Stars

Part I (continued) - Orientation

When take-off finally occurred, Aaron wasn't even aware that anything had happened. One advantage of Grav-drive over the old thrust drives was that there was very little sensation associated with acceleration. They had been in the air for a little over five minutes before he noticed that the count-down display had changed headings. It now read "DOCKING IN 12.6 MIN".

"Holy Cow, Mom! We're almost there!" Aaron was straining at his seat belt. He really wanted to see what was going on. Fortunately, there was nothing to see, so he settled down rather quickly.

Docking went smoothly and soon they were disembarking the shuttle and heading for the Orientation Lounge. The shear size of the docking bay awed the entire procession into a spectral silence. Aaron figured that the entire High Falls Park would fit in there. Actually, the floor of the platform was three and half times the size of the park and since the gravity was artificially produced, all four walls acted as platforms. So, in fact, the bay would fit fourteen parks the size of High Falls. The sense of awe was only strengthened by the sight of other boarding parties making their way across the walls and ceiling of the enormous bay.

The trip to the Orientation Lounge was pretty much uneventful. They took the Tube to Central Deck 5 and followed the red wall-stripe to the lounge. When all the passengers from the five arriving shuttles had been seated, the Interspace escorts retired to the back of the lounge and the Orientation Program began.

A gentleman whose uniform indicated a moderately high rank took the podium with an authoritative stance. He surveyed the room with a critical eye. Even to the casual observer it would have been obvious that he was not used to dealing with such an undisciplined group. His disdain for the new boarders was palpable. He shifted into a somewhat more civilian-friendly mode before he spoke.

"Good afternoon. I'm Lieutenant Cooper. I'd like to start today by welcoming you all aboard the Crane II. I'm sure that you will find life aboard her quite comfortable, after you've become accustomed to shipboard routine." At least no kids were screaming yet.

"During the next three months, your orientation period, any assistance you require will be provided through my office. Each Family Unit has been issued an Orientation Manual, which you will find in your Residential Suite after this briefing. Most of your questions will be answered in that publication, so please hold any inquires until after you have had a chance to examine the manual.

The purpose of this program is to give you a brief overview of the ship as well as an explanation of our mission. Again a more detailed explanation is contained in the manual."

As he spoke, another podium quietly rose out of the floor to the right of the stage. The lights began to dim and he strode purposefully stage right. As he approached the second podium, the one at center stage slipped soundlessly into the floor. A dim, single light now lit a small circle around Lieutenant Cooper. This was the only light in the room now. Faint murmurs floated around the crowd as the Lieutenant waited for silence to settle onto the room.

"This is the Crane II." At this announcement, the full wall vid-screen behind the stage glowed with an external view of the Interspace Ark that they now occupied. "I believe that for most of you, this is the first view you've had of one of the Arks. As impressive as it looks here, I assure you, it's even more amazing when seen in person. The total length of the Ark is 820 kilometers, with a 220 kilometer diameter."

As he spoke the screen showed the enormous ship from a slightly skewed, rotating camera angle. Beginning at the front, the Ark consisted of a large ball that resembled the shuttle they had arrived in, though, easily twenty times the size. From the rear of the sphere, there projected a large diameter tube. Attached to the tube, at regular intervals, were smaller tubes angling out and forming a lattice work which appeared deceptively delicate in this scaled down view. The matrix of tubing supported a series of dome covered discs creating a cylinder of shimmering bubbles extending back to another huge sphere nearly twice the size of the one at the front of the ship.