The Dead Sun (Star Force Series) by B. V. Larson Page B

can’t let decisions fall to chance.”
    I had a second thought as I continued to study the screen. “But then again,” I said, “If someone else had been in command, maybe the guy would have done better. Who’s to say?”
    She shrugged. “If you’ve found a worthwhile successor, abdicate. Give all authority to a younger, more skilled individual.”
    I looked at her thoughtfully. She had me there, and she knew it. I didn’t have anyone else for the job. I didn’t have anyone I felt I could entrust with the keys to Star Force. At times I’d thought Crow was the man for that job—and that had turned out pretty badly.
    I heaved a sigh and straightened my spine. “Helm, let’s lay in a course for the closer of the two suns. The white dwarf will do, won’t it Marvin?”
    “According to my calculations, either star’s energy output is sufficient. If we choose the smaller of the two, we’ll have to build somewhat closer, however.”
    I nodded. “You have the helm, Marvin. Take us to the star of your choice and park us in orbit. I want full radiation suits for the crew. Double-up on nanocloth suits and have the nanites chew up some lead before they add that second layer.”
    There were a few groans at this announcement. Nanoclothing was so light and easy to wear you sort of got used to them after a while. They were a hard habit to break, like living in your pajamas all weekend long.
    We planned to fly in with our most heavily protected face always aimed toward the stars like Spartans hiding behind upraised shields. I ordered the hull thickened up on the belly of the battleship as we glided closer to the blazing suns. Star Force people could take a lot of radiation, as the nanites repaired cells quickly, but our electronic subsystems were more fragile. To compensate, the ship’s systems moved constructive nanites around. They flowed in vein-like silvery relief over the hull, delivering more metal to the portions of the ship most affected.
    Marvin chose the smaller star because its energy output was more stable. We reached the white dwarf two days later and established a safe orbit after fighting the gravitational forces. Then the real work began.
    Marvin was given a fighter to tool around in because I’d told him he couldn’t have engines attached directly to his body. Unfortunately, his overseeing a large construction project in space pretty much required mobility.
    I became angry less than a week into the project, when I realized Marvin had dismissed his fighter pilot. This meant that he was effectively zooming around independently.
    “Marvin?” I shouted into a private channel. “Report immediately.”
    “That’s not possible, Colonel. I’m engaged in a critical phase of the project. I’m assembling the core of a key system.”
    I muted him and turned to Jasmine, who was watching the boards and knew better than I did what he was up to.
    “Is he bullshitting me, Captain Sarin?”
    “Yes and no. He’s not here in orbit around the white sun. He’s near Harvard, in fact, building a digester.”
    Harvard was one of the three moons that sailed around a gas giant in this system’s habitable zone.
    “He’s building a what?” I asked.
    “He’s breaking down surface material of asteroids and smaller moons orbiting the gas giant. He’s quarried chunks of rock and is firing them toward the sun. Another system located here in orbit around the white sun catches the pieces and uses them in construction. Really, it’s quite elegant as an engineering solution.”
    I frowned. It sounded big, expensive and complex.
    “How big are these chunks of material?”
    “They’re about two kilotons each, according to these documents.”
    She displayed a mass of planning files on the command table. I’d been busy looking at reports of our military buildup back on Earth. I’d pretty much let Marvin do whatever he wanted. In retrospect, I realized that was rarely a good idea.
    A blizzard of files opened with a rattling