He put a hand on her shoulder and fixed his eyes on hers, “There will be glory and honor at the end of this day. When we stand in front of our people and speak of this time, I want nothing but pride in our voices.”
He returned her salute and they started up the ramp, “Okay, now I think I can get some sleep. There’s a long day ahead.”
##
Wills carefully checked himself in the full-length mirror. A fresh haircut, a close shave, and a shower went well with his best duty dress white uniform; the only problem was the loose fit and the bags under his eyes. He leaned closer to the mirror, turned his head slightly, and stroked a finger down one cheek. He finally had to admit that his skin was looking his age. Nothing that a week’s worth of sleep wouldn’t fix, he thought, hopefully.
He exited his quarters at 0422 hours ship time; it was one hour before breakout at Mallcott. He was surprised to see Stoker, Ames, Twisst, Treelam, Kraigor, and Bonn assembled in the observer seating area. They stood as he approached.
“I thought I ordered all of you off the ship. Your presence here is not necessary and may be dangerous for you.”
Stoker took a step forward, “We all feel deeply invested in this venture and consider ourselves to be part of the crew. Therefore, our place is here.”
Wills looked from face to face and saw the same solid commitment along with the signs of long-term stress and exhaustion that he had seen in his mirror, “Take your seats ladies and gentlemen; this may be a bumpy ride.”
CeCe was standing next to the command console and saluted as he turned toward her; he smiled and returned the salute. He saw that she was just as well dressed and groomed as he was. The unfortunate part was that stress and exhaustion looked even less becoming on her than it did on him.
“Sir, all non-navel personnel have been cleared from the ship. Captain Helt has placed the remaining crew at strategic points with heavy fire-fighting capability. All through-hull openings except for heat sink vents have been closed.”
Wills nodded and moved to his chair, indicating that CeCe should also be seated. He looked up at the screen that showed Helt at his post, “Captain, what is your final word on the lift ring?”
“Sir, I believe my people have managed a workable repair. All data flow and surge tests indicate correct response patterns and power handling.”
Helt shrugged his shoulders, “I think it will work okay.”
That knot in Wills’ stomach got a little tighter even though he knew that Helt and his people had probably done a better job than was being advertised by the tired looking engineer.
“Are we set for breakout?”
Helt nodded, “I have isolated all ship’s systems not directly linked to the isolator drive to five of the original Weasel reactors.” Helt gave a tired smile, “I have to admit that the Silverman did most of the work. I’m beginning to like that thing.” He leaned back in his seat and rubbed both eyes with the heels of his hands, “I even asked it how the drive would handle a power decline instead of an abrupt shutdown. Basically, it said it didn’t know.”
“Very good, Ellias; stay alert. Whatever it will be is almost done.”
Some of the screens showed the view outside of the ship; the game field was jammed with Foresters and the civilian crew of the Weasel. Big fires burned around the edges of the field and in the streets of the town. The battery lights and therapy panels had not been enough and Foresters had taken to cutting down everything that would burn so they could maintain nonstop bonfires; it didn’t really matter, life on Forest was at its end. Wills just wished they were all further away; but, that too, might not matter.
Wills and CeCe watched the red dot close on the point they had selected for breakout. The silence on the bridge of a ship that was pouring enough power to run a modern civilized planet into a hole in space was eerie to the point of sensory deprivation.
Wills just stared at that dot, “With the weight you’ve lost, you could easily crack my altitude record now.”
CeCe stared, too, “All I want right now is to sleep for a month on a sunny planet and as far from an isolator drive as I can get.”
Wills smiled as he reached for the SHIP-WIDE panel, “Your leave is approved.”
“Attention, this is the first officer; breakout now.”
He lifted his hand from the panel and pointed it at Helt. Helt tapped one key.
Two seconds--three seconds--four--
Reactor feed alarms shattered the silence and lit every available screen.
“WARNING - POWER FEED ERROR - DRIVE FREQUENCY STABIL--“
Wills was falling and something was squeezing him through a hole he couldn’t see. What he did see was the console in front of him stretch into the distance toward a black circle. He lifted his arms to try to keep the console from being pulled away but he couldn’t reach it.
Absolute silence returned as Helt cancelled the alarms. Wills gave a confused look to his outstretched arms and then just slumped in his chair and rubbed his eyes. When he could focus again, he looked up at the screens and saw sunlight slanting across the crowded game field from the southwest.
The com system chimed to announce an incoming message. Wills and CeCe jerked their heads to look at each other in surprise. CeCe reached and tapped the key to accept the message.
“…stationed at Mallcott. Our arrival at your planned breakout point is estimated to take one hour after breakout confirmation. REPEAT - Admiral Reynolds, this is Admiral Simon Baleman; I am commanding a composite fleet of forty-six cargo ships and fifteen Navel vessels stationed at Malcott. Our arrival…”
Wills tapped some keys to route the message to the SHIP-WIDE system and external speakers. Then he slumped back into his chair again
