Ships of Valor 1: Persona Non Grata (6 page)

I knew I had extensive dataware, but I had always assumed it was only math based. Bad assumption apparently. I told Thom about my first liner trip, and he laughed. “Yah, I've heard of them doing them doing that before.” He hesitated for a moment then said. “That pineapple on your collar is for ordnance right?” I nodded, not correcting him about the bursting bomb insignia. “The Legion probably did it to give you an edge with that. This is a side effect. Doesn't take with everyone, and the Guild doesn't like mixing too much ware because of our own conditioning. The human mind is fragile, and you can only bend it so much. Causes issues if not done right or you’re under too long. But, now we know what we're working with, let's have some fun with some bigger boats.” Why did I not like it when people in authority used the word fun?

We kept going until we got to ships so big the sim didn't have the computing power to deal with us. About that time Pembroke, the Sergeant Major who greeted me originally came to end our fun for the day. Rather than getting more solo lessons, he had me auditing classes with his guys. It was a welcome break from the entire one-on-one time, which had started to stress my abilities. It’s a sad state of affairs when a completely new skill set is the least stressful only because of the shared experience. His included everything from video surveillance to computer usage. As we weren't exactly sure what I was going to need, but we figured more knowledge was going to be better and tried to get me as solid a core as possible.

Over the next month, this routine repeated at a near constant pace, until I eventually graduated from sims to real shuttles, and eventually larger ships, and Pembroke had me doing light training runs back in Luna City. Nothing significant, but feet wet level type things. Get as much practice in as possible. One of the most interesting things was having me try and spot some of his undercover agents and trainees if I could. With that exercise, I was most surprised by the false positives or people I thought were potentials than those who I completely missed.

I started dividing my time between the two locations, and we started fleshing out the actual plan since we had a real grasp of what I was capable of and what I was comfortable with. It also gave me a chance to spend some more quality time with Lysha, sorely lacking since I had started my training over at Tycho.

On one such occasion, she dragged me into the bowels of Luna, far deeper than I knew even existed. Eventually, we ended up in the largest hangar I have ever seen. I think the
Rope
, the
Ozzie
, and the
Compass
could have docked inside and there would have been room to spare.
A multi-level affair, filled with hundreds of ships of all sizes, but three stood out in particular. They were on the main launch pad and looked ready for takeoff. The smallest was an executive yacht, which I assumed was Lysha's. The next larger parked beside it was an old
Liberty
class, heavily modified, and updated. I'd guess in the fifty-tonne range. Light and agile. The last boat was hard to make out but looked to be over two-hundred meters long, and in the hundred kilotonne range. I was very familiar with the body design having served on the
Gerdes
, but this looked older and had the wrong coloring being a deep royal. If I didn't know better she was a
Valor
-class hospital ship. I pointed her out to Lysha.

“You've got a good eye, that's
Heart
. We're going to see him.” I gave her a questioning look when she said him since we usually refer to ships as women. Having one called him struck me as odd. She caught my expression and smiled. “You'll see.” As we got closer, I realized the ship was indeed a
Valor
-class, but not one of the second or third generations, like the
Gerdes
, but one of the first generations. When she said
Heart
, I had assumed the name was short for something else like
Heart of the Sea
or
The Dragon’s Heart
, but this was the
Heart
. One of the original four ships of the class.

The hanger was huge, even with slide-walks, but we eventually made our way to the
Heart
. Lysha palmed us through the portal and out of habit; I requested permission to come aboard. “Granted, Lieutenant Gadsden. You are always welcome aboard.” A distinctly male voice. I looked to Lysha.

“Hey,
Heart
! We're coming up to the bridge, can you light the way for us?” She announced to the air. “And please pull out that package I sent down if you would?”

“Of course. It is already waiting.” The speakers adjusted volume towards me. “Lieutenant Gadsden, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Miss Kellinger speaks very highly of you.” I told the disembodied voice to call me Ari, almost saying sergeant by mistake.

Since Lysha didn't seem to be disconcerted talking to a discorporate voice, I tried not to be either. I asked if this was the original hull, and caught a little bit of pride “Yes, everything is original, except the expanded computer systems and a few minor internal modifications. That is why you are able to talk to me! When we, the
Star
and I became hyperspace capable, we woke up.”

That explained it. The
Valor
-class was a decent sized ship class, but not hyperspace ready originally. They had great sub-lights as hospital ships. Massive engines and decent comps for their time. As they started aging, they were sold off, and a few folks started retrofitting them.

Making a ship
h
space capable isn't as complex as the process sounds. The only thing needed is more computing power if the ship has enough mass. We can push any amount of matter through
h
space, but the more mass it has the longer it can stay inside. This doesn’t affect real distance, but it does affect the paths a particular ship can take. More time in
h
space meant more potential paths or greater coverage of the galaxy. Basically, the bigger a ship is the more places it can end up going.

The universe is like a giant spinning clock in many ways, and the
h
space pathways appear constant, as opposed to relative. So as everything inside the universe is moving and space is expanding it becomes essential to have the best computers available to calculate not only where to enter, but what the conditions will be on the other side of a jump.

The major issue is computers get both better and smaller as time goes on.
This allows more computing power to fit into the same physical space making them even smarter. Eventually, by continually upgrading the ships’ computers, they start getting smart enough for some ships wake up becoming first gen AI.

With military and colony craft, it didn’t happen because most of them were already large enough and were
h
space ready. Upgrading them resulted in more storage space, while the ones that weren’t, didn’t need as large of computer upgrades so the connections needed for consciousness didn't occur. With the smaller sized craft, enhancements had the physical space limitation of the ship itself, netting the same result. Their computers weren’t quite there yet. At least not during that the first era. But for ships about the size of the
Heart
, doors for computer-based intelligence opened.

As Lysha led me through
Heart
towards his main control bridge, I saw he was in pristine condition for a ship approaching a hundred and fifty years. I ran my hands along the bulkheads as we walked and admired the craftsmanship. Lysha caught me staring and slowed our walk pointing out areas as we went. Although we were taking a direct route, she made sure to point out anything I stared at for more than a few seconds. In the few minute walk, it became obvious she was not only an expert on
Heart’s
inner workings but on ships in general.

“My great-grandfather bought him and
Star
from the salvage lot. Can you believe the old Federation government was going to scrap him? He couldn't get the
Valor
or
Cross
, but we're hoping someday. We think they're somewhere out near Vaneles and Trandhelm.” I asked after the
Star
.

“She's with my aunt exploring. Rosly does not have the right temperament for management, but she's great at finding opportunities out-system. Has some sort of sixth sense when it comes to raw potential. She checks in about once a year, usually with a new plaything on her arm.” I truly enjoyed her laugh. “I love her dearly, but thank goodness she's not a man. I don't think I could handle chasing off heirs.”

The command deck doors opened for us, giving a spectacular view of the hangar. We were a good fifteen meters off the floor, but could see the back wall, displaying what appeared to be the prize collection. Bays of smaller crafts lined the walls, all vintage, but not all perfect. Many of them were worn, dinged, or pitted as if they had been recovered and placed exactly as found. I uttered a wow at the collection. Some were ancient and shouldn't even be on Luna. I looked closer and saw several sealed behind containment fields.

“Is there one you would like a closer look at Lieutenant?”
Heart
asked, and I was so distracted I didn't even bother to correct him, and only nodded. I think he was tracking my eye movements to the
Stellar R8
I had spotted off to a side, and he adjusted a view screen so I could see her better.

I gave a silent whistle as the screen zoomed in. She was a beautiful ship. Unlike
Heart
who was more teardrop shaped, the
Stellar
looked like an octopus. Her front bulbous and rounded, designed with the massive shield projectors in mind, while the rear was all thrust. This led to a much more simplistic design. Almost like the classic drawing of a rocket ship every kid sketches. It's said everyone knows where they were when a few key events in history happen. Every generation has one. The
Stellar R8
slingshotting around the sun was my generation’s. 

A little context to that. Slingshotting around the sun doesn't sound like a big deal. Terra spins around the Sol constantly. By building up speed, using Sol's gravity to advantage, and then launching with sub-light engines, a ship can get near light speed. Combined with
h
space drives and the right point in space, humankind can exit the galaxy. It was the proof of concept of angrav and sub-lights working in conjunction to create extra-galactic travel.

I asked if she was the original. “Sadly, no.
Lady Persephone
has not yet returned though we are hopeful. Her reactors are good for approximately seventy-five more years. Based on her exit trajectory, there is a high confidence she survived the jump into hyperspace. Based on her mass and estimated speed at entry, she would maintain travel for approximately twelve to eighteen years. Her chances of return truly depend on whether she can find a star or singularity close enough to her arrival point make a similar return trip. Otherwise, she will offload her cargo of beacons, and perhaps the next ship will be able to collect valid data.”

Heart's
words seemed pragmatic laced with a little sadness. I felt the pain. Seeing the
Stellar R8
launch when I was still a kid is what made me want to go to space, any way I could. At first, I wanted to be an engineer. Until I realized I wasn't smart. Then I wanted to be an explorer, until I realized they also had to be smart, like engineers. Eventually, I happened upon the Legion. Legionnaires got to work in space. I was all in.

One nice thing about growing up in Alaska is we can still see the stars. I've been down south, and there's too much light. It blocks them out but up near the poles, when it's dark out, the stars glow. They called to me and the first time I had enough money saved up, I was on the first shuttle to Luna. I played tourist for all of a half hour before making it to White Caps. The recruiters had my thumbprint before explaining everything. I didn't care. Best thing I ever did.

I never felt quite as comfortable as when I was back home, though. It doesn't get hot or cold on ship. Everything is a constant. Sure, there’s a feeling of hot or cold, but it's not the same. I know it's all in my head, like the pain in my shoulder. Either that or someone has been fiddling with the controls. The experience isn’t the same.

For whatever reason, his tone slammed me back into a homesick mood. Not
Heart’s
fault, but I think the talk about the
Stellar
reminded me of home, and looking out at the stars. I used to do that every chance I got on ship and my recent flight training had been giving me more chances to see them as well. I think it was reminding me of how close I was.

“Ari, you with us?” I apologized for mentally wandering off. “It's okay. You just looked a little lost there for a second. Grab a seat, I wanted to ask you something.” The captain's chair shifted for me. That seemed a little ominous, but I went with courteous as she grabbed the next chair over.

She bit her lip, a sign of nervousness I had only glimpsed before. “So, I'm not really comfortable with you heading down to Terra alone. I was going to suggest you take Robert with you as a partner.” I opened my mouth to object, but she held up her hand. “But we both know that's a bad idea. He's easily recognizable as someone attached to Luna Corp. So I was thinking, if you don't mind, maybe. Maybe taking
Heart
with you.” She held like she was waiting for objections.