Harbinger

by Stephen Christiansen

  Vincent didn’t even bother trying to lift the lid. If the programming was off then it would be useless trying to activate the pressure sensor inside the chamber. There was always the manual settings on the computer screen on the outside to allow someone else to get him out, but he needed out now. That’s where the manual dial on the inside came in. Without any further thought Vincent worked his hand to the dial that was flush against the chamber and gave it a few twists.

  The chamber hissed with the rush of air that started to flow inside. Oxygen started to fill his lungs and it was easier to breath, but the temperature didn’t rise. He should have felt the warmth of his personal quarters come rushing in with the air. The life support system was probably offline. This meant that the whole ship could drop to the temperature of the freezing cold space that surrounded them. It also meant that they could run out of oxygen. He had to work fast.

  Vincent pushed the glass lid the rest of the way open and crawled out into his room. It was exactly how he had left it, at least to some degree. There was a small bed with military issue blankets. A metal dresser was bolted to the floor. There was a small metal desk with a computer terminal that was connected to the ship's main frame. There was also a closet where he kept his military supplies and a space suit.

  Not only was the room cold, but it was cloudy as well. There was a hydraulic or even a coolant leak somewhere. The fluids turned into a gas if it wasn’t kept cool enough and although the life support system was offline and the temperatures were probably dropping across the ship, it still wasn’t cold enough to keep the hydraulic fluid in its natural fluid state. What this meant was that the doors wouldn’t open automatically. Although there were still some manual doors with old style wheels that sealed the portal, there were also some computer operated automatic doors that didn’t have a manual wheel that were attached to areas that weren’t vital to sealing off the ship in case of an emergency. These doors would have to be pushed or pried open. Lack of coolant also meant that the main engines and several other parts of the ship could overheat, seize up, and eventually explode. Leaking coolant was going to be a big problem if he didn’t fix that soon.

  The monitor on his desk was cracked and it looked as if he would not be able to access the mainframe. He would have to use his laptop and hook it directly to the access port that was if any of the mainframe was accessible.

  Vincent could hear the computer warnings that echoed off of the walls of his room. The voice was breaking up and it was difficult to hear, but he was able to catch enough of it to understand just how bad of shape the ship was in and how bad the situation was.

  “Warning...Life support systems offline.”

  “Warning...Breach in warp core. Detonation imminent ”

  “Warning...Secondary engines offline.”

  “Warning...Main computer offline. Navigations offline. Communications offline. Cascade failure imminent.”

  “Warning...Multiple hull breach. Implosion imminent”

  “Warning...Incoming projectile. Impact imminent”

  “Warming...Fatal current trajectory. Destruction imminent.”

  ‘Well, the artificial gravity is still working, at least for now,’ Vincent thought to himself.

  Without the gravity, things would be a lot more difficult. Although Vincent did have training in zero-g, it wasn’t something that he was looking forward to having to utilize. He could always use the boots in his spacesuit. The boots were electromagnetic and could be turned off and on by a control inside the gloves. This would allow an individual to be able to walk all around the ship and even outside the ship. However, this would make travel slow while he waited for one boot to disengage and while the other turned on only to then reverse the process as he walked.

  Vincent moved fast. Although his body was screaming at him from being too cold, he pushed beyond his pain and discomfort. If the computer was accurate and there were multiple hull breaches, then there was a chance that there might be areas of the ship without air. This, on top of the freezing cold of space that was trying to permeate the ship, would make any expedition suicidal. The only way to search the ship for survivors, get some answers, and to possibly make some repairs, was to suit up.

  Despite the cold, it didn’t take long to put on his spacesuit. It would make walking more difficult, but it would be needed. His expected lack of movement about the ship only spurred on his haste to put on the suit. Time was not on his side and the quicker he could put the suit on, the more time he could give to the hindrance of movements once the suit was on.

  Vincent quickly put his helmet over his head and locked it in place. He had been glad that he had kept his military buzz cut hair style, it made putting on his helmet that much easier. He had known too many individuals with longer hair that had been caught and ended up being more of a hassle than a fashion statement. Besides, it was easy to manage and reminded him of the time that he was with the Space Marines before joining this outfit.

  Vincent found the manual circular handle on the center of the door and gave it a couple of good twists. This was designed from the older naval vessels to prevent incoming water from flooding other compartments. This idea was still utilized to maintain pressure throughout most of this ship. However, these were also computer regulated. If there was a haul breach then all doors that needed to be shut would be and could only be opened with a computer override or manually like he was doing now. Since his computer terminal was down until he could link up with his laptop, he was going to have to open each door on his own and hope that his spacesuit would protect him from whatever he might find on the other side.

  Vincent pulled the door open. The condition beyond was worse than he thought. Bulkheads were broken and leaning at odd angles making it difficult at best to maneuver through the hall. Emergency lights were flicking off and on, not only giving an eerie glow through the leaking hydraulic gas, but it was also making it difficult to see where he was going. Exposed wires were dangling all over the place and electrical sparks were trying to make connections between a few of them. More conduit pipes were broken and continued to leak coolant and hydraulics. Hopefully none of them were leaking fuel. Computer access terminals were smashed.

  With as much precaution as he could, Vincent turned right and started to pick his way through the hall. Step by step he made his way over or around obstacles. He had to bend to squeeze through one small area where the bulkheads had fallen. Another step and he avoided some venting conduit that had come loose from the ceiling. A side step and he moved passed a computer access terminal that had blown and was sending showers of sparks in all directions.

  At the end of the hall he found what he was looking for. Here was another door that had been sealed shut. With a series of quick turns on the wheel and a slight tug, the door opened to a set of ascending stairs. These were the stairs that would lead up to the top section of the ship. This section sat above the main ship design. This was where he would find the bridge, the infirmary, the CIC room, and the quarters of the rest of the crew. He had been given an opportunity to have his quarters stationed here as well, but he had turned it down. He had always felt like a lone wolf and as such he kept himself distant, emotionally and physically. Besides, he needed to keep an eye on the cargo.

  The stairs up was more difficult than he thought it would be. They weren’t designed to hold the large boots of the spacesuit and Vincent found himself having to climb the stairs on the balls of his feet and let his heels dangle off of the edges.

  The sound of his boots against the metal stairs rang hollow against the ship’s walls. Vincent hadn’t realized just how loud they really were. Perhaps it was because he had never felt so alone. The ship had always been full of noise; rather it was the humming of the engines, the chirping of the computers or the crew that was always in motion. Now, there was none of that.

  His heart was already beating faster than it should, not out of panic, but out of anticipation. He was afraid for the lives of the crew. He was also unsure about
each step and what might be behind each door. Adrenaline had kicked in and he was sure that this had increased his sense of hearing. On top of that, he had never had a need to listen to the sounds of his footsteps before, now he was paying attention to every sight and every sound for any potential danger or signs of survivors.

  Vincent came to the door at the top of the stairs and gave the turning handle a twist since the portal wasn’t going to automatically open for him. There were only two reasons why the door wouldn’t open automatically. The first was that the computer wasn’t operating correctly, and after seeing the destruction that lay around him, Vincent was sure that this was the case. The second reason why the door wouldn’t open was because...

  The handle didn’t budge. Vincent put his all of his strength into various leverage points and tried again. Slowly the circular handle began to turn as if it had been frozen solid and was just now giving way.

  Suddenly the wheel spun and the door burst open under Vincent’s push. For a split second he thought that he hadn’t pushed the metal door that hard. He was right.

  “Warning...Multiple hull breach. Implosion imminent”

  The sudden vacuum of space sucked the door out of Vincent’s grip and sent it crashing into what was left of the ship’s hull. Air was sucked out all around Vincent as he desperately started to grab for anything within his reach. It was no good, his body was caught and he was sent sailing through the portal.

  Chapter: 09

  Vincent’s arms continued to reach out in sheer desperation. There was a major hull breach here and if it was this bad then within moments he would be sucked into space. His only hope of survival would be to get back into the hall and get the door closed behind him.

  Frantically he flailed about. His arms hit the bulkhead of the portal too hard. Pain shot through him. His body bounced and he lost his chance to grab the bulkhead.

  Vincent shoved out his arm one more time and caught the latch wheel of the door. His body slammed against the hull of the ship and he was sure that he heard something in his shoulder pop. Pain shot through his already throbbing arm. His body screamed at him to let go. A quick look back, to where his feet were now pointing told him why he shouldn’t.

  The upper deck was practically gone. A few pieces of bulkheads were still attached to the main ship but beyond that most of the upper deck was gone. The bridge was no longer attached to the ship. Beyond his outstretched body was empty space. The senior crew members were dead and the integrity of the ship was now gone.

  Vincent hadn’t survived military training to give up now. He had been in tighter situations and in greater pain.

  “Are you going to sit there and cry or are you going to get up and do something about it?!”

  He could almost hear his drill sergeant yelling at him like he had done many times before when his body simply couldn’t handle the drill or the exercise any more. He had to admit that sometimes, yes sometimes, he actually did want to cry, right there in front of his sergeant and in front of the whole company. But he wasn’t going to give his sergeant the satisfaction of being right.

  “You are never going to make it in this army! You hear me?! You don’t have the strength! You don’t have the courage! You don’t have what it takes to handle…”

  “Vincent! Are you listening?”

  The voice had changed. It was no longer an angry drill sergeant, a drill sergeant that he knew was only trying to toughen him up. It was now a tone of hatred and disappointment.

  The hand struck him hard across the back of his head. His boyish, young form was no match for his father nor for the next blow or the next several blows that followed.

  Vincent shook his head. He couldn’t let these memories distract him from holding on. His life was now in his own hands, quite literally.

  With all of his strength, Vincent pulled against the oncoming vacuum. He knew that if the mainframe computer had any function at all, it would start to seal doors inside the ship to prevent the integrity of the vessel from deteriorating any further. Once that happened, the vacuum would be over; however, it would mean that there would be less air in the ship. If he wanted to stay alive aboard the ship, then he would need that air, he would need to get aboard as quickly as possible.

  Hand over hand Vincent pulled himself slowly forward. His body inched as he pulled against the wheel of the door. His muscles groaned under the strain, yet he pushed on.

  When he was level with the door, Vincent reached inside and grabbed the frame and continued to pull himself inward. It took some maneuvering before he was able to get his whole body into the ship. From there he twisted and turned until he could put his feet upon the door frame. Here he was able to activate his electromagnetic boots. Once his feet were in place he no longer pulled himself, instead, he pulled on the door.

  The force of the vacuum that was keeping the door open was stronger than he had expected. Again his muscles strained and his arms pulled while his feet pushed against the door frame. Inch by inch Vincent gained ground until suddenly, and almost unexpectedly the struggle stopped. The door swung shut so violently that it had almost knocked Vincent to the ground and made him let go. This would have allowed to the door to blow back open and suck Vincent right back out again and this time he knew that he wouldn’t be lucky twice in a row. Immediately Vincent gave the wheel a spin that locked the door in place.

  Time passed as Vincent lay there, on the floor, panting into his space helmet. He knew that the oxygen in his suit was precious and it shouldn’t be wasted on hyperventilation. He needed to calm down.

  “Ease your mind soldier,” the sergeant’s voice came back. “And your body will follow.”

  Vincent let his mind rest in peace. It had been a close call, too close, but it was over now. There was no need for his mind to dwell on the past. He had to focus on his next move.

  “Warning...Life support systems offline.”

  ‘Survivors.’

  The thought answered his question. It was time to look for any other survivors and that meant looking for the scientists.

  Chapter: 10

  “Who are you?”

  “Are you here to save us?”

  “Is the ship in any danger?”

  “Are we in any danger?”

  “What’s the situation on the ship?”

  “Have you seen anyone else?”

  “Does anyone need medical attention?”

  The questions came at him quickly and from all directions. They were asking him too fast for him to answer all at once and they had started the moment he had opened their door, or at the least the moment after the initial gasps.

  Vincent had slowly made his way toward the cryo chamber room where the scientists were being held. These would be the only other personnel aboard the ship and if he could wake them then he would have a better chance of survival. His long and arduous trip had taken him down a few flights of stairs and across to the other side of the ship. He had opened each door with caution before proceeding out of fear of having a repeat episode from his trip to the bridge. There had only been one door that had opened to a hall that had been breached which resulted in him slamming it shut immediately. This meant that he had to backtrack, circumnavigate this corridor, and find another route.

  The cryo chamber room had been intact, well at least mostly intact. The hull hadn’t been breached; although that was the best he could say of the room itself. Most of the computers were offline and a couple of the cryo chambers had been forced open. The scientists looked more concerned and some of them downright frightened, but they seemed to be physically fine.

  Vincent had to take all of this into consideration. The situation might have just turned for the worse. With the exception of at least one or two, the security detail and perhaps the medic, he doubted that any of them had any military training which meant they may be more prone to panic.

  “Panic kills more people than anything else. Panic is your worst enemy. Being stupid is the worst thing you could do. Being aroun
d stupid people is the second worst thing you could do. Do not let yourself be prone to panic and do not associate yourselves with others that will panic. Both will only lead to death.”

  The drill sergeant’s words came back in a flood. It might actually be safer to keep these scientists here. First thing was first, if he didn’t answer at least some of their questions then they would do their best to follow him until he did and they would just be in the way and slow him down.

  “The ship has been badly damaged. The bridge is gone and I’m the only survivor. You will stay here. Your presence….”

  “The hell I will.”

  All eyes turned toward Denise. It was her voice that had cut off Vincent as she had stepped forward toward him to accentuate her statement.