Starplex

“Well, she’s not yet ready for launch, or I’d say simply commandeer the whole thing. But she’s being built from identical blueprints to Starplex 1—and five of her eight habitat modules are already completed, according to the last report I received. We could pop through the shortcut to the Flatland shipyards, dump our lower-four habitat modules there, and replace them with four of the completed ones for Starplex 2. The modules that we leave off could then be cleaned up at leisure. Starplex 2’s central disk won’t be ready for another five months; the four hyperdrive generators have to be extensively tested before the engineering torus can be built around them. That should give plenty of time for the cleanup. When the time comes, our four old modules could be incorporated into the new ship. Of course, all the individual furnishings and equipment we had in our lower four will need to be cleaned up, too, but at least we’ll have quarters and lab space for everyone right away.”

Keith nodded, impressed. “That’s brilliant. How long would that take?”

“The specs for habitat-module power-grid deconnection and reconnection call for three days, but I’ve devised an improved method that doesn’t require powering down the couplings. I could do it in fifteen hours if we didn’t need to wear radiation suits in the lower modules; in this case, eighteen hours should do the trick.”

“Excellent. What about the lower part of our main shaft and our central disk?”

“Well, the shaft is three quarters fixed up already. We can’t clean it easily, but I’ve had nanotechs laying down extra shielding on its inner surface. As for the central disk, we’ll have to completely replace the water in the ocean deck, of course. And not just with plain water, either. It has to be a full seawater formulation, with dissolved salt and other minerals, plus, if possible, plankton and fish stocks. Also, I’d like to replace all the shipboard air, just to be on the safe side. The docking bays are no problem—they’re heavily shielded. Same thing for the engineering torus; its shielding kept it from getting too much of a hit of radiation, as well.”

Keith nodded. “How long till we can safely maneuver through the shortcut?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, maybe earlier. The gap between the shortcut and the green star is opening rapidly. And as long as you’re willing to risk losing half a dozen watsons in trying, we should be able to get word of our intentions through to the Flatland shipyards right away so that the Ibs can start preparing for our arrival.”

“Good work, Lianne.” He looked at her, and she smiled again, a beautiful, warm, intelligent smile. Keith mentally kicked himself for sometimes forgetting that there was a reason she was aboard Starplex. Lianne Karendaughter was the best starship engineer in the business.

* * *

Thor piloted Starplex through the shortcut, and it popped out at the periphery of the Flatland system. From here, the Magellanic Clouds dominated the sky. Flatland’s sun, Hotspot, was a white F-class star, and Flatland itself was a featureless ball, shrouded in white clouds.

Ibs were incapable of working in zero-g. Keith watched from a window as thousands of them swarmed around Starplex in hockey-puck-shaped solo travel units, transparent except for the opaque artificial-gravity plates that made up their bottoms. Since the work was being done by Ibs, not a second was being wasted. The new habitat modules were locked into place, giving Starplex all-new decks forty-one through seventy. Keith could just make out the bubble-shaped travel pod from which Lianne was orchestrating the entire operation. The only problem during the whole refit occurred when the hose draining off the ocean deck ruptured, and salt water sprayed into space, freezing into tiny ice particles that sparkled like diamonds in the white glare from Hotspot.

When it was all done, Starplex—now a hybrid of Starplexes 1 and 2—headed back through the shortcut.

Keith was delighted with the repairs—and even more delighted that everyone would no longer have to crowd into the upper half of the ship. Arguments had been breaking out among members of all the races. Perhaps now that they had plenty of room again, peace would once more reign aboard Starplex.

While at the Rehbollo shipyards, five new researchers were brought aboard—one Ib and two Waldahud dark-matter specialists, and a dolphin and a human who were experts in stellar evolution. All of them had dropped everything at receipt of Starplex’s reports, and immediately headed through the shortcut network to rendezvous with the ship at Flatland.

As she had promised, Lianne finished the refit in less than eighteen hours. Thor piloted the ship back through the shortcut, and they re-emerged in the vicinity of the dark-matter field and the enigmatic green star.

Chapter XI