Lunar Conspiracy

Class IV Nebula

Fun and games were interrupted by an alarm echoing across the ship.  Jornea immediately dropped everything and rushed for the bridge, with Tava and Kartk on her heels.  They quickly took their seats as they looked out the front shield at the looming cloud.

"It's a nebula.  Pretty powerful one too."  Jornea frowned at her panel and the information scrolling across it.  She started flailing her arms to demonstrate directions as she continued.  "It's flowing from that way into that direction.  If we add a day and a half we could dodge around it this way, or a full two days that way."

Her hands finally dropped back to her controls.  "Or we could just fly through it."

Tava sighed.  "You know there are cardinal directions and other ways you could have made that explanation clearer?"  Jornea only grinned.  Tava sighed.  "How bad of a ride is going through it going to be?"

Jornea shrugged.  "I can handle a class I and II without a problem.  III is much rarer, but doable.  Personally, I've come to believe class IV and V are myths.  Though, I suppose news of a class V wouldn't travel very far, what with being immediately lethal.  But I don't see any dead ships in there so we should be fine."

Tava studied the huge cloud in their path, glowing green, pink and purple.  Crackles of color expanded and contracted as the nebula flowed slowly past them.  "If you're sure you can get us through without a problem..."

Jornea pushed forward on her controls and sent them in.  Tava felt a wave of foreboding as they entered the nebula.  It was only increased as Athena began to shudder and bump.  "What's happening?"

"Electro-magnetic turbulence.  It messes with some of the ships functions and roughs up our ride.  Don't worry though.  Once we're through, everything will resume proper function."

"And there's no harm to us?"

"Maybe a headache.  Otherwise, no."

~ ~ ~

Yggdrasil looked up and around when the lights flickered again.  It had been doing that for the past three hours.  He sighed as the ship juddered and set his botanical garden to shivering.  Carefully finishing making sure nothing would go crashing to the floor, he gave everything one last check.

"Doc?!"

Turning, he shifted to a worried olive color as Tava dragged Jornea into the infirmary.  The pilot appeared almost drunk, muttering and swaying.  Tava sighed in relief when Yggdrasil came out to meet them, already looking Jornea over for damage or symptoms.

"Doc.  I don't know what's wrong with her.  She just started getting worse and worse."

Yggdrasil cocked his head, reaching out to turn Jornea towards him and get a look into her eyes.  "She hasn't consumed anything strange?"  He caught Tava's look and amended.  "Stranger than usual."

Tava shook her head.  "Nothing the rest of us haven't eaten too."

"I assume it is the effects of the nebula then.  It must have a stronger effect than originally suspected."

They went quiet when Jornea suddenly stood straight, her gaze fixed on something no one else could see.  She watched whatever hallucination had caught her gaze with growing horror.  Yggdrasil frowned, going a dark emerald as he glanced at Tava.  "And, this behavior?"  Tava shook her head as Jornea pulled away, carefully staggering towards the infirmary bed.

They watched as she bumped against it, unseeing, then followed after her as she scrambled over the bed and towards Yggdrasil's quarters.  She skidded to a halt in the doorway and stood still, shaking.