White Rabbit

Chapter 1 - The Hard War

Every night, I always glance to the stray night sky that is filled with thousands of stars, bright galaxies that are far away, and colorful nebulas that glow space with light. It's one of the astronomical beauties that makes up outer space, and something that anyone has wanted to learn and see from beyond. We had no idea how space travel and engineering have went a long way for the world that I live in, with the world advancing in technology and the vast knowledge this world currently has on space.

Even though I always work for my Detective Agency, I also run a Research and Development firm that bears my last name - Anderson Laboratories. Anderson Labs is basically where we research scientific breakthroughs in many fields: Technology, engineering, biology, everything. My father owned the Labs before he handed ownership to me but the goal for our team wasn't really to make a profit, but to do something that stands true to our motto: "To help the world become better for all kind."

Anderson Labs worked on all kinds of stuff. Making earthquake resistant buildings, testing futuristic technology, blending in the environment with urban life settings, you name it; they have it all. Anderson Labs wanted to help change the world that makes it better for all individuals regardless of status, income, or whatever. The lab was given millions of dollars in grants for the R&D projects they were working on, with one important model being tested out that would have remained important for space travel, its first ever rocket. Yes, I'm not kidding about it.

For nearly eight years, way before I took charge, the lab decided to test out a rocket system that'll allow space travel to be cut in half by making powerful but efficient engines and being able to land on its own vertically. It would have created the ability to run on biofuels in its solid form (in addition to other solid fuels) and it was a hard process, because it needed everything to work out exactly the way we need it without causing an anomaly to the rocket; which can lead to devastating consequences.

It took us many months of development, starting from designing, to engineering various components for the rocket, to making heat shields, testing out fuels, engines, and everything in between. Anderson Labs needed a lot of engineering to determine what would work well, and what anomalies would cause the rocket to be destroyed after launch; something that the team cannot compromise. The job was risky, but it was not without considerations to do what's right to make it successful. After all of this, it finally got to the point where it's ready to begin it's first test flight.

The Rocket is called the AL-100VLR. Codename: Pheidippides; a name that comes from a man who inspired to make the marathon race, in which he ran from Marathon to Athens, the capital of Greece, to share news of the Greek's victory against the Persian Empire. At height of 115 meters, it is a tall rocket with nearly 2-4 solid boosters and a powerful second stage engine. What is unique about this is that all of the stages of the Rocket can land on itself, making it versatile for future launches. It was something that can be useful for the future of space travel, and something that remains innovative for space agencies to get a hold of for space launches.

Before launching the rocket, Anderson Labs had to cooperate with the Empire City Space Agency, which is the main Space Agency that holds complete control of its spaceports in the Empire City Area, to comply with a leasing agreement and agree that they must launch the rocket within 2 years of the lease agreement. However, things weren't going well. Having too much pre-occupation on testing the rocket forced Anderson Labs to make some major setbacks as well as problems with the engines. They were worried that any problems that occurs with the engine or any component of the rockets could potentially become a problem and could result in a mission failure. While they did made fail safe mechanisms such as abort tests, it was critical for the team to really consider things that'll work safely if this will operate well through space.