Azazia
01-01-2005, 02:55
Captain Paul Firebrand stared out the porthole from his cabin. He saw the dark infinite sea of space, populated by millions, possibly billions of little pinpricks of light. Each light a possible destination of his new ship. The ship was the HMS Artemis, the first of the Type 1 frigates. Her mission, the first Commonwealth space mission was a simple one, but one still fraught with danger. The Artemis was to accelerate with an ion drive to the ends of the solar system with Firebrand in cryogenic storage. Upon completion, chemical rocket thrusters would fire to turn the Artemis on a reverse course, and as she neared the planet and the Excelsior station the remaining fuel for those thrusters would be used to slow the frigate to a docking speed.
Firebrand knew that there was really no need for him on the mission, but the Royal Star Navy had decided it was to send a man to the end of the Sol system and have him return. And since they could do it, albeit in cryo storage, they would. And so Firebrand had volunteered. All for glory, to the first Azazian so far into space would certainly put his name in the record book. Unfortunately, it would be as a mere explorer, for despite the ship's designation as a frigate, it had no weapon systems. The Type 1 class had been designed as explorers. In the following years, while Artemis sped through the system, another Type 1 would launch for recon work on a nearby system. And if that recon mission found suitable results, and if his own vitals stayed normal, then the first steps towards a Commonwealth colony would begin. Maybe then he could afford a house with a yard.
Firebrand took a deep breath and turned to face his cabin. It really wasn't much of one, it consisted of a single cryo tube and a few odds and ends. He would awaken at the end of the outbound journey, issue a status report, and then return to the cryo tube and be put to sleep until he returned to Excelsior. It was going to be a few years. But he didn't mind. His name would go down in the history books.
The tech personnel ignored Firebrand as he privately mused on the long-reaching implications of this flight. They merely ensured the safety of the equipment. It was no great secret that Firebrand stood 50-50 chances of surviving, but hell, it was to be done. They alerted Firebrand when the tube was ready and Firebrand climbed in and exhaled. He felt nothing but a brief chill.
The Artemis slid out of the docking port in the Excelsior's main bay and began to sail out towards the unexplored - at least by the Commonwealth - regions of the solar system.
Firebrand knew that there was really no need for him on the mission, but the Royal Star Navy had decided it was to send a man to the end of the Sol system and have him return. And since they could do it, albeit in cryo storage, they would. And so Firebrand had volunteered. All for glory, to the first Azazian so far into space would certainly put his name in the record book. Unfortunately, it would be as a mere explorer, for despite the ship's designation as a frigate, it had no weapon systems. The Type 1 class had been designed as explorers. In the following years, while Artemis sped through the system, another Type 1 would launch for recon work on a nearby system. And if that recon mission found suitable results, and if his own vitals stayed normal, then the first steps towards a Commonwealth colony would begin. Maybe then he could afford a house with a yard.
Firebrand took a deep breath and turned to face his cabin. It really wasn't much of one, it consisted of a single cryo tube and a few odds and ends. He would awaken at the end of the outbound journey, issue a status report, and then return to the cryo tube and be put to sleep until he returned to Excelsior. It was going to be a few years. But he didn't mind. His name would go down in the history books.
The tech personnel ignored Firebrand as he privately mused on the long-reaching implications of this flight. They merely ensured the safety of the equipment. It was no great secret that Firebrand stood 50-50 chances of surviving, but hell, it was to be done. They alerted Firebrand when the tube was ready and Firebrand climbed in and exhaled. He felt nothing but a brief chill.
The Artemis slid out of the docking port in the Excelsior's main bay and began to sail out towards the unexplored - at least by the Commonwealth - regions of the solar system.