Chapter 06 - Learn

After Cirakari received the news that I was joining the Peregrina, she immediately went to talk with the Admirals. I sat in the waiting room and overheard a small discussion and argument. Apparently, some of the Admirals had other plans for me.

But at the end of the day, everything worked out. The whole situation reminded me of my days back on Earth, where corporate politics often determined assignments more than actual qualifications. Some things were universal constants, no matter which star system you called home.

“I think everything’s settled now,” said Cirakari after she had left the room. “I arranged it with Dr. Xuefeng, he’ll start your training today.” The way she emphasized “arranged” made me wonder if there were some small letters to this deal.

“Is there anything I should know about him beforehand?” I asked, trying to get a read on what I was walking into.

Cirakari pondered for a bit as she considered her response. “I think you’ll like him, he’s not military. He’s responsible for the Broodmother’s propulsion system.” She paused, then added, “He’s brilliant, but... particular about his methods.”

“Shouldn’t I be learning about the Peregrina’s systems?” I questioned.

“Yes, and you will. He’s perfectly qualified to teach you everything you need to know about the Peregrina.” Her tone carried a hint of defensiveness that made me curious about the story behind this arrangement.

“Perfect. Should I wait for him at the Peregrina’s docking port?” I asked, already mentally preparing myself for what would likely be an intensive training session.

“No, she’s still under maintenance. He’ll train you on the Virgo.”

“Alice’s ship?” I let it slip, immediately regretting it.

Cirakari frowned a bit. “Actually if the Virgo belongs to someone, that someone is Commander Chen. But yes, Alice is part of the crew, have you already met her?”

“Yes, she helped me find the infirmary yesterday.”

“That is good, she is the PCMHS of the Virgo. She can help you in your training.”

“Oh… Really? I didn’t know that.”

Cirakari showed a concerned complexion. “Look, your instructor is Dr. Xuefeng, ok? If there’s any problem, talk to me.” she said. Only now I noticed she seemed a bit tense. “It’s just that this whole situation with Dr. Xuefeng wasn’t exactly what we were planning,” she finished, glancing around as if checking for eavesdroppers.

“Sorry to intrude, but who would ‘we’ be?”

“Filandril,” she answered like someone who had let slip something they shouldn’t have. Her normally composed demeanor cracked slightly.

“I see. Admiral Baraka had other plans?” I ventured, putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

She was surprised by my observation, her head tilted slightly. “Yes, our plan was for you to do your training aboard the Hilgard with First Lieutenant Uriel. But Admiral Lánhuā forced her hand and called in some favors. She says you are not in the military, and therefore you should receive civil training.”

“Look, I know there’s all this political tension and everything. But I’m completely neutral in this story. I’m practically an alien to you all, I don’t have any party affiliation.” I tried to position myself as an outsider, hoping to avoid being drawn into whatever power struggle was playing out.

“There’s no such thing as neutral, Fred,” she retorted, her voice hardening slightly. “But I agree with you, you should avoid taking sides. However, everyone needs allies to survive in the labyrinth that is A.N.T.U.”

I had already noticed that Cirakari had ulterior motives with me since we arrived at the Broodmother. But it was at this moment that I understood what they were. She was serving Filandril’s agenda. I knew absolutely nothing about TRAPPIST-1 politics, but from what I know about humans in general, there is no “right” side when it comes to politics.

✹✸✶✸✹

I headed to the location Cirakari had indicated. The docking trunk was in the center of the ship, where there was no gravity. I pushed off carefully from handhold to handhold, making my way through the zero-G corridor.

I positioned myself near Virgo’s decompression chamber and waited for Dr. Xuefeng’s arrival, using the time to study the external hull markings and comparing them to what I remembered from my Genesis IX training. The technology here was both familiar and alien—like looking at a great-great-grandchild of the systems I’d trained on back on Earth.

“Hello, Mr. Almeida. Forgive my delay, I got stuck in an important meeting,” he said, bowing slightly before me. Dr. Xuefeng was a man of quiet intensity. His silver hair, neatly combed back, framed a face marked by age but showing no signs of fatigue.

“Hello, Dr. Xuefeng. No problem, I just got here,” I replied, returning his bow somewhat awkwardly in the zero-G environment.

“Please, after you,” he said, pointing to the decompression chamber.

I entered first and waited for him inside the Virgo. She was, not surprisingly, practically identical to Peregrina. Some things were in different places, others had different colors, but overall it was the same thing. Xuefeng entered shortly after, his movements were precise and economical, a sign of years of experience in zero-G environments.

“They told me you have experience with physics and mechanical engineering, correct?” he said.

“Yes, I trained for the Genesis IX engineering team,” I replied, hoping my outdated knowledge would be worth something here.

“Then I imagine you’re already familiar with how a Nuclear Thermal Engine works?” His tone suggested this was as much a test as a question.

“Is the core solid or gaseous?” I asked, wanting to ensure I addressed the right type of system.

“Solid.” A slight nod of approval at my question.

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“Yes, I’m familiar with it. The core is an enriched uranium matrix. The core temperature is maintained around 2750 K and the reaction is controlled by boron or cadmium rods. As a reaction mass, you inject hydrogen into the core which absorbs the temperature and is expelled at high velocity.” I tried to keep my explanation concise while showing I understood the fundamental principles.

“Your description is correct, Almeida. Indeed, that was the classic operation of nuclear thermal engines.” His eyes lit up with what I recognized as an engineer’s passion for their subject. “However, there have been some significant advances since then, especially in thermal control and core temperature limits. Previously, one of the biggest challenges was managing the residual heat which, on long missions, compromised the engine’s efficiency. Nowadays we use enriched uranium embedded in a graphene matrix. We can raise the core temperature up to 3800 K for intermittent periods,” he paused to see if I was following. “As you must know, this significantly increases the specific impulse.”

The enthusiasm in his voice was contagious. He was someone who truly loved his work, someone who saw beauty in the elegant solutions of advanced engineering. I found myself leaning forward, drawn into his explanation.

“Yes, I’m following. I know that the Peregrina uses a cluster of these engines. Still, the acceleration I felt was intense. Could this increase in temperature alone explain that level of force?”

“Not exactly. We use a variant of the regular NTR, called Liquid Oxygen Augmented NTR. We can inject oxygen into the exhaust plume if needed. This considerably reduces the specific impulse, but it also greatly increases the force produced.” He smiled slightly at my evident interest. “It’s a trade-off, but one that gives us significant tactical advantages.”

“So these are the tanks I’ll need to control? Oxygen and hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures?” I asked, already trying to visualize the system layout.

“Exactly. Plus the cooling fluid tanks, obviously.” He gestured toward a nearby access panel. “Shall we take a look at the actual system?”

After the broader concepts, we began to delve into the details. The feeling was very strange, everything he explained to me I already had knowledge of, in a way. But at the same time, everything I knew was “almost right,” or else, “yes, but now we do it differently.” I was completely overwhelmed with so much information. It was like learning a new dialect of a language I thought I knew—familiar enough to be recognizable, but different enough to be confusing.

Some of this was my fault, I wanted to show that I knew what I was talking about. And this must have come across to Dr. Xuefeng as a sign that I was ready for the flood of technical details. But I wasn’t. Each time I demonstrated understanding of a basic principle, he would launch into increasingly complex variations and improvements that had been developed over the centuries since my training.

The training lasted twelve hours in total, with only a thirty-minute lunch break. Even that was spent inside the Virgo, discussing the problem with tank 6’s valve. Even our meals became teaching moments, with Dr. Xuefeng using his sandwich as a prop to explain fluid dynamics. After lunch, we dismantled Virgo’s internal panels and inspected more than half of the piping.

At the end of the day, we had to put everything back together because the crew would be conducting training during the next shift. Xuefeng insisted on checking each connection three times, making minute adjustments that I could barely perceive. I left there exhausted, my head ached and throbbed from the effort to keep up with Dr. Xuefeng’s encyclopedic knowledge and exacting standards.

I was dirty, with stains of grease, oil, and who knows what else was under those panels. My once-clean uniform now bore the marks of a proper engineering inspection, and it was in this state that I met Alice and the rest of Virgo’s crew.

“Commander Chen,” Xuefeng greeted Virgo’s commander with impeccable formality, despite the long day. “We had a full day today, but I believe I’ve left your ship in perfect condition. If there’s any problem, please don’t hesitate to let me know and I will resolve it promptly.” If there’s one thing I had learned that day, it’s that Xuefeng’s perfectionism would NEVER allow him to let anything slip. The man treated each component like it was a priceless artifact that demanded absolute precision.

“Thank you very much,” Chen replied with equal formality. “Crew, you may begin boarding, I need to speak with Xuefeng for a few minutes.”

The crew formed a sort of line holding onto the corridor’s inner wall, one at a time, they boarded the Virgo.

“Good to have you join us,” Alice said, extending her hand to greet me. Her smile brightened the utilitarian corridor.

“I better not, my hands are filthy,” I tried to be polite, showing my grease-stained palms.

“Stop being silly, I’m a PCMHS too, soon enough mine will be worse than yours.” She grabbed my hand anyway, her firm grip suggesting she was no stranger to hands-on work. “Besides, clean hands mean you haven’t done any real engineering today.”

“Tell that to Dr. Xuefeng,” I chuckled. “He somehow manages to stay spotless while crawling through maintenance tubes.”

“That’s because he’s not human, he’s actually a maintenance robot disguised as a person,” she whispered conspiratorially, then glanced over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t within earshot.

“Had no idea you were a PCMHS, Cirakari told me earlier today.”

“What did you think I was? A pilot?” She raised an eyebrow. “Though I suppose I don’t fit the stereotype of the grease-covered engineer right now. Just wait until you see me after tearing the ship apart to find a goblin.”

“Find a goblin?” I got curious.

“You know, those squeaky, mocking little things are a pain to fix.”

“Oh… Like a bug in a software?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“I think I’m going to need some tips from you” I said, trying to make sure Xuegeng wasn’t hearing. “Mr. Xuefeng knows every centimeter of piping, but he’s also very meticulous. At this rate, I’m going to need another 150 years to finish studying the ship,” I continued in a playful mood.

“If you are up to a 24 hours-long training, then yeah a could help you” she said with a grin.

“I don’t get it.”

“You are using the Virgo to train and so am I. I believe we will be working on different shifts.”

“Sunday maybe?” I tried my luck.

“By Sunday, we should arrive at Vielovento’s gateway station. But with everything going on with the Overseer’s Armada, there’s a good chance that the Virgo will be deployed elsewhere,” she explained, a hint of sadness clouding the mood.

It was already her turn to board the ship. “Well, let's see if we can figure something out by then,” I said, giving her a parting smile.

“See you,” she said, reluctantly preparing to leave.

✹✸✶✸✹

I met the Peregrina’s crew at the dining table, where they were exchanging playful banter and mockery.

“Hey, guys! How’s it going?” I asked.

They nodded in response, their laughter from the last joke still lingering.

“Oh man… I feel sorry for you,” Tài said with a grin. “Cira told us you spent the whole day with Xuefeng.”

“It wasn’t that bad—actually, it was pretty great,” I said, catching their disbelieving expressions. “Seriously, he’s a wealth of knowledge. Yeah, he’s demanding, but that’s what I expected from a three-week crash course to become a PCMHS.”

“Well, in that case, I’m happy for you… I think,” Tài replied, chuckling.

“I noticed almost everyone’s in some kind of intensive training,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, soon it’ll be our turn,” Cirakari added. “The Peregrina should be ready by tomorrow, and we’ll be joining the group sessions.”

“If the Peregrina will be ready, shouldn’t I start using it for my studies?”

“Technically, yes. But as we discussed earlier, you won’t be,” she said. “Besides, if you did, we’d have to train on the second shift, and you still need Dr. Xuefeng.”

“Shouldn’t I be training with you too? I could barely keep up during those high-G maneuvers.”

“You will, once you’re done with Xuefeng’s lessons. But you’ve already handled the patch-working pretty well. The combat training will mainly help boost your endurance.”

“Cool,” I said with a nod.

We chatted a bit longer, but after finishing my meal, I was ready to call it a night.

“Alright, guys, I’m heading out. I need some sleep—I’m exhausted.”