Grand Adventures Along the Anova Trail with Mason and Bella

Oh Lucky Day Part 8

Oh Lucky Day

It was a relatively short two jumps to Raal (Beta Hydrae) from Sol. Bella and Mason stood behind Fenton watching as the Ariel III dropped from SHD into the venerable SRA system one of Satania. Fenton flew around the star and aligned the Ariel III with the third planet, Anova. Mason adjusted his eye shades, took Bella's hand and said, "How wonderful to share such an occasion with you." Bella blushed and rested her head against his arm and stared at the beauty of Anova, which dazzled with the lights of thousands of ships coming and going from the surface to the hundreds of orbital stations that, after hundreds of thousands of chron, had become connected together like a thin vast web called the Archway. Fenton said, "It looks like a Dyson Sphere." Bella laughed and said, "It does! How observant of you!" Fenton slowed the ship to approach speed then sent a request for port. Within a few moments the flight computer received instructions on an available dock along with the coordinates to pick up the auto-guide system. For the sake of sight-seeing they were thankful the dock was on the opposite side of the planet.

Fenton took the Ariel III around on an exaggerated arc in order to avoid cutting across busy space while Mason and Bella changed into more formal attire. Once the ship was online with the dock; the couple came and stood again behind Fenton in utter awe of the sightline that included Anova in the foreground, along with all the busy goings and comings of the Archway, framed with the system star peeking around the edge of the nearest planet, Raal 2. All this with the backdrop of the glowing galaxy core. It was thrilling beyond measure. A polite tone signaled the Ariel III had locked onto the auto-guide, allowing Fenton to relax for the moment. "I haven't seen a structure like this since I left Andona." he said turning to the two who were rubbing noses and deeply staring into one another's eyes. "Oh." said Fenton turning back to face the instruments. "It is really something else, I agree." said Mason. "Somehow I do not think we are talking about the same thing." said Fenton in a naughty tone. Bella gave a startled laugh and said, "Fenton! You are so silly!" His face turned pink as he laughed, in a synthetic sort of way. "I know this is your vacation, but I am having fun too." "I hoped you would, my friend." said Mason patting his shoulder.

Suddenly, the Ariel III surged forward as Anova Port Control hurried the Ariel III from the path of a transport ship behind them whose thrusters fired accidentally. Warning lights flashed and through Fenton the ship said, [WARNING: WARNING: COLLISION EMINENT: COLLISION EMINENT:] Emergency systems set into motion, automatically sending more power to the shields and triggering the safety protocols for passenger protection, sealing the command section off if the circumstance required separation. The massive transport ship caught up to the Ariel III and began to push against the shield of the aft section. The shielding of the transport mingled with the Ariel III's causing a local cancelation. Then there was silence. Mason, Bella and Fenton stared anxiously at the rear of the ship waiting for it to be smashed to pieces, but it did not come. The silence was broken by the voice of a flight controller.

["Ariel III, Anova Control. Come in. Over."]

Mason nodded to Fenton to reply. "Anova Control, this is Ariel III. Over."

["Ariel III, what is your status?"]

"Anova Control, three souls grateful to be alive. Over."

["Ariel III, Anova Control. We're breathing a sigh of relief here. The Pilot of the Aspire would like to speak with you, standby while I patch them through."]

[["Are we speaking with the Ariel III?"]]

Mason sat next to Fenton and answered,