly on the flight-stick that popped up, presumably to allow manual control.

  Whatever the nervous young man was doing, it was working, there had been no more close calls with the lasers, even though the mother ship continued to gain on them.

  That was when the number of blasts promptly doubled.

  Phil's eyes widened at the sight in his view screen, there was no way they were going to survive such an onslaught for much longer. That was assuming that Trigger could avoid the first barrage, which was looking increasingly unlikely as the lasers grew larger and larger on the view screen.

  A high keening noise broke out at the front of the cockpit, then the craft started ducking and weaving through the folds of space as if it were possessed.

  A flash to the right of the ship was quickly followed by a similar one to their left, then they were engulfed in light and the sounds of laser fire.

  'Keep us away from those lasers, Hawkins!' Phil shouted at the man, making him flinch somewhat and redouble his efforts. 'Smith, how long until we can retaliate?'

  'Thirty seconds, Captain. Targeting their systems as we speak.'

  Time ticked on at a languid pace, every moment stretching out in a flurry of fire and complex manoeuvres to avoid it from the increasingly frantic flying fingers of Ensign Trigger Hawkins.

  Then the barrage stopped altogether.

  'Smith, report! Have you disabled their weapons systems?'

  The Agent took his time responding, then finally spun around in his chair. 'I didn't get a single shot away, Captain. They appear to have ceased firing upon us for reasons unknown.'

  Phil didn't think that they'd had a change of heart, something else was going on here and he needed to find out what.

  'Captain, our speed is decreasing.' Annika informed him.

  'Hanniman, report!' Phil shouted, his throat beginning to get hoarse.

  'RJ was pretty banged up sir and Darwin has a concussion, but other than a few wounds they should be just fine.'

  It was then that he remembered that Smith was now in charge of the engines.

  'Agent Smith?'

  His temporary Engineer suppressed his sardonic smile and tapped a few buttons. 'The engine systems have been unharmed in the attack, in fact none of the shots from the Voravian sphere hit us.'

  'So why are we slowing?'

  Smith shook his head. 'Unknown, Captain. It could be some kind of jamming device that's slowing our progress.'

  'Like a tractor beam
?' Phil asked.

  The security officer looked at him curiously. 'Agricultural vehicles have little bearing on our current predicament, Mr. Jones.'

  In spite of their precarious situation, Annika let out a laugh. Phil relaxed a little, it was good to hear a bit of mirth after everything they had been through.

  'I'll explain later, Agent Smith. So what you're saying is that there's no way to release us from this jamming device?'

  Smith pondered over the question briefly. 'I could try and target what my scanners indicate are their vital systems, we may be fortunate enough to disable their device in the process.'

  'Make it so.' Phil said baldly.

  Agent Smith pressed a series of buttons, and nothing happened. Phil waited a little longer as the man repeated the same motion over the terminal before turning to face him once more.

  'It's jamming our weapons systems as well, isn't it?' he said, feeling the glove tighten at the assertion, it seemed to have taken control mid-way through their crisis, sending thoughts unbidden into his mind to shout out at his crew.

  'Your assumption is... valid, Captain.' Smith replied, a hint of surprise in his voice.

  'We're being dragged back into the mothership!' Annika cried, pointing wildly at her console to a series of numbers that Phil didn't understand.

  The screen switched to rear view on Annika's command and he now saw what she was panicking about. A giant hole had appeared in the center of the sphere and they were being sucked directly toward it. Weaponless, powerless and incapable of escape, they could only sit and watch as it grew larger.

  'That's no moon...' Phil muttered to himself. 'Does anybody know if this ship has secret smuggling compartments under the floors?'

  This brought the ghost of a smile to Annika's lips, she looked at him gratefully for reasons he couldn't figure out. His question had been valid.

  Smith on the other hand took his query seriously. 'This is a Star Command vessel, Captain Jones. It has no need for secreted compartments.'

  Phil sighed, he should be terrified or at least scrambling to the armoury to fetch some weapons to defend himself with. Instead he remained at his seat and watched as they were drawn toward the mothership at a faster rate with each passing moment.

  It was vast, and Phil had trouble believing that the bumbling lizard creatures he had faced off against from before were responsible for building such a wondrous monstrosity. It blotted out the enormity of space with its slate grey complexion and otherwise featureless surface.

  The hole they were being sucked toward was entirely dark, there was no telling what awaited them inside but Phil suspected that there were millions of Voravians with a grudge to settle.

  Okay, so maybe he did feel just a little terrified now.

  'Warning: ventilation systems pumping in toxic gas.'

  Phil instinctively looked up in the direction of the sound, only to find himself staring at the ceiling. It had been the computer that had said that.

  'What do you mean, toxic gas?' Annika asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

  'Ventilation systems have been re-programmed to pump toxic gas into the cockpit and Engineering room.'

  'Override!' Smith shouted, clasping a hand to his mouth and nose instinctively.

  'Cannot comply.' the computer responded cheerily, as if it had informed him it had just made jam sandwiches for everyone.

  'This is the Captain.' Phil stated obviously. 'Override the ventilation system immediately.'

  There was a brief pause, as if the computer were giving this some serious thought.

  'Cannot comply.' it repeated.

  The world seemed to spin dizzyingly, Phil felt as if he were falling into the black hole that the ship was headed toward. He made a brief effort to fight his way to his feet, watching the crew around him doing much the same with no success, then he slumped in his command chair and saw no more.

  Chapter 20

  Skittering! Amorphous! Steam!

  Ensign Trigger Hawkins, formerly of the SC Scavanger, was in an unfamiliar place.

  While he had been in a great number of new places of late and somehow survived each transition, this locale differentiated from the others because quite frankly he couldn't remember getting there.

  The high dark walls were barren and no ceiling appeared to be in sight, they appeared to be made of some strange metallic substance and didn't yield to his hesitant touch.

  'Well that's just great.' muttered a voice from nearby.

  Trigger yelped and jumped vertically into the air at the sound, a familiar position for him.

  'Relax Ensign.' RJ said, 'it's only me.'

  His racing heart eased slightly at the appearance of the man who had helped saved them from the pink aliens of Vardell VIII.

  He had also called him Ensign. That was twice now, counting the Captain, that someone had actually got his rank right! It was incredible! In addition to this wondrous feat, Hawkins also appreciated having someone who was vaguely competent around, his options had been severely lacking since his commission to the Scavanger.

  'What are we doing here?' he asked, hoping that RJ had some answers for him.

  The man adjusted his hat and stared up at the walls with an appreciative whistle that echoed upward into the unknown. 'Beats me, son. Looks like it's some kind of Voravian structure though.'

  He walked over and tapped the steel-like wall with the toe of his boot, it was solid the whole way through. 'We're probably somewhere inside that big ol' sphere that they sucked us in to.'

  Hawkins' eyes continued to search frantically around him, trying to divine some kind of exit to their imprisonment. None was forthcoming in revealing itself.

  A strange smell wafted across the room, he spun suddenly and realised it was coming from RJ.

  'Are you... smoking?' he asked, aghast at the man's barbaric habit.

  RJ nodded to him and offered the blunt. 'Want a reek? Helps calm my nerves.'

  Trigger declined wordlessly, the man's seemingly unflappable nature had put him at ease initially but without any immediate escape he was beginning to panic once more.

  'Do you have a plan to get out of here?' Hawkins asked, his fingers nervously twisting themselves.

  The pilot considered the question for a moment, then took another drag of his cigarette before putting it out behind his ear. Trigger wondered how the man avoided setting his hat on fire.

  'It seems like the Voravians have stuck us down here for a reason, otherwise they would have simply lumped the rest of the crew in here with us. I don't see anyone else in here, do you?'

  A faint skittering sound answered his question, they were most definitely not alone.

  'What was that?' Hawkins cried, instinctively moving closer to RJ.

  'Calm yourself, Ensign. No sense in getting worked up, sounded like some sort of bug to me.'

  But Trigger Hawkins was an expert on bugs, especially bugs from space. He had seen the files, he had terrified himself with his morbid curiosity and calculated the maximum size of each one he could possibly come into contact with.

  The skittering sound repeated itself, this time it was substantially louder.

  'What are we going to do?' Trigger moaned.

  'Well now.' RJ replied, staring around him in appraisal as if he were surveying the décor of a room. 'looks like we can't do much of anything until we find out what's making that noise.'

  Trigger grabbed the lapels of his suit and tugged him closer. 'Don't you understand? It could be a giant space bug come to eat us in its pit!'

  RJ's gaze soured slightly, Hawkins let go of him immediately.

  'It may well be a giant space bug, Ensign. If that's the case then it has to come out of somewhere in order to get here. The Voravians certainly didn't throw us down this shaft vertically, otherwise we'd be dead already, so that means there's gotta be a way out by my reckoning.'

  His words made sense, and his calm yet firm voice combated the worst of Trigger's fears. The man had a point, unless the creatu
re came from a different part of the pit altogether. One without any exit.

  A small squeaking sound of a hinge indicated the arrival of their skittering friend, its legs digging into the solid walls of their confines as if they were made of something entirely softer.

  'Look at the size of that!' Trigger gibbered, pointing upward and completely redundantly, as RJ had already turned and scouted the beast.

  He did the strangest thing then, he laughed.

  'What a stroke of luck we've been given, Ensign! It's an albino rad-scorpion!'

  Only the most poisonous scorpion in the entire quadrant, Trigger thought to himself miserably. Here he was thinking that RJ had some degree of sense, clearly he had been wrong.

  Seeing the look on the other man's face, RJ explained himself. 'The albino rad-scorpion is blind and deaf, it senses its prey through the fear it emanates. So long as we don't fear, we'll be entirely safe.'

  'I bloody know that!' Trigger practically screamed, shaking on the spot in terror. 'I'm an expert on lethal bugs!'

  The scorpion lifted its irradiated head and started to clamber its way down toward their position.

  'Arrggghhh!' Trigger informed it, seemingly forgetting that it was deaf and had no way of replying to such a communiqué.

  'Ensign!' RJ shouted, making a strange movement with his hands and standing all-too near the scorpion now. 'Control yourself and jump to safety!'

  Trigger looked at him in disbelief. 'Are you crazy? That thing is right next to you! Look out!'

  RJ sighed in frustration. 'It won't harm me in the slightest because I'm not afraid of it.'

  'Well bloody good for you then!' Trigger shouted hoarsely, his voice scaling upward horribly in fright.

  'You can do this Ensign. It won't get you if you're quick enough.' RJ replied calmly, refusing to get angry at the almost-crazed shouting.

  Trigger didn't mention how he noticed RJ was no longer telling him not to be afraid and simply concentrating on not getting him killed because of his fear.

  With a cold clarity that rarely came to him, Hawkins knew that he had to either jump or die.

  His legs turned to jelly as he stared at the pale white carapace of the creature as it seemed to slow in confusion. Was his resolve causing it to falter or did it simply wait for him to run past it before it attacked?