by Bob Blanton
“That’s good to hear. They just started making my legs today. In two weeks, I go in to get them attached.”
“You sure they can make ‘em that black?” Takurō asked.
“Bro, they can make them pink, as long as they work.”
“I hear you,” Takurō said as he gave Barry a fist bump.
“Like the new hand,” Barry said. “How’s it working?”
“Hand is just fine. Seems like I never lost it now.”
“That is good to hear. Miki, Takurō is proving out the process for the rest of us. I had to wait extra-long because it took them more time to tune the process so that it could reproduce the fine musculature of a black man.”
“You are so full of it, Barry,” Takurō laughed. “Anyone here for you?”
“No man, once I get patched up here, I have to do some calls and see if I can patch things up with the wife and kids,” Barry said with a deep sadness in his voice.
“You’ll do fine. Just keep up the good attitude,” Takurō said.
“I will do that. It’s much finer than that bad attitude I was carrying around,” Barry said as he turned his wheelchair around and headed off. “See you around. Especially you, Miki.”
“Bye.”
“What was that about?” Miki asked.
“PTSD, he was homeless for a couple of years. His wife kicked him out when he wouldn’t get help for it.”
Chapter 33
Design Review
“Herr Johansson, this is our scooter designer, Catie McCormack, and our associate Liz Farmer,” Samantha introduced everyone as Peter Johansson joined them. They were meeting in a conference room at the SKYCITY Grand Hotel in Auckland.
“But she’s so young,” Herr Johansson said. “How can she do such a wonderful design?”
“Be careful, Peter, she might take offense and ask you to play gin,” Samantha said.
“Oh, I love gin,” Herr Johansson said.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ve reserved the room for two days in case you need more time. I’m off to do some shopping, so have fun,” Samantha waved as she exited the room.
“I meant no offense,” Herr Johansson said.
“It’s okay,” Catie said. “I get that a lot. Was there any place you’d like to start?”
“The brakes,” Herr Johansson said. “They are the most important part of any vehicle, and these are very unusual.”
“The front brakes are just induction brakes, that way they can return the braking energy back to the batteries,” Catie said. “And they need almost no maintenance, and they don’t wear out.”
“That is especially important for our market.”
“I thought so too. Now the rear brakes are just the induction motor running in reverse, just like you see on all electric cars. We’re connecting the rear wheel via a shaft and screw, so we have lots of torque and again very little maintenance, unlike a chain.”
“Yes, I like that,” Herr Johansson said. “But let’s look at the induction brake design, please.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Four hours later, Catie and Herr Johansson were still at it.
“I changed the design of the front cowling so that it matches the tooling you already have,” Catie said as she flipped the page to bring up yet another of the spec details to answer Herr Johansson’s questions. She was starting to think that the design review would never end.
“Ah, I see that, very clever,” Herr Johansson said.
“Eventually, I would like to switch over to polysteel, but we have limited capacity right now.”
“Polysteel, I have never heard of it,” Herr Johansson said.
“It’s a new material invented by MacKenzie Discoveries,” Catie said. “It is much stronger than steel and way lighter. It’s also corrosion-resistant, kind of like titanium. When we have the capacity, we can form the main body as a monolithic shell. That will reduce the weight and increase safety.
“The electric motor delivers twenty-five horsepower, the batteries charge in ten minutes and will last for two hundred miles,” Catie continued.
“I see you’ve designed it so that one only has to purchase the correct charging cord, and it will accept any voltage level,” Herr Johansson said.
“Yes, of course it charges slower at a lower voltage, but hopefully gas stations will start adding charging pumps. Since they charge so fast, it should be economical for them to do that. We’re worried that some people won’t have the ability to charge their scooters at home.”
“That is also my concern, which is why I am so happy to see such fast charging times. And one would assume that time would be much faster if the batteries are not completed discharged.”
“Oh yes, some people would only need to charge theirs for two or three minutes if they charge before the battery is at fifty percent.”
“Knock, Knock,” Samantha came in. “You guys have been at it all day. How’s it going?”
“Excellent,” Herr Johansson said. “I am most pleased with what I have seen.”
“Will you need the room tomorrow?”
“Oh yes, we still need to review the design of the motorbike.”
“Okay, more shopping time for me,” Samantha said. “But now, why don’t we break and have dinner.”
Chapter 34
They’re awake
It was 03:00 when ADI pinged Marc’s comm. It took him a moment to figure out what was going on. He rolled over and looked at his clock. “What’s up, ADI?”
“Captain, we have an emergency. Commander Centag has been brought out of stasis.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. He has just brought three other officers out of stasis. I am analyzing the code to see how it has happened.”
“What are they doing?”
“I do not know,” ADI said. “I am trying to lock down the medical bay, but there is some override in the system that I cannot shut down.”
“Wake Dr. Metra!”
“I’m on the comm,” Dr. Metra said.
“How did they get out of stasis?” Marc asked.
“I don’t know. Commander Centag must have programmed a backdoor and put it on a timer,” Dr. Metra said.
“ADI, can you lock the bridge down?”
“I have,” ADI said. “They have just exited the medical bay and are heading toward the officer quarters.”
“Can you stop them?” Marc asked.
“I have that area of the ship locked down,” ADI said. “I’m using the doctor’s quarantine orders to isolate them from the crew areas.”
“Is it working?” Dr. Metra asked.
“Yes, they tried to get into the bridge, but my lockout held. Now they’re heading down toward the flight bays,” ADI reported.
“How are they able to operate the elevator?” Marc asked.
“I don’t know,” ADI said. “They have somehow overridden my lockouts. I’m trying to analyze the code now.”
“Do you have the flight bays locked?” Marc asked.
“I do, but I still don’t understand how they overrode my lockout on the elevator,” ADI said.
“Captain, they have overridden my lockout on Flight Bay One,” ADI said. “I was unable to depressurize the bay fast enough.”
“What would that have done?”
“The lock will not work with a pressure differential,” ADI said. “All four are now through the lock. I am continuing to depressurize the bay.”
“Can you prevent them from launching the Fox?”
“I should have been able to prevent them from exiting the medical bay,” ADI said. “Since they were able to override my program, I cannot say. I am continuing to analyze the code to search for their overrides.”
“Can you disable the Fox?”
“I am trying to,” ADI said. “They have destroyed the communication pod on the Fox and are now boarding.”
“All four?”
“No, Captain, just Commander Centag and Lieutenant Magals,” ADI sai
d. “The other two are trying to get back out of the flight bay.”
“Trying?”
“I have depressurized the bay sufficiently that the lock will not cycle.”
“Good. What is Commander Centag doing now?”
“He has just triggered an emergency launch sequence. I cannot override it. The bay doors are opening now.”
“What about the other two crewmen?”
“They are drowning,” ADI said. “Commander Centag has launched the Fox.”
“Can you track it?”
“Without the communication pod, I will not be able to track the Fox.”
“Launch the Lynx and try to follow him,” Marc said.
“Captain, if he surfaces with the Fox he is in, he will be able to shoot the LX9 down,” ADI said.
“Use it to track him underwater,” Marc said. “Bring the other three Foxes up to rendezvous with the Mea Huli. Alert the team that we need them on the Mea Huli now.”
“Yes, Captain. Launching the Lynx now. I should have him on sonar once it is out of the Sakira.”
“What’s up?” Blake said into the comm loudly.
“We’ve got an emergency,” Marc said. “We need our pilots to get to the Mea Huli and be ready to fly the Foxes. I’ll brief you when you’re aboard.”
Everyone scrambled out of their beds and raced downstairs. They grabbed a couple of jeeps and were tearing down the street toward the Mea Huli. It only took three minutes before they were climbing the ramp onto the Mea Huli.
“What the hell happened?” Blake asked as he and Marc ran to the bridge.
“One of the Foxes has been stolen!”
“How?”
“Commander Centag had some kind of sleeper code running. It woke him and his friends up and then let them into Flight Bay One.”
"I bet they were surprised to only find one Fox, good thing we moved the others to Flight Bay One," Blake said as he fired up the engines on the Mea Huli. "We're going to piss the port authorities off," he said as he pushed the throttle forward and freed them from the dock. Once free, he pushed the throttle all the way forward. The Mea Huli was quickly exceeding the five-knot speed limit.
“Yeah, especially, the two crew who couldn’t get into the Fox,” Marc said.
“What happened to them, stuck on the Sakira?”
“Drowned,” Marc said. “The commander did an emergency launch and flooded the bay. They were trapped there by ADI.”
Blake cocked his jaw, “Well, at least we only have one Fox and two hostiles to worry about.”
“ADI has the Lynx following them,” Marc said. “The three Foxes are headed our way.”
“You know the Lynx isn’t a match for the Fox,” Blake said.
“Its weapons don’t work underwater,” Marc said. “If they surface, we’ll have one of the Foxes peel off and track them.”
“Captain,” ADI interrupted. “I’ve lost Commander Centag and the Fox.”
“Why?”
“They’ve gone silent,” ADI said. “Without an engine signature, the Lynx’s sonar cannot see them.”
“Did they stop and go to the bottom?”
“Possibly,” ADI said. “It is a greater probability that they’re coasting along on their last vector.”
“Add two of the Foxes into the search pattern, bring the other one close to the Mea Huli, so if we locate our quarry, we can put a pilot on it quickly.”
“So, what now?” Blake asked.
“You’re the combat pilot, you tell me.”
“We need to set up a rotation. We need to have a fresh pilot available when we locate it,” Blake said. “Liz, Catie, and I can go on eight-hour shifts, so one of us is always well-rested.”
“I’m not happy about putting Catie into a combat situation.”
“Why? I’m our best pilot!”
Marc looked at Blake. Blake shrugged his shoulders; “She keeps kicking our asses in the simulations. She was working on the simulator before I realized there was one available on our comms.”
“Well, what are the odds of one of you winning a dogfight with the commander?” Marc asked Blake.
“With Liz, ADI would actually do a better job; either way, the chances are fifty-fifty you lose a Fox and the pilot.”
“With you?”
“ADI says, eighty-twenty, I outfly the commander.”
“And Catie?”
“Ninety-ten.”
“But a ten percent chance of losing my daughter,” Marc groaned.
“What if ADI flies it?”
“Like I said, fifty-fifty,” Blake said. “Seventy-thirty if she has two Foxes to engage with.”
“Anything we can do to improve the odds?”
“ADI has the commander’s flight records; we’ll start reviewing them to see if we can learn his patterns.”
“How much will that help?”
“I’ll probably get up over ninety percent,” Blake said. “Catie will probably top ninety-five. She reads the other pilot's tendencies like a seer.”
“See, I told you!” Catie jumped in. “You can’t ground me.”
“Okay, we’ll see what happens,” Marc said. “First, we have to find them.”
After a week, Marc called off the search. He knew the Fox and Commander Centag would eventually surface. He only hoped that his team would find them before they surfaced in the wrong place. He had ADI maximize surveillance in the southwest Pacific by moving one of their stealth satellites into the area over Australia to increase the resolution of coverage. He also had her sifting through all the communication they could intercept, looking for any indication of the Fox or Commander Centag.
◆ ◆ ◆
“ADI, can you explain why Commander Centag was trying to reach the officer quarters first?” Marc asked. He was doing an after-action review with his core team.
“Yes, why head for his quarters before trying to take the bridge?” Kal asked.
“Something in his quarters that he needed,” Blake suggested.
“There must be,” Marc said. “We need to search his quarters. Do we know how he got out of stasis?”
“I am still analyzing the code,” ADI said. “I need to coordinate with MADI, so it is taking longer. We do know that the stasis chambers were actually turned off and then opened, which was very dangerous.”
“We need to search his quarters,” Blake said.
“Take Kal with you,” Marc said.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Well, what did you find?” Marc asked.
“We found a relay unit,” Blake said. He and Kal were standing in Commander Centag’s quarters aboard the Sakira.
“Where was it?” Marc asked.
“It was under a hidden panel in the floor,” Blake explained.
“How did you find the panel?”
“We didn’t. ADI sent one of those little bots in, and it scanned everything. It found the little hollow space in the floor, so we pulled the panel up. The only thing in it was the communication relay.”
“Can you be more specific?” Marc asked.
“Captain, it is half of a quantum pair. It is not one of the ones registered to the Sakira, and the other half is likely on Paraxea, or in Commander Centag’s possession,” ADI said. “It has a battery, so it is self-contained.”
“Is it active?” Marc asked.
“No, Captain, it is not communicating,” ADI said.
“I do not recommend trying to use it,” Dr. Metra cut in. “We should just have ADI monitor it, but don’t plug it into her communication board. It might have some vicious code in it.”
“I agree,” Kal said. “But how can ADI monitor it if we don’t plug it in?”
“Cer Kal. It has an LED that lights up when it is active. I can monitor that if you’ll place it on the bridge at one of the comm stations. That will put it on one of my normal sensor checks.”
“Okay, we’ll do that,” Kal said. “I think we just wait and see whether anything comes across.”
Chapter 35
Board Meeting – March 18th
“Let’s start with updates, Samantha?” Marc opened the board meeting. They were holding this one on Manuae, so everyone could get a look at the new facilities.
“The prime minister approved the construction of the local apartment block on Arutanga,” Samantha said. “You can start construction in two weeks. I’ve also completed the purchase of the Sky Princess. She should be here in two weeks.”
“That is great news,” Marc said. “Blake, are you ready to put some construction workers on her?”
“I wish she could get here sooner,” Blake said. “But we’ll make do with the space we have available in our dorms here.”
“I didn’t realize you needed space that soon.”
“We’ve been stocking polysteel for months. I’m ready to start using it to build something.”
Marc raised his eyebrows in surprise, “You are, huh?”
“Look out the window over there,” Blake said.
Everybody got up and ran to the window. Outside, they could see a barge being loaded with polysteel beams. It already had four five-meter-diameter polysteel tubes on it, and four huge polysteel pontoons lashed down beside them.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” Marc said.
“Just building up to a surprise,” Blake said.
“ADI, why haven’t you corrected Blake’s status reports?”
“Captain, you never asked me to certify their veracity,” ADI said. “Cer Blake assured me that you would be delighted at the surprise.”
“How did you pull this off?” Marc asked.
“The third shift started last month,” Blake said. “You’ve been a bit distracted, so you didn’t notice, and I thought I’d let it slide.”
“When are they placing the pontoons?”
“They’re heading out in one hour,” Blake said. “We should have the first quadrant ready for plating in one week.”
“You’re going to attach the pontoons on the barge?” Marc asked.
“Yeah, they’d be a bit unwieldy otherwise,” Blake said. “We attach the foot, pump a few thousand gallons of water into it then kick it over the side. We can get all four done today.”
“Then we’re going to go watch,” Marc said as he headed toward the stairs. “Do we have plenty of Champagne on the Mea Huli?”
