Prologue
After almost 30 years in the Imperial Navy, the powers that be had decided that I needed to be retired. That day was rapidly approaching. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
For the last month, I had been out of the office while the younger bucks were handling the business of the refit of the ‘Vincennes’, my old destroyer. She had been brought back to the Ganymede shipyard for the new jump propulsion systems that would make her and her class among the fastest of the fleet.
“Master Chief Parker, what are you doing here?” asked my replacement in waiting, Master Chief Rollins.
“Rollie, I just came by to get my messages. I promise not to intefere with your additional duties as the COB. (chief of the boat). Refits are always busy.”
“Aye, that they are. This place has been a madhouse since the work started. I don’t know how you handled the five before this one.”
“That is part of being the COB. You get used to being part magician and part god soon enough. Still, I feel like I’ve been beached. With our lifespans approaching over 160 years now, I’m still a young man.”
We both laughed a bit at that.
“Oh, there was a fellow here a bit ago, asking after you. He says that he is with one of those power companies that are developing power plants on the frontier planets. He left a card. It’s here someplace...” He rummaged until he found it. “Ah, here it is. ‘Planet Power Generation’, PPG for short. His name is Bart Masterson.” He handed it to me.
“I’ve heard of PPG. They’ll have to get in line. PPG isn’t the only one out there that has been hounding me. I’ll get out of your hair while you still have some, Dave.”
“Not to worry. I’ll see you at the muster out ceremony on Friday then. Later Mike.”
“Later Dave.” I walked out of the office for the last time.
******
The ceremony went down as scheduled on the morning of May 13th, 2422. I felt old as I shook the hands of all the officers and crew that had been my family for 30 years. The Vincennes had been my home for the last 8 of those. It started at 0700 and was done by 0800. I walked off the base, changed out of my uniform and got roaring drunk for the first time in my life.
Chapter 1 – Power Plant Generation
Bart Masterson made himself obnoxious at 0800 on Monday morning. Blearily, I answered the videophone.
“Who the hell are you, and what do you want?” I answered.
The dirtbag started laughing on the other end. “By the gods, man! Have you been drunk since the ceremony? You look just like I did when I left the service. Get yourself cleaned up and I’ll be by to get you in an hour. Retiring from the navy is not the worst thing that could have happened to you. Get your butt in the shower. I’m coming.” He hung up.
Who the hell is this guy? I wondered. I headed for the bathroom. He was right. I looked absolutely terrible. No wonder he laughed at my appearance. Even my tongue needed a shave. I dragged into the shower, starting it cold to help come back to life.
I finally dragged my 188 cm (6’2”) frame out of the shower and dressed in time to meet Bart at the door, noting that my normally clear green eyes needed to be drained of the blood that was swimming around the whites.
******
True to his word, he rang up the intercom for me an hour later.
“Are you alive yet, Mike? I’m outside waiting.” Bart queried.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m up. This had better be good, Masterson. I feel like I’ve been in a fight with a pack of Cardashian wolves and was eaten. Coffee and breakfast first, then we’ll talk. I’ll be right down.”
The door slid back and locked as I almost fell down the stairs. Crap, I’m in terrible shape this morning. What a way to meet someone new.
Gathering myself a the entrance to the building, I straightened my gig line and combed my short hair with my fingers. Clearing my throat, I opened the door to the waiting company recruiter.
He moved to shake my, but I wasn’t in the mood for any of that yet.
“Let’s get out cards on the table after you buy me breakfast. Then we’ll decide if we’re going to be friends. I’m not sure that I’m ready to be sober yet.”
“Fair enough. No conversation until we’ve dined.” He motioned to his ground car. I piled in and we were off.
******
It wasn’t the nicest place on the surface of Ganymede, but it was close. We were escorted to our table that had a waiting pot of coffee and some pastries on a tray that were waiting for us. They were still hot, so I had a couple with my coffee while we waited.
“I called ahead and ordered breakfast. I hope that ‘Eggs Benedict’ waffles, sausage or bacon, and lots of coffee is to your liking, Mike.”
“That’ll be fine. I’ve eaten almost nothing since Friday morning and my stomach is doing the Fandango. I hope that will settle it.”
A cart pushed by a server was at the table by the time I finished the coffee. He asked us what we wanted and helped our plates with food from the chafers that were on the cart. When he was done, he left us with the cart and the rest of the food. We dug in. I was ravenous.
When I was sated, I pushed the plate out of the way and refilled my coffee cup, waiting on the more mannered Bart Matheson to finish his meal.
******
“Okay, Bart, time for the sales pitch. I’m listening.” I said with some trepidation. “Thanks for the chow, by the way.”
“I’ll be blunt. I have friends in the navy that told me you are the man to organize and get things done. You are a hands on kind of guy that can make sound decisions and adjust as necessary to meet the conditions that are in front of you. Your masters degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering are acutely needed in my industry. Along the way to your retirement, you learned to be a leader of men. I first heard about you when you refused to be inducted to the officer ranks 18 years ago as a line officer.”
“Hell Mike, our portfolios are almost look almost exactly the same. I went out as the COB from off the Astoria eight years ago. I was recruited to PPG by the founder of the company, Lawrence Roddenberry, after a much longer drunk than yours. Thirty years I gave to the service only to get a full pension and a bunch of attaboys. I had no direction and was floundering my way through the first year of retirement when he found me. What a waste.”
“Larry gave me direction and a purpose that let me use my skills. If you’re interested, we have a new startup going on at Juno. It is my project and I am the project manager. I’d like to take you under my wing, show you the ropes, and turn you loose to work your magic on the construction and startup of the second plant on the surface, maybe. By then, another one will be in the offing, regardless. If you’re interested, the next stop is at the company HQ on earth. You need to meet the boss. I’ll be here for another two days. I’m heading earth-side for a meeting with him and a couple of potential engineers then.”
I mulled the offer over in my mind. Bart had gotten my attention. He had known that I needed direction from his own experience. He knew I felt like a fish out of water, now that the booze had worn off.
“I’ll let you know tomorrow. If I join you pirates, I’ll have to make some arrangements. When are you due back on Juno?”
“I’ll be heading out with some of our people in a week and a half. Juno is forty light years away. If the Endeavor takes the star-gates, we can be there in four days. If not, she has the legs with the new drive to be there sooner, depending on the congestion at the gates,” said Bart.
We hung out for a while, getting to know one another, drinking coffee and munching on more pastries. After an hour, I could tell that the man was getting nervous as was I. The tab had already been paid (PPG had an account), so we rose getting our coats from the coatroom attendant.
“Do you need a lift back?” asked Bart.
“No, I think I’ll stretch my legs a little. Two days of drinking myself into a stupor has left my body wanting for exercise.” I said.
He laughed. “Been there, done that. Thank the gods that’s over.”
We shook hands and parted.
******
I took my time getting back to the apartment, mulling over the offer. I’d had more offers over the last month from various power industries and people that basically scalped us navy guys from the future workforce into some manner of business. Bart’s offer was the first that I had seriously considered. He was the only one that had attempted to meet one on one. I figured that some of my ex-buddies might know more about them or be employed by them. After I cleaned up the mess I’d made over the past couple of days, I started researching the site and contacting friends I found in the employment records that were between projects. Norm Jamison was one. I sent him an invitation to a videoconference. He was right here on Ganymede.
******
“Norm, how are you? Long time no see.” I said.
“I’m doing well. I’m currently between right now. I figured you would look me up, eventually.”
“How so? Have you been feeding PPG information?”
“No, but I knew you were getting out soon. There are several of us working for PPG, so it could have been any of us. Sparky (Darwin) Koch has the biggest mouth, so it might have been him.”
“So, are there many of you here on Ganymede? I am thinking about the offer that Bart Masterson just laid on me. Frankly, he didn’t give away much information about the company other than he wanted me to meet the big boss, Larry Roddenberry, on earth. I’m supposed to leave the day after tomorrow if I decide to take the next step.”
“They must be hunting for another project manager. I know Bart well. That’s a good man there. I’m working as a mechanical startup engineer, so I never had to meet Larry. I was recruited directly by Bart. I don’t have nearly the experience you do, but some day I might be in line for the startup manager position for one project. From there, who knows...”
“So, how do you like working for these guys? I have heard little about them other than projects that are working on the frontier.”
“I love working for PPG. My wife and kids go with me most places. The benefits are better than the closest competition, by far. One is the group travel thing for families and teams. And the pay is better than the rest as well. There are some locations that are pretty wild, though. When Chip Anderson, the site manager, gets back from Darby, my group will rotate in for the startup. That plant is in New Ireland.”
“So how many projects are underway right now?” I asked.
“Fifteen that I know of. If you look at the registry, I sure that you will find many other sites as well. As for the locations, the married folks rarely go to the fringe worlds. There are too many unknowns and the big boss doesn’t like to take chances with families. They are very careful about the singles as well, but the planets for them are a little wilder. Where are they thinking of putting you?”
“Bart mentioned Juno. Ever heard of it?”
“I have heard nothing about Juno. It must be further out on the frontier or newly discovered.”
“Thanks, Norm. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Enjoy your time at home.”
“I will, Mike. Maybe we can get together the next time. Have a good night.”
“Take care of yourself, Carol, and the kids. I’ll check-in occasionally to see how you’re doing.”
We hung up. I started thinking seriously about giving the position a shot. I didn’t have any immediate plans and my ex and I had divorced long ago by mutual consent. The long deployments had killed that relationship, though I stayed in contact with her and the kids. Her new husband was a nice guy with a nice stable position in the government of the ‘Empire of Man’ on earth. He was an administrator is some office that I’d never heard of before the marriage.
******
I videophoned Bart on Tuesday morning. He answered.
“Hey Mike. How many phone calls did you make? The texts, emails, and calls haven’t ceased coming in since last night!”
“I don’t know. There are about 15 former shipmates on Ganymede waiting on deployment that work for PPG. I kind of lost track after talking to Norm, Darwin, and George Herman. The others started calling me. I even like most of them and know most of their kids.”
Bart started chuckling.
“Hey, I wanted to be sure before I took off on another career, you know.” I said. “By the way, none of them gave the company a poor review. Sparky and George said almost the same thing that Norm did. I think that I’ll go with you to meet Larry. It sounds like a good option.”
“Okay. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 0700, then we’ll shuttle up to the Endeavor. I’ll let him know you are considering the offer and will be in with me late Wednesday. If we can get a parking orbit close, that will put us in at about 0000 (midnight). If you take the offer, we’ll leave on Wednesday next.”
I spent the day getting my affairs in order, making
sure the rent was paid up, putting my meager possessions in storage, updating the will; the usual stuff you did before a deployment. I didn’t have that much to do, but if I took the job, I would be ready. Getting ready was old hat after 30 years in the navy.
******
He picked me up in the ground car that he had. Then we drove it right into the shuttle’s open ramp. A deckhand secured it while we walked forward to the cabin.
“This is some shuttle! The only ones I’m used to were for the crew. Marines were the only ones that have something this big; the assault shuttles.” I said.
“It is a design adapted from the marine shuttles. We have to ferry down supplies often and needed a utility vehicle to do it with. There are normally two aboard. They also serve as lifeboats when we’re deployed.”
The copilot checked on us, making sure that we were securely strapped in before liftoff.
“Hi, I’m Barney Whitworth, your co-pilot for the ride today. At the helm is María López, your pilot. Please stay seated and strapped in for this short flight to the Endeavor. Total flight time is 20 minutes, from liftoff to landing. The gravity should be strong enough at 0.6 g, but if you are feeling sick, there are bags in the pouches in front of you. Have a pleasant flight.” He disappeared aft to check the ramp and the cargo, then passed through the cabin again to the cockpit, shutting the hatch behind him.
I quizzed Bart about Juno, and my duties if I took the job while in flight. Bart talked about some of our common experiences when we were in the navy, but remained mysterious about Juno and the duties if I were to accept the position.
“I get the impression that you can’t or won’t disclose much about the job until I talk to Larry. What’s up with that?”
“Mike, I don’t want to give away too much before you talk to Larry. I handle the technical help, but the position that you are interviewing for comes down to him, not me. It may all be moot anyway if you two can’t find some kind of common ground. If you make the commitment, we will disclose all. Just relax and enjoy the ride for now. You’re going to love the Endeavor. It’s my ship, actually. Each of the project managers gets one. Each one is large enough to evacuate all personnel and their equipment should the need arise and are faster than anything the navy has in its stable, except for the Vincennes class of destroyers or the Fletcher class frigates with the new propulsion upgrades. It’s one precaution that Larry has in place should the need arise. We operate in most of known space and some in unknown space. Some places are dicey.”
“So I’ve heard. Now my curiosity is really aroused.” I said.
“So was mine when I was drafted those not so many years ago. Just relax. Consider this like sealed orders. You don’t need to know until you have accepted the mission. Meanwhile, after we’re aboard the Endeavor, look around. I think you’ll be impressed. You’ll qualify to fly one of her sisters and the shuttles if you take the job. A jump start on the qualifications is not a bad idea and will keep you busy for the flight so you aren’t bored,” he said.
“I can take a hint, Bart. Get to know the ship and stay out of your hair for the duration of the flight.” I said. “By the way, where are we going? New York? Geneva? London? Those were the places where offices were listed for the company.”
“None of the above. We are going to his ranch in Montana. That’s where he does the interviews.”
We touched down on the Endeavor. The entire flight took 20 minutes, just like Barney had said. We left the shuttle ‘Cyclops’ via the forward hatch and stepped aboard the ship. I wasn’t prepared for the size and the luxury of the ship. Bart enjoyed a good laugh as we unpacked, leaving the ground car aboard. After the ship was called to maneuvering stations, we underway less than five minutes later with a barely a tremble of the deck. I checked the time. It was 0805 UT. (The switch to universal time for all happened at the end of the 21st century by Imperial decree. Everybody operating under the same time galaxy wide made it much easier on all.)
Bart left to take care of business while I started with a tour given by María López, the pilot of the shuttle and one of the Endeavor’s pilots in the watch rotation. After I was in the provided ship-suit, poopy-suit and underwear, we headed to the engine room to start my qualification. Breaking for lunch, we caught up with Bart in the cafeteria.
“This is some ship! The propulsion unit is top of the line. That looks like the same unit that the Vincennes and her sisters are being retrofitted with.”
“It is, as a matter of fact. The field generator is the same type that Jon Doe created in the war with the Xin, as are the hull shapes, composition and designs. So far, no one has beat the designs that he created in 2324. This ship is a larger version of his original destroyer designs, so you should feel right at home here. You’ll find that with few variations that the Endeavor class ships are quite similar to the Vincennes, from the flattened ‘Stingray’ hull design to the propulsion systems.”
I had a feeling that engineering and the hull weren’t the only things that the Endeavor had in common with the Vincennes, but that would wait until the interview. There was more going on here than met the eye.
“I see. Well, I’ll know more when we complete the tour. What’s for chow, anyway? We kind of skipped breakfast and I’m still a growing boy!”
The coffee he was drinking caused him to choke.“Yep, a navy man, through and through,” he said.
******
We continued the tour after lunch. Maria had the gamma watch, so the tour was turned over to the ship’s AI, Helen. The more of the ship I saw, the stronger my curiosity grew as we worked through. Four hours later I was totally convinced that the Endeavor wasn’t just a civilian ship or a surplus destroyer from the navy. She was a fully armed merchant, more than capable of defending herself. She was, in fact, one of the new multi-purpose ships that the navy was incorporating into the fleet.
I also knew many of the crew that manned her. Lionel Hoskins, Danny Clover, Randy Livingston, and several others were onboard after retiring or leaving the Vincennes after their enlistments were up. The ship was manned by former warrant officers that were department heads for the techs (also called rates) that manned the departments. There were even a couple of former officers aboard that handled astrogation and weapons. Richard Dempsey was the captain and Jack Slater was his XO. Both were well respected in the naval world. Jack was one of my former captains. All deflected my questions, as had Bart playing their cards close to the vest until I talked to Roddenberry.
How had Roddenberry put his hands on a fleet of these? And the biggest question was why? These were capital ships in the hands of civilians. Or were they civilians? There was much more going on here than met the eye.
I stayed busy until we broke for dinner. Bart and I had dinner in his suite while the oncoming watch ate together in the crew’s mess. Obviously, the move was intentional to keep me out of the loop until I talked to Lawrence.
Also, just as obvious was that the Endeavor was just creaking along so I would get the feel of the ship before I met the boss. We could have easily been at earth in an hour, tops, with the drive that was aboard her. She was designed for traveling between the stars at trillions of times the speed of light. I calculated it out. Getting to Juno in five days meant traveling at about 3.154x1012 km/hr, more or less. I was sure that the Endeavor could do better than that. We once had the Vincennes up to 1x1020 km/hr, traveling to the Big Dog (Canus Major Overdensity Galaxy), but that was in empty space, not in the crowded galactic space of the Milky Way, and before the new engines were installed. No, they were setting me up for the big reveal.
I tried to take a nap before touchdown, to be fresh, but had little luck. It was early evening in Montana. I hoped that the first meeting wouldn’t be long. My day was already approaching 18 hours, and I wanted to be in top form.
******
We parked at the moon’s L1 (LaGrange) shipyard. After mooring the ship and taking on shore-power, Bart and I took Calypso to Larry’s ranch, a little north and west of the ghost town of Billings. Bart set us on the pad with a maestro’s touch. We loaded our go bags in the ground car and drove into the sprawling ranch home. As soon as we were off and out of the way, Sally, the Calypso’s AI, took the little ship home to the Endeavor to wait for our call to return. Like all ships with an Alcubierre drive, it disappeared as soon as the field was engaged.
“Just be yourself when we get there, Mike. Larry is easy to get along with. You’ve already made a huge impression on him, else you wouldn’t be here.”
“Thanks for the reassurance. I really feel out of my league here, Bart. This guy has a fleet of his own that would be a serious match for the navy and is playing in galactic politics. I’m not ready for that kind of stage to play on.”
“You don’t need to play in that sandbox, Mike. He knows what you are capable of. He won’t put you in that position, I’m sure. Neither you nor me are politicians, and I haven’t been compromised like that in the time I’ve been here.”
******
We pulled into the open garage door and parked the car. The door closed behind us. We took our bags from the car and started walking to the entry door. The door slid back, and we were met by two others. One was my height; one was about 5’8” (174 cm) and swarthy.
“I hope your trip was pleasant and enlightening, Mr. Parker. Larry at your service, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” he extended his hand in greeting. I took it. Larry was built much like both Bart and I were, about 6’2” tall (188 cm), athletic and with piercing steel-blue eyes peering at me from under close cropped graying red hair. He was a ruggedly handsome man. Extreme intelligence could be seen behind those eyes. His grip was firm and hand calloused. This was a man that wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. It took but a milli-second to take all that in.
“The pleasure is mine, Larry. If you don’t mind, please let’s make that Mike and forget the mister stuff. It’s your home, after all.” I said.
“This fellow with me is James Duggan. He’s kind of my man, Friday. You’ll meet the rest of the staff over the next day or two, I’m sure.” Turning to James. “Please take their bags to their rooms, James. We’ll be along shortly for dinner. First, we’ll head to the office for some face time.”
“Yes sir, I’ll see to it.” James said, taking our bags away.
“Bart, you know where the office is at. I’ll be along shortly,” said Larry, turning to go.
“He’s a busy man.” I said, watching him disappear into another room.
“You have no idea, Mike. He’s a mover and shaker on several worlds, civilized and not,” said Bart.
I followed Bart into a well appointed office. Some beverages and snacks, including coffee, were on a cart. I had a cup of coffee black, Bart had some black with a bit of sweetener.
“I’ve already put together a lot of this, Bart. Which side of his business am I going to be asked to get involved in? The mercenary/peacekeeping branch or the power side? Ships like the one at your disposal have the abilities to do either well. I feel that Mister Roddenberry is a man that loves peace, but will enforce it as necessary.”
Both Bart and I had our backs to the door that he had come through seconds before. We didn’t see or hear him. He moved like a panther. “I believe you will be on the power side for a while, Mike. That is, if you take me up on your offer,” Larry said. We both jumped a little, then turned to face the man.
“Please be seated, gentlemen. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He pointed to the chairs on one side of the coffee table and, after taking a soft drink off the cart, sat across from us.
“As you surmised, I have my hands in many businesses. Foremost, we are in the power industry. As older plants on the systems of the empire grow tired and old, we replace them with the state-of-the-art systems and machines. We also repair and maintain them for the various people that contract us out for maintaining the infrastructure. In addition, we install new systems for emerging worlds. That is where I would like for you to come in. Arthur Shell is about to retire to the comforts of Tellus and I want you to replace him. He has finally met his dream girl and wants to settle down. He too, is a product of the navy. In fact, he brought you to my attention almost 18 years ago when you made chief and refused the officer billet after you received your bachelors degrees. He was the captain of the Marseilles at the time.”
“We also contract out our services to the empire as peacekeepers. My alter ego on that side of the business is former general, Sydney Hickman. She was a former chief-of-staff for the current emperor, Lucius Tillman.”
“You have kept quite a dossier on me while I know nothing of you, Larry. I can tell that you are ex-military as well, though. By the roughness of your hands, your build, the stiffness of your spine, and the take charge attitude that you exhibit, I would have to say that you were probably an Imperial Marine and went out of the service as a decorated lieutenant general right about the time that the civil war on Xerxes was settled. I would also surmise that you and your partners are working closely with the government through the equipment that you are sporting. Modified Manta class cruisers for the project managers in the field? That also sends a message everywhere PPG goes. Am I close?”
“Damn, Larry! I told you he was observant,” said Bart. “That was better than I did on the first take.”
“Not bad at all. What else do you have for me?” asked Larry with a grin.
“Not a lot, except that Juno has to be on the fringe and recently discovered. I’m thinking, primitive, or a mining planet, leaning toward primitive with isolated bands of newcomers infringing on the natives, that may or may not be humanoid. Hence the reason for the Endeavor. Something that can lay down some cover fire if the construction camp comes under fire from either clan, and the assault shuttles for evacuation if the situation gets too dicey. I assume the perimeter is up already and the foundations are in, but the site isn’t much further along than that. That’s probably why Bart is here, and to load up the first of the freighters to the site.”
“That’s a pretty good assessment. Bart here can get you going, but I have other plans for him once you are a standalone unit. You showed all the abilities that I am looking for while in the navy. Hell, you are just one of five that has ever qualified for command as a recruited squid. Tell me, why didn’t you go on to the officer ranks when they asked?” Larry asked me that with a straight face.
“Oh, come on! You already know the answer to the question. I stood just about every delta watch on the bridge as the OOD (officer of the deck) for the last five years. It was mostly a training watch for the wannabe captains moving on to other small boats. Once the new guys passed the boards, they were off to other commands, while I kept at it, keeping the Vincennes personnel in line and handling the enlisted side and most of the XO’s duties. Captain Cramer kept me there because he was comfortable with the way I kept the ship and crew running, though some wannabes would get irritable when I, a lowly enlisted squid, would order them around. I didn’t see the need to fight my way through the O-gang ranks again for a silly commission, starting off with a rank of lieutenant junior grade (LtJg) or lieutenant (LT) as a DO (division officer). Now if the offer to make the jump was to lieutenant commander, I might have considered it. They made almost as much as I did. On top of that, I’m rude, crude, and obnoxious. The O-gang wouldn’t have been able to handle that.”
The last part of the soliloquy had them in stitches.
“I suppose not.” choked out Larry. Regaining his composure, he continued. “You and Cramer made a helluva team until we lost him on Epsilon Eridani. The missile hit on his shuttle was a tough loss for the navy and on his crew, you in particular. It was you that led the crew in the repel boarders action and saved the ship, taking two hits doing so. I wasn’t there, but I remember the action and the recommendations coming from it. You should have gotten the Medal of Honor for that action, Mike, not the Imperial Navy Cross.”
“Larry, I wasn’t in the navy for the glory. I was in it to make a living for myself and my family. In the later stages, it was to provide the best training environment for the crew that I could to keep them alive. Glory gets people killed.”
“Which brings me to the reason you are here. I know you need three things we can provide for you. You need a challenge. Going to work behind a desk somewhere won’t cut it, but building power plants that will pave the way for colonization of a planet will. You can help tame a planet even as wild as Juno. Second, you need something to love. You love to teach and mentor. You love watching the people under you grow. And third, you need something to believe in where you can grow personally as well. Those are probably the biggest reasons you need to join us here at PPG.”
“Mike, we’re literally taming the frontier with everything that modern man can bring to bear. Some tools are still old school. Most are innovative technologies. We need your abilities as a leader to direct that process, your understanding of the tech that is involved, and the drive needed to complete these power projects in primitive conditions. The most important thing we need from you is your ability to make the right decisions, based on incomplete information sometimes, to protect our interests and keep our people alive in possibly inhospitable environments. It’s called a leap of faith. If everything ran perfectly, an AI could do the job. But that doesn’t happen on frontier planets. Sometimes when in command, you have to go with your gut.”
“That is why I want you to join us. Your ability to command and maintain your cool in dicey conditions. You can choose your own starting salary. We’ll see how you do before I offer you a piece of the company. I’ll reserve the right to end our contract immediately if you get our people killed, you make a colossal blunder, or you are killed in action. We’ll make sure your surviving children get the insurance money. You have until the freighters are loaded and Bart says he is ready to go.”
It didn’t take me long to decide. He had me when he told me the reasons for doing this. It literally wasn’t just a job. It was an adventure, and I would call the shots later. Any doubts I’d had when we walked off the shuttle were gone.
“I don’t need to think too long about it, Larry. I’m your man. You had me when you gave me the vision of the future of these developing worlds. I can do this, provided you keep the bureaucrats and politicians off my back. I’m not a politician. I’m normally pretty blunt, which is another reason I wouldn’t have made it in the O-gang. If you can put up with that and my occasional cantankerous attitude, I’m yours.”
“Very well. By the way, do you want to be paid for the job? Do you have a figure in mind?” he asked.
“Now that you mention it, I do. I’ll let you figure it out, then I’ll double it and we’ll negotiate from there.” I laughed at his expression. “Just kidding. I know the base figure for site managers, but the extras of potential death and the so-called ‘adventure’ aspect have me a little tense.”
“I can see that they would. Let’s go to dinner. I’ll have a firm offer for you in the morning. No more business tonight.”
******
We had dinner, did some small talk afterward. James kept us supplied with beverages until it was close to 0300. I finally turned in at 0400. It had been a 22 hour day. The bed was warm and comfy and I was out for the full six hours I used to get between watches. Waking up, I crawled into the shower and changed out of my clothes to fresh underwear and the new blue shirt I found in the closet with the PPG emblem over the left breast pocket and the accompanying khaki pants.
******
Larry and Bart found me later in the study, going over the plans that had been conveniently been left handy on the desk, with instructions for bio-scanning into the system. The house AI was Cheryl. She definitely had one of the sexiest voices I had ever heard coming from an overhead speaker somewhere. Soon I was deep into the plans and P&IDs (piping and instrumentation diagrams). With my eidetic brain, I had almost all of them committed to memory by the time the boss and Bart were up and about. I was working on the logistics of the delivery schedule when I first had a glimpse of movement other than James in my general direction.
“Did you find anything that I might have missed?” asked Bart, stepping into the study, coffee cup in hand.
“Not really. I have a couple of questions, though. Where were the pieces for the harps (bent tubes that look like a harp in steam generators and boilers for heat transfer that expand and contract ending in headers for entering water under high pressure and escaping into the steam drum, expanding to steam) on the boilers made? I’ve heard that the QA/QC (quality assurance/control) of the ones from the Russian Republic isn’t the best. Going through the feedback from Chip on the New Ireland project, he said that they had found an unidentified material that looked like black beauty blast beads in their S/G (steam generator) tubes that had been shipped in dirty. They are about to start steam blows. The startup crew is waiting on deployment. Can we support the QA we need to clean that kind of thing up?”
“We have QA/QC on the project, but I hadn’t realized that blast beads were a potential problem. How old is that report?”
“Not more than a couple of months. I’ve been looking for the QA pedigree of the tubes in the reports, but haven’t found it yet. If those are running rampant in the condensate and feed systems, the bypass control valves will look like a shotgun blasted them when they light off the reactor and do the steam blows. The condensate and feed pumps won’t survive the water going through the seals if those are in there. Neither will the throttles, control valves, and turbines.”
“How do you know that?” Bart asked.
“I read a lot. Considering that my fields are mechanical and electrical engineering, what do you think I read? I saw an article about the autopsy on a new plant that lasted less than a year. The condensate strainers and the sparging header in the main condenser were full of them after they started the steam blows. The mechanical seals gave up after ten hours of operation.”
“I’m almost positive that our tubes are from the Russian Republic, but we haven’t taken the shipment yet. The HRSG we are putting down on Juno is old tech, but the fusion reactors driving them are new. I’ve a feeling that you have just named your first job for our plant. How do you feel about a trip to the Russian Republic? If we can verify that, you’ll have to stay for the QC work and flushes until we can take the shipment or find another supplier.”
“We’ll find another supplier," said Larry," but only after we verify whether the beads were used, and the tubes were dirty on the plant in New Ireland. I have to stop Chip until we can verify whether the beads are in his tubes and what he did to clean them up. I’ll be back. Cheryl, see if you can find the records of the QA inspection report of the New Ireland job, please. Chip will pull in soon and we need to know. Good catch, Mike. The New Ireland job is the first time that we have used the Russian Republic for any of our S/G tubing. How would you go about the cleaning of the tubes for his job if the job is suspect?”
“The only way really is to snake the tubes, then high pressure flushes of the interior walls of the tubing from the steam drums to the supply header at the bottom of the S/G. Cutting an end bell off the water supply headers after isolating the condensate system and the boiler feed systems would allow us to collect the refuse from the harps and feed tubes.”
“That’s kind of drastic, but we’ll do it if needed. I’ll be back as soon as I have the report,” said Larry as the door slid open.
“Man, I’m glad that you are here. I would have never caught this. It’s the first time we’ve used the Republic’s tubes in our plants.” said Bart, sitting down heavily.
“I would like to think that I would have caught that kind of thing as well. It’s a good thing that I read the article. It still amazes me that the tech for HRSG and S/G construction still uses inconel tubes for the actual heat transfer. The rest of the generator and piping is made of S5, eliminating heat loss from the pipes and steam headers. You would think that we would have something else for the tubing by now.” I said. “Even the turbine blades, bearings, and rotor are made of S5. But not the tubes of the main condenser. You can’t transfer heat across S5. That was another of Jon Doe’s inventions. Actually, he gave much of the credit to Jon Cabot, his mentor, but Jon Doe made it happen.”
We took a brief break for some coffee before going back to the plans and shipping manifests.
“Well, I hope the load master is good and we don’t come up short of the rest of the parts. I can’t see anything that is missing from the plans to the manifest. You have even allowed for some extra materials and fasteners if we drop a few. It looks good to me, Bart.”
“Good, I’ll go check to see how our load out is going. Later, guy.” Bart rose to leave, just as Larry made it back.
“Take a seat, Bart. Mike was right about the beads in the tubes. I also canceled the orders with the Russian Republic and made other orders with our former supplier on New Amsterdam. They are still tooled up and can keep the Juno project on schedule. Unfortunately, the tube revelation will set the New Ireland project behind by a two weeks. I want you two to hammer out the procedure for cleaning the tubes before you leave for L1, Bart. It shouldn’t take long. Chip’s mechanical startup guys are going to hate it, though. That means a lot of time in those steam drums for them,” said Larry.
“You guys can start after breakfast. We’ll run it through the engineers here before we send it on. Breakfast is on if you’re ready.”
We got up, following Larry to the small dining room where James had laid out the feast. After feeding the monsters in our bellies, Bart and I went to work. We had the procedure hammered out by 1400 UT, and Bart was on his way. He had called Sally for pickup an hour before we finished. I stayed behind with Larry. We had unfinished business.
******
I looked at the offer, then did a double take. “Larry, I don’t think that I can accept this. This is for more than twice the base salary I was expecting, not including the hazardous duty bonus and on-time bonuses. While I’m not opposed to banking a lot of credits (a credit is about 2.2 US dollars), I don’t know what to say to this.”
“Just say yes. That catch this morning would have cost the company over half a billion credits in lost time, system failures, and startup incentives from the empire. Our company is more than willing to pay bonuses for the intelligence of the people we hire that can save us time, money and make our projects safer. I do not think that your salary with bonuses is too much. If anything, it is too little. But until you prove yourself in the field, I can’t go any higher. Understood?”
Larry was adamant that I took the 12.75 million in salary and bonuses, so I signed the contract. That was more than I ever had dreamed was possible. In addition, the life insurance policy alone would set the kids up for life and then some. I named Christine and Douglas in the policy to split the 100% of the 20 million credit policy evenly.
“The Venture is in for refit now. That was Arthur’s old ship. She’ll be ready for you when she is out of the yards. I hope that the first of the plants on Juno is up and running by the time she is. Do you have questions for me before we part company?”
“I have a couple, actually. First, we keep talking about how dicey Juno could be, or is. What contingencies are in place to deal with the problems on the planet, specifically our little corner of it?”
“That’s a good question. First, when we go to a frontier planet, we do not go alone. Sydney sends a company of her para-marines with us. They are already on site with their own gator freighter in orbit. They are a fully equipped contingent of former marines with battle experience. Major Hastings is in charge on the ground and Captain Isaac Robledo is aboard the Ira Hayes, the gator freighter on site.”
“My next question is crew rotations. How does that work for our techs on the ground?” I asked.
“They are there for two months at a time with another crew relieving them in rotation for another two months from this isolated duty. We keep the crews together as they move from site to site as they learn to work as teams, and we want to keep it that way. The singles crews are mostly on the fringe, while the married crews work the rebuilds and new construction further inside the empire.”
“Is a new crew going out with us?” I asked.
“Yes. They will be aboard the Endeavor after the load-out. You’ll have time to get familiar with them on the way there.”
“Are we expecting trouble? Both you and Bart sound like Juno is having some kind of war that is ongoing.”
“We are expecting trouble, but not from the natives. One of the outlying colonies, Abyssinia, claims that the planet is theirs, though there can be no record of claim filed on a planet with an intelligent native species. Their claim is invalid. The Nikton of Juno are definitely intelligent and not animals. If I had to describe them in terms that we humans can understand, they look like centaurs, are normally peaceful and are in what is their industrial revolution period in their history. The Abyssinians kept their discovery of the planet secret. That secret was discovered by the empire three years ago when a survey ship found the planet. The ruling government of Abyssinia is trying to secede from the empire over this, but the emperor won’t allow that. Abyssinia would have little chance of making it on its own. Lucius will never allow billions of Abyssinians to suffer needlessly. We have discussed this at length along with his councilors.”
“So now we are interfering as well by jump-starting their climb from barbarism.” I said.
“Not so. Now the planet has been discovered, we have a duty to prevent exploitation by the other species in the galaxy. Believe it or not, this kind of thing has happened frequently. If we let it go, the Nikton will disappear into the annals of history like the Aztecs did when the Conquistadors invaded South America. Now they have been discovered.”
“I’m not arguing the point, Larry. I just want to get a feel for the conditions we’ll be going down in. So we are there to get the natives to the point they can survive their neighbors. We are the first step. You said the Nikton are into their industrial revolution? Are they as far along as the steam age and electrical generation yet?”
“They are. The Nikton have just discovered radio. That was how we found them,” said Larry.
“Larry, these people need to be part of the building of the first plant. Are they?”
“Not yet, though there has been a lot of curiosity exhibited by the people. We are trying to overcome the language barrier now. Linguists are on site, as are ambassadors. Unfortunately, the interference by the Abyssinians has caused us headaches by fomenting distrust.” Larry was following my train of thought like it was his own. “Mike, if you can get the Nikton working with us, it will go a long way toward their abilities to defend themselves. Lucius is making moves to pacify with regular marines to kick the Abyssinians out. The navy is going to blockade the planet to prevent interference, but they must move the resources from across the galaxy. We’ve been asked to hold down the fort until they arrive. Sydney is moving a battalion to the planet to handle the incursion. The company stands to make a considerable profit if we can do it, but we would have anyway, as it is the right thing to do.”
“No more questions, boss. You just answered my last one to my satisfaction. I was looking for the moral stance of the company. So long as we continue to do the right thing, I’ll stay. If it becomes all about money, I’ll be gone in a heartbeat.”
Chapter 2 – Juno
I reached the kids before the freighters and another of the MPS ships were loaded out. I let them know what and how I was doing and where and how I could be reached if there was an emergency.
It took the week. In the meantime, I learned to fly the shuttles and became intimately knowledgeable about the scheduling and provisioning of the site.
I learned more about the planet as well. Unlike earth Juno had little axial tilt, maybe 3º just enough to have minor changes of seasons. The site was located in the subtropics close to the sea off a major river called something unpronounceable, like a longer version of Zambezi by about four syllables. The gravity was slightly less than that of earth, and the planet was about the same density. The air was a little richer in oxygen at 22%, and 77% nitrogen with CO2 at about 0.05% and other trace gases making up the rest. If it wasn’t inhabited already with the lush green forests, plains and towering mountains it would be an ideal colony planet. No wonder the Abyssinians wanted it.
It also had two smaller moons, like Phobos and Deimos that could be captured planetoids. I didn’t find a listing for their names, but I was sure the locals called them something. I’d know soon enough. We called the bigger one Apollo and the smaller on Artemis for now. Apollo was tidally locked with Juno so the same side faced the planet as it orbited around, much like the earth’s moon.
******
Endeavor was the lead ship in our convoy as we set out. The freighters that were with us were of the Navy’s fast freighter design and could stay with the Endeavor and her sister ship the Aspire. We arrived at Juno on the June 1st, 2422. Parking the convoy over the equator in a synchronous orbit, Bart and a load of techs were going in first to set head down to the site.
“Bart, I think we have a problem. We can’t reach the site, or the marines at the site. I’m trying the Ira Hayes now.”
“Understood. Returning to Endeavor.”
“I recommend we move to orbit outside of Apollo until we have a handle on what is going on, Bart. Ira Hayes is not answering either.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Mike. If the Ira Hayes isn’t answering and the site isn’t answering...”
I finished the statement. “...We have company off the starboard quarter coming in fast. They have not reached weapons’ range yet. Aspire is turning to engage. I don’t see another ship out there other that the corvette that is incoming. This smells like a trap, Bart. I think they are trying to sucker us in to get at the freighters.”
The 2MC blared. “ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS. MR. MASTERSON, MR. PARKER, TO THE BRIDGE! SPIN UP ALL MISSILES. OPEN GUN PORTS AND PREPARE TO ENGAGE HOSTILE FORCES.”
Bart and I were through the hatch in less than a minute. Captain Dempsey turned to us.
“Mr. Parker, you have been in a similar situation before. What is your take on this?”
“Captain, I think this is a ruse. That corvette that is coming on fast is a decoy. It may not even be manned. There is no way that it can take on the Aspire. This enemy is trying to draw us away from the convoy.”
Jack Slater had just arrived hearing my assessment. “I agree Captain. Mike and I have seen this scenario before. The major force must be hidden behind one or both of the moons. They’ll be on the convoy like a pack of wolves if we fall for the bait. Not being able to contact the Ira Hayes is also very worrisome. The scans have showed no orbital debris, so perhaps the ship was boarded and taken.”
“I agree,” said Dempsey. “Suggestions?”
“Bart, it’s your call, but I’d put the convoy into jump-space and have them return in say five days,” I said. “That will give us time to take care of this problem. I think that perhaps the enemy hadn’t planned on two MPS ships coming in with the convoy. With two of us, we can handle just about anything but a full-blown battleship.”
“Agreed. Radio, get me Captain Larson of the ‘Yankee Clipper’, tight beam please,” said Bart.
******
Aspire took out the corvette about the same time the freighters jumped. Turning to join us, we filled Julie “Jules” Nelson, the captain of the Aspire, in on our plans, then went hunting around Juno and Callisto, the moons. Sure enough, we found tachyon signatures of several ships close to the moons. Following the trail, they were hightailing it to the system boundary, not trying to hide anymore.
The enemy had made a tactical blunder when they underestimated the MPS ships. Now we had to avoid one ourselves by getting involved in another chase scenario where they could do an end around on us and approach undefended Juno from a different angle, unless…
“Captain, I have an idea. We can send one of us on the wild goose chase they are trying to lure us into, while the other remains here under the Alcubierre field. Unless I am very wrong, when either the Aspire or we are detected following the escaping ships, they will scatter and return here to complete the job of destroying the site and try to subjugate Juno.”
“While we are playing possum with our Alcubierre field, we can send the shuttles down with a marine contingent onboard and, depending on what we find over the camp, use them to support a marine landing and retake the site. Once the marines are on the ground, the shuttles can use their Alcubierre fields to come in undetected over the site, then drop the field and take out anything military. We may draw the enemy forces back when they realize we are destroying their ground troops while they are off haring around, trying to draw us away. We need to prevent the loss of Nikton life at all costs. I fear we may already be too late for that, though.”
“As soon as the chase ship detects the enemy jumping to warp, it gets under the Alcubierre field and returns here at maximum speed, staying under the field. They will put their marines in their shuttles and be ready to launch when the ground action starts.”
“That’s brilliant!” said Jack and Bart at the same time. Dempsey nodded his agreement.
“Tight beam the Aspire and tell them of the plan. They can chase the enemy while we prepare the trap and cause some mayhem below,” ordered Dempsey, the senior captain in charge.
Once the order was relayed, the Aspire took off like a bat out of hell, covering our return to dark-space and to Juno. Bart was on the interstellar with Larry, relaying all that had happened since our first contact with the assumed Abyssinians. I warned Bart to make sure that it was only an assumption about the Abyssinian presence. There might be someone else at play here.
The marines left on the Cyclops and Medusa (shuttles) under the Alcubierre field. They were dropped outside of the site about two kilometers out and on opposite sides, remaining hidden until Cyclops and Medusa opened up. Sally and Serena (shuttle AIs) opened up on the missile sites and emplacements that the enemy had placed in the camp before they could react. Then, engaging the field again, looked for more targets of opportunity. Meanwhile, the marines made the force march in and took the site back from the enemy in the confusion.
The enemy ships, in the meantime, jumped to black-space as soon as they passed the last planetary orbital after determining that the Aspire was closing fast. Aspire took a couple of long-range missile shots to make sure the belligerents knew she was there then Aspire turned around under the Alcubierre field and returned to Juno, joining the Endeavor, and waited.
A distress signal was detected from the beleaguered enemy forces on Juno. It wasn’t long before the enemy ships arrived in singles and in pairs to come to the aid of their comrades. When all but one of the ship’s tachyon signatures were detected, Endeavor and Aspire appeared broadside to the fourteen enemy ships and opened fire. None of the enemy escaped, but the one whose tachyon signature was not detected at the gathering. It had been let go to warn the belligerents of the folly of attacking Juno again.