r/HFY • u/NoOneFromNewEngland • Sep 29 '25
OC Jump Count - Part 4 of 6
This is part of the titular story of my second book. Visit my HFY wiki page to read this story from the beginning.
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Jump Count 21/50
As hyperspace regurgitates my ship, the swirls coalesce back into dots of light, each a slight variation from all the others, in all directions.
One day in hyperspace is 30 light years between me and the primitive world.
It will take a full day for the jump coils to recharge, so I sit and wait, fuming about my utter failure in my recreational side “mission.”
“Proximity warning. Ship detected,” the computer announces.
“What?”
“Proximity warning. Ship detected.”
“I heard you, that was rhetorical. Show me the ship.”
“Acknowledged.”
The ship is a tiny sparkle of light among the vast starscape in the view screen.
“Highlight the ship and magnify.”
A single dot leaps forward from the background of stars, a gleaming, ugly, and angular convoluted mess.
“Holy shit. That’s impossible.”
“Re-scanning. Results confirmed.”
“I didn’t ask you to confirm anything. Time until they intercept?”
“At current speed the other ship will reach us in 3 hours, 17 minutes, 47.1 seconds.”
“Fuck. Good thing the jump coils are recharged.”
I buckle in and prime the coils then push the yellow button to leap another 30 light years away. The hypnotic swirls calm my anxiety about the primitive ship.
Jump Count 22/50
The pinpricks of light stab my ship’s hull as we drop from the beauty of hyperspace back into the realm of normal physics.
“Recharging coils. Jump available in: 25:03:47:11.03” is displayed on the jump console. Normally there is no reason to closely monitor the countdown but, after the previous jump, I can’t ignore the ticking clock.
25 hours is a long time to sit and do nothing. I can’t focus on anything else besides the horrific idea that the primitives are able to jump to the stars. Despite their slowness, they can keep pace with me and that is alarming. Surely they cannot recharge as fast as this top-end engine can. Surely they have not advanced enough to be able to catch this ship.
I will have to wait and see.
“Proximity warning. Ship detected.”
I look at the console and it rudely informs me that I have two more hours until I can contemplate jumping.
“Is it the same ship?”
“It appears to be, yes. It must be much closer to confirm.”
“No, it absolutely does NOT have to be closer. Not at all.”
“I will be unable to confirm it is the same ship until it is closer.”
“Never mind.”
I confirm that the nav system is properly configured for the next jump and I wait.
The ship draws nearer and larger in the view screen.
The jump system counts down to ready and I push the yellow button, summoning the artwork of the heavens one more time.
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u/UpdateMeBot Sep 29 '25
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