by Bob Blanton
“Okay, but it’ll fly?”
“Sure, just wouldn’t want to get into a dog fight in it,” Catie said. “You know we’re doing an awful lot of work to avoid using a gravity drive, that and upsizing the fusion reactor.”
“A what?”
“A gravity drive,” Catie replied.
“What is a gravity drive, and why haven’t I heard of it before?” Liz asked.
“It uses the gravimetric waves from planets and suns to push itself,” Catie explained. “It only works inside the gravity well, but the sun’s gravity well goes out to about fifty AUs; of course it gets pretty weak out there, but you’re good to at least Jupiter.”
“I’ve read about them in science fiction books,” Liz said, “but we have one?”
“Yes, all our satellites use gravity drives,” Catie explained, “and the engines on the Sakira are gravity drives. It’s too big to move with space engines.”
“Okay, so why don’t I know this?”
“Daddy’s compartmentalization,” Catie said. “They’re a huge secret, and he’s limited who knows. I forgot you didn’t know.”
“Oops,” Liz said.
“I don’t see how it makes a difference; you already know about the Sakira.”
“Let’s hope your father sees it that way. Where would we mount them?”
“Same place we’re planning to put the gyroscopes.”
“Then where would we put the gyroscopes?” Liz asked.
“I don’t think we would need them.”
“Any reason not to use gravity drives besides the secrecy thing?”
“We have to use a molecular printer to make them,” Catie said.
“Let’s ask your father. He’ll want an update anyway.”
“Okay,” Catie said. She shifted focus to her HUD for a few seconds. “We’re on at one o’clock.”
“Good,” Liz said.
“I’m going to have them start printing the new engine nozzles,” Catie said. “We’re going to need them either way we go.”
“Smart move,” Liz said. “Are you up for a run?”
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Catie replied, raising her eyebrows to make the point.
“Yeah, well, we’re going to see how well you run on just four hours of sleep.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Which one should we do?” Catie asked her father. She and Liz had just spent an hour going over the options with Blake and him.
“Can we do both?” Blake asked.
“We have to use a molecular printer to make the gravity drives,” Catie said.
“What part of the gravity drive do we have to print?” Marc asked.
“The whole thing,” Catie said. “We don’t know how it works. We don’t even know enough about it to take one apart and put it back together.”
“What are we using gravity drives in?” Blake asked.
“The satellites,” Catie said. “We’ve been expanding the array for months now.”
“Right, I forgot about that,” Blake said. “Why are we doing that?” he asked Marc.
“Planning ahead,” Marc said. His face indicated that was all he was going to say.
“Shouldn’t we learn more about them?” Liz asked.
“We have Catie’s guy working on gravity drives, but it’s taking a long time,” Marc said.
“He’s not my guy!” Catie interrupted.
“Right, anyway, he has the theory down pretty well, but the practical application is a ways off,” Marc finished.
“Why don’t you give him a working drive to start from?” Blake asked.
“We’re still keeping the Sakira a secret,” Marc said, “but we might have to. Up to now, we’ve been able to guide our scientists along with the information from ADI. And it’s paid off with some better results, like the flexible polysteel.”
“You might need to change that,” Blake said. “I still think we should do both designs.”
“I’d like to,” Marc said. “But I really don’t want people realizing we have gravity drives.”
“I could tell them they were a gyroscope,” Catie said. “They’re almost the same size, and if we put them in a sphere like the gyroscopes, nobody would know.”
“Who would assemble the drive?” Marc asked.
“We have to print them anyway; we can just print them in the sphere,” Catie said. “It will only take a little longer.”
“Okay, do it,” Marc said. “When will it be ready?”
“Tuesday,” Catie replied.
“Liz flies the test,” Blake said.
“Why?” Catie squealed.
“Because she’s a helicopter pilot,” Blake said. “She’s better qualified to deal with anything that might happen.”
“Okay,” Catie said with a pout, “but I get to fly it once we have it tested.”
“Of course,” Blake said. “Besides, it might give someone a chance to beat you in a Fox and spoil your perfect record.”
“Not a chance!” Catie shot back.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Sir, our assets in Delphi City have informed us that there are several Chinese scientists visiting the city,” Director Lassiter said to the president.
“What are they doing there?” the president asked.
“We’ve identified two of them as nuclear physicists,” Director Lassiter said. “We assume they’re reviewing the fusion reactor design.”
“Secretary Palmero, can you find a way to let them know how displeased we will be if the Chinese were to be given access to the fusion reactors,” the president said.
“I can pass the message along,” she replied, “but I don’t believe they will care what we think.”
“How can we make them care?” the president asked.
“Sir, we have limited options,” Secretary Palmero replied.
“We can lock them up in that city of theirs,” the president said.
“The Russians are already trying that,” Defense Secretary Barrows said.
“Do you really believe it was the Russians?” the president asked.
“The attack was too sophisticated for just average pirates, and the fact that it was on a freighter carrying solar arrays from Delphi City,” Director Lassiter said.
“Maybe we should encourage the Russians?” the president said.
“We already backed their denial of involvement,” Director Lassiter said.
“We could just tell Delphi that we’re interested in acquiring their fusion reactors,” Secretary Palmero said. “If we buy them, there are fewer for the Chinese to buy.”
“No! I want you to find a way to choke them,” the president said. “I’m not kowtowing to that idiot, McCormack.”
Chapter 12
Visitors
“Daddy, is it okay if I bring the twins up to stay a week?” Catie asked.
“What does their mother say?”
“It’s kind of her idea. Well, the twins are pestering her, wanting to come up, and she has next week off, so I think getting them out of her hair so she can have a real vacation is the idea.”
“Where will they stay?”
“With me; Liz is going to stay at the cabin in ring one while they’re here.”
“I’m okay with it as long as you take responsibility for them. No getting Sam to watch them or cook for you.”
“I’ll take care of them,” Catie said with a grimace. She had thought she would get Sam to help with meals, but she’d find a way to cope; they might be eating out a lot.
◆ ◆ ◆
Catie and Natalia were waiting for the twins at the Delphi City airstrip. Catie had gotten the pilot slot for the Lynx that was ferrying people down and then up for the day. There were plenty of seats for the flight up.
“They’re almost here,” Catie said.
“They’d better get here soon, or I’ll have to defend you against all those passengers that are wondering why their pilot is hanging out here instead of in the cockpit flying them up to the station,” Natali
a said.
“Bunch of crybabies, we aren’t even scheduled to depart for another fifteen minutes,” Catie said. “Anyway, here they are.”
Aalia and Prisha came bounding out of the passenger terminal, followed by their mother, Dr. Sharmila.
“Hey Catie, hey Nattie,” they called out as they ran up. One hugged Catie, and the other hugged Natalia, then they switched.
“Hey, you two are getting taller,” Natalia said.
“Yep,” one twin said. “We’re five feet tall now!”
“And you’re wearing different outfits,” Catie said. Earlier, the twins always wore the same outfits, making it impossible to tell them apart.
“Mummy made us promise to dress differently for the whole trip,” the twin said.
“I’m trying to encourage them to be different people,” Dr. Sharmila said as she made it to Catie.
“We are different people, but we’re twins,” the twins said.
“You are, well, sometimes I think I’m seeing double,” Natalia said as she looked between the twins.
“The one in red is Prisha,” Dr. Sharmila said.
“Un-uh,” the twins said.
“Oh my, did you two change in the bathroom?” Dr. Sharmila scolded.
“Yes, I like red today . . . And I like blue,” the twins said.
“Pshaw, I’m so glad you’re willing to let them stay,” Dr. Sharmila said. “They’ve been bouncing off the walls for a week.”
“We have plenty of walls for them to bounce off of,” Catie said. “And a few ceilings too.”
“Yay!” the twins squealed.
“I’ll take good care of them,” Catie said.
“I know you will,” Dr. Sharmila said. “Now girls, remember Catie is in charge.”
“We remember,” the twins said.
“Let’s get you on the plane,” Catie said. “We’ll talk to you tonight,” she added to Dr. Sharmila.
“Bye, girls!”
“Bye, Mummy!”
“I’ve got their bags,” Natalia said. She grabbed the two bags and took them to the cargo door of the Lynx, handing them up to the cargo handler who was waiting for them impatiently.
Catie led the twins into the Lynx’s main cabin and got them seated. She had them settled in by the time Natalia made it to her seat. Sophia was pinging Catie’s comm while she was settling the twins in. Catie hadn’t been aware that Sophia was coming to the space station, but wasn’t surprised since her mom was up there working right now.
“Hi, Sophia,” Catie said as she waved to her. “We’ll talk after we dock; I have to fly us there.”
“Okay.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Can you take it from here?” Catie asked her copilot after she had finished docking the Lynx with the space station.
“Sure, I’ve got it, go play hostess,” her copilot said.
Catie barely made it into the main cabin before the airlock was opened. The twins were already lined up, waiting to get off. They were doing little somersaults in place, kicking off the deck and rotating so they could kick off the ceiling of the Lynx. The other passengers were not looking particularly happy and were giving them plenty of room. Jennie, the flight attendant, was standing between the twins and the other passengers, trying to assure everyone that everything was alright.
“Can you two settle down,” Catie said. “You’ll have plenty of time to play around in microgravity while you’re up here.”
“Sorry,” they said together. “Why haven’t they opened the airlock yet?”
“Probably because they’re worried about two crazies bouncing around in here,” Natalia said. She’d finally worked her way through the other passengers.
The twins both grabbed a stanchion and brought their feet back to the deck. As they settled in, the airlock opened.
“Please let the passengers with microgravity experience deplane first,” Jennie announced. “Then we will provide assistance to those of you who need it.”
The twins darted through the airlock, followed by about half the passengers, although at a more sedate pace.
“Jennie, do you need any help?” Catie asked.
“No, we have a couple of people coming off once all of you spacers clear out,” Jennie replied. “We'll be fine. Go take care of those two before they break the space station.”
Catie waved goodbye and went on into the docking ring. There she met up with the twins, Natalia, and Sophia. They had moved to one of the unused bays, and the twins were literally bouncing off the walls. They were playing tag, one chasing the other, and trying to anticipate the subtle direction changes their quarry made when she pushed off the wall.
“Hi, Sophia,” Catie said, ignoring the twins. “How long are you up for?”
“I don’t know,” Sophia said. “At least a week. Depends on how long Mom decides to stay up here. Do they ever stop?” she asked, indicating the twins who were still bouncing off the walls.
“When they sleep,” Catie said. “I hope they don’t drive me nuts.”
“I think it might be too late on that,” Natalia teased.
Sophia laughed, “Call me when you have time. Chris is up here staying with her dad, so we should do lunch.”
“Okay,” Catie said. “Maybe tomorrow or Wednesday. Come on you two, let’s get you settled in.”
“Can we go to the obstacle course?” they asked, referring to the top of the hub, where Kal had installed a microgravity obstacle course.
“Not now,” Catie said. “We need to get you set up at my cabin, then we have to have lunch. Then maybe we’ll go to the obstacle course.”
“Okay,” the twins said; clearly they didn’t think they should have to wait before going to the obstacle course.
◆ ◆ ◆
After getting the twins settled, Catie and Natalia took them to the obstacle course, hoping that they would burn off enough energy that they would settle down during the evening, and everyone could enjoy their dinner. Catie had reserved the course earlier and was surprised that it was rarely booked. The twins opted to just wear shipsuits; they thought that using the exosuit with its thrusters was too easy and only for lightweights.
“Finally!” the twins yelled as they entered the course. Aalia tagged Prisha, yelling, “you’re it,” as she pushed off the floor. She immediately flipped over before she hit the ceiling and pushed off of it at a steep angle. Prisha was rocketing behind her, barely missing Aalia when she pushed off the ceiling.
Prisha did a late flip and pushed off the ceiling after her sister. Aalia barely edged by one of the obstacle walls, dropping out of sight. She came rocketing out from behind it going horizontal to the floor towards another wall. Prisha bounced off the wall Aalia had edged by and pushed off to a second wall to line herself up on an intercept course. Aalia reached down with her hand and pushed off the floor to change her vector.
“Can you believe those two?” Natalia asked. “They have more moves than a bird has feathers. If I could learn half of them, you’d never catch me.” Natalia was referring to Catie’s and her training sessions on the obstacle course.
“That’s a good idea,” Catie said. “ADI, do we have enough cameras in here to track the twins through the course?”
“Yes, Cer Catie. There are cameras in the face of each wall,” ADI said. “Cer Kal wanted to be able to analyze the mistakes his team makes when they are training with their exosuits.”
“Good, please record those two so we can analyze how they push off and change directions,” Catie instructed.
“The cameras are always recording,” ADI said. “The footage is compressed using a predicting algorithm. As long as the subjects are following predictable arcs, a math equation replaces the video.”
“How well do the twins compress?” Catie asked.
“The compression algorithm is only fifty percent as efficient on their videos as normal,” ADI said.
“How are the videos of Natalia and me?”
“Your videos are within nominal para
meters of the algorithm,” ADI said.
“I think she just told us that we aren’t that good,” Natalia said.
“Well, we’ll have to see if we can fix that,” Catie said. “Plan on doing some studying tonight and an early workout.”
“How early?” Natalia asked.
“They sleep nine or ten hours, so I suggest we meet here at o-six-hundred,” Catie said.
“You would say that,” Natalia said. “You do know that some of us actually need sleep.”
“Then go to bed early, or would you rather I work with Liz?”
“No way, I want to be able to bust her ass on this course,” Natalia said.
◆ ◆ ◆
That night after dinner, Catie had the twins watch a movie while she studied the video of all their moves. ADI had analyzed the video and identified 84 basic moves that the twins used during their play session. The next morning, Catie met Natalia by the obstacle course to review them.
“Eighty-four moves,” Natalia complained. “How can there be so many?”
“There are even more variations,” Catie said. “But these are the basics. And it’s not that bad. There are four different ways they land with their feet, left-forward, right-forward, and then the same but further apart,” Catie said as she demonstrated each move. They were in the gravity section close to the course.
“Okay, I can remember that,” Natalia said.
“Then they land with their feet more than hip-width apart, again, left or right foot forward. That makes six basic landings,” Catie continued to explain. “Then, from each of those landings, they can vector off in eight directions, forward, back, left, right, and then forty-five degrees from each of those.”
“Boy, those girls are sneaky,” Natalia said. “No wonder I can never catch them.”
“Yeah, now watch this,” Catie said. “See how they just bounce off as soon as they touch? Then look here: They touch and bend their knees, so they preserve their momentum until the last moment when they decide which way to push off.”
“Oh yeah, and when I’m chasing them, I think they’re going to bounce off right away,” Natalia said. “They even do a little juke there.” Natalia pointed to the small head fake that Aalia was doing before she finally pushed off.
