Chapter 20: The Return to Epsilon Eridani

The Voyager set off for Epsilon Eridani C under the Command of Captain Groves. However, Lieutenant-Commander Chalmers together with Lieutenant Paulsy and Lieutenants (junior grade) Benson and Long were replaced. They had been retained as potential crew for our proposed scout vessel.

The Voyager was equipped with twenty message drones which were to be dispatched every two weeks. Meanwhile, back at base we were planning the next vessel. It was to be much smaller than Voyager, but larger than the Enterprise. We soon settled on a length of about one hundred feet long by about forty feet wide and twenty-five feet high. That would give us three decks and accommodation for a crew of about twenty. I sent a note of discussions to Bob Mather.

Three weeks later, our communications office reported that they had detected the beacon of a message drone. It was recovered by a spare shuttle and we gathered to learn how the expedition had fared. Voyager had found and landed on Planet C. The three Cartographers had set off in one of the shuttles to map the planet. They expected to be finished in about a week after the report.

Other 'away missions' were examining the geology and the biology of the planet. As yet, they had not probed specimens for DNA, but were about to do so. Voyager had proved suitable and so far they said that they had no recommendations for improvements.

The next day I received an urgent telephone call from George Morrison at the Skunk Works.

"Can you find time to come down here, Admiral? We have a lot to discuss. I've had a letter of intent from the White House and we need to thrash out the details."

"How about today? I have a few things that must be cleared up first, but I reckon I could be there by lunchtime."

"That will do nicely. I look forward to seeing you. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye."

Within twenty minutes, I had cleared my desk, and was in the shuttle that I had kept as my personal transport. Another twelve minutes and I was shaking George Morrison's hand.

"I still can't get used to you coming all the way from Holloman so quickly. How do you adjust to it?"

"It comes with practice. Now you said something about a letter of intent from the White House. What have they told you?"

"They are calling for a design for another spacecraft. I understand that it is to flit among stars looking for planets that the Voyager can study in more depth."

"That's right. I should think that we'll need several craft of the Voyager class for each of these smaller crafts. Their task will be to ensure that the basic factors for human habitation are met. The Voyager class craft will carry out a much more detailed study of planets that the new craft will have selected."

"That's how we understood the problem. How many crew do you see for this new craft?"

"I'm not sure yet, but it will probably between twenty and thirty. In fact, we may want to revise the number after a few initial missions."

"Right let's go and get lunch, then afterward we'll show you the drawings and models we've got. You know, the whole idea of what you're doing has captured the imagination of our designers. They all seem to be pulling design rabbits out of their hats."

After a magnificent lunch, we adjourned to his office where a number of models of different shapes were lying on a table against the side wall. There was even one like the craft in 'Star Trek'. George indicated one of them that resembled our Voyager.

"One of our designers seemed to think that we had got right when we built the Voyager. That maybe so, but some of our other designers thought differently. I think that that one," pointing at the 'Star Trek' model, "was added as a joke."

"Do you have any internal layouts for these?"

"Yes. Over here. He led me over to another table where drawings were laid out. There were not only engineering drawings showing the internal layout of the craft, but also illustrations of how the designers thought the interior should look. We spent a couple of hours going over the drawings. After a while, George called in two of the designers and we spent a further two and a half hours thrashing out all the points that arose. By the time we had finished, I was more than satisfied and told them as far as I was concerned, they could go ahead.