The Pattern Ship (The Pattern Universe)

by Roote, Tobias

  On the basis of a personal forcefield wasn’t going to help anyone breathe vacuum it was deemed expedient to set-up some form of regulatory force. This also served to give the SC teeth of its own, something that gained popularity as the debate progressed.

  Seemingly many nations had views on the possibilities of piracy, and with the one of the founding intentions of the SC being to develop colonisation plans it was deemed a prudent objective. It was helped along considerably by the quiet announcement that the New Technology Foundation set-up by Zeke and Zirkos in the initial days would fund much of the cost of set-up and running of the Force. Opposition fell away rapidly after that.

  So it was within the SC’s first session, and beyond Garner’s wildest dreams, that the Space Defence Force was established and given a budget and a sweeping mission agenda; to protect Earth and secure space for all.

  ***

  Zeke took the news of the newly formed SDF well in that he hadn’t expected to get that aspect of the SC operational in the first year of operation let alone in the first session. As a result he bought all of his plans forward and started meetings with potential captains and crew and pulled in experts from the various space programmes to begin teaching them about what to expect from space, how to navigate, manoeuvre and the theory of how to fly an as yet unknown vehicle in space. The designs were still being fleshed out. It was going to be a while, he decided.

  He missed Pod, it had been months now since their talk on the beach had prompted Pod to go off in search of itself. With Ship gone and Zirkos too, it felt very much like he had been left back at square one. Except of course he had no metal plate in his head and he had a job.

  Ferris had been very quiet and Zeke worried about that. If they were building new technology based on progress Ferris’ teams had made, how much further had they progressed since. The only advantage that Zeke’s people had was the added technology given to them by Pod. It was this that was going to see them into space.

  Osbourne, sitting opposite having pulled a double shift down in the lab, was taking a break and keeping Zeke in the loop. He watched his friend as his thoughts lay heavily in the distance. Osbourne thought he knew what the problem was. He missed Zirkos and the spaceship. He resumed his update.

  “So, I think we should progress to testing the new drives next week and if they work we can install them on a test craft and see how well they cope in handling a ship in atmosphere,” he finished updating Zeke.

  The new spacecraft needed to be both atmospheric and space capable because they didn’t yet have facilities for building in space. Osbourne’s team had been developing a powerful anti-gravity drive that would enable ships to apply lift and thrust, sufficient to get them into space where the propulsion drives could take over. It was working faultlessly in test conditions. They now wanted to strap it to a ships hull and test it. That meant a crew.

  “Well, that’s good ‘Ossy’ because I have fifteen crews waiting for something to fly and I’m off to China now to talk to some new possibilities for additional crews. It seems they’re shelving their own space programme in favour of ours. It obviously saves them a ton of money plus they get Chinese crews in our Space Navy.”

  “Who would you suggest for the test flight, Zeke?”

  “Oh, I think Chad would kill for a chance to get in the air, they all would, but go see Chad and tell him I have authorised him to cooperate fully with you.

  Keep him alive, Ossy, he’s one of my best people.” Zeke warned him only half serious.

  So ended the authorisation of the very first space flight on a SC commissioned vessel. That was how things were getting done on the Island, minimal paperwork, maximum communication. They all knew it wouldn’t take long for the bureaucrats to get involved in the authorisation process, but so long as Zeke was putting up the money for the R&D they had a free hand in how it was managed.

  - 23 -

  Frank Garner looked down at the shipyard basin which was filling rapidly with structures as the latest ship began to be constructed using Tractor beams.

  They had finally discovered how to construct a basic nanobot that carried a bonding agent with it. When it got to where it was designated to be, it would deliberately short circuit and the combining of the bonding agent with the heat generated formed a permanent weld where it was. Millions of them were used in every welded section, but it was the cheapest means of building seamless ships they had at present.

  The first ship that had been started a few months previously was already at the stage of having its internal infrastructure inserted. They missed the speed and versatility of having the D-Field available, but without Ship or Pod, there was no means of placing the structures where they needed them.

  Zeke was very useful, his people skills had melded people together quickly. He was able to correctly assess those with leadership qualities and place them into the right positions to help them grow. The teams all worked well. It was a smooth, almost slick operation.

  Garner had been worried about him for a while, he missed Zirkos and when the Pod upped and left, he found himself land bound again after a long period of enjoying the life of a spaceman. Serves him right for having so much fun, Frank thought to himself.

  Still, the technology the Pod had recovered from the Ferris rebels had been improved upon significantly.

  Again Zeke’s ability to focus in on problems without necessarily knowing all the science involved more often than not was totally intuitive and one hundred percent accurate. They had made big jumps in a small period of time with everything they had recovered and now had very little concern for Ferris’ antics.

  Once they got into space they would deal with the rebels. These ships only represented the first thrust of a many pronged approach.

  He saw the silvery glint of the A-Grav ship as it arrived in from the USA. He looked at his watch, one hour and forty minutes. A record, the new drives they had designed on the back of the Ferris ones were working a treat. He continued to watch as the pencil thin craft landed on the flattened surface beyond the shipyards. The passengers were already disembarking. Several fliers, the name they had given the anti-gravity taxis, were hovering close by the ship.

  One detached itself and headed towards the shipyard. That'll be Zeke, Frank thought, I’d best go meet him at the gate.

  He walked down to the main gate entrance. The fliers had a stop there that they used out of the way of the C-Grav’s, the cargo transporters, that shifted raw materials and finished sections around.

  He could see the lad, was he only a lad? thought Garner. He definitely was not ageing at all and if anything he looked fitter and leaner than ever. That blessed curse of Ferrazine in his system, no doubt.

  Then he had it, Zeke’s hair was growing, finally. He now sported a silvery thin, but definitely growing, mop of hair on his head.

  Garner laughed as Zeke stepped off the Flier and moved to greet him. He was smiling, looking healthy and unconcerned while holding a fairly chunky case alongside him that was also supported by grav-braces.

  They were the latest fad.

  Nobody needed to carry anything heavy. They just strapped a grav-brace to it, or three or four of them as they were manufactured and set to only suspend at a certain height from the ground and would only work with a maximum weight. You then just pushed it around with no effort at all. Garner had seen ninety year old women pushing stuff around with the tip of a gnarled finger. Beautiful to behold.

  “Hi Frank, How’s the Pacific treating you?”

  “Not bad Zeke, not bad. You’re looking good, the new eyebrows suit you too.” Garner appraised the other new addition.

  “Yes, I finally figured out all I needed to do was to tell my hair to grow and it did, I didn’t choose the colour though. I guess that’s something I still have to learn.”

  That was the thing with Zeke, he wasn’t fazed at all by the power he had over his body and the abilities he had developed. Zeke read from the reports that things like that were entirely possib
le, like growing a hand back, or clearing scar tissues, just by thinking it into being over a period of time and that was that. He would read it, try it, then he would just go back to doing stuff the normal way. If there was ever a person who didn’t need the powers he had inherited from the Ferrazine, Zeke was that person.

  “So, what’s the first port of call on the list. You said you had something really special to show me. I’m intrigued, it got me here a full day earlier than scheduled, I’m horny for some excitement. Are we doing that first?”

  “Hahaha! maybe, let's get you up to the house and settled in, then we will drift off to the office, Anne has missed you and after that we can do the tour.”

  “Okay Frank, but you can’t leave me in suspense for long.” Zeke looked at him with mock disappointment.

  Frank laughed. He had been working on this little surprise for some time. Zeke was going to be absolutely stomped and it should help him over his loss of Ship, Zirkos and that little Pod A.I. he had grown so fond of.

  They dropped off his gear, he had his usual room. He didn’t need anywhere to call home, he was never in one place long enough. Frank thought he knew what the problem was and thought, or more hoped, he had the answer.

  “Annie, how are you?”

  Zeke gathered her up into his arms as though she was his Mother and hugged her like she should be.

  “I’m fine, my dear,” she said affectionately, not saying anything about but ruffling her fingers through his new fine gossamer hair.

  “You are overdue for a break young man, you need to get out and about and meet some young ladies now you have some crowning glory to show you’re not an aged Old Fart, like Frank here,” she scolded him fondly.

  “Old Fart? My apex!” Frank chuckled.

  “No girl is interested in a silver haired old spaceman with baggage, Annie. You know what its like. They get your name, then tie you to the technology, then its a case of ‘Oh you’re that alien thingie with stuff growing in your body’ and then it’s 'oh, well, oh dear, is that really the time... must dash!’ and they’re gone.”

  They all laughed. It was Zeke’s standing joke from a single introduction that Annie had made which had fallen flat as described, never to be repeated.

  They chatted amiably for a bit, then Frank seeing that Zeke was getting restless, called for him to go take a visit of the factory.

  Annie, who was savvy and well knew the score, just patted his cheek and scolded him about not visiting enough, then let him walk off with Frank.

  She watched him, the smile quickly replaced by concern in her eyes for both Frank and Zeke. She hoped that Frank had done the right thing. If he hadn’t...

  ***

  “Its the new Terrestrial model Fighter Class T-Ship,” Frank boasted proudly.

  “She will fly in atmosphere using a new prototype version of our A-Grav system.

  This is the only ship that has been equipped with it and the plans for it aren’t even in circulation.

  Osbourne is keeping a very tight lid on it.

  The only other place the plans are kept are on-board.

  Its our version of the Pattern Ship, but much improved.”

  Zeke was blown away.

  “Geesh! Frank, you’ve outdone yourself. She. Is. Beautiful.”

  And she was, without a doubt the most beautiful ship that Zeke had ever seen. The TFC T-Ship was covered in a polished chrome effect. It was larger than the one that Zirkos had built and just from looking, Zeke could see the armament complement was huge. It was an amazing piece of engineering.

  “She is magnificent, Frank, can we go on-board?”

  “Well, you can, nobody has been allowed on-board since Osbourne finished commissioning her.

  He’s the only person capable of doing so, he designed her and had the whole thing built to his specifications. The boy is a raging genius.”

  “Apparently, you have the only means with which to connect with the A.I.”

  “Its got a terrestrial A.I.?”

  “Oh yes, its not sophisticated like Pod, or Ship, but it does the job. We are fitting them to all new ships as a way of getting them space borne on a ‘fly by wire’ basis, to use an old defunct expression while we learn how to navigate in space.

  It’s been called ‘Arty’, you just have to precede any command with its name and it will answer to your voice command, and only yours.”

  “Arty, open boarding ramp,” Frank commanded.

  “Access Denied”

  Frank looked at Zeke who understood the silent message.

  “Arty, Open Boarding Ramp, please,” Zeke commanded.

  “Granted, Commander Callaghan.”

  The boarding ramp appeared from a slot that materialised out the side of the ship. At the same time a hole seemed to just evolve above it until it got to a size allowing access to one, or may be two humans.

  “Oh that’s Sweet!” Zeke said admiringly.

  As they walked up the ramp and into the ship, the smell of newness was apparent and they appeared to enter a foyer preceding an open lounge screened by a clear curved wall that allowed you full view of the inner ship without immediate access.

  There was a left and right turn from the opening and assuming the right was to living quarters and engine room, Zeke did a left and headed for what he expected to see, the Control Room.

  He wasn’t disappointed.

  A single chair with a high back sat in the centre of the room, with multiple view-screens on the wall in front. There was considerable space in front of the chair for consoles, Zeke correctly assumed that these were using the nanite technology that Ship had left behind for limited use, i.e. in case he needed them.

  Frank was able to give him a run-down of the features, too numerous for Zeke to take in at a first sitting. He allowed Frank to show off his pride and joy. Although Osbourne had designed and built it, Zeke knew immediately that his good friend Frank had done this especially for him.

  He wanted to give him this moment. So allowed him to take him around everything and explain all the new features. ‘Arty’ was surprisingly eloquent, limited in context, but certainly animated to the extent its voice didn’t quite grate on your ears.

  “Okay, Zeke, you have to take it for a test run. Just tell Arty what to do and it will do it,” Frank finished, obviously pleased to have got through the tour without making a pigs ear of the explanations.

  Zeke turned and hugged him. It wasn’t something either was familiar with, but Zeke felt a handshake and a thank you just weren’t enough. He needed to reach out to this man who had seen his need and filled it.

  They parted awkwardly as do men who aren’t in the habit of showing their true feelings, but the gruffness in Frank’s voice showed it had affected him.

  He headed for the main door and on his way out gave Zeke his parting shot .

  “There’s food and drink freshly laid in so you don’t need to use the processor for a while. You are requested to test the limits of speed and navigation as well as the A.I.’s programming. So we are not expecting you back in anything less than a couple of weeks.”

  He chuckled.

  “If you get into trouble we might have a problem. This is the only space worthy ship until the new War craft are completed. Bon voyage, Zeke,” and then he was gone.

  Zeke smiled and walked back to the Control Room. He sat in the chair and commanded

  “Arty, take us into space!”

  “Affirmative, Commander Callaghan,” Arty responded.

  - 24 -

  He had been in space for ten days now and the trials were working out well. Arty wasn’t Ship or Pod, but it did at least understand him and its voice was not quite a monotone. He was surprised how much he missed the little Pod’s voice in his head.

  They were now at the very edge of the solar system. It had been very much trial and error with the hyper drive. He had given Arty instructions and luckily fail-safes had come on when Arty just matter of factly stated.

  “If we proceed wi
th the last command we will materialise in the approximate centre of Jupiter’s Mass. Therefore, please confirm your instruction by reciting the alphabet backwards, thank you, Commander Callaghan.”

  Zeke had roared with laughter, sensing Osbourne’s sense of humour in there amidst the A.I.’s programming.

  After that Zeke took three dimensional navigational mapping more seriously and by the end of the trials he was just about grasping the fundamentals. He now understood the ‘fly by wire’ principle that were being introduced in the War Ships under construction. He reckoned that there were not many who would be stupid enough to recite the alphabet backwards. A great fail-safe Zeke decided and carried on with his lessons. Arty was a great teacher.

  The wormhole drive had not been activated yet. It was intended to be the next trial and Zeke was intensely nervous. He had access to all the maps left behind by Ship. He wasn’t worried about the possibility of landing in the middle of a planet, or a star. He was frightened of not being able to find his way back. It was this that troubled him, he thought.

  The porthole that Zeke had enjoyed was not something he wanted to try and establish with Arty, considering there were no spacesuits on board. Instead he managed to get Arty to line up all the viewsceens and overlapped the view of space. It was not the same, but good enough. Zeke began to feel more relaxed and at home. The feeling of open space under his feet was now something he relished.

  Retiring to his cabin he once again attempted to sleep. Something had been bothering him and it affected him more when he was trying to sleep than at other times. This time was no different as he tossed and turned without being able to focus on the problem.

  Some hours later he finally drifted off into a troubled sleep. Arty was on watch and he would wake him if anything developed.

  He was stationery, as if waiting for something to occur. It was nothing specific, just the feeling that events were about to unfold. A sense of expectation. He was just beginning to stir when the blackness came on him. It felt as if he was on the outside of the spacecraft instead of inside. He had somehow become the skin of the ship and he even felt the cold of the vacuum of space against his body.