Astronomicon: Icarus

29 - Plan B

"Seal the outer airlock door," ordered Captain Lee, now back aboard the Wagner.

"Sealed," confirmed Lieutenant Mitchell from the pilot's position, the centre seat of the front row of three.

"Disengage the docking clamps and get us out of here."

"Clamps disengaging. Firing manoeuvring thrusters," reported Lieutenant Mitchell, struggling a little with the unfamiliar controls.

Wagner's attitude thrusters pushed her away from the Icarus, a little too vigorously, the focused jets of flame leaving dark scorch marks on Icarus' hull. Wagner rapidly reached a few dozen metres separation, then Lieutenant Mitchell fired the retros and reduced her velocity, causing her to drop back further and further behind the Icarus.

"So this is it, we're just going to leave?" asked Colonel Linda Miller.

"Don't worry," smiled Captain Lee. "Our mission is almost complete. The Oppenheimer is gone, we got all the data from it stored in the datavault and, in a few moments, the Oppenheimer crew and all the witnesses will be dealt with."

"Dealt with?" asked Colonel Miller.

"Sure. And as a nice bonus, we get to take Europe's top secret, state-of-the-art vessel back to our experts, which I'm sure will make us very popular back home."

"I thought we were supposed to salvage the Oppenheimer and rescue its crew?"

"That was never a realistic option, Colonel. This vessel isn't big enough to carry the crew or tow the ship. This way is much neater: The scientists get all the data they want AND the latest European technology too. It's win, win, win. What's our range now, Lieutenant?"

Lieutenant Mitchell looked down at the console, "Two hundred metres and increasing."

"How long have we got, Lieutenant?" he asked, looking around at Lieutenant Rom Collins.

"Four minutes and seventeen seconds, sir."

"Plenty of time," he replied. "Probably too long. Take us to at least a kilometre away."

"That will leave us within range of debris, Captain," advised Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Even I know that moving objects in a vacuum don't slow down due to air friction, Lieutenant. Five hundred metres or two thousand, makes no difference."

"More debris will miss us if we are further away, Captain," replied Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Don't get your lingerie in a tangle, the Wagner will take it."

"Yes, sir."

"So this never was a rescue mission?" asked Colonel Miller.

"Nope," replied Captain Lee.

"So why wasn't I informed?"

"You didn't need to know," he replied most matter-of-factly.

"All we wanted was the data?"

"No, the data was just a nice bonus. And data is one hell-of-a-lot easier to control than people and a spacecraft. The Oppenheimer was a classified project. It went wrong and decisive action was necessary to keep the whole thing under wraps. Our mission is to tidy up the mess, not rescue anybody."

"But these are our people. They thought we were here to rescue them," she protested.

"And if we took them home, we'd have to lock them up for the rest of their lives. No, this is necessary to maintain the integrity of the project."

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