The Scapegoat: a Capricorn Adventure

Space Part 3

Milky Way by APERTURE VINTAGE on UNSPLASH

The cruiser was designed to provide comfort for the passengers, but there were still spaces on the spaceship that the crew had to negotiate in uncomfortable single file. Whenever she passed her fellow navigator, Doran, he made a joke out of their proximity. The close quarters were not so funny for Ariana however. 

"I'm finding errands increasingly difficult to run," she confided one morning. 

"Some spaces are tight," Peyton admitted. 

"I miss being thin," Ariana whispered. "And I have a pain under my ribs."

"Perhaps you ought to see the medic," Peyton suggested. 

 The centrifugal force of the ships' rotation was much lower than even Martian gravity, and the nurse explained this was causing the baby to ride high under Ariana's ribs, pressing against her lungs uncomfortably.  

"At least I can forget my worries when I'm with the plants," Ariana said.

Peyton noticed that the pregnant woman tried to occupy herself as much as possible in the hydroponic garden. The nursery was important as it supplied the occupants of the cruiser with fresh vegetables. Ariana invited Peyton to visit when she was off duty.

"Most fruit takes too long to mature," Ariana explained as they looked at the rows of plants with their roots embedded in nutrient water. 

"I expect so."

"A few fast growing delicacies like strawberries are possible," Ariana spoke proudly. "And  the associated waste recycling set-up returns fresh water and air for the life support systems."

"I can see you love your job!" Peyton was amused. 

The hydro-lab was a cheerful place and contained the only life on-board in addition to the crew. She could see why the other girl loved spending time there. 

"I'm due back in the control room - I'll see you later," she said.

"Take care," Ariana said. "And don't forget to flirt with Doran."

Peyton shook her head in denial. "He's just a friend."

When she arrived on the command deck, there was frustratingly little to do, other than check the instruments and make sure the auto-pilot was on course. 

"Everything in order?" 

"Wouldn't it be fun if something wasn't?" Doran joked. 

He was a Sagittarius: lively, entertaining and freedom loving. His attitude was warm, but he did never attempted to touch her inappropriately. Peyton was glad because it led to a pleasant working environment. 

"That would depend what had changed..." 

The ship was reprogrammed to follow a Hoeman transfer orbit. This meant that while they had taken off from Mars, and were aiming towards Earth-Prime, their destination would actually be in a different position when they arrived than when they had taken off. It sounded tricky, but once the math was done, it really was easy.

"I'm looking forward to the flyby." Doran admitted. 

"So am I." 

Their course necessitated travelling in an arc, and doing a flyby of the sun. Most of the time, the space outside the viewing windows were empty. Despite her experience as a pilot, Peyton found herself longing to pass something, even an asteroid identified as a Mars Crosser. As they drew closer to earth, it was possible that they might see some Near Earth Objects.

A hundred or so hours before they were scheduled to begin the flyby of the sun, Peyton's fellow navigator called her to the window. 

"Over here Peyton."

A couple of irregular rocky objects were floating past. They watched in awe.

"Appollo asteroids," Doran surmised. 

"Mm," Peyton murmured absently. "Thanks for showing me."

Peyton might have found Doran attractive if she had not already had her heart broken by Jed. He seemed like a nice guy and his scintillating company was making her the trip somewhat bearable. Ariana of course, thought she ought to go for it.