Destiny's Choice (The Wandering Engineer) (57 page)

"Wait,
stop," Proteus said over their internal link. "Accessing."

"What?"
Sprite asked.

"Pressure
build up." Their joint focus narrowed on to the pipes just on the bulkhead
a dozen centimeter's from the lover's bodies. The AI's focused the Admiral's
sensors onto the patch. "Something is seriously wrong. Possible
breach."

"Admiral
get out of there now!" Sprite said urgently.

"What
the hell?" Irons said looking up as Defender spun his shields up to full.
He looked up just in time to see the wall by the bed burst.

Superheated
plasma slammed into his shield as it was forming. April shrieked in pain and
terror as it tore into the bed and bedding. Both ignited in a fireball. She
writhed in his arms, tormented eyes looking up at him before her pain centers overloaded
and she fainted. "Extend the shields damn it!" Irons snarled,
wrapping his arms around her.

"Working,"
Defender said. Irons lunged forward into the breach.

"Main
engineering is attempting to cut it off but it's not working Admiral. The cut
out is welded shut and the software bypass is locked out," Sprite said
quickly.

"You
need to get out of there," Defender said. "Move. Shields are at fifty
percent and failing. They can't handle the extra body and direct impact."

"Override.
All power to shields. Get me a bot in here. Alert medical," he snarled. He
maneuvered so he was back on to the plasma coming out of the wall. April's
quarters were an inferno. Fortunately she was mostly shielded.

The
woman was badly burned and gasping for breath. Her beautiful red hair was a
shriveled mess on her head. He shot her a glance but couldn't shift his
attention. At least, not yet.

"Cut
the fuel. Get it down stream if you can't get the lock out. Starve it."

"Admiral
the plasma in the room is going to burn through the bulkheads," Sprite
said. "Ship's crew is responding. They are evacuating the area.
Unfortunately the crush of people is delaying the response team."

"Crap,"
Irons grimaced. He turned back to the burst.

"What
are you going to do?" Sprite asked.

"Something
stupid." He reached into the cavity with his right hand and grasped the
burst plasma conduit then squeezed. Hard. Metal and composite material shrieked
then folded inward.

"Shields
at ten percent. Withdraw your hand Admiral," Defender said.

"Not
going to happen," Irons grimaced. "Anything below this deck?" he
asked.

"Evacuation
underway. Cargo bay," Sprite responded.

"Fine.
Increase gravity by a factor of ten. Get the plasma out of the air and onto the
deck."

"Admiral
it will eat through the deck," Proteus responded.

"Air
exchangers are off line. Some of the plasma ribbon was sucked into the system
and shredded or spot welded," Sprite said. "Atmosphere is
toxic."

"Tell
me something I don't know," he snarled looking around. The gravity field
kicked up and the plasma drifted down to the deck.

He
squeezed on the end harder. "nanites have welded the breach Admiral. You
have a temporary fix," Proteus responded.

He
looked around. The room was an inferno, everything flammable including the
paint was on fire. He was at the center of plasma ball that was tearing
everything apart around him. It was only a matter of time before the constant
wear on his shields drew his energy levels down to failure levels. He was at
one of the worst places to be, the heart of an artificial sun.
"Good." He pulled his hand out then shook it. Dribbles of plasma were
shed by the shield. The shield was sparkling around him. "Status?"

"Screwed!"
Sprite said, voice rising. "Admiral, when the deck goes you're going to
fall with it. I estimate less than a minute actually."

"One
thing at a time. Have engineering set up force fields to contain and redirect
the damage." He looked up to the ceiling. "Only way is up."

"Admiral
your energy reserves are low. Below nine percent. Miss O’Neill is out of air."

"Then
we better make this count." He looked down at the badly burned woman. No
time for that now, he had to act fast. He pulled the unconscious April up to
his chest then raised his right arm. "Engage drive. Get us off the
deck."

His
legs began to glow as gravity emitters changed from shielding him to lifting
him off the molten deck. "You're airborne. I take it you're going to blast
your way out?"

"No
choice. Clear?" he asked.

"It
is clear. Modulating weapon," Proteus replied. "If you give me a
moment we can tear the ceiling out while avoiding critical systems. Limit the
damage."

He
looked down at the girl and grimaced. "No time. Do it."

"Very
well." His arm morphed into a blaster and a fat bolt of purple energy shot
out. It blew the false ceiling to shreds. Debris rained down, bouncing off his
shields.

"Rising."

"Again,"
Irons adjusted his aim slightly to the left and forward to avoid hitting
another plasma line. His shot hit the water line. Water sprayed out. He rose
into it. The water bounced off his shields and fell into the hissing plasma
below.

"That's
not going to put a plasma fire out Admiral if that was what you were
planning," Sprite said.

"One
thing at a time," he said as they drifted through the floor. "Medical
personnel?"

"Outside
the door. Which is locked down," Sprite said. He frowned. "And now
it's not. You need to get out fast or the air will cause a blast."

"Roger."
He felt his feet hit the deck and he carried the girl to the door. Her skin
crackled and flaked off in his hands. He winced as he smelled blood and burnt
flesh. "Open."

He
went through the door and practically threw her onto the waiting gurney.
"Get her to sickbay now," he snarled to the wide eyed medic.

"Sure
ah..." Bryan glanced at the girl, gulped then dived into his profession.
"I need back up here! Prep for incoming! Plasma burns, severe, level three
sixty, no seventy percent of her body. left arm is gone at the elbow... left
leg and hip are as well... severe lung damage..."

"If
she's going to live it won't be for long. We don't have the facilities for this
sort of damage," Sprite told him quietly.

"Prep
a stasis pod," he said, grimacing. “Do it now.”

Bryan
looked up at him, nodded then looked down, getting the trachea tube in place.
"Lets move people!" He pushed the gurney as fast as he could. the
other medic pulled. Irons followed.

In
sickbay he turned and grabbed some scrubs from a wide eyed nurse and put them
on. He ran a hand through his hair, then watched the team at work.

"Admiral,
you need to recharge."

"Not
now," he said.

"Admiral...."

"I
said. NOT. NOW."

"Override
priority," Defender replied. "You
will
recharge now."

He
grimaced. "You what?"

"I
am over riding your over ride. Energy reserves are at two point three percent.
If anything happens now you will be dead. Recharge. NOW," Defender said,
moving him to the nearest wall outlet.

"Damn
it. Fine," Irons snarled resisting at first then giving up. He fumed,
watching his right arm plug into the port. "Just don't mess up the
equipment."

"We
will be careful Admiral. Power reserve climbing 1% per minute," Sprite
said softly. She pulled a camera view onto the HUD so he could still see April.
"There is nothing you can do for her. I know what you're thinking, but all
your nanites are engaged in repairs."

"Crap."

"Well,
that was fun," the chief said wiping his brow and pulling his mask up off
his muzzle. Fortunately he hadn't needed a full vac suit to oversee the fire
fighting. He was also glad they had trained for just such an emergency. It was
just bad luck for the section chief that he'd been in the area and had
responded before just about anyone else. "Anyone hurt in this mess?"
he asked, looking around. A couple of the guys were resting, leaning with their
backs against the wall. A few had sunk down to sit on the floor. Fighting a
plasma fire was something they all trained for but highly dreaded. His crew
didn't look at him. "What? Spit it out already."

"The
Admiral was in there," someone further down said.

"He
okay?" the chief asked shaking his head. "He's tough. I don't see him
around though."

"He's
fine. But the woman he was with isn't," Harry said grimacing.

"Oh,"
the chimp said softly, grimaced, and then tugged at his ear. That changed
things, he thought. His heart went out to Irons. Damn, that well and truly
sucked.

"How
bad?" he asked after a moment. From the look and sound of his people it
wasn't good.

Harry
looked bleak. That was all Bailey needed. He sucked in a breath. "Bad. Not
much left of her from what I heard."

"Crap."
He shook his head and turned away. He wondered how John was taking it. Damn it
as soon as this cluster fisk was sorted out he was going to damn well go find
out... you know what? Harry was here. Screw it. He owed Irons that much. They
all did.

"Hey,
where are you going?" Harry asked as the chimp turned and moved off down
the corridor.

"Sickbay,"
the chief said looking over his shoulder. He indicated the fire and damage,
robots hovered around, some scanning, others already cleaning up the damage.
"Keep on this. I'll be back in a bit."

He
came into sickbay and looked around. The Admiral was near a wall outlet, left
hand gripping his right bicep, frowning. He was wearing a poorly fitting smock.
There was a bit of red to his skin, some soot and burns, but they were fading
fast. If looks could kill, everyone around Irons would be a smoldering heap.
Irons was seriously pissed. He could understand why. If anything like that had
happened to Galiet, Sylvia, or Clennie...

"Admiral
ah..." the chimp said coming over, rubbing the back of his head. He tugged
on an ear again, not sure what to say.

"Got
the fire under control chief?" Irons asked, eyes on the trauma door. His
face schooled into a cold neutral mask.

"Yeah.
It's all contained. I sicked Harry on clean up," Bailey said, wringing his
hands.

"He
must love you for that."

"How
bad is April?" the chief asked, pulling a stool over and sitting down.

"Bad."

The
chief sighed. "I keep hearing that, but no details. How bad is bad?"

"Bad,
bad. As in she lost most of her left side. Arm, eyes, hair. Legs... he didn't
want to think of what had happened to her gorgeous legs. Massive burns,
internal injuries. Her lungs were practically cooked."

"You're
not doing so hot either Admiral," the chimp said waving a hand over his
face. "No offense but you stink and your hair is a mess. Have you been
checked?"

"I'm
fine. nanites are cleaning out the damage to my lungs now," he said.

"Oh."
The chimp hunched his shoulders. He'd suspected the Admiral had nanites, but it
hadn't really been confirmed until now. "They say what they are going to
do?"

"Stasis
is the only option. They need to get her stable though," the Admiral
sighed.

The
chimp winced, then shook his head. "Damn man, I'm sorry." He slapped
the Admiral gently on the shoulder. His fingers clenched and unclenched on the
shoulder a few times.

"Yeah.
Thanks," he sighed softly. "Any word on the investigation?"
Finally Iron's gaze turned down to the chimps and then back to the door.

Bailey
shook his head scowling. "Just starting. But it's pretty damn
suspicious."

"Yeah,
that it is."

A
thought finally soaked into his tired brain. Bailey stared forward biting his
lip but then temptation got the better of him and he had to bring it up.
"Stasis... shit, she's going back to Pyrax..."

"And
I'm not," Irons said jaw tightening. "I know. I can't tell her good
bye either. She's out. Doc put her under to do some repairs to what is left of
her airways and lungs.

"Shit."

"My
shields couldn't protect us both. The bedding was to much. It was inside my
shield."

"Oh."

The
Admiral's face was cold and distant. "It ignited. Plasma got past my
shields and caught her before I could get in between it and her."

Bailey's
eyes closed. He could just image the hell the Admiral had gone through.
"Damn. I'm sorry."

"Why?"
He looked at the soot stained chimp for the first time. "It's not your
fault chief."

"It's
not yours either John," the chief said softly.

Irons
sighed heavily. "Isn't it? If I hadn't gotten involved with her, she'd
never have gotten hurt."