Free Frontiers 07 - The Expanse by Ryk Brown

without recharging. You could cross the galaxy in a matter of weeks. You could strike the Jung home world—wherever that is—in a few jumps, return to Earth, reload, then jump back, and strike again. You could deliver as much ordnance on a target as an entire fleet using just one ship. I think that’s well worth the risk of a few test jumps along the way.”
    “I’m not disagreeing with you, Nathan. I’m just saying I wish we didn’t have to take the risk, at least not now.”
    “Then you don’t mind if I give Vlad the green light?”
    “What are you asking me for? You’re the captain.”
    “Yes, I am. But I depend on you to keep me from going off the deep end, remember?”
    “Hey, I was in a coma when you started that whole Na-Tan thing.”
    “I’ll let Vlad know,” he told her with a smile.
    “I’ll start organizing work crews,” she told him as she headed for the exit.
    “Hey, you don’t really think they’re going to toss me in the brig, do you?”
    “Probably not,” she admitted, “not with all the cool tech the Takarans are contributing.” She paused at the hatch for a moment, then turned back to face him. “Still, for once, I’m glad you’re the captain and not me.”

    * * *

    “What are we having?” Jessica asked as she entered the captain’s mess.
    “I have no idea,” Nathan admitted. “I stopped asking a week ago. I can never remember how to pronounce the names anyway.”
    “I don’t care as long as it’s meat and lots of it,” Vladimir declared. “I have not eaten since breakfast.”
    “ You skipped lunch?” Cameron asked in disbelief. “ You? ”
    “We are very busy installing and testing the new emitters,” Vladimir defended. “I am definitely earning my pay this week.”
    “I was watching those spidery-looking things you’re using,” Nathan said. “What do you call them?”
    “We call them ‘crawlers,’” Lieutenant Montgomery stated.
    “That makes sense,” Nathan agreed.
    “They are used by exterior work crews on all Takaran warships. They are very efficient.”
    “And a lot more comfortable than wearing a pressure suit,” Vladimir added as he watched the captain’s chef place dishes of food onto the table in front of him. “They are safer as well.”
    “Yes, they offer significantly better protection against cosmic radiation than even the best pressure suits,” Lieutenant Montgomery agreed.
    “I haven’t seen them yet,” Major Prechitt stated with curiosity. “What do they look like?”
    “Well, like spiders,” Nathan stated.
    “Spiders?” Major Prechitt was unfamiliar with the word.
    “They have an oval pod in the middle of an oval ring. The pod holds the worker who can reach out using arms to perform work on the exterior of the ship. They move around using these long, articulated legs like a spider.” Vladimir placed his hand on the table, walking his fingers around to mimic a spider walking.
    “Ah, ‘prycopa,’” the major declared. “Interesting. I would like to see them.”
    “They are operating from the starboard cargo airlock,” Vladimir explained. “Both of them are in use during the recharge cycle, but they come in to be recharged for about an hour during each jump.”
    “We use something similar in the orbital assembly facility over Earth,” Nathan explained, “except ours sit on the end of a single, long, articulated arm that connects to a trolley on a track that runs the length of the assembly structure. Workers could spend an entire shift inside one of those things.”
    “How is the refit progressing?” Major Prechitt wondered.
    “Slightly behind schedule,” Lieutenant Montgomery admitted. “After all, this would best be done in port. However, I am confident that we will finish in a few days.”
    “It would be faster if we had a few more crawlers,” Vladimir admitted.
    “Why don’t you just fabricate more?” Jessica suggested as she loaded her plate.
    “All the fabricators are busy making emitters,”