The Celestial Way

Chapter 16.7 - Changing Ways

Airo blacked out.

He came back to his senses almost instantly.

The FTL shuttle was whole. Everyone seemed fine according to the AR feedback. The commlink was live with chatter.

"Ow, my head," Zuckeroff groaned.

"Yeah, that reality skip was nasty," Kiana replied. She was back in her body. "We had to endure those bloody hundred twenty gees of acceleration for a whole nanosecond before proper synchronization kicked in and left us only with conserved momentum."

"Structural damage is minimal," Lylana reported. The giant Knight sounded as if nothing extraordinary had happened. "There are possible microfractures along the hull, but the starship lacks necessary sensors to confirm this speculation."

"I concur with Elder Darkovitz," Yeoman Cloud said heartily. "All systems are nominal. Is anyone from the crew experiencing any pain or distress?"

"I think I am fine," Veralla said. "Oh, I feel so... floaty!"

"Feeling skippy!"

"It's 'zippy', gamebrain. Yeah, I'm ok too."

"I have no sustained injuries either."

"Hey, what about you, Boss? Do you hear us? Say something!"

"Cloud, update our location on the star map," Airo said quietly.

"Yes, Commander. Please stand by... Calculations complete. Parsing data."

Coordinates appeared on Airo's screen, which then translated into a three-dimensional map of the star system.

"According to this data, we're very close to the coordinates Master Dei provided," Lylana said. She marked a location on the map. "This is the approximate location where Ouroboros is located."

"Right," Kiana nodded. "Looks like we arrived right on top of it. And our MEM-cells are nearly depleted. Talk about convenience, eh? Good thing this is a one-way trip, otherwise we'd be in major trouble."

"Sooo, is being without weight what it feels to be in microgravity?"

"Just about it, whippersnapper. Though I've all but forgotten the sensation by now. There ain't no starship these days without an artificial gravity field."

"Oh, I see. Should I tingle all over then, too?"

"What?" The shuttle systems beeped warningly. "Where did this astroload of radiation come from?? We'd be dead now if it wasn't for the souped-up PPGs!"

"The source of the radiation is located in the front starward quadrant," Lylana noted. "It's... the local neutron star."

Kiana gasped. "What!?"

"A neutron star!" Zuckeroff said in wonder. "Ah, I see it on the screen now!"

"Where? Where is it?" Veralla asked eagerly.

"Hang on," Kiana said. "Let me turn the shuttle about and get a visual on the stuff."

The shuttle began to veer and tumble in controlled manner. Soon the bridge viewpanels filled with weak light as the black void of the cosmos gave way to something much closer, and much more spectacular.

"Woaaaah!" Veralla said.

"Oh... woah indeed," Zuckeroff added.

"Voiddamn," Kiana muttered. "I never thought I'd see one of these halt-staters for real."

The neutron star was a tiny, distant dot on the viewpanels. It glowed with a wan bluish-white color. Even from this great distance the star seemed to simmer and pulsate, as if its surface was moving. Sensors indicated it spun around its axis incredibly fast, releasing high amounts of radiation in a constant staccato stream.