Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire

by J W Murison

  ‘What happened there?’ Kelly asked Matt.

  Matt pondered it for a while before coming to a reasonable explanation. ‘Well... It’s minus two twenty below. The fuse burned and the detonator blew alright, but the metal casing and the explosives inside were so cold they just shattered when it went off.’

  ‘So what now?’ Steven asked.

  ‘We could get Babes to refill the grenade with explosives that will work.’ Howe suggested.

  They tried that, but the detonator wasn’t sufficiently powerful enough to set off the explosives. They tried changing the detonator, but it was affected by the extreme cold as well. Kelly suggested using the explosives as a form and wrapping it round the detonator. Over the next few hours they exhausted every technique that they could think of. Electronic detonators were fried before they even left the ship.

  ‘What the hell is it going to bloody take?’ Steven eventually shouted in exasperation.

  ‘Why did the Michael Collins bomb work?’ Charlie asked.

  Steven gave his head a little shake. ‘Everything was prepacked. The box the bomb was contained in was doubly insulated and actually heated to keep everything at about freezing point. There was only about twenty pounds of explosives aboard, the rest of the package was to make sure it worked.’

  ‘Can’t we replicate that in some way?’

  ‘No, we can’t open a hole that big in the shield.’

  ‘How big a hole can you make in the shield? Let’s build something based on that and shove it out.’

  Eventually, after another few hours of playing around, they managed to open the shields a little wider. They began trying again but nothing worked. Charlie could see the asteroid was covered in explosives.

  Babes came to a conclusion. ‘The only way to do this would be to send a bomb of the same size and dimensions as the original one through in pieces to be assembled on the surface of the asteroid. The electronics would not fry if they were inert. I could shield a battery to protect it, but again it would have to be removed from its protective container and assembled on the surface of the asteroid. As the placing of a Human being on the surface of the asteroid is impossible, then I have to come to the conclusion that the Earth is doomed.’

  ‘That hole is big enough to squeeze someone through, isn’t it?’ Howe asked.

  ‘Irrelevant.’ Steven growled. ‘Doesn’t matter what you do. We couldn’t get someone down to the surface.’

  ‘I could crash myself on to the surface.’ Babes suggested. ‘But there is no way I could evacuate any of you.’

  The men fell silent. All bar one were thinking of the consequences. ‘I will put it to the crew.’ Steven decided.

  ‘Sit on your arse Stevie.’ Charlie reached over and shoved Steven down. ‘Could we generate a shield, like the one that protects us now, around a space suit Babes?’

  ‘No, it would have to made of an alloy, like the ship is made from.’

  ‘What about the alloy I am made out of Babes?’

  She was silent for a moment. ‘What are you suggesting Charlie?’

  ‘You once told me that my skin was a metal alloy, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes, but it is completely different to the kind of alloy that could hold a force field of the type required to keep you alive.’

  ‘What would it take to change it?’

  ‘Charlie!’

  ‘What would it take to change it?’ He asked firmly.

  ‘I could infuse your body with millions of nano bots. They could rise to the surface of your skin and generate a field to protect you. I would also have to upgrade your internal power plant and change your muscles at the molecular level. There is only one problem.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘I don’t know if you would survive the process.’

  ‘How long have we got until this thing hits Earth?’

  ‘Three days and four hours.’

  ‘How long to change me?’

  ‘Two and a half days. I could do it in a few minutes, but that would definitely kill you.’

  He turned to Steven. ‘You have two and a half days to make a new bomb that I can piece together on the surface of that asteroid. That means simple.’

  ‘Charlie, you could die.’ Steven looked lost.

  ‘What would I care? I will be dead. You should be worrying about what to do if it doesn’t bloody work. Babes is going to put me to sleep, I will never know. You, however, are going to have three and a half days to contemplate crashing this ship and everyone on it into that asteroid. Have fun.’

  The soldiers laughed heartily at Charlie’s black humour while Steven could only gawp at his back as Charlie headed to the infirmary.

  CHAPTER 54

  Amanda Freeling staggered back from the creature who appeared from the floor. The blood drained from her face.

  ‘What is it?’ Charlie asked as he sat up.

  ‘Don’t look in a mirror.’

  Charlie stood and did exactly as he was told not to do. His eyes had been replaced by a metal plate, yet he could see clearly enough. He gave himself a dunt on the side of the head. It made a clang. ‘Oh this is so cool.’

  ‘That is a joke?’ Amanda gasped.

  ‘Oh hell no.’

  ‘For God’s sake Charlie! You look like a... like a bloody tin man or something.’

  It was the first time she had ever called him by his first name. ‘I think I look like a real cool robot. I often played at being a robot when I was a kid. This is way better.’

  ‘Bloody men!’ Was all she could think of to say.

  ‘Can you hear me Charlie?’

  ‘Yes I can Babes.’

  ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Very, very strange. I can’t even feel myself breathe.’

  ‘Every one of your organs is covered in nanites to protect them. You require very little oxygen. You can access your field generator by thinking about it. Please think about it now but do not activate it.’

  A menu appeared before Charlie’s eyes. As he moved his head up and down the menus were highlighted. ‘Cool! How do I actually activate anything?’

  ‘Think of the word activate while highlighting the menu option. Think end to quit the menu.’

  Charlie quit the menu. ‘OK, what’s next?’

  ‘Amanda has your space suit. Put it on. They are waiting for you. The shield will encase your suit, so you won’t lose it.’

  Amanda helped him put it on then escorted him to the small room. They were all startled by his appearance.

  Charlie snapped up an arm and pointed his hand at Steven. ‘Exterminate all Humans.’

  Steven suddenly burst out laughing as he remembered their childhood. ‘You finally became a robot. Way cool man.’

  ‘I really need to get a selfie like this Stevie.’

  Steven retrieved his phone and they took a few pictures. Now they were all laughing.

  Matt spoiled the mood. ‘OK lads, stop pissing around. Charlie, get your arse over here and let’s see if you can build this thing.’

  They spent an hour sorting out a few niggles as Charlie found the tools hard to grasp. Once he had put it together three times Matt decided he was ready.

  ‘We are going to lower you down first. That way you can unhook all the different parts.’ Matt told him.

  ‘Sounds fine to me.’

  Matt hooked him up and they slid Charlie towards the opening. He had to push himself through the internal force-field, the one that held in all the air before he activated his shield. From there he had to lie on his back and propel himself out.

  It took them ten minutes to lower him to the surface of the asteroid.

  Charlie looked around. There were unexploded grenades and explosives everywhere. He didn’t see any point in wasting them so began to gather them up and place them around one of the black spots. Charlie inspected it. It was some kind of cap, no doubt with the explosives underneath.

  The first part was lowered and Charlie dragged it over. Within an hour
he had all the parts and had begun to assemble their bomb.

  He had just finished when Babes’ voice sounded in his ear. ‘You have a little time left Charlie, could you inspect the damaged section while the bomb is heating up to operational temperature?’

  ‘OK Babes, guide me will you please?’

  ‘I will, be careful Charlie.’

  It took him twenty minutes to reach the point where a Human bomb had gone off and cut the web. The two sections were about five meters apart. Charlie’s eyes scanned the broken end and a digital analysis lit up before his eyes.

  ‘It says it is highly conductive Babes. Will touching the two ends work?’

  ‘Tie a simple knot in them if you can Charlie. That will work.’

  It took him a bit of time to find some slack, but he finally managed to stretch the two pieces and tie them together. He plodded back to where the tether lay and clipped himself back on. The bomb was ready to go. ‘OK, Get me off this damn rock.’

  He had barely left the surface when the line snapped. He floated gently back down to the surface, the line following. ‘What the hell is going on Stevie?’

  There was silence for a moment. ‘The line broke.’

  ‘Of course it bloody broke. Reel more down.’

  Again Steven hesitated to answer. ‘There is no more, we lost most of it when it broke the first time. Charlie, we have to detonate that damn thing within a few hours.’

  ‘With me on it?’

  ‘Wait a moment.’

  ‘This day just isn’t getting any better.’ Charlie muttered to himself. Something popped into his mind. ‘Stevie. Make a jet pack.’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘A jet pack for God’s sake! I will take off and fly backwards out of the way. Make sure its damn fast.’

  ‘I got you Charlie. Hang on.’

  Charlie was aware of how quickly the time was passing. Eventually something appeared in his vision. It was a large pack. He managed to get under it and caught it. Steven’s voice spoke in his ear. ‘Buckle it on Charlie. There is extra oxygen as well. Plug it into your suit. Your shield will form around it within a few seconds. The pack is strong enough to drop you out of light speed, and there is a strong homing beacon on it as well. Get yourself up to that ridge and fly straight backwards, don’t try to fly off it at an angle.’

  ‘Got it Stevie. It’s going to take me a while to reach that ridge.’

  ‘We know Charlie.’

  ‘If you have to blow it, then blow it. Understand?’

  ‘I do Charlie. We have no choice.’

  ‘Give me a countdown every ten minutes.’

  Charlie didn’t hesitate for a second. If there had been any gravity he could have reached the ridge within a few minutes. In this weightless environment however, he had no real advantage.

  On board the ship they had returned to their posts. The hole in the shields had been closed. Steven moved them off to a safe distance.

  Matt was at his engineering station. ‘Charlie did a good job sir. Green lights, right across the board. Along with all of that explosives he stuffed round the bomb we have a really good chance of success.’

  ‘That may well be Matt. But we need to blow that damn thing up in the next hour and scan the debris field to see if there are any chunks large enough to harm the planet.’

  Buzz stepped in. ‘The first one was pulverized, wasn’t it Stevie?’

  ‘It was, but there was still the odd large chunk.’

  ‘Yeah but we built those huge shield generators to protect Earth from the dust and debris.’

  ‘I personally think we were lucky with that one Buzz. There wasn’t anything bigger than a family sized car left of it. But if a chunk as large as a football field is left then it could punch through the shields and still cause devastation on Earth. We need time to evaluate the debris field and take action against any large pieces.’

  ‘But what action can we even take?’

  ‘Give it a nudge with our shields, just extend them if it is within range.’

  Buzz scratched his head. ‘I thought that would kill us?’

  ‘If we tried to nudge something like the asteroid it would. If they are small enough we should be all right.’

  They settled down to watch Charlie’s race. Matt continued to give him a countdown.

  With fifteen minutes to go Charlie found himself at the foot of the ridge. There was a terrible heat emanating from his core; the new nanites had changed the density of his muscles and they were now working against him. He leapt as high as he could and grabbed a ledge. He was able to heave himself up.

  Matt’s words kept him informed of the time he had left. ‘Five minutes Charlie. Four... Three...’

  At three Charlie crested the rise, bent over and activated the jet pack.

  ‘Two minutes Charlie, punch it man.’

  ‘I am. Full throttle. As a matter of interest, am I accelerating or am I breaking?’

  It took Matt a moment. ‘Uh... Yeah, you are already traveling at faster than light speed Charlie. You are accelerating in the opposite direction, so you are breaking mate.’

  ‘Right. Just wanted to clear that up.’

  Charlie didn’t think he was going to clear the asteroid before it blew, but he didn’t take into account the fact that the asteroid was moving and he was accelerating away from it in the opposite direction. He had a wonderful bird’s eye view of the whole asteroid as it passed beneath him. He knew if he survived it would remain a wonder he would never forget.

  As Matt counted down the last few seconds Charlie cleared the asteroid. He closed his eyes and cringed. He felt the blow and a huge increase in speed. A few seconds later he opened his eyes and looked around. There was nothing to be seen. No asteroid, no Babes, just himself, the stars, and the all-encompassing black.

  CHAPTER 55

  Captain Jean Wilson felt compelled to visit the infirmary. It was half an hour since a patrol managed to recover the body of her fellow countryman. After all, he did save the planet. Her Chief Medical Officer’s, ‘You really need to come and see this,’ had filled her with foreboding. James Andrew’s sense of humour centred on the macabre. She was sure that she was going to get an autopsy and an explanation on the desiccation of a body left floating about in space for weeks.

  The body had no cover over it. The only thing removed were the helmet and the gloves. On the floor sat the oxygen tanks and jet pack. James was standing back from the body, studying it from a distance. Jean stopped beside him.

  ‘What the hell is that!’

  ‘I have no idea. It looks like a robot of some kind. I am unwilling to touch it until you have looked over it.’

  She got a little closer and he stayed by her side. ‘How weird. What do you intend to do?’

  ‘Autopsy obviously. First I think I will X-ray him, then maybe an MRI scan.’

  ‘Are you a complete tit?’

  The two jumped at the question. The figure on the bed groaned and tried to sit up. Charlie slumped back down and raised a hand to his head. ‘Bloody migraine.’

  ‘You’re alive!’ James spluttered. ‘There was no pulse, nothing.’

  ‘Who are you?’

  ‘Chief Medical Officer James Andrews.’

  ‘A CMO? Ye sure yer no a bloody quack?’

  James was shocked. ‘No, I’m not a bloody quack.’

  ‘You sure? I’m no a medic, but I’m sure an MRI scanner is a bloody great magnet.’

  ‘We would take the bloody suit off first, Sergeant.’ James growled.

  ‘It’s no a suit. This is my skin. Stick me in one of those and all you’re going to be left with is my lovely soft centre. I’m also one of Steven Gordon’s crew. Right now the only thing keeping me alive is the nanites running round in what’s left of my bloodstream. You X-ray me and you will fry them, thus killing me.’

  ‘Aye well, we didn’t know you were alive.’ James sniffed.

  ‘You’re still an idiot. Sir.’

  Jean almost smiled at
Charlie’s hard-ass routine. ‘That’s enough Sergeant.’

  ‘And you are?’

  Jean coughed a laugh. ‘I happen to be Captain of this vessel.’

  ‘My apologies ma’am. I should be a little more grateful. After all, you did rescue me.’

  There wasn’t a note of honesty in that whole statement, Jean thought. She decided to get away while she still could. She moderated her tone and hoped her false sincerity would fool the Sergeant more than his had fooled her.

  ‘You have been through a traumatic experience Sergeant. I will leave to let you rest.’

  The head turned towards them for the first time. ‘I recognise your voice.’

  She hesitated. ‘I am sure we have never met.’

  ‘May I ask your name ma’am?’

  ‘Jean Wilson.’

  Jean watched in shock as the man struggled to sit up then tried to slide onto his feet. It was the fumbling of a blind man. He almost fell a number of times but eventually he stood at attention. Even if he was facing slightly away from her.

  ‘May I apologise for my foul humour ma’am. And to your doctor as well. I must be on the Sir William Wallace.’

  Jean was now intrigued. ‘Yes, you most certainly are.’

  Charlie began to sway and they both rushed forward.

  ‘Sit down before you fall down man.’ James ordered.

  Charlie’s hand suddenly leapt to his chest. ‘Wait, have I got my clothes on?’

  Jean burst out laughing. ‘Yes Sergeant. We have only removed your gloves and helmet.’

  Charlie sighed with relief. ‘Oh thank God.’ He reached round and groped for the bed.

  Jean frowned. ‘Are you blind Sergeant?’

  ‘As a bat ma’am. Don’t worry though. Once I get back to my ship she will take care of that.’

  ‘I will try not to.’ Jean was actually sincere, as well as curious. ‘So you have heard of me then?’

  ‘The only Scottish female pilot to become an ace. Oh aye, I’ve heard of you, and admired you. I have read a couple of dozen different accounts of your actions. I have even watched that short documentary. May I ask a personal question ma’am?’