<Is timely, I debated for quite aome time about posting it. Someone wiser than I said I should.
I added the Columbia, I would think he would approve.

For Those Who Give
©R Wolfe 2001

They had spoken of this in the mission briefings.

The Experiment was the first with a manned ship, when they had cycled the ship into Trans-light some debris had been caught in the Drive field. It had been carried along with the Ship unnoticed.
When the field was cycled for velocity dump, the debris had been dropped into norm-space at 80% of C. It had the same course as the ship, even Micro-dust was deadly at that velocity.

<C>“Pattern?” The Captain asked

“Cone of dispersion, radius, 30 KM at our position.”

“Time to Intersect?”

“18 Minutes standard”

“Time to Safe position?”

“21 Minutes standard- full thrust”

The Captain spun around to the Pilot “Pilot! Run it up till you think it’ll blow, then add 5%”</C>

Everyone on the Aldrin felt the thump and rumble of the Main Drive ignition, and they knew it was bad.
Cold starting a fusion drive was risky at best, suicidal at worst.
Then they could hear it throttle up beyond anything they had ever heard, and knew it was really bad.

Conversation stopped.

<C>“Time to safe zone?”

“ 3 Minutes.......”

“Time to Intersect?”

“2 minutes, 41 seconds”

“ Pilot can you get anymore?”

“ No Sir, at 128% now, core and magnetic containment in the red now”

The Captain keyed All-ship “Well we knew the job was dangerous when we signed up for i.............................................................................................................................
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The ancient rock was the size of a mans fist and weighed 900 grams, it was moving at 240,800 Kps relative to the ship.

On Earth, a man had taken his nephew outside to look at the sky. To show the him the history the child’s father was making. His brother had told him to bring the boy out, the Trans-light transition would make a wonderful show. They had been standing out here waiting when his wife had come out in tears and told him. The same scientific breakthrough the ship had been using for the first time had also made communication faster than light. Suddenly, the child pointed excitedly at the eye hurting flash low on the horizon.

Unka!!!!!!!! LOOK AT THE BRIGHT STAR!!!!!!!!!

He looked, at the bright speck in the sky, quickly fading away into the dark night, and tears leaked down his face. He knew what that light was from.
******************************
Such is the fate of some of us that dare the unknown, challenge the edges of our knowledge, and walk in places the Human race has never been.

This is fiction, it most likely will never happen,

But.... in all of the history of Human Exploration.

They have stepped past the safe places, those who dare.

They are the few chosen, who have the courage, the need to know

The vision of what can be, of what must be done.

From the first who peeked over the Rim of The Great Rift Valley,

To the first to cross the land bridge to the rest of the World

To the people who got into tiny boats and sailed beyond the sight of land

To those who flew the unproven designs of new planes

To those who broke the sound barrier

To the Apollo crew,

To the Russian Cosmonauts

To the Challenger crew

And now, the Columbia Seven

And one day to the Humans who will travel to the very edge of this tiny System we now live in
....... And leap into the Greatest Unknown we have ever dared to explore.

To them I offer thanks, for without them, we would not be what we are.