by Brown, Ryk
“I really hope that we get the chance to bring the engines to full power today. I believe we can get to at least eighty percent light, maybe eighty-five.”
He watched in amazement as Vladimir shoveled food into his mouth. Nathan had been raised in a very proper family, where they had been taught to put down their eating utensils in between bites in order to ensure the slow, methodical chewing and swallowing of their food. Not that Nathan ate abnormally slow. He had abandoned such rituals out of necessity over the years. But Vladimir was shoveling the food in before he had swallowed the previous bite. And he was still able to talk relatively clearly while he was eating. Nathan had dined with Vladimir nearly every day for the last two weeks, and had yet to get used to his style of inhaling his meals.
“Are you in a hurry or something,” Nathan chuckled. “Why do you eat so fast? Slow down and enjoy your food.”
“I know, I know—is bad habit. I get this from old job. I worked my way through school on rescue squad. It was very busy station. When you got chance to eat, you ate quickly or not at all.”
“Now hear this!” the comm-system blared through the loudspeakers. “All hands report to stations and prepare to get underway. Repeat, all hands report to stations and prepare to get underway. Departure in 5 minutes. That is all.”
“You see,” Vladimir said, as he stuffed the last sausage into his mouth and then displayed his empty plate, comparing it to Nathan’s barely touched plate full of food. “Just like on the rescue squad!”
Nathan began shoveling food into his mouth as Vladimir left the table, his engorged mouth still chewing away. After shoveling in several heaping spoonfuls, Nathan doubted he could fit much more into his mouth, so he grabbed the four sausages from his plate and headed out of the galley in a hurry.
The bridge was bustling with activity as the crew prepared to get underway. Technicians were performing last minute checks on critical systems, and the communications officer was busily confirming the readiness of each department to get underway.
Captain Roberts sat in his command chair in the middle of the bridge, pretending to review some notes on the data pad that he carried with him everywhere. He very much liked having information at his fingertips, and as far as he was concerned it was the best piece of lost technology yet recovered from the Data Ark.
The captain was listening intently to the sounds of his bridge staff as they prepared for their first real voyage. It would be a brief journey, only about six hours round-trip, but for his crew of fresh graduates, or ‘kids’ as his XO liked to call them, it would be their first voyage and therefore always one to remember.
He could’ve waited until later in the day before setting out, giving them all a chance to mentally prepare before getting under way, but that would’ve been too easy. When faced with a short amount of time to train a new crew, it made sense to use every opportunity to test them. And this sudden call to set sail was the perfect chance to do just that. For how quickly one could drop what they were doing and jump into action was a good indicator of how they would perform under pressure. It was something that he had learned from his first captain more than twenty years ago.
In a way, he felt a little guilty, like he had cheated. Unlike the rest of the crew, he did have a chance to mentally prepare. Not that he needed it, but he did take the time to visit with his family by vid-comm this morning. He had been unable to reach either of his sons, who were both serving in the fleet and were unavailable. But he had spoken at length with his daughter and even gotten to speak with his grandchildren. He had shared breakfast with his wife, also by vid-comm, just like he had done every morning since he reported for duty on the Aurora over a month ago.
The captain looked up from his data pad, scanning the eleven stations located around the perimeter of the bridge. They were all manned and ready, with the notable exception of a helmsman, who still had not arrived, despite the fact that they were set to depart in under two minutes. He turned to face the tactical station located directly behind him, which was currently being manned by his XO. He had insisted on an experienced officer at tactical, and Fleet Command had agreed to transfer one from the Intrepid when she returned to port in another week. “Any sign of our helmsman?” the captain asked Commander Montero.
As if on cue, Nathan came charging onto the bridge at a fast walk, still chewing his breakfast. “Sorry Sir,” he apologized with a mouth full of sausage. “Got a late start,” he added as he passed by and took his seat at the helm, directly in front of and slightly to the right of the command chair.
“Wipe your hands before you touch that console, Lieutenant,” the captain warned, a touch of amusement in his voice.
“Yes Sir.”
Nathan quickly wiped his hands on his pant legs, casting a guilty expression toward Cameron who sat at the navigation console to his left. Cameron looked away, still not able to understand how he had been promoted over her.
“Now that we’re all here,” the captain said. “XO. Ship’s Status?”
“All departments have reported in, and all stations are manned and ready, Captain,” Commander Montero reported from the tactical station. “We’re ready to get under way, Sir.”
“Very well. Comm, contact the platform’s CIC and Fleet Command, let them know the Aurora is leaving port.”
“Yes Sir,” the comm officer acknowledged.
“Lieutenant Scott, check that all boarding ramps have been detached and retracted, and release all mooring clamps.”
Nathan checked the status display that sent a constant telemetry of mooring data from the Platform’s control systems. “All boarding ramps have been retracted and secured, releasing all mooring clamps.” Nathan pressed a button on his side console to release the mooring clamps that held the ship in place.
Outside, more than twenty clamps located on the end of long pneumatic arms simultaneously released their grip on the Aurora’s mooring points. The sudden release allowed the negatively pressured mooring arms to quickly pull away from the ship and back against the assembly platform.
Inside, there was a muffled clunk as the clamps released, and the ship seemed to dip slightly to port. It was only a slight sensation, one that might have gone unnoticed had they not seen the slight change in the ship’s angle in relation to the assembly frame that surrounded them through the main view screen.
“Ship is free floating, Sir.” Nathan immediately compensated for the slight change in attitude with his docking thrusters, tapping his joystick ever so slightly, bringing the ship back into perfect alignment.
“Very, well, Lieutenant. Take us out.”
“Thrusting forward.” Nathan applied gentle forward pressure on the joystick. He held the pressure for only a second, maybe less—just enough for the ship to start inching forward.
The Aurora began to slowly slide out of the long octagonal shaped truss work that had been her home since her construction had begun over two years ago. Every single work light was shining on her as she inched away from her berth.
The main view screen was a massive quarter-sphere display that encompassed the front third of the bridge. Starting at the floor and flowing up smoothly onto the ceiling, it gave the flight crew, the two most forward stations, and the Command Chair a one-hundred and eighty degree view laterally, and nearly as much vertically. It was as if you were sitting in a bubble atop the ship herself, looking out into space. Despite the knowledge that it was only a projection, and that they were sitting in one of the most protected compartments within the ship, one couldn’t help but feel exposed when surround by the amazing view.
From his position at the helm, Nathan could easily see that every view port on their side of the assembly platform’s main structure was packed full of faces, all there to witness this historic moment. For them, it was the culmination of years of hard work and long hours, and they had every reason to be proud of their accomplishment as they watched her go.
“Message from Fleet Command, Sir,” the comm officer reported.
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br /> “Go ahead,” the captain answered, already anticipating the content of the message.
“Message reads, ‘Bon Voyage, and good luck to the crew of the Fleet’s newest vessel, the Aurora.’ End message.”
“Thank you, Ensign. Pass it on, ship-wide, please.”
Nathan continued to add velocity with each tap of the joystick, until they were moving out of the berth at a respectable rate. He didn’t want to seem to cautious or they might realize how nervous he actually was. For only a few short weeks ago, Nathan was about to serve as a third-string backup pilot on the oldest ship in the fleet. But now, by some twist of fate, he was the lead pilot of the newest and fastest ship the Earth had ever put into space. He had never aspired to such accomplishments. In fact, he had never been as patriotic as most of classmates. His only ambition had been to get away from his father and lead his own life. But now, after all he had been through over the last two weeks, he was starting to feel the same as everyone else. He was believing in something greater than himself.
Cameron watched as the opening to the end of the assembly berth passed them by, their bow breaking into open space high above the Earth. Despite her calm exterior, Cameron could feel her pulse racing with excitement at the sight of it all, despite the fact that it looked exactly the same as it had in the countless simulations they had run.
She too had joined the fleet to get away from her old life. And she had also lacked the patriotic feeling shared by most of her class. But ambition had never been something that she had lacked. For her, it was all consuming. It drove her day in and day out, and made her cold and competitive.
But she was okay with it, figuring that the sacrifice now while she was young would pay off later. She had no interest in becoming a baby-factory, like so many of her friends back home. She agreed with those that felt the Earth’s population was being refilled at an acceptable rate, making such efforts not only unnecessary, but unwise.
And so she had committed herself to a life in the fleet, hoping to make captain someday. It had required her to fore-go any romantic entanglements, not wanting to deal with the additional distractions. Not that she didn’t date on occasion. After all, a girl did have needs. But she had always been up front with anyone of interest, which probably explained why she had few second dates.
“Clear of the Platform, Sir,” Nathan announced. So far so good.
“Very well, take us to departure altitude and prepare a course for Jupiter.”
“Climbing to departure altitude,” Nathan acknowledged. Nathan fired up the main engines at only a few percent of their overall thrust capacity, in order to increase their velocity and climb to a higher orbit. A low, almost inaudible rumble began emanating from the stern of the ship as her massive engines began their low intensity burn.
“Calculating course for Jupiter,” Cameron reported. “Velocity, Sir?” she asked the captain.
The captain thought about it for a moment before responding, a smile coming across his face. “Flight’s discretion,” he offered.
Cameron and Nathan looked at each other. Nathan’s face was like a mischievous little boy who suddenly had a great idea. But Cameron’s was a look of concern, probably due to her helmsman’s expression.
“Within reason, of course,” the captain added.
Nathan silently mouthed the question half light to Cameron, who nodded grudging agreement.
“Recommend half-light, Sir,” Cameron advised. “At Jupiter’s current position, that will get us there in approximately eighty-seven minutes.”
“A bit much for our first time out,” the captain speculated as he shifted nervously in his seat. “But they did want us to test our new engines, so half-light it is. But do us all a favor and take it up slowly? Remember, we’ve got untested inertial dampeners and a ship full of newbies who don’t have their space-legs yet.”
“Yes Sir,” Nathan assured him. “I’ll bring her up nice and easy.”
“Departure altitude in one minute,” Cameron reported.
Captain Roberts pressed a button on the comm panel on the arm of his command chair to address the entire ship. “All hands, this is the captain, prepare for acceleration in one minute.” Without skipping a beat, the captain switched his comm to Engineering. “Chief? We’re going to take her up to half-light. I trust you’ll let us know if there are any problems down there?”
“Yes Sir, but I don’t anticipate any,” the Chief Engineer’s voice crackled over the comm.
Nathan could imagine the excited look on Vladimir’s face down in Engineering, as he programmed in a five minute acceleration curve that would get them to half the speed of light in just under fifteen minutes. It was a very slow rate of acceleration, considering what he knew the ship was designed to do. But the captain’s earlier point had been a valid one, which Nathan had not even considered.
“Departure altitude achieved, ready to break orbit,” Cameron announced.
“Very well, take us out of orbit, and make way for Jupiter, half-light, Lieutenant.”
Cameron pressed a button on her console that changed the ship’s condition to yellow.
Throughout the ship, the condition lights located along every corridor and every compartment suddenly changed from green to yellow as she announced the last acceleration warning to the crew. All at once, anyone standing immediately sat down and faced forward. If they weren’t able to sit, they stood leaning against a wall that faced aft. If they couldn’t do that, they grabbed onto something. The inertial dampeners were a new feature in Fleet vessels, and no one was quite sure how well they were going to work. And the last thing that new crewman wanted was to fall on their ass during their first acceleration.
“Breaking orbit,” Nathan announced as Cameron finished her ship-wide warning. He activated the acceleration sequence he had programmed moments ago, as he changed the ships heading. “On course for Jupiter, beginning acceleration sequence.”
All the bridge staff who were not facing forward suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned their seats towards the main view screen as the ship began to accelerate. The sliver of the Earth that had been decorating the bottom edge of the main view screen suddenly fell away from view as the ship pulled out of orbit and headed for Jupiter.
Nathan wasn’t sure if it was his gentle acceleration curve, or the new inertial dampeners, but the sensation was almost unnoticeable. In fact, it was even a bit disappointing, and he wondered how much the dampeners would help if he really had to punch it.
Fifteen minutes later they were traveling at half the speed of light, and Nathan had discontinued his burn. In about an hour, he would have to start a gradual deceleration burn so that they would settle into a comfortable orbit around Jupiter. Of course Cameron would let him know when and at what thrust to burn, but he was pretty sure that the rest of the crew would never feel a thing.
“Traveling at half-light, Captain. On course for Jupiter,” Nathan reported.
“Very well,” the captain answered as he rose from his chair. “XO, you’re with me,” he added as he headed for his ready room door at the aft end of the bridge. “You have the con, Lieutenant.”
Cameron rolled her eyes as she noticed the big toothy grin forming on Nathan’s face.
* * *
Deceleration on approach to Jupiter had gone as planned, thanks to Cameron’s precise navigational calculations. In only a few minutes, the Aurora would be captured by Jupiter’s gravity well and fall into a stable orbit high above her equator. The eighty-seven minute trip had been uneventful thus far, a welcome change for Nathan from the gut-wrenching simulations they had endured previously. It had made him realize that perhaps Vladimir had been correct, that all he had to do was to fly the ship wherever the captain told him. And that was fine with him.
He was just a bit surprised and more than curious when Doctor Karlsen and his daughter entered the bridge and went directly to the starboard auxiliary station. Located at the aft end of each side of the bridge just forward of the exits,
these stations could be reprogrammed to act as monitoring and control stations for just about any of the ship’s systems.
“What are they doing here?” Nathan whispered to Cameron, as he tilted his head back towards the two Physicists. Cameron just shrugged her shoulders, indicating she had no idea.
Immediately, everything that Vladimir had ever said about the irritating blonde woman and the work they had been doing flashed through Nathan’s mind. If they were on board to test some top-secret project, then the far-side of Jupiter seemed a likely spot. He tried to hear what the two of them were talking about as they worked back in the corner, but they were speaking what Nathan assumed was Danish.
“Standby to end deceleration burn,” Cameron announced, drawing Nathan’s attention back to his job.
“Standing by.”
On Cameron’s command, he cut the main engines, ending the deceleration burn, the low rumble subsiding.
“Approach velocity and vector are perfect,” Cameron announced proudly, despite the fact that Nathan was the only one listening. “We should settle into orbit in four minutes.” Cameron switched her comm channel to hail the captain. “Navigation, Sir. Jupiter orbit in four minutes.”
“Very well, Ensign. Go ahead and pitch over. We’ll be there momentarily,” the captain instructed over the comm.
“Yes Sir,” she said, before ending the connection. “You’re clear to pitch over,” she told Nathan.
“Pitching over.”
Nathan pushed the joystick forward slightly, holding it there for several seconds. Although a smaller ship, the Aurora still had plenty of mass and it took more than just a small puff of attitude thrusters to get her to flip over in a timely fashion. The inertial dampening systems appeared to be doing their job, which allowed him to handle the massive ship more like a large fighter-bomber than a carrier vessel.
The Aurora had been approaching Jupiter tail first, using her massive main engines to decelerate. Most interplanetary trips were made at less than ten percent of light, from which the ship’s braking thrusters were capable of slowing her down to orbital velocities. But since the purpose of their mission had been to test main propulsion, a more aggressive flight profile had seemed appropriate.