Manuel feels like he’s trespassing on Udo’s journey. “Are you sure? That you want me to stay with you I mean?”

  “Yes,” she says determinedly. “Besides, where else are you going to sleep? In the janitor’s office?” She smiles up at him, proud of herself. She opens a door and discovers a petite three-piece bathroom. “This is cute,” she says, not really meaning it.

  “It’s everything we need.” Manuel says, hands on hips surveying the 100 square metre room. “Thank you for giving me this,” he says sincerely to Udo.

  “You could have buggered off with the ticket you gave me and had this all to yourself,” she says, “but you didn’t. You’re a good person, Manny.”

  Manuel feels a shock of recognition when she called him Manny. His little sister used to call him that.

  ____________________________________________________________

  Manuel and Udo agree to visit the dining hall separately until they are far enough out of the system that should his unlawful boarding be discovered, they would not turn the ship around. He swipes Udo’s ID card which they found in the room on his EC, and for the moment, assumes her identity.

  He moves through the lower deck and up one of the many elevators to the dining hall deck. As he moves to exit the elevator a woman bumps into him, seemingly oblivious to what’s going on around her. Manuel is taken aback; she is beautiful, he thinks. Captivated by her soft features and glowing, dark skin he realizes his mouth is open and quickly shuts it as she offers an apology and boards the elevator.

  Manuel is tempted to follow her in but remembers he’s not really supposed to be here. “I’m Manuel,” his name leaps out of his mouth. The vision in a tight-fitted, white body suit looks up at him from her EC, removes a sound dampening earphone and replies.

  “I’m Tessa.” The elevator door closes, and Manuel realizes he’s wearing a goofy grin as he’s left with only his reflection in the steel door.

  He feels light-headed. The girl of his dreams is aboard the same ship as him, and for the next eleven years there’s not much he can do about that. She must be my penance for sneaking my way on this ship.

  ____________________________________________________________

  After an impressively tasty meal in the ship’s dining hall, Tessa winds her way through the massive ship’s hallways, arcades, shops, and foyers to her assigned room. It is a one bedroom with a tiny wet bar and four-piece bath. She enters the bedroom and sits at the edge of a surprisingly comfortable mattress. Tessa removes her dampening headphones and lays back on the bed. Without the headphones it would be very difficult for her to be on this ship. Loud noises upset her. She wore them the entire time she fought alongside Admiral Chopra near the end of the war, just before Allfather’s Kamikaze charge on Earth.

  Tessa’s thoughts drift to the man at the elevator. He was handsome, but nervous, she thinks, smiling despite herself. Perhaps if she pursued a relationship during the length of this journey, the journey itself would not seem so long. She has loved once; Sol, the arrogant fool of a man who stole her away from her mother. She was blinded by his confidence and the way he could sooth her troubled soul. But it was all a fallacy. He had used her for her intellect.

  She still remembers the tender touch of his kiss though, her slender fingers now tracing the lines of her full lips, but those memories always transform into the violent backhand he had delivered at the end. She’d been stunned by the hit, both physically and emotionally, but recovered enough to put him down with a knee to his groin. She rolls over and assumes the fetal position on her new bed. “Manuel,” she whispers to herself, and drifts off to sleep.

  ____________________________________________________________

  Labyrinth watches as the bridge prepares to fire the engines, communicating with Luna base and their military escort. “Tyson 4 envoy 1 prepped and ready,” the captain says. The captains from envoy 2 and 3 mimic her readiness. “You look good for full burn,” the new commander of Luna base offers. “Military escorts, one through five, please report on readiness.” All five captains report on their positive status for a full burn.

  “Strap in,” the captain calls out to her bridge crew and then announces a similar order to her colonists over the comm. “Please use the belted seats in your residence. If currently in the dining hall or an entertainment facility, note that every seat aboard the ship is equipped with safety belts. This is for your own welfare. Please secure yourself first, children and the elderly next. You have three minutes. Enjoy the G-forces; they’ll last just a few seconds.”

  Labyrinth is thrilled to have been invited onto the bridge for this momentous event. She is recording the experience for posterity and routing it back to Earth on Chancellor Chopra’s request via her roaming lance. They will experience everything in real time. She takes a seat: her matte black armour contrasting against the white faux leather of the guest chair as well as the stark, glossy white of the bridge walls and consoles.

  The crew is dressed in black and cream coloured apparel, only slightly different from the black and gold jumpsuits of the military personnel accompanying them on the destroyer and four corvettes. Each is heavily armed and carries with them dozens of defence satellites to be placed in Tyson 4’s orbit. Tyson 4 has one moon much like Earth’s moon. A planned base will be set up there via MakerTech drones within the first year. All three destination planets will undergo the same procedures. Hyperion with its three moons, and Buma Dos with its two.

  “Go for full burn,” the captain repeats. Labyrinth watches on as she grips the armrests of her command chair, easing her head back so not to have to fight the coming G’s. “On my mark,” she continues. “Engage.” With the command comes a spectacular push against Labyrinth’s chassis. AI Hosts have inertia sensors throughout their bodies to assist with spatial recognition. These can also experience sensations of pain and pleasure, but one must appoint those features. She registers three gravities pushing against her frame. In mere seconds, as the ship reaches maximum velocity, the one-G norm is returned to the bridge, as it would be the rest of the ship, and the captain announces to the crew and colonists that it is now safe to move about the carrier.

  Labyrinth takes a call from Senator Quinn, his mentor and fellow enlightened AI Host. He wishes her a safe and speedy trip to Tyson 4. She thanks him and stands to receive another message from former Chancellor Bellows to join him in his cabin. Tessa, Tobias, and his wife have also been invited. She excuses herself and thanks the captain for the honour of being allowed on her bridge.

  KNOCK KNOCK

  In Raymond’s cabin Tobias and Ginny join him and Darla first. Tobias is impressed by the size of his ‘estate’, as he calls it. Ginny is equally stunned at the amenities included in their suite. Samantha sleeps on Ginny’s chest, bound to her in a sling. Darla fusses over the baby and leads them into the great room.

  “Who do you have to know to get a place like this?” Tobias teases, eyeing the bar and pouring himself a whiskey. He motions to Ginny and she shakes her head requesting soda water.

  “It’s a duplicate of the Captain’s quarters,” Darla tells thim, “I know, it’s too much isn’t it?”

  “Tobias is only kidding, Commander – uh, Darla. Our suite is just as nice, just… not as big.” She smiles at Darla’s slightly embarrassed expression. “You both deserve it.”

  “Thank you, Ginny,” Darla feels the flush fade from her round face. Tobias is such a sarcastic man, she thinks, never sure when to take him seriously. Tessa rings the door next and is welcomed in while Labyrinth trails close behind.

  “Welcome,” Raymond extends his arms and ushers them all into the great room where he has light jazz playing on his holo recorder. “Can I get anyone anything?” Darla is putting out hot hors d'oeuvres for the guests along the bar counter.

  “It’s beautiful, Chancellor,” Tessa offers, her eyes darting from one wall to the next, analyzing the features and decorative touches. “I’m sorry,” she says, “I-I should call you Raymond now.”

  “Please,” Raymond replies. “We’re all equals here.”

  “If you’re not judging by the size of our suite, that is,” Tobias ribs as he takes a drink from his rocks glass. CADDY seems put off that she isn’t filling requests for libations and makes herself known.

  “You have an AI Host,” Labyrinth says with a degree of surprise. “I hadn’t realized.”

  “If CADDY makes you uncomfortable, Labyrinth -” Darla starts but is cut off.

  “No, no, not at all, Darla. I was not aware there were A-class onboard.” Labyrinth explains. “I know that several other classes of Hosts are aboard to maintain the shops and machinery, but A-class I thought were left to Earth.”

  “We don’t have one,” Tobias offers, “if that makes you feel any better.”

  Labyrinth’s eyes tell a story of discomfort even though her words say otherwise. She feels strange being in the presence of ‘dumb’ AI that could be given the gift of sentience but was denied as a coping mechanism for United Earth’s attempts to normalize the day to day operations of life.

  “There are no more than five A-class, mostly reserved for the crew cabins. B-class run the entertainment facilities and shops and dining halls while C-class assist with menial tasks around the ship, and D-class support tech and mechanics.” Raymond explains.

  “I read there are F-class here,” Tessa says, moving slowly through the suite, landing on a painting; a reproduction of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

  “Yes, fifty in total.” Raymond replies, placing his wine glass down to be refilled by CADDY. “Precautionary, of course. They won’t be animated unless absolutely necessary.”

  A pause in the conversation gives Darla a chance to voice why they’ve invited them here. “We’ve asked you all here to celebrate with us the beginning of a new life, together.” Darla raises her glass, happy to change the subject. “To a new world, a new start and adventurous lives -” She stops short of her toast as the ship shudders violently.

  “Please return to your cabins,” the captain’s voice can be heard over the comm, “we’re experiencing some unexpected turbulence.”

  Darla looks to Raymond, her eyes communicating the terror behind them. “Turbulence? In space?” The music stops.

  “A meteor field we hadn’t prepared for?” Ginny suggests, cradling her baby. CADDY falls rigid to the floor and those near her jump at the action. The mood in the room goes from confused to frightened.

  Raymond’s EC lights up and the captain’s holo representation ignites over his forearm. “Chancellor,” she begins, “Would you please grace us with your presence on the bridge.” He’s been around long enough to know this wasn’t a request. He looks up at Darla, mouth agape and returns his focus to the captain. “I’ll be right there.”

  “I’m not sitting this out,” Tobias tells him, placing his drink on the bar top. Labyrinth also joins the charge out of the cabin and toward the bridge. Tessa wonders if her calculations which motivated her to join this journey had just come to pass and also excuses herself from the room.

  As the four enter the bridge where two C-class security Hosts lay on the ground, what they witness in the view ports and onscreen tell a story very much removed from any meteor field. Raymond feels sick over the thoughts running through his head.

  “Chancellor,” the captain turns from her place at the viewscreen. “Have you encountered anything like this in your dealings with Allfather?” Raymond squints to try to clarify the blur which seems to be surrounding the exterior of their ship. “Our engines have stalled and systems seem to be in a state of suspended animation.” She points at her pilot’s console. Everything is frozen. There are no readouts coming through where there ought to be dozens.

  “Are you suggesting this is an attack on our fleet?” Raymond asks, still stunned over what’s happening. The captain shrugs her shoulders. Raymond looks to his nephew and Tobias shrugs as well. “No, we haven’t experienced anything like this, but I’m not discounting the possibility.” Raymond admits freely.

  “Then we have something to go on,” Captain Huang says sharply. “Because nothing I’ve been trained for resembles what we’re experiencing right now.”

  “It appears to be some kind of space/time anomaly,” Labyrinth offers. “I’ve seen similar outcomes in computer trials, but no one has ever created one in the lab.”

  “That the engines have stopped and the computers are hanging in time, I concur with the Host.” Tessa is standing stock still, eyes wide; taking in the bizarre abnormality with her extraordinary mind.

  Tobias looks from Tessa to the captain, “Can we hail Earth?” The captain shakes her head. “The other ships?” Again, she shakes her head.

  “Everything is down, or to be more specific, stuck. The moment this anomaly came upon us, everything froze.” Huang is trying to keep her cool, but Raymond senses she won’t be for long.

  “Are we still moving? The gravity knitting system is still in place.” Labyrinth moves toward the view port.

  “As I said, it’s like we’re stuck.” Huang reasserts. “Whether we’re moving or not, we have no way of knowing.”

  “It’s like we’re in a bubble of time.” Tessa quietly reveals.

  “And that bubble may well be moving through space,” Labyrinth adds. “Or we could be standing still.”

  “My AI Host, CADDY, she dropped like a rock after you made the announcement, and the C-class outside your door -” Raymond recalls, looking to Labyrinth. She nods back at him. “I have no answer for that, Raymond.”

  “Whatever’s happening, we need a solution.” Tobias exclaims, charging toward the viewscreen. “If our hands are tied from inside, maybe we should send a team out to perform a space walk.” He feels trapped.

  “Out of the question,” Captain Huang says. “We don’t know what that might do to someone.”

  “Let’s get our bearings,” Raymond takes charge of the situation as though it’s second nature. He can’t quite believe he’s living through another possible attempt by Allfather, but if not him, who, or what? “We need to approach this with cool heads. Can we view the trip up until the anomaly engulfed the ship? There may be a clue as to where it originated.”

  “Like from another ship,” Tobias adds, “it could have been fired on us from someone we can counter.”

  “We can’t even fire our engines,” Huang reiterates, frustrated over the circumstances, “What possible counter do you suggest?” She turns back to Raymond. “And no, I’m afraid we cannot review our logs as they too are frozen. Everything is stuck in time.”

  Just then the ship feels as though it has come to an abrupt stop, and those not seated are thrown a meter forward, some losing their balance. Raymond is steadied by Tobias, and Labyrinth assists Tessa back to her feet. Everyone is startled but not harmed.

  “Does that answer our question whether we’ve been moving?” Tobias is agitated. They all are. Suddenly the field falls around them and empty space is revealed beyond the view ports and screens. The captain rushes over to her console to receive coordinates. The Ship’s navigation computers take a few moments to catch up with the sudden change, star maps zoom across the holo in a blur, stopping on an unlikely quadrant of their Milky Way galaxy.

  “That’s not possible,” she mutters. Raymond and the others group around her, taking in the preposterous data hovering above the console. “These are reading light years,” she tells them, gobsmacked. “There’s no way this is right.”

  Tobias throws his hands up and slides in next to his uncle to study the star map. “Light years! Are we at Tyson 4?”

  “Nowhere near it” Huang says, taking a deep breath. “By these coordinates, we’re nearer the galactic centre by 200 light years.” Her eyes dart back and forth at her read out. “Impossible.”

  “Anything is possible, Captain,” Tessa says curtly. “We’ve experienced something only imagined hypothetically.”

  “Faster than light,” Labyrinth says. “It’s extraordinary.” She looks up from the console to take in the star field beyond. “It’s revolutionary.”

  “Is it a natural phenomenon?” Raymond asks. Or something more devious.

  “Nature is unpredictable.” Labyrinth explains calmly. “The universe was created to move energy efficiently. This is breaking the laws as we know them, but evolutionarily speaking, it’s possible nature might outdo itself.”

  “Physical laws must be followed,” Raymond says absently. “At least, by nature.”

  The group remains in a state of amazement for a moment, trying to wrap their heads around this event. “I–I need to make an announcement to the colonists,” Captain Huang says distractedly. She looks to Raymond, a silent cry for help creasing her brow.

  “Tell them you’re sorry for the abrupt stop, and that we’ll be running diagnostics on the ship’s systems and getting back on course in a few hours,” Raymond tells her. “That should buy us some time.”

  “Was it a wormhole?” Tobias wonders. “Can we take it back?”

  “If we can’t, we had better start looking for habitable planets in the stellar neighbourhood,” Raymond suggests.

  “Captain Huang?” a male voice penetrates the bridge’s comm. “This is Captain Runninghorse of your escort destroyer UE0026. Have you any data on what’s just happened and how we got here?” She looks to Raymond again for guidance.

  “Captain, this is former Chancellor Bellows. I’ve been invited to the bridge by Captain Huang as counsel. We believe we entered a wormhole.”

  “That is our hypothesis as well. There’s no chance of our making Tyson 4 now. It would take well over 200 years to span that distance from where we are.” He sounds anxious over the facts and rightfully so.

  “Scan the area for potential systems we might colonize and we’ll do the same. It’s our only chance at survival now.” Raymond doesn’t sugar-coat it. This is a fact. They’ll die in space if they can’t find a livable planet in the next few days and spend the next ten years traveling to. “The sooner we can locate a suitable alternative to Tyson 4, the better chance we have.”