There wasnโt much to say about this mission. Yet another run through the local cluster through to what was hopefully a neighboring cluster in yet another display of brash foolishness by the Ranger pair. And indeed, they were now a pair. At least, thatโs how both sides of the coin considered one another. With Ellen at the command and VAI and the helm it had always been a balance of power between man and machine. Except now it would seem as if the challenge, the actual fight for control had died down ages ago, if not generations or centuries ago. There were bigger fish to fry as it were, and simply resorting to internal conflict to solve squabbles would get them nowhereโฆ. Their neighbors were enough of an indication of this.
Regardless, what was clear was their current course and trajectory, as Ellen narrowed her eyes, furrowed her brows, adjusted her glasses just to confirm what she was currently reading on her data-pad.
โCanโt believe weโre actually doing thisโฆ. Away from the local cluster huh.โ She murmured to herself, as she made her way out of the briefing room and onto the tarmac as it were, towards what would be her home and only means of conveyance home for the next few months.
She breathed in deeply, taking a good look at her current surroundings, before entering the craft. A certain sense of trepidation present in her visage but nothing that she couldnโt handleโฆ. She was a scout, a ranger, there was nothing beyond her. No sight set too high and no location too far. She would head there, explore, and come back, as she always did. Persevere, ad infinitum.
The ship itself was a rather standard affair, 250 meters in length and 5 decks within the actual main bulk of the dagger-like structure. With a small superstructure built off of the back of the vessel, almost as if someone had placed an observation tower precariously atop of the ship. This added an extra 4 decks quite easily.
The size of the thing would be comparable to frigates and destroyers typical of any navy, however, given that this was indeed an exploratory craft, the weapons systems and offensive countermeasures were far less abundant, in lieu of scientific and sensor equipment. Not to mention the hefty QEC-LR amongst the two other already intense FTL capable drives packed onto this vesselโฆ.
The Ranger entered the craft from the aft cargo platform, and proceeded towards the cockpit of the craft, where she sat and began the final few checks before finally leaving the confines of this station, and towards what was unkonwn space. โLieutenant Commander Ellen Caldwell, SN-225-25-98-177RN, Mission 21 SN-14-29r.โ the woman spoke with a rather professional air as the craft responded to her promptly by powering up.
She breathed in deeply. โQEC Sublight, nominal.โ She clicked a few keys. โQEC, ping testโฆ. Passed.โ She paused. โWormhole generator isโฆ. Functioning. Diagnostics are currently nominal.โ She paused yet again before turning to her invisible partner. โVAI, everything alright on your end?โ
โAffirmative, we are in the green Lieutenant Commander.โ VAI replied, having adopted some of her partnerโs lingo during their rather lengthy time together.
With a brief smile, Ellen continued typing away, generating what essentially was a massive rip through space that soon enveloped the relatively small craftโฆ. Then, nothing. Her existence within this galaxy was all but gone.
The reentry howeverโฆ. was a different story altogether as sensors blared at the anomalous readings before finally ejecting the pair prematurely out of the wormhole, the distinct rip through space occurring right above Earth in the form of a brilliant flash of light followed by what could only be described as a massive rip in the very fabric of space itself, a rip that expanded in all 3 dimensional space that spanned a good few kilometersโฆ. it was eerie to look at if one even had the opportunity to, as as soon as it had formed it simply dissipated due to background radiation.
The ship itself was on a direct trajectory for earth now, its systems currently incapable of rapidly assessing the descent and its engines almost certainly damaged from having maintained such an anomalous opening in space through to another universeโฆ.
Endeavor would be but a ball of brilliant red flames, lapping up against the brilliant blue shielding of the shipโs defensive systems. As it broke through several sonic barriers before finally making its doomed approach towards the vast desert area that had thankfully been its projected crash landing area. The impact was loud, and the ship itself skirted for a few kilometers, kicking up sand and dirt, carving a straight line into the earth as it finally skidded to a halt, the exterior hull was surprisingly unscathed thanks to the shielding, but the same couldn't be said for all components of the craftโฆ. the ship smoked, from what it wasn't clear, but what was clear was that for all intents and purposes, ellenโs journey had taken a rather serious detourโฆ.
