by E. N. Abel
''Can you be a bit more specific?'' Coleman asked.
''Well, last time I checked, a spaceship contains far more than just a motor and a generator. I mean: navigation systems, environmental systems, a galley, bunks, food, water and air regeneration systems, a shit-house. Such things.''
''And ...?''
''See, I understand we don't have their technology to build an intra-solar drive of the type they so obviously have. OK. But we do know a lot about the rest. The size of the sphere. The composition. The standard components they used - you do have all the documentation we found in Spangdahlem - right? Like some parts list. Including those for the grav generators and the AM reactor, s'far as I remember.''
''So? They're just collections of materials.'' Dearing responded, now interested.
''Let's get the stuff, everything they have on those lists. Put it on a heap. Maybe buy material for a few of those spheres at once. If I remember correctly the Lieutenant talked about one-point-three million Euros per craft. Pocket change for NASA.''
''And when we have that stuff'?''
''Build the spheres, of course. Reverse engineer from whatever data we have: photos, movies, radar pictures, Mike's remarks, our memory. Install everything we can without knowing the exact specifics of the drive system, prepare half-built shells for the moment until we know how the rest works. What did he say? Six weeks max?''
Again the NASA managers exchanged looks. Dr Coleman spoke up: ''You are suggesting to replicate their spaceship?''
''Yes. At least prepare everything so we are ready when the veil over the machinery is lifted. Then complete it, fly to Mars and stick our flag in the sand there first.''
''Have you seen how they plastered that thing together? They glued their radar on the outer hull!''
''Why?''
''Probably didn't dare to drill holes into their balloon,'' Carter replied in disgust. ''were afraid they couldn't seal 'em off airtight again.'' He snorted scornfully.
''Can you do better?''
''Absolutely!''
''So do it,'' Warrington shrugged. ''But in the end I believe it doesn't matter.''
''What makes you think that?'' Nora Coleman now sounded curious.
''Because those kids - the ones whose construction methods Dr Carter so obviously despises - have a space craft positioned over the Moon's north pole, and got there in what ... four hours? Tell me: how long does NASA need for such a trip nowadays?
An embarrassed silence followed.
Again Dr Coleman broke it: ''So you are suggesting we build such a sphere and prepare for the turnover of CERN's data?''
''Yes, that about covers it.''
''And the next step? Wait till CERN is gracious enough to publish the knowledge?'' Carter retorted acridly.
''No, we can act earlier.''
The officer 's deliberate words had arisen Nora Coleman curiosity. She now watched the Colonel closely.
''What do you have in mind?''
''Way I see it, two things are missing. One: the knowledge about how to manipulate gravity. Two: the construction details of that reactor. As for the fuel ... well, CERN does have a workable antimatter production unit, s'far as I know. With a working gravitational device.''
''You want to steal it?'' Dearing sounded aghast. ''Oh God, have you forgotten what happened there a few days ago? That valley is still glowing.''
''Who said anything about stealing?'' Warrington retorted.
''So what do you want from them?'' Carter wondered.
''Good lord, is it really that difficult? Buy injectors with antimatter, of course.''
''What for ... ?'
''Stupid question. For using them in an antimatter reactor, what else?''
Now everyone was stunned.
Nora Coleman said weakly: ''But we don't have one ...''
''No problem,'' the Colonel replied offhandedly. ''I'll ask Mike for the plans.''
''What Mike?''
''Lieutenant Michael MacMillan.''
''But how?!?''
Warrington sighed, pulled the little box from his pocket. ''See, what he really wants is to keep us - meaning everybody - from producing antimatter on our own, at least for some time. Not from using it ... especially in a spaceship.'' He squeezed the box, exactly like Mike had whispered to him. It began to blink, then MacMillan's voice sounded from the box.
''Sir?''
''Mike, I need the construction plans for the antimatter plant. The one you have in your ship.''
That caused a quiet laughter. ''Figured it out, did you?''
''You know us old farts ...''
''Write this down.'' A web address followed. ''Password 'morning dew'. That's MORNING SPACE DEW. There you will find what you need. You have two days head start. What will you offer CERN?''
''For the antimatter? Whatever they want.'' Warrington replied, dismissing the issue.
''I'll give them a call, tell 'em not to overplay their hand.''
''Thanks Mike, I owe you.''
''No sweat Colonel. De oppresso liber!''
The connection broke. Warrington put the box in his pocket then slid the paper slip with the web address to Dr Coleman. She looked at it unbelievingly, then handing it over to Carter who pulled his computer closer.
''Why did you do that?'' Coleman asked, astonished.
''Because I'm American.''
''And why did he do it?''
''Because he's American.'' More so than you dolts he didn't have to add.
''But why did he bounce us so hard on that landing field?''
''One: you acted like assholes, playing The Great NASA and the little dwarfs. With a US Special Forces officer. A combat-proven one, I might add.'' He ticked off his fingers. ''Two: how many people were listening in and watching, recording the whole event with their mobile cameras? Three: what people were listening in?''
The two NASA managers took deep breaths and leaned back, thinking it over.
After a minute Carter, typing on his laptop, exclaimed: ''Design data and construction plans for an on-board antimatter reactor. And even the control software as Java sources.'' He looked up. ''That makes one of two.''
''More,'' the Colonel replied. You can nearly finish that new ship now. And I bet the effort to build the antigrav devices is just a child's play.''
A moment of silence followed, then Dr Coleman said: ''I don't know how to thank you, Colonel.''
Warrington stood. ''That's all right. But a warning to y'all: I stuck my head out rather far today and my name is in the game now. So don't you dare abuse that shit.'' He turned and left.
The apparent threat lingered in the air for a while, leaving the NASA people a bit perplexed. Then they started in earnest. A completely new project had to be set up and set into motion ASAP. This time there would be no budget restriction.
Chapter 92
Moon Orbit
Friday, 25.11.2016
It was 'night' again in the ship. Chan, dead tired, was clinging to her desk. In front of her a small thesis paper: 'Introduction to Burkhard Heim's geometrical space-time theory'.
Only fourteen pages long, it contained the most massive mathematics she had ever encountered. She had studied it carefully, read it and read it again and - always at page six - she had reached the end of her tether. She sighed heavily: what an assignment.
The new sliding door to her room, installed a few hours ago by a thoughtful quartermaster, was pushed aside and the wonderful smell of hot chocolate streamed into her nose.
She tried to turn, but the newcomer was faster, put a large pot in front of her. It was ... Alex, of course. Looking after her again, caring for her, kind as he was.
''Here, Mai-Lin, drink this.'' He threw himself into the only other chair. ''Doctor's order. Lot's of sugar in it. Bad for you, but jazzes you up a bit.''
Watching her tiredly take the cup and drink, he waited until the pot was empty, then walked to her seat, picked her up like a child and carried her to the lift.
Chan, completely t
aken by surprise, did not resist at first, then put her arms around him and drew closer to his warmness.
Alex, holding her tight, jumped into the lift's zero-G zone and drifted down, then entered the deck where her bunk was located. With a few steps he reached her place and set her down on her cot.
Chan got up, fetched her nighty from under the cover blanket, then held out her hand. ''Show me to your bed.''
This time it was Alex who was caught by surprise. Seeing his hesitation, she reached for his hand and, smiling tiredly, drew close and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
That woke him up. He turned to the lift and led the way, down to Deck Four, the engine deck, and his domain.
After reaching his sleeping place - a bunk barely wide enough for two - hidden behind the AM reactor, Chan unceremoniously took off her clothes and threw them on a chair beside the bed. She put on her nighty, slipped under his blanket, moved to the wall and made space for him. Alex looked petrified. Again she held out her graceful hand, took his and pulled invitingly.
''Hold me in your arms, please.''
This plea made Alex surrender. He kicked off his shoes: ''Until you fall asleep, Mai-Lin. Only until you fall asleep. I'm not done for tonight.'' He slipped under the blanket and the girl moved closer, snuggled into his arm and uttered a satisfied sound. A minute later she was fast asleep. Alex held her for a while, enjoying her smell and her warmth, her soft hair, her slim arm over his chest. Inhaled her sweet breath. In the end it took a major effort to untangle himself and get up. He had to perform a maintenance cycle: the environmental systems could only be serviced at night. With a long sigh and a strong feeling of loss he turned away from the wonderful woman in his bunk. Well, there is always tomorrow ... and the night shift would not last forever.
Suddenly Alex felt at home.
Chapter 93
Beijing
Monday, 28.11.2016
A knock on the door made Xao look up. ''Enter.''
His adjutant Feng Chin came hurrying in, holding a computer pad. ''General, there is a call for you.'' Seeing the expression on his superior's face, Feng went on: ''A call coming through our comm satellite four ... from the Moon...'' A now very astonished Xao nodded, and the Lieutenant tapped on his pad. The big flat-screen on the back wall of the office lit up. A few seconds of digital snow, then the picture stabilised: the worried face of Chan appeared.
''Good morning Chan Li,'' the General opened the conversation.
''And to you, General Xao,'' she replied after a two-second delay, thereby reminding everyone where she was. ''Good morning to you also, Lieutenant Chin.''
The two men nodded shortly, clearly curious about what would follow.
''An hour ago Captain MacMillan called me to his room,'' Chan began. ''He told me that he, as an American citizen, had responsibilities towards his country and that he found himself in a situation where he had to honour them.''
The two men kept quiet, but traded a knowing look.
''He revealed to me that he had given the construction plans for this ship's antimatter reactor to NASA, two days ago.''
That was what the Head of Intelligence had feared all along: nationalism. He nodded to Chan: ''Please proceed.''
''He then said he knew that many people on board had equal obligations to their country, too and had to serve their civic or military duties.''
Again the two traded looks, this time wondering where this was heading.
Chan took a breath, obviously deeply moved. ''Next the Captain handed me the access codes to the ship's database, and to the section with the construction details of the reactor as well. He told me that the comm officer had orders to help me with the transmission of this data to whomever I choose.'' Again she needed a short pause. ''So here it is. Prepare for download.''
Ling looked speechless at his superior, but Xao kept his eyes on the woman. ''Are you sure the data is for real?''
''Yes, General. Beyond any doubt. I've seen the working reactor, have had the chief engineer explain things to me. Also I trust the Captain's word. These plans are genuine.''
Xao took a long look at his protègè, then spoke very softly: ''You know, you don't have to do this, Chan. I mean: using the fairness of your new friends in this way. Behind your back they could see it as a betrayal of their cause.''
''I told the Captain as much, and here is his answer: there is no betrayal in preserving your integrity. He said that if I would not be loyal to my soldier's oath, how could he trust me in the future?'' She wiped away a tear.
''But hear this, too. The Captain asked me to urge you, even to plead with you to use this technology in peace - and better, only in space. It's exceedingly dangerous if used incompetently or if it falls into the wrong hands. Installations with antimatter technology need the utmost protection.''
Stunned the two men stared at the screen, saw Chan nod to a person outside the field of vision. A downloading icon in the screen's left corner immediately started blinking, and a progress bar rushed forward. Thirty seconds to go ...
''In a moment you will have the construction details, but you cannot produce the antimatter itself. The Captain told me that CERN is willing to sell AM fuel to China - in fitting injectors and at a very reasonable rate - so you can get your reactor to work. You just have to contact the Director, Dr Kaiser. He's expecting your call.''
Xao continued staring at her for a moment, then caught himself: ''I don't know how to thank you.''
''Sir, there is more.''
The two men again traded a look of wonder: more?
''In four weeks CERN will release a preview of these peoples' knowledge to a selected audience. The CIA, the MI6, the DGSE, SVR, and ... to you personally, General Xao.
The preview contains far more and detailed data than the public one, which will be released two weeks later.'' Chan leaned forward. ''With this knowledge you can build interplanetary spacecraft on your own. But to exploit the Solar System effectively and in peace the Captain urges that the leading countries should form a consortium, a united space agency.
''To work in this endeavour together - unconditionally and without too much self-interest - and to reap the results together. Space is humongous and there is room for everyone, as well as plenty of danger. May I ask you to give the Captain's suggestion a thought?''
The data download ended and Chan seemed to have received a signal from the side. ''You have the data now, but you will find it fractally encrypted, to prevent it from falling into wrong hands. Feng Chin knows the password, it's the pet name he gave me on the first evening in my office room, when he covered me.'' She saw Feng trying to remember, then nod. ''Good. Now, sir, I will end this transmission. With it I am resigning from your services. Do you accept?''
''Yes, I do.'' Xao then took a breath: ''And I hereby also release you from your soldiers oath. I wish you luck, Chan Li. Good-bye.''
''Thank you Sir, and good bye. Good bye Lieutenant.'' The connection broke.
For a few minutes nobody said a word, then Feng Chin summarized: ''Our decision to set Chan free by sending her file to the ship was right.''
''And honourable,'' the General replied. ''We have a hell of a woman in that vessel.''
Early as it was, he opened a cabinet and extracted a bottle of baijiu, the Chinese liquor. He filled two glasses and handed one to Feng.
His adjutant took it: ''What now?''
''Now, my friend, a new age has it's beginning.''
They clinked their glasses and sent a silent salute into the morning sky.
Chapter 94
Moon Orbit
Friday, 02.12.2016
A full week had passed since the last meeting of the star drive team. A week packed with pressure, doubts and frustration. Now Chan had called the others, ready to make a statement. Mike and Alex arrived on time, the latter bringing a small cooler bag with him. They sat down and stared at Chan, radiating expectation.
The woman took a long breath. ''I called you here to ... to ...'' Another deep bre
ath. ''To announce my surrender. I failed. I am sorry.'' A deep sigh followed. She looked at the two men, wondering why there still was expectation in their eyes? ''I did everything I could. Read the text books. Searched the internet - by the way: thank you, Alex, for setting up that hub so quickly - fiddled every equation apart, fractionalised it, checked it, put it back together.'' She sighed again. ''Nothing. I could find nothing. To me those equations are mathematically correct beyond doubt.''
''So what else did you do?'' Mike asked, tensely.
''Why do you think I did anything else?''
Alex laughed. ''Your General Xao didn't send your file here for nothin...''
Chan threw him a warning look, then went on: ''OK, I tried every trick I've got on board here. Tried to transform it, reduce it, derive it. But everything says that this monster equation is correct.''
''And ... did you get any valid derivations? Proven beyond doubt, too?''
''Yes, Captain. One. Of thirteen dimensions.''
''Proved conclusively?'' Mike asked, watching her furtively.
''Yes,'' Chan replied, wondering. ''I have a nice, stable proof for it, too, but that wasn't ...'' Suddenly she remembered something Alex had said, on their first evening here in the galley ...'' She stopped dead in her tracks.
The two men started howling, slapped hands. Confused by that crazy behaviour, she took a moment longer, then she felt a 'CLICK' inside her head.
''You damned ...'' The accumulated stress of the last seven days, induced by the constant fear of failure, simply was too much. On realising that she had been set up, she blew up and just went ballistic: ''You damned bastards!'' Turning to red-hot fury in a heartbeat, she switched to Chinese, firing a rapid string of angry syllables at the laughing men. Even more heated up by the on-going laughter, she jumped at Alex and started beating away at him, chest, arms, whatever she could reach - just to be drawn in close and trussed up by him. The men kept laughing, and after a minute she surrendered, started to laugh and to cry and to laugh and to cry ...
It took them a while to calm down. Alex, still holding her tight, placed a kiss on her cheek. Mike bent forward, pulled a bottle of Champagne and three glasses from the cooler bag, put them on the table and filled them.