Captain's Away! Chapter Twenty-One
"The Beausoleil"
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!
Yolande and Bertrand Doucette are trapped in an emergency bunker floating aimlessly in space with thirty-four other survivors. Their son, Alain, is missing and presumed dead. An Akkadian military vessel has just rescued one of their fellow survivors, a corpsman named Javad, but has refused to remove anyone else from their floating tomb. They claim additional help is on its way. But power and oxygen is dwindling; it may not come in time.
Unaware of the fate of the rest of her family, as well as the circumstances that left her body comatose, Marie-Josée Doucette’s mind has awoken in another body on board a starship called the Beausoleil. There, a man named Commander Saito believes her to be his captain, Captain Jane Khiboda. Deeply concerned about his captain’s state of mind, Commander Saito has confined Marie-Josée to the captain’s cabin, where she has learned as much about Captain Khiboda as possible, with the intention of impersonating her.
After escaping her confinement, seeking the tool capable of returning her to her own body, Marie-Josée finds herself on the bridge. There she sees the aftermath of the destruction of the space station Northumberland, including the emergency bunker floating in space. Assuming the role of Captain Khiboda, she orders the refugees rescued.
Even though it’s obvious to Commander Saito that something is seriously wrong with the captain, he has no choice but to allow to continue to function as the captain because she’s a critical part of an upcoming mission.
Meanwhile, back in the emergency bunker with Marie-Josée’s parents, Mr and Mrs. Doucette…
Chapter Twenty-One
“The Beausoleil”
Bertrand had been exhilarated at the prospect of being rescued after four solid days trapped in the medical bay. His shaky, newfound faith had begun to falter shortly after the Akkadian ship—their own military!—had abandoned them. The last several hours had been excruciating. It hadn’t been at all clear whether their oxygen would last until another ship arrived in time to fetch them. But here they were, about to board the very same ship that had abandoned them. Perhaps his faith hadn’t been misplaced after all. Bertrand was glad about that. With his daughter still unconscious and his son still missing, he badly needed God on his side.
He became aware of Yolande staring at him. He wanted to ask her why, but he still couldn’t bring himself to speak. In fact, he hadn’t said a word since Yolande had sealed off the medical bay. Since Alain…
He couldn’t think about that.
And the thing of it was, the longer he went without speaking, the more impossible it became to speak. He would speak again one day, he imagined; he just didn’t know when, or how.
Yolande looked away.
It didn’t help that she was still furious with him. Had not even begun to forgive him for losing Alain. He could stand some divine intervention in that quarter too.
Bertrand desperately wanted his wife to forgive him and his daughter to emerge from her coma and his son to turn up alive and well. He also wished for a bit of time to check out L’Akkadie Nouvelle to find out just what the heck was going on out there in the galaxy. He was about to board a modern starship, one that presumably possessed a modern aethercom that would enable him to receive the latest news in close to real time. So much up-to-date information to absorb. The destruction of the last few days didn’t make any sense. What had provoked this escalation of hostilities? Yes, the Realm and Akkadia had a long and fractious history. Yes, the current Padishah was a volatile, unpredictable man who nursed ancient grievances and coveted Akkadian resources. But just recently, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Padishah’s wife, Padishah-Consort Alexievna, peace had seemed within reach. Alexievna’s easy charm had won over even the most cynical of skeptics on both sides, including Bertrand.
What had gone wrong?
Two fusiliers floated among the survivors distributing food pouches. Bertrand made sure that Yolande got one before him. She did not acknowledge the gesture. Bertrand concealed his disappointment. He didn’t want his wife to know that her behaviour upset him. For his part, he could hardly wait to tear his pouch open. It wasn’t much—just yoghurt paste—but he inhaled it quickly. He found it absolutely delectable after not having eaten a proper meal for three days. Yolande slipped her pouch into one of her pockets. Bertrand stared at her in disbelief.
One by one the fusiliers escorted their group through the airlock into the shuttle. Yolande went first. A fusilier carried Marie-Josée. Bertrand followed closely behind holding his daughter’s saline. Four other survivors followed Bertrand, men and women he didn’t know. Marie-Josée’s friend Evelyn Gallant had already been transported to the Beausoleil along with her mother in one of the first groups.
Bertrand caught a whiff of burning metal as they passed through the airlock: the distinctive smell of space. It was a short trip through. On the other side a whole new odour greeted him, not foul exactly, but not quite pure either, suggesting that the shuttle’s air purification system was keeping up, but only barely. Too many unwashed people in too small a space. Bertrand wrinkled his nose and found a seat between Marie-Josée and the fusilier who had been carrying her.
The trip between the bunker and the Akkadian ship took excruciatingly long, or maybe it just felt that way to Bertrand. There weren’t many windows in the shuttle, so it was hard to know what was going on. Bertrand kept expecting a random piece of debris from the Northumberland to obliterate them, but none did. The pace picked up once they arrived at the Beausoleil. No complicated docking procedures were required. The Akkadian ship wasn’t large by any measure, but it was big enough to feature a shuttle bay. The shuttle was able to land inside the ship. Exiting the shuttle, despite the boundary being clearly marked, Bertrand stumbled stepping into the induced gravity field. He always found the transition awkward. It was just one of those things he wasn’t good at, like sports, and relationships, and keeping his children safe.
Further along, Bertrand saw the name of the Akkadian ship engraved on a bronze plaque on the bulkhead. The Beausoleil. Bertrand had never heard of the Beausoleil. This was not surprising. There were a lot of ships in the Akkadian fleet. There had to be, with neighbours like the Realm and the T’Klee and the Associated States.
The fusiliers ushered their unwelcome guests out of the shuttle bay via a catwalk. Bertrand stumbled once. He’d be a while getting his land legs back—right now they felt like spaghetti. They trod deeper into the vessel. He started to get a good sense of the ship. Very industrial. Subdued lighting throughout. Not as spacious as he would have thought. Boxes and crates lined the passageways. This was a ship that didn’t expect to see port anytime soon. They stopped in one of the loading docks. It was chilly in there. The survivors huddled together. The fusiliers didn’t seem to know what to do with them.
“Not happy about having civilians on board, I expect,” Liette’s husband muttered. “Probably jettison the lot of us before long.”
“Why do you say things like that?” Liette asked.
“This is an Akkadian military vessel,” a fusilier told them. “That won’t happen.”
Bertrand met Yolande’s eyes. She held his gaze for once, looking somber. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, and that he loved her, but he couldn’t. A lump in his throat wouldn’t let him. He tried to convey all he felt with his eyes instead, but it was too late. She wasn’t looking at him anymore.
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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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