…
"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
(Walter Bagehot)
…
MFV Discovery, February 30th, 8:49 AM, 2185
…
Throwing my head back, I downed several vitamins and supplements with a glass of water, feeling them slid down my throat without much resistance. I had to take them once every two days to make up for the lack of proper nutrients in our usual MREs. They tasted like death, so I made an effort to keep them from contacting my tongue. Even though I had avoided making contact, they still left an awful aftertaste that lingered for a few moments after.
"Blech… I hate these damn things." I shivered, taking another gulp of water to try and down out the taste. "You'd think this far into the future they'd invent a vitamin that doesn't taste like death."
"The ones with c-coatings cost more, according to our supplier." Dan shrugged, leaning against the wall in the back of the crew quarters. "It's not like I had a lo...lot of time to organize all of this, you know."
"I'm not blaming you for anything, I'm just annoyed is all." I reassured, letting out a deep sigh. "So, you gonna tell me about this problem, or are you just gonna stand there?"
"Oh, sorry." He quickly apologized, opening his omni-tool to show me a wireframe of the Discovery's engineering section. "According t-to the ship's dia...diagnostic systems, there's a problem involving one of the high-power terminal boxes. I sus-suspect there might have been a short in the system during our at...atmospheric entry."
I looked hard at the wireframe, seeing all the electrical lines leading between all the major components on the ship, from the Gravity Drive to the lights. I saw the terminal box he was referring to, noticing that the power draw with the output connections was indeed lower than our input. That was a problem, considering it linked to two of our major systems, life support and weapons.
"How come we didn't notice this days ago?" I asked with a small amount of anger, knowing this was very unusual. It wasn't often we missed something like this.
"I'm not sure." He shook his head, closing his omni-tool. "I must have m-missed it during all the excitement the last few days."
"Well, we'd better go take a look at it then." I nodded, walking towards the center of the ship with Dan in tow.
The last two and a half days had been both very quiet and involved, for a variety of different reasons. Quiet considering we hadn't actually interacted very much with Raloi leadership since our meeting in the Grand Hall of the Ancients, and involved considering how much more vocal the Raloi scientific community had been, asking us for advice on their own technology, and information on their own volition. I was reluctant to share our technical data too quickly, considering what history has taught us about introducing technology to a new people too quickly. It wasn't that I didn't trust them, it was just me being worried about possible ramifications. In the end, it wasn't my decision to share our technology with them, it was the Admiralty's. As much as I disliked that fact, I was forced to accept it.
For now, we had remained on-station, occasionally leaving the ship for exercise on the plateau. Even though we had tested the atmosphere for anything dangerous, we had decided to take precautions and remain in our suits when outside. We didn't want a "Columbian Exchange" or anything similar souring our steady relationship with them. Even with all our decon procedures, there was always a chance something could slip through the cracks.
"Hey, whatcha' doin' guys?" Tony asked, leaning on the railing above us as he looked down from the bridge.
"We're checking out one of the terminal boxes in engineering, we've got a power drain in the weapons and life support." I answered without looking at him, sliding my hardsuit on over my jumpsuit.
"Sounds serious." He replied in a joking tone, as I looked up to see a grin on his face. "If you want, I'll monitor the systems and let you know if anything changes."
"That'd be appreciated." I nodded, getting a thumbs up from him as he walked back to his station.
"It's probably n-nothing serious." Dan reassured, getting a quick nod from me.
While I didn't doubt him, I still found it incredibly odd that something this potentially serious could slip through the cracks. It wasn't like us to miss things like this, and I didn't like it one bit.
Sealing our suits, we walked back over to the back of the ship, each of us going though the closet-sized airlocks one at a time. Once both of us were on the other side, we carefully began walking through the cramped, U-shaped hallway. It was actually my first time seeing it.
"Man, you weren't kidding when you said this place was cramped." I remarked, ducking under a coolant pipe that I had nearly smacked my head into. "I'm surprised you can keep track of everything here."
"It wasn't easy, I c-can tell you that." He quickly replied, looking back at me through his depolarized visor. "Over here."
He got down on all fours, crawling into one of the smaller spaces as I switched on the flashlight attached to the side of my helmet. Going in after him, he stopped somewhere in the middle, opening the terminal box in question with a loud clang.
"Damn… what the hell?" He exclaimed as I leaned in for a closer look, seeing the contacts inside were all burnt to a crisp. This was… less than ideal. In addition, one of the connections had actually managed to melt, something I had never seen before.
"That thing is completely wasted." I assessed, immediately getting a groan of agitation out of Dan who slammed the back of his hand against the bulkhead. "What do you think could have caused this?"
"Not sure… maybe t-there was an overload during our entry a few days ago. Hang on…" He halted, opening his omni-tool and scanning the box. "It's st...still producing a large amount of heat though… strange."
"How could it be that hot if it burnt out days ago?" I asked, knowing something wasn't adding up here as I opened up my omni-tool and called Tony.
"What's up? Want me to check the levels?" He asked, sounding characteristically bored.
"No need, the entire thing is burnt out." I dismissed, attempting to scratch my head with no avail. "I want you to check the power draw of our weapons and life support, see what kind of numbers they're pulling."
"Alright, hold on…" He replied, going silent for a few moments as Dan and I looked at one another. "OK, its saying here that we've got standard voltage, 62,000 watts, going into life support, and minimum operating level, 1,500, going into weapons. That's basically just to keep the displays running."
"That's n-not nearly enough to melt a connection." Dan shook his head, sounding very suspicious before turning on his side to look at me. "We can check, b-but I don't think we have a spare terminal box lying around."
"I'm more worried about finding out what caused this damage. We don't want something like this to repeat itself." I refocused, not wanting us to lose focus. "What could have caused this, I'll ask again?"
"My best guess is that we m-might have overloaded the life su-support during entry. Either that, or Kirva ha...had the weapons primed the entire time during our descent." He theorized, sounding unsure of himself. "Either way, n-now I have to spend an hour sc...scraping this shit off."
"We can't do a full replacement right now." I immediately halted him, getting angry eyebrows from him.
"Why the hell not?" He demanded to know, obviously annoyed.
"Replacing this right now would require shutting down our life support. We can't do that until we've finished running full scans of the atmosphere." I explained, watching his posture relax slightly.
"But if we don't replace it n-now, I'd just going to fail in the fu...future." He shot back, cocking his head to the side slightly. "Besides, I'm s-sure I could just run a bypass."
"If the Admirals bring a Lifeship with them, they'll have plenty of replacement parts and can keep the other systems running while the repairs are made." I countered, pointing at the ruined terminal box. "My only question is will it last long enough to get us through the atmosphere again?"
"Hm…" He mumbled, taking in a deep breath as he stared at the connections. "It might l-last long enough, but I'll slap some om...omni-gel on it for good measure. Either way, it better be quick."
"Right then, I'll leave you to it." I nodded, patting him on the shoulder and crawling out of the space. Back into the cramped hallway, my mind began running at high-speed again.
I knew the Admirals would be here any time now, and didn't want us to have any disabled systems when the time came to meet up with them again.
Part of me couldn't help but feel mildly worried about meeting up with them after everything that had happened. While they had said to "establish a friendly face" for the relationship we'd be having with one another, I know for a fact they hadn't intended for me to take it quite this far. Either way, we were long past the point of taking anything back. It hadn't just been my decision, either. We all chose to embark on this endeavor, and I had yet to regret a single decision we had made since.
Walking out of the engineering section, I pulled off my helmet and breathed deeply, before sitting down in the crew quarters and pressing the heel of my hand into my eye socket. It was one of the various techniques I used to try and relieve the feeling of pressure brought on by my headaches.
I breathed deeply, remembering the days in elementary school when I used to get frequent migraines. It had gotten so bad at one point in fifth grade that I had to start taking Imitrex, medication to lessen their effect. They had always been marked by a massive increase in sensitivity to light and noise, and always felt like someone was trying to burn their way into my skull with a blowtorch.
The frequency of my migraines lessened after getting into middle school, but every now and again, usually once every few months, I'd still get one of those crippling migraines. The normal headaches were a frequent occurrence, and could be coped with, but the migraines completely shut down my ability to properly operate.
I only realized recently that despite my access to modern medical technology, I had never tried to find a way to outright prevent them. Part of me felt incredibly stupid for neglecting to do so, but then I realized that I had simply gotten so used to them and the thought hadn't crossed my mind until now.
Maybe, despite my reservations, I'd have a talk with Richard about that later.
"What is wrong, my friend?" Dimitri asked, sounding short on breath as he walked in from the airlock with Dixon, Morgan, and Kirva in tow, all donned in full EVA gear.
"Nothing, just another headache." I shook my head, leaning back in my seat so I could get a better look at him. "How far did you go this time?"
"I beat personal record, 8.3 kilometers." He announced, pulling off his helmet to reveal his sweat-drenched hair. "I need a shower."
"Right over there." I jokingly directed with my thumb, getting a smile from him as he walked over out of sight.
Even if it was just for a little while, getting out of the ship was good for our physical and mental health. Sure, we were limited by our suits and the lack of terrain, but nothing could beat the sight outside, especially in the dawn or sunset. It was only matched in natural beauty by our home, Serenity Valley.
God, I really was homesick. I just wanted to see Mara and Elle again.
"Captain, are you available?" Lenlo asked from the bridge, getting the others to look at me briefly before continuing the process of peeling their suits off.
"I'll be right there, hold on." I announced, walking over to the Pit and joining my crewmates, taking off my own suit with relative ease and putting it back in its locker. Climbing up to the bridge, I saw Lenlo standing over Tony at his station. Both looked intensely focused.
"Hey Cap', this Orontid guy just sent another message, he wants to know more about our ships, specifically their hull composition." Tony quickly explained, laid back in his chair as far as it would go. "Want me to blow him off again, or give him something to chew on?"
"Well, I don't see any harm in talking about the hull of all things. What do you think, Lenlo?" I assessed, rubbing the underside of my chin as I looked at Lenlo to gauge his opinion.
"Basic hull structure and composition? As long as it doesn't involve our kinetic barriers or the MES, I imagine it should be acceptable." He nodded, looking back to me with narrowed eyes.
"Right then. Tell him we primarily use a titanium and aluminum alloys in the construction of the hull, along with other trace elements. Our ships typically use a cross-bracing, honeycomb-style design to limit the risk of total structural failure in an emergency." I explained as Tony quickly typed in every word I said, putting them through the hexadecimal translator. "For entering atmospheres, we absorb the heat using ceramic composite tiles with an underlayer of carbon composite for protecting against heat. That's all I'm comfortable with telling him for now."
"And… sent." Tony nodded, looking back up at Lenlo and I. "Anything else you need, boss?"
"No, not right now. Carry on." I dismissed, as he quickly turned around and switched his screen over to Missile Command. I couldn't help but smile at his ingenuity, we didn't have a copy of Missile Command until he used his spare time to program his own version from scratch.
"Captain, may I ask you something in private? It's important." He asked, looking intently at me. I nodded, walking wordlessly towards the ladder, climbing down and walking into the storage room.
"What's up?" I inquired, sitting down on a crate of supplies as he remained standing.
"I came across something interesting half an hour ago." He explained, opening his omni-tool and bringing up what looked like a probe log. "According to the latest batch of deep-space readings the Fleet sent out, this sector of space was scouted nearly two months ago by a eighteenth probe. It only left the system twenty days ago."
"Let me see that." I ordered as he kneeled down and flipped the screen on his omni-tool around for me to see.
Sure enough, it was our weekly report log from all the active deep-space probes in the mission area. Every day, the probes sent detailed reports back to Reach for examination, and were the reason we weren't just blindly wandering through space. They had been sent out months ago, rigged with our smaller, Mk.4 NM reactors and an upgraded plasma engine. While this made them bulkier than normal, it afforded them nearly infinite range.
The log showed the current seventeen probes, two of which had experienced some kind of mechanical failure and were no longer sending any signals. Three of the other probes we had already shadowed during our trip, leading us to many new systems. This mysterious eighteenth probe that had only just shown up indeed had left the system twenty days ago after spending nearly two whole months in this very system.
"This would mean… they already knew! They must have known..." The fact dawned on me, as I suddenly felt very confused and irritated. "Why would they discover the system and not tell us about it? The probe was more than capable of detecting intelligent life."
"I don't know." He shook his head, closing his omni-tool and leaning against the crates stacked behind him. "There must be some reason for it, though."
"Well, maybe-" I began to say before the alert siren rang though the ship, jolting Lenlo and I into action, getting us to run back to the bridge.
"What've we got?" Lenlo asked as he reached the top of the ladder, me following him closely.
"Several ships just entered the system… one of them looks pretty big." Tony answered as I regained my footing, everyone else rushing to the bridge in various stages of dress. "According to the IFF, it's the Rayya."
"Well, that makes them right on time." I nodded, glad that it wasn't anything else as my omni-tool lit up, a call coming through seconds later. It was Koris. I accepted the call, seeing him and Mal appear on the blurry screen.
"Hey, welcome to the party." I greeted with a slightly forced tone, contorting my face to produce a reluctant smile. "You guys gave us quite a scare there for a moment."
"Sorry, we would've called ahead of time to give you an updated ETA, but we wanted to maintain a communications blackout until we had reached the system." Koris apologized in a sincere tone. "We see you've landed on the surface. Am I correct in assuming you've already made formal contact with these people?"
"You are indeed correct." I nodded as my crew gathered around to listen in on the call. "They are called the Raloi, and are an early spaceflight industrial species. We've already made in-person contact with their leadership, and are on very good terms."
"Well, that's good to hear." Mal nodded, getting Koris to turn and look at him for a few moments. "We were actually hoping that you'd make first contact yourself. Counting on it, actually."
"What do you mean?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow as a few internal alarms in my brain went off.
"We both wanted you to make first contact, despite the misgivings of the other Admirals." Koris said as Dan climbed into the bridge, still wearing his suit. "We know you're a diplomatic person, and tend to get along well with people, even with minimal information or data to go on."
"Is that why you hid this eighteen probe from the automated reports?" I questioned, still admittedly put off by all the secrecy floating through the air. "We just received the newest, revised report."
"I told you they'd figure it out." Mal said in a humorous tone to Koris, who both turned to face each other. "You owe me those upgrades."
"Fine, we'll clear it up later." Koris agreed in a begrudging tone, looking back to me. "Sorry Captain. We admit, we may have… modified the reports to disguise the fact that there was a habitable planet in the system with signs of intelligent life."
"But why would you do that?" I further questioned, not understanding the reasoning behind such an action.
"Well, we originally intended to send a different ship and crew out to investigate the system, but after the fight between you and Gerrel happened, we came to the conclusion that sending you out instead would be the best way to defuse the situation." Mal explained, standing shoulder to shoulder with Koris. "We knew that if you successfully made contact with another species, not only would it help bolster your standing in the Conclave, but it would also make Gerrel look like a fool in the process."
"How does me "discovering" an intelligent species make Gerrel look like a fool, exactly?" I asked, still not getting the angle they were going for here. "He's going to be a fool no matter what I do. The same goes for you two."
"Think about it, Sean. Gerrel wanted you exiled and imprisoned. Now that you've found intelligent life and have made peaceful contact, it makes him look like the overzealous and militant fool he really is." Mal remarked as the pieces clicked together in my head. "This only helps the three of us. We're in a great position here, abound with potential opportunities."
"So, what you're saying is that you've used me as part of a political move?" I downplayed, still not feeling sure as to how I should look at this. "I admit, I'm not necessarily complaining, but you guys know I'm not a fan of being left in the dark like this. Hate it, actually."
"We're sorry Sean, but we knew that if we told you about this, it might not have gone as… naturally." Koris again apologized, getting me to feel slightly better, if still a little annoyed. "Can you forgive us just this once?"
I batted the thought around in my head for a few seconds, knowing that despite my misgivings, they were still looking out for me in the end.
"Fine… it's not like there's anything that can be done to change it now." I shrugged, feeling a bit of weight fall off of my shoulders. "Sometimes you guys go too far, though…"
"If it's any consolation, we've brought some high-grade surplus supplies for you and the rest of your crew." Mal added, getting me to feel a bit better. "We've also procured an upgraded sensor module for your ship."
"Uh… about that." I halted, looking back at Dan as I spoke. "We've experienced a fairly serious fault in one of our high-power terminal boxes, and need it replaced as soon as possible."
"Understood. Are you still capable of making it into orbit with this fault?" Mal quickly asked, sounding mildly worried.
I focused on Dan's face as he gave me a single nod, which I immediately returned.
"We'll be able to make the trip, yes." I answered, feeling confidence in my chest as Mal and Koris looked at each other, giving one another nods as well. "We'll depart in one hour after we've made our preparations and finished checking our systems."
"Understood. Koris out." He nodded, cutting the connection as everyone turned to face me.
"What exactly is g-going on?" Dan asked in a strained tone, ripping off his helmet to show his face. "Are they hiding shit from us again?"
I let out a deep sigh, running my hand through my hair, all the way to the back of my neck.
"I'd rather not talk about it." I shook my head, making eye contact with everyone as I spoke.
"Should we be worried? I didn't know we had any faults in the ship." Dixon questioned, forehead still covered in sweat as he spoke.
"Don't w-worry about it." Dan quickly shot down, crossing his arms over his chest. "We got it under control."
"If you say so, I guess." Morgan shrugged, not seeming all that convinced as she looked down at the floor.
"Alright, we're on the clock people. Finish getting yourselves squared away, then get to your stations." I ordered, mentally preparing myself for the hours ahead.
As everyone began walking off, I stopped Dan, getting him to turn and face me again.
"You're absolutely sure we'll make it?" I repeated, getting a smirk from him, much to my surprise.
"Hey, it's me!" He said in a joking tone, shooting me a thumbs up as he threw his helmet back on and jumped down the ladder.
"That's what I'm afraid of…" I shook my head, unable to keep myself from smiling in the face of Dan's personality.
I guess we'd find out in an hour if his fix was good. It wasn't like he was my most trusted friend or anything.
…
MFV Discovery, February 30th, 10:01 AM, 2185
…
Having finally finished our preparations and cleared our departure with Aspet Amisen and Sarapet Iolin, we were ready for takeoff. As with our descent before, this would be our first time taking the Discovery up through the atmosphere. Even though we were slightly crippled and running our life support and weapons off a patch job, it would still be interesting to experience this for the first time with everyone else.
"Final checks complete… running green across the board. Life support and weapon systems are still holding along the baseline." Dixon announced from his station as I turned in my chair to face him. "I'd say we're ready to go, sir."
"Understood. Let's keep our fingers crossed just in case." I nodded, turning to face Kirva who I had been slightly suspicious of ever since the fault had been found. "Kirva, are the weapon systems completely disabled?"
"Weapons are as cold as they can be, Captain." She answered, shutting off her terminal for good measure.
"Good… OK, let's do this." I focused, narrowing my eyes on Dan as he gave me another quick nod.
I sat back as far as I could in my chair, feeling the engines rumble to life again after several days of inactivity. The systems around the bridge dimmed slightly as the reactor revved back up to full power, adding to the din already being produced by the engines.
"Hang onto your rear ends!" Dimitri shouted over the roar as we lifted off with the thrusters, the main engines kicking in a few seconds later.
Unlike before, when we were descending through the atmosphere, Dan remained perfectly stone faced the entire time, jumping his attention between the attitude indicator and the power systems as we climbed. None of us said a word as the inertial dampeners fought against our velocity, the sky outside the small windows melting from blue to black.
"Steady… steady…" Dan quietly muttered to himself as we passed through the layers of the atmosphere, finally breaking free of the planet's gravity after a long minute of tension.
All of us let out sighs of relief as Dan eased the engines down, no longer needing full power with the lack of gravity or atmosphere. The lack of the slightly higher gravity also left me with an odd sensation in my stomach, as I suddenly felt much lighter than normal.
"Keelah… that was intense." Kirva sighed, letting out a chuckle as her nerves calmed down. This luckily had the effect of getting chuckles from everyone else, too.
"Oh wow… l-look at that!" Dan grinned ear-to-ear, getting me to hop out of my chair and come look out the window.
The "entourage" accompanying the Rayya was very impressive. Usually that was a given, but the difference was that our mass-produced fighters, interceptors, and gunships were running sorties in and around the flotilla, grouped together into specialized squadrons. It had been the first time I had ever seen so many of our Vipers, Pythons, and Cobras operating with one another.
"Looks like they're using the opportunity to show off." I smirked, unable to feel a sense of pride wash over me as I walked back over to my chair and opened up a line to the Rayya. "This is Captain Sean Michaels vas Discovery, requesting permission to dock, over."
"Your ship has been flagged. Please verify." The controller on the other side asked, sounding as bored as the first time I heard him all those years ago.
"You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God." I quoted from the Bible, sitting up straight in my chair as I spoke.
"Permission granted. Welcome home, Captain Michaels." The controller confirmed, giving me a ping shortly afterwards. "Please dock at exterior cradle 12."
"Thank you. Please inform the Admirals that we have arrived." I finished, cutting off the connection as we flew towards the Rayya, becoming as massive as ever as we slid into place next to the gargantuan ship.
I had to admit, I still thought the Liveships were amazing pieces of engineering. I remember going for a walk shortly after our induction into the Migrant Fleet, trying to see how long it would take to walk the entire length of the ship. After nearly two hours, I eventually gave up and began walking back towards the Explorer.
"Man, I miss that old ship." I thought to myself as we made full contact with the cradle, sending a small shock through the ship as we made a full connection.
"We're here." Dan announce with a smile on his face as he shut down the controls and stood up, wobbling slightly on his prosthetic.
"So we are." I nodded, plopping myself back down onto the deck plates as I returned his smile. "I've got a meeting to attend to. Dan, you're in charge of the repairs, Dixon and Kirva will help you. Dimitri, I want you to take Morgan and Tony and gather the supplies they promised us."
"What about me, sir?" Lenlo asked, obviously confused.
"You're coming with me." I nodded, shooting him a grin as he cocked his head to the side slightly. "Come on."
As everyone jumped into action, I climbed down to the Pit and pulled my undersuit out of the locker. Lenlo stood by as I pulled it on, doing my best not to let my normal clothes get bunched up in the process.
"Not that I'm complaining, but why are you bringing me along, sir?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest as I pulled my mask on, sealing it against my neckline.
"Lenlo, I'm going to level with you." I stated, standing up and putting my hand on his shoulder. "I don't really know what to expect next. After what Koris and Mal pulled, I'm feeling a little weary about things. I want you sticking by my side to, again, act ask my confidant. My Spock, if you will."
"What's a Spock?" He questioned in a quizzical tone, rubbing the back of his neck as I felt my shoulders reflexively slouch.
"I should have expected that…" I muttered, feeling dumb for making such an old reference to someone who had obviously never heard of Star Trek before. "Nevermind. Just keep your ears open and listen for anything I might miss. I don't want any more surprises."
"Yes'sir. You can count on me." He saluted as I smiled, walking to the airlock with him following closely behind.
As we cycled the airlock and prepared to step aboard the Rayya, I couldn't help but think that one day, Lenlo might make a great Captain himself. I couldn't ask for a better XO, that was for sure. Despite what personal reservations he may have still held after what happened with the Explorer, I knew he'd really fit the bill. He just didn't know it yet.
Maybe he'd get the chance to prove himself soon enough.
…
A/N: So, here we are again. Another chapter thrown to the wind. Not as eventful or interesting as the previous chapter, but things'll start moving more quickly for this point on. I won't state any details, but I will say it might shock or surprise some of you. Who knows, sometimes I even surprise myself.
I've started a second job to help boost my income, but chapter progress hopefully won't be affected too much. If it does happen to slow down, I apologize in advance. It's difficult paying for bills on what I normally make, so just bare with me while I get everything sorted out.
As always, I'd love to read any reviews, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned!