by Randal Sloan
As Julie watched, she doubled her lead on the other ships by tweaking her drives while flying around the earth in a tight orbit, moving her ship considerably closer to the earth than the other ships, lessening the distance and allowing her to increase her speed. Somehow she was able to adjust the shields to reduce the effect of the earth’s atmosphere so that the ship was not slowed so much by the flow of the air. Julie knew without a doubt she was going to win the race.
Totally shocked, Julie collected her wits. Zeke appeared to be equally shocked as she could feel in their connection. “Did you see that?”
Julie didn’t have to send anything else because she got a resounding, “Yes! That was amazing. She’s so beautiful and so much like you.”
Tears were streaming down Julie’s face, but she didn’t care. She knew Zeke was crying tears of joy too. They sat there in their two ships without moving until Joe arrived with the big ship. They all docked to the space station together, neither of the pair talking very much. They were still in shock. Luckily, Joe was distracted for some reason, so he didn’t notice.
#
Julie and Zeke were very busy for several hours after their return, so they didn’t get to talk about the vision until much later. They had to submit all the new plans to the research group that turned ideas into practical products, but first they had to go to legal and get all the patents submitted for the new products. The lawyer, Jacob Kerbensky, was the same one they had worked with before, and he stared at them in almost disbelief. Julie remembered him from the last time; very good at his job, but no imagination.
When Jacob asked how to do the patent ownership, Zeke turned to look at Julie as he told the lawyer. “On the plasma gun, ninety percent equally split between the two of us, with ten percent to Joe Thomas, a Space Tech employee. He contributed to the plasma gun and I want him compensated.”
Julie laughed and said, “Do the same for the gravity plates. Ninety percent to the two of us, ten percent to Caitlyn Erwin, also a Space Tech employee.” Smiling at Zeke, she told him, “It was her complaining about the lack of gravity that led to the whole thing anyway.”
Turning to face Zeke, she told him. “We can make it a wedding present for the two of them. Joe proposed to her on the trip back and she accepted.”
Zeke smiled back at her. “That’s great! Really great for both of them,” his smile almost a smirk. Julie wondered at that. She knew there was some kind of history there between them, probably going back to when they all went to Space Academy and Julie believed her name was Miranda. Joe and Zeke had known Caitlyn, of course; the whole reason for the conflict between Miranda and Caitlyn had been over Zeke.
“We’re both in total agreement on both patents,” she told Jacob.
Jacob did the paperwork exactly like they said, although he looked at the two of them like they were nuts. Again, no imagination and apparently no sense of humor. Julie couldn’t help but wonder if he had ever had it or if he just lost it all in law school. Too bad. That made life much more fun, something she really needed right now. Nevertheless, she thanked him profusely as they left him to his work, something she knew he was very good at.
Lastly, Julie and Zeke modified the plans for the new demo section of the station. They decided to connect it to the rest of the station only along the main shaft, so it could be set up to not have spin for gravity like the rest of the station. Instead they planned to install the new gravity plates in there. That would make some demo. When they could, they would retrofit them to the rest of the station, something Julie couldn’t wait to get done.
Late that evening, they finally got some time alone in the little observation room that they had pretty well made their own. There they shared their respective memories of the vision. “She really did look so much like you that it was amazing,” Zeke told her. “I believe she was a little younger than you, maybe sixteen or seventeen. And she definitely had your flying talent. Did you see the way she flew her little ship?”
Julie nodded. “Yes, but she had your ability to tweak the fields. And something about the way she saw them was different.”
It was Zeke’s turn to nod. “It was like she felt them like you as well as being able to see them. And another thing I noticed, she built that ship herself, along with our help. She was quite proud of that.”
“You’re right. And one last thing. She was thinking about her younger brother, who she knew was going to be really proud of his big sister.”
Zeke pulled Julie close and whispered in her ear. “It’s a good thing it’s only a couple of weeks until time to go get your father and a week more before the wedding. I can’t wait until we can get it all started.”
“Me too, love. Me too.”
They stayed there for a long time, holding each other and drifting together. There was one thing both somehow missed in the vision. Just as the vision was ending, the girl somehow felt their presence in the vision watching her, and smiled.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A Voyage with an Unexpected Twist
Abner Kowalski always called himself a transaction broker. He made his money by making connections between two parties who needed to hide their connection to each other. He specialized in such connections, with no questions asked.
As he made his way toward the second of two clandestine meetings for the evening, once again he wished he had thought to arrange for a little protection and charge it to his friends, whomever they were. The second meeting was in the rougher part of town and he had had a feeling all evening that someone was following him. He knew that probably was just his anxiety to get the last transaction done and get his money in the bank.
Entering a rather seedy tavern, he slipped onto a stool at the far end of a rather nasty bar that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years and ordered a dark beer. Looking around, he again saw nothing that told him he had been followed, but the feeling persisted. Finally, he saw his contact come in and he was able to relax a little. It would soon be over and he would be quite rich!
The earlier meeting had been difficult. They didn’t tell me it would be a Chinese man. The man had spoken only broken English. It had added a lot to the stress of the meeting just trying to understand the man, but they had been able to complete the transaction to their mutual satisfaction. Hey, I’ve already checked and the money’s there, so what am I so worried about? At least this guy looks like a regular American, but his rough looks sure wouldn’t win him any bonuses. I swear he looks like a pirate and I bet he takes no prisoners. Abner started sweating again.
This was when he was the most nervous, when he had to meet with the clients. Too many things that could go wrong. Abner was a big guy and he used that and his reputation to keep most of his clients intimidated. But he was never at ease in this situation. He was packing heat, but he knew he wasn’t much good at using it. I should have brought that security even if I had to pay for it. After this transaction, I could easily have afforded it. But no, I had to be stupid and try to save the expense.
“A cold enough night,” Abner told Mr. Jones, not that he believed that was his real name. 007 has nothing over me and my job pays better. But I’ll never be comfortable with this stuff. He waited for the expected response. I wonder who makes this stuff up. It really is cold enough.
“Not compared to where I come from,” the man growled. “This is nothing like the real cold of deep space. Kill you dead, it would, in the blink of an eye.” The man spat the last out like he believed it to be the truth and not just a phrase.
Frightened even more by the man’s cold, dead eyes, Abner quickly reached into his pocket. He held up a data encryption key, a single use key to access a VR message that would disappear when read. He had no real idea what it really meant, but he passed on the information he had been told. Got to be some kind of code, because, really, it’s a little too far-fetched to be believable. “You must go to the indicated coordinates designated by this key. There you’ll find a single warhead that will enable you to generate a large eno
ugh explosion to do the job you wish. The key will also contain the codes you need to activate the device.”
“It had better work,” Jones told him. “We’re getting down to our last options. The dragon princess is a tough one. That was my friend that she killed the first time we tangled with her, and she just blew him away like he was in a toy ship. And there was our attack on their station, which was a total bust. Several of our ships were destroyed outright, with most of us taking damage. No way I’m going to get close to her.”
“I just broker the transaction,” Abner answered, feeling the bitter cold in the man’s voice. “I have no idea what it does or doesn’t do. Do you wish to take delivery or not? I really don’t like the looks of this place.”
“Yeah, it’s kinda mild and boring. If we had time, I’d take you down the street a little ways. Down there they have a little more fun and entertainment.” Jones couldn’t resist poking him. What a fool! It’s funny though, I’m telling him the truth. This place is rather boring to my tastes… “Agreed upon price plus five percent extra if you’ll hurry it up and stop wasting my time.”
“Fine. Don’t get all wound up. Just give me your bio data here and it’s all yours. Of course, I’ll take the five and my ten percent off the top too.”
Jones reached out and grabbed him, his rough hands as hard as a rock, and they left indentations in Abner’s arm. “Look, I don’t care what you make. Get it done.” He grabbed the DNA tester, slapping it down on his own arm, not even wincing when the needle plunged in. When the little device beeped its assent, the man grabbed the key out of Abner’s hand.
Abner suddenly realized if the man had wanted to just take it from him, he could have easily done that. Finally turning loose of his arm, Jones shoved him back in his seat rather violently. “Don’t you dare try to follow me.” Abner shook his head, the only thing he trusted himself to do, watching in trepidation as the man turned without another word and disappeared.
Abner decided the Chinese guy wasn’t so bad after all. Totally terrified at this point, he didn’t even check his offshore account. If he had, he would have seen the money disappear before his eyes. Waiting as long as he could stand it, but terrified that Jones would still think he was trying to follow him, he finally rose and practically ran out the door. He had only gone a few steps when some drunk ran into him and he felt a prick on his neck. He tried to push the man away but somehow his body wouldn’t respond. What’s wrong with me? What did he do to me? Even his thoughts were fuzzy, but he realized something bad was wrong.
The man pushed Abner away, slipping into the night, and Abner collapsed against the side of the alley. No one that went by paid him the least bit of attention, just another drunk passed out. When he was found the next day, it was only another statistic for that part of town.
The men behind the Organization were cleaning house, and they didn’t need Abner any more. No one could possibly know of the transactions that had taken place that night except the two men who received the encryption keys and they weren’t going to be talking to anyone. At least not before it would be too late!
#
Julie stayed busy with the prep for the maiden voyage in the newly modified ship. She had requisitioned supplies and made sure they were loaded. A large number of research probes and monitoring equipment was similarly pulled in. The final crew roster was determined and quarters were assigned for them and for the two envoys. Julie had decided also to take her corvette along in the huge hold in the ship, just in case she needed to use it. She added notes to her log for the design of her future ship to include a hangar designed to handle two corvettes with easy access for launch and landing.
While Julie was busy with the prep for the voyage, Zeke worked on the anti-grav plates in the corvette. While he was doing that, he experimented with the fields for the combination of the drives, shields and anti-grav together. If he wrapped all those fields together like so, the drive should work in atmosphere too. Now he felt even better about her flying and landing anywhere; like on the monk island.
That night a number of VR calls were made with earth. Julie made calls to her uncle and Carla and then to Emily. Zeke made calls to his parents. The two envoys both made calls to earth too. And because Xiu’s keeper had been one of those who couldn’t seem to adapt to the simulated gravity of the space station, he was using her trip away as an excuse to return to earth. In a few weeks when they installed the gravity plates it wouldn't have mattered, but sadly for him, no one was really going to miss him.
Zeke also had a little present for Julie. The first AI was off the assembly line! Serial Number 1. He presented it to her with a little bow on top. “I thought you might be able to use this,” he told her. “Yours is the absolute top end and I added all the standard modules, plus a couple extra just for you. When Future Tech Unlimited and I get that enhanced system out, you’ll be the first to have it too.”
#
The next morning everyone was up early and at the docks for boarding. But before they did so, Julie had a very brief public ceremony welcoming everyone to the historic voyage. Then she re-christened the modified ship as the New Hope. First, it no longer resembled its former self. Second, the new name represented Julie’s feeling about this voyage and another one in the near future she hoped. Everyone really liked the new name, especially those who understood the meaning behind it.
It took a few minutes, but all the crew and passengers were boarded, the final preparations were completed, and they were off. The first voyage of many, Julie hoped. The solar system had just gotten a lot smaller, smaller than anyone other than a very few realized, she knew. She couldn’t help but feel a little extra excitement at that, knowing that was one of the reasons her father and brother had formed Space Tech in the first place.
Although not technically required, since Julie had the exact coordinates, she plotted their course by way of the R4 point and launched out from there. Julie had taken into account the obvious effect the movement of the earth around the sun would have on their plotted course. Their course today would have them traveling into the area from nearly the opposite direction. Initially Julie piloted their ship, but as soon as they passed the R4 point and shifted to the new course, she turned it over to Zeke. They were actually traveling at a leisurely pace but the ship was soon exceeding the speed of any recorded vessel other than that Julie had calculated for her father’s ship. But the difference was that this ship was completely under control.
Eventually the piloting would be handed off and would remain under the piloting control of the three primary pilots assigned to this particular ship. But for now she wanted Zeke to have a feel for the ship in case he needed to pilot it.
So brushing her hand across Zeke’s arm, she told him with a smile, “You have the bridge. Don’t crash us while I’;m away.” He smiled at her and laughed.
It didn’t take Zeke long to get a feel for the ship. Julie was right about it; it handled like a tank, but when it got going, he suspected it could go a long way.
Julie convened a meeting with the two envoys in the observation room they had been using for meetings. “I just wanted to make sure everything was good for the two of you and go over our planned agenda when we get to the area of interest. We’re actually taking it easy, although our speed is now higher than any vehicle known to man other than my father’s ship. Actually, by this time they were completely outside of our physical universe, so in a sense we’re exceeding their physical speed. When I go to get my father, believe me, I won’t be moving in such a leisurely fashion.”
“We’ll be arriving in the designated area tomorrow. We’ll move across the area, mapping any potential hazards such as asteroids or comets and we’ll drop beacons next to any such hazard. After that we’ll plant probes in a wide grid so if they do arrive without means to communicate, we’ll detect their location within 24 hours. Finally, we’ll investigate anything else in the area we determine appropriate for our research and then return home. It’s actually probably
going to be very boring, but since we haven’t any idea what we’ll find on this historic voyage, I felt you two should have this opportunity.”
The Professor responded first. Julie suspected they had somehow determined that he would be spokesman for the two of them when a question was put to them together. “Don’t worry about us. We’re both thrilled by the prospect of being involved with such a historic voyage. Personally, I’m excited by the prospect of the science aspect. Who knows what we’ll find?”
Xiu quickly agreed. “I am completely in agreement with the Professor on this subject. Although I am not as astute regarding the scientific reasons, I am thrilled with the historical opportunity.”
The Professor added one more detail that helped explain the situation to Julie. “Don’t worry about us getting along with each other. We had dinner the other night and we had a very agreeable discussion of our roles in working together with you. Not that we won’t always maintain complete independence from each other.”
Xiu added. “I found that I really enjoy the company of the Professor, as he has asked me to call him. And with his scientific background, I’m already finding him to be a useful resource. Of course, he has a very delightful personality.”
The Professor went on, “Please don’t take this the wrong way. What gentleman doesn’t enjoy the company of a beautiful and brilliant young lady? So don’t worry about us. You just do what you need to do, and if we have any questions, we won’t hesitate to ask.”
Xiu turned to Julie and gave her a questioning look. “There’s one thing I have been dying to ask, but I won’t. But I can’t wait to see what the patents the two of you filed two days ago turn out to be.”