Hello again. Sorry I haven't posted as much as I thought I would but the re-write got really heavy for a while (a few chapters have almost doubled in length). The next few are mainly to move the story along to the exciting bit near the end, so I hope it isn't too much of a slog (lots of birds in the first paragraph though).
Chapter 38
Surprises For Everyone Please Barman.
Nobody in the conference room noticed, but feathers were flying only a few seconds after Sarah's announcement about the Asteroid Belt. The Barn Owl of Slow Realisation gave way to the Wood Duck of Curiosity while the Goshawk of Upheaval tried to take over the room. One poor engineer succumb to the Pilgrim Goose of Uncontrollable Laughter, but soon gave over to the Grass Finch of Embarrassment when he realised he was on his own. The Ibis of Doubt tried in vain to gain some ground, but the afore mentioned Wood Duck of Curiosity had been a strong ally of Structural Engineers ever since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
The visitors in the dining room only had to contend with the Storm Petrel of Mild Surprise because the full impact of the new direction did not mean much to them. And so they all continued to watch while they ate, as Sarah called on some of the various people she had consulted with during her self-imposed exile. Over the next hour and a half, the basic outlines of ideas and plans for new styles of construction robots were displayed and discussed until Sarah called the meeting to an unofficial end.
"I'd like all teams to discuss amongst themselves what aspects they can best assist with and send reports to me over the next week. Outline the amount of resources and floor space you'll need and we'll work out an initial priority schedule; thank you."
Sarah stepped down from the podium and the screen went blank; only a few seconds later, Calla was all ready to move on.
"Is it okay if I take Doom to see the ship now? Willow should be headed back and we can catch a lift from her."
"Well... okay" Maynard agreed "I want to see Professor Adisa about this new plan anyway; but be back by sunset... and Emerson is in charge, understand?"
"No worries Dad" Calla grinned.
Maynard was starting to feel accustomed to the Railgun complex and now felt quite content to let his kids move around on their own, as long as he knew roughly where they were. Their guide let Emerson take the electric buggy and with only a few stops to ask for directions, they made their way to the outer warehouse in less than twenty minutes. Peter and Willow turned up a short time later and soon they were all on their way up the ramp.
"So what did you think of Sarah's idea?" Emerson asked the two in the front seat.
"We've got some work ahead of us" Peter noted.
"Yeah and I'll bet Blue is already working on a plan when we get back" Willow smiled.
"Oh come on" Calla sighed "What could he possibly come up with?"
"When Blue was your age Calla, he was working with my guys on a replacement truss unit for the MTV. Amos made a comment about the strength of the design being perfect for a space elevator if a strong enough material ever existed."
"What's a space elevator?" Emerson asked.
"In theory, it is said to be possible to string a cable from the surface of the Earth into outer space" Peter informed the back seat passengers "If it could be done, people and equipment could ride into orbit inside an elevator, doing away with the need for rockets and railguns. The only problem is it would be so massive and under such great stress, it would need to be built out of a material far stronger than anything in existence today."
"Blue came up with an interesting idea though" Willow told them "He speculated the possibility of using the same design on an large asteroid or even a dwarf planet. Then we could lift what we mine into space for collection, without having to land."
"He came up with an idea like that?" Emerson gasped.
"It gets better" Willow continued "Blue speculated we could turn an asteroid about one or two kilometres in diameter into a space colony by placing two habitats on opposite sides, on the equator and then lifting them up about ten meters at a time and attaching one of the truss units underneath. The gravity on such a small body would be so slight, it would not take much force to lift them up. When the habitats were lifted high enough, the centrifugal force of the slowly spinning asteroid would overcome the direct gravitational force holding habitats down."
"And I assume you would run one of these space elevators up and down the truss?" Doom asked.
"That was Blues plan; and the artificial centrifugal gravity created by the turning asteroid could be adjusted by changing the distance between the surface and the habitat; the longer the truss section, the stronger the gravity."
"So if you got the distance just right, the gravity would be the same as it is here" Doom smiled "Wow; this kid's pretty smart."
"I taught him everything I know" Willow boasted.
"And that is why you have so little left" Peter smirked.
Willow may have been driving, but she still tried to thump Peter in the arm.
"So what do you think of him now Calla?" Doom asked as she dug Calla with her elbow "I get the feeling you like him; hint hint."
"Hell no!" Calla protested "He's alright but he can be a real know-it-all; very annoying."
"He thinks Calla is cute" Emerson smirked and he too got a punch for his trouble.
As the vehicle made its way west, Maynard and Reed managed to catch up with Linton and Sarah in the new leader's office (formally the old leader's office).
"That was quite an interesting talk you just gave" Maynard said as Sarah blushed a little.
"You implied this is a completely new direction for you" Reed Branson noted "but everyone seems to be... how can I put this... instantly on top of the situation?"
"We haven't been sitting around doing nothing for the last fifteen years" Sarah grinned. "We've considered the possibilities of every piece of rock and ice in the entire Solar System and I decided, after Mars the standout location was the Asteroid Belt."
"But isn't it bad enough here with all the meteors falling down on us?" Maynard Linwood noted. "We'd get smashed to pieces out there."
"Contrary to popular belief and science fiction films, Asteroids do not usually spin around each other in close proximity, colliding and shattering into lethal lumps of rocky destruction. They are so far apart, if you were standing on an asteroid in the belt, you probably wouldn't be able to see another one without a good telescope."
"I'm sorry but I for one just don't understand how any of this is possible; I was finding it hard enough to consider going to Mars; at least Mars is a planet" Maynard said to general agreement from Reed.
"Don't worry about it too much for now" Sarah reassured them "I promise you will know how we'll do it and what to expect, long before the launch of the first of the construction robots and years before the first person is launched."
"How many years are we talking about here?" Maynard asked.
"Construction robots in six months to a year and people in five to ten maybe; to be honest we haven't done a schedule yet but I promise to give one of those too."
"I will hold you to both those promises" Reed declared sternly "Many of the people from the fleet have already decided to stay here but some of us still are not sure if it's a good idea to give up on Europe until we're sure what's up there."
"If you decide to go Captain, there's no reason why you can't come back later" Sarah offered "I for one would welcome any information you could provide on what you found."
"Hmm... I hadn't thought about it like that before" Reed pondered "I'd always assumed it was an all or nothing deal; I'll get back to you."
Maynard and Reed soon departed and with another heavy discussion over for now, Sarah collapsed just as heavily onto the couch.
"You did very well" Linton smiled "I knew I'd made the right decision choosing you to succeed me."
"Sorry Professor but you are not my favourite person right now" she sighed.
"Quite understandable" Linton chuckled to himself.
"Wow... that would have to be the second biggest ship I've ever seen" Harriet Doom declared.
"You've seen a bigger one?" Calla asked in surprise.
"It's a joke Squirt" Doom answered as she gave Calla a noogie on the head, but not too hard.
The vehicle drove down the beach and up the ramp where Sid and Jeana were guiding a shipping container onto the back of an articulated truck.
"You all heard Sarah's announcement?" Willow asked as she alighted from the parked vehicle.
"Yeah we did" Jeana replied "Blue is already going through the list of known asteroids, looking for a viable candidate for his Counterbalanced Station idea."
"HA!" Willow cried out "I knew it."
"I see we've got another visitor" Sid noted.
"Hey; I'm Doom" she waved.
"Are you a new resident or just checking us out?" Jeana asked.
"Neither really" Harriet Doom replied "I haven't decided to stay yet, but it's not up to me to pass judgment on you. I'm just going wherever the wind takes me; which is usually where Calla pushes me."
"Fair enough" Jeana nodded "I hope you like what you find."
What they did find was a surprise to all three of the young visitors. Peter Moke led them up the internal starboard stairway at the bow of the ship and when they reached the top, they could not believe their eyes were showing them. Most of the fleets smaller ships and yachts were now up on the deck of the ship and as they walked back to the cabins at the stern, they witnessed the gantry crane lowering one of the larger tug boats into position amongst the yachts.
"Why are our boats up here?" Emerson gasped.
"Two reasons" Peter replied "It's easier to work on them in dry dock and they're safe if another tsunami hits."
"Does Dad know the Star Runner is up here too?" Calla asked suspiciously.
"I don't think so" Peter admitted "But Sid and Amos said he asked them to replace the rigging and besides, it would only take about half an hour to get it back in the water if your Dad wanted it there."
The last time Calla and Emerson had been on the ship, they had been impressed by the work done to clean out all the rubbish inside but this time, they had to contend with clouds of mist and steam. A small team of Railgun Complex staff were halfway through cleaning out the entire superstructure of the ship with high pressure water and steam cleaners. Peter took them through a section that wasn't too wet, and as they climbed up towards the bridge, they found other groups painting, repairing windows and fitting out cabins.
"We've got so much work to do here with the cargo" Peter explained "it's easier to turn the ship into another home rather than drive back to the complex every day."
"When Blue first said he was moving down here, I thought he'd be living rough" Calla sniffed.
When they arrived on the bridge, the Linwoods noticed all the document sorting activities, had now become data processing as information was typed into tablets and laptops.
"This is where we spent our first night here on the ship, camped out in the Captain's cabin" Calla informed Doom "and if you'll follow me, I'll show you where I was when news of the tsunami came through."
Emerson had not noticed when it had happened, but Calla appeared to have taken over the task of deciding where to go and what to do.
As she led Doom through the ship, Blue was learning a few interesting things from the Book of Dragons. He had decided to give Maximilian DeGroot some of the time the strange man desired to talk about the mythical beasts. After an hour or so of looking at pictures of Gronckles and Razorwhips, along with information about the dietary needs of the domesticated Nadder, Blue thought the time had come to make a deal.
"When I first met you Mr. DeGroot, I must admit I did not know what to make of you."
"Y-yes I'm sorry about the way I acted back then... I was just so excited to have found you at last; I always knew I would someday" the man explained.
"Well I am glad you have calmed down since then and I want you to know I am very grateful for the information you've brought us about my mother, but now I have a big favour to ask of you" Blue stated.
"Oh anything for the Heir of the Dragon Riders" DeGroot smiled in an eager way that still made Blue a little nervous.
"Good... thank you; you may not like it but it is very important to me" Blue took a deep breath "My friends Doctor Spencer and Professor Adisa have asked me to consider training the people from your fleet, for a future life in space."
"I see... but I don't know how I could help you" DeGroot was a little confused.
"You may remember the Professor said he wanted your help in tracking down where you found your records... about my mother and her leaving for Mars."
"Yes but you were going to go too" DeGroot said.
"But if I stay behind to help train others..."
"Oh no no no no!" DeGroot realised what Blue was saying "If you're staying here, then so am I."
"Now wait until you hear my offer" Blue stated "I'm not completely sure whether any of this dragon stuff is true or just legend but if you agree to help my friends, I will make time for you every day so you can teach me all about the history of the Dragon Riders."
"But how long will I have before they leave?" DeGroot asked.
"I'm not sure but it will be many weeks; I will organise quarters for you near to my own and I'll ask Captain Branson to leave you alone while you're here."
"And I can teach you about the Dragon Riders every day?" DeGroot checked.
"An hour each and every day" Blue smiled.
"And if I don't agree?"
"With all I have to do, it will be very inconvenient for me to make time for you every day but if you help my friends, I promise I will; if you don't help them, I have no reason to make the effort do I?"
"I suppose you don't" DeGroot reluctantly agreed.
Emerson wished Calla would find a good spot and stop for a while, but he knew his sister would want to keep showing off all she had seen and done. The young girl only took one wrong turn on her way out to the stern, so they were soon walking out onto the shaded area underneath the Helipad. Calla was surprised to find the place was not as deserted as she had expected; Blue was sitting at a small table with Maximilian DeGroot where the two were discussing of all things, dragons.
"I don't know the plural for 'neck' so I'm not sure if the Zippleback had a neck for each head, or two heads on the one neck" DeGroot explained.
"What on Earth are you reading?" Calla asked about the ancient book with the odd writing.
"It's called the Book of Dragons and it was written by a Viking named Bork the Bold; there also notes in it written by..."
Blue looked intently at the strange scratch marks but he had no yet become fluent in reading runes.
"Err... is it Walking Fish or Fish Walker?" Blue pondered.
"It says Fishlegs" DeGroot corrected him.
"Weird name for a Viking" Calla sniffed "and if you bothered to look at the drawing in the book, you'd see the two headed dragon only has one neck."
"Look closer though" Blue held the book up "The ridges along the back of the neck seem to be holding it all together and you can see there is a separation behind the heads that suggests..."
"Don't bother" Calla dismissed him "I'm not interested in your book of fairytales."
"But I am" Doom eyes widened "Those are some of the coolest looking creatures I've ever seen."
"Err... thanks; and you are?"
"Call me Doom" the young lady held out her hand; it took Blue a few seconds before he realised and reciprocated.
"Hello I'm err... I'm Blue."
"Wow Calla; you didn't tell me he was such a babe" Harriet Doom smiled.
"WHAT?" Calla and Emerson both declared simultaneously.
He he he; now Emerson has an unexpected rival.
Sometimes it's fun to be evil.