Cindy nods as she replies, “We left much of that area vacant in case of radiation issues. Not a bad place to hide actually,” she adds with admiration.
“Hello,” says a fear filled voice, “Can anyone hear me?”
Cindy does not answer the stowaways, but instead contacts Hayato and Radclyf, and informs them of the situation.
Forty minutes later, six teenagers stumble sheepishly onto the bridge. The three young men and women look quite abashed. Apparently the two combat veterans barging in with raised weapons was enough to intimidate the strongest of their souls.
Joe grins as he returns the ship’s systems to normal.
Cindy taps her fingers on her chair’s arm rest, then points to one the girls and demands, “What were you thinking?”
The girl gulps, then hesitantly responds, “We thought it would be fun.”
“Fun,” Cindy replies, then with a mischievous grin says, “Captain Thompson, will you please return these children to Earth.”
“Yes ma’am,” John replies.
Under escort from Radclyf and Hayato, the group makes its way to the hangar deck. Once there John takes one of the larger shuttles and flies them all to the Australian facility. The flight is fast and rough as John gives the young men and women a ride they will not forget. Once on the ground, the shaken stowaways are handed over to General Hayes.
While they are gone, Peter and Cindy review the crew roster one more time.
Robert is putting together a report on the stowaways, so he only half listens to the pair as they sound off each section and tally the numbers. Catching the final count, he exclaims in surprise, “Three thousand, one hundred and thirty-four people. That’s a lot!” He adds, diverting his attention from his report.
Cindy responds casually, “Well, we had more on board when we went to New Earth. Besides,” she adds, “almost twenty-five hundred are the Army Corps of Engineers. Then we have Emma’s team of three hundred and sixty-four and David with his sixty mercenaries, so our actual crew is...” She pauses and reviews the numbers before her, and then continues, “A mere two hundred twenty-four.”
Peter grins cheekily at the mentioning of David’s men, and says, “I am sure the mercenaries won’t be happy to know we had stowaways right under their noses.”
Cindy nods in agreement.
John returns to the Terran, and while he makes his way to the bridge, Radclyf and Hayato find David to discuss future operations.
As soon as John steps onto the bridge Cindy takes a deep breath, then says, “Well, now that’s out of the way. Let’s get going. John, take us to the asteroid belt.”
John grins and replies jokingly, “I wonder if anything else could possibly delay us?” As soon as the words leave his lips he feels awful, he had not meant to direct his words at Radclyf’s actions. He quickly taps a series of symbols on his console.
The Terran accelerates away from Earth, bringing more of it into view as they move away. Johns stares with pride as America swings into view. His smile freezes when he observes the California coast line. He shudders at the sight, he had forgotten about the massive earthquakes that turned the long coastline into numerous small islands.
Robert catches John’s focus and says, “I was there when the explosion set off the San Andreas Fault.”
“The California Isles, is their name now, isn’t it?” Joe asks, although he is pretty certain that he is right.
“Yes.” John replies, then adds, “They’re made up of almost one hundred islands.”
Tapping a few more controls, John engages the Terran’s sub-light engines, then slides the controller to eighty percent. He does not like to be reminded of the calamity that befell America, and is much happier when the Terran leaps forward.
It does not take them long to reach the fringes of the asteroid belt that exists between Mars and Jupiter. Cindy leans forward and says, “Slow us down. I want to test the rail guns.”
Joe feels a slight buzz as his adrenaline kicks in. He glances to John, then Peter, with trepidation. The guns have never been fired, but will do so, in theory. While John searches for a suitable target, Peter recalls the procedure he has memorized. He imagines the cables that trail all the way to bridge, then glances at the doorway where a bundle of thick cables snake their way through newly added ports above the doorway. Most of these cables connect the Gamin computers, with their specialized adapter circuits, to GUS. His eyes follow one of these cables all the way to a control box which hangs from a mount on the ceiling. He stands, reaches up, and swings the box down so that it rests within easy reach, without blocking access to his console.
While watching, Cindy says, “I hate to sound stupid, but I don’t recall seeing that before.”
“We had to install it,” Joe responds, then he explains, “the controls for the rail guns were originally with the weapons themselves, which meant that someone had to be with each one to fire it.”
“Fair enough,” Cindy responds, then says, “now that you mention it, I do recall seeing it on the list you sent me of upgrades and changes.”
John stares at his navigational plot, then says, “I have a few candidates in view, and will try to find a good one for our test.
Peter opens the lid of the box to reveal two dials. He stares at them and grins at their simplicity. He lifts each one to release them from their locked position, then turns them both clockwise until they click at the first mark. He announces, “Outer hull plates lowering.”
The forward section of the Terran’s main hull is almost flat, with only the upper and lower two levels sloping inward, the remaining sixteen levels create a blunt nose effect. In the very uppermost forward section of the ship, two sections of armor slowly slide downward.
Resting approximately midway along the main hull, are the five command levels. They appear to be an addition, rather than part of the ship’s original design. The uppermost of these houses the bridge, and it is from here that the crew observe the weapons test.
Peter turns both dials to the next mark and says, “Moving weapons into firing position.”
Joe glances up from his console, then with a deft motion adjusts the main view and says, “Both guns should be coming into view.”
Cindy squints as she tries to spot the open panels, then says, “They’re pretty widely spaced.”
Joe sighs, “Yeah, and not only that, the Gamin power unit that was installed, when we were kicked off the ship, is between them.” He shakes his head disapprovingly, then turns back to monitor the test from his console.
Peter shakes his head, and with disgust in his voice adds, “Lazy bastards. The hull was already damaged by the nukes, so they simply installed everything, then patched up the holes.”
“Yeah,” Joe says in agreement, and then adds, “that’s the main reason we wanted the second power unit installed in the hangar deck. That puppy up front is pretty exposed should we run into anything.”
John tilts his head toward Joe and wonders if he is making fun of the time he rammed the ship into an alien space station.
Joe catches the intent look and frowns in confusion. Suddenly he recalls their first encounter with the Kord, and laughs heartily. In between chuckles he says, “I was not being literal, but,” he shrugs his shoulders and adds, “if the shoe fits!”
Emma points excitedly at the forward view and says, “I can see them!”
Cindy flicks an annoyed glance at Emma, as she is still unable to see them. Looking forward intently and squinting, she frowns when she finally notices movement. From the two distant openings in the ship, a pair of long barrels begin to extend through the shields.
Joe grins as he says, “At least they installed these weapons on tracks so they could move. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if they were fired from inside the shields.”
George, who has been listening, adds his thoughts, “I doubt that it would be a real issue, we only have navigational shields. But,” he adds in earnest, “if we are successful in our mission, we may be
able to secure the more powerful combat shields, and I am sure that would be a totally different story.”
Peter monitors his console intently, then grins as he questions John, “You think that one?”
John replies with pride, “Go big or go home. Right?”
Off in the distance a massive asteroid spins, one easily half the size of the Terran. Joe reviews the ship’s data on the asteroid then scoffs, “You two would make poor astronomers.” Joe shakes his head as he adds, “That’s a baby, and I can’t believe it took you so long to find one, the asteroid belt has millions that size.”
Peter blinks at Joe in surprise, and replies indifferently, “I never really looked much past the moon.”
“You I can forgive,” Joe says, motioning to Peter. He then adds jokingly, “But John here, he calls himself a shuttle pilot.”
John grins and immediately replies, “Those days are long gone.”
Cindy stands up and interrupts their banter. Chastising them, she says, “Will you boys quit talking, and shoot that damn thing so we can get going.”
“Yes ma’am”, intones the three men. Though the words are sincere, all three sport wide grins.
Peter stares at his console intently, then after a few moments, he turns both dials to their third position and says, “Charging weapons.”
A red light shines next to each dial. Peter stares at the Gamin console and can see from the navigational plot, that the ship is aimed straight at the asteroid. Fifteen seconds later the light changes to green, and while turning both dials to the last position he says, “Fire!”
The fully charged rail guns launch their projectiles at incredible speeds. Even though the asteroid is as close to the Terran as the moon is to Earth, it still takes an agonizing thirty-five seconds for them to traverse the distance. During this time both weapons recharge, and thanks to an automated loading mechanism, are ready to fire again.
The entire bridge crew stares intently at the asteroid, which shows no sign of being struck. The seconds tick by, when all of a sudden the large asteroid splits into smaller chunks, each of which spins off in different directions.
“Yes!” cheers Peter as he pumps the air with his fist enthusiastically.
Cindy smiles and says, “You make it sound as though hitting that massive target was difficult.”
Peter faces her and replies, “It’s tough. The guns don’t move, so John has to line up the ship with the target before we fire.”
Cindy nods in understanding, then says, “Are you guys happy now?”
Joe grins as he replies, “They work pretty darn well.”
“Good,” Cindy replies, “now can we get a move on?”
John grins widely as he activates the ship’s sub-light engines, and moves them up and over the asteroid belt. After double checking their telemetry with Joe, and confirming that the rail guns are secured, he turns to Cindy and says, “The main drive is ready at your command.”
Cindy leans back in her chair and orders enthusiastically, “Punch it!” She loves the phrase, and grins as John engages the Terran’s main drive. She stares at the view screen as the ship accelerates. The kaleidoscope of colors that bombard the ship’s shields are relaxing and mesmerizing to her.
Robert stares at the visage then suddenly recalls an inquiry he received by one of his fans. He turns to Joe and says, “Hey, I have a question for you.”
“Sure, fire away,” replies Joe willingly, his thoughts still on the weapons test.
“How is it that this ship travelled so far on two percent power, and yet when you guys returned you had to go slower, and recharge the ship’s capacitors at regular intervals?” Robert frowns as he is perplexed by the apparent anomaly.
Joe nods his head at the valid question, and replies, “I get asked that a lot actually.” He takes a deep breath, and then begins his explanation, “We are familiar with engines where we supply fuel in accordance to how fast we wish to travel. Imagine, if you will, the accelerator on a standard car. The driver presses the pedal, fuel is supplied, and the vehicle moves.”
Robert shrugs his shoulders and says, “Right, and?” He adds questioningly, still not understanding where this is going.
Joe continues, “Now with Gamin technology, the premise shifts. These controls,” he says, waving at the stations in front of Cindy, “set the ship’s desired speed, then the engines draw the power needed to fulfill the request.”
With a shake of his head Robert says, “Yes, but all twenty nuclear reactors only supply a fraction of the ship's standard power levels.”
Joe shakes his head and replies, “Yes and no. The safe output level of the reactors is two percent of the power grids capacity. But you have to understand, the Gamin drive system is not concerned with our safety limits.” He sighs and then reluctantly admits, “We hooked the reactors directly into the power grid, and then we installed GUS as an interface between our technology and the Gamin systems.”
Robert’s jaw drops as he begins to grasp what happened. With a shaky voice he says, “So the drive system just took over?”
Joe nods slowly, and adds, “Even worse, the Gamin systems ran the reactors well beyond their tolerances, causing two to begin to melt down. You see, this technology is designed to use Gamin Power Units, along with immense capacitors.”
Robert stares at the controls in front of Joe and says, “So if you set a speed, the ship will do anything it can to achieve it.”
“The Gamin race survives by being able to flee when they need to, everything else is secondary,” continues Joe.
“Surely not everything?” Robert questions with a scoff.
Joe stares at Robert with a steely gaze and says, “From what I have gleaned, the reason these command levels are separate, is so that the bulk of the ship can have its power requirements reduced, or even cut off, if needed. The only exception to this is their hatchery, which seems to get the highest power priority of all the ships systems.”
Robert stares back while he ponders Joe’s words. He scratches his head, then asks, “I still don’t get how two percent could have done it?”
Joe shakes his head then says, “Mate, when the reactors were overloaded by the system, they somehow used up many years of fuel in a few hours.” He holds up a hand to stop Robert from replying, and adds, “Olaf spent a long time absorbing the radiation, and even then, he had to isolate a couple of the reactors.”
George, who has been listening to the whole exchange, turns and adds his words, “If we had not stopped when we did, every reactor would have melted its way through the deck. As it is, they all required substantial repair efforts when we returned.”
Robert tilts his head then asks, “It sounds like having them is dangerous and risky. Why didn’t we remove them?” His gaze shifts from Joe to George while a frown deepens on his forehead.
George nods, then replies solemnly, “Because we know that if we absolutely have to, this ship will burn them to the ground to keep us moving.”
Robert is too stunned to reply as it dawns on him that the reactors are a last ditch survival tool. Even if the radiation kills us, the ship will keep moving. The thought does not comfort him in the least.
Joe sighs, then adds somberly, “The Gamin ships are designed to sustain heavy damage, and still be able to flee. I think it is a sad way to live, constantly on the run.”
A chill runs up the back of Robert’s neck, then with trepidation, he says, “What if we run into whoever is fighting the Gamin?”
Cindy interrupts the conversion and replies confidently, “We have a greater understanding of this ship, more power, and weapons this time.” She turns her gaze to Robert and adds, “We will either run or fight, depending on the situation.”
“Couldn’t you just talk to them?” Robert asks naively.
“We are in a Gamin ship,” Cindy replies bluntly, “and we have been shot at simply for that reason.”
Robert asks apprehensively, “Then why are we going? It sounds much more dangerous than I thou
ght it would be.”
“With great risk comes great reward,” interjects Peter. With a smile, he adds, “and the rewards for success far outweigh the risks. Besides, we have been to both target planets, and saw no signs of any tangible threat.”
While the others talk, John steadily increases their speed. His finger slides the main drive bar further and further, then stops. He performs a number of calculations, then turns around and proudly states, “Factor six point three and holding. We will arrive just outside the Oglan system in thirty-five days.”
Cindy grins and says, “Great work.” She stretches, then adds, “I’m hungry. Who else wants to go to the mess hall?”
As Robert’s thoughts turn to his notes, he has an idea. He smiles and says, “I would like to commemorate this day by taking a picture of you all first.”
“Why not,” Cindy replies with a smile.
It takes a while to get everyone together. The group stands with their backs to the main viewer. Robert looks through his camera lens, adjusts the focus, and then smiles. He sets the delay to ten seconds, and then rushes forward to be included in the picture.
John, Peter, Radclyf, and Robert stand in the middle of the back row, with Patrick and George standing on either end. The front row has Cindy and Hayato standing in the middle, with the shortest members of their group, Emma, and Joe, on either side.
Emma reviews the image on Robert’s digital camera and cringes. She puts her hands on her hips and says defiantly, “You all make me look shorter than I really am!”
Joe is the second shortest of the group, and although he grins at her comment, he remains quiet. Once everyone has reviewed the image, and given their appraisal, Cindy leaves for the mess hall.
Location:
Hawking
New Earth
General Walker stares at the reading, then glances at the two fishermen. The small boat rocks on the lake as the three men carefully change positions. None of them want to fall into the cool waters.
Alliance (Terran Chronicles Book 4) Page 10