Chapter 12

Morg led his friends to the library where they made themselves comfortable in liftchairs which they manoeuvred about a reading table.

"We haven't thought beyond the idea itself" he started "now we have to think this into an operational basis — the finished product, unless we want to give it to others to develop commercially?"

"No," Ivy said "I've got enough in this to be selfish enough to want to take it to a conclusion at whatever point we might decide. Morg, you sounded as if you had it planned down to the last screw."

"Not quite that far but almost" admitted Morg "my main problem was how to make it as nearly as impossible to reverse engineer. If we can keep it a secret from our friends then an enemy will find it as hard. While the commercial possibilities are almost limitless, I have over the past year been 'reading the tea leaves'. There are a lot of straws floating about but to my mind when it seems to slide into that mode Harbouria is going to keep expanding its empire and sooner or later they are going to come across the galactic gap to acquire the Junction. I know we've batted this about in our rave sessions so it shouldn't be a surprise that I look at FTL in that regard."

"You know, I never consciously put the two together," Ivy admitted "TJ?"

"One of the reasons for enlisting was so that I could have my choice of musterings as a volunteer rather than get put somewhere when Mountserrat mobilises. I started examining this when I was at RMAnM; we had strategy classes and something seemed to force itself up into my thinking brain. It felt as if I had a capacity that needed an out with a recognition that I had to work at it. I've noticed Morg seemed to tack things together far more easily than me long term — I had to work at it. Yeh, Morg is right, the economics of Harbouria alone will force them to keep acquiring assets until they are either defeated in war, undergo a real direction changing revolution as opposed to just a violent change of government or just economically collapse under their own weight. This brings us to the development of FTL. Morg and I are wealthy enough that we have no NEED for more wealth; at present, I admit, as we get older that could change. We might find a use for it. Ivy?"

"Look, both of you, my part in this is, ... is, ... is minimal. Besides, all I want is to be a bobby just like Da; Anything, I get out of this is pure profit; there will be more than enough to keep the Sorensons happy keeping it for the Navy."

"Good" Morg said, and with a laugh "here is plan Mk 2. The back of the Club basement whatever opens into a subterranean passage running parallel between Destine and Dancer down to the river docks. The opening from the Club building is 'secret' both ways. As far as I can make out the property owner of our new dwelling in Dancer had the tunnel put in with the full knowledge of the authorities to have a controlled covered path from the docks to his warehouse. Whoever owned the Club at the time, with or without first person's knowledge built over the tunnel suspending the new building over a hole into the tunnel and then used a concrete slab fifteen centimetres thick as the floor of the building and the roof of the tunnel. The floor just sinks into the tunnel — the whole thing, and its so thick there is no echo; only ground penetrating radar will detect it. And its forgotten about. I searched the 'puter records at 'Lands" and nothing.

I want to establish a factory in Dancer for the manufacture of gain chambers with standard input connection from ship's power supply.

I'm thinking putting the tunable antenna circuit in a sealed module inside that box. My sisters say they can make the antenna circuit and that means at the Sloan Square house. We can have fusible links fitted to slots on the module so that protection is available for local repair can replace them and because the 'antenna' can burn out that can be fitted as a sub box on the module.

The cover of the module is held on by four press and twist screws which become pure pressure switches to go open circuit allowing charged capacitors to discharge into the unstable circuit. Bet provided this last bit. The circuit boards can be made of a nitro cellulose insulation material which will burn out the circuit and everything else. The material is very unstable once an electronic currents is run through it so we can test the sets before they leave the factory and they are ready to go in every way..."

TJ had been sketching as Morg was talking and he described his efforts. Ivy made the point about alignment of the set and suggested subcontracting a gimbals on which the set was fixed inside a dome which could be fitted to the outer hull of the vessel — there would have to be a mechanism to prevent tangling of cabling.

They agreed it was Navy's problem to fit the thing but accepted Ivy's suggestion of being able to use a PD weapon mount and the external design was determined.

TJ and Morg rearranged the internal physical arrangement of the circuit. Inside, the capacitors were designed to final discharge if one of the pressure switches was tampered with and added a twitch or three on the circuitry itself.

They had to be scragged by the others to eat and then to get to bed for some rest.

The next day, Ivy went in search of the fax machine and her friends got into the local repositories of commercial cadcam equipment and were fortunate to find one of 'Dell's' machines which the owner was only too ready to demonstrate. And he knew the local agent.

A few quick coms and the duo were off and running. By day's end, even the problem of the boxes was solved — subcontract; the gimbals and dome was even easier — a firm out in the industrial estate made PD mounts and Radomes for the Navy and were prepared to reopen the assembly line for a minimum order.

Enter Gabrielle and LUSTrustees (and the Windsor girls) over the ensuing days. This sweet looking group then proceeded to produce sweat and tears from the directors of the firms engaged in negotiating — it was as if LUST knew the 'final' position of each firm.

Several days after LUST began negotiating, Bill Sorenson commed as he was a trifle concerned that no one had got back to him. Berryl answered the call and apologetically brought him up to date and then told him of the idea of the fax machine; he understood immediately the significance and admitted Bill Oscar and he had been wracking their brains on how to get documents transmitted. Berryl raised the point that using dated documents would raise questions of the timeliness thereof and expose the FTL secret. They were talking the idea back and forth and Ivy walked in to be told her Da was on the com. Naturally, she spoke to her father and he told her of the problem. They said farewell after exchange of pleasantries and Berryl closed the link with a promise to update Bill Oscar

Ivy's brain twisted and turned the 'timeliness' problem looking at it from a copper's point of view and balancing it against the defence of the realm. She raised the matter with the men but they were distracted by the problem of manufacturing the device to be of much help. Negotiations were complete and equipment was being delivered, when Ivy went frozen at the dining table for two or so minutes before returning. She began to explain but Berryl ordered her to "eat!" After the meal was cleared the group retired to the library to hear Ivy's suggestion;

"The problem in transmitting police documents is that time dating is important in their execution and judges get quite sticky about this. So a document presented in Settlement from Gorgipest over the FTL is definitely going to be questioned and in open court. And I've heard Da often enough to know there are a lot of judges who would throw the document out under those circumstances unless they were in on the FTL secret and it wouldn't remain secret long. We, speaking as a constable now, require certified documents on which to act and part of that certification is the date of execution. In the interests of the defence of the realm, we will have to accept restrictions upon our usage of the FTL coms and I, personally, think we have to accept it doesn't exist. But I can envisage events which might be that critical to the peace and order of the realm that they impinge upon the realm's security.

The only authority which the Courts will not question is the Royal Prerogative. The Royals have demonstrated a particular touchiness in claiming that privilege and claim it only rarely. The Sovereign's right arm in affairs of Prerogative is the Heralds office. If the Heralds can certify a document with a time date effective in Settlement or Gorgipest the Courts would accept it without question.

We need Bill Oscar here and Da in Settlement to be Heralds and to have the authority to certify documents effective in local time.

This will work while those persons are on either end of the link but I don't know what happens when they go — the system would rely upon the integrity of the individuals.

"Can we get the Heralds involved? Can we get an office opened here?"

Berryl looked at Julie who offered

"I'd trust Sarnt Oscar with my life — not my daughters', that's their prerogative, and I know his reputation is known throughout the Kingdom. Sorenson isn't as well known as he is (cough cough) only a constable. From what Morg and TJ say transmitting documents is going to be part of FTL soon, but I can see the frustrations of the bobbies. You have already seen a benefit of quote routine unquote police coms using FTL. This is a decision above my level. Sorry, I'm out of my depth."

"Does anyone have access to the Heralds?" Gabrielle asked.

"Ah, we got involved with one some months ago; a small fiasco involving a Royal" said Ivy "Da actually had a conversation in the official sense with him."

"So there's your solution, Ivy; that's what you were leading up to, wasn't it? Thought so. Berryl, when you get back to Settlement, Bill Sorenson and you speak with him. I've run into them occasionally when they visit outlying planets and I have always been impressed with them. I'm sure they would love to have an office here with FTL — the increase in authority available with the increased timely knowledge. Yes, I think they will see the benefits."

...

""Naseby" is over in the south west gap region, showing the flag in Bhute and other systems and she will be back here in three days for local leave and then will exercise with 8th BC off Scapa for a month or so before paying off in Settlement for the major refit."

Admiral Higgins was seated in the Anataver Room speaking with TJ, Morg and Ivy. He had had a very close look at the position of the trio after picking up from Morg and a later discussion with Bill Oscar the present state of the development of the system. Oscar had admitted that they were only just moving into a production pre planning and apparently the trio hadn't done any work on that and there were pseudo alligators yet to be slain. There would be details which needed attention from them, not necessarily a full time effort, but certainly quicker solved if they could be consulted readily. Joe Higgins had not got to where he was without having the ability to assess the significance of things and where necessary adapt the circumstances under his control to get the best outcome. He had knowledge of an important perhaps even critical improvement in communications — he didn't know how it worked but he didn't need to, all he needed was to be able to use it. He could foresee problems would arise requiring the presence of the inventors to resolve and they couldn't do that if they were paid off in Settlement and dispersed Deity knew where for another posting. He had then talked with the personnel people and found that the trio's posting was routine and not filling a critical deficiency (Gunlayer 3rds were not essential people — they just made up the numbers). He then tasked Personnel to find courses where the trio could be placed to keep them on Gorgipest for the next year or so. The Officer Commanding, Personnel, had an idly curious moment but when an Admiral suggests, who was he to idly question so he presented a return suggestion and the Admiral put it to the trio.

Morg and TJ baulked; they wanted a space going posting; Ivy's bias was to accept her posting as she could see advantage in her ultimate career. Higgins pointed out that their future would be uncertain anyway after being paid off a ship but he could almost guarantee the men would be posted back to "Naseby". After further discussion — rather one sided as Admirals are not usually disputed — the deal was struck.

In return for their working on the FTL as needed to bring it into service, TJ and Morg would go on the year long EVA course and return to "Naseby" after her refit and Ivy would attend a Gunnery Electronics Course over the next eighteen months and then be posted to "Monarch", a battleship serving with Home Fleet.

The youngsters were not sure how they felt about the scheme but recognised that there would have been a parting of their ways at some point; it was just that the parting now had a specified date attached.

Morg took the opportunity to show his friends the basement opening into the passage way and they agreed it would have given the old time excise men headaches trying to find it. Morg had found several other smaller person sized hidden exits in his searches leading out into the parkland in front of the building but the distances weren't great. He went rabbiting on about needing powerful detection equipment to find these passages and how difficult it was to move such power sources and remain covert.

Ivy's grey matter gave a lurch,

"TJ, what's the range of FTL? How far can you punch the signal out? We are using the power from a couple of over powered racing yachts and were are only reaching across the Kingdom. Can we send a signal, say, across the Gap to 3rd Fleet when it is away from Maureen's Moon?"

"Look" replied TJ laughingly "Morg and I solve the difficult technical problems and leave those mundane questions for you to solve. Seriously, it is proportional to the energy we can impart to that particle as it begins the positive path of its curve; Morg and I have developed a way to recapture about eighty percent of that energy when it returns and the ongoing power requirements are minimised but that first couple of impulses need the greatest power input. At present, the theoretical range will go a bit beyond Maureen's Moon but the energy needed does increase not quite logarithmically but frighteningly close even with the energy conservation. What are you thinking?"

The trio were retracing their steps back to the Club for a luncheon served privately in the Anataver Room, and the conversation continued;

"So to really cover local space reliably, we should be thinking of 'rebro' stations and they would stand out begging to be removed but not if we hid them in plain sight. Before I left Basic to go to Advanced, I remember reading about a scheme to put beacons in outer space as navigation aids — nothing came of it because of gravitational drift and I had a thought about placing beacons at Lagrangian Points about at least local galaxy. So, if the beneficent Mountserrian Kingdom placed such beacons at the Points and say incorporated a lifeship for space wrecked mariners, the power plant would have to be of appropriate size and of course, routine voyages would have to be made to service such bouys. Perhaps even place it under the Heralds who are the epitome of apparent neutrality — they aren't; they are the Sovereign's very devoted servants and serve the Realm."