maintenance along the way, and I’d revise that estimate to at least two months. And that’s assuming the drive can make that many jumps without any catastrophic failures.”
“And what are the chances that we could significantly reduce the transit time utilizing the zero-point energy device?”
“If it works, then we could be home in a single jump.”
“That’s a pretty big guess, isn’t it?” Cameron challenged.
“No, I don’t believe so,” Abby defended. “Look, we got here in one jump, so we know that it can be done. And the math supports the theory of unlimited range. It’s simply a matter of available power. We use these energy banks because we don’t have the ability to generate that much power all at once. According to the math, a zero- point energy device just might provide the power that we need.” She looked around the room, noticing all the doubting expressions. “At the very least, it could reduce the number of jumps needed to get home to a dozen or so. We could be home in a week.”
“And the Earth would have not only a jump drive, but also a zero-point energy device,” Jessica added. “That sure would help in their defense against the Jung.”
“Yes, it would,” Nathan admitted.
“As would any of our technology that could be added to your ship, Captain,” Tug reminded them.
“Nathan,” Cameron pleaded. “So far, we’ve not been the aggressor, but you’re talking about going on the offensive.”
“I’m not so sure that the Ta’Akar would see it that way,” Nathan said. “After all, we jumped into the middle of the battle and put four torpedoes into a capital ship. I’d call that aggressive.”
“But that was only because we were being fired upon.”
“Maybe so,” he admitted. “But the Earth needs our jump drive to defend herself. And while helping the Karuzari in exchange for technology might not get us home any faster, turning tail and running home may take longer than the Earth can afford to wait. And if that is the case, then a few more days in the Pentaurus cluster won’t change that. And it might even make us better equipped to make that journey home, should we decide to do things your way.”
Jessica looked at Nathan out of the corner of her eye, as she knew what was coming, just as Cameron did.
“Tug, I would like you and Jessica to work out a plan on how we might best achieve both our goals in short order. I’m not saying that I’m committing to the idea, but I would like to see some ideas on the matter before I decide.”
Tug looked at Jalea and then Jessica, before turning his eyes back to Nathan. “As you wish, Captain.”
“Dismissed.”
There was a slight pause before everyone stood and began to make their way out of the room.
“Doctor, a word?” Nathan asked. Abby sat back down as Nathan waited for the room to clear. Satisfied that they were alone, he spoke. “What I’m about to discuss is classified, for our ears only. Is that understood?”
“Of course.”
“You still have the suicide implant?”
“Yes.”
“I need you to rig a booby trap on the jump drive.”
“Excuse me?”
“Something that will not only fry the thing, but also wipe all data from your system’s main frame. Program an authorization code with a thirty second delay to execution. Set it up so that only you or I can activate it. Can that be done?”
“Yes, sir. It shouldn’t be difficult. But why-”
“There’s one more thing I need from you, Abby.” Nathan leaned forward and looked her dead in the eyes. “You are the only person alive who understands this technology. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir. The project was highly compartmentalized for just that reason.”
“That’s what I figured. If one of us scuttles the jump drive, I’m afraid you’ll also have to activate your suicide implant. It’s the only way to ensure that this technology does not fall into the wrong hands.”
Abby stared at Nathan for what seemed like an eternity. She had contemplated the possibility of having to take her own life to protect her world since the day the suicide implant was placed into her tooth. But suddenly, the likelihood of that moment actually coming to be was a distinct possibility. “I understand, sir.” Her answer was more instinctive than cognitive. After another long moment, she spoke again. “My I ask, why now?”
“Let’s just say that I’m not sure who to trust.”
“Do you think we’re walking into a trap?”
“The thought has crossed my mind,” he admitted.
As he walked into the mess hall, Nathan immediately noticed something was different. Not only were there more diners there, but the place was actually clean. The chaos of the last week, combined with a drastic lack of crew, had resulted in an eating environment that had been in dire lack of attention. It wasn’t that the crew were slobs, it was simply that no one had the time.
Apparently, the stranded workers from the harvesting team had the time and had taken it upon themselves to give the room a thorough cleaning after they had finished prepping all the molo. Nearly all of the surviving workers were sitting down to eat, as were nearly a dozen of the crew. In fact, Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he saw so many of his crew in one place, other than in the main treatment room in the Medical section.
The room smelled inviting as well, with the smell of what had to be a molo-based dish of some type wafting from the galley to the left of the mess hall. Nathan made his way over to the service window, nodding at diners as he passed.
“Good evening, Captain,” the Volonese woman said to him from behind the serving counter. “Would you like some stew?”
“Yes, please.” Nathan watched as she dished up a hefty bowl of steaming hot stew. There were big chunks of what he recognized as molo, along with a few other vegetables that Tug had provided. It was all swimming in a dark-brown broth that smelled quite pungent as she handed the bowl to him.
“Kala bread?”
“Huh?”
“Would you like some Kala bread?”
“We have bread?”
“Of course,” she said, a smile on her face. “You can’t have stew without bread,” she told him as she handed him a roll bigger than his fist.
“Thank you,” he said, placing the warm roll on his tray.
“Nathan.” Vladimir stepped up next to him at the service counter. “I heard our guests were cooking something,” he exclaimed as the woman handed him a bowl of stew and a roll. Vladimir took a long sniff of his stew. “Oh, I tell you, after eating the food on Haven, I was not looking forward to eating more escape-pod food.”
Nathan and Vladimir left the service counter and made their way across the room toward an empty table in the corner of the mess hall.
“So, how are the repairs going?” Nathan asked.
“Fine. Not too much was damaged during the last battle. Lost some more rail guns, got some more holes in the outer hull. The inertial dampeners are still not up to full power. But all the main systems are working. Propulsion, power, life support, maneuvering, they are all good.”
“I’d really like to get the torpedo systems working again.”
“Nathan, you only have two torpedoes left. We can manually load them into the two undamaged tubes and fire them manually if need be. There are more important things to work on.”
“Such as?”
“Most of my people are working for Doctor Sorenson, making sure the jump drive is working properly. She is most concerned with the telemetry from the emitters. She claims that having to make jumps without knowing how many emitters are working is giving her gray hairs. The rest are working with Allet to get all rail guns working at better-than-original specifications, thanks to Allet’s improvements.”
