Starflake (T'aafhal Legacy Book 3)

by Doug Hoffman

  Mizuki smiled at her fellow astronomer. “JT is correct. The best way to travel to distant locations is using alter-space transit between massive stars. This lets us travel long distances in 3-space with relatively short transit times. The down side is that the transit parameters are more difficult to calculate. The distance, sixty-five light-years, calls for great precision in the insertion parameters.”

  “Right,” Bobby muttered from his station at the helm. “No pressure at all.”

  “Do we know what's waiting for us on the other end?”

  “Not with full certainty, Captain. Aldebaran is classified as a type K5III star, which indicates it is an orange giant that has exhausted its supply of hydrogen and moved off the main sequence. Beyond its chromosphere is an extended outer atmosphere where the temperature is cool enough for molecules of gas to form. Outside that region, its stellar wind declines in temperature to about 7,500 K at a distance of 1 Astronomical Unit.”

  “Our exit point is about 2.6 AU from the star so that shouldn't be a problem,” Mizuki added. “the stellar wind is still hot but tenuous at that distance.”

  “Very good, what about planets?”

  “There is some evidence for a super Jupiter in a mildly eccentric orbit. Radial velocity measurements imply a companion with a mass between seven and eleven times that of Jupiter in a 643-day orbit at a separation of 2.0 AU. Considering that the star shines with roughly five hundred times the Sun’s luminosity and the close proximity of the planet we are probably looking at a hot-Jupiter here.”

  “A hot-Jupiter? And that means what?” Beth asked.

  Mizuki fielded that one. “They have similar characteristics to other gas giants, but they orbit much more closely to their star. High levels of insolation gives them high surface temperature and results in a lower density than would otherwise be expected. It is hypothesized that such planets start out farther from their central star and migrate inward over time, making the development of life less likely than in other planetary configurations.”

  “So big star, big planet, no aliens. Sounds good to me.”

  “We're just passing through anyway, Number One. Here's hoping that the first system is safe and boring.”

  “It you wanted safe, we could have just stayed in the shipyard.”

  “'A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.'” Billy Ray smiled. Having an appropriate quotation for a situation gave him great satisfaction.

  “You sort of leaned into that one, Commander,” JT quipped. He was already feeling right at home with this crew.

  “Transit coming up, Captain. Turning sequencing over to the ship's computer.”

  “Very good, Cmdr. Danner.”

  The voice of the ship's computer was heard on the bridge. “Transition to alter-space in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...”

  The ship shimmered and vanished from 3-space, making the transition from spaceship to starship. The first voyage of the Peggy Sue II was underway.

  Cargo Hold, Day 2 Alter-space

  Alter-space transit was boring. Not as boring as trying to cross sixty-five light-years in 3-space, but far less stimulating than an airplane flight or a sea voyage. Outside the ship there was nothing that human eyes could make sense of—indeed, the hypnotic power of alter-space was such that it drove some insane. To avoid such unpleasantness the ship's viewports were all turned a boring but safe translucent gray until the return to 3-space.

  Since the Captain firmly believed that idle hands were the devil's workshop the crew and Marines were kept busy with drills, simulated combat exercises, and physical training. As threatened, Mizuki held kendo practice every day, with all the officers in attendance. The chiefs, including Chief Morgan, the two SEAL petty officers, and several Marines also joined in the fun, mostly hoping to eventually get swords of their own.

  Currently, the Marines of first squad were gathered in one end of the cargo hold for training in hand to hand combat techniques. They were all wearing light combat armor, including Cpl. Inuksuk and Lt. Taylor, who was leading the session.

  “One of the problems we have is trying to familiarize Marines with close quarters combat against aliens.” JT let his gaze drift across the assembled warriors. Most were showing real interest in the subject at hand, but a few looked bored—that would change shortly. “Fortunately, we have among us a fellow Marine who makes an admirable stand in for an alien opponent.”

  The human Marines all looked at one another while Inuksuk raised his head to stare at the large officer at the front of the class.

  “That's right, we are fortunate to have in our ranks Cpl. Inuksuk, who even the least observant among us can tell isn't a Homo sapiens.” That elicited a few chuckles from among the ranks.

  “Are you saying I'm the designated alien, Lieutenant?”

  “That you are, Corporal, that you are. Everyone please clear some space so I can demonstrate a few fundamentals about hand to hand, or paw in this case, with a larger alien opponent.”

  The Marines obediently moved back against the aft bulkhead leaving JT and the bear alone in the center space. Inuksuk slowly stood up on his hind legs, rising to his full height of more than three meters.

  “Well this should be interesting,” said PFC Christopher “Grits” Walker, a former US Marine and new to the Peggy Sue.

  “Be quiet and pay attention,” replied PFC Tzipporah “Zippy” Ben-Ezra, a former member of the IDF and one of the three women in first squad, not counting the Gunny. Zippy was intensely focused on the training and had little time for the joking around that the male Marines seemed to find necessary.

  “First, I will point out the obvious. When faced with an opponent four or more times your size, getting into a straight up slug fest is not going to work.” JT paused for effect. “The key to successfully fighting a much larger opponent is using his size against him—more Aikido and Sambo than Karate or Kung Fu.”

  JT dropped into a crouch and faced off against the somewhat bemused bear. Both were encased in armor, which was to the human's advantage—Inuksuk would not be able to use his claws or teeth, just his significantly greater strength. JT faked a charge.

  Inuksuk made a charge of his own, reaching for the man with both paws. JT ducked beneath the intended bear hug, reaching low to grasp the charging ursine by his lower abdomen.

  Rocking back, letting the bear's own momentum carry him forward, JT lifted the massive creature with the combined strength of his body and the electroreactive “muscles” of his suit. He managed to lift Inuksuk off the ground and flip him over his shoulder.

  But Inuksuk had sparred with armor suited humans before. When he felt himself being lifted off the deck he tucked and rolled. In a continuous motion he landed on his back, rolled sideways to regain his footing and charged at his human opponent.

  JT pivoted after the throw and was somewhat surprised to see the bear charging him on all fours. Reacting out of instinct, he jumped toward Inuksuk and vaulted over him, like a Cretan bull leaper from an ancient Minoan mosaic.

  Inuksuk slid to a halt and turned once again to face his smaller tormentor, this time approaching more cautiously. JT faced off against the now fully alert bear. Inuksuk feinted with his right and then delivered a roundhouse left that connected with the man's right side, sending him flying through the air. The bear stood on two legs and roared in triumph.

  The armored human managed to do a flip and a half twist to land on the hold wall with his feet. Compressing his knees, the ex-Green Beret absorbed the impact and sprung back toward his foe. Again flipping head over heals, JT landed feet first on the bear's armored chest, knocking him over backward. Both man and bear sprawled across the deck.

  Slowly regaining his footing, JT faced the assembled Marines, who were now paying rapt attention to the demonstration. “As you can see, when faced with a bigger, stronger opponent your only recourse is to do the unexpected and try to turn your foe's strengths against him. You should disengage as quickly as possible and use a weapon on him.” />
  “You're not giving up, are you Lieutenant?” said Inuksuk. “I was just getting started.”

  “I have lived this long because my Momma didn't raise any fools, brother bear,” JT replied with a grin. “I know how much you bears love a good tussle, so what we are going to do now is let your squadmates take a run at you. Just to make it more of a challenge they will try to take you two at a time.”

  A grin spread over the bear's long muzzle. Polar bears did, indeed, like a good fight. In fact, if they didn't get a good violent workout every so often they got cranky and depressed. Having worked with bears before JT knew this and was having the squad engage in inter-species roughhousing for the benefit of both humans and ursines.

  “All right, Carter, Singh, you're up,” the Lieutenant ordered. “Try not to embarrass our species.”

  The two named Marines moved nervously to engage their Corporal. PFC Francisca “Fanni” Takala, a Finnish judo champion and one of the few female volunteers from the Finnish defense force, commented to PFC Ketevan “Keti” Tseriteli, a big boned Georgian woman who had spent time in the Fleet Marines.

  “I'm thinking we will all be black and blue this evening.”

  “I think you are right, at least the men are softening him up a bit for us.”

  “I think they are only getting the bear warmed up, not softened up.”

  Keti nodded in agreement as one of the men sailed overhead and bounced off the hold's metal side. This was certainly not the easy duty she had anticipated when signing on. No matter, she wouldn't be a Marine if she didn't like to mix it up—she was already thinking of moves to try on the ursine Corporal. Meanwhile Inuksuk had dispatched his second opponent by swatting him to the deck and then sitting on him.

  Lt. Taylor called out, “Walker, Davis, you're next.”

  Mizuki & Bobby's Quarters

  Things had settled into a rhythm for the Danners since leaving Mars: Bobby stood watch on the bridge while Mizuki oversaw the science section and taught kendo. Mizuki's pets—the aoi chō, or blue butterflies—accompanied her to the cargo hold for sword practice and her morning run. At first, the new crewmembers were a bit put off by the flock of color shifting, insect like aliens that followed the Science Officer around.

  Bobby and Mizuki were used to sharing their quarters with the fluttering horde. They were much like a dog—a distributed, flying dog. When someone approached their quarters' entrance the flock quickly flew to the door, swirling in excitement, flashing bright yellows and oranges instead of their normal placid blues and greens—the visual equivalent of barking.

  When it was time for Mizuki to head to the cargo hold for kendo practice the aoi chō would flit between their mistress and her katana, which hung over the mantle of the holographic fireplace. As silly and harmless as the alien creatures appeared they were much more than they seemed. They possessed a shared intelligence on par with a dolphin, and far from being harmless, they could deliver a deadly jolt of electricity to those who threatened them or their mistress.

  Mizuki treated them like a small child, speaking to them in Japanese and singing them lullabies. Why they had cast their lot with the Japanese astrophysicist was unknown, but they worshiped her like a goddess. Aside from Mizuki, only Bobby could control the colorful swarm, control being a relative term. Regardless, their presence meant that Peggy Sue carried within her three different species.

  “We should almost be to Aldebaran. Given the mass and distance, transit time should only be three and a half days,” said Mizuki, brushing her hair before bed.

  Bobby was sitting at his desk, working on a tablet. “We should emerge from alter-space tomorrow afternoon, according to the computer's calculations. I wonder what awaits us in this system?”

  “Not much of interest. We will drop a survey satellite to make stellar observations—we haven't studied this particular type of star up close before—but that should be about it.”

  “Of course the Universe has a way of smacking you right between the eyes when you least expect it.”

  “Don't be so negative, Bobby, you'll upset the children.” When they were alone in quarters she often referred to the butterflies as their children. She felt this was good training for Bobby, for when they eventually got around to having the real thing.

  “I'm just saying, the only thing expected when exploring the galaxy is the unexpected.”

  “Which would make not having a surprise surprising.”

  “What?”

  Bobby looked up from his tablet and gave his wife a sidelong glance. Over her shoulder, she looked back at him impishly.

  Chapter 8

  Bridge, Peggy Sue II

  The Captain surveyed the bridge. Finding all stations manned and the crew alert he forced himself to relax, willing the tension from his shoulders and back. While he had made many alter-space transits and never had trouble when emerging back into 3-space, he was still nervous—after all, this was the ship's first transit.

  Damn it, never borrow trouble, he chided himself. “All stations prepare for emergence. As soon as we are out I want full multispectral sensor scans of the entire system. Mr. Aput, start scanning for gravitonic drive emissions as soon as possible, I want no surprises.”

  “Aye, aye, Sir.” The bear replied from the sensor operator's station.

  “Sailing Master, be ready to set course for the next transit point.”

  “Aye, Captain. We are less than one minute from emergence, I'm transferring control to the ship's computer.”

  “Very good, Cmdr. Danner.”

  “All parameters are nominal, Captain,” the computer's soothing, feminine voice announced. “Emergence in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

  An instant later the panels in the bow returned to transparent mode, revealing a new star system. Directly ahead was a huge orange star, hundreds of times brighter than the Sun.

  “All systems functioning normally, Captain,” the First Officer reported, after reviewing the status indicators holographically projected in front of her.

  Mizuki looked up from her instruments. “Captain, the transit point to Eudora is located on the far side of the local star, roughly twenty three degrees to starboard off the line to galactic center. Distance from Aldebaran is 1.8 AU.”

  “Sir, I'm sensing what smells like alien spacecraft around the transit point,” said Aput, his eyes closed, nostrils flaring, as he 'smelled' the alien ship's gravitonic drives through alter-space. “Their drives are active and they seem to be keeping station around the transit point.”

  “I confirm that, Sir. Those ships are not at a libration point, not in Lissajous or halo orbits.” JT looked up. “That must take a lot of energy.”

  “On the forward display, Mr. Taylor.”

  “How many ships, Mr. Aput?”

  “I count seven drives of differing size.”

  “What would a squadron of ships be hovering around an alter-space transit point for?” asked the First Officer.

  “I can only think of one reason, Number One,” the Captain replied. “To intercept ships transiting between Aldebaran and Eudora.”

  Beth furrowed her brow. “A blockade?”

  “Or an ambush,” added Bobby. “Maybe they're space pirates!”

  “Cmdr. Danner, put us on a course for the transit point that takes us around the star. That should mask us from their sensors until we are almost on top of them.”

  “They will know we have entered the system in less than thirty minutes. We don't know how good their sensors are but if they know about transit points they will certainly be able to detect the radiation burst from a ship emerging from alter-space.”

  “Yer right, Dr. Ogawa. Let's fire off a survey satellite with a gravitonic booster to put it in a stellar orbit—maybe the aliens will think that was all that came through the transit point from Sol.”

  “Hai, Captain. I am launching a probe now.”

  “Number One, put the shields in maximum stealth mode. That should take us off their screens until we close with t
hem on the other side. They may know we arrived but they won't know where we went. Sailing Master, how fast can we get around yon bloated orange giant and lined up on the transit vector?”

  “Accelerating at 50G will take us to five percent c in just over eight and a half hours. Swinging around Aldebaran, while not getting close enough to get too toasty, and then decelerating to a reasonable velocity for alter-space insertion... call it 22.4 hours. We avoid any drastic relativistic effects but it will severely deplete our deuterium stocks, Captain.”

  “By how much?”

  “A couple of thousand tons, though we could save D by burning some antimatter.”

  “Do it, Cmdr. Danner.”

  “Aye, aye, Sir.”

  Officers Wardroom

  The ship's course was set and the shields put in stealth mode, deflecting most of the EM spectrum in a way that rendered her practically invisible. There was no indication that the alien ships guarding the transit point to Eudora noticed the Peggy Sue's entry into the system. Things being quiet, the senior officers retired to the wardroom after the change of watch to grab something to eat and ponder possibilities.

  “Did you really mean what you said about space pirates, Cmdr. Danner?” Asked Pauline Palmer between bites of salad. Frank Hoenig was watch officer on the bridge, but Pauline and JT had both joined the Captain's table at Billy Ray's invitation.

  “First names in the wardroom, Pauline, call me Bobby. Of course the Captain's first name is Captain.” He smiled and returned to the subject of space pirates, a favorite of his. “There have been pirates on Earth since man took to the seas, I see no reason it shouldn't be the same in space. I mean, we've run into a lot of alien races who are just as sneaky and underhanded as people, why shouldn't the idea of piracy have occurred to them?”

  “You are probably right, Bobby,” Mizuki agreed. “There were still pirates off Somalia and in the South China Sea at the time of the alien bombardment. Larceny is a common failing of humanity, even Japan had bandits.”