///LOCATION - NUAKEA/OBLIVION/APPARTMENT A600///TIME - 16:28 LMT///DATE - 14-05-2232///

"Okay, I think I've got a clearer picture of the situation now, and I may even know the cause of all of this."

"You do, mister Castello?" Michelle asked.

"Yes, I believe so." he answered. "You see, the warp-drives used in space-ships are far from perfect. But to understand why that is a problem, you need to know exactly how these devices work. So, Michelle, do you know the inner working of a warp-drive?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

"Don't worry, I'll explain it." he said, as he begun his explanation of the warp-drive. "First off, you should know that a warp-drive is not just a single machine. It is a combination of two highly advanced systems: The Alcubierre Drive, and the Energy Deflector. The Alcubierre Drive was invented long ago, but it was never put to use back then. As revolutionary as it might have been, humanity simply didn't think that it was important enough. It was later re-discovered, and some things happened, but what matters more is how it works."

Adrianos continued: "In its simplest form, and Alcubierre Drive contracts and expands spacetime around a local region by creating a configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum. Basically, you don't travel faster than light, since that is impossible. Instead, you effectively change the distance you have to travel, resulting in a shorter travel-time. Do you understand it so far?"

Michelle snapped back to reality. "Uh, yeah, I think so. But what happened to Eric?"

"Be patient, I'll get to that. Anyway, the Alcubierre Drive is only one of two parts. It requires an immense amount of energy to transform spacetime. And where does it get this energy from?"

"From a reactor and batteries?" Michelle answered.

"No, those are not powerfull enough to achieve such a process. This is where the Energy Deflector comes in. You see, the Energy Deflector is a system that basically sucks energy from the space around it. Contruary to what you might think, the vacuum of space is not entirely empty. Energy is always flying around, and there's quite a lot of it, if you know where to look! Once it has established a stable field, there is no more energy required, except for some energy to stabilize and direct the field, but this can be managed by a standard reactor."

Michelle started to understand how the Warp-Drive functioned, something she had never thought she would, but she still had a question: "But what about those storm-clouds? What do they have to do with a spacetime-field-thingy?"

The professor responed: "Ah, yes, the clouds, almost forgot! Tell me, what is the first law of thermodynamics?"

"Uhm... Isn't it about something like: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed?"

"Precisely! This is why the storm-cloud is created. The energy that is put into the field is stored in that same field, and when a ship leaves that field, the field dissapates. But remember the first law of thermodynamics? The energy from the field has to go somewhere! Therefore, the Energy Deflector activates again when the ship leaves the field, but this time, it doesn't suck energy from the enviroment. Instead, it releases the energy outwards, resulting in what looks like a storm-cloud."

"I see. But again, what happened to Eric then? "

"Well, I can't say for certain that it is the definitive cause, but what might have happened, is that the energy was not correctly dissapated. If the energy was transfered into electricity as usual, but the electricity wasn't ejected into space, then it is likely that it fried many of the on-board systems and electronics."

"So what you're saying is that his ship basically short-circuited?" Michelle asked.

"More or less, yeah."

This made Michelle hopefull. "So that means that Eric is still alive!"

"Not necesserily. Look, I don't want you to get your hopes up too soon. It is possible that the electricity was directed into the cockpit, which would have instantly electrocuted him. Or the electricity might have gone into his life-support systems, which would cut of his oxygen. The point is, I do not know if he is still alive. I can, however, help you." Adrianos answered.

"How?"

Adrianos started to show a smile, a distinct contrast from the otherwise professional looking face. "During my time at the University Medical Center Oblivion, or UMCO, and whilst I was at conferences around the empire, I have made quite a few friends in high places. Some of them were even working at the council. I may be able to convince them to set up a search-party, though I'll have to give them a reason to do so. Saving a single civilian is, unfortunatly, not enough. But don't worry, I'll come up with something!"

"You always do, honey!" Christina replied from her study-room. "Just try not to be too stubborn this time though! That always puts the council on edge!"

"Stubborn? Me?! What are you talking about, I'm not stubborn at all!" Adrianos sarcastically said, knowing that he indeed was a bit stubborn sometimes. "Anyway, are you coming Michelle?"

"Where to, if I might ask?"

"To the consulate ofcourse! How else are we going to find your friend?"

After agreeing a plan, Michelle, Adrianos and Christina left for the monorail-station, taking them past the luxury-region of Oblivion. Michelle didn't usually go there, as she stuck out like a sore thumb, but she did enjoy looking at the plants and trees there whenever she had the chance. It was the only part of the space station that actually had real plants, flowers and trees, aside from the hydroponics-department, though the hydroponics-department only really had algea for oxygen-generation and carbondioxide-scrubbing.

They eventually arrived at the consulate, where they were able to go directly to the council, eventhough they were in the middle of a discussion. "Perks of being an important doctor, I suppose!" Adrianos joked, though he was right. The council knew that, if either of the Castello's required the help of the council, it was serious. Adrianos got straight down to bussines:

"Dear members of the council, I have something I need to discuss. For those of you who haven't met me yet, my name is Adrianos Castello, and this is my lovely wife, Christina Castello. With us today, is the lady Michelle... I'm sorry, what was your last name again sweetheart?"

"Oh, right! My name is Yonderia! Michelle Yonderia!" she answered, remembering that she had forgotten to properly introduce herself.

"As I was saying, Michelle Yonderia here has something she wants to share with the council, don't you Michelle?"

"WH-WHAT?!" she said a bit too loud for her own liking. The plan they had made did not involve her speaking to the council of Oblivion, who are some of the most important people in the star-system. "Uhm, right, yeah, uh..."

"Come on, you were gonna say something about Eric, and why you need help from the council, right?"

"What do you mean?! This is not what we agreed to do!" she whispered to Adrianos.

"Listen, I know these people. Hearing a young person like you telling such a sad story, is something they simply can't let go. I'll probably just annoy them even more! Think about those people at Genesis. Think about how they thought that Eric wasn't important enough. Come on, do it for him!"

Something switched in Michelle's head. She was no longer scared. She was angry. Angry at Genesis. Angry at everyone. And she was sure to let the council know. "Alright, listen up! Let me tell you a little story! It's a story about how I lost my friend to bureaucracy. To people who only think about money. To people who judge others by what they're worth. To people who refused to save my friend who was lost in space because of THEM, just because it wasn't financially viable! With an excuse of: 'Oh, he's probably already dead, so it would be wastefull'!"

The council was completely silent. Everyone was at the edge of their seat, listening to the person standing before them. This person that was quiet and shy at first, but was now giving one of the most powerfull speeches they had heard in a long time.

"Good, it seems that I have your attention." Michelle said, noticing the silence in the room. "The friend that I'm reffering to, is Eric Callaghan. He is a close friend of mine, and he was low on credits. I told him about a job that was being offered by Genesis BioTech. All he had to do, was scan a nebula. Simple, right? Well, it wasn't that easy, because after a little while, when Eric was about halfway to his destination, and a few lightyears into uninhabited space, all communication was lost. He is presumed dead."

"But I refuse to believe this. Instead, I believe we should search for him. We owe it to him, as he offered to go out there and explore a new frontier, as mankind has always done." Michelle continued. "And you know what else mankind has always done?"

Nobody said a word. Everyone, including Adrianos and Christina, were completely silent. Then, Michelle said:

"Mankind... Has always stood as one. So why shouldn't we do that now? When someone needs us most! Isn't that what we are all about? Being together, working together, surviving together?"

Author's Note

Names, locations, ships, technologies and events are inspired by various sources, including: Games - Elite: Dangerous, Star Citizen | TV - MLP:FiM, The Expanse | Companies/Organizations - NASA/JPL (Alcubierre Drive)

If you want your character to be featured as a human soldier, pilot, politician or civilian, or a pony civilian, politician or royal guard, please send me a message with the character's name, looks, characteristics, and role if you have any preference. All featured characters will be credited.

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