Coast Guard Cutter LCGC Brightsville, Type-51(improved) Sampan Class Gunboat, Arluna system...Lt. Senior Grade Bianh vu Dao watched as the Type VII shuttle slid up and executed a lamprey-dock with the port airlock. The pilot was good-for dirtyfeet, at least,
well, I guess it's time to go inside... she hand-over-handed the mooring lines and entered through the dorsal lock. the layout of the ship let her have time to secure her EVA pack, and slide out of the hardshell armor before heading for the Port lock to meet her passengers.
"Permission to come aboard, ma'am?" Dame MacAulliffe asked meekly.
"Permission granted, welcome aboard, Dame MacAulliffe." Bianh told her.
The next person through was a familiar face.
"Pol Nguyen! You're getting
fat." she said as a greeting.
"I swear it's all muscle, Bianh...nice ship. I didn't think any of these were ready yet."
"It's amazing what official funding and support can do." Bianh told him, "She's a type 51 class with a slight chassis stretch and LF batteries, we reduced the missile count for some rapid-fire point defense weapons, but she's still more powerful than most of the assault droppers and converted cargo-hogs we've had to use for quarantine enforcement..."
"Showing off to the Heinies?" He asked, "This has
got to be the maiden flight..."
"shakedown cruise, and yes, Admiral Li thought we should show off a little for our Lyran colleagues...are you still spitting those terms? I hope not in public!"
Pol rolled his eyes, "Old habits." he said, as he helped Debra catch the personnel rope and get oriented in null-gee.
"We've got quarters for your party, Baroness, would you like a tour of the Command and Control center?" Bianh asked.
"Yes, please." Debra said, "Ah din' realize how
big these ships are-or how small they are inside, vaya..."
"Most of the external is equipment and armor that doesn't need pressurization, some storage that does, and fuel tankage." Bianh explained, taking hte lead as a Chief showed Nguyen and the rest of the Baroness' entourage to temporary quarters.
"In space ya gotta carry ever'thin' with you." Debra said, "Ah read it, ah jes din'...wow."
"We're not that big, Milady." Bianh told her, "At New Capetown, they've got a
Fox class based, and the fox is four point six times our mass, and probably our volume of pressure cubed."
"ah am
still impressed." Debra said in open wonder.
"I'm sure, then, that Kaptain
Collins will enjoy wowing you even more when you transfer to the LAS
Arluna for your New-Capetown-to-Tharkad leg." Bianh told her, "For us, it's going to be the first flight outside the quarantine zone, in addition to the first flight for this ship period."
the hatch in front of her opened, and Bianh led Debra onto the command deck. "Ops, is that shuttle clear?" she asked.
"Shuttle is cleared and RTB to the planet, Captain." a young man with wild tatoos on the sides of his shaven head announced.
"Okay, Baroness..." Bianh offered the young woman a padded couch with restraints, "have a seat, Nav, do you have a jump solution plotted and ready?"
"Solution plotted, Captain." the Navigator was probably twice Debra's age, with a wild hairstyle shaved into her dense, curly black hair.
Bianh picked up an intercom, "All personnel, secure to stations for jump in ten seconds." she turned and 'did up' the girl's straps before anchoring her feet behind the Command chair.
"We're at solution." the nav officer announced.
"Jump."
discontinuity
Debra stood in a canyon of fire, around her people were screaming, running randomly, as more fire poured from the sky. "Make for the drop port!" Pol was saying, she felt frozen.
Arms wrapped around her and lifted her, and she was being carried off. "RUN dammit!!" Pol shouted, then turned as a wall rumbled and fell, covering him in opaque dust and bright orange flame...Reality reasserted itself.
"Nav, Position?"
"Inarcs Nadir point, local time zero seven three zero, October first, 3067, confirmed by beacon signal."
"Operations, is the battery hot?" Bianh asked.
"Battery is hot, full charge, and we've got pumps on standby for the backups if it fails, Captain."
"Core Temp?"
"Two degrees off Optimal, and the cooling units are compensating."
"Let me know when we're at full cap again." Bianh told him, then she leaned over to face the Baroness, "See, a jump core like this one? every time you use it, it has a temperature spike. On a standard core vessel, you don't get the same variation-something about how the fields interact, but on these types, it's a few minutes before you can fastcharge off of an LF battery. Operationally it's not much different from the time you spend on the bigger ships plotting a double-jump, but we can't even jump
blind without waiting first for the core temp to stabilize."
"Um Captain...do people
see things durin' jump? is thet
normal?" Debra asked.
Bianh leaned down conspiratorially, "yes." she said, "But don't talk about it-there's a mental disorder called Transit Disorientation Syndrome, and it's a disorder because the Dirtyfeet don't understand what they're experiencing.
lots of people have visions when they go into a jump, but only fools actually talk about it much outside certain circles."
"Um, ain' Ah a 'Dirtyfeet'?" Debra asked.
"You're smart, kid...um, Milady, and you
asked instead of trying to deny it happened or lay the blame on someone." Bianh told her, "Don't worry-not all the visions are true, or come true, or were true. They're like the dreams of the universe is all-and you'll feel better after a jump if you don't try to fight it."
"Okay."
Bianh turned to the Operations officer, "Core temp?"
"Core is at nominal and fully charged."
"Nav, Plot?"
"Plot is laid in, Ma'am."
"Jump." she said.
Discontinuity
Debra was in a seat like this one..."Rim Worlds Pinto is trying to flee, Admiral."
Her mouth, she could feel, but the voice was wrong. "Engage them with forward batteries and signal the group. CAG, launch all fighters, weapons, fire a spread across the port angle of their current course, bearings only. McKiven isn't getting away this time."
"Firing..."
"INBOUND missiles-count a broad spread from two O'clock!!"
"Time to impact?"
"Thirty seconds, we-"
The ship shuddered and the deck filled with smoke.
"What the hell-Nukes?" someone was coughing...Reality reassembled, and Debbie reflexively coughed and rubbed her nose with her sleeve.
"alright, we've got a week before we can jump again..." Bianh announced, "Nav, Report?"
"System P3X2743, Double white system, we're at the Apex point. Recharge should be ninety six hours."
Bianh smiled at the Baroness.
"Is that good?" Debra asked meekly.
"Better than good, we'll hit New Capetown
Early." she said, "Almost twenty hours ahead of schedule...Ops, Deploy the sails, and secure the ship from jump condition, Air group, I want escort craft deployed while we're here, this is a good recharge point and it's on everyone's maps, so I suspect if there are problem types lurking, they just saw us arrive. Let's look big for any pirates that are taking in the sun."
"Aye Captain!"
Bianh helped Debra unstrap. "Before the quarantine, Longanecker had a processing station here for Germanium ore shipments from the Kowloon belt...with the quarantine, they shut it down, but we can bring it up and running if you want to stretch your legs in genuine spin-generated artificial gravity."
"That...maht be nice to see." Debra said.
"Helm, bring us around to the Longanecker station, let's see if anyone's home..."
