Beyond The Frontier

Chapter 4

Mission Time/Day 2 10:00

"Approaching the drop point. Influx in 3...2...1."

The Freedom Star and it's fleet emerged back into normal space and were greeted with a dense field of ice chunks. These chunks ranged from the size of small pebbles all the way to the size of a large starship, some were even bigger. The fleet had dropped out at a distance where the field wasn't so dense, and only small stray chunks were colliding with their hulls.

"Perfect drop Captain. Initiating far perimeter scan for next jump point."

The Freedom Star was already commencing a scan to identify it's surrounding across a 30 lightyear radius. The ice field stretched across several lightyears, perhaps the biggest ever recorded by mankind. Huge traces of hydrogen and oxygen were found, making these fields excellent sources for not just water, but also fuel.

"Captain...we've found something you may wanna take at look at." The helmsman reported as the HTD displayed the fleet's surroundings.

"The magnetic storm still blocks our scans, but we've located the Chinese fleet several lightyears behind us. We're in the lead for now. However sir, we've detected another signal, coming from inside the ice field."

The signal was being scrambled, due to the high density of the ice that was hiding it. However it showed feint recognition of being human origin.

"It's a distress beacon sir. Someone's come this far out before us."

"That can't be right." Captain Alder denied. There's been no known expeditions this far out into space before. Not even the Voyager probes which were recovered when mankind achieved FTL travel and were able to locate and relocate them in museums. "Do we have any transponder signals that can hint us to whom they are?"

"Negative sir, we're not getting any transponders. We aren't even tracking any energy readings, but that could be more related to interference from the ice field."

"How far is it?"

"Approximately 6 lightyears from our current position. Should we investigate, sir?"

Captain Alder though for a moment. They could continue on with the mission and ignore the signal entirely. However the mystery to whom came this far out would remain unsolved. It was a distress signal, so whoever was out there needed help. To ignore them was to abandon possible human beings to die out in space.

"Helmsman, plot us a course within the perimeter of the signal, spool up the FTL."

"Aye sir."

The fleet was notified, and they locked onto the coordinates of the mysterious signal. Within minutes, all ships jumped back into warped space. Several hours later, they emerged back into normal space, but were immediately surrounded by large ice chunks, several nearly grazing the hulls of a few ships.

"Collision alarms are going off! We're in the ice fields now Captain!"

"Hold us steady, find us that signal again!" Alder ordered as the ship performed a short scan within a single lightyear radius. The process was much quicker than a far range scan.

"We have it sir! Bearing 020, 100,000 kilometers off our starboard bow!"

"Get us underway then! Ahead standard, watch for those ice chunks!" The super carrier's boosters started burning as it propelled the ship at 100,000 km/h with ease. The massive ship and it's detachment of escorts maneuvered around the biggest chunks of ice, while smaller more minuscule chunks bounced or shattered off the hulls harmlessly.

Nearly half an hour of traversing later, the fleet was entering a less dense area of of the ice field, meaning there were less chunks they needed to avoid, making their trip easier and quicker.