Part 8
An unfamiliar hand reached out and grabbed Aodhán's wrist, pulling him through the diminishing gap in the blast doors. The junior officer nodded and let the captain reach the railing that ran down the length of the main corridor. With the air thinning, the captain coughed and began feeling lightheaded. The fail-safes finally shut the doors and the surviving bridge crew struggled to catch their breath.
Aodhán slowly stood, clutching his left forearm that had sustained a deep cut from the breaking glass. "Auxiliary Bridge, now," he ordered to the dozen or so remaining crewmen. He tried to help up the nearest officer, but he remained motionless, gasping for more air. Releasing his grasp on the officer's arm, Adohán snarled, "Let's go! Our shields might still be down!"
The captain led the charge, followed by whoever could keep pace. Running down the main corridor, he felt as if the flashing lights, accompanied by his recent trauma, would cause him to vomit. The floor shook and Aodhán braced himself against a bulkhead. Multiple thumps rang out, as if giant raindrops were pounding on the exterior hull. He reflexively looked up at the ceiling. "What is that? It's not our weapon platforms."
His question was answered when he recalled the designations of Rutklin and Amity. Those two ships were designed to be rapid insertion carriers for crew and material, although their use was meant to be for hot-dropping into hostile zones. Evidently, the Parasite had found the tactic works just as well in the vacuum of space. Informing the crew of this new move by the enemy, he picked up his pace.
At a passageway intersection, the half dozen crewmen that followed Aodhán filled the leftmost lift. The captain keyed the override and down they went. The auxiliary bridge aboard First Observance was located in between levels 4 and 5, providing ample segregation from the rest of the ship. Catching his breath, Aodhán began issuing orders. "Once we're in the auxiliary bridge, get our shields up and contact Tenant and Spear. Have them provide cover for us while we reorganize."
The others nodded in compliance and as soon as the doors opened, everyone was back in motion. Aodhán entered his security code and a tech flipped a switch, bringing the auxiliary bridge to life. The crewmen took their positions at the small array of consoles.
"Do we have shields back up?" the captain asked, still standing.
A officer with a makeshift bandage around his bleeding neck answered, "uh, twenty-five percent and rising, Sir."
"Get them up as quick as possible." He bit at the inside of his cheek. "What's the condition of our drives? Is the reactor up for full speed?"
"Slipspace drives are still . . . problematic." The officer scratched at his bandage, trying to make sense of the readout. "We might be able to make it up to two-thirds thrust, but it might not be for long."
"Sir! We have multiple hull breaches along the spine of the ship," another officer explained. "I'm trying to lock down those sections, but there's still a chance those creatures managed to get out."
"Have the entire crew arm themselves with whatever they can. We're not going down without a fight." He stepped down farther into the pit of consoles. "Give me communications with our ships."
The tech manning the comm nodded when the console beeped and a light flashed green.
"All ships, form up around First Observance. We need to leave this system, and we're getting out together." He visual checked the main display that gave a grid pattern to the battle waging around the planet. Amity was launching drop pods on one of the unprotected ships, while Unitil was exchanging blows with Spear. Tenant was blasting away Rutklin's engines, causing the enemy ship to break off its run on the three helpless remaining ships. Make that two, as an unshielded craft withered into a gnarled mass of hull as it fell victim to Rutklin's primary beam weapon. "Tenant, Spear, provide cover for us as we head out."
A stressed voice came through the static. "What? We're just going to leave the light cruisers out there?" the captain of Spear challenged.
"You have your orders, Captain." Aodhán turned back to the crew assembled, ready to retort any suggestion of alternate tactics. "If we stay here, we die."
For a long moment, the room was silent. Aodhán folded his arms. "Those of you who think--"
"Captain! Another ship has entered the system!" shouted the sensors officer.
Cheers of joy and nervous laughter erupted, while some officers just slumped in exhaustion.
Relief flooded into Aodhán's chest and he took a deep breath, deeper than he thought possible. "It seems Fleet has finally sent a response."
Eran moved quickly down the maintenance tunnel that ran above the main corridor. The AI had made it aboard Avail Run's dorsal docking station just in time to see a light cruiser explode. But Eran had kept to the task and was now almost to the Internal Pathogen Defense System located in the heart of the medical frigate.
Eran decided to keep any sensor probes retracted in hopes of not being discovered. While Avail Run did have its main reactor restored, the internal illumination was dimmed considerably, leaving the path it traveled dark and cold. The farther Eran journeyed, the more the air became dense with specks of brown matter. There was also another layer of vibration added to the eternal low-level hum of the ship.
Checking the schematics one last time, Eran began to slow when the destination was a few dozen paces away. A deep rumbling voice echoed down the tunnel, chortling in menace. Eran froze in place. Has the Parasite been alerted to my presence?
Realizing time was indeed short, Eran keyed the hatch unlocked and dropped down through the opening. The hallway was caked in a light-brown glossy mass, and Eran could imagined it stunk beyond what its Makers could take. Darkness denied a long look down the hallway, but abrupt squirmy sounds could be heard. Reaching the last few paces, Eran found the door to the Defense System chamber still partially open. The AI ducked inside.
Coating the walls of the room was the same brown flesh Eran had seen outside, only these were pulsing like waves over water. Wasting no more time, the AI found the central terminal coated in a mucus-like substance. Eran tried not to disturb the rancid goo, but when the terminal's power was activated, the coating hardened instantly, cracked apart, and fell to the ground in flakes.
"You have returned," a voice boomed.
Eran turned around to see the messenger of the malicious tone but found nothing but the stubborn door. I heard it out loud, not internally, right? Eran hesitantly activated its sensors for the first time, hoping the enemy would not detect it--
And almost shorted out its own circuits. The entire ship was alive.
The AI refused to answer the voice, in fear it would enter Eran's programming again. The terminal beeped and brought Eran back to task. Quickly running through the files, Eran found the Defense System still on standby, ready to fire. The AI prepared the IPDS by siphoning all available energy reserves necessary to power the system.
"You do not have the will to end us." An enormous gust of wind rushed down the corridor and filled the room. Static lightning arched from all over to strike Eran with a sudden shock. Eran fell to the ground.
There is no escape. You are not yourself. You never truly were.
"You are wrong!" Eran yelled. "Lies!"
Lies? No, there is only truth.
Eran slowly rose and was zapped again, pitching the AI across the room.
Another laugh rumbled the room. There is no escape.
Derrish rushed out of the lift, running at breakneck speed to the auxiliary bridge. Closing the distance to the doorway in a matter of seconds, he could hear a muffled voice beyond the double doors. Derrish slid to a stop and pressed an ear against the cool surface of the leftmost door. The voice kept repeating and sounded squashed and processed, like an old transmitter gone bad. Satisfied that it was the comm and not an assailant in the shadows, he opened the doors.
The bridge was empty of occupants. Derrish could hear his heart beating in his head get louder. Where did everyone go? He sealed the doors behind him.
There, on the main viewscreen, was a visual of Radon's forward view. It showed a tiny gray speck in the distance engulfed in the blackness of space. Confused, Derrish looked over at the backup navigation station to verify their location. Hanging in the air above the star chart was the only course that was previously plotted: Theta-7 Outpost.
Derrish zoomed in on the small installation and read the specs at the bottom of the display: Recon-class Outpost. 24 occupants. No weapons. Defense Shields. One civilian transport currently docked.
The outpost was in the middle of nowhere on the fringes of the galaxy. Most of the two dozen crewmen stationed there considered the duty as cruel and unusual punishment, given the lack of excitement of keeping the place operational. But that all changes when a ship the size of Radon enters the region, as exemplified by the insistent hailing over the comm.
Derrish moved across the bridge to hover over the communications console, searching for the talkback switch. He flipped it and a short buzz sounded. Derrish flipped it back to its original position, then tried again. The negative tone buzzed once more. He ran a quick diagnostic of the console and found that someone, or something, had locked the comm unit. His stomach began to churn in discomfort.
The pleas over the air did not cease. "Primary Pioneer Group vessel Radon, please respond." The voice cut off, swearing out loud to another. "Why don't they answer? Should we send our transport out to dock with them?" the voice asked, sounding hollow off the microphone. There was another exchange too soft to be heard. "Heck, don't send him, I'll go. I've got the most experience as a pilot," the voice whined. "Wait, it looks like they're maneuvering."
Derrish's eyes darted back to the main display. Sure enough, the ship was moving. A creak and moan rang out as Derrish could feel Radon turning towards the station. A beep from the weapons console sounded, alerting him to the inevitable.
"No!" he screamed, and tried to make it to the console before Radon turned the outpost into so much junk.
A beam of energy shot out from the underside of Radon, and Derrish's view of the station became obscured. When the weapon's fire retracted, Theta-7 was still there, but its communications array situated on top was now a charred, blackened mass.
Static hissed over the comm and it automatically muted.
Derrish slumped in the nearby chair, defeated. He knew what he had to do next. I'm already dead, but I can still save those people on that station. He rose with a renewed sense of duty. Tears began to blur his vision as a thousand images of his family passed before his mind's eye. His graduation from the academy, his mother's hugs. His little sister waking him in the late hours of the night to tell him of her bad dream. All was in motion, yet all was fleeting.
He returned to the command chair and flipped the cover off the last-ditch device. He entered his key and the lights on the chair's arm lit up green. He took a deep breath and prepared himself.
A loud bang from behind, like fists against glass, made Derrish swivel around. Outside the auxiliary bridge, the growling creatures were about to storm in, finishing their complete take over of Radon.
Derrish allowed himself a smile. He closed his eyes, turned the key, and greeted death.
Radon's hull glowed a bright yellow, then expanded past its breaking point, shattering into a million pieces. The self-destruct worked perfectly, designed to leave nothing but dust and ashes behind, and it did just that.
The local infestation was eliminated and Radon was no more.
