applepie

Last night was really productive for me. I've been trying to find the time to pen more of my story and last night I just stayed up three extra hours to do so. It was worth it, though, since I completed another chapter of the tale. I'm starting to get a more solid idea of where I'm going with my story, but much is still a blank slate for me. If you are wondering about themes and such, you are going to have to wait and see. I'm not really sure what the message will be, or even if there will be one. I'm leaning towards a basic good vs evil theme, but the story isn't being written to be a literary masterpiece. I'm writing to entertain the reader and nothing more, and I don't have a complete vision of what will happen. Your feedback can help me to decide what direction I want to take with the tale. So, if you are amused by the story, let me know. If not, still let me know and offer suggestions for improvement or things you would like to see happen differently. Without further ado:D here is chapter 2.

~Meg~

Chapter 2

The Ara X craft was truly a technological marvel. There was enough living space for all four passengers to be mostly comfortable on the flight. For Arabella, this was more than enough space. She already had her personal belongings stowed in the captain’s berth and now it was time to make sure that all the systems were ready and the food stores were loaded. There was enough food to last an entire nine months just in case anything malfunctioned and her trip was delayed. This was common practice with any of the test flights conducted by VegaTech. The control room of the ship was filled with blinking lights and gleaming metal consuls. There was a main computer that acted as the chief interface with the ship. The computer was controlled by voice and all that was necessary to receive information was to ask a simple question and in order to give commands you simply stated what you wanted accomplished. The exceptional thing about the computer was that there was a certain amount of free thinking done by the system. Along with being able to pilot the ship after being conditioned by Arabella, it was possible to converse with the computer as long as the topics were logical. Other systems on board included a defensive weapons system, communications, long range tracking, environmental analysis, navigation, environmental controls for the ship, language recognition, and the newly developed transport system.

“Computer, run a diagnostic check on all systems and tell me the status of food and water stores.” There was a soft hum as the computer began to process the tasks that it was given. A complete diagnostic check of all the systems would take about two minutes, so Arabella sat back to consider the voyage to come. This was to be a fairly routine test flight, but the distance that she would be covering was much larger than normal. On previous flights the range had been within the solar system, but this time she would be traveling all the way to Omega D.

Omega D was a small system discovered twenty years ago that was about ten fifty light years away from the edges of our solar system. There were four planets in Omega D and they were all hospitable. The inhabitants of the system were farmers and businessmen. Two of the planets were lush with vegetation, and they provided food for the entire system. The other two planets in the system were devoted to tourists. One was a planet made up of large oceans and a few small tropical islands. It was known throughout the galaxy for its blood red beaches, glass blue seas, and fantastic resorts. It was on of the most popular destinations for the rich and famous for some relaxation. The other planet was almost the exact opposite. It was still a popular place for tourists, but the planet was covered in ice and mountains. Furthest from the sun the temperature rarely reached above freezing and the mountains were perpetually blanketed in sheets of snow while vast icebergs filled frozen seas.

Arabella had good reason for convincing Vern to allow her to travel so far on a test flight. She would never be able to afford a stay at any of the resorts in the Omega D system, but as part of the voyage she had a scheduled three week break in the system on VegaTech’s expense account. It was good that Vern had a sense of humor, because all he did was chuckle when she had submitted her proposal for the test. It had actually been his idea to take three weeks of rest in the middle of the trip when Arabella had been content with a couple days worth of sightseeing in the system.

“If you are going to go so far, you might as well enjoy one last vacation on the company. Consider it repayment for all the late nights and for helping make us the success we are,” had been Vern’s reply to her protests that three weeks was too long.

The consul beeped to let Arabella know that the diagnostic was finished. She perused the report on the screen making sure that all systems had passed the diagnostic. Finding no problems with the report she also checked the inventory of supplies on last time to be sure that she had everything the trip required. When these tasks were completed she hailed Vern over the radio to let him know that she was ready to depart as soon as they received approval from the tower.

“Arabella, we have been given the go ahead for launch,” Vern replied after a moment of hesitation while he confirmed with the tower.

Arabella engaged thrusters, and in less than five minutes she was staring down at Earth from the inky darkness of space. No matter how many fights into space she conducted, the view of the planet from space still managed to leave her breathless. There was something exhilarating about being able to look down and really see just how small one single person is in the greatness of space. After a final glance at her surroundings, Arabella contacted Vern to let him know that she was engaging the experimental system.

“Systems are ready, and I will begin the jump in ten seconds. I expect that I will be out of contact for ten minutes as I make the first jump to Pluto.”

“Be careful Arabella, and contact me as soon as you arrive. Once we know the first jump was successful we will continue with testing until you have reached Omega D.”
Arabella began the sequence of buttons that would initiate the first jump and used the scanning system to lock in the location of Pluto.

“Five seconds,” the countdown continued. In the office Vern was wringing his hands and relying on only his force of will to keep his worry from projecting in his voice. Arabella was the closest thing he had to family, and no matter how many tests they did he always worried over new technology. The first jump to Pluto would let him know that continuing on would be safe and that he could expect Arabella’s return in six months. He was sad to see her leave the company, but he knew that she wasn’t leaving him just the job.
“Three, two, one, initiating sequence,” the final countdown drawled from the computer. Arabella closed her eyes, unsure of what to expect as the Ara X lurched forward into space at a speed that forced her against the seat. The force of the jump caused her to black out for what seemed to be only moments, but when Arabella opened her eyes it was not to the glorious sight of Pluto. All she saw was the black velvet of space with pinpoints of light emitted from far off stars. Immediately, Arabella ordered the computer to tell her the location.

“Location unknown,” came the reply in the same lilting voice one would tell you the weather. The information was like a tsunami crashing on the waves for Arabella. Something hadn’t worked properly and she was in an unknown part of the Universe. At the thought, Arabella began to lose all composure, because the Universe was immense in size, but everything within five-hundred light years of her own galaxy had been explored. The area being unknown meant that she may never find herself at home again. Her breath caught in her chest in tight, gasping, spurts of air. Her eyes, which only moments ago had held a look of joy and anticipation, overflowed with tears as she surveyed the area. When she was finally able to draw a deep breath, she was wracked with uncontrollable sobs. For the first time in her life she lost all control of her sanity and curled into a weeping ball on the floor of the Ara X.