by James Rosone
“So what does that come out to in dollars?” Liam asked, his hopes rising a bit at the thought of a windfall about to be bestowed upon them.
The man’s fingers were already pecking away on the calculator, adding up how much his entire haul was worth. A smile crept across his face as he looked up at Liam. “Captain Dasani—you just brought in more money in this single load than you have in the last ten years. The load is worth eight billion when it’s all said and done.” The man let out a laugh of excitement when he realized how extensive his own cut would be. “Drinks are on you tonight, my friend. You’re now the third-richest independent miner in the Belt.”
Liam felt a sudden rush of excitement at the news. He’d thought his load might be worth a few hundred million—enough to buy most of the supplies they needed and still stash a bit away in the bank. But this—this was huge. He could buy Sara enough engineering Synths to get their motley collection of ships repaired and either put them to use mining in the Belt or resell them for a profit back here at the MOS.
Later that day, Liam made his way over to where a number of the shops on the station were set up. The promenade had a host of merchants selling just about anything he could need. For deep space miners like himself, it was an opportunity to stock up on some hard-to-find items or things they couldn’t fabricate themselves.
Liam walked into the Walburg Industries store and made his way over to the back, where they had several Synths on display for prospective buyers to look at. One was labeled a domestic. This was the type of Synth you used to help with daily chores and household duties, to include assisting with children. Another was a builder Synth; these were the most popular. They were used in nearly all construction-type projects, programmed to build just about anything he could think of, and they knew how to do it, and do it well. There was a mining Synth. These were big in the Belt. They were experts in zero g mining operations and could operate in the vacuum of space for days. Then there were the engineer Synths. These were the most expensive ones—the ones that knew how to build ships, repair them, and perform complex tasks that required incredible computing power and knowledge. They were also the one type of Synth Sara had asked him to buy.
Liam knew they needed a few more of them, but they had been financially out of reach. They had one, but they needed a lot more to accomplish what they were trying to build. Looking at the price tag, he saw they had gone up too. They were now fifty million apiece. The builder Synths were thirty million, and the mining Synths were twenty million. None of them were cheap, but since his people knew how to employ them, they could earn their money back in a couple of years and then they were just profit machines.
“Checking out the latest Synths? You have any you want in particular?” asked the shop manager, eying Liam suspiciously like he was just another tire-kicker wanting to look but lacking the money to purchase one.
“I run a small outfit out in the Belt. But yeah, I’m looking to purchase a few Synths.”
The merchant lifted an eyebrow. “A few, you say? How many and which kind are you looking for?” he asked skeptically.
“I’d like to purchase five of the engineer Synths, twenty mining Synths, and twenty-five builder Synths,” Liam replied.
Before the man could open his mouth to shut his request down or say something snarky, Liam pulled out his smart wallet and showed him his account balance. The man’s eyes went wide when he saw the amount, and then his entire demeanor changed.
Now sporting a warm smile, he said, “That’s a hell of a small outfit you run. You know, I just so happen to have those Synths on hand. Let me draw up the paperwork, and we can get them delivered to your ship.”
This ought to speed up the construction of our new outpost, Liam thought happily as he continued his shopping spree. Now, if I could just find some additional weapons to purchase for our ships…
Chapter Eleven
A New Adventure
John Glenn Orbital Station
RNS Rook
Miles Hunt stood there for a moment, holding his wife tight in his arms. A couple of tears ran down his cheeks as he fought to maintain control of his emotions. He could feel her heavy breaths as she too struggled to keep from becoming an emotional wreck.
Pulling away, he looked at her beautiful face. Those deep blue eyes that stared back at him were moist with tears as her mascara threatened to smear across her face. He used his thumb to wipe them away before they washed away her makeup.
“Two years, babe. I’ll be back in two years,” he said softly, trying to convince her it wasn’t so bad. She leaned in and kissed him. He tasted the salt from her tears on the side of his lips. They held that kiss for a moment before pulling away.
“You better be back in two years, or I’m going to have to find someone younger. Someone who’ll stay put with his wife,” she joked as she wiped another tear away.
Stealing a look around the room, Hunt saw many of the other married crew members doing the same thing he was—saying goodbye to their loved ones for what would surely be a long and tough mission. This tour was different from previous deployments in the solar system. It was going to take them six months to travel to this new system; then they’d spend another ten months exploring the area before returning to Earth. Presumably, when they returned, either their ship would be reassigned to Sol, or they’d be escorting their families and thousands of colonists to the new world they had discovered.
Hunt looked at his wife one last time. He gave her a good long kiss and one final hug before he said goodbye. Without waiting for him to leave, she turned and walked away. Several other spouses did the same thing, heading out of the departure gate of the station. They’d start the daylong journey down the beanstalk back to Earth and the rest of their lives while their loved ones would travel on to discover a new planet and possible second home world for humanity.
Fixing his uniform blouse, Hunt turned on his heels and started walking toward the connecting gangway that would lead him back to his ship. As he advanced down the walkway, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this deployment was different. It was more than just the discovery of a new planet. Something deep within him felt like this deployment was going to change humanity—hopefully for the better.
*******
With the crew on board and the last of their supplies loaded up, the walkway connecting the Rook with the orbital station disconnected and retracted away from them. The docking clamps holding them in place separated next, allowing the ship to float freely in its berth. A small tug moved forward and pushed them out of their docking position so they could initiate their maneuvering thrusters. Once they had been pushed a sufficient distance from the station, the helmsman gently applied some power to the auxiliary thrusters while the main engines spun up their primary propulsion system.
This would be their first cruise with the new magnetoplasmadynamic or MPD thrusters. They would provide the Rook with a lot more speed for interplanetary travel and acceleration as a warship. The Rook, the Voyager, and the smaller supply ship, the RNS Gables, were the first ships to be equipped with the newer MPD thrusters. Up to this point, nearly all space vessels had been outfitted with either an EmDrive or an Ion thruster system for interplanetary travel. While those were effective, they didn’t have the same speed and thrust the new system was capable of. The MPD thruster worked differently, using the Lorentz force—the force on a charged particle by an electromagnetic field—to generate substantial thrust, up to two hundred newtons. The fielding of this new propulsion system would ensure that the Republic would dominate interplanetary travel for several decades to come.
The new propulsion system was also revolutionary in that they had designed the new ships with forward-facing thrusters as well. In the past, a ship would have to turn around as it started its deceleration toward a station or planet. Now, by adding thrusters to the front of the ship, they could eliminate the need to turn around. Considering these were warships, the Republic Navy wanted to keep their heavily armored front a
nd weapon systems pointed at the enemy at all times. It was a revolutionary design change that would have a profound impact on all future ship construction.
As the Rook put more distance between themselves and the station, the helmsman steadily applied more power to the MPD thrusters, and they headed further away from the station to take up a position near the Voyager and the Gables.
As the Rook approached the two ships, they decelerated using the forward-facing thrusters until they came to a halt next to the much-larger Voyager and the Gables. The Gables was about the same size as the Voyager, only it was unarmed, being a supply ship. Two thousand, four hundred and eighty-four sailors, six hundred and forty-two Republic Army soldiers, and two hundred synthetic humanoids were setting off to make history.
In a few hours, the public would be told about the discovery of the habitable planet in the Rhea system and the expedition that was being sent to settle it. This news, of course, would set off a firestorm of activity worldwide as excitement and anticipation of what would be discovered by both the expeditions to Alpha Centauri and New Eden would filter back to Earth.
Hunt looked at the ships floating in space before him and smiled. He felt incredibly honored to be joining this expedition.
Turning to his executive officer, Commander Asher Johnson, he said, “XO, bring up a screen showing the shipyard, will you?”
Nodding, Johnson ordered Lieutenant John Arnold, the operations officer, to put the shipyard up on one of the two main screens on the bridge. A moment later, the expansive shipyard popped up on screen. He asked them to zoom in a couple of times until they had a much better picture of the yard and the activity taking place.
Captain Hunt walked toward the screen in front of the bridge, then turned around so he could face his bridge crew. Pointing to the image of the mammoth hulls being worked on, he said, “Before we leave on this mission, I wanted to show you what’s being built while we’re away. These ten massive hulls you see under construction are the new Ark-class transport ships. These ships are going to be pivotal to the expansion of the human race into the stars.”
He paused for a moment as he turned to look at them briefly. “Each one of these ships is going to be six kilometers in length. They’ll be able to house thousands of passengers at a time. When we return to Sol in two years, these ships will be nearly halfway done. A decade from now, they’ll ferry hundreds of thousands of people to this new system. What we do on this mission is going to change the course of humanity. The heavens are being opened up for mankind. Now it’s time for us to step forward and seize it.”
The bridge crew clapped as he finished his little speech, thrilled to be on this incredible adventure with him as their captain.
He held a hand up to quiet them down. “We are all making sacrifices to be on this mission. Some of us are married, some of us are parents with little ones and a spouse staying behind. My wife and I recently celebrated our thirty-first year of marriage, and I’ve got two kids of my own now entering the Academy. This is going to be a tough mission for most of us. But know this—we are creating a better future for our loved ones and our country. Your sacrifices are not being made in vain. They have a purpose, a meaning, and one day, historians will write about what we’re doing today with fondness and gratitude.” Having concluded his little speech, Captain Hunt walked over to his command chair and took a seat as the bridge crew nodded in agreement.
“Captain, we’re receiving a message from the Voyager,” announced Lieutenant Molly Branson, his communications officer.
Hunt smiled at the mention of the Voyager, knowing Admiral Halsey would want to make her own speech. “Send it to my station.”
Hunt looked at the small screen before him and watched her message. She was sending over some last-minute adjustments to their jump route. He nodded to himself. With current technology, their FTL drive could only run for a week at a time before they’d need to drop out of warp and allow the capacitors a day to recharge before continuing on. The third-generation FTL drive was twice as fast as the second-gen, but it was an energy pig.
Knowing this trip was going to require a number of stops along the way, Space Command had planned on leveraging those stops to continue its mission, gathering data on the systems they needed along the pitstops. They had also developed a plan to establish a rudimentary communication line between the Rhea system and Sol. When the fleet dropped out of warp, the Gables would deploy a deep space telescope along with two FTL-equipped probes. They intended to string a line of communication buoys to allow them to move information between the Rhea system and Sol. With their third-gen FTL drive, they could cover two light-years in a month. It was believed they’d be able to cut that at least in half within a few more years, but not until they figured out how to create new reactors that could generate substantially more power than their current fusion ones.
A few minutes later, his communications officer announced, “Transmission coming in from the Admiral to the Fleet.”
Time for her speech to the troops…
“Go ahead and pipe it into the rest of the ship,” Hunt ordered. He wanted the rest of the crew to hear the message she was about to deliver.
“Attention. This is Admiral Abigail Halsey speaking. Today marks the first day our people will venture beyond our solar system,” she began. “Our fleet was initially built to travel to Alpha Centauri and the Centaurus constellation. However, when our deep space probes explored the Rhea system, it carried out an extensive scan of a planet called Rhea Ab in that system. The planet, as it turns out, is a near clone of Earth. It has a breathable atmosphere and is only approximately five percent larger than Earth. This means its gravity is not that much more powerful than our own. It’s an ideal planet for us to colonize. When this discovery was made, it was determined that we should forgo the Alpha Centauri expedition in favor of this mission.”
Hunt saw broad smiles on the faces of his bridge crew and knew the rest of his team must be smiling as well. They had all been disappointed when word had come down that the Alpha mission was scrubbed. The senior leadership of their little fleet knew they had been given a better mission, but most of the crew did not. They knew only that they were heading to a new system, nothing more.
“There’s something else I need to tell you. While we were unable to detect any electronic signatures or spot any life forms, our scientists did find evidence to suggest there may be life on the planet. As such, we have a small first contact diplomatic group that will be accompanying us on this trip.
“When we arrive in the system, the Rook will begin a more detailed survey of the system and the surrounding area while the Voyager will focus on looking for signs of life and, if we find any, make contact with them. We will also begin a survey to identify where to establish the colony and our first city on this new planet. The Voyager will stay in the system for fifteen months, gathering information and carrying out various geological studies. We’ll then leave the colony and our Republic Army battalion on the planet while we transit back to Earth to report our findings.”
She continued, “If things go according to plan, we will see the largest migration of humans in history to our new home world, or we’ll find an alien race and look to establish a peaceful coexistence. For the time being, I need everyone to focus on their tasks at hand. Train, study, and be ready for this new adventure when we arrive. Admiral Halsey out.”
When her transmission ended, there was silence on the bridge for a moment. Most of the crew turned to look at Hunt. A few had big smiles on their faces. A few had questions; only one looked annoyed at the deception. Hunt felt he should handle that problem soon, so it wouldn’t develop into something later.
Standing up, Hunt grabbed the handset that would allow him to speak to everyone on the ship. He cleared his throat. “This is the captain speaking. I know many of you have been surprised by the admiral’s speech. Some may be happy; some may feel misled. I want to explain something to you. Rhea Ab, otherwise known as New Eden, is an opport
unity for our country to start over on a new planet—one that hasn’t had the environment destroyed or plundered by the titans of industry and war,” he explained.
“Most of you know our home world, Earth, has taken an environmental beating, especially after the last Great War. The damage done from the multiyear-long nuclear war has brought our planet to the brink. New Eden offers humanity a chance to start over. This had to be kept a secret until the last minute. As most of you know, the Space Exploration Treaty expired earlier in the year. That means we’ll be able to legally lay claim to New Eden as ours, just as the GEU and Asian Alliance will lay claim to the planets in the Centaurus system. Had we joined that expedition, our country would not have been able to put our stake on either of the two known planets in the system we’re headed to. New Eden represents the best opportunity for our country and humanity to thrive and grow.”
Hunt paused for a moment as the bridge crew waited to hear what he’d say next. “For the next six months, I want everyone to study every nugget of information the probes bring us. I especially want you guys to start studying the system: the moons, planets, suns, and everything else we have on record about where we’re headed. Our focus isn’t on the colony or the search for life on the surface, but on the exploration of the system. The probe says there is one more potentially habitable planet nearby. We need to determine if it can, in fact, sustain human life. We also need to look for signs of possible alien life on this other world and the moons as well. I want everyone to know that we can do this. I trust you implicitly with this task. Now, let’s get back to work. We have a lot of information to analyze and absorb before we arrive.”
Chapter Twelve
Killing Time
RNS Voyager
Troop Deck
The air smelled of dirt mixed with some sort of floral essence. The birds sang a soft melody in the trees above. A couple of parrots squawked, adding their own noise to the jungle. Master Sergeant Brian Royce moved slowly, deliberately, one foot in front of the other. From time to time he looked down to make sure he didn’t inadvertently step on a tree branch or somehow miss a tripwire or landmine.