Human Starpilots

by F Stephan

  The engineering section at its bottom was very different and showed all machines in bare alloyed-steel rooms. Access to the singularity—on which everyone depended to cross between systems—was sealed behind heavy round double doors at the rear. Lanakar described all he knew in an avalanche of words and witticisms, and Brian felt lost in this new world.

  “Sir,” said Brian, awed by all he saw, “what happens if the singularity fails?”

  “We wait for another ship. We cannot repair or recreate the singularity. But we can repair most everything else. Over the next few days, we’ll look at most of the procedures, and I will bring you in a few days to the control hatch looking at the singularity. But we won’t go any further. The space is twisted in the singularity room in a way that would kill you in minutes.”

  “How could they build all of this if it kills us so fast?”

  “We think they had designed specific robots for this, but we never found any. We only found a few robots for maintenance. They are kept at the main stations but they are so rare we don’t have any on Adheek. They are so few you have to fly midway to Alkath to the station around Vopre to find one when we need repairs”.

  “Why don’t we build new ones?”

  “I don’t know. The ancient had a fantastic knowledge. We are, for now at least, a federation of tinkers, not thinkers. At least not thinkers at a comparable level. We’re kids playing with toys from an older brother who left the house without any notice. And we are not sure when we can control our creations. But, please, don’t quote me to the idealist Kilet or our dear captain Derantor. He would probably throw you out on the spot.”

  “This is too early to learn this. I’m not ready,” despaired Brian, looking around him at the complexity of the machinery.

  “Yes, it is a bit early. It does happen, and more often than you think. I read your profile before you came on board. You did studies in engineering, so you’re probably more ready to work here than you think.”

  “Thank you, sir, sorry”—Brian caught himself before the other could frown—“Lanakar, I will do my best.”

  “That’s the spirit! Let’s get you settled in your room and then move to work. This will stop you from brooding. Since the ship is at minimum strain, we’ll organize a full check on all machinery. We had a drop on singularity stability on the last jump, and I’d like to recheck the baseline on our equipment. I hope you slept last night, because we are going to work late today.” The ship was on standard Federation hours, with a day of twenty-five hours, and Brian would have to adapt to the new rhythm.

  “Drop in stability?”

  “It does happen from time to time. Nothing serious unless it drops to zero.”

  “And then?”

  “And then, the singularity ceases to exist, and the ship collapses on itself.” Brian shivered. Lanakar had answered in a matter-of-fact manner that chilled him to the bone. They spent the next day checking all equipment very carefully but didn’t find any fault or instability in the singularity.

  60 Brian

  “Now that the transboarding is finished, let me welcome you two on board of our fine vessel, Theoldcow,” said Captain Derantor. Her pale skin and withdrawn demeanor contrasted with her bright-blue eyes, which pierced the two students. They had been on board for two intense days when she finally called them into her office. Naturally, they had seen her before, but it had always been in a rush until then. Her office was located just next to the bridge, a small cabin with an old wooden desk and paneled walls. Behind her, a magnificent painting of a white cliff over a red ocean decorated most of the wall. On its side, there was a single large station overlooking a red planet Brian did not know.

  “Thank you for your help during that period. I hope you settled in correctly and were welcome properly by all.”

  “Yes, Madam,” was the proper answer, which they gave in near unison.

  “I have heard about you from Master Reinkel. We have a two-month run to Fizhert, and you will serve in all possible capacities on the ship until then. This will help you find your strengths and your way into piloting. You have all the basic learning to help us and not too many wrong ideas from the teachers at the Core Federation Academy. This should work out well for all of us.” The contempt in her voice for the central academy was so intense it made Brian shiver.

  “Now, a spaceship is a small family. We have many members since the crews rotate regularly, but this remains a tiny group of people. So whatever bad blood exists between you stays behind you. Is that clear?” Her voice was crisp, precise and icy. Brian and Sonter swallowed and nodded. She could have them excluded from the guild if she really wanted to, and Sonter’s father would be helpless.

  Suddenly, Brian had an intuition and blurted, “This is why we’re here, Madam, isn’t it? The guild doesn’t want to risk an internal feud and wants us to sort it out before it gets out of hand.”

  “No, it is not. You are here because you have issues with the standard training, both for different reasons, and you need another approach. But it is a side benefit.” She smiled at that, and they felt better. She may be hard, but she had a reputation for fairness.

  “What are we transporting?” asked Sonter, back to his normal self.

  “On this run, we have a series of small cargoes for each planet. The biggest is an orbital pharmaceutical station for Pelor. You will not mention it in your messages. It remains discreet due to a lot of noise from Origin. The official manifest only talks about a deep space laboratory. It will produce nano-antiviral medicine for the planet. This station will be dormant until needed.”

  “Why install such a station if it remains inactive?” wondered Brian.

  “Its cost of operation is very high, so we don’t use it continuously. But if there is an outbreak on-planet, they can’t wait for rescue to arrive by space. They need a local solution. The Federation is rolling out these stations progressively to all worlds. At least, as soon as they can afford it.” Finance, everything was always down to finance. “But for now, they are extremely rare and precious. We also have a ground plant for the settlement on Fizhert. And naturally, we carry all possible dispatches in the CDS. Transferring and collecting them will be one of your tasks,” continued the captain. “You will learn the full manifest in the next days and check where all the crates are located in the cargo hold. Are you able to operate a vacuum lifter?”

  “Yes, Madam,” answered Sonter immediately.

  “No, Madam, I have no experience with them,” said Brian blushing.

  “No need to redden, mister. You haven’t spent most of your adolescence aboard spaceships like your comrade. Sonter, you are in charge of teaching Brian in your spare time after your duties. I want both of you to be able to unload the cargo when we reach Illimer, our next stop.”

  “I will, Captain,” sighed the Adheeken.

  “And with a smile. If I remember well, you used to sneak out on your father’s ship to work with them. So don’t give them those sighs. Now off with you. Now is your free time; get rested, and stop talking with this old captain in her office.”

  Brian walked slowly back to his room. They would leave the Adheeken system in a few days, and he hadn’t finished his messages. After they left, no messages would reach Adheek before their return a few months later. Today was now or never. The one for Master Heikert was nearly completed and required only an hour of work. The messages for his family had been sent for a while. There were only three messages left. He kept a daily diary for all other Earth students, and he had gotten in the routine of sending pictures, videos, or stories from the ship to the gossip master of them all, Wilfried, and relied on Tasha to spread it around till it reached Don Mariano. The hard part was the messages to Illoma and Emily. Neither had sent any messages to him since his departure, and he didn’t know anymore what he felt toward them. Yet he didn’t want to leave without goodbyes. So, finally, he sent a quick video with a simple farewell. More was beyond him, at least for now.

  61 Brian

 
; In the second week, Brian was transferred to navigation. Mistress Taolel reminded him of Illoma. She was a petite and comely brunette at ease in any situation and currently very determined to make use of him. She had tested him for an hour on various chart system before grunting, “Just as old Heikert said, you may have a knack for this.” Then, she piled up a series of exercises and courses checks to help him better understand their next jumps.

  In fact, the navigation was easy. The ship worked outside the different systems, running a straight course between jump points. The longest part of the trade was the intrasystem flights in between. Whenever they reached an inhabited star system, a transport would fly back and forth between the planet and the ship, increasing velocity to match the interstellars, and then decreasing back to reach the station.

  Brian discovered with delight a different 3-D representation system. Mistress Taolel told him this was a more ancient system than the one in use in Heavyweight or in the simulators at the academy. “We don’t know why, but they seem to have changed their approach to hyperspace progressively. This ship had older models installed, and they give you a more detailed perspective.”

  For the first time, this system spoke to him without the weird sensations of unease he had had when going in hyperspace. The representations, seemed richer, more accurate with other potential transfer lines between points, different from the routes normally used. It was also closer to the star chart he had found in Adheek.

  “Can we access those routes?” he asked one morning, calling the representation through the main 3-D viewer.

  “Hard to answer, Brian,” answered the navigator. “There are a few people who have been able to do it. But we have no clue how they do it or whether they can do it on all ships or only on special ones. This is very experimental for now and highly classified in the Federation.”

  Brian had not heard about classified areas within the Federation until now, since it advertised a lot on information sharing, but it didn’t surprise him. Any organization was bound to develop its secrets over time, and he was quite cautious about them. Earth history had given him ample reason for distrust. This gave him another line of thought and sent him to work for a full night.

  The next morning, at the beginning of his shift, he had a series of simulations ready for Mistress Taolel.

  “Good morning, Brian. What have you got for me?”

  “Mistress, I have run different simulations on the routes we take.”

  “Ah, the routes. And what is your conclusion?” The mistress seated herself in her chair with a knowing look that disturbed Brian. Yet he continued.

  “There are very few efficient rings to link the worlds. Actually, there are only two to three options for Theoldcow, options from which we can’t really deviate. And in some parts of our transit, there are no options at all. Just a single series of transfer.”

  “And?”

  “Well, this means that we are very predictable.”

  “Yes, Brian. I do confirm it. Usually, students discover this a bit later, but I suspected you would reach this conclusion rather sooner than some. It does mean that we are exposed out there and need to be cautious. In some star systems, there have been problems like this. But our run is very quiet.” She raised her hand. “Now if you have more questions on this, you will have to ask the captain. She will be able to give you more details. She has a rather unusual experience with this. Now, let’s get back to work and continue our exercises. The routes are predictable, but the problems are not. So here is what we will analyze today. What if…”

  Brian left her. He remembered Kilet Namek, Sonter’s father, and an old conversation. There had been pirates when he had flown across the stars.

  Hours later, at the end of his shift, Brian joined Sonter in the main cargo hold to work with the vacuum lifter. One of the holds was depressurized permanently to be used as a massive airlock and was used for their training on the massive lifters. Basically, they were forklifts equipped with thrusters. In practice, they were heavy and cumbersome. They were able to work in the different gravities separating the two ships, but they had a lag in their responses to command that required a lot of anticipation on the pilot side. Brian had hoped they would be similar to shuttles. He was wrong.

  The container escaped his grasp and flew at low velocity toward the side of the cargo bay. Sonter accelerated with his lifter and intercepted it before it reached the wall. Even at low velocity, the weight alone would have damaged the bay.

  “Fifteen to ten,” said Sonter. “You are improving, but unless you really get better soon, Derantor will have your ass and mine. Why did they choose you? What have I done to the gods to deserve this?”

  Brian had a few answers in mind, most including a certain red-haired girl he knew, but shut his mouth. The same guy had also saved Li Bao, and he was right. So, Brian started the maneuver again, one step at a time. He had to admit that under the tutelage of his former nemesis, he had improved rapidly. If he was honest with himself, this was even from time to time fun. Yet, neither of them had voiced even the most remote allusion to the possibility of working together unless forced to.

  62 Lenice

  Lenice and Cortal were both waiting, powered down, in the comet belt. They had practiced the attack plan for a long time and were now following the procedure by the book. The intelligence from the Grand Master said that the ship would arrive in a few days with the precious cargo they expected. This would be a wonderful coup for Lelet, their planet. The captain of Lenice would have preferred an open crusade, but the Grand Master had decided on caution and increasing the capacities of the planet before moving openly.

  The captain of Cortal initiated the video link with Lenice. Both captains were seated in their office to maintain privacy.

  “We are ready. And you? Will the Father join us?” asked the captain from Lenice.

  “Yes, in a few minutes. We are also ready. Although I do wonder how the Grand Master had such information on the blasphemous Federation.”

  “You should accept his Holiness power without question.” The voice of the Father cracked like a whip in the room. The representative from the Grand Master, priest and leader of the warrior, had arrived and shown his power. “So, what is the situation on board?”

  Cortal’s captain began. “We are ready to boost for the last jump. Matching velocity with the carrier will be hard on all, even with the extra booster we have activated. Could you ask your Mother Superiors among the crew to relay the need for all to be in acceleration couches when the sirens ring? Anyone not in them will die.”

  “Anyone not in them is not a worthy son of Lelet, and we are better off without him or her. And on Lenice?” continued the deceptively round-faced, plump priest.

  “We are also ready. No alcohol is allowed anymore in the common room. No bets. No money. No challenges. Eat, rest, sleep and be ready to strike whenever needed is the message we are enforcing.”

  The Father reflected. He knew the warriors from the clans. They were used to stern discipline but also to the excesses of successful warriors, and they did not like this cowardly wait. Even if anyone disobeying would be ejected immediately from the ship, the morale was dropping.

  “I understand. One of the Mothers has alerted me on an honor breach between two warriors of the Fell Mountain clans. I would suggest we organize a space duel between them. This would focus all warriors on their history, rank, and honor.”

  “This will be as Your Highness suggests.” The captain answered. The Pilots had the title of Paladin of Faith, but the Father, and his inquisitors, on board had their life, and the lives of their families, in their hands. And the Inquisitors here reported to the Father, not the captain. Piloting a starship required them to they use evil technologies, and only their strict adherence to faith could save their souls. Should they deviate, they would be removed from the universe, and with them all their relatives to avoid any contamination. The measures were hard but had protected them from demons across countless ages.

/>   The captain from Lenice ventured after long seconds of thinking. “Your Highness, we have made a lot of effort to stay hidden. Could I advise them to use only light weapons that would not be easily detectable from afar? Would that be enough for the warriors?”

  “Our mission in the Orders of his Holiness the Grand Master is our priority. Our planet will not surrender its authority, its purity, its security to those sinners of the Federation. And for that, we need to succeed in the ambush. I will order only light laser and shuttles under low power. This will make the duels even more interesting for all while serving our purposes. This is a good suggestion, Captain.” The captain relaxed a little with the approval. His family would live at least one day more.

  63 Brian

  Theoldcow dropped from hyperspace in the Illimer system. As soon as it arrived, Sonter searched the communication satellite and initiated the DataDump with the communication satellite anchored around the exit point. The satellite would then resend the signal to Illimer. At the same time, it would transfer its updates to Theoldcow immediately after acquiring its signal.

  At the same time, Brian went into the cargo bay with Droum, the heavyset and jovial cargo mistress, and Lanakar. They spent the day preparing the crates for unloading. There was nothing really heavy, but there were a lot of parcels to move around, and Brian was sweating profusely. Despite this, he was exultant. Lanakar looked at him.

  “You’re smiling today, Brian. What makes you so happy?”

  “I’ve been allowed to watch the jump in the backup pilot seat. I was on the bridge, linked to the navigation main console, and I could feel so much more in jump.”

  “Hummm. Interesting. What was so different from the Heavyweight?” asked Lanakar.