ISO- Beyond the solar system

by Travis Sande

  Ben and Sian had become close and it wasn’t uncommon to see the two of them working together in the bio-lab during training. Ben was very similar in height and had roughly the same hair colour as Sian. Mistaken for siblings quite often, they had joked about one of them dying their hair to avoid further confusion. Ben being from Mumbai, and Sian being from South Korea only added to their frustration when the issue arose.

  "You'd be surprised." Luke said with an almost audible wink.

  "Okay everyone, we can save the cocktail party for when we are up. For now, let's focus on getting there." Geoffrey Lorn, commander. "All team communications are broadcast to control, let's not make them lose faith in us already."

  "Faith is secure, commander." Admiral Lest's unique voice came over comms from within control.

  Admiral Lest had a caricature of a voice; a personification of the word tough. Whether it was from years of smoking or a naturally occurring gravel plant in his throat, his voice carried an unmatched authority. Having worked together professionally many times in the past, Lorn and Lest had become great friends. Serving under Geoffrey Lorn’s Wife, General Melissa Lorn, Lest had developed a close personal relationship to both.

  "Let's keep it that way." Lorn was eager to get underway. Lorn was more susceptible to Luke and Hanks shenanigans than Sian, but still measured in his approach to everything. He knew there was a time and place for that kind of behaviour.

  Rounding out the team was Nicole La'Sendra, Yanna Lye, and the Vryl escort, Eilik. Nicole is the communications officer and acting as Earth's cultural liaison for the mission. Nik, as she liked to be called, was a wise and calming presence on the ship. Usually keeping her hair in a braid that cascaded down the right side of her head and over her chest. The commander himself was the only crew member older than Nik. At fifty-two, she had embraced her greying hair and refused to dye it.

  Yanna Lye is a physicist who, like Ben, is on the ISO for research purposes. Yanna was the only daughter and youngest sibling in a large family. Having five older brothers forced her to develop a thick skin, and she was more than willing to go toe-to-toe with Luke or Hank. Yanna was one of the shorter members of the crew at five-foot two. She had short, jet black hair, and a muted personality around new people. Shy at first, but once she got to know you, she could be a lot to handle.

  Eilik was onboard to observe and monitor the unstable rift matrix. Arguments were made against having a Vryl escort as some wanted it to be a purely human based mission. In the end it was deemed an unnecessary risk. With limited personnel available for training due to the long travel time, Eilik focused on Luke. Even with his devoted attention, Luke still lacked some of the finer details surrounding the matrix. Rather than risk an inexperienced handler with the single point of contact for the entire mission, the Triumvirate voted to abandon optics and assign the Vryl to the mission.

  As the crew approached the entrance of the ship, Derrick was just behind commander Lorn. When the commander came upon the hatch, two men on either side opened it for him. The hatch popped and rolled out of the way, revealing the interior of the cockpit. This hatch would be a single use for entry and launch. Once inside, the entrance would be sealed and only utilized in case of emergency. The ship itself was designed to land in a horizontal orientation and standard exits would facilitate that once they landed on Setu. Commander Lorn saluted the two men and entered the vessel without delay.

  Watching Lorn disappear inside the ship, Derrick could feel every muscle in his body become insecure in their movement. He always had the tendency to overthink every situation and play out worst-case scenarios in his head. Flashbacks to the first day of training, where his grip slipped, and he fell, assaulted his mind. Intrusive thoughts, as Kim had labelled them, were an issue Derrick still struggled with.

  The hatch had two handles above it that would assist in entry. The hatch itself was little more than a meter wide and roughly four feet off the ground. Derrick reached out and grabbed the handles with both hands. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his legs and pulled himself inside.

  Once inside, everything became familiar. The test cockpits were replicated down to every detail. It was a reassuring feeling and instantly restored confidence in his abilities. Nevertheless, he reassured himself. ‘You've done this a thousand times.’ Derrick's internal monologue played out. ‘Just get to your seat and do your job.’

  He could hear the rest of the crew entering behind him as he traversed the small bridge of the ISO and settled into his seat. Commander Lorn, already inside, remained upright to help secure each member as they entered. After checking Derrick's harness, he gave a subtle nod of confidence as if he was aware of how anxious Derrick was.

  Eager to get underway, Derrick began to go over launch procedure in his head. Crew boarding felt like it was taking an eternity, and his chest grew ever tighter. Initiating launch procedure and docking with the orbital station was going to land squarely on his shoulders; a task for which he felt more than adequately prepared but still had lingering nerves.

  A small sensation in his stomach built up as time moved slowly toward inevitability. ‘You got this, you’ve done it one thousand two hundred and twenty-seven times. Quit worrying!’ He told himself one last time before taking a deep breath. Closing his eyes to visualize the steps, he took another deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth. It was a technique he was taught early on in his life at a gym taking karate lessons. It was believed to center the individual by making them focus on breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Kim had recently reintroduced this exercise to Derrick through their sessions leading up to the mission.

  Derrick's eyes opened upon hearing the commander's words, "Crew secure and ready for launch protocol." One last voice comm check went around the cabin as they prepared for takeoff. They were in the nine-minute launch window and he could feel the rumble of arms beginning to pull away from the craft. The small access hatch was put back into place and sealed.

  There were noticeable differences in the vibration compared to the simulator. It took him out of the moment as Derrick's mind wandered about the subtle variations being felt. It was far more jarring than he anticipated. The rapid, powerful vibrations seemed to have a numbing effect around his body. He wondered if everyone else's mind was wandering tirelessly as he awaited his guidance and navigation final check.

  Looking around the cockpit was difficult with the constraints of the harness. Just to his left he could barely make out Kim, her eyes were closed, and she had a peaceful serenity about her.

  "Guidance?" A voice shattered the tranquility of Derrick's curiosity.

  "Check" Derrick said almost immediately out of reflex. Scanning the panel, he ensured the accuracy of his hasty response.

  "Navigation?" The voice continued. Derrick felt a strange apathy and coldness in the voice. It never bothered him in training, but this felt different for some reason.

  Derrick took a moment to quickly verify that navigation was up and running. "Check!" He said, confident this time that he had confirmed it prior to responding.

  With the guidance and navigation checks done, Derrick knew they were quickly approaching the five-minute pre-launch sequence. The perception of time became surreal. Everything had a profound sense of meaning and importance around him. The physical world felt as if it was moving in slow motion, yet minutes melted away with little resistance. As if this temporal dichotomy had been overruled.

  "Initiate thruster sequence countdown." The voice came in clear from control and reminded Derrick of the reality at hand. He reached down and methodically flicked the cover off five switches intended to begin the thruster ignition sequence. He looked above at the digital countdown, awaiting the three-minute mark to flip the first switch. 3:15, 3:14, 3:13, 3:12, 3:11.

  ‘Ten,’ Derrick began the countdown in his head. ‘Nine, eight, seven, six.’

  "Five, four, three, two, one, engage thruster ignition sequence." As control finished the countdown for him, D
errick hit the switch. A light jolt accompanied the familiar sound that was replicated in training. Although astonishingly similar to training, Derrick sensed every detail that was overlooked. Minute details like the rigidity of the switch being stiffer than he expected.

  In training, Derrick would listen to every systems check and command as they were issued. He would live vicariously through each crew member as they performed their respective jobs. It wasn't until now that he realized he was in his own world, focusing entirely on his role in the launch. Separating himself from the rest of the ongoing operations felt uncomfortable. Micromanaging each station was something he often did in his mind throughout training. Rather than follow along through launch procedure, he found himself dialed in and isolated. Watching the countdown and waiting for each and every moment that was his to control.

  The first switch would act as a toggle to begin main booster oxidizer injection. The next two minutes would be dedicated to over-filling the boosters with liquid oxygen. After two minutes, the boosters would begin a final thruster bleed to ensure they were at maximum capacity. Derrick's final step in the pre-launch sequence would come at thirty seconds. The remaining four switches were connected for simultaneous activation. It would be the mechanical release of the four main boosters.

  The launch itself and entry into orbit would be completely guided by computers and monitored through main control. The role of ‘pilot’ would be a much more reduced capacity than Derrick’s dreams permitted as a child. Even as an adult, Derrick would often fantasize about manual override; forced to take control of the ship and save the day. Kim had always expressed concern to him regarding these fantasies. She believed it may be a repressed subconscious desire and cause him to misjudge appropriate times for such an override. Luckily, or sadly depending on your view, the likelihood of such an occurrence was statistically impossible. With the Vryl technology aiding in the ship's construction there were so many layers of failsafe protection that the ship itself would have to be nearly destroyed before such action would be required.

  Thirty seconds was quickly approaching as Derrick prepared for the nearly ceremonial flip of the conjoined switches. It always struck him as odd that they left some portions of the launch sequence to manual operation. The reason given whenever he inquired was simple, by initiating the sequence manually it was one final test of the electronics system onboard the ship before launch. The switches were designed to activate at the same instant and the final flip would be monitored by control to ensure that it was simultaneous down to the nanosecond. Any deviation in control could be found, assessed, and accounted for prior to launch. In worst case scenarios the launch could still be aborted.

  The final countdown was quickly approaching, the thirty second release would signal the end of personal countdowns. After that, the countdown would be read aloud over main comms and on all speakers within launch control.

  He felt excited when the countdown began in his ear. "Thirty-five, thirty-four," A peace overcame him as he realized the moment was here. Everything had gone to plan, and they were about to undertake arguably the most important mission in the history of humanity. "thirty-three, thirty-two," His heart began to race as he placed his glove on the hilt of the first switch. Procedure dictated that he must operate the left-most switch alone and allow the connecting apparatus to engage the other three. Derrick once again found himself dissecting every moment of training. Nearly three years preparing tirelessly was reduced to the simplicity of a simple switch, a single moment.

  Derrick’s rumination was abruptly halted as he heard the main control voice finish the countdown. "Thirty-one, thruster ignition go!" Countdown was timed to accentuate the word 'go' as the moment to activate. As the words entered his ear, Derrick flipped the switch. Once again, he felt an unfamiliar resistance that jarred him out of the moment. Before he could evaluate the differences, he heard the final countdown immediately begin upon activating the switches. "twenty-nine, twenty-eight,"

  "This is it, control has us from here. I want everyone alert and prepared for anything. Keep your eyes on your panels and announce any unusual readings." Lorn announced over the internal comms within the cockpit.

  "I don't have a panel, sir." Hank's familiar sarcasm invaded comms. Seated in the middle rear of the cockpit, he would be the only member without a readout of some kind directly adjacent to him.

  "twenty-two, twenty-one," countdown continued.

  "Watch the doors, make sure there's no one trying to break in." Luke decided to make light of the situation. "Just tell us if any of the lights turn red." He continued.

  "seventeen, sixteen," the countdown from control was unwavering and unamused by their banter.

  "There's three red lights over Derrick's head right now, and like six over Geoff." Hank started pointing out everything he was seeing.

  "These are emergency abort panels and they are orange." The commander's voice appeared to be losing patience. “You will address me as Lorn or commander Lorn while we are underway.”

  "Understood, I'll watch the doors." Hank resigned himself to silence for the remainder of launch.

  Derrick was jealous of their ability to ignore the stress of the situation. ‘How can they be joking around at a time like this?’ He thought. Looking down, he could see a visible shake in his hand. Steadying it in his lap before bracing for launch. Although the sequence was going to be automated, it would still be his role to monitor and react to any unwanted deviations.

  The rumble of the engines beginning to fire erupted through them as the countdown broke the ten second barrier. "Nine, eight, seven, main booster go, five, four, three, two, go for launch of the Interstellar Observer." The vibration was unlike anything Derrick had felt before as the countdown from control completed. G-Forces were felt almost immediately. Training was second nature and took over automatically as he started the breathing exercises. Having undergone 9G bursts in pilot training, 3-4Gs during launch felt trivial and was going to be more of an endurance test.

  Launch was finally underway as Derrick watched the horizon quickly dart out of view. Orbit would be their next destination before docking with Mars 1. The decision was made early in the process that Mars 1 itself would not be able to support a construction project of this magnitude, due to much of the station being dedicated to habitat and living quarters. It would have required substantial modification before construction could begin. Even after the modifications were made they would then have to transport materials to the station. Building within Marsul and launching the finished vehicle to Mars 1 was the final decision. This would allow for construction to begin immediately. Mars 1 would still play an important role as a staging point for the finished vehicle.

  Everything was going smoothly as the ISO approached orbit. Derrick closely monitored the ship's orbital entrance vectors. The onboard computer began calculating and adjusting the orientation of the ship; subtle irregularities were discovered and accounted for in real-time. The Vryl background AI system they implemented appeared to be handling the situation with ease.

  "How are we looking?" Lorn broke the silence.

  "Everything is looking good, we have subtle adjustments being made but all are within acceptable guidance parameters." Derrick responded, happy with his new-found focus.

  "Good, once we are in orbit I want you to begin Mars 1 docking procedure. Initiate it and keep an eye on it, I don't want to take a single risk. If anything looks even remotely out of place I want you to bring us in manually." Lorn had developed a disdain for the automated systems implemented by the Vryl. Weary of the helplessness it forced upon him he would avoid it where possible.

  "Roger" Derrick could feel a sense of excitement build as if the order was an opportunity to take over control of the ship. Excitement that was quickly arrested as he recalled the infallibility of the Vryl AI. As if that wasn't enough, Kim's voice was heard over direct comms with Derrick.

  "Let the AI do its job, if, and only if there is something out of place should you con
sider a manual override." Her words felt condescending at first, as if he was a child being scorned. That feeling abruptly gave way to respect and appreciation. He had felt the excitement within himself upon hearing the commander's orders. She was right to caution and ground him. There was something dormant inside him waiting for a chance to reveal itself. Although he believed himself capable of any piloting challenge, he didn't want to indulge irresponsible impulses.

  Derrick opened a personal channel to Kim, "Thanks, Kim.". Derrick responded with a concise recognition to guise his inner monologue.

  "We are all in this together and I trust your discretion, but a reminder never hurts." Derrick recognized that she sensed his frustration. Taking the time to explain her intentions was something she often did in their sessions.

  Feeling the need to put Kim at ease, Derrick decided to answer with a bit more sincerity. "I appreciate it. I am here to do a job, dreams are dreams." Derrick often caught himself living in his thoughts and Kim's voice had always been a conduit that kept him in the moment.

  After a few seconds Derrick opened main comms to the crew, "Entering stable orbit, docking procedure initiated.". As he said that, Derrick engaged the auto-docking sequence and watched as the AI began relaying information to Mars 1.

  No matter how many times he witnessed it in training, the speed always amazed him. Trajectory, vectors, variable correction, coordinating with Mars 1, everything just happened so fast and precise. The AI itself was not sentient but learned and communicated within its own network parameters. Derrick had always felt it lacked the emotion or connection that a human mind offered. A cold, coordinated effort between two computers guiding everything about the docking procedure. While he yearned for more responsibility in the matter it suddenly hit him one day in training; he wasn't trying to improve the process, he was simply looking for an elevated self-importance. The nuance or emotional connection he always referred to as missing could also be described as imperfection. When confronted with those thoughts he couldn't find a way to quantify the human benefit in a strictly mechanical and mathematical procedure. Resigning himself to the role of final failsafe in the event of computer failure, Derrick respected that his dreams would in fact remain dreams.