instructed the station to release its clamps. There was no sense of motion, but Port Kodiak trembled ever so slightly through the starboard window. "Mr. Benson, bring us around. Mr. Ramirez, please inform Bayonet and Achilles we're leaving and invite them to join us."
Ramirez smiled at her phrasing. The three ships would be travelling in convoy. His hands moved in the air before him, and he tilted his head. " Bayonet is uncoupling from the station," he said. " Achilles says she'll need five more minutes. They're doing a last-minute supply check."
"Take us spinward, please, Benson. Not too fast. We'll let the others form up behind us."
The ship badly needed a shakedown cruise. They needed time to find problems with the new systems, time for the crew to get familiar with the ship. The little fleet needed practice working together, too. But the Hive was out there somewhere, regrouping. And twenty thousand colonists lived in the Naxos system. It was six weeks since the Gate to Naxos had gone offline. Six weeks since the Hive had overrun the system.
Two corvettes had gone to Naxos since that time. Neither ship had come back. The fate of Naxos was unknown. For all Spacecom knew, they could all be dead.
But if they lived, they had to be in desperate need of aid. The fleet couldn't wait.
Kaur checked her screens, uncomfortably aware that she likely wouldn't have them once the ship encountered the Hive. The Bayonet was a kilometer astern. Achilles was catching up quickly.
Hammett seemed busy familiarizing himself with the screens and controls around the captain's chair, and Kaur was grateful for the implied vote of confidence. "Maintain this course," she told Benson. The area of a sphere quadrupled when the radius doubled, which meant that every kilometer of distance from the Earth vastly increased the area of a theoretical sphere where another ship might pop out of a wormhole and cause a collision. She wouldn't open a wormhole until the chance of a collision was vanishingly small.
Thirty minutes later she glanced at Hammett and said, "Shall we jump, Sir?"
"By all means."
Kaur turned to Sanjari. "Shut down the computer. Let's make sure we can jump without it."
Sanjari gave her an uncertain glance, then nodded. Her fingers moved across her console, and screens went blank all around the bridge.
"Opening a wormhole," Benson said.
A buzzer sounded on the console in front of Kaur, and a light glowed above a label that read, "Forward Lookout". She picked up the phone handset added during the refit and said, "Bridge."
"Wormhole forming directly ahead."
"Copy," Kaur said, and hung up. "The wormhole is there. Take us through."
Internal force fields kept her from feeling acceleration, but she knew the Tomahawk was surging forward. For just an instant she saw the wormhole through the windows on either side of the bridge. It was just a quick impression of swirling black and gray, and then the stars were back in their familiar places. A bulky supply ship had been floating just below the buckle of Orion's belt. The supply ship was now gone. Other than that, there was no way to tell they'd jumped.
Benson twisted around in his seat. "Shall I start a manual check of our position?" It was possible, though far from easy, to calculate exact position by checking the angle of several stars relative to Sol, which would now look like nothing more than a bright star in the sky behind them.
"That would be silly," Kaur said. "Restart the computer, Ms. Sanjari. Let's see if we popped out where we expected."
Her screens flickered to life, and Benson said, "On the button, Ma'am."
"Good." She thought for a moment. The wormhole generator needed fifteen minutes to cycle before they could jump again. It was enough time for a quick drill. "I'm launching the fighter." She hit a newly-installed button on the side of her chair, a physical button guaranteed to work without electronics. She could just make out the distant echo of a buzzer that would be
Ramirez smiled at her phrasing. The three ships would be travelling in convoy. His hands moved in the air before him, and he tilted his head. " Bayonet is uncoupling from the station," he said. " Achilles says she'll need five more minutes. They're doing a last-minute supply check."
"Take us spinward, please, Benson. Not too fast. We'll let the others form up behind us."
The ship badly needed a shakedown cruise. They needed time to find problems with the new systems, time for the crew to get familiar with the ship. The little fleet needed practice working together, too. But the Hive was out there somewhere, regrouping. And twenty thousand colonists lived in the Naxos system. It was six weeks since the Gate to Naxos had gone offline. Six weeks since the Hive had overrun the system.
Two corvettes had gone to Naxos since that time. Neither ship had come back. The fate of Naxos was unknown. For all Spacecom knew, they could all be dead.
But if they lived, they had to be in desperate need of aid. The fleet couldn't wait.
Kaur checked her screens, uncomfortably aware that she likely wouldn't have them once the ship encountered the Hive. The Bayonet was a kilometer astern. Achilles was catching up quickly.
Hammett seemed busy familiarizing himself with the screens and controls around the captain's chair, and Kaur was grateful for the implied vote of confidence. "Maintain this course," she told Benson. The area of a sphere quadrupled when the radius doubled, which meant that every kilometer of distance from the Earth vastly increased the area of a theoretical sphere where another ship might pop out of a wormhole and cause a collision. She wouldn't open a wormhole until the chance of a collision was vanishingly small.
Thirty minutes later she glanced at Hammett and said, "Shall we jump, Sir?"
"By all means."
Kaur turned to Sanjari. "Shut down the computer. Let's make sure we can jump without it."
Sanjari gave her an uncertain glance, then nodded. Her fingers moved across her console, and screens went blank all around the bridge.
"Opening a wormhole," Benson said.
A buzzer sounded on the console in front of Kaur, and a light glowed above a label that read, "Forward Lookout". She picked up the phone handset added during the refit and said, "Bridge."
"Wormhole forming directly ahead."
"Copy," Kaur said, and hung up. "The wormhole is there. Take us through."
Internal force fields kept her from feeling acceleration, but she knew the Tomahawk was surging forward. For just an instant she saw the wormhole through the windows on either side of the bridge. It was just a quick impression of swirling black and gray, and then the stars were back in their familiar places. A bulky supply ship had been floating just below the buckle of Orion's belt. The supply ship was now gone. Other than that, there was no way to tell they'd jumped.
Benson twisted around in his seat. "Shall I start a manual check of our position?" It was possible, though far from easy, to calculate exact position by checking the angle of several stars relative to Sol, which would now look like nothing more than a bright star in the sky behind them.
"That would be silly," Kaur said. "Restart the computer, Ms. Sanjari. Let's see if we popped out where we expected."
Her screens flickered to life, and Benson said, "On the button, Ma'am."
"Good." She thought for a moment. The wormhole generator needed fifteen minutes to cycle before they could jump again. It was enough time for a quick drill. "I'm launching the fighter." She hit a newly-installed button on the side of her chair, a physical button guaranteed to work without electronics. She could just make out the distant echo of a buzzer that would be
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