3 3
Clement was up by 0730, showered, ate, and was ready to go by 0815. Yan showed up right on time at 0830. Their meeting with Admiral DeVore was on the military side of the station, a good twenty-minute tram ride from the cabin decks to the Admiral’s office.
Yan was pleased that Clement was ready, smiling at him as he left his cabin, and walked side by side with him to the tram station, just a few hundred meters away. She said nothing about the previous night, and Clement was gentleman enough not to bring it up.
Once on the tram with the bustling uniformed crowd heading to their morning stations though, things changed.
“About last night,” Yan started as they sat together as the high-speed tram accelerated toward the navy wing of Kemmerine Station, tugging gently against the artificial gravity generated by the station. Clement held up a hand.
“No need to bring it up, Commander. It was my fault.”
Yan hesitated, then, “I don’t remember much, goddamned sailor’s ale, but I’d like to know if I . . . if we . . . I remember being inside your cabin?”
“Just to puke. Nothing happened, Yan.”
Yan laughed uncomfortably. “I really can’t remember.”
Clement brooded, then decided he owed her more. “You seemed to warm to me after our dinner and the storytelling at The Battered Hull, and despite my best efforts, you were very attractive to me in that moment. A proper soldier, but also a woman. But I realized I was being influenced by the ale and a memory from my past, not by anything you said or did.”
Yan looked at him. “Elara DeVore?”
Clement did not reply. He didn’t have to.
The tram hummed to a stop a few minutes later and about half the car emptied out, going to the main service section of the navy stockyards. Mostly they appeared to be technicians and professionals, no doubt higher ranking staff and the like. The tram continued on to the next stop and the emptying process repeated itself. There were only a handful of officers left on the tram now, some of whom glanced at the 5 Suns Navy commander and her unranked companion in curiosity. Clement, for his part, kept his eyes focused straight ahead, only pausing to glance out at the docks when he saw an interesting ship or some repair work going on. Kemmerine Station was a very big and busy place.
Finally, the tram made its final stop at what could only be the station’s main administration complex. Clement and Yan made their way out of the tram and onto a broad and wide deck. A large office tower took up most of the far end of the complex, with huge view windows to either side looking down on the ships below. Clement imagined that the top office in the tower would have a panoramic view of the whole shipyards. That would be the office, undoubtedly, of Fleet Admiral Elara DeVore.
Yan led him through a promenade where fleet officers were chatting and conferring in groups, large and small. Clement wondered what kind of work would justify this bustle of activity. It was almost what you would expect during the preparation for a large military operation. They made their way through the busy crowd and inside the tower to an elevator, which took them up five stories.
The elevator opened onto a bright office area with two large hardwood doors, undoubtedly the Fleet Admiral’s office. It was the only office on the entire top floor of the tower. Yan made her way to a long reception desk where a man with the 5 Suns Navy rank of lieutenant sat behind a full security station. Clement, for his part, held back while Yan checked them in. The lieutenant called him over and handed him a security badge, which he attached to his uniform. They were both pointed to a waiting area where they sat down, presumably to wait on the Admiral. Clement checked his watch: 0900 on the dot. It wasn’t like the Elara DeVore he knew to be late.
He and Yan sat together in silence for what seemed a long time, but when Clement looked at his watch again, only five minutes had passed. His heart was beating faster and he was twitching his leg in nervous activity. Yan noticed, but said nothing. Finally the door to the Admiral’s office opened up and a short and small man in captain’s rank uniform came through from the other side and went straight to Yan, who stood.
“The Admiral is ready now,” he said. Clement glanced at his watch, which said 0908 hours. Then the captain turned to Clement and extended his hand. “I’m Captain Craig Wilcock,” he said formally. Clement stood and shook his hand.
“Jared Clement.” Wilcock nodded and then turned quickly as Clement and Yan followed the captain through the reception doors. A long way down the office toward the windows there was a desk, and Clement could see there was someone sitting at it, but he couldn’t make out the face well. They walked across the office past a large conference sitting area, a small kitchen, and some cubicles for technicians and the staff, before arriving at the Admiral’s desk.
Elara DeVore was busy dictating notes on a pad, her head turned partly away from her guests, saying nothing to them for a few moments as she spoke quietly into the com. Captain Wilcock waited with what seemed unending patience. Clement just felt annoyed as they all stood, waiting, Yan and Wilcock at attention. Clement had his hands clasped behind his back, taking a more casual stance. He reminded himself he wasn’t in the military anymore, least of all the 5 Suns Alliance Navy.
He looked at Elara. From the side her hair was cut shorter than she used to wear it, in a regulation style, and although her uniform was well-adorned, it wasn’t overly garish for a high-ranking Fleet Admiral. Her skin was still a gentle olive, but lighter than he remembered, indicating perhaps that she spent much of her time now in space, and not on any planet like her hot home world of Helios. That planet’s proximity to the Rim’s sun had darkened her skin in her youth when he knew her the first time. Her face seemed free of wrinkles, and she looked every bit of ten years younger than what Clement knew her age to be, forty-two standard years. Eventually she finished her pad entries, and looked up.
They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and when Clement looked into the eyes of his former lover for the first time in eleven years, he saw why. The brightness, the enthusiasm of her youth was still there, every bit of it.
Clement exhaled as Fleet Admiral DeVore stood and came around the desk, a deep and warm smile on her face. He held out his hand to her.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, and waved his hand away as she gave him a firm hug that lingered a bit, like old friends that had been apart too long. Still in Clement’s arms, DeVore looked over to Yan.
“Thank you for bringing him here, Tanitha,” she said. Yan nodded.
“Of course, Admiral.”
“Have you been well, Jared?” DeVore asked.
“Well, I’m not an Admiral, if that’s what you mean,” he deadpanned. DeVore stepped away and made her way back around to her side of the desk.
“Was he hard to convince?” she asked Yan.
Now Yan smiled. “Not once I mentioned your name, ma’am.”
DeVore laughed and gestured to two chairs. “Please sit,” she said. He and Yan both did, and then she just looked at Clement, smiling. She turned to their escort. “That will be all for now, Captain Wilcock.” He nodded and left the office without another word. DeVore turned back to him and Yan. “Jared Clement. I swear, the years have just made you even more handsome,” she said.
“Yan has already tried flattery on me, Admiral. It didn’t work,” said Clement in mock seriousness.
“I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t suppose Yan here has shared why I asked you to come today?”
Clement shook his head. “No, Admiral, she hasn’t,” he said. Despite the warm hug, Clement was still all business. At that, DeVore got up again and went toward the conference area.
“Follow me, please,” she said. Clement did so, watching every tug on her uniform as she walked. Her body was certainly more mature than he remembered, but every bit as enticing. Yan, a step behind him, gently nudged him to get his attention back on business. Presently DeVore motioned to a set of conference chairs and Yan and Clement sat down.
“What I’m about to show you now is classified, and even if you don’t accept my offer, I do expect you to keep this presentation secret, on your honor as a former navy sailor and as a gentleman,” DeVore said.
Clement nodded his assent and DeVore fired up the viewing screen. After a few seconds the panel lit up, revealing a 3D map of 5 Suns Alliance space. Before she started speaking though, she slid a thin electronic pad across the desk to Clement.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“A military NDA. Just a written guarantee of your honor as a gentleman,” she said. Clement slid it back.
“I’m not in the military,” he said.
DeVore sent it back to him a second time as Yan watched the interchange, noting the undoubted chemistry between them, and the underlying competition.
“It will only be relevant if you choose to re-enlist,” she said. Clement at least looked at it this time, then pulled up an attached pen and signed without really reading it. A glowing red sensor lit up next to his signature and he pressed his left thumb to it. The print stayed on the pad. “Thank you,” said DeVore, then put the paper to one side before continuing.
“What I’m sure you know as a matter of course is that the planets of the 5 Suns Alliance have been in an uneasy peace since the War of the 5 Suns. Oh, there’s no imminent danger of violence breaking out again, and there are no more war criminals, but the dangers that faced humanity during that war face us again today. Essentially, we have two billion people on eleven planets, facing much the same population problem as Earth faced before the Exodus, three hundred years ago. The problem here in the Alliance is that our worlds are not nearly so fertile as Mother Earth,” she started. “Our projections are that within a decade the Rim worlds, where you and I were born, will face starvation on a widespread scale.”
“They already do in many places on Ceta and Argyle,” interrupted Clement. “I’m not as sure about Helios.”
“Oh, there are food shortages there as well,” said DeVore. “Scattered, but becoming more systemic. The Rim worlds should probably never have been colonized, but you can’t stop pioneers and libertarian free thinkers from trying to make a paradise of their own.”
“Yes, well, this is all very good information, Admiral, but it’s planetary economics, and I’m a spaceship captain,” said Clement. “Or at least I was.” Yan gave him a concerned look at his tone, but said nothing.
“I understand. If you’ll allow me to continue?”
“Of course.”
“We expect the Rim economies to collapse in the next few years, and there won’t be enough aid available from the other worlds to save them. Our models indicate the Kemmerine worlds will soon follow with their own collapse within a decade, brought down by millions of refugees from the Rim planets. Then Virginis within another decade, and so on, so that within thirty years the five central worlds of Colonus Sector will be in danger themselves, both from a starving populous seeking to emigrate and the possibility of wars over resources. It’s a cascading-failure event just waiting to happen,” she said.
“If you’d been home in the last eleven years you’d see that it’s already started,” said Clement. DeVore gave him an impatient look.
“What makes you think I haven’t?”
“With all due respect, Admiral, the woman I commanded aboard the Beauregard had a deep olive complexion, like a native of Helios would. You don’t look like you’ve been in the sun, of any planet, much in the last eleven years.”
Now impatience turned to anger on DeVore’s face. “So, you’re judging me now?”
Clement shook his head. “No, Admiral. I’m merely stating that if you’d been home recently, you would probably have found that your cascading-failure event has already begun,” said Clement in an even tone.
“Ever the rebel, aren’t you, Clement?” said DeVore.
“Better than being a sellout,” he snapped in reply.
DeVore opened her mouth to retaliate when Yan stepped in before any more damage could be done. “Perhaps now would be a good time to focus on the proposed mission,” she said.
“I’m not sure the captain here is up to it anymore,” said DeVore in an angry tone. “Maybe I’ve made a mistake.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Admiral. And maybe I was never going to accept your proposal anyway.” He stood to leave and Yan stood with him. “Maybe all I ever wanted was to have my curiosity about where you disappeared to for eleven years sated, and maybe that’s already been done. You sold out to the enemy.”
“There is no enemy anymore, Clement, that’s what you fail to see. It’s fine with me if you want to back out,” said DeVore. “You always took too many chances for my taste. You were bound to hit rock bottom at some point, and now I see that you’re there.”
Yan jumped in again, trying to save the mission. “Wait. Clement, you’ve come all this way, and you’re going to leave before you even hear what the mission is? And with respect to the Admiral, how many times in the last six months have I heard you say there was only one commander for this mission, and that’s Jared Clement? I can leave the room now if you two want to hash out your personal anger at each other, but I’d much rather stay and hear the rest of the mission briefing,” she said. DeVore looked to Yan, surprised at her take-charge tone, and then glared at Clement, who finally relented and sat back down. Yan followed suit. The tension between them was obvious, as was the connection that had brought them together. After a few tense moments of silence, DeVore sat down and continued on with the briefing.
“So we’ve stated the problem. And now it’s time to discuss the proposed solution,” she said. “Four years ago we started a program using unmanned probes, a program to develop a high-speed interstellar drive that could get us to new star systems much faster than the old-generation ships that we used to found our colonies. As part of that program we sent out probes to a number of nearby star systems using different kinds of experimental FTL technologies. Most of them we lost contact with almost instantly, others kept sending us data but never made it to their destinations. But one of those probes went out, completed its survey, and came back within a very quick, and very surprising, time frame. In short, Clement, we think we’ve broken the light-speed barrier,” DeVore said.
Now Clement was intrigued. He sat forward in his chair. “You think you’ve broken the light-speed barrier? What does that actually mean?”
DeVore nodded to Yan, who took over the briefing for the technical details. “It’s called LEAP, Liquid Energy Absorption Propulsion. Essentially, it’s a quantum-fluid drive,” she started.
“Well that just rolls right off the old tongue,” said Clement.
“Please listen,” replied Yan, perturbed at his sarcasm. “LEAP is based on a centuries-old concept called an Alcubierre drive. Basically, when the drive is activated, a ship or probe creates a bubble of warped space around the vessel that contracts in front of the ship and expands behind the ship. The ship itself doesn’t actually move within the bubble, but rather ‘surfs’ on a ‘wave’ of ‘liquefied’ space generated by the LEAP drive within the bubble. The bubble moves, but the ship doesn’t. Normal space-time is warped around the ship. Essentially, it creates a quantum-fluid environment that allows for movement through normal space at faster-than-light speed.”
“To warp space as you describe would take an enormous amount of power,” stated Clement, skeptical. “What do you use to power the thing?”
DeVore cut in here. “An antimatter annihilation reactor.”
“A what?” said Clement.
Yan took over again. “Basically, the power we need is created by containing a matter/antimatter interaction within a closed vacuum. We accelerate quantum particles until they become unstable enough to create a singularity, which in turn generates an antimatter particle. That particle is then dropped into the reactor vacuum chamber where it is bombarded by an equal particle of normal matter. The resulting collision annihilates both particles inside the chamber and releases tremendous amounts of energy that takes on a quantum-liquid state. The energy is then channeled from the reactor and through the LEAP drive components to provide the power we need for creating and maintaining the bubble and running the drive.”
“So essentially you’re creating an antimatter micro-universe and then destroying that same universe every second to drive your ship?” asked Clement.
“Essentially,” said Yan. “Only it happens a lot more often than once a second.”
“How often?” Clement asked.
“About one hundred fifty million times per second, we estimate.”
Clement looked at the two women. “That’s insane,” he said.
DeVore shrugged. “It works, and we can control it. As to the specifics of it, I leave that to the scientists. The navy just does the sailing, Clement.”
“You said that this probe went out, completed its survey, and came back quickly. How quick are we talking here, and how far did it go?”
“It went to a star system 11.5 light-years from here, completed a full survey of the system for five days, and then returned to the station in seventy-three total days, roundtrip,” said Yan. “That’s about one hundred ten times the speed of light, if you were wondering.”
“I was,” said Clement. He leaned back in his chair again. “Has this LEAP drive ever been tested with humans on board? I mean what about radiation, g-forces, acceleration, and the like? I wouldn’t want to just be a blood spatter on the wall once it starts accelerating.”
“Again,” said Yan, “the ship itself wouldn’t actually be accelerating, just the bubble around the ship, therefore no corresponding g-forces or inertia.”
“So it would be like accelerating at one g the whole way?”
“Like sitting in your living room, or the local bar,” said Yan.
“I have to admit I’m intrigued,” said Clement. “But—”
“We’ve refitted a prototype ship with the LEAP drive. It has successfully made the round trip, unmanned, three times with no discernable effects that could be harmful to humans. Now the time has come for a human crew to make the journey,” said DeVore.
“So you need a new captain and a crew,” said Clement.
DeVore nodded. “And now you know why you’re here.”
Clement thought about it.
“So only one more question: How does all this relate to the planetary-economics lesson earlier?”
“And that’s the real question,” said DeVore, warming to the interchange now that she had engaged Clement’s curiosity. “This new system is a red dwarf, not unlike the dim K-type stars of Argyle or even Virginis. There are five rocky planets and two dwarf gas planets, and three of the rocky worlds are habitable with abundant water, gentle temperatures, and comfortable oxygen/nitrogen atmospheres. However, in addition to those beneficial conditions, each habitable world has more natural resources than all of 5 Suns Alliance space put together. Minerals like platinum, gold, silver, chromium, natural gas, petroleum, and so on. In short, all three planets are like a paradise, just waiting for us to colonize them.”
“And solve your overpopulation problems with conscripts from the Rim planets,” said Clement.
DeVore nodded. “They would be the first colonists. Others would follow, trained professionals from throughout the 5 Suns Alliance. You have to admit, Clement, it’s better to move the Rim populations than to let them die and bring down our whole civilization.”
“You realize you’re talking about forcibly moving nearly 4.4 million people.”
“No one will be forced, Clement,” DeVore said. “The lure of these new worlds should far outweigh the prospects of starvation on the Rim. And eventually we’ll open up these worlds for general migration. The 5 Suns planets will survive and flourish, and so will the new colonies.”
“Plus, you’ll need workers,” he replied.
DeVore nodded, and the conversation stopped.
“We call the system Trinity,” interjected Yan after a few moments. “In many ways, it’s like the divine has intervened for us. These three planets are the jewels in the crown. They will save humanity.”
DeVore put up a representation of the Trinity system. There were two inner rocky worlds that were uninhabitable, one with atmosphere, one without; three blue/green middle worlds with water and atmosphere; and two outer planets, both gas “giants,” at least in comparison to the inner five worlds. The three habitable planets on the visual display all had names: Alphus, Bellus, and Camus, going from the inside out. The fourth planet in the system, Bellus, was the largest of the three and had a notable moon.
DeVore looked at Clement. “So you’ve seen the mission. What do you think?”
Clement took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I think I’m going to have to see this miracle ship of yours, Admiral.”
DeVore smiled.
Twenty minutes later the three of them plus Captain Wilcock were on their way down an elevator to the station dockyards.
“You can see it from here,” said DeVore, pointing out the glass windows of the elevator to a specific ship. What Clement could see was a small section of the hull and a large ring around the rear third of the ship. It was obviously a prototype; it looked nothing like the standard navy ships in dock, nor any of the commercial vessels. It did, however, have a main fuselage that was a familiar shape, but modified by several attached cylindrical tubes and the ring.
“Is that ring the LEAP drive emanator?” Clement asked.
“It is,” said Yan. “You have a sharp eye.”
“For spaceships I do, yes.”
“The ring is connected by four tubular pylons that translate the reactor power to the drive components, making it go.”
“How long does it take for the bubble to form once you activate the drive?”
“About thirty seconds,” said Yan.
“And when it’s fully formed?”
“Then off you go, instantly.”
The elevator moved out of visual range of the prototype and they descended into a large, wide hallway that was filled with dock personnel scurrying to and from their assignments. There were two oversized beltways that carried large components, such as engine drive components, to either side of a pair of sliding sidewalks. The sidewalks were also full of people in work coveralls moving and connecting to other walkways leading throughout the dock. It was an impressive sight.
“I see the 5 Suns Navy has spared no expense on these dockyards,” said Clement.
“I am a bit proud of it myself, I have to admit,” said DeVore. She was clearly gauging his reaction to everything she was showing him, and liking what she saw.
The elevator settled and they stepped out into the scurry and bustle, making their way straight forward toward the far end of the station. There was little talk among their party of four, but DeVore had to deal with plenty of salutes from uniformed officers heading the other way. The utility and technical workers were apparently exempt from this protocol, especially if they were moving some sort of equipment. Clement surmised they were probably civilian contractors.
Eventually they turned right onto a new slideway that had large metal doors, emblazoned with the identifier “DOCK 19” in exceptionally large lettering looming over it. The scene was enhanced by two fully armed station security guards with cobra rifles at the ready. At their arrival at the dock they stepped off the slideway and then went in through a side door after being scanned by the security team. Wilcock pulled open the door and said, “This way.” Clement let the two ladies go in first and then followed them through.
He was far more impressed by the sight of the prototype than he thought he would be. It was big, as big as an old 5 Suns Alliance Navy light cruiser or even a Rim Navy gunship. She looked like she could carry over a hundred crew, easily. She had the look of gleaming silver chrome about her, which gave her a certain grace as she hung above them in her antigravity dry dock.
Her fuselage caught his attention most though. Forward of the drive ring and support pylons she had very similar lines to a Rim Confederation gunship, much like the one he’d commanded at the end of the war. Aft of the ring and pylons, though, she was much bulkier, seeming to carry a great deal of her mass to the rear. The constructs there looked like boat pontoons, six of them, attached to the main body of the ship. DeVore gestured for them to go up an inclined gantry walkway and into the ship, and Clement did so.
Once inside they were in a broad cargo hold, but it reminded Clement of where the enlisted crew’s quarters would be on a Rim gunship. In fact, the layout, to his naked eye, was almost exact.
“Is there a problem, Jared?” asked DeVore.
He looked around some more. “No, Admiral, just a bit of déjà vu,” he said.
She said nothing to that and they continued upward a couple more decks via a central gangway and stairs, Clement looking right and left as they went. The Admiral had to stop multiple times to return salutes from uniformed officers who were overseeing maintenance and installations on the prototype. It had all the look of a rush job for an imminent departure.
As DeVore and Wilcock led the way ahead, Yan caught up to Clement and spoke softly as he scanned the ship’s innards. “You’re looking squirrely, Clement. Something bothering you?” she said.
He nodded. “This just all seems so familiar. I’d swear this was a Rim Confederation gunship, at least the main fuselage is.”
“I’ve never been on a Rim Confederation gunship, so I wouldn’t know. I did hear that the main hull was salvage, refurbished and repurposed for this mission,” said Yan.
“Salvage? Hmm, as I recall we surrendered a half dozen fully functioning gunships at the end of the war. Well, as far as I know they were still functioning.”
“But not your ship. That was scuttled, correct?”
Clement nodded, not really wanting to recall his most ignominious moment of the war. “Correct,” he said. “Onto the surface of Argyle 4, a satellite of the main planet.”
“Do you think this could be—”
“The purpose of scuttling a ship, Yan, is so that it can’t be used in the future by your enemy.”
“So then this could be another of the surrendered gunships. You said there were half a dozen.”
“Yes, six.” Clement went silent then as they made their way up the walkway and on to Deck 2, senior crew quarters. There was no doubt in Clement’s mind now, they were on a Rim gunship.
“Looking familiar yet?” asked DeVore as she stopped one small flight of stairs short of what was undoubtedly the bridge.
“This is a Rim Confederation gunship, isn’t it, Admiral? I can tell that this used to be part of the bridge area,” Clement said.
DeVore smiled. “Indeed it is, or was. There have been so many changes, but the primary hull is a Rim gunship, yes. When we were proposing this mission the Admiralty wanted to risk as little 5 Suns Alliance materiel as possible because of the experimental nature of the missions, so I used a design that I was familiar with as a basis. Plus, the gunships had been in surplus for more than a decade. I also had a captain in mind for the mission, and I thought he might benefit from familiar surroundings,” DeVore admitted. Clement just nodded and then went to the captain’s cabin and opened the door. It was a wide and spacious stateroom inside, with a full bed, conference table for four, working area, and a private bath.
“This is nicer than my apartment on Argyle Station,” commented Clement, “and a distinct upgrade over the original design.”
“We went for a more spacious layout, seeing as we had free reign to refit her. The old gunships had crews of eighty, but this prototype can be run with a quarter of that, thanks to systems improvements and automation. There are five cabins here on Deck 2 plus a galley, and fourteen double berths below on Deck 5,” DeVore said.
“That’s why the cargo hold was so spacious. No need to cram sixty techs into the free space.”
“Exactly.” She looked at him expectantly as he stared up the last five steps of the gangway to the bridge.
“Lead on, Admiral,” he said. She gestured for him to pass her by and Clement did so. He entered the bridge and looked around. The whole room was lit from below by blue glowing lights which gave off a steady luminosity about the bridge. The room was long and curved with a ceiling that inclined downward, and the station displays were lit with a mellow pink-maroon color. The front wall was a blank; there were no windows like in the original design, and besides the captain’s couch there were just four other stations, likely for the helm, navigation, XO and engineer.
“Take a seat, Captain. Try her out,” tempted DeVore. Clement looked at the captain’s nest, an acceleration couch and console combination that fully dripped with the latest technology. Some of the systems were familiar, others not so much. He looked hard at the seat, something he’d sworn never to get into again.
“I’m not your captain yet, Admiral,” he said.
DeVore waved off Wilcock and Yan, and they went a few feet away to check out the other stations and give DeVore and Clement some semblance of privacy.
For the first time in eleven years, DeVore reached out and touched Clement with genuine warmth. Her hand went to his shoulder and he turned to face her.
“I know what this represents to you, Clement. Betraying so many promises of things you swore you would never do again. But please look at the opportunity this represents. There’s no one in the Rim or the 5 Suns Alliance that I want commanding this ship more than you. There’s no one who deserves it more, and no one else I can trust with this mission. Please Jared, take the seat.”
He turned away from her, then stepped up and sat in the captain’s chair. Damned if it didn’t just feel right sitting in it.
DeVore smiled as Clement sat uncomfortably, wondering if he had just made a bargain with the Devil.