May 19th, 2089
Even before the proximity alarm, Brenda arrived on the Bridge, having detected their destination well in advance. She took the control chair. The Bridge, which had viewports on each of its four sides was located just ten meters under the Tug Drive at the tip of the pyramid. This caused the gravitational washback to make her hair stand on end. But she wasn't concerned, since no one on the ship felt the need to correct it with Compensators. Perhaps that was a joke at her expense by one of the design engineers. Over the last forty days of constant deceleration, tiny objects had accumulated on the control room's ceiling. Having been pelted with the previous batch during the few moments of weightlessness at turnover, she eyed them wearily as the ship slowed toward a stop.
As the soft alarm sounded, announcing their approach to Vesta, the Immortals crowded into the small room for a glimpse of their destination. Despite being designed for just five people, around twenty of them squeezed into the cramped space, disrupting Brenda's concentration. Undaunted, Brenda ignored the crowd and carved out a small space around the command chair, sternly wielding her nail file against anyone who came within arm's reach. She had a complex task to perform, and she couldn't allow anyone to obstruct her view or bump into her.
Gazing out of the viewports, Brenda saw Vesta growing larger and felt overwhelmed by its enormity. Although she knew the asteroid had a diameter of 525 kilometers, she couldn't fully comprehend its scale until now. It would soon be her home, as she had chosen it specifically for its large metallic core. This asteroid would serve not only as her home but also as the home of the council, making it the spiritual center of the colony, as she had planned.
With ever-increasing detail, Vesta filled her view screen. Brenda leaned forward at the helm, her calm focus contrasting the excited chatter around her. Her companions, having learned painfully to respect her space, observed from a safe distance. Despite the extensive automation of the ship, Brenda had the critical task of ensuring synergy in the process. She briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her gaze returning to scrutinize the multitude of readouts hawkishly. She adjusted minutely as needed. When the ship softly landed three meters above the asteroid's surface, she held her breath, only releasing it when they were safe. Satisfied, she activated the next step in the process with the push of a button.
With their arrival at Vesta, the time had come to dismount the backup Tug Drive from the base and install it on the asteroid - a task calling for the expertise of the ship's engineers. Brenda's role on the Bridge now complete, she let her tired body slump down, before dragging herself up to find much-needed rest in her quarters.
Once the engineers had the Tug Drive appropriately positioned on Vesta, the asteroid and ship began moving at 1g in a reverse orbit towards The Farm. The latter, locked to Earth's orbit, hurtled toward them from nearly the opposite side of the belt. As they traveled, a series of smaller Tug Drives mounted around the asteroid's waist began their ballet, spinning the celestial body while the powerful lasers on the ship's base fired along its spine. The rock and metallic materials heated and expanded, forming an oblate mass with a diameter of 1,000 km and a large hollow interior.
While other asteroids would be spun much larger with thinner crusts, Brenda worked "off-script." She had grand plans for that material, and she was confident she would have ample space for the colony's growing needs when the time came. With the building nanites, and the transmutors now designed and prototypes built, Brenda's pursuit of programmable matter was almost complete. The only thing left was an AI ten thousand times more intelligent than Dooley's gizmo to coordinate them.
Brenda's calculations suggested that, if everything went perfectly, it would take 251 days with a shorter deceleration period to match The Farm's high speed at the meetup. This timeline factored in some flexibility, as they might need to change course a few times to avoid asteroids. Brenda estimated that these maneuvers would likely take about 10 days per asteroid. Barring any major issues with the other ships, the calculations indicated that she would be the last by far to arrive at The Farm.
Having successfully docked, Brenda prepared a congratulatory video message for Richard, who was due to reach The Farm in a week's time. Transmitting the video was the only feasible option — as real-time conversation was impossible due to the current 41-minute communication lag each way. Brenda was no stranger to such video messaging, and she found comfort in knowing that this communication lag would decrease with each passing day.