Ep.#5 - "Rise of the Corinari" (7 page)

“So quickly? It seems like you only started on them yesterday.”

“Actually, it was four days ago,” she corrected.

“Really?” he asked in disbelief as he tossed another slice of root into his mouth. “Guess I lost track of time.”

“I do have some concerns, however,” she admitted as she began to eat. “There are some minor differences in the materials used for replication. It may affect the output of the new emitters.”

“Will that be a problem?” Nathan asked between bites.

“I hope not. If the variances are minor, then the other emitters in the array should be able to automatically compensate. However, if the variances are too great, we will have to recalibrate the entire array, which would also require that we rewrite all the transition algorithms.”

“Is that difficult?”

“No, it is mostly automated. It is just time consuming, as the algorithms are quite complex. It would take at least a day or two to rewrite them, and then several more days to complete validation.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Nathan said. “We only have five days left before that comm-drone reaches Takara and begins transmitting.”

“So, is that why you asked to speak with me, Captain?” Abby asked. “To get an update on the jump drive repairs?”

“Not exactly,” he admitted as he finished the last of his root salad. “I meant to speak with you a couple days ago, after our status briefing, but I’ve been busy.”

“How can I help you?”

“Have you had much time to examine the Takaran FTL comm-drones?” he asked.

“Not really,” she admitted, “but they appear to use the same mass-canceling fields that this ship was originally designed to utilize. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was wondering just how much kinetic energy one of those comm-drones would have if it struck another object while at FTL velocities.”

“I’m not entirely sure, Captain, but it would definitely be more than this ship could withstand, if that’s what you were thinking.”

“I wasn’t thinking about this ship, Doctor. I was thinking about Takaran targets.”

“You mean, like a faster-than-light missile?” she asked, a bit surprised by the concept.

“In a manner of speaking, except it would be more like a projectile, as there wouldn’t be any way to significantly alter its course while at FTL speeds. I’m just wondering if the mass-canceling fields would rob the projectile of its kinetic energy as well.”

“I do not know,” she admitted, “but I would expect that at the moment of impact, the mass-canceling fields would collapse, and the drone’s original kinetic energy would be conserved.”

“And that would be enough to take out an enemy ship?”

“It would be enough to take out an entire planet, Captain,” she corrected, shocked at his understatement. “However, you do not need FTL velocities in order to accomplish your goal. Any significant fraction of the speed of light would provide more than enough kinetic energy to do the job. In fact, the only advantage the FTL velocity gives you is that the target cannot see it coming. The problem is in the timing. To intercept a moving target using an FTL drone would require extreme precision.”

“Not if they were flying directly toward the incoming drones. You said so yourself in the meeting a few days ago,” he reminded her. “That’s where I got the idea. If we launched the drones toward the target, then jumped in and engaged the target, getting him to chase us, we could lead him directly into the path of the incoming drones. All we have to do is jump clear at the last second. Hell, we could even put a small explosive device in the drones to blow them apart a few seconds before impact, so the debris would spread out and be more likely to hit the target.”

Nathan looked at Abby, noticing that she seemed apprehensive about his idea. “What’s wrong? You don’t think it would work?”

“No, it probably would, as long as the timing was correct,” she admitted.

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing really. I just do not believe this was what my father meant when he said the jump drive would change everything.” Abby looked down at her hands which now lay in her lap, remembering her father. “He was never a fan of weapons research,” she added in a soft tone. “He felt that such efforts usually resulted in a subversion of science.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, we’re not actually using it as a weapon, just as a means to utilize another weapon. Besides, I’m sure your father knew that the technology would be used in such fashion, sooner or later.”

“Yes, of course,” she admitted. “But he had such dreams for it. Exploration, colonization, communications—he imagined humanity colonizing the entire galaxy, maybe even the universe someday. He would spend hours theorizing on its myriad applications, none of which ever involved death or destruction.”

Nathan felt a little guilty over his enthusiasm. “I’m sure that will all come in time, Abby. But for now, we have allies to defend and a war to fight, and we have to use everything at our disposal in order to do so. Right now, you and that jump drive are our biggest assets. In fact, that and surprise are the only two things we have going for us right now. And I’m not entirely sure the surprise factor is still with us. So as much as it pains me to do so, I have to ask you to start thinking of ways that we can utilize the jump drive to our tactical and strategic advantage.”

“I know very little about such things, Captain.”

“Maybe, but you do know about the jump drive and what it can and cannot do. I’m confident that if you, Tug, and Jessica put your heads together, you’ll come up with a few ideas.”

“I’ll do my best, Captain,” she promised.

* * *

Nathan made his way down the main corridor of the command deck, heading aft toward the ramp. The command deck had been one of the first decks to get a good scrub-down thanks to the first group of unskilled Corinairan volunteers. The Aurora’s dwindling crew had not had time to keep their ship clean during the preceding weeks. Nathan hadn’t even noticed the buildup of dirt, as he had been too busy trying to survive, but now that it was clean he could certainly see the difference. They had even replaced damaged lighting panels in order to rid the corridors of its gloomy shadows, which had given the ship a dismal ambiance.

Nathan overheard the Corinari guard as he informed his partner at the bottom of the ramp over his comm-set that the captain was on his way down. The four main ramps that connected the different levels of the ship had also been turned into checkpoints on Lieutenant Commander Nash's orders. Not a single pair of boots hit one of those ramps without the guards at the top and bottom knowing about it.

Although most of the ship was either cramped or strategically used space, each deck had a wide main corridor that ran its length. The ramps allowed for movement of large equipment between decks, which had been necessary during her construction back at the Orbital Assembly Platform above the Earth. Nathan knew that soon those ramps would become heavily used once again, as much of their secondary systems and equipment were still stored in the cargo holds, as well as in the fighter bays on either side of the main hangar deck. They had been forced to depart from Earth before their build-out was complete, and Nathan was bound and determined to finish the job as best they could during their down time, assuming it continued long enough.

Lieutenant Commander Nash met him at the bottom of the ramp. “You wanted to see me, Captain?”

“Yes, I want you and Tug to get together with Abby. Do a little brainstorming and see if you can come up with ways to use the jump drive to our advantage against the Ta’Akar.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“I think it would be a good idea if you included Ensign Willard as well.”

“Sir?”

“There are ten FTL comm-drones stored on the Yamaro that I think we could make use of.”

“You wanna send the Takarans a message?” Jessica quipped.

Nathan grinned. “Yeah, something like that. Abby will fill you in.”

They rounded the corner and passed the guards at the entrance to the main hangar bay, entering the massive bay and heading out across its deck toward the captain’s shuttle. Nathan looked ahead and saw Josh and Ensign Kaylah Yosef looking a bit friendlier than he would have expected.

“Josh and Kaylah?” he asked Jessica as they continued walking. “When did that happen?”

“That’s a recent development,” Jessica told him. “I guess taking a blast in the shoulder to protect her made an impression.”

“I didn’t see any of that in the after action reports,” Nathan commented.

“Yeah, well, the details of what happened on the bridge are still kind of fuzzy.”

Ensign Yosef noticed the captain approaching and immediately straightened up, stepping back an appropriate distance from Josh, who seemed none too pleased about the sudden change in her behavior.

“Sir,” Ensign Yosef greeted as she snapped a salute.

“Ensign, how are you doing?” Nathan asked as he returned her salute.

“Fine, thank you, sir. We’ve finished repairing the damaged screen on the port auxiliary station on the bridge. The Corinairans are going to be tearing out the fried comm-stations and the two damaged starboard stations later today. Those should be replaced within a week or so.”

“Very good, Ensign. Carry on.” Nathan smiled at Jessica, noticing a slight blush on Ensign Yosef’s cheeks as she glanced at Josh.

“Sirs,” she said as she moved away to return to her duties.

“So, Josh,” Nathan said, “how’s the shoulder?”

“A little stiff, Captain, but healing up nicely, thanks.”

“Good. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, sir,” Josh answered as he headed up the ramp.

“Lieutenant Commander,” Nathan said, bidding Jessica farewell as he headed up the ramp, followed by Sergeant Weatherly and his team of four Corinari guards.

Jessica tapped her comm-set. “Captain’s leaving.”

“
Attention all hands,
” the loudspeakers announced. “
Aurora, departing.
”

Nathan followed Josh up the ramp and into the shuttle. Josh, having never been aboard a Corinari passenger shuttle, was taken aback slightly as he entered the main cabin. The shuttle was one of the diplomatic ships used to ferry government officials between worlds within the Darvano system. It was a bit opulent for Captain Scott’s needs, but considering the amount of time he spent shuttling back and forth between the Aurora and Aitkenna, he didn’t mind the extra comfort.

“Nice,” Josh exclaimed as they entered the cabin, “very nice.”

The main passenger cabin was five rows deep, with two high-backed overstuffed seats on either side of the center aisle. The windows were larger than on most passenger shuttles, giving those inside a better view. Forward was the cockpit, and at the back of the cabin was a restroom and a steward’s station. The interior color scheme was deep and luxurious, and the cabin was so heavily insulated that once the main hatch was closed, you could barely hear the whine of the engines.

Nathan took his seat in the middle of the cabin, just as Sergeant Weatherly had originally requested on their first ride days earlier. With a pair of Corinari guards at either end of the cabin and the sergeant seated directly behind the captain, he was effectively surrounded by armed guards. The sergeant had even had the inboard seats at the forward and aft ends of the cabin removed, as well as the one next to his position just behind and to the left of the Captain, in order to make it easier for his men to maneuver while carrying weapons and wearing armor. This had lowered the seating capacity of the shuttle by five passengers, but as the shuttle had become dedicated to the captain’s personal needs, it had not been an issue.

To Nathan’s surprise, seated one row in front of him was Jalea. He had not seen her for several days as he had been quite busy negotiating the terms of the alliance.

“Going on a trip?” Nathan asked, noticing that she had a packed duffel bag in the seat next to her.

“Tug has asked me to round up the all the Karuzari who have reported in on Corinair and take them to the asteroid base to begin preparations,” she explained. “The Corinairans have been kind enough to provide us with a transport for our needs.”

“How many Karuzari have reported in?” Nathan asked.

“A total of fifteen. I do not expect many more are on Corinair.”

“That’s still pretty good. You should be able to get your base spun up in short order, especially if the Corinairans help.”

“I do not expect the Karuzari will receive the same enthusiastic support that the Aurora has received.”

“I’ll see what I can do about that,” Nathan promised as he continued on to his seat.

The steward closed the main hatch and made his way down the aisle, checking that everyone was secure before moving to the back of the cabin and signaling the pilot that they were ready for departure.

The shuttle began to roll backward before turning slightly to maneuver itself into the center transfer airlock used by larger spacecraft. Josh watched out the window as the shuttle rolled into the airlock and the inner door descended. After a quick depressurization cycle, the outer door raised allowing the light reflected from the planet below to spill into the airlock, altering the colors inside the cabin.

Nathan paid little attention to the vista outside his window as the shuttle backed out onto the landing apron, having already made this trip more than a dozen times in the last few days. Instead, he began reviewing his notes from the last negotiating session on his data pad.

“Man, the pilot sure takes his time about it, doesn’t he?” Josh commented.

“Sometimes that’s a good thing, Josh,” Nathan told him.

“Yeah, good and boring.”

“So, you and Ensign Yosef, huh?” Nathan said, testing Josh’s reaction.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. She’s a nice one, she is.”

“Yes, she is,” Nathan agreed. “Isn’t she a few years older than you?”

“Could be. I don’t really know, to be honest,” Josh admitted.

“What, you don’t know how old you are?” Nathan wondered, his attention diverted from his data pad.

“Well, I know my twentieth birthday is coming up. But I was born on Palee. We moved to Haven when I was four or five, I think. Haven’s years are all screwy because it orbits a gas giant instead of a star. After my mom passed, Marcus tried to do the math to figure out when each of my birthdays were, but I’m not so sure he got it right.”