Lori and Clark – The New, New Adventures of Superman – MMC V 6 24/32
By Ken Janney
Warning: This story is rated PG-13.
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Previously:
It was like a light bulb suddenly went on in Ching’s head. He said, “Say, you’re right! What if raw materials like granite can pierce their shields?”
Lori spoke up again, “It would be like the biblical story of David and Goliath. We could throw stones at them!”
Zara spoke up for the first time, “How would any stone we could throw pierce their shields and do any damage? It would be far too small.”
Clark asked, “Have either of you ever heard of a rail gun?”
Both of the Kryptonians shook their heads while Lori nodded in understanding. Clark proceeded, “A rail gun is a device that uses magnetic fields to accelerate an object to high velocity far in excess of the velocities produced by explosive charges and in space there wouldn’t be an atmosphere to slow it once it left the device.”
Ching thought he had found a weakness and spoke up, “But, if it is dependent on magnetic fields to cause the acceleration, the projectile would have to be made of iron or steel which would be deflected, wouldn’t it?”
“On Earth, there is a French word, sabot, which came into common usage in the twentieth century. It is the root of the word sabotage which came into common usage during World War 2 when the Dutch would use their wooden shoes, sabot, to gum up the works and delay or prevent the production of war materials by the Germans. Later it came into use to describe a shoe which surrounded a projectile. The military took a spent radioactive projectile of considerably smaller diameter than the gun that would be firing it and created a sabot to go around it which built it out to the size of the cannon. As soon as it left the barrel the sabot fell away and all that was left was the dense core projectile moving with all of the speed and power of the larger round. It would punch through the thickest armor. What I propose is that we create granite projectiles and a sabot of iron or steel. Once the projectile leaves the end of the rail gun the sabot will fall away and the granite projectile will do the work.”
Excited, Ching said, “I’ll put a team on building one right away. Can you give me a rough drawing and a description as to how it works? That would help our engineers get started.”
Clark replied, “Why don’t we finish this meal, then you and I can get together with the engineers and I can go over it with them. Then they can take their own notes.”
Ching raised his glass of Kryptonian wine and said, “An excellent suggestion. To the rail gun and our defense.”
They all lifted their glasses in toast and drank.
After the meal Ching and Clark left to meet with the engineers. As they were leaving Ching said, “We’ll be back later. Zara, why don’t you girls go out and you can show Lori some of the sights?”
Zara looked at Lori and smiled mysteriously as she said, “We may, but then again we may just stay here and have some girl talk. Maybe we’ll compare our husbands.”
Both men were startled by this comment and somewhat apprehensive.
And now:
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Chapter 23 – A Surprising Discovery
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -124 Alt-Prime
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When Kal and Ching returned the girls were both curled up on a couple of couches facing one another and chatting amiably.
As they entered Ching addressed Zara and asked, “Okay, so, how did I fare when compared to Kal?”
With a wicked little grin Zara said, “You’re the best husband ever.”
A little downcast from hearing this Kal asked Lori, “I suffered by comparison?”
With a grin that matched Zara’s, Lori replied, “No, we decided that you’re the best husband ever, too.”
Kal and Ching both gaped and asked, “How can that be?”
The girls laughed and Zara said to Ching, “You’re the best husband ever on New Krypton.”
Lori said to Kal, “And you’re the best husband ever on Earth. Now, of course, we might just be a little bit prejudiced on our evaluations, but, then, what wife doesn’t think her husband is the best ever?”
Kal looked at Ching and said, “Well as one best husband ever to another I think we have a couple of terrific wives. What do you think?”
Ching replied, “I would have to agree with that evaluation, but then, we might be a little prejudiced in our evaluations.” They both ducked as Zara and Lori each launched pillows at their respective husbands. Ching was able to dodge his easily but, Kal, since Lori was super powered wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way of the one she launched at him at super speed. He shouted, “Hey, no fair, you’re still super powered!”
Lori started laughing and said, “Serves you right, for making that comment.”
They picked up the pillows and joined their wives on the couches. Zara asked, “Well, how did it go?”
Ching answered, “Kal was very thorough. The engineers have an excellent idea of what they need to do and they think they should have a good drawing tomorrow and a working model within ten days.”
Lori said, “Isn’t that going to be cutting it kinda close? That’ll only leave about thirty days before they are here.”
Kal said, “We will be working on other items at the same time.”
Ching added, “Tomorrow we’re supposed to test the shield technology. The first spherical ship is just about ready for its test flight. We are hoping that the maneuverability of the spherical design will give us a big edge in the upcoming conflict.”
Kal added, “Also, the linguists are going to be preparing a message for them which will be recorded and placed on a robot craft. We plan to launch that and have it on station in their path broadcasting. We still have to decide on the content. Any ideas?”
Zara suggested, “How about a warning that if they enter our space they invite their destruction?”
Kal replied, “They could perceive that as either a threat or a challenge. That may not be the way to go.”
Lori offered, “How about an offer to simply negotiate?”
Ching replied, “That might be best. Offer to start a dialogue rather than a war.”
Zara asked “Ching, did you show Kal the battle suits that we recovered from that scout ship?”
Ching replied, “No, not yet. We’ve had other things to do. I was planning to show those to him tomorrow.”
Lori asked, “Why don’t you tell us a little about them?”
Ching responded, “Okay, well, these are powered environmental suits. They have an exoskeleton which imparts great strength. There is a small, personal, shield unit located on the chest and weapons mounted on the arms. The whole thing is powered by a power pack carried on the back.”
Kal asked, “How effective is the shield device?”
Ching replied, “Don’t let the size and portability deceive you. It is every bit as effective as a ship based device; it just covers a smaller area.”
Lori suggested, “But does it have the same vulnerability?”
Ching replied, “It should, but, it would be difficult to use the rail gun against an individual.”
Smiling, Lori said, “I have something else in mind. I’ll need to talk to an engineer, a metallurgist, an ornithologist and a geologist.”
Kal looked at his wife with a mystified expression before he said, “That’s an odd mix of disciplines. What do you have in mind?”
Lori replied, “Think back, I think the Emerald Archer is due to make a comeback. I need an engineer to design a new more powerful compound bow and the metallurgist to come up with a metal alloy that will stand up to my super strength. I need the ornithologist to get me some feathers for fletching and the geologist to locate some obsidian, flint and quartz for arrowheads. I’ll also need a lot of wooden dowel rods. Since all refined materials are deflected by the shield I will need arrows made of all natural, unrefined materials.”
Continuing she asked, “The crew of the destroyed scout ship, was there enough left of them to determine their anatomy and physiology?”
Zara replied, “I led that team. We found a couple of individuals that managed to partially don environmental suits before the catastrophe. We have a pretty good idea of their anatomy. It is essentially the same as ours. There is some minor rearrangement of the organs, but, still essentially the same.”
Lori said, “I’ll need a drawing indicating non-lethal, disabling targets on their bodies that I can aim for.”
Zara replied, “I’ll have a med-tech prepare a drawing for you. It should be ready tomorrow.”
Standing, Lori reached for Clark’s hand as she said, “Thanks. If that’s all for tonight I think we’ll head off to bed.”
Following Lori’s lead, Zara also stood as she said, “That sounds like a very practical suggestion.” As she stood up she reached for Ching’s hand.
Each couple went to their own suite.
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The next day Ching arranged the meetings that Lori had requested. She explained what she needed to the engineer. The design that came out of the discussion was a compound bow with pulleys for power and other features that gave it more capabilities than any bow heretofore created. At the push of a button, locking pins were released and the bow folded in upon itself into a very compact shape which would fit in a compartment of the quiver. The metallurgist knew of a Kryptonian alloy that he felt would hold up to the strain and when formed into fine wires and braided and twisted into a cord should make an adequate string. The estimated pull would be such that only an individual with super strength would be able to pull it. The speed and force generated would be such that it should pierce the heaviest armor.
The geologist knew where outcroppings of various minerals were, quartz, mica schist, obsidian, and flint among others, each of which could be given a fine edge and would make formidable projectiles.
Lori would be depending on her skill with the bow to enable her to hit her target so precisely that she would not inflict mortal wounds.
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On the day of the test flight of the spherical ship they were to be on hand. They accompanied the prize crew. They had the best astrogator on New Krypton; his normal assignment was on the palace ship. Ching took command and directed the trip out of the atmosphere with Kal-El as his Executive Officer. The rest of the crew was the cream of the crop as far as the Kryptonian forces were concerned. The senior astrogator, navigator and helmsman from the palace ship were at their stations. Engineering was also the pick of the crews from the fleet.
Ching took his place in the center seat and looked around. Once assured that all stations were properly manned he addressed the helmsman, “Helm – status?”
The helmsman replied, “All systems show as ready Commander.”
The question was understood when he said, “Navagation?”
The Navigator answered, “Course plotted to take us out of atmosphere and to a position five hundred thousand units north of the ecliptic, beyond the orbits of all of New Krypton’s moons using conventional power, time to station - seven point five hours.”
“Acknowledged.” Ching pressed a button on his console activating a communicator. “New Krypton control, NK-SSX (New Krypton Sphere Ship Experimental) ready to commence testing.”
“New Krypton control to NK-SSX you are cleared for departure.”
“Helm, initiate. Take us up.”
“Aye Sir.” The helmsman operated a control.
Kal was a little surprised that there was no sensation of motion. The only way he knew that they had left their berth was the fact that the view screen went to a star speckled black, thanks to the artificial gravity technology.
During the trip to the designated test site they performed system checks and rotated crews so that the primary crew would be fresh when it came time to start the testing.
Once they reached an area away from all planetary bodies they brought the ship to a stop. They checked all power systems to ensure that they were all operating properly.
Ching said, “We are not sure what effect the force fields will have so we have created a relay which will turn the fields on for only one tenth of a second. It was felt that so brief an activation shouldn’t result in any possible damage.”
Clark said, “I would make the additional recommendation of donning environmental suits, just to be on the safe side.”
After these precautions had all been taken the switch was thrown. Apparently nothing happened. Ching checked around and all departments reported that no problems had been encountered. He said, “That would appear to be a successful test. Let’s go for a longer period this time.” He pushed a button on his command console and said, “Reset the relay for a ten second engagement.”
A few seconds later he saw a green light appear indicating that all was ready. He pushed a button on his command console again. This time it was a ship wide call, “Prepare for shield engagement.” He released the button and said, “Execute.”
There was a moment of disorientation and then it was over. The astrogator shouted, “Lords Ching and Kal-El, we have moved.”
Clark and Ching both spoke up at once, “What do you mean?”
The astrogator was busily pushing buttons and reading displays. After several seconds he said, “We have moved approximately one tenth of an orbit away from New Krypton.”
“How could that be? We didn’t apply any thrust!”
“I don’t know sir, but, there’s New Krypton, over there when it should be here.” He was indicating positions on a 3D holoprojection of a space chart.
Ching said, “Let’s return to our starting point.”
The crew moved to comply. The ship slowly moved back into position. Once the ship was where it was supposed to be Ching ordered a repeat of the test.
When the test was over the astrogator reported, “The results are identical to the last test.”
Ching muttered, “Curious,” then louder, “Return to start point.” He hit the button on the command console again and said, “Increase duration to twenty seconds.”
When he saw the green light he ordered, “Execute.”
The feeling of disorientation lasted longer. When the shield effect was turned off again the astrogator reported, “Sir, we have moved exactly twice as far as the two previous tests.”
Ching challenged, “Does anyone have an explanation for this movement?”
After a few minutes Ching observed as the assistant astrogator started running some computations. When he finished he had a broad smile on his face as he called the senior astrogator over to show him what he had come up with. The senior astrogator checked what his junior had come up with. Once he had satisfied himself of the validity of his supposition he turned to report.
With a motion of his hand, Ching silenced him. He pointed to the junior and said, “He came up with the answer, let him explain it.”
The senior bowed aside and the junior started to speak, “Sir, it was the vector information that was inconsistent. It we had stopped in space relative to the orbit of New Krypton we would be here.” He used a glow stylus to indicate a position in the holo-display. “However, we are here.” He indicated a position south of the plane of the ecliptic as well as behind the orbit of New Krypton and then continued, “I started to wonder why we would have moved down as it were. Then it occurred to me that not only is New Krypton moving in its orbit, but, our sun is also moving in an orbit around the galactic center. By taking that into consideration the new position makes sense.”
Ching put out a general question, “What could have caused us to stop in space while the planets and stars continued to move?”
The chief physicist, who happened to be on board, offered, “The only thing that could cause us to stop dead in space would be the cancellation of inertia. A body in motion tends to remain in motion, but, that is only when the body has inertia. The corollary is that a body at rest stays at rest until an outside force is applied to it. I would speculate that somehow the activation of the defensive shields, configured as they are in a spherical pattern; somehow negate the property of inertia for all of the mass enclosed in the field. If we were to initiate the field and apply some thrust a minimal thrust should result in tremendous speed because it is being applied to an inertialess mass.”
Ching came to a decision, “We are going to initiate the field and start applying thrust starting at minimum and slowly ramping up the thrust until we are accelerating enough to maintain position relative to New Krypton.”
The crew jumped to their stations. When the panel was all green Ching gave the command to execute.
Ching and Clark followed the chatter between astrogation and helm as they worked together to adjust the thrust. Finally when they were satisfied they gave a report.
“Astrogation reports stationary position, relative to New Krypton. Thrust at twenty-three percent. Velocity approximately 300,000 miles per hour. That equates to approximately 22 percent of light speed. We must be cautious due to time dilation we could be in essence moving forward in time as we accelerate. It would be proportional to the speed/duration interval.”
Ching ordered, “Cut the field.” Abruptly the display on the screens changed slightly. Ching realized that they were still applying thrust so he ordered, “Cut thrusters.” All motion ceased.
He came to a decision, “Navigation, plot a course to take us home.”
After running some computations the navigator replied, “Using conventional power – time to New Krypton – one day seven hours. Using FTL drive – sixty-five minutes.”
Ching ordered, “Helm, initiate FTL, best speed back to New Krypton. Kal, as soon as we get back we need to talk.”
A few seconds later there was the familiar feeling of the FTL drive kicking in. After a relatively short time they felt the return to normal space with the shutdown of the FTL drive. The helmsman reported, “Landing in 25 minutes.”
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