Chapter 10
v Sunday, October  9, 2022

It is Not Down on any Map, True Places Never Are

Klaxons sounded, and blood red lights flooded the near-darkened bridge. Steam hissed out from several holes and panels, but the inhabitants were okay, if just a bit shaken up. Kantuck was on her hooves immediately, helping up the Maine Coon, “Mister LeChat, Mǎi, are you both okay?” Turning her head just a bit, to look at her wolf who was waving his paw at the steam, and looking at consoles. 
The young human nodded and loosened his straps that had held him in his seat the whole time.
The white cat confirmed, “Yeah, yeah. Fine. What was that you had me press?”
“It was a booster for the coils. It would allow us to jump much further than any we have done.”
He grumbled softly climbing back into his chair, and working controls, “I'll have some news of where we jumped to in a moment.”
“Excellent, as always.” She turned on her hoof and addressed the wolf, “Status Chief?”
“We seem to be okay at the moment. Structural integrity is fine. The coils however, they'll need to be reworked. That shot you gave them burned them badly I’m afraid.”
Frustration crossed over her face, “How long before we're able to jump again?”
The wolf, still looking at gauges and meters, shrugged, “A few hours at best. At most, a day.”
“Do what you need, and take all resources as well.”
“Aye Captain.” The wolf turned to the ladderwell and climbed down into the belly of the ship where the ship's heart was.
“Mr. LeChat?”
In frustration, his fur puffed out and his tail swished wildly, “I can't make heads or tails of these readings.” The cat looked at the human sitting next to him, “Mind checking my math?” Mǎi nodded and scratched the numbers onto the separate sheet of paper. The cat looked up at Kantuck, “If they're right, we've jumped…” He paused checking Mǎi’s numbers, then turned to face her again, “We’ve jumped eighteen octaves… How is that possible?”
She let herself have a moment to grasp the news, “Great Maker…” Her words were toneless, flat, and full of loss. Then in a more confident voice, “I see.”
“What's worse, Captain, I can't find a single beacon anywhere. I should mention also, the aether currents are making us drift.” The cat shook his head and added, “Not that it matters, since we have no idea where we are.” He pointed to his scope, “It is not down on any map, true places never are.”
She smiled a bit, at the quote from an ancient story, “Well said.” Stepping over to the red button that caused all of the problems, she pressed a stud next to it and Claude's console lit up as beacon signals came in. 
He meowed in surprise. “Six detected? The closest is ten octaves away? We've never been able to detect them that far.”
“As I mentioned to the captain of the Corvette, we indeed have a special device we're testing. Although it wasn't an explosive device. It was a booster, and this ultra-long range beacon sensor. They have been tested as far away as 25 octaves. A gift from Sheridan Station, as reward for the Far Star 8 incident.”
The cat looked sharply at his captain and stated, “There are only ten octaves, Captain.” Then he looked back at his scope and tapped the glass. “But… I suppose it is possible that the Dream can grow.”  He then smiled and  purred, “Well, we'll need the coils repaired if we are to go anywhere. Luckily we topped up on fuel recently.”
“Station keeping for the time being. Let’s let the good Chief do his work. You have the bridge Mr. LeChat, I'll be in my quarters.”
“Aye Captain. I have the bridge.” Taking the wheel, he looked out ahead at the new expanse of blue-white Aether. The beautiful blankets of clouds, and their shadowed shoals full from the ambient glow of the great moon that rose in the distance from far away. 
A few hours passed, clanking could be heard from the belly of the ship and Claude sat at his wheel dozing in and out but still keeping watch over the instruments. Mǎi and Kantuck were at John’s station playing chess. Despite the doe's skill, she had no chance against Mǎi. He had checkmated her three times in quick succession. Claude opened an eye at his captain’s sigh, filtered down the passage and looked towards the mess in amusement. “He's good isn't he?”
A sound of resignation in her voice carried, “Too good it seems.”
John climbed out of the well and actually whined, catching all three by surprise. The great Fenrar rarely was saddened, but that whine carried real emotion in it. “Chief, what is wrong?” Kantuck asked as Mǎi put the chess game away. 
He put down two tubes, one was blackened, the wires sticking out were fried and as it rolled a bit on the floor from the boat’s motion, you could easily hear something like glass rattling inside it. The other was clear with large red crystals, but the end wires were also burned and melted.
“What the hell, Chief?” Claude meowed, walking up to them and sniffing at the tubes. He made a face at the strong acrid scent on the blackened one. 
Mǎi looked at them. “What are they?” He said pushing one with a hand, then looked over at the chief.
“These folks, are our transference coils. One…” he pointed to the clear glass-like one, “Easily repaired. Just the power wires. The second,” he tapped a claw on the blackened one, “totally destroyed. The ruby cordite crystals are shattered.” He looked at all three, “In other words, we're boned. We can't go anywhere quickly.”
The cat looked at them all in turn and ended at his captain, “Based on the beacons, that’s probably about a four year journey home.”
All four felt the ice cold water sinking down into the pit of their stomachs as it hit them.