The Valiant Effort

The Betelgeuse released from The Lift and drifted, quicker than the crew expected, away from the station. During this drift, thrusters were heard firing in seemingly random pulses. The crew could see the heavens shifting through the small viewing ports in the passenger hold. “Almost there guys. Can I get a thumbs up if you’re ready?” Captain Mills said with his wonderful bedside manner. The Valiant crew all gave their thumbs up to the camera above and to the front even though they were all a little tense about the next few minutes of uncomfortable acceleration. The main thrusters roared to life and the crew was pressed back into their seats with surprising force; less at first, but increasing, and increasing, and increasing. What started as smiles from the crew quickly became faces of seriousness. Everyone was focused on their own attempts to focus on something. Anything would suffice. Most just picked a random spot somewhere in front of them and stared; waiting for the unpleasantness to pass. At length, the unpleasantness did pass and Mills announced that they had reached their cruising speed of 38,000 mph. He told them that Shanti would be coming back to check on them in a few minutes, in the meantime they could move about if they wanted but staying seated was the best idea. They were all a little too shaken to do anything more than compose themselves. The 3 g push wasn’t terrible or even unexpected; it just felt too close to losing control. It feels too hard and fast; it doesn’t seem like ships should be able to withstand these forces. As the crew shifted in their seats and tried to attain some level of comfort, they saw Shanti heading their way from the cockpit. She had an armful of towels and handed them to the crew. She knew from past observations that when going through that initial burst of acceleration, less experienced people tend to clench up so tightly that they sweat more than usual and get teary eyed. “You guys ok? You did great. I’m heading back to the galley, do you want something?” Shanti said this as she passed by with the grace of a ballet dancer. Most just wanted water but she brought back a few other snack items that didn’t go to waste. After explaining where to put the garbage, she went back to the cockpit. “Not my first time with that sort of acceleration, but this time it seemed more intense,” Conrad spoke first. “The Betelgeuse has got some ‘get up and go’, wouldn’t you say Josette?” Josette looked up to him, still teary eyed and nodded her head. “Yes, definitely. It’s like it should be fun, but it isn’t. A little too intense for my taste.” “I agree,” Hassan added. “I wish these things were a little gentler and got up to speed more slowly. But I understand the hurry, time is money right?” After she said this she continued with the paste-like chicken meal squeezed from a tube. The next few hours passed quickly with some of the crew napping or talking about personal things. Most of them were going to miss regular food and the normalcy of their lives. They will all adjust to their time in space, but ten years is a long time and they were thinking of more and more things that they’d miss. Still nobody was regretting this decision. Their inquisitive minds were too excited at the prospect of discovering things that would change science forever. This expedition of discovery was more than enough to push any thoughts of hesitation aside. “We’ll be starting our approach soon,” Captain Mills said over the comm. “I’m gonna need you all to get seated again very shortly, so if you need to use the facilities, now would be the time.” They all did, in turns, use the facilities and got fastened in their seats again for the deceleration. Most of them sat quietly waiting to hear from the captain when the process would begin so they could physically prepare themselves. The slow-down process was such that The Betelgeuse would pivot around so that they were moving backwards. The main thrusters would be used again, this time to slow the craft. The forces felt would be similar to the ones before but seemed safer in some way. Fastened snuggly, the crew heard Captain Mills say that they were starting now. They could feel the pivot and see the stars shift through the viewing ports. They also caught a glimpse of the moon’s surface. They were so close that it filled the window entirely. After some minor tweaks and adjustments to the position of the ship, the captain gave the signal that the slow-down would begin. Just as before, the main thrusters fired and the crew was forced into their seats. This lasted several minutes. More than once, a few of the crew thought that they may pass out. None did thankfully. After the process was over, the ship turned again to face forward. Again, the moon was visible for a moment as they rotated. “We’ll be landing shortly, so please remain seated and fastened,” Shanti said as she floated by. She was going to make sure that the payload in back was secure. After a few minutes she returned and smiled to the passengers as she re-entered the cockpit for the final approach to the Lunar Assembly Complex. Minor attitude adjustments were felt and the horizon of the Moon was visible outside as The Betelgeuse descended. Closer and closer, and then with the lightness of a feather, they touched down and soon came to a full stop. Captain Harry Mills spoke over the intercom again, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Moon!”