This Corner of the Universe (6 page)

“Captain,
we’re pulling out from the RALF and Ana will come to an intercept course for
Nomad in a couple minutes.  Time to intercept is three hours, ten minutes.” 
The voice of his first officer from his datapad shook him from the past. 
Heskan, whose next shift was in eight hours, acknowledged Riedel and set his
datapad to wake himself in three.

The
sleek corvette moved away from the mining station.  It slipped through the Beta
Field and, once past the distortion generated by the asteroid field, made
positive identification of the HandyMax-sized bulk freighter.  The two ships met
just 1
lm
from the outside edge of the Beta Field, with
Anelace
moving twice as fast as the freighter and covering more than her share of the
distance between them.  Once pleasantries were exchanged via voice and video
communications and each ship’s standard data was synched,
Anelace
gracefully pivoted one hundred eighty degrees and settled beside the enormous
freighter 10
ls
(light-seconds) to starboard.  Naval ship formations had
ship stations much closer to each other but, with civilian traffic, most naval
ships were reluctant to crowd a non-military navigator. 

As
both ships reached the Beta Field,
Anelace
shifted her position to
directly in front of the freighter, slowed to .05
c
and led the ship
through the field of shifting asteroids ranging in size from small hover cars
to massive, mountain-sized rocks.  The two ships treaded carefully as the
distortion inside the field limited even
Anelace’s
powerful sensors. 
They
must sail practically blind in here
, Heskan thought. 
Those freighter
pilots are braver than I give them credit.
 

Once
clear of the belt, the two ships accelerated again to .1
c
and reoriented
themselves toward the distant refining station.  Two and a half hours later,
Nomad
received clearance to dock with the RALF and
Anelace
set her course for
the Skoll tunnel point.

The
actual route
Anelace
took to the tunnel point was far from direct. 
After his three experiences with the Beta Field, Heskan had no desire to travel
through the far denser and exponentially more dangerous Alpha Field.  Instead
of traveling through it, he took the ship out-system and around it and only
then set a direct course for the tunnel point.  It added over five hours of
travel time but the increase in safety was well worth the time spent.  Once
Anelace
reached the Skoll tunnel point, she was 3.25
lh
from the RALF. 

Two
hours into
Anelace’s
search for the Skoll buoy,
Nomad
pulled free
of the mining station and began her journey to the Narvi tunnel point
unescorted.  Heskan did not like the freighter traveling through the Beta Field
without a shepherd but he could not blame the freighter captain for not wanting
to sit docked, waiting on
Anelace’s
return.  The universal constant of
“Time is Money” prevailed over all else in economic ventures.

In
the end, the freighter captain’s decision to travel without an escort proved to
be a wise one. 
Nomad
traversed the Beta Field without incident and dove
into tunnel space one hour before
Anelace
discovered the location of the
Skoll buoy.  Heskan breathed a soft sigh of relief when the signal of
Nomad’s
safe departure from the Narvi navigation buoy reached
Anelace
, nearly
four hours after it happened.  He understood that Lieutenant Durmont might not
look favorably upon him “leaving” his duties to find this buoy and, considering
the state of his professional relationship with the arrogant bastard, he did
not need to give him any reason to send off a bad report to higher command.

The sensor
section crew recovered the dead buoy without mishap and Heskan ordered another
“buoy autopsy.”  Ensign Truesworth’s report on the first buoy had been
definitive.  The buoy had ceased to function as the result of a collision with
debris approximately 0.1 meters in width.  Even though collisions in the dead
of space were extremely rare, they were not entirely unheard of.  When Truesworth
had estimated the chance of the occurrence at less than one percent given the
buoy’s position and the time it had been in operation, the number concerned Heskan
but there was not much left to pursue. 
The buoy was hit by a space rock and
that’s that,
he thought.

Truesworth’s
men set to work on analyzing the second buoy as
Anelace
returned to the
other side of the star system.  Heskan had not ordered a replacement buoy
deployed at the Skoll tunnel point because no ships came out this far. 
More
importantly
, he told himself
, I want to hold on to my last buoy in case
the galaxy rolls another one percent on the cosmic dice and destroys my Narvi
buoy
. 
Anelace
had maneuvered around the Alpha Field and was sailing
past the RALF en route to the section of the Beta Field that Renard ore
extractors were exploiting when Heskan’s cabin chime sounded. 

“Enter.”

The
door slid open silently and Ensign Truesworth came in.  “Sir, we’ve finished
looking at the Skoll buoy.  You’ll receive a full report tomorrow but I can
give you a preliminary one now if you want.”

Heskan
placed his datapad on his desktop and arched his back as he stretched.  “Go
ahead, Jack.  What’d you find?”

The
junior officer glanced at his own datapad before speaking.  “This one looks like
a good old-fashioned malfunction.  The buoy’s casing was clean with no
penetrations so we broke her apart.”  Truesworth walked over to Heskan and
showed him the information on his datapad.  “As you can see, the power relays
have fused themselves shut.  It happens, especially in high rad environments.”

“Nothing
sinister, then?” Heskan asked.

“No,
sir.  This is a common malfunction.  I haven’t run the numbers, and I will if
you want them, but this is probably one of the most common reasons for a buoy
to cease functioning.”  Truesworth waited for his captain to ask any questions
and then resumed when Heskan stayed silent.  “I guess it’s a little unusual to
fuse after just a few years of operation but with the radiation coming out from
the star plus the Beta Field, plus the Alpha Field, it’s understandable.”

“Then
I guess that’s that,” Heskan mused. 
Why do I get this nagging feeling that
we’re missing something?  We’ve done diagnostics and we’ve done our due
diligence but I just don’t like these results and I’m not sure why. 
“Can
you recommend any further action, Ensign?”

Truesworth
was taken slightly aback at this.  He considered carefully and then responded,
“Well, sir, I’m not sure what’s left to do.  We can run another analysis to see
if we come up with something else but the malfunction is pretty apparent.”

“Right,
a fused power relay,” Heskan finished for him and scratched his chin.  “Okay,
Jack.  You and your section have done good work.  I need you to do one more
thing for me though.  Take the power relay out and really dig into it.  I’d
like to know exactly where it fused, how long ago it fused and so on.  Hell, if
you can tell me how much radiation it absorbed before it died, I’d want to know
that too.”

“Yes,
sir,” Truesworth answered back as Heskan hid his smile.

Your
mouth says “yes, sir” but your eyes say “wild goose chase,” Ensign
.  Heskan smiled after Truesworth
left his quarters. 
I guess I can’t blame you but you might as well learn
sooner than later that superior officers want overkill on projects like this.  Well,
good superior officers do.

Anelace
spent the next two weeks
loitering around the edge of the Beta Field, monitoring the ore extractors.  If
an ore extractor suffered an accident, the intent was to move
Anelace
in
quickly and then lend support to the distressed craft.  During this downtime,
the crew settled into a standard routine.  Most watched the latest Slamball
sporting games that had been transmitted to
Anelace
from
Nomad
when their standard data computers synchronized.  Since news traveled only at
the speed of light, it was standard practice to have passing ships exchange
information.

Not
long after the discovery of tunnel points, this exchange custom was made
automatic and instant with the use of specialized computers that swapped and
updated news, sporting events, movies, books and anything else placed into the
collective information database known as the “standata.”  As soon as a ship,
buoy, or orbital station was identified as friendly, standata was synchronized
so that each party had the latest information available.  
Nomad’s
standata, like most civilian cargo ships, had significant updates for
Anelace
.

In
the ship’s mess hall, which also served as a recreation area, Heskan watched
the Slamball quarterfinals between the Anthe Scrappers and the Tetium
Tempests.  Quite a crowd had gathered for the game and the room had taken on a
relaxed and jovial atmosphere.  Crewmembers laughed and cheered as they
followed the game, which diverted their attention, at least momentarily, from
how far they were from home. While Heskan didn’t miss his “home,” he enjoyed
spending time with his crew and watching them interact.

They
really have bonded with each other
,
he thought as he looked around the room.  Sitting not too far away was a
contingent of the operations section, Spacemen Cook, Diaz, Gables and Getney. 
The group was teasing Damage Controlman Gables who, wearing her Tempests jersey,
was currently lamenting a Tetium turnover.  On the other side of the room,
Anelace’s
weapons section was represented.  Gunner’s Mate Second Class Pruette and three
spacemen from the LAZ weapons subsection were clearly pulling for the
Scrappers.  As Heskan took in the atmosphere, he realized how protective he was
beginning to feel of his crew. 
Chances are we’ll never see any real danger
this far away from everyone
, he comforted himself,
but I don’t know how
I’d ever forgive myself if something happened to this little family.

Heskan’s
eyes moved from the wall screen to the door as
Anelace’s
weapons
officer, Lieutenant Vernay, entered the room and grabbed a snack.  As she
smiled and nodded her way past the members of her duty section, the crowd
exploded into collective cheers and groans that brought Heskan’s attention back
to the game.  He watched as a flanker from the Tempests snatched up the ball
and lithely avoided two defending Scrappers to score.

Barely
audible over the noise, Heskan heard Vernay’s voice, “May I join you, Captain?”

“Of
course, Stacy.  Let me scoot over a bit and give you some room.  I guess you
don’t need much.”  Heskan slid his tray over to make some space for the
lieutenant.

Vernay
sat down gracefully and looked up at the screen.  “There’s no better flanker
than Tony Campbell.”

Heskan
shook his head, “He’s good but what about Lace’s Julian Gonzalez?  He broke
nearly every season record last year.”

Vernay
smiled, “Yes, but he has the best aggressor line in the league.  It’s pretty
easy to run through holes as big as Ana.  Campbell is much younger and earns
every meter he gets.  Plus, Gonzalez got hurt two months ago.”

The
room erupted into cheers once more as Campbell again dodged two defenders and
then bowled over a final one to tie the game.  Spaceman Gables was jumping up
and down in delight and even Heskan was impressed by the young flanker.  “You
might be right, Stacy.”  Vernay wiggled her eyebrows up and down as if to say “I
told you so,” and then laughed as she watched Gables’ victory dance.  “She has
a lot to celebrate,” Vernay said loudly, trying to be heard over the ruckus. 

“Who?”
Heskan asked as he watched the replay of Campbell’s magnificent run. 

Vernay
pointed at Gables.  “Denise.  She found out she was accepted into the next
cycle for Officer Training School.  So was Glen Jamison.”  Vernay smiled even
wider.  PO2 Jamison served in her section at the portside Number Two Laser position. 
She had dedicated dozens of hours preparing and motivating him for the officer’s
qualifying tests and meticulously helped craft his application, and she was now
basking in the knowledge that she had helped open a door to a larger universe
for one of her own.  Originally, Vernay had thought all the work had been for
nothing as Jamison had been a “non-select” for the last cycle.  However, all
applications were automatically resubmitted for a second cycle and he had beaten
the odds and been accepted for the upcoming training class.  The news had
reached them with the latest standata and meant that both spacemen would
probably have to hitch a ride with a freighter out of Skathi as the beginning
of the next cycle was only three months away.  Vernay’s section would be short-handed
in the meantime but she considered it a small price to pay for launching a
promising officer’s career.

“That’s
great news, Stacy.  Be sure to remind me in tomorrow’s staff meeting so we can
plan a proper send-off for them,” Heskan replied as he watched the game.

On
the wall screen, the Tetium Tempests shot the ball over to Anthe and players
collided as the Tempests stopped the Scrappers’ assault.  With the Tempests in
possession, the crowd in the mess hall started to get loud again.  The cheering
grew in intensity as the ball was pitched backwards to Campbell, who was
immediately surrounded by four Scrappers.  Campbell shook off two players but the
other two held on tightly as Campbell dragged them meter after meter.  With
each step of the beleaguered flanker, the crowd in the mess hall cheered louder
and louder. 

The
volume of the game suddenly muted as the compartment’s speakers chimed and the
voice of Petty Officer Deveraux came through.  “Captain Heskan, we have a
tunnel drive disturbance at the Narvi point.  It’s hard to read this close to
the Beta Field but the signal seems like a freighter’s beacon, distance
unknown.  Her beacon color and ID are unknown.  Sensors confirm a ship but
we’re too far out for anything else.”

The
volume immediately returned and the crowd in the mess hall talked excitedly about
the flanker’s incredible strength.

“I
guess that’s my cue.  Nice chatting with you, Stacy,” Heskan said as he got up
from the table and departed.

Out
in the corridor, Heskan initiated communications with the bridge from his
datapad.  He could have opened a comm link in the mess hall but there was no reason
to make everyone remain quiet while he conducted routine operations. 
There’s
no rush, we’re a full twenty-five light-minutes from the tunnel point and we won’t
get a clear picture until we get through the Beta Field
.

“Bridge,
Captain, report.”  Heskan liked keeping communications simple and short.

This
time, Heskan’s first officer responded, “Still too much disturbance to get a
lot, Captain.  The navigation buoy amplified that ship’s beacon so we can
detect it but sitting right at the edge of the Beta Field makes it too hard to
get a clearer transmission.  I’ve ordered Anelace on an intercept course in
anticipation of us escorting the ship to the RALF.  We’re making our way
through the Beta Field at point one-C and I estimate we’ll be clear of it in fifty
minutes.  After that, we should have a much better sensor picture, sir.”

“Very
well, Mike.  My shift starts in a couple hours so I’m going to go to my cabin
and get cleaned up.  I’ll relieve you in a while.” 

Heskan
heard his first officer acknowledge and then ended his transmission. 
This
system would be a nightmare to defend from invasion
, Heskan thought. 
All
we would get is a warning that ships tunneled in and then we’d have to get past
the asteroid fields before we knew what we were up against.  I guess you’d have
to have pickets on the outside of the Beta Field all the time and relay what
they saw to the inner part of the system
. 
On the other hand, any ship that
dove in would be equally blind.  That freighter won’t have a clue we’re here
until we’re past the Beta Field, at which point only then will they be able to detect
our ship’s beacon.

Heskan
passed through the quiet corridors of the lower deck, greeting the rare passerby. 
This early in the day, most people were either on duty, asleep or watching the Slamball
game.  Heskan skipped the ladder, took the elevator to the upper deck and
walked down the officer’s quarters portion of the long, single hallway.  When he
reached his cabin, he quickly took a sani-shower and put on a fresh uniform. 
With plenty of time before his shift started, he decided to review the
freighter schedule for the next few weeks.  Most of the time there would be none
or only one freighter in the system.  However, on a few occasions, there would be
multiple cargo ships; one traveling to the mining station, one traveling to the
Narvi tunnel point.  Heskan had decided to place
Anelace
at the Beta
Field during those instances so she could help the freighters navigate the most
treacherous leg of the journey.

He
was deep in thought when his cabin chime sounded.  “Captain, we’ve exited the
Beta Field and have a good picture of the freighter.  Her beacon is green and
ID says she is the Vagabond.  Visual confirms a HandySize bulk cargo ship.”

Heskan
answered, “Thank you, Mike.  I’ll be up shortly.”

Forty
minutes later, Lieutenant Riedel chimed Heskan again.  “Sorry to bother you
again, Captain, but something strange just happened.  The freighter just came
about and is heading back toward the tunnel point to Narvi.”

“Was
there a change in her beacon, Mike?” Heskan queried. 

“No,
and nothing we can pick up visually explains why she reversed course.  She’s
not leaking anything and her emissions are normal,” the first officer answered.

“On my way.”

*  *  *

“Captain
on the bridge,” Riedel called out.

“What
have you got, Mike?” Heskan asked.

Riedel
ran his fingers through his hair as he spoke, “She’s still going back, sir.  I
sent a message out to her asking her why she turned and if we can render
assistance but it won’t reach her for another ten minutes.  Any reply from her will
take another ten to get back to us.”

Heskan
looked at the system plot on the main screen.  The plot was zoomed in to focus
on
Anelace
and the freighter.  It showed the blue blip of
Anelace
with smaller “vector dots” behind her representing her course over the last
hour.  Ten light-minutes ahead of her was the green blip of the freighter
Vagabond,
the dots of her course confirming a one hundred eighty degree turn back toward
the Narvi tunnel point.  Surrounding the green blip was a lighter green,
roughly circular shaded area that represented a margin of error for the ship’s
actual location.  Since the information
Anelace
was currently seeing was
ten minutes old, the freighter could have theoretically changed course again
and
Anelace
would not know it until the light from the freighter
traveled the 180,000,000 kilometers to
Anelace
.

Heskan’s
hand absently scratched his chin. 
Why would it turn around?  The ship looks
fine, and, at any rate, if it were damaged why would you stress it further with
the distortion waves a dive inflicts?  What do you see that we can’t?

Riedel
thinking along the same lines ordered, “Sensors, full sweep.  Give me the
status of the RALF.”

The
order was acknowledged and Heskan’s attention returned to the plot. 
You
turned around forty minutes after we broke clear of the Beta Field…  Ack!  No,
I’m wrong!  You turned around twenty minutes after we broke clear and it took another
twenty minutes for us to see it
.  Heskan ran some quick calculations to
confirm his theory. 
You turned around not because you saw something we haven’t
but because you saw us.

“Navigation,
max speed, full military acceleration,” Heskan commanded.  “Deveraux, tell that
freighter to heave to and cut her engines, and don’t make it a request.”

After
the stunned silence of a few seconds, both stations quickly complied. 
Anelace
powered forward on her Allison drives.  Her speed leapt from .1
c
to .2
c
. 
She would eventually top out at .3
c
given the command of “maximum
speed.”

Riedel
gave his captain a questioning look, “Sir?”

“That
freighter is running, Mike.  Look at the plot.  She turned around right when
she saw us.  We haven’t been on station long enough for freighters to know
we’re in this system and Vagabond wasn’t expecting to see us.”

Heskan
turned to the navigator third class manning the navigation station.  “Can we
reach her in time, Mark?”

“I’ll
calculate, sir,” he nervously replied.  After a minute that seemed to drag on
forever, the navigator said, “It’s going to be close, sir.  We might be a
little late.  They’ll be able to generate a tunnel effect in forty-two minutes. 
At .3
c
, we’ll reach them in forty-seven minutes.”