Since her launch four years ago, she spent her time ploughing the trade routes of Proxima to deliver her cargo of freshly mined minerals and materials. The ship was nearly two kilometres long and almost entirely automated. In theory the entire operation could be conducted without human intervention of any kind. In fact, there were many reasons why taking humans out of the loop entirely would be advantageous. Nonetheless, with such a high price tag on both the vessel and the cargo it was a requirement for any shipping insurance that a small crew was present at all times. If nothing else, should the ship end up crashing into a station there would be humans to blame, assuming any lived of course. A computer or mechanical failure could cause all kinds of problems in deep space and a crew could provide options a computer system might overlook. For those who might be aesthetically minded, she would appear to be an ugly ship. The basic shape was like a giant bell with the rear of the ship massively larger than the front. The great mess of metal expanded in all directions to provide for the numerous storage areas for the raw materials. All around the outer rim additional gantry sections provided mountings for cranes and tooling to use in the movement and extraction of storage containers. Towards the front were three lifeboats, all accessible from the crew’s habitation module, each able to carry all the members of the crew.
At the rear were a dozen massive engines, each running continually to provide the thrust for the return voyage. The ion thruster was a very common form of advanced electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. The basic principle was that they created thrust by accelerating ions. The electrostatic ion thrusters used Coulomb force and worked by accelerating the ions in the direction of the electric field. The ion engines were commonly used on this type of vessel. They were extremely efficient and could provide continuous, reliable thrust over years and years. The only downside to these engines was that they took weeks to be able to start pushing such a mass through space. This was why the Younara Glory followed a continuous elliptical orbit that was beautifully timed to allow her to pass both collection and delivery points on her voyage without stopping. This was a major feat of navigation as it required the vessel to match the orbital stations positions long enough to move materials before moving on. For the time when the ship needed extra power at short notice the manoeuvring engines were available. These huge power plants were even more substantial than the ion drives. But they had couldn’t provide the continuous power of the ion engines and would burn up all their fuel in less than a week compared to the forty year power plant lifespan of the ion system. This long, monotonous journey was why so much automation was required, and why the crews were able to command such high salaries.
Down the side of the vessel was a thick double white stripe, the famous symbol of the Trans Shipping Corporation. At the front was a large rotating wheel, much like a Catherine Wheel. It added a peculiar look to the already angry looking vessel. This section provided all the facilities the small number of crew would need for a twelve-month assignment.
She had been in transit now for two months and was coming to the end of her voyage. The twin stars of Alpha Centauri burned brightly but at this distance the refinery and space dock were impossible to see. It would take another week for them to reach Proxima Prime, the largest colonised planet in the Proxima Centauri System though they were not visiting the planet. The drop off point was the Titan Naval Station, a massive complex that had been built into Kronus, one of the planet’s smaller moons. At some point in the past it looked like any other rocky satellite, but decades of engineering, terraforming and heavy work had turned it into a habitable and busy colony in its own right. From space, the surface of the moon looked completely man-made.
It was one of the most important ports and transport hubs in the entire System with a combined civilian and military population in excess of two million people. All major freight and passenger transport vessels used the Station when on long journeys or transporting major cargos. Due to its orbit around Proxima Prime it also served as the perfect jumping off point for anybody looking to leave the planet. At any point in the day there were at least a dozen shuttles moving between the planet’s surface and the moon base. With around one quarter of normal gravity it was much easier to build and maintain craft, as opposed to trying to get them through the planet’s atmosphere and all the problems that entailed. The Titan Naval Station was also home to the Proxima Squadron, the elite and most well trained part of the Confederation Fleet and responsible for the defence of this area against terrorism, piracy and hijacking. The Proxima Squadron was based around two battleships and over a dozens frigates and transports. It had the numbers and firepower to settle any problems or disputes that might arise.
The huge transport was a tiny spec in comparison to her destination docking point. At the front of the vessel the crew module contained several small rooms including a canteen and kitchen, fitness room and navigation centre. At first glance, it might appear over generous but after the first week it was well known how irritable and troublesome a crew could be.
The crew were sitting around a small round table in the mess. It was dark and cramped but there was little space available to them that wasn’t packed full of cargo. On the centre of the table was the usual collection of artefacts signalling the closing stages of a card game where the players had taken things possibly a little too far. The large pile by far was the luxury food items, closely followed by coins and then a spurious pile of oddities that must have been added as the desperation stakes climbed.
Captain Thomas checked his cards, it wasn’t going well for him. The last card had put him in the unenviable position of having to withdraw and he was less than impressed. Dropping his cards onto the table he looked at Casey, his adversary rubbed his head.
“I fold!”
Casey smiled and made to move forward to grab his winnings when he was interrupted by the emergency alarm. As the sound reverberated around the room, the lighting cut to emergency mode. As with most vessels of this kind the low level red lighting used minimal power and didn’t interfere with night vision as much as the normal harsh lights.
“What the hell?” said Jackson, as he looked around.
“Shit, that is a bad sound, I know that!” Traci replied with a slight hint of sarcasm.
Captain Thomas, the older but experienced officer was the first to stand and made his way out of the door. He ignored the rest of the crew as they tried to catch up. This was his first emergency on this ship and being as they travelled along a clear and safe transit route it must be serious if the computer system was reporting it. As they made their way through the corridors, the ship’s built-in computer system was activated.
“Proximity Alert! Proximity Alert!” The message repeated as they entered the bridge area.
The screens were all live and Captain Thomas jumped into his chair, waving his hands as he moved through the pages of data. He stopped on one that displayed a number of small objects.
“I’m getting readings on twelve small vessels, they look like life pods to me,” said Jackson.
Wilkinson arrived and checked his screens. “I have life readings in all of them, it looks like two people per pod.”
“Two per pod? That is strange, can you confirm that?”
He continued looking through the screens of data on the various displays, checking on the communication and navigation logs for signs of trouble. One entry got his attention, it was concerned with a missing tug. Bringing up the story it appeared a vessel had disappeared in this same area two weeks ago. The crew compliment was forty-two including several passengers.