Dark as Daylight Ch. 01

Two of my crewmates held it steady, while McKinley and I moved to the rear to take off the covering that protected the laser housing, and the Vanadium.

I knew Dycke would kill me if he found out how I solved the problem of not using antimatter in the chamber to keep this rocket going all the way to Earth without using power an eclectic form of power. The laser and the vanadium will only last so long, so I cheated. I used uranium (230u) and altered the laser. When the vanadium runs out, the laser will turn 180° and focus inward. It will bore a tiny hole into the chamber, and activate the uranium. The uranium will produce heat that will push the rocket forward towards its earthly destination. I hoped it worked long enough to have our transmissions received by an Earthbound SETI array.

"Doctor you are as crazy as a loon. You have Uranium in there?"

"Mac, you have made me the happiest person on the spaceship. Everyone calls me crazy. Yes, that is Uranium 230, and we are safe. You just called me crazy, and now I'm sure this will work, let's launch this thing."

I opened the control panel pressed the release button, and the timer started. I closed the panel door, and everything was ready to go.

"On the count of three men, just ease it over the side. Ready, 1-2-3."

We eased it off the end of the platform, and it floated away from the ship.

Unfortunately, Mac went along with it.

"Going home big guy?"

"Very funny Doc, would you yank my chain and pull me back in please?"

"You only have twenty feet to go, before you can do it yourself."

"I'll get you for this."

"You didn't sign me up to get paid."

Just then, Mac ran out of line and came to a jerking stop.

"He looks good out there, should we leave him?"

"No Doctor, he is our fourth for bridge."

"Okay, let's pull him in."

"You guys were my friends now. In fifty years, that might change."

"I was thinking thirty."

When we got him back on the platform I asked, "How was it out there, Mac?"

"Stunning is the only word to describe it doc. When I was facing away from the ship, and there was no one but me, and the stars; the darkness swallows you up. You become part of them. You want to be with them always."

"There is a famous quote Mac that fits in with your experience."

"You are as old as the Universe, because matter can neither be made or Destroyed."

At one time you and I were part of what is out there. You and I yearn to go back to our home, and Earth is not it. We could stand here all day and never get tired of looking at this site, but we have work to do.

"Bring us up, our job is done."

The heavy lift cargo elevator gently brought us up into the ship and locked itself into position. As soon as oxygen was pumped into the room, we removed our spacesuits. I changed into my flight suit, shook hands with Mac and my mates, and went up to the bridge to watch the radar display of the rocket lighting off.

The five-minute mark passed, and nothing happened. We were speeding away from it at more than one third light speed, and our radar display showed the rocket had not taken flight. There was a delicate decision to be made. Did I turn the ship around to find out why the rocket didn't work, so I could repair all the others, but lose all the speed we had attained, or continue on our way, and hope the next rocket worked. I decided that the best way to make such an important decision was to ask my staff.

Delicious was sitting on Gray's lap with her tongue down his throat. I guess they had settled their argument, and now were in the period of making up. I didn't want to disturb them, because I didn't know how long this period of Détente was going to last.

Gordon was still away from his post looking for Zoey. He probably found her, and were in their bedroom reacquainting themselves.

James was asleep in his chair, because he had nothing to do until we reached the Kuiper belt.

Jen was asleep in the captain's chair. I guess I kept her up watching me during the night, so I didn't try to escape again.

Gordon was right about training. It had to start immediately, before everyone became crazy with boredom. Looking around the room, I decided I would wake up James.

"James, I need your opinion."

He woke up with a start, looked around, and said, "Who me?"

"Yes James you, get your head away from your Kuiper belt collision warning system, and tell me what you think I should do."

"Yes Captain anything you need."

"Stand up."

"Yes sir

"We just launched a rocket to Earth with our first messages advising them we have passed Mars successfully. The problem is the rocket did not ignite on time. Should I turn the ship around, retrieve the rocket, find out what's wrong with it, and launch it again? Or do I just continue on with the mission and check the next rocket."

"With all due respect sir, may I quote you?"

"Absolutely go right ahead."

"You said, "Anything that endangers this ship is to be discarded. No flammable items are allowed on board."

"To fix that rocket sir, you would have to bring it back on board, and that endangers the entire ship. I believe we should continue on, and if you wish to use another rocket to send the message, go ahead. However, the rocket you launched should be discarded."

"Thank you James that is exactly what I needed to hear. Make sure you tell that to whomever you train, because if I make a mistake like that again, I want that person to give me the same answer. Thank you very much, you may have just saved all of us. You may go back to sleep now."

"No sir, I think I'll pay more attention to what I'm supposed to do."

"Good man James, you are very good man."

"Doctor Luck, I have a message from Dyce Schneider coming from the rocket."

"If that bastard tampered with that rocket I'm going to kill him. Let me hear it Calle."

"Hello you ill-tempered bastard. Now that you've passed Mars, and are launching my first rocket, I bet you're wondering why it's sitting there not lighting off. Well you caused me ulcers, and a nervous breakdown. So I changed the delay factor to 10 minutes, in an attempt to give you both maladies. I wanted to make sure that thing didn't blow up our ship, and wanted to see what you would do about it. I figured you would do nothing, and continue on your way. I didn't know how you charged the three sealed canisters, and I wasn't sure if you confiscated antimatter from CERN, or you created another magical element that your children will tell me about at some time in the near future. But my friend, I was not going to let you to blow up my daughter. If you look at your radar screens now, my rocket is on its way back home. I wish you and all the 66 people on board the Good Luck 1 long lives, excitement, and many special scientific discoveries, which we hope you will send back to us on our rockets. Goodbye Even, you pain in the ass."

I swore to myself that I was going to write that bastard a note and put it in the next rocket, when we reached Jupiter. I'm going to tell him that I inverted the ship, and now everyone was walking on the ceilings, and loving it. It would be a few days, or less, before we get to Saturn, but during this time a lot of science would take place. No human had ever been this deep into our solar system before, and we were going to see things close up, that only Hubble had seen before."

We were so far away from the rocket, because of our speed, I asked Calle, "Is the rocket moving, and is it transmitting properly?"

"Yes to both your questions Doctor Luck. At exactly 10 minutes after you hit the control button, ignition started, and the rocket headed on its preplanned course to return to planet Earth."

"Thank you Calle."

"Doctor Luck, I am not a human, it is not necessary to thank me after I answer a question."

"Calle, I am a human, and humans do thank anyone who is helping them. Do you realize how important you are to this mission?"

"Yes."

"It is incumbent on all of us to thank anyone who is doing as much for us as you are."

"Thank you Doctor Luck, we will continue to do our best."

"I keep forgetting about your sister's, would you thank them also."

"We are as one; if you thank one, you thank us all."

"Thank you Calle. All systems are running normally?"

"The nuclear engine is running 7% hotter than it is supposed to. It is time to extend it outside the ship."

"Thank you Callie."

"Gordon Luck to the bridge, Gordon Luck to the bridge."

Jen woke up and asked me what was happening.

"It's time to extend the nuclear engine, and that is Gordon's job."

"Where is he?"

"He left over 90 minutes ago to find Zoey."

Jen laughed. "I have a feeling he found her."

"I'm sure he found her."

I was just about to call him again, when he arrived on the bridge with Zoey holding his hand. His clothes were a mess, and Zoey's hair was going in six different directions.

"What's going on dad, why do you need me?"

"Calle said it was time to extend the nuclear engine. It is running 7% hotter than it is supposed to be."

"Is that all?"

"You set up the program Gordon. Callie is only following your directions."

"You know everything about this ship dad, why didn't you do it?"

"I have no clue what is going on with your nuclear engine. I wasn't here to watch it be installed because I was ill. I don't know the inner workings of the containment unit. I am not about to endanger this ship, which is moving up closer to one third light speed, when the person who wrote the program for the extension of the nuclear engine is standing in front of me. Do your job Gordon."

"It's not time. I put the 7% rule in as the first advisory. The second advisory will be at 12%. The first warning will be at 17%. The second and final warning will be a 20%. At 25% the engine will go into shutdown. I know everything about my engine dad. I will extend it when I want to."

"I would like it done now Gordon."

"It doesn't have to be done now. I will do it when it is necessary."

"I want you to extend it now, please."

"No, it is not time yet."

"I want the engine extended now, and that is an order."

"There's no one on this ship that knows how to do it, except me dad. You can order me all day long, and all that will happen is we will lose all the speed we built up, when my engine goes into shutdown. I'll be back when it is the right time to extend my nuclear fusion engine."

I opened my communicator and said, "Monty, and a security team to the bridge. Monty, and a security team to the bridge."

A few minutes later Monty, and four security officers showed up on the bridge.

"Yes Doctor Luck, what can I do for you?"

"Gordon Luck is under arrest for disobeying a direct order. Put him into the brig until further notice."

"Please tell me you're not kidding?"

"Gordon Luck has disobeyed a direct order. He will stay separated from the rest of the crew and the rest of the men and women on this ship, until I decide otherwise."

"I hope you have fun with my nuclear engine dad. I hope you lose every ounce of speed you ever picked up."

"We will see how you feel in six months."

"Six months, you have to be kidding me."

"You just threatened this entire mission. Did you expect a slap on the wrist? Take him away Monty, I don't want to see him on the bridge again."

"Dad, I will do it. I'll do it right now."

"It's too late for that Gordon. I am going to slap you down hard, very hard. There will be no conjugal visits, no reading material, no writing material, just you and your mind. If you dare touch Monty, or any of the security team physically, I will throw you outside, into the vacuum of space, without a second thought; and that is not an idle threat son. I will make an example out of you, so the rest of the people on this ship know that discipline will be meted out evenly, and harshly if my orders are not obeyed."

Zoey was crying heavily, while Jennifer was holding her in her arms.

"Why does he always have to be so stubborn? Why does he always have to be argumentative with his dad? When will we learn that just because he's smart in so many other ways, he is not as worldly as his father is?"

As he was escorted off the bridge, I walked to Gordon's position and started putting in orders to the nuclear containment unit to extend the Nuclear Engine.

Jennifer and Zoey walked over to me and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm extending the nuclear engine."

"You said you had no idea how to do it."

"Yes I did, didn't I?"

"You lied to our son."

"I wanted to see how he would react when he thought he had an ace high straight flush. He thought he was king of the world. He put himself in front of the ship, the people on it, the mission, and the captain. That can never happen. There can be only one leader, and that is the captain. Right now it's me. If the people on this ship decide they don't want me to be the captain, I will gladly step aside. However, Gordon unilaterally decided to challenge my authority, and that cannot be allowed. If we were on a ship, he could be shot, or made to walk the plank in the old days. He committed mutiny, and by law, I have the right to kill him, have him flogged, or kept in the brig for an extended period of time. That's what I've chosen to do, and I don't know when I'm going to let him out. I don't know if I'll ever let him on the bridge again. I don't know if I can trust him in a position of authority again. I may make him a part of the cleanup crews or a cook. It will be a waste of his talents, but he has hurt me deeply, and I don't know if I can ever forgive him."

Zoey asked, "Dad, please let me talk to him, so he can see the error of his ways. He doesn't deserve six months in prison. It's his first offense. He always challenges you, up to a point, and then backs down. I agree this time he went too far, but even you said he missed his teenage years, because he was always with adults. He never learned to control his mouth, because he never went to school. He was always at your side, or Delicious, or Doctor Grayson; people as smart as he is. He never had fun, he never had the time when he was supposed to learn to control his emotions, his mouth, or his temperament. I'm not sure if he had an outside life with school, teachers, girls, football, baseball, and all the recreation opportunities other kids had that when he opened the door, and saw me standing there, we would have fallen in love with each other instantly."

"No Zoey, Gordon was meant for you. Never have a doubt about it. The other part of your argument may be true, but he went much too far this time. Anyone who would put his own pride before the lives of everyone on this ship has to be punished severely, or anyone else on the ship will try to do it too. When the people on board hear that I put Gordon in the brig for disobeying an order, they will realize I mean business. If I punish my son, I will punish any of them. "

"Why are you punishing me?"

"Punishing you will make him feel 1000 times worse than he feels already. You wouldn't happen to be pregnant, would you?"

"We haven't told anyone; how did you know?"

"I didn't know. It was just a question. How far along are you?"

"Almost 4 months."

"Have you seen a doctor yet?"

"No, but I am taking the prenatal vitamins, folic acid, and everything else they say to do on the pregnancy guides."

"Doctor Finch to the infirmary, Hannah to the infirmary. Doctor Finch to the infirmary, Hannah to the infirmary."

"Jennifer, you know what to do. Don't kill her on the way down."

"Zoey how are you going to talk common sense to your husband, when you are not following common sense guidelines for a pregnant woman."

"I was living with my mother, remember?"

"Oh shit, you're right. I'm sorry I forgot. It may be late but as long as you are taking your vitamins and supplements, I'm sure the baby is going to be fine."

Doctor Finch and Hannah were both in the infirmary, when Zoey was dragged in.

Doctor Finch asked, "What's the emergency Jennifer?"

"We have a four-month pregnant female who has not seen a doctor yet. There are extenuating circumstances, which we will not discuss. She has been taking her prenatal vitamins, folic acid and the rest. I believe it's time for you to get involved."

"I'm so happy I trained as a plastic surgeon. In the next five months I'm going to be delivering nine babies. I'm going to be reading up on obstetrics until it comes out my ears."

Hannah said, "Doctor you have a big problem. Babies do not come out of the ears, they come out someplace lower."

Jennifer laughed. "Joseph, now you know why Even loved her."

"I thought it was her needles?"

Hannah said, "Come with me Zoey, we have to put a gown on you. Have you ever had an internal before?"

"What's an internal?"

"Oh well, you will find out shortly."

As Zoey undressed, Hannah explained the entire procedure to her, including the device that would open her vagina to be sure everything inside was healthy.

In a few days, when everything was set up properly, they would do a sonogram to check on the baby. They would be able to see the sex, the size, and determine its health. They would also be able to determine the approximate date the baby would be born."

***************

"Newton Thyme to the bridge Newton Thyme to the bridge."

"I've decided Newton is going to replace Gordon."

"He's in charge of engineering Even, who are you going to replace him with?"

"Jack Daniels to the bridge. Jack Daniels to the bridge."

"Even you are out of your mind."

"I wish I had kept count of all the people that told me that."

"What's up Even?"

"Jack I have just promoted you."

"Oh shit, I hate when I hear those words. What do you want me to do now?"

"I hate when you're so suspicious. You are now chief of engineering."

"Is that all?"

"Yes Jack, that is all."

"I can do that."

"I know you can Jack, that's why I put you in charge. Don't forget to train your people up."

"No problem Even. They will start the training in the morning, just as I learned at the Academy."

"That's the way I like it Jack."

"Hi Uncle Even, what's up?"

"Newton you are no longer chief of engineering."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"You did absolutely nothing wrong. You are going to be retrained to take over for Gordon."

"I have no idea what Gordon does."

"You are going to learn very quickly, because you have to. At this moment Gordon is in prison for disobeying a direct order. He will be there for six months or longer, I haven't decided yet. I need someone like you to learn all the star charts, but most of all everything about the nuclear engine. You will also be learning alongside Monty. Gordon was supposed to teach her, but now she has to learn alongside you. You must go as fast as you can, Monty must learn as she goes along. When you become fully qualified, you can go back and help her, but she must not slow you down."

"I understand grandpa; I will not let you down."

"I know you won't Newton, why don't you sit down and acclimate yourself to your new seat."

**************

As Monty locked the cell door. There were no harsh words between them. A detente of sorts had been called and neither one of them knew what to say. Gordon broke the silence.

"Tomorrow the turkeys are going to start hatching. They have everything they need for about two days. If they don't get food, water, and their enclosure cleaned, they will die. Don't let that happen please. They didn't do anything wrong. It was my joke, I was going to take care of them, now I can't."

"Where are they?"

"They are under the security desk."

"You're lying to me."

"What would I have to gain by lying to you? What would I have to gain by telling you that all the supplies for the turkeys are in the shower of room 515?"