Rapparee: The Regeneration (The Journey of the Freighter Lola Book 5)

by Robert Weisskopf

  Outside the sick bay, I hushed them down and explained we had a treat for them. I pointed out they needed to remain quiet and not make any sudden moves. When I had them calm, I knocked on the door and Chris opened it. Still in his arms and enjoying the ham was our little Troll.

  Julie pushed past me and walked up to Chris. With natural mothering instincts, she took the little Troll from Chris. The baby seemed to accept her right off and put an arm around her neck, hugging her close. The experts were content to watch from the corridor.

  Chris stepped away from the baby, unnoticed. He joined me in the passageway. We stepped off to one side to talk without anyone listening in. “Jack, this Troll presents us with a whole new set of factors to figure in. We need to sit down and discuss this in a little while. How about in your galley?”

  I agreed. “First we need a safe secure spot to keep the Troll. He can’t wander around. He'll need a 24-hour watch. A real, hands-on watch. Someone he trusts will have to stay with him. We can’t leave him in a room and lock the door.

  Nodding, Chris said, “I agree. I’m sure our experts want some time with him. By the way, it’s a him. I’m sure Julie will want some input on this, but I was thinking this might be a good job for Kenny. Maybe not full time, but he might enjoy this and be able to handle the little guy.”

  “Let’s meet in my galley in twenty minutes. We need to work this out.” I said.

  I left the sick bay and went back up to the hangar bay. Tony was still there beside the shuttle sorting through the debris they had recovered. “Find anything interesting?” I asked.

  “Yes and no.” He responded tentatively. “This is the remains of a Star Class cruiser. Probably ten years old. There’ve been some modifications. The skin panel has been treated in a process that changed the metal. It's degraded is a strange way. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it isn’t anything I’ve seen before.”

  “Show me,” I said.

  He picked up part of a panel that had to be the ships outside skin. On the inside, it was charred from the blast, the other side was a pebble grain finish. Something polished it and it reflected the hangar lights like a dimpled mirror.

  “I’ve never seen an exterior skin on a spacecraft like this. They’re usually painted and have a dull finish. All those micro dust particles in space that we go through behave like sandpaper after a while. If anything, I would expect a satin finish not shiny like this.” Tony pointed out to me.

  “I see your point. Run a full gamut of tests on it and let me know what you think. There's something strange about this whole thing. We're meeting in my galley in about twenty minutes. Come by when you can.” I said.

  Leaving Tony to do his investigation I went to my galley. This morning’s events had me baffled. Who attacked us? Why was the baby Troll in the craft? How did the attacking craft sneak up on us without being spotted?

  I flipped the lights on in the galley and went to make the coffee. There would be four of us to start and we would have others joining as we needed them. I put a tray of coffee mugs on the large round table. They were an industrial style mug but had the Lola logo on them in emerald green. I set out a stack of small plates and of course a full creamer and sugar bowl.

  I had a large selection of pastries prepared by my friend Renee. His restaurant was famous throughout the galaxy, but he always had time for me and my friends. We were an adopted part of his extended family. He’d taken over kitchen planning for the Lola, even though he had never traveled on her. He had trained the staff and ensured we were properly stocked.

  I set out a selection of fruit filled Danish pastries and a coffee cake. Chris and Julie came through the doorway. Julie still had the baby Troll on her hip. The baby had one arm around Julie’s shoulder and seemed to be enjoying himself. Julie’s smile glowed with her warm caring nature.

  She sat down at the table with her back to the wall. This way the baby could see whoever entered. No one would come up from behind and startle the little guy. Considering the little Troll had the strength of two men it was a wise choice.

  I grabbed one of the travel mugs we use on the bridge and filled it with water. The baby Troll may be thirsty, and this was the closest we had to a sippy cup on the ship. Julie took it in one hand and offered it to the little guy. He was curious about the cup at first but grasped the idea as soon as he tasted the cool water. He sucked it empty and I refilled it.

  Chris grabbed the coffee pot when it was ready and poured us each a cup. Nicky came in with Tony. They were carrying a smaller section of the attacking ship’s outer skin. They helped themselves to a cup of coffee and each picked up a pastry.

  Chris took a sip of his coffee and began. “Since the attack, we made a few interesting discoveries, but have we learned anything from them?” He asked

  I responded, “I went over the sensor recordings. The attacking ship popped up out of nowhere. There were no other ships near it. One moment it was there on a collision course. Iwona and Al did a masterful job in the way they handled the situation. We tried to evade but the attacking ship was locked on and corrected for any move we made. We attempted to warn them off but in the end, we had no choice but to destroy it with our photon gun. We attempted to recover debris to find some answers. Instead, we found two bigger questions.”

  Chris turned to Tony and Nicky. “Anything with the rest of the debris?”

  Nicky nodded to Tony who lifted the panel onto the table after he cleared an area. “We cut this from the larger panel. You can see here it is charred on the one side. That’s the inside and was exposed to the blast responsible for destroying the ship. I imagine our photon blast hit either a fuel cell or O2 tank. On the other side, you’ll notice the shiny pebble grained finish. It’s unlike any outer skin I have ever seen on a spacecraft. There is microscopic pitting. Maybe pitting is the wrong word, perhaps etching is better. Something peculiar caused this. Nicky will take it from here.” He said turning to Nick.

  Nick sat up straight and began, “four or five hundred years ago a theoretical physicist named Miguel Alcubierre, theorized a type of space travel utilizing the warping of the space-time continuum for faster than light travel. Science fiction and media began calling the proposed method of transportation a Warp Drive. This method warped space around the ship allowing it to move from one point to another in a relatively short time without moving. Space moved around it. One of the effects of this was the creation of a theorized quantum particle known as a Tachyon.” He took a sip of his coffee and continued.

  “As far as I know scientists haven’t been able to make a practical Warp drive yet. They’ve been able to make a Warp in space and move small solid objects from point A to point B faster than the speed of light. No living creatures have survived the trip. An interesting side effect is the outside of the objects that travel at Warp speed is they all exit the Warp with this same pitting on the outside of the object. Tachyons are believed to be the cause. I scanned this for Tachyons and this is it,” he said pointing at the sample on the table.

  Julie spoke up, “Does anything else cause this Tachyon pitting?”

  Nicky shook his head, “No, nothing.”

  To clarify Julie asked, “You’re saying that the only thing that could have done this to the skin of the ship is Tachyon pitting and the only way to get Tachyon pitting is to travel with a Warp drive.”

  Nicky nodded and responded. “Yes, as far as I know, that would be the only way for this to happen. Mind you this is all theoretical, and I’m not a physicist, but I believe this attack ship traveled through a space Warp with a live Troll on board.”

  No one said anything. The idea of what had happened took a moment to seep into our brains and make sense. The ramifications were startling. Someone was developing a working Warp drive. They had contact with the Trolls and were using them as test subjects.

  Tony wondered out loud, “Why would they target us with a Warp drive ship?”

  Chris answered him. “Maybe they didn’t. Maybe the ship was shot
off towards a receiver somewhere in space and we got in the way. The ships automated controls might have accidentally locked onto us. We might have been crossing paths.”

  I switched my personal com unit to the bridge. “Iwona determine the original trajectory of Bogey 1. Determine where it was headed if we were never there. Let me know as soon as you get something.”

  “Let’s see if we can figure out where it was headed,” I added.

  Chapter 8

  We were fortunate to have recovered what we did of the Warp drive ship when we did. In deep space, the particles of an explosion speed off in every direction. With each passing minute, the debris field expands exponentially. The only things slowing down the particles are collisions with other particles when there is no gravity or atmosphere to trap them. Our efforts to find salvageable evidence would have been futile twenty minutes later. Our little baby Troll would have died a cold lonely death.

  “Our new passenger will need some special care and 24-hour supervision. I'll be happy to spend my free time with him, but I’m busy with a lot of other things. I’ll need help. Also, we need a place to keep him.” Julie said.

  The Kupp brothers sat at the smaller table in the room listening and learning. Terry Kupp spoke up. “There’s an empty side bay in the livestock hold next to where we have the hogs. With a little help, we can set up a comfortable living quarters for the little guy. Andy and I'll be glad to lend a hand keeping an eye on him, but we also have other of chores with the hogs. I don’t think we could watch him full-time.”

  “We have the perfect person in mind.” Switching my comms I called the galley. “Send Kenny to my galley. I have a job for him.” I said.

  Moments later Kenny came through the door and every eye was upon him. With bulging eyes and a timid look, it was obvious Kenny thought he was in trouble for something.

  Chris stood up and put his arm around Kenny’s shoulders. “Kenny my boy, I have a special job for you. It comes with a promotion and title. You are now the ship’s Troll liaison and concierge. What do you think of that?” He asked.

  “Yes sir, what does that mean sir?” Kenny stuttered.

  Chris continued. “We need someone who can take care of our newest passenger. You'll need to see to his every need, make sure he's safe and secure, and more important, keep him out of trouble. Understand?”

  “Sir?” Kenny answered

  “Oh, you haven’t met our newest passenger yet, have you?” Chris steered him towards Julie.

  Julie stood and presented the baby to Kenny. “See if he likes you.”

  A huge smile spread across Kenny’s face. He reached out, the baby Troll sensing he would be safe, relaxed his grip on Julie, allowing Kenny to take him in his arms. “Hey little buddy, how are you? How did you get on Lola?” Kenny asked.

  Chris sat back down. “We have our man. Terry and Andy, can you go get that bay setup. Take a couple of the Genus men and make it comfortable for both Kenny and the baby Troll. Remember this, the Troll is not livestock, he’s a guest.”

  Andy and Terry hurried off to start their job.

  Nicky C spoke up. “We need to send a message to Dr. Montejano and let her know what we’ve found. She might be able to shed some light on our little friend. Is this guy part of her clan of Trolls or are there other tribes on Chico 7? Also, have her find out if there are any special needs this little guy has that we should address. Let’s send her some good video of the baby so they might be able to determine an age for him.”

  Chris agreed. “I’ll get right on it.”

  While we were talking, I noticed Kenny sat on the floor with his back against the wall. He was playing with the baby Troll. The Troll was playing with Kenny. Kenny seemed right at home with the little guy. Okay, what do we call him?

  “What are we going to call this Troll? He needs a name.” I asked

  Kenny spoke up from the floor. “His name is Butch. He likes that name.”

  It sounded good to me. “Okay, Butch it is. Now, what time is it? I’ve completely lost track with all the excitement today.”

  It was now afternoon. Most of us hadn’t had anything to eat today other than the Danish on the table. “Let’s break and meet back after lunch.”

  Everyone agreed and got up and left. Julie helped Kenny to his feet and they went aft to the cargo holds. Butch was in good hands.

  I made my way back to the bridge. Iwona and Al were both still on duty. I know they’d been up all night and needed a relief, so I called for a watch to take their positions while I manned the bridge. As they were getting their consoles cleared up and getting ready to leave I said to them. “You two saved the day. Had you not been on the ball and acted swiftly we'd all be dead right now. Thank you. Now go get a bite to eat and some sleep.”

  I had a moment alone on the bridge before the relief crew arrived. It had been over a year since I sat at Lola’s helm, alone on the bridge. My life has changed so dramatically since then. I've been shot, and Lola was attacked several times. I met and fell in love with Julie. Now we're engaged. I became a Vice President of Genus. I now have more than I ever imagined. Where being alone on the bridge was what I once wanted in life, it no longer was, and it felt lonely. When the next crew came in, I welcomed them.

  Back towards the livestock hold, a small parade followed Kenny and Julie as they carried the baby Troll now known as Butch. The men of Genus were all smiles as if they were watching a cute playful puppy. The Kupp brothers had grabbed a couple of the troopers and cleared the bay by the time the parade arrived. The bay was approximately ten feet by ten feet. There was a soft waterproof rubber flooring that we could wash down. They were looking for some furniture for the area. One of the troopers grabbed a medicine ball from the gym. He figured Butch would need something to play with. Every boy needs a ball.

  The bay had a front wall that was re-configurable. It has now a waist-high fence. It opened up the area making it seem less like a cell which is what it was. The area had a sink, a bench, and a cot built into the wall. The Kupps weren’t aware of the way the room could be reconfigured. When Leroy arrived and showed them, they quickly set up a comfortable room for the little Troll.

  Some people drifted away to get lunch. I sent sandwiches and ham back to Julie, Kenny, and Butch. Throughout the entire afternoon, there was a crowd leaning over the fence to Butch’s room. He seemed to enjoy the attention and was warming up to everyone. He loved his new ball.

  One thing became obvious early on. Butch had the strength of a strong adult male human. If he shoved you, you knew it. He didn’t realize his strength and loved to wrestle with Kenny. Kenny had size on Butch and could keep him at arm’s length. Fortunately for Kenny, Butch was a baby and tired quickly. He would fall asleep in either Julie’s or Kenny’s arms for quick 15-minute naps.

  Chris sent off a message to Dr. Montejano, requesting information on baby Trolls, and Butch specifically. We could expect a reply in about ten hours. The delay was growing smaller as neared our destination.

  Iwona left me a report projecting the trajectory of the Warp drive ship. Had we not intercepted it, the ship would have passed into Chico 7’s solar system. There had to be a ship there waiting for it. It was the only thing that made sense.

  I pulled up the star maps for Chico 7’s system. There were six planets circling the star. There was also a very large asteroid belt in the middle of the pack. Several of the planets were in long elliptical orbits rather than what we usually see for planets like Earth. It should be easy to covertly enter the system. However, this also meant that it would be easy for another ship to hide in there while it waited for us.

  Suddenly it struck me. I was starving. I hadn’t had anything other than a pastry to eat since the klaxon sounded this morning. I excused myself and went to my little galley. I began to make myself a snack. An everything bagel, open face, with a couple slices of turkey sprinkled with Romano cheese and then toasted should do the job. I toasted the sandwich while pouring a glass of iced tea.

&nbs
p; Gathering my snack, I sat at the smaller table. I started to wonder what these unusual, recent events meant to us. We headed back to a small planet that was home to new creatures we called Trolls. They had arrived on the planet thousands of years ago in a spaceship. We discovered it entombed in an underground cavern. The planet was the mother lode of an unusual dark green diamond known as Carbonado.

  This strange new diamond could only be found in small quantities elsewhere. It was rare. Beautiful when cut, it possessed unusual qualities that made it valuable for quantum computing. Primitive quantum computers have existed for several centuries but due to technological limitations, man had not been able to reach the theoretical benefit expected. Now with Carbonado, these limits seemed to be surmountable.

  The planet that possessed this lode of crystals also was home to Trolls. According to their folklore, they arrived on the planet by spacecraft a millennium or more ago. We found the spacecraft and preliminary investigation seems to confirm the fact. We were bringing experts to examine the ship to learn what we could.