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Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - Interlude - Investment & Commitments


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"Actually, I think we should stick around Tokyo. I remembered I have a few things I gotta do after we're done."

Kamiko scratches her head. "Just some things we gotta talk about, okay? Now I gotta get lunch done here for Sonja."

Her tone seemed slightly off suddenly. But more as if she was distracted.

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Star smiled as everyone began making moves to head out. She nodded to Kami over Tokyo saying "No problem. We should try that new curry-burger joint they are talking about on N!-Nihon ...and as she talked gave Sonja a little hair tussel and hug.

"Well, everyone have a great day ... I will see each of you very soon. Right now, I have to get these precious memories back to my other selves. Most of them are involved with some pretty heavy experiments today. Had to build some custom scanners for my prime self ... getting a better look at my quantum biology. Today, the trick has been calibrating them ... and maybe even going back to the drawing board for a few hours. They are refinements of conventional med-scanners, but still pretty cutting edge tech."

"Sensei. My self, the one who is getting the physical, would much rather be here ... but she will love the lesson I am sure."

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"Star, just be careful... Life's become more interesting for all of us and we are getting in pretty deep overall. I think our talk about things could get my concerns on the table and you can get yours out in regards to us, what we are doing, and where we wish to go."

"There's nothing really wrong, just... Just we should get things sorted is what I'm trying to get at. To get our gameplan for the future together."

"And... maybe try to enjoy ourselves in the process?"

She guides Sonja into the home. "Goodbye... and good luck."

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"Wow... Did I just hear that... From Miss Shakespeare?"

She smiles. "There's hope yet."

"Well, Star, I look forward to our meeting the day after tomorrow then. You'll get the GPS coordinates from Kamiko tomorrow during your meeting. I hope our session will be highly productive."

"I and Dan... got a lot to talk about. We should... also discuss GNS. See where someone like Me could fit in."

"In any case, have a fun trip home."

"We'll be swanning off in a warp to my place shortly."

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Location: Kinshasa

Evo grinned, as Star talked about her different way of thinking. "Clones. Excellent for a hard-working minister, yes? As for me," he divulged, "you might say I have a different way of living. Literally. Post-eruption, the doctors who examined me actually questioned if they were looking at a human's innards anymore. One of them did, at least. My body is not only completely mind-boggling in the organs and multiples thereof, but in chemical fluids too. Not even counting how simple it is for me to shapeshift and/or much more smaller changes. It's my specialty."

His fingers began to drum on the table... and at a rate so quick that Star could not see them move, but know the constant thrum bump of his fingers. "That and being tough as nails and-" He paused and with difficulty slowed down his fingers. "Sorry. The other thing being inhumanly fast. Sometimes sitting still gets eternally slow as molasses."

"I become frustrated with certain individual people and situations sometimes too. Those people see me as a child, a human child. When I can best them in almost anything they do. This situation applies to alot of novas too, but I realize it is their limitation as individuals. If I am working with someone - a specific individual for example, like a few of the people at the Den who I have had this specific problem with ... who choose to under utilize my resources because they think themselves more able ... it can be a problem. I usually just smile and nod, and do it better despite them. I don't like having to send people away with their tales between their legs though ... unproductive. Plus dressing people down rarely works ... except in certain military situations where the social context is different."

"Sometimes out numbering people works for me as a social tactic. Usually snaps their minds out of idiocy when they see three or four of me staring them down."

"But we do the best we can, and can do no more ... I am a shiftier too. Not as practiced as you I'll wager, but we should train together. Shifting is fun."

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"Mhmm, you bet it is." Evo paused for a minute at her words, and nodded with a smile. "As for what you said, Ein wouldn't have given you the job if he thought someone else could do better. I have no doubt you know what you'll be talking about on the job. Fact of the matter, give me the spiel in your own words? What's this program going to look like?"

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"Indeed. Though I do not claim supremacy in any field, I can safely say that I am in the top percentile when it comes to most of what I do on a regular basis. Part of what I meant though, is that certain people have preconceptions ... you, most of the staff, and the King are not those people I referred to. Even then, it is often innocent ... people look at me and judge. Its how humans and most novas are wired to work ... we make snap decisions because thinking every last thing through would be no way to live. They see child, and think child ... it is not malicious on their part. The same neural response that allows us to see a tiger running at us and quickly think 'dangerous tiger' so we are able to then take steps to evade said tiger attack."

"It will be a factor in how I run the ministry though. I don't want staff questioning me ... I want them questioning the logic and reason of what I communicate. Questions are how logic and reason grow stronger ... and if I am in error, I don't want 'yes men' ....or women."

"Do you want the short, medium or long version of the plan?"

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Evo thought for a moment, and then he started audibly sniffing for a moment. They had already ordered, and his superhuman levels of perception- the nose specifically in this case- could tell that the nova-size beer-glazed steak dinner for him was already sizzling and nearly cooked. Star's schnitzel mashed with sauerkraut (and a bowl of habanero peppers on the side) was approaching the well-done quality. "I believe our food is almost ready, but not quite... I'll pick Medium."

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"OK .... medium will take about an two. But we can eat while we talk. Please ask questions if you have them ...." She said, the peppers arriving early and her taking the malt vinegar on the table, along with the mustard, and coating them in it. Then she took the sugar and started stirring it in. "Delicious ... try some."

Unkonw to Evo, Star was pregnant ... but certainly that combo did not seem appetizing.

She started up the holographic globe and gave a slightly longer version of the presentation she had given Ein. Industrial sectors of the congo use existing technology to enable living and working in space. Free distributions of designs to firms that could not afford the engineering talent, but could then enter the market. Cooperation with GNS and numerous Japanese interests though existing trade-treaty frameworks. Projections, graphs, but all very straight forward ... very easy to follow in its elegance and practicality.

Demographics for warpers - there were more than enough - rail launchers to allow cramming more stuff through warp gates in less time .... space truck convoys designed to fit warps ... heavy equipment, and lots and lots of welded steel. Also though, the economics were sound. Tactics to mitigation inflation, to avoid saturation of markets, to over overheating the economy or creating trade imbalances. Feasible measures to grow the new sectors, space medicine provisions for health insurance, effects on pensions and long term operation ...

Fifteen minutes in, Evo could see that this was just the tip of the icebreg - a very general overview. Star must have worked for years to amass this level of planning. Everything was already in document format too ... videos ready for marketing or training, proposals and RFPs that would fit right into the royal bureaucratic infrastructure. Everything was utterly professional.

Star paused "So, we are about a fifth of the way through the medium version ... anything you wanted to focus on from this point? Usually, I don't explain the whole plan in any sort of detail, and we have skipped a whole bunch of details already. Telling you everything might take .. weeks. So we need to roleplay, where you would be some self-interested party. Say a CEO or someone from another department ... a party with specific interests."

"As you can imagine, people living in space means they have a life in space. That means we can go on and on about every aspect of life, because most are different off world in some way. Sometimes the differences are very minor, often not. My project plans consider many factors large and small."

"What it amounts to in a sentence though: People build industrial machines, and then go to live and work in space."

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"Fun." Evo commented, taking a piece of coated pepper and chewing it over. "Well, my big concern would be security since that would be part of my job, but you're largely drawing on my programs and people anyway from the looks of it. Glad to be of service to GNS Congo by the way." He grinned with his little inside joke, both of them knew it was clearly GNS inner workings on display by extension as well as plans for the Congo space program.

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"I figured that would be the best way to go. Since you already have a formidable security force. Of course, the program is inherently flexible. It comes from the G.N.S. model of facilitating clients to do their own work in space. This is facilitation across a national scale ... though still having end effect with the same sorts of industrial firms and private clients that G.N.S. does."

She took a bit or two more of the schnitzel, then asked for some peanut butter to go with it.

"In fact, I want competition for G.N.S ... I am hoping the Congo effort will be efficient ... since sometimes national programs have baggage. I am not doing either effort because I want personal power ... its the global outcome I am interested in. I think you have a very 'can do' attitude here too, and the world should emulate that more. Something that is long gone in places like the United States. Even Japan struggles to stimulate action ... Siasho is still a massive effort for them. One that pays off in many many ways, but they have to work at it."

"My idea is to get people doing these things without have to prod them into it. For so many reasons, we need to change our focus as a culture. We are too inward looking ... missing the big picture. Missing that we are probably a very young, inexperienced plant full of near-apes when compared to some possible galactic culture out there. I am just hoping we don't wreck our only world before we have a chance to build out. Plus, despite what some might think about addressing issues at home first ... this is a pressure valve. Humans - baselines and Novas both - are territorial. We are happy when we spread out. Most of our issues relate in some way to all of us being on this overpopulated little world."

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"Good points." Evo conceded as he cut up another chunk of steak and popped it in his mouth. The juices were overpowering, and he loved it that way. The glaze just rebounded through his taste buds. Once he finished, he went on, "Meeting an alien race would be interesting. So much of fiction has them at the utterly different side, or looking and acting far too similar to us. Superman would never happen here... though I wonder. Given the way baseline humanity does often too much see novakind- and Utopia in particular- as protectors, entertainers... superheroes really. As if the old DC and Marvel comics never really died out in people's minds. That's the problem I think. Nothing ever changes in that kind of world, and people can go on living as they have, the JLA and Avengers taking care of their messes. No need to change their habits, even though pre-Galatea the world was sliding down the slopes. Not that I agree with the Teragen, far from it... though I think that kid Puck deserves kudos for Exalt!"

"Sorry, too much of a tangent?"

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Star chuckles a bit at the super heroes "Yeah, I've seen those old comics. Grew up mostly on anime myself. Its almost as if anime was a bit more prescient for most Novas. Then again, Elite culture and the tight spandex look of good old Pee-U are both very DC. Though in a medical sense, we are very much mutants ... yet the old Marvel stuff just doesn't seem to capture things."

"You probably know I am in Exalt! It is a solid organization ... small, but good ideas."

More bites of food ... delicious food for a ravenous appetite ... damn ... I am a clone ... I shouldn't waste resources eating ... but this is so good ... she Thought.

"Yeah, if only having these powers made everything as easy as the comics. Not to say that the Project hasn't done some good work ... cleaning the environment benefits everyone. They are sort of JLA though, no?"

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"I don't know quite about that." Evo mused. "Quite honestly, for one, I wouldn't equate Caestus Pax with Superman. Second, T2M members alone get rather staggering contracts, the merchandising... Utopia is a business and a world power in one. Which is why the Directive has such a focus on them and many governments still distrust the Project. In that respect, like the comics."

"An organization with some of the most powerful novas in the world, an extensive force, massive political influence and cash- answers really to no one except perhaps the Aeon Society- connections are still there. In fact, it's their prestige and power that allows them to operate in the first place, since they technically have no legal authority or international treaties granting them the rights to do so much that PU does. And nobody intelligent looks at Proteus and doesn't realize that there are those in the Projects and the Society with their own agendas."

"As for those who are what the tin says, they or at least the leadership seems less than concerned with changing the status quo. Asani started the Equatorial Wars, he left multitudes dead and the Congo in a state of dictatorial chaos, and you never saw Utopia pay attention until Ein made his Refugee March. They went down like a hammer on Radocani, at least several hundred miles further as the crow flies than Kinshasa. Because Africa had always been the world's armpit and no one cared."

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"The status quo. Yes, need to improve the status quo for everyone. Its incredible what has happened here ... its true, no one cared about Africa. Now, the old first world powers salivate over trade opportunities as their own economies shrivel on the vine. Trillions of dollars over a century of building up military dominance - neutered by the Nova age. I can certainly see why they might be nostalgic for an era when they had control."

"Even though the good old days weren't really that good for most. There is so much here, on Earth, to be thankful for. Its why I stayed ...but listen to me. I'm being a big downer. There are so many exciting things to do!"

She savored some more of the meal, and ordered a double mango milk shake with mint ice cream for desert.

"You know, one thing I haven't really done major planning for ... is an off world base. Oh, sure, the plans I have now can go in that direction. If somehow miners we are sending out ... if they got left on Mars for example, they'd be fine for months and months as long as they kept their heads. What would be incredible is a real off world town. Towns, like in the old wild west ... they often survived on little or no support. The mere fact this would be an off world industrial center would make it a boom town."

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"Miners..." Evo paused over those words as he connected them with a disused, now government controlled mine in south Congo, resting right in the midst of Shaba province. Star's presentation had suggested that mine as a possible place... and he'd known it well, having used the mine as a base of operations when he cleaned up Shaba during the liberation. "You know, that mine you were considering? I used that during the liberation when I was cleaning up interhamwe out of Shaba province. Are you interested in seeing it for yourself after lunch is over?"

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"That would be great. I noted its pretty much ideal, and not economically viable. Just costing the government money for security guards and structural repairs while they have been trying to sell it. Demolition and the resulting cleanup are too costly ... but I bet no one ever thought to launch space vessels from it."

"Should be a secure supply point too, just in case of emergency. Three kilometers down in places, good solid formations, most of that under a lake but with a dry salt formation a kilometer down... I am thinking that it will double as a disaster relief station. Since there will be warehousing and distribution systems using the mines old runs."

The meal was finished, and the waiter was preparing the bill.

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When the bill was brought over, Evo took out the money and paid the waiter. "As far as I'm concerned, you're my guest, so I'm footing the charges. Now, how would you like to head down to the mine? There a shapeshifting way, a slow way, or some other way you might think of."

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"You treated me to lunch... and a fine one too, thank you. The least I can do I give us a lift." She said, and they went out onto the sidewalk. Then, she opened an azure gate in line with the wall of the building ... so as not to block the walk or road.

Never having done more than secure exact coordinates for the mine, and never having seen the exterior ... she opened the gate into the cluster of old industrial shacks at the mine's old rail station. Both novas walked through, attracting only mild attention in Kinshasa as they did - it was a city used to novas.

As the gate collapsed, they stood on the dusty old pavement of the mine yard. Mountains of decades old tailing towered in the distance, but they were starting to grow grasses. The buildings were plain, clearly run down but mostly serviceable. The rail station itself was much newer, having been rennovated along with the rest of the line three years back. A lone security guard could be seen snoozing in the shade of the covered terminal deck. Literally no one else was out here.

Star said to Evo "Lead on." ... thinking to herself about the security guard 'Do we wake the poor fellow?'

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Evo paused and observed the long, droning, grating snores of the sleeping guard, audible even as if he was next to the man. He sighed and apologized to Star. "Gimme a sec. Alertness has to be enforced."

Then, in a motion so fast, Starseed's own enhanced super-senses could not track it- leaving a near-instantaneous vanishing and reappearing to be observed- Evo bounded to and onto the deck.

Standing in front of the man, he nudged the prone form of the guard with just enough pressure to wake him up, snorting and muttering. Then when his eyes opened and took in the person above him. It would be near-impossible to not recognize the visage before him for the Justicar.

Embarrassed, shocked and afraid for his job now, the security guard yelped and scrambled up, making sure his sidearm was still with him. "S-s-s-sir..."

Evo smiled, though it looked more like a shark. "Mr. Djebe. This time is number..." "One! This was my only time sir." Evo nodded to the fearful man and knew of course from strenuous memory use that his subordinate had no such reports of lax behavior before. "True... But sleeping on the job?"

Djebe began to fear what would befall him... And then Evo shrugged. "You're a good man, I understand, and this will be only once."

"Only once sir. Never again."

"Glad to hear it." Evo patted the guard on the shoulder. "I won't mention this to your superior. Stay alert and focused, now." He hopped on and rejoined Star. "Where were we?"

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Star walked on a short distance while Evo took care of business ... he'd likely get the keys from the guard. Looks like some of these locks haven't been open in months. Still, the bucket-conveyor shafts looked in great shape - they were coated in early polyalloy so had stood up to the last twenty five years very well. Those could easily be reversed to carry cargo either way ... and the angle wasn't too steep.

As Evo retuned and they unlocked, the insides of the main compound were less well preserved. Cheap office blocks thrown up had started to crumble and warp inside. No matter, they would need to build out mostly underground anyway. This interior could be stripped and turned into a serviceable warehouse for truck freight management topside.

"Evo, whats the best way to get down and see the main galleries. From the plans, I am interested in numbers seven through fifteen."

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Evo looked around and took in the old mine, the mills in the distance, where the tailings were purged, the weather-beaten shacks on top of the shafts- and down below, the great galleries of silver and platinum ore. The great deep shafts were several in number (this had been a very productive mine until regional chaos had made working here simply unsafe), and Evo had alternated in his Shaba cleanup period between each of them when going to ground to avoid being cornered if tracked back.

So he knew each one well, and memories were strong. "Mine cage, third shaft from the far left." He grinned as he added, "There's a faster way, and more fun, but it's not the best way."

As he led Starseed into the shack, closing the creaking door and opening the rusting gate to the cage, Starseed asked about the other way. "Leaping down the skips compartment... I'm the only one here who does that, since like they say of cats, I always land on my feet."

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"Well lets take the cage. I am all for leaping, and it wouldn't be a problem ... but how about we come up that way? It will let me do a visual inspection of the cage on the way down, and the hardware along the shafts on the way up.

They took the cage down, and it was a bit creaky. In the mine it was blackness punctuated with dim almost spent emergency tritium lighting. The tritium lights needed no power, but they were past their half life by a few years. That put them at half strength, and that was half of not very bright at all. The galleries were dry, like the formation - so that meant no rain water had seeped in.The ventilation was low though, as some of the fans had been shut down to save on maintence. The place was running on minimum power. The good news: it was still running.

"Can you take me to the closest control shack? Or maybe a safety shack if that is where they put the panels?"

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"Right this way." Evo said, leading Star. He seemed to maneuver through the darkness with the ease possessed by the superhumanly perceptive. It had served him well through all the years, though it seemed more and more a matter of time before the kids could take over. The day's coming soon enough...

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Evo and the Star on scene spent hours bringing the mine systems online for checks. Evo knew the place like the back of his hand, and this would certainly do. It could be renovated into the inertial facility Star needed for half what she had budgeted. She'd just assumed the company leaving would have salvaged some of the equipment that was just left behind - but apparently she hadn't been around for the economic boom of that post war era.

Evo described a time when there were more jobs, more opportunities than there were people. This kind of salvage op wouldn't have been all that attractive - so they just mothballed it after a bit of parts picking. It changed plans a bit, but for the better. The light rail in here could be adapted for a rail-push loop. It wasn't the mono-rail design of the Japanese, but it was here now. Plus, with the economic incentives on the books for new development she could get firms to jump on this project tomorrow.

Evo was a really down to earth guy. Much like Dan in many ways ... maybe being an elite, see the things that an elite sees ... maybe it grounds the ones who can make it through with morals intact. It was a good afternoon. Productive, and Star learned many things about the Congo of today that only someone who had lived in the Congo of that era - survived the Congo of that era - could teach.

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  • 2 weeks later...

GNS Tokyo Offices

The building was not large but well constructed along clean, concise lines Murat noticed as he entered and headed to the front desk. As he reached the desk near the entrance the clerk greeted him politely,

" お手伝いしましょうか? "

"I am sorry I do not speak Japanese, do you speak English?"

"Yes sir, how may I help you?"

"I applied for a position as a nova transporter, I have an appointment."

"Yes sir I see you listed. Take the elevator to the second floor room 204."

"Thank you."

As he reaches the room he waits a moment at the door before being motioned to enter.

"Welcome, you are James Noman aka Murat?"

"Yes I am."

"A pleasure to meet you sir, please take a seat I have a few questions for you."

Once he is seated the official asks him, "May I ask why you are applying with GNS today?"

"I am an experienced Warper capable of inter-planetary transport. That makes me uniquely suited to this field and I enjoy what I do."

"I see you have worked with DeVries for the last 25 years. What made you decide to leave them and will there be any contractual issues that will need handling?"

"Actually it was 24 years I took my leave last year. I am looking to move in a new direction and exercise some of my other skills. There should be no contractual issues with my working here as it does not compete in my previous field."

"I see. How do you see yourself fitting within this organisation?"

The interview continues for 15 more minutes. "Thank you for you time, before I forward your resume on are there any questions you have for us?" the interviewer asks as he finishes his questions.

"My only question is, What are the responsibilities and accountabilities of this position?"

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Hiroko Suzuki, the interviewer was an efficient woman and actually an Ensign by her uniform rank. Extremely competent, baseline but ensconced in a desk full of custom productivity technology. Though it had not looked that way, and now that the first half of the preliminary interview had proceeded without incident she activated the desk surface ... which recessed and slid back to reveal a slick but retro-sci-fi looking control system.

None of his senses had picked up the tech, of course he hadn't been looking for it. As she clicked rocker switches and depressed buttons with expert skill she replied ...

"A good question. We leave that somewhat vague, instead describing what we do as an organization. Natrually, we are focused around the logistics of extraterrestrial travel and all that entails. Your warp powers make you a natural in that regard. Your aptitude results and questionnaire responses however, qualify you for more than the usual contract based warp transit arrangement."

Murat was intrigued ... and Ensign Suzuki continued "Some of us are selected for operations or security, as enlisted personnel. Almost anyone with the qualifications for a job can enlist. Others have the makings of something we need more ... we need officers. Its a rapidly growing organization, and even though we try to stay arms length as facilitators, consultants, and providing spot spervices like transit ... we need capable people who have vision. Leaving a decades long career indicates that."

"I suspect the Admiral will want to see you in person. I've sent a message on the maser relay. We should get to the transit room."

It hadn't seemed like a very large office. Very spartan in fact, but Murat realized why now. This was a simple intake point. Nothing valuable here, no assets to loose ... and once he saw the heavy door to the back room sliding back ... he saw that there were egress points and the "transit platform" was a very good safe room.

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Murat follows Hiroko to the transit room and waits patiently with her on the platform. As the stand there he admires the simplicity and efficiency shown with him to date.

“You mentioned the Admiral, I take it then that that the braids are not merely decoration and that the organization is actually structured along a naval tradition?” he asks.

“You would indeed be correct.”

“Interesting, I look forward to meeting your seniors more so now than before.”

They stand there for a few moments longer. While Murat wonders exactly what is coming next an azure gate opens on the platform in front of the pair. “A nice blue glow there,” he thinks before following the ensign through.

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As they stepped through the portal, they arrived in what looked to be a small cargo bay or a very large docking lock. This was Murat's first look at a true space vessel ... this was something taken directly from the pages of a novel or the silver screen.

Every detail of this vessel visible had been thought through, and likely more.. Door mechanisms, foot loops and hand holds for micro-gravity. Easy access maintenance, and almost nothing flammable at all - even the 'wood' was some sort of decorative copper alloy with grains etched in. Ceramics, thick durble glass and crystal, all would be fine with hard vacuum too. A rack of modern space suits tucked away in a corner here, a rack of cargo modules that looked specificaly designed for space ops there, even sets of magnetic deck sandals stuck to a row of pipe runs ... and yet everything was in a gravity field near one G. He could tell it was from constant acceleration and not actually gravity, but the ship was designed for this mode too. The deck layout in this hundred fifty odd square foot chamber was clean an easy to navigate in 'gravity' from this plan, and also if the gravity were oriented to what was his back ... another direction of travel.

There was a brass plate that read "Welcome to the G.N.S. Yamato" in several languages, one of which was so alien he did not even recognize it. A crewman, equivalent to a seaman perhaps by rank, saluted the Ensign and said "Mum." he said in a Welsh accented English.

"At ease Mr. Jenkins. I see the command and control optics are working. Good job. The Admiral is in the command core then?" replied Ensign Suzuki.

"On the bridge Mum. Thank you, the system is working well. Even licked the low light issues with the tritium backups. Optical pickups now feed the fibers with a refraction coupling. Same as the telescopes, and linked in with that same switchboard." Said the enlisted man.

"Good work, carry on." She said, as the moved through to a much larger chamber ... what looked to be part barracks, combatives training room, class room, and chow hall. "Welcome to the G.N.S. Yamato. This is our training ship. Far Star class. The Far Star is a pure science vessel, and the Hikari Maru is a multi-role ship optimized for surveys and exploration. The Yamato can support twenty four by specs, and most of our recruits are out in the field right now" she added, pointing to the view ports.

Murat then saw the large view ports and the incredibly inspiring view of the inner belt ... lit in shimmering gold from the sun attentuated by dust. There was a mining operation going on outside ... huge cthuloid horrors like spherical squid were working an asteroid, while some rather more conventional heavy equipment worked along side. A few people in suits could be seen, along with a clear Japanese flag emblazoned on some sort of tubular space habitat. The two hundred foot long hab-module was not like conventional space tech, it was big heavy industrial alloy. Conventional Japanese heavy engineering, no doubt pushed through a warp gate to get here.

Murat could also see that the exterior hull of the Yamato was some sort of solid energy ... casting its blue glow through the view ports. It looked like some sort of aquatic life form writ huge, in softly glowing glory. The slightly bluish interior lighting looked similar - probably also generated by a similar solid energy construct and light-piped in here.

"These are the first three ships of the fleet, and all are research hulls in a sense. Really, we've made advancement in so many areas - like where to place foot and hand holds. You have no idea how hard it is to configure them so you can also walk around under G. We at G.N.S. aren't really about constructing ships ourselves though ... the Admiral built the three Far Star class ships to support inital operations. Primarily we facilitate, we offer our vision, know how and powers for reasonable rate or even free - like it says on the op-net. Like the Hayabusa Habitat Module out there ... we consulted on that. That is a Mitsubishi Heavy industries effort ... "

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Murat walks along with Ensign Suzuki slowly considering everything she is relaying to him. They seem to be further along than the advertisements indicated, I expected them to be showing the best they had to offer so as to attract personnel, he muses.

"I was expecting this to be a more straight forward and simplistic endeavor. I was expecting to start out simply opening wormholes to allow businesses, nations, and the occasional rich couple to travel the solar system, before later moving up to exploring nearby star systems looking for useful worlds.” He takes a moment to consider the activity outside. “Your description indicates you do not plan to be a simple transport service though, though I must say you seem to already be well on your way with that first part.” He stops and looks at the Ensign Suzuki.

“How far along are you on the second, or must that wait for the Admiral to explain?”

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"No need to wait." Said a Star, dressed in the GNS white uniform - rank: Admiral.

Ensign Suzuki snapped to attention and a salute "Admiral."

"At ease ensign. Carry on, and thank you." Star said, and the ensign was off ... she could be seen checking a schedule board for intra-fleet transits and shuttles as Star beckoned Murat into her small office.

The door slid shut, and she offered a chair that folded out of his side of the workstation / desk / conference table / dinner table / possible medical bay.

They both took seats, and Star dispensed some tea, along with inserting a sealed foil tray into a something that looked like a small microwave oven, but with no noticeable door. The box began to make a slight humming sound with a bit of softly audible machine noise.

"Before we get into that, welcome to the Yamato. Around here they call me Admiral, but you aren't in uniform yet. My name is Starseed. Normally the intake process isn't this quick, but when I read your pre-screening forms I thought we should meet personally. Please ... help yourself ..." she said, as the box chimed. She took the tray out, and the foil had been peeled back by the machine. In it was a selection of delicious looking vegetable and roe sushi.

Murat tried a piece ... it was delicious. The tea was very good too.

Star continued "We are doing very well in system. Progress is much faster than even I had hoped, in fact we've had to slow things down becuase there are a lack of warpers. Security procedures also make things a bit rough, but we've prevented several industrial espionage attempts against us. Clients ... have fallen prey because they don't always listen."

She took a bite herself, and continued "Its out of system that we need to develop. Today is a big day actually. We are finally releasing a feature film. Bit of a spiced up and slick looking documentary about the first launch you've no doubt seen clips of. The orbital survey of New Hope. Its been an unusual release, with a secret date ... but you have to do new things to compete with the big Bollywood houses or Ibiza. Six thousand five hundred and nintey three theaters ... which is not bad for a non-action film."

a sip of tea, and wasting no time she adds "I am the only truly interstellar warper GNS has. We have plenty of in system contractors, and fourteen major competitors, again for in system ops. One of my Captains can do alpha-C ... but she's not got real range. Extra-solar is our bottleneck. If you are in for following our code of ethics and trying to take our culture to the next stage I'd like to make you a Captain. You would be the extra-solar head, directly under me."

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Murat smiles as he listens, “I would need to review the code thoroughly before I make a promise there but I doubt that part will be an issue. I am capable of inter-stellar warping though I must confess to a lack of practice at it. I have been interested in space travel since I was a child, so the idea of being at the forefront of man’s move into space is very appealing.” He pauses and takes another roe.

“I assume you are completely familiar with the Kepler studies,” as Star nods he continues, “and have some worlds in mind for starting travels. I am curious are you planning to focus on possibly habitable worlds first, or spending equal time with research and prospecting searches.”

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"There will be training, and a probationary period. Naturally, we run a professional organization ... there are policies and procedures too. I am equating your DV experience with the starting commission of Captain."

"I based my initial exploration strategy on them, started scouting in the week before we went to New Hope. We've since got a small but growing catalog of system surveys at various grades. Epsilon Eridanii still looks very promising for mining, both belts are incredible ... and all the gas giants have plenty of moons. My initital thoughts have been to divide the efforts. Offer good prices to either destination and let clients submit mission profiles. Part of either deal would be to contribute to expedition camps. We set up a series of them, to provide supplies and sustainable infrastructure over time." she laughs ... "You know, I haven't planned for it yet ... but just yesterday I was considering wild west towns. The direction we are going, its possible on New Hope. Might even be a boom town in short order ... given expedition ordinances to leave behind cargo modules that double as shelters, leave behind major equipment in serviceable states as part of contract terms, that sort of thing. Like St. Petersburg, was it? Where everyone had to bring stones in their carts to build a city in an area with no quarries."

"We'd have to do a short study though, weight all the costs. Certainly, we could split up exploration duties. The nice thing about New Hope is we can station some short range warpers there ... and they can facilitate in depth exploration. Lots of funding opportunities exist to cover costs."

... "Thats the other thing. I can pay you well, but not DV well. Most of our resources go into missions. I don't actually take compensation for my position. Not that I expect you to do the same ... there is money. Just no personal submarines, space fighters, or such that we can lend out to sweeten the deal like the big outfits do. Not yet in any event."

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“The probationary period was a given, nothing for nothing is standard. Training in the specific tasks is also expected. I expect to be paid a fair rate for the work I do, but I do not expect you to pamper or cater to me. The things I am after are nothing you listed, because though we are selling literally that, money cannot buy new horizons.”

Murat pauses a moment, “Using large modular containers as the transport vessels would allow for easy set-up of basic structures on the worlds to which they travel. This would enable people to quickly create basic townships to further that vision. How much thought been given to setting up renewable food stores for these outings? I would hate for a customer to not properly prepare such basic needs in case of emergency.”

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"Renewable food stocks are a bit tricky. Space aboard vessels like this is palatial compared to even first world manned space launch with rockets ... even the new Virgin Galactic orbital liners that came out last year ... cramped. Still works back the rocket equation of course. Oddly enough for us, its not mass or delta-V ... its volume. Still not enough volume to grow food." Star says as she brings up a projection from the portable computer on the desk.

Murat sees the schematics for a series of devices. The first is a mono-rail launch systems. Logical, it can push maximum size payloads through warps by accelerating on a small oval track. No chance for derailing, and a mag-lev system like this is pretty cheap because one only needs about three hundred meters of track. Spur lines can handle loading and unloading. It seemed energy constructs or matching 'catcher-tracks' at the receiving end slow and stop the rail pods. All off the shelf technology from twenty years ago, all very reliable ... durable, and easy to fix without having to source specific parts. ...Smart, push as much through a warp gate as will fit while it's open. Premature closure just keeps remaining modules on the tracks.

"So here we have schematics for a prototype system in development. The Japanese love their trains, no shortage of train engineers jumped in to volunteer. We took the volunteers, of course, because it follows the philosophy. I'll still do all the final checks ... I could draft this thing in hours ... but they have already added so many little touches. Though I am a Nova, the baseline design is superior in ways that aren't part of the straight line design process I would have followed. Its people helping themselves, and it frees me up for other tasks."

Next, he saw another Japanese design effort: variable geometry modules. Not as durable as the thick steel hulls of the Yamato, but very serviceable and safe. It had emergency core shelters, the whole works ... a very nice design. Obviously the advatange here is that this would be a fiarly large building when expanded. Costly though, quite costly in comparison to just using welded steel and industrial grade materials for a smaller design.

Then, he saw a conventional habitat. Durable, safe, industrial ... but limited by the size of the gates. Much cheaper, in fact ... it was labeled 'fire and forget' ... precisely the kind of habitat he had seen out in the belt. Not meant to return ... this one carried big nets and bags to bundle up the semi-smelted ore from an expedition. Baging the cargo sent back also optimized the return gate capacity.

"You see of course, that closed cycle agriculture of various sorts is possible at this scale. These expandable habitats are expensive though. In time, with enough activity we will have the living space for growing food on practical scales. Its all a matter of accrual with the more economical habitats."

"Also, part of the security screening for outgoing expeditions is checking the emergency manifest. Enough consumables, life support in proper order, system checks ... and in the process we make sure no one has smuggled something dangerous on. Like police in near polar areas ... they often don't let people leave town without proper survival gear in their cars during winter."

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“I will have to spend some time reviewing what is already been designed. I like the idea of the expandable one but suspect it would be simpler and cheaper to just create to modular pods that can be attached on site. I have a few ideas as well on the belt system designs but will that would be something to speak on later after I have time to prepare and properly present them. Was there anything else you wished to cover in this meeting?”

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"I think that is about it. If you would like, I can show you around the rest of the fleet - such as it is. Each of the three ships is different ... though right now the J.S.S. Mitsubishi ... thats a working name, for now ... has just had her hull sealed. With an atmospheric envelope they are really laying out interior systems. We just hauled all the prefab modules up last week, and it is going together clean and fast."

"Exciting really, the Mistubishi ship is three hundred billion yen worth. The best tech Japan can put together, though they are taking some pointer from us when it comes to reliability on long duration stints. She's rated for six month mission profiles, four week turn around ... has her own nuclear-thermal and variable phase ion-plasma drives ... even a magneto sail to ride on stellar winds and save fuel."

"She'll have a regular crew of fifteen, and she's one hundred twenty meters ... doesn't even need a push to make gate transit with her length. She even has two lander that can do everything from asteroids to Mars. Really, really exciting stuff. By herself, she's going to be able to do Mars to Luna in three weeks. I hear they even outfitted her with some quantum tech on loan from ... well, didn't dig that far. Certainly, they passed all the safety clearances and she's not a warship - mutli-role exploratory."

"We've got some filming going on over there now. I think our PR director is there, you can meet him."

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As with so many days now it seemed, Dan was on the job for GNS, This time insuring that operational security was being maintained on the "Mitsubishi" He wasn't one to let his mind wander. Still this, walking around, comparing blueprints to modifications. The workers knew him, he was a frequent sight, and he'd ask questions here and there, but he seldom interrupted unless something was not being done to plan. He'd been the one to catch all the potential incidents.

He ticked off another box on his daily checklist, happy to finally have the hull sealed. The tech around him made him comfortable, he could feel it, communicate with it, it held no secrets from him, not at all. "The way of the Future." The whispered comment brought nods from the three workers there in the compartment with him, and a ghost of a smile. "Carry on."

He made his way to the starboard exit and back into the light of the outside construction gantry, looking to do the daily survey of the external of the ship. Later he'd go to check the massive engines, some of the tech he was proud of. Somewhere above, Max was smiling, because the this ship certainly reminded him of one of the jumpships from that old game, without the jump drive of course.

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“I am glad to see that someone is finally putting the work in to create real travel at least intra-system. I would be interested in learning more about the engines you mentioned. You said they can travel for six months, how far are they capable of traveling?”

“That should allow them to reach the belt and return, they can make it to Jupiter and return but it would not leave much time for activities unless they resupplied mid voyage,” Star replies as she opens an azure gate. As they move through the gate she continues, “These put half the solar system in reach of Earth and with work we could soon expand that to the edges.”

They step out of the gate beside a hatch in the hull of the ship. Murat pauses a brief moment to take in the entire scene outside the hatch. The ship yard is not earth orbit as he had expected but set among asteroids in the belt, though other than that it is every bit the marvel for which he had hoping. After he regains his orientation, he continues pace with Star. “I thought you would like to see the full set up before seeing the ship,” she says as they enter the hatch, “Ops is this way.”

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Star said to Murat as they pushed along the main corridor in micro-grav "The GNS mantra has been moon-belt-mars. So much room to develop in that trinity. The engines are a hybrid design, a few new thruster technologies integrated together. I can't take the credit for that one ... Lithium Lorentz continuous burn with a shunt for low temperature plasma they can generate by thermal decomposition of water from between their dual outer hulls. The Thorium laser-compression reactors are really great too. Nothing they weren't dreaming of twenty years ago ... but now, it all works. It works really well too, with some of the patent portfolios Mitsubishi bought up."

"Jupiter is more feasible if they were to swap out a crew module for more reaction feed-stock. Thing is, its more economical for long transits to employ junior warpers. Just to shave time off transits for manned craft. This yard, they are building a huge cargo catapult. Big classical linear accelerator with catchers in just outside Lunar orbit - angled off the ecliptic in case of the occasional miss. They are going to use cargo modules with smaller versions of the same engines for course correction."

As they kept going, Star said "This yard is entirely Mitsubishi, but there is a good Congo effort getting set up too. They ... which is more me ... went with some different ideas. More oriented to building belt mining gear over there, and mars ground crawlers too. I'll tell them to expect you for a tour when we ..." ...

... as Star was speaking, they came out into the compartment to see Dan. Dan who was supposed to be on the next shift, but unknown to Star early deliveries for the yard had mixed up the timetables.

Star was about to say hello to Dan, but the look of recognition between Dan and Murat just turned her words to a smile as they spoke.

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