"Is everyone strapped in?" Lena asked over the suit's communication system.

A series of checks answered in the affirmative as the massive vessel prepared itself for launch. The layout consisted of a huge block of sixteen boosters in the back, with a dozen of those expected to be ejected once they were burned out. At that point, the ship would be the fastest spacecraft launched by man. The remaining four engines, all nuclear powered, would then maintain that speed out to Uranus. Once there they would help to slow the ship down with the aid of the planet's gravity while pulling it into an orbit near the inner ring. A travel plan had been plotted out to put the ship in a low orbit near the two vessels that they had already seen, but they would still be on the lookout for more.

Lena and Xavier were in the cockpit as the pilot and copilot. Emily was the third pilot and would be relieving them after eight hours, at which point the ship should already be at top speed. In the meantime, everyone else was in their suits, strapped into their bunks. The bunks were designed with rotating mattresses that would spin to cushion the person in the bed against the g forces they were experiencing. The resting crew was hoping to get some sleep during the initial stages of the mission. The crew compartments were modular two-person bunk bed designs, and Vanessa and Pepper had taken one on the end, the closest to the science lab where they would be looking over incoming images, with Vanessa on the top. They were next to the next compartment which was the Emily and Xavier, and then Anton and Miles. At the other end was Brody and Lena. With Xavier and Emily both pilots, each on an eight-hour shift, they wouldn't have a lot of time together, but they planned on bunking up together when others were working.

"All right everyone, hang on tight!" Lena called out. "Ignition in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

Pepper was pushed into the mattresses as the boosters kicked in, and the mattress spun up against the wall. She bit down twice on her suit communicator to turn it off, and then grunted through her earpiece. "Are you okay Vanessa?" The g forces made it too hard to talk normally for her. The suits and the medicine they gave everyone was helping to offset the g forces, but it still wasn't fun.

"I'm here. Just relax and try to rest. I know it isn't easy," Vanessa said back.

"There is no way I can sleep," Pepper admitted to her friend. "Can you?"

"No, I think you're stuck talking to me for a bit," Vanessa tried to chuckle, but it came out as a bit of a cough.

"DAMN, this feels good baby!" came Lena's yell over comms again. "Take that thrust! You know you like it!"

"Lena, you're talking to the ship, right?" Brody asked sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry, I was trying to give Xavier things to tell Emily later!" Lena called out.

"Hey!" Emily yelped.

"All right, let's keep it professional people!" Anton admonished.

"I think you picked the wrong crew for that boss!" Lena couldn't stop.

A mixed chorus of laughs followed. It was official, Lena was never going to be repressed.

"So, this is what we get to look forward to for the next ten years?" Pepper joked to Vanessa.

"Well, you can be sure it will be interesting!" Vanessa replied. "I'm shocked nobody has gone for the Uranus joke yet!"

"I still can't believe this is real. Two weeks ago, I was deciding which frozen meal I was going to eat, and now I'm headed further from the planet than anyone ever has."

"And the food won't be much better!" Vanessa giggled.

"I wish I could look out the window." Each bunk room had a small port that they could look out, but with the g forces the ship was under it would be a while before they could stand to look outside.

"We'll have to take turns when we can."

"I don't mind sharing," Pepper hadn't had a real friend since middle school, before she moved in with her aunt, and being able to talk freely like this was a novel experience, even if it was technically with her boss. The concept of sharing was something she was sure a friend would want though.

"I like the sound of that," Vanessa smiled, though she knew Pepper couldn't see her. She was having so much fun already on the trip, it was all so new, that she momentarily felt guilty for dumping all the corporate duties on Jason. "This is so much better than my 18th birthday!"

"Well, I get a ten-year sleepover with you!" Pepper pointed out. "That is already a better deal."

"I think that was my last sleepover," Vanessa realized, trying to look back at her life.

"I can't remember my last one. Maybe when I was eleven or twelve?" Pepper was stumped. It was for sure before her aunt's house, but she couldn't remember any sleepovers at all.

"Well then we'll have to make this one the best ever!"

"Miles, how is Anton looking?" Emily chimed in on comms. Since Miles was in the cabin with Anton, he was looking out for him during the initial phase of the trip since his age made him more susceptible to the g forces.

"His vitals are all in the green Doc," Miles answered.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" chided Anton.

"We're going to have to keep an eye on your dad, he's going to be like a little kid when we get there, wanting to see everything."

"Oh man, you have no idea. Uranus has been his favorite planet forever. This is his ultimate dream," Vanessa agreed.

"What was yours?"

Vanessa pondered that for a moment. For the longest time, her goal was to take over the company from dad so he could relax more, but it had certainly never been a dream. It had been a breath of fresh air to have her father come back in and take charge of this mission and then to have Jason take control of the company. She hadn't felt this alive in years. By itself, that should indicate that being the CEO wasn't her dream. But did she have another dream? "I really don't know," she finally realized.

"Well, that makes two of us," Pepper agreed.

"I can say my dream now is to go joy riding on one of those ships with you and Lena, tear this galaxy up!"

"Damn, that sounds fun! But don't tell Lena, she'll do it."

"I think she's already going to. She'll find a way," Lena wouldn't take no for an answer, Vanessa was sure of it.

"You'll all be happy to know that Earth is now a speck in the rear-view mirror." Speak of the devil herself, Lena gave an update. "We're really moving now folks!" There were a few scattered comments at that, but not as many. Perhaps people were finally able to drift off to sleep?

Up in the cockpit, Lena and Xavier sat side by side, keeping an eye on all the indicators, both of them grinning as they kept watching their velocity increasing. "So, if we can get those alien ships to fly, you wanna have a drag race?" Lena joked.

"Hell yeah! But we better get a third ship, Emily is more competitive than I am!"

"Sweet! You're on!"

Miles noticed that Anton's vitals had all evened out, indicating sleep, so he was finally able to relax and sleep as well, something his military background let him do in almost any situation.

Emily was the next to fall asleep, trusting her husband to handle any issues.

Brody lay back in his bunk, his eyes closed but his mind whirring. There were so many variables in this mission that it made his brain spin like a top.

Pepper was finally getting sleepy but didn't want to leave Vanessa alone. "Nessa, you doing alright over there? Think you can sleep?" she asked groggily.

"I'm okay. Get sleep. We can wake each other up later," Vanessa replied, closing her eyes as well.

Before long, they two were lost to dreams of planets, rings, and alien ships.