Galactic Startup

by Brian Whiting

  “Incredible,” said Mason. “So little. How much power does it take to run the drive?”

  “We could operate the drive off a nine-volt battery for an hour, depending whether we’re in atmospheric flight or in space.” Jorge said.

  Nearly everyone was stunned.

  “How is this possible?” Mason pleaded.

  Alex ignored the question. “Do we let reporters in now or wait until the ship is complete?”

  Gloria spoke up. “We should let them in now. We need to build on the interest we generated last night. Besides, I always liked ‘the making of’ segments.

  “I agree with Gloria,” said Cindy.

  “All in favor of letting them in now, say aye,” Zeek said. Most did so, or raised their hands.

  “Wait. Hold on. This isn’t a voting thing,” said Alex.

  “You’re right about that,” said Timmy, who had been quiet the whole time. We certainly never elected a president, or a captain. I’ve told you for months that we need to develop policies, procedures, a chain of command. You keep dragging your feet, and the rest of us are stumbling on behind. Today it was your ego, tomorrow it’s our lives.”

  Alex worked his jaw to one side and held it there. Finally, he let out a deep breath.

  “You’re right. I’ve been dragging my feet on this. Right now we are kind of winging it.” Alex forced himself to make eye contact with each of them. There was a long silence.

  “Then let’s come to an agreement. I for one vote Alex to be the captain and leader of United Earth Fleet.” They all looked to the speaker. It was Mason. “He displays leadership potential. He has staked more than anyone on this venture. He has a good heart that I can and will follow.”

  Zeek raised his eyebrows. “I’ll second Alex to lead UEF. But I nominate Mason as the captain of the Destiny, at least for our first missions.”

  Mason didn’t hesitate.

  “I refuse to captain the Destiny. You guys are leading this thing. I came here as Riker.”

  There were a few half-hearted attempts to continue the conversation, but they all knew it had been decided. Though Alex noticed Timmy had gone quiet again.

  Eventually, they agreed on a command structure consisting of six levels: Captain, Commander, Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant, Ensign and Crewman. Mason pointed out that while their organization was small, they should plan for substantial growth. Zeek, Jorge and Timmy agreed to be left out of the command structure, not wishing to be completely tied down to the UEF.

  Pizza was ordered for lunch as the meeting continued well into the afternoon.

  ***

  Renee was frustrated. After the drama of yesterday’s stunt, there had been nothing new to report all afternoon. The crowds had only grown.

  There was a sudden buzz as a group of security guards were spotted approaching from the compound. Renee nudged her cameraman, Omar.

  They attempted to get to the gate to start shooting, but the crowd was so thick that Renee could not even edge her way into the shot. Then she received confirmation in her ear that the studio was going live with her feed, and she started narrating.

  “If you’re just tuning in, we can see security personal approaching the front gate. The crowd is obviously going crazy, can you guys hear me?”

  She got an affirmative.

  One of the guards walked right up to the front gate, in view of a dozen recording news cameras.

  “Renee!” he barked. “Renee Sorensen with Global News?”

  Renee pushed herself to the front of the gate.

  “What can you tell us about plans for future deployment of the ship we saw yesterday,” she asked, holding out her mic. “When can we see the ship?”

  Her questions were lost among the cacophony of other reporters. The guard ignored them all.

  “Make your way to the side here, Ms Sorensen.” The guard pointed to the gate that met with the concrete along the wall. When Renee and Omar reached it, the guard let them through, having to physically block those who attempted to crowd in behind them.

  “Follow me to the compound, please,” the guard said to Renee. Omar walked backwards, filming as they went.

  “It appears we are being given exclusive access,” Renee was saying to the camera. She turned to the guard.

  “May I ask if you are employed by United Earth Fleet or are you contracted?”

  None of the guards answered.

  “Have you been inside the ship?”

  Silence continued.

  They were approaching one of the buildings alongside the hangar. Omar turned to film them as they went through a door and down a hallway.

  There were pictures on the walls. Renee stopped to look at one that showed a cargo container floating in the air. She was gently prodded by one of the guards.

  “Please continue walking, ma’am.”

  Renee was led into the conference room, where Alex and most of the crew were waiting. Alex stood to shake her hand, while the Omar continued shooting, edging his way to the corner of the room.

  “Hi, my name is Alex. I am Captain of the Destiny.” They sat down.

  “Renee Sorensen, Global News. Thank you for having me. Could you tell us when you expect to launch the ship, and where you plan to go first?”

  Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Are we live?”

  “Yes, we are.”

  “I invited you here because of your application to join the UEF as a correspondent. I’d like to discuss the position with you.”

  Renee’s heart sank in her chest and she hesitated. A voice in her ear told her to continue the interview, whatever it took. Alex went on.

  “We both know you’re extremely qualified. But I would like to get to know you better as a person. Someone who we may be living with in a confined space for extended periods.”

  “So you are planning long journeys?”

  Alex felt like he was fighting the camera. “Possibly, yes.”

  “What would you want me to do on these journeys?”

  Mason spoke up and the camera shifted to get him into view.

  “You would be our media liaison. Your job will be to accurately and honestly document our activities for the public. You will manage social media, create written and video content to demonstrate the operation of the Fleet, and whatever else you feel is needed to show the world what you believe they should see.”

  “It sounds like you are committed to transparency. But I am having difficulty getting you to answer my questions,” said Renee.

  “You haven’t accepted the job yet,” replied Alex, “but the fact that you won’t let up is part of why we want you. You would remain professionally independent to ensure neutrality.”

  Mason tagged back in.

  “We are going to explore the galaxy. Doing things no one has ever dreamed of before, certainly no reporter. No other space agency will offer the kind of access we’re talking about, even if they could do the things we can do. But it’s not for everyone, and it will be dangerous.”

  Renee sat back in her chair. Her heart beat wildly. She was contractually obligated to remain at Global News for a full two years, and was painfully aware of Omar’s camera.

  Then, in her ear:

  “Take the job on behalf of Global News. We will work the details out later.”

  She gulped. This was it. No more excuses. She stood up, and stretched out a hand..

  “I’ll take it,” she said.

  Everyone in the room broke into smiles and stood to congratulate her.

  “We have much to discuss. Would you come with me?” Mason said to Renee, as he led her to another smaller room. When she and Omar left, Alex exited the room with Jorge, heading in a different direction.

  “Alright. How soon can we get this ship completed?”

  Jorge looked at his coffee mug.

  “Now that we’re operating in in the open and we can hire people to do the work directly, I’d say maybe two or three months.”

  “Then that’s how long we h
ave to find the last of the people we need.”

  ***

  “Thank you for your time. I’ll be in touch,” Cindy said from behind a desk inside the UEF compound.

  “Thank you for the opportunity.” Her applicant departed. Cindy had been asked to interview for the last positions on the crew. They’d whittled it down to a few dozen.

  Cindy was holding the recent applicant’s file in her hands. As soon as the women left the room, she tossed the application in a now full trash bin under her desk. Attempting not to despair, she thumbed another little folder and called the next candidate.

  “Jack, is it?” she asked, as a well-dressed man entered. “Please have a seat. Tell me about yourself. Why do you think you’re the right candidate for the xeno-biologist position at UEF?”

  Chapter 8

  Maiden voyage

  “Mimi, status check,” Alex asked from his chair on the bridge.

  “The Destiny is fully operational.”

  Alex looked over at Mason. “That’s it?”

  Mason only smiled, turning back to the screen attached to his chair.

  “Mimi, I’d like external hangar feeds one and six B on the view-screens,” Mason said.

  The front view-screen split into two images. Alex looked out at the gathered crowds. The front gate and most of the wall had been completely removed and replaced with chain link fencing.

  The space beyond was filled with company trailers, news vans and RVs, like islands among the swarming throngs. If you didn’t know better, you might think you were at a music festival.

  “Hangar doors opening.” Zeek watched as people in the crowd put their hands over their ears to block the screeching noise of the grinding metal doors.

  Timmy applied a small amount of power to four of the eight rotatable disks on the underside of the ship. Twice what they needed, but Mason demanded redundancy in all vital systems.

  Silently, and seemingly without effort, the Destiny rose up in its completed glory. Emerging out of the hangar, the crowds stood in awe. It was painted grey, all its contours rounded like a sleek vision of the future. The belly was flat from the nose to the ramp door. Small nubs of hull extended on either side to offer flight stability in addition to the twin opposing tails. The word Destiny was painted in black across the side.

  Cindy checked her display screen and pulled up the navigation interface. It showed the orbits of several objects in the solar system, including Mars. She clicked, and the image zoomed into the planet. She then tapped an image to the right, zooming to a waypoint placed by someone else. It was marked, fix rover.

  A heads-up display appeared over the camera feeds on the main view-screen, showing them their course. Timmy handled the controls, as the Destiny began to follow the proscribed path. Zeek had offered to program the computer to do the whole flight automatically, but both Timmy and Cindy refused.

  They were going to Mars. Following Renee’s induction into the UEF, NASA had offered sixty million dollars if they could repair one of their robots on the red planet. In response, Alex told them to simply provide new rovers for delivery. They agreed to forty million per rover transported. NASA couldn’t believe the incredible bargain and accepted with the attached repair as well.

  Alex considered offering transport to other planets but decided to hold off for now. Just to make sure there were no unexpected problems on the maiden voyage. The betting markets still gave them less than one in three odds of making it to Mars, let alone returning.

  Alex watched the view-screen as the ground fell away. Alex noticed Renee monitoring her own camera feeds on the bridge. She was tied into all the cameras on the ship and had several more installed at her request.

  There were a few quiet gasps as the ship felt its first turbulence. A few nervous glances were exchanged. The ship shuddered again.

  “Way better then flying around in a metal box, trust me,” said Jorge.

  The founding four all grinned. Some of the others continued exchanging weary glances.

  Soon the clouds were far below them.

  “Faster,” Alex said.

  Timmy increased power to the drive. The ship’s speed increased dramatically. They felt the sharp downward pressure of g-force, which the view-screen showed as three point one.

  Moments later, the curvature of the Earth became clear, while the view grew darker as they left the atmosphere. Timmy had to slightly increase power to the drive. The earth’s gravity was the source of their repulsive force, and the drive had to be revved up as the planet got further away. By the time Timmy cut the power and set the ship to coast, they were down to ninety-four percent of their reserves, as Mason informed them.

  Both Timmy and Cindy appeared concerned.

  “We didn’t attain the predicted speed, and we used more power than anticipated.” Cindy said. “Our arrival time will be…” She was finishing calculations at her console. “Six hours later than predicted, and we will miss the planet by a significant margin.”

  Jorge was making his own calculations. Soon the path projected on the view-screen shifted slightly.

  “If we rotate the disks towards the sun and reverse the pull, we should be able to reestablish the correct course. After that, we should try to conserve power.”

  “Can the solar panels provide enough to avoid the battery banks altogether?” Mason asked. He fixated on the remaining power capacity.

  “I am not sure. Perhaps,” said Jorge.

  The earth was already far away on the screen. They had long passed the orbit of the Moon. The computer estimated an arrival time of thirty-four hours. One of Alex’s pens was floating in front of him. He reached out.

  “Can we try the gravity plating?” he asked.

  Gravity plating was an untested concept invented by Jorge. The plates were only installed on the first deck and could not be tested on the ground, where local gravity was too strong.

  Mason surveyed his screens.

  “Everything looks good here. Go ahead.”

  Jorge squirmed. All his calculations suggested the technology would work, but he still felt strangely nervous about it. He told himself to stay quiet.

  There weren’t enough chairs on the bridge to secure all the personnel. Several had to ride it out in the crew quarters.

  “Mimi, ship wide announcement. We are about to test gravity plating on deck one. Please remain in your secured location.”

  Alex heard his voice play over the speakers on the ship. He let go of his pen and watched it float out in front of him.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Jorge punched a series of keys on his display and activated the gravity plating.

  The pen suddenly disappeared, and Alex was thrown forward into his straps. The bridge lighting turned red. Alarms sounded. A deafening boom reverberated through the ship. The once-calm view-screen now showed stars moving across the screen.

  “Alert. The ship has sustained damage,” said Mimi.

  “Ya… Think!” Zeek yelled, rubbing his shoulders.

  “We are off course! Propulsion is down – I have no control.” Timmy was desperately jabbing at his console.

  “Someone tell me what the hell happened,” Alex yelled.

  “It hurts,” Renee said, quietly. Her handheld camera was floating towards a wall. She was holding her shoulder where her straps were.

  ***

  At NASA control, a technician was looking at a blinking light.

  “We lost contact with the Destiny. Computer says they dumped power into a subsystem immediately prior to going dark,” she said to her supervisor.

  “For all we know, that’s supposed to happen,” the supervisor replied.

  “Perhaps, but-”

  “Since we aren’t in control of the craft, we can only guess what they’re playing at up there. Continue monitoring. There’s not much we can do from here anyway.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ***

  Jack had just unbuckled himself from his chair and floated towards the hatchway
.

  “Where are you going?” Gloria asked.

  “We are in trouble, I’m going to see If I can help,” Jack said, exiting the hatchway. He proceeded down the hallway towards the rear of the ship, where the only ramp that could reach the first deck was located. He didn’t get very far, as there was damaged material scattered throughout the entire ship. The second deck was worst hit. In some areas, large chunks of the ceiling had been torn away. Debris was bouncing around the walls and corridors.

  He reached out to push some of the debris away which kept his progress slow. A voice in front of him stopped him cold.

  “How bad is it?” Jorge asked as he approached Jack from the other end of the hallway, floating silently.

  “This is odd,” said Jack. “Look at the ceiling. It looks as though it was ripped apart from the inside. There’s nothing explosive between the decks…is there?”

  Jorge considered the torn hole in the ceiling and noticed a large indentation on the floor directly below. Looking down the hallway, he could tell this wasn’t an isolated incident.

  “The gravity plating,” Jorge mumbled to himself as he looked up into the hole and noticed the area of the decking. “Oh god.”

  Realizing that Jorge probably knew what had happened, Jack remained quiet, waiting for an explanation. Jorge floated over to examine one of the other holes.

  “Damn.”

  “What is it?” said Jack.

  “The command cable conduit has been cleanly cut. That’s a lot of splicing,” Jorge grunted. He looked at Jack’s expression. “Everything is fine. Five, six hours and we will be fine.”

  Just then a piece of floating debris hit Jorge in the head from behind. Jorge reached up with a grunt of pain and frustration.

  They went back to the bridge, where Jorge proclaimed the damage.

  “The gravity plates reacted to the active propulsion drive. Like two magnets too close together. The plates flipped in the decking, as they tried to reach the anti-gravity disks. Luckily, one of them sliced the command cables, or they would have torn the ship apart. The good news is that the damage is repairable, and the gravity plates worked.”

  “It didn’t feel like it worked to me, Jorge,” Mason said.

  “The damage proves it worked. We just can’t use both systems at the same time.”