Sat Jun 10, 2006 10:50 am
“Sebastian, I am sorry for having to wake you, but do you mind about coming to the bridge?” Frederick Herfeld’s manner and face definitely expressed concern. His words were just a whisper.
Putting the blanket aside Bergander raised from his field bed on the hangardeck. He took a look at the watch one of the Bretonians had given to him. His own had been lost on the Nomad Research Station and working clocks were a rare thing on the ship.
It was 0431 ship time according to the watch. Theoretically the middle of the night, but it did not really feel like it. Probably he had not yet gotten used to it.
Apparently the Lieutenant Commander had rested as well, because he did not look as tired as Bergander would have expected.
Following Herfeld slowly he was glad that he felt at least a bit better. The medication apparently served its purpose. His temperature seemed to be a bit lower and the headache was almost gone. Luckily Alexander Greenstreet was nowhere to be seen. The medical officer might not have been too happy about Bergander leaving the hangardeck less than three hours after the arrival.
Currently the Rhinelander could not care less about it though. When they had left the crowded hangar behind he dreaded to know: “What’s wrong?”
“I left two technicians on the bridge. They wanted to repair the navigation system and our internal communication so I used the possibility to get some rest. They called me back about twenty minutes ago.” Taking a hasty look around whether anyone else could hear his words, Herfeld finished: “The jumphole seems to collapse.”
“Collapse?!” Bergander repeated in horrified disbelief.
“You say it. It has already begun. As it looks it will be gone in less than one hour if you ask me.”
Overtaking him Bergander intended to reach the bridge immediately to see it with his own eyes. The pure imagination of it was too much to believe. He had to see it, because he wanted to regard Herfeld’s remark as a bad joke. A rational thinking part of his brain yet knew very well that Frederick Herfeld would never make any jokes about such a matter.
The ex-Asgard officer was not really frightened as it appeared, but he had shown great calmness in emergencies before. Calmness no one could summon in such a situation. No human being could. Yet Frederick Herfeld was one as well. Demonstrated calmness came in his case preliminary to panic, which it just hid. That was one of the few things Bergander knew about the man by now.
Reaching the emergency bridge he just ignored the technicians, who were still standing in front of the screen. It appeared like if they were frozen and perhaps they really were. Frozen with terror.
When he tried hard to catch his breath to calm down this way and took after that a close look at the screen it felt like if his heart stopped beating for a second and then made a jump just to start it at the doubled rate again. At least two times faster than it had before.
Luckily the Bretonians had not taken any notice of their arrival so they did not see Bergander’s visible effort to fight his own panic. Hell… the jump had almost torn the Belfast apart and the incredible pain was nothing he ever wanted to feel again in his life, but the energy fluctuation marking the anomaly called jumphole, which allowed ships to travel far distances in a very short time, was still their connection to Magellan. They had come this way and he had still clung to the hope that the technicians could repair the ship and that they could get back through it.
Right now he it was too late for that. The rims of the hole already started to become blurry and the fluctuation had become infrequent compared to last time. The bright blue colour was already vanishing. It indicated that the energy, wherever it came from, was not feeding the anomaly anymore.
His feelings told him that it would be better if he took a seat. Herfeld was still standing at the bulkhead.
“Will it last for another three hours? We do not need more time. We have called the machine room and they mobilised all experts we got left. It just needs to remain stable for the next three hours and we will be back home…” The quiet words proved Bergander’s guess false. At least one of the Bretonians had heard their arrival.
The man’s despair, being dominating in his voice, made Bergander shudder. He also knew about the severe consequences of the truth. Despair was usually followed by resignation.
“We honour your efforts, but this ship cannot take this jumphole back to Magellan.” Herfeld lacked once again any tactfulness. In Bergander’s eyes was another sign for the emotions beneath his companion’s mask of coolness.
The other Bretonian turned his head and whispered in the direction of the Rhinelanders: “It is not too late! We can still…” It was more a plea than anything else.
“Mister, just stop it! Illusions don't help anyone. The hole is already collapsing. Trust me. I know what I am talking about. Even if you had a main drive and were able to manoeuvre, the connection to Magellan will not be stable. Even now the ship will get kicked out and you might end up in the middle of nowhere between the two systems, which might even be worse than this system is. And honestly… you two are the technicians here. Do you really think that this wreckage will make it back? It will not even survive the entrance.”
“Our ship, Frederick.” Bergander corrected instinctively. Ignoring Herfeld’s obvious surprise he got up from his seat and went to the technicians. One of the men had silently started to weep. Bergander was not feeling much better either because he felt the same fear, but things were different now. If they let the resignation get at them, no one would ever get back. More incidents like Berkley’s death would occur and finally the entire crew would just lay down to die like sheep in the storm.
Optimism was needed plus someone to spread it. No one asked him about his own feelings, but routine started to take over in his behaviour. It was like a relay being switched into the opposite direction. Greenstreet had made him Captain although he had not wanted it. Still Bergander should be condemned if he let things just happen. He could not stand aside and watch. One time was enough. He had been forced to do so when the chief engineer had shot himself. That had been enough. “Please go and tell all crewmembers that I wish to see them on the hangardeck in about fifteen minutes.”
The Bretonians stared at each other and then at Bergander. The man who had broken out in tears wiped them away and energetically shook his head. “We better go down and help the others with the main drive. We have to get through the anomaly before it disappears!”
“Wrong. You will do exactly as I told you. Frederick... or better said Lieutenant Commander Herfeld was right. We will not take the jumphole, so there is enough time to spare. Go please.”
“You are acting as if you were commanding this ship, Rhinelander. Why don’t you simply try the intercom? You might see how many people will listen to your so called orders. This is none of your ships. You cannot give us orders as you like.”
Herfeld’s voice was as cold as ice while looked with disgust at the technicians. “No matter you should remember that you are talking to a captain of the Rhineland Navy. You are at least supposed to treat him with the same respect you would treat one of your superiors with!”
The Bretonian seemed anxious to give a fit answer back, but Bergander interfered in a neutral voice: “The intercom works again?”
Reluctantly the second technician nodded.
“Good work. I will indeed make use of it then, but you can still go down to the hangardeck.” Adding a sharp tone to his voice he continued: “And that really was an order! If you wish you can let Lieutenant Commander Greenstreet confirm it. I would rather suggest though that you leave him alone, because he got more important things to take care of. You better go and simply wait for my words.”
Uncertain the men again exchanged looks. “Lieutenant Commander Greenstreet already knows about this?”
“Not yet. He might be taking a break or busy doing his job. Still he won’t agree with your decision to try to jump.”
“Lieutenant Commander Greenstreet is a good doctor, but he certainly has not much of a clue about astrophysics.”
“Errr… please don’t get me wrong, but you don’t do so either, right? Or do the Bretonian academy courses in ship and fighter maintenance also include it? At least in our case it was mainly content of the bridge officer courses. Now tell me please how you could know about that!” Herfeld seemed to be even amused. He apparently enjoyed the argument.
The technician again wanted to give back an answer, which was probably even worse, but the other one, who had remained quiet, touched his mate’s elbow. The slight move of his head was barely visible, but Bergander noticed it as well as the angry man. Without any further word they quickly left the emergency bridge.
“Fools!” Herfeld cursed aloud after they were gone.
“No. They are just afraid and do not know what to think. It was not easy for you either to follow orders given by Commodore Baxter on the Westerland, right?”
“That was different! The bas… eh admiral was not supposed to…”
“So we are supposed to give orders here on the Belfast? That’s a strange point of view, Frederick. You are very stressed. Probably you should take some rest.”
Bergander tried hard to ignore the insult, which Herfeld had already had on his lips. Still he could not prevent his voice from becoming a bit louder again. Inside he knew that Herfeld and the Bretonians were not the only ones showing symptoms of the stress. In Herfeld’s case the Asgard education apparently came through again.
“Pardon. I beg your forgiveness. Of course we are not supposed to give orders here. You know about me and my feelings towards the Commodore, who is your friend. You are of course right. I haven’t had much sleep. Lack of sleep and stress make people aggressive.” So… you talked to Greenstreet then?” Herfeld tried to change the topic of their conversation.
“I did.”
“And? What are his intentions?”
“Like I already told those guys, the Lieutenant Commander put the decisions into my hands.”
“That sounds as if he really promoted you to Captain.” Smiling grimly, Herfeld added: “I told you about it!”
“Let’s simply say that he started calling me this way. I did not ask him to do so.”
“Well if the rest of the crew reacts like those morons, he will probably remain the only one calling you that way.”
“I do not really care how they call me as long as they accept the decisions I make.”
“You rather mean our decisions, right?”
“I am sorry, Frederick. Etiquette and the entire situation require it that I make Greenstreet become my Executive Officer. Otherwise the crew might really start a rebellion.”
Herfeld’s laugh came suddenly, but it was not sarcastic. “Oh Sebastian, you did not really think that I was keen on it, right?” Becoming serious again the man stated: “I do not really care what my position is on this ship. I just wanted to know whether I am also in or not.”
“You heard my words. I already stressed your rank in front of those guys. I thought about making you responsible for the navigation or the damage control. You really expected me to ban you to your quarter while I command this ship? What would I do on the bridge without you?”
“I dunno. Perhaps some of the Bretonians could help you. I heard one or two officers from the relief bridge crew are among the survivors. It is really unfortunate that Fitzgerald died. I will check it out soon whether we got any experienced people left. There really was a lot of confusion during the first hours. No one really knew anything definite. Not even Greenstreet.”
“Greenstreet probably does not know where his head stands. Still it is a very good idea to check it out.”
“You got my word that I will. So what about the intercom announcement you wanted to make?”
“I just wanted to tell people that I expect them to come to the hangardeck. I figure it might be better if Greenstreet tells them about his decision.”
“Yes. He can use his doctor tone. Say something like: ‘Everything will be fine… just let Captain Bergander do it… he will take us back to Bretonia…’ Of course he will entirely forget about the war and the fact that you do not have any clue either!”
“What makes you think that?”
Smiling thinly, Herfeld rose his hands in a short acknowledgement of defeat. “I see. My apologies. Captain Bergander already got a plan. Does he mind telling one of his bridge officers about it?”
“To be honest it is not really a plan, but I think it might be best to find out first of all where we are. It is the best prerequisite for getting to know how to get away from here again. I am just not willing to give up before I know all the facts.”
Looking at the jumphole on the screen, which was fading further with any minute, he said quietly: “And I also want to find out what happened to the other ships, Frederick. I take a bet that the Oregon is here as well, but that ship we have rammed is not the Oregon. So perhaps the carrier is somewhere in this system.”
“I would really prefer if it was not. So you really got a basic concept although it is not really much of a plan. Now only the crew has to play along. You even want to continue our search. I only hope that you don’t mind if I remind you of the Liberty attack. It is a little thing you probably forgot.”
“I don’t mind and I also didn’t forget about it. I was just thinking that we don’t really have to tell them you know. I know the First Officer and I also know the commanding officer. You do not have to tell them about you being on this ship as well. And even if you did, the Oregon is a Liberty carrier. I don’t think that you have to fear anything.”
“I don’t fear anything! I mean I know the Captain, but no one else on the ship. I just ask myself whether your friendship with the Oregon’s Executive Officer and a long-forgotten friendship with Captain Hart will last long enough to prevent the carrier from blowing up this little Bretonian cruiser. They got more ships and they definitely got more fire power. If the Oregon is here, I definitely prefer being at the other end of the system!”
“You did not finish that thought… we do not have to tell them about the war. They might not even know about it. Actually I think they really don’t do!”
“Oh great… so we have a nice chat via radio, visit each other and fly back to Magellan together then where we will just ready our torpedoes and fighters and launch the battle, which we postponed until our return.”
Bergander protested: “Frederick! No ship has gone through the jumphole for days or by now even for weeks! They will only know what we tell them! I don’t want the war, people like Greenstreet probably also don’t and Will does not want it either! He is almost a pacifist!”
“Now that really comforts me! Pacifists in the Liberty Navy. What if your friend is really dead or what if…” Herfeld’s face suddenly turned pale and he halted in the middle of the sentence.
“What’s up?!” Bergander went towards him and shook Herfeld slightly when no answer came.
“You said that they cannot know about the war because we are the first ones to jump into this system for days or weeks. Now please reconsider what you said! The Oregon is still missing and there is a battleship floating next to us, which appears very much like a dead wreckage! No radio transmissions, no ship launches! Do you actually understand what that means for us?!”
Struck by it Bergander opened his mouth and shut it again while Herfeld continued: “Sebastian, I do not wish to destroy your little plan, but how the hell do you want to get out of here again? Mister Reaburn’s letter indicates that other ships have gotten lost here before. We have… to consider the possibility that no ship has ever returned to Magellan from here.” Especially the last sentence seemed to have cost him a lot.
Shaking his head in refusal to accept this, Bergander had to think no matter of pirate Jack’s prophecy. It was mainly true. Even the last bit of it.
‘…And yours will be the next one.’ The Westerland had apparently not been the right ship. Right now the Belfast was lost as well and he had just been made Captain.
Up to now Sebastian Bergander had always refused to believe in supernatural phenomenons. He was religious, even Catholic, but only up to a certain point.
For the first time in his life he seriously considered believing in ghosts. All of this was just a nightmare. A nightmare, which had apparently been predictable and could have been prevented from becoming reality if he had just listened. He had not wanted to fly to Kepler and later to Magellan. It had been Merx’, Hansen’s and Herfeld’s idea. Especially the latter one had talked him into it. And now they were stuck. Just… if he had not come here, he would never have gotten Reaburn’s letter. On the other hand many people would have lived if he had simply stayed in Rhineland or returned to Gas Miner Naha. It was exactly Vincent Berkley’s dilemma. The chief engineer had killed himself because of it. The question was right now what Bergander should do.
Putting the blanket aside Bergander raised from his field bed on the hangardeck. He took a look at the watch one of the Bretonians had given to him. His own had been lost on the Nomad Research Station and working clocks were a rare thing on the ship.
It was 0431 ship time according to the watch. Theoretically the middle of the night, but it did not really feel like it. Probably he had not yet gotten used to it.
Apparently the Lieutenant Commander had rested as well, because he did not look as tired as Bergander would have expected.
Following Herfeld slowly he was glad that he felt at least a bit better. The medication apparently served its purpose. His temperature seemed to be a bit lower and the headache was almost gone. Luckily Alexander Greenstreet was nowhere to be seen. The medical officer might not have been too happy about Bergander leaving the hangardeck less than three hours after the arrival.
Currently the Rhinelander could not care less about it though. When they had left the crowded hangar behind he dreaded to know: “What’s wrong?”
“I left two technicians on the bridge. They wanted to repair the navigation system and our internal communication so I used the possibility to get some rest. They called me back about twenty minutes ago.” Taking a hasty look around whether anyone else could hear his words, Herfeld finished: “The jumphole seems to collapse.”
“Collapse?!” Bergander repeated in horrified disbelief.
“You say it. It has already begun. As it looks it will be gone in less than one hour if you ask me.”
Overtaking him Bergander intended to reach the bridge immediately to see it with his own eyes. The pure imagination of it was too much to believe. He had to see it, because he wanted to regard Herfeld’s remark as a bad joke. A rational thinking part of his brain yet knew very well that Frederick Herfeld would never make any jokes about such a matter.
The ex-Asgard officer was not really frightened as it appeared, but he had shown great calmness in emergencies before. Calmness no one could summon in such a situation. No human being could. Yet Frederick Herfeld was one as well. Demonstrated calmness came in his case preliminary to panic, which it just hid. That was one of the few things Bergander knew about the man by now.
Reaching the emergency bridge he just ignored the technicians, who were still standing in front of the screen. It appeared like if they were frozen and perhaps they really were. Frozen with terror.
When he tried hard to catch his breath to calm down this way and took after that a close look at the screen it felt like if his heart stopped beating for a second and then made a jump just to start it at the doubled rate again. At least two times faster than it had before.
Luckily the Bretonians had not taken any notice of their arrival so they did not see Bergander’s visible effort to fight his own panic. Hell… the jump had almost torn the Belfast apart and the incredible pain was nothing he ever wanted to feel again in his life, but the energy fluctuation marking the anomaly called jumphole, which allowed ships to travel far distances in a very short time, was still their connection to Magellan. They had come this way and he had still clung to the hope that the technicians could repair the ship and that they could get back through it.
Right now he it was too late for that. The rims of the hole already started to become blurry and the fluctuation had become infrequent compared to last time. The bright blue colour was already vanishing. It indicated that the energy, wherever it came from, was not feeding the anomaly anymore.
His feelings told him that it would be better if he took a seat. Herfeld was still standing at the bulkhead.
“Will it last for another three hours? We do not need more time. We have called the machine room and they mobilised all experts we got left. It just needs to remain stable for the next three hours and we will be back home…” The quiet words proved Bergander’s guess false. At least one of the Bretonians had heard their arrival.
The man’s despair, being dominating in his voice, made Bergander shudder. He also knew about the severe consequences of the truth. Despair was usually followed by resignation.
“We honour your efforts, but this ship cannot take this jumphole back to Magellan.” Herfeld lacked once again any tactfulness. In Bergander’s eyes was another sign for the emotions beneath his companion’s mask of coolness.
The other Bretonian turned his head and whispered in the direction of the Rhinelanders: “It is not too late! We can still…” It was more a plea than anything else.
“Mister, just stop it! Illusions don't help anyone. The hole is already collapsing. Trust me. I know what I am talking about. Even if you had a main drive and were able to manoeuvre, the connection to Magellan will not be stable. Even now the ship will get kicked out and you might end up in the middle of nowhere between the two systems, which might even be worse than this system is. And honestly… you two are the technicians here. Do you really think that this wreckage will make it back? It will not even survive the entrance.”
“Our ship, Frederick.” Bergander corrected instinctively. Ignoring Herfeld’s obvious surprise he got up from his seat and went to the technicians. One of the men had silently started to weep. Bergander was not feeling much better either because he felt the same fear, but things were different now. If they let the resignation get at them, no one would ever get back. More incidents like Berkley’s death would occur and finally the entire crew would just lay down to die like sheep in the storm.
Optimism was needed plus someone to spread it. No one asked him about his own feelings, but routine started to take over in his behaviour. It was like a relay being switched into the opposite direction. Greenstreet had made him Captain although he had not wanted it. Still Bergander should be condemned if he let things just happen. He could not stand aside and watch. One time was enough. He had been forced to do so when the chief engineer had shot himself. That had been enough. “Please go and tell all crewmembers that I wish to see them on the hangardeck in about fifteen minutes.”
The Bretonians stared at each other and then at Bergander. The man who had broken out in tears wiped them away and energetically shook his head. “We better go down and help the others with the main drive. We have to get through the anomaly before it disappears!”
“Wrong. You will do exactly as I told you. Frederick... or better said Lieutenant Commander Herfeld was right. We will not take the jumphole, so there is enough time to spare. Go please.”
“You are acting as if you were commanding this ship, Rhinelander. Why don’t you simply try the intercom? You might see how many people will listen to your so called orders. This is none of your ships. You cannot give us orders as you like.”
Herfeld’s voice was as cold as ice while looked with disgust at the technicians. “No matter you should remember that you are talking to a captain of the Rhineland Navy. You are at least supposed to treat him with the same respect you would treat one of your superiors with!”
The Bretonian seemed anxious to give a fit answer back, but Bergander interfered in a neutral voice: “The intercom works again?”
Reluctantly the second technician nodded.
“Good work. I will indeed make use of it then, but you can still go down to the hangardeck.” Adding a sharp tone to his voice he continued: “And that really was an order! If you wish you can let Lieutenant Commander Greenstreet confirm it. I would rather suggest though that you leave him alone, because he got more important things to take care of. You better go and simply wait for my words.”
Uncertain the men again exchanged looks. “Lieutenant Commander Greenstreet already knows about this?”
“Not yet. He might be taking a break or busy doing his job. Still he won’t agree with your decision to try to jump.”
“Lieutenant Commander Greenstreet is a good doctor, but he certainly has not much of a clue about astrophysics.”
“Errr… please don’t get me wrong, but you don’t do so either, right? Or do the Bretonian academy courses in ship and fighter maintenance also include it? At least in our case it was mainly content of the bridge officer courses. Now tell me please how you could know about that!” Herfeld seemed to be even amused. He apparently enjoyed the argument.
The technician again wanted to give back an answer, which was probably even worse, but the other one, who had remained quiet, touched his mate’s elbow. The slight move of his head was barely visible, but Bergander noticed it as well as the angry man. Without any further word they quickly left the emergency bridge.
“Fools!” Herfeld cursed aloud after they were gone.
“No. They are just afraid and do not know what to think. It was not easy for you either to follow orders given by Commodore Baxter on the Westerland, right?”
“That was different! The bas… eh admiral was not supposed to…”
“So we are supposed to give orders here on the Belfast? That’s a strange point of view, Frederick. You are very stressed. Probably you should take some rest.”
Bergander tried hard to ignore the insult, which Herfeld had already had on his lips. Still he could not prevent his voice from becoming a bit louder again. Inside he knew that Herfeld and the Bretonians were not the only ones showing symptoms of the stress. In Herfeld’s case the Asgard education apparently came through again.
“Pardon. I beg your forgiveness. Of course we are not supposed to give orders here. You know about me and my feelings towards the Commodore, who is your friend. You are of course right. I haven’t had much sleep. Lack of sleep and stress make people aggressive.” So… you talked to Greenstreet then?” Herfeld tried to change the topic of their conversation.
“I did.”
“And? What are his intentions?”
“Like I already told those guys, the Lieutenant Commander put the decisions into my hands.”
“That sounds as if he really promoted you to Captain.” Smiling grimly, Herfeld added: “I told you about it!”
“Let’s simply say that he started calling me this way. I did not ask him to do so.”
“Well if the rest of the crew reacts like those morons, he will probably remain the only one calling you that way.”
“I do not really care how they call me as long as they accept the decisions I make.”
“You rather mean our decisions, right?”
“I am sorry, Frederick. Etiquette and the entire situation require it that I make Greenstreet become my Executive Officer. Otherwise the crew might really start a rebellion.”
Herfeld’s laugh came suddenly, but it was not sarcastic. “Oh Sebastian, you did not really think that I was keen on it, right?” Becoming serious again the man stated: “I do not really care what my position is on this ship. I just wanted to know whether I am also in or not.”
“You heard my words. I already stressed your rank in front of those guys. I thought about making you responsible for the navigation or the damage control. You really expected me to ban you to your quarter while I command this ship? What would I do on the bridge without you?”
“I dunno. Perhaps some of the Bretonians could help you. I heard one or two officers from the relief bridge crew are among the survivors. It is really unfortunate that Fitzgerald died. I will check it out soon whether we got any experienced people left. There really was a lot of confusion during the first hours. No one really knew anything definite. Not even Greenstreet.”
“Greenstreet probably does not know where his head stands. Still it is a very good idea to check it out.”
“You got my word that I will. So what about the intercom announcement you wanted to make?”
“I just wanted to tell people that I expect them to come to the hangardeck. I figure it might be better if Greenstreet tells them about his decision.”
“Yes. He can use his doctor tone. Say something like: ‘Everything will be fine… just let Captain Bergander do it… he will take us back to Bretonia…’ Of course he will entirely forget about the war and the fact that you do not have any clue either!”
“What makes you think that?”
Smiling thinly, Herfeld rose his hands in a short acknowledgement of defeat. “I see. My apologies. Captain Bergander already got a plan. Does he mind telling one of his bridge officers about it?”
“To be honest it is not really a plan, but I think it might be best to find out first of all where we are. It is the best prerequisite for getting to know how to get away from here again. I am just not willing to give up before I know all the facts.”
Looking at the jumphole on the screen, which was fading further with any minute, he said quietly: “And I also want to find out what happened to the other ships, Frederick. I take a bet that the Oregon is here as well, but that ship we have rammed is not the Oregon. So perhaps the carrier is somewhere in this system.”
“I would really prefer if it was not. So you really got a basic concept although it is not really much of a plan. Now only the crew has to play along. You even want to continue our search. I only hope that you don’t mind if I remind you of the Liberty attack. It is a little thing you probably forgot.”
“I don’t mind and I also didn’t forget about it. I was just thinking that we don’t really have to tell them you know. I know the First Officer and I also know the commanding officer. You do not have to tell them about you being on this ship as well. And even if you did, the Oregon is a Liberty carrier. I don’t think that you have to fear anything.”
“I don’t fear anything! I mean I know the Captain, but no one else on the ship. I just ask myself whether your friendship with the Oregon’s Executive Officer and a long-forgotten friendship with Captain Hart will last long enough to prevent the carrier from blowing up this little Bretonian cruiser. They got more ships and they definitely got more fire power. If the Oregon is here, I definitely prefer being at the other end of the system!”
“You did not finish that thought… we do not have to tell them about the war. They might not even know about it. Actually I think they really don’t do!”
“Oh great… so we have a nice chat via radio, visit each other and fly back to Magellan together then where we will just ready our torpedoes and fighters and launch the battle, which we postponed until our return.”
Bergander protested: “Frederick! No ship has gone through the jumphole for days or by now even for weeks! They will only know what we tell them! I don’t want the war, people like Greenstreet probably also don’t and Will does not want it either! He is almost a pacifist!”
“Now that really comforts me! Pacifists in the Liberty Navy. What if your friend is really dead or what if…” Herfeld’s face suddenly turned pale and he halted in the middle of the sentence.
“What’s up?!” Bergander went towards him and shook Herfeld slightly when no answer came.
“You said that they cannot know about the war because we are the first ones to jump into this system for days or weeks. Now please reconsider what you said! The Oregon is still missing and there is a battleship floating next to us, which appears very much like a dead wreckage! No radio transmissions, no ship launches! Do you actually understand what that means for us?!”
Struck by it Bergander opened his mouth and shut it again while Herfeld continued: “Sebastian, I do not wish to destroy your little plan, but how the hell do you want to get out of here again? Mister Reaburn’s letter indicates that other ships have gotten lost here before. We have… to consider the possibility that no ship has ever returned to Magellan from here.” Especially the last sentence seemed to have cost him a lot.
Shaking his head in refusal to accept this, Bergander had to think no matter of pirate Jack’s prophecy. It was mainly true. Even the last bit of it.
‘…And yours will be the next one.’ The Westerland had apparently not been the right ship. Right now the Belfast was lost as well and he had just been made Captain.
Up to now Sebastian Bergander had always refused to believe in supernatural phenomenons. He was religious, even Catholic, but only up to a certain point.
For the first time in his life he seriously considered believing in ghosts. All of this was just a nightmare. A nightmare, which had apparently been predictable and could have been prevented from becoming reality if he had just listened. He had not wanted to fly to Kepler and later to Magellan. It had been Merx’, Hansen’s and Herfeld’s idea. Especially the latter one had talked him into it. And now they were stuck. Just… if he had not come here, he would never have gotten Reaburn’s letter. On the other hand many people would have lived if he had simply stayed in Rhineland or returned to Gas Miner Naha. It was exactly Vincent Berkley’s dilemma. The chief engineer had killed himself because of it. The question was right now what Bergander should do.