seconds until the hyperfold engines could be engaged. Cat knew that while the damage to the cargo bay was extensive it was not nearly as bad as it could have been.
"Systems check!" The Captain yelled as soon as the jump was complete. "Set navigation coordinates for the next jump."
"Coordinates set, Sir," Cat acknowledged. "Twenty five seconds to the next jump."
Running Stream punched the comm button on his command chair. "Engineering! Throw everything yo u’ ve got into the engines. Burn out the relays if you need to but get those jump engines charged NOW!"
"Yes, Sir! Delivering 130 percent of rated load now. You can jump in ten seconds but don't ask to use the engines again for at least a day. We are going to fry all the control circuits."
"Navigator... jump the instant you see your board light up!"
"Roger that, Sir!" Cat answered crisply.
"Roger what?"
"Sir...YES, Sir!"
The main viewscreen lit up with a massive explosion. At the same time the young female officer at the sensor station started to yell a warning. Before anyone could react Cat hit the hyperfold button and the crippled Bluefin jumpe d… one last time.
"What the hell was that?" Captain Running Stream said as the ship came out of its hyperjump.
The young sensor officer spoke up meekly. "Sir, I'm pretty sure it was the Dreadnaught overloading it's reactor core. It followed us on that last jump. When it exited its hyperfold it was only a few hundred kilometers away. I was sure it was going to fire on us at point blank range, but instea d— just as it began to fir e— something went wrong and a feedback loop overloaded its core."
"A feedback loop?" Running Stream queried.
"Yes, Sir. Normally we would have no way of detecting such a thing, but as I said we were practically on top of one another."
' Cat ' Ken again intruded silently on her thoughts. ' Ricky microjumped to the Dreadnaught to shield this ship. You should know... I've lost contact with him. He's gone. '
Ice ran down Cat's spine as she digested Ken's last thought. Ricky was Cat's oldest living friend. He was the man who had found the newly revived Air Force Lieutenant Commander Cat Kimbridge on Mars several years back. Was he still among the living? His little ship was heavily based on ultra-advanced Heshe technology. She supposed that gave him a chance. Her musings were interrupted by a warning light on her navigation board.
"Captain. We have a problem."
Chapter Eight: Beached...
The words: "Captain. We have a problem..." echoed through the bridge. Utter silence followed as the forward view screen cleared as if in response to the announcement. The sensors had finally come back online.
In front of the ship was a massive super-Jupiter orbiting a hot blue-white star of the spectral class A. The Bluefin was in a rapidly decaying orbit around the massive planet.
"Reverse thrusters!" Captain Running Stream yelled.
"Captain... if I may?" Cat said urgently.
"Go ahead, Commander."
"We are too deep in the planet's gravity well. The Bluefin's main thrusters could never have enough impulse to bring us out of that well. On the other hand, we already have a substantial forward momentum. I suggest forward thrusters and utilize the attitude control jets to nudge us into a vector suitable for a gravitational slingshot maneuver."
"It's risky... get the math wrong and we burn up."
"Sir, I believe it's our only viable option. Besides, that's why we have Sassi to do the math."
Running Stream looked at Cat then Sassi. His bridge crew had been decimated by recent events and, as unlikely as it would have seemed earlier in the day, he was now finding himself entrusting the safety of his ship and crew to these relative strangers. Of his own officers, only Kaskad the Ensign working the sensors and Skif his Weapons Officer were still functioning at their posts. Neither was as capable as these GCP
"Systems check!" The Captain yelled as soon as the jump was complete. "Set navigation coordinates for the next jump."
"Coordinates set, Sir," Cat acknowledged. "Twenty five seconds to the next jump."
Running Stream punched the comm button on his command chair. "Engineering! Throw everything yo u’ ve got into the engines. Burn out the relays if you need to but get those jump engines charged NOW!"
"Yes, Sir! Delivering 130 percent of rated load now. You can jump in ten seconds but don't ask to use the engines again for at least a day. We are going to fry all the control circuits."
"Navigator... jump the instant you see your board light up!"
"Roger that, Sir!" Cat answered crisply.
"Roger what?"
"Sir...YES, Sir!"
The main viewscreen lit up with a massive explosion. At the same time the young female officer at the sensor station started to yell a warning. Before anyone could react Cat hit the hyperfold button and the crippled Bluefin jumpe d… one last time.
"What the hell was that?" Captain Running Stream said as the ship came out of its hyperjump.
The young sensor officer spoke up meekly. "Sir, I'm pretty sure it was the Dreadnaught overloading it's reactor core. It followed us on that last jump. When it exited its hyperfold it was only a few hundred kilometers away. I was sure it was going to fire on us at point blank range, but instea d— just as it began to fir e— something went wrong and a feedback loop overloaded its core."
"A feedback loop?" Running Stream queried.
"Yes, Sir. Normally we would have no way of detecting such a thing, but as I said we were practically on top of one another."
' Cat ' Ken again intruded silently on her thoughts. ' Ricky microjumped to the Dreadnaught to shield this ship. You should know... I've lost contact with him. He's gone. '
Ice ran down Cat's spine as she digested Ken's last thought. Ricky was Cat's oldest living friend. He was the man who had found the newly revived Air Force Lieutenant Commander Cat Kimbridge on Mars several years back. Was he still among the living? His little ship was heavily based on ultra-advanced Heshe technology. She supposed that gave him a chance. Her musings were interrupted by a warning light on her navigation board.
"Captain. We have a problem."
Chapter Eight: Beached...
The words: "Captain. We have a problem..." echoed through the bridge. Utter silence followed as the forward view screen cleared as if in response to the announcement. The sensors had finally come back online.
In front of the ship was a massive super-Jupiter orbiting a hot blue-white star of the spectral class A. The Bluefin was in a rapidly decaying orbit around the massive planet.
"Reverse thrusters!" Captain Running Stream yelled.
"Captain... if I may?" Cat said urgently.
"Go ahead, Commander."
"We are too deep in the planet's gravity well. The Bluefin's main thrusters could never have enough impulse to bring us out of that well. On the other hand, we already have a substantial forward momentum. I suggest forward thrusters and utilize the attitude control jets to nudge us into a vector suitable for a gravitational slingshot maneuver."
"It's risky... get the math wrong and we burn up."
"Sir, I believe it's our only viable option. Besides, that's why we have Sassi to do the math."
Running Stream looked at Cat then Sassi. His bridge crew had been decimated by recent events and, as unlikely as it would have seemed earlier in the day, he was now finding himself entrusting the safety of his ship and crew to these relative strangers. Of his own officers, only Kaskad the Ensign working the sensors and Skif his Weapons Officer were still functioning at their posts. Neither was as capable as these GCP
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