Derelict by Alan Edward Nourse
Aboard the Satellite Station orbiting Saturn, an alarm rouses second-in-command John Sabo and the crew: a vast, dark ship is approaching from beyond Saturn's rings. Sabo, panicked and irritable, has the men grapple it with servo-controlled tugs after radio contact fails. Captain Loomis arrives, elated—he recognizes this is no ordinary craft from Saturn but a ship from deep space, from the stars. In Loomis's cabin, the crew learns he intends to conceal the discovery from the Government and claim the credit—and the presumed Interstellar drive—for himself, in defiance of the law requiring reports within two hours. He orders Sabo and the engineer Brownie to board the alien vessel, dismissing Sabo's objections and threatening him when he protests the illegal order. Sabo and Brownie suit up and cross to the silent ship, opening its locks with unexpected ease. Inside they find the crushed, jellylike bodies of frail, humanoid aliens smashed against control panels—evidence of violent deceleration. They gather star charts covered in unfamiliar symbols, and Brownie examines the engine room. Sabo senses something is off in Brownie's eager manner around the machinery. Back aboard the Station, Brownie falsely reports to Loomis that the ship is a derelict powered only by ordinary atomics, its crew dead for centuries, with no advanced drive to be found. Loomis, crushed, sends them away. Sabo then confronts Brownie privately, choking a confession from him: the bodies' crushed state proves massive acceleration, meaning the ship does have an unknown Interstellar drive, and Brownie lied to hide it. Brownie reveals his desperate plan: steal the alien ship for himself and Sabo, using the charts and his partial understanding of the drive to escape entirely—away from Loomis, from the Government, from the crushing, dehumanizing military system both men feel trapped in. Brownie delivers a bitter monologue on how the Government has turned life into an empty climb for security, leaving misfits like himself and Sabo with no place. Sabo, recalling his own bleak, fearful upbringing and hollow military existence, is drawn in by the chance for freedom and for ruining Loomis. The two prepare hastily. But Loomis grows suspicious of Brownie's report and summons Sabo, revealing that a patrol craft with drive experts is due within the hour to verify the story. Sabo warns Brownie they must flee immediately, unready or not. As Brownie heads for the alien ship's lock, Loomis and armed crewmen catch them. Sabo tackles the captain, wrestling for his power gun and shouting for Brownie to run. Brownie's sled reaches the alien ship and escapes inside despite gunfire; Loomis fires warheads at the ship, but it vanishes—apparently using its drive to escape—just as the missiles pass through where it had been. Enraged, Loomis has Sabo seized and threatens him with the "death chamber," blaming him for letting the ship get away. Sabo is marched to confinement, reflecting that he had the chance to stop Brownie and claim glory for himself, but chose otherwise. He recognizes that Loomis is now ruined for losing the discovery, and that his own fate is likely severe—but he feels an unexpected peace and satisfaction, knowing that one man, at least, escaped. The story ends with Sabo laughing.
By Alan Edward Nourse · First published 1967 · Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Mystery · 8,858 words
First lines
John Sabo, second in command, sat bolt upright in his bunk, blinking wide-eyed at the darkness. The alarm was screaming through the Satellite Station, its harsh, nerve-jarring clang echoing and re-echoing down the metal corridors, penetrating every nook and crevice and cubicle of the lonely outpost, screaming incredibly through the dark sleeping period.
What this Textopian page supports
Derelict is listed on Textopian as a novel by Alan Edward Nourse, dated 1967 CE.
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- Work type: Novel
- Author: Alan Edward Nourse
- Date: 1967 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Science Fiction, Adventure, Mystery
- Length: 8,858 words
- Structure: 1 section, 135 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Science Fiction — The story is set in a future where space exploration and alien encounters are central elements, and deals with unexplored scientific concepts and complex technology, characteristic of the science fiction genre.
- Adventure — A group of explorers have to survive and find their way back home after being stranded on a derelict spaceship, indicating elements of adventure.
- Mystery — The explorers' attempts to uncover the fate of the ship's previous inhabitants, as well as understand the workings of alien technology involve uncovering secrets and solving riddles characteristic of the mystery genre.
Tags
away · back · brownie · captain · could · drive · else · eyes · face · fiction · get · johnny