The Expedition Begins
Expedition Epsilon Part 4 | Choice 3 - Who knew fueling up would be so dangerous?
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Click to read — Chapter 4.2 of Expedition Epsilon
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The Chosen Path — “Continue towards the sun for fuel”
Expedition Epsilon
Part 4.2: The Expedition Begins
As quickly as Earth was left behind, the Sun rapidly approached. At a quarter the speed of light, it didn’t take but half an hour to reach close proximity after setting off. They could have made it there quicker, but it would have been far more dangerous. A cautious approach was taken. This feat had never been attempted before, and there was no room for error.
Every window aboard the ship had its solar filter activated halfway through the journey to shield the crew and passengers from the intense light that would easily blind a person in an instant. The Evolution looked smaller than a pinhead against the background of the sun. Rays of light consisting of photons bombarded the ship, causing it to glow brightly.
88 million miles away from Earth, the Sun sat at only 5 million miles away. Surprisingly the heat was not an issue yet, at around 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and the ships normal shielding sufficed. This would not be the case for long, as they needed to enter within the corona in order to scoop the maximum amount of hydrogen for the ship. Currently the Evolution was on the outer edge of the corona, which extended into space approximately 5 million miles from the surface..
Cpt. Dunwall was, for the first time, uncertain of how things would go. That is exactly what came with the corona – uncertainty. He sat at the bridge, sweat moistening his skin. He could not show the worry that festered within him. He looked around at his crew, most unaware at just how dangerous this undertaking was. Most people are aware that the sun is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface, but only people that studied astronomical bodies like the sun would understand that the surface was relatively cool. The corona was the danger zone.
Temperatures within the corona could reach ludicrous levels, between 1.5 and 3 million degrees Fahrenheit, high enough to cause significant damage to their shields and ship. This wasn’t a consistent figure, luckily. Parts of the corona were much cooler than others. However, heat was not the only issue at hand. Radiation posed a significant threat, as well as solar wind. Then there was also the chance that a solar storm, or coronal mass ejection, could occur. Such an event would likely destroy the Evolution faster than the captain could say, “oops”.
The plan was easily agreed upon when it was devised, just as easy as it was to understand the science of achieving it. However, being within a few million miles of the sheer power of the Sun, it made Cpt. Dunwall question the plan in its entirety. He remained ready at any second to take over manual control of the ship if things went sideways. His faith in SWAI-C could never have been higher than this moment, he needed it to be.
There was only one way to successfully achieve fueling without damaging–or destroying–the Evolution and the solution was a solar event called a pseudostreamer. These are giant, ribbon-like ejections from the surface of the Sun. Within them could be compared to the eye of a hurricane, where conditions calmed. All Cpt. Dunwall had to do was make sure that they were within a part of the corona that was relatively cool. Not only that, but he had to also make sure that there was an active pseudostreamer to ease the radiation and effect of solar wind.
The magnificence of the Sun was nothing to scoff at and many people, possibly more than had watched Earth fade away, gathered at the observation decks to watch the star approach. It was colossal. Even still, at millions of miles away, it blotted out the entire view of space. Stars disappeared in the background, giving way to the extreme light pollution. Space had never looked so eerie. There was nothing–and there was the Sun.
At this distance a telescope was not needed to see the violent, seething surface. Columns of flame reached towards the abyss of space in what can only be described as fire tornadoes the size of Jupiter. The yellow dwarf stars' swirling surface made for a surreal scene where the physical laws of the universe were shown in such controlled chaos.
“Captain, coordinates locked for optimal scooping locations, pseudostreamer detected,” SWAI-C informed Cpt, Dunwall over his wrist monitor.
“Radiation: minimal.”
“Solar wind: minimal.”.
“Temperature: 278k to 730k degrees Fahrenheit. Dependent on location.”
“Conditions: acceptable.”
“Estimated time until fueling completion: 43 minutes at 3.5 million miles away, 31 minutes at 2.7 million miles away or 19 minutes at 1.9 million miles away.”
The captain's face grew deadly serious. If he could manage to get them through this one moment, then the rest of the voyage was practically a cake walk – at least he hoped so.
“Attention!” Cpt. Dunwall, shouted for the attention of his crew, “We are about to embark on what is the most perilous mission that any of us have ever witnessed. There is no room for error. There is no room for doubt. We have one job ahead of us; to enter the corona of the Sun and collect excess hydrogen that it is giving off. Many dangers are present, The heat must be monitored at all times. If it starts to climb beyond 1 million degrees, we are in trouble. The radiation must be monitored at all times and the likelihood of success is not as high as I would like it to be. In fact, SWAI-C, do you mind telling them what the odds of us succeeding are?”
“50% captain.”
“Now you see what we are dealing with,” he continued, staring sternly at each of his crew members, expecting them to soak up his words. “Your life, my life, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians depend on this single, defining moment. I want to know exactly what is going on at all times. We have one shot, make it count. To your stations.”
The gravity of the situation was not lost on the faces of the crew members. It took a moment, but they all snapped back to reality and moved to their individual stations. The previously alive bridge was now utterly silent and awaiting the captain’s orders.
“SWAI-C,” Cpt. Dunwall barked at his AI companion.
“Yes, sir?”
“Activate advanced solar shields and move us to your locked coordinates for the fuel scoop. Enter the corona.”
Yikes, I would not want to be that close to the Sun, even if it were reasonably safe. It is hard to argue how beautiful a sight it must be though. Cpt. Dunwall has quite a difficult path ahead of him, one that could severely hurt the chances at humanities survival. 3 choices, 3 possibilities. Which location do you choose?
It would not be possible to create these stories if not for the choices you all make, so thank you for helping me create this wild sci-fi adventure! Keep on choosing and see where this story goes!
Expedition Epsilon will return in next week after the next issue of Trapped Within Darkness.
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