Starforge unsec space bo.., p.83
Starforge (UNSEC Space Book 3), page 83
“Like the one we’re on now?”
Sweets shook his head. “Bigger. We’re on a truck. This would be a large train. Or maybe an ocean liner.”
“Lots of cargo, lots of space,” Jake said.
Anna nodded, but there was something in Sweets’ expression that made her want to push further. “What’s the catch?”
“Well,” he said, rubbing at the back of his head with one hand. “If I remember what he was saying right, it’s subsurface. Closer to the outer skin of the Starforge. The Liaison said we’d need to descend below the surface of the hex once we reached the industrial complex, and then board the transit system. It was used for shipping of mass resources, I think.”
“How fast?” she asked.
Sweets shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
“It sounds like it could be a hyperloop,” Jake said, looking at her. “Those are pretty fast. The Sha’o might have made a better one.”
Again Sweets shook his head. “Maybe we should be asking—”
“No,” Anna said, cutting him off. “It might be paranoia, but I don’t entirely trust that AI. Not the way I trust you two. I’ll take what discussion we can get without it looking over our shoulder like a suspicious anciana. For now.” She held herself back for a few seconds, waiting to see if either of them would disagree, then pushed forward. “What about the other option?”
“All I remember was the name. Sort of. Some kind of … portal system?”
“Portal system,” Jake repeated. “Like … a teleporter?” His eyes darted toward her, and she shrugged.
“They built this place,” she admitted. “Maybe they cracked teleportation.”
“I don’t know,” Sweets said. “Like I said, I passed out before that bit of the conversation. I just remember the Liaison said we had the heavy transit system, or we could try the—” He faltered, then shook his head. “It was a complicated name. But the word ‘portal’ was in it. As was ‘tunnel.’”
“That does sound like alien for teleporter,” Jake said. “And that could be a lot faster than riding the hyperloop. Which would be better. The faster we get this done …” There was a note of worry in his voice, or maybe fear.
His talk with the Liaison must have confirmed what we were worried about. “And why is delineation of speed on that level something we should be worried about?” she asked.
Jake’s expression went solemn. “The All are taking over the Starforge at an exponential rate. In another five weeks, they’ll own more than half of it. With how many ships they could pump out to attack Earth with if they had all of it … I say the faster, the better.”
“Well …” Sweets’ voice faded slightly, and he swallowed before speaking again. “Well then we should probably go talk with the Liaison again, because I don’t remember anything else.”
Anna pushed herself up, rising onto her feet as she nodded. “And Captain Iyis is going to be asking us about what’s next before long. We’ll want at least some kind of direction to give him before we make it to the center of the hub. But first …” She eyed the armor paneling at her feet. “You two clear out. I’ve been naked long enough.” Sweets gave her a startled glance.
“Out of my armor,” she amended, tugging at the collar of her shirt with one finger. “This is naked, clothed or not. But since I have to be naked to put on my skinsuit …” Sweets got the message, nodding as he moved for the back of the EEV and following Jake, who had already left. By the time the door shut behind him she was already checking her skinsuit for any issues she might have missed. A quick, precautionary glance, and she peeled the end of a tube of neural gel away, the salty, shrimplike scent hitting her nostrils a second later. She kicked her thin pants free and slathered the lukewarm slime across the top of one foot.
Two minutes later she stepped out of the back of the EEV, clad in her armor once more—save the helmet, which she’d tucked under her arm. It felt right to be back in the armor, the neural skinsuit enhancing her every move, plates sliding past one another with every step or swing of her arms. Home was where she left the carapace behind. Here, on the hex, not having it made her vulnerable. She needed the armor. Didn’t feel right without it.
A therapy program would probably say something about that too, she thought as she gave a few of the marines nods. From the look of things they’d mostly taken care of repairs and maintenance and had now moved on to full-scale prep for whatever task lay ahead, stripping weapons and checking magazines, but with an ease that said they weren’t in any hurry.
Yet.
A few were sitting in a circle as they checked magazines, passing around a bottle that had to have come from someone’s personal effects. Probably one of the deceased. It’s hard to make us drunk, or flat out impossible, so a drink to the fallen isn’t a bad idea. One—Alaan—looked over and acknowledged her, and even tilted his head as if to say “come join in,” but she gave him a faint shake in reply, tilting her head in the direction of the front of the transport, where Sweets’ armor was. The marine’s eyes flicked forward and then he nodded in understanding.
Maybe later, Anna thought as she continued forward. After we find out what this portal is.
The scenery around them had shifted once more. No small surprise, considering their speed and the time they’d been traveling. The ocean they were crossing over now was broken by weathered spires of rock, worn with loops and arches that were likely partially if not entirely underwater during the higher tides.
Well, except for that one, she noted, spotting a slim tower of rock that widened, its sides pushing out like a mushroom above a slim stalk. Or that one. Or that one.
Were they built this way? she wondered as she headed for the front of the transport. Or did ten thousand years of weathering do this? Some of the surfaces she could see looked smooth, while others were ragged and rough, with an edge to them that looked as though something had been broken off.
I’ll bet if we dove into that water, we’d find a lot of rubble. And maybe that would tell them whether or not the current look had been intended.
It was cold out, too. There was a whiteness dusting some of the surfaces of the islands around them. Snow.
Explains the biting chill on my cheeks, she thought as she neared Jake and Sweets. Jake, she noticed, looked a little cold, while Sweets’ dive skinsuit was doing its job protecting him from the cool air.
“Thinking maybe you should have put your armor on?” Anna teased as she stepped up beside Jake. His arms were clenched tightly against his body, and she could see the raised goosebumps on his skin.
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “Sweets?”
But not warm, Anna thought, smiling. Armoring up is always the best option.
Sweets tapped the back of the armor, and Anna found her eyes drawn to the damage done by the wraith. It was already being repaired—healed, really—but she could still make out the broken path in the suit’s scales where the thing had tried its best to kill the hacker.
The Sha’o AI’s avatar took shape in the air. “Triumvirate-trio,” it said, folding its spindly fingers in a pattern she suspected was a gesture of respect. “How may I assist-aid you?”
“What you were telling me last night before I—” Sweets seemed to catch himself, glancing around before continuing. “Well, last night. About the center of the hex and how we can get from there to the depot. You said there were two possible options.”
“There are multiple-many options open-available to you,” the AI replied. “As time’s passage is urgent-desperate, I offered-chose the quickest-fastest two options-choices.”
“Right,” Anna said, her focus momentarily sliding to a large metal ring ahead of them which they were rapidly approaching. It wasn’t the first they’d passed, and she suspected that like the ring at the depot it had something to do with their transport’s means of travel. “Which were?”
“The first,” the Liaison said as they shot past the ring, passing through its center so quickly that a mere blink would have been enough to miss it. “Utilize-ride the mass-large cargo transport-shipping system.”
“Like this?” Anna asked, waving a hand at the transport.
“No-incorrect. This transport-conveyance is for small-minute transport-shipping within-inside the segment-hex. The mass-large transport-shipping system is from segment-hex to segment-hex.”
“So like a systems hierarchy,” Sweets said. “The transport we’re now on, the hub it used, radiates out from points on the hex. The larger system brings resources, goods, or people to the center of the hex, and you work your way out from there.”
“This is correct-accurate.”
That makes sense. “Sweets said it was underground,” Anna said, pushing forward.
“Correct-accurate. The system webs-traverses the Starforge via-by subsurface conduits.”
“How hard is it to get to those conduits?” Jake asked. “And would our destination be close to whatever transit hub this train would take us to?”
“Access would be trivial-easy. Upon using-boarding one of the transports, journey-conveyance to the fueling station would take less than two of your Earth days.”
“How much time exactly?” Anna asked, focusing her attention on the Liaison and away from their surroundings. “In hours.”
“Forty-four-point-zero—”
“That’s exact enough. Forty-four hours.” She turned toward Jake and Sweets. “That’s pretty good.”
“There is an issue-catch,” the Liaison broke in. “That transport-conveyance would bring you to the center of a segment-hex near-adjacent to your destination. Further travel on your vehicle-conveyance or a transport-conveyance such as this one would be required.”
“How far?” Jake asked.
“Nearly one thousand, eight hundred and two kilometers.”
“Over what kind of terrain?” Anna asked. “If it’s all ocean, or islands like this was …”
“No-incorrect.” The Liaison fanned its tentacles. “The segment-hex that is your destination is more equally split between non-aquatic ecology and infrastructure. Think-picture-imagine large islands of densely packed infrastructure. Similar-like the complex-city this transport-platform originated from, but industrial-economized.”
“Highways, then,” Anna suggested. “Like the pathway.”
“Correct-accurate. In large numbers. The fueling station would be accessible to your vehicle-conveyance.”
Her cheeks were starting to itch from the cold. The air around them was definitely getting cooler. “At full speed, the EEV could cover that in …” She looked at Sweets.
“Umm …” The hacker closed his eyes. “Top speed of around … maybe about ten hours? Eleven, to be safe.”
“Unless we run into All,” Jake pointed out. “Ten hours is plenty of time for them to set up a lot of ambushes. Think of how much trouble we had getting into the city.”
Anna nodded. “And this fuel station has to be a tempting target for the All. Come to think of it …” She turned her eyes back to the AI. “If the All figure out we’re coming, what’s to stop them from destroying it?”
“Such an act would be inadvisable-foolish,” the Liaison replied, its warbling tones still somehow managing to sound dry.
She cocked one eyebrow. “Oh? How?” As if you’ve been an expert on the All so far.
“The facility-complex you will be entering is part of the Starforge’s mining-harvest control-command systems. Its destruction could lead to deterioration-destabilization of the mining-harvest network-interface.”
What? She blinked. “Why would that—?”
“They’re mining the star.” The sense of shock in Jake’s voice cut her off, and pulled her gaze away from the alien AI to see Jake staring at the Liaison with wide eyes. “You’re talking about the systems that harvest energy from the star, right?”
“Correct-accurate.”
Oh. Even before Jake’s eyes met hers and Sweets’, she understood.
“Destroy the fuel depot, nothing’s left keeping the star—” Jake pointed upward, through the scattered clouds toward the many-pointed star currently high above them. “—doing … whatever it is they do to keep it contained.”
“Incorrect-inaccurate,” the Liaison replied. “The loss-destruction of the control center would deteriorate-destabilize the lensing. Safety-failsafes would be put into effect.”
“Which would do what?” Jake’s eager urgency beat her own similar question out, not that she could blame him. If we could damage or destroy the Starforge by blowing up the control station, that might solve our “problem.”
“Excess energy would be required-needed to be shunted-relocated elsewhere. This sector of the Starforge would then need its energy requirements-costs to be supplied by other sectors, thus putting strain on transit systems. Furthermore, the balance of energy shunting-release from the star must be maintained-consistent, or the Starforge itself could be imbalanced.”
“Because those shunts are like rocket engines,” Sweets said. “You’re pumping the energy of a star out into space. Losing one of these would be like cutting the spokes on a bike wheel.”
“Correct-accurate.”
“And that wouldn’t damage the Starforge?” Jake asked.
“No,” the Liaison replied. “Safety-failsafe systems would compensate for such an occurrence-event. The strain-cost would be substantial-significant, but no harm would come to the Starforge.”
Jake nodded. “It’s the cost, though. The All would be making a whole section of the Starforge worthless. There's no reason for them to do that.”
“Even if it means letting us escape?” Sweets asked.
“Taking control of the Starforge is likely a larger priority,” Anna said, answering his question. “Assuming the All have figured out what we’re up to.”
“If they haven’t, they probably will once we get closer to the depot,” Jake commented. “Our destination won’t exactly be subtle. It won’t be hard to work out where we’re going.”
“Agreed,” Anna said, looking past the Liaison toward the distant horizon. At the moment it looked as though their path was going to carry them through another chain of the mushroom-like islands. “The All seems to be in the local network. Smart as they are, they’d probably know that destroying the depot would be bad in the long run.” Let’s hope they don’t decide we’re worth that cost.
“Still,” she said. “Even if they didn’t or won’t destroy the depot, they could still put a lot of opposition in our path. Eighteen-hundred kilometers is a lot to cover with All trying to kill us every step of the way. What about option two?”
The Liaison steepled its fingers, intertwining them and then unfolding them once more. “The quantum-ethereal portal-funnel system.”
“Is that like a teleporter?” Jake asked.
The avatar’s tentacles writhed. “No-incorrect. Such capability-ability, as you refer to it, was not possessed-discovered by the Sha’o.”
Anna narrowed her eyes. “That’s oddly specific. Did some other race?”
“Teleportation of matter may be feasible,” the AI replied, its small body shifting as it looked directly at her. “But was not within any power of the Sha’o. Quantum-ethereal portal-funnels, however, were.”
“Funnel, not tunnel,” Sweets said, smiling slightly. “I was tired.”
“That was evident-demonstrated by your passing-entering sleep-rest during our discussion-conversation.”
“It’s fine,” Jake said, waving one hand. “What about this quantum funnel? What is it?”
“The quantum-ethereal portal-funnel was a transit-logistics product of the—” The Liaison let out a series of overlapping cries mixed with whistles, and all three of them jerked back slightly in surprise, Anna’s hand falling to her hip. “—research-discovery pod-institute,” the AI continued as if nothing had happened.
A name, Anna realized as the Liaison continued to speak. That was a Sha’o name of some kind.
“They theorized-postulated that a quantum-ethereal rift could be stabilized-controlled between two points-coordinates in nearby-consecutive-aligned space. They were correct-accurate.”
Wait, Anna thought. That sounds like—
“Oh!” Sweets said. “Like a wormhole!”
Beat me to it, she thought, nodding. Guess I owe mom for her love of that old show.
“Similar-adjacent to,” the Liaison said, rolling its hands. What it meant, Anna didn’t know. “But similar-adjacent in function. It was suggested-postulated as a possible-alternative form of transport-conveyance across the Starforge.”
“Well you’re telling us about it, so it must have worked,” Jake said.
“Correct-accurate.”
“But the way you say that makes me think there’s a catch.”
“Correct-accurate. Have any of you experienced-endured exposure-admission to the higher relativities-folds during-adjacent to rift travel?”
Anna frowned. “I’m not even sure what ‘rift travel’ is.”
“It is the means-manner by which your ships traveled-journeyed here.”
“Oh,” Jake said. “You mean an FTL jump.”
“Correct-accurate.”
Anna let a grimace cross her face. “Yes then. At least, if we’re thinking of what you’re referring to.” She looked at Jake and Sweets. “The look we got at jump space, remember?” Both of them were already nodding.
“I remember,” Sweets said. “It made my head hurt. So the same thing happened to the Sha’o?”
“Transport-passage was nearly instantaneous,” the Liaison said. “But yes-correct. The project-experiment was a mistake-failure in that regard.”
Anna didn’t miss the specific wording. “What did they end up using it for? You said regard, and there’s obviously a network, so they must have gone further after the initial test.”
“Correct-accurate. The system was established for the transport-conveyance of valuable-expensive, time-critical cargo. Though still restricted-limited, it was capable-able to function for specific-precise purposes-causes, such as emergency transport-evacuation.”
“Emergency transportation does sound like what we need,” Sweets said. “What’s the catch?”
Sweets shook his head. “Bigger. We’re on a truck. This would be a large train. Or maybe an ocean liner.”
“Lots of cargo, lots of space,” Jake said.
Anna nodded, but there was something in Sweets’ expression that made her want to push further. “What’s the catch?”
“Well,” he said, rubbing at the back of his head with one hand. “If I remember what he was saying right, it’s subsurface. Closer to the outer skin of the Starforge. The Liaison said we’d need to descend below the surface of the hex once we reached the industrial complex, and then board the transit system. It was used for shipping of mass resources, I think.”
“How fast?” she asked.
Sweets shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
“It sounds like it could be a hyperloop,” Jake said, looking at her. “Those are pretty fast. The Sha’o might have made a better one.”
Again Sweets shook his head. “Maybe we should be asking—”
“No,” Anna said, cutting him off. “It might be paranoia, but I don’t entirely trust that AI. Not the way I trust you two. I’ll take what discussion we can get without it looking over our shoulder like a suspicious anciana. For now.” She held herself back for a few seconds, waiting to see if either of them would disagree, then pushed forward. “What about the other option?”
“All I remember was the name. Sort of. Some kind of … portal system?”
“Portal system,” Jake repeated. “Like … a teleporter?” His eyes darted toward her, and she shrugged.
“They built this place,” she admitted. “Maybe they cracked teleportation.”
“I don’t know,” Sweets said. “Like I said, I passed out before that bit of the conversation. I just remember the Liaison said we had the heavy transit system, or we could try the—” He faltered, then shook his head. “It was a complicated name. But the word ‘portal’ was in it. As was ‘tunnel.’”
“That does sound like alien for teleporter,” Jake said. “And that could be a lot faster than riding the hyperloop. Which would be better. The faster we get this done …” There was a note of worry in his voice, or maybe fear.
His talk with the Liaison must have confirmed what we were worried about. “And why is delineation of speed on that level something we should be worried about?” she asked.
Jake’s expression went solemn. “The All are taking over the Starforge at an exponential rate. In another five weeks, they’ll own more than half of it. With how many ships they could pump out to attack Earth with if they had all of it … I say the faster, the better.”
“Well …” Sweets’ voice faded slightly, and he swallowed before speaking again. “Well then we should probably go talk with the Liaison again, because I don’t remember anything else.”
Anna pushed herself up, rising onto her feet as she nodded. “And Captain Iyis is going to be asking us about what’s next before long. We’ll want at least some kind of direction to give him before we make it to the center of the hub. But first …” She eyed the armor paneling at her feet. “You two clear out. I’ve been naked long enough.” Sweets gave her a startled glance.
“Out of my armor,” she amended, tugging at the collar of her shirt with one finger. “This is naked, clothed or not. But since I have to be naked to put on my skinsuit …” Sweets got the message, nodding as he moved for the back of the EEV and following Jake, who had already left. By the time the door shut behind him she was already checking her skinsuit for any issues she might have missed. A quick, precautionary glance, and she peeled the end of a tube of neural gel away, the salty, shrimplike scent hitting her nostrils a second later. She kicked her thin pants free and slathered the lukewarm slime across the top of one foot.
Two minutes later she stepped out of the back of the EEV, clad in her armor once more—save the helmet, which she’d tucked under her arm. It felt right to be back in the armor, the neural skinsuit enhancing her every move, plates sliding past one another with every step or swing of her arms. Home was where she left the carapace behind. Here, on the hex, not having it made her vulnerable. She needed the armor. Didn’t feel right without it.
A therapy program would probably say something about that too, she thought as she gave a few of the marines nods. From the look of things they’d mostly taken care of repairs and maintenance and had now moved on to full-scale prep for whatever task lay ahead, stripping weapons and checking magazines, but with an ease that said they weren’t in any hurry.
Yet.
A few were sitting in a circle as they checked magazines, passing around a bottle that had to have come from someone’s personal effects. Probably one of the deceased. It’s hard to make us drunk, or flat out impossible, so a drink to the fallen isn’t a bad idea. One—Alaan—looked over and acknowledged her, and even tilted his head as if to say “come join in,” but she gave him a faint shake in reply, tilting her head in the direction of the front of the transport, where Sweets’ armor was. The marine’s eyes flicked forward and then he nodded in understanding.
Maybe later, Anna thought as she continued forward. After we find out what this portal is.
The scenery around them had shifted once more. No small surprise, considering their speed and the time they’d been traveling. The ocean they were crossing over now was broken by weathered spires of rock, worn with loops and arches that were likely partially if not entirely underwater during the higher tides.
Well, except for that one, she noted, spotting a slim tower of rock that widened, its sides pushing out like a mushroom above a slim stalk. Or that one. Or that one.
Were they built this way? she wondered as she headed for the front of the transport. Or did ten thousand years of weathering do this? Some of the surfaces she could see looked smooth, while others were ragged and rough, with an edge to them that looked as though something had been broken off.
I’ll bet if we dove into that water, we’d find a lot of rubble. And maybe that would tell them whether or not the current look had been intended.
It was cold out, too. There was a whiteness dusting some of the surfaces of the islands around them. Snow.
Explains the biting chill on my cheeks, she thought as she neared Jake and Sweets. Jake, she noticed, looked a little cold, while Sweets’ dive skinsuit was doing its job protecting him from the cool air.
“Thinking maybe you should have put your armor on?” Anna teased as she stepped up beside Jake. His arms were clenched tightly against his body, and she could see the raised goosebumps on his skin.
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “Sweets?”
But not warm, Anna thought, smiling. Armoring up is always the best option.
Sweets tapped the back of the armor, and Anna found her eyes drawn to the damage done by the wraith. It was already being repaired—healed, really—but she could still make out the broken path in the suit’s scales where the thing had tried its best to kill the hacker.
The Sha’o AI’s avatar took shape in the air. “Triumvirate-trio,” it said, folding its spindly fingers in a pattern she suspected was a gesture of respect. “How may I assist-aid you?”
“What you were telling me last night before I—” Sweets seemed to catch himself, glancing around before continuing. “Well, last night. About the center of the hex and how we can get from there to the depot. You said there were two possible options.”
“There are multiple-many options open-available to you,” the AI replied. “As time’s passage is urgent-desperate, I offered-chose the quickest-fastest two options-choices.”
“Right,” Anna said, her focus momentarily sliding to a large metal ring ahead of them which they were rapidly approaching. It wasn’t the first they’d passed, and she suspected that like the ring at the depot it had something to do with their transport’s means of travel. “Which were?”
“The first,” the Liaison said as they shot past the ring, passing through its center so quickly that a mere blink would have been enough to miss it. “Utilize-ride the mass-large cargo transport-shipping system.”
“Like this?” Anna asked, waving a hand at the transport.
“No-incorrect. This transport-conveyance is for small-minute transport-shipping within-inside the segment-hex. The mass-large transport-shipping system is from segment-hex to segment-hex.”
“So like a systems hierarchy,” Sweets said. “The transport we’re now on, the hub it used, radiates out from points on the hex. The larger system brings resources, goods, or people to the center of the hex, and you work your way out from there.”
“This is correct-accurate.”
That makes sense. “Sweets said it was underground,” Anna said, pushing forward.
“Correct-accurate. The system webs-traverses the Starforge via-by subsurface conduits.”
“How hard is it to get to those conduits?” Jake asked. “And would our destination be close to whatever transit hub this train would take us to?”
“Access would be trivial-easy. Upon using-boarding one of the transports, journey-conveyance to the fueling station would take less than two of your Earth days.”
“How much time exactly?” Anna asked, focusing her attention on the Liaison and away from their surroundings. “In hours.”
“Forty-four-point-zero—”
“That’s exact enough. Forty-four hours.” She turned toward Jake and Sweets. “That’s pretty good.”
“There is an issue-catch,” the Liaison broke in. “That transport-conveyance would bring you to the center of a segment-hex near-adjacent to your destination. Further travel on your vehicle-conveyance or a transport-conveyance such as this one would be required.”
“How far?” Jake asked.
“Nearly one thousand, eight hundred and two kilometers.”
“Over what kind of terrain?” Anna asked. “If it’s all ocean, or islands like this was …”
“No-incorrect.” The Liaison fanned its tentacles. “The segment-hex that is your destination is more equally split between non-aquatic ecology and infrastructure. Think-picture-imagine large islands of densely packed infrastructure. Similar-like the complex-city this transport-platform originated from, but industrial-economized.”
“Highways, then,” Anna suggested. “Like the pathway.”
“Correct-accurate. In large numbers. The fueling station would be accessible to your vehicle-conveyance.”
Her cheeks were starting to itch from the cold. The air around them was definitely getting cooler. “At full speed, the EEV could cover that in …” She looked at Sweets.
“Umm …” The hacker closed his eyes. “Top speed of around … maybe about ten hours? Eleven, to be safe.”
“Unless we run into All,” Jake pointed out. “Ten hours is plenty of time for them to set up a lot of ambushes. Think of how much trouble we had getting into the city.”
Anna nodded. “And this fuel station has to be a tempting target for the All. Come to think of it …” She turned her eyes back to the AI. “If the All figure out we’re coming, what’s to stop them from destroying it?”
“Such an act would be inadvisable-foolish,” the Liaison replied, its warbling tones still somehow managing to sound dry.
She cocked one eyebrow. “Oh? How?” As if you’ve been an expert on the All so far.
“The facility-complex you will be entering is part of the Starforge’s mining-harvest control-command systems. Its destruction could lead to deterioration-destabilization of the mining-harvest network-interface.”
What? She blinked. “Why would that—?”
“They’re mining the star.” The sense of shock in Jake’s voice cut her off, and pulled her gaze away from the alien AI to see Jake staring at the Liaison with wide eyes. “You’re talking about the systems that harvest energy from the star, right?”
“Correct-accurate.”
Oh. Even before Jake’s eyes met hers and Sweets’, she understood.
“Destroy the fuel depot, nothing’s left keeping the star—” Jake pointed upward, through the scattered clouds toward the many-pointed star currently high above them. “—doing … whatever it is they do to keep it contained.”
“Incorrect-inaccurate,” the Liaison replied. “The loss-destruction of the control center would deteriorate-destabilize the lensing. Safety-failsafes would be put into effect.”
“Which would do what?” Jake’s eager urgency beat her own similar question out, not that she could blame him. If we could damage or destroy the Starforge by blowing up the control station, that might solve our “problem.”
“Excess energy would be required-needed to be shunted-relocated elsewhere. This sector of the Starforge would then need its energy requirements-costs to be supplied by other sectors, thus putting strain on transit systems. Furthermore, the balance of energy shunting-release from the star must be maintained-consistent, or the Starforge itself could be imbalanced.”
“Because those shunts are like rocket engines,” Sweets said. “You’re pumping the energy of a star out into space. Losing one of these would be like cutting the spokes on a bike wheel.”
“Correct-accurate.”
“And that wouldn’t damage the Starforge?” Jake asked.
“No,” the Liaison replied. “Safety-failsafe systems would compensate for such an occurrence-event. The strain-cost would be substantial-significant, but no harm would come to the Starforge.”
Jake nodded. “It’s the cost, though. The All would be making a whole section of the Starforge worthless. There's no reason for them to do that.”
“Even if it means letting us escape?” Sweets asked.
“Taking control of the Starforge is likely a larger priority,” Anna said, answering his question. “Assuming the All have figured out what we’re up to.”
“If they haven’t, they probably will once we get closer to the depot,” Jake commented. “Our destination won’t exactly be subtle. It won’t be hard to work out where we’re going.”
“Agreed,” Anna said, looking past the Liaison toward the distant horizon. At the moment it looked as though their path was going to carry them through another chain of the mushroom-like islands. “The All seems to be in the local network. Smart as they are, they’d probably know that destroying the depot would be bad in the long run.” Let’s hope they don’t decide we’re worth that cost.
“Still,” she said. “Even if they didn’t or won’t destroy the depot, they could still put a lot of opposition in our path. Eighteen-hundred kilometers is a lot to cover with All trying to kill us every step of the way. What about option two?”
The Liaison steepled its fingers, intertwining them and then unfolding them once more. “The quantum-ethereal portal-funnel system.”
“Is that like a teleporter?” Jake asked.
The avatar’s tentacles writhed. “No-incorrect. Such capability-ability, as you refer to it, was not possessed-discovered by the Sha’o.”
Anna narrowed her eyes. “That’s oddly specific. Did some other race?”
“Teleportation of matter may be feasible,” the AI replied, its small body shifting as it looked directly at her. “But was not within any power of the Sha’o. Quantum-ethereal portal-funnels, however, were.”
“Funnel, not tunnel,” Sweets said, smiling slightly. “I was tired.”
“That was evident-demonstrated by your passing-entering sleep-rest during our discussion-conversation.”
“It’s fine,” Jake said, waving one hand. “What about this quantum funnel? What is it?”
“The quantum-ethereal portal-funnel was a transit-logistics product of the—” The Liaison let out a series of overlapping cries mixed with whistles, and all three of them jerked back slightly in surprise, Anna’s hand falling to her hip. “—research-discovery pod-institute,” the AI continued as if nothing had happened.
A name, Anna realized as the Liaison continued to speak. That was a Sha’o name of some kind.
“They theorized-postulated that a quantum-ethereal rift could be stabilized-controlled between two points-coordinates in nearby-consecutive-aligned space. They were correct-accurate.”
Wait, Anna thought. That sounds like—
“Oh!” Sweets said. “Like a wormhole!”
Beat me to it, she thought, nodding. Guess I owe mom for her love of that old show.
“Similar-adjacent to,” the Liaison said, rolling its hands. What it meant, Anna didn’t know. “But similar-adjacent in function. It was suggested-postulated as a possible-alternative form of transport-conveyance across the Starforge.”
“Well you’re telling us about it, so it must have worked,” Jake said.
“Correct-accurate.”
“But the way you say that makes me think there’s a catch.”
“Correct-accurate. Have any of you experienced-endured exposure-admission to the higher relativities-folds during-adjacent to rift travel?”
Anna frowned. “I’m not even sure what ‘rift travel’ is.”
“It is the means-manner by which your ships traveled-journeyed here.”
“Oh,” Jake said. “You mean an FTL jump.”
“Correct-accurate.”
Anna let a grimace cross her face. “Yes then. At least, if we’re thinking of what you’re referring to.” She looked at Jake and Sweets. “The look we got at jump space, remember?” Both of them were already nodding.
“I remember,” Sweets said. “It made my head hurt. So the same thing happened to the Sha’o?”
“Transport-passage was nearly instantaneous,” the Liaison said. “But yes-correct. The project-experiment was a mistake-failure in that regard.”
Anna didn’t miss the specific wording. “What did they end up using it for? You said regard, and there’s obviously a network, so they must have gone further after the initial test.”
“Correct-accurate. The system was established for the transport-conveyance of valuable-expensive, time-critical cargo. Though still restricted-limited, it was capable-able to function for specific-precise purposes-causes, such as emergency transport-evacuation.”
“Emergency transportation does sound like what we need,” Sweets said. “What’s the catch?”
