Colonia in a Clipper Part 1
21 Mar 2024Cetacean1
“Are the engines tuned for efficiency at range? Do we have enough resources to fabricate parts in case of a disaster?”“We made it to the far side of the Statue of Liberty nebula and back in the Earwig, which was just a Dimondback, The Constellation is already far better equipped, has a much farther range, and the journey to Colonia is only twice as far as that trip” my copilot replied.
“I know this should be an easy journey for such a ship, as I planned the Constellation to survive for months in the black. However taking that for granted and missing something is how we don’t come back. This is the longest trip we have taken to date, so run the checks again.”
“You know I am not actually here.” my copilot said. “You left me on the Constellation when you left port.”
“What... how far out am I?”
“We are approximately 700 LY from port.” The computer replied. “Waiting for the Constellation to drop off your copilot in two days.”
“What?….”
“You are onboard the Whitestar, Imperial Clipper class, landed on a planet in the Col 359 Sector NM-K c9-14 system”
“What happened to my Phantom? The Flying Dutchman?”
“It crashed 400 LY from port on a lifeform survey, currently under repair. It won’t make port in Colonia”
“That’s right”. I was accustomed to more thruster power, and it didn’t level out when preparing to land. “Quite a “belly flop” for the ship.”
“I must still be suffering from a bump from the crash”
“You are in perfect physical health, and are not suffering from a concussion or other physical ailment” the computer replied.
“Warning Specimen loose in ship!”
“Where!”
“Captain’s room, crawling up into the bed”
I jumped out of bed and looked around. All was quiet. I checked the specimens, all were sealed. I walked to the bridge. I was indeed on the Whitestar 700 LY from port, and on a planet in the Col 359 Sector NM-K c9-14 system.
“Still over 21000 LY to go to Colonia...”