Frontiers 07 - The Expanse Read online

  “But a space program requires a huge industrial base.”

  “We had plenty of industry,” Nathan said. “It just wasn’t high-tech at the time. Computers were the first thing to be produced using the information from the Data Ark, since it was a computer, after all. What resulted was an overnight renaissance of science, technology, and manufacturing. Within seventy years, we were building the Defender class ships in orbit.”

  “Defender class?” the lieutenant asked.

  “Very big, very slow,” Vladimir said.

  “The Defender class ships are sub-light vessels used to patrol and defend our home system. We built four of them over the last twenty years. They may be slow, but they are heavily armed.”

  “Why didn’t you construct faster-than-light ships?” Major Prechitt asked.

  “The technologies required for FTL-capable ships were a bit more advanced, and we didn’t want to wait that long to get some type of defensive capabilities in place,” Nathan explained. “In addition, there were many who feared that building FTL warships might appear a provocative act to the Jung, forcing them to attack before we were ready to defend ourselves.”

  “A reasonable point of view,” Lieutenant Montgomery said.

  “Perhaps, if you know the size and strength of your enemy, which at the time, we did not. We did eventually build a few small FTL ships for the purpose of reconnaissance.”

  “What did your people learn?” Major Prechitt wondered.

  “That the Jung were far greater in number than we had originally estimated, and that their wave of domination was headed our way. In fact, the Sol system is now the last of the original core worlds that is not under the control of the Jung.”

  “Do the Jung have jump drives as well?” the lieutenant wondered, concern for his own world obvious on his face.

  “Not to our knowledge,” Nathan told him. “All our intelligence indicates that the Jung still use linear propulsion systems that are similar in capabilities to your own.”

  “Then surely your people have a tactical advantage over them, and an enormous one at that,” Major Prechitt observed.

  “If we can get back to Earth, yes,” Cameron said. “As far as we know, our jump drive is the only operational prototype in existence.”

  “According to Doctor Sorenson, all data concerning the jump drive program is contained in the computer systems on this ship. Without us, the Earth has no jump drive. They can’t even build another one.”

  “That still doesn’t make sense to me,” Jessica mumbled. She noticed that Major Prechitt and Lieutenant Montgomery were staring at her as if they wanted her to elaborate. She looked at Nathan, who didn’t seem to object. “I mean, why? Why put everything and everyone in one place, especially when testing a prototype? Don’t scientists usually hide in a bunker somewhere and press a button remotely?”

  “She has a point, Captain,” Major Prechitt agreed.

  “You have to understand, Major,” Nathan explained. “The Earth is under incredible stress. Our industrial complex is strained to its limits. The international economies are spending money they do not have on spaceships, and the sons and daughters of every country on Earth are going through training to crew those ships. The governments of Earth still can’t agree on how to handle the Jung: with diplomacy or force.”

  “It still doesn’t make sense,” Jessica said.

  “Captain,” Abby interrupted, “if I may?”

  “Of course, Doctor.”

  “Fleet has been aware of Jung operatives on Earth for some time.”

  “I knew it!” Jessica declared, dropping her fork on her plate. “It was an ambush!”

  Major Prechitt was looking directly at Nathan. “An ambush?”

  “On the first test jump, we found Jung gunboats lying in wait. Captain Roberts suspected an ambush. We fought, one of their antimatter reactors overloaded as we tried to jump away, and we ended up in the Pentaurus cluster being fired on by the Campaglia.”

  Both Major Prechitt’s and Lieutenant Montgomery’s eyes were wide open in astonishment. “Incredible,” the major declared. “The odds of your ship jumping a thousand light years across the galaxy and ending up at that point in space at that particular time… Quite frankly, Captain, I don’t think astronomical adequately describes those odds.”

  “There may be a reason that we came out of the jump where we did,” Nathan said, “but that’s another story.”

  “The project was kept under the tightest security, with only a few key people in Fleet Command and the government aware of the nature of our research. There was much deception involved, including moving our facility about from time to time. I believe they even had decoy teams at one time, but I cannot be sure. Exactly why they chose to put all of the researchers and our data into the prototype vessel, I cannot be certain. However, I suspect they feared that our facility was about to be discovered by Jung operatives.”

  “You think they were about to attack?” Jessica wondered. “That they were going to try to take the research?”

  “Maybe even the researchers,” Abby added.

  “There’s one other possibility,” Nathan said. “They may have been worried that the Jung were about to attack the Earth in force, and they didn’t want to run the risk of the research falling into their hands.” The captain’s mess became silent. “Think about it,” Nathan continued. “If the Jung had jump drives, I doubt they would be satisfied with just the core worlds. They’d eventually dominate the entire galaxy.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Jump thirty-one will be two light years with the ZPEDs directly feeding the jump drive at one percent of their combined maximum output,” Abby explained from her place at the starboard auxiliary console on the bridge.

  “How’s the road ahead?” Nathan asked.

  “Open space forward for at least sixty-eight light years, Captain,” Lieutenant Yosef answered. “The closest star system along our path will be more than ten light years to port and above us.”

  “Very well, as soon as you’re ready, Doctor.”

  “Course is already plotted and locked, sir,” Loki announced.

  Nathan looked at Cameron who was standing to his right. Despite her concerns over the use of the ZPEDs to directly power the jump drive, she appeared as calm as ever. “Nervous?” he asked with the slightest hint of sarcasm.

  “No,” she answered rather quickly. “You?”

  “Nope,” he lied. “Mister Sheehan, execute jump thirty-one.”

  “Jumping in three……two……one……jump.”

  The bridge momentarily filled with the flash of the jump drive, subdued just enough by the view screen’s filter to prevent the flash from overpowering their eyes.

  “Jump thirty-one complete,” Loki reported.

  “Verifying position,” Lieutenant Yosef announced.

  “Did that look different to you?” Nathan asked Cameron.

  “Did what look different?”

  “The jump flash,” Nathan said. “Didn’t it have more blue in it before?”

  “I think you’re imagining it, sir,” Cameron said.

  Nathan turned and looked over his shoulder at Jessica.

  “Looked the same to me,” she told him.

  “Position verified,” Lieutenant Yosef announced. “In fact, we came out less than two hundred meters off target.”

  “Two hundred meters? That’s all?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Not exactly accurate for a combat jump,” Cameron said.

  “Combat jumps are not done from two light years, Commander,” Nathan said.

  “Captain, we were also a few hundred meters downrange of our target,” Abby said.

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Not unless it becomes worse at higher outputs, no.”

  “Any reason not to increase the range with the next jump?” Nathan wondered.

  “No, sir. We are still well within safety parameters for the given jump distance.”

  “Very
well, let’s make the next jump four light years.”

  “Aye, sir,” Loki acknowledged. “Calculating jump thirty-two at four light years.”

  “And no recharge,” Nathan said with controlled excitement. Cameron shot him a disapproving glance, which he ignored. The idea of being able to jump around the galaxy at will fascinated him. He had never imagined himself an explorer, as the idea of sitting in a ship waiting months or years to reach a destination seemed incredibly boring. If they could jump repeatedly without recharging, exploration of even the most remote regions of the galaxy suddenly seemed a possibility, and an intriguing one at that.

  “We could be making history here,” Nathan told Cameron.

  “We’ve been making history since we left Earth.”

  “True enough. You know, I’ve read a lot of history books. I never thought that I would be in one.”

  “Oh, you’re going to be in them; that’s a given. Let’s just hope you aren’t portrayed as a villain.”

  “Jump thirty-two plotted and locked,” Loki reported.

  “Doctor?” Nathan asked.

  “ZPEDs are running at two percent. All jump systems show normal. The ship is ready to jump.”

  “Execute jump thirty-two.”

  “Jumping in three……two……one……jump.”

  Again the bridge filled with the jump flash. Despite the filters, Nathan always found himself squinting.

  “Jump thirty-two complete,” Loki reported.

  “Verifying position,” Lieutenant Yosef announced.

  “Any reason we even have that dumb thing on when we jump?” Nathan asked. “It’s not like there’s anything out there for us to see.”

  “Vladimir has programmers working on it,” Cameron told him. “He plans to devise a more appropriate set of data displays for you to choose from as needed.”

  “That would be nice. I still can’t believe that the designers thought the forward exterior view should be the default.”

  “It’s not like the people of Earth have a whole lot of experience designing starships, Nathan,” Cameron said.

  “I’m not an engineer; I’m a history major, and I figured it out.”

  “You’re also a qualified starship pilot.”

  “They didn’t have any pilots advising them?”

  “Position verified,” Lieutenant Yosef reported. “Two hundred fourteen meters to port and eight hundred sixty meters downrange.”

  “That’s an increase of more than five hundred meters in our downrange variance,” Abby noted, concern in her voice.

  “What does that mean?” Nathan asked.

  “Two jumps doesn’t give us enough data to reach any conclusions, sir,” Abby told him.

  “Care to make a guess?”

  She furrowed her brow. “Not really, but my first concern would be the decay rate of the exterior jump field.”

  “Are we feeding the correct amount of energy into the fields?”

  “According to my data, we are,” Abby assured him.

  “Recommendations?” Nathan asked.

  “I recommend we proceed with the test jumps, continuing to increase the range with each jump. If there is a pattern, the additional jumps will help us to determine both the pattern of variation and possibly the cause. Even if we cannot correct it, we may be able to compensate for the variance.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “As long as the downrange variance increases at a predictable rate. It isn’t like we’re going to run into something if we go a few kilometers past our target at this point.”

  “Kilometers?” Nathan wondered. “I thought we were talking about meters, Doctor.”

  “Based on the results of the first two jumps, the next jump will put us either eight hundred or sixteen hundred meters downrange of our target. On an astronomical scale, neither of those distances are significant.”

  “Very well,” Nathan relented. “What range shall we set?”

  “We should stay true to our previous pattern in order to accurately compare the results. The next jump should be six light years at three percent power.”

  “Very well. Mister Sheehan, you heard the Doctor.”

  “Aye, sir. Plotting jump thirty-three for six light years.”

  Nathan looked at Cameron, raising his eyebrows momentarily, yet still getting no response from the implacable commander. He turned further around to face Jessica. “How’s the threat board, Jess?”

  “Are you kidding? I haven’t seen a contact since we left the Pentaurus sector twenty jumps ago.”

  “You think we’ll come across any more inhabited worlds along the way?” Nathan wondered.

  “There are only eleven G-type stars within ten light years of our course, sir,” Lieutenant Yosef commented. “According to the catalog, only three of them have potentially habitable planets. However, none of them have been explored, at least to our knowledge.”

  “Which is considerably limited,” Nathan added. The lieutenant nodded her agreement. “Still, it would be nice if there were.”

  “I’ll be perfectly happy not seeing any one else until we reach Earth,” Cameron said.

  “Makes for a boring journey.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Jump thirty-three plotted and locked,” Loki reported.

  “ZPEDs at three percent. All jump systems show normal,” Abby reported.

  “Execute jump thirty-three,” Nathan ordered.

  “Jumping in three……two……one……jump.”

  Nathan took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the jump flash cleared.

  “Jump thirty-three complete,” Loki reported.

  “Verifying position,” Lieutenant Yosef announced.

  Nathan waited silently for the lieutenant to complete the verification process. It normally only took seconds to verify their position. However, he knew that the lieutenant was triple-checking her findings in this case.

  “Position verified,” Yosef reported. “Four hundred meters to starboard, thirty-two hundred meters downrange of target.”

  “Thirty-two hundred meters?” Nathan said. “I thought you said sixteen hundred max.”

  “It appears that the problem is amplified at a much greater rate than anticipated, sir,” Abby admitted. “To be honest, I’m as surprised as anyone.”

  “Sir,” Cameron interrupted, “perhaps it would be best if we terminated the tests, at least for now, to give Doctor Sorenson time to analyze the jump events.”

  “We need to continue through to ten light years, Captain,” Abby insisted. “Otherwise we will not have enough data to figure out what is causing the problem, let alone how to correct it.”

  “That was a three-kilometer error, Abby,” Nathan said.

  “Still not significant on an astronomical scale, Captain. The increasing errors in the actual range have not put the ship at any additional risk.”

  “Captain,” Cameron interrupted, “I have to disagree with Doctor Sorenson. The very fact that we do not know why the errors are occurring is more than enough reason to discontinue the tests.”

  “Which is precisely why we need to complete the tests, Commander,” Abby defended, “so that we can figure out and resolve the problem.”

  “She is right, Commander,” Nathan argued. “Three, thirty, or three hundred kilometers. It’s still…”

  “I know,” Cameron interrupted, “it’s astronomically insignificant. Did you notice that the lateral position relative to target has also been off, sir?”

  “It takes time to calibrate a new emitter system, Captain,” Abby stated. “We went through the same process after we replaced the emitters back at Corinair.”

  “I’m inclined to agree with Abby on this one, Commander. We need the last two jumps in order to figure this out. However, if the next jump is wildly off the mark, I will terminate the testing. Fair enough?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Jump thirty-four, Mister Sheehan. Eight light years.”

  Loki looked at Josh who, for once, ap
peared just as concerned as he was. “Aye, sir. Plotting jump thirty-four at eight light years.”

  Nathan looked at Cameron again. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn’t happy about his decision. He also knew that she was aware that she had come extremely close to being insubordinate. However, she had only been doing her job, looking after the well-being of the ship. Furthermore, she was doing exactly what he needed her to do, which was to keep him thinking as much as possible.

  “Jump thirty-four plotted and locked,” Loki reported.

  “ZPEDs at four percent,” Abby reported. “All jump systems show ready.”

  “Mister Sheehan, execute jump thirty-four.”

  “Aye, sir. Jumping in three……two……one……jump.”

  Nathan closed his eyes this time, again breathing out slowly as they jumped.

  “Jump thirty-four complete,” Loki reported with a hint of relief in his voice.

  “Verifying position,” Lieutenant Yosef announced again.

  Nathan looked at Abby, then at Cameron, both of whom looked tense.

  “Position verified,” Yosef reported. “Fifty-seven meters to port, slightly high.” The lieutenant paused as if she didn’t want to report the next number. “Twenty-five point four kilometers downrange.”

  The bridge was silent. Nathan again looked at Abby. The physicist was not usually a confident looking person, but this time her face radiated confidence. Cameron, on the other hand, looked like she was about to scream, which was completely opposite from her usual demeanor. For a moment, Nathan worried how she would react to his next command. “Mister Sheehan,” he began calmly, “plot jump thirty-five. Ten light years.”

  Loki swallowed hard, his only solace being the knowledge that this was the last jump in the test series. “Aye, sir. Plotting jump thirty-five at ten light years.”

  The bridge remained silent while Loki plotted the next jump. Finally, Cameron stepped closer to the command chair as if to speak.

  “Don’t,” Nathan told her in a hushed tone before she could say anything.

  “Jump thirty-five, ten light years, plotted and locked,” Loki reported.