iamspenagain

(Continued from above)

Cavuto stood in the doorway and flashed an attempt at an intimidating look at Conway. “Fuck off,” he said. “You could try ignoring me, you know, instead of trying to pick a fight over every little thing that I do.”

“How can I ignore you?” Conway, though not quite yelling, raised his voice considerably. “Your annoying voice seems to echo through the bulkheads! You’re everywhere, man, and you’re always complaining about something. The door, which, by the way, hasn’t worked properly for at least a year, the low ceilings, the narrow corridors. What the hell is it with you? We all have to deal with those things, you don’t hear the rest of us complaining.”

“Well,” Cavuto responded, “’the rest of us’ isn’t me, now is it?”

Ackbar stood up. “Excuse me,” he said, “is this really necessary? Why must you two constantly fight one another?”

Cavuto began walking toward Chef’s window. As he did, he looked angrily at Ackbar. “You shut up, too, you goddamn pansy. Nobody asked you to get involved. Just go back to your quarters and do some of that religious bull you do.”

Ackbar sat down again. His demeanor was not that of a man that had been put in his place; he was simply too non-confrontational to become involved in an argument, especially one which he realized was only happening due to the frayed nerves of the crew. Conway, however, wasn’t so calm. He rose from his seat swiftly, charged Cavuto, pinned him against the bulkhead, and raised his fist. “Don’t you dare speak to him or anyone else like that.” His fist quivered due to the energy coursing through his muscles, ready to be released at any time into a punch sure to do as much damage to Cavuto’s ego as it would his face.

Before violence occurred, though, the ship’s intercom crackled. “All bridge and engineering crews, report to your stations immediately.” It was as if Allah himself had intervened. Conway let go of Cavuto and the mess emptied as every crew member scurried to his station. Conway led the way to the bridge with Cavuto on his heels. Ackbar followed them closely. All three had temporarily forgotten about the quarrel in the mess as they wondered what the problem could be. Before they reached the lift, their thoughts were interrupted by a violent impact on the hull. The ship shook back and forth as the bulkheads creaked. All three men lost their footing, almost falling on top of one another. A nearby conduit exploded in a shower of sparks.

“You two all right?” Conway asked. Affirmative responses from both other men followed. “Good. What the bloody hell just hit us?” They started moving toward the lift once again, though their pace had increased significantly. They squeezed into the lift, probably designed for no more than two people, and began the journey upward to the bridge.

***

“All bridge and engineering crews, report to your stations immediately.” Captain Michael Davis flipped the intercom switch to the off position. His second-in-command, Jimmy Douglas, was sitting at the helm until Ackbar could arrive. “What do our sensors look like, Jim?”

“We’re pretty much blind,” Jimmy replied. “We’ve got minimal sensor readings up to about two kilometers out, but there’s no way we can identify anything and avoid it before it hits us. Speak of the devil, I’ve got a large blip off the port bow heading towards us.”

The ship suddenly shook violently. “Did it hit us? What was it? Why are we getting sensor blackouts?” Davis shot question after question at Douglas.

Without looking up, Douglas began to answer. “Yes, it hit us. Minimal hull damage, small breech on E-Deck. Corridor three has been sealed off. I think we’re entering a debris field, but I can’t be sure. The sensors haven’t failed, but I’m getting a lot of energy readings. It’s a sensor whiteout.”

The lift door slid open and out stepped Ackbar, Conway, and Cavuto. “What did I miss?” Conway asked.

Davis rose from the helm and allowed Ackbar to take over. “Ahmed, care to take a look and answer Charles’ question?”

Ackbar glanced at his instruments. “Well, it appears as if the sun of the system we’re currently in, Epsilon Eridini, is experiencing massive solar storms coupled with sunspots. The energy being released is causing a sensor whiteout. From what I can gather, we’re entering a debris field.”

Davis turned around to look at Cavuto. “Cavuto, pay attention to your instruments. We may need you to blow some asteroids because there’s no way in hell we’ll be able to avoid them all.” He looked forward again, meeting a viewscreen with an ever-increasing amount of static. “Ackbar, do your best to avoid the debris.”

Ackbar nodded even as the ship was pounded again. He worked the controls frantically, never looking up from his sensor displays.

“Charging plasma cannons,” Cavuto reported.

“Cavuto, there’s a large asteroid to the fore, I can’t avoid it,” Ackbar said calmly.

“Got it.” A whining noise filled the bridge, growing in volume for about two seconds as the plasma cannons prepared to fire. A loud popping noise followed as an arc of pure energy shot from the top of the ship to the asteroid, obliterating it. At the same instant as the asteroid exploded, Ackbar began maneuvers to avoid another large space rock. The bridge crew grabbed whatever they could to steady themselves as the G-forces changed. The rock Ackbar had been trying to avoid could be heard scraping against the hull, though it caused no significant damage. They had managed to avoid a direct impact.

Davis was becoming angry. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered just loud enough to allow most of the bridge crew to hear him. “Ackbar, get us out of this debris field. Once we’re clear, we’ll wait for the solar storms to subside or rotate around to the other side or whatever it is that sunspots do.”

“Right,” Ackbar replied. “Full reverse. We’re backing out of the debris field.” The G-forces changed slightly again as the massive freighter began moving in the reverse direction. The plasma cannons fired two consecutive shots, destroying two large rocks threatening to breach the starboard engine.

The ship took another impact. Conway spun around in his chair, his hand at his earpiece. “Captain, I’m getting injury reports from all over the ship. That last impact caused serious damage on C-deck. Cargo bay two is reporting a small fire.”

“Damn.” Davis leaned forward in his chair. “Ackbar, get us out of here now!”

Douglas crossed his legs. He looked around in a way that could almost look nervous to those who didn’t know him. “Captain, they may need a hand on C-deck. I’d like to see what I can do.”

Davis nodded. “Yeah, go ahead.” Douglas rose from his seat to the right of Davis’s and moved quickly toward the lift.

“I believe we’re exiting the debris field now,” Ackbar reported. “I can’t be sure, the sensors are still unable to penetrate most of the static, but I believe we’re clear of most of the debris.”

“Yeah, I’m not seeing anything huge nearby,” Cavuto added. “Our magnetic shielding should deflect most of the smaller stuff. I’ll keep my eyes open for big rocks.
I’m pretty sure I can blow the shit out of anything else that tries to hit us.”

Davis breathed a sigh of relief. “All right, we’ll hold position here. Conway, give me a damage and casualty report.

“Right. No deaths reported yet. Lots of injuries, though. I’m transmitting a priority three distress signal, maybe we can find a ship with adequate medical facilities to help us out. Engine two has suffered minor damage, and we all know how minor engine damage has a tendency to royally mess us up. Minor hull breeches on E- and C-decks, those sections have been sealed off.” The plasma cannons fired once again. “The fire in cargo bay two has been contained, minimal loss of merchandise. Several conduits overloaded throughout the ship, nothing major. And I have a splitting headache.”

***

Ackbar entered the lift after three hours at the helm, relieved by a junior officer. The rest of the bridge crew wasn’t so lucky. Conway was busy negotiating with a ship that had heard their distress signal, the SS Magnificent. Cavuto still had to deal with the occasional space junk that wandered too close to the ship. Douglas was still in cargo bay two, using his leadership skills to help at a triage station that had been set up. And, of course, Davis was on the bridge, preparing for the imminent arrival of the Magnificent. He was tired, to say the least. Still, he was grateful for the chance to get away from Conway and Cavuto. Perhaps now he’d be able to rest. Yes, evening prayers, then rest. Glorious sleep, without anyone to bother him.

“Hey, Ahmed!” he heard from behind. “How’d you like to head to the mess and get some tea?”

“Damn,” he cursed under his breath. “Isn’t there anyone else for you to share tea with?”

__________________
If I could, I would marry a Magnum bar.