Scribbled this down during a incredibly boring assignment. Hope people
like it. Consider it partial apology for contributing to the sadfic surge.
:)
Making The Jump
- By Mike Loader
Based on characters created by Rumiko Takahashi
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And then, one day, it was ready.
The yard workers gathered for a solemn dedication ceremony, stood at
attention as their baby was eased out of her framework, and then
proceeded to have one hell of a party.
In the orbital facility's comm room, a exultant supervisor radioed the
news to a waiting planet.
It was ready. We've done it.
Earth followed the workers' example. Presidents and Premiers made
speeches, declared holidays, and then watched as their nations turned out
to celebrate in the streets.
The carefully selected crew, scattered across the world, were turned
out of their beds with the news.
It was ready.
The first faster-than-light spacecraft had slid free of its orbital
frame at 1200 hours, July 5, 2023.
Humanity was leaving the cradle.
* * *
Captain Mueller sat back in his command chair, and stretched. <I,> he
thought, <am a long way from Geneva. Going to be even father in a few
moments.>
Around him, the bridge crew was making the final preparations for the
Hyperspace jump. The UN had decided on Alpha Centauri as the destination
for the trial journey, although proximity really wasn't an issue.
According to the professor, the trip would be instantaneous.
The professor herself, a slender, middle-aged woman who had just
received the world's highest scientific honors, sat to his right. She had
insisted on accompanying the mission, and Mueller had been elated to have
her. After all, almost no one knew even the principle behind the H-Space
generator; if the thing broke down in orbit around Centauri he wanted to
have someone who knew how to fix it.
"Is everything satisfactory, Dr. Tendo?" he asked politely.
Professor Nabiki Tendo gave him a wide grin. "Everything is just fine,
Captain. Will the _Outstretched Hand_ be ready to jump soon?"
"A few more minutes. This must be quite a moment for you, Doctor. The
outcome of a life's work..."
Nabiki nodded. "I still remember the day I came up with the idea. I was
only eighteen at the time, and knew next to nothing about science. But I
saw the potential money that a working H-Space drive could bring -- I was
a profit-oriented little bastard back then -- and got a degree in Quantum
Physics instead of Business Management." She chuckled. "Took everyone by
surprise. And then, midway into my sophomore year, I realized that I
didn't want to be a CEO anymore. I had fallen in love with my work."
Mueller lifted an eyebrow. "You were only eighteen when the idea hit
you?"
"Actually, it hit someone else," Nabiki smirked.
Mueller puzzled this over for a second, and then shrugged. A light on
his chair turned red, and he straightened. "The ship is ready to make the jump
to hyperspace, Dr. Tendo."
"H-Space, Captain."
Mueller decided not to try to puzzle that out. "Here we go," he said,
and hit the drive button.
* * *
The H-space drive lay deep within the heart of the ship. Heavily
shielded, it had been declared off limits by Dr. Tendo. Everyone assumed
this was either for their safety or the equipment's. It wasn't.
Two large masses of protoplasm lay at the heart of the drive core. A
sophisticated scanning device monitored them around the clock, ready to
activate the second drive element.
As the button was pressed, the drive leapt into activity.
A stream of programmed DNA was released into each mass of
protoplasm. The plasm shuddered, shifted, and formed into two human
figures. One was a ponytailed boy, the other a shorthaired girl.
The newly formed boy looked at the girl. "Kawaiikune."
"RANMA NO BAKA!" responded the girl, and began to reach behind her. The
sensors clicked as the moment approached....
There! The opening! The H-space shunt kicked in, funneling the ship
sideways through the tiny aperture.
And with a flash of light, the _Outstretched Hand_ made the jump to
Hammerspace.