Free Crucible of a Species by Terrence Zavecz Page B

Lieutenant.
    “Any questions Colonel Drake? You appear uncharacteristically quiet.”
    “No. No questions at this time Captain but I would like to speak with Lieutenant Anderson a little later, when time permits.”
    “Very well, Colonel.
    “Lieutenant Anderson, submit your supply requests to the XO as soon as possible. We’ll transmit them to Skyport Support Operations as soon as we reestablish contact. With any luck, you’ll have them waiting there when we dock.
    “Commander Dalmas,” Lee called onto the bridge. “Take us out of orbit and back to port at best safe speed.”
    “Aye, aye sir. Returning to Skyport; best speed.” The XO replied.
    *~~*~~*~~*
    The trip out to Jupiter had been swift and exciting. On the thirty-two hour outbound voyage the Argos had accelerated to three percent of lightspeed before reaching the turbulence limit for travel within the Solar System.
    Now Argos limped back to Earth at a fraction of that speed and, after five days of travel, they were still thirty-six hours from home. Engineering had used the time to remove most of the warped and twisted metal from the damaged areas inside the compartments. The bodies of the two crewmembers were never located. Repairs outside of the ship proceeded slowly.
    The advances derived from the technology of the wave drive had resulted in a surge in traffic for inner-system travel as well as the installation of a chain of navigational buoys out along the edges of the asteroid belt. The outbound Argos had flown past the new Saturn Microbot Energy Swam Control outpost in Mars orbit and crossed the vast belt of rocks beyond to break records and reach their destination in a little over a day’s time. None of these man-made installations could be located on the ship’s slow return trip to Earth orbit.
    Doctor Nolen’s science team used the time to try to compensate for the distorted sections of the damaged ship’s exterior. They achieved limited success but one scientist was making significant progress in a very different area.
    I need to be rational about this , Dr. Sandra Shieve said to herself as she reviewed the paper she would be submitting to the Physics Journal. In it, she detailed her observations and some calculations made from the data collected during the time the Argos entered Jupiter’s Red Spot.
    Let’s be realistic. Chances are I won’t be part of this expedition after we get back to the Skyport. The ship will be in repairs for weeks and then we’ll go through the selection process again. The last time I made it by the skin of my teeth. This time, I’m toast.
    She remembered standing in front of the review board defending her proposal. The captain raised objections to Sandra’s presence on the expedition. His classic comment still burned in her memory, “Why do we need an Earth Specialist when we’re going to a completely new star? She’s a geophysicist for God’s sake, next thing you’ll want to bring a botanist or an entomologist to study the bugs we find.”
    Sandra tried to explain that as a geophysicist her expertise ran beyond the narrow boundaries of Earth, she researched the internal structure and evolution of the planet. From this work came a simulator that modeled variations in the pull of gravity across the planet and with it she calculated the movement of the liquid core at its center to map the drift of the magnetic poles. Skills, she contended, critical to understanding any new planet.
    Sandra despaired at bringing the captain’s thinking around but then help came from an unexpected quarter; both Nolen and Thompson supported her proposal. Together they secured her passage although it came with the captain’s grudging agreement. He hadn’t spoken a word to her since that meeting. Sandra was convinced he had some personal dislike for her.
    Well, it has been an exciting joy ride to Jupiter and back. At least I have this. Sandra read the conclusion section of her paper; ‘The Gravitonic Field Monitor was able to