NFI: New Frontiers, Incorporated: Book 2, the New Frontiers Series

by Jack L Knapp

  “You don’t say? Well, well...maybe Sol’s misdeeds finally caught up with him! I can’t say I’m sorry. I’ll cut that article out and have it framed!”

  Chuck shook his head and went back to reading.

  It was only later that he realized Frenchy had never explicitly answered his question.

  #

  “Minister, were you expecting Mister Kraenkel?”

  “I was not! You mean he’s here?”

  “Yes, Minister. Should I send him away?”

  “No, let the fool in. I intend to put a flea in his ear! A wonderful opportunity gone, all due to his bungling!” Deputy Minister Zlotov conveniently forgot the previous discussion the two had had.

  But there was no sign of Zlotov’s anger when Kraenkel was shown into the office.

  “Evgeny, bring tea! Mister Kraenkel, your visit saved me a telephone call, but are you sure this is wise? Someone may recognize you.”

  “I have other business here, so if I’m seen it won’t cause comment. I wanted to talk to you about what went wrong in France.”

  “Yes, we should discuss that. But let me pour you a tea, surely it can wait that long? Would you like a splash of brandy? I have some, it comes from France. It’s very good.”

  “A bit of brandy would go well, thank you. But about what happened in France, I have only a short time remaining. My flight leaves in two hours.”

  “Well, if you insist. Tell me of the fiasco.”

  “Not that, it was simply a matter of circumstances. I had only a few minutes, you remember, but I knew a man who would go as soon as I called. The Gendarmerie were there first, of course; by the time my man arrived, they had gone through the crashed vehicle and arrested two of the hijackers, the only survivors. They’re still in custody, but they know very little so there’s nothing they can say that will harm us. The other men were killed. One, I believe, worked directly for you.”

  “Yes. Convenient, wouldn’t you say?” Zlotov’s tone was mild, hiding the anger that seethed beneath the surface.

  “I don’t know what you mean. He was killed in the crash.”

  “Yes. But get on with your story, Mister Kraenkel.”

  “The police removed the survivors and ambulances took the dead away. The policeman in charge notified their crash response team, then waited for them to show up. They were on the way, but my men arrived first. The commandant of the Gendarmerie spoke to my man and may have recognized him; he tells me he became anxious after that, because if something happened, the authorities would realize he had a part in it. He discussed the situation with the other drivers after that, but they hadn’t reached a decision when the spaceship arrived. Zlotov, it was heavily armed! It mounted some sort of aerial cannon and it actually fired warning shots in front of my men!”

  Too bad it didn’t butcher the lot of them, the incompetent fools! But none of this reached Zlotov’s tone. “Fired on them? Really? And what did your man do then?”

  “Nothing! He admits he was frightened, he and his men had cannons of their own of course, but he had no authorization to fire and no way of knowing what was happening elsewhere. The only thing he knew was that they’d been fired upon, and soon the two spaceships flew away. The policeman reported the incident to his superiors, but it appears nothing further will be done. My man reports they were lucky to get away without incident, although questions have been raised about his removing the armored vehicles without authorization.”

  “Ah, well. Perhaps there will be another opportunity. More tea, Mister Kraenkel?”

  “No, thank you. There’s no time, my car is waiting. Until next time, Herr Minister?”

  The two shook hands and Kraenkel hurried out.

  Zlotov sipped his tea and glanced out the window. What to do? Outside, the flowers were blooming. Spring had arrived in Moscow.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Six months later

  Chuck found Wolfgang working at his desk. He stared at Chuck, then said, “You did this to me, you know. I could take a few days off between flights before, but now there’s a stack of paper waiting as soon as I get back!”

  “Quit whining, Wolfgang. You should see the stack on my desk each morning!”

  “Yeah, yeah. What can I do for you, Chuck?” Wolfgang leaned back and rubbed his eyes.

  “It’s about that hijacking. If they’d managed to get the pumps online, they’d have probably gotten away scot-free. They wouldn’t even have had to keep the ship, they just needed to set down long enough to unbolt an impeller and scram.”

  “You’re right, but I don’t see what else we can do. It’s always a race between thieves and security systems.”

  “They worked around the lock, and wrecked a fifty-million-dollar ship. Maybe the next time they’ll have someplace nearby. We can’t have that. I’m considering a different system, one that no one can bypass. The flight computers are mounted forward of the control cabin, in the nose; they’re close to the instruments, which reduces feedback delay, but a long way from the drive system. I know we’re talking milliseconds, and even small amounts of time are important. But what we save in instrument response time, we lose in gimbal and impeller responsiveness. Suppose we put the flight computer in the aft section? Some of the instruments could also be moved aft, the rest can use a single-cable run from the nose to the computers. The control system would also feed into that cable, maybe two cables for redundancy. Maybe not even use wires at all; fiber-optic circuits are harder to tap into.”

  “Okay, you’ve got fiber-optic links from the cabin to the flight computer in the rear. Now what? How do you stop someone from accessing the computer?”

  “Instead of a lock in the crew cabin, suppose we use biometric identification that feeds directly into the computer? Scan fingerprints, retinal patterns, the recognition systems are already in use, so the sensors are available. I’m thinking of setting up files on all captains and copilots, that’s the easy part. The second part is more cumbersome, which is why I wanted to see what you thought. We already have a data link via the satellite systems, so what would you think of the captain identifying himself by biometrics, the scan travels to the computer by fiber-optic cable, then the data link sends the information to Switzerland. If the biometrics match that of the captain assigned to that flight, the Swiss office remotely unlocks the flight computer. If the data doesn’t match, the computer locks the system down until a tech comes out and reboots it. Think about this; the hijackers got off the ground because they had access to the flight computer. Without that, they would never have stood a chance.”

  “I can see a couple of problems. One, you can’t leave this circuit open, you’d have to make the authorization permanent, at least for that flight. I don’t want to find myself flying a brick because I lost the link to the satellite system or the Swiss office. Once it’s authorized, it has to stay authorized. I suppose it would be okay to have the ID system reset itself when the ship is powered down after landing.”

  “Agreed. That’s easy enough to set up.”

  “Triple redundancy in flight computers. If they’re going to control the ship, we can’t take a chance on a computer deciding to lock out the crew in flight.”

  “That’s already in the works. We’re using two, we expand to three.”

  “Radio communication has to be separate from the flight computers. The computers can have their data link, but if there’s a problem, I want to be able to call for help over a separate loop. That way, someone could fly a tech out to the ship if needed.”

  “Not a problem. Anything else?”

  “It seems complicated, but I guess I can live with it. When do you intend to install this system?”

  “I’d like to put it in one of the new ships first, but leave the current system in place for the time being. Test the new system thoroughly, see if it works the way it’s supposed to, then make it part of the system as later ships come off the line. After that, retrofit the Insect class ships first, then the Farside class. The bigger birds ar
e more exposed because they follow a schedule, that’s how they got Flea. The schedule is set by the customer, so we don’t have control over it. That’s why we need a better system.”

  “Make absolutely sure it’s working before you retrofit the older ships.”

  “Done. That’s why I came to see you, but while I’m here, is there anything you need to talk about?”

  “Other than the flood of paperwork?”

  “There’s nothing we can do about that. The contracting countries, the nations we overfly, the UN too, everyone insists on paperwork. I’ve got my share of it, we all do.”

  “I suppose. No, everything else is moving right along. Martha’s finding people and running them through the simulator course. We do the final flight training here, of course. I’m being very selective.”

  “And so you should. Watch for anyone with unusual talent, there will be openings later on for different ships. Bigger ones.”

  “Different ships?”

  “I’m on my way to meet with Pete and the engineering staff. Here’s what I’ve got in mind...”

  #

  “A flying saucer?”

  “Really, it makes sense. The saucers will be the first true interplanetary ship.”

  Pete looked around. Dolph was watching interestedly, others were doodling on pads before each place; engineers like having places to sketch out ideas or just to keep their hands busy. Two were sipping coffee or tea.

  “Power system?”

  “Three small modular nuclear reactors, SMRs. They’re heavy, even taking into account the small designs. Each one has a footprint about the size of a Volkswagen bug and is expected to weigh nearly eight tons. It might be more.”

  “I’ll need exact numbers. I can work up preliminary designs, but that’s all they’ll be, ideas on paper.”

  “Keep talking.”

  “Okay, if the SMRs weigh that much, you’re going to need a lot of lift, so start with that. Simple math, 360 degrees around the circumference of the saucer, say we make it large enough to mount 360 impellers. The idea of using more small impellers is out.”

  “Lack of room?”

  “That, and complications. Lots of control systems equals lots of chances for something to go wrong. Simpler is better. Since you’re going interplanetary, make the impellers easy to service, so that means mounting them inside the skin. Begin with a deck height of two meters, about 7 feet. That means your impeller can be...let’s see...call it six feet, rough answer one point eight meters long. Expand the housing...no, these won’t need housings, they’re internal. What about gimbals?”

  “Simplified, I think, with limited range of travel. Maybe only a few degrees. I was thinking you could control the direction by applying more power or less, or reversing the voltages to switch impulse from forward to reverse. It could literally turn on a dime.”

  “That helps. But some degree of lateral motion would also help. Otherwise, you have to turn the ship in order to go where you want. Lateral thrust allows you to simply slip sideways. People claim UFOs can do that.”

  “Okay, but it would be better to mount the impellers about a meter inboard, not against the outer skin. Slightly closer to the center of the ship, so people could work around them.”

  “Doable. Better, in fact. Allow for five degrees of motion left or right too, that allows you to roll your ship around the longitudinal axis. Are three SMRs powerful enough to run that many impellers?”

  “I don’t have exact values yet. There are several types of SMRs, they put out anywhere from 50 kilowatts to 200 kilowatts. Each.”

  “That’s plenty. Make bottom deck the reactor deck, because that’s where most of the mass is. Second deck, impellers, let’s make it the deck with the greatest diameter. Third deck, smaller, workshops and repair facilities. Storage, too; you’re going to be out for months, maybe years, so you’ll need lots of storage space. Fourth deck, personnel housing for the crew, sanitation system, laundry, gymnasiums, recreation room, you name it. Fifth deck, bridge and control stations. Communications, radars, engineering readouts and controls, plus things we haven’t thought of yet. This deck would be the smallest. We’ll probably need a hydroponics area, make that the fourth deck, move the personnel deck to fifth and the command deck to sixth. You’re looking at a shape that’s more like a toy top than a saucer. On the other hand, we might decide to make it a true saucer, one or two stacked decks, but really wide. You’d need a deck half a mile in diameter, maybe more. First impression, I don’t know if we have materials that are light enough and rigid enough to build that. The spindle shape is simpler in terms of the materials that are available now. You’re looking at one of the carbon isomers, sheets or nanotubes in matrix, maybe boron. Boron or carbon, they can be formed into sheets, buckyballs, nanotubes, maybe other shapes too.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Maybe. I’ll have to do some tests. Build it on Earth or build it on Luna?”

  “Tell me about Luna.”

  “Low gravity, but doable. Even so, it would be better to build the parts on Earth and ship them to the moon for assembly. You can’t build this ship from scratch if your workers are in space suits, not unless you want it to take years, so you’re looking at building a factory first. Pressurize it so people can work in shirt sleeves. Put it on the surface to make launching easy. That means insulation, thermal and radiation. You’d need power systems for the building, electrical, maybe hydraulic and pneumatic, plus environmental control. That brings up a problem. How are you going to get a reactor weighing maybe ten tons to Luna? You’ll need a ship that’s big enough to lift the parts of your saucer. Are you set on a saucer shape as the first SMR design?”

  “Well, no. Morty thought the saucer design was best because of the maneuverability advantage from using a large outer ring of impellers. Safer, too, because of the redundancy factor.”

  “Suppose we build an oversized ship similar to what we’re already using, but with the SMR as the electrical plant. Mount bigger impellers at the ends of stub wings, use a cruciform arrangement this time. Big cargo hold forward of the power and propulsion section, as big as you want, but limited by the strength of the materials available. Maybe plan to load cargo while it’s standing upright, you’d probably have to put supports at the ends of the wings to protect the wing and impellers. Another option would be to use the skid system we’re already using with the Farside and Insect classes. I like the upright version better, because I think we’d gain some advantages in ship handling.”

  “How long to design a ship like this? Can we call it the Cigar class?”

  “You’re the boss, call it whatever you want. Are we looking at budget limits?”

  “Within reason, no.”

  “That makes life so much easier! Design, couple of months. If I need more people...change that, I will need more people...I’ll hire them. Same bunch of people as before, the Finns who built the other ships?”

  “Any reason to change companies?”

  “No. They have good quality control and they deliver on time. We could get it done cheaper, but not better.”

  “Better is good, so go with the Finns. Keep talking, Pete.”

  “My guys will design the hull and propulsion system, except for how strong the base is. If the SMR is larger or heavier, we’ll switch in stronger frame members. Got to install a mounting system too, you can’t have an eight or ten ton cargo flying around whenever you turn the ship. Weight distribution...could be a problem. All that weight in the back, not much up front. Some leverage, though...

  “I pay you to solve problems, Pete.”

  “So you do. Okay, I’ll get with the Finns. They’ve got good designers too, but we can’t decide where the center of gravity will be until we know how much weight we’re dealing with. Is Lina available to help with interior design?”

  “No. She’s busy with the babies. Being a mommy is a full time job.”

  “I thought that would be your answer, but I wanted to check. Okay, we’l
l get started.”

  #

  Frenchy stretched out on the mat and allowed the baby to tug at his hair. Lina, holding Robbie, looked on fondly.

  “You don’t have a lot left up there, dad. If he pulls too much out, you’ll look like an egg.”

  “It’s not that bad, Lina! Besides, he’s enjoying himself and he needs the exercise.”

  “He’s not the only one enjoying himself, dad. You need to spend time with Robbie too.”

  “I do, I do! But a boy needs to have his grandpa around when he’s growing up.”

  “Dad, that’s a rubber ball you’re holding, not a baseball, and he’s far too small to be playing ball with you,” Lina chided.

  “He’ll get there,” said Frenchy. “Robbie too. I won’t neglect her, but girls need mommy time more than they need grandpa time.”

  “They need both of us, Chuck too. He spends as much time playing with the kids as you do. If they’re awake, daddy’s in there with them.” Lina looked around. A sturdy low wall, easy to put up and take down, surrounded the wide mat. It allowed the children freedom to creep around on the mat, but kept them from leaving it. The exercise was obviously helping; Robbie was slightly ahead of the pediatrician’s expectations, while Bobby was barely behind what was considered normal for a one-year-old.

  “We think it’s time to wean them. I’m not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.” She stroked Robbie’s head and smiled at her. Robbie smiled back, then stretched it to a wide grin.

  “Have you noticed how attached the two are to each other? Even when I take one out to be changed, you can tell that the other is anxious. Maybe it will pass. They don’t like strangers, but the doctor assures me that’s normal. They’ve got the two of us, daddy, and their nanny. They warm up to the doctor too, but it always takes a while. He’s good, though. He has both of them smiling and waving at him by the time the visit is over.”