 
## OCCURRENCE: Episode One

by W.R.Edmunds

Published by W.R. Edmunds at Smashwords

All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2013 W.R. Edmunds

Cover Art Copyright 2013 El Fedora Design

Smashwords Author Page

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ISBN: 978-0-9918858-0-0

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Interlude

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Epilogue

Credits

March 14, 2073: UNSS Rimor

Sahi Bahai's thoughts whirled as she pressed herself tighter into the confines of the storage locker she had chosen for a hiding place. Her hands were covered with blood and she could feel something warm dripping down from her ears. What had happened? What were those glowing creatures? Sahi tried to think back to when it started.

The test had been authorized by the science team on L1 Station. The drive was functioning optimally and there would have been no gravitational interference with its operation at the Earth-Moon L1 point. When it engaged and moved them to travel space, everything went as smoothly as a shift from one dimension to another could be expected to go. No, it was after transition that this started.

Sahi had been sitting at the command console, filtering through test data with her comm implant, when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up, triggering a spate of the dizzying perspective changes that came along with being in travel space. Seeing nothing, she was about turn her attention back to her monitors when she noticed a translucent form glowing faintly above Kiko in his acceleration chair. She watched it slowly descend and melt into him as he began to scream, clutching at his head. He started shuddering, his body warping and deforming as it lost connection with its three-dimensional shape before becoming hazy and indistinct. His cries turned into a piercing howl which drilled into Sahi's brain, causing the bridge to swim in her vision.

She must have lost consciousness briefly, but according to the test timer running in her comm it had been for less than a minute. Then Sahi noticed that the other four researchers on the bridge were gone, leaving only her. She could hear startled shouts coming from engineering and had to stamp down on a rising sense of alarm.

She opened a channel to the engine room using her comm. "Engineering! Williams, report!" she barked to cover her fear.

She received nothing in response to her hails even though wordless cries still echoed down the passageway. Fighting back the faint feeling of nausea that came with trying to move in travel space, she unbelted and pushed herself to her feet in the artificial gravity the alien engine created when it was engaged. Once she entered the hall connecting back to engineering, Sahi saw one of the scientists who had been with her on the bridge curled up just outside the door, rocking back and forth against a bulkhead moaning.

"Dmitriy! Are you all right?" Sahi asked as she knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's going on? What happened to the others on the bridge?"

He just stared off in to the distance and mumbled something in Russian, as if completely unaware of her presence.

She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, glanced toward engineering, and then tried to force a soothing tone through her mounting panic as she told him, "Wait here, Dmitriy, I'm going to check engineering. I'll be right back, okay?"

Dmitriy only uttered more disjointed Russian as Sahi left him and continued down the hall.

The shouts from engineering were escalating from surprise to terror. She was still unable to make out any words so she tried to page them again. "Robert! Someone respond, damn you! What's going on back there?"

Receiving no response, she commed a direct message to Robert Williams, the engineering chief, as she walked. :: _Robert, seriously, why is no one answering me?_ ::

Just then she saw him come into view beyond the entry to engineering. He was running toward her, waving her off and shouting, "Sahi! Get out of here – stop the drive!"

Sahi saw a glowing form moving beyond his shoulder and she screamed, pointing behind him. Williams glanced back and then lunged at the emergency lock controls which snapped the entry way shut just as Sahi reached it.

"Robert, no!" she shouted as she pounded on the door and watched through the window as the entity sank into Williams. And just like Kiko had earlier, he underwent a reality bending metamorphosis, causing his body to shift and flow into impossible shapes before fading into a fuzzy outline and disappearing.

She froze, staring in shock at the space Robert had occupied only moments before. A moving reflection in the window caught Sahi's eye and she whirled around to face Dmitriy who was lurching toward her. His body was surrounded by a bright nimbus that was sending off pulsing streamers into the surrounding passageway, as if one of those things was inside him.

"No," the tortured word escaped from Dmitriy's struggling lips, echoing as if coming from a vast distance. "No. Not. Belong."

Sahi was nearly overwhelmed in horror of the thing in front of her and panic shot through her voice as she replied, "Who – what are you? I don't –"

"Not belong here. Danger. Coming here," it stuttered in hollow tones as Dmitriy's body began to lose coherence and bleed into the luminescence around him.

"LEAVE!" The last word blasted out violently from the creature inhabiting Dmitriy and Sahi clutched at her ears to try to protect them from the assault of noise. His body then rapidly deformed across infinite impossible realities before disappearing completely, this time leaving one of the ghostly figures floating where he had stood.

Sahi's hands came away from the side of her head covered with blood. She knew she was screaming, but she could only hear a loud ringing in her ears. She stumbled and fell hard against the wall while trying to back away from the alien being as it seemed to consider her. In a state of panic the only thing she could think of to do was hide. She dragged herself into one of the storage lockers and then pulled the door shut behind her as terrified sobs wracked her body.

What had happened? What were those glowing creatures? Why did the one in Dmitriy try to warn her about some sort of danger in coming to travel space? She had just enough time to piece together her memories before a faint luminescence infused the air around her. Sahi felt a tingle as shimmering tendrils passed by her, through her, and then her mind exploded into noise and colour.

March 17, 2073: UNSA Headquarters, Houston, Texas

The video stopped playing with a faint electronic sigh, leaving the image of Sahi crawling into the storage cabinet etched in Adrian's memory. The lights in the council chambers came back up and he turned his attention to the people sitting at the semi-circular desk behind him. The members of the United Nations Space Administration Deep Space Exploration and Colonization council, commonly referred to as D-SEC, were passing nervous looks between each other and fidgeting in their seats.

Chairman Gilles Frontenac coughed and drew all eyes to him, his faint Quebecois accent giving his words a slightly condescending tone as he addressed Adrian. "Well, Commander Daniels. We thank you for coming down from L1 and bringing this to our attention directly," he said before pausing to steeple his fingers. "How many others have seen this video?"

"Just myself and Lieutenant Yeung, a member of the research team" Adrian replied. "I scrubbed the drives on the Rimor as soon as I made this copy and I brought the Lieutenant with me in the event you wished to debrief her as well."

Frontenac nodded at Adrian's response. "Have there been any similar encounters during the other live tests?"

"No, Sir. This is the first time we have had any trouble whatsoever during a live test."

"And, in your opinion, you believe that we should delay further testing until we understand more about what happened on the Rimor?"

Adrian nodded. "Yes, Sir. I can't justify risking the lives of our research personnel without establishing the extent of the danger presented."

The quiet whisper of the air-conditioning and the shifting of leather chairs filled the room while the council considered Adrian's responses. The Chairman frowned as he and the council glanced amongst each other, obviously having an animated discussion over their comms. Adrian was beginning to think they had forgotten he was in the room when Frontenac cleared his throat and began speaking in a carefully neutral tone. "Unfortunately, Commander, even in light of the disturbing nature of the loss of the crew of the UNSS Rimor, we are of the opinion that live testing must continue on pace with the current schedule. While this video causes us great concern, the opportunity that the Sorrenson Drive represents to humanity is too valuable for us to risk the negative public reaction that would result if we performed any detailed investigation into this matter."

Adrian shook his head in refusal, even though it was the response he was expecting. "Respectfully, Sirs and Madams, we lost the crew of the UNSS Rimor through what I can only describe as some sort of extraterrestrial encounter. Further, this encounter culminated in a warning about us venturing into travel space. We can't put additional research crews, exploration teams, and families," he paused to meet the eyes of each of the council members, "in this sort of unknown risk."

One by one, the council members avoided Adrian's gaze except for Frontenac who replied firmly, "I assure you we have taken that into account in our decision, but delaying our testing and exploration timeline is not an option. Have you watched the news lately? We must move people off of Earth before our impact on the climate becomes critical. The fact of the matter is that the alien drive we found on Mars is capable of transporting a ship across light years in a matter of days and most anywhere in our solar system within minutes. We are also able to replicate it and install it within our own ships. We must pursue the chance this technology offers us, as it is our best option to reduce the population on Earth and expand our civilization beyond the bounds of our solar system."

Adrian directed a frustrated glare at the carpeted floor of the council chambers before gritting his teeth and looking back up to Frontenac. "If we cannot delay testing, Sir, at least let me establish a protocol for our staff to communicate with these aliens in the event of further contact."

"Commander," Frontenac responded, his words softening to sound almost apologetic, "right now very few people know the truth of what happened. Even if we just kept this internal, telling the research teams the details of the events on the Rimor is as good as holding a press conference. As soon as this occurrence goes public, it will cause a panic and give lobby groups like the Order of Relativity the material they need to pressure Earth's leaders into withdrawing their support of UNSA. This would result in the termination of the Sorrenson Drive program and likely cause UNSA to lose control of current colonization efforts, rekindling the violent clashes over colonization rights for Mars and the asteroids. After your experiences during the battles above and on Mars, Commander, I cannot imagine this is something you would want."

Memories of Adrian's time back on Mars started to bubble to the surface of his thoughts and he repressed a shudder. "Mister Chairman, as you are well aware, that is the last thing I would wish to happen. However, I still don't see how the situation is so dire that even if we can't delay the testing, we couldn't at least extend it until the aliens reach out to us again and deliver a clearer warning."

The council all looked toward Frontenac who appeared to be considering a particularly distasteful flavour in his mouth as he contemplated Adrian's question. "Commander," he began slowly as if giving himself time to be sure of what he was about to say, "given your history with UNSA and because I feel you need to understand the whole of our reasoning to continue functioning in your current role, I am going to be frank. The reason UNSA has been granted so much freedom with this project is not because the drive can offer untold opportunity to humanity, but because it might be the only way to save it. We are not actually trying to move people off of the Earth to lessen human environmental pressure as the media tells everyone, but because it is too late to do so. Whether we move them off of this planet or not, the population on Earth will decrease by fifty percent over the next one-hundred years, due to significant and rapid climate changes. After that, it becomes too hard to predict what the continued rate of de-population will be or where it will stabilize." All of the council's eyes were on Adrian as the Chairman delivered his damning prognosis.

"But what about the asteroid arcologies, everyone on Mars..." Adrian trailed off in stunned disbelief.

Frontenac gave him sad smile before replying quietly, "Do you know what the population of Mars is, Commander? It is just over two million and might hit five in the next twenty years. None of the asteroids are self-sustaining yet, but once they are, at most they will support a population of just over a million in that same time frame. Our projections indicate that the truth about Earth's environmental collapse will become general knowledge at some point within those twenty years. Once the world finds out how bad things actually are, the most likely outcome will be wide-spread panic with the spaceports the first to be besieged. Then, when everyone realizes there is no room in space anyway, most governments will implement plans to save as many people on the ground as possible, completely stopping any off-world expansion. That leaves us with fewer than six million people living very tenuous lives on rocks not meant to support them and unknown conditions on Earth for the next five-hundred to two-thousand years." Frontenac gave Adrian a moment to absorb this information.

"With the Sorrenson Drive," he continued, "we hope to increase the number of people transported off of Earth by an order of magnitude at least, not only by moving people faster and farther, but by lengthening the window during which we will be able to evacuate them. The most important thing the drive and our exploration program provide is a tangible vision of hope to the world's population. This hope should be enough to keep the people supporting UNSA's efforts even after the truth of Earth's condition is revealed, allowing us to institute an orderly evacuation process. Once we have enough people and industry established in space, then those off-world will be able to support the population left on Earth. This is currently our best chance to save humanity and we can't afford to jeopardize this program for anything less than absolute proof it will fail."

Adrian was completely overwhelmed and stood silently for a minute processing everything the Chairman had just revealed. "So we have no choice. We have to continue as planned."

Frontenac gave Adrian a bitter smile before he replied, "Yes. Now, is there anything else you would like to bring to our attention before we give our final judgment, Commander?"

"No, Sir," Adrian responded, struggling to keep his sense of utter defeat from showing.

"Very well, it is the decision of this council that the current drive testing, exploration, and colonization efforts continue on the established timeline. Further, due to the nature of this meeting, its minutes and all evidence of the occurrence on the UNSS Rimor are to be classified. Commander, you are not to discuss any of the information disclosed here with anyone. We also expect you to inform Lieutenant Yeung that she is not to speak of the events on the Rimor and that you will be able to keep the remainder of the research team in line. Any knowledge of this event or the details of this meeting will be strictly disavowed by this council and UNSA. The official reason for the loss of the research crew will be documented as a life-support failure. Is this clear, Commander?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Then you are dismissed." The Chairman gave him a quick sympathetic smile and then he and the council stood and filed out of the room's back entrance, leaving Adrian alone with the weight of humanity's survival on his shoulders.

UNSA Spaceport, Houston, Texas

The voice crackled through the cockpit speakers. "You are clear for takeoff. Good luck, Commander."

"Thanks Houston." Adrian commed off the link to tower control and stared blankly at the controls in front of him. His reflection gazed back at him from the gleam of the monitors showing a solid face surmounted by closely cropped dark hair that was beginning to grey at the temples. The bags under his eyes were deeper than he could ever remember seeing them.

The sound of a young female voice brought him back to his surroundings. "Engines are hot and I have completed the pre-flight check, Commander."

Seated in the co-pilot seat beside him, Lieutenant – no, now Lieutenant Commander – Sally Yeung, the head of the research team after the loss of Sahi, shot him a quick look of concern before turning her attention back to the screens. "You've been quiet since you got back from D-SEC, Commander. What did they have to say?"

Adrian glanced over at the young woman, her bob of dark hair framing delicate Asian features. Bright green eyes radiated intelligence and hinted at a mixed heritage in her past. The fact that she was a prodigy of quantum and string physics often led him to forget that she was only twenty-six. He barely controlled the growing dismay that had been filling him during the ride to the spaceport from UNSA as he responded, "We are to continue testing as scheduled."

"What!" Sally punctuated her cry with a jab at one of the screens as the engines started to increase their power output. She continued incredulously, "We have a violent close encounter with some aliens telling us to stay out of their back yard, killing seven of our friends, and we're supposed to continue testing?"

His comm informed him that the engines had reached full power and were ready for takeoff. He clenched his jaws in frustration. "For the record, Lieutenant-Commander Yeung," he put an emphasis on the title to ensure Sally registered it, "no such thing happened, understood?"

Adrian nudged the throttle up with his comm and began pulling back on the yoke after the craft reached liftoff speed. He could have run all of the controls through his comm, but he needed to do something with his hands to help control the emotional tide that was flowing through him.

Sally's lip curled in disgust as they started to nose up into the sky. "You can't be serious, Commander. What are we supposed to tell everyone at L1 about what happened?"

"That the Rimor suffered a life-support failure," he responded woodenly.

Sally angrily rocked her head back. "No one will believe that, Commander. They're going to ask questions. And what are we expected to do when those aliens come back again?"

Adrian turned toward the window to stop Sally from seeing the helplessness in his eyes, and watched the parched brown landscape withdrawing behind them. A lone patch of green in the distance outlined the buildings of UNSA's Houston headquarters. He shook his head and avoided her question by replying quietly, "Look out your window. I remember when this was all swamp; all green. The entire American southwest is turning into a desert and that's just a single example of how rapidly Earth's climate is starting to shift. The environmentalists say it will get worse before it gets better." Adrian swallowed the taste of his lie of omission as he skipped over the details given to him by Frontenac. "You know why UNSA has been given a carte blanche on this program. It's our best chance to reduce the population and let the Earth recover. If I asked you to command the next test flight, would you really say no? Would any of the team say no, even if they knew we were lying to them?"

Sally opened and closed her mouth before dropping her eyes and shaking her head in resignation.

The gulf coast came into view, framed by the concrete expanse that was the greater Houston area. The green of urban farms speckled the grey with life, but the encroaching brown landscape outside of the city's confines only accentuated how tenuous those oases were. The dike that had been erected to protect the city from rising waters and hurricane waves formed a sharp transition from grey to aquamarine, arcing off into the distance.

They sat in silence as the plane banked to follow the line of the coast eastward, continually climbing into the deepening sky. His comm indicated they were approaching maximum conventional flight altitude and they spent the next minutes prepping for their orbital burn. Once the large reaction engines kicked in to push them up to rendezvous with UNSA's transfer station, the crushing acceleration and loud roar gave each of them an excuse to avoid further conversation.

As the sound of the engines slowly drained away and the sun receded behind them, the dark of space pressed down oppressively. Sally turned to him in her chair and broke the tense quiet. "You know that I will lead the next test flight, right, Adrian?"

Her voice sounded small in the confines of the cockpit as he looked out at the line of the horizon cutting a swath of darkness across the expanse of stars in front of them. "Yeah, I know."

As the station where they would catch the shuttle out to L1 came into view over the Earth, Sally spoke again, fear thinning her voice. "What should I do if the aliens come back though?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, Sally. I don't know."

March 18, 2073

_And our top story tonight. MetaNews has learned that a life-support failure on the Sorrenson Drive prototype research ship, the UNSS Rimor, has killed seven members of the research team during a live crew test. After months of glowing reports about this fantastic alien drive, which has captured the spirit of adventure in all of us, a first too-good-to-be-true tragedy has struck. With us tonight we have our UNSA analyst Khalisah al-Jilani reporting live from Houston on the fall out of this horrible event..._

July 20, 2073

This is Khalisah al-Jilani coming to you live from L1 station where the UNSS Rimor has just returned from the first human expedition outside of our solar system. The crowd here is ecstatic as we wait to see L1 control display humanity's first photographic images of planets in orbit around another star. Wow. They've just put up the first of the images. I...I can't even begin to describe the feeling that is sweeping through all of us gathered here as these surreal pictures are being presented – they should be showing up on your screens now. This is a truly amazing human achievement that is just beyond words...

August 1, 2073

We now go live to the UNSA press conference with the chair of the Deep Space Exploration Council, Gilles Frontenac.

" _With the successful return of the UNSS Rimor from humanity's first trip beyond the bounds of our solar system, we are proud to announce the commissioning of six new Sorrenson Drive equipped exploration vessels. If you turn your attention to the monitors behind me you will be able to watch them as they clear their dry-docks at UNSA's L5 construction yards..."_

September 2, 2073

And an unusual report has come to MetaNews from our UNSA media correspondent on board L1 station. Two members of the crew of the UNSS Beagle were rushed to the med bay shortly after the ship returned from its exploration run to Epsilon Eridani. It is being reported that these two crew members suffered ill effects from a difficult transition to travel space as the Beagle was departing the Epsilon Eridani system...

September 25, 2073

This is Khalisah al-Jilani coming to you from L1 station. UNSA is reporting that a third explorer has lapsed into a coma during the return of the UNSS Voyager to our solar system. So far UNSA medical staff have not been able to determine the exact cause of these comas, which have affected three of Earth's first interstellar explorers since the beginning of September...

November 12, 2073

A shocking three new cases of 'Travel Sickness,' as it has come to be called since the first reported cases in September, have been diagnosed with the return of the UNSS Baochuan from its most recent exploration run. So far, UNSA has released very little in terms of medical information about Travel Sickness. What we do know is that to date there have been six reported cases of this mysterious illness, which puts sufferers in a deep coma. Only two patients are known to have come out of this coma, one completely healthy, and the other suffering from state of violent psychosis. We have repeatedly tried to interview UNSA medical staff only to have all of our requests denied. Mister Hu Chan, the only person to date to have successfully recovered from Travel Sickness, is unavailable for comment...

November 22, 2073

Our top story tonight: the Order of Relativity has released tapes of UNSA staff interviews from L1 Station as the most recent salvo in the crusade against the alien drive technology. You can go to our website to watch a stream of these amateur interviews, which have crew members stating that they would occasionally see glowing beings while moving through travel space. The Order of Relativity released a statement along with these interviews, indicating that these accounts are proof that this alien drive transports the space ships to a realm where we should not tread and that UNSA has engaged in a massive cover up, possibly extending back to the deaths of the research team on the UNSS Rimor eight months ago...

January 16, 2075

Another case of Travel Sickness has been reported on the UNSS Yamato, bringing the total number of reported cases to fifteen since we first started venturing out of our solar system eighteen months ago. Of these fifteen people, only four have been known to make a full recovery, however UNSA staff have been very tight-lipped when it comes to information about the other eleven affected individuals, stating only that they are working hard to identify the cause and cure of this mysterious illness.

UNSA's continued unwillingness to allow grieving families access to the quarantined Travel Sickness sufferers, along with the Order of Relativity's constant campaigning against the Sorrenson Drive program have brought UNSA's popular support to the lowest it has been since the Solar Armistice of 2065. Even staunch supporters have started to question if D-SEC's exploration program is too aggressive in light of their inability to provide real information about Travel Sickness, leaving many to wonder why UNSA has not called for greater accountability from their Deep Space Exploration and Colonization council. One thing is certain, UNSA is going need a big image boost to justify their continued use of resources while environmental conditions around the world steadily deteriorate...

March 14, 2075; UNSS Hermine

The bridge of the UNSS Hermine remained determinedly out of focus as they approached their arrival zone near L1. Adrian noticed the countdown in the corner of his display flash red, indicating thirty seconds until the switch back to normal space.

"All crew, prepare for transition, t-minus twenty-five seconds," he announced before disengaging his comm from the ship wide address. It would be nice to get back to Sol and get some real food for a change. With no space for fresh food storage on the exploration ships, he and the crew had nothing to eat but military rations for the last six weeks.

His comm floated a notification in front of his vision, :: _UNSS Rimor Memorial – 10:00_.:: The reminder was unnecessary. He had shortened his survey run by two weeks so that he could attend the formal decommissioning of the Rimor and the memorial service for its lost crew.

The Hermine started reading out an audio countdown of the last ten seconds, the normally soothing voice doing nothing to alleviate Adrian's tension. While there had been no more occurrences like what happened on the Rimor two years ago, they were no closer to understanding the alien warnings about travel space, or why the crew had been killed. A few more of the glowing beings had been sighted, but they were peaceful and made no further attempts at communication. It was only the unusual cases of Travel Sickness, leaving nearly a dozen people comatose or in a psychiatric ward, which gave any indication that their understanding of the drive was still woefully incomplete. He had asked Sally if she saw any relationship between the Travel Sickness cases and what happened on the Rimor, but she was unable to find anything conclusive.

A stomach-churning lurch accompanied by the bridge expanding to impossible size before collapsing back to its normal and gratifyingly stable configuration, meant they had transitioned back to normal space. With the drive disengaged, the interior of the ship returned to zero-G and Adrian suppressed the bile that accompanied the sudden change.

"Transition complete; linking with Sol data streams," stated the matter-of-fact voice of the ship's computer.

As local system data began to populate the screens around him, a voice sprang to life in his comm. "This is L1 control. We are picking you up right on the transition marker, Hermine. You are cleared for dock three and we are transmitting auto-dock data to your pilot now. Welcome back, Commander." Business concluded, L1 signed off. The advent of a ship returning to Sol after an exploration run was starting to become commonplace and little of the fanfare that had used to greet them remained.

His pilot leaned back and stretched in his harness as the auto-dock sequence took over, accelerating them toward L1 station. With a muffled groan, he hunched back over his station and started scanning through the information scrolling across his screens. "We'll be docked with L1 and back under some stable Gs again in about twenty-two minutes, Commander." He grunted in appreciation as something on his monitor caught his attention. "It looks like the Beagle found a couple of stars worth a follow-up on their run. I really hope I get to pilot one of the long-term exploration missions; the data from some of these systems we've been finding is amazing." A chorus of agreement came from the rest of the bridge crew.

"I just want to get in to see some of those alien ruins," the communications officer said over his shoulder. "The builders were obviously more advanced than us, so who knows what kind of tech we could pull out of them."

Adrian let the crew continue their chatter as he had his comm scan over the in-system ship listing. The Rimor was not shown as having arrived yet. If they were on schedule he should have about half an hour to clean up before it reached L1. It would be nice to see all of the old research team together again at the decommissioning and memorial. After the test runs completed eighteen months ago, they had been split up by the initial exploration phase of D-SEC's plan. Due to the loss of half of the key science and command staff in the incident on the Rimor, instead of his intended job as a coordinator on L1, Adrian had been pressed into command of the Hermine. Truthfully he was glad he was out among the stars instead of warming a seat in the middle of nowhere between Earth and the moon.

Now that the first exploration phase was winding down, the Rimor could finally take its rest and its lost crew could be mourned properly, two years after they had disappeared. Sally had drawn the duty of the ship's last mission and the honour of bringing it in to L1 for the memorial. The Voyager and the Yamato had taken up positions flanking the Lagrangian point where the Rimor was expected to come out of travel space, and would be serving as an honorary escort during the trip to the station. As the person responsible for overseeing the original Sorrenson Drive research staff, Adrian's job was to meet the Rimor at the dock, rub elbows with the visiting dignitaries, and say a few words on behalf of UNSA once Sally finished the opening memorial speech. He was glad she had that responsibility, as he was almost certain that he would have struggled to get through a more personal presentation.

Adrian spent the duration of the trip to L1 reviewing his speech notes while his comm scanned internal and system data, ready to alert him should anything need attention. His eyes kept drifting to an image of Sahi that he had up on one of his screens. Of all the people that had to disappear, why did she have to be one of them?

All too soon his pilot was indicating that they were beginning final docking manoeuvres. Adrian saved a few last edits to his speech file and loaded it into his comm so he would have it at the memorial. Sahi's smiling face continued to glow at him while the Hermine floated into docking port three and Adrian distracted himself with the information flowing across his screens.

UNSA L1 Station

The outer lock finished cycling and Sally heard the echo of a naval band floating up the hall to the bridge. The rest of the crew were already lined up and started bowing out through the airlock single file to the sound of a funeral march – UNSA's staged parade of loss and compassion, hyped up for the public eye. Sally would have preferred a quiet, private ceremony, but at least she and the rest of the research team would finally have a chance to pay proper respects to their lost friends after the show.

As she left the bridge she issued a command with her comm to begin the final shut down of the Rimor. The lights and consoles on the bridge dimmed into obscurity and the air stopped circulating through the vents. UNSA intended to re-open the Rimor and turn it into a tourist attraction after a twelve month period of mourning, but until then it would be as silent and dark as the tomb it was.

Sally cast one last look over the bridge as she entered the still-lit hall and her shadow fell the length of the room like a ghost. She had heard of other alien sightings and had even seen one herself during a mission, but whatever happened to her friends had thankfully not occurred again, which only seemed to deepen the mystery surrounding their deaths. She had spent dozens of extra hours investigating the data, but still had no idea why that one test had been different. She had even tried correlating with the flight data from the Travel Sickness cases, but still came up empty.

With a resigned sigh she made her way down to the airlock accompanied only by the sound of her footsteps and the strains of the band. Sally exited the lock, pulled the latch closed, and secured it with her comm. Once the last of the lights in the Rimor darkened, she turned to begin her procession toward the stage, feeling the focus of the news cameras like an increase in air pressure on her skin. Crowded onto the stage were a podium and seven stands, each displaying a picture of one of her lost friends, the national flag of their home country, and the UNSA emblem.

She double checked that her speech was queued up in her comm before she mounted the steps and approached the podium. She had thought of letting the world know about the occurrence on the Rimor, but without any further communication from the aliens to explain what had happened, it would only jeopardize the exploration program. The fact that UNSA's decision had proved to be the correct one galled her, but with a pang of selfish guilt, she knew there was no way she would ever trade the experiences of the last eighteen months for anything.

The crowd disappeared in a wash of flare from the spotlights as she reached the podium where she hung her head and waited for the band to finish its mournful song. She hoped that the flow of words in her ear as the comm dictated from her speech file, would let her focus enough to get through the next few minutes.

On screens around the Earth, people saw Sally take the stage in a command officer's ship suit that she seemed far too young for. Underneath the bright lights, her eyes shining with restrained emotion, she looked fragile and alone behind the podium. She was flanked by the pictures of seven smiling faces that everyone recognized from the tragic news two years ago, but obviously had meant so much to this young woman. After the constant stream of surreal discoveries and frightening stories of Travel Sickness coming through the networks, for many it was this image of Sally standing on the stage that made humanity's forays into galactic space real. As the final chords from the band echoed out into silence through the halls of L1 station, Sally cleared her throat. The barely controlled feelings in that sound struck at the hearts of everyone in the room and around the world.

"Two years ago today, seven people – brothers – sisters – sons – daughters – friends – lost their lives to give us the stars." She paused to try and stop the waver in her voice. "I know that sounds cliché, but it's true. My friends were the last people you would expect to seek fame and recognition. They died doing what they felt was needed to bring us a new future. A lot of you won't know who my friends were and it's sad that it took their sacrifice to be recognized as true pioneers of galactic space travel. It's sad that it took two years for the loss of my friends to be anything more than a note in a report and a bit on the evening news, but we all had work to do and it was deemed that mourning was a luxury we could not afford. It's sad that they never got to enjoy the wonderful gift they gave to the rest of us.

"These are the names of my friends who sacrificed to give humanity a chance at a new age of exploration; the names of the people who allowed UNSA to give you your day's top stories and a wondrous future for everyone." Sally stepped back from the podium and walked to the first smiling picture before facing the cameras again.

"Robert Williams." Sally turned and bowed to the picture before moving to the next, giving each of her fallen friends the same honour.

"Ahnwai Udungno"

"Zack Sheppard"

"Chen Fei"

"Dmitriy Krusckov"

"Kiko Yashima"

"Sahi Bahai"

Her circuit complete, she paused to use the edge of her sleeve to dab at the tears which had begun flowing down her face before returning to the podium. She took another second to collect herself and then looked back up to the room and her worldwide audience, her eyes red, but with a fire of determination blazing behind them.

"Remember these faces, remember these names." She pointed back to each of the pictures in turn as the news feeds zoomed in for another close up of each portrait. "Robert Williams, Ahnwai Udungno, Zack Sheppard, Chen Fei, Dmitriy Krusckov, Kiko Yashima, Sahi Bahai." The cameras pulled back for a wide shot of the entire stage as Sally spread her hands to take in all of the pictures behind her. "They are the people who made our expansion to the stars possible. Their sacrifice has touched all of our lives and they deserve honoured consideration in our thoughts and prayers."

Sally turned back toward the portraits of her lost team members and bowed again. "Thank you." The cameras watched her straighten and exit the stage, stopping to embrace a gathering of people near the front of the crowd. A tall and powerfully-built man with dark hair greying at the temples, light blue eyes, and wearing a commander's insignia, detached himself from the group and stepped up on to the stage, drawing the eyes of the world away from the young woman who had finally made humanity's latest great endeavour a reality to so many.

Sally dropped into her seat beside the rest of the team, still holding hands with her friends on either side. Adrian had taken the stage now and was paying his respects to those lost on the Rimor. He looked every inch The Commander. A man you could trust to take you out into the great emptiness of space safely. Sally hated the fact that she was so young. Compared to Adrian she must have looked like a silly little girl up on the stage. Everyone probably just felt sorry for her and would not take her message seriously. After all, what could she matter in the eyes of all the viewers that had watched her speech? She settled back more comfortably on her chair and, with the people she cared about around her, finally took a moment to mourn the friends that had been lost.

Adrian stood with the rest of the research team and smiled at Sally as she left the stage. She had handled herself well and he was proud of her. It was time for his turn in front of the lights though, so he turned, squared his shoulders, and resolutely climbed the steps Sally had just descended. Once again Sahi's face dominated his vision and he tightly gripped the podium until he regained his composure and looked up to the crowd.

Adrian focused on the litany of his speech buzzing in his ear from his comm. As the military commander of the research team he was expected to help carry UNSA's views and he could not let himself get distracted by his emotions. He realized he was going over time when he saw Frontenac waiting impatiently at the side of the stage. Adrian wrapped up his condolences quickly, not focusing or lingering on Sahi. He shook hands and endured a quick embrace from Frontenac before leaving the stage and taking his seat at the front of the crowd.

The look of loss in Frontenac's eyes was almost believable as he began, "It is a tragic day of remembrance that brings us here together." He planted both hands squarely on the side of the podium and braced himself for support, as if the burden of his despair made it impossible for him to hold his own weight. "A day when we must pay our respects to those near to us whom we have lost; to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our race in the pursuit of a new hope for all. We at UNSA acknowledge the loss of these seven great people who died to give us the wondrous times of exploration and discovery that we are now living in..."

Adrian's attention kept drifting away toward the picture of Sahi during the Chairman's speech. Seeing her smiling face caused him to simultaneously hate both Frontenac and himself for covering up the events surrounding her loss. He knew it was the correct decision, but that only made it more difficult to bear. It was unfair for him to take it out on Gilles though, even if he was over-acting for the benefit of the cameras.

Adrian blew out a quiet breath of tension to regain control. With the testing and exploration schedule of the past two years, he had been unable to take the time to come to grips with the fact that Sahi was gone and that he had to lie about her disappearance – her 'disappearance' – he was unable to even admit that she was dead. He really needed to take some time and get control of these emotions before they jeopardized those under his command. He hoped this memorial service would at least help to bring him some closure.

A change in the tone of the Chairman's speech pulled Adrian back to what was happening behind the podium. He shook his head and tried to focus. With the next phase of the Sorrenson Drive program ramping up, wallowing in his loss was not a luxury he could afford and he was expecting UNSA to use the publicity of the memorial to reveal their plans.

"...pleased to officially commission for active duty our first seven Ground-Breaker class exploration and colonization ships." The lights dimmed revealing a large screen with a live feed from the L5 yards. Seven vessels were slowly emerging from their construction cradles under the power of tug-ships.

"The UNSS Udungno." Lights lit up on the hull of the ship proudly displaying the lost research team member's name. It was at least two-hundred-fifty meters long, judging from the size of the tugs next to it, making it almost ten times the size of the first exploration craft like the Rimor. Frontenac continued as the next ship fully emerged from its cradle.

"The UNSS Sheppard."

"The UNSS Fei."

"The UNSS Yashima."

"The UNSS Williams."

"The UNSS Kruskov."

The Chairman paused while the last vessel floated out of dry-dock and Adrian's heart leapt into his throat as the lights spilled across the hull illuminating its name, even though he knew what it would be. "And the flagship of our new Ground-Breaker exploration fleet, the UNSS Bahai." The screen pulled out to a wide shot as all seven of the ships slowed to a stop. From this view Adrian noticed that large scaffolds were being assembled behind the L5 yards.

"And in a joint effort from MNASA, FESEA, and CNSA, overseen by UNSA, I am also pleased to announce the start of construction on three of our new Ark class colonization ships. These Ark ships will be capable of transporting over two thousand colonists, along with all necessary supplies, to worlds deemed safe by the crews of our Ground-Breaker fleet." The size of the construction arms for the Arks was astounding. Adrian figured that each of them would be well over a kilometre long. How were the multinats expecting to get the resources up to L5 to construct these monstrosities or the people to fill them?

He quickly received his answer as the screen changed to show one of the asteroid captures that had been wrangled into orbit around Earth for easy mining. The view showed a large docking door in place on the underside of the asteroid and, as Adrian watched, lights came on around the rim of the portal, glittering off of a large black column that began to emerge from within. The entire crowd gasped at the realization of what they must be seeing.

The lights came up and Frontenac stepped in front of the screen. "And to fully herald humanity's entry into the age of galactic exploration, we are building a bridge between Earth and the stars! UNSA is proud to show you all a first view of the Rimor Memorial Earth to Space Elevator emerging from the newly christened UNSA Station, formerly NEA 347. In exactly twelve months, timed to correspond with the opening of the Rimor Memorial here at L1 station, the space elevator will touch down at a base which has started construction in Jamaica. With its completion, humanity will be ready to begin colonizing those worlds that UNSA exploration crews have proclaimed safe within as little as three years." The screens showed a traditional golden-shovel ground-breaking ceremony occurring Earth-side in a field surrounded by palm and banana trees, but Adrian was too stunned to react. The crowd around the research team were all up on their feet applauding as Frontenac paced the stage with his arms thrust up in a victory salute. Whatever solemnity had been created at the start of the memorial was quickly buried under a roar of jubilation and excitement.

Adrian looked down the row at his friends who were turning to one another with questioning glances. Sally was outright furious as a message from her popped into his comm. :: _You've got to be kidding me; if you don't do something I will_.::

Up on the stage, Frontenac was busy silencing everyone. "Thank you, thank you! This is truly a moment for all of mankind to celebrate! Now if everyone would follow me to dock five, we can board one of our new shuttles which will take us over to UNSA station. Once we arrive, there will be a tour of the elevator extrusion factory and a celebration in the beautiful Earth View Terrace lounge. Afterward, everyone is welcome to stay in the new Virgin Galactic Hotel 347. I assure you the views from the rooms will be spectacular!" Frontenac and a group of UNSA aides quickly got everyone moving toward the exits.

Adrian took in the shocked expressions of his team and commed a reply to cut off Sally's imminent outburst. :: _Not now, Sally._ :: Verbally he said to all of them, "You guys go ahead and I'll meet you at the dock." He left them to make their own way to the shuttle as he rushed to catch up with Frontenac.

One of the UNSA aides jumped in front of him as he approached the Chairman and his retinue. "I'm sorry, Commander, Chairman Fro –"

Adrian pushed past the flunky and got Frontenac's attention. A text popped up in his comm as Frontenac saw Adrian. :: _The lab just off of the corridor to the left._ ::

Adrian waited while the Chairman said a few words to the multinat dignitaries he was walking with and then let the group continue on ahead before ducking into the lab with Adrian right behind him.

"Commander, what can I –" Frontenac started before Adrian interrupted him.

"Really, Gilles? You're going to turn our memorial service into a celebratory wine and dine for UNSA's backers and partners?"

Frontenac grimaced and shook his head. "Adrian, look, I know that –"

"No, you don't know." Adrian closed in and loomed over Frontenac. "It has been two years and UNSA finally gives our friends a real memorial service, only to have you turn it into a publicity stunt. Tell me why this announcement couldn't have waited a few days?"

"Adrian, I am sorry. You know the stakes," Frontenac replied as he hung his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. "We cannot let the media dwell on the loss of the crew of the Rimor. We worked hard to control the rumours last time and we must not give the networks a chance to bring them back up again. The Order of Relativity has redoubled their witch-hunt to shut down the program in the weeks since we announced the service. It will not serve the memory of our friends if the program they died for is shut down because of a few unanswered questions." He stopped and put a hand on Adrian's shoulder. "I promise you that UNSA is well aware of the work all of you have put in and we will give you the chance to spend some quality time together again." He paused and tilted his head to the side as he received a call on his comm. "Listen, I have got to go. I will speak with you and your team at the dinner. Just please ensure they do not do anything rash before then."

Frontenac turned and left Adrian in the lab staring after him, listening to his receding footsteps.

Adrian caught up with his team waiting for him in the corridor outside of bay five. Sally saw him first and called out, "Commander, what did the UNSA toady have to say?"

An embarrassed blush heated her face as Adrian frowned at her, but she did not back down. "We will just have to grin and bear it for a few hours. The Chairman said he would talk to us at the dinner tonight." While he was speaking he commed Sally a message. :: _Leave it for now, please._ ::

She briefly caught his eye and then stalked off toward the shuttle as Joan Fischer, their tall red-maned chief of engineering on the project, arched an eyebrow in Sally's direction. "Did she really expect UNSA not to use this opportunity for everything it was worth? She's been on the team as long as the rest of us."

Adrian just shrugged and tried to keep the same faintly irritated expression on his face. "Come on, let's grab some seats on the shuttle before we end up standing."

The trip to UNSA Station from L1 was uneventful beyond a few of the passengers getting space-sick during the low gravity departure and docking. The pilot also happily informed them before they left, that the shuttle was outfitted with one of the new fusion plasma rockets, so they would be at Earth standard gravity for the entire four-hour trip. Adrian wincingly recalled the two-day zero-G rides between L1 and Earth on the old reaction engine shuttles and chuckled to himself. While he and the rest of the crew talked quietly amongst each other, Sally contented herself with brooding the entire trip. At least she was refraining from making a scene.

After they exited the shuttle at UNSA Station, a large elevator took everyone up into the asteroid and let them off at a debarking area which opened onto a massive promenade tunnelled through the rock. The street arced up around the curvature of the small planetoid's horizon on either side of them and the comfortable pull at Adrian's feet indicated the entire asteroid had been spun up to near one-G, making the outer surface 'down'. Workers were planting trees in front of a bank of empty store fronts, some already bearing brand name signs, which lined the street with access to offices and living quarters above them. Further down the avenue, human and robot crews were hard at work carving the asteroid rock, shaping it into handsome facades that would one day be more stores, hotels, or apartments on the station. The entire team gawked at the station interior, their disappointment at UNSA's interruption of their memorial overwhelmed by sheer amazement. After spending almost eight years working out of research facilities on Mars and L1, the attention to creature comforts on UNSA station was surreal. Workers were even mounting large OLED mats on the ceilings to simulate a fake sky.

Frontenac stepped up on a small stage flanked by two blossoming cherry trees, drawing the attention of the camera crews who were excitedly panning up and down the visible length of the street. "Welcome, to one of our best kept secrets. As you can see, we are moving beyond the institutional facilities that everyone associates with space travel. UNSA Station will be the first thing all colonists will see when they leave Earth. This station will provide them with all the amenities of home while giving them a chance to acclimatize to the rigours of space flight and colonization. All of this is being built to reduce the amount of shock that moving to another world will cause for a population that has never left our home planet. Please, feel free to explore the station before we move onto a tour of the elevator cable factory. Afterward, we will be treating all of you to a wonderful dinner to showcase our vision for this station and the future. Should you wish a closer look, UNSA staff will direct you through some of the office and living spaces where construction has been completed."

Catering carts with snacks and drinks were rolled in, further enhancing the sense of a party atmosphere. Adrian and the rest of the team chatted animatedly as they stretched after the flight and picked up refreshments. Occasionally attendees would approach and offer their condolences, but the sombre note which had started the day's events had completely evaporated. He was talking with Satish about one of the planets the Hermine had encountered on its last exploration run, when he caught a sullen look from Sally. The piece of cantaloupe in his mouth soured with guilt as she stared at him. While he wished he was just overwhelmed by all of the excitement, in truth he knew he was not ready to face the loss of Sahi and was grateful for the curtailing of the memorial service. He uncomfortably ducked Sally's accusatory gaze, feigning interest in a tray of cheeses.

UNSA aides started circulating through the crowd, herding them up the wide street toward a tram station where everyone was instructed to board cabs that still reeked of new plastic. Once they all had settled in, a tone sounded their departure from the station and they smoothly accelerated. Their car very quickly passed into rough tunnels of bare stone, although even here robot crews were working to make everything appear more like Earth. The team guessed that once the station reached full size it would likely support a permanent population of one-hundred-thousand and many more transient residents.

They finally stopped at a utilitarian tram station and, as everyone debarked, they could feel a faint vibration coming up through the soles of their feet. Gravity was much lower here and Adrian noticed that some of the people who had been sick on the shuttle ride were starting to look ill again. Frontenac was in front of a large hallway with the label 'Cable Extrusion' above it. He wore a bright-blue hardhat strapped down on his head and UNSA aides moved through the assembly passing out similar headwear. As they gave out the hats, the aides explained that the chin straps on the helmets would be necessary due to passing through a zero-G environment during the tour. More than a few people re-boarded the tram and indicated they would wait until the tour finished at that announcement.

Once everyone who decided to tough it out were properly adorned and capped in blue, they were funnelled into the hall and through two large airlocks. At the door of the second airlock a klaxon blared and a perky female voice claimed that the area beyond the doors was a zero-G industrial zone. The room through the lock was an immense cylinder running up the center of the asteroid. Large robot miners floated along the central corridor, dumping carbon rich ore into processing hoppers distributed around the chamber. The people were guided along a catwalk before passing through another airlock into a mechanical area where the carbon was extracted, heated, extruded into continuous monofilament strands, and then braided into the final cable at a rate of just over four kilometres an hour. The whole process was explained by the same sing-song voice that had greeted them when they entered the facility, causing the team to roll their eyes at each other whenever their glances met.

Once the tour completed, they exited the facility and took the tram back out to the living areas of the station where UNSA staffers led them toward a set of doors underneath a sign proudly proclaiming the entrance to the 'Earth View Terrace.' Inside the entryway, a large airlock made to look like a sweeping grand staircase, directed them down toward the surface of the asteroid before it broadened out into a large atrium which obviously gave the venue its name. Stretching from wall to wall, floor-to-ceiling windows were currently offering a stunning view of the Americas rising from the asteroid's cratered surface, which provided a briefly disorienting grey and brown mottled ceiling for the view. Waiters in formal attire appeared and started passing out drinks and hors d'oeurves.

The room was filled with a who's-who of UNSA and the multinats. Through the crowd Adrian even saw Andrew Sorrenson, the lucky discoverer of the ancient alien ship on Mars that they had gotten the drive technology from. Frontenac was really pulling out all the stops if they had bothered to dig him up out of whatever Martian dive he called home these days. Adrian nodded in response to Sorrenson's wan smile of greeting before the conversation of his team drew his attention back to their table.

"Yeah, but that means we only have three years to find somewhere safe to put all these people that UNSA is going to be bringing up the elevator." The person talking was Satish Shurma, their principal bio-systems engineer and a former eminent Martian xeno-biologist. Despite his East Indian heritage, he spoke with a wide Texas drawl that immediately identified him in a crowd. "I think UNSA is cutting it a little too tight. Even if they have the crews for those new Ground-Breakers ready to head off to the high-priority colonization targets right away, there is no way that you can explore an entire planet and identify all likely biological threats in three years." Nods of agreement went around the table in response to his sentiment.

They were interrupted by Chairman Frontenac approaching them, his hands wide in apology. "Ah! Excellent, you are all here. First let me thank you on behalf of UNSA for allowing us to co-opt today's events. I am sure this must have been a trying day for all of you. Commander Daniels has made it clear to me in no uncertain terms, that we owe each of you a great debt of gratitude." A waiter approached from behind him bearing a bottle of champagne and nine glasses which were set on the table as the Chairman continued. "First, I would like to offer each of you whatever time you feel necessary to recharge before your next mission. Our landers are at your disposal should you wish to return to Earth for any reason." His eyes twinkled and a smile played at the corner of his mouth as he lowered his tone conspiratorially. "However, I suspect that when you see what else I have to offer, you may not want to take too much time. If you check your comms, you should all be receiving a package containing some details of your next assignments. We realized that splitting your team up after the testing completed was not the best decision on our part, so UNSA has selected all of you to form the command crew on the UNSS Bahai." Gasps came from around the table as the team opened the dossiers that they were downloading and Frontenac proceeded with an enticing grin. "Further, we are giving you first pick of the Ground-Breaker missions so you can go wherever you choose in the exploration zones." A pop of the champagne bottle being uncorked punctuated the end of his declaration.

Adrian looked at Sally whose bitterness had finally been overwhelmed by the thrill of their new assignment and was speaking animatedly with their communications technician Kelly Friesen. He smiled in thanks at Frontenac as the Chairman raised a glass in a toast of congratulations before leaving them to continue his mingling.

Kelly squealed in excitement and hugged Sally before turning to the rest of the table and exclaiming, "Can you believe it? We're going to be the command crew of the flagship!"

"And don't forget we get to choose to go wherever we want in the galaxy. Just look at mission zone six – it's where they found those abandoned alien worlds. We could walk through an alien city!" proclaimed Allain Brodeur, their navigation systems specialist, who was practically vibrating with excitement.

Penelope Artiz, one of the engineering technicians and the only other military member of the group outside of Adrian and Kelly, leaned in looking enthusiastically around the table. "All those planets and star-systems, who knows what we might find!"

Before long all of them were happily discussing the details of the different missions and good naturedly arguing about why they thought their choice was the best. Adrian sighed and wiped his memorial speech from active recall, letting their excitement dissolve his remaining melancholy. He figured he could take some time to himself on the trip out to wherever they decided to go, and began compiling a list of the systems that he and his crew could consider exploring. It looked like it was going to be a long night.

March 15, 2075: UNSA Station

Sally sat down with a steaming mug of coffee and a danish. Too excited to sleep after everyone else went to bed, she had spent the rest of the night reviewing the different mission files and arrived early at the meeting room UNSA had provided them. Having the research team back together and in command of the flagship of the Ground-Breaker missions was like a dream come true. She, Sally Yeung, was going to be exploring new planets and mysterious alien ruins. It was like one of her father's science fiction books that she always used to read as a child. Although alien races that disappeared without a trace, leaving behind entire ghost worlds like the initial survey crews had found, generally went poorly for the humans in those novels. But a story without a challenge to overcome would be pretty boring. Besides, those books were all just fiction.

Sally took a bite of the pastry, revelling in the sharp taste of cinnamon, before focusing her thoughts back on the mission files. She pulled up a list of the systems that were mapped in the first exploration phase, grouped together into different mission zones. All of them had stayed up late, poring over the initial survey data, debating which region they wanted to voyage into.

While perusing her favourite exploration areas, her mind turned back to how quiet the Commander had been last night and wondered how he was taking this new assignment. He tried to stay professional as the military leader of a group of scientists and engineers, but Sally could tell that he was steadily growing more exhausted since the incident on the Rimor two years ago. And now he was posted on a ship named after someone who he obviously had cared so much about, a constant reminder of her death. As the head scientist, she was Adrian's second in command and she knew she should talk to him about it, but she had been unable to tactfully broach the subject. Maybe she could get Joan to speak with him since she was closer to Adrian's age and had some experience with loss after the death of her husband.

The door whisked open to admit Joan who ambled into the conference room and released a grateful sigh when she caught the wafts emanating from the table in the corner. "Oh, coffee, yes please."

Sally held up her pastry. "Food too."

Joan grunted something around the flaky confection she had already stuffed in her mouth while she poured a cup of coffee. After grabbing a second danish, she made her way over to the table, clearing the way for Thomas who had just entered the room. Sally waved at him and received a warm smile in return. While he was quite unassuming in appearance and mannerisms, with a masters degree in both linguistics and bio-systems engineering, once you got him talking, Sally always found he had something interesting or funny to say.

Joan groaned theatrically as she sat down next to Sally and then nudged her in the ribs. "Remind me never to stay up with you kids gabbing away half the night again, my workout was brutal this morning." Joan stifled a yawn as she stretched back in her chair before returning her attention to her breakfast, throwing Sally a quick question around a mouth full of food. "Did Adrian say anything to you about him being late? I don't think I ever beat him to a meeting back on L1."

"No he didn't." Sally frowned again and leaned in toward Joan, pitching her voice to prevent Thomas from overhearing her before saying, "I'm a little worried about him. I think –"

The door hissed open and the Commander walked in holding his hands up in defence when he saw the three in the room looking at him. "I'm here, you can call off the search and rescue." He chuckled as he made his way to the coffee. "After spending most of the night up talking shop I thought I deserved the chance to sleep in a bit."

"The coffee is really good, way better than the freeze-dry we get on mission, Commander," Sally said by way of greeting. She thought he looked at her a little sheepishly before he turned his attention to the service tray.

The look had disappeared from Adrian's face by the time he sat down at the table with a large cup of the steaming brew. As they sat around talking idly and waiting for the others to arrive, Sally thought she must have imagined the whole thing. The idea of the Commander being self-conscious was almost ridiculous.

Soon everyone was in attendance and had taken their place at the table, so Sally brought her attention back to the purpose of the meeting as Adrian started speaking. "All right, the first thing I would like to go over is your individual staff appointments so that you can focus on our meeting from the point of view of your assigned role. This is merely a formalizing of the jobs that you would end up performing on the Bahai anyway, but regulations require a documented chain of command. There should be no surprises here, but if any of you have a problem, you can meet with me privately after we are done today." Sally nodded in agreement with everyone else before Adrian began listing their assignments.

"Lieutenant Commander Sally Yueng, you will be the science officer and the first officer.

"Lieutenant Commander Kelly Friesen, you will be the communications and tactics officer as well as the second officer

"Lieutenant Commander Penelope Artiz, you will be the operations officer as well as the chief of security. If Kelly, Sally, and I are all incapacitated, you will also be in charge.

"Lieutenant Commander Joan Fischer, you will be the engineering officer.

"Lieutenant Commander Satish Shurma, you will be our medical and bio-systems officer.

"Lieutenant Allain Brodeur, you will be the helm and navigations officer and assist Lieutenant Commander Artiz with operations.

"Lieutenant Thomas Kleppenstein, you will be our linguistics officer and assist Lieutenant Commander Shurma.

Each of the team acknowledged their new positions in turn when Adrian addressed them. Over-all it resembled how they had organized themselves after losing half their number on the Rimor and Sally doubted any of them would have a problem.

"Now that is out of the way," Adrian continued, "our next order of business will be to examine the load-out on the Ground-Breaker ships since we didn't have access to these details last night." While he spoke, he started pushing files to everyone's comms and showing relevant data on the screens in front of them. Sally pulled up the inventory listing and technical schematics once her comm finished downloading them. They were impressive to say the least. A few whistles of appreciation chorused from around the table as Adrian began speaking again. "After an initial review I think I have a better idea how UNSA plans on having us meet their exploration goals, as extreme as they are."

"Might I ask, Commander," Satish said, raising his hand, "what are UNSA's exploration goals?"

"Three years, four systems. That's the goal for each Ground-Breaker mission. UNSA has even included bonuses for those that manage to do more." The mission objective files, which had been kept out of the dossier they were given by Frontenac at the party, loaded into their comms. It was so quiet that Sally swore she could hear everyone reading.

"But that..." Satish trailed off, gaping.

Penelope finished his sentiment. "Commander, that's just not possible."

"I agree that it is unlikely," he said as a few items on the Ground-Breaker manifest highlighted themselves, "but I think UNSA has at least given us the tools to make a respectable attempt."

Sally saw an asteroid miner, robotic factories, a drive-equipped excursion ship, space planes and a ready-made complement of drones in a quick scan of what Adrian had indicated. The Commander paused to let it sink in. "With the equipment that UNSA is giving us, if we find a high priority target, we can even start an automated mining and construction process before we leave a system, so that by the time colonists arrive, all they would have to do is acclimate."

The stunned silence changed to a considering one. Sally was amazed that UNSA had managed to convince the Earth to provide such significant resources and distantly wondered what the even larger Ark ships would be like.

But, as interesting as the ships were, Sally really wanted to find out which mission area and systems they would select and turned the discussion back in that direction. "So where do we start, Commander?"

The screens flickered and changed to a system map showing a number code for a name as Adrian nodded in response to her question. "We are going to start here," he said, "at HD 10647 on the outer edge of mission zone six and then work our way Sol-ward exploring systems as we go. Not only is HD 10647 at the outer edge of past exploration runs, making it ideal for a potential forward base, this system has been flagged by UNSA as a priority target." The map panned to follow the Commander's speech while their comms brought forward the relevant data from the files.

"The reason this system is of particular interest," Adrian continued, "is due to evidence of an advanced space-faring civilization and two potentially habitable terrestrials." Pictures of orbital installations and regular patterned grids on the surface of both liveable planets popped up on the screens. "The initial survey team that visited the system didn't notice any activity or radiation levels consistent with current habitation, but were required by regulations to keep a safe distance, so we don't have too much more detail on this civilization's technology or current whereabouts." The pictures settled on a spherical object floating in space that exhibited obvious signs of artificial construction. The Commander moved on as information about the alien station loaded into their comms. "The most notable of the orbital installations is a space station located at the solar L5 point of the inner most habitable planet. It is approximately fifteen kilometres in diameter and initial scans suggest that it is completely artificial and not an asteroid capture. So whoever built this was a fair bit ahead of us technologically."

Allain looked hopefully at the Commander and raised his hand before asking, "Are we going to be able to get some time exploring this station?"

"Yes Lieutenant. I'm sure you and Lieutenant Commander Artiz will have your hands full planning an excursion and selecting boarding parties during the trip out." Penelope and Allain grinned at each other before turning back to the Commander as he continued the meeting. Sally made a note to be extra nice to them so she could get assigned to that away-party.

"I expect that we will be in this system for a full nine months if not more. Our primary objective will be to set up HD 10647 as a forward exploration base including mineral and fuel mining operations, as well as beginning work on a science station at the edge of one of the asteroid belts. Our secondary objectives will be detailed orbital mapping of the terrestrials, establishing a system resource map of the asteroids, and exploring some of the orbital installations focusing on the large station."

"Will we have any opportunities for planet-side exploration?" Satish asked.

"Possibly, Lieutenant Commander. If we complete our other objectives, and we decide it's safe, we will consider performing limited planet excursions. However, any surface exploration would mean diverting some of our marines from other escort duties and the orbital installations will be the priority in such a case." The Commander looked around the group. "Are there any further questions regarding the selection of this system or the exploration objectives? Keep in mind, we will have a four week flight out to review the details."

Kelly, and Penelope held up their hands and he nodded to Kelly first. "Go ahead, Lieutenant Commander Freisen."

"Thank you, Commander," she said as she lowered her hand, running it over her close cropped blonde hair. Sally was a little jealous that even with a military brush cut Kelly was absolutely gorgeous. "What will be our protocol for communication with Earth?"

"Good question, Lieutenant Commander. Right now, communications are our biggest hurdle and we are going to have to operate autonomously. If a situation arises that necessitates some communication with Earth, we can send our drive-equipped excursion ship back."

He looked to Penelope. "Lieutenant Commander Artiz?"

"How many marines will be coming with us, Commander?" she asked. Sally had not been the least bit surprised to learn that the muscular Latin woman had been a drill sergeant in the US Army before getting a degree in mechanical engineering through the military.

"UNSA regulations state there must be one marine for every two science crew when exploring xeno-installations, or ground side on life-possible planets," Adrian responded. "We will be bringing ten marines along which will allow us to easily field up to five small excursion parties or one large one and still maintain a functional crew aboard the Bahai."

Penelope and Allain passed another look between each other. As operations officers they would be the direct liaisons between the marines and the command crew. Everyone on the team except for Adrian, Kelly, and Penelope were civilians with special commissions due to their skill-sets, and the hard military temperament of the marines would be a drastic change.

Seeing no further questions were forthcoming, the Commander brought up a second star system. "Up next will be Nu Phoenicis." Sally's map showed a binary system with a brown dwarf in a stable orbit six AU from the primary and a total of seven planets with signs of atmosphere inside the life zones created by the two stars. The Commander continued. "This system is unusual in that it has no asteroid belts, but there are a lot of barren terrestrials which appear to be rich in resources." Sally quickly paged through the extensive planet listing which contained hundreds of worlds and planetoids, most of them with very high spectrographic readings for base and heavy minerals. While the cost of extraction would be higher than asteroid mining, the raw mineral value of this system was incalculable.

"Our primary objective is to set up a robotic mining and manufacturing operation here and give the capabilities of our automated factories a rigorous test. While our engineering teams are busy with that, our science and operations teams will be mapping the other terrestrials in the system, starting with the seven habitation-possible planets. Are there any questions?" There were none.

Sally checked the atmospheres of the seven potentially habitable planets and figured that at best they would be strong terraforming candidates meaning it would be decades before the system could support a large human population. However, if the automated manufacturing systems proved themselves, Nu Phoenicis would be able to provide a significant percentage of the raw resources that humanity would need for the foreseeable future.

A third system appeared on the screen and in Sally's head as Adrian started speaking again. "Target number three is HR 857. Our focus in this system will be a very large terrestrial planet in the life zone around the star at approximately point-eight AU from the primary, currently designated HR 857c. This planet is a garden world with no signs of civilization. The scout crew passed close enough to grab some high-definition pictures and perform a detailed analysis indicating that this is a high-priority world for colonization." A slideshow of pictures showing a cloud mottled globe looking like it was caught in a perpetual sunset due to its orange star flashed across their screens. Sally recalled seeing some of these pictures on the news between her exploration runs. The planet also had a Saturn-like ring in addition to a few small moons, making it a stunning sight. She could only imagine what that sky must look like from the ground.

Then she noticed the size of the planet and she had to read it again in disbelief as the Commander continued. "When I say this is a large terrestrial, I mean this planet has a surface area about four times that of Earth. Gravity is one-point-five-G and the day cycle is thirty-eight hours. So while this planet will take some time for colonists to acclimate to, our readings show that life here evolved similarly to that on Earth, with chemical compositions in the atmosphere like what ours would have been approximately sixty-million years ago." Adrian glanced at Satish, Thomas, Penelope, and Allain who had all leaned forward in intense interest as the Commander was speaking. "There will be planet excursions here as samples will need to be collected for genetic analysis to ensure there is nothing that could affect Earth-born life.

"While the crews on the ground are working, the remainder of us will be capturing an asteroid for the construction of an orbital science station and elevator platform. We will also be mapping the rest of the system, which is otherwise fairly typical, and starting some minor asteroid and fuel mining operations."

A fourth and final system popped up on their monitors and Sally thought she recognized the name from some of those science fiction books she used to read. "Tau Ceti." Adrian paused as he enlarged the image and flashed a history of the star into their comms; Sally knew she had recognized it. "At a mere twelve light years away from Earth and having a near-twin to our own Sun, it has garnered intense interest over the years as a possible habitable system. Even after an extensive extra-solar planet search proved there was nothing of significant interest, we still targeted our radio antennas at it wondering and hoping. It seemed that the captain of one of the exploration teams was a bit of a sci-fi buff, recalled the name of the star from a book, and decided to do a system fly-by anyway. What they did find, though, was this." Sally gasped as the image focused in on the remains of a large space ship. As the picture slowly pulled back it showed technological debris scattered throughout one of the many large asteroid belts surrounding the star. "We aren't sure what we are seeing and again, with the system exhibiting signs of a space-faring civilization, even a dead one, the scouts kept their distance."

Sally heard Thomas turn to Satish and say something about a graveyard. Adrian heard it too and interrupted him. "What was that Lieutenant?"

"Sorry Sir." Thomas looked embarrassed at being called out. "I was on the crew that did the fly by at Tau Ceti. We called the system 'The Graveyard.'"

"Well, that is a little more ominous than I like, but Tau Ceti has been marked as a system of interest. Seeing as it is in our planned zone of exploration we will be investigating it closer. We aren't sure what happened in this system, so I don't need anyone jumping to conclusions. Initial evidence points to a large space battle having occurred here. Our job is to establish how long ago it happened and if we need to be concerned. That is our only interest in Tau Ceti at this time."

Adrian looked around the room and waited for the mutters to die down. "If there are no questions I recommend we move on to crew selection."

A disappearing advanced alien race and the remains of a large space battle? Sally had read so many books with those themes. Combined with her knowledge of what had happened on the Rimor two years ago, it was faintly unsettling at how little they knew about what they were venturing into. Try as she might, in spite of her excitement, she could not shake the feeling that something terrible was waiting for them in the depths of space.

April 7, 2075: UNSA Station

"And our top story tonight. Nearly three weeks after the announcement of UNSA's astonishing next phase of the Sorrenson Drive program provided the organization a much needed boost in popular opinion polls, the flagship of UNSA's new exploration fleet, the UNSS Bahai, is being prepped for launch early tomorrow morning. The UNSS Bahai, named in honour of Doctor Sahi Bahai – one of the research crew lost on the UNSS Rimor and the famous Robin Hood of Mumbai – will undertake a three year mission to find the alien world which will become our first galactic colony. The Bahai will be commanded by the remainder of the original Sorrenson Drive research team under the charge of UNSA Commander Adrian Daniels and his first officer, the darling of galactic exploration, Sally Yeung. But the command crew is nothing if not an all-star cast of the world science community. With her work on super conducting materials and the Fischer-Helmsley fusion containment system..."

As her picture popped up on the screen, Joan commed off the TV and turned to look out of the window of her suite as the sun set over the Pacific. Frontenac was right; the views from Hotel 347 were breathtaking and more than a little dizzying with the bulk of the asteroid looking like it was floating only a few meters above her head.

Over the weeks since the memorial, the news stations were abuzz with the unveiling of the space elevator and the selection of the flagship command crew including the 'darling of galactic exploration,' Sally Yeung. It still rankled that Adrian had selected Sally, who was a decade Joan's junior, to lead the research team after Sahi's death. She let out an exasperated snort and shook her head at her own pettiness. She should be happy that people of learning and substance were taking a prominent place in the media, giving children around the world proper role models to look up to. In her mind, the past century's domination by Hollywood and the media's fixation with the rich and famous was the reason the Earth was in such a major crisis. Rather than trying to fix the world's problems and work together, it was all a selfish scramble for fame and fortune. If not for the chance discovery of the ancient alien ship on Mars eight years ago, humanity likely would never have been able to pull out of its downward spiral. Joan thought it was still going to be a struggle, but at least they had a chance now.

She needed to get out and clear her head or she would never be able to sleep tonight. Unfortunately the pool in the hotel had yet to be finished, so going for a swim was not an option. Whenever she had been unable to solve a problem or needed to work through some stress during her time at Berkley, she would head to the beach to swim or surf. The waves and the water always helped her calm down. Well, the gym would just have to do.

After a quick change of clothes, Joan stepped out into the hall and started toward the elevators.

"Hey Joan, wait up!"

She sighed in resignation. "Oh hey, Sally." Turning around, Joan noticed that Sally was also in her workout gear. "You going to the gym too?"

Sally smiled and nodded. "Yup, I'm just too excited about tomorrow and I won't be able to sleep unless I physically tire myself out. I know it's stupid considering that we are just going to be jumping around the Solar system, testing the Bahai's systems for the first couple weeks, but actually getting to explore an alien world? Can you imagine?"

Joan chuckled inwardly and smiled genuinely at Sally. It was hard to hold a grudge against the petite first officer and her natural exuberance. They reached the elevator and Joan thumbed the call button.

"We'll also have to make it through another nauseating four weeks of travel time," Joan said with a wry grin causing Sally to grimace. Being in travel space affected Sally worse than some of the others. "So do you think HD 10647 belonged to the same race that decided to crash a ship on Mars?"

Sally considered for a moment. "I guess it's possible. The system is certainly within a navigable distance for a drive-equipped ship." She paused and frowned in thought. "You know, I hadn't really thought about it before, but I never heard any mention of them finding bodies in the original ship, did you? I think UNSA announced that they found it abandoned."

Joan's expression matched Sally's as she tried to remember back to her first time on the ship at Asimov. She realized that in the excitement of the initial research, the fate of the alien crew had not crossed her mind. She was a fusion engineer, not a biologist, so her interest was in the drive and its power plant. A tone announced the arrival of the elevator.

"Now that you bring it up, I never thought to ask, although it does seem odd," Joan replied as she led the pair of them into the elevator. "Maybe Satish knows something since he was the first person UNSA let on the ship."

"I guess, but why would UNSA say it was abandoned and why wouldn't Satish have mentioned anything?" Sally pressed the button for the floor the gym was on. "With all the work we were doing on the ship's systems, I never took the time to be curious. One thing for sure is that if there were alien remains, they were scrubbed before we were allowed to go in."

The pair rode the rest of the way to the gym in silence. Joan made a reminder in her comm to check into the mystery of the alien ship's pilots.

As they were slowing to a stop, Sally hesitantly cleared her throat before speaking. "Joan? I was wondering if you noticed anything 'off' about Adrian lately?"

"What do you mean 'off?'"

"Well," Sally paused as the door opened, taking a quick look outside to make sure no one was around before she said anything further, "it's just that I think he might be taking Sahi's death pretty hard."

Joan's eyes widened in surprise at the thought that the Commander and Sahi might have been in a relationship. "Why would you say that?"

"They tried to hide it, but they had a thing going on before the accident."

Joan searched through her memory for anything unusual about the pair's behaviour before the incident on the Rimor, but she was unable to remember much beyond the schematics and experiments of her work on the drive. "I had no idea. I never would have thought that Adrian would have gotten involved with anyone in his command."

"Oh, don't worry, it wasn't obvious. Probably the only reason I noticed was because I spent so much time in school watching everyone else trying to carry on relationships. When you go to a school where co-ed fraternization isn't allowed you get to recognize how people hide things."

Maybe Adrian was right in picking Sally as his second in command. She obviously paid more attention to the people around her than Joan did, but then that was always a problem Joan had.

"At any rate," Sally continued, "I know that you and Adrian get along well, so maybe you could talk to him about it? I know I should take the responsibility, but I can't see why he would listen to me. I've never lost someone close to me and I just don't know what to say."

It caused Joan a brief stab of pain to think about her husband Bill and the accident that took him away. She realized this was the first time she had thought about him in months, the work having kept her too busy to think about the past. "I..." Surprised at the waver in her voice, Joan stopped and collected herself. "Sure, Sally. I can talk to him about it."

"Thanks Joan. So what were you planning on doing for your workout? Cardio? Resistance? Strength training?"

Joan quickly got her emotions back under control. "Um, you know what, I think some resistance and cardio would be great. Do you want to spar?"

April 8, 2075: UNSS Bahai, L5 Shipyards

"Fuel cables released, tank pressures stable."

"Reactor performing within specifications."

"Umbilical sealed and de-pressurized. Begin retraction, L5."

"Roger that Control, we are clear for mooring separation."

The sounds of an imminent cast-off washed over Adrian. Data filled the screens around him in his command pod as his comm quickly filtered and identified the most important pieces of information.

"Commander Daniels this is L5 Control, we have greens across the board for launch and are waiting on your mark," Control's voice pushed through the hubbub.

"Roger that Control, we are clear for cast-off in five. Four. Three. Two. One. Mark." Nothing but more green lights greeted the final disconnection of the UNSS Bahai from the shipyard that had given it birth. With a ship this large, the mechanical sounds that Adrian was used to on smaller vessels were lost in the halls of lower engineering.

"Lieutenant Brodeur, take us out slowly and come around on a vector to our departure point." The Commander's comm pinged an acknowledgement of the order as Allain started issuing flight plans to Control.

"Commander, there is a priority communication coming in from UNSA Station." Adrian acknowledged Kelly and brought the message onto the screen, splashing Frontenac's face in front of him.

"Commander, I see that you have begun leaving L5 yards and I wanted to personally wish you and your crew 'bon voyage.'"

"We'll be in-system for a couple of weeks running tests, Sir, so we aren't going anywhere yet." Adrian only paid the interruption minor attention as he used his comm to send update requests to his crew. :: _Lieutenant Commander Shurma, how is life-support doing after disconnecting from L5?_ ::

"True, but it is not every day that you take the first real steps on a new path for humanity and I wanted to congratulate you on this momentous occasion before the official press conference this evening." Frontenac looked slightly nonplussed that the gravity of the situation had not overcome Adrian as well.

Satish's comm reply came back. :: _Minor air pressure drops, Commander, but nothing to be concerned about. I have service 'bots double checking the lines and seals._ ::

"Yes Sir, Mister Chairman, however we are still navigating within the shipyard, so I need to ensure that we only have our momentous embarkation to speak of during the press conference."

:: _Lieutenant Commander Fischer, how is the reactor performing?_ ::

Frontenac looked taken aback at the remark, but covered it well; there was probably a camera crew in the room with him. "Oh yes, you are correct, Commander. It was presumptuous of me to speak with you at this point and I am glad to see that you have UNSA's best interests in mind, even during such a sensitive operation. I will speak to you at the press conference." The Chairman signed off and data columns re-populated the space where his face had been. Frontenac should have known better than to contact him during the launch, but over the past weeks the propaganda machine had been in full operation with UNSA coming under increased pressure from lobby groups like the Order of Relativity. It was causing the Chairman to act with less sense than usual.

Joan returned his comm. :: _Beyond the fact that our current energy draw isn't even registering, I would say it's doing just fine. How's everything up on the bridge?_ ::

Adrian smiled at Joan's stubbornly unmilitary conduct before comming back, :: _Nothing unusual. We will be feeling some actual acceleration once we pull out of the yards. Let me know if anything changes._ ::

Joan sent an acknowledgement as an audio update from Lieutenant Commander "Chief" Artiz pushed into Adrian's comm. "All crew are bunked in for acceleration, Commander."

"Excellent, Chief. Ensure that your team gets to their acceleration couches as we are about to clear the yards."

Adrian switched away from Penelope and patched into the general address. "All hands, please prepare for acceleration of point-five-G in thirty seconds."

The time remaining to acceleration counted down as Allain brought the Bahai around on a vector to their departure zone. Once the counter hit zero, the acceleration alarm sounded and Adrian was pushed gently back into his chair.

"All hands, please be aware that we will be under variable thrust for the next hour as we line up with our coordinates for an in-system transition to high Jupiter orbit," Adrian broadcast through the ship. "We are turning off the general restraint alert, but please stay near your acceleration couches."

A red alert blared through the command pod as Kelly's voice came in on general address. "We have incoming, all hands brace for acceleration." Adrian was jerked savagely against his restraints, his comm indicating that the ship began a nearly four-G turn.

:: _Lieutenant Commander Friesen, Report!_ :: Adrian commed to Kelly as the acceleration squeezed the air out of his lungs. He was bringing hostile encounter data up on his screens when the ship made another hard course change.

:: _We have two small unidentified craft on an inbound trajectory,_ :: She replied. :: _Make puts them as old CNSA fighter craft – ballistics only, no missiles. Lieutenant Brodeur is keeping us out of conventional weapons range, however they will be able to close with us in approximately 45 seconds. They are keeping in our shadow so L5's defences can't target them._ ::

A brief lightening of their acceleration allowed Kelly to catch her breath as she pushed a press release onto Adrian's screen. "Sir, a notice just hit the net from a radical group with ties to the Order of Relativity, they claim that they have launched an attack against the UNSS Bahai for 'unnatural violations of The Lord's physical laws.'"

Adrian stared at the article disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me." He quickly paged Chief Artiz. "Chief, this ship is armed, isn't it?"

Penelope's voice vehemently chimed in. "Yes Sir, it certainly is. We have some top of the line kinetic drivers installed for asteroid repulsion."

"I think we should test them. I'm turning weapons control over to you; please clear these morons out."

"Sir, yes Sir!"

"Lieutenant Brodeur, bring us within weapons range." Allain's acknowledgement came back and the bridge lapsed back into silence as their resumed acceleration stopped all conversation.

A counter to accurate ballistic range started rolling down on Adrian's screen. Just before it hit zero, a series of low jolts reverberated through the ship causing amber impact alerts to flash to life – their opponents had sprayed wild fire before confirming lock-on and a few shots had glanced through their deflectors and impacted the Bahai's armour. The use of uncontrolled ballistics near populated space was against UNSA laws of combat due to the unpredictable effects of kinetic shots continuing on their original trajectories after missing their targets. Violation of this law was subject to capital punishment and as a lawful representative of UNSA, Adrian was well within his rights to exact judgement.

A positive lock beacon flashed on Adrian's screen as the thrum of kinetic drivers firing echoed through the ship, followed by Penelope on his comm. :: _Volley away, impact in three._ :: The two kill confirms popped up in the command pod shortly thereafter and Adrian let out the breath that he had been unconsciously holding. It had been years since he had engaged in any space combat, not since Mars.

Shaking himself back to the present Adrian paged down to Joan and Satish. "Engineering – Life-support – status report!"

Both of them sounded simultaneously. "All clear, Commander!" responded Joan. "This reactor is a pig. Even when the kinetics fired it barely registered a blip."

"No damage to any vital systems, Sir," Satish reported. "Our deflectors and armour are built to deal with some pretty heavy asteroid hits, so the rounds they fired barely made a dent. The 'bots will have it patched up before we make it to the departure zone."

"Lieutenant Commander Friesen, broadcast an in-system kinetics alert on calculated trajectories and get the yards to send out collection tugs on the last known vectors of our assailants. Lieutenant Brodeur, reconfigure our transition to take us to L1." Adrian shook his head. "And get me Chairman Frontenac on a priority channel." He sat and waited for the connection to be made. It looked like the press conference was going to be anything but straight-forward.

UNSA Station

"While we in no way condone the violent actions of a few terrorist radicals, we have always maintained that UNSA and their supporters have crossed a line by using this alien technology, which removes our peoples' souls from the universe in which God gave them birth." The Order of Relativity's spokesman sat in a carefully arranged household living room, his expression a fixed mask of confidence and righteousness. "Is it not true that the Sorrenson Drive removes an entire spaceship from this universe so that it may circumnavigate its physical laws? The same laws which God, in his infinite wisdom, created to protect us, I might add?"

Chairman Frontenac tried to exude the same calm confidence but cracks were appearing in his composure. "We do not have any conclusive evidence that the ships are physically removed from this universe, only that they cannot be detected by our current technology while the drive is engaged."

The Order's spokesman smiled not unlike a cat confronted with a dazed pigeon on the sidewalk. "So you do not disagree that the drive, whatever it does with the space ship in which it is installed, nonetheless circumnavigates God's physical laws?"

The Chairman's smile was a borderline grimace and beads of sweat began popping out on his brow. He caught himself in the middle of moving to wipe his arm across his forehead and deliberately brought his hand down to grip the edge of his podium. "The Sorrenson Drive is a gift. With it we can ease Earth's over-population problems and bring about a new golden age for humanity."

"A gift you say?" the spokesman said as he theatrically raised an eyebrow. "And how do we know it is not a temptation from the Devil himself? It has already demanded the sacrifice of the valiant science crew of the Rimor along with those poor souls suffering from your so-called Travel Sickness, and now you wish to offer it more of our people as well? And what of the video that was made during that fatal flight of the Rimor?"

Frontenac's knuckles turned white on the podium, his face completely blank as he responded, "And what video would that be Mister Spokesman?"

The spokesman looked off screen and then turned back to face the camera saying, "This one."

The feed was briefly replaced with the video of Sahi confronting Dmitriy's glowing form and the alien apparition's warning.

The Chairman gaped in disbelief while the scene from the Rimor played out and then uttered in shock, "Where did you get that?"

"So you do not deny that this recording was made on the UNSS Rimor during that fateful test flight?" Smelling blood, the spokesman moved in for the kill.

"This conference is at an end! Shut this feed off!" A panicked Frontenac turned from his podium and hustled off stage as reporters in the press room on UNSA Station started to clamour questions at him. In the background, the Order's spokesman showed a look of delicious victory to the camera. The news anchor's face cut into center screen as the image of the Chairman's hasty retreat froze and shrunk to the upper right corner.

"That, of course, was a recording from the emergency press conference Between UNSA D-SEC Chairman Frontenac and Order of Relativity spokesman Paul Giornio, broadcast earlier today. The conference took place this morning shortly after an attack against the UNSS Bahai as it was leaving the L5 yards was perpetrated by a group claiming affiliation with the Order. While the Order has denied any relation to these individuals, calling them 'terrorist radicals', we have not yet been able to reach UNSA or D-SEC Chairman Frontenac for a comment on the shocking video aired during the conference. This video, supposedly taken on the Rimor during the fatal test flight two years ago, potentially indicates a massive cover-up surrounding the deaths of the UNSS Rimor test crew and a warning about using the alien drive. The Order of Relativity has since released a statement demanding that UNSA stop all use of the Sorrenson Drive in light of this evidence.

"While we wait for UNSA's already scheduled press conference this evening, we have asked our analysts to discuss how this might impact the exploration and colonization program –"

The display set into the wall winked off as Frontenac started shouting at it, his accent intensifying under the strain. "Maudits épais, on essaie de vous sauver!" Defeated **,** the Chairman slumped back into his chair and started massaging his temples. "Maybe he is right..."

Adrian winced as he sat forward, his bones still feeling the hour long two-G ride to UNSA station from L1. "I refuse to believe that, Sir. We knew about the risks the drive presented, but we made the correct decision to push forward." A wave of bitter emotion welled up at his acknowledgment that covering up Sahi's death was somehow justified. He forcefully repressed it. "We can't let a few fanatics deter us or else the loss of our staff will mean nothing."

Frontenac looked at Adrian quizzically for a moment as if wondering what he was talking about before seizing on something and rallying himself. "You are right, of course, Commander. We will not let The Order of Relativity and their like control our course of action, but we are going to have to have to reveal the events of two years ago very carefully." Frontenac took a hard considering look at Adrian and opened his mouth to say something before deciding against it and shaking his head. "The fact is we are the ones the public will perceive as in the wrong. They broke one of the most stringent space warfare laws in existence in a blatant act of terrorism – which they very quickly denied, of course – but we are the ones who have to explain ourselves without revealing why we were forced to cover up the events on the Rimor."

"Maybe it's time to tell everyone the truth about Earth," Adrian interjected.

A snort of exasperated laughter escaped from Frontenac as he retorted, "The truth? No, even if I had the ability to make that decision, I doubt the world could handle the truth, not all of it, not yet." He continued with a despondent sigh, "I am not even sure I can handle all of it anymore."

Adrian was surprised that the Chairman was being so affected by this crisis since it was Frontenac that had gotten him through worst times on Mars fifteen years ago. He decided that now was not the time to press the issue and changed the subject. "Sir, do you have any idea where they got their hands on that recording? D-SEC was provided the only copy during my debriefing two years ago."

The Chairman brought himself back from wherever his mind had wandered. "Does it matter? We have some ideas, but it is not something for you to concern yourself with." He leaned back in his chair and pondered the ceiling as if it might give him some answers. "I should not have panicked during the conference as it all but confirmed its veracity. Not that the media would miss the chance to jump all over it anyway."

"So what do we do now, Sir? The Bahai is ready and waiting at L1 for in-system trials."

He brought his attention back down to Adrian and spoke with an expression of quiet certitude on his face. "The only thing we can do at this point, Commander. We continue on." The Chairman turned away to gaze out of his office windows which currently displayed a wide expanse of stars with the Earth just coming into view as the station rotated. "Nothing has changed. The drive is still our best chance to save our race, however we will have to work harder to prove everything we do is in humanity's best interest and that our explorers and researchers still support our goals. I think our best course of action is to make it look like we made a simple mistake in judgement and that we wanted to avoid any panic until we established what had happened or opened lines of communication with these aliens." He released another bitter laugh. "At least that would be part of the truth." He turned back to face Adrian with a very serious look on his face. "And that brings us to why I brought you here to UNSA Station so quickly. First, I need you to officially tell our staff the truth about the alien encounter on the Rimor." He then stopped and tapped a pen distractedly on his desk, clearly reluctant to speak. "I also need you to make a statement to the press this evening indicating that the exploration teams support UNSA's decision one-hundred percent."

Adrian moved to reply, but Frontenac cut him off. "I know that may not be necessarily true, however you saw the need for the decision even if you did not like it. I trust that most of our staff will respond similarly when you tell them. They will feel betrayed, yes, but they will come around because they know how important our work is. I want you to use that and be honest about what you thought of the decision to cover things up."

Adrian glowered and stated, "But I'm not to mention anything about the exact reason we came to that decision."

"I would like you to avoid the topic of Earth's environmental condition, yes, but in the end the reason we made the decision was to avoid an uproar over an event that we knew very little about and proved to be a single time occurrence."

He gave the Chairman a long, irritated stare before responding, "You know I don't like this sort of stuff, Gilles..."

Frontenac's expression softened. "I know, Adrian, but I always trust that you will do what is best for the greater good."

Invites for a staff meeting starting in thirty minutes and a press conference in two hours popped up in Adrian's comm. He sighed without malice as he accepted them, saying, "Only because I've had you pushing me around for the past fifteen years."

April 9, 2075: UNSS Bahai, L1 Station

"And now, for World in Depth. Tonight we will be discussing UNSA's response to the Rimor video. With us today via teleconference are Doctor Donald Gershwin, author of the critically acclaimed book 'The Earth Isn't Enough,' and Doctor Jenna Lee-Harper, a social psychology professor at Dartmouth. Thank you both for your time –"

Joan issued a sound of utter disgust from deep in the back of her throat. "This is what, the third analysis show tonight? Do we have to watch this?"

Satish turned his attention from the television while the talk-show finished its introductory preamble. "This is big, Joan. UNSA covered up an alien attack and a warning about entering travel space – we've all seen those glowing things at one time or another in the past two years. Wouldn't you have wanted to know if there was a risk they might decide to kill us?" He considered for a moment before adding, "Or tried to talk to us?" as if unsure which would have been worse.

"Sure, but what difference does it make? It doesn't seem to me like I'm in any more or less danger of being randomly killed since I was hired," Joan scoffed. "We volunteered to work on an alien space drive – the whole thing could have blown up and vaporized us at any point. I'm also pretty sure encountering unpredictable alien species and trying to talk to them is an acknowledged side-effect of space exploration." Joan held up her hands, taking in the common area of the UNSS Bahai. "You're still here aren't you? So that means that you must somewhat agree with UNSA's decision and what Adrian said about supporting the goals of the exploration program."

"Well of course, we knew they were hiding something two years ago, but that isn't the point of watching these," Satish rebutted. "We can't keep the program going if the people on Earth stop supporting UNSA. I want to find out if I should be getting on the next shuttle to Mars to see if my old job is still available."

Joan grunted in faint annoyance to indicate what she thought about his opinion, but remained quiet as Satish turned his attention back to the television. The author was just responding to a question from the host about his general opinion of the conference last night.

"I think UNSA was appropriately apologetic; they had a difficult decision to make when weighed against the goal of improving life for all of us. Yes, they had a potentially hostile encounter with an alien race, but I think that is something well within their rights to respond to as they see fit – we have charged them with exploring and colonizing the galaxy, after all. I can see the merits of not wanting to cause a panic when they had so little information to work with, I mean, look what is happening now and this is two years later. Obviously these aliens don't want to start a fight or we would have seen more incidents like the Rimor."

"But what about Travel Sickness?" the professor replied. "What if it is some sort of alien equivalent of biological warfare?"

The author considered her question for a moment before answering, "As far as I know, nobody has any idea what is causing Travel Sickness. However, from a practical standpoint, these aliens have already demonstrated an ability to kill us outright, so a weapon that puts people in comas seems a bit of a step down. It also doesn't make sense as to why we have only seen fifteen cases of it, or why four people have recovered with no obvious side-effects."

"That isn't entirely true." The professor turned to consult something off-screen. "Hu Chan – if you recall, he was the first person to recover from Travel Sickness – his family has indicated that he behaved very unusually after he returned home, going so far as to say that sometimes he behaved like a different person. Then he disappeared for a year before resurfacing as one of the richest men in China and hasn't responded to a single call from his family, even while becoming a folk hero across Asia, giving millions to those worst affected by climate change. I would say that indicates a strong side-effect. Then there are the two of the remaining eleven who came out of their comas but are now being treated for violent psychosis. And everyone has heard the rumours that the unusual trio of sufferers reported in November 2073 have been out of their coma and under lock and key at UNSA since January last year.

The author nodded in acknowledgment before replying, "In the case of Hu Chan, the kind of medical trauma that he experienced often changes a person's personality, and turning someone into a financial genius with a penchant for charity doesn't seem like the result of a weapon of ill intent. The same argument could be made for the patients who are suffering from some sort of psychotic break. As for the rest, we can't substantiate rumours of people being detained against their will." He gave a shrug to indicate the value of hearsay on the matter. "Who knows, these comas may be a result of the aliens trying to find better ways of communicating with us without killing us. In the end, the number of Travel Sickness cases is insignificant given the hundreds of voyages UNSA's scouting ships have undertaken. We have to trust UNSA is working toward our best interest in a job full of extreme unknowns. Commander Daniels made an excellent point that all of the exploration crews knew these were the exact type of unpredictable events they would be expected to deal with when they signed on and understand why UNSA reacted the way it did. It –"

The professor, shaking her head, interrupted him. "That's well and good for people who joined the Sorrenson Drive program expecting exposure to these risks, but UNSA hasn't mentioned what headway they have made in making peaceful communication with these aliens. Until that happens, I don't see how we can consider pushing ahead with building massive ships that can transport thousands of colonists. What happens if these aliens strike one of those ships and two thousand innocents are killed?"

The author started answering by saying, "D-SEC Chairman Frontenac clearly stated that they are working to find ways to clarify the warning –"

"That is not evidence of making any headway, in fact that is usually synonymous with 'we have made no progress whatsoever,'" the professor cut him off again. "And Commander Daniels also said that the crews felt deceived by UNSA and wished that they would have told them the truth for the very reason that they expected these risks when they accepted their positions. Keeping this truth from them could have hampered their actions if they were caught in the same situation, or even prevented the communication that Chairman Frontenac said they were pursuing. Bottom-line, UNSA knowingly increased the risk to their exploration teams and researchers. If they'll do that to their staff, what risks are they willing to assume for a group of regular colonists?"

Against what was beginning to resemble a tirade from the professor, the author struggled to respond calmly. "Look, we have to realize that colonists will not be venturing out without the possibility of substantial danger. Besides, no-one is going to be forced onto a colony ship. At worst this might cause a few people to remove their names from the list of volunteers, and from what I hear, they are already scheduling people into the 2080s, so that might almost be a blessing. Honestly, is there any other organization that you would trust to oversee the expansion of our race throughout our solar system and to the stars? The multinats and governments started a war that lasted nearly fifteen years over colonization and mining rights for Mars and the asteroids – they almost knocked us out of space completely and clearly demonstrated how little they thought of the lives of colonists. It was UNSA that pulled together a common-ground peace between them that has seen two million people brought to live, work, and prosper off of Earth in the past decade."

"And who's to say that UNSA isn't just working to their own ends?" the professor replied vehemently. "What else are they keeping secret from us if they were able to cover up the events on the Rimor for two years? What if –"

Satish changed the channel away from what was rapidly devolving into a shouting match.

"So do you think our jobs are safe for now?" Joan asked.

"Well if our opposition has people like that professor arguing for them, I'm not too worried." Satish grinned back at her. "I think Chairman Frontenac and the Commander have managed to save our livelihoods for now."

Joan laughed with him and they sat watching some other news program for a moment before Joan remembered her discussion with Sally about alien remains on the ship. She turned back to him to bring it up. "Satish, do you remember seeing any evidence of the alien crew when UNSA first opened the ship up on Mars?"

Satish moved his attention from the screen back to Joan his lips turned down in thought. "Actually, no, it looked like it had been completely emptied out, no bodies, no personal affects, and no tools or supplies in any of the storage spaces. We all just assumed that whoever was on the ship when it landed, took everything and abandoned it. Even the air was completely sterile Martian air."

"And don't you think that's a little odd?" Joan asked.

Satish considered her question for a moment. "You don't think UNSA was trying to cover up aliens on the ship, do you? Why would they? And why empty out the cupboards? It just doesn't make any sense. I also found no evidence that anyone had been on board before UNSA sent me in after they hauled it back to Asimov. I have no doubt that ship had been closed up tight for two-hundred-fifty-thousand years."

"Yeah, you're right. I can't see why UNSA would have hidden the alien bodies, but abandoning your ship on Mars when Earth is just up the block doesn't make sense either. Maybe Mars was more hospitable to the pilots... I guess it will have to remain a mystery."

Joan's comm indicated that they were approaching their departure time from L1. "Well, no rest for the wicked, some of us have work to do."

April 19, 2075: UNSS Bahai, L1 Station

Sally floated her way through the austere halls of the UNSS Bahai. She understood that the ship was very purpose-designed, but she still wished they had used something other than standard institutional military panelling. Maybe they could fabricate some paint on their way out to HD 10647 and spruce it up, or it would be a very long three years in these boring halls.

Reaching the Commander's ready-room, the door whisked open in response to her comm. Inside, Adrian was seated behind his desk with a grim smile on his face directed at an incredibly gaunt man in a suit sitting across from him. When Sally entered, the shadow of a smile touched the thin man's face, but never quite reached his eyes.

Adrian turned to her as the door shut. "Sally, please sit down. I would like you to meet our new chaplain, Father Alexander Grayson."

A chaplain? A new crew member explained a second unplanned trip back in-system to L1, but she had no idea why UNSA was suddenly assigning them a chaplain. Sally thrust her hand out as the Father tried to stand before remembering he was strapped into a zero-gravity chair. "Sally Yeung. Welcome aboard, Father."

Grayson gingerly accepted her hand and gave it a brief shake with a considering look in his eyes. His expression seemed more like he was greeting an unwelcome relative at Christmas as he replied in a dry voice, "A pleasure Ms. Yeung."

Sally pulled herself down into a chair, strapped in, and directed a quick questioning glance at the Commander to which he responded, "Father Grayson is a member of the Order of Relativity. Given the attack which occurred two weeks ago along with the release of the Rimor video, UNSA and the Order felt it prudent to place an ordained member on each of the exploration ships to help prevent any further fanatical attacks."

The Father cleared his throat with a faint rasp and then nodded in verification. "Yes, not only do we wish to ensure the safety of all of UNSA's crews, we wish to see firsthand this supposed 'gift' in action and determine for ourselves if there is any substantive risk to human lives or their souls. We realized that we were in no position to judge the intentions of UNSA, the Rimor aliens, or these technologies until we had experienced them ourselves. We also wish to ensure that as humanity ventured forth into the unknown, it was not without the Lord's guidance, wisdom, and protection." Sally could see Adrian trying very hard to keep a neutral expression as the Father continued speaking. "The precedent is quite established throughout naval history and given the lengths of these voyages and the questions of faith that may be encountered, The Order could not with a clear conscious let any of these ships depart without a spiritual shepherd."

Sally closed her mouth with a click, hoping that she had managed to catch the gape before it became too obvious. "Um. Well, that is very considerate of the Order and UNSA." She kept looking at Adrian out of the corner of her eye. :: _Is this legitimate?_ ::

:: _Yes,_ :: the Commander sent back simply as he became engrossed in the space about twelve inches in front of his nose, prompting Sally to proceed on her own. "As you no doubt know, we are a multi-denominational crew. Is it appropriate to only include representation from a secular Christian faith?"

The Father smiled at Sally as he would a child who needed something obvious explained to them. "Ah. That is a common misconception. While it is true that the idea for our Order originated at the Vatican, our mission is to better understand how God's physical laws guide our universe and our lives. These are constants which bind all members of mankind and as such, we have grown to offer non-denominational teachings recognized by all major religions. Each of us individually chooses whether our instruction illuminates the hand of the Divine, leads us to Nirvana, or guides us to our Dao. Even these personal expressions of faith are now being called to question by our younger adherents in order to better unify our membership and promote public understanding of our religious goals. Alas, I am old and was brought up as a Christian, so I choose to see the Divine and use words such as 'Lord' and 'God' to describe the source of the physical axioms of life as a matter of personal convenience."

"I see," Sally drew the statement out a few extra syllables. Adrian was still keeping very quiet while she fumbled through her conversation with Father Grayson. "Uh, such as it is, this is an operational science vessel and, as you said, it is going to be long trip. What do you intend to do to keep yourself busy?"

The Father grinned again as he replied, "You will find that beyond a degree in theology I also have a doctorate in quantum physics. Many of our Order are similarly educated in the physical sciences, as it is through understanding them that we may truly address the real fundamental questions of faith and the universe. The navigational systems of this ship are of particular interest, seeing as how I am given to understand that it involves quantum entanglement to determine the route of any voyage. I must admit that the Sorrenson Drive and its manipulation of gravity also pique my scientific curiosity aside from my theological misgivings."

Since Adrian was still being of no assistance Sally decided to give in and play along. "Well, you will need quarters in the civilian block and an office, I guess?"

The Father nodded a pert assertion. "Indeed. I will require my own private quarters, an office, and space for a chapel. I think a small area on the bio-deck where it is quiet would suffice for the chapel."

Sally sputtered, "Okay. Unfortunately, on this ship we all share quart –"

A cough from Adrian cut her off as a chaste expression bloomed on the Father's face.

"Um, well I guess I could set up a three-to-a-room rotation schedule for the rest of us, but the bio-deck area is public use and it wouldn't be proper to grant any crew member privileges over –"

Another cough stopped Sally as the Father's smile grew slightly broader.

"I suppose we could reserve some space for a chapel as long as it doesn't require undue modification to the bio-deck."

"Excellent!" The Father beamed. "If we could stop by my quarters so I can drop off my things, we can select a space for the chapel and start introductions to the rest of the crew immediately." Father Grayson unbuckled and pushed his way over to a duffle that had been stashed in the corner of the office. "Please lead the way Ms. Yeung."

She winced at the thought of explaining to Joan that Sally had given up their room for the new chaplain as she opened the door and pointed the Father toward the lift shaft. At least he seemed to be able to handle himself in zero-G.

Before she exited the ready room she sent a quick pointed glance back toward Adrian who just smiled ruefully and shrugged. :: _Sorry Sally. Nothing I or UNSA could do; each ship is getting one_.::

The door whisked shut as she pushed herself off down the hall after the Father.

Adrian's voice announced over the general address, "All hands please prepare for departure from L1 and pre-transition acceleration in twenty minutes."

Everything exploded into noise and colour before fading into absolute darkness. In that darkness, little pieces of light appeared. Shifting and tumbling, first one, then hundreds, then thousands, like a cascade of crystals in the sunlight. One of the pieces showed a glimpse of a white smile on a dusky face as a small hand reached up accompanied by a light bubbling sound. Laughter – yes, that is what it was. Another image spun by of a young girl dressed in a flowing sari looking at herself in a mirror as warm hands clasped her shoulders accompanied by a familiar voice which said, "My princess, Sahi." The images kept coming faster and faster in bright flashes as they swirled and collapsed into a ball of white light that slowly expanded outward until she felt a snug sense of wholeness and peace.

Sahi became aware of her surroundings like coming out of a dream. Everywhere around her was a rosy light filled with bright pinpricks flitting to and fro. Her wonderment faded behind a dawning sense of horror as she realized that she could not feel or see her body. A seductive tugging sensation latched onto her fear and started pulling. Little shards of her essence drifted away as the luminescent sphere that defined her consciousness started fraying at the edges. She realized that each of those little pieces of light and colour was a memory and she panicked, struggling to pull them back in, only causing her form to fray further.

Suddenly she felt a calming thread of emotion wrap around her. It seemed as if there were words buried in that thread of peace saying, "Yes, that's it, focus. Remember who you are, remember yourself whole."

The voice was coming from one of two spots of light that were floating close to her. In her fascination she forgot her panic and reached out to it. A sense of shock and surprise pulsed out of the other consciousness as she touched its edge...

...A three fingered hand covered in a faintly iridescent grey skin reached out to pick a small blue flower with thick furred petals. A high trilling sound rang in her ears. She was unable to explain how, but she knew that those sounds meant someone was calling her. She turned to see a group of bipedal beings with shining skin and dark eyes gathered under an unusual tree with dark purple spikes for leaves. One of the beings was beckoning to her and smiling as she ran toward them in long leaping bounds...

The vision was ripped from her as she was sent flying, repulsed by the other consciousness. What the hell was that?

A jumble of suppressed irritation held in tightly by cords of patience carried more words to her. "That was one of my memories. One of the first things you must learn is that it is impolite to forcibly share in another's memories."

Share a memory? What was this place? The same greedy pulling that had gripped her before returned as her panic resurfaced.

"Hold on to yourself," the voice soothed her again. "You must focus on who you are or else you will be lost."

Sahi directed her attention inward to her memories. She remembered being on the Rimor, the alien beings, hiding terrified in a storage locker, and then she was here. Her curiosity again overwhelmed her fear as she started to observe her surroundings more closely. Somehow she must have gotten pulled out of the ship. Was this travel space? Where was the Rimor?

"Your ship has exited this dimension. As to where this is, 'travel space' seems as good of a description as any."

She started; could that thing read her thoughts?

"Only if you choose to broadcast them as you are now. Control will come as you learn to focus your consciousness and you will be able to send only what you wish."

Sahi noticed that the other two entities were outwardly placid and, by comparison, she was rippling as little pieces of her kept trying to fly away. Sahi suppressed her millions of questions and willed herself calm. Slowly the agitating surface of her consciousness stopped and she became as outwardly still as the other two.

"Good. Now tell me who you are," the voice encouraged.

She prepared her answer by forming a solid mental image of who she was. "My name is Sahi." She then decided to try a question. "Who are you?"

The tone of his response brought to mind a genuine and welcoming smile. "My name is Marvin." The name came with an image of a long and sharp, grey humanoid face with monochrome eyes shining a deep, dark blue, overlaid with the picture of a human cartoon. Sahi recognized the alien face as similar to those of the beings she had seen in Marvin's memory and had to take a moment to gain control of all the questions that erupted from his response.

The other entity sent a thread of amusement that sounded like a chuckle as it said, "And my name is Michael." His name came along with the image of a young man in his mid-twenties with brown eyes and an unruly mop of brown hair. "To answer the easiest of your questions, the reason for the cartoon is that proper names don't translate well here. As you have figured out, Marvin is not exactly from around the neighbourhood. I called him that after the cartoon character Marvin the Martian as a joke and it stuck."

Sahi had no idea who Marvin the Martian was and was still struggling to come to grips with speaking to an alien, so she focused on her next question. "And where exactly is here?"

A pulse of anger flowed from Marvin to Michael before Michael replied hesitantly, "Well, the best way that I can describe it is the afterlife." His response was coated in embarrassment and sorrow. "I'm sorry Sahi, but you're dead and I think I accidentally killed you."

"What do you mean I'm dead?" she asked incredulously.

Michael coughed nervously before he answered her. "I came to watch Marvin send his warning to see if I could figure how to do it since he refuses tell us. After he sent the warning, I tried to see if I could reach out and touch your consciousness. Just a little bit, I –" He cut himself off as he began to churn with unsent emotion.

Sahi directed her attention to Marvin with a stinging accusation. "Warning? It was you who possessed Dmitriy! Did you kill the rest of my crew too?"

An obvious sense of guilt came along with Marvin's reply. "Yes, I am sorry. I thought it would be possible for me to just briefly inhabit one of your minds so that I might deliver the warning. It was harder than I thought and my attempts breached the containment field created by the dimensional shift drive, causing your friends to be destroyed when I contacted them."

The precise way that he referred to the drive caused Sahi to gasp in realization, "Your race created the drive!"

"Yes, and it was our undoing." His words were full of a bitter sense of regret and came along with images of a ravaged world and great space battles. "Given our experiences with it, I determined it was vital that I get a warning to your people as soon as I saw the drive being used. Unfortunately I have failed and may have only accelerated your race's downfall."

"Our downfall? How would the drive destroy us?"

The depth of loss in his answer sent shivers through Sahi's being. "The same way it destroyed mine; by providing the dead with a bridge to return to the realm of the living."

Stay up to date at www.occurrencenovel.com and watch for Episode Two, coming April 1, 2013!

Writer

W.R. Edmunds

Publisher

W.R. Edmunds

Cover Art and Design

El Fedora Design

Lead Editor

Julia

Editors

Arielle

Bailey

Dave

Jonathan

Kim

Lorelei

Marc

Tracy

Localization

Val

Supportive Parents

Lil

Ross

Special Thanks

Tuesday Night Terrors (Dan, Dave, Jon, Kyle)

