“Carry on ladies and gentlemen. We are ready for departure.” Slone moved to the captain’s chair, which was located near the rear of the bridge on an elevated platform that allowed for a full view of all bridge stations as well as the full expanse visible through the windows. To his right were small screens duplicating what the engineering station saw and to his left were small screens showing the weapons conditions and target readouts. The Hayden carried two types of weapons. The primary weapons consisted of 16 guns that fired one-ton projectiles with explosive interiors. There were six along the starboard side and an equal number along the port. These fired broadsides into targets on either side of the ship. There were also two guns forward and two astern for ships in those arcs. Energy weapons had been tried on ships in the beginning but were found to dissipate their charges at a short distance, whereas guns fired their projectiles using a modern version of gunpowder. Since there was no friction in space, they would hit with the same kinetic energy no matter how far they had to travel. The weapons crew set them for the distance to the target, at which point they would explode. This served two purposes. One was to explode after penetrating the target and the other was to explode if there was a miss so no innocent target beyond the hostile received a hit. They were the most effective ship weapons of the 32nd century.
The secondary weapons consisted of missiles, some explosive and some nuclear. The nuclear were for bombardment and the explosive ones were for ship to ship. Smaller projectile guns similar to the old Gatling guns of naval history were mounted around the ship for point defense against incoming missiles, meteors and space junk. All in all the Hayden was well armed and prepared for any eventuality.
At the rear of the bridge, well to the right of the captain’s chair, was the engineering station. This monitored all propulsion and the general well being of the ship. Three engine room crewmembers operated this station. They had constant contact with the chief engineer at his station in the engine room. Commander Hans Stueber, the first officer, was stationed with a second bridge crew in the CIC, to the rear of the captain's quarters, in case of failure or damage to the primary bridge. Even though the galaxy was at peace, the navy had learned from hard experience that when departing and arriving, all ships should be on a code yellow footing, ready to spring into action in case of a surprise attack. In any event, Slone felt the practice couldn’t hurt.
Slone turned to communications, to the right of navigation. “Sparks, signal us ready to depart and ask for clearance to the edge of the system.” Slone had to smile. The nickname sparks had been passed down throughout history to address the ever-changing crewmembers on communications.
“We are cleared to the system border. Ground control warns there is an ore freighter that will enter the slipstream about the time we will. They want us to observe it for any problems.”
“Understood.” Slone said, “Navigation, take us out.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
The navigator pushed the throttle forward and Slone felt the vibration through the ship as the Hayden broke orbit. The navigator put his hand around a joystick and moved it in the direction the ship should move and she responded to the helm. A signal arrived at communications whose operator stated, “Engineering reports all systems are nominal, the ship is cleared to navigate at will and we have received clearance from flight control to enter slipstream S2 for navigation to Bickle’s star.”
Slone watched as the moon and other nearby ships changed positions outside the bridge windows. “Ahead one third, course set to S2.”
“Aye, sir. Engine room acknowledges ahead one third. Course set to S2.”
The Hayden increased her speed as she began to put the mining base behind her and moved out of the nearby shipping traffic. All kinds of ships passed by, carrying cargo and asteroid fragments to and from the base.
“We are clear of shipping sir,” the navigator reported.
“Very well. Ahead standard.”
“Engine room acknowledges ahead standard, engines nominal.”
As the Hayden picked up speed, the moon fell rapidly behind and soon there was little to see ahead. “How long till we reach S2?” Slone asked the navigator.
“Approximately two hours.”
“Let me know when we approach. Sparks, contact the CIC and tell Commander Stueber he has the con. I will be in my ready room.”
“Aye, sir. The con has been transferred.”
Slone got up from the command chair and left the bridge to the usual statement from the guard. “Captain off the bridge.” He walked into his ready room and unbuttoned the top button of his uniform. He had always hated the starched collars they still had to wear. He got some apple cider from the drink dispenser and looked out of the window on the port side. Nothing moved since the Hayden was only a tiny speck in a star system with few planets and moons. Even if he had seen a planet, the distances would have caused it to move imperceptibly as they passed by. It finally hit him that this was his first mission as a ship’s captain. He had been the first officer of the Hayden for the past three years and was recommended for command by the outgoing captain, who moved up to a dreadnought class starship. This had happened a mere week ago and now he was captaining the Hayden. Over the next two hours, Slone relaxed as the vessel silently glided across the system. Just short of two hours after breaking orbit, the communications console on his wall beeped and Sparks’ voice came on. “We've passed the system horizon and we are positioned behind the ore carrier. Scans indicate she is running nominally and is about to enter the slipstream.”
“Carry on. I’ll be right there.” Slone got up, closed the collar button on his uniform and straightened his jacket. He then entered the bridge. “Captain on the bridge,” the marine guard announced and the bridge crew snapped to attention.
“As you were. Ask Commander Stueber to come up from the CIC. Give me a status report.”
The navigator gave his report immediately. “We have reached position behind the ore carrier and are stopped at a point clear of her back wash when she enters the slipstream. She should be deploying within the next 15 minutes.” Slone looked out of the forward windows and could see the ore carrier as a small speck in the distance.
“Magnify the image on the screen overlay.”
The communications crewmember pressed a button and put a visual overlay on the forward window. This turned the window into a screen with a real-time image of what was in front of the ship. There Slone could see the ore carrier, magnified to a point that all of the exterior details of the ship were visible to the bridge crew. As he was studying the vessel, Commander Stueber arrived from the CIC.
“Well Hans, not long and we will be away from Purgatory for while. I was beginning to feel the place was living up to its name.”
“Aye, Captain. I think we were all getting stir crazy. Any mission would have done for me but a rescue one suits us all just fine. Not much to it but a long round trip.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
The navigator interrupted. “She is starting to deploy sir.”
The ore carrier was an automated ship and all passing ships were always asked to make sure that automatics, as they were called, functioned properly or the vital cargoes may not arrive at their destinations. Bulk cargo vessels were automated due to the longer travel times they required. A ship like the Hayden could travel at speeds of up to two light-years per hour, whereas a bulk cargo automatic could only reach a maximum speed of one light-year per hour. When humans finally reached the edges of the Sol system to venture out into interstellar space with their probes, they discovered that intense energy winds passed from star systems to star systems. Due to the gravitational focusing of planetary and other bodies, some of this energy coalesced into dense streams of energy and matter combining to reach speeds faster than light. How to capture this energy and use it for interstellar travel became a top priority. No one can remember who came up with the idea first, but it became evident that the energy functioned as a kind of wind betwee
n systems and the right kind of sails could harness the energy. The streams were not a panacea, but they did make interstellar flight possible. The inherent problem lay in the fact that they only went one way and maneuvering within the streams was not possible. It took several centuries to map the routes followed by the slipstreams and the age of exploration had not yet ended.
As the bridge crew watched, the ore carrier came to a stop. She was a massive ship filled with enough ore to make a small asteroid. After the ship had come to a complete stop and the thrust engines where shut down, a circle of masts extended around the middle of the ship and sails began to rise between the masts until they formed a frill collar around the middle of the ship and extended two ship diameters in all directions. From the stern, a conical sail unfolded that was twice the diameter of the vessel with the tip of the cone pointing towards the ship. When the sails were completely deployed, an electrical charge was applied to one side of the bimetallic fabric of the sails. This charge on the aft side of the sails attracted and caught the star-wind. Suddenly the sails filled and the ship began to move rapidly forward and before she was out of sight, it broke the light barrier and vanished to the view of those watching.
“No matter how often I see that, it never gets old. Helm, take us into the slipstream.”
“Aye sir,” said the navigator as he pushed the joystick forward and maneuvered the ship into the stream. The energy was invisible to the human eyes but was visible on the sensor screen and all navigation into the stream was by instruments only.”
“Sparks, notify base that the ore ship deployed normally and has entered the stream.”
“Yes sir.”
“Hans dismiss the CIC crew. I don’t think we have any more need for them. All looks as quite as always. Someday they may finally put the two bridge rule to rest.”
Commander Stueber acknowledged the order and gave his orders through the ship’s intercom. As he was doing this, the ship entered the slipstream and it felt to Slone like the atmosphere in the ship became charged. A feeling many claim to have. Once the ship was in position, the thrust engines shut down and all vibration stopped, as the Hayden fell into silence.
“Engineering, deploy.” Slone gave the order and the engineering crew at their bridge station began pushing buttons. Two engine techs were for the amidships sail and two for the aft sail. The sail configuration on all ships but the dreadnoughts were the same, one amidships and one aft sail. Dreadnoughts added a third sail just behind the bridge. Slone felt the vibrations as the masts projected from amidships and as he looked through the window above him, he could see the upper masts extend and the sails move up them to form the frill. The posterior cone sail opened like an inverted umbrella with the tip towards the ship. This sail’s masts pushed against the stern as the ship moved. It was a stabilizer sail. Slone felt the jolt that indicated the masts of the frill locked into place.
“The sails are fully deployed,” said the navigator. “The helm is ready to energize on your command, Captain.”
“Light them up, Helm.”
The navigator threw a switch and Slone could see the top of the amidships frill begin to glow as the energy passed to the aft surface of the sail. The ship began to pulse as the sail attracted the star-wind. The ship lurched forward and started to accelerate rapidly. As they approached the speed of light, the starlight in front of the ship began to coalesce into a wall of white light, which dulled as it wrapped around the front part of the ship. By the time it reached the stern area, the light dimmed to almost black. There was a sudden, bright flash of light in front of the bridge and then all in front of the ship became a solid wall of white light while behind the ship all was pitch black with not a single beam of light able to overtake the vessel.
“We have broken the light barrier sir. Helm responding normally. Engineering reports all systems nominal. Speed is starting to level off. We have reached maximum speed for this slipstream of 1.75 light-years per hour.”
“How long till we reach the source of the distress beacon.”
“11 hours and 40 min to the edge of the Bickle system, Captain.”
“Set cruising status throughout the ship and have all but a skeleton crew of critical personnel stand down. We should all get some rest, in case we have a difficult rescue. Have all department heads assemble in my ready room one hour before arrival. I’ll be in my quarters.”
Slone got up and left the bridge to the usual note of, “Captain off the bridge.” He went through the ready room and entered his private quarters. He opened his jacket and poured himself a drink. The next few hours he spent catching up on reports and mail he had not checked for the last few days while on shore leave. Most of it was routine, stuff he would call junk. There was also a message from his ex-wife telling him she planned to finally marry the man she had been living with for the past decade and merge their families. She asked Slone’s permission to have his son’s stepfather adopt him when they were married. At first Slone had baulked at the idea the two times she had asked it before, but he had given it some thought and decided it may be best for all concerned. He would always live among the stars and his ex-wife and son had a permanent residence on a mining colony on the other side of the Sol system. She had wanted to put as much distance between herself and her old life that she left Sinclair space and moved into the borders of Highline Corporation space. His chances of having any dealings with his son were remote and he knew it as well as his ex-wife. From all accounts, the boy loved his soon-to-be stepfather and that was fine with Slone. He resolved to send her a message agreeing to the adoption as soon as they got back to Purgatory. Slone stopped reading mail and decided to get some rest before arrival at their destination. He went into his bedroom and lay down on the bed with no thought of falling asleep. The more he thought of his son the more he realized what a poor father he had been. His career was much more important than his family and it was only fair that he pay for that. Without realizing it, he dozed off. The next thing he knew, his adjutant was gently shaking him awake.
“Captain, we are approaching our destination and in 15 min the department heads will be arriving.”
“Why did you let me sleep so long, Sam? I did have some work to do.”
“Looking through mail that will keep is not exactly work. Anyway, it was obvious you needed some sleep after your last night of shore leave.”
“You my mother now, Sam?”
Samantha Jones had been Captain Slone’s adjutant since he took over the Hayden and she took her job seriously. She knew Slone ever since he had come aboard as first officer and now he was her captain. She knew that her captain was prone to hard living but was also a by the book commander who had some sparks of inspiration when they were needed. It was her job to keep him on track and to make sure he looked his rank at all times. “I have put out a fresh uniform for you.”
Slone grumbled but did what he needed to do. He entered the conference room just as the others were coming in and taking their positions at the table, but they remained standing until Slone took his place. “You may be seated, ladies and gentlemen. Anything unusual to report, Hans?"
“We are running steady with no disturbances in the slipstream. A message pod passed us sending our recognition code, so it’s a sure bet we’ll have a message waiting for us when we drop out of the stream. We passed that ore carrier a while back at a distance of 10000 kilometers, too far to get any backwash. She was making 1 light-year per hour and moving on a steady course.” The first officer gave his report and all of the department heads concurred with the summary.
“Ok, what do we know about our destination?”
"Bickle's star is a Red dwarf system." The navigator began his report and the star system appeared above the conference table with the red dwarf in the center. "There are 6 planets and 135 moons combined. Three planets furthest from the star are gas giants ranging in size from three to 20 Jupiters. The three inner planets are dead rocks with no atmosphere. Not my idea of a honeymoon spot."
"Maybe they were just passing through."
"The only developed place they could be going is Purgatory and from where they started that could only be a destination and not a pass through. They started at the government seat of sector 42, and then kept going further towards the outer rim of the galaxy. Getting back to the description, with your permission, Captain."
Slone nodded his permission. "There is only one slipstream into the system, the one we’re using, and three out. One is our way back to Purgatory with one system pass through intervening. One heads towards the core systems and one towards the outer rim of the Galaxy. We lost two robotic exploration ships going through so it has been listed as restricted."
"Which slipstream is our ore hauler going to from here?"
"She is scheduled to take the core-ward slipstream."
Slone gave that last statement some thought then said, “Very well, we will begin our search of the system from our entry point to the core-ward slipstream. If the yacht is there the ore hauler will just bowl right over her.”
As the navigator nodded acknowledgement of the plan, a signal from the bridge indicated the final approach to the system. “Ok, looks like we’re arriving at our destination. Let’s have a look at Bickle’s star. Hans get the CIC crew to their stations for system entry. Just in case they broke down near our entry point I want engineering ready to maneuver fast.” The chief engineer acknowledged this last order.
All signified their understanding and the group left the conference room, Slone to the bridge with the navigator and the others to their various stations within the ship. Slone walked the short ramp up to the bridge door, which opened at his approach.
“Captain on the Bridge.”
The bridge crew stood at attention, the primary crew was already notified of the imminent arrival. “As you were." Signal condition yellow throughout the ship and call the crew to battle stations.” The crew took their places.
Voyage of the Hayden (The Adventures of Christopher Slone Book 1) Page 2