Supernovas to Nebulas
24 Jul 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Dryooe Flyou pc-v e2-457 to Eoch Flyuae PY-R e4-684 Systems
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Out in the backwater of the stars, one would think there is little excitement. In part, they could be correct, if they are running the point-to-point hamster wheel. For the smuggling and pirating types, like Yatziri, she would be climbing the carrier bulkheads if I didn’t keep her busy learning other things. Likewise for others of the crew who were used to a more exciting lifestyle.
As a mechanic, I was used to the mundane and tedious. There was little glamorous about engine swaps or cleaning our plasma channels. You have to learn to keep yourself engaged in other things while maintaining focus on the task in front of you. Thankfully the business of the carrier would keep my mind busy part of the time. At other times I kept a healthy library of various items to entertain and educate myself.
People would think that an android cannot have a taste in media, but they do. Avery was not fond of some of the unique music I listened to, to educate myself on what some unknown instrument or lesser-known culture would consider musical. Sure there were times when a particular choice would generate a desire to cycle the airlock, but then the thought of what that culture would think about what we find entertaining.
During the journey, I would look for out-of-the-way places or little detours that could have some scientific value, like the little black hole from the other day. I knew Avery and the ship had a silent agreement in place if they thought I was risking myself needlessly. The ship’s computer told me as much, per my order, and didn’t tell Avery that it had told me, per my order. I wouldn’t be a good mechanic if I didn’t know what was going on with my ship.
While an android may not have an emotion, as you or I would describe it, it could display a good simile. I noticed Avery’s little jitter when I flew the Dolphin between a binary pair of B-class stars to scoop hydrogen fuel from. The refueling was almost instantaneous, and the fastest refueling I had ever experienced. The ship’s heat level didn’t climb about 60% throughout the fifteen seconds it took to pass between them.
I found a nice little system with a Tritium-rich ring in it and sent a message back to Rex to jump the carrier to that location and wait up for me. I had moved more than 1,200 light-years from their location, and it would take them three jumps to get to the system. That gave me plenty of time to take a detour to the Eoch Flyuae PY-R e4-684 system. Home of the Clockwork Nebula.
The Clockwork Nebula was a pretty place, but one that had to be approached with a side of caution, as the system’s primary star was the neutron star itself. Like the earlier black hole system, a commander didn’t want to arrive at full throttle. Thankfully my Dolphin had a super-cruise assist module and would stop me at the end of each jump; in case I forgot to cut the throttle myself during the hyperspace jump.
If you have never seen the nebula I recommend it. The beautiful blues and purples, with the neutron star and a far-distant stellar nursery, is breathtaking. Avery paused, admiring it in her own way. Calculating the additional wavelengths that went beyond human vision. For the human eye, it was an awesome sight. For my cybernetic eye, all of the additional wavelengths increased by a factor of one hundred or more.
I already knew what she was going to ask when Avery looked at me with a curious expression.
‘Yes, I will be arranging a short tour for the crew, but not the Vihara Gate orbital station, a few hundred light-years beyond. We will only be in the region long enough to replenish the carrier's fuel tanks from the local system rings, before moving on.’
I amused myself watching Avery’s eyes fix on a point in space, as she processed the variables.
