Voyage of No return: (Project Orpheus, Book 1) by Frank J. Cavill

Author:Frank J. Cavill [Cavill, Frank J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pedro Urvi
Published: 2024-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

18

Approach

Some day in 3289

Three weeks to arrival

Space Station Asimov

Emily woke earlier than usual. For days she had had trouble getting to sleep. Seeing the final goal of the expedition so close was taking its toll. She was looking forward more and more to seeing her father again.

Kepler-442b was already visible through the space station’s optical equipment, but they were not yet close enough to be able to study it thoroughly or locate the presence of the Galileo Ark in the distance.

But what was really keeping her sleepless was the silence which was all that could be picked up from the planet. It would have been normal by this distance to have begun to receive communications from the Galileo welcoming them or indicating their position in order to assist with the approach maneuver. The mission protocol made it clear that those communications had to take place. The deputy director and the captain thought the silence might be normal, bearing in mind that they were arriving years late.

But Emily could not entirely believe this explanation and could not help thinking about the plethora of mishaps which might have occurred to the Galileo. Especially bearing in mind that they themselves had only been able to avoid a black hole by the skin of their teeth.

Hence, despite being much earlier than usual, she decided to begin with her usual morning routine. She took her sports clothes and set off for the gym. At that time of day there was no-one there yet and the place was still in half-darkness. It only lit up completely when she entered the area for cardio-pulmonary exercises.

Ada put on her usual music and Emily started her morning routine: a brief initial warm-up and then a session of bone and muscle strengthening. The planet’s gravity was expected to be thirty per cent greater than that of Earth, so those who had been awake for some time had begun to strengthen their muscles, tendons and bones to get used to the difference. The food, as was to be expected, was also aimed at improving those aspects.

When she had finished, she showered there at the gym and then went to the mess-hall for breakfast. To her surprise there was already someone there. Sitting at a table by himself was a man in his fifties. Judging by his features and the color of his skin, Emily guessed that he was originally from the former India or Pakistan. They exchanged greetings.

Seven months had gone by since the incident of the black hole, and since then many people of different ranks, trades and responsibilities had been awakened. Emily had suggested waking up Taro and Chad, who had now spent several months getting their laboratories ready and going over the protocols for arrival. Hence she was not surprised at all to see someone new in the station.

“Have you been woken up recently?” she asked, trying to appear courteous.

“Oh, yes, I guess so,” the stranger said, “though I’ve already been up and about for a week.”

Emily selected

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