Approach
28th December 2016
Fosanta, Shiala and Adastra had got up early to prepare the ship to travel to the nearest known mass relay, the preliminary estimates put the travel time at about seventeen days with a stop for additional water at a previously mapped system. All they were waiting for was Kriana to wake up and press the go button.
"Has anyone else thought what is going to happen when we get back?" Fosanta voicing her thoughts as she finished the basic scan of the solar system they were in for future reference.
"I will return to Matriarch Benezia." Shiala stating as if there was no way she could get away.
"I personally have not thought about it, these last nearly five years have been good to me." Adastra thinking how this mission has been so much better than having to get odd jobs. "What about you Fosanta?"
"I was thinking of getting a job that involved a little less travelling."
"Sounds like a good idea" A voice from behind the three of them said. They all turned around to see Kriana who still seemed half asleep and Emala who took co-pilots seat.
"Are we ready to leave?"
"Yes. Emala do you want to take us to FTL?" Emala nods enthusiastically waiting for Karina to give the go.
"Take us to the mass relay and the Citadel." Kriana turned away and headed towards the lift as Emala pressed a few buttons on the console. After a couple of minutes the ship gave a small jolt as the light barrier was broken and the ship started its ten day journey to the water source then onto the mass relay. With that Fosanta departed.
/V\/V\/V\/V\/V\
"huh." Kate being awoken by a small jolt but not knowing what is going on. She looks out of the window to see a blue glow. "That is weird", she mused to herself before deciding that a shower and breakfast might be an idea. Kate had been using the communal showers that were on the opposite side of the ship to the toilets. It wasn't like they was ever a queue as only herself, Fosanta and Shiala ever used them and there were three showers.
On her way to the showers she saw Sam having his breakfast looking fairly red. "Morning Sam, Why are you red?"
"Oh, Hello Kate. It is probably the hot shower I had this morning, are you going to have one?" with that Kate laughed a little.
"Yes, I will be careful." With that Sam restarted shovelling his breakfast into his mouth as Kate walked into the shower area. Fosanta had just stepped into a shower when she heard the door close and stuck her head out to see Kate with a towel over her shoulder.
"Morning Kate." Kate wasn't expecting to see anyone in the shower room so was a little surprised when a smiling blue face had appeared from between two curtains.
"Fosanta. Morning. I was not expecting anyone to be in here to be fair."
"We started our journey to the Citadel this morning, so given there is nothing to do I decided to try out these hot showers." With that Fosanta pulled her head back into the shower and turned on the water. Kate putting her towel on the small bench opposite the showers and starting to get undressed, keeping an eye that Fosanta was not having a quick look.
"Did we set off about thirty minutes ago?"
"Yes why?" Fosanta's shower spouting plumes of steam out of the top of the curtained area as Kate goes to the shower in the corner.
"I think it woke me up." Kate pulled the curtain around her shower and turned it on to be greeted with a burst of hot water.
"It is possible, the ship jumps a little when we pass the speed of light." Kate hears Fosanta's shower turn off.
"Wait, so we are travelling faster than light now?"
"Yes, Adastra told me we will be doing nearly a thousand two hundred times light speed shortly." She said as she was towelling herself down.
"This ship must be really fast then?" Kate still washing her gingery red hair thinking that would be the distance from Earth to the sun in less than half a second.
"To light speed it was before we lost the four smaller thrusters Kate. Above light speed not so much due to the budget restrictions on the design."
"So you mean this ship was built cheaply?"
"Not exactly Kate. It was designed for being able to quickly manoeuvre between planets rather than quick traversal between systems. While we would have preferred a faster top speed it is a well built ship as evidenced by it still working to a point."
"To a point?"
"The loss of the smaller thrusters mean that there is only the mass effect cores left for steering which are difficult to control. As you know some of the sensors and the FTL communications array do not work and there are probably plenty of trivial things that do not work like certain lights for example."
"It does not sound too good." Kate thinking it sounds like a scrapheap and it is going faster than the speed of light.
"We will be fine Kate. Do not worry and I will speak to you shortly." With that she left Kate in the shower.
Some fifteen minutes after Fosanta, Kate emerged from the showers looking no redder than when she went in. "I was careful." Kate having a joke at Sam who was still looking red with a drink in his hand. "It was much better than the frostbite I nearly got last time."
"The nearest I got to a cold shower was putting my foot in, I got cold feet after that." Sam smirking knowing that was the first decent pun he's had the opportunity to use.
"That was awful Sam." Kate just shook her head with a smile and headed to her room.
6th January 2017
The Enlighten drops out of FTL near a dwarf planet which has a thick ice crust. "Everyone we have arrived at our planet for more water." Fosanta announces over the intercom as Adastra pilots the ship carefully closer to the dwarf planet before hovering it a hundred or so metres above the icy surface.
"You do know the ice extraction equipment has not been tested after the core discharge Adastra?"
"I know Kriana but we need this water one way or another. Fortunately it is just a heating element so even if parts of it are shorted it might still work as long as the fusion core can handle the extra load. Fosanta the gravity is a little uneven on this planet so just be careful while keeping the Enlighten level." Fosanta nods as Adastra leaves to head down to deck three.
"I really hope this works." Kriana musing more to herself than asking anyone.
"Well we should get a bit of a core discharge as well which is handy as we would have been cutting it close to get to the Citadel without one." Fosanta trying to keep the ship level with the crusty surface.
/V\/V\/V\/V\/V\
Adastra walks out of the lift to see Sam and Kate attaching the heating plate to the shuttle. "Are we ready to go as it is not easy keeping this ship stable having to juggle three mass effect cores."
"Yes Adastra, we were just checking everything." Kate wanting to make sure this works.
"Is there any reason you are wearing that Adastra?" Sam noting her wearing a suit of some kind which has two thin tanks on its back. A helmet under her right arm.
"The shuttle has a breach in its vacuum seal hence why we had to dock with the Enlighten in Earth's atmosphere. Do you remember Sam?"
"My apologies I forgot about that. Anyway you should be good to go Adastra." Adastra nods before putting her helmet on and climbing into the shuttle. Kate and Sam exit the deck and head up to the cockpit in the slow lift.
"If someone had told me I would be on a space ship light years from Earth next year, before Christmas, I would have asked them which nut house they had escaped from." Sam keeping to English to get his point across better.
"I am still wondering quite whether this is all a dream. It is so surreal to be floating above a small planet to extract water from it, in the middle of nowhere, on a half broken ship with five aliens. If we even went back to Earth now no one would believe us."
"I know you are struggling to accept this quite as well as I am." The lift doors open and the two of them walk out. "Do you feel like you are going insane though?" Kate nods.
"It is not that bad is it?" Fosanta overhearing their discussion.
"Adastra you are clear to disembark when you are ready." Shiala keeping their current activities going.
"It is still very weird to be floating above an ice planet Fosanta. Let alone with five individuals from a previously unknown species." Sam finishing off the rest of the discussion in Asari.
Adastra gently drags the heating plate and its two tubes out of the docking bay door with the shuttle. As the plate drops off the docking bay floor and heading towards the surface the wires connecting it to the shuttle bring it underneath the shuttle so it is hanging. Adastra lowers the shuttle so the plate is resting on the icy surface as the shuttle hovers above, the wires having slack in them. "Anyone up there, The plate is ready to go."
"Lets hope this works." Fosanta disconnects the electrolysis unit from the fusion core and redirects the power to the plate.
"I can see steam which is a good sign. I just hope this does not take too long as the temperature is really starting to drop in here."
"Tell us when we can start pumping Adastra." Fosanta sitting back and waiting for the go.
"How long will this take?"
"It has taken us four hours to fill the tank before Kate but the ice on that planet was at twenty five Kelvin and we had no reserve water. This ice is at one hundred and" Fosanta checks on the console "nineteen Kelvin and we have some water in the tank but not enough to get us to the Citadel." Sam nods.
"What is that minus a hundred or something?"
"Minus a hundred and fifty four Celsius Kate." Kate nods forgoing a comment about it being cold as it would sound silly. "So how long are we expecting to be here?" Sam voicing to no one in particular.
"It depends on how well Adastra and the Shuttle hold but if we can it will take an hour and fifty minutes to fully fill the tank."
"I can hear you all you know." Adastra announcing over the communications system. "Shiala does have a valid point though as the shuttles electronics are not shielded from the cold inside. I am ok for four hours as I have heating in here but the shuttle may start to give up fairly soon."
"We would have enough to get to the Citadel after thirty minutes Adastra."
"You can start pumping now Fosanta." Fosanta leans over to the console and turns on the pumps.
"Done Adastra. Why did you want to do this anyway as you can control the Enlighten better than I can."
"It is the last time we will ever need to refill this ship from a block of ice. Also if this shuttle fails it might do rather rapidly as it has already endured a solar flare which caused a bit of damage."
"I am guessing the other shuttles were used to evacuate everyone else."
"Yes Sam, to be honest twenty four could have evacuated in three shuttles as each can hold eight. As you may appreciate, when people are panicking it does not always work like that." Shiala making a point while everyone waits.
/V\/V\/V\/V\/V\
"Err everyone. I would like to recommend shuttles be insulated on the inside for jobs like this next time."
"Why Adastra. Have you got problems?"
"I now only have the console for lighting and the touch sensing circuitry is getting very unresponsive." Fosanta looks at the time noting the ship has been pumping for twenty six minutes.
"We might have a bit of a dry tank when we get to the Citadel but we should have enough Adastra. Come back while you still have some control."
"I will take a dry tank over crashing this shuttle. We can just travel a little slower if we need to save." Adastra finding the controls seem to only react after having her finger on the button for half a second. "You would have liked flying this Fosanta. It is awful." Adastra joking as she pulls the heating plate and the tubing so the plate is level with the docking bay door. Swinging the plate towards the ship she lowers the shuttle to drop the plate onto the docking bay floor. She proceeds to then carefully put the shuttle inside. "Oh great, the plate has landed right where the shuttle sits."
"If you have to run into the plate then do so Adastra." Kriana putting her captains angle on it knowing full well it would not be doing any more work once they get back to the Citadel.
"That makes life easier. I do not need any help down here to pull the tubing in then." Adastra pushes the plate with the shuttle from shuttle bay one to the back of the ship at shuttle bay five near the rear of the ship. The tubing just curling into the Enlighten. Adastra parks the shuttle on the tubing and gets out. Jumping down from the shuttle she walks over to nudge one of the pipes a bit further in. "Fosanta. The docking bay door is clear."
"Closing now." Fosanta typing a few commands into the console. The docking bay shuts causing a shake of the ship. Fosanta re-pressurises the shuttle bay so the lift will stop at that deck to allow Adastra back up. "You are good to leave Adastra."
"Is it always this much fun ice mining?"
"No Sam. We usually had enough people so we could pull the plate in using the tubes but that needs four people per tube and we do not even have eight people on-board."
"When you have the co-ordinates make our way to the Citadel Fosanta." Fosanta turns in her seat to nod to Kriana who seems satisfied enough to leave.
"Fosanta you have to co-ordinates to the mass relay." She nods to Shiala before looking at the screen to double check everything before setting off.
"Mass relay?" Sam about to ask the same question but Kate getting there first.
"They are transportation routes Kate. They allow things to travel immense distances in very short periods of time. Without them getting anywhere would take months."
"Are we on our way now Fosanta?" Adastra's voice appears from behind them. Sam and Kate turn around to see Adastra walking towards them, helmet under her arm again.
"Yes Adastra. We have nothing to do for another seven days now."
"I have had enough for today but we could do with tidying the shuttle bay as it is a mess."
"Why would we need to tidy it?" Sam thinking it is unlikely to be used again so why bother.
"It seems you do not know I get bored very quickly if I do not have something to do Sam."
"Adastra has made some interesting entertainment over the years. Putting a microphone in the showers and then broadcasting it over the intercom to everyone was one of the worst. I am sure it was deliberately targeted at us because she knew we got up earlier than most of the other crew members." Adastra showing a face of fake innocence when everyone looked towards her.
"What we say to each other after sleeping together for three years did not need to be broadcast to all twenty seven other crew members." Kate raises her eyebrows at Shiala's comment.
"Have either of you thought that Adastra might just be interested in trying to understand how relationships work?" All three Asari look confused at Sam. Kate smiles a little. "I am guessing because of the markings people avoid you Adastra?"
"That, the reputation and the fact I do not trust people to be nice."
"You trust no one Adastra? I find that hard to believe as everyone here seems pleasant and kind."
"Ok the markings and the reputation then Sam."
"Still my point stands, more so given you are over three hundred and fifty. Oh and Kate, no this is in no way a hint so there is no need for the smile. I just think people are missing the obvious about Adastra. Although Adastra, giving people a little trust would be good. I mean even showing a small amount of your markings to get someone's opinion would not be too much to ask surely?"
"Maybe not Sam but I will need to think about that." Sam nods and leaves to head back to his room.
"Well that was unexpectedly insightful. I am however not sure whether it was necessarily insightful about the incidents."
"Shiala, just because Sam seems to understand does not mean we are going to be together happily ever after. Think yourself and Fosanta as an idea." Adastra leaves the three of them to get out of the suit which was becoming rather warm.
"Do you think Shiala?"
"As I have mentioned to you before Fosanta I think Adastra is liking the novelty of someone new. I think it will eventually settle into a strong friendship but nothing more."
"It does make sense but they are getting on awfully well together."
"I wonder where Emala is?" Kate suddenly realising there is an individual less today.
"She felt a little unwell this morning Kate. I am sure she will be ok tomorrow."
"I might see if she wants someone to talk to." Fosanta and Shiala nod to Kate before she leaves the deck to see if Emala was around. When she got to her door she finds it locked and knowing she is a little unwell she decides not to disturb her and goes to her own room.
13th January 2017
"Everyone on-board we are now approaching the mass relay." Fosanta sat back from the console and waited for Adastra and Shiala to appear from the lift. She wasn't quite expecting everyone to turn up but it was only this small jump to a main relay and then immediately to the citadel.
"Oh wow", was all Sam and Kate could get out nearly in synchronisation after looking out of the cockpit windows.
"Fosanta could you transmit our mass and destination to the relay." Fosanta puts a few commands into her console and with that the relay comes to life.
"Kate, Sam this relay will make us cover ten times the distance we have just travelled from your planet in a few hundredth of a second". Shiala now sitting back as there's no longer any co-ordinates to calculate.
"It is an odd feeling..." Kriana added from next to them "You get used to it though".
"On approach now, Emala you have the timing on your screen." Adastra managing to steer the Enlighten on a path that will take them past the core and along the length of the relay.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1." The ship seems to lurch a tiny amount forward and they could no longer see the relay out of the window. Frantic activity suddenly started on the cockpit consoles as there was now a new destination to be plotted.
"It almost feels like being in free-fall for half a second." Kate looked at Sam who adjusted his footing. "It is a strange feeling though."
"We will be at the main relay in five hours if my estimate is right." Emala trying her best but using the ships nominal ratings rather than maximums.
"No, We have enough water and reserve mass effect core charge to push it. We can discharge and refuel at the Citadel if we need to. Four and a half hours is my estimate." Adastra clearly sensing home now and doing everything she can to get there faster. "Oh and Kate it is strange and you may not get used to it. Tahomi our co-pilot hated it."
"Why would you become a pilot then?" Sam confused.
"I asked the same question Sam. She liked travelling but not using mass relays." Sam nods to Fosanta thinking that about makes sense on an exploration mission where they would not be using mass relays much.
"Fosanta can we get a message to the Citadel now or are the data communications still out?" Kriana wondering if she can arrange everything with the Citadel before they arrive.
"We have two minutes of low bit rate voice communication before we go to FTL that you could use Kriana."
"Set up communication to Citadel control." Fosanta gives Kriana a nod when its set-up.
"Citadel Control this is the ASL Enlighten. We are on approach to the Citadel from the Exodus Cluster. ETA five hours."
"ASL Enlighten you have been marked as disappeared, presumed destroyed. Please can you confirm the number of crew that evacuated."
"There were twenty four crew that evacuated on-board four shuttles. Twenty two Asari and two Salarians." Kriana wondering quite why they needed that confirmation she didn't know but she complied.
"ASL Enlighten, you are given priority access to dock seventy one. Upon arrival further checks and a security detail will await you. It will be good to see you back."
"Thank you Citadel control, ASL Enlighten out." There was only forty seconds of comm time left before the ship jolted into FTL travel heading towards the final mass relay before the Citadel.
Notes.
The method for water collection seems overly complicated but it may have been down to them retrofitting it to an old hull design to save costs. We do at least know the Enlighten needs a bigger tank and does not run on magic fairy dust.
Next update is the first chapter on the Citadel which will be posted on the 11th or the 12th.
I keep seeing people favouriting the story which is greatly appreciated, as are reviews if you have the time.