Chapter Five of my latest Novel

After spending most of the night working out the math for starting and stopping a mass the size of a huge asteroid, I got a few hours of sleep. I was in the middle of a wonderful dream of Valentina and me on a small world playing in the surf of an ocean; when I saw Marcus waving to me. I woke up with a start, and there he was sitting, across the room in my favorite chair. That was sodding Rude of you. I snarled. I thought giving you a few minutes with Val was a nice gesture. I thought of a dozen obscene curses and a few hand gestures but decided to leave it. Thanks, I said instead of the more colorful comments in my mind. He probably heard all of them as I was too distracted to shield my thought. He accepted my gratitude and left it there.
Now that you have got me up, what is so earth-shatteringly important to get you off that rock? You are still the most wanted being in all of known space. I need your help. he said quietly. Where are we going? I asked. That was a very bad sign when Marcus talked in a quiet voice. There was no question about me helping him no matter what he needed. You may not be willing to help after telling you where it is. Marcus, we have been friends longer than either of us wants to admit. When have I not been there with and for you? What I need is in the Void. he said flatly. A fit of side-splitting laughter took me. After a couple of minutes, Marcus looked worried, and I think he believed I had taken leave of what little sense I had left.
When I could breathe again, I told him he was the second person who wanted me to go into the Void in as many weeks. He looked shocked. Who would want you to go into the Void, and what do they want from the Void? He asked. That did not happen to him very often, so it was a rare pleasure to see him at a loss for words. I don’t know who they are; their representative is a caterpillar named Norman and a spider named Cinder. I was in the Void with them not long ago.
Are you going back into the Void anytime soon? he tentatively asked. Yes, in a couple of days. I need to get a few salvage crews and some supplies for the Moscow. I see, he said. How many crews do you need for this run? I will need at least 24; Meg has got me about ten so far. I saw many derelict ships just waiting for salvage when I was there. My problems are finding crews crazy enough to go into the Void and trusting them not to take off with the ships.
I can solve those problems for you; he said. I will get you the remaining 24 salvage crews you can trust. That can’t be the reason someone wants to go into the Void. What do they want that is in there? Would you believe they want Dark Ember? He looked shocked again.
How are you for Zero Point Modules(ZPMs)? I have about one hundred on hand and another thousand in production on a small planetoid in the Freeport systems. Good, I will need a couple of them if you don’t mind loaning them to an outlaw. How many do you need? I asked. Ten ZPMs should do for the next couple of cycles; I may need more later.
So, what do you want from the Void? I asked. You might think I have lost my senses, but I need Dark Ember for the colony. One of our residents has a rare ability. She can mold any substance into any shape she wants. He said. You mean like the Dracos, I asked. Yes, exactly. She can mold anything and make it a few atoms thick. That is impressive. Has she worked with Dark Ember before? No, she did some impressive things with Dwarfstar alloy. You want her to try to manipulate Dark Ember. That would make her a very valuable asset to the community. It might even make the Federation, Alliance, and Freeports forgive a few transgressions. She is already a very valued member of the community; you know we value every one of our people. Marcus fumed out in an uncustomary show of anger. Relax, I said. You know me better than that. I helped set up the community; I have done my part to keep it going, so don’t lecture me. I am sorry, Sasha, I get so many people who don’t understand our situation. That’s okay. I know how most mundanes think of us.
Would you like to go into the Void with us in the Moscow? I asked to change the subject back to something less sensitive. I think you would love to see clear space with no lights. It is an impressive sight. Plus, I would like you to scan Norman to see if you can determine who his bosses are. I have trust issues, and he is paying a lot for the Dark Ember. More than any small planet should be able to muster.
As for you getting a few small pieces of Dark Ember, I am sure we can slip a few more pieces in the cargo hold. When are we leaving? He asked. I could see the light in his eyes like a child on Christmas morning about to dive into a pile of presents. I got the impression he thought I would not be able or willing to go into the Void. Normally I would not, but we have Cinder who can navigate.
After two days of Marcus calling people from every part of the known galaxy, crews started to show up in various crafts, some of them in bad need of repairs and refittings. I got the feeling all of them were undocumented TP’s or TKs. As one myself, I had no problem with it. I told Marcus to keep them out of the casinos until we finished our business. I don’t need Mr. Gerund to show up with a few security squads and take them in for cheating at the tables. Marcus agreed that would cause more problems than we needed at this point.
Mr. Igor Matthias Reyer showed up on my doorstep later that day. He was many things people did not like, but he was a very skilled production manager. I knew him from my days in the Alliance Star force; Igor knew a few of my secrets and never broke trust. He knocked on the door to my office. I looked up to see the ghost of the man he was during the war. Igor, I said. When did you get to the station? Where have you been? He slowly raised a hand; I fell silent. He looked at me with a lost expression. I want a job, He said. I heard you have a few manufacturing plants here on the station.
I have known Igor for more than twenty cycles we studied at the academy together. I had never seen him look so defeated. Igor, what happened? I asked in a quiet tone. The empire captured my ship towards the end of the war. I was a POW; I returned to the Alliance when they released me. The Alliance court marshaled me as a traitor. I was on the Rock till the last cycle. My God, I said. Twenty cycles on the Rock; how did you survive? I am a creative machinist, and I can make almost anything work. Most of the equipment was old and broken down. I would fix things so the guards did not attack me or beat me too much. I got a little extra food by fixing things. The warden moved me to a solitary barracks; I made the best of a terrible situation. After twenty cycles, they released me. I got a freighter out of the Alliance. The empire does not care about me, and I drifted here. Some people told me you are here. So I am asking for a job. I will. Stop there, I said. Do you still know how to manage a production facility? Yes, I can do that. Good. I need a good manager. I have fifteen factories planned for Ring Ten. It will be more stressful than you have ever seen. The guilds and unions are all royal pains. That is your hell now. Also, I have ships in the Void I salvaging to add to your misery. They will need full inventory, and whatever repairs from no one know how long they were adrift. Get yourself a berth and talk to Meg about where and what we need.
Cinder started giving the pilots and navigators lessons on getting in and out of the Void without having your ship turned into a pancake. She also provided each crew with a navigation beacon that worked inside the Void. I spent most of my time getting supplies and materials we would need for the trip. The ZPMs were loaded first. Captain Blalock did not know that I had them and would probably try to confiscate them for the station.
I asked Susan to come to Ring Ten for breakfast the next morning. When she arrived, we had a full Russian Breakfast. While we were enjoying coffee and tea, I brought up my trip. I left out most of the details. I knew she was curious why so many ships had started arriving and docking on Ring Ten. Are you putting together a new fleet or something; she asked. Something like that, I said. I found a sector where there are a lot of derelict ships, and I want to salvage what I can from them. A few look like they may still be operational if I get power to them. I see, she said. How many crews do you have here for this project? I was reluctant to tell her everything, but she probably had a good guess about how many crews I had. Right now, I have 20 crews; four more are on the way. When they get here, I’ll let them rest for a couple of days, then off we go. I debated letting her know I had a couple of extra ZPMs to loan the station. I decide not to let her know yet. I was unsure how many ZPMs I would need to get all the ships we spotted on the first trip out. When I get back with an Armada at my command, I could let her and Capt Blalock know I had a few extras.
It took five more days for all of the crews to arrive and another two days for them to be ready to travel. Cinder gave her lectures about the Void to each crew, and there were many questions about different techniques to navigate and how to get out safely. A few of the crews looked like they were unsure of their wisdom in signing up for this particular trip.
At departure time, they all filled into the shuttles for the trip to the Moscow. Marcus was with the crews in one of the cargo holds converted into a crew barracks. Cinder was in the pilot cabin, checking the new beacon system for the thousandth time. I let her do her checks while I went through my checklist. When we were both through the checks, I signaled the station we were leaving and got our position for the gate. It was a slow day, and we were at the gate in thirty minutes. After a longer than normal time in hyperspace, I initiated the gate sequence to bring us back into normal space a safe distance from the edge of the Void. The Moscow made the trip to the edge in about an hour. I told everyone to buckle up and stow any loose items. Crossing into the Void caused a lot of turbulence. After a few seconds of what felt like hours, we were in the Void. The new beacon system lit up and gave us our location. The heads-up display showed the entire Void. I saw some planetoids and large asteroids that I did not see on the first trip in the Void.
I could also see the beacons we placed on some of the ships near us. Cinder started towards a cluster of ships. I don’t remember them being that close together when we put the beacons on them. I said. The beacons caused them to float together; it is a gravitational effect of the Void. I was skeptical of her answer but did not press the point. The vessels being near each other made it easier for us to get crews to them and get them out of the Void.
I called Marcus and told him to get five crews ready. We got to the ships in a shorter time than I would have thought. The shuttle put a crew on each ship. After an hour’s wait to make sure they could power up the vessels, they all sent high signs that they were up. We moved to another group and did a repeat. After ten hours, all 24 crews were in ships bound for the edge of the Void.
Cinder, Marcus, Me, and a few techs were the only ones on the Moscow. She started plotting the locations of several large pieces of Dark Ember. It took us three standard days to gather the pieces. I supervised the lockdown of the cargo. The cargo hold was over the recommended weight limits; that was not the first time I had overloaded the Moscow. In deep space, there were no issues with the weight. It will be a problem when we get near a star or planet. My major concern was getting out of the Void intact. The crossing had been very turbulent. Now, I was worried about a cargo that weighed a hundred times the ship’s weight. Cinder was calm and did not indicate that it would be a problem crossing with this heavy load.
I was with Marcus in the galley when Cinder called to let me know she had plotted the trip out.
Marcus and I went to the bridge; how long before we get to the edge, I asked. We should be there in two days. Good. I can use a good night’s sleep after this trip. Marcus, you want a game of chess before we turn in. Sure I always like humiliating you. He did indeed get me in a fool’s mate one time. I am much better now than I was back at the academy.
We spent the next two days checking the load. It was as secure as any human could make it. I called Cinder on one review for her assessment of the load. She said it was good. We will get out with no trouble. I could see the edge of the Void, and there were no signs of any destroyed ships. Cinder brought us to a dead stop a thousand meters from the edge. She hit the docking thrusters once, and the ship budged forward. She hit them a few more times, and we started to move at a snail’s pace. It took nearly an hour to make it to the edge. When the nose tubes hit the edge, I could see it flex a little, and I felt the ship slow down ever so slightly. As we moved past the edge at the ship’s halfway point, I felt her lurch forward so fast that the momentum pinned me to my chair. What in the Blazes was that, I bellowed. Cinder kept her eyes on the instruments and worked the controls. I punched up the computer monitors to see any visible damage to the ship. The computer readout was clear, except for gravity monitors going off the scale. A few seconds later, we were out of the Void. I could see all 24 ships marshaled, waiting for us. Cinder looked at me as to say it was a good exit. I still want to know what happened. I am not happy when I get pinned to my chair. I was concerned the inertial dampeners were offline. She said the inertial dampeners don’t work reliably at the edge. When the load hit the edge, it pushed us out faster than they could compensate. We were in no danger. I still want to do a full systems check before going into hyperspace. I called a few of the other crews to inspect the outer hull visually. After several hours and a few minor repairs and cleanup, we were ready to go to hyperspace.
The Hyperspace gate opened, and the other ships went through. It took longer than I had anticipated getting the Moscow moving after we stopped to check her out. The ship groaned and creaked from the load. Keeping the gate open longer took more energy than anyone had calculated. Once we were in hyperspace, I had to hook up an extra ZPM to get all systems running. Marcus looked ill after entering hyperspace. Are you okay, I asked. You look like you are going to fall out. Maybe you should go to my cabin and rest. I will be up till we get to the station and drop off the ships. Yes, I could use some sleep. There is something about the Void that unsettled me. I will ask the other crews if they felt anything when they were there or when they came out. They had time to recover waiting for us. I told him, you get some sleep; we can worry about everything later.
We were at the station gate in less time than the trip to the Void. I did not want anyone tracing us there. I called the ships and told them I would open a gate on the sun’s far side from the station. They were to call Marina and let her know their location. She would take care of payment and secure the ships and their cargo. Marcus had assured me they would stay quiet till I was back and had taken care of all the ships. The gate opened, and all the ships went back into normal space. I closed the gate, and we set course for the coordinates of the planet Norman indicated.