by Saxon Andrew
“It’s never been worse.”
“Tell me why?”
“I lost Dillon. He is unwilling to be anyone’s second choice.”
“I kinda of thought that might happen.”
“You could have told me!”
“I wasn’t sure. You are the complete package and I thought he might want you because of all your traits but you really can’t fault him for feeling that way.”
“Tell me why you say that.”
“How would you feel if you spent every day with a man but he was in a relationship with someone else and didn’t change it? He knew you better than anyone else and he still chose someone else, even though he knew you were attracted to him. So now he breaks up with the woman and decides he wants you. How does that make you feel? Especially knowing how beautiful you are and what a good person you are.”
Janell sighed, “I guess you’re right.”
“And there’s nothing you can ever do to change how he feels about that. Your words will carry no meaning when your actions say something else. It’s especially damaging when he gets around to looking at the results of Rowdy’s investigation and he sees what a slug you chose over him.”
“Do you think he’ll find out about that?”
“I know I would have taken a look and you have to believe he will as well. That will confirm to him that you really don’t have good judgement and it’s insulting to put himself and Rowdy in the same picture.”
“You know, China, you really have a way of making others feel better.”
“I’m being brutally honest because you are going to have to put this behind you and move on with your life. Next time you fall for someone, really make sure they are who they purport themselves to be.”
“I don’t see anyone else in my future.”
“You’ll recover and you won’t have to worry about finding them. They’ll come looking for you. You’re too good a person not be noticed.”
“Thanks, that helps.”
“So you have a new ship.”
“Yes, and I’ve been assigned a newbie as a weapons officer.”
“That sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What’s their name?”
“Gabriel something.” Janell saw China’s expression change. “What?”
“Could his last name be Eagle?”
“Yes, I think it is.”
China shook her head, “Don’t you ever contact your old professors at the Academy?”
“No, I was glad to graduate and get out. Why do you ask? What does that have to do with anything?”
“I talk to mine all the time. My weapon’s professor mentioned to me that a recent cadet had rewritten the record books during Academy Maneuvers. His overall scores were the highest in Academy history and his name was Gabriel Eagle.” Janel stared at China and she shook her head, “Janell, it looks like you are being given the brightest star in the Academy’s graduating class. If I were you, I’d pay attention to what he says.”
“Thanks for that information, China. How’s it going with you?”
“My new Captain is as different as night and day from Rowdy. He’s organized, possesses a steel trap of a mind, and really knows his stuff. It’s actually a pleasure showing up for work.”
“That’s great.”
“Heinrik tells me that we’ve been assigned to Admiral McCagg for the next trip through the black hole. I’m a little nervous about that but I’m also excited by the prospect.”
“Contact me and let me know how it goes.”
“I will. Good luck, Janell.”
The display went dark and Janell began to wonder about her new weapons officer. If he came off as snooty, she’d bust his chops pretty darn fast. Academy high achievers were usually full of themselves. She thought some more and contacted the Chief Engineer on her wrist unit, “I was wondering if you could do something.”
“What is that?”
“If Admiral McCagg’s database is in my current computer, could it be made the primary operations circuit for my ship.”
“You mean have it as the operational cybernetic entity?”
“Yes.”
“It would be an identical twin to the Admiral’s computer.”
“That’s what I want.”
“You’re the boss. I’ll make the change now.”
“Thanks a lot. Name the computer Chess.”
“Chess it is.”
She heard a knock on her door and turned around. She saw an Ensign standing there with his duffle bag. He dropped it, came to attention, and saluted, “Ensign Eagle reporting for duty, Sir.”
Janell returned his salute and said, “At ease, Ensign. The engineers are installing the new computer so we won’t be able to do anything for eight hours. Why don’t you unpack and get your quarters set up.”
“Sir, would you mind if I go and speak with the engineers.”
“What do you want to discuss?”
“I want them to run four additional leads to the blaster sensors.”
Janell stared at him and remembered that China suggested she listen to this new officer. “Why do you want them installed?”
“It would enable me to use directional controls to direct them. Currently, each blaster is targeted individually. With the new leads, I could just have every blaster target anything on either side or above and below the ship. I could also set two, three, or four zones that are prioritized by distant to targets.”
Janell nodded, “Now would be the time to do it. Let me know how it turns out.”
The Ensign smiled, “Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.”
Janell watched him disappear from her door as he ran to his quarters to drop off his duffle bag. A moment later she saw him sprint by her door headed toward the bridge. She understood why his last name was Eagle, he was a Native American. He was like a kid in a toy store. His excitement was infectious. She finished unpacking and went to the bridge where she saw Gabriel and the Chief Engineer with their legs sticking out from under the weapons console. She sat down and started watching what was going on. After a few minutes she heard Gabriel ask, “How far along are we with the compressed air containers?”
Her eyebrows went up when the C.E. said, “We’ve completed the design and built the bottles but once the insulation is pumped into the walls behind the hull, there’s no easy way to recharge them without massive reconstruction of the ship.”
“Why is that?”
“There’s not a hose in creation that can handle the air pressure. The walls would have to be removed to make direct contact with the charging port.”
“Have you thought about putting the connectors in the thruster tubes?”
“What?”
“Yeah, just have the recharge nozzle located inside a pressurized door in the thruster tubes. The door will be blown open by the compressed air and it will be immediately closed when it stops.”
“How would you recharge it?”
“Have the computer open the compressed air doors and run a metal high pressure connector directly from the compressed tank up the tube to the nozzle. You could actually put the door at the opening to the thruster tubes to make it easy.”
Janell said, “Why would we want compressed air in the thrusters?”
Gabriel and the Chief Engineers slid out from under the console. The Engineer said, “It wouldn’t be detected. Currently, that civilization on the other side of the black hole can detect our thrusters being fired.”
“Will they move the ship fast enough?”
“With the gravity compensators set to no mass, compressed air can accelerate the ship at half-light speed in a few seconds.”
“Can you install them while you’re here so we could give them a trial?”
The Chief Engineer stared at her and then shrugged, “We have the floors open so it shouldn’t be too difficult to install the tanks. I’ll have to cut the thruster tubes to install the door he’s talking about.” The Chief Engineer’s eyes narrowed and then he loo
ked at Janell, “Why don’t I install one and see how it fits. If it works, we’ll install the others. Your ship might be delayed a couple of days.”
“Why don’t you contact Fleet Admiral Connor and tell him what we’re doing and see if he agrees. If it works, I suspect all the pilots that might go through the black hole will want it on their ships as well.”
The Chief Engineer nodded and made the call.
Janell looked at Gabriel, “I’m surprised that civilization can detect our ships in other space.”
“It’s because of the wiring harness the Bosrean developed.”
“Oh?”
“It’s not insulated. The entire harness is made of metal and electrical emissions aren’t blocked. The material being sprayed between the hull and the ship’s walls will provide insulation to block the emissions. However, if the blasters are charged, it will probably make the ship detectable.”
“Do you see any way around that?”
“Only charge them when you’re certain you’re going to fire them. Then turn them off and evade in stealth mode.”
“Ensign, I’m impressed.”
“Thank you, Sir. But I lack real world experience. I’m depending on you to teach me that.”
Janell smiled, “I think I can help you there.” Gabriel smiled and moved back under his console.
Chapter Eight
Dillon sat on board his new flagship and looked at Admiral Connor on his monitor, “Sir, why are we being delayed?”
“Captain Dobson’s weapons officer had devised a way for us to install high pressure air nozzles in the thruster tubes. The problem was that once the insulation was sprayed, there was no way to recharge them. He developed a way to make it happen. If your ships are equipped with them, you should remain invisible when you’re maneuvering. He’s also developed a wiring harness for the blasters that would allow multiple blasters to be targeted to zones around the ship.”
“He sounds like he’s an extraordinary officer.”
“He graduated number one in his class with the highest weapons scores in Academy history. He’s already making an impact.”
“Should his ship be one of the ones going back with me?”
“Captain Dobson will be the commander.”
“I don’t have any issues with that, Sir. She’s an extremely capable officer and will carry her share of the load.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I am, Sir. I reassigned her for her benefit, not mine. She is ranked number one for a reason.”
“How many ships do you want to take with you?”
“Two on the next trip. That trip will be primarily a scouting mission and more than that would not be needed. I also need to get a feel for the software on my new ship and it’ll be better if I start small and work my way up to higher numbers.”
“I agree. The three ships are currently being modified and once they’re done, you will go back through the singularity.”
“Yes, Sir.” The monitor went dark and Dillon sat back in his chair. “Chester.”
“Yes.”
“In all the excitement escaping those Blue Ships, I neglected to ask you about any communications you might have intercepted.”
“I’ve been wondering when you were going to get around to that. It took a week to break their encryption and you were still unconscious at the time. You cut my power before I could discuss it with you.”
“Sorry about that.”
“I recognize the necessity of doing it. From what I heard, the Blue Ship Fleet Leader was of the opinion that we were one of his enemy’s vessels. He was of the opinion that our ship was a technological advancement and that we had managed to get past the guard ships at the border.”
“So they don’t suspect we came through the black hole?”
“They didn’t at that time but that might have changed after we destroyed one of their ships. They will have some evidence of our beams being anti-matter in that universe.”
“Did you get an idea of how many enemies that civilization might have?”
“I know of six that were mentioned but I don’t think that’s all of them.”
“What did the Blue Ships call themselves?”
“They never said. They are some kind of empire but they never mentioned what they call themselves, which isn’t unusual. How often do we say human in our normal conversation?”
“See if you can contact the ship’s computer on the Prophet’s Eyes.”
Dillon waited and heard, “Hello, Admiral McCagg.”
“Poul, have you had the opportunity to look at the recordings we made in the other galaxy?”
“I have. I’m really interested in what’s happening in my former universe.”
“Do you recognize those Blue Ships?”
“I’ve looked at them closely and I can’t say that I do.”
“Chester tells me that they call themselves some kind of Empire.”
“That helps a lot. They must be the Carand Empire. Please remember that it’s been thousands of years since I left that universe and arrived here. Their current vessels are nothing like the ships they flew when I was there.”
“Then how do you know they are this Carand Empire?”
“There was only one civilization that used the word Empire in their name and they were one of the most powerful. I suspect they managed to survive because of that.”
“What can you tell me about them?”
“They’re very much like reptiles on your planet. The main differences are that they’re warm-blooded and have live births instead of laying eggs. They’re olive green in color with scaly skin and yellow eyes. They walk erect and stand between five and six feet tall. They have retractable claws in their hands and feet and have five fingers with an opposable thumb. They’re vicious and are extremely territorial. My builders were in a war with them and if they’re still around I suspect my builder’s civilization lost.”
“They barely missed hitting my ship with one of their beams. That miss rocked us violently and I suspect that if it had hit us, it would have disabled or destroyed my vessel.”
“I’ve looked at the readings you took of that beam and you’re probably right.”
Dillon shook his head, “I find it amazing that when humans were still living in caves that the Carand were fighting space battles. Their technology is far beyond us.”
“That would be true if you had to face them in this galaxy. Being located in other space evens the odds.”
“What’s the chance of them discovering how to transit the black hole, Poul?”
“Not good.”
“Why not?”
“They would have to learn how to fire blasters around their hulls to make it through. That was an accidental discovery I made and without it, they’ll fail. I can’t envision anything that would prompt them to fire a protective covering of blasters around their ships before entering the black hole.”
“They might see us doing it.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because the images of it would never make it out of the black hole. Even light can’t escape the singularity’s gravity and images are nothing more than light. If you make sure your blasters are off before you exit the event horizon, they’ll never see it.”
“That makes me wonder why we’re even going there if they can never be a threat to us.”
“We don’t know if using blasters to cover the hull is the only process that would allow a ship to transit a black hole. I suspect a really powerful force field might accomplish the same thing. If you remember, the civilization in Andromeda the Halo Worlds call the Darkness have massive defenses built around the event horizon of the black hole in their galaxy. I suspect anything that comes out of that black hole would also be a threat to us eventually. Learning this technology with our black hole would be better than having to learn it there.”
“So you have no desire to go back through?”
“I wouldn’t last a
minute against those ships. I wouldn’t arrive inside other space and I’d be disintegrated instantly. All of my advanced systems are derived from my being in other space. I’d lose that ability if I went back to my former universe.”
“And if they ever manage to get here…”
“There would be no defense against them. They have to be stopped in their galaxy.”
“Thanks, Poul. I now have a better understanding of why we’re going there.”
“Death Prophecies three, four, and seven dictate you do it.”
The monitor went dark and Dillon looked at the list of Death Prophecies on the wall above the monitor. Three; The Unknown Enemy will kill you. Four; Never stop developing; no technology is invincible. And, Seven; Only Knowledge Can Save You. Poul was right. This had to be done. “Chester, how are you and the weapons computer getting along?”
“Clovis is quite amazing. I’ve learned a great deal from him.”
Dillon smiled as he heard the other computer say, “Not as much as I have from you.”
“Hi, Clovis. Are you about settled in?”
“I was until this new development, Admiral. I’m really curious about these protective zones that are being bandied about. I’ll keep you informed on how it figures in to our defenses.”
“When will Frenchy be back?”
“He’s currently in Paris visiting his wife and children. He’ll arrive when our ship completes the modifications. Do you want him back earlier?”
“No, there’s nothing we can do until that happens.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate the time at home.”
“Do either of you know what the completion date is?”
“Ten days.”
“That’s fine.” Dillon saw his display illuminate with Admiral Connor on it, “Dillon, we’ve just learned something that’s pretty incredible.”
“What is that, Sir?”
“Maintenance fired up your former vessel to take it in for repair of the blaster burns. When they turned on the stardrive, it didn’t go into the void but into other space.”
“What?”
“It appears the metal in the hull has been changed so that it can go in and out of other space when the stardrive is activated.”