Every few hours, Linda would move the Gabriel out from the asteroid field to avoid interference when they scanned the vicinity.
‘We don’t need to go and find the fleet,’ said Rayl, with a grin after picking up the returning message from Triyl’s growing fleet. ‘They’re coming to us.’
‘Saves petrol,’ said Andy.
‘Well, let’s hope we get time to check out all the ships,’ said Ed. ‘We don’t want a bunch of them disappearing off willy-nilly with a load of Genok weapons.’
‘I think we ought to have a chat with the GDA’s naval command about not having Genoks as standard issue on all vessels,’ said Linda. ‘Katadromikos and large cruisers, yes, but why do tiny corvettes need planet killers?’
‘I agree,’ said Ed. ‘Give the cloaking technology a self-destruct facility too, like we did in Andromeda.’
‘D’you think they’d listen?’ asked Rayl.
‘I think Bache would,’ said Andy. ‘He’s not quite as gung-ho as some of ’em.’
‘Yeah,’ said Phil. ‘But he’s got to get it past the naval committee and they’ve always been resistant to change.’
‘Forgive me for changing the subject,’ said Rayl, ‘but why do the Blends need this ship full of rocks to attack Dasos? Why not just use the Genok weapon?’
‘Dasos has a formidable planetary defence system,’ said Phil. ‘Even without the usual presence of a handful of Katadromiko cruisers. It would be too easy to defend against a few missiles.’
‘Thousands of huge boulders travelling at half the speed of light is a different matter,’ said Ed. ‘No matter how many ground-based and space-based cannons you had, a considerable amount would get through. Even the ones you hit could shatter and escalate the problem a hundredfold.’
‘Then why don’t we attack and destroy the Blend ship attached to the Hope along with all the tractor loaders and hide the Hope away somewhere?’ she asked.
‘Because the Mogul or Blend fleet or whatever you want to call it, would vanish and be in a position to attack anywhere at any time,’ said Ed. ‘At least this way, they think their plan is undiscovered and we know where they’re going to be. And if we can sabotage their cloaking and weapons in such a way that they still think it’s working, then they’ll jump into the midst of the GDA fleet and find themselves toothless sitting ducks.’
‘Ducks don’t have teeth,’ said Andy, winking at Rayl. ‘Wouldn’t they be peckless sitting ducks?’
‘Shut up,’ said Ed, rolling his eyes.
‘But what do we do about the Hope?’ Rayl added.
‘That’s why we need Hope to be able to suddenly take control of the Blend vessel’s propulsion and direct herself away from the planet,’ said Ed.
‘It’s a huge risk to take. Do the GDA know this?’
Andy and Ed glanced at each other.
‘Er, no,’ said Andy, avoiding eye contact. ‘Probably best they don’t.’
She stared at the two of them and an awkward silence ensued.
‘And if that goes wrong?’ she said finally, continuing to glare at them.
‘We can’t think of any other way to manipulate that enemy fleet,’ said Ed. ‘They have to think their plan is working.’
‘A lot of people’s lives are depending on Hope veering that flying asteroid field away,’ she said.
‘I tend to agree with her,’ said Linda, joining in the conversation for the first time. ‘We really need to have a backup plan to divert that ship. If it went wrong and the GDA found out we had prior opportunity to destroy it, I think a prison colony would be our next port of call.’
Ed sat back on his couch and groaned.
‘My brain hurts,’ he said. ‘Any suggestions gratefully received.’
‘Erm,’ said Tocc, sticking her two left hands up, ‘I have an idea.’
Everyone’s attention swung across to the Callametan engineer reclining against the far bridge wall. Tocc glanced nervously at the other three Callametans before speaking.
‘The Hope has a manual manoeuvring system, independent from the computerised system for minor adjustments when docking with another ship or a space station,’ she said, flicking her eyes around from face to face.
‘Am I to understand that Hope wouldn’t have access to this system?’ asked Ed.
‘No,’ said Tocc. ‘It’s controlled directly from the pilot’s post on the bridge and it’s quite powerful too. Operated early enough, it could disrupt the trajectory by a few degrees.’
‘But that would need someone physically on the Hope’s bridge,’ said Linda, glaring across at Tocc. ‘Absolutely no way is that going to happen.’
‘I’ll do it,’ said Rialte. ‘I designed the system and know where it is and how to operate it quickly.’
‘She said it could disrupt the trajectory,’ said Linda, emphasising the word and pointing at Tocc accusingly. ‘Which means possibly or not guaranteed, which would turn it into a likely suicide mission.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Andy. ‘The cabin bathroom near the bridge, where the Blend ship was attached, is open to space. If someone wore a Theo suit, entered there, jetted through to the bridge set the thrusters on maximum and returned, it wouldn’t take very long.’
‘And how would they get there?’ asked Linda in a sarcastic tone and peering down her nose at Andy.
‘Er – out the airlock of a shuttle?’ he answered, hopefully.
‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Ed, cheerfully.
‘No, it doesn’t,’ growled Linda. ‘We’ve already lost one shuttle on this trip and I don’t intend adding another one or member of the crew to that tally – or a guest for that matter,’ she added quickly as Tocc raised her hands again.
Ed smiled and nodded at Tocc. He thought the Callametans had come up with the foundation of a plan and he’d work on Linda in due course.
‘Linda, can you put us back somewhere safe?’ he said. ‘I don’t want any accidents once that fleet starts arriving.’
She stared at him for a moment before moving the Gabriel back into the shadow of one of the larger planetoids within the belt.
‘Any chance of some more of that peesah?’ asked Pol. ‘I like the one with the tangy little round things on.’
They all looked at her with a puzzled expression.
‘Ah,’ said Andy. ‘I think you mean pizza – pepperoni pizza?’
‘That’s the one,’ she said.
The other three engineers all nodded at each other.
‘Enough for four,’ said Kwin. ‘That stuff’s amazing.’