Chapter 2 – Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out
April 20th, 2260 09:15
Bridge of the EAS Valiant
Entering the Valiant's command deck, General Robert Taggart found himself surrounded by a steady buzz of activity as his crew frantically worked to get the Valiant under way. Leaning on his cane, he took a few spare seconds to look over the bridge. Of the many wonders of his ship, he held this room as one of the most amazing. The roughly oval room had gently curved walls, arching upward to a domed ceiling more than twenty meters above him. With every point along those sloping sides covered in glittering blue and purple crystals. It was like working inside a giant geode.
"Report," ordered Taggart as he strode forward, for the moment not relying on his cane.
Without looking up from the uncovered hole in the floor where he learned over a glowing array of crystals, Professor William Stone said, "Ten minutes till we're ready."
A sigh, which was at this point much more like a growl, came out of Taggart. "You said the same thing ten minutes ago and then ten minutes before that."
The professor did not answer. Instead, he reached into the flickering rectangular set of gems and worked some unseen control. With his squat body, he had to squirm halfway into the opening to perform the job. The lights coming from the crystals brightened for a moment and then winked out.
"Damn it!" cursed Stone. Leaning in even further until just his legs were visible, he began pulling on one of the larger unlit jewels. After he yanked it out with some muttered curses, he slowly straightened up and handed the purple octagonal crystal to his assistant.
"Conner, get me another one just like this. Needs to be the same color," directed Stone. With a quick bob of his head the young, fair-haired Conner Olson scurried off to retrieve another power crystal.
Watching all this play out, Taggart felt his leg begin to ache miserably. This morning there had been one near disaster after another. A small, irrational part of himself just wanted to sit down and drink his coffee in peace. But he couldn't. Too many things were in motion now and he was never one to sit still when events got heated. Bum leg or not.
Coming up behind William, Taggart's voice dropped to an angry whisper. "You told me you had the control system operational."
"No," replied Professor Stone patiently, behaving as if he was lecturing one of his students, "I said I needed two days to get it operational. The Aegean came early and I'm doing the best I can."
Biting down on the rest of his ire, Taggart turned from the professor and let the man get back to work. William Stone had never been one to react well to Earthforce's military structure and as much as he might want to, Taggart knew barking orders at the man would do no good. He needed Stone focused on getting the ship functional or his little rebellion would be over before it started.
He turned away from the grumbling professor and went looking for Sergeant Andrea Wilson. He found the young woman monitoring the Valiant's communication station. Her black hair tied back in a neat bun. Unlike the navigation and operation systems Stone was trying to get working, the ship's communication systems were fully functional. Sergeant Wilson sat in a seat while working on an operating console, not dissimilar to the one found on an Earthforce ship. Her hands worked skillfully over switches, knobs, and a slew of touch sensitive controls. It all looked very out of place compared to the rest of the alien ship. Indeed, her station's normalcy only extended to her control board. Instead of connecting to a standard display, a string of cables came out the console's backside and ran into a series of black boxes sitting on the deck. Each box was in turn intricately connected to a crystal growing out of the wall behind the station. All the crystals glowed a different hue, their combined rainbow effect shimmering with a soft glow.
Approaching Wilson, Taggart could see the glowing light projected by the crystals gradually resolve into a high-resolution hologram. From her seat the projection was at a slight slant towards the Sargent, providing a detailed three-dimensional display of all the comm traffic in the surrounding area.
"Anything change from the Aegean?" asked Taggart.
Wilson paused before answering, listening in to her earpiece. "No sir," she replied, "They're still trying to raise both Captain Shane and Lieutenant Monroe."
"Alright," nodded Taggart touched his own ComLink and called for Monroe. "Jessica, we're going to need to buy some more time. Get up here on the double."
"Alright, sir," came back the Lieutenant's reply. "I'm still trying to get our Nightwatch friend to spill on any details on the Aegean or Clark's plans in general."
Pausing, Taggart considering what to do with Edward Shane. On the face of it, the man was Nightwatch scum and an overconfident idiot. The quick and easy solution would be to put a PPG round into his head and be done with it. He had been less than helpful since Taggart had beaten him with his cane, but Shane could, at least, be counted on to look out for his own neck. Given that, there was still the possibility the captain might have had some use in their escape.
"Bring Shane with you," directed Taggart and cut the link. Turning back to Wilson he said, "Put me through to the Aegean."
The sergeant touched a series of controls on her board and then looked up with a nod. Taggart shifted his weight to his good leg, trying to relieve the all too familiar pain in his bad one when he put too much strain on it. Forcing a measure of calm and authority he did not feel, Taggart addressed the open link to the Earthforce ship.
"This is General Taggart," he began with faked liveliness, "I'm sorry for the delay, Aegean. What can I do for you?"
A few seconds ticked by and then Taggart heard a voice responding from the comm station. It was a man's voice, not one he recognized. "General, this is Aegean command. We've been trying to reach Captain Shane and Lieutenant Monroe for the last half an hour. Is there a problem?"
'Is there a problem?' The question hung out there, broadcasted on an open channel. Nothing in the tone of the voice hinted they knew what was really going on. Just the ordinary concerned courtesy from one crew to another. But looks could be deceiving and the times were hardly normal.
"No problem," replied Taggart easily. "We have several areas in the base that are radiosensitive. Can't always get a clear link. I'll have Lieutenant Monroe on the line in a sec."
This was not a lie. Like the Valiant's engine room, the ship had several areas that were impenetrable to all forms of the electromagnetic spectrum. Even the most powerful of radio broadcasts would not be able to get through. Although just how much the crew of the Aegean knew about the operation of the base and the secret ship were an open question.
"Thank you, General," came the curt reply from the other vessel.
Taggart signaled for Sergeant Wilson to mute the channel. When she had done so, he asked, "What's the Aegean's status?"
"Twenty klicks out, standard orbit around Nereid," reported Ensign Mashibe from a nearby sensor console.
"Let's see them," requested Taggart. "Project the Aegean on one of the overhead screens."
The young man from the Central African Block grimaced as he looked over his controls. "Umm…sir, I'm not sure…"
"Second control on the top row, press and hold till it lights green," replied Taggart without having to think about the answer.
"Yes, sir," responded an embarrassed Mashibe as he followed the General's instruction. In response, a section of wall on the concaved bridge to his left began to twinkle and shimmer with projected light. Soon the picture of a Hyperion-class ship resolved, silhouetted against the deep blue colored sphere of Neptune.
"Their weapons?" queried Taggart as he studied the image of the Aegean.
"Offline," replied Mashibe as he worked his controls.
"General?" broke in Wilson, "If I'm reading the scans from the Aegean correctly, she's got an ongoing tight beam transmission."
Taggart felt his forehead crease at the unexpected news. "Who are they talking with?"
Wilson shook her head. "I don't know. The source of the tight beam appears to be empty space."
Not a good sign reflected Taggart to himself. His plan to steal the Valiant had been carefully carried out over the last three weeks. Making sure only his most trusted people were working on the ship as its engines came online. Cautiously reaching out to Jessica Monroe to offer her escape from an ever-escalating conflict with the civilian population on Io station. Getting enough supplies on board so they could make the journey to the Orion VII colony. At any point along the way something might have gone wrong. But up until this morning Taggart had believed they had been one step ahead of Clark's paranoid regime. That assumption had collapsed when the Aegean had come a day early.
Breaking his reverie was the sight of Lieutenant Jessica Monroe entering the bridge with two of her Marines escorting Captain Shane. They had a history going back many years, and it was good she was here with him. Taggart only wished their reunion had come under better circumstances. The truth was, she had been a godsend. Brilliantly playing her role as the obedient soldier while covertly working for him. Far too many other officers had underestimated the small Marine. Such as a certain Nightwatch Captain.
Looking Edward Shane over. The man looked quite worse for wear. In addition to the bruises and a busted lip to where Taggart had hit him with his cane, Shane now sported a black eye and a cut along the side of face.
"General," announced Monroe as she, her men, and their prisoner came to a stop before him. She gave Shane an annoyed smile and continued, "He's not said much of use, just complains about his 'unethical' treatment."
Taggart rolled his eyes at Shane's protest and then pointed to the comm station. "Get on the line with the Aegean and stall," he instructed the Lieutenant. "Tell them you're in the middle of assuming control over the station. Drag it out as long as possible."
Jessica nodded and sat down in the seat next to Sergeant Wilson, pulling on a matching earpiece. Taggart turned back to Shane and his two escorts. The captain shot him a look of complete disgust. He ignored the man's scowl and asked, "The Aegean has an open tight beam communication running. Who are they talking to?"
Shane's eyes widened and he then quickly looked away. He had been surprised by Taggart's question, not realizing the ability of the Valiant's sensors. Still looking away, Shane said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Robert Taggart pulled his PPG pistol from its holster and pointed at Shane. His words came out slow and angry. "Who. Are. They?"
Shane trembled at seeing Taggart's gun, but he still said nothing.
"You don't think I won't use this?" asked Taggart as he took a step closer, his weapon never wavering from Shane's head. "I have already gone very far to get to this point. Do not think I won't add your worthless hide to the cost."
The Nightwatch officer licked lips and finally broke. "It's a stealth microsat. Relaying everything going on here to a nearby Psi Corps ship.
At Shane's admission Taggart frowned. "Psi Corps?"
"There was one of them on the Aegean," broke in Monroe from the comm station. "Creepy bastard. I did my best to keep him clear of my men and me."
"Perfect," grumbled Taggart. This had all the signs of a situation rapidly escalating. Nodding towards the Lieutenant, he asked, "You getting anywhere with them, Jessica?"
"Not really," sighed Monroe. She jerked thumb towards Shane, "They want to talk to him."
Turning back to Captain Shane, Taggart smiled a cruel little smile. "Time to shine, Edward."
"You can go to hell," replied Shane shakily.
Taggart took in Shane's response with a touch of surprise and considered the possibility the man had some backbone after all. The preening Nightwatch officer made it easy to see him as a brash twit, but people could be more than they appeared. It almost made him regret what he did next. Pointing his pistol down, Taggart shot Shane in the foot.
The scream of pain that came from Captain Edward Shane was loud and sudden enough to halt everyone's activity on the bridge. The PPG round had gone right through Shane's black polished shoes, burning into skin. He flailed about, still mewling. Without his escorting Marines to hold him up, he would have collapsed to the floor.
"That was the low setting," said Taggart darkly. His voice filled with quiet menace, and he made a point of showing Shane his adjusting the pistol to a higher setting. "The next shot burns right down to the bone."
"Monster," blubbered Shane. Taggart just pointed the gun at the man's other, undamaged, foot. "Alright! Alright!" shouted Shane, capitulating at the threat of more pain. Sniveling and sniffing, he asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"Get on the line with the Aegean and tell them everything is fine," commanded Taggart.
With the two Marines' help, he hobbled over to Wilson's station. Andrea Wilson looked distressed between Captain Shane the General Taggart. She was still young and wanted to hold on to the belief that deep down people were intrinsically good, thought Taggart. Using force was only the last resort, not the first. It was an illusion he had lost a long time ago. Giving a shake of her head, she reconnected to the Aegean.
Lieutenant Monroe jumped out of her seat and promptly pushed Shane into the empty chair. He hissed in pain as the voice of Aegean control came over the speaker. "Captain Shane, has order twenty-one sixteen been carried out?"
Taggart felt his jaw tighten. Bending down as much as his crippled leg would allow, he growled in a low, angry whisper to Shane. "What's order twenty-one sixteen?"
Shooting Monroe a thoroughly disgusted look, Shane said, "Lieutenant Monroe was supposed to assist me in taking over the base and the Valiant. That's order twenty-one sixteen."
With the other ship still waiting Taggart said quickly, "Say this: 'Yes, Order twenty-one sixteen has been carried out. General Taggart is not happy with his new orders but will cooperate.' Don't deviant at all."
"Fine," muttered Shane. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he repeated the line exactly as Taggart had ordered.
There was a pause at the other end. One of those deep instincts Taggart had honed over his military career began to kick in. The message had been some sort of code, with the expectation of a specific response. He should have seen that coming. Too many distractions, too many things to worry about. Well, it was his first mutiny, bound to get a few things wrong.
"Sir," spoke up Wilson, "the Aegean just dropped connections with us."
And not a second later, Ensign Mashibe added, "They're powering up weapons."
From his seat, Shane sneered at Taggart defiantly, "Everyone knew how important this project was for you. No one expected you to just give it up." He craned his neck, looking around the bridge at Taggart's people. "All of you are traitors! You'll all be spaced for…Ahhgg!" He was promptly cut off as Monroe punched him in the face.
If Taggart had the presence of mind, he would have just shot Edward Shane right there and then. But more important matters held his attention. Twisting about on his good leg, he shouted towards the professor still working away on the ship's control. "We're out of time, Stone. We need to go now!"
Professor Stone looked up from his work, his face tense. With a shake of his head, he said, "I can give you thrusters."
"We can't escape on thrusters!" thundered Taggart.
"I know," snapped Stone. "Give me a few more minutes, I'm close. But we can get under way while I work."
Taggart rubbed his forehead. This was going to get messy. He had planned to steal the Valiant from right under Earthforce's nose. Simple and easy. No one would needlessly get hurt. He shot a glance at the beaten form of Captain Shane. It was already too late for such hopes.
"Everyone to their stations," ordered Taggart. "We're leaving now."
The crew not already at their positions quickly moved into their assigned seats. Taggart moved to his own command station. There had not been time to install the captain's chair. He would have to stand. So be it. An overview of the ship's functions and summary of status glowed to life as he took his place.
As he looked over the bridge, from one station to the next, he held each crew member's gaze for a moment. Giving each a small, confident smile. Letting them all see the General was confident about their ability to escape. Beholding the Valiant's command deck an unfortunate flaw came to light. No one was sitting at the navigation or operation stations. A quick check around led Taggart to wearily realize they did not have anyone ready to fly the ship.
"Stone," said Taggart urgently. "You'll need to run…"
The professor cut him off, "I can't." He was working away at running a thick black cable into the crystal lattice. "I need to finish here."
From behind him, Taggart heard Shane give a pained laugh. "All of you should just surrender."
Ignoring him, Stone glanced around, his eyes finally resting on his assistant standing awkwardly off to the side. "Connor, you know how the systems work. Take the operations station."
The young man nodded nervously and slid in into one of the empty seats. One more to go.
"Sergeant Wilson, you've practiced on the ship's simulator, haven't you?" question the professor.
"Umm…yes," answered Wilson hesitantly.
"Get up there, Sergeant," ordered Taggart as he pointed to the last empty station.
"Yes, sir," replied Wilson obediently. She slid into the seat next to Connor Olson, who was still apprehensively glancing over the controls.
With the comm station now empty, Taggart turned to Lieutenant Monroe. "Jessica, if you could take communications. You'll find it's not too difficult to operate."
Monroe smiled faintly as she moved into position. "I always have the most fun with your assignments, Robert." Glancing to where Shane still sat in the nearby chair, Taggart could just make out what she said to the man. "You even look at me funny and I'll snap your neck."
The illuminated section of the crystalline dome was still focused on the Aegean. The ship was currently maneuvering into the docking section of the moon base. They were still operating on the assumption the Valiant was still inoperable. Good thought Taggart. Let them waste time with a pointless docking procedure.
"Bring up all the screens," directed Taggart. "Full tactical."
At his command, all the arching walls began to shimmer. The individual crystal shards making up the dome shifted in color and brightness. Starting at the front of the bridge, the wall appeared to fade away. The effect stretched out, at first slowly and then gaining speed as the entire dome was replaced with the outside view of the enclosed docking bay holding the Valiant. The effect was purely an illusion. The walls were still there, solid as ever. But now they projected one continuous hologram of the outside of the ship. Better than any physical window, the wrap around view was highlighted with additional tactical information augmented with sensor data coming in from around the ship.
Seeing the fully functional bridge for the first time, Monroe gave a loud whispered "Amazing."
"Beginning to retract moorings and docking tubes," reported Connor.
"Belay that," ordered Taggart, "we don't have the time. Bring the maneuvering jets to one-third and back us out."
"Sir?" question Wilson.
"It's not like we're coming back here," replied Taggart. "Reverse direction, one-third."
"Aye, sir. Reverse thrust at one-third."
For a good thirty seconds nothing changed on screen. The web connecting tubes and framework around the ship did not budge. Sensor information on his screen did confirm the thrusters were working. But then Taggart felt the slightest of tremors run through the ship. A rumble, sounding like it was coming from far away echoed through the deck. Finally, Taggart could see with his own eyes they were moving. On screen, the accordion-like plastic conduits began to stretch and tear. A part of the lattice attached to the ship started to bend. After uncounted centuries, the Valiant was moving on her own.
Connor's voice leaped in, high and excited. "Port side bracing clamps are beginning to sheer, but the braces on the starboard side are holding us fast. It's throwing us off."
"Easy there, kid," said Taggart sternly. "Sergeant Wilson, give us some extra torque with the lateral thrusters."
"I'm sorry, what do you want me to do?" questioned Wilson with a confused frown.
"Rock her back and forth," Professor Stone put from his open hatch. Seeing both Wilson and Connor's eyes widened he added, "Don't worry the ship can take it."
Their outside view of the bay was quickly veering to the right as the ship's course was being hindered by the remaining supports holding the Valiant in place. "Do it," ordered Taggart.
Wilson's hands flew over her controls. The ship made another shudder, this time stronger than before. Part of the latticework encircling the Valiant smashed into the ship's side as they pivoted. A low but gradually building groan seemingly came from everywhere. Worried expressions bloomed on the face of the crew. Even Professor Stone's expression furrowed in worry.
The countering action of the thrusters began to take effect. The ship swung to and fro like it was an old clipper ship on an Earthborn Ocean in a storm. Taggart could see the metal conduits webbed around the Valiant begin to tear. Solid carbon fiber steel struts began to splinter apart like matchwood. Their careening course inside the manmade cave started to stabilize.
One more groan shuddered through the deck and then Connor whooped, "We're free!"
Not yet, thought Taggart. The long length of the ship took up a good deal of the hanger and now that they were freed, the docking bay doors rapidly grew. The massive doors would be able to hold Valiant indefinitely. However, this barrier was the one thing Taggart did not have to worry about today. He had just finished putting in the override controls when Captain Shane came calling. With a flick of a switch on his command console, the doors began to slide open.
"Steady as we go," ordered Taggart. "Let's try to not knock into anything else," he added, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.
"Aye, sir," came the chorused voices of Wilson and Conner.
"What's the status on the Aegean?" called Taggart as the bay doors opened fully. Outside the inky blackness of space, speckled with stars, filled the bridge's stern view.
Ensign Mashibe reported quickly. "Looks like they realized we're able to move on our own. They're pulling away from the docking ring to the station."
"Stone," warned Taggart, "where are my engines?"
"Nearly there! Five more minutes."
That would be close. While the Aegean was an older class ship, she still had teeth. Specifically, Taggart was worried about the other craft's two thermonuclear torpedoes. They might not be able to destroy the Valiant, but they could certainly do a good deal of damage.
It played out at an agonizingly slow pace. They gradually pulled out of the massive bay that had been the ship's home for the last four years. The Valiant almost seemed reluctant to go. Taggart also felt a small little lurch in his chest. Silly sentimentalism he supposed. The base had been his home as well and before coming here it had been a long time since Robert Taggart had anything like a home.
"We are clear of the hanger," informed Conner.
With a deep sigh, Taggart ordered the ship to come about and put as much distance between themselves and the Aegean. With only the ship's thrusters they would not move fast. If Professor Stone could get the Valiant's actual engines running, they would have all the speed they would need to make their escape.
Monroe said suddenly, "General, looks like the Aegean is trying to talk to us again."
"Ah," replied an amused Taggart. "They're realizing this isn't going to be as easy as they thought." Maybe he could buy them a minute or two more.
"Put them through to my console. Let's see what they've got to say."
A few seconds later the project screen hovered before Taggart changed. The crisp video image of a standard Hyperion-class bridge appeared. Focused on the center of the video stream was the unhappy face of Aegean's commander, Colonel Amala Patel.
She spoke with a harsh, displeased voice. An angry mother scolding her child. "General Taggart, just what do you think you're doing?"
"Hello Amala," replied Taggart with a tired smile, "it's been a while, hasn't it?"
The Colonel's bronze toned face softened ever so slightly. "Yes, it has, sir. You know I've always held you in high regard, even after your breakdown." She paused and when she spoke again, her hard resolve was back. "Again, I'll ask you - what do you think you're doing?"
"Well, I thought it was rather obvious," said Taggart with a slight shrug. "I'm stealing the Valiant."
Patel shook her head, sadly. "You can't possibly think you're going to escape."
"I'm going to give it one helluva of a try," answered Taggart. The Colonel was about to open her mouth in reply when he cut the connection. Her video image vanished from view. His eyes then roamed over the tactical summary screens. The mass of the moon Nereid was between the Valiant and the Aegean. Sensors showed the other ship picking up speed, catching up to their slower moving vessel.
"Last time I'm going to ask, Professor," said Taggart through clenched teeth. "Where's my engines?"
"Alright," puffed Stone as he straightened up from his work. He gestured to the chaotic network of cables and crystals in the hole in the deck. "This whole thing is strung together like a bunch of old Christmas tree lights. Let's not bang us around too much."
"I promise nothing," grumbled Taggart. But his curt response was drowned out as low thrumming noise pulsed through the ship. An almost electric feeling, like a slight static shock, brushed across his neck making him flinch. Taggart saw everyone else on the bridge do the same.
"Gravimetric drives online, control systems fully engaged," reported Connor from the operations station. Sighs of relief came from many around the bridge.
Their brief repose was of course short lived. An alarm went off on Taggart's console followed by an urgent warning from Mashibe. "The Aegean is coming around the limb of Nereid. Their weapons are locking on to us."
"Sergeant Wilson," ordered Taggart, "let's get the hell out of here."
"Yes, sir!" came Wilson's enthusiastic response.
Controls were operated, their course was laid in, and the Valiant's drives were ready to push them through space in a bubble of controlled gravity. Then with a simple press of the execute button, Andrea Wilson ordered the ship to launch itself on path away from the encroaching danger.
As the button was pushed, a relay in her console was tripped, and a small electrical current was generated. The signal was transmitted to the black cables behind the console. It then traveled into the specially built interface devices connecting the Human built controls to the alien ship's piezoelectric crystals. The impulse of the precise electronic frequency triggered the meshed collective network of computers on the ship to activate the gravity drive…
…and then nothing happened.