Nu Trilogy 1: The Esss Advance by Charles E. Waugh Read Free Book Online Page A

very fragile, and he felt like his life was at a tipping point. He had been depressed and despondent from the time he first woke up after the accident until he “felt” the heel of his prosthetic move against the top of the PT table. That odd sensation had sparked an insane hope that he could climb back out of the disaster his life had become.
     
    His life goal had seemed completely beyond his reach until now. But if he could learn to walk with his new legs and even “feel” sensations passed back to his brain from the sensors on the surface of the prosthetic device, then there was no reason to think he could not command a space vessel once again.
     
    But then doubt crept in, and he whipsawed himself back into despair, because he knew that naval regulations prohibited him from commanding a ship. The interstellar ship that was about to be constructed would be under the command of a United Space Navy captain, so how could he possibly gain that position?
     
    By the end of the meal, Sted had reached a decision. He would do everything in his power to get back into a captain’s chair, in or out of the Navy. Once there, he would prove his worthiness despite his injuries. To hell with the regulations! They weren’t written in stone. They could be changed, and he would make every effort to do just that.

Interlude 1 – 4 Billion Years Ago
     
     
    As the Nu scout ship approached the twenty-seventh star in this promising stellar nursery, the crew’s anticipation was palpable. This star had the appropriate yellow light spectrum. The giant gas planets circling the star were at a distance that precluded liquid water. However, there were at least three planets between the gas giants and the star in the zone where water could exist in its liquid state. This could be the first star in the nursery where they could begin their work.
     
    “Set our heading for the largest planet where we can refuel. From there, we will have an excellent view of those interior planets,” AlvaResh said. “Record as much as you can of our pass through the outer shell of debris around this new star. If we find what we hope, we will need to establish our initial base there. I want to know both the water and mineral content of each body we pass to select our first candidates to send to the planet with the greatest potential.”
     
    AlvaResh was now a seasoned leader. The “Crossing” had tested the Nu to their very limits. The pod had had to share the tiny interior space of the Harbinger for millions of years on minimal rations. After all, the void between the galaxies was enormous indeed, with nothing to hold their interest but their slowly approaching galactic neighbor. Boredom was their biggest enemy. It was only through the force of the leader’s will that they were able to keep focused on survival and the rebuilding of the Nu race and a shorter-lived race of warriors to combat the Esss when they arrived.
     
    Now, in this star system, their real work could begin in earnest.
     
     

Chapter 16 – The Recovery Challenge
     
    It had been three weeks since Sted’s prosthetic surgery, and he had been working steadily with Alice in the PT lab the entire time. At this point, he had graduated from walking between two parallel bars to a wheeled walker, and his motions were becoming more and more natural.
     
    The finer control needed for walking in the lower lunar gravity had slowed their progress, because the prosthetic legs had been designed for use in Earth’s full gravity. Alice had been forced to dial back the pressure applied by the imitation prosthetic calf muscles, because Sted tended to “lift off” every time he tried to take a normal walking step.
     
    “Remember, Captain, the first time you go back down to Earth’s surface, you’re going to have a major adjustment to make. I have retained the original settings in the processor for reactions under Earth’s gravity, but you are going to have to reset the processor after you land and