Infinity's End: Books 4-6, page 22
“I’m fine,” she replied. “What’s our status? Where’s the captain?” If she was surprised to see him in command, she didn’t show it.
“The captain was critically injured in the attack. Zaal almost has the comms back up and we have partial power to the engines. Currently there aren’t any more mines out there, but I believe they’re hidden and will activate if we try to move the ship.”
“So it was mines,” Evie said, though it was more to herself than anyone else. “Where’s the captain now?”
“Zenfor took him to sickbay after we got back. Evie, we found the arch. You were right. It held a bubble of time, out of sync with our own. And there was a ship.”
She zeroed her attention on him. “What kind of ship?”
“I think it might be one that Starbase Five saw, but I haven’t confirmed that yet. As soon as we came back through the mines exploded. We also lost another shuttle out there before we recalled them all,” he said. “We managed to download a map of the mines, but they’ve disappeared off our scanners again.”
“Okay,” Evie said, surveying the bridge. “I’m taking over the helm and I’m getting us the hell out of here before we get hit with any more of these things.”
“But,” Cas said, lowering his voice. “How do we know we won’t hit any more if we can’t see them? They might have moved.”
“Because I’ve got a map too,” she said, pointing to her head. She walked over and took the helm position beside Ensign River.
“Wait a second,” Volf said. “You’re not going to just let her take control of the ship? She’s been having hallucinations!” She left her station and turned to Evie. “No offense, Commander, but you haven’t been in the best mental state since we took the shuttle out.”
“Trust me,” Evie said, “I remember.”
“How do we know she isn’t going to see something and run us right into one of those mines out there?” Volf said.
Cas shrugged, happy to have someone on the bridge who could take over. “She was right about the arch. Plus, she’s the ranking officer now, it’s her call.”
“Not if she’s mentally incapacitated,” Volf said. “Technically you shouldn’t even be up here. And now we’re supposed to hand over control of the ship to her?”
“Commander, if you can’t work under these conditions I’ll relieve you of duty,” Cas said, standing firm.
“You can’t do that,” she replied.
“I can,” Evie said, turning in her chair. “And he’s right. Either return to your station or leave the bridge.”
Volf seemed to consider it for a minute. She glanced at Cas then Evie again and shook her head, returning to her station. “I can’t believe this,” she said. “Is this how the Coalition’s most advanced ship runs? No wonder you lost your last engineer.”
Cas felt the floor drop out from under him. As if they were moving on their own his feet propelled him toward Volf, intent on decking her. But before he reached her another voice rang out, stopping him in his tracks.
“Don’t you have any respect? Commander Blohm was an excellent officer and volunteered to go on her mission. She sacrificed herself for the good of the ship and its crew.” Cas turned to see Ensign River standing, staring at Volf, her eyes blazing. Both Zaal and Uuma were looking at the bridge engineer as well. In any other situation, calling out a superior officer like that could lead to some serious consequences, especially while on duty.
Volf’s face stiffened. “I—I’m sorry, I didn’t—I meant no disrespect. I’m just frustrated.”
“I suggest you bottle that frustration until we are clear of this threat, Commander,” Evie said. She was the only one who hadn’t turned around, instead she was programming something into Ronde’s helm station.
“Yes ma’am,” Volf replied, taking her seat at Engineering. Everyone else returned to their positions as well. Cas had to admit he was impressed with Ensign River. She normally seemed so timid and reserved. It turned out Blohm had a lot more support than he’d ever realized.
“We’ve got comms back, uh, ma’am. Sir,” Zaal said, unsure who to direct the news to.
“Commander, I’m relinquishing control of the bridge to you,” Cas said. He should have done it as soon as she’d come on to the bridge, but he’d been so stunned to see her it had slipped his mind.
“Stay where you are,” Evie said. “I’ll have my hands full doing this and we may need someone to coordinate.”
Was this a test? The last time he’d been in a position of authority it hadn’t gone too well between them. “Are you sure?”
She turned in her chair again. “Cas, don’t argue. I promise I’ll relieve you once all this is over, but I can’t do it by myself, okay? No games, no hidden agendas.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“Great.” She turned back to the front and continued inputting her information.
Cas hit the comm button on the side of the command chair. “Engineering, this is the bridge. Report status.”
“Tyler here, sir. We’ve lost life support on this deck but we have enough power to move. Commander Sesster is up on four, coordinating with us down here. We’re trying to help reinforce the hull breach on deck eleven. The Sil almost asphyxiated getting us back online. I had some people take her to sickbay.”
“Wait, Zenfor was down there?” Cas asked.
“Yes, sir. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have power.” Evie turned and gave him a look of surprise that he was sure mirrored his own face.
“Get eleven sealed up as soon as you can, we may need to use the undercurrent drive if things get hairy up here.”
“Acknowledged, working on it now. Tyler out.”
Cas tapped the comm again. “Robeaux to sickbay. Status report.”
“This is Menkel,” one of the nurses answered. “Dr. Xax is currently in surgery with the captain, his injuries were severe, and she isn’t sure of his prognosis. We have forty-seven injured, but only six critically and we’re tending to them as fast as we can.”
“Is Consul Zenfor down there?” Cas asked.
“She’s being treated, it seems she might have strained her oxygen capacity,” Menkel said. “But we expect her to be okay.”
“What about Lieutenant Yamashita?” Evie asked. Cas perked up, glancing over to her.
“Box is caring for her now, Commander. We expect her to make a full recovery as well.” Cas saw Evie visibly exhale and return her attention to her station.
“Thanks, Menkel, keep us updated on the captain’s condition.” Cas cut the comm. He turned to Uuma. “Using our map, I need you to keep a target on where those mines were last. If we need to blow one before we get to it, we will, but we don’t want to cause a cascade reaction. There are thousands of those things out there.” Uuma nodded. Cas couldn’t believe how natural all this felt. It really was like slipping on an old pair of shoes. So why had it been so hard last time? Was it because he’d put so much pressure on himself to perform? To be the perfect officer? Or was it everyone else’s expectations? Whatever the reason, he was here now, and the crew needed his help to get them out of this snare. And he was going to do everything in his power to make it happen. “The show is all yours, Commander,” Cas said, nodding to Evie.
She took a deep breath. “Here we go.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Okay Evie. Okay you can do this. She tried focusing on the images in her mind, the one she’d seen of the system itself with all the tiny black orbs. She could see Omicron and Terminus, out in the distance and the third, smaller yellow star a distant point just as it appeared on the screens before she’d closed her eyes. Visualizing the field, the spheres stood out in her mind. It was a little hazy, but she was reasonably sure she could get them through this.
“What is she doing?” she heard Volf whisper to Cas, but he didn’t even acknowledge her. Or at least it didn’t sound like he did. She couldn’t blame Volf for being nervous. Last time she’d been in this position Evie had almost killed the engineer. But she had a handle on it now. She was going to get them through this.
Evie opened her eyes and glanced over at Ensign River, who was watching her with great interest. “Natalia, I’m going to need your help here,” she said. “Keep an eye on my plotting, don’t let me drift and watch the back end of the ship. It can’t be swinging all over the place. This has to be precise.”
“Got it, Commander,” she replied, her mechanical hands on the controls. Evie had never looked in the Ensign’s file to see what had happened to cause her to lose her original hands, but she would after this. No, she’d go a step further and talk to the Ensign about it. The time for keeping herself cut off from everyone around her was over. She would make more of an effort to get to know the people she worked with. She wasn’t going to remain distant anymore.
“Volf, you ready?” she asked.
“Sixty percent power and holding,” the Lieutenant Commander replied. “Once we’re free we should be able to make an undercurrent.”
“Assuming deck eleven is sealed by then,” Cas said.
“Tyler reports they’re close,” Zaal added. “All decks have reported in and are ready, Commander. The bays have also reported all shuttles and spacewings have returned to the hangars.”
Evie closed her eyes one more time, confirming she saw what she thought she saw and opened them again. “Uuma, give me the overlay of the map you have.” The yellow overlay displayed on the screen in front of them, fuzzy yellow dots representing where the spheres were supposed to be. But it didn’t quite match what Evie was seeing in her head. No matter, she’d use both and avoid the areas entirely, even if they weren’t exactly lined up. She only hoped her memory was as solid as she thought it was.
She engaged the main Exodyne engines and the ship crept forward. “All sections are holding,” Zaal said.
She’d feared the ship might wrench itself apart just by moving but thankfully the gravitational forces were minor in this part of the system. They were too far from any of the stars for shearing to be a real concern. “Adjusting heading, Natalia, watch the drift,” she said. Out of the corner of her eye River nodded and Evie plotted the ship around the first location of mines. “That’s one,” she said.
“Commander, I’m getting some strange readings,” Uuma said. Evie glanced behind her to see Cas join Uuma at her station.
“The ship. Goddammit, I knew it wasn’t abandoned,” Cas said.
“What’s happening?” Evie asked, trying to keep her attention on the task ahead of her. She needed to maneuver around two more.
“That ship is coming through the arch,” Cas said. “Into our time.”
Suddenly one of the orbs appeared right before them. “Whoa!” Evie said, adjusting their heading as fast as she could. “This is going to be close!”
“Commander…” she heard Uuma say.
“Prepare to fire all weapons,” Cas replied. “Lock on that ship but don’t take the shot yet.”
“Aye, sir,” she replied. Evie held her controls down even though she knew it would do no good. The image on the screen in front of them tilted at an angle as the orb disappeared below the screen. She could only hope they had enough clearance to miss it. That one hadn’t been on the map. Nor had it been in her mind. It seemed her memory wasn’t as reliable as she’d hoped.
“This might be a rougher ride than I thought,” she said.
“It missed the hull by seven meters,” Zaal said.
“At least we know they’re not magnetic,” Cas replied, relief in his voice. He was right. If they were this would be a lot harder and they’d be much less likely to get out of it alive.
“Commander,” Zaal said, though there was a tinge of stress in his voice she’d never heard before. “The mine is following us. It seemed to have some kind of propulsion I can’t discern.”
“Where’s the ship?” Cas asked.
“It’s leaving the archway now, headed for us,” Uuma said. “Four minutes to intercept.”
“I don’t guess there’s any chance of them running into the mines, is there?” Evie asked.
“I think they’re the ones controlling them,” Cas replied. “This whole thing was nothing but a lure. Probably to ascertain our defenses.”
“Shit,” Evie said as another mine appeared in front of them. She had to program a new heading fast.
“I’ve got you, Commander,” Ensign River said, her hands flying over the controls. It wasn’t the same vector Evie would have programmed, but it was enough to get them out of the way of the mine. It disappeared around the edge of the screen.
“Four meters,” Zaal said.
“Nicely done,” Evie said, smiling at the Ensign who smirked back. She re-adjusted the heading and turned for what she hoped was an open section in the maze. If they couldn’t count on the maps, they’d be flying blind, which meant she’d have to slow down if they didn’t want to accidentally run into one of these things. And she wasn’t keen to find out what happened when that ship finally caught up with them.
“Evie, I know you know this, but we need to pick up the speed,” Cas said.
She shook her head. There was just no way. “Where are our defensive barriers?”
“Eighty percent still,” Uuma said. “Except for the sections that are open to space. Those are down to ten. Any hits there could end up crippling us.”
“What is the explosive—fuck!” Another mine had just appeared in front of them and Evie forced Tempest down below it, straight down the z plane. She’d stay on this trajectory until they had to change again.
“Two of the mines are now trailing us, Commander. But they don’t seem to be catching up,” Zaal reported.
Evie took a breath. She was going to get them out of this. No matter what. “What is the explosive yield of one of those mines?” she finished.
“Roughly fifty-thousand terajoules,” Uuma replied.
Fifty-thousand. The hull could take a couple of those with the defensive barriers up and still come out okay. But they’d have to be strategic. She couldn’t let them hit the upper levels; those weren’t as reinforced as some of the lower sections. And the engines were out of the question. But if she could move the ship in the right direction and maneuver it right…
“Two minutes to intercept,” Zaal said.
“Evie, I say we blow those two tailing us and then try to get out as fast as we can,” Cas said.
“If it causes a cascade explosion we might not be able to outrun it,” she replied. “Plus, we don’t know how many more are left out here.”
“I thought you had the map?”
“It’s…inaccurate,” she replied.
“Great. Just great,” Volf said from her station. “We’re all gonna die out here.”
“Can it,” Cas said. “Evie, do the best you can. But we can’t let that ship reach us. You and I both know nothing good will come of that.”
He was right. Whatever the ship was, whatever it wanted, it was not likely to be friendly. If it were her on that ship, she’d want to catch Tempest while it was still active, while it still had people working on it so she could learn as much as she could about them. Especially if she was about to invade their territory. By coming here they’d handed the aliens a gift on a platter and she was going to make damn sure they didn’t get to feast. Even if it required extreme measures.
She took a deep breath and increased power to the engines.
“There’s no way we’re going to make this,” Volf muttered. Evie did her best not to pay her any attention, but it was hard to keep that negative voice under wraps and all of a sudden she was back in her father’s house again, staring at his back as he worked.
“No, I’ve beat this,” she said. “I’m done with you. Done.”
“You can’t get rid of me, just like that,” her father said, his back still to her. “You don’t just get to walk away, Evelyn.” He turned around in his chair and Evie recoiled. It was her father and yet not. It was as if her brain couldn’t decide whether it was seeing the alien or the man who had raised her. But both spoke the same words, in the same gravelly voice. “You can’t be like the rest of them. You’ve always kept your distance because it was the smart thing to do. It was the way you kept yourself safe. If nothing else I taught you that.”
“All you taught me was to be afraid of forming any real bonds with people,” she yelled. “That getting close was something to fear! I finally have people in my life who want to get to know me. And I’m not turning my back on them!” She thought of Laura, down in sickbay and how she’d stayed by Evie’s side when she’d needed someone there. And Cas, who despite everything they’d been through had ended up believing her in the end and finding the archway. Even after all her best efforts, people had found their way into her life. And they were much too precious to let go.
“You only think they want to get to know you, but they’re really only out for themselves, as everyone is. Be careful what you wish for, they may not be so friendly once they find out who’s beneath the surface.” His mouth (mouths) curled into an ugly grin and Evie couldn’t believe this had been the man she’d spent every day of her childhood with. But this wasn’t him. This was only what her mind was conjuring. None of it was real.
“Oh, it’s real, all right,” he replied, startling her. He held out one hand which was simultaneously human and not. In it, was a small orb covered in cuts and striations. Some of the cuts were deep enough Evie could see a glowing red core beneath. The orb turned in his hand on its own. At first, she was confused, but the longer she stared at the orb the more she realized she’d seen it before. Only she couldn’t remember where.
“It doesn’t matter,” Evie said, looking him in the eye (eyes). “I’m done listening to you. And you can rot in the ground for all I care. That chapter of my life is over.”
Her father’s face fell and so did his arm, the orb shattering on the ground as it hit.
