by M. D. Cooper
The captain’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Again, I must thank you for bringing Tanis back to us. We are quite interested in where she has been for the past few months.”
“Would you believe pirates?” Tanis asked with a smile.
“Pirates?” Terrance asked. “Like…ahar?”
Tanis nodded. “As Sera can attest, things are a lot different than they were when we left. With the advent of FTL, space has become a much wilder place. In fact, the two fleets maintaining positions above the north and south pole of the world we’re orbiting are composed of pirates.”
Several voices spoke at once, peppering Tanis with questions.
“Why don’t we hold our questions until the end,” Andrews said, his even tones bringing quiet. “I, for one, would like to hear this story uninterrupted.”
Tanis took a deep breath and related her tale; how her pod was picked up by pirates, how she was tortured, and then shipped off to meet with a man named Padre before waking to find herself on Sera’s ship. She told of their battle to save Sera and their journey across over a hundred light-years to arrive at Bollam’s World and the Intrepid.
Terrance whistled. “That’s some adventure you had, Tanis.”
“You’re telling me,” Tanis replied. “I could do with a break from adventure.”
Sera observed the Intrepid’s leadership as they asked their questions and sought clarity on the state of the galaxy in which they found themselves.
She could tell they had been through a lot together. Though she could see some subtle tensions in the group, by and large they were tightly knit—having been through over a century of adversity together.
When there was a moment’s pause, the captain spoke.
“This adds some color to what we’ve learned from Bollam’s ambassador—and Joe and Jessica’s visit to one of their stations—though they have certainly kept some details from us. We’ve not been granted unfettered access to the system’s nets. It’s pretty plain to see that they’re hiding something from us.”
Sera laughed. “You have that right. They don’t want you to learn that you hold all the cards.”
“We do?” Sanderson asked, no small amount of sarcasm in his voice. “I imagine all those hostile fleets out there beg to differ.”
“Would you defeat all of them if it came to an all-out battle?” Sera asked without pausing for an answer. “Perhaps not, perhaps you would. Either way, no one wants to risk your ship to that sort of conflict. Even without your most precious cargo, this ship is invaluable beyond measure.”
Looks around the table turned suspicious, and Tanis raised her hands defensively.
“The secret’s out. Our little stunt with the pico at Victoria made its way into the history books. Not everyone believes its real, but apparently enough do. Sera, why don’t you give them the highlights since we left Kapteyn’s?”
“Of course,” Sera said with a nod. “Only a hundred years or so after you left Earth, a man in the Procyon system discovered how to cheaply generate gravitons. I understand that you were privy to some of this information during your time at Kapteyn’s Star and that you’ve built your own rudimentary graviton emitters.”
“We have,” Earnest nodded. “Though, from what I have observed, the tech has advanced considerably.”
“It has,” Sera agreed. “Consider that nearly the entirety of your ship could have artificial gravity supplied by a handful of devices no larger than this room.”
Sharp intakes of breath resounded through the room and everyone looked at one another with a mixture of awe and disbelief.
Sera continued. “Once artificial gravity was something that anyone could afford, gravity-based experiments advanced technology by leaps and bounds. For instance, inertial dampeners now exist, which can protect ships from forces as significant as a ninety degree thrust change at over half the speed of light.”
Eyes grew even wider at that statement; Earnest and Abby Redding began writing furiously on several of the plas sheets.
“Shields on ships can now be used to hold atmosphere in the event of a hull puncture—though I suspect your ES shielding can do the same,” Sera paused, as the captain nodded slowly, before continuing. “Most ships aren’t even airtight anymore, though I personally consider it to be prudent. But all of that was just the icing on the cake. All the work with gravitons unlocked the true nature of dark matter; mainly that scientists finally found it. It projects itself into relative space through gravity, but the bulk of its mass lays in a sub-layer of space-time commonly called the dark layer—it’s basically the long-dismissed universal rest frame of reference.”
“I knew it!” Earnest shouted. “Pay up dear.”
Abby scowled and her eyes fluttered as Sera imagined a quick Link transaction took place between the couple.
Sera eyed them curiously for a moment before shrugging and continuing.
“Since the gravity systems on a ship could interact with that special layer of space, it became possible to move objects in and out of it. Two things were immediately discovered about the dark layer. The first was that velocity relative to normal space increased by anywhere from 300 to 800 times. The second was that Newtonian laws of reaction do not apply there. The vector you enter the DL in is the vector you stay on until you exit.
“Most ships can achieve speeds up to 0.70c in normal space. However, vessels like those eleven AST dreadnaughts out there have drives that can take them up to the very edge of light-speed while in normal space. When in FTL, they can traverse light-years in a matter of hours.”
Everyone was silent as they soaked in the implications of Sera’s speech. “Keep in mind that most of these discoveries were made right before the forty fifth century. Since then, technology, in general, has been in decline. With the advent of FTL, people no longer needed the advanced technologies required to wring every last drop of productivity from a star system. Much was lost to decline, and to the FTL wars—the aftermath of which the galaxy is still recovering from.
“No one has the faintest clue how to build things like planet pusher tugs or create planet-wide stasis fields. The concept of merging planets is impossible for all but the most advanced worlds, and nanotech is even less advanced than it was in the thirtieth century.
“To the people of Bollam’s World, and the ninetieth century in general, the Intrepid is like a treasure trove. It’s a jackpot beyond imagining. That’s why those pirates were fighting over Tanis.”
“So who are these eleven newcomers? You referred to them as the AST before,” Captain Andrews asked his first question.
“Those are your good friends from Sol, or nearby. Sol is now part of an alliance of about a hundred and fifty worlds commonly known as the Alpha Sol Tau, or AST. They’re a greedy bunch of bastards, and they probably think the Intrepid is theirs, too. Bollam’s is a sovereign system, so the fact that they are here flexing their muscle is a bit surprising. They must be really intent in getting their hands on you.”
“I swear, if you weren’t here confirming all this, Tanis, I’d think it was some sort of elaborate hoax,” Brandt shook her head.
“Or a nightmare,” Terrance added.
“It’s no dream. Those fleets out there are real, and they’re only going to get bigger over the next few days,” Tanis said ominously.
“Don’t forget,” Sera spoke into the silence. “The Intrepid is of greater value than this entire system. Destroying you is not their plan. Though, if things go badly for one faction, they may try to destroy what they cannot have.”
The captain shook his head slowly. “Even if we are sure we can win, we don’t want to get in a fight of this size—not again. Do you have a plan?” He looked between Sera and Tanis. Sh
e could clearly see that while he commanded the ship, Tanis was instrumental in its operation.
Sera took a deep breath; it was time to finally tip her hand.
“I’d help out just because Tanis saved my life, but the opportunity to show the Bollam’s government that they can’t extort every ship that dumps out of Kapteyn’s Streamer, not to mention sticking it to Padre, Rebecca, and the AST? That is too much to pass up. I have something to trade, and then I will contact the FGT and see about getting you a planet.”
She saw Tanis turn in her seat. The general didn’t speak, but her penetrating gaze spoke volumes.
“The FGT is still around? I thought you said there was no more advanced tech like planet pushers and massive stasis fields?” Terrance looked perplexed.
“Yeah, I suppose that was not entirely true. The inner core systems still have some of the old tech, but they aren’t sharing; and the FGT still exists and is going strong. However, after a few experiences very similar to what you are going through now, they cut off contact with the bulk of the inn…” Sera paused for a moment before resuming her speech, “…the human sphere. They still terraform, but they don’t tell anyone about it. Every so often, they will let a struggling world know about a new home they can go to, or they will trade from time to time. Sometimes they just let the new worlds be found by explorers.”
“Then how will you contact the FGT?” Terrance asked.
“Yes, I am all ears,” Tanis said, her tone almost angry.
Sera didn’t answer for a minute. “I can’t disclose that yet. But I can promise you that I can reach them and that they will see yours as a good case for a new world.”
“First, we have to get out of this mess,” Joe said with a frown. “What’s the plan there?”
Sera was glad to see Tanis’s dark expression lift.
“That is something we have a solid plan for,” Tanis said and gestured for Sera to share the data on FTL.
Sera smiled broadly. “I have, as it turns out, complete design and operating specifications for graviton systems on a scale as large as this ship. With that, I have the information for how to implement gravitational shields, gravity drives, and even the information on how to take a ship of this size into the dark layer. In short: protection, power, and FTL.”
No one spoke for several long seconds as that information soaked in.
“You have full design, and operating specifications on these systems?” Abby asked, no small amount of skepticism in her voice.
“Everything but an arrow pointing at where to bolt it on,” Sera replied.
Joe frowned. “What Jessica and I learned during our time on that mining platform is that no one can move ships this large into FTL. Those AST dreadnaughts are right at the edge of safe transition.”
“They don’t know everything in the core worlds,” Sera said with a shrug. “Out on the fringes of known space, there are some pretty amazing things going on.”
“And what do you want for this information, and how did you come by it?” The captain also sounded skeptical. Tanis, too, looked quite interested to have one of Sera’s mysteries revealed: her source.
“Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to discuss that, either. However, I can assure you that the knowledge is accurate and I legally own rights to it. Like I said, the only thing I want in trade is to help take out a few of those bastards out there.”
“We may yet find a peaceful resolution to this,” Terrance said.
“You may, they won’t,” Sera replied.
“She’s right about that.” The Admiral shook his head. “If what she says is true, none of those factions are going to let the others get the prize. The only way we are going to get out of this is by destroying or thoroughly intimidating them.”
“I hate to have to ask,” Tanis interjected, “but how did you get in this situation?”
“Jessica and I got nabbed,” Joe replied with a sheepish look. “I guess they pick up a lot of flotsam and jetsam here, and our hunt for you put us on their radar. We signaled for Corsia to come pick us up, but Intrepid came instead. Folks here decided that it was better to be insystem and work on a trade than out in the black with no options.”
“Fierra, the freshly terraformed world below us, was an appealing offer,” Terrance added. “But if they all know about the picotech, then that world would just be a pretty cage at best.”
Sera snorted. “That’s so like Bollam’s.”
The captain picked up the story. “We were negotiating with their ambassador when the first of the pirate fleets showed up. Before we could blink, a full-scale battle was playing out around us. We deployed our fleet—much to their surprise, I might add—and we entered into the current stalemate.”
“There was that move when you tapped into the jovian’s magnetic field with our ramscoop and used it to smash the shields on a dozen of those pirate corvettes,” Joe said to Earnest. “It was pure genius.”
Earnest chuckled. “It’s amazing the effect a finely focused beam of gamma rays can have on someone’s level of caution. Didn’t really damage anyone, but I could tell that whatever they were shielding themselves with had to expend a lot of power to protect them. Now that I know its graviton based, it makes sense.”
He pulled his glasses off and cleaned them—a strange gesture, and an even stranger, archaic method of eyesight correction. “Why they don’t have stasis shields is beyond me. If they can generate cheap gravitons, then antimatter is less expensive than air. Every ship could have stasis shields and could fly through a star if they wanted with no damage.”
Silence fell at his words.
“I’m guessing by the expression on your face that no one is able to do that in the ninetieth century?” Terrance asked.
“If they can, they aren’t sharing,” Sera said slowly, the implications racing through her mind. “Now you understand why the Intrepid is so valuable and why none of these factions will let the others get a hold of this ship or its personnel. Whoever captures Intrepid will rule space for a hundred light-years in every direction. That is not something we can allow to happen.”
“We’d better get to it, then,” the captain said. “What do we need to do to get started?”
“My AI, Helen, can work with your engineering chief to achieve a full implementation.”
“You’ll also want to interface with Sabrina to get her scan and targeting packages,” Tanis added. “The algorithms for tracking and hitting ships that can jink like our friends out there are no simple thing. Luckily, I bought the best.”
Several small conversations broke out as plans were laid and issues discussed. Captain Andrews cocked his head as a message was passed to him, then he raised his hand.
“It would appear that we have a message from the Bollam’s World Fleet. Chief, Earnest, I’m certain you have things you’d rather be doing. If everyone else would like to remain, let’s see what they have to say.”
The far end of the conference table lit up with a holo projection of a bridge on another ship. The image was entirely lifelike; it was as though the Intrepid ended and another ship began half way down the table.
“Admiral Argon, how good for you to call on us again,” Captain Andrews said.
“Captain Andrews, we see that you are increasing your offensive capabilities, and stealing our resources to do it.”
Sera guessed that the admiral was referring to the asteroid she saw a tug pulling to the Orkney on their way in.
The Bollam’s admiral continued, “This cannot be allowed within our sovereign system. We require that you cease your increase in armament and resume talks with us.”
“Admiral, we were in the midst of talks when you made a series of impossible demands in exchange for the world we orbit. You know as well as I that what you were willing to give us wasn’t much different than being your indentured servants. You also seem to be having issues with a few pirates and outside interferences from the core worlds. Perhaps we should be treating with them instead of you.”
The admiral on the Bollam’s World ship turned a very curious shade of red. “It would seem you already have been, as you now possess information you did not when we last spoke.”
“Not so, Admiral. Rather, one of our crew, who had been abducted by pirates while in your system, managed to escape and get back to us. It’s a pity you can’t seem to keep your system free of such elements. They seem to cause you no end of trouble.”
Sera noted that the captain seemed to be enjoying playing the Bollam’s World admiral. It was perhaps a bit petty, but she probably would have done the same.
“We’ll deal with them and with you. The Intrepid is the property of the sovereign system of Bollam’s World and we will have it.”
With that, the transmission was cut.
“Well, that certainly was presumptuous,” Terrance laughed.
“Who names their system ‘Bollam’s World’, anyway?” asked Joe. “It’s a system, not a world. It’s rather confusing.”
“Having just come from Kapteyn’s Star, I suspect it’s our curse,” Tanis said with a laugh.
“I think we should call them the Bollers,” Brandt volunteered. “It would make this a lot simpler.”
“Seconded,” Tanis said with a smile.
“So shall it be,” Joe announced. “They are the Bollers, and their star is The Boll.”
PREPARATIONS
STELLAR DATE: 10.27.8927 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: ISS Intrepid, Orbiting Fierra
REGION: Bollam’s World System, Bollam’s World Federation
Following a brief meal, where she was impressed to see Tanis consume three BLTs, Sera provided them with a breakdown of the types of weapons and tactics they could expect to face.