“This will give everyone plenty of time to get used to the feeling of boredom. After all, we’ve ten years of it to look forward to,” he laughingly added.
“Hell, Captain, I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t come.”
“But you’re here Nick, all of us are… And when the 16th arrives, we will go.”
“That’s good enough for me, Captain.”
Traven, hearing this was relieved. However, he wasn’t looking forward to explaining his next actions.
Chapter 7
First Ride
16th December 2108
After the pre-flight checks had been finished, Traven and his crew strapped themselves into their inertia damper seats. Then waited with baited breath.
They all knew that the inertia seats could only help to reduce the effects of the G forces. So were relieved to feel the prick in their arms, as a compound liquid was auto-injected into their bodies. This would temporarily strengthen the body’s cell walls to provide extra protection against added stresses during the nuclear detonations.
Everyone was silent, and time seemed to stop. Then, they heard the countdown to the detonations begin.
“Five…. Four…. Three…. Two…One…. Zero.”
For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then the Acarea’s structure vibrated violently and a sound like a mighty fist hitting the rear of it freaked everyone out, as they all felt the effects of the initial nuclear detonation.
“She’s coming apart,” Tommy shouted out, panicking as he looked at the scene showing on his monitor and saw the rear bulkhead bending.
Then, as suddenly as the noise came, silence returned.
Captain Traven could feel his heart pounding and was thankful, knowing that meant he was still alive. Meanwhile, Mears was muttering to himself as he picked himself up off the floor: his seat-retaining belt having broken under the massive G-force.
“Tommy! What’s happening?” Traven yelled
“It’s good, Captain. We’re moving,” the pilot, shouted back, his voice sounding relieved.
“How fast?”
“About eight hundred kilometres an hour.”
“And, that’s only the test detonation. Have we really got to go through that every few minutes?” Mears muttered.
Traven, just looked at him, then said, “Right everyone. Check for any structural damage in your areas. Be quick about it,” he ordered.
“Yes. Don’t forget. We’ve got less than an hour left, if we need to abort before the main chain of detonations commence,” Tommy reminded everyone.
“After that, the detonation sequence will automatically set the chain in motion. From that point on we can’t abort the mission.”
“Right men, we’ll check the situation again in thirty-five minutes,” Traven told them. “Mears, get your seat strap fixed in a hurry.”
They were all back thirty-five minutes later, after having completed their latest checks.
“Okay. Let’s have your damage reports. You first, Joe.”
“The pusher plate was four degrees off-centre, captain. But Cebro’s system is already auto-correcting the plate’s alignment.”
“Great,” Traven replied. OK, Nick. Tell me what you have. And make it fast?”
“It felt as though we’d sustained a lot of damage, captain. But luckily it’s less than we thought,” Nick reported. “The structure of the ship is stable. The bending of the bulkhead that we saw on the monitor was because the earth remover’s anchor was too loose, so I’ve changed its tether points.”
“And you’re happy it won’t come through the bulkhead to join us?”
“No. Steven and I are sure it will be safe now, Captain.”
“So, Joe. How long before Cebro’s auto-realignment will be completed?”
“Three minutes at the most, captain.”
“Good. What about the reactors?”
“Both are running well below their maximum safety level,” Joe said as he checked for updates on his engineering pad.
“The integrated electrical power generators are working as they should. They are each capable of producing up to twenty Megawatts output power.
Reactor 2 will shut down…in exactly five minutes. Then we will restart it when it’s needed. We’ve tested the Breeder reactor. But, it won’t be brought online until the nuclear detonations have ended,” he finished.
“Do you honestly believe, deep down, that the reactors are capable of supplying all our needs? They seem too small for my liking?” Traven asked.
“Captain. You know, as well as we do that that these reactors employ state-of-the-art technology. They are top of the range products in the field of nuclear reactor development. And, yes, all three reactors will see us out.”
Traven merely nodded agreement.
“Mears, what about the stasis chambers?”
“They’re OK. The settler’s stasis settings are correct. The crew’s stasis programmes are still set to auto wake them in ten years. So we’re ready to go.”
“Jackson, what about hydroponics?”
“The systems are operating correctly, and both food and water production rates are on target.”
“Ok. Jansen, what are Astro’s findings? Are there any directional shifts?”
“Not that we can see, from the first detonation, Captain. But the cumulative effects of the subsequent seventy-nine explosions may well change the situation.”
“Point taken,” Traven acknowledged.
“Trisha. What about the nuclear delivery system?”
“Cebro’s system is working correctly, Captain.”
“And Cebro’s outboard-computer is behaving itself,” Henry chipped in.
Traven smiled. So far so good, he thought to himself. Then looking at all of them, said. “Right. If anyone has any misgivings, speak now.”
At first, no one answered, and then Trisha spoke.
“Captain, I think everyone will agree with me, in saying that having come this far we should commit.”
“OK,” Traven said, as he checked the countdown chronometer.
“In just under sixteen minutes, Cebro’s automatic detonation system will come online. From that point on, there will be no going back. So, for the last time. Do you all agree?”
“Yes. We’re all agreed,” Tommy finally affirmed, speaking for all of the others.
“Everything’s been planned, so now we only have to find something to keep us from getting too bored, for the next ten years.”
“Yea, then we can have a really long sleep,” Trisha joked.
“Absolutely. Moreover, we all know that the other crew members are trained to take over when they come out of stasis. So the ship should continue to run smoothly while we’re in stasis,” Captain Traven assured them.
“Right, any other questions before we strap in and lock ourselves down?”
No one spoke, they couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Well, good luck, everyone.”
“Yes. Let’s hope we’ll all be alive after the eightieth nuclear charge has detonated,” Henry put in. Just voicing what everyone was feeling.
“Yes. Luckily, only six hours of hell, then we’ll know,” Joe grimly added.
The countdown chronometer read eleven minutes to initiation.
“Get buckled up. Now,” Captain Traven ordered.
“Final checks, Captain,” Tommy warned.
“Okay, you’d better send your messages to your friends now. Once the detonations start the plasma trail will kill comms for almost a week,” Captain Traven added.
At that, a flurry of last minute goodbye messages left the Acarea.
“Good luck Acarea,” came the stern sounding voice of the man in the Control centre on Earth.
“Thanks,” Captain Traven replied.
“Maybe we’ll have contact with you or your ancestors sometime in the future,” the controller suggested.
“You never know, Traven replied, then added. “Perhaps, as technology improves, you may even b
e able to reach Procyon before we ever arrive.”
“Anything’s possible, Captain Traven,” the controller retorted, chuckling as he did so. “But, I think it will be a long time before we’ll be capable of doing any better than the Acarea.”
“Yes. Well, we’ll communicate with you after the plasma storm’s dissipated.”
“Splendid, Captain. We will be waiting. Out.”
Captain Traven sat back. Then waited, nervously, for the fireworks to start.
The countdown started again.
“Five…. Four…. Three…. Two.… One…. Zero.”
The structure of the Acarea vibrated violently again, as the first of the seventy-nine sequenced nuclear detonations commenced. With each explosion reverberating throughout the whole of the ship. Straining its structure and sounding more like mighty metal fists hitting the rear of the Acarea.
After the third detonation, a slightly shaken, Traven quickly checked the situation again.
“Nick. Give me your structural report.”
“The ship’s still holding together, Captain,” Nick said as he checked his internal monitors.
“Thank goodness,” Traven replied.
“Yes captain, but how long our monitoring systems will keep functioning under this punishment, is anyone’s guess.”
“We’ll soon find out. Are we still travelling in a straight line, Tommy? Not deviating from our course?”
“Yes, captain. But my body’s, not.”
“Just keep with it, Tommy. Jansen?”
“The same as Tommy said, we’re still heading straight for our target.”
“Captain. We’re losing sensors and comms,” Henry called out, his voice sounding slightly hysterical.
“Ok, Henry. Calm down, we knew that would happen.”
Just after that, the fourth detonation occurred, with the same effects felt by the crew.
“Bloody hell, captain,” Tommy muttered, as the shock of it hit him.
With a detonation scheduled for every four and a half minutes, the crew’s hell would continue for the next six hours. With each explosion followed by a violent acceleration, pushing their bodies hard against the restraining belts of their anti-acceleration seats.
From this point on, Acarea’s destiny was set. For the next three days, they couldn’t make any corrections. Their comms systems and sensors would be silent.
Chapter 8
Silence is golden
The timed explosions continued each producing extreme bursts of acceleration that slammed the crew’s bodies back and forth within the constraints of the restraining belts of their anti-acceleration seats.
The sheer hell continued for another six hours. Until at last, the detonations ceased, with the last one more violent than the rest.
Then came a period of absolute silence as the crew’s ear drums struggled to return to normality. Another couple of minutes passed without anyone speaking.
Then they slowly relaxed as they realised the ship was still in one piece, and the gentle hiss of air brought a smile to their faces.
“Geeze, Captain, I don’t think I could stand any more of that, have we really got to go through it again at the other end of the voyage?”
“You know we have,” Captain Traven snapped back, as he struggled to get into a position to be able to release his inertia seat belts.
Once free of them, he noticed traces of dried blood on his wrists. This startled him at first. Until he realised that his seat belts, under the pressure of the immense G-force created by each detonation, had dug into the flesh on his shoulders, causing them to bleed.
H’mm. That’s something none of us anticipated, he thought to himself.
“Sir, we can’t do anything to produce gravity at the moment. We daren’t use the manoeuvring jets to give us rotation for at least three days,” Tommy reminded him.
“You’re right. Okay, men. Don’t forget that you’ll all have to wear your mag boots until we’re able to get enough spin on to produce the gravity we need.”
“Nick, Steven. Check the state of the ship’s structure. Right away, please.”
“Ok, Captain.”
“Mears take Trisha with you and check the stasis units.”
“What about the reactors?”
“Joe can deal with that. You can join him after you’ve finished checking the stasis section.”
“On our way Captain,” Mears said as the four of them left.
“Jeff, you’d better check the hydroponics section. We need to know how well the food production and water recycling systems have coped with all of this. Then double check the oxygen production levels.”
“Ok, Captain.”
“Joe, check out the nuclear reactors and then mark any radiation hot spots. We won’t want to stay in those areas any longer than we have too.”
“On my way, Captain, “Joe replied as he left the control room.
“Jansen, are you able to check anything, star wise?
“I’m stuck at the moment, the same as Tommy. My sensors will be useless until the residual plasma that’s around us, dissipates.”
“The same, Captain. The plasma trail behind us will kill communications to Earth for nearly a week,” Henry added.
“Ok. Then there’s obviously nothing much we can do for a few days, so we’d better check everything else, as well.”
“I’m off to observation dome four, to see what’s behind us, visually.”
“I’ll come with you Janson,” Traven said. “Lead on.”
Observation Domes three and four were safely located towards the rear of the ship. While Observation Domes 1 and 2 were towards the front. These were much larger than the other two.
Number one held a tracking telescope while the second one had a 2.54-metre diameter reflector. This large reflector telescope would be vital in enabling the final alignment with Procyon, before rotating the ship for the slowing down stage.
Naturally, knowing the location of planets around the star would also be critical to their survival.
Even with the hindrance of having to wear their mag boots, Traven and Paul swiftly reached the narrow metal stairway that led to the Domes.
Once they had climbed up and through the stationary coupling tube, they only had to go a short distance before entering Dome 4.
Looking out of the window, towards the back of the dome, they could see a line of orange plasma trailing behind the Acarea. Along its length, like beads on a necklace, tiny smoke rings swirled, as the line of plasma gradually dissipated, then finally vanished in the distance.
“It’s a beautiful site, Captain,” Paul Jansen exclaimed, not having known quite what to expect.
“Absolutely.”
“We won’t be able to contact Earth until we’ve moved out of alignment, Captain.”
“I know. Three days seems forever,” he quietly replied, sighing as he spoke.
Paul pondered for a while about something that he had wanted to ask before leaving Earth. Then decided, yes he would ask the captain.
“Captain. Can you tell me why they chose Procyon for us to settle on? When the Ceti star system would be much easier to reach, and would certainly have been a better bet. In my opinion, that is.”
“I don’t think we’ll ever know.”
“Do you think the planners had more information than they gave us?”
“Quite possibly. But anyway we’re committed to Procyon.”
“True, in one way. But surely we could still plan for an alternative destination?”
Traven studied Jansen, carefully, before answering.
“Before I met Michael Bernstein and heard about Cedrick’s meeting with this Micky Sanderson guy, I would have said no.”
“But now, Captain?”
“I’m inclined to agree with you, Paul.”
“I’m glad you feel the same way.”
“Keep this to yourself for the moment, Paul. We’ll discuss this with the rest of the crew when we know that the ship and our hydroponics a
nd stasis sections are all fully functional.”
“Of course, Captain.”
“How about taking some visual shots of the plasma stream. By the time our sensors come back online, the glory of it might not be there.”
“I’ll do that. Should have thought of it, myself.”
“I’m going back to the control room. Do what you have to do, then join us.”
“Yes, Captain.
Traven waited for his crew to complete their checks and return to the control room, thankful that the ship’s internal communication systems were still working.
They could have chosen to install one of the latest all singing all dancing systems. Nevertheless, had instead opted for a system, which even though it looked antiquated, its component parts were strong, and the system was reliable.
A row of green lights lit, one by one, on his console, indicating that the crew members had tested the internal comms systems from different locations.
“Looks good, Captain,” Tommy remarked, seeing that Traven was sat, just looking at the floor and seemingly deep in thought.
“Err. Yes, Tommy. So far, so good.”
“We won’t need the mag boots much longer.”
“Indeed, Traven briefly replied, and then continued thinking.
Paul Jansen had unwittingly helped him to make up his mind. He was sure now that the information Michael Bernstein had received from Cedrick, his contact at SEID, and which Cedrick had initially learnt from his close friend Micky Sanderson, was indeed legitimate.
Thinking on, he decided that yes, they would search for a secondary target.
However, he wouldn’t be able to tell Earth’s mission control that he was thinking of changing course. Instead, he would have to make a covert change, but then his crew might take some persuading to do this.
Moreover, he knew he would be taking a massive gamble in assuming that Michael’s information really was correct.
Acarea. A Triumph or Disaster? (SpaceFed StarShips Series Book 5): A Novel by Gerry A. Saunders (SpaceFed StarShips Trilogy) Page 6
