Nathan declared.
“Have there been any problems noted with the use of the ZPEDs?” Cameron wondered. “I mean, have they had any noticeable effect on the jump drive’s performance?”
“None that we could detect,” Abby stated. “However, we have been taking the ZPEDs completely offline prior to jumping, just to be safe.”
“Any chance we can squeeze a few more light years out of the drive?” Nathan asked.
“Doubtful, Captain. We are going to try to overcharge the energy banks during this recharge cycle in the hopes that we will have at least enough power left for a short-range escape jump, maybe a light day or so. I do not believe that the energy banks can store any more power than that.”
“Pity,” Nathan mumbled, taking a deep breath.
“Something wrong, sir?” Cameron asked.
“I was secretly hoping for a bit more range; that’s all.”
“Perhaps now would be a good time to begin replacing the secondary jump field emitters,” Vladimir suggested.
Nathan looked at Abby. “Doctor?”
“Before we commit to the idea, I would like to try running the ZPEDs at low levels during a standard jump being fed by the energy banks.”
“How low?” Cameron wondered.
“Less than ten percent.”
“How about less than one percent?” Nathan suggested. “And work your way up with each jump, as long as nothing goes wrong.”
“It would take at least five percent output from a pair of mini-ZPEDs to power a ten light year jump without using the energy banks, Captain.”
“I understand that, Doctor. However, I’m not convinced that it is safe to run them at all, at least not during a jump. Start with one percent and work your way up from there.”
“As you wish, Captain.”
“There’s no reason we can’t start manufacturing the new emitters while she is testing the effects of ZPEDs on the jump drive field generators,” Vladimir stated.
“What if we don’t end up using them?” Cameron asked.
“We will just make a handful for testing and validation. We won’t start a full production run until we are sure that the hybrid drive project is approved.”
“How long does it take to fabricate an emitter?” Nathan asked.
“About four hours using a single fabricator, and we have four of them,” Vladimir explained.
“What about raw materials?”
“We have plenty of them in the hold, sir,” Cameron told him. “In fact, we still have most of the ore from our time in the rings of Haven as well.”
“Very well. Go ahead and start fabrication for now. How many jumps will you need to collect enough data, Doctor?”
“Five jumps should suffice.”
“What are you going to do with the additional power being generated by the ZPEDs?” Cameron asked.
“We will feed it into the ship’s power grid,” Vladimir explained. “It is not a problem.”
“Will five jumps give you enough time to fully validate the new emitter design?” Nathan asked Vladimir.
“It should be plenty,” Vladimir assured him.
“Very well, Doctor. You may begin the next phase of testing.”
“Anything else we need to talk about?” Nathan looked around the room. “Very well, dismissed.”
* * *
“Lieutenant Commander,” Major Waddell greeted as he entered the security office.
Jessica turned away from her display to face Waddell from behind her desk. “Major Waddell.”
“You asked to see me?”
“Yes, take a seat, Major.” She waited as the major pulled up a chair and sat down on the opposite side of the desk from her. “Commander Taylor has asked me to deal with a particular problem.”
“What problem might that be?”
“It seems that there is friction between some of the Corinairans and the Takaran specialists on board.”
“That’s to be expected, is it not? We were at war with them only a month ago.”
“Perhaps, but not with any of these men. They are all civilians.”
“Not all of them,” Major Waddell corrected.
“Lieutenant Montgomery’s rank was administrative. He was never a
“Have there been any problems noted with the use of the ZPEDs?” Cameron wondered. “I mean, have they had any noticeable effect on the jump drive’s performance?”
“None that we could detect,” Abby stated. “However, we have been taking the ZPEDs completely offline prior to jumping, just to be safe.”
“Any chance we can squeeze a few more light years out of the drive?” Nathan asked.
“Doubtful, Captain. We are going to try to overcharge the energy banks during this recharge cycle in the hopes that we will have at least enough power left for a short-range escape jump, maybe a light day or so. I do not believe that the energy banks can store any more power than that.”
“Pity,” Nathan mumbled, taking a deep breath.
“Something wrong, sir?” Cameron asked.
“I was secretly hoping for a bit more range; that’s all.”
“Perhaps now would be a good time to begin replacing the secondary jump field emitters,” Vladimir suggested.
Nathan looked at Abby. “Doctor?”
“Before we commit to the idea, I would like to try running the ZPEDs at low levels during a standard jump being fed by the energy banks.”
“How low?” Cameron wondered.
“Less than ten percent.”
“How about less than one percent?” Nathan suggested. “And work your way up with each jump, as long as nothing goes wrong.”
“It would take at least five percent output from a pair of mini-ZPEDs to power a ten light year jump without using the energy banks, Captain.”
“I understand that, Doctor. However, I’m not convinced that it is safe to run them at all, at least not during a jump. Start with one percent and work your way up from there.”
“As you wish, Captain.”
“There’s no reason we can’t start manufacturing the new emitters while she is testing the effects of ZPEDs on the jump drive field generators,” Vladimir stated.
“What if we don’t end up using them?” Cameron asked.
“We will just make a handful for testing and validation. We won’t start a full production run until we are sure that the hybrid drive project is approved.”
“How long does it take to fabricate an emitter?” Nathan asked.
“About four hours using a single fabricator, and we have four of them,” Vladimir explained.
“What about raw materials?”
“We have plenty of them in the hold, sir,” Cameron told him. “In fact, we still have most of the ore from our time in the rings of Haven as well.”
“Very well. Go ahead and start fabrication for now. How many jumps will you need to collect enough data, Doctor?”
“Five jumps should suffice.”
“What are you going to do with the additional power being generated by the ZPEDs?” Cameron asked.
“We will feed it into the ship’s power grid,” Vladimir explained. “It is not a problem.”
“Will five jumps give you enough time to fully validate the new emitter design?” Nathan asked Vladimir.
“It should be plenty,” Vladimir assured him.
“Very well, Doctor. You may begin the next phase of testing.”
“Anything else we need to talk about?” Nathan looked around the room. “Very well, dismissed.”
* * *
“Lieutenant Commander,” Major Waddell greeted as he entered the security office.
Jessica turned away from her display to face Waddell from behind her desk. “Major Waddell.”
“You asked to see me?”
“Yes, take a seat, Major.” She waited as the major pulled up a chair and sat down on the opposite side of the desk from her. “Commander Taylor has asked me to deal with a particular problem.”
“What problem might that be?”
“It seems that there is friction between some of the Corinairans and the Takaran specialists on board.”
“That’s to be expected, is it not? We were at war with them only a month ago.”
“Perhaps, but not with any of these men. They are all civilians.”
“Not all of them,” Major Waddell corrected.
“Lieutenant Montgomery’s rank was administrative. He was never a
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