by Laer Carroll
The Orphan in Near-Space
Laer Carroll
Copyright © 2019 by L. E. Carroll
Summary: Jane Kuznetsov, orphan of some cataclysmic stellar event a big fraction of a million years ago, or maybe several times that, is now a captain in the U.S. Air Force, the part informally called the Space Force. She is leading a crew of four friends and fellow Space Force officers doing research.
She can travel routinely to the World Space Station to carry out that research and does so. Or to the Moon, where she and her crew set up a research site just over the horizon from home base Luna City and from Earth. Daily they court disaster though long distance back in Luna City.
Back on Earth the Jane Gang, as they jokingly but truthfully call themselves, helps JPL researchers with a mission to the asteroids to investigate a mysterious group of space rocks. Meanwhile, the Glorious and One True Chinese Republic complain bitterly because they are denied access to the products of her genius. They kidnap her to work for them.
They really shouldn't have done that to the woman their own military calls The Dragon.
Disclaimer
All people, places, and events are fictional or used fictitiously. They exist in an imaginary alternate reality, and any resemblance to actual people and events is purely coincidental.
Credits
All cover and interior art is the sole creation of L. E. Carroll, who retains copyright as of 2019. They may be reproduced for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, but only if reproduced without any change except to increase or decrease its size.
Other Books
by Laer Carroll
The Eons-Lost Orphan
The Once-Dead Girl
The Super Olympian: Bloodhound
The Super Olympian: Mystic Warrior
Sea Monster's Revenge
Shapechanger's Birth
Shapechanger's Progress
Shapechanger's Destiny (forthcoming)
Chapter 1 - A New Beginning
Two months after graduating from the US Air Force Academy Captain Jane Kuznetsov had her first assignment. It was to lead a research group. She quickly contacted four of her friends to see if they'd willingly work for her. They would.
She contacted her angels in the Defense Department. Within a week the paperwork was approved for their reassignment, a near-unprecedented speed. This reaffirmed how important the military thought her research would be.
Jane met her new staff at the LA International Airport. First to arrive was Kate Schiller. She would be Jane's executive officer, something she'd promised to be shortly after they'd met for the first time. The early arrival was by Kate's design. She'd staged the arrival of all the staff and wanted to be the first on hand to take care of contingencies.
After hugging, Jane and Kate retrieved Kate's luggage and retired to the executive lounge to wait for the other three: Klaus, Nicole, and Riku/Ricky. It took two hours. Then they traveled in a Flyt van to Pasadena where her staff checked into the Residence Inn in the middle of Old Town Pasadena, an upscale area furbished into modernity with tasteful remnants of Pasadena's 19th Century identity. Then they walked two blocks south to an Italian restaurant.
Riku said, as they examined their menus, "I must say, Captain, that duty with you has a lot of perqs. First civilian housing, then eating at places like this." He looked around approvingly at the tastefully decorated dining room.
"Wait till you see our duty station," said Kate.
"Have you?"
"Virtually. It's NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, 6000+ employees, like a college campus but with lots of buildings where they do high-tech research."
Klaus said, "They also build deep-space research probes and control them with their own mission-control center."
Nicole's contribution was to raise a hand to summon the waitress. The others would chat way too long before ordering to suit her.
Over the long meal they became reacquainted then, during after-dinner drinks, Jane spoke up.
"This afternoon I want you to get settled in and begin to get to know the city. Tonight my parents are giving a dinner party and afterward we'll have a pool party. Get swim wear before then. I'll pick you up at 6:00 in my Mom's SUV.
"At 10:00 or so I'll take you back to your new home. At 9:00 in the morning tomorrow we'll meet in a conference room there and do some planning. That afternoon you're free. We'll do that the next day and maybe the next, if we need to. Then you'll have a long weekend.
"Monday we'll meet downstairs at 9:00 sharp. You'll be sharp too. Full normal duty uniforms with all your decorations attached. A Lyft van will take us to the Lab where we'll meet some dignitaries and begin to get our work area set up. Sound good?"
"Aye, aye, Captain Sor," said Riku. The rest just nodded.
<>
JPL was only a few miles away from Old Town Pasadena across the giant valley which contained the world-famous Rose Bowl. It was a quick trip and they arrived fifteen minutes early for their 9:30 appointment.
At the site's visitor center reception desk Jane told the young woman with whom they were to meet. She picked up a phone, announced their arrival, and called a young man out of a nearby office to make up temporary visitor's badges. Then he escorted them to their meeting.
The walk was not long: northward across a large white sunlit plaza bordered by trees between the reception building and a multistory building with a dark glass façade. Inside they went up an elevator to the top floor and down a dark-green-carpeted hall.
Their destination was a large office which looked south out over the plaza below. There were two people inside: a compact blond woman and a tall distinguished man both dressed in office formal. They got up from their seats as Jane and her crew arrived at the door and were announced by their young guide.
Jane knew them from their online JPL bios. Dr. Vanessa Walters was the Director of JPL, a scientist and engineer. Her background was wide and deep, mostly at JPL and the nearby California Institute of Technology. General Arthur Camden had joined JPL five years ago as Deputy Director. Before that he'd been in the US Air Force where he'd directed several USAF intelligence organizations and then spacecraft launch operations.
Walters walked around her desk to shake Jane's hand. "Captain Kuznetsov. I'm so pleased to meet the daughter of my old friend Alex Kuznetsov at last. I've heard so much about you. Let me introduce you to the real director of the Lab, General Camden."
Jane turned toward the man Walters had indicated by a head tilt. She shook the hand he held out to her. A strange sensation went through her and she was temporarily JANE. Then she returned to her warm self with the sensation muted almost to a memory.
"Vanessa is modest as usual. I'm merely her executive officer, as we'd say in the military."
Jane said, "Let me introduce you to my exec, General, Director. This is Kate Schiller. And these are my able staff officers: Klaus Hoffman, Nicole Romero, and Riku Kobayashi."
"I am so pleased to meet all of you," the woman said. "Please contact me or my office whenever you have a problem. Now, I'm sorry to cut and run. Something really requires my attention."
"Of course," Jane said. "We'll take you up on the offer of assistance if need be, but only in extreme cases."
With that Camden ushered them out of the Director's office as the woman went back around her desk to don her vear, eyes already tracking information on its view screen.
The Deputy Director's office adjoined the Director's so their trip was short. Rather than sit them in the chairs before his large desk he had them settle into seats at a table in a corner of his office and joined them. He thus made himself one of them, effectively
making them part of a group.
Jane made a note of the diplomacy of this office dynamic. She'd have to use the tactic herself.
"She really did have to take care of urgent business. Possibly having to do with budget or coordinating something with another organization. Thank Heaven I don't have to deal with those kind of matters and can just get things done."
Kate said, "Then we think alike, General."
"Please, when we're private call me Arthur."
Jane said, "Thank you, Arthur. Though I'm sure we'll have to work at calling you that."
"What I'd like to do first is to get a little better understanding of your plans and needs, then go down the hall to a meeting with some of the heads of departments with whom you will need to interface. I'll leave you with them and you can begin to make yourself at home here at JPL."
"Good. Then let me begin with an overview, then we'll get down to a few details.
"We're part of the Space Force. As you probably know, coming from the military yourself, it's really the Air Force's catch-all term for several of its organizations. We specifically are under the Air Force Space Command headquartered in Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs.
"Officially we're a small task force to 'analyze near-space threats and suggest counter-force activities.' Actually, given my past history, they're gambling that given a free rein I'll lay more golden eggs for the Air Force. I give my bosses about a year before they pull the plug if we don't deliver on their gamble."
"My guess," the General said, "is that's about right."
"I look at things from a long perspective, Sir. I see us needing to establish ourselves in space to ensure survival by attack of some possible predatory aliens. We've been announcing our presence for over a century with our radio and TV and other radiation sources."
She grinned. "I know this sounds as if I've been reading too much sci-fi and watching too many movies. But that's my reasoning and I'm sticking too it."
Her demeanor turned sober. "Less blue sky is that I suspect we may see hostile activity in space within five years by at least one of the Chinese splinter empires. I want us to be prepared for that."
"Please keep such speculations to yourself. You'll get a rep for being an alarmist or a provocateur if you say so publicly."
"I'm well aware of that, Sir...Arthur. But I felt you and my staff need to know my thinking.
"Now as to what we'll be doing in the next year or two. I plan to work with other organizations to transition space jets into them. We'll also be working on other technical areas."
She looked around at her staff. They were listening to her very carefully. This was for them as much as for the General.
"I have one further point to add to this overview. Travel times in space are soon going to drop dramatically, something that has not yet been widely talked about. This improvement will be due to the space jet and the decabattery and its successors and solar power. They will mean space craft will soon be able to accelerate under power all the way to Mars, the asteroid belt, and the Jovian planets."
Nicole said, "I had missed that implication. One G acceleration all the way to Mars is..."
"...TWO days," said Riku. "And change if you're not in a hurry. Three and a half HOURS to the Moon."
"That gives you the background to the work we'll be doing, Arthur. Improvement of travel in near-space, which I define as from here to the Moon. This will aid in mining the Moon and creating lunar industries.
"One of the organizations I hope to work with is JPL. No longer will you just create and manage deep-space probes. You will be directly involved with human travel out there."
The General had turned thoughtful at her last words.
"You're right. I hadn't thought much about the significance of the space jet. It really works, doesn't it?"
"I flew an experimental spaceplane out of Edwards Air Force Base in suborbital flights just this last Easter break. At 20,000 feet atmospheric pressure is half that of sea level. That's where the space jet becomes more effective than the air jet. Later test flights, after I'd left Edwards, went all the way to the space station.
"Arthur, the one-stage-to-orbit spaceplane is a reality."
His expression was thoughtful. "Yes, now that you bring it up, I remember the news reports. But we were dealing with something urgent at the time and it slipped my mind."
Kate said, "Which brings us back to details. One action item on our agenda is to meet with your deep-space probe people. We'd like to work with them to build a probe powered by the space jet. Security will be a concern, however. Such a probe could also be a guided missile."
The man nodded. "Yes. We understood that you'd need secure work facilities. That's why I included our security chief in the group which--" He glanced at the view screen of his vear. "--should be ready to begin right about now. Shall we go?"
He stood up and they followed suit.
<>
The General introduced them to a group of three people and them to Jane and her crew. He urged the JPL people to give the new working group at the Lab all the assistance they needed and left.
Facilities manager Albert Wang bade everyone to find a seat and returned to the head of the small conference table in the windowless room with light brown paneling. The table had a nice wood finish, sat on dark green carpet, and could seat ten. To his right was the assistant manager of security for JPL, Janis Overland, and to his left the JPL Chief Technologist, Dr. Alice Gallegher.
"We've studied your requirements document, Captain, and I think we'll be able to meet all your initial requirements. It stated that you expected to grow and I'm sure we can accommodate you if you keep us apprised of your expanding needs. We have or in the near future will have three different projects which will wind down and you could expand into their quarters.
"Now, you said you'd need a place nearby to land a helicopter, so we placed you on the extreme south of JPL where the LA County Fire Department houses a local fast-response unit which covers JPL and several nearby areas. There is a wide grassy area next to it with two concrete landing pads.
"Opposite the fire department facilities, just to the east, are several buildings including the Federal Credit Union, some repair shops and storage facilities and other such services. We believe the top floor of building 243 at the southern end of the cluster of buildings would suit. We can empty that floor and completely renovate it out of your funds. We could probably house your helicopter in the repair shop below until we can throw up a basic hangar. If, ah, it is really as small as you say?"
Jane said, "It is. What I envision is not really a helicopter. We just say that because it requires a helicopter license with a Vehicle Refresher Addendum specific to the type of helicopter. Operation requires the pilot get permission from the local air traffic control just as any helicopter would. But it's really an air car. Look on your vear the video I'm sending you now. This is the front runner so far of the air cars I intend to buy."
The three JPL people focused on their vear face plates. The video was from a company called Fisher-Braun. They had a facility adjoining the Burbank Airport a dozen miles west of JPL. It showed pseudo photographs of small low-wing airplane about the size and shape of a Piper Cherokee.
The commentary began: "This is the stunningly new Fisher-Braun Sparrow, an economy personal aircraft which is super-safe and easy to fly, with advanced digital controls."
The images of the vehicle showed the Sparrow in various attitudes soaring through the air and taking off and landing.
The most obvious difference was at its waist. Mounted there were two small cylinders which the commentators said were Kuznetsov air jet engines.
"A revolutionary breakthrough, these engines are much lighter, cheaper, more efficient, and have a much lower impact on the environment."
Another image showed a second difference.
"These skids underneath the Sparrow house the Kuznetsov floater machinery which lets the aircraft take off and land on most flat natural surfaces. T
hey free the Sparrow from the tarmac runways of conventional airports."
The third difference was four long oval holes in the wings close to the body of the vehicle.
"When the Sparrow reaches its maximum floater height of 3.25 feet they began to act like the engines of a quad-copter. Using the Kuznetsov effect, they suck air down and into the engine then pushes it out below. This lets the Sparrow take off and land vertically if need be."
The video ended in a short pep talk about how easy the "all-digital pilot interface" made flying the aircraft.
"Very impressive," said Chief Technologist Dr. Alice Gallegher. "You must be making a ton of money from all this technology. Especially the floater tech. My teenaged son has a floater hoverboard and my grandmother a floater wheelchair which can actually take stairs safely."
"My father is the real mogul. It was he who came up with the theory behind floater and air jet engines. The technology is relatively simple to implement once you get your head around the theory."
Her staff kept silent at her comment. They had long ago figured out that it was Jane who'd come up with the theory and convinced her father to claim it and patent any tech resulting from it. Nor did they let on that he'd then given Jane a half interest in everything, having taken credit for her work only after Jane had lobbied him heavily to do so.
Facilities manager Albert Wang took back control of the discussion then, leading the talk to more specific needs for the new Space Technology Concepts Exploratory Group, the official title of Jane's little group.
Kate took the lead now, as Jane's executive officer. She asked that Wang let them see the area proposed for the STCX group. He had the security manager walk them down the hill to Building 243. Kate pronounced it good and the new employees adjourned for an early lunch with Chief Technologist Alice Gallegher and several of their new colleagues.
That afternoon Personnel made them official. They got badges, vehicle stickers for certain onsite parking areas, and a little "New Employees Guide" to JPL. They also got temporary offices in a building where a long-ongoing project was finishing up and downsizing.
