Day Two: "Star of Wonder, Star of Might..."

Posted on Sat Jan 16th, 2010 @ 6:06am by Commander Lucas Jackson

572 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: The Jackson Survey
Location: Bridge, USS Valhalla
Timeline: Thirteen Hours Post-"Silver-Lining"

"SECURED"
"Captain's Log, Stardate 64638.3"

We are just about to clear the interstellar medium between the Tiberius System and...whatever else is out there. As we progressed through the medium, the concentration of hydrogen and helium has become greater. The cloud in front of us is so thick, that we can't see anything beyond a few meters. We are relying on blind-eyes to get us through the rest of the interstellar medium. Scans indicate that we shall enter open space in just a few minutes. I am extremely curious as to what is out there...

"END LOG"

"Sir, we are now clearing the medium," called the same officer who first announced the initial build-up of the hydrogen and helium. The man started pressing various buttons on his console. "Scans are in progress of the area. We have visual if you want it."

A smile was brought to Luke's face, while he commanded, "On screen."

Immediately, a blue, luminous glow engulfed the bridge. Spanning across the entire view screen, the magnificent light nearly blinded every crewman who had the somewhat misfortune to look at the screen. Covering his eyes and stumbling over to the Ops Station, Jackson ordered, "Raise the tint on that blasted view screen before we all go blind! While you're at it, increase the tint on all windows of the ship—we won't be of any use if we can't see."

Lieutenant Jordan Sellis awkwardly began feeling the Ops console, trying to find the appropriate button. After a few seconds, he found the specific control. As he pounded on it with all his might, the room began to dim. Everyone gradually got up from their defensive positions, uncovering their eyes.

"What the heck was that?!" Jackson muttered, loud enough so everyone could here.

The active officer at the Science Station, Lieutenant Jake Rios, began reading of various scans: "Scans indicate that we are in front of a...a...in front of a Class-O star. Its luminosity is over 300,000 times that of the Sol System's sun. The solar mass is 29 and the diameter is 130. More scans are in progress to determine what lies beyond the star."

Just as before, Lucas' mouth nearly hit the floor. "...Did you just say...A Class-O star?" While Class-O stars are not unheard of in the galaxy, they definitely are uncommon; approximately 1 in every 3,000,000 stars are Class-O. They are generally unstable and have a star system that is void of life. "The pessimist inside of me is telling me that there isn't much else to be said, but please continue the scans. I want to know the stability of the star, the habitability of the region, the size of the region and anything else you can come up with."

"Alright, Sir," Lieutenant Rios said in confirmation. "I can already tell you right now, though, that the star is completely stable. I'm also detecting at least ten celestial bodies that are big enough to be classified as planets. Initial indications show that there may be a habitable planet in the system, but further studies will have to be done."

"Well," Jackson began, "our mission is to 'seek out new worlds...' Lets get to it!"

END


Lieutenant Commander Lucas Jackson
Chief Science Officer / Captain
USB Typhon / USS Valhalla


Lieutenant (JG) Jordan Sellis
Operations Officer / Chief Operations Officer
USB Typhon / USS Valhalla


Lieutenant (JG) Jake Rios
Science Officer
USB Typhon / USS Valhalla

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