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Pretty, Please!

Chapter Seven ~ Starship Pathfinder

By Sasha Zarya Nexus

Can Rose and Gigi cope when everyone is whisked away from Space Camp?

 

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The girls were very attentive and bright pupils who learned their lessons well about going out for a walk on the moon. Each of them were securely suited up as was I. Decompressing the two rooms would take a while, but it also took a little bit to let our bodies get used to wearing the suits.

"Girls, we have to wait a little while before we can go out. The air has to be taken out of this room and the one beyond before we can go out."

"Granny, Could you continue the story while we wait?" asked Linda.

"Granny, Pretty, Please! I want to find out where they all went!"

"Alright, my darlings. Try to relax and I will resume the story." I told them and I began again to tell them my story which was about to become their story, too.

 

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Finally I was awake! Josh, Mark, Amanda, Gigi, Jinx and I appeared to be in an open space in a cabin that looks very futuristic and very much like a space ship. That last I was certain of because there were window that looked out into space. Each of them were waking up and looking around.

Mark went directly to one of the windows and exclaimed, "My God! Its full of stars!"

Amanda was next to a window and she burst out, "We all are in space! Not years in the future but now!"

Jinx claimed another window and took in the view, "The stars! I feel like I could just reach out and touch them now!"

Gigi claimed the next window, "I promise guys I had no idea we would end up like this. But this is so cool!"

I claimed the next one by her, "Its alright Gigi. You pulled off a miracle and we are on the adventure of a lifetime!"

Josh asked, "Is everyone alright?"

Everyone either answered or nodded yes.

"As a team working together we can do things thought impossible. As a team we can do what ever it takes to go home. We are going home! I guess it would help to find out where we are now. Perhaps someone here can show us the way." Josh encouraged..

Almost as if on cue, came what could be the source for some answers. We saw an out of breath woman come near us in a uniform very much like our NASA Jumpsuits. She looked to be in her 30's.

"What is this place?" asked Josh of the woman.

She greeted us, "Welcome to the Starship Pathfinder, I am Lieutenant Gonzales. Congratulations on your momentous journey. You've come forward in time 167 years and 27 light years from earth. Is one of you named, Gigi Chase?"

Gigi came forward to her. "I'm Gigi Chase." Lt. Gonzales came forward and started whispering in her ear.

While she was whispering we all got a good look at her uniform. Like them there were places for two emblems at the shoulder yoke. Ours had one for NASA and another for Space Camp. There was a place for a third which was our mission badge that we would receive when we graduated from Space Camp. On her uniform the NASA emblem was there but the origin badge which was the equivalent to our Space Camp badge was missing. In the place for the mission badge was an emblem that displayed both a Space Shuttle silhouette as well as another which must have represented the Starship with lettering proclaiming Starship Pathfinder. On the collar she wore, were two gold pips which was the designation for Lieutenant in the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' TV show.

"Team, Rose and I have been invited to the engineering deck where there is a message concerning Rose and I. They need to tell us some things about the future which would be better if not everyone knew because they are worried about changes to the timeline. It's your call, Josh." explained Gigi

Josh answered," I agree that information about the future should be on a need to know basis. You may proceed, Gigi and Rose."

I wondered why I was left out of all the whispering.  It seemed to me that Gigi had to be told something in confidence before she heard the message. The Lieutenant took us down to the engineering deck and sat us down in front of a monitor.

An elderly woman appeared on the screen and began speaking.

"Greetings Rose and Gigi. It's important that you all take this seriously so that is why I feel that certain information must be revealed to you in a manner that you believe it. Rose, I am you from many years in the future. Together, Gigi and I made this starship possible that you are on now. It's stated purpose is exploration on a mission to an earth like planet discovered by astronomers.

 

Gigi and I had another purpose as well. Having been thru the entire experience that you girls are going thru now, we realized that in order for the starship to be where you all appeared, we would have to make that happen. And we convinced people that we could do it and how important it was that we made sure that a Starship was there where you appeared.

We made it but barely. The simulations indicated that we could get a starship where it needed to be since that was just within its range. We called the starship, Pathfinder, in honor of Space Camp where Gigi and I first met.  Also we named it Starship Pathfinder in honor of our team, the one you two are part of now, which had a rendezvous with destiny.

Gigi and I could not go on the journey due to our advanced age but we sent these recordings along to help you understand. I'm going to let Gigi explain the technical details and the recording that you hear will depend on the starship's condition at the time it's played."

The display changed and another elderly woman was displayed on the screen.

"Thank you Rose, Hi Rose and Gigi. I'm you from the future, Gigi. First I would like to explain to you what happened on that space time fold that you performed from the simulator Shuttle to the simulator Control Room. Madeline L'Engle's novel A Wrinkle in Time was very prophetic concerning the practical applications of space time folding. It advanced the concept that a mathematical genius like you, Gigi could initiate it without any equipment, but just with your mind. However the uncertainty principle takes over and makes it well, uncertain. This is comparable to a wormhole (which is very difficult to artificially generate and is beyond even our science) which has one end fixed but the other end may come out anywhere. There is a certain point when it varies from its initial direction which we define as the flex point.

 

The same is true for the space time fold that you performed, Gigi. You materialized the group for a few moments in the Control Room, but it was at the flex of the fold.  By the laws of inertia, since you did not exit in a stable manner, you all were caught up for the rest of the ride which terminated here, at the Starship Pathfinder. Just the very fact that this phenomena existed, taught us a great deal about space time folding.

We went back to the book and she had the answer for us in order to be able to hit the target at the end of our intended journey. You may remember that Meg's Father on his initial space time folding did not hit his target but was transported to the universe that trapped him. However Meg was able to hit the target with the aid of Mrs. Who's glasses. We realized that we needed something like Mrs. Who's glasses in order for us to hit the target. Unfortunately for us what we came up with wasn't as small as glasses and we had not perfected it so we needed something like a spacecraft to sustain us since we could not make the journey all at once but in several folds. The Tesseract Drive is what we came to call our analogy to Mrs. Who's glasses. It performed that function as well as being able to initiate the fold without having a mathematical genius on the crew. In time we will be able to travel without starships as the device gets small enough to carry and perfected. For now we do the best we can.

When we initiated this mission to meet up with you all on our journey to the stars, we knew that we were at the limits of what we could do and near the flex. The simulations said we could do it before we hit the flex but that did not happen. If it were not for a safe guard built into the drive the starship would have reentered the fold and ended up at a random point in space time. The drive is able to tap into fold energy to power the ship systems. We knew we had to hold our position so the flex energy was dissipated by tapping into it and preventing the Starship from resuming that journey. It worked as you can see because you are here. However the energy was too much for the storage cells and even with shunting off excess power into the impulse drive after you were onboard, the Tesseract drive overloaded. The rest of the Starship's crew are in stasis and can't be revived while the systems are in overload.

We need your team's help since the two Lieutenants on board can't handle this by themselves. Some of you will need to monitor systems on the Command deck while others of you need to help resolve the overload condition and make repairs to the Tesseract Drive. I'll help as much as I can. Gigi everything that is here is the result of engineering taking the template contained in your mind and giving it physical form. You are the next best thing to me being there and maybe better. With your fresh look at the concepts and implementation you may detect something I missed and even correct the drive so it fully functions. We'll settle for it being just restored to what it was so we can continue the journey using a safe distance for each fold. Just do your best Gigi and it will be enough and thank you."

Both Gigi and I were stunned but I had the presence of mind to ask Lt. Gonzales about the other Lieutenant.

"She was in sleep mode but should be awake now. You'll meet her soon." replied Lt. Gonzales.

"We'll explain to the rest of our team what must be done and divide into a command group and engineering group. I assume that you can help with familiarizing us with the controls." I told her.

"My sister is a little more familiar with the command deck even though we are both engineers.  She can help train your command group, while I work with the engineering group." Lt. Gonzales responded

"That's good. If you will send her up to the command deck when she wakes to meet with them, we will send our engineering group here." I requested.

Both Gigi and I went back up to the command level to meet with the rest of the team.

"Josh, we got briefed on what was going on and we were convinced that this is completely serious. The ship's power systems are in overload and they need to be repaired. In addition in order to expel excess energy the starship's impulse drive was used, so we're moving. They can't revive any more of the crew because of a overload of the power systems. What has to be done is too much for the two crewmembers to handle. I suggest that you split us up into two groups, A Command group to handle the Command deck and an Engineering group to handle the Engineering functions." I explained.

Josh spoke to all of us," I believe Rose is right about us needing to help and she made a great suggestion. For the Engineering group, Gigi needs to be on it obviously, Jinx with her knowledge of Robotics, Mark for his knowledge of Electronics and Computers, And Amanda for her hacking ability. That leaves Rose and I for the Command Group. Gigi please lead the Engineering Group and see what you can do about the power systems challenge."

The new Engineering Group which consisted of all of the Shuttle Mission Specialists and our Flight Engineer followed Gigi down to the Engineering Deck. As they were leaving we saw a woman arriving on the Deck who was clearly the other Lieutenant's twin sister arrived on the deck wearing an identical uniform.

"I'm Lieutenant Stanton, My sister sent me up to help you with the command systems."

I introduced myself, "I'm Rose, my mission assignment is Pilot from Space Camp and This is our designated Mission Commander, Josh." We stood before her hand in hand and and I was really enjoying having Josh's hand wrapped in mine.

"I'm pleased to meet you Lieutenant Stanton, What can you tell me about your command interface?"

"Fortunately, we have a very user friendly AI which responds vocally to vocal commands named Doris. She is very good at what she does and we think of her as another crew member. I'll set it so Doris responds to you and acts on your commands."

"Doris, Command authority is given to Josh and Rose authorization Stanton Beta Gamma Nine"

"Compliance. Josh and Rose you now have command authority. Welcome to the Starship Pathfinder crew." We took seats at the two stations where the navigation controls were at the forward end of the command deck. Josh took the left hand seat and I took the right hand seat just like in the simulator back home.

"Doris what is ship navigation status?" asked Josh.

"Ship is on autopilot conforming to preprogrammed flight plan. Velocity is .7 C course alpha 011 beta 274 mark 045. Projected course is free of obstacles for 45 parsecs." Doris responded

 

"Thank you Doris. Continue scan of projected course for obstacles and give immediate alarm if obstacles detected." Josh directed.

Lieutenant Stanton complimented, "Very good, Josh. We have several control interfaces for the manual navigation controls including a Space Shuttle Interface. Which one should I set up for you in case you need to take manual control?"

 

"The Space Shuttle Interface is our first choice, Lieutenant Stanton." responded Josh.

"Very Good. Doris enable Space Shuttle flight interface for instrumentation and flight controls" ordered Lieutenant Stanton.

"Compliance."

 

When all of the flight controls vanished we realized that they were virtual projections. What replaced it was instrumentation and controls identical to what was in the Space Shuttle Simulator. Somehow the stick and throttle were solid and moved like the shuttle controls even though it did nothing because the autopilot was still engaged.

We practiced for a while and were very comfortable interacting with the shuttle controls and querying Doris for information. Lieutenant Stanton asked us if we thought we could handle it without her and we told her we could so she went down to help out with the repairs on the Engineering Deck.

"Commander to Engineering group, Status please?"

"Gigi here. We've identified the damaged elements and come up with repair plans. The repair tasks have been allocated and repair is underway. I also spotted an error in the engineering implementation of the design. We have a plan to implement the proper engineering and that should restore the power systems to operation without restrictions and prevent another overload from occurring."

 

"Great News, Gigi. Do you have a completion time estimate?"

"We have at least 3 more hours of work if we don't encounter any other challenges."

 

"Very Good, Gigi. Commander out."

"Gigi, out."

After some uneventful time at the controls, I had a thought wondering if the initial flight plan foresaw an extended space flight before the next fold occurred, "Doris, plot projected course on star charts. Does projected course intersect any obstacles on the star charts?"

"Compliance. Projected course intersects asteroid belt in this solar system. Manual control required to avoid obstacles. Obstacle distance 100 parsecs."

 

"Doris, switch to manual controls and plot course to avoid collision"

"Compliance. Navigation is in manual mode. Course change to avoid Asteroid belt not within ship tolerances.  However manual avoidance of individual asteroids is within ship tolerances." Doris responded. 

 

"Looks like we have to fly the ship manually thru the asteroid field. We must be going too fast to clear it now." I observed.

"I agree, Rose. I'll plot course changes while you fly the ship. You've got a better touch than me on the controls and I can do more good helping with course changes." agreed Josh.  He reached over and cupped my chin in his hand and pulled my face close for a deliciously sensual kiss which we broke too soon for me and told me, "For Luck!"

"Aye Josh. Taking manual control. Ship feels very agile. We can do this. Ready, Josh!" I told him returning to business yet I had a delicious buzz which lingered after the kiss. I thought, 'He really does love me like I love him!'

"Collision Alert! Collision alert!" warned Doris

"Taking evasive action!" I explained.

"Commander to crew, We have to manually navigate an asteroid field. We have the situation under control. Rose is flying the bird. The ride might get a bit bumpy so take precautions. Commander ou.t"

"You are doing great, Rose. I guess the rest is up to us." Josh encouraged.

I was doing my best as a huge asteroid seemed like it did not want us to get away from it. I turned and we were free of that one with a little flying room before we needed to avoid another one. Whew!

Josh asked, "Doris, ETA to clear asteroid field at present velocity?"

"ETA two hours at present velocity" answered Doris. With the drive taking 3 hours more to repair, We were not going to be saved from navigating the asteroid field by doing a space time fold out the asteroid field, even if it were possible to do so. 

 

"Oh boy! Looks like it is up to us!" exclaimed Josh.

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Doris interrupted the story, "Admiral, Conditions are now met to permit going outside."

"Girls, its time to go outside."

"Okay Granny, I'm ready!" said Linda.

Julia asked, "Doris, was that you in the story on the Starship Pathfinder?"

 

"Little one, I am not sure because for me that has not happened yet. It is possible since I was originally the AI aboard one of your Granny's ships before I came to live with her here." responded Doris.

"Okay, Doris. One more thing, Why do you call Granny, Admiral?" asked Julia.

"That's what I became accustomed to calling her when we first met aboard her ship. It is comfortable for me to call her that.  She indulges me even though she is no longer on active duty." explained Doris.  I could hear a smile in Doris' voice, even with it not possible to see her face.

"Okay, Granny, I'm ready to go, too." admitted Julia.

"Doris, please open the doors to the outside" The doors opened and the four of us were about to embark on our little adventure.