hand.
“No, that’s ok. I think a couple of astrophysicists can handle a casserole.” Julie smiled at them and bravely went back into the kitchen, Emma in tow.
018
The Terror.
Francine Pohl, Captain of the Terror, re-read the transmission from Control. They were still two weeks out from Mars on a twenty minute delay under a comfortable 0.2 gravities. They were a long way from whatever happened to Pandora.
She ran a few simulations to see what an intercept with Pandora would look like. For them to catch up, it would take them more than three weeks of heavy burns and they’d be well-past Mars and out of fuel by the time they arrived. She included intercepts for both Calypso and Making Time. Calypso was almost reachable but fuel was still a problem. Making Time was definitely in range if she altered course now. Maybe even with some fuel left over to play with.
She started plotting the course.
“Whatcha doin’, Skip?” Reggie Talbot had an annoying habit of sneaking into the cockpit without making a noise. Francine had considered putting a bell around his neck.
“Plotting some intercept courses.” Their current flight-plan was overlaid on top of a new, emerging trajectory on the big screen in front of them.
Reggie whistled. “Those are some heavy gees, skip. What’s the hurry?” He picked out Making Time on the chart. “Got a date with Wheeler?”
Francine stopped what she was doing and replaced the plots on screen with the message she’d received from Control. She turned her chair and watched Reggie impassively while he read it. Sometimes his smart-assed attitude grated on her. Cocky pilots.
We have lost contact with Pandora. Advising all ships take caution…
He read. The smirk vanishing from his face. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Why don’t you get the crew up. Meeting in five.”
“Aye, skip.” Reggie dropped through the hatch out of the cockpit. Francine resumed her calculations.
*
Five minutes later, the crew had assembled in the galley and gathered around the table. Captain Pohl climbed down the ladder and dropped into the room on her boots.
“Sorry to wake you, Vanessa. We just got a message from Control thirty minutes ago. It’s not easy news. No point in sugar-coating it. We’ve lost Pandora.”
Captain Pohl let that sit for a minute, watching the reactions on her crew. Reggie’d already heard the news. Vanessa Macgregor was still waking up.
Winston Avery was hearing this for the first time as well. He blinked, staring at his captain. “Aw, shit. Any survivors?”
“Unknown, Winston. Only data we have is text-only and some coordinates at the moment.” Francine looked around.
“Malfunction? Collision? …” Vanessa was processing out loud. Waking up quickly.
Francine wrung her hands. “We don’t know that either. This is the extent of the message. It’s on your tablets if you want to read but right now, that’s all the detail we have.”
She paused. “I wish we knew more. In the meantime, check your schedules. No free time. I want diagnostics on every system on the ship. Run the checklist. Then run it again. We may have some hard burns ahead and I want everything tip-top. Dismissed.”
Captain Pohl waited for her crew to get themselves together before she turned back to the ladder and climbed back up to the cockpit.
Vanessa turned to Winston and blinked, her hair forming a curly cloud around her head. “Is there any coffee?”
019
New Providence: Nicola Tesla University.
“Last class we talked about twenty first century Earth. It was the greatest period of technological advancement in human history and we achieved everything we needed in order to start this colony. Huge advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and fusion technology gave us the ability to leave our home planet and set foot on Mars. We’d cured most cancers and were on the verge of extending human life.”
Professor Victor Simenko was gathering his thoughts, pacing in front of the forty
“No, that’s ok. I think a couple of astrophysicists can handle a casserole.” Julie smiled at them and bravely went back into the kitchen, Emma in tow.
018
The Terror.
Francine Pohl, Captain of the Terror, re-read the transmission from Control. They were still two weeks out from Mars on a twenty minute delay under a comfortable 0.2 gravities. They were a long way from whatever happened to Pandora.
She ran a few simulations to see what an intercept with Pandora would look like. For them to catch up, it would take them more than three weeks of heavy burns and they’d be well-past Mars and out of fuel by the time they arrived. She included intercepts for both Calypso and Making Time. Calypso was almost reachable but fuel was still a problem. Making Time was definitely in range if she altered course now. Maybe even with some fuel left over to play with.
She started plotting the course.
“Whatcha doin’, Skip?” Reggie Talbot had an annoying habit of sneaking into the cockpit without making a noise. Francine had considered putting a bell around his neck.
“Plotting some intercept courses.” Their current flight-plan was overlaid on top of a new, emerging trajectory on the big screen in front of them.
Reggie whistled. “Those are some heavy gees, skip. What’s the hurry?” He picked out Making Time on the chart. “Got a date with Wheeler?”
Francine stopped what she was doing and replaced the plots on screen with the message she’d received from Control. She turned her chair and watched Reggie impassively while he read it. Sometimes his smart-assed attitude grated on her. Cocky pilots.
We have lost contact with Pandora. Advising all ships take caution…
He read. The smirk vanishing from his face. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Why don’t you get the crew up. Meeting in five.”
“Aye, skip.” Reggie dropped through the hatch out of the cockpit. Francine resumed her calculations.
*
Five minutes later, the crew had assembled in the galley and gathered around the table. Captain Pohl climbed down the ladder and dropped into the room on her boots.
“Sorry to wake you, Vanessa. We just got a message from Control thirty minutes ago. It’s not easy news. No point in sugar-coating it. We’ve lost Pandora.”
Captain Pohl let that sit for a minute, watching the reactions on her crew. Reggie’d already heard the news. Vanessa Macgregor was still waking up.
Winston Avery was hearing this for the first time as well. He blinked, staring at his captain. “Aw, shit. Any survivors?”
“Unknown, Winston. Only data we have is text-only and some coordinates at the moment.” Francine looked around.
“Malfunction? Collision? …” Vanessa was processing out loud. Waking up quickly.
Francine wrung her hands. “We don’t know that either. This is the extent of the message. It’s on your tablets if you want to read but right now, that’s all the detail we have.”
She paused. “I wish we knew more. In the meantime, check your schedules. No free time. I want diagnostics on every system on the ship. Run the checklist. Then run it again. We may have some hard burns ahead and I want everything tip-top. Dismissed.”
Captain Pohl waited for her crew to get themselves together before she turned back to the ladder and climbed back up to the cockpit.
Vanessa turned to Winston and blinked, her hair forming a curly cloud around her head. “Is there any coffee?”
019
New Providence: Nicola Tesla University.
“Last class we talked about twenty first century Earth. It was the greatest period of technological advancement in human history and we achieved everything we needed in order to start this colony. Huge advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and fusion technology gave us the ability to leave our home planet and set foot on Mars. We’d cured most cancers and were on the verge of extending human life.”
Professor Victor Simenko was gathering his thoughts, pacing in front of the forty
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