text: "All systems nominal. Energy levels are good. Alex, is our course set?" A gray haired man looked up from his screen. His youthful face belayed the color of his hair and eyebrows. He glanced back down and pressed a few keys on his computer before responding. "I have it finished. It's sending. Make sure the engines can handle the distance, Rowan." Rowan, the first man, glanced back down at his instrument panel. He fiddled with a strand of his long dark hair as he checked the course. After a few moments of checking the information he glanced back up. "Everything looks good," He turned to glance behind him, a smile coming over his face. "Dr. Rodgen, waiting for your confirmation." All eyes had turned toward a tall, red headed woman seated in the far back corner. Her nose was down over her own set of screens. She moved her fingers in the air, ticking off numbers as she worked. Eventually she looked up. "Course and ship status confirmed. You may proceed," she announced. Alex gave a nod. Returning to work, double checking his calculations. Rowan turned back to his panel, smile widening. He reached his hand forward to start the jump. "Hold," came a stern voice from the middle of the room. The two men and one woman looked over towards the deep voice. Despite the size of the room it was filled to the brim with panels and screens. Five workstations had been set up. Two at the front, two at the back and one in the center. Six total people made up the work crew of the bridge. In that center station was an occupied chair. In it sat a thirty something male. His close cut red hair marked him as military as much as his uniform did. However, he had not spoken. The dark skinned man standing to his immediate right hand had. He looked over at the trio sternly. Disapproval painted on his face. "Captain Slater has final authorization. Follow protocol," he commanded. "It is fine Lieutenant," Captain Slater spoke softly from his seat. "This is our fourth jump today, and our tenth day of travel. Everything is going well. Let them work." "As you wish Sir." "Please, continue," the Captain motioned to Rowan. The tension left the room and everyone turned back towards their panels. Rowan's smile returned and he lifted his hand once again. "I love this part," he whispered and opened a thick plastic cover. Under it was a large red button. As he pressed it he turned his face quickly towards the front. He wasn't the only one. Everyone else in the room lifted their gaze to the large view-port situated in the front wall. Outside of it was a vast expanse of black. The only thing breaking the inky sight was uncountable pinpoints of light. All of space lay before them; untold numbers of stars awaited. A soft whine began to fill the room. It grew louder as the stars outside began to bend. The light they gave off stretched and curved in an indescribable pattern. The luminous trails they lead shifted colors from white to blue as they trailed across the void. Suddenly the whine cut off and the lights outside snapped from one spot to another, following their blue shifted paths. The pattern outside the glass was noticeably different then before. "Jump successful," Rowan called. "Ship intact. Engines power high but falling. Alex, are we in the right spot." "Give me a moment. I need new proximity data," he replied, eyes scanning his screen. The light from it colored his face as he worked. After a moment he turned and looked back at Dr. Rodgen "We are in the target system. Slightly closer to the center star than expected but still a safe distance." Rowan let out a cheer, and the Doctor let out a sigh before looking to the room's center. "I suppose I should inform you Lieutenant to please inform the Captain that our jump was successful." That gained her a frown from the Lieutenant and a hastily hidden lopsided smile from the Captain. "Good job men," Captain Slater said after he smoothed his face. "That makes five good jumps today. How many light-years have we covered?" "Total or today?" Dr. Rodgen asked. "Both." "Today about five. Total, over all, about thirty. I can pull up the numbers if you want it more accurate. We are averaging about one light-year per jump." "If I recall, that is on the high end of the estimates." "Yes, we are exceeding expectations for efficiency." "Wonderful!" The Captain stood up out of his chair and looked around the room. Focusing his eyes on each of the crew members. "You are all doing a splendid job. Not only are we making history but we are doing it spectacularly. Please keep up the good work." The Doctor nodded in agreement. Rowan cheered again. Alex seemed to be rechecking his numbers. The Lieutenant stood silently. The sixth person on the bridge, another man, turned from his workstation to face the group. "I don't want to bring down the mood," he started running his fingers across his smooth scalp. "But I am still getting some weird feedback over here." "Has it changed or increased since the last jump?" Dr. Rodgen asked. "No, it's still the same. Every jump it's the same." "Is it dangerous?" Alex finally looked up. "I don't think so. I just wanted to make sure everyone was informed. I need to run more tests and see. It might have something to do with the engines winding down. Bending space is not a normal activity." "Should we stop for the day Peter?" The Captain inquired. "We don't have to. As long as Rowan says the equipment is in working order." All eyes turned towards the engineer. "My readings are all good," he answered with a glance down. "We can keep going." "Alex," the Captain continued. "How far are we from our next destination?" "Umm..." the navigator hummed. "About three light years." "So, three more jumps. Doctor, think we can make that or should we stop for now?" "Protocol dictates we shouldn't go more than ten light-years in a forty hour period. We did five yesterday and now five more. So we should wait at least a few more hours." "Quite prudent," Captain Slater nodded. "Peter check on that feedback, Rowan please help him. See if it has anything to do with the engine. Lieutenant, go check on the other soldiers. Let them know we will have a few hours of down time. Alex check over our next course." The three scientists set to work. The soldier saluted; turning on his heels he left the bridge. "Doctor please follow me," he said more quietly. She nodded. He turned and headed out the door. She fell into step next to him. "If this is about me giving the order to jump..." she began when the door had closed behind them. "No, it's not. Though if you could let me do it, it would make the Lieutenant happy. He is a kind of a stickler for the rules." "Oh, well if it's nothing then I should go monitor the other's work," she turned back towards the door. "I need you to come with me. I have to see Doctor Amatersasu." "You can do that yourself," she muttered, turning back around. "I think she is scared of me. I might need you to keep her from running." "Fine," she gave a little shrug. She glanced back one more time before sighing and starting down the corridor with him. The interior of the ship was gray metal. Bare save for a few directional markings. The corridor was long and a railing could be seen in the distance. The walls were lined with doors; behind them were servers which housed the majority of the computing power for the bridge. The air smelt slightly stale and sterile, a by-product of the recycling procedure. As they reached the railing the central staircase for the ship became visible. Down the stairs would be the crew quarters and a gym. There would also be an armory, but none of this was of interest to them. They ignored the stairs in favor of the door that stopped people from proceeding any further. Dr. Rodgen had to lift a card to a sensor next to the door. It clicked and she pulled the door open for them. This was the Laboratory of the ship. Only the science crew and the Captain had general access. Beyond the door was a basic copy of what was behind it. A corridor lined with doors. Behind each would be a different set of equipment for testing samples they obtained on their mission. A door on the right was marked with a red cross. The pair stepped up to it and the door slid open on its own. Behind it was a medical bay. Four beds lined one wall, the other three walls were filled with cabinets. It was all a pristine white. Sitting at a desk opposite the beds was a diminutive dark haired woman. She glanced up as the door opened. "Harue," Dr. Rodgen greeted her. "Eimear, what a pleasant surprise. I thought you would be..." She cut off as the Captain stepped inside. She continued on in a slightly smaller voice "Oh, hello Captain." "Yes he needed to speak to you about something." "I hopefully have an answer for him then," she looked down her face turning red. "I hope you can as well," Captain Slater replied as gently as possible. "I was wondering if you could fit a few tests into your schedule." "What kind of tests Sir?" "I want to see if the jumps are having adverse effects on the crew. Just some basic scans and blood work. Would that be too difficult?" "It shouldn't be too difficult," she looked back up, her eyes seeming to dart across his face. "I can make the schedule for the next few days." "Wonderful, I will inform the men!" "What appointment should I give you?" "Oh," it was his turn to look uncomfortable, his voice took on a slightly strained note. "tests on me?" "You could have sent this to her in a message," Dr. Rodgen cut in, rolling her eyes. "Why are we not on the..." She never got to finish. An alarm started blaring, filling the room with a harsh shrieking noise. Shock filled their faces. "Stay here," the captain said to Harue. "get to your jump seat. Then he spun and rushed out. Dr. Rodgen close behind him. As they dashed down the corridor the Lieutenant could be seen rushing up the stairs. "Captain?" He asked, his face a stone mask. "Get everyone to their stations. I will let you know what's going on when I know." "Yes Sir!" He saluted then looked back down the steps. "Fall in men! To your stations!" He ignored the rest of the shouting. He needed to get to the bridge. When they arrived everyone was gathered around Rowan's workstation. He was frantically pressing buttons and checking his screen. All eyes were locked on him, sweat was beginning to drip down everyone's face. "Report!" Captain Slater yelled. The group, save Rowan, turned around and looked at him. Nobody answered, they just stared blankly. "Rowan!" He yelled again. "What is going on?" "I'm trying to maneuver us away!" He screamed, still not looking up. "Away from what?" "The star we are next to went nova," Peter answered, a note of terror in his voice. "Okay, we should be a ways away from it. Alex plan a route, we will jump away." "I can but," Alex hesitated. "We are too close; remember my calculations before were off. The interference from the star's extreme radiation will make it almost impossible to chart an accurate course." That stopped him. They had come out too close. His mind spun. "Peter, how long do we have?" "I checked the distances before you came, maybe a half hour, forty-five minutes if we are lucky." "Alex, plot a course the best you can. Peter, help him." Without a word the pair dashed off. "Doctor help Rowan as much as possible. Also if you can come up with a better solution to a blind jump, let me know." She nodded and went to assist the engineer. He sat down in his chair to notify the remaining crew of the situation. The intercom crackled to life as he contacted the military personnel. The Lieutenant took the news stoically, saying he would inform the rest of the men of the situation. He then contacted the medical bay and told Doctor Amaterasu to sit tight, they might be doing another jump. When she asked why, he didn't respond. Instead he turned his attention back to the room in front of him. The glass outside was still dark, but there was a faint glow around the edges. The supernova must be behind them. He couldn't help but feel as if it was a shame they wouldn't get to see it. It must be beautiful, even if it might get them all killed. The thought kept intruding as he tried to roll the problem over in his head. He couldn't come up with another solution. "Alex," he said finally. "Do you have a course?" "Basically," his voice was tight. "I'm trying to tweak it based on the star's energy, but it's not pretty." "Chances we will jump into the middle of a star or planet?" "With as much space as there is? Slim. The problem will be if we can chart a course back on track." "I'll take those odds. Rowan, charge the engine." "That's a bad idea Captain." "You have maybe five minutes to explain why that is?" The Captain looked over at him sharply. "With all the free energy around us we might damage the engine." "Okay, do you have an alternate solution?" No one said anything. Silence fell over the bridge. "It is either stay here and we fry, or maybe fry the engine, correct?" Again no answered. "Charge the engine Rowan." Rowan's hand crept up and pressed the same large red button as before. A faint whine began to fill the ship. Everyone sat tense looking out into space. The glow around their windshield had grown brighter. The whine reached its peak. The stars outside began to stretch and bend. The glow shifted color with them only to red instead of blue. The whine grew even louder. It was oppressive. The crew covered their ears. The Captain stared grimly out the window; his hands gripping tightly onto his chair arms. The ship began to shake as lines of light filled the entirety of the view-port. It was nothing but a blaze of white blue light framed in a deep red. There was a loud metallic keening coming from the ship. There was a massive lurching motion, everyone was pressed back into their chairs or toppled over onto the floor. The windshield blazed with light.