The Void (31 page)

Captain Gravely and Aidan did not mourn Jack. Their concerns were far more pressing.

“So Jack's dead,” Gravely said finally. “And that leaves us with a problem.”

“The computers are locked down.” Aidan never could help voicing the obvious.

“Can you unlock the computers, Dr. Kensington?”

Rebecca looked at Gravely, unsure if the question was directed at her, even though her name was mentioned. Gravely and Aidan merely watched her, letting her answer in her own good time.

“Unlock them?” she said, the question starting to break through the fog in her mind. “No,” she muttered. “It takes both of us. Both Jack and me. Now that he's dead . . . no, they can't be unlocked.”

“So we're dead in the water then,” Gravely said.

“It's worse than that, Captain,” Aidan said. “We aren't dead in the water. We're moving.”

“Toward the black hole,” Rebecca finished his thought, and Aidan sighed.

“Yes, exactly. We've been locked on to the
Singularity
for almost a full day. It's been dragging us toward the black hole since the beginning. Not a problem with our engines, but without them . . .” Aidan held out an upturned hand. There was no need to say anything else. Aidan stood up and paced around the bridge. He had an idea, but he wasn’t happy with it, and he hoped he could come up with something else, something less risky. The others watched him, aware that he was sorting out his thoughts. Finally he spoke. “I hate to say it, Captain, but I think we have to engage the warp jump on the
Singularity.
”

“I thought you said that was impossible.”

“No, not impossible. I said it was risky. Very risky. I'd say there's an 80% chance we lose the ship if we do it. But, given the circumstances, I'd say it's our only option.”

“Could we move the
Chronos'
s standard drive? Like Jack wanted to?”

Aidan shook his head. “No, the computer locks are hardwired. Wouldn't work. It would still be locked down.”

Gravely slumped down in a chair in front of the forward console. “So we abandon the ship,” she said. “That's not a result I am prepared to accept, Mr. Connor. Especially if it means going back to the
Singularity
.”

“I don't think we have a choice, Captain.”

Gravely looked around the bridge, absorbing every inch of it, burning it into her mind. She wanted to always remember it. She had hoped for so much more time.

“Her maiden voyage,” she said. Then she smiled at the others. “I guess the great ones always go down like that, huh?”

“Wait,” Rebecca said, holding up a finger. Aidan and Gravely turned their attention to her, though the look on her face told them her brain was still churning. “Aidan, do you remember, before we left solar orbit, when we talked? Here?”

“Yeah,” Aidan said. “Of course.”

“You explained something to me then. About why a ship needs a navigator.”

Gravely leaned forward in her chair, clarity coming into her eyes. “Because the computers shut down.”

“Yes,” Aidan murmured, understanding. “When they shut down, we have to reboot them.”

“And that's a hard shutdown, right?” Rebecca asked.

“You've outdone yourself, Dr. Kensington,” Gravely said, delighted. “There's a problem, though. How do we engage the warp drive? Jack had that locked down as well.”

“We don't have to engage the one on the
Chronos
,” Aidan said as Rebecca nodded vigorously. “We can use the
Singularity
. Since the two ships are connected, the warp bubble will automatically flow around both ships. We engage the warp bubble, launch the warp drive. Then all we have to do is cause an emergency drop. When we do, I'd say there's a 90, 95% chance the computer system has a hard shut down. When it boots back up, Jack's locks should be broken.”

“But we still have the problem of going to warp near a black hole.”

“True, but we won't have to go far,” Aidan said. “Not far at all. We just have to get to warp and then drop out. I think the chance we lose the ship is negligible. Even if we do, the sudden loss of warp containment should be enough to reengage our systems. Worst case, I go over there and get blown up.”

“That's a pretty bad worst case,” Rebecca said.

Aidan smiled. “For me, certainly.”

“And what if we don't get a hard reboot?” Gravely asked.

“One worst case at a time, Captain.”

There was a sudden skittering sound at the door to the bridge that told them they were not alone. They watched as it slid open, their eyes falling down to the floor as the Charlotte marched into the room.

“It must have finished Ridley's autopsy,” Rebecca said, “but I can't imagine that it found anything unusual.”

Aidan bent down as the Charlotte propped itself on its back legs, holding up two arms like a puppy that wanted to play.

“What do you have old girl?” Aidan asked.

A panel slid open on the Charlotte's back. With one of its legs, it reached inside and produced a small square of plastic, one with a light that pulsated red, almost angrily.

“What's this?”

“Ridley must have had it,” Rebecca offered.

Aidan pressed the flashing red button, and the recording of a person appeared, one they all recognized as the woman Ridley and Gravely had found on the
Singularity
what seemed ages ago. They watched, as Ridley had watched before them, learned the horrible truth about what had happened on that accursed ship, what fate had befallen the crew.

“God in Heaven,” Gravely whispered. “What did you people do?”

“Something terrible,” was all Rebecca could say.

“They couldn't have known,” Aidan turned to them, an ashen mask having fallen over his face. “You asked us once, Rebecca,” he said, as the image of the girl disappeared back into the holorecorder and the red light resumed its furious pulsing, “why we endure the dreams.

“I think you have your answer now. That story? The one about the first ship to go to warp, the
Hypnos
? The one that everybody says is just an old legend? We know now it's true. And the men on that ship, they saw truth. No wonder they killed themselves.”

“You think they saw the same thing on the
Singularity
, don't you?”

Aidan shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds crazy, doesn't it? At this point, maybe not so crazy. I think that the warp jumps offer a window into another world and the sleep merely masks it. Just not all of it. They say in dreams are truth and in these, that can't be doubted. Not anymore.”

“What do you mean, Aidan?” Gravely asked.

“We've all seen them,” he said, shaking his head. “Heard them. Even if we never talked about it. Even if we never could. Afraid that somebody would think we were crazy. Too stupid to realize that we all saw the same thing. The shadows? The ones that are always there? Watching us? Whispering to us? The ones that your father saw on the cliffs of the valley he walked through every time his ship left Earth orbit?

“Turns out they weren't just figments of our imagination. The dreams
are
a window into another world, if I guess correctly. And let me tell you, if the dreams are a window, then the black hole is a doorway, a portal. When the
Singularity
went through it, it brought something back out. Maybe now the ship's also become a gateway of sorts. The shadows, the others, whatever you want to call them, they needed a vessel to escape before. The sickness? The sleep madness? Braddock's Syndrome? It's not a disease. It's a possession.”

“You mean like Lieutenant Felix?” Gravely said.

“No,” Aidan answered. “No I understand something now that I never could figure before. Lieutenant Felix wasn't the danger to your ship. It was Ensign Kelly. It was the man he killed. He killed Ensign Kelly because somehow Felix knew the truth. He knew that Kelly wasn't Kelly anymore. That he had become something else.

“But he also knew that you would never believe him, knew that no one would. So Lieutenant Felix killed the thing that had been the ensign. I think when he did, whatever was inside of him got out, and there was just enough fear on that ship that it was able to gain strength and seek its revenge.”

“All along,” Rebecca said. “All along they've been using us.”

“That's why they wanted us to save that ship. There's a reason. It's their gateway into this world, their path out of whatever lies beyond. With it, they don't need the dreams anymore. They don't need us. They'll be free.”

“So that's why Ridley is dead,” Gravely said, “Because he found this. He found it and was going to tell us, so they killed him.”

Aidan merely nodded.

“Then why don't they kill us now?” Rebecca asked.

“Maybe they can't,” Aidan said. “Maybe they don't have that kind of power here. Not yet at least. But on that ship,” he said, gesturing to the image of the
Singularity
on a console screen, “there they can do anything.”

“Then you can't go back,” Gravely said. “If you go back now, knowing what you know . . .”

“It can't be helped. Besides, I think I have an advantage they don't expect. Anyway, I don't think the plan has changed. I go back,” said Aidan. “One of us has to. Engage the warp drive. Get us out of here. The only difference now is I think we need to destroy the
Singularity
. Finish what she started,” he said, pointing to the holorecorder.

“There's one thing,” said Rebecca, “if you're right about the dreams and if you're right about Braddock's, then Cyrus . . .”

She was cut off by a chime from the computer. Gravely walked over to the console. “Scan complete?”

“It's been scanning the
Singularity
since we arrived,” Aidan said, peering over her shoulder at the screen. “It must have completed . . . wait. That can't be right.”

Gravely saw it, too. Power had been restored to the
Singularity
.

“But that would mean the engines were fixed,” Gravely said. “Who could . . .” She didn't finish the question before she answered it. “Cyrus. But he's in lockdown.”

“No,” Aidan said, “something tells me he's not. Computer, give me a display of the infirmary.”

An empty room reached their eyes.

“That's impossible,” Gravely said. “He couldn't escape on his own.”

Aidan glanced at her and she met his eyes. The message was clear. Nothing was impossible, not out here. And Cyrus wasn’t on his own.

“Computer,” Aidan continued, “give me the airlock.”

The screen flashed and changed, now showing an external view of the
Chronos
. It was as Aidan feared. The connecting cables between the two ships were cut away. Cyrus had used them to enter the
Singularity
and then ensured that no one would use them to follow.

“It's fine,” Aidan said, seeing the desperation in Rebecca's eyes. “I'll just free jump between the two ships.”

Gravely shook her head. “Free jump? Are you crazy? What if you miss?”

“I won't miss, Captain.”

“It won't matter,” Rebecca said. “Even if you get there, if the ships aren't connected, the warp bubble won't work.”

“The
Singularity
has grappling hooks too,” Aidan said. “I'm willing to bet he didn't sabotage those. He was worried about being followed, not this.”

Aidan looked at Rebecca. He could see in her eyes that she wanted to object. But there was nothing for it. His plan was the only one that made any sense.

“We have to go fast,” he said. “If the power is back on, he's not far from fixing the engine altogether. When he does, he'll be gone, and all we'll be able to do is wait for the inevitable.”

“Alright,” Gravely said. “Let's do it.”

“There's one more thing, Captain. We can't do this unless we take the ship to warp. And that means . . .”

“The dreams,” Rebecca whispered.

“Yeah,” Aidan answered. “The dreams. This time, they will be the worst they've ever been. They know what's at stake and they will do anything they can to stop us.”

Gravely looked at Rebecca. For a moment she hesitated.

“Let's go.”

Chapter 26

Aidan stood in the white glare of the airlock, pulling his gloves tight onto his hands. The sleeves of his suit met the edge of the gloves and the material melded together, forming a vacuum-tight seal. He glanced at the image on his computer pad. The
Singularity
had not moved yet, though he wondered how much longer they had before Cyrus finished his repairs. A chime sounded behind him. He turned as the door opened. Rebecca and Gravely entered.

“You two should be getting ready for stasis,” he said.

“Well, we didn't want to let you leave without seeing you off,” Gravely said. “Besides, if you miss, there won't be much point, will there?”

Aidan smiled. “I guess that's true.”

“Good luck,” she said, handing Aidan a rifle. “Come back soon.”

She offered her his hand and he took it.

“Knew I shouldn't have taken this job.”

Gravely chuckled and turned to Rebecca. “I'll be waiting on you.”

The door closed behind her and Rebecca and Aidan were alone. She had told herself that she wouldn't make this difficult on him, but she had one request that she simply couldn't keep quiet.

“Aidan,” she said, “you'll need help.”

“Can't do it, Rebecca,” he said, shouldering the rifle and pulling the strap tight so that it wouldn't move once he was in zero gravity.

“Aidan, now's not the time for macho bullshit.”

“Not being macho, Rebecca. You and I both know that when we go to warp, I'll have to be awake. You won't be able to handle that.”

“And what makes you think you will? If you're going to take that chance, you can't tell me I can't.”

“I've seen it, Rebecca,” he said as he picked up his helmet. “Last time, before what happened to the
Vespa
. I went beyond the wall. I didn't remember it, not until recently.”

“But no one ever . . .” she whispered, torn between concern and an almost overwhelming curiosity.

“I know. But I did and I'm fine, more or less. I figure that staying awake for the warp isn't all that different. I'm the only one that can do this, Rebecca, and I have to do it alone.”