[Moon]
Moon called out, "Sai, plot course and speed to put us on top of that Corsair. Match momentum and time it for two minutes before the torpedo catches up with us."
Sai responded, "Sir, once the Corsair notices us, it will likely change course and speed."
"Then you will need to monitor and make adjustments along the way. Try to stay directly behind, the Corsair's sensor array has a blind spot there."
"Yes, sir. And don't spare the horses?"
Moon grinned. "You got it, Sai! At the right time, I will turn our identification beacon back on."
"Sir, wouldn't that make it easier for the torpedo to track us?"
Celeste turned her head toward Moon. He surmised she had the same question. He nodded, still grinning. "I'm counting on it, Sai." He unbuckled his seat harness and stood up. "Priestess, I am going to need your help."
Leading Celeste off the bridge, Moon explained as they climbed up a spiral staircase to the engineering deck. "We are going to unhook the beacon, or rather you are."
"Why me? I know nothing about ship mechanics."
"The beacon is in a tight place and you're smaller than I am. I'll guide you through the process. I hope you are not claustrophobic."
She huffed. "Oh, great..."
They made their way down a dimly lit narrow pathway framed with rows of piping and cable, passing cylindrical vessels and two large closed vats. A control panel between the vessels displayed numbers on a process schematic.
Celeste raised her voice over the monotonous droning noise. "Are these the bio systems?"
Moon pointed. "Yeah, the waste treaters, air and water reclaimers. Are you familiar with these?"
"I've had training in environmental systems engineering."
Stopping, Moon turned to her. "Priestesses get technical training?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Of course. We learn useful skills, too. What did you think?"
"Hmm. I'll keep that in mind. Maybe later you can use your skills to clean the sludge out of the bio-filters."
She rolled her eyes. "Lovely."
They emerged from the dim hallway into an open and brighter lit area. A large transparent panel displaying numbers and charts in multiple colors hung from the wall. A pulsating hum came from two huge white cylinders that extended through the back wall, one on each side of the area. A large black box stood between them, connected by a maze of conduit and small pipes. A bridge crane with a chain hoist spanned the length of the engineering section above.
Moon pointed. "These are the fusion reactors and the quantum displacement drive."
"Where's the beacon?"
He raised his eyes. "Up there."
Her eyes traced a metal rung ladder that disappeared between pipes into a small dark hole in the ceiling. The hole was barely bigger than she was. "Ohhh..."
Moon took a wrench, a pry bar, and a work light from a tool rack mounted on the wall. He placed them in a satchel and handed it to Celeste. "This is all you will need. Better get going, we don't have much time."
She frowned and snatched the satchel from him, slinging it over her shoulder. Untying her long skirt, she let fall to her ankles and stepped out of it. As Moon's eyes went wide and his breath halted, she turned and narrowed her eyes at him. "This is not for your benefit, Moon. I don't want to snag my skirt."
"Umm, yeah. Of course." His eyes followed her swaying hips up the ladder, clad only in tight black underwear.
Oh, that's nice. He shook his head, chastising himself. What am I doing ogling a Sol Priestess?
She squeezed between the pipes and disappeared into the hole. Moon followed her partway up the ladder, gazing upward. A beam of light danced in the darkness above as Celeste lit her way.
She called out, "What am I looking for?"
"It's a yellow cylinder bolted to the beam about three meters up or so. There's just two bolts to take out."
After a moment, she replied. "Okay, I see it. Wait, there are two of them."
Moon said, "Just remove the lower one."
"Alright. Why do you have two beacons?"
"I have a fake one. It helps sometimes when I need to hide my movements."
Celeste sighed. "Are there any regulations you haven't broken?"
"Maybe a few. It's good to have goals in life."
"Right," Celeste grumbled. "Okay, I see the bolts. Which way do I turn them?"
"Standard. 'Righty tighty, lefty loosy'."
"Is that the technical term?"
Moon replied. "Yeah. You might be surprised how useful it is."
The ship lurched and shook as the hum from the fusion reactors and quantum drive increased in volume.
Celeste gasped. "What was that?"
"Just Sai making speed and course corrections, I think." He turned his head and called out, "Sai, do you have a course solution?"
A voice came from a wall speaker. "Yes, sir. Increasing relative speed to sixty-eight C. Time to intercept approximately twenty-three minutes."
"Any sign that the Corsair sees us yet?"
"No, sir. They are maintaining constant speed and course."
"Stay directly behind it if you can. Oh, Sai, send one of your external maintenance-bots to the forward docking hatch. We are going to need it."
"Yes, sir."
Moon took two more steps up the ladder and poked his head into the narrow passageway. Clangs sounded periodically as the wrench she wielded struck the beam.
Hmm, nice legs too.
He said, "How are you coming, Priestess?"
"I almost have the first bolt out. It's a tight fit in here."
"Well, you need to hurry it up. We don't have much time."
"How fast do I need to go?" The wrench clanged again, and she shifted her stance.
"Umm, like your life depended on it."
"Oh... There! I got the first bolt."
With a final turn, the bolt came loose but slipped from her grasp. It fell, bouncing among the beams and piping, to strike Moon on the head.
"Oww!" A hand covered his forehead. Probably deserved that.
"Sorry." The wrench clanked against metal as Celeste started on the second bolt. "What is your so-called 'wild ass plan' anyway?"
"Karma."
"What?"
"You'll see. Keep going."
She grunted. "There! Got the second bolt." The bolt fumbled in her hand and fell. "Watch out, Moon!"
He swung aside of the ladder and the bolt passed by him, clinking as it bounced on the floor. "Ha! Missed me."
"I didn't do that on purpose!" She paused. "The beacon is stuck. How do I get it off?"
"Use the pry bar."
A series of grunts came from her followed grumbles as she levered the pry bar. She yelled, "It won't come loose!"
"Keep trying." Vague angry grumbles cascaded down on him. He grinned. "Priestess, did you just curse under your breath?"
Celeste huffed. "I don't curse!" She grunted again. "This damn thing won't come off! Wait... Here it comes. I got it!"
"Awesome, Celeste! Just leave the tools up there and lower down the beacon." He reached up into the hole. "Okay, got it!"
Holding the cylindrical yellow device against his chest, Moon descended the ladder and laid it on the floor. He looked up. "Come on down."
Celeste's bare legs emerged from the hole. Moon pursed his lips and blew out an airy breath at the sight. She gave him an cold stare, gazing down from above. He looked away.
Without warning, the ship shook as if running over a road bump. Tools and other items not fastened down jumped and clattered to the floor. An acceleration force pulled on Moon, and he swung around on the ladder, holding on with a firm grip. Celeste yelped as her foot missed a ladder rung and she fell backwards, flailing her arms out as she plummeted down. Moon caught her in his arms.
"I have you." He smirked. "I was afraid of this. You've already fallen for me."
Frowning, Celeste said, "Don't delude yourself and spare me the double meanings." She blew out a breath and allowed the tension in her face to relax. "Nonetheless, thank you for catching me."
Setting her down, Moon spoke out, "Sai, what is happening?"
"The Corsair has changed course and is increasing relative velocity. I am compensating."
He grinned at Celeste. "They probably noticed the torpedo closing in. I would love to see the look on their faces now." He looked up. "Sai, time to intercept?"
"Six point two minutes, sir, at present solution. But the torpedo will be only fifty-four seconds behind."
Moon scooped up the beacon in one arm. "That's cutting it too close. We need to move!" He grabbed Celeste's hand and raced down the hallway. Along the way, she reached down to snatch up her skirt from the floor. It billowed behind her and they raced out of engineering to the docking hatch. A small thick window revealed an inner chamber and a re-enforced circular outer hatch. He punched the red button by the heavy inside door, allowing it to swing open with a whir of a motor.
A robot, standing about one meter tall, stood by on two stubby metal legs. Multiple tools, sensors, and positioning thrusters bristled from its rounded form.
Moon touched a recessed switch on the beacon he carried. A yellow light blinked in a regular rhythm. "The beacon is on." He spoke to the robot as he placed the beacon before it. "Activate."
Multiple colored lights flashed, and servomotors whirred. It stood up higher and shifted forward. Sai's voice came from the bot. "Activated, sir."
"Okay, Sai. Take the beacon." Extended from the bot, a mechanical arm grasped the beacon with metal claws. "This is what we are going to do. Get right on top of that Corsair. That will disrupt the quantum fields and drop us both out of light speed. Wait by the outer hatch while I open it. On my mark, take the bot out and attach it to the Corsair, so then they will become the Phoenix Star. But wait for my go. Then punch our fusion thrusters and get as far away as you can before the torpedo gets there."
"Ah, I see, sir. Then the torpedo will mistake the Corsair for us and destroy it, rather than us."
"That is the best outcome."
Celeste's eyes went wide. "What are the other outcomes?"
"Well... One, the torpedo is not fooled and turns us into space junk. Or, two, we don't have enough time to get away and both us and the Corsair become debris."
Celeste visibly gulped. "I like the first outcome best. This is going to work, isn't it?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Probably. No worries."
Moon opened a cabinet inset into the wall and pulled out a gray space suit. He separated it at the waist and slid his legs into the bottom half.
She wrinkled her forehead. "What are you doing?"
"I am going to monitor the bot from here in case something goes wrong. I want you to go back up to the bridge and buckle in. This may get rough."
She nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, thank you, Moon. And I'm sorry I put you in this situation."
He tilted his head and grinned. "If we get through this, I am going to have one hell of a story to tell. It might even get me free drinks."
She leaned in to kiss him on a cheek. "Let me buy your drinks."
A warm flush spread from the location of her kiss. He grinned and tilted his head. "I just might take you up on that."
Sai spoke from the bot. "Two minutes until intercept." The ship shuddered and the hum from the reactors increased in volume. "Adjusting relative velocity and matching momentum. Thrusters on hot standby."
Moon waved his hand. "Celeste, go!" She sprinted off and disappeared around a corner.
Moon hurriedly put on the space suit top and activated it. A series of charts appeared on the visor heads-up display. He led the bot into the small chamber between the hatches. A push of another red button closed the inside door and begin the depressurization.
He spoke over the suit com system. "Sai, if I don't survive this and Celeste does, I want you to transfer command function to her."
"Yes, sir. But if I may say, I believe we will all survive."
Moon smiled. "I appreciate your optimism, Sai. What is the basis for that projection?"
"Because, sir, the alternatives are not acceptable."
The answer took him aback. "I agree with you there, my friend."
That was unusual logic from an AI.
When a blue light blinked, Moon activated the outside door. It pivoted and swung inward, revealing the vast blackness of space.
He called out. "Telemetry." Symbols representing the Phoenix Star, the Corsair, and the quantum torpedo appeared on his visor. He muttered, "Damn, this is going to be close."
Sai said over the suit com, "Ten seconds to intercept, sir. The Corsair is arming weapons."
Moon grinned as he positioned the bot at the open doorway and fastened his suit tether to an eyebolt by the door.
So, they know what we are up to, but it is too late.
The ship lurched. Simultaneously, the Phoenix Star and the Corsair dropped out of light-speed. The Corsair loomed large just outside of the door, a long rounded dark vessel bristling with weapon and sensor attachments. It seemed almost close enough to touch. Moon grunted as he swung around, pushing the bot and beacon outside into space while gripping the door frame.
Moon grinned. "Awesome flying, Sai!"
"Thank you, sir. Torpedo impact in twenty seconds."
His grin dropped away. "Shit! Punch it, Sai!" He pushed himself away from the opening, knowing he would not have time to close the door. The acceleration forces from the fusion thrusters pulled him into a near horizontal position as he held on to the door frame, as if to prevent a sideways fall. Blinding light streamed in through the opening, painting the docking chamber bluish-white. A fraction of a moment later, the ship jolted with enough force to wrench away his grip and slam him hard against the bulkhead. In the vacuum, Moon heard no sound other than the thud of bodily impact and a sharp grunt as air burst from his lungs.
Moon's ribs throbbed with pain and his head swirled. He had one last thought before darkness swept through his mind.
Hang on, Celeste.