Welcome to Starbase Mojave

Posted on Sat Dec 27th, 2025 @ 9:21am by Captain Cassandra Hawk & Lieutenant Bayre Hirata & Lieutenant Elsen Rava

2,099 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: Bridge, USS Achilles

The door to the bridge slid open smoothly and nearly silently, only the slightest whir emitted as the heavy metal receded into the wall cavity. The light from the bridge spilled into the hall the moment they opened, bathing Cassandra in the warm yellow light of Earth's sun.

In view, dominating the sweeping curved canopy windows of the Achilles' bridge, was the great blue orb that she had called home for many years. Earth, the seat of the Federation, floated peacefully by, with dozens of ships coming to and fro. As with any time she left, she wondered how long it would be until she saw home again. No, not home. Or at least not the only home. Her new home was far off from here, waiting at the edge of the frontier.

The bridge of this vessel struck her with awe every time she boarded it. She wondered if it'd ever become common place. Hopefully not.

With one final breath, Captain Hawk stepped through the threshold and onto the bridge proper. The soft echo of her own footsteps added a slight sense of circumstance to the moment. She took a moment to admire the way the sleek, stylistic consoles curved organically from the floor, glowing faintly as their displays reported the ship's systems. It was indeed a fine ship.

She moved to the center seat with purpose, hestitating only a moment to savor the feeling of the first time she meaningfully took the chair. Then, with an air of confidence that was only slightly played up, she took her seat and crossed her legs in her usual relaxed pose, hands resting on the armrests beside her. She lifted her gaze to the crew. "What's our status?"

"Helm is squared away and just waiting on the final go ahead from Engineering," the young Ensign reported from the front seat.

The turbolift doors parted with a soft chime, and Elsen stepped onto the bridge quietly, pausing just long enough to take it in.

She’d seen the Achilles before, of course. Read the specifications, studied the schematics, followed the refit reports with professional interest. Standing here was different. The bridge felt open in a way she hadn’t expected, light and forward-facing, the curve of the canopy drawing the eye inexorably back to the slow drift of Earth beyond. She let herself register it for a heartbeat longer than strictly necessary, then moved on.

Her boots made only the faintest sound as she crossed to the science station, fingers brushing the edge of the console as she slid into place. The display bloomed to life at her touch, familiar interfaces layered with newer ones she hadn’t quite committed to muscle memory yet. She took a moment to orient herself, eyes flicking across readouts with easy confidence.

“Local space is clean,” Elsen said once she’d taken it all in, her tone calm and measured. “No anomalous gravimetric fluctuations, traffic control has us slotted cleanly for departure, and the proto-warp field remains stable at idle. Nothing unexpected from Earth’s gravity well.”

Her gaze lifted briefly toward the viewscreen again, then back to the console. “I’m not seeing anything that would complicate our departure window.”

She rested her hands lightly on the edge of the station, posture relaxed but attentive, and glanced toward the centre seat.

Cassandra adjusted her position slightly, finding the sweet spot in the chair. "Excellent. We should make good time back to Mojave."

Bayre stepped onto the Bridge, tousled blonde hair giving mute evidence to the long hours he'd put in ensuring that everything was working up to his standards. The edge of a smaller than standard PADD, built to his own specifications, peeked out of one pocket, as he walked to the on-bridge console that he hardly ever visited. "Engineering reports the ship is ready for departure. Passed her final round of checks without any major issues."

"Delightful. Well then, I'd say let's let her stretch her space legs. "The Captain turned back toward the leading edge of the starship. She allowed herself one final, lingering look at the vast blue crescent of the world below, the wispy white clouds silently crossing the deep blue oceans, before quietly bidding it farewell for now.

“Helm,” she said, leaning against the left arm rest. “Lay in a course, bearing one-two-zero, mark zero-nine-zero. Take us to warp.”

The helm ensign’s fingers danced across the controls. Outside the viewport, the planet began to roll away, the stars wheeling as the ship adjusted its heading. Earth Spacedock flashed briefly into view, a glint of light skittering across the edge of its curved dome, before slipping aside as the Achilles aligned herself nose-first toward the distant glow of heart of the Milky Way.

With a sweep of his hand, the ensign entered the course and keyed the engines. Outside, in the wide arching view of the bridge dome, the stars elongated for a heartbeat, then tore past in brilliant streaks as the Achilles burst forward, leaping to warp.

A brief minute or two passed as the ship came to speed.

Seated at the console, Bayre's nimble fingers dancing over the controls, he monitored every system on the ship, nodding to himself as he made a few last minute checks. "Protowarp is ready," he said.

Across the bridge, the ambient warm white indicator lights shifted smoothly to cool electric blue, converging toward the front of the room. The subtle vibrations of the nacelles reconfigured to their down-swept position.

The Captain sat upright in her chair, her right hand gripping the edge of the arm rest in a slightly involuntary sign of anticipation. “Gun it.”

There was the slightest moment of anticipation as space the sound of the engine filled the room. For a split second, space itself seemed to hold its breath. And then, like a bungie cord stretched to its limit then released, it came snapping back in an instant. The stars bloomed in a split second into a cascade of radiant colors, pouring past the sweeping dome of the bridge in a river of light. Bands of mesmerizing blues, violets, and golds streamed in every direction as the galaxy roared past.

There was a sensation almost akin to weightlessness for a moment. Cassandra couldn't be sure if it was an actual sensation or just the knowledge of how incredibly quickly they were moving, watching the star systems sweep past on the displays in dizzying speed, that caused her to feel it. But regardless, she felt something as Achilles tore free of the usual confines of space, hurdling herself across the galaxy as if it were nothing at all. She allowed herself to be swept up with the feeling as the universe itself seemed to fall away.

And all the while, Bayre watched, a silent sentinel, ensuring that the Achilles didn't fall flat on its face. And though he didn't anthropomorphize technology, generally speaking, he was proud of how 'she' responded and gave the console a slight pat, his gaze trained on the data feeds. Making mental notes that he would add to the ship's engineering log once he was back in Engineering again.

----

The USS Achilles broke free of Protowarp with an audible pop, either caused by the vibration of the ship or some other force, and the rivers of color swept across the bridge and away in an instant, as if they'd suddenly surfaced for air from the depths of a lake.

The transition was relatively smooth; still, Bayre thought, a thorough system check wouldn't be a bad idea. Make sure all the components were operating within tolerance. Maybe tonight before he had to face the whole moving in ordeal.

The vessel tacked to port and a moment later, a faint shape came into view on the horizon. It was just a glint of light at first, but as the vessel propelled itself forward at impulse, it soon became more and more distinct.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Cassandra said, injecting a bit of pomp and circumstance to the moment. "Welcome to Starbase Mojave."

The distant glint sharpened into focus, becoming the massive silhouette of a space station, its true scale slowly becoming apparent. Starbase Mojave was built around a massive central spine rising up a dizzying amount of decks from its base to the top of the goliath sensor array at the top. The advanced scientific apparatus at its summit was the single largest sensor array for light years, capable of studying surrounding space in incredible detail across the entire known spectrum. From the station's core, extended two distinct tiers of docking rings. The upper level housed three enormous docking disks, each one pushed well clear of the station’s body and capable of docking several fully sized starships. Below them, held closer to the spine, a second set of three docking disks mirrored the arrangement, but on a smaller scale, designed to quickly load and unload cargo without clogging the space lanes of the upper levels. Along the entire frame of the station, running lights illuminated its curves and angles.

As the Achilles drew closer, the finer points came into focus. Docking pads on the top of each disk could be seen, their indicator lights intermittently flashing. Airlocks, windows, servicing arms, and other equipment dotted the docking rings as well. On the surface of the station a handful of work bees and even the occasional minute frame of a person in EVAs could be seen, finalizing work on bringing the station online.

In the heart of the stations spine, at its thickest point, opened the mouth of the vast, brightly lit, central docking bay. It dominated the station’s face, an opening large enough to house the Achilles itself. In fact, this was their destination.

Bayre's view was different than the captain's. Had to be. He saw it as systems, interconnected, part upon part, that, having studied the specifications on the way out, he could deconstruct within his mind's eye. A delicate balance working together to form a cohesive whole requiring a daunting list of routine maintenance tasks. And all of that was the mundane part of the job. Doable but the good part would be aboard the Achilles' and a look at things he didn't know and understand immediately.

At the science station, Elsen leaned forward slightly as the station resolved from silhouette into structure, her attention drawn less to its sheer size than to the way it sat in space. Her eyes tracked the central spine first, then the docking rings, watching how the mass distribution balanced against the surrounding gravitational noise. Even at this distance, the readings scrolling across her console were busy, alive with interference from the galactic core bleeding into local space.

“Well,” she murmured under her breath, more to herself than anyone else.

Her fingers moved across the interface, pulling up comparative data as the Achilles continued her approach. “I’m already seeing elevated gravimetric variance across the outer hull,” Elsen reported calmly. “Nothing dangerous, but it’s persistent. The station’s compensators are working hard to keep things stable this close to the core.” A brief pause as she refined the scan. “That sensor array’s earning its keep.”

She glanced up again, letting her eyes follow the lines of the station as it grew larger in the viewport. There was something quietly impressive about it, not because it was pristine, but because it looked used already. Busy. Alive.

“This place is going to generate more data than we’ll know what to do with,” Elsen added, a faint note of anticipation threading into her voice. “And probably just enough weirdness to keep things interesting.”

Her gaze returned to the console, posture settling into something comfortable and familiar. Frontier outpost. Unstable space. A station built to watch the universe misbehave.

Yes, she thought, very quietly. This would do just fine.

“Helm, take us in. Nice and steady on the landing.” The Captain’s orders were met with a nod as the young helmsman piloted the Achilles directly toward the main docking bay. The station loomed ever larger, additional fine details becoming apparent with each passing moment. Then, the great bay swallowed the smaller vessel like a whale from legend. The Achilles’ positioning thrusters fired for on a moment as she came to a firm landing with a thunk. Below them, the vibrations of the landing bay doors opening reverberated through the ship.

Cassandra stood, doing her best to counter the vertigo inducing effect of the Achilles’ circular landing pad rotating the vessel back into launch position. “Lieutenants, welcome home”.

 

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