Freedom Vs. Aliens (Aliens Series Book 3) (13 page)

Jack looked down the table to their white-bearded Technologist. “Matthias, how goes the work on the grav-pull computer that our marines salvaged from the South Pole factory? Any chance we will know how to create Thorne Exotic Matter, so we can make our own grav-pull drives?”

The Austrian-born professor frowned. “Sadly, not any time soon. Admiral Hideyoshi’s decryption people did wonders in gaining us access to the ‘puters’ hard drive memory. But the tech specs for the grav-pull are shielded by internal security codes we have yet to break,” the man said, sounding disappointed. “While the construction details for the pyramidal tube frame, its power nodule and the control algorithm input point are known from mine and Max’s work on the Rizen grav-pull module, the nature of the Thorne matter is still hidden in those codes.” The man’s rad-tanned face brightened. “But Archibald, Max and myself have been able to create more Alcubierre drive shell modules. Every fleet ship now has FTL capability!”

That was good news indeed. And relevant to his plans for the future. “Excellent! Thank you for your hard work. How is the Higgs Disruptor conversion effort going?”

“Good,” Matthias said. “There are now six fleet ships outfitted with Higgs Disruptors, including the
Bismarck
and
Dragon
.”

“Encouraging news,” Jack said. “But the problem of the Thorne Exotic Matter makes one thing clear.”

“What?” prompted Ignacio from where he sat beside Elaine. Whose left hand finger bore a yellow diamond engagement ring.

Jack gestured at the star systems that glowed in the holo. “If we want more grav-pull drives so we can expand our fleets, then we have to go out there and grab them. From Hunters of the Great Dark. Which means we will have to attack the systems of some subject peoples and defeat whatever Alien species controls each system.”

Hideyoshi nodded suddenly. “Makes sense. The coding of these star systems should tell us which predator species controls which systems. And which systems have been occupied recently. Like the Nuuthot system.” The admiral looked around the table, gathering the attention of everyone in an effortless manner that Jack envied. “So the answer to how we bring freedom to the stars is two-fold. First, we contact juvenile star systems and bring those Aliens into alliance with Sol. Second, we attack a few subject people systems, defeat the occupiers, and scavenge grav-pull drives from the defeated ships.” The man looked back at Jack. “The obvious question now is, to what juvenile star system do we travel first?”

Blodwen slapped the table with her palm. “Exactly! I recommend we first go to Tau Ceti. It’s a near duplicate of Sol, it has five known planets, and its planet ‘e’ lies in the liquid water habitable zone. It’s home to a juvenile Alien species, according to the holo. And it is just 12 light years from Sol.”

Jack had done his own research in the last week and Tau Ceti ‘e’ was also his first choice. But he had invited his captains and crew here for more than a tasty meal. “Other suggestions? Anyone?”

“Gliese 832,” called Amitar, captain of the Mars destroyer
General Douglas MacArthur
. “It lies 16 light years out, is a red dwarf star, has three planets around it with two in the habitable zone, and a juvenile species lives there.”

Jack nodded. That star was one he had missed in his review of the Nasen star holo and Earth’s astro list of nearby stars with planets. “Good! I like the idea of allying with Aliens who live close to Sol system. Makes it easier to protect them and to Trade with them.”

Júlia rapped her knuckles against the table. “I’ve got one. How about Epsilon Indi A? It’s around 12 light years out, is an orange main sequence star with five planets, one of them in the habitable zone.” She nodded to Nikola. “Chief Astronomer, you know this system of course. It’s a weird one that is orbited by two dwarf companions at 1,500 AU out. But the holo shows there is a juvenile species there.”

Nikola chuckled. “True, Júlia. My fellows and I have long studied that star. Our data from the Hubble, James Webb and Long Baseline Stellar Interferometer show that in addition to the Jupiter-size gas giant at nine AU, there are four smaller planets closer in. One of which is in the water zone. There is also a thin cometary disk at 20 to 40 AU.”

“Good enough for now,” Jack said firmly. “There are several subject people systems further out. Like at 54 Piscium and 55 Cancri, as the holo shows. So. I propose we leave in one week. And that we leave only ten grav-pull ships to safeguard Sol system. Which gives us a super fleet of 23 ships, six of them with Higgs Disruptors. Archibald,” he said, looking to the Brit who had been wolfing down his steak while the captains talked. “Can you outfit some more ships with Higgs beamers? The ones that stay at home, I mean.”

The man brushed a hand through his unruly hair. “Yes. Maybe two more Higgs conversions of the particle accelerators used in the neutral particle beamers on the conversion ships.”

Gareth cleared his throat. “Captain Jack, I agree that we go first to the juvenile star folks, then to the subject people stars. But what about those predator Aliens who like to Trade stuff? Like the Nasen social carnivores. Do we know if this holo has that kind of data? And if it does, should we contact such Aliens?”

“To what purpose?” Jack asked the leader of a fleet of ten Belter ships.

The stocky, broad-shouldered Welshman looked aside at Maureen, whose gray eyes had scanned every speaker. He shrugged and looked back to Jack. “The purpose of knowing which predator Aliens we should leave alone. That Nasen mind-control of their Tech devices is unnerving. Such Aliens could maybe fight us to a draw.”

It was a good point. One that Jack had not thought about. While he had been happy to visit with the Nasen and to Trade with Hilok of the Northern Pack, he had not thought of the implications. How many of the 113 predator species in Orion Arm were as dangerous as the Nasen?

“Good point, Captain Gareth. It’s an issue I will ask Nikola to work on. Over the next week and later, while we are in Alcubierre transit to Tau Ceti.” He reached under his chair and pulled up a large cardboard box. Setting it on the table, he smiled at everyone. “There are some primo Cuban cigars in here. But not forty. Who gets first claim?”

Amidst the shouting, table thumping and waving of hands from nearly every person at the table, Jack felt the return of light-heartedness. While he still worried about his ability to lead twenty-three ships out into interstellar space, and to find ways to make allies with juvenile Alien species, still, it was not all up to him. He had allies. The people gathered here, sharing a common meal. It reminded him of the meals he, his sisters, his Mom and Dad had shared under the clear roof of an asteroid habdome. While you had to use squeeze tubes and be careful about the solid food that floated around in micro-gravity, still, those meals had been a time of bonding. A time of togetherness. Like this meal.

“Here’s the first cigar!” he said, tossing a brown tube at Ignacio. “I’m open to bribes. Do I hear any offers?”

CHAPTER NINE

Forty AU above Sol’s ecliptic plane the twenty-three ships of Jack’s super fleet clustered together, preparing for their second attempt at interstellar travel. They had just exited their grav-pull drives, rejoining normal space-time, something Jack had heard Nikola refer to as Riemannian manifold space. A term that had something to do with Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. Before his head could start to ache he inventoried the ship IDs as shown on the front screen. Its true-light image showed the purple velvet of deep space with the white starry arm of the Milky Way low and to one side. A side split screen image showed Elaine’s Sensor panel ship IDs.

He tagged Hideyoshi’s heavy cruiser
Bismarck
, with its nearby retinue of four destroyers, five frigates and one corvette. Gareth’s Second Belter Fleet comprised his ship
Dragon
, plus
Hawk
,
Ferocious
,
Grizzly
and
Eagle
. Added to the seven ships in his fleet, that told Jack what he wanted to know. Twenty-three ships had blip-jumped away from 253 Mathilde and 23 ships had reappeared within a hundred kilometers of each other.

Turning away from the front screen, he looked back to Nikola. Who sat at her Chief Astronomer’s station, restraint straps over her shoulders and with hands held just above the Astro panel she had pulled over her lap. She tapped on the panel as she stared intensely at a sidearm screen that showed stellar locations within a galactic coordinate system. Beyond her sat Denise, with Max seated further back at his Drive Engineer post. His buddy held his own hands above the Alcubierre drive shell Control panel. Nearby sat Blodwen and Archibald, with Cassie behind Nikola and Maureen next to him. Nine people crewed the
Uhuru
. People who had become family to him.

“Proceed,” he said to his lifemate.

Nikola looked over to Elaine at her Pilot station. “Ready to enter the coordinates for Tau Ceti?”

“Yes.” Elaine rubbed her narrow chin as she sat at her Pilot station. “We are all facing east towards the direction of galactic rotation. The other ships are in laser comlink with my station. Give me the numbers.”

Nikola looked down at her Astro panel. “Galactic coordinates for Tau Ceti relative to Sol are minus 3.490 light years away from galactic center, plus 0.373 toward galactic rotation and minus 11.37 light years below the equatorial plane of the galaxy. Straight-line distance to Ceti is 11.905 light years. Relative to Sol’s position.” She tapped on her panel. “These numbers will bring us to the outer edge of the Tau Ceti system, just beyond the debris disk at 50 AU from the star.”

Denise looked at his Chief Astronomer. “Time in transit?”

Nikola raised one eyebrow. “Three days.”

“Good!” said Blodwen as she leaned forward against her seat straps, her pale green eyes looking over Max’s shoulder. “That’s enough time for me to sew a dress for Elaine’s party.”

Glancing up at the images of 22 other ship captains and one admiral, then past Maureen, Jack fixed on his oldest sister. “Party?”

Pulling her yellow headband over her curly brown hair, she gave him a shy look. “Our honeymoon going away party.”

Jack looked forward to the happy face of Ignacio, who like the other captains was waiting patiently for Jack’s ship to initiate a group FTL jump. The man gave him a wink. “Your sister insisted. Even if it is just a day spent in the Garden habitat with the plants, fishes, worms and loud pumps.”

Jack tried to keep a straight face. The two had shared Elaine’s personal roomsuite in the Rest Area section of
Uhuru
during their dock time in the asteroid’s cavern. It sounded as if his Basque brother planned to spend some time away from his ship
Badger
. Which was possible now, given the four cousins who capably ran things on the frigate-sized commerce raider.

“That honeymoon will take some coordination.” He looked back to Nikola, whose pale blue eyes seemed unusually bright. “You a conspirator in this violation of shipboard discipline?”

“Of course. Should I tell our Mom and Dad that
you
messed up Elaine’s honeymoon? After that wonderful wedding in the torus park? You seemed to really enjoy yourself.”

Jack recalled the hangover he had awoken to the day after his sister’s civil marriage by a Unitarian minister. Well, mixing bourbon with a pale ale beer would do that. He looked over to Elaine, whose attention seemed to be focused a bit too intently on her Sensor panel. “Pilot, you ready to get your interstellar romance on the road?”

Elaine grinned broadly. “Nikola, I’ve entered those numbers and laserfaxed them to the other ships. My NavTrack computer says we are properly oriented. Time for Max to activate our stardrive?”

“Sis,” Jack called to Elaine, unable to resist the chance to poke her once more. “Are we in laser time-lock link with our fleet ships?”

“Of course!” she said, giving him a finger flip that meant nothing good in Belter finger-talk. “Anyway, that will disappear once we enter our own Alcubierre space-time manifold.” She looked back at Max, whose fingers were tap-tapping on his Alcubierre drive Control panel. “Max, any time now.”

“Alcubierre stardrive activated. Main reactor is feeding power to its module.” Max looked Jack’s way and grinned widely. “Blodwen and I think interstellar romances are just fine!” The Pole from Lodz gestured ahead. “We’re heading out. Look at the starfield! It’s shrinking!”

Jack turned back to watch the front screen with its image of local space. The images of his fleet captains disappeared as the laser link bent due to the gravitational lensing that was one part of an Alcubierre stardrive. He recalled that the Alcubierre drive squeezed space in front of them and expanded it to their rear, causing their ship, lying within a drive shell bubble, to jump forward at a speed that quickly exceeded classical lightspeed. But since their ship existed in a warped space-time bubble, they were not subject to the usual gravitational, time and length distortions that Einstein’s Special Relativity said happened when a physical object came close to the speed of light. True, they could not see beyond the bubble shell. But in return for being cut off from normal space-time, their ship and the 22 other ships of the fleet were now moving at a speed equal to four light years per day. Fast by any standards.