Alpha Centauri: The Story Episode 6

Journey to Centauri : Episode 6

Captain John Garland whirled and tensed inside the human-sized gyroscope that served as the ship's main form of exercise, seeking to burn out the remaining poisons of the long sleep. The last two days had seen a flurry of activity as red-suited technicians emerged from their cryocells and set to work repairing the ship, with Doctor Saratov directing their movements from the command bay like a general directing his troops.

A series of beeps began sounding down the last few seconds of his session, and he responded by a burst of furious effort, pulling and tensing with deep reserves of strength, and he was gratified to see the black and yellow patterns ranged around the perimeter of the gyrosphere blur by at fantastic speeds. The final long tone sounded, indicating the end of the session, and he relaxed his body, letting the sphere spin down to a stop.

"Computer, stop and release," he said aloud, and the sphere gave one last half-turn before clicking into place in an upright position. He let out a whooshing breath...he had needed this brief session to shake off the tension of the command bay. The clamps keeping his arms, feet and waist firmly in position began to loosen by a remote signal when a light flashed above the exit hatch.

"Enter," said Garland, and the hatch opened. A young crewmember in a red jumpsuit stuck her body half into the hatch and saluted. Garland nodded, unable to salute back while his hands and feet remained fixed around the rim of the sphere. He felt suddenly vulnerable...why was he constantly jumpy on his own ship?

"Captain, Officer Saratov asked me to tell you personally that he intends to turn on the fusion drive for a short pulse test. He intends to fire one pulse and measure the stress on the ship's structure."

"Is that wise, Ensign Holloway?" The straps released and he stepped down. The young ensign reflexively took a towel from a small cubbyhole and handed it to him.

"Doctor Saratov feels it is. Officer Skye is concerned about the weakened condition of some of the walls, the Greenhouse in particular," she answered, referring to the last remaining Hydroponics Module.

He nodded, wiping the sweat off of his neck and face. "Then we'd better discuss it further."

Her eyes flickered away from him. "Doctor Saratov was preparing to run the tests as I left the command bay, sir. We may..."

"We'll wait." He pushed through the hatchway and punched the command bay access code on a wall speaker. "Saratov, cancel your tests. We will not push the tests until all hands agree."

"My people assure me it is safe, Captain. We need to move forward in our repairs. We have only...37 hours to reactivate the drive before all hope of stopping the ship in time is lost."

"I said cancel the tests, Doctor. Isn't Lieutenant Skye one of your people?"

A long pause followed before Saratov's voice grated through the speaker. "Very well. Please return to the bridge so we may discuss this further." The link clicked off. Garland turned to the young ensign, angry, until he saw her standing at attention. She stood ramrod straight, ready to serve the mission in any needed capacity, but he could read the concern in her eyes. A child could discern the tensions growing between the members of the command staff.

"At ease, Ensign. You know the ship well...was Lieutenant Skye in the command bay?"

"No, sir. That is, she was, and then she left. After registering her...concerns about the pulse test. Sir."

He nodded. "Thank you, Ensign. Please return to your duties." She nodded and turned to leave. He looked after her for a few moments, plumbing the depths of his memory, chasing a dim awareness...Ensign Holloway. He didn't remember her on the list of emergency engineering staff. He closed his eyes for a moment, then activated a touchscreen under the speaker and typed in a private text link to Pravin Lal.

Pravin...pls reverify number of cryocells opened under Saratov's command. Use discretion.

He waited for a moment, watching the glowing letters on the touchscreen pulse at him, a hunch waiting to be born into a reality.

Just a precaution, he thought, and punched the Send button. He turned away and headed for the shower bay at a brisk pace.

Continue on to part 2...