Chapter Text
Chapter One: Outbound to the Stars
September 1, 2073; Southern California Mojave Desert, Palmdale Spaceport, morning
The man standing in front of the large expansive tinted window stared out over the tarmac of the newly refurbished spaceport and sighed with a myriad of emotions. Captain Kevin Garrett was a solidly built man in his late fifties with a lifetime of experience running a crew of battle-hardened men and women through all manner of situations, no thanks to the horrors of the last war even if it was twenty years ago. His blue eyes missed nothing, his smile (when he deigned to show it) had the effect of putting even the most recalcitrant person at ease. He walked softly yet when pressed, could easily wield a big stick. Fortunately, hopefully, those days were behind him.
Within an hour, he was due to board a shuttle which would take him up to the starship which would be his new home for quite possibly the rest of his life.
"How're you feeling, Captain?" Kevin turned to see his Executive Officer and best friend since childhood, Aaron Simpson walking up bearing a pair of coffee cups in his hands.
Taking the proffered cup, Kevin took a sip and grimaced at the bitterness of commercial coffee. "Hoping that we packed the good beans."
Aaron chuckled ruefully at the questionable contents, "It was cheap, at least. Besides, it's the caffeine that's important. You still haven't answered my question."
Kevin let out a heavy sigh, "I'm alright, I suppose. I've got the same jitters I had right before I shipped out for my first deployment. I think it still hasn't hit home that I'll probably never return to Earth in my lifetime."
"Seriously? You're being rather fatalistic and we haven't even launched yet. Besides, it's just a freighter run, not anything exciting like an explorer or a cruiser."
Kevin slowly shook his head, "At this stage in our reach into the cosmos, I think we're a combination of the three and thousands of things could potentially go wrong, Aaron. You and I both know that. I think my most immediate concern is that ring drive we copied from the Vulcans. Sure, it works for them but how much do we trust their 'gift'?"
Aaron scratched the back of his head, "Well, the nice men and women in the white lab coats at UESPA have cleared the hardware and the theories so...put your trust in them? I don't know, honestly. At the very least, we still have the sleeper beds and impulse drives."
Kevin sipped his coffee again and made an indecipherable noise, "I suppose you're right. If we're asleep, who cares how long it'll take to get there." Both men looked up when they heard the boarding call for their shuttle. Ditching his half-drunk remainders into a trash can, Kevin wiped his hands and clapped his XO's shoulder, "To boldly go and all that jazz, eh?"
In orbit of Earth...
The flight from the spaceport to orbit was relatively uneventful, if you consider riding an old clunker of a former NASA space shuttle to be routine. Despite already having a couple of missions under his belt, Kevin still got a shiver down his spine when the rocket engines which boosted the shuttle into low Earth orbit cut out. He gazed out of the window as the shuttle approached the rebuilt and expanded International Space Station or as it was commonly known as, Starbase 1. The station itself wasn't what caught his attention though, even its slowly rotating form designed to simulate Earth's gravity didn't have much of an effect on him. It was the ship docked in one of the station's berths...
"Dead canny, isn't she Cap?" the English Scouser accent from his Communications Officer, Robert Hardcastle broke through his introspection as he floated upside-down nearby with a wide grin on his face, clearly enjoying the freedom of zero-G.
Kevin coughed his amusement, "No matter how many times I hear you speak, I'm left wondering if you're really from England, Robert."
The other man just grinned widely, "Giz a minute 'til I get me knickers in a twist."
Aaron just shook his head at the byplay, "If you two squawkers are done? We're about to dock."
Starbase 1 Receiving module
"You've got a fine looking bird there, Captain." Kevin hummed his agreement as he greeted the station's commander. "Biggest ship we've got docked to date. Roughly 150 meters, if I'm not mistaken. You know, it sort of looks like someone stole one of the old boomers and stuck a couple of cargo containers to the sides. It's that warp ring that really sets it apart from the others, in my opinion. When you approach it from the rear, you'd swear that the Vulcans were here."
Beaming proudly, Kevin agreed with the man, "Yeah, she'll cruise at warp 1.8; 1.9 for about thirty minutes if the number crunchers are right."
The commander huffed, "So close to warp 2. Any idea why the Vulcans are so hesitant about showing us where we've been going wrong?"
"Nope, but I'm not terribly concerned about it. I'd rather stay with the lower speeds if only for the reliability to remain high. We're just hauling bulk goods for the colonies, not anything high priority."
"You're not taking passengers?"
"Not this run. We've got the room to do so, but UESPA wants to test this ring before they clear us to take people."
The commander fell silent for a moment, "How long will it take you to reach the colonies?"
Kevin thought about that, "From the edge of the system to Terra Nova should take us about five and three quarter years, one way at warp 1.8. If we go a circuitous route, from Eta three; it'll be another two point six years to reach Alpha Centauri. Then to go from Alpha Centauri to Vulcan, you're looking at just over another two years."
The commander let out a low whistle, "Over ten years in space...and that's just one way. You're looking at over twenty years assuming no issues. I don't envy you."
Kevin bobbed his head, his eyes had a gleam in them. "I know, it should be fun."
Docking berth port 2; UESPA ISA DY-245/MV-1004 'Spirit of Liberty'
Kevin heard the dulcet tones of his XO before he and the station commander turned the corner. "Attention all personnel, Captain on deck!" The sounds of boots stomping into attention echoed through the hallway. He smiled evenly, they may be civilians now, some things from their previous lives remained strong.
He greeted each in turn, "Thank you for accepting what could very well be the most important mission in the history of our species. We are the first in hopefully a long line of supply ships to ensure the growth of our colonies on other worlds. No longer shall we be constrained to 'making it work' on our homeworld. We boldly go forth to other worlds in search of new trade routes and new civilizations."
His impassive features scanned the double lines of his crew, "This ship is named the 'Spirit of Liberty'; The Liberty Bell is a powerful symbol originally of American independence, freedom, and justice. Known for its inscription "Proclaim Liberty..." and its iconic crack, it became a rallying cry for movements like abolitionism, women's suffrage, and civil rights by representing the ongoing fight for equality and liberty for all. We are now tasked with taking that spirit to the stars to show all others who may come that we are united in a common goal. Ladies and gentlemen, let's take our stations and get this mission underway."
As soon as he finished, he took the first official steps into his new home and command. His experienced eyes slowly swept the bridge taking it all in. They were still on station power but that would soon change. He moved over to the Captain's chair and lightly traced his fingers over the fine leather cushions, across the monitors, switches, and intercoms built into the arm rests before moving around to the front and turned to face forward. He slowly settled himself into the chair, allowing the deep padding to envelop him almost like a welcoming hug. He glanced up to see his senior staff watching from the portal and gave a small smile. "She'll do. Take your stations everyone. We've got a mission to fly."
The crew strapped themselves into their chairs and prepared for the pilot to ignite the nuclear rockets for the start of their epic journey out of the system. Kevin checked over his panel and nodded to himself that all stations reported in ready, “Pilot, clear the moorings; take us out.”
Pilot/Navigator Second Mate Riley Matthew's fingers danced over the controls, “Aye, Captain. Docking clamps have released, applying downward RCS for five seconds.” A slight vibration was felt throughout the ship as the Reaction Control thrusters pushed Liberty’s bulk away from the station. “Mast is clear of the truss, Captain. Applying forward thrusters for twenty seconds in three…two…one…”
Onboard the station, every camera was trained on the freighter as she slid out from underneath the docking module.
Liberty was on its way.
Once they’d cleared the station and approached the pre-planned TLI burn mark, the Captain called out once more, “Standby for TLI burn. Pilot, engage the main drive.”
“Roger, three drives hot and ready. Primary ignition in five…four…three…two…one!”
Three NERVA-III nuclear rockets ignited sending nearly seven hundred and forty thousand Newtons (166, 356 lbf) of thrust out of its nozzles accelerating Liberty across the night sky. The burn lasted more than five minutes and increased Liberty's speed from about 17,400 miles per hour to 24,226 miles per hour, enough to overcome Earth's gravity and send it on a trajectory past the Moon.
Kevin oversaw everything from the monitors built into his chair. Once the sensors indicated that they were successfully going in the correct direction, he let out a tiny breath of relief. "Pilot, let me know when we reach the first waypoint." He heard her acknowledgment before directing his attention to the Engineering section. "Mads? How's the reactor doing?"
Chief Engineer Madison Potter (no relation to a certain fictional character despite her fascination with dressing like a witch during her off-duty time) smiled thinly, "So far, so good. I'm not expecting any trouble from the systems so close to Earth."
"Once we reach the Moon, how much further until we can hit the gas?"
Madison waggled her hand, "About another 2.38 kilometers per second, sir."
"How's that?"
"There's no 'set time' to escape the Moon's gravity well, Captain. Liberty needs to reach a speed of 25,000 mph to leave the immediate Earth-Moon system. If we gain an additional 5,300 mph, we'll be going fast enough the gravity no longer slow us down."
He accepted her explanation and returned to staring out the main window. Everything was shaping up to be a smooth launch.
Once they were underway, Kevin took some time to visit each of the various stations within his ship. He spoke quietly, asking a couple of minor questions about the operations of the systems but overall, he just observed his crew as they went about their tasks. Stopping into the mess hall, he grabbed a cup of coffee and a roast beef sandwich from the hot plate before heading over to one of the windows to literally stare off into space.
"Captain? Are you alright?" The slight German accent from the ship's doctor, Wilhem Hartmann broke into his thoughts.
"Yeah, just thinking and watching the Earth disappear from view. You know it won't be long until the only thing we'll see is the light from the warp tunnel."
Doctor Hartmann eyed him carefully, "Should I be worried about this darkening mood of yours?"
Kevin couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up, "Sorry, but you're not the first person to voice that concern. I'll tell you what I've told the others, I'm fine. It's just the first time I've commanded a crew and ship that'll be going as far as we're headed."
Wilhem nodded slowly, "Ja, I suppose that's true. How long was your last posting? If I recall correctly, it was on another freighter?
"Aye, it was the Carpenter flying from Earth to Mars."
"Warp drive?"
"If you call it that. She was barely capable of hitting warp one. Captain Drury finally gave up trying to get it to work and relegated us to the sleeper couches. Took us nine months to get out there and about three-ish years to get back."
Wilhem shook his head in disbelief, "Ouch. The ship must've been a snail."
"Felt like it sometimes. She was an older model of the DY-150s no less, and required constant maintenance just to get through the flight. Still, she gave me a lot of 'opportunities' to prove myself to the ISA that I was ready to command my own ship." The Interplanetary Shipping Agency or ISA was their parent company in charge of overseeing the fleet of supply ships traversing the Sol system and now, the colonies.
"Opportunities is a loose word, care to share specifics?" Wilhem was grinning knowingly.
"Oh, how about life support dropping out during the sleep period every so often?" Kevin drawled sarcastically. "Or how about the time when the waste dumps got somehow rerouted into the fresh water tanks? The communications dish that refused to orient itself towards Earth? The experimental gravity deck plating changing to maximum every time the engineer tried to engage the ventilation? It's a wonder we all survived in those days. Remember the mission reports from the Apollo missions or even the later UNSS Lewis and Clark with its issues involving the electrical systems?" Hartmann shook his head. "I wish we had it so easy. Cook up a CO2 scrubber with only parts on board? Or relying on Newton's theories and minimal power until they could get back home? I'd take that over some of the shit that happened on the Carpenter. Drury and I were convinced that we were being sabotaged somehow by some remnants of the Eastern Coalition. At any rate, I've got plenty of time to get used to my crew and ship."
Clapping his doctor warmly on the shoulder, Kevin excused himself to continue his inspection of Liberty.
Later that evening..
Sighing with relief as he sank into his chair in his quarters, his work done for the day, Kevin kicked off his shoes and wriggled his toes to loosen them up. He stared sightlessly out the window at the sight of the encroaching lunar surface as the Moon loomed ever closer.
'How time flies.' He mused to himself as he thought back to the early days before the mission to the colonies was even a glimmer in anyone's eye.
Flashback March 15, 2069
Kevin stood to receive his visitor and greeted the man warmly, "Harland, it's good to see you. How're things going?"
Harland Bennett was Kevin's ISA section chief in charge of assigning flight crews and a close friend from their Army days. "Hey, Kev. Life's been going well. Good job working with Drury. He's had nothing but praise about you. Still interested in achieving the Big Chair?"
Kevin grinned, "If that Big Chair is in command of a starship, you better believe it. Whatcha got for me?"
Harland's eyes twinkled with an impending joke, "How about taking over the Carpenter?"
Kevin scoffed, "Yeah, no. I'll pass, besides the last I heard the Crap's headed for the scrap yard."
"The Crap?"
"Our unofficial, warranted nickname of the old tub as in 'it's a pile of crap'."
Harland chuckled, "True. Actually, the Board was thinking of bumping you up to command the Liberty." He saw Kevin's eyes grow wide and snickered, "I'll take that as a 'hell yeah'."
"Hell yeah, I want it! How soon is she to completion?"
"Ha! Her keel isn't even fully assembled yet. It'll be months if not a full year before she's ready to head out for her trials let alone a run to the outer planets. Heck, the boys and gals over at UESPA are still puzzling over that ring thingy the Vulcans loaned us."
"Do I get to pick my crew?"
Harland shrugged, "You and I can sit down together to see who's available. You got someone in mind, I take it?"
Kevin bobbed his head, "Yeah, old buddy of mine from childhood. Aaron Simpson, from Oregon though he was born in Southern California same as me. We were friends until his family moved north after the Bell Riots. We caught up again when I discovered he had been assigned to my battalion during the African Troubles. Tough, even-tempered, good head on his shoulders no matter what's being thrown in his direction, pretty calm with others around him."
"Alright, let's go to my office to hammer out a tentative crew list."
After getting settled, Harland broke out his list of candidates. "Okay, we've agreed that your XO should be Aaron Simpson. Next is your Pilot/Navigator. Her name is Riley Matthews, from Australia. Flew fighters for the Australian Navy for the bulk of the war, earned several distinctions. Good head on her shoulders." He handed off her profile to Kevin.
Reading through the particulars, Kevin hummed in agreement, "I like her. Okay, put her on the callback list. Who's next?"
"Chief Engineer Madison Potter, goes by the nickname of Maddy or Mads. Missouri-born, educated at Stanford. Served onboard the Ohio during the war as a 1/E."
"Mads?"
Harland chuckled, "She's a bit of a loose cannon according to her last CO. His words, 'firebrand, feisty, seemingly takes risky chances to get the powerplant working but later reveals itself to be the correct option. Walks through a firefight as if she's taking a stroll in the park'. I should also like to point out that she's got this weird habit of dressing like a witch when she's off-duty. I've been told she does it because she sort of resembles a female version of an actor who played a wizard decades ago. As far as she's aware, there's no relation."
Kevin's jaw swung open before turning into an intrigued look, "Delightfully oddball with a spine of steel. I'm starting to like this person and we haven't even met yet."
Present
"It may have taken us two weeks but I finally got the best crew a captain could hope for," Kevin muttered fondly to himself as he tapped in a command into his computer to bring up Liberty's duty manifest. "Though I'm not surprised Harland suggested bringing in Maggie McDonnell despite the rumors she'd poison us with 'bad cooking'." Aaron had theorized that Harland's odd behavior stemmed from the fact that the two had been married to each other for six years before their massive break-up happened while Harland was on a mission to resupply the Lunar Outpost when he 'accidentally' fell into the bed of one of the outpost's female scientists.
"I'm betting Harland jumped at the idea of sending Maggie away as far as he could so she couldn't be there to constantly harangue the man every time they laid eyes upon each other."
His mind drifted to the others. "Riley Matthews turned out to be a great choice, love her soft accent. Emily's from France though you'd never know it; her English is perfect. Hardcastle's annoying at times especially when his accent is brought to bear but there's no one better to handle the complexities of deep-space communication. Each one served during the wars so it's not like they're even remotely green in the face of the unknown. All have that spark to jump in with both feet no matter what the universe throws at them. I think we'll be ready..."
The next morning, Kevin wandered into the Engineering module where he saw Madison inspecting the circuits for the warp drive. "Mads?"
Missouri-born Madison "Maddy" Potter hummed her acknowledgment of his presence as she plunged her hand into the electronic morass, "Yeah, sure. Gimme a moment here." She must've found whatever it was, because her face split with a wide smile. "McGuyvers! Try it now." Something on her notepad pinged prompting another smile. "Alright, that's good! Lock it down and move onto section 34." She stood up and dusted off her hands, "Now, what do you want?"
Kevin smirked at her impudence, "Funny. I just came down to see how the drive is working. It is working, right?"
Maddy nodded, motioning to the inside of the console, "We were running yet another diagnostic to make sure the pre-stage chillers were working. The results were within the tolerances, but I just wanted to be certain."
Kevin wholeheartedly agreed with his Chief Engineer. "Okay, I'll leave you to it." He wandered over to where a window was and peered out to see the sweeping curves of the Vulcan-designed warp drive ring rising above the connecting 'wing' that jutted out from the reactor housing. "I sure hope this thing works."
Flashback...
A month after the framework for the Liberty had been assembled, a Vulcan ship arrived in orbit bearing a 'gift' for their newest neighbors. It was to be used in a test to see if the Vulcan's propulsion unit was compatible with human-built spacecraft. According to the rumors, this warp drive would be more efficient than the current nacelle designs already being used. The only downside was that the ships using this style were incapable of making sharp turns at warp. UESPA figured that freighters would make the best usage of such a system since they'd be flying on pre-approved and secure flight paths to and from solar systems.
Kevin watched quietly as the panels for this 'spatial distortion propulsion system' or a 'ring drive' as the human techs were calling it; began unloading out of the hangar bay to be assembled awaiting installation into Liberty. "So how fast is that thing capable of pushing us?"
Vulcan Ambassador Aide de Camp Soval gave him a disapproving sneer (at least that's how it appeared to the humans), "Nominally, it's capable of reaching Warp 2.5 but it's been down-rated to 1.8 until humanity has proven itself capable of peaceful exploration."
Kevin turned to the snobby Vulcan and replied in an even tone of voice that his former squad mates would recognize as 'dangerous, proceed with caution.' "Is that true? You think we're incapable of such endeavors?"
"Your recent history is evident of that."
A step closer, "That was twenty years ago in case you've forgotten, Ambassador Aide de Camp Soval."
One of Soval's eyebrows rose at the clear challenge, "My memory is unaffected. I'm fully aware of how long it's been."
"Enough." Both men turned at the order given by the human Ambassador Peter O'Dell standing side by side with the Vulcan Ambassador Solkar. "If you two can't play nice together, I'll put you both in the time-out chair."
Kevin took a step back and straightened up, "Yes, sir. My apologies, Ambassador. I don't like it when our own histories is thrown in our faces by someone who wasn't even here to witness them."
Ambassador O'Dell briefly nodded his agreement before leading Solkar away. As the two headed off to their next inspection, Solkar inadvertently caused a bit of comic relief by asking what a time-out chair was.
Present
Stopping by the medical deck with a slight headache brought on by the stress of a maiden launch, countless reports and requisitions lighting up his notepad, and just trying to figure out what he needed to do next; Kevin sighed with relief as he entered the cool confines of Wilhelm's domain.
"Captain? Is there a problem?" He saw the Chief Nurse Yua Fujiwara approaching him with a moue of a frown on her face.
"Headache. I was hoping to get something for it."
She nodded perfunctorily, "No problem. Take a seat on the bed and I'll get you scanned."
"For a headache?"
"Procedure, Captain. Hold still." She ran the scanner wand over him, starting at his head and slowly moving it down towards his feet. "Aside from a slight rise in blood pressure which is the most likely cause of the headache, anything else I ought to be aware of?"
"Nope, just anxious to get the mission going. Oh, I did want to ask; how are you set up in case we end up having to house children onboard?"
A sculpted eyebrow rose, "Children? From where?"
He gave her a serious look, "We're going to be enroute to Terra Nova, Alpha Centauri, and even Vulcan for the better part of ten years. Chances are extremely likely that some of my crew is going to become pregnant."
Her confusion cleared up as he explained his reasoning, "Ah, in that case; yes, we've got enough supplies onboard to handle such occurrences."
"How many are you capable of handling?"
"I would have to double check, but I would wager that we have enough supplies in storage to provide excellent care for up to ten children. If the women are exceptionally prolific, I think we might be able to stretch the supplies for up to fifteen, but no more than that without alerting ISA." She handed him a headache relief pill and a cup of water.
Popping the pill and slugging back the water, Kevin hummed sagely, "Let's hope folks don't get that clucky then. Thanks for the meds."
Three days later, just outside of the lunar gravity well
Kevin's shoulders tensed, this was the most critical moment in his opinion. Would the warp drive work as advertised? Would it freeze up and leave them dragging it along like a dead weight? "Alright Flight Controllers, give me a go/no go for warp flight. Pilot?" Go.
"Engineering?" Go.
"Medical?" Go.
"Communications?" Go.
"Safety?" Go.
"XO?" Go, Captain.
"Attention, Liberty; stand-by for warp flight. Pilot, let's ride the light."
"Aye, Captain." Riley activated the command for the warp reactors to spool up, their power surging through the circuits into the coils of the ring drive. A deep thrumming was felt throughout the structure as Liberty suddenly raced forward, the Cherenkov radiation elongated and with a burst of light and energy, Liberty jumped past the warp threshold and vanished from sight.
Once they were inside the dazzling tunnel of warp space, Riley announced to the bridge, "We're secure in the warp tunnel, Captain. Estimated arrival to Pluto is about fifty five minutes."
Aaron shared a triumphant grin with his Captain. "Amazing. I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing that."
Kevin let out the breath he'd been holding, "I know, right? Quite the jump from the old days of sublight travel. Alright, if you can take the bridge for a few minutes, I'm going to need a change of clothes." Aaron laughed and waved him off.
Above the dwarf planet of Pluto; UESPA Outbound Flight Required Stop
Even before the advent of faster than light travel, the governing agencies around the world required each of their crewed ships to stop at the orbit of Pluto to run a comprehensive check of their systems, radioing those results back to Earth before heading out if they received a go-ahead or trudging back if recalled. Safety, it was said. Once you leave the system, we have no way of providing support or even reliable communications.
Once Liberty exited from warp space; the crew found themselves bereft of breath, not from a lack of oxygen but because of what they were seeing. Pluto was in a word, fascinating. It had an incredible range of colors that defied explanation. There were swaths of white from nitrogen ice mixed with methane and carbon. The dominant feature of Pluto was an enormous heart-shaped region informally named ‘Tombagh Regio’ by planetary astronomers back on Earth. Within the heart, the features were highly varied. Another dominant feature on Pluto was called ‘Cthulu Regio,’ or "the whale." Lying along the southern hemisphere, Cthulu Regio was a dark region that borders the heart. "The dark bits might be made of 'tholins' which are like, well...complicated chemicals. All them craters means it's been there for ages, like billions of years, way older than that heart-shaped bit. There's also a bit of a thin atmosphere hangin' about," Robert informed them as he too stared in awe at the sight of the dwarf planet.
“Incredible,” Aaron added.
“I have a feeling we’re going to be saying that a lot,” Kevin dryly remarked as he clicked the intercom button to Engineering. "Alright, Madison? Give us a count when you're ready to make the jump to Alpha Centauri."
"I thought we were heading to Eta Cassiopeia first."
"UESPA requested that we jump to AC first since it's closer. Less risk that way, they said."
"Very well. Gimme at least a few hours to run the necessary checks."
"Understood, get to it. (He clicked off the intercom) Robert, align the dish to contact UESPA and get ready to let them know we're in position to make the warp jump to Alpha Centauri."
"Aye, sir." He turned and began typing in the coordinates for the UESPA radio network then waited for Maddy's report.
When Maddy's return call came in that Liberty was ready as ever to make the first long-duration jump, Robert fired off the message. Four hours later, the call from Earth gave them the green light. Relieved, Kevin was already in his chair and belted in. "Pilot Matthews, bring us about and make the jump."
"Aye, sir. Activating warp drive in three...two...one..."
Liberty's reactor spooled up once more before the stars elongated themselves and the ship disappeared in a flash of light.
Oort Cloud
'The Oort cloud, sometimes called the Öpik–Oort cloud, is theorized to be a cloud of billions of icy planetesimals surrounding the Sun at distances ranging from 2,000 to 50,000 AU with some theories that it might extend to 200,000 AU. Its existence was proposed in 1950 by the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, in whose honor the idea was later named.' - UESPA Scientific journal; January 2064.
“Captain, Engineering.”
Clicking the intercom, Kevin answered. “Go ahead.”
“We’ve got a growing problem with the rocket engines, specifically number three.”
He frowned, “Can you be more specific?”
“Not at present. The sensors are telling me that the number three engine is failing to vent heat properly. I highly recommend that we drop out of warp to investigate.”
“Very well.” He gave the order to Riley. Liberty shuddered slightly as it dropped down to sublight speeds and slowed to a halt. SatCon was ordered to send out a repair drone to investigate what the problem was around the number three heat exhausts.
The navigational sensors alerted the crew that they were about to reach the innermost limits of the cloud as established by the astronomical society. In reality, when Liberty emerged from warp space to check on a growing issue with one of the reactors, no one could see even a single cometary body floating about. "Does anyone even know if this cloud is supposed to exist? I thought it would be a lot denser like an actual cloud, you know?" Someone observed at the sheer amount of nothingness that lay beyond them. In fact the only thing that could be seen was the incomprehensible scale of the Orion arm of the Milky Way streaking above the heavens.
Safety Officer and SatCon pilot Emily Pierpoint maneuvered the probe down the hull carefully, being mindful of the antenna and various ports. She approached the number three heat vent and zoomed in on what appeared to be rust around the vanes, “What the… Captain, I’m in position.”
“Send up the images.”
She clicked the proper switch and called up, “Take a look, it resembles rust.”
"That is strange. There shouldn’t be any way for rust to form out here in the vacuum of space. What do you think we ought to do?” Aaron peered over the captain's shoulder.
"Emily, have the probe take a sample. Make sure you use one of the nonmetallic canisters. In the meantime, Engineering? (Maddy acknowledged) Get a replacement module ready and in the airlock as soon as you can.” Both officers acknowledged him then turned to their tasks. The troublesome heat vent was removed and replaced then crated and stuck into storage to be evaluated later.
"Captain, Engineering. We're set. Ready to go back into warp space."
"Thank you, Engineering. Pilot, take us out again. Next stop, Alpha Centauri."
Time skip: October 2073; One month into their journey to Alpha Centauri
Kevin groaned as he rolled out of bed and padded into the bathroom to take a shower and go through his morning routine. When he emerged from the bathroom, he stood naked in front of his closet sluggishly trying to decide on what to wear. 'Jumpsuit or should I go with something casual?' The intercom buzzed alerting him that there was someone outside of his door. Hitting the answer button, "I'm not ready for visitors. Please leave a message with my answering service."
Aaron's laughter echoed back through, "I am your answering service, you lazy bum. You decent in there?"
"Gimme a moment. I'm trying to decide on what to wear."
"Go with your greens. You can't go wrong with those."
Kevin rolled his eyes, "Aaron, we're not in the Army anymore."
More snickering was heard, Aaron played surprised, "We're not? Since when? I could've sworn..."
Cutting off the overacting, Kevin replied he'd be out in a few minutes then ended the call. When he emerged from his room, Aaron gave him a golf clap applause, "Nice look. It really sells the 'I'm a freight captain hauling stuff for future colonists'."
"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?"
Aaron shrugged unconcernedly, "Nope, never have. Mum said it was one of my rather 'endearing qualities.' Come on, breakfast awaits!"
The crew of Liberty fell into a comfortable routine during the first month at warp speed. There were assignments that needed to be completed of course, but for the most part; the overall feeling was laid-back and unhurried. As long as nothing critical broke or acted bizarrely, if it took you a couple of hours to fix a broken light or mop down a hallway, no one said a word.
Kevin cruised the main deck that ran the length of the usable section of the ship from the hangar bay to the Engineering module. Every now and then, he'd see someone just staring out into the void, clearly mesmerized by the warp tunnel streaking by. He didn't say anything having had those moments himself. If he was caught observing them, he'd just nod understandingly and give them a comforting pat on the shoulder before moving on.
Two weeks in and rumors of a torrid love affair began making the rounds amongst the crew. Kevin lounged in his office and smiled to himself as he listened to his senior officers chatter. "So what's your opinion about Ben and Melanie?" Maddy broke into his introspection.
Kevin shrugged indifferently, "As long as they're discreet and don't do anything that could harm the ship, I really don't care."
"Big change from our military days, eh?"
Sighing contentedly, he nodded his agreement, "Big change indeed. One that I'm thankful for." He beadily eyed her, "What about you, Mads? You got your eye on someone special?"
Maddy shook her head, "Nope, I already got the love of my life down in Engineering."
"Oh? Anyone I know?"
Maddy laughed lightly, "Yeah, you know her as Warp R. Eactor." Kevin joined in with her laughter. "Nah, I'm not taking any chances of anything ruining my concentration to make sure Libby's maiden flight goes smoothly."
"I feel the same way. Maybe when I'm closer to retirement, I'll poke around to see who's available."
A couple of days before Halloween, Maddy asked for and received permission to set up a party in the mess hall. There were the usual sorts of activities the Americans onboard remembered from their childhoods (if there wasn't a battle nearby.) Bobbing for apples, themed music, a costume contest, 'adult' food and drinks, and a spooky movie brought a lot of smiles (and a few screams) to the crew.
Kevin entered the mess hall, taking note of Maddy's witch costume. "Hello, Miss Potter. What's the incantation to make something fly?"
Maddy lightly swatted him on the arm and gave him a half-hearted smirk, "You know how many times I've been asked that?"
"Several, I'd imagine. Seriously though, I do like the outfit. It's not the stereotypical witch's costume, it's more realistic I guess would be the correct term." She was wearing an ankle-length wool dress in moss green with several pouches and bags slung from a hip-hugging wide belt. A clearly homemade soft crocheted witch's hat perched jauntily on top of her head.
Maddy's light laughter filled the space between them. "I know, right? I always laughed whenever my mom would try to force me into those hideous rags the local Halloween store would try to push on us. As if any self-respecting witch would go around wearing a dress that looked like it went one-on-one with a shredder."
November 2073
The start of the second month brought with it a couple of raised tempers. Aaron did his job as Executive Officer and dragged the two parties in for a lengthy conversation. Relieved that nothing amounted from the chat, Kevin merely noted its resolution in his friend's report in his own Captain's Log.
Another item of note was the suggestion to rig up some sort of place where interested crew members could exercise without bumping into other people in the corridors. Aaron was examining the ship's blueprints when Kevin entered the officer's lounge with his ever-present cup of coffee. "What's up?"
"Crew wants a place to exercise without bumping into people in the halls. I'm just trying to figure out how to reconfigure a cargo module."
"What about using the hangar bay? It's not getting any use until we arrive at Alpha Centauri."
Aaron rolled his head to the side the longer he thought about it. "Novel. I like it. We'd just have to push the shuttles off to the side." He eyed his captain's outfit, "Nice look. Are we relaxing the standards about what we're allowed to wear now that we're civilians?"
Kevin smiled sheepishly, "It's the weekend, Aaron. At least it would be if we were still on Earth. Anyhow, I think that's a good idea about going casual on days where we're not required to be on-duty. I think we should word it so no one's wandering around wearing something that could cause an accident or personal injury."
Aaron snapped his fingers, "Aw, does that mean I can't wear my mankini?"
Groaning, Kevin shot him a withering glare. "If you have one of those, I'm personally pushing you out of the airlock. No one wants to see your pasty-white ass in public."
Aaron joined in with his friend's laughter, "Though to be fair, there are a certain number of women onboard I wouldn't mind seeing in a bikini."
Kevin quirked up an eyebrow, "Yeah? Who?"
"There's Lia, she's part of the night shift kitchen crew, Jennifer down in Stores, and our Chief Nurse Yua Fujiwara. All three are fine looking women."
Kevin shook his head, "Lia's an option. I heard she's between conquests. Jennifer's at least half your age, and Yua's not interested in men."
"Really?"
"Really to which part?"
"Yua's a lesbian? I never would've guessed. Okay, it breaks my heart but I can still fantasize, right?"
Clapping his XO on the back, Kevin replied by saying he could do whatever he wanted as long as those thoughts remained firmly locked inside that sludge he called a brain.
December 2073
Captain's Log: Earth Calendar December 8, 2073
Today marks an important milestone for Liberty. According to our navigational sensors, we've passed the outermost boundaries of the Oort cloud and are now traveling through true interstellar space free from the influences of the Sun's gravity. All onboard systems are functioning as intended, the crew seems to be holding up just fine. Unsurprising with the number of distractions, entertainment, and events planned to keep their minds off the fact that we've left our home and families behind.
Astrophysics has reported sightings of clumps of gas and dust with indications that they contain silicon, oxygen, and iron along with the concentrations of hydrogen and helium. I'll admit, it's hard to get excited by such things, but as long as it keeps them busy so be it.
The cargo modules and fuel tanks are secure and show no signs of atmospheric or liquid leakage. Food stores are holding up just fine. I figure as long as the coffee holds out, we should be in good shape.
Maddy and her team finished examining the mysterious rusting of the number three rocket heat vent. Microscopic exams show that the...reaction for lack of a better term, is the result of some sort of space-borne microbe feeding on the metallic composition of the vent. No clue as to where this microbe originated from but I've been informed that once we make landfall at Alpha Centauri, a call will be put out to the Vulcans to see if they have any clue about what it is and if there's any solution to keep it from happening again.
Time Skip: Five months and three light-years into their journey to Alpha Centauri
Captain's Log: Earth Calendar March 23, 2074
Today marks the one hundred and fifty-second day since I assumed command of the Spirit of Liberty following my promotion to captain, for her voyage to deliver supplies to the colonies in the Alpha Centauri system a little over 4 light-years away from Earth.
After all the shakedown cruises, inspections by every regulatory agency imaginable, departmental reshuffles, system calibrations and recalibrations, not to mention the political and public relation sides of things. It's a wonder anything has been accomplished.
Five months already. Five months at warp, going faster and further than any human had gone before. We're even going faster than the original colony transports! Liberty's been traveling comfortably at warp factor 1.8 since we left the Oort Cloud and in that time we've logged several thousand hours worth of data and astronomical observations guaranteed to make the folks back home drool with envy.
It's ironic, we're a freighter yet we've got more scientific equipment onboard than even the most well-funded exploration vessel in existence! The astrophysics team have since discovered a cluster of rogue asteroids, some measuring as large as 20 kilometers in diameter. Further analysis showed that a couple of the medium-sized rocks showed some promise of valuable metals. It's a shame that we don't have the capability to send out probes to take samples. According to the lead scientist Doctor Kyle Perdue, the region we're in right now is called the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), or 'Local Fluff.' It's a roughly 30-light-year-wide cloud of gas and dust, primarily hydrogen and helium, that our Solar System is currently moving through within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, nestled within a larger hollow called the Local Bubble, providing the interstellar environment just beyond our heliosphere. It's a very thin, sparse region of the interstellar medium (ISM) that interacts with our Sun, influencing the boundary where our solar system's influence ends.
Here I mistakenly thought my science days ended when I graduated high school.
Supplies are holding out pretty well. My XO thought it'd be funny to pretend that we'd run out of the good coffee beans and handed me a cup that could only be generously described as engine grease.
Meanwhile, the warp drive is continuing to work as advertised. I guess the Vulcans really do know what they were talking about. The reactor shows no signs of strain or (heaven forbid) leaks but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Maddy's even hinted that she thinks that she might be able to remove the programming downrating the drive from its original Wf 2.5 but until we get through this maiden flight, I've asked her to hold off making any alterations. I did ask if the ship could handle the abrupt increase in speed. According to her, Liberty was designed to handle a possible upgrade to at least warp three! Coincidence? I think not.
There was a minor incident of the gravity plating failing on deck five, but the engineers figured out the problem within a couple of hours (a mere loose wire as it was explained to me.) Sometimes I wonder if my officers take some sort of devilish pleasure in describing the ship's problems in the simplest terms possible as if I was some sort of overly-curious child who had no business playing with the 'grown-up toys.'
My only concern of late is the fact that we're not in contact with Earth. Even if we boosted our signal strength up to maximum, it would take three years to get home. I've put the issue of solving such a problem to my communications and engineering officers to see if they can come up with something. Maybe the Vulcans have a system in place we might be able to either borrow, copy, or outright buy from them.
Other events of note today include four birthdays, two budding relationships (I've told them I don't care what happens as long as whatever arguments or displays of affection they might have remain in their quarters); Doctor Hartmann had to perform an emergency surgery on one crewman for an appendectomy. I've been since informed that the crewman is doing fine and should be able to report back to work in no time. The past three months, there's been a continuous laser tag blaster battle taking place in cargo hold eight. It just sort of goes on and on with combatants swapping in and out as their shifts demand it. I don't even think anyone's keeping score to be honest. It's a lot of fun to be included as 'one of the guys' and not because I'm the captain out of some skewed sense of duty.
In addition to the fun and games, the night shift cook, Maggie McDonnell (Harland's ex-wife) started sharing the tradition of a 'Holiday Feast.' Once a month, celebratory food from all corners of the former Western Alliance is cooked or baked to perfection, brought out, then a small prayer is given by the doctor (who'd studied world cultures before turning his sights on the medical field) to honor those we'd lost in times past before we dig in. I must say that Chief Steward Connor Kealoha's Irish/Hawaiian fusion cuisine is definitely unique.
I can only hope that this sense of shared belonging will serve us just as faithfully as our ship undoubtedly will.
April 11, 2074
"CAPTAIN TO THE BRIDGE! CAPTAIN TO THE BRIDGE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"
Kevin bolted out of his bathroom, barely taking enough time to tug up his pants and just grabbing his boots. He skidded down the hallway, shoving a crewmember out of the way as he raced up the ladder instead of waiting for the turbolift. Popping out of the staircase, he entered the bridge clutching his side and out of breath. That breath froze in his throat at the sight of a Vulcan ship hovering off the port bow. "What the bloody hell?"
Aaron turned to brief him, "We'd dropped out of warp so the astrophysics guys could run a radiation scan of the hull. The Vulcans arrived maybe five minutes after that. They've not attempted to make conta..."
"Radio communications from the Vulcans!"
Kevin sucked in a breath to calm himself, "Put it up on the speaker. This is Captain Kevin Garrett of the UESPA ISA MV-1004 'Spirit of Liberty'. What seems to be the problem?"
A voice he knew well crackled forth, "You got a problem with your viewscreen, Kevin?"
"Teflon?"
The voice grew amused, "That's T'eflon. You forgot to use the accent mark and you still haven't answered my question."
Kevin glanced over at Aaron who was trying not to laugh out loud. "The screen's been acting up for about a month now. You want to come over instead?"
"Sure, why not? We're not busy at the moment. I've been looking for an excuse to give my piloting skills a bit of a workout."
Liberty's hangar doors rumbled open as the atmospheric force field snapped into existence. The odd-looking Vulcan ship eased its way inside and settled on its landing gear. The door and ramp lowered to let Vulcan Commander T'Eflon to emerge. He raised his hand and split his fingers into the traditional greeting. "Live long and prosper."
Kevin copied the gesture as best he could and let out a huff, "One of these days, I'll figure out how to do that without looking like an idiot."
A slight smirk sprouted on T'eflon's face. "I won't say it. Too easy."
"Smartass."
That did it, the Vulcan whose species were known for their stoic and somber expressions, burst out laughing. "My superiors always wondered why I like to visit your world or you specifically. I can never express my thoughts to their satisfaction that being on Earth is something to experience. Mere words cannot properly describe your species. Personally, I think it's your ability to use deadpanned humor in ways that we Vulcans seem to miss."
Still grousing about being teased, Kevin clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Glad to help, you pointy-eared green-blooded hobgoblin. So what're you really doing in this area? There's nothing stellar to note according to the nerds on board."
T'eflon pursed his lips with a slight smirk still present, "Would it surprise you to learn that we've been following you since you left your solar system?"
Mouth hanging, Kevin could only silently shake his head, "Why? Why not just announce yourselves?"
"This is a historic journey for your species. True, you've sent out previous ships to colonize other worlds but those ships weren't warp capable. Quite honestly, if you hadn't stopped here, we would've met up with you when you reached the system you call Alpha Centauri. My XO commented that it wouldn't do very well for our growing interspecies diplomacy if your government learnt that we were 'tagging along' as if we were hovering to make sure the children weren't breaking things."
Kevin shared an exasperated look with his own XO before facing the Vulcan again. "Fine, since you're here; could you send over someone familiar with viewscreen circuits to see what they can do to solve our issue?"
"How bad is it?"
"It works somewhat but there's a pink stripe running vertically across the screen. Our techs have looked it over but haven't found the problem."
T'eflon cocked his head as he tried to picture that. "Odd, but alright." He turned and yelled back into his ship. Another Vulcan, this one a female, emerged carrying a bag of tools and a curious expression on her young face. "This is Uhlan T'Mar. She's very capable when it comes to fixing things."
Robert had joined them by this point, "'Ere, T'eflon, I thought it were just the birds that got the 'T' in front of their names, like."
Pausing for a moment to translate the weird accent, T'eflon bobbled his head and waggled his hand. "Sometimes but not always. It was what my parents wanted."
Kevin cleared his throat, "Now that's been settled, come on and let's see about getting the screen fixed. Have you eaten yet, T'eflon?" At his shake of his head, Kevin grinned, "Just wait until you see what the mess hall's fixed up for us."
T'eflon's eyes widened, "Is it pizza? Please tell me it's pizza." T'Mar gave him an odd look. "Trust me, you haven't lived until you've had Earth pizza. The toppings are as varied as the people who live there. I'm quite entranced by what's referred to as the 'Deep dish meat lover's pizza'."
T'Mar's eyes narrowed as she whispered something in her commander's ear. He waved her inquiry off, "You don't have to eat the meat if you don't wish to. They'll most likely have other choices."
Kevin and his present staff were snickering at the Vulcan's eagerness to get fed. "I'm sure we can rustle up a couple of pies for you. Come friends, let us away." Robert took T'Mar up to the bridge in the meantime.
Mess hall...
"So, what's been going on at home?" Aaron inquired as the group sat down to eat.
T'eflon quirked up an eyebrow, "My home or your home?"
"Yours. What's your government think about what we're trying to do here?"
T'eflon shrugged, "They don't see sending out supply ships as noteworthy. Was there something we missed?"
Aaron flicked a finger in the general direction of the aft end. "Vulcan-designed warp rings on a human ship? Never been done before. I'm wondering if we're not the only ones curious to see if it works."
T'eflon coughed his amusement, "Yeah, that I can believe. Probably true too, but they don't tell me anything. How's it been working for you though?"
Aaron swallowed his bite of food, "Um, so far so good. There's been nothing major to comment on. I know Maddy's mentioned a few times that it seems as if the power transfer grid was draining the capacitors faster than predicted."
"I'll have to contact my superiors to see what they have to say about that. I do know that the drive we gave you isn't the top of the line model. Your species just isn't ready to handle the higher warp speeds."
Safety Officer and Third Mate Emily Pierpoint joined them, scowling slightly when she heard T'eflon's comments about not being ready. "I've never understood the hold-up to allowing us access to those fancy drives. I mean, I get limiting the freighter to slow speeds especially the bulk haulers like us, but seriously? What's wrong with having something with at least warp two or even a three? We're not asking for warp ten or some such crazy number just the chance to get to our destination without needing sleeper couches."
T'eflon held his hands up, "You'll get no argument from me. The problem as I see it is that Vulcans live for a long time, upwards of two hundred years or more and sometimes forget that not everyone has the ability to match that."
Emily's eyes widened comically, "Two hundred years?"
He bobbed his head and took another bite of his pizza, savoring the spices and heat on his tongue. "It's rather common these days with the recent advancements in our medical technology."
"So they're lumping us in with their timescale. Any idea how to make them realize that humans don't age that slowly?"
T'eflon shook his head, "Outside of dragging the council to Earth? No."
Kevin snickered, "Well, one of our stops on our route is Vulcan. Maybe we ought to stage a kidnapping of sorts when we get there." His amusement grew into outright laughter at the look of horror on his friend's face.
Robert swung by with T'Mar in tow. "Right, all done. The lass was askin' about ya, T'eflon, I think. 'Er accent's a right state, like."
T'Mar spoke in the Vulcan language. T'eflon responded and pointed over to the counter where the food had been set up. While she wandered over to see what was being served, he turned back and shook his head bemused, "Uhlans. So young and inexperienced."
"You said that name before, didn't ya? Is that like, a title or summat?"
T'eflon thought for a moment, "It's equivalent to your ensign rank."
Kevin nodded in agreement. "So she's fresh out of your academy? She must be nervous about offending everyone. If she's interested, we do have a library where she can download a book about humans."
Surprised but grateful, T'eflon thanked his friend for the offer. "I think she'll enjoy that. So what else's been going on here?" T'Mar returned carrying a tray of food consisting of a salad and a bowl of something brown. She placed the tray down and took a seat.
Emily peered over to see what the female Vulcan had chosen, "Caesar salad, good choice and a bowl of mushroom barley soup. I take it that you're a vegetarian?"
T'Mar nodded slightly, "It's not logical to raise an animal that requires a large quantities of resources only to produce a relatively small amount of sustenance to a few people."
"Have you at least tried to eat meat or do you have an allergic reaction?"
T'Mar shook her head, "Meat products do not affect me, I just do not like the taste."
Emily hummed understandingly, "Well, if you ever get the chance to visit Earth or any one of the colonies, I'm sure that we can find a recipe that can help ease you into liking the tastes of meat. Also, we're not limited to just beef. We also have fish, birds like chicken, turkey, or ducks, pork meats, and I think there's even still some of that lab-grown synthetic meats being produced."
While the women were comparing culinary experiences, Robert wiggled his finger at T'eflon. "Any chance you could loan us a better communications package?"
T'eflon looked up at the sound of plain English coming out of Robert's mouth, "You can speak normal English?" The others sniggered their amusement. "What did I miss?"
Robert smiled, "I only break out the accent when we get guests or when I want to annoy the Captain or XO here. I can speak normal English just fine if I want as you can see. So, the communications?"
T'eflon had to shake his head, both for the language joke and for the comm gear. "I'm sorry, but something like that is a decision way above my pay grade. Fixing a viewscreen is one thing, but for something like that? I'd have to get permission from my superiors."
Robert sighed but relented, "Had to try. No worries if you can't."
When lunch had finished, Kevin escorted T'eflon and T'Mar back to their ship. He clasped hands with his friend, "Don't be a stranger, you hear?"
"I promise. How much longer until you reach your destination?"
"At our best speed? About another six months, Earth calendar," Kevin reckoned.
T'eflon bowed his head respectfully then raised his hand in the traditional farewell. "Then I shall see you there. Good luck and safe travels, my friend."
Kevin managed (barely) to mimic his gesture, "Live long and prosper. We'll see you in a few months."