Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance Page 20

  “Real-space interface in 3 minutes.” Lissa’s voice sounded in her ears.

  “Okay, Sasha are you ready?” Cindy asked.

  “Yes, Targeting and holographic interface are on-line. Weapons are deployed.”

  “Good, master safety off. Arm all weapons systems. Stand-by for interface,” She ordered and began running through her own systems checks.

  Finally after what seemed to Cindy to be about three seconds, Lissa called out; “Interface in 30 seconds.”

  Cindy placed her hand on the control sticks for the Raptor, and raised her eyes to the forward screens. Her heart was beating fast and she was breathing heavily. Adrenalin surged through her veins.

  A nova of light appeared in front of the Raptor. In real space, it would appear as a bright flash of light, here, on this side of it, it looked mostly like the swirling motion from a toilet.

  TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

  Realspace interface, Beta Hydri system

  Benesian Federated Space

  Rataac Sector

  Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

  The world that Sasha was in was a holographically generated view of space outside of the ship. Currently she was looking ‘ahead’ or at least what the computer told her was that direction. She had never been able figure it out herself. She had activated and armed both cannon turrets after she had powered up and gotten Cindy’s approval. She listened to Lissa’s count as she watched the swirling colors begin to twist into an interface point with ‘real' space. She never really understood hyperspace physics, so the damn thing only looked like a clenching sphincter to her.

  The computer knew the plan as well as she did and would assist her in keeping the weapons locked on target. She began firing ultra high velocity projectiles as soon as she saw something that looked like normal space. The computer adjusted the velocity of the rounds to compensate for their own speed and by the time interface was complete she had already fired nine thousand times. The plan called for the use of only the cannons but she had armed the lasers as well. All she had to do to fire them was change her hand position. Therefore when the blinding flash from the enemy ship hit her she jerked in an unconscious effort to shield herself... and fired every weapon the Damocles carried.

  Cindy was watching too. She saw the pulse of light and tried to evade. She actually managed to get the Raptor to start turning. She heard Lissa scream and felt the Raptor shudder, smoke and sparks leapt from the control boards in front of her. She watched in horror as every single light and readout in front of her died. The Damocles began to tumble.

  ‘If I survive this, Ian’s gonna fuckin’ kill me.’ Cindy thought to herself

  Imperial weapons technology was lacking in many ways; targeting systems being one of them. They compensated by modifying the gunners. The optic nerves are modified in such a way that, once plugged in, the ships sensors became their ‘eyes’. The weapons systems assigned to each gunner tracked with eye movement.

  The Imperial light cruiser Treel had two gunners; one forward and one aft. The flash of a jump point forming almost right in front of them could not help but catch the attention of the forward gunner. He glanced up at it just as the first rounds from the Damocles slammed right through the bow of the ship, through the Captain behind him, and continued on to expend the remainder of their energy deep in the bulk of the ship. He didn’t feel the rest of rounds that shredded his body as well as the forward third of his ship.

  The only weapon that was armed when he spasmed from the round going through his head was an ion cannon. Meant for the sole purpose of disabling a ship’s electrical systems, it had a very pronounced effect on the Damocles. No one on the bridge was alive when the Damocles lasers cut completely through the aft sections, severing engineering from the rest of the ship.

  TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

  Location unknown, Beta Hydri System

  Benesian Federated Space

  Rataac Sector

  Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

  Cindy fought against panic as her suit’s internal systems started up automatically. She knew it was a normal reaction to the loss of external systems, but it still upset her.

  “Report! Sound off!” She barked into her comm.

  “Sasha here! Can someone get me out of this damn closet?”

  “Sam here. I’m okay, what the hell happened?”

  “Jerry here, I’m okay.”

  “Ben here, the bastards woke me up!”

  “Jerry, you and Sam get unstrapped and get Sasha out of the weapons chamber. Ben, come up here and help me carry Lissa back to her bunk. Her suit reports her as breathing but unconscious. We’ll get her plugged into the ‘autodoc’ as soon we figure out if it’s working,” Cindy ordered as she unstrapped herself from the pilots’ chair. She floated up as soon as she was free. Artificial gravity had failed as well. This was not looking good. What the hell hit them?

  She glanced up as first Ben and then the other two men came floating through the hatch. “Ben, since we are weightless, I can manage Lissa. Get below and do a damage assessment. The AG unit’s out, I think we can assume our main reactor is off line. Turn off all systems as you go. I'll come down as soon as I get Lissa secured and see if we can’t get it back on-line.” She saw him nod and reverse himself to float over the men working on the access hatch to the gunnery chamber.

  Cindy went to work on getting Lissa unstrapped and back to her bunk. It stood to reason if the Damcoles was knocked out that Lissa was unconscious as well, but why? How was she going to cover the fact that Lissa was an android?

  “Uh... Major? I’m not sure, but I think I’m blind." Sasha said, her voice quavering with fear.

  “Just relax Sasha. You’re in a dark room; what makes you think you’re blind?” Cindy asked reasonably.

  “I cannot see my suit lights. All I can see is big bright ball no matter where I turn my head. I was looking right at the enemy when they fired. Now all I can see is the after image of that blast.”

  “Sasha, when you are in that room, you are using the Damocles' sensors as your eyes. They would have cut out before a bright flash could do permanent harm to your eyes. You know that. The after-image will pass and you’ll be able to see again. Don't panic, just relax and let the boys get you out of there. You can relax on your bunk until your sight clears. That’s an order.” Cindy said. “Sam, Jerry, make sure you shut off the weapons systems after you pull her out of there. If we power up with systems already turned on we could damage something more then it might be already.” She had freed Lissa and was floating her back out the hatch as she gave the order. She got a ‘thumbs up’ from Jerry as she floated past.

  She got Lissa strapped into her bunk as Sam guided Sasha to her bunk and began to help her get strapped in.

  Cindy headed for the ladder down to the hold and engineering section.

  “Hey Ben, what’ve you found?” She asked as she glided over to him.

  “We have a small problem. Whatever knocked our systems out, also activated and armed all of the plasma mines. We’ve got three cases of armed mines ready to blow at the slightest bump. The problem is, they are designed for use in gravity. I don't think I dare try to disarm them without gravity. However, if we restore gravity, they will probably blow.”

  “Can you get them out the airlock?” She asked.

  “That’s what I was thinking. But I wanted to wait for you before sealing off the living area. I’ve checked all I can and shut down the systems that weren't already off. The rest are in the engineering section.”

  “Okay. Let’s get the bay sealed then and bleed off the atmosphere. I need to try to get the Damocles fixed. Can you get these by yourself, or should one of the boys come down to help?"

  “If we each take a case it should lessen the chance of a bump setting them off,” He suggested.

  “Jerry, Sam! Get down here! We’ve got work to do!” She ordered.

  “On our way.”

  “Good. Se
al the hatch after you. Be careful with those damn mines!”

  “Yes, mother.” Came the smart-ass comment.

  Cindy chuckled to herself. A little humor helped to ease the building tension. She headed to a storage locker for the tools she knew she would need. Once equipped, she moved to the hatch separating the engineering crawl space from the hold. She pulled the hatch open and smoke billowed out. ‘That’s not a good sign’ she thought to herself. As she squatted down to enter the tunnel, her suit warned her of the decrease of external atmosphere. She ignored it as she made her way to the control unit of the main reactor, shutting down every system prior to a restart. She checked them off in her mind as she went along. Finally, she arrived at the control panel for the main reactor. Sure enough it was in stand-by, not completely powered down. She hesitated before turning it back on; trying to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. The only system Cindy could think of was Lissa. She glanced up the ‘tunnel’ to where she knew Lissa really lived. It was listed as the main memory section for the Damocles' on board computer systems. Cindy later learned that was where Lissa’s higher function processor units were stored as well. She moved up to the access panel and removed it. Lissa had a power unit that was separate from the Damocles.

  She noted it was in standby as well. There was a display screen set above the control suite, and she located the switch she knew to be there and turned it from ‘AVAT’ to ‘DISP' thus disabling the Avatar and restricting it to Display only. She then re-activated the power unit. Lissa’s face appeared on the display screen, she looked a little panicked and was opening her mouth to speak. Cindy hastily put a finger up to the outside of her faceplate where her mouth was to indicate silence. Lissa nodded understanding. Cindy pulled out the keyboard under the control suite and typed; ‘Be patient sweetheart. We are trying to get the ship back up and running.’

  ‘What happened?’ was printed under Lissa’s image.

  ‘Don’t know yet. Ship is completely down. ‘You’ are unconscious on your bunk upstairs. Sasha is worried about you. She was temporarily blinded. Now let me get this ship fixed before we get into real trouble.’ Cindy winked at Lissa who gave a tentative smile back and nodded.

  ‘Have you checked the armor charge?’ Lissa asked.

  ‘No. Have no way to do so. I will as soon as I can.’ With that Cindy moved back down to the main reactor panel.

  “How are you doing, boys?” She asked.

  “The last case is out the lock. We are trying to get it closed now,” Ben reported.

  “Well then, how about I turn the lights back on?” She said as she turned the main switch back to ‘ON’ “Now, I’ll go through the list to power everything back up and get out of here. I hate this little hole.” She admitted. "Now get yourselves set, I’m gonna turn the gravity back on.” She said as she went from system to system turning them back on. The last two were the propulsion systems and weapons. She got red lights on the laser cannons, and no lights at all on the hyperdrive system. Unable to locate the malfunction from here, she moved back up to Lissa’s control unit.

  ‘I’m going to re-enable your avatar. Play dead for awhile so as not to cause suspicion, Okay?’ She typed.

  Lissa nodded and Cindy turned the selector switch back to ‘AVAT’. Lissa’s image stayed on the screen long enough to smile and nod to Cindy then went dark. Cindy replaced the cover to the unit and began making her way back to the exit. She replaced the hatch and moved to put her tools away. She noticed her suit reporting atmosphere had been restored so she opened her faceplate as she reached the locker. She put her tools back and returned to the main cabin en-route to the cockpit.

  “How are Sasha and Lissa doing?” She asked.

  “I am getting my vision back, but slowly. I can see things to the side, but I still only see white blob in front of me.” Sasha said.

  “Lissa is still unconscious” Sam said softly.

  “Have you checked the autodoc yet?” he shook his head. “Okay, please do so, and if she hasn’t come out of it by then, stick her in there.” Cindy said.

  She got back to the cockpit and fired up the engines to stabilize their flight. She checked the armor readings and found them almost to the overload point. She tried to arm the lasers and fire them to discharge some of the energy but the weapons were still unresponsive.

  She got up and moved over to Lissa’s control panel. She began to reroute the power grid to use energy from the armor to power the ships systems. That stopped the buildup of energy and even decreased it some. She returned to her own seat and began to figure out how far they had drifted, and what the status of the enemy was.

  Chapter Fifteen

  TDF Star Dancer

  System exit vector

  Sol System, Sol Sector

  Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

  "Commander, have you heard anything from the Damocles since losing her data feeds?" Ian asked. He was worried, but was trying very hard to not let it show. Even though Cindy had parted from his family, he still cared about her a great deal.

  "No, we haven't. However, we did receive a report from the Summer Dawn. The ship attacking them was destroyed at the same time the Damocles should have arrived in the system. The report clearly says that they could not confirm the Damocles arrival in the system, but that isn't actually surprising; the Raptors were designed to not be detectable. The report was followed by a personal request from the Benesian High Priestess that she be updated concerning the status of our ship and her prayers that we recover our ship and crew unharmed," Jenny replied. Other than Ian, Cindy was Jenny's best friend, and it was clear that she was worried.

  Ian nodded his understanding. "Please inform operations to send updates to the High Priestess as we get them, unless they contain sensitive information. How are they doing? Will they need our assistance when we arrive?"

  "They reported that repairs were underway, however, they didn't give us a time-line for those repairs. I was about to contact them and offer our assistance and let them know our projected arrival time," Jenny said.

  "I'll talk to Chief Dommer and the CMO about getting a crew ready to assist them. If it'll be needed, we'll take them in tow and bring them back to Benesia." Ian said thoughtfully. "I'll get out your hair, Commander. If you need me, I'll be in my ready room."

  "Yes Admiral," Jenny said, smiling at him, sadly.

  "Relax Jen, we'll find her," Ian said to her quietly.

  "I hope so, Ian. I really do. We can't leave things the way they are between us," Jenny whispered back.

  Ian nodded, patted her on the shoulder, and headed for his office.

  "Hyperspace interface in forty-three minutes, Commander," Chekhov said.

  "Thanks Mr. Chekhov," Jenny said as she looked over her shoulder to see if Ian had heard too.

  Ian nodded and left the bridge to start making calls. Star Dancer had much larger engines than a Raptor, add to that the fact that they would be travelling under 'full emergency' speed, and Star Dancer would arrive on station much faster than the Damocles had. They would arrive at Beta Hydri in just over four hours once they made the jump, but they would have to drop out of hyperspace outside the system, and use the trip in system to slow down.

  Chief Dommer agreed to get a crew ready to assist the Benesian ship, as well as making sure the Star Dancer was ready to tow another ship through hyperspace. Ian forwarded the Summer Dawn's damage report to him, so they had an idea what might be needed to fix the ship.

  Beth also agreed to have a crew ready to assist the Summer Dawn. She was also distracted because she was worried about Cindy. "It's really odd, Ian. The twins aren't upset, but they are clearly acting differently. It's almost like they know something is wrong with their mother," Beth explained. "It's kinda creepy in a way."

  "I'd say it's heartening. If they do feel their mother, the fact that they aren't screaming reassures me. As it is, it tells me that they know she's in trouble, but isn't panicking," Ian replied. "We have a couple of hours before we dr
op out of hyper, I'll come down and visit all of them."

  "They'd like that," Beth smiled. "They really enjoy your visits."

  "I enjoy visiting them. I just wish I could do it more often during the day," Ian said. "I'll pass on any new information about the Summer Dawn or the Damocles as soon as I get it."

  "Thanks, Ian. I'll see you when you get here," Beth replied, and disconnected the channel.

  On the bridge, Jenny noticed that Star seemed to a bit more cheerful than was usual for her. "You seem to be excited, care to share and cheer up a friend?"

  "I apologize, Commander." Star said slightly abashed. "Even though the situation is very serious, this will be the first time I have left this system since the crash."

  "I can see how that would be exciting to you," Jenny replied. "I admit that if the circumstances were different, I'd be excited about it too. After all, we're the first people of Earth to leave the sector. Yes, we have jumped to Centauri and back many times, but that just isn't the same. It's like finally leaving our safe harbor for the open ocean."

  Since they were talking close to him, Chekhov couldn't help but over hear them. "It's very exciting for me too, Ma'am." The Lieutenant added. "Even though I've had to plot long jumps before, this is the first time we are actually going to use the plot."

  "I think it's a lot of firsts for all of us, Chekhov, in fact, Star is the only one of us here that has done such a long jump before," Jenny replied. "I take it, you're finished with your plot then?"

  "Yes Ma'am, I've loaded it into the nav-comp," Chekhov replied.

  "Say Chekhov, I heard that the scientific community back on Phoenix Base has awarded you a Doctorate in Physics. Is that true?" Jenny asked. She knew it was since she had been the one to authorize his extended education request.

  "Yes Ma'am, I presented my thesis and dissertation last weekend," Chekhov replied proudly.

  Jenny nodded. "So I'd heard. But, I never learned what subject you picked."