Rise of the Star Ch. 01

The culture and morals had gone in completely alien directions, the people developing behavior in ways that his old people might shun thoroughly. Any sort of constructed pride, often through the proliferation of lies, was anathema. Everything was out in the open, and if it was not... someone would dig it out and bring it into the light. Sensationalism still sold, but the people were less believing and far more questioning, leading to their celebrities being very different from the ones he remembered. The proper celebrity was the kind to warrant it through deeds, not just having heavy exposure to the public. Even movie stars could see their names slip the minds of most people unless they brought real reasons to be remembered, and scandals were a quick way to lose their status rather than maintain it.

Defiance was a virtue, it was sacred and encouraged. This did not mean that laws were not followed, officials were ignored, or children were encouraged to be disrespectful. It meant that everything should be challenged if there was a reason, and that laws that had no reason to exist should be ignored, not just by the people, but by those enforcing them. It meant that parents who did not do a good job should be challenged rather than silently followed. It meant that leaders needed to measure their actions carefully to be what the people wanted, or else they could face a thorough defiance of their leadership... and often a quick removal afterward, by official or unofficial means.

This was what James, the Outsider... taught them. There were times when he doubted his teachings, when he thought that some were going down some dark avenues in his name, but far too often it would come out that those people were not following the full extent of his teachings, but rather a part while seeking something with a different spirit to what he wanted, those who still sought to overcome the need that they actually suffer challenges in life. But sometimes James saw those who would make him rethink his philosophy... just a tad.

For a long time, he thought that his people might fall back to what was five hundred years ago, to the horrible abuses of humans by other humans... that they might not achieve anything of such note. But his people surprised him. Already there were businesses eager to set foot beyond the planet, not just on Outsider Station, but to set up outposts through the system to take advantage of mineral deposits of the vast amount of space to use. Already were the constructor ships setting out to synchronize with these eager industries. There was money to be made in space. Yes, at this time, they were still using "classical economics" as there wasn't a good alternative yet. Competition was enforced as each business that grew into a monopoly could find itself either bought out by the government or with stiff competition from that government. Officials had the stern recommendation to make their own money on the side, as a culture of defiance would rarely pay taxes, but sometimes they could open a fund that people could fill if they were interested to see a project complete... and woe upon any to misuse those funds... as people scrutinized these heavily.

It was a decent place even before one might declare it a utopia.

*

But what was on the people's mind was the ship approaching the edge of the system, the AES Genesis that was making its way to the border of their reach up to this point, ready to extend it further. With Tasha back in focus, she was leading this vessel to engage in the first instance of people going into hyperspace. The Genesis was a big ship, over a kilometer long, and fitted with not just the equipment to scan and analyze whatever they find out there, but also amenities for the crew, as well as facilities to keep them supplied on the way, the ship able to make do with its own fabrication and food production. This was a ship that could go to the end of the galaxy and back without the need for a supply vessel.

While the gravity engine allowed the vessel to employ this force that could warp space just so it could move from the station orbiting the star to the very edges of this star's gravity well, the gravity drive was an even more powerful version, following the same design and able to force a much bigger space to contract for the purposes of cheating the lightspeed limit. The short of it was that to accelerate an object to the speed of light, you need an infinite amount of energy, and even with that speed, it could take years to get to the closest stars. Obviously, there was nothing to produce an infinite amount of energy in such a short time... so people had to cheat. The gravity drive would harness the power of two neighboring stars to create a pathway between them, mathematically precise and just enough so that the Genesis could reach this new system before its crew died of old age.

As the engine spun up its singularity to manipulate these forces, the crew experienced time dilation already, the minutes they experienced being days in the view of the rest of the world, sensors reading the ship just sitting there for close to a week even as the crew were convinced it was barely half an hour.... And the journey felt instant, as stars turned into lines, as space distorted and time wept, as the laws of physics cried from being abused like a cheap whore. The Empire saw the Genesis disappear for a few days as nothing could sense them where they had gone, but soon enough the report came back through the quantum entanglement communications, simple things that could only tell them very basic things... but they had broken through. The first victory.

Tasha felt like she was experiencing history... and she was making it. She and the crew were the first to see a system that was not their own... the planets and asteroids in orbit around the star called Tirmana. All of them felt like incredible milestones for science, half of them containing strange anomalies that warranted further study... and then even more study. Eternal storms, crashed alien ships, ruins of ancient civilizations... but those almost paled before what they found in that system.

They found... a habitable world. Not a barren rock of inhospitable temperatures or unbreathable atmospheres... a world where plants thrived, where animals evolved into being, where LIFE happened... a world they could live on. Right next door. Of course, it was still seven light-years away which was such an astronomical distance that if New Astoria fired its fastest missile toward the system it wouldn't reach it by the time this planet had seen generations of people on it. But the first colony ship would not need to go far.

This planet received a lot of focus from the Genesis... it was very important. It was not just fitting for them to live on, but slightly "better" than the planet of New Astoria. It had rich soils and an oxygen-rich atmosphere, a good deal richer than their own. As the shuttle descended on the planet for the away team to scrutinize it much more, they saw vistas that one could confuse as belonging to their homeworld. This team, that Tasha would lead... would be surprised by something else on the ground. James could not help but congratulate them on the achievement.

As they exited the craft, a party horn would sound close to them as the avatar of the Outsider was there to give his slightly sarcastic praise, but praise it was. And he could make that avatar wherever he wished. The god had peeked even further to see what awaited them... plenty of interesting things around that he was just waiting for them to find. But that was their challenge.

The report on the system was a prompt for celebration, not just for a successful exploration, but because they had a new avenue to pursue... colonization of a new planet. The dream of many sci-fi enthusiasts who had to contend with just writing about such things rather than DOING it. Assembly of the first colony ship, recruitment of the people who would permanently leave their planet, and their thorough training... began even before the first constructor ships went ahead to set up the Tirmana outpost, a much-needed fixture to assure communication between New Astoria and the new system. And now they had two. They were beginning to truly be a space empire. James was feeling proud of them, but they had miles to go.

While there was a plot to methodically conquer this planet, a plot orchestrated by a family for decades before the gravity drive was even a theory, that plot came undone as the head of that family suffered an unfortunate trip in their home, their head splitting open upon the corner of a nightstand. The security officers sent to investigate soon found the secret room that detailed every last component of this plan to vote themselves into power before using that power for ill deeds. This was how the Outsider kept order when something was beyond the scope of his people, as these ambitious evildoers had accounted for everything save him... and one could never quite guard themselves against a god.

And there were many pleasant events as well in this time.

*

You had an amazing view at the ship's great hall, the gathering place that served a mixed role of dining, drinking, and casual lounging. One of the walls of this room was a thick glass shield beyond which one could see the infinity of space, and right now the ship was in orbit around the planet Tirmana IV, the only other habitable world they have found so far. The shapes of green upon blue with the occasional yellows of deserts, white of tall mountain ranges and polar ice.... That was a sight worth coming out here for. New Astoria had the gray lines of cities and infrastructure upon it, but this world was currently untouched.

Tasha was treating herself to a rather cautious beer. Sometimes she might get into heavier drinking, but not when there was work to do soon. In her right hand was the beer bottle containing the ship's own production... decent, if slightly below the par of her world's brands, and in her other hand she had a lit cigarette, pulling ever so often as the woman had her back against the bar, staring at the planet.

She thought about how this was the result of her work. This whole trip was her challenge, one that she had passed well so far. While the woman did very little herself, her general array of knowledge meant she knew just enough to know who to assign the tasks of checking something, when something might require the cooperation of the scientists focusing on different fields, and when you just couldn't hope to get more without long-term study of something.

Management. That's what she did, but knowing stuff was important. Every once in a while, she had some free time to help out in these scientific pursuits, but the rest of the time she had to balance the mission. Thankfully, she did not have to manage the well-being of the crew. That was on Tim, the caretaker of the ship. The guy... rare to have a guy be a caretaker... who made sure everyone had comfy beds, warm food, plenty of sex, and other recreation, the guy to make sure her crew was focused when Tasha had tasks for them.

Her thought process was interrupted as someone sat down next to her, the woman turning just enough to see who it was. No recognition of his face, so it was probably someone she didn't deal with directly... "feet on the ground" crew, which meant the ones actually doing things. Most of the time, such people had only a curt hello to give her... she was a distant figure to be rarely seen, but social events might bring them together. So his words surprised her.

"Nice to see you're better, boss."

"Uh... thanks? Better from what?"

"I guess you don't remember. You were really out of it during the Second Arrival celebration."

"If we met there, well... I have no damn idea what happened after ten PM."

"Nah, we figured."

Mark gestured for the serviceman to get him some beer. Decent way to unwind after work.

"Uh... we? Okay, feels like I'm missing something and it's annoying me."

"Well... if you want to know..."

Mark went ahead to detail how she just stumbled onto his lap and fell asleep, and how he carried her back home with the help of those other two. Tasha did not feel embarrassed for her state, but she could sense something that Brenda also did.

"You... didn't need to do that. Could have just carried me to a recovery center."

"Maybe, but it's better to wake up at home."

"Guess you're the reason for that glass of water on my nightstand."

She was very glad to have it, wondering if her drunk self was smarter than she thought.

"Paul thought you might roll around and knock it over."

"Well... thanks. It was... nice."

"You're welcome."

Awkward moment between the two. Tasha was getting that feeling that most other men would not do as much for her. Even her mother... which she did not have... might not go that far. Mark instead was hesitating from a particular question, one he asked after a couple more sips of beer, the two of them still seated side by side, just facing different directions.

"You okay boss? I mean, people don't get that drunk for no reason."

"I'm tempted to say yes and try to reassure you, but..." Big sigh. "No."

"Well, you can talk to me about it. Not gonna panic unless the ship crashes or something. Bet it's about us being away from NA for so long."

"Yep." A sour smile before taking another sip of her beer. "You guys have a bit more freedom, can be replaced more easily, but me... let's just say it's a process and can get heavy. Best if I serve as long as possible. The occasional vacation, time when the ship is dead in the water, but... yeah." Deep inhale. "Fuck. I know I asked for this, just... it didn't sink in at first."

"Feels like you sold your whole life to do this. Are they at least paying you well?"

"When I hit my retirement I can pretty much buy an island."

"Do you want to? Just relaxing on your own private place, everything at your disposal..."

She thought about it. A nice, tropical retreat. Walking on the beach, drinking cocktails, fucking men and women day and night.

"I might get bored after a while."

"You know you. I think... this is pretty exciting, in a way. I mean, we're doing stuff that people wrote books dreaming about it."

"They never dreamed about having to stop at anything that might be in any way interesting, scanning it to exhaustion and finding it's just another boring rock. Shows skip over those parts."

Another pause. Tasha now hesitated to say something. And then she said it.

"Did you take care of me that night for some other reason?"

"No ill intentions here. Brenda said I should get some pussy for getting a girl home and... well, gave it."

"You two just hook up or...?"

"Just a casual fuck. Nah, I don't have a girlfriend."

And this took more bravery than engaging in this whole endeavor.

"Do you want one?"

Only minutes later they were in her cabin, one that had a luxury of space compared to the others, the double bed ready to receive two naked bodies. Mark and Tasha got down to business fast, the woman on her back while he took her in the most traditional form, standing before her while one hand was on her hip and another on one of her exposed breasts.

There was more to this than your usual casual sex. A bit more passion, a bit more vulnerability, and a budding trust. The woman already had a fondness for him since she found out about those actions... and Mark could not hold back that desire to protect. Part of his mind was wrapped up in an idea that if their boss was in a better mood, things could go a lot smoother around here, and just your usual dicking would not do. Neither of them had gone without sex on this trip, but this was more. A lot more.

When climax took them, the man came closer, leaning forward, a bit hesitant to take this step. The chief took it for him, dragging him to her and making their lips come together. A lot of feelings were communicated in that kiss, the woman coming undone before him... showing even more apprehension and discomfort, things she hoped the man would dispel. He would.

Afterward, the two lay on her bed, half-embraced as each shared in a smoke, the ashtray resting on the woman's stomach. Yeah, she needed this, and fucking someone that was a few steps removed from her work was optimal. No conflict of interest. She might not even have the impetus to be lenient on the whole department.... His boss would know and possibly stand her up. Just as it should be.

Tomorrow, Tasha will get some comments about being in a good mood.

*

When one might expect some disaster, some plot or twist to the first colonization, government and god were there to ensure all challenges could be faced. The ship called Preservation would set out with ten thousand souls, a quantity decreed as such by the initial arrival population. It would descend to the planet the one and only time it was designed to do so, landing close to a river delta. The ship would be slowly taken apart, designed to be dismantled to form the first prefab constructions upon this planet.

They have named the planet Dawnlight. A tad poetic for it being the empire's new Dawn. Around the skeleton of the colony ship its former contents would spread out to form the first colony on another planet, as independent as it could be to foster their own challenges. After all, the people who arrived on NA did so with nothing and yet they conquered that planet. This time it was not so difficult.

Whatever illusions one has of the speed of population growth could be dismantled, as it would take a good twenty years before the town might start growing out, the first two decades spent only in consolidating their hold, the prefab shelters slowly replaced with proper buildings, the ship's reactor that formed their power plant upgraded into a proper fission reactor worthy of a planet, its people that did not miss the already-developed planet now used to making do.

In its beginnings, Dawnlight would be a mixed bag. It had vast farms that produced noticeably more than the capital's equivalent in size, and that was before they might employ fertilizers and advanced machines. Science labs would be set up to study the planet's flora and fauna, its curious oddities in geology, the minimal ruins from species that came and went before they rose to space, and how their people developed in such a place. Its oversized insects did prompt solutions to such a problem to become a priority, but that was their challenge. Trade with New Astoria was kept equivalent to not foster any colonial rebellion. But they did have to learn that one cannot just export food without bringing back an equivalent biological material or the planet would slowly turn barren. That was something to keep in mind for future projects.

But it began. The empire had survived its birth into a space actor, it had its eggs in more than one basket and slowly did they start to grow out. Several more star systems were explored, outposts set up in them, and soon would come the second colony, on a slightly less impressive, but still habitable world, one they called Athuras. Two more science vessels would be sent out, each with different orders, the second being instructed to simply explore the stars and give the systems no more than a glance and a mark on the map, while the third was to spend extensive time checking situations that Tasha had left behind in her task of scanning systems to prepare for claiming. She started to enjoy her job more after a particular event.

The woman would serve for thirty years, and after those years were gone, she could retire richer than most have the chance to be in one life. And yet she bought no private island, nor did she go on a binge through every luxury and casino until her wealth was consumed. The chief scientist spent most of everything on a hefty starter package and then settled down on Dawnlight, establishing a farming complex that would outlive her name by centuries. Another challenge. It was right and she lived long after her retirement to still give out to the people.