Chapter 24: Aftermath
Captain Brezinski slipped back into the fifth dimension as the energy of the nuclear explosions began to build like a giant tidal wave. She sought shelter by diving as deep below the surface as she could. The energy created severe turbulence at the interface. This roiling of the surface created a turbulent flood of energy that raced after her. They were soon caught up in this raging river. Captain Brezinski fought to maintain control. It felt as if they were in a small row boat being tossed about by a storm as the flood current carried them downstream. She began to feel the sensory overload that had brought on the grand mal seizure during her simulation of the battle command. She had to let go and let the ship drift with the current.
The destruction of the enemy ship was detected by the ship sensors. A spontaneous cheer was raised by the entire crew. The Chief turned to Mike and said, "We did it!" This was followed by a back slapping hug. The Chief smilingly said, "Commander Harris, military action is now ended and I turn command of our ship back to you until the Captain's return."
Mike replied, "I have no desire to command anything, but I guess it is my turn. The Captain will be back shortly and she can have the responsibility back. We need to figure out a temporary docking mechanism. The air leak should also be repaired ASAP."
The Chief said, "Now that I am not restricted to this command station, I would like to volunteer to do something I am capable of and fix the air leak."
Mike good-naturedly said, "Well, if you are going to skip out and take the easy job you might as well do a damage control survey while you are out. I would expect that the Captain would require that we work in teams until our status is stable."
Mike began sketching different methods of securing The Guardian to the damaged access tunnel. Assuming the airlocks were still functional, he figured that securing the ship to the lift cable and having the Captain and Tom travel up the tunnel and through the outer airlock would be simple. Eric-Peter disrupted his thoughts by saying, "I am worried that the Captain may have experienced problems from the energy flow of the explosions."
Mike replied, "I thought that they would be safe by hiding in that fifth dimension. I am sure she will be here shortly." Even as Mike said it he knew that Eric-Peter was right and that something was wrong.
The energy storm finally subsided enough that Captain Brezinski could resume control of The Guardian. She maneuvered the ship until she found an area of relative quiet. She then relaxed enough to discuss their situation with Tom. The ship had survived the storm without noticeable damage. She and Tom were somewhat bruised from being thrown against the restraining harnesses. Their air supply was good for a few more hours. The dimension drive was functional and they had 50 percent of their control thruster fuel remaining. The biggest problem was that they were lost. Tom asked, "Captain, do you have any idea where we are?"
Captain Brezinski responded, "I can tell by the gravitometer sensors that we are a long way from where we started. I am unable to determine even a direction at this time." They discussed their options and decided their time would be best spent by having Tom do a detailed inspection of the ship while Captain Brezinski worked on navigation. She would need to accomplish the wide area navigational skills that she was unable to complete during the battle preparations. Tom set out to inspect their ship. He had wanted a ride in the "flying saucer", but he had to admit that the ride had become a little more thrilling than he had bargained for.
Captain Brezinski returned to the training module for navigation. She quickly moved through the regional navigation that she had previously accomplished. The wide area sectional navigation was much more complicated. It was based on the gravitational variance which the instruments would detect. The black hole in the center of the Milky Way acted as the reference point. She learned to sense the individual stars almost as if she were feeling their pressure. She was immersed in her training long enough for Tom to complete his inspection.
Captain Brezinski returned to active mode and began to plot her position and the position of the battle. She was surprised at her results and told Tom, "It appears that we are 1/4 of the way across the galaxy from where we started."
Tom was a bit of a "doubting Thomas" and asked, "How could we possibly have traveled that far in such a short period of time?"
Captain Brezinski explained that the universe was folded around the black holes. They had not actually traveled that far, but because of the sharp folding they were 1/4 of the way to the opposite side of the galaxy. Tom objected that because light travels in a straight line, it was obvious to him that the galaxy was straight. Captain Brezinski tried explaining that it was like looking through the fiber-optic scopes that Doc Jules used to look inside of them. He sees a straight line despite all of the bends that the scope makes. As long as light bends to follow the folds of the universe it would not be detectable.
Captain Brezinski explained her plan for returning home. She reminded Tom that "Home" was moving at greater than 1/2 the speed of light in an uncertain direction. Her calculations indicated the transit time back to the point of the battle would be almost 3 hours. Tom pointed out that they had enough oxygen for only 2 hours. Captain Brezinski said, "I will leave the oxygen problem to you and I will deal with the navigational issues."
Mike knew that the Captain was in trouble, but his immediate concern was to stabilize the ship's status. The air pressure in their dome had decreased to the point that all air locks were sealed. They had not really had time to prepare for weightlessness and there was stuff floating everywhere. He had Eric-Peter begin a minimal acceleration just to create enough force for things to settle down. He called to order his version of a command conference. He acknowledged the concern that Eric-Peter had voiced. His calculations and revealed that The Guardian had only enough oxygen for about 2 hours. Eric-Peter did point out that time was different in the fifth dimension. Mike responded, "Time maybe different, but the reality is that their oxygen supply is finite and we have no way of helping them."
Brother Simon suggested that they send out the series of radio beacons to act like an electronic trail of bread crumbs. The Chief was concerned about the security threat that they may pose. Brother Simon asked, "If another enemy ship presents itself, do we have any means of defense? If not, then what difference does it make.?"
Mike compromised and suggested that they limit the life of the beacons to 24 hours. He began to sketch out a pattern for the beacons. He released the Chief and another of the crew to begin their inspection of the access tunnel. He did his best to assign tasks to everyone so that no one had too much time to brood about their missing comrades.
Martha had her hands full trying to maintain their baby in the zero gee conditions. Simple things like diaper changes became very difficult. It is hard enough to stabilize an active baby on a changing table. Stabilizing a baby, who can float away, while trying to prevent contamination from the soiled diaper was a real challenge. Their complicated feeding system became completely impossible. Indie was hungry and was letting the world know about it. He did not care if there was a crisis. His crying became progressively louder. Martha, in desperation, gave up on the sterility issue and took Indie out of his sterile bubble. She placed him to her breast and he immediately began to suckle. He was so aggressive that he brought tears to Martha's eyes. She pulled him from her breast and scolded him for biting her. He settled down some and began nursing more reasonably. She held him, trying to rock him by stabilizing her hips and feet so that her upper torso would provide the gentle rocking motion. The post feeding burping of Indie was again a challenge because the spit up just floated away.
When the Chief reached the airlock for the access tunnel he found it partially ajar. He used the remote camera to visualize the outer lock and realized that it was almost completely destroyed. The camera revealed the tunnel itself to be filled with ice and snow. It was this plug of snow and ice which prevented a more cat
astrophic leak. The Chief retrieved the camera and simply sealed the inner lock with foam. Repair was going to be a major undertaking.
As he began the long hike back to the arachnoid structure he and Mike discussed their options. Mike wondered if they could use their laser to blast through the ice plug. The Chief doubted that they could do it from the inside because there was no place for the vapors to escape to. They discussed using the freight docking port on the aft side of the ship. Mike was concerned because the port had been unused since their launch from earth. The computer reported its sensors revealed a normal status for the airlock; however the docking configuration was significantly different and would not fit The Guardian. Mike decided to send an inspection team up the conveyor system to the automated supply depot. If the airlock was operational he thought they could use a cable system with magnetic attachments to secure The Guardian to their ship. The move from The Guardian would have to be made as an EVA transit.
Captain Brezinski was navigating The Guardian up the river of energy that had washed them away. She could feel the energy pushing against her and found that if she stayed just to the edge of the energy stream that she could navigate in the eddy currents. Just like in a real river the edges of the current became confused and even flowed backwards. By carefully keeping the ship in this interface she made better speed and provided a smoother ride.
Tom analyzed The Guardian's atmosphere. Mike's patch was holding. The oxygen level was 110 percent of normal but the pressure was only 75 percent of Earth normal. He disconnected his suit from the ship's air supply and took a breath of the cabin air. It wasn't bad. It reminded him of his first attempts at breathing outside of the arachnoid structure. He had learned his lesson and was careful to control his breathing. He figured if he was careful he would do okay breathing the cabin air and would save the ship's air supply for Captain Brezinski. She needed to stay connected in order to control The Guardian. He interrupted Captain Brezinski to ask, "How did they charge their suits for extra vehicular activities?"
Captain Brezinski responded, "There is an oxygen pressure outlet in the aft workstation. The pressure sensors reveal a normal reading. I am not sure how to translate the volume indicator so I cannot tell how long it will last."
Tom moved aft again and found the valve that she had described. He opened the valve slightly and breathed in the pure oxygen. His headache improved immediately. He began looking for a way of connecting this valve with the Captain's oxygen system. He found a small first aid type of oxygen bottle with the proper connection. The small amount of repair tubing available in the storage compartments would never reach forward enough to be useful. He could transport the oxygen with the small bottle but it would be tedious.
Mike knew that the oxygen supply aboard The Guardian was used up. He felt responsible for not insisting on a more elaborate life support system. Academically he knew that this was not a valid argument because of the time constraints, but emotionally he felt responsible. He could not bring himself to stopping the watch for the Captain and Tom, but personally felt that all hope was lost. He busied himself by working with Eric-Peter to dispatch a drone rocket to the "burned out" enemy ship. He wanted to boost the ship into their trajectory and capture it for use as the counter weight. Without a counter weight their rotation would not produce enough force to adequately simulate gravity.
Brother Simon suited up in one of the sterility suits and entered Martha's habitat. His brief greeting was followed by a request that she allow him to sit and pray with her. His simple request brought tears to her eyes. His prayer was a simple thanks for their deliverance and the protection of Indie. He asked that Captain Brezinski and Tom be returned to them safely. He closed by saying, "Thy will be done."
Martha thanked him for his prayer and for keeping hope alive. They began sharing their feelings for Tom and the Captain. Martha admitted that she loved Tom, but she also knew that she could never claim him solely for herself. She likened him to the cowboys of the Old West and their songs like, "Don't Fence Me In." Brother Simon liked her analogy and said, "Tom is truly an adventurer and a free spirit. It would be hard not to love Tom." He then went on to describe his feelings of joy and contentment that he felt when he shared time with Captain Brezinski.
Martha asked, "Do these feelings mean that you love her?" Brother Simon was quiet and did not respond for several minutes. Finally he admitted that he did love her.
Captain Brezinski was adapting well to the sectional navigation. It was like hiking and keeping your direction by feeling the warmth of the sun on your right side. She maintained the radial of the gravitational center in a relatively constant position. She adapted slowly as their tangential course cut across different radials much like having the sun rotate across the sky while hiking. The energy river was disappearing as the energy of the atomic explosions waned. She now maintained her navigation strictly using the skills of the sectional navigation. She would have liked to have had an autopilot, but knew that the builders of the ship would never turn control over to a machine. Machines were meant to assist and support. The interface she was using expanded her capabilities, but she remained totally in control.
The oxygen levels in her tanks were becoming low. Tom began to shuttle oxygen from the aft workstation to her reservoir. The small tank he was using provided a 15 minute supply of oxygen. It took him ten minutes to fill the tank, reconnect it to the Captain's supply and transfer the oxygen. The carbon dioxide levels were building inside the ship and had increased Tom's respiratory rate. The simple exertion of filling and carrying a small oxygen bottle was tiring. He struggled with his own hypoxia to keep Captain Brezinski's oxygen flowing.
Captain Brezinski was nearing the site of their battle. She told Tom to take his seat. She brought the ship through the surface interface back to normal dimensions. There was nothing. They had no way of determining which way they should head other than knowing the general course of their ship prior to the attack. Tom called out on the radio hoping for a response. There was no response, just static from the background radiation of the universe. They discussed their options and Captain Brezinski said she would begin a random search pattern in the fifth dimension hoping to locate their home. Tom became focused on his communication equipment. He had detected a faint radio beep. He had difficulty locating it accurately because of the weakness of the signal. It did respond to his messages but only with a beep. Captain Brezinski took his determined location and plotted her course. They slipped back into the fifth dimension.
The small radio beacon had detected Tom's call and forwarded it on to the next radio beacon. This chain reaction brought the signal to the watch officer who immediately called Mike. Mike listened to the garbled sound of the signal and could not tell for sure if it was real. He asked Eric-Peter to see if he could clean it up. He was reluctant to notify the crew because a false hope was worse than no hope. The Chief argued the opposite and that a statement of tempered hope would bolster the crew's morale. Mike agreed and announced the slight possibility that they had received a signal from The Guardian. He stressed that they did not know if it was from Tom and the Captain or if it was from an automated device. Eric-Peter's manipulation of the signal seemed to resemble Tom's voice.
Captain Brezinski concentrated on her navigation while Tom resumed his oxygen shuttle. He was fighting the worst hangover of his life. It seemed like the tank was taking longer to fill. Captain Brezinski again brought her ship to the interface and popped out of the fifth dimension. They had over shot their target, but now a second beacon was evident foreword of their position. Tom again issued his call but received only a beep in response. Captain Brezinski plotted her new course and slipped back into the fifth dimension. Tom resumed his shuttle, but was now taking 13 minutes instead of the previous 10 minutes.
Excitement aboard the ship increased exponentially when they received the second signal. Eric-Peter plotted their position
based on the time lags between the reception by the first and second radio beacons. The time estimate for arrival was about 20 minutes. Mike told the chief to get his crew moving back to the supply depot and prepare for the Captain's arrival. He added, "And take the doctor with you just in case he is needed."
Captain Brezinski continued her game of hop-scotch with the radio beacons. Tom finally made radio contact. The reception was very marginal. Eric-Peter had plotted their course and told them that they had four more radio beacons to go. Tom summarized their status. Captain Brezinski decided to try and make a run for the ship. She calculated the course and distance. Saving the time of confirming their position at each radio beacon would hopefully conserve enough oxygen to allow a safe return. She based her navigation decisions on a dead reckoning of the ships position. She slipped back into the fifth dimension and moved forward. She kept the ship just below the interface so that she could watch for the characteristic dimple of their home.
Tom's oxygen shuttle was becoming harder than any mountain he had climbed on earth. The simple effort of transporting the bottle almost overwhelmed him. He was now taking 15 minutes for the transfer and was just maintaining the Captain's oxygen supply. He would occasionally take a sip of oxygen from the outlet to ease the dizziness he felt from the increased carbon dioxide level. He felt guilty for using the oxygen the Captain needed.
Captain Brezinski was nearing her expected point of contact when she noticed an aberration of the surface in her peripheral visual field. She change course and recognized the characteristic dimple of their ship. She moved her ship against the gravitational dimple and brought it through the interface back to normal dimensions. She noticed that the ship was now encased by an atmosphere of thick fog. Suddenly she detected the gravitational variation and felt the loss of the expanded capabilities that the dimension drive had given her. Her ability to utilize the fifth dimension had left.
Tom called the ship and could hear the joy of his crew mates in the background. He notified Eric-Peter that the oxygen situation was critical and that they needed to dock ASAP. Mike could be heard in the background telling Eric-Peter what to say about the damage to the access tunnel. Eric-Peter in his very controlled manner said, "The access tunnel is not operational. You are advised to proceed to the aft freight docking port."
Tom failed to respond and when Captain Brezinski looked over at him she realized that he had blacked out. She took over communications and advised Eric-Peter that she would need assistance because of the cloud of fog which obscured the ship and all landmarks. She noticed that her breathing was becoming labored and realized her oxygen had run out. She had to remove her helmet in order to breathe. The cabin air was better than no air. It was like being in an altitude chamber and taking off your oxygen mask. The subtle confusion of hypoxia begins to set in quickly. Eric-Peter was using precision radar approach techniques to guide her to the docking port. He had her increase power 5 percent and turn 10 degrees starboard. Captain Brezinski was using the secondary gyroscopic instruments on the panel which were similar to the instruments aboard her submarine and planes she had flown. They seemed primitive compared to the flow of information that she sensed wearing the helmet. She entered the world of fog and her visual sensors became worthless.
Eric-Peter told her to decrease her angle of attack 18 degrees and to turn to port 3 degrees. Captain Brezinski was concentrating hard but the carbon dioxide buildup was adding to the confusion of her hypoxia. When Eric-Peter told her to decrease her thrust to zero, she was a little slow in responding. Eric-Peter then had her use reverse thrust for ten seconds on his count. All of Captain Brezinski's advanced navigational and piloting skills were lost because of the hypoxia. Eric-Peter was talking her down much like air traffic controllers would a non-pilot who had to assume control of the aircraft because of the pilot’s death. She automatically followed his commands. When his count reached 10 she stopped the reverse thrust. She was having difficulty in reading her instruments because of her blurred vision.
She perceived a sudden "thunk" as Mike's magnetic tie downs were attached to The Guardian. The Chief announced satisfactory capture of the ship. Eric-Peter advised Captain Brezinski to begin the shutdown protocol. Her confusion had increased to the point she was unable to recall the checklist.
The Chief had to orientate Doc Jules to working outside the ship. The dense fog obscured the view and the small crew used their positioning devices to keep themselves orientated. Doc Jules voiced his disappointment, "This is the first time I have been outside in years and I cannot see anything. This fog is worse than any fog I ever experienced fishing."
The Chief opened the outer airlock. He and Doc Jules entered. They cycled the airlock and entered The Guardian. Doc Jules monitored the ship's atmosphere as they worked their way forward. The pressure remained 70 percent of Earth normal but the oxygen concentration had decreased to 60 percent and the carbon dioxide level was 100 times normal. They found the Captain at the controls. She was still trying to perform the shutdown protocol. She was speaking in Russian and was obviously very confused. Doc Jules had the Chief attend Captain Brezinski while he worked on Tom.
The Chief placed the oxygen mask over the Captain's face. She became aware of a voice saying, "Breathe, Captain!" As she responded to the command her head began to clear and she recalled the shutdown protocol. This overwhelming task suddenly became simple with her brain receiving adequate oxygenation.
Doc Jules began CRP on Tom. He checked for a carotid artery pulse and was relieved to feel a rapid, but strong, pulse of 150 beats per minute. Tom was still breathing, but the rate was very rapid and quite shallow. He was obviously unconscious. his pupils still responded to light in the normal fashion indicating likely good brain function. Doc Jules placed the mask over Tom's face and used the pressure valve on the tank to force Tom to take deep breaths. After a few of these forced respirations Tom began to respond. As Tom awakened, he gradually became aware of Doc Jules, the Captain and the Chief. He finally became oriented enough to pull the mask off of his face and said, "Captain, we must have made it because even the Chief looks good to me."
Tom's strength returned quickly with the available oxygen. The Chief hooked up oxygen cylinders to both suits and prepared the two survivors for transit back to the ship. As they exited the airlock Captain Brezinski asked to inspect the tie downs. The Chief assured her that they were satisfactory, but she wanted to look anyway. She was very tired but the horrible mental fatigue she had experienced in training was not there. The nurturing of the interface had left her mind fresh despite her many hours of intense concentration. She called Eric-Peter and asked him if he had detected the gravitational flux of the dimension drive departing. His affirmative answer solidified her memories that had become somewhat distorted during her period of hypoxia. She responded, "The Ancient Ones must think that we can make it on our own now."
The End
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Cover art by Vila Design
Photograph by Ruth Eichholtz
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