Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  I had thought the Kord would manufacture new ones for us, but they did not. Is it because they can’t or won’t? I am going to say won’t. I feel as if they don’t want us on their space station, so I am pretty sure they don’t want us landing on their planet.

  Thrusters

  At first I was not sure how these worked, but it seems the laws of space flight come into play. The sheer mass of this ship and inertia generated by its movement is augmented by dozens of thrusters. Each can be powered individually, or in banks. There seems to be no limit to the combinations.

  During our surprise launch, John engaged a bunch of lateral thrusters and rolled the ship over an alien satellite. He did this rather than try to arrest our motion; it was quite a maneuver, really.

  These thrusters are essentially a fine-tuned ion drive, each with its own inbuilt capacitor. Glad they are, otherwise these notes would have been rather short. John used these thrusters to try and steady the ship as we lifted off the moon. We still drifted and rolled a little, something else to ponder.

  These are all we had to push the Terran out from the Kord space station we plowed in to. Luckily, their thrust was enough. John is getting pretty darn good at flying this ship, even though he flew us into the massive space station in the first place. It was all my fault actually, I never thought to stop outside the solar system to check for structures.

  It is interesting to note that our own ion drive research is headed in the same direction, even if it is rather primitive by comparison.

  Sub-light Engines

  Another ion based drive system, albeit a very powerful one. Not sure how fast we can go with these, but in theory we can get up to the speed of light!

  Seems there is a limit of around ninety percent of light speed. The thrust generated is insufficient to accelerate us beyond this speed. My question is, what’s stopping us? We’re in space, yet this implies that somehow the ship is being affected by some sort of drag.

  Space dust!!! We just ran into a ton of it. Space is full of minute particles and variable gravitational forces. At close to the speed of light, the number of particles increases from an insignificant amount, to an amount that has an obvious effect on us. This will make a fascinating paper. Andrew, John, and I have been discussing this at length.

  Main Drive

  The crew is calling the main drive a lot of different things. Hyperdrive, warp drive, and FTL, are amongst the common names and acronyms from various science fiction shows and books. Cindy has steered clear of all the clichés and just calls it ‘Main Drive’. I think the name is too dull.

  The main engines turn on the dampening shields automatically, we think. The view when travelling faster than light, is beautiful. The kaleidoscope of colours is mesmerizing and enthralling all at once. It did not take long to figure out what the colours are from. Light strikes the ship’s shields then refracts. This is made even more impressive as space dust is either obliterated in our passing, or is deflected away from us. I can almost imagine a huge wake behind us where space is devoid of particles, at least for a short time anyway. Space eddies and currents, imagine that.

  We have a new term for our various speeds. The main drive control has eight solid blocks, thus we are calling, for example, speed three: ‘Factor Three’.

  Each speed change takes an enormous toll on our energy reserves, and yet maintaining a set speed requires very little. It’s as though we are in some sort of... I can’t explain it yet, so I won’t say bubble or field, but there is something going on. Heck you can even see it when gazing out through the main viewer on the bridge.

  Interestingly enough, I have noticed that the RMC also comes on automatically with the dampening shields. How does all this hang together?

  I am unable to confirm this, but it’s almost as if the mass of the ship is reduced by the RMC while it’s inside the field generated by the dampening shields. This would explain the massive energy drain when increasing speed! Also, if the ship’s mass is being reduced relative to the environment beyond the shields, then this would account for the ship’s apparent design anomaly of its main engine placement. With the dampening shields creating a field around the ship, we are creating an environment where the laws of physics are applied independently to the rest of the universe. This would mean that the main drive is essentially a mass reduction system, propulsion is its secondary function. Or are the two inseparable, working in conjunction? I wonder, do we get smaller? Oh no! This just raises a bunch of new questions.

  Update: The speed at which the ship can travel is mind boggling. Factor One is approximately the speed of light, while Factor six, calculates out to be 61603 times the speed of light. Things get strange even from there; Factor Eight propels the Terran at better than 15 million times the speed of light. I have to find out how this makes sense. There has to be a logical reason to this, or a formula.

  Armour

  Armour is the main defense mechanism on Gamin ships. Armour plating is made up of multiple layers of various dense materials. These are interlinked as plates that absorb impacts, even flex, thus protecting the hull and superstructure.

  Going through the Gamin database, it seems armour is not the only line of defense, it’s the last line of defense on all Gamin ships, all except this one. They never got around to installing main shields. In hindsight, this is a blessing, we have insufficient power as it is.

  Without main shields though, it seems as though all we’re doing is fixing the outer hull over and over.

  Windows/Main Viewer

  I just figured out the windows. They’re not windows at all. Amazing! Some of them are one way, such as the ones on the main bridge of the Terran. Those on the shuttle and mining vehicle can be either one way or bi-directional. This explains why sometimes I feel as though there is one huge window on the bridge, and at other times a bank of individual windows.

  Okay, let me see if I can explain them. The outside surface of the hull is covered with minute energy absorbing sensors. These advanced solar panels actually provide power to the view screen(s) on the inside. Thus, even when the Terran was under construction and unpowered, those in the bridge could look out at their surroundings. From the outside, these actually do look like windows, simply because the coating differentiates them from the rest of the ship. I saw news reports of the ship that landed in Manhattan having windows along its axis. The Terran does not, I wonder why not? The technology seems easy enough to implement.

  It feels weird now, knowing that when I am on the bridge, I am looking at a computer screen that has almost ten meters of armour behind it. There really is no window at all. An interesting feature is the armour belt that can be raised for added protection. This additional defense mechanism is either because the bridge is a primary target, or because the outer coating is difficult to replace. I am not sure which it is.

  Translators

  The Kord offered us their translator technology. The catch; it uses a small implant behind the ear. Cindy took the plunge and trusted the little furry guys, I followed suit soon after. It stung going in, and I can still feel a tiny bump, but other than that the implant is fine. The Kord use portable devices, fancy laptops if you ask me, which go with these. It was at this time that we found out George has a Gamin translator! His fits neatly in his ear, it’s so small and snug no one ever noticed it. This is how George has been figuring out the Gamin data! He gets his suit to relay the symbols as speech, and his device does the rest. He is a crafty fella.

  I have been comparing the Gamin and Kord technologies, with George’s assistance, and am surprised at the similarities. I am astonished that the technology required to create the Kord translator is not too far beyond us. Surprisingly, the Gamin translator is much more advanced. Now we know what direction to go with our research. Another interesting comparison is that while the Kord implants require an external device to provide translation, the Gamin unit is self-contained. It must have its own miniature computer system. I am curious as to how it is that the Kord seem to be
technologically more advanced than the Gamin, and yet have inferior translators.

  One thing that is strange, is hearing an alien language in one ear, and yet the words sound fine in the ear with the implant. This experience provides a great example of selective hearing, I tend to ignore the alien sounds, and just listen to that which is comprehensible.

  Zero-G room

  I almost forgot about this apparent anomaly. This room seems so out of place on the ship. It occupies a few levels and has been the source of much conjecture. Is it a training room? An entertainment room? Or is it something else? No one seems to know. Inside there are two panels, one that opens and closes the doorway, and another more intricate one. The more intricate panel consists of one large triangle which in turn, is segmented into pieces. It has been determined through trial and error, that only one corner functions, the other two do nothing. The room itself, appears to be a mock star field. Tapping the working portion of the panel makes the room go pitch black, and also switches off the gravity. The room cycles through a series of gravity pulses accompanied by soft lights. Basically, one of the walls, the floor, or the ceiling become the ground thanks to gravity plates. This seems to be totally random.

  Most of the crew spends the minimum amount of time in there that they have to, just enough to meet Cindy’s orders. I remember asking Johnny if he wanted to go in there, was a day or so before we left, he went quite pale at the idea. Poor kid.

  The Kord we rescued spend a lot of time in this room, which is fine as we don’t. They really seem to enjoy the weightlessness, followed by the random selection of what would become the next ‘floor.’

  Weapon Systems

  I can only surmise that the Gamin’s main weapons are kinetic-based projectiles; at least that is what destroyed all of our satellites and ASKAP, our own radio telescope facility.

  The damaged Gamin ship we found has at least two different weapons systems. There are pods with antenna that seem to be a purely energy based weapon, and others which have small or large cannons, like a gun barrel. They look like totally different weapons, but they are also connected to the power grid. I really wish we had some information on the Gamin weaponry.

  Like many of the other systems, we have no way of getting them onto our ship. We could use them, that’s for sure. We need some way to defend ourselves. It’s not safe out here.

  Update: The kinetic weapons are mounted on a swivel, and housed inside the ship when not in use. An armour plate retracts, allowing the weapon to slide into its firing position. A flexible cable connects the weapon to the power grid.

  Main Shields/Combat Shields

  Specialized emitters are prebuilt into the hull, which in turn, are connected to the power grid. I don’t know why we don’t have these combat, or main shields. Not sure which term applies best either.

  Interestingly enough, the navigational shields use the same emitters, as do the dampening shields. How this is done, I don’t know. But this explains why the outer hull plates that were installed on Earth keep peeling away. The sections without emitters have virtually no shielding at all. I can’t believe we have survived for as long as we have. On top of this, the outer hull plating we installed is actually doing more harm than good. Just like the internal deck plates that were installed on Earth, they have been tearing our ship apart.

  I finally found what I was looking for. The Gamin builders simply had not gotten around to installing the hundreds of shield generators the ship is supposed to have. That’s not an exact translation though. This system does not use capacitors, but rather draws and returns power directly to the power-grid, which in turn, uses the Gamin Power Units and their built-in capacitors. These generators are installed right up against the outer hull. Each generator boosts shield strength in an area around it. Overlapping fields provide protection. Thus, a group of generators would have to fail, before the main shields were brought down, and then only in the section effected. I wonder, do these generators boost the navigational shields and/or the dampening shields?

  The Kord have repaired our outer hull and the new sections have emitters. Perhaps this is a standard feature on spacecraft? We don’t have the power to run them, but the Kord have once again amazed us with a gift. A strange looking capacitor of sorts. With this Kord Power Unit operating the ship, it no longer shakes and shudders as much when we shift down to sub-light speeds. This is a great relief, I can tell you.

  Gamin Spacecraft

  I finally got a chance to talk with George about the Gamin ship that landed in Manhattan, and the Regent’s flagship. We pulled up technical data from the lunar base and compared all three spacecraft. The similarities are striking! They all have a number of command levels that rest on top of a main hull. The number of levels varies with the size of the ships, the Terran has twenty main levels, the one that landed in New York, forty, while the Regent’s has an amazing eighty levels in the main hull. I have difficulty comprehending a spacecraft that is five kilometers wide and sixteen long. The sheer size of these ships is mind boggling.

  All these ships have massive storage areas, behind these, sit equally enormous engines. The Terran has two main engines, the larger ship has three, while the Regent’s has five. According to the data we have, the largest ship has an armour belt around fifteen meters thick, as opposed to our ten. The Terran does not have manufacturing facilities, yet the larger ships do. It seems as though the Gamin ships that ours is based on are the mainstay of their fleet. This could explain why the Gamin were building them? To replace losses or to bolster numbers?

  There are a few additional specialty ships in the fleet that seem purpose built. Still have to review these designs, but that will have to be later.

  Finally figured out the main drive design anomaly. Pretty much all the Gamin ships are able to disconnect their main drive. Explosive bolts detonate, breaking them away, presumably this allows the crew to survive in the event of a main drive failure. The ship would then have to use its sub-light engines to travel to the nearest source of resources. Once there, I presume they would attempt to fabricate new engines.

  We activated the console we found, and discovered that there are thousands of Gamin ships out there. Some people thought the fleet that came to Earth was their entire civilization, apparently not.

  There are so many unanswered questions about the Gamin. Where did they come from? Does their entire civilization live in space? Why did they come to Earth? Our planet is clearly a long way from their territory.

  It would seem that there is a large-scale war going on in space, one that eclipses anything we could have imagined, and it’s been going on for centuries, perhaps thousands of years. I wonder what started this conflict?

  Scout Craft:

  These are small atmospheric craft that measure four meters high, ten wide and fifty meters long. They are almost identical to the shuttles, except that they are equipped with an array of power sensors. These are quite effective, allowing them to survey planetary bodies of all sizes. These craft carry two bodysuits, which are stowed in the pilot area, and they have an average flight time of about fourteen hours from a single charge of the capacitor. This time varies depending upon the demands of the tasks required. Scout ships do not have any weapons and are poorly armoured.

  Dignitary Transport Craft:

  These craft measure five meters high, twenty wide, and seventy long. The cockpit is identical to the Scout Craft, with the extra length being assigned to the cargo area. These craft have two capacitors, and can operate for around twenty hours between charges. They are also protected by a thin layer of armour

  Resources Transport Craft:

  These craft have the same cockpit area as the Scout Craft, however, they are much larger at thirty meters high, thirty wide, and one hundred-twenty long. Even though they are larger, they only have a flight time of ten hours from a single capacitor. These craft have no armour, and are used to carry transport modules. These modules are twenty-five meters wide, and one hundred meters long, and re
st inside the purpose-built frame of the Transport Craft.

  Collection Craft:

  These are the recycling ships of the fleet. They are fully functioning spacecraft that measuring some three hundred meters wide, fifty meters high, and one kilometer long. These craft have a massive opening that takes up much of the forequarters. They have three decks with a pilot area that seats five, though a single occupant can fly this spacecraft. These ships collect debris and convert it into energy. It takes one operator to control the collection process. These craft are well armoured and carry seven kinetic weapons for protection. There are two forward, two on top, two below, and one rearward. It takes one operator to control all the weapons. The extra two crew members are required for additional navigational assistance when space is cluttered with debris or asteroids. These craft are equipped with two Gamin Power Units, and although they can land on planets, they rarely do so.

  Support Craft/Destroyer:

  These vessels are the mainstay of the Gamin fleet. They are a little under one kilometer wide, three kilometers long. They are some three hundred meters high, when resting on the ground. They have twenty-five levels inside. These ships require one hundred seventy-five crew members to operate properly. They have an array of seventeen kinetic weapons and three energy weapons, making these craft formidable opponents in battle. The four Power Units they are designed to have, are more than enough to keep these spacecraft operating even in full combat mode for long periods of time. These space ships are well protected with an armour belt about ten meters thick and often land on planets to collect various raw materials. There are four Consoles on the bridge, resting in front of a raised command chair. With two main drive engines, these craft are able to get to their destination quickly.