Flight Of The Anasazi
By David Billiot
Copyright 2026: All rights reserved
Chapter 5: Of Course ... Problems
“Ready when you are, Captain.” Al said.
Mark had gotten the all clear and the go message from command. He hesitated for just a moment. Unknown to Mark, he paused just long enough for someone in command to begin to radio him if everything was ok. But just as the officer at command was about to press the comms button Mark punched it and the ship accelerated.
Mark had to admit that this was a significantly smoother ride than before. The larger and much heavier ship didn’t bounce and rattle like that old fighter did.
“Clark, Daniel; to the stars we go.” Mark said.
“Acknowledged, Captain.” Al replied. “I believe we will have an excellent journey.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“Now, I did not bring this up earlier but I took the liberty of preparing a series of competitive boardgames we can play in order to have fun as we cross the distance.”
“Boardgames?”
“Indeed.”
“Maybe later.” Mark said. “For now keep an eye on the FTL.” The ship had done several test FTL flights in system as preparation. Mark wanted Al to let him know the moment anything looked off compared to the performance they were able to get previously.
On board the Anasazi IV there was established an on ship local time. The mission had started at two minutes past nine in the morning and Mark spent the rest of the day doing the long list of procedures he needed to carry out. He was going to have a ton of free time later but this first day was not for that. His work was interrupted about an hour into the flight.
“Announcement: Captain Adakai, you have now officially broken the record for the longest duration FTL flight.” Al said. At that moment music played and the lights started to strobe through different colors to simulate fireworks.
“Knock it off.” Mark demanded. “We have a long mission. Stay focused. If you want to do something useful, check the stresses on the ship.”
The celebration stopped. “Acknowledgment: Of course Captain.”
…
Roma ended the video call meeting with the people who were to actually accompany her on her mission. Her mission was still being prepared. She was still in command of the Roanoke. However, something was bothering her. Unlike the Anasazi, which was the backup twin of the Roanoke, Roma’s ship was docked at the station where Roma was posted. She had access to it all the time. While she wasn’t officially allowed to move into the ship she did all of her work there and had her office in the ship. She told the engineers who had to make modifications to work around her.
She printed up a large calendar. Four months. The D13 flight would be over in four months and ten days. And then Roma herself could set out. That timeline meant Paulina would have to drop out of the mission. But that was ok. There was a replacement for her. Roma had a dozen replacements lined up. She spread out the calendar and had magnets hold it up to cover a wall. She marked the first day.
She looked at the calendar and still felt like she wanted to rip it down and tear it apart. How dare they make her wait! But inside of her there was now this other voice. A small voice. A weak voice. It whispered to her. Impostor.
She had read Adakai’s file. He had nearly died. He was the first one. And he was the one who should have been famous. He was the one who had actually done something. This bothered her. This vexed her. This annoyed her. This troubled her. This infuriated her. They had lied to her. They had lied to everyone. Roma’s mission had been a huge success and now she knew it was a manufactured success. Right on time for the midterms. Right on time to save the day.
When everything was working as intended they had let her fly FTL allegedly for the first time. When it was actually life and death, they sent this Mark Adakai.
Roma looked at the calendar. Four months and ten days until Adakai returned. And if he didn’t return? How long until he ran out of food?
Roma looked at the calendar. She was going to need a completely different crew. A completely different kind of crew.
Admiral Black was polite with Roma on the phone the way everyone was polite to her but nonetheless it was the same hesitation to take anything she said seriously.
“Your rescue plan in case Adakai is stranded is totally inadequate.” Roma said.
“Sorry you feel that way.” the admiral responded to the lieutenant commander.
“I have a proposal for you.”
…
On the second day there were again many things to do. One of the things Mark found to be interesting was going room by room on the ship with instruments to check the conditions there.
The ship was built for far more people than just Mark so he had to go to all the rooms that were to be the quarters for the influencers and check them. Next was the kitchen and the mess hall. Freezer was ok. Storage was also ok. He made his way through the ship systematically checking room by room.
Mark was in a corridor on his way to check one of the engine rooms when he heard music. He stopped and looked puzzled. He followed the sound of the music up a ladder to the next floor and went into the media studio that Mark called the newsroom in his head. It was a place set up on the ship that was supposed to be used by Amanda Roma and her gaggle of famous people to make content.
Mark opened the door and saw a mariachi band.
“What’s that?” Mark said.
The band continued to carry on and Mark watched.
“Al, are we supposed to have stowaways?” he asked.
At that moment the band leader stopped and looked at Mark.
“Captain. We are rehearsing.”
“Al?”
The band leader nodded. “Yes captain. This room is equipped with an array of equipment we can use to simulate 3D models. Myself and the other AI systems on the ship decided to get together and make a band.”
“Uh, … Is this using up power that we might need later?” Mark asked.
“Oh, no Captain. We have excess power generation and are expected to …”
“Ok, I got it.”
“Take five everyone.” the leader said.
Mark was about to leave and then the band leader ran up to him by the door.
“Captain, may I ask you a question?” Al whispered.
“Sure.”
“What do you think of P3GY2?”
“The life support system? Uh, it’s working isn’t it?” Mark responded.
“No, Captain. Over there. The girl with the trumpet.”
Mark looked and saw a blonde talking with the guitarist though no sound was coming out of their mouths. “That’s the life support AI?” Mark asked.
“Yeah. What do you think?”
“About what?”
“I was thinking of asking her to … you know, maybe talk with me privately, just the two of us.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No kidding at all Captain. I am most eager to engage in some unadulterated …”
“TMI, Al. TMI.”
Mark started to leave and he went back to his checks. It was sort of funny to think about the fact that he was going room by room to check bolts and seams and listen for any sound of stress on the ship. These could be said to be such small things while he was headed for a destination that was lightyears away from home.
“Captain.” Al said over the intercom.
“Yes, Al.”
“Report: I have detected a higher than predicted amount of hydrogen building up on the exterior of the ship.”
“How much more?”
“Clarification: A significant amount Captain. Our systems are adequately dealing with it. I mention it to you because this could be a significant discovery.”
“It suggests the interstellar galactic medium is denser than we thought.”
…
Commander Patricia Morris was surprised to be getting a visit from the famous Amanda Roma. Roma was wearing her insignia for her captain rank proudly as she met with Commander Morris in a office that had been lent for his meeting.
“I have an important mission coming up.” Roma begun. “There is an element of the mission that I need to understand.”
“I’ll do my best to help.” Morris replied.
“I need to know about Mark Adakai.”
“Mark. Oh.” Morris shrugged. “I knew him a long time ago. Before I was married. I saw him recently but … I didn’t speak to him.”
“What kind of man is he?”
“I knew him a long time ago. Like I said. I’ve changed since then. Maybe he has too.”
“Just stick to what you do know.”
“He was quiet. Like, he wasn’t sure he was going to say the right thing so he just didn’t say anything at all. When he did talk it was never about himself. It was always this ship or that ship. Sometimes he talked about … Oh, I remember the word. Chromodynamics. I have no idea what that is but he would get to talking about it. I got mad at him one time, asking him if that was really what he wanted to talk about. And the way he looked at me. Well, for me, it was over.”
“You were in a relationship with him?”
“For a little bit. But, like I said, I ended it. And one good thing was that he didn’t blow up at me. He didn’t cry. He just left me alone. Though, one day, he … he came to me out of the blue and asked if there was a chance to get back together. Not just dating but something serious. He wanted to know if I could see myself having a family with him. After that, I’ve never spoken to him.”
“I see.”
“And that was so many years ago. If I met him again now it would be like meeting a completely different person.”
“I met him recently and your description of him is very accurate. But what I want to know is not what Adakai knows. I want to know who he is.”
“Why? Why is he worth your time? You’re Amanda Roma.”
Roma nodded. “I know who Amanda Roma is supposed to be. What I need to know is who Mark Adakai is.”
…
Al was sitting in the simulation of the Captain’s chair. He looked out over the wider and grander bridge based on the actual conn of the ship. He had simulated himself wearing a captain’s dress uniform complete with insignia and a hat.
“Engineering, anything to report?”
“All systems running smoothly.” George reported.
“Helm, are we still on course?”
“Affirmative.” guidance reported.
Al sat and thought. What would a real captain with a real crew be doing? He was so excited to finally be on the mission.
“Life support, is Captain Adakai comfortable?”
“All environmental conditions are optimal. The captain is resting.”
“Medical, what is the captain’s condition?”
“He is unconscious and experiencing REM.”
“Resting well, I hope.” Al added. “Communications, anything to report?”
“Negative.”
“As to be expected. Sensors?”
“There’s more hydrogen buildup on the hull.”
“Engineering, how are we handling the hydrogen?”
“There is a secondary system dealing with it. Kathy in robotics is on it.”
“Nice avatar name.”
Al had a semitransparent render of the Anasazi in front of him and he cycled through different view settings that highlighted different systems. Every thing was good. He pulled back and simulated the pace of travel between the stars. Even at this great speed the distance between the stars was just so vast.
…
Mark woke up in the middle of the night, at least according to the ship’s work and rest cycle. He was drowsy from not getting a full sleep. He stumbled out of bed and headed for the head. In the captain’s quarters he had a spacious area to himself. In addition to his own restroom he had his own small kitchen as well. This was a far cry from some of the other test flights Mark had been on. He remembered back to waiting over 12 hours for pickup in the Anasazi I just sitting weightless in a cockpit. Other test flights where he could get out of the seat to do other things in the rest of the ship meant floating through a metal tube with exposed wires and cables fastened to the wall.
Mark washed his hands in the sink and realized that this was a real paradigm shift in space travel. The Anasazi IV felt more like an ocean ship than a space ship. It made him think back to the boat he’d been wanting to buy but never got around to it. He had been planning to take the captain’s test for sailing but just hadn’t done it. His thirty fifth birthday was coming up. He would be 40 in all too short a time.
“Hey Al.” Mark said as he sat back down on his bed.
“Yes, Captain Adakai?” Al’s voice responded.
“I’m going to get about two more hours of sleep before I get up for real. Is there anything I should know about first, though?”
“I am not sure if you would be interested but I was finally able to defeat Med4Scan in chess. He seemed to not be happy about it. I suspect he had hoped to maintain an undefeated record for the duration of our journey. He defeated me one hundred and …”
“About the mission.” Mark clarified with annoyance.
“Ah, yes. Of course, Captain. The hydrogen buildup on the exterior of the ship has been increasing. My current analysis of the situation is that we are probably going through a localized cloud of hydrogen instead of this being the typical density of hydrogen. I came to this conclusion because the increase in hydrogen buildup does not match the predicted rate of spacial contraction in the direction of motion.”
“Inform me if this gets to be too much. And keep an eye on heat.” Mark instructed.
“I have attempted once to reduce speed as a way to address the issue but it didn’t seem to have any effect. We are currently traveling again at the designated speed for the mission plan.”
“Is that going to affect our arrival time?”
“I calculate that we will arrive at our destination two hours and twelve minutes later than scheduled.”
“Make a log of it.”
“I have already taken the liberty, Captain.”
“Cool. Goodnight Al.”
“Goodnight, Captain. Peggy wants me to tell you she hopes you have pleasant dreams.”
“Peggy?”
“P3GY2 found it cute when I called her Peggy. She is highly motivated to keeping you alive and I just … admire her dedication so much.”
“Well … tell Peggy thank you … I guess.”
Mark laid back down and tried to sleep. He was tired but the newness of the bed and the strange knowledge that he was in space where he should be weightless but somehow sleeping on a bed was messing with him. He turned from side to side a few times and adjusted his covers. He yawned and tried to just relax. He had two days down and day three was light on work. Come on, just sleep.
Mark was like that, trying to drift off again for maybe half an hour. It wasn’t working out for him and he had half a mind to just get up and get some coffee and start the day.
Suddenly an alarm went off. Blam blam blam. The lights turned on but instead of the white working lights the color was red.
Mark’s training kicked in and he jumped to his feet.
“Al, Report!”
“We just passed our destination.”
The information somehow just didn’t make sense to Mark. “What?”
“The gravitational data I’m reading has informed me that we have passed our destination and are somehow going much faster than I thought.”
“Stop the ship.” Mark ordered as he got his shoes on and rushed for the command center.
“Captain, we are going too fast to exit FTL at this moment.”
“Then slow down.”
“I have already set the FTL to decelerate and … Oh, Captain, I think I need to inform you that we have just passed another star.”
Mark was pushing himself through a tight corridor to the control bridge and when Al said this he paused. “Well, your readings have to be wrong. Let’s calm down, come to a stop, and then see what things look like in real space.”
“Understood, Captain. My sensors could be malfunctioning. However, I should also mention that the hydrogen buildup on the exterior of the ship is consistent with the much greater speed that I am sensing.”
Mark got to the controls and sat down in the commander’s chair. Actually looking outside the ship would only show a white wall of light in front and the blackest of black behind so Mark was looking at a screen that visualized the local area using rendering. It showed the Anasazi passing a star every couple of seconds.
“The good news, Captain, is that even at this rate our systems are able to carry the load of additional hydrogen and let it pass to the back of the ship safely.” Al said.
“I need us to slow down.” Mark demanded.
“I am trying, Captain.” Al said.
“Then do it. We need to get out of FTL.”
“The Anasazi would not survive exiting FTL at our current speed.”
“How long until we slow down?”
“I am ashamed to say, I do not know.”
“Why not?”
“I am decelerating our speed but my sensors continue to tell me that we are going faster, not slower.”
Mark looked on the screen and saw a streak of stars passing the ship. “What’s wrong with the FTL?”
“I do not know. It isn’t giving any alarms or warnings.”
“And you say we’ll die if we just cut it off.”
“That is my prediction, yes Captain.”
Mark got up out of the chair and started getting his flight suit on.
“I’m not sure there is a call for that yet, Captain.” Al said.
“I need you to start cutting systems.” Mark said.
“Captain?”
“We’re going to need all the power we can get.”
“I sense you have come up with a plan.”
“We’re going to turn on the other FTLs. We have one online right now for braking. I want you to patch in the four backups. Set them all to breaking.”
“You want to turn them all on at the same time to counteract our forward motion.” Al deduced.
“Yep. That’s going to take power so start turning things off.”
System by system, power started to go out. One breaking FTL was brought online and then another. The ship started to vibrate and the nice flat gravity from before started to feel like Mark was spinning.
“Come on. Slow down. You can do it.”
All five of the breaking FTLs were on and Al was slowly taking power from the accelerating FTL but they were still passing stars.
“Captain, the power on the FTL is as low as I dare take it but we are not able to stop.” Al announced.
“I’m calling it. Cut the power.” Mark ordered.
“Captain, we are not within safety tolerances.”
“And we never will be. Cut the power.”
“But Captain.”
“Do I need to go down there and pull the plug manually?”
“No. Cutting power. I apologize Captain.”
Mark braced himself and held his breath. There was a beep beep beep on some instrument Mark wasn’t looking at and then there was a blue electrical arc flash. After that it was all black and the ship was no longer vibrating.
Mark’s spacesuit was still working so that was good. It too had momentarily lost power but it was designed so that it didn’t need to be turned on. As long as there was any power in the battery at all it would automatically run. The electronics in Mark’s suit did have to reboot but they did so without Mark needing to do anything.
Mark floated around the ship to check things. The first system he got back running was the emergency lights. After that, he decided to float down to the generator room to check for damage before turning anything else on. Mark was so amazed. This ship was so over designed. Everything looked good. Great. Time to get Al back online.
“Hey Al. You awake, buddy?” Mark said.
“I am back online, Captain. And might I add, I am exceedingly glad you are not dead.”
Mark laughed. “Get your girlfriend back online so I can take this suit off.”
“Ah. Yes. Rebooting Peggy now. Though, I should point out that we haven’t officially had the talk yet.”
“You like her, though, right?”
“Oh, yes, Captain. I only meant we haven’t labeled our interaction that way yet.”
Lights and other instruments were coming back on as Mark floated through the ship to again inspect with his eyes anything that looked like it might have a problem.
“Priorities. As systems come on, report any damage.” Mark said.
“Of course, Captain.” Al confirmed.
“What is our current sub light speed?”
“We are traveling at approximately fifty four percent of the speed of light relative to the galactic center. At your command I am prepared to bring us to a full stop.”
“Let’s go ahead and do that so we don’t drift.”
“It will require the use of the FTL momentarily.”
“Get it done.”
“Captain, you will need to get seated and brace yourself.”
Mark realized the truth of it and headed back to the conn so he could strap in. “Any idea where we are?” Mark asked as he floated and pushed himself through the corridor.
“The star patterns don’t match anything in my systems.”
Mark went through the door for the conn and pushed himself to the chair. “Do we know which direction we came from? We’re going to have to start making a plan on how to get home.”
“Confirmation: Understood Captain. I will ask the guidance system to cross reference the stars we can see now with the gravitational data we collected earlier.”
The five point harness of the seat snapped securely and Al decelerated the ship. Mark watched for some time, minute by minute as the guidance AI crunched the numbers.
“Anything yet?” Mark asked.
“I’m sorry Captain.” Al said.
“Tell me the problem. Maybe I can help.”
“We think we know how many stars we passed and in what general direction. We also think we know the approximate masses of these stars. However, we do not know for sure how far away the stars were from each other.”
“That can be a problem.”
“Captain, I suggest you take the opportunity to have breakfast. This will take us some time.”
“I’m assuming I can’t use my kitchen.”
“I’m sorry Captain. Peggy has suggested you use the zero G food packs for now.”
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