***The Hills of Time***
***By George Pollock, Jr.***

***Chapter 3***
***All Hope Abandon***

   "So this isn't the Star Leaf that I remember, huh? OW!! That stings! Be 
careful!"
   "I am being careful," Amy told Lufy as she dabbed a medicated swab on the 
Attacker's head cut. "And I can't do anything about the antiseptic stinging."
   Rabby watched the two sitting at the bridge's science station. Lufy had 
recovered from the crash fairly quickly -- a tribute to her pilot's physique. 
She was still weak, but at least she wasn't groggy anymore. A good sign.
   "No," the first officer said, answering Lufy's question. "This was going 
to be called the 'Star Fire' until Captain Nebulart pulled some strings and 
gave it to Eluza. Calling it the 'Star Leaf' was 'Luza's idea. She was kinda 
fond of the old ship. And with Nebulart behind her, the new one became the 
'Star Leaf.' "
   "All this was after you, Patty and Eluza froze? After you destroyed Chaos?"
   Rabby sighed. "... Yes ..."
   "Hey, I don't mean to get down on ya, swabby. I'd have blown up a planet 
to save Patty's child from those goons in the Central Guard, too. I can't 
believe they and the Paranoid Axis thought that Mission 21 thing would work."
   "It was the Species Unification Plan. And it sort of worked on Patty ..."
   "Yeah, when you told me about that, it explained a lot about why she walks 
around like a part of her isn't there ..."
   "Because it isn't, Lufy."
   "And Pony and the Catty android that I met are dead ..."
   "Yes. Both sacrificed themselves to save the rest of us."
   Lufy's eyes were downcast for a moment. "That's too bad ... Damn ... I was 
too rough on that Pony gal ..."
   Rabby said, "I think your promise that she wouldn't die during that 
G-canceler emergency did make her feel braver. I saw it happen."
   "Hmm ... And Rumy -- she still alive on Terra, ya think?"
   "I pray to the Mother that she is. Her and Patty's child. I sometimes 
wonder what their lives have been like there. I hope they've been happy ..."
   "I saw Terra, ya know. And Chaos. When the Loreleis and I decided to 
destroy DAMIA. Treetops -- I mean Shildy -- told me that all our battles left 
dead worlds. Didn't know your role at Chaos, 'course. But finally, I was in a 
fighter with Chaos on one side and Terra on the other. The choice was right 
there before me."
   "What did you do?"
   Lufy sighed. "I chose life ..."
   The bridge doors opened, and Shildy entered. "Hey," she said to Lufy, "you 
feeling better?"
   "Yeah," Lufy said. "Told ya back on Embryo that I'd see ya again, 
Treetops."
   "Didn't think it would be later in the day, huh?"
   "Nope. Not by a long shot."
   Eluza, who had been talking to Catty at the sensor station, came over. 
"Feeling strong enough to brief us, Group Leader?"
   Lufy grinned. "As strong as I'm gonna feel, Your Highness."
   Eluza smiled at the facetious title that the Attacker had given her long 
ago. She had thought she never wanted to hear it again. It actually felt good 
now. But there was business to attend to. "So ... what's the situation out 
there?"
   Lufy shook her head. "A real mess. A damn bloody mess. The system's gone. 
We really screwed ourselves this time, Eluza."
   "Did you see any other Solnoids?"
   "Yes."
   The others looked surprised. Eluza was speechless for an instant. 
Gathering her thoughts quickly, she asked, "So where are they?"
   Lufy looked into the captain's purple eyes. "They're all dead ..."
   Silence. Then Rabby whispered, "That can't be ..."
   Lufy turned to her. "Oh, yes, it can. I've been across this whole system 
today.  I saw thousands ... they're all dead, swabby."
   "Dead ..." Amy said it as if the word itself were lethal. Eluza saw fear 
in the girl's eyes. The same fear she had seen earlier when Amy said the med 
room -- her purpose in life -- was beyond her reach.  It was going to be 
tough to keep their minds off their fate now.
   Somehow, she had to.
   "We're not dead yet," the captain finally said. "I've told Patty to keep 
working to conserve power. We have some time left." She paused. "And only the 
Mother knows what's really still out there, at this point."
   Shildy asked, "You believe in miracles, Captain?" 
   Eluza thought, then smiled. "Miracles are Patty's job now. I'll need you 
all to help her. After I check her progress with the batteries, I'll have 
assignments for you."
   They watched the captain depart. "Is she serious?" Shildy asked quietly. 
"I mean, the batteries can't last ..."
   Rabby cut her off in a low tone. "She's damn serious, you'll follow her 
orders and you won't panic the others. Is that clear, lady?"
   "... Yes, ma'am ..."
   "Good. I'm going to talk to Spea. Amy, take care of Lufy. Lufy ... welcome 
back."
   Rabby left the bridge. Shildy looked at Lufy. "Has she always been that 
much of a martinet?"
   Lufy nodded. "Kinda. When she has to be. But that's her job, I guess. 
Don't cross her, Treetops. Take it from me."
   Amy raised another medicated swab toward Lufy's head. "Sorry, but I'm not 
done yet."
   "Yeah, yeah," Lufy said, "go ahead." Amy touched her cut, and Lufy winced. 
She sighed. "So ... how did you Loreleis end up on this beat-up bucket?"
   Shildy crossed her arms. "Well, we left Embryo after you did. Captain 
Nebulart stayed behind with Elision. I ... assume ... she's gone, too ..."
   "Probably," Lufy said. "I'm sorry. She was different from other brass. 
Thoughtful, ya know?"
   "Yeah ... Well, after we left, we realized that we could still fulfill her 
dream: Catty downloaded the entire history and science of the Solnoid onto a 
datachip. We loaded it into a probe and sent it toward Chaos. When the folks 
on Terra evolve enough to get there, they'll understand what it is."
   Lufy's eyes flashed as she looked up at Shildy. "Ya didn't download data 
about the damn Planet and System Destroyers, did ya? Oh, you fools ..."
   Shildy's expression turned dark. "No, you fool. We thought about that."
   Lufy looked down. "Sorry ... You haven't told me how you got on the Star 
Leaf yet."
   Amy prepared a bandage. "After we launched the probe, we tried to get to 
the edge of the system in our gunship. But the weapons were out of ammo, and 
a Paranoid drone jumped us and damaged the ship fatally.
The Star Leaf detected the firing nearby and blasted away the drone."
   "We were dead in space," Shildy continued. "Couldn't move. And the Star 
Leaf's tractor beam was out because of earlier battle damage, so we had to 
transfer into the ship by grappling line through an airlock next to the 
hangar bay."
   "Lot of good it did us ...," Amy said quietly. "Look where we are now." 
She looked up at her older sister. "I don't want to die, Shildy, not in the 
cold and dark ... You know we will ..."
   "Gimme my bandage," Lufy snapped under her breath. "And stow that talk, 
like Rabby told ya. Now, listen, you two," she said as Amy applied the 
dressing, "I served with these people. The fact that they're still alive 
after the mission to Chaos 10 years ago should tell you what they're made of. 
I have faith in Eluza, Patty and Rabby -- especially Rabby. Do what they say, 
and ya might get through this. Try to deal with this alone, and you ARE done 
for. Got me?"
   Shildy was silent, then said, "I don't know ... Things are too big now ..."
   Damn, Lufy thought: Shildy, Amy and Spea hadn't known the Star Leaf crew. 
I gave 'em my best pep talk. What else can I do?
    Amy closed her med bag. "I'm through ...," she said.
    Lufy wondered what exactly the nurse meant by that ...

*******
   Rabby headed down  a corridor in the center of the ship. It was beginning 
to get cold deep in the vessel's heart.  Gonna need thermal wear soon, she 
thought. 
   Mother, I look awful in quilted metallic cloth ...
   But so did everyone. She smiled at the realization that people in the 
survival wear looked like giant oven mitts.
   Oven mitts in a freezer. If  their situation weren't so desperate, she 
might have laughed. But a smile was more appropriate right now.  It was 
private and wasn't in as poor taste as laughing out loud at what some people 
were terrified of.
   The end.
   Eluza knows it coming, the first officer thought. She had said as much. 
That was the captain's duty: face the situation realistically. But despite 
your own fears, you kept up a strong face to the crew. You told those whom 
you trusted most the gravity of the situation, but you still expected them -- 
and yourself -- to act professionally.
   Rabby knew that fear was contagious. That's why Eluza dressed her down 
when she had blurted out her opinion on the bridge. And that's why she told 
Shildy to can it just now.
   Damn, she thought, I might have been a great captain ...
   If I'd have lived ...
   She was approaching the fighter pilots' stasis quarters next to the 
"living" crew's quarters. A Kularis-class escort carrier carried 20 Navy crew 
members who remained active during an entire deployment. Of those on the Star 
Leaf, only three -- Eluza, Rabby and Patty -- had survived. The rest had been 
killed off  in battles as the war ground to its slow, painful death. The 
helperoids Toil and Ail had been big helps after the crew got cut that short. 
Sad to lose the 'bots, too, Rabby thought.
   The ship's 120 fighter pilots had been kept in suspended animation until 
the enemy was engaged. The arrangement saved on air, food and water. But the 
pilots' numbers had been slashed, too, by the final slaughter of the war. And 
none had returned from the final battle at Sigma Narse.
   The stasis arrangement was a two-edged sword: Some in the Navy viewed the 
pilots as cargo. Some pilots, in turn, saw the Navy crew as taxi drivers, not 
warriors.
   Lufy had changed that for Rabby. The Attacker had shown her the courage 
that was truly in the hearts of pilots.
  And Rabby had shown Lufy that swabbies could hold their own in a tight spot.
  But in a way, the redhead thought, none of that mattered anymore. We're not 
Navy and pilots now: We're just Solnoids. 
  And we're all going to die.
  But I'll be damned if I'm going to tell anyone but Eluza that ... 
  She turned a corner to see Spea standing next to the door to the pilots' 
quarters. "You wanted to talk to me?" Rabby asked.
  Spea nodded. "Commander, I wanted to tell Captain Ortiz something earlier, 
but she had to get to the hangar bay. Now she's talking to the ops officer 
about the batteries. There's something I think she needs to know ..."
  "What?"
  "I think we have a vacuum leak here."
  Rabby frowned. "Vacuum leak?"
  "Look at the door."
  The first officer saw a green light on the control panel. "So? The light 
means the door's circuitry is OK."
  "That means that you might open it without thinking," Spea said, then 
paused. "But I think the indicator is wrong, Commander."
   "What makes you say that?"
   Spea pointed to the door's window. "Look," she said.
   Rabby peered through. In the dim emergency light, she saw the stasis 
chambers. Some beds' covers were open, left that way when the remaining 
pilots were revived for their last mission. At first blush, nothing out of 
the ordinary. Even down to the pilots' personal effects scattered on the 
floor, mostly next to the juncture of two bulkhead panels on the far wall.
   A juncture that looked wider than usual.
   Wait a minute, Rabby thought ...
   She looked at Spea. "Pilots aren't THAT messy."
   "No, ma'am. Not in my experience. Now feel the window."
   Rabby pressed a white-gloved hand to the port. It was bone-freezing. 
"Mother ...," she whispered.
   "I noticed that on my way back from the engine room. Commander, I think 
there's a vacuum beyond that door."
   "With a green light on? If there were a vacuum, the door's cocoon would 
activate and show a red light. And there's no hull breach on this deck."
    Spea sighed. "No, not on this deck. But there is one on the deck below."
    Rabby thought for a moment. "Which could have ... ruptured this deck's 
plating  ... just under that bulkhead in there ... And that bulkhead might 
have been jarred apart by all the pounding the ship took in the Planet 
Destroyer explosion."
    Spea nodded. "Which might have led to a decompression, which sucked all 
the personal effects toward that space in the wall ..."
   The first officer looked at the green light again. "And if the circuits in 
the door were screwed up by the knocking about ... it might not show red ..." 
She looked back into the stasis room. "Seems to add up ... And if we opened 
this door ... It would decompress everything from here to the bridge. There 
aren't any airtight doors in that stretch except the ones just outside the 
bridge." 
   She thought, then looked back at Spea. "We could be wrong about this. 
Maybe the door's light is correct, and all that's happened is that the pilots 
were a bit messy before the last battle. And maybe it's just that the heat 
completely failed in there."
   "Ma'am," the brunette said quietly, "are you willing to take that chance?"
   Rabby was silent. Then she shook her head firmly. "No way in hell, 
Lieutenant, no way in hell ... Damn. ... Coulda used those beds for ourselves 
now ..." She sighed. "Come on ... Let's get back to the bridge. We'll tell 
the captain when she arrives."

*******
   
   "Infinizene 248!" Shildy cried suddenly.
   Catty, at the sensor station, shook in her chair in surprise. She turned 
around quickly to Shildy, across the bridge. "What? What about it?!"
   Shildy had been addressing Lufy and Amy but turned toward the android. 
"Infinizene 248! Mother in heaven, don't you know about it?"
   Catty stammered nervously. "N-n-not ... a whole lot. W-w-what ... is it 
...?"
   "It helps you go into cryofreeze!" Shildy spun back to Lufy. "And it's in 
every pilot's survival pack! I just realized: We could get it out of your 
fighter and use it! It's like going to sleep!"
   Lufy took a breath. "Shildy ..."
   Amy looked up at her older sister. Sudden hope gave her eyes a new fire. 
"You mean ... we won't have to die? Shildy, we won't have to die?!"
   Lufy rested her forehead in one hand. "Guys ..."
   "And one hypospray has more than enough for the seven of us aboard!" 
Shildy said excitedly.
   "Eight," Catty noted quietly, but she suspected that the black-haired 
woman hadn't heard her.
   "Thank the Mother!!" Amy crowed.
   "GUYS!!"
   Lufy's shout froze the pair in shock.  The Attacker closed her eyes for an 
instant, summoning her thoughts. And her courage. "There is ... no Infinizene 
... on my fighter ..."
   Shildy looked puzzled. "What?"
   "Isn't it standard issue?" Amy asked.
   Lufy nodded. "Yes ... but ... there's none left on my fighter ..."
   "What happened to it?"  Shildy asked.
   Oh, Mother, Lufy thought. What I'd give not to have to say this. "I ... 
jettisoned it ... out the waste chute ..."
   The sisters were silent, as if Lufy had just told them a joke they didn't 
understand. "What ...?" Shildy repeated.
   "I ... didn't want to freeze again. I was ready to ... put a gun blast 
through my head ... than freeze again. I ejected the Infinizene so I wouldn't 
be ... tempted ... to go into cryofreeze.  I'm sorry ..."
   Amy's chin started to tremble slightly. Shildy bowed her head. After a 
moment,  she said quietly, "You ... selfish ... bitch ..." She raised her 
head, and Lufy saw the razor-sharp anger in her eyes. "You selfish bitch ..."
   "I didn't know I was going to run into the Star Leaf. How could I?"
   "Damn you ..." Shildy said threateningly. "You've been the same since I 
met you ... Thinking only of yourself ..."
   Lufy bristled. "Watch it, lady! Who saved you losers when you couldn't get 
to DAMIA's control center? Think I'da done that if I cared for my ass alone?!"
   "DON'T CALL US LOSERS, BITCH!!" Shildy screamed. She lunged at Lufy, and 
the two grappled.
   "STOP IT!!" Amy shrieked.
   Shildy and Lufy grunted loudly as they wrestled violently. They slammed 
against a work station and fell to the deck. The pair started to roll and 
snarl as each tried to gain a superior grip on the other.
   Suddenly, something picked them both off the floor at once.
   They were stunned to see a pair of gloved hands reach between them and 
push them apart with shocking strength. Lufy thought she was strong, but she 
felt like a sick child against the force pushing on her now. She backed away 
under its power, as did the wide-eyed Shildy.
   The hands grabbed the fronts of their uniforms in balled fists and kept 
the fighters separate. The power of the grip warned them that resistance 
would be futile.
    They looked down at the source.
    Catty looked up with her golden eyes. "That ... will be ... ENOUGH," she 
said. Her tone suggested unequivocably that there wouldn't be discussion of 
the matter.
    Lufy looked back at Shildy for an instant, and the other woman's eyes met 
hers. There was still a spark in Shildy's glance. But also a hint: What were 
we doing? We were fighting on the bridge, for Mother's sake!
    Lufy felt the same agitation, confusion -- and embarrassment. She had 
always spoken her mind, even to brass, but trying to choke a comrade -- on 
the bridge, no less -- what the hell was she thinking? She hadn't lost 
control like that before. Ever.
    What's happening?
    The Attacker pushed herself away from Catty's grip and stepped back. She 
raised her hands in front of her, closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "I'm 
OK," she said. "I'm all right." She opened her eyes again and faced Shildy. 
"... I'm ... sorry ..."
    Catty let go of the tall woman, who was silent for a long moment, then 
nodded slowly. "Yeah ...," Shildy said. "... Let it go ..." She turned and 
rejoined Amy, who still looked terrified. The older woman put a hand on her 
shoulder. From across the bridge, Lufy could hear the start of Shildy's 
attempt at quiet comforting: "It's all right ..."
   Lufy looked back down at Catty. "I'm gonna find Rabby ... Lieutenant," she 
said, with a shade of respect she didn't give automatically.
   The android nodded. "Group Leader."
   Catty watched Lufy leave. As she headed back to the sensor station, she 
realized that she felt something she didn't expect at all.
    Fear.
    Not fear for her physical safety just now. She was stronger than both 
organics combined.
    It was the fear of their blind panic.
    I can't be around all the organics as the end draws near, Catty thought. 
What's going to happen to these people when the heat goes out?
    When the cold really comes in?
    When the last light dies?
    When they think they're going to die?
    The android didn't want to consider the possibilities.
    They frightened her ...

*******
    
   "Too bad about the stasis room," Eluza said. She and Patty were on their 
way back to the bridge, leading Rabby, Spea and Lufy. The captain and the ops 
officer were returning to tell the crew about the batteries' status. Lufy had 
found the group when Rabby and Spea were reporting on the stasis room to the 
others.
   "This day's been one bummer after another," Lufy said.
   "The apocalypse will do that ...," Patty mused.
   That's the second time Patty's used that word today, Eluza thought. A tad 
melodramatic. But she's always been more sensitive, more spiritual than other 
people. It makes her a good Sensualist, and she's helped Rabby and me grow 
into those beliefs.  
   Still, Eluza wondered about those beliefs: Did Patty truly believe in an 
immortal soul? In life after death?
   Was she more ready to die than the rest of us?
   The captain vowed she would ask Patty  for the answers before it was too 
late.
   "... But," Patty continued, "if my plan works, we're not dead yet."
   The group turned a corner to see Catty standing outside the bridge doors 
with her arms crossed.  Eluza wondered whether she was cold. Seemed unlikely 
for a mechanism that could still operate at 200 degrees above absolute zero. 
What was she doing off the bridge? "Lieutenant," Eluza said, " I told you to 
monitor systems."
   The android nodded. "I am, Captain. I am interfacing with systems even 
now. There is no unusual signal from the sensors, the batteries have 8.8 
hours of life left, communications are registering only stellar background 
noise, air pressure is seven percent below normal because of the hull 
breaches, artificial gravity is 98 percent of nominal and the temperature in 
this corridor is ..." She paused. "... four degrees centum above zero."
   I swear she enjoys showing off like that, Eluza thought. But you couldn't 
tell. Both she and her late sister on the old Star Leaf tended not to show 
more than they needed to. Eluza wondered what secrets lay behind those golden 
eyes. "All right," she said, "follow us. Patty is going to report on our 
power situation."
   Catty uncrossed her arms. "Captain, may I speak to you in private first?"
   "Can it wait?"
   "No, ma'am, I don't think it can."
   Eluza regarded the lieutenant for a moment, then nodded. She motioned for 
the others to enter the bridge. They filed past the pair, with Lufy bringing 
up the rear. She and Catty exchanged glances for an instant. Lufy could guess 
what the android wanted to discuss. But the Attacker shrugged it off. 
Wouldn't be the first time she would be in hot water with the brass.
   When the bridge doors closed behind Lufy, Eluza said, "Make this fast, 
please."
   Catty sighed. "Captain, Lufy and Shildy got into a physical fight on the 
bridge in your absence. I stopped them."
   "A fight?"
   "Yes."
   "Who started it?"
   "I'd say ... they were equally at fault."
   "What was it about?"
   "Shildy thought of using Infinizene 248 from the group leader's fighter 
..."
   "Damn, I hadn't thought of that ..."
   "... And Lufy told her that she had ejected it from her fighter."
   "She WHAT?"
   " She didn't want to freeze again, ma'am."
   "Well ... I can understand that, I suppose ..."
   "Shildy took the news rather hard. Some ... um, ill-chosen words ... were 
exchanged, and they went after each other."
   The captain pondered the news. "Lufy didn't look too bruised."
   "I stopped them before serious physical injury occurred."
   "Good ... Damn ... A fight. That's all we need right now."
   "May I offer an opinion, ma'am?" When Eluza nodded, she continued. "I 
think Shildy was scared to death. I think she's frightened about what will 
happen to us, and when Lufy told her that a hope for staying alive was gone, 
she lashed out in blind panic."
   The captain thought. "We're all worried about what will happen to us -- in 
our own ways ..."
   "Captain, I'm telling you this because it's my duty to apprise you of the 
crew's condition."
   "Yes. Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll consider the situation. Anything else to 
report?"
   "One thing," Catty said, "but it has nothing to do with the fight: We're 
moving."
   Eluza looked puzzled. "Moving?"
   "Yes. The collision of the group leader's fighter into the Star Leaf 
imparted momentum to the ship. The movement is just discernable if you watch 
the stars steadily, compared with a window edge. It's not very much, but we 
are moving."
   "I guess that would happen ..." The captain bowed her head and chuckled 
quietly. "We're all smashed up, with nowhere to go ..."
   "Captain?"
   Eluza looked back up. "Gallows humor, Lieutenant." She sighed. "Thank you 
again. Let's join the others."
   "Yes, ma'am." Catty stepped back to let the captain pass.  Eluza headed by 
her but stopped just short of the doors' sensors.
   And she thought.
   Shildy and Lufy had torn the fabric.
   How much longer can I keep together what's left?
   What'll happen when the tapestry of our lives comes completely undone?
   Eluza didn't want to consider the possibilities.
   They frightened her ...
   Which was a luxury she didn't have right now.
   With a deep breath, she took a step forward. The doors opened, and Capt. 
Eluza Ortiz stepped onto her bridge.

*******
   
   "I might be able to recharge the batteries," Patty said, "but it means 
rewiring part of the ship's power grid."
   "How so?" Rabby asked. The crew was gathered around the command chair, 
where Eluza sat. The captain occasionally studied Lufy and Shildy as Patty 
had been speaking. Both women noticed that -- and knew why they were being 
scrutinized. They each stole a glance at her, then at each other, then did 
their best to look as if they were paying attention to Patty. They were so 
uncomfortable waiting for the ax to fall, Eluza almost smirked in amusement. 
But she fought it.
   "Right now," Patty continued, "we're drawing off six cells equally. The 
system was designed for a short-term crisis." She paused. "I think we're in 
for a longer haul."
   "Tell me about it," Lufy muttered.
   "Lufy ..." Eluza gave the Attacker a stern look. Lufy sighed quietly and 
continued listening. "Go on, Patty," the captain said.
   "Yeah, what's this plan?" Spea asked.
   "Well, in general," the ops officer said, "I want to turn two cells into 
'holding tanks,' for lack of a better phrase. The four others will have their 
output ramped down to a set discharge, which will match our power draw -- 
which will have to be cut to the bone for this to work."
   Shildy spoke up. "What'll these 'holding tanks' do?"
   "They'll be part of a circular circuit, if that's not too redundant. The 
first cell will be like the starter on a fighter's engine. It'll help build 
up the charge in the second tank above what the four other cells actually 
need. The second tank will then discharge its excess power through the four 
cells and through the new circuitry we'll lay in.
   "Now, here's where that rewiring comes in: The excess charge would 
ordinarily just make the lights burn brighter, for instance. But we don't 
need that now. If we reroute the excess charge through the new wiring back 
into the first tank, the circuit is complete and the system recharges itself."
   "Wait a minute," Catty said. "You'll lose some current coming back, just 
through the resistance of the lines."
   Patty nodded. "I thought of that. I was able to salvage one power pack 
from a spacesuit after Lufy's fighter trashed the spacesuit locker. I'm going 
to put it on a junction box between the bridge and the batteries. It'll act 
like a power substation back on Marsus. The returning current will activate 
the power pack, recharging it and causing it to discharge. That'll give the 
excess current the extra juice it needs to get back to the first tank. See?"
   Eluza leaned forward in her chair. She propped her elbows on the armrests 
and rested her chin in her upraised folded hands. "What's involved in the 
wiring?"
   Patty thought. "We'll have to scavange some high-power cable from areas of 
the ship we aren't using." She saw the others' expressions of concern. 
"Relax. I've cut power to the sections we aren't using. The cables snap into 
junction boxes, so we can just twist them out in one movement. I'll direct 
the removal through the com headsets, then the installation in the new 
layout. You'll just be a little cold in the unused sections while you work 
there."
   Lufy remained unimpressed. "Can this really work?"
   Patty shrugged. "Won't know until we try. Besides, I don't think we really 
have a choice. We'll be out of power in about nine hours, anyway."
   Eluza sat back. "Sounds worth a try. Are there any questions?"
   There was a longish silence.
   Then, a soft voice came from beside -- almost behind -- Shildy and Rabby.
   "I have a question."
   The others turned. Shildy and Rabby moved aside one step to turn and look 
at the speaker.
   Amy looked up through her oversized glasses.
   "What is it?" Patty asked.
   Amy bowed her head for an instant, as if she were ashamed to speak. 
Finally, she looked up.
   "What's the point ...?" she asked.
   Patty squinted slightly.  "I don't understand ..."
   "Why should we do this?"
   "To save power, of course," Patty replied.
   "But why ...?"
   Eluza was puzzled. "To give us a better chance at survival, Amy. 
Obviously."
   The nurse regarded the captain with an expression that surprised Eluza: 
fatigue and sadness. "Why?"
   Lufy broke in. "Damn it, runt! Whadda ya mean, 'Why'? So we can live! What 
part of staying alive doncha understand?!"
   "Lufy!" This time, it was Rabby. She turned to Amy. "Amy ... what's wrong?"
   "What do we have left to live for?" the nurse asked with surprising 
pointedness.
   "What?"
   Suddenly, Amy erupted: "Don't you see?! There's no one left!! They're all 
gone!! Lufy said so!! There's no one coming for us!! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT?!"
   The others froze in shock. 
   The genie that had been let out of the bottle wore glasses.
   Eluza was the first to recover. "I ... don't know that for a fact, Amy. 
None of us does. We have to hope."
   Amy bowed her head again. "Then you're ... a fool ..."
   The others only heard what happened next. Things moved too fast to discern.
   A swirl of long black hair. The instant contortion of a tall body. 
   The blur of an arm.
   The snap of a hard, angry slap.
   The skittering of glasses as they hit the deck and traveled two meters.
   Shildy stood, breathing hard. Her right arm was still raised after the 
swing.
   Amy's face was turned away from her. A red handprint burned on her left 
cheek. She didn't breathe for a moment, then caught her breath quietly as she 
realized who had struck her.
   Shildy slowly lowered her arm. "You're ... out of line ... SISTER ..."
   Amy turned toward her. Her eyes were starting to gleam with tears.
   "Go get your glasses," Shildy said matter-of-factly, "and don't cry on the 
bridge."
   Eluza watched Amy sheepishly retrieve her glasses. The girl is infected 
with fear, she thought. Maybe it's too late for her.
   Mother, how sad ...
   When Amy rejoined the group, Eluza spoke quietly. "I want everyone -- 
everyone -- to hear this. And remember it. 
   "Until such time that we run out of power and I determine ... that ... 
nothing more can be done ... AND I relieve this crew of its duties ... I WILL 
expect us to act like professionals in the Solnoid  Navy. That means that you 
WILL respect duly commissioned authority ..." She looked at Amy. "...and you 
WILL work PROFESSIONALLY with each other." She shot Shildy and Lufy a glance. 
 "Is that clear?"
    A murmur of assent. Amy bowed her head and nodded.
    "All right. ... Patty, what are the assignments for the rewiring?"
    Patty consulted a data pad. "Uh, yeah ... I'd like Amy and Shildy to 
disconnect the lines in Block W, Section 17. Rabby and Lufy, the lines in 
Block T, Section 6. Spea, I'd like you to help me rewire the cells."
    "What about Catty and me?" Eluza asked.
    "Um ... don't take this the wrong way, chief," the ops officer said, "but 
that's really all the people I need to do this. And I figured you'd want 
Catty here on the bridge to monitor systems."
    The captain nodded and turned to the android. "I do. Catty, you stay 
here."
    "Aye," Catty replied.
    Then Eluza smiled at Patty. "For the record, Pats, they did teach me how 
to tighten a screw in command school. If I can help, don't hesitate to call."
    Patty chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."
    "All right," the captain said to the group, "let's do it. Don't forget 
your headsets." But as the others started to file out the doors, she called 
back, "Shildy, Amy, I'd like to talk to you before you go."
   The rest looked back, partly in sympathy, partly in curiosity. What more 
did Eluza need to add to what she had said?  But that wasn't their concern, 
and so they left the sisters on the bridge.
   Eluza got up and walked over to the doors, where Shildy and Amy stood. 
"Catty," she said, "could you monitor sensors, please?"
   "Aye." Catty started for the far side of the bridge. But as she did, she 
heard Amy say, "Captain ... I wish ... to apologize for ..."
   "Accepted, nurse. There's something else I want to say to you and your 
sister ..."
   By then, Catty had reached the sensor station and was out of clear 
earshot. She had respected Eluza's earlier request and turned down her audio 
gain, after all.
   Of course, if they spoke louder than normal, there was nothing she could 
do about that ...
   But that didn't happen enough to form a coherent meaning. Only snatches of 
conversation: 
   "I know this is hard on both of you ... want you two to know ... serving 
with you both ..."
   "Captain, why are you ...?"
   "... wanted to be certain you both knew how I ... Now go help Patty ..."
   With a deferential nod, the sisters left the bridge.
   Eluza returned to the command chair and sat down. She sighed and closed 
her eyes.
   Catty waited a silent while. Finally, she said, "Captain, if you'd like to 
talk to someone ..."
   Eluza shook her head. "Lieutenant," she said, "unless you have something 
to report about the ship or crew, I'd prefer to just sit and think for a 
while."
   "Yes, ma'am ..."  Catty turned back to the sensor station.
   And in the reflection on the displays, she saw Eluza in her chair, eyes 
still closed, head bowed.
   Thinking.

******* 

   It's not deja vu, Catty thought, if you HAVE experienced a similar 
situation.
   So what she witnessed later wasn't deja vu.
   Right?
   Patty had called Eluza on the com to warn that power to the bridge would 
be cut for a few minutes. Rabby and Lufy had removed their assigned power 
cables and were going to install them quickly in the corridor leading to the 
bridge. They would have hand beacons to light their work. "Keep the doors 
open now," the ops officer said, "so you can leave the bridge during the 
blackout -- if you want to."
    The captain told the android to lock the doors open. When Catty did, the 
colder air from the corridor flowed in. Catty registered the lowered 
temperature.
    She assumed that Eluza did, too: She saw the pink-haired woman shiver 
slightly in her chair.
    "Oh, yeah ..." Eluza said softly, apparently to herself. "Just like old 
times ..."
   The android studied her. "Ma'am?"
   Eluza smiled. "More gallows humor, Lieutenant. I don't really like being 
cold. I had enough of it when I was ..."
   The lights went out. The station readout panels went dark. Eluza switched 
on the hand beacon she had ready for that moment.
   "Captain," Patty called on the com, "I just cut power to the bridge."
   "I noticed ...," Eluza deadpanned.
   "Sorry, had to hurry down here. Rabby and Lufy should be heading your way 
soon. Make sure they call me when they've installed the cables up there."
   "Count on it."
   "Thanks."
   For a few moments then -- even with the beacon's glow -- the dark of space 
shone not black, but a deep royal blue, through the windows. The stars 
outside never seemed brighter to Eluza.
   How beautiful, she thought. 
   Like the first night I spent out on Marsus' oceans as a girl.
   How long ago was that?
   How many battles ago ...?
   How many dead friends ago ...?
   Damn ...
   I can't count that high ...
   From the dark corridor, distantly, came Rabby and Lufy's voices. An 
instant later, beams of light started to play on the corridor walls. 
Occasionally, a beam would shoot into the bridge, illuminating familiar 
things like chairs and work stations in dazzling weirdness. Then it was gone.
   "Hey, 'Luza!" Rabby yelled. "Where ya want the new cables, lady?"
   The captain smiled, her sad moment evaporated. Mother, I love that gal, 
she thought. She returned the joke: "What took you so long? I ordered those 
cables weeks ago!" 
   "Very funny, Your Highness!" Lufy yelled. "These damn things are heavy! 
Give us a hand, MA'AM!"
   Eluza stood. "Catty, stay here. I'll call if we need you."
   The android nodded. "Aye." And with Eluza's departure with their only 
light, she switched to infrared. She saw the captain's orange-red bipedal 
form leave the bridge. 
   She looked around. The readout panels all had faint red pinpoint glows as 
the heat from their cut-off power dissipated. The rest of the bridge was 
shadows. Looking at the command chair, she saw the very last glow of Eluza's 
body heat vanish from the seat cushion.
   Catty smiled.
   Then she listened.
   For the most part, the conversation in the corridor was indistinct. She 
recognized the vocal styles of Lufy, Rabby and the captain, but she caught 
few words. They must have been connecting at the far end of the corridor. And 
for the most part, the phrases she did catch were about securing the cables.
   Then the voices started getting closer:
   "... slack, Swabby ..."
   "... Right ..."
   Some beams of light darted into the bridge again. But even in infrared, 
Catty couldn't see the trio. The near connection must still be down the 
corridor just a bit.
   The voices started again. Again, some snatches involved the work at hand.
   Then they took a different tone.
   One that Catty had heard before:
   "... While we're together ... wanted you two to know ... serving with you 
both ..."
   "... 'Luza, why are you ...?"
   "... really think we've had it, Your ...?"
   "... Don't know ... wanted to be certain you both knew how I ..."
   "... Thank you ... friend ..."
   "... OK for being brass, MA'AM ..."
   "... Thank you ... Got that last connect ...?"
   "... Yeah. There ..."
   "... Call Patty ..."
   And after a murmur that must have been talking into the com, the lights 
and readout panels came on again. Catty switched back to visible light.
   More voices: "... See if Amy and Shildy need ..."
   "... OK ..."
   "... wish is my command, Your ..."
   A short silence, followed by footsteps. Eluza appeared in the doorway. 
"Any problems in here when the power came back on?"
   The android shook her head. "No, ma'am."
   "Good." The captain looked down at the deck for a moment, then looked at 
Catty again. "I'm ... going to talk to Patty. Unlock the doors and return 
them to normal operation. Report anything unusual with systems immediately."
   "Aye."
   Eluza nodded and departed.
   Catty wondered what Eluza was going to talk about with the ops officer.
   But she suspected that somewhere in the conversation, Eluza would mention 
something about "serving with you."
   Wow, she thought.
   Deja vu.
   Or was it?

*******


   They know, Eluza thought.
   She was heading back down into the ship toward the battery block. The 
emergency lights barely lit the damaged corridors littered with debris. And 
it was colder than the last time she was there.
   They know why I'm telling them this. No matter how I couch it.
   They know.
   They're not stupid.
   At least they haven't panicked.
   Yet.
   The captain brushed aside a dangling cable. No panic yet, she thought, but 
tensions can't be that far from the surface: Lufy and Shildy got into a 
fight. Amy had mouthed off.
   Amy did have the sense to try to apologize, she noted. But for being such 
a young girl, Amy seemed such a fatalist.
   A fatalistic nurse? Did the military's aptitude assessment miss that when 
Amy was drafted?
   Seems it would be a big drawback on the job ...
   Eluza smiled. It was the sort of joke that Rabby would make. And that made 
her feel good. She needed all the good feelings she could get today.
   Voices in the distance. Turning a corner, she saw Patty and Spea working 
on the batteries down the corridor. Banks of dim indicator lights colored 
their faces and bodies. Power cables snaked among the six panels that fronted 
the cells. Spea was pulling on the cables where they joined the panels -- 
checking the connections, Eluza figured. Steam puffed out of Spea's nose as 
she worked in the cold.
   Patty had a hand on her com headset. "OK," she said, the word whisping up 
from her mouth, "do you see junction box ..." She consulted a data pad. "... 
D21? ... No, D as in 'digital.' ... All right, connect the cable from E2 to 
it." She glanced at Eluza as the captain approached. "OK, when that's 
connected, hold on. The chief's here." She smiled. "Hey, lady! Know how to 
tighten a screw?"
   Eluza chuckled. "With a hammer, right?"
   "With a crowbar, damn it!" Patty joked back. "How did the bridge hold up 
when we reconnected power up there?"
   "Fine. Don't smell smoke, do you?"
   Spea spoke up. "I wouldn't mind a fire if it made this place a little 
warmer ..." Then, realizing that the captain might not appreciate the humor, 
she looked up at Eluza and added, "... ma'am ..."
   A reasonable thought, Eluza mused. "We'll make a bonfire from our battle 
plans later, Lieutenant. Don't think we'll need them anymore."
   Spea nodded slightly. "Yes, ma'am."
   Eluza turned back to Patty. "Got a minute?"
   The ops officer nodded. "It'll have to be a quick minute. The others are 
ready to lay in the last lines."
   "Then tell them to make it so. I'll wait."
   Patty turned back to the cells and started relaying instructions over the 
com, occasionally reading from the pad. The captain watched Spea work the 
connections: The little brunette would try to wrap her small gloved hands 
around the cable fittings at the power ports and try to twist them. Even with 
a tiny grunt as she put her slight weight behind her effort, the cables 
wouldn't budge. Then she checked the next line.
   "Need help, Lieutenant?" Eluza asked.
   Spea looked up again. "No, thank you, ma'am. I can get it."
   Was there was an edge in that? Eluza thought. A hint of "Just because I'm 
small doesn't mean I can't do my job, MA'AM"? She wondered whether Spea had 
always been defensive about her height. 
   But maybe I'm reading something that isn't there, the captain reflected.  
   But maybe not ...
   Patty looked up from her pad and spoke into her headset. "OK, when you're 
done, call me." She faced Eluza again. "Your minute's running, chief."
   Eluza gestured toward the corner she had passed when she arrived. "In 
private."
   Patty nodded, then held up an index finger. "Hang on," she said. She 
punched some keys on the data pad and handed it to Spea. "Check again that we 
linked up the cells in the right pattern, please. I'll be right back."
   Spea took the pad. "Yes, ma'am."
   Patty followed Eluza around the corner. The captain sighed and paused, 
trying to find the right words. The ones she had said to nearly all the 
others. 
   But that didn't mean they were easy. 
   "Patty," she finally said, "we've served together a long time ..."
   "Two lifetimes each, in fact," Patty noted with a playful smile.
   "True ... You and Rabby have been there when I needed you. That's very 
admirable. And very kind ..."
   "And you've been there for us, Eluza ..."
   The captain nodded. "But I'm sorry I couldn't help you all on Chaos. I 
always felt  I let you down by not being there when you needed me then."
   Patty almost laughed. "We thought you were DEAD, Eluza! Give yourself a 
break!"
   "Hmmm ... Well, I just want to say -- I just want to be sure that I tell 
you -- no matter what happens ... that I'm ... proud  ... to have served with 
you all these years. It's been ... my honor ... and my blessing ..."
   The ops officer nodded. " 'Luza ... You know I feel the same way ... but 
..."
   "What?"
   "Why ... are you telling me this? Don't you think my plan will work? I 
know it's a long shot ..."
   "It's not that, Pats. Not that. I know you know what you're doing. But ... 
if the cold doesn't get us, it'll be the lack of food, or the air finally 
going bad. Or ..." She paused, then continued slowly. "... we'll get ... 
insanely ... desperate ... and kill each other ... or ourselves ..."
    Patty's eyes widened. "Captain ...?"
    "It's happened in these situations, Lieutenant Commander. A lot, in fact, 
as the war was winding down, and we couldn't save a lot of crews right away. 
When the recovery ships got there ..." Her voice faded, her eyes closed and 
she shook her head. "The reports I got from command ...," she whispered. 
"Horrible ..."
    Patty crossed her arms, as if protecting herself from the thought. 
"You're scaring me, Eluza ..."
    Eluza broke her reverie. "I'm sorry, Patty. Truly, I am. I didn't mean 
to. I have to face real possibilities as captain. And there are some I don't 
want to see happen to this crew ... even at its death ..."
   A silence. 
   Patty recalled a magical phrase.
   "We're not dead yet."
   Eluza smiled. "No, not yet. ... That reminds me ... Thank you  ... for 
helping me and Rabby become ... Sensualists. I never felt truly alive until I 
did ..."
   "Life is the whole point. That's what I learned after Chaos. I wanted to 
be alive, not just live."
   "Alive? ... Even ... your 'soul' ... even after death ...?"
   Patty shrugged. "Why believe in the Mother if you don't think there's a 
chance you'll meet her?"
   Eluza didn't have an answer.
   She never got the chance.
   "Lieutenant Commander," Spea called from around the corner, "I think one 
of the connections is wrong!"
   Patty cocked her head toward the voice. "Wrong? Are you sure?"
   The captain and ops officer heard muffled grunting. "Yeah. I think ... unh 
.. I can ... unh ... fix ... it ..."
   Patty wheeled about in terror. "SPEA!! WAIT!! LET ME SHUT ..."
   The universe turned blue.
   Electric blue.
   Crackling, burning electric blue.
   Blue with the vicious rasp of pure power pouring out.
   And in the same moment ...
   The scream.
   The scream of a woman whose flesh was being burned away.
   Eluza didn't recall running back. She was just THERE, watching blue arcs 
of energy leaping from a power port. A disconnected cable lay on the deck. 
She saw Patty -- a manic caricature of Patty -- flail wildly at a lever on a 
cell front with her fists, then jump away after each strike. The flailing 
continued. The lever fell.
   The blue disappeared.
   When it had gone, Eluza saw that the lights were flickering. And the 
indicators on five of the cells were dark.
   And she saw Patty staring in horror at the deck.
   Spea.
   The lieutenant was balled up on the deck, twitching visibly. Her hands 
were held tight to her body.
   Smoke curled from her midriff.
   Eluza slammed her com headset hard. "AMY!! MEDICAL EMERGENCY!! BATTERY 
BLOCK!! STAT!!" The captain knelt beside Spea and rolled her on her back. The 
shaking continued. Spea's breath came in spasms.
   The smoke rose a little stronger. Eluza looked down.
   Spea's smoky hands, clenched next to her stomach, were charred black. 
   Her duty gloves were burned down to her wrists. Her left thumb and most of 
the two nearest fingers were gone. Blackened stubs -- burned bones -- stuck 
out.
   Eluza swallowed. "Oh, dear Mother ..."
   Patty peered over the captain's shoulder, transfixed. "Spea ..."
   Eluza spun around. "Check the batteries!!" Patty didn't move. "DO IT!!" 
Eluza screamed.
   Patty shook her head slightly and looked around absently. She picked up 
the data pad mechanically, punched some keypads and started to scan the only 
cell that was still lit.
   Eluza tapped her headset again. "AMY!! Get down here!! Now!!"
   Rabby answered. "She's on her way, Eluza! What the hell happened?! It went 
dark up here for a moment! And now the lights are flickering!"
   "Accident! Get everyone up to the bridge! We've got a problem!"
   "Right!"
   "Catty!" the captain called. "Catty!"
   "Here, Captain," the android on the bridge replied.
   "Catty, there's been an accident! Cut power to all systems but life 
support!"
   "Even sensors and communications?"
   "ALL OF THEM!! DO IT!!"
   "Aye."
   Eluza put an arm behind Spea's back and raised her slightly. The 
brunette's shaking had subsided slightly. Eluza cradled Spea's body against 
hers. With her free hand, she brushed back Spea's disheveled hair. She looked 
back at Patty. "Status!"
   Patty glanced between the cell panel and the data pad. She pressed a 
keypad on the cell front. "... The power is gone ... except from this cell."
   "Can still we recharge the others?"
   Patty walked down the line, throwing a lever on each of the darkened 
remaining cells, then checking the pad. At the far end, she paused. "No ..." 
she finally said softly. "The discharge depleted the reactants in the cells. 
They're ... dead, Eluza ..."
   "What about this one -- the lit one? What's left?"
   Patty walked back. A quick scan. Then a sigh -- painful, it seemed. She 
looked at Eluza. "Two and a half hours, chief. No more ..."
   The captain gazed at her dark-haired friend for a moment. She closed her 
purple eyes.
   And thought.
   After another moment, she touched her headset again. "Rabby," she said 
quietly.
   The first officer's voice came through. "Rabby here, Eluza."
   "Are you on the bridge yet?"
   "On our way right ..."
   "Belay that order. Break out the thermal wear. Check all the lockers, and 
make sure everyone gets suited up. Mine and Patty's are in our wardrobes in 
our quarters. Bring them to the bridge. And bring suits there for Amy and 
Spea. Give Catty a suit, but I don't think she'll need it."
   "Check. Eluza ... what's happened ...?"
   Eluza regarded Spea's twitching face with its closed eyes. "We're going to 
freeze again, Rabby ... We'll meet you on the bridge."
   Silence on the other end. Then, "... Aye. ..."
   The captain looked back at Patty. "After we get Spea tended to here and 
start moving her to the bridge, cut the heat. That'll buy us ... a little 
more time ... I'll bring your thermal wear."
   The ops officer nodded sadly. "Yes ... Captain Ortiz ..."
   Eluza stroked Spea's hair gently again. Then she leaned over and whispered.
   "Spea ... If you can hear me ... I want you to know ...
   "I'm proud ... to have served with you ..."

TO BE CONTINUED