by Gun Brooke
Unbuckling her belt, she rose from the chair and glanced toward the view screen. Rae was used to seeing the distant stars become reduced to long silver streaks when a ship leaped to field-distortion drive; traveling by tachyon-mass drive turned them into faint marks, barely visible. The difference would take some getting used to.
The SC's prohibition against this type of propulsion didn't stop pirates from building ships like these, able to outrun any of the SC patrol vessels trying to catch them. The Gamma VI station had the two ships in their possession only because they had surprised the pirates while they were making repairs behind a small nebula. Now, Rae was glad they hadn't dismantled them as planned.
Six hours later, Kellen pushed herself farther into a narrow crawl space, dragging a toolbox behind her. As she crept through the passage, she hoped to quickly find out what was causing the fluctuation in power.
Ensign S'hos had discovered a minor deviation in the readings half an hour ago. Knowing from her recent journey how small matters like these could escalate, Kellen had taken it upon herself to make repairs.
As she inched through the crawl space, she vaguely smelled something burning. Another yard into the vessel's elaborate machinery, she detected faint smoke coming from a set of relays. Realizing the potential danger, she clutched the small toolbox and disregarded the pain in her knees and elbows from sliding along the unforgiving steel grid. The smoke now increased in density, its sickening smell making her cough. Engaging her communicator, she opened the tool box with her free hand.
"O'Dal to the bridge. We have a small fire in the port crawl space, among the relay clusters. Extinguishing it now."
"Lieutenant Grey here. Can you determine the cause of the fire?"
"Give me a minute, Lieutenant." Kellen took a small fire extinguisher from the tool box and sprayed the circuits closest to her. More smoke billowed from the fried parts and stung her eyes. Reaching into the tool box, she found an oxygen mask and strapped it on. It should have worked automatically but seemed to malfunction; no oxygen streamed through the mask. Straining to see through the smoke, Kellen figured the mask would at least cover her nose and mouth. When she leaned in to inspect the burned area, she flinched. "We have a problem, Lieutenant. There's a foreign substance attached to the burning relays. I've seen similar material before. It's a substance that self-combusts at a given time, depending on how it's administered. We have to notify the commodore."
"I heard." Commodore Jacelon's voice was a low growl through the comm system. "Are you all right? Can you extinguish the fire and assess damages?"
"Yes, and I have enough spare circuits and relays with me to replace the most important ones. However, my oxygen mask isn't working. Have Ensign S'hos ventilate new air into the crawl space on my mark." Kellen knew she would have to wait until the fire was out before she could ask for oxygen. She used up two small extinguishers before she was satisfied. Tears ran down her cheeks from the smoke, and she coughed despite the protective mask. "Ventilate the crawl space."
After a few seconds fresh air streamed through the shaft, taking the smoke and stinging smell of burned circuitry with it. Kellen began the painstaking work of replacing the damaged parts and running her diagnostic tools over the remaining ones. Only when she was satisfied everything would run smoothly did she begin to close her toolbox.
Suddenly, stopping, she reached for a flashlight and switched it on. As the beam trailed the wiring between the relays, she looked for other signs of sabotage. After she found two more places with the self-combusting substance, Kellen again tapped her communicator. "Commodore, I have disturbing information. I've found more of the substance that hasn't ignited yet. I'm sure I'll find more. I'll need liquid nitrogen in spray cans to stabilize it before I can remove it."
After a brief pause, Rae spoke. "Damn. Then we can expect even more. Another crew member will join you with the nitrogen, and I'll have two others inspect the starboard crawl space."
"We don't have much time," Kellen stressed. "If they all burn, we don't have enough spare parts to make repairs. We need to neutralize this substance immediately."
"Locate as many as you can. Mark them with fluorescent tags. You'll find them in the toolbox. Ensign Santino will follow you and neutralize the substance. He'll provide you with an oxygen mask." Jacelon paused. "And, Kellen, be careful."
"Affirmative. I'll be cautious. O'Dal out."
Slowly moving forward, Kellen began to place the fluorescent tags where she found evidence of sabotage. When she was almost at the end of the crawl space, she heard a shuffling sound behind her and realized Ensign Santino had arrived. Bracing herself on her elbows, she pushed back, trying to reach the young man as quickly as possible.
"Throw me the oxygen mask, Ensign," she called. "Make sure your own is functional. We need to start neutralizing this substance immediately. Are you familiar with the procedure?"
A mask with a small tube hanging from its side slid toward her across the metal grid floor. "Yes, ma'am." He glanced down the crawl space. "It's going to be a close call, ma'am."
Kellen grabbed the two cans of liquid nitrogen that rolled toward her. "All the more reason to hurry, Ensign. Let's begin."
Working in unison to beat the odds, they sprayed the nitrogen where the fluorescent tags indicated sabotage. Kellen didn't allow herself to ponder who was responsible for this situation. She prayed the second team in the other crawl space would also get the job done in time, or they would become as immovable as an old maesha.
"I think that was all of them, Ensign. Now, let's remove the substance. Use a knife or screwdriver, but make sure you don't damage the relays or the circuits."
Slowly they made their way toward the exit, scraping off the substance and using a small suction device to remove it completely. Her elbows raw with pain from leaning against the metal grid, Kellen clenched her teeth and kept working. When they were done, she heard Ensign Santino exit through the hatch behind them, his grunt of relief replaced by a familiar throaty voice.
"Good job, Santino. Kellen, let's get you out of there. You look like hell." Rae reached inside the hatch and helped her special crew member as she moved out of the narrow tube. Outside, Kellen slowly stretched and carefully extended her arms. Grimacing against the pain, she looked in dismay at the blue blood that trickled down her wrists.
"Have you contacted the Freedom, Commodore? It's likely they've also—"
"Yes, Captain de Vies has been informed. God, look at your elbows." Jacelon took Kellen gently by the arms and examined them.
"I need bandages," Kellen reflected calmly. "It wasn't very comfortable in there. I'll bring extremity shielding next time."
"Let's hope there's no next time," Rae said as she glanced into the crawl space. "Ensign S'hos is our designated medic on this mission. He has a med kit on the bridge. Santino, let's get you checked out as well."
The young man nodded, clutching his left shoulder. "Yes, ma'am."
"What about the other team? Have they found any signs of sabotage in the starboard crawl space?" Kellen asked as they made their way through the pirate vessel.
As if to answer her question, Rae's communicator beeped. "No sign of sabotage in this part of the vessel, ma'am. The blueprints suggest there's a small crawl space above the bridge. Do you want us to check that out as well, Commodore?"
Rae paled. "Yes, Lieutenant, and make it quick. Report back ASAP. Jacelon out." She slammed her fist into the closest offending bulkhead. "Damn! Where else have they managed to get to us?"
On the bridge Ensign S'hos quickly tended to Kellen's scraped skin. Clearly taken aback by the distinct color of her blue blood and its dramatic effect against her skin, he moved the derma fuser an inch above the wound with trembling fingers, cleaning and closing it simultaneously. Rae stood next to her, and Kellen wondered if she realized she had placed a hand protectively on her shoulder. Rae seemed lost in thought, her attention turned inward. Suddenly she looked at Owena, who was approaching them.
"For the self-combusting substance to ignite now, it must've been applied less than twenty-four hours ago. I gave the order to start preparing the two pirate vessels at 1030 hours yesterday. It's now 1345. Only accredited personnel had access to the hangar."
"That means one or several of them were paid off, or otherwise coerced, to commit treason," Owena said.
Her eyes switching to a dull gray, Jacelon didn't hesitate. "Open a secure subspace signal directly to Admiral Jacelon's console. Brief him on what's happened. He'll take the appropriate measures from there. We're also going to conduct diagnostics of every system aboard this vessel. I'll contact Captain de Vies."
Owena returned to her work console, punching in commands as she attempted to contact Gamma VI. "I can't get through. All the secure lines are occupied. What the hell's going on back there?"
Rae discussed all the plausible reasons for the communication activity at Gamma VI with Alex de Vies, most of them foreboding. Her old friend had also tried to reach the mission room as well as the admiral's personal console, but with the same frustrating results.
"Do you want to try any other channels, or turn back?" Alex asked.
"Neither," Rae said, after some consideration. "I'm not presumptuous enough to think I'm indispensable at Gamma VI right now. My father is more than capable of dealing with any situation that might arise. Our two ships are all that stands between the Onotharian Empire and the SC. We'll go through with our plan."
"I thought you'd say that." Rae could hear the concurrence in Alex's voice. "My crew searched the Freedom with a fine-tooth comb. No sign of sabotage."
"Perhaps the saboteur was interrupted, or figured if he put this ship out of action, we'd turn back rather than continue in a single ship..."
Rae's voice trailed off. "I still can't understand how the Onotharians, or an Onotharian-friendly individual, could get to the Liberty so quickly."
"I've sent an encoded subspace message that will bypass any other queued messages awaiting the admiral's attention once he logs onto his personal computer."
"I did too. We'll be in range for another twelve hours. Let's hope we can contact Gamma VI before then. I've also had my crew examine the ship, but who knows if the saboteur has anything else in store for us?" Pressing her hand against stiff muscles in her neck, Rae briefly closed her eyes. "In the meantime we'll stay on course, on maximum tachyon-mass drive."
"I've got your back covered, Rae. You know that." Alex's voice became gentle. "We've been in tougher circumstances than this, my friend."
"Yeah, I know. I just can't quite remember when. Jacelon out."
Sitting in the miniscule compartment that served as her office, Rae scrutinized her team's recent report. They hadn't found any other signs of sabotage, and given the time frame, it was unlikely the saboteur would have had time to create more havoc.
Rae heard a knock and a familiar voice. "Rae, I need to talk with you."
"Enter."
Kellen stepped inside, the door immediately hissing closed behind her. "Have you been able to contact Gamma VI yet?"
"No, and neither has the Freedom. I just briefed Alex regarding this report." Rae waved her handheld computer in the air. "His team hasn't found anything to suggest sabotage."
"Good." Kellen leaned forward across the desk and rested her chin on her hands. "I have a theory as to why we can't contact the station. It's unlikely that all the lines would be busy, correct?"
"Right." Rae leaned back in her chair. "What are you thinking?"
"We're traveling at supersonic speed, away from the station. I think the waste particles emanating from the Liberty and the Freedom create a disturbance. Having gone over some facts in the SC database you'd installed on the bridge, I discovered that the SC banned this propulsion system not only because of the toxic antimatter, but also because of communication issues."
Rae's mind reeled. "So, again, we're left with a damn-near-impossible choice." She rose. "I think you're right, which means we have to do it Alex's way. He sent an encrypted subspace message to my father's personal work console. I've done so already and will repeat it shortly." She saw a ghost of a feeling flicker across Kellen's strong features. "Yes?"
"Please, send a special greeting to Armeo? I know it's not ship's business, but..."
"Of course, I will. If I know Armeo, and I'm beginning to, he hasn't left Father's side for a minute. We can enter a short greeting to him without raising any suspicion if the enemy intercepts the message."
"Thank you, Rae. It means a lot to me," Kellen said with a catch in her voice. "This mission could fail, and I want Armeo to be certain I was thinking about him."
Rae encircled Kellen's waist. "How are your elbows doing?"
"They're fine. Look." Pushing up her uniform sleeves, Kellen displayed new, bluish skin where Ensign S'hos had used the derma fuser.
Worried about Kellen's cautious tone, Rae squeezed her gently. "We'll make this mission successful," she vowed. "We'll go home to Armeo and stay together like a family. Don't go into this mission sounding defeated, darling."
Kellen seemed to hold her breath for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed Rae thoroughly. Surprised, Rae parted her lips to allow the brief, passionate kiss. Swaying where she leaned against the desk, she searched Kellen's eyes for the reason for the embrace.
"Very well." Her lover nodded. "You're right. I can't go in fighting, thinking I'll be under enemy control."
Still thinking Kellen's words sounded ominous, despite her courageous attitude, Rae took her spouse by the shoulders. "And you'll obey orders and not go in half-cocked..."
Kellen cupped her cheeks gently. "You're my commanding officer on this mission. I will not willingly disobey orders. However, I also must honor the vows I swore as a Protector of the Realm as well as a Ruby Red Suit gan'thet master."
Rae's heart went cold. "That might pose a problem."
"I don't think so." Kellen released her and stepped back, folding her arms across her chest. "This is a covert operation, conducted in an unconventional way, far from Supreme Constellations space. We're using unlawful means of transportation, and we're about to violate what the Onotharians claim is part of their sovereignty. I think my allegiance to you, as well as to my other duties, will not only be useful but also something you can rely on."
Kellen's intense blue eyes regarded Rae steadily. Knowing her answer could destroy the ground they had broken together, Rae still had her doubts but admitted to herself that she had a point.
"I'm afraid something might happen to you." It wasn't what Rae had intended to say, but nevertheless true.
"Are you sure your feelings aren't more about your fear of how bringing me on this mission might affect your performance?"
"What are you talking about?" Rae snapped her head up.
"We are.. .growing fond of each other. You have brought me, your spouse, on a dangerous mission out of necessity. Perhaps you're afraid you will lose your edge, that I'll distract you."
It was not far from the truth, Rae grudgingly admitted. "You're right, in part. I am afraid something will happen to you, for several reasons. The first one is.. .I don't know how I could ever break that kind of news to Armeo."
"And the second?"
"Is about how I couldn't stand to lose you." Rae cleared her throat while pushing sudden images of a wounded Kellen from her mind's eye. "We just have to accomplish this mission in one piece. The alternative is unthinkable."
The blue eyes softened. "Instead of regarding my past and skills as a liability, why don't you look at them as an asset?"
"I do. It's just not that easy." Rae tried to organize her scattered thoughts. "The success of this mission depends very much on you. It's your homeworld, your vault, your assembled information, and your familiarity with the surroundings. Many things can go wrong before we even get to Gantharat. While we're there, the entire away team will be in danger, and getting home will be even harder if the Onotharians detect us." Rae tried to keep her voice under cont
rol. "I confess I'm afraid my emotional attachment to you might cloud my judgment."
"Me too," Kellen said. "When it was just Armeo and I against the universe, it was.. .easier. Now, it has become more complicated."
"Regrets?" Rae searched her lover's eyes for the truth.
"None. I believe what we call va 'yeshmir, destiny, brought me to Gamma VI, to you." Kellen pushed a stray lock of hair from Rae's forehead. "I know you want to trust me, but I also know you find it difficult, perhaps because of our cultural differences."
"We come from such different backgrounds. Because I was born into a strict military way of life, with my father as my role model, I do things according to the law and by the book. It comes naturally to me. Even this mission, covert and as unorthodox as it may seem, is in accordance with SC law, and with Judge Beqq's ruling. Using these vessels is the only exception to the rule, one I have to live with. You follow another code of honor, but when you think about it, our approach to things isn't that different."
A doubtful expression flickered across Kellen's face. "Don't fool yourself, Rae," she murmured. "You said it yourself. You're bound by rales and regulations stipulated by the SC. You abide by the law. I, however, have only one objective—to protect the realm, to protect Armeo, at any cost." She made a wry face, and Rae saw a sudden tremor reverberate through her. "Admittedly, I've become conflicted since we were married. I won't abandon my duties, but my heart is also with you."
Suddenly Rae understood what Kellen meant. "So, if you were faced with a situation, where you had to choose...choosing Armeo would be your only option, but it would cause you pain."
"Indescribable pain," Kellen whispered.
Rae didn't have any simple answers and couldn't say very much to such an honest confession. "Armeo will and shall take precedence. He's your first priority, and I acknowledge that."
"He should also be yours." Kellen's words were harsh.
"What?"
"If something happens to me and you have the chance to complete this mission without me, you too must sacrifice me to keep the last of the O'Sarals safe. You married me, the last Protector of the Realm, which means you adopted these duties as well, as my wife."
