Jack McDevitt - Coming Home

I remember thinking that, if we were successful, and the passengers and crew were actually rescued, that someone would make a movie of the experience. And I had a title: Waiting for the Capella.

“As most of you know,” John said, “the captain of the Capella , Dierdre Schultz, has a solid reputation. But it’s incumbent on us to stay out of her way. As soon as we make contact, we’ll try to ensure that she understands what has happened. That conversation will be relayed to the fleet to keep everyone apprised of the situation. If we get this right, we’ll only have to come out here to do this one more time.”

“I wish it would come,” I said. “I hate the waiting.”

Belle asked something irrelevant. Did I want her to locate and run a good comedy? Was I getting tired? I don’t recall exactly what it was. But I told her to relax.

Her lights blinked in her standard suggestion of a giggle.

We’d probably get a few people out on this attempt, and eventually, even if things didn’t go well, we’d recover the vast majority. I was happy to be part of it, but I wanted it to be over. I didn’t like the idea of its going on for another five years. Or maybe more.

I didn’t think I was actually talking, but Belle was picking it up. “It’ll be okay,” she said. “There is reason to be optimistic.”

“I know, Belle. I just wish we could bring them home now.” JoAnn would have been bitterly disappointed at how this was playing out. Despite John’s assurance that whatever had been determined by the physicists would be passed on to Robert Dyke, I doubted that would include JoAnn’s contribution. Considering the President’s stand, I guessed not.

I talked with some of the nearby ships. They were mostly yachts, like the Belle-Marie , but there were also two freighters. The freighters were the Bentley and the Bollinger , carrying twenty-eight and twenty-two lifeboats respectively. Five of the pilots told me they had either relatives or friends on board the Capella . There was a lot of frustration and even some tears. They all understood that the odds against recovering any specific person on this attempt weren’t good. And they agreed that they were prepared to settle. “If I can just come away from this with the knowledge that they’re okay, and that we’ll get them back, I’ll go home happy.” It was a sentiment I heard again and again. But they didn’t sound as if they meant it. Five years is a long time.

One of the entertainers on board the Capella was Dory Caputo. She sang, danced, and did comedy. Her husband was on the Bentley , and would be helping move lifeboats if they got into position. He sent me a vid of one of her performances. Dory laughed, told jokes, explained how to handle idiot bosses, and simply seemed too alive to have gone missing for eleven years. “I never wanted her to sign on for the thing,” he said. “I hope, when she gets back, she’ll have more sense.”

There was a lifeboat team of four on the Bollinger . “They’ve got thousands of these things stashed on the ships,” one of the pilots told me. “They’re going to use, at most, forty or so of them. What will they do with the rest? It’s a goddam shame the thing won’t stay on the surface long enough to make it a bit easier to do this stuff.”

Halfway through the afternoon, the timer sounded. Zero hour. Two hours later, John addressed the fleet and said that patience was in order. “This is at best an imprecise operation,” he said.

I awoke on the fifth morning to the smell of bacon and eggs. “We’re going to do a minor position adjustment in about an hour, Chase,” Belle said. “Since you have to get up, I thought you’d like some breakfast.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“And we’re getting another transmission. From the Raven .” Raven headed one of the squadrons reporting to us.

It was a woman’s voice: “ Belle-Marie , we have a sighting. Reported by the Breckinridge . Awaiting confirmation.”

I acknowledged. Belle waited a few seconds. Then: “Chase, do you want me to pass it on to the Dauntless ?”

“No. Let’s give it a minute. See what happens.”

I got some orange juice to go with my breakfast. Then the Raven was back. “False alarm. It was apparently somebody showing up late. Wait, hold on.” She clicked off, and a few seconds later, was back. “It was the Holtz . They’re listed among the no-shows. But I guess they got here. Anyhow, false alarm. Out.”

The rest of that fifth day in the target zone passed without incident, other than one more false alarm caused by another late arrival. The pilot apologized and explained that he’d been given the wrong arrival date. He didn’t say how that could have happened, but as far as I know, nobody pressed the issue.

That period of quiescence ended when Belle came alive in the middle of the morning: “Message from the Dauntless .”

John’s voice again: “We have a confirmed contact. The Capella has arrived. Its position has been forwarded to your AI. We have not yet established a radio link with them, but as soon as we do, we will use the beta frequency to pass the transmissions on to all ships.”

“Here we go, Belle.”

“Yes, indeed. Good luck to us.”

“Belle,” I said, “will we be changing course?”

“Not at the moment. We are directed to maintain present status until otherwise informed.”

“Okay.” That was a disappointment: We would probably not be part of the rescue operation. I switched to the beta frequency and heard confirmation: A voice was assuring someone on the Capella that evacuation vehicles were on their way.

“What’s going on?” asked the Capella . “Why are all you guys out here?”

“ Capella , are you aware what’s been happening?”

“We’re having a problem with the drive. Can’t seem to stay submerged. Every time we try to make our jump, we go down for a few hours, then we’re back under the stars again. Do you know what this is about?”

“Can you get the captain on the circuit for me? Quickly, please. This is an emergency.”

“You sound rattled, Dauntless . What’s happening?”

John took over: “Get Captain Schultz for me immediately. We don’t have time to waste.”

“Okay. Give us a couple of minutes, all right? Capella out.”

“Ask them,” I grumbled, “what year they think it is.”

“I can understand why they do not realize their situation,” said Belle.

“Where is it, Belle? The Capella ? Do you have a read on it?”

“We haven’t been informed. I haven’t been able to locate it, but I’d guess it’s not within range, or they’d have started us toward it already.”