by Ryk Brown
“Almost. The launch tubes are not completed. More specifically, there are no launch airlocks or acceleration rails yet installed.”
“As long as we have working airlocks within the flight deck and we have pressurized areas to process spacecraft, we can conduct flight operations,” Major Prechitt pointed out. “It may not be as efficient, but it will work.”
“It’s better than using a breach box to come and go,” Vladimir agreed.
“Captain, these are all short-term solutions,” Cameron said. “I’m wondering if they are even worth the effort.”
“What do you mean?” Nathan asked.
“I think we should first be asking ourselves if the Celestia can be turned into an effective combat system. If the answer is yes, then these short-term solutions are a start. However, if the answer is no…”
“She’s right,” Nathan agreed. He looked at Vladimir. “We need to know if the Celestia can be made ready to fight and, if so, how long it would take.”
“Captain, I’ve barely even scratched the surface with my inspections,” Vladimir warned.
“I understand that. Unfortunately, I need to make a decision sooner rather than later.”
“In the OAP, with our fabricators, she could be completed within five to six months. That’s assuming we have unrestricted access to materials and skilled personnel.”
“And that the Jung leave us alone,” Jessica added.
“Da,” Vladimir agreed, pointing at Jessica.
Nathan cringed slightly, not liking the direction Vladimir was going.
“On Metis, or even floating freely in space, it could take a year or more.”
“But it can be done?” Nathan asked.
“Yes, sir, it can,” Vladimir answered.
“Captain, we have to assume it’s only a matter of time before Admiral Galiardi gives up the Celestia’s location,” Jessica insisted. “When he does, the Jung will probably come in force.”
“We might be better off stripping what we can from the Celestia and clearing out of here,” Cameron suggested.
“Any chance we can get propellant to her and get her moved?” Nathan wondered.
“Moved to where?” Jessica asked.
“Anywhere other than where the Admiral knows her to be,” Nathan said. “Another Jovian moon, an asteroid, one of Saturn’s moons… anyplace other than Metis. Even putting her on another cold-coast out into space would be better.”
“We can move propellant to her,” Vladimir said. “We have several hundred meters of propellant transfer hose. Rigging up a system to transfer some of our propellant to the Celestia is easy, but it will take time to pump enough propellant over to be of value.”
“How much time?” Nathan asked.
“At least a couple days. However, during that time, we can be making the other repairs necessary to make her more space-worthy.”
“Then we should get started,” Nathan insisted. “No matter where we move her, she’s going to need at least some propellant.”
“There is a better way to secure the Celestia,” Vladimir said. “We could get her jump drive working.”
“Is that even possible?” Nathan asked, not wanting to get his hopes up. He looked at Abby sitting at the far end of the table next to Lieutenant Commander Kovacic.
“I have spoken with the technicians that were part of the Celestia’s jump drive installation team. The Celestia’s jump drive is similar to the Aurora’s. However, there are some variations in its design.”
“Then it’s not based on your team’s research?” Nathan wondered.
“Only in the sense that it was derived from the same research data that was found in the data ark. I suspect that Admiral Yamori was running two simultaneous yet isolated teams in the hopes that at least one of them would develop a viable prototype.”
“How different are the two drives?” Vladimir asked.
“They work in the same manner using very similar equipment. It appears that the Celestia’s drive may be designed to have a greater jump range per charge. My initial inspection shows a greater energy storage capacity than was originally designed into our system. My father was always conservative in his range goals, choosing to concentrate on successful execution before worrying about increasing performance.”
“Is it possible to get it to work?”
“Anything is possible, Captain,” Abby said. “The jump field generators appear to be fully installed, and the power distribution grid and control array are also in place, as they were built into the Celestia’s hull rather than being added on after the fact, as was the case with the Aurora. All that remains is to fabricate and install the emitters.”
“Any chance we could use our existing emitters?” Vladimir asked. “We could pull the emitters from our secondary array and use them. That way our fabricators would be free to create the parts we need to perform the most immediate repairs on the Celestia.”
“I’m not crazy about the idea of stripping our secondary array,” Cameron argued.
“Neither am I,” Nathan admitted.
“It would be better to fabricate new emitters,” Abby assured them, “as there may be some subtle design differences that would necessitate lengthy testing and calibration. If you want to get the Celestia ready to jump away as quickly as possible, I would not use our emitters.”
“How long would that take?”
“To fabricate and install the emitters on the Celestia, maybe a week if we are lucky,” Vladimir said.
“That would be assuming that the Celestia’s prototype actually works,” Abby said. “It has yet to be tested.”
“If it’s basically the same as ours, why wouldn’t it?” Nathan wondered.
“The jump drive is a very complex system, Captain,” Abby reminded him. “It took more than a decade of effort on the part of more than a hundred scientists and technicians to develop the Aurora’s jump drive.”
“Yes, of course,” Nathan said. “What I meant was, is there any reason to doubt that it will work at this time?”
“Based on what I have learned thus far, I expect that it will work, Captain.”
“That’s good to hear,” Nathan said. He leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath as he considered his options. “I don’t think I need to point out to anyone here the advantages of having two jump-capable warships at our disposal. To that end, I’d like to try to save the Celestia.” Nathan turned to Vladimir. “Vlad, start the propellant transfer as soon as possible. I want to be able to get her off Metis and on an escape trajectory as soon as possible. We should be able to time her burn to reduce her chance of detection by the Jung. Once she’s clear of the Jovian system, we should have enough time to get her emitters installed and jump her out of the Sol system.”
“Yes, sir. I will start the most immediate repairs as well,” Vladimir said.
“That’s fine as long as they don’t interfere with the propellant transfer. That comes first, as we don’t know how long we’ll be able to sit here. If the Jung come our way, we’ll have to go into action. So make sure whatever you rig up to transfer the propellant can be quickly disconnected from the Aurora.”
“Sir,” Cameron began to protest before being cut off.
“I would also like you to rig a remote detonator for the charges on the Celestia’s antimatter containment bottles. I want to be able to blow that ship remotely if necessary.”
“Yes, sir,” Vladimir answered.
“I want two remote detonators as well, just to be sure,” Nathan added. He turned toward Cameron. “Commander, start working up a crew roster for the Celestia. Minimal staffing, just what we need to meet immediate needs. You’ll also have to work out a way to logistically support her operations using our resources.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Major Prechitt, assign some of your people to get to work on the Celestia’s flight deck. I want to be able to run shuttles in and out of her as soon as possible.”
“What about fighters?” the major asked.
“We’ll park fighters nearby on the surface of Metis for now and rotate them periodically. Better to operate them from the Aurora for the time being. My main concern is efficient movement of resources and personnel to and from the Celestia. More importantly, I need to be able to quickly evacuate whatever personnel are on board the Celestia if the need to scuttle her arises.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nathan looked back to Cameron. “Make sure we don’t have more people on board the Celestia than she has shuttles to evacuate them with.”
“Two shuttles should do it,” Cameron said. “We can pack at least twenty people per shuttle, more if the trip is short.”
“Sir, may I suggest that you send Senior Chief Taggart to the Celestia?” Master Chief Montrose said in his usual Corinairan brogue. “The man is quite inventive. If anyone can get a flight deck assembled and working without all the proper resources, it would be the senior chief.”
“Good idea,” Nathan agreed. “Abby, get the specifications for the Celestia’s emitters. I’d like us to start fabricating them as soon as possible. We may have to run a series of hit-and-run attacks to keep the Jung busy and away from the Celestia, so the sooner those emitters are fabricated and transferred to the Celestia, the better off we all are.”
“Of course.”
“Captain,” Lieutenant Montgomery said, “it may be possible to install the plasma cannon turret on the Celestia.”
“Really?” Nathan said.
“It has yet to be installed in the Aurora, as we were waiting until the additional power conduits were in place. As we already have a mounting system ready, it would be relatively easy to mount the weapon on the Celestia. All we need is power for the weapon and a control through which to operate it.”
“That would give the Celestia some teeth,” Cameron agreed.
“Fangs is more like it,” Nathan said. “Excellent idea, Lieutenant. See to it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s get to it, people,” Nathan said. “Dismissed.” Nathan remained seated as the others in attendance began to rise. “Lieutenant Commander Kovacic and Commander Taylor, if you would both remain a moment…”
Cameron remained in her seat next to Nathan, having already anticipated his request. The lieutenant commander, however, appeared surprised as he sat back down.
Nathan waited until the room had cleared before speaking. “Lieutenant Commander, I wanted to speak to you in private about the chain of command in these unusual circumstances. I realize that you have considerably more time in service, and that technically, under the circumstances, you should outrank all of us. After all, our promotions were all done in the field out of necessity. Most of these were done by me after I was officially ordered to assume command by our original commanding officer, Captain Roberts. However, Commander Taylor has reminded me that, technically, she and I are line officers and, therefore, would be next in line to assume command.”
Lieutenant Commander Kovacic suddenly relaxed a bit and appeared somewhat relieved. “I thought for a moment there you were going to try to pass this mess over to me.”
Nathan smiled. “Would that I could,” he said with a laugh. “Actually, I was concerned that you might take exception to my plans to give command of the Celestia to Commander Taylor.”
A surprised look came over Cameron’s face. She turned to look at Nathan but said nothing.
“Captain, I assure you, I have no desire to be in command of anything. I’m a supply officer, and I know how to do my job. Commanding a warship is definitely not my area of expertise. The only reason I took command in the first place was because I was given direct orders to do so by Admiral Galiardi.”
“That’s good to know, Lieutenant Commander,” Nathan said, “and I do appreciate your cooperation. In fact, I was hoping you might act as the commander’s executive officer for the time being. Logistics will be the key to getting the Celestia up and running again, and that is your area of expertise.”
“It would be my pleasure, Captain.”
* * *
“Captain,” Sergeant Weatherly called from the hatch to the captain’s ready room, “Mister Hiller is here.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. Send him in,” Nathan answered. He rose from his desk and came around to greet Yanni as the wide-eyed, nervous, young man entered the compartment.
“I was told to report to the captain,” Yanni stated.
“Mister Hiller, I’m Captain Scott,” Nathan greeted, extending his hand.
“You’re the captain?” Yanni said, a look of surprise on his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be disrespectful. I just thought you’d be much older.”
“That’s quite all right, Mister Hiller. I get that all the time. The fact is, I’m probably not much older than you,” Nathan said as he gestured toward one of the chairs. “Please be seated.”
Yanni sat down as Nathan moved back around his desk. “Are all captains in the EDF as young as you?”
Nathan considered his question for a moment. “Currently… yes,” he commented as he took his seat. “I was promoted rather quickly due to combat-related deaths. I’ve only been in command for about five months.”
“That’s about when this ship was supposed to have been lost.”
“Yes, much of our crew and all of our command staff were killed at the beginning of our voyage. I was forced to take command.”
“What happened to you?” Yanni wondered. “Where have you been all this time?”
“That’s a long story,” Nathan said. “We don’t have the time to go into it in detail. Suffice it to say that it was quite an adventure, and it has opened our eyes to a lot that we did not know.”
“Like what?”
“Mainly, that there are colonies of Earth much farther out into space than we had originally believed.”
“What, like outside the core?” Yanni asked.
“Indeed.”
“So you’re saying that the fringe extends farther out than the fifty to sixty light years indicated by the records in the Ark.”
Nathan was a bit surprised himself. Not many on Earth knew of the distance that the fringe extended. “I’m surprised that you are aware of the original distance estimates.”
“I work at the Ark complex, remember? We have a lot of time on our hands most shifts. As shift leader for one of the data storage maintenance teams, I was required to do data integrity tests quite often. I occasionally found myself reading more than was required by the integrity checks.”
“I can imagine.”
“How much farther out does the fringe extend, Captain?”
Nathan sighed. “So far out that you can’t really consider it part of the fringe.”
“Like a few hundred light years?” Yanni wondered. His eyes were wide with anticipation, like a child being told a fascinating story.
“More like a thousand.”
“You traveled a thousand light years?” Yanni said in disbelief. “That’s impossible! That would take a hundred years, maybe more!”
“Using conventional linear FTL propulsion methods, yes.”
“Then how is it possible?”
“Technically, this is all still classified,” Nathan began. “However, since you’re going to find out very soon anyway, I thought it best to explain it to you. You see, the Aurora is equipped with a system we call a jump drive. It allows us to jump up to fifteen light years at once in a fraction of a second.”
“What? That’s unbelievable!”
“That’s the way I felt at first. Everything I had ever been taught said
it was not possible, but it is.”
“But you said a thousand light years. That would be… about sixty-six jumps? How long would that take? Sixty-six seconds?”
“I wish. We have to recharge for several hours between jumps. It took us several weeks to get back to Earth.”
“I’m confused, Captain. Why would you go that far out to begin with? Did you already know someone was out there?”
“Actually, our initial jump was an accident. An antimatter explosion on board a nearby Jung warship occurred at the moment that we tried to jump clear. The additional energy caused us to jump to a point just over a thousand light years from Sol.”
“You jumped a thousand light years in the blink of an eye?”
Nathan could hear the doubt in Yanni’s voice. “I know it’s hard to believe, but that’s not the half of it. What happened while we were stranded out there is even more difficult to believe.”
“Why? What happened?” Yanni’s doubt was again replaced by curiosity.
“That’s what we don’t have time to discuss.”
“I have all the time in the world,” Yanni insisted.
“Actually, you don’t,” Nathan said. “That’s why I wanted to speak with you. This area of space that we traveled to is called the Pentaurus cluster. Through a series of events, we ended up making some very advanced and powerful allies in that area. They are not aware of what has happened to Earth. I’m hoping that, once I get a message to them, they will be able to send help.”
“You’re going to send a message across a thousand light years of space?” Yanni laughed. “This is fantastic. How is that possible?”
“One of the Takaran scientists has fitted one of our shuttles with a miniature version of our jump drive. However, it has one major difference. It can only jump two light years at a time, but it can jump repeatedly without recharging. We believe that it can make the journey back to the Pentaurus cluster in only a few days.”
“That is truly amazing. It sounds dangerous, though.”