A long Trip part 1

Posted on Sat Jan 2nd, 2010 @ 3:34am by

1,668 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: POWERING UP THE STATION
Location: space
Timeline: current

ON:
Mike chuckled as the Cadets showed up for their flight. He had told them to each pack three duffelbags and label them. He had packed his bags last night and was actually looking forward to getting back into space. Mandy had plotted a course and Lee had double checked it and made alterations. Of course then Talon had checked it out and changed it back. The three of them had argued good naturedly for three hours. Mike had checked the course when they had finished and was impressed, they had done just what he asked. Now they just had to survive the trip!

Mandy took the copilots seat as the Danube Commander, Brad was the pilot for the launch and first shift. Patrick,Bob and Lee took postions on the bench. Mike took seat behind the flight crew. The Danube was set up for a long range flight and had everything they would need except room to move around. Mike had spoke to Mandy as the only female in the group. He had warned her he expected her to be discreet and fully dressed during the voyage, no shorty shorts or exposed midriffs for the entire voyage,

Mandy had at first taken offense but she respected the Commander and with some thought she realized it was for the best. She could tease the guys when they got to the base and make up for lost time. Mike had not just spoken to her either, He had been a bit toughter on the guys. "I see a shirtless torso or the skin of a leg above the knee and you go out an airlock, and I don't expect a surprised look when it happens." All four guys had laughed at Mike till they really saw his face, then they had all said "Yes sir" quickly.

The first leg went well twenty-two days at warp 4 with long burst at warp5 and short ones at max warp. Everyone was busy, there were always two people as flight crew on eight hour shifts. When not on flight duty there was studying the new base that they would call home. They were tested deck by deck each day. Mike expected each one of them to be able to go anywhere on the station and back again as if they lived there all their lives.

The first stop over was at a Federation Planet with a strong Fleet presence. They spent three days there on the surface in civilian quarters. Bob and Patrick got drunk that first night on the planet. Lee had taken Mandy out to a fine dinner and then they had gone dancing. Mandy had tried to talk Brad into joining them but he had politely refused. Brad had gone sight-seeing and then checked in on Bob and Patrick. He had discreetly insured they got back to their apartment and then gone out to a park and watched the alien sky till he fell asleep.

Brad woke to see Mike sitting beside him. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he sat up straight "Something wrong Sir?"

Mike smiled "Not at all I enjoy sunrises as well. Never been here myself and is a good idea to never pass up a chance to see something this special." Together the young and the old watched the splendor of the twin yellow suns rising over the horizon. The beauty as the skyline lit across the fields and the sky slowly brighten then blaze swiftly to full light. Mike slowly got up, "Shows over, was very nice. This is the stuff that gets you through the darkness, the glory of all that we help protect. I will never understand the thought that destroying this is desirable." Mike left the park bench and walked toward the motel diner.

Lee and Mandy were sitting in the room when Mike arrived. "Don't stand, we are off duty. So you two sleep well?"

Mandy stretched almost as if on que, "Actually no, I missed the hum of the engines!" She had been surprised to have had trouble falling asleep without the vibration and steady hum of the engines after only a realtivily short flight. "The food here is really good though, and this City is fantastic."

Lee mumbled through his food, "She just liked the night club last night, she had all the guys drooling." He flinched and cried out as Mandy kicked him under the table. Trying to cover his embarrassment "The food is excellent here Commander. The salads are very interesting."

Miked ordered local bacon and breads and potato like vegatables-fried. He had never had good eating habits and still held his own so saw no reason to change. "Yes, that does look interesting, smart choices all." Mike saw Brad walking off alone into the city, the big guy was a loner but he cared about the team.

Lee and Mandy went off to check some local tourist spots for their day off. Mike hung out till 1100 hours then went up to the guys room and tossed a pitcher of ice water on both of them. "Rise and shine ladies!" Both cadets came up sputtering and groaning. "The local brew must be potent, so shower get dressed and go see the town, be a shame to miss the culture just for a hangover." Mike left the room chuckling, he had never been drunk in his life and never understood the concept. Most of his buddies had thought him a stick in the mud, until he was there to get them home or out of a pickle of a mess.

Bob tried to get up and fell to the floor groaning, Patrick drank some water and with his eyes closed walked to the shower and turned it on. Ten minutes later Patrick started getting dressed as Bob half walked and fell into the shower. They both made it down to lunch by 1230 and ate a small lunch. They felt better after drank several pitchers of water and some fruit. They were walking down the street by 1400 hours and checking out the night spots for that nights revelries.

Mike walked about the city stayed mostly to the parks and the city's Zoo. Having spent most of his life in a space ship, Mike found the living beauty of a Planet awesome. He thought of Brad as walked the paths and like the young cadet he was a loner. He had never had anything but duty and the companiinship of those he worked with. He had seldom hung out for fun and never been able to maintain a relationship. It always ended the same, he was too cold and distance for anyone to feel close to him for long. He just didn't need anyone enough to make them feel like he was worth staying with.

The time on Planet over and the Crew back aboard Mike called the Authorities for permission to launch. When the tower gave them clearance Mike signaled Mandy to take off. Today's flight crew was Mandy as the pilot, Lee as the commander and the other three were off shift. Mandy left the Planet behind swiftly and once clear of the saftey zone Lee gave her permission to go to warp speed.

This leg was fifteen days and proceeded as before with flight shifts and studies. When they flew past an interesting cloud, Lee got off his studies and flight shift for two days to take readings as sped by. He then spent his study time for the rest of that leg referencing the composition of the cloud. They had a few minor problems with a replicator which Patrick and Bob fixed. Mike was enjoying the flight despite the cramped conditions and was more then a little surprised at how well the cadets got along.

As they approached the next rest stop they recieved a request to answer an SOS distress signal. The local moon was a frozen orb and had a thin atmosphere. A shuttle had last reported engine trouble as passed the backside of the moon. It was believed to have crashed and local duty Officer asked us to check on the situtation as we were the nearest vessel. Mike replied affirmative and turned the mission over to Lee as he was the Commander for this leg.

Lee had Mandy take the pilot position as he plotted a course. Brad and Bob would be the search team with Patrick as reserve. Mike was content to monitor for now. Brad was the first to spot the wrecked shuttle from the scanner back up station and Mandy manuevered into land. She used a circular pattern to land and Patrick scanned the ground to ensure it was solid enough for the shuttle to land on. Lee tried several times to raise a response from the shuttle crew with no success.

On the ground Brad and Bob left immediately in EVA suits with the low gravity they made excellent time crossing the short distance. The shuttle was badly busted up but showed no signs of fire. Bob took some pictures of an engine nacelle where a small space rock had damaged the engine. Brad was getting no life signs as took readings around the shuttle. They had to cut their way in at the end to recover the two bodies. Mike came out to help with that. He also checked the shuttle out for any possible foul play. He was satisfied with Bob and Brad's conclussion that it had been a freak accident. Brad had gathered the flight recorder for the investigation.

The PADD's used to photograph the site were put in sealed bags and beamed to the Danube's airlock together with the pair of bagged bodies and the flight recorder. Once the three EVA team members were beamed back aboard Mandy lifted back off for the short silent flight to the local Planet.

TBC:

Lieutenant commander Mike Hawkins
Instructor-TDY
USB Typhon

Cadet Mandy Travis
Cadet Lee Quan
Cadet Bob Grant
Cadet Patrick Wayne
Cadet Brad Talon

RSS Feed