Rift Jumpers: Faster Than Light by Erik Schubach

Rift Jumpers: Faster Than Light by Erik Schubach

Author:Erik Schubach
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Erik Schubach
Published: 2016-04-20T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter 3 – Homecoming

We spent the next six months performing test jumps using the two probes until we exhausted their antimatter resources. We were even able to perform faster-than-light, FTL, communications between the two by having them barely graze the rifts with low power gravity spikes at the same time. Reducing the four and a half minute communication time lag to barely two seconds, but that was just the limitations of our equipment as it was never designed to be used in that manner. The possibilities were mind staggering.

We beamed our progress to Earth daily. Being transmitted at light speed, it would be two years before our research arrived and the rest of the human race knew that FTL travel was possible. We would be sojourning out to the stars faster than we ever imagined.

But we had a better way of informing them. We spent a couple months traveling to the main Sol- Proxima Centauri rift trunk and aligning the Dauntless. We compensated for stellar drift and prepped all systems.

I looked at my small crew, strapping into their seats on the main bridge. I said with a serious tone, “Last chance to back out. Either we all agree to this or we forget it and take the long way home.” Nobody said a word. God, I was proud of them.

It was time for the Dauntless to do the one thing it was designed to do. The first Rift Jumper-class vessel in space. I watched the readouts as the capacitors finally finished charging on their ninety-minute cycle. All systems showed green. I flipped the plastic cover open and flipped the switch inside. Trinn reached over and grabbed my other hand. I grinned at the loving smile on her face and I took a deep breath and said, “Jump drive armed.”

We all exhaled a collective breath as I said, “Initiating!” and I hit the red button on my controls.

There was a folding sensation, I was almost blinded by the bright purplish-blue flash. I nearly vomited but my eyes flashed to the main screen instead and Trinn yelled, “Shit!” as she fired the port thrusters and rolled the ship out of the way of an oncoming ore hauler coming up from Jupiter's moon Europa.

There was crackling on our speakers as we were hailed. “This is the ore hauler Hephaestus. Where the hell did you come from you sons of bitches? You almost killed us all!”

Trinn smoothly brought us about into the shipping lane toward Earth as I responded, “Hephaestus, this is the Dauntless. We apologize, we didn't intend to hit the shipping lanes on our transit from the fringe.”

His voice changed to one of respect, I think he thought we were from the Rift Contingent since they were just about the only humans crazy enough to be out at the fringe. “No problem, Captain. Godspeed.” Then he cut communications.

I took a moment to realize what we had just done as we all checked the systems on the Dauntless. In less than a second we had traveled from the fringe, two light years away, to Jupiter.



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