Shine On, Space Cadet (Pt. 6)

“News from the Rim travels to the core worlds slowly, but it will no doubt reach the ears of the Republican citizenry soon. President Arma-Su specifically requested the navy intervene in this matter and due to the nature of the situation, a female captain was dispatched.”

“I see. This is certainly a noble mission. I am happy to serve beneath you, Captain.”

“I’m sure you’ll serve well.” responded the Captain before continuing, “Now to your direct orders for this mission. I understand you are totally green, but I expect you can handle a command of your own. You will be in charge of our drone unit which is led by Petty Officer Omar.”

“Aye sir, I actually met him just before our meeting.”

“Good, he is a competent mechanic and keeps our drones in proper order. I have shared the mission plan with him which he will explain in more detail, but our objective is to subdue the rebelling miners and to free any women and children they’re holding captive. With any luck this will be a quick and easy operation. We will show these yokels what the might of the Republic is capable of.” said the Captain before dismissing Cal.

The ship quickly settled into routine once the voyage got along. The trip would last a week and much of that would be spent in subspace. However, due to the age of the ship, temporal shielding hadn’t been installed, and all crew members would be issued a subspace radiation injection prior to jump. This was standard procedure after a common ailment was noticed among naval crews. Dubbed as ‘Warp Syndrome’ this recent discovery appeared to be from frequent subspace travel. While it had been known of for years, it was usually attributed to leaky engine cores. However, after a study conducted by the Galactic Travel Board, it turns out travelers in subspace are exposed to extreme amounts of radiation. While subspace travel had been around for over a hundred years, Warp Syndrome was never seriously investigated, and it was accepted as a part of space travel. Many compared it to scurvy which plagued sailors during Earth’s age of exploration. Though instead of bloody gums, one was prone to vivid hallucinations, nausea, seizures and the ubiquitous feeling that you are being watched at all times. 

Luckily, Warp Syndrome was treatable with heavy medication and therapy. Prevention was as simple as temporal shielding being installed in all ships built after the Republic passed the Subspace Travelers Protection Act. In ships such as the Turk, which did not have temporal shielding, an injection was provided which warded off the effects of subspace radiation. However, this tended to leave one with a nasty bout of diarrhea and a currently unsubstantiated link to early onset Crohn’s disease.