“We are ready to depart Captain.” Seána Mercer said from her pilot seat.
“Thank you.” Stone said. “Have all payments been made for provisions? I want confirmation from flight control that our board is clean.”
Mercer typed on her console for a moment before replying.
“The board is clean, all payments have been made and acknowledgements are signed off.”
Stone sat in the captain’s chair. Behind him he heard a footstep and glanced around at the Lieutenant who had entered and was standing quietly at the back observing.
“Are there any messages in the queue regarding the fourth engineer or from my sister?”
“No messages in the queue Captain.”
“Internal electrics on.”
Stone waited for a moment for an affirmative.
“Cut external electrics.”
He keyed the microphone.
“Engineering.”
“Rawlins, are we ready to depart?”
“The manoeuvring engines are online Captain.” Rawlins said. “Captain, the fourth engineer has not arrived yet.”
“Nor does he appear to be coming.” Stone said. “We will have to do without him for this leg of the journey unfortunately. Our employer is not willing to wait any longer.”
“Captain, I’m not sure about these two assistants you’ve given me.”
“We don’t have any choice.”
“But Captain.”
“We will be leaving in two minutes.” Stone said. “You have your orders Rawlins.”
“Yes sir, two minutes.”
“Mercer do you have the calculations for the inner system manoeuvres?” Stone asked.
The pilot tapped quickly on her console and, at a nod from the captain, transferred them across to his console. Stone looked at them for a moment before nodding.
“Thank you Miss Mercer. Confirm with the station that we are leaving.”
The pilot keyed her microphone and got confirmation the boarding tubes had been sealed and they could exit the station.
“Manoeuvring thrusters to standby.”
“Release the docking clamps.”
Stone waited until a light on the console turned off.
“We are no longer connected to the station.” Mercer said.
“Dead slow ahead.”
Mercer pressed a button on her console moving a slider forward. She waited until the confirmation screen changed before replying.
“Dead slow ahead Captain.” Mercer said.
Stone watched the space station slide by them. As was often the case, because of the huge bulk of the space station, it appeared as if the space station was moving past them rather than the other way around.
It took several minutes until they were clear of the space station. Stone watched the dial on his console creep up.
“We have passed the one kilometre mark Captain.” Mercer said.
“Increase to slow ahead.”
A few moments later Mercer replied “Slow ahead Captain.”
The lieutenant coughed quietly behind them. Stone turned slightly in his chair and raised an eyebrow.
“Can I ask Captain, why we are going so slow?” Hammond asked.
“It is normal traffic regulations Lieutenant.” Stone replied. “While we are within a kilometre of the station we need to move at dead slow speed, then we gradually increase our speed until we are outside the gravity well of the planet.”
“At which point we jump?” Hammond asked.
“We have passed the five kilometre mark Captain.” Mercer said.
Stone raised his hand for silence.
“Increase to half speed.”
He keyed his microphone.
“Engineering.”
“Five minute countdown to the jump.” Stone said. “Jump engines to standby.”
“Jump engines are on standby, aye Captain.” Rawlins said. “Sir, I have serious reservations regarding the capability of the two assistants you have given me.”
“Too late to ask them to walk home.” Stone said. “Will it stop us from entering hyperspace?”
“Not as such.” Rawlins said. “But it means that I don’t have any backup if there are any issues.”
“Do your best Rawlins.” Stone said. “We can’t stop now.”
He received a grunted ‘yes sir’ in reply.
“We are approaching the edge of the gravity well Captain.” Mercer said.
“Pass me your calculations for the jump.”
Stone scrolled through the calculations Mercer had passed to his console. The calculations were slightly more in-depth, as each star system the ship moved past in hyperspace would have a gravity well that pulled at their ship. If the ship was too close to a gravity well, it would be sufficient to pull them out of hyperspace. This was inconvenient rather than dangerous, unless of course the gravity well was a black hole.
“I’m happy with the route you have charted.” Stone said. He said this out loud so the voice recorders on the bridge would pick that up. If there ever was an accident, the black box would know the final decision was his.
“We have cleared the edge of the gravity well.” Mercer said. “We are clear to jump.”
“Set shields to maximum.”
The view of the stars disappeared and instead the view turned milky white.
“What just happened?” Hammond said.
“The deflector shields will protect us from any energy spillover when we jump.” Stone said. “It doesn’t allow any energy in or out, including light. The white is the ship’s lights reflected back towards us.”
“What happens if the shields fail while we are in hyperspace?”
“If the shields fail, we will not feel it.” Stone said. “Death will be instantaneous.”
He raised his hand again for silence and keyed the microphone.
“Engineering.”
“Give me a ten second countdown to the jump.” Stone said.
“Ten, nine, eight ...” Rawlins said.
“Jump engine online.” Mercer said. “I have steady power with zero fluctuations.”
“… four, three, two, one, zero.”
Both Mercer and Stone pressed a button on their consoles. Stone felt a familiar jolt as the space ship jumped into hyperspace.
“We have jumped.” Mercer said. “The jump engines are within normal parameters.”
Stone keyed his microphone.
“Engineering.”
“Confirm jump engines.”
“Temperature on the jump engines are within normal parameters Captain.”
“Thank you Rawlins. Secure main engines.”
“Main engines secured.” Rawlins said.
“Do we not use the main engines in flight?” Hammond asked.
“No, the main engines are just for manoeuvring. We have separate generators to supply air and capacitors to supply water. In fact on cruise ships, as long as there is someone watching the generators, the engineering team normally lock the hatches and have a party while the ship is in hyperspace. That won’t happen on this leg however, perhaps on the return.”
“What if something goes wrong with the jump engine?” Hammond asked.
“We will be kicked out of hyperspace and need to fix it.” Stone said. “It is a waste of fuel and, if we’re not close to a solar system, a long walk home.”
Chapter Six
“What did I do in a former life to end up in this stinking tub with you lot.”
The Peace Officer had finally completed the frame of a bunk bed and was struggling to lift the bunk bed to vertical.
“Shut it Lea.” The sergeant said. “This stinking tub as you call it is likely to be home for the next few weeks so, unless you are intending to sleep on the floor tonight, I suggest you cut your whining and get on with it.”
“She can sleep with me instead.” Stan called from near the door. He was struggling with the mattresses.
“Dream on Stan.” Lea said. “If I wanted a boy I’ll ask for
you.”
The rest of the troopers laughed.
“Quiet down ladies and gentlemen.” The sergeant said. “I want these bunk beds finished quickly.”
“If you wanted them finished quickly, you should have asked Stan to do it.” Lea said. “I heard he does everything quickly.”
“I’m the fastest at everything.” Stan said. “I’m proud at always finishing everything first.”
As the other Peace Officers started to laugh. Stan realised what he had said and corrected himself embarrassed.
“Almost everything, I meant almost everything.”
The sergeant shook his head ruefully. The lieutenant had tried to organise the building of the bunk beds until the sergeant had taken him aside and respectfully asked him to stop micro managing. Now that the bunk beds were almost built, the sergeant needed to keep the Peace Officers busy otherwise they would start to go stir crazy from not having anything to do.
The hold was small in terms of the overall length and width but it was quite tall. The sergeant intended to build a second level, a mezzanine level almost a balcony, which would serve as sleeping quarters for the Peace Officers. The ground floor could be used as a training area. But he did need permission from the captain before punching holes in the ship.
“All right, pipe down the lot of you.” The sergeant said. “Stan, find the Lieutenant and ask if I can have a moment of his time. Someone help Lea with the bunk bed.”
Stan returned in a few moments.
“The Lieutenant is on the bridge observing.” Stan said. “I didn’t want to disturb him unless it was urgent.”
The sergeant grunted.
“He is a bit of a queer fish.” Lea said. “One second he’s standoffish, the next he’s getting his hands dirty trying to help.”
“I don’t like it when he’s trying to help.” Stan said. “Lieutenants should be above that. They should be giving orders not sticking their oar in.”
“I heard he was a Sergeant during the war and only became an acting Lieutenant when all his senior officers were killed.” Lea said. “So he’s not really a Lieutenant.”
“The war was really good for field promotion.” The sergeant said. “If you survived the war you were almost guaranteed a promotion. Stepping in dead man’s shoes they call it. You were awarded the medals, but you received the compensation prize of the nightmares.”
“If everyone got a promotion, why are you just a lowly Sergeant?” Stan asked.
“Firstly, there is no such thing as a lowly Sergeant.” The sergeant said. “We are the masters of our fate. If the senior officers want something done, do you think they will ask a Captain or Major? No they don’t. It’s passed to the Sergeant. Secondly, stop being so cheeky. Thirdly, someone help Lea set the bunk bed vertical.”
“I think she has nailed the bunk bed to the floor,” a Peace Officer commented.
“A pair of weaklings both of you.” Lea said. She brushed the two Peace Officers who had come to her aid and set the bunk bed to vertical.
“You said the Lieutenant had nightmares, what nightmares?” Stan asked.
“I heard that he was in the first squad to enter the tunnels at New Lille.” The sergeant said. “After they were surrounded, he fought for three days and nights without ammunition, just his bare hands and a knife, before he got support. By the time he was rescued, he was found dirty and bedraggled. He was covered in dried blood, none of which was his, and starving with hunger. Even then, once he was cleaned up, he led the rescue team back into the tunnels to rescue the rest of his squad.”
“You can tell just be looking at him that he’s dangerous.” Lea said. “There’s something in his eyes. A kind of savage cruel light.”
They felt a slight lurch. The noise of the engines below them faded to a low hum.
“We have entered hyperspace.” The sergeant said. “I want this place cleared up before the Lieutenant returns.”
Chapter Seven
“You have the bridge.”
Captain Roger Stone pushed the console away from his seat, turning the machine off. With a Peace Officer standing guard at the entrance to the bridge, it was very unlikely that anyone would interfere with his controls, but securing the console was a good practice to get into.
There would be nothing to do on the bridge for the next several days until they exited hyperspace. Stone felt confident that the pilot could handle night shift on her own. He waited for an acknowledgement from the pilot before he left the bridge.
The corridor was dimly lit, as was common practice in most spaceships. The captain reduced lighting in the common areas so passengers would become accustomed to a regular routine. As this passage would take several days, Stone had already changed the ship’s clock to the same as the space station above the planet Jewel. The passengers would be acclimated to the planet’s cycle by the time they arrived.
There was no sound from Stateroom Two. This was the stateroom normally reserved for the owner of the freighter and was as large as the Captain’s stateroom. Stone had given this to the politician. He knocked on the door and waited for a reply.
“Ahh, the good Captain.” Paul Simmons appeared to be in a jovial mood. He stood and offered his hand in welcome. Stone shook it, feeling the firm handshake of an accomplished politician. “What can we do for you today Captain?”
Stone almost snorted at the use of ‘we’. Simmons was alone in the spacious cabin. There was ample room for a second set of bunk beds but instead a large dining table had been inserted in its place. There was an open decanter of whiskey with several glasses clustered around it.
Stone’s mouth watered. He had not tasted the distinctive smooth flavour of real whiskey for a long time. Rawlins always set up a still for making his own rotgut whiskey within a day of leaving the restrictive jurisdiction of a planet, but that never tasted the same.
“I just wanted to check if you needed anything?” Stone asked.
“If you can do something about the food I would be grateful.” Simmons said. “I was hoping for something fresher than the supper provided earlier.”
“I will certainly mention that to the cook.” Stone said. “We do have a hydroponics system providing fresh food however, because of the number of Peace Officers onboard, I can imagine that is placing a strain on our resources.”
“That would be good.” Simmons said. “Also there is a very stuffy smell in the air, can you sort that out?”
“I’ll ask engineering to look into it.”
*
Stone knocked on the next door, Stateroom Three. The cook was absent, presumably still cooking supper but Mike Leyland was lying on his bunk in the small room. He looked up from the book he was reading.
“Good evening Mr Leyland. I just wanted to check if you need anything?”
“A good book and some quiet reading time, I have anything I need.” Leyland said.
“A man after my own heart.” Stone said with a smile. “I’ll wish you a good night.”
*
Rosie Ire was sitting on her bed in Stateroom Four which she shared with the pilot Seána Mercer. She was as breathtaking as Stone remembered.
“Do you, ahh, do you need anything?” Stone asked, cursing himself for stammering.
“I’m fine thank you.” Ire replied.
Stone wished her goodnight and left.
*
The cook was busy in the hydroponics compartment. Stone passed on the concerns of Simmons about the freshness of the food. The cook promised to look into it. Stone was glad to escape the hot humid compartment.
*
“At last the Captain deigns to visit us poor lowly engineers.” James Rivan said.
He was lying on the floor next to David Rawlins. Tyler Hart was sitting next to a bag of engineering tools just about to pass a wrench to the outstretched hand of Rawlins. A large panel had been removed from the bulkhead giving access to the crawl space behind.
“I’ll be with you in a moment Captain.” Rawlins said in a muffl
ed voice.
Piece of Nicias: A Sci-Fi Novel Page 5