Starchaser Ch. 01: The Beginning

-/v\-

The warm ocean breezes are exactly what I have needed to clear my head. The past few months have been a whirlwind of life changing events, some for the better, some not so much. From a failed relationship, to a move to a foreign country for a job opportunity, my life is nothing like I had imagined it would be at this point in my life. But that's okay since life is an adventure and we aren't supposed to know what comes next. It's actually exciting to see what the future may hold, it's intriguing and I have always liked surprises. I also know with some hard work, personal courage and optimism, I'll be just fine. Even before I left home a few years ago, somehow everything would fall into place when I least expected it. The only thing I know is missing is having someone to share it all with... Maybe he is out there waiting for me, maybe looking for me, maybe in time.

The island is just what I had hoped it would be too. Beautiful scenery, friendly locals, and real estate opportunities galore. I got into real estate when it was obvious to me college was not for me. It took some doing to get to where I could be successful with it and I had a good mentor. But sometimes people get wrong impressions, good people with good intentions who perceive something that isn't, and actions speaking louder than words ever could make continuing with them impossible. I am sure with a little careful planning and aggressive investing I could easily set myself up for life in just a few short years. This island has been good to me so far.

My greatest enjoyment lately has been these cool evenings when I can come down to the beach club for a drink in the night air. I've made a few casual friends here. The bartenders know me well and they watch out for me making sure the guys, especially are treating me right. More than once they have helped me out of uncomfortable encounters with overly interested men who obviously had only one thing on their mind. Cocoanut Rum can do amazing things for people but not usually in large quantities and that is this bar's signature drink for anyone not ordering beer. Thankfully, tonight has been a quiet evening without many thirsty predatory types around, and none in the past couple of hours. It has been so peaceful since the last group left almost an hour ago.

I started on my second glass of red wine Paulo was a dear to bring to me while I was looking off to the stars. I appreciated he did not ask and break my train of thought, the bartenders are more attentive than people know. I was feeling the thin stem of the wine glass with my fingertips feeling really good when I'm shaken out of my ocean view star gazing and the beginning of tonight's arousal. His was a warm friendly, "Hello!" that got my immediate attention. I am looking at a tall, handsome man with a welcoming smile.

I can't stop myself from blushing a little and I can feel myself smiling, and when I can speak I can only manage to squeak out, "Good evening, Noel," followed by a string of coughs induced by wine that went down the wrong way. I wasn't embarrassed by anything except for the fact that I was caught daydreaming by the hottest looking guy I have ever seen on the island or, anywhere. My eyes follow him and I realize I am still stroking the wine glass stem, I stop doing it hope he hasn't noticed me enjoying the tactile pleasure. His eyes are not moving away from me and it has an intoxicating effect on me as much as the wine is doing.

I watch him take a seat at the next table over to where I am sitting, not too close but near enough for a cordial and respectful conversation. Not wanting to leave it at my squeaking greeting, I smile again and say, "lovely evening isn't it Barrett?" I know I need to say his name a few times for it to stick. I always have to do that so I don't lose track of someone's name which is the fastest way to lose a customer. I'm looking directly at him and I know I probably shouldn't. I hope I'm not making myself look like a desperate woman, but he is so very pleasant to look at.

This man Barrett is definitely no tongue dragging Neanderthal type and he's actually displaying traits of a well bred man if not a true gentleman. Barrett, a rugged adventurous name, manly and so masculine, exactly what a girl needs at this time of night... at any time of day. His eyes at first seemed to be looking straight through me as our eyes connected. There was something in his eyes though, something I have never seen before. He can keep looking at me for as long as he wants to, I don't want this feeling to end.

o/o

This beautiful woman snapped to focus as I watched. It was obvious to me she was drawn back to her seat from some place far away she had been enjoying. Her face became more delightful than she was before and her smile immediately lit up the night all around us. Her coughing, while not attractive, makes her authentic and that alone is most appealing as it allows for no overtures and no hiding behind a mask. It is clear she breathed in some of her red wine and that alone causes the coughing to clear her windpipe. I move to sit at the table next to hers just far enough away to provide comfort during a first encounter. Far enough for the perception of distance yet close enough to foster pleasant conversation.

The bartender comes out from behind the bar towards us and I was glad of it. Being my cordial 'Space Captain on planet leave with the locals' self, I request a local beer with no intentions of finishing it. Beer is something I look forward to, especially IPA or Stout, but inebriation is nothing I want, not as a Starship Captain when clarity of mind is essential on a 24/7/365/4.4 basis. Should inebriation happen, a phased transport can solve it in a microsecond but with my constantly monitoring ship functions and the proximity sensor network, the Sol System has top priority regardless of how attractive the woman is I am with.

I laugh at what I'm going to say next before saying it because it is so cliché. "So Noel, do you come around here often?" I lift my just received beer glass in silent toast to my hopefully new friend never letting my eyes stray from her beauty. I've always found using a tired old line to break the ice, using what I understand is called dad humor, to be disarming especially in a relaxed circumstance as this.

Personally, I have nothing to fear or worry about with my ability to return to Starchaser at a single thought. The universal neural transmitter connection keeping track of me constantly, though thankfully no information besides emergency is transmitted otherwise. So my behavior is relaxed to the point of acting like I belong exactly where I am even though I've never been here before. But my comfort at this moment has nothing to do with the idea of slipping away feeling like I don't want this moment to end anytime soon. I can hear her speaking and see in my mind's eye the situation screens on the bridge but now I am the one unfocused and thankful I can have Starchaser play back her entire conversation to review what I missed allowing me to just enjoy being with the most beautiful woman I have ever met.

===

Barrett finds Noel's conversation to be an indication of how comfortable she is around him, much more than any he can remember anyone being before. The last person who gave him this feeling of being comfortable with him, was a shuttlecraft flight trainer at Farpoint when he was learning everything about a shuttlecraft that now he almost never gets to fly. The design of his shuttle is a significant update of the one Ranger Rick had drawn for Gene Roddenberry that became the first Star Trek Galileo shuttlecraft. Barrett's shuttle was the latest production model off the assembly lines of the Short Range Shuttle shipyards on Farpoint when he took command of his newly launched Starchaser. His SRS model type is called an Equinox Flyer, a sleek craft designed for atmospheric transit and short duration space travel of not more than 60 Earth rotations and 900 billion km, essentially the distance light travels in that time period as the shuttle can reach 0.9% lightspeed and lacks hyperspace engines.

His conversations with the shuttle training instructor made learning so much fun that he hadn't realized a whole Farpoint rotation, the equivalent of an Earth month, had past at the conclusion of training. Barrett had actually passed all his requirements well before the end of training but the instructor had enjoyed him as a student to the degree of not giving him a passing grade earlier than absolutely necessary. Not every student was gifted as Barrett who demonstrated natural ability in all aspects of Shuttle care, maintenance, handling and emergency procedures. Comparatively, Noel is just as easy on his brain but to him she is much better looking than his shuttle training instructor had been, even as a former Avalonian Beauty Queen she was. Noel is very easy on the eyes and Barrett finds himself wanting to know everything about her.

She moved closer to him and she had something about her he could not place. Something Barrett had never experienced before, as if he was meeting himself in the form of a very attractive woman. Everything about her was fitting into place like pieces of a puzzle he hadn't realized he was missing from the puzzle of himself. Uncharacteristically, he discovered he had finished his first beer and the attentive bartender had already put a second beer in his hand. That alone should have made him uncomfortable. The fact that it hadn't caused him alarm he was attributing to his growing confidence that Noel was indeed someone different.

Someone different and worth his attention, his energy, and the benefit of any doubt. She was already gaining benefits from him lacking any of the warning signs that have always before now caused him to put distance between himself and someone with signs of being clingy or other behaviors to be avoided. Lacking doubts in his thoughts that she was someone to be held in suspicion. He had already tripped a Datastream search for her image, voice patterns, and eye print in the shipboard datafile architecture, similar to what humans would refer to as the world wide web, and Starchaser has all the www architectures accessed as well.

o/o

I know this might be too soon, we only just met but I need to be able to speak to Noel without an audience. It is great the bartender is keeping a close eye on her but what I have to find out, and what she might be soon to find out, is not for anyone but me and her to know. As a response to all the things she was saying, most of which I am going to have to review in the Datastream, I ask her, "Would you like to take a walk down the beach? The waves are awash on the sand and the moon is rising over the horizon. The sky is amazing here at night, and it's amazing how much you can see through the atmosphere, we will be able to see so much more away from the lights." I had moved closer to her with my chair as I spoke keeping a little space remaining between us. I know from experience my elevated heart rate is processing the alcohol fast enough in my system to keep the amazing conversation between us from turning sour. I am quite certain there is nothing she can say at this point that I would not find fascinating. I know Starchaser is continuing to process the correlation search.

/v\

I usually have red lights and sirens going off in my head when making conversation with someone new, especially with men I meet in clubs and there were a few of them earlier right here tonight. But there are none of those things happening here with Barrett. No red flags, no creepy sense of cringe, no expectation of the next word being something disappointing. Nothing. He is comfortable and relaxed and articulate, looking like he is completely at ease without any signs he is making any real effort. I am comfortable and relaxed and just as articulate thanks to wine going down the right way.

It is as if I had been expecting him to say something, to ask something. Expecting him to give us the opportunity to have privacy to find out if what I am feeling is as real as what appears to be what he is feeling too. So Barrett suddenly asking me to take a walk on the beach with him is just wow! How can I refuse! And what kept him from asking me to walk with him sooner? I cannot deny my excitement about the thought of being alone with this amazing stranger who does not seem to be a stranger at all. Words have escaped me for the first time, of many times I hope and I hope not, he does make it difficult to keep myself from wanting too much, much more than I should having just met him. I shouldn't be thinking of him as my Barrett.

I wave to the bartender Paulo, "we are going to take a walk," with a smile not moving too close to Barrett so my friend won't think anything needs intervention. Paulo nods to me and tells us "be careful and I'll see you when you get back." I pay my tab and slip my wallet into my pocket. Paulo and I had exchanged phone numbers a few weeks ago when he was looking for an apartment, and by our arrangement from one difficult time with a drunk a while ago, I know he will call to check on me If I'm gone too long.

I stepped off the elevated floor down the steps to the beach feeling Barrett's footsteps on the step behind the one I was on. A gentleman indeed with me one step in front of him where he can see over my head and control the situation if he needed to. But there is nobody down here except the two of us. We walk unhurried in a stroll down the beach away from the lights of the nightclub and all the other buildings. Our hands in our own pockets at least for now. My sandals taken off in the soft sand away from where the town is by the beach, it seems like we are far away from everyone in a very short time. I feel safe and I feel excited, this is the way I always dreamed it would be with the right man. I should not be thinking of him as my Barrett.

o/o

We walk along like two old friends without hurry and false pretenses, this beautiful woman and me. The conversation has fallen away somewhat, more quieter moments. Topics still on the surface that center mostly on facts about the island, the properties, the locals and island visitors. I'm perfectly happy to have my hands in my own pockets without her trying to put her hands in my pockets too, a most uncomfortable thing from several birthdays ago. "How long have you been here Noel, and... what would you do if you could do anything at all, no matter how crazy or out of this world it might sound?" A couple of simple questions that allow for the possibility of off-hand insignificant responses or perhaps something amazing. I'm actually hoping for a wondrous fantasy, or even something between wonderous and mundane as long as I get to know Noel better.

The conversation stayed surface about happenings and local points of interest. Talking about things like comparing what we like to do, kinds of music we like to listen to, favorite past times and places traveled. Seeking commonalities and reasons to continue walking along together, continuing talking, and continuing to get to know each other better having had no knowledge of each other before not more than an hour ago.

We have made it down the beach to a rocky groin that creates a corner along the shore. The waves rush onto the rocks creating a phosphorescent foam as we walk towards the rocks and stop next to them. The only way past is to climb over to reach the beach on the other side of the rocks. I move my hand to hers ready to help her on the broken rocks and across the gaps between them. Our hands touch and grip firmly as we climb with sandy bare feet on the stone. Over the top we use each other to remain steady as we climb down onto the deserted sand beach beyond.

The sand and surf is bathed in moonlight and there is not a single building, artificial light source, or another person in sight. We are all alone together with the expanse of the universe over our heads. Whatever Earth creatures are around us are keeping themselves out of sight. Our hands have not separated and for the first time since I was a young boy aboard Recalcitrant, I am walking holding someone's hand feeling like it is the absolute right thing to do and I can see she has no intention of letting go of my hand. I should not be thinking of her as my Noel.

===

The region of the Milky Way galaxy where Sol and its 9 planets is found is considered low priority in the Avalonian Combine. It has been more than 2000 Earth years since the Ra had control of the sector and system. The Ra had a propensity for involving themselves in undeveloped indigenous societies, rendering them into dedicated and brainwashed workers as a resource provider while portraying themselves as gods. The Ra consumed the region of Earth called the Nile river valley to the point where its fertile soils and burgeoning forests became barren wastes of sahra (Arabic for desert), as it remains to present day. They had also started the same cultivation on the other major equatorial landmass tropical region before the Avalonian Combine attempted to influence them away to other less developed systems.

Interstellar diplomatic efforts were made to confront the Ra to convince them they needed to reform their ethical failings. Efforts that resulted in a conflict known as the Ra Vengeance War. The Ra resorted to using their starship mass weapons in an all out attempt to destroy Avalonian Starfighters and their supporting Long Range Survey Ships, unusually long spacecraft with a length that compares to the diameters of smaller moons, built at Farpoint station in the LRSS shipyards. Ra starships proved no match for Avalonian defensive shields, defensive weapons, and enveloping tactics of the Starfighter squadrons. Not a single Ra ship or living being survived the destruction of their attack fleet, nor their subsequent mass suicide extinction as required by their inflexible social construct.

That final act made it necessary for Avalonian ships to sentry in every system abandoned by the Ra. The Order of the Rangers was created and the new class of ships was assigned to the new mission as it would take too long to build the number of LRSS to meet the demand. A new material was invented by Farpoint engineers called Lexan Matrix using technology discovered on the ancient station. The material could be created into a continuous form without seams integrating systems into its structure so that corrosion, oxidation, and exposure to contaminants including biological interferences was not possible. It was this revolutionary material that was used for the hull of the new Cutlass Class Cruiser that was now to be deployed to the vulnerable systems that opportunists, who were unsuitable to be part of the Avalonian Combine, would surely take advantage of their resources.

Lexan Matrix is opaque to all energy wavelengths except in the visual range and in visual wavelengths it is transparent in its natural state. Even ultraviolet and infrared cannot pass through it and neither can subatomic particles neutrinos and quarks. Pigment introduced in the Matrix as it is formed make it visually opaque creating protective panels rendered where needed. All places without pigment are windows in an impenetrable, seamless hull mass. It was also the first ship constructed using phased transportation to move fabricated assemblies directly from rarified atmospheres into the hull without exposure to other elements.

Resulting efficiencies for maintenance and durability made maintenance crews obsolete for the design type. It also made autonomous damage repair an integral part of each ship's capability for self repair while underway in continuous operation, theoretically even during battle taking damage. Theoretically because no Avalonian Cutlass Class DS Cruiser has been in battle as every encounter with a vessel showing hostility has ended with the attacking vessel rendered inoperative or destroyed by action of its own weapons. Energy management has yet to have any issues including conservation during extended patrols where simply passing through nebulous materials was sufficient to recharge the ship to full capacity.