Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
Fool’s Quest
“I know it’s out here.” The white bearded man said, looking out the cockpit windows into the black void. They were flying through a dust lane so thick that not a single star could be seen through it. He rubbed his hairy chin in irritation.
“You’ve said that before.” Kyle said, smirking at Hobbs. Kyle had a dark complexion with wavy hair as black as space. His dark blue eyes twinkled with humor.
“This is the thickest cloud we found so far.” Hobbs added.
“Well,” Kyle responded, amazed at how excited Hobbs always got in a situation like this. “I’ll admit this does fit within your story better than the other places we’ve checked.” They have found traces of gold, titanium and other rare earths in this dust cloud, just as the story said, but not enough to make a profit if they were to collect it.
When Kyle was a kid, he was sent to the Czarian Naval Academy. He was expected to become a naval officer like his father. Kyle hated the navy. They were responsible for killing his mother and many other innocent civilians. He learned the whole episode was to just take out one traitorous captain. He never forgave them for that. It was one of many incidents that Kyle had learned about. Nor could he understand how his father or brothers could remain loyal to the Czar.
Kyle intentionally failed out of the academy his senior year. He couldn’t bear the thought of serving the authority he hated. He thought he would be sent to a labor camp on a faraway planet. Instead, his father intervened and stripped Kyle of the family name, gave him money to disappear and told never to show his face again. This was done to save the family name.
The first couple years Kyle roamed from one planet to another, working small jobs to keep from depleting his cash. Kyle came across Hobbs in a port bar one day. The white bearded man was looking for a partner. He needed money to repair his ore freighter. Hobbs promised huge returns, telling a story how his friend had returned with a cargo hold full of precious metals and gold dust. The man disappeared after refusing to tell the authorities where he had gotten it. Hobbs claimed he could find it.
Kyle didn’t care about getting rich, he had already been that. It couldn’t buy him happiness, but the opportunity did intrigue him. Privately owned interstellar ships in the Czarian Empire were rare. The freighter was a good place to get lost. No telling where Hobbs would take him. He bought into the business with the last of his father’s money. He joined Hobbs in his quest. He didn’t care if they ever found the old fool’s gold.
Kyle expected this trip to be like all the others, a dry run. They would settle for poor quality ore and earn just enough money to make ends meet; to Kyle, a successful run. The ship was far better than a labor camp. It was away from his family and offered minimal contact with the lying Czarian government.
Suddenly the ship broke clear of the dust cloud to reveal two dim stars out the cockpit windows. A faint nebula filled the skies beyond those stars.
“Two stars, just as old Pike had said!” the old man exclaimed.
“We could go back to the Sagittarius dust lanes.” Kyle jested, his dark blue eyes sparkling again. They had already checked that area out and didn’t find what they were looking for. It did guarantee low grade uranium, but not in a quantity that made it very profitable.
Hobbs glared at Kyle for a moment then gave him a lopsided grin. He turned to his instruments. “The closest appears to be a common red dwarf.”
Kyle scanned the rest of the sky knowing his friend was focusing on the two stars. “Looks like we are in a cul-de-sac or a bubble of clear space. It must be caused by the solar wind of those two stars. We are still completely surrounded by dust clouds and ionized gases.” They were nowhere near the center of any of the super nova that had caused all this dust and debris.
“Ha! That explains why Pike’s stars had never showed up on any survey maps.” The old man said.
Without asking, Kyle turned the ship toward the two stars. At least this trip would be more interesting than the others. “Take a look at the flux detector.” Kyle advised. “There are three gravity wells out there, not two.”
“So there is.” Hobbs said a moment later, playing with the white hairs on his chin.
“I don’t recall you ever mentioning that in Pike’s story.”
“I always had the feeling he was leaving something out!”
Kyle smirked at the old man. “Apparently he had left out a lot.”
Hobbs answered only with a grunt.
Kyle turned an optical sensor on the third gravity well and magnified it. Something was there alright, for it glowed faintly. “It must be a brown dwarf.” He said.
“We’ll check it first!” Hobbs replied.
They watched the monitor as they approached the object. It slowly grew in size and took on an oval shape. Kyle was beginning to wonder if it really was a dwarf star. Brown dwarfs were considered large gas giants or extremely small stars. This object did emit visible light, but he couldn’t account for the oval shape, unless it was a young star engulfed by a dust cloud. “It has an odd spectral signature.” Kyle admitted, not believing his instruments. He knew it would please his partner greatly. “I’m registering gold and other precious metals.”
“Told you!” Hobbs declared.
Kyle now believed it was a star enshrouded in a dust cloud. They would not know for sure until they got closer. The ore hauler simply didn’t have that good of instrumentation. Military ships could have told them at this distance.
Once they were close enough, Kyle’s mouth dropped open at the sight on his screen. He had never seen anything like it, a dense ring, not a dust cloud, wrapped around the faint star. The rings reflected bands of gold in various brightness and texture. It was the most beautiful celestial object he had ever seen. He couldn’t wait to see it with his own eyes!
“It’s rings of gold!” The old man held his chest as if he were having a heart attack.
“That’s some wedding ring.” Kyle jested, hoping humor would settle down his partner.
“No woman is worth that!” Hobbs stated, pointing to his screen with the hand that had held his chest.
Kyle would give it all away to get his mother back. He knew better than to argue that point with Hobbs. He then said out loud, “Not just gold. It appears the dwarf’s gravity well has captured several different elements. Their orbits are dependent on their physical size and mass. The particles in the rings range from the microscopic level to rings with large nuggets.”
“It’s a celestial sifter!” The old man concluded.
“The material must have come from one of the stars that went nova in the area.” Kyle speculated. “The rings do align properly for that to be the case.” He watched his screens as he went through several calculations. Though he failed out of the academy, he had learned all they had taught. “The orientation of the rings suggests the gravity wells of the other two stars had played a role in their formation too.”
“Stop rambling.” The old man said. “I don’t care how. I’m just glad old Pike was telling the truth.”
“I thought that wasn’t in question.” Kyle rebutted with a smile and twinkle in his deep blue eyes.
Hobbs mumbled something under his breath, hiding a smile behind his white beard. “Just get us there so we can fill our hold.”