Consciousness returned slowly. Dim awareness of garish lights and muted, unintelligible voices, the acrid smell of burnt wiring…and flesh, the metallic taste of blood all jumbled together in brief moments before the darkness rose once again.
“I think she’s coming out of it.”
The voice, vaguely familiar, was female yet when she opened her eyes the face she saw, blurred at first, was Sean’s.
Though he was smiling, she could tell even through the blurriness that the smile was forced.
“Back with us?” he asked.
“I…I think so.” Her voice was dry and raspy and she gratefully accepted the straw he held to her lips.
The fact that he was giving her water in a sealed container with a straw confirmed what her body seemed to be telling her. They were in zero-gee. Were they still in the hub?
She turned her head and looked around, getting her bearings. She was not in the hub. She was in the quarters that had been assigned to her on First. She turned back to Sean, her eyes demanding answers.
“We’ve cut the spin…for now.” He correctly interpreted her unspoken question. “The accident did considerable damage.”
Accident? What accident? She tried to sit up and found herself strapped to the bed. Zero-G restraints to keep her in place?
“Give yourself a little time, Colonel.” Doctor Garison ordered, coming into her field of vision. She could have sworn she had heard a female voice during one of her earlier periods of semi-consciousness. The Doctor looked haggard, his eyes dark and swollen from exhaustion. He removed the straps holding her upper body down but left those over her legs alone. “Before you do anything, we’re going to get some food into you. You need it. We’ve been feeding you through a tube for a week and, frankly, your body needs real food.”
“A week?” Corina’s eyes widened and she looked to Sean who nodded.
“It hit all the Valkyries.” He told her. “You, however, are the last one to come out of it.”
“What the hell happened?” She tried again to sit and this time Dr. Garison allowed it.
“Not now.” Sean shook his head. “First you need to eat and then get to your feet. We’ll talk then.”
“We’ll talk right now.” Corina insisted. “What…”
“I said later, Colonel.” Sean’s tone grew hard and Corina blinked in surprise. “Honestly Colonel, I haven’t got time to go over it now. And I can’t afford to have you lying on your back any longer. I need you up and around. You eat and then you can talk to Doc Ling. She’ll be able to tell you better about what happened to the Valkyries.” He paused and then smiled again, that same humorless smile. “Get something to eat and talk to Doc Ling, Colonel.” He told her, his voice softened. “I’ve called a meeting of department heads for thirteen hundred…that’s two hours from now…what you don’t find out from Ling, you’ll find out there. I need you there, Colonel, and I need you looking and acting as if nothing is wrong. I need you to show that you and the Valkyries are fine and ready for anything. And I need you at my back. Understand?”
Corina clearly didn’t understand, yet the almost pleading look in the Governor’s eyes prevented her from saying so. Instead, she nodded meekly and watched as he turned and left the makeshift sickbay.
She lay back and closed her eyes, and her hand flew to her stomach as it gave an audible growl.
“I heard that!”
She opened her eyes to see Mey Ling stepping through the open door of her room. Before the door slid closed, she was able to see other cots, all full of patients.
The Valkyrie doctor was walking in the stiff, stop and start motion common on stations with no gravity, taking time to make sure the velcro attachments on her boots were making good contact with the carpeted floor.
Ahead of her, she pushed a covered tray. No need for a cart in zero g.
She pushed the tray over and down, making sure the Velcro strips on the bottom connected firmly to the light blanket that covered her commanding officer.
“It’s not the best.” Mey Ling apologized. “Move a hospital into a private residence and suddenly the food is as bad as regular hospital food.”
She slid open a small hatch on the tray and reached in to produce food pouches.
“We’ve had to go to rations for zero-gee.” She explained, handing one of the pouches to Corina. “You start on that one and I’ll have more ready when you are.”
Corina frowned, glancing through the small hatch to see several more pouches.
“I won’t eat that much!” She insisted.
“Yes you will.” Mey Ling shook her head. “And you’ll probably still be hungry after you get done. Trust me…we all went through it.”
“What the hell is going on?” Corina lay back as she punctured the pouch and began to suck the food paste out. Though extremely bland, the instant the paste touched her tongue, a wave of ravenous hunger swept over her and she squeezed the pouch empty, greedily reaching for another. She paused when she saw Mey Ling grinning at her with an ‘I-told-you-so’ look. “Governor Durick said something about an accident and insinuated that all the Valkyries were knocked out.”
“Where to start?” Mey Ling closed her eyes. “I’m not sure about all the details. The Governor promises that we’ll find out more in this meeting of his. All I can tell you is that the drive did activate, as Dr. Scott thought it would. Using Dr. Scott’s words, the engine did what it had been programmed to do. It jumped and it took Fargone with it. What all that means, I’ll leave for the Governor and his people. But just before the drive activated, it emitted a pulse similar to an electro magnetic pulse. It had much the same effect on a lot of the operating electrical equipment, but did not touch unpowered systems.” She opened her eyes and looked at Corina. “Whatever that pulse was, it did something no EMP is supposed to be able to do…it scrambled our nanites.” She shrugged. “Other people, those that were undergoing nanite medical treatment were affected as well, but not to the same degree as we were. In their case, the nanites simply…died. We, on the other hand, had the full complement of Combatant nanites and our med nanites weren’t the run of the mill variety either.” She thumped herself on the chest to emphasize that she was talking about the Valkyries.
“That weird EMP didn’t kill the either of our sets of nanites. It…” she shrugged and used a term she had used earlier. “It scrambled them. Rearranging their programming.”
Corina lowered the third pouch of food and stared at the Valkyrie doctor.
“Their programming?” She started, hushing as Mey Ling pushed the pouch back to her mouth.
“You eat, I’ll talk.” She ordered. Corina looked at her closely and noted for the first time since the oriental Valkyrie had entered the room that the small, dark haired woman looked every bit as haggard as Doctor Garison. Mey Ling saw the look and, like Sean earlier, interpreted it correctly. “I haven’t gotten much rest since I woke up.” She explained. “I’ve been helping out where I could and when I wasn’t doing that, trying to discover what happened to us.”
“And did you?” Corina asked. She quickly put the pouch to her mouth and squeezed the last of the paste out before the doctor could scold her. She reached for a fourth, sourly admitting that the Valkyrie doctor had been right about how much she would eat.
“I think so.” Mey Ling nodded. “When the Combatants were scrambled they did one of two things, depending on the individual. In all cases, the Valkyrie was knocked out. A blessing really, no matter what the Combatants did.” She held up two fingers and then bent one down. “One reaction of the Combatants was to attack the host system. That occurred with nine Valkyries. Thankfully they were completely out of it. We don’t think they felt a thing.” She bent down the second finger. “The second, more common, reaction of the Combatants was to…mutate.”
“Wait a minute.” Corina lowered the food pouch and her glare told Mey Ling to let it be. “They’re nanites, not living organisms. Machines. Machines don’t mutate!”
“That is a matter of opinion.” Mey Ling shrugged. She gestured at the food pouch and then continued when Corina began to eat again. “The fact is these machines did mutate. Hell, you cannot even classify them as machines, anymore.” She paused and then shook her head. “I still cannot figure out how they did it…but the Combatants….They altered themselves and the Med nanites. A good portion were then grafted into our DNA.”
“How….” It was Corina’s turn to shake her head. “Mey, that is impossible. I may not be a geneticist, but even I know that nanites are much too large to graft themselves directly to DNA.”
“They were.” Mey Ling nodded. “The Combatants have always been able to replicate themselves. It’s how they kept us going. This time, however, they appear to have miniaturized themselves.” She shrugged. “The short version goes like this. The Combatants are no longer separate entities working in our bodies. They are literally part of us now. The down time, while we were all out, was to give the original Combatants time to create a miniaturized version that combined both the Combatants and the Med nanites. They and the original Med Nanites then flushed themselves out of our systems. That is when the new generation took over. They worked their way through our entire systems, integrating themselves into every single molecule of our bodies. They cleansed our blood systems, repaired whatever damage there was, and grafted themselves into the very fiber of our beings.” She sighed. “It took time. And during that time, the little buggers fed on us. If it had not been for the intravenous feeding the med people that found us put us on, they would have killed us. Even then, we lost six more because we couldn’t get to them in time. We were worried that we were going to lose you as well. It was close.”
“That is why the hunger.” Corina reached for a fifth pouch.
“Yes.” Mey Ling nodded. “You are going to be ravenous for a few days and I suggest you eat when ever you can. I’ve prepared some high nutrient protein bars that I am issuing to every Valkyrie. I want you to eat one every two hours for the rest of the day and then at least two a day for the next week.”
Corina nodded slowly and then gestured towards the door to her room.
“What’s with the cots out there?” she demanded.
“Space is rather limited at the moment.” Mey Ling spoke slowly. “Once she was awake, Major Hilien ordered our barracks emptied to house refugees from Two and Three. The Med centers here on First are over flowing and most businesses and residents have been converted into make shift med centers to handle all the injuries.” She paused, as if trying to figure out how to continue.
“Spit it out, Major.” Corina ordered. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Cor, we lost about half of Second Platoon.” Mey Ling sighed.
“I thought you said we only lost fourteen.” Corina was stunned.
“That was from the Combatants.” Mey Ling shook her head. “All of Second Squad of Second Platoon were in transit to Three to help with the evacuation when the Drive activated. They’re gone, Cor.”
“How?”
“According to Dr. Jerry Scott, Three did not have the structural support of First and Two. When the Drive pulled the Habitat along in its jump…Three broke apart. First came through pretty much intact but a huge chuck was torn out of Two.”
“So every one on Three and Two are dead?” Corina closed her eyes.
“On Three, yes. Dr. Scott says there is a very good chance that there are a lot of survivors on Two. According to him, the buildings are constructed to become air tight in case the torus is ruptured. They’ve been able to establish some communications and have located a few pockets of people, but they are trapped there until we can get them out.”
She sighed and straightened.
“The only good thing I can say is that when the Combatants performed their magic, they fixed the Zero-g problem. A good thing or we would all still be virtually useless.” She indicated the tray. “Eat a couple more of those before you get out of bed. I’ll send some one around to take you to the Governor’s meeting. I have to get back to work.”
“Mey Ling.” Corina stopped her before she could step out the door. “What about the US Marines from the Striker?”
“I don’t know, Cor.” Mey Ling shook her head. “I haven’t had time to keep up with everything. I do know that they have been helping out where they can. Major Stilwick’s orders, I do believe. I heard that he actually disobeyed an order from Captain Allison to take us out while they had the opportunity. That’s all I know.”
Corina let her go and did as instructed, squeezing down the contents of two more packets before she unstrapped her legs and floated out of the bed and pushed herself towards the bathroom.
A shower was out of the question in zero-g, so she settled for a quick sponge bath, taking the opportunity to study herself in the room’s full length mirror. She looked like an emaciated caricature of herself. Her face was thin and drawn, giving her the appearance of a woman battling anorexia. And though they were not visible, running her hands over the skin on her sides and beneath her still firm, thankfully, breasts told her that her ribs rested just beneath the surface. Had she been out much longer, she had no doubt that they would have protruded every bit as much as her cheek bones did now.
She gave her hair a few swipes with a brush and kicked her self out of the bathroom and across the bedroom to the closet and drawers.
The clothes she had been wearing when the drive had activated had been unceremoniously piled in the bottom of the closet and she pawed through them, retrieving her belt and boots. Her holster, she noted, was empty and she realized that Sean must have kept her pistol.
She lifted out Andy’s carrying case, opening it to remove the AI.
“Andy?” She spoke. No response.
“I’m afraid all the AI units were fried. None of them will work.”
Corina whirled at the male voice to see Sean standing in the door way.
So preoccupied with the problems facing the Habitat, he had simply walked into the room, as he had countless times before, most likely, with out announcing himself. Now he simply looked at her, his eyes traveling over her body as if of their own accord.
“Are you through gawking?” Corina demanded, hands on her hips.
Sean jerked, as if suddenly becoming aware that he had walked in on a naked woman. His face turned red and he began to stammer an apology as he spun and started back out the door.
“Stay.” Corina ordered. “Just keep your head turned while I get dressed.”
She pulled on a pair of panties and a sports bra before reaching into the closet to grab a clean set of service fatigues.
“Mey Ling told me about Three and Two.” She spoke as she dressed. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.” Sean’s voice was full of emotion.
“Bull shit.” Corina countered and she pulled up her pants. “If we had not been here, this would not have happened!”
“Stop it!” Sean spun back around, “Yeah, maybe you gave them the excuse for the EG to nose around. But they would have done that with or with out you, sooner or later. Without you, we would have had no warning. More people would have died or the EG would now have control of the Drive.” He moved until he stood before her, putting his hands on her bare arms. “If we had let them have it, then maybe those people would still be alive. But it was the EG that did this. Neither you nor I would ever have thought of sacrificing over a hundred thousand people just to destroy a technology we could not control. We don’t have a ‘if we can’t have it, neither can you’ mentality.”
He ground to a halt and simply looked into her astonished eyes for a brief moment before, to the surprise of both of them, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Almost instantly he jerked back and sprinted for the door.
“I’ll wait out here until you are ready.” He croaked as the door slid closed behind him.
Stunned, Corina stared at the door for a few moments before shaking herself. She finished dressing, laced up her boots and made sure the velcro attachments were in place and headed out the door.
She found the Governor leaning on the wall by her door, staying out of the way of the men and women caring for the injured.
Wordlessly, his face slightly red, he handed over her pistol and, once she had snapped it into her holster, headed out.
---
“There’s good news and bad news.”
No one cracked a smile at the old worn out joke nor had Steven Barnes intended for it to be funny. He was simply reporting the facts.
“Let’s get the bad news out of the way, Steven.” Sean sighed and, in a gesture Corina was beginning to realize was merely an expression of stress or frustration, rubbed the bridge of his nose with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.
They were gathered in a make shift conference room, the regular room confiscated by the Med staff as an auxiliary triage room.
In addition to herself and Sarah; Sean and Steven, Captain Allison, his XO and Major Stilwick, Mey Ling and Doctor Garison and the surviving Dept. heads were squeezed into the room. Dr. Scott was there in place of Dr. Walers. Corina had learned that Walers had not survived the activation of the Drive.
“The Bad news.” Steven closed his eyes and sighed. “Three is gone. Everyone already knows that.” He shook his head. “Three was built after the move. It was not constructed with the structural support added to First and Two before the move.” He paused. “Even with the Structural support, Two was heavily damaged. Our best guess is that when Three disintegrated, part of it tore a gaping hole in Two, opening it to space. The odd thing is that the ring maintained atmosphere through out the jump, giving us time to evacuate those we could and initiate emergency decompression procedures for those we couldn’t. Though repairs might, and I stress might be possible there, it would be more cost effective to simply jettison it and build another. As it stands now, we don’t have the materials or the equipment necessary to do either.”
“First and Two both suffered structural damage which engineering is working on right now.” He nodded for the acting Engineering Department Head take up at that point. Her eyes were bloodshot, her shoulders slumped as days with out sleep took their toll.
“Two took most of the damage.” She spoke up. “We believe the chunk of Three that slammed in to Two, was deflected enough so that it only grazed First. It will require extensive repairs but I think, if we can get to the machine shops on Two, we can do it.”
“Is there any portion of Three remaining that can be used for the repairs?” Corina asked, causing all heads to look at her. Not all of the looks were friendly.
“It’s a valid question.” Sean sighed, understanding the looks. “We all lost family and friends on that ring. The Valkyries lost people as well. They were there to help with the evacuation. But they are gone and now we have to think about the people still alive…we have to make sure they stay that way.”
“Forgive me if I sound insensitive.” Captain Allison said into the ensuing silence. “But are we sure we have the proper priorities here?” He waited until everyone was looking in his direction. “I understand the need for temporary repairs, but should we be thinking of extensive repairs at this time when our priority should be discovering a way to return to the Solar System?”
“Captain Allison.” Sean’s tone took on a chilly note. “My only priority is the safety of the people of Fargone. If that means extensive repairs or even starting to shuttle people and material down to the surface of that planet out there. Rest assured that our people will be studying what has happened. Before we can even think about how to get back, we have to figure out how we got here. Considering that we don’t even know as much about that alien technology as we thought we did…I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”
“Really sir.” Allison gave all indications that he had not heard a word Sean had said. “As the highest ranking officer, I must insist that this project be given the highest priority.” He paused and looked directly at Corina. “In addition, seeing as it is very likely that the Genies were some how involved in this…accident…I believe it would be wise if they were disarmed and turned over to my people. We can then assure the people of Fargone will no longer be bothered by….”
“It wasn’t the Valkyries.” Dr. Scott snarled, looking daggers at the Captain. “The device was activated by your damned people in an attempt to destroy the drive and the entire Habitat. The same person that shot and killed Dr. Walers!”
“Most of us are very well aware of what really happened, Dr. Scott.” Sean addressed the physicist though his eyes never left the Captain. “Captain Allison. I will not repeat myself again. Our priority is and will remain the safety of the population of Fargone. And I will be damned if I turn over the Valkyries to you. In fact, Captain, while you might be the ranking EG officer, you seem to forget, again, that Fargone is not part of the EG. That being the case, you can consider you and your crew as under Colonel Twillian’s command. You will render what ever assistance she may require of you.”
“I am afraid that is unacceptable…sir.” Captain Allison spoke through tight lips.
“Then, Captain, I suggest you and as much of your crew that wish to, get in your ship and head out and be thankful that I am not having you executed for sabotage! But as long as you are aboard this habitat, you will comply with my orders…and those of Colonel Twillian. Is that understood?”
The Captain locked eyes with Sean and finally nodded briskly though the looks on his face and that of his executive officer were anything but agreeable.
“Good.” Sean chose to ignore the looks and turned back to Steven. “Let’s have the rest of it.” He demanded.
“Still on the bad news.” Steven went on, after clearing his throat. “Dr. Simmons and his group have finally gotten the computers up and running…but what they are telling us is not making any sense. According to the good doctor, there is no way we can, at this time, pin-point our exact position in relation to Sol.”
“Understandable.” Corina spoke again, surprising everyone. “All the records and star charts we have are taken from a perspective of Sol. Constellations, etc. No matter where the jump dropped us, we are going to be seeing things from an entirely different angle. It will take time to put pieces together and match up what we see now to what we are used to seeing and the further we are from Sol, the more time it will take.”
“That’s what Dr. Simmons said.” Steven nodded.
“That’s fine, Steven.” Sean cut in. “But I am more interested in our current status. Bottom line, can we effect repairs and will those repairs allow us to continue to inhabit Fargone?”
Steven opened and closed his mouth several times before finally shaking his head.
“Why not?” Sean looked to the chief engineer. “You said repairs could be made to both rings…what’s the catch?”
“Support.” The Engineer sighed. “All we have are the machine shops here in the habitat, most of which are on Ring Two. Our construction shacks, except for three attached to the spindle for extensive repairs, our mass catchers and miners…are all back in Sol.” There was a brief moment of silence. As it stood, it was quite possible that they were in better shape than any one left behind. It would take weeks before a relief ship could make the journey from Mars…
“On top of that, we can expect severe food shortages in a rather short time.” Steven was finally able to say. “Most of our food supply was produced in Two. When it lost atmosphere…” he shrugged and everyone knew what he meant. With the atmosphere gone, the crops would have been destroyed, along with all the grazing animals. “Two thirds of our meat supply was located in Ring Two.” He continued. “That includes cattle, swine, poultry…everything. We do have a modest supply of fish, but that will not hold out long. Other than that, all we have is what has already been harvested and stored. And those animals that just happened to be in pens that could be sealed.”
Sean spun in his chair, gazing through the one view port in the small conference room, looking down at the blue green planet that spun beneath them.
“You are not leaving me many options, Steven.”
“I know.” The Head of Resources and Distribution shook his head yet again. “I suppose here is where I can give some good news.” He waited until Sean spun back around. “Dr. Simmons and his people have also completed an initial survey of the planet. From all indications, it is Earth like.”
“You’re saying we could live down there?” Sean perked up.
“According to Dr. Simmons, it is a distinct possibility.”
“That would give us time to effect all the repairs needed to make Fargone self sufficient again.” The Engineer spoke up.
“No.” Sean barked and then waved aside the instant protests.” I am not saying we can’t go, but I am saying that if we do, then it will be permanent.” He looked over the crowd. “Face it people, if we set up a colony on that planet, it will be for good. There won’t be any coming back to Fargone. Let’s not kid ourselves. These repairs will take time…It will take time to repair the structural damage, repair the damage to Two and get our food production going again. All of this will take energy and resources that we, sitting out here, are not going to get. But the first thing any colony will have to do is begin food production just to survive. The first priority will be to live. The first couple of years will be spent just surviving. Then, and only then, will we be able to turn our attention back to Fargone.”
“And by then, you will have people who will be content just to remain on the planet, to continue to colonize.” Sarah spoke softly, causing Corina to raise an eyebrow.
“And since we will be starting with a marginal gene pool to begin with, it will require a major investment in children.” Doctor Garison tossed in, My Ling nodding agreement beside him.
“Your people have been conditioned to worry about population control.” She added. “If you decide to colonize, you will have to convince them to focus on growth rather than control.”
“And,” Steven spoke up again, his face long, “A couple of years will be too late. Fargone did not appear in a stable orbit. From the looks of it, it appeared exactly where a vessel like the one we found on Enceladus would have appeared in order to take up orbit around the planet. The differences being, that vessel would be able to maneuver to maintain that orbit, we can’t. According to Dr. Simmons, if the habitat is not moved, which can’t be done without the structural repairs, its orbit will begin to decay. It will take approximately three years to fall to the planet, causing extreme damage where ever it falls, but by the end of two years, it will be far too late to move.”
“The station must be dismantled.” Corina suggested. “The materials can be shuttled down with the Striker’s shuttles and whatever shuttles you have on the Habitat and used to construct the colony.”
Sean looked at her and nodded.
“That would give us building materials, shelter, and at least reduce the problem of the habitat hitting the planet. What’s left will probably burn up as it enters the atmosphere.” He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose again.
“We have power plants that could be transferred to the surface.” The Engineer mused. “And our machine shops.”
“This is absolute nonsense!” Captain Allison sputtered. “You cannot seriously be thinking of colonizing this planet. You don’t have the authority to order something of this nature!”
“Then who does have the authority, Captain?” Mey Ling snorted. “The United System? In case you have not noticed, we are here and they are not!”
“Just for the record,” Sean held up a hand to forestall any further outburst. “Under normal circumstances, Captain Allison would be correct, but not for the reasons he is thinking of. We would not need the permission of any outside government. All that we would need is a majority vote of the Fargone Council. However, our charter does allow the Governor…and in case you missed it, Captain Allison, that would be me…to take full control in emergencies. I do believe I am justified in saying that our current situation, qualifies as an emergency.” He paused and took a deep breath.
“People, according the provisions set forth in our Charter, I am hereby abolishing the Council for the duration of this emergency.” He looked around. “Our first priority will be making sure that our people are being taken care of. That includes those trapped on Two. I want them rescued and relocated to First as soon as possible. I want those not involved in the rescue to begin inventorying our resources and begin preparations to move to the surface of the planet.” He looked again and then nodded sharply. “That’s all for now. I want to reconvene in forty-eight hours. I’ll want reports from everyone and I will, hopefully, have more information for you all. That’s all. I would like for Steven, Colonel Twillian, Captain Allison, Drs. Garison and Ling, and Major Stilwick to remain, please. And Steven, I want Dr. Simmons in here…NOW!”
After everyone else had left the room and while Steven attempted to locate Dr. Simmons, Sean looked at those left. Despite his request, he noted that neither Major Hilien nor Captain Allison’s XO had moved. For the moment, he let it pass.
“Captain Allison.” He began. “Let’s clear the air.” He pointed a finger at the US Officer. “I have neither the time nor the desire to play political games with you. I said earlier that you could take your people and the Striker and head out. I take that back. We are going to need the Striker. No, I am not asking for your permission. I am telling you that we will be utilizing it. What I am asking for is your cooperation. I don’t give a damn what your political stance is, but it is time you faced the facts of our current situation. We are all going to die up here if we don’t do something quickly.”
“I understand your concern for your people, Governor.” Captain Allison’s tone showed that he was at least attempting to discuss the situation rationally. “But what I have not heard is anyone suggest that we simply retrace our course. That we get home the same way we got here.”
“If we could, and if I was certain that Fargone would stand the strain of a second jump, we would do exactly that, Captain.” Sean told him. “But we already know that the Habitat couldn’t take the strain. It would break apart completely, killing everyone. But let’s say, for arguments sake, that it could. I have already discussed this with Dr. Scott. Captain, we don’t even know what happened. The best guess that my people can come up with is that when your Major Meesner, and yes, we have video confirmation that it was your USI Agent that did this, tried to destroy the engine, he simply gave it enough power to activate it. What then happened, and again this is just our best guess, the engine jumped to coordinates that had already been entered into it before the alien vessel crashed on Enceladus.” He shook his head. “Dr. Scott also believes that, had Three not broken away, none of us would have made it.”
“Too much mass?” Corina asked.
“Exactly.” Sean nodded. “The vessel we took the engine from was huge. And carried five engines altogether. Though Dr. Walers had speculated that at least two were back up engines.” He looked back to Captain Allison. “The point is, even if we knew where we were in relation to Sol, we wouldn’t know how to enter those coordinates into the engine. And we couldn’t anyway.” He shook his head. “The engine is, to use layman terms, burnt out. According to Dr. Scott, it isn’t an engine anymore. He’s tried pouring energy into it. Nothing. Whatever it might have been, it is nothing more than a large collection of useless metal now.”
“You are saying that, even if you wanted to return to Sol, we can’t. That we are stuck here. For good.” It was Major Stilwick that spoke.
“That is exactly what I am saying, Major.” Sean nodded. “There is no Mars, no EG, no rebels. Just us. We are all we have and we are going to have to work together.”
The Major thought for a moment and then nodded and stood. He turned to Corina and, coming to attention, saluted in the manner of the US Marines.
“Ma’am, my marines are at your disposal.” He said.
Corina merely nodded at him and he retook his seat, purposely ignoring the total look of disgust Captain Allison’s XO was giving him.
For his part, Captain Allison was staring at his hands.
“Governor,” He began in a low voice, finally looking up. “Yes, I knew that Major Meesner was on my ship. I do not know if there were other USI Operatives aboard. But I want you to understand that Major Meesner commanded this mission, not I.”
“I figured as much.” Sean nodded. “Standard USI procedure.”
“Yes sir.” Captain Allison agreed and then he straightened. “I am loyal to the United System, Governor. But I did not know of Major Meesner’s actions nor would I have approved of them. Quite frankly, I thought he was simply going to discover if what you had here on the Habitat warranted further action. Which he did. My orders, and the orders I passed on to Major Stilwick were to attempt to take control of whatever you had excavated from Enceladus or, failing that, to cast off from Fargone and call for back up.” His eyes narrowed and his fists clinched on the table before him. “I would never have condoned the actions Major Meesner took.” He turned and glared at Corina. “Despite what you might think of me, Colonel Twillian, I am not a mass murderer.”
“Unless, of course, you are talking about Genies.” Corina snorted. “But then, you and your precious US don’t consider destroying Genies murder, do you?”
“Enough, Colonel.” Sean gestured for her to be silent as he regarded the Captain. “I am inclined to believe you, Captain. But as I said, there is no United System here. Like it or not, this is now your home as much as it is ours. We are in this together.” He gestured towards the view port. “Even if we knew which way Sol was, do you think that you could get there in the Striker? Who knows how many light years away we are? Face it, Captain, whatever is going on in Sol right now is no longer our concern.”
Captain Allison nodded, if somewhat reluctantly.
“You do have a point, Governor.” He sat back in his seat, his shoulder slumping in defeat.
“This is bullshit!”
Everyone was startled when the Allison’s XO stood to his feet. He moved until he was out of reach of Major Stilwick and fumbled for the pistol holstered at his hip.
“I have no intention of staying here.” He growled. He looked at Captain Allison, his face full of scorn. “Captain, I am relieving you of command on the grounds of treason to the United System.” He yanked the pistol out and waved it in Sean’s direction. “Now you get those people back in here and you start figuring out how to get us home!”
“Commander, I suggest that you put that weapon down, quickly and carefully.” Major Stilwick spoke up. His eyes, however, were not on the Commander but on Corina and Sarah. He had seen them both move their hands beneath the table.
A sharp crack and the sudden appearance of a bloody spot between the Commander’s eyes caused the Major to whip his head around. He saw Mey Ling grimace and place her weapon on the table. Beside her, Dr. Garison was merely staring, his mouth gaping in shock.
Sarah stood and walked to the door and, after it had slid open at her approach, spoke quietly to the Valkyries standing guard outside the Conference room. She returned to her seat as one of the guards entered behind her. The Valkyrie scooped the Commander’s weapon from the floor and placed it casually on the table in front of the Captain and then hefted the body over her shoulder and left.
“Lesson one.” Mey Ling spoke to the room at large. “Don’t wave a gun at the Governor.”
“And what is Lesson Two.” Major Stilwick demanded. Mey Ling looked him in the eyes and actually smiled.
“Don’t wave a gun in a room full of Valkyries. Just start shooting. You might get one before they get you, though it is doubtful.”
“You’re a Doctor, goddamnit!” Stilwick slapped the table with his hand.
“Valkyries are not like your Marines, Major.” Corina spoke quietly though she was looking at the still shaken Dr. Garison. “Our Med people cannot be classified as non-combatants. If necessary, they are expected to and trained to perform as Combatants.”
“And you felt this was necessary, Colonel?” Major Stilwick demanded. “I saw you and Major Hilien getting ready to shoot him as well. Couldn’t you have simply disarmed him?”
“We could have.” Corina nodded. “But we would have run the risk of The Governor, or Dr. Garison, or Captain Allison, or yourself getting shot.”
“You knew she was going to shoot him!” Stilwick said.
“No, Major, I ordered it.” Corina made a couple of gestures with her fingers to show how she had done it. “Like you, he had dismissed Major Ling as a Non-combatant. She was the only one who could do it without the risk of getting some one else shot.”
Steven Barnes picked that moment to return to the room, pulling a thin, balding man behind him.
He stopped in the doorway, taking in the tense occupants and the two weapons lying on the table.
“I take it I missed something?” He asked in a small voice.
*****
“No, it is not a duplicate of Earth.” Dr. Simmons informed them after everyone had calmed down and Sean ordered him to tell them about the planet. “Such a thing would be statistically impossible.”
“We realize that, Dr. Simmons.” Sean said, trying not to grit his teeth. “But you believe it is similar?”
“Oh yes.” The scientist nodded his head enthusiastically. “There are five major continents though what we have been able to observe so far suggests that they were, until fairly recently in geological terms, part of the same supercontinent.”
“According to Steven, you said it was like Earth, only millions of years younger.” Sean prompted.
“I believe what I said is that, in appearance, it is similar to a much younger Earth. Throughout Earth’s history, the landmasses have been gathered together in massive supercontinents at least five times that we are aware of. The last was the Supercontinent that we call Pangea. Eventually, that supercontinent broke up and drifted apart to form the continents we are now familiar with. That is what is happening here. A single supercontinent has broken apart, just as Pangea did.”
“And just how can you tell that from here?” Sean demanded.
“Desert.” Dr. Simmons answered patiently. “A supercontinent will, in most cases, have a central desert. Each of the five continents have deserts on those parts that would have made up the interior of the supercontinent. They are receding now, of course, since they broke away, but enough remains to show the pattern.”
“Correct me if I am wrong,” Sarah spoke up. “But shifting continents indicate active tectonic plates. Doesn’t that mean a lot of volcanic activity?”
“It does.” Dr. Simmons nodded. “Much more than that Earth still experiences. Having two moons will have an effect on the volcanic activity as well, not to mention the tides. It will take time to determine just how much effect the moons have on the planet’s surface. Both are a bit further out than Earth’s moon and, even put together, they don’t equal the mass of Earth’s moon. We are going to have to be real careful where we establish a colony.”
“But we can establish a colony?” Sean jumped on that.
“So far, everything points to the conclusion that we should be able to.” Dr. Simmons shrugged. “Of course, there is no way to tell for sure until we actually go down there and retrieve some samples. As beautiful as it may look from up here, until we get down there, we can’t even guarantee that the atmosphere is breathable.”
“We have not got the time for an extended study, Dr. Simmons.” Sean warned him. “We are extremely pressed for time.”
“Governor, you cannot rush things like this.” Dr. Simmons frowned. “We will have to determine what life forms exist on the planet, map the tectonic plates, and determine what ecological impact establishing a colony would…”
“Damnit Dr. Simmons, I am not making a request here!” Sean barked, cutting the scientist off. “You will personally put together a team to be shuttled down to the surface immediately.” He turned to Captain Allison. “Captain, I am putting you and your people in charge of what little transportation we have aboard the Habitat. Find out what is serviceable and what isn’t. I want one shuttle sent down close to the surface to collect some atmospheric samples. If Dr. Simons determines that we can breathe the air down there, then I want two shuttles readied to transport the scientists and their guard to the planet surface.” He turned to Corina. “I want at least two squads of your Valkyries to accompany them. We don’t know what is down there, and quite frankly, with no offense meant to Major Stilwick or his Marines, I think your ladies would be better equipped to handle any problems that might arise. And Colonel, I want you to go with them.”
“I’ll get on it right away.” Corina nodded.
“Good. And Dr. Simmons, just so that there is no misunderstanding.” Sean turned back to the scientist. “Colonel Twillian will be in charge of this expedition. You will follow her orders without question.”
At first the scientist looked as if he were going to argue. Then he gave a depreciating smile, shaking his head.
“You’re right, of course.” He said. “We’ll expedite where we can. But I warn you, I won’t cut corners.” He held up a hand to halt the protest that was forming on Sean’s lips. “Governor, I’ll do what I can to get you the information you need, but if that information is incomplete or in error, it could make a bad situation worse.”
Sean considered and then nodded.
“You’re right, Dr. Simmons. Do what you can and don’t let your people drag their feet.”
“Yes sir!”
“Good.” He said, looking around. “Then I suggest we get moving people!”
To be Continued……..
-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2014 by Clay Clearbrook
-- and may not be reprinted without permission.