Terran Alliance: The Odyssey

Chapter 16- Gold Mine

Chapter 16- Gold Mine

(August 9, 2041)

As the blue of hyperspace rushes past the Hood, Admiral Pellaeon and Captain Moorhouse are gathered around the holotable. The Hood has been underway for almost two weeks now. They have reached the end of the detailed route towards Exegol that they had retrieved from the Malevolence. Now, they are just navigating towards the planet the old fashioned way. So far, they've been making progress, and have been able to build upon the maps they'd already assembled.

Pellaeon and Moorhouse are now going over the maps while the Hood is making another brief hyperspace jump. With the lack of quality maps of the remaining distance to Exegol, they have to resort to miniscule hyperspace jumps to cover the distance while mapping out the route.

Pellaeon looks over at Moorhouse. "Is the hyperdrive still holding up well?" he asks the captain.

"Yes, admiral. Hyperdrive has been performing at peak performance since we departed New Callistan. It is fully back to pre-mission levels," Moorhouse says.

"Good," Pellaeon responds simply. He then looks back down at the map. He is quiet before he sees the ship beginning to drop out of hyperspace. Pellaeon looks towards the viewport as he watches the stars appear out of the viewport as the ship drops out of hyperspace.

Almost immediately, one of the lookouts calls out, "Admiral, visual contact! Confirm entry into a star system. Spotted two planets up ahead."

Pellaeon stands up and walks over to the viewport, picking up a set of binocks. As he looks through the binocks, Pellaeon feels a sense of elation run through him as he sees that one of the planets must have undergone a serious catastrophe, as the crust had been cracked open and a major chunk of the planet is missing all the way down to the core, which is glowing intently.

Pellaeon lowers his binocks and turns back to the rest of the bridge. "Alert the engineers. Possible source of hypermatter fuel at the closest planet to our current location. Prepare research probes," he calls out.

The officers on the bridge quickly relay Pellaeon's orders down the engineering spaces and the hangar as the helmsman maintains course towards the planet that's broken open. The engineers and hangar crew quickly prepare some research probes to launch to analyze the core to determine its viability for hypermatter fuel production.

Within a matter of minutes, the Hood has settled into a high orbit over the ruined planet. After they've settled into an orbit, Pellaeon orders them to deploy the probes.

Within minutes, the probes are launched out of the hangar bay with small rocket motors. These probes are designed to investigate planets and even stars for certain materials. They were equipped with a multitude of sensors, as well as a device to determine the chemical composition of any material samples gathered. In addition, due to the need for the probes to operate in extreme environments, it was made of materials that not only protected it against extreme cold, but also extreme heat.

The probes descend down to the planet's exposed core and begin their mission. The probes analyze the radiation coming from the exposed core and recording temperatures. After recording the emissions from the core, the probes then approach the core itself. Using the various tools they are equipped with, they begin taking samples from the surface of the core for analysis. With the equipment built into the interior of their bodies, the probes are able to begin analysis of the samples.

On the bridge of the Hood, Pellaeon and Moorhouse are both at the holotable, watching as data is coming in from the probes. The initial results are promising. Temperature readings coming off the core are in the right range for the core to be a viable source of materials. Then, the radiation readings from both the core and the star are also promising. The right kinds and levels of radiation are being emitted from the star and the core. Now, all they need is the analysis of the core samples before they can confirm that the core has the materials they need to harvest for making hypermatter fuel.

Finally, the results from the sample analysis begin to show up on the screen, and both Pellaeon and Moorhouse break out in smiles. The samples are exactly what they hoped for. The samples show that the core, affected by the radiation from the star, has transmuted into exactly what they hoped for. It's exactly the right chemical composition to harvest for creating hypermatter fuel.

"Yes!" Moorhouse exclaims loudly.

Pellaeon just smiles and nods a bit before he calls out, "Deploy a hyperspace marker to mark this planet, and make sure we chart it well. Depending on how long we're in the Unknowns, we may need to come back to his place." He pauses, then orders, "Begin preliminary harvesting operations."

(August 10, 2041)

On the bridge of the Hood, Admiral Pellaeon is watching the holotable, reading a report about the operation harvesting materials from the core of the cracked planet, which had been given the codename of R727.

As he is looking through the report, he hears footsteps approaching him. Looking up, Pellaeon sees Ronen approaching him. "Colonel," Pellaeon greets him, gesturing for him to sit down.

Ronen sits down next to Pellaeon before asking the admiral, "How goes the harvesting, admiral?"

"Very well, Colonel. Initial samples are very promising. R727 should be a viable source of replacement fuel for the reactor and hyperdrive in the future should our voyage last for too long," Pellaeon says.

"Good to hear," Ronen says with a tone of relief.

The two sit together in silence for a moment before Pellaeon looks at Ronen and says, "Colonel, I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Sure, admiral. What is it?" Ronen asks.

Pellaeon looks into Ronen's eyes for a moment before he says, "You know that I am getting on in years. I'm about to hit 80. And with everything that lies in our path, who knows how long I will be alive?"

"Admiral, I'm sure you'll out live all of us at this point," Ronen says, and the two laugh together for a moment.

"Perhaps, but we can't deny that I am getting old, and if we are in the Unknowns for years to come, there is a chance I may not live long enough to return to the known galaxy. And I want to be prepared for such an eventuality," Pellaeon says. He pauses for a moment, then says, "That's why I want to talk to you about this. In the event that I do not live long enough for us to return to the known galaxy, I want you to take my place as the commander of this mission."

Ronen looks at Pellaeon in surprise. After a few moments, he asks in confusion, "Why me, Admiral?"

"You've proven a master tactician in the time I've spent with you. In addition, you are a man of great honor and integrity. On top of all that, you were trained as a Jedi. You are one I feel strongly I can trust to take my place in the event of my death," Pellaeon says.

Ronen is quiet for a moment, then nods once, very slowly. "I...am honored that you think so highly of me, Admiral. While I do believe you will live long enough to see our return home, you have my word that should you not, I will do my best to lead the crew in your place."

Pellaeon smiles. At last, something that has been bothering him has been put to rest. Now, all that lies ahead is finally completing their mission.