by Jim Rudnick
“Give him a product report, please” and two of the assistant assistants bobbed up and searched a side table for something. One found the item and in a moment more, a fifty page closely typed report was dropped in front of him.
“And the precis on this would be…” he said.
Nods from some at the table and they all turned to a member at the table who Niels guessed was the Ruler who counted the most. Always going to be one at the table—he’d just discovered who the real Ruler was. He looked at the man and half-smiled, his own neck snake uncoiling a bit more and draping down his shoulder somewhat.
The man nodded to Niels.
“Yes, you should really read the report for all the background and science. But what they found was something we here on the RIM do not have—have never had due to the lack of technology, we assume. You know that our force fields are made over on Zadra—with the best technology. We have no problems at all with those products and they are used for everything from protecting our Heads of State to helping fix a ship who’s hull is pierced. We however found—rather the Leudie trading ship, the Express found, a new device that combines a new force field generator, with a power belt—it’s a personal force field. You put it on, click the side of the buckle and the device is on. Nothing can pierce it, it appears after some pretty complete testing. It runs by somehow—again the science in the report is still not complete on that—forming that force field around the body that it surrounds. From under the soles of the feet to the top of the hair, out every leg and arm too. We’ve tested it on Elbo citizens too, with their six arms and the force field belt works the same for them as for us. It’s a safety item that could replace say the EliteGuards over on the Barony, for an example, if the Baroness wore one. Or any of us.”
That got some smiles around the table.
And the one on Niels face too was big.
A force field belt. Turn it on and you were invulnerable. That made it worth it’s weight in….in….well, he had no idea what was worth that much. But he’d buy one as soon as they could clone the device…
Wait, maybe as a new Ruler member, he’d be given one…he smiled and leaned back…
Changes always happened, but today he’d met change head-on….and had won…
CHAPTER THREE
“Lieutenant, I’ve no idea why that might happen,” the CWO said.
Lieutenant Hartford nodded back, and said “I’ve got to agree with you, chief,” and he fingered the copper plate, turning it over in his hands. Having the extra thumb meant that he could spin it quickly and he did just that.
The copper color that the plate usually held, was definitely fainter. Once bright copper, it now was like an old penny, dull and yes, lighter in hue. If you saw a comparison new copper plate, you’d see that there was a noticeable difference, and as the chief warrant officer had presented both to the lieutenant on the lab bench, it was a fact that one’s eyes judged perfectly. The matching blue plate that was the other half of the duo—was the same blue it’d always been. No change. Just the copper one looked different.
These were two of the first plates found on Ghayth years back and they had been two of the most used duos that had been used for testing. First, as anti-grav plates and then as Barony Drive plates—they had been inventoried and the database indicated that this pair had been used almost eight hundred times. And there was no doubt about it—the color on the older used copper plate, had faded.
Why that had happened, no one knew.
When that had happened, no one knew.
And most importantly, did the faintness of the plate modify it’s performance?
Hartford shrugged.
“So, let’s test it out—that’d be next right, an empirical test. Let’s get it rigged up on a shuttle and I’ll pilot same,” he said.
The chief shook his head no.
“Sir, not a good idea, you doing the testing I mean. We should use a simple probe maybe?”
“Which does have a good argument—but no way to get any kind of on-site real time feedback. Either the plate still works, or it does not—the copper one I mean,” Hartford said.
The chief nodded and said “we’ll set up the small shuttle, out of bay four—that okay, lieutenant?” he asked.
Hartford nodded back and said “sure, say in twenty minutes—I’ll just update my logs and we’ll give it a test.”
He did just that, and then took deck five from the lab that was in Engineering on the Atlas, towards the bow and the landing port there. In bay four, the small shuttle waited for him and he went right to the rear engine area to inspect the placement of the copper plate. It had been mounted on the bracket that was added for the installation of the Barony Drive and within that bracket the faint copper plate had been placed.
He nodded at the chief.
“Good install, chief. I’ll take her out—”
“Sir, may I ask that I accompany you on this short little trip to wherever? Just for some company?” he said.
Lieutenant Hartford nodded and waved the chief in as he stepped up and over the airlock sill and took the pilots seat on the right, the chief dropped into the co-pilot’s chair beside him.
He went through his checklist for pre-launch, and once all the icons and lights were green, and the AI confirmed, he slowly moved the shuttle out of the bay, through the large airlock on the Atlas that was in low orbit around Ghayth and the shuttle slowly moved away from it’s mothership.
Hartford moved his hand over the console and clicked the Barony Drive app icon and then entered Neres as their destination.
Nere’s star appeared in the view-screen, dead center ahead.
“About twenty-seven lights in total,” the chief said and that was what the AI announced in a moment.
“We’re good to go,” Hartford said and he pressed down on the LAUNCH button on his console.
Well behind them, in the engine area, a tank of gel spewed out a measured amount of orange gel onto the top of the copper plate and the Barony Drive was engaged.
In seven seconds, the shuttle moved to Neres and the Drive disengaged.
“AI—where are we, please?” Hartford asked.
“Off the star at the center of the Nere’s system, the planet Neres is to starboard about thirty minutes away at full Impulse drive” the AI voice responded.
“And as asked, comparisons to the database of previously recorded times/destinations shows that this recent trip was similar to same, however it was approximately 1.2987 seconds slower…” AI finished off.
The chief spoke first.
“So, the now faint copper plate works about as good as a normally colored plate—well hell close enough—and AI agrees,” he said.
They looked at each other.
“Then why the loss of color—and more importantly, will it continue to lose color—and when it’s down to plain looking steel, will it still work? Lots more questions…and we will need those answers soon too…as we’ve got what, almost nine hundred duos out there on ships all across the RIM. And when the roll-out comes to the rest of the galaxy—our BETA test here on the RIM must have all the answers.
He turned back to the helm and keyed in the return trip, and then hit the LAUNCH button once more—and in another seven plus seconds they were back in the Valissian system and an hour later they docked on the Atlas.
The chief and the lieutenant chatted about the test and both agreed. The fact that the copper plate had lost color did not affect it’s functionality whatsoever.
Lieutenant Hartford took deck five again, to go down to Engineering and as he walked all he could think of was the ‘why’ behind the color change.
Having the technology to develop and create such a Drive was one thing; but that also meant that the color change was a part of the technology too—as yet undiscovered…perhaps undiscovered that is…
#####
The next Master Adept was escorted into the small library room up on the top floor of the Issian tower in the walled city. She had been
called—ordered even, to get to Eons as soon as possible to see the current Master Adept and she had taken one of those Barony Drive equipped Academy ships. It had only been three hours since the invite had come through and she was pleased that this new technology worked so well. A nagging doubt always occurred to her about the reliability of such ‘found’ technology and what the real costs might be—but that was not for today’s talk.
She had looked ahead and had seen that the meeting with the Master was a meeting that was fraught with tension and that the comeuppance was—well, she had no idea.
Being a twin and a result of the decades old use of twins to give one of them superior skills—at the expense of the other non-surviving twin, meant that she had those superior skills. Yet looking ahead for even the results of today’s meeting, she could not see past the start and middle of their talks…and now she sat on one of the love seats, and an aide put a tea in front of her.
“Darjeeling, with one cube, and that hint of milk. And at 165 degrees, as per what we were told you like, Adept,” she said and she turned away to go back to the side table over on the far wall. She poured another tea, Gloria noted and this one was probably going to be for the Master. The aide added two cubes she noted, and nothing else and placed a small spoon on the saucer beside the pure white tea cup and walked it over to the table to place it on the other side of the coffee table, opposite her.
She wondered what temperature the Master liked her tea and got a mental answer that simply said “at her favorite temperature, of course…”
Being an Issian meant that one’s thoughts were often like spoken words….
Anyone with the talent could answer with a thought—or even with words…
She smiled and took a sip of the tea and as she had counted on, it was perfect…
The aide dipped her head to her as she was walking away over to the far doorway.
The door opened, and the Master Adept walked in, not quickly, but steadily made her way to the love seat.
She sat, and then took a sip of her own tea first—and then looked up and half smiled at Gloria.
“So nice to have you here so quickly, Gloria. My thanks for getting here—and you will know why in a moment…”
She reached across the table and offered up her hand.
When any Issians actually touched, flesh to flesh, their own minds linked—and no one could see what was being passed from one brain to the other. Linking without the touch, could be done as well, but it was less secure.
Gloria clasped the Master Adept’s hand and they gripped their palms together and Gloria closed her eyes to see what would come.
She saw what the Master sent to her; and she stiffened up immediately.
What she could see, was the Master—the woman on the love seat in front of her, lying dead on the floor.
A hole in her chest bled, with her life’s blood still oozing out…
Her eyes were wide open but not present as she had that thousand yard stare…looking beyond the horizon…
It was still daytime, it looked like to Gloria, and as her focus loosened up, she could see that there were others there…
In front of her, almost at her feet lay a man, face down with a pool of blood around his head…
She looked back at the Master’s body and saw that she was there too, standing rock still behind the group in front of her. Her own face was like it was painted on—not a hint of emotion. She saw others too and she knew she should have looked more closely at them to identify them—but she could not look away from her own self, at the death of the Master Adept.
She un-gripped the hand of the Master and leaned back, breathing deeply and yet still noisily.
She looked over at the aide standing against the far wall, that held the windows that looked out on Eons.
She took her time and then she looked back at the Master.
“Master—this can not be true, Mam.”
“It is true, Gloria. And it occurs in months. And it can not be denied. This is what will happen and you needed to know—once I knew. We need to work together to ensure that what happens after, is to plan. But yes, Gloria, I die that day. And you become the new Master Adept that same day.
Gloria shook her head.
“Master, I’m not ready—I need years more of training,” she said as an excuse.
“Not at all. You have been the presumptive Master Adept for over three years, made public just a year ago, and your training is complete. You know it in your heart. And it is my turn to leave this to you…” she said as she waved her hand over the room and towards the windows on the wall.
Outside, the ruined farm with it’s broken down house without a roof and the barn that had a real lean in it. Corrals that once held livestock were empty, full of weeds and overgrowth and missing many rails too. They both knew that the view a hundred miles or a thousand miles down the valley would be the same, long forsaken farms and buildings and the detritus of a once flourishing farming community ... and that could be seen mile after mile.
No matter where one went, the view of the lack of climate favorable to agriculture would be ongoing. Such was the way that the area around Dessau was now and had been for almost three centuries. Such, she was sure, it would always be until the blue sunlight changed and the radiation balanced so as to allow things to grow.
“What I get is not important, Master—it’s keeping you that is important” she said with a hint of frustration in her voice.
The Master nodded but held up a single finger to shake it ever so slightly at the new Master.
“But the choice is not up to you—nor to me. I have looked ahead—and my life-force ends that day at that time, just before dinner time. What I see—is what all Issians with superior mind reading see when the end appears. I see the black wall—that I can not see through or over nor for that matter past at all. All Issians who can look ahead, have reported the same thing—the black wall ahead.”
The Master took a last sip of her tea and put the cup down very gently in her saucer.
She sighed and looked away—then back at Gloria.
“We need to discuss what happened, and why—and what you will need to do to help the others at the wedding…”
That caught Gloria totally by surprise. She cocked her head to one side and said simply “wedding?”
They talked for more than another hour, the aide kept their tea cups full.
They linked one more time as the Master had to show her replacement where the Issian treasures would be found, how their top classified security worked and more.
They also talked about the twins processing and the remaining only issue with that whole schmozzle that had occurred in the past year too.
“We will go over the new deals that have happened as well in the coming weeks; what the Academy and our special deal with that area is between us and the Baroness. We will also go over the other issues with the Caliph too…” she added and once again, finished up her cup of tea…
#####
The admiral turned to his left, as he was sitting in the Adept’s chair on the bridge of the BN Exeter and stared at the captain, who spoke up to answer him quickly.
“About thirteen hundred lights inwards, and this star, holds the admiral’s—well, your home planet, Branton, Sir. That’s her below and off to the starboard side. Helm, enlarge the view please, but do filter out the ice glare please.”
As the Exeter had just jumped, using the Barony Drive, from Neres to Branton in less than half a minute by the view screen sidebar over on the left and there had been no issues at all.
Thirteen hundred lights—in say thirty seconds.
Impressive, Tanner said to himself and yet he wasn’t here to test the Barony Drive at all…
He was here to visit his home planet after being away for twenty-two years.
He looked down at Branton and noted that as they came up on the back side—the side that forever faced outwards towards space rather than ever towards the sun. It got cold the
re he well knew—well below zero and as one left the edge of the backside of the planet to more than a hundred below in a zone that stretched from north to south.
On the other side, the side that faced the sun—it was much more un-hospitable. Down the center of the sun-side, temperatures ran more than 180+ degrees on most days and in full summer, when Branton got closer to it’s sun, they hit 220+ degrees most days.
Where there was life, of course, was on the areas on either side of the sun-side—where zones running north to south, held the millions of Branton citizens.
“Captain Magnusson, would you please take her down on the starboard side—that’s what citizens call the right hand side of the sun-side, captain,” he said quietly and left it to the captain to work out the details of the move to the starboard side. He nodded when he was asked if he wanted to go to the capital city, Astillon and again, let the captain and the crew work out the details. He watched on the view screen as the frigate came up to the sun side of the planet, and turned into the sunlight. Filters snapped up on the view screen and they could see again as the Exeter slowly yawed to the right and moved down to enter the Branton atmosphere.
They were challenged then by whomever was watching incoming ships and they passed with a quick—10/4 from the landing officer down in Astillon. The lieutenant on the helm, made the needed offerings and was told that the Exeter would be allowed to land, and to take landing pad #43. No other pad, was repeated back to the helm twice and he confirmed that both times. He raised an eyebrow and looked at his captain over his shoulder.
Captain Magnusson nodded and said to no one in particular, “seems like Branton is a bit laid back when it comes to knowing who’s out here—but pretty particular as to where we have to land.”
Tanner nodded to him and half smiled…
“We could see what might happen if we say took a pad beside #43…I’d allow that, captain,” he said.
Magnusson grinned at him and nodded—and then said to the helm “take us down but at the last moment, veer off to a pad beside the lit up #43, on my orders, lieutenant,” he said and he got up and ran over to the coffee station and then when he got there, he looked back at his admiral, who nodded agreement and said “double/double, please, captain.”
