Frontiers 07 - The Expanse

by Ryk Brown

  “Because you wanted to kill Corinairans, or because you were afraid of the consequences should you refuse that order?”

  “Because it was my duty, sir. Those that kill out of desire are not honorable men; they are savages.”

  Major Prechitt looked at the lieutenant, studying him for a moment. “You don’t sound like any of the nobles I met during my forced service to the empire.”

  “Not all of us believed in the babble that spewed forth from the mouth of our former emperor.”

  “Then what is it that the nobles are loyal to?” Major Prechitt asked. “Other than wealth and power, that is.”

  “I am not about to defend the nobles whose interests were focused on such concerns. I can only speak for the loyalties of myself and my house, which were to our society. Upholding it was the duty of every nobleman.”

  “One might call that a flawed system,” Major Prechitt said. “However, I appreciate your honesty, Lieutenant, and I respect your sense of duty and honor as well.” The major took a bite of his salad. “I suspect we have more in common than you might think.”

  “I might add, Major, that I am quite happy that the leader I currently serve is unlikely to ever give such an order.”

  Major Prechitt looked at the lieutenant, who was smiling. “As am I, Lieutenant. As am I.”

  * * *

  “We have completed the analysis of jump eight,” a Takaran scientist reported as he handed the data pad to Doctor Sorenson.

  Abby looked at the information displayed on the data pad, mentally sifting through the numbers as her trained eye searched for the relevant data. The Takarans were technologically more advanced than the people from Earth, but at times, their methodology for presenting data left something to be desired. “This is very promising,” she noted as she continued to study the information.

  “It appears that the new emitters and energy banks are more efficient than originally expected,” the young man reported with obvious pride. “I’m sure it is safe to begin practical test jumps of at least fifteen light years.”

  “Perhaps.” Abby looked at the young man. “I apologize. I am very bad with names.”

  “Rinne,” the man responded eagerly, “Pyotor Rinne, and I am not at all insulted, Doctor. In fact, I am honored to be working with you.”

  “Thank you, Mister Rinne.”

  “What you have created is beyond description,” the man began, stumbling with his words as he elaborated. “The possible applications for instantaneous interstellar transportation are staggering to say the least…”

  “Thank you again, Mister Rinne, but I am not its creator. It was my father’s vision, not mine, that brought the jump drive into existence. I was merely a facilitator.”

  “I did not mean to detract from your father’s accomplishments, good doctor. He was a brilliant man. But do not discount your own contributions. I have read all of the project reports and journals. He may have had vision, but I believe that it was your guiding hand that led to his eventual success, as did your father.”

  “Pardon me?”

  The young Takaran scientist noticed the Terran physicist’s reaction. “I am sorry. I just assumed that it was permissible to read all of the documentation, including your father’s journals.” The young man was becoming more defensive as he continued. “There were no locks on his files, so I just assumed…”

  “It’s quite all right, Mister Rinne,” Abby assured him, sensing his discomfort.

  After an uncomfortable pause, the young man continued. “You have not read them?”

  “No, I have not,” Abby admitted as she studied the data pad.

  “If I am not being too personal, might I inquire why?”

  “I guess I’ve just been too busy since we left Earth.” Abby stopped, lowering the data pad. “Actually, now that I think about it, I’ve been too busy for much of anything for going on ten years now.”

  Mister Rinne noticed a look of sadness cast upon her face. “Do you have family back on Earth?”

  “Yes, a husband and child,” she said, “both of whom I fear I have not given enough attention.”

  “I am sure they understand,” Mister Rinne assured her in his most comforting tone. “At least, they will once they realize what you and your father were working on.”

  Surprisingly, his comments made her feel better. “I hope you are correct, Mister Rinne,” she said as she handed him his data pad, “about my family and your analysis. I will speak to the captain about increasing our jump range.”

  * * *

  “Jump nine complete,” Loki reported.

  “Position verified,” Lieutenant Yosef confirmed.

  “Very well,” Commander Taylor said from the command chair. “Begin full sensor sweeps of the area and start long-range scans of our next jump target. Time to full charge?”

  “Nine hours twenty-three minutes,” Loki said.

  “Very well. Set course for the next jump point and maintain current speed, Mister Hayes,” Commander Taylor ordered as she turned her chair slightly left and noticed Doctor Sorenson entering the captain’s ready room at the aft end of the bridge.

  “Setting course for jump point ten. Maintaining current speed, aye,” Josh answered in a monotone voice.

  “Getting bored, Mister Hayes?” Commander Taylor asked as she turned her chair forward.

  “Pretty much.”

  “Sorry that there’s no one shooting at us,” Cameron said.

  “I’m not,” Loki added.

  “Sir?” Naralena interrupted. “The captain needs you in his ready room.”

  “Very well,” Cameron answered as she rose. “Lieutenant Yosef, you have the bridge.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Josh waited until the commander had left the bridge. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

  “How much more of what?” Loki asked.

  “Jump, recharge, jump, recharge, jump, recharge… it’s worse than flying recon,” Josh complained.

  “You really are an adrenaline junkie, aren’t you?”

  “I just want to do some flying; that’s all.”

  “Isn’t that what you’re doing now, Mister Hayes?” Lieutenant Yosef stated as she took the command chair behind them.

  “That’s not what I’d call it. I’m just pushing buttons here. Hell, other than the simulators, I haven’t had my hand on a flight control stick in weeks.”

  “Well, with all the time you’ve been spending in the simulators, I’d expect you to be rated for every ship the Aurora carries and then some,” the lieutenant said.

  Her tone carried more meaning than did her words; of that Josh was sure. He had been spending most of his spare time in the simulators, a fact that she had complained about on more than one occasion. Between her new responsibilities as a lieutenant and as head of her department and Josh spending all his off-duty time in the simulators, they had little time together.

  “Yeah, maybe it’s time to seek other forms of entertainment,” Josh added with a sly smile. “Hey, I hear they’ve got a huge collection of old Earth vid-flicks in the database.” He could feel the lieutenant glaring at him.

  * * *

  “You asked to see me, sir?” Commander Taylor stated as she entered the ready room. She was not surprised to see Doctor Sorenson sitting at the captain’s desk, as she had noticed her entering earlier. “Doctor.”

  “Commander.”

  “Yes, have a seat,” Captain Scott instructed. “Doctor Sorenson feels it is safe to dial our max jump range up to fifteen light years.”

  “That’s good news,” the commander stated as she took her seat. “Will it increase our recharge time?”

  “Apparently not.”

  “How is that possible? I thought it was one hour per light year jumped.”

  “The Takarans replaced many of the jump drive’s components during our repairs,” Doctor Sorenson explained, “most notably, the emitters and the energy banks. The Takaran energy banks are capable of taking a cha
rge at a much faster rate than our original energy banks—at least fifty percent faster.”

  “Then why are we still taking nine hours to recharge after each nine light year jump?” Commander Taylor wondered. “Shouldn’t it be taking more like four and a half hours?”

  “Because we lack the energy production capacity.”

  “We have four antimatter reactors,” Cameron said.

  “Each of which is designed to deliver a smooth, even flow of power. In order to charge the energy banks at a faster rate, much larger amounts of power are required. They are not designed to deliver large pulses of energy. The safety protocols won’t allow it.”

  “And for good reason,” Cameron said.

  “Of course, Commander,” Nathan said. “No one is suggesting that we attempt to do otherwise. However, Abbey has some ideas.” Nathan turned to Doctor Sorenson.

  “The Takarans have proposed a way to use the mini-ZPEDs to directly power the jump drive. This may or may not increase our range per jump. However, it would allow us to execute repeated maximum range jumps without recharging. Although at the time of our departure they had not yet attempted jumps of greater distances, theoretically, they should be able to reach a single jump range of at least fifty light years.”

  Nathan looked intrigued. “Imagine how quickly we could get home if we didn’t have to recharge between every jump.”

  “A pair of mini-ZPEDs running as low as ten percent maximum output would provide enough energy for a twenty light year jump in a single pulse,” Doctor Sorenson explained. “Energy banks would not be needed.”

  “Seriously? No recharge time?”

  “Even if we were taking an hour to scan ahead as we calculate each jump, we’d still be home in less than a week instead of three.”

  “And that would be at twenty light years per jump. We do not yet know how high we could run the mini-ZPEDs without interfering with our own systems. It is entirely possible that we may be able to jump even farther.”

  Cameron could see that Nathan wanted this. She also knew that, when Nathan wanted something this badly, he had a tendency to take unnecessary risks. It was a bad habit that had been facilitated by his wealthy, well-connected parents during his adolescence. He had gotten better since leaving Earth, but that jump-first attitude was still in him. Cameron, on the other hand, was exactly the opposite, always analyzing the consequences and alternatives. It was why the Aurora’s original captain had chosen her and Nathan as his flight team. “I thought the ZPEDs caused problems with the jump drive’s operation.”

  “When used at higher outputs, yes,” Doctor Sorenson admitted.

  “Can our emitters even tolerate the higher energy?”

  “No, they cannot. The emitters would have to be replaced.”

  “Can we even do that?” Cameron wondered.

  “We have a redundant emitter network, thanks to the Takarans,” Nathan reminded Cameron. “We could replace those emitters without touching the primaries.”

  “How long would that take?”

  “We replaced thirty-some-odd emitters over Corinair in less than a day,” Nathan said.

  “Yes, and two men died doing so.”

  “That was because of the radiation levels in the Darvano system.”

  “I haven’t run the numbers, as I am not really qualified to make such judgments,” Abby said.

  “I’ll talk to Vladimir about it,” Nathan said, “but I think it’s worth considering, don’t you, Commander?” Nathan looked at his executive officer.

  “Considering? Yes. But perhaps it would be better to start with the basics and work our way up to fifty light year jumps,” Cameron urged.

  “Of course,” Abby agreed. “Ideally, I would like to begin increasing our jump range by one light year per jump over the next five jumps. If there are not any problems, we can reassess the idea at that time.”

  “Sounds reasonable enough to me,” Nathan said.

  Cameron sat, holding her tongue. She did not care for the idea of using the Aurora, their only means of getting back to Earth, as a test ship. “That still doesn’t shorten our recharge time. How were you planning on shortening that?”

  “By using the mini-ZPEDs to assist in the recharge process and then powering them back down before the actual jump.”

  “I see.” Cameron looked at Nathan, who appeared to be waiting for her approval. “What?”

  “I’d like to know you’re on board with this, Commander,” Nathan stated.

  “The idea of getting home in three days is, of course, appealing,” Cameron admitted, “assuming that it all works as hoped. I’m just not comfortable taking risks with our only ship.”

  “Neither am I, Commander,” Abby agreed. “But every jump we have made since we left Earth has been a risk. The fact that the jump drive has performed as reliably as it has is nothing short of miraculous. It was never intended to be used so extensively. After all, it was a prototype.”

  “That’s a very good point,” Nathan said.

  “Yes, it is,” Cameron agreed.

  “Very well, Doctor,” Nathan stated. “You may begin increasing the range by one light year per jump over the next five jumps. In the meantime, I’ll discuss our idea for the hybrid drive with our chief engineer. Thank you.”

  “Thank you, Captain.” Abby stood. “Commander.”

  Cameron waited for Doctor Sorenson to leave the ready room before speaking further. “Promise me you won’t let yourself get carried away with this hybrid idea, Nathan.”

  Nathan was a bit surprised by her sudden, informal tone, but he had told her on more than one occasion to drop the formalities when they were alone. “Me, get carried away?”

  * * *

  Marcus scratched his head as he stared at the open end of a Corinairan troop shuttle. “It’s not a mechanics problem, Major,” Marcus argued. “It’s a power problem. These here shuttles just don’t generate enough power to give’m both shields and guns. They’re only carryin’ the standard fusion generators. Hell, the one in my hauler back on Haven was more powerful.”

  “If we’re going to turn these into combat landers that can fly into a hot LZ, we’re going to need both shields and guns,” Major Waddell insisted, speaking loud enough to be heard over the noise of the Aurora’s main hangar bay.

  “I ain’t arguing that point, but you’re gonna have to choose one or the other.”

  “I need both,” the major insisted. “Can we just use one at a time? Ride down with shields, then switch them off on final approach so we can start using guns to calm down the LZ just before touchdown?”

  “Maybe, but if something goes wrong and you try to use both, you might cause an automatic shutdown of the reactors and fall from the sky. Not a pleasant thought. Besides, them reactors are so pitiful I ain’t even sure they’ll be able to handle any extra load beyond that of flyin’ the shuttle.”

  “Excuse me,” Lieutenant Montgomery interrupted from behind. “Perhaps I can be of assistance.”

  “Really?” Marcus asked. Like most of the crew, he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having Takarans on board, even if they were ones that Tug trusted.

  “If I’m not mistaken, the fusion reactors in this model are very outdated by Takaran standards. It would be no trouble at all to fabricate upgraded reactors that would more than handle your power needs.”

  “Is that so?” Major Waddell asked. “Thanks, but we’ll handle this on our own, Takaran.”

  Lieutenant Montgomery looked confused for a moment.

  “I don’t know, Major,” Marcus mumbled. “Maybe we’d better take him up on his offer…”

  “Dismissed, Lieutenant,” Major Waddell said sternly to Lieutenant Montgomery, cutting Marcus off.

  “Is there a problem, here?” Major Prechitt interrupted.

  “No problem at all, Major,” Waddell said. “I was just telling the lieutenant that he was dismissed.”

  “I think I’d like to hear more about the lieutenant’s idea, Major. How about y
ou, Senior Chief?”

  Marcus’s eyes darted nervously back and forth between the two majors. “Uh, I could go either way… sirs.”

  “No disrespect intended, Major, but this isn’t really any of your…”

  “Actually, since I am the CAG, and this is one of my ships, it is my business,” Major Prechitt insisted. He turned to the lieutenant. “Lieutenant Montgomery, submit your proposal to the senior chief for review.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lieutenant Montgomery answered.

  “Senior Chief, once you have reviewed the lieutenant’s proposal, comment on it and send it to my office for approval.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Major? Any questions?”

  “No, sir,” Major Waddell answered, his eyes locked on the lieutenant and full of rage.

  Waddell’s angry gaze did not go unnoticed by Major Prechitt. “Dismissed, Major,” he stated with absolute authority.

  Major Waddell said nothing further, turned, and walked briskly across the hangar deck away from them.

  “Senior Chief, Lieutenant,” Major Prechitt said calmly as he departed their company.

  There was a moment of silence as neither the senior chief nor the lieutenant knew exactly what to say. Finally, the lieutenant broke the uncomfortable quiet. “I apologize, Senior Chief. I was only trying to help.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Marcus said.

  “If I had known that the major would react so…”

  “Look,” Marcus interrupted, “just because I ain’t givin’ you the evil eye don’t mean that I like you any more than Waddell or any other Corinairan aboard this ship. Truth be told, I’d be happier if none of you were here. But you are, and there ain’t shit I can do about that. So just go on about your business, and I’ll go on about mine. You can send me your proposal for the reactor upgrades through the network.” Marcus turned abruptly and walked away, leaving the lieutenant standing alone in the busy hangar bay.