Thirty minutes away from take-off a low heavy hum ran through the ship. Any new noise always sent Valorie’s heart fluttering and she looked out the glass canopy by instinct. Long shutters were lowering over the outer dock’s scaffolding, encompassing the Helianthus. Somehow, the sight eased her heart rate. When the shutters finished, there was a distant gasp with the movement of air on a large, slow scale. The dock was decompressing, the final step before the seal was broken and the bay doors cracked open.

By calling each crew member, Gareth made sure each system and crew member was safely in place. Each time a call started, Valorie would look over to see who was on screen. She could sense them moving around the ship, but she was still getting a handle of who was who by sense alone. The only physical appearance that surprised her was Kurt. He was down to a tank top, kneeling in a room filled with towering machines and blinking lights. His hair was pinned back over his forehead, but some loose hairs stuck to his face, slick with sweat.

“Decoupling begins in five, will you be safely in place?” Gareth asked.

“Already?” Kurt muttered, winking as sweat dripped over one eye. “Yes, Captain. I’ll be ready on time.” He answered.

“How is your set up going with the server?”

“All is good. No need for concern.” Kurt was distracted, moving equipment around as he prepared to move. He paused and then looked at the screen, making eye contact. “It will be done before the jump is complete.” He said.

“Really? You know the gravity’ll be off, right?” Yulia piped up, turning in her seat. Kurt scoffed and then cleared his throat when he looked at Gareth.

“In case you don’t know, Union ships don’t bother with comfort-related gravitation. I am quite practiced at working without it.” He said, dabbing his brow with a small thin cloth from his back pocket.

“I knew that…” Yulia said with a frown and turned away to focus on her console.

“I trust you know what you’re doing, Kurt. Update Valorie when the set up is complete.” Gareth instructed, preparing to move on to the next call.

“Yes, Captain. Thank you.” Kurt said, and the call ended.

After all the waiting, things were moving quickly now. Valorie’s heart rate rose with each step closer to take off. It had been three months already. Would she ever get used to it? She wasn’t alone either, Yulia was tapping her foot as she leaned toward the yoke.

Flashing lights lit up one by one along each edge of the bay doors, bright red at first. It came alive as various locks and gears began shifting along its surface. Valorie tried to imagine how big each of those parts must be to move such large doors and felt so very small. Humans made things so much larger than themselves. It sparked a faint memory of her ancient sisters’ fascination with human ingenuity. Those sisters risked everything to grow closer to it. To understand it. Kinship with those ancients welled up in Valorie’s chest. One by one the lights turned green, and the seam at the center of the doors cracked into a thin line of pure black.

Yulia’s foot stopped tapping, and she turned to the Captain, “We are almost free.” She grinned. The thin line between the doors grew to great black maw, the emptiness of which Valorie felt to her very aethereal soul. Yulia’s excitement at entering such darkness was both strange and soothing. Valorie met Yulia’s gaze as she turned and offered a smile, to which Yulia shared joyous grin. “Here we go!” Yulia faced forward, hands finding the controls as her eyes scanned the display.

There was a final shudder as the locks that held the Helianthus in place released. Free at last, light thrusters pushed the ship towards the exit at a gentle clip. Anything too harsh would damage the shutters, so they drifted forth. Through the canopy, Valorie watched the edge of the bay doors slide by. She expected simple darkness ahead, but the pale blue star at the center of this system blinded her at first. Distant, but very bright. It filled the bridge with an eerie light.

“Ah,” Dr. Porter’s voice hitched, “What a magnificent angle.” The silence of shared awe lasted for several minutes before Leon broke it.

“The Bloor jump shield is sparse, so you’re gonna see more openings. First coordinates will get you through the gate. I’ll have the second set when we get beyond the safe jump distance.” Leon said. Valorie sensed a hint of frustration in him, seeded in his intense focus.

For the station’s safety, only low-power thrusters were allowed. Once they reached a distance safe enough, Yulia would engage the engines proper. Yulia shifted in her seat, monitoring the slight shifts in direction, keeping them on course. It wasn’t long before she spoke up.

“Why’re the coordinates gonna take so long?” She asked. Her glance caught on Dr. Porter, and she cleared her throat. “I mean, for what reason,” She paused, thinking, “Is there a delay?” She clarified. Leon’s irritation spiked, and he did not respond right away. Yulia glanced over her shoulder at him, frowned, and added, “Not that it’s your fault or anything.”

Leon sighed, “Our jump target is unusual in distance and strength. Lining up the jump is going to need more finesse than usual. Tolerance will be at least two arcseconds tighter in all directions.” He sat up, rolling his shoulders in a quick stretch. “Little fluctuations in the gravitational forces may be an issue. I won’t know until we are closer to our destination.” He said.

Yulia listened, but Valorie only sensed further confusion in her. Yulia turned to her console, still quiet. Somehow, even though nothing was happening, Leon’s irritation only grew. It didn’t make sense. Valorie peeked over her shoulder. He was leaning over his station, one hand resting on the table, the other rubbing the back of his neck. He sighed.

“The star system we’re aiming for is difficult to reach from here.” He cooled down.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Yulia threw him a quick smile despite a new concern welling up in her chest. Valorie wished once more that she could see the meaning of such feelings. “We’re clear of the station.” She said.

Gareth confirmed the ship’s alignment before directing Leon to engage the flight mode. There was the rumble of sliding metal as the Helianthus changed into its sleeker form. Valorie’s console displayed a warning to stay seated during transformation. It included a graphic that showed rooms and halls collapsing into a compact form.

“Oh my,” Dr. Porter shifted in his seat and looked about, “What is all this?” He said. As the bridge began sliding into a more direct angle at the helm, the blue star slid over the edge of the canopy.

“The ones who designed this ship had a unique solution for the stop and go nature of deep space exploration,” Gareth answered, unfazed by the gravity systems switching off mid-sentence.

“Not a new idea, but very complicated… Such complexity often outweighs the benefits, no?” Dr. Porter scratched his chin and shifted in his seat again.

“The transformative mechanics have a maintenance system built directly into them. This makes regular care easy and increases its efficiency.” Gareth smiled, “The designers must have been looking far ahead when they built her.” He said. The last of the eerie blue light evaporated as the transformation slowed to a halt.

“Intriguing.” The doctor settled into his seat for the few seconds that everything was calm.

With the transformation complete, Yulia kicked the main engines up. She swung the ship around to get orientated before blasting away from Bloor station.

“We’re the only ship in the vicinity. We may proceed.” Valorie said, using information from control. She double-checked, searching for life around the ship. The station was a beacon of life in an otherwise empty system. Dr. Porter looked over when she spoke, eyebrows raised, but did not say anything. He seemed surprised, but Valorie was sure she had done everything by the book.