Chapter 0: All Go For Launch

Instruments hum and come to life as I begin to settle down in my seat. To journey beyond the stars has been a long dream of many, but the perils and dangers will allow only the bravest to captain such a task. As I sit here, initiating what will be a mission into the unknown, many things flashed through my mind. What will I find out there? What if something goes wrong? Will I be lost in space? Will I ever return? Maybe everything would have changed when I returned. Will anyone even remember me?

T-minus 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes left on planet Earth. Only 15 minutes until I travel into the dark void alone. I'm nervous and a little afraid, like a child taking their first step. One, two, three, one step at a time.

"Status check," mission control checks in, "warp drive is green across the board."

The Lancer they called it. The most advanced and impressive ship to be built by humans. Down to the bolt and paint, it was built for an extended deep-space mission. Within the core of the ship, there is an antimatter generator, harnessing the power of when matter and antimatter annihilate each other. The power generated would be just enough to power the warp drive, primitive in design but by no means unreliable. It will allow the spacecraft to travel through space at a relative speed to an outside observer 1.25x the speed of light to 50x the speed of light. A warp drive allows the ship to travel "faster" by shortening the distance, thus the pilot/crew within the ship experiences time differently to the outside world. Note the equation for distance : d = v*t or distance = velocity * time. If your velocity remains the same (v = 1), but your distance was shortened by half (d = 1/2), then the equation would look something like this: 1/2 = 1*t, where t = 1/2 meaning time was halved.

This means that by the time I return from what seems to be a 5 year trip to me, back on Earth, the time would be astronomically different. I may never get to see my friends and families again or worse, Earth might not even be the same.

T-minus 5 minutes.

"Coms check, Captain Yuki, this is mission control, do you copy?"

"Coms check confirmed, I read you loud and clear, over."

"We will now begin the t-minus 5-minute mark checkup."

"Roger that."

The ship is equipped with a co-pilot AI that will accompany me through my long journey. This AI is powered by the ship core and was created via neural network hooked up to a supercomputer, meaning it's as close a machine can get to a human.

"Sparky, run a diagnostic check, make sure all systems are nominal," I ordered the AI.

"Order confirmed, running diagnostic checks, standby," it replied with a go-happy tone.

Sparky is the name I've given this AI, according to a psychologist, a long extended time in isolation will be mentally draining and can cause a number of psychological effects. Having stimulants for me to interact with will be crucial if I want to remain sane after this mission. Not only does naming something gives it more empathetic appeals, but it will also trick me into thinking that Sparky is some sort of living creature.

"Diagnostic check completed, all systems are nominal, mission control you may proceed with launch," Sparky spoke up, "Captain, would you like to give a word?"

T-minus 1 minute.

"All systems go, we are green for launch, Captain Yuki Takimura to mission control, see you in a few years," I said nervously, almost shaking uncontrollably in excitement mixed with a bit of fear.

"This is mission control, we have confirmed, systems are nominal, green for launch, God speed and we will be with you all the way to Event Horizon," said the operator in a soft voice, "see you soon Yuki."

T-minus 10...9...8...7...6...5...-

"Main thrusters on! Ignition in 5-"

4...3...-

"Ignition start! We have ignition!"

2...1-

"Clamp release and we have lift-off of the Lancer, carrying Captain Yuki Takimura to space and beyond!"

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That was all 3 years ago...