Open Writing

Earth orbit
November, 2515

The silvery globe hung in space like a jewel, sitting with quiet dignity while small service craft buzzed around it like symbiotic parasites around a shark. As their shuttle drew ever closer to the shining sphere, the voyagers could make out individual figures in pressure bubbles, working on last-minute adjustments and ‘tweaks’, as Dennis called them.

The shuttle closed on the giant ship and, with a barely perceptible thump, completed the docking maneuver.

“There y’go, folks,” said the shuttle pilot. “Next stop, Earth.”

At these words, Cal was struck with a powerful sense of déjà vu, remembering an almost exact moment nearly 500 years previously, when Colonel Carl Butzbach had uttered more or less the same words as Karen, Jonathan, Bill O’Rourke, and he had first arrived at the original Hermes just prior to setting off on their epic voyage.

The thought hit Cal with an emotional thunderbolt, so moving his eyes misted and he had to struggle to maintain his composure. Then he felt Karen’s arm slide through his. He looked at her gratefully as she squeezed his arm gently, smiled, and whispered, “I know, babe. I know.”

Then there was no more time for reminiscing; with Arnold bustling and leading the way, the six voyagers transferred quickly from the shuttle to the interior of the Hermes II. As soon as they were aboard, the shuttle departed, leaving them alone on the ship with only a handful of maintenance crew and mechanicals for company. Cal estimated these would finish their work in a few hours, and after that, they would really be on their own.

* * * *

And five hours later, they were. The last of the crew and their robots departed in the last Earth shuttle at 1700 hours, and the seven voyagers watched as it dwindled rapidly on its spiral re-entry back to home ground. When it was lost from sight, they turned from the bridge viewing portals.

“Well, that’s it, folks,” Cal said, taking the lead. While Arnold was the overall head of the mission, Cal was the ship’s commander, with Joe as his exec, also handling the engineering side of things, although the ship was pretty much automated. Karen was ship’s doctor, with Julia assisting, while Dennis Crafter was in charge of general maintenance, communications and—should it ever become necessary—weapons and tactics officer.

As ship’s commander, Cal made all the decisions regarding the vessel, although he would always consult the others before taking any important step or change of plan. Now he addressed them all as they moved from the viewports back to their stations.

“We’ve got about three more hours work before we’ll be ready to go. What do you say we get that done now, then have a really good meal, and a quiet celebration. Then we can all get a good night’s sleep and leave after breakfast tomorrow, say about 0900.”

The others agreed, and they set to their tasks, readying the great ship, performing the final chores that needed completing before they left on their journey. As they worked, there was little small talk; all, even those connected by a bond of love, were immersed in their own thoughts. Much depended on this mission, and they each had the feeling that many things, both personal and wider, would be changed before it was over and they returned to Earth.

If, of course, they ever did.

* * * *

“Approaching exit velocity, Cal.” Joe McCulloch’s calm bass voice informed Cal that they were ready to leave Earth orbit, and Cal applied more power to the Hermes II’s massive engines. They were on their third orbit of the planet, gathering speed with each circling, and now they had accumulated enough centrifugal velocity to break away from its gravity.

“Okay, Joe. All stations ready? Report.”

“Fix-it and all that radio stuff, ready,” said Dennis Crafter.

“Medical, all go,” said Karen, hiding a smile while continuing to monitor all the crew’s life-sign telemetry.

Cal looked across the bridge at Arnold, who was exhibiting all the symptoms of a nervous airline passenger prior to takeoff.

“All set, Arnold?”

Arnold gave a weak smile. “Of course, Cal. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Now it was Cal’s turn to hide his smile as he turned to Joe, “Okay, good buddy, let’s light the wick under this bucket.”

Joe smiled. “Roger that. Igniting main engines.”

They had been running on only the auxiliary drive system, and when the full power of the Hermes II’s drive kicked in, they all gasped as its power pressed them back into their acceleration chairs.
Following Joe’s navigational co-ordinates, Cal rolled the ship at 30 degrees through the plane and away from the Earth. Joe had earned a B.Sc. in astrogation especially for the voyage and, while both he and Cal knew he was no Jonathan Edge, they also knew he was more than competent.

“Stand by inertial dampener.”

With that simple command, Cal prepared to engage what amounted to the Hermes II’s secret weapon. The inertial dampener was a very recent development in spacecraft; basically, it nullified the g-forces created by acceleration, making it possible for spacecraft to travel at hitherto unheard-of rates of acceleration. Test runs had achieved acceleration of up to 75 gee with no ill effects on the crew. At this rate of acceleration, the light barrier could be reached in a matter of days instead of the 10 months the original Hermes took.

Now, Cal turned to Joe and gave the order.

“Engage.”

Joe touched the control on his board. Not surprisingly, nothing happened that could be felt or even sensed, although when Cal asked Joe for their relative velocity, the reply was still received with some wonder.

“Acceleration 35 gee, Cal, velocity 30,000 klicks and rising.”

Having been through this maneuver many times in simulation, no one on the bridge showed surprise at this calm announcement; still, the knowledge that they would pass the orbit of Earth’s moon in less than two hours was sobering. On the rear screens, Earth was dwindling rapidly; already the outlines of the continents had become indistinct, and all they could see was a blue-white globe.

“Take a good look, folks,” Cal said, feeling déjà vu strongly again. “It will be a while before we see her again.”

All the crewmembers looked at the screen, wondering how long it would be, and what would they find out in the uncharted areas where they were going?

Feeling more than a little alone, they concentrated on their tasks, and the ship continued to accelerate away from the planet they called home.