We're blasting out of the atmosphere within ten minutes.
"Fuel status?" I ask.
"We've got thirty-six percent," Lexi reads from her screen.
"About seventy-three light-years," Mark translates.
"Take a look at the coordinates," I tell him. "Can we make it on our current tank."
"To the destination, easily. Back..." he carefully studies his mapps. "We'll be cutting it close, but we should be able to refuel at Xolotl."
"Margin of error?" Connor asks.
We're high enough that we can activate our warp drive safely, but Mark is waiting for a confirmation that we have enough fuel. Space is big, empty, and all the gas stations require us to take inconvenient detours.
"We've got a half year to spare."
"Sounds good, take us to warp."
The artificial gravity shudders at the change in space. Outside the stars are pushed out of our way and shoved aside. The artificial gravity agins shudders as we begin our acceleration. The speedometer hits the normal ten kilo-c's speed, quickly rising up to our original top speed of twenty kilo-c's, and then rising up to our cruising speed of twenty-five kilo-c's.
"Can we bump the speed up any further?" I ask.
"I think I can get twenty-six, twenty-seven out of it?" Lexi supplies.
"You once said that we could get thirty Kc's out of it."
"For an hour, maybe two." She ponders the question for a few seconds. "If I micro manage them, I might be able to keep them running at the rate nearly indefinitely, but that would be like hitting the wait five minutes button on a nuclear bomb."
"They seem to think that speed is prudent."
"We'll, I've been wanting to try it, and now is as good a time as any." She unstrapped and walks to the back of the bridge. "I'm going to engineering. I'll need coffee brought to me every half hour. Failure will result in a matter antimatter explosion." She steps out of the room and the dore swishes behind her.
"Mark, take us to thirty kilo-c's."
"On it."
"Captain," Gear says. "At these speeds I'll need to be at my station for the entire duration to prevent Schrodinger radiation from bursting our bubble. I will also need coffee, and alcohol, coffee and alcohol."
"Alcohol, on duty?" I say. "I want to avoid death, not plot a course for it."
"Captain," John says. "For the last six months we've respected Terra views concerning the stuff, but the stuff affects us a little differently. If it can't blind a Human it can't get us drunk. Additionally it enhance the effects of caffeine. If you really want her lucid for twenty hours, well it's that or... I believe your word for it is meth."
"I would say something," says Gear. "But I just stopped us all from dying. This is going to get tiring after the first hour."
"John, make sure you sister and Lexi are kept well stocked on caffeine."
"Why..." He stops when he sees my glare. "We should have an intern to do this."
"I need alcohol to," Ren exclaims.
"I need you rested sober," I tell her. "I need someone to fly this bird once we get their."
"Speaking of," Connor says. "Where we suppose to pick up a scientist or something."
YOU ARE READING
Lucky 13 (NaNoWriMo 2017)
Science FictionHumanity may not be destined for great things, but its children are. Cheep long rang FTL is finally a reality, and onto the Lucky 13, one of the first of these new ships, is thrown a crew new out of the Academy. Captain Daniel May, just as green as...
