Stars in the Sand (32 page)
Weitzman looked up from his station, and said, “Fighters launched, ma'am. Intercept course.”
“
She’s a good pilot,” Marshall replied, “and I can’t let her throw her life away on a mission like this. I repeat, this is vetoed. No flight.”
“
You aren’t in command here,” Caine said. “Launch in thirty seconds, Maggie.”
“
Fighters will be on us in five minutes unless we move,” Nelyubov said.
Orlova looked at the status boards, running a quick check of the trajectories, and confirming everything that Marshall had said. If she was in condition to fly, she’d have taken the shuttle out herself without a second thought, and she knew that if she gave the order, the pilot would take a crack at it.
“
Fifteen seconds,” Weitzman said.
“
What are we doing, Maggie?” Nelyubov said. “
Those fighters are getting closer by the second.”
She didn’t have the right to give the order. That was the only thing running through her mind. She’d go on the mission herself, but that was different. That was only putting her in jeopardy. This wasn’t like before, wasn’t like the decision she’d made on Hercules. This time, it was just rescuing one man, no matter who he
might be.
Marshall’s voice echoed through the room again, “Maggie, I put you in command because I trusted you to take the tough decisions. This one is easy. Get out of here!”
“
Maggie, get that shuttle up,” Caine said.
She shook her head, and said, “Frank, fire main engines on schedule. Get us to the egress point.”
“
No!” Caine yelled. “That order is countermanded!”
“
I’m in command,” Orlova said, desperately trying to keep her voice from cracking. “Sub-Lieutenant Nelyubov, you will obey my order.”
“
Frank,” Caine said, “tell Bradley to…”
“
Belay that order,” Orlova said. “Lieutenant Caine, get below.”
“
Damn you, Maggie…”
Turning to her, face flushed and red, she said, “Caine, get below! That’s an order! Weitzman, have the shuttle crew stand down.”
The engines fired, and Ouroboros began to accelerate, heading to the system exit point. Caine stormed from the bridge, and Orlova looked after her for a few seconds, before turning back to face the viewscreen.
“
We’re on our way, Captain,” she said. “Estimated time of departure thirty-two minutes.”
“
Good. I’ll see you off before…”
“
Is there anything I can do for you, sir?”
He took a deep breath, audible over the speaker, and said, “I won’t order you to get everyone home, because I know you will. Tell my father that...that I did my best, and that I want him to get Alamo back to Mars. And when you see Commodore Tramiel, tell him that I’m sorry I overstepped my orders so much.” He was actually chuckling, “But also tell him that I do not for one moment regret being placed in command of Alamo. Not for a second. Tell him that, will you.”
“
I’m your messenger now, am I?” she said, tears running into her smile. “I’ll do that for you, sir.”
“
Good.”
Weitzman turned, his eyes as blurry as Orlova’s, and said, “We’re passing behind the horizon in a few seconds. No relay, we’ll lose contact.”
“
There are personal messages on file, they can be passed around. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve with each and every one….”
The voice crackled away to nothing, and Weitzman said, “Signal lost, ma’am.”
Leaning back on the command couch, now hers, she looked up at Nelyubov, “We on course?”
“
All green, and no sign of pursuit.
Fighters turning back to the station.
I think we showed them a clean pair of heels.”
“
Thanks to the Captain.”
“
We’re clear to the hendecaspace point, Maggie,” Frank said, “I can take her the rest of the
way. You get that arm seen to.”
She looked down at her wrist, the pain almost forgotten, moving to the back of her mind. Looking up at Nelyubov, she nodded, and made her way to the corridor, heading towards sickbay.
Weitzman looked up as she passed, and said, “It was worth it, ma’am.”
“
I know,” she said. “If Cooper had known he wasn’t coming back, he’d have gone anyway.”
“
So would the Captain,” he agreed.
She pushed out of the room, but didn’t even get half-way to the elevator before swinging into an empty compartment, the door closing behind her, just before she broke down in tears. After what seemed like hours, the door swung open, Sergeant Forrest standing at the threshold, and she wiped at her face.
“
Sorry, Sergeant. I know officers shouldn’t cry in front of the men.”
“
I’m still too shocked, ma’am. And I didn’t see a thing.” He took a deep breath, and said, “A lot of people would have sent that shuttle back. I’d have gone, Lieutenant, but you did the right thing. We wouldn’t have had a chance.”
“
I couldn’t send you. I’d have gone myself.”
“
Not with that wrist. At best you’d have flown right back into captivity.” He shook his head, and said, “I just hope our freedom is worth the price you paid. The Captain, Cooper, Cantrell.” He chuckled for a second, then said, “I never even knew her. And she sacrificed her life – or at least her freedom – for us. Didn’t even think twice.”
“
Thinking is a bad habit. I’ve got to try and get out of it.”
“
I’ve seen friends die, ordered them to go, knowing that they probably wouldn’t be coming back. It’s never easy.”
“
Damn right.”
“
Sometimes it is necessary. We can’t bring them back, Lieutenant. All we can do is make sure that what they did has meaning, that it was worth it.”
She looked up at him, and replied, “Thank you, Sergeant.”
“
I know, I know,” he said. “Just words, and words don’t mean a damn thing. Perhaps this will help. There are eleven people back in the crew quarters who are going to see their families again. They’re going to get a chance to go home, because of what you all did, because of what they sacrificed. What you sacrificed. That’s something.”
Nodding, she said, “I’d better get back up to the bridge. We’ll be leaving the system in a minute.” Sliding past Forrest, she walked uncertain paces to the command deck, a stern-faced Caine standing at the door.
“
We can’t go back now, it’s too late,” Caine said. “I accept that you are in command, but Lieutenant, when we get back…”
“
You intend to do everything in your power to see that I am court-martialed.”
“
As long as we understand each other.”
She walked back, unsteady in the acceleration, and looked at the viewscreen. The planet was visible as a sphere now, becoming a memory rather than a
bitter
reality. Nelyubov looked up, then back down to his work feeding the last of the hendecaspace calculations into the navigational computer. Just a couple of minutes to go.
“
Weitzman, try and call the Captain,” she said. “The satellite should be back in range by now.”
“
Yes, ma’am,” he replied, then frowned. “It’s gone.”
“
What, the satellite?”
“
Aye, Lieutenant. I’m just reading a cloud of debris.”
“
They must have had some sort of self-destruct,” Nelyubov said. “If we’d sent a shuttle…”
“
Then even if it had made it, we’d have just added more bodies to the death count. Sub-Lieutenant, you have the call.”
“
Aye, ma’am. Standing by.”
Quietly, too softly for anyone to hear, Orlova whispered, “Goodbye, Captain,” as the bright flash whisked them to the safety of hendecaspace.
Epilogue
Death was a lot noisier than he’d been expecting. The constant drip from the ceiling, either poor maintenance or deliberate malice. At this point, he wouldn’t bet on which. His back ached, stiff from lying on the floor for too long, and he tried to look around the room, in the thin trace of light that seeped through a crack in the door.
Footsteps, growing louder, growing closer. He tried to rise to his feet, but his legs were bound, and all he could manage was to shuffle around. Instead, he at least managed to face the door as it burst open, white light almost blinding him, a familiar figure standing at the threshold.
“
Captain Marshall,” the voice said. “I think it is long past time that we talked.”
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Stars in the Sand
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue