Escape from Earth by Robert Boren

Author:Robert Boren [Boren, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: South Bay Press
Published: 2019-01-19T22:00:00+00:00

{ 13 }

Amberis

I ’d been covering the bridge for most of the night into mid-morning, trying to doze in my captain’s chair for short periods. Izzy had been to her state room for several hours, as had Tim. Nolan retired earlier. I was hoping he got plenty of sleep. We were going to need him sharp.

“Anything happen, Captain?” Izzy asked as she walked onto the bridge.

“No. Did you sleep enough?”

“I did about as well as normal,” she said. “It’s rare that I get more than five and a half hours. How about you?”

“Dozed a little up here, but I also slept in my room before I got back.”

Nolan showed up, looking refreshed. “Good morning.”

I nodded at him. “Did you get my request about Valla Cappos?”

“I did, I’m afraid.”

“Uh oh, what’d you find out?”

“Valla Cappos has a very long orbit around its star, which is larger than Earth’s sun by quite a bit. Their seasonal cycle is much longer than normal as a result.”

“How long?” Izzy asked.

“Their complete cycle is four Earth years. They’ve been in the cold season for a year and a half.”

“Crap, so the Clan could’ve been there for that long?” I asked.

“Depends on how accurate the Neanderthal’s memory is,” Nolan said. “His people should be moving back to their other home in roughly six Earth months.”

“I didn’t get the impression that they’d been fighting that long,” I said. “Seems like it’d be a bigger deal with a lot more casualties.”

Nolan shrugged. “Maybe there was a big lag between being aware of the Clan presence and fighting with them.”

“Barney said he saw the ship land in the lake,” I said.

“We’re getting close to Amberis,” Izzy said, looking on her PA.

“Should be a few more hours,” I said.

Nolan smiled. “My module sped the ship up, remember? I never re-calibrated the time estimate algorithm.”

“Maybe you should do that, then.”

“I will, Captain. Might want to let JJ know we’re getting close. We should call the Tristar from orbit, in case we need to disappear quickly.”

I nodded, sending the call through my PA. Tim walked in, looking groggy.

“Good morning,” Izzy said.

Tim managed only a nod, plopping down into the first mate’s chair. “We’re close already. My nav alarm went off. Why early?”

“Nolan needs to adjust the estimator to account for his module,” Izzy said.

“That’s not done yet? Seemed to be pretty accurate.”

“For short trips it’s not as noticeable,” Nolan said. “I’ll get on it.”

JJ walked in. “Almost there already, huh?”

“Yep,” I said. “We want to attempt a call to the Tristar when we’re in orbit, assuming they’re out of their jump by that time.”

“Let me check their position,” JJ said, sitting down, eyes glued to her PA.

“I’m anxious to get some more news reports,” Nolan said. “Ought to be some interesting developments.”

“They’re no longer in the jump, Captain,” JJ said. “Can’t tell if they’re in orbit or on the surface. We’ll be able to tell when we’re out of the jump.”

Nolan turned towards me. “The estimation algorithm is fixed, Captain.”

“Thanks, Nolan. How

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