Rested and well-fed, the crew gathered in the street outside The Council hall at daybreak. Despite the hour, the streets were filled with citizens. Some had brought small items – gifts to be taken back to the Tangent. There was no way they could take it all, but they accepted it anyway, knowing that some would be left behind at the air-tower. There were books, notes and letters, small keepsakes, and a lot of well-wishes.
They took it all in good grace, though a bit befuddled by all the attention. Finally they started out through the town, moving in the center of a formation of guards. No one believed they were in any danger, but if they hadn't had the escort, they might not have forced their way through the crowd at all. As it was, their progress was orderly.
The air tower was surrounded as well, and at the center the priests and The Council had gathered once more. It was more subdued than the previous day's festivities, but there was still an air of quiet excitement hanging over the crowd. The anticipation was palpable. No one knew exactly what they would see…most knew that they'd witness only the initial liftoff. Only those who made their way back to The Chamber of Stars in time would actually witness the passing of the veil.
It didn't matter. They understood the gravity of what was taking place, and they wanted to be part of it. When it came time to tell the tale, whether that tale was of brave travelers breaking into space, or plunging to their deaths, they wanted to be able to say that when it happened, they were there. Most of them didn't grasp all that was involved, or understand fully what had happened to the wall of the city – but they knew things had suddenly gotten better. It was the first major change in their lives for decades.
Euphrankes was aware of all of it, but his mind was already on the bridge, and his fingers twitched for the controls of the Tangent. He barely heard the short speeches, and though he knew he had shaken hundreds of hands, he was later able to remember only a few faces and names. The others each dealt with it in their own way. Zins enjoyed the attention, and Aria spent most of her time staying close to Euphrankes and running interference when the crowds came too close, or seemed ready to overwhelm him.
At last they mounted the ladder, and to the cheers of the citizens of Urv, climbed up to the platform above. Euphrankes was last to go, and before he started up, High Councilor Cumby placed a hand on his shoulder. The two faced one another for a last moment.
"I know I've not made your life an easy one," Cumby said, "and for that I'm sorry. Still, it is times like this that I wonder – if anything had happened differently along the way, would we have made it to this point?"
"That's the sort of question we'll never know the answer to," Euphrankes said. "The important thing is, we are here. That couldn't have happened without your help and support. And your design for the portable airlock has proven nothing short of inspired. My estimate is that it has doubled the speed of the road repairs."
"I'm glad to have finally provided some of the service my position was designed to bring to the people," Cumby said. "Now get up there, be careful, and may The Protectors guide you through your journey."
"May they keep you safe until we return," Euphrankes replied.
The two parted, and Euphrankes climbed up after the others. He felt oddly moved by Cumby's words. Not for the first time, he wished his father were alive to see what the things he'd set in motion had come to.
Unlike the crowd on the ground, those grouped atop the platform moved quickly and efficiently about the last minute preparations for takeoff. The last of their supplies were quickly raised up through the new, larger airlocks and stowed in the cargo holds of the Tangent.
Aria was waiting when Euphrankes stepped off the ladder. He hugged her quickly and grinned.
"It's going to happen," he said. "Let's get over to the crew's airlock and get on board. We have some checks to run through and if I don't get on board and started doing something soon, I'm likely to explode from the stress."
"I know," she said. "I've had about all the good will and support I can stand."
They slipped away as quickly and quietly as they could, entered the airlock, and made the final ascent to the Tangent. Below, a small cheer went up among the workers, which was mirrored by a larger roar from below, but neither of them heard it as the pressurized locks closed tightly behind them.
~ * ~
The bridge was quiet, but busy. The crew was in and out, checking settings, running maintenance procedures and recording the results, and testing everything in sight. They were always careful when launching one of the airships, but this day things had been pushed to a new level. They would only get one shot at survival, and everyone on board felt the tension of the moment. Each had responsibilities, and each was determined that if there were to be a failure, or something overlooked, it would not be on their watch.
Euphrankes smiled and stayed out of their way. He spent his time arranging things to his liking around the chair he would spend his foreseeable future in. He liked to have things just so, and he had gone to great pains to design the captain's chair to his specifications. Now he knew he was just puttering. Everything was organized and neat, exactly as he'd planned it. He just had to have something to fill the next twenty minutes. He knew that once the lifted off, he'd have plenty to occupy his thoughts, but he had to remain sane long enough to let it happen.
"I wish we could slip off to our quarters," Aria said, grinning at him mischievously. "It would make quite the tale for future generations if the Captain and First Officer of the Tangent launched into space for the first time from their bed."
"Very funny," Euphrankes said. He tried not to smile, failed, and broke into a huge grin. "It's not as bad an idea as it seems. I believe if I have to just stand here until we launch, I'll go crazy. Have you seen Zins?"
"He's arranging the charts," she said. "He should be up here soon."
Aria nodded to a slanted table in one corner with a glistening brass light fixture mounted to shine directly onto its surface.
"He wants to get the first chart in place and be ready, even though we won't have anything to record until we pass the veil. I think he's as bad off as you and just won't admit it. He's making busy work so he'll have something to do with his brain and his hands."
"Slyphie won't have any such problems," Euphrankes said. "Engineering will be checking and re-checking until lift-off, and then they'll have a fully-manned watch to monitor it all."
"The hard part is going to be getting the second shift to rest before it's their turn," Aria said. "I doubt anyone will be getting much sleep for a while."
"Can't say as I blame them," Euphrankes said. "We'll be seeing things that no one from our planet has ever seen; and we'll be putting ourselves in possible danger we can't even comprehend yet. Who's going to sleep through that?"
"Let's take a quick tour back through engineering, and then get back here for the launch," Aria said. "If you stand there and start worrying over dangers and emergencies we haven't even encountered yet, you'll make me crazy too."
"Good idea," Euphrankes said. "We'll just be sure we keep out of the way. The last thing I want to do is cause more delay."
They left the bridge and entered the chamber that would serve as both galley and ready room during their voyage. In the past, the ready room had been a smaller, separate place where those in command of the ship could meet in private. Euphrankes had felt that this was a very different situation, and he wanted no such obvious division. If they needed to discuss something in private, they had the bridge. Since everyone on board the Tangent would be at the same risk if there were problems, then everyone would be welcome at the meetings where they worked to solve them.
The room was centered by a long, sleek table. The seats were gleaming brass, upholstered with soft synthetics. The cushions were Aria's design, tiny Imperium membranes filled with minute amounts of Freethion. They molded comfortably to the body and allowed one to sit for long periods without too much wear and tear on their body. Seeing them made Euphrankes smile. It was exactly the kind of brilliance he'd come to love in his companion and first officer. He himself would have grumbled and groaned through hard metal chairs for the rest of his life, not seeing the obvious solution she'd come up with after only a short bit of thought. She was good at seeing ways to increase the comfort of those around her.
The walls were lined with cabinets that had been carefully secured. Nothing was out of place. The air in between the veils was relatively calm, but they had no idea what they might expect once they got out beyond, and loose equipment flying around was not an option.
Off the main galley was a small kitchen and a sonic cleaning station for dishes. All of their waste would be recycled, cleansed, and reconstituted. They could afford to lose nothing. There was no way to know when they might be able to replenish their supplies. Every system was essential, and every element of their lives had to be monitored carefully, analyzed, and turned back in on itself in as useful a manner as possible.
Beyond the galley, two separate hallways stretched back, and stairs led both up and down to other floors. Along these halls were the crew’s quarters, the small library, and a lounge. Euphrankes and Aria's quarters were just behind the bridge to one side, and Zins was berthed across from them, on the far side, in a slightly smaller cabin.
Euphrankes and Aria passed down below those levels and entered the main engineering chamber. The walls were lined with gauges, valves, pipes and tanks. There were long, slender tanks of Freethion lining the upper and lower sides…workbenches and cabinets had been fashioned over and around them. The center of each bulkhead, above the benches, was taken up by the coils and condensers that ran the mag drives. It had all been packed in so carefully that it looked like a mass of shiny metal worms.
There were benches running along the control panels. They allowed one or several engineers to sit at any of the equipment panels at a given time. There were four watch stations set up in the corners of the room, fore and aft, and four engineers were already in place, wearing their protective gear, only the helmets pulled back. It had been agreed that for the passing of the veil, and for several hours afterward, all crew members would be in full gear. They had not tested their ship in space. No one doubted that it would hold – or if they had doubts, they kept them quiet – but there was no reason to take chances straight off the dock.
Euphrankes nodded at the watch standers as they passed, but didn't interrupt. They were doing as he had done on the bridge, arranging things to their liking and familiarizing themselves with a new environment. Anything he said would be nothing more than an unwanted, unnecessary distraction.
They found Slyphie in the workshop/engineering office at the rear of the main compartment. It was outfitted with soldering stations, gauges and test equipment, and lined with cases, boxes, cabinets and tool cases. No space was wasted, and when they found her, Slyphie was doing a final inventory.
"Hey, Skipper," she said as they entered. "Long way from the bridge…sure you won't get a nosebleed?"
Euphrankes laughed. He started to tell her not to call him Skipper, and then let it go. Her eyes were bright with energy, and he saw she was as anxious as he was – possibly even more so – to see the ship underway.
"Just taking a last look at everything," he said. "We'll be locked away on that bridge for the foreseeable future. Everything seems under control."
"We've got it covered down here," Slyphie said. "Bonymede is running a last check on the membrane and testing the mag drive. Once we shift from the planetary magnets, we need to be sure we can anchor using the drives, or we'll shoot out through that veil like a rocket."
"I saw the test data and the simulations," Euphrankes said. "We'll be fine."
He looked around the workshop once, nodded, and then pulled the brass watch from his pocket and glanced at the time.
"Well," he said. "This is it. Fifteen minutes from now, we'll be flying…"
"Destination destiny," Slyphie said. She snapped a quick salute. "See you on the other side."
Euphrankes took her hand and pulled her close into a quick brotherly hug. Aria hugged her too, and then the two of them hurried back through engineering and up to the bridge. They had to get into their own protective gear, and it would be bad form to be late for the most important moment of their lives.