That First Step's a Doozy

“Eshadi Control, this is My Other Option we are approaching jump point.”

“Roger that, Option. This is Eshadi Control signing off. Have a good trip.”

“Thanks, Control”.

Ed closed the connection and kept his eye on the screen showing their progress towards the jump point.

“Well, here comes the fun part,” said Nate, sitting in the co-pilot chair. “Now we find out a whole bunch of interesting things.”

“Like if the jump drives work?”

“Or work too well. We also learn if any of the passengers were planning on hijacking our maiden voyage. Or if there are pirates who want to take another crack at this ship.”

The two men sat quietly and considered the ship’s security systems and long-range sensors. Everything was a study in boredom and regularity.

“You wanna push the button?” asked Ed.

“Hell yeah,” answered Nate. “Been waiting to do that for months now.”

Normally, jumps were automated, but Ed activated the manual confirm sub-routine and routed it to Nathan’s screen.

“It’s funny, I thought I’d be in that chair,” said Nate.

“Second thoughts about taking me on?”

“Only in the abstract. You’re a great pilot and I’ve been so busy the past week getting everything ready, I’d be in terrible shape to fly this thing. Acting as the medical officer means I can relax for most of the trip.”

The men stared as the distance counter rolled down to zero indicating the ship had reached the jump point. Nathan took a deep breath and punched the indicator on his screen confirming jump.

There was a strange power-down sound in the ship followed by a shudder and a sharp crack and loud boom like a peal of thunder. The windows flashed white for a second, the windshields automatically darkening to shut out the intense light and then everything seemed to fall away in all directions for a moment. As Nathan felt himself sitting firmly in his seat again, the windows cleared to reveal a swirling, multi-colored static.

The Jump Timer flickered to 168 hours and began counting down.

“Attention all passengers and crew,” said Nathan over the ship’s intercom. “This is the ship’s captain speaking. We have just make the jump to hyperspace. We estimate arrival within the Fist system within 7 standard Imperial days. Passengers should feel free to move about the passenger areas. Crew members should take up their in-jump stations. That is all.”

Nathan opened another channel, “How are we looking, Lin?”

“Looking real good, Nate,” answered Linda. “The jump drives worked like a charm and their power-down readings are all in the green. The ship’s power plant took the spike without any trouble. Should be a nice, quiet ride to Fist.”

“Well,” said Nathan, “I think this calls for a small celebration. Get the crew together and we’ll have a small toast.”

“Sounds good, Nate,” said Linda.

Nathan flicked the comm off. “Nothing to do here, Ed. Let’s go back and join the others.”

“Sounds good, Captain,” said Ed.

The two men put their stations on standby, locked them down and left the bridge illuminated by hyperspace.