Long Shot: Century 21B

Mission Summary

Will unsettling radiation bombard the galaxy? Or will our brave centurions remain safe and dry? Stay tuned! Spoiler alert: we made it, but just barely before the real heavy radiation set in. We made impressive time on the back half of the route, completing the last 50 lightyears in about five hours, for a total flight time of just under 16 hours.

A squadron of daring centurions assembled on the launchpad. However, the mission was mysteriously devoid of a mission leader for Doctor Claw was trapped with the bowels of a wayward TARDIS and possessing a surplus of spent fuel rods urgently requiring jettison with increasingly emergent inevitability. It’s all very sad, really. Thankfully, Punchy stepped up to fill the gaping hole, left by our discretely eliminated good doctor.

And so, we launched 1.5 hours late. If only we’d waited another 30 minutes. We could have had two-sie. With the wind at our backs and a song in our hearts, we set out for high adventure in open space in search of some fruity island floating in a heavy nebula, which would undoubtedly be enveloped in radiation by the time of our arrival. Along the way, our scanners identified several TARDIS…es (TARDI? TARDISEES!!) in various stages of cloaking. We stopped to inspect a few, but sadly, Doctor Claw piloted none of them. Before long, we lost hope of interception.

Throughout the entire mission, the entire crew performed admirably, ensuring that this mission would end in victory. Thanks to Dead Bride’s skilled navigation, it was smooth sailing through the network of wormholes that would ultimately lead us to our destination. Unfortunately, due to a technological anomaly, we were temporarily redirected approximately 6 l.y. in the wrong direction. Thankfully, the error was discovered, course corrections were made, and we were back on track and wishing everyone a very Happy Hazardous Waste Day! Later, once we were back in the wormhole, we were passed by a rogue star pilot who sang our praises and initiated a race that pushed the warp capacity of our mighty machines. A space walking passerby not-so-kindly informed us that we weren’t allowed to ride bikes on the bike path before peppering us with colorful metaphors. And we learned that Skunk was on his high school swim team. They called him “Swamp Walk” (womp womp).

The wormhole spit us out into a delightfully quaint landscape overseen by a rai— No! Double rainb— *achem* TRIPLE rainbow! It was magnificent!! A site to behold!!! It was the most vibrant display of hydro-optical refraction most of us had ever seen! Triple rainbow... ALL THE WAY!!! We took the moment to record the moment, refuel, and adjust our flight plan. Civitron adjusted Artemis’ topmast and that was almost as beautiful as the triple rainbow.

As the Day Star began its slow trek beyond the horizon and the imminent radiation began to set in, the centurions began to feel a sense of hopefulness that we might indeed reach our destination before we were drenched. Suddenly, Artemis flew over some space debris, rupturing her primary thruster and causing the fleet to halt for repairs. Guided by Wombat, we worked together to make quick work of changing the flat (twice) for the mutual benefit of us all, using our powers to teamwork and not bickering. The Fleet Admiral, ever the consummate leader oversaw our work and praised our cooperative efforts, despite clearly feeling nonplussed as torrential radiation penetrated his shields and began to corrode his sugar sweet core. Thankfully, Ziqqurat came through with a loaner shield generator for our confectionery commander.

Once all repairs were met satisfactorily, we were clear to fly. Unfortunately, we had run out of time and lightyears and would be unable to both eat and complete our final objective. We chose to refuel and when faced with the decision of port and starboard, we chose port and found ourselves in a lively atrium centered by a communal brazier, good company, and succulent comestible molecules both sweet and savory. While the rest of us cozied up by the fire to warm up and rid ourselves of irradiated molecules, Wombat and Gritty flew in the direction of the heavy nebula to complete the mission objectives, and Ziqqurat led the FAdm. on a mission to discover steering dampener fluid. Once we were all reunited, we said our goodbyes before shoving off to great fanfare and flew into the night sky on a course for home.