Symbionts by William H. Keith Jr

Author:William H. Keith Jr. [Keith, William H. Jr.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780380775927
Amazon: 0380775921
Barnesnoble: 0380775921
Goodreads: 553593
Publisher: Avon Books
Published: 1995-04-15T05:00:00+00:00

Slowly, slowly, Dev came down from the high-tide storm of emotion that had burst through him during the battle. God… he was shaking, or he would be, as soon as he broke his linkage and stepped out of the ViRcom module. He could feel that telltale tremulousness, the weakness that made him wonder whether he would even be able to stand once he was out of linkage.

The battle was over. One of the Imperial destroyers, by accelerating right through the Confederation deployment, had put itself out of reach and minutes later had translated into K-T space. At ShraRish, the freighters were scattering like sheep as the warflyer wolves descended on them. Most would probably escape; with luck, the fighters might cripple one or two. Their cargoes would be welcome additions to Farstar’s inventory of expendables.

Carefully, Dev downloaded the command that would break him out of linkage, then executed the withdrawal.

Nothing happened.

Startled, Dev stared at his surroundings… still the tactical simulation showing the Confederation fleet and, ahead, the tiny gold orb of ShraRish. Something had gone wrong; he’d tried to disconnect and failed. There was no way that could have happened. The AI feed, his own cephlink, and the programs that ran the simulation, all were designed to boot him clear of the hookup should there be a major failure in any system.

What had gone wrong?

Again, with an almost exaggerated deliberation, he downloaded the disconnect codes, then initiated the withdrawal sequence. There was a terrifying moment of emptiness…

… and then he was back in his physical body, lying inside the ViRcom module. Quickly, he slapped the release that freed the life-support tubes from his shipsuit and thumbed the control that dissolved an accessway through the module’s side. Light spilled in from outside and he blinked; tears blurred his eyes.

Oh, God! What happened there? He took a moment to pull a diagnostic log on his cephlink’s processor. Yes… the correct command had been issued. A fault in Eagle’s AI, or in the module hardware? The gleaming constellation of green lights on the module’s panel said all was well on that end. He reran the diagnostic, tracing the scrolling lines of data flickering through his awareness farther. There! A subroutine in his own link hardware had blocked the link termination protocol before transmission to the module. He froze the mental display and stared at the data accusingly. That should not, could not have happened. He had, in effect, unconsciously stopped his own coded order to Eagle’s AI to disconnect.

Clearing the display from his mind, he opened his eyes, unjacked his helmet feeds, then slipped off his helmet and stowed it in its recess. Stepping out of the module, he found the deck with his feet. He felt… strange, light-headed, a little dizzy.

Nausea rose up unexpectedly, gagging him, taking him by surprise. He vomited onto the deck, then nearly fell as the weakness swept through his body.

Unaccountably, he found himself wanting to crawl back inside the module, to jack in and lose himself again in the glorious emptiness of space.

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