7.

September 18th, 2093

Within a temporary hospital set up in Alice Springs, Australia, Jeffery Wilson wakes in somewhat of a panic being lost and confused for he knows not of where he is. The last he remembers, the part of Perth he grew up in was being hammered by a tsunami. In all the panic Jeff had been knocked unconscious, taken in somewhere within which he'd be temporarily safe, moved on to where safety would be a little more permanent, and this current moment of consciousness is his first since being knocked out.

There may be many here in this place needing medical attention though when a certain Doctor Stanley Holmes notices a young man wake in a panic, he moves himself in an attempt to calm that young man down.

'Steady, now steady. You have been injured but not at all so badly. Just calm yourself here and all will be well.'

'Where am I?' asks Jeff.

'Within a makeshift hospital in Alice Springs.'

'Alice Spr ... Springs ... how did I get here?'

'A lady brought you in; she however is no longer here ... but there are others.'

'She didn't happen to say who she is, did she?'

'No, she didn't.'

'You don't sound Australian Doc.'

'That would be because I am not Australian. I'm just passing through these parts.'

'And just so happened to become caught up in this mayhem?'

'The world is what it is, guess we all just have to make do, until something better comes along.'

'Indeed.'

Close by there are two men talking among themselves while looking over in the direction of Jeff and the Doctor. Stanley had overheard these two men speak not all so long prior to this moment and he knows of their worth or lack of worth and they had carried Jeffrey in here, led by that lady Stanley already mentioned.

'I would stir clear of their sort if I were you. Of course, this is only a suggestion.'

Soon after the doctor moves away, the two men he had observed and previously overheard move towards Jeff so they can have words with him. This occasion had been the only time Stanley Holmes and Jeffery Wilson come in contact with one another until they both become crew members of The Pathfinder, and that time will come a little over four years after this one and who is to say if Stanley or Jeff would recognize another or even come into contact with one another once they get there.

****

Present day October 28th, 2097

Robert Stanford still looking like he had been in a war, just like Simon had on his return to the command center, had every man and woman on his engineering team on duty in the engineering room in preparation for one of the most important moments in mankind's history. With all the preceding moments prior to this one and with the want and desire to really get things set in motion, there was one thing which had been in a way by-passed ... the speed booster system had yet to be tested on a ship the size of The Pathfinder. All prior problems encountered by other ships, by smaller ships, had been worked out and on paper everything is in order and ready to go.

His entrance into the main engine room was greeted with a flurry of activity. Every member of Robert's team was working full steam ahead to ensure that everything indeed was at one hundred and ten percent and ready to go. Robert felt that he had no need to give a motivational speech but decided to give one anyway seeing that this is a moment in history.

'Ladies and gentlemen, you don't need me telling you that you all are about to become part of history. We are not only at the heart of this massive ship we are on ... we are the heart. We are its soul. Without us, it goes nowhere, and it will surely die as will all humanity. We are the first ship to permanently leave Earth and it all begins right now. The hopes and dreams of our world rest with us and depend on us to take it to a new world so mankind can prosper once again. Are we all ready?'

His question was answered with a low murmur and a couple of nods, so he asked the question once again and a little louder than before.

'I said are we ready?'

This time the response was much louder and was as equally positive as it was loud with his team members now smiling all-round the room with handshakes between them ensuring that not only were spirits high but so too was confidence. A moment of light-heartedness came when a shout out of 'so no pressure then' sounded, being met with smiles and momentary laughter.

A similar motivation speech was given by Brandon to the crew in the command center, after which and realizing how big a moment this was or is Brandon took a slow and long look around the room he will spend quite the amount of time within, before using the ships com system to contact engineering.

'Mister Stanford, how are we looking? Are we ready to try out this booster?'

Looking around his engineering room and receiving nods from his team members Robert replied, 'we are good to go sir.'

'Good, put the ship on booster alert and await my command.'

'Yes sir, by the way sir what do we call you? You are in command; do we call you captain?'

'Captain?' he calls out as if the very word fills him with disgust. 'No, no, I do not like the sound of that. My name is Brandon Michaels, Brandon will be fine but if you must give me a title then seeing that I am a former military colonel, "colonel" will do.'

'Yes sir, colonel', Robert smiles.

Despite the fact that he was still recovering somewhat, this was a moment that Robert was most definitely enjoying. As the Colonel had asked, Robert activated the ships booster alert. Booster alert is a warning system to all on-board the ship alerting everyone that the ship is about to go to light speed, giving all sufficient time to get themselves into secure positions, not that secure positions are necessary as an energy bubble will make the transition to light speed feel seamless ... or so is hoped.

'Mister Stanford before I give the order to go to light speed can you explain what is about to happen?'

The com system was open for all on board to hear.

'Yes sir. When the order is given, an energy bubble will form around the ship. The energy within the bubble will work against the energy outside the bubble to propel us to and sustain us at the speed of light for a period of thirty seconds after which the ship will come to a full stop.'

'Excellent. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time to make history. Mister Olsen, activate the booster.'

'Yes sir.'

Simon's eyes opened wide as he took in a deep breath. He tapped at his control panel and let out that deep breath. 'Here we go.'

Just as Robert described, an energy bubble indeed formed and surrounded the ship. Even though it is a clear force field like bubble, it could still be seen. The engines began to hum at quite a low level and quickly the sound rose to a high-level hum, but not to a point where it might cause any discomfort. A few seconds would pass before the ship took off at an incredible speed, it quickly increased to the speed of light or as close to the speed of light as humanly or otherwise possible then maintained that speed.

What an odd sensation. The transition to light speed went to plan, movement could be felt as would a lack of movement too, definitely an odd sensation. However, the thirty second timer passed, and the ship did not come to a full stop, it did not come to any sort of stop at all. Instead, it kept on going at the speed of light. Being protected in an energy bubble takes away any and all kinds of g-force but trying to move around while the booster is in effect is most definitely not an easy thing to do or maybe it is. It's the odd sensation of moving and not moving that really gets you.

Another odd thing, one for thought rather than to be felt, is that travelling at such a speed alters time or at least appears to alter the perception of time. Time within the bubble moves a lot slower in relevance to time outside the bubble. What is seconds within the bubble is in actuality days, weeks or even months outside the bubble depending upon the exact amount of light speed travel seconds which pass within the bubble. Passing time may appear normal and it may feel no different though such is relativity.

With what is happening Robert knew he had to do something and do something quick, and that something would be the one thing he knew would definitely bring the ship to a halt and that would be to completely shut it down, so that is what he did. The whys relating to the ship not slowing down in the moments of when it should have can be dealt with later, returning to a more normal speed or to a full stop is what is important in the here and now.

Shutting down The Pathfinder in a way is like shutting down a laptop or PC using the power button with the exception that it is a little more complicated than just pressing a button, and just like a laptop or PC, The Pathfinder would need to reboot before all systems could return to normal. Backup power would of course kick in but that would only be good for low level lighting, basic life support, gravitational force and for keeping the ship from drifting, as well as maintaining the bubble system while at great speeds, but everything else would take a while to power up.

Without panic and without fear, Robert moved confidently and did what needed to be done. Being able and successful in bringing the ship to a halt Robert would immediately turn his attention onto jury rigging the com system at his end and by attaching a power battery he could send a message to the 'colonel', unfortunately however with the com system being otherwise dead until the ship powers up again Robert could not receive a reply.

'Colonel, this com will only work one way and for a short period. As you are aware by now there has been a problem. I don't know what caused it and I will not be able to determine that for some time. The only thing I could do was power down the ship. Backup power is very minimal. Full power will be restored in approximately fifteen minutes. Before then we will be without most on board systems including heating so be ready, it may just get a little bit cold ...'

That was as much as the battery would allow. The message struggled to get through but get through it did. No power, no more communications, no heating and no most everything else for the next fifteen minutes.

'Right people, it is quite likely that it will get fairly cold in here. There are a number of blankets around the room. Use them to keep warm. When the system reboots it will be time to get to work and find the problem.'

Robert would have his work cut out for him; the fifteen minutes of rebooting time would be the only rest he would be getting until he could get the problem sorted and find out what caused it.