I’ve also been thinking that if someone should emerge in that system before we’ve got Rekesh operational, all they’d have to do would be destroy Starhopper and stake their claim.”
“I’d like you two to put your heads together and come up with a small buoy that we can leave at the jump point. What I have in mind is something small enough not to be noticed by someone emerging from the jump point, but that could squirt a single directional warning to us.”
Edro frowned, and muttered to Toj. “How do we know the derelict’s on the same side of the solar system as the jump point?” The big man asked.
Kas shrugged. “We don’t. But if it weren’t I don’t think that trader would have found her. After all, he just stopped there for a recal and detected the ship and the beacon. So I think we can assume it’s on the same side as the jump point.”
Edro muttered again, and Toj nodded. “That also assumes there’s only one jump point in the system.”
“True, but irrelevant. We’ll do what we can. If the derelict is behind the system’s sun, any interloper is unlikely to detect her or us. The safest way is to assume that she’s on the near side. If we station a warning buoy, it can give us a warning without letting the interloper know she’s been detected.”
“But if the buoy broadcasts a warning…” Toj began.
“It won’t,” Kas interrupted. “That’s why I asked for a directional warning. That’s also why I wanted it to be small. It should be small enough to convince sensors that it’s just a space rock. But it has to have enough power to transmit a warning strong enough for us to pick up, on a narrow beam that won’t be picked up by the interloper. I also want it designed and built by the time we emerge in the derelict’s system.”
The two muttered together for a moment. Finally, Toj straightened. “That shouldn’t be a problem, sir. We’ll need a lot of power, but only for a few seconds. I think…” his voice trailed off and he and Edro were again muttering together. After a few moments Kas realized that both men had forgotten that he and Rom were still there. He grinned at Rom and cocked his head in a signal to leave. Toj and Edro had turned out to be kindred spirits in opposites’ bodies. Over the length of the voyage they’d become nearly inseparable.
It was only some thirty hours later that they called Kas to the engineering deck and proudly displayed a gray sphere about a meter in diameter.
“It’s powered by a suit power cell,” Toj began. “The cell’s rigged to overload, so its full power will be discharged to the transmitter in about two seconds. The transmitter’s beam is not as narrow as say, a laser, but we don’t want it to be. Edro’s computed that it should be about as wide as the orbit of an earthlike planet by the time it reaches the liquid-water belt.”
“Great!” Kas enthused. “It doesn’t look like much, though. What’s the gray stuff?”
Toj grinned. “I melted together a mixture of nickel, iron and silicates, then formed it around the components and held it together with an inert binder. Every sensor we’ve tried on it identifies it as a typical space rock.”
Kas nodded. “Excellent work, gentlemen. What kind of signal does it generate?”
Edro muttered to Toj, and the big man replied, “Well, uh, really none, sir. What we’ll get is a two-second burst of static that’ll probably be powerful enough to drown out our comms. Even if we’re on the fringe of the beam we should be able to detect it.”
Kas nodded. “That should work. Now, as soon as we emerge, we’ll kill all motion relative to the jump point and you can go out and position the buoy.”
Not long before they were to emerge, Lady Jane awoke to find Kas sitting up in the middle of the ship’s “night.”
“What is it, Kas? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing important, dear,” he replied, “Just something I’ve been putting off that I have to handle before we get to the Rekesh. I have to take care of the Edro problem.”
She snickered. “And what, pray tell, is the ‘Edro Problem’? I mean, I know he’s shy, but that shouldn’t be something to keep a Commodore awake!”
His smile was wan. “I’m afraid it is.' He sighed. 'Okay, here goes. You know the Fleet has two types of officers, right?”
She looked puzzled. “I thought an officer was an officer.”
Kas shook his head. “Nope. We come in two flavors: line and staff.” He shrugged. “Line officers are what most people think of when they think of military officers. Whatever his current job, a line officer is first and foremost a commander. It’s the line officer that becomes the captain of a ship, or the commanding officer of a unit or base. Staff officers, on the other hand, are specialists. They need professional qualifications, but don’t really need many military leadership qualities.
“Engineers like Toj are staff officers, and so are legal officers and doctors, among other specialists. Staff officers are accorded the courtesies due their ranks, but regardless of their seniority, they are not in line to command a vessel or station. Their rank is a function of their seniority and technical expertise, not their leadership ability.
“Edro is perfectly suited for a staff commission in Comps and Comms. But his extreme shyness and self- consciousness make him a total disaster as a line officer. I have to give him an ultimatum. Change to staff, or resign. If he won’t change, I’ll have to relieve him of his duties, and wash him out of the Fleet when the mission is over.”
Jane frowned. “Oh, poor Edro. He’s trying so hard, and he’s so good at what he does!”
Kas nodded. “I know. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been putting it off. But I have to take care of it before we start awakening the sleepers.”
She frowned. “Do you think he’ll be willing to change?”
Kas sighed. “I certainly hope so. We’re going to need his skills and expertise badly on the Rekesh, and especially on the way back.”
She rose and walked to him, cradling his head against her breast. “You’ll do the right thing. And so will Edro. Now, come back to bed.”
Kas began by praising Edro’s contributions to the mission but soon got to the point, flatly asking Edro why he held a line commission instead of the staff commission that better suited his personality.
It took over an hour to find out between Edro’s muttered responses and the intricacies of the story. It seemed to be one of those ridiculous circumstances that begin with a simple mistake and get more complicated with every attempt to correct the mistake.
“I’m going to give you a choice, Edro,” he said. “If you want to transfer to a staff specialty like Comps and Comms, submit your request in writing. I’ll approve it, and we’ll make it effective immediately. I’m going to need your talents very badly.”
“But Edro,” he continued, “I must warn you that I consider you totally unsuited to be a line officer. If you insist on remaining one, I’ll have to consider relieving you of duty for the duration of this mission with an eye toward washing you out of the Fleet. Even if we get her operational, Rekesh will be severely undermanned. I will not endanger Fleet personnel by placing you in charge of them.”
Edro nodded. “That’s fair enough, sir. And I’ve already talked to Toj. Transferring would be the answer to a prayer for me! Thank you, sir. I’ll have the request ready in half an hour.”
Kas chuckled. “It doesn’t have to be quite that fast, Edro. As long as I can change your designator to staff before we begin waking up our passengers…”
Edro had his written request prepared in less than an hour, and with a great sense of relief Kas made a production of the change. He wanted the entire crew to be aware of Edro’s changed status.
Toj requested permission to throw a crew party. Since almost a hundred hours remained before they emerged in Rekesh ’s system Kas agreed. The party became a multi-purpose event, celebrating not only Edro’s change of designator, but the fact that no more hurdles remained between them and the system containing Rekesh. To Kas, the party represented a chance for the crew to dissipate the tension that had developed throughout their trip.
Toj had made up pin-on rank insignia for all of them, including a double-size Comp and Comm insignia that he proudly pinned to Edro’s breast while Edro blushed and tried to escape. Enfolding the little man in a massive bear hug, Toj welcomed him to the ranks of the ‘real experts’ and congratulated him on finally escaping the ranks of the ‘truck drivers’. He was forced, grinning, to dodge food thrown by his line shipmates, along with hoots and yells of derision.
The party was a huge success and lasted all night. Kas amazed himself by managing to remain sober, though
