The shuttle flew a long oval path around the Taurus. Dozens of workers in space suit still swarmed over her hull, and several construction ships were still making last minute modifications with the multi-engine drive system that took up the rear quarter of the two and one half mile long ship.

"God, she's big," Jackie muttered in awe. The rest of the group agreed. We had all seen pictures and holo's of it, but it's totally different seeing the ship being refitted in the asteroid belt of the Solar System.

She was one of twelve ships that is to carry humanity to the star's. The other nine ships are being sent in groups of three to Ross 248, Alpha Centauri, and Sirius B. Our destination, along with the Type I vessel Virgo and the type II vessel Aquarius is Barnard's Star, where a Mars like planet, in an Earth like orbit has been found. A good candidate for terra forming.

"Your been briefed on the drive system," our guide said. "The main interstellar drive is the antimatter engine. For in system propulsion, there's a cluster of four fusion engine's. As a back-up, there's four solar sail's arranged around the hull. She just got back from her shakedown cruise, so now were just ironing out the flaw's."

"Flaw?" Lisa asked with a note of concern in her voice. The guild grinned at her concern.

"Calibrating the guidance system, testing the limit's of the drive system, working the bugs out of the computer system. It's an extremely stable system, but there was a few minor bugs in the software."

"How many people per ship?" Jason O'Neal asked.

"The Type I vessel, like the Taurus, have a crew of five hundred. The Type II vessel's have a crew of one-hundred, but are configured for cargo carrying," the guide answered.

"What's the rough speed?" I asked.

"About .47, maybe .48 per cent the speed of light."

The Global Space Agency had began to ferry the ship's crew's out to the asteroid Ceres about a mouth ago. They give us a look at our ship, then send us back to Earth for some rest from the training we had on Titan My name is Stephen Calvins. I'm one of the first colonist's to leave Sol for the unknown, the stars beyond Pluto.

Does that make me crazy? I've be grappling with that question for about three year's now, since I signed up for the Zodiac Project. Let's do a review of my life. Orphaned at age three, due to a car accident. Shifted from one relative to another, until age fourteen, when I signed up for the Project. Always's got into fight's in school. In every school I've ever be in, everyone think's there really tough and thugged out, they don't like it when you call there bluff.

I wrapped my arm around Jackie's slender waist, and pulled her closer. Jackie's another colonist. I've know her for about five year's now. There's a whole group of us going, all friend's and confidante's. Old home's week, you could say. Except Jackie is different. She's my girl.

"Okay everyone, strap back in. Were heading back to Cere's Station now," The pilot said over the intercom.

I walked back to my acceleration couch, and buckled in my crash webbing. About thirty seconds later my stomach twisted as the shuttle twisted around, the I was pushed back in my seat as the shuttles rocket's kicked in. Our journey back home had begun.

Launch Day Minus Thirty Nine Today we arrived back on Earth, landing at East Texas Aerospace Port, near Dallas. I wanted to leave again almost before I stepped out of the plane. Earth's a dying planet. The air stinks of pollination, even through petroleum fuel's have been out of general use for more then eighty year's, since about 2060. There's not a lot of big forest's left, and the rain forest's of South America are almost totally deforested. Most of the breathable air on Earth come's from huge scrubber's and filter's set up around the world.

The cities are massive and overpopulated. Los Angles, New York City, London, Berlin, Beijing and a dozen other's are all visible from space. Much of the food on Earth come's from off planet and orbital farm's. Crime is at astonishing leaves, especially around the twelve to eighteen age bracket, which your's truly is part of. There are over twenty billion people on Earth right now, and another five billion spread around the rest of the solar system on Mars, Venus, Io, Europa, Titan Mercury, various space station's, asteroid base's, and other settlement's. But there's still some place's I want to see before I leave forever.

Jason had went to Chicago to visit his grandparent's, Scott went to San Francisco to visit his a favorite uncle, and Jackie visited her family in Exeter. The rest of my little group, Danielle, Rich, Lisa, Ed, and Mike stayed at the space port, and rode into Dallas for a night of club hopping.

From ETAP, I bored a space plane to Dulles International Aerospace Port, to see Washington. The old city had been largely untouched by urbanization. I had seen picture's of course, but nothing can compare to seeing the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the other old building's in person. I wondered the city for about four hour's, then head back to Dulles to catch my flight to Rudy Giuliani Aerospace Port, outside what was left of New York City.

I was born in New York, on Long Island, about seventy miles east of Giuliani, in a town called Medford.

I hired a helicopter to fly me past NYC. The City had been in a slow but steady decline in 2087, when terrorists had exploded a nuclear bomb in the middle of the city. Over two million people had died in the worst incident of terrorism in history. The United State's response had lead to the decimated of three countries in the Middle and Far East, along with the disbanding of the old UN, and the formation of the Global Alliance, a organization that had brought stability to the human race, or at least the allusion of it.

After a tour of the city, I took a flight back to East Texas, grabbed a burger from the base's restaurant, and headed to my room in dorm. I was just getting ready to sleep when Mike, Rich, Lisa, Ed, and Danielle returned. They were all laughing, and telling me stories about what there day was like. I laughed with them, then Mike, Jason, and I hooked up to the computer network and played computer games until three in the morning.

Launch Day Minus Thirty One I took a sip from my glass of birch beer, and looked around at the nearly five thousand other people that were sitting the massive hanger that had been converted into a dinning hall for this occasion. Almost there entire crew of the twelve ships were all present (minus the crew members that were already onboard the ships), plus a multitude of guest. Scientist's, astronauts, contractor's, military and government official's, and reporter's from around the world.

This would be the last meeting of the crew of the Project. In a week would board our shuttles to Cere's. From there we would go to our respective ship's. About a tenth of the crew was already onboard the ships. Launch Day was December 20th, 2141.

I looked around again, and saw a tall man in khakis making his round's among the Taurus tables.

"Did you here about that decision the Senate made yesterday?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, they authorized the GSA to build eighteen more ships," Jason answered. "Twelve of them will join the original four colonies, and the other six will start two new colonies."

"So we get some company in a few decade's," Lisa laughed. I joined her.

I finally realized who the tall khaki clanned man was. John Morse, Captain of the Taurus, and leader of the Bernard's Star colony. The other captains, Captain Danielle Miller, of Aquarius, and Captain Craig Bedingfield, of Virgo, command there own vessels, but would be under Morse when we made planet fall at Bernard's World.

The afternoon and evening went great. The official's at the head of the hanger made speeches about how brave we were, and compared us to the other great explorer's in history, which made me fell good. Ed was hitting on every girl is our age group, Lisa was flirting with every guy in our age group, Jason was talking about the ship's with every engineer around the hanger, Mike, our resident athlete, was already forming a sport's league among the group, and Danielle was doing the same with a literature club.

Jackie and me sat together and talked. We talked about the journey, the past, and the future. We kissed a few times, which was great, and basically had a great time.

The food was excellent. Two dozen different kinds of entree's, of every type imaginable. Chicken, beef, fish, lobster, crab, pasta, and every possible combination of them. I doubt that Columbus and his crew, or Frank Boone and his Martian Explorer's got such a great send off.

Launch Day Minus Twenty Five This was it. Our last night of leave on Earth. Tomorrow, we go into quarantine. In two day's, at 1830 CST, were to take a orbital space plane to dock with International Space Station Three. From there we will take a bulk freighter to Cere's Station, then from there a short haul shuttle to the Taurus.

There had been much debate over what to do our last free night. Ultimately, we decided to spend it in proper teenager fashion. Take a space plane to New York City, and got clubbing'.

We were all dancing on the floor, just moving around. The deejay was playing the Techno/Two Step that's currently popular. There was seven of us in the club. The rest of our group was either back at East Texas, or hanging out around the City.

I was dancing with Jackie, really dancing. Hard core dancing. If you're a teenager, you know what I mean by dancing. If your not a teenager, your happier not knowing.

The song finished, and the crowd somewhat dissipated as the deejay played some background music. We headed to secure our place at the bar. We were all in a kind of low grad high, from everything. The music, the dancing, smell of the club, everything.

I sat down next to Jackie, and ordered up a birch beer. I was wearing a pair of black Dungarees and a blue silk shirt. Jackie was wearing a tight red tank top and a pair of low cut jean's that highlighted her generous hip's.

"So," Lisa started. "Are you two going to get married during the trip."

The group quieted down, everyone looking at us. I saw Jackie blush, and I felt the blood rush to my face. Then I did what I usually did, and said the first thing that come into my head.

"Why wait for the trip?" I said absently. Then I realized what I just said, and thought about it, as I studied her beautiful face. She had a sharply defined nose, a quick grin, the pettiest green eye's I've ever seen, and a scattering of freckles across her face. I decided to go for the more traditional approach.

I got on one knee, and took Jackie's hand.

"Will you marry me?"

She looked surprised and please, and opened her mouth to replay when the music stopped and the light's were turned up. People started to talk excitedly. I caught bit's and piece's of there conversations.

"......said that a bunch of builder's were totally trashed...."

"...I just saw some picture's on my hand computer. Maybe four or five building, a couple hanger's, and a bunch of space plane's are destroyed...."

".....that's were the Project is based out of, you know....."

Jason grabbed one of the talking people by the shoulder, and asked him what happened.

"Terrorist attack at East Texas Aerospace Port," He said. "Looked pretty bad."

I barely heard the last part of his response. We were already heading out the door, pushing our way through the crowd Mike pulled his handheld computer out, and started calling the other's around the city. I took my cell out, and called the Aerospace National Guard base at JFK. We'd been told to call there if we had any trouble, since a Project rep would be there.

"This is ASNG Base, JFK, Watch Officer Renneal's here," A woman answered.

"My name is Stephen Calvins," I said. "I'm with a group of people who are all associated with the Zodiac Project. We were told to call you if there was any happened. We just heard about the attack at East Texas."

"Yes, I have a Project Rep here," She said. "I'll put him on the line."

"Thank's." There was a few second's pause, then a man came on, saying hello.

"My name is Stephen Calvins, I'm with a group of crewmen off of the Taurus. We need a lift back to East Texas," I explained.

The man talked for several minute's to someone off the phone.

"I need you to get a cab to JFK. We'll ship you out to East Texas from here," the rep came back on.

"Thank you," I hung up, and raised my arm for a taxi.

Launch Day Minus Twenty Four I surveyed the damage done by the bomb. It had been a huge one. Four dormitories, a trio of hanger's and two space plane's had been wrecked by it. But worst was the human cost. Nearly half the crew of the Type I ship Cancer had been killed, and almost the entire crew of the Type II ship Sagittarius were either killed or wounded, not counting base personnel. The Project had recalled it's crew's from around the world, back to East Texas.

"Who's responsible?" Lisa asked, looking with tear's in her eye's. No one knew yet. A half dozen group's had already claimed responsibility. This is one of the reason's I want to leave. Rescue crews picked through the wreckage. They were still pulling survivor's out. But few. Way to few. The US Army had moved an entire armored division from Fort Hood to secure the camp, adding on the two battalions of Military Police already stationed there.

"Where do we go from here?" Jackie asked, here voice oddly flat. That scared me.

"There's not much in the way of flexibly for the Launch Day," the Project official that accompanied us. "We can't change it more then a few day's. And the next launch window is eleven year's away."

"What about the Ross 248 colony? With two of the ships down, how can they set up?"

Lisa asked. The official looked troubled.

"The Ross 248 colony is being postponed for now, at least until the next launch window,"

He answered.

"So what do we do?" Mike asked. We all know the answer.

"We go on," I said.

Launch Day Minus Twenty-Two I was pressed back into my accelerations couch as the big C55B transport was launched into orbit. It was packed with about two hundred people, all crew member's of the Project.

The journey into space was a complicated one. First, the cargo or personnel would be shuttled to one of the seven International Space Station's. From there, the would be transferred to Tycho Station, our base on the moon.

From Tycho, a bulk type freighter would take us to Cere's Station, and the asteroid Ceres. From Cere's it was just a short haul flight to the ship's, which were now under heavy patrol since the attack.

I leaned back in my couch, closed my eye's, and took a deep breath. Then I had a thought, and my eye's snapped open. Jackie had never answered my proposal.

She was sitting next to me, so I took her hand.

"Jackie, will you marry me?" She looked surprised and happy.

"Yes Steve, I will."

Everyone on the plane started clapping and cheering.

"Way to go Joe""

"Good choice, Jackie"" Someone laughed.

I was grinning like an idiot, as I normally do.

Launch Day Minus Seven Today we arrived at Cere's Station. The big station had started out as a mining station, then grew to a military outpost, then a jump off point for the colonization of the Jovian planet's and now was our last stop on the journey outboard from the system.

The transport's arrived at staggered interval's, so not to overwhelm the Station's life support. We were the fourth out of eight transport's. As soon as we docked, we were given eight hour's leave, and told to kept out of trouble. A funny joke, on reflection.

The first thing I did after they set us lose was head to the shopping district. I needed to buy a ring. I was ready to spend most of my remaining life savings. I didn't need it. We would get everything we needed on the journey outboard.

Forty minutes later, I emerged from a jewelry shop, several hundred dollar's poorer, but richer with an engagement ring.

I joined my friend's in one of the cafeteria's. They had taken over an entire table, and were tearing through pile's of food.

"What's up"" I said as I pushed Scott off the a seat. He quickly responded with a punch to my shoulder, then pulled up another chair.

"Where's Jackie?" I asked as, shoving a fried potato in my mouth.

"She went shopping with Lisa and Judy about," Jason checked his watch. "Twenty minutes's ago."

"Ah," I said. "Anybody want anything?" Every shook there head's no. On my way to the counter, I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," I said as I tried to move past him. He blocked my way.

"Excuse me," I said, and tried again to move past him. Same result's.

"You got a problem?" I asked. Jason, Scott, Ed, and Mike had already moved in behind me. There present's reassures me.

The guy who was blocking me had the look of a miner's son. Short, dark, and mean looking, a group of his friend's had assembled behind him. They all looked like the first guy's.

Tough and mean.

"Yeah, I do have a problem. With you, and all you punk's who think there god's because there crazy enough to leave forever," then he took a swing at me.

Part of our training on Titan had been training in hand to hand combat and small arm's, compliments of the Global Alliance Defense Force. We used it to our advantage.

I grabbed his arm as he swung, and twisted it around, at the same time moving behind him and delivering a swift hard kick to the back of his right knee cap. His collapsed was checked by his twisted arm. He screamed. Loudly, in fact.

One of his friend's came up behind me, hitting me in the side of my head. I dropped the first guy and raised my arm to protect myself Jason knock the second guy out with an upper cut to the chin. Mike managed to wrap two guy's around each other. I knocked another guy out with a punch across the jaw.

"Freeze!" Someone called. I wiped around, and saw a group of station police move in.

I raised my hand's, but someone hit he from behind. As I turned to fight, the police opened fire with stun gun's. One burst hit me in the back.

I awoke as a station cop began to cuff us. They drag about twenty people, most kicking and screaming, to the brig.

The group was confined in different cell, and questioned. A very large and intimating Security Sergeant questioned me.

"Name?" he asked in a deep rumbling voice.

"Steve Calvins."

"Any ID?" he asked. I fished around the pocket of my dungarees, and produced my wallet. In it, across from me handheld computer was my Project ID.

"Your with the Project?" He sounded surprised.

"Yeah, we all are," I answered.

"What happened?"

"I got up from my table to get a soda. I ran into that group. The guy....."

"You mean Dan Rico," The sergeant interrupted, checking his handheld computer.

I shrugged, and continued.

"He ran into me, and I tried to go around him. They blocked me. A couple of his friends moved in behind him, and a couple of my friends moved in behind me. Then we got into a fight."

The sergeant finished recording my statement, and left. He told me that Captain Morse had already been notified, and was on his way. I gulped when I heard that.

I sat on the cot set up in the cell, and began to laugh. Stay out of trouble, hah! What a fine joke. I've never drunk heavily, smoked, or done drugs, and I've never been arrested. And now, on Cere's Station, the last stop on my journey out of Sol, I get into a huge fight, and now I'm sitting in a holding cell.

I heard the lock release on my door, looked up. Captain Morse and two GADF soldiers strolled in. I stood up and saluted.

"At ease," he said. He looked pissed. "Since the guy you fought with has a history, all of you have been released without charge. However, your all with face my punishment. Come with me." he turned around and strolled out.

Jason, Scott, Ed, and Mike were waiting outside in the main area. I grinned sheepishly. We followed the Captain to the corridor. He then did something totally unpredictable. He broke in a wide grin.

"I'm proud of you, all you," he said. We were dumbfounded.

"What?" Jason asked. That Captain grinned again.

"I got in my fair share of fights when I was your age. You stood up for yourself, and the Project. You did good."

"Ere, thank you sir. So were not going to be punished?" Ed asked nervously.

"As long as you pay for the damage you did, then no. And I suggest you head to the shuttle bay. Rico probably had more friend's."

The Captain walked off with the two soldiers.

"Wow," Jason said. Then we dispersed.

"Steve"" I turned around and saw Jackie walking towards me. I grinned, and started to walk towards her. She met me half-way, and pulled me into a hug.

"You okay," she asked. I answered her with a kiss on the lip's.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get to the shuttle deck." I put my arm around her, and we headed to the lift.

Launch Day Minus Six "Short Haul 56-9, this is Taurus Control. Prepare to receive docking vectors," Taurus Flight Control said over the comm.

"Roger that Taurus. Receiving docking vectors and adjusting velocity," Our pilot answered. Fifteen of us were snugged down in the shuttle.

"Docking Ring Seven is prepared for your arrival. The beds are made and the tables are set."

Security was tight. After the attack on East Texas, every thing associated with the Project was under tight security. Nearly half of the GADF Space Fleet was guarding the twelve ships of the Colony Fleet.

"Hey Steve, you're the military bluff. What's the name of that big ship over there?" Lisa asked.

I leaned over her and looked out the window at the assumably of ships.

"That the Intrepid, flagship of the Fleet. Big, ain't she. She packs more firepower then any other ship we have," I answered.

I looked at the other ships. The frigates Italia and the Britannia. The gunboat carriers Norway, Liberty, Brazil, and Canada. Big ships.

Before signing up for the Zodiac Project I had considered joining the Defense Force. It was a pretty good gig. The pay was excellent, although tours of duty were often several years or more. Now I going to spend the next fifteen years on a space ship, and the rest of my life building a colony for the next generation. I hate irony.

"Were about two klick out. Gets you things together," the pilot said.

Most of our belong's were already onboard the Taurus. Thanks to some pleading on Jackie's part, and a few small brides on my part, we had gotten a double room. We had also arranged for a brief marriage ceremony, on Launch Day Plus Three. Jason would my best man, and Lisa would be Jackie's maid of honor. The ships padre would conduct the ceremony, and Captain Morse would give the bride away.

I was a tad bit nervous, but just a tad. Not many people got married at seventeen. Even fewer got married while on a starship heading towards a small planet around a star six point one light years away.

I had conveyed my nervousness to my friends, Jason and Mike. They basically told me I was being a little girl, and that Jackie was one of the hottest and nicest girl's around, and they would beat the crap out of me if I backed down. That's friends for you. huh?

With a jolt the shuttle made contact with the docking ring, and I realized that one part of my life was over. No going back now.

"Okay everyone, this is were we part ways. I wish you luck and Godspeed," the pilot said. The copilot opened the hatch, and then we calmly disembarked. I think we were all holding our collective breaths.

I was first off the shuttle. I exhaled, then took my first breath onboard the Taurus. The air was clean and had a slight taint of rubber.

There was a short corridor, then a hatch. Jason walked passed me, and opened the hatch. Behind the door was a small room, several other senior crew members were there. These crew members, most of them engineers and people that had help construct the Taurus, had spent the passed few week onboard the Taurus. They were the core crew, and would train us is the ships operations and repair.

The group of people in the shuttle filled the compartment. On of the jump suit clanned crewmen came to the head of the group.

"My name is Senior Engineer Edward Baine. For the record, I'm third in the line of command, after Captain Morse and Executive Officer Michelle Stewart. We will be instructing you in the operations of the Taurus. Now, if you'll follow Elliot here, he'll show you your quarters. Thank you." We were dismissed.

"Dude, I can't believe we're finally here," Jason was bubbling as we walked down the shaft that ran down the center of the ship. This was participially odd. Since the different sections of the ship each were rotating, to make gravity, you could walk on any surface in the tube. Jason was walking on the ceiling relative to me. Or, you could just float down the center.

The Type I vessels were all build along the same lines. A long shaft ran through the center of the ship. On one end was the control deck, where the bridge, the navigation deck, the main computer, and other critical functions of the ship were controlled. On the other end was the main drive systems. A short distance behind the command deck was a small section containing the ships labs. Immediately behind the labs were the crew quarters, enough for five hundred people in one- and two-person rooms. Behind that is the huge farm area. In that area was were we would grow and raise most of our food. There was simulated lakes, fields, stockyards, and other faculty to make it feel like your not cramped in a few thousands tons of steel. Suspended in the middle of space was a artificial sun, that changed it's light output depending on the time of day.

Located on the outside hull of the ship was the solar sails and the solar panels. They provided back-up power and drive system to the ship.

Behind the farm area was the storage and utility area, were the water tanks and recycling systems here located. Perishable idea's were also here. The small docking area followed.

Finally, the drive systems, the fusion reactor's, the antimatter pile, and the magnetically shielded thrust nozzles.

We got to the crew quarters section, and went outward from the center of the ship. People were already filling the ship, walking around wide eyed. Kids were running around, calling to each other in ten different languages, playing.

The interior of the ships was covered with smart skin, a thin electric screen which allowed different color's to be displayed, depending on the date and time according to the ships clock. The ship's clock was set to Standard Time, 14:30, December 14th, so the wall's were a darkening blue.

We found of block of quarters. I waved at the rest of the group, and Jackie and I opened the hatch, and stepped in.

The our quarters were fairly small, three room's. A bath room, a bedroom, and a living room/kitchen. The kitchen was small, since there was a public cafeteria in the farm area. There was a small microwave, a stove, and a frig. In the living room was a computer console, linked into the inter ship network, which was then linked into the intra ship data link. There was a vast amount of information that could be displayed on the computer, from old movies, books, and latest news from Earth relayed via the trail of satellite were leaving behind us. Next to the console was a pair of handheld computer's, made by Microsoft. They were our portable link to the ship.

"Cozy," Jackie remarked. I responded by kissing the back of her neck, then opened the door to our sleeping quarter's. It's was about the size of the bedroom in my aunts house when I was growing up. Jackie checked the closet. They stuff we had decided to take with us was in plastic box's, neatly stacked. Hanging in the closet was a half dozen set's of shipboard khakis, three in my size, three in hers. Two pair's of soft-soled leather boot's were on the floor. The was a small dresser on one wall, and the bed was pushed against another.

"I can't believe we're finally here," Jackie said.

"I love you," I said hugging her. We both looked at the bed, then fell on it laughing and kissing.

Launch Day Minus Three Third day on the Taurus. Day before yesterday the rest of the crew arrived. Yesterday we explored the ship. The farm area is really something. There's a lake for swimming and fishing, pens for pigs, cows, chickens and sheep, plus environment for growing every kind of plant imaginable. The head of the farm team, Nicole Caprise, said that the farm could support 1000 people for twenty year's. That's twice the current crew, and five year's longer then the anticipated journey, for those keeping track.

There's a fully equipped hospital, with twenty beds for general patient, and just about every specialized field imaginable.

There's also several rec area's, containing arcade games, exercise machines, and a fully loaded neural holonet. Not bad.

Tonight is the first of three rehearsals for launch day. We'll taken our positions that we would take during the acceleration, and engagement of the drive's.

We also had our first dinner together. Everyone assembled in the farm area, and had a picnic on the grass. The farm team appeared to quite proud of there food. They insist that everyone have double serving.

"So, Jay, they have to kick you out of the Engineering Section yet?" I asked. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Jason is obsessed with all thing mechanical. His going to try to get his Specialization in Ship Engineering and Operation. Everyone onboard either has or has to try for some Specialization. I'm a computer specialist. Jackie's getting her's in Medical. Mike's getting it in physical training. Lisa' Going for Education.

"No, not yet. Studying the antimatter drive. Do you if the magnetic containment field hiccup's, even for a second, then the ship and everything in a few light second's will be destroyed instantly," He said.

"Thank you Jason. Thank you for informing me of that fact," Lisa responded, looking a bit ill.

I laughed, and ate another spoonful of corn.

Launch Day Minus Zero Today's the day. Launch Day, the day we begin our acceleration out of the system. In a few mouth's, we exit Sol and go through the outer Dust Belt, and reach interstellar space.

We're not just going to hit the antimatter drive's at full power, and be on our way. First, the solar sail's are opened. The start's our acceleration. Then after we build speed for a little bit, the fusion drive's are activated. The fusion drive's provide the Taurus with thrust until we clear the outer dust belt. After that, the antimatter drive's are engaged, bring us up to full speed.

The other two ships of the Bernard's Star Group, the Aquarius and the Virgo, would stay about three light seconds away from each other. Close enough for laser data links and short haul shuttle, but far enough that if a ships magnetic field collapses, it wouldn't take all fifteen hundred with it.

I woke at 0630, Ship Standard Time. Jackie was still sleeping next to me. She looked beautiful, her black hair draped over her pretty face. I kissed her forehead, and headed out the door, gapping a cereal bar in the kitchen as I left.

The smart skinned walls were still dark as I headed to the Central Corridor. I wanted to take a walk around the farm area before I had to prepare for the Acceleration.

At the entrance to the central corridor I met up with Jason and Ed.

"Hey, what up bro," Jason called.

"Nothin'. Where're you headed?" I asked.

"Take a guess," Jason said.

"Your heading to engineering to gawk at that fusion drive, and Ed is heading the Farm area to exercise for the next couple hours," I answered.

"You know it," Ed said as he clapped me on the back.

I grinned, and went into the central shaft.

At 1620, I was snugged into yet another acceleration couch. Hopefully, this would be the last one. Jackie was snuggled down next to my. We had both spent most of the afternoon swimming, and we're both still damp from it. I smiled at her, and she grinned back, with her normal traffic stopping smile, and I loved her more then anything.

The shifted around in the couch to see the face of my watch. 1622.

"No going back now mate," Jason said. He was sitting on my left. I knew what he meant. About twenty people had left the Taurus since I've arrived, although we've gotten replacements from the advanced crew of the Cancer.

"Not planning to buddy. Gonna be an interesting fifteen, years," I said.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "It's going to be an interesting life-time." I laughed at that, and leaned back into my seat.