Centauri Armada

By Leslie Wayne Doliber

Follows Sunrise on Sedna.

The Kite probes sent to the Alpha Centauri system 30 years ago discover a habitable planet. After his missions end on Sedna and Ceres, Nathan returns to the Moon to build a new series of Kites to study the Earth like planet.

Other eBooks:
Sunrise on Sedna – 1st book - Nathan's adventure on Sedna
Centauri Armada – 2nd book - Nathan returns to the Moon
Dogs of Sedna – a short story that follows Sunrise on Sedna

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leslie Wayne Doliber
• Release date: May 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005251857

Book preview

Centauri Armada

by

Leslie Wayne Doliber

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2022 Leslie Wayne Doliber. All rights reserved. Including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. 

Published by: LWD, Inc., Dover, DE

Version 2022.05.21

Acknowledgments:

Cover image credit - NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

Moon Station - Image by GeorgeB2 from Pixabay.com

Boston Terrier - Image by gab6eb51cc from Pixabay.com

Poochi - Image by Somraya from Pixabay.com

Coton de Tuléar - Image by JacLou DL from Pixabay.com

Moonscape - Image by Ondřej Šponiar from Pixabay.com

Alpha Centauri distance graphic - Science and Technology Definition Team NASA/JPL

Torus Chamber - Image Courtesy of CRPP-EPFL, Association Suisse-Euratom

Vineyard Scene - Image by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay.com

French Bulldog - Image by Mylene2401 from Pixabay.com

Thank you:

Sheila for helping me edit this story. Your help is truly appreciated.

LibreOffice for their great software: https://www.libreoffice.org/

Wikipedia and JPL/NASA web sites for aiding in my research.

For more books visit my web site at – http://tvestra.lwd.cc/

Table of Contents

Title Page

Notices

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Thank you for reading Centauri Armada

For more information on settings

Notes for Centauri Armada

Chapter 1

Nathan was in deep thought as he sat at his favorite table and watched the barren surface of Ceres roll by the view port.

Nathan, may I join you? Jaesang Beon asked.

Yes, please do, Nathan replied as he was rousted from his reverie.

When are you leaving? Jaesang said as he sat at the small table.

My departure slot is in 90 minutes. I had my health scan yesterday and am cleared for Torpor. I figured I’d take one last look at Ceres.

Jaesang was Nathan’s physical therapist. He worked in the gravity recovery unit on the Ceres Orbital Station, locally known as COSat. Nathan had spent his free days for the past two years on the station working on gravity therapy exercises so he could transition from Ceres to Earth’s Moon. He had been stationed at the Ceres Kite Communication Station for almost seven years. Before that he was stationed on Sedna for about fifteen years. The gravity on the dwarf planets was almost 1/6th of the Moon’s gravity, so Nathan needed intense weight and diet therapy to prepare his body. It had been hard work and he had spent every day he could on COSat, which rotated to create the same gravity as Earth’s Moon. He had even rented an efficiency apartment on the station. Now he was ready to leave for his new assignment back at the Luna Armada Station.

He was the onsite astrophysicist for the Ceres Kite Communication Station at the Kokopelli Crater on the surface of Ceres. They had been quite busy the past four years receiving the data sent back from the Kites that were passing thru the Alpha Centauri system. He helped launch the Kites from the Luna Armada Station almost 30 years ago. Nathan had been the chief designer of the Kite Armada system and now he was returning to where it all began to help design and launch a new Kite series.

You are incredibly fit for someone that is 74 years old. Thanks to your hard work you will be able to skip the therapy that most people need when they relocate from Ceres to Earth’s Moon, Jaesang said.

I kept a rigid exercise routine while I was on Sedna. There was a nice garden there and I grew lots of plants rich in protein and calcium. My dog and I also wore weights. I kept up the routine and diet during my stay on Ceres. It was lucky that Stellar Armada Consortium had the Kite listening station here on Ceres. My dog never would have been able to live on the Moon, so Ceres was a natural choice.

Nathan’s little dog, Babbage, passed away three years ago. The little apricot poodle had spent the first fifteen years of his life on Sedna.

It was great that Babbage got to spend some time running in real grass in the Hanami City park. Sedna station was nice, but the city here on Ceres is huge and has some nice parks that Babbage and I enjoyed. Now that Babbage is gone I can relocate to the Moon to be closer to Earth, Nathan continued.

Unfortunately you will not be able to go down to Earth’s surface. The gravity would be too much for you to handle. There is only so much we can do to mitigate the negative affects of living a long time in low gravity, Jaesang said as he sipped his cappuccino.

That coffee smells good. I wish I could have a Cuban coffee, but I can’t have anything for four hours prior to going into Torpor. I hate the affects of coming out of Torpor, I always feel like crap. This will be the third time I have done it and hopefully the last.

The last time Nathan had to use the Torpor Chambers was when he returned from Sedna to Ceres seven years ago and he still remembered how terrible he felt after they revived him. He had been in Torpor for over 500 days on that trip. The voyage from Ceres to the Moon would only take about 40 days, but there still was the issue of revival.

Yes, I think everyone feels the same. The crews on the ships are used to it and seem to do better than passengers like us who only use it once in a while, Jaesang replied.

I know I can’t go down to Earth, but at least I’ll be able to see my brother and sister when I’m on the Moon. I haven’t seen them in over 30 years. They have never been in space, but have agreed to come up to the Grissom Station for a visit.

I have to get back to work. It was a pleasure working with you on your therapy. Have a good trip and if I am ever on the Moon I’ll give you a call, Jaesang said as he stood.

Well, goodbye and thank you for all your help, Nathan said as he got up and shook Jaesang’s hand.

Nathan sat back down and watched as a shuttle descended to the surface. He continued to reminisce on his time on Ceres. He missed Babbage, but at least the little dog had a good four years on Ceres. There were lots of people that doted on him, which he reveled in. Nathan also had a nice on and off romance with an AI Systems Engineer in Hanami City. His relationship with Everly was casual and they enjoyed each others company, but it was not serious. She threw him a nice going away party and said they would stay in touch, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. At least this relationship ended on a high note, unlike some of his earlier ones. Maybe he was learning from his past mistakes.

Nathan’s tablet chimed and displayed a message that they were ready for him to board the ferry.

**

Nathan headed to the docking port that the Millhouse was attached to. The ship was a passenger ferry that provided transport for the planets and moons between Jupiter and Earth. She was a mid sized ship that carried up to 150 passengers. The ship was not as large as the Boole, which brought Nathan back from Sedna. The Boole could not dock to COSat like the Millhouse did. The Boole had an internal drum that provided gravity for the crew when they were not in Torpor. The Millhouse didn’t have a drum, so when you entered the ship you were weightless.

Nathan pulled a pair of magnetic clamps over his shoes before entering the elevator to the docking ports. Some of the other passengers were using walkers and wheel chairs. He was glad he spent all the time he did preparing for this. When he exited the elevator he carefully walked to port 24 and was greeted by the ship’s captain.

Hello Dr. Errill. I am Captain Sofiya Vasilyev, welcome aboard the Millhouse. It is an honor to meet you. I have read about the discoveries you are making in the Alpha Centauri system, Sofiya said as she shook Nathan’s hand.

She was tall and