CHAPTER 23 – THE MINI TRANSPORTER
"Stop! You can't do that!" Elizabeth screamed. "You'll cripple the ship!"
Abayomi Nneki Oyeyemowa, Carl's female friend who had tried to kill him, held the wrench in her hand and paused in mid-swing when Elizabeth entered the engineer capacitor room.
A few more hits in the right spot and the woman would indeed cripple the ship. Slowing down its voyage to Coal Valley enough that the passengers would be forced to spend five weeks living off of only two weeks of rations. The temperature would no longer be able to be maintained at 70 degrees. Water would be rationed even more than normal to allow for drinking and only the most basic of hygiene. All the ship's energy would be focused on getting to its destination.
"You Thatcher bitch!" the woman yelled back at Elizabeth. When she made a move to continue whacking at the computer and capacitors, Elizabeth lunged at her. Knocking her to the ground.
"Where the hell are you, Elizabeth?!" Jack demanded in frustration. He was frantically searching the cameras' images for Elizabeth, who had last been seen by a crew member as she sprinted down a hallway.
The ship was on lock-down. Crew members were rushing through the transporter trying to stop the systems from malfunctioning. Lights were flickering on and off. Loud unnatural noises clanked through the air vents.
Every time the power flickered, the images on the security office screens disappeared as if into a black hole causing Jack's heart to race and him to slam his fist against his desk in anger.
It was now clear to Jack and the other men crammed into his small office that the fake British woman called Union Jack Girl was determined to damage the ship. If she had her way, Thatcher Industries would lose all future contracts. Transportation to the outlying colonies would be slowed. Fortunes would be lost. Reputations would be damaged.
Knowing that she had been identified as the likely culprit behind the numerous incidents, the woman wasn't going to nicely surrender. She was determined to cause as much damage as possible so that the name "Thatcher Industries" would be ruined. At least in the business of making space vehicles.
When the screens lit back up with images after a moment of blackness, Jack frantically scanned them.
There!
He cringed when he saw Elizabeth take a punch to the jaw.
As the two women tussled, Jack quickly used the intercom button to order crewmembers to the engine capacitor room. Before Jack could do any more, the women scrambled to their feet and Elizabeth was once again chasing her prey.
Jack watched in dismay as the two disappeared from the image on the screen as they moved out of view of the camera.
He didn't have time to contemplate that by attacking the woman, Elizabeth had just saved the transporter's passengers from potential catastrophe.
His eyes were too busy now quickly searching the other screens until he saw them enter the small mini-transporter which was required by law to be on all transporters in case of the need for an emergency evacuation.
The vehicle, which was kept at the far end of the transporter's top level. was no more than fifteen by twenty feet in size, and was basically a lifeboat of sorts. Meant to ferry a seriously injured or ill passenger to the nearest civilization in a shorter amount of time than the large transporter could manage.
Because of its sleek size, the mini vehicle, which lacked an advanced navigational system, had more than three times the speed of the main ship. To achieve that speed, its weight had been kept to a bare minimum by stocking it with only enough necessities to last approximately three days. Essentially, it was meant to go fast for short-distance travel. It served its purpose well but was only useful if its larger parent transporter was close to Earth or a colony.
It certainly wasn't meant to be used as it was now. As a fighting arena for two women.
"Watch the screens. Message me and keep me informed of their whereabouts", Jack instructed the First Officer before running from the security office after witnessing Elizabeth take a kick to the ribs.
"Elizabeth? Can you hear me?" The man behind the voice tried to remain calm as he spoke into the intercom outside the first of two sealed metal doors.
"Jack? Yes, I can hear you! Did you catch her? She closed the door before I could get out."
Elizabeth sighed in relief knowing that Jack was on the other side of the doors. She had spent the last five minutes trying to find the lever to open the inner mini-transporter door and was beginning to worry.
It was the sounds that worried her slightly.
The suction of the airlock as the second door behind the mini-transporter's door had also closed. The clicking of the locking mechanisms securing her in the small vehicle. The humming of the instrument panel as it seemed to be running through some sort of program.
Elizabeth had pushed the intercom button and attempted to contact the Control Center to have them over-ride the door's lock but so far nothing had happened to the door.
"Yes. We got her. You did good." Jack answered. He paused. Wondering how much to tell her.
"Oh, Thank goodness. Can you open the door, please? I can't get it to open from here. I'm starting to get a bit claustrophobic."
"Jack? Did you hear me?" Elizabeth asked when he didn't immediately respond.
"I heard you. We're going to get the door open. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I think I may have a black eye and some other bruises but I'll be fine. Did you really get her?"
Jack took a deep breath before answering. He knew that he had to make his voice sound composed as he spoke into the intercom but it wasn't that easy as he contemplated the gravity of the situation.
He was grateful that Elizabeth couldn't see him. That she couldn't see the anguish in his face.
"We did. She's got three guards on her and is getting locked up in one of the crewmember rooms."
"That's good. Why don't you sound happy?"
"I'm happy. About that."
Elizabeth assumed that the hesitancy in Jack's voice was merely because he was worried about her. Or angry that she had chased after the woman. She realized that he had been mad at her quite a bit in the last few hours.
"You're not mad at me, are you? I had to chase her. She was right there in our room. And well. . . I just took off after her."
"No, Elizabeth. I'm not mad at you. You did a great job stopping her from damaging the ship."
"You should sound happier," she informed him but he didn't respond.
"Jack, open this door", Elizabeth said as she pounded on it. "I am really starting to not like being stuck in here. And my ribs hurt where she kicked me."
The relief she had felt when she had first heard Jack's voice was starting to ebb away. "There's a buzzing noise. Like somethings starting up. I'd try to turn it off but I don't want to mess with the controls too much. If someone just opens the door, they can handle this."
"Elizabeth, I don't want you to get upset."
"Upset? Why would I get upset? Just open the door."
"We have a slight problem. But we're working on it."
Jack looked around at the two men crouched on the floor next to him who were frantically working on their laptops trying to over-ride the events Abayomi Nneki Oyeyemowa had put into motion.
Elizabeth felt herself begin to get more anxious. Her pulse quickened but she was powerless to stop it. Something wasn't right. Jack was sounding too tense. No one was opening the door.
"What's going on out there? Why haven't you opened the door? Lights are starting to flash in here. And things are beeping." Elizabeth swiveled her head around at the instrument panel as she talked. "Is the door stuck from that side? . . . . There's a swooshing sound coming from underneath me. And some rumbling."
"I love you, Elizabeth."
Suddenly Elizabeth's heart plummeted. She put her hand over her mouth to keep back a sob.
"I'm stuck in here. I'm going to die in here!" she gasped.
Over the past few days, Jack had envisioned a few possible reactions to his declaration of love. He had imagined Elizabeth throwing herself into his arms. Her telling him that she loved him. Him pulling her into a kiss. A passionate long kiss. Or a sweet tender kiss.
They had all involved some form of kissing. None of them had involved Elizabeth announcing her death.
"Elizabeth, you are not going to die", he argued with her.
"Yes, I am. That's why you're telling me that you love me", she sobbed.
"I am telling you that I love you because I love you!"
"You've had weeks to tell me, but you didn't. Now you think I'm going to die. So, you're telling me. To comfort me just before I die. Because I'm trapped in here. I'm trapped in here, aren't I?"
"We are working on it. It's two steel doors and the computer wires are all fused together. Abayomi messed with them. Don't worry. We just need time."
Elizabeth began frantically yanking open drawers and pulling out the enclosed packets. She scanned the labels as she threw them to the floor. Meal Ready to Eat - One person - Day One. Water - One person – Day One. Meal Ready to Eat – One person – Day Two. Water – One Person – Day Two. Meal Ready to Eat – One person – Day Three. Water – One person – Day Three.
Suddenly she looked at the now empty drawer and breathed a deep sigh of relief. They have time to open the door! Surely, they can think of something in the next three days. I've got three days of food and water.
"It's okay, Jack. I'll be okay for three days," she said with renewed hope. She relaxed her tense shoulders. "It's okay. Everything's okay."
She could make it for three days.
And if she had to, she would eat and drink half rations so she could last six days. And if she really needed to, she would only consume one-third her rations each day. When the transporter arrived at Coal Valley, the technicians would be able to blast open the door and free her. Or blast off a side of the ship to get her out.
It wouldn't be a pleasant journey isolated by herself in this room, but Jack would stay on the other side of the door. She knew he would. He would just be a few feet away. And so would Abigail, and Seth, and Carl. And all the other passengers on the transporter. She wouldn't really be alone, she told herself. Jack and the others would be close by.
Just breathe. Just breathe, she told herself before she suddenly wondered if she'd have enough oxygen.
"Jack, is there enough oxygen? Should I try to control my breathing?"
"I don't want you to worry about that," Jack said as he swallowed a sob before she could hear it in his voice.
One of the men who was crouched on the floor next to Jack shook his head in regret while the other technician continued intently tapping on his keyboard. More crew members had now joined the group and were using lasers to try to open a seam in the door. The beams barely made a scratch on the titanium steel door which was coated in plasmadelts.
The ship's Second Officer nervously stared at his watch. He would have to call off the men with lasers in a few short minutes.
Something in Jack's voice made Elizabeth realize that this wasn't just a matter of a stuck door. "What's going on out there? Tell me the truth."
She asked the question but she knew with dread that she didn't want to hear the answer.
"She damaged the controls. It looks like when she closed the door, she also attacked the outside control panel. The wires short-circuited and burned out. We can't get the computer to open either door and they're sealed shut. The internal computer programs have started."
Jack leaned his head against the door in despair before he continued talking. "The mini-transporter is set for jettison. . . . in six minutes. I love you. I really really love you."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN JETTISON IN SIX MINUTES?!"
"The ship will jettison in six minutes. You won't be able to dock back with the transporter. The blast will damage the docking station."
"So, I'll have to fly this thing to Planet Assaymark? By myself?" Elizabeth asked anxiously on the verge of hysteria. She had flown mini-transporters since she was sixteen but that had been on Earth. And those transporters were nothing like a complicated one meant for space travel.
Elizabeth heard voices talking to Jack and him frantically responding but she couldn't make out all the words. And the ones which she heard, she didn't like.
"Jack? Jack?"
"Yes, Elizabeth. I'm here. We're trying to work out the problem."
"I don't understand. Should I strap myself in? Will someone guide me, or is it on autopilot to the planet? How long will it take me to get there? I've only got three days of food and water."
"Jack?"
"Oh, God. It won't take me!" Elizabeth said hysterically when she realized her situation. "It doesn't have enough energy to take me all the way to the Planet. We're still too far away! It's going to jettison me out into nothing and I won't be able to get back!"
"Elizabeth, you're going to be okay. I need you to take a deep breath."
"Hurry up, damn it! Get this door open or stop the program!" Jack yelled at someone. Forgetting to cover the open channel intercom.
Elizabeth began to tremble and sweat at the same time. She was going to die. Alone. In space. A slow lonely death that would take three days until the mini- transporter ran out of energy. Without energy, there would be no heat. She would be left adrift in space in a cold metal box. She would be powerless to prevent it. Everyone would be powerless.
"I'm going to be jettisoned into oblivion!"
Jack realized that it may have been better if he had kept her in the dark about the direness of her situation. Or at least tried to cushion the blow. It was now very clear to him that she hadn't taken the news of her predicament very well.
"Into oblivion!" she hysterically yelled.
"Calm down, please Elizabeth," he pleaded with her. "We're trying to think of something."
Elizabeth couldn't calm down. She felt like vomiting.
It was when she began to feel nauseated that a scene from the second day that Elizabeth had known Jack popped into her mind. Back when things were so much simpler.
She remembered the morning when they had stood in the cafeteria line for their first breakfast.
'People feel nauseated. They are nauseous. It's basic grammar', he had teased her. Making her bristle as he had corrected her grammar and then had casually ordered frozen eggs for breakfast.
Jack.
This can't be the end of us.
"Jack, get me out of here!" she pleaded. "Please."
Elizabeth waited for Jack to respond but all she heard was a cacophony of voices on the other side of the doors as the men hurriedly discussed options. Jack had once again forgotten to mute his side of the intercom. Voices were yelling out suggestions only to be quickly rebuffed by others who knew more about the systems.
"Elizabeth, look around," Jack finally said as he spoke to her. "Do you see the capacisizer? It will be up high. In the far left corner. It's a small red box."
Elizabeth jerked her head around looking in the corners of the room. "I see it."
"If you can get to it and open it, you might be able to unlock the doors. You'll have to unlock both the inner door and the outer door."
"How do I open it?"
There were more hushed voices on the other side while Elizabeth waited anxiously. Trying not to count down the minutes.
"Is there anything you can use for a tool? Something thin like a flat-head screw driver or a knife?"
Elizabeth began scrambling around the room, yanking open drawers, pulling open small metal cabinets.
"Hurry Elizabeth! You need to hurry!" Jack urgently told her.
"There's nothing here!"
"Your lucky coin!" she screamed when she suddenly remembered the round silver object in her pocket from their earlier coin toss. "I've got your lucky coin. It can work as a screw driver."
"Perfect. Good thinking."
"How will I get up there?"
"We're going to stop the artificial gravity for you. You'll be able to float up there. You can do this. But you'll need to hurry."
Elizabeth heard the loud voice of the commander as he announced to the entire transporter over the system-wide intercom that all passengers and crew needed to prepare for the gravity to be turned off in two seconds.
One one thousand
Two one thousand.
Elizabeth was weightless. Her legs went out from under her and she found herself floating horizontally. She felt uncoordinated.
Like a dandelion wisp floating in the air.