For the next twenty minutes, Lieutenant Noonan searched diligently. Finally she announced, “I think we’re safe, sir.
It took another half hour until they reached the Laumer-Point.
Maddox opened inter-ship channels. “We did it. We’re about to leave the Loki System. Get ready to jump.”
Ensign Maker maneuvered the scout for the entry point. “Engaging the Laumer Drive,” he said.
A loud whine started, and the Laumer-Point became visible to their instruments. The scout headed for the wormhole.
At the same time, a hidden device flared with high acceleration. Had it detected the Laumer Drive? Had it waited until the last possible moment? Whatever the truth, the device rapidly closed with Geronimo.
“Sir,” Valerie said, “I’m detecting a fast approaching object.”
The object exploded with the same power as the mines that had destroyed several heavy missiles earlier.
The scout buckled as interior lights began to flash. Bulkheads groaned. Then the stricken SWS Scout Geronimo entered the Laumer-Point, barreling down the wormhole. It was anyone’s guess as to whether the ship would survive the stresses of jump to reach the exit point intact.
-24-
Lieutenant Noonan felt bone tired, worse than any exercise during her Space Academy days. For fifteen hours, she’d worked beside Meta as they attempted to repair damage to the engines in order to make them workable again.
It was worse outside the ship. Ensign Maker knew more about space welding than Maddox would any day. The two wore vacc-suits and magnetic boots, working feverishly.
The hidden mine had nearly destroyed the scout. Upon their exit from the Laumer-Point, the captain had made a fast decision, freeing Meta on a probationary basis. Would he have done the same for Doctor Rich?
Injured in the explosion, Dana was in medical, in a coma, the robo-doctor straining to keep her alive. The mine had changed many things. If they couldn’t repair the scout in time, the destroyer might show up and that would be the end of the mission and likely their lives.
None of them believed the unstable wormhole had destroyed the Saint Petersburg. They weren’t going to get away that easily.
“Hand me the drill,” Meta said.
Valerie plucked it off an emergency Velcro-pad. Not only were the engines offline, the antigravity pods refused to function.
The Geronimo was a mess. Even so, no one had asked the fundamental question. Did this scrub the mission? Captain Maddox would never agree to that. Valerie had begun to wonder if he was completely… sane wasn’t the right word. The man was logical and rational to a fault. Earlier, Meta had said something that drove Maddox. Perhaps that was a more accurate description.
Yes, Valerie thought, he is driven. He’s compelled to compete against these New Men. Is he wrong to do so? If we fail, what combination of Star Watch ships can defeat the enemy’s advanced cruisers?
The drill whirred as Meta took off a plate. The woman from the Rouen Colony worked tirelessly. Meta wasn’t only strong; she had stamina. What had really surprised Valerie was that Meta hadn’t been interested in studying the tech manuals.
For some time now, Valerie had been worrying about that, debating with herself. Despite the loss of his legs, and that he’d been a combat vet, her father had loved playing the piano. It had been the most incongruous thing about him. He’d pushed her to study books in order to get an education. About music, though, for himself, he’d had other ideas. He played by ear, by feel and instinct. Give him notes, and he uselessly pounded the keys. Let him listen, and he produced a musical miracle.
Meta was like that with the engine. Given that they lacked many of the needed spare parts, that was probably a good thing.
With a sleeve, Valerie wiped her eyes. She’d have to tell Maddox about her find. Meta’s engineering talents might be priceless aboard the ancient sentinel.
If we ever reach the alien star system that is, Valerie thought.
Meta looked up. “Do we have a proton coupler?”
“No.”
Scowling, Meta said, “You didn’t even check your reader list.”
“Don’t have to,” Valerie said. “I already have it memorized.”
“We need a proton coupler,” Meta said.
“I’m sure you’re right, but we don’t have one.”
Meta bent her head in thought. “Okay. I know what might work. There’s a chance it will blow the engine, though.”
“Wait a minute. We should think this through then.”
“No,” Meta said. “That isn’t how you repair something fast.”
“Who said anything about fast?” Valerie asked. “We have to do it right.”
“I thought you told me you went through the Space Academy,” Meta said.
If someone else had asked her that, Valerie might have bristled. She knew Meta didn’t mean anything derogatory by the statement.
“I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” Valerie said.
“In your academy training days, I bet you had to practice emergency repairs. But you’ve never really needed those repairs done or you’d be dead.”
Valerie thought back to the Pan System Battle.
“On the Rouen Colony,” Meta was saying, “we had to repair broken machinery on the double. If we didn’t, we lost credits and likely lost several meals. We learned to fix things fast, and well. The combination meant food on the table. Here, if we fail, it’s our life.”
That made sense. Desperation changed the rules, and it demanded a level head. Valerie decided she would always remain levelheaded no matter what the situation. No one was going to outperform her, not even Meta.
“I approve your idea,” Valerie said. “Let’s try it.”
Meta disappeared as she ducked down, and the repairs continued at their accelerated pace.
Thirty-six hours after exiting the Laumer-Point into this barren system, an alarm blared. Valerie dragged herself out of bed. According to the clock, she’d slept for four hours, but she was still exhausted.
Her hands shook, and her left shoulder hurt every time she moved it.
Someone knocked on the hatch.
“What?” she shouted.
The hatch creaked open. At that point, Valerie recalled that Sergeant Riker had repaired an antigravity pod. The scout had one-half gravity. It was much better than zero-gravity.
Sergeant Riker poked his head in. “The captain asked me to help you in the engine room today.”
“Fine,” Valerie said. “How’s Doctor Rich? Is there any improvement?”
The sergeant’s gaze flickered elsewhere, almost as if he was embarrassed about something. “She’s alive,” he muttered.
“So there isn’t any improvement?”
As he took a deeper breath, the sergeant shook his head.
Valerie didn’t know why, but his answer bothered her. The old man was polite enough, but at times, it seemed he was simply an extension of Captain Maddox.
“You do know that Doctor Rich saved your life,” she said.
“I’m following procedures,” Riker said, a little too defensively.
“You have to do more than that,” Valerie said.
“Can you suggest what that is?”
His answer made Valerie pause, and it surprised her to have said something like doing more than following procedures. Maybe these past days watching Meta had taught her a new approach to problems.
“I’m quite capable of handling emergency medics,” the sergeant said. “Comas… That’s out of hands. We must let the robo-doctor proceed according to schedule.”