by Bob Blanton
◆ ◆ ◆
“Arrr,” Catie groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Liz asked.
“You know. You and Uncle Blake stuck me with ordering all the stores for the mission.”
“Oh, why didn’t you hand that off to the third mate? Oh, right, we don’t have a third mate,” Liz said.
“I am so going to get even!”
“Aren’t you having ADI help?”
“I tried, but Daddy has told her to quit helping me so much.”
“So you should be mad at him, not me.”
“I’m mad at both of you.”
“Well, you can complain, or you can finish up the job,” Liz said. “We need it by tomorrow so we can load it up and send it out on an Oryx.”
“I know!”
“It’s a good thing that we can send it out on an uncrewed Oryx, so it can catch up with us.”
“It won’t have to accelerate that hard,” Catie said. “We’ll be two days testing the jumpdrive and recharging the capacitors.”
“See, if you can think of little things like that, a list of provisions shouldn’t be too hard. Just make sure we don’t run out of chocolate.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Uncle Blake.”
“Yes, Catie?”
“We’re using a lot of quantum relays for this mission.”
“I’d expect so; we’re going to be in the middle of nowhere.”
“But we’re running out of them. Even with all the ones the Paraxean colony fleet had, there just aren’t that many.”
“Can’t we make some more?”
“No. We don’t know how. The Paraxeans guard that secret, and that knowledge never leaves their homeworld.”
“Let’s get Marc in on this,” Blake said.
“Hello, ADI tells me you guys need to talk,” Marc said.
“Yes, we were just going to call you. Catie, go ahead and explain the situation.”
“Daddy, we’re running out of quantum relays,” Catie said.
“I kind of expected that,” Marc said. “We keep finding more uses for them and have been reallocating them since the beginning.”
“We should figure out how to make them ourselves,” Catie said.
“Oh, you think so, do you?”
“Why not?”
“I guess you never know until you ask. I’ll get one of our physicists working on it; who knows, they might surprise us and figure it out right away.”
“How many can we take on the mission?”
“Leave us at least fifty pairs,” Marc said.
“I think I can make that work. I sure hope we figure out how to make them.”
“We might need to send a delegation to Paraxea to buy some more,” Marc said.
“Oh, I guess we’re talking to each other now,” Catie said. “We should find out what they would want in trade.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“What is that?” Blake asked as he found Catie holding a cat when he boarded the Oryx that would be taking them out to the Roebuck.
“A cat,” Catie said.
“I know that! What’s it doing here?”
“His name is Sapphire; he’s a Blue Russian,” Catie explained. “We’ve got two of them, and two Shih Tzus, and two Basenjis. Dr. Magor wanted them as part of his process to verify that the worlds are safe. He says he can keep them under observation easier than one of the crew, and they won’t complain all the time. There are also a bunch of rats in the lab for testing.”
“A Blue Russian, are you sure we can trust him? The Russians aren’t too happy with us right now,” Blake said.
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Catie said. “He’s pretty easy going. He does really well in microgravity.”
“What about a spacesuit?”
“We have pressurized carriers,” Catie said. “He’s completely housebroken; he even uses a toilet to do his business. Is it okay if I keep him out of his cage when we’re on the Roebuck?”
Blake rolled his eyes, “As long as he doesn’t cause problems.”
“He won’t. And neither will Topaz, the other one.”
“You’re pushing it, Second Mate,” Blake said.
“Dr. Magor says that it’s good for the crew to have pets around. They reduce stress.”
“He’s not reducing my stress right now.”
“Come onnnn,” Catie said in her little girl voice.
“We’ll try it.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Dr. Nakahara,” Marc said as he knocked on the door jamb to Dr. Nakahara’s lab.
“Dr. McCormack, so nice of you to visit.” Most of the scientists called Marc, Dr. instead of president; apparently, they felt that was the more prestigious title.
“I wondered if you had time for another project?”
“I should take a break from this one,” Dr. Nakahara said. “This antimatter converter is giving me a headache.”
“Antimatter converter. I thought you were working on the reactor?”
“I am, but the reactor is child’s play; you form a magnetic bottle and send in an atom of matter and an atom of antimatter and repeat. The secret is coming up with the antimatter.”
“And how do we do that?”
“We convert hydrogen atoms to antihydrogen atoms,” Dr. Nakahara said.
“Oh, that does sound complex.”
“It is. You have to break them down into quarks, then convert them and build them back up into antimatter. The beauty of it is that you never have to carry around any antimatter. The conversion takes place just before it is injected into the reactor.”
“I guess we wouldn’t want any matter-antimatter accidents,” Marc said.
“Yes, it only would take a few … to destroy your ship. Now, you have another project?”
“Yes. Are you familiar with our quantum relays?”
“I have heard of them. I assume they use quantum entanglement to create the relay.”
“Yes, and that’s about all we know. We have a limited supply, and we’re running out. My daughter suggests we figure out how to make them.”
“Interesting. I remember reading a paper about a new metal that was teeming with quantum entangled atoms. I’ll do some research and get back with you.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you. This is just the kind of project I need to clear my mind.”
◆ ◆ ◆
It took them six days to make it to the DSS Enterprise and the DSS Roebuck using Catie’s trick of cutting the acceleration for half a second every two seconds. That allowed them to accelerate at 15Gs. When they reached the fringe, the two starships were sailing in formation. The DSS Victory was two hundred kilometers behind the Enterprise, guarding the two Paraxean Carriers and the Paraxean asteroid, which was carrying the 1.2 million Paraxean colonists in stasis pods.
Catie, Liz, and Dr. Magor immediately boarded a Lynx along with the six pets. They would make a micro-jump along the edge of the solar system, then Dr. Magor would rescan each crew member and each pet and verify there were no deviations in their scans. They would then make a big jump to another star and back. If all the scans still came back normal, the rest of the crew would join them, and they would set off on their mission.
“Everyone ready?” Catie asked. They were all gathered on the bridge. Catie had Sapphire in her lap.
“We’re ready,” Liz replied.
“Okay, here goes,” Catie said as she pushed the button to initiate the jump.
“Nothing happened,” Liz said.
“Yes it did, we jumped three ten-thousandths of a light-year along our orbital path. Look at the instrument panel,” Catie said.
“It sure felt like nothing happened,” Liz said. “But you’re right; we’re three ten-thousandths of a light-year from the Enterprise.”
“Okay, everyone to sickbay so I can do my scans,” Dr. Magor said. He was carrying Topaz. The other animals were in their carriers, which were loaded on a cargo bot.
◆ ◆ ◆
“They�
�re back,” Blake said as the Roebuck reappeared off the port bow of the Enterprise.
“How did you call that before they appeared?” Kasper asked.
“Energy spike on the sensors,” Blake answered. “A little birdie told me to watch for them.”
“I see.”
“So, is that it?” Kasper asked.
“I hope not. They haven’t made the big jump yet.”
“There they go, or went,” Kasper said. “How long will this series take?”
“Four hours, they have to recharge the capacitors after a big jump,” Blake said. “Why don’t you grab us some coffee while we wait.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“And there they are,” Blake said as the Roebuck reappeared off the Enterprise. This time it was at least twenty kilometers away. “Everyone, we should be ready to depart in eight hours.”
There was a small going away party in the lower hangar. A third of the crew for the Roebuck was coming from the Enterprise’s squadron. Everyone on the ship wanted to wish the explorers good luck, and there were a few who were leaving spouses or lovers behind.
Blake had the four Foxes hover outside the Roebuck to facilitate the transportation. Using the two Lynxes from the Roebuck and two from the Enterprise, they were able to move the full crew over and only have to recompress the flight bay once.
“People, get settled in, we are departing in one hour,” Blake ordered.
Chapter 6
To the Stars
Dr. Magor had rescanned and checked his eight patients in the other star system while waiting for the Roebuck’s capacitors to recharge. To speed up their departure, Catie and Liz skipped the bon voyage party on the Enterprise. They were in sickbay as Dr. Magor did a quick reverification while they waited for the capacitors to recharge for the first mission jump.
“I feel fine,” Liz said.
“You look fine,” Catie said.
“Ah, I didn’t know you cared.”
Catie threw a box of nanite patches at Liz. “Doctor, are we good?”
“Yes, you two sheilas are just fine,” Dr. Magor said. “You should get some rest before we need to depart.”
“I’m going to finish unpacking,” Liz said.
“How much crap did you bring?”
“It’s not crap. I just have a few pictures to hang, things like that.”
“Oh, so do I,” Catie said. “I have to have Mommy’s picture on my desk for when I call her. She wants to make sure I miss her.”
“Well let’s go. This place will be crawling with crew in a few hours.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Everyone was aboard, and the bridge crew was settling in at their stations.
“Do you have a course?” Blake asked his navigator, Catie.
“Yes sir. Course is plotted and laid in,” Catie said.
“How many jumps?”
“It will take eight jumps to reach the first planet,” Catie said.
“Eight?!”
“We might be able to do it in six, but the cost of making an error is days, not the few hours it takes to make the extra two jumps.”
“You’re the navigator. If we’re ready, then engage.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Wow, that is weird,” Blake said. Everyone on the bridge was happy he’d said it because they all felt the same way. That is except for Liz and Catie.
“Well, you get that rollercoaster feeling when we cut the acceleration,” Catie explained. “No gravity, then we have to rotate the ship before we jump.”
“I don’t understand,” ship pilot Goss said.
“The jump takes all of our power, so we have to cut acceleration. The ship is setup for acceleration along its short axis, that makes for the best use of space. But we have to go through the wormhole with our longest dimension pointing the way,” Catie explained. “So we cut acceleration and rotate ninety degrees before the jump.”
“Makes sense. Are we really in a different star system?” Goss asked.
“We’re just outside it,” Catie replied. “Look at your navigation chart; you’ll see the stars labeled.”
“What’s our status?” Blake asked.
“We can make another jump before we need to recharge,” Catie said.
“Is the jump mapped?” Blake asked.
“It is.”
“Then engage.”
“Can we give everyone a little gravity?” Liz asked after they completed the jump, some of the newer crew members were looking a little green around the gills.
“We could provide about 0.3Gs,” Catie said. “There’s not enough gravity out here to do more than that.”
“I’m okay with that, lay in a course,” Blake said.
“Course laid in,” Catie replied.
“Helm, give us 0.3Gs of acceleration.”
“Aye-aye, sir,” Helm responded. He rotated the ship and started accelerating.
“First Officer, please scan the system. We might as well learn as much as we can while we are here,” Blake said.
“Aye-aye, sir,” Liz replied. “Scans started as soon as we jumped in.”
“Now that we have a little gravity, I’d like some coffee,” Blake said.
“Me too,” Catie added.
Jaylee, the duty steward on the bridge, came in carrying a tray. It had a thermos of coffee on it and mugs for everyone on the bridge. The mugs were all designed for microgravity, with a spring-loaded lid that would only lift up if you pressed it against your lip. The interior had a plunger that pushed the contents toward the lid. After giving Blake his coffee, she dispensed the rest by order of rank, Liz, Catie, the helm, and the sensor operators.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Before we leave, anything interesting in the system?” Blake asked.
“No, sir,” Liz said. “Three gas giants, and one rock planet that’s too close to the sun for habitation. It does have a big asteroid belt, so we should make a point to bring an asteroid probe out next time and have it prospect it for us.”
“Darn it. I should have brought some,” Catie said.
“Can’t think of everything. And we’re pretty busy mining Sol’s asteroid belt right now,” Blake said. “Are we ready to leave?”
“Jump laid in,” Catie said.
“Engage.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Eight-hour recharge,” Catie announced after another jump.
“Second Mate, how much gravity can you give us?” Blake asked.
“Same as before, 1/3G,” Catie replied.
“Make it so.”
“Aye-aye, Captain Picard,” Catie said under her breath. “Course laid in.”
“I’m sure someone said that before him,” Blake whispered back.
“Sorry, didn’t realize I said that out loud.”
“Everyone, take a break,” Blake ordered. “I’ll stand first watch with Mario; Liz, you’ll take the second with Catie.”
“Aye-aye, sir.”
“Catie, let’s go work out first. Then we can have a bite to eat before we take a nap.”
“Right behind you.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Catie and Liz made it to the gym just in time to grab the last two stair climbers. Since the machines had to work in microgravity, they were a bit different than the usual stair climber.
They mounted the climbers and adjusted the shoulder stops so that they were against their shoulders. Then they set the baseline resistance and selected the routine for their workout. As they started climbing, their shoulders pressed into the stops. They had to exert enough pressure to overcome that resistance. As they pushed, the shoulder stops created compression along their spine and leg bones. The compression was critical since it would help prevent any bone loss associated with being in microgravity for extended periods of time.
“Do you think Uncle Blake was mad about the Picard comment?” Catie asked.
“Nah, I’m sure he thought it was funny. He probably has gone over what he can say that doesn’t sound like he’s on Star Trek. That s
how kind of usurped all the good lines.”
“Yeah, like ‘engage’.”
“I was surprised you didn’t make a comment about that one.”
“I was going to, but then I realized that I used it when I was in command of the Sakira. I’m sure Uncle Blake knows that.”
Liz chuckled. “You three are really a team.”
“Three?”
“Your father, Blake, and you. You’re always trying to needle each other.”
“Same with the five of us,” Catie said.
“Oh, I guess Kal and I jump in a little.”
“Especially Kal.”
“Yeah, but he’s mostly trying to get under Blake’s skin.”
“Yeah, they do seem to always be competing.”
“Right, like their bet about dating, then they both wound up dating the spies.”
“That was funny,” Catie said. “And they kept dating them even after they knew they were spies.”
“No surprise there,” Liz said. “I wonder what happened to the two women.”
“I think they were both recalled when we declared independence. They weren’t making any progress. What about Logan?”
“Hey, we’re dishing on Blake and Kal, leave me out of it.”
“Did you know that Blake and Kal work out together?”
“Sure. Kal’s teaching Blake Aikido. I offered to teach him some Krav Maga, but he turned me down.”
“Why?”
“I don’t think his ego can take it.”
“Getting beat up by a girl?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty cool, but I don’t think he wants to have to look up at me after I’ve thrown his ass on the ground.”
“You think he’s going to go eight weeks without a workout?”
“No, but one of the pilots is a black belt in Kung Fu, so I’m sure they’ll work out together.”
“Which one?”
“Why do you want to know? Are you thinking of trying to get some moves you can use on me?”
“Maybe. Here comes a hill!”
Both women had to give up talking while they focused on their breathing as their workout routine ramped up.
After twenty minutes on the stair climber, Liz grabbed one of the rowing machines.
“I hate rowing,” Catie said.
“Why? It covers a bunch of muscle groups at the same time,” Liz said. “It’s efficient.”
