Captain Xuân LêFrigate Outbound

Captain Norman HardingCruiser Resolute

Commodore Rani MandelbaumTask Force Officer in Charge

Lt. Ernest VoigtInterrogator

Mercury Residents

Emilia JonquersResident of Vulcan’s Forge

Bruce JonquersMining specialist, Emilia’s husband

Ian & Caleb JonquersEmilia’s children

Others

Judy PritchardIvan’s wife

Josh & SuzieIvan’s children

RogerTenn’s partner

1.Emissary

1.Emissary

One final nudge from the solar wind, and the traveler floated in orbit, just one of many insignificant pieces of flotsam at this distance from the local star. A voltage through the lines caused its sail to fold into a neat, compact package.

The journey from the previous star had taken millennia, but the traveler was incapable of feeling boredom or impatience. Nor did it feel anxiety over the many more such hops in its future. The traveler worked through its checklist, shutting down some systems, activating others. Some maintenance would be required—the nearby asteroids would be more than sufficient to supply the raw materials.

The traveler scanned the stellar system, looking for planets or moons that matched any of several templates. And almost immediately, success! A blue-green planet with strong spectroscopic lines indicating oxygen, water, and one of the many biological strategies used to harness sunlight. No lights, no radio traffic, but the traveler didn’t concern itself. Intelligence would come, or it would not. Either way, the traveler would be long since gone.

The traveler launched a drone to the nearest asteroid. Raw materials were mined, maintenance was completed, and an emissary was constructed to wait for the emergence of any intelligent life.

The traveler couldn’t feel joy or satisfaction—the Makers had been very careful to limit its level of sentience. The traveler knew this as a datum, but had no opinion otherwise.

Nevertheless, this stop had been successful. Several checkpoint items were marked completed, and other goal trees activated.

It was time to move on. A voltage through the anchor lines, and the sail unfolded. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the traveler began its millenia-long journey to the next candidate star.

It could wait.

2.Launch

2.Launch

“One minute to launch.”

Ivan gripped the chair arms even tighter. The pain in his fingers penetrated his panic, and he struggled to unclench his hands and slow his breathing.

He looked at the arms of his blue coverall, relieved that the cloth was still dry. If he couldn’t get a grip soon, the sight of a sopping-wet uniform would only encourage the other crew members to more of what they apparently thought was witty commentary.

And anyway, his funk made no logical sense. The Sling had been launching shuttles into orbit with no major incidents for almost forty years. Technically, this was safer than air travel. And he was going into space! This should be fun.

“Hey, noob. You aren’t going to have a jammer, are you?”