Leon was shaking slightly, He was not looking forwards to their first warp exit, would it be anything like the first? Would his mind survive another experience like it? He looked at the counter as it neared zero and shuddered. The others were in similar states, the very act of entering a warped space bubble seemed to be averse to their very consciousness as they had all suffered. The ship had reported nothing unusual however, not even a quiver of vibration, noise or a single strange visual phenomenon. He had been talking to Dr. Kimathi and she had seemed to think they were influenced by some sort of hallucinations triggered by the drive. How that was possible she hadn't been able to guess, but she said depending on what happened when they exited, she had a few theories.

Samuel muttered to himself again as Taylor mentioned the curtain again softly. That boy would need a good long session to talk his problems over with Natalia after they had a chance to settle.

Leon watched the timer intently, he didn't plan on being caught by surprise whatever happened. As the timer neared zero he felt his body tense, he had to force his muscles to relax.

This was it, three, two, one…

Leon felt a strange twisting sensation, not nearly as mind warping as what he had experienced before, but still not very pleasant. He lurched as the ship exited its warped space and took a second to recover before looking around. The others seemed none too worse for wear either. Maybe it was only warp entrances that caused such a reaction, or it could be possible that the first time would invariably be the most difficult. In either case, they had arrived at Saturn in one piece and they were in relatively good condition all things considered.

Sabine turned to him and said "We have arrived… Leon, that's not going to happen every time we jump is it? I don't know if I can do that again…" she said in a quivering voice.

Leon had to remind himself that she was only twenty-six, not that much older than he had been when he had joined the navy. She was holding up remarkably well for one who had just experienced tearing through the very boundaries of the natural world.

He responded quickly "I don't think so Sabine. It's my theory that the things we saw were just our minds dealing with a completely new sensation. And the effects will lessen with time and experience." He had no idea if that was true or not, but saw no reason to discourage hope. Besides, if it was correct, he would look pretty damn smart.

Leon spoke to Terry and said "We should be in the vicinity of Saturn, pull up the external camera view. Should be a once in a lifetime picture feed.

He leaned forwards in his seat as the large monitor that covered the majority of the bridge front changed to show the feed from outside the ship. Leon gasped as the picture came up on the display.

Leon gazed upon a massive swirling sphere of chaotic storms and savage energy. Leon's eyes roamed over the titanic rings that made for such a spectacular view. The rings looked thinner than paper from this perspective, but seemed so solid. He knew that they were actually composed out of trillions of tiny particles, the dust and ice reflected the sun and seemed to shimmer slightly in the cold void of space. The vast rings cast a huge arching shadow over the gas giant below as the planet slowly rotated.

Sabine breathed "It's so beautiful…"

Terry made a quiet comment, almost lost in the still air "It is."

Leon nodded and said "I have never seen anything like this before." He felt small, smaller than he had ever felt before. The vastness of space and its contents were laid bare before him. This massive entity, larger than the entirety of the world he had left behind, was less than nothing in the pure vastness of space.

"Wow, look at all the moons." Trevor said as he looked at the readouts. The long-range sensors had let out a radar ping as soon as they had exited warp, and the first returns were coming back. Leon saw the plethora of contacts as Saturn's many varied moons and captured asteroids began to appear on their sensors.

The UNSS Leif Erikson was by far the largest device that humanity had ever launched to Saturn and so they were making the most of it, snapping high resolution photos, taking readings, and tracking its moons. They were only on a layover stop however and would be moving off as soon as everything was deemed clear.

Leon made a decision to include the crew in the ship's overall performance review as well. He didn't want anyone cracking under the strain if he could help it. He pulled up his command chart and added a new duty to everyone's rosters to go and have a visit with both Dr. Kimathi and Natalia Garcia, the ship's psychologist and general mental health expert. She was also rather proficient with the life support systems and so would be spending much of her free time tending to the farms with Joice, Aden and Myung.

He unstrapped from his chair and drifted up a bit before catching himself with his feet. He looked at Samuel and said "Samuel, you have the conn, I'm going to go talk to some of the other crew. You know the protocol if anything happens."

Samuel swallowed and nodded before turning back to his console. Grabbing his helmet, Leon moved away from his chair towards the airlock that led to the main body of the ship, he clipped his helmet back on the rack by the airlock but decided to leave the suit on for now. Not technically protocol, but it wasn't against protocol either.

Leon went through the airlock and then moved through the body of the ship till he reached the entrance to the second ring. The medical facilities and other wellness rooms were located on it, and it was the most likely place he would find Dr. Kimathi.

Ascending the ladder was much similar to his first experience, the strange perspective shift in the middle where his weight began to return and his arms took on the strain. Again, he felt himself start to get tired right as he reached the bottom. He decided that a bit of time in the gym when he had the chance wouldn't go amiss.

Turning around, he saw the layout of the second ring was very similar to the third. A narrow curving hallway stretched out both directions and the walls were lined with recessed doors. Many of which were unlabeled. Opening one of the mystery doors, Leon saw it seemed to be a small storage room, though the contents were marked and stacked neatly, so it had probably not been touched yet.

Leon closed the door with a shrug and continued down the right side of the ring. He figured if he was wrong, he would still make it to where he was going, it would just be a bit of a longer walk. Leon was pleasantly surprised when he came upon Dr. Kimathi's office after only a dozen or so meters, he stepped over to the labeled door and pressed the request to enter button.

He heard a small chime sound followed shortly by a voice saying "Enter."

He opened the door to see Dr. Kimathi sitting at a desk and working on an old style desktop computer. She looked up as he entered and raised her eyebrows as he sat in the seat across from her small desk.

"I suppose this is going to be about the effects of the jump. I must say that the evidence for what happened is incredibly inconclusive."

Leon was about to ask her what she meant but only got out "Wait, what…" before she cut him off with a wave.

"No, I'll explain. Every member of this crew reported seeing, hearing, or even tasting something strange when we jumped. There are reports of vibration, crushing sensations, and even one of being turned into cubes of jello and melted." She shuddered slightly and Leon wondered who had had that experience. She looked him in the eyes as she said the next part. "The only problem is, none of that really happened. All our recordings and monitoring have shown that when we jumped, nothing at all happened. Not even a bump. So all I have to go on is mass hallucinations or some other such phenomenon. But again, this is not a perfect explanation for what happened. Because Chad just got back to me and showed me that one of the sensors did in fact register a physical reading." She finished ominously.

Leon looked at her and asked "One sensor detected something during the jump? Where was it?"

She shook her head and he was about to ask but she beat him to it. "No, not during the jump, before. About twenty minutes before the jump a sensor spiked as it detected elevated levels of radiation in the third ring. The only thing is, there is nothing there, no power supplies, no subsystems to emit the radiation. It's as if we got hit by something that completely disintegrated upon contact."

Leon was confused, this seemed to have no connection to the problem they were having but was still setting off alarm bells in his head. Though he couldn't place why. "Where was the reading taken?"

"That's the weird thing, it was detected just outside the main gym area. But like I said, there isn't anything there…. Are you okay? Leon?" She looked at him as his face drained of color.

Leon's brain stopped yelling alarms at him, instead he remembered the movement he had thought he saw in the gym about twenty minutes before launch. He looked at her and said "I'm fine, I just don't like the idea of a radiation leak." He lied. He hated lying, but in this instance, it struck him as the better option than telling her he thought he had seen a shadow monster from his dreams in the gym.

It wasn't possible he thought, no it was just some sort of malfunction. Pushing it out of his mind he asked her "So this little blip happens, but it's unrelated to the jump. It was probably either a sensor malfunction or some stray cosmic rays. What about the bigger issue. Are there any kind of lasting physical effects from the jumps we should be worried about?" He asked.

Dr. Kimathi frowned slightly and looked over at her computer again before she answered. "No. I haven't found a single bit of evidence that what we collectively experienced was even real. Not a shred of evidence other than the testimonies of the crew that they all saw or heard something."

Leon nodded. "A clean bill of health. Now we just need to get everyone evaluated for psychological damage." He muttered.

Dr. Kimathi smiled and said "I'm sure Natalia would just love to have a chat with you about it. She already came and talked with me for a while. I must say. I do feel a bit better." She said while giving him an odd look.

Leon nodded absentmindedly, how long would they have to be grounded to check over everything? Considering that no one had even done or experienced this before, he might as well take it slow. He turned to leave and said "Thanks Doctor. Make sure to keep an eye on everyone, the effects could be dormant and waiting to take effect. We need to keep a close eye on the situation." She made a small noise of affirmation before he walked out into the hall.

He slumped against the wall next to her door as it closed. What was happening to him? Was he going crazy or were these things actually real? He decided that if nothing else, he could schedule a sit down with Natalia and talk about it. She might think he was crazy, but she was bound by her honor not to discuss things with others without his permission. Yeah, that's what he would do.

Walking along the ring in the opposite direction, he tried to clear his head. He walked along the ring, the lower gravity causing the activity to barely strain his muscles. As he walked, he thought about his dream, trying to pick it apart for meaning. It was difficult though, it seemed to be a random jumble of feelings and emotions interspersed with flashes of the ship and empty space.

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He came upon the ladder on the opposite side of the ring and decided it was as good a place as any to use. Climbing into the belly of the ship, he once more felt his arms begin to tire just as he reached the point where he no longer had to climb. Yeah, he would definitely be putting some time in the gym.

Leon moved through the opening into the main tunnel that was the ship's core. He checked his cam on his wrist and saw that Natalia was indeed on the fifth ring in the aquaponics section. He pulled himself along the corridor using the wall mounted handholds, he passed by rings three and four. The airlocks that separated them were open for now, but would slam shut in the case of emergency.

Gliding slowly into the fifth rings segment, he reoriented himself and took a few breaths before starting down the long ladder to the rings floor. He arrived to the ring's floor and took a moment to recover from the climb. Shaking his arms slightly, he started down the narrow walkway towards the hydroponics lab.

Leon opened the door and entered the aquaponics area before he stopped. He had seen the blueprints for this room, even walked through it in a virtual environment during training. But part of his brain had always known that hadn't been real, to see the same system, now in person, it was a surreal experience.

The hydroponics and aquaponics on the Leif Erikson were beyond state of the art. They were an engineering marvel. They had an efficiency rating that was almost ludicrous and they were capable of generating far in excess of the food and oxygen they required to live if the need required. The system was carefully monitored to keep the oxygen levels from climbing too high however. Too much oxygen could be just as deadly as too little, rampant oxygen levels would lead to hyperoxia and nerve damage, then eventually, to death. In order to prevent this the system had molecular sieves that were able to filter the oxygen out into external tanks where it would then be turned to a liquid for storage. This was a last resort however as that method lowered the overall pressure inside the ship and could lead to its own hazards.

Leon didn't know the specifics of the other systems, he had tried to learn as much as possible in training, but there was only so much data the human mind could absorb in such a limited time. Leon looked at the various tubes, pipes, and pools that filled the room. The farms doubled as a water storage and filtering system as the myriad of species raised in these pools and tanks grew. These tanks would then filter through the hydroponics and be detoxified before being hit with ultraviolet light to sterilize it.

Leon saw several species he knew and a few that he wasn't very familiar with. For example, he recognised the tilapia and catfish pretty easily. There was a species of frogs in a large tank nearby that he couldn't place however. And the small shrimp-like creatures that swarmed in another pond were like nothing he had seen before. He wandered through the room looking at everything. The air was warm, and humid. The humidity seemed to pool on every surface, the walls, the pipes, and especially on his head. After almost no time at all he was dripping with a combination of sweat and condensation. That is what he got for wearing his space suit in there he supposed.

After a moment of wandering through the maze of sweating pipes and gurgling tanks, he finally saw a person tending to one of the pumps. He walked over and the figure turned to look at him.

"Oh, hello Leon. What brings you here?" Said Joice as she wiped her forehead with a hand.

Leon looked at her and noticed she was wearing shorts and a tank top, her skin was slick with sweat or condensation, and her clothes were drenched. She was a mess but seemed in good spirits as he asked her "I was hoping to catch Natalia actually, is she here?" He asked as he wiped some of the sweat out of his eyes.

Joice frowned absentmindedly as she shook her hair. Small droplets of liquid sprayed out and she turned back to look at him and said "If she is still here she is probably tending to the lobsters." She said waving in the supposed direction of said creatures.

Leon nodded his thanks as she turned back to her work. At least she seemed to be getting along just fine. Leon moved through the claustrophobic space in the direction that Joice had indicated. He was really sweltering now and undid his suit down to his naval in a vain attempt to let a little fresh air in. While it didn't seem to help that much, it did have the benefit of allowing some of the trapped water to steam off his drenched undershirt.

He found Natalia leaning over a large tank of water silently, she was wearing similar clothing to Joice and was simply leaning over the dark pool as if lost in thought. She jumped as Leon spoke.

"Hey Natalia…" he said as he walked up.

"WHAAAA!" She cried as she bolted upright and flailed for a second. She saw him and her face changed from panic to embarrassment in a heartbeat. "Don't sneak up on me like that. What are you trying to pull here?" She said, looking at him suspiciously.

Leon gaped at her response before throwing his head back in a full bellied laugh. Wiping a tear, or was it sweat, out of the corner of his eye, he said "Sorry Natalia, but you must have had your head in the clouds because I made plenty of noise on my way over here."

She looked at him blankly for another few moments before she deflated a bit and leaned back against the large black tank. "You're right Leon. I was trying not to think actually. You know what happened when we jumped, I was just trying not to think about it too hard."

Leon gave her a concerned look and asked "Have you been to see Dr. Kimathi yet? She has time now if you wanted, I would be happy to accompany you…" he stopped talking as she waved a hand at him.

"I already talked to her and even sent her a diagnosis of my vitals before and after the event. She gave me a clean bill of physical health and asked me to keep her posted if anything changed. It's just the… it's the other stuff I'm having a hard time with… what happened to you when we jumped Leon?" She asked him pleadingly, her face a symphony of raw emotion.

He was a bit taken aback, this was new. She was usually so reserved and unflappable when talking to people. The jump must have really affected her deeply for her armour to have cracked so.

Before he could muster a reply she shook her head violently and muttered angrily "No im sorry, that was way out of line for me to ask. Forget about it."

Leon could see her mental anguish though and decided that she needed someone to talk to. He might not be a licensed psychologist like she was, but he was her commander and would do everything in his power to help her.

He walked forwards and leaned next to her silently for a few moments before turning to look at her. She glanced at him and then looked away, probably angry with herself for her moment of weakness. Sighing deeply he mused out loud "Shoot doc, I have this thing bugging me and I need to get it out. Is now a good time for me to talk to you about it?"

She gave him a strange look and her eyes changed from angry to suprised. She looked at his face intently as he stood looking at her. He raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed slightly before answering "Er, yes, please. Tell me what I can help you with." She said a bit quickly.

Leon smiled to himself, she was a bit out of it today, but he was sure it was just nerves. He began at the beginning. He told her about his initial fears for the project he had all the way back in the beginning. He told her his uncertainty he had when he had taken command. He told her about his nightmare and the incident in the gym. And finally, he told her what he had experienced during the first jump.

Through it all she was almost entirely silent. She watched his face as he spoke, confidently at times, fearfully at others. He didn't bluster or boast, he was honest with her. He laid out his feelings as bare as he could manage, and she soaked it all in, as a sponge soaking up water. After he finished he nodded a few times and said "And that about sums it up. So what do you think doc? Do you think I'm crazy?" He asked with a smile.

She looked intently at him for another few moments, Leon kept smiling even as the silence became a bit awkward. She had listened, he owed it to her to at least be polite and wait for her to form a response.

Finally she turned away from him and took a few steps away. He saw her shoulders move as she let out a few large breaths. She remained that way for another minute before she straightened and then turned back to him. He saw with a bit of surprise that her demeanor had entirely changed. No longer was he able to read her emotions like words on a page, she was closed, her soul armoured and locked down tight.

She walked a step closer before she began "I don't think you are crazy Commander." Leon raised an eyebrow at her use of his position instead of his name. She faltered slightly before continuing "I d-do, I do however, think that you are suffering from stress. I recommend you take it easy for at least the next few days. No heavy exercise, no fizzy drinks, and no warp jumps. Lord knows we could all use a few to recollect ourselves." She muttered.

Leon smiled again as he heard her and said "Great idea, that is exactly what I was going to send to the oversight committee as my recommendation. It's going to take about three hours to get a reply, but it's still worth the wait to hear what they make of this." Leon told her.

She gave him another of those strange looks, his smile faltered as she stepped closer to him. He cleared his throat as a strange feeling ran through his mind "Ahem… well, I appreciate the uh, the recommendation Natalia. Really. It is hotter than hell in here though and I need to go send that message. So I'll uh…." He stopped as she took another step closer.

Leon was pressing back into the tank behind him now as she stood a mere foot from him giving him that same look. He felt a bead of sweat unrelated to the heat roll down his temple as he looked at the smaller woman. What was she doing? ‘Surely she wasn't trying to do anything unprofessional right?’ He told himself.

After a moment of silence in which Leon could have sworn it was more like a year, she took a step back and said "Well, I suppose you are a busy man, what with your commanding and such. I can rest easy knowing that such a great man is watching over the ship."

Leon nodded and said "Yea, it's a big job. I got to go now, thanks for the talk Natalia…. Uh, see you later."

And with that he started to move away before he heard her say to his back. "Oh, and you can call me Nat if you want to, Leon."

He picked up his pace slightly and didn't stop till he was out of the steamy room and twenty meters down the hall. He leaned against the wall and stood, trying to catch his breath. His heart was racing. What was going on? She had been acting so strangely, surely she hadn't been flirting with him? But that's sure what it had looked like to him.

Leon took a minute to catch his breath, he was unsure what he should do. He was forty-three, not exactly a prime specimen, and Natalia was only thirty. Beautiful and toned by years of strict exercise and wellness programs. He had to admit to himself that she was indeed attractive, but he couldn't get involved. She was a crew member under his jurisdiction, it was against protocol.

Calming himself, he made his way to the ladder and began to climb before quickly rezipping up his suit and entering the hub. He was soaked, sweat and water had really done a number on him and he made a commitment to shower up before continuing on with his duties. He shot a quick message to Samuel letting him know his intentions and that he would be a few minutes longer than expected.

Leon drifted down the tunnel to ring three and once more made the long descent into the ring. His arms were really feeling it after so many climbing sessions in a single day. He stopped by the mess hall on his way down the hall and saw Chris sitting inside.

Leon took a moment before he walked in and waved to Chris. Chris nodded to him and asked "What happened to you? I didn't know we had a swimming pool."

"Ha ha very funny." Leon said. "I was in the hydroponics section, I didn't think about how bad of an idea it was going to be to wear an insulated space suit in there. So I went swimming a bit."

Chris chuckled. "Yeah I can see that, well, you should probably go take care of that. I'm not saying you stink, but damn, you kind of stink." He said, waving his hand in front of his face and laughing.

Leon sighed and asked "I know that, and I will. But before I do, I was curious. I'm going to recommend to the committee that we take a few days to recover before we try to jump again. I want to make triple sure that there are no negative effects lingering from the jump." Leon said matter-of-factly.

Chris frowned and looked off into the middle distance for a few moments before he turned back to Leon, a faraway look in his eyes. "I… appreciate that Leon… that was the singular most uncomfortable experience I have ever experienced. And I have been divorced twice so you know I mean it. How are the kids holding up?" Chris asked him with a look of genuine concern.

Leon shrugged and said "About as well as can be expected. Taylor seems to have had a particularly bad experience. I recommend that everyone go and talk with Dr. Kimathi and Natalia about it. It can't hurt to make sure everything is alright you know?" He said quietly.

Chris nodded in agreement. He took a long pull of the drink he was holding and then set it down to say "This is the rest of our lives now, you know that right? They won't let us return to earth no matter what happens. I understood that and have made peace with it. But do any of the others know that yet?" Chris said ominously.

Leon hung his head and answered "I know. But I will still do everything in my power to make this mission a success. I won't let it be jeopardized by poor decisions. I don't care what they tell me, I'm out of their jurisdiction now. I make the rules, and my rules will take the health of the crew into account first." Chris nodded and looked him in the eye.

"I know you will, Leon. That's the only reason I'm even here." He said seriously.