Barnacle Passage by Al Onia

Author:Al Onia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Space Opera, SF Thriller
Publisher: Al Onia
Published: 2021-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

DualE finished keying in Proof of Naval Commission while the others hovered around Carver. "Let's hope Pollux isn't fussy about expiration dates," she muttered loud enough for all to hear. She sealed the override with a retinal scan and Pollux confirmed her right to raise it into jumpspace. She sighed in relief, one hurdle crossed. She faced Carver. He was engrossed in the data from the fourth barnacle.

"The Penance covered a lot of space," he said.

"The missionaries spread their word far, I agree." DualE ran the pilgrim ship's travels through space and time in her head, trying to decipher a pattern. It wasn't random, it followed Carver part of his way, but then he followed the trail of every second prospector from Bohr to Argosy to the Eddy. "Look at this." She translated her thoughts into screen plots, pulling and pushing nodal points across the screen with her fingertips. "Time and distance."

"Anomalous."

Carver apparently got it.

"I don't see," said Ellick. "Shouldn't we plot another course change?"

"It's taken care of." Carver pointed to the console beside them. "I've programmed random changes. In a ship this large, you'll barely feel the acceleration due to vector changes. Pollux's response is slower than our scout ships."

"What about the jump?" Zofie asked.

"Soon," said Carver. "I have a test routine waiting for DualE to initiate, now she's obtained Pollux's cooperation, unless we can come up with an alternative. Proximity sensors are engaged. If any ship comes within two AU's, we'll know."

DualE reoriented the plots for Zofie.

"I don't understand," said Zofie. "Why did the pilgrims change?"

"Yeah, back to the brothers," said Ellick. "What is the great mystery?"

"Explain it to them Carver, while I manipulate the data." DualE concentrated one eye on her screen and the other on Carver.

He faced Zofie and Ellick. "Penance's first six months are a laborious but logical journey. Slow and encompassing. They hit every miner aggregate, no matter how small or remote. They traveled in what appears to be an expertly generated, efficient trajectory. Using the least amount of fuel and resources. DualE and I believe one of the brothers, Cardinal, is an astrogator. It is conceivable incremental donations allowed them to progress." He went back to the display copied from her screen. "Observe the last two months. Penance diverted her small skips to initiate a big course change out to Slate's Progress, spent weeks getting there and then turned tail back to Argosy after a week. The Eddy should have been their next logical port of call."

"So, they ran low on resources. Or became homesick." Ellick shrugged. "Not everyone, even the most dedicated missionary, is suited for deep space. Four men in such a small ship? I don't care how meditative you are, someone's going to fray the nerves."

DualE knuckled her eyes. "According to Brother Atone's public log we accessed, they were not short of resources. They'd done well financially."

"Mission accomplished," said Ellick with the skeptical tone of an opportunist. "Successful enough to fund a second pilgrimage with a fresh group."

"Go home

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