by T J Bryan
The vid screen blinked and the vast starfield was replaced by a very dark and foreboding planet. Buddy increased the magnification and zoomed in on the old mining colony."
"She's lifting off. Very fast that one," Buddy said.
Buddy managed to follow the accelerating ship with the vid screen while increasing magnification. The ship was an odd looking thing. It resembled nothing less that a very flat rectangle intersected by a sphere in the middle. The rectangle portion was about 300 meters square and 40 meters thick. The sphere which was about 100 meters in diameter seemed to wobble and move about as the ship accelerated.
"Mr Brunner, how fast? How fast is that ship going?'
"Very fast. Must be 200 gravities acceleration. That's GWP fast but she's way to close to Uruk to use something like GWP. Some new propulsion system or some really advanced GWP. I don't know. Now it is almost 300 gravs acceleration."
"Nomi," Silvi called out. "Where is that ship headed?"
Nomi remained silent for a moment as her fingers swept across her controls and keyboard. "Harappa" was all she said. "Harappa."
Silvi remained standing. That ship was headed for the same entry portal to Harappa as both Ragnarök and Greenland. She wondered; was Harappa its' destination or simply a link on a knot line? Silvi reached for her vid-com and quickly called up Nomi's flight plan details. Harappa was a dead system with only a cinder of a long past sun. No planets, just dead space read Silvi. However Nomi's notes indicated Harappa had two exit portals in addition to the one to IronBridge and both led to systems that Nomi had called 'unknowable."
Mabel Schneider on weapons called out. "Greenland is in system."
Silvi broke from her speculations about the ship and its' destinations. "Mr. Brunner, notify Greenland of our findings, our alteration in course, and our intention to rendezvous with Greenland just outside the entry portal to Harappa. We shall have a captain's conference to consider our actions prior to entering Harappa. Nomi and Farn as well as Pilots Karrlson and Meg Asgeir are to attend together with Captain Wong."
Buddy asked, "What shall we call that thing? That really fast ship."
Silvi thought a moment "Capstone, We will call it Capstone." Silvi thought a moment. "Mr. Brunner when will you have a summary of your full scan of Capstone? Mass, acceleration, energy signature, and the other vitals. I'll need it for our captain's meeting. Oh, and I expect you to attend as well."
...
Sargon System - Greenland Mess - Year 3246. March 12 ET: 23:11
The captains had assembled on Greenland in person or on vid, as well as Nomi, Farn, Buddy, Pilots Karrlson and Meg Asgeir. Buddy began the meeting with a detailed briefing of the Capstone encounter. The ship had been spotted at the old mining site of Uruk and the assumption was that it was obtaining rare earths for advanced technologies. Upon being spotted the Captsone returned to space at very high acceleration. Far higher that a conventional GWP system would allow within the existing gravity well of the planet Uruk. By the time of departure through the exit portal to Harappa the Capstone was observed to be accelerating at over 560 gravities a truly astonishing number. Buddy ran a short vid of a close-up of the ship which the crew thought was truly alien. The ship itself appeared to be a rectangle with a sphere suspended in the middle. As the ship move the sphere wobbled and moved about within the rectangle. Buddy likened it to a marble in a small box. As the box moved the marble bounced around off the walls of the box. But in this case the direction of the rectangle, or in Buddy's analogy the box, had no effect on the marble's movement. As the rectangle moved in one direction the sphere seemed to bounce all around regardless of momentum or acceleration or direction.
Buddy's energy scans revealed a energy source he could not identity. Any ship borne energy source emitted radio frequencies, electro magnetic signatures, and some even radiation. In this case the energy source was intense but unidentifiable. Not fission, not fusion, not-anti gravity, something entirely new and different, but compact and powerful. The Capstone had a distinct color much like liquid mercury and its' mass was about what one might expect of a metal clad starship. Assuming the ship was mostly hollow, which was unlikely but still a useful measurement, the internal volume would have been about 5 million cubic meters. The same calculation would yield about 160,000 cubic meters for Ragnarök.
Silvi stood next, "The Capstone has headed in system to Harappa before us. We need to proceed to Harappa in order to reach IronBridge and then Dello to return home. I am confident that Iceland has made it home, but I don't want to take any chances. We have no way of quickly returning to Wu and home as there is no speedy route from Sargon to Wu other than proceeding through Harappa. There is a very long route through Tarn to Wu but it takes almost three weeks. We should proceed via Harappa. And if we go through Harappa then our objective is Dello and home and not a return Wu. We have no choice but to proceed. What we will find in Harappa we can only speculate, but we need to prepare."
Silvi looked about the room from vid. Emmitt sat quietly listening with his eyes closed. Lennie and Meg were both fascinated and in their pilots way anxious to get going and discover whatever Harappa had to offer. Nomi sat hunched over her inter-tab seemingly paying no attention to the meeting but Silvi knew better. As usual Farn was present because Silvi had come to respect her opinion as well as her calming effect on Nomi.
"I propose the following plan," Silvi said. "Ragnarök is to enter Harappa first closely followed by Greenland. I am reluctant to leave Greenland here in Sargon for our usual two hour delay. If there is trouble on the other side we need to be able to immediately support one another."
Emmitt spoke, "I agree. If we end up facing hostility it is better to fight together than to be picked off separately."
Silvi continued, "We will enter Harappa prepared for trouble but hoping for the best. We will not fire first nor will we provoke a hostile encounter. Our objective is IronBridge. To that end Nomi will upon entering Harappa calculate our fastest route to the IronBridge portal. Whether the Capstone is in system or not, we immediately set out for IronBridge and home. We are not an exploratory mission. We carry the future of the Commonwealth in our hold and our one priority is to get home and get home soon. Tunnel time to Harappa is a very long 165 hours. So we will get some rest along the way, but our crews will intensely drill during the tunnel passage. The trainee SAR crews must work as fast and as efficiently as possible to hone their skills in the CTS. In addition Harappa has a very long transit time for in-system movement between portals. For Ragnarök and Greenland the exit portal from Sargon to the entry to Harappa is another eight hours at best speed." Silvi looked at Nomi who nodded her head but did not look up.
"If you refer to Nomi's plan for our voyage you will see Harappa has three exit portals, one of which leads to IronBridge. The other two we simply do not know. In fact Nomi calls the portals 'unknowable.' I have asked Farn to determine what our friend Nomi means by 'unknowable' but so far Nomi has responded only with equations." Nomi did not react but continued to focus on her inter-tab. She was obviously busy calculating something.
"If Capstone enters the portal to IronBridge we have no option but to follow with caution. If she makes for one of the 'unknowable' portals we take note but do not under any circumstances follow. Our mission, always remember our mission."
Lennie asked a question, "What if we encounter more of those Capstone things?"
Silvi thought a moment. "Regardless of what we find we proceed home. Hopefully without interruption."
Meg was next, "And if we encounter hostility?"
"We a SARs and a freighter, not battleships. We follow Abel's admonition to run away. If we must engage in a running fight to get away we will do so. However with an unknown opponent, and with no anti-matter torpedoes, we have no idea how effective our weapons will be. Running is our best chance of getting home."
"And if we can't run?" Lennie asked.
"Then we protect Greenland as best we can and cover her exit to IronBridge. The
loss of Ragnarök is nothing compared with Greenland completing our mission."
"And the other SAR's and crews?" asked Farn.
"Our green crews must remain with Greenland, but if the survival of Greenland is in question, I will rely upon Emmitt to make the decision to deploy our other SAR's. Ready or not. Remember the mission."
Silvi looked at each person in the room and on vid. "Any more questions?" There was no response. "Are we then agreed?" All but Nomi who was still concentrating on her inter-tab nodded their heads.
"In that case let us do our duty."
...
Jamon System - SAR 1023 Randgrid - Year 3246. March 12 ET: 13:31
Eamon Gunnulf, the father of two of the Banshees, had come to visit with Abel on the training ship 1023, now named the Randgrid. Miley Daugherty who was a skilful and qualified pilot had remained with Abel in the Jamon system to train the growing number of OCN recruits. Together the three of them sat in the Randgrid mess.
The departure of the second fleet weeks ago was now long gone. The original schedule for the voyage would have brought the fleet home by now. Abel could feel the increased anxiety within the habitat as the Chairman had began to speak of cutting rations yet again. Abel had noticed that many citizens were visibly thinner and that some had obviously been hording food. There were no riots, it seemed that no one had the energy. Able had noted that many young parents were giving much of their rations to their children. Work on all the projects he had initiated, except the shrimp paste farm, had slowed to a crawl. In solidarity with the citizens the training crews, even those who visited the Randgrid refused to consume ship food, but instead brought along their thin rations. Abel had argued loudly against this concept saying that training crews needed their full capabilities and energy but he simply lost the argument. Abel did however manage one exception to the rule - coffee, tea, cream, and sugar.
Eamon sat quietly drinking coffee with sugar. Abel and Eamon had had a quiet conversation for over an hour. They had talked about the Gunnulf family and about the twins Emma and Olive now somewhere in The Dark aboard Greenland. Eamon was alone in the Habitat as his wife Arla had accompanied Greenland to be one of the 'mothers' of the Banshees. Abel wondered if Eamon resented the departure of his family, but he dared not ask. Eamon was a power conduit fitter in the Habitat and as such was a member of the Fabricators Guild. Abel knew him to be a hard working and honest man who simply had two amazing daughters.
Finally Eamon asked the question that was on Abel's mind, "Did we do the right thing Abel? Sending those kids out there into The Dark?" Before Abel could respond Eamon answered his own question. "Of course we did. We are about to starve here in the Habitat and I know your food on the Greenland is plentiful. There is nothing worse that watching your children suffer. But by the gods how I miss them. And Arla too. Do you think we may see them soon. I know a voyage like that can't be planned down to the minute, but then again, they should be home by now. Don't you think..."
Abel realized that Eamon was rambling and letting his thoughts simply spill out. Best to let him continue thought Abel.
Abel's vid-com chimed. It was the Watch Office. Abel tabbed it open.
Dayna English's face appeared. She was smiling, "Abel, I mean Chief. We have an entry at the portal. An entry!"
Eamon stood overhearing Dayna.
"How many entries Dayna? How many?" asked Abel.
"Just one that's all. Oopps! Another one as well, that makes two."
Eamon almost jumped for joy. "The fleet is back!" he almost shouted.
'How soon to an incoming message" asked Abel fully knowing the SOL time lag from the entry portal was 6 minutes.
"About two minutes from now. It took me a moment to confirm the entry. Oh, there is now a third ship showing. That's almost the entire fleet. Probably four in just a moment. Abel I need to notify the Chairman, but you will the first to know when I get the message." Danya terminated the line.
Abel held his vid- com in his hand waiting for the message. Eamon rounded the table to sit next to him. Miley Daugherty excused herself saying that she should return to the bridge. Randgrid needed to be ready. Just in case. Abel had drilled the crews over and over to expect the unexpected, and although the fleet seemed to have arrived as expected, still much could go wrong. The unexpected always loomed just around the corner.
Abel's vid-com chimed again. Abel looked there was a text message from Helen on Iceland.
---Iceland, Sigrún, Kára, returning. Mission accomplished. Greenland, Ragnarök, returning by alternate route - arrive in 9 to 15 days. All well. No damage or casualties. Our hold is full. Captain Rebbah OCN Iceland.---
Eamon's smile faded a bit as he realized his family would be delayed on Greenland for another week or so, but still Abel could see the man was greatly relieved.
Abel shook Eamon's hand as Eamon departed. Abel wondered, what ship is Kára?
Chapter Forty Eight
Harappa System - Ragnarök - Year 3246. March 18 ET: 01:05
"Give me a scan Mr Brunner," Silvi said in an ice cold voice. "Nomi, I want a plot. I want it now."
Buddy began his scan and the vid screen sprang to life after seven days of darkness in the tunnel. The vid screen displayed nothing but the distant shine of silent stars. Silvi knew that out there someplace was a very tiny cinder of an ancient star but in the black it was invisible. Harappa was a stone cold empty hole in the galaxy. Why there were portals here when there were no objects large enough to produce significant gravity wells, was known only to Nomi, who could not describe the anomaly in words; only in equations.
"I have an energy signature. Just like Capstone. Moving fast. 73% SOL." Buddy uncharacteristically whistled at the speed. "It's moving so fast its' mass must be huge. The faster you go the more mass you need to push."
"Nomi, where is that thing headed?" Silvi asked. Silvi did not want to interrupt Nomi's plot planning but the destination of the Capstone was important. Nomi did not respond. She just continued calculating. Silvi was used to Nomi's need to concentrate but Nomi was simply taking too long. Something was wrong.
Finally Nomi looked up. Silvi was surprised as Nomi locked her eyes on Silvi. Nomi spoke in her small girlish voice, "Portals gone. All gone. No portals."
Silvi was at a loss for words. No portals? "Then were is that Capstone going?"
Nomi looked down but did not return to her console. "Don't know." was all she said.
Silvi looked about the bridge. "Mr. Brunner track the Capstone. I want to know exactly where it is going. Mr. Karrlson prepare to follow the course of the Capstone. That ship knows something about leaving this system, and I have no intention of being left here alone.
Buddy began working his console. "I have a plot for the Capstone. Straight and true."
Silvi called out, "You have that Lennie. The course of the Capstone?"
"Aye, aye, Sir. I am setting it in now."
"Nomi," called Silvi "Any idea where the Capstone is headed? Is she off to a distant portal we cannot detect, or is she headed into deep space for a long sublight trek."
Nomi began working her station once more and several moments later replied, "Heading to nothing. No star. Just empty."
"Yes and she is heading to nothing very fast," added Buddy.
Silvi wondered could this be a faster than light ship? FTL had been the subject of endless discussion for centuries, but had always proven impossible. The laws of the universe simply would not allow travel at that speed. But she knew that some aspects of quantum physics defied the rules of the universe, but they really did not apply to moving a mass at FTL. Rather quantum physics might allow for possible communications at FTL. But information had no mass and that ship had significant mass.
"Lost it," shouted Buddy. "It was there and now it is gone. Instantaneous. Gone."
Silvi felt sick. The Capstone was out of Harappa and they were quite possibly stuck here with Greenland for an eternity.
"Pilot Karrlson," Silvi called. "If we set a
sublight course to the nearest portal system how long?"
Lennie replied, "Nomi would know better but it is at least 45 light years. At our maximum speed it would be about 90 years to get there"
Silvi had not asked Nomi because she had suddenly stopped working the console and just sat there in the kind of trance Silvi knew was visions of equations.
Nomi stood for a moment. "Wrong. Wrong. Portals masked. Portals here. Masked."
Silvi looked at Nomi for a moment, "You mean Nomi that the portals are still here, but we just cannot locate them."
"Yes. Masked"
"How?" asked Silvi.
Nomi sat down and resumed her work at the console. "Dark matter. Dark energy. Capstone is dark."
That was all Nomi needed to say. While much was known about the existence of dark matter and dark energy far more was unknown. Dark matter and dark energy, Silvi knew from middle school, was not uniformly distributed in the galaxy. No more than matter was evenly distributed. Our world of matter forms in planets, suns, and galaxies. Dark matter clusters and clumps in the universe some place else far away, just like matter in our portion of the galaxy. Out here on the edge of the spiral arm we simply do not encounter the mysterious stuff she thought.
"Mr. Brunner. Could dark energy power that Capstone?"
Buddy looked up and appeared perplexed. "I have no idea."
Silvi had to think fast. "Nomi, you can't find those portals to get us to IronBridge."
Nomi shook her head no.
"Pilot Karrlson put us on an exact course to intersect that area where the Capstone vanished. Mr. Brunner notify Greenland of our situation, provide the coordinates for that departure point, and tell Greenland to follow us in. We have no choice, if we stay here we will simply die. I prefer to take our chances on the other side of whatever masked portal Capstone has raced into."
Ragnarök maximum acceleration under full GWP was about 310 gravities while Greenland, being more massive and fully loaded, had a maximum of 230 gravities. That Capstone ship Silvi realized was as Buddy said 'really fast' peaking at about 75% of SOL. Not only did it take Ragnarök and Greenland far longer to reach their maximum speed but that speed was limited to no more than 60% of the speed of light and that at the cost of red lining every fusion engine aboard.
