Chapter 23

 

When Summers explained to him—in full—everything that'd happened on the bridge, the Major's first instinct was to try and contact Intel Wing.

It was plausible, he thought, that Intel Wing—who had jurisdiction over the Nighthawk—might contradict and override an order from Fleet Command. But what bothered him was that all communications had gone offline again, somehow, and that Intel Wing, if they did return Calvin's command, didn't seem very concerned over his proven equarius habit.

Command Failure: Network is busy. Try again. If the problem persists please contact the operations administrator.

He did as the computer asked and tried again, with the same result. "The Network is busy? I don't understand." The Major felt he had extensive knowledge of a great many subjects but computers wasn't one of them.

"Calvin somehow sabotaged our outside communications, now nothing can get in or out," said Summers. "That way we can't verify if he has command of the ship or not." She looked impatient.

The Major frowned; the situation wasn't as clear to him as that. She might be right. But she might not be. "So why would he do this? That doesn't sound like Calvin."

"But it does sound like someone who wants to get his command back."

He considered this quietly. When he didn't say anything, Summers leaned forward and looked him in the eyes. "If someone knew he could have his command revoked again by just one word from the outside, what do you suppose he might do?"

Good point. If Calvin were going to war to take back his ship, the obvious first strategy, like in any war, would be to disrupt communications. Being able to put words in Intel Wing’s mouth, knowing they couldn’t be reached to refute his claim, would be an incredible advantage. One anyone might take in his situation.

The Major opened his internal comm-line, adjusting it for all decks.

 

***

 

A broadcast filtered over the bridge speakers.

"Attention all hands, this is Major Jenkins of Special Forces. You are to disregard the message from Intel Wing restoring command to Mister Cross. That message is likely a fabrication. Until Intel Wing can be reached, Commander Presley is the CO of this ship. Her orders are to be followed to the letter. And she has the full support of Special Forces. Jenkins out."

Calvin wasn’t surprised by the ship-wide announcement, but it was still a crushing blow. Hopefully the crew in engineering wouldn’t be swayed by it. As long as they stayed loyal, and engineering was sealed off, they could at least get to Abia. Probably…

Calvin tapped his direct line to the Major. "Major, this is Calvin."

"Calvin. I advise you to surrender yourself and the bridge immediately."

"Major, I have command of the ship. I've always had it. There is information in Abia," he said, "and people in the Fleet don't want me to see it. They'll sacrifice me and you and the whole ship to keep it hidden. But it's there. And as long as it's there I have a job to do. And so do you. Your job is to enable me."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mister Cross, but I have orders to follow. And I see no evidence of any kind of conspiracy. Only evidence of your substance abuse."

"This isn’t about equarius! Give me time and I’ll prove it to you. I can get you all the evidence you need," said Calvin. "I guarantee I can make you believe me."

"Maybe you can, maybe you can't. Frankly, I don't care. You lied to the ship, you lied to the crew, and I don't trust you. Surrender or we'll take you down. Jenkins out." The comm clicked off.

"Well I see he's not a man to be reasoned with," said Calvin.

"Lied to the ship?" Miles scratched his head. "That doesn't even make sense.”

"I could have told you he wouldn’t listen,” said Shen.

Calvin ignored them and set the comm for a ship-wide broadcast of his own. "Attention all hands. This is Calvin Cross. And I’m speaking to you not just as your commander, but as your friend. I’ve had the honor of being your CO for some time now, I even handpicked many of you because I knew we could trust each other. I am asking for that trust now.

“We are flying to Abia to continue our investigation, but Fleet Command has tried to take over our ship—even though this is an Intel Wing ship. Obviously, we cannot let them.” He hated lying to his crew like that, pretending that Intel Wing really wasn't part of the maneuver to remove his command—though the Intel Wing he knew would never have been party to such a thing. It was sickening to think they’d been as corrupted as the Fleet. But his crew had to believe otherwise for now.

"The Fleet thinks it can control us and keep us from uncovering the truth. But we have a job to do and dammit, we’re going to do it! Because we’re Intel Wing and we’ve sworn an oath to protect the Empire—even from itself. An oath that requires us to do whatever it takes to complete our mission. And right now that means standing together, as one, to defend this ship!"

He clicked off the comm, thinking charismatic speeches were not his forte. But if his words didn’t rally the crew, they at least helped him rally his own nerves and desire to fight. Ultimately, he knew, their success depended less on the crew’s opinion of him than it did on the Nighthawk’s defense walls.

 

 

***

 

A young soldier with the name “Erdene” stitched to his lapel marched into the Major's office. "Report from ODA, sir." He saluted then stood perfectly still, resolute, and attentive. Summers was glad to see the discipline.

"Go ahead, private," said the Major, still sitting.

"Unit One was unable to reach engineering because the defense walls are in place. Unit Two reports the same about the bridge. And elevator two is disabled."

Dammit, Calvin. Must you make everything so difficult? Despite her annoyance, Summers kept silent since the Major had command with regard to security matters.

"Thank you, private. Dismissed," The Major waved him off. The young man saluted and left. Once the door closed Summers returned to her seat.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," said the Major.

"But we can get past those defenses can't we?" Summers asked. "I mean, your men are trained to breach defenses like that in order to capture hostile ships, right?"

“Yes there are breaching protocols, however our equipment and training is more suited to smaller ships with less advanced defenses. ODB will lead our response.”

“ODB?”

“Operational Detachment Bravo, they are more specialized than ODA for this kind of maneuver.“ He tapped his comm panel. "Jackson, tell ODA to lockdown all access points to both engineering and the bridge. Then tell ODB to prep for a code six response."

 

 

***

 

Andre paced back and forth in main engineering, constantly glancing between the various computer displays and the main entrance. The great grey doors were sealed shut and behind them a defense wall had been raised. He was safe for now. He knew that. But it didn't in any way lessen his anxiety about this whole ordeal.

Calvin, who before today he would have considered a great friend, had finally asked too much. And now Andre was sweating bullets, telling thinly veiled lies to his subordinates, and had tossed his career completely in the toilet. Sure Calvin said he would take the fall for them all, and he and his puppet Shen had made it seem like Intel Wing legitimized Calvin's mutiny, but... given how poorly the deception had worked on the Major, Andre wasn't about to believe the Fleet would be satisfied with just Calvin. They were all on the chopping block now. Easier for some than others. They were mostly single with almost nothing to lose—even the old doc had no family to speak of—but Andre had a wife and three children waiting for him on Capital World. What would their lives be if he were imprisoned? And all because his friends twisted his arm enough to get him to participate in what was clearly mutiny.

His thoughts of a dark future haunted him as he fidgeted, moving about, checking screens that didn't need checking, trying in vain to distract himself.

But the damage had been done. Even if he surrendered engineering now, which was tempting, and admitted the whole message from Intel Wing was a sham, he couldn't avoid consequences. He'd still be punished in addition to going to bed every night thinking about how he’d betrayed his friends. No, he couldn't do that—or so he kept telling himself.

They'd been en route to Abia for about half an hour now, traveling much faster than what he'd normally recommend, and all that was left to do was wait.

"Any word from the outside?" he asked Inaya, his second. The young woman was walking around with a clipboard giving minor orders to the five other engineers keeping tabs on the systems. She stopped what she was doing and came over to his side.

"The bridge made a course correction that might save us an hour," she said. "But otherwise we've had no contact from the outside.”

Andre turned his attention elsewhere and resumed his pacing. It bothered him that things had been this quiet. Not even a peep from Special Forces, or the rest of the ship—aside from the bridge—in half an hour. He couldn't decide which was worse: hearing nothing and waiting in silent hellish anticipation for something bad to happen, or else seeing that something happen and getting it over with.

"What is that?" One of the engineers said and everyone's eyes jumped to the main door. It was sealed tight but the tiniest sparks could be seen glowing in a round pattern no larger than a hand.

"I don't know," said Andre, afraid to go closer. "Everyone get down," he ordered, not sure where to take cover or how they could possibly defend engineering. They had no weapons and no hand to hand combat experience outside of basic training.

A round piece of dark metal, part of the door, collapsed to the floor. Not large enough for a person to move through, not even close, but it broke him into a panic knowing there was a chink in their armor now. "It must have been a laser drill," said Andre.

He wondered how long it would take them to carve a hole the size of a door, probably awhile. They were safe for now... he tried to tell himself. But seeing the hole in front of them forced them all to realize there was nothing they could do. If the defense wall and locked door couldn't stop Special Forces, it was all over. He wished he were on the bridge which was much harder to breach.

"Now everybody just stay calm," he waved to get their attention but everyone’s eyes were glued to a silver canister that slid through the hole and dropped to the ground. Instantly an enormous shriek filled the air. Andre tried to cover his eyes but not in time. An incredible blinding whiteness filled his vision and he stumbled to his knees, completely disoriented.

It wasn't until he felt firm hands grip him and pull him to his feet that he began to regain his bearings. He couldn't walk straight but sound started coming back. What should have been loud noises were like whispers. And his vision was blurry. Even the outline of his own feet looked strange.

"Move along," a soldier said from his side. Andre watched the man's lips and knew he was shouting but he could barely make out the words. They were quiet to him, almost lost in the buzzing, ringing ambience.

They pulled him along toward where the door used to be. It lay flat on the ground in several pieces. The angle and condition of the remains, and a few unfired caps, made Andre suspect plastique explosives. As they cuffed his sluggish arms into restraints, he realized the answer to his question.

Watching something bad happen was much worse than the silent anticipation.

 

***

 

"We've captured engineering," Erdene reported over the comm.

"Good," said the Major. "Send in the replacement officers and shutdown the engines. When you've overseen that, leave some soldiers from ODB to stand watch. Once we have control of the bridge we'll correct the course to... what was it?" He looked to Summers.

"Xerxes System."

"Right, Xerxes System. Then we'll power up the engines again but not before."

"Yes, sir," the soldier said.

The Major closed the comm and let out a sigh. "Am I correct in assuming the ship's course cannot be changed from engineering directly?"

"You are," said Summers from the other side of the desk. "As for these replacement engineers, how do you know they won't sympathize with Calvin?"

"They won't because the soldiers with guns won't let them."

"And the captives?" asked Summers.

"They'll be processed here at HQ. Where we'll decide which to detain and which to return to duty."

 

***

 

"Our engines have shut down," Sarah looked up from the helm station. "And I can't contact engineering. I think we lost it."

"That's probably a safe assumption," said Calvin, tapping his armrest.

"Our current position is six point one light-years from Abia, six point two from Xerxes, sitting in open space, all stop. Not even a rock on our scopes."

"I wonder how they breached engineering…” said Calvin.

"Does that mean we're next?" asked Sarah.

"Over my dead body," said Miles.

"I don't think they'll have any trouble with that," Sarah shot him a look.

"The bridge is twice as secure as engineering," said Shen, his arms folded. "So no I wouldn't say we are in any immediate danger. Down in engineering the designers didn’t have enough space to put up as many defensive measures as on the bridge."

"Well at least that's some good news," said Sarah. "But we're still sitting ducks."

"I assume there's no way to override the controls in engineering and get the engines back online from here is there?" Calvin asked.

"Nope," Shen and Sarah both replied.

"So it's a stalemate," said Calvin.

The comm switch beeped and Sarah patched the message through the main speaker. Summers' voice came over the line. "Calvin, we have control of the whole ship apart from the bridge."

"Well the bridge is really the most important part," Calvin replied.

"Enough games, Calvin. You had your shot and you blew it. Now the whole ship is against you and we're not going anywhere. There's nothing you can do from up there, and you can't hold out forever. The Major and I urge you to surrender. Then we can put in our reports that you surrendered voluntarily. And you will be treated with dignity."

"Dignity my ass," said Miles.

"We're not going to surrender the bridge," said Calvin. "For the same reason we started this whole thing. It has nothing to do with dignity or pride or anything like that. It has to do with defending the Empire. You'd see that too if you just looked hard enough."

"You flew the ship off mission and let a condemned criminal get away. That has nothing to do with defending the Empire."

"Don't you see? That has everything to do with it."

"I'm not going to argue. I'm just going to tell you. Either surrender the bridge or we’ll take it by force. Your choice."

Calvin motioned for Sarah to cut the line. When she did, he spoke. "Other ships are certainly looking for us now, since they haven’t heard from Summers in awhile. And, with the help of her beacon, they will find us eventually. But, in the spirit of being found as slowly as possible, let's engage the stealth system."

"Can't they just shut that down too?" asked Sarah.

"Not from engineering," Shen replied.

"It's done," said Miles.

The usual purr of the vents stopped abruptly and, after checking his console, Shen confirmed that all ventilation to the bridge from life support controls had been cut off. "But it's not all bad news," said Shen. "We have an emergency air supply for the bridge. I'd say we have at least six hours before we begin to suffocate."

"So it's a war of attrition," said Calvin.

"With time not on our side," Sarah added.

"If it takes us six hours to think of something to do then we’re as good as dead anyway. We need to come up with something now. Who knows what’s in Abia and for how long?”

 

***

 

"ODB is prepped for phase two, requesting clearance to execute, over.”

“Clearance granted.”

 

***

 

"I keep telling you that a fight won’t work, Miles," said Sarah. Calvin glanced from her to Miles since no one else was talking.

"It's either that or we sit here doing nothing. If that happens, we lose by default. We should at least try."

"Can you make him listen to reason?" Sarah asked, looking at Calvin now.

"Don't look at me," said Calvin, raising his hands.

"But we do need an executive call on this," said Shen. "We need you to make a decision."

Calvin knew that was true but a no-win scenario sat before them. He was content to wait a bit more, hoping to find some way to dull either the rock or the hard place.

The trouble was, Special Forces' position offered no obvious weaknesses for him to exploit. He had the loyalty of most of the crew, he thought. And, if he could rally them, he had superior numbers. But whether or not they'd be willing to put it all on the line for him was another question. They did like him better than Summers. And several of them, most likely, did believe they were under orders to assist him. But they might not be convinced of it enough to fight hand to hand, especially against a superior adversary like Special Forces.

"You're both right," said Calvin. "Unless the situation changes somehow, a fight is unacceptable. But, if we don't fight, we might have no other choice than to surrender. Which is also unacceptable. Our job, then, is to change the playing board so a fight is practical."

"And how would we do that?" asked Shen.

"Deceive, cheat, lie, make our position look better than it is." Before Calvin could pitch any of his zero ideas, the vents turned back on and began sending air to the bridge again.

"Now, what do you suppose that's about?" asked Shen.

"I don't know, but I don’t like it," said Calvin as he saw white smoke pouring onto the bridge.

Shen looked at him, "you don't think..."

Miles, who was closest to the gas, began coughing violently and let out a wail, red eyes streaked with tears. "Son of a..." his words were lost as he coughed again.

The smoke spread quickly and Calvin felt a surge of pain in his nose, mouth, and throat, as his eyes watered. He too began coughing and wheezing and all of them, instinctively, retreated away from the main vents.

"Tear gas," said Shen, spitting up mucous.

Sarah kept herself together the best, but her eyes were brimming with tears and she was too busy sneezing and coughing to do anything else.

The burning sensation was overwhelming. Calvin felt like the insides of his nose and throat were literally on fire; his eyes watered and burned. He waved toward the exits. "We can't..." more coughing "… can’t...stay."

Shen nodded. Miles rubbed at his eyes and cursed.

"You... go down... the... ladder," said Calvin, wiping his eyes and clearing his throat—or trying to. Shen and Sarah were closest to that exit and, Calvin was sure, one of them would know how to unseal the hatch and retract the defense wall manually. They followed his orders and went into the corridor where the ladder was.

Calvin waved for Miles to follow him and they entered the elevator, unwilling to cross through the noxious gas to get to the ladder. And Calvin hoped that if they split up, maybe some of them wouldn't be caught.

Once inside, with the door sealed, they could breathe a little easier, but that didn't stop them from coughing, wheezing violently, and tearing up. Miles re-enabled the elevator and sent it below—to a much lower deck. Hoping they could shoot past whatever security Special Forces had waiting for them.

But, now that the elevator wasn't disabled, the main control overrode their order and the elevator came to a forced stop one deck below the bridge. The door slid open and Calvin caught sight of Summers and four soldiers, including Captain Pellew. Shen and Sarah were there too, already in restraints. A look of defeat on their faces. Seeing them only made Calvin more desperate.

"Hands on your heads," Pellew ordered. He and the others brandished stun weapons; only Summers was unarmed.

Calvin did as he was told and marched out of the elevator, his hands on his head. They took his wrists and cuffed them behind his back. For a moment he was worried Miles might try to resist and get hurt, but even he knew they couldn't win this fight. Despite all the big talk, Calvin knew Miles wasn't actually stupid.

"Confine them to quarters," said Summers. Then she gave Calvin a very disapproving shake of her head. "Why did you make me do this?"

Calvin didn't reply except to look away. This must have upset her because, for whatever reason, she felt the need to whisper "checkmate" under her breath as he passed.

"You're all a bunch of cowardly mangy dogs," Miles bellowed and they shoved him along. He stuck out his tongue at Summers when he passed.

"Double guard on that one," Summers snapped. She seemed to enjoy seeing Miles reduced to this.

Very well, Commander, Calvin thought. You win this round. But the game isn't over...