Of Dreams and Nightmares

[Leo]

Four Months Ago

The Dreamscape was as ready as she was going to be. Crews had spent weeks repairing, suturing, and doing various shoring up of damaged components for the massive craft to make the journey into Tau-44. Despite arguments from various Starlight staff, Leo insisted that he be on the bridge as the ship made it's voyage to Singapore Shipyards where she would rest in drydock for the foreseeable future until all systems were brought back online. Rose, despite his arguments, stood next to him--ready to make the journey as well.

"Conn." he said, beginning with the checklist.

Each in turn answered with affirmatives. Conn, engineering, and various other important departments reported in. They were as ready as they were going to be.

"Ahead, one tenth impulse. Let's take it slow and not waste the work us and our allies have done over the past few weeks. Steady as she goes. Remember, we have limited shields. Ensure that we're staying out of the path of any major micro meteorite storms."

The Dreamscape lumbered forward. Despite all odds, the old girl did not bemoan the sudden thrust. All of the diligent work of the IMG technicians and their patented skillsets were coming through in spades. It was a slow process as they regularly had to slow to a near stop to maneuver around various asteroids. The thrusters, even after being cleaned out by Starlight and Starflier technicians, were still extremely damaged and corroded. Many of the maneuvers took up to ten minutes to complete.

It took approximately two hours to arrive at the Tau-44 jump hole.

"All ahead, stop." Leo called out. The Conn. repeated his command as the mass of the Dreamscape struggled against the laws of physics and came to a stop just outside of the gravity of the nearby jump anomaly. He turned to Rose who had been monitoring the entire journey. "Last chance to back out. No harm in leaving."

She turned to look at Leo, a hard look in her eyes.

"Leo, I lived on this ship for three years in a desolate place. The Dreamscape kept me alive. She got me home more than once in one piece. I have no intentions of turning my back on her now."

The Consortium had a strange reverence for the Dreamscape that Leo had never understood. It was a ship, a massive carrier that was a symbol of everything that Starlight used to be, sure--but many heralded the ship as some kind of living organism. He couldn't fathom the reasons why. He shrugged and turned his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Begin jump sequence. Take us in." he said with confidence--even still, his voice shook with equal parts anticipation and worry.

---

You fear oblivion. Yet you forget. The universe remembers every atom of your being. Even dust hums your name in the dark.

---

Starlight Research Consortium | The Banished Legion | Astral
[OOC]Junker Gameplay Loop Suggestion | [OOC]Boneyard Mining Suggestion