Christian Oesterling: Blank Space: Into the Depths of the Universe

Nightingale emerged from the other end of the warp, sleek and elegant. Once fully warped, the ripples ceased behind them, the blackness once again is seen, as if they had materialized from the very emptiness itself. Oliver hit a button above his head, which lit up a deep green.

‘Outpost 73 this is Nightingale, exploration vessel on behalf of Celestria, and The Empire Of Humanity as a result. Permission to move out into open space.’ A pause filled the cockpit, save for the hum of the ship, the whine, and wheeze of the engineering under their feet. A few of the crew shifted in their seats, trying to get comfier ready for the journey out into the great abyss.

Outside of the cockpit window, Outpost 73 was a mass of scaffolding, construction equipment, and general activity. It had been in operation for ten years previous, and so was under commission to be upgraded to a fully-fledged civilization in its own right. It was rumored to be under the working name of ‘Haven’, although what it would eventually be named was unknown. The most western point in the entire empire, a community on the fringes of the blackness, more exploration was required by Celestria. A constant expansion, constant knowledge, continuous growth, never stopping or ceasing forever. They were a part of that, the crew of Nightingale, and they knew it. It was a great undertaking, and all seven of them, deep down, past all of the financial and monetary motives, were proud to be a part of the expansion of their species as the predominant force in the entirety of space.

‘Anyone need to do any shopping before we leave?’ Holden jested.

‘Rather talkative today aren’t we?’ Prissy retorted.

‘I’m a psychiatrist, making people happy is what I’m paid to do, and making jokes comes part and parcel with that.’

‘Well I’m stocked up with sarcasm, so I think all my shopping is done for today Holden, thanks,’ Duma said. Holden laughed. A voice then came on over the intercom system of the ship.

‘Nightingale this is Outpost 73 control. You are cleared for the trip out into open space, come back with all of you on board and have a safe exploration.’ Leon smiled and told Oliver to put the ship out into the darkness. There was a roar from behind them as the engines picked up. Whirring machines, power coming from deep in the ship like a Hyuntiger’s throaty growling before they pounce upon its prey. The cockpit vibrated, all seven crew pushing themselves back into their seats. The ship moved forward slowly, creeping, tentatively. The whirring increased, and Oliver put one hand on the yoke, tapping a few switches to his right. Each one lit up in a nice, comforting Celestrian blue. Nightingale began to gather speed, and the vessel steered around to the right, to stare right out into the ink before them. Aside from a few very distant specks of light, stars so far out they weren’t worth considering to be reached this journey, there was nothing. Referred to in Empire lore as ‘The Blank Space’, it had never been explored, and it was assumed that there was nothing there. Outpost 73 was only recent and was as far out as the Celestrian exploration minister had dared go at the time. Now it was time to press the boundaries, and it was Nightingale leading the way.

‘Time to crank her up Oliver’ Leon said.

‘Right you are sir, Jenny, but the Yellow Stars up to 37, set the Hinten panel to setting 5.’ Jenny, sat on the far left, ran her hands along with the controls before her, tapping buttons, twisting dials, entering data. The side of the ship changed from that dull grey to a shimmering lightning blue, the light from the engines. Holden smiled slightly, it truly was exhilarating. The ship began to gain speed. Within a minute, Outpost 73 was behind them, and within ten it was just another light on the monitors.

‘Set Nightingale to cruise mode Oliver. We’re the first bastards out here and we’ve got no idea what we might find, if anything, so let’s not burn her out instantly.’ Oliver reached down and flicked a toggle twice down, coming up to see a menu projected before him from a Halo-Core. He tapped into the ‘cruise mode’ option and changed a few more settings on the controls before him. The projection disappeared and a small blue light lit up above him, giving him the confirmation of what he had done.

‘Right guys and ladies, she’s cruising in open space right now. We’re relatively stable and she’s soaring like a dream. Give her just under an hour or so, 53 minutes to be exact, and we will be out of radio contact with everything and anything. Seatbelts can come off now,’ the other six of them unclipped and untangled themselves from the leather, ‘and you can go grab your food and whatnot, get set up and all that jazz.’ Oliver let out a small sigh, and the whole crew cheered.

‘Out into the blank space, never been done before,’ Prissy remarked.

‘We’d better go down in history for this one, that’s for sure,’ Yuki said also. Duma snorted.

‘Celestria isn’t paying us little enough to go down in history.’

‘But they’re also not paying us enough. Now if we come back with an unknown life form…’ Yuki began.

‘Oh come on, this is Celestria. They don’t care if we exterminate the last of a dying species as long as they can shove another outpost in this wasteland,’ Duma fired back. Holden laughed and pointed to him as if to say ‘he’s got a fair good point you know.’

‘Sod that, Nevis Exquisite in June Plaza in Region 5 would pay us the amount it cost for the damn ship if it tasted good, let alone if it was rare,’ Leon pointed out. There was a unanimous agreement to this, and then Jenny said she was going to get something to eat, and the others followed soon after, deciding that food was definitely a good idea. Oliver remained seated, glancing over the controls, checking instruments and whatnot, making sure everything was shipshape with his new craft. Leon glanced back at him on his way out of the cockpit.

‘You ok their man?’ Oliver turned to face him in his seat.

‘Captain, I’m piloting a brand spanking new Gravitas-769, with all the whistles and bells except XF-82 Deltas on the side. I am the happiest pilot in the history of The Empire.’ Leon laughed.

‘She’s definitely a nice girl to be on, that’s for sure.’ Oliver snorted.

‘This baby is a dream to pilot, and she’s a beauty to be behind the controls of. I’m going to remember this trip forever, she’s responsive, attentive, everything works, and more than anything, she’s fun, and that’s the most I could ever ask for as a pilot.’ He smiled a good, honest smile that cut right into the captain like a knife. He had worked with several pilots that were just in it for the money, and in one instance several years back, with a guy that was a spaceship pilot purely because the past five generations of his family had been, never mind how good he was. The man piloting his ship, however, was none of them. He was in it for the sheer love of flying a spaceship, and as long as the controls were under his fingers, sat in the palms of his hands, he was sure that nothing could happen to it.

‘Good to hear. Come grab a bite to eat, there might be a few bottles of Rias Vortunas to celebrate.’ Oliver’s eyes widened, and a spark inside them woke up like a teenager that has realized he overslept on the morning of an exam.

‘We’ve got Rias Vortunas? Hell, I’ve only ever drunk that stuff once, and that was at the Celestrian Ship Pilot Graduation in a place in Region 9. Most of us were pissed off our heads for five days solid.’ It was with that statement, that fleeting glimpse of the navigator’s past, that the two men left the room to go and find the others, as the Celestrian exploration vessel Nightingale glided out from the fingertips of humanity, and into the unexplored regions of interstellar space.