Amphibians Ascendant

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oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2218.  Bridge.  The yellow sun of Pegasus, shining from the rear of Aurora, gave a lovely glow to the medium-sized cloud shrouded planet taking center stage on the forward screen.  Aurora had arrived early in the morning hours, found two planets in this star system, and was rapidly approaching standard orbit to the nearest one.  As Aurora seemingly rolled above the surface of the planet, Chief Otophryne suddenly barked out, "Two objects in orbit, heading 232+57, approaching rapidly."  "Main screen, maximum magnification," ordered Captain Rana.  There they were, looking very similar to the objects seen and destroyed by Aurora at Barnard.  Although they really were a form of space mine, the crew had taken to calling them 'killer satellites', primarily because they packed quite a wallop in explosives.  "Change course to 074-33," ordered Rana.  "Let's see if they change course to follow us."  The next few minutes suggested that although the killer satellites did alter their courses, the changes were apparently made at random, and that they were not specifically tracking Aurora.  "Either we are out of range of their sensors, or their movements are on some sort of program," noted Rana.  "They move much faster than we can, so the trick is to rocket them before they can surprise us with a rapid course change.  Open outer doors for the rocket launchers."  "Doors are open, rockets are ready," responded the Chief.  "Wait until they cross paths together and then fire two rockets."  "Yes Sir."  In the mind of Lt.Commander Babina, the killer satellites looked like two very evil little insects, with their antennae probing this way and that, searching for a victim.  "Rockets away," announced the Chief.  There was no sound, but suddenly a pair of bright flashes and residual glows were all that remained of the sentrys.  "All in a day's work.  Lt. Alytes, the planet is yours to investigate," said Rana.  "Yes Sir, it's clearly a type 5, big on clouds, small on minerals," responded the lieutenant.  "Clearly someone has gone to a lot of trouble to place sentinal objects on many of the star systems with planets," said Babina thoughtfully, "but why?"        
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2219.  Bridge 0810.  There are only two planets in the Pegasus system, and the distance between the already explored outer one and the inner one has been bridged by Aurora during the evening and night hours.  As usual, Captain Rana ordered a very gradual approach; an approach designed not to set off any planetary alarms that a starship is cruising about nearby.  Planet formation follows rules, and in most star systems with multiple planets, the inner ones are small and rocky.  Pegasus II is no exception.  Surprisingly, it is well defended, as Chief Otophyrne's sensors pick up three more space mines.  Thus far these mines (or killer satellites) have not created much of a problem, and Captain Rana debates an idea in his head.  "Lt. Commander Babina," he suggested, "Why don't you take the com for a little live action target shooting?"  Obviously startled, Babina is momentarily torn between feelings of pleasure, responsibility, and uncertainty.  "Go ahead.  Plan out an attacking maneuver and use your initiative," continued the Captain.  Babina recovers enough to bark out, "Yes Sir.  Helm bring us to course 112+23." "Adjusting course now," responded the helmsman.  Not wanting to appear too tentative in front of the Captain, Babina aggressively approaches the waiting danger.  Two lay to port and one was dead ahead.  "Chief, open rocket doors.  Target the mine directly ahead.  We'll hit that one, then turn to starboard, loop, and then go after the other two."  Almost as if they had heard Babina's plan, the three objects slowed in their movements, wavering in space.  Babina's attention was focused on the target, and just for a brief moment he took his eyes off of the pair to port.  Instantly, and moving at several times the speed of the starship, the explosive pair bore in towards Aurora.  "Fire!" ordered Babina.  "Hard to starboard!" ordered Rana.  When one wants to turn a starship in a hurry, it seems that time crawls to a standstill.  Based on the movement of the planet shifting to the the left of the main screen, Aurora's nose had just begun to swing, when there was a shockingly noisy BOOM BOOM towards the rear of the ship.  The ship briefly shook and vibrated, in the same way that a bell sings when tapped by a hammer.  All lighting flickered, then panels lit up with yellow lights like celebratory fireworks.  "All stop," roared Rana.
 
Engineering 0827.  Kaloula was knocked against the main drive with the mines hit.  His timpani had not yet recovered from the ringing when he felt a burst of depressurization.  Quickly it stopped.  Apparently the outer hull had been penetrated.  Both the inner and outer hulls are lined with a rubbery plastic coating that both expands and gains a transient burst of flexibility under low vacuum conditions.  As a result, in the case of a minor breach in the hull, the ship is essentially self sealing.  "Pipa," he yelled.  "Grab a sealpak, run to the port generator room and check for leaks."  Hanging from the overhead at strategic points, like lifejackets on board a sea going vessel, were wrapped bags of the self-sealing plastic.  Pipa wasted zero time grabbing the nearest one.  As he opened the door to the generator room, smoke poured out.  "Fire in the generator room," he yelled.  "At least where there's smoke there's air," though Kaloula.  Grabbing an extinguisher, he was dimly aware of the main drive slowing down as he hopped down the passageway to aid Pipa.  Once inside the haze filled room, he could see Pipa looking about vainly for a place to put the patch, amid the glare of red warning lights.  "Forget the patch," he panted, "Shut off the generator."  Together they reached for the lever, with Pipa touching it first and slamming it down, stopping the damaged machine.  Even he knew that without a generator, the main warp engines couldn't be charged, and Aurora would turn into an Amphibian memorial to space exploration.  "How bad is it," he asked Kaloula.  "I can't tell.  At least it was still trying to run when we turned it off."   
 
Engineering, 1846.  Captain Rana stared at his data pad.  It could have been worse, with 60% damage to the generator and 30% to one of the computers.  Fortunately, it was all repairable, and with damage control parties working round the clock shifts, Aurora could be back to full integrity in a few days.  "If there's a next time, I will sure think twice before turning the com over to Babina," he promised.
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2220.  Captain's ready room.  Although no one was hurt, the almost festive edge to Aurora's first voyage has been erased.  The shaking from the hits on the hull has long since faded, yet everyone's nerves still vibrated uncontrollably. The fun certainly evaporated out of the lives of those crew members putting in long and extra hours into repairs.  Even for those with any extra time, the holodeck is closed until the second computer can be brought back on line.  Rana is talking with his executive officer, Babina.  "I know that you are feeling down right now," said Rana kindly, "But the responsibility, both good and bad, is mine alone.  Some Admiral back on Sol-1 will be barking out questions, but I'll be prepared.  You had no way of knowing, or anticipating in advance, what those satellites were going to do."  "Yes, Sir," Babain nodded.  "I can't seem to get a handle on when to be aggressive and when to hold back."  "Imagine that what you are feeling is merely one of a series of small stepping stones to crossing a creek," offered the Captain.  "You are still close to the near side, and the confidence that comes with command lies on the other.  When your flippers are resting on the stone, it wobbles.  You look about and see nothing but the indecisiveness of flowing water.  Yet most importantly, that step (where you are right now) was a step in the right direction.  Today you feel the wobbly rock.  But be aware that you will not be on that stone very long.  Tell yourself that indecisiveness is an expected byproduct of growth."  "Well Sir, I guess that I have grown in the last couple of hours."  Babina let in a small smile.  "I don't regret my decisions," added the Captain.  "I am glad that no one was injured and that Aurora was only dented.  A good commanding officer maintains focus on making the best decisions in the moment.  Now, what can we do to get everyone to start breathing again and put this event behind us?"  "Well Sir, Lt. Alytes did finish off the planetary survey.  The system is now ready for freighters, and should bring in about $3 annually in minerals.  We are up to 8% combat experience, but the rocket supply is down to 25%"  "Good.  Here are the next set of orders."  Captain Rana handed Babina a datapad.  "We will continue on the investigate the third planetary system discovered by Aurora, in Aquarius.  As far as is known, there are no other planetary systems within type-1 freighter range of Sol-1, so we might as well check out some potential planetary systems for the future.  Flip the panel for a star chart.  Yes, that one.  Aquarius is 5 ly southwest of Sol-1."  "Somehow, I'm feeling better already," noted Babina.  "You're right.  Sailing on is good medicine for everyone."    
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2221.  Deep space.  The engines of Aurora are silent, as the starship drifts in space between the Pegasus and Aquarii systems.  On three sides of Kaloula's visor there is nothing but pristine stars, but straight ahead, the hull of Aurora eclipses everything, its greenish paint marred by black scorching.  Hanging in space 30 feet behind him a porta-light shines directly on his back.  Another is 30 feet above him, placed to reduce the shadows from the glare behind him.  He can hear the breathing of Pipa, his spotter, nearby.  In the corner of his eye, he is barely aware of the vac-suit belonging to the other team member, Chief Otophryne, suspended about four feet away.  Two hours earlier, when he and Pipa had volunteered to go out on space walk and patch the hull, it had seemed like an adventure.  But now fatigue was starting to edge in.  Kaloula concentrated intently at the crack between the patch and the hull where his fuse-welder was melting metallic alloy to fill the gap.  He reached back, and Pipa placed another alloy stick in his hand, almost as if he was a nurse assisting the doctor on a patient.  Chief Otophryne's job was different.  He was there to save the "doctor", in case a splattering of hot alloy contacted Kaloula's vac-suit.  In that event, if the hole was small, Otophryne was ready with a flexi-patch kit of his own.  Already attached to Kaloula's suit was an emergency canister of air, to be turned on once the Chief had found the leak and sealed it.  This was neither a task for the fool hardy, nor for those without life insurance.  The blast had ripped a distorted star shaped hole through the outer hull, and ever so slowly, inch by inch, Kaloula proceeded down the length of the longest arm of the star.  "Exchange," grunted Kaloula.  He handed the fuse-welder to Pipa, who in turn, handed him a scraper.  Kaloula turned and scraped away at some of the rubber-like flexi-seal that had crept in between the metallic patch and the hull.  Tiny pieces of black rubber floated in front of his eyes like visions of tasty flies.  "Exchange," he grunted again.  Pipa handled him the fuse-welder as if it was a venomous snake.  "Down this side and we're done," thought Kaloula.  Before Kaloula's eyes, riverlets of metal changed colors from blue-white to orange as they cooled.  Most sank into the crack, but an occasional tiny ball floated away.  These glowed briefly, like miniature fireflys that flickered only once before fading.  The heavily insulated glove on his right hand was starting to blacken around the fingers and wrist from the assault of particles seen and unseen.  "Exchange," he requested.  "How are you feeling?" asked Pipa.  "Almost there," Kaloula replied.  Steadily, his trail of molten alloy crept to meet the now ice cold band where he had first started out, in what seemed like hours ago.  Listening in on the com, Lt.Commander Babina could hear three collective sighs of relief breaking out as Kaloula turned the fuse-welder off.  "Excellent job men," he commended.  "Standby to retrieve the repair team."
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2222.  Captain's ready room.  Rana looks at his real-time pad and observes how the central sun of the Aquarius system has been accumulating magnitudes in comparison to background stars.  "Come," he responds, in answer to his door chime.  Lt.Commander Babina enters, and hands the Captain an updated report.  "Sir, the generator has been upgraded to only 39% damage.  There has been no progress on the second computer and it still remains at 30% damage.  You will note that I have put in a requisition request for a trained damage control officer when we return to Sol-1."  "Yes, I agree," nodded the Captain.  "As you know, we shoved off in a hurry with only a scientific team aboard.  Practical experience has taught us that most of the stars with planets are also defended with sentrys.  It's inevitable that we will accumulate damage in dealing with the variety of defenses, and we have been fortunate thus far in our encounters with them."  Babina could not help but momentarily think that the Captain was making an oblique reference to the Pegasus incident.  That reference to Pegasus reminded him of an additional note, and he added, "Sir, Sol-1 has ordered up a freighter for Pegasus.  The laboratory is completed in alpha city, and a second one is under construction in beta city."  "Well, we are down to five rockets, so unless there are no planets at Aquarius, it seems likely that we will be paying Sol-1 a visit soon," the Captain noted.  "We'll find out tomorrow."  A flash of movement caught Babina's eye, and he found himself looking in the water that filled the Captain's transparisteel aquarium.  A bright red frilled face with two black eyes peered out at him.  "That's Axolotl," pointed out Rana.  "You seldom see him.  The more camouflaged one without the frills is his lady friend Ambystoma."  Babina stared at Axolotl's eyes, which looked back at him with curiosity, and with intelligence.  In the face of Axolotl, Babina could not help but feel that in some way he was looking at a distant evolutionary relative.  "Like us, they have surprisingly large brains for their body size," the Captain continued, "But it's obviously used for a different purpose than what we are accustomed to."  Axolotl momentarily put both front feet on the clear barrier that separated his world from Babina's, then turned and swam off with a flick of his tail.  "Excellent work on the patch to the outer hull," continued the Captain.  "Maybe we can have a get-together on the way back to Sol-1 and I can personally thank each of the crew who have worked so hard doing a variety of unaccustomed tasks."  Babina considered the thought.  "If all goes well tomorrow, I will speak with the cook and see if we can come up with something special," he answered.       
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2223.  Bridge 0822.   A few scans by the science team revealed a only a pair of planets in the Aquarii system, a small one close in and a gas giant considerably further out.  Based on Aurora's proximity upon entering the system, Rana selected the larger planet as his first target to explore.  It only took Chief Otophryne a few moments to recognize the characteristic signatures of three plaque mosses, looking very much like those on Barnard.  With deadly seriousness and seemingly infinite patience, Rana maneuvered Aurora into rocket position.  Three times, and each time the Chief's calculations, sharp eye and steady hand placed a rocket face on into the tangled center of the deadly moss.  Sharing the silence that reigned on the planet, Aurora circled one more time, searching for even the smallest of abnormal readings.  There were none.  "Lt. Alytes, you may conduct your survey," spoke the Captain.  "Class-I is away," Alytes replied.  "We appear to have a huge planet with minimal accessible resources."  "Take your time," added Rana.  "It seems unlikely that we will be coming back here soon." 
 
Bridge 1247.  "Helm, break orbit and set course to 124+57."  "Aye, Sir," acknowledged the helmsman, "124+57."  Looking at Lt.Commander Babina, the Captain asked, "What do the long range scanners show for the second planet."  "It's a little far out to tell yet," answered Babina, "Other than that it is rather small.  Let's hope it is not well defended, as we are down to two rockets.  Time passed quickly, and visual orb of the tiny green planet swelled on the main screen as Aurora approached.  Babina's hope was answered, for the surface was devoid of sentrys.  "Lt. Alytes, break out another class-I probe and lets see what we have," requested the Captain.  "Scanning now, Sir.  It reads out as a very small type 6.  Combined with today's earlier planet it looks as if the system carries an annual return of about $5 in mineral resources."  "That's $5 more resources for Amphibia today than it had yesterday," noted the Captain.  "Helm, set course for Sol-1.  We're going home."           
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2224.  Crews mess.  This time, Lt. Alytes made sure that he arrived early enough to see the celebratory cake.  It was covered with black mite flavored gelatin, and shaped into a square.  As before, hanging over the cake was a model of Aurora, with one side fire blackened.  Suspended from the overhead and swaying near the ship were three tiny figurines, reproducing the Away-team's success at patching the hull.  Alytes approached Kaloula and Pipa's table, who were clearly enjoying their 15 minutes of fame as celebrities.  Although fermented beverages generally were not allowed on board warships, Captain Rana had not only made an exception but also joined in, with a brief toast to all of the crew who had made Aurora's first space mission a success.  "Mind if I join you two?" Alytes asked.  Kaloula half stood up and half pointed to the open chair, and Alytes solved his indecision by promptly sitting down.  "Let me offer you my congratulations on your space walk," he said with a smile.  "We were glad to do it," chimed in Pipa.  The walk had been a lot harder on Kaloula, but he too nodded in appreciation of the officer's comment.  On the lazy susan in the center of the table was a tray of parasitic worms, twisted into a pretzel shape, deep fried, and served with a tangy sauce and toothpicks.  Using a toothpick, Alytes speared himself a worm.  Pipa looked at Kaloula and thought hard about some kind of question he could ask the Chief Science Officer without embarassing himself.  "Sir, I know that we have a warp drive, and how to maintain it, but there are some theoretical questions that I wonder if you could explain in simple language."  Alytes glanced at Pipa, "No problem, ask away."  "Well, if the speed of light is a universal limit, just how do we exceed that limit?  And if we do, why do we not experience time shifting?  For example, considering how fast we are travelling, Sol-1 should have aged thousands of years in comparison to us," Pipa blurted.  "Slow down," requested Alytes.  "Each question requires some thought to put into common language.  To start with, the answer to question number one is contained in the word 'warp'.  Imagine space to be this placemat here."  Writing with his marker, Alytes continues, "I place two dots on the mat far from each other, one can be Sol-1 (marking a circular planet) and the other can represent the Pegasus system (marking a star).  Then I measure the distance between the two dots.  That is the distance that light has to travel to connect the dots, and for the sake of our analysis let us say that they are 100 light years apart."  Alytes draws a line between the two points and marks it with the number 100.  "We also know that space is curved, which for light means that the shortest distance between the two dots is actually an arc."  Alytes then picks up the mat, holding it in either hand, "But let us curve space even more, by bending (or warping) the mat in half.  Now one can see that the shortest distance between the two dots is not the path taken by light, but an imaginary tunnel that leaves the plane of the mat at Sol-1 here and travels between the folded sheet to re-enter the plane at Pegasus there.  Compared to the 100 years that light has to travel, the length of this tunnel is amazingly short.  The warp drive simply creates a whirlpool in space into which Aurora descends, falling in between that dimension of space travelled by light, until it pops out again at its destination.  Because during this process we do not have to attain an enormous speed close to that of light, problems with time dilation are not encountered."  Alytes stops to take another worm and a sip of his drink.  Pipa nods, "So its a kind of secret shortcut?"  "Shortcut yes, but there are no secrets," answered Alytes.  "Countless particles of matter are doing routinely what Aurora needs a warp drive to reproduce."  "Before you sat down, I had no clue, but suddenly I'm starting to see a whole new picture," exclaimed Pipa.                 
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2225.  Executive Officer quarters.  Lt. Commander Babina stirs restlessly in his cabin, his eyes glued to the computer screen.  Once again, he is playing a re-enactment of the action off of Pegasus.  On the screen, Babina takes manual control of the Aurora image, experimenting with different scenarios.  Given the many choices and approaches one could take to the three mine problem, he is gradually becoming aware that the actual course he had chosen was one of the better ones.  With insight gained from study, he could see that the hidden flaw behind most course selections was Aurora's limited maneuverability.  The starship was quick in handling at forward and reverse, but very poor at turning.  By keeping their distance until the approaching starship was vulnerable on its sides, over and over again the killer satellites exploited this particular weakness.  "It is almost as if the unknown designers of the satellites had known in advance the limitations to starships, and programmed their nasty mines accordingly," he thought.  Pausing the action in mid-program, Babina stood up and walked to the control station across from his desk, where he thumbed up the humidifier another notch.  Sitting down again, he took a sip of hot pond water from the insul-cup, and opened a small side screen for calculations.  Programming these into his computerized 'Aurora', he then re-ran the simulation.  With extra maneuverability in just two movements, the same approach would have resulted in a completely different outcome.  On screen, Aurora destroyed the forward satellite, with plenty of time to execute an up and over maneuver that set the next space mine right within the targeting sights.  With a satisfied look on his face, Babina copied down the parameters onto his hand held pad.  "Once were are back at Sol-1, I will pay my friend at the university a visit," he mused.       
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2226.  Engineering 1412.  Kaloula and Pipa are standing the 12-4 watch.  The steady thrum of the engine rings with the message that they are more than half-way home from their visit to the Aquarii system.  The generator has been fully repaired, and although the second computer is still off line with 16% damage, life has begun to return to normal for the crew.  Another hour, another set of readings logged in.  If one ignores the pulse of the engines, the lower decks are always among the quietest on the ship, and this afternoon is no exception.  "Do you think that the crew will be given leave on our return to Sol-1?' asked Pipa.  "No one knows," replied Kaloula.  "Certainly it will take some time for space dock to replace our exhausted rocket supply.  And if the computer is still not repaired, they might have to replace it, which will only increase our stay," added Kaloula.  "I certainly wouldn't mind taking a shuttle down to the surface and finding a sweet watering hole to lie in," said Pipa, closing his eyes to better imagine the thought.  "I know a place outside of alpha city that would be perfect.  If we both get time off, I'd be glad to take you for a visit," offered Kaloula.  "Water?" asked Pipa.  "Warm," replied Kaloula.  "Bugs?"  "Thick and juicy."  "Mud?"  "Oozy to your fingers and toes."  "Lily pads?"  "With flowers."  "Count me in.  It sounds great!" enthused Pipa. 
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2227.  Bridge.  For the past 10 minutes, Aurora has been carefully aligning itself with the open portal of Space dock-1.  Over the ship's comm is playing an amphibian greeting chorus, courtesy of Space dock control.  Everyone on the bridge is spontaneously tapping something to the familiar drum beat and rhythmic croaking.  Only a good dose of military discipline prevents one or two crew members from breaking out in song, but a trace amount of spontaneous humming is certainly audible.  The relief of seeing something familiar so close, after so many days of darkness and alien landscapes, brings out smiles on nearly every face.  "Thrusters ahead one-third," orders Rana.  "Ahead one-third," is the answering response.  After what has seemed a patience testing long wait, Aurora begins moving in toward the dock.  Opportunistically, a shuttle just up from Sol-1 is also approaching Space dock-1 on a different vector, catching a flash of sunlight.  The Aurora finds itself the center of attention for a new audience of shuttle passengers, peering out the transparisteel viewports.  Going back in, just as he had on the way out, Rana's eyes stray to the starboard strut indicator.  Not a problem.  Rana can not help but think how embarrasing it would be should Aurora bend its strut on the final seconds of the mission.  "All Stop," he commanded.  "Set locking bolts."  There was an audible hiss and bang as the four bolts formed a solid contact between the ship and the dock.  "Aurora, standby to close the outer doors," announced space dock control.  "Shut down thrusters, shift main power to space dock," ordered Rana.  The comm hummed again, "Initiating outer door closing sequence."  "Lt.Commander Babina, announce to all hands that a three day liberty will commence starting at 09:45 hours," said Rana.  "With pleasure, sir," answered Babina.         
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

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Stardate 2228.  Space dock-1.  Dressed in his best set of whites, Captain Rana carefully steps over a pair of disconnected cables lying on the deck.  They lead to a set of gapping holes, the former sites of Aurora's pair of electronic computers.  Rana chuckles with irony, at the thought of the extra hours of hard work put in by his crew all the way from Pegasus to repair the instruments, only to have them yanked out and sent to the recycle yards upon their return.  "Perhaps the repair of the computers was a more realistic project than running one of Lt.Commander Babina's drills," he considered.  Right at this moment, a shuttle carrying both of the newly designed optical computers was in route to space dock-1.  Rana had read the spec's, and theoretically these new babies were designed to increase the scanner range by up to 5-10 ly.  "Provided, of course, that they do not come with their own insects," he thought.  He did not want to find this out the first time he ordered tactical to fire some rockets.  Also in his mind flashed a brief worry that his favorite holodeck program might not be compatible with the new programming, but if anything, new holodeck software would soon be specifically written for the optical computer system.  Lengthening his stride, Rana traversed the small tunnel that served as a gangplank between Aurora and corridor-7 of space dock.  Resting in the corridor to his right he saw a long train of wheeled platforms, each containing a rocket.  Rana turned left, seeking conference room A113.
        At precisely 10:00 hours, he knocked briskly.  "Enter," commanded the voice from within, and the panel rose.  Seated at a prominent desk, he recognized the face of Admiral Ansonia, one of his old instructors from the academy.  Ansonia's features were no longer smooth like those of most amphibians, but his eyes sparkled with interest and wisdom.  "Commander Rana, how good to see you.  I want to congratulate you on your mission's success."  "Thank you, Sir," replied Rana.  "Have a seat."  Rana sat down in the large chair next to the desk, a chair that immediately conformed to his posture and came equipped with flexi-cooling water coils.  Aurora obviously did not have a seat like this one.  "I have read over your report, and wonder if you could tell me more about the sentries that you continually encountered."  "Sir, they fell into two categories - either mimics of natural systems like storms or plants, or obvious alien artifacts, like killer satellites."  "And why do you suppose someone went to a lot of trouble to install these sentries?" queried the admiral.  "Certainly not to defend the planet," answered Rana.  "Perhaps they are more like markers."  "Markers?" asked the admiral.  "Yes.  In order to scan the planet, each of the sentries had to be removed.  Since sentries were in place on every star system that we visited, it is apparent that no other star ship has visited those planets since the sentries were initially put in place," continued Rana.  "Well, we knew that historically the Keracks considered this quadrant of the galaxy to be somewhat of a backwater location," suggested the admiral.  "You have provided a new piece of evidence that also fits this pattern.  Perhaps this is good, considering our embryonic state of space flight."  Ansonia then picked up a data pad and read off the list.  "Your next mission will be to investigate the Serpens system.  Currently it is outside of type-1 freighter range, but we expect that the new type-2's will be available shortly.  Your efforts have enabled Sol-1 to improve its fiscal status to $2570, with an annual income of $12.  As a result, I am augmenting your scientific staff with an additional two scientists, bringing your total to eight.  In addition, I am granting your request for an engineering officer.  Lt. Chaunus will report to Aurora prior to your departure.  He comes highly recommended."  "Thank you, Sir," answered Rana.  "You do not have to thank me," continued Admiral Ansonia.  "I always knew that you were the right amphibian for the mission." 
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2229.  Sol-1.  Pipa and Kaloula are resting on separate lily pads floating on a wide shallow pond.  To the right are reeds and bullrushes poking through the surface of the water.  To the left is a muddy shore, beyond which one can see a meadow, with a small herd of quadrupeds grazing.  All the visual effects are secondary, however, to those of sound - the glorious thrum resonating on the ear drums made by the riot of a thousand wingbeats of different frequencies.  From the tiniest of near invisible flies to the heavy pulse of beetles, Pipa can hear and track them all, much in the same way one would draw geometric patterns to connect stars in the night sky.  He lays back, eyes closed, with flippers hanging in the water from the knees up, half dreaming and half listening.  The decaying mass of fecal droppings from the quadrupeds has attracted flies, and when the wind shifts ever so slightly, hordes of thirsty flies drift to the water.  Confronted with a smorgasbord of chewy meaty choices, Pipa half-interestedly debates over whether to try a fly, a freshly hatched mosquito, or that pair of mating dragonflies.  "What did I tell you, isn't this the place to be?" asks Kaloula, contentedly.  "I will never question your choices again," replies Pipa, who has a habit of questioning Kaloula's choices.  Kaloula takes slow deep breaths of the rich oxygen, while dipping and lightly flipping his wrists in the greenish water to orient his lily pad.  He is thinking of a conversation with the science officer, Lt.Alytes, who had mentioned that the presence of oxygen is one of the key elements that the scanners are tuned to when sampling the atmosphere of planets.  For until life can form and release oxygen from water, it is rare for planetary atmosphere's to contain oxygen.  "The sensors would have maxed out when testing Sol-1," he thought.  For the combination of early development of plant life and late development of animal life had allowed atmospheric oxygen levels to approach 24%.  As a result, many insects of Sol-1 grew to huge sizes, which in turn, lead to the rise of amphibian life on the planet, and to this happy moment on the pond.  "Don't fill up on flies," he called to Pipa.  "See that grove of trees bordering the meadow?  Those are figs.  And ripe figs mean only one thing."  "Fig beatles!" cried out Pipa, enthusiastically.  "Yep, too big to swallow in a single bite," Kaloula continued.  "But stuck with a stick and slow roasted over a charcoal fire . . . its a dream come true."  "I can remember catching fig beetles as a juvenile," Pipa reminisces.  "They are so heavy, it is absolutely amazing that they can fly at all.  We would tie strings to their legs and fly them like kites.  After flying about erratically, most would slip their strings and escape."  Kaloula added, "Camping at night, a small fire, embers rising to meet the stars, and fig beetles, what a perfect combination."    
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2230.  Space dock-1, 0645 hours.  After darkening the lights, Lt. Alytes stares out the clear transparisteel viewport of space dock-1, looking at the myriads of stars.  The sun has recently set behind Sol-1, and rapidly the atmospheric rim faded, leaving a dark sky.  He is searching for a small periodic comet, named Atelopus.  As a juvenile, he can recall seeing the comet, which has a period of a little more than 106 stardates.  Perhaps once every few years or so, a really bright comet lights up the skies over Sol-1.  But no one could ever mistake Atelopus for a spectacular object.  This year's pass features a particularly favorable close approach, and even knowing exactly where to look in the sky, Alytes is having trouble picking it out.  Finally, as his eyes adjust, he can make out the faintest of fuzzy glows, no tail, nothing to indicate that it is out of the ordinary, except that it will not be there tomorrow.  Mission accomplished, and feeling satisfied at his success at making contact with this celestial visitor, Alytes turns the lights back on and heads down the corridor for Aurora. 

Aurora, 0817 hours.  Lt. Alytes checks up on three members of his staff who are recalibrating the scanners, using inputs from the new optical computers.  Although both machines were designed to be identical, putting out the same outputs, in practice small adjustments always have to be made.  Looking at the printouts, he notes that considerable progress is being made, and compliments his staff accordingly.   

Aurora, 1147 hours.  Alytes has been pushing piles of paperwork around in his cabin for over an hour when there is a knock on his door.  "Come in," he replies.  As the door opens, he sees Lt. Commander Babina, with two yellow-clad strangers.  "I found these two wandering the passage ways, and I wonder if they belong to you," asked Babina rather cheerfully.  "I'll claim them," answered Alytes, as he recognized that these must be the two additional staff members reporting for the next mission.  "Welcome aboard, I'm Lt. Alytes.  Come on in, take a seat.  You've just been assigned to go on the ride of your life."           
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2231.  Space dock-1.  Although Lt.Commander Babina has not had the opportunity to get down to the surface of Sol-1, the last few days have been fairly relaxing.  Gone are the constant sounds of a starship in space.  Instead, with only a skeleton crew, and most of the upgrades near completion, the interior of the ship rings with silence.  Since meals are not being served on board, Babina has made an occasional sojourn to the space dock's canteen, with surprisingly good results.  The selection is far more extensive than what can be found on a warship, even if Aurora barely qualifies as such.  Babina has discovered pill bug ice cream, a grey concoction that cleverly masks the added bugs that pop with favor when they hit the palate.  Putting down his data pad for a moment, he helps himself to a heroic sized scoop, and closes his eyes with delight.  His duties require that he remain close to the ship, but otherwise there is not a lot to do, and right now Babina takes particular interest in reading smallest details from the Sol-1 Times.  Ordinarily, he would not have the time to even scan the headlines, but now the easy reading serves as a relaxant.  Flipping the screen brings up the crossword puzzle.  Absently, he looks at the first clue.  "An eight letter word for a space visitor that begins with the letter A," he reads.  His first thought is that, "Aurora has only six letters."  Being closer to space than most of the millions of readers who might consider trying the puzzle, he should easily solve the clue, but his brain is focused more on ice cream than on power thinking.  He flips the screen, and looks at several pictures of the new laboratory up and running in Alpha city, with construction of a second well underway in Beta city.  His thoughts drift back to Aurora.  "I wonder if the holodeck is back on line?  Maybe I could try out the diving pool and work off some of the excess calories that I've just consumed."  Today is a good day to do so, for the Captain should be back tomorrow from his meet and greet the big brass and news media tour.  "Once the Captain returns, I'll be able to shuttle down to Sol-1 for at least a few hours."  With departure date set at 2233 0800 hours, the rest of the crew will be returning tomorrow also.  With those limited plans in mind, he punches a few buttons and makes some calls.   
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2232.  Space dock-1.  Captain Rana is relaxing in his ready room, reading the Bio on Lt. Chaunes.  He plans to assign him the duties of a combination engineering/damage control officer, as Aurora currently has both slots open.  Right now he is one happy amphibian, particularly since all the wining, dining, and hobknobbing with reporters, public officials, and naval brass is finally over, and he is safely back on board his ship.  To Rana, it is personally very difficult to accept full credit for Aurora's successful first mission, when in his opinion, much can be put down to simple luck.  Had the tiny ship been trapped amid giant storms, upon visiting its very first planetary system, and had to return for repairs, the reception would not have been quite as warm.  Despite his best persuasive efforts, few on Sol-1 appreciated the loneliness of space, when home is just a tiny dot on a screen, and the constant dangers for which there is no safety except in one's own resourcefulness.  He puts down the Bio and picks up the replenishment report.  Aurora is pretty much topped off.  Nearly all the crew has returned, and departure is scheduled for 0800 in the morning. 
 
Suddenly a little thirsty, he gets up and walks out onto the empty bridge, heading for the turbolift.  Just as the doors open with a soft swish, he notices the white uniform of an officer carrying a heavy bag, approaching through the gangplank.  "Ah, the new Lieutenant," he murmurs with recognition.  "Permission to come aboard," calls out Lt. Chaunus, saluting.  "Permission granted, and welcome aboard," responds Rana.  "I was just taking the turbolift to the crews mess.  Bring your bag and I'll show you to your cabin."  "Thank you, Sir", said Chaunus gratefully.  "Things are a little tight on board a Scout class warship, but I'm sure that you'll be able to squeeze in," continued the Captain.  "We are now on Deck 2, follow the passageway to starboard for the crews quarters.  Here it is, and look, your name is already on the door.  On Aurora, we walk a thin line between the tightness required for instant action, and relaxation necessary to deal psychologically with isolation.  Put down your bag, refresh, and walk around a bit.  Meet me at 1700 hours at my ready room for a briefing."  "Thank you for the assistance, Sir.  It has been a pleasure meeting you," replied Lt. Chaunus.                
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2233.  0822 hours.  Aurora pulls away from Space dock-1 as if the ship and its crew were veterans of over 200 missions, rather than its being only the second.  The only fanfare to accompany its departure was a selection of drum music, picked out by someone in space dock control.  Although it was morning on board the starship, it was rapidly approaching early evening at Beta city planetside.  Two days ago, Captain Rana had been talked into doing a flyover of the city, as part of a publicity gesture.  Although the citizens would see little more than a large bright star-like object moving across the sky, it was a chance for each amphibian to both interact with and feel the adventure of space travel.  From horizon to horizon, Aurora would only be visible for about two minutes, before it would turn away and head out for deep space.  Although it had not been broadcast over the newsnet, the crew of the starship was well aware that their mission was to explore the Serpens star system, currently just over 4 ly South southeast of Sol-1.  It was outside of type-1 freighter range, but as Aurora had cleaned up all the easy star systems on its last trip, it was time to both find new ones and to take on the more distant ones.  Suddenly, as if to celebrate the mission, an brilliant auroral event began, creating a huge circlet of light over the planet's northern pole.  On the bridge, Lt. Alytes projected a small screen from his magnetic scanner onto the upper right quadrant of the main screen, and one could see plasma gas from the solar wind braking to a halt in the magnetic field of the planet, about 5 planetary diameters out.  Concurrently, about 8 planetary diameters behind the planet, a second neutral zone was forming.  In between, collected electrons rained down on the upper atmosphere, creating the magically colorful lights.  As Aurora approached her 100 km standard orbit, the angle between the ship and the aurora decreased, and the image of the circle was lost, only to be replaced by the visually satisfying sight of actually growing closer to the aurora.  Finally, Captain Rana gave the order for a small course correction, and the starship turned south for Beta city.  After the flyover, Aurora gained altitude and changed course again to head away from the planet and its sun.  Interestingly, at about the same time, a huge oval of relatively hot plasma broke free from its string-like tether to the earth's magnetic field, and seemingly briefly chased them, before soon being left far behind.     
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2234.  Bridge.  Lt. Alytes is training the two new members of his staff on the use and capabilities of Aurora's complex scanning system.  The starship is about one-third of the way on its journey to the Serpens system, currently approaching the previously explored Barnard star system.  To starboard in the far distance lies the jewel box nebula, while to port, Aurora is passing a pretty cluster of stars.  "It is Cluster A47, also known to astronomers as the Cophylin cluster," Alytes pointed out.  "As you can see from the projected motion indicators, all of the members of this cluster share a common motion.  Overlay with the spectrometer (pull down the rainbow symbol) to examine the star colors, and it is clear that all the cluster members share both a similar age and a similar composition."  "And why is that?" he asks.  "Because they were once part of the same giant molecular cloud that was shocked into condensing, probably by a nearby supernova," answered the youngest amphibian.  "Correct," noted Alytes.  "Had we the time to analyze the system in detail, we could actually trace out the initiating event."  "For example, where would you start?" he asks the other.  "Uh, look for a supernova remnant?" he guesses, after a brief pause.  "There are more logical approaches, and that remnant is likely long gone," replied Alytes.  "How about you?" he asks again, directing his gaze at the younger amphibian.  "I think, sir, that since its formation this group has been circulating about the galaxy.  Perhaps for nearly 100 million years, based on the reading on the upper panel," he adds, pointing with his claw.  "Flipping to the next screen, like this, it is possible to arrive at an approximate orbital path for the cluster through the galaxy.  The date of formation can be better calibrated by looking at the spread of the individual cluster stars.  For example, had one of the stars deviated even a little from the others, its motion relative to the others would have been magnified many times, thus widening the cluster's diameter.  The actual cluster diameter thus aids in constraining the time of origin."  "Very creative," remarked the Lieutenant.  "We'll meet here in 2 hours, as we pass the Barnard system.  I want you both to practice long-range scanning on it's type 2 planet.  Although we will not approach anything like optimal scanning range, it is still a system that we know very little about and everything that you learn will serve you well at Serpens."  "Yes sir," both amphibians chorused.
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2235, Captain's ready room.  Captain Rana is reading the latest reports from Sol-1.  These confirm that the second new big laboratory has been completed in Beta city, and that Sol-1 has begun the process of shifting over to the more advanced optical computer system.  So far, the pilot version on Aurora has been operating smoothly, but it would be nice to have all the Amphibian computers using the same platform.  Rana can appreciate that upgrades (for the most part) equate to progress, but for both him and his crew it translates into a never-ending learning curve.  Just as soon as one masters a particular instrument or piece of equipment, it is taken out and replaced by a new one - usually complete with a set of unreadable instructions.  Rana glances at the chronometer on the bulkhead.  In 12 minutes, one of Lt. Commander Babina's drills will commence.  Thinking of computers, today he has scheduled a total failure of both optical computers.  Rana's role is to slip out a few minutes ahead of time and to place a list of critical systems into standby mode in front of the impending power outage. He is also to act as an observer to follow the response of Lt. Alytes's science staff on the main scanner, when it goes dead.  "Who's on duty today," he wonders, glancing at his data pad. "Ah, the two newest and junior members of his staff. That should make it more interesting." Sighing just a little, he gets up and heads for the bridge.  This has become a monster of his own creation.  "One of the best things about arriving at a new planetary system is not the feeling of discovery," he thinks, "it is the feeling of knowing that there will not be a drill that day."  
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2236.  Bridge 0807 hours.  During the early morning hours, Aurora broke warp, and is now on a parabolic glide approaching the innermost planet of Serpens.  Captain Rana's philosophy is to have everyone but the off shift up and alert when investigating the unknown, and he had given instructions to plot a course that arrived at the planet very close to 0800 hours ship time.  Currently, Aurora was nearing standard orbit about an obviously huge planet.  It displayed a distinctly greenish cloud cover, with a rather picturesque set of rings, backlit by Serpen's parent sun.  All was quiet and still in the early morning hours, until Chief Otophryne barked out, "Two objects, 0240 degrees, closing fast."  The view on main screen forward winked out, replaced by the appearance of two rather tall cylindrical metallic objects.  Each looked like up-ended starships, and were obviously self powered.  Their change of course to track that of Aurora also tipped off the information that the pair were well aware of the Amphibian starship.  "These clearly belong to the artificial sentry class, likely some kind of drone," noted Rana.  He ordered a slight course change and watched as the strange objects adjusted their approach accordingly.  "If they are unmanned sentries, then they betray a level of sophistication that we have not yet encountered," said Rana.  "Chief, open outer doors and prepare a set of rockets."  "Doors are open, sir.  I have a bead on the port side one," replied Otophryne.  "Fire rockets," ordered Rana.  A brace of rockets raced away from Aurora, and the Chief's aim was true.  On both of the sentries, there were explosions, and metallic pieces could be seen flying off into space.  All too soon, however, both objects emerged from the glow, looking relatively unscathed, now way too close to Aurora.  "Chief, report."  "We hit them, sir, but without much effect.  I'm reading that maybe there is 10-20% damage on each.  Am reloading now," replied Otophryne.  Suddenly, from the top of both drones, a bright light issued forth, and Aurora shuddered.  As everyone's ears popped from the loss of pressure, Lt. Alytes looked up from his scanner just as the turbo lift doors opened.  Smoke poured out from inside, along with the upper torso of an amphibian.  It's burning yellow clad uniform told him that it was a member of his own team.  The body lay partly blocking the entrance of the lift, and the doors kept softly opening and closing with little hisses.  Unconsciousness and death had come swiftly to the amphibian from the huge blood loss.  Alytes jammed a claw at the emergency button to take the lift off line, and then noticed a second yellow clad amphibian slumped in the corner.  Even as he yelled into his comm badge, "Medic to the bridge," he knew it was too late.  Although Aurora was billeted for a medical officer, only a corpsman was on board, and even he was part of Alyte's science team.  No one on Aurora had the skills to deal with catastrophic injuries.  "Reports," roared Rana.  "Nuclear generator hit, 10% damage."  "Optical computer 1 hit, 9% damage."  "Optical computer 2 hit, 50% damage."  "Port rocket drive 1 hit, 24% damage."  "Starboard rocket drive 2 hit, 10% damage."  "Weapons hit, 10% damage."  Rana's decision making processes were shaped by years of combat against the Keracks, and it was instantly clear to him that this was not a situation the ship could run from.  Aurora had been drilled like a set of nails pounded through a ball of cheese.  In turning and running, the ship would likely take on damge faster than the time it would require to charge up the warp drive.  "Chief, I need those rockets, Now!" ordered Rana.  A second set of rockets spit out from the starship.  Chief Otophryne was a center of calmness, the eye in the middle of the storm, and again, both drones were hit.  "Drone damage at 45% and 40%," he reported.  "Reloading again."  The drone to starboard was still spinning as it emerged from the rocket blast, and its return bolt veered crazily off into space.  The port drone came out of the blast a little more intact, and its bolt slashed a glancing blow at Aurora, ripping out a few holes in the outer hull forward.  Aurora shook, just as the chief was firing.  His first rocket sped true and splatted up against the hull of the nearest drone.  The second rocket missed badly.  "Drone damage 65%," Otophryne reported.  "Not enough," thought Rana, "We have to buy time.  Helm, course 013.  Chief continue firing until the targets are destroyed."  Both drones glowed, and two new bolts headed for the starship.  Aurora's change in course threw off their aim, and a pair of bolts criss-crossed in the starship's wake.  "Something is wrong with the portside rocket tube," sensed Otophryne, and he concentrated his effort into getting one good hit on the most damaged drone.  The distance between the twisting combatants became reduced to only a few hull lengths, and Otophryn's rocked excavated a mighty chunk of molten metal from the starboard side drone.  Just as he yells out, "Drone damage 85%," a bolt from the other drone fries Aurora.  Lights flicker violently.  The starship jumps at the contact, and briefly veers out of control.  Another damage report pours in on Rana, "Nuclear generator hit, 20% damage."  "Could have been worse," he thinks.  "If we can knock out one drone, there is a chance that we can survive this."  The nose of Aurora had been slammed to starboard by the last hit, and rather than wait for a course adjustment, Otophryne aimed his next rocket at the better off of the two drones.  The resulting flash of the hit eerily lit up the darkened, smoke filled bridge, and Otophryne noted that the drone had suddenly acquired 70% damage.  In the turbolift, Alytes elevated the head of the dying amphibian.  With every bubbling breath, blood pumped out over Alytes, and both amphibians slid about on the slick deck as the starship careened from side to side.  Again, the starboard drone blasted away, it's bolt narrowing missing the starship by just a few feet, vaporizing some metal chunks shed earlier by its partner drone on the opposite side.  Like punch drunk boxers, each loading up to land haymakers, the ships circled each other.  Again, the starboard drone fires, and Aurora staggers.  "Optical computer 1 hit, damage 67%."  "Starboard rocket drive 2 hit, damage 15%."  Although the starship is still quivering, Otophryne is now at point blank range and cannot miss the port side drone.  He watches on the scope as the rocket actually enters a blasted out hole in the side, and expodes somewhere deep inside the drone.  Like a straw squeezed in its middle, both ends of the drone emit red glowing slag, parts, and shredded metal plating.  The drone is gone.  While Otophryne reloads, the remaining drone fires twice, but either its main fire control station has been damaged, or Rana's constant course shifting from forward to reverse throws its aim off, for both bolts miss.  Otophryne aims a rocket at the heart of the drone.  Somehow, out of the glow and splatter, the drone emerges, badly hurt but still moving as if alive.  Otophryne fires again, and the battle is over. 
oi
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RE: Amphibians Ascendant

Post by oi »

Stardate 2237.  Bridge.  It never entered Captain Rana's mind not to continue on and scout the second planet of Serpens.  His orders were clear, and despite the loss of life from yesterday's encounter, and the fact that Aurora was drilled with holes, he was not going to return to Sol-1 without completing this mission.  The crew and his new damage control officer had worked through most of the night, and Lt. Chaunus had assured him that although the damage was widespread, nothing was so critical that it could not be fixed, given sufficient time.  Given that Aurora had shot 50% of her rocket supply in one encounter, she would have to return home soon anyway.  Grim and determined, the Captain and his bridge crew looked out at the second planet.  It was rather small and dark, with ancient craters mostly filled in with dust.  For whatever reason, those who had placed the sentries had also decided to defend this pile of rocks as well.  "There is a lot of surface activity down there," reported the Chief.  "It looks like a trio of thunderstorms, with clouds rising into the stratosphere."  "We'll attack them like we did the whirlwinds," replied Rana, "Prepare a set of rockets."  Following yesterday's battle, it was noted by the helmsman that Aurora had gained in maneuverability, as if the combination of amphibian and computer that controlled the ship had learned something.  This new option gave Aurora the ability to flex port and starboard, and improved her turning radius.  Today, however, the sheer size of the storms made this extra turning power irrelevant.  Rana set a course that bore down on the trio, noting as he did so that the storms somehow just casually drifted into a rather tight defensive alignment.  "Chief, open outer doors.  You may fire when ready."  As the starship dropped down past the 100 km mark, breaking orbit for the attack, suddenly lightning flashed from the two nearest storms.  Aurora bucked, and for the second time in two days, the lights dimmed and alarms sounded.  "Hit to both computers, number 1 - 89% damage, number 2 - 39% damage."  "Hit in engineering, rocket drive 2 15% damage."  "Fire, Chief.  Now."  A pair of rockets sped downward, away from the starship, their trails gradually diverging to merge with separate targets.  Each storm briefly absorbed the glow of an explosion, but unlike yesterday's sentries, neither storm emerged intact.  First the portside storm changed color to grey, and rapidly contracted.  The color changed again to a pale yellow, and then it seemingly evaporated.  The starboard storm followed suit.  The third storm however, acting as if it had fore knowledge of what would happen should Aurora reload its rockets, fired a long range lightning blast.  If yesterday was not one of Aurora's best, then today was no better, for the bolt came just as Aurora was executing a turn and caught the underbelly of the starship smack in engineering.  For just a moment, the starship lost both power and lights, until the backup circuits came on and held.  "Nuclear generator hit, 30% damage."  Rocket drive 1 hit, 34% damage."  "Rocket's away."  All eyes on the bridge followed its contrail in the atmosphere, as the rocket sketched a bee line for the last storm.  Again, the Chief's aim was true, and the storm took a hit, changed shape and colors like the others, and faded.  "Lt. Alytes, check out the surface of that planet and see what was worth two more hits to Aurora."  "Sir, I see only a very small type-3 planet, low in minerals.  In fact, the whole Serpens system has only a net worth of $4 annually."  "Report from engineering, sir," added Lt. Commander Babina, "One crewmember was killed by the last lightning bolt hit."       
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