Jolly, the captain, and the crew investigated the accident from the beginning of the ISE activation to the rupture and determined that it was nothing that they should have or even could have foreseen. The rupture occurred in a minor system that even Briz suggested should not have been exposed to excess pressure. Every other ancillary system associated with the ISE was checked to ensure that no other weaknesses were found, doing their best to avoid another accident.
During this process, Briz discovered what he suggested was a way to take the ship into a solar system, into the well, as an endpoint of an ISE jump. This had never been tried for being too risky. The captain liked the idea, but wasn’t willing to validate Briz’s theory at the risk of the entire crew. When they returned to Vii, Briz could share his findings with the Research and Development team, and then they could find a ship with minimal or no crew to demonstrate viability. In the well, other obstacles presented themselves, like asteroids or space junk trapped within the heliosphere. No one wanted to contemplate how catastrophic it would be to jump into the middle of an asteroid field.
Briz was disappointed, but he understood. The empty workstation was a reminder of what could happen when things went wrong in deep space.
With the help of a daily trip to the med lab, Briz, Cain, and Ellie’s physical injuries healed fully. With Master Daksha’s leadership and guidance, the crew was focused on the anomaly that suggested there was intelligent life somewhere within the IC1396 system. The tragedy and the hope of new life brought the crew closer together, as shared suffering had brought people together for millennia.
Even Cain and Ellie acted like young lovers. The ‘cats made better marriage counselors than anyone could have guessed. It also gave them something to do that didn’t involve antagonizing the Rabbits on the garden deck. An uneasy peace existed between the two species as they occupied the same large space. The ‘cats also ran the center walkway at full speed for as long as they could, to keep their bodies in shape as the nothingness of space attempted to press in on them. With the help of their humans, they held it at bay. And that benefitted them all.
“All hands to work stations! All hands to work stations!” came the call over the ship-wide broadcast. “Prepare to engage the EM drive.”
The crew had been expecting the call for days and were relieved when it finally came. Relieved and excited. They were taking the big ship into the well to explore. The thirty-six remaining members of the crew and three ‘cats would be heading into the system.
“As we enter a new phase of our journey, I want you to remember that it took our ancestors fifteen hundred years to travel from here to Cygnus VII, to our home of Vii. Our scientists have made it possible for us to go places in a single lifetime, where it took generations before. We are here because humanity has survived, within all of us. Humanity will not be denied, whether you have fur, feathers, or skin. Together, we represent the best that science and evolution could offer. Now it’s time for this new generation of explorer to open the universe to those back home who are counting on us. With the captain’s permission…” Rand nodded to Master Daksha. “Into your acceleration couches. Prepare to activate the EM drive. Let’s see what’s in there, shall we?” the commander ended his speech and assumed his position.
“When they’re all in place, Jolly, let ‘er rip. Start with five gravities of apparent acceleration and step it up to seven once everyone’s vitals are confirmed and stable.”
“Yes, Captain,” Jolly confirmed. “The crew is in place. Accelerating now toward the heliosphere on Ensign Tandry’s bearing. Five gees apparent, ten actual.” After ten minutes, Jolly updated their status. “All crew nominal. Accelerating to seven gees apparent, fourteen actual.”
The angular acceleration of the spinning ship countered some of the g-force inflicted in the direction of travel, but the crew started to struggle. No matter where they were, the acceleration weighed on them. Jolly continued at a constant acceleration until the first crew member passed out, then he trimmed the drive back until it maintained constant thrust, keeping the speed steady. They’d continue intermittent acceleration to cut their travel time in system. They also had the added acceleration from the heavy pull of IC1396’s Class F star.
If for some reason they wanted to stop, they’d have to decelerate at a lesser g-force over a longer period of time. They understood that they’d most likely overfly a desired target if they discovered it too late, and then slow to a stop, returning to it at a more reasonable speed. It would be optimal to collect data as they passed and keep going until they exited the solar system where they could finish banking the dark matter and continue their journey.
But what if? What if there was intelligent life that they could meet and talk with? The scenario played itself over and over in Master Daksha’s mind, always leading him to a conclusion of peaceful discovery.
Captain Rand was more cynical and feared the unknown intelligent life. History taught him that people might not welcome strangers. He didn’t want to get into a fight with aliens, even though they had no evidence to suggest there was any intelligent life in the universe besides humanity. They had two Rabbit laser pistols and four blasters on board. Initially, he’d balked at any of it, but the SES had used convoluted logic to justify their inclusion as part of a standard ship loadout. He was suddenly happy to have the weapons on board.
The captain was terrified by the idea that a foreign intelligence could use weapons against them. Their ship wasn’t built for warfare. He hadn’t considered such a thing until they picked up the signal. The weapons of the ancients nearly destroyed Vii. If other humans ventured from Earth, they could have similar weapons, and because of that, Rand knew that he wouldn’t sleep soundly until they were clear of IC1396 space. To explore or not to explore, the question that would best be answered by a high-speed pass through the system, he thought to himself. I’m an explorer who doesn’t want to find anything! I best not share that with Master Daksha…
“Reducing acceleration to a constant two-tenths of one gravity. Crew members may now exit their acceleration couches,” Jolly stated over the ship-wide intercom.
The Cygnus-12 had accelerated through the heliosphere and was now using absolute minimum power, but continuing to accelerate at an angle across the gravity well, using the sun’s pull to add to their ever increasing speed. One never wanted to accelerate straight down the well, just in case power was lost, the ship wouldn’t be headed directly toward something unpleasant to crash into. It was best to travel at a forty-five degree angle as long as possible. Eventually, the gravity would affect the ship, but with a little push, the gravity could be used to help accelerate the ship past and away from the body itself, the slingshot maneuver, used from the earliest recorded days of space flight.
Unfortunately, the bearing toward the signal was only five degrees away from a direct line to the IC1396 star. Jolly settled for ten degrees and increased monitoring of the EM drive, maintaining a constant zero-point-two acceleration. The closer they got to the sun, the faster the ship would accelerate. By the time they reached the center of the solar system, Jolly estimated the ship would reach fifty percent of light speed as it flew past, heading toward the far side of the heliosphere.
“Sensors, what have we gotten from our active scans?”
“Nothing so far,” Pickles reported. “The source must be far inside the well and possibly on the other side of a planet. The three sensor operators have tried a variety of methods, both active and passive, with little effect. As we decrease the distance, fidelity will improve.”
Both the commander and the captain expected improved clarity the closer they were to the source. Using his neural implant, Master Daksha activated the ship-wide broadcast. “Ensign Tandry and Lieutenant Chirit, please report to the command deck.”
Sensors, a secondary mess, a small billeting section, dark matter collection, and the command deck were in the same wheel on the outermost section of the ship. Sensors and the command deck had portholes where
anyone could watch the space outside the ship. Sometimes it was better to watch using the external monitors which compensated for the spin of the ship. One could easily get dizzy stargazing.
As those summoned arrived, Daksha asked for a full rundown on the system. He’d read the repots, but wanted to hear what the sensor operators had to say. The Tortoid appreciated the personal touch and knew that the operators would feel something that wasn’t reflected in the data. He wanted to look them in the eyes when they told him what they felt.
Tandry deferred to the more senior member of the crew, the Hawkoid lieutenant called Chirit. “Yes, Master Daksha, you want to know about the system?”
“Yes, tell me everything as if I hadn’t seen any of the data. Start from the beginning, Chirit. We have plenty of time,” the commander prompted. The Hawkoid went through the mundane details of solar winds, the thirteen planets in the system, and estimated total of forty-three moons. The fifth and sixth planets were in the green zone, not too close and not too far away from the sun so life could thrive. It was the fifth planet that they were accelerating toward. The sixth planet was on a vector more than thirty degrees from their current course. Both the green zone planets looked to have oxygen-nitrogen atmospheres and both possibly had water.
At the end of the briefing, Master Daksha sat quietly and looked at the solar system chart that Jolly generated from the provided sensor information. Tandry and Chirit, using their neural implants, joined him in looking at the three-dimensional view of the system. The captain watched them closely.
“Captain Rand, please prepare for a slingshot around the fourth planet so that we may get closer to the fifth planet.” Seeing the captain’s discomfort, the Tortoid added, “Just in case. At this time, we are looking at both IC1396-5 and IC1396-6. But be ready, just in case we need to stop and orbit one or the other.”
Rand pursed his lips and started running through flight vectors with Jolly. They were already moving rapidly and the greater the course change, the harder it would be the closer they approached to the planet. After a few moments, the captain immediately ordered a course change for a forty-degree offset from their current bearing. He wanted to angle the ship thirty degrees away from the heart of the well, where the fourth planet was currently aligned with the sun. They were on course at ten degrees off-center, and a maneuver to slingshot was too risky as they could very well slingshot directly into the sun. With the thirty degrees, if they had to abort the maneuver, they would continue safely across the gravity well, and not down its heart.
Jolly increased acceleration to one gravity as the thrusters adjusted the ship’s heading. The crew quickly became disoriented as they were treated to the pull from three different directions: the spin of the ship, the current heading, and the attempt at changing their course. “Commander, I recommend we temporarily halt the spin of the ship until we are safely on our new heading. A nauseous crew will do us no good.” The decision was the captain’s but they were inside the well of a new solar system where the commander was in charge of exploration.
It was unprecedented territory. The commander resolved it quickly. “Do whatever is best for the ship and her crew, Captain.”
“Prepare for zero-g,” he passed over the ship-wide broadcast. Jolly monitored and updated ship’s status as each crew member reported in. Every work station needed to be secured, even though most were solidly set in place with terminals that could be operated from a variety of positions, and crew would still have cups of water, or more likely coffee, that didn’t need to splash about. With their acceleration, they would have apparent gravity, but they’d be walking on what was formerly the aft bulkheads of the corridors and workspaces.
It was not a recommended maneuver with crew elsewhere than their acceleration couches, but Jolly estimated it would take nearly a full day of the EM drive accelerating to change the ship’s heading.
“Sensors?” Master Daksha asked when Jolly reported the crew 100% compliant with preparations for zero-g. The ship slowed its spin and stopped. Master Daksha swam into a new position and continued floating. He was the least affected by changes in gravity. “Sensors?” he repeated.
Tandry replied. The Hawkoid was completely incapacitated. The two forces still pulling at him kept him grounded, and not in a good way. “We are getting a much clearer signal. I’m working with Jolly to parse the data. I’m not sure what it is, but we’ll let you know as soon as we have something.”
Mixial had returned to the garden deck where she and the other two ‘cats hunched in a corner as the plants drooped sideways. They commiserated among themselves, without sharing their discomfort with the humans. They’d had enough of being in trouble and suspected the AI would give the Rabbits their lasers again. They hadn’t foreseen that maneuver and it changed their perception of the situation.
Tandry had her neural implant open, working with Jolly to find patterns within the signal. ‘Jolly, have you run the signal through known ancients’ programs? Let’s try to determine what it is not first, then we can try again to figure out what it is.’
‘Excellent idea, Ensign Tandry. Since this is the first time we’ve encountered anything like this, there are no protocols in place. I’ve added that routine to my approach in analyzing new signals,’ Jolly said happily. He was silent for only a few moments. ‘There we have it! It’s an old earth video signal. Playing it now.’ Tandry watched as math formulas appeared along with the table of elements, a stellar chart, and a number of other scientific information. Then pictures appeared of Earth, human beings, animals, and more.
‘What is this, Jolly?’
‘The signal was originally used as part of Earth’s SETI project, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. It has found us, but I’m not sure we were what it was looking for,’ Jolly pondered.
When Tandry reported in and shared the video with Daksha, he was beside himself. He watched the video seven times before making a decision. “Ensigns Ellie and Cain, please report to the command deck,” he ordered.
Cain worked his way out of sewage central, walking on the bulkhead as he managed to crawl into the stairway. Looking up, he determined to use the handrail as a ladder in order to climb the two decks. Ellie showed up with the same quandary. She stood on the side of the hatch frame and looked across the stairs to the railing. Below her was a fall of thirty feet if she missed the jump. She caught sight of Cain as he slowly worked his way upward. He stopped to catch his breath, shaking his head.
“The ship wasn’t made for forward acceleration without spinning. This ship design only used the ISE or thrusters, and didn’t create gee forces through acceleration. I think a whole redesign is in order, otherwise someone’s going to get hurt,” Cain proclaimed within the void of the stairway. He braced himself to give Ellie a target to jump to. The hatch to the stairway appeared as a hole in the floor. Ellie needed to jump across the space, as she was pulled at an angle.
She braced herself and leaped. She didn’t need as much force as she used and she body-slammed into her husband, who almost lost his grip. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her there. They dangled over the drop down where the stairs led to the next deck. They each had an arm wrapped around the railing support, their feet wedged. They faced each other, bodies pressed tightly together. Cain was instantly aroused.
“Nothing like a death-defying stroll to the command deck to make you appreciate life,” he whispered, his voice catching.
“I still haven’t forgiven you,” she whispered back, their lips nearly touching. He couldn’t hold back, he leaned in and kissed her, gyrating slightly against her hard body. He almost let go, catching himself as he started to slip from the railing. She held him closely, rubbing her cheek against his. He pulled back to take a deep breath.
“I think Master Daksha is waiting on us, but I kind of like the way things are, right here.” Cain smiled. Ellie started climbing and Cain used his free hand to cradle her butt as she passed. She didn’t even flinch, expecting it as always.
‘Yea! Shake that groove thing, right in his face!’ Carnesto prodded.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ Ellie replied hotly.
‘I’m being supportive of my human. Accept it or I will scratch my claws on the bulkhead while you sleep and make you listen to it.’ She shook her head and continued upward. Cain didn’t know why she hesitated, but assumed that it was to allow him more time to feel and enjoy her round bits.
Cain followed her until they were opposite the hatch they needed to pass through.
It was the reverse of what Ellie had gone through to climb the railing. Cain held on with both hands and leaned as far from the railing as he could reach. Ellie used him as a springboard, catching the hatchway and scrambling out. She leaned back through and held out an arm, just like the obstacle course at Space School. He looked at her hand, thinking of that first time when she pulled her hand away and let him fall.
Not now, though. He jumped and trusted her fully as she caught him, swinging him to her where he could grab the edge of the hatch with his other hand. They worked him through, stood, and walked on the bulkhead until they reached the hatch to the command deck, which now stood over their heads. They used the hand grips across the ceiling to pull themselves upward, finally crawling through the hatch and reporting in.
“Holy Nova! What happened to you two?” Master Daksha exclaimed.
“There’s no way to get here from there without some gymnastics. I’m a little rusty, but Ellie was fine,” Cain said, thinking they were in trouble, so he tried to protect his wife.
“Commander, these ships were never designed for forward acceleration like we’re getting with the EM drive,” Captain Rand said, leaving the implication hanging.
Cygnus Rising: Humanity Returns to Space (Cygnus Space Opera Book 1) Page 17