Crucible of a Species (8 page)

Lee knew his problems involved more than being lost on a damaged vessel. This thought resulted in a small chuckle of dark humor as he realized just how lost there were
.
He sat upright in his chair as Lieutenant Anderson entered the room. After a brief nod of recognition, he turned back towards the doctor, “Dr. Shieve, would you join us over here?

“Okay, our problems just got worse, a lot worse. We no longer have the luxury of a repair dock. Our needs haven’t changed. We still must repair the ship but now we’re going to have to do it ourselves. That means we must land the ship.”

Nolen responded immediately. “No, this is insane. We should be planning our return. We made it here in good time with only minor incident. It will be a simple task to retrace our route.”

Doctor Thompson countered, “There are no guarantees that retracing our route will result in a return home. You know well enough that travel through warped space depends upon cosmic string interactions with our approach path and there could be a thousand other factors. Retracing our flight may result in displacement to an even more distant point rather than a return to the Earth we knew.”

The captain listened to the two scientists banter. Other than the fact that Dr. Nolen wanted badly to return to Earth, he had no idea what Nolen and Thompson were arguing about, “Thank you Doctors. Please sit down, Dr. Thompson.”

Nolen was very upset, “Captain, we could be back home in a matter of days and have this all taken care of at the Skyport.”

“I assume you believe we can simply go back over our route and return to port.” Captain Lee replied. “Remember engineering’s statement? We entered the Red Spot with a solid hull and a full gravitonic shield around the Argos and still took on significant damage. I doubt very much she will survive another transit without full gravitonic shielding.”

Colonel Drake, who had been sitting quietly at the conference table with the Chief Engineer spoke up, “Remember we no longer have the benefits of a repair port. We’ll need to work up from basic raw materials for repairs.”

“We’ll need to contend with more than that, Colonel.” Sandra commented. “Down there we’ll be in an ancient world where our modern trees and grains are just beginning their evolution. We may find nothing but coarse coniferous or palmetto based plant life. Dinosaur physiology is quite different from ours. They were designed to eat these rough plants, we can’t. Of course, we may be able to eat some of the dinosaurs but at this point who knows what’s edible. Our bodies just weren’t made for this world.”

“We carry six months of food and water.” Drake continued. “We’re either going to have to find something to eat on the planet or be forced into rationing. Should delays occur and we do not find palatable food then there is very little margin for extending our stay.”

Lieutenant Anderson looked a little uncertain as he leaned forward, “No sir, that’s not correct. Our inventory reports that the supplies lost in the damaged section include a good portion of the foodstuffs. I estimate roughly two months at full rations.”

Nolen was undaunted, “Captain, we can try the return at a slower pace, maybe we’ll get through. Better yet, send back one of the Hunter Recon scoutships. They have limited Gravitonic Drive capability, enough to get them through the Red Spot. They could bring back help.”

The Captain turned to look at Dr. Thompson, “Your thoughts, Doctor? Why don’t you believe that another transit would not simply return us home?”

Dr. Thompson sat back in his chair for a moment before answering, “Captain, we may not be able to get back to our own timeframe at all.

“Dr. Nolen and I agree that the source of this gravitational vortex was within that thin string of vapor that we approached at the center of the Spot. That vapor trail is the visible artifact of a phenomenon that theoretical physicists call a cosmic string. No one has actually ever seen one until now. In fact, this one is unique, for what we encountered is a cosmic string with one end trapped within the very center of the planet. The tunnel we entered, the thing we call Jupiter’s Red Spot, results from forces anchoring the string to the planet’s core causing it to spin.

“According to theory, a cosmic string is a one dimensional object that is about the thickness of a proton. A proton is one of the smaller sub-atomic particles that combine to make up each atom, so the string’s cross section is extremely small. However, even though a cosmic string is extremely thin it has immense density exceeding that of most black holes. One of these strings, only a half-mile in length, would be more massive than the entire Earth.

“The Red Spot is an artifact of the string resulting from its entrapment in Jupiter’s atmosphere. When the Argos passed through the event horizon that delineates the edge of the Spot, we entered a realm of time and space where the normal relationships of classical physics yield to the quantum gravitational physics of string theory. A warped segment of the universe that moved us in both time and space as we approached its center; physicists call this a Tipler Cylinder.

“Unfortunately, this point marks the limit of our agreement. I believe that duplicating our passage most likely will send us further back in time. I don’t know how to move forward.”

The captain sat for a moment and considered his options,
The lives of these people are my responsibility. The planet below, in spite of the current inhabitants, looks inviting compared to the intense forces inside Jupiter. Maybe, a bit more time given to Dr. Thompson to model the Red Spot will result in an answer. Yes, a bit more time to fix the damage on the ship and perhaps understand the concept of this natural time-travel machine.

“Dr. Nolen, I feel that I can’t take the chance of an immediate return. The Argos will not be able to stand the strain and the demands of that passage would go way beyond the design limits of the Hunter. Our best course of action is to perform repairs on the planet below. I assume you agree with me, Colonel, since the ultimate responsibility for this expedition lies in your hands.”

The Colonel looked up, “Not while we’re on this ship, Captain. I continue to defer to your judgment for now. One thing though, we lost most of our automated security systems when the shuttle was destroyed. Based on everything I’ve heard about dinosaurs, we’ll have to be very careful in our selection of a landing zone. A good defensible position should be paramount in our planning.”

The Captain turned toward Dr. Shieve, “We’ll need raw materials. If we provide a list, can you suggest a few locations where they would be most abundant in this world?”

“I have records detailing the locations of the largest mineral deposits, Captain, but I’ll have to extrapolate their current locations from where they were in our time frame. A lot of it will be guesswork.”

“Guesswork is all we have right now.” Captain Lee began gathering his materials but as they rose, Colonel Drake remained seated, “One moment please, Captain. I’d like a word.

“Dr. Shieve, Lieutenant Anderson and I have been reviewing the ship’s datalog gathered during the Jupiter transit. Considering the measured levels of turbulence and radiation encountered during the passage, there was no good reason for a hull breach, yet one did occur. We believe there is evidence to suggest that sabotage was responsible for the damage and it originated at a source internal to the Argos.”

The captain registered complete surprise, “This makes no sense. Any sabotage attempt from inside the Argos would be a suicide mission. Are you suggesting my missing crewmen were responsible?”

“No, I don’t know who the saboteur might be, Adrian, or even if the perpetrator survived the incident. However, I do know there is evidence that a second, small gravitonic field appeared in the damaged section of the ship and its interaction with the main drive field resulted in the damage. As to what created it or why the damage wasn’t greater, you’d have to ask Lieutenant Anderson.

“Anyway, you see the reason for my caution. Someone started this with the intention of ending our mission. It’s only by the grace of God that we are still able to discuss the incident.

“Whoever is responsible for the sabotage may still be alive. At this point, the four of us are the only ones who know it was sabotage. If we hope to catch the saboteur, we must not let him know we suspect his existence or he will become extremely cautious. Yet, we need to be vigilant so I’d like you to quietly keep an open eye for anything suspicious.”

Lee sat back in his chair for a moment, “You mean we aren’t going to alert our people. Why? What can just the four of us do about this? We should all be watching for suspicious actions or he will certainly try and do something again.”

“No, for all we know, he may already be dead. We gain nothing but we have much to lose by alerting everyone. Our announcement would result in suspicions rising all around us. Work quality would suffer,” The colonel sat back a little in his chair and sighed. “We don’t need fear and suspicion running rampant. Morale is already a problem and we need to pull together as a team.”

The captain sat for a few moments staring at the table before responding, “Understood but please keep me informed. Thank you, I believe our course is set.”

*~~*~~*~~*

Drake sat back and stretched.
His buttocks hurt, his eyes ached and there was a dull pain in his gut because he hadn’t been sitting properly.
Too much paperwork and too many meetings. What I need is to get down to the gym and work out, but not yet.

He walked over to his walldisplay and gazed out at the planet without really seeing it. Whoever is responsible for the sabotage must have been very badly hurt if they managed to survive. I wonder if Thrumbold found anything unusual in the types of injuries sustained.

Ah, speak of the devil.
“Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

“Colonel, we have seven people injured during transit. Three are military and four are part of Nolen’s group. No exceptional injuries, just the kinda thing you’d expect from getting knocked around after being unlucky enough to be caught off-guard.”

Colonel Drake sat back in his chair, “Guess that still leaves Sikes and Lieu as the most probable saboteurs. I’ve reviewed their files, they’ve no past association with any of the radical groups. Seems like a dead end for now. I really hate to leave this go. If we’re wrong and some crazy is still around, then the next chance we’ll have to get him will be when he tries something. We may not be so lucky next time.”

“Yes sir, I agree. Shall I run background checks on these seven?”

“You read my mind, Lieutenant. Start with the ones with the most extensive injuries. In the mean time, I’m going down to the Hunter’s storage bay and have a talk with Braxton and the others before they leave on their mission. I want to personally make sure they understand the goals of this reconnaissance.”

Lieutenant Thrumbold looked up at the colonel, “You know the pilots all call the ship the ‘Hurling Hunter’. We scheduled civilians for this trip who have never experienced the flight characteristics of a Hunter Recon. I recommend we warn Braxton about that, tell him if he doesn’t take it easy and fly smooth then he’s gonna be the one to clean up the puke. That’ll get his attention.”

“Uh … yeah, Alex. I’ll bet it will at that. You know where to find me.”

Any excuse to get out of the office is a good one.
The colonel mused as he stood and shut down his computer.

Drake stepped out and into the corridor and started towards the ladder shaft. His office was located just one level up from the Hunter’s bay and that was okay with him. Navy personnel and the science team were pretty much on the upper levels. Down here, the marines and workers wouldn’t bother him with dumb questions.

The entry to the bay was around a corner from the bottom of the ladder and it took up most of the lowest deck. A set of airlocks restricted entry.

Two medium tracked transports sat bundled in a corner across the room. It also held two sleek Hunter Recon’s, one of which the deck crew had already moved into the airlock in preparation for departure.

Lieutenant Braxton Johnson, a marine aviator with close-cropped black hair towered above most people partly because of his height but mostly because of his extremely broad shoulders. He was not the kind of guy who would easily fit into a fighter but the Hunter Recon suited him. The Colonel had watched this young puppy; he could drive it hard and tight as though it were a fighter.

The ISA designed the Hunter Recon as a reconnaissance transport capable of moving people, equipment and even a heavy tracked vehicle with equal ease. It was the second generation to incorporate the Wave Drive and its sleek curves didn’t follow those of a conventional transport for the versatile craft was the smallest vehicle capable of achieving near lightspeed velocity. The reactionless drive of the Hunter Recon made it an extremely maneuverable craft, even when fully loaded.

A tall, young blond girl in dark blue BDUs was talking to the pilot and three other crewmen on the deck. Drake didn’t recognize her. Then, upon hearing his footsteps, they turned and recognition came.

“Well Dr. Shieve. Don’t tell me the captain shanghaied you into going along on this trip.” Drake bellowed as he strode across the deck.

“Hi, Colonel.” Sandra replied. “Yes, isn’t it exciting? I really thought he didn’t like me.”

“What? What in the world made you think? Oh, never mind. You handled yourself well in the meeting. You seem to be the only one who knows what to expect. Most importantly, Lieutenant Anderson tells me you know where we will be able to find the ore deposits. Find us the best spot for repairs but listen to these two guys particularly if they object to something you are doing.