Though they were glad to be alive, both sisters were starting to get bored and a little bit angry at being ignored. Then the African woman returned from the front of the shuttle. She stopped in front of them and stared, hands on hips. Then she removed her helmet and spoke to them in understandable Arabic.
“My name is Beth Melaku. I am First Officer on the Peggy Sue, a starship owned by the Orion Arm Trading Company. Who are you?”
“I'm Shadi, and this is my sister Dorri. We were settlers at New Mecca; we belonged to the house of Imam Mustafa Al-Ghazali.”
“Was that man, Mustafa Al-Ghazali, your father?”
“No, our family was from Teheran. They died in the great bombardment.”
“I'm sorry to hear that, Shadi.” The African woman looked at her closely and said in Farsi, “So you are Iranian, not Arabs”?
“Yes, Ma'am,” Shadi replied in the same language.
“Hmm,” the dark woman said.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Are you all Africans on this ship?”
“What?” Beth blinked. “Ah, I see. Kashi helped you with your masks and you can't see the faces of the Marines in their heavy armor. Kashi is indeed an African, from Nigeria.”
Beth paused for a moment to make sure she had been understood. Her Farsi was not nearly as good as her Arabic. Both girls nodded their comprehension.
“My parents were from Ethiopia, but I was born and raised in Britain. We have people from many nations on board this shuttle and on the Peggy Sue. For example, Kate is German, and Bosco, one of the Marines, is Russian. The others here are Americans.”
“We also speak English, Ms. Melaku,” said Dorri, speaking for the first time.
Beth smiled at her and again changed languages. “That is good to know, Dorri. It will make talking to the crew much easier.”
“What's to happen to us, Ma'am?” asked Shadi in excellent English.
“Right now we are waiting for our Captain to rendezvous with us. Then we will dock with the ship and get the ship's medical doctor to examine you, just to make sure you are alright. Then you will talk to the Captain and he will figure out what to do with you.”
Both girls looked somewhat dubious at that last statement. In Farsi Dorri said to Shadi, “We are going to be under the control of another patriarch, sister.”
Beth smiled. “Oh, I think you will find that our Captain is a very reasonable man—very fair when it comes to such matters. You see he is from Texas and follows a sort of cowboy code. He believes that everyone should be treated with respect, especially women and children. He is also my husband.”
Again Beth smiled at the sisters, whose eyes went wide when the tall British/Ethiopian woman said she was married to a cowboy from Texas.
Bridge, Peggy Sue
The distance between the Peggy Sue and Shuttle One was under five hundred kilometers when a broadcast on the open emergency channel came through. After listening to the conversation between the shuttle pilot named Frank and Fortune's bridge, Billy Ray leaned back in his chair, forehead wrinkled in thought.
“Shuttle One, Peggy Sue. You about ready to rendezvous pardner?”
“Roger that, Peggy Sue. I'm matching velocity for docking as we speak.”
“Good, I think we are not done with this black contagion stuff yet.”
“Copy that. We heard the emergency transmission ourselves.”
“When you get back on board, drop the survivors in medical and you and Beth come to my sea cabin. We all need to talk.”
“Roger, Captain. We're on our way.”
Bridge, ESS Fortune
Leon and his companions arrived on the bridge to find the Captain locked in his sea cabin and the Navigator at the helm. A couple of the other ratings were also present.
“Where's the Captain?” Leon demanded. “We barely escaped with our lives from that black crap down in the cargo hold.”
“The Captain is locked inside his sea cabin,” replied the Navigator, the ranking officer present. “I have shutdown environmental support for the hold and lower decks to keep that stuff out of the crew space.”
“I'm telling you, that is not going to keep that shit out!”
“We trusted you to lead us to a new land of milk and honey,” shouted the preacher. “Instead you delivered us to Gehenna. You are in league with the devil and will die at the hands of the angel of death!”
The two young colonists sank to their knees in terror. Leon and the other crewmen drew closer together, baring the raving Brother Abraham's access to the bridge controls. Brother Abraham advanced on the crew.
“The angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!”
Behind the ranting preacher the door to the Captain's sea cabin slid silently open. Captain Chakrabarti stepped into the room with a stunner in his hand, one of the few weapons on board. He stunned the preacher from behind.
Brother Abraham sank to his knees and then fell forward, face down on the deck. His two followers tried to rise and come to his aid. Captain Chakrabarti stunned them as well.
“Thank God, Captain,” said the Navigator. “That guy totally lost it. We need to drag them to the crew escape pods and abandon ship before that black crap reaches us.”
“Nonsense,” said the Captain, his eyes wild. “We are going to proceed to the transit point and head back to Earth.”
“Sir, respectfully that is not a... Ungh!”
The Navigator crumpled under the beam from the Captain's stunner.
“The rest of you mutineers, stand away from the controls!”
The remaining crewmen backed away from their commanding officer, eyes on the muzzle of his stunner. It was obvious to Leon that the Captain was totally insane. He also realized that if the Captain stunned him he would stand no chance of escaping.
With the path to the control console clear the Captain moved swiftly. Changing the stunner to his left hand he began entering commands with his right. The crew exchanged glances—they knew their only hope was to rush the Captain all at once.
“Computer, verify course selection,” the Captain commanded.
“Course for alignment with alter-space transit point plotted. Estimated time until transition four hours and twenty-three minutes,” the computer answered.
“Emergency code
Götterdämmerung
. Lock course and execute!”
Leon the other two crewmen rushed the Captain. One rating fell, stunned to insensibility, but the other two managed to overpower Chakrabarti and wrest the stunner from him.
“Code accepted, Captain. Course locked in; execution proceeds,” the computer confirmed.
“Too late!” the Captain cackled. “We are headed back to Earth. I'll see you all strung up from the yard arms!”
“He's totally bonkers,” said the remaining conscious crewman.
“Yeah,” said Leon, “Computer, cancel course. Remain in orbit.”
“Course selection can not be canceled without override code.”
“Aw shit,” Leon said.
Captain Chakrabarti cackled madly.
Captain's Sea Cabin, Peggy Sue
Beth and Bobby were still wearing their skintight inner pressure suits when they arrived at the Captain's sea cabin. They detailed Kate to take the two survivors to sick bay for a checkup and told the Marines to remain in armor on board the shuttle until the Captain decided on a course of action. They might be called on to board the colonization transport ship. Billy Ray and Mizuki were already seated as the rescuers entered.
“What's the situation, Captain?” asked Beth, looking a bit drawn. Billy Ray could see the pain in his wife's eyes. The loss of the Gunny hit her hard, but there wasn't time to deal with that now.
“As you heard, we have reports that the contagion is on board the Fortune. Evidently it has killed several crewmembers and the rest are locked in the forward section of the ship.”
“Is there any way we can kill it?” asked Bobby.
“We have no way to do so with certainty, Bobby,” Mizuki replied. “Since it devours anything organic we cannot synthesize a poison.”
“What about breaching the hull, depressurizing the ship?” asked Beth. “Could exposure to vacuum kill it?”
“According to the alien recordings, they thought it arrived on a swarm of meteors. If that was the case then it can obviously survive in a vacuum.”
“So what can we do to kill it, Mizuki?” asked the Captain.
“The only sure way is to turn it to plasma, which would have a detrimental effect on those left on board the ship.”
“To say the least,” added Bobby.
The discussion was interrupted by a call from the bridge.
“Captain, Bridge.”
“Go Bridge,” Billy Ray replied.
“Mr. Umky reports that the Fortune is underway and maneuvering for alter-space transition, Sir.”
“Copy, Bridge. Keep me informed of any changes in course.”
Billy Ray's face was grim as he looked around the table.
“People, we cannot let that ship go back to Earth. Not with the contagion on board.”
“You're right, Captain. It would kill anyone who tried to board the ship, and if it got loose on Farside it could end mankind.”
“Exactly, Mizuki.”
“There's nothing for it then. We shall have to destroy the Fortune before she can transit.”
“Right, Number One. Let's get to our stations.”
The Captain and his officers exited the sea cabin and hastened to their posts on the bridge.
* * * * *
Bobby took his seat next to Nigel at the helm, Mizuki manned the sensor console, and Beth took the observers seat next to the Captain's command chair. Billy Ray looked around the bridge, checking that everyone was in place and ready for action. He sat down and spoke to Nigel at the helm.
“Mr. Lewis, close to within a thousand kilometers of the Fortune. Smartly, sir, do not spare the engines.”
“Aye, aye, Sir!”
Behind the Captain, Umky smiled a faint bearish smile. After all, there was nothing a polar bear liked more than running prey to ground.
ESS Fortune, Underway
Leon looked around the bridge. There were five unconscious people: the three settlers, the Navigator and one crewman. The Captain, his hands bound behind him by a plastic tie wrap, was sitting in a chair rocking forward and back. The only effectives were Leon and the other crewman.
“We are going to have to drag these people to the escape pods,” Leon said.
“Why not wait until they recover?” asked the crewman. “They should only be out a half hour or so. We won't be in positing to transit for another four hours.”
“You want to just sit around and hope that black crap doesn't find us for a half hour?”
“Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”
“Let me call Frank and see if he has any ideas.”
Leon went to the console and opened a channel to the shuttle where Frank had taken refuge.
“Shuttle Bravo, Bridge. Come in Frank.”
“Go Bridge, you got me.”
“Hey Frank, I'm stuck here on the bridge with five unconscious people and the Captain, who's gone round the bend big time. He's restrained and babbling like a crazy man.”
“That you Leon? Are you alone up there?”
“No, I got one of the ratings with me.”
“Why are we underway?”
“The Captain gave the computer some kind of emergency code and told the ship to take us home. We're getting lined up to make the transition to alter-space.”
“That is not good, Leon. You need to get out of there.”
“My thoughts exactly, but we can't just leave the others laying here on the deck. It wouldn't be right.”
“Can you drag them into the escape pods?”
“Yeah but it will take time. The pods are a deck down and we will have to drag them one at a time to the elevator. Plus, the bridge elevator won't hold them all in one trip. I'm afraid the black crap will find us while we're moving them.”
“Lower the deck gravity.”
“What?”
“I said, lower the deck gravity. It'll make it easier to move them.”
“Great idea, Frank. I knew it was a good idea calling you. Assuming we do get off this rust bucket, what happens next?”
“I'm going to call that merchant captain and ask him to come pick us up.”
“You think he will?”
“I'm declaring an emergency. Law of the sea applies. All ships in the area are required to provide assistance.”
“OK. We'll get to work moving the others. Bridge out.”
Chapter 27
Bridge, Peggy Sue
“Captain, I'm getting an SOS beacon from the Fortune,” reported Mizuki from her console.
Now what?
“Peggy Sue, open a channel to the Fortune.”
“Captain, the SOS is coming from one of the Fortune's shuttles.”