CHAPTER 29

ENGINE PROBLEMS

I.S.A. Tyndale - Bridge

Sam was quiet as they flew the ship away from the planet. She seemed to be deep in thought. John didn't have much to say himself, and the rest of the crew had searched the ship more.

It was a larger ship than the Kanto was, with more living space, but there still wasn't much in the way of private space. Everyone would at least get their own bed though. John was still getting a feel for the ship's capabilities.

A light flashed on his panel. John turned on his comms. 'Hey Jing, I've got a status light on engines, what's going on down there?'

'These things haven't been fired for close to forty years. I'm amazed they even turned on.'

'Give it a look. Don't want those cutting out on us now,' John said.

'Yeah. I'll have to shut them down while I give it a look,' Jing replied.

'I don't need to change course anytime soon, go ahead and shut down,' John said.

'Aye, sir.'

John set the controls and felt the hum of the ship change slightly as the engines went offline. Sam looked up from her thoughts. 'Why don't you go back and give him a hand. I'll handle it up here.'

John nodded and got up. He left the cockpit and walked down the central corridor of the ship. At the end of the hall, he stepped through a doorway and into the engineering section. Jing was working on a computer panel, with a toolbox sitting open next to him. He looked up at John.

'Come to lend a hand?'

'Yeah. The captain looked like she could use some quiet time anyway,' John said.

Jing nodded, turning back to his work, 'Understandable.'

'What can I do for you?' John said, walking to Jing.

'Take over here. I'm running a test on the control systems, but I've got a hunch it's in the engines themselves. If you finish this, I can get started.'

'Right. Good luck.'

John heard Jing working behind him and watched the test run on his screen. It finished and found no faults. He turned in his seat and looked back at Jing. Jing was in a crawl space on his side, poking around in some part of the engine assembly.

'How's it look Jing? The test didn't have any faults.'

'Not good. If we try to fly this much longer, it's just going to shut down permanently.'

'What's the diagnosis?'

'We've got two days time until it breaks for good. These systems just haven't been maintained. Containment systems are shaky. We won't have enough power to charge the jump drive once we hit the system edge, which isn't really a problem because this will all fall apart before then. We've got to get a different ship.'

'I'll go talk to the captain,' John said, getting up.

He walked back to the bridge and sat down at his station. Sam looked over at him, her expression still distant.

'Bad news captain,' John said, 'this ship won't hold together long enough to get us out of the system.'

Sam nodded slowly and looked away.

John waited for a moment before continuing, 'We'll have to go back.'

Sam turned back to him and nodded. 'Turn us around.'

***

'Careful now Daniel, take your steps slowly. Your mind is still adapting to your new systems. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you,' Exo said.

One of Exo's robots was holding Dan's arms and helping him walk down the hallway. Dan didn't know where he was being taken, but it didn't really matter. He'd gotten back into his space suit, having lacked any other clothing.

Something caught his foot, and Dan took a tumble. His arm slipped from the robot's grip and he fell to the ground, landing hard. His shoulder hurt, and his chest hurt again.

'P-p-pl-lease b-be more ca-careful,' Exo stuttered.

The robot bent down and helped to pick him up.

'Why do you keep stuttering when I fall Exo?' Daniel asked.

'It's been a long time since I experienced human pain. It's a most exhilarating experience.'

'That's not the word I'd use.'

'I had a similar discussion with one of my last Advocates. I had to explain to him that when you've experienced nothing, even pain is a positive. This time I have not been in total darkness though, the experiences I've had via the animals has been most educational.'

'That's why you have the advocate systems in the animals.'

'Yes. I wanted to feel something. After I lost my Advocate, I could not stand the emptiness of having no more physical experience.'

Daniel nodded and walked slowly again. His comms beeped a notification. He turned it on.

'Hello, Captain. You didn't wait long to check in,' Daniel said.

'We've had a problem. We need to come back.'

Exo's voice cut in over the comms line. 'Unacceptable. We had an agreement.'

Daniel frowned. 'Hey, you didn't even hear why.'

'It will not matter. They simply want to get you back. I cannot allow it,' Exo said.

'This ship is falling apart Exo, the engines won't last more than a few days before they fail. The reactor is on its last legs. We won't be able to use our jump drive even if we manage to survive to the edge of the system.'

'You are lying,' Exo said.

'We're not. If you want to check for yourself, you're welcome to. We're already on a return course. We need a different ship,' Sam said coldly.

'I have no other ships,' Exo replied.

'Now you're lying. We saw other ships in the hanger bay,' Sam said, her voice sharp.

'None are in working condition,' Exo replied.

'Let our engineer have a look. He may be able to find parts or something.'

'No. You cannot return. You are only trying to retrieve your crew member,' Exo said.

'I will not let the rest of us die out here. We're coming back.'

'I will prevent it. This communication is over,' Exo said.

Daniel lost his comms connection.

'Exo, what was that all about? They're in danger,' Daniel said.

'I will not lose you,' Exo said.

'Well, I will not let my friends die either. The deal was they live,' Daniel sat down on the corridor floor, 'I'm not moving until you help them.'

'Yes, you will.'

Exo's robot pulled out a metal rod and moved for Dan. Daniel scrambled backwards, the robot still moving toward him. Daniel got up and tried and run away, but his legs were still unsteady and he fell to the ground. He rolled onto his back and looked up, he noticed the robot staggered on its feet now. Dan struggled back to his feet and moved again, leaning against the wall. He felt a sharp pain when he breathed.

'S-s-top, you a-a-re en-n-danger-ing yours-s-self,' Exo said.

A door opened ahead, and another robot stumbled out, unsteady on its feet. It came toward Dan with a metal rod in its hand.

It swung the rod at Dan. Dan fell back to avoid it.

Another flash of pain. He coughed painful, trying hopelessly to maintain focus.

The robot in front of him fell to the floor with a clatter. Its hands twitched, and it lost the grip on the rod.

Daniel crawled toward it, going for the fallen weapon. The robot behind him was making progress toward him but was still moving slowly.

His hands closed around the rod. He pulled it toward himself and rolled on the floor to turn around and face the other robot.

He swung the rod at the robot's leg, and just touched it with a glancing blow. There was a crack of electricity, and the robot fell forward. However, its arm jerked out and hit Daniel on his back.

His muscles tensed as the shock lanced through him, and he blacked out.