Sascha Reuental, admiral, and commander of the Brunhild dreadnought had been issuing orders all morning for the first recon mission of the planet they had reached 18 hours ago. It was a new planet for them, located far out on the fringes of their previously explored territory.
According to what little data they had about the planet there appeared to be signs of ruins in the southern hemisphere. The planet’s surface was covered mainly in saltwater, and the air may be breathable, but it would be needlessly risky to send the first team down without suits to breathe in. Once the recon team had assessed the dangers on the surface and determined whether the air was breathable with the proper tools, then it might be time for a different strategy.
They had yet to report back to the Brunhild, but so far they were well within the given deadline. After the set deadline, she would have to assume something had gone wrong and that they could very well be in danger. Sometimes it was just a problem with the long range communications between the shuttle on the planet and the Brunhild, then the recon team would have to find a way to boost their signal somehow or simply return to the dreadnought itself.
Her people were always the first ones in, and the last ones out. It was a matter of security and protection. The other spaceships of the fleet contained engineers, scientists, scavengers, civilians, etc. All kinds of people really. The crew of the Brunhild were trained soldiers to some capacity, and more capable in defending themselves.
It was something that she both hated and loved in different scenarios. The Brunhild was often the only ship to lose crewmembers, but Sascha also got information about new planets first. If she’d been less selfish, and more interested in the supposed goal of furthering humanity, perhaps the latter wouldn’t have mattered much to her. However, with the current setup she could take actions and issue orders that was in her own and her crew’s best interest. Of course, discretion was important so it wasn’t something she could do too often.
Sascha walked onto the command bridge again, after a short break and put her hands behind her back when she stopped in front of her seat. She kept her head raised high, enjoyed the view of the stars and the planet in front of them. The way that the command bridge had been built made it possible to turn in any direction to see what lay there. The Brunhild had the rest of the fleet slightly behind itself, and above was nothing but the dark starry void.
The closer they got to the deadline point the more nervous she would get. Today was no exception, but thankfully her worries were soon put to rest when a message was relayed to the command bridge. She heard the voice of the lieutenant that had lead the recon team crackling through the speakers.
“Nothing out of the ordinary as far as we’ve discovered, ma’am.” He said. “No signs of sentient life or animals in the proximity, but rather thick vegetation. We landed on a beach and we can still hear the ocean, even if we can’t see it.”
“What about these ruins scans picked up?” Sascha asked. At least a minute passed before she got any response.
“No signs of ruins either unfortunately, but due to the vegetation we had to land further from our original landing zone than planned. We’re on
our way back to the shuttle at the moment. It should be safe to set down where we did. Caution is advised. Air is breathable.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Sascha said. “We’ll be there within a couple of hours.”
She didn’t wait for a response, but she heard the communications officer ending the conversation after the lieutenant had responded to her with
roger that. Sascha kept her hands behind her back, as she looked at the blue planet and then glanced back towards the fleet. Just because they had found no signs of anything else than plant life didn’t mean it was entirely safe, but she would have more of her own soldiers land together with any people from the other ships.
“Prepare four more squads for deployment. Display my visual and voice to the other ships.”
She sat down in her seat. It didn’t take long before she could see the other leaders in front of her on the screen. “The recon team reports no signs of anything else than dense vegetation. That includes the supposed ruins. I’ve ordered four more squads to prepare for landing. It should be safe for anyone else to set down together with them, caution is advised. We found a planet with vegetation at least, so any biologist should be happy. Questions or concerns?”
According to what little data they had about the planet there appeared to be signs of ruins in the southern hemisphere. The planet’s surface was covered mainly in saltwater, and the air may be breathable, but it would be needlessly risky to send the first team down without suits to breathe in. Once the recon team had assessed the dangers on the surface and determined whether the air was breathable with the proper tools, then it might be time for a different strategy.
They had yet to report back to the Brunhild, but so far they were well within the given deadline. After the set deadline, she would have to assume something had gone wrong and that they could very well be in danger. Sometimes it was just a problem with the long range communications between the shuttle on the planet and the Brunhild, then the recon team would have to find a way to boost their signal somehow or simply return to the dreadnought itself.
Her people were always the first ones in, and the last ones out. It was a matter of security and protection. The other spaceships of the fleet contained engineers, scientists, scavengers, civilians, etc. All kinds of people really. The crew of the Brunhild were trained soldiers to some capacity, and more capable in defending themselves.
It was something that she both hated and loved in different scenarios. The Brunhild was often the only ship to lose crewmembers, but Sascha also got information about new planets first. If she’d been less selfish, and more interested in the supposed goal of furthering humanity, perhaps the latter wouldn’t have mattered much to her. However, with the current setup she could take actions and issue orders that was in her own and her crew’s best interest. Of course, discretion was important so it wasn’t something she could do too often.
Sascha walked onto the command bridge again, after a short break and put her hands behind her back when she stopped in front of her seat. She kept her head raised high, enjoyed the view of the stars and the planet in front of them. The way that the command bridge had been built made it possible to turn in any direction to see what lay there. The Brunhild had the rest of the fleet slightly behind itself, and above was nothing but the dark starry void.
The closer they got to the deadline point the more nervous she would get. Today was no exception, but thankfully her worries were soon put to rest when a message was relayed to the command bridge. She heard the voice of the lieutenant that had lead the recon team crackling through the speakers.
“Nothing out of the ordinary as far as we’ve discovered, ma’am.” He said. “No signs of sentient life or animals in the proximity, but rather thick vegetation. We landed on a beach and we can still hear the ocean, even if we can’t see it.”
“What about these ruins scans picked up?” Sascha asked. At least a minute passed before she got any response.
“No signs of ruins either unfortunately, but due to the vegetation we had to land further from our original landing zone than planned. We’re on
our way back to the shuttle at the moment. It should be safe to set down where we did. Caution is advised. Air is breathable.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Sascha said. “We’ll be there within a couple of hours.”
She didn’t wait for a response, but she heard the communications officer ending the conversation after the lieutenant had responded to her with
roger that. Sascha kept her hands behind her back, as she looked at the blue planet and then glanced back towards the fleet. Just because they had found no signs of anything else than plant life didn’t mean it was entirely safe, but she would have more of her own soldiers land together with any people from the other ships.
“Prepare four more squads for deployment. Display my visual and voice to the other ships.”
She sat down in her seat. It didn’t take long before she could see the other leaders in front of her on the screen. “The recon team reports no signs of anything else than dense vegetation. That includes the supposed ruins. I’ve ordered four more squads to prepare for landing. It should be safe for anyone else to set down together with them, caution is advised. We found a planet with vegetation at least, so any biologist should be happy. Questions or concerns?”