World of Good - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“…the greatest place in the Galaxy.”

            Like clockwork, when gravimetric propulsion was taken off line momentarily, there was a quiver from the engines and then the Elevator Effect would occur. We called it that, because it reminded us of getting in an elevator; at the beginning we’re pulled to the floor and upon reaching the designated level, the weightlessness would occur. It had become the routine by now, and all had adapted to it. We played games, dictated letters, and conducted research. The Vlancos had given us enough data to spend a lifetime evaluating their world. But they were behind us now and anxiety grew the closer we got to home. It was estimated that we would reach Wolf 359 in an hour, and from there it was a drop in the bucket to Earth.

            As the moment neared, everyone grouped around the main imager to get a glimpse of the Wolf system closing in on us. Earth was only 7.8 light years beyond the wolf system, and at our current speed, minutes away.

            The ensign was at the controls and spoke to the Major. “According to the Vlanco’s Ravionics, we’re getting some readings that indicate two of the other research ships are dead ahead, about two parsecs from here. Should we slow down to investigate?”

            The major stood there, resolving some calculations out loud. “Let’s see, we’ll need to communicate with Earth under light speed anyway. But if we want to make contact with the research vessels, we’ll have to shut down the Gravimetric propulsion prematurely…in about 10 minutes. Is that about right computer?”

            “11.2 minutes, Major,” corrected the computer.

            “Ensign, did you get that?”

            “Yes, sir.” The Ensign checked some data at his terminal.

            The major turned to me. “I know we all want to get home quickly, but I think we’d be good scouts if we lent a hand to those in need. Once we drop out of light speed we’ll lose a day and, and if we pick up survivors resources are a prime commodity right now. Most of the personnel on the other ships, near the Alpha Centauri, Sirius, and Wolf359 systems, are either dead or in critical condition. If we don’t help them now, it would still be at least another two years before they could return on their own. That, I believe, is too long to be out in space injured. Captain?

            I know how I’d feel if someone passed us by. I looked at Tom, who was in charge of the duty schedule. “How much room do we have on board to take the injured?”

            Tom pulled out his compad. “Well if we rotate bed usage, six bunks would be available.”

            The major stepped in. “We don’t need to rescue the dead, but it would be silly to leave someone alive and injured to fend for themselves. Either way, we need to make a decision quick, because the first ship will be visible in about 10 minutes.”

            I looked around at the others. “I think it’s obvious we need to stop.”

            The major turned to the ensign. “Disengage the Gravimetric propulsion sytsem.”

            “Aye, aye, Major” responded the Ensign.

            We passed the red dwarf star of the Wolf system and the gravimetric system was disengaged. It seemed like we passed through the star system, like a car whizzing by a small town in the back country. Only a few months ago, we were in stasis for years, and soon stasis would be obsolete. Our speed was now decreasing from what we called the HPG-R rate, toward the more modest sub-light speed. We continued to decelerate so as to meet up with the disabled research vessel.        

            The ensign scanned the list of research vessels. “The Conquest, destined for Wolf359 was our first encounter. The Dynasty, headed for the Sirius system, was next. Wolf359 and Sirius were on separate flight paths, but since the two ships were launched at the same time, they should be fairly close to each other.”

            The major glanced at the list. “Ensign, see if you can contact them prior to arrival, so we can arrange docking procedures.” 

            “Aye, aye, Major.” The ensign adjusted the communications to the military wavelength. “Conquest, this is Wayfarer1 of Deep Space Command, do you read me. Conquest, this is Wayfarer1 of Deep Space Command, do you read me.”

            We stood around the console, anxiously waiting for a response from anyone...nothing. After a few minutes, we had a magnified visual on the craft. It was moving at half the speed of light. We closed in on it and matched the speed. Soon we were next to her. We continued to hale her.

            Tom crossed his arms. “I never did understand why they went to the Wolf system, in the first place. It was understood that life, as we know it, wouldn’t survive there anyway.”

            The major rubbed his chin. “There might have been some mining potential there.” After several minutes, his patience ran out. “Why won’t anyone hale us? There must be someone alive.”      

            “It could be that they put themselves into stasis, so as to reduce the injuries any further,” I pointed out.

            “If that’s the case, we’ll have to try to dock at this speed,” said the major. He turned to the rest of us. “Any objections?”

            I didn’t care either way. The vacuum of space really has no bearing on what we do unless there is an object in front of us. And our readings indicated that it was clear for two parsecs.

            “Let’s get to it,” ordered the major. “Computer, continue to match course and speed with the Conquest, while initiating the docking procedures.”

            “Affirmative, major.”

            The computer slowly brought our ship toward the Conquest and when we were a few feet next to her, released the access shroud. It sealed firmly into the locks on the Conquest. Tom and I were to be the first to unlock their access and enter the ship.

            When I entered, as I suspected, the computer was in auto pilot and all personnel were in stasis. I checked the life signs on board. Two out of six men were alive. We manually overrode the controls and set the two men on an awakening cycle. It would take about 30 minutes for them to fully awake.

            We were looking around the vessel for problems, but found no physical damage. After 30 minutes, our sleepers came to life.

            The access door to the cubic opened and an old man crawled out.  “Are we to earth yet?”

            The man looked to be about 150. I looked at the chart and saw he was only sixty seven. The other man hadn’t aged, but did have some serious skin lesions. We quickly rushed them aboard and released the Conquest to follow its course home with its dead.

            The two men explained that all the crew members were awake during the disturbance and recorded every phase of the event. Immediately after they were hit, side affects started appearing. Some experienced rapid cell aging, while others developed cell degradation. When they learned what was happening to them, they opted to slow it down by going into stasis.

            We agreed with the idea and put them right back in the Wayfarer stasis cubicles.  After we got them tucked in, Shelby sat down with me and Tom to ask what had happened.   

            “Did they see anything when they were hit?” asked Shelby.

            Tom glanced back to the cubicles. “It was very peculiar, Shelby. They said they had just come out of stasis to take some readings when they saw a bright light in space. The light developed a dark oval shaped hole in the center of it and expanded, as it approached the ship. The edge of it was the only part of it that hit their ship. As it passed through the area, none of the shielding could repel the effects of the disturbance. I’ve downloaded the information from their ship and hope it gives us a clue to what happened.”

            The effects of the disturbance was always on my mind. What kept nagging me was—why weren’t we affected? And why did we end up across the galaxy, unlike the others? While I pondered some reasons for this dilemma, the Wayfarer’s speed began to increase so as to rendezvous with the next ship, the Dynasty. We found the signature of the Dynasty and within several hours were able to bring the gravimetric propulsion on line. Shelby pointed out the bright star Sirius on our port side, and Alpha Centauri hanging in the distance on the Starboard side.

            “Ah the dog days of summer,” said Shelby.

            Tammy was puzzled. “What do you mean by dog days?”

            “Sirius was known, by the ancient Egyptians, as the dog star, after their god Osirus, whose head in pictograms resembled that of a dog. In Egypt, Sirius shines for most of the summer. Since it is such a bright star, the Egyptians believed that the additional heat from Sirius, combined with the Sun, was responsible for the summer heat. This is where we got the phrase 'the dog days of summer.’”

            “Very interesting, Shelby. Did you get that from an Egyptian history class or the space-net?”

            “Neither—Astronomy 201.”

                       

            It wasn’t long before the Wayfarer approached the Dynasty. We initiated docking procedures and pulled up to the emergency access. We released the access shroud then stabilized air pressure. This time, when Tom and I entered the ship, an alarm went off. I barely turned around to see movement behind me when a figure leaped out.

            “Good heavens someone made it to us!” a woman shouted and lunged for me.”

            Startled and surprised, I fell backward over a large deck screw, and hit my head against the bulkhead. My hands naturally spread out to catch myself and break my fall...but failed to do so.

            Tom rushed the woman and held her back. “Wait a minute, lady.”

             I sat up and rubbed the bump forming on my head. “Ouch!” Who are you?”

            A woman spoke sympathetically. “Oh, I’m sorry, I was so excited to see someone else, I...I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

            Tom released the woman. She had lesions on her face and hands, like she had been out in the sun for months and the blisters had cracked open. It looked painful, to say the least.  Her hair was thinning. She tried to comb it back with her fingers—clumps of hair came out.

            I stood to my feet. “You didn’t frighten me. You, you, surprised me, that’s all.”

            “Are you the only one alive?” asked Tom.

            “No, but my Captain is dead. And since I’m the Executive Officer, I took charge of the ship. The rest of the crew is still in stasis.” She glanced at a mirror on the wall. “Oh my goodness, would you look at my lips.” She dabbed the cuts with her fingers. “I’ve got to find some ointment for it.”

            I followed her to a first aid cabinet. “What’s your name? I’m Alex, and this is Tom.”

            She found some cream and applied it to her lips. “I’m Chris.”

            “Why didn’t you respond to our hale?”

            “I didn’t have time. I was in stasis and programmed the computer to awake me if any approaching vessel invaded our space. When you were docking, I was getting my bearings and was only fully awake as you entered the ship.”

            “I see. So how many of your crew is still alive?”

            She walked to the cubicles. “When I entered stasis, there were five of us alive—two died soon after. I hope the other two made it. It was the strangest phenomena. It penetrated the ship’s shielding like a hot knife through butter and it felt like a hot knife through my body.” She checked the monitor read-out on each one. “It almost depended on where you were in the ship, to how it would effect you, but I really didn’t have a chance to theorize. I’m not a medical expert and the one who was, was killed.” Her eyes watered as she got the results from the last cubicle. “Oh no. Jack didn’t make it,” she moaned. 

            After checking the last cubicle, she sat down on the floor. She put her head in her hands.

            I could see she was still fighting the stasis reversal, as well as the effects of the discharge. “I’m sorry about your crew. With your permission, I’d like to download your ship’s computer. I did the same thing with the Dynasty. We might be able to put two and two together to get some answers.”

            She looked up. “You mean the Conquest was hit also?”

            “All ships 100AU outside Pluto were affected—including mine.”

            “But you look perfectly fine. How did you get through it?”

            “It’s a long story. Right now we need to get you to the Wayfarer, and back to Earth as quickly as possible.”

            Tom and I helped her into the Wayfarer. We opened the cubicles for her and the remaining crew member still alive. We sedated them and so as to reduce any further stress they might incur. After we downloaded the ship’s files, we set the Dynasty for an automatic course heading to Earth.

            Once we were released from the Dynasty, the Wayfarer accelerated for a few hours before the Gravimetric drive was engaged. Everyone was awake now and anxious to get home. No one wanted to be asleep when we entered the heliopause—our last and final leg, back to Earth.

            Later that evening (Earth time), Tom and I were in the lounge, having a few drinks, relaxing, and talking about the side effects of the Discharge.

            Tom mentioned something I hadn’t considered before. “...two freak accidents on both ends of the galaxy. It really is a small universe.”

            “You know, Tom…it just dawned on me that this Discharge may, somehow, be connected to the shock wave in the Vlanco system.”

            Tom smirked. “The Vlanco shock wave? How?”

            “If it’s true that time and space can be folded over one another, then it may be possible this plasma discharge phenomena may, either have caused or was the result of the Vlanco shock wave.”

            “Wow! that’s what I call a leap of faith, Alex. I would concede that the Discharge may have a remote connection to affect the Vlanco system, but how in the universe could the Discharge take place prior to the Vlanco shock wave and yet be created from the shock wave.

            “I wouldn’t be too sure of your assumption, Tom. Time/space is a strange bird. If the universe could be folded over onto itself, it could be that it just seemed like it happened before.”

            “So you’re saying that the Discharge either brought us to the Vlanco system through some sort of rip in space and initiated the shock wave, or the shock wave occurred, causing the rip in space to pull us into the Vlanco system before it started.”

            “Right,” I affirmed.

            “Very hypothetical, Alex.”

            “I guess I’m just trying to put things in a cozy little package.”

            Tom frowned hard. “You may be imagining the whole thing and this is all a dream.”

            I grabbed and twisted his little finger. “Maybe your right. This is all in my mind.”

            “Ouch! Very funny,” he said extending and flexing his hand.

            “It was my duty to confirm your theory.” I stood up. “Let’s take a look at the recording from the Conquest and match it with those on the Wayfarer, maybe we can identify a common thread.”

            Tom followed me to the control center. We found the Major working on some technical data he found in the Vlanco files.

            As we approached, I gave a casual salute. “Major, could I use the console for a minute. I want to test out an idea of mine.”

            “Be my guest,” said the major. He made some adjustments then backed away.    

            I accessed the Wayfarer files and played the shock wave incident side-by-side to the Discharge captured by the Conquest and Dynasty. I played the images a couple times but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

            However, the major’s eyes widened at the third play-back. “Look at that.” he pointed to the images.

            “What?” Tom and I asked in unison. We couldn’t see what the major was pointing at.

            “Start the holofile once again,” said the major.

            I obeyed. “What did you see?”

            “Now fast forward from the Conquest and Dynasty...There!  Stop! Freeze it and set them to the right.”

            I did as he requested.

            “Now reverse the recording of the shock wave...Stop! Freeze-frame it to the left.” 

            We stood back for a minute, to let the images penetrate our minds.

            “Can you see it?” the major reiterated proudly.

            “Yeah,” I said, gawking at the similarity of the two images. It looked like three images with identical characteristics. “So there was a connection! Computer, get a spectral analysis of the two images and determine what, if any, similarities are between the two.

            “Affirmative,” replied the computer. In another minute the computer confirmed what our eyes saw.

            There was an identical molecular structure between the three. When the shock wave broke up into fragments, the smaller component parts of the wave took on the characteristics of the fragment or plasma discharge that appeared in the Epsilon and Wolf systems. It was a fascinating connection, to say the least.          Why was my crew unharmed and why were we expelled to the other side of the galaxy? Did we get lucky and hit the Discharge precisely in a way that opened a door for us to enter then travel through a short access to the Vlanco system? The shock wave may have just skipped through space, in and out of the known universe, like a lightening bolt touching the earth and sky.

            There were still a lot of unanswered questions like: If we did take some kind of short cut to the other side of the galaxy, could we replicate it? Did we go back in time, when we slipped through the rip in space? And if so, did we initiate the whole shock wave event?

            I never did like time/space theory and thinking about going back in time just doesn’t sit right with me… However, a universe folded over on itself that allows us to skip around in space isn’t much farther off than the Gravimetric propulsion system, which is based on curved space. Either way, with all this information, it looked as though scientists were going to have a conniption with all we’ve uncovered. 

* * *

            After pondering my grandiose ideas, I looked around the compartment. The major and the other men were huddled over the imager inspecting a new weapon system on the simulator. Shelby was consoling the new injured passengers. Tammy was holding her side, grimacing as she shuffled through the ship. It was an incredible journey and now we were home.

            I peered out the port hole and noticed some recognizable territory. “Were getting close.”

            The ship shot past the yellow Alpha Centauri A star then the orange Centauri B star on the starboard side in less than a minute. We passed Proxima, the dim red dwarf, which formed the triple star system of Alpha Centauri, and move onward. 

            The crew clustered around a view port anxious to get a peek of something recognizable.

            We entered the Oort cloud, and knew it wouldn’t be long before we reached the Kuiper belt, where the mobile military units stood like sentries.

            This part of space looks awfully familiar,” said Tom.

            “Computer, reallocate propulsion to the Hydrogen PhotoIonic system only,” said the major.

            The Gravimetric drive was disengaged and we started slowing to sub-light speed. The major then sent out a message to Deep Space Central Command, to let them know we were back. The message was intercepted from a mobile unit outside Pluto. It was a long 30 seconds, before a familiar voice was heard on the com.

            “This is the Comstation-2 mobile observatory. Could you repeat your message? It sounded like you said Wayfarer1 has returned.”

            “Parker?” said Tom, “is that you?”

            “God in the Heavens! Dad?”

            “Yes son, we made it back.”

            There was a long pause and finally he came back on. His voice cracked with emotion. “I knew you’d get back! You always come back. I‘ve been manning this post for a 20 days. Everyone else had given up on you, but I didn‘t.”

            Tom grinned broadly. “Son, we’ll be reaching Earth by tomorrow about this time, and won’t be able to stop. But to hear your voice is the best present I’ve had in a long time.”

            “Thanks, Dad. I’ll try to get back to Earth as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I’ll send the good news to Deep Space Command. You can contact them when you get closer. Is everyone else okay?”

            Tom sighed, “The crew’s fine. It’s a very long story. I’ll explain when we have more time. Are the grandkids okay.”

            “They’re my pride and joy, Dad. I’ll sign off now.”

            “A-okay, Son. Over and out.” Tom flipped the connection off, then sat back with a satisfied smile.

             

             The ship continued to decelerate, as it neared the solar system. I sat back comforted with the fact that at this speed my days in stasis will be a thing of the past. I could leave home, do research, and come back on the weekends. If that doesn’t please Carol, I don’t know what will. 

           

            The tension continued to build, as we closed in on the Jovian moons. It was estimated that time of arrival to be in a few hours. When we passed Jupiter and its moons, a brilliant series of lights erupted from Europa, most likely colonists welcoming us home. The command center would have received the good news. Breaking news would be sent to the colonies and Earth. The same event occurred when passed Mars. But it really didn‘t compare to the image of Earth as it grew bigger and bigger in the forward porthole. It was a sight for sore eyes.

            “Wayfarer-1. Major Larson, can you read me?”  The imager came into focus.

            “Yes, Colonel. It’s good to see you.”

            “I still can’t believe your back. The whole world is awaiting your arrival.”

            “I’m honored, Sir.”

            “I’ll meet you and the rest of the crew at the space station, in a few hours, for debriefing.”

            “Yes sir.”

            The major turned around. “Well, hang on to you’re shorts people, it looks like we have a big event on our hands.”

            The Wayfarer gently docked into the cargo bay of the space station where a huge crowd had assembled. Banners were waving, people were cheering and reporters were crowding to the front to get images and reports of the survivors of the Discharge.

            Gathering up our belongings, there was a moment when we just stood still, as a group, when Shelby spoke up.

            “Before we leave I wanted to say something.”

            “Sure, what is it, Shelby?” I asked.

            “You all know I try to give others freedom to be left alone, when it comes to spiritual issues. But right now I’d like to imprison you for a minute.”

            “Imprison?” said Tammy.

            “If you are willing to listen?”

            The rest of us nodded for her to continue.

            Shelby smiled. “Thanks. I just wanted to say that we have a truly awesome God. We have traveled farther than anyone on Earth has ever been and He has brought us home. We have gained knowledge and wisdom, which I hope we will use for the good of man. Thank you all for allowing me to make a journey with you.”

            There was a silent pause…then we spontaneously shook hands and hugged one another. The access opened and we stood ready. The docking bay was full of people. For a brief moment one could hear a whisper. 

            The major stepped out to the entrance. He raised his close fisted hands and shouted. “Its great to be home...the greatest place in the Galaxy!”

            The crowd erupted with a cheer. They swarmed in on us. We felt like heroes as we walked down the ramp through the people, patting us on the back and waving to us. Reporters tried to edge in for a quote, but we managed to keep it simple till our briefing with the military was finished. In the mean time, we fought our way through the throngs of people wanting our autographs, pictures taken with them. 

            We were led to a large meeting room where the Colonel and a few others greeted us warmly.  We gave them a summary of our escapades. Thankfully, they obliged us a transfer shuttle back to Earth to see family, before getting into the finer details of our adventures.

  

            Our shuttle brought us down to the Deep Space Command Center, where we had another opportunity for additional exposure to the mobs. However, not only were there thousands of people there to celebrate, the President of the Continent was there.  In normal circumstances I would have been impressed, but to be honest, all I could think about was Carol. I half expected her to be there, but since she wasn’t in the crowd, I assumed she didn‘t want all the exposure. 

            When I got home Carol was there waiting for me, with some close friends. I embraced her and smelled her familiar perfume. We sat and talked about aliens and highlights of my adventures for awhile. Finally, Carol and I were alone. We just held each other for hours.  The next morning, I awoke to a beautiful sunrise. For the first time, the sun almost looked a little lonely, without two other stars next to it. And I almost missed that turquoise sky.

* * *

            As the weeks passed, and the thrill wore down, and we were back to our old selves again.

            “Honey, could you hang this shelf for me?” asked Carol.

            I was reading my new mystery novel, sipping on a drink. “Well my back had been giving me these twinges.”

            “Does it bother you now?” she asked.

            “Not at the moment.” I set the glass down to adjust the speed on the page.

            “Good then you can hang the shelf for me.”

            “Oh, Oh, I’m starting to feel a twinge in my back.”

            She tipped her head and smiled. I got up and gave her a big hug.

            Yes it was great to be home with Carol, we seemed to really appreciate one another, for once.  I attribute much of it to my Vlanco friend’s advice about balance in my life.

            It’s too bad I had to travel across the Galaxy to realize how important the little things are. I leaned against the garden wall and looked out to the sky. I thought back to my friends on Onos, the world of good. With my arms crossed, I felt a bump underneath my shirt and I pulled open the neck of the shirt, to see what it was. I had almost forgotten about it...the Triclet. In the past I thought that I had to earn perfection on my own and knew I never could…but I was wrong. With God, all things are possible.

The End

This ends the World of Good web-series. I hope you have enjoyed it. Let me know if you would like a web-series sequel and I’ll dredge up some more of my old sci-fi files.

World of Good - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 “...our way home...”

            Two Vlanco spheres towed the Wayfarer1 up to the outer atmosphere of space, where we commenced countdown. The Wayfarer1 was designed to be launched from space, for fuel conservation. Only the emergency antimatter propulsion system could be used from the lower atmosphere. We busied our minds with military protocol, launch procedures, and thoughts of home.

            “...Three, two, one, launch initiated,” said the computer.

            We slowly and gently got underway. No spectacular event, just one last look back at Onos and our friends. 

            I watched Shelby stare back at the Vlanco planet. “You really fit in there, Shelby.  I bet you’d like to clone yourself right about now.”

            “Yeah. That would be nice,” she said daydreaming.

            “You could always return for a visit you know.”

            “Do you really believe that, Alex?”

            “Why not?”

            “I don’t know. I think there may be matters of security in which the UCE will delay trips to the Vlanco system. I can’t explain it. I just have this funny feeling. I guess that‘s why I’m feeling a little blue.”

            “I wouldn’t worry about it. Things have a way of working out in the long run. Think about home and your family.”

            “I never really doubted I would return to my family.”

            I hope what Shelby felt was only a feeling. In the future, I truly wanted to see a cooperative relationship with the Vlancos. At any rate, we needed to settle in to our new quarters, as this would be home until we stepped back on Earth. Other than a third of our day spent on leisure, we had decided on taking work shifts. Half the crew monitored systems operation, while the other half slept.  There were ten bunks available to the crew, but even with adequate sleeping arrangements, it still made quarters tight. The Sojourner was four times the size of Wayfarer1 and was designed for exercise, play, work and sleep. The Wayfarer didn’t have the luxuries and was designed primarily for experimental research—strictly a no frills ride. In a perfect scenario, it was estimated that the Wayfarer would reach Earth in 11 days. 

            The first day was non eventful, with the exception of nervous energy from us returning travelers.  Shortly, after the 21st hour and passing light speed, that strange turbulent side effects, the major experienced, emerged again.

            “What is happening?” said Shelby, sitting in her seat, holding her head.

            The rest of us staggered around, like we were on a merry-go-round. The Ravion interlink continued its side effect for several minutes.

            “Hold on while I make some adjustments,” said the major.

            The major quickly entered the alterations to reduce the effects. We were still recovering from the last event, when the effects occurred about 60 minutes later. It didn’t have the same intensity as the first one, but it still was enough to shake up the crew. The ensign, Tammy, and Tom were sleeping quietly, unaware of the nuisance we were being subject to. The rest of us complained of vertigo and headaches.  We held tightly to our equilibrium, until the first event subsided, hoping it would be a long time before it restarted.

            Shelby strode up to the major. “We cannot continue like this. You only went 100 light years on your test flight—we have to go 25,000.” She elbowed her way to the monitor. “Let me see those calculation adjustments.”

            “I still have a couple other options to try,” protested the major.

            “Hold on a second,” said Shelby, curtly. “You’ve had three times to make your adjustments. Give me a chance at this.”

            The major backed off. Shelby was an expert navigator, so it couldn’t hurt to let her have a go at it.

            After Shelby scanned through the program a several minutes, she pointed at an error. “Major, you can’t do it this way. “It violates the basics of Astrometric fundamentals.”

            “But these are the calculations the Vlancos gave me before I left,” he protested.

            “You can’t think Vlanco when you’re using the interlink with Earth technology.  We must think in terms of a marriage…where two entirely different personalities have to find common ground for a peaceful existence.”

            She did some more calculations, and worked with the computer to find the errors in the Vlanco modifications, and develop a new, more refined strategy. 

            “According to this data,” she said reviewing the results, “there is no modification that can completely solve this dilemma.”

            I peeked over her shoulder. “You mean we’re stuck with this crazy space sickness the whole trip?            “Therefore,” Shelby continued, “it seems more appropriate that we strategically disconnect the Ravion system temporarily, just prior to entering every turbulent period—then reinitialize the connection, after the turbulence ends.”

            “But if we do that the navigation will be thrown off—wont it?  I asked.

            “Yes it will,” said Shelby, “but not as significantly as you might think. Let me explain. When the Ravion system is brought back on line, it will immediately see the error and make the appropriate compensations during the Hydrogen PhotoIonic phase of propulsion. During this phase, we may notice minor gravity fluctuations, but not the turbulence we’ve been experiencing during the Gravimetric phase.”

            “I like it.” I said.

            She pushed back from the monitor. “However, our speed will be altered. The ship will increase its speed at a decreased rate, which will considerably slow down our estimated time of arrival.”

            “Oh, oh, I knew there would be a snag.”

            The major cut in. “Okay, lets have it Shelby, what’s the new ETA.”

            “Well. It may take up to a … month.”

            “Just a month?” I said. “You had me worried there.”

            “Maybe two at the most,” she corrected.

            The major sighed. “I thought you were about to say years. What are we waiting for? Agreed?”

            I nodded. “Make the adjustments Shelby.”

            Shelby initiated the new adjustments just as the turbulence returned.

            “Oh no! This again!” said the sergeant entering the room. Can’t we do something about this?”

            “Working on it,” said Shelby, furiously moving her hands across the screen. “We need to wait this one out. I can’t do it mid-stream.” She quickly wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her wrist.

            We had to grin and bear it one more time, struggle to keep from throwing up before Shelby could make the final modifications. We knew it was vital to accomplish this task, because it was evident we couldn’t tolerate the reoccurring turbulence all the way back to Earth. Shelby finished the modifications and was ready with a minute to spare.

            Finally, it was time for the next event. We all held on to the furniture like we were about to go through an amusement park ride. A small quiver in the engines was heard, but no turbulence. As we moved through the cabin, we notice the pull of gravity about three times greater than Earth one minute, while the next minute, it was like walking on the Moon. We all agreed this was the pleasant alternative, and settled on the new modifications. 

            The second shift awoke, not knowing what we had experienced, and before we could explain what had happened, the gravity started changing. 

            “Whoa, what is this all about,” said Tammy, trying to adjust for the gravity’s mutation.

            “This is awful,” said Tom, “we have got to investigate why the ships gravity is fluctuating this way.”

            The rest of us looked at one another, and rolled our eyes. 

            The sergeant walked over to Tom. “My friend, you don’t know how good you’ve got it,” he said, slapping him on the back.

            “What do you mean, did I miss something?” said Tom, innocently.

            “You missed a lot, buddy,” I said, “I’m goin’ to bed. Ask Shelby to explain.

* * *

            After my nap, I went to get something to eat in the dining area. I sat dreaming of the homecoming. Carol must be worried sick that I haven’t returned—that is, if they brought her out of stasis. I couldn’t believe what a whirlwind trip we have had. And to think we are on our way home is incredible. I didn’t think I would see Carol, Earth, and my old friends, ever again. Now we have a chance...but we’re not back yet. I probably should expect the worse. On this journey, anything could and does happen.

            Tammy walked in holding her hand over her stomach. “Hey
Alex, do you have any antacids? I have some really painful indigestion.”

            “Sure.” I pulled out a bottle from a cabinet, and tossed it at her. “You look like a ship listing in the water. Did you have a bad lunch?”

            “Well, I felt the same thing, just before we left Onos. It went away, so I didn’t worry about it...but now it’s back and it hurts.” She popped the pills and held her hands on the pained area.

            Tom passed by our room reading his compad. “Hold on a minute. Hey, Tom. You assisted a medical team in the Titan uprising, what do think this is.”

            Tom tucked the compad in his pocket and stepped in the room. “Where does it hurt, Tammy?”

            “Should we get everyone in here so I only have to point this out twice? Right here.” she pointed at her lower intestine.

            “You mean here.” Tom pushed two fingers on the left side and just above the groin. 

            “Owe! Yeah, that mmm...” she gritted her teeth, and exhaled, “...was it.”

            Tom felt Tammy’s forehead. “Your burning up girl.”

            “I just thought it was getting hot in here,” she said. She breathed slowly and deeply.

            “I hate to say this, but I think you’ve got appendicitis. And Tammy, we need to take care of it right away.”

            “We who? Who’s going to take care of it?”

            Other crew members heard the commotion and mingled at the entrance of the room.

            “Does anybody else having any training in this,” said Tom, to the crew.

            We looked at each other, but no one responded.

            I patted Tom on the shoulder. “I guess it’s you buddy.”

            “Then get the 3D portable imager and call up the files on an appendectomy,” Tom ordered. 

            The sergeant followed the orders, while the rest of us hovered around, like buzzards.

            “Tom,” Tammy whined, nervously. “You aren’t a doctor. Can't we just wait until we get home?

            “We could take that risk, Tammy, but from what I’ve heard about ruptured appendixes, its pretty painful, and I think a drain is inserted in the incision for awhile, and recovery is a lot longer, and—”

            “Okay! I get the picture. Can’t we do anything on this trip without having another tragedy?!” She stomped her foot, then grimaced from the stomp.

            “Hang on Tammy, this kind of surgery is a piece of cake, don‘t worry about it.” He turned to me and whispered, “I hope.”

            The sergeant came over with the equipment. “Where do you want it?”

            “Right over here. Set up the imager next to Tammy and we’ll use it as our guide.”

            We laid Tammy out on the table, anesthetized her, then started the computer program. Before she went to sleep she reached over to Tom’s wrist and said, “Be gentle, honey, be gentle.” She went limp.

            Tom looked at me with trepidation. “I need you to assist.”

            “I’m right with you.” I turned to the others. “Give us some space.”

            The others moved back and we looked at the projection to the side. The computer program showed three dimensional image of an individual, laying next to Tammy, waiting to be operated on. The virtual doctor made the incision in the abdomen of his patient. Tom did the same on Tammy. As the virtual doctor did his procedure, Tom followed completed a reciprocal move. Every now and then, there would be some blood covering the internal organs, but we would pause the virtual doctor till we got back on track.  

            The sergeant walked by to check on our progress. When he smelled the stench and saw the blood, he shuffled away holding his stomach.

            Hey! where are you going?” I said laughing at the sergeant. “I can’t believe a military, macho guy like yourself can’t stand a little operation.” 

            He waved me off, as he worked his way back to his bunk.

            Finally, it was to the point in the operation to crimp the appendix, next to the large intestine, and removed it. Tom watched carefully and completed his part flawlessly. Everything went well, even down to the Dermisglue for the incision, which shouldn’t leave a scar, if done properly.

            Tom wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist. “Whew! Thank the programmers for the emergency surgeon files.”

            We washed up and I congratulated him for a job well done. Tammy laid quietly asleep on the surgical table with sensors attached to her.

            “I think you may have another calling, Tom,” I said, grinning like a proud papa.

            “Computer,” Tom called out, “Continue to evaluate her vital signs and alert us to anything urgent we may have to respond to.” He turned to the rest of us. “She’ll be laid up for the rest of the trip, so let’s baby her.”

            I smiled. “I don’t know, Tom, all this attention from a bunch of men may go to her head.”

            “Alex, I don’t believe any amount of attention will be enough for Tammy.”

* * *

           

            At the Deep Space Command Center, the five person council had to decide whether or not manned exploration should continue. With the loss of the Sojourner5 and the Wayfarer1, they were representatives of the Continents of Earth and had to make a decision. They were leaning heavily towards discontinuing the program.

            General Keagan ended the discussion with, “We’d only be throwing good money after bad.”

            “Okay,” said the Colonel, “I think we all understand. You’ve made your points General, now are we ready to take a vote?”

            The members of the council looked around, but no one raised an objection.

            “Then can we have a show of hands for those who would like to continue the manned Deep Space program?”

            Dr. Sanyo was the only person to raise his hand.

            “I guess that means, the majority has decided and agree to the Generals unmanned probes for further deep space exploration. This doesn’t mean the manned space program will be discontinued for ever. It just means that until we have a high probability that conditions in the area are safe for explorers, we will put it on hold. Are we agreed?”

            Everyone nodded. After several days of debate, the meeting was adjourned and over. The members shook hands, as they made their way out of the room.

            The lieutenant appeared at the door and peeked his head in. “Colonel. Captain Livingston's wife is on the line.”

            “Thanks, lieutenant. I’ll take it in my office. Oh and lieutenant, set up a meeting Wednesday for the council to decide on the strategy for developing and launching the new unmanned probe mission.  Also notify the Media that they will be briefed on the vote and further details.”

            “So the manned missions are out?”

            “That’s affirmative,” replied the colonel, chewing his cigar. “Now give me a few minutes peace and quiet.”

            The colonel shut his office door, took a deep breath, went to the imager and took the message. 

            “Mrs. Livingston, so how are things going for you,” said the colonel, as though she were a breath of fresh air.

            “I know I’ve bothered you incessantly, since you brought me out of stasis, but no one else will give me a straight answer.”

            “What about, my dear?”

            “What the chances are that Alex and his crew will be able to make it back home.”

            The colonel sighed and combed back, what little hair he had, then leaned back in his chair. “To be honest, Carol ... I don’t know if they will make it back. Major Larson, left with the experimental ship Wayfarer1 to retrieve them, but we haven’t even heard from them.”

            “But surely there must be something you could do?” she said, with a quiver of desperation in her voice.

            “There is always hope. But we have to move on with what we have, not with what we’d like to have. The chances are real slim, Carol. That doesn’t mean we should forget them. We just voted on a plan to institute the unmanned deep space probes today. So we won’t be able to interact like we did with the manned program. We will still have eyes and ears out there. And we won’t be as financially strapped, like we were with the manned program. This will allow us to send more probes out to investigate the possible whereabouts of the two ships.”

            “Well...that‘s something.” said Carol, tears welling up. “I don’t know if I could survive knowing we were abandoning our military people in space.”

            “Listen to me. Never will I abandon one of my men. Until I have hard evidence, I just consider them missing. I know all this is difficult for you, Carol. Is there anyone you can talk to about all this?”

            “My family has been very supportive. And thank you for the information. Please let me know if you hear anything...anything at all.”

            “You bet I will. Just hang tough. I’ll do the best I can.”

            Carol exited the imager, and the colonel smacked the OFF button, and rubbed his temples.

            “Phew, of all the things I have to do in this place, this is the hardest part of my job.  I’d give my right arm for even a piece of scrap waste from one of those ships, to give me a hint where they might be.”

World of Good - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

 “...final preparations...”

            With the help of Shelby, the major, and the Vlanco scientists, modifications for integrating the Ravion device to Earth technology went well. A navigational and propulsion marriage was made, and a test flight was in order. The major and I agreed to man the test to a destination for a star system, with a red dwarf, 100 light years away. Back home, we could do it in a life time. The trip to the red dwarf would only take three days.

            Once achieving light speed, the Gravametric propulsion supercharged our speed as expected. However, once the traditional navigational course adjustments started degrading, the Ravion interlink engaged and caused serious side effects. It was as if someone had turned on an erratic strobe light, which was felt from one end to the ship to the other. At one moment, I felt like I was in a slow motion animation movie, and then in an instant, it was as if nothing happened at all. Then came the headaches. Every time we doubled our speed, the strobe/slow motion episode would increase in frequency. This was just a hundred light-year test. If we were to travel several thousand light years, it would become a horrendous torture. This was one big bug we had to iron out. 

            On the whole, the test was successful. We returned to Onos not only precisely where we wanted to be but precisely when we expected to return. This was revolutionary. Never did I see more excitement from a group of people than from my crew. And never did I see Earth as close as it seemed at this moment. It may be doable, but it would be a bumpy doable.

* * *

            Dale was playing a 3D handheld electronic game when Shelby walked in on him. He failed the last level and tossed the game aside. He stared out the porthole.  Shelby sat down next to Dale with a glint in her eye.

            “Dale? I thought you’d be excited now that we actually may have a chance to get back to Earth,” said Shelby.

            “Oh, yeah that’s great,” he said, pensively.

            “Why didn’t that sound like you meant it?”

            “I guess I’m still thinking of Quin.”

            “Hmm, oh yes, Quinn.” Shelby couldn’t contain her smile.

            “Why are you so happy, Shelby?”

            “I just found out that Quin is awake and has been completing some rudimentary movements in the last several days. Do you want to see her?”

            “Maybe.”

            “What’s wrong Dale?”

            “What do you mean by that?”

            “You know you have to let this guilt go. Go visit her.”

            “Who are you? My big sister?” He paused. “It’s not that I feel guilty so much. It’s that I feel kind of nervous to see her again. I mean, we were starting to really enjoy one another and...and after the accident...she—

            “Might not remember you?” interrupted Shelby.

            “Yeah, she might not even know who I am.”

            “Well, Dale, the best way to resolve your questions, is to visit her and find out.”

            He jumped up and looked down at Shelby. “Ya don’t think I know that!” he roared. “I’m petrified.”

            Shelby didn’t even flinch. “Dale, are you afraid she might not remember you or are you afraid she might not like you?”

            He closed his eyes a moment. “Yeah, that’s really it,” he said despondently. “Don’t tell anyone, Shelby!” I have to keep up appearances.

            “Appearances?”

             Dale scratched his arm. “I guess I was hoping she would, um, love me like I...you know,”

            “What Dale?” she asked, innocently.

            “Like I...love her,” he whispered quickly.

            Shelby could hardly, contain her smile, and before completely bursting out in laughter, said, “Go! Go talk to her, you nut.” She sprang up and pushed him hard toward the door, then stood with her hands on her hips. “Do you want me to come along, again?”

            “Naw. I can go by myself. Thanks Shell.”

            She kicked him in the butt. “Then get going.”

 * * *

            It felt like dejavou.  He entered the hospital, and proceeded to the greeting room to find out if he could see her.

            “Hello,” said Dale, nervously to the medical assistant, “I’m here to see if I can visit Quin again.”

            “Oh yes, Dale, the Earth person. Quin was moved to another room a week ago.”  The assistant checked the monitor. “Yes, at this moment, she is in the dining area. She has mentioned your name several times, since she woke.”

            “Really?” Dale replied with a surprised smile. His smile changed to a worried frown.  “In a good way?”

            “Yes, I believe so Dale. To meet her, take this directional finder, and it will lead you to her.” The assistant handed him the device.

            “Thanks.”

            Dale was still nervous, to see her, but when he entered the room, and saw her taking small steps through parallel bars, his heart jumped. She looked up from her feet to see him and gave him a big grin. He was so relieved to see she had remembered him he forgot his fears and walked toward her. As he approached her, she moved up and kissed his cheek, tenderly. She teetered a bit and put one hand on Dale’s arm to steady herself. She stepped back and looked at him sweetly.

            Dale could feel his face was warming. 

            “Oh my, Dale, you are starting to look like my kind.”

            He chuckled and touched his own face. “Yeah. I must be beet red.” He sucked up a knot in his throat, as he wiped a tear from his eye.

            They sat down together and talked for hours…as if they hadn’t been apart for a minute.

* * *

            Later that evening, Dale caught up with Tammy at the ship and began to reminisce. “Tammy, I’ve heard how people say couples begin to look like each other as they get older; but do they also think like each other as they get older...like mixing colors, after stirring the bright yellow with the bright red, orange will result?”

            Tammy pulled back to view Dale as if he were a foreign specimen. “What brought that on? I think it’s the first time I ever heard you philosophize.”

            “Earlier today I was talking to Quin, and she said...something that got me thinking about race and relationships. I was hoping that through time we may become a close part of each other. But the trick was to figure out how I could take on her good parts without her absorbing my bad parts. It’s like I’m a leach, and I don’t want her to have to get rid of my bad habits by drawing blood.” 

            “I’m not sure what you trying to say. But it’s obvious you like her…don’t you? But you’re not going to stay here, are you?”  Dale wobbled his head and squinted into space.

            “Are you serious, Dale?  What have these people done to you?”

            “I don’t know?! Dale said flustered. “They have a ton of answers and something about them makes me want to listen to ‘em.”

            “Well I originally thought they were kind of fun, but when Derngo mentioned that all Vlanco men saved sex for marriage, that’s when I knew I was in trouble.”

            “What do you mean trouble.”

            “Let me explain the equation Dale, no sex equals no fun.”

            “I’ve had fun with you, and we’ve never had sex.”

            “Your different Dale, you’re a friend.”

            “Friends have weddings and friends have health, ‘cause when they aren’t they lose their wealth,”  he said, as he sang an old jingle.

            “What drug are you on?”

            “Remember that Public Service Announcement that said  ‘Lose a virus - save a friend,’ You know - back when the group sex parties became popular, because of the relaxation of the porn laws?”

            “Oh yeah, during the Europan uprising, I remember. But that didn’t stop me, I did it anyway, whether it was legal or not.  I guess I’m just a girl who like to have a good time,” she said with a sultry voice.

            “Well I took ’em pretty serious. A buddy of mine got the neuropetulous virus and ended up barely walking and talking.  After that, I was mucho careful about sex.”

            “But Dale, that’s what science is for.  Don’t you remember, within a year, they found a vaccine to prevent it.”

            “Great, tell that to my buddy who got it before the vaccine arrived... and besides, we’re getting way off the subject. For once, it‘s nice to be around people who really care and listen to what you say without expecting something.”

            “Well, I’ve got to give you that one Dale. They are the most honest guys I’ve ever met.  Remember that kid I told you about? The one that lied and cried about doing it.” Dale nodded. “I still can’t get over how strict they are with themselves.  I’d go nuts trying to be as perfect as they try to be.”

            “Hmm, that would normally have bugged me, but now I’m okay with it. But I’ll tell ya, Tammy, after the shock wave experience, it fully convinced me, what I’m doing is right.”

            “Why? I know it was a strange phenomena, but…what else?”

            “Oh yeah, right,” said Dale, “just a strange phenomena.”

            “I’m serious Dale. Just like the Discharge that brought us here in the first place, it’s another strange Galactic Phenomenon.”

            “Are you kidding? The odds of the shock wave occurring just when the Negritee were surrounding us, is astronomical. And besides, who’s to say the Discharge didn’t occur because the Creator didn’t want it to happen.”

            “The Creator?  You’re starting to sound like them.” She paused and twiddled with her hands.  “Listen, think what you want Dale, but other than entertainment, science has been my night in shinning armor.  All of my questions have been resolved through science, not some squishy-squashy, sacred, twaddle.”

            “I don’t know when I’ve seen you so defensive, Tammy.”

            “It’s because were talking about this spiritual crap, which, by the way, is a first for you.”

            “Well, we’ve gotta change sometime,” Dale said proudly.

            “Urr,” Tammy growled, then eventually mustered up some composure. “Dale, I just don’t think you fit in here.”

            “I don‘t fit here, just as much as I don‘t fit on Earth, so what‘s the difference?” He reached for her arm, gently. “Listen, Tammy. They’ll be a real good influence on me, and ‘ll help me to smooth out my emotional rough spots...It’ll be good for me.”

            “You’re not going to become some sort of fruitcake are you?”

            He smirked lightly. “Me? Ha! That’s rich.”

            She stirred the floor with her foot, arms crossed “Well... actually I’m glad, Dale. Glad you have something to hang on to...and I’m going to miss you. I’ve already lost Chip’s endless needling, and now you going away too.”

            “Thanks, Tammy. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

            He reached over and gave her a hug and held each other for a good moment, before releasing themselves. They looked around to see if anyone was watching and wiped the moisture from their eyes.

* * *

            The crew members from both vessels were excited to make the final preparations for the trip back to Earth. I was instructing the crew to download as much data as possible to the Wayfarer. The Sojourner was going to be left on Onos. The major was trying to glean some last minute details from Spaest and the other scientists, before returning to the Wayfarer. 

            That last night was the most enjoyable time I had in a long time.  All the Vlancos, I made friends with, were there to celebrate our return to Earth. Even Anon, made a special trip to the metropolis, so that he could give us some last words of advice.

            Anon was a wealth of wisdom, I still wish we had more like him in our solar system. I sat with him alone in the control room while sipping on a drink.

            “How I can stay good in a mixed up world, Anon?”

            Anon spoke in his usual authoritative demure. “You must first stay close to the Creator. When you have a desire to please Him, your actions will fall into place. Remember, Alex, you must rely on the Creator first, all else should be subordinate.”

            “But how can I put God first, that just would mean my family, work, etc. would never be attended to.”

            “No, no, no. If the Creator is first, then all else will be taken care of. Putting Him first is like a covering on everything in your life. He understands your needs and will provide you the knowledge to respond to your world, and take care of those things you have no control over. Remember also what I told you earlier about striving for perfection. Do not strive to test how mighty your strength is to resist evil, but accept your weakness and keep evil far away from you. Evil is cunning, and sneaks up on you when you least expect it.”

            When he said that, I recalled the game ‘Red Light, Green Light;’ a game I played as a child.  When I was the  Light I would call out “Green light!” close my eyes, and turn around, while the neighborhood kids would sneak up to me, trying to touch me before I turned back around. When I thought they were getting close, I would turn around and yell “Red light!”  If they were moving when I saw them, they would be sent back to the beginning. Most of the kids couldn’t make it to me, because they were so anxious to get to me, it was blatantly obvious to see them move. However, there were some real cunning kids that hung around on the outer edges—slowly inching there way forward. I was so busy looking at the kids in plain sight, I was caught off-guard by the ones around the edges. When I turned around, they were right in my face, totally surprising me. And once touched, I was sent down to the other end. 

            In cases of murder, or assault I would swear never to do.” But even with them, it could start with a hurt, then an angry thought, then the first hit, and eventually an uncontrollable urge to commit unspeakable acts. These are the things that don’t just happen to others; it happens to all of us. Maybe not to the extent of murder, but anything in little insidious ways that separate and disrupt relationships.

            Since I’ve been here, I have learned rather than fear or resist evil, I need to concentrate on embracing virtue. I don’t know what kind of impact it was having on the rest of the crew, but visiting these people has certainly changed my life. Would this be a temporary experience or a change of a lifetime?

* * *

            Although it hadn’t been tested, the scientists felt confident about the new requirements, to reduce the effects of the Ravion/Gravametric interlink. They downloaded the new parameters into the majors compad. The major made a few alternate adjusments and was ready to get back to the Wayfarer.

            The major closed down his compad and turned to Spaest. “Thank you for this Ravion device. If it wasn’t for that, we would probably never have a chance to make it back to Earth.”

            Spaest smiled and nodded. “Your appreciation is noted, my friend.”

            “You know, Spaest, when you told me that you listened in on our conversations, coming in to the system, I thought it would have been very interesting to listen in on the Negritee command during the shock wave event.” 

            “Oh, you are interested in the event, Peter?”

            “How could I not? If we hadn’t reversed course, I suspect we would floating in space as we speak.”

            “If you would like, we can replay the data on the event from the Negritee flag ship ‘Carpusian’ and one of its escorts. We used the Ravion equipment to infiltrate their vessels.”

            The major grinned. “Your kidding!”

            “No Peter, I do not kid.”

            “Great, let’s hear it then.

            They walked over to the console to access the time and day of the Ravion operating accounts. Spaest initiated the sequence of events on board the ship, fifteen minutes prior to the shock wave.

            The visuals were only slightly distorted, but the vocals were crystal clear. The anger of the Negritee Premier, Disguman, was increasing, with every second of silence from the Vlancos. He hated to be ignored.

            The Negritee Premier muttered a vow to exterminate every last Vlanco. “High Commander, we can not wait much longer. Inform the other fleets that we will commence the final assault, at my command.”

            “Yes, 3rd Premier.”

            Chip patted his sealed container containing the Tara 100. It seemed he had his back-up plan for power if the Negritee got any smart ideas.

            Disguman paced the floor, nervous that the Vlancos were up to something; but he wasn’t about to wait too long for them to retaliate. “High Commander, set the attack sequence for two minutes, and scan the area for any Vlanco space craft. I suspect a trap.”

            “Yes, 3rd Premier.”

            While the commander made preparations, Disguman saw Chip cradling his container.

            “What is in the container, Earth alien?”

            “Nothing you can handle,” Chip said defiantly. 

            Unknowingly, Chip said the wrong thing to the wrong Negritee. Before Chip knew it, Disguman had grabbed the container and was about to open it. 

            “Don’t do it,” said Chip. 

            Disguman’s face turned red. “Why is there something you are trying to hide!”

            “No, but you must be careful or it will blow us all to kingdom come.”

            “You think me a fool!”

            Chip kept one eye on the container. “No I don’t. But you will be if you open that. It contains enough power to destroy—

            “I have heard enough! I did not become 3rd Premier by being naive, he said, as he unscrewed the lid.

            “Don’t” screamed chip, as he dove for the container. It was too late. 

            The quantity of Tara 100 was so great that when Disguman release it into the air, the explosion was immense and devastating. The imager went blank at this point as it was a record from the Carpusian.

            Spaest reached over to the monitor controls. “It seems this view doesn’t illustrate the effects of the disturbance. In a moment, you will see that the explosion on the flag ship wasn’t the only concern for the Negritee. Here we are.”

            Spaest found the wider view outside the vessels. Space, on the dark side of the planet Onos, lit up the sky as great as a hot summer day. In all, the Carpusian, three cruisers, a battleship, and a hundred fighters, were either destroyed or badly damaged.

            The major gasped. “Now I know what your people were talking about when the said they saw an extremely bright light.”

            Aside from the explosion, was the energy wave that moved out from the center of the Vlanco planetary system. The three other fleet commanders were preparing for the attack , when the energy wave hit. The wave started out very porous, almost vaporous. As it expanded out into space it became more solid, like a bubble.

            Spaest stood with his hands clasped behind his back. “I have not had a chance to critique the event, Peter. Notice how the bubble-like structure gains speed as it expands outward.”

               The Negritee fighters, in front, were the first to be hit. As the wave rolled onward, it picked up and rolled over every vessel in its path. They looked like driftwood moved along by a great ocean’s current. No amount of thrust from the engines could release them from its grip. If the vessels, caught in the wave, weren’t damaged from the explosion, they were either carried into space or ripped apart from collisions with other ships in proximity. The Carpusian and nearby vessels, were completely obliterated, but the debris continued to tumble outward, along with the rest of the ships. All Negritee vessels were helplessly pulled deeper and deeper into space, until they could posed a threat to no one.

            “This is incredible footage,” said the major.  “Is it permissible to get a copy of this?”

            Spaest stood with a downcast expression. “Certainly Peter. However, in many ways, it is very sad.”

            “How so? They had no mercy on your people.”

            “It is very simple Peter. To know the Creator is life, to ignore Him is death.  They were so strong in their science but lacked so much in their heart.”

            “What do you mean, Spaest?” asked the major.

            “It may take some time to discuss this matter with you, and I do not believe we have time. I suggest you converse with Shelby or Alex. They can explain my meaning.”

            “Alright, thank you, I will.”  The major looked at his wristcom.  “Oh, you’re right, I completely lost track of time. I must be getting back to the ship.”

            “Yes, quite right Peter. You must be on your way. You have an important schedule to keep, and your friends are waiting. I will be there to see you off at the launch.”

            The major, shook hands warmly, before dashing back to the Wayfarer.

            Back at the Wayfarer, both crews, were loading supplies and following the final procedures for the trip back to Earth.  If there was more room on board, specimens from a variety of disciplines, would have been loaded. Due to the cramped quarters, supplies had to be limited. 

            Tammy let out a breath and sat down on a box of stores. “Do we really need so many food supplies, Alex? Don’t we expect to be home in a few weeks?”

            I glanced up from checking off the list. “It is always better to prepare for the worse, and hope for the best, Tammy. Survival has priority over luggage.” I rechecked the list on my compad. “And everything seems to be in order.”  I looked up to see Tammy fidgeting where she sat.

            “Good, and not anytime too soon,” she said, rubbing her hands.

            “Is there anything you’ll miss on Onos, Tammy?”

            “Yeah, their entertainment, it was incredible...,” then without warning, her countenance moved into a gloomy one. “And Dale.”

            “Ah, Dale.” I put my arm around her. “I will too, Tammy.”

            Tom poked his head into the room. “Alex, they’re waiting for us outside. “Is everything ready?”

            Tammy saluted. “Yes sir, Tommy. All is well. We’ll be right out.”

            We straggled out to the front of the Wayfarer to say goodbye to many dear new friends and one old one. There were was a large crowd assembled. The local media had scanners to report the launch to the rest of the Tri-star system.  Dale was standing next to Quin, who was seated in some sort of hover-wheelchair.

            Dale ran over to talk to us, before retreating back to the onlookers. “Don’t forget to tell my parents, that I’ll miss them.”

            “Sure, no problem,” I said. “ By the way Dale, you and Quin seem to be hitting it off.”

            “Yeah, but confidentially, I have a lot to learn about their courting patterns....  Actually, It’s pretty cool. Relationships move just like I like ‘em—slow.”

            “You mean slowly, don’t you?” said Tammy. We all took a step back for a moment, startled.

            I smiled. “Well it looks like Chip had some good spillover effects, after all.”

            “Well you take care of yourself bud.” I reached out to give Dale a noogie.

            Dale pulled back . “No you don’t. Not this time.” He scooted behind Shelby.

            I laughed. “I’ll settle for a handshake!”

            But before he knew it, we all had grabbed him in a group hug. We squeezed until a few tears came. Dale shuffled back into the crowd, while the rest of us waved goodbye. We didn’t know for sure, if we’d ever see them again.

            The Vlancos now know that us Earth people have the technology to instantly fly to any part of the galaxy we wished. I’m sure they hoped we would consider ethics an essential part in discovering and cooperating with other cultures. Meanwhile, one culture we will be keeping our distance from is the Negritee. If I were them, I would be having second thoughts, before pursuing another conquest with the Vlancos.