When Daksha saw the team in action, he knew that he had his crew. The ‘cats came as a surprise, but they’d figure that out as they went. He’d ordered additional real meat brought aboard and frozen in the cryo pods that lined every ship’s external hull. He had enough meat for four years for the ‘cats, three if they included it on rare occasions in the diet of the rest of the crew. If they were only gone for a year, then they could have a regular and substantial diet, something the captain looked forward to.
Logistics. Mission strategy. That’s what made Master Daksha’s position different than the ship’s captain, who was responsible for ship operations. As the Mission Commander, Master Daksha was responsible for the scientific aspects of the mission, determining where they would go after the initial guidance from the SES, and how they would explore once they arrived. There were too many variables to make those decisions from a thousand light years away. One managed the ship, the other managed the mission.
The captain was instrumental in many decisions, but it took all of them to make deep space exploration a success.
Briz was assigned to engineering as Chief Engineer. At one time, he would have held the rank of commander, an old earth naval term. With the SES, it didn’t matter. The position was earned because of his knowledge and how he could best contribute to the ship. Cain, on the other hand, was assigned to the black and gray water systems. These were critical for the people on board, but immaterial to the ship’s ability to fly through space. The black and gray water systems handled the sewage, sending as much as possible to recycling, and what couldn’t be recycled was packaged for ejection.
Ellie cautioned the others in joking about Cain’s assignment. He didn’t take it well, except that he believed in the mission. He signed up to go exactly where he was going, to a different solar system, exploring.
On a different ship, Cain might not have seen what he wanted to see, but the Cygnus-12 didn’t need to launch a shuttle filled with the explorers traveling slowly within a solar system. Cain was on the one ship that could do it all. It would penetrate the heliosphere and fly itself into the gravity well. He’d get to see it all firsthand!
On the monitors, of course, because where he worked, there were no portholes with a direct view of space. Cain committed to learning the systems in his control and making sure that they worked at peak efficiency. The crew deserved that. At the end of the work shift, he’d return to his quarters with Ellie and everything would be okay. He reasoned that if he couldn’t do a good job at a bad job, they’d never give him a good job.
Ellie was assigned to engineering. She’d serve in the section within the core, the doughnut like ring. She’d serve within a Vii-normal environment where Cain would be working in half that. He’d have to adjust to feeling twice as heavy when he returned to his quarters after the shift. To help his daily adjustment, he only worked half his shift in the spindle section of the spaceship. The other systems were located within the core.
Tandry was assigned to stores and sensors. The two had nothing to do with each other, but sensors were mostly hands-off. Ship stores needed constant attention. There was a certain amount of fresh food offered daily to supplement what was provided by the fabricators.
Hydroponics and fresh growth took up an entire ring of the core module. Not only did that provide fresh vegetables and greens, it recycled carbon dioxide. It served as the ship’s garden deck where all the people took time walking through each day to improve their oxygen saturation and general health. There was nothing like a stroll through a well-maintained garden to maintain one’s spirits. Two Rabbits were assigned to the Cygnus-12 with the primary responsibility of the garden ring. Their quarters were within the garden and some of the crew members suggested that they’d never left the garden level since reporting aboard. No one wanted to ask.
Pickles was assigned to the command deck as a sensor operator. His entire job was to collect data, catalogue it, and work with Jolly to analyze it. Anyone could look at the data, but only a couple people had that as a primary job. The others were envious until they realized what it entailed. Sitting in a chair and watching streams of data, looking for highlights or anomalies. And that was it.
At least the others were not just able to move about, but would be active throughout their work shifts. Cain needed that. The others did, too.
Lindy was assigned to recycling and fresh water systems, with a heavy reliance on maintenance. She and Cain would have to collaborate on much of their work. She needed help, claiming her fluid dynamics calculations were a little rusty. Briz had told her once that he’d tutor her, and he did not forget his promise. He committed two hours in separate one-hour sessions daily to work with her. One team, one mission. The ship was life.
Her main work station was in the low gravity of the central core, down a corridor from the hangar bay.
Leaper got the choicest assignment of all. He was aide de camp to Master Daksha. He would take care of whatever the commander needed, as well as assist the captain as directed. The drawback was that he wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to be doing from one minute to the next. The commander and the captain both committed to keeping Leaper hopping. They said there was no chance of him gaining weight during their trip and that he had the steepest learning curve, as he was supposed to know everything about everything.
The ‘cats decided that they liked the garden deck and were determined to live there. They could talk with their humans anywhere within the ship via their mindlink, so they didn’t need to be in the same work space. So with some human help, they worked their way to the garden deck where they floated around, waiting for artificial gravity to return.
Lutheann was far happier than Cain expected. Their throw-down in the shipyard had cemented their bond and made them true partners in life. Cain found himself conversing with her more than he talked with his wife. He didn’t know what that meant, but understood that it was probably not optimal.
He shrugged it off and focused on his work.
“All hands to work stations! All hands to work stations!” came the call over the ship-wide broadcast as well as over each crew member’s neural implant. A strident flashing made Cain open his window, where he was treated to the announcement, with further instruction regarding where exactly he was supposed to be positioned based on what systems had failed in the past during initial movement from space dock.
“Oh great, I’m in here with the sewage pumps because this is the system most likely to fail!” he shouted to the space filled with machinery, but devoid of other life. He hadn’t wondered about the chemical decontamination shower within his primary workspace, since most sections on the ship had them, but his seemed to be well-used. Suddenly, that concerned him. He queried Jolly regarding how many times the sewage system had failed.
‘Only twice, Ensign Cain, but both were quickly resolved,’ Jolly said happily. The AI’s name was aptly chosen since he always seemed to enjoy his interactions with the crew.
“Why is the shower so well-used, then?” he asked.
‘I probably shouldn’t say anything, but a leakage is not considered a system failure. These things happen more often than we’d like to admit. The previous ensign assigned to these systems used the shower daily. Sometimes on multiple occasions,’ Jolly said conspiratorially.
“Why did the other ensign leave the ship?”
‘I just love all the humans who I have the pleasure of working with. Ensign Calmers wasn’t calm at all. When the ship sections lost their ability to spin and the food processor failed, the ensign became quite upset. She was restrained frequently to prevent her from hurting herself. It was a traumatic experience. That’s all I know, I’m afraid.’
“So, my predecessor became a basketcase. Not surprising. I’m afraid, too, Jolly. Just a little. I promise not to wig out on you, though. Lutheann will make sure that I stay on the straight and narrow. Now, I need your help. Please show me the primary systems and points of potential failure…” Cain and Jolly were so eng
aged that he didn’t even feel the ship smoothly disengage from the dock and using thrusters only, move beyond the structure within which it had sat for more than six months.
Ellie and Briz pulled themselves around the engineering spaces, checking equipment, monitors, and more equipment. Briz was hard-pressed in zero-g. He seemed to flounder when trying to move. When he used his powerful back legs to launch himself, it was always too strong and he ended up crashing into whatever was in his way. The luster of engineering quickly wore off. Briz was miserable. All he wanted to do was watch the engines work, tune them to maximum efficiency, then see how much more he could get out of them.
Ellie found working in zero-g to be exhilarating. She swam like an old pro.
Tandry found that her job of moving stores around would be easy in zero-g, but she wouldn’t be moving anything until after the artificial gravity was in place. Even with mechanical assistance, she saw that the stores job would involve plenty of manual labor. She decided that she’d worry about that when the time came. In the interim, she’d learn all she could about sensors.
Her work location was in one of the many sensor suites located in the outermost ring and against the exterior bulkhead. She was responsible for one third of the sensor suites, while two legacy crew members took the other two. Sensors required a great deal of power and as such, generated heat. Tandry’s work conditions were challenging when the sensors operated at full power, as they were during the exodus from congested space. The radars and passive collectors drew energy in increasingly massive gulps. Despite the cold of space, Tandry soon dripped with sweat.
“Prepare for artificial gravity! I say again, prepare for artificial gravity!” the announcement blared into each space as well as flashing before each crew member’s eye. The people pulled themselves into position, using their neural implant to inform Jolly that they were ready.
Once Jolly reported that the crew were one hundred percent compliant with the preparatory order, Captain Rand activated the ship’s rotational system.
“Artificial Gravity engaged!” Jolly’s voice warned them one final time as the ship started to spin, slowly at first to ease people into position. Feet and paws touched down and the crew’s apparent weight increased until they felt loaded down under the burden of supporting their own bodies. It had been less than a full day that the new ensigns had been working in zero-g, so their adjustment time was minimal, but the legacy crew gasped, breathing heavily as they adjusted, even though Jolly set the rotation to one-half Vii-standard gravity for a few hours before slowly working up to a more normal artificial gravity, at least for those in the outer ring.
The ‘cats enjoyed the return to normalcy. They were the most limited in zero-g and as usual, if they were miserable, they let everyone else know about it. They also resisted wearing their collars with the bracelets, an encoded band to give them access throughout the ship. They slipped out of the collars, leaving them where they dropped. On the garden deck, at least they could run and feel dirt under their paws.
The Rabbits requested access to their laser pistols to deal with a new vermin infestation, so Master Daksha committed to making a daily trip to the garden deck to help keep the peace. The humans Cain, Ellie, and Tandry also said they’d stop by at regular intervals to make sure that the Rabbits didn’t go to war with the Hillcats.
With the return of even partial gravity, Briz worked like one possessed. He was fascinated with the operation of the EM Drive and disappointed that he had only a few hours to review the system before it was engaged. The engineer from the legacy crew hadn’t dealt with the EM Drive before.
Ellie and Briz looked at each other. “We’re taking a new engine for a test drive and we don’t have an expert on board?”
“But we do, Ensign Brisbois and Ensign Ellie. All the knowledge regarding the EM Drive is contained within my consciousness. Anything that could possibly need done, I can explain to any member of the crew. Have no fear. We will figure this out together and the EM Drive will be the next great evolutionary leap for the people of Cygnus,” Jolly spoke to them using the sound system within the core engineering space.
Ellie was still confused. “But we’ve launched into space without an expert on the engine. What if something happens to you?” Ellie questioned the sanity of the process.
“We won’t leave our solar system until we are satisfied that everyone is comfortable with their roles on board the Cygnus-12. We rushed from space dock as we were well behind schedule, but that was considered an acceptable delay because the commander deemed Ensign Brisbois and I, quote, well worth the wait, unquote.” Ellie started to laugh.
“So, Lindy isn’t the only one who owes Briz?” Ellie strolled across the space to where the Rabbit sat, poring over the numbers streaming across his screens. She slapped him on the back, and he almost launched out of his seat. At least there was enough gravity to hold him down.
“Don’t scare me like that!” Briz cautioned. Ellie leaned against him and rubbed her face against his neck and ears. He started giggling and tried to push her away. She scratched his ears briefly before walking back to her station. She liked having gravity.
“Great job, Briz! It’s my honor to ride your coattails,” Ellie yelled over her shoulder, sincerely appreciating having him on board.
“But I don’t wear a coat,” Briz countered. Ellie waved it off as she went back to work.
“And you need to teach me how this thing works, just in case we lose Jolly and you!” The Rabbit shuddered. He was still young enough that his mortality had never entered his mind. He looked up briefly, then shrugged the question away. He would learn the EM Drive first. After that, he’d teach the others.
Master Daksha floated on the bridge, not far behind Captain Rand. The Tortoid held a strap in his mouth so he could better manage the ship’s spin without having to constantly swim. Whereas the rest of the crew was more comfortable with gravity, Daksha preferred the zero-g state. The Hawkoid who worked with the sensor suites also liked zero-g, but he and Daksha were heavily outnumbered.
Captain Rand was surrounded by monitors and touch screens. His job was to ensure a functioning spaceship, and he was fully immersed in the information and technical issues involved in its operation. He not only worked with the screens, he always had his window open with Jolly. His mind was constantly engaged with information. Like Briz, Captain Rand was a certified genius, but that was also his curse. He couldn’t leave the ship when it was in space. He was as integral to its operation as Jolly, as every member of the crew. The captain gave them direction as necessary to keep the ship going. Other crew members on the command deck were engaged in their own tasks and generally never received orders directly from the captain.
Leaper was off on a task. The captain intended to have a banquet in the hangar bay on the hangar deck, after they secured the EM Drive following the first test. They’d traded their long range exploration ships for smaller shuttles since the Cygnus-12 could head directly into the gravity well, no longer confined to interstellar space. The entire crew had become explorers, not just those who were able to take an exploration ship into the solar system.
Lieutenant Chirit, the Hawkoid, liked the addition of the new spindle section and expected that he’d spend his off time there, enjoying flight. He’d previously spent time on the garden deck, but the overhead was low and if anyone was walking the pathway, then it made for a tight squeeze to fly past. The spindle, maybe I can move my quarters there, he thought as he checked and rechecked the stars to make sure the astronavigation program was registering correctly and that they remained on course.
The star charts were critical. The star locations had to be exactly defined for the correct calculations to feed into the ISE. Even the most minute errors would deliver the spaceship too far away from a target solar system, and it would take a month to build up sufficient dark matter within the ISE for another activation. Time was limited because supplies were limited. Getting the calculations right was the most important ta
sk that all the crew members contributed to prior to an ISE activation.
Chirit had time. They wouldn’t be using the ISE for a while. The intent was to fly around the Cygnus system using the EM Drive. If there were any issues that couldn’t be corrected, they’d return to space dock as a last resort. The supplies for their full mission had been loaded, and once that was done, they could leave and the mission clock started ticking.
The SES didn’t like wasting supplies. If you were burning through your food supplies, the leadership wanted to see a ship exploring. A mission couldn’t be replaced so if the Cygnus-12 only flew around the solar system and then couldn’t leave, its mission would be scrubbed. It would be skipped and the exploration delayed. They were close to reaching out, making a difference for all of Vii, and no one wanted to wait.
So they went to space with half the crew being new and a quarter of those having been on board for less than a full day. No one was concerned, not Daksha, not Rand. Motivation and attitude on board any deep space exploration vessel were the most desirable attributes among the crew. Everyone was on the same journey, but on their own journey, too. Space was a big empty place, the ship being its own analogy, as the crew could spend days on board and not run across another intelligent being.
Sometimes the greatest exploration was done inside one’s own mind. There would be plenty of time for internal reflection.
Cygnus Rising: Humanity Returns to Space (Cygnus Space Opera Book 1) Page 13