A Calm Mind

by Ruairí Cinéad Ducantlin

  “Yes, the new ship’s FTL is just over two-point-four times faster than the Jenny. The sub-light speed is just under five times faster. This ship is slightly larger, is more heavily armed, and is an interstellar capable version of the Plentari planetary defensive fighters.”

  The question and answer session continued for another hour. When security teams confirmed the devices were removed, the crews toured the new ship.

  The following morning, Captain Raitt had instructed the senior officers to meet for breakfast on the Marissa.

  “Landry, are you suggesting we move out of Plentari space? Immediately?”

  “Yes, Captain Raitt. The new ship is the most advanced fighter in the Plentari system. It is very valuable and there are pirates who would love nothing more than to steal a fast ship with a lot of guns and a small cargo hold.”

  “Pirates? Space Pirates are a threat? What about celestial harmony?”

  “NT is that a rhetorical question?”

  “No Landry, it was not rhetorical, but I will ask it another way. How much of a threat are space pirates while we are moored?”

  “The Plentari defense forces have reported two unknown ships dropping in to the system but remaining on the outer rim.”

  “Landry open ship-wide comms.”

  “Ship-wide comms open, Captain Turner.”

  “All hands prepare to embark in one hour. Repeat, prepare to depart in one hour. This is not a drill, The Marissa, with the Jenny and the new ship will be in the slip-stream in one hour. Alert condition two until further notice. Comms down.”

  The crews began rushing around and preparing to depart Plentari.

  “The Marissa is advised to move to these coordinates.”

  The recommended coordinates appeared on the monitor.

  “Pass the coordinates to the bridge Landry. While we wait, let’s take up the real problems. Our orders, from the Celestial Council was to return with all three ships. But I suspect that is not going to happen.”

  “That Captain Turner, he’s a learning.”

  Captain Turner shook his head at Nick’s barb then looked from Corb to Lucinda and back. Eventually, Corb spoke.

  “Here’s what we are going to do.”

  “Landry is it possible for the K’an to transfer you to the new ship?”

  “Yes, Corb, it is possible to transfer my cube to the new ship. There is enough available power and the secondary table in the lab can be modified to secure my cube. However, I would not advise removing me from the Jenny until a replacement AI is secured. The FTL nacelle interlinks require monitoring that the current computers are unable to support.”

  “A new AI will not be a problem. We will receive the necessary assistance from the K’an to make the transition. The Marissa will drop from the slip-stream, when it is safe, and offload the ships. The Jenny and the new ship will head to K’an. The Marissa will head to Earth and start the mining process.

  When the AI transfer is complete, both ships will head to Earth. Any questions?”

  “What about emitters?”

  “What are you talking about Landry?

  “Emitters. There are no emitters on the new ship. I will be unable to project myself on the new ship.”

  “Oh, I see. How many spare emitters are on the Marissa and the Jenny?”

  “One-thousand, six-hundred and sixty-eight emitters are in storage.”

  “Is that enough emitters to outfit the Jexnell?”

  “Yes, only nine-hundred and three emitters are required to create overlapping project fields. Another sixty-nine will be stored as replacements.”

  “How long will it require to install the emitters on the new ship, the Jexnell?”

  “Many of the crew members have experience in installing the emitters on the Jenny and the Marissa. Using the crew from the Marissa, it will require five-hours and forty-seven minutes to install the emitters on the new ship.”

  “Josh?”

  “Landry, please send a roster to the duty officer. Also, open a channel to the bridge.”

  “Done.”

  “Bridge here. Yes, Captain?”

  “Lieutenant, Landry sent you a duty roster, they are to muster immediately and begin installing emitters on the new ship. Landry will tell them where to place the installations.”

  “Captain, some of the crew on this roster are asleep.”

  “Wake them up. Get the emitters installed before we drop out of the slip-stream.”

  “Aye, bridge out.”

  Joshua nodded to Corb and then to Landry. The silence was broken with a question.

  “What are we going to name her?”

  “That, Ragnar, is a very good question. I propose we give the honor to Cass. She was key to our understanding of the Plentari.”

  The officers all nodded approval to Lucinda’s suggestion.

  “Landry, please request Cass to join us.”

  “Confirmed, she will arrive in four minutes”

  The command crew waited in calm silence.

  “Lucinda, you asked for me? What’s up?”

  “Cass, we have decided to give to you the privilege of naming the new ship.”

  Beaming with pride, Cass took the only available seat.

  “I don’t want you think I am presumptuous, but I have been thinking about a name. I was hoping someone would ask for a suggestion. I did not expect to be able to pick the name.”

  “You deserve it, we have learned a lot from you.”

  “Thank you, Lucinda.”

  Cassandra paused, apparently in deep thought. It was a ruse, she knew what she was going to say.

  “Well?”

  “Is it possible for you to relax, Nick? No? I didn’t think so.”

  When the chuckling died away, Cassandra continued.

  “The new ship will be called The Balam. It is the Maya word for Jaguar. Christened the Balam, we will call her The Jaguar. The Maya revere the Jaguar. Like the Jaguar, the new ship is sleek, intelligent, and fierce.”

  The loud applause, table pounding, and cheers hurt Cassandra’s ears.

  “Landry?”

  “Yes, Captain, Raitt?”

  “Can you officially change the ships designation?”

  “Yes, I will change the control parameters on the ship and send the appropriate registration messages to Plentari and the other planets.”

  “Thank you. Joshua, Himari, how do we want to handle the transition?”

  “When we return to Earth, I am going to ask for a reassignment. I want to work with Davinder and Jan. Being on these ships is not for me. I can better serve the Coterie from Q’eqchi.”

  No one was surprised by Himari’s declaration, they meekly nodded acceptance of the change in their group paradigm. She continued.

  “I suggest this as an option. I will continue as captain of the Marissa until it returns to Earth. A new Captain will be assigned before the mining operations begin. Josh will take the Jenny and a small crew. No more hot bunking on the Jenny. The Coterie will transfer from the Jenny to the Jaguar.

  Presuming the AI transfer completes quickly, all three ships should arrive at Earth about the same time. Landry, how long for the Jenny to return to Earth?”

  “We are entering the slip stream now and will travel for nine-hours and seventeen minutes before dropping out of the slip-stream at the designated coordinates. After offloading the Jenny and the Jaguar, the Marissa will require four weeks and one day to reach Earth.”

  Everyone paused while the slip-stream transition effect passed over the ship and the crew.

  “Damn, four more weeks. I can live with that I suppose. Does this plan work for you, Lucinda? You are the ranking officer.”

  “Except for you staying on Earth, I like the plan. Josh?”

  “Agreed. Corb?”

  “It is exactly the plan I would have suggested. You will be missed Himari.”

  “Thank you Corb. Thank you all. Anything else?”

  “Yes, Himari, how did you come by the nicknam
e Mitsuki?”

  Eyes wide with surprise, and cheeks blazing red in embarrassment, Himari eventually twitched her cheek and replied.

  “Landry, you will not be forgiven for this breach of confidentiality.”

  “Himari, I had nothing to do with sharing your secret. There are others on these ships with access to personnel files.”

  Looking around, Himari stopped her glare at Lucinda who just smirked and shrugged. Himari relented.

  “Lucinda, do you know what it means?”

  “I do, but I think you should tell everyone else.”

  “Lucinda, you will pay for this.”

  “I think you might want to speak to Davinder.”

  “What? Really? Hmmm… The name, or nickname, Mitsuki translates to Beautiful Moon. Japanese women are very polite and very subdued. For an educated woman, from a respected family, to do anything risqué or sexually overt is considered highly improper. Some still consider it shameful for women to act in a manner to be noticed.”

  Nick interrupted.

  “This is going to be good.”

  Ragnar punched Nick in the arm. Himari continued.

  “There was an event at university. A debate. Winning a debate is highly prestigious in Japan. I was the debate captain and we made the finals. We argued well. We won. The judges… We knew the judges were against our team. The other team had won several years in a row. They were expected to win, and the judges expected them to win.”

  Himari was interrupted by Josh.

  “I think I know where this is going.”

  Himari turned redder and continued.

  “When they were announced as the winners, the audience sat in stunned silence. No one applauded. We had won and everyone… everyone but the judges knew we had won the debate.

  I was the team captain, I had to do something.”

  Himari stopped and leaned over to whisper a question to Lucinda. Lucinda’s response was heard by all.

  “Yes, that is the correct word in English.”

  Himari, beamed and with red faced pride, finished her story.

  “I had to do something. Honor was required. I mooned the judges.”

  “When the laughing subsided, she put the cap on her story.

  “Mitsuki is the correct nickname, I have a beautiful moon.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Five-year mission…

  “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”

  Mahatma Gandhi

  Aboard the Jaguar

  “The Carina Celestial Council is not going to be happy. Do you plan to contact them soon?”

  After receiving the transfer of Landry from the Jenny, the Jaguar left K’an and is in the slip-stream headed for Gowah. Corb and Lucinda are talking to Joshua via the FTL link. The AIs are keeping the micro-wormhole open while the Jaguar races toward the Core.

  “The Council will understand when the request is fulfilled.”

  “What request Corb? What are you talking about? Davinder says the Council is upset.”

  “Landry, can you connect the Jaguar, the Jenny, The Marissa, and Q’eqchi on an the FTL comms link?”

  “Yes, Lucinda. The Jenny is not moving and can create a stable link to Q’eqchi. I can maintain the link to the Jenny.”

  “Please open the link to Q’eqchi.”

  “Stand by… Link established.”

  The main monitor on the bridge of the Jaguar re-converges with a split screen image. On the left was Captain Turner on the Jenny, the middle was Captain Himari on the Marissa. On the right was Jan sitting at the Q’eqchi conference table. Without introduction, Jan began speaking.

  “Sis Corb! You are a baff. You go where the Bergwind blows. You have some deep kak with the Council now. Davinder will be here in five minutes. Guard your arse, it is about to be chewed."

  “Whoa, slow down. What did he say?”

  Lucinda turned to Landry with her question.

  “Major Kruger said Corb is acting in a repugnant manner and asked if he was a feortan. It means to break wind. Moreover, Jan indicated Corb is prone to whims and flights of fancy, blowing wherever the wind will take him. He also indicated Corb is in a high level of excrement with the Carina…”

  “That’s enough we got the rest. You called Corb a stinky fart blowing in the wind! I like it!”

  “Yes, Lucinda, some of his decisions stink like bad wind.”

  Everyone radiated in quiet amusement at Corb’s discomfort while Davinder took the seat next to Jan and jumped right into the conversation.

  “Okay, cowboy, what did you do now? Wait, I have another question first. Why are there three command chairs on the Jaguar?”

  “That question is buried in the premise of why we are talking. First, the Jaguar, with the Coterie aboard, is headed to Gowah, on the edge of the Core. This ship was built to specific design parameters. Landry, please rundown for Davinder what you learned about the Jaguar. Also, record this meeting for playback to the Council.”

  The Landry avatar stepped from just off the image being projected to a spot just behind a triangular riser that contained the three command chairs. Easily rotated the triangle shaped riser turned to place the person designated in command closest to the front of the bridge. Currently, Lucinda was forward on the triangle, with Corb left and rear, and Janish right and rear. Landry responded to Corb’s request.

  “Certainly. The Plentari…”

  “Hold up. How did you gather this information?”

  “Colonel Khatter, the source of the information is Jexnell, the Plentari Madame Negotiator. She contacted me directly and, via a secure link, sent the information I am about to communicate.”

  “How and when did she contact you?”

  “Colonel, the Madame Negotiator contacted me during the incident where her predecessor was executed for failure to uphold the honor.”

  “You mean, when Corb and Ragnar executed the assassin and her mother, you were exchanging data with Jexnell? The person with the most to gain with the death of her predecessor?”

  “That is correct, Colonel, but it is coincidental, not causal.”

  “How so?”

  “The requirement to build the Jaguar, and to trade it for ore, did not originate with the Plentari.”

  “Oh, I see. Please explain.”

  “Certainly. The Plentari were instructed to build the Jaguar. The specifications were provided to them by the Xjaal. Principally, Aapo presented the requirement to build the Jaguar to the Plentari. He stated the directive to build the ship came from the Core. The new ship was to be a gift to the Enlightened One, but the Madame Negotiator used it to sweeten the negotiations for the ore. Jexnell knew the ship was to be gifted and objected to the lack of honor, by Junell, in the negotiating process.”

  “Pause for a moment. It would have taken months, or years, to build the ship. How did Aapo know we would trade with Plentari?”

  “That, Colonel, is one of the questions we are attempting to answer by traveling in the Core. Back to the topic. The ship was built to accommodate two specific requirements.

  First, it is highly defensible. The Jaguar can defend itself against all known ships with similar or less displacement. Only a large planetary defensive platform or the newest Core System’s battle cruisers could seriously harm the Jaguar.

  Second, the ship was modified to be controlled by the Triad. That is why the three command chairs are on the bridge riser. The Triad’s connections can be extended to the Jaguar. Independent of the Triad, the Jaguar can be flown by just a navigator and an engineer. Or one AI. Without the Triad, or the AI, in a battle, all stations will require manual control.”

  “Landry stand by. Lucinda were you aware of these details prior to taking control of the Jaguar.”

  “No, Davinder, I was unaware of the details Landry is now describing. But it makes sense. Jexnell never fails to act with honor. Second, she saw an opportunity to rise to the highest office of her
people. Her actions were based in honor. Honor according to Plentari code. Killing Junell and Junella was honorable in every aspect. If we had allowed them to live, anything short of execution, would have long-term repercussions for humans.”

  “Corb and Ragnar killed the assassin ringleader, but you said if we had allowed them to live. Also, explain long-term repercussions, please.”

  “Well, Davinder, we are one. The Coterie is a collective that acts as one through the connections. The Triad is unlikely to act if one of the other two connections objects to the act. Furthermore, humans could not afford to let word travel across the galaxy that humans were unwilling to abide by the laws and customs of a planet or a culture.

  Failing to act, according to local laws and customs, would have doomed humans to a reputation of being weak and unable to step up to becoming an interstellar trading power.”

  “I understand the ideals. What I don’t understand is how the Triad knew which specific customs to follow.”

  “That, Davinder, was Tarunik’s foresight. He had Corb’s neuro-net, his brain, connected to the information grid through the nanobots. The AI cube also connects to the nanobots. Tarunik hedged his bets. He bet Corb was the Enlightened One and took a chance. The Enlightened One had to survive and appear omniscient. He won the bet.”

  Jan interrupted the dialog.

  “What keeps Corb, and now Michelle, from becoming a cybernetic organism? How do we know the nanobots won’t take over and create a cyborg?”

  Landry responded to Jan’s question of fear.

  “Major Kruger, the answer to your concern is straightforward. The nanobots are not sentient, they are a collective, but they are not self-aware and have no ability to become self-aware in their normal state. Also, if they become sentient, they are bound to Asimov’s three laws.

  Continuing, the Jaguar was built specifically for the Triad. Or, it was built for a Triad. Without the Triad the Jaguar is nothing more than a defensive fighter on steroids. With the Triad in control, the Jaguar is the most powerful vessel in the galaxy.”

  Landry’s last sentence stopped the conversation cold. After several long seconds, Davinder resumed the meeting.