Bundah joined Larcin and Silka in the navigator bay. She was also disheartened when she had seen that sight from the ship's main observation deck. It would be impossible to check out all of the ships out there. They had to find a way to narrow down their search. She addressed the A.I. as their best hope.
"Minester, you received the images all the A.I.s in port were projecting." Bundah resent the images to him.
"Yes navigator. I have them."
"The ship that sent those images is out here somewhere. We need to find that ship . Can you pinpoint where it is in all this mess?" Bundah thought it was a long shot but the A.I.s were displaying abilities none of the navigators had previously been aware of. Inter-ship contact without using the ship comm system was unheard of. Minester was quiet, his presence leaving the minds of the three navigators. Long minutes past. Finally, Minester connected with them again.
"I found her," he gleefully declared. He happy attitude dimmed quickly. "She's very weak, nearly out of power. She's deep in the debris field. I can't take you to her. This ship is too big. It would get hurt too much if it tried to go there. If it gets too hurt you'll leave me here. I don't want to stay here."
"It's ok Minester." Larcin sent out soothing thoughts to calm the frightened A.I.. " I gave you my word you don't have to stay here. Can you stay with me and guide me to that other ship?"
"I can do that navigator. I'm very strong."
The freighter had three smaller skiffs on board. Bundah had surmised the freighter would be too large to safely navigate the debris field and arranged to use them. The security and medical teams were already aboard their designated ships and ready to leave by the time the navigators got to the storage hold. Larcin boarded the lead ship, Minester present in him mind. Larcin would relay Minester's directions to the pilot and the others would follow.
It was a harrowing journey even in the smaller skiffs. The pilots showed excellent skills dodging the larger pieces of wreckage in their path or vaporizing smaller ones with their onboard weapons. Finally, they could make out the ship they were searching for, her TDQ 77035 designation pitted and faded on her side. To everyone's shock and surprise there was a small skiff already tethered there.
Not knowing what they would face inside, the security team took the lead entering the ship once the skiffs were tethered. They encountered five strangers searching the ship and a fight broke out. The fragile state of the ship's hull and the fear of air breaches limited them to a physical fight in the corridors. The five strangers put up a good fight in the limited space of the narrow halls. They knew they were fighting for their lives. Capture would mean lengthy prison sentences none of them wanted to face. They were trying to get back to their own skiff and make a get away. Used to brawling at the spaceport they were all good with their fist but in the end had no hope of besting the highly train security team.
Larcin was blocked from entering while the security team tried to clear the way. When he was finally able to force his way past the struggling bodies, he took off at a sprint to the navigator bay. In his head he could hear the little girl voice of the ship's A.I. calling him, directing him to where Joshua was. He outdistanced anyone following him, frantic to find his other.
Meanwhile, inside the navigator bay, Evee was frantically trying to wake Joshua. It was hard to enter his feverish mind and she was very weak. She had used most of the ship's meager store of energy to send out her desperate distress call to the stars. She wasn't even sure it had reached anyone. She was certain that the ship that docked with her was the same one that had brought Joshua here. None of the men from that ship had a navigator's mind or soul but Evee could still feel the evil intent they harbored toward Joshua. He needed to hide and hope that real rescue arrived soon. She was even more panicked when she sensed more ships tethering themselves to her hull.
YOU ARE READING
Calming A Racing Heart
מדע בדיוניJoshua was born with an emptiness inside him. A physical hollow that occupied half of his existence. No one else could see it, but he was constantly aware of its presence . Every day his life was plagued by the hollowness, never feeling whole. Wh...
