Status: Success

Operation

Return to Space Mountain

Mission Objectives

  • Successfully fly to the regular SCUL day spot without detection
  • Explore the area where the time capsule was once buried
  • Dance beneath the cloudy moon (SCUL march encouraged)

Mission Summary

Pilots were ready to climb, after the yearly pilgrimage for SCUL Day was diverted elsewhere. We set forth in a squadron of 13 in Cosima's charge after Patent Pending christened his new ship Life Alert, with Dr.Claw navigating the fleet and LordMcFuzz tailgunning, cadet Truck Stop and guest-cum-maggot Vagrant in tow, in search of a high space mountain. To Mons Olympus on Mars we will go! It's cool, dry, and breezy there with interesting locals and plenty of methane ice, the perfect break for that summer-in-the-city prickly heat.

First we flew to a snaxxery and onboarded many unwholesome food substitutes. The operators of this depot had caught some indigenous nonsentients which were displayed for sale, and while most were well kept, one had fallen down into the display window and lay expiring at our feet. This would never do! Pilot Dead Bride drew the proprietors' attention to it, and the victim was soon rescued and set to rights.

We continued toward the mountain. The atmosphere stayed dankly warm as we flew onward, traversing wormholes and slingshotting through tight orbits, threading the byways of space, knowing we were just one brutal climb away from cool relief.

We found the forbidden surround, stealthed, and began our ascent. The 'air' stayed strangely warm and thick. We emerged at the topmost point only to find disaster: through some corruption of the navigational database, instead we've climbed the highest mountain on Venus. The view was fine but the tiny locals unpleasantly aggressive, and the searing black calm lay heavy -- not the tour we'd expected! Just one lone pilot had the energy to qualify for a Medal of Naked, though a brave few sortied to the former site of the REDACTED.

At least we've got snax. We broke out chips, Cosima's excellent oatmeal-chocolate-cardamom cookies, Mother's Sparkling Mythical Creatures and Fish of Sweden (Earth), and had a meat-off between BBQ Jerky in Korea galaxy style, and Bavarian Lil' Landjaeger (No Compromises) Beefy-Twigs. The sea monsters were delectable and the meat-off...well, whatever happened to those unholy lumps of protoplasm, none made it back to Earth. Ghu be thanked.

There was a flurry of last-minute paperwork, and when the requirements were satisfied Truck Stop was ready for knighting. She entered as a full SCUL pilot of the Blue order. With that done we dumped fuel and headed back down the mountain, it was still hot but at least the g-wells pointing the right way now. Whee!

As we returned via the Jamaicaspace wormhole, Wombat spotted a radiation containment unit which guest Vagrant recognized as Kilo3's, lost many light-years earlier on the way out. Recovery successful! We also had a mechanical as LMF dropped propulsion transfer during which USB Syntax Error tumbled into deep space, but with a little macgyvering and venturi torque everything was made shipshape, and we continued across the asteroid belt.

We landed in a desolate transMITian plain to try out some new-fangled aerosol chalk beacons and play a little dogfight derb; supplies were starting to run low but we'd be home soon...then Skunk realized his protocol droid had ejected back at the wormhole. Acehole and he went back to retrieve it, taking a radio and leaving Kilo3 to maintain contact. The rest of us waited in the sweltering gloom. And waited. Communication silence continued as the oxygen ticked down, broken only by a request for coordinates as we shared out the remaining hydration and food molecules. Finally they (or convincing facsimiles?) returned with the droid, which Acehole had been able to locate using only technology.

From there we returned to the fort without further incident. Mission success, Medal of Patronage to Acehole, and another space adventure is done.
Pilot Ship Points Promotion
AceHole Temerity 251.17  
Cosima Ez Raider 754.959   Lieutenant Commander
Dead Bride Albatross 517.83   Petty Officer First Class
DrClaw Skywarp 943.732   Commodore
Kilo3 Doctor Love 605.454   Chief Petty Officer
Leotard Abracadaver 305.831   Petty Officer Third Class
Lordmcfuzz The Traveler 1189.08   Rear Admiral, Upper Half
Meownderthal Krypteau Abyssmaul 451.66   Petty Officer First Class
Patent Pending Life Alert 209.081  
Skunk Syntax Error 589.696  
Truck Stop Centvrion 238.837   Aviator
Vagrant Mad Rabbit 0  
Wombat Pale Horse 616.731   Lieutenant
Pilots must be logged in to see the briefing.
Taskforce Pilot
Mission Leader Cosima
Deck Officer Dead Bride
Gate Attendant Cosima
Navigator DrClaw
Tailgunner Lordmcfuzz
Com-Sat 1 Patent Pending
Com-Sat 2 Kilo3
Tool Bag Skunk
Flat Bag Meownderthal
Medi Bag Skunk
Wookiee Bag Dead Bride
Ambassador Cosima
Chalk Bag Wombat
Still Cam Skunk
Airlock Leotard
Life Support 1 Skunk
Life Support 2 Dead Bride
Mission Pinner Truck Stop
Mission Debriefer Wombat
Mission Reporter Leotard
Stellar Cartographer DrClaw
Cleaner Truck Stop
Wingmate 01 Kilo3

Mission Parameters

DivisionMAD
Date2023.07.15
Mission LeaderCosima
Mission Size 13 pilots
OriginFort Antwerp
DestinationArboreal Heights
Light Years22.600
G-Well Activity3.128
Technical Rating1.906