Chapter 04: Launch

If not for my extreme exhaustion, I wouldn't have been able to sleep at all. When I gradually returned to a semi-conscious state, a blast of adrenaline jettisoned me from my slumber into high alertness as I remembered the significance of today. In a short time, our colony ship, the Endurance, would be launched. No more testing, no more checking systems. Today the project would come to its conclusion, be it success or failure.

I grabbed my folded uniform from the foot of my bunk as I sat up and headed in a swift pace for the room down the hall to change. I forced myself to slow down as I realized my momentary burst of energy would soon fade, returning me to my previous state of exhaustion. Today would be a day like no other, and I needed to conserve whatever energy I still retained.

***

By the time my crew finished their breakfast and arrived in the hologram chamber, I was already seated in front of the primary holographic display, running through a preflight checklist. I'd run the final checks twice already, but with the entire project depending on the outcome of today's endeavors, I didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Philip entered from a side door. Not needing to sleep, the synth had been examining the ship's systems since the human crew had gone to sleep the night before. I'd eagerly accepted his assistance in putting the ship through the final preparations required.

"Situation report?" I asked.

"All systems functioning within established parameters," Philip reported as he walked to his station beside me. Sitting at the navigational controls, he awaited further instructions.

"Good," I said. "Keep track of ship's personnel and inform me when they're onboard."

"Yes sir," Philip acknowledged.

I reached over my shoulder with my right hand and tried to relieve the soreness in the back of my neck. Tension over the project had been weighing heavily on my mind, and the pressure had started manifesting physical symptoms. A nervousness, building in my stomach for several days as we drew closer to the time of launch, was becoming a serious hindrance. The uncomfortable feeling was something between excitement and nausea. I began to wonder if I'd be able to keep my breakfast down. Fortunately, Philip spoke up and gave me something else to concentrate on.

"All personnel onboard; every station reports online, sir," he related to me.

"Excellent," I replied. Checking my display, I made sure all was in readiness. "Deactivate ground based fuel lines and disconnect. Bring power generators online and shut down external links."

"Fuel lines shut down, pipes retracting," Philip stated as he adjusted controls on his panel. "Switching to internal power systems."

On the massive hologram projection hovering above the center console where Philip and I were seated, red lines representing the fuel pipes turned blue and pulled away from the hull. Gold markers designating the numerous redundant power generators throughout the ship lit up as they were brought online, and a deep hum reverberated through the deck plates. The yellow marked power conduits, providing support from the main facility, switched off as they were no longer needed.

"All systems now operating internally," Philip informed me.

"Give me the count," I requested, adjusting my display to show a tighter view of the engines and power systems.

"Liftoff in minus twenty," Philip answered.

As he began telling me the numbers in ever decreasing digits, my eyes became locked on the screens, activating switches and controls by touch and memory.

"Three, two, one," Philip finished.

"Ignition!" I called out.

Philip took over as pilot, engaging the engines, and using a unique method to fly the ship no human could have managed. He plugged directly into the console. Concealed from view the majority of the time, a circular disk resided in his left palm. The neural connection interface allowed Philip to link with the computer systems of the Endurance, essentially becoming the ship. His eyes stayed opened and unblinking as all relevant information was transferred into his robotic mind.

On my holographic projection, the rounded shape of the hull changed as rectangular engine port covers hinged outward, each pointing three individual thrusters downward. The entire ship began to shake as the engines pushed against the pull of gravity. Lifting slowly off the landing pad, the Endurance climbed into the sky.

I switched the hologram to an external view. Clouds whipped past in flashes of white until only the endless blue of the sky could be seen. As the ship continued gaining speed and altitude, the atmosphere changed from blue to the cold blackness of space. Pinpoints of light from a myriad of stars filled the projection. Dominating the center of the display was the moon. Pearl gray in color, the sphere gradually increased in size as we drew closer.

Positioned in orbit of the moon was lunar station one. Station two was located benath the surface of the moon itself, buried under a deep crater for protection from meteor strikes. We wouldn't be landing, simply stopping off in orbit for a refuel. Getting out of Earth's gravity had used up significant amounts of fuel, and we needed more to reach the Mars outpost.

A giant, rotating ring, lunar station one was designed for the frequent arrival and departure of smaller supply rockets and transport ships, but the Endurance was too large for any of the fueling ports. Knowing the physical limitations of the station, I'd made previous arrangements to have an additional fuel line installed on the station's exterior where we could link to it.

Forward pointing thrusters slowed our velocity as we approached, and Philip powered down all engines except four. The remaining four engine ports were used for directional steering. With careful bursts from side mounted engines, Philip turned the Endurance into a decelerating course that brought us up along side the station and directly into position for refueling.

A mechanical arm reached out from lunar station one, gripping firmly the docking port on our exterior hull. A dull thump shook the ship mildly as contact was made.

"Docking complete; ready to receive fuel reload," Philip reported.

"Well done," I congratulated. "Very well done."

Unbuckling the padded restraints on my chair, I got up from my seat and stretched my muscles. We'd reached the moon; our next scheduled stop was at Mars station, and then came the run through the asteroid field.

I would've preferred a longer layover on the two stations. My crew were overworked and under rested. They needed sleep, but some of the supplies required to establish the Jupiter colony were perishable. We could only delay our journey long enough to refuel. No matter how much we needed to linger, it simply wasn't an option. We had to continue.

"We have an hour during refueling," I explained after switching on the ship-wide intercom. "After we leave, it will be five hours to Mars orbit. Section leaders are to divide their staff into two groups and put each group on a three hour rest rotation. I want everyone to get as much sleep as we can before we reach Mars and the asteroid belt."

I switched off the intercom and left the room. I knew Philip was more than capable of handling the refueling process on his own, and I needed to relax.

The round door cycled closed behind me and pressurized with a hiss of air. I continued down the circular corridor, past the computer controls and relay stations wedged between the support structure of the reinforced hallway. My destination was three decks down, one of several rooms dedicated to ecological construction.

Although artificial gravity kept most of the ship anchored to the deck plates, non-gravity transport chutes were available for transitioning between levels. I stepped into one of the tubes and was instantly rendered weightless. Pulling on the padded railing running the length of the tube from the upper decks to the lower, I glided easily down the three floors I required to reach my chosen resting place. Flying through the air was so much fun, I almost regretted having to leave the tube for the familiar gravity on the lower deck.

As I began walking again, I approached a square door on my right. The hatch to the room split down the middle and retracted into the walls on either side. Beyond the threshold was something truly wondrous, a small forest. Green leaves moved in the breeze from the ventilation system, and the bark of the trees showed in dappled patterns as the artificial sunlight streamed down from the ceiling and through the forest canopy.

As part of the system required to establish a thriving ecosystem where the colony was to be setup, the trees and other greenery in the room made this one of the most tranquil places onboard. I'd made a habit during my previous colonization missions to find a few moments to enjoy the serene beauty of the artificial landscape.

I picked a comfy spot at the base of a silver birch tree. The white trunk, spotted here and there with portions of black gave it a snowy appearance, and it made the tree one of my favorites. Leaning back against the trunk, I closed my eyes and sighed as I attempted to go to sleep.

My efforts were interrupted by the hiss of the door. I wanted to know who had come in, but I didn't want to know badly enough to open more than one eye. Standing in the opening was a tall and slender woman. Her long limbs made her trim physique appear even more thin, but I knew from her medical records, she was in perfect shape. The thick mane of her shoulder length hair was such a dark shade of brown, it looked black. My second, Sheila Pierce, wore an identical silver uniform of command as I did.

"Declan," she said when she noticed me. "I didn't know you'd be in here. I'll leave."

"Nonsense," I told her. I closed my eye and waved her absently toward the forest. "There are plenty of trees to go around. Pick one and have a seat."

I listened to the sound of her boots as they signaled her quick and long legged stride across the floor to a tree of her own. The thumping against the metal deck plates became muted when she transferred to the soft grass surrounding the trees. I didn't open my eyes, but I decided to ask her a question.

"What brings you here?" I inquired.

"Just looking for a little peace and quiet," she replied. I could tell by the sound of her voice, she was already relaxing with her eyes closed, so I decided not to disturb her any further with unnecessary questions.

Sleep came upon us in very short order, but a vibration through the deck plates woke both of us. The continuous rumble told me we had departed from lunar station one and were headed at full speed toward Mars. I started to get up, but Sheila put a hand gently on my shoulder to stay my departure.

"You need sleep as much as any, Declan," she said, her eyelids heavy. "Philip can fly the ship in a straight line without your supervision. Save your energy for when it's needed."

I didn't have an argument against her reasoning, and my sleep deprived brain didn't try too hard to find one. Leaning back against the tree trunk, I closed my eyes again. Sheila's fingers slid down from my shoulder to rest atop my hand. I made no effort to change the situation. I felt glad this operation was civilian and not military as there were strict policies against personal involvement between people in the same chain of command.

Sheila had served with me on three other assignments, and I knew I would need her iron will on this one. I turned my hand palm up under hers and curled my fingers ever so slightly to hold her hand more securely and let her silently know her presence was welcome. I felt a corresponding squeeze in return, and a weary smile appeared briefly on my lips before sleep claimed me once again.

Hands joined together, we slept against our respective trees as the Endurance continued its flight toward the distant planet of Mars.