Farpoint Rising (Farpoint Series Book 2), page 5
She waved them over to a small fabricator. “This is set up to keep you well supplied with the custom n-mats barrels for quite a while. The counterweights are empty and will need filled in the cavern.”
“No problem, the bots are already taking care of that task. However, Sariyn reckons we will need to double our water storage once we max out our current production, or we will risk outages in another season as dry as this last one. We could always pull from the pond, but…”
Kasey nodded, “You will have access to the builder bot while we are gone, add whatever you need.”
Darnell looked thoughtful. “That will do, and we certainly will.”
“Good. One thing, try and keep these barrels separate from the others. They use the same schematics, but someone could notice if new barrels are introduced and somehow determine they come from a different stock.”
“Got it, no need to invite questions. We can discreetly tag them and allow the bots to keep them separated. So, no problem at all.”
“Right, and only the four of us know about this stockpile, so keep it that way. If you need to stop moving barrels here to keep this private, then do so.”
Sariyn had been quiet but thoughtful during the exchange. “So, what are you planning for all this material, if you don’t mind me asking? Surely not just an investment for after the supply dries up.”
Kasey shrugged. “No, not an investment. I am sure other sources will be found eventually and it will be available to the public and eventually get cheaper. No, this stock is for our potential projects. I would rather have it safely here if we decide we need it. There is also the potential that the Federation will demand access to the mine, and I would rather not be cut off.”
“Projects huh? How much are you looking to sock away?”
“As much as possible. As long as we can keep the supply going to the navy and not endanger the cavern, I want as much as we can discreetly moved in here. Any luck making the cavern safe?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
“I have some ideas but nothing solid yet. I have a bot using poles to try and map the cavern ceiling, so we have accurate numbers to work with. We will have a workable plan within the week. However, I believe we can do a lot more.”
“What do you mean, more?”
“I have been reviewing your maps of the cavern and cave systems. While this may be the only cave system with an opening to the surface, I believe there should be many more in this mountain range. It would take a lot of work, but we could find more deposits.”
“There were several other entrances that we had blocked off. Most were small, but I scanned the area thoroughly and closed off any openings I could locate. I only kept this one open in case we needed it. That decision was taken out of my hands, but it could have been worse and—well, the credits are nice.”
“Then is there still a reason not to investigate the other cave systems? At least send some bots in and see what can be found.”
“I would consider it, sure. But with the scrutiny going on to locate the n-mats, we will need a plausible reason to dig in those locations—not to mention a reason to put a structure there if something worthwhile is found.”
“Leave that to us,” Darnell interjected, “we may need to spend more of your credits, but we can keep it out of prying eyes.”
With their approval, Sariyn continued, “You also have a lot of mercury you could process in the cinnabar ore itself.”
Kasey scrunched his eyebrows in thought. “There is not much more than cinnabar dust in the cavern, and most of that is gone with the mercury we harvested already. I suppose there is a source deeper?”
“Perhaps. The dust had never been tested, has it?”
“Well, no.”
“It has now. Strangely enough, the cinnabar is not an n-mats material. I assumed, just as you likely did, that the mercury and cinnabar would both be negative matter, but it is only the mercury. The cinnabar you have seen in the cavern was simply dust covering everything. Right now, I do not understand how it is even possible with what we think we know of how the exotic seam formed or merged with this galaxy. Still, this seems to infer that we were very wrong.”
“So… You think there should be cinnabar ore deposits with more n-mats mercury trapped?”
“Absolutely, I have already proven it, in fact. The question is—how far down do we need to dig, and where? The cavern’s geothermal springs are problematic but not a showstopper. The smaller pools of n-mats we have found are a much better option, for now anyway. They don’t have springs, at least not anymore, and the floor seems to have a high cinnabar content.”
“What does all that mean?”
“Well, the point is, we could find a way to process a good deal of the ore and release more n-mats. I am just not sure it is worth doing with such an easy supply already available. But once the mercury pools are drained, it’s another source to tap. We can do both at once, to an extent. We would need a lot more manpower and equipment, but I believe it could be more profitable than your copper mines.”
Kasey took a moment to ponder Sariyn’s revelation, “I guess that’s an option we can think about. Can we get some drill samples from the sites and gauge how much we are looking at?”
“Of course. We will put together a feasibility study once we have all the data. Should have it all in order by the time you two return.”
“I… Hold on a minute,” he tapped his temple.
A high priority message from Fran had appeared in his mimic interface demanding immediate attention. He heard AnnaChi curse beside him, so she must have gotten the same message and wasn’t happy. He read it and let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding.
“Well?” Darnell asked with a smile.
“Looks like our trip has been moved up,” he sighed, “AnnaChi and I need to leave here tomorrow…”
“Ah… Well then, we are good here, business-wise. I received a note from Winslow Corp that the retaining ponds are plenty full now and they are back to full capacity. They also indicated their renewal would be sent over soon as well. Now, I just need that builder bot of yours delivered to the lodge so we can start on the additions for Sariyn’s cabin and such.”
“I really don’t need my own place…”
AnnaChi gave a dismissive wave, “You are getting it anyway, so best get on board with the idea. I am sure you may want to put your own touches into the design, so do so. Besides, we are going to need more room at that lodge eventually and we have the bot and the resources, so why not?”
“Okay, fine then.” She smiled. “Let’s get a move on Darnie! We got things to do, and they need their home back to start packing.”
“Fine, fine. You kids need anything done around here while you are gone, just let us know.”
“Place generally runs itself, but try and spoil Orange, Molly, and Mawk once in a while. We are leaving the Altair here in the hangar. No one has access to fly her, but she will let you two on board. It is the safest place in the valley if trouble finds you. I’ll send you codes for the estate as well in case you need anything.”
“Shouldn’t you be taking that ship with you?”
“They have far newer models of the Raven class ships than Altair. We are civilians on this trip and just need civilian ships.”
“You were just civilians fighting the last war here too, ya know. Try to stay out of trouble!”
“You have a point there!” He laughed at his friend. “And we have adjusted our view of how a civilian ship should be equipped quite a bit since then. Regardless, Fran also sent a contact you can reach out to, if you need anything out of the norm.”
“Need? Like what?”
“Mainly for the businesses. He does own parts of both Belrothi Copper and Phoenix Mining and he has a personal interest in the n-mats. So, if anything seems fishy, his contacts can help. You can take that liberally—I am positive the contact will do everything in their power to solve whatever problem you are facing.”
“I am not sure if I should feel comforted or concerned.”
“I think that uncertainty is the norm when partnering with Mad Fran. You get used to it.”
AnnaChi gave Kasey a funny look, “Are you used to it yet?”
“Not in the least.”
As they traveled in the skimmer back up the lift, Kasey shared the images he had taken of Molly settling into the new roost above the shop.
“It’s not perfect, but it could be a safer haven for them if they want it,” AnnaChi explained proudly. “There is a flowing water source up there too. I honestly don’t know if they will use any of it, although it’s nice to know Molly is trying it out.”
Sariyn consider them, “You know, if you want to keep them close to your home, your bigger issue may be the food sources. I am guessing they already pushed out and replaced the area’s previous apex predators. If they reproduce in the same magnitude every year, they will need to spread far out of your lands in just a few years.”
“I guess that is not totally unexpected,” Kasey said, “but the longer we keep them undiscovered, the better.”
“Then your best bet is to create some sort of large scale, semi-contained and controlled rodent breeding areas, and maybe keep the pond well stocked. That may keep more of them close by, but it can have its own set of issues. What you should do, is find someone who can understand how bad the ecological impact of introducing them will be.”
“And if it is bad?”
“I am surprised you haven’t already figured out that answer.” She shrugged. “If this gate network pans out how your admiral friend anticipates, you will have access to countless worlds. Surely there will be one where they can thrive and not cause a major problem.”
“So, you are saying we need to find an ecologist of some sort?”
“Yes, finding one that will keep this quiet should be your primary goal if you want to protect them in the long term.”
“Thank you. I will look into that,” he remarked seriously as they got out of the skimmer and said their goodbyes.
AnnaChi leaned against Kasey as the skimmer pulled away. “I like her. She should keep things interesting around here.”
“Now if we only had more time to actually be here, that would be great.”
“Damn, don’t remind me. I had plans to upgrade the bards this week. We will have to install the gravity plating en route, but I thought I would have time to make some other changes.”
“I know what you mean. They are likely in need of a lot of maintenance as it is too. At least the world will be lower gravity. That will ease the wear and tear a bit.”
“You know, our balance sheet is looking quite healthy right now. How about we pick up a new set of bards and move the scanners over to the new ones on the way. Then I can tear down and rebuild the old ones in our down time on this trip.”
“I thought you wanted to wait and get newer models once we have access to Federation space?”
“I do, and we will. But why wait, I mean seriously have you looked at the numbers? By the time we get back, if nothing else changes, we will have enough credits to buy a large transport outright.”
That set Kasey back on his heels a bit. “Oh… Really? No, I haven’t looked. I knew it was a lot but that is insane.”
“Right, so a few extra bards won’t make a difference.”
“Okay, well then that sounds great. We can pick them up on our way out tomorrow. Although we do need to limit what we spend a bit or it will tip our hand to anyone paying attention, but these are nothing in the scheme of things. When the pressure is off us as the only n-mats mine, we can hopefully change that.”
“Makes sense to me. Do you really think someone is looking for the actual mine?”
“Undoubtedly. The Federation and navy would be stupid to not have all the facts about what they likely feel is the most important substance in existence. Even if, somehow, they are not interested now, just wait till we miss one shipment and see how quick they come searching. The first people I would investigate are Fran’s associates, and we are too well known at this point already. Hell, once someone realizes that all three of the people who found the first n-mats are working at the same mine, we will be dead center in their spotlight.”
“Well, that sounds bleak…”
“Sure is.” He looked at the ground for a long time, then shrugged. “Its motivation for us to find another source quickly. Let someone else be under the microscope.”
She kissed him on the cheek, “Come on, we need to load the Cintian.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Hurry up and wait.
The phrase kept repeating in Kasey’s head. They had been aboard the Pathfinder for over a week and the ship had not even left dry-dock. Today was to be the fourth attempt. Flair had assured them that these kinds of delays were normal for a new ship design, but Kasey was getting concerned.
When the latest announcement came to prepare for departure, he barely noticed. Only after AnnaChi swatted his head did he realize he had missed something. As they entered the bridge, they were ushered to small, comfortable viewing area for VIPs. They took the remaining two seats and settled in.
The sections seats were filled with important-looking people and a few obvious scientists, but no one they recognized nor anyone that bothered to notice them. Admiral Francis was walking the bridge checking in with every station personally as the final preparations were made, but he at least took the time to nod welcomingly in their direction.
Several displays entertained the VIP section, showing everything from general ship specs to various camera feeds around the ship’s exterior. Once Fran had taken his place in the captain’s chair, several screens changed to views forward and aft of the ship.
The wall aft of the long ship separated into four sections and recessed into the chamber walls revealing a deep cavern. Kasey did not notice the command being given, but suddenly the ship was moving backward into the cavern as the Gemini Nexus forward slowly disappeared from view. As the ship traveled down the prepared tunnel, sets of walls forward of the ship closed, sealing them out of the nexus.
Kasey kept his eyes on the approaching cavern wall. It was hard to tell how close they were, but suddenly a crease appeared in the rock wall. Two massive chunks of the moon’s exterior swiveled outward into the starry blackness beyond. A host of escort ships waited nearby, and within moments the camera angles had shifted to their viewpoints showing the Pathfinder emerging into open space and beyond.
Once away from the rogue moon, Pathfinder flipped longways and went through a series of intense flight testing that Kasey would not have believed possible for such a large and long vessel. Testing ended with a maximum acceleration burn that left the rogue moon base as only a small speck in the distance. After flipping and decelerating to a full stop, there was a short break while Fran again walked the room looking for problems before settling back into the captain’s chair. He took his time then looked towards a waiting officer and nodded.
“All hands, prepare for inaugural jump.”
The command was followed by several other announcements, but Kasey ignored them all and tightened the seat’s straps. They were about to break physics in a way he could not begin to understand. The gates were simple in comparison. AnnaChi yawned beside him, but her eyes seemed locked on a large station at the far edge of the bridge.
The station itself looked the same as any other, but several additional displays were mounted around it. The displays were non-standard compared to the rest of the bridge, and were apparently temporary. Several additional seats were also crowding the station and were occupied by science and engineering staff. They all seemed to be discussing something important.
One by one they all settled back and nodded at the officer in the main station chair. She then looked towards Fran.
“Jump station is green, sir.”
“Miss Ecclestone,” he responded, “commence countdown and jump us back to the Gemini station please.”
“Aye, sir! Jumping in three, two, jump.”
Kasey again felt the usual timelessness of eternity beckoning he experienced every time he went through a gate. He had expected something different from the jump ship, but it was exactly the same. He watched the monitors, which showed they had left their escort ships behind. The small moon was now much larger and slightly off to their port side.
The room was filled with enthusiastic chatter. Once the excitement calmed down, Fran appeared next to the VIP area and shook a few hands before sending everyone off to waiting shuttles to take them back to the base.
After they had all left, Kasey approached Fran. “Looks like a success?”
“Unexpectedly, yes.”
“You expected a problem?”
“Of course. That’s the best way to be ready for them.”
Flair walked up behind him. “Always the boy scout, this one is.”
Fran smiled at her. “Any problems, commander?”
“We overheated some relays which will need upgraded, but the big issue is power consumption. The drain on the capacitors is exponentially more than expected.”
“That will affect our max range I am guessing?”
“Badly. We will be lucky to get twenty light-years a jump from a full charge.”
“That is nowhere near the design specs… And how long will it take to charge after each jump?”
“Currently, about ten hours.”
“Well, a fine disaster this is. I assume we can increase our power banks?”
“Well, yes, if we can find the space for them. But pushing all that power is going to tax the system far more than we intended, and we did not design for this level of load. It is exceedingly early in the data collection, but if I understand the engineer’s babble, we will need a major upgrade or we will burn out more than just the relays.”
Fran shook his head angrily. “So what can we achieve? Can we do smaller jumps more often by increasing power generation? Faster we charge, the faster we can jump.”
