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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1203471" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;Blast Off!&quot; - Part 13&quot;You lost the whole universe?&quot; Archie's servomotors whine in distress, though his voice remains as carefully modulated as ever.&quot;It is more zat we are lost.&quot; Gustav defends himself, &quot;Ze universe is still in ze same place.&quot;&quot;We just don't know where that is.&quot; Fury muses, then shrugs, &quot;Let's head to Earth and see what's there.&nbsp; Maybe we can make contact with the humans in this universe, and establish relations.&quot;`&quot;What about the Venusians?&quot; S'Ondra suggests, &quot;Why don't we go to my people?&quot;&quot;Princess, I'm not going to turn down any help we can find.&quot; Fury adjusts the ship's course very slightly, &quot;But Earth is between here and Venus, so I suggest we go there first.&quot;&quot;Agreed.&quot; S'Ondra graciously nods, &quot;I just wanted to make sure you were not forgetting me - my people, that is.&quot;&quot;We can check Mars on ze way to Earth.&quot; Gustav suggests, &quot;And see if zey have founded Wells City here.&quot;&quot;Course is already laid in, Doctor.&quot; Fury jabs some buttons to punctuate his words, &quot;Just sit back, relax and leave the driving to me.&nbsp; Sleep if you can: I'm going to push to maximum speed, but the trip will still take twelve hours.&quot;In the event, Fury manages to shave half an hour off his estimate, but Mars proves as barren as Pluto.&quot;There are no signs of recent habitation.&quot; Archie reports, as he checks the scans, &quot;The last intelligent life on this Mars was the canal-builders.&quot;The Pathfinder moves on through the dark expanse of space, now closing rapidly with the blue and green ball of earth: except ...&quot;Does that look wrong to anyone else?&quot; Fury frowns through the viewscreen.&quot;Ja.&quot; Gustav's eyebrows beetle together as he frowns, &quot;Ze colour of ze land masses is not correct.&quot;&quot;They're all the same shade of brown.&quot; S'Ondra confirms, &quot;It's a bit drab, but less ugly than that sickly green you usually have.&quot;&quot;Scan for signs of civilisation, Archie.&quot; Fury instructs, bringing the ship into a high orbit.&quot;Scans show construction and urban patterns roughly equivalent to those of the early nineteenth century.&quot; The robot reports.&quot;What was the population of Earth during that time?&quot; the Captain asks, his eyes gleaming at the thought of all those women he's never met.&quot;If zeir technology is limited to that of the nineteenth century, it is unlikely zey will be able to assist us.&quot; Gustav points out.&quot;True.&quot; Fury acknowledges, and swings the Pathfinder's nose away from the planet, &quot;Let's check Venus.&nbsp; Maybe they're the advanced ones, in this universe.&quot; Then, suppressing a grin at S'Ondra's inarticulate sputters of rage, the Captain engages the engines. The Princess does not fall silent until Venus half-fills the view screen.&nbsp; By then, it is clear that this planet appears almost identical in this universe to the one they call home.&nbsp; An irregular swirl of white clouds obscures some of the surface, but the areas that can be seen - which is more than half of the total surface - have the familiar mottle of brown and red, interspersed with occasional patches of virulent purple.&quot;No signs of civilisation.&quot; Archie reports, as Fury opens his mouth to ask the question, &quot;Sensors detect no artificial structures of any kind.&quot;&quot;Are there life signs?&quot; S'Ondra bites her lip.&quot;Many.&quot; Archie scrolls through a report, &quot;Your home planet has well over fourteen thousand catalogued life forms, all of which are in evidence.&nbsp; It's very untidy.&quot;S'Ondra swallows a most unladylike curse,&quot;Are there any life signs for my people?&quot;&quot;There are.&quot; The robot nods, &quot;But they are scattered in small groups, and substantially less numerous than in our own universe.&quot;&quot;Sounds like Earth is our best bet, then.&quot; Fury spins the ship through one hundred and eighty degrees.&quot;What?&nbsp; We came all this way for one quick look?&quot; S'Ondra glares.&quot;Ze Captain is right, leibchen.&quot; Gustav places his hand on her arm, &quot;Our main goal must be to return home, and ze Earth seems to offer us ze best hope for assistance.&quot;S'Ondra subsides, nodding her resigned acceptance of the logic.&nbsp; Drawing in a breath, she punches up a view of Venus on her console, and watches it silently as the ship speeds back toward the Earth.&quot;She misses her home, doesn't she?&quot; Fury observes.&quot;Ja.&quot; Gustav looks mournful, &quot;And her family even more.&nbsp; She lost zem all during the fighting.&nbsp; I could save only her.&quot; The older man makes his way back through the cabin, pausing briefly to give S'Ondra's shoulder a gentle squeeze.Three hours later, the Pathfinder sits once more in high orbit above the Earth.&quot;If ze technology here is in ze nineteenth century, zere is probably nothing to be gained from hailing ze planet.&quot; Gustav remarks, &quot;Zey will not have ze receivers or ze transmitters to communicate.&nbsp; Archie?&quot;&quot;Scanning.&quot; The robot toggles some switches on his display, then thumbs a button several times, &quot;No radio signals.&quot;&quot;What about carbon emissions?&quot; Fury suggests, &quot;The industry of this time was coal-based, wasn't it?&quot;&quot;Ja,&quot; Gustav nods his approval, &quot;Zese people obviously would not yet have nuclear power. Ze carbon emissions should tell us where ze most advanced areas are.&quot;&quot;I am not detecting any carbon emissions.&quot; Archie's tone is flat, but his concern is evident, &quot;There is no sign of functioning industry of any kind.&quot;The crew share a look of concern.&nbsp; Each knows the next question that must be asked, but it is Fury who takes the plunge, his voice cracking slightly as he says,&quot;How many human life signs, Archie?&quot;&quot;None, Captain.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1203471, member: 6294"] [b]"Blast Off!" - Part 13[/b] "You lost the whole [I]universe[/I]?" Archie's servomotors whine in distress, though his voice remains as carefully modulated as ever. "It is more zat [I]we[/I] are lost." Gustav defends himself, "Ze universe is still in ze same place." "We just don't know where that is." Fury muses, then shrugs, "Let's head to Earth and see what's there. Maybe we can make contact with the humans in this universe, and establish relations."` "What about the Venusians?" S'Ondra suggests, "Why don't we go to [i]my[/I] people?" "Princess, I'm not going to turn down any help we can find." Fury adjusts the ship's course very slightly, "But Earth is between here and Venus, so I suggest we go there first." "Agreed." S'Ondra graciously nods, "I just wanted to make sure you were not forgetting me - my people, that is." "We can check Mars on ze way to Earth." Gustav suggests, "And see if zey have founded Wells City here." "Course is already laid in, Doctor." Fury jabs some buttons to punctuate his words, "Just sit back, relax and leave the driving to me. Sleep if you can: I'm going to push to maximum speed, but the trip will still take twelve hours." In the event, Fury manages to shave half an hour off his estimate, but Mars proves as barren as Pluto. "There are no signs of recent habitation." Archie reports, as he checks the scans, "The last intelligent life on this Mars was the canal-builders." The [I]Pathfinder[/I] moves on through the dark expanse of space, now closing rapidly with the blue and green ball of earth: except ... "Does that look wrong to anyone else?" Fury frowns through the viewscreen. "[I]Ja[/I]." Gustav's eyebrows beetle together as he frowns, "Ze colour of ze land masses is not correct." "They're all the same shade of brown." S'Ondra confirms, "It's a bit drab, but less ugly than that sickly green you usually have." "Scan for signs of civilisation, Archie." Fury instructs, bringing the ship into a high orbit. "Scans show construction and urban patterns roughly equivalent to those of the early nineteenth century." The robot reports. "What was the population of Earth during that time?" the Captain asks, his eyes gleaming at the thought of all those women he's never met. "If zeir technology is limited to that of the nineteenth century, it is unlikely zey will be able to assist us." Gustav points out. "True." Fury acknowledges, and swings the [I]Pathfinder[/i]'s nose away from the planet, "Let's check Venus. Maybe [I]they're[/I] the advanced ones, in this universe." Then, suppressing a grin at S'Ondra's inarticulate sputters of rage, the Captain engages the engines. The Princess does not fall silent until Venus half-fills the view screen. By then, it is clear that this planet appears almost identical in this universe to the one they call home. An irregular swirl of white clouds obscures some of the surface, but the areas that can be seen - which is more than half of the total surface - have the familiar mottle of brown and red, interspersed with occasional patches of virulent purple. "No signs of civilisation." Archie reports, as Fury opens his mouth to ask the question, "Sensors detect no artificial structures of any kind." "Are there life signs?" S'Ondra bites her lip. "Many." Archie scrolls through a report, "Your home planet has well over fourteen thousand catalogued life forms, all of which are in evidence. It's very untidy." S'Ondra swallows a most unladylike curse, "Are there any life signs for [I]my[/I] people?" "There are." The robot nods, "But they are scattered in small groups, and substantially less numerous than in our own universe." "Sounds like Earth is our best bet, then." Fury spins the ship through one hundred and eighty degrees. "What? We came all this way for one quick look?" S'Ondra glares. "Ze Captain is right, [I]leibchen[/I]." Gustav places his hand on her arm, "Our main goal must be to return home, and ze Earth seems to offer us ze best hope for assistance." S'Ondra subsides, nodding her resigned acceptance of the logic. Drawing in a breath, she punches up a view of Venus on her console, and watches it silently as the ship speeds back toward the Earth. "She misses her home, doesn't she?" Fury observes. "[I]Ja[/I]." Gustav looks mournful, "And her family even more. She lost zem all during the fighting. I could save only her." The older man makes his way back through the cabin, pausing briefly to give S'Ondra's shoulder a gentle squeeze. Three hours later, the [I]Pathfinder[/I] sits once more in high orbit above the Earth. "If ze technology here is in ze nineteenth century, zere is probably nothing to be gained from hailing ze planet." Gustav remarks, "Zey will not have ze receivers or ze transmitters to communicate. Archie?" "Scanning." The robot toggles some switches on his display, then thumbs a button several times, "No radio signals." "What about carbon emissions?" Fury suggests, "The industry of this time was coal-based, wasn't it?" "[I]Ja[/I]," Gustav nods his approval, "Zese people obviously would not yet have nuclear power. Ze carbon emissions should tell us where ze most advanced areas are." "I am not detecting any carbon emissions." Archie's tone is flat, but his concern is evident, "There is no sign of functioning industry of any kind." The crew share a look of concern. Each knows the next question that must be asked, but it is Fury who takes the plunge, his voice cracking slightly as he says, "How many human life signs, Archie?" "None, Captain." [/QUOTE]

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