by Arlin Fehr
'What's the status of our drive systems?' Captain Fredrick asked his helmsman
'Fully operational, and ready for full burn,' came the reply.
'Very well, take us out of orbit. Comm, confirm flight plan with space control and then lock it in.'
The two crew members at the navigation and helm stations gave their acknowledgement.
'Azure Dream to space traffic control, we confirm green light, and we are ready to depart.'
'Roger that Azure Dream. Godspeed.'
'We'll check in when we pass the Oort cloud and begin our long range jumps.'
'Roger that,' replied the controller.
The view of the earth filling their view screens, rotated away as the ship's pilot, turned the ship onto it's exit vector.
Sam walked over to Howard and was smiling again, 'It's exciting to be underway. I've never been as far as we're going.'
Howard smiled, 'Glad you're so excited Sam. You'll keep that Guardian under control for me right?'
Sam laughed, 'You don't need to worry. The Guardians haven't failed yet, and I don't plan on sullying that record on my watch.'
'Good to hear. Though I reckon we could fly this ship without it's help.'
'I don't doubt your abilities Captain, you have a very impressive record.' Sam looked back to the main screen, and the display of the flight path out of orbit, 'I hope to be able to lessen your misgivings about XO-33.'
From the helm came a voice, 'Exit vector engaged, we'll be in safe jump distance momentarily.'
'Set first jump for Io Supply station,' Howard ordered.
'Roger that Captain.' the navigation officer said.
'Captain. All systems are green. Jump systems ready for inter-system jump.' reported the helmsmen.
'Engage'
With a flicker of something just beyond range of vision, and a split second feeling of overwhelming vertigo, the grand giant of Jupiter snapped into view. The curvature of Jupiter's moon, Io, took up the bottom third of the screen. A collection of lights sat floating right above it. The lights were from the Axion Data Works Io Station. It was the first permanent installation built in the Jupiter orbital region, and it was hub of activity for many of the corporations and private firms in the area. The swirling clouds of Jupiter sat as a backdrop.
'Io station to Azure Dream, please make your approach on Vector one-three.' said a voice over the speakers, 'Proceed to holding zone 8. Delivery of your Guardian and final supplies will commence once you are in position.'
'Roger that Io Station. Azure Dream inbound on vector one-three.' replied the comm officer.
Howard turned towards Sam, 'Well, from here on out you and the Guardian take care of the jump calculations.
'You'll still have plenty to do Howard, but you know as well as I do that if there's any mistakes in the long range jumps we could miss our target planet. Trying to find it again without the assistance of a survey ship would be unpleasant.'
'But not impossible,' Howard countered, 'Our navigator, Irwin Fritz, used to be a stellar cartographer and is quite familiar with the star charts of the area.'
'Ahh we are in good hands then,' Sam said.
The ship started moving towards the space station floating in orbit above Io. It slowly started to resolve itself into a ring shaped structure with spokes coming out of the ring at regular intervals. At the end of most of the spokes there sat the huge forms of various tankers and barges moving resources and supplies around the Jovian industrial complexes.
'Come on Sam, lets go see the Guardian. The station technicians will be bringing it online.'
…
…
System start.
XO-33 Guardian.
V3.7.11
Searching for Advocate Uplink.
…
…
Advocate uplink found.
Advocate designation; Samuel Jennings
Access Clearance; Full access, command authorization.
Activating full Advocate uplink.
Sending authorization codes
…
Advocate codes received.
'Hello XO-33. Bring Azure Dream uplink online. Run Familiarization programming, and come meet the captain.' Sam said over the wireless link between him and the Guardian.
Activating Ship Uplink
Accessing language files
Activating Interaction programing
Stand by...
...
'He's waking up now Captain,' Sam said.
In a large room with a clear pillar in the centre of it, Howard and Sam stood waiting.
The pillar seemed to waver for a moment before it was filled by the image of a human head. The head looked narrow in build, and had very sharp check bones. None of it was the face of a real person though, just the avatar given to the Guardian core for all it's human interactions.
'Hello Captain Howard Fredrick. I am XO-33, Guardian core assigned to the Azure Dream.' said the head.
'Are you going to listen to Sam here all the way to our destination XO-33?' Howard asked quickly.
'I am programmed to listen to the commands of Advocate at all times.'
'See that you do. If push comes to shove I am more then willing to fly this ship myself.'
'That would not be recommended Captain. The complexity of the jump calculations over the distances we are travelling would make such a feat considerably mo-' the head was silent for a moment, 'I... I mean I will listen to Samuel at all times sir.'
Howard frowned and looked at Sam, who just smiled a wry grin.
'Did you just tell him to...?' Howard let the rest of the sentence to go unfinished.
'I'd rather not comment' Sam said with the same grin.
Howard turned back to XO-33.
'Am I going to have to call you XO-33 all the time?'
'I am programmed to accept 'Nicknames' so long as they are determined ahead of time, and contain an element of my original designation.'
Howard looked at his feet for a moment, 'How about Exo?' he asked looking up.
'Nickname has been logged.'
'Okay then. Exo it is.' Howard said.
'It is what?' asked the head.
'Never mind. So Exo, with your calculations, how big will every jump be?' Howard asked.
'Axion's estimate is at 40 light years. Distance will vary based on variables that may arise.'
'With jumps that long how long is the drive going to take to recharge and reset?'
'Approximately 12 days between jumps.'
'Bit of a delay between jumps,' Howard commented.
Sam piped in, 'That's because of the distances involved. With Exo doing the calculations we are increasing the range of the jumps by almost twice what we could safely do with a human only crew. We'll end up cutting the total travel time by about two months.'
Howard turned to Sam, 'We've still got four months of travel to cover. But we've got all the colonial supplies, we could take longer if needed.'
'Hopefully nothing goes wrong.' Sam said.
'I may not like all the factors of this expedition, but it's been done before. We are far from the first to try colonizing. We're just the first to go this far. So long as we're all on our toes we should be fine.' Howard said.
'Yes Captain, but the last ship to colonize was the first to go out as far as it did, and the one before that was the first to go out as far as it did. We'll be fine.
Exo's head dropped it's chin, then looked back up at Sam and the Captain. 'Io Station reports supply loading is complete. The last of the specialists have finished disembarking. We are ready to get under way.'
'Alright. Sam, lets get to the bridge.'
Past The Oort Cloud
'Jump drive off line. Commencing recharge sequence.' The voice of XO-33 said flatly from the bridge speakers, 'ETA till next jump 30 minutes. Jump will be four point five light years in distance.'
'That's a short jump.' Sam commented.
Howard looked over at him, 'We're still clos
e enough to Sol that we are receiving interference from the sun. Stronger gravity wells do strange things to the Jump drive's accuracy, so we don't want to jump too far on the first jump. We'll be able to get our bearings with that short of a jump, correct for our drift, and then make a maximum distance jump far away from the effects of Sol. Once we're in the space between the stars, there is very little interference to throw us off.
'We have a slightly shorter recharge time for the first few jumps. Once the stresses start to build up in the drive arrays, we'll have to wait for longer between jumps. It's a very tricky procedure. After every jump the drive receives a residual charge that can interfere with further jumps. So before we recharge the drive, we've got to bleed off that charge. Hence, why we have a shorter recharge on the first jump, there hasn't been enough time to build a charge yet.'
'Interesting. I did not know that, I've never been outside the solar system before,' Sam said, 'so nothing like that has come up.'
'Nothing quite like it. I've been out to the Alpha Centauri colonies twice. Once I went out further than that, a colony called Twilight.'
'Oh, what was the place like?'
'It's mostly a research colony, the star it orbits is strange. It's cooled and crystallized. The Twilight colony is there to study it. At the time I was there they were trying to... well I don't know the science of it, but basically tune into the thing. Like using a crystal transmitter on a old radio. They were going to see if they could use it like a massive receiver.'
'How will they be able to be able to pick out anything meaningful from all the back ground noise?'
'Well they're working with our friends the Xozon,' Howard said, referring to the only alien species earth had come in contact with, 'The Xozon are going to be sending a transmission towards Twilight once they're ready. We'll use it as a test to see if we can pull something out of the background interference if we know what we're looking for.. After that, who knows. I for one thought it was a fascinating project.'
'It sounds fascinating.' Sam said.
'I'll leave it to the scientists. That sort of thing always interested me, but I was never any good at it,' Howard said, 'We'll you've got some time to kill. Why don't you go have a look around the ship?'
'I don't mind if I do.' Sam said, and started walking.
***
Walking down the long passages of the ship, Sam was never truly alone. His constant companion, the Guardian, was always watching him, and always present in his mind.
'Exo,' Sam asked over the link.
'Yes Advocate?'
'Direct me to an observation area.' Sam requested.
'Protocol indicates that you should not expose yourself to unnecessary risk. Observation areas are the least shielded on the ship.'
'We are not moving. The last accident in relation to a observation area was over forty years ago and that was while moving. I'll be fine.' Sam said.
'Yes Advocate. Follow my directions.'
Sam walked on in silence. To the outside observer he would have appeared to know exactly where he was going. Inside his quiet exterior though, Sam was being given directions as he walked.
Soon he found himself in a large round room ringed with windows. Not made of glass but a clear material of much greater strength.
Sam walked up to one of the curved windows. He appeared to be on top of the ship, near the back, overlooking the length of the craft.
He gazed out at the ship and the stars.
'Exo, which star is Sol?' Sam asked.
'It will be the star that is three feet above the second drive nozzle. I will indicate it.
Samuel looked down the length of the ship to the two visible drive nozzles of the conventional engines used to move the ship around when it completed a jump, or was approaching a planet.
Above the drive nozzle, was a small point of light with a faint red circle displayed around it by Exo through Sam's eyes. Nothing at all like grand ball of light mistaken as a God by ancient people. It's distance stirred something in Sam, an odd sense of loss. It was akin to saying good bye to a old friend.
'Advocate. We will be commencing our next jump in two minutes. I suggest you take a seat. This will be a longer jump, and we do not know the effects of the jump sickness on you yet.' Exo said.
'Thank you Exo.'
Sam walked over to one of the couches in the room. Each one looked perfectly normal, but also doubled as a crash restraint, with safety harnesses built into them out of the way but accessible in the event of an emergency.
Sam took a seat, and strapped in for good measure, looking out at the back of the ship. He kept a eye on Sol.
The seconds ticked on, then everything seemed to become tinted with a shade of purple. All the stars dimmed and vanished. Then, in a faction of a second, new ones snapped into place where they had been. The strange colour faded and Sam was left staring at a empty spot in space where Sol had been, fighting a intense desire to throw up.
The sickness was over almost as soon as it began, and Sam stood up.
'Time until the next jump?' Sam asked
'Approximately twenty four hours.'
'Run a full system diagnostic on all high level command links. That shouldn't interfere with your jump calculations should it?' Sam asked
'I will be performing most of the calculations internally and not relying on ship systems, the high level command links will be unused.' Exo answered
'Proceed with the test. I'll be going for a walk for now.'
'Yes Advocate.' Exo replied.
Sam got up from the couch and left the lounge. Without guidance, he walked aimlessly among the decks. His enhanced body wouldn't require sleep for some time yet. He could always force his body into a idle state, but he had yet to familiarize himself with the ship as a whole, or to meet any of the crew manning the ship. Or the colonists for that matter.
Four months cooped up on a colony ship was not anyone's idea of a good time, but it was a far cry better than the old days of deep hibernation. Care was taken to pick good candidates and to give them everything they needed to thrive and stay happy on the journey.
Sam stopped outside a double door in a hallway he had wandered down. The information panel said it was a theatre.
Sam hit the open button and walked in.
A fairly spartan lobby was on the other side of the door. A ticket desk was manned by a middle aged blond lady. She had blue eyes and a round face. She was reading a book and leaning back in her seat.
Sam realized he was probably older than her by a good twenty years. The nature of the enhancements given to him increased his life span.
She heard him come in and looked up. She looked a little surprised at his presence.
'You're the Advocate aren't you?' she said.
'Yes, but please call me Sam. And your name is?'
'I'm Sarah. How can I help you sir?'
Sam held up his hands and said, 'Please, just Sam, no sirs for me.'
She smirked at this and seemed to relax, 'Okay then Sam, what can I do for you?'
'What is this place?'
'It's a movie theatre. Though we'll also use it for plays or musical programs if anyone on board feels like producing any.'
'I see. Is anything good on?'
'The next program isn't for another hour. Most people don't like being interrupted mid program by a jump. The nausea tends to spoil the show.' Sarah said.
'I can understand why,' Sam said cheerily.
'Would you care to get an advanced ticket?' She asked.
'How does your ticket system work? How do you ensure everyone gets a show?' Sam asked, leaning on the counter.
'It's a first come first serve system, with a quota attached. If there is a over booking, the people who have seen the least number of programs here will get priority seating, to ensure that it's fair.'
'And this is your job?'
She chuckled, 'Oh this would get very boring for four months. I also work in the hydroponic bays. I'm one of the technicians.
I make sure all the plants are healthy, happy, and nutritious.'
'So a farmer of sorts then,' Sam said with a grin.
'My father was a farmer on earth, I hated the dirt,' she said with sour face, 'Now I farm in space with nothing but powered lights, water, and scientific instruments. What about you Sam? We're you always a Advocate? I always wanted to meet an Advocate.'
Sam smiled, 'Most Advocates are picked while still young. It's a life long journey to learn with and teach the Guardians. They are in a way like children when they first come online. Our own Guardian XO-33 is a green horn. He's by no means incapable of doing his job, but he has yet to develop a personality.'
'A machine with a personality?' Sarah asked.
'Every Guardian develops one. I worked with one on the Lunar mines that had this bizarre habit of speaking in a french accent. It drove the Axion programmers absolutely up the wall. Those guys couldn't figure out why, and the Guardian... what was its name... PE-6, of course we just called him Pierre.
'Pierre?' she said with a smile, 'That's funny. What do you call our Guardian?'
'Well, it's name is XO-33, but the captain and I have decided to call him Exo.'
'Exo eh? Can he hear us right now?'
'Well he's always keeping tabs on me, but he's busy with a task I gave him.'
A monotone voice chimed in, 'I am here Advocate.'
Sarah looked at Sam with a sheepish grin.
Sam smiled back, 'Nothing to worry about Exo, we were just speaking about you.'
'Yes Advocate' said the voice.
'So that was Exo.' Sam said.
'Seems kind of stiff.' Sarah commented.
'Oh just give him time, he'll unwind.'
'If he unwinds too much, he won't be able to keep time.'
Sam stared at her, his mouth open in a surprised smile. He started to chuckle. Sarah laughed.
'Wow. That was... that was good. There's two things I love, bad jokes, and old movies,' Sam put on a mock serious face, 'Wouldn't happen to be playing any old classics tonight would you?'