Beyond Sol

Chapter one

The door slid open, I unchained the dirtbike, The airlock hissing as I shot out, "Gonna miss the launch" I muttered, Hitting bumps in the dirt sending the bike flying every time, I wore a modified lightweight spacesuit. I had driven 20Ish kilometres, in a group of 200 people, Wearing the same suit. As rocket engines roared to life in the background, It was a cargo rocket carrying several pieces of a new interstellar vehicle, The Spectrum. Fast forward 3 years, The Spectrum has finished construction in LEO, I was in my vacuum tight house, finishing packing, equipping my spacesuit, 4 Armored vehicles pulled up, With rusty old writing "CSA'' On one, "NASA" On the other "ESA" and "JAXA" As the airlock hissed open, Carrying my stuff behind. I boarded the CSA One, With a few others inside, I didn't say a word. The vehicles drove off. Now back at the launch site 3 years ago, I exited, Looking up at the brown hazy atmosphere of what earth has become. I entered the elevator, It was rising, I reached the top, "We're here" I muttered softly, Walking slowly towards the arm, I reached the end, 3 people ready to help me board, My stuff had been transported to another rocket. "Alright, We will help you board'' One of the 3 said, I let out a soft sigh, before nodding, The 3 helped me climb in, Sitting in my respective seat, I was in the Poseidon-3, The rocket carrying me and my crew to The Spectrum, there was 7 of us, Ready to depart. The hatch sealed shut, Hissing, In white letters in a blue patch on my suit "Mission Leader" The clock ticked down on the panel "T-3 Minutes until launch" The computer announced, There was an audience of 10 thousand watching, An additional 3 billion watching on the TV, "T- 30 Seconds" 'T-20 Seconds" "T-10 Seconds." Water started to fill the pad. Sparks flew from below, The engines ignited, Rumbling and shaking the launch vehicle like hell, The clamps released, The Poseidon lifting off from the pad, Easily clearing the tower, "Roll program initiated" The announcer said, The poseidon had climbed to 50 thousand feet already, "Max Q Coming up!" I shouted, The other crew still barely hearing me, "Booster separation" The announcer called, The Poseidon had entered LEO 10ish minutes later
January 2123, LEO
"The Spectrum in sight!" I called, I was usually quite a quiet guy, This had certainty proved that wrong, The Poseidon was 34 kilometres out from The Spectrum, The mission objective was to inhabit Alpha Centauri, The nearest star system, Using a "Warp Drive" NASA Made, we would first travel out to the outer solar system, Going insanely fast, Making it to Haumea in around 3 years, then using the Warp drive to do the last year to Alpha Centauri. We were now about a kilometre out from The Spectrum, "Extending docking port" A british women called, As the docking port extending out 5 metres, "200 Metres out" I said, "100" "50" "Slowing" The women then called as the engine fired, Slowing Poseidon almost still relative to The Spectrum, "Perfect" A Nigerian man called from the back of the bridge. "Docking procedure initiated" The Poseidon and Spectrum docking port's clamped onto each other, Making a airtight lock. All of us made it to the airlock, Boarding The Spectrum, "AETHER, Activate main lighting systems" A AI Responded back "Affirmative, Activating main lighting systems" Lights flickered on, Illuminating the sleek cryopods, Aswell as the pull out box storage, I, Muhammed, And Eliza floated down to the bridge, taking their seats, I called "AETHER< Activate main navigational data as well as projected flight path to Alpha Centauri please" "Affirmative, Pulling up navigational data as well as flight path" The flight path would sling shot it past the moon, Mars, Jupiter, Europa, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Eris, MakeMake, Before activating warp to Alpha Centauri B. The Spectrum featured 2 main massive gravity rings, A nuclear engine propulsion system, A sleek hull of 150 metres long, 2 Metres tall and wide, The gravity rings featuring, A gym, Crew quarters, Medbay, A small research area, A rec room, And a canteen. "AETHER, Begin ring 1, And 2 rotation to Times 1 Earth's Gravity" Earth below was havocked on, The surface not visible due to all of the brown clouds and haze, The Spectrum also had 2 Main shields to protect it from any impacts or damage, "T-1 Minute until Earth Departure" AETHER Called everywhere on the ship. The shields started to extend, The lights dimmed, A sudden whirring was heard, The propulsion module sealed, The Spectrum used a nuclear propulsion system, "T-30 Seconds until LEO Departure '' I called up on the PA. Anything that could fall was chained down or put in a chained down box. "LEO Departure Initiating." Eliza softly said over the PA, As the nuclear engines ignited, Firing a plasma trail 4 kilometres back, The Spectrum illuminated the clouds below. The Spectrum rapidly sped up, It would reach its escape velocity and its flyby of the Lunar Surface in a minute, Before shutting down its propulsion system, The Spectrum started to speed away from the wasted earth, It was a miracle the Spectrum and Poseidon rockets didn't hit space junk, That's all there was now, Launching near impossible, Everyone on Mars, The moon, And Earth were stranded, Making do of what they have, "Its near time to hit the hay" Muhammed shouted from one of the gravity ring entrances, Solar panels starting to deploy, Collecting power for the warp in 3 years.
2123, Earth Mars transit
All 7 crew woke up to a blaring alarm, Lights flashing red, They all rushed to the bridge, In an attempt to figure out what's happening, Carter and the others sat in their seats. "SITREP AETHER." Eliza called, "Affirmative, Spectrum has strayed too close to the lunar surface and faces immediate destruction if impacted, Current depressurization in, GYM< MEDBAY<" "Affirmative Aether, Raise all shields, Roll the vehicle 139 degrees" Muhammed said in the back "Why are we rolling it?" Carter softly muttered. "The lander, The lander can provide cushioning and we can propel ourselves upwards." He said sharply, "Affirmative" Carter yelled as he was running around. "Locking down depressurized areas." AETHER Announced, Ground crew on sector 41, The area where The Spectrum could impact had been notified, Deploying giant bags filled with air in case of the crash, "Folding in solar panels, Disassembling gravity rings, Retracting to vertical position." Another crew mate, James announced over the PA, The Spectrum had been put on lockdown, Every window door hatch sealed with hard titanium, "50 Thousand feet'' AETHER Called, I, Eliza, James, Muhammed, Brayden, Emma, and Amelia, had all entered the Poseidon shuttle vehicle, Ready to detach. "10 Thousand feet" AETHER On the Poseidon announced, "The Poseidon engines aren't doing anything, We have to detach" Amelia called, "Affirmative, Detach Detach Detach Detach" I shouted to AETHER. The Poseidon clamps let go, Detaching, Firing its engines, Sending it into a LLO, The Spectrum hit the airbags in Sector 41, Cushioning its landing still with moderate damage over the vehicle. The airbags got cut, And ripped its air out, Pushing the Spectrum upwards momentarily, As it slowly fell with the airbag, The airbag was 100 metres tall, 300 metres long, 50 metres wide. It slowly touched down on the surface, Most of the damage was taken by the shields, Damage only on the belly of the vehicle, No new depressurizations, 5 Shuttles were hovering above, Lights flashing, The area evacuated, The Poseidon joined the shuttles above. The shuttles tossed down 3 cables each, To lock onto The Spectrum, They had powerful magnets as they locked onto The Spectrum "Lock confirmed, Engines running!" A man said in one of the shuttles from the surface, All shuttles faced upwards, Engines full. The Spectrum started to lift from the surface, The double gravity rings extending as it was lifted from the lunar surface, The airbag pumping out air to also lift it. Mars transit, 2123.
The Spectrum had been put back on course to Mars after a few orbits around the moon, the Poseidon docked again. The Spectrum was a mere 70 million kilometres from earth, it would enter the Martian sphere of influence in a matter of 2 days, The crew in cryosleep actively, 3 Days later. The crew had now been awake for a day, The Spectrum ready to capture into a low orbit to gain speed to fly by Ceres later on. 2 hours later All crew members were in their seats, About to capture a low martian orbit "Engine pre ignition checks completed, Prepare for burn." Mars had a blue ocean on its surface, Its atmosphere much more hospital then earth is now, And walking with no type of external suit or mask was regular now. "Ignition in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" I said in a steep voice, The 4 Nuclear Engines firing, sending the 4 km plasma trail behind. "Everythings holding so far, Near captured orbit." I announced as the propulsion module shut down again, Capturing into an orbit barely above the atmosphere, 2 Large 'garage' doors opened on the left and right right in front of the propulsion modules, 4 Jets ready to be launched inside. Carter, Muhammed, James, And Eliza had boarded the said jets, In advanced flight suits, The atmosphere was a kilometre below, The engines on the jets lit up, Spewing flames, A hook on the front wheels suddenly zipping to the front, Launching the jets. The 4 jets now travelling away from The Spectrum, The 400 million people on the right side able to see the glare of The Spectrum in the night sky, The 4 Jets equipped with magnetic cables ready to drop down, The 4 Jets blazing in the atmosphere, Now brighter than The Spectrum, After the re entry the jets started to make their way to the base in sector 93, Isidias crater. The jets were in a diamond formation, At a 50 degree dive towards the crater, Deploying a drag chute, Slowing the vehicles down rapidly, "Switching to vertical thrust, Prepare for ignition." Carter announced over the radio, "Affirmative" "Got it" "Copy" the other 3 said. "Break Break Break" The jets broke away from the formation, Firing vertical thrust engines "Deploy gear" James hushed over the radio, Amelia, Emma, And Brayden acting as ATC from The Spectrum. The parachutes cut, The Jets flying alone now, As they gently touched down on The Martian Surface. The jets resembled a F35, F22, And a F18 mixed together, The engines slowly whirring down on the jets as the 4 popped the hatch, Climbing down "Fresh Martian Air is way better than recycled TFA-75 Air" "Yep'' "Definitely" "Agreed" The other 3 said. TFA Stood for, Transport, Fighter, And attack. It's always puzzled me how they managed to fit all 3 categories in a single plane. Amazingly, A team of 4 Martian ground crew showed us to the dome in front of us. As we entered we saw 4 massive crates labelled "Spectrum Supplies" . I supposed they were for us to make it to Ceres, Jupiter, And land on Titan where the next colony was. "The dome roof can open where your magnetic cables can carry them back to The Spectrum in orbit." I guess he had instructed us to carry the container back, I wasn't really paying attention. I was instead looking at a cage in the corner of the massive dome, Carrying a ape of sorts, The pad reading "U'ak"ee" I assumed that was its name, He looked me dead in the eyes. I stared back at him, Before snapping back to focus when the ground crew shouted "Got it, Carter?" I nodded quickly, Not knowing a ton, Just that we were transporting massive crates back. "Right, You 4 are free to wander the sector for, 45 w minutes then you guys depart with the crates" The ground crew member called, I looked back at said ape, Before snapping my focus to the door to the next dome over, Walking towards it, It took me well over 30 seconds, The dome as said before was pretty large. I scanned my card, The door sliding open, The "Dome" Was a large recutanger, the Held up on concrete struts was a 1 to 1 scale of The Spectrum, working components and all, In large black letters on the port side "SPECTRUM 2" I was just kind of dazed, There was me thinking there was only a single Spectrum, I tapped the tablet, Showing a solar map, The first three planets, Nothing, Just "Earth, Venus, Mercury" I tapped on mars, In orbit a white dot saying "SPECTRUM", In Isidias crater, "SPECTRUM 2" There was a Spectrum on Europa, Triton, Titan, Pluto, And Haumea, I just guessed they were all reserves in the event of a ship destruction, I shook it off, Heading back to the original dome, walking to the ape, U'ak'ee. I sticked my hand through the bars, The ape examining it, Before giving me a quarter, And shaking my hand, I was of course, Quite shocked at what just happened, I covered the cage with a expandable blanket I had in my pocket, Starting to roll it out of the dome, Unlocking the cage using a pin right by my jet, Placing him in the large compartment area I put my hand at him, "Stay" I said to him, Before locking it up. I had explored for a bit before returning to the dome. For the departure, They instructed me to return to my Jet, Start up and await further instructions. I walked out of said dome, Arriving at my jet, Not minding to check U'ak'ee, One of the ground crew spun his arm up high, Which indicated to start my engines, I did as so, He waved his arm up down right left, Which indicated me to vertically takeoff, I pushed the throttle forward, As the landing gear lifted from the ground, The ATC Instructed us to go in a single file lined hovering above the dome, And to pick up the crates. I was hovering above the dome now. As the roof slowly started to open, Panels going into the sides, I dropped my cables, The ground crew on top of the crates grabbed them, Clamping them to the crate, Before quickly jumping off. After making sure no one was on the crate I increased vertical thrust, Lifting the crate out, Everyone else had already grabbed their crates, As we switched out of vertical thrust, Angling up at 60 degrees, In training 4 years ago we were usually instructed to launch at 67% Percent throttle, We were at 100% As of the crates, And we sped up fast, We reached LMO in a few minutes, On course to rendezvous with The Spectrum in 6 hours, All 4 of us had settled in for a nap, To awake once near. 5.5 Hours later, 2123, Low Martian Orbit. The alarms woke us as we neared the Spectrum, We almost imminently spun the vessels 180 Degrees, Firing our twin jet engines, Slowing us perfectly, We used our Reaction Control System blocks (RCS) To get close an stop, Equipping our EVA Suits, Popping our cockpits. We were on the crates, Clamping to it with our magnetic boots, I had went over to the cables, Using the pad on all of them, Selecting "DISENGAGE" As the clamps let go, We then deactivated our boots "Ready to push em in!" I called over the radio. We used our EVA packs to push the crates in, As they fell onto the small hanger floor, The arms on the roof grabbing them, And moving them to a tiny processing area where all the things get assigned in their places. I had become increasingly worried about U'ak'ee. I could feel the vibrations of him banging when I touched the jet. I entered the cockpit again, Using the RCS Blocks to push the jets in, Landing smoothly, As the hangar bay started to close. The doors sealed shut, As the room pressurized, The vents hissing out air, The room reaching 101 KPA, The jets lowering to the ground hissing out Carbon Dioxide, Not dangerous however. Metal blocks extended as the wheels retracted to keep the wheels from wearing out. We popped the cockpit, The glass retracting backwards INTO the planes. The ladder popped from the Jets, As we climbed down, I hummed loudly and weirdly to drown out the noise of the pounding. The others buzzed it off, Walking out, NASA Never told us how the hanger had gravity, It didn't spin at all. I took the extra protector off of the compartment, Unlocking it with my key, The ape instantly jumped out, Running all over the place. I unholstered my P27A, A sidearm not meant for lethal shots but instead tranquillising and injuring. I tapped the small screen on the back of it "MODE>TRANQUILIZE>CONFIRM>READY TO FIRE" I trained my aim on the ape, Pulling the trigger, A bullet flying out of the chamber, Hitting the ape in its arm, It collapsing to the ground, A thump which most likely the crew heard, I grabbed it, Swinging open a wooden locker in the corner of the decently large hanger, Stuffing it in, Slamming it close as I heard the crew running, I slid to the floor. The crew slid the door open, "Hey, I just uh, Fell, I accidentally tripped." They shook their heads, Leaving, I grabbed the ape, Putting him in my quarters up in gravity ring 1.