The oort federation, p.23
The Oort Federation, page 23
Orlov turned to Gloalorn. “Adrhun Gloalorn,” he said formally, “you have an important role in this operation.”
Orlov laid out for the alien exactly what he expected.
PROXIMA CENTAURI—PS AD ASTRA & PS NEIL ARMSTRONG
Kimberly looked up from her panel when she heard eThorpe’s voice. He was speaking to the crews of both Armstrong and Ad Astra.
“I want some input on how we are going to deal with the Udachny matter,” eThorpe said.
“I think we should bring Chairman Butler in on the discussion,” Dr. Fredricks said, having not yet returned to Phoenix.
It seemed like a good idea to Kimberly. While she thought about it, eThorpe said, “I agree. Kimberly, would you...?”
Kimberly nodded. I wanted to bring John with us in the first place, she thought. Now he can join us. She stood, straightened her outfit, and stepped through the portal to Phoenix in the Kuiper Belt. From there, she transited to her Ogden office and then into Chairman John Butler’s office in OS Prime.
“Kimberly!”
“I just left Proxima Centauri, John; can you imagine that? Four-point-two lightyears in just a few seconds…”
“And I thought stepping through a portal in the Oval Office to here was amazing. My, how things have changed.”
Kimberly kissed him. “We need you to participate in an important discussion. Are you free for an hour or so?”
“Where?”
“In orbit around Proxima Centauri.” Kimberly’s eyes twinkled as she told Butler the location. Watching his reaction was precious.
“Do I need anything?”
“Nope, just your E-disk…let’s go,” Kimberly said as she took his hand and returned to Armstrong via Ogden and Phoenix.
“Welcome, Chairman Butler, to the Proxima Centauri star system,” eBraxton said. “Take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with our surroundings,” he pointed to the holoscreens, “and then we’ll get down to business.”
Kimberly showed him a schematic image of the entire system, indicating the position of the two starships, while Butler was still getting used to the idea that he was actually in the Proxima system.
“What’s this?” he asked, pointing to a blip representing the Gagarin.
“That’s why we asked you to come,” Kimberly said, leading him to a couch in the lounge.
eThorpe then briefed Butler. He was physically in a matrix on Ad Astra but projected his holoimage into Armstrong.
“We cannot trust Orlov, but we feel morally obligated to assist him and his crew.” eThorpe paused. “Are you aware that Orlov destroyed our Joint Kuiper Station?”
“Can you prove this?” Butler asked.
“Not with legal certainty, but I am morally certain that he did it.” eThorpe smiled ruefully. “That’s my dilemma. He destroyed a multi-trillion-phoenix station and would have killed everyone on board had we not been backed up. In my mind, that’s the same as actually doing it. And now, we are faced with rescuing Orlov and his crew from otherwise certain death.”
“Wait a minute,” eSally piped up. “Don’t they have a portal deuterium feed for their LANR?”
eThorpe nodded.
“Then they can return home on their VASIMR. It will take them over four years real time, but they can do it.”
eBrad interjected, “Their subjective time will be about thirty-four days.”
“If it were just Orlov and that Academician…” eBraxton said.
Butler sighed inwardly and looked at Kimberly, who smiled at him. “I get the picture. If they return by VASIMR, they completely miss the opportunity to participate in the initial Asterian expedition. That’s good for Phoenix and probably for the human and Asterian races.” Butler looked around the lounge. The immediate crew was present, and holoimages of the other crew floated in the air along with the various uploads. “But what about the families and loved ones of the crew? Despite what Orlov’s done, and I don’t dispute your moral clarity, you cannot ethically do that to his crew.” Butler leaned forward as he said this, emphasizing his words. “I believe strongly that whatever solution you choose must include getting the Udachny crew back to the Solar System in a timely manner.”
“What if,” eBraxton said, “we offer to take the Academician back by portal to where he can obtain another hyper-brick, beef up its power supply, and return to Gagarin. Then they can bring in the repair material they need.”
“Or,” Brad said, “Orlov and his people can return to Udachny, abandoning the starship.”
“That’s a pretty big loss, even for Orlov,” eThorpe muttered.
“Wouldn’t we have salvage rights?” Dale asked. “I know that’s how maritime law works, but I never looked at similar space law.”
“It doesn’t exist, son,” Butler told him. “It’s one of the items on my long list of things to do.” He sighed again. “Orlov is not going to abandon Gagarin. He single-mindedly wants to get to Aster before Phoenix. He needs Gagarin to accomplish that.” Butler stood and stretched. “When does all this happen?”
“Shortly after Gagarin arrives at L2,” eThorpe said. “They will be off-loading all their small arms.”
“How did you accomplish that?” Butler asked.
“On pain of disrupting all biological systems on Gagarin.”
Butler grimaced.
“I didn’t have the benefit of your wisdom,” eThorpe said.
“I should meet with Orlov personally,” Butler said. “If he sees me in the flesh, I think he will be more cooperative. Do you trust me to arrive at an equitable solution, one that will preserve your situation without seriously impacting Orlov’s crew?”
“I put you forward as Federation Chairman because you were the wisest man I had ever known,” eThorpe said. “My opinion has not changed one iota.” He grinned at Butler. “Do what you must. I will accede to your judgment and cooperate fully with your compromise solution.”
Gagarin arrived at L2. The crews of both Armstrong and Ad Astra focused their attention on their holoscreens. Butler was just beginning to feel comfortable inside a fragile bubble of air 4.2 lightyears from home when the Gagarin outer lock hatch opened, and a spacesuited figure pushed a cargo net filled with small arms into the void.
“UZ Yuri Gagarin, this is PS Ad Astra,” eThorpe transmitted. “We have Federation Chairman John Butler onboard. He will come to meet face-to-face with Isidor Orlov. We will dock with Gagarin as before, except this time, there will be no gravity. The Chairman’s freefall experience is limited, so accommodate him.”
“This is Gagarin. We understand and await Chairman Butler’s arrival.”
Butler really didn’t know what to expect. His freefall experience really was limited, but on those few times he had experienced free-fall, he had had no difficulties. He did not expect any this time. He slipped the localized E-disk into a pocket and declined the EMD stun weapon Kimberly offered.
“It’s easier to persuade when there is no obvious immediate threat,” he said with a smile.
“I’m worried,” she said quietly for his ears only.
“Don’t worry, Kid. I’m a veteran at this kind of thing.” He winked and stepped up to the airlock inner hatch.
Armstrong’s resident Mother brought Armstrong alongside Gagarin and snaked the docking tube across the separation. It attached itself to Gagarin’s hull around the airlock, and Mother pressurized it to one atmosphere.
“Watch the transition to zero-gee when you cross the airlock transom,” Kimberly said.
The inner hatch opened, and Butler stepped through. It closed behind him. The outer hatch opened with a slight pop, and Butler stepped across the transom. He caught his breath for a moment as all his senses told him he was falling. Then his intellect took over, and his world shifted so that his senses told him he was swimming through a short tunnel. When the Gagarin hatch opened, Butler pushed himself off gently and floated into the airlock. The hatch closed behind him, and the inner hatch opened.
Isidor Orlov floated just inside the starship, sporting a wide grin. “Welcome, Chairman Butler, to Udachnyy Zvezdolet Yuri Gagarin. It is my honor to have the Chairman of the Oort Federation visit my starship.”
“Thank you, Isidor Orlov. I am honored to be here, so far from our homes—I, representing the people of the Solar System, and you, representing Udachny Enterprises and all of its people and wealth. I am grateful that Phoenix made it possible for us to so meet, but I want to assure you that I am not here representing Phoenix nor any other enterprise—only the Federation.”
“I thought as much, Chairman Butler. You know the respect I hold for you.”
Orlov waved Butler inside the control room of the starship and pointed to a chair with a lap belt restraint.
“You may be more comfortable restrained to your seat, Chairman Butler.”
“Thank you.” Butler strapped himself to the chair. “Thorpe has briefed me about your predicament, but I would like to hear it from your lips.”
“We had an uneventful trip under warp from the Solar System to here. When we exited warp, we immediately encountered a severe charged-particle-flux from a large solar storm on Proxima. It knocked out our warp drive. My crew was armed when an Ad Astra crew member entered our airlock. I believe Thorpe overreacted to that, presuming it to be an attack on his personnel and vessel.”
Butler nodded in apparent sympathy. He could understand why eThorpe might have reacted as he did. He decided not to bring up the Joint Kuiper Station destruction.
“I have spoken with Thorpe about this,” Butler said. “I believe he will agree to my proposal if you will.” He smiled and waited for Orlov’s response.
After a long pause, Orlov said, “Please, Chairman Butler, let me hear your proposal.”
“First, I need to ask a question. Would your people at Udachny be able to boost your available power to open one of your portals from Udachny to here?”
Orlov waved Borisovich over and repeated the question.
“I do not think so, Sir. We are straining to maintain the fuel portal.”
“Very well,” Butler said, “I thought as much. I propose that Academician Borisovich accompany me through the Phoenix portal to Udachny. There, we will set up a temporary Phoenix portal between Udachny and Gagarin that you can use to transport whatever personnel and equipment you will need to effect your warp drive repairs. When the repairs are completed and you have tested your drive and know that it works again, you will restore your original crew, and Phoenix will remove the temporary portal. From then on, you will once again be on your own. Phoenix will agree to refrain from targeting Gagarin or any of its personnel during this process.”
Orlov sat for a while, obviously thinking over Butler’s proposal. Then he smiled and stretched out his hand.
“Da, I accept!”
Butler brought Borisovich to Ad Astra. As they departed together through the portal to Ogden, Butler said, “This will take some time. Gagarin will go nowhere until Academician Borisovich returns with the Phoenix hyper-disk. After that, she may do some minor maneuvering to accommodate the repair requirements, but Orlov understands that if he pulls anything not agreed to, Phoenix will shut down the portal. In the meantime, please stand down your weapon systems.”
Nearly a full day later, Butler appeared with Borisovich in tow. Butler accompanied Borisovich to Gagarin and then returned by himself to Ad Astra.
“Where are we?” eThorpe asked.
“Orlov opened the portal to Udachny. His specialists are passing through and will shortly address the problem. When they have diagnosed the matter, they will move the portal outside Gagarin and commence receiving parts and equipment.”
Kimberly accompanied Butler back to OS Prime, where she spent some private time with him before returning to Armstrong.
eThorpe and eBraxton waited, and then they waited some more. Finally, eThorpe directed Armstrong’s Mother to dock with Gagarin. He sent Brad to investigate.
Brad reported back, “The ship is empty. Nobody is here, and the portal is collapsed. They took the hyper-disk with them.” There was a pause, and then he continued. “No, wait! Somebody is here—it’s the Frohlican, Adrhun Gloalorn!”
eThorpe immediately signaled the special portal they had supplied to Orlov to disintegrate.
“Bring him back. Let’s try to figure out what is going on.”
When Orlov briefed him on what he expected, Gloalorn was intrigued. The subterfuge fascinated him; it was much like the machinations he had experienced back home on Frohlic. While the crew, the Academician, and Orlov passed through the portal, Gloalorn sequestered himself in the machinery space below the living quarters, remaining absolutely quiet as instructed.
Sometime later, Gloalorn wasn’t entirely sure how long, he heard the inner airlock hatch open. Then he heard a male voice describing an empty starship and no portal. It was time.
Gloalorn stirred, purposefully making noise, and emerged from the machinery space into the bottom of the living compartment. The largest human he had ever seen floated into view.
“Who the hell are you?” The voice didn’t sound angry, just surprised.
“I’m Adrhun Gloalorn. I was taken captive by Isidor Orlov and was only now able to escape during their evacuation of Gagarin.”
The large stranger transmitted, “No, wait! Somebody is here—it’s the Frohlican, Adrhun Gloalorn!”
PART THREE
BREAKOUT
Chapter Sixteen
KUIPER BELT—NEW KUIPER JOINT STATION
The Nanocosm was a tireless worker. It wasn’t self-aware despite humanity’s ceaseless attempts to push computing technology in that direction. It was, however, remarkably capable of translating simple English directions into highly complex, wide-ranging instruction sets to nanobot swarms that proceeded to build some of the most complex structures ever conceived by humans.
The new Kuiper Joint Station was such a structure. Like its predecessor, it was a kilometer-wide disk covered with a steep-sided transparent dome made of a radiation-absorbing polymer. The disk sat atop the largest MBH Phoenix had constructed to date, somewhat larger, in fact, than the one it replaced. It generated its own adjustable gravity, and like the one before, it produced sufficient power to project portals to twenty Double-MBH craft out to at least a hundred lightyears while powering the entire Phoenix portal system throughout the Solar System.
The Nanocosm commenced the project several days before Ad Astra and Armstrong undertook their Proxima Centauri roundtrip. First, it established portals to bring in the necessary raw materials, drawing power from wherever available throughout the Solar System. Once the MBH was functional, power was no longer an issue, and construction accelerated dramatically. Had one stood off in a spacecraft and observed, it would have been like watching the hour hand of an analog clock. It doesn’t seem to move when watched, but look away for a moment and then back, and the change is apparent.
By the return of both Ad Astra and Armstrong crews, Joint Station was ready for occupancy, this time with enhanced security measures so tight that even a nanobot could not approach the station without detection. For a week, Ogden and Phoenix personnel transferred equipment, records, and even some storage to the new, secure location. Under the dome, inside the Phoenix and Ogden complexes, bare offices took on the trappings of their occupants, human sounds filled the corridors and spaces, and both Max and Maxter spent their days exploring the vastness. Somebody in the planning process had even considered the necessity of appropriate litterbox hygiene. The tabbies found their preferred locations, and the bots kept them clean and refreshed.
eMax spent a couple of hours checking the new location out, but then he had enough and went back to his favorite pastime, roaming the vast Solar System portal network, dropping in from time to time to visit Daphne or Kimberly or their other friends.
MARS-SUN L4—UDACHNY
“We have a significant development, Sir,” Academician Borisovich said to Orlov. “You are only too well aware of the limitations of our LANRs, even as advanced as they are.” Borisovich smiled quietly, waiting for some kind of reaction from Orlov as he sat in his domed office in the Udachny Complex at Mars-Sun L4. Above them, the Milky Way galaxy spread across the sky, a broad swath of millions of multicolored points of light, moving slowly as the tethered structure rotated once every ninety minutes.
Orlov grunted. That was sufficient for the Academician.
“My LANR team has managed to devise a LANR that produces nearly an order of magnitude more power than what we installed on Gagarin.”
Orlov looked at Borisovich.
“That’s ten times the power, Sir, on the same amount of fuel. That means we can boost our speed to Warp four-point-seven, and that means we can travel to Aster in just six days and three hours. At Warp four-point-five, it would have taken nine days and seventeen hours. We save three days and eleven hours.”
Orlov brought his head up sharply.
“Or…we can go twice as far without refueling.”
“You keep surprising me, Academician. That’s good. Keep it up!”
“One more thing, Sir.”
“What?” Orlov growled.
“We are increasing our fuel capacity by replacing the current tanks with ones that wrap completely around the Lance. Not only will we more than triple our fuel load, but the full tanks will also give the Lance added radiation protection.”
“How soon can you complete these modifications to (Udachnyy Zvezdolet Gherman Titov —Udachny Starship Gherman Titov)?”
“They are underway now, Sir. Titov will be ready in a week.”
KUIPER BELT—NEW KUIPER JOINT STATION
PS Ad Astra and PS Neil Armstrong briefly dropped out of nullspace ten kilometers outside Kuiper Joint Station to receive specific coordinates for the Great Hall. Moments later, both vessels appeared side-by-side in the center of the largest enclosed space on Kuiper Joint Station.
