The Last Immortal : Book One of Seeds of a Fallen Empire

by Anne Spackman

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  Vaikyur’s biggest battle in the construction of the new space cruiser was over materials. He insisted on the best, and the Minister of Industry finally gave in. Vaikyur would not back down, and he relished his quiet victory. Too often in the past, the government’s attempts at stretching the budget for new space cruisers had resulted in the purchase of faulty parts, and Vaikyur had been obliged to attend the funerals of all the men and women who had died when the ships blew apart or crashed.

  For the past three tendays, Eiron had been juggling his time between routine patrols with his unit in Ernestia, maneuver training at the Gakano Leraestava e Lil-lieraya, and quiet moments when he could document his engine plans. And then there were the progress meetings with the specialists who would be doing the actual construction of the first craft.

  It wasn’t until the third tenday that the superalloys from Celin, Tiasenne’s orbiting space station, were brought to the Command Center’s cargo bay 3B via cargo shuttles and the construction could begin.

  Now Vaikyur was on his way to observe the lacing of the hull plates on the superstructure that had been completed almost a week and a half before. As he reached bay 3B, his groundcar nearly collided with a transport of specialists leaving for home at the end of their shift. The whine of breaking air behind him signaled the arrival of their replacement crew.

  Five hundred crews of seventy-five men and women had been hired from specialist guilds in Ernestia’s military affiliated supply vessel construction complex, the remainder being regulars from Command Central’s payroll who specialized in the construction of single space fighter manned space cruisers.

  The scope of the assignment had necessitated recruiting more specialists than worked for the Command Center, and though the government had enthused over the project since Eiron’s meeting with Secretary Mahlinswur, Vaikyur had all but twisted the arm of Secretary Nortinn for additional funds. The government often gave verbal support but then faltered when it came time to pay the price.

  Of all the thousands of ships and fighters the government produced, only the comet fighters maintained a high standard of quality. Vaikyur opined that many of the rest merely provided numbers to fulfill Ezáitur’s increasing production forecasts.

  However, it was convenient for driving purposes, Vaikyur reflected, to have these underground tunnels connecting Command Central and the Academy’s hangers to the more remote Headquarters building. For example, if he wanted to breathe down Nortinn’s neck for immediate action, he didn’t have far to go.

  And it seemed the last meeting had been productive, Vaikyur noted with pleasure as he observed that the ores he had ordered had already arrived. Over the next several hours, he watched as the first hull and its internal cosmic-ray shield neared completion. At that time, the crew would begin work on padding out the interior skeleton with the leftover plates.

  It would take months for the interior and engine work to be completed; the hard part would be ensuring that the fragile interconnecting conduit network was installed properly. Once the interior work had been completed, work on the second hull would begin.

  Additional circuitry connecting the first and second hull would have to be synchronized with the main operative system within. The air locks between the first, second, and hull “skin” would be built and tested, as would the hanger, upper deck defense cannons, and the second deck main laser battery.

  Finally, the hull “skin” would seal the ship, a ten micro-nariar thick layer of superalloy, smooth and seamless. If the skin were breached, the second hull rotary plates would be shifted beneath to secure the aperture. Even if a volley managed to penetrate the skin, second hull, and first hull to the interior rock shields, the moveable layer of overlapping plates that composed the second hull could secure the ship and preserve its internal atmosphere and artificial gravity.

  Vaikyur couldn’t help but marvel at the ingenuity behind the plans. No one had ever come up with such a brilliant new technology, or devised such an effective system of shields before, and most of Tiasenne’s vessels were about as sturdy as flypaper. If an ordinary cargo or carrier ship took a direct hit, even in Tiasenne’s atmosphere, it was all over. Eiron had revolutionized the industry—and at the same time improved safety conditions for a starship’s crew.

  Speaking of the boy, where was he? Not like him to be late, he thought. But maybe if he didn’t insist on working to all hours, he’d be able to get up a little earlier.

  Semper enim falsis a vero petitur veritas. Falsehood always attacks truth in the guise of truth.

  —Seneca

  Chapter Eighteen