Read Online Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Consequence by Ryan Krauter - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ryan Krauter
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was at that moment that the hyperdrive field elected to destabilize, dropping the plodding vessel back into normal space with a jolt. Loren and Velk both held on to their consoles as crates, duffels and anything else not bolted down slid across the bridge. The ship's vibration and movement stabilized to the sound of the hull creaking and popping from the stress.
"That was..." Loren paused to find the right word.
"Unsettling," Velk finished.
"Yes."
"Will Avenger outrun us?"
"No, her sensors are good and her sensor operator is better. They'll drop out a safe distance behind us and wait. Until we send out the distress signal, they'll give us our space."
"Then we should find out what is the matter. Are you more skilled with the software or hardware of hyperdrives?"
"I can swear and hit things with a hammer," Loren said cheerfully. "I'll go yell at the engines themselves."
"I will attempt to restart the software here on the bridge then."
Four
Loren walked down the long gangway from bridge to engineering. Every few frames there were short walkways connecting the gangway to hatches along the bulkheads, which opened into compartments that lined the outer hull. At each end of the corridor there were vertical ladders going down one level to access cramped, private crew quarters. The two story compartment saved on construction costs versus a fully completed space with decking and ventilation, which gave the ship a cheap, worn out feel.
His boots clanked along the open grates as he passed into the next major compartment: the cargo bay. It was huge, floor sinking down to make the overall space almost three stories tall, with immense cargo doors along the port side and smaller hatches on the starboard side. Gantries, cranes, and movable decking areas that rode on rails and vertical guides took up the space. It was actually a quite ingenious design which allowed the cargo bay to be reconfigured quickly. Loren scanned the contents as he walked past, seeing the bagged pirate bodies lined up by a crew hatch. Loren and Captain Elco had briefly talked about a burial at space, but time was of the essence. When he and Velk abandoned the frigate where they were going, the harbor master would receive an anonymous tip about the ship and her crew. Just another load of pirates safely removed from business.
The engineering spaces were just as dirty and noisy as the bridge, probably more so. Loren felt the subsonic thrumming of the hyperspace drives trying to form a field. That thrumming shouldn't be happening; it was the sign of a field starting to form but failing to stabilize, then crashing and starting all over again; he hoped it wasn't causing any cellular damage or scrambling any of the neural impulses going on in his own body. He'd received a crash course in electromagnetics and how they related to hyperdrive fields once, and there were many potential side effects that would ruin a person's day/week/life. The lecturer giving the briefing had talked about DNA damage and how people hoping to reproduce should make sure their engines are in tip top shape lest they have funny looking kids.
With that in mind, Loren quickly raced to the console and scrammed the hyperdrive engines. Considering all the noise and commotion going on, that act was accompanied by almost no fanfare. The thrumming stopped, at least, along with a whooshing sound of the fuel lines being purged. He started the reboot sequence, a process that could only be done one way and was fairly easy to figure out after studying the controls. A ship like this wasn't designed to be run by experts with years
"That was..." Loren paused to find the right word.
"Unsettling," Velk finished.
"Yes."
"Will Avenger outrun us?"
"No, her sensors are good and her sensor operator is better. They'll drop out a safe distance behind us and wait. Until we send out the distress signal, they'll give us our space."
"Then we should find out what is the matter. Are you more skilled with the software or hardware of hyperdrives?"
"I can swear and hit things with a hammer," Loren said cheerfully. "I'll go yell at the engines themselves."
"I will attempt to restart the software here on the bridge then."
Four
Loren walked down the long gangway from bridge to engineering. Every few frames there were short walkways connecting the gangway to hatches along the bulkheads, which opened into compartments that lined the outer hull. At each end of the corridor there were vertical ladders going down one level to access cramped, private crew quarters. The two story compartment saved on construction costs versus a fully completed space with decking and ventilation, which gave the ship a cheap, worn out feel.
His boots clanked along the open grates as he passed into the next major compartment: the cargo bay. It was huge, floor sinking down to make the overall space almost three stories tall, with immense cargo doors along the port side and smaller hatches on the starboard side. Gantries, cranes, and movable decking areas that rode on rails and vertical guides took up the space. It was actually a quite ingenious design which allowed the cargo bay to be reconfigured quickly. Loren scanned the contents as he walked past, seeing the bagged pirate bodies lined up by a crew hatch. Loren and Captain Elco had briefly talked about a burial at space, but time was of the essence. When he and Velk abandoned the frigate where they were going, the harbor master would receive an anonymous tip about the ship and her crew. Just another load of pirates safely removed from business.
The engineering spaces were just as dirty and noisy as the bridge, probably more so. Loren felt the subsonic thrumming of the hyperspace drives trying to form a field. That thrumming shouldn't be happening; it was the sign of a field starting to form but failing to stabilize, then crashing and starting all over again; he hoped it wasn't causing any cellular damage or scrambling any of the neural impulses going on in his own body. He'd received a crash course in electromagnetics and how they related to hyperdrive fields once, and there were many potential side effects that would ruin a person's day/week/life. The lecturer giving the briefing had talked about DNA damage and how people hoping to reproduce should make sure their engines are in tip top shape lest they have funny looking kids.
With that in mind, Loren quickly raced to the console and scrammed the hyperdrive engines. Considering all the noise and commotion going on, that act was accompanied by almost no fanfare. The thrumming stopped, at least, along with a whooshing sound of the fuel lines being purged. He started the reboot sequence, a process that could only be done one way and was fairly easy to figure out after studying the controls. A ship like this wasn't designed to be run by experts with years
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