To Touch the Stars (Founding of the Federation Book 2)

by Chris Hechtl

  Pinta and Santa Maria would remain around the core worlds he judged. That way they could be contracted to haul colonists to nearby colonies … or even cargo if it came to that. He planned to send Prometheus, Nina, and the LGM ship to the Rho sector as soon as practical. He had a minimum of a twenty year wait to settle Eden however, so they would go as survey and terraformer ships. They could come back and haul people on a follow-up trip.

  To Aurelia it was tempting to go along with them. To go to a new world, a fresh start. She'd been “freshened” a few times, more often now that she was nearly a century old. Jack was holding on; he hadn't had the same treatments she had but he was good to go. His silver hair and craggy face lent him a distinguished look she thought with a trace of a smile.

  In a way, the kids would do better in Rho she thought. A true fresh start, one away from their parents. She was pretty sure Wendy wouldn't go for it. Wendy was turning into quite the business woman. She was climbing the corporate ladder with dogged determination. It was frightening sometimes to think of where her plans would ultimately lead. Eventually … she shook her head putting the painful thought aside.

  Zack was waist deep in the military and security side of the company. He made an effective liaison with the US and UN military. She knew he resented the parties and meetings though, he was a hands-on sort of man. She pursed her lips thoughtfully. Even his father had taken decades to be weaned away from the hands-on thing.

  That thought made her pause in annoyance and amusement. She too had been weaned away from hands-on, hadn't she? She shook her head. Yes she had, and like Jack it hadn't been entirely voluntary. At least most of the pain and resentment was gone she thought.

  Hannah … she frowned thoughtfully and then sighed. She'd hoped the younger woman would have been like Kathy but instead she'd gone her own path. Perhaps it was for the best she thought. She would do well to step out of Aurelia's shadow. Perhaps she was smothering Hannah like she was her own children. Or seemingly doing so in the guise of protecting them, she thought with a twist of her lips.

  She was fairly certain Hannah would stay in the Lagroose family however. That was good, she thought. She'd miss the woman, but she had to follow her dream. She made a note to have her consult with other hibernation experts. They may even need to subcontract the pods and tech to another firm if they had a better system she reminded herself.

  The LGM and Mars U ships were still frozen in their slips. The stupid admin people couldn't make up their minds what they wanted, she thought, shaking her head. They also kept trying to change the ship's specs, which wasn't negotiable. They didn't understand that, which was frustrating Jack and Wendy. Both ships were to be built with the limited stasis pods as well. From what she'd heard from Wendy at their last lunch date the idea was becoming a standard for starships after the loss of Daedalus. It was reasoned that stasis would be the equivalent of a life boat for the crew, or of use if someone was critically injured. She wasn't sure she'd want to be frozen and adrift somewhere, but where there was life there was hope.

  She looked up when she heard a ping. “Doctor Lagroose, you have an appointment with Doctor Glass in thirty-five minutes. The shuttle is being held for your convenience,” Athena told her from the overhead.

  “Coming,” Aurelia said, picking up her tablet and tucking it under her arm. She'd have to trot to make the appointment. To hell with it, she thought. She was old, they can damn well wait, she thought with a slight smile as she left her office.

  -*-*-^-*-*-

  Amelia Irons had gone through a dry period before she'd gone through a gamut of boyfriends. Bill however became a serious item. She began to date the junior yard engineer exclusively six months before Icarus returned. He was young, over a decade younger than her, but there was something about his smile and eyes that just touched her soul, or so she kept insisting to Hannah. Bill was a bright guy but a dedicated student. He continued to take college classes despite graduating and working a full time job.

  When Bill announced he had taken a position on Santa Maria, Amelia had a lot to think about. Isley's return had made her life easier with the family, but she still wasn't sure if she had the wanderlust to go that far from her friends and family. And being trapped in a starship for years and years?

  “I don't know what I'm going to do,” she told Hannah as the two ate ice cream while waiting for Isley to show up.

  “I don't know what you are going to do either since I don't know what we're talking about,” Hannah said mildly, eating her ice cream. Amelia normally gushed about stuff; it was hard to shut her up to get two cents worth in. Bill was just her most recent catch, but apparently she wasn't interested in releasing him yet, if ever. “Something eating you? You're supposed to be eating it,” she said, pointing to Amelia's dripping ice cream cone.

  “Whoops!” Amelia said, catching the drips. She flicked her hand in annoyance and then licked them clean. Hannah wrinkled her nose and offered her a napkin. “Why thank you,” she said with mock graciousness as she took it.

  “What's the problem? You've been moping long enough. Out with it girl,” Hannah insisted.

  “Out with what?” A familiar voice said, coming up behind them. Hey! You started without me!” Isley protested. They squealed and hugged each other. Isley smiled as her arm wrapped around her cousin's shoulders. Amelia had matured a great deal in her absence, but the family still muttered about her acting a little too much like Isley for her own good. She'd also caught a lot of rumbling about both girls needing to settle down and start creating the next generation.

  “Zip,” Isley said, holding a finger up. “No talking until I'm back,” she warned eying them both. Hannah and Amelia gave her a wide-eyed innocent look. Amelia went so far as to give her a two finger scout salute. Isley snorted and went to fetch her ice cream.

  When she came back she spun the old fashioned high back chair so she could straddle it and then sat. She had a chocolate dipped ice cream with sprinkles. She grinned, pretending to lovingly lick it before she nipped the tip. Hannah smiled at her friend's antics.

  “God I've missed these things,” Isley said, looking at it. “Sucks. I'm going to miss them even more here,” she said, studying the cone. “We have so got to figure out how to bring this along,” she muttered.

  “What are you on about?” Amelia demanded.

  “Ice cream. A lot of comfort foods on a ship run out. It sucks,” Isley said.

  “Okay,” Amelia said. “Are you here to talk me out of going?”

  “Going? You too?” Isley asked, stopping to stare at her cousin. “I don't think Prometheus is big enough for the two of us, cuz. That's a lot of Irons confined in one small ship,” she warned.

  “I …” Amelia frowned ferociously.

  “Eat your ice cream, girls,” Hannah ordered, catching on to the conversation. She wasn't sure if the two of them had yet, but give them a minute … if they didn't get an ice cream headache. The way Isley was devouring the sweet concoction she laid even odds it might happen. They each took a couple bites of their ice cream before Amelia sat back.

  “I want to go on Santa Maria,” Amelia said, stopping to stare at her cousin. She is about to launch. Next week actually, if they can finish on time which I bet they will.”

  “Yeah, what's up with that?” Isley asked, wrinkling her pert nose as she digested her cousin's statement of intent. “I mean, I thought all four ships would have been launched by now and out and about,” she said.

  “There have been problems. The big three are five or six times bigger than Icarus,” Hannah explained. “Plus the lawsuits with LGM and shit,” she said, shaking her head. Now was not the time to fill Isley in on the years of events she'd missed out on. “But mainly the hibernation tech is still having problems and well,” she shrugged helplessly. “Up until now there hasn't been a destination for people to go to.”

  “Until now,” Amelia said, still staring at Isley. “And I'm waiting for a comment.”

  “On?” Isley asked innoc
ently, catching a piece of chocolate before it finished sliding off her cone. She flicked it into her mouth then grinned at her.

  “On the … on the ship. My plan, Santa Maria,” Amelia said firmly. She poked her cousin. “No weaseling out, girl.

  “Who, me?” Isley asked, again acting the naive girl. Hannah snorted. She turned a mock glower on her. “No comments from the peanut gallery please,” she growled, stealing a nut from her ice cream.

  “Hey!”

  “You going to eat it?” Isley teased, licking it.

  “Not now,” Hannah growled, glaring. Isley sucked it into her mouth and then made a show of masticating it.

  “Amelia, if you want to go, go. But don't go just because Bill is going,” Hannah said, turning away from Isley. The woman was irrepressible, she should have remembered that.

  “He asked me to marry him,” Amelia said softly.

  Hannah and Isley froze then smiled. “Well then,” Isley said. “Are you sure though?”

  “That's the problem! I don't know!”

  “One hell of a honeymoon cruise,” Hannah murmured. She looked away. “Hopefully better than the one Jamey and Kathy went on,” She said darkly.

  “Oh, Hannah,” Amelia said, reaching out to squeeze her hand.

  “Yeah, sucks. But life is too short to cry all the time,” Isley said softly. The other two looked at her. “I'm serious. I've been to the back of beyond. It's beautiful but a hell of a ride.”

  “I just don't know though …”

  “Is there an opening?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes,” Amelia whispered.

  “Then go. It is an adventure of a life time but boring as all hell,” Isley warned. Amelia stared at her. “And that's not me trying to talk you out of it. That's an honest warning. Day in and day out of being in a ship staring at the walls and busting your knuckles,” she said, showing them her hands. She had scars now from all the work on Icarus. She had never gotten severely injured, but she had gotten torn up a bit over the years.

  “Do you want him? And to go?” Hannah asked. “A package deal?”

  “A dream come true,” Isley said.

  “I … yes,” Amelia whispered. She licked her lips and then went back to her ice cream. It was almost gone.

  “I say follow your heart,” Isley said. Hannah nodded. “I didn't think they were ready for colonists though.”

  “They aren't,” Hannah said before Amelia could. “You put in a transfer request, didn't you?” She asked Amelia. Amelia reluctantly nodded. “Thought so. The ship will need medics to handle the large crops of colonists expected on the ship. The ship will only carry basic supplies for them too. Most people think they are going to get everything handed to them, but it's a back to basics thing. They may even end up having to pay for it themselves,” she explained. Amelia blinked at her in surprise.

  “But for now, I talked with Aurelia. I know the ships are still slated to go to Rho or around the core world’s terraforming,” she warned. “Which is where you came in,” she said, nodding her chin to Isley. She finished up her ice cream and then set it aside. She snagged a napkin and wiped the sticky mess off her fingers.

  “I …”

  “I bet you haven't told your mom and dad yet,” Isley teased. Amelia gulped. Isley pointed an accusing finger at her and laughed. “Ha! I knew it! Chicken shit!” She mocked.

  “She's not sure herself,” Hannah replied, rising to Amelia's defense. “At least not totally. But I'm betting you have been accepted or you wouldn't have brought it up. You don't just jump onto a ship. Not this late,” she said.

  “No. I'm in. I was on the backup list but …” Amelia shrugged.

  “I'm not sure what the exact plan is for the ship. Colonizing Eden would be good but it still needs a couple more decades to get sorted out before people can set foot on it,” Isley murmured. “Prometheus is being refitted now. I've taken a position on her as one of the engineering consultants,” she said.

  “You …” Amelia stared at her. “Your mom is so going to kill you,” she said firmly. Isley winced. “And I bet you haven't told them either,” Amelia said, glaring.

  “No,” Isley said quietly.

  “Who was calling who a chicken shit a moment ago?” Amelia asked with a sniff of disdain.

  “Okay, so I'm a chicken too. Runs in the family,” she said shaking her head.

  “Rumor has it Prometheus is going to Daedalus's last known location. That's a hard mission,” Hannah warned.

  Isley rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it,” she said. “I'll be gone about a year if we're lucky. More if we're not.”

  “So, back to you …” Hannah said, looking at Amelia as she finished her own ice cream. “Don't think I've let you off the hook that easily,” Hannah said with a smile as she crossed her arms.

  “Um, I'll let you know?” Amelia said weakly. She shrugged sheepishly.

  “You have a lot of thinking to do. But do tell your family. The both of you,” Hannah ordered, looking at both girls. Both girls nodded dutifully. Isley snapped up the small cone in a couple bites then made a show of wiping her hands together.

  “What about you?” Amelia asked her as they rose from the table.

  “Me?” Hannah shrugged. “I'm not ready to leave the nest quite yet. Maybe someday, but for now …” she shrugged again. She did make certain to give both girls a couple of hugs before they parted.

  -*-*-^-*-*-

  Once Prometheus had been refitted and resupplied, the ship translated into hyper and then moved to where Icarus had caught the Sirius Bridge. They translated down to the lowest octave and found the bridge, then slipped themselves in.

  They rode the bridge current for eight weeks before they had to exit the bridge. Isley was impressed, Prometheus's new force emitter Alcubierre drive was very impressive. She wasn't sure if they got the math right though, Wally wasn't around to double check it.

  Once in real space they used the ship's telescopes and sensors to orient themselves while the engineering staff ran some routine maintenance. It took a day to orient the ship and run the calculations to Daedalus. The communication's team did their best to listen for the stranded ship but they had jumped thirty years out from the ship. It would be another nine years before her message got to their location, and they had no intention of waiting that long.

  Isley dug in with the engineering crew to make what repairs and run what maintenance they could in the short time available. She wasn't up to speed on the new drive but she could easily handle the life support systems and computers. That freed up a hand to work on more critical systems.

  Once they were certain of their course, the dolphins jumped the ship to Daedalus's last known location.

  They carried with them a contingent of reporters and engineering experts like Isley; all were eager but sobered by their mission. The reporters were along for the ride to prove for once and all that the ships really were going into hyperspace and back, while also serving as independent witnesses to Daedalus's murder. The additional engineering experts were there to see if the ship could be salvaged.

  Isley was one of the engineering experts that had been brought along. She'd volunteered much to her family's dismay and pride. With Chief Roak off working in the yard that left Isley as the foremost expert on the ship's design and engineering left in the field. She wasn't sure if she should feel honored and privileged or not.

  She hit it off with Mister Twist. The old man had volunteered to come which had surprised a lot of people. He kept up an active blog on the web even though he was “retired” and apparently Jack Lagroose was enough of a fan to sign off on his having “one last great adventure.” The older man was a gas and didn't nag her with leading questions about her adventures with Icarus. She liked listening to his stories about various famous people he'd interviewed. And despite being much older he wasn't half bad in bed either.

  Ten light years out they stopped to pick up Daedalus's broadcast. The navigator had overshot the mark by a half a light year.
It wasn't that surprising; they had traveled in the lowest octave of Beta band for thirteen weeks. The software and crew were still adjusting to the ship's adjusted speed.

  While they were out Prometheus's sensor and communications departments localized their location further. A long search with probes rigged to extend their range helped them localize Daedalus's siren calls better. They made a second jump, overshot because of parallax and the hyperbridge, and had to correct.

  When they arrived they found the ship dark without even her running lights on. She truly was a ghost ship Isley thought, shivering in barely repressed dread as she watched the monitor. Most of the crew who were not on duty were watching the monitor. Mister Twist made a mention of some old ship from an ancient film called Black Hole. That made her shiver.

  Robots were sent over to probe the ship before a manned boarding party was authorized. Isley watched as a spot light on one of the drones played over the ice encrusted hull where her proud lettering had been. She could pick out a few letters, but others were obscured. The hull was pockmarked by small meteor impacts. Her drive was also damaged. It was clear the ship had seen better days and most likely wouldn't fly again.

  -*-*-^-*-*-

  Two days after they found the ship, a day after the robots finished mapping her interior and exterior, a volunteer group grimly boarded the ship. Isley was among them. She listened to the chatter, a lot of it was professionalism, keeping a running verbal log, but it was also a way to fill in the eerie silence. To kill the fear and dread that the dark ship evoked within them. The instinct to run away from her cavernous halls and companionways.

  She heard the rasp of her voice but ignored it; she had work to do. She took a small team to main engineering to secure it as her mission plan specified. Other crew members split up into small groups to secure the ship's other vital locations.

  As expected they found the bodies of the crew; most of them were in their cabins. Main engineering was empty which surprised and relieved Isley's mind. She'd half expected a body to fall out of a compartment or something. Captain Locke, his XO, and two of the fins were on the bridge at their stations. It was a grim affair finding their frozen bodies drifting in the suit lights, but not unexpected.