The Inner Ring (gxg)

Chapter 12

The ship had spent the last month decelerating, so that Uranus' gravity would pull it in and allow it to maneuver towards the inner ring while looking for relics to search. Pepper and Vanessa had plotted over two dozen likely places to search, so they were now trying to plan the most effective search strategy. Exploring the two biggest ships were still high on the list, as was mounting two or more smaller ones if they could. But the worry was that there could be too much to search in one trip.

The view was sensational. Nobody was working any more, they were either up on the bridge or sleeping. Even meals were taken on the bridge, just to take everything in. The pictures sent back from the probe had been nice, but the real thing was something else entirely. None of the crew could look at it and not be awestruck, it would take a long time for them to grow used to the view, that is, if they ever did.

It was hardest on the pilots. Emily, Lena, and Xavier were working overlapping twelve hour shifts to ensure that the bridge always had two pilots on it. As much as they had wanted to rely on Miles for help, he hadn't had real flight experience, and getting into an orbit around the planet and sliding down to the inner ring required experience. The pilots didn't seem to mind though, Emily had compared it to driving around when she was a kid looking at Christmas lights.

Anton almost never slept any more unless he fell asleep on the bridge and Miles carried him to his bunk. He couldn't stop staring, commenting on everything he saw and beaming like a parent watching their kid's performance. He'd been dreaming so long of this, that he couldn't get enough. Several times, Vanessa had to act like a mother, just to keep him in bed and resting for another hour. She only hoped he wouldn't wear himself out while they were there.

"I can't get over all these moons!" Pepper said in wonder. Fifteen moons scattered around the giant icy planet, and with the addition of the rings it looked like a floating work of art. Whenever she thought of the large planets in the solar system, she'd always just thought of Jupiter and Saturn, never remembering that Uranus was the third largest, and such a beautiful sight to behold.

Vanessa heard the whisper through her earpiece while finishing a quick meal and hurried up to the bridge to join her. When she got to the bridge, she slid behind Pepper, and wrapped her arms around her from behind, gazing over her shoulder at the view while her hands rested on her belly. The two were still hesitant about getting physical, but they weren't shy about holding each other any longer. "This view is going to make it hard to leave," she whispered into Pepper's ear.

"I wonder if we could get oxygen from the clouds?" Pepper wondered. "If there are as many ships as we think in the belt, it could take decades to properly explore everything."

"Are you volunteering to stay?"

Pepper slid her hands up to cover Vanessa's. "If I had the right company, I'd stay here forever." Vanessa just beamed in response, not trusting her voice to answer that.

"We're officially in Uranus' orbit!" Xavier called out. "We should be able to move inward past the rings and moons to the targets in another 48 hours."

The bridge rang with cheers and the slaps of high fives that caused a few people to drift through the cabin because they weren't supported well enough. That only changed the cheers to laughter, but the countdown was started. 48 hours until they could start their exploration. Pepper could feel Vanessa squeezing her tight as she cheered with everyone else, and it took all her willpower to not turn around and kiss her, she was so happy. But she didn't know if that would be crossing a line, so she just cheered along with the rest.

The crew spent the next two days alternating between the view and making sure their equipment was ready for their excursions. The first goal was to capture one or more of the smaller ships, if possible, using three of the powered sleds. Once that was done, they would move to phase two, which was the exploration of the larger intact ship. The plan was for Pepper, Lena and Miles to each man a sled, with Anton, Vanessa and Brody choosing who to follow. They had twelve powered sleds, each with thrusters, that would transport them in groups to their targets, and allow them to bring gear back easier. Pepper, Lena, and Miles went over each of the sleds one at a time, checking and double checking each to make sure that they were in perfect shape.