by Jeff Sims
The main hold was filled with specialized equipment. There was a fully self-contained diagnostic laboratory for analyzing almost anything. One of the neater items was a micro drill. It was similar in function to the large orbital drills, but sized for small digging.
Although they hadn’t requested it, the Alliance Senate had donated two hyperspace communication devices for the trip. These were crammed into the very end of the primary hold. The hyperspace communicators were a welcome addition, for they could send and receive messages anywhere in the galaxy – provided they were on a straight line path from one location to the other.
The second hold contained a wide variety of spare parts, raw materials, and specialized equipment capable of manufacturing nearly anything. Oddly enough, they were exactly like the manufacturing machines that they had left on Earth at Victory Games.
The second hold also contained enough refined deuterium and polonium to fully recharge the plasma reactor should it become necessary. The mission brief stated they would be gone for two years, but they had enough supplies to last at least six. It also had two spare hyperdrive containment units, or hyper bubbles.
The mini-freighter was the same make and model number as Victor Bullpeep’s ship the Vista that Lorano and Carank had ridden in the first time they visited Earth. The similarities between the two ships didn’t end there though.
Instead of storing great quantities of food, they copied Victor’s design and planted a space garden between the inner and outer hulls. They also cut an entryway to the garden in the same room as the Vista. However, they were scared of the effectiveness of their gardening skills, so they went ahead and packed great quantities of food anyway.
They also installed a backup power generator the same size and in the same location as the Vista. Since Lorano had installed the first one, it was much easier to simply duplicate the design than fashion something new.
There were originally 6 passenger cabins on the mini-freighter. They converted the cabin directly across the hallway from the control room into a gravity missile storage area. They also installed an automated lift assist and shuttle mechanism. Lorano certainly didn’t want to roll missiles across the floor again.
Also just like the Vista, they chose another cabin and converted it into a combination entertainment, exercise, and communication area. This even included an electronics package to make the mini-freighter nearly invisible to most radar systems. It wouldn’t hide them from advanced societies, but it should work for more primitive races like the Neto or the Humans. Lorano had no idea why the Alliance technicians had installed it.
Lorano walked up the gangway. His sense of déjà vu was so high that he half expected Crista to be waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Fortunately, she wasn’t. He rubbed his chest anyway, remembering the time that she had punched him for calling her a human. He doubted that Crista would apologize once he proved that she actually was descended from humans.
Lorano entered the mini-freighter and stowed his belongings in the center cabin. It was the same cabin that he had used on the Vista during his trip to Earth and also on the Jackal during his trips back and forth to Altian with Jack Dogbarks. He decided that there was nothing wrong with an established routine. It was, in his humble opinion, still the best room.
Lorano moved to the control room and performed a full diagnostic check of the power generator, the backup power generator, the plasma reactor, and the hyperdrive unit. Carank entered the ship shortly after him and went directly to engineering. He performed a physical inspection of each unit.
Carank joined Lorano in the control room and said, “I didn’t realize until just now how much this ship looks like the Vista.”
Lorano responded, “Well, if the design works, we may as well duplicate it. I doubt Victor Bullpeep would mind.”
Carank laughed and said, “No, but Crista might.”
Clowy and Lexxi arrived pulling a huge object on a hover cart between them. They carefully guided it up the ramp and into the entertainment area. Intrigued, Lorano followed them. He watched them begin to unpack it and couldn’t resist. He asked, “What is that?”
Lexxi responded, “It is a type 8 makeup kit. It comes with a fully programmable spa chair that is perfect for any situation.”
Lorano considered several responses including, but not limited to, “That is the dumbest thing I have ever seen in my life,” and “It will still won’t help your looks.”
However, he chose, “I think the unit is awesome. Perhaps you two will find the time to teach me some of the finer points of cosmetology during our voyage.”
They were ready to leave, but Lorano decided to make one more tour of the holds. He checked the primary hold. Perfect. He inspected the secondary hold. Again, perfect. Although he had ordered that the tertiary hold be left empty, he went ahead and inspected it anyway.
Lorano couldn’t believe it. There were three pallets sitting on the floor still neatly packed and wrapped. He walked over and inspected them closely. He shrugged when he realized that they were the exact same three pallets that were left over from their trip to Earth.
He verified that the pallets still contained nothing of any particular value. He was tempted to open the hold door and chuck them out into the spaceport, but decided that it would be too much work. Besides, someone clearly wanted him to have this gear. Or perhaps that said someone really didn’t know what to do with the stuff.
He walked back to the control room and said, “Okay crew, before we can leave we need to name this ship. Are there any suggestions?”
Lexxi replied, “Travesty.”
There were no other suggestions, so Lorano entered the name into the ship’s transponder and requested clearance. He received it immediately. Traffic control had even given them a fantastic route to the Advranki Prime – Conron hyperspace lane.
Lorano engaged the autopilot and they left.
Chapter 2
“Attention!” Jim Donovan commanded as loudly as possible. The sound of his voice didn’t carry very far in the large hangar bay, but it reached the two equal rows of humans standing a short distance from him.
Eighty people moved in unison. They moved their hands from behind their backs, moved their feet together, and put their right hands just above their right eyebrows.
Admiral Solear, Kolvak, Shole, and three other Advranki engineers were standing at one end of the twin rows. Their corvette was docked at the other end. Solear shouted “At ease” and the humans moved back to their previous position.
Solear began walking through the column. Shole and Kolvak were standing in the row directly behind Solear and were surprised when he started moving. Kolvak said, “I guess we are doing this” and started walking a little faster to close the gap between themselves and the Admiral.
Neither had seen the humans do that before. Shole turned to Kolvak and asked, “How do they do that?”
Kolvak sighed silently. How was he supposed to know how the humans moved in unison? If Shole wanted to know how the humans moved like that, then she should ask the humans how they moved in unison.
Better yet, she should have asked the humans that question sometime during the last 6 months. Today, the day that they were returning to Conron, seemed a particularly poor time to broach the subject.
Kolvak replied, “I believe that they have a mini version of the pilot helmet attached behind their left ear. They manually link to it and use it to coordinate the maneuver.”
Shole asked, “Do you know why they do it?”
Kolvak responded, “Solear told me that it is a sign of respect.”
Shole smiled and replied, “I think it is kind of cute in a frightening kind of way.”
Kolvak looked left, then right. They were walking between two rows of humans; the biggest, strongest, and most violent race in the galaxy. Most of the humans were so big that they could easily step out of line and kill them with a single punch. He certainly didn’t think that this particular exercise in interracial trust should
be classified as cute.
They successfully made it through the gauntlet and stopped at the very end. Jim Donovan and Christopher (Kip) Anderson separated themselves from the other humans.
Solear looked at Jim and said, “Captain, I stand relieved. You are now in charge of defending the Waylon system.” He turned to Kip and said, “Good luck commander.”
Both Kip and Jim replied, “Thank you Admiral.”
The Advranki boarded the corvette and left the station shortly thereafter. They had a relatively long journey ahead of them. When the corvette eventually reached Conron Naval Supply Depot and Shipyard, 203 hours (8.5 days) will have passed. However, for the crew inside the ship, only 41 hours (1.7 days) will have passed.
The trip started with a 6 hour real time flight to escape the gravity well of the Conron system. Then they had to spend another 20 real time hours performing a series of 3 micro jumps around the outskirts of the system. However, with the 10 to 1 time differential, they only experienced 2 hours of it.
After each micro jump they had to wait 2 hours for the corvette to recharge its energy reservoir. Unlike a cruiser that could tap the enormous potential energy stored in its ion cannon reservoir, a corvette only had enough storage capacity for 1 jump. It had a small emergency backup, but this wasn’t recommended for general use.
This was necessary because ship used a tremendous amount of energy to create the hyperspace window. Once the ship transitioned into hyperspace, it didn’t use very much energy and could recharge during flight. So, the net result was that the corvette could make long jumps without issue, but there wasn’t enough time to recharge its batteries during short jumps.
The third and final micro jump in the Waylon system put the corvette exactly in the middle of the Waylon - Uselon hyperspace lane. They obtained clearance, waited the aforementioned two hours, and made the 6 hour jump from Waylon to Uselon.
Once there, they performed a series of 3 micro jumps around the gravity well of Uselon. Each jump only lasted an about 20 minutes of shipboard time. The ironic part was that the 2 hour wait to recharge the jump drives took longer than the actual hyperspace jumps.
The corvette was currently waiting to start the final leg of the Uselon system jump. Once complete, they should be sitting at entry to the Uselon – Conron hyperspace lane. After spending the last few months stationed on a practically empty space station, the tight quarters of the corvette were starting to annoy the crew members.
A corvette was designed to comfortably house 2-4 beings and had the capacity to handle up to 10 if required in an emergency. The ship was, therefore, uncomfortably housing the six Advranki. There were 6 individual cabins, but otherwise there was very little space to move around and almost no privacy.
There were only eleven rooms in a corvette; the aforementioned six cabins, a galley, engineering, a recreational room, an exercise area, and the bridge. However, the term bridge is used politely as it was essentially just a two person control room fashioned after a mini-freighter.
Normally, the engineering area was an excellent place for an engineer to seek solace. Unfortunately, of the six passengers, five of them were engineers. Therefore, the only place that Shole and Kolvak could find to have a private conversation was the exercise area.
Kolvak stepped on a machine and started walking. Shole stepped onto the one next to him also began walking; though the program that she had selected made her walk at little more than an amble. It was still considered exercise though.
Kolvak saw her slow pace and asked, “How many exercise points do you have?”
Shole replied, “I don’t know. I think only 6 this month. You?”
He knew her well enough by now to realize that when she started a sentence with I don’t know, she generally did know, but was exaggerating for effect. More than likely, she only had 3 or 4 points.
They were supposed to exercise 30 minutes a day at least three times a week. Each exercise session earned them one point. The minimum number of exercise points for naval personnel for a month was ten. With the month nearly over, Shole was not going reach her minimum goal.
That meant that she was probably not going to earn her ½ day of vacation at the end of the quarter. Kolvak already had nine points this month with a week to go.
Kolvak said, “I don’t know. About the same I think.” Two could play at that game. If she wanted to exaggerate, he could certainly understate.
He continued, “What do you want to do when we get back to Conron?”
Shole: “I don’t know yet, probably go shopping or something. Maybe spend some time soaking in a sea moss bath. How about you?
“I haven’t made any definitive plans.” Kolvak had in fact made some definitive plans, but he wasn’t going to mention them. Why should he, they were his plans after all. He thought for a moment and suddenly changed his mind.
He replied, “I too plan to spend some time soaking in a sea moss bath. In fact, I booked a spa for both of us the moment we arrive at the Conron Naval Supply Depot and Shipyard.” He really wanted someone to come up with a decent acronym for the name of the station.
Shole sighed in anticipation and asked, “How much longer do we have?”
Kolvak wondered briefly what she meant for a moment. Did she mean how much longer on the treadmill, or how much longer on the journey. He decided to ask for clarification. He was about to speak when he stopped and changed his mind.
Kolvak: “We just passed 24 hours, so we should be home in another 18. Further, we just passed 18 minutes on the treadmill, so we only have another 12 minutes to go.”
Shole (still pronounced sho lé) said, “Ah, Advranki sea moss baths. That really brings back some memories. Do you know what happened to me during my very first sea bath?”
Kolvak thought, how could he know? He didn’t know her as a youth and really hadn’t researched her past. He supposed that he could try to find all public records and recordings of her as a child and study them for any clues to this particular riddle. However, it really didn’t seem to be worth his time.
Kolvak replied, “No, what happened?”
Shole: “Well, it wasn’t actually my first sea moss bath. At least it wasn’t supposed to be. Our elementary class took a visit to see the large sea moss fields in the countryside. We were walking through one and a boy tripped me.”
Kolvak: “That doesn’t sound very nice.”
Shole: “He apologized profusely. I don’t think he meant to do it. Anyway, I fell face first into a large field of sea moss.” She paused expectantly.
Kolvak replied, “Then what happened?”
Shole: “Well, as I said, I fell and landed face down in the sea moss. I bounced once and then softly settled in the moss. It was amazingly soft and comfortable. I started laughing. Then, everyone else in my class jumped in the large field and laid down beside me. We had a wonderful time bouncing around in the field. Afterward, I gave the boy a small kiss on the cheek and formally accepted his apology.”
Kolvak was glad that he hadn’t bothered to research that story. He decided to try to reminisce about something they both had experienced.
Kolvak said, “Switching subjects, do you remember the time we accidentally stowed away on the Sunflower?”
Shole replied, “Yes. We jumped from Conron and were surrounded by an entire Hiriculan fleet. The Humans went on the offensive and we successfully destroyed 6 of the 7 enemy ships and the remaining one requested political asylum. Then you got to transfer to the Hiriculan battleship and help fly it back to Conron.”
Kolvak waxed philosophically and responded, “Fun times.”
Shole responded, “I think we made excellent progress with the Humans. They actually learned how to maintain every system and even learned a little bit of the math that governs the individual systems.
Kolvak added, “Yes, they should be able to keep the space station running successfully by themselves now.”
Shole said, “I especially liked the time that you, I, Becky, and Colin tran
sferred to the mining station and we taught them how to operate it.”
Kolvak replied, “I doubt that they will ever need to use it, but I don’t blame them. It seemed rather pointless for the Humans to have a mining drill in the system and not know how to use it.”
Shole said, “The Humans aren’t too bad when you interact with them one on one like that trip, but I never really got used to being around them in a large group.”
“Me either,” Kolvak confessed.
Shole smiled and said, “I think the worst time was when we had to walk through the twin lines. That was really eerie. Do you remember that?
Kolvak responded, “Like it was yesterday.”
………..…………
Roughly 38 hours later Jim, Russ Brand, Kip, and Colin O’Neal were sitting in the main telecommunications area of the space station. This room was where all incoming communications entered the station and all outgoing signals left.
Further, the station’s huge array of sensors and cameras were routed here; allowing it to act as the hub for monitoring any ships in the area. Generally, this area was referred to traffic control. The four humans present referred to it as the command center – at least until they could think of a decent acronym for the place.
Jim said, “TAC.”
Kip replied, “Tactical Air Command. That won’t work.”
“TC,” Russ ventured.
Colin responded, “Not enough letters.”
“Okay,” Russ corrected, “How about Traffic Control and Command or TCC?”
Kip said, “Command and Traffic Control, or CTC, has a better ring to it.”
Jim said, “It has potential, but it almost as wordy as simply saying command center.”
Colin studied the monitor. The corvette carrying the 6 Advranki had been sitting at the entryway to the Waylon – Uselon hyperspace lane for the past two hours. And the four humans had been sitting in the control room watching it on the main monitor for the past hour.
