The next morning, neither of the 3 people wanted to leave the bed, but they had to. After showering and clothing themselves, they went to the mess hall for breakfast. More than half of the crew was already there, eating. They exchanged greetings, though Pavarti gave them a knowing look with a barely concealed grin. So did Lavender and the Carrow twins. They were among the few who knew of their unusual relationship. Susan showed up later, joining the group at their table. Everyone was excited for the day because they would be able to go out and walk on the surface of the Moon. Harry could only imagine the amount of puns and jokes Luna would have said if she had been there.
There were 2 reasons why they stopped over the Moon. The first was to put communication relays between its light and dark side. Or more accuratly, its far side, the one that always face away from Earth. The second was to build a preliminary outpost on the far side of the Moon. From his researchs, Harry knew that the poles and the equator of the Moon were place of interest for future settling projects. The poles for the the constant access to sunlight on one side, for solar panels. The equatorial region was more interesting from an industrial point of view, and for easier space travel. He wanted the outpost to be between these 2 regions of interest, meaning between the 20th and 50th lunar parallel, in a relatively small and deep crater if available.
They needed to do a good exploration of the lunar surface, at least on the dark side. The time had come to test the small exploration vehicles he had developped alongside the Marauder. On the upper deck, in the hangar, were 3 small spacecrafts.
The first, and smallest of them, was a recon vehicle called the Scout, with a pilot seat and a co-pilote seat. It was made to be agile and precise, and was partially inspired from the Starfury, a fictional space fighter from the reknown science fiction show Babylon 5. The design of the starfury was so good it had attracted the interest of the NASA, so Harry didn't hesitate to use the idea. The flight engines of the Marauder were inspired from it. It had the best sensors that could be put of such a small craft, and if needed, could be outfited with mechanical arms for labor, such as asteroid mining or outdoor repairs.
The second one was a fighter. Harry believed that, with the distances and speeds involved, fighters were of limited use in ships to ships battle. These battles would start well beyond human visual range, and a missile was better than a fighter at that point. It was also better to have a missile face the close defenses of the enemy ship, especially with the development of the CIWS. Things simply moved too fast for human reactions to keep up, and for the pilot be accurate. With the speed came the stress of high g manoeuvres, that a missile could whistand, but not a pilot.
However, they would still be useful to defend unarmed vessels, space installations and planets; if the enemy objective was capture or item/people retrivial instead of destruction. It was inspired from both the Starfury and Star Wars X-wing, and thus called the Starwing. As a defensive combat craft, Harry wanted it to operate as well in atmosphere as in space, and move from one to the other. It had 4 engines a short distance away from the main body, and 2 wings. It had 2 20mm autocannons, a plasma-laser cannon, and could carry 8 missiles.
The last spacecraft was a dropship. It could transport both people and a vehicle between spaceship, or from a spaceship to-and-from a planet. The cabine had the pilot seat, copilot seat, 6 passenger seats, a medical bed, and a acargo bay which could hold a van. Or rather, the exploration land vehicle Harry designed. It was armed with 2 minigun turrets, one at the nose and the other at the rear of the dropship, and could be outfited with 2 missiles pods carrying 5 missiles each. It was simply called skycab, it would come anywhere you called, and bring you anywhere you wanted to go (within its operating range of course).
These 3 vehicles were going to be tested while searching for a good spot for the outpost. Since Katie was the designated pilot for the Marauder, 3 other people would be piloting them. That was why Harry found himself in the hangar. While he liked quidditch, it was flying that he truly loved, and nobody was going to stop him from doing so. Next to him were the other flyers of the crew. First was his former quidditch teammate from 6th year, Demelza Robbins, his junior by a year. The other was a muggle in his late 20s, Kyle Chapman.
While Katie would take the Marauder over the southern region of the lunar far side, Harry and Demelza would explore the northern region with the starwing and the scout. As for Kyle, his job was to transport the team that would place the communication relays using the skycab. One was to be placed on the northern hemisphere, at the 45th lunar parallel, astride the limit between light and dark, on the east side. The second would be placed on the southern 45th lunar parallel, astride the limit between light and dark, on the west side. His team was made of 2 technicians, a wizard and a muggle.
Next to the 3 small spacecrafts, was the only ground exploration vehicle Harry had made. The Rover, a 6 wheels amphibious all-terrain exploration vehicle. It had a driver seat, copilot seat, 3 passengers seats and a medical bed. There was a small cargo trunk at the back. It was armed with a minigun turret; and could be outfitted with construction/mining tool. Once the location of the outpost was decided, it would be used to build it.
Because the Marauder was the first of its kind, on a test trip, many things could go wrong. Along with testing the small crafts and building the outpost, Harry decided to activate the last safety feature present on board: the automatons. They were inspired from the droids and robots from various sci-fi works, and the enchanted armors and training dummies from the magical world. Like the starship, Harry used a combination of magic and technology to make them, half robots half golems. The first models were actually used as labor for the construction of his private base/workshop/laboratory, and later, the construction of the Marauder itself.
They weren't humanoid, because they weren't meant to be human-like. Besides, the human form wasn't the best there could be, with limited limbs and flexibility. The automatons were quadrupedals, with insect-like legs, capable of high speed movement while maintaining great stability and manoeuvrability, especially on uneven ground. They had 4 arms with an extra joint. A pair of them was for heavy labor, while the other was for precision labor. They had 4 eyes that gave them a wide field of view, and could see in a greater light spectrum than humans. In their default position, they stood at 165cm high, but with limbs stretched out they reached 250cm high, and in standby or turned off state they folded in a roughly cubic shape of 125cm side.
For the trip, he created 3 models. The first and most important one was the safety model. It could perform basic life support, technical rescue and emergency repairs. After all, if there was a massive accident that seriously injured the whole crew and knocked them out, who would rescue them, take them to the infirmary and heal them? There were 10 of them per deck. The second model was the exploration model, capable of basic piloting, first aid, emergency repairs and basic self-defense. They were made to be the back-up of any group on an exploration, and there were 6 of them. The last model was made in case of hostile alien contact, the defense model, also called knight. It could perform combat, tracking, and minor first aid.
Harry recalled the small talk he had 30 minutes before, with his chief of security.
...
"Are you sure they are safe, captain?" Amelia asked Harry as he started them up.
"Yes, I'm sure. There is a reason I didn't try to make an AI to help run the ship. I didn't want to have a Skynet, Lucy or HAL 9000 kind of problem" he said with grim amusement, and saw Amelia twitch. "Then again, while the automatons are capable of doing complex tasks, they aren't nearly as smart as a true AI. Heck, some animals are smarter than them, and I'm not even counting horses, elephants, cats, dogs and cetaceans. Forget primates" he added witth a dismissive tone and wave of the hand. "I didn't blindly give them the so called 3 laws of robotics. I gave a revised set of laws, adapted to their level of intelligence and the tasks they were designed to perform. There are no broad rules subject to interpretations. And all that core programming is hardwired, so hacking or spontaneous change is impossible."
"Okay, I'll trust you on this, captain" she replied while releasing a sight of relief.
"Besides, you and Susan are going to be moderators for them. The highest authority after me. I'm sending the instructions manuals to your mailbox."
"Thank you. That's doubly reassuring."
...
Harry couldn't help but smile a little. Amelia was quite wary about robots and artificial intelligence, and the way things relied more and more on computers and machines than people. She didn't mind the progress of technology, but she wanted the human aspect to remain dominant and not be replaced by machines. The automatons were activated, but most of them were put on standby. The ones put in full activity were the explorations models, as one of them were to accompany each of the small crafts pilots, as well as the rover. Since Harry would be flying in the fighter, his situation was very similar to that of Luke Skywalker and R2D2, and it amused everyone. Harry, Demelza and Kyle exited the Marauder in their respective spacecrafts to complete their tasks.
For the first time since they started their little expedition, Harry could fully immerse himself in the joy of flying in space. His mentality turned to one similar to his time playing quidditch, flying while keeping his eyes open for a small objective in a vast area. This time however, he didn't have to worry about bludgers. It was a mesmerizing experience to be on the illuminated farside of the moon without Earth in sight. Harry was also having morbid thoughts about would happen to him if he was outside on a broom without a protective suit. Still, he fully enjoyed his recon flight, performing acrobatic high Gs manoeuvres every now and then.
Demelza was the one who found a good place for the outpost in her area. And the place was quite the surprising one. It was a lava tube on the sloped side of a small hill. A reminder of the fact that, the moon had volcanic activity in its early life before cooling down and becoming what people were used to. It was a 100m wide passage going deeper into the moon at a 5° angle. It was wide enough for the Marauder to fly into for 2km. The inside was protected from meteoric bombardment, and the walls could be reinforced to prevent collapse in case of a direct heavy hit.
The outpost was separated in modules, to be assembled on the field. Each module was in pieces in space expanded containers. For the time being, there was a core module, a communication module, a technical module, a living module, a laboratory module and an exploration module. The first one was for energy production and life support, the second one contained a main communication array and 2 mobile secondary ones, the third was for maintenance purposes, the fourth was made to accomodate 6 people, the fifth one contained space observation equipment, and the last one was a landing pad with a hangar for vehicles and some exploration drones.
It took a day to properly check the lava tube and confirm its suitability for the outpost, and another day to build said outpost. Assembling the differents parts of the various modules took only a few hours. Most of the time was spent preparing the terrain: reinforcing the walls of the tube and making stable plateaus for the modules. They used magical compacting machines and alchemy to quickly alter the terrain to the proper specifications, and build the proper foundations and support pillars. Then, they spent another day there to make sure everything was operational. After finishing the outpost, everyone had a bit of fun on the surface of the moon, with football, basket ball, a trampoline and such.
For the time being, the outpost would be manned by 3 automatons. These were differents from the ones he made for the Marauder. They would be under the constant supervision of the ground control team. The next part of the Marauder trip was to test the FTL drive. For that, the Marauder would stay hidden from Earth by the moon, to prevent detection at the moment of the jump. With the moon between them and Earth, the outpost was needed to properly keep an eye on the starship.
At the end of the day, when most people had gone to their cabine, Susan was still at her station on the bridge, when 2 hands landed on her shoulders, making her squeak in surprise.
"Is something wrong?" Harry asked, surprised by her reaction.
"Don't scare me like that, you prat!"
"Sorry, but I wasn't trying to be stealthy" he replied as he started to give her a shoulder massage. "You were just too focused on your screen. It's time to go to bed you know? Tomorrow is a big day."
"I know, that's why I was reviewing the reports from Pady, Sue and the Carrow twins."
Not everyone was focused on the construction of the lunar outpost during that time on the moon. It was already determined that there was little magic in space, yet the celestials bodies had an influence on magic and some magical beings. Padma and Sue Li were the magical researcher of the expedition, while Flora was the magi-biologist, and Hestia was the healer. They reported their findings to Susan, who was in charge of the overall well-being of the expedition personnel. They were all quite wary about how space would affect magicals, and didn't want to miss anything. It was one of the reasons neither Hedwig nor any house elves were allowed to come.
While performing magic on the surface of the moon was harder than on Earth, it was much easier than doing so away from the planet. On Earth, the limit to be able to cast spells was after the mesosphere, around 100km of altitude. On the moon, the limit was around 10km. Magical plants and animals affected by the lunar cycle were more vibrant. Though, the animals seemed somewhat confused. That effect was much less pronounced on non-magical animals, but still noticable. Beyond the boost in activity and the confusion, there was no signs of detrimentals effects on their bodies.
"Did they inform you of anything new?"
"No-"
"Then there is no reason for you to spend anymore time here. And if you really understood that tomorrow was important, you would be in bed."
"Aye, aye, captain" she replied as she powered down her station.
"That's right" he replied with a sudden glint in his eyes and a hidden grin as he waited for her to finish. Once she was done, he continued. "As the captain, it's my responsability to punish you for this misdemeanor" he said as his hands moved from her shoulders to cup her generous chest.
"Harry!" she exclaimed in surprise, but not trying to stop him.
"You should be showing the example by relaxing when work hours are over" he continued, his hands slowly peeling off her clothes. "I guess, I'll have to teach you how to properly enjoy your free time" he finished as he kissed her neck.
Susan was the shortest of his girlfriends, but also the most curvacious. And while Katie and Padma were fit, Susan was on the thick side, without being chubby. Her body was firm, with heart bubble butt, and double D cup breasts that made most of the girls in Hogwart jealous of her. He liked the combination of her wavy auburn hairs and dark blue eyes, that reminded him of a setting sun on the sea. While Katie and Padma were more passionate in bed, Susan was more gentle, with a submissive side. The little play they were having on the bridge was reminescent of how their relationship got to the next level: a private tutoring session on DADA, with a small penality game. Anything similar never failed to get them fired up.
He didn't just want to make her relax before the big day. He also wanted to have a special time with her like he did with Katie and Padma. So he settled on 'christening' the captain's chair with their activities. After thoroughly 'punishing' her and cleaning their mess, Harry had to carry her back to her cabine, but she certainly wasn't complaining.
The Marauder left the moon soon after sunrise, following a curved trajectory that would keep it aligned to the center of the moon and the center of Earth for maximum concealment. For the test of the FTL drive, the goal was to make a small hyperspace jump to Mars. More precisely, between 200 000 and 500 000 km from Mars. Close enough to be able to move to Mars, Deimos or Phobos if there was a need to land for repairs, yet far enough to not crash into them or be seriously disturbed by their gravity well. It was for the same reason that the jump would take place 750 000km away from Earth.
"We are approaching the jump point, captain" said Pavarti.
"Susan, is the rest of the crew ready?" he asked.
"They have been for the last 15 minutes, with their seatbelts properly fastened. The safety automatons are on standby and ready for any emergency."
"The FTL drive is warmed and ready for use" said Wayne.
"The calculations for the jump are done" said Pavarti.
"Lavender."
"Ground control, we are ready for FTL jump."
"Understood, Marauder" came the response a few seconds later. "Have a safe trip."
"On my mark, Katie" he said with hidden trepidation, and pressed the warning button. In the rest of the ship, a siren announced the imminent hyperspace jump.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, jump!"
On his cue, Katie activated the FTL drive. It happened within 2 seconds. A low humming sound reverberated throught the starship, and the lights dimmed as the hyperspace window was generated around the Marauder. Outside, space distorted at the bow of the starship, releasing a dark blue glow along the riples, and the distorsion swallowed the ship. In the Marauder, on the bridge, the main monitor showed a view of the outside of the ship at the front. It looked as if the original view of space had been warped into a tunnel with a very dark blue glow almost completly masking the distorted view of the stars. Said glow was marked with dark patches that felt even darker than normal dark space.
"We're in hyperspace" Katie said, surprise and wonder clear in her voice.
"And it seems like we're still on course" said Pavarti.
"There is a strong external pressure, but the ship is whistanding it without trouble" said Wayne in a relieved tone. "The external sensors are holding on very well. All the collected datas are going to make Zelenka and Nichols very happy."
A few snorts and chuckles followed that declaration.
"While the conditions outside seem terrible, there is nothing wrong within the ship" reported Susan. "No change in temperature, pressure or internal gravity. No radiations leaking in. All clear for now."
"We lost contact with Ground Control, but that was expected" added Lavender.
"The hull surface wards and enchantments were torn appart within a second" Harry said with raised eyebrows. "Hyperspace doesn't like magic."
While he was taking that well, the news quickly dampened the mood of the crew, especially among the witches and wizards. Had Harry acted like a regular magical, and made the ship with regular materials relying on enchantments, they would have died within 2 seconds. They were really thankful that Harry had been so cautious when building the starship.