Outward Bound
Bilik argued with Mata ChaLik about the assembly of the drive system during the Egg-that-Flies’ final construction because he refused to skip tests to confirm the reliability of the drive system. Angered, Mata ChaLik didn’t allow Bilik to go on the ship’s shakedown cruise—he had to stay behind and make spare parts for the drive. The ship would gather fuel from Bata, the giant gas planet’s atmosphere just beyond the asteroid belt where they would deploy mining spacecraft.
“I’ll miss you,” Cha KinLaat said.
“Mata ChaLik had to accept a reduction in the Egg-that-Flies’ self-sufficiency,” Bilik said. “That means more space inside the gravity centrifuge.”
“Yes and no. All the extra space is allocated to food production instead of supplies. Did you hear one of the hangars for space craft in the rear section was eliminated?”
“That, too?”
“Yes, and no armored scouts, no Birds-of-War.”
“That won’t make Mata ChaLik happy.” Bilik had heard rumors the leader of the Defenders wanted to turn the Egg-that-Flies into an impregnable fortress. “Will we get the Birds-that-Soar?” He knew the mission would be severely handicapped without the three fusion-powered heavy lift shuttlecraft.
“Yes, but Mata ChaLik insists they be fitted with beam weapons to give them some claws.”
“What a surprise.” Bilik lowered his voice. “Did you hear Mata ChaLik must now have every command approved by the Keepers-of-the-Egg?”
“That should give me comfort. Somehow it doesn’t,” Cha KinLaat said. “I’ll let you know how that works out.”
Bilik watched the Egg-that-Flies depart for Bata. Its drive made a long, thin blue-white trace of fire in the dark night sky. The ship’s motion was slow to see as it descended below the horizon in a slow dance with Qu’uda’s moons. The next night, its flame rose like a distant glow-fly, shrinking over the passing hours as it headed toward the outer reaches of their system.
Bilik felt alone, for he was the only crewmember left behind. He struggled to produce the spare parts on schedule. As his patience wore thin, his circle of friends shrank.
It was, Bilik thought, the price I had to pay to be a part of the expedition. He had little time to call Cha KinLaat, and when he did, his friend was too busy to talk for long.
The Egg-that-Flies returned, appearing as a twinkling light among the stars. The huge ball of deuterium ice attached to its front made it brighter in orbit than on its departure. The ship would use the ice first and reserve the fuel in its tank for deceleration at their destination.
“Bilik,” Cha KinLaat called. “The commissioning cruise went well except for the loss of two mining craft. One collided with an asteroid, and the other lost control and crashed into Bata. We brought back lots of metals from the asteroid belt.”
“How did the propulsion system function?”
“Thrust was within design parameters. No problems. No one said anything about it. So it must have worked—”
“All crew members report to stations.” A voice overrode their biocomputer’s comm-net.
“That’s Mata ChaLik BuMaru,” said Cha KinLaat. “He no longer seeks consensus. He just orders us around. I must go.”
“I need the Birds-that-Soar to take the spare parts to the Egg-that-Flies,” Bilik said. “I’ve got a mountain of material and parts for the ship.”
Bilik shuttled equipment non-stop to the Egg-that-Flies and brought down the metallic treasures harvested from Bata’s asteroid belt. Finally, he took a last load of water up to top off the tanks, bathing pools, and the food growing systems. The ship was ready.
Few attended the departure ceremony in person. Most watched the holographic images on the universal communications link. The Egg-that-Flies’ trip to another star system was a historic event. Some feared the consequences, while others anticipated it would add a new world for their expansion. A few wondered if the aliens of Kota had anything to offer. Most viewed the mammalian species as vermin that could be safely eradicated.
Once on board, Bilik felt like an outsider. Everyone else had bonded during the trip to Bata. Cha KinLaat seemed distant.
This will change, he told himself. It’s just temporary. Maybe it’s me. I need to rest and recover from this past year.
On the outward acceleration leg, Bilik found Cha KinLaat still preoccupied while crossing the planetary orbits. When he did call Bilik, all he talked about was how he’d modified and corrected the thrust vectors, refining their course, adjusting for stellar aberration and relative system drift.
The deuterium ice-ball at the nose of the ship shrank as they passed the asteroid belt. The ship cleared the outer limits of their system and accelerated at one gravity to reach almost one-third the speed of light.
Once up to speed, the drive system shut down and the ship coasted on through the dark of interstellar space. There could be no turning back now from their thirty-year-long voyage to the Kota system. They only had enough fuel remaining to bring the ship to a stop. They would have to find fuel at their destination, Kota, the home of the alien vermin.