*Notes: Please note that I will now try to put some visual representations: Pictures! They will be in BMP format, and some might be large. Please be patient if you want to see the pictures, or skip them altogether. Thank you.
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"It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small."
-Neil Armstrong
Galtenn Standard Year 2400, 2nd Month
Despite the "friendly warning", nothing damaging have been done to me and/or to the alliance and it's partners of the space program in these past two months; well... if you count some of the coffees I've spilled which scalded me, I guess you could say that I was damaged.
The Construction of the experimental vessel has ended 3 weeks ago, and after cleaning and testing the equipment and the ship, it was brought out into the desolate plain of Anozira via 4 hoverfrieghts to the Noscut airport. From there, it was delivered to the Anozira North Launch site section by section, deck by deck. It was then reassembled in the Jet Propulsion Labs Anozira Hanger, and now it sits in hanger waiting for launch.
The experimental vessel has been named Swift.
Swift Specifications
It sports 6 newly developed JPL Ion engines which is packed into 3 engine nacelles, which are supposed to give the Swift the title of the fastest craft ever built; but I have my doubts. The Swift is also fitted with NOLGS. Nuclear Ordinance Launcher & Guidance systems. There was heavy debate on this issue, on why a ship of exploration should sport such a deadly weapon. The Galtenn Alliance won the debate, after we discovered a meteor that narrowly missed our planet, after it passed us 2 days prior to discovery.
The landslide victory over the H&P Group, The Hypochondriacs and Pessimists Group, as it was called by most of the media, has caused the Oceanic Federation and the Namor Republic to pull from the alliance. Their loss. From the creation of the Alliance after the worldwide Trade Disputes a 100 years ago, No nation has pulled it's representatives home, under any ordinary circumstances. I guess an exception could be made, as in these times, nothing was ordinary.
Although the warning didn't strike, it may be due to the extra security detail I've put on to every alliance installations, institutions, embassies, and any building, corporations, and parties connected to the space program. No chance could be taken; especially after the riot after the poll on Oceania City that injured 3 people.
I never expected all this. As the Galtenn Alliance is an alliance of the nations, and since we have no land or population to call our own, the power are in the states, and two of them rebuked their demiregents from the alliance representatives’ council.
No matter. As long we have primary support of the majority, all is fine.
"Sir, we should be landing at the launch site in a few minutes. Your long wait is over, sir."
"Thank you pilot."
I could see the launch site now, despite the heavy storm. There wasn't much to see. I could see the central control spire, 3 research Geodesic Domes, and 3 dark buildings, which I presumed, would be where the Crew and I would be staying until the weather clears up. The Launch was supposed to take 3 days ago, but a snowstorm blew into Anozira, disrupting air and ground traffic. One of our convoys carrying the bridge module almost got stuck in the snow, 2 kilometers from the launch site. Thankfully, it safely rolled in after getting out of the ditch, and before the worst came.
"Sir, we're landing now. Please keep your hands inside at all times."
"... Thank you pilot."
The door slid open, and I had 3 minutes to get to the nearest object that would shield the hovercraft crew and I from the snow. An ATV-W quickly came over, and stopped right in front of us. The crew and I got on, after anchoring down the hovercraft.
"Fine weather we're having, isn't it, Mr. Central Regent!"
"Yes, pilot. Absolutely splendid!"
The ATV sprang into motion as we got on, and went down an underground chute to a full-scale parking lot, complete with heating. I deactivated my thermal insulator of the body suit I was wearing, and walked outside.
Galtenn prime is almost completely comprised of Ice; other parts are water, boreal forests, and a very small fraction is tropical. All Galtenn evolved from the icy parts, which explains our natural insulation furs, located under our epidermis and throughout our whole body. Even a race with normal insulation from the elements need protection from anomalies, so one day, one brilliant unknown inventor developed a body suit which could provide warmth, chills, humidity, dry air, and other things. Even to the point of anchoring down a person from a harsh winter storm. Several improvements were made from the day it was made, but most of the systems still remain originally. If needed the body suits could be compressed into pockets attached to normal fabric underwear or other wear instantly, with the touch of a button. The body suit automatically cleans the air inside it, and since we don't have the need for sweat as other few tropical species on our planet do, hygiene is not an issue.
I pressed down the compressor button, and the body suit instantly disappeared, showing my formal politiksuit.
"Ah, Mr. Central Regent. Thank you for coming."
"I wouldn't miss this for the world. And you are...?"
"Gerrehdt Provost. Facility Director. It is an honor to have you here at our facility."
"If I may ask, what facility? I saw only a few buildings outside...?"
"The whole facility is underground, made up of 30 flours and capable of holding 30 000 people. The buildings that are outside is only for pure necessity, as we lose heating that way."
Mr. Provost continued, leading me into the turbolift.
"It's already late sir. Would you like to go to your quarters?"
"Thank you, I am feeling a bit tired."
As soon as we stepped in the turbolift, it quickly shot down, across and up. Leading into one of the dark buildings.
"How is the weather going to be like Mr. Provost?"
"The Forecast is bright, Mr. Central Speaker. We should be able to launch tomorrow morning."
"Here are your quarters, Mr. Central Speaker. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call us. Have a nice dream."
As soon as I stepped off, it shot down again.
As I lay at the bed, I kept thinking about my father. He wasn't a politician, nor was he anybody special, but he was a great father, and an amateur astronomy enthusiast. He got me interested in stars, and in space. And he always would tell me that "Someday, We will be able to go out into the stars, and see many strange, but beautiful sights."
He passed away shortly after christening the chassis.
The launch sites was clear and bring the next morning, as I could see from my quarter windows.
Launch Site
The Launch site were some kilometers away, but it could be seen with clarity. 4 pillars of cables, metal cables no doubt, kept the Swift grounded, as it seemed to fight the swift from launching out into space. There didn't seem to be any snow on the Swift, So I guessed that it was brought out this morning.
But there were 4 short, stout pyramids on the corner of the launch pad. I never saw those on the blueprints.
Mr. Provost walked in behind.
"Good Morning, Mr. Central Regent."
"Mr. Provost, what are those pyramids on the launch site?"
"2 of them are bunkers and 2 are emergency stations. They were brought in the Last minute."
"Thank you. I suppose I should get ready?"
"Yes sir. The Launch commences in an hour."
I hurried to the turbolift, and got down to the command center. By the time I got down, it took 15 minutes to get from my quarters to the Control center. This place was massive.
The place was flurry with action, as crews worked around the clock to insure safety. I saw 5 main plasma displays outlining the most important information: The Ship engines, Launch site traffic, the weather, or more specifically, the temperatures, Ship system status, and space traffic.
30 minutes before launch.
"Mr. Provost, who is the head of the controls?"
Mr. Provost pointed out a man near the 4th plasma display.
"His name is Delgado Trallan, but he likes to be called by his first name; he's coming over now."
Mr. Delgado came running to us, he seemed to be in a hurry. He was an old man, I would guess about 124 years old.
"Mr. Central Regent, It is an honor to be in your presence."
Yeesh... Honor this, Honor that...
"I am honored to be meeting the man who would make the launch come true, Mr. Delgado."
"Thank you Central Regent. The launch is going according to schedule. There has not been an error since ever. Everything is going according to schedule. No errors. Absolutely no faults."
"Calm down Mr. Delgado. I'm sure the Launch will be spectaculous, especially under your guidance."
"Thank you Mr. Regent. Thank you... Since we have some time on our hands, would you like to see something interesting?"
"Of course."
Mr. Provost and I followed Mr. Delgado into a room that had 3 golden disks on it. Mr. Delgado reached up and grabbed all three and showed them to me and Mr. Provost.
"They're disks. First Contact disks to be precise."
"First Contact Disks?"
"Disks that comprise information about us, Galtenn prime, other animals, our scientific achievements, our history, and even sounds!"
"Let me show you."
As Mr. Delgado put in a disk labeled Galtenn, a holographic display came up.
"Galtenn Alliance. An Alliance comprising of 35 Nation states, The Galtenn alliance works as a worldwide Regulation Institution. A Central Regent, who comes into power by voting and stays in power for 24 years, governs the Galtenn Alliance. The Galtenn Alliance has 24 branches, from humanitarian..."
The holographic player stopped and popped out the disk. Mr. Delgado grabbed them and put them back on the wall.
"These are the planetborn copies. The real ones are aboard the Swift. When the Swift or If the Swift encounters an alien species, they will give the aliens these disks as a gesture of good will."
"That's brilliant!"
"Thank you Mr. Central Regent."
"It is now 15 minutes to launch Mr. Central Regent."
"Thank you. I would like to speak to the crew of the Swift if possible."
"Anything's possible, Mr. Central Regent."
The Main Display showed a communiqué being sent to the Swift. After a few short Minutes, The Display showed a young woman in full body suit sitting on the captain's chair.
Mr. Provost spoke to the microphone in front of him.
"Good morning Swift. Mr. Central Regent would like to talk to you before launch."
"It's an honor sir."
"Thank you captain...?"
"Captain Jahanna of the Galtenn Starship Swift sir."
"Congratulations Captain. You must be proud to be the first one to bring our race into the warp age."
"Yes sir. It is a tremendous feeling."
"I have no doubt that you and your crew will succeed. Tell me, how many people are onboard the Swift?"
"35 sir. Most of them are from the Northern Directorate, but everybody are from everywhere."
"Thank you..."
Mr. Provost signaled me to look at the time. 5 minutes to launch.
"It seems that we will have to cut this short, captain. The launch will be soon. Good luck captain."
"Thank you sir."
"All right! Everybody give me your status!"
The monitors now seemed to work even harder than they did before a second ago.
"Capcom!"
"Good to go"
"Telsat!"
"Good to go"
"GalSupport!"
"Good to go"
The Checklist Lasted 4 minutes. The computer now started the countdown.
"Countdown: T Minus 59 seconds. All systems go for launch and good to go."
I went outside while the checklist was being checked off; Mr. Provost and the Hovercraft Crew also came out.
The Swift had 6 Booster rockets attached to its enormous wing; it would seem that Ion Engines won't do any good in the atmosphere.
"T Minus 10" "9" "8" "7" "6" "Ignition started" "4"
Your wish came true dad.
"3" "2" "1"
BLast-off!
The cables quickly came off admist the chaos. The Rockets roared with thunder and strength and the heat generated by them were felt all the way up to our position. What seemed like an eternity was only a few seconds; The Swift gracefully lifted off, like a tropical swan flying into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke along the way. The Swift shot up and up and up into the sky, until it was nothing but a speck in the sky.
Inside, the crew could see that the swift was now in the upper ionosphere, and it could see galtenn in it's fullest.
"Command, This is Captain Jahanna... we have jettisoned the booster rockets and will commence the ion engines"
"Ion engines at 10... 20... 50... 70... 100%"
"It's beautiful out here command... It's so blue. Like a gem."
Space
"Congratulations, Captain, and Good luck on your upcoming mission"
"Copy that command. See you soon."
[ October 15, 2002, 20:09: Message edited by: TerranC ]