Solara: My Winged Angel

Jason's Story

PROLOG

My name is Jason Lee and I am the Commander and sole survivor of the crash landing of the space craft Pathfinder. We had been in orbit around the fourth plant of the star Epsilon Eridani for almost a month when we were struck by another space craft that suddenly appeared from behind the second moon and we were unable to avoid the impact. My craft spiraled out of orbit and crashed on the largest of the three continents killing the other eleven crew members.

But I am getting ahead of myself; let's start at the beginning.

Chapter 1:

My first view of Pathfinder is as a newly striped Commander and as her first Captain. She is long and bulky and definitely not designed for racing but she is still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I should think that most Captains say that about their first command. Her forward section is a modified lifting body and will allow us to land on Epsilon Eridani 4. This sits above and astraddle the containment and habitat module which will hold the labs, the Hyber-sleep chambers and common rooms for when orbit is achieved at EE4. Behind these is the drive section where the fusion reactors and the fuel cells for the Ion-pulse engines. 500 meters long and at over 450,000 M-tons she is capable of .88L; this will give us the speed necessary to rich EE4 in just over 11 years.

The L6 yards have done a first rate job of getting her finished a month ahead of schedule and now it is up to me to get her ready for her maiden voyage. In two years we leave and I still have to pick the rest of my crew and get the ship fitted out.

###

First order of business is get my crew picked and I know just the man as my Executive Officer; Lieutenant Commander Paul Winston, we served together on Columbia before my promotion and transfer.

As Engineering Officer; Lieutenant Commander Tammara Jenkins, second engineer on the Potemkin. Her recent paper on fusion reactor control modifications was brilliant.

As Science Officer; Lieutenant Rebecca Carlona, from Centauri, second science officer on The Sullivan Brothers. Her discovery that the Trelani of Beta Centauri were parts of a 'hive-mind' was a staggering leap forward in the science of telling what was and was not sentient.

As to the rest of the 8 crewman I will let these officers chose who they feel would be the best.

###

Crew as of Commissioning: (Plank owners)

Commanding Officer:Commander Jason Patrick Lee

Executive Officer:Lt. Commander Paul Gordan Winston

Engineering Officer:Lt. Commander Tammara Ellen Jenkins

Science Officer:Lieutenant Rebecca Delores Carlona

Science Officer 2nd:Lieutenant jg. Daniela Merle Fredrickson

Chosen by Lt. Carlona, because of her work in atmospheric gasses.

Navigation Officer:Lieutenant Thomas Allen Hayes

Chosen by Exec. was told he could navigate a gas nebula blind-folded.

Engineering Chief:Engine Specialist CPO Manuel Ian Serdan

Chosen by Lt. Cmdr. Jenkins, was told he could fix an ion engine with spit and bailing wire.

Communications/Radar:Electronics Specialist 1st Class Gary Edward Flint

Chosen by Exec. his jury-rigged comm saved the crew of the Forestall after one of her fusion cores imploded and cast the ship adrift.

Weapons Specialist/Helm: Sergeant Major Lucas William Jones

Chosen by Exec. it is said he could fly a paper kite through a hurricane and not get it wet; also excellent shot with all fire arms, was overheard saying he could shoot one specific rain drop in a monsoon.

Xeno-Biologist: Dr. Amanda Lucille Stanton

Xeno-Geologist:Dr. Raymond James Livingston

Language Specialist: Dr. Kieko Raven Nakamura

These three chosen by Command as the best in their respective fields.

22 months to go the crew is complete and we are getting things together. Preliminary tests on the sensors are complete as are tests on the navigation and engineering computers, next up static testing the engines.

###

With Lt. Cmdr. Jenkins' and Chief Serdan's help it has taken only 6 months to get a successful engine run-up and we are finally set for maneuvering trials next week. All static testing is complete and it is time to release the docking clamps and be towed to the Mars testing range. We will be at the Mars range for at least a year while we test the engines in all modes up to full speed .88FTL. We will also be testing the cryo-sleep chambers at Mars station prior to their installation and our occupancy.

Chapter 2:

"Stable orbit achieved, Capt."

"Thanks, Paul", via 1MC, "All hands this is the Capt. Stable orbit achieved. Let the 'yard birds' have her. Be ready to get under way at 0800hrs on Monday. Capt. Out."

"Paul, have the daily reports on my desk by 1600hrs, along with all the proposed testing schedules."

"Yes, Skipper."

Oh how I hate paperwork; it's as if the whole world runs on paperwork. Forms for this and forms for that, it's a never ending stream of forms. Copies of sensor test readings, of engine stress analysis readings, fuel reports, structural analysis testing, commodities reports, crew evaluations, and the craziest of them all is my personal thoughts on 'How the ship "feels." ' Worst of all is that all of this is in the computers and the higher-ups still want it all in writing in quadruplicate. Oh well, such is the life of a 'sailor'.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Radio."

"Sir, I have a personnel message here from Cmdr. Larson of Mars Station. She is requesting your presence at dinner this evening."

"Radio, inform the Cmdr. that I will join her for dinner at 1900hrs. Capt. Out."

"Yes Sir, Radio out."

Commander Helen Larson; I hadn't thought about her in years. We were in the same class at the academy and we dated and even had sex together a number of times. I remember she had the biggest nipples; they were about 3/8s of an inch in diameter and stuck out close to an inch from her tight C-cup tits. She liked being on top so that her lover could suck on them; that; and she liked being in control.

Mars Station; parked at Mars' L5 point it is pointed 'North' end toward the sun. As I stare out of the shuttle's view port I see the massive wheeled behemoth; five 1 kilometer wide by ½ kilometer diameter wheels separated by ½ km docking junctures for low G transfer with Zero G transfer handled at the ports at each end; the whole thing being almost 8km long. Also the juncture between segments 1 & 2 has a special capture cradle for shuttles that require full G transfers. The station spins on its axis so as to provide .75 G on the interior surface of the segments graduating to Zero G at the central core. Segment walls are 10 meters thick and the outer rim is 30 meters thick. Each segment is also capable of being sealed off so as to prevent a major loss of atmosphere. The station has anti-asteroid missile and laser batteries as well as sweeper tugs to keep the area clear and reduce the chances of an asteroid strike. It is a beautiful piece of engineering and my 'friend' is in charge.

###

My shuttle docks at one of the four Zero G ports on the 'North' end and as I disembark a young Ensign asks me, "Are you Cmdr. Lee?"

"Yes I am."

"Sir; I am Ensign Holcomb. I am Cmdr. Larson's aide and am here to escort you to her quarters for your dinner engagement."

"Thank you, Ensign, you may lead on."

As we walked through the station I was a bit taken back by all the people just standing around with apparently nothing to do. Some were in uniform but most were not, and some had little or no clothing at all. I mention this to the Ensign.

"Sir, full nudity is allowed only in Ring 1 Level 10 Sections 8 & 16 in the Solariums set aside for sun bathing. The rest of the station is a bikini or whatever you wish unless you are on duty and then you must be in full uniform."

"Thank you Ensign, I'll keep that in mind."

We arrived at Cmdr. Larson's quarters and after being let in Ensign Holcomb asked," Will there be anything further Mame?"

"No, Ensign, I can handle it from here. You have a good evening and weekend; I'll see you at 0700hrs. on Monday."

"Thank you Mame, good evening to you Sirs."

The Ensign left and Helen turned to me and said, "Well Jason it has been a long time. What is it now; 8 years since the academy?"

"7 years 8 months, but who's counting. I see that having a NAC Senator as a father hasn't slowed down your career much. What is it; Ohio that Tom Larson is the senior Senator and possible next President of the North American Coalition."

"Well dear old dad did have a little something to say about me getting Cmdr.'s stripes and this command last year but, I have had to work my ass off to keep the wolves at bay. Everybody and his brother has an agenda and they all think that theirs is the most important and fuck everyone else. Why not 3hrs ago Dr. Hadaratha the head of the solar studies group was in my office demanding that the fit-out for Pathfinder be put off for more than a month until after they got done with their next round of testing; as the Ion-pulse engines will interfere with their instruments. I had to come up with a very diplomatic solution because as you know India was not consulted or allowed to participate in the construction of Pathfinder, it was strictly NAC."

"I'm glad I don't have to play that political game, but I'm glad you are running things here as I know that we'll get what we need when we need it. Now what's for dinner?"

She paged the steward and dinner was served; REAL roast beef, REAL mashed potatoes with gravy, corn on the cob, and REAL COFFEE and strawberry cheesecake for desert. Once the stewards cleared the settings and were released for the evening we retired to her private quarters.

We retired to her bedroom and after getting undressed she lets me start the festivities. I touch her in all the right spots as if we had never been apart. Soon I enter her and as she works her way up to orgasm I feel my cum boiling in my balls; and as she clamps down on my cock and comes I blast my seed deep within her clasping cunt. After a few minutes to resurrect myself it is her turn on top. She takes it at a leisurely pace and soon we are both going over the edge together. We spent the rest of the night locked in each other's embrace and forgot about the rest of the world until the wake-up page at 0630hrs. We spent the day together and she showed me around the station and after dinner that evening we again spent the night in each other's arms.

###

Monday; 0800hrs; we are maneuvered to the engine testing range and get everything together for our first live-fire engine run up.

"Ms. Jenkins are you ready?"

"Yes sir, all instruments are on line, all test gear is tied in and recording."

"Very well. Helm take us to 1% power and prepare for maneuvering."

"Helm Aye, 1% power and set for maneuvering. Request course Capt."

"Make course 191 mark 22 take us out of the elliptic Helm."

"Coming to course 191 mark 22 at 1% power, Aye Capt."

"Capt. We are showing 1% power and speed is increasing: passing 500kps; passing 1,000kps; passing 2,000kps; 2,500kps; 3,000kps; Sir we are showing a relative speed of 3,000kps and am steering out of than plain of the elliptic. Present course is 191 mark 22."

"Ms. Jenkins, how are things looking down there?"

"Indications are within .01% of profile and no fluctuations are evident, Capt."

"Very well, what is the next power setting for this test Paul?"

"The brains are asking us to go to 10% for one hour than go to 25% for an additional hour for this first series before returning to Mars Station."

"Thank you, Paul. Ms. Jenkins did you get that?"

"Yes sir, go to 10% power for 1 hour then 25% for one hour."

"Paul are our escorts keeping station with us?"

"Yes sir, Orion and Pegasus are 1000km off both port and starboard beams."

"Time sir."

"Thanks Paul. Helm bring us to 10% power. Ms. Jenkins we are coming to 10% power and you have the control."

"Aye Capt. 10% power and I have the control."

"Capt. Helm."

"Yes, Helm."

"Capt. we are passing 3500kps; passing 4500kps; passing 5500kps; passing 7000kps; passing 10,000kps; passing 15,000kps; passing 20,000kps; passing 25,000kps; holding at 30,000kps."

"Thank you Helm."

"Ms. Jenkins, how are we looking down there?"

"Just fine Capt. we are holding steady at 10% power, 30,000kps and the board is green."

"Very well Ms. Jenkins."

"Paul, inform me of the next time mark for shift to 25% power."

"Next mark when ready, Aye Capt."

For the next hour I feel as though I am un-needed as everything is going so smoothly. I think my days as a young boy listening to my grand-father tell of the history of manned space flight and the battle between the then United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Of how in 2021 the USA put the first colony on Luna and in 2060 the first colony on Mars. Then Paul breaks in; "Time Capt."

"Helm bring us to 25% power."

"25% power, Helm Aye."

"Engineering we are coming to 25% power, you have control."

"Coming to 25% power, I have control. Aye Capt."

"Capt. We are passing 35,000kps; 40,000kps; 45,000kps; 50,000kps; 60,000kps;"

"EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN. ALL ENGINES STOP"

"What is it Ms. Jenkins?"

"Capt. We have had a power spike of 6.1% outside the maximum allotted error band and there is no indication of it backing down at levels above 20%."

"Paul signal Orion and Pegasus of the delay and ask them to stand by. Ms. Jenkins can we maneuver at less than 20% power to get us back to Mars?"

"Yes Sir, I am running diags now to check to problem, but I believe that if we stay below 18% we should be ok."

"Helm bring us about and steer a course back to Mars. Paul inform our escorts of the problem and that we are returning to Mars at best possible speed."

"Aye Capt. Coming about."

"Yes sir informing Orion and Pegasus of our return to Mars."

"Paul you have the conn I'll be in engineering."

"Yes sir, The Exec has the conn."

In Engineering; "Speak to me Tammy what happened?"

"I'm not exactly sure Skipper but just as we were passing 21% engine #3 surged to 27% and acted as if it was a 'runaway' so I hit the Emergency Shutdown and signaled you."

"Good job, Tammy, we'll run at 18% back to Mars and then let the brainiacs have at it. Let me know if you find anything."

"Yes sir I will."

"Bridge, Capt."

"Bridge Aye"

"Paul I'm going to my cabin, keep us at course and speed back to Mars. Inform me when we arrive. Capt., out."

"Aye sir."

###

Three months have gone by and we are no better off than we were at the first test. Five more test runs and at the exact same point engine #3 jumps from 21.2% to 27.3% and will not synchronize with the other five engines. The brains at Mars Station have torn the engine apart three times and everything is as it should be. We are now 67 days behind schedule and I don't see us getting it back.

I have been spending a lot of time with Helen and we both know that it is going nowhere; we are just having mutually enjoyable stress relieving sex. Sunday afternoon; I'm with Helen in the section 4 solarium when I get a com page from Paul.

"Capt.?"

"Yes Paul, What is it?"

"Capt. I think you need to come back to the ship, Ms. Jenkins and Chief Serdan may have found something."

"Can it wait till morning Paul?"

"Yes sir."

"OK then Paul I'll see you at 0700hrs in my cabin. Capt. Out."

"0700hrs your cabin, Yes sir."

I spend the rest of the day and night with Helen and then returned to Pathfinder for my morning conference.

###

Knock, Knock. "Enter." In steps Paul, Tammy and Chief Serdan and they have a stack of print out about a 100mm thick.

"OK guys, what's up?"

"Well to start with Sir, the brains that have been working on this have told us that it must be in the engine or in the controls because it can't be software as it has been checked over-and-over dozens of times, ad-nauseium. That and the fact that engines #1, #2, #4, #5 and #6 work as they are supposed to. Chief Serdan came to Ms. Jenkins with the idea that it must be in the balance and sync controls. The problem it seems is that access to the software routines is under a Level 8 security lock. Which means that not even you Sir; the Capt. has access."

"So like any good chief engineer he forged a Level 8 clearance and got the entire code structure and all its sub-routines printed out and for the last 2 weeks they have been going over it line-by-line until yesterday morning when they found this."

Paul unfolds about half of the stack of print-out and shows me 6 circled items on six different pages. These routines just happen to be the fuel-injector timing sub-routines and all the lines match up to one point where those on the third group which are for engine #3 are different. They go on to show me that the control routine for engine #3 is out by six steps from that point all the way up to the over-run speed trip which #3 would do before any of the other 5. It appears to me as if six control steps were just left out of the routine.

"Paul, you and Tammy and Chief get back to what you are supposed to be doing and I'll handle this." I get three "Yes sirs." and they go back to their duties as I get on the horn to Adm. Sprague at Luna Base.

Due to orbital positioning the round trip delay to Luna Base is over twenty minutes but I finally get through to Adm. Sprague and he informs me he will see to it personally that the code writers will be on the next shuttle to Mars to correct their 'screw-up' (my words not his).

Five days later the shuttle Antares is calling for docking instructions and I am getting a call from Helen telling me that there is one very pissed off VIP on that shuttle demanding that he be able to speak to the Officer in charge so that he can get back to his office on Earth. I tell Helen to send him on over and I'll handle this VIP.

Chapter 3:

I am in my cabin awaiting the arrival of the VIP from Earth. I hear the faint but distinct thump of the ferry's docking clamps as it contacts the hull and prepares to cycle the airlocks. I guess at 5 minutes to get aboard and to my cabin; and almost exactly on the mark there is a knock on my door.

"Enter" I say; and as Paul opens the door he is rudely pushed aside by a somewhat large man in a jump-suit carrying a briefcase. As this 'gentleman' enters my cabin he starts in on me with; "Are you the idiot responsible for my being hijacked half-way across the galaxy to fix a computer your people destroyed?" Paul leaves and closes the door quickly.

"If you are asking if I am the commander of this vessel; then yes I am. If on the other hand you are asking if I am an idiot then the then answer is an emphatic NO!" Now Sir; SIT DOWN, before I have you cycled out of an airlock. This is MY ship and you are here at the admiral's request to fix an error in the programming for the engines that MY people found when yours have tried for over 2 months and found NOTHING!"

"Bridge, Capt.; Paul, get Tammy and the Chief up here and bring those documents they dug up."

"Aye Sir."

"Now sir, I didn't get your name, but you are about to see what happens when the best of Space Command is put up against some ivory-towered lab rat who knows nothing about the real world and how things work. Now I said SIT DOWN!"

As he sits, "My name is Doctor Franz Marcos Von Hellfinglander and there is nothing your people can show me about the computer routines that control the engines of this vessel. I personally went over the program and it is perfect. It was tested on the simulators on Earth and nothing was found to be wrong with it."

"Did you test all 6 routines or just one as they are supposed to be exact copies of each other?"

"We tested the Master copy and then worked it up for each engine."