Space Knights: The Arrival

to be among the few that have decided to brave an unbelievable trip through space. You are going to travel farther than any stellar ship launched from the Earth. In one hour you will be given a last meal and then at two o’clock this afternoon we will begin the boarding process. You will be escorted to your ships and placed in the deep sleep chambers. You don’t have to worry; they have been thoroughly tested and are completely safe. Once you are in your chamber and sealed in you just need to relax, and you will be put in a state of suspended animation that will be very carefully controlled by the ship’s computers.”
Trance suddenly had a vision of being sealed in something like a coffin and thought that it would probably be very hard if not impossible to relax in such a place. He was anxious to get it over with. He knew that the wait would make him worry about it more. He’d have to wait till two o’clock to find out. He looked again at the man and listened as he spoke again.
The man continued to give them information. “After you are in the chamber and relax the chamber’s systems will put you in the suspended state. In this state you won’t feel anything and you will not age at all. Now so you know, tomorrow morning, starting at precisely six thirty A.M. Eastern Standard Time, the first ship will launch into space. More ships will take off at intervals of one every fifteen minutes. Ships will take off from around the world at similar intervals. The ships based here will probably start taking off late tomorrow afternoon.” He continued and gave them more information on the status of their ships and about the course that they were going to take to get to the awaited planet.
When the man finished delivering the orientation, Evan gathered his family about him and they talked together quietly and reassured each other. Trance looked about the room and saw that everyone else in the room was doing the same thing. Time passed slowly as they talked and wondered what it was going to be like on the ship and in the deep sleep chambers. Finally the time came and the announcement was made that their lunch was about to be served. They were then all asked to rise for a prayer.
After the prayer, given by a graying minister that looked very weary, they ate a wonderful feast and had a choice of a variety of drinks and food. There were pizzas, fried chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, salads of every sort, and pies and desserts of every kind, enough to satisfy everyone’s hunger all brought in and set up on tables like a large buffet. With their meal cleared away they sat back and relaxed, feeling quite happy. Gradually however, the realization that the time was approaching for them to board their ship dawned on them.
As before, time seemed to pass very slowly. Finally the time came for them to get ready for the boarding process to start. The announcement came that they would need to assemble in designated areas with the other people that were assigned to each ship. Technicians came out and started lining people up. The first line was for the Sparrow I. The Sondersons stood and went to the group that was bound for the Sparrow XIV. They became quite silent and anxious as people came up behind them. More and more groups formed until everyone was in their appropriate line. Anticipation was in the air as every face looked toward the large clock on the back wall. They waited edgily as two o’clock approached.
Then the time came and another tech made the announcement that they were about to board their ships. First to go out was the line for the Sparrow I. They were led to the door toward the ships by a tech in a white jumpsuit. Trance watched them march toward the ship they were to board. They disappeared around a corner and he figured they still had a walk to get to the ship. His attention was now brought to the second set. Line after line was lead out by a tech and as each line was led out the door Trance felt more anxious. It was getting closer for their time to go.
The lines for Sparrow VIII, IX, X, and so on to XIII were led to the door. The time had arrived for Sparrow XIV. The Sondersons followed the line to the door and then out toward the ships. Trance looked around, trying to get his brain to scan and memorize his surroundings because he would never see them again. He took in the trees, birds, and a pair of squirrels sprinting toward the trees. They marched past the other ships and he could see a few people still boarding the few ships before theirs. And then suddenly their ship came into view.
The ship was huge and resembled a great plane with wide triangular wings. It had four massive engines. These engines were based on an incredible and radical new design. Trance remembered hearing his dad talk about the engines and the way the pomponium would power the ships through the universe. He also remembered them being built and tested.
Trance and his family were soon approaching the stairs that led into the ship. As he approached the bottom of the stairs, Trance suddenly had the impression that somebody was watching him very closely although he couldn’t think why. He turned and for an extremely short moment would have sworn he saw his grandfather and another man, a man dressed in pure white. This was strange since grandpa Claude had passed away just a few years ago. He turned back, wondering what he’d seen and what it might mean. He glanced back, but didn’t see anyone where they had been. Before he could start to contemplate what he thought he’d seen