FALAHA'S JOURNEY: A Spacegirl's Account in Three Movements

Episode #1

This ship was built by my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, so she is over two thousand years old. She has seen a lot of things, and she's been places I've only heard of. Father says she can run for another couple of thousand years before her Core will need recycling. After that she'll either get a second life, or she'll be totally rebuilt and integrated into a greater vessel. My grandfather used to say that as long as bloodlines live, ships never die. They become a solid part of a kennar, an organized, economically self-sufficient network of extended families, united by actual kinship and descent, and continue to live on along with the descendants of the builders, following the cycle of rebuilds. And one day I, too, will inherit Quennah.

Vessels of her size are not usually equipped with DIVE because of its complexity. DIVE is the general name for spatiotemporal distortion technology, which is used to create non-local superluminal space-time connections. Nevertheless, Quennah is a dive-capable, small class spacecraft. But this is not what makes her special. Quennah has character, and a fierce one at that. For some reason she dislikes my uncle, Orewen. This usually results in several terminals failing. And when his son Eyuran is on the Bridge, the whole system shuts down, so neither one of them is allowed anywhere near the Control Center. Mom says it is in their blood. As for me, I've never tried to handle her, so I'm a little worried. If she were a simple arcai, it would be child's play. But Quennah is not an arcai—she is very different from cognitive machines, and this is my first voyage with her.

There had been many weird things going on long before we left for Kan Diona. I haven't told anyone yet, but I saw a real Hunter. They truly are disgusting, bloodthirsty creatures. Still, I think nothing compares to the Great Ancestor, so I wasn't terribly scared. In front of us lies a long journey of a hundred days until we reach the interstellar fortress. Well, according to everyone, Diona is not really a fortress, they just call it that. I have yet to explore for myself what it is, since there is not even a single picture available of it anywhere.

We will reach the dive-point soon. From that spot on, I won't see my home or friends ever again. Mom says it is inevitable. But is it really? I feel sad, although I think everything is subject to change. After all, we all share a part of the Ancestor's compelling will. So I am prepared to meet what lies beyond.