x
"The Cochrane Gates, developed at the Columbus Conservatory of Technology by Dr. Zephram Cochrane, constitute a true transfer of physical mass between two loci in space-time using a passage through the Time-Lost Continuum, the greater continuum postulated to be the basic underlying reality of all existence.
"We know two major characteristics of Time-Lost. First, it exists within a point corresponding to each point in our universe, but in that continuum, each is contiguous to every other. Thus all distances in Time-Lost equals approximately two Earth years. Thus, passage through a C-Gate is instantaneous to the transmitted person or object, while outside the Gate two years pass. During the developmental period, these properties were the source of incredible confusion.
"Columbus Conservatory may also take pride in the work done here by Gregg Popovich and Jeremy Grams, work that resulted in producing the device known as Warp Drive. It is these two developments that have made possible star travel as we know it today."
---From Columbus Conservatory Achievements Review Brochure, 59th Edition.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixQ3L3nHya
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjJzVYckxx
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUduTCV3Mtq
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqxHd9yiEC
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOJouBL3tJ
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAa2y5pOMH
The wall behind hit Jacqueline like a runaway drone. Gasping, she looked---up, it was now---some kind of shaft to a ceiling so far above her, it didn't seem real.
Fighting for breath she got her wits back and remembered.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYF9wYrdua
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62hJhGc052
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0lgvZKfu9
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgoW8IaQAlR
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfWzHE9kn0
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJv2igvNw1K
When the woman left, Daddy took Jacqueline down a hall and into a big room where two enormous spheres stood, each with one side hollowed to form a squarish open booth. "You know what these are?"
"The C-Gates?"
He nodded, and pointed to the one with the big "M" scrawled on it. "Cochrane's Mouth. Set your bag at a rear corner and step back out."
"Okay." She did, remembering that the "A" on the other was a slang initial that stood for Cochrane's Ass, which he fiddled at the control console setting before and between the two. Suddenly a burst of flaring, iridescent color hid the booth's interior; When it cleared up, her bag was gone.
"It's working! Come here." He hugged her hard and she hugged him right back as they kissed each other goodbye. "Now look, the timing should be right but it could be off a little. If it's off, you'll be nailed in a 5G field for a while. It won't last long, so don't be scared; just like still, breathe deeply, and wait. The thrust will be toward the rear, so lie snugly against the rear wall. Got that?"
"Got it, Daddy." There wasn't any time for questions, even if she could've thought straight just now. "I'll be waiting for you."
"It could be uncomfortable for a while; I'm sorry, but you'll have to risk it, as it's the only chance we've got." He checked his watch. "It shouldn't be long. As soon as you can, leave the Gate. It'll be 0G then, so keep a hold on something at all times. But don't touch anything that looks like a control switch."
"Don't worry, I won't." She settled in, lying on one side with her back to the rear wall. His hand waved and he started to say something but then the colors bloomed and the wall slammed her.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYb8UWkRZvx
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nV7TfVi0j
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIYpjFr7dM
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1Tu1DRMCO
When Dolores got clean again, with the aid of some high-potency vitamin shots, she started to figure out what was going on. Arthur had got them married because "stepfather" sounded better in the news than "mother's resident stud" did. And she found the tile spray in Jacqueline's room; she just couldn't get Arthur to explain why Jacqueline used it on him.
She had her ideas, though, and now she started to realize how badly, with the dope and all, she'd let things get out of hand. Especially Arthur. She'd had no idea he was a danger to Jacqueline. Well, that was a thing of the past. When she got Jacqueline back, Arthur would damn well leave her alone; Dolores would see to that.
Then again, it might not be that simple......
It took Dolores well into the 2nd day to get WASA to tell her Ben's assignment, and longer to find out where he was. Bolt Park Crewing C-Gate Center: when she did reach Ben on the phone he barely gave her the time of day. But heli-planes would get you there from here if you could afford the fare these days.
Between other calls, while she waited for people to call back, she'd been packing a carry-on; now she phoned for reservations and tickets. It was when she went to give her credit card number that she found out she was holding Jacqueline's.
"Arthur! Gimme your card; mine's gone!" He didn't want to; in fact, he acted like he didn't want her to find Jacqueline. Too bad for her; married or not, she could always walk out.
Except, by now she really couldn't afford to......
Arthur wouldn't know that, though. She got the card.
Then she thought to check on her missing one. The screen told of a rail ticket purchase, to a city not too farside from Bolt Park. "Be goddamned!" She hadn't thing Jacqueline would ever be quite that devious....
And decided Arthur didn't need to know this, either.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YnL9md85r
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfQJA90gOy
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8W2bR4bGQ
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoqFMMCPNg
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RhH1LXL1r
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYG3OTz84ek
Ben spent the next day figuratively looking back over his shoulder. He was unable to focus on the briefings; neither was his social progress anything to win him a gold medal.
Late that evening he had trouble getting to sleep; he kept telling himself that tomorrow would see the end of this, but he reminded himself of the situation he would likely face on Arrowprize.
He dreamed that Arthur Vinson had sold him to Irene Caldwell for a bag of broken eggs and now he had to put them back together. Humpty Dumpty was in there somewhere.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cVKgsB1b6
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFF9KQwkTAv
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDicKAoKb8Q
______423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfPkc0mUYk
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDkCHML6CI
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vSYNXiLr8
Breathe deeply. All right; breathing at all was a lot of work, but she managed. The air wasn't stale and that shocked her until she remembered that only 70 days had passed here, so the ventilating system would have been left running. Whatever, she appreciated the effect.
No point in trying to roll over; all the view was straight up, which was forward in the ship, and the high ceiling was the end of a long corridor.
She couldn't raise her head to any kind of advantage, but hands and arms were something else. To make it easier, first, she snaked her right hand over across to grasp her other wrist, then used the strength of both arms to get her watch up where she could see it. Her vision was blurred, but finally, she made out that she was less than 5 minutes from Bolt Park. Well, plus the two years! Gate lag.
Two years! Two years gone, just like that! She had to believe it because she knew it was true, but still....And the five minutes were more than two hours passing, back on Earth.
But now much longer, minutes or hours or whatever, before someone got this 5G monkey off her chest!423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylecOr3pXF
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2ACEQAqBv
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0iROy9rX5
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhA1GSVBZvF
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKduI1r1AZA
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipc3GyGI19
"No. Don't let her in; she has no business here and I don't want to see her." The call, waking Ben with the news that Dolores Vinson was here to see him and demanding entrance, gave him no time to put strategy or tactics together. Five in the morning, for God's sake! "If she's got a warrant," he overrode the guard's protest, "remind her that this is a National facility and it doesn't mean jack shit here!" Damn!---after he'd sweat it out for nearly 2 days, why did she have to show up now! A few more hours and he'd be safely out of here...
In the background, he could hear Dolores working up to screech mode. "Tell her she's verging on disorderly conduct and this is a National facility."
Christ in space! Even to himself, he sounded lame.
"Look, Mr. Sisko, sir, the director here, Mr. Whorlton, doesn't like there to be any fuss, you know, out in public?" Oh Lord, it would be the One Lobe Brain on duty! And "So if you don't mind I'll just let her come inside and you know best how to take care of it I'm sure."
"Rot in hell! "All right, send her in."
What the hell; for the next two years, Jacqueline didn't in the strictest sense exist!423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUJQi3wbHB
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aVMX6WjTG
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTzqqUc69g
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcetTUabVuR
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkojjLDqCWW
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrkhN1UDwx
Without warning the pressure just stopped; Jacqueline floated free. Fear pulled at her----but after a moment, realizing she felt no sickness from 0G, she drew a full breath and relaxed it in nearly a laugh. Her pulse still raced from the strain of high acceleration, but her breathing was catching up. And now all that heavy weight was gone for keeps. Good enough!
Her relief didn't last long. The slightly concave surface "below" her began a deep hum and vibration, and the whole area made a series of tiny jerks to and fro along the direction of curvature. Meaning that the ship was jiggling in rotation mode concerning its long axis. This went on for some time before the jerks stopped and the hum sank to a subliminal level---she knew it was still there, but she couldn't quite hear it.
Time to get herself in gear. Her watch indicated she'd withstood the 5Gs for more than 10 minutes. Well, she had some aches to prove it! And let's see ----at the Earth end, Daddy had sent her off only 4 hours early, four and a bit. Well, here she was...
The C-Gate booth provided no handholds. She managed to secure her bag with one hand; she used the other to push at the rear wall; the reaction turned her feet towards it, so in a state of quasi-wonderment she touched them to that surface and straightened her knees, propelling herself with alarming speed along the corridor.
When her course angle brought her near one side of it she caught at the far edge of a door frame, jerked to a halt, and paused to get her bearings and ponder what she might next do about the situation.
Quite a lot if she put her mind to it.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ETA9zNgwB
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5SbkzIgK8
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CCFazlLQi
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PPfzhpn17
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHymbvtHRIf
Looking around the little room, Dolores said, "You starship officers don't exactly live at the Waldorf Astoria, do you?"
Ben stared at her, stony-faced. The burr haircut made his ears stick out too much. "It's only temporary."
She thought he wasn't going to say anymore, but suddenly he blurted out, "Jacqueline's not here. I'm sorry."
"Bullshit! Where are you hiding her?"
"I'm not hiding her."
"Well, she must've told you where she was going."
"She didn't."
"You mean you just let her....?"
"You could say that."
"All right, she was here. You've as much as admitted it. When did she leave?"
"The day before yesterday. Sometime after 18 Zulu."
"Damn you, Ben! You know I don't keep time like that."
"Six pee-em. Suppertime."
"Had she eaten?"
"Um---she took something with her."
"To where?"
"I've already told you I don't know where she is."
"Now, why don't I believe you?" His mouth compressed, she knew she'd hurt him but couldn't think how to follow up her advantage. After being delayed, getting bumped, missing a connection, here she was but her mind hadn't quite caught up yet. The bastard wasn't going to talk, and here on his home turf she had no way to force him to.
All right. Eyes narrowed, she pointed her finger and shook it for emphasis. "I'll get a court order. You'll tell me where she is and you'll turn her over to me. I repeat: You will turn her over to me!"
"To you and your child-molesting ex-jock? You'd better change your drug of choice, Dolores. This one's making you psychotic."
"He didn't!" Oh God, I hope not. "Any anyway, I'm her mother. It's my place to take care of her."
She made a firm and decisive nod. "A court order, that's what." And turned to walk away.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4ujLsILPN
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJdX1v06Vd
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbtuG1FaVu
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NNo66LUCM
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgmFei5KIy
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMD9VcmKMP
Recalling the brochure she'd studied, Jacqueline had a pretty good idea of where she was on the ship, and even which way to go, to get where she'd rather be. Which was the living area, the rotating belt that centrifuged a radical acceleration 3/10 of Earth's gravity.
And now that she thought about it, she guessed she knew what the hum and wiggled had been all about. The belt wouldn't have been rotating, putting the strain of 5Gs (or more) of acceleration. No, it would be programmed to rev up as soon as accel ceased, and the process had produced the noise and motion that had alarmed her. Because action produces motion, so tangential Warp Drive trim thrusters would operate to keep the ship itself from rotating in the opposite direction. And they'd have to do it in increments, which was why she'd felt the intermittent jiggles.
If she had it right, the belt should be working now. The trick was to reach it.
It wasn't all that far from here; the C-Gates were located on the deck level that lay about twenty meters out from the ship's axis, just within the belt at 25. The transferring, normal meals of access between the two units, sat at the very front of Arrowprize's cylindrical segment, just behind the conical forward section. That was about 40 meters farther along this corridor.
The decks formed concentric cylinders; this corridor was a longitudinal segment of one. The deck itself, the wider, concave surface, was carpeted with something like Velcro. This included the C-Gate booth. If she had the matching footwear she could walk on it (damn!). Or if somebody hadn't omitted the handlines the brochure had mentioned, she could hand-over-hand her way here in 0G.
But ifs were getting her nowhere. All right; that 1st jump had been a little scary. Let's try it a bit easier...She paused to seat the bag under her right arm, its strap looping across over the shoulder, and pushed off gently. Aiming this time for a shorter jump, to the next doorframe on the other side, she fell short and met the bulkhead a few feet early.
The doors were paired; she shoved laterally and collided gently with one opposite.
Which opened! To stop herself she grabbed the handle.
One look told her she shouldn't be in there. This was Arrowprize's bridge.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgryM3La5Sq
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHQsWRPcH9
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4Je7MVYJf
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi954dhkPTh
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQUiNbBYH7
Too wired to get back to sleep, Sisko washed and dressed. By then it was 6 Zulu! If he piddled a little on the way there'd be at least coffee in the cafeteria, and he could work on that while the first batch of eggs was scrambling.
After one moment he had a better idea; some things needed doing right away. Well, not so much the doing; there were 21 months for that. But the initiating was his baby and here he had just a few hours left.
He punched up his phone's data connection to the Supply office and began ordering a few items. As additional needs came to mind, the list grew; she wasn't going to stay the same size forever. At last, he decided not to push it any further and put END to his onscreen listing.
Being unpaired he'd likely be assigned a room for himself for Destination he typed:
U.W.S.S. ARROWPRIZE
QUARTERS SISKO B.
But specified the cartons to be labeled Sisko, J.
As he let out a deep, relieved breath, another idea came: something that did have to happen now if at all. Changing to a blank cassette he switched the phone onto Record and dictated for several minutes before changing the tapes back. Now using the unit's computer screen he punched for LEGAL, selected a standard form, and filled it out. Then on LOCAL, he typed an explanatory note, ending with an apology for the possible imposition, and printed out both items.
The form needed notarization, with witnesses. Anderson in Legal would be up by now; he'd helped advise Sisko after Jupiter and he could keep his mouth shut. Sisko walked to the digs the man shared with two colleagues. Wholly uninterested, they signed to witness Anderson's official startup.
The mailroom wasn't open yet, but his waist was short. A No. 2 standard container held the cassette and papers handily; he addressed it, sent if off Secure Priority, and went out into the morning sun.
By the time he did get to the canteen, the eggs were not only ready; they were cold. Sisko requested a fresh batch.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwC2tzvArIB
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vKQs1p0Ni
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8D3sw6J2K
Jacqueline was drifting slowly enough to keep hold of the door handle; her legs and body swung past but their inertia didn't pull her free. 0G needed some getting used to; it took a few moments before she realized she could hang there all day and nothing would pull her "down" to the velcroed deck.
By now, though, none of this was scary. Just interesting. For one thing, she wasn't going to have to worry about 0G sickness; her stomach liked the situation just fine. Looking around at various control positions, the consoles and visual displays accented by indicator lights that glowed or flashed or didn't, she realized why Daddy had gone heavy on Don't Touch. There were in this pale green room so many buttons and switches and keys and knobs sticking out all over the place that catching onto a couple by mistake might screw things all up.
Briefly, she wondered why there'd be a matched pair of Cochrane Gate terminals set into the big room's rear wall. Spares or something? Ben would know when he got here...
Oooh-kay; she levered her way out of there but the door got away and hung ajar, unlatched. She could have maneuvered to recover it, but by now she felt urgent about reaching the corridor's far end where (just) maybe she could gain access to the rotating living areas.
Because for one thing, she hadn't peed in two years. All right, less than half an hour, really---but 5Gs do have an effect. And even if she could find the 0G facilities that had to be somewhere in this part of the ship, she hadn't looked carefully at the part of the brochure that gave instructions on how to use them.
Daddy would have enough explaining to do already, without her making any kind of mess here.
So let's move it. The short jump hadn't worked too well; how about a long slow flight all the way? At the far end, there should be some way to stay put.
Optimistically, Jacqueline pushed off, as near to straightforward as she could manage. Twice she had to fend away from side bulkheads with handstrokes that helped pull her along before she came to the end. Then, although the transfer ring doors were right in front of her, there was absolutely nothing to grab. Talk about thoughtless design!
Land softly! As her hands touched, she let her arms buckle to absorb the impact. Partly it worked; Jacqueline bounced back away considerably slower than when she'd approached, and she got enough English on the rebound to send her safely leftward into the cross corridor that circled the ship, up forward here.
That was where she caught one hand onto the wall-mounted coil of the handline that someone should have strong down the corridor to start with, and swung herself to rest against the transverse bulkhead.
Jacqueline grinned. Suddenly it was a whole new ball game.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DYBwoh2OM
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHd38mNjcqW
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOWv3kPChS
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAakj955MO3
µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTBkbPlztl
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEbteDzanV
Why, thought Ben, did his last day on Earth have to be such a hectic mess? Just as he finished with the paperwork and was checking in a last-minute batch of personal gear for outfitting, he was called to the station commander's office. There he found a disgruntled group: the rest of the crew did not appreciate having to run through the mandatory group marriage ceremony all over again, simply because Benjamin L. Sisko hadn't been around for the 1st one.
As far as Ben was concerned they could (should) have skipped the whole thing. But he went through it along with everybody else, though nobody seemed to want to kiss any brides at all.
Now the whole crew assembled formally for the final time before entering the C-Gate. This last briefing looked to be a long one; all the bigwigs seemed determined to mark their places in the sun with fulsome oratory.
Senator Rick Berman, who had coptered in at close to the last minute, made a welcome exception. Before the gathering was seated he'd come around to say hello to the crewmembers individually; to Ben he said, low-voiced: "Everything straightened out?"
"Pretty much, sir. Thanks again."
"Good. Any time I can lend a helping hand...."
Considering what Ben had put in the mail that morning, he hoped the senator meant what he said.
At the podium Berman set a good example; his speech ran short and to the point, ending with "...know you'll do a fine job. And remember: stretching time you'll outlive many of us, hell, all of us. But the agency's commitment to total support will still be there, no matter whose asses are warming the seats."
Director Whorlton could've taken lessons; so could the governor, two generals, and a major contractor's rep. But eventually, the ceremony wound down and the chiefs left, leaving the Indians to the actualities of doing their duties.
C-Gate Coordinator Powell then took the stand. Powell was a competent, amiable woman who bore an unfortunate resemblance to onetime president William H. Taft, including a (somewhat) similar haircut. Also, she cleared her throat constantly. "Uh-um." She looked at her watch. "At 1720, less than 30 minutes from now (uh-um) we will proceed to the C-Gate building, where you will (uh-um) indicate to Arrowprize in order of roster listing."
Right, thought Ben. Colt. himself, Stamets, the drive specialist, Crusher, the chief instrument technician, Sulu, navigation, Tucker, backup pilot, and Uhura, the DM commander, or maybe the other way around; after that, he forgot. And didn't give a shit; he had enough to worry about.
" (Uh-um) We are sure that acceleration will have ended nearly 2 ship's hours before your arrival, so you will have no difficulty getting clear of the (uh-hum) Ass. However, please do that as soon as you can. Departures will be on the ½ hour, allowing slightly over 1 minute between arrivals. This should be sufficient to (uh-um) any chance of an accident."
She paused. " (Uh-ummmm) Any questions?"
There weren't. " (Uh-ummm) In that case we'll adjourn this gathering to the C-Gates. If you haven't changed to the Velcro shoes, please do so now." Ben already had. "And may I recommend that before C-Gating you each make (uh-ummmm) a pit stop? Arriving in 0G, the precaution may stand you in good stead."
Ben was glad he had Jacqueline do the same.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK43D9E40yB
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OTqXTNdke
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHSFfHl9G3
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJEGsCyJrT
Jacqueline took a deep breath; this was going to be tricky. She'd uncoiled enough line to reach across the transverse corridor and well past the wide elevator-type double doors covering entry to the transfer ring. The first coated Stiky-Tite pad already had its clamp lever thrown, to fix it solidly near the line's knotted end. She slid the others back along the line, grouped next to the remaining coil. One was all she needed right now, as the rest would just get in the way.
The trouble was, she had to get across the corridor and along it past the big doors because the control button was on the right-hand side.
What she was looking at was roughly a 40-foot jump and no second chance. Well, not to get it all the way right. Because once you had a Stiky-Tite pad on, it was there forever. Or close to it.....
Too bad it wasn't weight to throw, let alone stable enough to land right side on. As she peeled the plastic coating from the pad's sticky side and spread her grip across the ridged back where the line passed through, she gulped more air.
Then she made her jump.
It was too fast and a little wide; she was still out from the far wall when she floated across past the doors. But she twisted, spun so her legs were out from the wall, and kicked.
With barely inches of reach to spare she slapped the bared Stiky-Tite pad to the bulkhead, several feet past the doors.
And hung on to come to a halt and swing back.
Paydirt!423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAikokIr63
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UQJWyd5cv
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNgVqBg4BP
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KKVKrAUbS
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOHTVjaHWr
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyl0wLn3PfF
Pausing before he stepped into Cochrane's Mouth, J.M. Colt seemed to be searching for an exit line. Finally, he shrugged. "So long, everybody. We'll give it our all; wish us luck." As he moved inside the C-Gate's volume he grinned and waved a ½ salute. Then the flare of iridescence hid his vanishment.
Ben sat sweating. One last ½ hour to go, and he'd be away from Dolores's threats free and clear. Already the wait fingers drum. And fought to ignore fierce causeless itchings.
Finally, Powell spoke to him. "Sisko, Benjamin L. (uh-ummmm) executive officer. Proceed to Gate-in."
Ben made no farewell speech at all; he stepped into position, wiggled his feet to make sure his shoes gripped firmly, waved a hand, and saw the colors take over.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLXPxVrtJV
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcxQXGJ6u1
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Z84hwbIRM
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbx8QzOyWn
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoNv6WSc1c
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeA2BTb6mR1
Draping loose in 0G, the line gave Jacqueline no leverage to reach the single control button beside the transfer ring's doors. If she loosened the clamp and pulled it taut, its path wouldn't be close enough. Even slippery, it afforded her hand-over-hand return to the bracket holding the remaining coil, where she freed more line, enough to let her tag the forward bulkhead on this side of the doors. Grasping the next loose-sliding Stiky-Tite she peeled away its plastic coating, took her grip, made her best guess, and jumped.
She spanged her second pad close to the door and pulled in the slack from the first one, then set the clamp. Now she had a taut line across the doors. People wouldn't want it that way later---but for now, all right.
Hand by hand she moved within reach of the control button; what it did was call the transfer car and open the door. But of course, the car would have been left here at the stationary end, because this was the exit. So if the ring was activated to work at all, by now there shouldn't be any wait.
And there wasn't; smoothly the two door halves parted and moved along their arc to expose the transfer ring's conveyor car; roughly 5 meters wide, 4 meters deep, and 3 meters high, it could handle just about anything anybody could want to move to the rotating residential deck. At the center of the opening, the two-floor levels matched, but the car's curved slightly less, lowering it not quite 2 centimeters at each end.
Jacqueline swung herself into the plain beige interior. The overhead lighting was adequate but not glaring. On the strip of front wall to either side of the doors was placed just one button. She'd expected there'd be one to speed up and match the belt, another to break to rest with the ship's mass, but each of these was merely marked OPERATE. The control circuitry, she decided, would assess its situation and act accordingly.
So she pushed the control before her and released the line to let its tension spring clear. The doors slid shut; she began to drift towards one end and to the deck as both angular and centrifugal acceleration grew by leaps and bounds. None of this was strong or abrupt. That was to be expected, as the brochure said that the rotational accel ran to about 1/20 gee and took less than twenty seconds to get up to belt speed in half a revolution. The belt itself would do a full rev in the same span, which made timing simple: going either way the car could disengage only when its terminal of the belt was directly opposite the stationary one on the ship proper.
A brief surge increased her apparent weight until she stood solidly in what she'd been told was 3/10 gee; it probably was. Both car and ring clicked into solid rendezvous with the belt; the doors reopened. Where she stood, at one side, the outside floor lay about a 1/2 inch lower than the car's---though again the levels matched at the center. Okay, so the car's curvature was a compromise: intermediate between those of the two decks. Coming back the other way, though, you could trip yourself.....
Now she moved outside; after a few seconds, the doors closed. Straight ahead Jacqueline looked along a wide passageway; to either side stretched a ship-circling cross corridor, like the one she'd seen at the 20-meter level.
Out here, though, someone had a little more fun with colors. Mixes of greens, blue-greens, blues, yellows, orange-yellows, reds, shades of gray, all bright and vivid, high in whatever the word was for lots of light in the pigment, in patterns that were mostly abstract but shockingly evocative. The impact might get tiring after a while, Jacqueline thought; the way she felt right now, though, she appreciated it, and would like to meet whoever went wild here.
But this was no time for appreciating décor. What she had to do right now was find Daddy's quarters and stay there until he came for her. But how....?
Frustrated, she turned back to the doors behind her; then she saw the somewhat confusing Deck Plan sheet taped to the wall alongside them. Confusing, because when you draw a cylindrical surface on paper, how do you show that the ends meet?
After a few moments, the scale of the drawing sank in; this curled-up living area was big. But on second thought, maybe not too outsized, at that. A great lot of room, you'd think, for only 20 people, but much of it was taken up with storage, machinery, and probably things Jacqueline hadn't even thought of.
Such as --- now she remembered--- several rooms with barracks-like sleeping arrangements for the 1st reinforcements to the ship's crew, the explorers at their destination. Because the 1st planetside C-Gate couldn't be operational for well over 2 years after Arrowprize reached its intended orbit. (Or could it? Was the space-to-planet shuttle---the Deployment Module---big enough to carry an assembled powered C-Gate, or two of them?)
Looking at the deck map she saw a few other things: a briefing room, lounge, rec room, dining area.....
Quarters, though. Logically they and the other places most used by the crew would be grouped along corridors nearest to the ring access.
Not, though, the passageway directly before her: this, she mentally noted, was devoted to the common rooms. Well, she didn't need to investigate those just yet. The 1st corridor to her right seemed to be what she was looking for. It held six units, three to each side, and the forwardmost pair, numbered 1 and 2, had "CAPT." and "XO" stenciled on them.
Walking tangentially along the curved deck surface she felt unsure of her balance; any time she changed direction a little, inertia or something gave her a sneaky shove slaunchwise. Was the belt running unevenly, or what? She stopped. Nope, everything was smooth. But when she stepped off at an angle, her foot didn't come down exactly where she expected.
Hold it! Jacqueline thought, and then it came to her. Coriolis force, the stuff that made people walk in circles when they couldn't see where they were going and caused water to make a circular swirl when it went down a drain. Vector product of 2 forces, memory told her but refused to supply the equation.
She entered the next fore-and-aft corridor and stood before door 2. Would it open, or did Daddy have the key?
It opened. YAY! In she went, into a largish room. Soft lights came on automatically; Jacqueline looked around to see furniture of slim design in blonde woods and teal or gray-blue-green cushioning in contrast to cream-yellow walls. All fastened down safely to endure the acceleration period, but easy enough to free.
Lined up along the rear wall, also placed with accel in mind, sat a row of miscellaneous cartons. Daddy was going to have a lot of unpacking to do.
What about the rest of the place? The same rear wall was bisected by the entrance to a short hallway; Jacqueline walked back and into it. To the right a door opened into a bedroom. No boxes here, but 2 good-sized chests of drawers---built it, naturally. Also, she discovered, locked. Or rather latched with simple turnbolts; more accel protection.
She opened one; it was packed full of daddy's clothing.
Across the way, two doors. One was a kitchenette and dining nook; again the drawers sat latched, and inside one she found utensils packed so they wouldn't clash around under accel. Whoever set this up thought things out pretty well.
The other door had to be her goal, and, lo and behold, it was! She had to peel restraining tape off the toilet and also from the regulating devices in the tank above it, then open the valve to admit water. Finally, 2 years and 10 light weeks from Earth, she baptized the lavatory.
The washbasin worked right away; no reason its faucets would have other valves as backup. Unbolting drawers she found the hand towels, used one, and then laid out a second.
Now she went back to the living room; curiously she looked at one of the bigger boxes.
And saw it was marked "J. Sisko." Daddy must have.....
But those wrappings required tools, and suddenly Jacqueline felt the onrush of fatigue. Christmas, even out of season, would have to wait.....
In the bedroom, she pulled off her shoes, lay down, and was asleep before she had time to relax.423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6efwcRQbc
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2GZt5WMda
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7hyIpNFMY
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtC6MgQIg8n
423Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWjRTya20c
Ben didn't have the chance to visit Arrowprize in orbit; there just wasn't any time for it. But he'd been aboard Galileo before Earth's second starship lifted out, and was familiar with the area near its bridge. This corridor he saw extending forward of the Ass seemed a little different.
Moving away in that direction, gingerly planting one Velcro sole and then another, J.M. Colt had progressed only a few meters ahead. He showed no intention of looking back, so Sisko said, "Hey! Wait up!"
Colt looked around. His face was devoid of expression, but his posture indicated uncertainty. Surely he'd been in 0G before; what was eating him? In an economical way he'd learned on Jupiter, barely lifting his feet clear of the deck as he slid them alternately forward. Ben came up beside the captain. "Two aboard, fourteen to go, skipper. Should we have a look into control?"
"I guess so. I mean, yes, of course." Visibly Colt pulled up his image. "Let's find out where we stand on vee and distance, how accurate the accel program was. Time ratio...." Standing at the control room door, he frowned. "The door. Should be shut and latched. Sloppy work. Must've banged the hell out of the wall in there when the 5Gs hit."
But when they looked inside they found no mark at all. Ben gazed around the room, its consoles and screens, and indicator banks, to note at the rear the pair of back-to-back C-Gates that would permit Arroprize's crew, at the destination, to pass the 5G decel period safely in Cochrane transit. Beverly Crusher, the latest arrival aboard, peered in to see what they were doing.
The unmarked wall, though. In Ben's head, a sign flashed: Jacqueline was here! "Tell you what, captain. While you folks confirm our navigation data, why don't I go forward and make sure the transfer ring's functioning? Visit the belt, maybe start to unbutton the galley, and put the facilities into operation. Another 20 minutes and we'll have a whole bunch of people wanting to make themselves at home here."
Colt didn't exactly say yes: Ben didn't give him a chance to say now. "Right, skipper. I'll give it the once-over and report by intercom."
As he came out he saw Stamets the bushy-haired drive chief still standing near the Ass, talking with Nyota Uhura. So the DV commander did rate ahead of pilot/navigator Tucker....
Vaguely wondering why nobody had set any kind of boarding agenda, Ben Sisko plodded on forward. He was near the end bulkhead when he noticed the line strung between two Stiky-Tites, crossing the transfer ring doors, and then its origin at the coil on this side of the cross corridor. The line should have been laid out along the corridor back to the Ass; someone had screwed up, there. But this deployment...
It had to be Jacqueline, but where the hell was she? Mulling on the problem he pulled at one of the Stiki-Tites. It had set firmly until someone injected the proper solvent into its central pocket, the thing was here for the duration.
Then Ben saw the unlighted car call button and pushed it. The wait, not quite 20 seconds before the doors opened, confirmed his guess. Knowing his daughter had good sense, he went where she should be and found her there.
ns 15.158.61.18da2
