Fate of Frailty Chapter 21
By Karen Hart
Author's note: I've only just realized that I've made a 6 foot tall, 183lb oversight. Fixing it now.
"You sure this is the right area?" Matthews stared through the forward window and saw nothing but tranquil space, no debris or any hint of trouble. They'd come expecting to see bits of wreckage, twisted pieces of hull fragments floating throughout the area. Nothing this calm.
Jr. looked up at him, worry creasing his features. "Yeah. I don't get this. I mean, there've been reports of wreckage every time, and—"
Matthews grunted. "I seriously doubt there's any salvage crew that'd be dumb enough to come out here. Then again, there are idiots." He scowled in thought. "Could be that we've missed our target. 'Just off the column' is a little vague."
"True." Jr. nodded, though he was still unconvinced. They hadn't missed their objective. Nervously, he began fingering the gun at his side, an ancient piece that Helmer'd sent him as a gift for his last birthday. Bringing it had been a last minute idea, though he felt strangely reassured by the weapon's presence. "Still, the area has yet to be completely closed off. Advisories don't exactly carry that much force behind 'em."
"Got a point there," Matthews finally admitted. "So, got any ideas?" He leaned forward slightly, looking past Jr. and at chaos, who sat at the far right station. "Anything showing up on those sensors you guys slapped on my ship?"
chaos was quiet a moment before answering, busy double-checking readouts and displays. "So far everything's silent. If none of us knew any better, I'd say there was never anything here."
Jr. shook his head in confusion. "The hell is going on here…?"
---
Gaignun wound his way through the security station, dodging harried staff now and again. He'd been called down there on what the security chief—an Alan Foster—had described as an "urgent situation". He stopped near the front of the room, where the aforementioned security chief stood. "So, what was it you needed to speak to me about?"
Foster took a deep breath and spun his screen about, turning it towards Gaignun. "This."
For a moment Gaignun stared at the screen, a blank scanning readout, before its importance struck him with blinding force. Since the first attack there'd always been something to monitor. "When did this occur?"
"Around twenty minutes ago. Everything just cut out. Normally I wouldn't feel it necessary to inform you of this, but since we've got that communications blackout on that ship we sent…" Foster grimaced.
Gaignun raised an eyebrow. "You're thinking this might be a trap?"
"Could be. All I know is that something's gone wrong here. And I seriously doubt it's instrumentation."
"I see." As a rule, Gaignun didn't swear, though a few choice expletives sprang to mind. He'd have to send Jr. a warning soon. He hoped his brother would heed it.
"Excuse me, sir?" Gaignun turned about at the voice, a young one, and feminine to judge by the tone. He was right. Standing not far away was a young blonde woman, dressed in the blue garb of Security like nearly everyone else present and clutching a flimsy in one hand. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's an incoming call from Vector. It's the CEO." Meaning Wilhelm had—no doubt politely—demanded they track him down. "If you'll follow me…"
"Very well." Gaignun followed the woman into a side room, empty save for a series of consoles against one wall and a communications screen, the incoming light flashing red. She left.
A moment to settle down in one of the seats, and a tap at the button resulted in a white haired young man appearing on the screen. "Mr. Wilhelm. To what do I owe this call?" His tone remained courteous.
Vector's CEO stared back at him, two businessmen gauging each other to the best of their abilities. He decided not to waste any time. "It's been brought to my attention that there's been a series of attacks perpetrated against ships registered with your Foundation. Given my recent investment, I find this most…distressing. Have you made any progress in dealing with this situation?"
Gaignun's face remained neutral, no hint of surprise crossing his features. Wilhelm was distressed, was he? "We've sent out a ship to investigate the scene." He wasn't about to tell the man they were having trouble.
"I see," Wilhelm murmured. They both read between the lines. "Although I'm quite aware that I shouldn't get involved, I've taken it upon myself to send someone to assist you."
Now surprise registered, Gaignun's face freezing in shock for one split second before it relaxed once more. "We appreciate the help."
Wilhelm nodded once, slowly. "Like I said, my investment. He should be arriving soon."
"I'll keep an eye for him."
---
"So what the hell are we supposed to investigate out here?" Matthews's voice was tinged with worry.
"Hell if I know," Jr. muttered, apprehension turning into irritation. He dealt better with anger. "There's got to be something out here." They'd spent the better part of an hour searching for any sign of trouble, finding nothing and growing more agitated by the moment. For one brief, ridiculous moment Jr. likened the situation to the old horror movies he'd watched not long ago. It had that sort of feeling.
His train of thought was interrupted a moment later by a sudden flickering of the bridge's lights. One by one every station shut down completely, with all attempts at restarting them ending in failure. "What the--?"
He got no further before the entire ship was bathed in darkness.