how to operate the jump drive?” the sergeant asked.
“Look, Sarge, if you don’t want to go…”
“No offense, sir, but the jump drive is a complex device, isn’t it? It needs all kinds of precise calculations and stuff. And don’t you have to be on the correct course and speed before you…”
“Not this one. It’s designed to make a fixed-distance jump. Scout Three will put us on the correct trajectory and speed,” Jessica explained, “I just activate the system, and at the precise moment, it jumps us. When we come out of the jump, we’ll already be thirty meters under, so no one will see our jump flash. Then all I have to do is level her off and steer us to shore as we climb up to more shallow depths.”
“And how do we get back?” the sergeant asked.
“Just take her down, steer it back upward for a moment, and activate the jump sequencer again. It will put us back out in space, about a light month outside the Tau Ceti system, where Scout Three will be keeping an eye out for us.”
“ Jump Sub One, Scout Three. Prepare for jump series, in three… ” Ensign Wells called over Jessica’s comm-set, “…two…”
“Jumping,” Jessica called out. “Cover up!” she added as she closed her eyes and covered them with both hands.
The blue-white flash of Scout Three’s jump field lit up the inside of the jump sub, fading a moment later.
“ Jump complete, ” Ensign Wells reported.
“We’re good,” Jessica announced as she removed her hands from her eyes and looked out the forward window. “How are we looking up there?” she called back over the comms.
“ Came out on target, ” Ensign Wells replied over the comms. “ Give us a few minutes to get you on the correct speed and trajectory. ”
“Take your time.”
The three of them sat in silence, all squeezed into a space originally meant for only two, surrounded by a shell that was designed to keep from collapsing against outside pressure trying to get in, rather than the reverse. It was a shell that provided precious little protection against cosmic radiation, if any at all.
“Does this seem like a really crazy idea to anyone else, or is it just me?” Naralena wondered, breaking the silence.
“No, it’s not just you,” Jessica said, laughing. “This is beyond crazy. Way beyond.”
“ Jump Sub One, Scout Three, ” Ensign Wells called over the comms. “ We are on the designated intercept trajectory with Kohara, thirty-five KPH closure rate. Jump point in one minute. Stand by for release. ”
“Jump Sub One, ready for release,” Jessica replied as she slipped her shoulder straps on as well. “Get secured,” she instructed.
“ You know, Jess, ” Captain Nash called over the comms, “ if anyone had told me that someday I’d be dropping my little sister into an inland sea a couple light years away, I would have thought they were crazy. ”
“Well, you know how much I’ve always loved water sports,” Jessica replied.
“ Just don’t drown, alright? I don’t know how the hell I’d explain this to Mom and Dad. ”
“Dying isn’t on my agenda, Bobert,” Jessica replied. “Besides, it’s damned hard to kill a Nash, remember?”
“ Jump Sub One, release in three……two……one……release. ”
Jessica pressed the release button attached to the ceiling above the front windshield. A loud grinding sound of a motor reverberated through the hull of the jump sub as the docking clamps gently pulled away from their docking collar, setting them free. She watched out the forward porthole as maneuvering jets fired along the topside of Scout Three, sending them drifting up and away from the jump sub.
“We’re free,” Jessica reported, both over her comm-set and to her two companions behind her. She glanced at the console in front of her. “Positive separation rate. Three meters and increasing. She leaned forward and peered up through the porthole at the Scout ship as it fired its deceleration thrusters and quickly
“Look, Sarge, if you don’t want to go…”
“No offense, sir, but the jump drive is a complex device, isn’t it? It needs all kinds of precise calculations and stuff. And don’t you have to be on the correct course and speed before you…”
“Not this one. It’s designed to make a fixed-distance jump. Scout Three will put us on the correct trajectory and speed,” Jessica explained, “I just activate the system, and at the precise moment, it jumps us. When we come out of the jump, we’ll already be thirty meters under, so no one will see our jump flash. Then all I have to do is level her off and steer us to shore as we climb up to more shallow depths.”
“And how do we get back?” the sergeant asked.
“Just take her down, steer it back upward for a moment, and activate the jump sequencer again. It will put us back out in space, about a light month outside the Tau Ceti system, where Scout Three will be keeping an eye out for us.”
“ Jump Sub One, Scout Three. Prepare for jump series, in three… ” Ensign Wells called over Jessica’s comm-set, “…two…”
“Jumping,” Jessica called out. “Cover up!” she added as she closed her eyes and covered them with both hands.
The blue-white flash of Scout Three’s jump field lit up the inside of the jump sub, fading a moment later.
“ Jump complete, ” Ensign Wells reported.
“We’re good,” Jessica announced as she removed her hands from her eyes and looked out the forward window. “How are we looking up there?” she called back over the comms.
“ Came out on target, ” Ensign Wells replied over the comms. “ Give us a few minutes to get you on the correct speed and trajectory. ”
“Take your time.”
The three of them sat in silence, all squeezed into a space originally meant for only two, surrounded by a shell that was designed to keep from collapsing against outside pressure trying to get in, rather than the reverse. It was a shell that provided precious little protection against cosmic radiation, if any at all.
“Does this seem like a really crazy idea to anyone else, or is it just me?” Naralena wondered, breaking the silence.
“No, it’s not just you,” Jessica said, laughing. “This is beyond crazy. Way beyond.”
“ Jump Sub One, Scout Three, ” Ensign Wells called over the comms. “ We are on the designated intercept trajectory with Kohara, thirty-five KPH closure rate. Jump point in one minute. Stand by for release. ”
“Jump Sub One, ready for release,” Jessica replied as she slipped her shoulder straps on as well. “Get secured,” she instructed.
“ You know, Jess, ” Captain Nash called over the comms, “ if anyone had told me that someday I’d be dropping my little sister into an inland sea a couple light years away, I would have thought they were crazy. ”
“Well, you know how much I’ve always loved water sports,” Jessica replied.
“ Just don’t drown, alright? I don’t know how the hell I’d explain this to Mom and Dad. ”
“Dying isn’t on my agenda, Bobert,” Jessica replied. “Besides, it’s damned hard to kill a Nash, remember?”
“ Jump Sub One, release in three……two……one……release. ”
Jessica pressed the release button attached to the ceiling above the front windshield. A loud grinding sound of a motor reverberated through the hull of the jump sub as the docking clamps gently pulled away from their docking collar, setting them free. She watched out the forward porthole as maneuvering jets fired along the topside of Scout Three, sending them drifting up and away from the jump sub.
“We’re free,” Jessica reported, both over her comm-set and to her two companions behind her. She glanced at the console in front of her. “Positive separation rate. Three meters and increasing. She leaned forward and peered up through the porthole at the Scout ship as it fired its deceleration thrusters and quickly
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