how you plan on getting past any Klin or 2G’s who are hanging out around the Earth,” Sherri said. All eyes turned toward Adam.
“That’s because I don’t have a good answer yet. I’ve thought about coming in dark, and essentially coasting in undetected. But Kaylor has informed me that we’d have to start so far out from the solar system that it would take years for us to get in traveling at sub-light speed. I’ll get Kaylor and Jym working on deactivating the transponder, which would at least keep the ship’s identity a secret. But the gravity signature of a Class-5 starship is very distinctive, and there’s not a lot of them around, other than Juirean and Klin.”
“How about this,” Chris began. “I saw this once in a program about drug running in Florida. We overshoot the system, and then come in from the opposite direction. In the program, the drug aircraft would fly in past the panhandle of Florida, and then double back. The Fed’s were only looking for aircraft coming up from the south, so they never paid much attention to anything coming down from the north.”
Adam raised his eyebrows. “That might work, if we can turn off the damn transponder. With so many other ships buzzing in and out of the system preparing for the Juireans, we might be able to blend in with the rest – if someone doesn’t analyze our gravity signature too closely.”
“It’s also a pretty good bet that the Klin know exactly where the Juirean fleet is, and when it will be arriving at Earth,” said Riyad. “Knowing this, they may not be on such high alert to check out every signature they see.” He looked over at Adam. “I think it’s worth a shot.”
Adam nodded. Then he turned to Kaylor. “Is it even possible to deactivate the transponder on a ship this big?”
It was Jym who spoke up. “Actually, it’s easier than on a commercial vessel,” he said, bouncing in his chair with enthusiasm. “Commercial ships make landfall on a variety of planets, so it’s more important for the authorities to track their movements and origins. Military craft, especially something this big, do not make landfall, and their identity is pretty much established already. The transponders aboard military craft are used primarily to keep track of the individual vessels in times of battle, to help the commanders allocate their forces. I’ve been checking out the circuitry and I don’t see a problem deactivating the transponder.”
The mood in the room lifted after Jym’s statement. “Great,” said Adam. “It will still be a risk, but we don’t have much choice. Of course, we also can’t park the ship in orbit so that the Klin can see it visually. So we’ll drop it off on the moon. Kaylor says he can set it down on a surface with a very low gravity threshold, even though these ships are designed never to make landfall. I have confidence that he’s right.”
Adam could see Kaylor perk up from the compliment. Over the past several weeks, the two aliens had begun to bond with the crew, and even appeared to be warming up to Riyad. Adam was glad to see it. Deep down inside though, he was worried about what would happen to the two of them once they returned to Earth. They couldn’t live on the planet themselves, not with Earth’s gravity, and by now, Adam was pretty sure they were on whatever ‘Most-Wanted’ list the Juireans had, so returning to The Fringe would be difficult as well.
Unfortunately, they were victims of circumstance, just like the rest of them. No one in the room, or on the ship for that matter, had asked for any of this to happen to them. And now, they were just trying to do the best they could to survive.
Chapter Eight
After so many months at a constant frenetic pace, Adam found himself at a loss as to what to do with himself once the monotony of the journey back to Earth slowly unfolded. The two aliens spent most of their time together, confined to the lighter-gravity region of the command
“That’s because I don’t have a good answer yet. I’ve thought about coming in dark, and essentially coasting in undetected. But Kaylor has informed me that we’d have to start so far out from the solar system that it would take years for us to get in traveling at sub-light speed. I’ll get Kaylor and Jym working on deactivating the transponder, which would at least keep the ship’s identity a secret. But the gravity signature of a Class-5 starship is very distinctive, and there’s not a lot of them around, other than Juirean and Klin.”
“How about this,” Chris began. “I saw this once in a program about drug running in Florida. We overshoot the system, and then come in from the opposite direction. In the program, the drug aircraft would fly in past the panhandle of Florida, and then double back. The Fed’s were only looking for aircraft coming up from the south, so they never paid much attention to anything coming down from the north.”
Adam raised his eyebrows. “That might work, if we can turn off the damn transponder. With so many other ships buzzing in and out of the system preparing for the Juireans, we might be able to blend in with the rest – if someone doesn’t analyze our gravity signature too closely.”
“It’s also a pretty good bet that the Klin know exactly where the Juirean fleet is, and when it will be arriving at Earth,” said Riyad. “Knowing this, they may not be on such high alert to check out every signature they see.” He looked over at Adam. “I think it’s worth a shot.”
Adam nodded. Then he turned to Kaylor. “Is it even possible to deactivate the transponder on a ship this big?”
It was Jym who spoke up. “Actually, it’s easier than on a commercial vessel,” he said, bouncing in his chair with enthusiasm. “Commercial ships make landfall on a variety of planets, so it’s more important for the authorities to track their movements and origins. Military craft, especially something this big, do not make landfall, and their identity is pretty much established already. The transponders aboard military craft are used primarily to keep track of the individual vessels in times of battle, to help the commanders allocate their forces. I’ve been checking out the circuitry and I don’t see a problem deactivating the transponder.”
The mood in the room lifted after Jym’s statement. “Great,” said Adam. “It will still be a risk, but we don’t have much choice. Of course, we also can’t park the ship in orbit so that the Klin can see it visually. So we’ll drop it off on the moon. Kaylor says he can set it down on a surface with a very low gravity threshold, even though these ships are designed never to make landfall. I have confidence that he’s right.”
Adam could see Kaylor perk up from the compliment. Over the past several weeks, the two aliens had begun to bond with the crew, and even appeared to be warming up to Riyad. Adam was glad to see it. Deep down inside though, he was worried about what would happen to the two of them once they returned to Earth. They couldn’t live on the planet themselves, not with Earth’s gravity, and by now, Adam was pretty sure they were on whatever ‘Most-Wanted’ list the Juireans had, so returning to The Fringe would be difficult as well.
Unfortunately, they were victims of circumstance, just like the rest of them. No one in the room, or on the ship for that matter, had asked for any of this to happen to them. And now, they were just trying to do the best they could to survive.
Chapter Eight
After so many months at a constant frenetic pace, Adam found himself at a loss as to what to do with himself once the monotony of the journey back to Earth slowly unfolded. The two aliens spent most of their time together, confined to the lighter-gravity region of the command
Similar Books
![Their Independent Bride [The Men of Space Station One #6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)](https://fs.collectorofbookboyfriends.com/508100/thumbs/152x264/their-independent-bride-the-men-of-space-station-one-6-siren-publishing-menage-everlasting.png)
