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Part of USS San Diego: Nightfall: Running the Gauntlet and Bravo Fleet: Nightfall

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Something Bad is on the Horizon

USS Neptune
2401
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The stars streamed by the window as Captain Ryder looked out his ready room window. The hum of the warp drive could be felt through the floor. Ryder had been tasked with assisting a colony with Task Force 93s territory. It was normal to be called to help, but the issue was that Mirage Station was left to defend itself. While the decision to leave the Tianwen there was made it wasn’t the best at defense.

Ryder shook his head as he hadn’t agreed with the Fleet Captain to take the two heavy hitting ships on this mission, but she insisted it was what was needed. Ryder didn’t argue and followed the orders of his superior. The trip had been uneventful and the ship was on schedule to arrive in the next couple of hours.

Ryder heard a chime at his door, he turned and watched his XO enter the room. The truth was something made him uneasy, but he wasn’t sure what that could be, but it wasn’t the first time he had such premonitions. Ryder snapped back to reality and smiled at his XO “Commander Adams, is everything ok?” It wasn’t normal for her to just report to his ready room without being requested. Adams shook her head “Did you not notice, Sir? The ship just dropped out of warp and engineering can’t seem to figure out what happened? How did you not feel it?”

Ryder shook his head “I was apparently somewhere else and not here.” Ryder said as he tapped his commbadge “Lieutenant Kristofsen, what is going on?” Silence for a moment before the engineer answered “Deed, Captain I am not sure. We lost all warp and I cannot seem to get it restarted.” Ryder rubbed his temples “Keep trying, Ryder out.”

Ryder looked back at Adams as he turned to see the stars shimmering stationary now. The truth was this made no sense, but he had to check in with the Hydra “Captain Ryder to the Hydra.” Absolute silence he tried again, still the same result. Ryder looked at Adams “Call a meeting of senior staff now!” Adams nodded and walked away to fulfill the orders of her Captain.

None of this situation made sense and even better still Ryder was not sure what was going on. The Hydra was literally only a couple hundred meters away and he wasn’t able to reach the ship. Even worse now there was no warp leaving his ship from reaching its goal. At impulse the ship wouldn’t make it for days. 

This was a situation he didn’t understand and even worse still the situation seemed to be affecting not only him but the Hydra, as well. Ryder sat down at his terminal and opened comms with Mirage Station, but there was no connection. The line was silent and he couldn’t reach the station to see what was going on. 

He thought for a moment. Maybe his premonitions were correct. Something bad was happening or was he just paranoid? The truth was he didn’t know, but he was going to get the answers he needed. Ryder got up from his chair and walked towards the ship’s briefing room. It was time to determine what was going on and what they were going to do to get warp back.

Comments

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    Aelin Maori

    This is a great setup post for the mission. Ryder being lost inside his own head and not noticing dropping out of warp drive was a nice touch. The ending set up the next story perfectly. Great job!

    April 7, 2025
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    Sazra Kobahl

    Great way to introduce the ship and it's crew to the fa. From a daily overthinking captain, to a confused one, not knowing how to respond. Looking forward to more

    April 8, 2025
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    Zarroc Thakrass

    Very relatable way to kick off the mission and set the stage! Probably how it would go down if it were me sitting there in his seat. Just lost in thought and then a nice what the heck moment when reality comes barging back in without so much as even politely knocking first. What a situation, too. I'm picturing ships just isolated in their own bubbled systems across this whole FA with a curtain drawn around them that keeps them there. Looks like you kicked it up a notch and asked what do you do when they're all tangled up in this said curtain, instead!

    April 8, 2025
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    Alexandria Mitchell

    This story builds an interesting sense of unease, with solid pacing. Great job capturing the tension!! Definitely feel like something big is coming.

    April 20, 2025
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    Cressida Brennan

    A very nice start to your story, with a wonderfully done introduction to the crew and the ship! There is just enough tension to keep us interested, but not enough to take away from wrapping our heads around the setting and characters, which can be a difficult balance sometimes! Nicely done!

    April 28, 2025

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