Getting Things Squared Away
24 Jun 2021Korzhakov
"How's that?" Randy says into the intercom system "Getting an error message again" I reply. "Dammit, I'll have to replace the module again, this time I'll get it straight from DeLacy myself" Randy quips back. I get out of the seat of the freshly refitted Python and head down out of the ship. Randy stops me and shows me the freshly discovered damage. "You did a real job on her Korz" he says. "Sorry about that brother, I never expected to encounter what I did that day, but we learned a lot from it didn't we?" I say apologetically to him. I am walking the corridor from the hangar deck to the forward part of the carrier and I notice the changed mood on the Archangel. The ship is as busy as it's ever been, supplies onloading, inspections being performed to ensure every system is running at peak efficiency, every space on the ship cleaned to perfection. Yet it feels strange, almost surreal as everyone knows that in just over 35 hours we are going to be leaving the bubble for an unknown amount of time. Next stop will be Colonia where we will spend some time getting to know that area of space. Then on to Sag A Star and then on to points unknown for an expedition to learn more about our universe.
Still many of these crew members have never left the bubble for more than a day or two when we were doing some near home exploration a few thousand light years away. Some of the new crew members have never left human space at all. Heck even I have never been but half the distance to Colonia. Aboard any ship before it sets sail on a long distance cruise. There is apprehension, excitement and a little bit of sadness for leaving family and loved ones for significant amounts of time.
I am filled with excitement and anticipation for the journey, but there is so much to take care of and so little time to do so. Today we finished upgrading my station evacuation python. When we went to help the stations that were recently attacked by the Thargoids, she suffered some major damage trying to access the station as it was falling from orbit.
My standard evacuation build doesn't have shields or "A" rated and engineered thrusters, both of which I needed to avoid colliding with the station entrance as it tumbled through space.
Tomorrow is the eve of our departure. We will be going to visit Jean's parents in the morning over in Lave and then will be having lunch with my parents on the carrier in the afternoon before they depart for home in 21 Draco, I had them brought onboard a couple of days ago to tour the ship and spend some time with them before we set off.
Tomorrow night we have a formal dinner with the ship command staff in the officers mess, followed by an all hands party in the hangar where we store "Retribution" my combat Corvette. This will give everyone a chance to relax and bond with their crewmates and the ships officers. The Captain and I will both give speeches and I will announce bonuses based on the trip that should make everyone feel better about such a long voyage.
So here we are, in barely 24 hours we will be going to sleep in the bubble for the last time for a good while. It feels like it did the first time I did a deployment on a navy ship, I guess it's felt this way for sailors and space travelers for thousands of years now, and I have to admit, I like the way it feels.