Ep.#15 - "That Which Other Men Cannot Do" (The Frontiers Saga) (14 page)

“
Jumping,
” Josh announced without warning.

Again, Loki’s canopy turned opaque. When it went clear, Josh’s fighter was executing a hard right turn, right across Loki’s flight path. Loki pushed his nose down slightly to dive under him, and then rolled into a hard right turn to follow.

“
Climbing on one four five, at fifty meters per second,
” Josh reported.

Loki rolled out onto the same course heading and pulled his nose up while he added power to hold the same rate of climb.

“
Selecting range of two kilometers,
” Josh continued. “
After the jump, turn to three four zero, ten degrees down, at one thousand KPH.
”

“Fuck,” Loki mumbled, as his canopy turned opaque momentarily. He executed the next maneuver as instructed, changing course and diving toward the surface at a ten-degree angle at one thousand kilometers per hour. Then he pressed the link override button.

“
What are you doing?
” Josh asked.

“We’re not here to play games, Josh. We’re here to perform a series of two-element tactical tests.”

“
That’s what I was doing.
”

“You know what I mean,” Loki said, as he leveled off and turned to a new course.

“
Where are you going, Loki?
”

“I’m headed for the test range, like we were supposed to do when we first took off. If you don’t want to get another ass chewing from Prechitt, you’ll do the same.”

“
All right, all right,
” Josh relented as his ship pulled up to Loki’s left and flew alongside him. “
Killjoy.
”

Loki sighed.

* * *

“Skipper!” Jessica called from down the corridor, as she jogged up to Nathan.

“Lieutenant Commander.”

“I was wondering if I could skip the staff meeting today?” she asked as she fell into step beside him.

“Again?”

“It’s not like I have anything to contribute,” Jessica complained. “All you guys ever talk about these days is repairs and upgrades.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh, really? What’s on the agenda today?” she asked.

“Uh…repairs and upgrades.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“You going down to Porto Santo again?”

“That’s what I was hoping.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time down there, lately. Cameron says you’ve missed two training days on the Celestia.”

“Cameron is
way
too big on training.”

“Are you going to be able to handle the new tactical console?”

“It’s a piece of cake,” Jessica said. “Delaveaga took me through it in less than an hour. In fact, it’s a hell of a lot easier than the old layout.”

“Yeah, he used to complain about it a lot,” Nathan said. “He came up with the new design, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jessica replied. “And like I said, it’s a lot easier to use, so, no I won’t have any problem with it.”

Nathan sighed in resignation as he reached the door to the command briefing room. “What’s got you so busy down there, anyway?” he wondered. “I thought you were just going to train a few guys how to fight, and then let them train the others?”

“That was the plan. It’s just taking more effort than I expected. I don’t have a lot of time, remember?”

“I know.”

“Once we leave dry dock and get back on the liberation campaign, I’ll barely have time to check in on them once in a while.”

“Then I suppose I don’t have any choice, do I?”

“Not really,” she said with a smile.

Nathan looked her in the eyes. “Just be sure you know how to use that console by the time we leave dry dock,” he insisted, “or I’ll be looking for a new tactical officer.”

“No problem, Skipper,” she said, turning to depart. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” he replied, turning to enter the command briefing room. “As you were,” he said, before the guard at the door could call ‘captain on deck’. He despised the formality of having everyone stand when he entered the room, especially since the few people in attendance were all either close friends, or subordinates who he worked with on a regular basis.

Nathan made his way around the table, heading for his usual spot at the end. “You’re up, Vlad,” he said as he took his seat.

“All thirty-two mark one mini-quad plasma turrets are installed,” Vladimir began. “We now have twice the point-defense capabilities as before, without having to worry about running out of slugs.”

“Hardly seems worth it, since we usually jump away from incoming ordnance,” Mister Navashee commented.

“True, but if we ever lose our jump drive again, you’ll be glad we have the extra firepower,” Nathan replied.

“Speaking of jump drives, installation of the second set of field generators should be completed by tomorrow,” Vladimir said. “After that, all we have to do is wire up the second set of energy banks, and we should be in business.”

“Any word on reducing the recharge time?” Lieutenant Yosef wondered.

“Black Lab is still working on it,” Nathan said. “I talked to Tilly the other day, and they’ve made progress, but the prototype is still a few weeks away. Even then, it’s going to have to undergo a lot of testing before they’re going to put them into our ships.”

“How are they going to test them?” the lieutenant asked.

“Once we get enough gunships up and running, they’re taking Scout One out of service to use as a test vessel,” Nathan explained. He turned to Vladimir. “Has the Celestia’s cheng reported any issues with the two-stage jump system?”

“Not yet, but they are still waiting a few minutes between max-range jumps,” Vladimir replied.

“Still, thirty light years in a few minutes is nothing to complain about.”

“If the improved energy banks aren’t going to be ready for a while, maybe we should consider installing another set?” Lieutenant Yosef suggested. “Make it a three-stage system.”

“We don’t have enough room for another set of energy banks,” Vladimir protested. “Not to mention the heat exchange issues.”

“I think we can make do with a thirty light year max-range for now,” Nathan stated, trying to move the meeting along. “How are our shields coming?”

Vladimir glanced at his data pad. “One week.”

“The problem routing around the topside exchangers get solved?” Nathan wondered.

“I made them remove the damaged bulkheads and replace them,” Vladimir answered, a sly grin on his face. “They were not happy.”

“Is that going to set us back?”

“No, I ordered them to make sure it did not. That’s why they were not happy.”

“What about the super-tubes, Master Chief?” Nathan asked.

“Starboard side is going like clockwork, Captain,” Marcus answered. “Port side is being a bit of a bitch.” Marcus glanced at Lieutenant Yosef. “Apologies, sir.”

“What’s the problem?” Nathan wondered.

“It was pretty badly damaged. The heat from the plasma generators fused most of the decking around it into the framework below deck. We had to cut it all out and replace every spar at the start of the inboard tunnel.”

“Is it going to be a problem?”

“No, sir,” Marcus insisted. “I’ve got them working double shifts to stay on schedule. Those tubes will be ready by the time we leave dry dock.”

“It’s okay if they aren’t, Master Chief,” Nathan told him. “Better it’s done right, than quick. We can get by with the starboard tubes for a few days, if we must.”

“Don’t worry, Captain. They’ll be done,” Marcus promised.

“How is the training going, Commander?” Nathan asked, turning to Commander Willard, his executive officer.

“Latest reports show that A-shift is fully checked out in the new consoles,” Commander Willard reported. “They’ve scored high nineties in the last few simulations, as well. The emphasis is on B-shift now. Once they’re up to speed, we’ll be running mixed crew simulations.”

“How much longer until our bridge is ready?” Nathan asked.

“Two days,” Vladimir said. “They’re running final systems checks now.”

“I asked them to put the bridge in simulation mode once the checks are completed,” Commander Willard added, “so our crews can practice here, as well as on the Celestia.”

“Good thinking, Commander.” Nathan turned to Lieutenant Yosef. “How are the new long-range sensor arrays working out?”

“The ones on the Celestia are fantastic. Since our new ones are the same design, they should be good as well.”

“Are they completely installed?”

“Yes, sir. I just can’t try them out because we’re deep inside of an asteroid. But I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Celestia’s long-range sensor console, as has Mister Navashee.”

“Sorry you have to pull shifts on the bridge again, Lieutenant, but we’re going to be shorthanded until we get another shift trained.”

“It’s not a problem, Captain.”

“Very well, people. We’ve got nine days left to get this ship ready for action. Let’s get back to work.”

* * *

“
Many would argue that the technological benefits the Alliance has brought—such as Takaran fabricators and Corinairan nanites—are enough of a reason to maintain our relationships with the member worlds from the Pentaurus cluster,
” the reporter stated.

The camera shifted to Admiral Galiardi. “
I would agree that there have been benefits, but that doesn’t negate the diverging needs of the worlds in the Sol sector, and the worlds in the Pentaurus cluster. We are facing two completely different enemies. The flow of volunteers and resources from the Pentaurus cluster has significantly slowed, and what
is
still flowing are resources that we can produce right here on Earth. If the Pentaurus worlds were sending warships, I might be singing a different tune, but they are not. Nor will they be in the near future. Now that the Takarans have withdrawn from the Alliance, the worlds of the Pentaurus cluster have no choice but to concentrate their efforts on their
own
security.
”

The broadcast was interrupted by the intercom built into Admiral Dumar’s desk.

“
You have an incoming call from Doctor Galloway, Admiral,
” the comm officer said.

“Put her through,” the admiral replied, as he switched the main view screen from the recording of Admiral Galiardi’s most recent interview to the vid-link with Doctor Galloway at the research facility in Geneva. “Doctor Galloway. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“
I have good news, Admiral,
” the doctor replied. “
We have figured out how to get rid of the Jung nanites without causing any harm to the host.
”

“Really? That is good news. How did you do it?”

“
Actually, we designed an entirely new nanite of our own. Sort of a combination of Corinairan and Jung nanite technologies. The Jung nanites are self-replicating. They use materials found within the human body—more accurately, materials taken into the human body through the process of eating—to create new nanites. Under normal conditions, which we refer to as ‘stage one’, the Jung nanite hive only reproduces enough nanites to maintain their current capabilities. In stage one, that is simply to record information and transmit it on interrogation by an outside controller. If the nanite hive receives an order to grow to stage two, they begin producing more nanites, primarily for the purpose of keeping the host healthy, and to be able to record and store more data. At stage two, they can also initiate the transmission of data at will—either on a schedule, or when their data buffers are full. When given a stage three order, the hive produces even more nanites in order to provide control over the host body and mind, turning the host into an unknowing agent. I believe Lieutenant Commander Nash referred to it as ‘Jungifying’ the host.
”

“This is all very interesting, Doctor, but…”

“
By comparison, Corinairan nanites are individually programmed. They do act in hive fashion, but only within a limited scope. And they are not adaptive. Their programming must be regularly updated during the healing process for which they are used. The Jung nanites, on the other hand, can make decisions on their own.
”

“Smart nanites?”

“
In a manner of speaking, yes,
” the doctor continued. “
A certain number of nanites work together as a ‘hive brain’. That brain is able to make decisions that control the rest of the hive, based on the protocols for whatever ‘stage’ the hive is currently in.
”

“So, what is the solution, Doctor?” the admiral asked, growing impatient.

“
Well, we were unable to break the Jung nanite control codes. However, we were able to reproduce the Jung nanites in the lab. We were able to put an identifier in our Jung nanites that enable them to differentiate between our Jung nanites—which we refer to as ‘Terran nanites’—and the original Jung nanites. Furthermore, the Terran nanites have our control codes, not the Jung’s.
”

“I’m still not seeing the solution.”

“
We simply inject our nanites into the infected host, and let them fight it out. As long as we put in two to three times as many Terran nanites as there are Jung nanites, the Terran nanites will win.
”

“And this does not cause the host any discomfort?” the admiral asked.

“
No, sir. None at all. The interaction between the Terran and Jung nanites does not involve the host’s tissues. It merely takes place within the host. Therefore, the host feels nothing. And not only will the Terran nanites prevail, but they will then use the disabled Jung nanites as raw materials to replicate more Terran nanites. The overall result is a healthier host.
”

“Healthier? How is that possible?”

“
Since they are based on the Jung nanites, the Terran nanites are also ‘smart’, as you say. Their ‘hive mind’ can analyze the host, and make whatever decisions necessary to maintain the host’s overall health. We may even be able to program them to aggressively treat traumatic injuries without external commands.
”