Cosmic Ride: A Mecha Scifi Epic (The Messenger Book 10) by J.N. Chaney & Terry Maggert

Author:J.N. Chaney & Terry Maggert [Chaney, J.N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2020-07-04T16:00:00+00:00

Dash finished going through the day’s reports, cleared the last from the display in his quarters, then leaned back, stretched, and let out a sigh. Overall, they were in good shape. The newest Anchor was nearing completion, thanks to a scaled-back size and complexity; it would be smaller and somewhat less capable than Eastern and Western, but still immensely powerful in its own right. The fleet kept growing, and they’d just received their third Sabertooth-class command cruiser, the Brilliant, meaning they could now deploy a third, independent and fully capable task force. More importantly, they’d managed to get their capacity to repair ships to the point where they could turn around even heavy battle damage in just a few days, instead of up to a couple of weeks.

Now, if they could only figure out how to get the eternity engines working more efficiently, without a voracious appetite for Dark Metal—

His gaze caught on a rip in his trousers. He frowned and touched it. How the hell had he done that? The woven fabric was fraying, the individual strands separating…

Dash stopped, staring at the hole. Then he stood and headed for the door. “Custodian, have Leira, Conover, Amy, and Viktor meet me in the main fabrication bay. And get one of the eternity engines set up for us to look at.”

“Understood,” the AI replied.

When he reached the fabrication bay, he found the others already there, in various states of casual dress. Leira had her hands on her hips. “I was just about to climb into bed, you know,” she snapped.

Amy giggled. “I’m sure he knows, because he was probably right there with her.”

Viktor grinned and Conover blushed. Leira, though, turned a sweet smile on her cousin. “Remember when I was twelve, and you were ten, and we got into a fight and I said I’d end you? That threat’s still on the table,” Leira said evenly.

Amy smiled back at Leira and stuck out her tongue.

“Alright, kids,” Dash said. “Let’s stay focused.” He gestured at an eternity engine resting on the grav pallet Custodian had used to pull it out of storage. “Custodian, how much Dark Metal is in the core of this thing right now? The part that we have to keep replacing?”

“One-point-four kilograms, plus or minus.”

“About a kilo and a half, got it. Now, if you were to make the most open possible mesh you could—that is, a Dark Metal mesh that consists of the maximum possible empty space, that will still work as a core, how much would we need?”

“In the absence of detailed calculations, I would estimate between one-tenth and one-third of a kilogram. And, anticipating your next question, yes—it could be made modular, so it could be removed and reinstalled with minimal time and effort. It is, if I may say so, an inspired idea.”

“Thanks.” He turned to the others. “Slide a new one in after each flight, recycle the old one for the Dark Metal left in it, and your eternity engine just became eternal.”

The others exchanged impressed looks.

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