Davron
The Universe Is Not Enough
A serial
Gary Weston
Davron : The Universe Is Not Enough © 2015 Gary Weston
All rights reserved
Chapter 1
First the good news. They were all alive and had somewhere to go. The bad news turned out to be agreeing where that somewhere was. After leaving Spero, they organized themselves into chores using their individual strengths and abilities. Lieutenant Liz Danders took on the lion's share of piloting the Romulus. Patrick Davron worked with her when asked, otherwise leaving her to feel her way around the ship and her idiosyncrasies.
Sergeant Dale Matlock and Jasmine Belle took an inventory of everything, Matlock particularly fastidious with weapons. A peace had been declared with the aliens, but he wasn't about to take that for granted.
Toby Akrins was in his element. A natural engineer, he spent much of his time coming to grips with all the working parts of the huge ship intended to be a flying temporary home for the people lucky enough to be selected to go to a fresh new planet. So engrossed was he that he was startled when Davron tapped him on the shoulder in the engine room.
'Time for the meeting, Toby.'
'Hmm? Oh. Right.' Akrins placed the tools back in their respective compartments. 'Time flies when we're having fun.'
'You called for the meeting, Toby. The others are waiting in the kitchen.'
Davron led the way out of the massive engine room in the rear underbelly of the ship, through the three holds, two of which were part of the work in progress of Peter Davron to transport the privileged few to their new planet before his son Patrick had stolen the ship.
They passed the accommodation units they were using, into the kitchen area. Belle, Matlock and Danders were seated and Davron poured coffee for himself and Akrins then they sat together for the meeting.
Belle said, 'No Rank. We've come too far for that now. We all have an equal voice. Agreed?'
'It's the only way,' agreed Davron. 'Toby. Care to kick it off?'
After a thoughtful sip of coffee, Akrins said, 'I've already given my opinions. I'll state them again just for the record. We need to go back to Earth.'
'It's just a mess there, Toby,' said Matlock. 'A very ugly mess.'
Akrins said, 'The war is over. The alien attacks are over. We need to rebuild Earth.'
'You heard Axistrim,' said Matlock. 'The Earth is dying. No point going back there.'
'You believe the word of an alien enemy?' snapped Akrins.
'You say the war is over,' said Davron. 'How long for? You really think the human race can stop killing each other?'
Akrins shrugged. 'I'd take a chance on it.'
'You couldn't on your own, Toby,' said Danders. 'We all agree unanimously or not at all.'
Akrins said, 'I thought this was to be a reasoned debate. It seems you've already made up your mind, Liz.'
'I'm open minded, which is more than can be said of you.'
'Hey,' said Davron. 'Toby wants a reasoned debate and we must respect that. We'll go round the table and each say our piece. Liz. Where should we go and why?'
'I say we keep on our present course to the new planet that was due to be colonised. It was the nearest to our solar system with the potential for being our new home.'
'Fair enough. Dale?'
'Same. I'm sick of fighting. Pastures new.'
'Jazz?'
Belle had spent many hours in the quiet room she shared with Davron discussing life together on the new planet. She knew he was asking only to make sure they all had a say in the future and all cards were on the table.
'We can't even get any response from their radios. I think it unlikely the Earth will ever recover. Even if it did, it would be just a matter of time before wars opened up again. I don't want to be a part of that killing machine. I say we forget about Earth.'
Davron said, 'For the record, I wish to go to the new planet. Earth has no attraction for me at all. Sorry, Toby.'
Akrins glared at the others. 'No surprises there, then. All very cosy with you four itching to play happy families.'
'And there we have it,' said Danders. 'Poor lonely Toby nobody loves me, boohoo Akrins.'
Belle reached out and took Akrins' hand. 'I'd want to go to the new planet even if I wasn't with Patrick.'
'Easy for you to say.' Akrins stood up. 'Life was tough enough for me on Earth. I might as well just hurl myself out of the airlock and have done with it.'
Davron tried to see some positive sides. 'A second ship was already being built on Earth. The Remus. Just a shell, but the plans are there and my father's death won't stop it. A few years from now and others will make their way to join us.'
'Peachy. I'll try not to die of old age in the meantime,' said Akrins heading for the exit, as Belle called out.
'Toby...'
Akrins turned, grim faced and shook his head. 'You got want you wanted. You all got what you wanted. I'm very happy for you.' With that he stormed off.
'That went well,' said Belle.
Chapter 2
General Tarmin Burns, Commander of the World Space Authority, didn't even look up when Chief of Technicians Dr Wartina Lariat entered his office.
'World leaders are talking to one another,' said Lariat. 'Makes a change from screaming at each other.'
Burns rubbed his tired brown eyes. 'Is that intended to cheer me up?'
'Not really. Are you ok? Sorry. None of us are.'
'Wartina. If you're after words of encouragement and hope I'm all out. Are the satellites functioning yet?'
Lariat shook her head. 'All dead. I've assembled a crew to put a new satellite up. All ships have either been damaged beyond repair, being repaired or we're struggling to find a decent flight-crew to get them out there. Maybe in a couple of weeks.'
Burns stood up, considered the blank wall of screens and ignored them. 'Why, Wartina? Davron. He's brought the world to its knees. Why not finish us off?'
'Can you be so sure it was Davron, General? The blasts from the Romulus, certainly. We know that for sure. But he couldn't be responsible for those ships attacking us.'
'The hell he wasn't. Nobody on Earth has that kind of technology to attack without being visible. That doesn't mean he hasn't been busy making remote controlled drones with some fiendish new abilities. His father was devious enough to have created something and hidden them on the Romulus without us knowing. Do you have another explanation?'
'No,' admitted, Lariat. 'Maybe you're correct. Davron wanted to teach us a lesson. Perhaps he's had his fun. But more than likely he's low on power. An attack like that can't be sustained forever.'
Burns said, 'Maybe Belle found a way to...' He realised he was grasping at non-existent straws. 'No. You're right, of course. He's low on power. He's given us all a good kicking and now he's gone. That satellite. That's our priority. Get a ship and a crew out there as soon as we can. If the world is talking we need all the communications we can get up and running. Anyone stands in your way let me know.'
Lariat went to the door. 'You think anyone would stand in my way, Tarmin?'
Burns grinned for the first time in a long time. 'Nobody with all their faculties.'
Chapter 3
Belle found Akrins in the engine room, staring at the primary plasma drive engines.
'Are you mentally trying to get more power out of them?'
Still staring at the engines, Akrins said, 'I'm just a joke around here, right?'
Belle squatted on the floor next to him. 'Far from it. We need you. Me on the other hand, not so much. This ship has a chance with you. I'd make no difference.'
'You're the captain.'
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Belle chuckled. 'At best I'm the captain's girlfriend. Think about it. If one of us was going to be thrown out the airlock, I'd be top of the list. Toby. About Earth...'
'Dying. Always has been. Some of us have a harder job accepting it. Don't worry. I'll behave.'
'Anytime you want to talk, come and see me. At least I'd feel useful around here.'
She left Akrins to his brooding and found Davron in a heavy conversation with Danders on the flight-deck.
'We'll keep to this speed, Liz. Just check the course and systems on a regular basis.'
'Problem?' Belle asked.
Danders said, 'This ship has F T L. We could get to our destination in a fraction of the time.'
'Patrick?'
'Faster Than Light speed.'
'I know the term. I also know The Romulus is the only ship we know of that can do it, aliens excluded. Liz does have a point.'
Davron said, 'If she understood all the implications she might. She does not and she hasn't.'
'Hey! What's going on?' Matlock had walked in and automatically became defensive for Danders.
'Nothing to worry about,' said Danders. 'Just a technical discussion.'
Matlock sat next to Danders. 'So discuss.'
Belle said, 'Liz wants to go faster than light. Patrick says no.'
Matlock sighed and said, 'I still have trouble accepting it at all. What I know of physics kinda rules it out.'
'Ruled it out,' corrected Davron. 'Before Dark Matter and Dark Energy became more than just a theory.'
'And that's what we use for F T L?' said Matlock.
'I'd try to explain, but...'
'But what?' said Danders. 'We're too dumb to get it?'
Davron said, 'Yes. Sorry. No. I mean...Look. I can barely explain it myself and I designed the thing that uses it. Trust me. It isn't something to use lightly. The last time we had no choice because we had alien ships trying to wipe us out, remember?'
'Is it dangerous to use?' Belle asked.
Davron struggled for the words. 'It's...unpredictable. Possibly even unstable. Our present speed we'll get us there. Eventually.'
Akrins had finally walked in and joined them. 'Missing out a few details, aren't you, Patrick? Don't you think we should all know the truth?'
Davron felt all eyes burning into him. 'Yes.'
Chapter 4
Davron sat with Muffin on his lap feeding him tit-bits. 'Toby's right. You all should know. The Romulus is an incomplete ship. It was to be fitted with cryogenics for the passengers for the trip to the new planet. It was the only way to carry a lot of people with enough stuff to start a new life. All this to be done by conventional plasma drive engines. The coordinates for the planet are based on sub-F T L speed.'
'And the F T L drive?' asked Akrins.
'An add-on,' explained Davron. 'My father had become obsessed by it. I'd worked with him on turning the theory into something practical. Regardless of our ideological differences, we could still get excited and work together on something new.'
'Had it ever been tried out?' asked Danders. 'Before you took the ship I mean.'
'Only in laboratory computer simulations,' admitted Davron. 'It was a complete surprise to me when I found an actual working F T L drive on this ship. I hadn't realised my father's engineering facility had managed to actually make it work so well as to fit it to a ship. I've only used it three times. The last time with you four.'
'Well, it did save our hides,' said Matlock. 'Oh, crap. I just got it.'
'I knew you'd catch up eventually,' said Akrins. 'Out of interest, what's our estimated time of arrival, Patrick?'
Danders said, 'I have this one. I'd finally worked out the implications when Jazz walked in on us. That's why I was asking about going to F T L. Using plasma drive we'll be taking seven years.'
'Seven point three years, actually,' said Davron. 'Hence the plans for the cryogenics. Even the crew would use it most of the time, with the ship on auto.'
Belle said, 'I did the inventory. With five of us and Muffin, we have enough food for about a year.'
Akrins grinned and said, 'Remember what you said about being thrown out the airlock, Belle?'
'Try it if you're man enough. Patrick. Liz is right about this. The only way to get there alive is with F T L.'
'That's no guarantee, Jazz,' said Davron.
Akrins said, 'And plasma drive is a sure-fire way of ending up dead. Or crazy from being cooped up on here for years. Davron. Why not use the F T L drive?'
'I told you. It's too unstable.'
Akrins poked Davron in the chest. 'If I'm going to die, I damn well wanna know why.'
'It'll take ages to explain.'
Akrins sat in a spare seat. 'That's ok. I'm not going anywhere.'
Belle sat next to Akrins, glaring at Davron. 'None of us are. Spill it, Patrick.'
Davron let Muffin go and the flying chimp took off for another long nap on his blanket.
'You've heard of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, right?'
'Two thirds of the universe is supposed to be made up of it, right?' Belle said.
'At least. It's a natural thing. As common as air and water on Earth. Dark Matter fluctuates. It's all to do with those variations of the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum which my father and I hypothesised could be harnessed through the Dark Energy to generate pathways, splits if you prefer, which effectively give us what we used to refer to as the peashooter effect. By generating a localised split in the Dark Matter, the gravitational force propels a solid body like this ship at phenomenal speeds.'
'Controlled by...?' Matlock dared.
'Control is too absolute a term,' said Davron. 'But basically, simply by calculating the time of flight in the split and turning off the drives at the right second drops a ship in the ballpark. Or at least in the city where the ballpark is. Hopefully.'
'Hopefully?' said Belle. 'And if not in the ballpark?'
'Then we could end up anywhere in the universe. And possibly even further than that.'
'Meaning?' Danders asked.
Davron paused then said, 'In theory we could end up in any number of universes, dimensions, or times. Liz. Still keen to go F T L? Be my guest.'
Chapter 5
The mood became sombre on the Romulus. Things still got done by necessity but the implications and questions brought on by Davron's explanations had dampened their spirits. Belle, who could not deny her feelings for Davron, couldn't help but feel she had been shut out of his life a little by him not confiding in her sooner about the consequences of their situation, having been forced to drag the truth out of him instead. She hadn't moved out of his room but the physical love they shared became restrained and limited to hugs and kisses. This had not gone unnoticed by Davron.
'Still mad at me?'
'Do you blame me?'
Davron studied the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed. 'Not really. I've wanted to tell you all along, but didn't know how. I didn't want to spoil things for everyone by telling you how serious our situation is.'
Belle folded her tunic carefully, with her back to him, then she stood before him naked. Her arms were wrapped around her breasts and belly, not from being cold or any shyness, but instinctively covering up a few of her worse scars.
'You should have trusted us. Trusted me.'
Davron looked up at her; this young woman whose body told the story of a warrior more than any book could ever do. That she was his life and future he could never doubt.
'I let you down. I'm sorry. In my defence I suppose I was hoping to come up with a solution to the problem first. Then I'd have said, hey. We have a problem but it's ok. I have the answer.'
Belle looked at his boyish face, the face she insisted he shaved most days, and felt her disappointment vanish. She sat with him on the bed and kissed his cheek.
'And have you found the answer?'
'No. I keep coming up with the same alternatives. We continue the way we are and somehow find a way to
make one years worth of supplies last seven or find a new planet closer than the one we are heading for we can live on, and before you ask, Spero was it so that's out, or risk going faster than light and try to get to the new planet a lot sooner. By doing that we would have a very real chance of making our situation even worse than it is now.'
Belle kissed him again. 'There are five of us on the problem now. We're all survivors here. We'll find a way.'
'Thanks, Jazz.'
'No more secrets, ok?'
'Never.'
'Then come here and forget everything for now.'
Chapter 6
It was a simple statement by Akrins which shocked them all but at the same time didn't surprise them.
'The monkey should go.'
Davron almost choked on his coffee when he heard that.
Akrins said, 'Face it. The damn critter eats almost as much as one of us. Don't look at me like that. He's a damn monkey.'
As if he understood, Muffin threw a banana peel at Akrins which hit him in the face.
Davron said, 'For the record, Muffin is not a monkey. Monkeys have tails. He's a great ape, from which we evolved.'
'Ape or monkey, so what?' said Akrins wiping his face as he glared at Muffin. 'He's not a human being but an animal. If it bothers you, I'll damn well do it. I'll get rid of him.'
Davron stroked Muffin's head. 'Toby's right. It would help with the supplies.'
Belle knew how much Davron loved the little winged primate. 'He is not right. Losing Muffin or any one of us wouldn't make enough of a difference. There still wouldn't be enough supplies for all of us to make it.'
'Hmm. Trust you to say that,' snorted Akrins.
Matlock said, 'Pull your head in, Akrins. Jazz is just being logical. Killing Muffin wouldn't save us. I'd do it myself if I thought it would.'
As if he agreed, Muffin hurled a spoon at Akrins then blew a raspberry at him.
'Don't mess with me, you damn ape,' snapped Akrins. He leaned back in his chair. 'Ok. But I'm not prepared to live out my last year only to starve to death at the end of it. You want logic? There's only one logical thing to do. Hit the go faster button. We do nothing then the conclusion is inevitable. Going faster then light gives us a chance of at least ending up somewhere.'