The Lost Starship

-24-

Lieutenant Noonan felt bone tired, worse than any exercise during her Space Academy days. For fifteen hours, she’d worked beside Meta as they attempted to repair damage to the engines in order to make them workable again.

It was worse outside the ship. Ensign Maker knew more about space welding than Maddox would any day. The two wore vacc-suits and magnetic boots, working feverishly.

The hidden mine had nearly destroyed the scout. Upon their exit from the Laumer-Point, the captain had made a fast decision, freeing Meta on a probationary basis. Would he have done the same for Doctor Rich?

Injured in the explosion, Dana was in medical, in a coma, the robo-doctor straining to keep her alive. The mine had changed many things. If they couldn’t repair the scout in time, the destroyer might show up and that would be the end of the mission and likely their lives.

None of them believed the unstable wormhole had destroyed the Saint Petersburg. They weren’t going to get away that easily.

“Hand me the drill,” Meta said.

Valerie plucked it off an emergency Velcro-pad. Not only were the engines offline, the antigravity pods refused to function.

The Geronimo was a mess. Even so, no one had asked the fundamental question. Did this scrub the mission? Captain Maddox would never agree to that. Valerie had begun to wonder if he was completely… sane wasn’t the right word. The man was logical and rational to a fault. Earlier, Meta had said something that drove Maddox. Perhaps that was a more accurate description.

Yes, Valerie thought, he is driven. He’s compelled to compete against these New Men. Is he wrong to do so? If we fail, what combination of Star Watch ships can defeat the enemy’s advanced cruisers?

The drill whirred as Meta took off a plate. The woman from the Rouen Colony worked tirelessly. Meta wasn’t only strong; she had stamina. What had really surprised Valerie was that Meta hadn’t been interested in studying the tech manuals.

For some time now, Valerie had been worrying about that, debating with herself. Despite the loss of his legs, and that he’d been a combat vet, her father had loved playing the piano. It had been the most incongruous thing about him. He’d pushed her to study books in order to get an education. About music, though, for himself, he’d had other ideas. He played by ear, by feel and instinct. Give him notes, and he uselessly pounded the keys. Let him listen, and he produced a musical miracle.

Meta was like that with the engine. Given that they lacked many of the needed spare parts, that was probably a good thing.

With a sleeve, Valerie wiped her eyes. She’d have to tell Maddox about her find. Meta’s engineering talents might be priceless aboard the ancient sentinel.

If we ever reach the alien star system that is, Valerie thought.

Meta looked up. “Do we have a proton coupler?”

“No.”

Scowling, Meta said, “You didn’t even check your reader list.”

“Don’t have to,” Valerie said. “I already have it memorized.”

“We need a proton coupler,” Meta said.

“I’m sure you’re right, but we don’t have one.”

Meta bent her head in thought. “Okay. I know what might work. There’s a chance it will blow the engine, though.”

“Wait a minute. We should think this through then.”

“No,” Meta said. “That isn’t how you repair something fast.”

“Who said anything about fast?” Valerie asked. “We have to do it right.”

“I thought you told me you went through the Space Academy,” Meta said.

If someone else had asked her that, Valerie might have bristled. She knew Meta didn’t mean anything derogatory by the statement.

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” Valerie said.

“In your academy training days, I bet you had to practice emergency repairs. But you’ve never really needed those repairs done or you’d be dead.”

Valerie thought back to the Pan System Battle.

“On the Rouen Colony,” Meta was saying, “we had to repair broken machinery on the double. If we didn’t, we lost credits and likely lost several meals. We learned to fix things fast, and well. The combination meant food on the table. Here, if we fail, it’s our life.”

That made sense. Desperation changed the rules, and it demanded a level head. Valerie decided she would always remain levelheaded no matter what the situation. No one was going to outperform her, not even Meta.

“I approve your idea,” Valerie said. “Let’s try it.”

Meta disappeared as she ducked down, and the repairs continued at their accelerated pace.

Thirty-six hours after exiting the Laumer-Point into this barren system, an alarm blared. Valerie dragged herself out of bed. According to the clock, she’d slept for four hours, but she was still exhausted.

Her hands shook, and her left shoulder hurt every time she moved it.

Someone knocked on the hatch.

“What?” she shouted.

The hatch creaked open. At that point, Valerie recalled that Sergeant Riker had repaired an antigravity pod. The scout had one-half gravity. It was much better than zero-gravity.

Sergeant Riker poked his head in. “The captain asked me to help you in the engine room today.”

“Fine,” Valerie said. “How’s Doctor Rich? Is there any improvement?”

The sergeant’s gaze flickered elsewhere, almost as if he was embarrassed about something. “She’s alive,” he muttered.

“So there isn’t any improvement?”

As he took a deeper breath, the sergeant shook his head.

Valerie didn’t know why, but his answer bothered her. The old man was polite enough, but at times, it seemed he was simply an extension of Captain Maddox.

“You do know that Doctor Rich saved your life,” she said.

“I’m following procedures,” Riker said, a little too defensively.

“You have to do more than that,” Valerie said.

“Can you suggest what that is?”

His answer made Valerie pause, and it surprised her to have said something like doing more than following procedures. Maybe these past days watching Meta had taught her a new approach to problems.

“I’m quite capable of handling emergency medics,” the sergeant said. “Comas… That’s out of hands. We must let the robo-doctor proceed according to schedule.”

“Whatever,” Valerie said. “Let’s go. Meta probably needs our help.”

They exited her quarters, and she turned toward the engine room. Riker caught her elbow. Valerie spun around, staring at him.

The sergeant seemed serene now. “You must eat first.”

“I don’t have time. We don’t have time.”

“No. You need your wits about you. Remember, Lieutenant, Meta is a cunning individual. There’s a reason she was on Loki Prime. We mustn’t forget that.”

Valerie rubbed her eyes. The sergeant had a point. Captain Maddox was unorthodox and selected unorthodox people. She Valerie knew how to follow orders and do things the Star Watch way. She suspected Sergeant Riker was the same way. People like them needed to stick together.

“Let’s get chow,” she said.

Afterward, they headed to the engine room.

Several hours later, Riker yawned. “I’m taking a break,” he said.

The lieutenant glanced at his bloodshot eye. The old man turned away, staggering as he departed. He was a tough old bird, but he didn’t have their youthful energy. Was he even the right individual for such a daunting mission as this?

Valerie moved nearer Meta, who had grease stains on her coveralls and a burn across her left cheek. She’d gotten that earlier. Normal lighting had returned, which made repairs easier. Meta stepped away from what she’d been doing and sank onto a stool. Valerie leaned against a control panel.

It had almost been four days since they’d left the Loki System. Just how close was the destroyer to reaching them?

“We’re mobile to a degree,” Meta said. It meant the fusion plant was working somewhat. “Since the scout has some power, I’d like to take a break to see Dana.”

Valerie almost said yes. Instead, she pondered the request. Meta was tough as well as handy with repairs. Something about the two G miner troubled Valerie, though. She hadn’t been able to pinpoint her qualms before this. Now it came to her. Meta felt a lot like one of the Detroit gang members she used to encounter.

“What was it like on the Rouen Colony?” Valerie asked.

The questioned seemed to catch Meta off-guard. Her features closed down, and her shoulders tensed. Then Meta laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound, but bitter. “Why do you want to know?”

The days of working together and her present exhaustion loosened Valerie’s tongue. She began telling Meta something about her childhood in Detroit. Once she started talking, the words poured out of her. Maybe it was the way Meta nodded in understanding. The woman sympathized, seemed to have gone through similar troubles. Valerie had never met someone who could experientially understand her.

After a time, Meta related a few details about the Rouen Colony: the harsh rules and that everyone had legally belonged to the Chabot family as property.

“You were slaves?” Valerie asked.

“Effectively,” Meta said.

“That’s awful!”

Meta cocked her head as if assessing Valerie’s words. After a few seconds, she smiled.

The smile shocked Valerie. She realized it was the first time the woman had truly smiled while aboard the Geronimo. Despite her growing sympathy for Meta, it reminded Valerie how dangerous the woman was. Those other smiles—Did she use those to lull us?

“Meta, I hope this doesn’t make you angry, but I’m going to call Captain Maddox. I want his permission for us to see Doctor Rich.”

“Does he control you, then?” Meta asked sarcastically.

“He’s the commanding officer. I belong to Star Watch. A little over a month ago, I captained an escort. When I gave an order, I expected my people to follow it. If I demand something from others, I should be willing to give it myself.”

“We’ve worked hard to save the scout,” Meta said. “That has created a bond of friendship between us. Friends help each other.”

“I agree. But this is a military vessel of the Star Watch. We have rules to govern our behavior.”

“Rules to limit you,” Meta said.

“No,” Valerie said. “The rules give us strength because we know we can trust each other. In that way, we can work together in order to accomplish a greater goal. The New Men have invaded, Meta. We have to stop them. Look what they did to your friend.”

“I don’t know what they did,” Meta said. “I haven’t seen Dana since the mine attack.”

Valerie took out a comm-unit, switching it on with her thumb. “Captain Maddox,” she said.

“Yes, Lieutenant,” he said. He was outside helping Keith weld.

“I would like permission to take Meta into medical so she can see Doctor Rich.”

There was a pause until Maddox asked, “Is there a reason for this?”

“Kindness for one thing,” Valerie said, “for another as a reward for a job well done. The engine will work, to an extent.”

“May I remind you, Lieutenant, that Meta is dangerous?”

“Ah, sir,” Valerie said, looking up at Meta. “She can hear you.”

“Do you have a reason for this request you’re not sharing with me?” Maddox asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well, you may take her. But I want Sergeant Riker to join you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome, lieutenant” he said. “And thank you, Meta, for helping repair the engine.”

Meta stared at the comm-unit, making Valerie wonder what the woman was really thinking.

Together with Meta, Valerie approached the robo-doctor. Sergeant Riker stood near the hatch, with a stunner in his regular hand.

This and the control room had been the two chambers sealed from Meta.

As Dana Rich lay prone, a metal dish sat over her skull. She’d received deep gashes there, as well as a broken arm, ribs and leg. In a parody of normalcy, as if she heard them, her brown features shifted into a grimace.

“She’s in pain,” Meta said. “You must give her more painkillers.”

“In time,” Riker said. “The robo-doctor is watching her now. It knows what to do.”

Meta looked back to sneer at him. “What does a machine know? She’s in pain. You must help her.”

“Have you thought that maybe the robo-doctor has analyzed that it will help her wake from the coma faster if she feels pain?” Riker asked.

“I can’t believe you’d say that,” Meta told him.

Valerie put a restraining hand on Meta’s right arm. The Rouen Colony woman looked up sharply. Valerie took her hand away.

“Sorry,” the lieutenant said.

“No…” Meta said, after a moment. “I’ve… I’ve been on Loki Prime four long years. They were nasty and brutal years. It’s… It’s hard to remember how normal people react.”

“You’ve been under pressure far longer than that,” Valerie said. “Your concern for Doctor Rich—it’s good she has a friend like you.”

Meta stared at Valerie, finally nodding. The two of them turned to study Doctor Rich. Finally, Meta’s shoulders sagged. It was the first sign she’d shown of being tired.

“I’m exhausted, Valerie. I’m sick of…” Meta trailed off, waving her hand. “All my life, I’ve lived under other people’s rules. I don’t remember the last time I did something for myself. Dana… she’s a hard woman. She’s ambitious and driven like your captain. She’s angry at the universe.”

Valerie wondered if she might also be angry at life. That would mean she had something in common with Doctor Rich.

“I’m tired of being trapped by situations,” Meta said. “There’s something else, too. I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this with anyone. Vengeance doesn’t relieve you of pain like you think it should. Instead, it twists your heart with bitterness. This past week, I’ve had a lot more time to think than I normally would. With these repairs… I do some of my best thinking while working…”

Valerie nodded sympathetically.

“What I’m saying is that I don’t want anything more to do with wars and conquest, with knives and assassination. I thought I’d help Dana achieve her vengeance. But now, I’d rather slip away to somewhere quiet.”

“The New Men aren’t going away, Meta. They’ve infiltrated the Commonwealth. They’re attacking the Oikumene. Oh, it’s probably just the first stage so far. Yet that means the war will likely last a long, long time.”

“A lifetime?” asked Meta.

“Do you mean your lifetime, as the war won’t reach you while you’re alive?”

“That’s perceptive. Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”

Valerie first pretended to think about it. Then she faced Meta. “What good is that, really? I mean slipping away and building a life for yourself knowing that it’s all built with cards that will soon tumble away? I want to build a better world, to give my children more than I had.”

“You want to have children?” Meta asked.

“Someday.”

“You’d bring them into this evil universe?”

“Someone has to fight the good fight,” Valerie said, “to keep the human race alive.”

Meta pursed her lips. Then she took several steps closer, putting a hand on Dana’s arm. On the table, the doctor’s grimace lessened.

“She feels you,” Valerie said. “Maybe she can hear us.”

“Dana,” Meta said. “Can you hear me?”

Nothing happened.

“Dana,” Meta said. “Would it be better to find this alien starship as Maddox wants or to… do what we planned?”

Valerie would have liked to know what those plans were. She didn’t want to interrupt the moment, though. Was Meta really considering helping them? Did it make a difference that Dana Rich was in a coma? Did…

Valerie’s mouth opened in shock. She turned to stare at Sergeant Riker. He met her look with innocence. Had Captain Maddox believed he could turn Meta their way without Doctor Rich always giving her negative opinion? In other words, had Maddox prolonged the injuries and kept Dana in a drugged coma?

Valerie hoped Maddox wasn’t that ruthless.

Riker looked away.

Valerie wasn’t sure, but a guilty look seemed to come over the old man.

“Do you think she’ll survive her injuries?” Meta asked.

Valerie groped for the right words. She couldn’t dare tell Meta her suspicions. Finally, she said, “I think the odds are good.”

Meta nodded and turned back to the unconscious doctor.

“That’s long enough,” Riker said. His voice was softer than before. “It’s time to go,” he added.

Meta nodded before heading for the hatch. “Thank you,” she told Valerie. “I appreciate this.”

“You’re welcome,” Valerie said. “Maybe we should get back to work.”

Meta said nothing more as she exited the medical room.