Locke shouted, “Get us out of here, full reverse,”
Karapanov complied, sweeping his hands over his console, and the engines obeyed his commands. A low rumble shuttered through the deck-plates.
“We’re not going anywhere.”
Comms clicked, “Cap’n, if we keep this up, we’ll run out of power,”
“Damnit!” Locke swore, “Go to station-keeping!”
“Aye,”
The engine’s cry fell to a whisper.
“Shut down all non-essential systems,” Locke ordered. Engineering complied – the lights dimmed.
“Who is our scientist aboard?” Locke asked Lucy.
“Dr. Morris, Cap.” Lucy winced.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” the captain groaned.
“Nope,” Lucy double-checked, “We picked him up at Alpha Centauri 3,”
“Get him up here”
“If you say so!” Lucy, pressed a key and made the call.
“What’s our status,” Locke asked.
Frosbeld said, “We’re sitting ducks, weapons show nominal, but no targets.”
Karapanov pointed at the viewscreen, “The karama is there.”
Locke made a choice.
“Fuck it! Bring us in closer. Let’s see what’s going on!”