The Scapegoat: a Capricorn Adventure

Venus Part 2

It was easy to sign up for the next shuttle expedition to Venus. The company always needed pilots who were willing to take the risk. Management were especially pleased that both Doran and Peyton wanted to stay on Venus, which would allow exhausted station members to return from the frontier in their places.

Doran scored work as the lead pilot, while Peyton had to be satisfied with being his second-in-command. The pay just covered the costs of her flight, but that was all right.

As the ship departed the lunar orbit, Peyton glanced anxiously at the instruments. Her latent Capricorn instincts liked certainty. Adventure was great, as long as she was the one in control.

Doran noticed and laughed. "Don't bother. The readings won't stabilise until we clear the Magnetotail!"

This was a unique place where the solar winds stretch the Earth's magnetic field. Plasma and energy released during geomagnetic sub-storms could be seen down on Earth as the auroras or "lights". Normally space was unnaturally still, but the Magnetotail caused turbulence, and gave the impression of weather patterns.

By the time the Moon fell behind them, the ship was no longer moving through Terran space but out of it. There was little sensation, to speak of, but the view of Earth Prime as it hung in space was spectacular. Their long-range communications fluctuated slightly, and the digital timer felt just a fraction off. The magnetotail thinned, then let go. Instruments stayed green, yet nothing felt quite as neutral as it should have. Charged dust clung to the hull slightly longer than she expected, and she got the impression the ship was unbuckling itself from a holder, rather than simply departing from a place. Ahead, Venus still looked like a fixed point — a pale star in the dark.

"We are free." Peyton re-calibrated the instruments. Excitement infused her perceptions. It was great to be heading towards a new settlement.

Most of the journey was dominated by Solar winds. Unlike planetary winds, these were not detected by human perceptions. The solar winds were lost in the vacuum and showed on the instruments as uncanny disruptions to HF Radio and navigational signals.

The ship's shielding was designed to withstand Earth-like radiation patterns, and as they neared Venus, the particle flow angle shifted slightly. Nothing broke, but the pilots had to take over from the instruments and fly the ship manually.

Doran grinned. "I love the opportunity to really fly for once!"

"You are essentially a cowboy."

"Who has barely ever seen a cow... they are rare in space."

"I thought they jumped the moon all the time!" Peyton laughed.