Free Novel Read

Gravity Flux: Kestrel Class Saga Book 3 Page 4


  “You’re helping him with this?” Kim asked.

  “Just a little,” Ben said. “It’s hard to keep up.”

  “Wonderful,” Kim said.

  “And you want to build one of these things?” Nance asked.

  “Yes,” Jones said enthusiastically. “We want to build several to test our hypothesis with.”

  “You’re both insane,” Kim said.

  “Where would you get the materials you need?” Nance asked.

  “That’s a good question,” Ben said. “Under different circumstances, we might get it from the Confederacy or even a shipyard like Genovisi.”

  “But we can’t let anyone know what we’re doing,” Jones said. “What we’re creating here is really just the first step. Testing must be done on the wormholes themselves to see if they can be sustained, directed, and safely utilized by ships of various sizes.”

  “Can I just mention the fact that this is insane?” Kim said. “We don’t need wormholes. We can go across the galaxy in a matter of days using hyperspeed. The danger of these black holes is far too great to justify the result. I can tell you that right now. Flying through the eye of one isn’t safe. I did it once, but I don’t know if I could do it again. And you should remember that we lost both wing engines in the process. They were crushed, remember? It was a miracle we didn’t all die.”

  “That is why we must continue the process of study and testing,” Jones said. “My equations show that gravity can be reduced once the tunnel is open. In theory, we can create safe, sustainable portals across the galaxy.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Nance said in her unflappable tone.

  “I think the perfect place,” Ben said, “is Torrent Four.”

  “Oh, this just gets better and better,” Kim said.

  “There are plenty of usable materials there,” Ben said. “We can drift in, get what we need, and be gone without anyone knowing what we’re up to.”

  “Do you recall that Torrent Four is a restricted world?” Kim said. “With an Imperium Fleet presence in the system to keep people from doing exactly what you’re describing?”

  “Yes, I know there’s a blockade there,” Ben said. “But that’s what we do, right? We can pull this off. I’m sure of it.”

  “You want to go back to Torrent Four?” Kim said. “Really? We promised we’d never go back.”

  “No,” Ben said. “We swore we’d never be sent back. This time we’re going willingly.”

  “Don’t split hairs, Ben. Torrent Four is dangerous. This whole stupid science project is dangerous and reckless to boot. Please don’t make us do this.”

  “I’m not making anyone do anything,” Ben said, with a note of frustration in his voice. “We make decisions together.”

  “Well, my vote is no,” Kim said. “I think it’s a bad idea. We should take Professor Jones and his research back to the Confederacy. We’ve done all we agreed to do.”

  “No,” Magnum said, his deep voice was not combative, but still surprising since he rarely voiced an opinion. “We can’t turn him over to the rebels. They would abuse his research.”

  “You mean weaponize it?” Nance asked.

  Magnum nodded.

  “Isn’t that a threat, no matter what?” Nance continued.

  “All the more reason we shouldn’t have anything to do with it,” Kim remarked.

  “Actually,” Ben said, “we have a solution for that. It’s theoretical, but I think we can build it, and if it works, it will be beneficial for us.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Kim said.

  “The professor has shared his research,” Ben explained. “And I believe I can build an enhanced artificial gravity generator that acts as shielding around the Echo.”

  “A gravity shield?” Kim asked.

  “Yes. Think of it as a layer of gravity that spins around the ship some forty or fifty feet from the hull,” Ben said. “Anything approaching us, be it laser fire or missiles, would be caught in that spinning gravity bubble and cast away from the ship.”

  “It wouldn’t just pull it in toward us?” Nance asked.

  “No,” Ben said. “That’s the beauty of it. They’re merely redirected. Even if another ship tried to ram us, the gravity bubble would push them away.”

  “So if an Imperium cruiser tried to ram us?” Kim said.

  “An object with great mass would push the object of small mass,” Jones said. “A capital ship would merely push this ship off course, but there would be no collision as long as the gravity shield was in use.”

  “Sounds like it would be a massive drain on our power,” Kim said.

  “That’s the great thing about it,” Ben said. “The artificial gravity generator doesn’t require much power. It will be a slight increase, sure, but the result will make us nearly unstoppable. We could fly through a squadron of Imperium fighters without being touched or using more fuel than we would at any other time.”

  “You can build this shield?” Magnum asked.

  “Yes,” Ben said. “I’m sure it will require some tweaking, but I can do it. We just need parts.”

  “So you want to go back to that trash heap we came from?” Kim said, a feeling of total defeat swamping her suddenly.

  There was no doubt they would have to try. They were sure to be on the Imperium Fleet’s most wanted list of renegade ships. They couldn’t pass up an opportunity to build a gravity shield, not if it could do what Ben was claiming.

  “Alright,” Nance said. “I say we go.”

  Magnum nodded his assent, and Kim was completely outvoted. Not that she would keep them from trying to build the shield anyway, but she had strong reservations.

  “Fine,” she said. “I’m in, but just for the record, I think this is all a bad idea. We’ll be lucky just to get into orbit without being vaporized by Imperium Fleet ships.”

  “Okay,” Ben said, nodding to Jones. “We’re going home. Nance, plot our course. I’ll check on the Zexum, and then we’ll make the jump.”

  Chapter 7

  The Confederacy had given them two extra tanks of Zexum, and they still had over half of the current tank. Ben felt a hum of excitement at the thought of building the shielding system. He couldn’t wait to get started, and even though he loathed the idea of going back to Torrent Four, he was certain he could find what they needed to build their machines and test Professor Jones’ theories.

  He walked through the engineering bay. The Echo was far from new. None of her panels gleamed. There were rust spots on the deck, and the machinery had the unmistakable patina of age. Yet if he could adapt the artificial gravity generator to create the flux shielding, she would be the safest ship in the galaxy. At least from a military point of view. And if Jones managed to build his black-hole missiles, the old Kestrel class ship would be the deadliest ship too.

  It made him feel almost giddy to think of them being feared by the Royal Imperium Fleet. An untouchable ship, with the weaponry to destroy planets and devastate entire squadrons of capital ships with a single blow. The power was heady, and it made him feel as though he had somehow hacked his life so completely that the galaxy lay at his fingertips, ripe for the taking.

  “You done playing around down there?” Kim said over the com-link. “We’ve got a thirty-three-hour hyperspace jump to make and we’re all waiting on you.”

  “Yes,” Ben said. “I’m done. “We’re all good down here. Go for it.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Kim said.

  Ben understood her attitude. They were talking about building things of incredible power, things that could change not just the course of history but also the physical realities of the universe. Who were they to think they could do such things? That was a question that floated through Ben’s mind. The power they were trying to create would make them more powerful than the Imperium. They could demand whatever they wanted. Wealth, ships, entire worlds—the Imperium would have to give them whatever they demanded. Or they could sell the technology for mo
re credits than they could spend in a hundred lifetimes. They could depose the royal family and take their place as the rulers of the galaxy. Not that Ben wanted that. All he really wanted was to keep flying, to see new worlds, to visit the people that lived in distant places, and discover the wonders of the galaxy.

  He was thinking of all he might do in an unstoppable ship when he felt the familiar stretch of hyperspace. Soon things were back to normal and he began sketching out the modifications he would need to make to the art grav genny on his workbench. The exact build would depend on what he found on Torrent Four. But he was confident there were plenty of materials. They wouldn’t have time to build a second fusion reactor, but if the flux shielding worked the way Professor Jones described it, they wouldn’t need more power. The only drawback to the shielding was that it wouldn’t allow them to shoot back, not that Ben wanted to be in combat. It was better to have the means to escape almost any encounter than to have to fight to survive.

  “You are so predictable,” Kim said as she sauntered into the engineering bay.

  “Why are you surprised?” Ben said. “I can’t stop imagining the possibilities.”

  “Try thinking about the consequences,” Kim said. “What do we do if the black holes created by Doctor Doom’s missiles aren’t stable? What if they grow and grow in an unstoppable wave of destruction? What if we upset the balance of the universe, or poke holes in time until everything unravels? Have you imagined that?”

  “No,” Ben said. “I think the research shows that it is possible to create stable wormholes. Have you considered that possibility?”

  “Of course I have,” Kim said. “But we’re risking an awful lot to try something that will probably never work.”

  “But don’t we have to try?” Ben said. “What’s left for us if we walk away now?”

  “How about a long and happy life?”

  “How happy would it be?” Ben said. “Best-case scenario is we find another ship and escape the Imperium’s wrath, but I can’t imagine our ship is worth much with the Confederacy flooding every system network with the video of us destroying a battle cruiser.”

  “So let’s find a place to lie low for a while,” Kim said. “Someplace green, and quiet. There have to planets on the fringe of the galaxy where the Imperium isn’t hunting for us.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Ben said. “What I do know is how antsy you were this last week. You almost went crazy with nothing to do.”

  “I wasn’t bored, you dolt,” Kim said. “I was jealous. You never pay me as much attention as you do old Gray Hair upstairs.”

  “That’s not fair,” Ben said.

  “You’re telling me,” Kim said. “I understand you were working, and the shield thingy sounds great. But you get so obsessed it’s like I’m not even here. Nance has Magnum, you have your work, and I’m left all alone.”

  “You’re never alone as long as I’m around,” Ben said. “Why didn’t you join me?”

  He moved closer to her and Kim tensed up. He could feel the frustration pour off her in waves.

  “I can’t make heads or tails of what you two are doing,” Kim said. “It’s a total mystery. Besides, I just feel like a third wheel and I don’t like it. Maybe I just don’t belong here.”

  “You know that isn’t true,” Ben said.

  “I’ll get you to Torrent Four,” she said. “But if your shield works, you won’t even need me.”

  “I’ll need you,” Ben said, feeling a stab of desperation. He could sense Kim pulling away from him. Not physically, but the walls were going up between them.

  “No, all you need is your work. I’m just getting in the way.”

  Ben started to argue that she wasn’t, but Kim turned and left him standing in the engineering bay all alone. It made no sense to him. He was ensuring their future, yet Kim acted like he was rejecting her completely. Couldn’t she see that he was doing all he could to keep them together and give them a future?

  Fatigue hit him hard suddenly. He hadn’t been sleeping much over the last week; there was just too much exciting work to be done. And suddenly, all he wanted was to go upstairs, climb into his bunk, and close his eyes.

  His arm still ached occasionally, even though the lacerations were healing, and the bone seemed to be mending just fine. He kept it in a sling, and despite feeling helpless for a long time, he’d actually been able to do something productive with Professor Jones. It hurt to think that Kim couldn’t see that.

  He climbed the stairs to the main deck and for a moment looked at Kim’s door. He was sure she was inside her cabin. It was her special place and she rarely invited him inside. Perhaps it would be better to go to her and hash things out, but Ben was too tired. He turned and went to his own cabin.

  Ten hours later, he came out, freshly showered and shaved. Nance was on the bridge, but no one else was in sight. Ben walked to her station.

  “How are things?” Ben asked.

  “All systems are good,” Nance said.

  “Where is everyone?”

  “Professor Jones is still upstairs, Magnum is still downstairs, and Kim is still in her cabin.”

  “Not much has changed,” Ben said.

  “You’re around,” she replied. “That’s different.”

  “I’m always around,” Ben said.

  “You’re always on the ship, but you’re not always available. Mentally, you are lost in your own world. And that’s saying something, coming from me.”

  “You really think that?” Ben asked.

  Nance nodded. “I’m not judging you. I completely understand. But I can see Kim’s point of view too. She’s been pretty alone lately.”

  “She’s talking about leaving the ship,” Ben said.

  “What?”

  “On Torrent Four,” Ben said. “If we get the flux shield working, she said she’ll leave the ship.”

  “She wants to stay on Torrent Four?”

  “I don’t know what she wants,” Ben said.

  “I think maybe you better find out,” Nance said. “We’d be captured or killed without her.”

  “Yeah,” Ben said, thinking about the many adventures they had been through already.

  He wandered over to Kim’s cabin and pressed the intercom button.

  “Go away,” Kim growled.

  “It’s Ben.”

  “I know who it is. You’re the only person stupid enough to bother me.”

  “Are you sleeping?”

  “Does it sound like I’m asleep? Go play with your new friend. That’s what you want to do anyway.”

  “We need to talk,” Ben said, trying not to let his irritation show.

  “Well, I don’t feel like talking. Go away.”

  There was squelch and the intercom shut off. Ben stood looking at the old door. There was an emergency override in a panel just beside the door. He could unscrew the bolts, disconnect the power, and force the door open in less than ten minutes, but he knew it would shatter Kim’s sense of privacy on the ship forever. Respecting her wishes wasn’t easy, but he had to do it. The Echo was his by right. He had found her and restored her, but he hadn’t done it all alone. And the dangers they had shared together since flying the old Kestrel class ship made them equals. He would respect her wishes and wait as long as she wanted. But eventually she would have to talk to him, and he would have to make her see that she needed to stay.

  Chapter 8

  “We’ve got less than an hour,” Nance said.

  “And we’re dropping out of hyperspace in the Torrent system?” Ben asked.

  “Yes,” Nance said.

  “You think she’s okay?” Magnum said.

  “We haven’t heard from her in almost twenty hours,” Nance said.

  “It’s my fault,” Ben said. “I made her mad. But she’s got to come out before we leave hyperspace. None of us can fly the ship good enough to avoid the Imperium vessels that are bound to be in the system.”

  “So what do we do?” Nance said.
<
br />   “You could talk to her,” Ben said.

  “I tried,” Nance replied. “She won’t respond.”

  “Take the door down?” Magnum asked.

  “Don’t think I haven’t considered it,” Ben said.

  “If she’s hurt herself, we have to get in there,” Nance said.

  “Fine, I’ll get her door open,” Ben said.

  He already had the autoratchet he needed to get the safety panel off the override to the cabin doors. He felt sick. Nothing he’d said or done had gotten Kim to come out of her room. He had spent the night on the deck outside her door until his back and hips hurt so bad that he had to return to his own room. The thought that she might have done something to hurt herself was ludicrous. Kim was strong, resilient, and independent. She would never hurt herself over a spat between lovers…at least Ben didn’t think she would. He liked her, and from what he could tell, the feeling was mutual, but he didn’t think she was so crazy about him that she would hurt herself because they were in a spat.

  He walked to her cabin and hit the intercom button. There was no reply, so he raised his voice.

  “Kim, I know you hear me. We’re less than an hour from dropping out of hyperspace in the Torrent system. We need you on the bridge now.”

  He waited to see if perhaps she might respond, but there was still no reply.

  “Okay,” Ben shouted again. “Nance and Magnum think I should override your door’s lock just to make sure you haven’t hurt yourself. So I guess I’m coming in.”

  He put the autoratchet on the first bolt and pressed the button that made the device spin the screw from where it held the safety panel in place. The bolt was old and screeched as it turned. He had it halfway out when the door opened. Kim looked at him with fury in her eyes.

  “Don’t you ever, ever, break into my room again,” she snapped.

  “I didn’t break in this time,” Ben said.

  “You’re such a pain,” Kim snarled, before hurrying past him and heading up the stairs.

  “We’ve got to get to the bridge,” Ben said.