Velocity - Chapter 1

  Dr. Elijah Jackson watched as the final heat shield was added to the sleek, dark grey side of the Vivaldi, the newest research vessel of the Federated Earth Space Management Authority. The FESMA is an alliance of nations with the purpose of colonizing other planets. The crew was due to embark onto the Vivaldi the next day. Almost all of the tests had been completed, resulting in a skeleton crew working on last minute checks. The ship was sleeker than those of the past, giving a sense of the modernity to the 50 meter long craft. Things were finally starting to come together on his most important project, Elijah thought. Captain Bodhi Stevens wore a smile on his face as he walked up to Elijah, carrying a comtab with the latest results of the test progress. He was accompanied by First Lieutenant Aly Long, a soldier with vast experience and also persistent positivity.

  "Good afternoon, Elijah. The progress looks great! Ambassador Zevoh should be happy with your leadership on this. There is almost nothing left on our checklist." said Bodhi. He moved his finger on the comtab and it displayed only a few unchecked items on a long list of things to do.

  Elijah nodded, "The heat shields are almost done. The only thing left for us is a good night's sleep."

  "That's easier said that done," said Aly. "I am too excited for this project to really start." She rolled her feet between the ball of her heels and her toes, in apparent excitement. As second in command, and part of the security team, she was itching to go start the exploring Testudas.

  "I've been working really hard on our little mission over here!" Elijah said, laughing. "As, we all have, of course. Don't expect to have to use your weapon too much, Lieutenant. This is just going to be a research mission. We don't expect any fauna on 44 Testudas Cc. Or any flora that would require... your tools, for that matter."

  "A girl can hope." said Aly. "Where is Riel?" she asked Elijah.

  "Lieutenant Riel is doing a security check on the Vivaldi."

  "No one requested that." said Bodhi, with a shrug. "Desmond. Always taking the initiative. Good for him. He seemed a little stir crazy, waiting for us to go."

  "It seems like he's not the only one. Joshua was up there earlier, too. He's a great worker, obviously, but he has been working extra hard. I think he's looking for a pay rise to save for your new house." said Elijah to Aly.

  Aly nodded, "We're both working on that. It's not cheap, is it? At least our honeymoon is set." She smiled. "I hope Testudas has some nice beaches." Bodhi and Elijah laughed.

  "Well, I hope you're packed. I know I am." said Elijah. Bodhi and Aly smiled as they walked away.

  Bodhi and Aly stumbled upon Second Lieutenant Desmond Riel in the hall. Riel was looking down at the floor in contemplation as they came up to him.

  "Riel!" said Bodhi, grabbing him by surprise.

  "Hello, Captain." replied Riel. "Is something wrong?"

  "No. How was your security check?"

  "oh. Umm, nothing out of the ordinary."

  "Good. Since we've been having trouble with the Light Seekers terrorizing the scientists, we need to keep vigilant."

  "More like BLIGHT Seekers!" Aly joked.

  "We should be tolerant of people with different ideologies. They believe they are just preserving culture." Riel said.

  "Okay, okay. Well, get a good night's sleep, Lieutenant." said Bodhi.

  "Of course." Riel said, dryly. He left.

  Aly waited for Riel to leave earshot, "You'd think he would hate them for what they did to him."

  "I imagine it must have been bad," Bodhi replied. "But Desmond goes by his code. I don't know what type of person I would be like if I was their prisoner of war for so long."

  "You think he sees it as, like, just what people do in war? Or something like that?"

  Bodhi replied, "He's a soldier's soldier. I'm not sure he looks at those things like regular people do. I think he -" Bodhi paused. "He thinks of war as something that people do. He seems to accept it. I think of war as something that we should avoid with diplomacy. But if we have to fight then, of course, we will."

  Aly contemplated Bodhi's words. "I feel the same way. We'll have plenty of time to explore philosophy while on the ship. For now, I guess it's time for bed."

  They parted.

  The next morning, the crew arrived at the docking bay. Eleven people were lined up, facing the ship. There was a group of FESMA mission control staff awaiting the departure, all dressed up in white lab coats. Bodhi and Elijah stood in front of the crew. They walked up to the start of the line to the first crew member to confirm that they were ready.

  "First Lieutenant Aly Long. Status, please." said Bodhi, with the head researcher following behind.

  "Ready. My weapon was serviced. My gear is onboard. Security clearances set up. The armory is stocked."

  "Second Lieutenant Desmond Riel. Status, please."

  "Ready, sir. My weapon was serviced. My gear is onboard. Final walkthrough complete."

  "Joshua Long. Status, please."

  "Ready. My tools and equipment are onboard. Final engine tests were passing complete."

  "Anissa Nazari. Status, please."

  "Ready, Captain. My lab equipment is onboard. I have biological samples onboard."

  "Pete Williamson. Status, please."

  "We're ready. My language archives are uploaded to our systems."

  "Ryuji Shimizu. Status, onegaishimasu."

  "Hai. Ready. My tools are on the ship. My robots is onboard. My equipment is onboard."

  "Ai Wu. Status, please."

  "Ready, Captain. My consultation room is set up and my medicine is onboard. As are my books."

  "Kamala Brimble. Status, please."

  "Good to go. My medicine and supplies are in the medical bay. Our medical literature is uploaded to the system. The bay has everything that I requested. Thank you."

  "April June. Status, please."

  "Ready, Bodhi. All I needed was a computer and something to write on." Captain Bodhi gave her a side glance. "I mean, Captain Stevens." She smiled.

  "Hans Schreiber. Status, please."

  "Ready, sir. The systems have been uploaded mit sie data from our archives. Research reference material ist available to us now."

  "Rose Camisa. Status, please."

  "Ready to go. All my junk is on board."

  Bodhi looked at her. "All of it?" He said in an accusatory manner.

  "Well, not that thing that you told me not to bring." Rose said. Bodhi stared at her for a long five seconds to see if he can see any deception. He turned to Elijah.

  "Status, please."

  "Ready, Captain. I have my research, star charts, and other equipment on the Vivaldi."

  Bodhi nodded. He looked at the group of the FESMA mission control staff. "Status -- All Ready." They nodded at him and scurried out of the shuttle bay to the mission control room. The crew of thirteen boarded the ship and the door closed. They took their seats inside and mission control announced the launch countdown. The launch was fairly unceremonious, as they had sent out many ships before and the big event, the warp jump to Testudas. This mission was different from the others as they had to fly closer to the sun to initiate the new warp drive. The new technology was yet to be tested with a real ship holding passengers. Their goal is to start their survey for their first colonization after arriving on the other side of the warp jump to Testudas. It is Earth-like in many ways. It was chosen because it would give them a good head start on making the planet suitable for human life. The Vivaldi moves along at blurring speeds to exit the solar system. The crew gets settled in for the first part of their mission

  The Vivaldi was travelling a speedy two-hundred-thousand kilometers per hour. Several days had passed since they started their mission, with a day remaining until the warp jump to Testudas. Bodhi, Aly, and Desmond were in the Officer's Hall, talking about the current events.

  "It's nice to be so close to jump." said Aly.

  "Sure is. We've been having so much trouble with those zealots." Bodhi said, "I can't believe it's gone so smoothly, though."

  Aly said, "We're so lucky! There was that bombing a few months before. I was worried that it would be delayed."

  "At least no one was hurt." Riel said.

  "Yes, very fortunate." Bodhi said. "I do feel like we have a bit of misfortune, though. Have you gotten any complaints about Rose?" Bodhi looked at both of them.

  "She was been bothering people." Riel stated.

  Aly quickly replied, "She is so annoying! She keeps flirting with Joshua. I'm going to have to straighten her out! And she keeps touching other people's stuff. She was messing with Ryu's robot parts. She was sneaking up on Kamala while she was doing her work in the medicine lab. She shouldn't be messing with our doctor's stuff, let alone be near the medicine."

  Riel looked at Bodhi, who in turn looked back at him. Bodhi said, "Of course, I agree. Desmond, go check on her, please."

  Riel walked out of the Officer's Hall to look for Rose. Bodhi looked back to Aly and shrugged.

  "Have you been doing any math tutoring?" Aly said, with a grin.

  Bodhi smiled. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

  "You. April. Don't pretend like there's nothing. We all see it!"

  "Alright, alright. Calm down."

  Aly quickly laughed and said, "Tell her that you're interested in calculus and then ask her to show you her curves!"

  "I'm not sure we're to that stage, yet." Bodhi said. "We've got a mission that takes priority. Once we land on Testudas, perhaps we can all have more social time."

  Aly said, "Well, then, let's get there as soon as possible!"

  Riel made his way through the Vivaldi. The ship was not that large, which resulted in a quick recovery. He found Rose in the engine room, he walked upon her. Rose was standing in front of a panel connected to the engine, bent down, apparently looking at something on the device. She read the only words on the object: Kubi. She wasn't sure what it was. Then again, she wasn't sure about a lot of things but she had a curious mind that kept her active.

  "Rose." Riel said, sternly. "Do not mess with these things. Stay out of this area."

  "Hmm. Okay." Rose said, in a childish manner. Riel shook his head and escorted her away. One could see the stress upon his face - an emotion that Rose would incite in even the most patient person.

  The crew went to sleep and rested for several hours so that they were refreshed for the jump. Riel was the first one awake. He took it upon himself to make coffee for the crew so that they are perked up for the big event. With care, he juggled two cups of coffee to the command bridge. Bodhi appeared and greeted Riel with a nod. Riel handed him a cup of coffee and Bohdi took a sip. "Thank you. How are we looking, Desmond?" Bodhi said, then held his cup still in anticipation for a response.

  "Everything checks out so far, sir."

  "Good." He said and took another sip.

  The others shamble on in. Before long, everyone looked bright-eyed and excited. Everyone had a tablet with diagnostics and information streaming across the bright screens, standing at each of their prospective bridge stations. Bodhi ran through status checks with all of the crew. All was clear. A wave of collective nervousness and anticipation swept across the entire crew. The time that they were waiting for had arrived.

  There was a pause. After a moment Bodhi said, "Well, let's go." He did so with a deep breath and an equally expressive exhale. Dr. Jackson pressed some keys on the console and then hit one final key. The lights dimmed and it began.