Sixteen-point-six light years from Earth is a binary star system known as 70
Ophiuchi. These two stars orbit each other in a highly elliptical path, and
the chances of there being a stable planetary system around either, or both,
of them is highly unlikely. It just so happened that the rogue world of
Durus was sent flying towards this system after its close call with the
planets of Sol. It would have taken decades for them to reach their
destination at their speed at the time, but the people didn’t want to wait
that long, so they conscripted a number of key paramounts to make the
planet move faster, so that it would take less than twenty years. Now it was
2204, and their dreams of orbiting their own stars were finally being
realized. The experts knew that this was going to be a tricky process. There
was a reason why circumbinary planets were probably rare, and why their
orbits were generally unstable. That was okay, though, because the Durune
weren’t looking for a traditional orbiting pattern. They obviously had the
ability to manipulate their own movements, which was a power they could use
to enter whatever orbit they pleased. They chose a sort of figure eight.
They would orbit one of the stars, and then head towards the barycenter,
which they would orbit once before flying off to orbit the other star. They
would continue this pattern ad infinitum, or until they decided to do
something else. There was nothing stopping them from altering this pattern
later, or from leaving the system to find a new home. Again, it wasn’t going
to be easy, but with their access to time powers, and time technology, it
certainly wasn’t impossible. The problem was that they had to be precise and
careful, because they wouldn’t get a second chance.
Accelerating and decelerating was one thing, but changing directions was a
whole different ball game. Experts spent half their careers practicing for
this one goal. They ran computer simulations, and came up with disaster
scenarios, and figured out how to abort the mission. The last time someone
tried to steer the whole planet, she just needed to avoid colliding with
another planet, but this was much more complicated. There was a little bit
of wiggle room when it came to finding their orbit, but if they missed their
window, that could be it for 70 Ophiuchi. They would probably have to wait
until they were picked up by some other system in whichever direction they
ended up going. They also had to take down the sunlight they had been
borrowing from Earth up until this point, or they would end up with too much
heat. So it was really important that these people knew what they were
doing, and that they accounted for every little thing that could possibly go
wrong. Many things did go wrong, and their extensive preparation was
invaluable in their efforts to correct them. Once the initial maneuvers were
over, it wasn’t like they were finished. This orbital pattern was impossible
in nature, and though automated systems could keep it humming, they had to
maintain constant watch over the machines, because even the slightest
deviation—especially in the transitional spots—could mean the end. They were
ultimately successful. The husband of one of the engineers even came up with
a new symbol to represent their finally independent world. It was a vaguely
figure eight with a circle in the middle, and though it wasn’t completely
accurate, it did look cool, and honestly embodied the people’s perseverance,
fortitude, and most of all, their durability. Now they knew that they could
do anything.
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