Time to Orbit: Unknown

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next After that, I was pretty bored for a while. Ella did get more busy in the lab and couldn’t hang out with me much, and the historians were also busy, spending all of their time looking through the Stalwart’s databanks even though they admitted that they didn’t expect … Continue reading 42: Holding Pattern

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “That can’t be right,” I said. “We definitely don’t do things the way you do.” “Well, the Stalwart was built two colonies ago. Maybe your society’s changed since then.” “Maybe yours has.” “Ha! You might be right.” She suddenly stopped smiling and looked thoughtful. “Actually, you probably are. … Continue reading 41: The Colonisation Paradox

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next Trying to find out why Tikka thought that other ships were deadly was hard. I couldn’t understand most of what she tried to tell me, and it seemed like she didn’t know, either. Like maybe it was just something that the grown ups had warned her about. She … Continue reading 40: Ability Rankings

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next The Stalwart doesn’t have viewports. I’m not sure why; I didn’t want to ask anyone in case it set off a rant about inefficient weak spots in the hull or something. After the historians left, I changed the projector view to a view of space, and stood in … Continue reading 39: Foreigner

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next Plia and Tima were waiting for us in the cafeteria. They saw us approach through the window and strode impatiently out into the hall to meet us. “So what’s this oh-so-great discovery of yours?” Plia asked. Hali grinned. “Oh, you’ll see.” He lead us down a series of … Continue reading 38: Relaxation

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next Actually, I’d wanted to ask about Hexacorallia. After the whole capuchin thing it seemed like a bad idea to get all my information from reports and educational videos, and if there were any more surprises on the next ship being hidden-but-not-really, Ella might know and be able to … Continue reading 37: Manners

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “What do you mean?” Plia asked. “We got the idea from Arborea Celestia,” Ella explained. “Arborea is a ship with design problems. Just so, so many design problems. I mean, right from the fleet’s obsession with ring-shaped habitats… but more importantly, their whole ecological structure results in a … Continue reading 36: Perfect Plans

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next “What’s the deal with the capuchins, do you think?” Tima asked at breakfast. Plia shrugged. “Just what Fari said, I’d imagine. They seem to be really big on efficiency here. If you can keep your mass and your food and oxygen cycling down when supporting the huge force … Continue reading 35: Efficiency

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next I rushed out into the hall and almost ran right into the historians. “Taya!” Plia threw her arms around me protectively, glancing around for trouble. “What happened? Are you okay?” “Structural issue?” Hali asked, rushing over to my door and checking that it was sealed. “I’ll call Fari,” … Continue reading 34: Tikka

First -- Prev -- Archive -- Next The next ship on our itinerary was the Stalwart. I’d looked it up before our journey, and it was quite strange. It had normal inertial pull, like the Courageous and the Arborea (phew), so you’d think it would be a nice sensible ring shape, or maybe several rings, … Continue reading 33: Stalwart