Chapter 3

Onboard the Cecilia Payne, collision alarms broke through their lovemaking, Atarah still hanging onto the handrail as Jabin pulled away. They had never gotten into the shower, nor even eaten breakfast.

“Pilot, report,” Jabin barked.

“There has been a collision affecting Drive Pod.”

“Relay,” Atarah asked as displays flooded her mind via her BCI.

Jabin tapped the feed, and together they examined the data, though Pilot had already traced the faults and highlighted. With a touch, Jabin requested Drive to go to idle immediately. Atarah grabbed a hand bar expecting the loss of acceleration. Nothing happened.

“Pilot, halt Drive Immediate,” Jabin vocalized out loud.

“Drive already idle,” replied Pilot.

Nothing. Still accelerating.

“Pilot diagnostic and report!” Atarah unnecessarily yelled.

“Diagnostic already running. Report shows nominal acceleration, 98%. No faults found.”

She looked a Jabin, “Nominal? Why didn’t Pilot shut down the Drive?”

Jabin was already using manuals to attempt shutdown. Then realized the problem wasn’t in Pilot, but somewhere else, possibly in the interface to Drive. The same interface that manuals used. Except it wasn’t possible, there were three separate redundant pathways and three separate interfaces.

“Diagnostic complete. Nominal operation”, Pilot reported, feeding them the results.

The two stared at each other.

They bounded up the hall and fed by adrenalin leaped up the core tube towards Control, shouting commands as they went as their emotions were too high to use their BCI.

“Pilot initiate full halt on Drive, immediate, override.”

“Drive halted. Acceleration 98%.”

“What the fuck!” Atarah replied.

“Pilot shut down Thruster D4 immediate.”

“Thruster D4 already in halt status.”

Their weigh was still with them; they were still accelerating.

“Pilot set Drive Acceleration to 50%, immediate.”

“Job complete. Acceleration 98%.”

They felt no change.

“Pilot reset all Drive interfaces immediate.”

“Working ... Reset complete.”

“Pilot halt Drive immediate!”

“Drive halted. Acceleration 98%.”

They reached Control and strapped in. Jabin threw up all the displays for Drive Pod. Everything showed green. Drive status showed offline in one place and running at 98% capacity in another. Atarah scrubbed back to the time of the collision event as Jabin continued drilling into the current data from Pilot and Drive.

“140 milliseconds”, she replied to herself.

“What?”

“The entire event after the collision lasted 140 milliseconds. Before that, everything was green, then during that time, alarms all over the place, then they were all gone. Nothing, all green.”

He looked at the display.

“Impossible! Self-heal is fast, but that much damage would take minutes or seconds at the very least, even if every system switched to redundancy.”

Atarah didn’t mention that one of the alarm messages had been critical imminent fusion containment failure. There wasn’t an alarm for actual containment failure. Nobody would be left to read it.

Pilot added, “I have compensated for new location data.”

“What? What new location, Pilot?”

“Ship location R14.2435123 D134.543224...”

“Stop!” Atarah shouted unnecessarily.

They looked at the orbital graph.

“What the fuck! How’d we move 250 klicks, SIDEWAYS ... in 140 milliseconds?”

“Not only sideways, but look at this. We went TOWARDS the impact direction, not away. It sucked us toward it?”

She switched back to looking at ways of shutting down the Drive. She knew she could always scram the fusion reactor, but that would doom them unless someone could magically catch the ship. These engines generated tiny amounts of antimatter, which fed back into the fusion process keeping it going. Without an initial injection, they could never restart the reactor. They were already moving faster than necessary to escape the Solar System. They would become the first interstellar humans, dead interstellar humans, when their fuel cells ran out a few months from now.

She checked the fusion reactor in detail, requesting full diagnostics on it. She looked at one of the reactor readings, almost mentioning it, but didn’t. The Lawson Criterion governing fusion was slightly different from what she was used to seeing. That wasn’t possible. Otherwise, all diagnostics showed green, but could she trust the data?

Jabin manually ran diagnostics on Drive and each interface and then on each Pilot computer. There were three computers, scattered in three locations, each the size of a shoebox but more powerful than every computer on Earth just a century ago.

She packaged messages to Blue Ion. Boy was she pissed at them! She started to record a message to her mom but stopped. There wasn’t anything her astronomer mom could do sitting on the Moon, two hundred million kilometers away, except worry.

Instead, she recorded a message to her dad and attached the data and current reports.

“Dad,” she started, her voice broke, started again, “Dad, please check this data. We have a very unusual anomaly occurring and would like assistance. I’ve sent the same to Blue Ion. Don’t pay their bill. I love you.”

This was all she could manage without screaming or crying. The two of them were in an out-of-control multi-billion credit spacecraft that was supposedly foolproof. She laughed at herself, thinking about that two-century-old space picture show, what was the title, Titanic? No, of course; 2001 ... and HAL.

“Pilot send message.”

“This requires repositioning primary antenna. Contact with Luna will be lost.”

She almost screamed at Pilot, “Use the fucking secondary antenna!”

“Atarah, I am sorry. Please repeat your command.”

That was the first time she heard Pilot use her name. Actually, anyone’s name. That worried her.

“Pilot, please send via the secondary antenna.”

She took a breath and added one more anomaly to the list, then checked up on Jabin. He had Pilot listing every possible method of shutting down the Drive, marking dangerous or fatal ones in red. She laughed at ‘blow up ship.’

She was surprised at how many ways, non-fatal, were available. She started with the ones not marked red.

“Pilot, halt core processor one. Run diagnostic on core processor one. Return to active.”

She repeated for the remaining two. A single CP could run the ship, but with three, they constantly voted, cross-checking each other. Once completed, she had Pilot halt Drive. No change.

They were adding several kilometers per minute to their speed, minute after minute. Normally, they would reach a midpoint where they had to shed their velocity as orbital mechanics played out its dance. Pilot would shut down the Drive, turn around, and fire up the Drive, ridding them of the delta-v they had built up until they matched their destination. Even that was hitting a bullet with a bullet. But now, they would flash by the orbit of 2 Pallas with no stopping and no 2 Pallas anywhere near.

“Pilot, recalculate for 2 Pallas rendezvous with turnaround while running at 98% Drive rate with no coast time.”

Jabin looked at her, “That would be fun. Spin the ship around WITH the Drive on. Like a pinwheel firework. I feel dizzy just thinking about it.”

“I just hope Pilot can do the calculation. Did you hear Pilot call my name?”

“Don’t cuss at it.”

She laughed.

Jabin calmly said, “So your plan is to spin a thousand ton, hundred-meter-long ship with one-third gee burn still on, slow to near rendezvous and ... scram the reactor and hope for rescue?”

She smiled, “This girl’s got guts, ‘eh?”

“Let’s try these other things first.”

Pilot interrupted their conversation, “StarNav is reporting anomalous tracking data for 2 Pallas and Luna. Correction for the new position of 2 Pallas and Luna added to high gain antenna tracking and rendezvous calculation.”

Too many anomalies at once. She started with this newest one.

Atarah questioned, “Pilot, what is the new position of 2 Pallas?”

“2 Pallas is now located at R35.23455...”

“Stop! Darn it literal AI’s...” she zoomed the orbital graph to the asteroid.

“Jabin, my brain hurts. How does a trillion tons of rock move 7 klicks into a new orbit?”

“ ... And Luna moved 3 klicks from its orbit”, Atarah added in disbelief.

Jabin used StarNav manually, but this time shifted to spectral Doppler measurements. Relative to the Sun, he found most of the planets and largest moons were not quite in their expected locations. He had Pilot confirm his own data.

She took a breath, this time she needed her mom ... for astronomy and moral support. She recorded a message.

Atarah woke, rolled over to find Jabin asleep beside her. She started laughing. All this time, the buildup, the mating party, and what do they do on their mating night? Sleep! She kissed him. He opened his eyes.

“Hi, my love. I guess you didn’t do me while I slept?” she kidded.

He blushed, his clothes were still on. Hers were crumpled underneath her. He rolled over on top of her and kissed her. His hands slowly slid down her naked body, still under the cover with him.

She asked, “May I?” as she found the tear strips on his mating clothes and ripped their seam without waiting for his reply. His clothes came away as easily as hers, including his underwear. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he kissed her breast and nibbled on her nipples. She giggled to his touches and moved her hands down to his hairless butt, squeezing it.

“You don’t want to wait, do you?” he kidded.

“I’ve dreamed about this for a year,” she replied with a sultry tone.

“I hope I live up to your dreams.”

Luckily, their memory attenuator had reduced most of their previous virtual sexual encounters and that explosive orgasmic porn mem to just a tiny glow. So, she would be experiencing her first real lovemaking. Assuming if he ever got on with it. She pressed on his butt cheeks and spread her legs wide for him.

“Too quick, my love. We need to build,” he whispered.

She stopped, “Wait! HOW do YOU know how to build ... my LOVE?”

“Hey, I’m 14, I have my ways.”

She swatted him. They tumbled, wrapping themselves in the covers. She ended up on top.

She pushed the covers off of them.

“Hot,” she whispered, fanning herself as she sat up, straddling him.

“Yes, you ARE!” he snickered.

He ran his hands from her waist up to her breasts and stroked them with his long fingers. He traced little circles around her nipples then pinched them.

“Ow.”

He pinched them harder. Her eyes flared, and she collapsed onto him, her 6 kilos lunar weight a mere feather on him. He felt her long toes tickling his feet as her hands stroked his sides. They kissed. She pushed her tongue against his lips. He opened his mouth to accept her. School hadn’t described French kissing, but they had figured it out quickly over a year ago.

School did describe, in useful detail, the mechanics of sex and the romance of mating, even without the possibility of children. In other words, how to enjoy lovemaking. She remembered back to that time under the hydro garden where they nearly had sex. But this seemed different. Almost like they were a long-married couple. Just gentle touching, holding, being close.

But then she felt it. Between her legs, it touched her. She realized his bare penis was touching her nude vulva. She returned into the mood, their lips kissed and tongues licked. She slid her body up and down his, still on top of him. Easy, fun. She let her whole body move over his, feeling his body with hers. She slid up until her breasts were in his mouth. Then down until her pussy pushed against his hard prick. She slid down more, bending his prick downwards until he groaned. Then back up again. She used her whole body to hump him, something difficult on Earth, but easy here. Practicing Kama Sutra would be a piece of cake in lunar gravity. Her motion back and forth slowly reduced to just rubbing and releasing his prick against her slit. She felt herself get moist and felt him become sticky with pre-cum.

Her motion decreased still further until she was just rocking her sex against his prick. She looked into his eyes. He had been staring at her face the entire time, watching her, feeling her. Her movement slowed to a gentle, tiny motion of her hips. His tip was at her entrance. She knew this next part would sting, but her desire started to burn, not wanting to wait. But she held back, just feeling. Feeling him so close to her. She knew this was important to remember; their first time.

He caressed her small body as she lay on top of him. She looked like a little girl. She was a little girl. His girl. His love. As she rocked on him, he massaged her breasts, just larger than small rice bowls. He ran his fingers down her torso, to her hips, feeling her protruding pelvic bones. He ran his hands across her belly and to her bare mound, his fingertips sliding between their legs. She lifted herself on her hands and knees until she was just touching his prick against her slit. His body urging him to hump her as she held herself like so on top of him. Being so light, he could lift her and move her whole body around. Their teen burn seemed almost subdued this morning. Maybe due to their BCI disabled, unable to pass their emotions, like they had in the past. His mom said they would re-allow access as they grew more mature together.

He didn’t mind, as just touching her nakedness against his for the first time felt wonderful. He saw something flash in her eyes. She was ready, she wanted him inside her. He felt the tip of his prick pressing against her, something new, something he had wanted from the time in the hydro-garden. That time had come.

Their eyes fixed on one another. He tamped down his own urge to pierce her, letting this be hers, important for her. He felt her push down and widen. She was tight. His crown was just barely inside. His tip pressed against what he knew was her maidenhead. The irises on her green eyes narrowed as if concentrating.

Then she pushed.

He felt his dick pressed into a too-small area, even for him. He heard a whimper and a flash across her face. He felt her pain, even without their neural connection. He lay still even as his body prodded him to move. He felt he was wrapped in her. Warm and moist. She lay down on his chest, listening to his heart, now beating fast. He was inside her. They were mated.

He couldn’t resist, he had to move, ever so slowly. He slid an inch out, then paused. Then pushed in, this time deeper. She whined a bit but moved her hip, torn between pain and pleasure. He repeated, this time just a little bit out and a little bit in, rocking now. She took up the rocking, speeding up his moves. They were humping. Having real sex, not virtual over the link separated by walls, if not minds. Now they were physically one, connected together. He was sexing her. Their first lovemaking for real. His breathing increased. He felt his balls slapping against him in the low gravity. They thrust together, in heat, in desire. He heard her moan, and her motion became almost like a gallop as she sat upright on him holding tight to keep from being bounced into the air. Her eyes closed and breathing rapid, coming in fits as she hurried towards her finish line.

Her eyes flashed wide, unfocused, a breath caught and she froze for a second, then her whole body shook. He realized she was in orgasm. He cried out her name and exploded into her, pumping his sterile juice, spurting, spurting as his mind blanked in ecstasy. Physical love and sex outdoing virtual. She collapsed onto him, tears on her face. He held her tight, feeling permanently attached to her. They slept.