The Abyss of Time

Chapter Two

     "Harbour Master reports he's ready to release mooring clamps," said Caroline Bennett, the helmsman. A schematic of the ship, floating above her console, showed its entire two kilometre length with the comparatively small support structures held securely to its outer hull by dozens of clamps and airlocks, each designated by an angry red sigil.

     "Everyone go for the jump?" asked the Captain, his eyes darting across the other members of the Operations crew. One by one they glanced back at him and nodded. "Okay, helmsman. Please inform the Harbour Master we're good to go."

     "Aye, Sir." Bennett touched an icon on her console screen. "The Harbour Master is cutting us loose, Sir."

     On the holographic display, the red sigils turned green one at a time, all except for one that remained stubbornly unchanged. Bennett stared apprehensively at it as if mentally willing it to turn green along with the others, and she breathed a sigh of relief when it did so. "Mooring clamps are released," she said. "The support structures are floating free. The Harbour Master is taking them out of the stargate."

     The support structures were only half the size of the giant starship, but they were still virtually a city in themselves consisting of storage bays, supply tanks, assembly equipment and the housing for the construction crews. Geometric blocks of steel held together by a spiderweb of girders and cables, glittering in the sunlight like a bracelet of diamonds. The Captain watched in a display screen as they slipped away to leave the smooth, curving outer hull of the starship exposed to empty space.

     Free of the ship, the support structures then eased their way between the triangular gate segments. Once they were clear, the gate segments began to close in, the gaps between them narrowing.

     "The Harbour Master is transferring control to me," said Bennett.

     "Roger," the Captain replied. "You have control."

     "If anyone wants to phone home, this is your last chance," said Miller. Looking around the room, he saw that several of the Operations crew, those with nothing to do at the moment, were indeed in conversation with whatever friends and family weren't coming with them. Most of what needed doing was being done by the computer, though. The human Operations crew had very little to do but make sure the machines were doing what they were supposed to do.

     The voice of Baiju Nair, Director of the Stargate operations team, sounded from the console. "You okay over there, Jon?"

 "Hi, Bai," Captain Dhlomo replied. He cast his eyes across the displays and readouts. "Everything looks five by five. What about your end?"

     "We're good too, Jon. Busy shutting everything down now. Mothballing it until the second stargate is ready. Rather a sad moment after all these years, but happy at the same time. You know?"

     "Same for us, Bai," the Captain replied. "You looking forward to that teaching job?"

     "Be dull compared to this, but yeah, I suppose so. Bit like retiring, really. So. If you're not busy, can you spare a few moments to talk to your fans?"

     The Captain looked across at his Exec, who grinned back.

     "Nothing to do here but wait for the clock to count down," the Captain replied. "Put them on."

     A small screen to the side of the Captain's console flashed to life, showing a group of schoolchildren sitting in a classroom. They all gave a hearty cheer when they saw the Captain's face appearing on their wall screen.

     "Captain Dhlomo," said Baiju Nair. "May I present class 4b of Clavius Ridge Elementary School. Winners of the 2349 science competition. And their teacher, Miss Rachel Anstruther."