Endeavor Count: 01:01:00:00
Endeavor Event: Warp Jump Planning: Oasis to Gibil 2
Murirn Ni Soar Dannan, Navigator of House Dannan, Primary Navigator of the Erwin Siegmar eyes her two apprentices slash aides idly. She will be the lead navigator for this voyage, but they will be her backups and relief. House Dannan has a reputation as swift navigators but strange things can and do happen in the depths of the warp. As was common in navigator houses, both were distant relatives, but Murirn showed them no special favors. The Warp would prey upon any mistakes, so better that she catch them now before they turned fatal.
“Alright you two, lets go over the course. Starting point is the Oasis system and the destination system is HJG-1034. Better known as the Gibil 2 system for the major inhabited station in the system. How would you go about it? Cathal, you first.”
The mousy-haired young man traced known warp corridors on the star chart spread out on the table. He tapped on the links in sequence, then nodded in satisfaction.
“The 'standard' route goes over the this system here, then turns at Nesre. Three systems, so fifteen days or so. The direct route is usually faster, and would skip the Nesre system... in exchange for the Sanddown and Moonrise systems. The Enlightenment system may also be close enough to slow us down depending on the warp currents.”
“Very good. Sive, your input?”
“I agree with Cathal, there is no reason to use the direct route in this cluster of systems. Further out towards the sector edge, or if we have a known hazard in the route, but not here. Fifteen days if we can stay in the warp for the turn at Nesre, twenty if we have to drop out to re-orient.”
“Very good, but it would be more like twenty-five if we have to drop out of the Warp at Nesre. Remember that the Erwin Siegmar is slow, and we'd probably have to stand a customs inspection too. I believe that the turn is gradual enough for us to make, but We'll use it as an interim destination if the warp is rough or we have trouble holding lock on the Astronomican. Also bear in mind that this is just an estimate of time. A solid lock on the Astronomican and calm times means a much faster passage, while a weak lock and turbulent transit will stretch things out quite a bit.”
Both of her aides nod in understanding of her politely phrased order and reminders. Murirn suppressed a smile of satisfaction.
“Alright, we all know how experienced we are, so we'll use a rotating eight hour schedule: eight on, eight asleep, eight as backup, repeat. I'll be taking the first shift, so draw straws who will be backing me up. Rock, parchment, shears works too.
Endeavor Count: 01:01:01:00
Endeavor Event: Warp Jump Begins
Murirn settles her body into the throne inside the Navigator's vestibule behind the Erwin Siegmar's bridge. Unusually it did not have a hatch directly forward into the bridge, instead having one at the rear into an air locked antechamber where assistants and aides could rest between shifts. Both the vestibule and the antechamber were heavily decorated with iconography of the God-Emperor of Mankind and draped in purity seals. Murirn rolls her eyes at the simplemindedness of the devotions, the old saying of using more knots instead of using a better knot coming to mind.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Murirn pushes that thought aside along with many others by clearing her mind of 'clutter' with a calming breath. The Erwin Siegmar is already on course for the standard warp departure point at the edge of the Oasis system She sets to work by removing the trademark kerchief that marks her status as a navigator. It also serves a practical purpose: Murirn opens her now-unbound third eyes and stares directly into the Warp. It is a process that would drive almost any normal human mad and expose any Pskyer's mind and soul to every daemon to feast upon. For trained Navigators it was simply a part of the job that they were trained and prepared to deal with.
The Astronomican shines brightly in Murirn's Warp-sight, illuminating the tides and currents clearly. She quickly locks onto additional local 'beacons' to triangulate her position within the warp. Oasis and the other inhabited systems within the sector prove helpful in this matter, as do known Warp features such as the perpetual storm to the galactic 'south' of Viking and Gibil 2.
“Navigator to bridge. Astronomican lock achieved. Stand by for Warp entry vector.”
“Bridge acknowledges. Standing by.”
Murirn calculates the needed entry vector as much by instinct and feel as by any rational calculation, for the Warp was a not-place, a realm where the laws of normal reality utterly break down. It let Humanity cross the light centuries between stars in mere days or weeks, moths at worst for the longest of voyages, but months or years could pass while the ship was disconnected from reality. Murirn streamed the entry vector tot he bridge as a growing sense of confidence settled into her bones. This was going to be a very fast transit.
Endeavor Count: 01:02:22:00
Endeavor Event: Warp Encounter!
Murirn waits patiently in the Antechamber for her shift to start. She already has her kerchief off, the better to study the local Warp conditions and the course that Sive was steering. A ripple in the currents was all the warning that the Warp gave before gravity aboard the Erwin Siegmar went haywire. Murirn finds herself drifting as gravity in the antechamber is cut to only a third of normal. Instantly she activates he microbead.
“Navigator to Bridge. Suspect gravity fluctuations are result of reality erosion. Navigator vestibule is secure at this time. We are pushing through to our destination with all haste.”
“Bridge to Navigator, we here you. Haste appreciated, let us know if you expect things to get worse. Clear.”
Murirn clumsily keeps to her seat and waits for her shift to start. There was nothing to do but to hurry and pray.
Endeavor Count: 01:04:19:00
Endeavor Event: Arrival at the Gibil 2 system
Murirn begins her shift early so that she can guide the Erwin Siegmar as it returned to reality. Despite the gravity in the Navigator's vestibule being so low, she still manged to drift down into the throne and stay there. The exit locus was coming up swiftly, only three days and eighteen hours into the transit, which made for a very respectable passage time. Murirn suspected that a swifter ship could have made a faster passage, but it was still almost a good omen for the Erwin Siegmar. The reality erosion had shaken the crew, but it could have been far, far worse. The Transit security detail had not turned up any evidence of Daemonic incursion, and none of them had gone missing either.
The return to reality occurred exactly on cue with a minim of fuss. There was some mess form gravity suddenly returning to normal across the ship, but nothing that could not be cleaned up. The few hundred broken bones from unexpected trips, falls, and abruptly dropped loads would be set in short order by medics.
“Navigator to Bridge. Warp Transit complete, standing down to recovery stations.”