Author: Robert Wagner
Category: Other
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"Yet your hard work only led you to working on a small exploration ship for low pay," Virgil said, hand hovering over the activation switch. "How can you be so upbeat about escaping your shitty existence to doing this? Don't you think you deserved better?"
Virgil could just hear the smile come through the comm. "Ah Virgil that might be a difference between me and you. I came from nothing so this is so much better than your colorful expression. I'm also not looking for this job to be my final destination. Are you?"
Virgil wasn't given a chance to answer as the open, scaleless spot on the wyrm slid into the spot they had waited for.
"Now Zayan!"
With his left hand anchored on a metal strut, Virgil smashed in the release button, turned and pushed in the handle that activated the clamp. Right above his head a thick metal tube with a three pronged attachment at the end of it shot out towards the wyrm. Looking over at Zayan, he saw the second one shoot out right behind his. With no time to look and see if the first two hit their targets, Zayan scrambled over the top of the ramp to the third clamp.
"Zayan, you get inside." Virgil ordered, as he reached the third button and repeated the process. Only then did he allow himself a glance backwards to see their results.
All three docking clamps thudded into the skin of the wyrm, one after the other. The wyrm kept on moving. It didn't look like it even noticed. Virgil was only a few steps away from climbing back inside when the Dauntless jerked hard. Virgil slipped, not expecting such force and came to a sudden stop when he the tether reached its full length.
Cursing, he pulled himself back up and inside. The wyrm must have moved faster than he realized or it had sped up, as he had to use a lot of strength to pull himself along the tether. He was sweating in his suit by the time he was back on the ramp. His boots clamped down and he stalked back inside. Zayan was at the doorway of the ramp, on his knees, looking up at the wyrm. Virgil slid past him with a shake of the head and slapped the button that closed the ramp. The crazy idea seemed to work. Now to see where they ended up next.
Herra sat at the table in her quarters with Sanford sitting across from her. She had shut the door behind them. She was tense and distracted but tried to shove all of that aside for whatever it was Sanford wanted.
Herra leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg across the knee of the other. "Fire away Sanford. I don't think I've ever seen you so troubled."
Sanford steepled his fingers on his chest. "I didn't expect this to ever come up when I came on. One of the reasons I picked you Herra, and this ship, was that you were a deep space explorer. A passionate one at that. You would always be out here, exploring, pushing the boundaries. What's happened has changed all that."
"You mean our discovery?" Herra wondered where Sanford was going with all of this. He wasn't one for pointless flattery. "Yes. At first we were going to sell some data for some credits." She took a deep breath, letting the enormity of what she was about to say sweep over her. "Now were talking about a possibly hostile alien race that maybe has the power to collapse the wormholes. Just think about that Sanford? When we come back with that news, we'll be invited to talk to the highest level Earth officials."
"Yes," Sanford answered, nonplussed. "We will be going back to Earth for certain. I can't do that. I can't come with you. You're right in that you will be talking to the heads of government and military. So, I need you to take a detour for me. I've served you well so I hope you will honor my request." Sanford laid his hands out on the table, almost reaching for her.
Herra couldn't keep the shock from her face. Wild speculations started flying through her head unbidden. So much was happening so fast she felt dizzy and lightheaded. "Sanford, you probably know this but I've always thought your way overqualified to be on a ship this size. I expected to hire some newbie straight out of medical school. You showed up and were willing to accept my terms. I couldn't pass that up. I mean, not to give your ego a stroke, but I think you could be running a clinic somewhere. I've never pried into it why you made this choice, it's not my style. I will do the best I can because you always have. I'm thinking we're going to have to put in somewhere for repairs before we could even make it to Earth." Herra leaned forward across the table, looking into Sanford's cool blue eyes. "I can't help wonder if what you're not telling me is dangerous. To me and the rest of the crew. Would you tell me why feel you can't go to Earth?"
Sanford met her gaze. It was the first time she had seen Sanford look so hard. She thought she also saw a pain that he was trying to hide. He unsteepled his hands and stood.
"Thank you. For everything and for your consideration of my request. I don't care what planet it is. As long as it's habitable of course. I'll be in my office if you need me." He started for the door then turned around. "If you get to come back out this way, I would be interested in joining you again, if you would have me back."
He left Herra feeling deflated about another loss to her ship and another thing to do on her long list of getting the Dauntless back into shape. She blew out the hot air she felt building up inside. She stared at the closed door to her quarters feeling nothing and everything.
She stood and was immediately knocked back down, bouncing off her desk before she hit the floor as the ship jolted under her feet. Rubbing her now throbbing elbow, Herra pushed herself back up. Irritation was reaching the boiling point inside of her. She went to punch the comm but it crackled to life before she could.
"Commander," came Zayan's voice through it, "we are attached. It seems to be holding."
Herra pushed the button on her comm to talk. "Good work you two. Are you both back on board?"
"Yes. The ramp is closed. Virgil and I are alright. Everything seems to be working."
Herra felt warmth spread in the pit of her stomach. It worked and they were going to get out of the jam they were in. Then her Dad's voice swam up from the depths of her memories. Don't count the supernovas before they explode.
"You two stay alert back there. If the clamps start to slip or anything seems wrong, you contact me immediately. I'm heading to the bridge. Herra out."
She depressed the comm button and exited her cabin.
Herra arrived to find Chen still furiously working at her station. Herra laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Chen, when's the last time you took a break? Got some food?"
Chen didn't look up at Herra or even stop typing. "I'm not hungry. And I can't stop now. When will I get this opportunity again? There is plenty of time for rest later."
"I could order you," Herra said, only half joking. How many times had she been in Chen's position and made the same choice? To many to count.
Chen had real worry in her voice. She did pause for a moment. "Oh no, please. Don't do that, Commander."
Herra smiled, letting her off the hook. "I won't. Carry on. You might want to strap in though. I'm surprised you didn't fall out of your seat a moment ago."
"I did have to grip my console extra tight," Chen said, already going back to work. "Will do, Commander."
Herra got into her flight seat and took her own advice. She looked out the viewport. Most of her sight was still blocked by the bulk of the wyrm. Out the bottom right corner though she could make out the small dot of a planet. It was strange watching it recede in a herky jerky way. Herra had an uneasy feeling, not being in control of the Dauntless. The hull around her vibrated. The wyrm outside seemed to shift its body.
"Chen, any idea what's going on?"
"The wyrm seems to be speeding up." Chen's voice sounded distant. It was a trait she had when she was calculating something. Herra knew all she could do was wait. "Yes, its increased its velocity. We're now going about fifty percent above Dauntless' top speed."
The ship rattled and creaked alarmingly. Herra looked at her dead console, out the window, and then back down. She wished there was something she could do. Virgil called her on the comm.
"Yes, Virgil, go ahead."
"As you probably noticed, we're going fast
er. I don't know if the docking clamps will hold. Since, you know, they were made for docking. If this keeps up they may rip apart."
"Thanks for that cheerful update, Virgil. You two just hang on and do what you can." Herra put as much calm and command into her voice as she could. Damn I thought this was going to work.
Herra's hands hovered over her flight sticks. Her feet were inches from the pedals. Even though she was powerless to do anything it made her feel a little better. "Chen, talk to me."
"I'm picking up energy spikes." Chen was almost yelling, even though there was no reason to. "I think it's forming another wormhole."
To Herra, it seemed as if the velocity of the wyrm, and hence the Dauntless, was still increasing. The ship began to vibrate. After a few moments those vibrations became quakes as the ship was shifting back and forth. Herra's harness pulled tight against her chest. She didn't know how much longer the ship could take this before it shook apart.
"Virgil? How's it look back there?" Herra asked through chattering teeth.
"We just lost one docking clamp. It came out of the wyrm and it's probably whipping around uselessly out there." Virgil sounded anxious. "I don't think this is going to work. If it goes on much longer, we could have micro hull fractures all over the ship."
"Chen, you heard Virgil. Talk to me. Any idea how much longer this is going to take?"
Chen had calmed down and now sounded like her more normal, clinical self. "This is the unknown we're dealing with here, Commander. No one has ever collected data about the formation of a wormhole. It could be-"
Vibrant, blinding light flooded the cabin. One instant Herra could see the distant haze of the planet receding. The next instant they were in some sort of debris field. They must have travel through a wormhole.
"Virgil. Cut the clamps!" Herra called over the comm.
"Already on it boss." Virgil came back.
Minutes later Herra watched outer space and the wyrm tumble away out the viewport. The main power was still out, so the Dauntless slowly rotated with the momentum given to it by the wyrm. Flipping end over end Herra had a hard time making out their surroundings as they swirled past. She wondered if they were in a charted system. Maybe even an inhabited system. Or had they been thrown even farther out into the unknown regions of the galaxy. The hull overhead reverberated with the impact of something against the Dauntless. It sure looked like ship debris they were floating in, which pointed to them at least being somewhat close to civilization.
She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but Herra had to ask Virgil to do it. Not only to figure out where they were, but for their safety. "How are you two doing back there? Enjoying the ride?"
"Now I know what unsecured cargo feels like," Virgil said. "What now, Herra?"
Herra winced at his harshness. He sounded exhausted, so she promised to herself she'd make it up to him once they got somewhere safe. "Look Virgil. I need you to get the power going. I'll do whatever I can to help if you want. We need engines and shields, pronto."
There was silence over the comm for several heartbeats. Wearily, Virgil answered. "Of course you do. I'll look at it. Virgil out."
"There's no need to be grumpy about it," Chen said behind her shoulder. "We're all tired. We've all been working hard."
"I'd consider that getting off pretty light. It's Virgil were talking about. Speaking of tired, I need you to keep working as well. I know you can't do much with the scanners but do what you can to try to figure out where we are."
Herra pulled against her harness and strained her neck forward. She peered out at the spinning void, trying to catch a glimpse of a planet, star, anything that would help identify where they were. She wondered about the debris field they were in and tried to glimpse pieces as they floated by, to see if she could figure out what kind of ship they were from.
With a jolt the Dauntless came to a stop. The view outside stabilized. "Virgil, that should be some kind of a record. How much power does the engine have now?"
"What do you mean?" came back Virgil, puzzled. "I'm just now assessing what could be the cause of the power outage."
Herra then noticed the bluish tinged light, like a haze, outside her viewport. They were caught in a tractor beam.
Either it was the Ishala or the new aliens they were running from. Tractor beams were one of the technologies that the Ishala had that Earth did not. So far, the Ishala had been unwilling to trade that technology.
Looking out the viewport, Herra couldn't see the alien ship. Scanners were still down. They could have come in above, behind, or below them. She was just about to ask if external communications systems were operational when her comm made the three chirps and the orange light in the upper right hand corner started blinking. That meant a ship had hailed them.
Herra slipped on her headset. A microphone jutted out of the left side, along with the tiny viewscreen that covered her left eye. A padded speaker over her left ear let her hear. She pushed a button on her panel opening the channel to the other ship. Thinking that the other ship was probably Ishalanian, pirates would have already boarded them, Herra went with a relaxed, hey we're helpless approach.
"This is the Earth exploratory vessel Dauntless. We have been badly damaged. Let me say, it's nice to see you. I'm hoping you can help us."
The black screen over her left eye became a static filled image of a Ishalanian. Its head looked about half the size of a humans, but it was humanoid. It was completely covered in coarse looking black and white hair. The eyes seemed to large for the Ishalanians face and a bony ridge of brown traveled across the course of its brow where humans would have eyebrows. The Ishalanian spoke, revealing a row of small, pointy teeth on the top and bottom that reminded Herra of pictures she had seen of dolphins with their mouths open, expecting a fish for a trick. There was a few milliseconds of a delay as the computer translated what the Ishalanian was saying. Herra was nervous, she had never had any direct contact with Ishalan people before.
"You are violating our space," the computer translated voice approximated the raspy voice of the Ishalanian. "You will be pulled to our nearest facility and you will be interrogated as to why you are here. Do not resist us."
If Dauntless had been in good shape, like say just yesterday, Herra thought they could have fought their way out of the situation. The Ishalanian had some superior technology to humans like tractor beams, gravity manipulation, and sensors, but humans had the upper hand in weapons, shields, and hull technology. Secrets the humans hadn't shared with the Ishalanian. Of course now the Dauntless couldn't even fly, so what choice did she have but to go along?
Herra decided to keep playing like the Ishalanian were being helpful. "We're thankful for the tow. We are in no shape to resist. We wouldn't want to if we could. If you want to ask us any questions we will be cooperative. I'm sure there will be no need for anything as harsh as interrogation"
"I will see," came the reply. The tiny screen went black. There was a flicker behind her and out of the reflection on the screen she saw Virgil come in and stand behind her.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Herra took off the headset and put it aside. "We've been saved by a Ishalan ship."
The blue glow faded and the Ishalanian ship flew over them and took the lead before re-engaging its tractor beam. The alien's ship was one of their mid size cruisers. To Herra, it was as ugly and inelegant in person as in the vids. The Ishalan were pure form over function. The ship looked like a metal block with two metal block cross beams welded to it. One at the front and one at the rear. Not that he could tell by looking which end was the front. She had heard Ishalan ships had there bridges in the center. They didn't care about views to the outside and their sensor detecting technology was years beyond humans, so the Ishalanian could make having no windows work.
Here we are, pulled along again. At least this time we won't be ripped apart. Herra wasn't just going to sit here and waste the time they had. "Virgil, come with me. We still need to get power restored."<
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Virgil protested. "I'm going to get a bite to eat and go lay down, woman. Like you just said, we're saved. They're going to fix it for us."
Herra turned and gave Virgil a scathing look. "Oh really? You're okay with someone else going through the ship? I'm not going to let the Dauntless and its secrets be completely rummaged through unchecked." She looked down at Chen, making sure she had her attention too, then continued. "We are all going to go get some food. Then we are all going to still do our jobs."
It was good and well that the Ishalan and Earth had peace between them since first contact. That didn't mean there wasn't tension. The differing technology gaps were one of them. Neither exactly held open arms for the other as well. Earth stayed in their sectors and Ishalan in theirs. Rare was the Earth person allowed to live in Ishalan space and vice versa.
After a quick call over the comm to the rest of the crew, the five of them were all sitting and eating at the long metal table. The emergency lights gave the room a sickly yellow tint. It was hard for Herra to eat because of the light but she knew she needed to. Herra crunched a protein bar while taking angry looks from Virgil. She hated pushing him as he always pushed back with attitude. If she didn't he would just coast by instead of working better and more efficient. She would let him be angry, that was fine, as long as the two of them got to work.
"I didn't get to say this yet, Herra," Zayan said, breaking the silence. "I just have to thank you. You took a chance on me and I have be rewarded beyond my dream. New alien race. Ishalan. A wyrm! I have been humbled by all the wonders you have helped show me. Whatever you need me to do I will gladly accept."
"That's what I like to hear. You are welcome Zayan," Herra answered, making sideways glances at Virgil. She could see him want to roll his eyes but he didn't with the rest of the crew now watching him. "Do you happen to know anything about the Ishalan?"