Terran Alliance: The Odyssey

Chapter 1- The Encounter

Chapter 1- The Encounter

(July 10, 2019)

Nothing. Nothing but stars and darkness as far as the eye can see. That's the view Admiral Gilad Pellaeon has from the bridge of the TAS Hood as he looks out of its viewport. While the ship is motionless, undergoing some minor systems maintenance, Pellaeon has been simply gazing out of the viewport at the beautiful sight before him.

It's been only a short time since the Hood departed on its trip into the Unknown Regions. The ship has been moving slowly through the region, mapping its way as it goes. Given the lack of clear maps through the Unknown Regions, the Hood was to use its mission through the Unknown Regions to generate maps to be used for future exploration.

The ship had stopped in orbit above an unknown ice planet to allow the quick maintenance to be performed on the ship's systems. With luck, it'll be done soon and they'll be able to get moving again. Pellaeon doesn't like being stuck in one place.

"Admiral?"

Pellaeon turns around to see the Hood's captain, Captain Steve Moorhouse of Britain, standing a few feet behind him. "Yes, captain?" Pellaeon asks.

"Technical crews report that maintenance will be completed in five minutes, and we'll be ready to get back underway," Captain Moorhouse responds.

"Good," Pellaeon responds. He then turns back to the viewport and says, "A beautiful sight."

"Agreed. I'll never get used to it," Moorhouse responds with a slight smile, walking up beside Pellaeon to look out the viewport, "If this trip does result in us seeing action, at least we get a few peaceful moments like this."

Pellaeon smiles and nods a bit. As he continues to look out of the viewport, he thinks for a moment about maybe going down to one of the mess halls for a bite to eat. After all, by the ship's clock, it's almost time ice cream social in the nearest mess hall.

Suddenly, alarms begin to blare, and both Pellaeon and Moorhouse swivel their heads. "What's going on?" Pellaeon demands loudly.

Several men manning the detection systems consoles work furiously to identify the cause of the alarm. Then, one of the men shouts, "Admiral, unknown ship emerging from hyperspace!"

Pellaeon and Moorhouse look back out of the viewport, scanning for wherever this unknown ship will emerge from hyperspace. Then, to their complete shock, the massive form of an Executor class Super Star Destroyer emerges from hyperspace very close to the Hood.

Pellaeon and Moorhouse both stand there, completely stunned at what they are seeing. After a moment, Pellaeon recognizes the vessel from the markings he can see, and he says in shock, "That's it. The Eclipse."

"The Emperor's former flagship?" Moorhouse asks to clarify, only getting a confirming nod from Pellaeon.

Moorhouse stands there, frozen in shock for only a moment, before he turns and begins shouting orders, "Sound general quarters! All gunners to their stations immediately. I don't care if the maintenance isn't done yet, get all our systems back online now! Power up the engines and get us moving! Call down to the hangar and scramble every fighter we have!"

The bridge crew, despite the shock of the sudden appearance of the Eclipse, react quickly to Moorhouse's orders. Within two seconds, general quarters alarms begin to sound throughout the ship. Despite the fact that about 90 percent of the crew is enjoying downtime at the moment, either on break or eating, the crew react quickly, dropping everything they're doing immediately and racing for their battlestations, some without their uniforms on. Down in the hangar, crews race to get fuel and weapons loaded onto the ship's fighters and bombers as pilots and other crewmen race to get into their flight suits.