Starship

Part 4 - Leaving

Penn watched the display in the control center with sweaty palms. Matt’s shuttle was still six hours away, and things were going wrong already. Artemis had sidled away (her term) from her usual location. A junk pile of castoff equipment and scrap rode at her old position. Shipbots had assembled the mess and attached Space Service’s recognition transponder from the Artemis. They hoped it would fool any routine observation from the fleet. The shipbots built the attractive distraction around Penn's shuttle in case they needed any further distraction.

Penn liked Matt’s idea to go with Artemis, and the ship welcomed their company. Mars had nothing to offer in comparison. Matt was right. Even if they managed to start a new life there, how much longer could the Martian colonies remain independent? He welcomed the chance go to the stars with Artemis, but first they would have to escape the reach of the Space Service.

Huge as she was, Artemis couldn't exactly hide. She had had shipbots add low reflective surfaces at critical points, and she kept the ship’s smallest profile turned in the likely direction of any detection probes. Artemis had also stopped the ship's rotation to make any maneuvers easier. While Artemis controlled construction on the outside of the ship, Penn had worked long hours preparing the ship for weightless maneuvers.

Minutes ago Artemis signaled she had detected two Space Service patrol craft following tightly behind Matt's shuttle, and Penn sat there stewing about what it meant. Space Service headquarters evidently knew something was going on and had taken steps to make sure nothing happened. But how much did they know or suspect? Did Matt know? Had Matt decided to trade information about their plan for a better assignment? Penn had no way to know, and that worried him. He had shared his thought with Artemis, and now she worried as well.

“Well, Artemis, looks like we can't just ease on out with the ion engines like we'd hoped,” Penn said out loud.

“I’ve simulated several other options.They are not as simple, and they all depend on the patrol craft. How much do they know or suspect, and how will they react? We can still get away, but it will be more complicated. I suggest we contact Matt and see if we can learn anything.”

“I sure he's still with us.” 

Artemis said nothing in reply. Finally Penn said, “If he is still with us, we owe him a warning about what may happen. Why don’t we wait until we can contact him directly with a single beam channel?”

“It will be another hour before I can guarantee a tight beam lock the patrol craft won’t be able to see. That’s getting very close to the time I will have to commit to the first option.”

They waited one of the longest hours Penn had ever experience. Finally Artemis said, “I can now open a channel directly to Matt on the shuttle.”

Penn sighed and mentally crossed his fingers. After another moment, he crossed his real fingers. Moments later Matt's smiling face was on the screen. “Hi, Penn. Looks like I'll be in later today. How's your furry new recruit doing?”

It took Penn a moment to realize that Matt was talking about Merlin. “He's fine, but did you know you had company out there?”

Matt’s smile went away. “What's going on?”

“We don’t know, but there's two patrol craft right on your tail using you as cover to sneak in close.”

“You don't think I… ”

“We don't know what to think.”

Matt didn't reply but motioned to one side. A blonde young woman floated into view. “Hi, Penn,” she said brightly.