A Fiery Sunset
Page 19
Off in another direction, the Cavaliers’ ship, Bucephalus, had maneuvered into position near Pegasus. A tanker had just completed topping off her ship’s reaction mass, and the controller that handled traffic around Prime Base confirmed James Armistead Lafayette was en route. One of three specially-fitted cutters the Hussars maintained, the ships were the smallest vessels in the Union to have hyperspace shunts. They used them as high-risk couriers and intelligence ships.
Alexis located the ship in local space via the data feed from Pegasus’ sensor tech, a Selroth named Flipper. Her naming convention for alien crew members was renowned for its tongue-in-cheek nature.
James Armistead Lafayette was aft of them and braking with her secondary ion drive, as it was against the rules to use fusion torches around Prime Base. The ship itself was just 120 feet in length, with a narrow nose that widened out to a bulbous stern section that accommodated two oversized fusion plants. Because of the inverse square law involved in hyperspace travel, the smaller a ship, the larger the power requirements to keep it in hyperspace. Nearly half of the James Armistead Lafayette would’ve been power plant to start with, except she also sported hyperspace shunts.
Stargates were massive hyperspace shunts, providing a gateway to hyperspace. It took a massive amount of power to displace vessels into hyperspace, at which point the ships’ own generators kept them there. For a ship to have hyperspace generators and shunts was rare enough. For a ship as small as the Hussar’s intelligence cutters to have them was inconceivable. Alexis liked things that others considered inconceivable.
“We’ll be ready to get underway as soon as James Armistead Lafayette docks with Bucephalus, Captain.” The information came from Glick, her SitCon, or situational coordinator. His job was to coordinate actions between the various sections, and he was one of two Bakulu on her command staff. Glick’s compatriot, Chug, was Pegasus’ main helmsman, or in this case, helmsalien.
“Noted,” she said. “Flipper, can you confirm if Glamdring has left with Sinclair’s Scorpions?”
“Just now, ma’am,” Flipper replied immediately.
“Very well. Ms. Opal?”
“Commander?”
“Are munitions stores secured?”
“Yes, ma’am, secured for space. We have a full load of missiles and drones.” Alexis was still getting used to her new tactical commander, or TacCom. Her previous TacCom of several years had been promoted to lieutenant commander and was now in command of Durendal, which was on its way to New Persia with Nigel Shirazi. It was his first command, and well past time.
“Thank you. Paka?”
“Ma’am?” her XO replied immediately.
“As soon as James Armistead Lafayette has come alongside, set course for the stargate at one quarter gravity.”
“Will do,” she replied. A few minutes later, the Acceleration Stations claxon sounded, and the great old battlecruiser began to move. Soon after, they were approaching the stargate, and Alexis floated into the CIC.
“Stargate control reports recharge is nearly complete,” Paka said as Alexis drifted in. The Veetanho XO had been keeping things going behind the scenes for many years, and she’d given up her own command in the Hussars to serve under the company’s commander.
“Neutral stations,” she ordered.
“Neutral stations, aye,” the helmsman, Chug, reported.
“Order JAL and Bucephalus to dock grapple and prepare for transition.” With all thrust canceled, the two other ships moved in. With help from Pegasus’ computers, they carefully docked at two of the bigger ship’s four grapples.
“They’re both secured,” Paka reported. “We have good hyperspace linkage.”
“Fusion Plants 1 and 2 are at 100%,” Chief Engineer Long reported from far aft, “and 3 is on standby.” After the near-disastrous string of battles, Pegasus’ fusion plants had all been modernized and upgraded. They were 30% more powerful than before, as well as more resistant to damage.
“Stargate control confirms our transition timing and sends best of luck on the operation,” Hoot said.
“Acknowledge and thanks,” Alexis said. “All hands, prepare for transition.”
In front of the three combined ships, the stargate’s powerful shunts warped space, creating a quantum singularity, a portal to hyperspace they passed through. A pivotal moment of uncreation, and they were in another universe.
“Okay, Ghost, it’s all you now.”
“
“Hoot, patch me through to the crew and the other ships.”
“You’re on, Commander.”
“This is Commander Cromwell,” she said. “In a moment we’ll be doing something extremely dangerous; dropping out of hyperspace. Those of you new to Pegasus’ crew, and the other ships attached, please be prepared for a most unenjoyable experience. I can’t describe the sensations beyond the fact they’re…unpleasant.”
“
“Here we go,” Alexis announced to everyone, then replied to Ghost. “Do it.” Power was cut to the hyperspace generator, and the ships fell out of hyperspace.
* * *
Jim Cartwright was strapped into a seat in Bucephalus’ CIC when Alexis Cromwell made her announcement.
“Are you sure about this?” Captain Su asked. As the captain of his ship, she was in charge while they were in space. The plan to purposely cut power while in hyperspace struck her as just shy of clinically insane. Jim’s XO, Hargrave, was with the troops in the lower decks. Splunk was in Jim’s quarters.
“I trust Commander Cromwell,” Jim said.
“You aren’t sure about it either, are you?”
“No,” he admitted, “but that trust is enough in this case.” Su’s mouth turned into a narrow line as she nodded her head.
“You Cavaliers aren’t always the smartest, but you are good at making the right calls when instinct is more important than brains.”
Jim smiled, then his grin faltered as he began to wonder if that was really a compliment. Captain Su used the ship’s PA system. “All hands, prepare for transition to 2nd Level Hyperspace.” Afterward, she tightened the straps holding her into her chair and scowled. Jim was just beginning to wonder when it would happen, when it did.
Transitioning into hyperspace was, to many, an existential experience. Almost transcendent. Poets and philosophers had experienced it over and over to try to link it with something more. The transition to 2nd Level Hyperspace was not something poets would talk about; it was something horror writers would.
Jim’s mind screamed as his body was torn apart piece by piece. Then the pieces were set afire and sent spinning into a meat grinder. It seemed to last for an eternity, then it was over.
“Cào nǐ mā, that was awful!” Captain Su spat. The entire CIC crew looked like they’d been through hell and back. For that matter, Jim was pretty sure he had been, too.
“I wonder if Dante was writing about his trip to 2nd Level Hyperspace?” he wondered aloud.
“No visual from external cameras,” one of the CIC staff said. Jim nodded; they’d been told to expect that. He unbuckled.
“Where are you going, Commander?” Captain Su asked.
“I want to see for myself,” he said as he left the CIC. He floated down the corridor, but found he had to keep pulling himself along or he would come to a stop.
Like most warships, there weren’t many windows. A window was an opening through which laser fire could bypass armor. He went to a utility airlock on a lower deck, cycled the lock, and pulled himself over to the outer door. The window was only a few inches on a side, used mainly for visual verification of a docked craft. Still, it was enough to see out.
The black was just as he’d heard; as black as regular hyperspace was white. Black in a way regular space could never be, without stars, planets, or even distant galaxies. Plus, as he watched, he felt something in the back of his head that felt like ants crawling around in his brain. “Wow,”
he said eventually.
“Commander,” Captain Su called.
“Go ahead.”
“We’re about to detach from Pegasus and dock with James Armistead Lafayette.”
“I’ll be right there.” He took a final look before pulling his eyes away and floating back to the CIC. By the time he got there, they’d already docked with the Winged Hussars’ cutter.
“Bucephalus, this is Captain Crispin on James Armistead Lafayette.”
“Go ahead, James Armistead Lafayette,” Captain Su responded.
“We’re charging our shunts, and the necessary calculations have been transferred from Pegasus. We’ll be ready to transition back to normal space in five minutes.”
“Understood, Captain Crispin,” Su said. “Our engineers confirm a good linking of our field generators. We’re definitely ready to get out of here.” Jim rebuckled into his seat and settled back.
“What was it like?” Su asked after a time.
“Disturbing,” he said. “I hope I never see it again.” At exactly five minutes, they returned to normal space.
* * *
EMS Pegasus, 2nd Level Hyperspace
“James Armistead Lafayette and Bucephalus have transitioned to normal space,” Flipper informed his commander.
“Very well,” she said. “Inform the Geek Squad it’s time to earn their pay.”
An hour later, Alexis half floated/half pulled herself into the conference room on Deck 19, Officers’ Country. Even though she’d been in the strange 2nd Level Hyperspace before, the effect of being in a zero gravity that slowed and stopped you was something she’d never get used to.
Alexis had grown up in micro-gravity and was as at home in it as any Human could be. When you pushed off from one side of a corridor, you were supposed to glide all the way to the other. Here, you’d come to a relatively quick stop halfway across. Emergency ropes had been strung across many open areas, and members of the crew were still getting stranded.
“Flipper, have you been able to fix our location based on the previous visit?” The Selroth was only wearing a liquid rebreather for the meeting. He usually wore a complete helmet in the CIC but seemed to prefer having his head exposed in group conversations like this.
“Scanning remains a hit-or-miss prospect here,” he explained. “Our sensor returns are scattered, and the time delay for energy travel is equally bizarre.”
“We’ve tried to fine tune the calibration,” Kleena said.
“We’ve implemented all the adjustments,” one of the two Jeha on the Geek Squad chimed in.
“It has helped,” Flipper said, nodding to the group of scientists. The two Jeha floated near the table, a few legs hanging on to keep from moving randomly. Kleena clung to a chair with his legs. The chair where Taiki Sato should have been was noticeably empty. “Based on the data, we appear to be about 50,000 kilometers, or whatever passes for a kilometer here, from our previous position. I’m just finishing the survey of near space…” he seemed to fumble for another word, then gave a shrug.
“Kleena, where is Sato?” Alexis asked.
Paka answered for him. “Flying around outside.”
“What?” She shot a withering stare at Kleena. “One of your jobs is to keep that mad scientist on a short leash.”
“And the next time I manage that will be the first,” he shot back. “He insisted on personally trying out one of the shuttles we reprogrammed to operate in 2nd Level Hyperspace.”
“He’s such a child.” Xander Opal, the new TacCom, wasn’t amused by the less-than-professional antics of the Geek Squad. She was a consummate professional and relatively new to the Winged Hussars. She’d been rescued from slavers during an anti-pirate operation nine years ago, and the remainder of her entire family had been killed when their ship was taken. After being rescued, she’d elected to join the Hussars instead of returning to Earth.
“His mannerisms may be…unconventional,” Alexis said as diplomatically as she could, “but that doesn’t detract from his accomplishments.” Xander gave a little snort, and Kleena took the opportunity to continue.
“Based on his further sampling of the physics here, the shuttles should be capable of very high rates of speed.”
“What about that crazy deceleration?” Chug asked. As Pegasus’ helmsman, such matters were of supreme importance to him. Two of the mollusk’s eyes were looking at Kleena, the third stared at a tiny slate affixed to his shell. The Bakulu were a tad difficult to get used to for some Humans.
“We confirmed the acceleration is linear, roughly half of your relative velocity per second, on a slightly logarithmic scale, until you are stationary.”
“The G forces would be lethal,” Chug persisted, “even to us.”
“Sato has taken the shuttle up to 250 mps, cut power, decelerated to a stop in 2 seconds, and the instruments detected no inertia.”
“Wow,” Alexis said. They knew from their previous visit that there didn’t seem to be much, if any, inertial effects to the phenomenon. However, when they’d taken a shuttle to salvage F11 after losing all of theirs, the pilot, Larry Southard, had kept their speed low and used the vessel’s thrusters to avoid excessive slowing. Unfortunately, he hadn’t survived the mission; his experience in the altered physics of 2nd Level Hyperspace would have been welcome, as would the experiences of Corporal Rick Culper and Sergeant Eva Johansson, the only two surviving Hussars to venture away from Pegasus on their first visit to 2nd Level Hyperspace.
“Sato is quite excited,” Kleena said. Alexis could understand why. Unfortunately, an overly excited Sato was not a very productive Sato.
“After we’re done here,” Alexis said, “please get him back on task?”
“
“I know,” she replied, then spoke to Paka. “We don’t have a lot of time here. As we saw last time, there are risks we simply don’t understand. Lethal risks. I’m told that, should any of the denizens that inhabit this realm make their way aboard, we’d be in serious danger.” A number of those around the table nodded, understanding that Ghost provided the information.
“As the captain requested,” one of the Jeha said, “we’ve prepared a total of six modified shuttles.”
“One of which Taiki Sato is using at the moment,” the other said. Alexis cast a baleful glance at Kleena, who nodded his snouted head and looked into the distance as he used his pinplants. The other Jeha spoke again.
“There will be room for 50 personnel in each shuttle, along with F11 stores, slates, repair parts, and enough supplies for three days.”
“Life support on the shuttles was stretched for this as well,” the other said.
“Excellent,” Alexis said and turned to her XO. “The crews are all briefed?”
“Yes, Commander,” she replied.
“Drone Control will send a flight of five high-endurance drones along with each shuttle to act as extended sensors, since radio and laser comms don’t work right here, and as potential fire support. The crews are all armed, but due to the necessity of having maximum technical ability aboard, there wasn’t room in the shuttles for marines.”
“My candidate analysis is complete,” Flipper announced. The conference room Tri-V came alive with a spherical near-space representation; the Pegasus was at its center. “We’ve identified seven thousand ships with the sensor improvements created by Sato.”
“Seven thousand?” Xander said, her eyes wide in amazement. She was the only one of the command staff who’d never been to 2nd Level Hyperspace. “I had no idea the Union had lost so many ships.”
“Hundreds of the ships do appear to be of Union design, but others are very old,” Flipper said. The thousands of little green markers on the map twinkled. They appeared randomly scattered. There were clumps in a few places, and some were large. “Most are unidentified in origin.”
“I think I can help with that,” Sato said as he pulled himself into the conference room, seemingly handling the strange physics of th
e place without missing a beat.
“Done playing in the shuttle?” Alexis asked.
“For now, yeah,” he said, missing the sarcasm, and easily slid into his chair. “In regard to the ships, I believe the interconnected levels of hyperspace is the explanation.” Everyone in the room stared expectantly at Sato who looked around curiously.
“Maybe you can explain?” Kleena suggested.
“Oh, sure,” Sato said. “I’ve spent some time learning about hyperspatial physics since our first trip here. It was never one of my interests until recently.” Alexis shook her head. The man had learned an entire scientific discipline in weeks. She had no doubt he was probably one of the most learned in the field now.
“The Union Science Guild has a large amount of data on the relationship between normal space and 1st Level Hyperspace. They appear to have zero knowledge about the relationship between 1st level and the others.”
“Meaning they don’t know about this place?” Alexis asked.
“Oh, no,” Sato said. “They know about it. The details are hidden from our eyes. You can find them, if you look at some of the footnotes, subtexts, and references that weren’t removed.” He made a snorting sound and said something in his native Japanese the translator didn’t catch. “The Science Guild scribes lack subtlety. Maybe they never thought someone would read all twenty-seven thousand papers? Anyway, it seems they weren’t interested in studying underlying cause and effect. They call themselves scientists? That’s part of the very pillars of science, to study how things interact.
“I’ve used conversations with Ghost to stretch my understanding even further. Based on my research of 1st Level Hyperspace, it’s a stretching and thinning of the normal fabric of reality. It’s closely related to normal space and, as you can see, all the regular rules of physics persist. Gravity, energy, sensors, etc.”