Authors: Glenn Douglass
Tags: #adventure, #travel, #dog, #future, #space, #rescue, #supercluster
Law's End (7 page)
"Mostly it's just radiation and vacuum." Greene
noted, and replacing the book to its pouch added, "I think I'll
hold off on becoming a book worm for a little longer."
"Well, there's a big library of documentary and
instruction videos you can access just about anywhere." Kassad
leaned to point to what looked like a corner booth from a cafe.
"There's a gaming system set up over there, and there's a virtual
reality headset around here somewhere. Those virtual things take up
a lot of space in Sabha's system so I only have a few and they're
mostly for children."
Greene smirked. "You have children aboard the
pirate ship?"
At the sound of the words Canis leapt to his
feet from where he'd been dozing out of Greene's line of sight and
began barking fast, loud, and piercing. Kassad simply covered his
ears and waited for the barking to pass. Greene was stunned into
inactivity by the directionless vehemence expelled from the
animal.
The outburst went on for almost a minute before
Canis paused, then Kassad sharply ordered, "Canis heel." and the
dog concluded with an irritated growl before settling back down
completely. "And you," Kassad pointed a finger warningly at Greene,
"stop irritating my crew."
Realizing that she was just being difficult to
have something to do Greene complained, "I suppose there's no meal
service?"
Kassad scoffed, "When I have passengers I hire
stewards from a local agency, and I doubt there would be many in
all of Laniakea willing to make this trip."
Hiring agencies, for shipboard services ranging
from stewards to top certified technicians, were common on most
technological worlds that had even modest shipping traffic. People
who might be interested in taking on a working passage or trying
out a taste of life in space could sign on for a day or a year.
Bigger companies preferred long duration commitments from
employees, but there were plenty of small independent operators
like Kassad.
Kassad continued, "This is a rescue mission and
we'll already be taxing the life support systems… assuming everyone
survives."
Annoyed by Kassad's flippant attitude Greene
replied sarcastically, "I only asked because I half expected an
albino monkey with a drinks tray considering the rest of your
menagerie."
Grimacing, Kassad dismissed the concept.
"Monkeys are too messy."
Amused by Kassad's discomfort Greene probed, "I
take it you know this from personal experience, you've had a
monkey? And I suppose a parrot too? That would go along with your…"
this time Greene caught herself before uttering the trigger word,
"less reputable persona."
Determined to avoid a serious argument Kassad
didn't even look up from his book as he replied, "You have such
colorful imaginings about a man who enjoys nothing more than to sit
and read a good book." After a second Kassad muttered, "Anyway the
parrot had a panic attack whenever we were in low gee conditions…
poor thing. Eventually gave him away to a war lord who had rashly
accused me of unprofessional behavior in front of his men and
needed to save face."
Not willing to let the issue go Greene
inquired, "And what happened to the monkey?"
"I don't want to talk about the monkey." Kassad
snapped, prompting Canis to respond with a low dissenting growl, to
which Kassad bolted upright and responded defensively, "How was I
supposed to know Masor could work the airlock?" And with that
Kassad pushed himself down in his seat and firmly seated the book
in front of his face.
The name was instantly familiar to Greene and
considering Kassad's connection to Professor Fitzgerald she asked
inquisitively, "Masor? As in Dean Masor?"
Growing increasingly weary of the conversation
Kassad kept his response short and his tone unengaged. "If you
absolutely must know, then yes."
Simple bored curiosity was joined in Greene's
voice by honest interest. "What's your history with Dean
Masor?"
Looking up from his book in annoyance that
Greene hadn't grasped the hints in his words or tone Kassad asked,
"Is this what we're doing? Is the charming captain regaling his
jaded passenger with tales of yester year and long ago? Am I to be
condemned to keeping you entertained for the next two weeks because
you can't find some way of occupying yourself?"
Greene didn't miss the rebuke in Kassad's
words. "Okay, I'll find something to keep myself occupied. It's
just difficult with what we're going to do. I keep rethinking
everything that led up to this and wondering what that says about
what is going to happen next." Greene fidgeted for a moment and
looked left and right for something to occupy herself with.
Lowering his book slightly Kassad explained,
"What is going to happen next is that we will arrive at Law's End.
Then we will switch over to systems safe within Lawless space. Then
we will try to find your lost husband and everyone else. Not much
thinking to be done until we get to that step. So don't. This is a
fluid situation and if you over think it, if you get obsessed with
procedure and planning, you risk not being in the frame of mind to
see the creative solution that could save lives. Just let it
happen." After giving his guest a few seconds to digest his advice
with no result Kassad set down his book. "Fine, let's go over what
to expect past Law's End."
Greene waved away the suggestion saying, "No,
I've already been over it a thousand times."
"You've been over it aloud or just in your
head?" Kassad asked and when Greene was hesitant to answer Kassad
gestured to an open seat nearest to him. "Can't have you all
bottled up."
After a short quiet internal debate Greene
voiced what kept going through her head threatening to drive her
mad with anxiety. "We'll lose the faster than light and
reactionless drives." Moving to the offered seat Greene sat down
and looked at her hands, "We can expect neurological functions to
begin to degrade."
Familiar with the stories Kassad nodded. "Most
spacer tales say your body goes numb then your vision and other
senses start to go the longer you stay."
"Maybe." Greene confessed the limits of
scientific understanding. "It's hard to predict how the symptoms
will express."
Confused by the hesitation Kassad inquired
incredulously, "Didn't your testing involve these things?"
"No," Greene answered quickly then hesitated
before concluding, "not directly. We were mainly concerned with how
the higher dimensional physics involved with drive systems
altered."
Having more than a passing knowledge of such
things from his time as a student left Kassad honestly curious.
"And what did you discover?"
"Nothing definitive." Greene frowned at how
little they'd actually managed to learn. "The speculation going in
was there is something unique about the resonance of our particular
Great Attractor. Some of what we observed seems to support
this."
Kassad raised his eyebrows in appreciation of
the idea. "It would explain why Laniakea is so neatly encompassed."
And since the Great Attractor was effectively outside of the normal
three dimensional space people and matter dealt with, yet still
insanely dangerous to approach, studying the edge of the Law's End
barrier was the logical alternative to studying the Great Attractor
itself.
"That was the thinking." Greene admitted. "The
Law's End system is, or rather was, only partially inside Lawless
space. This allowed us to take advantage of the special distortion
effects from the gravity of the outer bodies as they transitioned
the Law's End boundary." After a moment she added, "The presence of
the habitable system was incidental."
"Were they based out of a standard science
ship?" Kassad already knew the answer, but talking seemed to be
settling the nerves of his anxious passenger and it was always good
to double check facts.
Shaking her head Greene explained, "No, it was
a modified University survey platform. Limited mobility but they
chose it for its carrying capacity for deployable probes essential
to gathering data from the other side of the barrier." Also it was
probably chosen for being more spacious and comfortable for long
term habitation.
Easing into the more delicate questions Kassad
asked, "How long would their base support them before becoming
uninhabitable?"
Grimacing at the unavoidable Greene said, "The
molecular resequencers used in the platform's life support systems
would have ceased functioning almost immediately. After that it
would be a matter of how well they rationed what was left, maybe a
few days at most, but they also had emergency rations for months so
that shouldn't be a problem."
"Well it's a good thing that Sabha is a little
old fashioned." Kassad said in reference to the classic biological
based life support systems that were always popular among
conservative military designers even if the fare left something to
be desired in terms of texture. "How long have they been on the
other side?"
"Their regular supply ship encountered the
barrier a week and a half ago." Greene said becoming instantly
angry with how long this rescue mission had taken to arrange and
forcing herself to set that anger aside continued, "That ship
barely managed to escape by jettisoning all its cargo as reaction
mass to limp back across the boundary."
Nodding again at the information that agreed
with what he had been told Kassad inquired, "Did they have any
contact with the science team?"
"No." Greene averted her gaze to stare at the
ceiling while holding back tears. "They tried radio, we know that
should work on the other side, but got nothing." Again Greene
reminded herself that the failure to establish contact, which the
University had found so damning, probably meant nothing.
With the process of going over the information
having a subtle calming effect Kassad continued, "And you believe
the team abandoned the platform and took refuge on the local
world?"
Nodding insistently Greene said, "Yes, the
escape pods used chemical thrusters."
It was standard practice. Chemical thrusters
had been used since the earliest days of space travel. They were
reliable and space efficiently compact making up for the limited
range imposed on them by their need to consume fuel.
Without thinking about it Greene started
rubbing the fingers of her right hand as she spoke. "If they'd just
arrived on world when the supply ship arrived they wouldn't have
had time to set up a transmitter. Or maybe something blocked their
signal or the hemisphere they were on was facing the wrong
way."
It sounded to Kassad like more than a little
desperate rationalization. "And you seem to think that if they did
abandon the platform then that world could sustain them?"
On this Greene was steely in her affirmation.
"It's a cold garden world, there's only plant life and microbes in
the ecosystem. Too much fluorine in the native flora to eat without
processing, but they'll have more than enough supplies in the
escape pods. There's also more oxygen than is healthy, but that's
compensated for by the lower pressure. By regulating breathing you
don't even need a respirator, which they should have."
Recalling the survey data he'd committed to
memory Kassad elaborated, "The body was given the prestigious name
of Alpha Lima One Nine Four Beta. This potential vacation home
boasts point six gravity, nitrogen oxygen atmosphere a little heavy
on the oxygen, fluorine, and water vapor. The survey, which was
conducted at a mysteriously unspecified date, indicates an average
temperature of five degrees, and an extensive hydrothermal system
both above and below the surface."
"So you've actually reviewed the report?" Only
after the words left her mouth did Greene realize that she'd come
off more antagonistic and condescending than she'd wished to.
In mock offense Kassad responded, "Of course I
did. My devil-may-care attitude is the result of preparation and
experience, not a death-wish."
Sighing Greene lowered her head into her hands.
"I know. I'm not trying to be difficult. It has all just been so
frustrating after starting out so promising. We were making real
advances, real discoveries, and then this, and the University
refusing to send a rescue team."
About to speak Kassad was cut off with a tone
like an old-style doorbell and Greene was instantly distracted by
abrupt activity from Canis. At the noise Canis had risen to shake
himself awake before trotting aft. In the kitchenette the dog
sniffed the air and tilted his head to listen to something unheard
before heading into the mechanical space beyond.
Shifting her attention back to Kassad, Greene
noticed he was reviewing a report on his wrist device which he
explained with a smile, "Successful jump number three. That places
us clear of all the navigation hazards between us and our
destination so we can engage the warp drive." Closing out the
report Kassad added, "It's both tradition and standard procedure to
check pressure and hull integrity after every jump, although it's
seldom necessary with these fourth generation drives."
"Jump number three." Greene repeated. "How far
out have we come?"
Kassad shrugged and picked up his book to make
sure his place was marked, "It doesn't matter. A few standard
galactic diameters give or take a bit. All that matters is that
we're on schedule."
After being thoughtfully quiet for a long time
Greene said, "It makes me feel small." It made her feel in many
ways as she had when traveling as a child.
"What does he do on the expedition?" Kassad
asked, setting aside his book again, "Your husband, what is he
like?"
"He's a good man, knows machines and computers,
they hired him as the lead technician. He configures the probes to
the specifications set by the scientists, and he handles most of
the ordinary maintenance. He told me before they left that he would
have taken the job even if I hadn't…" Greene choked for a moment
before managing to gasp out, "I recommended him for the assignment.
I thought it would be his big break. Recognition and advancement. I
thought…" tears ran down her face and she sobbed
uncontrollably.
noted, and replacing the book to its pouch added, "I think I'll
hold off on becoming a book worm for a little longer."
"Well, there's a big library of documentary and
instruction videos you can access just about anywhere." Kassad
leaned to point to what looked like a corner booth from a cafe.
"There's a gaming system set up over there, and there's a virtual
reality headset around here somewhere. Those virtual things take up
a lot of space in Sabha's system so I only have a few and they're
mostly for children."
Greene smirked. "You have children aboard the
pirate ship?"
At the sound of the words Canis leapt to his
feet from where he'd been dozing out of Greene's line of sight and
began barking fast, loud, and piercing. Kassad simply covered his
ears and waited for the barking to pass. Greene was stunned into
inactivity by the directionless vehemence expelled from the
animal.
The outburst went on for almost a minute before
Canis paused, then Kassad sharply ordered, "Canis heel." and the
dog concluded with an irritated growl before settling back down
completely. "And you," Kassad pointed a finger warningly at Greene,
"stop irritating my crew."
Realizing that she was just being difficult to
have something to do Greene complained, "I suppose there's no meal
service?"
Kassad scoffed, "When I have passengers I hire
stewards from a local agency, and I doubt there would be many in
all of Laniakea willing to make this trip."
Hiring agencies, for shipboard services ranging
from stewards to top certified technicians, were common on most
technological worlds that had even modest shipping traffic. People
who might be interested in taking on a working passage or trying
out a taste of life in space could sign on for a day or a year.
Bigger companies preferred long duration commitments from
employees, but there were plenty of small independent operators
like Kassad.
Kassad continued, "This is a rescue mission and
we'll already be taxing the life support systems… assuming everyone
survives."
Annoyed by Kassad's flippant attitude Greene
replied sarcastically, "I only asked because I half expected an
albino monkey with a drinks tray considering the rest of your
menagerie."
Grimacing, Kassad dismissed the concept.
"Monkeys are too messy."
Amused by Kassad's discomfort Greene probed, "I
take it you know this from personal experience, you've had a
monkey? And I suppose a parrot too? That would go along with your…"
this time Greene caught herself before uttering the trigger word,
"less reputable persona."
Determined to avoid a serious argument Kassad
didn't even look up from his book as he replied, "You have such
colorful imaginings about a man who enjoys nothing more than to sit
and read a good book." After a second Kassad muttered, "Anyway the
parrot had a panic attack whenever we were in low gee conditions…
poor thing. Eventually gave him away to a war lord who had rashly
accused me of unprofessional behavior in front of his men and
needed to save face."
Not willing to let the issue go Greene
inquired, "And what happened to the monkey?"
"I don't want to talk about the monkey." Kassad
snapped, prompting Canis to respond with a low dissenting growl, to
which Kassad bolted upright and responded defensively, "How was I
supposed to know Masor could work the airlock?" And with that
Kassad pushed himself down in his seat and firmly seated the book
in front of his face.
The name was instantly familiar to Greene and
considering Kassad's connection to Professor Fitzgerald she asked
inquisitively, "Masor? As in Dean Masor?"
Growing increasingly weary of the conversation
Kassad kept his response short and his tone unengaged. "If you
absolutely must know, then yes."
Simple bored curiosity was joined in Greene's
voice by honest interest. "What's your history with Dean
Masor?"
Looking up from his book in annoyance that
Greene hadn't grasped the hints in his words or tone Kassad asked,
"Is this what we're doing? Is the charming captain regaling his
jaded passenger with tales of yester year and long ago? Am I to be
condemned to keeping you entertained for the next two weeks because
you can't find some way of occupying yourself?"
Greene didn't miss the rebuke in Kassad's
words. "Okay, I'll find something to keep myself occupied. It's
just difficult with what we're going to do. I keep rethinking
everything that led up to this and wondering what that says about
what is going to happen next." Greene fidgeted for a moment and
looked left and right for something to occupy herself with.
Lowering his book slightly Kassad explained,
"What is going to happen next is that we will arrive at Law's End.
Then we will switch over to systems safe within Lawless space. Then
we will try to find your lost husband and everyone else. Not much
thinking to be done until we get to that step. So don't. This is a
fluid situation and if you over think it, if you get obsessed with
procedure and planning, you risk not being in the frame of mind to
see the creative solution that could save lives. Just let it
happen." After giving his guest a few seconds to digest his advice
with no result Kassad set down his book. "Fine, let's go over what
to expect past Law's End."
Greene waved away the suggestion saying, "No,
I've already been over it a thousand times."
"You've been over it aloud or just in your
head?" Kassad asked and when Greene was hesitant to answer Kassad
gestured to an open seat nearest to him. "Can't have you all
bottled up."
After a short quiet internal debate Greene
voiced what kept going through her head threatening to drive her
mad with anxiety. "We'll lose the faster than light and
reactionless drives." Moving to the offered seat Greene sat down
and looked at her hands, "We can expect neurological functions to
begin to degrade."
Familiar with the stories Kassad nodded. "Most
spacer tales say your body goes numb then your vision and other
senses start to go the longer you stay."
"Maybe." Greene confessed the limits of
scientific understanding. "It's hard to predict how the symptoms
will express."
Confused by the hesitation Kassad inquired
incredulously, "Didn't your testing involve these things?"
"No," Greene answered quickly then hesitated
before concluding, "not directly. We were mainly concerned with how
the higher dimensional physics involved with drive systems
altered."
Having more than a passing knowledge of such
things from his time as a student left Kassad honestly curious.
"And what did you discover?"
"Nothing definitive." Greene frowned at how
little they'd actually managed to learn. "The speculation going in
was there is something unique about the resonance of our particular
Great Attractor. Some of what we observed seems to support
this."
Kassad raised his eyebrows in appreciation of
the idea. "It would explain why Laniakea is so neatly encompassed."
And since the Great Attractor was effectively outside of the normal
three dimensional space people and matter dealt with, yet still
insanely dangerous to approach, studying the edge of the Law's End
barrier was the logical alternative to studying the Great Attractor
itself.
"That was the thinking." Greene admitted. "The
Law's End system is, or rather was, only partially inside Lawless
space. This allowed us to take advantage of the special distortion
effects from the gravity of the outer bodies as they transitioned
the Law's End boundary." After a moment she added, "The presence of
the habitable system was incidental."
"Were they based out of a standard science
ship?" Kassad already knew the answer, but talking seemed to be
settling the nerves of his anxious passenger and it was always good
to double check facts.
Shaking her head Greene explained, "No, it was
a modified University survey platform. Limited mobility but they
chose it for its carrying capacity for deployable probes essential
to gathering data from the other side of the barrier." Also it was
probably chosen for being more spacious and comfortable for long
term habitation.
Easing into the more delicate questions Kassad
asked, "How long would their base support them before becoming
uninhabitable?"
Grimacing at the unavoidable Greene said, "The
molecular resequencers used in the platform's life support systems
would have ceased functioning almost immediately. After that it
would be a matter of how well they rationed what was left, maybe a
few days at most, but they also had emergency rations for months so
that shouldn't be a problem."
"Well it's a good thing that Sabha is a little
old fashioned." Kassad said in reference to the classic biological
based life support systems that were always popular among
conservative military designers even if the fare left something to
be desired in terms of texture. "How long have they been on the
other side?"
"Their regular supply ship encountered the
barrier a week and a half ago." Greene said becoming instantly
angry with how long this rescue mission had taken to arrange and
forcing herself to set that anger aside continued, "That ship
barely managed to escape by jettisoning all its cargo as reaction
mass to limp back across the boundary."
Nodding again at the information that agreed
with what he had been told Kassad inquired, "Did they have any
contact with the science team?"
"No." Greene averted her gaze to stare at the
ceiling while holding back tears. "They tried radio, we know that
should work on the other side, but got nothing." Again Greene
reminded herself that the failure to establish contact, which the
University had found so damning, probably meant nothing.
With the process of going over the information
having a subtle calming effect Kassad continued, "And you believe
the team abandoned the platform and took refuge on the local
world?"
Nodding insistently Greene said, "Yes, the
escape pods used chemical thrusters."
It was standard practice. Chemical thrusters
had been used since the earliest days of space travel. They were
reliable and space efficiently compact making up for the limited
range imposed on them by their need to consume fuel.
Without thinking about it Greene started
rubbing the fingers of her right hand as she spoke. "If they'd just
arrived on world when the supply ship arrived they wouldn't have
had time to set up a transmitter. Or maybe something blocked their
signal or the hemisphere they were on was facing the wrong
way."
It sounded to Kassad like more than a little
desperate rationalization. "And you seem to think that if they did
abandon the platform then that world could sustain them?"
On this Greene was steely in her affirmation.
"It's a cold garden world, there's only plant life and microbes in
the ecosystem. Too much fluorine in the native flora to eat without
processing, but they'll have more than enough supplies in the
escape pods. There's also more oxygen than is healthy, but that's
compensated for by the lower pressure. By regulating breathing you
don't even need a respirator, which they should have."
Recalling the survey data he'd committed to
memory Kassad elaborated, "The body was given the prestigious name
of Alpha Lima One Nine Four Beta. This potential vacation home
boasts point six gravity, nitrogen oxygen atmosphere a little heavy
on the oxygen, fluorine, and water vapor. The survey, which was
conducted at a mysteriously unspecified date, indicates an average
temperature of five degrees, and an extensive hydrothermal system
both above and below the surface."
"So you've actually reviewed the report?" Only
after the words left her mouth did Greene realize that she'd come
off more antagonistic and condescending than she'd wished to.
In mock offense Kassad responded, "Of course I
did. My devil-may-care attitude is the result of preparation and
experience, not a death-wish."
Sighing Greene lowered her head into her hands.
"I know. I'm not trying to be difficult. It has all just been so
frustrating after starting out so promising. We were making real
advances, real discoveries, and then this, and the University
refusing to send a rescue team."
About to speak Kassad was cut off with a tone
like an old-style doorbell and Greene was instantly distracted by
abrupt activity from Canis. At the noise Canis had risen to shake
himself awake before trotting aft. In the kitchenette the dog
sniffed the air and tilted his head to listen to something unheard
before heading into the mechanical space beyond.
Shifting her attention back to Kassad, Greene
noticed he was reviewing a report on his wrist device which he
explained with a smile, "Successful jump number three. That places
us clear of all the navigation hazards between us and our
destination so we can engage the warp drive." Closing out the
report Kassad added, "It's both tradition and standard procedure to
check pressure and hull integrity after every jump, although it's
seldom necessary with these fourth generation drives."
"Jump number three." Greene repeated. "How far
out have we come?"
Kassad shrugged and picked up his book to make
sure his place was marked, "It doesn't matter. A few standard
galactic diameters give or take a bit. All that matters is that
we're on schedule."
After being thoughtfully quiet for a long time
Greene said, "It makes me feel small." It made her feel in many
ways as she had when traveling as a child.
"What does he do on the expedition?" Kassad
asked, setting aside his book again, "Your husband, what is he
like?"
"He's a good man, knows machines and computers,
they hired him as the lead technician. He configures the probes to
the specifications set by the scientists, and he handles most of
the ordinary maintenance. He told me before they left that he would
have taken the job even if I hadn't…" Greene choked for a moment
before managing to gasp out, "I recommended him for the assignment.
I thought it would be his big break. Recognition and advancement. I
thought…" tears ran down her face and she sobbed
uncontrollably.
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