Dreaming of Atmosphere (38 page)

46.

Maxine left the command module to go help with damage control after that. I could see Fel was eager to go too, but Max put a stop to it right away. She wanted at least two of us on watch for now. The command module hatch opened with a hiss of escaping oxygen, and our ears popped with the change in air pressure. She shut the hatch as she grabbed one of our few remaining polycrete foam dispensers.

It wasn’t too long before the damage reports started to come in. We didn’t realise how close we’d come to buying the farm, so to speak. There were over a dozen hull breaches across the three decks, and several in the engineering spaces. Strangely, for once, there were none in the mess deck. The main propulsion system had suffered some damage, and would remain offline until the extent could be assessed, and Max made Mal focus on that as a priority. Artemis, Zoe, Maxine and the two Argen spent the next eight hours making the ship space worthy again, and only once all the hull breaches were plugged did they get to the sensor nexus, where Tac was housed.

Thankfully, Tax was fine, but our local network had suffered a break down after several power relays had burnt out. Fel managed to talk Max into allowing him to start work on a workaround, and she sent Zoe up to the bridge to replace him.

When she got to the command module, I was feeling pretty out of it, and started to do some stretches in the chair to loosen up a little. I had a long shift ahead of me, and little sleep to back me up. Zoe was rather accommodating, and started off by giving me a shoulder massage from Max’s chair.

“How are we looking?” I said, as she worked a knot out of my left shoulder.

“Bit of a mess. Place smells like ozone and polycrete foam.”

“When is Crege fit to get back to duty? Fel and I are going to be on here all the time, pretty much. At least until we hit the Jump Gate.”

“He’s almost good enough for light duties, but I don’t want him walking around. If that bone graft doesn’t heal right, he’ll be in pain for the rest of his life. Or he undergoes very long and very painful surgery.”

“Can he take this chair?”

“Give me one more ship day, then I’ll do an assessment. As long as we can lift him in here, I suppose it will do him some good. He’s going mad with boredom.”

“I bet. You’re actually the first doctor who he hasn’t threatened to kill on board this ship, you know?”

“He has called me some colourful names, though. Usually in his native tongue.”

We made small talk for a while, and it was good to have her near. It was usually at times like this that I found it easy to talk to her about my Star Marine days, and by extension my post-traumatic stress. I thought about it, but found that I didn’t really have anything to say that I hadn’t already talked to her about before. I think she sensed my mood, and her massage stopped. I didn’t have to see her to know that we was adopting what I called her ‘listening pose’. She would put her hands in her lap, bow her head slightly and keep her back straight. She would nod occasionally to indicate she was following what I was saying, offering short questions regarding my recounts, or probing for more information about my thoughts. She would then analyse what I’d said and interpret what I was going through, how my mind was processing things and how I could alter my perceptions and perspectives on certain aspects of what I had told her.

When I didn’t say anything for a few minutes, she started to ask her questions.

“We’re probably entering the most dangerous part of this leg of the journey, wouldn’t you say?”

“We certainly are.” I agreed.

“We haven’t spoken much lately, you and I.”

“I’ve been pretty busy. I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“I understand. I’m actually glad, to be honest.”

“Why’s that?”

“You don’t feel the need to talk as much. It’s telling about how much progress you’ve made. You still have a long way to go, but I think I’ve given you all the tools you need to fight this last battle alone.”

“You make that sound so final.”

“I’ll always be here, but you don’t need my guidance anymore.”

“I think I’ll always think of something to say to you, even if it’s just to say I’m fine.”

“I’d like that very much.” She paused for a while before beginning again. “What do you think our chances are? Of making it to the Gate?”

My first impulse was to reassure her, but it didn’t feel right to offer platitudes, not while she was in her listening pose. She always saw through my excuses or when I was telling myself lies to protect my subconscious.

“Not good.” She waited for me to elaborate. “We’ve got a few days left, in which time the gap between us will close faster and faster. They’ll have a very good chance of just saturating our space with rounds, too many for us to avoid. It’s what I’d do.”

“You’ve been fairly accurate with your guesses so far.”

“Unfortunately, yes. We’ve used them to cheat death or capture so far, I just can’t see a way out of this one without blind luck or…or…I don’t know.”

“You’ve also been able to outsmart the Corporates so far.”

I sighed. “Sooner or later, odds are going to get so stacked against us that being smart or not won’t make a difference.”

“I believe in you.”

“I’m not infallible, Zoe. I’m old enough that inflating my ego doesn’t really make me think better. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I really have nothing.”

“I
believe
in you, Seth. Even if we fail, I’ll still think you’ve gotten us this far, you’ve done your best. That’s all a girl wants from a man.”

“I wish there was some way to get you off the ship, I’ve faced death so many times that I’m used to it, but this time it’s different. The thought of you dying with the ship…it just…”

She must have sensed my tension, as I suddenly jolted with an idea.

“What is it?” she asked.

“...get you off this ship…”

“I don’t follow you.”

I grabbed the PA mic and called for Maxine to get to the command module. I wish I had Tac with us, I needed his calculations. I cleared one of the displays that I wasn’t using to monitor the space around us and started to gather sensor data and information about the Blade of Xerxes. Zoe could see that I was in the grip of something fierce, and kept silence while I worked. When Max arrived she merely stood behind me and watched.

“I need someone to check these numbers, my math is not as good as yours or Fel’s.”

“What am I looking for?” asked Max.

“I need to know relative velocity, our acceleration differential, the inertial stabiliser field of the Xerxes, and whether or not the grav-plates in the Dreaming of Atmosphere can sync with the Xerxes’ stabiliser.”

She gave me a funny look, and I sent my calculations to her overlay. She sat down and I watched her eyes darting to and fro as she read the data on her retinas. Her fingers twitched and poked at images on her overlay that only she could see as she tweaked the calculations and ran the numbers.

“I’m still not following you but the numbers look solid. You want to throw our grav-plates at the ship?”

“Sort of. With me attached to it.”

They both gave me a collective “What?!”

“It’s called an axial deployment. I jump out the aft cargo hatch, the grav-plates synchronise with the Xerxes’ stabiliser field and that arrests my inertia. Mostly.”

Zoe’s mouth was just hanging open, while Max was shaking her head in disbelief.

“And what in the name of the all the stars is that point of that?” she said.

“What do you think we did in the Star Marines?”

“Space stations! You did it on space stations!”

“We trained on moving ships as well. We would get deployed in the middle of a fleet action, when the differential velocities were acceptable, and disable ships that way.”

“Have you done it before?”

“Several times…in training. Once in combat.”

“And what are you going to do when you get on board? That ship has got to have over a hundred people manning it. Easily more!”

“I’m going to disable the engines.”

“And then?”

“Then I’ll get off. I haven’t thought that far ahead, okay?”

“Absolutely not!”

“We need to do this. We might be able to avoid this railgun a few times, over the next few days. But that lead time will get smaller and smaller. Even that plan we have to counter the laser guided shell is dicey at best. You said so yourself. What if they fire several rounds at once? They won’t even need to use nukes, standard explosives will be enough to smash us to atoms. We need to try something else.”

“And you think jumping out onto the ship is the best idea?”

“It’s what I’ve been trained to do.”

“Care to share with us what the success rate of this…axial deployment is?”

I stared at her. “Lower than fifty percent make it. Most of us splat.”

“Splat!” cried Max, “You go splat!”

“It’s just a slang word!”

“You have a slang word for killing yourself on the bonnet of an organo-ship bearing down on us to kill us?”

“Look, Max. It’s our only chance. You know we won’t survive a barrage at close range. That captain is going to be so pissed at us right now, that he won’t give a shit about recovering the Jump Gate, he’ll just want it gone and us along with it.”

“I’m NOT losing another friend on this trip. I will NOT allow this madness to…”

“I believe in him.” said Zoe. She’d been quiet up until now. Her small voice cut right through Max’s screaming at me. She just clamped her mouth shut and turned to Zoe. “If Seth says he can save us by doing this. I believe him. He doesn’t put himself needlessly at risk. It’s always a calculated risk.”

“Zoe…I…”

“It’s why you sent him to the military. You said so yourself. You needed him to have skills more like his father than you. You couldn’t teach him those things, but the Star Marines could. So you sent him.”

“That’s not…I mean, I didn’t want him to…”

“Look at him.” she pointed at me, and Max turned her face towards mine, “Really look at him. He’s whole. He’s strong and he’s smart. He’s this way because of you. Because of the choices you made that guided his life and his career.”

She looked into my eyes, and I held them, daring her to deny me. I saw many things in Max’s eyes. I saw pride, fear, outrage and I saw raw pain.

“If what he says is true, that the chances of escaping this ship alive fall with each passing hour, then what will it matter if he dies trying to stop it hours before we all die anyway?”

“You’re both mad.” said Max, but her words lacked conviction. I smiled at her then.

“
No, we’re in love. There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

“You sound like bloody Fel. Was that some of that
Way
nonsense?”

“Actually, it was Nietzche.”

“Never heard of him.”

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger?”

“Oh, that guy?” I nodded. She let out a great sigh and leaned back in her chair. “You are crazy, you realise that?”

“Crazy enough to save the two girls I love most in the galaxy. Crazy enough to die trying.”

“Don’t talk like that. If you do this, I want your word. You work out how to get back to us. No point in all this if we have to leave you behind.”

“I’m already thinking of a plan. I’ll need Mal, Artemis, Fel and Crege to help me. And Tac.”

“What else?”

“A bomb?”

“Pretty sure we got a few of those lying around here somewhere, asked the bitch for one.” She leaned back and grabbed the PA mic from its recess. “Cuts, Artemis, can you meet Seth in med lab. Fel, pull Tac out of the nexus and bring him up as well, repairs can wait a few minutes.”

“Thanks, Max. I won’t let you down.”

“If you die out there, I’ll kill you. Go, Zoe and I will cover the bridge. We’re going to have a little woman to woman chat about emotional manipulation.”

I got up and climbed over the seat. As I passed Zoe I leaned down and we kiss passionately for a long while. Eventually Max cleared her throat, a little too loudly to be coincidental.

“Enough, I’m getting all misty over here.” she said.

47.

My plan was simple, sort of. In order for ships to undergo any amount of high gee thrust there needs to be an inertial stabiliser that negates a portion of those g-forces felt within the ship. Propelling shuttles and ships to the speeds needed to reach escape velocity was often a painful, and at best uncomfortable exercise for early crewmen. On top of this, in the early days of space travel, there were a number of health considerations identified that made long term living amongst the stars undesirable. The loss of bone density due to low or zero gravity along with other concerns that meant human physiology would change over time made long distance travel a dangerous, and often one directional, journey for starship crews. With the advent of gravity technology, this solved both problems.

The ability to manipulate gravity, at least in relatively small areas, meant that ships, space stations and habitats could simulate comfortable gravity levels, and negate some of the effects of inertia. The larger stations, like the giant torus styled affairs that were popular in the Eridani System, used centrifugal force to create gravity, or at least a downward pressure that could pass for gravity, but for stations like the Corus Cluster in the Argessi System that were cobbled together they needed gravity plates to hold its citizens and occupants to the decks. A grav-plate was a small scale device that would replace classic deck plates on a ship, or station, and would generate local gravity within a certain range of the plate. The Dreaming of Atmosphere had them all over the ship. Some of the engineering spaces didn’t need them, or they would interfere with the Ion Drives in some way. In the aft cargo hold, the gravity plates are unable to reach the very top of the compartment, and so the upper thirty seven centimetres of the hold are zero-g. It was a strange little quirk of the Meridian Class transports.

The other thing my plan relied upon was the inertial stabilisers of a ship. I mentioned briefly about the need for Jump Gates to be within an area of space that is relatively free from the effects of gravity. The only way a ship is able to interact with the Gate’s event horizon instead of simply pass right through it is by negating the ship’s inertia so that it doesn’t interrupt the Gate’s complex energy fields. All stabilisers, therefore, were designed to extend beyond a few metres of a ship’s hull. This also has the added benefit of holding the ship together when it suffers undue stress and damage. They are rarely modified or turned off, so I was fairly certain that the Blade of Xerxes had one as well.

I learnt all about these phenomenon during my training in the Primacy Star Marine Corps. During those axial deployments, we were issued with jump packs and grav-boots. This time I was pretty much just planning to use a grav-plate from the ship and stand on it with my magnetic boots, as grav-boots were too expensive and specialised to just pick up at a local market. As Star Marines approached an enemy ship, they would arrest some of their velocity relative to the enemy ship and when their grav-boots encountered the inertial field they would strip much of the inertia of the marine, allowing their jump packs to decelerate the marine to a safe velocity and land. It was all about timing, and the first few time’s I’d attempted it I’d messed it up and earned the nickname ‘Splat’. One of my old squaddies that I went through training with was called ‘Bouncer’ and another ‘Ricochet’. They were pretty common names for rookie Star Marines. It was much easier on stationary targets like space stations.

I waited in the med lab with Crege and Artemis for the others. They were curious, but I didn’t let them know what I had planned until everyone was present. When they arrived, I gave them an outline and waited while they finished being shocked before I started to ask questions.

“So…what I need for all of you is the rest of the plan. I can get to the ship, but I need you help to disable it and to get off it. Art, I need a few of those charges that are hidden around the ship. We don’t carry explosives unless we’re planning on doing some mining for a job.”

“You’ll have it. Give me forty minutes when we’re done here.” That’s Art, all business.

“Mal, you have the most knowledge about propulsions systems on the ship, I understand theirs will be completely different to ours, but your guess is probably going to be better than mine.”

“I’ll see what I can come up with.” For the first time, ever, he was helping without any snide remarks or coercing. Maybe his recent betrayal and subsequent mercy shown him by us had finally set him on the right path.

“Crege, you’re the finest warrior I know, if anyone can give me advice on how to take on a crew of over a hundred it’s you. I need all the advice I can get, I need to be a ninja.”

“Warrior is unfamiliar with this animal.”

“It’s an ancient earth assassin, they were practically invisible.”

“People are easy, internal sensors are your
calak
.”

I believe I can be of assistance there, First Mate Donovan.

“As can I.” added Fel.

“I can confuse most internal sensors, I have a paradigm with my nano-proliferation that can mask me from them, but I can’t use it indefinitely. I’ll also need help with any security check points or electronically locked doors.” I said.

“You’ll need your scrambler.” said Fel, “Although I have a feeling it will interfere with your nanites’ ability to communicate with each other as well.”

Negative, Systems Operator Fel’negr. Nanites communicate at the subatomic scale using quantum tunnelling and entanglement concepts. Your scrambler should not affect their interfacing.

“Well that’s good news then.”

“I need help cracking through their security systems, to gain access to compartments. At some point, I might be able to secure an access pass, but I don’t want that as my only option. I’ll need to access an airlock as well, just to get inside. I can’t let their sensors pick me up trying to get in.”

“You should be able to just cut your way through an outer airlock.” added Mal, “It’s the inner ‘lock that will have the most sensitive sensors. Just re-seal the outer ‘lock before you start trying to get into the inner.”

“Okay, so I just need to hack the inner ‘lock doors. Art, have you ever been on one of these Corporate organo-ships?”

“Yeah, few years back. You know they only build the inner compartments, propulsion, the bridge and living spaces. Everything else is grown from chitin, or cartilage, or whatever it is.”

“So how do I disable one?”

“Depends on the level of disabling you require.”

“Enough to make them stop chasing us.”

“Propulsion is probably the easiest, but you might not be able to take out enough of their systems to make a difference. Your best bet is probably the ship’s brain.”

“What?” A few of the others joined me in their surprise.

“You understand that an organo-ship is alive, right?” she explained.

“Yeah, but…I thought it was just the outer hull?”

“Nope, the things have organs that perform many of the mechanical system functions we have on regular ships. Life support, water reclamation, sensors, heating. Hell, even the public announcement and alarms are propagated through vocal organs. These things need primitive nerve clusters that respond to stimuli, the responses are processed in organs that you could call brains. Take out the brain that controls propulsion and fuel control, you disable the ship.”

“Mal?”

“Sounds reasonable. Remove any ability for the engines to get fuel and fires go out.”

“How will they repair it?”

“They’d need to regrow another brain.”

Actually, it would seem likely they would have redundant systems in place to counter this kind of event.

“Nope, Corporates think they’re invincible inside their ships. The best they got is spare brains. They take time to install, though, and they have to regrow the nerve connections.”

That seems counter intuitive. Why would they not include redundant systems?

“An ancient human poem comes to mind,” offered Fel, “One which is often cited in teachings of
The Way;

“
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
”

“You often quote human philosophers, almost as much as your own race’s.” I asked, “Do we inspire you that much?”

“From the moment our two races met, we were fascinated with your kind. Here was a bright and magnificent species of intelligent beings, with a capacity for love, compassion and greatness that matched their capacity for stupidity, foolishness and cruelty. Who were we but to marvel at humanity’s age of wonder?”

“Age of wonder?”

“No other species is more numerous and prolific across the galaxy. It was humankind’s sharing of the Jump Gate technology that has created this galaxy spanning civilisation.”

“When you put it like that…”

“My reference, however, warns of the hubris of men. To answer your question, Tac, the Corporates cannot conceive of one man taking from them the ability to impose their will upon the galaxy.”

I see. You have given me much to ponder.

“Save it for another time, Tac. I need you working on ways to hack the Corporate security systems.”

I will need to be within wireless range of the vessel in order to analyse their security.

“That’s why I’m taking you with me.” I said.

“When are you planning on performing this daring raid?” asked Artemis.

“As soon as I’m ready. The closer the Xerxes gets to the Dreaming, the more danger we’ll be in.”

“I’ll go see what I can piece together in the time that I have.” said Fel.

“I’ll pull up a grav-plate from the deck. Won’t miss one in aft cargo.” said Mal.

“I’ll go get you a few bombs.”

“Human already knows how to fight. Already knows how to stay alive. Warrior trusts
kitrak
knows how to think like
galab.
Here, no good to warrior. Human will need it.” Crege passed me a sheathed blade, his
lurzak.

“I can’t accept this. If I lose it over there, I can’t spend time trying to recover it.” I said.

“Warrior will find another. Will be a while until warrior can use it again anyway.”

“Isn’t there some sort of sentimental value placed on it, though? Some warrior’s oath or what not?”

“Only on the concept of the blade.
Lurzak
is replaceable. Friend is not.”

“Thank you. I mean that.”

“Come back alive. Give warrior back his
lurzak
is thanks enough.”

I left the med lab and took Tac’s spherical body with me. I headed down to the forward cargo hold and entered the armoury. I took one of the energy carbines and laid it on the prep table, collecting several batteries as well. How should I equip myself for this venture, I mused. The Infantry Vests? Or just my ablative jacket? The aim was to stay out of sight, stay hidden, but I knew that wouldn’t last. At some point, I would need to fight. I’d need protection. My M4 MAEL was ruined, which was a shame because this is exactly the kind of operation the suit was designed for. I don’t think I’d be able to wear the Infantry Vests under a light duties space suit, but I’d need to change out of my space suit when I boarded anyway. I grabbed a vest and an equipment pack with straps that I could attached to the space suit.

I took a couple of grenades and my favourites, the party poppers, as well, putting them all on the table with the carbine. I’d swing by cabin in a while and collect my PX-2 as well. There were some here, but every active tends to favour their own personal side arms. Mine was sighted and adjusted exactly how I liked it, and no one but me ever fired it. I also found a smaller satchel that I could put Tac in that would attach to my rear webbing. Next on the list was tools.

I left the armoury, taking Tac with me, and went to the nearest damage control locker. I figured since we can only communicate at close range now, I might need to bounce ideas off him. I rummaged through the locker and grabbed a plasma cutter, and a roll of duct tape. Never knew when duct tape might come in handy. The cutter could also be set to weld, and I’d need it to get through some hatches.

Actually. No, I wouldn’t. I chuckled to myself as I was putting the cutter back.

“I can teleport through doors.”

You may be required to maintain your Invisibility paradigm while moving about the ship, First Mate Donovan. It would be prudent to take redundant tools. Remember the poem of Ozymandias?

“Yes. Yes I do. Thanks for the reminder, Tac. Hubris is my biggest enemy now that I have this nano-proliferation implant.”

I sheepishly took the cutter again and returned to the armoury with my gear. Next, I went to my cabin for the PX-2, the ablative coat and the scrambler. I figured I could always put the coat over the vest. On the way back down I entered Fel’s cabin to find him soldering away at his small desk.

“What are you building?”