by John Ricks
“He’s a remarkable boy.”
I broke in and said, “Hey. You’re embarrassing me. Please stop. Besides, God helped.”
They stared at me for a minute, and then one reporter asked, “You talk to God?”
“No, I pray to God for guidance, and I get some remarkable ideas. I’m content with getting inspiration.”
They both relaxed a little.
“He has strong faith, as you can see,” said the president. She turned to the screen and said, “Time to watch.” We were just leaving the home base and going up through the shields.
“Home base cleared. We have confirmation and clearance to proceed, Captain.”
“How are you feeling, Gal?”
“Fine, Captain. No issues except a crack in a weld in section 3.1.2.5.”
I said, “That would be forward section, level one, at point two, and five feet in from starboard. Captain, please hold while I check that out.”
“Holding, Freddy.”
Patricia and I left the quarterdeck and headed forward and down to level one. On the way, she asked, “What’s the deal with the ball?”
“Tell no one, but it’s the answer.” She didn’t ask any more, but I could tell she now was really curious.
When we reached the forward deck, Gal led us to the issue. Sure enough, one of the welds on the forward laser cannon was weak and cracked. “Okay, Patricia. You know the drill. This is only the first.” She smiled, and we worked together using a tractor beam to pull the cannon back into place and then using a die-breaker to remove and remake the seam completely. When we were finished, we scanned it to ensure its completeness. Everything was good to go, and Gal reported that to the bridge. When we returned, they were already at twenty-five miles straight up and getting ready to test the impulse engines. We took our seats. I checked the ship’s systems, and I checked the ball. Everything was green.
“Gal,” said Captain Rex, “status, please.”
“All is working at optimum, Captain.”
“Navigator, plot a course that will take us out of this solar system with no obstacles.”
“Scanning. Plotting. Laid in, Captain.”
“Start at one hundred miles per hour. Engage.”
The screen showed forward, aft, and eight other positions. We could clearly see Earth, and at this range, we could hardly tell we were moving.
“Scan reports one hundred miles per hour, Captain.”
Captain Rex said, “Didn’t feel a thing. Navigator, go to five hundred miles per hour. Engage.”
“Scan reports five hundred miles per hour, Captain.”
“Navigator, one-quarter impulse. Engage.”
“Structural shift in sections 2.2.6 through 2.2.9.”
“Captain,” I said, “please hold at one-quarter impulse while I check this out.”
“Will do, Freddy.”
“Gal, show reports of structures surrounding sections 2.2.5 through 2.2.10.” The reports came up on the screen. There was no damage. “Good. Now give me a report on the balance of the dampeners and gravity-field calibrations, both before and after the last change in speed.”
Two lists came up on the board. A lot of adjustments were out of place on the first section labeled “before” but only two in red on the one labeled “after.” I smiled. My automatic adjustments were working. The ship had corrected over eight hundred minor adjustments. Two were out of adjustment too far to be automatically corrected.
I left the quarterdeck with Patricia, saying, “This will only take a minute …” By the time I made it to Engineering, though, Ensign Jason Tam had already completed the adjustments. Patricia was ecstatic that her friend, a brilliant engineer from MIT, had been remotely watching my console and saw the problems I saw and adjusted them out. As we headed back to the bridge. I gave her a pat on the back for her good choice of personnel.
“Captain, please cut speed to five hundred miles per hour or less, and then increase to one-quarter impulse again.”
“Navigator, engage.”
“Scan shows five hundred miles per hour. Scan now shows one-quarter impulse at twenty-five million miles per hour.”
The captain said, “I didn’t feel a thing, Freddy. Good job!”
“Not me, Captain. Ensign Tam had it adjusted before we got there. He’s a good man. Patricia and I may steal him from you if you’re not careful.”
He smiled and mumbled, “Over my dead body. Navigator, one-half impulse. Engage.”
One of the reporters asked, “Freddy, what would have happened if we had tried to go faster before realizing that things were out of adjustment?”
I answered with a smile and said as politely as I could, “The things, ma’am, were gravity-field balancing units. If we had tried warp speed with them out of balance, then you would be asking this question of God. Going from any speed into warp speed is about the most dangerous thing you will ever experience. Any one of a million little things can go wrong and leave you like mush on the wall. I really should show everyone my experiments with fruit. It’s a good way to make applesauce.”
The president said, “Freddy, don’t be morbid.” She took over the conversation, saying, “Actually, he’s telling the truth. It is extremely dangerous, but then, so was sailing to the New World. Let’s look at facts. If you count all the small ships, this is the fortieth ship Freddy has put up so far, and not one has been less than perfect.”
“Navigator,” said the captain, “full impulse. Engage.”
“Scan shows full impulse at 382.5 million miles per hour, Captain.”
“Captain,” said Communications. “America’s Pride confirms 382.5.”
“Very well. Log it in.” He turned to me and said, “Slightly bigger, Freddy. That’s a good hundred million faster than any other ship in the fleet.”
I blushed and shrugged. “There’s a lot more room on this ship, Captain. Therefore, I gave you some slightly oversized engines.”
“Okay, Freddy. Any surprises with the FTL drive?”
“Oh yes. Just wait and see. You’re going to like this.”
He turned back around. “Here we go, folks. Navigator, give me warp one. Engage.”
My stomach felt like it was going to turn inside out, and then everything settled. Ball looked upset too, so I picked it out of the air and whispered to it that everything was okay. It calmed down. The president saw me talking to the ball, so I asked her to hold it for me. “It gets nervous,” I explained.
She smiled and said, “Gladly.” She took the ball and started tossing it up about a foot and catching it.
I immediately turned to my console and started working on the problem. Nothing was wrong. There was no problem with the ship. “Gal, play back a scan of the navigational controls during that last move, include heading, expected position, and actual position.” It came up on my screen. I studied it for a good minute before I saw the problem. “Captain, all stop, please.”
“Navigator, engage.” We came to a dead stop.
“Captain Rex, this is America’s Dream.”
The captain said, “Put them on screen, Lieutenant Williams.”
I waved hello to Lieutenant Morgan, as she was commanding America’s Dream.
“Hi, Freddy. Captain Rex, that was a unique maneuver. Spinning faster than the speed of light. Add a little soap and water, and you’d be squeaky clean.”
I went to the navigation station with Patricia and started pulling off a panel. Patricia asked, “What did you find, Freddy?”
“The navigational controls are off by nearly one-half of a percent on the Z-axis and over two percent on the Y-axis.”
She said, “I’ll get the Y-axis, then.” She started taking off another panel. We were both deep inside the navigation station and passing tools back and forth as the captains talked. When we finished, we put everything back toge
ther and cleaned up. We inventoried the tools and sat down. It’s not good to have loose tools around. I found that out the hard way.
“Captain,” I said, “if you would please.”
“Navigator, five hundred miles per hour.”
“Captain,” I interrupted, “please go to warp one right off.”
“From a dead stop, Freddy? I thought you said that we should not do that.”
“Surprise! With this new engine it’s no longer an issue outside of atmosphere.”
“Very well. Navigator, warp one. Engage.” We hit warp one as smooth as could be.
“Scan reports warp one, Captain.”
“Good job, Patricia and Freddy. You’re a good team.”
“Thanks,” we said in unison.
“Navigator, let’s have warp two. Engage.”
Scan said, “Captain, at warp two on this new course, we will hit several objects in twenty seconds.”
“Scan reports at warp two, Captain.”
“Navigator, set in a course around those objects. Engage.”
“New course laid in and engaged, sir.”
“Scan shows a clear path again, sir.”
“Bring the objects up on the screen.” The screen showed several parts of an alien ship. There were burn spots, indicating signs of a conflict.
The admiral said, “Captain, order two ships to stay back and scan that wreck. I want to know what did this and how, who that ship belonged to, and why it was left out here. Freddy, do you need the parts off that thing?”
“No, sir. My scanners show it’s all common stuff. All well below our technology.”
“Then after making a complete report, get rid of it. I don’t want debris cluttering up our space. Make it so, Comms.”
The captain shifted in his seat. “Okay. Now let’s see what this baby can do. Navigator, warp eight. Engage.”
“Coming to warp eight now, sir.”
We were flying now.
The captain asked, “Freddy, the controls at Navigation are only halfway. Why?”
I turned around and faced him. “Surprise again, Captain! Try warp ten.”
He looked at me skeptically. “Navigator, warp ten. Engage.”
“Coming to warp ten in three, two, one. Warp ten, Captain.”
“You may be able to squeeze warp 10.5 out of them,” I said, “but be careful, and don’t stay at it for very long.”
“Freddy, you’re amazing.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
He turned around and said, “Navigator, warp five, please. Let’s give the others a chance to catch up.”
“Where are we, Freddy?” asked a reporter.
“Well past Pluto and close to Alpha Centauri.”
The crew played “chase” and “tag” for three hours with the rest of the fleet before starting for home.
Gray said in amazement, “His first big ship could do warp ten!”
I giggled, as little Yellows was tickling me to keep me quiet.
Green said, “Apparently they started out faster than we did.”
Yellows asked, “What is the ball for?”
Green smiled behind a tentacle. “It’s the answer, Yellows.”
“Funny, Green. Continue.”
Chapter 35
Saving the World in Two Ways
The captain turned his chair around. “Dr. Anderson?”
“Whoops, using my title. Something important, Captain?”
“Yes, Freddy. When can we destroy that rock?”
“Actually, I’m glad you asked. I’m ready now, if you are.”
“How long will it take to load your equipment, sir?” the captain asked.
“On this console, two minutes at the most,” I said.
“Don’t we have to go back to the base and get your missiles?”
“I need only one.”
Everyone straightened in his or her seat, and the tension escalated.
“Only one, Freddy?”
“The improvements made to this ship, Captain, and the fact that we have a fleet of forty ships assisting makes it necessary to only break it into smaller pieces. After that, it will be target practice for the fleet. Captain, nothing must escape. If some pieces are allowed to hit our asteroid belt, then you guys could be kept busy for a very long time. For that reason, I made one missile that pretty much removes most of it, all at once.”
“Understood. Navigator, lay in a course for that rock at warp five. Engage. Communications, have the fleet join us there. Freddy, just for my understanding, how far back would you suggest we be when your missile goes off?”
I turned to my console and did some figuring. “About half a light-year, and be prepared to start shooting the pieces that break off. Please have the shields up to full, Captain. The shock wave could be bad.”
“Where are all the rest of the missiles?”
“All of the information and all of the other missiles have been dismantled, and the component parts were used to build this ship.” I shrugged and said, “I was running out of available materials, Captain. I spent a few minutes thinking of where I could get some. They were the best choice; therefore, I changed the design and made one simple missile capable of doing all the work by itself, and I used the leftover materials to help build the last parts for the engines on this ship.” I smiled.
“Good thinking, Freddy. But what happens if that missile misses?”
“It won’t miss, Captain.”
“Humor me, Freddy. What happens?”
“This missile is for that rock, and if it misses, the most likely thing will be that it will be pulled into the sun or the gravitational pull of another planet.”
“And …?”
“No more sun or planet.”
A cameraman exclaimed. “That’s not possible. You can’t destroy the sun with one simple missile. It’s pure nuclear power.”
“My bomb does not work on normal thinking, sir. I assure you that if it aimed its sights at the sun, then the sun would be gone from existence.”
The president asked nervously, “And a thing like that is on this ship?”
“You’re holding it.”
“Quit kidding with me, Freddy.”
“Bomb, come here, please.”
The ball drifted up from her lap and came over to me. “It’s totally harmless until I arm it. See, Madam President?” I tossed it up. The captain grabbed it and, very slowly and gently, set it down on his chair.
“Freddy, when we get back, I am going to give you a spanking myself,” said the president, shaking.
One of the reporters fainted. I said, “Whoops. I think she just remembered that she dropped the ball.” As they were taking care of her, I said, “Look, Madam President—I couldn’t just leave it alone. I had to bring it with us, as it gets upset when it’s left alone for very long. Its computer is very touchy.” I turned toward the ball and said, “Bomb, come here, please.” It drifted up and over to me. “It’s all right. They don’t hate you. Calm down, please.”
“Captain, we’re at station. Twenty-one of the smaller ships are with us. The rest that we can man are on the way.”
“Good,” I said. “Everyone ready?”
The captain gave orders to the fleet to spread out and surround the rock at one-half light-year. “Nothing gets through,” he ordered. When all forty ships were ready, he turned to me. “Please, Freddy, get rid of that thing.”
I think he was talking about the ball, but I purposefully took it to mean the asteroid. The rock was already on screen. I said, “Team, please pay no attention to what I’m about to say to Bomb.” They nodded.
“Bomb?” I said. It blinked a little green. “See that rock on the screen?” It blinked green again. “Scan for it outside at about half a light-year away.” It blinked blue and then green. “Se
e it?” It blinked green. “That rock is going to harm me.” It blinked red and disappeared—and so did the rock.
“Captain, scans show an energy wave heading out in all directions from where that rock was. It’s traveling at warp 3.23. It’s destroying everything in its path. It’s diminishing, half strength, quarter strength, nearly gone. It’s gone, sir.”
“Scan the area for debris.”
“Yes, Captain, scanning. No debris at all, Captain. Not even the normal space dust. Nothing.” Admiral Pinn turned toward me, staring.
Everyone was looking at me. Communications ended the silence. She said, “Captain, all ships are reporting the same thing. Look at the scans. They’re doing loops—and listen to this, sir.” She put the ship’s intercom on the speaker. There was yelling and cheering and general “We did it!” throughout the ship. The captain gave the sign to have the speaker cut out, and all went silent. Susan pulled me to her, as she could see I was frightened by the attention I was getting. They were not cheering on the bridge.
I read their thoughts—just the surface ones—and so did Melanie, the president’s aide. She turned to me and said, “Freddy, you know why they’re so worried, don’t you?”
“I know.”
“You know what you must do. I can read you very clearly, and it’s the right thing.”
“I know, but I’m scared.”
“We’ll protect you, but you must do it.”
I looked at her, and before Susan could ask what I was going to do, I put my hand to my head. I screamed and screamed and finally passed out. The bridge was now in turmoil. The captain got things under control quickly and said, “Please tell me our hero is still alive.”
I was bleeding from my mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. Susan said, “He has a pulse, but it’s faint. Melanie, what did he do?”
“He’s all right, Captain James. It just hurts.” She had tears in her eyes. “It hurts more than anything you can possibly imagine. Luckily, he passed out quickly. If he had not, he could have died from the pain. He’ll be okay in a few days. Very tired and weak but okay.”
