Captain's Away! Chapter Thirty-Four
"The Void"
Captain’s Away! is a long form, weekly serial. New chapters come out every week (more or less). Comments and suggestions welcome as we go along.
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Previously in Captain’s Away!
The Beausoleil is carrying civilian survivors of Realm attacks on Akkadian space stations, but still must carry out its mission: to convince the cat-like species the T’Klee to hand over their fleet to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Realm. The Beausoleil needs to reach T’Klee space before that happens. Faster-than-light travel is possible, but only by “shifting” to another level of reality called the “aether.” The quickest way for the Beausoleil to get where it needs to go is via a highly dangerous part of the aether called The Void.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“The Void”
At 0500 hours the following morning Saito stood on the bridge, motionless, his jaw set, his hands clasped behind his back. Around him the crew were mostly silent, speaking only when necessary. Lost in his thoughts, Saito paid them little mind.
Would the captain do as she was told? Probably. If not, he was prepared to deal with her. Although once a formidable presence, right now she was the mental equivalent of a teen-aged girl. If he couldn’t handle a teen-aged girl, then he had no business being on this or any other ship.
Soon the Beausoleil would enter the Void. Most of the crew, the old hands, at least, understood the dangers involved. Some of them had been through the Void before. Most of the crew hadn’t, though. The closer they got the more restless they would become. A steady hand would be required. The captain would not be able to deal with that. She would be part of the problem. Which is why Saito had arranged for her to be sedated before they entered the Void. He himself intended to stay awake through the ordeal.
At 0600 hours, shortly before arriving at the outskirts of the Void, Saito invited Marie-Josée, the ship, and the ship’s senior executive team to a brief huddle on the lower bridge. He also included Javad, who, although not an officer, would be overseeing the crew’s sedation. The corpsman was looking much better these days. Either he had managed to heal himself, or whatever had been ailing him had run its course. Saito was glad of it, whichever the case.
“The shields are still problematic,” Lieutenant Commander Chin told those assembled. “We’re devoting all our time and resources to solving the problem.”
“What about Mrs. Doucette?” the captain asked. “Is she helping?”
Saito had observed that Marie-Josée was becoming more confident speaking in front of her senior staff. He did not consider this a good thing.
“Mrs. Doucette has volunteered to remain awake to help,” Chin said. “I wasn’t sure about that. Do we want to take her up on it?”
“Definitely,” the captain said.
Chin nodded. “I’ll let her know.”
“Are we ready with the sedations, Doc?” Saito asked.
“It’s going to leave us short of sedative afterward, but we have enough,” Javad said. “I’m ready to start anytime.”
“Good. I suggest—”
Marie-Josée cut in before he could get any further. “Ship, have you talked to Javad about Mathieu?”
“Yes.”
Marie-Josée turned to the corpsman. “And?”
“I’ll be honest, Captain. I don’t know him from a hole in the ground. And I have no way of retrieving his records out here, assuming any survived the destruction of the Nouvelle-Écosse. I asked around and he doesn’t have the greatest reputation amongst the passengers. They think he’s either crazy to begin with or—”
“Stop right there.” Marie-Josée glared at Javad. “He’s not crazy. He’s hurt, that’s all. He’s a trained paramedic. Let him help you, okay? It will help him.”
Javad nodded.
Saito looked on, fascinated. She had sounded just like the real captain there. Could it be that she was getting better? That wouldn’t be a bad thing. He wanted her to get better. As for this Mathieu character, he had no opinion on the matter. “I suggest you get started on the injections immediately after the captain’s address.”
“Certainly, Commander,” Javad said.
Saito turned to Lieutenant Pineault. “Any sign of the Realm?”
Pineault brushed a lock of red hair away from her eyes. “Not so far, sir.”
“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way. Thank you everyone.”
They dispersed to their respective duties.
Marie-Josée addressed the entire crew for a second time. Saito would have preferred that it come from him, but it had to be the captain. This time the address was entirely scripted. Saito had impressed upon Marie-Josée the need to not deviate from a single word, and she complied.
“Attention all crew.” The captain’s voice reverberated through-out the Beausoleil. “I told you that I would tell you more about our orders at the appropriate time. That time is now. You have known our destination for some time: T’Klee space. What you don’t know is how we intend to get there. Time is of the essence. We are not taking the usual streams to T’Klee space. We can’t afford the time it would take to go the long way around. We are therefore taking the fastest possible route, through the Void.”
She paused, as Saito had instructed. From his station beside the captain’s chair Saito imagined he could hear gasps echoing throughout the ship. None of this was news to the bridge crew or the executive officers, but it was to everyone else.
The captain continued: “I don’t have to explain to you the dangers we face. We will be proceeding at maximum velocity. As you know the Beausoleil is far from defenceless; we will respond accordingly to any threat. As for the threat posed by the Void, as per protocol, most of you will be sedated and locked in your cabins. The Beausoleil will pilot itself, and only a skeleton crew will remain conscious and on duty in case of emergency. We will make it through. We have to make it through. Captain out.”
Pleased with the captain’s performance, Saito let her know with a curt nod. She may have been effectively a child, but at least she was a quick study. Or maybe she really was more herself. It was impossible to tell just by looking at her. That scarred face—entirely Jane Khiboda’s—responded to his affirmative gesture with no apparent emotion.
Raizada started his shift at 0605, late as usual. Saito and the captain were already on the bridge with the skeleton crew. Saito paid no attention to his tardiness this time, almost certainly preoccupied with more important matters.
The presence of the senior officers along with the looming passage through the Void had a chilling effect on those present, including Raizada. Apart from the occasional muted request for this or that reading there was little talk. Once Raizada overheard the captain ask Saito if they could put some music on. “It’s like a morgue in here,” he heard her say.
Raizada grinned at that. He decided he liked this new version of the captain, who seemed more human than the previous iteration. He did not hear Saito’s whispered response but observed that no music was forthcoming.
Ships usually piloted themselves inside aetherium streams, so it wasn’t necessary for him to do much. As pilot, his main job in this situation was to keep a close eye on the ship to make sure it didn’t start behaving erratically. He would take over if it did. But that had not happened to any ship that he knew of for at least twenty years, not since the last robot rebellion, so he did not expect it to happen now.
He glanced uneasily at the aether through the forward observation window. It was red, swirling, and clotted, constantly in motion, as though they were flying through a blood vessel. Raizada never felt quite at ease within the unreality of the aether. Some fundamental part of his psyche rebelled at being there. This despite having mapped aetherium streams professionally before joining the Akkadian military. It had been tedious, occasionally dangerous work. You had to shift to normal space constantly to get your bearings. Even well-shielded ships like the Beausoleil did not protect their crews adequately from the cumulative effects of multiple shifts to and from the aether. Every now and then, something weird happened. And that was just the normal aether.
The Void was worse. Much worse.
Javad and his team, which had complete, unlimited access to the ship to ensure that they found and sedated everyone, and which now included the passenger Mathieu LeBlanc, began sedating non-essential personnel at 0610, shortly after the captain’s announcement. Javad supervised Mathieu’s first couple of injections just to be sure that the young man knew what he was doing. Detecting no issues, he split the crew and the passengers between himself and his team. After sedating most of those for whom he was responsible, Javad personally sedated Marie-Josée in the captain’s cabin.
By 0700 hours only essential personnel remained active throughout the ship. At 0730 the Beausoleil reported to Saito that the shields remained in a failed state.
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This has been an installment of the ongoing serial Captain’s Away! A Strange Dimensions book.
Also by Joe Mahoney: A Time and a Place
An unlikely hero travels to other worlds and times to save a boy who does not want to be saved in this unique and imaginative adventure, by turns comic and tragic.
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