Twin Paradox Book One

Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats.  Our attention now turns to the desperate captain and crew of the Nautilus.  For thirty months they've been plodding along through space, searching for the next matter pod so they might reactivate their ADM drive and shoot back to planet Earth.  This, they eventually accomplish.  However it's not without controversy. 

The prickly little Colony Commander Luigi Cadorna is back to his old tricks; this time advising the captain to ignore the presence of a second pod floating in space nearby.  Were they only to have stopped to retrieve it while still on auxiliary power, they would have discovered it to contain a message from Santa Maria.

Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats.  Ensign Gary Orem is called upon; as well as others considered capable of resolving the issue with the missing matter pod.  Gary programs the message pods which will alert the Nautilus; should her crew and captain ever find them, with news as to what has actually happened.  

Meanwhile, B.J. brings in a team of star recruits in order to aid her in determining what might have happened to the missing device, as well as their chances of linking up with Nautilus in the year 2107.  If it works; it will mean returning to Earth in the year 2109.  

If it works, that is.  

Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats.  The decision to transfer Young-Min Jo to the Matter Pod section pays dividends almost immediately.  Within months of reporting to duty he detects one of the devices is mysteriously out of place.  Were this to go unnoticed, Captain Stehter and the rest of the crew would have had no idea why Nautilus was not awaiting their arrival at the rendezvous point in September 2106. 

It has even more dire implications for the overall success of their mission however; especially in regard to their counterparts likely speeding toward them from Kapteyn B.  Worst case scenario, the captain and crew of Santa Maria will be forced to continue toward Earth for the next ten years.  But that's a far better fate than their unfortunate colleagues onboard Nautilus.  Those poor souls might very well find themselves lost in space. 

Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats.  Young-Min Jo has finally had enough of working - better put, baby-sitting - over at the hydroponic garden center.  His new colleagues among the Return Team, whom he now outranks, have proven to be unreliable to say the least.  Stoned most of the time, they've become far more than that:  drug dealers.  It's time to make a change, for the sake of his career if not the safety of the the ship. 

Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats.  A ray of hope comes in the form of a charming relationship developing between Ozzie Guerrero and Shamiso Kachote.  They have become the subject of ship-wide gossip - everyone's all abuzz.  It's not difficult to be in the loop, to be fair, in that the two space twins have lived out their entire young adulthood onboard.  There's little in the way of juicy details that hasn't been passed around among crew members bored with their daily lives and looking for something interesting to talk about.  

B.J. and Steinhart are also big fans of the pair.  They follow their exploits as though Hollywood celebrities.  Meanwhile, Young-Min Jo is starting to tire of his role as caretaker of the ship's hydroponic gardens.  Biologically now twenty years old, it's like he's in charge of a bunch of teenage stoners.  

Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats.  The Santa Maria is now entering year three of its journey back to Earth.  The crew are getting restless.  Perhaps it's due to the strain of having come out of stasis only to be faced with the daunting task of building up the colony on Kapteyn B; along with all the unpleasantness dealing with the bombastic colony commander Luigi Cadorna.  

Captain Stehter tends to think they're just itching to get home!  He's correct.  They are.  Worse; they're terribly bored, and that's sure to lead to mischief.

Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats.  The Santa Maria is now hurtling toward Earth; a journey which in normal circumstances would take just over fourteen years.  The crew fully believe it won't take nearly that long because word from Space Programme is that the new re-supply ship Nautilus will be intercepting them in only four years; delivering them to their homes and families by the year 2107.  

Nevertheless that's still a healthy chunk of time.  It will leave folks like B.J. and Captain Steinhart - for that matter, the majority of the crew - with little to do in the meantime but find ways to entertain themselves. 

 Tonight we begin Part Four:  Heroes and Scapegoats.  We've already heard how the Santa Maria is preparing for its return to Earth.  However there's an important first step before they can begin their journey home.  In orbit around Kapteyn B is a message pod which they must retrieve.  Within lies their orders, as well as some exciting news from Space Programme.

A massive supply ship called the Nautilus is now racing toward them.  Equipped with "Alcubierre Warp Drive" technology it is capable of traveling at ten times the speed of light; meaning it will reach Kapteyn B, resupply the colony, then turn back toward Earth, intercepting them mid-flight.  It is so large that Santa Maria can fit inside the ship's cargo bay.  Once accomplished, the two ships can return home in a matter of months instead of years. 

That's the plan, anyway. 

B.J., with Captain Stehter's permission, endeavors to go to work on the prickly colony commander Luigi Cadorna.  She has one objective in mind, and it's soon to be discovered that the lonely fellow has no intention of passing up the golden opportunity to make her his mistress.  Can she keep him distracted long enough for the colonists and crew to finish the colony?  For that matter, can she manage to keep up with the man in bed?  He is Italian, after all.

Despite the reaction from crew and colonists alike, the majority of whom are aware she'd once been sleeping with Captain Stehter, Ensign Ariel must convince Luigi of her sincerity.  If he suspects even for a second that it's all a ruse, things could get much worse.  Succeed and within a few months she and Steinhart will be together again, making the journey back to Earth, the colony established and their mission complete.

We continue with Part 3:  Journey and Conquest.  Luigi Cadorna, Commander of the Earth Colony on Kapteyn B, has become a real nuisance and not only that, dangerous.  Captains Stehter and Berwick are at their wits end coming up with a solution to the problem.  On his best days Cadorna is a petty tyrant, rebuking and redressing subordinates over the mildest of infractions.  On his worst, he abuses them with foul language, calling them horrible names and reducing some of them to tears.  Berwick and Stehter figure it won't be long before colonists - especially female crew members - hatch a plot to assassinate the man.  It certainly wouldn't be difficult to carry out such a deed!  

However, that's when B.J. offers an alternative ... one only she could carry out successfully. 
Her plan is a simple one:  seduce the bombastic fellow and become his girlfriend until the colony is completed.  Make love to him; try and re-balance his mind.  If it works, it'll be a tremendous relief to the colonists and crew.  The trick will be in convincing the little creep of her sincerity.