Ten

'Tell me you understood what he said,' Owen turned to Tosh who was turning off the holographic equipment as John faded into sleep.

'Yes. The ship and everyone on it is causing a feedback loop. The more electrical, radiant, and magnetic energy the ship and everyone on it produces causes to be reflected back. Every scan we take and focus towards it, the more we pour into it the more powerful it becomes.'

'What was the equation he gave out?' Owen asked.

'The anomaly has a tolerance of 0.00000038 divided by 4 microtestlers x the units of radiant energy equal to the number of people on the ship.'

'I got that but what does it mean?'

Tosh pointed to the ceiling at the round bowl-shaped lighting fixture. 'See those?' Owen nodded. 'I need to confirm the true tolerance of the anomaly but it suggests the maximum amount of electoral magnetic radiant energy the anomaly will tolerate is equal to five of those.'

'Does it explain why we have been steadily losing reserve?' Owen creased his forehead.

'It's possible that it's being dissipated out into space or some unknown element is dampening our ability to top up.'

'Can we reverse it somehow and get our main power back up?' Owen leaned forward 'John needs the support cradle; it's keeping him suspended and more importantly it keeps him completely still and dampens any movement. We can't just turn it off.' Any further conversation was halted as Alex entered the room. 'So we know what we have to do?' he said.

'We have to turn everything off?' Andy said as he entered the room behind Alex. 'But it's not that simple.' Everyone turned to face him. 'The core operating system has failsafes that prevent it going into sudden shut-down. We will need to take it down in stages.'

'John also said something about sending a pulse to the engine,' Jack reminded them.

'Basically, get the ship moving forward and it coasts out,' Andy agreed.

'Technically it won't matter,' Tosh thinking out loud and everyone looked at her. 'Back, forwards, sideways as long as there is movement,' she added.

'We won't have any navigational control; any movement will be in the direction we are currently facing.' Alex pointed out.

'Of course,' Tosh told them.

'In an emergency the sub-lights can be configured to use plasma from the core,' Andy told them.

'That sounds a bit radical, plasma is bloody dangerous. Why don't we just use the sub-light engines to get us moving then close everything down?' Owen suggested.

Alex indicated to Jack who closed the door. 'We need ten percent start energy to run the sub- light engines but we were past the point of no return three days ago. We just used up what little reserve we had to run the holo simulation. There is no longer enough energy available to begin the start-up procedure.'

'How long do we have?' Owe asked, more subdued

'We have enough for life support for approximately twelve hours,' Andy replied. 'It will take eight hours to bleed off enough of the plasma and inject it into the sub-light propulsion engine to produce a single pulse. Once we are down to zero we then send a signal and it will then move the ship forward.'

'We have a problem,' Owen interjected. 'I'm pretty sure the life support cradle supporting John uses more than five of those.' Owen pointed to the ceiling. As he spoke Jack now joined them.

'Can John's life support use any kind of back up?' Alex looked towards Owen.

'He's breathing on his own. We can put him back into a light coma, what needs support is the suspension unit. It keeps him completely immobile by surrounding him with a null field and it keeps him warm. We have emergency energy packs that we can plug in but they are only good for about four hours.'

'Jack, start constructing a shielded insulated core in the centre of the ship. Use all and any emergency supplies we have.' Alex ordered

'I suggest we create buffer areas above, below, and around the core area.' Andy drew up a diagram for them.

'We can't move John. As you know the critical care unit is a permanent feature.'

'We create two cores then,' Andy double-checked.

Tosh interrupted. 'The more insulation we can put between the outer hull and the core of the ship, the greater the barrier. Electrical fields are easier to block than magnetic ones and radiant heat just needs insulation. I don't think we need a second core. The first one should suffice. If all that remains in the sick bay is the life support cradle we could create a form of tent around it and him.'

'We build a core, shield all power and turn everything off. Sounds simple,' Owen reflected.

'And pray the ship doesn't fall part due to stress of having to move without its integrity field,' Andy pointed out.

Alex looked at each in turn. 'I will make an announcement.'

Andy looked around as he waited for the final signal telling him everyone was now sealed within the central sanctuary. Ice had already begun to form on everything around them. As cold as it was now soon it would be minus two hundred and seventy degrees Celsius or absolute zero.

He was last man standing. The last hours had been frantic as the clock ticked down. One of his last tasks was to write a detailed outline of what had occurred and the efforts they had taken to save themselves. It had felt strange to write it all down on paper. This report was now sealed in a space-proof container. The container also included last messages from each crew member and the ship's logs.

He strained to hear the signal; it had to be tiny. Even this tiny sound was a risk and could tip the balance between survival or death.

He heard the high-pitched chirp. This was it; they were ready. As he started up the firing sequence his finger felt awkward encased in the survival suit. He watched as the last fraction of power drained from the panels on its way to ignite the plasma within the sub-light engines.

Andy felt the slight vibration under his feet and smiled. Now he only had one final action to perform. He entered into a one man insulated survival pod.

Jack and Owen, in the sick bay, heard the signal. Checking John one last time they both climbed into what looked like a tent. This was no ordinary tent. It was solid and could be sealed.

'It's always darkest before the dawn,' Jack said, his teeth clacking with the cold after what felt like an eternity of time had passed.

'There is no dawn here. Just endless bloody night followed by being frozen solid,' Owen said shivering

'Owen, you always seem to find the positive in every situation.'

'Not sure which way you want to go out, Jack. There's suffocation because the very air we breathe freezes our lungs or becoming a corpsecicle.'

'You have such a way with words.' Jack felt something; stripping off his glove he placed his hand on the floor. He could feel a vibration.

Owen joined him and ripped off their covers, opening the sealed pod. All around them the lights were coming back to full strength. Jack was sure he could sense the ship coming alive under his feet.

'We've done it,' Jack said and they spontaneously hugged each other.

'God bless you John Jones, and God bless the people at Space Industries,' Owen said as his breath seemed to crystallise on the exhale. Stripping off his gloves he checked the cradle. 'When we get back I'm going to send a thank you to everyone who built this ship strong enough to move without an integrity field holding it together,' Owen added.

He looked up to see Jack had gone. 'Tell you what, John. Why don't I just get you on the road to recovery as the best gift I can give them as a thank you for saving all our lives.'

'I'll take that as a yes then.' he told the silent room.

Much to everyone's relief the ship's power system began building back towards maximum efficiency within moments of entering back into the nebula.

Once the main system had even partially recovered the secondary back-up power system came back on line and started to charge.

According to their instruments, they had been moved several light years away from their original position. Not wanting a repeat Alex ordered the ship moved as far away as possible in the opposite direction the anomaly appeared to be traveling.

After restoring the ship to some semblance of normality Captain Hopkins stood the crew down to its bare minimum. The crew needed time to recover from their ordeal. Despite the victory of their escape the crew was subdued as they returned the interior of the ship to order. Their escape should have been a time of celebration but the knowledge they had harmed another weighed heavily on them.

Alex took to walking around the ship, speaking to each crew member in turn. The aura of dishonour was almost visible. Alex knew that each was coming to terms with the disgrace their actions had caused. For one the burden of dishonour had become too much and she joined John in critical care. How many others might join her haunted him.

He assured each crew member in turn he had complete confidence in their ability, to focus on what they needed to do in the now. The future would deal with itself.

Owen entered the Captain's office and saw Alex looking out of the narrow window. Alex seemed smaller somehow, as if events had diminished him.

'I'll make this brief,' Alex said, turning to face Owen. 'I need your absolute and honest appraisal of John's condition. Do we have the facilities to give John the ongoing care he needs?'

Owen replied immediately. 'No. He needs to be transferred to a major trauma centre. The embedded empathic damage needs to be alleviated. Just as important he needs his family and to feel safe.'

Alex turned away from Owen and went back to studying the whirls of particles that were being deflected by the shields. 'I'm going to lose my command over this.'

'Surely not. Susie acted alone. She manipulated all of us. Lois and I agree she's a sociopath who was prepared to use all and any means to enact out the revenge she thought she was due.'

'To be so driven, it makes you wonder if her father really was a victim of some plot to stop him exposing corrupt practices at Space Industries.'

Owen shook his head. 'I had the same thought so I checked out her story and from what I've read her father was rightfully convicted. He was a right villain; all sorts of shenanigans were exposed: bribery, extortion, underhand deals, and those were just for starters. According to the transcripts and conviction his actions almost ruined Space Industries. It took years to undo the harm the man did.'

'To hold such a grudge for so long…to do such harm,' Alex said under his breath.

'My question is: how did she get through psych evaluation and made it to be ship's counsellor?'

'So many mistakes and miss-judgments.' Alex glanced at Owen briefly then returned his focus to the light show outside the ship. 'I have made some bad choices in my life but I can equivocally state that the worst command decision I have ever made was giving Susie and Jack complete autonomy to act. Under my watch the actions of this crew has brought the whole of Space Command into disrepute and enabled the crew to act upon another to the point of suicide.'

He let out a sigh. 'Putting aside Space Command, Susie's victim was a member of the Jones family. The entire family hold positions of importance and influence. Unlike other occasions they will wield that power and influence to ensure that every single individual involved will be brought to account. Arthur Jones, John's father, is not a vindictive man. In fact he is known throughout Space Command to be unfailing fair. But by the time the investigations are over I will be lucky to command a tourist transport around a fairground.'

Alex turned back to Owen and moved to his desk. 'That is why this is so important. I intend to leave the service with some honour intact. Let's get John home.'

Alex hit the command button and spoke to the current ship's navigators on the bridge.

'This is level one command. It overrides all over commands and protocols. You are to plot the fastest and safest way using best possible speed to Home Space as can be managed.'

'Aye, Aye,' he heard their reply.

Jack heard someone enter behind him and Jack leaned forward and pressed pause. He turned to see it was Alex,

Jack looked dishevelled. From the state of him he hadn't slept for days. Alex knew he had not left John's quarters since the crew had restored the ship.

'I thought I would find you here,' he said kindly as Jack now returned his attention to the screen. The image showed John standing on a dais wearing a bronze medal, looking elated but exhausted, waving a bunch of flowers.

'Did you know he won a bronze medal at the Inter-Planetary games for extreme skiing when he was seventeen years old? Jack told him.

'No,' Alex said, thinking Tosh's hard work had paid off and John's true records had been restored.

'And I found out who she was,' Jack continued.

'She?' Alex noted the past tense.

'The ring John wore was an engagement ring, I think. Her name was Liselle. She was a cross-country skier.'

'What happened to her?'

'Avalanche, she was off the trail. It was after her death he gave up competitive skiing and entered Space Academy.'

'What are you doing, Jack?'

'I'm trying to make the connection with John that I should have from his first moments aboard this ship.'

Alex pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

'Jack, all of us in the command have our burden to bear in all this.'

Jack looked up, his lower lip trembling. 'But you were not the hangman. He faces years of rehabilitation, years of agony, he can never go into deep space again. I did that.' Jack pointed to himself. 'All he asked for was ten minutes. Would the universe have stopped in its tracks if I had said yes? 600 seconds and whatever future he had planned is gone all because I wouldn't grant him that time.'

Alex let out a sigh. 'All of us here will have to face our actions when we return. John's family will be asking some very difficult questions as will Space Command. I'm the captain and if there is any failure it is mine. I failed John, I failed the crew and I failed you.'

Jack looked up at Alex and saw that he looked as weighed down as Jack felt.

'How can I make this right Alex? How do I atone for this? I feel this rock inside and it's crushing me. Tell me what I do?'

'I don't have the answers, Jack. Right now the best way to deal with this is on a practical level. John has Owen and the sick bay staff. I have taken Tosh off active duty to free her for anything he might need. We are heading home as fast as we can. As we return home we must not compound what happened by leaving the crew at such a low state of morale. One crew member has already tried to kill themselves. I thank the stars she didn't succeed. '

Jack looked at him in shock. 'Ensign Singer was the author of 'The Ghost' cartoon.' Alex switched off the screen. 'I will not allow our failure to become theirs. We need to get this ship back on track and for that I and the crew need you back on duty.'

'Yes sir,' Jack said, wiping his hand over his face.

'I've asked engineering to seal this cabin until our return. I expect you in my office in two hours, showered, shaved and having had a meal. Have I made myself understood?'

'Yes Sir,' Jack said and Alex stood.

'In life Jack it's not how we face our success that counts. Our true character shines through when we face up to our worst mistakes.'

'Thank you Sir,' Jack said, now shedding the blanket around his shoulders. With care he folded it and placed it on the back of the chair where he had found it orignallly.

Taking a last look around he opened the door to see one of the engineering crew waiting for him to exit. With a flourish she sealed the cabin.

'Enter,' Hopkins commanded as he heard his door alarm sound.

Lieutenant Kassey walked in and stood before his desk.

Alex looked him up and down. 'I am speaking to you today because Commander Harkness was your direct supervising officer. Considering his role in the travesty we have brought down on ourselves, I have taken it upon myself to resolve at least one issue that has been brought to my attention before we return.'

Alex handed him a set of info sheets. 'I've looked through the corrected work records of those under your command and I have some questions.'

Kassey blanched as Alex continued, 'Could you explain why one member of your team appears to have completed eighty percent of all the work assigned to your section?'

Kassey looked over the sheets trying to form a reply, 'Smith and Brooke, Sir,' he said after several moments of uncomfortable silence.

'From recollection Adam Smith and Gray Brooke are two people. From the records Lieutenant Jones was working up to and beyond sixteen hour days while Smith and Gray appeared to have achieved very little. From a check done by engineering all modules that went through their hands will need to be checked and re done. Can you explain how this occurred?'

'I have none,' Kassey replied.

'You are head of this team, responsible not just for the completion of work but supervising work levels and confirming work was done correctly. For you to have no reply suggests an incompetence that does not match your previous record.'

There was a long pause before Captain Hopkins spoke again. 'According to a report furnished to me it would appear you allowed Gray Brooke and Adam Smith a great deal of leeway. They arrived late, left early…'

'With all due respect, sir, Lieutenant Jones's recollection may well be unreliable due his current condition anything he says…' his words petered out as he saw the look on Hopkins's face.

'So you believe my understanding of the inequality in the work levels of your department has come by my conversing with Lieutenant Jones.'

Kassey nodded.

'I didn't hear that.'

'Yes Sir.'

'Jones is virtually nonverbal. Are you suggesting Jones and I are somehow communicating telepathically?'

'No Sir.'

'Good. So what is your explanation to why Lieutenant Jones ended up doing the vast bulk of the work that went through your department and you allowed two others under your command to use this ship as a social club?'

'I have none,' Kassey said in a whisper.

'Perhaps it was because you, Brooke and Smith were too busily engaged with the shipboard competition to harass the Ghost.'

'Sorry Sir?' Kassey stammered at the sudden change of direction in the conversation.

'I see you were fifth in the league tables.' Alex handed him the list of names and points from the contest De 'Lacy was running.' Kassey cursed inwardly. De 'Lacy had sworn every copy had been destroyed.

'None of you got the bonus I see,' Alex added when Kassey remained silent. 'No doubt the investigators will have more than a few questions about your role in the attempted murder of Lieutenant Jones when we return.' Alex took the sheet back.

Alex stood. 'As you are aware I have ordered this ship returned to Home Space at our best possible speed. Due to the conditions within the Nebula this will take approximately six weeks. Your department is severely behind, so from this moment you are relieved of your command as head of the maintenance crew. You will report to Commander Lam. All crew privileges for you are revoked. You will only be permitted to draw rations from your cabin replicator. When not on duty you will be restricted to your cabin for eight hours each day. You will confine yourself to the corridors that lead to your work section and your cabin.

'Your time will be spent reworking all the modules that went through your department. This is your only function. You will ask for permission for all and any absence. Any claims of sickness will have to be confirmed by Doctor Owen Harper. There will be an allowance of exactly thirty minutes each day for food and or rest breaks. All work will be overseen and signed off as acceptable. You will have a quota to complete each day. If that is not completed you will not leave until your quote is done. You are not permitted to socialise with or in any other way engage other crew members by any means including speech. This does not include any work-related conversation required for the task in hand. Have I made myself understood?'

Lieutenant Kassey went pale and felt the room sway.

'Have I made myself understood?'

'Yes Sir.'

'And during your time off you are to write a report about your involvement in this debacle. I will give you the same guidance I am giving all those involved. If you wish to retain a modicum of dignity and redeem some honour I suggest you make that report as honest and open as it is possible to make it.'

'Yes Sir,' Kassey said.

'Dismissed, and send in Gray Brooke and Adam Smith.'

'Waiting was perhaps the worst of this,' Jack thought as he sat in his cabin.

John was gone. As soon as they had docked a specialist medical ship had been waiting for them and he had been transferred. Tosh and Owen had accompanied him at John's and his family's request.

The rest of the crew remained on board in lock down. Jack was packed and had put his personal life in order, prepared a raft of documentation and sent it on.

The report was as complete to what had happened as he could make it. He had been brutally honest about his own actions, spelling out his own failings in as much details as he could.

It was the least he could do. John deserved better. He was a good, kind man who was a loyal and dedicated officer and in the months he, along with this crew, had destroyed him.

Jack held no illusions about his fate. He might find himself dishonourably discharged, or face years of incarceration. Nothing they could do to him could remove the stain on his soul he had put there himself and would be impossible to erase.

His door chime sounded and the door opened.

'Commander Jack Harkness?' A tall military justice officer stated.

'Yes Sir,' Jack replied, standing.

'Commander Jack Harkness you are under arrest. You are to be held in custody while awaiting tribunal for reckless endangerment, conspiracy to commit murder, and using command privilege for the purpose of persecution leading to grievous mental and bodily harm. Do you have anything to say at this time knowing it may be used against you?'

'I'm ready,' Jack pronounced.

End of Part One –

To be Continued in Part Two – Double Jeopardy.