Unity

Chapter 19

"Welcome aboard. I'm Dr. Darrason. I've been overseeing the construction of the Unity. I've also been given the privilege of being your tour guide." His lack of enthusiasm indicated he was not at all excited about spending a good portion of the day with us. "Our first stop is the engine room."

We had docked about a third of the way up the side of the ship. With the engine room aft, we had over three kilometers to travel to get there. We walked down a corridor and took an elevator down several decks. After a short walk down another passageway, we were brought into a room that had two giant tubes. At the center of each tube was a hatch leading to a single seat cylindrical vehicle.

Dr. Darrason explained, "Due to the immense size of the ship, we had to create a way for personnel to move from one end of the ship to the other very quickly. You can make it from one end of the ship to the other in about three minutes using this system. Junctions like this are located throughout the ship, so traveling to various parts should be rather quick. Go ahead and climb in. Select your destination on the screen and hold on."

"You're sure this is safe?" Admiral Jones asked as he climbed in.

"This was one of the first operational systems," Dr. Darrason replied, looking a little annoyed. "We've been using it for months."

The tube and the vehicle sealed themselves, and the Admiral shot off. Right after he left, another vehicle appeared, and the hatch opened. I climbed inside and scrolled through all the destinations. There were dozens. I selected the engine room, and the vehicle shot off. I knew it accelerated fast from watching Admiral Jones, but experiencing it was completely different. It felt like a roller coaster ride I had ridden once. After about ten seconds, the vehicle left the main tube and shot upwards. After only a couple of seconds, I was level again. The whole trip took less than a minute. I got out feeling a little dazed. Dr. Darrason arrived shortly after I did. He didn't seem affected at all, something that I assumed would come with time and experience.

The engine room was small, sterile white room. There were screens everywhere filled with diagnostic and performance data. Two bulkhead doors were on either side of room, leading to the actual engines themselves. Those area were restricted to authorized personnel, and only accessible during maintenance according to the plethora of warnings pasted all over the doors. Cabinets full of tools were recessed into the walls, and nearly invisible when closed. The back of the room caught my attention. There was a large door with large red and yellow stripes and a simple "WARNING" printed across the middle. Several small windows were at eye level, allowing for safe visual inspection.

Dr. Darrason walked up and began lecturing when he saw me peaking through the windows. "The ship is powered using several micro reactors. These provide power for the day to day operations of the ship. They are scattered throughout the ship, allowing for redundant power in the event of an emergency. If you desire to one day procreate, I do suggest not spending too much time in front of this door."

I quickly stepped away and rejoined the group. "Here is something I know you will all find fascinating," Dr. Darrason announced. He went to a terminal and entered a few commands. A warning chime sounded, and a pillar rose from the center of the room. "This is one of many reserve power cores spread throughout the ship. Each core has several canisters made of refined Galactum. In all of our testing, we have yet to deplete a single canister, so each core has the potential of powering the ship indefinitely."

"That is a lot of redundancy," I said.

"This ship will never want for power," Dr. Darrason announced proudly. "It's design allows for future enhancements without the need to ever upgrade the power infrastructure.

Dr. Darrason briefly showed us the rest of the areas around the engine room, and then we made our way to the nearest galley. There were several throughout the ship. The ship was designed to minimize the amount of travel necessary for daily operations. The ship was broken into sections, and each section would eat, sleep and work in that assigned section of the ship. The ship also had large recreational areas such as gyms, pools, areas for different sports, theaters, and a host of other things to help distract crew members during long deployments.

Being on the ship was a surreal experience. I had practically memorized the various passageways and compartments. The passageways were surprisingly wide for a space going vessel. Four to five crew members could walk side by side comfortably. Panels on the walls and ceiling let off a comfortable glow that was easy on the eyes. Crew quarters had the basic accoutrements, and each crew member was assigned their own quarters, as small as they were. The bunk was built into the wall and could pull down for sleeping. The desk was used as one of the supports, maximizing available space, and was equipped with a standard computer terminal.

We were shown defense hubs, medical facilities, and the simulator deck. There weren't as many simulators as at the Academy but was still large enough to meet the needs of the crew. Large hydroponic gardens had been placed fore and aft to serve multiple purposes. They provided fresh produce for the crew, as well as assisted in recycling the air for the life support systems. One memo I had read detailed ways a group of scientists had found to speed the growth of plants in the hydroponics gardens, but the quicker growth meant they consumed resources quicker. It worked for scrubbing the carbon dioxide from the air, but only if there was enough crew on board to produce it.

We made our way to the front of the ship, skipping multiple sections that had little variation. Captain's quarters and the Admiral's quarters were placed just below the bridge. There was an access hatch with a ladder, as well as a private elevator to access the bridge. As badly as I wanted to skip this part and go straight to the bridge, I knew that I had to stay with the group and get a look at my quarters. The passageway had five quarters in total. Each was spacious compared to the rest of the crew quarters. There were quarters for the captain, XO, and watch officer, as well as for the admiral and vice admiral of the fleet. Currently, only two of the rooms would be occupied. I stepped into my quarters to take stock. The first room I entered was a small, sparsely decorated office. Behind that was the basic living quarters, including my own private lavatory and shower. Being a high-ranking officer did come with some perks at least, I thought to myself. It would take some time, but I would have to find a way to decorate my quarters, so they were less sparse.

I stepped across the passageway into Admiral Jones' quarters. His quarters were similar, but the office was much larger and included a small conference room. His living quarters were as sparse as mine, but I'm sure he had several things in the Academy just waiting to be shipped over.

Finally, we came to the bridge. I was like a kid in an all you can eat candy store. It took all my will power not to bounce up and down as the lift took us up to the bridge. I knew the dimensions of the bridge but being in there made if feel larger than it really was. "This is incredible," I whispered quietly. Admiral Jones even gave a low whistle as he stepped out of the lift. Stations at the front of the bridge had several seats for the pilots and weapons officers. Navigation section was behind them with a large holotable in the center of their section. There were displays all long the perimeter of their section, but I wasn't close enough to see if they were even powered on, much less what they might have been displaying.

Behind navigation was the captain's chair. It was on a raised dais, allowing for better view and communication with the rest of the bridge. The rest of the bridge was divided into sections for the other essential departments. There were more displays than I could count. It made the whole room feel rather overwhelming.

Admiral Jones walked up to the captain's chair and said, "Are you going to stand and drool on the new floor all day, or are you going to give this seat a try?"

I walked to the chair reverently. "Are you sure you don't want the honors?" I asked.

"I am only the ship's captain temporarily," he replied. "You might as well get used to sitting here."

I sat down and the seat immediately powered on. Several semi-transparent screens appeared in front of my face. They were covered with data from all around the ship. I could see no way to control the screens, but as I looked around, the screens changed.

"It'll take some getting used to," Dr. Darrason said. "The screens are controlled by both retinas and your mind. There is a sensor in the headrest that will translate different thoughts into commands. The more the chair learns about you, the easier it will be to control."

"This is amazing," I said as I brought up several different menus. "You have got to try this." I stood up and moved out of the way so Admiral Jones could have a seat.

Admiral Jones stepped up and sat down. His face lit up as he looked through all the information available. We spent another half hour inspecting the different stations and their functions. The bridge crew consisted of about thirty people. I couldn't wait to show it off to my bridge crew. I slowly spun in a circle taking in the sight sounds and smells. I finally found a place that felt like I belonged.