10-02-2004, 11:06
The great red sun hung in the star dappled background. The Menelmacar-Ravenspire built Beowulf had moved into orbit around the planet that had been selected.
The Beowulf had been built with two main systems of propulsion. The main one was a fusion engine, but the other, which it was using now, was a light sail that spread out around it in a beautiful nimbus. It did not provide much speed, but it saved a lot of energy.
Gravitational wheels slowly turned constantly outside the vessel. Sensors were probing, and small satellites that moved into other points of orbits were transmitting information on weather, areas of habitation, and geological formations.
The launch, and the mission had been quite secret. With most of the Solar System focusing on the acquisition of Mars and the Gas Giant satellites, hardly anyone had noticed the exploration voyages of Ravenspire, Freebodnik IV--and Lavenrunz.
The journey had taken longer than they had expected. There were a series of theoretically useful planets that long range probes had discovered...but clearly several had been bypassed as unacceptable by the ship's central computer.
There were any number of possible explanations--right down the clock being wrong--but they still had work to do.
Admiral Bruno von Schiller, commander of the group of three vessels, Beowulf, Sigfried, and Freya had gruffly instructed that they
intended to try to send a long range communication back to Earth. In the meantime, they were still to consider themselves subjects of the Empire of Lavenrunz and to act accordingly. The other two vessels were scouting the rest of the solar system--which they called Cottman--and had left Beowulf to deal with the fourth planet, which looked most promising for supporting life.
A unmanned high aerial vehicle was sent down to check atmosphere. A bit thin by their standards, but not dangerously so...
"It is mostly very cold save in one or two areas, due to an abnormal tilt of the planet's axis." continued Lieutenant Groll, standing before his captain.
She was a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair, athletically built, listening intently as she received the reports. Captain Karen von Hohenloe had been a crack fighter pilot in her time, but eventually she had been offered a chance at the Imperial Space Agency and had gone for it.
"There are scant signs of habitation." Groll continued in his rather dry way.
"But signs nevertheless?" she demanded. "How can that be?"
"Perhaps someone got here before us? Really, the Chief Engineer is correct, with all due respect, Captain. We have no idea how much time has passed."
"I see." she glanced at Lieutenant Dietrich. "Are all our shuttlecraft in working order?"
"Yes, Captain, but we will need to bring an extra fuel pod in order to take off again. They were built to be tough, but landing in atmosphere will make leaving again tricky." Dietrich had a tendency to be a strange contradiction: on the bridge her recommendations were cautious, hesitant. She was cool and brave as a lion once she was actually piloting though.
Doctor Kotzebue bowed. He was the only civilian on the bridge, but he was an important one, representing the Ministry of Science and Technology. "Captain, I would suggest a certain caution, but not overmuch. Clearly, if the people below had the capability of sending us any messages they would have. Clearly if they could prevent us from orbiting, they would have. Nevertheless, whatever sort of people they are, they are likely to be at the very least wary of our arrival."
"As usual, Doctor Kotzebue points out the bottom line: this planet we've discovered is inhabited." Karen Hohenloe said with a smile. "Very well, then. Lieutenant Dietrich, you will prepare a shuttlecraft for landing. Lieutenant Hochswender," she turned to the stocky Weapons Officer, "You will assemble on squad of Marines to accompany us."
"You are going, Captain?" inquired Groll with a lift of his eyebrows.
She looked at her first lieutenant with amusement. "Surely the senior vessel officer must lead the way to claim the planet for Lavenrunz."
Sometime later, with Admiral Schiller's gruff approval, the first part of the expedition was loaded onto the shuttle, which was called the Proteus.
Captain von Hohenloe, Lieutenant Hochswender, Under-Lieutenant Meyer as second pilot, Doctor Kotzebue, the Chaplain, Father Stephen, Chief Gunner's Mate Pemsel, Chief Pharmacist's Mate Ehrlich, Radio Operator 1/C Loder, and Sergeant Kammler of the Imperial Marines along with twelve others found themselves descending into the ionosphere of the planet.
It was rougher than they expected; the constant vibration and shaking of the shuttle made their teeth rattle. Hohenloe had only once faced such difficulty--riding on the edge of a typhoon. This was worse; there she had only herself--and about twelve million marks of machinery--here she had part of her crew to be concerned with.
The land itself was hard, she knew, but the rounded valley she had selected, to the south of the terrifying mountain chain that seemed to envelope half the continent, was the best she'd been able to find. Nevertheless, small pines were smouldered and crushed as the shuttle bumped and thrashed its way to a landing.
The stillness after ward had them all chuckling in relief. Father Stephen blessed them all with a wry smile on his pale face.
They stared out the windows. It was a new world.
"Columbus," said Karen von Hohenloe softly, "Had nothing on this."
The Beowulf had been built with two main systems of propulsion. The main one was a fusion engine, but the other, which it was using now, was a light sail that spread out around it in a beautiful nimbus. It did not provide much speed, but it saved a lot of energy.
Gravitational wheels slowly turned constantly outside the vessel. Sensors were probing, and small satellites that moved into other points of orbits were transmitting information on weather, areas of habitation, and geological formations.
The launch, and the mission had been quite secret. With most of the Solar System focusing on the acquisition of Mars and the Gas Giant satellites, hardly anyone had noticed the exploration voyages of Ravenspire, Freebodnik IV--and Lavenrunz.
The journey had taken longer than they had expected. There were a series of theoretically useful planets that long range probes had discovered...but clearly several had been bypassed as unacceptable by the ship's central computer.
There were any number of possible explanations--right down the clock being wrong--but they still had work to do.
Admiral Bruno von Schiller, commander of the group of three vessels, Beowulf, Sigfried, and Freya had gruffly instructed that they
intended to try to send a long range communication back to Earth. In the meantime, they were still to consider themselves subjects of the Empire of Lavenrunz and to act accordingly. The other two vessels were scouting the rest of the solar system--which they called Cottman--and had left Beowulf to deal with the fourth planet, which looked most promising for supporting life.
A unmanned high aerial vehicle was sent down to check atmosphere. A bit thin by their standards, but not dangerously so...
"It is mostly very cold save in one or two areas, due to an abnormal tilt of the planet's axis." continued Lieutenant Groll, standing before his captain.
She was a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair, athletically built, listening intently as she received the reports. Captain Karen von Hohenloe had been a crack fighter pilot in her time, but eventually she had been offered a chance at the Imperial Space Agency and had gone for it.
"There are scant signs of habitation." Groll continued in his rather dry way.
"But signs nevertheless?" she demanded. "How can that be?"
"Perhaps someone got here before us? Really, the Chief Engineer is correct, with all due respect, Captain. We have no idea how much time has passed."
"I see." she glanced at Lieutenant Dietrich. "Are all our shuttlecraft in working order?"
"Yes, Captain, but we will need to bring an extra fuel pod in order to take off again. They were built to be tough, but landing in atmosphere will make leaving again tricky." Dietrich had a tendency to be a strange contradiction: on the bridge her recommendations were cautious, hesitant. She was cool and brave as a lion once she was actually piloting though.
Doctor Kotzebue bowed. He was the only civilian on the bridge, but he was an important one, representing the Ministry of Science and Technology. "Captain, I would suggest a certain caution, but not overmuch. Clearly, if the people below had the capability of sending us any messages they would have. Clearly if they could prevent us from orbiting, they would have. Nevertheless, whatever sort of people they are, they are likely to be at the very least wary of our arrival."
"As usual, Doctor Kotzebue points out the bottom line: this planet we've discovered is inhabited." Karen Hohenloe said with a smile. "Very well, then. Lieutenant Dietrich, you will prepare a shuttlecraft for landing. Lieutenant Hochswender," she turned to the stocky Weapons Officer, "You will assemble on squad of Marines to accompany us."
"You are going, Captain?" inquired Groll with a lift of his eyebrows.
She looked at her first lieutenant with amusement. "Surely the senior vessel officer must lead the way to claim the planet for Lavenrunz."
Sometime later, with Admiral Schiller's gruff approval, the first part of the expedition was loaded onto the shuttle, which was called the Proteus.
Captain von Hohenloe, Lieutenant Hochswender, Under-Lieutenant Meyer as second pilot, Doctor Kotzebue, the Chaplain, Father Stephen, Chief Gunner's Mate Pemsel, Chief Pharmacist's Mate Ehrlich, Radio Operator 1/C Loder, and Sergeant Kammler of the Imperial Marines along with twelve others found themselves descending into the ionosphere of the planet.
It was rougher than they expected; the constant vibration and shaking of the shuttle made their teeth rattle. Hohenloe had only once faced such difficulty--riding on the edge of a typhoon. This was worse; there she had only herself--and about twelve million marks of machinery--here she had part of her crew to be concerned with.
The land itself was hard, she knew, but the rounded valley she had selected, to the south of the terrifying mountain chain that seemed to envelope half the continent, was the best she'd been able to find. Nevertheless, small pines were smouldered and crushed as the shuttle bumped and thrashed its way to a landing.
The stillness after ward had them all chuckling in relief. Father Stephen blessed them all with a wry smile on his pale face.
They stared out the windows. It was a new world.
"Columbus," said Karen von Hohenloe softly, "Had nothing on this."