Welcome to the Galaxy

Space race

The ship was near completion under the cover of the big top tent. Calls had become increasingly frequent on the phone. The company wished to have updates on Helga’s progress.

“I am in the testing phase. Things are progressing well and I am right on schedule. The new scrubber machine might even be able to filter out radiation. Please send me a dozen of the containment canisters. I want to test them with the machine.” Helga requested.

“That sounds better than we had expected. When can we view the new device in action?” Her project boss asked.

The side effect of having backers providing money was they always wanted results. Helion had known that going into this. He knew the results would happen. He wasn’t creating anything entirely new after all. He was just adapting his technology using lesser materials. The recreation was functioning well but he had experienced many breakdowns. He had kept a logbook of the problems and repairs.

“I have been dealing with some issues. I think one month should be sufficient. It wouldn’t do well to have you come to view the machine in action only to have it breakdown.” Helga responded.

“The sounds good I will mark in on the calendar. We shall plan on Friday the thirteenth. That gives you twenty seven more days to get everything worked out. We will send the canisters you requested directly.” The project boss informed her before hanging up.

He had not even waited for any other assurances. Typical of managers, once they heard something they liked the tried to end the conversation immediately. It was better if they got the last word. Helion was annoyed. Those three days would cost him the last batch of Stelernum. He needed it for the ship. There was only one thing to do. The speed suit would have to be dismantled and used to finish the ship.

Helion went straight to work. The finishing touches were put on the ship. The canisters were delivered outside of the tent. With the area being a hazardous zone no one really wanted to set foot on the ground. Helga had not informed anyone this area was completely safe now. There was less worry about intrusion this way. If people thought they would grow a third arm out of their ass hanging around here, they stayed away.

Helion decided to fix his project manager good for rushing him. He selected a site for the unveiling test. He choose the site of his sanctuary and the unexploded bomb. The scrubber would dig up the bomb. It may or may not explode. Either way it would be dramatic. They would be watching from helicopter anyway, no one should be hurt but the scrubber could be destroyed along with the company’s investment. 

In the confusion he could fire up the ship and fly away unnoticed. 

Helion ran all the tests he need to on the ship while he waited. The computer system reported all systems fully functional. The ship had passed all the stress tests too. Their emergency safety suits were fully functional too. He had tested them in a vacuum chamber inside the ship. It would also serve as an escape pod. He had designed it to be multifunctional. 

The ship wasn’t state of the art by any standards of his Calinar people. It was unique, it would be the first time traveling ship. Helion told himself. He wasn’t sure it was true or not. If he managed to return home he wasn’t sure he would even tell anyone about his success. A few short years ago it was all he could think about. Traveling through time he had seen how something so small had effected a city and region. 

Giving this technology to someone could be catastrophic. They hadn’t worked hard and didn’t fully understand the consequences of meddling with time. Helion was unsure if his actions had caused the destruction of the city. He had only seen the place once every ten years for a month. His presence had a profound impact on the locals. It was possible they had died because their beliefs didn’t run perfectly with the church’s. He didn’t have the other timeline to view to see what had happened without his presence.

Helion wondered if others had found this to be true also. It was a widely explored subject. He had found it easy to make his new device. The device wasn’t all that special. It wasn’t unthinkable he wasn’t the first.

The day of the test quickly arrived. Helion had rigged a remote control booth inside the ship. The feed ran through the cab of the scrubber and was transmitted to the new feeds. It made it look like Helga was in the cab operating the scrubber. He had also rigged two of the tanks on the top on the machine. They were setup to spray radiation in front of the scrubber. The scrubber looked like a bulldozer with a rototiller on the front end manure spreader trailing behind. 

“The test we will be conducting today will be on virgin ground. I will spray out trace amounts of radiation then till up the soil. It will be run through the scrubber tanks and out into the containment trailer. The soil will be returned to the same spot as it came from free of contaminates. Of course I will have to run tests afterward to make sure it was successful. This is the first test using radiation. If this test works we should be able to begin mass production and cleaning up he damaged earth.” Helga said into the camera.

“This will be a historic day. How long does the process take to clean the soil?” A reporter questioned her.

“It takes about an hour per acre. It isn’t exactly fast but it has been proving very effective with removing the trace chemicals from the soil. If the radiation can be removed with the same device, it could speed up cleaning our war torn world.” Helga responded.

“We heard you first designed the other scrubbers when you were pregnant with your daughter. Was she the major factor in your crusade to clean up the planet?” Another reporter asked.

John Fox had been placed in charge of this project for his company. This was his big break. He was watching the video as the machine rolled along. He had another feed with her interview on screen. Helga was the prefect face for him to ride into riches. He had spoon fed the reporter he information hat brought this question to her. He had been eager to hear her response. Now that the moment was upon him he was watching intently. His eyes picked up an odd shape from the camera feed in front of the scrubber. Confusion turned to horror when the sprayer laced it with radiation. The green fin of a bomb was hit by the scrubber teeth.

John’s face went slack, time seemed to slow to a crawl. He tried screaming “Noooo!” But only got out a slight sound before everything switched to fast forward. The blade came around again and hit again. Then a hole opened up. The bomb remains slipped under the ground. Seconds went by and John let out a sigh of relief. Then there was a muffled explosion. The earth under the scrubber rose up rapidly then collapsed sucking the scrubber under. The video feed from the cab cut off. A green cloud seeped up from the ground below. Fires sparked in the wreckage, black smoke poured out of the machine.

“Get us higher!” John shouted into his headset.

The pilot quickly needed the instructions. The toxic sensors on the helicopter sounded. The automatic emergency systems kicked on and sealed the cockpit. The news anchors stared at the wreckage and began reporting giving live updates. All focus was on the accident site which continued to burn and explode as the radiation hit the fires.

Helga, Helion and Emma looked down at the smoke cloud from the safety of their ship in space. The diversion had covered their escape to perfection. All eyes were away from the ship leaving he tent and slipping into orbit. They turn the ship toward the moon and sped away.

The next phase of the plan was the most dangerous. The big jump through time would drain most of the energy in the radiation tanks. He needed to travel six thousand, seven hundred, fifty two years and one hundred and eleven days to the day he died. He could be cloned and back in his own body the day after his death.

He decided to travel the the planet his rival lived on then execute the jump. If something went wrong that planet would absorb the damage. 

The ship wasn’t very fast. It would take him a few months to reach the planet. If everything worked right he would arrive in his time and be home later that day.