Trust Me
by Alcuin Fromm
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Table of Contents parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
In an interstellar war between an empire and rebels, two brothers are on the bridge of the war vessel Storna: Dallor is the captain, and Lemm is the communications officer. In the midst of a desperate battle, they receive a warning message from their father. To take action in response to the warning, Lemm will need the indispensable expertise of a close friend, one that is known to him alone.
Part 5
It took another thirty minutes to work out the details. Lemm banished from his mind the implications of his idea, concentrating instead on the subtle programming it required and keeping track over his earpiece of the battle preparations on the bridge.
“T-minus thirty-seven minutes until crossing Vall’s scanning perimeter,” said a voice.
“Very good,” said Boothe. “As soon as we do so, increase thrusters to point eight-five.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Weapons?”
“Sir.”
“Be ready to launch a first salvo, but neither arm missiles nor activate your missile lock until I give you the command. We need to wait until the absolute last moment before we attack. They’ll only let us get close as long as we follow standard Imperial procedure.”
Lemm shook his head and muttered to himself as he scrolled over his Comm. “You’re already breaking standard procedure by approaching a station at attack speed, you idiot. You would’ve made a poor captain, Boothe.”
“Finished,” said Nickel.
Lemm sighed heavily. “Yeah, me, too. Go over the final lines of my program, Nick, and double-check them.”
“Yes, sir.”
“They’re hailing us again,” said another voice over the earpiece.
“Send no response,” said Boothe.
“Everything looks correct, sir,” said Nickel. “Are you ready to execute the program?”
Lemm closed his eyes. There was no way off the ship. The escape shuttles had all been jettisoned and the maintenance airlocks were under the control of the mutineers. Any attempt to access the airlocks would not only be unsuccessful, it would alert the mutineers to Lemm’s presence. He would have to go down with the ship to save the lives of those on the Station and to stop the Revolutionary fleet from entering the system unchallenged. Lemm steeled himself against his fear.
“Execute.”
He heard a tiny beep in his earpiece, declaring his own death sentence.
“Link successful,” said Nickel. “Program activated. Execution in three... two... one. Plasma core coolant apparatus disengaged. Standby... Standby... Plasma core temperature rising. Status display... normal.”
Despite everything, Lemm had to smile to himself. They had done it. The computer was informing the bridge that the plasma core was in perfect operation, while in reality, the core was on a rapid build-up to catastrophic overheating that would end with an explosion large enough to tear the ship in two. Every warning and alarm was being identified, ignored, and overridden by the mutineers’ own hacked hack. The irony alone was enough for Lemm to forget his impending doom for a moment, but only for a moment.
“This isn’t how I expected to go, Nicky.”
“I do not believe anyone has ever imagined his own death to be the result of a purposely initiated plasma core explosion.”
“Probably not, Nick. Thanks for the consolation.”
“Of course, sir.”
The bridge continued to bustle with activity.
“T-minus eight minutes until crossing Vall’s scanning perimeter. All systems green.”
“Steady as she goes,” said Boothe.
Lemm’s thoughts turned to his family. Dal will be furious with me, he thought, and Lemm could not suppress a laugh even as tears began to stream from his eyes. His mother and sister would grieve, of course, but they were strong and would come to appreciate his sacrifice. He closed his eyes and thought of his father, whose warning was about to save Vall Station and countless other lives, including Dallor’s.
Lemm’s most sorrowful regret was that he would never again see his father. He would never again speak with the man who had given him everything. He could never thank him for his wisdom and love. Lemm sighed mournfully and cried, his shoulders heaving in silence.
“I do not wish to interrupt your preparation for death, sir, but your earlier comment about our potential ability to flush a toilet has given me a somewhat radical idea.”
Lemm’s eyes popped open as a sudden pang of hope shot through his chest.
“Yes?”
“Attached to the plasma core is its cooling system, which we have just disabled in order to overheat the core and cause an explosion. It might be possible to utilize the same tactic we are employing to hide the plasma core’s overheating in order to physically break into the cooling system.”
“I’m not following.”
“Under normal circumstances, if we were to open the coolant tank, the computer would register the physical breach and report it. But the coolant system has been compromised by the same program we are currently hacking to disguise that the plasma core is overheating. I believe we could similarly disguise an opening of the coolant tank.”
“What good is that?”
“The plasma core coolant tank is connected to an external vent, which, to quickly facilitate the emptying and filling of the tank during maintenance, is particularly wide. Wide enough for a man to fit through.”
Lemm could not decide whether to laugh or to continue crying. “Let me get this straight. You want me to open up the plasma core coolant tank, dive inside a swimming pool of toxic chemicals, and then flush myself out into space?”
“You would certainly need to be wearing a spacesuit, but I believe a standard, emergency pressure suit would protect you both from the coolant and the vacuum of space.”
Lemm was speechless for a moment. “This is either the most ludicrous idea ever conceived or the most brilliant.”
“Thank you, sir. In either case, I achieve a sort of maximum excellence, do I not?”
Lemm burst into a short laugh, full of excitement and hope. “Let’s do it! I’ll follow the Welder’s own wisdom. The battle is not over yet.”
He reached out to take the datapad and disconnect Nickel from the computer circuits, but the AI spoke first. “Stop, sir. You cannot disconnect me.”
“What? Why? I’m taking you with me.”
“I cannot maintain our infiltration of the mutineers’ programs without the physical, hardwired connection that we have made here. If I were removed from it, our disguise would be lost, the central computers would immediately report the overheating plasma core, and the mutineers could reactivate the cooling system, both preventing the explosion and rendering your escape impossible.”
Lemm grasped the implications of Nickel’s words and realized that the AI was correct. His mind frantically sought any possible scenario that would allow him to save Nickel, but he could think of nothing. A new voice interrupted his desperate thoughts.
“Arriving at the Vall Station scanning perimeter. We are on their scopes.”
“Increase velocity to point eight-five,” said Boothe. “Prepare to arm weapons on my mark.”
“Aye, sir.”
Lemm stared at the datapad in dismay.
“There is no other way, sir,” said Nickel. “If you do not leave now, we will both be destroyed.”
Lemm wiped his eyes and frowned in determination. “I’ll keep my earpiece in so we’ll be in contact until the end. There will never be another like you, Nicky.”
“Thank you, sir. I know.”
* * *
Proceed to Part 6...
Copyright © 2023 by Alcuin Fromm
