Ep.#1 - Aurora: EV-01 , page 11
Despite his concerns, Nathan couldn’t help being excited. He had spent the last week studying every aspect of the new Aurora. Pages and pages of manuals, plans, and specifications, and with each page, he found himself falling more in love with his new command. And he hadn’t even taken her out for her first flight.
The whole thing reminded him of when he had first learned to fly. His grandfather made him learn everything about that old aerobat before his first lesson. He had to know its systems and its performance envelope inside and out before he was allowed to even look at it. Being a teenager, it had driven Nathan crazy. He wanted to feel the wind in his hair, looking down at the Earth below as he soared. Eventually, he had realized the wisdom of his grandfather’s demands and had understood how it made him a better pilot. It was not enough to just know how to do something. He had to understand why what he did worked.
Of course, the Aurora was a completely different story. She was far too complex for Nathan to ever truly know, at least not to the degree to which he had understood that old aerobat. Fortunately, the Aurora’s AI was completely integrated into every system, every panel, and every seal. The AI knew the condition of every cubic millimeter of the ship and could control it all, even without human intervention.
This was the aspect that would take some getting used to. His grandfather had taught him to fly by feel, not allowing him to use his instruments until he could fly without them. Use of flight planning software did not come until he was adept at making the plans on his own. The plane’s autopilot had been taboo until Nathan had learned to master the aircraft and conduct even the most complex journeys manually.
This new Aurora was able to be flown and operated manually, but there was no denying that she had been designed to be operated by her AI. There was also no denying her AI could probably fly her better than any human pilot, a fact that Josh would never admit.
Even Nathan had a hard time accepting that assertion by the Tekan architects of the ship’s AI. He believed there was a level of instinct that no AI could ever have. There was more to flying than calculations. There was feel. The challenge was to strike a balance between the two. That was what Nathan and his crew would also be tasked with on the first Alliance ship equipped with fully integrated artificial intelligence. He hoped the result would be as beneficial as everyone predicted.
The intercom panel on his desk beeped.
“Captain, Cheng,” Vladimir called over the intercom. “All preflight checklists have been completed. All systems are functioning properly. I believe we are ready for departure.”
Nathan pressed the intercom button. “Not very convincing, Vlad.”
“Don’t be an old baba, Nathan. Everything will work.”
“What about the cloaking system?” Nathan asked.
“According to Laza, it will work. However, I cannot confirm this, since I still do not understand the device.”
“Understood,” Nathan replied, shutting off the intercom and rising to head out.
A moment later, Nathan was out the door and onto the bridge. As expected, Josh was seated at the helm, and Loki was at the ops station to Josh’s left. Laza Soray was at the sensor station to the left of the helm, and Ensign Dass was at the comm-station to the right.
Nathan walked onto the bridge, heading toward Cameron at the watch station. “How are we looking?”
“Roll-out completed a few minutes ago,” Cameron replied. “We are in launch position on the departure apron, and we have an open departure clearance from ATC.”
“Well, Vlad just gave us the green light, so I guess it’s time,” Nathan stated as he continued on to his command chair at the center of the bridge. “Nice to have you at ops again, Mister Sheehan,” Nathan said as he took his seat.
“Thank you, Captain.”
“All flight systems show ready,” Josh added.
Nathan glanced upward. “Aurora?”
“I am here, Captain,” the ship’s AI answered. “Shall I take us up?”
“Negative,” Nathan replied. “No offense, but I’d like my crew to do this manually.”
“I understand,” Aurora replied.
“It would probably be prudent to keep flight safety mode active, though,” Nathan added.
“Cap’n,” Josh complained.
“If we were in space, I wouldn’t worry,” Nathan defended. “But this is a brand-new ship with a brand-new design, and you’ve had like ten hours of sim time for her?”
“Eleven and a half,” Josh grumbled, turning back forward.
“Aurora?”
“Flight safety mode engaged,” Aurora responded. “However, I am confident that Mister Hayes will not require any assistance.”
“Thank you, Aurora,” Josh stated, his head angled upward.
“She’s just trying to make you feel good,” Loki teased.
“Incoming message from the facilities director,” Ensign Dass announced. “The press is ready for our departure as well.”
“I think that’s his subtle way of trying to push us out of the nest.” Nathan glanced about the new Aurora’s bridge. It definitely had a different feel than the old Aurora, and he liked it. After taking a deep breath, he said, “Mister Hayes. Establish a hover. One meter from skids to deck.”
“Engaging grav-lift,” Josh replied. “One-meter hover.”
Outside the Aurora, a large crowd had gathered. Technicians, administrators, dignitaries, and the press watched as the five-hundred-meter-long ship began to hum loudly, then lifted up from the trolleys that had carried her from the beginning of the assembly line to the departure area. That was a ten-kilometer journey that had taken two years. Her next journey, from the surface to orbit, was six hundred kilometers and would take less than a minute.
The Aurora rose gracefully, coming to a hover with the underside of her landing skids exactly one meter above the trolley platforms. Seconds later, her four massive landing struts retracted straight up into the ship’s hull, with the doors sliding closed once the skids were inside.
All four landing gear lights across the top of the center console to Josh’s left turned green.
“Gear up and locked,” Josh reported.
“Message from command,” Ensign Dass announced. She turned toward the captain and added, “Fair winds and following seas.”
Nathan glanced at his young comms officer, smiling at the traditional departure message for a new ship’s first flight. “Establish a forty-five degree forward climb path and prepare to jump us to orbit as soon as we reach safe jump altitude,” he instructed his helmsman.
“Climbing out on current heading at forty-five degrees,” Josh confirmed as he adjusted the grav-lift throttles and then added some forward thrust. “Jump to orbit loaded and ready. Safe jump altitude in ten seconds.”
Nathan gazed out the forward windows as the surface of the Earth quickly fell away. In seconds, the windows were filled with only blue skies and white, puffy clouds.
“This is one smooth ride,” Talisha commented. “Is that because of the inertial dampeners?”
Nathan swung his chair around enough to spot his five cadet pilots standing at the back of the bridge, having just entered. “Actually, it’s just a really calm day,” Nathan replied. “Trust me, if we were climbing all the way up, you’d feel it once we hit the jet stream.”
“We just wanted to see the liftoff,” Talisha told him. “I hope that’s alright?”
“I’d want to see it, too,” Nathan agreed.
“Safe jump altitude,” Josh reported.
“Jump us to orbit,” Nathan ordered.
“You got it,” Josh replied, pressing the jump button.
Through the forward windows, Nathan could see the wave of pale, blue-white light spilling out from the emitters, flowing across the hull like water. A second later, the hull was completely covered, the light flashed and disappeared, and the view outside changed from blue sky and clouds to black, starry space, with the Earth rotating below.
“Nicely done, Mister Hayes,” Nathan congratulated.
“I could’ve done that in my sleep,” Josh groaned.
“Now that we’re in space, let’s do a full systems check before we jump to the Ilyan,” Nathan instructed.
“All systems are functioning as designed,” Aurora assured him.
“Thank you, Aurora, but I’d like my crew to run the checks. They need to know how.”
“Of course.”
Josh turned and looked over his shoulder at Nathan.
“Just do the checks, Josh.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Josh insisted.
* * *
It was the first time Robert had ventured outside since they had set themselves up inside the cave. After spending hours plodding through the wind and snow the day before, he had chosen to let his crew take the first few watches. But now he needed to see for himself.
“Yup, that’s right about where our escape pod is located,” Robert agreed as he watched the hovering Gamaze shuttle through the digital binoculars. “How long?”
“They started circling the area about half an hour ago, but they didn’t start hovering in place until just a few minutes ago,” Mick reported.
“They put any people down?”
“Not that I can tell.”
Robert sighed. “We’re lucky the snowstorm passed; otherwise we’d never have spotted them.”
“Makes it easier for them to find us.”
“Maybe.” Robert looked around, first without, then with the binoculars. “Any other shuttles?”
“None yet, but if they found our pod, then they’ll be coming and soon.”
“Yeah, I know.” Robert handed him back the binoculars.
“What do we do if they come our way?” Mick asked.
“I’ll decide that when the time comes, I suppose. You want me to send Tika out to relieve you?”
“Naw, I’m good,” Mick replied. “But you’d better shut down that reactor.”
“Already did,” Robert assured him as he headed back to the cave.
* * *
“Breaking Earth orbit now,” Josh reported. “Heading for Gamaze.”
“How far to the incident point?” Nathan asked.
“One thousand, three hundred and thirty-nine point seven light years,” Loki replied.
“So one long jump, then a short one?”
“Procedure for the first jumps on a new drive are to start with short-range jumps and work your way up to max-distance jumps,” Cameron reminded Nathan.
“Party pooper.” Nathan looked back at Josh. “Start with one light year, then ten, then one hundred, then five hundred, and then whatever’s left. I want us to be about four to five light years from the incident point, so there can be no doubt that we’re in free space.”
Josh’s eyes shifted up. “One, ten, a hundred, five hundred…uh…”
“Seven twenty-four,” Loki whispered.
“I was getting there,” Josh whispered back. “Initiating first jump.”
The Aurora’s hull was again covered with blue-white light, which quickly flashed as the ship transitioned a full light year in the blink of an eye.
“First jump complete.”
“I want full verification of position and full diagnostics of all critical systems after each jump,” Nathan instructed.
“Yes, sir,” Loki replied.
“Position verified,” their AI announced. “All critical systems are functioning normally.”
“Aurora?” Nathan scolded.
“Apologies, Captain.”
“She just needs to get used to you,” Cameron commented, a slight smirk on her face as she took notes.
“Second jump, ten light years, loaded and ready.”
“Execute,” Nathan instructed.
“Jumping,” Josh announced as another flash filled the bridge. “Jump complete.”
“Position verified,” Loki announced. “We jumped exactly ten light years.”
“So far, so good,” Nathan said.
“All systems are functioning normally,” Loki added.
“Third jump, one hundred light years, loaded and ready,” Josh announced, already becoming bored.
“Let her rip.”
“Jumping.”
Again the pale flash filled the bridge.
“Jump complete.”
“One hundred light years on the nose,” Loki reported. “All systems are still functioning normally.”
“Loading fourth…”
“Belay that,” Nathan ordered, cutting Josh off. “Aurora?”
“Yes, Captain?”
“You’re up. Jump us five hundred light years along present course on my mark.”
“Jump loaded and ready.”
“Execute.”
Again the light washed over them.
“Jump complete. Position verified. All critical systems are functioning normally,” Aurora reported. “Shall I jump us the remaining seven hundred and twenty-four light years?”
“No thanks, we’ll take it from here, Aurora.”
“As you wish.”
“Josh, jump us seven hundred and twenty light years.”
“Seven twenty?”
“Seven twenty,” Nathan confirmed.
“Seven twenty it is,” Josh replied, initiating another jump.
Once the jump flash subsided, Nathan asked, “Aurora, how far are we from SilTek?”
“Six hundred and seventy-five light years,” the ship’s AI replied.
“How long do we need to recharge to be able to reach SilTek in a single jump, not including our emergency reserve?”
“Twelve minutes, eighteen seconds.”
“What are you thinking?” Cameron asked.
“I’m thinking I don’t want to jump into an ambush unless I know I can get to a safe port if things go south.”
“Gamaze ships only have a one-hundred-light-year maximum jump range,” Cameron reminded him.
“According to intelligence,” Nathan replied, obviously not convinced.
“Josh, take a Dragon and stealth jump into position to collect old light from the Ancot’s engagement. Send it back to us via jump comm-drone, then recon the engagement area directly and return.”
“You got it,” Josh replied, practically leaping from his seat.
“I recommend a two-ship recon,” Cameron advised. “It is technically a known hostile area.”
“Good point,” Nathan agreed. He turned to look at the cadet pilots lined up along the back of the bridge. “Talisha, fly Josh’s wing.”
“Yes, sir,” Talisha replied sharply.
“I don’t need a wingman for a recon,” Josh complained.
“Yes you do,” Cameron corrected.
Josh rolled his eyes, sighing. “Come on, Sane.”
“Mister Sheehan, you take the helm,” Nathan instructed.
“Aye, sir,” Loki replied, rising and moving around the front of the console to access the helmsman’s seat on the right side.
“Mister Sorenson, you’re on ops.”
Nikolas suddenly looked pale. “Me?”
“Is that a problem?” Nathan asked. He didn’t look back at Nikolas when he asked, instead looking to Loki, who didn’t show any signs of objection.
“No, sir,” Nikolas replied, moving to the ops station and taking his seat.
Nathan watched as the young cadet looked over the ops console, orienting himself. “Don’t worry, son, we’re most likely going to coast until they get back.”
“Yes, sir,” Nikolas replied.
Nathan turned to his comms officer to his right. “Ensign Dass, I assume you speak Gamazian?”
“Gamazan, yes. All four dialects, fluently.”
“Excellent. Keep your ears open. If there is any chatter, I want to know about it.”
“We are too far away to pick up any transmissions from the Ilyan, Captain,” the comms officer reminded.
“Which is why I want to know if you pick anything up,” Nathan replied, turning to his left. “Laza…How am I supposed to address you? I don’t even know your rank.”
“I am a science officer, first class. I believe the equivalent Alliance rank would be ensign. You may address me as Ensign Soray, if you wish.”
“Not Laza?”
“If you must,” Laza replied. “However, in Jung culture, one does not use first names unless they are closely acquainted.”
“Maybe after we get to know each other a little better,” Nathan said, smiling.
“Perhaps.”
“Very well, Ensign Soray. Active scans, wide sweep. I want to know if there are any other ships in the area.”
“I am familiar with standard post-jump scanning procedures, sir. There are no contacts within two light minutes. I shall continue to scan.”
“Thank you.”
* * *
“This your first time flying an actual Dragon?” Josh asked Talisha as they entered the Dragon ready room.
“Yes, but I’ve got lots of sim-time,” Talisha replied. “They fly a lot like a Nighthawk.”
“Yeah, but faster. You ever use the auto-don suits?”
“The what?”
Josh smiled as he opened a suit locker, stepped on the pad, and turned away from the locker. “You’re gonna love this.”
Talisha’s eyes immediately widened as, one by one, pieces of a flight suit, the likes of which she had never seen, began coming out of the locker and forming themselves around Josh’s limbs. First, the boots slid from either side, encapsulating his feet as they clamped down around the soles of his duty boots. Next, his calves, thighs, buttocks, torso, and arms were all covered.
“Ta-da!” Josh grinned, then reached into the locker and pulled a helmet off the top shelf to complete the outfit.
“Awesome!” Talisha exclaimed. “Which one is mine?”
