'I'll see you both on the other side,' Thomas Vasquez said to his family.
His wife turned away from the camera to speak with their daughter and lovingly but firmly eject her from the bridge. No doubt she would sulk about that, unhappy she wasn't getting her own way. But it was an important lesson in growing up. Tila would have to learn to take no for an answer.
Thomas looked up from his calculations to the three giant screens which displayed the status of each of the colony ships; The Rising Star, from where his wife had overall command of the mission, the New Dawn, and his own Far Horizon.
The pre-jump calculations were almost synchronised. It was almost time.
Supercomputers on three starships completed final simulations and blinked all systems green.
'It's all down to luck now,' Thomas said to his wife. 'We're as ready as we can be.'
On his workstation monitor, Thomas watched Grace stand up straight and tall, her hands behind her back, and prepare to give the order.
'You don't need luck,' she told him, then to her own bridge she gave the final order, 'Begin final sequence.'
'Now or never?' said Thomas.
'Now or never,' she replied, and smiled at her husband. 'I'll see you in fourteen light years.'
* * * * *
The portal opened. Two points in space light years apart, were, for a moment, joined in ways even the scientists didn't totally understand. But the equation had balanced. The wormhole had opened, and through it slipped the first ship of the colony mission: The Far Horizon.
The tension on the bridge, throughout the ship, was palpable. Nearly twelve thousand people held their breath, held tight to loved ones, said final prayers, and vanished.
The New Dawn and Rising Star were gone.
On the bridge, sitting at the rear so he could see everything and no-one could see him unless they turned around, Captain Anderson opened his eyes. No one turned around. Before them was a star as yet unseen by human eyes.
They had made it.
Cheers erupted throughout the bridge. Crew members and deck officers shook hands, high five'd and slapped each others backs. Two kissed, which the captain chose to overlook.
The captain looked over the man beside him. The man primarily responsible for the miracle that had just happened. He appeared visibly relieved as well.
Didn't he know it was going to work?
'Mr Vasquez, I believe we can consider this mission a success, yes?'
'That was only the first step, captain.'
'One giant leap, and all that. Isn't that how the legend goes?'
'That was only our one small step.'
'Enjoy the moment, Thomas. You've earned it. We still have work to do but for now I think you've earned your champagne.' Anderson turned his attention back to the bridge and raised his voice. 'Now hear this. We've made it in one piece. Our friends will be joining us momentarily. Let's show them that we haven't been wasting time celebrating. What do we have on scopes?'
Professionalism replaced jubilation. The crew fell to their tasks with practiced efficiency. This was a unique opportunity. They had been chosen for their passion as much as for their skills and qualifications, and they relished the chance to demonstrate all three.
'Visible spectrum shows three planets, captain. No moons. A significant asteroid presence especially around the second planet. First is hidden by cloud, second appears within habitable range. Third is a gas giant some distance away. Solar hub is a K-type main-sequence star.
'It's always amazes me how we can learn so much the instant we arrive,' said Anderson.
'The light we are seeing now left that star some time ago. From our point of view any readings we take will be instant but you have to remember we are seeing these things as they were minutes or hours ago.'
'Yes, thank you, Thomas. I may be only a lowly starship captain but I have studied for my wings. I'm aware how light works. Besides, I'm sure nothing significant has changed in that time. And thank you for destroying the magic of the moment.' He winked. 'Anomalies?' he threw the question to a science station.
'We're seeing elevated levels of solar radiation and a higher particle count than predicted. It's within safe levels for our shielding at this distance but our exposure will increase exponentially as we travel further in-system.'
The captain turned to Thomas. 'You wouldn't have cut corners on a little thing like solar radiation to save money on this endeavour, would you?'
Thomas smiled at the banter. The captain knew full well the limits of his responsibilities.'I never approved the budgets, captain. That wasn't my area.'
'Do you advise a minimum safe distance?' said Anderson to the technician.
The woman manning the science station tapped out the commands to answer the question.
'One point four AU, just outside the orbit of the nearest planet.'
'The planet is uninhabitable then?'
'Not necessarily sir. We are detecting an unusually high magnetic field and early indications show widespread vegetation present. Spectroscopic analysis shows oxygen levels between twenty and thirty percent, ten to fifteen percent carbon dioxide. Two moons and a lot of debris in orbit.'
'Any other planets? We expected three.'
'Only one only visible at this time captain orbiting at point seven AU. Early indications show it is likely to be rich in mineral deposits but uninhabitable. No oceans. No plant life. One moon. We believe a third planet is on the far side of the sun. We are also detecting large regions of asteroids in a wider orbit, between one point six and one point seven AU. Approximately six thousand suitable mining candidates detected so far.'
'It sounds like we hit the jackpot on our first try, Thomas. Good work.'
Thomas stood up and stretched away the tension. His part of the mission was over for the moment. 'All I did was get us here captain. Turning this system into a viable colony is up to you.'
The captain rose from his chair and walked closer to one of the true-resolution view screens that surrounded the bridge. He gazed at the new worlds before them. The untapped possibilities of a new star. Of new planets. Of new trade routes for the commonwealth. The mission was audacious, but it had worked. This would change everything. It was history defining, and he did not want history to find him wanting.
'Alrighty then, we have lots to do before they get here. Launch probes to investigate that planet and get a mining survey underway. And get us away from the portal. We don't want anyone riding up our very expensive ass now, do we?'
'No, captain,' replied the first officer. He barked orders with crisp efficiency to the crew. The Far Horizon accelerated directly away from the portal. Her sister ships would be arriving any moment.
'Launch probes,' ordered the first officer. 'Priority order as follows. Second planet, asteroids, first planet, sun, third planet, system sweep. Confirm?'
'Confirmed, commander. Targets tagged and probes launching now.'
'Distance to portal?'
'Another bridge offer spoke up. Nine thousand clicks. Current velocity is five hundred metres per second and accelerating.
'Hold off acceleration. Maintain speed.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Accurate triangulation of our position will take a few moments, sir,' said the first officer.
'Any sign of our friends yet?' said the captain.
'Nothing yet. But they should be here any... Hold. Someone's coming through now.'
Behind them the great portal rippled. It's red white surface writhed like a puddle had been stamped in by a small child. Lightning arced from the rim and discharged into nothingness.
Anderson straitened up at once. Thomas leapt to a console.
'What's going on? Report.'
'Uh, portal surface appears to be unstable sir.'
Thomas shot a look at the captain. 'That's not possible. The equations are sound. We experienced no issues during transit.'
'Sound or not, Mr Vasquez, something is wrong with that portal now.'
'We have emergence. It's the New Dawn.'
'Good. They made it safely.'
'I don't think they did, captain. Look.'
'All screens on the portal,' barked Anderson.
Every display screen switched at once. The scene behind them repeated throughout the bridge. They watched the horror from the centre of their compound eye.
The New Dawn emerged from the portal. Or part of it did. The front half of the colony ship emerged unscathed but before it had completed it's transit of the event horizon, the portal collapsed. The ship crunched in the middle as if a child had simply twisted the ship in half and thrown the rear away. Then the portal was gone. The lightning ceased. The wreckage of the New Dawn tumbled free.
Hull plating and been torn in two under the fantastic pressure, breaching the skin of the giant ship in a hundred places. Exposed superstructure showed the devastation to the vessel. The bodies of the colonists that spewed from the broken ship showed the horror. Their perfect camera technology showed all the detail none of them wanted to see, of limbs flailing, of panicked airless frozen faces, and then the terrible, eternal stillness.
The bridge crew fell silent. The only sounds were the soft beeps tracking the telemetry of the dying spaceship.
'Snap out of it, people,' shouted the captain. We have a job to do. Launch rescue craft and put us on an intercept course. Now!'
The crew burst into action. Professionalism took over. The needs of the moment demanded their full attention, and if they had to blink back tears and push their grief and terror deep inside to get the job done, that's what they would do.
The Far Horizon began a slow turn to intercept the stricken ship. Its large mass precluded it changing direction quickly. The lifeboats would have no such trouble keeping up. Their only concern was what they would find when they got there. The bodies in space were already dead. Many more would be dead from exposure in moments. But that still meant thousands of lives to save.
The bridge door opened and security officers rushed in.
The captain waived them away. 'The situation is under control. There's nothing you can do here.'
Behind them one more figure walked slowly onto the bridge. Her gait caught the captains trained eye. This was a tense situation, he expected his people to meet the moment, not saunter onto his bridge as if they owned the place.
'Stand down,' said Anderson. 'We have a situation out there.'
'Excuse me captain, but we have a situation in here,' said the sauntering woman.
'Report.'
'Captain, Anderson, the situation is that you're no longer captain. This is no longer your mission. It is mine.'
Anderson furiously spun his chair around to face the woman.
'Where's my head of security?' he demanded. 'Who are you?'
The woman gestured and the security team simultaneously drew their weapons and aimed at the crew.
'The new captain. Captain Jade Trellis.'
Anderson shot up from his chair. 'How dare—'
A blaster fired. The captain fell back into it, dead.
Jade ignored the body in the chair and walked to the front of the bridge. 'Now listen to me. All of you. The Far Horizon is now under my command. Any disobedience will be met with deadly force. No exceptions. Am I understood?'
A senior officer leapt from his chair. 'You-' he managed, before he too was shot.
'No exceptions,' she repeated.
Thomas took a step back from the body at his feet. He felt the barrel of a gun placed at the back of his neck. He froze. White cold terror flooded through him. He wondered which of the next few seconds would be his last.
Nothing happened.
He watched as the body of the captain was dragged to one side and the woman install herself in his seat.
'Now, I understand there is a rescue mission in progress, correct?' said Jade.
No-one said a word.
'Report, or whatever it is you do.'
A scared officer spoke up. Her eyes flicked from the captain's chair to the weapon pointed at the side of her head. 'We have launched lifeboats. Security and medical personnel are en route to the New Dawn. We have changed course to intercept.'
'Cancel course change. Set course for the asteroids.'
'But the survivors!'
'We don't need survivors. One colony ship is quite enough for our plans. The New Dawn is a broken ship without engines. Let it go. We can pick it up in a few weeks if we have time.'
'Let it go?'
'Ignore it. Let it float away. They knew the dangers and rewards of this mission. They have their danger. Be grateful you have the reward. They have what they want. Who are you to deny them this?'
'Our reward?'
'I'm letting you live.'
'But... all those people!'
'They are not my concern, and they are not part of my plan. And they are not your problem either, understand?'
'But-'
'Any more questions and we add more death to the casualty list.'
The officer fell silent, her eyes fell to to the screen, to the ship where thousands of colonists, so hopeful about their new lives minutes before, were now trapped in a metal coffin, drifting toward the sun. It was a colony ship. They still had power and plenty of food and water.
It would take them a long time to die.
'Lifeboats?' said one of the security officers.
'Ah yes. Order the medical teams to return. Destroy the security teams.'
The weapons officer pushed away from his console and stood up. 'You can't-'
'I can. No exceptions.' Jade gestured again and the officer fell where he died.
'Shoot. The. Lifeboats.'
No one moved.
'If you don't shoot them, I shoot two of you and the person standing next to you.'
'You can't shoot us all. You need us,' came one defiant voice.
'Do I need you?'
'I know weapons control, so yeah, you do.'
'Fine. Shoot his two friends.'
Two more shots sounded. Two more bodies fell.
'Shall I go on?'
The officer shook his head. He stepped up to the weapons console, broken, and weeping, and locked in the targets. Then the targets were gone.
Thomas was still counting. Maybe he wasn't dead yet. But how could he stay alive? How could he keep others alive?
'We had a mission,' he whispered to the woman in the captains chair.
'We have a new mission now, Mr Vasquez and you have a very important part to play. Perhaps the most important.'
'What do you mean?'
Jade gestured and the gun to Thomas' head was lowered.
'I knew your wife, by the way, did you know that? It's typical of her to make you take her name when you married. Anyway, I must apologise. I have mislead you. You are the exception. You're the only one here in no danger. Don't you know that? You're the most valuable man in this star system.'
Distraught and confused, Thomas could only ask 'why'?
'Because while everyone else on this ship gets to work mining this system clean, we need you to build us a new jump beacon, Thomas. You're the most important because we need you to get us home.'