by Bob Blanton
Kasper entered the bridge and immediately moved to the flight operations station. “Captain,” he acknowledged Catie.
“Please put your pilots into their Foxes,” Catie ordered.
“Yes, ma’am. Should we depressurize the flight bay?”
“Let’s hold off on that until we know more,” Catie replied.
“The probe is through,” ADI said.
“Sorry I’m late, you caught me in the shower,” the sensor operator said as he made his way to his station. Until the Roebuck went to active status, the sensor station was handled by the comms officer.
“Not a problem. Please bring up the reading from the probe.”
“Yes, ma’am. On the main display now.”
“Oh my!” Catie said as she saw a flotilla of Fazullan ships in the space around the wormhole’s entrance. “What is the speed and time to the wormhole for those ships?”
“The ships are at dead stop relative to the wormhole. The closest one would take forty-two hours at 4Gs to reach the wormhole,” ADI messaged Catie.
“Let’s let him do his job,” Catie messaged back.
“Ships are at dead stop relative to the wormhole,” the sensor operator announced. “Calculating distance now. . . . The closest ship is approximately four hundred million kilometers from the wormhole, approximately forty-two hours at 4Gs.”
“Have they sent a probe through?” Blake asked.
“Sensors?” Catie asked.
“No sign of any activity on our side of the wormhole. Our probe doesn’t show any activity close to the wormhole”
“Thank you. Kasper, you can stand your pilots down, but keep them on alert.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“First Officer, you have the bridge. I’ll be in my office. Kasper, please join me,” Catie said as she got up and left the bridge with Kasper immediately behind her.
“No rust on the captain,” the navigator said once Catie had left the bridge.
“Hey, I thought she ordered you to flip the ship,” the second officer said.
“No, she had me make a 30-degree turn. It’ll get us to the fringe the fastest. I’ve never done a turn like that without going through microgravity, but it keeps the ship under gravity while changing course. It takes an hour, but we’re two days in from the fringe, so who cares? It allowed the pilots to get to their Foxes and avoided the mess of an emergency flip. We’ll hit the fringe in three days.”
“Nice. Hey, why don’t we do something like that when we exit the wormhole?”
“I don’t know. I’ll ask the captain when all this is over.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Uncle Blake, quite a gathering around the wormhole, don’t you think?” Catie said as she brought up the main display in her office and shared it with everyone.
“Yes it is. Your father, Sam, and Admiral Michaels should be here any minute. Liz just joined us.”
“Hi, Catie. You always get all the exciting missions.”
“I think too much excitement,” Catie said. “What do you think they’re up to?”
“Studying the ships, some of them don’t seem very space worthy,” Liz said.
“I noticed that. Why would you put so many marginal ships into space? It looks like they activated anything that could make orbit,” Catie said.
“We’re here,” Marc reported as he and Samantha joined the conference.
“We’ve been listening in, so we’re up to speed,” Samantha said. “And to answer your questions, my guess is that they are planning to move.”
“Move?!”
“Yes. I’m just scanning your report on the wormhole. Based on my reading, this is the first habitable system that the wormhole has connected to.”
“I think that’s correct. We can’t be sure, but based on the analysis that Dr. McDowell and I did, none of the other likely systems had planets in the habitable zone.”
“Right. And Captain Lantaq said that the Fazullans’ planet was harsh. Maybe they decided to move to a system that was more hospitable.”
“That’s a huge investment. They’ve put at least one hundred years into colonizing that planet.”
“But,” Liz interrupted, “maybe it’s gotten worse over time. You said it’s in a binary system. Aren’t planets in those kinds of systems susceptible to orbital changes?”
“It’s possible,” Catie said. “So, Daddy, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Marc said. “We still need to figure out what the Fazullans are up to.”
“Captain, we just received a ping from the wormhole,” the comm officer announced on Catie’s private channel.
“Thank you,” Catie replied. “They just pinged for their satellite, but wait, they can’t do that. Sensors, how did they ping their satellite?”
“What do you mean they can’t do that?” Blake asked.
“You can’t transmit a signal through a wormhole. You probably forgot because we use the quantum relays.”
“Okay, so how did they do it?”
“They must have sent a probe through,” Catie said.
“But didn’t you just say there was no activity around the wormhole on their side?”
“We must have missed something.”
“I can explain,” the sensor operator announced.
“Please do.”
“Reviewing the logs, we can detect a very small probe, approximately twenty centimeters in diameter, exiting the wormhole. It sent a ping, waited approximately one minute then reentered the wormhole.”
“How can they move a probe that small?” Blake asked. “There’s no way they have a gravity drive that would fit.”
“You wouldn’t need one,” Catie said. “All you have to do is have the probe enter the wormhole. As soon as its entire mass is inside, it transitions to the other side. You could do it with thrusters.”
“So what did they learn?” Marc asked.
“That the wormhole is open, that wherever it’s open to, their satellite is either not present or is inactive.”
“Wouldn’t they have picked up more information?” Liz asked.
“I think a probe that small would be just a comm relay. It probably transitions the wormhole, pings the satellite, waits for a data dump, and then returns.”
“So they don’t know it’s in the Onisiwoen system?” Blake asked.
“They just know that the wormhole has temporarily stabilized on a system. Our calculations showed that the wormhole skips around for a while before it really stabilizes on a system,” Catie said. “Sensors, any movement on the enemy fleet?”
“No, ma’am.”
“I’m here,” Admiral Michaels announced. “ADI just gave me an update. I had to beg out of a meeting with the German ambassador.”
“What do you suggest we do?” Marc asked.
“Do you intend to stop them?”
“I do.”
“Then we need a lot more firepower than the Roebuck. We should send the Victory and the Enterprise.”
“We can have them both there within a day,” Blake said. “We just need to position the jump ships.”
“Then let’s move them,” Marc ordered.
“Is there a possibility of getting the Galileo there as well?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“We’ll have to contact Mangkatar and ask the Paraxean governor,” Marc said.
“I’m working on it now,” Samantha said. “What about asking the Paraxean home planet for some help?”
“We could,” Marc said. “How do we convince them that it’s in their interest?”
“I would suggest we send the Princess of the Realm there,” Samantha said. “Face-to-face negotiations will impress them.”
“What?!” Catie demanded.
“Face it, you’re still our best asset when it comes to goodwill,” Samantha said. “Besides, you haven’t been there.”
“What about you?” Catie asked. She was skeptical about why they’d decided she needed to go to Paraxea.
“It w
ould take twenty days for Sam to reach the fringe, we wouldn’t want to put the baby through a high-G profile,” Marc said.
“Not a good idea,” Blake agreed.
“Oh, I guess that would be bad for little Allie,” Catie sighed, resigning to her fate. “Will you start the negotiations?”
“I’ll work with Governor Paratar to come up with an approach. We’ll have something ready before you jump.”
“What about Uncle Blake?” Catie made one more desperate attempt to get out of the assignment.
“I’m bringing the Sakira to Onisiwo,” Blake said. “Suck it up, Lieutenant.”
“Okay, we’ll make the jump in three days,” Catie replied.
“Good. We’ll keep analyzing our options. We’ll meet again after your jump,” Marc said.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Charlie, sorry about the excitement,” Catie said when the lead Onisiwoen joined her in her office.
“We have been very curious about what is going on,” Charlie said.
“I’m sure; have a seat and I’ll try to explain. You remember Ambassador Newman,” Catie said to introduce Samantha on the main display.
“Yes, a pleasure to see you again,” Charlie said.
“My pleasure as well.”
Once Charlie was seated, Catie brought up the image of the Fazullan fleet. “Do those ships look familiar?” Catie asked.
“Not all of them, but most of them look like the ship that attacked us.”
“They are. The wormhole opened. We sent a probe through it and discovered this fleet there. We believe that they are planning to move their entire colony to Onisiwo.”
“Their colony?”
“Yes, the Fazullans in this system,” Catie pointed to the Fazullan system on the star map, “are a colony sent from their homeworld. We do not know where their homeworld is.”
“Okay, and why do you think they’re coming to Onisiwo?”
“We had assumed that they would send other ships to raid your system, but since they’re sending what looks like everything they have, we believe that something has made their colony world sufficiently uninviting that they’re willing to spend four or five years relocating everyone and everything to Onisiwo,” Catie explained.
Charlie nodded his head in understanding, although he didn’t look like he really believed her. “And what will happen now?”
“Ambassador,” Catie said to turn the meeting over to Samantha.
“We need your help. The Roebuck has been redirected to Paraxea to ask them for help. It will take you about ten days to get there. We’d like you to stay with Princess Catherine and act as the Onisiwoen ambassador. We have only been trading with Paraxea for about nine months. We’ve actually only been in contact with them for about two years. We need you to help us convince them that helping to defend Onisiwo is in their best interest,” Samantha said.
“And how can I do that?”
“By being honest with us and them. I understand that you don’t trust us. But we need to get over that. We need help if we’re going to turn back this fleet. Your system doesn’t have the technology to do it. We do, but we can only get three carriers and a big frigate to Onisiwo in time. We need help. The Paraxeans will have carriers and fighters like ours, we have to convince them to help.”
“What do we have that would interest them?”
“Trade,” Samantha said. “The Paraxeans have essentially three colonies that they now have access to thanks to our jumpdrive. Those colonies will have abundant raw material that Paraxea can use. Your system will have raw materials as well as advanced manufactured goods that the colonies can use, and Paraxea will have more advanced manufactured goods that you can use. It sets up a perfect triangle trade. Plus, Delphi hopes to expand the number of colonies we have and we are willing to help your people and the Paraxeans to do the same. That requires stability. The Fazullans are a destabilizing influence.”
“Okay, then what do you need from us?”
“More information about your technology as it would relate to trade. You seem to have done a lot of expansion into your solar system. That implies you may have technology that those of us who have not done as much local expansion may not have developed yet.”
“And what technology would you be willing to share with us? Your jumpdrive?”
“The jumpdrive is our most closely held secret. We are not willing to share the technology with anyone. But we can provide you with access to gravity drives which will greatly improve your ability to access your solar system. We can also provide access to fusion reactors.”
“We have fusion reactors.”
“But are they small enough to power a starship? What about a spaceplane or an ocean liner?” Samantha asked.
“You have them that small?”
“A fusion reactor powered the Oryx that you flew to Delphi Station,” Catie explained. “The Fazullans are using fusion reactors and gravity drives to power their starships. Our reactors and drives are more efficient and smaller.”
“I see. This could be of great benefit to us,” Charlie said. “But how can I speak for my entire planet? We haven’t even contacted them yet.”
“We’ll tell the Paraxeans about the situation, but what we need is knowledge about your system. The Paraxeans will recognize the opportunity if we present it correctly.”
“Okay, so what do you need me to do?”
“Help me create a proposal,” Samantha said.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Captain, the Victory just jumped in,” the sensor operator reported.
“Comms, hail them,” Catie ordered.
Captain Clements’ image came up on the main display.
“Captain McCormack, sitrep?” Clements ordered.
“Nothing has changed in the twenty seconds it has taken you to jump here,” Catie reported.
“Good. How long before you reach the fringe?”
“Twenty-seven hours and forty seconds,” Catie answered.
Captain Clements smiled. “Point taken. Is Admiral Blake available?”
“We’ll ping him,” Catie said as she nodded to her Comms officer.
Blake’s image joined Captain Clements on the display. “I assume the Victory jumped in,” Blake said.
“Yes, sir.”
“The Enterprise should be there shortly,” Blake said. “They’re waiting for Captain Desjardins.”
“Good day, Admiral,” Captain Clements said. “Have you decided how you want to deploy us?”
“By the wormhole,” Blake said.
“Admiral, just so you remember, the wormhole will wander around,” Catie said.
“What?! I thought it only wandered between systems.”
“No, it also wanders within a system. It will change position every ten to twenty hours,” Catie explained. “As things in this system change, the zero point that the wormhole latches onto will change. The new location can be anywhere from one to six million kilometers from the last position.”
“So we can’t just sit on the wormhole,” Blake said.
“It will work for ten to twenty hours, then you would need to move to wherever it wandered to.”’
“Has there been any indication that the Fazullans are preparing to transit the wormhole?” Blake asked.
“No, sir. They will probably send their relay probe through again.”
“How many times do you think they’ll try before sending a bigger probe through?”
“I don’t know. Hopefully, they’ll think that when the wormhole wanders, it’s wandering between systems or around a previous system. The wormhole has probably been doing a lot of jumping before it settled here. Initially, they’ll wait. But sooner or later they’re going to notice that its moves aren’t causing big power spikes. So they’ll know it’s stabilized in a system,” Catie explained.
“If they send a big probe through, I think we should destroy it,” Blake said.
“I agree, but eventually they might get smart and send one through right after the wo
rmhole wanders to a new location. They have to be a little nervous about the Onisiwoens learning about the wormhole.”
“Okay, we’ll see how much time that buys us. You need to go get us more help,” Blake said.
“Yes, sir.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Why hasn’t the probe been able to communicate with our satellite?” the Fazullan Admiral demanded.
“I assume that the wormhole is not in the system yet,” the sensor operator replied.
“It must be. The energy readouts say it’s no longer jumping systems.”
“Possibly it’s wandering around a different system before it finally jumps to Onisiwo.”
“It’s never done that before.”
“It could be that the wormhole is too far away from our satellite for the probe to pick up the reply to the ping,” suggested the navigator. He shrank back from the Admiral’s glare.
“Send the relay again and have it wait for an hour,” the Admiral ordered.
◆ ◆ ◆
“The Fazullans sent their relay probe again. It was in system for one hour,” Blake said to the assembled team.
“That means they’re suspecting that the wormhole must be at Onisiwo,” Catie said. “They’ll be sending an active probe through next.”
“Based on what you said, as long as we destroy it before it transitions back, they will still be in the dark.”
“Unless some part of it transitions back through the wormhole,” Catie said.
“Then we’ll use plasma cannons to vaporize it.”
◆ ◆ ◆
During all the drama, the Dutchman was steadily making its way to Artemis, completing the first leg of its trade loop.
“Artemis Control, this is the Dutchman.”
“Dutchman, Artemis Control, we have you on radar.”
“Artemis Control, we’ll be entering orbit in two hours. We’re planning on a stationary position over your North Pole.”
“Dutchman, Artemis Control, just don’t hit the moon and you’ll be good to go.”
“Thanks for the advice. Can you switch us over to the mayor’s office?”
“No problem. Here you go, Artemis Control out.”
“They forgot to warn us about the satellites,” the navigator said.
“Probably because they’re so small,” Captain Payne replied. “Communications, do we have the office?”
