“What the hell?” Kim said.
Three men stood in the corridor, blocking their path.
“Been waiting for you,” said one of them, a big man with a laser pistol in hand.
“We’re not looking for trouble,” Ben said, his hand slowly creeping toward his own pistol slung low on his hip.
“Good, no need for trouble,” the man with the gun said. “We need a ride is all. Just passage to the Gala system.”
“Can you pay?” Ben asked, ignoring the sidelong look Kim gave him.
“In lieu of payment, let’s say we don’t take control of your ship,” the man with the gun said with a grin. His companions chuckled, but Ben noticed they didn’t have guns.
One of the men, a long-haired fellow with a crooked spine that made him seem to be leaning to the side, had a knife. The other man was shorter, with a broad nose that looked as if it had been broken multiple times. He had a short chain wrapped around his fist.
“We don’t appreciate being threatened,” Ben said.
“There’s no need to get your undergarments all soiled now,” the man with the gun said. “I see you’re all three heeled. I suppose you can take us in a fight, if that’s your thinking, but not before I shoot you down. Now we’re willing to die, all three of us. You willing to die, Mr. Captain man? Cause you’ll be the first to go.”
Ben saw that the man had a point. The man with the gun could pull the trigger faster than any of them could draw and shoot. There was little doubt that he would miss in the narrow corridor. Ben was about to give in, thinking they would have a better chance of subduing the men later. But before he could speak up, Forrest Remington Jones made an interesting point.
“That pistol has no charge,” Jones said.
“What the hell is he talking about?” said the man with the crooked nose.
“That’s a Billings RX9 short-range laser pistol,” Jones said. “The diode on the sides of the barrel light up to show the charge. It’s why the Royal Imperium refused to continue buying weapons from the Billings Corporation over three decades ago.”
Ben glanced at the gun, saw no light, and moved his hand to the hilt of his own pistol.
“Don’t believe it,” the outlaw with the gun said. “This weapon is modifi—”
He didn’t get the chance to finish what he was saying. Magnum drew his pistol and fired. The laser weapon made a soft popping noise that seemed inconsequential, but the outlaw with the gun crumpled to the ground. Ben drew his pistol, but Kim was faster. She shot the man with the knife before he could take a single step toward them.
Magnum’s second shot hit the man with the broken nose in the shoulder. He was spun around, tripped over his compatriot, and fell face first onto the metal deck.
“Oooh,” Kim said. “I’ll bet he broke his nose.”
“It’ll be an improvement,” Ben said, holstering his pistol.
“You…you killed those men,” Jones said in a shaky voice.
“No,” Ben corrected him. “We stunned them. A full-strength laser blast might tear open a hole in the hull of this old station and kill us all.”
“Oh,” Jones said, sounding somewhat relieved.
“Let’s get out of here before they come around,” Kim said.
Ben stepped over the bodies and helped Jones, who seemed rattled by the incident. Magnum took the outlaw’s gun and looked it over.
“Was he right?” Kim asked.
Magnum nodded. “It’s damaged.”
“Good to know The Wizard isn’t completely without skills,” Kim said as they passed through the open air lock.
Ben turned and pulled the lever to close the air lock, then tapped the com-link on his collar.
“Nance, we’re ready to go,” Ben said. “Have the station release our tethers.”
“You got it,” Nance replied.
Jones was looking at the ship. They were in the cargo hold, looking up toward the main deck’s atrium.
“It’s an old Kestrel class ship,” Jones said.
Ben nodded. “Welcome aboard the Modulus Echo.”
Chapter 3
Ben led Jones upstairs to the bridge and got him settled into the seat at the communications console. Kim dropped into her pilot’s seat and checked the Echo’s engines. As expected, Nance already had them warmed up.
“Tethers are free,” Nance announced. “Tortuga Station has cleared us for egress.”
“Perfect timing,” Kim said.
“Is she flying the ship?” Jones asked.
“Yes,” Ben said. “Kim is our pilot.”
Kim smiled, knowing what the old man was thinking. She had taken a drink of the Tortuga bar’s swill right in front of him. And while she was not immune to alcohol, she hadn’t done more than taken a few sips of the astringent spirit.
She pressed a button that fired the bow thrusters, backing them away from the space station. The main drive was online, but she would wait until they were safely away from the station before bringing them online. They weren’t being chased away, which was a pleasant surprise, and there was no need to hurry.
“She’s been drinking, Captain,” Jones complained.
“Kim can fly better drunk than most Imperium pilots can sober,” Ben said. “But she was only drinking to make you nervous because you admitted you don’t like to fly with pilots who drink.”
“Well, that seems irresponsible. What if I had said I don’t like to fly with pilots who crash?”
“We could find out,” Kim said, spinning the ship around so that they were flying forward but moving away from the station.
“No, no,” Jones said. “I will henceforth keep my opinions to myself.”
“No need for that, Professor,” Kim said. “I was just having a little fun.”
“At the expense of my peace of mind,” Jones said. “I do not enjoy it.”
“Jump point is set,” Nance said.
“I see it,” Kim said, glancing at the plot. “Good bye and good riddance, Tortuga Station. As soon as we’re in hyperspace, I’m taking a long shower.”
“Where are we going?” Jones asked. “If I may be so bold, Captain.”
“First of all,” Kim said, speaking up before Ben could reply. “Ben isn’t our captain. This isn’t a military ship.”
“She’s right,” Ben said. “We’re independent. Just a ship for hire.”
“This isn’t the ship that I’ve seen in the video of the Battle of Bannyan Seven?” Jones asked. “It would be highly unlikely for the Confederacy to have more than one Kestrel class ship in its employ. I would guess there are less than a dozen of these old hybrids still in operation.”
“Yes, we’re that ship,” Ben said.
“But you’re not a military vessel?” Jones asked.
“The military wouldn’t have us,” Kim said with a smirk. “Prepare for the jump to hyperspace.”
Kim was on course and only seconds away from the jump point. She moved her hand to the button that would engage their hyperdrive. Her plot had a countdown and as soon as it reached zero, she pressed the hyperdrive button. As always, time seemed to stretch. The stars on the plot elongated for a moment, then disappeared in a swirl of luminous fog. It seemed strangely anti-climactic for such a complex and powerful component on the ship to be controlled with a simple push-button.
“That’s that,” Ben said. “Nance, how long will we be in hyperspace?”
“I set a four-hour jump to make sure we’re well away from Tortuga.”
“Perfect, I’ll show the professor to his quarters, then get started on dinner,” Ben said.
Kim got up from her pilot seat and winked at the older man. Jones seemed slightly out of sorts, but adapted quickly. She walked over to where he sat.
“My name is Kim Beaudry,” she said, extending a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Jones.”
“Likewise, I’m sure,” Jones said, shaking her hand with a flimsy grip.
“Your cabin is upstairs,” Ben said. “You’re the only pas
senger at the moment, but the galley and observation deck are up there.”
“Peace and quiet are conducive to my work,” the older man said. “It sounds perfect.”
Kim watched them go up the stairs. Jones looked elderly, but he moved easily and had no problem climbing the stairs. Once they were out of sight, Nance looked at Magnum.
“You have a new toy,” Nance said.
“We got accosted trying to get back to the ship,” Magnum said.
“Your man is quick on the draw,” Kim said.
“Did you kill them?” Nance asked.
Magnum shook his head.
“They were bluffing,” Kim explained. “Trying to get off the station. The good professor pointed out that their gun wasn’t charged.”
“It’s broken,” Magnum said, examining the RX9.
“He might be good for something,” Kim said.
“I’m glad you’re all back safe,” Nance said. “I didn’t like that place.”
“I’ve been in public restrooms that were more inviting than Tortuga Station. I’d swear that place is held together with baling wire and duct tape.”
She left Nance and Magnum on the bridge and went to her cabin. It was her sanctum, the one place in the galaxy where she felt safest and could be herself without fear of judgment. The walls were covered with decorative tapestries, and the floor was lined with a thick rug. There were colorful blankets spread on her bed, and she had found an eclectic assortment of furniture.
Of course there were other places on the ship with furniture. The observation deck had a dining table and was surrounded by sitting chairs, some of which even reclined to allow the occupant to gaze up at the stars through the large transparent dome on top of the ship. There was a comfortable sitting area down in the recreation space on the lower level and in the crew lounge beside the bridge. Yet, even among her friends, Kim didn’t feel like she could really let herself relax anywhere but her own cabin with the door locked.
She took off her clothes and walked through the cabin to her private bathroom. It was a tiny space, with a sink, a toilet, and a stall shower. The Kestrel class ship had once been a luxury vessel, with a recycling water system that allowed them to take actual showers. She turned on the water and gazed at her back in the small mirror over the sink. The scars of a failed flight during her kite-racing days mangled the skin of her lower back and left hip. No structural damage had been done, but she had been dragged along the side of a canyon wall that shredded her skin and left what Kim thought of as a hideous scar.
It was part of her psyche, and another reason she kept everyone at a distance. Even Ben didn’t know about the scarring. They were getting closer with each passing day, their budding romance growing, but she worried about what he might think if he saw her scars.
After her shower, she got dressed and made her way up to the galley. Ben had their meal almost ready, and their guest was nowhere to be seen.
“How’s the professor?” Kim asked.
“Fine, I think,” Ben said. “You want to fill a pitcher with ale?”
“I can do that,” Kim said.
Ben tapped his com-link and said, “Dinner’s ready.”
“What are we having this fine evening?” Kim said.
“Chicken protein with rice and a cheese sauce made from rehydrated powder,” Ben said.
“Sounds delicious,” Kim said with a grin. “Better than what they were serving up on Tortuga Station, that’s for sure.”
“That’s not saying much,” Ben said. “Why don’t you get our guest while I set out the plates?”
“What room is he in?”
“Number two,” Ben said. “It’s the farthest from the stairs and the galley, which according to him, makes it the most appropriate.”
“The man likes his silence,” Kim said. “That can’t be a bad thing in a passenger.”
She left the galley and walked across the open observation deck to the cabin with a two painted on the door in faded black paint. She hit the buzzer, and a second later the door opened.
“Dinner is ready,” Kim said, “if you’d care to eat with us.”
“Of course,” Jones replied. “Just let me wash up and I’ll be right out.”
Kim returned to the observation deck where Ben had plates on the table for everyone. She settled into her usual spot across from Ben. Nance and Magnum were already seated, and soon Jones joined them as well.
The food was hot and filling. Kim couldn’t speak to its nutritional value, but the flavors were familiar, and it felt good to have the warm meal with friends she trusted. The ale was a cool contrast to the hot food.
“Your meal is surprisingly good,” Jones said. “Very homey.”
“We’re glad you like it,” Ben said.
“How are your accommodations?” Nance asked.
“Oh, fine. Very fine indeed, I would say,” Jones replied. “The cabin is maybe a bit small, but having the entire level to myself gives me plenty of room to spread out. And it should be nice and quiet for me to do my work, apart from mealtimes.”
“What type of work will you be doing?” Kim asked.
“That is a very interesting question. What do you know about black holes?”
“More than you might think,” Kim said with a grin.
“We know the basics,” Ben said.
“Well,” Jones said, “as you probably know, the universe is filled with gravity wells that become stars. They suck in various elements, compacting them down so tightly that heat is produced until fusion occurs, creating a kind of equilibrium. Eventually, the suns burn through the gathered resources and lose balance, with the gravity well once more pulling everything into itself.”
“This then becomes a black hole. It has long been theorized that the gravity of a black hole is so strong that it actually bends space, and perhaps time, but that is another lecture altogether.”
“So the black holes create wormholes,” Ben said.
“In a sense, yes,” Jones said. “Although the gravity currents are too strong for manmade vessels to pass through them safely.”
“Maybe,” Kim said.
“You’re referring to the ship that allegedly passed through a black hole recently,” Jones said. “I’ve heard the rumor, although I find the odds of it being true improbably high.”
“It’s true,” Kim said.
“And you know this for a fact?” Jones said.
“We do,” Ben said.
“Are you saying that this is the ship that passed through a black hole?” Jones asked, his voice shaking slightly.
“We didn’t mean to,” Ben said.
“We had to make a blind jump to escape the Imperium Fleet in the Briggs system,” Kim said. “We came out of hyperspace too close to the black hole to escape.”
“Tell me everything,” Jones said. “Wait, I need to record your story. Give me a moment.”
He jumped up from the table and rushed back to his cabin. Kim watched the older man rushing with childlike excitement.
“This is our job?” Nance asked.
“Holt said he would give us instructions after we picked him up,” Ben said.
“Are we sure he’s not crazy?” Kim asked.
“The Confederacy sees him as an important figure in their fight,” Ben said. “That’s all I know. They spent a lot of resources to get him to us.”
“Okay,” Jones said as he came out of the small cabin with a tiny dictation device in one hand and data pad in the other. “Here we are.”
He placed the dictation device in the center of the table and turned it on. Then he cleared his throat and began speaking.
“This is Forrest Remington Jones, interviewing the crew of the Modulus Echo regarding their passage through a black hole.”
He added the date and time before sitting down and looking at Kim. There was a twinkle in his eye, and she could see his mind at work preparing for a feast of information. She only hoped she didn’t disappoint him with her story.
“Okay,” Kim said. “Here goes.”
Chapter 4
Kim told her version of the story, and Jones asked questions about gravitational fluctuations. He seemed to be obsessed with the movement and flow of gravity.
“I knew it,” he said triumphantly. “My peers never agreed. Academics are snobbish at best and rarely think outside the accepted scientific theories even as evidence piles up in opposition to those beliefs. Well, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that gravity isn’t a constant force. It ebbs and flows and can even shift. I’ve been saying this for years, but getting people to listen is incredibly hard.”
“You don’t think people agree with your theories?” Ben asked.
“Oh no, I’m the laughing stock of the scientific community. I proposed this very idea, that gravity is reactive, and what’s more, I believe it can be harnessed to create static, safe passageways across the galaxy. For centuries, hyperspace travel has been the only means of moving between star systems. But what if we could cross from one side of the galaxy to the other in a matter of minutes rather than days? What if information could be shared instantaneously to every system? It would radically change the galaxy as we know it. In fact, we might even be able to venture across the universe. I was fired from my post at the Royal Academy for arguing such radical views.”
“Fired for proposing a new theory?” Nance asked.
“It seems there are political forces at play,” Jones went on. “The Imperium doesn’t want my ideas coming to fruition. They prefer to control the information being shared from system to system.”
“That makes sense,” Ben said. “They’re doing some nasty things.”
“Oh, yes, power corrupts absolutely and all that,” Jones agreed. “I could have given up my research and taken a post at a lesser university, but this is my life’s work. I can’t just discard it, any more than you could walk away from this ship.”
“Makes sense,” Kim said.
“You mentioned on Tortuga that your degrees were stripped from you,” Ben said.
“That’s true,” Jones said. “It seems the military got wind of my research and didn’t like the implications. Before I knew it, my credentials had been rescinded, and rumors were spread about my mental stability. I became persona non grata in the academic world. If not for the Confederacy coming to my aid, I would probably be stuck in an unskilled labor position on some unheard-of planet.”
Gravity Flux: Kestrel Class Saga Book 3 Page 2