Chapter 12: Cassiopeia

I sat back and after three days of plotting courses came to understand just how long it would take me to return to Sol System. “This is Captain Geoffrey Volkstag of the Legacy, can anyone read me?”

No matter how I looked at it, I didn’t have enough food. Pure and simple.

“CAPTAIN GEOFF!”

“Shelly? What are you doing on this line?”

“Jeff has been up for days, we put him to bed. Nina is with him now to make sure he doesn’t even think of not sleeping.

“Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I need to talk to someone in charge even if it’s Jeff.”

“Hold on, there is an emergency command that I have to find.”

“That’s okay, take your time, I am not in a hurry.” No siree bob. No hurry whatsoever.

Click.

“Geoffrey?”

“Sorry to wake you, Moria.”

“There lots of errors in the transmission, where exactly are you?”

“The near side of Cassiopeia A and, according to the NavBots and the plotting system, somewhere around 10,000 light years from Earth,” I said as easily as I could.

“Cassiopeia...”

“What happened and why couldn’t you use the Gate to return?”

“There was a war over the Gate System. The defenders brought in the big guns but weren’t sure if they could hold it. I was kindly asked to leave. I didn’t think it was wise to use the Gate in case someone with very big guns and very advanced technology decided to follow with not so friendly intentions.

“If the defenders, who were in a 33 kilometer star defender or whatever they wanted to call it, were worried about losing, I sure didn’t want their attackers anywhere near Earth.”

“What does your course look like?”

I closed my eyes, chickening out, admitting, “12,000 days give or take a few here and there.”

Thirty-two-and-a-half-years.

“Food?”

“With guppies, eight, nine max.”

“So we have eight years to save your lost ass.”

“Engine 3 is parts. I took heavy damage in the fight against a full-sized battleship.” Heavy cruiser, battleship, what did it matter... “Main fusion reactor is running, but I’m not sure how long it will last, Number 2 is just fine. I have plenty of water, hydrogen and lithium. I also have plenty of rations, but my hydroponics won’t last that long. You know it and so do I. I’ll eventually have to find a green world to set down on or get quite lucky again with good-natured friendly aliens.”

“Tell me about your aliens, Geoffrey.”

“They are nice. You’d like the Captain, she’s in your class. I’ll send pictures later. I just wanted everyone to know I was safe and to never use that gate. I need to enter ID for twenty days to make sure no one is on my tail.

“Talk Later,” I smiled, using Moria’s own phrase against her.

“Be safe, Geoffrey.”

“I’ll try.”

“3... 2... 1...”

Shudder.

...

I didn’t know or care how, but beside the two satellites in the rear cargo hold was tons and tons of parts, wires, chips, odd-sized screws, bolts and nuts along with their respective tools.

Everything was presorted and picture labeled. The satellites were piled on top of each other as if garbage in the way. In their eyes they were. More parts for me to survive on.

There were also Manuals, VR demonstrations, How-to guides on everything from how to make a toaster to construct a fusion reactor that would run on banana peels. (I made the last one up)

They weren’t in a language I understood, but if I watched the demonstrations enough, I believed that I could blend our way with their way to get things done.

It wasn’t food, but I wasn’t going to break down from lack of parts anytime soon.

...

Day 10:

My cabin was now decorated ‘eclectically’ with pictures and small personal items from the race, whose name I just learned yesterday.

The Jolnt, or ‘The Ones’.

The VR dictionary was useful, but more often than not, I spent my downtime reading the hardcover manuals.

I could change a fuse upon request, but if they asked where the bathroom was, that was a no-go.

Day 20:

I exited into a binary system and witnessed a White Dwarf in the Process of eating the outer shell of a yellow star very similar to size and mass of our own Sun.

Pretty cool, I spent two days in system, making repairs on the main fusion reactor and talking to Moria’s family back in Sol Station. They hadn’t released the news of my situation. I didn’t care one way or the other. I couldn’t do anything about it anyway.

Day 22:

I entered ID for a very clean 31-day jump, a supernova had to have been here recently since very little was left, even other stars. I had the feeling that Moria didn’t like me taking such long jumps. They weren’t tested, she said. If I didn’t make longer jumps my thirty-year journey would become fifty. Not that I had food for either. There was always stasis, I would be a buoy and not a ship once I did that.

I didn’t and couldn’t trust the AstroBots that much. Even Moria warned against that.

Day 40:

I think that the Jolnt cheated. Something with their VR was making me learn their language faster than I should. I didn’t notice any other side effects, so I carried on with my learning.

Day 53:

I exited ID and forgot how to speak English for a second or three. Sydney was on the other end of the line when I called and conveyed my concerns. We spent the rest of the day reviewing what I had learned while she sought out triggers and finding none.

Catherine Larkin sent me the full set of her fusion schematics for the Legacy and wished me well. I had the feeling she stepped back from me emotionally and wrote me off.

I knew that not all of them would be in my corner for the full thirty years, but I had hoped that at least they would stick with me longer.

Moria had forbidden Rose from speaking with me after her last call with me and told me exactly why. I didn’t blame her as a mother protecting her child.

Not one bit.

Jeff always seemed upbeat, Moria normal, and Sydney supportive. Each in their own way helped in this long voyage. My next plot was 29 days and, again, Moria stressed that long durations in ID weren’t tested. I thanked her and dove in anyway.

I wasn’t so much in a hurry as the road was clear. When the stars became denser once again, then I would back off with shorter hops.

I entered ID on Day 55 and dove into my lessons once again.

On day 70, I read the small 2-D photograph above my bed, ‘live long and prosper’ -I kill me. Actually, it read, ‘Mountain of Hope.’ Which wasn’t bad either.

I emerged on Day 83.

“♪Ground control to Major Tom, can you hear me?♪” I sang. Poorly.

“Geoff, you sound good.”

“How’s Hawaii, Jeff?”

“Sunny and Eighty, same as yesterday and the yesterday before that.”

“And your family?”

“Don’t tell anyone, but Nina’s pregnant.”

“Who’s the lucky father?” I laughed. And then abruptly stopped. It had been very long since I had last laughed.

“We’ll get you home, Geoff,” he encouraged me. There was no way he had missed my gaff.

“Jeff. Listen to me. Stop trying to rescue me. All of you all need to focus on the colony ships and Mars. Either I make it or I don’t. But you can’t spend time worrying about me.

“But I’m glad I’ve got you this time. Other than congrats on becoming a father, the astro bots have a channel. A 97 day one. I can either run it in one fell swoop or do it all at once.”

“Don’t you mean three hops, Geoff?” telling me that it was a bad idea without so many words.

“I decided. Main fusion reactor is now up to sixty percent. There was a fix for it in the Jolnt’s manuals.”

“Are you trying to blow it out?” He didn’t sound happy.

“The Jolnt Borer Device lets them travel at up to three parsecs per day, (3.26 light years per parsec). I need to see how the fusion drive works from the inside to get a better understanding.

“I’m out until tomorrow, if you can think of anything that can help me, let me know. Now put Nina on so I can hug her from halfway across the galaxy.”

Both Syd and Moria gave me hell for even thinking about attempting 97 days ID. They didn’t like it when I did anything over twenty and 97 was almost five times as long.

“I lasted over 500 days alone on Mars. There was no sign of rescue there. There is no one here. I can only go by my best judgment. Thanks for caring. But I need to try.”

“Damn you, Geoffrey.” Sydney wasn’t at all happy.

3... 2... 1...

Shudder.

...

Day 86:

I entered ID for a scheduled 97 straight days.

I immersed myself into the teachings of both Moria and the Jolnt. The pleasant friendly aliens weren’t teaching me how to fly a starship, but to build and maintain one. It was as if they took all the knowledge of that irascible chief hangar officer and were trying to shove it into my brain. One topic at a time.

Moria’s lessons were getting easier too. I strongly suspected that was a side effect of the Jolnt’s VR training.

Day 176:

I had a full body seizure while I was in the shower, which lasted a full five minutes. I fell and cracked my head against the cushioned tile.

The purple tentacle, larger than the ship, I imagined seeing pass through me, had nothing whatsoever to do with said seizure, nothing at all.

I stumbled back to my cabin and collapsed into my bed. Hours later I rolled over with a massive headache and looked at my fish tank, hoping that their gentle motions would help.

Thirty-one belly-up floating fish certainly didn’t help at all.

I wasn’t the only one that the purple tentacle affected. If that was what it was.

The next solar body was six days away, I needed to hang on and hope the monster didn’t return.

While popping two horse-sized headache pills, I noted my experiences. The fish, half I dissected, same with the eel, but I had no clue what to look for, and nothing seemed at all unusual.

They were just dead fish. I put them in stasis and took it easy that day.

I hoped that they believed me. I wasn’t sure if any of them would.

Day 179:

I saw the tip of the tentacle sweep across the bridge. I tried to dive out of the way, yet ended up getting brushed by it once more. I ended up spending the rest of that day in bed.

Day 180 I searched through the Jolnt archives and dictionary.

FOUND IT!

There wasn’t an English word for it, but I called it the Kraken. It sure beat calling it Cthulhu.

Translating the description and what little information the Jolnt had on the creature took minutes...

Well damn.

Now what do I do?

I headed to my destination, since I had no viable alternatives, and exited, ready to dive back in if necessary.

Day 183:

It was very necessary.

Moon sized purple squid-like figments of my imagination were swimming along with dozens of their friends around a gas giant ten times the size of Jupiter, playing in the magnetic storm. When I emerged, two broke off and started swimming my way.

DAMN QUICKLY.

I plotted the course I had ready and entered ID.

If their main body caught up to me, I was dead. If the body of their main tentacles caught up to me, I was dead. If anything further up than the last 1/100^th of their tentacles passed through me, I was dead.

Let’s hope I don’t die.

Day 200:

I didn’t die. Felt like it once, but lived.

Day 212:

“Legacy to Earth, come in Earth.”

“Geoffrey?” Moria asked. It sounded like she was asleep.

“In the flesh. And guess what?”

“I’m glad you are safe, Geoffrey,” she drowsily said.

“MORIA!” I snapped.

She came to full awareness. “Listening.”

“A TEN-thousand-kilometer-long squid tried to eat me. I have recordings, there were dozens of them swimming around a super-Jupiter sized planet, playing inside the electrical storms.

“They are real,” I stated fiercely.

Fully awake, she ordered, “Send me what you have.”

“I already did, it should be on the server. Now listen up. When I was in ID, they brushed by me. I lived, but my fish died. I suffered a five-minute seizure. I also sent the translated information from the Jolnt. You live if the tentacle’s tip touches you. Anything else and everyone dies.

“They spawn in super gas giants. Their eggs take thousands of years to hatch. They live on Hydrogen and electricity. And they are incorporeal. Nothing physical can harm them.”

“Where did you encounter them?”

I explained my encounters, the immediate effects and their after affects. AND what happened when I emerged into the red star’s system and they sensed me from over a thousand AUs away.

“That’s why I missed the last check in. I had to dive right back in or get eaten.”

“We thought you were dead,” she stated bluntly.

“I almost was. But not from the ID travel, there weren’t any effects that I or the computers noticed.

“One other thing, the purple Krakens are living in both dimensions at the same time.”

She was silent.

“Thankfully, they are slow inside the other dimension.”

She breathed out. “I’m glad to hear from you, Geoffrey.”

“Thanks.”

“One more thing, Moria.”

“What?”

“These VR lessons, I think they are someone’s actual memories.”

... “Why do you believe that, Geoffrey?” she asked cautiously.

“I’m fluent in Jolnt. Completely fluent now. Plus, I can field strip the Main fusion plant.”

“You think that you are absorbing one of the alien’s knowledge?”

“Yes.”

“Take a break from your VR lessons for a while. Run the full gambit of tests. I’ll get Sydney to do a psyche eval on you.”

“I think that is a good idea. I plan on staying on the surface for a week. There are some repairs that I can’t do ID.”

“Don’t do anything. Even repairs. Wait until Syd talks to you. Grab a book or enjoy a movie. But don’t work your new memories until she gives the clear.”

That made sense.

“Okay, I’ll wait.” Yet I hated to waste time.

“Good. It’s 03:30 our time. I’ll have Sydney call you in three hours. Get some rest, will you?”

“Sure. And, Moria, thank you for not giving up on me.”

“Go, Rest,” she ordered.

I hadn’t missed that she slept with my Comm connection next to her bed. Even if everyone else had given up on me, she had not.

...

“Geoffrey?”

“Hi, Syd, miss me?” I joked.

“Yes. When you missed your last call in, we believed the worst.”

“Sorry, a squid was trying to have me for breakfast. Did Moria tell you my status?”

“I’d like to hear it from you.”

...

Three exhausting hours later, Sydney and I disconnected. She admitted to finding nothing out of the ordinary with either my personality or my thought processes.

But she insisted that I take some time away from the VR lessons and, the next time I surfaced, that I take a similar test.

I thought she was wasting our time, but agreed. They weren’t here to help me in person but were doing what they could on their end. I had to give them that.

For five days straight I chilled.

The sixth day, I went to work.

Day 223:

I reentered ID with a Main fusion plant which worked 29% better than the original. I might have left that last bit out of my report.

I fed the next manual into the VR machine and began studying. I had my 23-day path and the Bots were error free so far.

On day 240:

I stepped into engine shaft 3 and shook my head. I understood why Captain Jaija smiled tolerantly at my intersystem drives. I began stripping it for parts...

Day 246:

I emerged and stared, from behind cameras of course, at the gigantic red giant spinning away.

I comm’ed Earth. “This is the Legacy tourism board, how may I assist you today?”

“You sound good for a dead man,” Jeff replied steadily.

“When is Shelly’s turn?”

“One at a time, man, one at a time.”

“Hang up, I’m going to do a full data transfer, everyone is going to want to see this.”

“What do you have?

“A half-black red supergiant. I don’t think it has long left before it goes supernova. There are black spots everywhere bubbling on the surface. I think it’s growing by the second. The matter outflow is massive. The planetary nebula is beautiful.

“I’m sending you what I have and plan on skedaddling tomorrow morning. Until then, I’m taking requests. Oh, I also want this data to go to Abasi Hassan.”

“Why him?”

“He owes me still and I don’t want him to forget it,” I grinned.

“I’ll see what I can do but, you know, you are officially declared dead.”

“It had to happen sometime. I am 10,000 light years away from Earth.”

“Are you sure that you are okay about that?”

“Positive. You will know why once you look at the images. Now go tell the others. See you around.”

Click.

GOD! That is beautiful!

The Neutrino readings were off the chart. Moria said it should nova anytime in the next microsecond, cosmic time. Which, according to her, meant less than a thousand years.

And it was expanding. It wasn’t my imagination.

Day 290:

I emerged a day early. The Borer Device began shaking so I made an emergency exit, orbiting a small white dwarf binary. They were close enough to feed off each other, but neither had a great deal of loose mass left to steal from its twin.

They would be stable like that for billions of years.

As much as I wanted to admire them, I had a call to make.

“I need to talk to Marissa,” I told Moria.

“How bad is it?”

“Bad enough that I won’t be leaving this system until I get the Boring Device fixed.”

“Give me an hour.”

“I have all the time in the world,” I joked. “I’ll just go and weed the plants.”

...

“Geoffrey, I told you, you should have taken me!”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt, Marissa. I need help, the Boring device is shaking the ship apart.”

“I need eyes on.”

“I have a PopBot. Tell me where to look.”

...

Day 323:

I did a trial run 4.1 light years away. Good as new.

I thanked Marissa and promised her a dozen roses when I returned. She swooned.

Literally.

Moria later cursed me.

Day 364:

I sat on the bridge, watching all of the videos that the Legacy had taken since its launch. I flashed up pictures of crew who made it and the two who didn’t.

At midnight my time, I placed a call to Earth. Everyone was on board and had expected me to call. Even Catherine Larkin, who rarely seemed to be on phone duty since the giant squids attacked me, plus Nina’s and Jeff’s baby was in the room, sleeping close by.

The call wasn’t long, my choice, it was mostly me saying thanks for keeping me alive for the last year.