In A Mirror Sparkley Chapter 4: Preflight
The next day the crew, command and technical, were all
shuttled up to the Endeavor. On final approach they got a
great view of the sprawling station, The Bazaar. This huge
construct measured over five kilometers wide, bristling with
docking and construction slips.
The Endeavor fit snugly into one of these. Umbilical cables
fed it power and materials, filling it's holding tanks.
Dwarfed by the station, the Endeavor looked small and
fragile. But It was constructed of tritanium, the strongest
alloy humanity knew of. A sleek tear drop measuring three
hundred meters in length and two hundred at the widest point.
It occupied over 13.6 million cubic meters and weighed over
half a million metric tons. Yet it was the most advanced ship
ever built by man.
As the crew neared the behemoth details resolved along
it's hull and the true scale of the craft sank in. Dozens of launch
tubes pockmarked the otherwise surface. They ranged in size
from the half meter rocket tubes to the two meter drone tubes.
There were also visible, the docking bay and cargo doors,
designed for massive amounts of material to move quickly to
and from the ship. The last surface features to catch their eyes
were the many bussard collectors arranged around the base of
the forward cone.
Their shuttle approached one of the docking ports and their
view was obscured by the curving bulk of the ship. They waited
for the airlock to equalize and the hatch irised open. The technical
crew excused themselves and headed for their quarters to stow
their gear before getting to work. The command crew, whose
gear had come up earlier, headed for the bridge.
Stepping out of the lift they each assumed their stations.
Weapons and Navigation had matched reclining pods one on
either side of the captains chair. The XO had a seat just behind
hers with Science and Engineering behind and to the sides.
The two stations and the view screen formed a triangle with
a conference area just outside at the rear of the bridge. The
arrangement mirrored the shape of the ship and gave all crew
an unobstructed view of the main screen at the front.
As they all took their places screens unfolded to surround
them and display information varying by the stations purpose.
As the Captain reviewed her checklist it became apparent
that there was an enormous amount of work left to do before
their launch. She reached for the controls her chair and retracted
her displays, and opened the ship wide comm system. Elsewhere
on the vessel three screens blinked on relaying the image of the
captain to the eight person tech crew.
"I, Captain Jennifer Carter, as of this date, April 25, 2068, do
hereby assume command of the United Trade Alliance Ship Endeavor."
With the formalities dispensed with the redhead relaxed a bit and
said,"As I'm sure we all know there is still an extraordinary amount
of work to do before we will be ready for launch. I want to assure
you that with all of us pulling together we will make our scheduled
launch date and begin an adventure that no human has ever
undertaken before. To explore new star systems in search of places
for people to live and prosper. To ensure the survival of our species
long past the death of our home star. And finally to open peaceful
relations with other species the likes of which we only be able to
imagine at this point. But in the meantime lets get to work." With
those words she closed the channel and swiveled around to see
Max looking at her with an approving smile before returning to his
work.
Over the next two days the crew of Endeavor finished all of the
major work required to prepair them for their journey. Loading their
various cargoes was the most time consuming and most important
part. Of their ten cargo holds two were loaded to the bulkheads
with supplies and spare parts. The next four were filled with the
assorted probes/comm relays they would spend the following year
deploying. Each one was capable of relaying all of their communication
traffic back to earth while still performing some form of additional task,
such as planetary survey or hydrogen mining.
Two of the remaining holds were loaded with drones and the necessary
systems for launching them. Most of the drones were combat models
with one quarter being survey units. The combat drones were little more
than miniaturized impulse systems and anti graviton cannons with a
control computer linking them. Due to the ineffective nature of EMP
warheads on shields the drones would strip away an opponents defense.
After which the Endeavor could fire it's rockets to disable every electrical
system on the other ship. An entire cargo hold was dedicated to making
sure they didn't run out of rockets. They also had an on board assembly
line that could be easily reprogrammed to produce almost anything. The
entire crew understood the importance of recovering whatever they could
to limit the need to dip into their stores to make more.
Their last cargo hold was filled with trade goods, stuff that would last
for ages, or even improve with time. These supplies were meant for the
unlikely event they ran into another species. Also there secondary computer
core was loaded with every creative work humanity still had.
As soon as the cargo was secured five parasite craft were brought into
the docking bay. Four six meter shuttle craft were landed and then the
twenty meter captains skiff was snuggled in. All of these were flattened
teardrops, designed for both space and atmosphere. The skiff could even
manage warp three for short hops.
After all this was accomplished the entire crew took the next day to
consolidate the to do list. With this done they once again went about
the work, trying to complete everything required for the launch as soon
as possible. During this organized chaos they received an unexpected
guest. The executive assistant of the Slade Foundation, Joseph Carter,
showed up to see the crew and present a gift. He stood just to the right
of the captain and opened his briefcase. Removing a small black object
he placed it on the table and switched it on. It projected images of assorted
landscapes. "It has been decided that upon your return you will each
receive a parcel of land on your choice. This will be yours to do with as
pleases you. This is a directive directly from Mr. Slade as a way of saying
thank you for volunteering for and training so hard for the first human flight
beyond the reaches of our solar system." Then he sat down and waited for
any questions.
The entire crew was shocked into silence. Land was at a premium no
matter where it was. To be given what looked to be no less than a
thousand acres each... This would make each of them a member of the
few richest people on Earth.
The captain was the first to recover,"The generosity of our employer
has always been lavish. Please pass along our gratitude to Mr. Slade,
and let him know we will do our very best to be deserving of such
compensation. Now, if there is no more business," She glanced at the
visitor who inclined his head in ascent," then let's get back to it people.
There will be plenty of time to look over this data en route."
Everyone stood and moved toward their stations, the captain looked
at her husband,"How long can you stay?"
He smiled at her and said,"About three hours, them the shuttle will
return for me. Busy life of the second in command of a stellar power."
They both smiled,"Then we have time for the tour." she said with mild
sorrow in her voice. He nodded and they left the bridge hand in hand.
The tour lasted an hour and ended at the quarters, where they spent
the last two hours they would have for over a year together. The entire
crew ensured the captain's privacy, envying her the chance but holding
no grudge against her. They were all married, a measure taken to ensure
they would not take any unnecessary risks, and understood the desire to
spend some final time with their other halves. Five minutes before his shuttle
arrived the captain escorted her husband to the airlock and gently kissed him
goodbye.
Then he was gone and the captain was once more immersed in the task
of preparing her ship for it's long voyage. She wore a gentle smile for the
rest of the day, no matter how vexing the task she was currently doing.
Two days later they were ready to leave. Captain Jennifer Carter stood on
the bridge of the UTAS Endeavor and ordered comms open.
"This is Bazaar flight control, please state your purpose." a young voice
came over the speaker.
"This in Endeavor, requesting permission to depart."
There was a short pause and the sound of comm channels being patched,
"This is Earth central, Randell Slade, may the gods stand between you and
harm in all the dark places where you must walk. Permission granted."
With that the channel was closed and docking arms retracted, umbilicals
unplugged, and thrusters were fired to give them a gentle push away from
the station.
As they cleared the docking slip the ship brought up her subspace field and
engaged impulse engines. At a half million kilometers she went to warp 1,
increasing slowly as they exited the Sol system. With the Oort cloud finally
behind them they jumped from warp 2 to warp 5 and began their journey.
Captain Carter took one last look at Sol through the screen and then ordered
the view changed to forward. No turning back now.
They were on their way.
Hope you like the beginning of the journey. Once again thanks to my wife for proofing it.
Please R & R. And take the poll.
