Celestial Expedition I - Prologue
12 Nov 2022Annie Satevis
12 NOV 3308There is a sense of excitement here aboard the Celestial Avenger, my Nautilus-class fleet carrier. I've ordered the crew to make preparations for a long voyage of approximately six months. Very soon, we shall embark on a grand adventure, one that I specifically designed the Celestial Avenger to undertake. We are launching our very first "Celestial Expedition".
For our voyage, we plan on traveling with some of our fellow Aisling's Angels to visit some key waypoints in our galaxy, the first of which will be the Statue of Liberty Sector DL-Y D30 system. Once we've done this, we will embark on our own journey, making a couple of circles around the center of our galaxy before heading out for Beagle Point. After that...well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
These past two weeks have been frenetic and stressful as we try to plan the necessary logistics for deep space travel over an extended period of time. Every section of the fleet carrier has been cleaned and maintenance has been brought up to date. I personally just finished loading up the cargo hold with as much Tritium as I could pack into there, to ensure we have plenty of fuel for the journey. This has caused some problems, of course, as it means all other supplies such as food, munitions, equipment, and spare parts must be stored elsewhere. Every available storage space (and in some cases, entire rooms) has been stuffed full of these supplies. It's caused the crew some discomfort, but no one appears to be complaining too loudly. Most are excited to be a part of this historic journey where we hope to make many new discoveries and engrave our names into the galactic codex. Some appear a bit apprehensive, especially after the all hands meeting where we reviewed the procedures for getting personal affairs in order and notifying next of kin in case we never make it home.
Then there's the Thargoids, of course. The Stargoids appear to be heading for the bubble and should be arriving very soon, which makes our trip somewhat serendipitous if one believes that escape is the best solution. If possible, Phoenix and I will try to scan a couple of the Stargoid signals using our upgraded FSS scanners, to see if we can make any assessments as to their intentions. We don't wish to engage the Thargoids, and we hope to continue on with our journey uninterrupted. However, if we are beckoned to defend humanity from the threat of extinction, we shall not fail to answer the call.
Speaking of Phoenix, he's been quite busy trying to upgrade his Diamondback Explorer so that it can keep up with the Celestial Ranger. He's had to gather the materials to engineer his frame shift drive for maximum jump range, and he's hoping to also engineer the power plant for maximum output before we head out. It would have been nice if we could have a matching pair of DBX's to explore with on this trip, but I don't think it will matter much. What will matter is that we have each other's backs, in case one of us runs out of fuel somewhere or needs urgent repairs. We do have most of our ships on board to help us out should we need to mine for more tritium or defend ourselves.
As soon as Phoenix returns, we will likely head out within the next 24 hours or so. I'll be taking the lead in the Celestial Ranger, making short jumps and trying to scan as many systems as possible as we head towards the Statue of Liberty nebula. We plan on making a detailed chronicle of our journey, noting all the systems we scan, as well as important discoveries such as Earth-like worlds. If we can keep the crew's spirits up, we should be able to make this expedition a pleasant and memorable one for all.