The years have finally paid off, and the crew of the scouting cruiser "Astra" has finally taken off from their home planet of Terra. Most of the crew held to their seat as this would be their first time leaving their home system. On the other hand, the 45-year-old Dr. Anders sipped on his rum-filled canteen as the juvenile members of the crew screamed while the cruiser pierced out of the planet's atmosphere. If it wasn't a requirement for his post-graduate degree - he would not be mingling with these juvenile scouts.
Contrary to Dr. Ander's assessment, the crew of the Astra is far from a juvenile crew. Jeremy Beedle, the 28-year-old golden-haired captain graduated at the top of his class. He aced the physical and mental test, with a minor qualification in medicine. But sadly, he came from a commoner's background, and without proper connections, he was placed in the mediocre role of a small cruiser captain.
Beside Jeremy is the 25-year-old Daniel Fitzpatrick who acts as the cruiser's vice-captain. In many ways, he and the captain are similar. Both have golden-yellow hair - a trademark of Terrans with blue eyes that twinkle like a missing piece of the cosmos. But unlike his captain, Daniel is an arrogant brat with big dreams. He's smart but his stubbornness to work with other people, other than his captain, would be his downfall.
Onto the back is a pair of guys holding hands as the cruiser finally broke through the last layer of the planetary energy barrier. On the left is a non-native Terran who hailed from the planet Alabaster. Theodore Dillon, simply called Theo, would be the cruiser's botanist and cook. On the other hand, the bright orange-haired brusque is none other than Kyle Mason who would be the cruiser's mechanic. These two have known each other since they were children. When Kyle decided that he would become a military mechanic for the Galactic Republic, Theo was there to accompany him. The two are inseparable. Even in their near puking state, their hands held tight to one another as the cruiser slowed down to a crawl.
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Days would pass and the scout cruiser named Astra stationed itself near the Blue-Crab Nebula - where they could easily siphon the deposits of hydrogen clouds to power their ship in case their commanding officer assigns them to their first missions.
Days have passed and there's no transmission from their superior. Well, who would think that ending the war with the hulking Gerudons through diplomacy would be so goddamn peaceful?
The Astra floats through the cosmic clouds of shimmering clouds.
Then suddenly, the star-peppered skies around the Astra shifted akin to the gravitational lensing formed by black holes. Jeremy thought that it was just a trick of the light but when he looked at Daniel, he had the same look like him.
"Are you reading anything on your end, Daniel?" Jeremy asked.
"It's- it's impossible. All sensors aren't detecting any changes. Astra, are you detecting any ship malfunctions?"
The ship's AI beeped, and within the slice of a millisecond, it provided its answer. "No ship malfunctions detected."
This truly is a head-scratcher. Jeremy could see the stars around the ship whizzing past them but the cameras outside the ship show that they are still in the rims of the Blue-Crab Nebula. They haven't moved a single inch but Jeremy and Daniel could feel the ship rocking akin to the motions when they warp using hyperspace.
The comms buzzed and the three other scouts asked what the hell is happening?
"I- I don't know," Jeremy said. "The ship says there's nothing wrong but I could see that we’re warping to who knows where."
Then in an instant, Astra reported an electrical storm around the ship. The cameras are updated to what the crew members are seeing. Jeremy jumped to the ship's controls while Daniel activated the energy shields - but it was too late. The Shield controls are friends leaving them defenseless in this electrical storm.
"Astra, do you see a path out of this storm?" Jeremy asked.
"Calculating... Calculating... It is strange but there seem to be several energy vortexes out of the storm. According to my quick analysis, there are no differences between them - except for some strange energy readings coming from their singularities. '
"Will they lead us out of this storm?"
"Affirmative,"