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Record Breaker

Copyright (c) 2017, FarmWolf's player

Kataran Spaceflight Research Facility, Transwarp Sector

Earthdate 1896

"Experimental, this is Flight Control. You are go for launch."

"Roger that, Flight!"

Project Transwarp's chief pilot, Lieutenant Felix Steiger, ran through his prelaunch checklist, preparing his ship to become the fastest object in known space. As he touched the pads, setting the systems from the holographic checklist before him, he couldn't help having second thoughts. If you'd asked if he was nervous, he'd have admitted it readily and asked, "What sane person wouldn't be?" As soon as he acknowledged the apprehension, he dismissed it with practiced ease. He always got a bit nervous before he made a ship do something new. Whatever people might say, test pilots did indeed feel fear; they just managed their anxieties easily.

After Felix opened the docking bay and slid his ship out on its rail, he finished his checklist and took one final overview of the control panel. As he did, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the polished surface. The vaguely canine visage looked back at him, confident and appraising. Felix finished scanning the instruments, ran his claws through his cream and tan fur, and turned his attention ahead. "Flight, this is Experimental. Departing now." He straightened up in his acceleration seat, activated the maneuvering thrusters, and released the clamps. "Experimental is away."

The ship, which resembled a fat needle, dropped away from the rotating space station. Felix continually checked his course as he increased power to the thrusters. In moments, Felix was far away from the station and he shifted propulsion to the sublight engines. He set them for half the speed of light and set course for the test site.

* * *

"Flight, this is Experimental, approaching test site," Felix reported. "Activating onboard flight recorder and telemetry."

"Experimental, we are receiving your telemetry. Continue on flight plan."

"Roger, Flight."

Felix verified the flight plan in his computer and brought the warp engines online. As the ship crossed the warp barrier, he felt the transition. When it was gone, he focused on his panel. The speed indicator moved steadily higher; already he was going 250 times the speed of light and accelerating fast. His goal would be 5000, which he had nearly reached last time. He'd brought the transwarp drive online, but not engaged it, at the maximum speed of conventional ships, a final test of the new technology in the realm of known velocities. This run would be groundbreaking.

"Flight, this is Experimental, passing 1000_c_."

"Roger, Experimental, we read you are passing 1000."

By the time the ship passed 4000_c_, its acceleration was slowing as the warp engines neared the top end of their performance range. "4500," Felix called out. "Bringing transwarp drive online. 4600. 4700. Holding steady at 4750_c_." That was the record. No Kataran ship had gone faster than 4750 times the speed of light. Felix scanned the transwarp control panel, then reported, "Transwarp propulsion system is online and ready to engage."

"Roger, Experimental, we read transwarp drive is ready. Initiate at your discretion."

"Roger, Flight. Standby," Felix replied. He checked the instrument panel one final time and touched a pad. The light changed from red to green and the transwarp instruments came up on his holographic display. Felix could feel the transwarp drive engaging. It created an undercurrent of massive power augmenting the surround-sound of the hard-working warp drive, which gradually died away after the computer shut it down.

"Flight, this is Experimental. Transwarp is engaged."

"Roger, Experimental. Good luck!"

"Thank you, Flight. Now, let's break some records!" Felix began to accelerate, closely observing the instruments and calling out the speeds as he passed them.

"4760. 4780." Felix accelerated faster, now that he had a better feel for the transwarp drive's capabilities. "4950. 4975. 5000. Holding steady at 5000_c_. And she's barely ticking over." Felix heard a triumphant howl from the flight director, and he heard something else, too. "Is the entire control clearing howling, Flight?" he inquired.

Through the howling on the other end, Koy said, "Yes, Felix, we're all pretty excited over here! You have just broken the transwarp barrier, after all!"

"I know that, but I think it will take a little while to sink in. I'm going to maintain speed for another thirty seconds, then wrap up the test."

"Acknowledged."

Felix held the ship at 5000 for half a minute, then cut the transwarp drive. The experimental vessel dropped out of transwarp and Felix set course back to the test facility. He brought the warp drive back online and set it for 4500_c_, a comfortable cruising speed for the high-powered ship.

As the autopilot steered his ship home, Felix reviewed the flight logs. Most variables had kept close to the computer models and simulator flights, but the most critical component had deviated. The transwarp injector showed a slight variance from projected performance. Not enough to cause alarm, but certainly something to investigate.

* * *

As Felix came within visual range of the orbital test facility, he made his last radio call of the flight.

"Flight, Experimental is on final approach, requesting permission to dock."

"Permission granted. We're looking forward to welcoming our hero."

Felix took the controls and guided his ship toward the station. It resembled a length of round tubing bent into a circle and spun to produce gravity Its clear inner half had a fusion rope attached to its apex for light and power. Under this perpetually starry sky was an array of ecozones from various regions of the planets in the Kataran Republic. The crew lived on the outer edges with large windows looking out into space. The part of the station "down" from there contained science labs, life-support machinery, docking bays, and other things necessary for a life in space.

Felix aligned his needle-shaped ship with the station, keeping slightly to one side, and approached it from the outer half of the wheel, aiming for his docking rail. When he was close enough, a set of tractor beams activated, guiding his ship to contact the rail, which clamped the Experimental securely for retraction into the dock itself.

The docking rail contained a gangway and umbilicals, and Felix began the postflight checklist while the ship slid into the station. After the ship was on station power, he deactivated the pilot's seat restraints, powered down the ship, and double-checked that the flight logs had synced with the station. As Felix left the Experimental, he silently thanked it for a successful flight.

When Felix stepped through the station side of the airlock, every member of Project Transwarp hurried forward to greet him, yipping and howling. Felix's mate, Kisara, led the congratulatory group. She touched her nose to his in familiar greeting, then wrapped her arms around him, abandoning all pretense of reserve. He returned the gesture and as they held each other tight she whispered in his ear, "I'm so proud of you."

When Kisara released Felix, the rest of the team members took turns congratulating him. The flight director, Commander Albus Koy, offered Felix a meal. Felix accepted their congratulations cheerfully, but privately he was relieved when it was time for the postflight debriefing. As the magnitude of his accomplishment began to sink in, he started to feel overwhelmed and wanted to get away from large groups of people for awhile.

The debriefing was just Felix and Commander Koy in the flight director's area of the control clearing. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. What you've done will be the first act in the beginning of a new age for the known galaxy. But now for the important part: How did she fly in transwarp?" They progressed through the various aspects of the flight until they reached the final piece of data: the variance in the transwarp injector assembly. When asked for his insight on this fluctuation, Felix directed Koy's attention to the flight logs.

"Well, sir, from what I can tell, the alloy becomes unstable in transwarp. One of the elements used in the assembly is extremely dynamic, even under normal conditions. Unfortunately, that element is what makes transwarp flight possible."

"The techs are working on the problem. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep the injector under control now that they have data from an actual transwarp flight."

"I'm confident they will, sir. Kisara and her team are among the best."

"Your mate is an excellent problem solver," agreed the commander. "You're dismissed. And again, my congratulations."

"Thank you, sir."

That afternoon, Felix appeared at the scheduled media event. Kisara and he sat in the center of a panel of the top members of the transwarp flight team, which also included two of Kisara's designers on her side and two of Felix's ship support staff on his. They answered questions about future flights and what the successful application of this technology might mean for Katarans and other races in the galaxy. Then Felix and Kisara gave individual interviews in which they stated their feelings and thoughts on the project and how it might affect the future.

After the media finished with the flight team, the fun began. The team members gathered in their favorite rec park to celebrate the success of the project. Before long, Felix again began to feel the overwhelming magnitude of his accomplishment. The setting of the park and his fellow team members began to take on a surreal air. Kisara soon noticed his discomfort, however and excused them both relatively early in the evening.

As they made their way along the trail to their den, Felix thanked Kisara for rescuing him.

"I was starting to feel overwhelmed," he said. "What I did today was pretty big. It was starting to catch up with me."

"Not a problem," Kisara replied. "Besides, I have something special planned for tonight--just the two of us."

"Sounds great," Felix replied.

As they passed through the entrance to their den, Felix saw the surprise Kisara had planned for him. Dinner for two was laid out on their cozy table. From across the small cavern, his sensitive nose processed the multitude of scents coming from it and realized the meal was composed from his favorite foods. He gave Kisara a quick kiss on the cheek. "This is wonderful, thank you."

"Just something I had the station's catering service put together." She gave him a playful grin. "It was the least I could do for my favorite test pilot."

Felix lit a fire in the hearth and they removed their uniforms and sat down to eat. Although the setting was more intimate than the park, for the moment they still felt like discussing the transwarp project.

"Congratulations, Felix," Kisara said. "What you did was truly amazing."

"You're the one who deserves the credit, Kisara. I just fly the ship. You built it."

"With the assistance of many other people."

"Yes, but you still deserve as much praise as I do, or more. I'm proud of you, and I always will be."

Kisara smiled, the firelight making her fangs glow. "Thank you, but the trail is still long. There are several more test flights to make, and before we can make them, I need to review the data logs and tune the injector. But I know we'll succeed."

"So do I. If anyone can fix that injector, it's you."

They enjoyed the rest of their dinner in relative silence, making occasional comments about the high quality of the meal, or some aspect of the transwarp project. As the evening progressed, however, Felix grew less interested in discussing test flights and instead began to notice, not for the first time, how Kisara's silver-grey fur practically glowed in the dancing candlelight. He thought about how lucky he was to have found someone as caring, intelligent, and beautiful as Kisara to spend his life with.

As they ended their dinner and retired to a rock ledge, Kisara was struck yet again by how much Felix meant to her. Under his dynamic coat of cream, tan, and chocolate was an equally intriguing personality. He was intelligent, witty, and courteous, and Kisara knew that he would do anything for her without hesitation.

Felix leaned toward Kisara and said, "Thanks again for dinner. It was excellent."

Kisara leaned close to Felix. "It was my pleasure."

"I want to tell you something that I don't get to tell you nearly often enough."

"What's that?" Kisara asked, though she knew the answer.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Felix," Kisara replied as they embraced.

Their muzzles met in a long, involved kiss.

Any remaining thoughts about the transwarp project or their dinner faded from their minds as their attention turned to more personal matters.