'59 A Space Exploration Adventure: PT42

Cindy clasped Janine’s hands tightly. “They hear the words and they…understand.” She sighed. “They don’t want to accept it. They deny it, get angry, swear that I’m wrong and they’ll carry on.”

© A Sunderland 2011


She looked deep into Janine’s eyes. “But they do understand. And it is their choice to go on fighting against the odds, trying to defy nature.” She shook her head, “but Pegasus can’t understand that he’ll never be able to gallop again. That he can’t go tearing off after you and Blaze. He’ll want to follow instinctively, but this injury will never let him.”
“But he’ll be here when Dad gets home. We can go trekking down the Grand Canyon, just like Dad promised.”
“At what cost to Pegasus.” Cindy shook her head. “Because you can’t ask him?”
Janine pulled her hands away. “I can’t let him die. I won’t let him die.”
“No, his leg is healing and he’s going to live. But this is a decision that you may well live to regret.” She gave Janine a stern look. “Sometimes in life you’ve just got to let go. You’ve got to know when it’s time to stop.”
“I can’t give up. I never ever want to say I quit!”
“Now where do I keep hearing that?”
[Day 229]
Images of the Icarus mission’s final approach to Proxima Centauri were just reaching DeepSEA HQ in California, where the families had once again gathered to witness for themselves the pioneering achievements of their loved ones.
Elaine in particular was relishing this moment, the chance to see their astonished faces as she talked them through the incredible sights they would soon see.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” She politely drew attention to the screen in front of the small audience. “Today we’re going to see the first images sent back since the mission reached the Centauri system. I’m incredibly jealous because they are the first humans to witness these spectacular views with their own eyes.”
There was a rustle of anticipation as people made themselves more comfortable. Then as Elaine dimmed the lights, the screens flickered twice and then burst into a huge colorful collage. Some people gasped and others clapped.
“What you are seeing now are the first pictures taken by the ships once they’d dropped out of Stellar drive for their approach to Proxima Centauri. As you can see, they show the other planets in the system, and the moon that Intrepid will be visiting in a week or so. We’ll see more of that in a moment. For now, I just want you to enjoy the incredible detail of the star itself. And when you bear in mind, these images were taken at a focal distance of approximately two billion miles, or twenty astronomical units you realize just how amazing this photography really is.”
She stepped back to let them focus on the slide show for a few minutes before continuing.
“Now, I’m going to show you some video that the ships took of each other, but this will be the last for some time as they should by now have split up to undertake their own explorations. First of all Intrepid.” she pointed to the screens which now formed a single composite screen. “In just a moment … yes, here we go. This is Intrepid going in for a close pass of …” she aimed her laser pointer to the left of the picture, “… this moon here. This is the moon I mentioned earlier, the one that Captain Lewis and his crew will be visiting.”
“Please miss,” a little boy put up his hand, “will they build a base on it just like on our moon?”
Elaine smiled at the boy, one of the Ahkbar children. “Yes if the moon can support a space station then we can use it as a base to explore more of our galaxy. Maybe even a tourist attraction like LunarWorld. Who knows, when you’re grown up you could be staying there for a vacation!”
The boy grinned up at his mother who laughed, protesting, “Hey, don’t give him any ideas!”
Turning back to the screen, Elaine resumed her commentary.
“Next … there, you can see Valiant, setting off to take a closer look at the flare activity that will reach its peak in two days time.
Dr Moritz’s wife, Natalie, asked. “Excuse me, how long is it before they meet up again, the two ships?”