The Karlax Nebula
Posted on Wed Aug 23rd, 2023 @ 10:20pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Commander Ryuuji Takasu & Lieutenant Rea & Lieutenant JG Silica Tetsuhiko 'Twin-Tails' & Lieutenant Fubuki Kuchikukan 'Snowflake' & Ensign Rin Kagamine 'Twin 2' & Ensign Len Kagamine 'Twin 1' & Chief Warrant Officer Karuta Roromiya & Commander Thomas Johnson & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Major Chiyo Shimada & Lieutenant Commander Moklor ‘Shell Squid’ & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant JG Nezuko & Lieutenant Iowa Riverside 'Grey Ghost' & Lieutenant JG Mika Fujimoto 'Pickpocket' & Lieutenant JG Masamune Busujima 'Lost Boy' & Ensign Saeko Busujima 'Crazy Horse'
1,388 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission: Starship Graveyard
The purple and blue hues of the Karlax Nebula were beautiful to look at. The gases and liquids of the nebula swirled and twirled as if dancing together on the viewscreen. The nebula stretched several lightyears in every direction. In comparison the Tokyo was nothing but a tiny spec in the vastness of space.
Taiga stood on the bridge looking at the nebula. "We'll drop the first navigational beacons here." She said simply. "Have the Statfighters prepare and launch for scouting operations," she ordered.
Chiyo sat in the second officer's chair, looking at the Nebula. She said nothing and placed a hand near her mouth as her heart swelled. She wondered if Tatsuo had a view like this before the Redemption went in. Though she knew it wasn't likely, as Tatsuo had described himself as a lower decker, meaning he worked below decks most of the time, and the last time they had talked, he hadn't mentioned anything about upcoming bridge duty.
Sensor data on the nebula poured into the computer, prompting Nezuko to make sure it went appropriately to the science, flight control, and tactical stations. She thought the cloud itself was beautiful, a wall of many-shifting hues taking up their entire forward view. She made a mental note to send a still image home to Amphei Prime when the mission was concluded.
At the Captain’s first order, Nezuko sent commands to the cargo bay where the navigational beacons were being stored. Moments later, the sensors began receiving telemetry.
She tapped out words into the speech function of her console. “Beacons One through Four are in position, in a linear pattern with ten thousand kilometres between each one.”
"What are the initial findings of the scans of the nebula Lt." Thomas inquired as he looked down at his console of his chair.
Nezuko began feeding data and computer assessments to the XO’s screen. Amorphous. 22.73 light-years across (average). Composition: Hydrogen (molecular, ionized, and neutral); cosmic dust. Presence of gravitational eddies and currents [rough diagram].
"Pretty standard stuff..." Taiga said. She tapped her comm badge. "Bridge to TIC. Are Starfighters ready to launch?"
"We're getting the first group onto the deck now," came the response from Air Boss Roromiya.
"Understood, launch when ready," Taiga replied before cutting off the comm channel.
Thomas continued looking at the readings, looking for anything out of the norm for a nebula. Leaning back after a few moments. "How big is this nebula exactly?"
Nezuko displayed further text on screen. The clouds shift consistently but it can be modeled as a sphere 22.73 LY across.
[Fighter Bay]
Twin-Tails and Snowflake both sat I'm their starfighters. Both of them had been pushed out onto the deck snd were awaiting clearance to launch. Pilots also lined up awaiting for their 'birds' to be delivered by the Tokyos storage system.
Twin one and Twin Two stood on the side awaiting their birds. Twin Two, the youngest seemed far too excited to be flying a mission. She was hopping up and down on her toes like an excited child who has had too much sugar.
The air was alive with a symphony of activity. Crew members moved with purpose, their movements synchronized like a well-choreographed dance. Bulkheads reverberated with the hum of machinery and the distant chatter of conversations. The large bay doors revealed the vast expanse of space beyond, a canvas painted with stars, on either side of the through bay.
Amidst the orchestrated chaos of the deck, Lt. Cmdr. Moklor and Ensign Teela sat in their respective Valkyrie class starfighters, waiting to taxi. The sleek, powerful vessels pulsed with energy, their advanced technology poised for action.
A light flashed green, giving the Klingon permission to load the first two fighters onto the catapult. Moklor radioed his squadron while studying the observation deck overlooking the fighter bay. "This is Shell-Squid to Yamaha Squadron, prepare to move to the catapult for standby. Follow my lead", the Klingon huffed over comms.
His fighter began to roll out, followed first by Ensign Teela who would load alongside him on the launcher. Snowflake and Twin-Tails followed closely behind, staged and ready to join the others. "Yamaha standing by", Moklor called to the Tower.
"You are cleared for launch Yamaha." Came the cool reply from Air Boss Roromiya.
"Yamaha copies", Moklor called back, automated comms network switching to address the squadron as he said, "Yamaha this is Shell-Squid, we are go for launch.." This let Teela know to click the 'ready' button taskbar, which would let the tower know she was clear to launch. Moklor pressed his a second later.
The first two fighters shot into space as Moklor continued talking. "Form up on Nanny and I.. Let's deploy those beacons." Moklor and Teela shot quickly out of the through bay and banked into a gentle port turn.
Twin-Tails and Snowflake launched next, both catapulted off the deck and into the void of space. Both fighters, along with the rest of the squadron fell into formation behind Shell Squid and Nanny.
Behind Yamaha was Harley Squadron. Lieutenant JG Mika Fujimoto and Ensign Saeko Busujima lined up on the catapult to launch. Once they were launched, Lieutenants Thompson and the other Busujima, Masamune, would follow behind them.
"This is Harley, standing by." Mika radioed the tower.
"Runway clear. Launch when ready," Roromiyas cool calm voice replied simply.
Mika and Saeko launched together, their fighters shooting into space.
"Lost Boy, Thompson, form up on Crazy Horse and me." Mika said. "Prepare to drop the navigational beacons..."
Masamune launched off the deck alongside Lieutenant Thompson. Together with the rest of the squadron, Masamune fell into formation behind Pickpocket and Crazy Horse.
"Roger, Lost Boy standing by." Masamune radioed in.
“Ghost, standing by.” Aika Thompson had finally picked a call sign and it had been accepted by the group. Her craft fell into position in with the rest of Harley Squadron.
[Bridge]
Once all the fighters had deployed Taiga tapped on the controls on her armchair. "Have each squadron start their assigned scouting routes. Take us in on ours Mister Yuvek" she ordered. "Full impulse."
The same thing Captain Reizei would have said. Chiyo thought, turning to the viewscreen. Well, Tatsuo, if you're in there; I hope you've found a way to survive for the last 14 years... Because living in a galaxy without you is a fate far worse than death...
"Yes ma'am," newly-promoted Full Lieutenant Yuvek said as he plotted the course through the expansive nebula. While he still believed that this mission was better suited for a science or deep space exploration vessel, he did have to admire the beauty of this region of space.
Lt. Yuvek continued to monitor the fighters as they began to fall into their respective formations and beginning scouting the area. He was a bit concerned about the number of gravitational eddies that he had received from Science. In other situations he would be able to easily avoid them while remaining on course. However, this nebula seemed to have a particular number of them, which is probably why this was considered a graveyard for so many other vessels. The gravitational phenomena would almost certainly have an effect on the velocity of the ship which could certainly cause complications.
Slowly the Tokyo made its way into the swirls and colours of the Karlax Nebula. The ship slowly seemed to fade as she ventured deeper in, any outside observer would slowly see her disappear like a ghost in the night.
Posting by
Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer
Major Chiyo Shimada
Marine Commander
Second Officer
Lieutenant jg Nezuko
Chief Operations Officer
Commander Thomas Johnson
Executive Officer
Lieutenant Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Chief Intelligence Officer
Major Chiyo Shimada
Marine Commander
Lieutenant Commander Moklor ‘Shell Squid’
Commander Air Group
Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek
Chief Flight Control Officer
Lieutenant JG Nezuko
Chief of Operations
Lieutenant JG Amari
Engineering Officer
Lieutenant Iowa Riverside 'Grey Ghost'
Fighter Pilot
Lieutenant JG Mika Fujimoto 'Pickpocket'
Fighter Pilot
Lieutenant JG Masamune Busujima 'Lost Boy'
Fighter Pilot
Ensign Saeko Busujima 'Crazy Horse'
Fighter Pilot
Lieutenant JG Silica Tetsuhiko 'Twin-Tails'
Fighter Pilot
Lieutenant JG Fubuki Kuchikukan 'Snowflake'
Fighter Pilot
Ensign Rin Kagamine 'Twin 2'
Fighter Pilot
Ensign Len Kagamine 'Twin 1'
Fighter Pilot
Chief Warrant Officer Karuta Roromiya
Air Boss
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