Author's Notes: What's this? Another chapter up so quick? Yup, and more to come soon! ;)
******* Personal Log *******
Crew Member: Dr. Adam Trío, Science Officer
Date: 17 February 2055
Time: 21:45
Entry #1096:
I don't even know how to begin to describe everything that has happened aboard this ship since my last entry. For security reasons, I cannot divulge the things we have discovered and the conclusions we have come to about, well about everything. But at this point, we are no closer to getting home than we were a week ago. What's worse, I have, unfortunately, come to the conclusion that we are stuck about eight to eleven billion years in the past. I never thought I'd say that I wish my theories weren't true, but they are. Traveling at light speed has taken us far, far away from home, in more ways than one. Ironically, my most daunting task now is convincing our Captain of the facts that I believe my observations have led me to.
Oh, and one last piece of news, four days ago our ship's sensors detected a planet that is surprisingly close to our ship. I do not know where this planet came from since there is no star nearby for it to orbit, but it is most definitely not an asteroid. I am immensely curious about this planet, according to our scans it appears to be made entirely of metal, or at least the surface is. We have not made the decision whether to head towards this planet or not, but I have the feeling that we will be making that decision soon.
******* End Log Entry *******
The halls of The Ark were dark and cold. It was almost ten o'clock at night, and all the regular personnel were bundled in their quarters. To conserve energy, not even the emergency lights were on across most of the ship, and the temperature had been turned down to a cozy 50 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the halls weren't completely deserted. Footsteps echoed along one of the main corridors of deck five, slowly moving from room to room, around every corner and back again. A beam from a flashlight accompanied those feet, as it chased the shadows away and searched every corner of the darkened hallway. It was Amal Gamous, doing his rounds as part of the security force. Almost every night for the past week he'd been assigned to this same corridor for an all night shift. There were a few other guards on this deck, but he hardly ever crossed paths with them, as they all had their own sections to monitor.
Sighing, Amal flashed his light around, occasionally whistled a tune, and walked up and down the corridor he didn't know how many times. It was a boring job, because nothing ever happened, but at least he felt that this job was a bit more important than the other menial jobs he'd been assigned to. And so far he hadn't done anything to make Mack annoyed or suspicious, so the director of security had reluctantly kept him on the force. Amal wondered, though, if Mack was trying to dissuade him with this shift, all the other security officers were rotated to different sections every night, and what really stung was that walking this corridor took Amal right past the class rooms and day care centers where he used to work. Yeah, Mack was probably trying to convince him of something, but Amal didn't let it get to him. If Mack was going to be obstinate about the issue, let him be. Amal was just trying to do his job.
Checking inside rooms and around corners, the man slowly made his way down the hall. Everything was still, stagnate, just like everything else around here. Ever since that blackout several days ago, almost nothing has changed around the ship. It was all just guard duty every night and a whole lot of nothing during the day. Although he had to hand it to Quinton, the man was doing a pretty good job at getting people to stay active and involved, but Amal always skipped out on the activities he was assigned to. It was nothing against Quinton, he just wasn't that much of a team player.
Over the next several hours, Amal walked back and forth and back and forth along the corridor. It was nearing one o'clock in the morning, and as per usual nothing out of the ordinary stood out to him. His feet were growing tired, and so he decided to take a little break. Sitting down against the wall, he set his flashlight down and pulled out a small gaming device. Several minutes passed as he got into his game, the light from the screen illuminating his face. But then above the noises from his device he heard something else that came from down the hallway, a noise that didn't sound normal. Grabbing his flashlight, he shone it in the direction the noise had come from, just in time to catch sight of the door to the stairwell swing shut with a thud.
That definitely wasn't normal, the security guards usually used the elevators to get around, and besides it wasn't time for anybody to be switching shifts or leaving their stations anyway. So Amal quickly put away his game, stood up, and hustled towards the door. He opened it just in time to hear the door just one level down swing shut. Whoever it was that had used the stairs was only a deck below him, and so without even thinking Amal rushed down the stairwell after the stranger. When he reached the next deck below, he was just in time to see a shadow disappear around a corner down the hall. Amal continued to give chase, growing more suspicious as he went. He rounded the corner, again just in time to see another door closing up ahead. When he drew close to the door, he discovered it was the entrance to the upper level of the engine room.
Now he hesitated a moment, the engine room was a big deal, he wasn't even sure if security guards were allowed in. Besides, the doors were usually locked, even during the day hours, and only officers or those with special permission could enter. But he knew he had seen this door open, and if somebody was inside at this hour then it was his job to find out who and why. So he pressed the button for the door to open, and to his mild surprise it did. Stepping inside, he cautiously flashed his light around the room.
"Hello?" he called, stepping fully into the room and letting the door slide shut behind him. "Who's in here?"
There came no response; it was completely still and silent in the room. Amal began to wander around, checking for any sign of intruders. This section of the engine room was merely a platform that lined the walls around the main engine, used for observation and access to the upper portions of the engine via panels inside the wall. Amal walked around the entire room, checking every square inch of the place, even peering over the edge of the railing to the levels below him. Nothing.
Feeling a bit perturbed, Amal left the room and made his way back to his station. He wondered if this was something he needed to report to Mack.
o~o~o
Later that day, Christopher sat at his desk in his office, waiting. Adam had finalized his report, and was on his way down to give it to him. This would be the first time they had spoken since Adam had given his initial report three days ago; just as the Captain had ordered, Adam had rerun the tests and had not contacted him until he was done, and that was now. Now Christopher sat, his hands balled together and pressed against his chin, and stared down at the top of his desk in deep thought. He knew what Adam was going to tell him, and he was mentally preparing himself for the news. He felt bad for the way he had reacted the last time, and he wasn't about to react the same way this time.
He'd also invited Xerxes and Victor to hear the report, and it took about five minutes for the three men to arrive. Xerxes arrived first, followed by Adam, and finally Victor. Once everybody had arrived, and with the tablet that contained the report sitting on the desk between them all, untouched since it had been placed there, Christopher motioned for Adam to begin.
With a deep sigh, Adam began. "I have analyzed the star patterns around us and after finding the ages of a few of them, I have come to some conclusions about our… situation." He spoke this first line to Xerxes and Victor, since this was the first time they had heard of the news. "After running the tests multiple times, I am sure now that we are approximately 11 to 8 billion years in the past." He said it bluntly and without hesitation this time, as if he were numb to the shock of the revelation. Xerxes, however, raised his eyebrows in alarm, while Christopher bowed his head slightly and Victor looked up with some surprise. Adam continued. "Going off of those numbers, even if we get the engine working again and start traveling at 99 percent of light speed as before, it will take us anywhere from 35 to 50 million years to get back to our proper time period."
That was the real blow. The other three men sat in silence for a long time, digesting the news. And since that was all Adam had to tell, he waited patiently for the others to respond. In the silence, Xerxes picked up the tablet on the desk and began to read through the official report.
Finally Christopher looked up at the others. "Victor, how close are you to discovering the cause of the engine failure?" he asked.
The engineer shook his head ruefully. "Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to tell what happened without dismantling the entire machine. Quinton is in the process of analyzing the system, but it takes a very long time to run a forensic diagnostic on a computer, especially with only one man doing all the work. He may not be done for another week, or longer."
Frowning, Christopher suddenly stood up and walked up to the large window in the room. For several moments he just stood there and stared out into space. Then he tapped the thick glass in a thoughtful gesture. "That planet that's out there, would you recommend we go to it?" He turned around to look at the others, and it took them a moment to realize he was addressing all of them. Xerxes looked up from the tablet in his hands.
Adam was the first to venture a response. He shrugged slightly, "All I can say is what I've said before, it'll take precious energy to get there."
"Yes, but we don't necessarily need to keep using energy. We'll only need to hit the thrusters once to set the course," Victor replied.
"Victor," Xerxes suddenly said. "Do we have the proper materials to repair the engine?"
The engineer sighed, this was something he had been trying not to think about up until now. "We have all the shrapnel pieces from the explosion, and Sonia has the capability to forge many of them into the pieces we need. But I do not know to what extent we will need to repair the engine, and a lot of the scrap metal we have may not be suitable for the repairs. Energy-wise… I cannot make any conclusions at this point about how much antimatter we have left. We may not have any."
Xerxes diminished the heavy news by responding immediately. "And can you say whether we might find any useful materials on that planet?"
Victor and Adam looked at each other in thought. Eventually the engineer shrugged. "It is impossible to say for sure unless we take a look first hand."
With that statement, the second in command looked to the Captain wordlessly. In response, Christopher looked to Victor. "Our impulse thrusters are in working order?"
"Yes," the engineer confirmed. "But I'll need to run a few tests on them before they are used."
Christopher nodded. "Do those right away, and let me know as soon as they're ready. We'll head for that planet when they are."
Victor gave a "yes sir," and Christopher took back the tablet that Xerxes had placed back on the table. "I'll send this report and this news to the other officers," he said. And then with nothing else to talk about, Christopher dismissed the men. "Oh but Adam," he said just as the scientist was standing up. "Stick around for a minute, I'd like to talk about your son."
o~o~o
As Victor made his way down to the engine room to begin his diagnostic on the impulse thrusters, he was stopped in the hallway by Mack. "Victor," the director of security said. "You said you were done with the... package I dropped off with you?"
"Ah, yes," Victor said, knowing full well what the man was talking about and remembering that he had sent a message to him about that the other day. "Come with me to my office and we'll talk about it."
Mack then followed the wheelchair-bound man back up several decks to the other's office. Once the door was shut and locked, Victor wheeled over to an unmarked cabinet near the back of the room. He unlocked the door, but had to stop himself as he was leaning down to retrieve the items within, a sharp stab of pain shooting up his back as he attempted to do so. He leaned back with a sigh of frustration. "They're in there," he told the other man an indicated the inside of the cabinet. Mack quickly pulled out the three melted lumps of metal within, and placed them on the desk nearby.
"Unfortunately, there isn't much to say," Victor began, indicating the objects. "You're right, they're computer hard drives, undoubtedly from the security room, but they're clearly damaged beyond repair, and all of the data they once held has been lost permanently."
Mack growled a sigh as he received that news. He shook his head. "Great," he said. "What am I supposed to do with them now?"
"I can keep them here if you would like?" Victor said, indicating the cabinets.
"Not really what I meant," Mack growled. And then he huffed. "But sure." And then he proceeded to shove the destroyed drives back in the cabinet.
"I do know what you mean," Victor said. "Do you… suspect Sonia?"
Frowning, Mack didn't respond until the door to the cabinet had been shut and locked. "I don't want to," he said. Victor nodded in understanding. "But I haven't finished collecting alibis, and once I do I still need to analyze him. It'll be a while yet before I can make any conclusions."
"That seems to be the situation we're all in," Victor responded a bit heavily.
A brief silence fell over the two. Not one for chit-chat, Mack quickly took his leave. "Thanks for doin' this," he said gruffly.
"Please come by with anything else you may want me to have a look at," Victor said.
Mack nodded, and then left. Victor stuck around for a bit longer before he followed the other man out, heading back down to the lower levels of the ship.
o~o~o
That night, after finishing some various duties, Adam finally decided it was time to turn in for the day. He locked his office and made his way up to the quarters he shared with his son. Upon entering, he found Pryce inside, as he should have been since it was nearing 9 o'clock and curfew time. The teen was laying on his back on his bed, but with his head turned towards the porthole window nearby. He looked up when Adam entered, but merely grunted a 'hey' before turning his gaze back to the window.
Adam greeting his son in return, before closing the door behind him and putting some of his stuff down on a table nearby. He thought twice about the tablet that held his report about his recent findings, and decided to turn it off and placed it facing down. The silence stretched on between them as Adam sat down to take off his shoes and attempted to rub some of the weariness from his face. He sighed as he glanced over at his son. They hadn't had much time to talk over the last several days, with him busy and sometimes working late into the night, and Pryce kept occupied with the various tasks Quinton had assigned to him. But since his report was now finished, there was a brief lull in Adam's workload, which was why he was back in his quarters a bit early. Which was good, since he now had something to talk with Pryce about.
"There's a new job for you," Adam suddenly said.
Pryce turned his head Adam's way. "Oh yeah?" he asked, curious.
Adam nodded. "The Captain and I discussed it actually. You'll be helping Ebony in her laboratory, she's lost many assistants, and there's still some cleaning up to do as well as regular maintenance on her equipment. She's been notified, you'll report to her lab tomorrow at eight in the morning."
After a moment of thought, Pryce nodded. "Okay."
"I'm sorry you won't be working with Victor anytime soon," Adam continued. Pryce shrugged at that statement. "But he does think you'll be a great help to Ebony. Her equipment needs to be working properly at all times. He's too busy to maintain it all himself, but he thinks you're trained enough for the job."
"Alright," Pryce responded. At the mention of the head engineer, Pryce had looked away with a frown on his face. He has yet to talk to the man since the accident, and every day that passed he was feeling worse about it. But he pushed that from his mind, and then focused back on his father, another curious glint in his eyes. "How's, uh, yours and his work coming along, anyway?"
Adam took a moment to respond. Just about everything that involved the engine was strictly confidential, which was why the teen's work with the engineer had been cut off in the first place. But his own findings were a different matter, and were soon to be public news anyway. Now was a good time as any to tell him. He looked back. "I've been doing research into my theories," he started.
Pryce raised an eyebrow in interest. "Your travel at light speed ones?"
Adam nodded. "They were right," he said. And he proceeded to explain to his son everything that he had discovered over the past few days.
After the numbers had been thrown at him, Pryce's face slacked in shock and he glanced up at the ceiling as he tried to process it all. Then he got up and walked over to the window and peered out at the stars with renewed interest. "That's…" he started, but couldn't quite figure out the right words to describe what he thought. He turned back to his father. "What're we going to do now?"
"Isn't that the question of the day?" Adam said sarcastically, before getting back to being serious. "You know that planet that's nearby?"
"Yeah," Pryce said. The news about the nearby planet had traveled fast around the ship, and lots of people were interested in it, especially Pryce. But ever since the news came out, nothing had been done about it and some people began to wonder if it was just a rumor. Pryce had a feeling that was about to change. "We're going to head over there?" he guessed.
Adam nodded in confirmation. "As soon as Victor inspects our impulse thrusters, which he should be doing right now actually."
Pryce sat down on his bed and glanced outside again. "How long will it take to get there?" he asked suddenly with a glint of wonder in his eyes. "What do you think we'll find on it? I wonder what it looks like up close!"
Adam smiled at his son's enthusiasm, glad to see that childlike curiosity showing through him again. Over the last several days, Pryce had been acting a bit grim and sobered, reflecting the mood of the entire ship. That night they talked about what kind of wonders awaited them in their future, a nice change from worrying about what horrors awaited them instead. It was good to share a relaxed moment like this with him again because Adam wasn't sure how many more they would get.
o~o~o
It took Victor about a day to finish running his tests on the impulse thrusters. He grumbled that it would have taken less time if Pryce had helped, but he knew about Christopher's orders for the boy to stay away, and so he had to deal with assistants who had less experience working directly with him. Despite this, though, the thrusters all checked out and the ship was good to go. As soon as Christopher got the report, he called the appropriate officers to the command bridge, in preparation to begin their journey. Once he arrived in the room, most everybody was there: Adam standing near the back by the readout panels, Tyrone near the front, Xerxes standing by the Captain's and co-Captain's chairs, and several other ensigns located around the bridge. Victor was in the engine room to make sure things ran smoothly down there. Christopher walked up to his chair, nodding in greeting to his second-in-command. He sat down, and Xerxes swiftly followed suite. Christopher took a moment to marvel at how odd the situation felt, it seemed like it was a lot more than nine days ago that he sat in this chair last. Memories of the day of the stopping of the engine came flooding back to him, and he didn't really want those thoughts in his mind at this moment, so he pushed that aside and motioned for Tyrone to prepare the ship's systems.
Earlier in the day, Christopher had made the announcement to the crew explaining the situation they were in and that they were preparing to head towards the nearby planet soon. It was a hard thing to announce, but he felt that this was something that shouldn't be kept from the others aboard the ship, enough was being kept from them already. He had done his best to soften the blow of the news, and he had tried to sound as optimistic as possible. They were going to get to this planet and use its resources to repair their engine, after which they would continue their journey back to Earth. He had been sure not to stress the point about how long it would take to get back, though, only stating that they would.
In another few moments, the systems were booted up and ready to be fired. This was a much simpler affair than igniting the main engines, so all that was needed was to point the ship in the right direction and hit the thrusters. Christopher called down to Victor just to be sure, though. "Are we go for launch, Victor?" he asked through his comm-unit.
::We're ready,:: came the engineer's reply.
Christopher nodded to the crew before him. "Alright, Mr. Megason, put us in position."
With a nod in return, Tyrone turned back to his instruments and adjusted some of the settings. He began typing in commands into his console, and almost immediately the view outside the big screen in front began to change as Tyrone altered the ship's direction. After several minutes of maneuvering, the ship was apparently in place. Tyrone paused for a moment and looked back to the Captain, who gave a confirming nod in return. The navigations officer turned back and without hesitation, grabbed the lever for the impulse thrusters and pushed it forward. The ship shuttered slightly, and everybody braced instinctively. But in mere seconds, the shuttering stopped and the sound of the thrusters permeated throughout the ship as a steady hum. However, most people on the bridge remained tense. About ten seconds later, Tyrone pulled the lever back, letting the thrusters die off. The noise faded away, and everything appeared to be as it was before, except now the ship was on its way to a new destination.
Christopher relaxed with a sigh, relief filling him. In about three weeks now, they would be arriving at the planet. They were just going to have to survive until then.