by Dean M. Cole
Victor shook his head. "Huh? Photonic?"
Jake turned to him. "The photonic thing ties to Einstein's theory of relativity. Basically, it says that anything with zero-mass, like a photon, will always travel at the speed of light." He gestured toward the vessel. "To the outside world, everything in the bubble, including the ship itself, has no apparent mass. You could accelerate it from zero to a hundred miles an hour in an instant." Jake flicked his finger. "As easily as thumping a party balloon, but inside you wouldn't even slosh your coffee."
Vic nodded, accepting Jake's description with mute amazement.
Another epiphany hit Jake. "So, they must generate a separate artificial gravity field so they can stand on the floor. Otherwise, the interior would be a bubble of weightlessness."
"Yep."
Tearing his eyes away from the lights, Jake studied the ship's bowl-shaped bottom. It flowed up into the horizontal central bulge about eight feet above the ground. In three places, its skin stretched down to support the ship. He pointed at the legs. "I don't remember seeing these on the one we encountered."
"They're retractable," Richard responded.
"That metal looks permanently stretched to me."
"Hang on," Richard said, stepping back to the computer terminal in front of the ship. After he had punched a few keys, the deep hum emanating from the ship changed frequency.
"What's that hum—" Vic started to ask but stopped as the ship began levitating a couple of feet above the floor.
Aside from the subsonic drone, the ship sat in total silence.
"That is awesome!" Vic said.
"It's weird to see something rise off the ground so quietly," Jake said.
In a half-second, the protrusions silently retracted, leaving smooth skin as the ship continued to hover.
"Okay, okay, quit showing off," Jake said to Richard after a few moments. "I'm dying to see the inside of this thing."
"All right," Richard said, feigning dejection.
Jake held up both hands and laughed. "I'm impressed."
"Me too," Vic added.
Richard smiled. "You're too easy." He typed more commands into the interface. "And, for my next trick…" The legs noiselessly re-extended, and the humming ceased as the ship gently touched down. Overhead, the ethereal gravitophoton generated lights evaporated.
Richard finished up at the keyboard and rejoined them. "Close your mouths, boys."
"Well, I was just thinking that was probably the smoothest landing I've ever seen you make. As I recall, the mechanics back in Afghanistan were always amazed your aircraft could still taxi after one of your typical landings."
"Screw you," Richard said through a grin.
Pointing at the ship, Jake asked, "What happened to the one that crashed in Roswell?"
"As far as I know, it was returned to them. The Argonians gave us this ship in the eighties as part of the integration program. We're allowed to learn from it and reverse engineer what we can. However, we're not allowed to take it apart."
"Can we get to the mechanism that generates the ring of lights without taking it apart?" Jake asked.
"Nope."
"In other words no access to the drive technology, at least not yet," Vic said.
"Exactly, they want to keep us in our little corner of the galaxy, for now," Richard said, and then clapped his hands. "So, are you two ready for more?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Jake said.
"Lieutenant Croft, do you remember where the exit was?"
"When they dropped me off, I think the door was right about … here," Vic said, stepping between two of the legs. As he did, an opening suddenly appeared in front of him.
Jake heard a whisper of static like a charged sock pulled from a clinging towel.
"See what I was talking about?" Vic said.
"Yep," Jake said. He stepped up for a closer inspection. From overhead, the opening stretched from a foot below the bulge and continued in front of them, ending where the flat bottom of the ship's belly formed a threshold.
They stepped into the airlock, and the door resealed with the same static sound. A moment later, just as Vic had described, an opening appeared in the opposite wall.
"This way ladies," Richard said, stepping through.
Jake followed. Stepping into the large room beyond, he paused. "What the hell?"
The room was too wide. They had entered at ground level where the circumference of the belly section was significantly smaller than the main body. "This room looks like it's as wide as the whole ship."
Vic nodded. "You're right, I didn't notice that the other night."
"The airlock doubles as an elevator," Richard said.
"Yeah, but that means it moved eight feet in less than a second, I didn't feel anything," Jake said.
Richard smiled. "It's amazing what a gravity drive can do for you."
"Cool," Vic said, nodding his head.
Walking deeper into the ship, Richard continued. "This is an Arg scout and general utility ship. Like the one you saw the other night, it's identical to the one that crashed near Roswell. They have several configurations, but this is the most common."
Jake studied the interior. "I see what you meant about the walls, Vic." They glowed softly. The ceiling, about ten feet above the floor, left space for another room above, although, Jake didn't see a way to get to it. Aside from the central, meter-wide column running from floor to ceiling, he saw no other items or structures in the cabin.
"Where's the control panel I saw," Vic asked.
"Like the chair that supported you when the edification encoder kicked in—"
"Edification encoder?" Vic interrupted. "Is that really what they call it?"
"Loosely translated, yes," Richard said with an understanding nod. Then he said the Argonian word.
Utilizing the Argonian language knowledge imparted by the encoder's edification, Jake thought it was the best translation. Although it seemed a bit condescending.
"You get the feeling they're a little full of themselves," Jake said.
"Guess that's a hazard of ruling the galaxy," Richard replied with a shrug.
That brought up a question Jake had been meaning to ask. "I know they started the Galactic government, but I thought General Tannehill said it's free and inclusive, treating all equally."
"It is, but they are, by far the most widespread and populous species. They hold more than half of the government seats."
"Guess that'll be good for us too, in the long run," Vic said.
"Especially we military types," Richard added.
"Why's that?" Jake asked.
"Like General Tannehill said, they do share power, but the Argonians kept the military to themselves. Apparently, mixing crews with biologies requiring radically different gravitational and atmospheric environments is a bit more complicated than portrayed in the Star Wars universe."
"I imagine they don't fully trust other species with their advanced tech and weapons systems," Vic said.
Jake nodded. "That must rub some species wrong."
"I'm sure you're right, and it's probably another manifestation of that conceit," Richard said.
Vic grimaced and ran fingers through his short red hair. "Sounds like we have more briefings to attend. You know so much about them. Jake and I haven't even scratched the surface."
"What do you think we're doing here?"
Jake's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?"
"You've finished your Base orientation." He pointed at the ship's floor. "Tonight you begin your induction into the Galactic Integration Program."
Jake and Vic exchanged excited looks.
Richard laughed. "You look like a couple of schoolgirls." After a moment, he gestured ahead with his right hand. "Mind if I continue the tour?"
"Please do," Jake said with a huge grin.
Richard started walking across the wide room. "Back to your question about the control panel. When needed, equipment grows from the floor. If you are actively man
euvering the vessel, the control panel stays in place. Once you're cruising, the interior changes its configuration." He gestured toward an area that Jake took to be the back half of the vessel. "It converts this into a living area and the Argonian version of a kitchen."
Turning forward, Richard stepped to an area halfway between the wall and the center column. Moving to join him, Jake froze mid-step, startled by sudden movement in his lower peripheral vision. Like a reversed and radically accelerated time-lapse video of a melting ice sculpture, a structure grew from the floor.
"Holy shit," Jake whispered as it finished forming. He stepped closer. Matching Vic's description, a curving glass control panel topped it. Everything seemed straightforward. Oddly recognizable symbols denoted controls and systems status. He smiled in amazement. "I can read the Argonian writing." Turning his attention to its metallic sides, he asked, "How does it grow from the floor?"
"The Argonians are masters of nanotechnology. You're literally standing on an ocean of molecule-sized robots."
Jake and Vic cast nervous glances at the floor, shifting from foot to foot, looking under their feet.
"Don't worry, they play nice," Richard said. Then with a sardonic grin he chuckled ominously. "Y'all are going to love the EVA suits."
"EVA suits?" Vic asked nervously.
Apparently tiring of Vic's constant trepidation, Richard gave Jake an exasperated look. He turned to face Vic. "We'll come back to that later, Lieutenant." Turning toward the console, he continued. "Anyway, there are several types of nanobots. They're able to do everything from forming structures to making complex electrical circuits. Each nanobot has as much computing power as a PC. The billions of them networked together form the ship's artificial intelligence or AI."
"So, this AI can recognize your intentions and provide what you need?" Jake said.
"For the most part. It also responds to Argonian voice commands. We think the Argonians have another way of communicating with it, but haven't been able to figure that one out yet."
Richard ran his hand across the control panel and the ship activated. A large section of wall ahead seemed to vanish.
Apparently detecting no change, the workers walking past the thirty-foot-wide window didn't respond. Jake guessed the effect was like a one-way mirror. If the wall were indeed clear, the emission of the ship's internal light and energy would negate the efficacy of the ship's energy absorbing skin.
Jake hadn't heard or felt anything, but through the view outside he could see they had lifted a meter or two. He was about to mention it when the ship started moving toward the blast doors.
Richard touched another section of the panel. "Groom Lake Tower, this is Turtle One, over."
Jake chuckled. "You call it the Turtle?"
Richard nodded.
"That's fitting."
Richard looked over his shoulder. "Kinda says it all, doesn't it?"
A voice sprang from the panel's surface. "Turtle One, this is Groom Lake Tower. You are cleared as filed, please report in position and ready for departure."
"Groom Lake Tower, Turtle One, wilco," Richard said.
Jake's heart raced in anticipation. "Are we doing what I think?"
Vic made a show of displaying a fake yawn. "Been there, done that." Although, excited eyes betrayed his true feelings.
Richard turned, offering Jake the controls. "Here you go, buddy. This'll be the easiest nickel flight you've ever had."
Jake, adrenaline pumping, approached the control panel. "Considering this is the first spaceship I've ever flown, you better hope it's an easy transition."
Pointing to a graspable hand-shaped depression embedded in the panel, Richard stepped aside. "Just place your hand in there. It responds to forces in all three axis. Slight upward causes a slow rise. Left pressure moves us left and so on. Twist it for yaw and roll it for … well, you get the idea."
Jake nodded his understanding.
"Remember to relax. This ship's Stability Augmentation System perfectly adjusts for all external disturbances like wind or turbulence. It's even better than our fighter's SAS. Basically, it's a point and go system. Easier to maneuver than a car, it can be operated by anyone, much less a steely-eyed combat fighter pilot such as yourself." He bowed with mock reverence.
Hiking a thumb at Richard, Jake looked at Vic. "I told you he was an excellent judge of pilot skills."
Ignoring Jake, Victor turned a concerned face to Richard. "Without training, what stops someone from screwing up so bad they can't recover?"
"The ship's AI is smarter than any of our supercomputers. It won't allow the ship to collide with anything. It constantly surveys its surroundings, calculating velocities and trajectories for itself and near ships. Using all the data, the computer buffers or blocks inputs that would put the ship in danger."
Studying the control panel, Jake nodded. "So, it takes over the controls if it thinks you're screwing up."
"Yep, but it can do a lot more than that. With a verbal command, this ship can fly itself out of this hangar, perform the departure, and complete the flight plan. It monitors our conversation and understands our intentions just as well as a normal human would."
"Holy shit," Vic whispered. He looked around. "Is it self-aware?"
Jake wondered the same thing. "How do they know it won't wake up on the wrong side of the hangar one morning, and decide it wants to go Terminator?"
"I guess the Argonians saw the movies too," Richard said after laughing at Jake's reference. "Because, they programmed special algorithms that prevent it from becoming self-aware. The last thing they want is a computer this powerful and linked to the ship's controls to start thinking independently."
As Richard finished, Jake surreptitiously tried to run the ship into the hangar wall, keeping the speed down in case Richard had overstated the ship's abilities. Anticipating an impact or a maneuver to avoid it, Jake gripped the control panel. Just when he thought the ship was going to hit the hangar wall, it came to an instant stop.
Richard shook his head. "You just had to test it, didn't you?"
Lieutenant Croft looked up surprised. "Wow, I didn't feel it stop."
"Me neither. Guess I should've expected that," Jake said, laughing and relaxing the death grip he had on the panel.
"Remember, the ship's gravity drive moves all molecules—"
"Within the drive's sphere of influence," Jake and Vic finished in unison.
"Okay, okay, I just wanted to make sure y'all were paying attention."
"Knowing it on an intellectual level is one thing, but experiencing the disconnect between sight and seat-of-the-pants is amazing," Jake said.
"I know. Pretty cool, huh?" Richard said, nodding. "The effect is a perfect inertial damper." He raised his hands overhead like he was on a roller coaster. "Standing right here, you can take Gs that normally would kill you."
"Look ma, no hands," Vic said.
Jake turned the ship away from the hangar wall and continued toward the lift. As they approached, the doors opened, revealing the large elevator already in position.
He turned to Richard with a questioning look.
"Take her in," Richard said.
"When is it going to be my turn?" Victor asked with mock impatience.
"Age before … well, as a soulless ginger you ain't all that easy on the eyes, so I guess we'll just say, rank has its privileges," Jake said as he guided the ship into the lift.
Vic flipped him off.
Once they passed into the elevator, a holographic display of the ship and surrounding lift formed over the control panel. They watched the miniature version of the blast door slide closed behind them.
"Cool," Vic said, forgetting Jake's jibe.
Jake nodded and pointed into the image. "Is this where you saw the holographic brain?"
"Yep."
"I was wondering how we'd see what was behind us," Jake said. He looked at the opaque rear wall. "It's not like we have a rear-view mirror."
As they ascend
ed the shaft, the display updated their vertical position in realtime: -150, -140, -130. However, he still felt no movement.
Looking out, Vic walked to the clear wall. "What's the plan? Are we just taking it up for a quick trip around the traffic pattern?"
"Patience," Richard said. "You'll see soon enough."
Suddenly, the lift darkened. Inside the Turtle, the hologram and the soft glow of the ship's interior walls provided the only illumination. Jake looked down. The altitude display read 000.
Outside, the exterior door started to lift. Filling the entire width of the giant door's opening, a blue-black sliver of night grew vertically from the floor.
Like diamonds scattered across a black velvet-lined drawer sliding from a black cabinet, the rising door revealed a background of scintillating stars. Ending in sharp contrast against the black silhouette of the surrounding mountains, the stars seemed to hover within easy reach.
Staring at the night sky, Jake ran his free hand along the side of the control panel. Which one of those did you come from, girl! He turned to Richard. "Can she travel faster than light?"
"The Light-Drive, as they call it, has been disabled. Like I said, they want to keep us in our corner of the galaxy, at least until we complete our integration."
"How fast is it with the Light-Drive disabled?" Vic asked.
Richard chuckled, shaking his head. "Where's the fun for me if I spill all the beans up front? All in good time, Lieutenant."
Jake moved the ship into the open and noticed a hint of flashing colors reflecting off the tarmac.
Richard nodded toward the light. "There's a stealth mode that damps down the drive's gravitophoton emissions." Reaching around Jake, he toggled the command. Outside the multicolored reflections faded. Richard pointed toward the mountains to the east. "We don't want the UFO groupies over at the Little A'Le'Inn to spot us."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "Why not suppress the light all the time?"
"It reduces the Turtle's maneuverability, but usually you don't need both stealth and maneuverability at the same time."
Jake nodded. "Makes sense. If you need maneuverability, it's probably because someone already knows you're there, someone you're trying to keep up with, or get away from."
