Honored: 7 Honorable Mention Stories from the Writers of the Future Contest Read online

Captain John Benjamin rubbed the side of his head, then pushed himself up from the metal deck plates onto hands and knees, then slowly rose to his feet. As he climbed back into his seat, he noticed a wet, sticky feeling on his palm, and saw that it was covered in blood. He touched his head again, and discovered the source of the bleeding.

  “Motion control re-enabled, Sir,” said Lieutenant Sariah Beck from the aft control station.

  “Glad to hear it,” said Benjamin, wincing at the pain. “Prepare to retreat.”

  “Our engines took a hit, there, Sir. We’re down to twenty-percent power. We’ll never outrun them.”

  Benjamin stared at the various display screens, showing an external visual of the gargantuan Gravani pirate ship, and several tactical readouts. He saw no other option.

  “Commander Vrosky, standby to deploy the new weapon.”

  “Aye, Sir,” Vrosky nodded.

  The weapon, known as the Pauser, had never been tested in a real combat situation. But one of Benjamin’s catch phrases was there’s no time like the now.

  The Pauser was about to give new meaning to that slogan.

  “Weapon is activated and standing by for narrow-vector microburst, Sir,” said Vrosky.

  The ship jolted from another volley of energy fire from the Gravani. Benjamin gripped the arms of his chair, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the display screen.

  “Fire.”

  Suddenly, silently, the Gravani pirate ship appeared to freeze. Its blinking lights seemed to stick in position, and the vapor trail bleeding from its starboard power converter hung there in space with no motion, locked in place like a photograph. A high-powered laser bolt that was just escaping from its port cannon remained in place, unmoving.

  Paused.

  A round of spontaneous applause erupted on the bridge.

  “It worked!” said Vrosky, allowing himself a grin that quickly faded. “Now what?”

  “Now, we have a choice,” said Benjamin. “We can retreat. Or we can destroy them.”

  “Sir, is it just me, or does the Gravani ship look like it’s turning red and fading away?” asked Beck.

  “It’s just going dark,” said Benjamin. “Remember, that’s one of the effects of the weapon. Target freezes, then goes dark. It’s because the light from the target is reaching us, but being replaced much more slowly now that the target is under the effect of the weapon. Before long, that ship will appear completely black.”

  The ship’s science officer, Commander Ioban King spoke up. “Sir, is there perhaps a third option – besides running or destroying them?”

  “Go on,” said Benjamin.

  “We could board the Gravani vessel and commandeer it.”

  “How?” asked Benjamin, knowing that his old friend King had an answer.

  “Are you familiar with how the Pauser works?” asked King.

  “Somewhat,” said Benjamin. “It basically emits a singularity gravity pulse.”

  “Right,” said King. “The Pauser essentially is a black hole contained in a specially designed chamber that restricts the black hole and its gravitational energy, using anti-gluon fields. Those fields also inhibit the gravity outside the Pauser, so that the Pauser itself does not weigh nearly as much as the black hole contained within, and is thus portable. The Science Echelon is even developing a hand-held version.”

  “Okay,” said Benjamin. “Where are you going with this?”

  “The Pauser operates by momentarily allowing the black hole's gravity to escape through a directed aperture, for an infinitesimal amount of time. The exposure can be set to wide angle or a more direct shot. When it does so, time comes to a near-stop in the target vicinity because of the extreme gravity variance. Of course, the effect is lessened over distance from the Pauser.”

  “Ioban, how does this relate to us boarding the Gravani Pirate ship?” Benjamin asked, his fingers starting to restlessly tap the arm of his command chair.

  “Well, the effect lasts for a specified period, based on the length of the exposure – like adjusting the shutter speed of a camera.  All we need right now is additional time. So, the first step will be to hit the Gravani again, to extend the effect.”

  “All right. Then what?”

  “Then our options are expanded. We’ll have time to make the necessary repairs to retreat, or we can board their vessel.”

  “That’s excellent, Ioban, but I’m still interested to know how we can board the vessel when the vessel is in a time-stopped environment.”

  “Actually, Sir, it’s just a drastically reduced-time environment. The Pauser doesn’t actually stop time, just slows it down to nearly zero. As for my plan for boarding them, it will involve some ground work. I suggest using the same quantum-phase shielding that insulates the Pauser from the rest of the ship to modify our environmental suits, making them impervious to the effects of the time-reduced environment.”

  “So, we could just slip in and take over, and to them, we’d appear like an amazingly fast blur?”

  “Actually, the differential would be so great, we’d be invisible to them. As soon as the Pauser effect wore off, they’d catch up to us time-wise, but we’d already have them in custody and have taken control of their ship.”

  Benjamin liked it already. “How long will it take you to make the modifications?”

  “A day or two,” said King. “You may have to Pause the Gravani a couple more times in the meantime.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for? Get on it,” said Benjamin.

  As Benjamin watched King leave the bridge to get to work on the environmental suits, he thought about how different he was from his childhood friend. Benjamin liked short, sharp answers and had little time or patience for the details. Ioban had always been ponderous and long-winded, approaching issues from every conceivable angle and exhausting all lines of inquiry before coming to a carefully deliberated conclusion – and then recounting his thought process in excruciating detail. Benjamin figured that Ioban must think him curt and demanding at times, but they understood each other well enough that Benjamin knew Ioban never took offense at his impatient nature. Besides, thought Benjamin, I’m the captain.

  ۞

  Benjamin sat down to eat with Ioban in the mess hall and dug into his dinner with gusto, tucking his head in and shoveling the food like snow. Ioban picked at his food, ruminating.

  “Are we close?” asked Benjamin, looking up between mouthfuls of synthetic mashed potato.

  “Yes,” said Ioban. “I believe we can proceed as soon as the final matrix coating is applied to the suits, which my engineers are doing right now.”

  Benjamin looked at Ioban and put down his fork. “Something’s wrong.”

  Ioban shook his head with pursed lips. “I don’t know, Johnny. Everything looks right in the simulations I ran. But something’s bothering me and I can’t put my finger on it. It’s like something is missing from the equation, even though it all figures perfectly.”

  “Bottom line, Ioban, will it work?”

  “Yes, it’ll work. I’m just concerned about safety. I don’t like this nagging feeling I’m forgetting something.”

  “Ioban, I’ve never known you not to have that feeling before trying something new. Now eat your potatoes.”

  ۞

  Benjamin and his boarding party gathered in the skiff bay and prepared for the assault. Some climbed into their newly-modified environmental suits, while others checked and rechecked their weapons.

  “How’s your head, Sir?” asked Vrosky.

  “Nothing a little shore leave won’t take care of when we get back to Earth,” Benjamin smiled, zipping up the inner lining on his suit.

  As Benjamin slid each of his laser pistols into their respective holsters, he looked around at the group. There was Alex Vrosky, the weapons specialist. Benjamin hadn’t known Vrosky prior to taking command of the Raptor’s Shadow. But in the four years since, he’d come to know Vrosky to be highl
y efficient and reliable, and although of a friendly disposition, he was a very private individual.

  Benjamin’s eyes next fell on Sariah Beck. Capable, astute, and – Benjamin checked his thoughts, keenly aware of the impropriety – beautiful. He tried to avoid thinking about that, but he just couldn’t help it – Sariah was stunning. And young. Too young. And his subordinate. His mind briefly wandered to conjecture about what her hair would look like untied, blowing in the wind. Her head turned toward him, and he quickly looked away before their eyes could meet in one of those awkward moments he was starting to dread each day. I need to get a handle on this, he chastised himself.

  Benjamin shook it off and turned his attention to the remainder of the group. There was Karl Sammons, the intrepid leader of the assault soldiers, and the soldiers themselves – six of them in all. Benjamin recognized their faces, but was hard-pressed to put a name to them. But Sammons, he knew. The man was the most muscled, rugged human that Benjamin had ever seen. His rectangular jaw was perpetually in need of a shave. He stood two meters tall, and seemed to be dripping with testosterone.

  As he scrutinized his weapon from under a dark, deep-set brow and made final adjustments to his holster position, Benjamin noticed that Beck was staring at the hulking tactical specialist. Benjamin wondered if Beck was simply in awe of this impressive physical specimen, or if she harbored a crush on Sammons. As little pangs of jealousy welled up in his stomach, he quickly brushed aside the irrational, inappropriate and irrelevant thought, focusing instead on the mission.

  The last member of the boarding party to enter the skiff bay was King. He seemed preoccupied as he suited up, forgetting to attach his holsters before trying to place his weapons on his waist.

  “You alright, Ioban?” Benjamin asked under his breath, at close proximity.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just – you know, that thing that’s been bothering me. I still haven’t figured it out.”

  “Well, it’s too late now,” said Benjamin. “You need to let it go and commit your mind to the mission execution. The time for preparation is over.”

  “I know. But you know how I am with details.”

  “All too well, my friend. Now come on, everyone else is ready to go.”

  King quickly strapped on his holsters as Benjamin gathered everyone around to listen to King’s instructional brief on the modified suits.

  “All right, everyone,” said King. “As you know, your environmental suit has been enhanced with quantum-phase shielding. You’ve read the mission brief, so you understand why. All you need to know now is how to operate it.” He flipped open the control panel on his left forearm. “It’s really pretty simple. Just power up like normal, then enter your command function ID code, then push the ‘activate’ button. Then, enter the sequence ‘alpha-alpha-two’ and press the ‘engage’ button. Then you’re ready to board the Gravani vessel. You’ll actually want to do all that as soon as we’re in the skiff, though, because we will be entering the time-slowed environment before we’re actually aboard the pirate ship. Once the suit modification is engaged, the new shielding will automatically kick in as we cross the event threshold.”

  “Won’t the time-slowed environment affect the functioning of the skiff?” asked Beck.

  “It would,” said King, “but I’ve compensated for that, too. A version of the same quantum-phase field that protects you in the suit will be engaged around the skiff.”

  “How far does the protective field extend – in the suits?” asked Sammons. “How close can we get to the enemy before they are in the field and can move as fast as us?”

  “Good question. The field is like a second skin,” said King. “It extends no further than the suit itself. You should be able to get as near as you need to get to the Gravani.”

  “Good,” Sammons grunted.

  “Any other questions?” asked King.

  After a moment, Benjamin stood. “Alright, let’s go.”

  The team filed into the skiff and the hatch rolled shut, sealing with a pneumatic sound. The engines fired up, the skiff bay doors parted, and they glided out into the still blackness of the Sigma Draconis Sweep.

  As they neared the Gravani ship, all of the environmental suits emitted a soft “beep.”

  “We’ve crossed the event threshold,” said King. “We are now operating in normal time, within a reduced-time environment.”

  “Hmmmf,” said Vrosky. “Doesn’t feel any different.”

  The skiff approached the great pirate ship and came to relative stop at a distance of three meters, adjacent to one of the ship’s smaller portals. The massive vessel was now a deep red and barely visible.

  “Initiating standard hostile boarding procedure,” said Vrosky. He punched some commands into his console. “Contusion in three, two, one.”

  A precision charge blew the seals on the enemy ship’s hatch, and Vrosky guided the hatch out of the way, pushing it off into space with a directed magna-pulse. Bits of debris flew out of the pirate ship in slow motion, forced out by the sudden pressure differential.

  “Maneuvering for docking,” said Beck, expertly piloting the skiff into position for a seamless link with the Gravani’s doorless portal.

  “Resizing dock aperture,” said King, engaging the automatic docking device, which sized itself like an iris to match the hole on the enemy ship’s flank, and remained flexible to accommodate minor movements between the ships. A gentle bump rocked the cabin, accompanied by a muffled thud. “Establishing seal, equalizing pressure.”

  “Let’s move out,” Sammons said, his voice deep and sure.

  The six assault soldiers followed Sammons out of the main cabin to the airlock room, each giving their weapons one last check – a habit ingrained from their days at the academy.

  Benjamin looked at King. “You ready for this?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” said King. King had always preferred the theoretical side of his work. He could happily spend all day in his lab, running programs and tinkering with data. If he did have to go anywhere, he would rather leave the ship to collect research samples than to engage in combat, but he knew it was all part of the job.

  Benjamin, on the other hand, was a man of action. Sitting around discussing theory made his brain numb. Before long, his leg would be tapping like a drummer, and he’d have to stand up and walk around, just to release some of his seemingly-endless energy. He hardly spent any time in his quarters – instead he was about the ship or in the gym, or playing racketball. He lived for these dangerous sorties.

  The assault soldiers led the way into the pirate ship. They glanced at the scanner displays mounted on their weapons to navigate the maze of corridors and find their way to the bridge. Benjamin, King, Vrosky and Beck followed closely behind, also with weapons drawn.

  Along the way, they passed several Gravani pirates, each as still as a statue.

  Upon arrival at the bridge, four of the soldiers had to pry the doors open manually. With the automated sensors functioning in reduced-time, it would’ve taken weeks for them to open on their own. Under the pressure from the four soldiers, the doors parted to reveal a snapshot of the pirate ship’s bridge crew.

  The Gravani were humanoid in appearance, though larger in stature than even Sammons. Their skin ranged in color from light orange to a deep bronze. Most wore bald heads, though some had wispy yellow hair. Their eyes were completely black, like two giant pupils devoid of emotion, the sockets surrounded by bony ridges.

  “Okay people, let’s get started on systems analysis,” said Benjamin, speaking to all through the suit intercoms. “Sammons, you and your men can secure the Gravani while we figure out how to fly this giant piece of junk.”

  “Yessir,” Sammons responded.

  He moved toward the Gravani seated in the center seat, assuming he was the captain of the vessel. Standard procedure dictated the leader be captured first. As he reached toward the pirate, the coppe
r-colored man’s eyes slowly moved toward Sammons and locked on.

  “Captain!” yelled Sammons. “This one just moved.”

  “How is that possible, Ioban?” asked Benjamin.

  “I don’t know,” said King. “I suggest everyone step away from the Gravani.” His mind raced as he looked around and noticed other pirates eyes slowly moving toward the boarding party. Then he had an epiphany. “It’s our mass!”

  “What?” asked Benjamin.

  “Our own mass is causing a dilation – speeding up time for the Gravani. Our suits protect us from the overall environment here, but we are creating our own micro-environments – just around ourselves. When we get close to the Gravani – ”

  “We speed them up,” finished Benjamin. “Alright, first, I want everyone to keep moving. It’ll be harder for them to see us if we’re not stuck in one place reflecting light back to their eyes. Second – ”

  A flash of violet laser light escaped the barrel end of a Gravani pistol, headed toward Benjamin. The beam moved much slower than it would under normal conditions, but it was still fast. He jumped out of the way of the shot, but it struck his trailing arm, just above the elbow. It ripped through his suit like a flame burning through paper, and singed his flesh. Before he hit the floor from his dive, Sammons had put a large, smoldering hole in the chest of the Gravani who’d shot his captain. In the reduced-time environment, the dead pirate’s face still showed the shock of having been blasted.

  In a matter of moments, Sammons and his men disarmed the remainder of the pirate crew and stood awaiting further orders, their weapons trained on the Gravani.

  “Are you all right?” asked King, stooping beside Benjamin.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Your suit’s been compromised,” said King. “You need to return to the skiff.”

  “All right,” said the captain, grunting as he pushed himself up from the floor. “You’re in charge, Ioban. I’ll monitor the comm from the skiff. I want you to get the basics of this ship’s controls. Disable their weapons system and determine how to destabilize their inertial matrix. I want to be ready to tow this monster home before we need to use the Pauser again. We don’t know how it would affect us, even with the suits on.”

  “Agreed,” said King. “That means we have less than two hours.”

  “Sammons,” said Benjamin, as he headed off the bridge, back to the skiff, “I want you to secure every pirate on this ship – get them all into a holding cell. If any of them speeds up enough to put up a fight, knock ‘em out. I don’t want to kill any more of them.”

  “Yessir,” said Sammons, seemingly disappointed at this restriction on his operating parameters. He turned to his men. “You heard the captain – let’s go.”

  As King, Vrosky and Beck set to work on examining the ship’s systems, Benjamin made his way back to the skiff. Once he was out of sight of his crew, he allowed himself to cradle his arm and wince at the pain. He’d been grazed by a Gravani weapon twice before, but he didn’t remember the burning sensation lasting so long. Perhaps it’s something to do with the reduced-time environment, he thought.

  Once aboard the skiff, he pulled out a first aid kit, applied an instrument to the wound, and then contacted the Raptor’s Shadow to speak with Dr. Francis Tucker, the ship’s Chief Medical Officer.

  “Frank, I have a little problem.”

  “What is it captain?”

  “I got shot. I’m okay – well, mostly. But I’m a little concerned. I treated it with an electro-cutanoid laver but the pain isn’t subsiding.”

  “You got shot? Where?”

  “Aboard the Gravani ship.”

  “No, I mean, where were you hit?”

  “My upper right arm.

  “When you get back I want to run a full work-up on you, Captain. We have no way of knowing how the energy that came into contact with your arm will affect you, since it bore a massive temporal differential to your own molecules.”

  “All right. Meantime, got anything for the pain?”

  “Nope, sorry, sir. You’ll just have to grin and bear it. I don’t want to take any chances with treatment until we know what we’re dealing with.”

  “Understood. Benjamin out.”

  ۞

  “The prisoners are all accounted for,” said Sammons, strutting onto the bridge of the pirate ship like he owned the place.

  “Good,” said King. “We’re almost ready to leave.”

  Sammons eyeballed King. “I thought you had this all figured out, King. But you put my soldiers in unnecessary danger. And the captain could’ve been killed. That would’ve made me look pretty bad – seeing as I’m responsible for his safety.”

  King seethed. “I don’t recall asking your opinion, Sammons. Now, why don’t you round up your men and standby to disembark.”

  Sammons just glared at King, and slowly turned toward the door that led off the bridge. Beck walked over to King.

  “What was that all about?”

  “He’s just a jerk,” said King. “Of course, he’s also right. I should’ve realized our mass would dilate the time continuum and speed up the pirates. In fact, I think I did realize it – I just couldn’t put my finger on it before it happened.”

  “There’ll be plenty of time for self-recrimination later,” said Beck, touching King’s elbow. “Besides, Benjamin’s fine.”

  King shrugged and shook his head, looking down. “This is why I hate combat missions.”

  “Well, this one’s just about over,” said Beck. “Vrosky has coded a sequence for disabling their weapons, and I’ve determined how to lock out their helm controls and transfer command protocols to the Raptor’s Shadow so we can latch on with a directed magna-pulse inversion. All that’s left is to get out of here and wait for the Pauser effect to wear off.”

  King nodded. “Good. And that shouldn’t be much longer now. Come on, let’s get out of the belly of this beast.”

  The team got back to the skiff and broke moorings. As they returned to the Raptor’s Shadow, their suits beeped as they crossed back over the event threshold into normal space-time.

  “Alright, we can take these things off now,” said King.

  He went back to the sleeper cabin, where Benjamin was getting some rest.

  “Johnny, we’re almost back. How are you feeling?”

  Benjamin kept his eyes shut, as if concentrating. In fact, he was attempting to control the pain through a form of meditation that King had taught him years ago.

  “I’ll live,” he whispered. “I just need to get Frank to give me something to reduce the burning.”

  “It still hurts?”

  “Woah-yeah.”

  “But it shouldn’t,” King said. “That’s so weird. I want to be there when Frank examines you. I may be able to help.”

  “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Benjamin smiled.

  King sighed.

  “I’m just kidding, Ioban.”

  “I know. I’m just frustrated with myself for allowing this to happen.”

  “Ioban, it’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing – it was the first time anyone’s ever tried what we did back there. Besides, I’m alive, and I’m gonna be fine.”

  King took a deep breath and started back toward the main cabin. “All right. Well, if you need anything, let me know.”

  ۞

  King escorted his captain into the Raptor’s Shadow medical ward. Benjamin was still gripping his arm in pain. Dr. Tucker, the short, balding physician quickly approached the pair.

  “Okay, explain what happened – I want every detail.”

  Benjamin glanced at King, giving him the nod. “You want details? King’s your man. Tell him, Ioban.”

  “Well,” said King, “we were in our environmental suits, which I had modified to isolate us from the reduced-time environment aboard the Gravani ship. I used quantum-phase shielding – ”

  “Qua
ntum-phase?” the doctor interrupted.

  “Yes. It compensates for the temporal shift by realigning and resetting the gluons as they move in and out of phase.”

  Tucker turned to the captain. “And you say you were shot by a Gravani laser weapon that moved slowly toward you, then cut through your suit?”

  “That’s right,” said Benjamin. “Well, it wasn’t that slow – I mean, obviously it was fast enough that I couldn’t get out of the way. But yes, it was surely hundreds of times slower than normal.”

  Tucker frowned and started to pace. “I’m going to need to run some DNA tests on your wound. I have a theory brewing, but I need to confirm some things.”

  “Test away, doc,” said Benjamin. “I’ve got nothing but time – it’s another six weeks back to Earth.”

  Tucker ran a scanner over Benjamin’s arm, and the readings were automatically uploaded into the main medical ward computer.

  “Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Mmmmmm-hm.”

  “Translation, please, Frank?” said Benjamin.

  “It’s what I thought. Your arm is undergoing a temporal metamorphosis. When the reduced-time laser energy cut through the quantum-phase shielding and struck your arm, the particles were in such a state of flux that the gluons of your RNA were reset. As a result, your regenerative cells are mutating into a reduced-time sequence.”

  “I asked for a translation, Frank.”

  “John, you have a kind of temporal cancer. And – and it’s spreading.”

  “Prognosis?”

  “Well, first off, I’m going to need to develop some medication that can treat your pain. Standard meds won’t touch it, because your nerve endings are sending reduced-time signals to the pain receptors in your brain. I need to adapt something to work within that environment.”

  “And?”

  “And then we’ll have some decisions to make. If this spreads too far, your entire body could end up out of phase with normal time.”

  “You’re talking amputation.”

  “If I can’t stop this, you won’t die – but you’ll disappear, and never be able to interact with another living person.”

  Benjamin rubbed his arm. “Well, you better get to work, then.”

  ۞

  “What’s the good word, doc?” asked Benjamin, sitting down next to Frank Tucker in the mess hall.

  “I’m sorry, Captain, there is no good word tonight. I’ve been working all day, and I just can’t figure out how to stop the mutation from spreading. The original disruption of your cell tissue seems irreversible. And it’s spreading to your body faster than I anticipated. Eventually, all your cells will be out of phase, and you’ll be gone.”

  Tucker reached for the salt, but knocked it off the table. Benjamin, his reflexes always quick, shot his right hand downward and caught the shaker before it hit the floor.

  “That was incredible!” Tucker gasped, his eyes wide.

  “What?” asked Benjamin. “Ah, that was nothing – I’ve always been pretty quick.”

  “Not that quick,” Tucker said. “When you moved your arm, I couldn’t even see it. It moved in super-time.”

  Benjamin scoffed. “No it didn’t. Watch.” He knocked the salt down again, and reached to catch it. His arm became invisible as he snatched the seasoning out of the air before it could reach the hard mess hall floor.

  “Wow. You’re right.”

  “This is important” said Tucker. “If you can control it, there may be a way to make it work to your advantage somehow.”

  “Well, I’d be wicked-fast in a fight,” said Benjamin. “I could block a punch faster than Sammons!”

  Tucker picked up his tray and started to leave. “I need to run some more tests on your DNA sample. I’ll talk to you later.”

  ۞

  Ioban King sat at his station on the bridge, immersed in his work. Beck walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Anything I can do to help?” she asked.

  “Not unless you can buy me more time, somehow,” said King. “The captain’s mutation is advancing, and I need more time to figure this out.”

  “Dr. Tucker not having any success, either?”

  “No.” He sighed. “I don’t want to lose the captain.”

  “I know,” said Beck. “Neither do I.”

  King considered her tone, and looked up. “You have personal feelings about him?”

  Beck sighed. “Ever since I was assigned to the Raptor, I’ve felt drawn to him. I’ve tried to ignore it, but when he got shot, I realized how much I’d miss him.”

  “Huh,” chuckled King. “I always thought you had a thing for Sammons.”

  Beck rolled her eyes. “Sammons is a jerk. Yeah, I dated him once – twice actually – and that was all it took for me to find out that he’s a self-absorbed idiot. That was a long time ago – right after I got out of school.”

  “Oh. Johnny’ll be glad to hear that,” King mumbled.

  “What?”

  “Um, nothing,” King back peddled. “Listen, I really have to keep working on these scans. I’ll talk to you later.”

  ۞

  The Raptor’s Shadow arrived at Earth’s primary Orbital Docking Station with the huge Gravani ship in tow. A squad of tugs emerged from ODS1 and Beck transferred control of the pirate vessel to the squad. The tugs used small magna-pulse bursts to guide the Gravani ship to a secure hangar inside ODS1. The Gravani ship slipped in through the gaping hangar doors, barely fitting between them, and filled an interior space normally reserved for several dozen craft.

  Once docked within, a team of military specialists took over, entering the ship to remove the prisoners and make way for the science team to begin full analysis of the alien technology.

  Humans, along with some of their local trading partners, had had many run-ins with the Gravani pirates over the last few years. The pirates were a deadly foe, their ships larger and more powerful than anything else in this region of space, and the Gravani themselves a bloodthirsty group with no ethical boundaries. This was the first capture of one of their ships, and the Raptor’s Shadow was met with a celebratory homecoming.

  Benjamin and his senior officers made their way through the docking corridor and into the heart of ODS1. They were greeted by the top brass.

  “Captain Benjamin,” said a smiling Admiral Ames. She extended her hand to shake the captain’s. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

  “Thank you, Admiral,” said Benjamin. “The kudos should go to my crew. They did all the hard work, while I just sat around and nursed my wounds.”

  “Speaking of which,” said Ames. “There’ll be a medal in that for you.”

  Benjamin actually blushed. “Oh, that’s not necess – ” he caught the Admiral’s stern expression and changed his course. “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

  “Come on,” said Ames. “Let’s get you all debriefed. Then tonight, we celebrate.”

  ۞

  Benjamin, King, Beck, Vrosky, and Sammons stood at attention before the crowd, on stage and decked out in full dress uniform. The room was filled with top officials from the Global Space Agency, as well as world leaders and leaders from neighboring systems. All held a glass of celebratory beverage (different drinks for different species), and a classical blues band played on the side stage. Admiral Ames motioned for the music to stop, and addressed the dignitaries.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we appreciate your attendance tonight. This event marks an auspicious occasion – our first victory over the Gravani!” The crowd applauded. “This intrepid and resourceful team has done the impossible – they have captured a Gravani vessel – intact. We have sixty-two Gravani prisoners and a fully-functioning ship that we can study and learn from.” She paused for dramatic effect, then raised her glass. “Thanks to the Raptor’s Shadow, the tide has turned!”

  A cheer erupted, and it took Ames nearly a minute to regain the floor.

  “In addition to the awarding of
medals tonight, we have a surprise for Captain Benjamin and his team.” She turned to Benjamin. “While you were away saving the galaxy, the Science Echelon completed development and production of a handheld version of the tool that made all this possible. Tonight, we issue the very first Pauser pistols to you and your senior officers.”

  An aide brought her a presentation box, which she opened and offered to Benjamin. Benjamin reached in and slowly lifted the weapon from the case, feeling its weight and admiring the glossy chromium shine of its barrel.

  “In addition to bravery, this crew has shown excellence in handling this technology, as well as creativity and expertise in establishing new applications,” said Ames, followed by more applause. “It’ll be about a year before the Pauser pistol is issued across the board to all GSA officers. But you, Captain Benjamin, and your team, have earned first dibs. Congratulations.”

  A final round of applause broke loose, while each of the officers was presented with a Pauser pistol. As the crowd continued to clap, the honorees hefted and examined the new weapons. Beck and King seemed fascinated on a scientific level, Vrosky seemed to stare at his with respect, and Sammons grinned like a boy with a new Christmas toy.

  Benjamin, meanwhile, gently placed the weapon back in its box, forcing back a pang of apprehension as he thought of the mutation that was rapidly spreading through his body.

  ۞

  King stood at the large glass wall aboard the Raptor’s Shadow, watching his old friend practice racketball in one of the ship’s courts.

  But this was no ordinary practice.

  Benjamin was doing repetitive drills, hitting the ball at the wall at such speed that it was barely even a blur. The first time he’d tried it, he’d busted his racket, so his new racket was strung specially to accommodate his enhanced speed.

  King knocked, then stepped inside the court.

  “Hey, Ioban! Did you see that?”

  “I did,” said King. “Guess there’s no chance I’ll ever beat you now.”

  “Come on, there was no chance before,” said Benjamin, smiling and mopping the sweat from his brow.

  “True,” King admitted. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you. I’ve been thinking about, well, you know.”

  “My fatal disease?”

  King nodded. “I think I’ve come up with a third option.”

  “You mean, other than amputation or the equivalent of death?” Benjamin said with a chuckle.

  King could tell that Benjamin was trying to avoid the seriousness of his situation – trying not to face the truth by making light of it.

  “Look, if the mutation consumes you, you’ll be lost in time. Remember what it was like, over there on the Gravani pirate ship? You’d live the rest of your life watching all of us frozen in time. For us, you’d simply disappear into a hyper-temporal realm.”

  Benjamin turned serious. “That sounds like torture, Ioban, watching you all stand there like statues for the rest of my life, unable to interact. But the reality is, it’s too late to take my arm – Frank says it’s in my bloodstream – it’s systemic.”

  “Remember when we were on our way back from the Sigma Draconis Sweep, what happened in the mess hall with the salt shaker? After you told me about how you can control the movement of your arm in super-time, I started working on a plan. I’ve been working on it for three months now.”

  “And?”

  “What if you could control your whole body in super-time?”

  Benjamin thought for a moment. “Well, that would be great, but how could you separate my mind from my body? Wouldn’t all of me end up hyper-accelerated?”

  “That’s just it. I’m developing a shunt – a way to isolate your consciousness from your physical body.”

  “Isolate?”

  “I’ll need Dr. Tucker’s help to fine-tune it, but basically it’s a chemical-based application that protects the gluons that make up your neurons. It shields them from the quantum phase shift.”

  “Sounds pretty amazing. You say it’s chemical based. Would I need to take a drug for the rest of my life?”

  “Yes. You’d need to administer the drug every couple of months, so that it could bond with your ever-changing neural chemistry.”

  “I see.”

  “If I’m right about this, you’d live in normal time, but your body would not be restricted by normal time – you’d be able to move about the way you are now able to move your arm – in super-time.”

  “So, I’d be some kind of time-phased mutant superhero? Able to leap right past you without you even seeing me, eh?”

  “You’d be alive, Johnny.”

  Benjamin shrugged. “Well, can’t complain, then, can I?” He smiled and slapped King on the shoulder with a tight grip. “Get working with Frank, and let me know when you’re ready to experiment on me.”

  “Actually, we’re going to need you right away – we’ll need to start with a full brain scan so we can map your neurons for fine-tuning the chemical shunt.”

  “Well, you know what I say – there’s no time like the now!”

  ۞

  “Mind if I sit down?” asked Beck, standing over Benjamin, holding her dinner tray with one hand and a racket ball racket case with the other.

  Benjamin had been deep in thought. “Oh, yes, sure, I mean, please have a seat, Lieutenant.”

  She placed the racket case under the table as she sat down.

  “You play?” asked Benjamin, indicating the racket.

  “Oh, no,” said Beck. “Actually, I was just delivering this to you.” She picked it up and handed it across the table. “Vrosky and I designed this for you – it’s a case for your new racket. The one you had to have made to accommodate your – your new – ”

  “Special abilities?” Benjamin finished.

  Beck looked down, embarrassed. “Yes.”

  “Well, thank you, Lieutenant, I appreciate it.” He opened the case and examined it. “Nice work.”

  “Captain. Sir – I – uh. I just wanted to say how sorry I am about all this happening to you.”

  “Well, thank you, Lieutenant.” Benjamin sipped at his water. “I appreciate that. Huh! I just said that, didn’t I? Some conversationalist I am.”

  Beck smiled. “That’s fine, Sir. I understand you’re under a lot of stress right now. I can go if you like.” She started to stand up.

  “No, no, no,” said Benjamin. “Please, stay. Please.”

  Beck lowered herself back into the chair. “So, have Commander King and Dr. Tucker figured out how to help you?”

  “Actually, yes,” Benjamin said, sitting up straighter and feeling lighter. “Ioban says they’ll have a kind of a serum ready for me to try out by tomorrow morning. It’s supposed to save my mind from slipping out of phase with this time continuum, but allow my body to function in a sort of timeless environment, yet controlled by my mind.”

  “Do you think it will work?”

  “I have no idea. But I trust Ioban – he’s a good man with a brilliant mind. He understands the science and pays attention to the details. And the doctor is a smart one, too. I believe they can make it work.”

  “I hope so,” said Beck, looking Benjamin in the eye. “I really do.”

  As their eyes met, Benjamin felt his heart rise up toward his throat, taking his breath away. He thought for a moment that Beck was looking at him, not as her captain, but as something else. Something more. He quickly pushed the thought aside, realized he was staring, and cleared his throat.

  “Well, we’d better get to bed, Lieutenant.” He slammed his eyes shut, embarrassed, then reopened them, rubbing the corner of his eye nervously. “I mean, I’d better get to bed. Big day ahead.”

  “Yes, Sir. Of course, Sir,” said Beck. “Good night, Sir.”

  Beck stood and started to walk away.

  “Oh, and Sariah – thank you again for the racket case.”

  She smiled and nodded. He cringed insid
e, realizing he had just broken protocol, calling her by her first name for the first time. He wondered if she’d noticed.

  Of course she did, he thought.

  ۞

  Captain Benjamin awoke early and headed down to the medical ward, arriving before King or Tucker. He sat on one of the medbeds and took a few deep breaths. He tried to push back certain thoughts.

  This is highly experimental, and could kill me.

  If we don’t do something, I’m going to die anyway – or at least, I’ll wish I were dead.

  If only I’d moved a little faster, back on that pirate ship. Ha! I can move plenty fast now.

  He held up his hand and concentrated hard on it, waving it back and forth, the movement so fast it was not even a blur, but invisible.

  What if I die without ever telling Sariah my true feelings for her? Of course, I can’t tell her – what if I live?

  Tucker and King entered together through the swinging doors of the medical ward, and Benjamin snapped out of his thoughts and into the moment.

  “Everything ready, gentlemen?”

  “We may proceed,” said Tucker.

  Benjamin laid back on the medbed. Tucker approached him and attached a few biomonitor cables to various points on his head. Opening Benjamin’s shirt, he added more biomonitors to his chest, then rolled up Benjamin’s left sleeve. Ioban brought over a vial and handed it to Tucker.

  “This,” said Tucker, snapping the vial into a pressure syringe, “is the stuff. I’ll inject it into your arm – your left arm, to avoid any unexpected reactions with your injured arm. You’ll probably feel a mild burning sensation that will move up your arm. Then we’ll take some new brain scans to see if it’s doing its job.”

  Benjamin nodded. “All right.”

  “You should know almost right away if it’s working,” said King. “You’ll find that it’s easier to control your right arm – less thinking, less concentration, less effort required to move your arm in super-time.”

  “And how will we know that it is actually doing what is intended – saving my mind from temporal extinction?”

  “We won’t know until the mutation has consumed your whole body – which, at the rate it’s accelerating, will be about three weeks from now.”

  “So, if I’m still around in a month, we celebrate? And If I’m not – then, oh well?”

  “This is, indeed, our only shot at this,” said Ioban. “If we don’t see some quantifiable results – that is, if you fade mentally along with physically, we will lose you, permanently. There’ll be no other way to stop it once that happens.”

  “Okay, doc, fire away,” said Benjamin. “Let’s get this stuff into my system.”

  Tucker touched the pressure syringe to Benjamin’s arm and pulled the trigger. A soft whistling sound accompanied the emptying of the syringe into his bloodstream. As the burning sensation increased, Benjamin struggled to stop himself from writhing in pain. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

  “A slight burning?” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re a . . . a master of under . . . statement.”

  “I’m sorry, Johnny, we could only make educated guesses about the side effects, since it’s never been tested on anyone,” King said.

  After a few minutes the burning abated, and Benjamin visibly relaxed.

  “So, can I go back to work?” asked Benjamin.

  “Yes,” said Tucker. “There’s no point in confining you to a medbed for three weeks. Either this is going to work, or it’s not. But I do want to monitor you – I’d like you to come see me for a few minutes, once in the morning and once at night.”

  “You got it, doc.”

  Benjamin and Ioban left the medical ward and headed toward the bridge. They stepped into a powerlift and the doors closed. “Ioban, if, at the end of the three weeks, it turns out that it didn’t work – if I slip fully out of phase and disappear – the moment it happens, I want you to go into my quarters and fire your weapon in all directions.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I’ll be in there, waiting for you. I just don’t want to live like that, Ioban.”

  “Johnny, I – ”

  “Just do it. I don’t want to have to live out the rest of my days alone.”

  “I can’t just kill you!”

  “I’ll already be dead,” Benjamin said flatly, looking straight ahead.

  “I’ll have to think about this.”

  “If you won’t do it, I’m sure Sammons would be glad to,” said Benjamin.

  King frowned and sighed in frustration. “I don’t even know if that would work. When you were shot on the Gravani ship, the energy discharge was altered by the quantum phase shielding of your suit. But if you were simply phased out of time, and I shot you, the energy would strike you, but it wouldn’t disrupt your molecules like a normal weapons shot. It may do nothing more than warm your skin. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but when your body phases out – even if your mind doesn’t – you may become virtually invincible.”

  “Really?” Benjamin said. “So, my choices are now that in three weeks I will either become a cross between Superman and the Flash, or I’ll disappear and be forced to live my life surrounded by statues, with all things in an apparent state of pause?”

  “That’s what I think, yes.”

  “Great.”

  ۞

  The three weeks seemed to pass too quickly. Each day, Benjamin checked in with Dr. Tucker, and each day more of his body was consumed by the mutation. By the end of the three weeks, with mental effort he could move his whole body at incomprehensible speed. The only thing left was to find out if his mind would remain intact in the normal time continuum, or phase out with his body.

  “Doc says this is it,” Benjamin said to King as they got into the powerlift together. “He’s going to monitor me all day today, to determine the moment that the mutation is complete. Either I’ll wink out of your existence at some point, or I’ll retain my mind and be able to control my body’s temporal location.”

  “I’ll stay with you,” said Ioban. “I want to be there when it happens – or doesn’t happen.”

  “Have you thought more about my request?”

  “Yes. Every day of these past three weeks.” King looked his captain and childhood friend in the eye. “I’ll do it. But, remember what I said – it may have no effect. And I’ll have no way of knowing.”

  “I was thinking about that,” said Benjamin. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll communicate it to you. I’ll do something as a sign. From my perspective, you’ll never receive the sign, but you will receive it.”

  “A sign? Like what?”

  “I don’t know – I can do something – knock something off the table, like a ghost.”

  King thought it over. “All right – I suppose that will work.”

  The powerlift stopped before the medical ward level. Sariah Beck stepped in.

  “Captain,” she said, “may I join you? I mean, I would like to be there for the – you know.”

  “Sure,” said Benjamin. “I think that would be appropriate. If it turns out that – well, if things don’t work out – Commander King here will be your new captain, and, by seniority, you’ll become his new First Officer. It’s only right that you should be present for your own promotion.” Benjamin smiled, but the other two found it difficult.

  They exited the powerlift together and entered the medical ward, where Dr. Tucker was examining the latest set of readings from Benjamin’s brain.

  “Good morning,” said Tucker. “I’m just completing my analysis from last night. You might as well make yourself comfortable – you’re going to be here all day.”

  “So will we,” said King. “Lieutenant Beck and I will be staying to the end.” He closed his eyes, regretting the words even as they came out of his mouth. “What I mean is, we’re staying to see the process through – to keep the captain company while he completes this transition.�
��

  “It’s okay, Ioban,” said Benjamin, clapping him on the shoulder. “I know what you meant.”

  “So,” said Beck. “How shall we pass the time?”

  “How you pass the time won’t matter much to me,” said Tucker, “as long as the captain stays hooked up to these monitors.” Tucker placed several stick-on probes on Benjamin. “They’re wireless, so you are free to move about the medical ward – but you need to stay in the ward so you’re always in range. I need to have a constant reading.”

  “Understood,” said Benjamin. “So – anybody up for a game of cards?”

  Four hours and eleven games of hearts later, Benjamin tossed his cards down onto the table. “Alright – how ‘bout something to eat?”

  “Sounds good – shall we order in some pizza from the galley?” asked Beck.

  “Hmm,” said Benjamin. “Considering you won nine out of eleven games, you should probably get to choose. But I’m just not sure if pizza is a fitting last meal.”

  “First off,” said King, “quit talking like that – Sir. This won’t be your last meal. Second, we can order the galley to make you whatever you want.”

  Benjamin sat back. “I think I’ll just have a salad. And a ribeye steak. And a baked potato. And chocolate cake. With fudge.”

  “Coming right up,” said Beck. She went over to a console and got on the intercom to place the order. “What about you, Ioban?”

  “I’ll just have some couscous, thanks.”

  While Beck finished placing her own order, and then went to find Tucker to see if he wanted anything, King leaned over to Benjamin and spoke in a low voice.

  “Beck has feelings for you, Johnny.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Just thought you’d like to know that,” said King.

  “Now, why would I want to know that?”

  “Because you feel the same way.”

  “I’ve never told you that.”

  “You didn’t have to. I know you too well.”

  “It shows? Great. I suppose everybody else knows, too, and that I’m the laughingstock of the ship.”

  “No – nobody else knows, at least I don’t think so. You hide it very well – I’ve just known you too many years to not know what you’re thinking.”

  Benjamin rolled his eyes and sighed. “So, how long have you known?”

  “Oh, about two years.”

  “Two years? That’s as long as Beck’s been posted here.”

  “Yep. You wanted her the moment you laid eyes on her. Just admit it.”

  “All right. Guilty as charged. Not that it matters – not that there’s anything I can do about it. She’s a junior officer – it’d be totally inappropriate to pursue anything.”

  “True. Of course, she could always get promoted,” King smiled.

  “Well, in a few hours, that just might happen,” said Benjamin. “Of course, then I won’t be around, so that won’t help much, will it?”

  Beck came back in and the two men abruptly sat back in their chairs and stopped whispering.

  “What’s going on here,” Beck asked playfully. “Are you two plotting a way to beat me at hearts? You’re wasting your time conspiring, boys.”

  “You caught us,” said Benjamin. “I’m thinking we should try playing something else.”

  “Or we could just talk,” said Beck. “There’s lots that we don’t know about each other.”

  Benjamin yearned for the opportunity to get to know Sariah Beck on a more personal level. But inside, he was torn, knowing that it could all be in vain if he were to disappear in the next few hours. He looked over at King, who seemed to know what he was thinking, and gave him a gentle, friendly nod.

  “You’re right,” Benjamin said. “Let’s just talk.”

  “Well, for starters,” said Beck, “did you know I was born on Mars?”

  “You’re a Martian?” asked King. “I did not know that.”

  “I did,” said Benjamin. He’d reviewed every detail of Beck’s personnel file on more than one occasion. “New Washington province, right?”

  “Right! So, where are you from, originally?”

  “I’m from Oregon, on Earth,” said Benjamin. “I grew up on the coast in a little town called Brookings.”

  “Wow,” said Beck, “I’ve never seen the ocean. Always wanted to.”

  After a while, lunch arrived, and the conversation continued, growing deeper and deeper. As the evening approached, Dr. Tucker entered the room.

  “Captain, I have some news for you.”

  “Well?” said Benjamin.

  “According to my latest scans, the mutation should be complete within the next ten minutes.”

  “Any indication of what will happen?” asked King.

  “I still can’t tell,” said Tucker. “The final stage of your brain’s mutation will involve the claustrum and superior colliculus – which includes your consciousness, and how you’ll be able to cope with perception once you’re fully transformed. We’ll know very soon what the final result will be, one way or another.”

  “Ioban,” said Benjamin. “If I phase out, I want you to deliver this for me.” He handed him a data sphere. “It has a message on it for my family – what’s left of them.”

  “Of course,” said King.

  “I’m not one for long goodbyes, so if I don’t survive this, I’ll let you address the ship as her new captain. I’m now going to transfer command protocols to you, just in case,” said Benjamin. “If everything turns out, I’ll just take them back. If not, tell the crew that I enjoyed serving with them.”

  He stepped to a console and placed his palm on the reader, then recited his authorization code.

  The previously robust personal conversation between the three ship mates dwindled to an uncomfortable silence as the last few minutes ticked away.

  Tucker stood scrutinizing a display screen. A smile split his normally stoic face. “Captain! You are in the clear. The mutation is complete, and you’re still with us.”

  “It worked!” cried King. “The chemical shunt worked! Now take those command protocols back, Johnny – it’s going to be a long while before I’m captain of anything.”

  Benjamin, King and Beck spontaneously met in a three way hug. They separated, and Benjamin breathed a big sigh of relief.

  “Well, all right, then,” he said. “Looks like I’ll be sticking around.”

  “Captain, I will want to run some additional tests,” said Tucker. “I want to get a complete physical scan and test your abilities.”

  “Whatever you say, doc,” said Benjamin, grinning.

  The ship’s lights blinked out and emergency lighting came on its place.

  The captain strode to the intercom. “Benjamin to the bridge – what’s going on?”

  “We’re under attack, Sir – it’s a Gravani pirate ship!” said Vrosky through the intercom.

  “We’ll be right there. Come on,” he said to Beck and King. “Let’s go.”

  Benjamin dashed to the powerlift, faster than the human eye could see.

  ۞

  By the time Benjamin, King and Beck arrived on the bridge, the ship was in a state of mayhem.

  “Report,” said Benjamin, appearing in his command chair before anyone even saw him step out of the powerlift.

  “The pirates have sent out four of their skiffs and latched onto our hull – it’s a cross-hair attack – fore and aft, port and starboard incursions,” said Vrosky.

  “Response?” asked Benjamin.

  “Sammons has four teams dispatched to the attack sites, we’re standing by for a status update.”

  “Ioban, I want you to go assist Sammons,” said Benjamin. “You’re one of the few officers with a Pauser pistol.”

  “Aye, Sir,” said King, drawing his weapon and checking the settings as he left the bridge.

  “Shall I go too, Sir?” asked Beck.

  “No, I nee
d you on tactical with Vrosky.”

  “Aye.”

  “Why didn’t we see this coming?” asked Benjamin, the anger evident in his voice.

  “They came out of nowhere, Sir,” said Beck, reviewing the recent sensor logs. “There was nothing on long-range scans, and then suddenly the Gravani appeared right behind us.”

  “Well, we’ve been here before – you know what to do. Deploy the Pauser.”

  “Pauser activated and standing by, Sir,” said Vrosky.

  “Fire!”

  The massive Gravani ship continued to move forward.

  “No effect, Sir!” said Vrosky. “I don’t understand.”

  “Sir, the Gravani are hailing us,” said Beck.

  “Put them on the main viewer,” said Benjamin.

  A yellow-haired, copper-skinned, black-eyed Gravani with a huge scar across his jaw appeared. “Captain John C. Benjamin,” the pirate snarled. Even through the translation matrix, his voice dripped with contempt.

  “That’s right,” said Benjamin. “And who the slick are you?”

  “You may call me, Revenge.”

  “Okay,” said Benjamin, “whatever. Nobody told me you pirates were a bunch of drama queens.”

  “You will listen!” boomed the ferocious Gravani. “Your time-stopping weapons will have no effect on us this time. Our ships all relay a constant data stream to a central hub. We analyzed your attack on the Kr’itz-Charl and developed a singularity countermeasure based on that data. Any attempts to ‘pause’ us will be deflected – as you just witnessed – and in a matter of minutes, my boarding parties will have completed their mission.”

  Benjamin motioned with his hand for the transmission to be cut. The Gravani captain’s image was replaced by a view of the pirate ship.

  “Beck, get me a status update from Sammons. Vrosky – target the pirate ship’s power converters with our conventional weapons, and lay down a barrage.”

  As Vrosky aimed a shower of laser blasts at the Gravani, Beck received a report from Sammons.

  “Sir,” she said, “Sammons reports that all four teams have successfully repulsed the intruders. The Gravani are retreating, returning to their skiffs and disengaging from the hull.”

  “Good,” said Benjamin.

  “However, there’s bad news,” Beck added.

  Benjamin just looked at Beck, raising his eyebrows as if to say, Well?

  “Sammons reports that his weapon was stolen – the Gravani took his Pauser pistol.”

  Benjamin guffawed in frustration and slapped his arm rest.

  “He also reports that – wait. Sammons, confirm that report!”

  Benjamin waited anxiously as Beck listened intently to Sammons on her earpiece.

  “Sir,” she finally said, “it’s Ioban – he’s been captured.”

  Benjamin gritted his teeth and slammed his armrest with his fist. His fist moved so fast, he broke the armrest.

  “Hail them!” he growled.

  The grotesque Gravani captain appeared on the viewer once more, his face contorted into a sickly grin.

  “Yes?” he said.

  “What do you want?” asked Benjamin. “Just tell me what you want, and we’ll make an exchange.”

  “I have what I want, Captain,” said the pirate. “Well, in a few minutes I will. Like I told you – my name is Revenge.”

  Two hulking Gravani pulled King into view. He’d already been beaten severely, but shrugged off their grips and stood on his own.

  “Did you really think,” continued the Gravani captain, “that you could capture one of our ships, and not pay a price? Today, I teach a lesson – and provide a warning. But I will not use mere words to do so.”

  The pirate then stood and faced King. He drew Sammons’ Pauser pistol and took aim at King. He pulled the trigger, and King promptly froze. He hadn’t been moving much before, other than some labored breathing – perhaps the result of cracked ribs – but now it was clear that he had been paused. Then, with one fluid motion, the captain drew a traditional Gravani scimitar, swung it in a wide circle parallel to the floor, and lopped off King’s head.

  “Nooooooo!” cried Benjamin, leaping to his feet.

  King’s head spun in the air several times before bouncing off his shoulders to the floor. His statue-like body remained standing, headless before the self-satisfied pirate.

  “I believe I have made myself clear,” said the pirate captain, turning back to the viewer. “Do not forget this.” He cut the transmission.

  Beck doubled over and vomited on the floor next to her console. Vrosky announced, in a shaky voice, that the Gravani ship was moving away. Benjamin’s brain felt like soup, and everything around him seemed to echo. He quickly pulled himself together.

  “Lay in a pursuit course,” he said, glaring at the image of the retreating pirate ship. “Maximum speed.”

  The Raptor’s Shadow raced after the Gravani vessel.

  “We can’t keep up,” Vrosky said. “They’re losing us.”

  Benjamin just stared at the viewer.

  “Orders, Captain?” asked Vrosky.

  Benjamin stood. “Maintain course and speed. I’m going to go for a little space walk.”

  “Sir?” asked Beck. But it was too late – Benjamin had left the bridge in a flash.

  ۞

  “I’ll remain on intercom,” said Benjamin as he secured his environmental suit’s helmet.

  “Sir, as tactical officer, it’s my duty to point out that this is an unnecessary risk,” said Sammons.

  “Duly noted,” said Benjamin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  Beck and Sammons stepped out of the skiff hangar and into the hangar’s control booth, leaving their captain alone.

  “Open the bay doors,” said Benjamin.

  The fore-facing doors parted to reveal a star-speckled expanse with a blob at the center – the rapidly escaping Gravani ship. Without another word, Benjamin seemed to disappear. What he had done was run at full speed out of the hangar and leapt toward the Gravani ship. His movement was so fast, it looked like he had simply vanished.

  “You know, I feel awful about King,” said Sammons to Beck. “If they hadn’t managed to disarm me and steal my Pauser – ”

  “It’s not your fault, Karl,” said Beck. “They would’ve killed Ioban either way. I just – ”

  “I know,” said Sammons. “The two of you had become friends. I admit I never cared much for the guy. But I never wanted to see him dead. I feel I’ve failed in my duty.”

  “We all fail, sometimes,” said Beck, pushing away a tear.

  They stood without saying anything for a few moments, then a voice cut the silence.

  “I’m on the hull of the pirate ship,” said Benjamin through the intercom.

  “That’s incredible!” said Beck.

  “Well, when I move in super-time, it’s like the rest of the universe is just standing still. I’ll report back when my mission is complete. Benjamin out.”

  ۞

  Benjamin crawled into the pirate ship through a plasma exhaust port, moving in super-time to avoid a poorly timed exhaust flare and also to evade detection. Scurrying through the bowels of the ship faster than a mouse, he emerged near the bridge, taking two Gravani pirates by surprise as he seemed to appear out of nowhere. He was able to knock them both out in a split second, then moved like lightning onto the bridge.

  One moment the man who called himself “Revenge” was happily watching the stars on his viewer – the next, he was staring into the cold blue eyes of Captain John Benjamin.

  “What the – ”

  Benjamin went invisible again, as he circled the bridge in no time, disabling every pirate in the room. He returned to his former position in front of Revenge, but this time, he held the pirate’s own blood-stained ceremonial blade in his hand.

  Confused, but still belligerent, the Gravani captain said, “I thought I warned you! I thought I taught you stup
id human a lesson!”

  “I never could sit through a lecture,” said Benjamin. “Besides, I’m collecting these pirate ships. This one will do nicely for my collection. Oh, and the man you murdered – he was my best friend.”

  “Revenge” lifted his arm to take a swipe at Benjamin with a dagger that he’d palmed, but immediately found himself skewered to his chair, the hilt of his own sword sticking out of his chest. Golden blood gurgled from the side of his mouth as his eyes glazed over.

  Benjamin stared for a moment at “Revenge,” then quickly got to work shutting down the ship’s propulsion system, and got on the comm. “Benjamin here. Mission complete. Let’s tow this sucker home.”

  ۞

  Benjamin and Beck stood side by side in the bright sunshine. As the other funeral attendees started to go their separate ways in silence, Benjamin ran his finger around the inside of his collar, pulling the restrictive dress uniform away from his neck. He leaned slightly toward Beck, keeping his eyes on the grave of his best friend, and speaking in a soft voice.

  “You hear what the Association did?”

  Benjamin was referring to the Association of Star Systems, the governing body for the region of space that included Earth.

  “Banned Pauser technology,” Beck said.

  “Too dangerous, they say.”

  “I don’t know if I agree with that,” said Beck. “All weapons are dangerous – it’s the nature of the beast.”

  “Now I’m their new weapon,” said Benjamin. “Do you think I’m dangerous, Sariah?”

  Beck just gazed at the fresh grave. “I think our enemies are dangerous, and we need whatever edge we can get. I’m glad they’ve put you on the case.”

  Benjamin had been given a special operations assignment. It took him off the Raptor’s Shadow, basically a solo gig, but with a logistical support team led by Commander Vrosky – so Benjamin could use his super-time abilities on special missions, the way he did against the Gravani.

  “You’re just glad they tapped you for captain, now that you have seniority on the Raptor.”

  “You know that’s not true,” said Beck. “I’d rather be working alongside my friends. With you and Ioban gone, there’s – I’m going to feel pretty alone out there.”

  Benjamin nodded toward the grave and slowly shook his head. “I’m going to miss that man – he wasn’t just my right hand, he was like part of my brain – or maybe my heart. I know everyone said it during the funeral, but it’s true – he was a good man.”

  Beck took a breath, and turned to Benjamin.

  “He told me something about you once,” said Beck. “He told me that you would be glad to know that I wasn’t interested in Sammons – he didn’t mean to tell me, but he let it slip.”

  “Well, he always did pay attention to the details,” said Benjamin.

  They stood in silence for a few moments, the soft wind gently tossing Beck’s light brown hair. Faster than lightning, Benjamin reached out and took Beck’s hand, and together, they turned and walked away.

  THE END

  Superthread

  Writers of the Future Honorable Mention, June 2008

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