Waypoint

Faster Than Light

The planet my old patron had chosen to settle on could fool you easier than anything.The continual, nonstop dust storms that would sweep the globe, and its dangerously close proximity to its star would make you think you would melt after just a five-minute walk around the block, but I morally shivered my skin off on my way to the observatory. As I approached close enough to see past the blizzard, I could make out a shorter, more brawny figure standing in the entrance to the observatory. Clothed in thick cotton to combat hypothermia, he reached in for a hug.

"Traveler?—How's it been!" Its voice was playful.

"It's been.... Interesting." We both hollered in excitement, it was a long-awaited reunion.

"Ha! Okay, now what brings you here after generations of no contact?"

The door automatically shut neatly behind us as my patron pushed me forward. Above us, an unnecessarily large glass dome lets you ponder far into the sky, deep into the atmosphere. To my left, in front of me, and farther to my right, were long, uncertain hallways, each labeled for different "research sections". The most wide hallway, twenty steps in front of me, was most definitely where the large and powerful telescope was stored and used.

"Right this way," I was rushed to the south hall, but I stood my ground.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I've never gotten up close to—Whatever fancy name you give a huge telescope in an observatory.

My patron snickered and led me straight forward. Turning the corner, my jaw dropped. For a moment, I was speechless as I listened to my patron explain the thorough process of what they call "celestial imaging"

"Believe it or not, we don't look through the telescope." My eyes followed him carefully as my patron pointed around the room. "More practically, the computers around here use the telescope as very powerful eyeglasses. Then, we use our own eyes to identify all that we can. It's a very simple process, the computers take four or five images in the span of four or five seconds. That is then carried over a span of four or five weeks, then we shuffle through each image incredibly carefully, looking for any dots that move or possibly change hue over that course of weeks. It's a lot less complicated once you actually start doing it."

Once my patron glanced in my direction, it could tell my mind had gone over the recommended capacity and completely fried itself.

"The same way everyone else reacts makes me smile every time. To my lab?"

We stepped back out into the dome room. When I finally cooled my head, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the xenon charge and warp cell.

"I just need you to mix some chemicals for me, I got a warp cell and a cartridge full of xenon." I handed the ingredients to him.

He stared at the addicting purple and pink chemical swirls in the warp cell for a moment before looking at me with a concerned expression. "Who are you trying to outrun?"

"The Vendetta," I lied. "I've really pissed them off this time."

"Hm, alright," He shrugged. "This won't take long. Wanna help?"

"Gladly!" I stayed gleeful.

Only it would've been nice to know that it would have taken the entire day. I waved goodbye and walked back into the cockpit with guilt and determination. I am really hoping this doesn't get me killed, because then I feel as if my patron would take the blame.

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Across the following hours, I rewired connections in the combustion chambers to my thrusters and unscrewed plates to replace wires. I'm installing a new switch specifically meant to release the mix into the thrusters once I reach the black hole, but damn was it a pain in the neck.