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Avalon, Part Two; Chapter Six: The Nebula
Posted By: Triad<m.eelkema@student.tudelft.nl>
Date: 10 October 2005, 11:02 am
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Avalon; Part Two: Qua Patet Universum
Chapter six: The nebula
1430 hours, September 20 2502 (military calendar), frigate The Flying Dutchman, edge of the Delta Cygni system
The Flying Dutchman was about to appear from the nothingness of slipspace after a two day jump starting from the point where she had encountered and defeated the pirate. After the buccaneers had been thrown in the stockade, the demolition-experts placed charges around the Redbeard's reactor. Just before the Flying Dutchman jumped into the domains of Shaw-Fujikawa-dimensions, the bombs were set off and the corsair ship was reduced to vapour in a fireball many times hotter than a star itself.
Ensign McBain counted down the last few seconds of slipspace-flight: "Sir, we are re-entering normal space in T minus five, four, three, two, one, mark."
The Dutchman burst into the realms of Einsteinian space at the location where the trail depicted in the pirate's sensor log had ended. When the blurring effects which accommodated and turned re-entering into a psychedelic happening had dissipated, the bridge crew could see what lay in the path of their bow. Directly in front of the ship shone a relatively small, but opaque and seemingly massive nebula. It glowed in a bright pink luminescence, making it look like a gigantic cotton candy. Although the cloud appeared to consist of thousands of breast-like globules, it was roughly spherical in shape. The globules reminded some of the crew of the dreaded Mammatus clouds, the meteorological heralds of fierce tornados and thunderstorms. Long faint streaks of diffuse gas protruded from seams between the bulgy drops, further emphasizing its angelic look. The giant gas bubble was small in comparison to other nebulae, but still easily dwarfed the Flying Dutchman.
The strange appearance and bright glow of the nebula had a mesmerizing effect on the bridge crew. "Miss Smith, what are we looking at?" Steven asked. He got no answer, because the XO was staring out the window as if she heard the sirens of Ulysses sing. "Lieutenant-Commander Smith, I asked you a question!"
Christine broke her gaze from the cloud, and put her attention on her personal view-screen: "Ehh, it's a reflection nebula, sir, the smallest I've ever seen. It measures roughly one point seven billion kilometres in diameter. The cloud consists mostly of hydrogen, with some traces of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon."
"Hmm. Has it been named or surveyed yet?"
"One moment, sir. Accessing navigation database." Even though she was the fastest officer on a computer in the UNSC, it took Christine a moment to find the appropriate file in the depths of the vast starmaps. "Here it is. It's named Avalon, catalogue number N two five eight seven eight, DC, sir. There is nothing other than a name and number in the database; no probing, no survey on record."
Steven smiled, still looking at the beautiful manifestation of intergalactic weather. He had always enjoyed reading Arthurian legend, especially the stories about the mystical island inhabited by the blessed dead called Avalon. The Captain of the deep space reconnaissance vessel, who mapped this section of space decades ago, obviously had a soft spot for those stories as well: The Flying Dutchman had already passed the planets Excalibur, Camelot and Pendragon on her patrol to find the Halcyon.
"Pellerin, are you watching this?"
"Of course I am, Commander." The holographic terminal switched on to show the stout little centaur with crossed arms and one hand rubbing his chin.
"Can you make a detailed scanning analysis of the nebula?" Steven requested.
"Do you still need to ask?" Pellerin answered frivolously. The Bordeaux-red code which constituted the image of the horse with human upper body, started to stream down his head, flanks and legs a little faster, indicating the electronic gears inside the AI's processing core were also increasing their revolutions. After roughly two minutes Pellerin pranced, as if he was proud to say he was done.
"Analysis completed, Commander Fisher. The particle trail leading up to the nebula is definitely created by the Halcyon. The probability of her having entered Avalon is calculated at ninety eight point seven percent. However, I'm unable to look for her inside the cloud."
"How come?"
"The outer layer of the nebula is so dense, that it throws off the scanners. I can't measure more than twenty thousand kilometres into the gas, Commander."
"Would a probe work to see what's inside?"
"Negative, Commander. It would not be able to communicate with us."
"Not even through slipspace?"
"Correct, Commander. The nebula has a distorting effect on Shaw-Fujikawa-space. No signal can go in or out."
This disconcerting news surprised Steven. No one had ever encountered such distortions in slipspace before. "How is that possible, Pellerin?"
"The cause is unknown, sir."
Steven pondered this unexpected news for a moment.
"Can you make a calculated guess on what's beyond the outer layer, Pellerin?"
"Yes, Commander. There is definitely a star of some kind in the middle of the nebula illuminating the gas, probably a K-type. The ratio between the layer's density, the star's mass and the total mass of the nebula indicates that the layer is only approximately one hundred fifty thousand kilometres thick."
Christine turned her head towards Steven: "Commander, do you think the Halcyon could have flown through it?"
"I'm not sure, but let's ask the professor." Steven opened an intercom channel with the controls on his chair. "Doctor Maynard, your presence is needed on the bridge."
"Understood. I'll be there in a minute," the doctor's voice sounded plainly. Steven switched off the intercom and waited for the doctor, his look trapped in the spell bounding glare of the awe-inspiring phenomena stretching out in front of him.
So far the Commander was very content with Maynard's behaviour onboard his ship. Ike had kept to himself most of the journey, and had contacted the bridge only once shortly after the pirate attack to inform what was going on. For the rest he had stayed out of Steven's way, which was just fine by him.
When Ike arrived on the bridge, Steven and his crew were still eyeing the nebula in a trance. This cloud, marvelled in its beauty, had an enchanting effect on anyone who laid eyes on it. Doctor Maynard was also instantly touched by its magnificent appearance. "Wow, what an awesome sight. Nice of you to let me see it, Commander Fisher."
"We're not here to enjoy the view, doctor," Steven answered annoyed. "Can you tell me whether it could be possible for the Halcyon to fly through it?"
"I can't say anything about that right away. I would have to know more about the nebula's density and composition."
"Well, then get to it, doctor. The XO will provide you with the relevant information."
Ike meticulously examined all the appropriate data from Christine's view-screen and quickly came to a conclusion: "I think it would be perfectly possible for Captain DeVries to enter the nebula, Commander. You see, Doctor McClees gave the Halcyon the strongest Titanium-A-frame ever conceived. She has been fitted with numerous cross-bracings and interstitial honeycombs, giving her tremendous stiffness and enormous redundant strength on all axes. Her frame is actually so…"
"Yes, yes. We get it. So she's strong," Steven cut him off bluntly. "Can you, being the expert on ship's strength, say anything on our abilities of passing through? Could the Dutchman take it?"
"That's doubtful, Commander. Maybe it's possible, but only if you strip some of the protruding parts from the hull to reduce friction. An extra heat resistant coating may also be recommendable, because she's going to run very hot; hotter than atmospheric re-entry."
Knowing what her Commander was probably about to bestow upon, the XO looked at Steven with a worried frown. "You're not actually thinking about entering the nebula, are you, Commander?"
"You bet I am, Miss Smith. It's our mission to find the Halcyon, and if it means diving into this pink soup, then we're going to," Steven answered assured.
"Then before we enter, Commander, may I advise to contact FLEETCOM and tell them about our proceedings? If we get stuck in there, it might take the next ship another six months to find us."
Steven plucked at his goatee, a nervous twitch that always occurred when he was lost in thought. "Hmm. You've got a point there, Smith. But my orders are for strict communication silence. Also, according to the personnel-database, Colonel Watts has a dangerously high security clearance. He might be able to intercept our transmission. No, I won't contact HQ yet. But we'll leave a buoy outside the nebula, programmed to send out a signal after waiting for ten days. We'll hardwire our logs onto the marker, so that they'll know where to find us."
"Sort of like a message in a bottle, right Commander?"
Steven chuckled. "Yeah, a bottle with a slipspace-transmitter. Now, let's start with our modifications." He clicked on the intercom again and contacted engineering. "Master Chief Larenor, you and your men better get your spacesuits on. I've got a redecorating job for you."
To be continued
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