Antonos
07-02-2006, 17:12
[OOC: This is sort of my attempt to get started with FT roleplaying. I'm not interested at the moment in getting involved with wars or alliances or anything. Diplomacy threads would be fine.
Also, until or unless I get more comfortable with developing my own tech (which I'm going to want to do eventually anyway), I'm going to be using Star Trek as a base... sort of.]
"Ready to commence countdown?"
"All systems are go."
"Initiating launch sequence in 10, nine, eight, seven."
The day's anxieties seemed to rush at Lieutenant Todd Baker as the spacecraft's nose pointed to the skies as if it were trying to lead his people there. Baker was the ace pilot selected for his ability to pick up the necessary flight information quickly and he was thought to have the right temperament for the task as a pioneer.
"Six. Five. Four."
He had a bravado publicly that suggested he was not even thinking about making history for his planet, but only a few people knew the real truth. One of them was his younger brother, only 17 years old, but with enough wisdom for a lifetime.
"They're telling me this will be a great day for Antonos and for me and I'd like to believe them," he told Jack. "Faster than light tech has so far only been tested in computer models. It's never been done for real. I'm thinking the ship's going to blow up before we even get out of orbit. Or worse."
Now wasn't the time for irrational fears, he thought to himself. Surely the engineers and scientists all tested the craft before its maiden flight. Right?
The engines began their thrust as the countdown reached three.
"Two. One. All systems are go."
The next thing on Todd's mind was the dull roar of the engines as the thrust began to propel his craft from the launch pad and toward the heavens.
"And liftoff. We have liftoff of the spacecraft Pioneer."
All of a sudden, the nerves accompanying Todd on his voyage into the skies morphed into the by-rote pressing of buttons and activation of sequences needed to throttle the craft first into orbit and then out of orbit. Within two hours after the flight began, the craft was beginning its departure from Antonos's orbit.
"Initiate FTL sequence," the control tower instructed.
"Acknowledged control tower," Todd said with the perky exuberance everyone came to expect from him. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and muttered something not unlike a prayer, then he pressed the buttons to activate the sequence. He slowly moved his hand onto the lever that he would pull down to propel the craft past the speed of light.
"Ready for a little joy ride?"
"You know it!"
"Engage."
Todd squeezed the lever and pulled slowly, deliberately. The roar of the engines from the ground turned into a slight hum barely audible in the cabin as the craft began its increase in speed to one quarter the speed of light. He heard a snap, then the stars seemed to began to strech into strands. Then a flash of nearly blinding light muted by the view screen's radiation protection program told Todd he was now engaged at light speed.
"Control tower to Pioneer. Status?"
"Light speed and... building! Light factor 1.1. One point two. One point three. One point four!"
The craft would travel through the star system where Antonos rested as the fourth planet and slingshot around the system's eighth and final planet before returning home. As excited as Todd was to be the first Antonan to travel at faster than light speeds, he would be even more excited to see ground again after a four hour journey through the star system that used to take years.
And so Antonos's road as a faster-than-light travelling planet had begun.
Also, until or unless I get more comfortable with developing my own tech (which I'm going to want to do eventually anyway), I'm going to be using Star Trek as a base... sort of.]
"Ready to commence countdown?"
"All systems are go."
"Initiating launch sequence in 10, nine, eight, seven."
The day's anxieties seemed to rush at Lieutenant Todd Baker as the spacecraft's nose pointed to the skies as if it were trying to lead his people there. Baker was the ace pilot selected for his ability to pick up the necessary flight information quickly and he was thought to have the right temperament for the task as a pioneer.
"Six. Five. Four."
He had a bravado publicly that suggested he was not even thinking about making history for his planet, but only a few people knew the real truth. One of them was his younger brother, only 17 years old, but with enough wisdom for a lifetime.
"They're telling me this will be a great day for Antonos and for me and I'd like to believe them," he told Jack. "Faster than light tech has so far only been tested in computer models. It's never been done for real. I'm thinking the ship's going to blow up before we even get out of orbit. Or worse."
Now wasn't the time for irrational fears, he thought to himself. Surely the engineers and scientists all tested the craft before its maiden flight. Right?
The engines began their thrust as the countdown reached three.
"Two. One. All systems are go."
The next thing on Todd's mind was the dull roar of the engines as the thrust began to propel his craft from the launch pad and toward the heavens.
"And liftoff. We have liftoff of the spacecraft Pioneer."
All of a sudden, the nerves accompanying Todd on his voyage into the skies morphed into the by-rote pressing of buttons and activation of sequences needed to throttle the craft first into orbit and then out of orbit. Within two hours after the flight began, the craft was beginning its departure from Antonos's orbit.
"Initiate FTL sequence," the control tower instructed.
"Acknowledged control tower," Todd said with the perky exuberance everyone came to expect from him. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and muttered something not unlike a prayer, then he pressed the buttons to activate the sequence. He slowly moved his hand onto the lever that he would pull down to propel the craft past the speed of light.
"Ready for a little joy ride?"
"You know it!"
"Engage."
Todd squeezed the lever and pulled slowly, deliberately. The roar of the engines from the ground turned into a slight hum barely audible in the cabin as the craft began its increase in speed to one quarter the speed of light. He heard a snap, then the stars seemed to began to strech into strands. Then a flash of nearly blinding light muted by the view screen's radiation protection program told Todd he was now engaged at light speed.
"Control tower to Pioneer. Status?"
"Light speed and... building! Light factor 1.1. One point two. One point three. One point four!"
The craft would travel through the star system where Antonos rested as the fourth planet and slingshot around the system's eighth and final planet before returning home. As excited as Todd was to be the first Antonan to travel at faster than light speeds, he would be even more excited to see ground again after a four hour journey through the star system that used to take years.
And so Antonos's road as a faster-than-light travelling planet had begun.