Frontiers 07 - The Expanse by Ryk Brown Read Free Book Online

thanks. “Thank you, Prime Minister. I wasn’t aware that you were learning Angla.”
    “ I am to trying most hard. ”
    “You are doing quite well, sir.”
    “ Perhaps, when someday you are to return to Corinair, we will to have long conversations in your language. ”
    “I look forward to it, sir.”
    “ Pleasant journey to you, Na-Tan. To all of you. ”
    “Thank you, sir. Good luck with your rebuilding. The future of Corinair looks quite exciting.”
    “ Yes, yes. Goodbye, Captain. ”
    “Goodbye, sir.” Nathan turned and nodded at Naralena, who ended the communication.
    “Breaking orbit in one minute,” Loki reported.
    “Ship-wide,” Nathan said, gesturing at Naralena once more.
    “Ship-wide, aye.”
    “Attention all hands. This is your captain. In less than a minute, we will break orbit and begin our journey back to the Sol sector. It will take us several weeks, perhaps even months, to reach our final destination. During this time, I am confident that each and every one of you will perform your jobs to the best of your ability. Most of you are volunteers on this mission, and for that I am deeply grateful. We know not what we will find when we reach Earth, but I promise that I will do everything within my power to get you all back to your homes once again.”
    “Coming up on departure point, Captain,” Loki said softly.
    “That is all.” Nathan waited a moment for Naralena to kill the ship-wide broadcast, then took a deep breath and let it out. “Take us out, Mister Hayes.”
    “Aye, Captain. Breaking orbit.” Josh increased power to the main engines once again, quickly accelerating the ship and causing her to break out of her high orbit above the planet Corinair. “Coming onto heading for the first jump,” Josh reported. “Transferring helm to auto-nav.”
    Nathan felt a bit nervous, as it was the first time that the new jump navigation control system was going to take control of the helm and jump execution systems for a jump of maximum range. He turned to Abby, who sat at the starboard auxiliary console at the aft end of the bridge as she monitored the first long-range jump executed by the automated jump system. “The first jump is going to be nine light years, right, Doctor?”
    “Yes, Captain. In fact, we won’t begin experimenting with increased ranges until after we are clear of the Pentaurus sector.”
    “Any particular reason you want to clear the sector first?” Nathan asked, suspicious.
    “No, sir. That’s simply how many jumps it will take us to gather enough data to feel comfortable increasing our range.”
    “Very well.”
    “Auto-nav has control,” Josh announced.
    “Course and speed are in the green,” Loki reported. “Auto-nav is making final adjustments. Jump point in ten seconds. Waiting for your word, sir.”
    “Jump the ship, Mister Sheehan.”
    “Jumping in three……two……one……jumping.”
    The bridge of the Aurora quickly filled with the blue-white flash of the jump fields despite the view screen’s attempt to filter out the intensity of the light generated by the system’s jump field emitters. An instant later, the flash disappeared, and the screen reverted back to normal.
    “Jump complete,” Loki reported.
    “Position?” Nathan asked. As usual, he couldn’t really tell any difference in the positions of the stars. Tug had been able to notice even the tiniest shifts in the positions of the stars after a max-range jump, but he had spent years piloting his FTL-equipped interceptor through deep space. Despite his current position, Nathan was still a neophyte in comparison.
    “One moment, sir,” Lieutenant Yosef reported as she verified the sensor operator’s findings. She was one of the original crew from Earth and had come aboard as an ensign assigned as the Aurora’s science officer. Past events had thrust her into the position of sensor operator, a role in which she had excelled. Now that there were nearly a dozen Takaran scientists on