“We’ll blow up!” exclaimed Elizabeth, her eyes growing wide with alarm. “The new drive can’t handle that kind of stress.”
Jason shook his head. “We’re going to modify the drive and strengthen the hull of the Liberator. Councilor Rosen believes if we make those changes we can survive the transition. However, we’re taking the extra engineers as we may damage the drive and it will need to be repaired while we’re at the battlestation.”
“How long’s all of this going to take?” asked Andrea.
Clair looked over at Jason. “A couple of weeks. Rear Admiral Marks is reloading the simulator with the changes we’re going to make. The next time we do a simulator run, we’re making the transition into the safe zone. I’m sure the AI running the scenario will make it interesting.”
“We’ll be meeting with the rest of the crew later this afternoon,” added Jason. “I’ll explain to them what’s going on.”
For the rest of their meal they discussed the changes and how it would effect the ship and their mission. For once it seemed as if they had a reasonable chance of success.
-
Angela was still in Rear Admiral Marks’ office. They were waiting for Colonel Bridget Long to arrive. Bridget would take care of reprogramming the AI with the new information on the changes being made to the Liberator and the reasons for the changes.
“Do you still feel comfortable taking the Liberator into Creevak space?” asked Susan. She and Angela had known each other for a long time.
Angela nodded. “We won’t go through until we feel we have a very good chance of success. “Kelsey and Katie would never forgive me if I risked their kids on a suicide mission.”
Susan pursed her lips and then spoke. “You know we could send Clarissa and more AIs on the Liberator and not risk you or any of the children.”
“I thought of that,” admitted Angela, lowering her eyes. “However, the kids would never agree to that and I dare not risk them taking the Liberator and going on their own. Jason is a lot like Jeremy when he was young.”
Susan smiled. “Yes, I recall. Then I guess our best option is to make the changes and make sure the simulator training covers as many scenarios as possible.”
The door opened and Colonel Long came in.
“There’s been a change of plans,” began Susan. “Sit down. This is going to take some explaining.”
-
Two days later they were called back to the simulator room. As usual the galleries were full of interested students, teachers, and fleet officers.
“Big crowd today,” commented Mitch, looking up at the galleries.
“Everyone knows what we’re training for,” replied Clair. She paused as several students waved at her. She recognized them as being in one of her classes.
Clair’s attention was drawn to the main door to the simulator room as Angela and Colonel Long came in.
“Today’s simulator session will involve the changes we’re making to the Liberator,” announced Angela. “Once more I will not be involved but will be watching along with Colonel Long. The AI who controls the simulation has been loaded with all the information we have on the changes to the ship, the black hole, the location of the battlestation, as well as the last known location of the Creevak fleet.”
“We have no idea how this simulation will turn out,” added Colonel Long. “The AI is programmed to add in variables such as equipment failure and even changes in the black hole or the event horizon. You must be prepared for everything.”
Jason took a deep steadying breath. This might be the first time in a simulation they actually reached the battlestation. “We’re ready, Colonel.”
Colonel Long nodded. “Very well, go to your simulator couches and we’ll get this scenario started.”
The entire ship’s crew headed for their couches and soon found themselves on the Liberator.
“Well, this should be interesting,” said Mathew as he activated his sensor console. As expected they were in the Makuul Galaxy in the system where the anomaly once existed.
Clair checked her science console noting it now showed the changes to the ship’s drive system as well as a new icon showing the strength of the ship’s hull. That particular icon was currently setting at 100 percent.
“Let’s do it,” she sent to Jason.
“I assume you mean enter the Creevak universe,” replied Jason, teasingly.
Clair felt her face flush. Was Jason actually flirting with her? “Yes, let’s go rescue Jeremy and the others.”
“Mitch, prepare to activate the drive. Braleseth, I want the stealth fields activated and all weapons on standby.”
Jason activated the ship’s comm system. “We’re preparing to enter the Creevaks’ universe. We have no idea what will happen when we attempt to make the transition into the safe zone near the black hole.”
Looking over at Mitch, Jason nodded. “Activate the drive.”
Mitch reached forward and pressed a large glowing icon on his computer screen. Moments later the Liberator left the Makuul Galaxy and began the transition to the Creevak universe.
A sudden wrenching sensation struck Jason. He thought he heard Clair cry out in pain. It felt as if his body was being torn apart from the inside out. The pain seemed to go on forever and then the wrenching sensation returned as they completed the transition.
Jason fought to catch his breath as the pain slowly subsided. His eyes were blurry and he brought his hands up to rub them. His vision slowly returned as well as his hearing. Alarms were sounding and amber and red lights were all over the damage control console.
“Report!” ordered Jason when he could finally talk.
“Ship’s a mess,” replied Ethan. “The space drive is down and even the gravity drive is showing severe stress. We have several holes in our hull and a number of compartments are losing air. They have been evacuated and I’m sealing them off.”
“Outer energy screens are down to 18 percent,” added Braleseth.
“Hull integrity is at 72 percent,” spoke Clair.
“We’re not moving,” said Mitch. “The gravity drive is barely holding its own from the pull of the black hole.”
“We’re operating on minimal power,” added Ethan. “We lost most of our energy when the drive shunted all of its excess energy into space. Everything’s powering back up but it’s going to take several minutes.”
Alarms began sounding on the sensor console. “We have inbound debris being drawn into the black hole,” warned Mathew with sweat appearing on his forehead. “It looks like an asteroid swarm is falling toward the event horizon and we’re in its path.”
“Mitch, can we move out of the way?”
Mitch shook his head. “We don’t have the power.”
“Braleseth, do we have any weapons?”
The large bear shook his head. “No, we can’t even launch any missiles. We’re too close to the black hole.”
“Jason, what do we do?” sent Clair. “I don’t want to fail again.”
“The AI certainly hit us with everything including the kitchen sink.” Jason looked over at Clarissa and Leeda. “Do either of you have any suggestions?”
“Kill the gravity drive,” said Leeda. “It will allow the black hole to pull us toward it, buying us some time.”
“While we’re falling toward the black hole our power systems will be recharging,” added Clarissa.
Jason looked at the tactical display and the rapidly approaching asteroids. “Mitch, kill the gravity drive.”
At the helm, Mitch reached forward and cut the power to the ship’s gravity drive. “Power is off.”
They all felt the ship shake as it was grabbed by the black hole’s gravity field.
“Outer shields are going to fail!” called out Braleseth as he saw the shield strength drop rapidly to zero.
“We’re gaining speed toward the event horizon,” reported Mathew with a frightened look on his face.
On the main viewscreen, the event horizon was vi
sible. “How long before we hit it?”
“Twenty-two minutes,” answered Clarissa. “However, we only have ten minutes to power the gravity drive back up and try to pull away.”
“Why only ten minutes?” Jason knew he wasn’t gong to like the answer.
“The closer we get to the event horizon the more time will slow down for us.”
“Ethan, where are we on powering up all of our systems?”
“I need fourteen minutes.”
“We don’t have fourteen minutes,” replied Jason. “Braleseth, reduce the power to the inner layer of energy screens. Let them fall to 50 percent. Cut power to the weapons as well. I want life support reduced to a minimum.”
Time passed by rapidly but Jason knew they were already feeling the slow down of time as they neared the event horizon. At exactly the ten-minute mark he ordered the gravity drive restarted.
“I’m trying to pull away,” said Mitch, his voice sounding strained.
“It’s working,” reported Clarissa. “We’re beginning to move away from the event horizon as well as the incoming asteroids.”
For long minutes the Liberator fought to escape the powerful gravity field of the black hole. After nearly an hour they were back at their original location.
“Jason, the battlestation is gone!” cried out Mathew in shock.
Jason looked over at Clarissa for an explanation.
“Time dilation,” she explained. “Our little trip toward the event horizon cost us two years.”
“Two years!” exclaimed Elizabeth, looking stunned. “Now what do we do?”
“Mathew, can you detect any Creevak ships?”
Mathew nodded. “Yes, there are several large fleets above us.”
Jason closed his eyes and shook his head. Once again the AI in charge of the simulation had defeated them.
-
Later the crew was in a large briefing room discussing the simulation. Angela was there as well to help in the decision making.
“Keep in mind in these scenarios the AI controlling them is attempting to duplicate the worst case situation,” explained Angela. “What we want to do is make adjustments to our plans to take those into account. What can we do to mitigate the possible problems so they are less likely to occur?”
“We came out too far into the safe zone,” commented Mitch. “We set it up to appear in the same orbit as the battlestation. We didn’t leave any leeway in case something went wrong.”
Angela nodded. “Good observation. So where should we appear?”
“We don’t have to make the transition that close to the battlestation,” said Clair. “We know where the Creevak missiles start to fail. We also know it’s going to take them awhile to get to that point. We need to make the transition farther out but close enough to the safe zone to reach it before the Creevak missiles can reach us. That will give us more time to react to any possible problems.”
“We have a power problem,” said Mason. “The transition into the Creevak universe robs some of our power and then much of the power which remains is shunted out into space by the new space drive. It takes time for the dark matter power systems to power back up.”
“How much time?” asked Angela.
“Twelve to fourteen minutes until they’re back up to full power.”
Angela looked over at Lyla who was sitting in at Rear Admiral Mark’s request. “Is there anything we can do to cut down on the time it takes for the dark matter power systems to recover?”
Lyla shook her head. “Not without risking damage to the systems. However, the Liberator does have an antimatter power plant as an emergency power source. It can be modified to come on line quicker once the ship transits to the Creevak universe.”
“How much quicker?”
Lyla took out a hand tablet and began entering some numbers. “About three to five minutes until it’s at full power. I can make some modifications to decrease that to around two minutes.”
Angela nodded. “Let’s get that done. In the situation we’re going to find ourselves in those extra minutes could be vital.” The ship currently had a powerful battery storage system furnishing the power for the ship’s systems immediately after transit. It was obvious that storage system wasn’t enough.
The crew talked for nearly another hour discussing ideas and making suggestions to improve their chances of successfully reaching the battlestation with an intact ship.
When the meeting was over, Jason and Clair walked over to Angela. “Is this going to work?” asked Clair.
“We’re still learning,” replied Angela, knowing the kids were concerned. “We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Don’t worry, we’ll get there.”
-
Jason hoped so. They were only a few weeks away from launching the actual rescue attempt. Jason was growing concerned they were going to run out of time. “Let’s go take a break. I could use some downtime after that scenario.
“Me too,” replied Clair. “We could go to one of the gyms and do a light workout.”
Jason nodded. “Sounds fine to me. Let’s go.”
Working out was something Jason did on a regular basis. It helped to clear his mind. It would also give him more time to think over what had happened in the scenario and if any more changes needed to be made.
Chapter Seven
Commander Zafron was starting to feel uneasy. Victories were becoming too common. In the past the Eternals would stay and fight sometimes to the last ship. Now, after suffering a few casualties, they were fleeing. Something wasn’t making any sense.
“Kazak, why are the Eternals refusing to stay and fight? That last fleet was nearly the same size as ours. They should not have pulled back and made the transition into hyperspace so quickly.”
Kazak looked thoughtful. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he thought of the possible reasons for the Eternals’ strange behavior. “They may be trying to lure us into a trap.”
Commander Zafron nodded. “Yes, I suppose that’s possible. After every battle we are getting farther and farther from Originator space. We also have ten fleets committed to the battle to free galaxies from Eternal control. In the coming weeks, we may be adding ten more. The Originator Council wants to drive the Eternals out of all the galaxies they control and end this war once and for all.”
“We must take advantage of their current weakness,” answered Kazak. “However, I must admit their recent behavior is quite perplexing.”
“What must we do to find out if there is an ulterior motive to their actions?”
Stepping over to the ship’s main computer console, Kazak spent a few minutes using his neural implant to call up information on several of the computer screens. “I suggest in the next galaxy we assault we purposely attack the Eternals with an inferior fleet and see what they do. If they pull back then it will be obvious they are up to something. After studying the data being reported by the other fleets I’m starting to have a bad feeling about this.”
“As do I,” replied Commander Zafron. Zafron sat down in his command chair mulling over the unusual tactics being used by the Eternals. They were up to something but at the moment he wasn’t sure what it was.
-
Jeremy was inside the Command Center of the New Horizon with Rear Admiral Barnes and Kelsey. “How are the changes coming?”
Kathryn let out a deep sigh. “Slow. We have a lot to do. “Jolban and Betrem report they are behind schedule. They’re asking Rear Admiral Jones to furnish them with twenty more engineering AIs so they can make up some time.”
“Make sure that happens,” ordered Jeremy. “We have to be ready. We already have twenty thousand grumbling people who have been forced out of their homes to the part of the battlestation nearest the New Horizon. We have families sleeping in the corridors and have had to set up makeshift cafeterias and medical centers to handle them.”
“Better a little grumbling than being left stranded here when the rescue fleet comes,” said Kathryn.
&
nbsp; Kelsey walked over and studied some information on one of the consoles. “How much longer before Grayseth shows up?”
Jeremy hesitated for a moment. “If I had to guess from what the probe sent us we’re less than a week away.”
Turning around Kelsey looked surprised. “That soon! I don’t know why but I was thinking we still had well over a week.”
“It’s this damn time dilation,” said Kathryn with her hands on her hips. “It confuses all of us.”
Katie stepped into the Command Center and looked surprised at seeing the others there. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”
Shaking her head Kelsey was pleased to see Katie. “Come on in. We were just discussing the work on the ship and when Grayseth will come charging to the rescue.”
“It’s this week, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it seems as if it is.”
Katie came in and sat down at her computer station. “I can’t believe this is almost over. When we get back to the Dyson sphere I don’t know if I’ll ever leave again.”
“I feel the same way,” said Kelsey. “I think I’ve finally had enough exploring and adventure to last a lifetime.” Kelsey looked over at Jeremy and Kathryn. “What about you two?” Kelsey would like to see Jeremy stay home. He could let someone else do all the gallivanting across the universe.
Jeremy hesitated. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on what’s going on with the war against the Eternals and what we have to do to protect our universe from the Creevak. I would at least like to spend some time back home at the Dyson sphere.”
“A lot of time,” said Katie, staring at Jeremy. “If you stay home so will Kevin.”
Kathryn nodded. She understood where the girls were coming from. “I may retire and settle down as well. I always wanted a family and if this keeps on it’s never going to happen. I know my father would like that.”
A huge smile appeared on Kelsey’s face. “He’d make a great grandfather.”
“The fleet will miss you,” said Jeremy. “But I fully understand. There’s a good chance I may decide to do the same. We’ve all missed so much of our children’s lives it might be best if we all stayed on the Dyson sphere for a good while.”
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