Navian
Inactive Member
Uncharted Star System
The star was unremarkable. Bright orange in colour, it had been burning steadily for two or three billion years, its light shining on the cloud of nine planets around it in stable orbits, only occasionally jostled by the colossal impacts of comets and meteors. As was generally the case, some of these worlds received far too much light, and others too little, but where exactly to draw the line could be a matter of some debate.
By Yamataian standards, there was one planet in the star's habitable zone, and it had lost the oceans that had covered it billions of years earlier, as it lacked the mass to hold their molecules back against the winds of the star that warmed them. By the standards of local starfarers, however, said 'near-habitable' planet wasn't a near-miss, it was more of a close call; not that the lack of lethal rain clouds and waterfalls redeemed it enough, in their eyes, to be worth their bother.
When the Ryujo arrived at the edge of the system, from hyperspace, its sensors array picked up signals from the fifth world around the star, not from the third. This one was cold and icy, almost a giant, with two large, airless moons. It was here that the system was inhabited, as the traffic signals from dozens of spacecraft were broadcasting all the way out to the edge of the star system. The Ryujo began to approach with some evasiveness, as its exit from hyperspace was almost certainly detectable by the locals.
YSS Ryujo, on the Graveyard Shift
The Ryujo's crew did not have the luxury of a sound night's sleep as they approached. Those who slept were suddenly awoken by a surprise combat alert in the worst of the early hours, at 0332. For most, it was time to don their protective suits and report to their stations as quickly as possible. For others... not so much.
Eisei was awoken by the alert, but found herself still in a hemosynth tube, appearing outwardly to have fully healed from surgery. Still, her arm was mending itself where it had been cut and fractured within. The sense of pain she felt was a dull warning, conflicting with the excitement of the combat alert that also rang through her head. The captain still wasn't sharing any juicy details--combat imminent, that was all--but surely she'd find out soon enough, so long as everyone wasn't vaporized, first.
To her fortune, it was clear she could not stay in the hemosynth tube without the ship falling short of its maximum readiness. Less ideally, the procedure for her to leave was not clear. Yamataian warships seldom suffered from midnight ambushes, and by the book she should have already been out of the tank before combat began. Perhaps it was something to ponder... or perhaps acting without thinking was more appropriate when the ship was apparently under direct attack.
Argenta had worked overtime to help repair damage from the last battle, and its aftermath. After the boarding attempt, the repairs to the Ryujo's fighters had been placed at a lower priority than protecting the cruiser's control systems, and optimizing its sensors arrays for the current mission. Once the technicians' primary objectives had been completed, those who'd been on duty for over eighteen hours had been given a four-hour break, expected to end when the Ryujo made its final approach on the outpost ahead.
It had been a little under an hour and thirty minutes since Argenta had completed her last calibration, and apparently, it was time for work again. Though the infantry and combat pilots had been off-duty much longer, only a few had taken the precaution of turning in early, and none of those were part of Sakurai-Heisho's new and hastily-assembled Security Team Five.
Except for Eisei and Shrii, it was their first night on the job.
The star was unremarkable. Bright orange in colour, it had been burning steadily for two or three billion years, its light shining on the cloud of nine planets around it in stable orbits, only occasionally jostled by the colossal impacts of comets and meteors. As was generally the case, some of these worlds received far too much light, and others too little, but where exactly to draw the line could be a matter of some debate.
By Yamataian standards, there was one planet in the star's habitable zone, and it had lost the oceans that had covered it billions of years earlier, as it lacked the mass to hold their molecules back against the winds of the star that warmed them. By the standards of local starfarers, however, said 'near-habitable' planet wasn't a near-miss, it was more of a close call; not that the lack of lethal rain clouds and waterfalls redeemed it enough, in their eyes, to be worth their bother.
When the Ryujo arrived at the edge of the system, from hyperspace, its sensors array picked up signals from the fifth world around the star, not from the third. This one was cold and icy, almost a giant, with two large, airless moons. It was here that the system was inhabited, as the traffic signals from dozens of spacecraft were broadcasting all the way out to the edge of the star system. The Ryujo began to approach with some evasiveness, as its exit from hyperspace was almost certainly detectable by the locals.
YSS Ryujo, on the Graveyard Shift
The Ryujo's crew did not have the luxury of a sound night's sleep as they approached. Those who slept were suddenly awoken by a surprise combat alert in the worst of the early hours, at 0332. For most, it was time to don their protective suits and report to their stations as quickly as possible. For others... not so much.
Eisei was awoken by the alert, but found herself still in a hemosynth tube, appearing outwardly to have fully healed from surgery. Still, her arm was mending itself where it had been cut and fractured within. The sense of pain she felt was a dull warning, conflicting with the excitement of the combat alert that also rang through her head. The captain still wasn't sharing any juicy details--combat imminent, that was all--but surely she'd find out soon enough, so long as everyone wasn't vaporized, first.
To her fortune, it was clear she could not stay in the hemosynth tube without the ship falling short of its maximum readiness. Less ideally, the procedure for her to leave was not clear. Yamataian warships seldom suffered from midnight ambushes, and by the book she should have already been out of the tank before combat began. Perhaps it was something to ponder... or perhaps acting without thinking was more appropriate when the ship was apparently under direct attack.
Argenta had worked overtime to help repair damage from the last battle, and its aftermath. After the boarding attempt, the repairs to the Ryujo's fighters had been placed at a lower priority than protecting the cruiser's control systems, and optimizing its sensors arrays for the current mission. Once the technicians' primary objectives had been completed, those who'd been on duty for over eighteen hours had been given a four-hour break, expected to end when the Ryujo made its final approach on the outpost ahead.
It had been a little under an hour and thirty minutes since Argenta had completed her last calibration, and apparently, it was time for work again. Though the infantry and combat pilots had been off-duty much longer, only a few had taken the precaution of turning in early, and none of those were part of Sakurai-Heisho's new and hastily-assembled Security Team Five.
Except for Eisei and Shrii, it was their first night on the job.
