USS Spitfire Chapter One

The Spitfire was on its way, no maiden voyage, just straight on towards their first mission...

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The Spitfire arrived in system one-three-eight-two with no interruptions on the way. The last three systems they entered, had a couple Colonial Union scout and security drones, doing their mission of patrolling and securing systems that are under Colonial Union control, and a Colonial Union Cargo vessel, on one of its routes in trading supplies between a few colonies.

Commander Maxwell leaned forward in his seat, staring out towards the third planet as they began to approach it. But he couldn't resist the urge to get up and look for himself at what the sensors are picking up, so he got up and walked over to the rear to join Lieutenant Paris on her side of the bridge.

When Amanda saw him joining her, eyeing her screens, she tensed a little but continued with her scans. "Our sensory equipment is no different from the Roland Cruiser, maybe a few upgrades here and there buy nonetheless the same. But I am not detecting the bio-organic object that the Concord detected when they first arrived in the system. Either they managed to destroy it, or it's not here, OR it has managed to mask it's signature."

Maxwell sighed and nodded his head. "Alright. Keep scanning, and scan the planet as well, I want to know the location of the Concord, and the condition of the planet." He said before he headed back to his seat. "Peterson, bring us to a standard orbit of the planet."

As the ship came into a high orbit of the planet so that the sensors had a wide scanning radius, the science station began beeping, indicating it found something. Paris started pressing a few commands, bringing up the information the sensors have picked up. "I've located the Concord, sir. At least what's left of it."

Maxwell, already facing her as he stood next to his seat, had a curious look on his face. "Meaning?"

"Looks like the front of the ship is several meters into the ground, buried." And the bridge of the Roland class vessels were practically at the nose of the ship. Technically all Colonial Union vessels were designed that way. Something they may want to rethink later on. "I can't get anything. No organic readings, nothing."

Maxwell's heart dropped. "No lifesigns in the ship or around it?"

Paris shook her head 'No', and tried to get some more data.

Maxwell cursed under his breath, "Dammit..." Then he pressed the intercom button before pressing the yellow button near it on one of the arm rests of his seat. Suddenly the interior of the ship began to dim and yellow lights flashed slowly. "I am placing the ship on yellow alert. I want the automated weapons on standby, and the ship ready to jump out of here the second I give the order. Commander Jackson and Lieutenant Paris will join me on the away team." Maxwell looked at Henry. "Any system, Peterson. Preferably a Colonial Union system though. And if that strange vessel appears, do not engage. Get as far away from it as possible and hopefully you won't be too far out of range for the teleporter. Clear?"

"Yes, sir." Said both Peterson and Sanders, who will be adjusting the automatic weapon system to not fire when that bio-organic vessel returns. Which it shouldn't unless the ship goes into red alert.

Paris joined Maxwell as they walked off the bridge, across the teleporter room and into the locker room just before the room to Main Engineering. Jackson was already there, grabbing his gear from his locker. Small ship. "Grab your phase pistols, just in case. Don't forget your scanner too."

"Of course, Captain." Said Paris, as she pulled her scanner out, slid the two device control pads apart to reveal the screen, and to turn it on, doing a quick check if it before closing it back up and placed it in one of her cargo pant pockets. Jackson grabbed his toolkit, repair gun and is own personal engineer scanner... Mainly designed to link with ship's mainframe or internal sensors and get a better readout on what's damaged, destroyed, disconnected, etc. All three of them grabbed their phase pistols, Maxwell grabbing a data pad that will let him link with the Concord Captain's logs and other files that will help them in their investigation.

"We won't need our Exo Suits. The temperature is sixty degrees around the Concord's crash site. And atmosphere is normal, no acid or any other type of harmful conditions that the sensors can pick up." Said Paris.

Jackson grunted. "Let's hope your sensors are accurate. Or we could end up suffocating or burning or flesh melting...."

"Afraid are we, Chief?" Maxwell grinned.

Jackson glared at his Captain, as the three of them headed back to the teleporter. "Of course not, Cap. Just don't always trust our computers. There are things in this universe that our sensors cannot detect, or understand. This...bio-organic vessel is one of them, and it prevented the Concord's jump drive from engaging. That, Captain, is what I am afraid of."

Maxwell nodded his head in agreement. There are still a lot of unknowns out there in the universe. The Concord met one of them, and lost the fight, as it would seem. Maxwell looked at the two to insure they were ready, both nodding their heads as assurance before he hit the button to teleport them to the Concord's teleporter pad. With that command, they were whisked away from their pad, only to appear in a dark hallway. The Roland Cruiser's teleporter pad was located next to a hallway, open, and adjacent to a room where the lifesupport system was located, as well as exo suits and a hydroponics.

The three of them turned on their flashlights attached to a shoulder mount on their uniforms, just on their right shoulder. The glow from their flashlights eluminated the area, all three turning their bodies and shoulders to eluminate different parts of the ship, and they could see that it did not have a happy landing....

"Jesus...." Said both Maxwell and Jackson.