After delays and takeoff, the Helianthus was free of the station and gaining speed. The satellite ring of Bloor Station loomed ahead. It was a large one, but Valorie couldn’t make out the usual shimmer of drones around it. Once they shot passed it, Leon was quick with his next set of instructions.

“This set coordinates at approx half jump speed.” He said, moving over to another display.

“Got it.” Yulia was already moving on it as she answered. The only way Valorie knew anything had changed was the dampened tug of acceleration. “Wait, so the target system for this jump is hard to pinpoint or something, right? What happens if we miss?” Yulia’s question was sudden. “I never really thought about it before.” She laughed with embarrassment, but there was a sense of uncomfortable urgency to it. Dr. Porter chuckled.

“If I may explain this?” He asked, and continued without waiting, “I am sure our dear navigator is aiming the ship in such a way there is more than one target.” As he explained, his voice became calmer. “It is a basic tenant of jump travel.” The miasma of his emotions eased as well.

“Oh, so if we miss…” Yulia said, trailing off expectantly.

“We’ll hit the next one,” Leon answered without looking away from his work.

“Yes, exactly right. Even for common routes, two backup destinations are factored into every calculation.” Dr. Porter seemed to be enjoying himself. Valorie wondered if she had misunderstood some signal. “Something so normal did cause quite the stir during the development of a possible automated system…” He drawled on, talking about things Valorie couldn’t understand.

“Half-speed reached. ETA for those coordinates in five.” Yulia said. Leon’s attention was still lost to the displays before him.

“Good, maintain speed,” Gareth said. “Leon, engage jump mode.” He added. Leon’s head bobbed, and a moment later the shutters engaged, sliding over the canopy above. A curved display that spanned the canopy blinked on. It mimicked the canopy through a video feed. The cannon was already visible under the nose. The ship was ready for the high pressure of the space between by the time Leon finally spoke up.

“I’ve just about got it. Hit full speed by the first set, jump point at the second set. I know the positioning is tight. If something goes off, skip it and I’ll set up another.” Leon finally looked up from his display. “Sending it now.” The focus he had been putting into his work was now directed at Yulia, scrutinizing her response.

Yulia looked at her displays for a moment, double-checking the second one. She nodded, tapping her chin with one finger. A distracted okay was the only response Leon got. Valorie could sense that it annoyed him, but he kept quiet. He was still watching her, indecision growing in his heart. Valorie followed his gaze to Yulia, curious about what Leon was so focused on. She was looking at the displays with the tip of her tongue out over her lip. Her hands worked at the controls without supervision. Smooth movement guiding the yoke with quick jabs to various other instruments. All for minuscule adjustments Valorie could not feel nor see.

A smile broke out across Yulia’s face. It wasn’t joyous, but confident. Challenging the world ahead. Leon saw it and smirked, breaking his scrutiny. He looked to the Captain, eyebrows raised. Gareth smiled and nodded. Without a word, the atmosphere had changed.

“Target speed reached, cutting acceleration,” Yulia said. Her voice so monotonous, so instinctual, she may not have realized she had spoken.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Jump canister ready. Targeting coordinates in five, four…” Leon counted down. Yulia was still making adjustments up to one. In that last second, she stilled, both hands on the yoke. Gareth gave the word.

“Fire.”

The canister shot out ahead of them at a speed that tore it apart. It burst, tearing a seam into space. The light was blinding before it snapped away as the ship went straight into it.

The same moment of silence at the start of every jump began. Darkness followed by the weighted thunk of the pressure outside increasing tenfold. The exterior of the ship groaning as it accepted this new burden. The quiet prayer in every heart aboard that begged the ship to hold together.

The moment passed, and Leon leaned back in his seat, grinning.

“Maintaining integrity. We’re on target – ETA is three hours and 18 minutes.” He said, clearing the air. A feeling of elation passed throughout the room. Valorie’s heart raced with joy instead of fear at the darkness outside. She enjoyed the strength teamwork provided.

“A clean jump. Nice work, both of you.” Gareth smiled at each of them.

“Don’t look at me. That woman managed to hit a jump point a level tighter than I asked.” Leon laughed, “Yulia, deep down, you’re actually a showoff, aren’t you?” He added, turning to her. Yulia peeled her hands away from the locked controls. Her usual energy was drained, but she ignored Leon and grinned at her Captain.

“Wasn’t nothing.” Yulia’s voice was a little weak, but the pride that pulsed off her was like the warmth off a radiator. She cleared her throat, “Gotta earn my stay after all.”

“Good news, then – you absolutely did that,” Leon said, resting his hands behind his head and looking up at the curved display across the canopy. His irritation from earlier was completely gone. “I’ll even let you pick the music.” He closed his eyes.

“You’ll let me, huh?” Yulia said, “Eh, worth it. Thanks, Leon.” Her drained energy revealed a gentleness to her smile that was usually smothered by her excitement. He peeked one eye open at her, smiled, and went right back to relaxing.

When the moment opened up, Gareth spoke up. “Lovely work as always, Yulia. We had one delay at the station, but we’re on our way now. Thank you,” He said. Yulia blushed, rubbing the back of her head with one hand.

“Anytime, Captain.” She said, turning back to her station to fiddle with the music display. Valorie got the impression Yulia did it to hide her face, too.

“Okay, everyone,” Gareth opened the intercom to the entire ship, “You have two and a half hours free roam. Use it wisely. I will make another announcement as we get close. Message the bridge if you have any issues.” He cut the broadcast and began unbuckling.

“Use it wisely?” Leon asked.

“Quinns has a paper due,” Gareth said, pushing off from his seat towards the bridge rest area.

“Oh, fun.”

Over the length of the jump, the bridge fell into a strange quiet. A certain electricity remained in the air – excitement and fear for the salvage mission still to come. But there was nothing to do in the interim. The combination created an unsettling feeling that Valorie did her best to ignore.

Yulia’s music was energetic and cheery. It only disrupted the atmosphere for only a few seconds, before she jumped to turn it down. She apologized to Dr. Porter, bowing her head, and settled into one of her games before anyone could argue.

When Gareth returned to the bridge, he struck up a conversation with Dr. Porter. It was about the jump technology Porter had mentioned earlier. It quickly turned into an in-depth analysis that Valorie couldn’t follow in the slightest. She listened anyway, enjoying the calm that developed as they spoke.

As she listened, Valorie kept looking for their target system. Searching for any scrap of information that could prepare her for what was ahead. She knew it was in vain, but she looked all the same.

She hadn’t given up by the time she heard Gareth’s ship-wide call for everyone to return their stations. She closed her eyes and she reached out as far as she could while maintaining the connection with her body.

Nothing. Her heart sank. Just faint sparks in the void that could be anything organic. She fell back into her body, a weight on her chest. The ship began to rattle with the pull of gravity yanking them free of the space between. Gareth called for Yulia to begin reversing their momentum. Valorie clung to the hope that she was too far away to sense something faint like a few survivors or a web of life pods.