IUSD6

==Chapter 6 - I used to Dream==
Forthwith, the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth issued an executive order recalling all Kowloon Coast Guard units to active duty. A second order locking them into their regular patrol routes with a standing order not to engage in operations coreward of a line defined at Newtown Square.
Why did he do this? Because the Archon didn't want another war, especially not a long-range expeditionary war with a bunch of unstable genocidal maniacs.
He came just short of seizure of all jump-capable assets, only stopping when reminded by his advisors that such a move might be seen by other powers as provocative or as a prelude to an attack on the Free Worlds League, Rasalhague Dominion, Draconis Combine, or Republic of the Sphere.
Essentially, starting (potentially) another war in the middle of efforts to wring a peace-dividend out of the ending of the Jihad, was something Archon Adam was unwilling to do at this time.
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Physics classroom
Spider Moon CGNAS
Academy
December 15th, 3085
[POV shift back to Patrick...]
"...never got the chance to test the Alcubierre warp concept, since it was overshadowed by the development of Kearney and Fuchida's hyperspatial physics equations."  Penny Falcone reminds me of Amanda sometimes, and sometimes, she's the most frustrating human being I've ever met-and I've attended Sibko training for a while.
"And?"
"Your sister was working on it." she tells me, "I mean, she was inspired on it, maybe.  The base root equations are completely different from KF theory, but there's no visible reason the two phenomena can't coexist in the same set of laws."
''
"More than one way to go faster than light?" I'm half-listening, but encouraging her.  Commander Trau is half an hour late for the lecture period.
"Why not? we have more than one way to send information at FTL speeds, Black Boxes don't work on the same principles as KF drives, after all." she tells me, "The efficiencies aren't there, jump drives won out, because there wasn't any need to develop anything else!"
"And this interests you?"
"No. Theoretical. Limit." she tells me, "Aside from raw power, an Alcubierre drive could beat a jumpship on long-range routes.  On short-hauls jumpers have the advantage, but even with LF Capacitor arrays, you're still going to spend at least a week in most habitable systems recharging at the end of either your first, or second jump.  That stacks over time the same way that an airliner moving at 600 KPH might beat a puddle-jumper supersonic plane over a long haul domestic route on a low tech world.   Anyway, nobody's done serious work on it in a thousand years, and some of your sister's modifications to the formulas look consistent."
"ANd?"
"We have a mandatory dissertation to present for graduation, and this is obscure, not what everyone else is digging into, we can be unique."
"What you mean 'we'?"
''
"I'm small. I can not build it.  It would mess up my nice clean suit gloves." she tells me primly, "You, are a big, green eyed, handsome lug with talented hands...and do you really think I'd waste my time on a guy I'm not going to keep?"
"You ARE trueborn." I remind her.
''
"Yeah...so?  I am territorial, and you are mine." she grabs my hand, "Mine."''
So...I guess I have a girlfriend?
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