Family Law 2: The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet

by Mackey Chandler

  "I suppose that's why God and the Admiralty gave us three clocks," Cho said weakly.

  "Indeed, look sharply here! Our turn coming up and we don't want to muff the easy one, do we?"

  "No Sir! I'll do us proud or dead," the navigator promised.

  * * *

  Survey System 2723 hadn't seen a ship emerge in twelve years. There was nothing of interest there, no rocky planets worth mining, no need to get fuel from its minor gas giant, no sensors left to watch the system, since it was a gateway to nothing interesting. Six bursts of mixed radiation marred its tranquility at regular intervals as the Little Fleet emerged. The ships formed up in a line, turned slightly and accelerated for an unremarkable portion of the sky and disappeared again in turn.

  * * *

  The fleet appeared in Survey System 2754 in successive microbursts of particles along a line. If anyone had been here since the original survey it wasn't noted on the latest chart file. A clock on one ship disagreed with the count on emergence. Not a full microsecond by any means, but enough to wonder why. They took the opportunity to replace it rather than worry about why. They each had a complete replacement set of clocks if need for them should arise, clocks were life and death. Especially when ships jumped in close proximity. The tidal forces when a ship left local space could damage a nearby vessel if it didn't also leave before the expanding disturbance reached it at light speed.

  "It shall be our habit," Gordon told them. "upon emerging in a new uncharted system, to coast dead quiet and inertial, simply listening for at least a quarter hour. Making every effort to catalog planets and radio sources. This is another reason to make a close entry. We can communicate by com laser instead broadcast with little chance of being overheard. If we should encounter immediate hostile action, each captain is of course free to maneuver and engage in any manner necessary to their vessel's survival."

  "If we should emerge in a system with an obvious civilization, especially radiating from different points in the system, not just one planetary body, then we'll listen, record and formulate a response. Again, likely I'd send Sharp Claws forward in system and try to establish communications. We might disperse somewhat physically, High Hopes and Retribution pairing off and taking some distance from The Champion William and Murphy's Law. Or I might have you shadow each other from view. We'll adjust our routine as we get experience and discuss what we encounter."

  "I'm glad we don't have a rigid Admiralty play book," Cho said, mic muted, to his captain.

  "Would you entertain a suggestion?" Bodacious Williams, XO of Murphy's Law asked.

  "Any time and welcome," Gordon offered. "I do not intent to keep military style silence on the bridge. If you have suggestions or insight and we aren't busy falling into a star or fighting off a fleet of bug eyed monsters feel free to speak on the command net. If you become a pain in the butt chatterbox I'll tell you, privately."

  "When we transition into a new system I think you should have two pilots strapped in the Roadrunner, ready to ungrapple and head back the way we entered," Bodacious suggested. "If we find a major outpost or inhabited planet it will remove any temptation to try to capture or silence us to keep us from reporting home. They will see the cat is out of the bag already and have to deal with us on that basis."

  "An excellent safety measure. Captain Henry, make that your standard procedure for entry on the Murphy's Law."

  Thor spoke up."As we get deeper, make sure the Roadrunner navigation suite is updated with our most recent jumps and inventory and make sure they have food and supplies sufficient to take them all the way back to Derfhome too. I'd also suggest they do not demonstrate their full acceleration capacity unless it is needed to avoid interception."

  "Again, all good ideas, log them as standing orders."

  Since the next system they entered would be new to their civilization, Captain Henry immediately ordered the new pilot of the Roadrunner to his command under their new procedures. Chance Ochocinco had previously served as first officer on several fast couriers. He was delighted to step up to his own ship. He had as his copilot the previous Captain Fat Ortega, who gave up the command of the heavy cruiser Quantum Queer to get his new berth. This was a measure of what people were willing to do to join the 'Little Fleet'. Chance keenly aware that Fat had two decades of command experience on him and he didn't intend to waste that much expertise by being jealous of his authority. He intended to ask Fat's opinion and recommendations at every turn.

  "We shall enter a new system next jump, never seen through the eyes of any of our three races. I'd like to take the High Hopes in heavy, with Retribution and Murphy's Law. If you do not see Roadrunner coming back out within a half hour, then I'd like The Champion William and Sharp Claws to jump in together. We'll pair up like this, practicing jumping in together in different combinations until everyone is comfortable. If you have any objections to your jump mate speak up. I will not force a movement against the Master's will if he feels his vessel at risk," Gordon said.

  Each captain reported in turn they were good to go. They were on their jump line and Sharp Claws and The Champion William throttled back to allow the other three ahead.

  "Tighten up, Brownie relayed Gordon's orders. We shall jump at 1300+.6 hour to fourteen zeroes on my clock. That's the smallest interval of our clock and we should have the meter per second differential inside single digits when we go. Double check your settings with two different officers, because if you get left behind the tidal stresses will kill your ship," Brownie reminded them.

  At 1300.60000000000000 hours they ceased to exist by all appearances to the two vessels left behind.

  Chapter 3

  The new system was quiet, as only an uninhabited system can be. There were some low frequency rumblings of a gas giant, quietly having minor indigestion in the depths of its atmosphere. One star held a tiny rocky planet so unbelievably close it was uninfluenced by the other star. Then there was a larger gap and the next planet wobbled around its sun influenced much more by both. That would prove unstable eventually. The orbit insured it had radical changes in climate at short intervals and was inclined far enough the planet rarely lost sight of one star behind the other. The computer couldn't predict its crazy orbit past a few hundred years. Neither star was particularly noisy, one not very different than the other.

  The first planet showed from afar as having a carbon dioxide atmosphere, dense enough to hide surface features from optical examination. They weren't done doing a passive examination and hadn't used their radars yet. The second planet out was larger than Earth, very dense, with a high argon atmosphere and had a surface gravity of about one point four-five G. High enough it wouldn't likely be colonized, even if they got a longer term prediction of its orbit, because the long term health effects would be horrible. The temperature ran to the high side too, nothing below 45°C more than twenty degrees from the poles. It had considerable volcanic activity and surface water, although not near as much as Earth or Derfhome. Even Hin had more surface waters, though dispersed better. Technically it was a water world, but practically it was uninhabitable.

  The world was likely a source of ore of some sort, having so much activity and water in its crust. However, a quick conference decided they would make a note of it but press on without doing a formal surface survey or leaving a claim marker, because although having free surface water the extreme range of climate and high surface gravity made it unlikely it could be Terraformed to a condition it could be colonized. It would require an exceptionally rich ore body to induce someone to mine it by remote control from orbit.

  Before accelerating to leave a high powered sweep of the system with radar showed nothing unusual. They started their exit run even before the furthest radar returns came in. The system they picked was on a line straight away from their home worlds and they jumped. This time the two DSEs and the Sharp Claws led, the rest bringing up the rear.

  * * *

  Eight more jumps while running two shift days left everybody tired so
they all orbited a giant among gas giants, taking time from the usual duty stations, scooping fuel to top everybody off and declaring a liberty day on which you could break out personal intoxicants, socialize, and do what you wished for recreation. The few stuck working were promised the same freedom in two days, with a recovery day in between.

  Their next target system was barely over two light years away, so the Sharp Claws withdrew from near any of the gas giants and deployed an antenna, listening to hear if their close neighbor had any signs of a radio using civilization. If they did they must be on the hand held walkie talkie level. After six days refueled and refreshed they jumped to the near system.

  There was a rarity here, a water world worth at least a quick survey, a world with most of the surface in a temperature range humans could live without special suiting. The surface gravity, ninety seven percent of normal, was sweet too. They landed two shuttles, ascertained it was sterile for certain and left a marker in orbit claiming it. The five year limit on reporting claims might work against them finding it so early on this voyage. The claims process had never anticipated an expedition out so long that might be a problem. The chances somebody else would follow their route and file a claim when the five year period expired seemed slight though, more likely they'd be the claimant even if they were late returning.

  If they didn't find more valuable worlds in the next year Gordon might consider sending the Sharp Claws back to register this world. It was worth at least several million each and a blue earring to their crews. They also couldn't carry enough inoculating materials to start the world on the path of Terraforming it and making an oxygen atmosphere. An entire ship load of such materials, algae, grasses and lichens, would take decades to put measurable free oxygen in the air.

  The planet's soil samples and salts in the sea water indicated there would be ores for colonists when it came time to go look for them. The crustal plates were still active and it had an iron core and magnetism. The axial tilt and orbital measurements indicated it would have a stable climate, steadier even than Earth.

  Minimal survey complete the fleet was on a line accelerating to leave the system. Everything was running perfectly. Nobody had said a word for perhaps a half hour. Brownie watched his board diligently, but nothing needed his attention. The computer automatically made all the small corrections needed to keep them on line faultlessly.

  "Somehow when I signed on I thought there would be more, you know, adventure," Brownie said. "I know most of the crew joined up to get rich, but I never had the taste for money most of them display. I signed up for the experience. So far this is as boring as running to New Japan to pick up a load of com pads." That was a big speech for the gentle giant.

  "Brownie, I know I'm just a kid," Lee told him, "but I have more experience at this exploring game than most of the crew. If you have an adventure it will teach you by contrast to appreciate boredom. Most of what people recount as adventure after the fact is plain old screaming terror at the moment you experience it."

  "Ah, I'm instructed," he admitted with a nod.

  * * *

  The next system had an unusually large star, somewhat noisy and in a phase where it was showing quite a few sunspots. Several people predicted it was at least somewhat a variable, based on a few similar systems surveyed. There were a couple rocky inner planets with no real atmosphere, a couple small gas giants, but two extensive asteroid belts and a great deal of loose debris all over the whole system. Nothing stood out as useful or worth studying for scientific reasons.

  They did a high powered radar scan of the system fairly early, while they'd still have time to read the echoes. The returns from the asteroid belts would be complex. Gordon and Thor were video conferencing with the other ship commanders, picking a target system for their next jump.

  "Anomalous return on radar in the asteroid belt!" Navigation on the Retribution said, interrupting their conference with that important message. Almost immediately he added. "Make that two extremely bright reflections, well separated."

  "Not a powered source, like a transponder?" Gordon asked right away.

  "No sir, but it is unlikely to be a natural return. It would take a very unlikely corner shape in the face of a metallic asteroid to bounce such a signal back."

  "Can you steer a high powered beam on the points of interest and find out more about them?" Gordon asked.

  "I can map their size better, but they are both over four light-hours out system from us. I'd suggest moving one of our ships to investigate rather than wait over eight hours for what little clarification a second sweep will give us."

  "Good idea. Sharp Claws, are you prepared to do quick burn and head out there to see what they found?" Gordon sent to the destroyer.

  "We can boost in fifteen minutes if we can take time to close up the galley for hot meals and secure duty stations for a two G boost. Is that acceptable?"

  "Yes, do it, but don't break any legs or damage equipment pressing an arbitrary dead line," Gordon added.

  "All hands, secure for acceleration in fifteen minutes," they heard the Derf Captain announce on ship com. His customary human name was Frost, as in Robert Frost, who he admired. "We shall ramp up to one G as soon as the horn is sounded. Secure all personal possessions and configure your duty station for acceleration. At five minutes a second horn will sound and you will be prepared for two G acceleration. Only special duty stations will be permitted tethered vertical personnel outside an acceleration couch. Off duty crew must be in their bunks. You are expected to have bottled water and urinals. Acceleration will not be eased for anything but a serious emergency. Heavier acceleration or an abrupt cessation of drive are both possible unannounced. All department heads acknowledge when prepared and report any failure to conform and why."

  "Thank you, Sharp Claws, you'll be our eyes out there now," Gordon sent to them.

  "Do you think we should disperse further or take any defensive measures?" Thor asked.

  "I think whatever bounced our signal back was there from the moment we entered the system and hasn't given us any trouble. I expect some sort of artifact, but honestly no active alien presence," Gordon assured him.

  "Alright, let's just stand our normal watches and wait to see what they report," Thor agreed. "I'm glad you didn't rush us all out there though, I like having one ship poke its nose in for us."

  * * *

  "Commander Gordon, we have images of the first object. It appears to be entirely passive. It's just an old fashioned corner reflector. It's only a couple meters across and it doesn't have any sophisticated geometry to boost the signal when it is oriented unfavorably. It is anchored to a fairly large asteroid with a stout mast. I'm assuming something about the asteroid makes it worth finding again. We don't have the testing equipment of one of the DSEs, but I can test a few points with the laser and see what sort of emissions we get. If anything looks interesting we'll cut off a sample."

  The image they sent was well lit with a flood lamp. The radar reflector was crude, thick sheet metal just tacked at a couple points with a rude unpolished weld. The surface was aged, the metal smoother deep in the corner and frosted by micrometeorite abrasion nearer the edges. There were even a few visible pock marks where larger grains struck it and one actual hole four or five millimeters across drilled right through the metal.

  "Before we go check out the other site I intend to cut off a piece of this reflector. I'm not a hundred percent sure that's what you'd want, but I'm going to chance it on my own initiative rather than wait for orders at the speed of light lag both ways at this distance. I'd hate to waste a full shift waiting for instructions. Several people have said this has to be old, as in thousands of years old. I'm going to put a sample locker for this on our outer hull of the Sharp Claws. I don't want to take the piece we cut off in atmosphere and ruin it by contamination for some sort of testing."

  "This just in from my crew out there examining this rock. The rock shows it has very high cobalt content. I'd guess it was marked as a
n ore source," Frost said, "but nobody every came back and worked it. If it is fairly homogenous we're looking at a several million kilograms of cobalt. I'll get a sample and move on to the next location. I expect to find another marker just like this one."

  "You're doing just fine," Gordon transmitted to them. "Your sampling procedure is exactly what I'd have done. If you find an identical reflector on the other asteroid no need to cut into it. Just sample the rock. I'm sending The Champion William and Murphy's Law around the star to do a radar survey of the opposite side of the system. I'd like to know if there are more reflectors outside our viewing angle here. Since we'll be several days doing that there is no rush to get to the other reflector at high acceleration. Take your time to avoid stressing your crew needlessly. I'd add that my personal guess is the erosion on the reflectors indicates a time frame of hundreds of thousands of years, not just thousands, so we have a mystery here why the miners never came back."

  "The fellows who cut a chunk off the reflector say it's pretty pure titanium," Sharp Claws transmitted. "I'll leave the other alone until I hear from you. We're looking forward to hearing your take on it and instructions. We'll plan to leave for the other reflector when we have our crew recovered from outside and soon after getting your transmission. Until later, Sharp Claws out," Frost ended.

  "That reflector is crude, it isn't designed to fold up and be carried aboard a ship," Thor suggested. "I'd say it was made on site, as a field expedient. So, yeah, I agree the aliens marked them to find again easily and then never came back. Why? Did they find an easier source to work, or closer to home? Or was the ship lost and never reported their find back home, or did something even bigger happen to their entire civilization?"

  "Maybe we'll find out as we go deeper," Gordon hoped.

  In the end The Champion William and Murphy's Law found three more reflectors on the other side of the star. One was on another cobalt rich rock. One they weren't very sure about, but it might have been the vanadium content. Two were so thick with native silver they mounted their own claim beacons on those rocks. The entire body of asteroids warranted a closer examination given the richness of the alien finds. They did a close fly-by of both rocky inner planets and a couple sizable moons around the gas giants. If there was a alien base or machinery anywhere else in the system it didn't show up on radar down to a half meter resolution. It was a mystery.