One of the Valorians ran to the gap and launched himself effortlessly through, swimming out into the void. The other two followed.
If that breach had been any wider, Brattain thought, we might have all been sucked out before anyone could react.
The remaining marines had come forward now, pushing them all towards the door, their own boots magnetized, bracing them with each step.
There was only one marine who was unmoving, just lying there. He’d been one of the victims of the Valorian’s earlier psionic assault with the gauntlets.
Now, his unconscious body skidded across the floor… Pulled towards the vacuum.
Brattain watched helplessly as he flew towards the gap in the wall.
His squat body was too large to fit through… But he slammed into the gap with great force, partially plugging up the opening.
His suit was pressure-sealed and he was helmeted—
—but the force of impact and the pressure of out-rushing air on his body was apparently too much.
Brattain could see his chest crumple through his suit. The pull of the vacuum through the hole in the hull was crushing him… Blood spurted from his mouth and splashed onto the inside of his visor.
That was the last glimpse Brattain got of the chamber before Molokos and the other marines pushed them close enough to the doors that they automatically opened.
The air from the inner corridor began rushing in. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anyone else about in the immediate vicinity who might be endangered by the partial vacuum.
In a second, they were through the doors, into the corridor.
The doors slammed shut, and the corridor vents gushed air as the section of hallway rapidly depressurized. Brattain tapped a code on the door console to keep the doors locked behind them.
“We lost Barton, dammit!” Molokos swore. Still helmeted, she heard his words relayed through the transceiver in her suit.
“Nothing you could do, Sergeant,” she said.
She bent and laid Seutter down on the floor. His face was red, purple, and splotchy with burst blood vessels… But he was breathing.
And now, a stumbling, bearded figure appeared from farther down the corridor.
It was Xon. His eyes were wide and wild, tears streaming down his cheeks. He held the hand of the boy, Jeremy, who walked beside him.
“I’m sorry, Harry,” he told Captain Kane. “I’m so sorry.”
“We need to get Seutter down to sickbay,” Brattain told him. “He’s had vacuum exposure. Get help.”
Xon nodded, mumbling: “Yes, yes… Do what I can…”
Meanwhile, Jeremy looked to the now-sealed door to the conference room and pointed one arm towards it. His tiny hand shook, and his whole body was trembling.
“Monsters,” he whispered. “Monsters. Monsters.”
Klaxons blared, and the lights in the corridor flashed red.
Brattain braced herself against the wall. Took a deep breath.
“Molokos,” Kane said to the Sergeant. “Take your men to gunnery, and man the grazer turrets.”
He nodded to Brattain. “Commander… With me.”
And he jogged off down the corridor towards the ladder to the upper deck and the bridge, Brattain following just behind.
21
They’d just about reached the door to the bridge when the ship shuddered violently. Brattain fell down on one knee, and the Captain reached out with a strong arm to help her up.
They entered the bridge to find the crew working frantically on their consoles. The black Valorian ship was still out there in front of them…
The strange ship had changed shape, as if it had flowed outward, acquiring wing-like projections from either side. On the edges of these were clusters of what looked like insect stingers. Some sort of weapons, Brattain knew.
My God, she thought, their entire ship can change shape like that?
What about the ones who went out through the hole in the wall… Can they just pass through the hull of their ship?
“Captain,” Reynard said, “there’s only minor damage to the ablative armor so far. But if this keeps up—”
“Evasive maneuvers,” Kane ordered as he threw himself into the Captain’s chair. “Get us out of here.”
“Way ahead of you,” Cruz said.
Several of the insectoid-like projections on the Valorian ship glowed and sparked. A swarm of missiles—like ball lightning flying through space—was unleashed.
Brattain took her seat just in time, as thrusters fired and the Musashi shot forward—
Then turned sharply to port, changing vectors again, and again accelerated.
The Valorian lightning-missiles turned to track the ship as Brattain watched on the holographic tactical display, which showed both the Musashi and the tiny missiles in miniature.
Then the ship dove, spinning, shuddering as it went.
Brattain had already locked her nanosuit into her seat and was thankful she’d done so—because the force now, despite the compensation of the gravity spike, would have been enough to throw her out of her chair.
Another alarm began to blare from somewhere.
“Too much strain on the hull,” Reynard announced.
“She can take it, shut up!” Cruz spat back.
The petite pilot’s eyes were wide as her hands flew over her console, manipulating her joystick, and twisting and stroking an array of little nubs that had emerged from the surface of the console.
She’s activating maneuvering thrusters by hand, Brattain thought. The computer can compensate for the torque.
But a human being doing that? With so many variables in place? She could tear the ship apart.
“Lieutenant, it’s our only hope,” the Captain announced. “Keep us out of their path. Comm,” Kane announced, “Gunnery corridor. Sergeant Molokos, are you in place?”
“Affirmative, Kane.” The marine’s gruff voice came over the comm.
“Target enemy missiles,” Kane commanded. “Now!”
Despite their desperate maneuvering, the enemy’s missiles were still closing in on them.
But then, suddenly, from the turrets lining the top of the ship, grazer beams burst out.
On the tactical holodisplay the beams were indicated as dashed lines, flashing out to touch the missiles. In actuality, the gamma ray lasers would be invisible…
But they seemed to do their work. The Valorian missiles sputtered out and disappeared.
“Missiles neutralized, Captain,” came Molokos’s voice on the comm.
But the Valorian ship was still following them.
Losing ground, though…
Brattain looked up to a display on the side of the main screen, which showed the ever-increasing distance between the two ships.
“Ensign Cruz,” she said, “Can we outrun them?”
“Like, I don’t know,” Cruz answered. “I don’t even know what kind of propulsion they use!”
“Lieutenant Reynard?” she asked.
“Yes, Commander?” he responded.
“Mister Seutter may be incapacitated for a while. If we have to make a jump using the emergency jump computer at a strong jump point, how long would it—”
He cut her off, understanding immediately what she was asking. “About three days, Commander. But even if the Psionicist could do the jump for us, it would be at least a day on full burn to reach a weak jump point. However, Sir, I have a suggestion…”
“Continue,” Brattain said.
Reynard turned to her, nodding. His face was composed and tense in this time of crisis.
Complete professional. I judged him rightly, I think.
“Silas 4b,” he said. “It’s a terraformed moon. An abandoned mining operation. We were at the edge of that system when the Valorians ambushed us.”
Captain Kane nodded. “That’s worth a shot, Jesus. Get close enough and the moon’s gravity well might shield us from their sensors.”
“Precisely, Sir,” Reynard answered.
“And it should prevent them from jumping to our position, no matter how weak of a jump point they could exploit.”
“Let’s make for that moon then,” Kane ordered. “And keep repeating transmissions. The Fleet needs to know what’s going on here.”
“Yessir,” Reynard replied.
It was only minutes before the black, red and gray disc of the moon appeared in front of them, growing ever closer. The pale yellow sphere of the gas giant which it orbited loomed hazily in the distance beyond…
“The Valorian vessel is out of range, Sir,” Reynard replied. “I can’t get its position.”
Brattain sighed. “Maybe we’ve lost them?”
Kane shook his head. “I hope so, but there’s something not right about this.”
Suddenly, the holodisplays on the bridge flickered.
“Sir,” Reynard said, “Directionals are fluctuating again.”
From over the comm, Sivarek’s nervous voice sounded: “Readings from all over the place. It… um, it looks like wormhole formation… again.”
“That’s impossible,” Brattain said.
But a second later, an iris of light appeared on the Musashi’s main viewscreen—
—and the oily, black snout of the Valorian ship swiftly emerging from the circle of light.
Brattain watched in horror. “How could they have intercepted us?” she asked. “Even if they knew our exact vector, there’s no way that—”
“Sergeant Molokos,” Captain Kane ordered. “Fire. Continuous volley.”
On the tactical display, the dotted lines of grazer beams lanced out to strike the Valorian ship—which had almost completely emerged from the wormhole now.
On the main viewscreen, Brattain could the energy of the grazers affecting the oily surface of the enemy’s ship. The hull of it bubbled, rippled, seemed to flicker…
And then… nothing. The black surface remained whole.
Molokos’s voice came over the comm.
“Useless,” he snarled.
“What is that?” Brattain asked out loud. “Some kind of shield?”
“No, Sir,” replied the sensor tech. “Readings suggest more of an absorption of energy.”
But the Captain was swift to react. “Xue, evasive action,” he ordered. “Target torpedoes and prepare to fire.”
“Firing solution achieved,” Reynard responded. “Preparing to—”
Suddenly, the front of the Valorian ship began to glow and pulse—
—and then the ship shook violently, and lights flashed.
A new and more ominous, lower-toned warning beeper began to sound.
Brattain looked at the now-flickering tactical display, showing the miniature Musashi. She could see that a hideous gash had been carved down the starboard side of the ship, though the bridge itself had not suffered damage.
It certainly didn’t look good…
“They shot our own grazer energy back at us, Captain!” Reynard declared. “It happened so fast, how could they—”
“Damage report!” Kane barked.
Reynard replied, shaking his head. “Secondary thrusters offline. Grazer turrets five, eight, nine, and twelve destroyed.”
“They’re disarming us,” Brattain said.
“We have casualties,” Molokos’s voice came from over the comm.
Of course. His marines had been manning the grazer turrets up in the gunnery corridor. They would’ve taken the brunt of the attack…
“Restoring operational turrets,” he continued. “Preparing to fire.”
It’s just like back on the Juno, Brattain thought.
Just as in her nightmares, times seemed to stretch, sounds echoing…
On the main screen, the Valorian ship swooped back at them, letting loose another spinning volley of the strange energy missiles.
At the helm, Cruz—her face covered in beads of sweat—yanked furiously at her controls…
But it was not enough. They hadn’t successfully evaded, and another series of muffled explosions rocked the ship.
“Life support inoperative. Air reserves ruptured,” Reynard announced.
“Can we still make that moon?” Kane asked.
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Reynard replied. “Three AUs.”
“Xue,” the Captain ordered to Cruz, “Get us the hell out of here!”
The petite pilot nodded, looking genuinely terrified now, wrenching back her stick.
More energy missiles bloomed out of the stinger-like launchers on the wings of the black Valorian ship. They swirled in flight as Brattain watched in horror on the tactical display, converging on the port hull.
They struck, and the ship shuddered.
All the holodisplays flickered now, along with the main lights, while alarms continued to blare.
“One more hit to port and we’re dead,” Reynard said flatly.
“Engine room!” Captain Kane ordered. “I need speed!”
“I’m rerouting through secondary conduits,” Sivarek’s voice came back.
“Is there any way to repair life support?” Brattain asked.
The Engineer’s voice came back hollow, tinged with despair. “Umm… No. Not for days.”
Brattain studied the displays. The Musashi was speeding away from the manta shape of the Valorian ship now.
Again, the Valorians seemed to be holding back…
Letting us get ahead… Playing with us again?
“They’re out of firing range now,” Reynard announced.
Cruz shook her head. “They’re just playing—no fun if it’s over too soon.”
“They can’t jump to us again,” Reynard replied. “Not so close to the moon’s gravity well.”
“We can hope,” Kane said. “Give us a slow descent. Everyone lock in. With luck we can make it planetfall before—”
“Directionals unstable,” Reynard announced flatly. “They’re coming again.”
And even as they reached the moon’s orbit—the gray, black and red surface of the sphere filling the screen—a bright wormhole formed in front of them, interposing itself between their ship and the moon.
The Valorian ship burst out of the wormhole, clipping the Musashi as it blurred past. The ship shuddered and rocked.
“Evasive,” Brattain ordered. “Maybe we can use the atmosphere as a shield?”
“Damn it!” Cruz shouted. She yanked her stick as the ship was rocked.
“We’re coming in too fast,” Reynard warned.
“I know,” Cruz responded.
“Captain,” Reynard said, “They aren’t following.”
“That’s because we’re crashing!” Cruz snapped back.
“Can we pull out?” Captain Kane asked.
Cruz, still fighting with her stick, replied, “Not without secondary thrusters.”
“Can we land?”
Cruz shook her head violently, whimpering. “Don’t ask me to think that far ahead!”
“Comm, ship wide,” Kane ordered. “All personnel, brace for impact. Engine room. Sivarek—Can you reconfigure the gravity spike?”
Sivarek’s voice came back. “Yeah. Working on it already. I mean… Oh, I hope I didn’t cross any wires here… Okay, we’re going to have negative three G’s in a couple of seconds. Please, nobody hit the ceiling!”
The main viewscreen was now tinged with orange. They were entering the moon’s atmosphere, and feeling the heat of it.
Warnings flashed on the bridge displays: GRAVITY SYSTEM OVERRIDE—
—and then the world seemed to flip.
Brattain’s stomach was violently wrenched, pulled towards the ceiling…
Which her sense of equilibrium now told her was the floor. The few objects on the bridge not fastened down hit the ceiling and bounced.
I just hope everyone got themselves secured, she thought.
#
In the sickbay, Xon had gotten Seutter secured in his bed, stabilized. The boy Jeremy was also cocooned on another one of the medical beds… Though he’d protes
ted at first, he’d grown quiet once restrained.
Xon was restrained in a chair as the world seemed to turn topsy-turvy, and the ship shuddered again and again.
My fault, he thought. All I wanted was to be a healer.
Thought I could escape my past. That they wouldn’t find me.
But now my lies of omission have doomed everyone.
There was nothing he could do now but think.
No, pray…
He remembered what he’d been taught as a child, the hope for good in the universe. Those beliefs had been perverted by the Templars, but that didn’t make them invalid, did it? Those guiding principles had never changed.
And so he whispered: “The mind of man, the mind of God, the mind of the universe are one, and that mind is Justice Inherent, and all things good…”
22
On the bridge, clouds rushed in to fill the view on the main screen.
The ship pulled up…
Were they slowing down, or was it Brattain’s imagination?
Still, Cruz wrestled with the controls. “Come on,” she said, “Steady, steady…”
They broke through the clouds, and then there were flashes of lightning, as if they were surrounded by a violent thunderstorm. Below that, Brattain could see the moon’s surface: Black volcanic rock, with slashes of blood red… Needle-like spires poked out from amidst the rocky plains and mountains.
“Five thousand meters,” Cruz announced. “Forty-five hundred. Thirty-five—”
“We’re slowing,” Reynard said, “We’re slowing—but not fast enough.”
There was a mountain range rushing up to greet them.
Are we going to smash into one of the peaks? Brattain wondered, oddly detached in this moment of crisis. The gray-black slopes of the mountains were sharp, and at the tops of the peaks were deposits of red iron.
Probably what they were mining here, she thought. Wonder if someone might excavate the remains of our ship in a couple thousand years?
Suddenly, Cruz screamed.
It wasn’t a scream of fear, but an angry roar of effort: her last attempt to pull the ship out of its fatal plunge.
Space Cruiser Musashi: a space opera novel Page 11
