Intergalactic

Khon was visibly agitated when Zala opened the door to her small private quarter. Like most of the crew, she had gone to take a nap, in order to use less oxygen and lengthen the time they all had. She had set up a watch schedule of two people, changed every two hours. She was well aware of the effect being stranded in the void had on the psychology of her people, and she didn’t want anyone to have too much time thinking about it.

„Rescue is on the way!“, Khon had a tendency to always get to the point immediately. It was one of the reasons Zala valued him as second in command. She gestured towards the bridge and then following him there.

The channel was still open, as a blinking light on the comms console indicated. Zala sat down: „This is Captain Zala of the DSF Volcano. I hear you have good news?“

„Affirmative“, a jolly voice sounded out of the speakers, „Pardon me. Captain Donnal, my ship is called the Vindictor, but it’s little more than a shuttle. I got your call while en route to Binary Bloom and after the news from there figured shore leave would be a rather sad affair. I can swing by and my mechanic can have a look. Or if need be, you said twenty people and that’d be a bit tight but possible. You’d have to bring some supplies, though. We are stocked for ten passengers.“

Zala glanced sideways. Khon stepped forward: „Corporal Khon again. We lost some supplies, but there should be more than enough left to cover our needs for a few days.“

„Brilliant.“, Donnal continued, „I got your coordinates. We’ll be there in four or five hours.“

Zala looked over to the engineering station. They had 31 hours of life support remaining. The Volcano didn’t have an in-space docking port, so it would be crew carrying supplies through the airlock and flying over. That would take an hour at least, depending on how much they packed.

„Any news from HQ?“, the asked Khon.

„Only what we got before you went to sleep. No Dephyr ships nearby, they are sending a fast transport but ETA is 75 hours.“

Zala blinked, slowly. She had been well asleep when Khon woke her up. „Tell them to send a hauler as well to salvage the Volcano. I’m thinking of staying behind with a small crew. If the life support gives twenty people thirty hours, then a handfull of people should be able to wait it out.“

Without a pause, Khon volunteered: „I’ll stay with you. Us two plus an engineer plus a navigator can operate this thing. And you’re right, the Volcano is beaten up, but she’s not lost. We shouldn’t abandon her.“

Sixty light-hours away, on the bridge of the Aegis Prime, there were also good news. The hyperdrive appeared repairable, with the right replacement parts. The Calidor outpost had agreed to send two transport ships that would evacuate half the crew. They had also struck a separate deal with the pirates from Binary Bloom. The Aegis Prime would accept twenty seriously wounded in exchange for the required spare parts. The battleship would be able to fly home under her own power, in a few days.

General Norge was on the comms unit with the data team to send all the intelligence they had gathered during the battle to the headquarters. It might prove valuable in future encounters. They were also brooding over the news from the pirate outpost, which they had contacted a few minutes earlier. That the aliens disappeared after a brief attack on the station was puzzling. They had started a war over nothing? It made no sense.

The teamwork between the general and Commander Frason worked now. One was attending to his ship, the other had his eyes on the larger strategic situation.