Stars

Part III (continued) - Olympia

Captain, I have the final data from Tracking." Torrence didn't look pleased. The data disk he held kept a swift beat as it tapped against his thumbnail. His eyes showed the stress even on the small screen that Captain Purdy watched him on.

"Meet me in the ready room Ensign. Five minutes." This was what Purdy had been waiting for and Torrence's expression meant bad news. "Mr. Dixon, set a course to rendezvous with the Olympia II. Inform Captain D'Mond of our ETA and continue on our previous course."

"Aye sir."

"And give me the ETA as soon as you have it. I'll be in the ready room." Pilot Dixon turned his attention to his console as the Captain made his way off the bridge.

*****

"Captain, I have a message from Olympia I." D'Mond took the proffered disk and tried to put a name on the image before him. Short... no, petite. Neatly cropped flaxen hair... standard cut. Standard issue uniform... too tight for the bridge. The way she swayed as she strode out... too young for that job, much too young. Or maybe D'Mond was just feeling old. It had been a long tour. No. No name came to him. Damn long tour.

D'Mond had been on the bridge for eight years now. He had known for quite some time that he would be there for Landing. He was glad the trip was finally over... well, almost over anyway. Or was he? This ship was the only home he had ever known. It had been nearly sixteen generations since his ancestors had set foot on solid ground. He was comfortable here. He didn't know any other way.

As he looked down at the desk, he realized he was holding a com-disk. He shook his head lightly, cobwebs. Too damned long. He slipped the disk into the com-unit and toggled the play switch. With a much clearer head he listened to the Olympia II's message. Soon. Soon it would be over. Then the real work would begin. He touched the com-unit and brought up the bridge monitor.

"Trench, who was it that brought the com-disk to me?" It would bother him now until he knew the name.

"Private Santoro, Sir." Trench looked worried, a little confused. "Is everything all right Sir?"

"Yes Trench, thank you." He fingered the unit off. Maria Santoro. He shouldn't have forgotten, he had trained with her father. That made him feel old again. Lovely girl. "Have to remember her name." he said to no one in particular.

*****

"How are we doing on time, Torrence?" Purdy didn't like this at all. They would be cutting it much to close. The meteor cluster was headed their way and it was moving fast. Much faster they were.

"Not good Captain. If we make it, it'll be close. " The plans had changed. Purdy had gotten a warning off to D'Mond, but he really didn't know if they had enough time to move. He had decided not return to their original course, he had to get his ship clear of the cluster. And that wasn't going to be easy.

The worst part was that D'Mond's ship was even closer to the leading edge than his own. He didn't know how D'Mond would get out in time. But he had his own worries now. The cluster was too tightly packed to even attempt evasive maneuvers once they passed the leading edge. At the speeds those rocks were moving, he could never expect to dodge them anyway. The only option was to get clear of the cluster while there was still time.

"Time Torrence?"

"Three hours, forty five minutes, eighteen seconds, Sir" This was going to be close. Too close.

"What about D'Mond?" Purdy's face was several shades whiter than normal. He felt sick. He had know that this sort of thing might happen. In fact, there had been several incidents during his command. But nothing this serious. And so close to home. It hardly seemed fair. "Torrence?"

"They're not going to make it Sir." Torrence never looked up from his monitor. Captain Purdy didn't think he really saw the screen, he just wouldn't look away from it.

From this distance, the ship was barely visible. At full magnification it was scarcely a dot on the screen.

"There it is Sir!" Torrence never raised his voice but his terse tone revealed that he knew he may be watching his own fate. It didn't take long for the blast to become visible on the display. A bright white flash indicated where the Olympia II had been moments before.

"Time?" Purdy's lips were so tight that they had lost all their color. He could here the screams of the dead even as the blast ring faded from view. He would always here them, and it would be torture. Had he known just how painful those imaginary sounds could be he might not have made his next decision so quickly.

*****

"But Sir, no one has ever survived an S-Jump! That would be suicide!" "And staying here isn't? Torrence, the Olympia II is gone! Do you want to follow her?" Purdy knew that Torrence was right, but he had to do something. They were out of options, they couldn't out run the cluster and they couldn't get clear of it either. A jump was the only answer. It may not be a good answer but he didn't really have any other options.
"Have the course plotted and layed in. If you come up with an alternative let me know, but get the course layed in!"

"Yes Sir!" Torrence saluted sharply, turned on his heal and headed for the bridge. He wasn't happy with Captain Purdy's plan but he didn't have one of his own. He made it to the navigational console quickly. The pilot took the orders and began plotting. If he was concerned about the odd nature of the coordinates, he never let it show.

It took nearly a half an hour, though it seemed like days to Torrence. At last the pilot struck the last keys with a flourish and announced to the bridge that the system was ready.

*****

Captain Purdy had decided it would be unwise to notify Cargo of their predicament. He called all his officers together and explained the situation. Everyone agreed that they couldn't make a successful jump, but the other only option was annihilation. They would take their chances with Captain Purdy. After all, he had gotten them this far unscathed. It was agreed, however, that the jump wouldn't take place until the very last minute in hopes that some unlikely miracle would save them. Unlikely, but not impossible. On the bridge, the flight crew sat quietly waiting.
Finally the first of the meteors was visible on the main screen. Basically, it was nothing but an enormous rock, but it's appearance struck fear in the crew. It moved deceptively slow on the screen. This killer was closing in fast. The crew sat mesmerized by the demon in front of them.

"Sir, this is it. We are out of time." Torrence was anxious to get moving.

"Begin sequence." At the captain's order, the generators began the power climb. Soon it would be over. One way or the other.