The Algol

The Algol has been mentioned several times in these posts and figures prominently in Part 1 of Rome's Revolution. It is the ship that carried the 83-man crew to establish the star base on Dara in the Tabit system.

The Algol is supposed to be very futuristic. A sleek white, wasp-waisted starship but that is only in my mind. My drawing skills are lacking. This is the best I could do using Visio:

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Pretend that it is beautiful. There were some modifications made to its basic structure. Two large pods were attached to the rear end which carried the fully assembled space tugs (MINIMCOM!) along with other hard-to-synthesize equipment. The containers themselves were designed to be split into two half-cylinders and one was used as the entry dock to airlock to the Algol. Once their mission was complete, the Algol would fly home in its regular configuration. Since I can't do it justice graphically, here is the last time Rei sees it, thinking it is Rome piloting the starship home:

Rei felt the ground shaking beneath him. At first, he thought it was another moonquake. He turned and looked back at the station. Off to his right, rising majestically above the rounded pyramid of the star-base was the Algol, pounding the dirt, whipping up the dust with its powerful EG lifters. The starship flew forward then executed a slow bank right until it came around and headed in his direction. He never realized how gigantic it was. The Algol was nearly half the length of the Ark II, but was much more graceful with huge thruster pods poised at the end of each airfoil. As it flew over his head, it waggled its wings. Rei raised his hand to acknowledge the gesture then stood by helplessly as it rose up into the air. After a short time, he saw it ignite the plasma thrusters and take off straight up. He watched it with tears once again welling up in his eyes as it became a tiny speck in the sky and then disappeared.

Is this the last time we see this magnificent starship? Maybe not. I am toying with the idea of bringing Commander Ursay back for a guest appearance in the upcoming novel The Milk Run and if I proceed, it will be aboard the Algol.