CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle Two: A Captain's Journey

85 ∞ The Temple of the Goddess

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to JohnSmith897401 for breaking the record by reading 84 chapters in 3 days.

Shortlisted – Day 0005

Gareth came close to blacking out, but he didn't. The thrust engines had shut down upon reaching an altitude too high to be effective.

The rockets continued to burn with a continuous thrum, and he watched the sky fade from bluish-black to true black. Stars turned into diamonds. They were achieving maximum thrust, and the G-force was dropping to bearable levels. Earth's gravity was also slipping away, and that helped, too.

Gareth adjusted their flight path toward the station and blocked the protestations coming from his body. Listening to the smooth vibration of the rockets, he relaxed, his mind drifting into standby mode, alert but at rest as time passed. They were on Earth's night side, and the lights of Humanity spread out below like glowing spider webs dotted with blobs of dew.

The patterns of civilization.

A moan sounded through Gareth's helmet comms.

"What the hell?" Harlin asked weakly.

"Welcome back." Gareth kept his focus on the controls, ready for anything.

Harlin shifted his head to look out at their view. "Damn, you took us straight up, didn't you? Oh Gods... I got a headache."

"You may have two black eyes tomorrow, on top of the aches and pains."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

Gareth had nothing to say to that, so he remained silent.

"You know a vertical rocket launch from ground level attracts a lot of attention, don't you?" asked Harlin, as if making a point.

"Call it a training exercise."

"A little hard to do after the fact."

The rockets cut off and silence ensued as zero-G made itself known with the familiar flip-flop in Gareth's stomach. Both men watched the blue-and-white orb called Earth roll under them as a bright shiny object rose from beyond its horizon.

"That was quick," said Harlin. "How long was I out?"

"Quite a few minutes."

"How long before we dock at the station?"

Gareth checked their flight path before answering. "Twenty minutes to catch up with them."

Seven shiny silver pearls emerged from Earth's horizon, and neither of the men spoke for a full minute.

"I'm conflicted, Gareth. I wouldn't want what's going on with you and your wife on anyone. But damn, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."

Gareth turned to meet Harlin's gaze behind the helmet visor. "I'd trade you in a heartbeat."

"I know, and it sucks. But you'll have a chance at shaping the outcome of the most advanced A.I. ever created. Who knows what they'll achieve? What worlds they'll find? Or what technology they'll create?"

Gareth nodded inside his helmet. "I want to ask you something about that."

"Alright, shoot."

"You reminded me of the A.I. conflicts, that we limit what an A.I. can control. But what about these Living Ships? I mean, a ship is going to need repairs if it's damaged. Components or parts will fail and need replacement. The crew might not be able to perform these functions if it's during an emergency or they're incapacitated. Is the plan to just let us sit out there with no help coming? And if the A.I. can perform these functions, aren't we giving them the ability to build something that could kill off the crew? And, if they can do that, what's stopping it from returning to Earth and doing the same?"