Slone signaled the group to exit through a nearby door and they found themselves in a large room filled with container after container of human brains in fluid to keep them alive. It hit him that this was his crew and they were destined to become alien computers. He turned to Alaya and saw the horror in her face. After pulling himself together, he said to Dane, “put some charges into this room and incinerate the brains.”
Dane objected on the basis that it would alert the aliens to their presence and he would not condone it. Slone lowered his weapons and began to shoot the vessels containing the brains and, as he did so, he felt a sudden blow to the head and the lights went out for him. Just before passing out, he saw Dane shoot the marines from the Hayden. Then Dane and his marines grabbed Alaya and headed back out the door they had entered. His last view was of Alaya struggling to break loose from Dane’s steel grip and him finally knocking her out. Slone fell into unconsciousness but the blow was not hard enough to cause a severe concussion. He was only out a few seconds when his senses returned and he sat up. He was still in the room with the brains but his weapons were gone. All he had was his backup pistol, that he kept in his boot and no one knew existed. It was a small revolver of the old type once called a Saturday night special. He had collected it at an antique market and had it modified for modern ammo. It was lethal at short range and had saved his ass a few times. He could still hear the alarms going off but no one entered the brain storage room. At the opposite end of the room, there was another door and Slone decided to exit that way. He could not spare the ammo to shoot more brain containers and the machinery that kept them alive was in an adjacent room and unreachable. He would have to find another way to take care of his crew.
Slone made a dash for the rear door and found it unlocked. He passed through it and, much to his relief, found it to open into a long corridor. Almost as soon as he entered the hall, he felt pressure in his head. He wrote it off as an effect from the blow to the head or maybe the higher oxygen and atmospheric pressure in the alien ship. As he moved down the hall, looking for a way back to the hangar, the pressure in his head got worse and he thought he heard a voice. Soon the pressure subsided and the voice became clearer as he realized it was in his head and not outside.
“Come to me,” the voice was clearer now and increased in intensity as he moved towards the door at the end of the corridor. Slone had misgivings about going towards that door, but going back was not an option as he could hear some movement in the brain storage area he had just left. If anything, he began to move faster until he reached that door. “Come through the door, the voice commanded, but be careful, there are two guards in this room.
Slone had no idea who was projecting the thoughts into his brain but, if they were warning him about the guards, then they too must be trapped on the ship. Perhaps there is yet another alien race here. Slone reached for the door latch and found it moved easily and the door slide back automatically. Before him there was a short corridor, which he stepped into, as the door behind him, slid, shut, and the corridor lights came on. The other end of the corridor was open and two of the grub-like aliens moved towards the opening from a large chamber beyond. The guards, Slone thought and automatically lifted his weapon and fired two shots, hitting each of the guards with an explosive round. That left three rounds in the five shot cylinder. Slone hoped that he wouldn’t need any more, since he was saving one round for himself, should things go south. He didn’t intend to become part of the brain collection.
Slone slowly entered the chamber. What he saw inside left him breathless. The space before him was vast. It rose through at least five decks above to a squared ceiling. From the sidewalls projected a series of flexible tubes and massive cables. As Slone’s gaze followed the cables into the center of the room, he saw a three story tall creature looking like a giant representation of the methane breathers. The tubes extending from the wall entered into a mask over the face of the creature. Slone assumed that methane was being pumped into the one set of lines with a second set carrying the exhaled gases away to prevent the ship filling with methane. He hung back in the entrance vestibule when he suddenly got a blinding pain in his head. He again attributed the pain to a concussion from being knocked out. Slowly images began to form in his head. At first, they were jumbled and then they began to clarify. After a few minutes, he could see clearly and realized the images were coming from the giant creature before him. He could see its home planet and the hive it controlled. This was the queen of a hive in a civilization of methane breathers living on a large planet with a dense, methane atmosphere. The history of the hive developed before his mind's eye. All was peaceful until the other aliens arrived. They overpowered the methane breathers and transported the hive to this vessel. The queen was imprisoned in this hold and her hive was forced to do the bidding of the aliens to prevent losing the queen. Part of their duties was to wage war on the part of the aliens who subdued them. She had since seen many generations of her young enslaved by the grub-like aliens and Slone could feel her pain as she mourned those who had died for the benefit of the aliens.
Slone attempted to see if the communication could go both ways. He sent images of his world and his people. He also sent images of the brain lab and how his crew was harvested for brains to control the ships aliens and her people flew.
She responded by sending him images of a barren world which was the home planet of the grub aliens. They had used up all of their resources and were now living off the rest of the planets they could reach. They found they had achieved the height of computerization with non-living materials but were unwilling to synthesize the life forces they needed for their computers when it was easier to steal brains. He also learned there were other aliens in the galaxy who they had pillage of their brains, but when human scout ships came through the wormhole, they found the human brain to be far superior to any they had ever used. If all of the crew brains from the Hayden are used to control ships, there will be no stopping the conquest of these aliens.
Finally, the queen asked Slone’s help to gain her freedom and promised revenge on the aliens who enslaved her. Slone was able to see images of how the methane breathers lived and thought. As a result, his concept of them changed and he saw them as fellow victims and potential allies. He walked over to what looked like a control panel and examined it. He could make nothing of the alien language on the panel. There were several buttons and a lever on the panel. Slone had no idea how to free the queen and tried to send that thought to her. Suddenly, he received an overwhelming image of the color blue. He looked down at the panel and saw one blue button. When his eyes fixed on the button, his brain had only a single thought, PUSH. To stop the rising pain in his head, Slone reached out and pushed the button. His mind was then filled with a feeling of extreme gratitude and then the bond with the queen was broken as the shackles fell from her and she moved out of the shallow depression in which she was sitting.
Slone was not sure what would happen now, but he had a feeling he and his remaining crew should get off this ship as fast as possible. He backtracked the way he had come but could not see a way past the forces in the hall near the brain chamber. They were now alerted to his presence and would not be vulnerable. Again, his headache started and he could feel the link from the queen. He had an urge to go down the right hall and as he did this, he was guided by thought back to the hangar deck. As he looked into the hangar, he could see the Hayden and she was still unguarded. Apparently, the aliens didn’t see a crippled ship in their hangar as a threat and this gave Slone an idea. He had to make sure the alien ship didn’t make it through the wormhole. He entered the ship through the engineering hatch and quickly made his way to the Command and Control Center. There he found his bridge officers dead: shot by Dane and his marines. Slone had now lost his entire crew to either the aliens or Dane. Dane was nowhere to be found, so he must have evacuated. Alaya's body was not with the rest. Dane must not have had permission to kill the boss's daughter. However, it was obvious he was
under orders to hide something and his marines were in on it. Slone went over to the main computer console and was relieved to find it still had power. He gave it his command codes and retinal scan. After the computer acknowledged him, he proceeded to give it a series of commands with a pass code that locked out the aliens. Once this was done, Slone went to the Hayden hangar deck and picked out a combat suit and a boarding sled. He had taken two side arms from dead marines in the CIC and now it was time to leave. He thought of his plan and hoped the queen would pick up on it. He sat astride the sled and moved out of the Hayden hangar into the alien hangar. He then exited the large ship just in time to see the first methane breathers rising from the moon and heading to the alien vessel. The queen was calling her children to her.
Slone aimed his sled towards Alaya's ship, gave the rockets one blast to cover the distance quickly. If this were to work, he would need speed and surprise. He knew Dane was not a pilot or a navigator, so he needed to keep Alaya's crew alive. Slone was counting on this and the hope that her crew would not mention anything if the sensors picked him up. As Slone approached the scout, he noticed a small cluster of bodies floating near the ship as it sailed slowly past. He was disgusted as he realized these were the wounded marines who had been left behind. He also recognized the marines who had been with Dane on the alien ship. Apparently, even they were considered loose ends.
On the scout, Dane kept a gun on the bridge crew as he ordered them to steer the ship towards the wormhole. Dane saw a blip on the monitor and asked what it was. Umgabe stated curtly, "it is the cluster of marines you ejected from the cargo hold." Umgabe and the rest of the crew had spotted Slone's rocket fire and covered his tracks. As Slone neared the scout, the co-pilot, Farnsworth, threw the switch that slowly opened the cargo bay. When Dane asked about the noise, Farnsworth merely stated they were tacking to catch the solar wind to the wormhole. Dane suspected nothing.
Slone reached the scout and, abandoning the sled, entered the opened cargo bay. He found some weapons in the cargo hold that were mounted to the wall. Slone chose a side arm and made sure it was loaded. Slone knew he would not be able to close and pressurize the cargo bay without Dane knowing it. Slone also knew he was no match for the combat skills Dane had. He would need subterfuge to win this battle.
Dane was watching the monitor as the ship got closer to the wormhole. Suddenly he straightened as he heard the cargo bay doors slam shut and the red light at the end of the passage leading to the bay went on, to indicate repressurizing was in progress. Dane looked at the scout crew and knew they had let someone into the bay. He would deal with them later, when he did not need them anymore. He had to deal with the threat from the cargo bay and keep the crew from attacking him from behind. Dane left the bridge and wedged the door shut with a spare pistol he carried. Dane stood outside the pressure door waiting for the light to switch to green. As soon as the light turned green, Dane opened the cargo bay door, burst in and rolled into a stance on one knee with his gun pointed forward. He scanned the hold and saw only the boarding sleds and a small skiff for emergencies. There was no one visible in the hold. His combat training told him there could still be danger here. The wall opposite the bay doors was lined with equipment lockers, perfect places to hide. Dane went to the locker nearest the door rapidly pulled it open with his gun pointed ahead. Only equipment was visible. Dane went along the wall and pulled open each locker he came across. All were empty except for the equipment they held. When all the equipment lockers had been opened, Dane turned his attention to the smaller weapons lockers. He was certain they could not hold a full-grown man, but he did not want to leave any stone unturned that may come at him from behind. Each locker was slowly opened and found to contain weapons. The only ones missing were those the boarding parties had taken. The only place left to hide now was the skiff along the far wall. If anyone came in, that is where he or she would be.
When Slone entered the bay and repressurized it, he knew Dane would hear the pressurization. He was also acutely aware that there was no place to hide in ambush. Slone decided on a calculated risk. When the bay was almost fully pressurized, he opened the lock on the door at the rear of the bay leading to the crew quarters. If luck were with him, Dane would see that before seeing Slone crouching behind the skiff. Luck was with him and as Dane came around the skiff, he saw the door to the crew quarters open and took the bait. As he turned towards the door, and away from Slone he suddenly bolted upright.
On his way to the skiff, Dane saw the opened door to the crew quarters and turned to investigate. The second he did this, he knew instinctively it was a mistake. The hair on the back of his neck bristled, warning him there was danger from behind. He also knew there was only one chance to do this right. He threw himself backwards and rolled across the open part of the bay, coming up to a combat stance down on one knee and pointing in the direction of the skiff. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Slone saw the move to change position and opened fire, but missed. Instead of shooting it out with Dane, a trained marine and marksman, Slone reached over to the landing bay door controls and pushed the open button. Slone was still wearing his environmental suit from his trip between the ships and had nothing to fear, but Dane was clothed only in combat fatigues. The bay doors opened and immediately the air rushed out of the bay. Slone had his right arm looped around a pipe to hold him against the pull of space, but the expression on Dane’s face revealed he knew his fate and there was nothing he could do about it. Dane was determined to take Slone with him but the physics of the situation prevented it. He managed to fire his pistol but the pull of space already moved his arm off target and he fairly leaped off the floor and headed to the still small slit formed by the upper and lower doors pulling apart. Slone thought they looked like the jaws of some huge beast getting ready to devour Dane. The Marine commander flew towards the opening and, since it was still too small to fit him, his body was folded over backwards and partially dismembered as it squeezed out of the hold. The doors to the bridge corridor and the crews quarters snapped shut as the hold opened and the explosive decompression also dislodged a few small items from the hold. Everything else was firmly battened down. The last Slone saw of Dane, his mangled body was desiccating on one of the teeth where the bay doors interlocked and then he was gone. Slone pushed the close button on the bay door controls and they reversed direction and shut. He then re-pressurized the bay.
When all was done, Slone took off his protective suit and opened the door to the bridge corridor. When he got to the bridge door, he removed the wedged pistol and opened it. As soon as the door was open, Slone was hit squarely in the chest with a kick that caused him to fly backwards and land spread eagle in the corridor. Alaya leapt forward and was about to punch him in the face when she recognized Slone. She quickly opened her fist and extended her hand to help Slone get up.
“Permission to come aboard, Captain,” Slone said with a big smile.
“Permission granted Captain,” Alaya retorted. “Sorry for the welcome, but I thought it was Dane returning. What happened to him?”
“Dane has left the ship and joined his men.”
“Good riddance.”
Slone moved with Alaya into the bridge and asked for an update of the situation.
“We are maintaining our lead over the alien ship but just barely,” responded the navigator, Paul McMann. “It’s going to be close but I think we’ll win the race by a nose.”
“What’s the status of the alien?”
"As I stated, she’s making headway but the ship is in bad shape. For some reason the methane breathers raised en mass from the moon and swarmed her in such a horde, she couldn’t shoot down many of them before they reached the ship. Most have bored their way through the hull and seem to be entering the vessel. Their engines are still operational."
"We need to link into the Hayden computers," Slone said. “The ship code to access is SIN003315.”
Paul pushed a few buttons on the console in front of
him and then entered the code Slone gave him.
"We're in the Hayden's computer, sir"
"Pull up her external camera feed"
Paul did as requested and the scout's screen filled with the images of the hangar around the Hayden. There was a running battle in the hangar between the aliens and the methane breathers. From what they could see, the aliens were getting the worst of it. Their weapons were no more effective than the human’s were, when it came to dealing with the silicon life forms. Slone watched the battle unfold on the screen.
"How far to the wormhole and are they still on a heading for the outbound slipstream?"
"About two hours," Paul replied. "They are still under power and turned to head to the wormhole as soon as they spotted us. Dane made sure of that when he had us do an engine burn."
Slone looked at the engineer, Diane Tojo. "We can’t let that ship follow us through the wormhole. Can we tap into the Hayden’s reactor and force it to overheat?"
Diane picked up his intention immediately. "It's possible to do it, but there is no way to control the detonation without an explosive."
"If I can get you your explosive, how long before the reactor would go critical?"
"If I start the processes now, it will be critical about the time we reach the wormhole."
As soon as Diane said this, Slone had an idea. "Start the reactor overload."
"Yes sir."
Slone now turned to Roger Umgabe for his electronics expertise. "Roger, can you kill the missile tube failsafe and allow us to keep the tube doors closed and still fire the missiles?"
Voyage of the Hayden (The Adventures of Christopher Slone Book 1) Page 18
