Pt 6 - Things are about to get complicated

Posted on Sat Apr 11th, 2026 @ 9:45pm by Commander David Wallace

Mission: STELLAR NURSERY
Location: USS Cascade -- Deveron Sector
Timeline: Mission Day 5

On:

David sat on the edge of his bed for the second time today, while he and Sara had been able to escape the eruption they had gotten caught in a dust cloud, now he sat there his hair still wet one towel wrapped around his waist another hanging off his shoulders, he had cued up the data feeds from the eruption watching the events starting to play out, he pulled the towel up over his head to dry his hair he looked over too the desk where Sara sat she had become fascinated by the data feed of her own, she looked over to David, "There's potentially a second eruption about to happen."

David stood adjusting the towel, "What do you mean?"

"We're about an half an hour into the eruption magma and lava flows don't look like they're at full potential, then the western most seismic sensors started rattling again, I'm not the expert here but I think we're going to see a second eruption, did they finish evacuating the colony?"

David shook his head, "One of the farming settlements is still being evacuated, maybe another half hour."

"This is the current ash cloud modelling has it arriving over the settlement in about an hour, if there isn't a second eruption, I did forward that data before you ask." Sara said

David stood, he had partially dressed while Sara was explaining the situation, "Our orbit does bring us back over the caldera in thirty you should grab a shower, maybe a clean uniform."

Sara giggled as she pulled her top off, "Yes captain!" she said covering herself with a towel.

David's knowledge of geology was limited to some basics, he'd managed to wrap his head around some of the concepts of this mission, he looked at the data feed Sara had put on his desktop computer, transferring the view too the larger viewer he had on the wall, "Sara..." he started "Is it normal for there to be lightning?"

"It's normal only when there's a pressure differential between the ambient air and the gas expulsions from the eruption, the term is ice charging, it's quite a strange phenomena, there's evidence it is a prelude to more drastic ash dropping out of the atmosphere as the cloud expands."

David looked at the images, he found himself almost in a trance as the events unfolded. he could feel Sara's hand on his shoulder, "The infrared images are starting to show a second eruption is about to happen, that'll push the VEI value up at the least a factor of one, it'll also increase the ash cloud size in the next couple of hours."

"I should check on the evacuation." David said as he turned too Sara, "Back too work?"

Sara still standing there with just a towel let out a small giggle "Yes captain."

As David exited his quarters the com squawked "Captain the Colony is now fully evacuated, The Crazy Horse has broken orbit and is taking the remaining colonists to the evacuation center, it is now just us and the Michigan in the system."

"Acknowledged, I'm on my way back up." David said as he walked down the corridor.

End