The Portal - Chapter 6 - The Big Picture

"Where in the hell are we?"  The captain looked as frustrated, and as frightened, as everyone else.  Daria quickly got her feet under her, and pulled herself down into her seat.  She had been thrown unexpectedly to the floor, and into another console display.

"We are not back in our own solar system, and the ship we just put to our rear is not in sight."  She frowned.  "I am receiving some signals though."  She focused her windowed display on the signals.  "Its our probes.  In the system we jumped to."  The captain turned towards her.

"Wait, does that mean we are back in that system?"  Tara let out a breath of relief.  "Specialist?  What just happened?"

"I think we were spit out the other portal, captain.  It might be a fail safe feature.  If it starts to go offline, it pushes us out to the closest working portal."  She gripped her console firmly.  "The original builders of these portals must have encountered this themselves, and built in this feature."  The captain rubbed his chin.

"Options?"  Daria was still shaken, so her voice reflected that.

"Return to the other portal, and see if we can get home, sir.  Its about our only option."  He pressed a button on the arm of his chair.  It was a whim, but the builders of their ship had put the intercom functions into the captain's chair arms, just like on an old television series.  Future designs of the ship were to incorporate proper crew stations, but not like the series.  It was designed for television, not actual space flight, and crew usage.

The new designs were considered to be major steps forward for space flight and communication during a voyage. They would have displays all focusing on the center of the bridge, while the main display would be in the center, and the captain would be able to access all the information when he needed it.  His seat would also be recessed into that circular design, with safety being its key feature.

"Agreed.  Sampson?"

"Sir?"

"How is that gravity generator doing?  Is it offline?"  He heard him clear his throat.

"Yes, sir.  It appears the designers built in some capacitor banks that would allow it to operate for an extended period without power being fed to it.  The sandwiched switches were to discharge the built up power and allow it to go offline."  The captain let out a long breath and took a few more before he replied.

"So it appeared to go offline for a brief moment while the capacitor bank kicked in?  Fine, but if we want it back online, can it be turned off with complete certainty that it will not spontaneously reactivate?"  Again, the engineer cleared his throat.

"I am uncertain at this time, sir.  I am disconnecting it for now.  Until we get back to our own system, and possibly back to Earth, there are too many unknowns to keep it attached to our power systems."  The captain nodded.

"Understood.  Make sure you discharge it completely, disconnect it, and crate it up.  When we try the portal again, I don't want another wild ride to remind us how bad things can get when we're unprepared."

"Message received, captain."  He nodded, and closed the intercom.

"I'm sure it was, Sampson."  He turned towards Tara.  "Did we get any information during that trip?"  She shook her head.

"Nothing I can make sense of.  We don't know how the portal works really, so these readings will need a large amount of time to analyze.  Lets just go home, and get that stuff figured out either on the way, or let NASA figure it out when we get back."  He sighed quietly.

"Agreed.  Thompson, take us back to the original portal.  Mark this one as 2B on the map.  The other one will be 2A, and our side will be labeled as 1A.  Just in case there are others buried in the atmosphere that we missed."  Tara smiled.

"When we figure out which system this is on the star map, we can start mapping the network, add the information the probes are gathering, and really get to work."  Her smile grew wider.  "I can't believe it!  A portal network, mapped and explored!  And we are the first humans to do it!"  The captain shook his head.

"That didn't dampen your enthusiasm a bit, did it?"  She shook her head.

"It would take a lot to do that, sir."  Daria cleared her throat.

"Then prepare yourself, Tara.  A big bucket of cold water is coming up right now."  She put the portal on the large screen at the front of the bridge.  It continued to flicker madly.

"Oh for fuck sakes!"




The captain took a long slow breath, and let it out just as slowly.

"Right now, I'm kind of glad we messed up with that low powered signal.  We would never have known about how to reboot the portal if that hadn't happened."  The captain nodded.

"Too true, Specialist."  He took another deep breath.  "Damn!  Its great to be back in our own system!"  His outburst was unexpected, as was the action to jump out of his chair.  The bump to the head reminded him of why that wasn't a good idea.  "Ouch!  Dammit!  Alright, start transmitting the information we picked up, in small packets, that way it can be opened and given to the appropriate departments without having to wait for the whole thing."  Tara smiled.

"NASA is going to ape over what we brought them."  She had a small smile on her lips.  "Captain, request permission to leave out the information on the gravity generator until we are about to dock."  He frowned.

"Why?"  She smiled an evil little grin.

"Not only do I want to see their faces, but we may also want to keep this played close to the chest.  If this gets let out of the bag while we are on route, and it doesn't power up again, it could hurt us badly.  Also, I'm feeling a little gun shy.  What's been going on at home in our absence?  We've received few and far between updates from home, even though they know we are out here.  Its almost like someone else is at the helm, and he doesn't like where we've been."  The captain frowned.

"Come to think of it, you're right.  We were to receive monthly updates, but those turned to two months apart, and we haven't had one in about six months.  Almost like they've written us off as lost in space."  Daria rolled her eyes.

"We almost were!  If not for some real dumb luck with that low powered beacon resetting the portal accidentally, we would be stuck over there with no way home!  And when I get home, I'm going to get loaded, and forget that we were ever up here for about three days!"  She began to smile.  "And I'll also thank God himself for making me come up here in the first place."  She said in a low tone.  Tara smiled.

"You and me both."




"Alright, Sampson, lock the ship down to stationary rotation and parallel to the Y axis.  Once that procedure is complete, turn on the gravity generator."  He turned towards him.  "Are you sure that it will work properly, and can be discharged completely, if need be?"  Sampson turned a slightly brighter shade, and nodded.

"I've worked it out, sir.  We acquired the external discharge unit from the alien ship, hooked it up, did a test run, and there were no hiccups.  It will work as expected."  He nodded slowly.

"Alright."  He turned to Daria.  "Thompson, send the signal to the International space station.  Inform them we are an hour out, slowing down for docking procedures, and confirm that they are aware of our return to Earth."  He turned back to Sampson.  "Sampson, engage the gravity generator.  I want those vibrations to be over with before they can see us."




"I can't believe it!"  He turned to Tara.  "You were right.  Not only did they write us off, but we are supposed to be dead!"  He growled, turned away for a brief moment, and thumped his fist down on the arm of his chair.  "Now we have to wait while the bureaucracy gets their heads out of their asses so we can be granted permission to dock!"  He turned back to Tara.

"It was a good idea to keep that gravity unit a secret.  If they forgot we even exist, they would use that unit's secrets to do a real snowjob on us.  As it is, I'm not even sure we have a job to go back to right now."  Tara nodded, but kept her smile small.

"We have information on the portal that is ours alone, and the alien vessel footage.  Along with the gravity generator, we have the power here, sir.  The politicians are going to be all over us, pretending they didn't forget us, and using us as a photo opportunity.  Not just the first humans to orbit Jupiter, but the first ones to go into an unexplored star system, and return.  They won't bury us, sir."  She kept her final remark to herself.

But I will bury the one responsible for removing my former boss from the helm.





The Russian astronaut frowned as the dock hatch opened, and he found himself feeling the weight of his own body, for the first time in several months.

"What's happening?"  He said in a thick accent.  He spoke fluent English, but his confusion was easy to read.

"Nothing, Commander.  You're just enjoying the effects of the artificial gravity generator we removed from the alien vessel and installed in our own."  The commander's jaw dropped.

"Artificial gravity?  Its....its possible?"  He jumped, and smiled.  "Its possible!  I can feel my weight on my muscles!"  He then began to laugh.  "Someone down there will face uncomfortable questions, I believe."  The captain chuckled.

"Of that, commander, I have no doubt."  He turned to Sampson.  "Discharge the unit, Sampson, and disconnect it.  We'll need to get it crated and ready for transport planetside."  He looked at the commander.  "Don't worry.  As per our agreement almost six years ago, whatever technology we've discovered will be shared with the Russian Space Agency.  Maybe next time, they will want to come with us.  Go explore the other star system."  The Russian's eyes went wide.

"Other star system?"  He stepped forward, then caught himself as he realized he was going to board their ship, instead of them coming onto the station.  "Come in!  Come in!  We have a lot to talk about!  The RSA will be happy that you've decided to uphold our agreement!  Very happy."  He laughed even harder.  "And someone who thinks he runs NASA will be very unhappy."




"Captain Rainier!  We'll be holding the press conference and debriefing in twenty minutes."  The director of NASA tried to shake his hand, but the captain refused to hold his out.

"We just received a message from Specialist Tara Timmons about some important information.  She has asked us, and my crew and I have agreed, that we'll hold the debriefing in seven days."  The director looked ready to chew a few heads off.

"Can I ask why she decided to delay this?"  Sampson put a hand on Daria's shoulder, to hold her back from spilling important information.

"She just wishes to make sure that all those who were involved are present and accounted for.  She also hopes you'll be able to attend as well, Director Shelby.  She can't say enough about you."  He frowned.

"Oh?  I don't think I've met the specialist."  Sampson smiled.

"Don't worry, sir.  You'll recognize her immediately."  He put an arm over Daria's shoulder and pulled her along.  "We'll be heading to the hospital now.  Our bodies need some TLC, not the politics."

The director stood in the foyer of NASA's headquarters, and fumed.  He then turned as a former employee was leaving with a box in her hands, and the guard behind her.

"Make sure she leaves!  Not coming in for years, but still expecting a job to be waiting?  What is this world coming to?"  He turned away, and didn't hear any other conversation.

"I'm sorry, Tara.  He's a bloody fool who was able to toady up to the right people."  She smiled.

"Don't worry about it, George.  Just make sure you're there in a week.  You'll be my backup, and you'll have the pleasure of escorting him out."  She turned towards him and gave him a brief hug.  "I'll tell father that you asked about his health."  He smiled.

"That fool didn't know what kind of enemy he made when he fired you, did he?"  She smiled.

"He's not my enemy, George.  He's just a fool who found a bit of power, but we need the right person at the helm for this.  Someone who busted his ass to get it started, and made the right friends in the RSA to get things done we couldn't get done on our own.  The tech we uncovered...."  she shivered slightly at the memories of the alien vessel.  "Well, disgruntled politicians would be the least of our worries if we screwed up that relationship."  He smiled.

"I'm just a grunt, Tara, but that's why you were on board that ship, and part of the whole endeavor.  You could always see the bigger picture, the potential, and the looming disaster."  She smiled and hugged him again.

"Its really good to see you again, George.  Make sure you tell your wife I'm home.  I've missed her home cooked meals, and I'd like the both of you to meet Daria.  She's a hell of a woman."  He smiled and watched her leave.

"She would have to be a celestial body in order to catch your eye, Tara.  Even noticing her is a big compliment."  The older guard smiled softly, then went back inside.  He couldn't help but chuckle about the situation, and how his former boss will love the outcome of whatever Tara had planned.

If she didn't see the big picture, there would be war on the horizon.  War between two superpowers over the failings and feeble grasping at power by a small minded fool.

The Portal - Chapter 5 - Murphy's Law

Sampson sat heavily in his chair on the bridge, glad to be off that ghost ship.  After a few minutes, he turned towards Tara.

"You were right.  We learned very little in the engine room.  There were bodies there too.  And bones.  They ran out of supplies, ate each other, then finally starved to death."  He shivered unconsciously.  "The probes will tell us if they had any stations in the system, or if this was only a stop over to the next system."  Thompson straightened up, and frowned.  She looked at her display.

"Speaking of probes, the first one has completed its survey of this gas giant."  She turned towards Tara.  "Your theory was correct.  There is more then one portal in this one.  More then one super storm spot."  Tara nodded.

"I expected as much.  The lower gravitational field on a larger planet had to have something different.  A second portal that focused the field elsewhere is that difference.  Which means that this system connects to more then one system.  We could come from our system, orbit, enter the other system, and keep exploring."  She thought for a moment.  "I wonder if Arcturus has more then one portal."

"Arcturus?  That super star with a gas giant many times larger then Jupiter?"  She nodded.  "There haven't been any sightings of superstorms there, and that's because they can't see anything around that monster.  But something like that should have at least one planet, and it should be a gas giant."

"That's because its so far away, all we can really do is verify its existence, and suppose the rest.  We get light from those places, but I suspect the actual details aren't quite as clear as they let on.  Such as a lack of planetary bodies, or even the assumptions around what kind of star it is.  We only have our star as an example, so what really is the chance that they can tell with a test case of one?  And what's the chance that all the light to make up an image is there when it arrives?  Some might be absorbed by celestial bodies all around."  Daria frowned.

"So you mean they just fudge the details?"  Tara shrugged.

"Not sure its fudging, as more supposing.  The scientific community does that a lot when it comes to data and conclusions.  Look at the Ice Age.  There is no scientific proof of its existence, yet scientists suppose that's the reason for a great many things.  Like why the dinosaurs are extinct, or why extremely large boulders are moved from place to place.  Floods can cause movement of that kind. It is supposition, but the real proof, other then glaciers that still exist, just isn't there.  Its supposition that those glaciers once covered most of the Earth.  Science is always finding out new things that make old theories invalid."  Daria thought quietly for a moment.

"That makes a lot of sense.  People assumed that if you went fast enough, time would stand still, or you could go back in time.  It was their understanding of time that prevented them from understanding the reality of it."  Tara smiled a big wide one.

"Correct.  They think that if they travel fast enough, they can travel back in time because they would be faster then the light itself.  Eventually they would be at the source where it was emitted thousands of years ago, and therefore, go back in time.  The reality is, even if they traveled instantaneously to the source, time would not have changed, and they would not travel backwards.  Freeze time.  Travel along the path of the light, and the light continues to get younger as you travel along it. It isn't reversing.  The light just gets younger.  Science didn't know they explained it when they said that the light you see now may be in fact light from a dead star.  If you travel along that path, faster then the speed of light, you won't find a star that's lit.  You'll only come to the end of the light."  Daria frowned.

"So does that mean time doesn't actually exist?"

"Time exists, but only in as much as we can measure the passage of it.  Time is not a thing.  Its a concept.  We conceive that it exists, measure its passage, and make suppositions about it.  Think of it this way.  If you take two beams of light, say a laser, shine it at a distant point in space, but along that route, one beam gets diverted by a series of mirrors that bend it along another route until it returns to its original path.  The starting point will be a bit behind the other beam, but the light is the same age.  The same amount of time passed for both beams.  Time didn't pass any differently.  It just took a bit longer due to the distance diversion."  Daria shook her head.

"Philosophical conversations that take on a life of their own over centuries, with suppositions, and mathematicians who strive to prove their theories correct will be able to force the conclusions to fit their theories.  And if you don't believe their results, that will just prove how unintelligent you are, which proves them correct on their false theory.  That just gives me a headache."  Tara chuckled.

"I don't blame you.  I got many headaches in college by banging my head against a stubborn wall made up of those suppositions.  Eventually, the most intelligent people in the world just learn to keep their mouths shut, and study in silence."  Sampson chuckled.

"Welcome to the voyage of the silent."  He shook his head a bit, then his eyes grew more serious.  "So what should we do about that ship?  If feels too valuable to just leave behind, and not have anything to show for investigating it."  Tara pursed her lips.

"Suppose you wanted to create an artificial gravity field, where would you put the generator for that field?"  He thought for a moment.

"In the bottom of the ship, near the middle."  Then his eyes lit up.  "If we go search that section, we can see if there is a unit set up at that location!  And if it was small enough to move."  He smiled wider.  "Artificial gravity would give us an advantage for all future space travel!  No need to build to simulate gravity on a small scale, more compact ships, and longer space voyages!  Even stations!  The possibilities are almost too good to give up!"  She smiled.

"Lets float it by the captain first, Sampson.  If he agrees, you should choose someone who would assist you to locate, remove, and relocate to our ship."  She looked at Daria.  "Thompson, I would like your assistance in going through our logs for the trip."  Daria frowned but nodded.

"Alright, but why?  The information is pretty self explanatory."  Tara gave her a straight, but cold look.

"I want your opinions of what you saw on record.  What you felt, your assumptions before, and your conclusions after.  When we put together a report on that ship, I want it to be thorough."  She looked over at Sampson, the engineer they all relied upon.  "You too, Sampson.  You looked a little bit shaken, and I want that on record.  Why you felt that way, and what you thought about."  Sampson rolled his eyes.

"What I thought about?  That's easy!  How could intelligent beings become so desperate that they ate each other?  That place felt like a tomb when I saw those bodies, not an advanced space vessel!  Creeped me the hell out!"  Daria turned towards him.

"You too?"  He nodded.

"I'm not made of stone, Thompson, and neither are you!  That shit was damned spooky, and less expected then space spiders!  Brr!"  He shivered.  "If you saw that on Earth, it would mark your memories, and give you nightmares.  My dad was a cop, and he saw some sick shit in his career.  Gave him nightmares too."  He smiled sadly.  "Don't even think about trying to act tough in those circumstances is what he would tell me.  Let it out.  Drain away its power, then analyze it.  If we were stuck out here, our ship immobile, and we couldn't get home, would we eat each other?"  She frowned.

"Of course not!  Most likely, we would make a decision to end it peacefully.  Like the ones in the airlock did at the end.  They might have eaten a bit, but decided not to keep going at the end.  They didn't want to starve to death, so they decided to end it properly."  Jim nodded.

"Correct.  Those were not spooky.  It was the bridge, and engineering that housed the nightmares."  He smiled again, and leaned his head back against the headrest.  "We respect each other too much to allow our bellies to overcome our good judgement.  If we were going to starve, we would send out the probe to give the information to headquarters, then vent the ship.  No drawing straws.  We came out together, we go home together.  Anyone gets it in their head to try and take a bite, they'll be spaced before we vent."  Daria smiled a relieved smile.

Her nightmares weren't over, but at least she had someone who understood the reasons she had them, and that alone alleviated her concerns about their current mission.  Everyone on board was trained, and dedicated to each other professionally.  She still couldn't quiet her mind of those troublesome thoughts.

Just how long was that species in space, and what happened that drove them to eat each other, instead of going home?  And if they couldn't go home, what happened that prevented them from going through the portal?

She knew Tara had a hypothesis, and she would ask her about it later.  Right now, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed, and have Tara tell her it would be alright.  Even if she didn't believe it herself.




"It was easier then expected, captain.  The unit is small compared to some of our components, but to tell you the truth, I can't make heads or tails about what makes it work.  It has power lines running into it, and it also has some familiar configurations with the way circuits seem to work.  They aren't circuit boards, but more like sandwiched switches, connected with fiber cables, and all are routed to one self contained unit.  It looks like the power needs might also be a direct feed."  The captain frowned.

"Wait, are you saying that we could get it working?"  Sampson shrugged.

"If we controlled the flow, started out at the possible lowest voltage, just to see what happens, and slowly increase the flow until its doing what I expect it to, then maybe.  That's a big maybe.  Its an artificial gravity unit, which means it creates a field of mass in the bottom of the ship.  We will be drawn to it, just like we are drawn to the center of the earth.  If I'm careful enough, I might be comfortable increasing our gravity to the point of the moon, which will help us a lot."  He cleared his throat quickly.  "However, not until I'm sure I have enough safety features plugged in.  Switches to cut the power, foot and hand, and a dead man's switch."  The captain thought for a moment.

"Alright, if the power flow is monitored by someone else, you have control over the amount, and someone else has a kill switch, then I'm game with this experiment.  Bottom of the ship, along the y axis while we are in transit, not upright in launch mode."  Sampson grinned.

"Agreed.  Don't want this to be like some Hollywood movie stunt."




"Report!"  The captain shouted.  The ship began to shake as the power was turned on to the gravity unit.

"The ship is developing a gravitational field in the bottom of the ship, and its creation is shaking the plates right around the others with the greater mass!"  The shaking slowed, became more gentle, then eased off until there were only minor vibrations.  "Leveling off, sir.  Whew!  I thought we were gonna be spaced!"  Thompson chuckled in his headset.

"Make sure we're not, Sampson.  That's your job, remember?"

"Aye.  Power drain is stable, and much lower then expected."  He took a tentative step, then smiled.  "Hey, guys!  Release your straps and stand up!"  Tara frowned, and stepped forward.  She had hold of a strap, and the kill switch.

"Well, I'll be damned."  She said softly.  "It feels like I'm back on Earth."





The captain looked at the screen, stood up and stretched.  He smiled and took a short jump, just to be sure he didn't bang his head on the low ceilings.

"What do you think?  Time to go home?"  The crew smiled.

"Yes, sir!"  Tara looked at her screen for a moment.

"Captain, I would recommend that we disable the artificial gravity while we traverse the portal.  We don't know how it would react to the unit, or if it would collapse it accidentally.  I don't want to find out in the atmosphere of this monster."  He grinned.

"Agreed.  Sampson, lower the power until its turned off, then flip the switch to cut off the source.  We can power it up on the other side, but for now, it should remain off."  Sampson obeyed the order, and waited.  The field slowly released its hold, the ship shook for a minute, then slowly eased off again.

"I think that we should keep it off, sir.  That unit will need to be examined completely by a team of engineers, and we don't have the resources on board to fix the problems we don't anticipate.  The salvage team might also find out how they compensated for this particular problem."  The captain grunted.

"Yeah, which is too damned bad, because that gravity felt really good after two years out here!  Alright, Thompson, plot our course, and take us home!"

The Earth vessel turned away from the alien ship, and headed directly for the portal.  The captain frowned.

"Sampson?  Did you turn that generator off?"  He turned and looked at his chief engineer.  He lifted his hand and still felt the pull.  Sampson pressed a few keys, and then looked panicked.

"It felt like it went off, but its still on!  Turn us away from the portal!  Turn us away from the portal!"  He got out of his chair, and rushed down the hall, and all the way, his feet thumped on the plating.  The gravity generator was not off.

"Oh shit!"  Thompson yelled out.  The portal was dead ahead, they were already caught in the gravity well of the gas giant, and the portal just flickered.

Like a light about to go out.

The Portal - Chapter 4 - Ghost Ship

"It looks like....a blimp?"  The captain frowned.  "Can we get that image enlarged?  I don't want to get any closer until I'm sure its safe to proceed."  Tara took additional readings, but shook her head.

"Lieutenant Thompson?  Can you direct a probe to do a close fly-by?  I'd like a closer look at those lines in its hull, and the rear.  Also, can you use the on board sensors to detect radiation?  Or heat signatures?"  Thompson nodded.

"All those functions are now integrated within the standard probes we have on board."  She pressed a button.  "Probe launched.  Directed to the ship, and to do a slow orbit."  She pursed her lips.  "No readings of any kind.  No heat, no radiation, and no signal emissions detected."  She looked at the captain.  "Sir, its dead cold."  He frowned slightly.

"How long would it take for that to happen?"  Tara looked at her screen, and took a few moments.

"We've never run the numbers before, sir.  I would hazard a guess, if they are warm blooded creatures like us, that humanoid bodies would take a few hours to cool, and that is after death.  The hull itself would be cool as long as there were no internal heat sources, but a fusion based engine?  Thousands of years, depending upon the fuel used, such as plutonium or uranium, it could take thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years to fully decay to an inert state.  That ship could have been made impervious to standard scans like ours, or it could have lain dormant for fifty years, or five hundred thousand years.  Even if we board that ship, we would have no way to unlock its secrets.  This ship was not made for such an investigation."  The captain nodded.

"Agreed.  Take all necessary readings, and formulate a possible plan to recover that ship.  Calculate possible tonnage, thrust needed to tow it through the portal, or push it, and get it home.  Its a theoretical plan, and if we present it, and the possibilities, the brass will come up with their own answers."  Tara nodded.

"I'll get right on it, sir.  Time to do some system scans, and exploration before we head back?"  He smiled.

"You're damned right!  I want to know if the closest planet has life."  But the captain kept his eyes on the most lucrative prize right in front of him.  An alien ship that had something all explorers lust after.

Something new, and unseen by human eyes.




"Sir.  It might be possible to link up with that craft right there."  Tara pointed out a hatch that had a similar configuration to their docking hatchway.  The captain shook his head.

"I would authorize a two man crew to take internal scans, and inspect that ship slowly, but only in suits.  Limited search, limited time.  Lots of footage.  Understood?"  Tara thought for a moment.

"Who do you recommend for the mission, sir?"  He smiled.  "What?  Me?"  He nodded.

"You, and Thompson.  She would keep you safe as she is highly skilled in hand to hand combat, and completely professional."  She thought for a moment.

"You are aware...."  He held up his hand.

"I know of it.  There is no reason to remove either you or her from that list.  We need the rest of the crew here, but we can spare you for a short period of time."  His eyes grew serious.  "However, there are to be no foolish risks!  We can not complete this mission without the both of you, so don't put us in that position!"  She nodded, but couldn't quite quell her excitement.

"Aye, sir!"  This wasn't what she was here for, but it was an incredible bonus.  The first and second pair of human eyes upon an alien ship.

It was beyond a dream, but she knew that sometimes, dreams can be nightmares.





"Steady as she goes, Tara.  Don't wander ahead of me, or fall behind."  Tara smiled, and nodded.

"Understood.  I'll use my brains and follow appropriately."  They were already at the hatch, and looked for the panel that Sampson had spied early.  It wasn't as easy to spot when they were outside the ship.  When Daria finally found the panel and pushed on it tentatively, it moved inward, and was able to be pushed down.

"Captain, Sampson was correct.  The panel is exactly as he expected.  It pushed in, and down out of the way.  There is a handle to pull, stirrup styled.  I'd almost say that the beings who made this ship were humanoid by the way it was designed."  Sampson spoke up.

"When you're inside, you may be cut off, so go carefully, and keep an eye out for panels with readings on them.  Touch nothing, but if we can take a look, we may be able to send the information back for analysis, and have the next ship on its way before we even get home."  Sampson rubbed his hands together.  "I wish I was there with you, Thompson."  She smiled.

"I'm sure you do.  Cameras are on.  Recording to thumb drives for security purposes.  Pulling the lever now."  She pulled it carefully, and at first it wouldn't budge.  She pulled harder, and it creaked along its pivot point.  "Frozen from lack of use.  The door has moved as the bolts were disengaged.  Manually moving the door now."  Tara held onto a suction cup on the side of the ship's hull as the door opened slowly.  "Oh fuck me."  Tara peered inside and saw what her lover had seen.  Three emaciated, and long since dead creatures were in the airlock.  They had decided to vent the atmosphere, to kill themselves quickly.

"Captain.  There are three alien bodies in the airlock."  Daria didn't give the captain a chance to ask what she saw that made her swear.  "Semi humanoid, quadraped, with a pair of humanoid arms mid torso.  Skin is dried and sallow.  These people either starved to death, the vacuum sucked all the moisture from their bodies, or this is their natural appearance.  They have been dead for a long time, sir, but there was no atmosphere released when the door was cracked.  It appears they vented the air."  The captain took several seconds to reply.

"Understood, Thompson.  Move the bodies out of the way, open the inner door, and continue to inspect the ship.  If you find more bodies that are different, or more fully fleshed, take good footage of their appearance.  The doctor will want a look at it.  Do not bring a body back though.  We don't know if they died naturally, or from a disease.  Decontamination will be required."  She sighed.

"Understood, sir."

"I can smell that from here, Thompson."  Sampson smiled.  Daria rolled her eyes.

"Then you're going to love the stain I left on this white suit, Sampson."  A few chuckles were spread about on the bridge before Daria spoke again.  "Entering the ship now."

Tara followed carefully, being sure not to jostle the dead aliens when she passed, just in case her movement caused the body to break.  Daria spoke ahead of her.

"There are no lights in the airlock.  Emergency lever....is stuck.  Just a moment."  She pulled hard, and it eventually moved.  "Frozen from lack of use.  The door moves much easier then the lever did.  There is no telltale sign of atmosphere inside though.  Might have been struck by micro-meteors in the time it was inactive though."  She moved through the now open door.  "There are no bodies in the corridor, and no lights."  She focused on a panel.  "There is no power to any panel within range.  The symbols are unfamiliar, as we expected.  The corridor is rather wide, to allow such beings to pass easily by each other without bumping into one another, and quite high.  They must be really tall when they stand up."

They continued to follow the direction of the corridor to the center of the ship, then forward.  It was indeed a ghost ship.  Not one single living thing remained aboard, other then themselves.

"Power is a no go.  We are heading to the forward part of the ship, just to see if that remains the truth."  Tara continued to follow along behind her, remaining quiet, and keeping her thoughts to herself.

"There are other doors along the main, most likely living quarters.  Nearing the front part of the ship.  Its not much larger then our own ship, and doesn't have the signs that they had gravity problems.  Might be artificially generated."  Tara spoke.  Daria nodded.

"Agreed."  She turned towards her.  "This bothering you?"  Tara shook her head.

"Your assessment is spot on, so I didn't feel it necessary to speak.  I don't expect that to last when we get to the bridge. "  She smiled.

"Agreed."





"That was an experience."  Daria said softly, and her eyes looked haunted.

"I need to make a report, Thompson.  I'll forward my thoughts to both you and the captain.  It might give you something to think about."  She nodded woodenly.  "Come to my quarters tonight.  You need me."  Daria nodded, and turned her head slightly towards her.

"You have no idea."  She turned away, which made Tara shake her head.

"I do, love, but your mind can't see it yet."  She went to her computer, and began to record her thoughts.  "The bridge was a real nightmare.  There were bones all over the bridge.  Most likely the strongest of their crew ate the others as they began to starve.  We found no indication of food anywhere on the ship, so they must not have been able to resupply.  That gives us many questions, and not enough answers.  Disease is out or they wouldn't have eaten each other, unless it was a mental disease.  They were outside the portal, so they wanted to pass through.  There is no sign of damage to the ship, so it wasn't an attack, but it might have been an attack on their home world.  There is not enough data to say.  Did the portal go offline for a period of time?  If so, why?  Might it be something they did, just as we did?  Or is there a flaw in the system?  It was quite smooth for us, and that is many centuries after this species' time.  I have no conclusion, other then a recommendation that we study this portal thoroughly before we decide if we need a presence in other star systems.  And the doctor is going to go ape over the information we have on this species.  Absolutely apeshit!"





The captain looked at the report and nodded.

"Her instincts are top notch, and right in line with mine.  We'll put in our recommendations, and let the brass make the decision."  He put his hand over his eyes.  "But I already know what decision they will make.  Humans always jump first then ask for a parachute."

"Will this have the same result for us as it did them? Is it an elaborate trap, or something no one ever anticipated?  Or is it much simpler then that?"  He rubbed his chin.  "Greed is common among humans, so maybe its just simple greed that allowed them to ignore the warning signs."  He thought for a moment, then added his own thoughts.

"Message recorded, and set to transmit once we are through the other side."  He clicked a button on the intercom.

"This is the captain speaking.  First thing in the morning, we are returning to our solar system, and will allow the probes to continue on their journey, to map and record information for us.  Once their journey is complete, they will return to the portal, pass through, and transmit their data.  As for us, I plan that we should either be well on our way home by then, or sitting at our own table back on Earth.  Get a good night sleep.  Captain out."




Daria curled up into Tara's side, and wouldn't let her go.  She hadn't been able to stop her tremors since she got into bed, and now that she could relax where she felt the most comfortable, she couldn't.

"We'll be going home in the morning, love.  No more aliens.  Just us."  Daria gripped her hip harder.

"And when we do, that will be it, won't it?"  Tara smiled softly.

"Still unsure, even after these last six months spent together?"  She kissed the top of her head.  "Where ever we end up, I want us to end up together."  She looked up in surprise.

"Really?  What if....they send me back up?"  Tara smiled.

"They will.  You are the first one to see an alien species and not be mentally ill, or have some sort of hallucination.  You will have to insist that its a package deal."  Daria smiled.

"And if you get sent back up?"  Tara slipped lower in the bed and kissed her softly.

"As if that would happen without you.  You belong to me, and I'm never letting go."  Daria blushed, but smiled.

It felt really nice to be needed like this.  To belong to someone special.  But she couldn't stop the image of those dead aliens, and the piles of bones, from playing through her memories.

The Portal - Chapter 3 - The Other Side

"So, what does happen during the trip through the portal, specialist?" Tara smiled, and didn't give any indication that her lack of a proper title bothered her.  She was the operative whose very existence would preserve theirs.  If she had questions, or doubts, everything would stop until those were cleared away.  She knew her value, even if those with titles didn't like to admit it.

"A couple of possibilities are that we are traversing a bridge.  A short bridge through space that allows us to travel from one point to another without going the astronomically insane speeds we would need to travel to get there.  It could be a catapult, moving us at those speeds, or there is a final option that I don't want it to be."  He frowned.

"And what is that option?"

"A time displacement.  We don't actually go that speed, but are locked on that trajectory, and seem to travel there instantaneously, but in reality we are time frozen for the length of time to get there.  We could be physically active, and even age, but appear to travel from here to there in only a few seconds."  He grunted.

"I don't care for that option."  She nodded.

"Its unlikely, as the probe still has power, and the trip to that other system would take hundreds of years, if not more.  It is a possibility, but a remote one."  She cleared her throat.  "The most likely scenarios are still dangerous on their own.  A bridge.  Or a catapult.  I don't know about you, but the catapult doesn't sound appetizing to me."  He grinned a bit.

"This ship wasn't made for those speeds, and we have no way of testing our materials at those speeds either.  We don't know if it could take the strain."  Tara smiled.

"The probe survived, and the new probe is almost to its target, so we should be able to make a fairly good guess on the stress factors of our materials."  The captain nodded his assent, but wanted to wait for the results from the probe.




"Okay, so we won't do that again."  The captain closed his eyes.  "How long will it take to come back online?"  Tara was already hard at work on the information she had to work with.  Once the probe was on the other side, it was programmed to send a low powered beacon signal through the portal, which would allow them to lock on.  That caused the portal to collapse.

"If I'm reading this correctly, the portal is already reestablishing itself, but is nowhere near as strong as it used to be.  If my calculations are correct, it should be fully operational within ten days."  She pursed her lips.  "The lower powered signal might be similar to the original builders signals that sent it into a shut down mode, or reboot mode.  We can not use that signal in proximity to the portal ever again.  We'll need to come up with different methods of communication.  The higher frequency bands don't seem to effect it, but the AM bands are trouble."  The captain cleared his throat.

"How can we be sure its fully active again before we use it?"

"The probe.  We'll send it a signal to come back through, collect it, check its logs, then send it back through.  It will need to take sensor readings, to verify the size, length of journey, and location its at."  She closed her eyes, and hit the console in frustration.  "Two years!  We nearly fucked up two damned years of effort with a simple choice!"  The captain turned towards the specialist quickly.

"Six years.  Two years to design and build the ship, along with training, two years travel to, and two more travel back.  We invested a lot of our lives in this, right along with you.  The teams assigned to build those probes had no idea what would happen with low powered frequencies, as we use them extensively back on Earth."  He turned back to the screen.  "Don't allow other people's mistakes to overshadow what we have accomplished so far.  We are at Jupiter.  No one else has ever done that before.  We've found proof of intelligent life besides ourselves, and we've found a way into another star system.  Ask yourself how much of this was possible because you made it that way, Specialist." Tara lifted her eyes, and saw the eyes of the entire crew on her.  There was no pity, or disgust in their features.

She was a part of the crew now, and they were proud of that fact.




"You were quite angry today."  Daria said softly, her arm possessively and firmly planted on her hip.  "You surprised us all.  We didn't think you knew how to be angry."  Tara turned towards her.

"I was more angry at myself.  I thought I should have known, or been able to plan for all contingencies."  Daria gripped her tighter.

"And how could you have foreseen that outcome?  This is new to everyone.  Isn't it better to find out now then when we try to cross over?"  Tara thought for a moment, and sighed softly.

"I'm glad you're here."  Daria smiled softly.

"On the trip, or 'here' here?"  Tara rolled towards her, pressed her back against the mattress, and kissed her how she liked to be kissed.  Warm, passionately, and making her the center of her attention.

Daria had her answer.  Both.




"Everything is ready, sir.  Hatches are closed.  Cargo is stored, and locked down.  Everything that can be nailed down, is."  The captain nodded.

"Thank you, Thompson.  Sampson?  Everything clear on your end?"

"Affirmative, sir.  Engineering is as ready as we're going to be."  He looked at Tara.

"Anything unusual to report?  Out of the ordinary readings that weren't there before?"  Tara had poured over the information from the probe for the last ten hours, and the portal was just as strong as it had once been.

"No, sir.  From a theoretical point of view, and from the data analysis, we are ready, sir."  He nodded, and pressed a button.

"Then its time to green light this operation.  Thompson, its a go."  Tara, and the rest of the staff, were in their flight suits, and ready for the worst, but hoped for the best.

It would take five hours to get up to speed, but during this part of the acceleration, they would need to be strapped in.  Even though the crew liked to be in the gravitational part of the ship, it was also locked down for the acceleration, and for the trip through the portal.  A ship with a moving outer hull could create untold problems, so it was designed with that in mind.

Five hours was more then enough time to create an atmosphere of tension that ate at everyone's nerves.  Even the captain's.





"Tell me when we pass the point of no return, Thompson."  She turned towards him and frowned.

"Sir, as soon as we started to accelerate again, that was the point of no return.  This is a gas giant.  This trajectory is impossible to abort.  We are locked in."  He turned towards her with a snap.

"Why didn't you tell me that!"  He snapped out.  She kept her calm, though right now, all Daria wanted to do was to smack that look off his face.  With a lead pipe.

"Captain, you were already aware of this."  Tara spoke up, calmly and precisely.  "When we had to stop short to wait, we were stationed at the zero mark.  Once we passed it, we entered its sphere of influence.  The only way to negate that is to do a one hundred and eighty degree turn, and fire our engines at full."  He lowered his eyes.

"Which this ship is not capable of.  Then why does it feel like we are not being drawn in hard?"

"The portal, sir.  Its warping the surface of that field.  We are in the eye of the storm."  He closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and opened them again.

"Recommendations?"  He asked.  He looked right at Thompson.

"We go full steam ahead, sir.  Specialist?"  She looked at Tara, who nodded her assent.

"We don't want to be stuck in the middle of that thing, sir.  If we do not have enough thrust to exit out the other side, we won't exit.  We could be crushed in the gravity well, or get stuck and pushed out, right into the gas giant."  He grunted.

"Any readings from the probe that tells us what a good speed to attain is?"

"Negative, sir.  The lower mass will throw every reading off.  Lets just go all out, and plan for the same on the other side.  We can adjust the parameters in future trips."  He took a long slow breath, then smiled wide.  That was something they didn't expect.

"A new star system, and without fictional warp engines, or hyperspace!  If this is real, we can roam about in the galaxy, and not have to worry about straining our home world's resources!"  He smiled wide at Daria.  "Thompson, don't spare the pedal!"




"That was unbelievably smooth."  Daria said in a low voice.  The trip to the portal was faster then expected, as the gravity well of Jupiter still drew them in, but as soon as the ship entered the portal, everything was smoothed out.  The ship stopped its vibrations, and all the gravity was in the center of the ship.  They felt drawn down, but not oppressively so.

"Don't let down your guard!"  The captain called out.  "Just like the trip in, the trip out will not be smooth!"

He was correct.  It wasn't a catapult, but a true portal.  It was like a car on a new bridge.  Smooth as glass, but the entrances were the rough transition points.  On the other side, the gravitational forces were extreme, but not unendurable.  It took nearly half an hour for the ship to enter the portal, and half an hour to exit the gravity well of the gas giant on the other side.

"We're out!"  Tara said loudly over the noise the engines transmitted through the ship.  It wasn't the cone, or the burn of thrusters they heard.  It was the force that it exerted on the ship itself they heard.  The creaking of the superstructure, and flex of the deck plates, as the ship pulled itself out of the sphere of gravity of the gas giant.

"Report!  Any damages?"  Thompson and Sampson quickly ran some computer programs, and shook their head.

"Ship's navigational systems are responding as normal, sir."  Daria called out.

"Affirmative, sir.  All ship's systems are responding as designed.  We've safely traversed the portal!"  The captain allowed himself another uncharacteristic smile before he set about to the business at hand.

"Alright, take us to a safe distance away from the gas giant, then lets identify the monster in the rear view mirror, and if there are any other portals in this system.  Also, start to identify the planets that are visible, and send out probes to these planets.  We need information, and a lot of it!"  Tara smiled.

"Sir, we should send a probe back through the portal, and send a data package back to earth.  It will get there before us, and we'll be able to send a few more packages as soon as we go back, but a preliminary report could make them start to salivate, and plan."  He smiled.

"Good idea.  We need to grease the wheels of this runaway train, and that information is going to be more then they need to keep moving forward."  He thought for a moment.  "Any further information on what makes that portal work?"  Tara smiled.

"No, sir, but that ship dead ahead might have some clues."