Dreaming of Atmosphere (39 page)

“A wireless override device.”

“A what for the who now?”

Fel’negr and I have been discussing ways to overcome physical security measures, such as electronically locked doors. Without the use of your nanites, that is.

“You should be able to attach this to a secured door’s swipe slot, and Tac can access the door through it. Hopefully, he can ghost the door open without setting off any alerts in their systems. It’s almost finished. Pretty standard equipment, really. It’s Tac who adds the special bits.

“Nice. I need some tools for basic electronics work. In case I need to break something.”

“There should be a few kits in Central Control. These are, unlike Crege’s
lurzak,
irreplaceable.”

“Fair enough. I’ll check on Mal at the same time. Wait a second, you’re still linked to Tac’s channel? I thought the local network was down. Short range only?”

“I had an old transmitter in my cabin, linked to my overlay. I can chat with him, but only text while out of range of his local sensors.”

“Will it reach to the organo-ship?”

He thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I doubt it. I should be able to communicate up until the hull, but I doubt I could penetrate the Xerxes’ hull with it. I’ll be able to relay any messages you need up until then.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I made my way aft to the Central Control compartment. Mal was at a workbench removing several unnecessary components from a grav-plate. It was beat up and had signs of heavy traffic, but so were most of the other deck plates around the ship. The device that controlled gravity was about the size of two dinner plates, side by side. They were almost flush with the underside of the deck plate. I started rounding up a few tools I might need, putting them into the bag.

“I know we haven’t always gotten along, Seth.” Started Mal, “And I’m sorry for blaming you for Eric’s death. I hope you make it back, and thanks for trying. Thanks for the words you said at Eric’s funeral, I never got the chance to say it before.”

“You’re welcome. I hope I make it back, too.”

“Dibs on your cabin if you don’t.” I laughed and took his offered hand, giving it a firm shake.

“Go to hell, Mal.”

“You first. I’ll take this down the aft ‘lock when I’m done. Won’t be long.”

“All right, see you down there.”

I returned to the armoury and went through the equipment checks. Stripped down the guns, check battery charges, check grenade primers, check straps on infantry vests, check webbing, check
lurzak
charge, attached sheath, secure equipment to inside of bag, check mag-boots on space suit, check oxygen and power pack levels, check space suit jet pack fuel, check suit integrity, check suit comms with overlay. The routine acted as a calming ritual. I’d done similar exercises before operations in the Star Marines, only then I’d done it in the ready rooms filled with other marines. There was usually a hefty amount of banter and horseplay during this time, but I rarely involved myself with it. The absence was noted, though, my subconscious mind pointing out the differences against the familiar acts.

I always found myself gaining confidence as I assessed the condition of my equipment. I took pride in the attention to detail and planning each piece of hardware brought to the table. I was preparing for an action, rather than responding to a
reaction
, and it was this that gave me a sense of self-worth, of courage. The Star Marines were not a defence force, after all, they were an offence force. This is what I had been trained for.

My ritual complete, kitted out and suited up I made my way to the aft cargo.

48.

Fel and Mal handed off their gifts to me, I stowed the override in my bag and the grav-plate in the aft ‘lock until I was ready to go. Fel told me he would relieve Max and Zoe on the bridge, as they’d want to send me off before I left. Mal nodded and left as Artemis arrived, carrying several charges.

“Don’t worry, I left a few for you to find. Still don’t trust you guys to toss me out the ‘lock otherwise.”

“Smart.” I said as I carefully wrapped the charges and put them in my bag.

“Good luck, loverboy. Dibs on your cabin if you bite it.”

I sighed, nodded my thanks and watched her saunter out of the compartment as Max and Zoe came in. They were both sombre, concern on their faces. I waited for them to speak first.

“If you find that you can’t achieve your objective,” started Max, “abort and get out of there. I’d rather you get back to us and we risk our necks with the close range barrage than try it without you. Have you got a plan to get out yet?”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“I’m going to steal one of the Eclipse Fighters.”

“I was going to suggest that, if you hadn’t thought of it. You can also try one of the shuttles; they seemed to have a bit of thrust. The Spear of Orion had at least two, so there’s that.”

“I’ll come back, I promise.” She hugged me fiercely and moved to stand next to the airlock controls. Then Zoe stepped up to me. She looked me in the eyes, and there were a thousand things she was saying with her look alone. Don’t go, go, stay with me, go save us, came back, I love you, etcetera.

She didn’t say any of them, she just looked. I nodded and we embraced. We stayed like that for some time before I stepped away. She held me a little longer until I had to pry her arms from my neck. Tears were streaking down her face. She helped me put my suit helmet on, and went through the buddy checks. I smiled at her when I was done and gave her a thumbs up.

Damn. Leaving on an operation was never this hard in the Star Marines. My feet were heavy, as if I didn’t want to go. If I were one of my squaddies, I’d be yelling at them to get my arse into gear and stop dragging my knuckles. I hauled myself into the aft airlock with a heavy heart and gestured for Max to close the hatch. The hiss of escaping air gradually faded to silence, and all I could hear was my own breathing and my pounding heartbeat. The light in the ‘lock went out, and turned to red as the outer hatch opened.

The dark abyss awaited.

I stepped out of the ‘lock, grav-plate in hand, and gently pushed myself off into space. I turned around gently to watch the Dreaming move away slowly as it accelerated. It was heartbreaking to see the ship in such dis-repair. There were dozens of pitted marks all over the hull, not to mention the dull beige polycrete foam lattice all over it. There were black scorch marks and buckled armour plates, bent combings on vents and a definite trail of dark vapour escaping from the starboard nacelle ion exhaust.

“Hey, Max?” I said into my helmet comms.

“Go ahead, space boy. Read you loud and clear.”

“Your ship looks like a junker from here.”

“Ha! You and Mal are on hull repair as soon as we put into a dry dock after all this is over.”

“Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

“I’m counting on it, Donny.”

“Tell Zoe I love her. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Good luck.”

I drifted in silence, my thoughts calm and serene. It was hard to be anything but, surrounded as I was with the beauty of the stars. The Blade of Xerxes was still too far away to see with the naked eye, but I could track her with the aid of the Dreaming’s sensors. They would send a tight beam to my suit to guide me in, and I would see course adjustments appear on my overlay when they were required.

I turned to face the Eridani star. This wasn’t the first star to be named Eridani. There were dozens, all through the galaxy. Epsilon Eridani, Eridani Major, Phi Eridani, Alpha Eridani, and so on. It was a popular name, but I had no idea where the original Eridani star was. History wasn’t one of my strong points. I did know my family’s history, though. The Donovans came from this system, but like my father, I was born on the Dreaming. This system held no significance to me beyond being a place I’ve visited a few times. I have relatives, but being a frontiersman I’m several generations out of touch with them. Travelling the stars also means anyone that may be of a similar age to me would be closer to my official age, than my biological age.

I tried to recall what I knew of the system. The most heavily populated planet was Eridani Prime. The ecunomopolis planets that the previous system boasts are not as popular here. The Inner System Worlds, as this style of living is known, prefer wide-open spaces, estates and parklands to densely packed populations. Eridani Prime was once known as the Jewel of the Votus-Eridani Network, and twenty five billion sentients live there. Mostly, they are the aristocrats and nobles of the system. The ruling government is the Esper Monarchy, led by the Prime Monarch himself, Precept Geral Usher the 93
rd
. The Esper Monarchy also caters to a dozen noble houses, each house controlling some aspect of the government’s power. They are not the only faction to rule in this system, however.

Two other factions have a significant claim to power in the Eridani System. Landford is a democratic government that controls the planet Tyrillian, a terraformed world that was once a cold, unforgiving place. Over the centuries, it had become a bastion of democracy, and a warm and comfortable world to live. The DonCrest Galactic Corporation has its headquarters in the system, out of a large habitat called Restus Station. At one time, DonCrest was controlled by the Esper Monarchy, but privatisation and shrewd politics saw it become a power in its own right, rising to galactic standing several hundred years ago.

The system also houses the single largest habitat in the Network, the Acheras Orbital. This giant torus orbital, point four of an AU closer to the star than Eridani Prime, is nearly three thousand kilometres in diameter. The standing population is in the billions, and is the main population centre that is not a planet. A smaller planet close to the sun also hold a few million people, but despite terraforming and solar shields, the planet is far from comfortable to live on. The remaining ninety eight billion people who call the system home live on the thousands of habitats, space stations and orbitals that litter the star system. One of only two star systems in the Votus-Eridani Network to boast three Jump Gates, Votus II being the other, the transient population brings the inhabitants of the system well above the one hundred and fifty billion mark.

This place was too crowded for my liking; I prefer the backwater systems like Argessi. Even Harakiwa System has only a fraction of the traffic this place has. There was always something going on out this way, but there were always too many ways to get killed, or swindled, or out bid, or any other way you can get screwed over. No, my home is the Dreaming.

It was getting hard to make out the ion glow of the drives now, I still had a many hours to go before I caught up with the Blade of Xerxes, so I chatted with Tac for a time. I had him relaying messages to Fel, and through him Max. Eventually, I tried to sleep. My old drill sergeant in the Star Marines used to say that sleep was as good a weapon as any energy rifle. Get it when you could in a combat zone. The abyss I was drifting in would unnerve many, but to me I felt safe here. Little could harm me, so long as my equipment continued to function. Besides the giant organic ship bearing down on me, that is. I put the Xerxes out of my mind and asked Tac to wake me if anything occurred. Then I dozed.

Hours later, and it was time to ready my plan. The Xerxes was visible to the naked eye, a few hundred kilometres away. A radar data package from the Dreaming told me the range and velocity of the ship, and it was time to calculate how much thrust I would need in order to survive contact. I was well positioned; I’d need little adjustment to my course. This was good, because it wouldn’t take much for me to alert the Xerxes to my presence. I still had some time, so I went over my plan with Tac.

“Analyse the data from the Dreaming and tell me when to activate the jet pack. I have the thrust pre-programmed, so all I have to do is brace myself. As we approach, I’ll activate the grav-plate and attach my boots. When we hit the stabiliser field, the grav-plate should synchronise with the field and negate my inertia. That’s when we fire the jets.”

I am well versed in the plan, First Mate Donovan.

“I know, it’s more for me than you. Helps to focus on the task at hand, talking it out.”

Very well, if it helps.

“And you don’t always have to be formal. Please, call me Seth.”

I apologise, Seth. Formalising your names helps me to categorise you and assign functions and hierarchies to your social standing.

“Our social standing?”

I am fascinated by the way living beings interact with each other, there are literally dozens of social standings on the Dreaming alone, amongst the crew. You interact with other crew in different ways, depending on who they are, what their current function is, who else is present in the compartment, and what is happening about the ship. You also behave very differently when clothed or unclothed.

My face started to turn red. “Oh god, you can see us in our cabins?”

Negative, Seth. I was only joking. Zoe has been teaching me about the role humour has in dangerous circumstances. She says you and several of the crew employ it to relieve tension and stress. Have I been inappropriate?

“Ah, no. That was quite a good one actually. I had this horrible thought that you were watching Zoe and I…er. Do things.”

What things would you be referring to?

“You know…”

I’m afraid I do not, Seth.

“Living things.”

Oh. Such as eating?

“No. Like…er. When a male and a female…of the same species…when they…when full grown adults…” What the hell was I doing? Having the birds and the bee’s conversation with an AI while about to do an axial deployment on a Corporate warship? “Never mind. Yes, like eating.”

Does watching you eat make you uncomfortable?

“No. Look, let’s change the subject, okay?”

Very well.

With that minefield cleared, I began to mentally prepare myself for my almost suicidal attempt at saving my friends and loved ones. Now
that
is much more up my alley.