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    The lift doors opened.  They were on the boarding deck, where a
giant floor to ceiling viewport gave them a view of the entire
interior of the spaceport itself.  Shuttles flew back and forth on
routine journeys as they made their way across the spherical
interior of the port.  The diameter of the giant sphere was about
forty kilometers, which dwarfed the shuttles.  They looked like bits
and pieces of shiny metal far off, almost like stars.

    But some larger ships also moved through the port.  They took
up more of the view as they cleared for docking or for departure
from the immense port.  But only a few ships actually dominated
the view from the window.  These were the ships docked on this
level, either because they were incomplete, or because they were
under repair.  Of all these ships, only one was complete. 
Immediately, Astrid recognized her.  It was Koronis’
Berkeshire--her ship.  Charles MacHaley’s jaw dropped as he took
a look at the two kilometer long flagship of the Union of Planetary
Republics.

    “If they could see her now, I doubt that the NeoTerrans would
want to secede,” Astrid said.

    The ship barely fit into the docking bay with the other ships
beside her.  Her wings had been folded down so they didn’t
obstruct the construction and repair scaffolding from the
neighboring ships.

    She was the sixth ship to bear the name “Berkeshire.”  The
ship’s profile was a semi-elliptical shape that was somewhat
pointed at either end.  Toward the rear, where the ship was docked,
there were two large protrusions.  Astrid identified the one on top
of the ship as the KB Raven module, but she had no idea what the
rounded rectangular projection was.  The Raven was shaped
something like the Eagle module, the main module of the ship,
except that it was half its size.  At the base of both of Eagle’s
wings were the streamlined projections of the ship’s outboard hull
extensions.  From both extensions hung the ship’s hyperdrive
modules.

    The entire body of the ship was covered by overlapping
neutronium hull plates that gave the ship a somewhat birdlike
“feathery” look.  They were painted a gleaming white on the dorsal
side and a light gray on the ventral side of the ship.  A pair of
these “feathers” did not match the streamline of the ship.  Instead,
they were a bit wider and longer.  This made them stand out
against the rest of the body of the ship.  However, their odd shape
was more than made up for by the letters emblazoned on them. 
The letters of the top “feather” read: “The Union of Planetary
Republics.”  And the letters of the bottom “feather” read: “CER -
98102  U.S.S. Berkeshire.”

    “Once we get aboard,” Astrid said, “I’m going to inspect
belowdecks.  Mister MacHaley, you’re with me.  Mister Kairago,
go to the Bridge and help them get things running.”

    “Aye, Captain.”

    “Lura’aknul, you’ll also want to go to the Bridge.  I’d like it if
you and Mister Kairago would analyze the space between Terra
and NeoTerra, and plot the locations of any KobalThi nests and
hives, so we can go around those.”

    Lura’aknul nodded.  The group of officers approached the view
window.  Usually this area was busy with workers, but somebody
must have asked them to clear out.  A solitary figure stood in the
wide open space of the boarding deck.  She approached the group.

    “Hello, I’m Cadet Masters.  I volunteered to ferry you to your
ship.”

    “Thank you, Cadet,” Astrid spoke on behalf of her officers.

    “If you come this way, I’ll take you to my shuttle.  And, if you
would, please call me Laura.”

    “All right, Laura.”

    The Cadet led the officers down the boarding deck and away
from their ship.  They could see the gentle curvature of the wheel
shaped boarding deck.  This level was a round extension from the
cylindrical central shaft of the spaceport, which took up two of the
forty kilometers width of the spaceport interior.  Cadet Masters
continued along the boarding deck until she reached a ramp that
descended to a shuttle bay below the boarding deck.  The KB
officers followed her down the ramp and into her shuttle.

    “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go up front and take the controls,”
Masters said.

    “Thank you, Laura,” Astrid said.

    “You’re welcome,” Masters said.  She smiled.  She was
obviously happy to be the Cadet who flew officers to the new
flagship.  It would certainly make a few other Cadets jealous, but
most would congratulate her on her luck.

    The inner and outer airlock doors of the shuttle swung shut and
locked tight.  Then the covers to the shuttle’s viewports slid aside. 
Immediately, Astrid turned to look toward her ship, and saw the
front end.  Instead of the traditional, rounded arrowhead-like nose,
there was a gap, with a glowing round disc fitted into the back end
of the gap.  That single disc was only about twenty meters wide,
but it was both the heart of the ship’s interferometric shield, as
well as the generator of the Boone effect.  She hadn’t been told
just exactly what that effect was.

    The shuttle took them on a wide circling path, to return back at
the flagship.  From the first view, from the boarding deck, it had
looked like there wasn’t that much space between the docking
bays.  But as the shuttle approached, the KB officers saw that there
were spaces almost a kilometer wide on each side of the ship.  And
KB was exactly a kilometer wide, from the base of one wing to the
base of the other.

    “What do you think of the ship, since the last time we saw it?”
MacHaley asked.

    “I think it’s come a long way,” Astrid said.

    “I wonder just how big those wings get when they’re fully
extended,” Micheta said.

    “They’re about fifteen kilometers across, fully extended.”

    “Almost big enough to solar sail on?” Micheta asked
Lura’aknul, who had answered his question.

    “It’s actually designed to promote stability in flight.  We can use
them to change the way the ship maneuvers in tight spots,
especially because there are navigational thrusters in the wings.”

    “They’re not only designed for that.  They also are composed of
neutronium plates, so they can withstand damage just like the rest
of the hull can.  So they’re a form of physical shielding, something
that can be extended around KB or around other ships,” Astrid
said.

    “They’ve certainly outdone themselves,” MacHaley said.

    “Just wait till we get inside, and we’ll see how well they’ve
outdone themselves there.”
 

    They had outdone themselves.  The corridors and the halls of
the ship had been given carpets, a good coat of paint, and wall
paneling.  However, despite the rich appointments of the hallways,
the paint and the paneling and the carpet gave way to proof that
the ship was still a ship, still capable of space travel away from the
spaceport.  The corridors themselves were circular and intersected
at points less like the usual T’s and X’s of a standard ship’s
crossroads and more like Y’s and V’s.  Despite this, airlocks were
positioned at the standard intervals.  Kairago Micheta and
Lura’aknul located a lift, and they split up from Astrid and
MacHaley.

    “What do you think of the ship?” MacHaley asked, as they
walked away from the lift.

    “She’s come a long way on the inside and out.  But, now we
have to talk with Engineer Leis.”

    “They’re delivering the parts for the engines as we speak.”

    “It’s just a matter of how long it will take for everything to be
fully integrated,” Astrid said.  With that, she stopped at a thick
double door.  It unfolded itself in an odd fashion, swinging up and
out of the way.  Immediately, the sounds of machinery were
audible.  This was Engineering.  A young woman looked up from
a spot on the floor where she had been pulling up deckplates.

    “Captain!” Engineer Leis shouted out above the racket of the
Engine Room. “Welcome aboard!”

    “Thank you!” Astrid called back.

    “Sir, we’ve got a bunch of parts in the cargo bay being
offloaded.  This place is going to get very crowded and busy.”

    “Do you have everything you need?”

    “Sir, they almost expect us to assemble the hyperdrive core by
ourselves.  And we’ve still got to hook it up to the stringwarp
engine system.  I’ve got my hands full.  I’m sorry I can’t spare you
much time if you ask.”

    “In that case, I’ll let you alone.  Carry on.”

    “Thank you, sir,” Leis said.  “The preliminary work ought to be
done in about ten hours if we’re lucky.  By then, it’ll be easier for
me to more fully brief you on the progress down here.”

    “You won’t have to report to me; I’ll be gone,” Astrid said, “I’m
heading to NeoTerra ahead of you, but Commander Lothair may
want reports from you.  We’ll meet out there, when my team gets a
hold of the ansible observatory.”

    “Aye, sir.  And good luck at NeoTerra.  They’ll probably shoot
at you first, then ask you questions, so keep your head down.”

    “I’ll remember that,” Astrid said.

    “Do you mind if I just look around?” MacHaley asked.

    “Not at all, sir,” Leis said, “but you’ll want to be careful where
you step, as some of this deck is made of temporary deckplates.”

    “I’ll pay attention to that,” MacHaley said.

    So Astrid and MacHaley headed in different directions.  She
wanted to take a look at the Marine Deck.  That sounded like they
expected the ship to go into battle.  Against fellow citizens of the
Union of Planetary Republics.  Astrid resolved that she would
have no part in any attack against any of the seceding worlds,
unless they started the conflict.  And then, she would pursue a
peaceful solution for as long as one remained for her to pursue. 
Astrid did not realize that it would be this attitude which would
win over the NeoTerrans and help rebuild the Union.  She did not
realize that she would become a hero, and she had no idea of how
significant a whole Union would be in the months and years to
come.
 

    The door to the Marine Deck opened to her, and sounds of drill
training immediately greeted her.  Astrid crossed the threshold and
into unfamiliar territory.  Who were these Marines, whose names
did not appear on the roster of the ship’s crew?  What was their
function on board her ship, and how far would they go?  A troop
of marching Marines came to a stop behind their leader as he
called out “company, halt!”

    “Are you the Marine commander?” Astrid asked.

    The company leader snapped off a salute.

    “Marine Commander LeRoy West, at your service, ma’am.”

    “I’m Captain Edlyn Astrid.  I was instructed to,” she cleared her
throat, “commandeer a piece of equipment in the custody of the
NeoTerrans.  It is an essential piece of machinery for the ship.”

    “Do you require a detachment of Marines, ma’am?”

    “Before I took any along, I wanted to know what you are trained
to do.  I want to take back a piece of Union-owned equipment, not
start a war.”

    “Then you may rest assured,” West said, “My people and I are
trained for search and rescue missions, anti KobalThi raids, and
emergency evacuations.  We won’t fire a round, nor will we carry
any firearms unless you give the command.”

    “So, if I ask for your help in retrieving KB’s ansible observatory
and Hedefrium cluster, there will be an absolute minimum of
unnecessary conflict?”

    “You can be assured of that.”

    “In that case,” Astrid said, “I want you to come along.  Report
to the Shuttle Bay with a squad of Marines.  Arm them but keep
their weapons set to stun, and bring along anti-K ammunition just
in case.”

    “Aye, sir.  When do we need to be ready?”

    “We’ll leave in about an hour.”

    “Then I’ll get them ready, ma’am.”

    “Another thing,” Astrid said.

    “Yes, ma’am.”

    “Call me Captain.  Remember, the term ‘sir’ has been given
neutral connotations.”

    “Yes, sir.”

    “Thank you.”
 

    Astrid barely made it out of the doors of the Marine Deck before
Kairago and MacHaley nearly bowled her over.  Kairago was
slightly sweaty, and he looked as if he had run a long way.  Most
Lingñalli did not run, because they were used to living on their
homeworld, the desert world of Lingñall.  Whatever had prompted
him to break into a run must have been very important.  A couple
seconds later, from around a bend in the corridor, Hiram Lothair
came walking.  He had an air of urgency in his bearing, but he
somehow did not allow that to make him break into a run.  He was
content with walking, despite that urgency.

    “What’s going on?” Astrid asked.

    “Sir,” Lothair said, as he came up to where Astrid was, “We’ve
just received a repeating signal.  I think you should come up to the
Bridge.”

    “After you,” Astrid said.  The group of officers headed for the
nearest lift.  It’s door was built the same way as the ones in
Engineering and the Marine Deck.  Astrid concluded that these
doors were better suited to preventing air leaks in the ship than the
older models of doors.  The lift was as circular as the corridors
themselves, so it felt as if they were standing inside a bubble when
they boarded the lift.

    “Bridge,” Astrid said.  The lift’s computer issued forth a beep,
and the lift wooshed up the shaft.  Then the lift stopped for a
moment, as if hesitating.  Astrid felt the vibrations moving
through the floor.  The lift hadn’t stopped, it was heading around a
curve.  Then it shot upward again, curving toward the front of the
ship, Astrid presumed.  And then, the lift came to a gentle stop. 
The doors unfolded again, which admitted them onto the Bridge
from the starboard side of the room.

    At the front of the room was a large viewing window, from
which the Navigator would fly the ship.  It provided a similar view
of the inside of the spaceport.  Except that the view was obstructed
in the center by a holographic projection.  It took a few moments
for Astrid to recall the face she was looking at in the hologram
viewer.  It was of an aristocratic-looking woman wearing a
capelike garment with odd looking ribs running across it.

    “The message has been repeating itself every two minutes,”
Micheta said.  “And it’s coming over all channels, including the
ansible.”

    Just then, the hologram vanished.  For a few moments, Astrid
wondered if it would repeat.  Then came the chime of the ansible,
and the message began anew, with the very same face.  Astrid
recalled the prominent Tal’adaar’aan-like forehead ridges that
graced the temples of the face she now beheld.  But, the ridges
seemed a bit subtler than those on Lura’aknul’s forehead.  Then
Astrid realized that the cape was not a cape, it was a pair of wings. 
And she put the face to the name just as the person spoke:

    “Greetings.  I am Admiral T’San of NeoTerra.  To all Spacers
whom it may concern:  We of the National Congress of the people
dwelling on NeoTerra and in her spaces have passed a resolution
which we believe is representative of the best interests of our
people...”

    “There’s only one reason why Admiral T’San would be saying
what she is saying,” Astrid said aloud.  And the message
continued...

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