OMEGA Conscript (12 page)

Go blinked out. "Got it. You should have it in a second or two."

Garrett replied, "I have it."

Go moved over to the portal launch console. "I think we have a problem. The power reading only says 70 percent. They must not have all their generators online. Give me a minute to look around this room. They must have control of them somewhere in here."

Garrett sighed. "Always has to be something. Gasau, you run into issues like this when on a mission?"

Gasau replied, "Many variables can be introduced during a mission. With fore-planning and a good crew, those issues can be overcome."

Garrett looked back at the Grumar. "That was a rhetorical question."

As Go moved from console to console, I said, "Wait, go back to that last one. There. That console has thirty lights with only twenty-one of them lit. That would indicate 70 percent."

Go nodded. "Good catch. It has a maintenance display. Let me bring it online."

Go looked around the room. The sleeping worker was its only occupant. Go blinked in and sat at the console.

"Well, it looks like nine are currently down for maintenance. I have schedules here. Let me ... crap!"

As the other worker returned to the control room, Go spun around and blinked out. Having seen a flash of an image as Go disappeared, the worker's eyes were drawn to the now visible maintenance holo-display. He stood over the console in curiosity. A quick look at the sleeping worker, a shrug, the control room technician turned off the display, returned to his station, and continued the work at hand.

Go raised his eyebrows. "That was close."

I swiped my holo-display, returning to an image of the maintenance screen. "Looks like they are replacing anodes on the generators. Is that something you could take a look at?"

Go replied, "On my way there now. If they have the parts there, it's something I could do if needed."

I shook my head. "Let's evaluate the situation first. We'll need full power from those generators if we want the portal to open all the way to Doomlight. If there's a console down there, we can make use of it."

"Hold on," said Garrett. "Before you go, take one of the sensor tags I gave you and find a good spot for it in that room. Stick it where it gives us a view of that doorway as well."

Go stopped. "Sorry, I forgot I had those. You gave me four. Anywhere else you want one?"

Garrett shook his head. "No, that room is what's critical. I could tap into the security system there and get feeds from their own cameras, but that would be risky if you have a tech who's actually paying attention. Just keep the other three in case we come up with another critical need."

Several minutes later, Go entered the room containing one of the downed generators. Two workers were slumped back in chairs with their arms crossed, chatting. A new anode sat on the floor in front of them. A panel had been removed on the side if the generator, exposing the old, yet to be removed part.

Go drifted close to the open panel. "Looks like this is just routine maintenance. This anode has some minor pitting, very unlikely to cause an issue. Let's see if I can find one without a crew sitting beside it."

Go proceeded to the next generator. "This one's operational."

After two additional attempts, another downed generator was located. Go stuck his head through the panel that covered the anode, looking inside. "Same issue here, minor pitting."

Garrett sat back in his chair. "So can we just turn them all on?"

Go replied, "If the others are sealed, they can be brought back online. That one with the crew has the panel off. The safety mechanisms won't allow a startup."

"So if we get that panel back on there, how long will it take to bring the generators up?"

Go thought for a moment. "Typically a generator takes about five minutes to reach full power, but these are huge. I can't say with any certainty how long they would take."

Garrett looked at me. "What do you think? Power them up?"

I replied, "We power them up, we run the risk of someone seeing it. However, from the attention it looks like this crew is giving their tasks at hand, I don't think anyone will notice."

Go half laughed, "Anyone but that guy in the control room. I think I startled him, so he might be a bit more alert than the others. He was looking over environmental screens, so he might not see that any of the generators came online."

Garrett said, "What do you say? Bring them up? That starts a clock ticking for our departure."

I nodded. "I believe that our best chance may be now while all is quiet."

Garrett looked back at the image of Go on his holo-display. "Start firing up those generators!"

Go moved over to the console for the generator before him. "Initializing, check; switching in loop feed, check; charging amplifiers, check. Now we just wait. I propose that I sit on this one until it comes fully online. The others should react the same way. Now we wait."

   Chapter 12

Garrett pushed the
Jess
's throttle forward. "We are heading your way. I'm setting up the transponder now. You have about twenty minutes before they begin to wonder why a transport is heading their way."

As Go watched, the first generator came online much faster than anticipated. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that. This thing will be fully juiced in another minute."

I said, "Power on those other generators, disable the destroyers and then return for that generator with the open panel. Figure out how to override that safety or get the panel back on there, whatever, just bring it online. After that, go to the control room and wait for us."

The generators came online quickly, the couplers on the destroyers vanished, and Go returned to the room with the two technicians who remained locked in their conversation.

Go moved over to look at the panel. "I could hold in the safety switch, but I can't reach the console to turn it on. The panel snaps in place, but they would hear it, and they will hear the generator coming online."

Garrett said, "We need to get them out of that room. The security people are starting to scramble with those destroyers all going offline in the last few minutes. Someone will see that those generators are all running. Is there any way you can get them out of that room?"

Go nodded. "I'll give it a try."

Go drifted into the hallway outside the generator room and blinked in. "Hey guys! Come out here!"

The two technicians gave each other a curious look before standing from their chairs.

The first tech stepped fully into the hallway as the second stood in the doorway. "Who was that?"

The first tech replied, "Nobody out here. I didn't recognize the voice either."

The second tech laughed. "I think we've been out here too long. The pay is good, but I'd like to be around people again."

The first tech looked back and shook his head. "Yeah, well, we both know that's not happening. This assignment was a one-way ticket so long as that war is going on. This station is too important for them to let word leak out about it. That would make it a target of our enemies."

Go shook his head. "That jerk is just gonna stand in the doorway and whine. Hold on."

As we watched Go powered back into the room, blinking in behind the second tech before giving him a heavy shove into the hall. The door slammed shut and locked behind him. Loud protests could be heard, followed by fists beating on the locked door.

Go picked up the panel and snapped it into place. "Generator should be at full power in a few minutes. Once I see it start I'll head to the control room."

Garrett said. "Any way to secure that door? They might have a key."

Go looked back. "If I had a blaster I could melt that lock. This kinetic glove isn't good for anything more than blowing a big hole in it. OK, generator is coming online. How long before you get here?"

Garrett replied, "Just over eight minutes. I think things are gonna start getting hot there. You might want to get yourself in position to activate the gate."

Go pulled out a stealth sensor, sticking it to the sill above the door, giving a full view of the generator room. After drifting back into the hallway, it was determined that the techs were not in possession of a key to the door. The first tech hurried away as the second continued pounding and yelling at whoever had shoved him in the back.

Go settled on the deck of the control room. "Power feed to the gate is showing 98 percent and rising. There are three people in this control room now. They haven't noticed the generators yet. Wait ... I take that back. One has a video link coming in from one of the techs. He's uploading a digital key to his arm pad. They will be in that room as soon as he makes it back there. Please tell me you are waiting just outside. Two armed guards just came into the control room."

I replied, "We'll be there in two minutes. Our sensors show those destroyers are sending troops over on shuttles. The whole place will be covered with armed troops in a few minutes. What's the status of the launch button?"

Go turned to face it. "So far they have left it alone. I'll have to flip open the safety cover to press it, but I don't think anyone will notice."

Garrett pulled up an image of the destroyers as we approached. "I'll give them something to distract them."

After setting the output power to its minimum, Garrett fired repeated ion bolts into the closest destroyer. "That should get their attention. Press that button and start the portal initializing."

Go walked over by the doorway. After setting his coil weapon glove to its minimum setting, he took aim down the hallway. "I hope no one is behind that wall."

The wall exploded away from Go as a tiny tungsten pellet tore through the thin steel. After several seconds of hesitation, the guards in the room turned and rushed out. Go returned to the launch console, blinking in just enough to flip the safety cover.

"We're in position," Garrett said.

Go pressed the button. Alarms in the control room began to sound and techs scrambled to understand why the gate was activating. Go powered out of the structure and down to the waiting
Jess
. Once aboard, Garrett turned the sleek black ship, speeding backwards to properly align with the coming portal sweep.

Garrett yelled. "We have incoming! Two destroyers closing fast! They never showed on the scans!"

I replied, "We have alignment."

Garrett growled. "Come on, you stupid gate! Power up already!"

Garrett took evasive action as the blue flame from heavy ion bolts grew close to our position.

I yelled out, "Keep us inside the portal sweep!"

Go pointed. "Portal's opening!"

Garrett pushed the throttle full, speeding toward our only way out. "Twelve seconds and we're free!"

Go yelled. "The techs are in the generator room! They're taking that generator offline!"

Garrett winced as he tried to push the throttle stick harder forward. "Come on,
Jess
! Kick it up, baby!"

Go again yelled as an ion bolt impacted heavily on the
Jess
's armor. "Portal is closing!"

I felt helpless as I watched the destroyers closing quickly. The sweeping portal opening began to narrow. Was this it? Had we failed? A second ion round struck the tail section, knocking out the gravity drive and stopping our forward acceleration.

Garrett banged his fist on the console in front of him. "Come on!"

Seeing that the
Jess
was now disabled, the destroyers ceased firing. We would soon be towed into a docking bay with our fate once again to be determined by Harden Salton.

Go pointed. "Here it comes!"

The portal swept over us. The closest destroyer was cut in half as the narrowing portal swept through it, closing just behind it. Maydays from the half ship were immediately evident over the comm.

Garrett said, "I can't believe we made it through there. And of course, we have no propulsion."

Go replied. "Bring up your maintenance console. Let's see if we can fix it!"

I swiped on my holo-display, bringing up the nav screen. "If we get power back, we are only an hour away from Doomlight."

I opened the comm to one of the mayday requests. "We are disabled. Do you have access to a shuttle or your lifepods?"

An excited voice came back. "We've lost half the ship! Docking bays are all gone! Life systems show fifty-one of us are still alive. Please offer assistance!"

I shook my head as I replied, "We have no assistance to offer. We're disabled as well. There is a planet, Doomlight III, in the nearby system. If you have lifepods, you can make it there. Set your initial boost to the nav coordinates for Doomlight before you launch. It will take you two or three days to get there, but you should be able to make it."

The voice replied. "We have twenty-two pods still in operation. Tell me you have extra lifepods!"

I replied, "Sorry, there are five of us with only one pod. You will have to double or triple up. And the sooner you depart, the better chance you have of making it there. We are both drifting away from that system."

Another voice came over the emergency comm. "This is Colonel Blankenship. Identify yourself!"

I sighed. "Sorry to get you in this mess, Colonel. Who we are is not important to you now. Just get your men to that planet before your battery power on the rest of that hull runs out."

Garrett looked at me. "Should we tell him what he's facing when they get there?"

I shook my head. "They don't have a choice. They either die today, or they live and face whatever it is that comes when they reach Doomlight. We may be looking at the same."

Go said, "Looks like that last bolt penetrated the shielding around the drive. We have about two meters of ion conduit missing. You have any spare parts on here?"

Garrett held up his hand, pointing around at the already crowded interior. "Does it look like we have spare parts?"

I gestured toward the remaining half of the destroyer. "Do you think you could salvage conduit from that ship?"

Go looked at the holo-display image of the partial destroyer. "I would think so. I'll have a look."

Garrett noted a handful of lifepods as they exited from the remains of their parent ship. "There they go."

The colonel came back over the comm as the remaining fourteen lifepods blasted away from the destroyer. "Gentlemen, I thank you for your assistance. I had a bit of a mutiny by my officers, but I did manage to get the rest of my men on those pods."

I looked at the locator for the colonel's comm which placed him as still being on the destroyer. "Tell me you have another pod, Colonel."

The colonel replied, "That's a negative. Eight of my officers saw to it that they had their own personal lifepods. Those last fourteen are all tripled up. It won't be a pleasant ride for any of those men, but they should make it if the nav calculations were correct."

Garrett looked at me with his head tilted down. "Tell me you aren't thinking of picking up another passenger."

I sighed. "I can't leave the man out here to die. He did spare our lives."

Garrett threw up his hands. "Spare our lives? What? He's the reason we have no propulsion!"

I nodded. "He was just following orders. Believe me when I say I'm having the same initial impulses as you. But we have to remember our own people, even the Salton's people, are not necessarily the enemy. They are doing as they have been instructed to do while probably believing the same lies we initially believed. You of all people should recognize that after having worked directly for the Salton family."

Garrett tilted his head and frowned. "OK, so if we manage to fix the
Jess
and
can
give him a ride, what do we do with him after?"

I pulled up a zoomed-in image of Doomlight. "We try to get him back with his troops. How exactly we do that I'm not sure. We'll just have to figure it out as we go."

The comm crackled. "Hey, looks like I can grab as much conduit as I need. And it looks to be the right size and with intact couplings. Give me a half hour and I might have that drive back online."

Garrett replied, "Make it snappy, between that destroyer hulk and the
Jess
we are putting out enough signal to flag down every ship in this sector. And that hull is still putting out maydays."

When the task was completed, Go blinked in. "See if that works. I would suggest you take us right up next to that thing. I have some more work to do if we want the patch to last. If I can find a welder over there, we have enough scrap available to cover over the hole in our outer hull."

Garrett pushed the throttle slowly forward. "OK, she's moving. How close do you want her?"

Go replied, "All the way in if you can."

I opened a comm channel. "Colonel, we have propulsion back. I can offer you a ride as far as Doomlight if you are interested."

The colonel gruffed. "I was hoping to make my own ride on one of these disabled pods, but the three that are largely intact here are too full of holes. If you can get me down to that planet, I have eight officers that I would love to have a long conversation with!"

I replied, "Come over to your starboard side, Colonel. We have a lower ramp-way with a gravity wall. If you can get yourself to it, we can give you a ride. You'll want to make it quick though, we probably won't be here long."

Garrett lowered the ramp. "I hope he doesn't come aboard with his blaster raised."

I shook my head. "I think he'll be grateful. Besides, if needed, we still have Go available to disarm him."

Go replied, "I found an ion welder. I just need a few pieces of scrap and we should be in good shape."

Garrett winced. "We may have lost a lot of our stealthiness. That hull had a matrix coating on the inside that knocked down any signal those ion conduits put out. With a decent detector, coming from the right angle, we might as well be trailing a big 'come get me' sign behind us."

The colonel came up the ramp, giving a suspicious look to Gasua Mont. "What are you?"

I stood from my chair and offered a hand. "Colonel, welcome aboard the
Jess
. Sorry we had to drag you and your men into this."