stay on their path, you would think it would be safer, except that the universe is not static and that particular asteroid will be nowhere near our path when we get to that point.”
CHAPTER 13
“David, it’s taken us nearly two years, but we’re almost half way. As near as we can compute, we have reached Warp 100 and it will soon be time to begin our deceleration phase.”
“Thanks Roger. It’s too bad we couldn’t have gone this fast from day one. Is there any way you could have miscalculated? At these speeds, we could skip right past.”
“There’s always the chance of error, but several of us did the calculations separately and the computer agrees with us.”
“All right, what now?”
“First we stop accelerating which I’ve programmed the computer to do within the next few minutes and then we will coast at Warp 100 for about two months. During that time, we can shut off the main thrusters and turn the artificial gravity back on. That will be accomplished gradually enough so nobody will have any difficulty adjusting to the reduced gravity. Anybody who has complained about the high g forces will have two months of bliss. This plan allows us to rotate one hundred eighty degrees and begin deceleration at the precise second required. While the thrusters are off line, we can do a little preventive maintenance. I don’t expect any problems, but if they fail while we are at this speed, we will be lost in space with no way to slow down.”
David braced himself expecting some type of body adjustment while the sight of crewmembers jumping around jogged his memory, “Roger, where’s Laura? Isn’t she usually with you at this time?” Roger had been teaching her about the ship and how it worked. Laura was only five years old, but she already showed genius level aptitudes in her studies far beyond her years.
“She’s with Kevin. I haven’t been able to have much time with her since Kevin took her into the simulator bay. She wants to be a pilot and Kevin says she does very well. She should be along soon.”
“Gee, I thought she just wanted to get away from her Dad. Although I’m glad she has shown interest in something.”
The door into the control room opened with a bang and Laura came in, full of energy seeing how far she could jump like a kangaroo instead of walking. “Daddy,” she exclaimed, “look, how far I can jump. I can almost fly.”
David bubbled over with joy as he caught her and threw her toward Roger. She squealed with delight as Roger caught her. “I am flying. Do it again!”
David caught her as Roger tossed her back. He held her a moment, “Darling, I hear you are flying in the simulator with Kevin?”
Kevin came in on cue and Laura ran over to him and playfully hit him in the chest. “Kevin, you told! I wanted it to be a surprise.” She came back over to David, “Daddy, I want to be a shuttle pilot like Mommy!”
Tears flooded his eyes as the pain and emotion of Marie’s death burst again to the surface. He fought hard to control himself as he took Laura’s hand and headed for his private quarters. He walked almost all the way before he could find and control his voice. “Laura, you can be anything you want to be, and I will help you. But I don’t know if I can handle even the thought of you being in danger like Mommy.”
She held his larger hand in both of hers and comforted him as if she were the adult. “Daddy, Warren says you have not faced Mommy’s death and until you do, you will be sad.” They both looked deep into each other’s eyes as she continued, “I can see how much it hurts and I promise I will learn all you want me to learn, but I want to keep learning with Kevin too. Can we continue this way and see how it goes?”
David could hardly believe his ears sensing so much wisdom coming from his daughter. “All right Laura, but I need to have a talk with Kevin. By the way, he didn’t tell, it was Roger.”
He cornered Kevin a short time later intending to
CHAPTER 13
“David, it’s taken us nearly two years, but we’re almost half way. As near as we can compute, we have reached Warp 100 and it will soon be time to begin our deceleration phase.”
“Thanks Roger. It’s too bad we couldn’t have gone this fast from day one. Is there any way you could have miscalculated? At these speeds, we could skip right past.”
“There’s always the chance of error, but several of us did the calculations separately and the computer agrees with us.”
“All right, what now?”
“First we stop accelerating which I’ve programmed the computer to do within the next few minutes and then we will coast at Warp 100 for about two months. During that time, we can shut off the main thrusters and turn the artificial gravity back on. That will be accomplished gradually enough so nobody will have any difficulty adjusting to the reduced gravity. Anybody who has complained about the high g forces will have two months of bliss. This plan allows us to rotate one hundred eighty degrees and begin deceleration at the precise second required. While the thrusters are off line, we can do a little preventive maintenance. I don’t expect any problems, but if they fail while we are at this speed, we will be lost in space with no way to slow down.”
David braced himself expecting some type of body adjustment while the sight of crewmembers jumping around jogged his memory, “Roger, where’s Laura? Isn’t she usually with you at this time?” Roger had been teaching her about the ship and how it worked. Laura was only five years old, but she already showed genius level aptitudes in her studies far beyond her years.
“She’s with Kevin. I haven’t been able to have much time with her since Kevin took her into the simulator bay. She wants to be a pilot and Kevin says she does very well. She should be along soon.”
“Gee, I thought she just wanted to get away from her Dad. Although I’m glad she has shown interest in something.”
The door into the control room opened with a bang and Laura came in, full of energy seeing how far she could jump like a kangaroo instead of walking. “Daddy,” she exclaimed, “look, how far I can jump. I can almost fly.”
David bubbled over with joy as he caught her and threw her toward Roger. She squealed with delight as Roger caught her. “I am flying. Do it again!”
David caught her as Roger tossed her back. He held her a moment, “Darling, I hear you are flying in the simulator with Kevin?”
Kevin came in on cue and Laura ran over to him and playfully hit him in the chest. “Kevin, you told! I wanted it to be a surprise.” She came back over to David, “Daddy, I want to be a shuttle pilot like Mommy!”
Tears flooded his eyes as the pain and emotion of Marie’s death burst again to the surface. He fought hard to control himself as he took Laura’s hand and headed for his private quarters. He walked almost all the way before he could find and control his voice. “Laura, you can be anything you want to be, and I will help you. But I don’t know if I can handle even the thought of you being in danger like Mommy.”
She held his larger hand in both of hers and comforted him as if she were the adult. “Daddy, Warren says you have not faced Mommy’s death and until you do, you will be sad.” They both looked deep into each other’s eyes as she continued, “I can see how much it hurts and I promise I will learn all you want me to learn, but I want to keep learning with Kevin too. Can we continue this way and see how it goes?”
David could hardly believe his ears sensing so much wisdom coming from his daughter. “All right Laura, but I need to have a talk with Kevin. By the way, he didn’t tell, it was Roger.”
He cornered Kevin a short time later intending to
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