This, in turn, meant less chance of finding any planets or opposition, on their way home. Sirius A was also a fast spinning star while Sirius B was only a white dwarf.
OK, that's sorted, he thought, closing down his tactical pad.
He suddenly had a desire to see Susanna, he missed her.
Andromeda was kind to him, he decided, feeling his contact link disappear, as it now did whenever he thought of Susanna.
“Andromeda, where is Susanna?”
“She’ll be in her cabin in thirty minutes.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I've just asked her to be there.”
“Thanks,” he chuckled.
“Do you need anything else, Frank? I'm running the jump coordinates, trying to refine them,” she hesitated, then said, “It's very time-consuming,” and was gone.
He turned his attention to his tactical pad again, thinking. ‘Epsilon Eridani in the constellation of Eridanus that's a mouthful,' while he waited for the Pad to refresh its display, so he could continue reading the new data.
Eridani, a K2V class Star, ten-point-five light-years from Earth.
But we're not going there yet, he thought and carried on reading.
Eridani is orange in color and highly Chroma-spherically active. With a dense magnetic field, and spinning at half the rotation period of Earth. It has one known planet, probably a gas giant, just outside the main asteroid belt. With perhaps a second one, smaller and closer to the star. Though it hasn’t been confirmed.
Interesting. Maybe there's more, he thought. Then looked at the wall chronometer, thinking to himself that had been a long six minutes.
His mind drifted back to Procyon A. He suddenly felt uneasy and looked at his pad again. The dense asteroid field seemed unnaturally sparse, around the 2 AU region. Yet there were no planets. So why do I feel we're missing something, he wondered.
He entered his thoughts in the Things to Clear, part of his pad's memory and returned to his original train of thought.
Let's see what it says about Tau Ceti.
“OK,” he said, reading to himself aloud. “It's in the constellation of Cetus. It's spectrally similar to our Earth, and it's a G class star twelve light-years from home. With five to six Planets to boot. Our best bet yet,” he finished, smiling.
“Andromeda,” he called.
“Yes, Frank.”
“I'm going for a walk.”
“You should have my work-load. You wouldn't get bored.”
“Funny,” he replied as he left his cabin. He wandered down the passage leading to astrophysics, feeling a little annoyed that Andromeda's mind link was still with him.
Tapping on Astro's open door, he went in. To find the area bathed in a multi-colored lighting effect produced by the bank of computer screens. Many of the screens were full of symbols while others displayed stars and star maps.
“Hi Frank,” Tim said, shaking his hand. “Come to see if we've gone to sleep?”
“Hell no. I was just wondering if you've discovered anything from the moment when that alien ship emerged near the Hawk.
I know you haven't listed anything, but maybe you have some information on the direction it came from?”
“Not really. Our tracking sensors were only partially active. If there had been anything concrete, we would have said.
However, there is one thing. We all have the same 'feeling', and that's all it is.
We think that the alien ship came from the direction of the galactic centre, and from under the galactic plain.”
“What’s pointing you towards that conclusion, Tim?”
“Well, I keep running the data analysis with Susanna, and I don’t know what to call it, sixth sense, whatever, but it just ‘feels’ right. Nothing else, in particular.”
“I know how it feels. Sometimes it's so frustrating,” Frank replied. He thought for a moment then continued. “Well, we'll have completed our surveys soon, and we'll be jumping for Sirius tomorrow.”
“Yes, we’ll be ready, Frank.”
“Good,” Frank replied. ”I’ll talk to you later,” then turned and left astrophysics, heading for the weapon’s development section.
A few minute later, he was with Mark Trask. “Good to see you in the flesh again Frank. You want a progress report I assume?”
“In a way. How are you getting on with speeding up the force field emitter's power-up before we exit jump into Normal-space?”
“Not bad,” he said smiling. “With the help of Andromeda, we've managed to draw additional power, without jeopardising the ship's exit.”
“How much?”
“Nearly point-three, much more than I'd hoped for. That means, on exiting jump, our screens will be about eighty-eight percent efficient and at 100 percent within point one of a second.”
“Excellent Mark. Any other improvements?”
“We can generate small amounts of Antimatter. But we'll need to modify Andromeda, to enable her to look like a piece of copper tube, similar to how the alien ship seems.”
“I bet Andromeda didn't think much of that idea?”
“I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess at what she thought,” Mark replied, a broad grin showing on his face.
“I expect you'll end up at Susanna's cabin,” he added. His face showing the 'I know you will' look.
“Yea, you never know. Talk to you later,” Frank said and went on down the corridor towards his next port of call, quantum-engineering.
Another ten minutes, tops, he thought to himself, after checking the time.
Ned Parker was waiting for him at the door. He looked several years older than he was but was still wearing his twisted grin.
“Good to see you, Frank,” he said.
“And you Ned. I suppose the jungle drums are in operation.”
“I think so. I guess you want to know what the jump engine power will be. Yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, working with Andromeda, we've been able to spike the initiation sequence to give us an extra warp surge.”
“That means getting in and out faster?”
“Yes. I can see why you're a Captain,” Ned dryly remarked. “All simulator testing was carried out by Andromeda, so she has all the info.”
“Thanks,” Frank said. “Nice to see you haven't lost your grumpiness, Ned.”
“It wouldn't be me if I had, would it?”
Turning to go back to the passage, Frank replied. “I guess not, talk to you later.”
“Give her my regards,” remarked Ned, laughing as Frank headed for Susanna's cabin.
Frank stood outside Susanna’s cabin. He felt nervous. Making sure he was in the viewing area, he tapped the annunciator panel.
Almost immediately he heard Susanna's voice saying “Coming, Frank,” the door slid open, and Susanna stood there.
She was wearing the same dress that she’d worn the last time he came to her cabin.
“Come in,” she said breathlessly. Eyeing him with delight. “You're a little early.”
“Sorry, I couldn't wait any longer to see you alone again,” he stepped into her cabin, turning to look at her as the door closed.
“Your hair,” he said. “It seems different somehow. What have you done to it?”
“Don't you like it?” she asked. Her blue-green eyes boring into him.
“Well,” he said and hesitated.
“Well, it’s been styled to suit your taste,” she retorted. At the same time, slowly and seductively moving a little closer to him, and tilting her head back.
“It's perfect; I love it,” he murmured, running his fingers gently through her blonde hair.
She pressed her body suggestively against his and said. “Are you, hungry?”
“Only for you,” he replied clasping her to him.
His breath quickened as his hands caressed her arms. He slowly pulled her shoulder straps down, exposing her incredible breasts, encircling them with his hands.
Sus
anna's breathing increased, and her hands reciprocated, moving slowly and seductively ever lower over Frank’s body.
Then, looking up at his face, said, “It seems to me you can't wait any longer.”
“No!” he gasped. “I can't, I want you too much.”
“Ditto,” she replied.
Suddenly, and quickly, they moved to release the mini-mag strips holding each other’s clothes in place, then stood still for a moment admiring each other's body. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she reached for his hand, and took him to her bed.
The next day, preparation started for the jump to Sirius. Alan sat next to Frank in the control room that was now re-configured for action. In front of Frank, his tactical and data display screen hung, seemingly suspended in thin air.
Frank watched, as the information showing the ‘readiness’ data for each department built up along the top of the screen. With the central part showing the forward view of space, as Andromeda swung to line-up with Sirius.
One by one, the holographic images of the department heads replaced the data, with each unit then reporting their readiness state to Frank. Their images then dissolving off the screen, being replaced again with departmental data streams. Susanna cheekily winking at him before her image disappeared.
“We're ready to go when you give the order Frank,” Andromeda said, as she finished the alignment movements showing on the screen.
“I still don't see why it’s necessary to go to Sirius,” Alan interjected. “It's a binary star, isn't it? So, it's unlikely that there are any planet's worth talking about, especially as both stars are rotating at different rates.”
“Well, you have been taking notice,” Frank said, a wry grin showing on his face. “It's just a 'confuse the enemy' sort of thing.”
“Oh, right, I get it.”
“Good. Andromeda, please sound the two minute, then ten-second warnings for Jump.”
“It’s being done, Frank.”
“How long are we going to be in transit?” Alan asked.
“About thirteen hours. But only if, between them, Andromeda, Tim, and Ned, have got it right.”
By the time, the ten-second jump warning was sounded everyone was tense. Wondering what might be waiting for them when they arrived at Sirius A.
The lighting dimmed and only the necessities to maintain human life remained, with all the power being required by the ship’s twin-fusion reactors, to achieve the warp pulse needed to make the Jump.
Warp field creation and entry occurred, with only a slight feeling of giddiness. Taking the usual several seconds for the human brains to acclimatize to the surreal sensations.
“Andromeda. What’s our status?”
“Everything is as expected. I've set for battle stations on exit.”
“Good. See, that's what our mind-link is for.”
“I know, I haven't forgotten our thought exchanges in your cabin.”
Frank turned to Alan, “You'd better get some rest before we reach Sirius.”
“What about you?”
“I'm okay. I need a bit of time with Andromeda.”
“That's OK. I'll stay if you don't mind, and I'll be quiet,” Alan replied.
Frank, slightly irritated, closed his eyes and let Andromeda in.
The ten-second exit-warning sounded in everyone’s transceiver implants as Andromeda prepared for possible action, and ‘exited jump’ into Normal-space with her screens up, and weapons automatically on full alert.
Beads of sweat, on Alan's forehead, joined and ran down his face, making him wish he had gone to his cabin, after all.
Suddenly, stars swirled as Andromeda adjusted her angle. The dazzling blue-white Sirius A star was no more than a hundred-and-fifty million kilometres to the left. While straight ahead was its companion star Sirius B, a white dwarf. Its color was similar to the earth’s moon, and it had an elliptical orbit of 8 to 32AU around Sirius A.
“My detectors can find no enemy ships in this star system,” Andromeda informed Frank, over the general comms. Relief flooding through the crew with this news.
“Keep all screens up and weapons ready, Andromeda. We don't want unexpected visitors now.”
Two days passed before the data about the two Sirius stars was available. The surveys showed only asteroids and dust in orbit around Sirius A. Like Procyon, Sirius A was a type AO, A1 star. Which, over the last few billion years perhaps had an erratic eco-sphere. Now, there were no planets. Nothing.
Sirius B had been found to be orbiting in its elliptical path around Sirius A, at about 3.4 billion kilometres from the star. With the collected data showing that it also only had asteroids and dust in orbit. No mysterious planets or alien bases.
“What now Frank?” Andromeda asked him. Allowing Alan to hear the conversation.
“Well, there's no point staying any longer. Has all the data been encrypted and saved?”
“Yes. We’re ready for Epsilon Eridani when you are.”
“Good. Please update me on it?”
“Certainly. Eridani is a K2V class star, ten-point-five light-years from Earth. It’s orange in color and highly Chroma-spherically active. The star has a dense magnetic field and spins at half the rotation period of Earth.
It has one known planet, probably a gas giant, just outside the main asteroid belt. With possibly a second, that is smaller and closer to the star though this is not confirmed as no observation data is available to me.”
“OK, that’s enough. We’ll be jumping in two hours. Give the crew the usual warnings.”
“Yes Frank, I'm on it,” Andromeda confirmed, with what sounded like a chuckle in her voice.”
“Enthusiastic, aren’t we?”
By the time, the ten-second warning sounded everyone was ready for warp. The lighting dimmed, with warp-field creation and entry to Jump occurring as usual. Everyone feeling the same sensation of giddiness.
Time passed, slowly but uneventfully until the two-minute exit-jump warning sounded.
Then, the ten-second warning followed as Andromeda prepared the ship for arrival at Epsilon Eridani, and for possible action.
The ship exited Jump into Normal-space, with screens fully up, and weapons on automatic alert again.
Chapter 15.
The Epsilon Eridani encounters.
Suddenly, the view screens flared white then went blank as Andromeda plunged straight into another force field. The force field that was protecting 'Axon's' ship.
Axon was the Commander of one of the best battlecruisers in the Crillon Empire and had been ordered to stay behind for two days. Now he was about to leave, to catch up with the main fleet that was already on its way to Sector 2.
Searing heat and giddiness came like ripples on a pond as Andromeda struggled to fight the entangled force fields. A thin line of crackling raw energy was beginning to separate the two ships.
As they came closer to separation, Andromeda's tactical screen came back on-line, and a solution surged into both Andromeda's and Frank's minds.
“Don't separate completely,” Frank yelled. Even though, he knew that Andromeda could read his tactical thoughts. “He won't be able to jump!”
The Crillon ship, with its force field flaring and shimmering, was sitting facing a massive planet no more than sixty kilometres away, and seemingly full of devastation.
Andromeda7 now began to push against the alien’s force field.
Neither could fire weapons while both ships force fields were interlinked, without destroying each other.
Slowly, but surely, the two ships drifted down towards the planet's surface, now only forty kilometres below them. Their force fields sparkling like an uncontrolled firework display feeding on thin air.
“Captain,” Ned Parker called, sounding panicky. “There’s an energy build-up starting at the back end of the alien ship.”
“We see it, Ned, can we disrupt it?”
“No. Neither of us can fire.”
“OK, so why waste power that he can’
t use? Keep an eye on it, Ned, while we search for a solution.”
“Will do,” and he was gone.
“What's the alien ship doing?” Alan asked.
“He's trying to turn towards us, to take a shot,” Andromeda replied. “But, each time he tries, I'm still able to stop him.”
The view of the planet's devastation now showed completely on screen. With the alien ship bobbing around trying to break free from the Andromeda.
“Eighteen kilometres,” said Andromeda. “We'll soon have to break-free, the planet’s atmosphere is strengthening, and it's starting to affect our screens.”
The side of the alien's force field, closest to it, was taking the brunt of the effects of the planet’s atmosphere and was steadily shrinking with every second.
Now the alien’s ship was seven kilometres from the surface, and being pushed harder and harder.
Until suddenly, it's force field's integrity failed. The copper colored outer coating of the alien’s ship peeled off in a violent swarm of deadly metal panels, leaving the skeletal body plunging towards the planet.
Andromeda's own force field, still intact, held the carnage at bay. Using her sub-light engines, she began to climb out of danger.
Behind her, an enormous flash sent a shockwave around the planet, as the remains of the alien ship hit it and vapourized in a ball of fire.
“That's what I call close, Andromeda. Are we still in one piece?”
“We’re fine Frank. I'm getting minor damage reports in, and the service droids are already on their way.”
“Excellent.”
Then tapping a key on his pad. “Mark,” he said. “Your new force field emitters stood up well to it. Well done.”
“Thanks, Frank.”
Then Frank sent a general message to his crew. “That was close everyone. Now we need every scrap of data; on the ship, its transmissions, and the planet. Anything. As fast as you can,” he paused. “I need a meeting with the department heads. As before, in four hours. Out.”
The Definitive SpaceFed Trilogy (SpaceFed StarShips Trilogy).: A thrilling, action-packed Sci-fi space adventure. (SpaceFed StarShips Series Book 8) Page 9
