Partial

by Halira

Chapter 25: And Away We Go!

The passengers got out of the car. Jessica immediately recognized Phobia's daughter, Charlotte, in army fatigues. The unicorn mare with the scarred face she vaguely remembered from Rebecca's wedding but couldn't place. She had no idea who the lanky man wearing glasses was.

Rebecca did a clumsy flight over to them and landed. "Jonathan! Ashley! You made it. And you brought Charlotte along for some reason. Um, why are you here, Charlotte?"

Charlotte stood at attention. "Dreamwarden Marshmallow, I am Major Charlotte Martinez, reporting here to replace First Lieutenant Sky Shark, ma'am. General Wilson decided to make a last-minute change in the assignment, ma'am."

The pegasus army officer gasped in shock. "But I was specially chosen-"

Charlotte glared at him. "Orders are orders, Lieutenant. I don't want to be here either. I was taken away from what I felt was a more important mission for this, but I'm here, obeying what came from the chain of command. You are to report to Camp Merrill within twenty-four hours for debriefing; until then, you are on leave–enjoy it."

Rebecca tilted her head. "Major? I'm not well-acquainted with army ranks, but isn't that a little high for someone who recently got out of boot camp? Last I heard, you were a Captain."

"I was promoted just yesterday. I'm the youngest to achieve the rank in US Army history," Charlotte replied, not seeming cocky about it, only stating a fact. "As the highest-ranking officer among the military assigned to this mission, I will take command of them."

"I'm in command of this mission," Rebecca protested.

Charlotte didn't even blink. She just went back to attention. "My soldiers will take command from me, and I shall take command from you. The proper chain of command is in place."

Rebecca rolled her eyes and her neck. "Fine. In that case, you can relax with all the formal puffed-up army stuff; that's an order. It messes with my groove. Yinyu says people in the army are like dicks, they always stand at attention, but I don't mind if you all go limp."

Charlotte instantly relaxed and smiled. "The army doesn't want a bunch of limp dicks. Does your husband know you prefer limp dicks?"

"Oh, he knows I like him very unlimp. Don't mess with my metaphor," Rebecca said with a smile. "By the way, you just missed your mothers. They might be back before we come back. I'll be sure to share your lovely comments with them. Although, I know you prefer dicks to be limp around you."

Charlotte shrugged. "Can't argue that point. Oh, you don't have to give me a Dreamwarden contract to secrecy. My mom did that with me regarding this place a year ago. General Wilson also continues to be unaware of your identity, and I have a Dreamwarden contract binding me to keep your secret, so another contract won't be needed."

"I can check that shortly, but good to know," Rebecca said. "Well, get something to drink and all that. We will be leaving shortly. Let me talk to Jonathan and Ashley real fast."

Charlotte approached the table and took Rebecca's vacated seat beside Jessica. Luna left and went to talk with Rebecca and the others.

Jessica took a sip of her drink and looked at her friend. "A few months out of boot camp and already a Major? How did you manage that? I didn't think that was possible."

Charlotte shrugged as she grabbed a pitcher of apple juice and Rebecca's glass with her wings. "You know my cutie mark. I was born to serve in the army. As for what earned me my promotions, that's classified."

Jessica did know Charlotte's mark, even if it was currently covered by her uniform–a heart in army camouflage. Still, it seemed very odd that Charlotte had been promoted so fast. Charlotte had only joined the military in May, straight out of high school. What classified missions could possibly earn her promotions that fast?

Charlotte filled the glass and looked at the other army officers, including the dejected-looking pegasus. "What are you puke stains looking at? You heard the Dreamwarden. She wants no puffed-up army bullshit. You may speak freely."

"You're the Warden of Fear's daughter?" Smiley asked in disbelief.

Charlotte's face hardened. "Lieutenant, you will address me as Major, Major Martinez, or Sir! We aren't going that casual, piss-for-brains."

Smiley looked down. "Very sorry, sir. I mean no disrespect, sir."

Charlotte spat on the ground. "My parentage is of no concern of yours. If my mother was a mare that got fucked by a rabid dog, or a Dreamwarden's wife, it is all the same. Don't ask me about it."

"Yes, sir. Understood, sir," Smiley replied.

Charlotte was always a fighter with a lot of ego and pride, along with a chip on her shoulder for constantly being referenced as the Warden of Fear's daughter. Jessica had seen little of Charlotte these last few years–primarily just the eighteenth birthday parties of her friends and Sunset Blessing's family reunion. Charlotte had been more withdrawn during them, shadowing her twin sister and looking unhappy every moment in it. How much resentment did the younger of the twins harbor?

"I haven't gotten to see Arachne's baby yet. Is your niece cute?" Jessica asked.

Charlotte took a sip of her drink. "I haven't met Madison yet. I feel sorry for her, having my sister for a mother."

Jessica frowned. "That isn't a nice thing to say about your sister. She's your family, loves you."

"I know that," Charlotte replied. "My sister tried to get into the army base while I was there. Can you imagine that? Trying to sneak onto a military base while pregnant? Bitch has no regard for the welfare of her kid."

Jessica blinked in confusion. "Why was she trying to sneak onto the military base?"

"Because they told her she couldn't come in," Charlotte answered.

"Why was she even trying to get into the base?" Jessica asked, annoyed Charlotte was being evasive.

Charlotte scowled. "I broke my wing during an exercise; it hurt worse than anything I ever felt. She knew it happened as soon as it happened and wanted to get to me. Well, she knew something happened to cause me excruciating pain. That was enough to bring her."

"Doesn't seem like that much of a bitch if she was that worried about you," Jessica said.

"You don't understand what it's like to have a twin. Arachne and I hate each other, but we also love each other and are closer than anyone else," Charlotte said with a shake of her head. "It's like we're part of each other. Maybe there's some magic to sharing a womb, but if one of us is hurt, we know. We know where each other are. I could point in a direction right now and know I'm right about where she is. I fucking knew the instant she was in labor; nobody had to tell me. Maybe this trip will let me get far enough away from her to stop feeling her."

Jessica looked at her friend in disbelief. "Feeling each other's pain? That doesn't make sense. You two used to kick the crap out of each other while training with Tempest."

Charlotte nodded. "Yep, we could never lie to each other about how much it hurt when we got a good blow in." She took another sip of her juice.

The table shook as Patches suddenly jumped up on it. Jessica, Russell, and all the military officers, save Charlotte, jumped from their seats.

"Hello, Patches," Charlotte drolled.

Patches started jumping on the table. "Miss Charlotte! You came to visit us! Look at how they jumped! We can jump, too! See us jump. Jump! Jump! Jump!"

"You are the most adorable little monster," Charlotte said as she took another sip of her drink. "Please, stop jumping on the table. You'll knock the juice pitcher off. That would be bad."

Patches stopped jumping. "Can we play a game? We learned how to play tic-tac-toe."

"Wow, you're getting smarter. Next thing you know, you'll figure out checkers," Charlotte complimented. "Sorry, no time, kiddo. Me and the gang are going on a trip soon, but it was good to see you again. I saw some butterflies on my way here. Why don't you go catch one?"

Patches jumped off the table and took off towards the grass. "Butterflies!"

Charlotte took another sip of her drink as the others took a seat. "She's easy enough to distract. You can suggest she do anything, and she'll take off to do it, happy as a clam. It isn't something that should be done too much. Do it too much, and she'll eventually figure out what people are doing. The Dreamwardens think she's an eternal child, but after spending a lot of time occupying her during my mom's visits, I can confidently say she's not. She can reason and learn; it just takes a while. She won't be mentally a little kid forever. It might take her longer than Moses to grow up, but she'll get there–at least in terms of reasoning. She may even start thinking of herself as an independent entity from Moses at some point. I hope she stays sweet by the time she does. These zombies don't sleep, so the Dreamwardens underestimate their capabilities."

"And have you told your mom or the other Dreamwardens about your concerns?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, and they see it as a problem for another day," Charlotte answered. "They are so sure that if Moses is good, all his creations will be too, and if they aren't, he can just get rid of them. I suppose that might be true, but I wonder if he'd be reluctant to, even if he knew he should. I am just speaking as someone who shares a bond with a monster. I know what Arachne is, and I don't mind roughing her up, even enjoy it, but I could never seriously hurt her. I think Moses is the same. He could never destroy these zombies; they're part of him."

Jessica crossed her arms. "Arachne isn't that bad. She's your sister and my friend. I think you have some twisted sibling rivalry with her."

Charlotte shook her head. "My mama and little brother say the same thing to me, but I know Arachne has changed over the years. I'm the one who had a front-row seat to it. If you think Arachne is a good pony or still your foalhood friend, you're fooling yourself."

"And what does Phobia say?" Jessica asked.

The night pony grimaced. "Mama and my brother might defend Arachne, but Mom keeps her opinion to herself. She says nothing or gives evasive answers, which means she isn't as blinded by family love as the rest of you. Be wary of my sister. She might not be dangerous while she's trying to gather power and influence, but someday, when she has that power and influence, she's going to be, and the only ones who she won't hurt if it gets her what she wants are me, our mothers, Moon, and maybe Madison–maybe. You, our other friends, even her husband, she couldn't give a damn about."

Jessica didn't want to believe Charlotte. Arachne was part of her core group of friends. Charlotte seemed paranoid about many potential threats around her. However, she didn't have the same insights as Charlotte. Charlotte and Arachne were inseparable growing up and knew each other better than anyone else ever could. It could all be in Charlotte's head, but it could be true.

Rebecca walked over and spread her wings. "Okay! Grab your luggage. I hope you all enjoyed the food because it's time for us to board the S.S. Dolphin III! We're going to Jeg'galla'gamp'pi!"

---

The bunker was hidden deep underground and reached by a hidden elevator. It was hard to say precisely how far the elevator descended since there only seemed to be one floor to reach, which was reached in a little less than a minute, and the elevator didn't feel to be moving any faster or slower than any other elevator Jessica had ever boarded. It took the elevator two trips to get them all down since there were too many of them to board at once. Jessica was on the second trip.

After exiting the elevator, she found herself in a giant hollowed-out cavern. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all stone and were uneven and jagged in spaces. The only wall that wasn't stone was housing the elevator, which was boarded over by wood. Power cables came out of slots in the wood to various lights hanging from scaffolding installed into the ceiling, and a separate powerline ran down to what looked like some sort of command system close to where they exited. However, the most eye-catching thing was the object that filled most of the cavern.

The S.S. Dolphin III, easily recognizable by the name painted on its side, looked like a giant metal cube with a few protruding engines on each side. There was what seemed to be a band of glass windows that ran around the center of the cube like a belt that revealed the bridge and what looked like living quarters. If she had to hazard a guess without actually measuring the object, she guessed it was approximately twenty by twenty by twenty meters, the belt floor was about four meters in height, and each of the engines, if they were engines, and of which there were six on each side with what appeared to be the ability to swivel about, were around two meters in length. A bay door was open on the bottom that she estimated to be three by three meters. Several farm workers were standing around the area, not seeming to be doing anything.

Rebecca spread her wings wide again. "Welcome to your home for the next few days. The Dolphin III can resist almost any temperature you throw at it unless we try going into a star or get fired on by Devourers. It can move…I'm not sure how fast, but fast enough while being able to slow down and stop on a dime. It only needs a crew of three to operate, provided one of those members is an alicorn to power the thing, but it can house a crew of up to twenty. It can carry one-hundred-twenty-thousand kilograms of cargo and crew without interfering with its ability to move around and land, although I'm sure we won't be carrying that much. There's a bridge, several living quarters, a kitchen, and a large cargo hold. We have plenty of space suits that are adjustable in size–within limits, and magnetic boots, should we need to get out and repair something in space–which we hopefully won't need to do. We will also be carrying ten backup engines if anything happens to any of ours–that's the minimum number of engines we have to have operational if we want to move around. The ship can detach broken engines and allow us to install fresh ones easily. The ship's hull is a real tank and can withstand collisions with meteors or smaller asteroids without taking any damage–the engines are a bit more vulnerable to that kind of stuff, but that's why we have backups. Those windows aren't glass; they're a special element we had to synthesize. They are just as strong as the hull, which is also a synthetic element. It cost taxpayers a lot of money to make this thing, even if it is just missing money in the military spending that auditors can't find. Still, you'd be shocked how much money has always just ended up missing without explanation with the military, so no one bats an eye. Still, show it some respect for being a very expensive thingamabob. Keep it clean and tidy. We promised to give this thing to the military after we're done with it, even if they don't have an alicorn to power it. Maybe they'll work something out. There's some creative ways they might power it for missions in our solar system or something."

"Who's doing the repairs if we need that?" Charlotte asked.

"You guys!" Rebecca announced, "Don't worry; you don't have to have special training; you just have to follow instructions. We shouldn't need to do any repairs, even if an engine or two goes down for some reason. We only brought all those engines as a precaution. Plan for the worst-case scenario, even if it isn't likely to happen. Expect not to be doing much before we reach Jeg'galla'gamp'pi. Jonathan, Ashley, and Luna will handle getting the ship from place to place. In the meantime, you can sit by a window and enjoy the view. Just enjoy the fact you're in a far-off galaxy where no man or pony has gone before. My best friend would flip her lid at a chance to be here–big Star Trek nerd."

Jessica pointed at the farm workers. "Why aren't we using these guys for that? You said this craft could carry a much larger crew, and I assume they are already familiar with it. Plus, forgive me for being pragmatic; wouldn't it be better to have them space-walking than living people?"

Rebecca blew a wet raspberry with her tongue. "Do you want a ship full of rotting corpses doing nothing? That's what would happen if we brought them. They must stay within a certain range of Moses, or his power fails. It's a pretty significant range. He's in school in Skytree proper right now, and that's miles away, but another galaxy is a bit further than that, and we aren't bringing an eight-year-old along on the trip. Ulga would smack us all silly! Don't underestimate her ability to smacky-smack just because she's blind. You don't want to get on the wrong side of a mother protecting her kid."

"What do we do now?" Luna asked. "I haven't been briefed on exactly how this ship works. I just know I'm powering it."

"Ashley will be casting the spell, and you'll be using a crystal to supply her spell with power. It interacts with the ship's computer to get us to the right coordinates. We'll need another round of power for each teleport," Rebecca explained. "You'll give another crystal a jolt of power, and it will give the ship enough power to operate its thrusters, life support, artificial gravity, lights, sensors, and all that for the duration of the trip–we should probably do that first, having lights, power, climate control, gravity, and oxygen is nice. Jonathan can pilot the ship after that. Jess, you'll need to give Jonathan the data so he can plug it into the ship. We need to know where we're going."

"We're all going to die," one of the military officers said.

"You're out of line, soldier!" Charlotte snapped.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Charlotte gave Rebecca a salute with a wing. "Sorry, my men are not used to your…eccentricities, ma'am. I'll see to it they understand not to question your judgment."

Rebecca sighed and looked at the soldiers. "Anybody can question my judgment who wants to; my bodyguards always do. I might disagree with what you say, and I may not explain why, but I have access to more knowledge than you would believe. However, that knowledge doesn't always make me right, so if you are worried, don't be afraid to say something–I do listen, and you may have a point. I know I'm a lot to deal with. I like to keep things light-hearted with my silly antics, but I assure you, I know what I'm doing, and even when I'm acting like a fool, remember that it is an act. I'll do everything possible to ensure this mission goes off without a hitch and get us all home safely. I'm a Dreamwarden; I don't lie."

Charlotte looked at the soldiers. "If you have concerns, you'll address them to me, and I will address them to Dreamwarden Marshmallow. I'm not just your senior officer; I'm an expert in dealing with Dreamwardens; that's why I'm here. I know the behavior patterns, motivations, and general thought processes of each of them. Dreamwarden Marshmallow told you a straight truth; she acts like a fool, but you would be a fool to think she is one. Many of your concerns I can address without having to trouble Dreamwarden Marshmallow and distracting her with worries born out of ignorance of Dreamwardens. Understood?"

The three officers stood at attention. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Oh! My groove! So brutalized. Anyway, let's get on board and get moving. You can explore the ship after we leave. The only ones who need to be on the bridge are Jonathan, Ashley, and Luna. I'm going to be there…because I want to be there and because I should probably be in a position to give directions on what to do, but the rest of you keep to other areas of the ship. Jess, data, now, please and thank you."

Jessica already had the flash drive in her pocket, and she passed it to Jonathan, who silently mouthed a quick thank you.

Rebecca waved a wing. "Follow me."

They went down a short flight of stairs to the bedrock below and followed the chubby pegasus to the bay door. She entered a code on the large panel. Several sounds continued for a few seconds before the bay door slid open, revealing a tiny chamber and another door.

"Everybody pack in. The outer door closes when I enter this next code, and the inner door only opens after the outer has shut," Rebecca explained. "There will be a delay while you feel some air blowing, then the next door opens. It has to stabilize the air pressure each time. There's one more chamber and door like this after this one. Then we'll be in the cargo hold."

It was a tight fit, getting everyone in each time, and it was a little tedious. Still, it was necessary to ensure they were safe when going on and off the ship in space, so Jessica wouldn't complain. When they finally reached the cargo hold, they were in a large room with metal crates pushed up against the walls, stacked on each other. There was what looked like a mini-forklift with a claw, which she assumed was for moving the crates. There was an elevator with a spiral staircase close to the center of the room that ascended to an opening in the ceiling. LED light panels in the ceiling provided light. There was a set of lockers with helmets stacked on a shelf beside them.

"Some of these crates have our replacement engines; there's a few others with supplies, but most are empty," Rebecca explained. "Space suits are in the lockers. When we go upstairs, we'll be in the common area, which has a small kitchen surrounded by quarters for all of us and the entrance to the bridge. The stairs and elevator continue up to a third floor, which is where all the ship's systems are. We shouldn't have to go up to the third floor unless there is a problem, and we shouldn't have a problem. In fact, don't go up to the third floor unless you're told to; that way, you can't accidentally mess something up. Our goal is no problems!"

"So, what now?" Jessica asked.

"Luna, Jonathan, Ashley, and I are going to the bridge and getting this show on the road!" Rebecca said happily. "The rest of you can pick out quarters, hang out in the common area, or just sit here if you like. Don't eat any of the food yet. We need to ration it. Also, when we teleport, you might feel a brief moment of disorientation."

"Fall out, but stay on this floor until teleport is confirmed," Charlotte told the soldiers. "We aren't fighting the flight crew for the elevator, and we aren't getting caught feeling disoriented on the staircase when this place relocates. We don't need to rush to our quarters."

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers chorused. Jessica rolled her eyes. That was getting very tiresome, and she was sure Charlotte was doing it on purpose.

However, Jessica had to agree with Charlotte's reasoning. She had no interest in getting dizzy or sick while climbing that narrow staircase, especially if she was carrying luggage. She picked a corner, put her back to some crates, and set her bags beside her. She saw the soldiers do the same as the flight crew boarded the elevator. Then, the waiting began.

Charlotte wandered over to her and sat down. "How's Jordan doing? I heard my Grandma talked her into taking Wabash. I never saw Jordan as a pony living in a big mansion. She struck me as someone who would end up in some suburban home, probably with half a dozen kids."

"Half a dozen in a suburban home?" Jessica asked skeptically.

Charlotte shrugged. "They can double up in rooms."

Jessica chuckled. "Well, she at least has somewhere to fit half a dozen now, with them all getting their own rooms. Honestly, I think all the rules and restrictions for the place has are driving her up the wall, and she's lonely. Maybe it will turn around soon. She's having an auction later today to try to clean the rooms out and buy stuff that fits her."

"Grandma offered me the place. I laughed in her face," Charlotte said with a grin. "I'm not spending my life in a gilded cage. Plus, I want out of the shadow of all the big names in the family. It's hard to get out of that shadow if I accept expensive gifts from them."

"You don't hate your mom, aunt, and grandma, do you?" Jessica asked, worried about the answer.

Charlotte shook her head. "Nah, I don't hate them. Mama seems to think I do, no matter how much I tell her I don't. Mama loves being connected to Mom's title and all that's associated with that, so she doesn't get me, or Arachne, for that matter. Mom gets it, but Mom saying anything is counterproductive to my needs because it's her helping me out. I need to be out, doing my thing, and that thing can't be seen as something my mom, my titi, or my grandma gave me or helped me get. I'm actually kind of happy about this assignment taking me away from my previous assignment. I can't say much about it, but it felt like I got it because of my connections. This does, too, but it's my connection to Rebecca, and that's easier than it being family. Does that make sense, or am I just rambling?"

Jessica patted her friend's back. "You aren't just rambling. I get wanting to be the one to write your own narrative of who you are. I've got some identity stuff I'm trying to struggle through right now in terms of how people see me. Jordan seems to be trying to redefine how she's seen as well. I'm sure she'd get you too."

"What's–" Charlotte began.

The lights suddenly flared. Several seconds passed, with them ultra-bright, and nausea set in by the time they dimmed back to normal. The floor might have shook, or maybe it was just Jessica's legs that trembled. She couldn't even focus on what she was hearing; her stomach took too much attention.

She had to crouch down, partly because she wanted to hurl and partly because she didn't trust herself not to fall over.

"Disorienting. That's what she said that was going to be?" Charlotte said, sounding like she wanted to vomit as well. "Frigging Marshmallow and her downplaying everything."

Jessica kept a hand to her belly, waiting for her stomach to settle. "Maybe she didn't know how bad it would be. It's not like they've tested this thing since it needs an alicorn to power it."

Charlotte stretched a wing out to her and shook it. "Don't remind me we're on an untested starship, probably now trillions upon trillions of miles from Earth and anyone who can help us."

Jessica's ears perked. They were in space, far away from Earth. She needed to see. Standing up was a struggle, but she didn't care. She stood up and walked like she was drunk to the elevator.

"Careful! You're going to fall flat on our face!" Charlotte shouted.

"Sir…yes…sir," the soldiers said.

"I'm talking to Jessie, not you two!" Charlotte snapped. "Don't you two fall either. Sit and collect yourselves. I didn't hear anything about there being an infirmary. The last thing we need is one of you dopes falling and spraining something. Don't reply, just sit."

Once in the elevator, it was a simple one-button push to get it moving. When it did, it gave her another jolt of disorientation. It didn't feel like going up a typical elevator at all. Well, they were in space, and she was unsure exactly how the ship's false gravity worked. The difference in gravity could account for how stomach-churning going up one floor ended up being. Maybe she would use the stairs in the future.

The second floor had a wide-open room with a few couches bolted to the floor and a trio of refrigerators. She guessed the refrigerators counted as the kitchen. The staircase continued upward to another floor, but the elevator did not. Three of the walls had three doors a piece, while one wall had but a single larger door that was labeled bridge. There were no decorations. As Rebecca instructed, she decided not to go on the bridge. The band of windows stretched all around the ship, meaning each of these other rooms had to have views to the outside.

She picked one at random and headed towards it. She still had a tiny lingering bit of nausea, but it was fading, and her feet felt more steady. The doors were simple chrome with a handle latch set low on the door–low for a human; they would still be high for a pony. There didn't seem to be any locks on any doors. She turned the handle, and the door opened easily, revealing the room within.

The room was as basic as it could get. There was a modified toilet designed to work in zero gravity, much like the ones on the space stations and shuttles, two metal cots with thin mattresses, and that was it for furnishings. She didn't care about that because the entire wall opposite the door was one big window that looked out into space and right at the system's star, a white dwarf.

Tears filled her eyes as she approached the window and put her hands on it. The white dwarf filled the area with white light, and she couldn't make out any other stars because the star's light drowned them out. Still, it was beautiful, and it was right there. Judging by how big it appeared, they had to be much closer to it than the Earth was to their sun. The bridge would be facing the wrong direction to see this, so she was the first human to look upon a white dwarf from this close a distance. She sat down and let the happy tears flow as she kept her hand pressed against the window, which remained cool to the touch despite being on the side of the ship getting all the star's light.

There was an intercom beep, and Rebecca's cheerful voice chirped over it. "Hey, everybody! I hope you are all recovered from the first jump. Sorry about how it might have made you feel. I hadn't anticipated it would be that bad, so that's on me, and my vomit is all over Jonathan's shoes."

That announcement didn't manage to take the wonder out of this experience for Jessica. No amount of disgusting things could.

"Anyway," Rebecca continued. "Now would be a good time to choose your quarters and get settled. There's enough rooms for everyone to have their own. Don't try to use the toilet until I've explained how; it's a little more complicated than a regular toilet. Once everyone is settled in their rooms, we will do another teleport. Don't worry; this one won't be as bad. We expected it would take two, maybe three teleports to get us to our destination, so there's still no problems other than Jonathan has icky shoes! This first jump got us to the general neighborhood we needed to be in, and we're close enough that our long-range sensors are picking up where there is a lot of thaumic energy–that's Jeg'galla'gamp'pi. It's too far for our engines to get us there if we want to make it in the next five years, but we can luckily teleport the rest of the way. Good job on the calculations, Jess!"

Jess took the praise at face value, knowing it wasn't just her work. She also had known it was unlikely they'd reach Jeg'galla'gamp'pi on the first teleport. That they'd reach it on the second was great news. She had no idea how far the sensors on this ship scanned or how fast its engines could go, so there was no way of her knowing how far off the initial jump was.

"While we're here, I'll be your tour guide," Rebecca continued, "My view of it from the bridge is kinda poor, but if you get to a window and look out our starboard side, you can see a white dwarf–a star, not a Disney one or Lord of the Ring's one. If you look out our port side, you can see some stars, and I'm pretty sure that's a planet in the distance, or at least, that's what I'm getting looking at these sensors–it's huge; it's got a lot of rock and ice, it's round, it seems to be orbiting this star; that sounds like a planet to me. I hereby name that planet Rocky Road because it's rock, it's icy, it's along our road, and I like ice cream. Our rear has just many stars in the far distance and a lot of empty space."

Jessica had heard more ridiculous names for planets and stars. Physics was full of ridiculous terms, especially when you start talking about quarks–charm, down, bottom, top, and strange were all flavors of quarks. If physicists could get away with naming particles that way, Rebecca could call a potential planet Rocky Road.

"So, pick out your room, take in the view, let Jonathan clean up his shoes, and stop giving me dirty looks, and then we'll be on our way again! This time with less vomiting!" Rebecca concluded.

Comments

[mommy5260]

Dammit, just realized i missed the voting window.

ShippyMcShipFace will live on in my dreams atleast

[Halira]

11710991
Maybe if they ever need to make another one.

[mommy5260]

11710999
I don't care if the ship dies 3 seconds later

That'd be even funnier lmao

[AvoidingFever17]

11711225
Neat

[AvoidingFever17]

...
Lets see that they understand
that we do not underestimate humanity's quest for knowledge

[Honey Lavender]

11713368
Kinda hard for me not to, TBCH. My SO loves finding obscure and/or hilarious bits of history and absolutely geeking out about them, so I'm frequently treated to in-depth mini-lessons about these sorts of things... and, of course, I love them and I find it incredibly cute, so I'm 110% there for it