“So our comms team are going to need to be on station from say 1200 today to allow for the two hour lag to Alpha Phi and remain there for at least 48 hours” said Art. “That’s a lot of air to carry even if it’s a high oxy mix. Probably best to do it in two shifts. Two people per shift.”
“Is there any risk to the vents if the enemy attack the team?” asked Rihan turning to Max.
“Well the vent opening will probably be closed but we have others” replied Max. “So no real drama there. But if the baffles were damaged in any way, then we’d be in serious trouble.”
“How long would our air last in such a case?” queried Pious.
“Let me do the math” said Max and he turned to the console. They waited as he entered in the parameters. “2 maybe 3 days.” But then a light bulb went off in Max’s brain. “Wait a minute. I do recall that it should be possible to shut down the emergency venting system altogether and that this disconnects the vents at each of the air conditioning systems. I’ll need to check on that.”
“And if we do that, what then are we at risk of” asked Pious.
“If there was a fire for instance, we would have smoke throughout the complex. A really severe fire would require us to seal off the affected section, otherwise we run the risk of it using up all our air. We would have to seriously consider doing the same for all fires big and small.”
“Letting the Fleet know we are still alive down here when they arrive is essential. So I think we have to accept these risks” said Pious. No one disagreed. “Art can you organise the comms teams?”
“Yes Sir”
“Rihan, can you work with Max and develop a contingency plan in the event we need to close down the vent system?”
“Will do Sir” said Rihan and Max nodded.
“Right, let’s hope we don’t have to implement it” said Pious with smile that was less than strong.
Chapter 14. Hermes 1 0905, 25 May.
Val Gomez brought the Hermes out of Warp over Alpha Phi. Warner was in the command centre, keen to find out any news he could. He let Val and the pilot go through their handshake with Westfall Control. Westfall was the city closest to where the radar station was that the Hermes had destroyed and now rebuilt. So Westfall Control were well aware of who they were, which made their warm welcome even more surprising, thought Warner.
“Control do you have any news from Klaster?” asked Warner.
“Yes we do Captain. Relaying those now. The last word we had in was at 0345 this morning. Nothing since then. It looks like their comms arrays have been taken out, which was to be expected.”
“Thank you Control. Any news on the Wasp Group arrival?” asked Warner, knowing full well that if they were still in warp, then there was no way they would be able to communicate.
“Only their transmission prior to warp, Captain. They are due in around 1400.”
“It is vital that I speak with the Group Commander as soon as he arrives.”
“Understood, Captain. According to our schedule, they are booked in for replenishment. We have all shuttles on standby from 1300 to effect that. Is this likely to change, Captain?”
Warner thought about the question. He didn’t want to get the Wasp Group Commander offside from the word go, so he responded “No, go ahead as planned with your arrangements.”
“Very well Captain. Are you in need of replenishment?”
“Yes we are. I will hand you back to Lieutenant Gomez and she can go through the details.”
“Thank you Captain.”
Warner let Val handle the administration. He turned his attention now to the Washington. He could see her icon on the display. She was some 50km away in a holding pattern. “Washington Sunray this is Hermes Sunray.”
“Washington Sunray here Sir” said Reina Suzuki. “It’s so good to see you made it Sir.”
“Same here Reina. It was a close run thing. Can you come over on your shuttle for a conference?”
“I’m on my way.”
Twenty minutes later Warner met Reina in the dock. He could see that her face was patched over her right temple and she was walking with a slight limp. She was obviously in some pain but her discipline enforced as a straight a back as she could manage. Warner was not going to rob her dignity by fussing over her physical condition and when she saluted he returned it promptly.
“Welcome aboard Commander” he said.
“Thank you Sir” she replied.
Warner motioned her out of the dock and up to the conference room. On the way he said “Got a little rough I see.”
“Yes we took a bit of a beating Sir. I wasn’t sure we would make it, especially after we ran out of missiles.”
“I thought we were gone too but thankfully they had to slow down. Another minute and we would have been toast.”
They arrived at the conference room and sat down. “Coffee?” asked Warner.
“Yes please” said Reina.
Warner hailed Cranky with the order.
“Are you OK Reina?”
“I’m OK Sir. I got a little too close to one of those impacts and hit my head and fell. But I don’t need to be replaced Sir. I want to be in on this next battle.”
Warner was encouraged by the fire in her belly. “Good. But make sure you have your doctor check you out.”
“We lost our doctor along with our medbay and the people who were in it.”
“Geez” said Warner “How many casualties?”
“14 Sir. We lost eight in the medbay and Engineering took it bad. We’re down to about 50% power on the thrusters.”
“I’ll send my doctor and a medic over to your ship now so they can attend to your crew. The medic can stay with you. I can also lend you some engineering crew.”
“Westfall have been great. They have some techs on board now working on the engines. They reckon we need major repairs on the deck to fully rectify matters but they’re hopeful of getting our thrusters back up to around 80% within the hour.”
“Well that’s good news. I must say I am surprised at how much support the Alliance is providing. It’s certainly welcome.”
“They’ve been terrific Sir. Nothing like shared peril to bring people together” Reina added.
Warner reflected on her words of wisdom. “Yes, shared peril indeed.” He gave her a smile.
“What about your ship, Sir” asked Reina.
“We’re in need of missiles too but otherwise we’re good to go. And I do want to return asap. Klaster can’t hold out for too long.”
“I agree Sir. We will be ready in just over an hour.”
“Excellent” said Warner.
“You know Sir you’re starting to sound like the Commodore” advised Reina with a cheeky smile.
Warner laughed. “I know. I’ve got to stop that. Haven’t I?”
“You could do worse Sir. It’s not every day you get a senior officer staying behind to man the defences.”
“No, he’s got guts a plenty. We better not let him down.”
“No Sir. We won’t.”
Chapter 15. Pulton 1 0920, 25 May.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be leading this team in person” said Rihan.
“Apart from Pat here I’m the only other person we have who can handle both the radar and comms kit” said Art. Rihan nodded at 1st Lt Pat Rogers. She was the sole surviving operator from Klaster Control. Her fawn coloured hair was dishevelled and her face had a smear of sweat and dirt. She was in need of a good sleep.
“Then we send three people up in each team” argued Rihan.
“Then we’ll need a forth just to carry the extra air and kit needed to support them” countered Art.
“Art’s right” said Pious. “Anyway we don’t have time. They need to go now if they are to get this signal out in time.”
“Alright Sir” said a reluctant Rihan. “Report in on the hour. Keep internal comms to a minimum. But let us know when you reach the baffles and get through.”
“Will do” s
aid Art “And Rihan can you please let Sue know?”
“Sure” and she stepped forward and gave him a hug. “Take care, Art” she whispered.
The Commodore looked on. Normally he would discourage such open displays of affection but he knew that these were not normal times. When they parted he stepped forward and offered Art his hand “Good luck, Art.”
Art shook his hand. “Thank you Commodore.” He motioned for Pat to follow and he marched out the room into the tunnel. He picked up all his kit. It was substantial. Apart from his rifle, he was carrying the so-called mobile radar set, his proximity scanner and two oxy packs. Pat too was carrying the same and she was a lot smaller than Art.
Pairing with Art was Cpl Linda Baretto from the Comms Section of the Klaster Base facility. She was above average in height and looked fit. She was carrying the more appropriately named mobile communicator, two oxy packs and a portable generator. Pat’s partner was Cpl Cyrus Jakes and he too was from the Comms Section. Cyrus looked like he spent most of his time at a desk or terminal. He was carrying a communicator, two oxy packs and two fuel packs for the generator.
Loaded up they looked like a pack of sherpas, which given their task was a pretty apt description. They marched down to the air conditioning system 100m further into the tunnel.
Max Milo was there to greet them. He shook his head when he saw what they were carrying, but knew better than to say anything. “Right, through there” he pointed and they made their way through several connected rooms full of plant and ducting and all very noisy.
“Here it is” said Max. He was almost shouting to make himself heard above the noise from the plant. “6.2 kms of vents. The baffles are 1 km from the top. You won’t need to suit up till then, though it’s likely to be stuffy anyway. Once you get to the baffles give us a holler and I’ll open them. Make sure you have a firm grip otherwise you may get blown over. Use the suction pads I gave you and you should be right. Once you’re through, let me know and I’ll switch it off. Someone will be manning this here till you guys return. Got that?”
“Got it” yelled back Art. He nodded and moved through the hatch. As he passed, Max gave him a pat on the back. While Art appreciated the sentiment he didn’t appreciate the downward force on his otherwise burdened back.
Once all four had passed through, Max sealed the hatch door. Art heard it and prayed he would hear it again. They marched on level surface for a hundred metres or so, then it began to incline steeply. Art checked the time and knew they had to hurry, despite the burden. He stretched out a little and quickened the pace.
After thirty minutes he paused and eased his back against the vent wall. The others were grateful to follow suit. He took a short drink of water and checked his pace counter. They needed to be moving at 3 kph if they were to reach the top, set up and send their signal in time. On flat ground that equated to around 3600 paces. But given the steep slope it would be more like 4500 paces per hour. The count showed 2087.
“We need to pick up the pace folks” he said and stood upright and the others knew that the rest was over.
Art trudged on with his helmet light illuminating the way ahead. The vent was just under 2m high and about 3m wide. So there wasn’t much extra headroom for Art. Every now and then a cable conduit ran across the roof and he had to duck, in case he smacked his helmet into it.
The others had their lights off and relied on Art’s beam so they had to stay close. Now that he was pacing it out even further, the diminutive Pat Rogers was struggling. An increasing gap had opened up. Finally, Pat had to call out.
“I can’t keep up Sir” she advised.
Art stopped and took a breath. “Alright. How are you holding out Linda?”
“I’m OK Sir.”
“Pat, you and Cyrus can lessen the pace. When we get to the baffles I’ll check in with you and if necessary we’ll cross over separately. Is that OK with you?”
“Yes Sir, thanks.”
Art and Linda marched on at their cruel pace. Pat turned on her light and she and Cryus were grateful to slacken off a little.
Art came to the first of three 90 degree turns. They had been moving for over 75 minutes. He looked at Linda. He was impressed with her stamina but the strain and fatigue was showing on her face. Her helmet was almost fully steamed up. She leaned against the wall as soon as she saw him turn. He knew then that they were going to be late.
Chapter 16. Pulton 1 1150, 25 May.
It was only ten minutes before they were supposed to have sent their signal when they reached the first baffle. Art was exhausted and Linda was still one hundred metres back. He could hear her feet, more of a shuffle than a thud. He waited for her to close.
“Better get out the suction devises” he said, still panting and trying to regain his strength. She just stayed there propped against the wall. He opened her front pouch and pulled them out himself. She reluctantly accepted them and began affixing them to her knees and arms.
“Pat, better fit your suction devices and suit up.”
“Roger” said a weary voice through the comms channel.
Art fixed his own devices and suited up. He faced the wall and activated the devices by voice command. As he moved his knees closer to the wall they took hold. He secured his rifle through his webbing in front and then secured each arm to the wall. When Linda had done the same he hailed Pat. “Are you ready?”
“Just a minute … Yeh I’m good.”
“Max, the team is in two parts. I and Linda will go through the baffles now. Pat and Cyrus are some way off. You’ll have to re-open for them later.”
“Understood Art. OK hold on everyone. Here goes.”
Art could see the baffles opening ahead. They were a series of three heavy metal doors. When the last one opened, there was a rush of air towards the vacuum of space. It gathered momentum quickly. The voice activation took a bit of getting used to. He had to actually think of the movement he wanted rather than instinctively doing it. But he struggled on. It was only for about 100m.
It took him ten minutes though to traverse the baffles and another minute for Linda. “OK Max, we’re through” he advised.
“Shutting down now” said Max. “Let me know Pat, when you’re ready to go through.”
“Will do Max” said Pat, ever so grateful the gale had stopped.
“All suckers deactivate” ordered Art to his suit. They released and he took a stretch and then bent and heaved his back to adjust his gear into a less painful position. “OK Linda we need to crack on. Let’s go.”
“Right behind you” she replied.
Chapter 17. Pulton 1 1300, 25 May.
“Maam, we’ve just heard an explosion in the secondary shaft at the main entrance” hailed Liz. “They’re probably blowing the baffles.”
“Right” said Rihan. “I’ll put the fire-brigade on fifteen minutes warning to move. Let me know when you hear the second. That way I’ll know how long we have.”
“Yes Maam.”
“So they are not giving up after all” said Pious. “It’s good to know we have a worthy opponent, is it not?” he asked rhetorically.
Rihan was already thinking of the things she needed to do when Sue hailed her “Rihan, we have an explosion in the shaft. They must be coming through the baffles.”
“Shit…alright Sue, we have an explosion at the main entrance too. Looks like they are going to try and force entry from both ends at once. Let me know when the next one occurs.”
“Will do. Any news from Art?”
“Last I heard he was through the baffles. Don’t worry about him. See to yourself and your troops. You’ll have a fight on your hands in a few hours.”
“Yes I reckon we will. Any chance we can get a Trojan in support and some more troops?”
“I’ll get back to you on that shortly.”
“Thanks Rihan.”
“Chuck, can you come here now please?” tasked Rihan.
“I’m on my way” replied Chuck. He jogged the 300 metres a
nd came in to see her looking through the order of battle.
“Take a seat Chuck” said Pious. “We’ll be with you in a second.” Pious then turned back to the console and noted what Rihan was pointing to. He then turned back to Chuck. “You know about the explosion at the main entrance?”
“Yes Sir.”
“We have another at the facility entrance” said Pious.
“Shit” responded Chuck “Decision time, hey?”
Pious nodded. “Rihan?”
“Chuck where do you think the main push will come?” asked Rihan.
“I’d have to say the main entrance. If they can force entry there they can clear that battle shuttle out of the shaft and bring down some more. That will give them the best chance in my opinion.”
“We agree” said Rihan and Pious nodded. “But we also don’t think that the force we do have at the facility entrance can withstand much of an assault.”
“I agree with that too” said Chuck. “How about we send them Tango 3 and another team from the Sydney detachment. That will still leave us with a good sized reserve, including Tango 4.”
Rihan looked to the Commodore. He nodded. “Fine Chuck, can you despatch them on their way. I’ll inform Chalker to expect them.”
“Any news from Art?” asked Chuck.
“He should be near the top soon.”
“I do hope he gets through. No one down here wants to be written off by Fleet just yet” said Chuck.
“Rest assured Chuck, Fleet won’t be writing us off” replied Pious.
“No Sir. Of course not. I better get onto this” and he ducked out.
“Art?” hailed Rihan.
“Yes” said Art huffing and puffing as he pushed himself forward.
“The enemy is blowing the baffles in both light elevators.”
“Oh…We’re nearly there. I’ll make sure we send that info too. And Rihan?”
“Yes Art”
“Look after Sue for me.”
“I will Art. Just focus on getting that signal out.”
It was another 10 minutes before Art could see a faint light ahead. Spurred on by the hope of reaching their objective, he picked up the pace. Linda just saw him reach out and thought ‘Oh no!’ but then she raised her eyes a little and she too saw it. She dug deep and accelerated just a little.
The Awakening: Book 1 of Warner's World Page 36
