Stepping Up (32 page)

The amulet starts to vibrate against my chest. 

“If you can still hear me, baby, this is very important. 
Lunia is not your aunt; she is not a friend.  She has tricked you into doing
some very bad things.  That isn’t your fault—it’s hers.  She lied to you. She
tricked you into making cyborgs.  Those cyborgs are now trying to hurt Athena,
me, and many of our other friends.  They just killed Sherri. I promise you,
sweetie, if you want to break some of her cyborgs, it’s okay with me.  You will
not be punished for it.”

I press my APE suit, pushing the amulet close to me, and
mutter a silent prayer to any gods that may be listening.  “Gwen, I’m here.  If
you can, come to me.  If you can’t do that, bring me to you.”

Through my APE suit headset, I tell the Troopers: “Weapons
free on any adult humanoids that didn’t come from
Night Searcher
.”

A man’s voice says, “About bloody time.”

A firefight of epic proportions breaks out. I can hear the
explosions and gunfire reverberate throughout the massive ship.

I feel myself dissipate again.

I “wake up” in our old room on
Night Searcher
. The
ship is rocking back and forth. Over my headset, I learn that
Night Searcher
is engaging three additional starships of an alien design.  Each of the new
ships is roughly a 200-ton design.  Neither is a match for us, but collectively
they are a threat.  But even between the three attackers,
Night Searcher
is holding her own.

“Bridge, Captain.  Advise boarding party that I am aboard
Night
Searcher
, alive and intact. I’m on my way up.” 
It would have been nice
had I materialized in my
current
stateroom.
I run to the bridge. 
Once I get there, I yell, “Brief me, you have one minute.”

Rangee looks dumbfounded.  Aria speaks, “We began destroying
the probes. Three ships came out of the ocean loaded with armored troops. The
troops dismounted and began moving towards
Night Searcher
. When we fire
on the ships, we are subject to the high-energy weapons of the dismounts.  When
we target the dismounts, the ships hit us. We have been in a fierce battle with
them ever since. We cannot maintain this much longer. We will have to get out
of here, or we
will
be boarded. The EDS is currently active, so I am
very curious as to how you transported aboard. I must insist you do it no
more.”

“I’m a bit curious myself, but we’ll leave that for later.”
I call Friday.  “My boots are in my stateroom.  Have someone bring them to the
bridge.  MacTaggert out.”

The Energy Dampening Screen or EDS is another nifty bit of
engineering and physics manipulation.  It’s essentially a cloud of particles
meant to redirect or spoof any directed energy.  The immediate payoff is that
targeting lasers are ineffective.  As are most variants of missile targeting
methods, RADAR, LIDAR, etc.  So in theory it should be impossible for me to be
teleporting on and off the ship.  But to be honest, I don’t know why a perCom
signal will penetrate an EDS but a beam of light won’t. The orbit of the planet
is littered with hundreds of floating troops armed with the remnants of an
assortment of high energy weapons. But thousands more continue threatening us.

Athena reports: “We have the girl and are RTB. Cover us.”

I yell to the Navigator, “If you haven’t done so already,
plot a course to get us out of here. How long until we can trigger the Transit
drives?”

Rangee is talking to the Weapons officer: “Provide that
launch all the cover it needs.”

“Course is plotted, helm has it,” the navigator answers.
“Leaving orbit at max gee we can Transit in twenty minutes.”

“Engineering, Captain.  Prep for immediate Transit.  At my
command, I need all she’ll do.”

“Roger that, Boss.  I mean Captain,” Ginny answers.

The launch streaks for
Night Searcher
. Hundreds of
energy bolts fly between the cyborg factory and
Night Searcher,
but none
strike the launch. As soon as the launch berths on
Night Searcher,
and
the last red light on the status board I’m watching turns green, I clap the
helmsman on the shoulder.  “Go!”

Night Searcher
leaps from the planet’s gravity well.
This
pig is
definitely
redlined.

“Engineering, Bridge.  Report.”

“We are doing 3.2G and climbing.  We can probably keep this
up for another five minutes before the engines start shaking themselves apart.” 
I watch the chronometer.  At the four-minute mark, still deep inside the
gravity well, I give the order:  “Engage Transit Drive.”

Aria glances at the boards and speaks to the Com grille,
“Chief Engineer, do you concur?”

“I trust the Captain,” Ginny answers.  “I concur.”

“XO, do you concur?”

Rangee is sweating. “Con-concur.”

Aria’s fingers dance across her holoCom terminal satisfying
the software requirement..
Night Searcher
leaps ahead.  Our proximity to
the planet will play havoc with our navigational data.  But our safest course
of action will be to re-evaluate our position when we fall from Transit. 
Taylor walks onto the bridge, my boots in his hand.  I sit and put them on,
handing him the overly large ones.

“Dispose of these, I don’t care how.  If they’ll fit you,
you may have them.”  I look at the Weapons display. “Master Arm to ‘Safe,’
Chief.”  She makes the appropriate changes. 

We are in Transit. The two-hundred-ton ships are quickly
left behind, as well as the planet and the floating troops.  “Aria, Malcolm,
I’m going to the small craft bay.”

“Roger.” Rangee wipes sweat from his brow.

“Captain is off the bridge,” Aria says. “XO has the conn.”

Athena is walking off the launch carrying Gwen in her
arms. “She is in some sort of trance. Everyone keep your hands off of her. 
Captain, respectfully, I am taking her to Medical.”

“I’ll follow you.”

On the way, I ask her, “Losses?”

“Seven, ma’am. We would have lost more if not for the armor
you designed. I sustained several bullet wounds, but they are superficial. The
Troopers should all receive a hearty ‘thank you’ from their captain. They
performed very well, and were all willing to give their lives for hers or
yours.”

“And so they shall.” I dial up the Troop Commander.  “Chief
Sergeant, Captain MacTaggert.  Every person who was on that mission is now on
forty-eight hours down time effective immediately with the following
exception:  I want to see them all in the Commons no later than 1400 tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“It will be a command function, but not a command
inspection.”

“Roger, ma’am. They’ll be there.  We’d like to do the
memorial at 1300.”

“I’ll be there, MacTaggert out.” My next call is to the
galley.  “Have plenty of snacks and ethanol-enhanced beverages delivered to the
Commons by 1350 tomorrow, please.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they answer.  I put my perCom back in my
pocket.

“Athena, your injuries:  Do you heal or do they need to be
repaired? Med bay or Engineering?”

“I have already patched them. I am as good as new.”

On the way, I feel the vibration of the Transit Engines. 
But they are doing so at a much higher than normal frequency. I call Ginny on
my perCom, “Gin … Chief Berry, what are you doing to my ship?”

“I’ll be damned if I know how, Boss, but my best guess is we
are doing Transit 9, but none of our gauges register that high.”

“Roger.  Keep an eye on everything, let’s not look gift
horses in the mouth, but pull the plug if we start to lose structural integrity
or the engines can’t handle the power.”

I end that conversation and call the Bridge. “This is the
Captain.  Recalculate current course at Transit 9, I say again 9.”

Rangee answers: “Captain, Bridge.  Aye.”  I can hear the
disbelief in his voice, but he can argue later. If we come out of Transit on
the wrong side of the universe because we overshoot Ramaris, the gods alone
know when we’ll get home.

In the med bay I ask, “Doc, can you tell me anything?”

Without thinking, I wrap my hand around the amulet, “Gwen?
Can you hear me sweetie?”

I’m moving again. 

I dissipate from Medical and coalesce in the rear of the
power plant in the very stern of the ship. Ginny is tightening a conduit
junction and sees me in the rough reflection of the bulkhead.  She jumps, drops
a wrench and hits her head on the conduit above her.  She yells, “What the..?
Ow!
Damnit, Boss, don’t
do
that!”

“Sorry about that.  Don’t you know this is a hardhat area? 
I’m pretty sure that’s in the safety manual.”

Why am I here? Is that a spark?
  “Ginny, reinforce
that junction.”

Ginny follows my pointing finger.  “There you are! Thanks,
Cap. That leak showed on the board; I’ve been looking for it.”

I think I am beginning to understand how the amulet works. 
I think it takes me to where I most need to be.  But I can’t be bouncing all
over the ship, or off of the ship.  So I take it off and put it in my cargo
pocket.
Does it know when I don’t want it to work?
My perCom trills.
“Captain, Bridge.  Are you on the ship?”

“Yes, I’m in Engineering, an unintended teleport.  I’m going
back to medical.” I jog on the long trip.  I arrive slightly winded.  “Doc,
what can you tell me about Gwendolyn?” 

“Oh, you’re back.  She’s in some sort of coma, so it’s hard
to say anything with certainty.  I’ll keep her for observation.  Physically,
she will recover; she has several electrical burns, like maybe a hand held
shocking unit or a soldering iron? Some bruises.  Her arm bones have been
insulted, but not fractured.  Torsion injuries…they stopped just short of
breaking. Those will heal.  I am in a medical ‘gray area’ where she’s
concerned, as I am sure you know.”

“Okay, keep me posted.  I’m heading to the bridge; can you
give me anything stronger than coffee?”

“For you? Not with a clear conscience, ma’am.  You have
ridden a physical and emotional roller coaster for 12 hours at least.  I
understand you also got wounded on the enemy ship.  I should but won’t insist
on examining you.  If you push the stimulant issue, I’ll have to…”

I know when I’m beat so I wave her off. “Withdrawn, Doctor,
coffee will have to do.” I point to a coffee service on her desk, she nods and
pours me a large one, adding a shot of hazelnut flavoring.  I snap a traveling
lid on it and stride to the bridge with a purpose.

“Captain is on the Bridge,” I hear as I step onto the
Bridge.

“Report.”

“Captain,” Rangee begins, “
Night Searcher
is in
Transit at an estimated velocity of Transit 9.  The Navigator projects that we
will be at our next stop in 72
hours
rather than 72 days.  This is
convenient as Engineering claims that is all the abuse the Transit drive system
can survive.”

“Roger. Navigator, we may have to do some ‘dead reckoning’
the old fashioned way.  I’m not trying to tell you your job, but you should be
able to determine how long we stay at this velocity to get back to Ramaris
sector.”

He looks at me, he’s nervous.  I put my hand on his
shoulder, trying to be encouraging.  He speaks slowly: “I guess that could
work, but we’ll see. I have never experienced space travel at a speed faster
than Transit 5. This is mind boggling.”

“It’s your field of expertise.  The first wormhole sent us
an incredible distance from home.  If we drop out of Transit just as far on the
other side, our situation has not improved markedly.  Use your best guess.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Very well.” I sit in my chair.  The logs are all being
populated, after action and repair reports are trickling in. 
Night Searcher
is settling into a groove.  I look at my coffee cup, then around the bridge. My
tongue feels furry.  I have trouble focusing my vision on anything.  If Doc
Traynor slipped something in my coffee…  “Aria, I’m spent.  I’m going to my
cabin.  COM me if anything unusual—anything
else
unusual—pops up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she says.  “Captain is off the bridge.”

Clarisse has laid a snack out for me, but first I’m taking a
shower. I take my time.  The water washes the dirt and sweat away, but not the
pain or the loss.  When I get out, I start to dial Sherri up on my perCom. 
Then realize I can’t.

I’m tired, too tired to do anything more than towel my
hair.  I don’t even put on any night clothes, I just fall back onto my bed with
one towel lying across me and another wrapped around my hair.

I hear the door open and close.
That’s strange, Friday
should have alerted me.
Sherri is standing in the doorway. I prop myself up
on my elbows to look at her.  She orders me to lie down and relax. We both
giggle at her order. She drops her flight suit to reveal barely existent black
lingerie that enhances her curves.

She’s a beauty…wait a minute! “But…you can’t be…I saw…”

Sherri puts her finger across my lips, “Shh, you think too
much, baby.” 

She reclines beside me on the bed. I roll onto one side to
look at her.  She pushes me onto my back.  Her lips find mine. She’s…sweet. 
One hand finds my stomach,.her other finds the light switch.

My alarm goes off at 0600.  I’m alone.  There’s no
evidence that anybody aside from me was ever in the room.  I’m also still
tired.  I go to the ’fresher and back to bed. 

My alarm chimes again at 1230.  I dress and go to the
Commons.  The enormity of the individuals in the room makes it seem small. 
Even the females are big. Not manly, but definitely big.

There are seven pairs of boots in line on the platform. 
Each pair has a tripod stabilized accelerator rifle muzzle down between each
boot.  Each rifle has a helmet on it.  There are many people present.  There is
roll call is given and then the Chief Sergeant delivers a eulogy for the fallen
Troopers.  I’m not the only person crying.  He’s timed it well.