Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars

by Matthew Opdyke

  “Wow, if you had asked me thirty years ago what I thought I would be doing many years later, I would have told you that I would never have thought I would be doing much more than making coffee, but here I am. Can you believe that I’m a Lieutenant General in the United Allied States Space Force? As a part of the Intergalactic Mission Contingency, I can’t imagine much less than my work will be cut out for me. Let me tell you, I am enchanted to be working with my Commander and crew. I am also, in all seriousness amazed and pleased with Luís’ gravity drives, or G-Drives. I’ll have all of the more reason to brew a unique and special coffee for each person within my crew and any others who visit along the way, without concern for any of it spilling on the command crew deck, or anywhere else. In all reality, these machines can fly! Seriously! We can pull some serious G’s while not feeling a thing, but maybe a little thrill. I am indeed impressed, Luís, the many who worked closely with him, and the many others who led the way.

  “Alright, let me start on the brief here.” As he said that each of the constellation regions was on display behind him, providing profound clarity as to their location from Earth, spanning out throughout the galaxy, and then throughout the rest of the known Universe. As he spoke swiftly of each one, the region would expand, and more detail was made available. “We will setup observation posts in the constellation regions of Equuleus, Lacerta, Lyra, Pegasus, Sagitta, Vulpecula, and Caelum. In Equuleus, we are interested in three spiral galaxies, NGC-7015, which is about 212 million light-years away, NGC-7040, which is roughly 260 million light-years away, and NGC-7046, which is about 180 million light-years away. We will set up posts in Lacerta, with an added interest in BL Lacertae, which appears to be a galactic core remnant about 900 million light-years away. In Lyra, we will observe and possibly colonize IC-1296, which is a barred spiral galaxy about 221 million light-years away, and NGC-6745, which is an irregular galaxy about 206 million light-years away. With the President, we would like to pass by, and do as she wishes, around the region of stars that are a part of the Vega system. We are interested to know if we are chasing Vega in our orbit around the galaxy, or if indeed we are outright going after it at 12 miles per second.

  “Pegasus gives us a beautiful view above the galactic plane and with that, there are many regions we find quite interesting, all of which are loaded with beautiful galaxies and phenomena. Of greatest interest will typically be the furthest away or the most unique. In this case, the group of galaxies known as Einstein’s Cross, which is about 8 billion light-years away, and another group known as Stephen’s Quintet, which lays between 39 and 280 million light-years away, are both regions where we plan on having many observation posts, exploration missions, and colonization cities. There will most definitely be initial requests from Sol for volunteers. Once the colonies are in full bloom, we will be able to rely on them more fully for support. Either way, no matter how far out we go, we’ll always keep in touch, so long as it is possible.

  “Sagitta, Vulpecula, and Caelum have some points of interest as well. We will set up headquarters within the Pegasus region, most likely within the region of Einstein’s Cross for Zone-05. We are excited to see how that region has developed and look forward to sharing all details within the Zone-5 Matrix in the Virtual Universe. That should be all for now. However, I have every bit of confidence that there will be plenty more to come. Does anyone have any questions?” He paused, looked around, smiled, and sat down. Looking as young as his twenty-two-year-old well-toned physique ever could be, he fits in his UAS Space Force uniform quite well. As he had spoken, his highlights and accent colors drifted to dark grey and purple and in a way that matched the variations of grey and purple colors in his eyes, as well as the purple highlights in his dark wavy and shiny hair, which were quite unique to Bobbi, who was about sixty-five years old yet still very handsome and charming. The women loved his gentle yet friendly swagger. The crowds knew he had a unique flare and that he would work well with Melissa, she too smiled.

  Chapter 66: IMC Zone-06

  Rebecca Knight and Jeremiah Voltaire actually went up to the podium together. She looked very commanding yet quite sultry in her UAS Space Force uniform, which fit her very svelte frame. She’d straightened her hair and worn it in an up-do for this occasion. The highlights of peach, baby-blue, and turquoise went well with the same color accents in her uniform, blending with her light chocolate skin, as well as with the peach, baby blue, turquoise, and black irises of her eyes. Jeremiah complemented her quite well, with many of the similarly-expressed color-accents, suggesting they were well-bonded and ready to journey for the long haul together. He too fit his uniform ever-so-well, with his musculature, his clean-cut hair, and his compassionate stare of vigor, empathy, kindness, dedication, and purpose.

  “Hi.” General Knight addressed the audience and then turned to Lt General Voltaire.

  “Hi.” Lt General Voltaire looked at General Knight and then addressed the audience.

  “We’re both up here together, we’re both parts of the same team, and we’re part of the crew of UAS Space Force IMC Command Zone-06.”

  Rebecca then continued, “Yes, Jeremiah and I, we go way back, and I agree with you, Najem, he is a mighty fine chef!” She looked at Najem in the audience, smiling back, and continued. “I am looking forward to bringing every citizen within the Universe updates as applicable, and whenever you’re at a loss as to where we are, simply look us up in the Virtual Universe and give us a ‘ping.’ Believe me; we’ll be there for you! We’ve been trained to multitask in so many helpful ways. Our zonal regions are located about 50 to 90 degrees galactic longitude, as well as beyond and below the galactic disc, looking through and beyond the western portions of the Orion Spur and the Perseus, Cygnus, and furthest reaches of the Scutum-Crux arms. We have a lot to look forward to. The floor is yours, Jeremiah.” She stepped down; people were in awe of her commanding yet endearing presence. There was a lot more to her, and everyone knew that. She had a lot of amazing stories to tell and had helped countless individuals during the rise of Pathway, yet for now, she was brief. Besides, there would be plenty of opportunities over a lavish meal to catch up with her through the upcoming years.

  “I will say, I am the lucky one to be on this crew,” said Lt General Jeremiah Voltaire, with a serious tone, and a tear down his cheek. “I remember sitting with Pathway’s current President, Joanne Gallant, many years ago, in a park just down the street where she was recording her first album. I was homeless at the time. I was sixty-five years old. I had no car; I had nothing, well, except the clothes on my back and a dream. I had led a long life full of misfortune, had worked as a chef a number of times, and at one point received an award. The toxicity eventually drove me away, yet I still dreamt that one day I would own my own restaurant and reach out to others through every savory and fulfilling bite of food while being a much better manager than any I had had. Our relationship of communication and listening to each other with daily-shared meals provided by Joanne turned into generosity beyond measure, prior to and following her success in the musical industry. After she returned from her very first tour, in 2009, Joanne gifted me her vehicle and the funds needed to rent an apartment in New York and set up my first restaurant.

  “In 2010, I met Eliza, after having run my restaurant for one successful year. My life changed. Nine years later, Joanne met her too. I know Joanne has a much greater future ahead of her than she can imagine, because as the UAS grows, so will the responsibilities of leadership, whether in Pathway, onboard the Presidential Spacecraft as Chief Environmental Science Officer, or in politics, or no matter where her leadership qualities take her. She has blessed the hearts of billions already.” Joanne blushed in the crowd, trying to hold back her tears of gratitude for his graciousness and honesty. He was an emotional man, yet he was so sincere and sweet that his emotions were contagious in a good way.

  Jeremiah continued, “Here we are today, I look twenty-two, but I’m eighty-six and not too much younger than General Jas
mine Belle over there. She is a wonderfully gifted, accomplished, and beautiful lady too. She is another wonderful leader of the future who was looked over for her work with pulsars, while two men were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. Yet, we still understand so much more about astrophysics because of her, and her knowledge has very much contributed to the immense efforts of everyone else involved. So, no matter where we are in life, no matter our age or situation, do not lose heart, we are not alone, and there are many who do care. It is through caring that I am where I am today. Jasmine, I invoked your name, but please know, you are welcomed to visit and share in any one of my chefs delights at any time. Joanne and Eliza, you are both welcomed to come aboard UAS Space Force IMC Command Spacecraft Zone-06 as well. Stafford and Christian, we can compete on our prowess as chefs for many years to come, and I’ll never be offended should either of you best me and on many occasions, you already have. The crews will always be the better for it. Now, I do not mean to make a private club of any of this, I don’t believe in those sorts of things, but being a chef, while using the other skills and expertise I’ve gained along the way, well, this is my way of thanking each of you for the inspiration you have brought into my life. This is my way of thanking you for helping me to go from a time in my life where all I had were the streets and the stars, to a point in my life where I was not only feeding the stars of music, life, and art, but now I aim to visit many more stars throughout the Universe.

  “We have some very intriguing locations of interest that we will visit, observe, explore, and colonize, due to the fact that many of our constellation regions give us a beautiful view just beyond the southern plane of our galactic disc, and much further out. First and foremost, we will work with the President and General Celeste on any missions requested, and we will then set up observation posts for constellation regions in Cetus, Columba, Dorado, Eridanus, Fornax, Horologium, and Hydrus. In Cetus, there are a number of galaxies that have piqued our interest, all of which will call for numerous volunteers as we set up observation posts, exploration missions, and colonization cities. In Columba, there is a fossil group with a giant elliptical galaxy given the scientific name of ESO-306-17, courtesy of our scientist friends from Europe, and although there are many intriguing and much further galaxies in our zone, we plan to establish our Zone-06 headquarters there.

  “Dorado is the home region, not too far distant from our own Milky Way, wherein resides the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite, and irregular galaxy, with a view of the Small Magellanic Cloud not much further away when it comes to cosmic distance. During our studies, we have come across what appears to be a cold spot, or the possible edge of our known Universe, in Eridanus, about 45 billion light-years away, and as such, we will set up at minimum an observation post in the Eridanus Void near the Cosmic Microwave Background, relative to Earth, for the President to explore as she will.

  “Many other beautiful galaxies will call for our utmost of attention as well. We will then setup, as coordinated with General Vesha Celeste, once all UAS Command Zones have been visited, a regional observation post just beyond UDFy-38135539, which is currently the second most distant object, containing about one billion stars, almost 13.1 billion light-years away, and bid her farewell as she crosses beyond the CMB barrier, upon completion of each of our primary missions. Of course, there is very little to worry about, since we’ll have primary missions in Horologium, with the Reticulum supercluster which has 30 thousand giant galaxies, 300 thousand dwarf galaxies, and lays between 700 million and 1.2 billion light-years away.

  “Following that, we will travel to Hydrus, there will be many locations to explore there, and we will, through our Virtual Universe network, see her just fine. Given the current expansion of space, however, Earth will never see the most distant locations again, unless we do what we are doing now, thanks to Vesha, Eliza, and many more.

  “I appreciate the stellar leadership and kindness I’ve born witness to throughout these last two decades, and of course, I begin by sharing my gratitude with my dear friend, Joanne Gallant. Everyone else, please know you too are priceless. Thank you all, again, for everything!”

  Jeremiah Voltaire won quite a few rounds of applause. They had all seen the purity of heart and mind within Jeremiah and then both Eliza and Joanne, as their stories and lives played out on the screen behind him, designed by him while inside the Virtual Universe. Everyone within the UAS-wide broadcast felt that it was nice to hear in testimony the voice of someone who went from rags to one of the great leaders who would no doubt go down in history for centuries to come in this grand quest of the UAS IMC.

  Chapter 67: IMC Zone-07

  Jeremiah sat down, but on his way to his seat he saw Generals Mett Dormer, James Wilhelm, Shayeena Arezo, and Khalim Alia, and shook their hands as the four passed him on their way to the podium.

  Generals Mett Dormer and James Wilhelm had requested of the President to work together with Generals Shayeena Arezo and Khalim Alia, in UAS Space Force IMC Command Zone-07, due to the fact that they had many places of interest to visit, and they had planned on dividing into Regional Zone-07A and Zone-07B at some point during their journeys. The President had worked with the crew of Zone-07 and Vesha Celeste on this, and together they agreed that this was fine. The two four-star generals had worked with Eliza in the early days and were involved heavily with Vesha for quite some time in key aspects of the development of the UAS Space Force IMC Spacecraft. Shayeena and Khalim were married in 2022, had worked together to bring a much higher quality of life to each boy, girl, man, and woman of Afghanistan. Each of these individuals was of the highest reputation and moral character, and each one carried virtues of empathy, compassion, passion for innovation, kindness, gentleness, love, power, and authority.

  “We have come up together before you, to, in our own unique way, share with you our unity as a team. Both James Wilhelm and I had been inventors, had rubbed shoulders, and processed many patents for the firms and organizations we worked for, for quite some time. We had grown rather attached as friends, found that we work rather well as a team, and now we appreciate the honor of being co-commanders on-board UAS Space Force IMC Spacecraft Zone-08, upon our request, and thanks to the agreement of the President, the IMC Commander, and our crew. Lt Generals Arezo and Alia are also a wonderful part of our team and both happen to have had quite an applaud-able journey. They have both demonstrated top-notch leadership capabilities, are of the highest of virtues, and are married to each other with a wonderful desire to share the amazing aspects of our mission experiences with each other and every crewmember. Yes, we are unique, and that is celebrated by the UAS, so thank you. We assure you, we will have much to do within our zones, regions, and sectors of space, and as breakthroughs and discoveries are made, we will adapt and share them with you without hesitation. After all, we are, each of us, part of one team. We as a civilization can attain anything we put our minds to.

  “James?”

  General Dormer bowed his head once, nodded to his three teammates, and stood back. The audience admired his clean-cut dark and shiny hair, with different shades of violet and turquoise highlights running through the curls in his hair, his dark irises, and the embroidery and trim of his UAS Space Force IMC uniform that he filled with the musculature that suggested many hours in the gym. Notwithstanding his powerful aura, he was one of the kindest and most thoughtful gentlemen in the solar system. General Wilhelm was a little taller, a little more slender, and he too was suave, energetic, yet had a vibe of sophistication and gentleness. His clean-cut, dark and shiny hair had variations of blue and purple highlights, as did his dark irises, and the trim and embroidery of his uniform that complemented his athletic features quite well.

  “Thank you, Mett. I’m honored to share this position and work with you. We’ve known each other for years. As some may know already, we’ve actually been close friends for thirty years. I’m looking forward to sharing command of the spacecraft with such a wonderful team player and human being. S
o, happy anniversary to my friend who has stood by my side through the years, and professionally-maintained focus on his work, as he helped so many lives, worked with me on so many of the aspects that will ensure a safe and smooth journey for every crewmember as we navigate to the limits of our observable Universe. I would also like to Congratulate President Eliza Williams and Vice President Yesha Alevtina on both of your second successful bids for US presidency and the formation of the UAS presidency, with its subsequent success worldwide, where they too were elected for a one-hundred-year term. Even though I’ve been in this world just a tad longer than many, my ninety-eight years have passed by with many moments of clarity, joy, and productivity, yet Eliza’s and Yesha’s dedication and care for humanity, history, and all living beings have inspired me more than I could have ever imagined. As we go on this journey, supporting the setup of observation posts and colonies with the Presidential and IMC Zones 01-07, I have every bit of confidence we will learn yet so much more. Every detour we take, every mistake we make, every success we attain will build our wisdom enabling a much more promising future, for not just ourselves, but for all who treasure life, music, the arts, the sciences, the healthy and helpful aspects of culture, and so much more. Ladies and gentlemen, Lt Generals Shayeena Arezo and Khalim Alia.”

  With that, the crowds of Sol cheered. Many were familiar with the noble biographies of Mett and James, their highly-intellectual pursuits throughout the many years, and their style when it came to management, and many knew that their crew would be phenomenal as the journeys began and continued toward one success after another. The two gentlemen made a wonderful team, were very dedicated, and even with their high internal discipline they were full of empathy and kindness. What was known in smaller circles was the fact that James Wilhelm had been close friends, and it didn’t matter, they never let their friendship take away from their dedication to their professions, their families, and other noble pursuits. Normally, it would not have been a big deal, but it was unusual for a zonal command to have two leaders, but Sky had suggested that he and Mett share this journey, since there were aspects to Zone-07 that were unique and would require a double-up of commands. Eventually, this zone would be divided into Zone-07A and Zone-07B, so they were there to not only inspire people, young and old, but to let them know that no matter the relationship, friends can still maintain their dedication to the tasks at hand while doing wonderful things to help many other wonderful people. Mett had no issues sharing command with James, since they’d been friends for years, so this would be a unique and welcomed opportunity.