Proving True

We expect to have a few months alone before Star Chaser returns. Given that, I want sections of hull plating cut from Gallagher and attached to Silver Saber to reinforce the existing armor. It will be paramount to add it so the new plates won’t affect the existing—particularly the Transit drive—functionality. We will get all the engines back on line. This ship will be Transit capable before Star Chaser returns. I put Raines on it, he’s been itching to prove himself. He appears to believe I should have appointed him Chief Engineer rather than Jenkins. I might have if he had been more of a self-starter and leader when we took over this flying armpit. For his faults, Jenkins lets me know what he is doing when he is doing it. Raines has to be tracked down for situation reports.

As there’s nothing that needs my immediate attention, I’m going to get my hands dirty on a personal project. I’m in the workshop off the engine room when Chief Jenkins returns. His time planet side did him good. He doesn’t have a tan per se; he has mild sunburn. But he also looks more relaxed. “Any thing in particular that needs my attention, ma’am?”

“As a matter of fact, Chief, there is. What you see here is the suit of marauder armor Sergeant Major Call was wearing when he was killed. Well, what remains of it. As you can see, it did not take the weaponry thrown at it. I think it should have, the caliber of the weapon the WARBOT fired was 30mm. I’ll grant you, it’s at the top of the range, but the round should not have penetrated. As we can both see it did. Repeatedly. So this suit is now the subject of a case study. You and I are going to figure out how a trooper can survive a hit from a weapon up to an FR14. You look at the materials engineering to handle the energy discharge, I’ll focus on how to disperse the kinetic energy.”

“Ma’am, I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but a fusion rifle blast is basically a tiny nuclear event. To think that a person in any armor could survive that is beyond my understanding. And that’s without taking any kinetic energy into consideration. I will see what I can determine but to be candid, I’m not expecting much.” Our gazes meet over the shredded armor. “I wouldn’t be doing you any favors if I were being less than honest with you, Boss.”

“No, Chief, you would not. And you raise a very valid point. Any time there’s something moving there’s kinetic energy involved, even if it’s a few grams of fusing material. Redirecting it is the key to this puzzle. It may be a fool’s errand, but I’m the fool that’s going to chase it for a while. I’ve changed my mind. You don’t believe this is possible, so trying to make it happen will fry your brain. Why don’t you figure out how that matter transporter works? I’m going to take my own advice and get on the rotation to go lay on the beach for a few hours.”

“That? Oh, my apologies ma’am, I thought you knew: Baumgartner and I already cracked that nut. The power requirements are enormous, but you could tell that by looking at the spent fuel cells around it. We figured that if all the ship’s systems were running and the reactor was ten or fifteen percent above critical and could charge the cells, it would still take the better part of a week. What’s really cool—we thought so, anyway—was that when we—and by ‘we’ I mean Baumgartner—got the computer up we could look into the things log files. Deciphering the destination coordinates took some skull sweat. But some of the destinations list time coordinates on the order of four thousand years ago. We think it may do double duty as a time machine.”

I stare at him for a full ten seconds digesting what he said. “A time machine? I’m not questioning what you found, but I do question your conclusion. A jackwagon like Grangiere would not abandon a functioning time machine.”

“He would if he took the plans to build another with him. We found a few terabytes of schematic diagrams and other such. It’s all in our logs as well as the original directory on the ship’s system. If those plans were to be refactored maybe he could make a more elegant, smaller system.”

“Fair point. If you haven’t done so already, please disconnect those power cells from the unit and anything that could possibly charge them. If it is what you think it is, it’s not impossible that someone aboard could—intentionally or otherwise—zap themselves into some far away place and time. Or potentially bring some horrible bad nasty from some far away place and time.”

“We did that already. Oh, and just to keep your opinion of me grounded and reasonable, we found out how to operate it, but I couldn’t begin to tell you how it works.”

“Not to worry, Chief,” I tell him with a wink. “I knew you were good, I didn’t think you were that good. Hang on, you said if the reactor could charge the cells…why can’t it?”

“Because those cells all burned out in the discharge phase. I don’t know the details, but while those cells can take a charge I don’t think they can take as much of a charge as they need to in order to power that machine.”

“So it’s a one trick pony?”

“I don’t know about that, but that pony does that one trick one time.”

“Bummer,” I frown. “Well, I guess you’re back on the armor project. I’ll check with you in a few days.”

Athena stops me just outside the bridge. “Captain, it has come to my attention that your name is not on the R&R rotation roster. I took the liberty of correcting that omission.”

“Excellent, after you briefed me for my upcoming watch I was going to correct it myself. How soon after my watch do I leave?”

“Funny you should ask. Lieutenant Landers’ name was also missing from the list.”

“I don’t see a connection.”

“Mr. Baumgartner and I will handle things here. Lieutenant Landers will pilot your shuttle down in half an hour. In short, ma’am; you are relieved. Enjoy yourself.”