Artwork by: Don Granberry
Medium: Photoshop Composite
illustration
The NCJS Dragonfly, commanded by Captain Hinako
Ninomiya, deploys its fragile JumpSail in the vicinity of
the beautiful Pleides star formation.
EXCERPT FROM PART 20, CHAPTER 5
"Ah, Lady Akane. Captain Saotome,"
the eight-year-old greeted them. "You'll be happy to note that we shall
reach the Jump Point in one hundred and nineteen hours
at our present acceleration."
"Is there any way we could
decrease that time?" Akane asked her.
"Within the limits imposed
by our stores of reaction mass and what our bodies can withstand, yes.
If we
increase thrust to one-half gravity, we can cut our
transit time by half, but we'll also consume twice the fuel."
Hinako did a quick calculation. "By providing close
to three quarters of a billion newtons of thrust for about sixty
hours, our HEPLAR drive will use approximately 140
tons of reaction mass, or about a third of our total capacity."
Akane shrugged. "Guess it
wasn't such a great idea."
"It was a fine idea," Hinako
countered. "If you aren't concerned with replenishing your fuel reserves.
Considering our position, we have to be a little more
careful about it."
"Point taken," Ranma said
to Hinako. "I guess that's why she's the Captain, huh, Akane?"
She shot him a dirty look.
"I was only trying to see if we could get out of here a little sooner."
"It was a valid question,"
Hinako said to her. She favored Ranma with a scathing glance. "The only
dumb
questions, Captain Saotome, are the ones that are
never asked."
Shampoo was utterly baffled
by this. Was the Confederation so desperate for good officers that it recruited
children? The little girl was apparently very intelligent,
and her voice carried with it a maturity that did not match
her tender years, but did they actually expect her
to be capable of carrying out such demanding duties on her
own?
Image Copyright (C) 2001, Don Granberry. Used with permission