Reborn as a Spaceship

Chapter 55: Testing



I felt a curious mix of satisfaction and frustration. The successful jump had been exhilarating but it was only stage one. My mind had already jumped further ahead, thinking of all the problems I had yet to solve. Although we could travel instantly, truly free exploration without significant planning was still a distant dream.

Lynn, however, didn't share my cautious outlook. She was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Do you realise what you just created?" she asked, eyes gleaming. "Lazarus, we're going to be rich. Like 'own-your-own-planet' rich."

"I get it," I replied, slightly amused. "But we've got a long way to go."

She stared at me incredulously. "No, Lazarus. You don't get it, do you?"

"what don't I get?," I said, half-smiling, waiting for her to lay it all out.

She sighed dramatically, clearly enjoying the moment. "You've just built a gate network. Think about it. If we refine this tech, we drop beacons anywhere we want in space. No slipstream, no living pilot. Instantaneous travel between gates. Lazarus, this is civilization-changing. This makes us rich forever."

A silence filled the room. The others stared, considering the implications, faces shifting between excitement and confusion. It was T'lish who finally stepped in, voice calm and practical.

"You're partly correct, Lynn," she began quietly. "But it's not that simple."

Lynn turned quickly towards her. "How do you mean?"

T'lish adjusted her stance slightly, looking from Lynn to me as she spoke. "There is no instant communication across the network. Right now, our entry and exit gates require perfect synchronization. If the timing isn't exact, down to fractions of a second, the gate fails. Without instantaneous communication, you can't reliably link separate gates. You can't ensure correct entry and exit gate are linked. What we have now is essentially a point-to-point jump drive for one ship it is advanced, but hardly a full gate network."

Lynn's face fell, the brightness dimming slightly in her eyes. "But we could refine it, right? There has to be something we can do."

I nodded. "In theory, yes. Eventually. But right now, it's a single-ship solution. Still valuable but we aren't ready to begin thinking about selling it."

Mira hesitated before speaking up. "Wait, if we fix that timing issue, wouldn't that mean inventing instantaneous communication? Isn't that kind of a big deal itself?"

I shook my head slightly. "Not exactly. My planned fix will still be using the slipstream network, just like those slipstream courier ships. Sending messages in discrete packets not in a continuous stream. A true instantaneous communication method…" I trailed off, thinking again. "That's still beyond me, at least for now." I had a few ideas floating around, maybe setting up a constant flow of information in the network could allow for constant instantaneous communication.

Kel laughed gently, breaking the sudden tension. "Well, damn, guess we'll have to settle for being 'merely filthy-rich' instead of 'godlike wealthy' for now. Well once we get the system working"

Lynn gave him a playful shove. "Stop mocking my dreams."

We all chuckled, the moment defusing back into the warmth. Still, I wasn't ready to share Lynn's optimism, at least not until we'd tested more, refined the concept, and ensured it was truly safe.

T'lish had a proposal for the rest of the crew something she wanted us to do.

"You want us to go deep into Kall-e space?" I asked, turning to T'lish.

She nodded firmly, the excitement returning briefly to her usually reserved expression. "I do. I remember a world from my genetic memories. It's remote, abandoned in an old war, but perfect for our needs. Ideal environmental conditions for setting up a growth pond, plenty of resources, and isolated enough that we'd be undisturbed."

"Why isn't anyone there, then?" Stewie asked skeptically. "If it's so perfect, wouldn't it already be populated?"

T'lish hesitated. "For some reason, this memory is stuck in my head. My subconscious must be telling me it's important to visit this place, although I don't understand the meaning."

I frowned, unconvinced. "Still seems odd. A forgotten world in Kall-e territory? Sounds too convenient."

"Which is why we should test closer first," Laia interjected, her voice level and cautious. "Jumping straight into deep Kall-e space with an experimental drive isn't prudent."

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I completely agreed with Laia. Therefore over the next few weeks, we ran countless tests with short hops, longer jumps, and variations in synchronization. The results were frustratingly mixed. The timing needed to be so precise it felt almost absurd. Even a minuscule drift between entry and exit gates could trigger failures.

But despite the setbacks, the crew's enthusiasm never wavered. T'lish seemed particularly driven, spending long hours refining the mathematical models alongside me. Finally, after multiple successful short-range jumps, I began to believe we might be ready for a larger test and a jump into Kall-e space.

I called another crew meeting. "The tests have gone well," I began slowly, looking at each of them in turn. "Not perfect, but good enough to try a longer-range jump. T'lish's location sounds ideal, assuming it's safe."

"I'm confident it's safe," T'lish said quietly. But her eyes betrayed uncertainty, a flicker of doubt that quickly vanished. "But we'll never know for certain unless we try."

Stewie glanced nervously at Mira, who shrugged uncertainly. Kel looked intrigued, as always, and Lynn still carried a hint of that gleaming optimism.

"Do we vote?" Mira asked quietly.

"I think we should," I said, nodding slowly. "It's a big step. If anyone's not comfortable"

Lynn raised her hand instantly. "I vote yes. This is exactly why we built this drive. Time to test it fully."

Kel smiled faintly, nodding. "I'm in."

Stewie sighed but gave a reluctant thumbs-up. "I don't like it but I believe we should trust T'lish gut."

Mira squeezed Stewie's arm reassuringly. "I trust T'lish also."

We all turned to Laia. Her avatar floated calmly, thoughtfully. "It's risky, but manageable. I agree."

"Then it's unanimous," I said. "We'll test the long jump."

"Are you worried?" Lynn asked softly, noticing my hesitation.

"Always," I admitted, smiling faintly. "But if we never risk anything, we never move forward."

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "That's the spirit."

With the decision made, preparations accelerated. Over the following days, we finalised calculations, set precise coordinates, and rechecked everything multiple times. Still, I couldn't shake my unease. On the surface, everything looked perfect, but experience had taught me that perfect rarely meant safe.

I had wanted to send out Chunkyboy as a scout, but it didn't have the power to open an entry gate and using it as a regular scout would have taken months. As it was the initial trip to the location was going to take three weeks.

It was late, shiptime, when I found myself alone on the virtual bridge. Anxiety gnawed gently at my thoughts, like a distant alarm I couldn't shut off.

"Laia?" I whispered into the silence.

"Yes, Lazarus?" Her avatar appeared instantly beside me, hovering gently in the soft glow of the control consoles.

"What if T'lish is wrong?" I asked, voicing my fear aloud. "What if this planet was abandoned for a reason?"

Laia tilted her head thoughtfully, her wings fluttering softly. "Then we adapt. We always do."

I nodded quietly, letting her calm certainty soothe my nerves. If nothing else, we had always been good at adapting.

The next morning came quickly. The crew gathered on the virtual bridge, each of their faces tense with anticipation. It was time to make the jump we had sent Laia clone and Chunkyboy off weeks ago with some extremely precise preplan times to attempt the jump.

"Gate entry sequence ready," Laia said quietly.

Stewie glanced nervously at Mira. Lynn was watching the monitors intently, while Kel lounged with forced casualness, tension hidden behind a careless smirk. T'lish stood rigidly, her normally unreadable expression betraying quiet worry.

I took a deep breath and gave the command.

"Open gate."

The dimensional gate began to blink into existence, rippling softly through the darkness. My senses prickled with excitement, every system fully alert. But as quickly as it formed, the gate flickered erratically and then collapsed.

"Gate formation failed," Laia said flatly. "Synchronization error. Attempting recalibration for backup time."

Stewie swore softly, Mira squeezed his hand reassuringly. The crew's anxiety grew palpable, feeding my own unease. I forced myself calm again, waiting silently as Laia adjusted coordinates.

"We anticipated this," Lynn reminded us quietly, her voice steadier than I felt. "That's why we have backups."

Laia's avatar nodded. "Second gate sequence initialized. Opening now."

This time, the dimensional gate flared to life, stable. It hung before us, a beacon of hope.

"Gate stable," Laia confirmed. "Entry window open. Go now."

"Jumping," I said firmly, guiding us forward into the gate.

Space bent gently around us and then snapped back, reforming in the blink of an eye. Instantly, sensors activated, feeding me data about our new location. My first reaction was relief. We'd made it.

The system spread before us was entirely mundane it was almost disappointingly so. Three rocky inner planets, two massive gas giants orbiting a typical yellow star. The second planet from the star rested comfortably in the habitable zone, blue and green and pristine-looking from afar. Absolutely ordinary.

"So, this is the hidden paradise?" Kel remarked drily, breaking the tense silence. "Looks nice. Suspiciously nice."

T'lish stared at the planet, eyes distant. "I remember it clearly. This should be perfect."

Laia's clone, aboard Chunkyboy, sent through her detailed sensor scans. She'd arrived a few days before the jump. Her report was meticulous while also being perplexing.

"The planet is deserted," Laia's voice said softly. "There's no infrastructure, no ruins, no sign anyone ever lived here. Not even a single Kall-e structure."

T'lish's brows knitted together in confusion. "That can't be right. I have memories. Clear ones. We had lived here"

"Then your memories are wrong," Lynn replied carefully. "Or something wiped out all traces."

My anxiety spiked again. The planet seemed peaceful enough it was almost idyllic but that only deepened my suspicion.

"Maybe something happened after your genetic memory was encoded," I suggested quietly. "It's been a long time."

T'lish shook her head, looking deeply troubled. "Even war would leave something behind. Ruins, wreckage. This… this is too clean."

I felt a chill despite myself. "Laia, scan again using everything. Deep orbital probes, seismic readings. Check for subterranean structures, anything hidden."

"I already have," she replied gently. "Nothing. Just trees, oceans, plains, everything is perfectly normal, untouched."

"An untouched paradise in Kall-e territory?" Kel echoed skeptically. "Yeah, that doesn't raise any red flags at all."

Lynn sighed. "Well, we're here now. We might as well investigate. Maybe we'll find some answers."


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