Alpha Squad - Vecto: Voyage

Part 3.7

(Previously: Vecto launches himself inside the pirate ship and snaps the ship in half.)

"The enemy combatant is destroyed, captain!" a female Coronan crewmember said. "But the portside shield is gone! And we've sustained severe damage to the hull."

"I see," Captain Tarcomed said, tipping his hat. "And how's the Graviton Flux holding up?"

"Let's see," the female continued, tapping screens of her holographic Nexas screen, then gasped. "Oh my, this is bad ... the gravity well is unstable!"

"How bad?"

"Let's see. I estimate we have about ... two minutes before it collapses," she said, her voice nearly breaking up.

"Just what I feared," Tarc said, stroking his salt-and-pepper beard. "The weight and velocity of the pirate ship along with ours, coupled with the force of the explosion, were too much for the well." The Captain contemplated briefly to muster a plan. "Give me shield status."

"Frontal shields are at ten percent," a male voice responded. "Dockside is at twenty-five and rear is at fifteen.

"Then pull us out of this worm hole," the captain ordered. "Commence procedures to return to real space at once!"

"But that force alone would tear our shields apart--and our ship!" the man responded.

"I am aware of the risks, lieutenant," Tarc assured him. "Does anyone have any better ideas?"

No one responded. It was impossible to normally exit a collapsing gravity well. That much they knew. So they had no choice but to do so by force, praying their shields would hold.

Captain Tarc nodded for the go-ahead. "Then start the countdown," he barked the order.

"Yes, captain," the crew said in unison.

It was a tough decision to make, Tarc thought--the only decision. He turned to the console and touched a holographic Nexas screen, exhaling. "Sarah, put all shield power to the stern and dockside. We're counting on you."

"Yes, sir, captain," the A.I. responded.

The captain lowered his head, wondering if they'd make it alive. "Brace for impact," he told the crew then held on to the arms of his chair until his knuckles turned white.

* * *

"Vecto ..." a soothing voice came from the hull of the ship. "Vecto?"

The Flummox Capacitor orb rolled along the hull of the Corona as Vecto heard A.I. Sarah's voice from the TAC attached to the side of him.

"I read you loud and clear, Sarah," Vecto responded. "Glad you found me."

"That's not hard to do with your drastic actions," Sarah responded, knowing it was him just by seeing his orb from the numerous cameras on the ship. "Now I'll have to cover up for you!" she joked.

"So what about the ship?" Vecto got to the point. "Are you going to make it?"

"Yes, but I need your help," the A.I. said in a worried tone.

"The Gravity Flux pipeline has become unstable and will soon collapse. So we're going to have to force our way from the gravity well. Only problem is, I don't have enough power to make an exit."

"So I guess you need me to stand at the stern, correct?" Vecto jokingly said, knowing he was likely right in his assessment.

"Well, yes," Sarah responded. "Assuming your shields are still functional."

"If my calculations are accurate," Vecto said, rolling toward the front of the ship. "then I should have enough carbon from the pirate ship to break through. I'll be spared with little if any power, however, but I estimate I have a ninety percent chance of succeeding."

"Well, that's better than our odds," Sarah said. "Then you'll help?"

(Will Vecto lend a hand to save the ship from destruction? Find out more in the next installment of Vecto: Voyage!)