In The Darkest Of Nights 01

I pressed my hand to the plate, watching as the pad energized and glowed green. With my ID confirmed the airlock field began to thin and fade. Before me was the semi-transparent umbilical that connected to my ship some fifty yards out, one of the few places where natural zero G still existed and could be enjoyed.

I was off on another routine trip, my third since graduating the academy, my first outside our home group of core planets. My first solo long range hyper jump mission. Okay, it was only a courier milk run but I was keyed up and bubbling with excitement at the prospect.

Beth, the ships MI system, greeted me as I swam across the gap, savouring the few moments of weightlessness as I watched my lock door slowly swing out to accept me.

"All systems are green, we have permission to lift off and proceed to the jump point," Beth's mellifluous voice informed me as I boarded.

"Thanks, Beth," I acknowledged, collapsing my suit field and unclipping my helmet and the re-breather as the tell-tale green light illuminated.

I made my way slowly up through the command pod, still feeling the sexual glow of my previous night's escapades. It was a pity I couldn't invite my escort of last night along. The blow job she'd given me this morning was still making my cock twitch again as I thought about that prehensile tongue of hers.

The single seat looked welcoming as I entered the bridge, the displays and view screens already fired up by Beth. I took my seat and began to run through the check list, paying special attention to the pods that contained the scientific equipment that was the purpose of my trip.

They were reliant on my power feed for their own grav and environmental controls, sealed by customs before reattachment and 'None of my businesses.'

I noted that the other pod was fully pressurized and only a half G, probably exotic fruits or something equally expensive. The shipping manifest had me dropping it off at Climax, deep inside the Crux Empire, another first for me.

My checks complete, I asked Beth to tell control we were ready to go hot and request push off. On my monitor I could see the umbilical tunnel detach and shrink back into the station, leaving just the cradle. Then the cradle gave us the ten foot push out into free space.

I waited the patient minute to drift the hundred yards or so till I got clearance for manoeuvring jets. Looking back at the station, I could see the alpha class liner berthed beside me, the long fat living pod nestled into a structure ten times my size.

Beth used the jets to manoeuvre us, sending us skimming up the side and out over the top, out the quarter mile to the 'live' zone. My target star was currently shadowed by the planetary disc so my departure would be a dogleg, looping around to the anointed way out of the gravity well to where the hyper drive could be safely engaged.

I sat back in my pilot's seat watching the screens as Beth drove the outward leg aiming for the closest orbit that would give us the parabolic fling onto the new course. The sun grew larger every time I looked at it while I studied the display with the court recording for my full lieutenant exam, the ethics of discipline being the current topic and the subject of a five thousand word minimum essay in my weeks study leave when I next landed on a federation base.

The questions had no answer, only value judgements on the witnesses who gave evidence, a little more like an ethics test than the disciplinarian one it purported to be, excepting we also had to recommend a sentence where guilt was proved.

I spent an hour stop starting the video and capturing my thoughts before I wandered off to my cabin to relax and read nineteenth and twentieth century novels, seeing how technology interacted with lifestyle as it developed.

I found it more interesting than the video casts and films of the time. Radio was good for a time at the beginning but drowned itself in banal sponsorship except for the BBC. Right now I was enjoying a rerun of Gulliver's Tales and still finding amusement in the hidden meanings.

Beth interrupted me some hours later as she prepared to take the ship into the next stage of our journey. I watched the screens as she tickled the attitude jets to keep us centred on the grid and in the green.

I sat there a while, contemplating the three week hyper jump, diving through quantum space while time stood still around us. Shortening my normal life by those 'extra' three weeks, the least reward was the boost onto space pay and a fat wallet when you got leave with somewhere to spend it.

An hour or so of idling and I felt like a snack and made my way up to the main replicator in the 'mess', a cubby hole with a counter under the face of its chamber and a wall mounted bench seat opposite filling the rest of the room.

Wedged next to it was the medidoc section, an automated treatment centre. And then the toilet with the rest room/rec area with its long circular wall taking up the lion's share of the rest of the level. Above me were the two cabins, mine and the guest cabin.

My domain extended downwards, courtesy of the tube, through the cargo section and into the drive section, another area that was 'None of my businesses.' I knew better than to think I could mess with the Tesla drive; it was esoteric physics and way beyond my understanding.

I dialled up coffee first then a double cheddar and red onion on granary, and took them through to the rec area, sitting and letting my thoughts turn introspectively. Three weeks solitary, then a day's layover for cargo transfer then another four day jump to a hub station for my other drop off.

I'd taken the six week isolation test in the academy but this was the real thing and still had an edge of sharpness to it.

I popped back down to have a quick check on how we were going, see if we were tracking the natural parabola yet. Beth was down to millisecond of arc as the sun tugged us forward, looming ever larger on the port bow.

I felt the routine descend as I settled into the command chair and watched as Beth tweaked our course till we were nanosecond accurate then shut down the engines. We wouldn't need to restart them till we'd finished the ride.

My circadian clock was coming to bedtime, left to drift during the six week of my test I had worked to a twenty five hour cycle, and I wandered off to take the tube up to my quarters to read myself to sleep.

Morning arrived and I checked in on Beth after showering, wearing only the obligatory medivest and enjoying the relief of not having to wear anything else. We'd past perihelion and were outward bound with Beth still keeping us on the true track, accelerating to fifty G's as we drove to the jump point still a day distant.

Satisfied, I made my way back up for breakfast, then on to a coffee and some retro music from the eighteenth century. Beth interrupted.

"Choi." Her voice commanded my attention.

"Yes, Beth?"

"I am receiving a revival warning signal from one of the capsules."

"What?" I jumped in, unfolding myself from the chair and striding for the tube.

My heart leapt into my throat as I thought first of pirates and dismissed them, thinking next of some malfunction. Nevertheless I would go armed, and I needed to put some trousers on. Instead of descending I ascended and dressed and took my stunner.

Beth had located it in the pod bound for Climax, the half G one. I'd never been to the cargo level since I'd strolled the ship on assuming command. Warily, I rode the disc down to the connection ring and the tunnel to the suspect pod.

Beth had a multi armed maintenance bot there before me. It broke the seal while Beth overrode the door security to open it for us. The pod was virtually empty. I'd twisted myself though the ninety degree gravity shift and stood with six capsules in front of me, each locked in its cradle.

As I walked to them I saw the one flashing, the red light demanding attention.

"Beth?" I asked tentatively. "Tell me what I'm seeing."

I looked directly at the control panel.

"It is a standard hibernation capsule to avoid time loss during jumps, usually when people are making several hops," Beth informed me. "The timer will open it in forty-seven minutes."

It was tied down to the cradle for the journey; it needed freeing up if it was to open soon. With the help of the bot I soon had it laid on the floor and ready to pop. The other five with it were all coded and told me nothing except to confirm good health.

I half sat, half leant on the capsule, watching the countdown timer. As it neared time I rode the disc back up the lift shaft for two coffees, returning with minutes to spare to see the cover release and retract. Inside fluttering her eyes was a redheaded beauty, dressed in a halter top and shorts.

I watched her, fascinated, as she stirred and sat woozily up.

"Where am I?" were her first words, as she looked round at the near empty cargo pod, no doubt expecting to wake up in the med bay.

"On the Cuccioli, outbound for the Climax system," I informed her, wondering if this was some bizarre practical joke gone wrong.

She sat up with a start, "I should be on the Empress Galia. Who are you?"

"I'm your captain for the trip," I said handing her the coffee, which she took, still warily looking round. "Lieutenant Choi Asimov. I might ask you who you are, and how you came to be here?"

She shook her head. "I'm Maid McArion, Daughter of the Duke of Argonia, first councillor to the king. I was going to the Spiceworld planet with Lord Willikins. There were six of us escaping for a wild week for Chotmoy's birthday," she stated. "This has all gone horribly wrong. You'll have to take me back."

I listened to the haughty tone. "I'm sorry, but you're stuck with me for the next three weeks at least," I told her. "I'm on route accelerating to the warp point. They can rescue you from Climax when we get there."

"You can't do that, you've got to turn around immediately. I want to go home."

"We'll talk about that in a minute," I said. "Let's first get you upstairs and run you through the autodoc."

"That's not necessary, I feel fine," she snapped back at me. "I want to talk to the port authorities."

"We can do that upstairs," I replied, offering my hand to help her out of the capsule.

She plonked the coffee cup in my hand and struggled out of the capsule herself. She bent into the capsule and retrieved her bag, looking a little unsteady when she straightened up.

"Let me help you," I offered.

She gave me a sniffy look and started for the door.

"I'm perfectly alright, thank you," she said as she walked toward the exit.

Picking up my coffee cup, I tailed along behind her, watching as she held herself steady in the umbilical wall and made her way round the liftshaft. I followed her onto the disc, amused as she tried to ignore me, and ordered it up to the rec level.

"Are you sure you don't want the autodoc to check you out?" I asked as we disembarked

"My title is Lady Brendigan, and I don't need your machine's help," she said wearily. "I want you to stop this ship and let me off."

"Lady," I replied. "To stop without orders would cost me my command. My cargo has priority. You can use the radio to contact my agent and get him to turn me around."

If she had the clout to frighten him into changing my orders, I thought, then he was in the firing line. Port security was his responsibility and that had been a screw up; mine was delivering my cargo as ordered, no blame for that.

"I will," she said, reaching for the bag and rummaging before pulling out her communicator. She touched the screen and said, "Vizier."

Beth relayed the signal, beaming it back through sub space as we streaked away, aiming for the Way point to enable the warp drive.

"Your Highness." The words came from Beth's speakers. She looked up and around as if expecting to see him.

"Gregit, you've got to help me. I'm stuck on some spaceship and they won't let me off."

"Let me speak to the captain if you would, my lady," he replied.

"This is the captain," I broke in. "Lieutenant Choi Asimov of the Federation Scout Service at your service, sir. On the scout ship Cuccioli on route to Climax."

"Captain, I require you to return the Lady Brendigan back to the station."

"Sorry, I'm a Federation ship, and I've long passed my recall point," I said calmly. "Please talk to my commander, Captain Bloatof, the commercial attaché at the Federation embassy. I take my orders from him."

I was knocking the ball firmly out of my court. This was a diplomatic level decision. They could flex imperial power if necessary, paying the penalty cost of the late delivery. I was merely a pawn in the game.

"Leave the matter in my hands, Your Highness," came the suave reply of the Vizier and the link closed.

I looked at her as she thought through the options left.

"They'll get me off somehow," she said confidently.

"Sorry, I'm only a small cog in a big machine; they're paid to make decisions like this," I said, waving her towards the seating in the rec area.

I glanced to her face and saw she'd seen me running my admiring glance over her gorgeous body.

"The best genetic manipulation money can buy," she said sourly, frowning at the thought.

"Huh?" I inquired, wanting to draw her further.

"That all you men see in me, the beautiful body that daddy bought for me, it's not that much of an ego boost when you know you've been programmed to do it."

I held my thoughts as I watched her sit. It had the feel of an old wound not yet healed, another N O M B to add to the list. I showed her the small galley with the replicator, and pointed out the toilet next door and left her to her own amusements as I returned to the bridge below.

There was an extensive film, book and audio library but little other recreational facilities. I didn't imagine my collection of historical data would suit her but there were plenty of other options.

It was another hour before I received any communication from the embassy.

"I have an incoming message on the secure channel," Beth informed me.

"Put it on," I ordered

"Attention, Cuccioli," the speakers announced.

"Yes, Asimov here."

"Captain Bloatof here," he announced. "You are not authorised to stop. You will continue as planned."

I had expected the answer but I knew the princess was going to be upset that she was stuck for the duration and would have to contact the Verde embassy who would collect the errant princess from me.

When I got back to the rec area upstairs I found my stowaway in the midst of a temper tantrum. She leapt at me as I entered, trying to hit me with her communicator.

"You've got to let me off. It's important, I've got to be with My Lord Willikins," she half shouted between sobs.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, expressing my genuine regret that her escapade had gone so wrong.

"You can't do anything, give me a lifeboat or something?" she asked, calming a little.

"Not at our speed," I replied. "You're going to Climax and I'm going to have to explain breaking the seal when we get there."

"Well, I'm tired. Is there somewhere I can lie down?"

"Yes, there's a cabin one stop up, the one on the left is empty. I'll show you where it is."

I started towards the tube.

"Are you hungry? It's about dinnertime for me."

"No, I just want to lie down."

"Okay."

She walked onto the disc with me for the short trip up. I showed her the room and left her to it, returning down to dial up lunch for myself

As the day passed, slipping through the afternoon, I kept to the bridge, idling my time away watching my court case when Beth broke in to tell me that we were being hailed.

"On screen," I ordered.

The head and shoulders of a planetary defence officer appeared.

"Shut down and prepare to be boarded," he ordered me.

"By what authority?" I questioned him.

"Captain Argot, VSS Scythe of the Planetary Defence Command," he quoted to me.

"You have no jurisdiction," I answered back.

"We are arresting you for the kidnap of Her Highness Maid Brendigan," he came back at me.

"There's a cruiser class ship vectoring in on a contact heading," Beth informed me.

"Increase speed to outrun her," I commanded. I had reserves enough to boost up to my max acceleration of four hundred G's and hopefully outrun my chaser. With my lower inertial mass I could easily out manoeuvre the patrol ship sent to detain us but this was a straight line run.

The captain onscreen turned away and the screen went back to the forward star view, with Ryan's star still squarely in the cross hairs.

I put the plot up on the screens, Beth's radar showing live coverage, while my battle screen showed the extrapolation. I could see the cruiser accelerating to maintain an intercept course, though the intercept point was currently well beyond our jump point and that I would be point oh two percent in excess of optimal velocity. As long as things stayed that way I was home and dry.

I spent the next two hours declining further communication and watching as the projections gave us a clear hour to spare, he'd still be at extreme range some millions of kilometres behind when we hit the jump spot well outside the gravity well behind the shock front of the solar wind.

As the jump point came closer, the cruiser behind threw every gram of power into the chase and brought our margin down, till with us minutes out from ploughing through the stellar bow wave, they came to ten minutes behind.

I hadn't expected them to use energy weapons, not with their precious princess on board, but shoot at us they did. Beth reported one slash of an E beam that flashed across too quick to burn us as the warp core fired up.

The near simultaneous stomach turning drop into and out of warp space caught me off guard, with the surreal colours and patterns of subspace a mere flicker before the darkness enveloped us.

Beth's analysis started immediately, the screens before me displaying out new surroundings. Visible light showed blackness, on infrared there was a hazy display of the stars around us.

"We're in a nebular," she informed me. "It's the Crabs Claw, about thirty light years from the jump point."

"Damage report?" I requested.

"Give me a minute on that," she answered. "Getting exterior view in place now."

The shot had cut through a feed, unbalancing the warp core. The tri-lithium crystals at its heart had been denatured, evaporating into thin air. Well, it was the vacuum of the chamber in reality, ending up as a vapour deposit to its polarised walls.

We were beyond reach and help, adrift in a dark corner of space. My heart sagged at the thought of the thirty light years of emptiness surrounding me, cussing that there was no replacement crystals in store.

If we could find the Lithium to make a new one then I could get our warp drive back online. The other damage was minor, but with odds starting at a miracle out here, my hopes of getting home were nil. Our best bet would be the asteroid belt of a star.

Out here in the nebulae there would probably be young star with a disc forming that we could tap into if we've got the fuel to get there in a reasonable time, and keeping the reserve of fuel to both accelerate out and decelerate when we got there.

We were going to be presumed lost. That local security cruiser would have seen us go in knowing that he scored a hit. They'd presume we were destroyed when we didn't pop out the other end. We'd be just another of those lost ships that never come out of warp space.

This was something that was going to be a big pill for her highness to swallow. Her three week sojourn was now open ended.

I flipped the viewcam off. "Okay, Beth, for what it's worth you can repair it. You can also do a complete scan of the local area for any possible sources of lithium."