Space Bunnies!

Chapter 3: Sailing

"Ready, little brother?" Kai asked. 

Pre-flight operations were completed sooner than Bodi would've wanted. He hardly even had a chance to examine the fauna. He sat in his chair with his arms crossed.

 While Kai felt bad for him, the atmospheric window for solar sailors tended to close rapidly, so it was time to go. They offered great freedom in terms of needing minimal fuel but required nearly perfect conditions in order to take off. 

In their very small command center. The ship was configured just like a sailboat, with lines and riggings. All controls for the massive solar array—which would be deployed at the rear once they reached safe orbit. The average Omeocoon was a decent water sailor—that was to be expected—over 90% of their planet was water, but solar sailing was a completely different experience and required not only an understanding of the basics of sailing but the fundamentals of traveling through space. 

The rigging consisted of several systems: hand winches equipped with brakes, deployed and retracted the mainsail, while a second pair was used for trimming those sails to ensure the ship had maximum efficiency. Between the two winch sets, in the center of the cockpit, was a large wheel, just like on a real sailing ship. It was a nice touch, and allowed for fine tuning that touchscreens could not provide, Kai would manipulate this, while Bodi would be in charge of monitoring the fuel system, which was an important job during take-off, because the craft would be floating off with thrusters only until they reached a point where they could sail. Hence, the reason why they needed fuel.

A small RTG provided electric power for the internal instruments, which in turn, supplied power to the ship's gravity plating—an upgrade that Kai had installed himself a few years ago. It was very expensive, but it was either get a gravity ring, or spend a few extra credits and not have to bring his ship in for a major overhaul. Kai considered it a necessary upgrade when he had to move around this cockpit to operate the vessel. It was initially built for a zero-G environment, but being able to walk around made him more confident in his sailing. They'd still have to strap in for launching because g-forces tended to be not so friendly. 

"It's not too late to change your mind," Bodi said persuasively as Kai helped him settle into one of the consoles seated at the very nose of the ship—one for the pilot and one for the co-pilot.

"It is. We already buttoned everything up! Now, just sit here and wait until we're in orbit."

 Bodi playfully rolled his eyes. 

 Kai returned the gesture with a brotherly smooch on the cheek. 

"Bleh! You know I hate it when you do that!" Bodi shouted as he rubbed his brother's kiss away, but he did it with a smile.

 Once Kai ensured his brother was all set, he threw the last few remaining switches. He then settled into his own station, right next to his brother; he would supervise the autopilot until it was safe to steer manually. Now the fun began—the autopilot finished its countdown before the ship rumbled, almost like it was waking up from hibernation—she was a bit sluggish today, but it was only because she had taken a few weeks of vacation from space travel. But rest assured, she was ready to fly. The small maneuvering thrusters on the underbelly were used to push the ship off the ground, followed by the low clunking of the landing gear, retracting into the craft's body once the vessel was at a safe altitude.

The vessel applied the rear main rocket at full thrust, which caused Kai and Bodi to become slightly glued to their seats as the ship pushed for orbit. "I hate this part!" Bodi shouted, his voice vibrating as the ship shook slightly, trying to break the atmosphere. His eyes were squeezed shut as his hands gripped his chair's armrests. Their ascent was less than graceful, but they made it into space after a mere six minutes of travel, where the vessel floated freely in orbit.

 Kai started charting. "Okay, setting course for Devana," Kai said as he inhaled that fresh, recycled air. He could immediately tell the difference as the ship switched to internal air recyclers—the downside of being a G2 Omeocoon was that he had to breathe.

"Devana...?" Bodi asked, his eyes opening slowly one at a time as Kai continued to tap away at the chart plotter. 

"The desert planet, y'know? We scanned it about nine months ago. We were on our way there anyway. The client in charge of this mission wants to meet with us personally, so I'm going down there." Kai reminded.

 Bodi groaned. He remembered. A species like the Omeocoon never forgot dry, hot climates. Devana hit temperatures of 38 degrees° C, which they considered a cold day. "Can I stay on the ship?"

"You're not old enough to go into a bar anyway. But the spaceport will have kids your age. You don't want to go over there and make friends?" Kai suggested.

 Bodi shook his head, which Kai could not see because his work completely enveloped him. "No thanks. I think I better stay here and look after the ship." 

"Good point," Kai said. "Y'know what? If you want to stay on the ship, that's fine," Kai said simply. He stood up from the safety of his chair and went to the wheel, ensuring to disengage the autopilot before he moved off to one end to operate manual winches that would unfurl the solar sail in the rear. He listened to the motors whirr as the sails deployed. Then Kai watched the energy cells on the read out climb as they immediately caught the light of the nearest sun, and the ship moved with the power of low-emission thrusters, pushing forward gracefully as it began to pick up enough thrust to break orbit.

"Ready for main thruster shutdown?" Bodi asked, looking over his chair to Kai. 

"Go for it, buddy." He confirmed with a thumbs up. 

Bodi nodded and then pushed his buttons; the ship's main booster was cut, and they were now sailing. "I hate this part," Bodi said impatiently. Solar sailing was so slow! It took forever!

"You hate every part. How about instead of using that word, maybe you should consider embracing your surroundings!" Kai encouraged as he wandered back to his station and took his seat. "Look, you would you try to relax? In three hours, we'll come about...and chart the next leg of our journey," Kai said. As soon as he was settled into his proper watch position, he re-established the autopilot and kicked his feet up on the console. Now that the course was locked in, there wouldn't be much input from him. Kai closed his eyes and drifted into slumber. 

"What? What am I supposed to do?" Bodi asked as he watched Kai get way too comfortable. 

"I'm sure you'll find something to keep yourself entertained. Remember that bug you wanted to keep?" Kai smiled, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Wh—what?!" Bodi shrieked, no response from Kai.