All the blood drained from my face as whooping and cheering came from my team on the Dauntless. We had... we had done it. The first successful faster-than-light travel! I was getting a little light headed.
I glanced over to a silent Trinn who was just looking at me with a smile. She reached over and took my hand and keyed her mic. “And that, people, is how history is made.” She gave me a wanting smile that was full of promise for later. Then she added, “Congratulations, Commander Henningsly.” There was another cheer and I said to her on our private channel. “Let's get home to the Dauntless.” She just nodded.
Bejesus... we had done it!
Chapter 3 – Homecoming
We spent the next six months performing test jumps using the two probes until we exhausted their antimatter resources. We were even able to perform faster-than-light, FTL, communications between the two by having them barely graze the rifts with low power gravity spikes at the same time. Reducing the four and a half minute communication time lag to barely two seconds, but that was just the limitations of our equipment as it was never designed to be used in that manner. The possibilities were mind staggering.
We beamed our progress to Earth daily. Being transmitted at light speed, it would be two years before our research arrived and the rest of the human race knew that FTL travel was possible. We would be sojourning out to the stars faster than we ever imagined.
But we had a better way of informing them. We spent a couple months traveling to the main Sol- Proxima Centauri rift trunk and aligning the Dauntless. We compensated for stellar drift and prepped all systems.
I looked at my small crew, strapping into their seats on the main bridge. I said with a serious tone, “Last chance to back out. Either we all agree to this or we forget it and take the long way home.” Nobody said a word. God, I was proud of them.
It was time for the Dauntless to do the one thing it was designed to do. The first Rift Jumper-class vessel in space. I watched the readouts as the capacitors finally finished charging on their ninety-minute cycle. All systems showed green. I flipped the plastic cover open and flipped the switch inside. Trinn reached over and grabbed my other hand. I grinned at the loving smile on her face and I took a deep breath and said, “Jump drive armed.”
We all exhaled a collective breath as I said, “Initiating!” and I hit the red button on my controls.
There was a folding sensation, I was almost blinded by the bright purplish-blue flash. I nearly vomited but my eyes flashed to the main screen instead and Trinn yelled, “Shit!” as she fired the port thrusters and rolled the ship out of the way of an oncoming ore hauler coming up from Jupiter's moon Europa.
There was crackling on our speakers as we were hailed. “This is the ore hauler Hephaestus. Where the hell did you come from you sons of bitches? You almost killed us all!”
Trinn smoothly brought us about into the shipping lane toward Earth as I responded, “Hephaestus, this is the Dauntless. We apologize, we didn't intend to hit the shipping lanes on our transit from the fringe.”
His voice changed to one of respect, I think he thought we were from the Rift Contingent since they were just about the only humans crazy enough to be out at the fringe. “No problem, Captain. Godspeed.” Then he cut communications.
I took a moment to realize what we had just done as we all checked the systems on the Dauntless. In less than a second we had traveled from the fringe, two light years away, to Jupiter. The first successful manned FTL jump.
As we celebrated and contacted Earth, my imagination ran wild for what this would mean for mankind. We could now become an interstellar species. And it would be the men and women of the Rift Contingent leading the way again. These new pioneers, stepping out into the space frontier, forging the way for mankind to take our place among the stars... these brave men and women... the Rift Jumpers.
The End
Novels by Erik Schubach
Books in the Worldship Files series...
Leviathan
Firewyrm
Cityships
Morrigan (2020)
Books in the Techromancy Scrolls series...
Adept
Soras
Masquerade
Westlands
Avalon
New Cali
Colossus (2020)
Books in the Urban Fairytales series...
Red Hood: The Hunt
Snow: The White Crow
Ella: Cinders and Ash
Rose: Briar's Thorn
Let Down Your Hair
Hair of Gold: Just Right
The Hood of Locksley
Beauty In the Beast
Shadow Of The Hook
Armageddon
Books in the New Sentinels series...
Djinn: Cursed
Raven Maid: Out of the Darkness
Fate: No Strings Attached
Open Seas: Just Add Water
Ghost-ish: Lazarus
Anubis: Death's Mistress
Sentinels: Reckoning (2020)
Books in the Drakon series...
Awakening
Dragonfall
Books in the Valkyrie Chronicles series...
Return of the Asgard
Bloodlines
Folkvangr
Seventy Two Hours
Titans
Books in the Tales From Olympus series...
Gods Reunited
Alfheim
Odyssey
Books in the Bridge series...
Trolls
Traitor
Unbroken
Krynn
Books in the Fracture series...
Divergence
Novellas by Erik Schubach
The Hollow
Novellas in the Paranormals series...
Fleas
This Sucks
Jinx (2020)
Novellas in the Fixit Adventures...
Fixit
Glitch
Descent
Sedition
Novellas in the Emily Monroe Is Not The Chosen One series...
Night Shift
Unchosen
Rechosen (2020)
Short Stories by Erik Schubach
(These short stories span many different genres)
A Little Favor
Lost in the Woods
MUB
Mirror Mirror On The Wall
Oops!
Rift Jumpers: Faster Than Light
Scythe
Snack Run
Something Pretty
Romance Novels by Erik Schubach
Books in the Music of the Soul universe...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Music of the Soul
A Deafening Whisper
Dating Game
Karaoke Queen
Silent Bob
Five Feet or Less
Broken Song
Syncopated Rhythm
Progeny
Girl Next Door
Lightning Strikes Twice
June
Dead Shot
Music of the Soul Shorts...
(All short stories are standalone and can be read in any order)
Misadventures of Victoria Davenport: Operation Matchmaker
Wallflower
Accidental Date
Holiday Morsels
Books in the London Harmony series...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Water Gypsy
Feel the Beat
Roctoberfest
Small Fry
Doghouse
Minuette
Squid Hugs
The Pike
Flotilla
Books in the Pike series...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Ships In The Night
Right To Remain Silent
Evermore
New Beginnings
Books in the Flotilla series...
(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)
Making Waves
Keeping Time
The Temp
Paying the Toll
Books in the Unleashed series...
Case of the Collie Flour
Case of the Hot Dog
Case of the Gold Retriever
Case of the Great Danish
Case of the Yorkshire Pudding
Case of the Poodle Doodle
Case of the Hound About Town
Case of the Shepherd's Pie
Case of the Bull Doggish
Case of the Dalmatian Salvation