Shadows of Golstar (86 page)

Owen
finally stopped laughing. “So,” he said, “I now know why conventional warships
were used at the rendezvous instead advanced ships like this one.” Owens
paused, still mesmerized by the concept of a wooden starship. He said, “When
the Founder died, Golstar’s access to these ships was lost.”

 *Yeah,
think of the frustration that Golstar’s leaders must have experienced when they
were denied the use of such wonderful ships. It must have galled them to no
end.*

Owens
asked, “Are there any battle-class ships similarly constructed?”
 

*No,
the ships’ dimensions were limited by the usable mass of individual trees. The
Trah-tang never saw a need for constructing a larger ship. Generally, they end
up being around fifty percent larger than the
Holmes.
The fabrication
facilities aren’t set up to construct anything larger than what you see here.
They were designed for exploration rather than combat.*

Owens
couldn’t tear his eyes away from the strangely beautiful starship.
“
Still,
even at this size, they’re pretty damned impressive, given the unconventional
design and the exotic material used to build them.”

*Another
limitation for military application is the lack of weaponry. You see, in order
for the Trah-tang ship to maintain its invulnerability, the hull must remain
unbroken, in one contiguous piece. As a result, there are no apertures for
weapons, not even an opening to accommodate a single hatch. It’s hard to call
something a battleship if it has no weapons.*

Owens
narrowed his eyes, now looking more closely at the ship’s design. The cylinder
was slightly tapered at one end, likely the nose of the ship. Three large
aerodynamic, blade-like spokes projected from its mid-point, supporting a
flattened ring that encircled the hull. At the other end, two smaller, opposing
blades projected.
 
The blades and ring
were all made of the same wood, the joints blended invisibly into the hull,
making it look like it had been artfully carved from a single gigantic block.
Its entire exterior was polished to a high gloss. It looked more like fanciful
sculpture of a submarine rather than a functional starship.

Hec
must have guessed what Owens had been thinking,
*Beautiful, isn’t it? It
represents an achievement in aesthetics as well as function.*

Owens
continued to gaze at it. Finally, he asked, “You mentioned that the hull had to
remain unbroken, in one piece. If that’s true, then how do you get in and out
of the damned thing, or for that matter, how does it manage to move in space?
There are no apertures for a subspace emitter or even a conventional reaction
drive. I don’t see how…”

Hec
interrupted,
*Once again the Trah-tang’s elemental transport technology
comes into play. Watch…*

As
Owens and Sharné looked on, the ship was instantly transformed. The once-smooth
surface of the ring was now covered by a myriad of familiar objects. Various
sized sensor pods, antennas and housings for steering nozzles marred its once
sleek surface. Dominating the clutter of the pods and thrusters was the
unmistakable silvery, lozenge-shaped subspace emitter now firmly attached to
the ring.
 
Two large reaction drive pods
were connected to the end of each wing at what was obviously the tail section.
Still strange by conventional ship design, it now looked more like a space
vehicle.

*The
ship’s entry and exit are also provided by the transport system. You’re now
observing it in only one of its configurations. It deploys various combinations
of sensors, drives and instruments depending on the situation.  What you
saw before was its defensive posture, all of its propulsion and sensor arrays
were tucked safely away, inside storage compartments within the ship. It can
instantaneously extrude and activate the subspace emitter, and since it has a
self-contained, picosecond flicker shield, you can escape into subspace, even
in the middle of an explosion, if necessary. The ship itself doesn’t require
shields, so a whole lot of internal space is gained from not needing the
massive shield generators.*

“I
understand,” said Sharné. “It cannot carry any weapons because it has no
shields to protect them. Without shields, the weapons would be vulnerable and
could easily be destroyed in a firefight. Besides, there would not be a real
need for them in any event, since the ship is impervious to weapons fire.
 

*Yes,
but it does carry quite a number of sacrificial sensors that allow you to get
the lay of the land while under attack, if it were necessary. Plus, if needed,
the ship itself can act as a weapon, a very deadly weapon, in fact. It can
quite easily ram any conventional ship and come out unscathed.

Owens
frowned, “If you can’t have holes in the hull, how do you connect to and
control the engines, emitter and sensors?”

 Well,
I won’t bore you with the details, but the data communication pathways to the
hull’s exterior instruments and drives use a form of the skip-wave technology;
that’s how you control the subspace emitter, reaction engines and sensors.*

Owens
said, “Now that’s damned incredible
.
What
y
ou’re saying is that
you communicate and control the external aspect of ship using a form of
subspace transition. It uses the same principle we use to travel between the
stars, but in this case, you’re only going a few meters, sending and receiving
telemetry to and from the hull?”

*That’s
right.*

“Does
that mean that it can function within a gravity well?”

*Yes,
if you wanted to, you could jump right into orbit around a planet. The use of
conventional reaction engines to travel through a solar system is not necessary
for this ship, freeing up even more interior space. Back when they used one
like it to intimidate Confederated Planets, the leaders of Golstar kept that capability
in reserve.*

“So
what else is in the ship’s bag of magic tricks?”

 Well,
since the Trah-tang didn’t exactly think the way we do, they weren’t
particularly keen on AI interface. Instead, you communicate directly to computer
sub-controllers via a neural interface. This one has been modified for humans.
Now, if you will please take a careful look toward the nose of the ship, I
think you’ll be pleased.*

Owens
and Sharné looked to where Hec had directed and saw in golden glowing letters
emblazoned on the nose the words,
Sherlock Holmes II
.

*She’s
all yours. I’m sorry that the words are only a projection, at least for the
time being. Its name will disappear any time you go into defensive mode. It
takes a long time to etch permanent letters on the wood, and I know we can’t
afford the extra time it would take. The time for your departure is getting
really close. I’ll etch it permanently when you return, and we have more time.*

Owens
shook his head, “Damn Hec, I don’t know what to say, but thanks!”

Sharné
smiled, “It is truly perfect, thank you, Hec. This is exactly what we will
need.”

*Now
let me show you the inside.*

Once
again, they were transported. Owens blinked and looked around.

*You’re
in the master stateroom,*
Hec informed
them unnecessarily.

The
room was three times the size of the one in the original
Holmes
. The
walls were richly paneled in polished wood. A huge four-poster bed dominated
one side of the room. Night tables, chests, dresser and lamps all reflected a distinct
Victorian flavor. An oversized roll-top desk with matching wooden chair was
positioned against the opposing wall. Two overstuffed leather chairs completed
the room’s ensemble.  

Then
Owens noticed in one corner, sitting on its pedestal, the sculpture of the
Trah-tang
child holding the bird. It was the one from their quarters in
the Prime. Owens walked over and touched the figure’s face, “Thanks Hec. This
will help keep things in perspective.”

“Owens,
look.”

He
looked to where Sharné was pointing. Sitting on a shelf built into a wall
perched another sculpture.  It was a depiction of a bird. It was a Glow
Hawk. It was just as Sharné had described. The body was silvery crystal, its
head platinum with piercing eyes of glowing red ruby.

*It’s
a copy. There were a number of them stored away in the Palace. I thought you
might like it as a memento.*

“So
it
was
real.”  He walked over to it and admired its grace.

Sharné
nodded, “I am afraid it was the only element of the story… the one I related to
you while we were back aboard the old
Sherlock Holmes
, which was
actually true. At least as far as its existence,” she added.

He
shrugged and said with grin, “Well as a work of fiction, it was fairly
entertaining.”

She
rewarded him by sticking out her tongue and making a rude noise.

His
eyebrows rose at her unladylike response. He said to Hec, “Thanks. It will make
one hell of a conversation piece.”

*You’re
welcome... Hey, don’t forget the bathroom.*

Owens
turned and saw that on one wall was an ornate brass hatch which opened onto a
luxurious bathroom. He and Sharné looked inside. The tiled floor led to an
oversized porcelain tub which could accommodate two people easily. There was a
separate shower, again big enough for two people, a toilet and dressing
counters. All the metal fittings were brass as well. Owens said with
appreciation, “It sure looks like you’ve thought of everything.”

*Well,
I tried to duplicate the setup in the
Holmes
as close as I could. Owing to
the extra space gained from not needing huge shield generators or weapons
modules, plus its overall larger dimensions, the
Holmes II
has lot of
room. There's another stateroom similar in size to this one that can be
converted into a lounge. There’s also a good sized, dedicated conference room
and the storage and kitchen/dining facilities are larger too.*

“What
about the ship’s control? Can I pilot this thing?”

*I
don’t think you’ll be needing it. But I went ahead and modified the manual
control system, so everything should be familiar. The ship’s normal, automated
transport and control systems have been keyed to your neural wave patterns, so
only you and Sharné will have mastery over the ship. I think you’ll be
surprised at how easy it is to pilot this ship in its normal operation mode.*

Sharné
sighed happily, “This should be quite comfortable, and again, you have my
sincere thanks for all of your thoughtfulness.”

“Mine,
too. You did a great job, Hec, but I don’t think we’ll need the extra bedroom.”
He winked at Sharné and watched with affectionate amusement as a rosy flush
began to climb her lovely neck.

He
was a little surprised when she said, “Do not listen to him, Hec. The extra
stateroom will still come in very handy should we ever find ourselves entertaining
overnight
guests
.” She nestled against him, looking pointedly at the bed
and whispered in his ear, “I cannot wait to try this one out for ourselves.”

His
heart began to beat a little faster. It was going to be an interesting trip.

Three
Years Later…

In a
private room of the hospital’s recovery wing, Hec was sitting up in a healing
bed. Since being awakened from his cold stasis sleep, he underwent a series of
treatments for his rejuvenation rejection syndrome. Some months before, the
clinical trials for the newly discovered cure had been completed and on the
heels of its certification, he had been thawed and given the drug regimen that
would cure his affliction. Much of the bed’s monitoring equipment had been shut
down, a positive sign that his recovery was almost complete. He had recently
received his last treatment and within a few days, he would leave the hospital
and be once again free to pursue his life-long dream of travel.

His
thoughts drifted back to the AI module that he had modified before entering
cryo-stasis. It seemed as if only a few weeks had passed since he had created
the template of his mind and transferred it into the AI module. He was looking
forward to retrieving it and gleaning its memory. His contract with the cruise
line had been suspended during his illness. But now that he was cured, his
agreement would once more be in force. Having gotten rid of his old shop, he
would be forced to lease a new one. It would only be for a couple of years, and
then he could retire for real.

He
sighed in contentment and rubbed the dark stubble on his head. They had shaved
his hair prior to his freeze-down and it was just beginning to grow back. He
looked down at the light-brown skin on his wiry arms, pleased by his improving
muscle tone. He had always worked with his hands as well as his head.
 
Of course, his legs were another matter. Due
to his illness, they had atrophied worse, before he had entered cryo-sleep, but
with the physical therapy machines, he was rapidly regaining the tone and
strength in his legs as well. He wiggled his toes and was gratified by their
immediate response. He once again had full control over his body.

He
looked back up at the room’s recreation holo. He selected an all-news channel.
He figured he might as well catch up on what he missed during his long, cold
nap. He frowned as he watched a newscaster with purple hair and matching eyes
describe the latest trade agreement reached between Confederated Planets and a
system called Golstar. Now where in the hell was Golstar, he wondered. The name
didn’t ring a bell.
 
He shrugged.
Astronomy wasn’t his strong point, neither was interplanetary politics.

The
newscaster then went on to an upcoming regional election. After a few minutes
of listening to the candidates deride each other, he snorted in disgust and
switched over to a sports channel. It was hardly any better.
 
He watched a boring rehash of some local
sporting event. He couldn’t understand all the excitement over a game played on
hover-scooters with sticks and a flying disc.

His
eyes were just starting to close when the holo-image changed to the hospital
receptionist’s pretty face. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Mr. Joulez.” She didn’t
look sorry. “But there are some people here to see you,” she said in an artificially
cheery voice.

Hec
sat up a little straighter, rubbing his eyes. He tried to think of who he might
know that would want to visit him. His reawakening wasn’t a newsworthy event by
any means, and he couldn’t remember asking for anyone to be notified on his
resurrection. He asked grumpily, “Who are they?”

A
tiny frown marred her perfect face, and then she looked and consulted another
display. Turning back to face him, she said brightly, “They identified
themselves as Ms. Sharné Firestone and Mr. Janus Owens. They seemed quite
anxious to see you.”

He
thought a minute, trying to remember if he knew anyone by those names. He
didn’t. He said, “Ah, what the hell… send them in. I was getting bored anyway.”

Her
face disappeared and the game once again flashed across the holo-screen. “Sound
off, ” he commanded and the announcers’ voices were cut off in midsentence. Hec
smiled at the sudden silence.

 Less
than a minute later two people entered the room. As with most of the buildings
on Genhome, the hospital was designed for people of short stature. The man who
entered had to duck to clear the doorway; he was huge to Hec’s eyes. His
presence seemed to fill the room. The statuesque woman accompanying him was
almost as tall. As they entered, Hec was struck by their appearance. To him,
they looked like a pair of gods, right out of ancient Earth mythology. Being
used to the diminutive denizens of Genhome, their statures were startling. The
man came forward and extended an enormous hand toward Hec. He was indeed the
largest human being Hec had ever encountered and with a disarming grin the
stranger said, “Hec, you can’t imagine how good it is to see you alive and
well.”

With
a little hesitation, Hec Extended his own hand and watched as it disappeared in
the stranger’s enormous, firm grip. “Ah, thank you.”

The
handshake was firm, but not painful. Still, when the man released him, Hec
surreptitiously checked to make sure that his hand was in one piece. He looked
up at the smiling man, and wondered if he was suffering some sort of
aftereffects from the cryo-sleep. He looked from the man to the woman and
couldn’t remember having ever of met either of them. Both were certainly
unforgettable, but for different reasons. The man’s body builder’s physique and
chiseled good looks would be hard to forget. And as for the woman, well no one
could forget a woman of such striking beauty.

He
shook his head and said, “Forgive me, but do I know you?”

The
man chuckled, “Not yet. My name is Owens and the dazzling young woman beside me
is Sharné.”

“You
are just as I pictured.” The woman called Sharné came forward, bent over and
kissed him on the cheek. Her lustrous auburn hair brushed his face and her
scent was almost intoxicating. He would certainly have remembered had he ever
met this drop-dead gorgeous woman.

Owens
confirmed his thought. “Hec, you don’t know us, but
we
certainly do know
you.” Owens drew up two chairs. He and Sharné sat down. “It’s a long story...”