»Your course data are correct, Sean,« Ruby announced happily, flapping his ears. »You’ve chosen a very efficient route that’ll bring us to the Neptune System in the shortest time possible.«
»Yepp, that’s how we are, we Sweeneys,« he replied. »Spiritual and efficient!«
Takahashi smiled, then he nodded at Peshewa. She had followed every step of the new commander attentively.
»Please, call engineering. I want to talk to Strovol,« he commanded.
Peshewa acknowledged with a wave of her hand. A couple of seconds later, the connection was made.
A bright light appeared on the holo as Strovol’s current location became visible. The Taslanan was located in a room unknown to Takahashi. He was permeated by brightly glowing energy fields. Again and again, blue-flashing streams penetrated the body of the extra-terrestrial, causing short bioluminescent reverberations which reacted with the Strovol’s jellyfish-like body.
Takahashi looked at him fascinated.
»Are you alright … uhem … inside your control station?« he asked Strovol while clearing his throat.
»Thanks for asking, Commander,« Strovol replied in short.
Countless of Strovol’s tentacles lit up, causing colorful flashes.
»The FTL drive operates reliably. I use the remaining time until we reach the Neptune system to perform a final fine-tuning sequence of the field structure.«
To save time, Strovol had substituted “faster-than-light” with FTL, which made sense to Takahashi. He nodded satisfied and slowly walked over to his commander’s seat. He signaled Sweeney. The navigator knew what he had to do and established a link to the spacedock.
»Experimental Cruiser Nebular ready for take-off. We’re asking for permission to fly out of the dock,« Takahashi requested.
The spacedock’s flight control acknowledged and gave permission for take-off.
»Docking clamps released! Nebular is now in free fall!« Sweeney announced loudly.
»Gravo drive on standby!« Ruby announced mutedly who’s holo suddenly appeared beside Takahashi’s head.
Takahashi twitched surprised.
»Not so close, Ruby. Not that close to my head. Thanks, anyway.«
»Sorry, Sir. Won’t happen again,« Ruby replied with an apologetic tone in his voice.
»All stations set, the crew is ready for action!« Enola Peshewa called over to the commander.
All eyes in the command central were fixed on Takahashi. The crew was waiting for his orders. He knew that the Solar Union Fleet HQ was also watching carefully.
Takahashi took a last look around, drew a deep breath and then commanded, »Let’s take her out into space, Mr. Sweeney!«
Maiden flight
When the magnetic clamps released the ship, it hovered above Earth in zero gravity together with the spacedock. Before the Nebular could drift into the surrounding bays and collide with the dock’s superstructures, Sweeney had activated the steering jets, flying the ship out on a safe path.
Highly concentrated, Sweeney was sitting before his holo-terminal and steered the ship with his fingertips, which gently slid over the sensor pads of his control console. He paid particular attention to the proximity sensors, located on the ship’s hull. Moments later, he initiated the gravo drive. The Nebular picked up speed and moved slowly toward the energy field that sealed the dock from space. As soon as the ship touched the energy field, it collapsed.
Takahashi nodded approvingly, thinking, He flies the cruiser as if it were a glider, safely and confidently. I couldn’t have found a better man.
»I have a question,« a voice came from Takahashi’s left side, where suddenly, Ruby’s likeness had materialized. This time, however, at a reasonable distance from Takahashi’s head. The Chiropter was visibly nervous and flapped his ears.
How can a consciousness, that can only communicate by means of a holographic projection, still develop a body awareness and express this through gestures, thought Takahashi and looked at Ruby expectantly.
The holographic bust looked back and forth between Sweeney and the commander before Ruby asked for everyone to hear, »Why is the navigator flying the ship manually? We employ a highly sensitive mode of automatic flight control that is absolutely capable of flying the ship. The neuronal computer is ready for action, the navigation program is absolutely reliable. I’ve simulated the start thousands of times …«
»Tjuh, right!« Sweeney remarked sourly. »I’m ordering a sandwich and a Guinness in the meantime, eh? As long as I’m the navigator and pilot, no hobgoblin is flying my ship out of the garage!«
Ruby seemed puzzled.
»What’s a garage?«
»The spacedock,« Takahashi explained with a grin. »You’ll have enough opportunities to test the ship systems under real conditions. This is the navigator’s hour.«
»Exactly,« Sweeney nodded enthusiastically and catapulted the Nebular out of the spacedock with a short acceleration pulse of the sublight drive.
»Outside view!« Takahashi commanded.
Enola Peshewa projected the outside view into the central holo with a view on Earth in the center. At high speed, the blue planet swooshed away underneath the ship.
Uhh … no, that’s not Earth that’s moving, it’s the Nebular! Takahashi thought.
»We completed the first orbit. The ship is reacting very well to the steering commands. I’m taking her to a higher orbit to reach the departure corridor,« Sweeney announced without taking his eyes from the controls. »There’s a lot of traffic today. A Krolakan transport convoy just arrived and is entering the atmosphere. What are your people bringing us, Rak’Fler? Perhaps a couple of tons of tea from the Magellanic Clouds?«
Rak’Fler growled.
»Do we look like farmers to you who harvest leaves just to pour hot water over them, Mr. Sweeney? When we deliver goods to Earth, then it certainly has something to do with the protection of this solar system, most likely weapons!«
»Uhem,« Sweeney cleared his throat. »We’re now leaving Earth’s gravitational field. Do you want me to take a particular course vector, Commander, or do you want me to take a couple of rounds first?«
Takahashi smiled thinly. Sweeney’s slack, free-spirited conduct amused him.
»One round’s enough, Sweeney. Familiarize yourself with the ship and its controls.«
The man with the shimmering pants grinned and his eyes sparkled like a little boy. He seemed to have a lot of fun flying the cruiser.
»Just don’t collide with another ship or fly into an industry platform,« joked Enola Peshewa. Her eyes flashed when Sweeney glanced at her briefly.
The Nebular accelerated, reaching a speed of more than fifty thousand kilometers per second within a very short time.
Sean Sweeney whistled appreciatively and then took the ship to a new course. The bow of the vessel now pointed to an octagonal platform that was free-floating in space, just under 150,000 kilometers ahead. Backlit by the sun, the space station looked like an enormously large sparkling diamond. The sunlight shone through the semi-transparent structures, refracting the light in all colors of the spectrum.
»It’s an interplanetary treatment plant for algae and plankton. It’s used for the extraction of marine biomass and is essentially a large tank filled with sea water. It’s held together by energy fields and exposed to the solar radiation. This method provides optimal growth conditions for algae and the smallest sea creatures. The Shwakan pyramid ships just need to dock at the station and tap into the concentrated biomass,« said Peshewa. »If we hit this giant aquarium, all the sea water, with its valuable contents, will evaporate into space, then our ambassador to the Shwakans has to do some fast talking.«
»Agreed, the Shwakans certainly wouldn’t like to see that happening,« Ruby acknowledged seriously and brought the entire command crew to a smile.
Sweeney slightly adjusted the course and passed the industrial complex by about 50,000 kilometers.
»Let’s leave this green gelatin tank
behind us and head to the Moon instead. Maybe we’ll get a fly-over authorization for Luna City?« Sweeney suggested enthusiastically, but Enola Peshewa shook her head vigorously, frantically waving her arms. »No way! Luna City is off limits! Even before we could attempt to fly over the sensitive domes of the lunar colony, Moon Defense would pulverize us with a few, well-aimed shots. If, however, you want to know how it’s like to be vaporized by hot plasma charges then just stay on your course,« she said sarcastically.
Sweeney frowned.
»Okay then. We take the course across the Moon’s South Pole and the backside.«
»That’s interesting too,« Ruby remarked. »By looking at the surface, one can observe the Moon’s different states of development. The craters are far more numerous than on the Earth-facing side, deep furrows and cracks of former strikes litter the dark side. Without the Moon, these meteors and asteroids might have hit the Earth ...«
»Yeah, yeah,« Sweeney murmured. »Maybe we meet the Man in the Moon too.«
The Nebular accelerated again and approached the Earth’s satellite on a precisely defined transfer corridor. Sweeney approached the Moon on the pre-established vectors exactly, which Luna Port surveillance confirmed shortly after that.
On the central holo, it seemed as if the Moon would come rapidly closer. In reality, Sweeney forced the ship on a course, which took into account the Moon’s gravitational field. With a sling-shot maneuver, he gave the Nebular extra speed.
»This is a very energy-efficient method,« Takahashi praised Sweeney as the surfaced raced by them 500 kilometers below.
»What we save on the drive currently flows into the inertia damper,« Ruby replied friendly. »The Nebular follows an extreme approach and is being catapulted from the Moon into free space. Without the inertia damper, the ship would not be able to withstand the G-forces – not to mention the crew.«
»What does that mean, exactly, Ruby?« Enola Peshewa inquired.
»Under normal circumstances, the Nebular would break apart,« barked Rak’Fler, panting excitedly. »I hope, we can rely on the Shwakan components. I’d feel more comfortable on board a Krolakan cruiser. On our ships, such maneuvers are allowed only under combat conditions.«
With these words of the weapons specialist, the Nebular left the close orbit around the Moon and ventured into free space.
»The efficiency of the inertia damper is significantly higher than that of our sublight drive. Although the aggregates show additional power consumption, our energy should be within the positive margins,« Sweeney said convinced.
»The energy savings amount to just 2.1 percent,« confirmed Ruby and fluttered excitedly with his ears. »How could you make such an assessment without the support of the ship computer?«
»I’ll tell you,« Sweeney replied proudly. »I fly by gut feeling!« Sweeney grinned and glanced over to Peshewa.
She just knit her eyebrows when she returned his gaze. Keeping an eye on her console, she said to him, »If you could decide now to set our actual course, we’d be very grateful. If you forgot already ... we’re flying to Neptune. Currently, the course vectors indicate that we’re flying to nowhere.«
Sweeney’s jaw dropped. He murmured something unintelligible and initiated the sequences.
The Moon disappeared behind them quickly. Deep in thought, Takahashi watched the departure only on the sideline.
Most of the universe consist of emptiness. Why are we so eager to venture into the void? From this perspective, you can see Earth with astonishing clarity. She is a living island, one of the few places where we can exist carefree. The way I feel right now, the ancient seafarers must have felt. Did they quarrel and doubted themselves when they sailed on the open sea, losing sight of the land after a few hours? Were they afraid of the unknown? Horatio Takahashi took a deep breath. Certainly, they were frightened! But they did it anyway. Their courage paid off in the end, despite all hardships and risks, they discovered new continents. But what is waiting for us out there? What will we discover?
»Is everything okay, Commander?« Enola Peshewa asked mutedly.
Takahashi nodded and straightened in his seat.
»Then let’s find out how this ship flies. Sublight drive to the max! Bring us to Neptune, Mr. Sweeney.«
»Gravo-field drive to the maximum!« Sweeney repeated the order and touched the sensor pad with his index finger. The activation command was transferred immediately.
Directly astern of the ship a lenticular gravo-field vector established, causing instant acceleration. The ship lurched forward, like an arrow from a bow.
✭
Already one astronomical unit from the external security sector of the Triton Base several Neo-Hawks appeared and escorted the Nebular through this sector. The Neptune System, with its large tachyon portal and the central world of the Techno-Clerics, was considered a special security area. The Triton Base was no longer just a pure research base but was now the control center for all vessels entering or leaving the Solar System through this sector.
Takahashi called up the signatures of the accompanying multi-purpose Hawk Interceptors and immediately recognized some new design features. The Triton Base employed brand-new models.
»Two gun cradles with plasma cannons,« Rak’Fler barked appreciatively, »with improved defense shields on the stern and bow. Certainly, these units also have inertia dampers.«
»Otherwise, they wouldn’t have appeared so suddenly and fly alongside at that speed,« confirmed Peshewa.
»Thanks to the interplanetary trade with the Shwakans,« Sweeney muttered mischievously. »These inertia dampers have probably cost us the entire Mediterranean plankton, to say the least!«
»These ships remind me of small toxic kurun trunk stinger flies from Krolak,« commented Rak’Fler. »Small but very aggressive.«
»Small, aggressive, toxic ... Well, if that’s not a compliment,« joked Sweeney and looked up briefly when the big airlock of the command central opened. A tall, slim man entered and greeted everybody with a friendly nod. With a smacking sound, the airlock closed again. Enola Peshewa looked at the newcomer attentively while Sweeney raised his eyebrows.
Horatio Takahashi immediately noticed the young man’s different outfit. An embroidered, stylized symbol of a golden galaxy was attached to the epaulets of his silverish colored uniform. Everyone in the Union Fleet knew the special unit whose members wore this striking emblem. This man belonged to the HOT!
The mission specialist walked straight over to Takahashi. He saluted respectfully and introduced himself, »My name is Art Ultimus. I didn’t want to interfere with the launch preparations and waited until we left the Earth-Moon System since I don’t have a direct function in the command central. I’m reporting for duty, Commander.«
»Art Ultimus?« Takahashi asked and looked at the man politely. »I know that name. Have we met before?«
»Although, we have something in common, unfortunately, no,« the man replied friendly but determined.
»Uhh, I know now,« Takahashi remembered with a thin smile. »You belong to Nexus Tor’s team. You took part in defeating the Circle ships.«
»That’s correct. I participated in that mission,« Ultimus acknowledged. »Your memory is remarkable. This happened some time ago.«
»Six years, to be exact,« Takahashi replied enthusiastically. »I just started my training at the academy and remember the invasion of the Circle People well.«
Sweeney and Peshewa quickly glanced at each other.
»The HOT always fascinated me,« Takahashi continued proudly. »A special unit, consisting of Hybrids only. This status quo had a great appeal to me at the academy. I asked myself several times to introduce myself to Nexus Tor, knowing, that HOT members are usually appointed. You cannot request a job interview.«
»That’s right,« confirmed Ultimus. »By the way, the HOT not just employs Hybrids. We have received extraterrestrial reinforcement and added some new members and colleagues with extraordinary abilities and talents to the team.
The HOT has evolved. It is now a unit under GCC command.«
»I heard about the change of command,« Takahashi admitted. »I know now what you wanted to tell me earlier. We actually have something in common.«
»Yes, for a while, I thought this anomaly only affects me,« Art Ultimus said with a smile. »Now, I meet another Hybrid, who has retained his normal eye color.«
Horatio Takahashi nodded in agreement.
Since Takahashi hadn’t had the time to go over all the crew member portfolios, he asked, »What’s your function on board the Nebular, Ultimus? Why are you joining us on this test flight?«
»Look at me as a crisis manager, Commander. I have been trained to deal with stressful situations and would like to offer my services as a consultant.«
Takahashi squinted.
»This is just a test flight. I don’t expect a crisis or other difficulties.«
»Believe me, Commander. No one would be more pleased about it than me,« Ultimus smiled gently and stepped back, because several holo displays activated at this moment around the command seat, presenting the status reports of the ship’s systems. The HOT specialist took a seat on one of the vacant seats and looked reverently at the central display. Neptune and its moons came into view more clearly. Under magnification, the heavenly bodies seemed close enough to touch.
»One more thing …,« Takahashi addressed Ultimus again, »… is it true that you have a nickname or call sign?«
»An old habit from the early days of HOT. You can call me Eagle,« Ultimus answered gently, bowed his head slightly and drew Peshewa’s attention again.
»Why Eagle?« Sweeney asked amused. »Can you fly around like this comic book hero of the previous century … what was his name again? Oh, yes! Superman?«
»Unfortunately, I don’t possess this ability,« replied Ultimus. »That would be great, although, nowadays everyone can fly – provided, he or she possesses a gravo-vector generator in the backpack.«
»We’re now entering the outer security sector of the Neptune system and are ordered to take a temporary parking position,« Sweeney said, clearing his throat. »We’re supposed to maintain an orbit around Psamathe.«
NEBULAR Collection 7 - Guardians of the Continuum: Episodes 31 - 34 Page 5