CHAPTER 3
"You did what?" Vladnitz thundered, using every kilo of his large mass for intimidation.
"It was my watch and I didn't want to wake you, so I decided to see if I could spot what was causing the error in our sensors," Solo paled, but he stood his ground. He was reasonably sure the Captain had been in a drunken stupor at the time, not that he was going to mention that. Instead he focused on what appeared to be a new stain on the dirty coveralls the Captain habitually wore. Instant barbeque sauce, he was betting.
"So, the damn sensors are on the flink again," Vladnitz growled.
"No, sir, if I aim it more than ten degrees away from the anomaly, then it returns to normal energy density. This one spot, it is less than that baseline."
Qing's eyebrows shot up. "So you're suggesting a negative energy density?"
"Negative energy density, negative mass, right now I'm not suggesting anything. I just wanted to triangulate it to estimate how big it is and how far away. Besides, it's not going to increase the time it takes us to get back to the elliptic by more than a few days, a week at most. After all, we've been striking out on just about everything else we've tried in the last year, what's another few days? Sir," Solo's mouth twisted in what he probably thought was an ingratiating smile. A smile that Vladnitz would have punched, if not for Qing Zhu's restraining hand.
"The conniving little bastard thinks he's smarter than me, that's why," Boris complained to Horst as they shared a bottle in the Captain's cabin. It spoke to his anger that Boris drank the artificial concoction without flinching.
"Whether he is or not doesn't matter. Attacking him would." Horst refilled their cups.
"Sure, you would know, wouldn't you?"
"I'll pretend I did not hear that, Boris Stepanovich Vladnitz."
"Leave my father out of this," Boris complained half-heartedly about his middle name, a legacy of his father. "I'm sure the little weasel is just trying to position himself for a position on a better ship. You didn't tell him our finances, did you?"
Horst shook his head and Boris did not believe him for a second.
"Not that it would be that tough to figure out," Boris admitted. "The question is what do we do now?"
Horst smiled. "How about going along with the 'little weasel?' If it's nothing, we can write him up and there's no way he gets a position on another ship. If it is something, well, we could certainly use a break, right?"
Boris clinked cups with the purser. "That's what I like about you, Horst."
"I know, I know, I'm damn good at stabbing people in the back."
Sean Franklin was the first to explode at Abasolo Cesar. "Like we needed to spend another week out here. We're practically halfway to the Oort Cloud already."
"Come on, get real. That's what, 400 times further out? You're exaggerating," Solo snorted.
"You want reality, you grinning idiot? Reality is I was supposed to meet my wife back on Haumea during our leave there. Our two-week leave. It's been almost a year since I last saw her. Now I will get to see her for a couple of days at most, if we don't have any further delays!"
Horst Schroder opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again at the Captain's slight head shake.
"So what is this negative energy density?" Ernie asked, too quickly.
"Could be an Einstein-Rosen Bridge," Solo shrugged.
"A what?" Sean frowned.
"A wormhole," Vladnitz said, one finger tapping his lower lip.
"A wormhole," Ernie breathed. "We'll be famous."
"We'll be disappointed," Qing said. "Do you know how long wildcatters have been looking for a wormhole?"
"At least since the start of the Space Age," Horst muttered.
"It's more likely some weird stuff left over from the birth of the solar system," Qing pointed out.
"Or even more likely it could just be drifting through the neighborhood. Some crazy dwarf star or something. Nothing much out here for it to run into," Vladnitz corrected.
"Wait, if it is negative energy, shouldn't there be an even bigger amount of positive energy associated with it? We haven't spotted that, have we?" Ernie asked. The others all turned to look at her. "I-I read it in the tech notes for my favorite holo show when I was growing up, 'Space Patrol: Arcturus,'" she blushed a crimson as brilliant as the show's namesake star.
Qing nodded. "I recall hearing something similar, although perhaps from a different source."
"We don't even know how much negative mass is there, not until I recalibrate the sensors. They're designed to detect something, not the absence of something. It was amazing I figured out how to detect this as it was," Solo said in his best humble voice. "Just being honest," he added to the less-than-friendly looks.
"We should be in for a good-sized finder's fee," Ernie changed the topic. "I mean, look how much they paid the Laredo when they discovered that last trans-Neptunian object, that minor planet, a few decades back."
"Or that weird comet with the metallic core. What, maybe three years ago? This could be worth a lot more," Qing pointed out.
"How would we claim it if it is just passing through. It's not like we can brand it and send it back to Haumea like one of our usual rocks." Horst mused.
"No. If the object is made up of negative mass and we try grabbing it, applying any force, it will just go the opposite direction," Vladnitz nodded as he thought out loud.
"Well, maybe we could slow it down and poke it back toward the elliptic," Solo said.
"Right and what if it hits something else on the way in?" Qing pointed out. "Nobody's really sure what will happen."
"I guess we'll find out," Solo smirked.
"If we don't die of malnutrition first," Vladnitz grumbled.
"Or worse," Sean muttered, glaring at Solo.