Ryk Brown - The rings of Haven

“We may have to translate down faster than I’d hoped,” he warned Cameron. “I think it’s best no one gets a close look at us. Not if we can avoid it.”

Cameron said nothing. She knew why he wanted to duck the ship into the rings as soon as possible. The rings were just as dense as Tobin had described, and it was not something that you wanted to fly into too quickly. If someone did get a good look at them, and then reported what they saw to the family that controlled the Haven system, things could become a lot more dangerous than a quick-drift down into the rings.

“Synchronous orbit achieved,” Cameron reported.

“Scan directly below us, Kaylah,” Nathan called out. “And don’t be afraid to alert me if we’re about to hit something big.”

“Yes, sir,” Ensign Yosef responded.

“Translating down.” Nathan fired the docking thrusters, pushing the ship straight down towards the rings. He held the thrust far longer than usual, picking up considerably more speed in his translation than anyone, especially Cameron, could feel even remotely comfortable about.

“Easy, Nathan. Back off a bit.” There was genuine fear in her voice. It was unusual to hear an emotional tone from Cameron, especially during flight operations. Considering how fast they were dropping toward the rings, it was understandable, even if a bit unexpected.

“Come forward two hundred meters, quickly,” Kaylah ordered. Nathan didn’t ask why, the urgency in Kaylah’s usually demure voice was reason enough. Nathan blasted the thrusters again, this time pushing them forward as they continued to translate downward toward into the rings.

“One fifty,” Kaylah reported. “Come slightly starboard now.”

“I see it now,” Cameron reported. The moment Kaylah had barked out her recommendation, Cameron had switched her display over to track only what was nearby. Now she was starting to pick up the small and medium-sized rocks that made up the rings of Haven. “That’s awfully dense, Nathan.”

“How far?”

“Two kilometers. Rotate two degrees to port.”

“Rotating,” Nathan acknowledged as he applied a tiny amount of thrust.

“That’s good.” Cameron watched as the details of the field of rocks below them began to resolve into greater clarity. “Maybe you’d better pitch down and dive in nose first?”

“Our undersides are thicker,” Nathan objected.

“Maybe, but if we come in nose first, we’ve got a much better chance of not colliding with anything. And if we do, it’ll be at a shallow angle instead of ninety. Less likely to cause damage?”

“Pitching down,” he responded without hesitation. He hadn’t realized it at the time, but Cameron had made the suggestion without being argumentative. He had followed her advice on instinct, without thinking twice about it.

During their training, they had been unable to work together effectively as a team. Their operational styles had been in complete conflict. Despite the assertions of Captain Roberts that each of their strengths offset the other’s weaknesses-making them the perfect team-learning to work together without wanting to kill one another had been nearly impossible.

Their conflicting styles aside, the events of the last few days had forced them to put their differences aside out of necessity. They were no longer in training-they were fighting to survive. Despite the fact that circumstances had thrust Nathan into command-a fact that he was sure still bothered Cameron-it seemed they were starting to get along. Captain Roberts would’ve been proud, he thought.

“One kilometer,” Cameron updated. Nathan finished pitching the nose of the Aurora downward. They were now diving nose first toward the rings below.

“How far is that ship?” Nathan asked Jessica.

“Visual in one minute,” she reported.

“Will he be above or below our altitude when he reaches visual range?”

“Huh? Uh, just about even, I think.” Jessica hadn’t expected that question, and it had caught her slightly unprepared.

“How long until we penetrate the rings?” Nathan asked Cameron.

“About ninety seconds,” she told him.

“No pressure,” he muttered.

The ship continued to dive toward the rings as the unknown vessel grew closer. At this point, it was a matter of timing. They needed to get to the rings and become hidden amongst the debris before the unknown vessel got a good look at them. Nathan wanted to kick in the main drive and race into the rings, but he knew that such a move would not only be incredibly dangerous, but would also appear quite suspicious to the unknown vessel as well as anyone else that happened to be watching. Thus he was forced to run this particular race at a snail’s pace, compared to their usual maneuvering velocities.

“One minute,” Cameron updated. “Five hundred meters.”

“Unknown vessel will reach visual range in thirty seconds,” Jessica reported.

“How are we looking, Kaylah?” Nathan asked, not taking his eyes off his console.

“With this narrow profile, you should be clear into the rings, sir.”

“Guess you were right,” Nathan mumbled. Cameron said nothing, only casting a quick glance followed by the slightest of smirks.

“Twenty seconds to visual range,” Jessica reported.

“Cam,” Nathan suddenly asked, “is it okay to roll on our way in?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so. Why?”

Nathan applied a slight bit of roll thrust. “I’m gonna show them our belly as they pass,” he explained, pleased with himself.

The Aurora began to roll as the unknown vessel reached visual range and passed by her. All the other ship ever saw was the Aurora’s nondescript underside as she rolled over, diving into the rings.

“Penetrating rings,” Cameron reported. “You can begin braking now, Nathan.”

“Just a few more seconds.” Although the rings were dense, they were only a kilometer thick. The last thing Nathan wanted to do was fly right through and come out the other side in front of who knew how many other ships. Finally, at the latest possible moment, he fired the braking thrusters and brought them up to full power, rapidly decreasing the ship’s forward momentum until she finally came to a stop deep within the dense rings of Haven.

The entire bridge sighed collectively as Cameron reported, “Confirming all stop.” Her fingers danced across her console, entering commands and calling up information. Finally she added, “We are now in synchronous orbit within the rings, on station at the assigned coordinates.”

Nathan turned and rose from the helmsman’s seat. “Jessica, I believe we have a flight to catch.” He then turned to Cameron, “You have the ship, Commander.”

“Aye, sir,” Cameron answered as she watched him go. Cameron caught Jessica’s eye on her way out, just in time to catch a half-hearted salute and a wink.

Tobin’s ship was already fired up, her engines idling in the hangar bay as Nathan and Jessica approached. Vladimir, Ensign Mendez, and Sergeant Weatherly were all standing near the ship, waiting until it was time to board. Each were wearing unmarked coveralls that were long overdue for the laundry, keeping in line with Tobin’s suggestion to not appear too clean.

“Well, aren’t we a motley looking group? Where’s your guide?” Nathan asked Vladimir as he approached.

“Inside, with Tobin and Jalea,” he said.

“Which one did you end up bringing?”

“Danik. Allet had no desire to go Haven. I do not think he likes the place very much.”

“That’s encouraging,” Nathan said. Just then, Tobin descended down the boarding ramp of his ship, dropping the last half-meter onto the deck.

“Is everyone here?” Tobin asked.

“Yeah, how do we look?” Nathan asked.