Eric Flint - Threshold

"We surely do appreciate that, mate. Not that I have any experience with emergencies while flying, mind." Bruce's tone sobered. "Check course vector." "On target, Captain,"A.J. said after a minute. "Radar scans show all clear, not that there's ever anything to hit out here.

And Joe isn't on board this time to jinx everything." "True enough.

All stations, report in. Everyone strapped in for full acceleration?"

The full acceleration wasn't actually the problem, as even with a million-pound thrust theNobel couldn't exceed about a quarter-gee. The concern was if something went wrong. There were only five people aboard, but that was still a major portion of the skilled space personnel available to the Institute. "Good," Bruce said after everyone had confirmed readiness. "Nobel, as programmed: all ahead full, twenty second burn." When you were used to weightlessness, a quarter-gravity acceleration was actually pretty impressive, Jackie thought. Nobel seemed to lunge forward, the hissing rumble of the NERVA-derived engine transmitting itself through the main supports of the ship. A few seconds later, the jets cut off. In the rear-view cameras, Phobos Base was shrinking. By space standards, of course, theNobel was barely moving at all; that burn had added a puny forty-nine meters per second to her orbital velocity of over two kilometers per second. Still, it had stressed the entire ship along its main axis as much as anything ever should. "Anything to report, A.J.?" "Minor tightening and tweaks will probably be needed later,"the sensor specialist answered a few minutes later, after examining the data."I'm seeing nothing to worry about on any important components, though. I think we're go for Operation Cartwheel." "Then Cartwheel it is. Nobel, initiate." "Operation Cartwheel," as A.J. had whimsically termed it, was the major active structural test. Since the habitat sections were spinning, any attempt to turnNobel would be fighting against the gyroscope effect, causing a lot of stress across the entire ship. Nobel would be using several short periods of vectored thrust from the main engine to attempt to turn in different directions while the wheel spun. A few minutes later, A.J.'s voice reported with great satisfaction,"Everything important's intact. Might want to shore up some of the connecting areas-I've highlighted them in the model-but unless you plan on flying like that a lot, I don't think it's necessary. Congrats, Jackie, Bruce-you've got yourself a ship!" Jackie let out a whoop of relief and exultation. "Congratulations, Nobel. A lovely test flight, even if you didn't get to go very far, and that tail-shaking maneuver looked kinda fun. Maybe I'll have them do it onNikebefore we head back." "It probably looks more fun than it is."

"Yeah, probably helps if you already look like a Ferris wheel." "Watch it, Captain Hathaway!" "Sorry, sorry. Really, it's a great ship." She gave him a chuckle. "You're right there, Ken. So, when are you heading out?" "A couple of weeks. We're waiting for some artifacts they're shipping back, and I have to send a couple guys over toNobelto do the inspection." "Oh, come on, Ken!"A.J. grumped."Do they really think we're putting super-duper deathrays on this workhorse?" "No, not really. But the regs clearly state what you can have as armaments in any space vehicle, and that at least one of the major powers has to inspect any new space vehicle after construction to ensure it meets those regs. And since I have every intention of keeping my job, I'm going to make sure the inspection's done." "No worries, mate. I don't have any guns, bombs, missiles, or even loose sharp sticks on this crate." Bruce said. "Come on over and we'll have dinner." "That sounds like it could be an attempt to bribe an officer of the United States."

"Righto, I'll just offer you some vegemite." "Ahh,"said Hathaway in a tone filled with grim vindication,"I knew it. Biological weapons hidden on board. I may have to have my inspectors confiscate any and all biological products connected to Captain Irwin." Jackie giggled.

"Heard about Bruce's interplanetary beer stash, sir?" "Pressurized containers. Very dangerous. Could be classed as explosives, Mr. Irwin.

I'm afraid I will have to inspect some of them. In person." Bruce gave a heavy sigh. "Yeah, that'd be right. Suppose you'd better just come over an' get it done, then. Eight tomorrow all right?" "My inspectors and I will be ready."

Chapter 7 Helen unlocked the pressure-cooker cover. A hiss of fragrant steam billowed out as she took the cover off, filling the dining room with the warm brown scent of… "Pot roast!" exclaimed Nicholas, leaning forward in astonishment. "With… actual vegetables. Cooked right here. I'm utterly astounded, Helen." "You should be," A.J. said with reflected pride in Helen's achievement.

"Not only have Helen and Joe been spending off-hours time trying to figure out ways to duplicate the effects of on-Earth cooking in our habitats-which carry a lot less pressure for a lot of reasons-but also a lot of the rest of us have to put in hours getting those greenhouses to work." "First major crops grown in Martian soil-or mostly Martian, anyway." Helen started serving. "Some of these are imports-besides the beef, I mean-but this is a special dinner. And when A.J. says 'us,' he means it. Not that his sensing and tracking talents aren't pretty much omni-useful around the colony, but the colony still needs plenty of good old-fashioned pioneering muscle. Which," she continued, giving A.J. a kiss on the cheek as she passed, "my trophy husband here happens to be willing to use even if it does make him in danger of being viewed as a real worker instead of a lab geek." Nicholas laughed. "Helen, A.J., thank you so much for inviting me. I can't tell you how happy I am that both ofyou still seem happy." A.J., just recovering from grinning rather fatuously at Helen, nodded. "Yeah, I guess you might have wondered how long this odd couple would last. But we've both got so much to do, and what we do… Well, we do it best together." Helen sat down. "Shall we eat?" A few moments passed in appreciative chewing. Helen could see, however, that Nicholas was also studying the Baker household. "Like the house?" "Quite a bit, yes.

From the outside it looked like almost a pair of domes under the Martian soil… but I had to step quite a ways down. And these walls certainly aren't rock." "Basic structure's two hab cans buried for insulation and sealing support," A.J. supplied. "Plus we've done some extension underground. Digging's a pain, but it's really worth it-oh, and lemme say thanks again for the help there." "And for the thousandth time, it was our pleasure," Nicholas said easily. "We knew getting settled was a major proof-of-concept priority for you, and it would help us out in the long run." A.J. grinned. "Yeah. And survival priority, since we weren't sure we'd be able to count on any of the governments giving us a hand. Power was actually the first priority, and with things getting competitive we couldn't rely on doing things the fancy way. Yeah, Ares has got a couple small nuke reactors for the colony, and we're hooked in, but solar is much more the way to go here. LED lighting indoors, when there isn't a way to pipe in sunlight. I've spent a lot making it comfortable, and it's roomier than I thought it might be. Now thatMeru 's cranking stuff up, we'll be a lot better off." "Not luxury accommodations, perhaps, but I've stayed in much, much worse." Glendale surveyed the curved dining/living area. It was clearly heavily modified from the base hab can, but the underlying structure was the same. He took a bite of potato and chewed thoughtfully. "Interesting. There's a subtle difference of flavor… almost peppery, but not like the pepper I know you used in the roast." Helen nodded, remembering the first hesitant tasting of the Mars crops. "Joe's positively ecstatic about that. The gourmet in him was afraid that we'd be barely able to raise stuff that's edible, and now he's finding some subtle changes in taste that he can use. Possibly, if things get to the point of routine travel in the next twenty years, we'll have a small export trade in food-not that it would counterbalance the imports." "But we do intend to be independent, even if it takes a long time. As you well know,"