Law's End (9 page)
Authors: Glenn Douglass
Tags: #adventure, #travel, #dog, #future, #space, #rescue, #supercluster
Kassad smirked in amusement. It was a bold
threat. Then again it wouldn't be the first time Kassad had found
it necessary to sneak past a Lawship.
After setting aside the threat Kassad
considered the advantages of a consultation with the opposition and
in exceedingly innocent tones inquired, "Armhamon, is there
something you can tell me that would convince me that this is not a
rescue mission? I admit the contracting party is not above
suspicion, however to the best of my knowledge this is a rescue
operation. Please advise?"
Greene gave Kassad a confused look. "What are
you doing?"
Kassad gave Greene a sidelong look in return,
"Getting the information you and Cameron declined to share."
The offense Greene projected was genuine, "I'm
telling you this is a rescue mission. My husband is out
there."
Begrudgingly Kassad was willing to concede that
Greene might not know everything. "But that's not the whole story,
and I doubt that I'll get the whole story from the Armhamon either,
but they certainly aren't out here patrolling the boarders of
Laniakea."
Greene shook her head. "If there's any
criminality here it is with you and your ship."
Canis growled indignantly.
Kassad stated in only half mock offense, "My
record is clean and pristine… as far as I'm aware."
"Then there's more to this then I…" Greene was
abruptly cut off by the communications circuit.
"Sabha, if you continue on your current course
the Armhamon will be standing by to conduct a customs search and…
lend aid upon your return. Do not attempt to evade us. If you do
your ship will be labeled as a pirate vessel to be seized at will.
You cannot outrun the reach of the Code of Law."
Code of Law was the bare bones agreement that
allowed the hundred thousand galaxies to function as much as it
did. As far as any criminals were concerned it provided the
framework for both the Lawships and bounty hunters that made their
vocations complicated. More importantly it established a basic set
of dos and don'ts for the legitimate interaction of the myriad of
alien species that called Laniakea home.
The backbone of the Code of Law system was
structured around information sharing among those who submitted to
work under its constraints. University organized information
sharing served as a carrot to promote cooperation and good faith
dealings keeping any one species from developing an overwhelming
edge against the others. It also served as a stick to spread
information about those operating beyond its constraints
effectively locking them out of Laniakea's trade network. A
byproduct was that this information sharing allowed Lawships to
work as a cohesive whole in spite of their diverse origins.
"Understood Armhamon." Kassad responded simply
before keying off the communications circuit and adding, "Renaming
the Sabha would be a nuisance."
Finally concluding their analysis of the
Lawship the Sabha's systems classified the Armhamon as a Dedalus
class cruiser. A serious warship design her hull was built around a
single massive weapon that could punch hole a through a small moon.
Because that kind of firepower was never enough for military
designers the Armhamon was also fitted with a variety of smaller
mid-ranged weapons. While the main gun required the entire Armhamon
to point where it was to be directed the smaller weapons were
turreted to provide complete coverage. Any of the Armhamon's
weapons would be more than enough to tear completely through the
smaller Sabha with a single hit.
Putting one hand on his shoulder Greene tried
to reassure the pirate that to continue their mission. "Kassad, you
have to trust me. You have to believe me. I don't know why that
ship is here. What we're doing is a legitimate rescue. We have to
help those people."
Unconvinced that any trust was truly a
necessity for the conclusion of his mission Kassad responded
honestly, "There's too much money and firepower involved in all of
this for everything to be above board," he gave Greene a well
practiced devil-may-care grin, "but I expect we'll find out the
whole story before long."
Chapter 6: "Out Law"
"Our contact with and knowledge of
civilizations outside of Laniakea is extraordinarily limited. We
know that there have been expeditions sent to study our
supercluster only from evidence left behind by these expeditions.
No formal contact has been established nor even a basis for
communication formulated."
-Excerpt from University database entry on
topic of the Lawless.
sensors were made to sweep ahead of them they detected nothing. No
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum was able to detect the
shift in the laws of physics that was called Law's End. As far as
could be determined they were simply transiting another
unremarkable stretch of interstellar space.
Only slightly disappointed by the lack of
stimuli Kassad turned to practical matters. "Very well, if the
supply ship's numbers are right we'll pass Law's End in five
minutes. I am shutting down and disconnecting all faster than light
drives." A series of console taps and physical switch flips
resulted in some ominous mechanical thudding. "Shutting down and
disconnecting reactionless drive." Another series of console taps
and the unlocking and toggling of a big bar attached to multiple
switches resulted in a tremendous bang that was even more felt than
heard as the remaining stored potential energy was released into
the ship's hull. "Running all circuits through redundant buffers
and bringing all manual controls online." This time the commands
made half of the console controls go dark and the virtual display
entered a minimalist mode where everything outside the cockpit was
rendered in a simplified wireframe style. "There we are, ready for
Lawless space."
Unclenching her hands through an exercise of
will Greene said, "I hope so."
"What's the worst that could happen?" Kassad
asked.
In Kassad's own mind the answer was that they'd
have to turn around empty handed thus foregoing the mission's
lucrative payday. The matter of the Lawship barely rose to the
level of a trivial annoyance, and one Kassad had already decided to
ignore. He had also set aside any concerns about Law's End and
decided to treat the region as just another hazardous flight
area.
Ignoring the question and all the worst case
scenarios that it brought up Greene asked, "Why do you think we're
out here? Why is that Lawship out here waiting for us?"
Kassad gave his passenger an appraising look
before conceding that she probably knew only as much as he himself
did. "All I know is that this is not just a simple rescue
mission."
It wasn't what Greene wanted to hear, but if it
was something that could affect the success of the mission then she
had to know. "Why not?"
Hesitating for a moment Kassad relented that
his suspicions weren't a matter for secrecy. "The pay's too good,
that Lawship cannot be a coincidence, and the last time I did a job
for Professor Fitzgerald I almost ended up in a penal colony."
A horrified "What?" blurted out of Greene's
mouth.
In exaggerated innocence Kassad said, "I can't
believe Cameron would fail to mention that defining moment of our
professional relationship."
"No he didn't." Greene stated sternly before
asking the obvious, "Why would you ever consent to work for him
again?"
Shrugging nonchalantly Kassad explained, "The
pay's too good, I never let a Lawship bother me unduly, and the
last time I did a job for Professor Fitzgerald he kept me out of
that penal colony."
If Greene's facial expression could be trusted
the revelation had open up a world of unpleasant possibilities to
be considered. "So what do you suspect is going on?"
In half honesty Kassad answered, "I've no idea
whatsoever, and you?"
Shaking her head worriedly Greene said, "I
never even met Fitzgerald before Law's End shifted. I just want my
husband back."
Kassad tried to reassure his passenger, "I'll
do my best…" he was cut off as the color drained out of the world
and went grayscale. Blinking at the familiar surroundings of the
Sabha's cockpit rendered in black and white Kassad concluded, "It
looks like we're here."
"It's just a shift in the way our brains are
processing visual data. Other senses are also affected." Greene
explained so as to feel more in control of the situation. "It will
get worse the longer we're here. Complete blindness shouldn't occur
for at least two months so long as we don't linger in space;
there's something about the presence of a significant gravity field
mitigates the process. Our olfactory sense will go first in a few
days, and then taste will go in a week or two. Touch and hearing
should hold out for a year."
"Seems an odd progression." Kassad noted while
continuing to blink in a vain effort to return his vision to
normal.
Greene was quiet as she tried to summarize the
complex data analysis she'd been involved in and eventually
explained, "There's nothing in Lawless space that prevents our
minds from working completely, but some of the chemical reactions
related to neural activity are hampered. Hopefully there won't be
any permanent damage."
Setting aside his unease at the new look of the
world Kassad summarized for her, "So it's what we already knew. We
need to do this fast."
"Fast would be good." Greene agreed.
Turning his mind towards the practical concerns
of the immediate future Kassad inquired, "How bad off can we expect
any survivors to be?"
"I can't say. We didn't have enough data to
reach that many conclusions about complex systems in prolonged
exposure." And it deeply worried Greene that they might find the
survivors completely vegetative or worse.
Checking the rather antiquated gauges
monitoring the engines Kassad announced, "It looks like our thrust
to fuel consumption ratios hasn't been affected, so we should hit
atmosphere on schedule. Of course that's presuming they left the
research platform."
It wasn't until that moment that Greene truly
accepted that there might not be any survivors and her voice became
withdrawn saying, "They should have… unless something went horribly
wrong."
Sudden concern gripped Kassad. "I should check
to make sure Canis is alright." A robust barking answered and both
turned to see the completely unaffected dog bound into the
cockpit.
Kassad slipped out of his flight chair to check
the dog for any signs of discomfort. Worryingly Kassad checked the
eyes, ears, and reflexes of the animal. He reminded himself that in
emergencies the auto-medical pods could put the animal into stasis
until they returned to normal space. As if sensing his person's
discomfort Canis leaned forward and gave Kassad a reassuring lick
across the face.
Withdrawing from his inspection with a grimace
while wiping his face with the back of his hand Kassad announced,
"I suppose I was right about him handling this better than
us."
Taking it as a small consolation that if the
animal could adapt than certainly her husband could Greene said, "I
hope so, we may need his help."
Sensing Greene's discomfort Kassad finally and
fully relented that she was exactly as she presented herself. If
there was a secret or conspiracy then she was not knowingly a party
to it. That didn't mean his passenger didn't know more than she was
saying, then again most people did.
To reassure his passenger Kassad stated
confidently "Don't worry if they're alive we'll find them and bring
them back in time."
With her mind fully focused on that goal Greene
asked, "Should we start looking for the distress beacon?"
"Yes, good idea. We're a bit far out but it
can't hurt to start." Kassad leaned across his flight chair to
manipulate the controls above his head from where he stood on the
opposite bulkhead.
As expected the signal, if it was there at all,
was lost in the ordinary background noise of space. Radio signals
spread like an expanding balloon with the signal getting thinner
and more tenuous the further it went. Meanwhile the much more
powerful signals generated either directly by stars, or indirectly
by the worlds that orbited them, tended to drown out
everything.
Studying the sensor display Kassad concluded,
"That's odd."
"What is it? Did you find the beacon?" Greene
asked hopefully.
"No, but I found the research platform, or at
least what's left of it." Kassad began working the controls to
bring up a more detailed wire frame model built by the sensor
information.
Where the research platform should have been
was a debris field. A few large chunks of the platform remained
keeping station in the region where the platform was listed to have
been. Smaller components had already spread out beyond the
immediate area in a pattern that would likely take days to
analyze.
threat. Then again it wouldn't be the first time Kassad had found
it necessary to sneak past a Lawship.
After setting aside the threat Kassad
considered the advantages of a consultation with the opposition and
in exceedingly innocent tones inquired, "Armhamon, is there
something you can tell me that would convince me that this is not a
rescue mission? I admit the contracting party is not above
suspicion, however to the best of my knowledge this is a rescue
operation. Please advise?"
Greene gave Kassad a confused look. "What are
you doing?"
Kassad gave Greene a sidelong look in return,
"Getting the information you and Cameron declined to share."
The offense Greene projected was genuine, "I'm
telling you this is a rescue mission. My husband is out
there."
Begrudgingly Kassad was willing to concede that
Greene might not know everything. "But that's not the whole story,
and I doubt that I'll get the whole story from the Armhamon either,
but they certainly aren't out here patrolling the boarders of
Laniakea."
Greene shook her head. "If there's any
criminality here it is with you and your ship."
Canis growled indignantly.
Kassad stated in only half mock offense, "My
record is clean and pristine… as far as I'm aware."
"Then there's more to this then I…" Greene was
abruptly cut off by the communications circuit.
"Sabha, if you continue on your current course
the Armhamon will be standing by to conduct a customs search and…
lend aid upon your return. Do not attempt to evade us. If you do
your ship will be labeled as a pirate vessel to be seized at will.
You cannot outrun the reach of the Code of Law."
Code of Law was the bare bones agreement that
allowed the hundred thousand galaxies to function as much as it
did. As far as any criminals were concerned it provided the
framework for both the Lawships and bounty hunters that made their
vocations complicated. More importantly it established a basic set
of dos and don'ts for the legitimate interaction of the myriad of
alien species that called Laniakea home.
The backbone of the Code of Law system was
structured around information sharing among those who submitted to
work under its constraints. University organized information
sharing served as a carrot to promote cooperation and good faith
dealings keeping any one species from developing an overwhelming
edge against the others. It also served as a stick to spread
information about those operating beyond its constraints
effectively locking them out of Laniakea's trade network. A
byproduct was that this information sharing allowed Lawships to
work as a cohesive whole in spite of their diverse origins.
"Understood Armhamon." Kassad responded simply
before keying off the communications circuit and adding, "Renaming
the Sabha would be a nuisance."
Finally concluding their analysis of the
Lawship the Sabha's systems classified the Armhamon as a Dedalus
class cruiser. A serious warship design her hull was built around a
single massive weapon that could punch hole a through a small moon.
Because that kind of firepower was never enough for military
designers the Armhamon was also fitted with a variety of smaller
mid-ranged weapons. While the main gun required the entire Armhamon
to point where it was to be directed the smaller weapons were
turreted to provide complete coverage. Any of the Armhamon's
weapons would be more than enough to tear completely through the
smaller Sabha with a single hit.
Putting one hand on his shoulder Greene tried
to reassure the pirate that to continue their mission. "Kassad, you
have to trust me. You have to believe me. I don't know why that
ship is here. What we're doing is a legitimate rescue. We have to
help those people."
Unconvinced that any trust was truly a
necessity for the conclusion of his mission Kassad responded
honestly, "There's too much money and firepower involved in all of
this for everything to be above board," he gave Greene a well
practiced devil-may-care grin, "but I expect we'll find out the
whole story before long."
Chapter 6: "Out Law"
"Our contact with and knowledge of
civilizations outside of Laniakea is extraordinarily limited. We
know that there have been expeditions sent to study our
supercluster only from evidence left behind by these expeditions.
No formal contact has been established nor even a basis for
communication formulated."
-Excerpt from University database entry on
topic of the Lawless.
sensors were made to sweep ahead of them they detected nothing. No
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum was able to detect the
shift in the laws of physics that was called Law's End. As far as
could be determined they were simply transiting another
unremarkable stretch of interstellar space.
Only slightly disappointed by the lack of
stimuli Kassad turned to practical matters. "Very well, if the
supply ship's numbers are right we'll pass Law's End in five
minutes. I am shutting down and disconnecting all faster than light
drives." A series of console taps and physical switch flips
resulted in some ominous mechanical thudding. "Shutting down and
disconnecting reactionless drive." Another series of console taps
and the unlocking and toggling of a big bar attached to multiple
switches resulted in a tremendous bang that was even more felt than
heard as the remaining stored potential energy was released into
the ship's hull. "Running all circuits through redundant buffers
and bringing all manual controls online." This time the commands
made half of the console controls go dark and the virtual display
entered a minimalist mode where everything outside the cockpit was
rendered in a simplified wireframe style. "There we are, ready for
Lawless space."
Unclenching her hands through an exercise of
will Greene said, "I hope so."
"What's the worst that could happen?" Kassad
asked.
In Kassad's own mind the answer was that they'd
have to turn around empty handed thus foregoing the mission's
lucrative payday. The matter of the Lawship barely rose to the
level of a trivial annoyance, and one Kassad had already decided to
ignore. He had also set aside any concerns about Law's End and
decided to treat the region as just another hazardous flight
area.
Ignoring the question and all the worst case
scenarios that it brought up Greene asked, "Why do you think we're
out here? Why is that Lawship out here waiting for us?"
Kassad gave his passenger an appraising look
before conceding that she probably knew only as much as he himself
did. "All I know is that this is not just a simple rescue
mission."
It wasn't what Greene wanted to hear, but if it
was something that could affect the success of the mission then she
had to know. "Why not?"
Hesitating for a moment Kassad relented that
his suspicions weren't a matter for secrecy. "The pay's too good,
that Lawship cannot be a coincidence, and the last time I did a job
for Professor Fitzgerald I almost ended up in a penal colony."
A horrified "What?" blurted out of Greene's
mouth.
In exaggerated innocence Kassad said, "I can't
believe Cameron would fail to mention that defining moment of our
professional relationship."
"No he didn't." Greene stated sternly before
asking the obvious, "Why would you ever consent to work for him
again?"
Shrugging nonchalantly Kassad explained, "The
pay's too good, I never let a Lawship bother me unduly, and the
last time I did a job for Professor Fitzgerald he kept me out of
that penal colony."
If Greene's facial expression could be trusted
the revelation had open up a world of unpleasant possibilities to
be considered. "So what do you suspect is going on?"
In half honesty Kassad answered, "I've no idea
whatsoever, and you?"
Shaking her head worriedly Greene said, "I
never even met Fitzgerald before Law's End shifted. I just want my
husband back."
Kassad tried to reassure his passenger, "I'll
do my best…" he was cut off as the color drained out of the world
and went grayscale. Blinking at the familiar surroundings of the
Sabha's cockpit rendered in black and white Kassad concluded, "It
looks like we're here."
"It's just a shift in the way our brains are
processing visual data. Other senses are also affected." Greene
explained so as to feel more in control of the situation. "It will
get worse the longer we're here. Complete blindness shouldn't occur
for at least two months so long as we don't linger in space;
there's something about the presence of a significant gravity field
mitigates the process. Our olfactory sense will go first in a few
days, and then taste will go in a week or two. Touch and hearing
should hold out for a year."
"Seems an odd progression." Kassad noted while
continuing to blink in a vain effort to return his vision to
normal.
Greene was quiet as she tried to summarize the
complex data analysis she'd been involved in and eventually
explained, "There's nothing in Lawless space that prevents our
minds from working completely, but some of the chemical reactions
related to neural activity are hampered. Hopefully there won't be
any permanent damage."
Setting aside his unease at the new look of the
world Kassad summarized for her, "So it's what we already knew. We
need to do this fast."
"Fast would be good." Greene agreed.
Turning his mind towards the practical concerns
of the immediate future Kassad inquired, "How bad off can we expect
any survivors to be?"
"I can't say. We didn't have enough data to
reach that many conclusions about complex systems in prolonged
exposure." And it deeply worried Greene that they might find the
survivors completely vegetative or worse.
Checking the rather antiquated gauges
monitoring the engines Kassad announced, "It looks like our thrust
to fuel consumption ratios hasn't been affected, so we should hit
atmosphere on schedule. Of course that's presuming they left the
research platform."
It wasn't until that moment that Greene truly
accepted that there might not be any survivors and her voice became
withdrawn saying, "They should have… unless something went horribly
wrong."
Sudden concern gripped Kassad. "I should check
to make sure Canis is alright." A robust barking answered and both
turned to see the completely unaffected dog bound into the
cockpit.
Kassad slipped out of his flight chair to check
the dog for any signs of discomfort. Worryingly Kassad checked the
eyes, ears, and reflexes of the animal. He reminded himself that in
emergencies the auto-medical pods could put the animal into stasis
until they returned to normal space. As if sensing his person's
discomfort Canis leaned forward and gave Kassad a reassuring lick
across the face.
Withdrawing from his inspection with a grimace
while wiping his face with the back of his hand Kassad announced,
"I suppose I was right about him handling this better than
us."
Taking it as a small consolation that if the
animal could adapt than certainly her husband could Greene said, "I
hope so, we may need his help."
Sensing Greene's discomfort Kassad finally and
fully relented that she was exactly as she presented herself. If
there was a secret or conspiracy then she was not knowingly a party
to it. That didn't mean his passenger didn't know more than she was
saying, then again most people did.
To reassure his passenger Kassad stated
confidently "Don't worry if they're alive we'll find them and bring
them back in time."
With her mind fully focused on that goal Greene
asked, "Should we start looking for the distress beacon?"
"Yes, good idea. We're a bit far out but it
can't hurt to start." Kassad leaned across his flight chair to
manipulate the controls above his head from where he stood on the
opposite bulkhead.
As expected the signal, if it was there at all,
was lost in the ordinary background noise of space. Radio signals
spread like an expanding balloon with the signal getting thinner
and more tenuous the further it went. Meanwhile the much more
powerful signals generated either directly by stars, or indirectly
by the worlds that orbited them, tended to drown out
everything.
Studying the sensor display Kassad concluded,
"That's odd."
"What is it? Did you find the beacon?" Greene
asked hopefully.
"No, but I found the research platform, or at
least what's left of it." Kassad began working the controls to
bring up a more detailed wire frame model built by the sensor
information.
Where the research platform should have been
was a debris field. A few large chunks of the platform remained
keeping station in the region where the platform was listed to have
been. Smaller components had already spread out beyond the
immediate area in a pattern that would likely take days to
analyze.
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