Zed initiated a deeper scan of the hyperspatial manifold, the jump-drive core. Its condition was paramount for any escape attempt. The emergency exit from hyperspace near the gas giant had subjected the delicate dimensional transition systems to unprecedented stress. Initial post-event diagnostics had shown no immediate failure, but subtle effects could manifest later.
Sensors probed the core’s intricate lattice of superconducting coils and chroniton emitters. Energy signatures appearednominal at the macro level. Zed drilled down, analyzing the harmonic resonance patterns within the matrix containment field.
Baseline resonance frequency:47.82 THz.Current reading:47.81 THz.
A negligible deviation. He adjusted sensor resolution, focusing on localized field stability.
Anomaly detected.
Grid Sector Theta-7 within the core matrix showed a localized fluctuation in subspace field coherence. The variance was minute – 0.003% outside tolerance – but it was oscillating. Frequency: once every 17.4 seconds. Amplitude increasing by 0.0001% per cycle.
Cause analysis.
Cross-referencing stress models from the emergency deceleration profile. Unscheduled exit involved a near-simultaneous collapse of the hyperspace bubble and application of maximum retro-thrust. Temporal shear forces spiked to 142% of design maximum for 0.8 seconds. Simulation indicated a high probability (89.7%) of microscopic fracturing in the crystalline focusing elements within Sector Theta-7.
Consequence projection.
The fluctuation was currently sub-critical. However, under the energy load of initiating a new jump sequence, the fracture points could propagate.
Probability of catastrophic field collapse during jump initiation:18.3%.Probability of a localized containment breach releasing chroniton radiation within Engineering:62.4%in the event of collapse.Fatal exposure radius:8 meters.The drive core would be irreparable.Stranded status:100%.
Required action.
Damaged sector requires recalibration and reinforcement via specialized field harmonizer. No such unit aboardAntilles. Fabrication impossible with available tools and materials.Probability of successful jump to a destination requiring less than 3 light-years displacement:81.9%(current fluctuation levels).Probability for jumps exceeding 25 light-years:54.2%.Risk increased exponentially with distance.
The diagnostic complete, Zed disengaged from the console. The list of critical failures had just grown. Shields, weapons, sensors, structural integrity, and now the jump-drive – the very system that offered their only plausible escape from immediate threats – was compromised.
Mila’s presence was the catalyst for potential conflict, butAntillesitself was becoming the greater liability. Organic crews often prioritized immediate, visible threats. This was a silent one, ticking away in the drive core.
Captain Díaz needed this data immediately. Her decision matrix regarding Mila was now inextricably linked to the ship’s crippled state. Attempting a long-range jump to evade pursuit orreach a potential buyer carried unacceptable risk. Remaining in this system increased detection probability by 5.7% per hour.
Zed initiated locomotion, treads carrying him back towards the corridors where the organic crew argued over ethics and survival. He would locate the captain. The numbers were clear. The countdown had already begun.
CHAPTER 8
Carmen sighedas the heavy mess hall hatch slid shut behind Zed and Mila with a soft, final hiss. The silence that followed was thick, fragile, charged with the tension of a coiled spring.
Then the dam broke.
“Two hundred thousand credits!” Sark blurted, his orange skin flushed, the red fin on his head twitching erratically. “Minimum! Cap, that solveseverything! The fines! Velasco! The stabilizers! Shields that don’t flicker like a dying glow-worm!” His webbed hands slapped the table for emphasis. “We could besafe.”
“Safe?” Letitia roared. “Safe by selling aperson? She’s not cargo, Sark! She has a name! She has a life!”
She hadn’t moved, still rigid in her chair, arms locked across her chest. Her dark eyes burned with an intensity that made Carmen’s headache pulse behind her temples.
“Her cultural framework defines her status as contractual property, Letitia,” Norvik said, his tone academic. “She articulated acceptance of her role. The transaction aligns with her expressed values and provides the capital necessary for theAntilles’s continued operation and our collective survival.
“Emotional objections, while understandable, are counterproductive to optimal group outcome.”
“Counterproductive?” Letitia shoved her chair back, the legs shrieking against the deck plates. She loomed over the table, her tall frame radiating fury. “She said it was herchoice, Norvik! Because her family faced debtor’s camps! Because it was the only way out! That’s not freedom! That’s desperation dressed up as tradition!”
She jabbed a finger towards the hatch.
“She was relieved her family was secure! Doesn’t that tell you anything? She sees herself as a means to an end! That doesn’t make it right for us to treat her like one!”
Sark flinched, shrinking back slightly.
“But shewantsto be sold!” he protested. “She said so! ‘You are free to determine my disposition’! Those were her exact words! Disposition! Like, like spare parts!”
