by Chris Hechtl
“Understood. But we just sent that courier off with news that we're sending a convoy soon,” she warned.
“Frack,” the admiral said in disgust, sitting back and scrubbing his face with his hands.
Chapter 23
One of the first projects completed was the ansible station. The station had been stowed for some time until the admiral's arrival. It had a series of cores in it, one for each of the cores he planned to send an ansible to. There were seven systems planned for initially along with one more instillation he was planning to carry with him when he took his side trip. The station had room for more instillations as they expanded the network. Setting up the modules would be tricky once the initial ansibles were installed. A jolt however minor could disrupt the cages protecting and confining the muon particles. If they touched anything they would sublimate and that pair would be lost. Each connection had thousands of such pairs, but they would wear down over time and use. Keeping loss to a minimum was vital.
Horatio had also sent along a series of transhab space stations and cores for additional stations. Some were used for the growing depot, but the admiral directed a crew to begin construction of a shell for a future research and manufacturing facility. It was constructed in orbit as well; this one was built with molecular manufacturing in mind.
Bartering with the Antigua Prime led to their facilities coming on at an accelerated and then exponential rate. They started to hurt for trained personnel, which was hampered by the competition. Head hunters went out on the planet to try to pick up prospects. They kept to the colleges with good engineering and management classes, though a few dipped into high schools to get a long view of potential hires.
Sprite and the Prime AI spun off a series of dumb AI's to handle the new daughter stations. She also created an AI named Argus who had the unenviable task of splitting and caging muons within Antigua Prime. It was the first time a new AI had come online in the station network in centuries. He was welcomed but the dumb AI wasn't interested in polite discussion. He immediately got to work with the admiral to make more muon pairs and cages to contain them.
By the time Admiral Irons planned to return from his side trip they should be ready for the next stage, installing muons in one facility and moving the other half to other facilities as yet to be constructed throughout the sector.
“Glad you don't have to be on top of that anymore, Admiral?” Sprite asked him as he entered another meeting with the governor.
“On top of what?” Governor Randall asked politely.
“The ansible network. Argus has taken over the basic manufacturing steps,” the admiral explained.
“I'm still not certain about the timing involved there. I see the importance it's just ...”
“With the ansible we will be able to communicate in near real time with Pyrax and the other systems along the golden road,” the admiral explained again to the governor. “... and later with other star systems as we add them to the network. For now only Triang, Pyrax, Agnosta, and eventually Seti Alpha 4, Kathy's World, Gaston, and Epsilon Triangula will have the station facilities. They will all be networked to this facility,” he said. The governor nodded. He liked that everything flowed through his star system. The admiral hadn't been lying when he had stated he wanted to make Antigua the new sector capital and hub of the galaxy.
“The other star systems will get a station ... in time. For the time being they will have to rely on courier dispatch boats to keep in communication with the nearest ansible,” he said. He knew the stationers and the yard dogs were already bidding on the contract to build the station components. Funding was still an issue. It fell between the navy and politics again.
He hadn't liked the idea but Sprite had a good point. She was establishing a tiered pay system for use of the network for non-priority message traffic. That would keep people from casually using it and wearing it out prematurely. It would also offset the initial set up and running costs.
Currently the plan charged based on priority. The more urgent you wanted it to be sent the higher the cost. The same with the bandwidth used and amount of time used. Very low priority traffic would be the cheapest but they would be sent in small packets when the system was idle or when bandwidth wasn't fully utilized. No one would be holding two-way vid conferences anytime soon with her prices, but the admiral could see the eventual potential there.
“That ... I can hardly believe it,” Governor Randall said, shaking his head in wonder.
“Believe it. And get your staff thinking about the implications as well.”
“Oh?”
“Your words, Governor, your words and deeds will impact others sooner. You will be on a broader stage, with a much bigger viewing audience. I hope you don't get stage fright.”
“I did, but my wife helped me work on it. I'm still a bit nervous in front of the cameras though. A live crowd can be tricky,” the governor admitted in a rare show of humility.
“Just picture everyone in their underwear. It helped me through it my first time,” the Admiral replied with a chuckle.
Randall eyed him for a moment before he face cracked in a surprised smile in return.
“Ready for your doctor's visit this afternoon, Governor?” Sprite asked mischievously.
He nodded but she could tell from his vital signs he was nervous. He shouldn't be, it was a routine procedure. Apparently he hadn't paid close enough attention to the initial briefing. Or he'd missed it. There had been a lot of information flying around, a lot of decisions to be made. His organic mind may not have caught up to process it all.
“You'll be fine,” Sprite said soothingly, surprising the admiral. “What? I can be nice when I want to be,” she said in his ear. He snorted.
...*...*...*...*...
Later that afternoon Governor Randall gave his wife a peck on the cheek and then was escorted into the station's hospital facility. He was a bit nervous about this visit to the doctor on Antigua Prime, and not just because the doctor was a cyber. But it was vitally important that he get the ident implant. With this visit he would be firmly on the beginning of the path to getting full implants.
“Ready?” the holographic doctor asked. “It's nothing governor, a pair of pills. Just swallow them,” Doctor Trask said as a nurse held up a paper cup for him.
He took the cup as she picked up a cup of juice from the tray behind her. “That's it?” he asked, looking at what looked like a pair of horse pills. “I thought there'd be more to it,” he said. “If I'd known that I wouldn't have worked out so much this week,” he joked, flexing his muscles. He'd already started to unbotton his shirt, expecting a more thorough exam.
“Once you swallow them, yes that's it. Eat and drink normally. When you go to bed the nanites ...”
“Nanites??”
Doctor Trask rolled her eyes. “They are everywhere. These are medical nanites and materials for them to use,” she explained waving a ghost like hand to the cup. “The same tiny robots used in our regen tank,” she said in exasperation. He nodded, getting his fear under control. “They will kick in when you fall asleep and will go to work. They will grow the network in your body then they will shut themselves down and be flushed out when you go to the bathroom.”
“Oh.”
“We've been doing this here for years,” the doctor explained. “Over a thousand years. Most people don't realize nanites are in a lot of stuff. They react in fear without thinking it through.”
“Oh.”
“I see we need to work on education,” the doctor sighed. He nodded. “Once you are finished that step the admiral will step in tomorrow for your follow up. He'll be on hand to initialize the next stage of your implants once we've checked you out. Then we'll start you on the training on how to use them,” she explained.
The governor nodded and popped the cup back. He tapped it against his teeth, then took the cup of juice from the nurse. He smiled to her, then popped it back like a shot. He swallowed under their gaze. “There,” he said.
<
br /> “Good boy,” the nurse said with a small smile as she took the now empty cups.
The governor snorted as she left the room. She nodded politely to the guard outside his door then closed it softly behind her. “Oh. So, um, what about the medical implants?”
“I wasn't certain what you wanted governor, but since we have the time ...” Megan said, cocking her head. He nodded again, nervous once more. “Very well. I've been monitoring your vital signs and the scans have all come back healthy. I had expected an ulcer, but I don't see one. Very good.”
“You ... scans?” he wrinkled his nose.
“Education again,” she said mournfully, shaking her head. She pointed to the sensor balls in the ceiling. He looked up. “Those have been taking passive readings of you since you entered. I can see the pills moving down your esophagus right now, Governor,” she said.
He turned a little green. She smiled in amusement. “The nanites are the least invasive of implant procedures, though some still debate that point. They have the shortest recovery time by far. I can't give you the full broad spectrum treatment, they could trip over each other. Unless I time them ...” she frowned thoughtfully.
“One step at a time, Doctor. I do need to be on my feet,” he reminded her.
“Oh of course,” she said nodding dutifully. “Well then ...”
...*...*...*...*...
Lieutenant Commander Vestri Sindri was having the time of his life. He was exhausted, grumpy sometimes, and he'd come close to getting laryngitis twice in a week but he was where he wanted to be. It was like a dream come true.
True, the admiral's priorities had been off in his private opinion at first. But now he could see the potential. The fighter lines were up and running now, so parts were beginning to flow. The tugs were keeping just ahead of the orbital smelters. The great thing about the fighter industrial complex was that it could be repurposed with a new orders to make parts for other small craft. Different fighter designs, bombers, shuttles, tugs, even recon drones could be put into production with a change in the software and a bit of retraining for the few organics in the process.
The first fighter run was now in the assembly plant. They were going to make two squadrons of fighters and then switch to another craft, most likely tugs since they needed them rather badly.
He shook his head, watching robots and personnel put the pieces together like 3D jigsaw puzzles. It was all a carefully coordinated ballet of moving parts and machinery, really a beauty to behold. And now that they had the teething issues worked out, he understood the admiral's intent.
By having them build the small line first it had allowed them to not only get the bugs out, but it had taught them some vital lessons on the production and manufacturing process. He'd had to hire additional managers to handle the logistics side, and he'd had a devil of a time getting the schedule worked out. They'd had to learn the hard way to anticipate a little slippage here and there and keep it from gumming up the entire works. For instance if a tug or shuttle had trouble docking ... he shook his head.
But they were getting a handle on it, and that was good. And now that they were certain they could handle it they could scale it up to the next stage and then beyond. Even better.
He had a finite number of personnel and equipment. That was still a problem. He couldn't have everyone on one project too; they tended to trip over each other. He had to balance the jobs. The gunship line was about finished. Another day and he'd start them on the first vessel.
He already had the subassemblies starting to produce components to keep ahead of demand. They would warehouse them in the depot until they were called for. And since they were common parts that could be used on all the smaller ships, all the better. He'd stuck to components Pyrax hadn't shipped in since they had a modest stockpile. They wouldn't last forever he knew, but it would get them going.
He snorted at a few of the people around him. Lieutenant Jory Gray he knew, the kid was an electronics tech with a side in power room management. He'd done well managing some of the web boards as a moderator on Mary Apple before expressing an interest in Buships. He was glad he'd signed the lad on, he knew his stuff even if he did have a questionable sense of humor.
He wished some of the other people he had on staff were half as good as that kid. He had lieutenants and ensigns under him from Pyrax as well as that pain in the ass Woods. Sure they had the book training, and some had experience, but they weren't hard chargers. A couple had a bad habit of coasting. He knew that they resented his being elevated over them, he'd caught some of the initial muttering behind his back. That was tough shit for them he wasn't going anywhere.
They had come to a grudging respect of him since he knew the admiral and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He in turn had learned to try to keep an overview of the entire situation without getting into micromanaging. Keeping a fair and open mind and avoiding the foot dragging Woods had done endeared him to a few of his subordinates. He didn't care. He didn't have to have them like him, just obey and get the damn job done.
His insistence on working until he dropped made more than one exhausted officer shake their head in wonder and compare him to a certain flag officer. That and the need to get along to get the yard up and running had finished off any lingering resentment as they moved into full swing. Safety was a concern, but they didn't have many smurfs out in the black. They were his biggest headache.
...*...*...*...*...
The Admiral continued his talks with Governor Randall and his staff about the Admiral's plan. His plan was broken into several phases and he'd tried to get it across to them. Phase 1 was to build the ansible, fighters and small craft, gunships, and small warships. Phase 2 went on to expand the yard while also shipping and receiving parts and personnel to Agnosta and Pyrax while also setting up the ansibles. There they would be warehoused in orbital warehouses before being transshipped to Pyrax.
While in Agnosta the convoy ships would pick up hull and other components Pyrax has stockpiled, refuel and then return to Antigua. All the while under escort.
Pyrax would then take the parts they had shipped to their system and install them in the other hulls mothballed there. In a year they would hopefully have a couple of dozen escort ships to watch the front line and picket additional allied star systems like Kathy's World.
Unfortunately they were still hung up on the ansible. It was frustrating having to take the time to explain it yet again. The ansible was already partially completed. He'd even overseen the instillation of the seven cores within the space station. She was locked in a stable L-5 orbit of the planet with no plans to ever move her.
“How can you say it will be so easy? I mean ...” the Veraxin treasurer chittered, waving his antenna. He waved to indicate the station they were studying. “Granted that was made in Pyrax ... are we to understand they have another there?”
“Of course. Otherwise why would they send us theirs?” the governor asked.
“True.”
"Building the station is easy. It's just a space station for the large part,” the admiral said, waving to the slowly turning station in the holo display centered above the council table. “It's the fields to protect and buffer the ansible cores that are tricky,” he said, shaking his head. “The cores themselves are a pain in the ass but we've got that covered with Antigua Prime and Argus now,” he said. They nodded. “One of the reasons it wasn't a priority project for me in Pyrax,” he said. His lips twisted briefly. “That and there was no one to talk too,” he admitted.
“But not now,” the governor replied with a nod.
The admiral returned the nod. “With one here you will have real time dialog with another system for the first time in seven centuries. With the network? You'll get real time warning of events, news, as well as constant dialog between star systems. And neighboring star systems can be kept up to date with dispatch boats as well."
"That's ... can it really be done?" the governor asked and then shook himself. "What am I saying? Y
ou are Admiral Irons, if you think it can be done ... sorry."
The Admiral smiled politely. He and Governor Randall weren't quite hitting it off perfectly, but they were getting along better. They were definitely on the same wavelength. With time any differences would be worn away. At least he hoped so. Randall was a good sort, an idealist, an honorable man who wasn't afraid to eat crow and admit he had been wrong. He was doing everything he could to rectify that, bending over backwards on the Admiral's behalf. His staff had picked up on this and were now behaving accordingly. It had been a bit of a teething issue at first; a few had been members of the old guard who had clearly been in on his drumming out of the system. They had faded into the background as the talks progressed. "I've come to realize that if enough people put their minds to something just about anything can be achieved. With enough blood, sweat, and grunt work to back it up of course."
"Oh of course."
"The dialog …" the governor mused. "It will bring us closer together. Like the trade you mentioned." He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “Balance of trade ...” he murmured, then turned to the Veraxin treasurer.
The Veraxin clacked his mandibles and signaled first level agreement.
"That's the idea. With ansibles in strategic locations and faster more meaningful trade, people will begin to think of the larger community," the admiral explained.
"How fast is fast trade? I mean, transit times are months between systems ..."
"In the lower hyperbands yes. In the higher ones it's exponentially faster. So, in say delta you can transit from Pyrax to Antigua in as little as seven months with the right crew. Three and a half in Epsilon or the other upper bands. That's even includes skipping through a system and transitioning up and down at the beginning and end of your journey too."
The Veraxin's eye stalks bobbed and swirled about slightly. "Fascinating," he finally said, signaling third degree doubt.