The captain’s expression turned grim. “What
can
you fix right now?”
Swede winced at his superior’s words and tone. “That final harmonic vibration down the main beam knocked half a dozen key systems out of wack. The most noticeable of which is the artificial gravity. We’re all about fifteen pounds lighter on our feet than we should be. That, I can fix in one or two hours. The main nav computer and the main steerage systems need to be completely rebooted before we can isolate any discrepancies in their operations. Obviously there are structural inspections that have to be made. I will not be idle while waiting for the engines to cool, sir.”
The captain looked slightly mollified and nodded. “I hadn’t thought you would be, Lieutenant. See to your crew and start organizing your repair parties. Coordinate with Ensign Chi on the bridge. Enlist whatever resources you need. I would like status reports as soon as you feasibly have time to make them.” He looked around the deck and grimaced. “What a great damn mess this is,” he muttered almost to himself. His hand rose to absently rub his jaw where his brother had punched him. Seeming to remember where he was, he focused again on his engineering officer. “Anything you need, Swede, you get.”
“Aye aye, sir.” Guttmann turned his attention to the line of subordinates waiting for orders.
Before returning to the bridge, Captain Hill stopped on the medical and science deck to confer with Dr. Ruger. He found her wearing a ferocious frown and holding a cold compress on the back of her head. She was directing a technician as he inserted the burned forearm of an engineer’s mate into a hyperbolic chamber. She waited until the chamber sealed properly around the wound and then ordered a dose of pain medication for the sweating and obviously suffering crew man.
When she turned toward him, the captain noted that she was unsteady on her feet. He pulled out a chair for her and looked at her with concern. “I expected to find you up to your armpits in walking wounded doctor, not to become one yourself.” He tried to make his tone light. He couldn’t help but recall O’Connell’s assertion that he intimidated the doctor.
Far from being intimidated at the moment, the petite doctor fairly growled at him. “Biggest lesson that we’ve learned from all of this is to properly adjust the headrests of the jump seats. Ninety percent of the injury reports I have are head and neck injuries caused by the damn seats.”
He nodded, feeling that there wasn’t much he could say in reply to that. “Any other serious injuries, aside from that crewman’s arm?”
She closed her eyes for a minute. A pained expression crossed her face. Cassie opened her eyes slowly before speaking. “Sorry, the entire room is spinning, and the damn gravity loss isn’t helping. Engineer’s mate Gonzalez, there, has second degree burns on his arm. His jumpseat abuts a secondary venting chamber, and the bulkhead became dangerously hot when the engines vented. Also, a damned idiot colonist was out of her seat when we jumped. The vibrations threw her against a hatch so violently it broke her leg in three places. I have a team treating her at the location. I’m most worried about blood clots with her. Otherwise, we have a whole lot of bruised and agitated people.”
Captain Hill glanced around. The deck was swarming with crew members working frantically to right equipment and gather data. The two of them had a small pocket of privacy amidst the bustle. “And Marissa? Will this loss of gravity harm the child?”
Dr. Ruger looked momentarily fearful before responding. “I would think the shock of impact and the stress of our current unknown situation would be the biggest threat to her right now. The developing fetus actually exists in a weightless state, and we often treat pre-term labor with a form of limited weightlessness. So, no, the gravity situation should not adversely affect her.” Dr. Ruger smiled at the captain, trying to reassure him. His concern for his sister-in-law was something the doctor hadn’t expected. “I’ll personally check in on her as soon as I get things in order up here. I’m sure she is fine, captain. Your sister in law seems like a rational, sensible person.”
The captain snorted and rolled his eyes. “All evidence to the contrary.” He softened his expression and tone. “Take care of yourself, Doctor. Please let me know if you require any assistance.”
“Would you like an icepack for that jaw? How did you manage to bruise the side of your face?”
Realizing that the doctor assumed his bruised face was from their latest calamity, and not a fist fight, he stifled his surprise. “No, I think I’ll be fine.” He purposely avoided her second question. “I’m going to go speak with Dr. Fortunas and see if he can’t help Lieutenant Guttmann with the gravity problem. Thank you, Doctor.”
Before he left to help Lieutenant Guttmann with the gravity repairs, Fortunas stopped to check on Cassie. She was staring off into space with a perplexed smile on her face. He found himself startled by the affection that welled up at the sight of her. Dismissing the new feeling as a result of his concern over her injury, he forced himself to be gruff as he spoke to her. “Well, is your foolish little head any better?”
Cassie glared at him, for his tone and for his interruption of her quiet reverie. “You’re a grump today. It’s not my fault your nap was interrupted.”
“Given enough time for reflection, I’m sure I can surmise a plausible theorem placing blame squarely on you.” He pulled out his light scope and gripped her jaw in his hand as he checked her pupils. Her large eyes blinked back at him. “You have a concussion. I hope you have enough sense to follow your own medical training and not go gallivanting around the ship trying to treat every scrape and bruise.”
Cassie yanked her jaw out of his grasp. “Go on, old man. I will take care of the crew, you fix the damn ship.” She grunted in irritation when he ruffled her hair before he walked away. “Annoying old man,” she muttered under her breath.
Her most trusted civilian technician, Peterson, went to colonist deck 2 to treat the woman with the broken leg. Because of the fluctuating artificial gravity levels and the increased danger of an embolism, the injured woman would have to be immobilized where she’d fallen. Peterson was relaying each step of his treatment process via his tablet. Dr. Ruger watched his notes scroll across her screen. She typed in a note directing him to increase the amount of pain medication administered. Then she flipped to another screen and started refreshing her knowledge of the Dremikian techniques for treating broken bones
Dremikian physiology was so different from human that it was inaccurate to describe their medical knowledge as being more advanced than humans’. The different practices, though, provided new courses of treatment. Because of their fragile skeletons and the increased likelihood of severe fractures, Dremikians had developed much quicker techniques to mend bones. While the effects were not quite as dramatic in humans, the process still greatly decreased healing time and complications. Once the colonist could be moved, Dr. Ruger would apply the medicinal salves and pressurized treatments provided by their alien friends.
Cassie moved her head too quickly and groaned in response to the pain that spiked behind her eyes. Bone mending techniques would not help treat the swelling caused by her brain slamming against the interior of her skull. She moved slowly to the medicine chest and administered an anti-inflammatory agent into her bicep. Returning to her desk, she dutifully noted in her own medical file the time and the dosage of the drugs she’d taken. Then she went back to reviewing the lengthening list of medical complaints coming in from injured passengers and crew.
***
On the bridge, Commander O’Connell could feel the muscles between her shoulders beginning to knot. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Price shifting in his seat and realized he probably had a similar complaint.
“Price I have the con. Take fifteen and a turn around the decks. Work out the kinks and report back here.”
“I’m fine, ma’am, no worries here. Why don’t you—”
O’Connell was not in the mood to debate the younger man. “I’ll see you in fifteen, Lieutenant.” Her tone left little doubt that she was moments away from dressing him down in front of the entire bridge crew.
“Aye, aye, ma’am.” Lieutenant Price unbuckled from his chair and stalked, stiffly, off.
Maggie was aware of the captain standing beside and slightly behind her, but she was focused on her task and controlling her annoyance with Price.
“Captain?”
“How hard are you having to fight to keep her stable?”
“Inertial force is the only thing moving us now, and we’re moving pretty damned fast. I’m just manipulating the computers and a bit of docking thrusters to maintain this slight arcing motion without giving into that horizontal wave that keeps wanting to repeat.”
“I think we’d all appreciate your efforts at avoiding a repeat of that sensation.”
A small, wry, smile tilted the corners of O’Connell’s mouth. “No one more than I, sir.” She worked the controls in silence for a minute. “How’s engineering?”
“A great damn mess. How long can you keep this up?”
She flashed him a cocky grin over her shoulder. “As long as it takes.” Turning her head back around she muttered, “Or until we hit something.”
“Heaven forbid. Stay close when Price gets back.” His lack of confidence in Price’s ability to keep the ship stable remained unsaid, but understood.
“Aye, aye, sir.”
Confident that O’Connell had things in hand on the bridge, the captain returned to engineering. Ensign Chi, Chief Turner, several colonists, and Lieutenant Guttmann were all huddled around a workstation. No one noticed his presence until he spoke.
“O’Connell is keeping us in an arcing motion to try to help the gravity, but I’d prefer she not have to keep that up for 24 hours, gentlemen. Status on the artificial gravity and structural integrity?”
Swede snapped to attention along with all of the military crew present. The colonists continued making notes and didn’t bother to turn away from their work. “We’re running system diagnostics on the gravity synthesizers now, sir.”
One of the colonists raised her head. “If the pilot could control the harmonic vibrations we’re getting, we’d be able to go much faster.”
The captain watched Swede wince. Swede watched the captain’s expression flicker before returning to his habitually bland veneer. “I believe Commander O’Connell is doing her very best to keep us all on our feet and in one piece. Now, without engine power, how long do we have before we need to start conserving energy for vital systems?”
Swede had already considered this problem. “We have plenty of reserve power in the battery banks to provide life support and vital systems for seventy-two hours without needing to drastically cut other systems. However, a little foresight and conservation can’t hurt. Ensign Chi has already compiled a list of systems that can be curtailed until we’re back to full operational standing.” He motioned to the junior officer, who stepped forward and transmitted the list to the captain’s tablet. “With your permission, I’d like to institute these suggestions immediately.”
“Granted.” Frowning and swallowing as if he had just recalled a very unpleasant taste, the captain prepared to leave. “I’ll pass along these restrictions to the chancellor and vice chancellor. I’ll be meeting with them for the next hour or so. Page me as necessary.”
Lieutenant Guttmann thought he detected a plaintive note in the captain’s last statement, but immediately dismissed it as transference of his own feelings. He visibly shuddered anytime he had to deal with the colonial officials.
***
“Ship’s clock records 2400 hours sir. Ship’s location estimated at 1655.7 Andromeda, 34459987 Pegasus 12. Current velocity under inertial power is 6,000 gratings per minute with current course being roughly 180 elliptical. Artificial gravity still operating at 80% of normal levels. Life support and basic functions at 100%. Engines off-line. Commander O’Connell is watch pilot. Lieutenant Guttmann is watch engineer.”
“Make a log entry, Lieutenant, then you are relieved of your watch.” Captain Hill said.
“Aye, aye, sir. Captain has the con.”
“Captain has the con, aye.” The commander didn’t shift from her position in the pilot’s seat when she acknowledged the change in the watch. Tired as she was, her voice betrayed nothing.
Captain Hill sat in his chair and started reviewing the status reports from the engineers. He’d taken two hours off the bridge to eat and shower and felt marginally more human than he had before.
“Get some rest, Price. Next watch change I want you back up here to relieve the commander. By then Swede should have the gravity back on line and work started on basic steerage functions.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
The captain turned in his seat and motioned with his head to Ensign Chi. “You too, Ensign. The petty officer can handle things for now.”
The bridge resumed a quiet routine when the two officers had departed. Senior enlisted personnel manned the navigation and communications stations. The captain was in his chair, still reviewing reports, and the commander piloted the ship with quiet concentration. Someone had, probably in a fit of annoyance, turned off all of the warning indicators that had been blinking and beeping non-stop since the engine malfunction. Without the hum of the engines, the only sounds on the bridge were the gentle whirring of the CO2 scrubbers and the faint clicks and taps of O’Connell operating the pilot’s controls.
Until, she started cursing colorfully under her breath and reached across her body to smack a button with her left hand. Collision alarms sounded throughout the ship.
“Commander?” The captain was beside her, looking down at her display screens.
“Strap yourself in, sir, this is going to suck.” When he didn’t move she broke her concentration enough to turn her head and glare at him. “
Now
, sir. If I’m going to avoid whatever that is in front of us, I have to roll this ship
right now
.”
Hill wasn’t satisfied with her answer, but didn’t need to know details to detect how urgent her request was. Before he turned around he jerked on the chair straps holding the pilot in her seat, since both her hands were currently occupied. She grunted as the restraints compressed her ribcage. “Thanks,” she wheezed.