Short Stories
Captain James Kahn was thrown out of his bed as his starship listed drastically to the left. Pinned against the wall, he looked around groggily unsure of what was happening. He groped for something to pull himself up in his room and gained his footing when the ship righted itself and it threw him head long in to the opposite wall. James laid on the floor in utter confusion and laid there for a couple of seconds to make sure the ship was not going to do something again before he stood up.
“Captain to bridge,” he said depressing the blue crystal button on the panel stuck to the wall. “What’s going on up there?”
“Asteroid collision, sir.” Came the voice of his Executive officer, Diana O’Mally. “We are in the middle of a moving asteroid belt and our port sensors did not detect one on collision course.”
“Extent of damages?” he asked as he was stuck his leg one after another in to his white jump suit. He zipped it up and the dim overhead light made the four silver bars denoting his rank sparkle on his shoulders.
“Our port shield is completely gone. Minor damage to decks two through four. Sensor array has been knocked out of alignment. It also ruptured a Plasma coolant vent and so the computers shut down the engines. We are on impulse power.”
“I’m on my way up.” James said and he hit the button again to close the channel.
James rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he ran down the hallway toward the lift that would take him to the bridge. People were hurrying past him and the Red lights on the ceiling were flashing along with the steady white florescent lights. His starship was one of the many small light cruisers of the Earth Colonies United that patrolled space for pirates and problems. His ship, the Antares, was one of the older Liberty Class. It was a saucer cut in half and one blue nacelle on each side.
The lift got him to the bridge in seconds and he stepped out. His red hair was uncombed and his blue eyes showed the sleepiness in them. He went over to his command chair in the center of the bridge and his First Officer stood up and to the side.
“Are we still in the asteroid field?” James asked her.
“Affirmative.” Diana answered.
Diana was a very beautiful woman and something that James did not mind after being assigned in a desolate part of known space. She had long raven black hair that glistened in the light and eyes that were a haze of green and purple. The purple coming from her half Geminian background.
James was brought out of his thinking as she kept talking. “…Our maneuverability has been severely cut down…captain, are you alright?”
The captain nodded. “I’m fine. A little tired still, continue.”
Diana nodded slowly and continued her report. “Navigational thrusters that work with the impulse engines do not turn us very well. I wouldn’t risk Trans-light speed with the Hull integrity field probably being compromised.”
“Any chance for another collision?” James asked turning to look at the wrap-a-round view-screen. Asteroids could be seen slowly moving.
“We’re not quite sure with the forward Sensor array down.” She said unsure of herself.
“How long until repaired?”
“That’s was Lieutenant Springer is looking in too.” She answered mentioning their chief engineer.
“I would say 14 hours.” Said a man stepping off the lift and walked up to the captain. His white uniform with blue sleeves was covered in grease and he had to parts in his hands. “The whole entire coupling is shattered. It’s going to take a repair team outside the ship to put it back on. All the circuits are burned out because of the electrical discharge of the shields when the were stressed as they were.”
James frowned and his forehead wrinkled in concern. “Not good. Is there anything you can improvise with, Jason?”
Springer shook his head. “I can’t get that sensor to work.”
“Anything that can take the place of the sensor?” Diana asked. “Temporarily?”
“Well, you can put science on it.” Jason Springer suggested. “Their science dishes are very powerful, but I can have one of my men re-convert it to work as a primitive Sensor detection.”
“Do it. I don’t want to be blind out here.”
Springer nodded and left the bridge. James turned to Diana. “I didn’t expect to have a rude awakening as I did out here in space.”
She smiled. “I was caught by surprise too.”
“Why wasn’t it seen?” he asked puzzled.
“Came in our blind spot. They were re-tuning the forward sensor array and so the asteroid came out of it’s seeing arc.” She smiled. “God showed his mercy on us and weren’t smash to microns.”
James nodded and said a silent prayer of thanks. “All we can do now is wait and hope that Jason can get it working.”
-----------------------------------
Jason had sat in his command chair for 30 minutes and was slowly dozing off again when his communications panel chirped. He woke with a start and tapped on the on button. “Go ahead.”
“I’ve got the science dish working captain.” Came the voice of Springer over the tiny speaker. “And I’ve found an asteroid that seems to be on collision course.”
“Oh great,” Captain Kahn said sarcastically. “Which direction do you recommend to avoid this one?”
“Don’t know,” answered Jason. “There more then one and we can’t dodge them all on impulse.”
Diana looked over to him from one of the many panels that lined the bridge. Worry was written on her smooth face.
“Can you fix that Plasma coolant vent?”
“I need someone on the outside.” Answered Jason. “I don’t want to risk someone in this area. Asteroid seems to be coming to fast to out run it too.”
“Try your best. I don’t want to get smashed to pieces.”
“I’ll try.”
Diana spoke up. “How about we re-channel the Plasma coolant through the main intake instead of through the vent? If we stay at Warp 3 the Main intake won’t be used by the engine to use the Super cooled Plasma.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “That’s an idea. Let Springer know.”
They waited a good half-hour watching the science computer count down the asteroids getting closer. James was drumming his finger rhythmically on his chair’s armrest and Diana was watching how long it took Lieutenant Springer to get it working.
The Communications chirped and both started. They were both getting a little edgy.
“This is Springer. No can do.” Came the Engineers voice. “What is left a the Plasma vent can’t be removed without a team on the outside and so I cannot divert the plasma. I attempted to torch out the vent, but can’t. We’d better think of something else.”
James let out a growl and looked to Diana. “Anything?”
“Our last chance. The asteroids are about 20 minutes away. I say we repair the Hull integrity field as much as possible and configure it to work like a Warp Field so we can jump to trans-light and get out of here.”
“Did you here that?” James asked.
“Yes, I did, but that’s very risky captain. The Hull Integrity field wasn’t made to take that pressure.”
“Can you make the changes?” James asked.
“Yes, but if it goes we’ll incinerate.”
“Do it.”
The process took 15 minutes and Springer came on the bridge. He looked grim and he said, “Well, that’s a best as it’s going to get. Good luck.”
“We’re going to need more then luck. We are going to need God’s help.” James answered. He turned to helm. “Helm, plot us a course to the port, 346 Mark 2. Engage.”
The vessel leaped in to trans-light speed and the lights dimmed as the computers took power away from other things to keep the Integrity field in place. A three-tone chime alerted them of the dangerous pressure on the field.
“I’m loosing it!” shouted Springer over the audible whine being heard.
“Need thirty more seconds.” Diana informed as she held on to the panel as the ship started rocking.
“We only got twenty.”
James held on to the armrests as the ship was buffeted back and forth. “You can hold her together, Springer. We’re counting on you.”
Lieutenant Jason Springer did not answer, but tapped furiously on the controls. “There. Fields dying. I’m dropping out of warp.”
The ship popped out of warp and hung there in space. James waited for the asteroid collision. When none came he turned to his Executive officer. “Well?”
“We’re safely out of the asteroid field.” She said with a sigh of relief. “We made it.”
“Only with God’s help.” James reminded.
It took them two days to completely repair the vessel and they went back to warp speed on toward the Altair system. James was glad to have the crew he did and glad that God was on his side.
THE END
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Nice scifi story!
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