Beyond the Event Horizon

*Galactic Year (GY) 3099*
The turn of the century. A time of great excitement and anticipation within the Galactic Alliance. Over the last 1,000 years, after mastering the technology to manipulate and warp the immense gravity of Black Holes turning them into an intergalactic highway in which ships can navigate through to different sectors of the galaxy via use of "Event Drive" technology. Along with the advent of Event Drive tech, came advances in cybernetics and machinery. It wasn't uncommon now for people to have multiple cybernetic enhancements or upgrades and in face an entire elite military unit known as the EDM, Event Drive Manipulators, is dedicated to the proficient usage and integration between Human and Event Drive tech. Those who have truly managed to unlock the potential of their EDM tech become Officers and take on more advanced roles and missions. Armed with their personalized mechanized combat machine known as the AIRWAR, their mission is a critical one in expanding the known universe suitable for human expansion and colonization.

*GY 2099*
Humans decided to leave Earth for the first time and decided to colonize Mars. Back then, the technological advances had turned the new colonies on Mars into modern marvels. Now the Solar System is the seat of the Citadel, an governing body made up of 9 representatives, one elected from each planet, to oversee expansion and colonization operations across the galaxy. The Citadel gave birth to the Galactic Alliance, made up of members from colonies across the Solar System who come in service to protect galactic peace between the planets, further advance science and technology, or traverse through the Black Hole Network to explore other galaxies, deep space, explore diplomatic relations and combat any potential alien threat that may arise.

So far during the 1,000 years of human expansion across the Milky Way, there has been no significant contact with life outside of our own. There have been signs and evidence left that there is more to our galaxy than currently meets the eye...

*Present Day GY3099*

The doors to the briefing room opened and shut as a slightly older man dressed in a sharply pressed Military Officer's uniform as he took his hat off as the others in the room turned to him giving him a sharp salute. Ironically all the people currently in that room had on the exact same uniform, with the same ranking on the sleeves and shoulder epaulets, except for one distinction. Where the other 3 people in the room had 4 stars on their shoulder, he had 5. This was Admiral Alexander Storm, a renown decorated war hero in his youth who served during the Outer Rim Uprising when the planets beyond the Asteroid Belt attempted to leave the inner planets in what amounted to a galactic civil war. He as motioned for the others around him to be at ease and take a seat he slowly made his way over to the far end of the table where a holographic projection of the Milky Way galaxy popped up around them "Morning Admirals. Sorry to call you all down from your respective commands today, but this meeting has been a long time coming and I'm starting to feel the pressure from the Citadel to make a decision on what our forces are going to be doing at the turn of the century."he said to them "Actually first, I'm not sure you've all met, some of you are fairly new to your posts. Allow me to take a moment to do introductions. Chief of Communications and Logistic Admiral Sara Dean, Chief of Medicine Admiral Katherine Yi, Chief of Engineering, Research and Development Admiral Jon Striker and lastly, Chief of Military Police and Explorations Admiral Viktoria Edwards. I hope you all grow accustomed to one another, you all will be spending quite a bit of time together because I'm going to announce my newest idea for the turn of the century, and you all are going to tell me what you think." Admiral Storm began as the projection expanded slightly before focusing on the center of the Milky Way

"As we all know, in the center of our galaxy is a Black Hole. The same black hole that powers our ED tech with a near endless supply of energy. Now while our early test runs have been widely successful across all dimensions, I believe it is time for us to go public with our plans for exploring other regions of the known universe and for the Eden. We didn't spend all this time perfecting technology that will allow us to cross the event horizon once and for all and access the Black Hole Network for us to keep it to ourselves forever. I think it's time we go live with the information and see how the public receives it. Who knows, there may even be more volunteers outside of the military who want to embark on the Intergalactic Stratoship Eden's maiden voyage to the Andromeda Galaxy. That's what it was like 1,000 years ago when the first colonists traveled to settle Mars....we are on the precipice of a grand undertaking. Our soldiers are trained, our machines fine tuned and our doctors readily supplied...now is the time to push humanity into the future past the limitations of our own galaxy. Now is the time to find out just what our universe, not just our galaxy, truly has in store for us. It seems to be what the Citadel wants. 8 out of 9 planets were in accordance with the vote with Jupiter being the only No vote, but they are the largest planet and always go against what everyone else is in line with any way so that was to be expected. However, while I may be an old man with delusions of grandeur I cannot embark on a military excursion of this magnitude without knowing the capabilities and readiness of my forces. You now have the floor Admirals to speak your mind freely."he said as he sat back to allow the other Admirals in his council the freedom to spoke as they saw fit with such an important decision.

Admiral Sara Dean cleared her throat and took the opportunity to speak first.  Her hair was dark brown and tied back in a tight bun with no hair out of place. Her hands neatly folded in front of her over a tablet in front door of her. “For a voyage like this, it would need to be not only well supplied, but well funded.” She said and began to tap away at her tablet. Small holographic screens that could be manipulated and tapped on began to appear from the tablet, lists and numbers appearing at rapid speed. “This would be the first voyage of its kind since the settlement of Mars. Exploring new territory and discovering any number of planets and possibly life. For a possible and functional colonization, there would have to be no less then...3000 souls aboard. Including any livestock would raise that number to 3500 to not only feed the civilian mass, but for breeding future food sources. While also keeping in mind of the possibility of finding a planet with proper flaura and Fauna that the colonists could consume.” She looked betweeen her screens and the asmiral. “Also including cargo, weaponry, medical supplies, temporary world wide housing, AIRWARS and mobile equipment, and most importantly the Cryogenic chambers to make such a voyage possible. According to my last update, the Edens construction is 87.556% complete. We have gathered the nessacry military volunteers and have acquired aforementioned livestock. All that remains is to fill the remaining civilian seats with a balanaced amount of men and women in various fields of agriculture, engineering, and science and working class.”

Admiral Storm listened to her numbers nodding his head in agreement as she rattled off figures "Excellent. If that's the case the Medical Bay on Eden will be fully stocked and capable for intergalactic travel for light years to come. Admiral Striker, as indicated Eden's 87.5% ready to go? Why aren't we at 100%?"he said with that same cool smile and firm tone as Admiral Striker pressed a button on his forearm communicator as the graphic on the hologram changed to a picture of a battleship larger than even the biggest Dreadnought-class battleship currently known by the Alliance. "Well considering we're attempting to turn a super fortress into a ship capable of traveling through black holes, it's been no easy feature, but for the damned of my Cryogenics has not been my strong suit. However we almost gotten the cryogenic chambers up to maximum efficency thanks to one Lieutenant Commander Jayden Green. She's actually going to be the Doctor in charge of the Medical Bay, I couldn't think of anyone else more competent to take charge wouldn't you say, Kat?" he asked getting a corresponding nod from Admiral Yi "Absolutely, she's a fantastic doctor and her cryogenic knowledge will go a long way in preserving the lives of all personnel as they travel through dark space."

Admiral Storm nodded his head at there words as he stared at the holographic of the ship "The Eden....so aptly named as the garden that will host human life across the universe. It is time....Admirals Dean and Edwards are taking the lead on this. I'll be relying on the two of you heavily until Admiral Striker ensures that ship is out of our galaxy and headed into another one. Don't let me down, humanity is relying on you all."he said giving his council of Admirals a salute which they sharply returned

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GY 3100

*I CANT BELIEVE I WAS CHOSEN!* was the thought echoing around a young man's head as he stood on the peer in front of the Eden, being fully loaded with final ordanences and last minute preparations being taken. This was Commander Lyon, one of the youngest decorated war heroes and Ace pilots out of the AIRWAR Military Academy. Lyon was one of the military's first wave of experimental tests in developing soldiers fully integrated with ED and AIRWAR tech from a young age. Lyon's father was a AIRWAR fighter who died in during a rescue mission and his mother died in childbirth, leaving him a ward of the military. Though taken in by them, he has been promoted through the ranks through his natural talent and abilities his drive and ambition has always left others desiring more from him. "I bet this was Captain Storm's doing. She's always pushing me to be like her Dad...but I'm my own person damn it."he said swinging his fist out only to have it caught by a woman with long purple hair wearing a long trench over her military uniform as the male paled slightly "C-Captain Storm, how long were you standing there?"he gulped as he tried to pull his fist back from her as hard as he could but her wrist didn't budge an inch as her eyes fixed on the blue haired man before her

"Oh just long enough to hear you bitching and moaning again. I'm not trying to make you like my father Kai, you'll never end up being the man he was."said Captain Eluna Storm. Widely regarded as the "toughest Bitch in the Fleet", Admiral's Storm daughter had a look and reputation known to shake fear into even the toughest fighters core. "But I actually had no say in the decision making process for who the Commander of the Strike Team and my second-in-command would be this time. Admiral Edwards hand chose all of the key officials on Eden. Whatever is written in your record must have really rubbed her the right way. Plus I'm sure having a dead war hero father, being mentored by someone as fabulous as myself, and having decent flight scores probably helped, so you're welcome for that kid. Don't let me down, and don't get in my way."she said as she finally let his wrist go as he pulled it back rubbing it gently "God you're tough, it's no wonder you're still not married"he said as she shot him a look as she swung at him as he dodged with a laugh before rushing down the pier heading onto the ship in awe as Storm appeared behind him again "Isn't it gorgeous? C'mon, we have our meeting with the Engineer and Medic before we get ready for take off, all the civilians and non-essential military personnel have already been put in their cryo-pods and the chambers have been activated. Once we give the green light, the maiden voyage of the Eden will be a-go"she said as Commander Lyon nodded still trying to reel it all in. It was just a year ago today that the announcement was made across the Milky Way that the Galactic Alliance would be recruiting for humanity's first mission to travel into another galaxy and now, here they were, on the Eve of the first voyage.

As Commander Lyon and Captain Storm walked through different halls they finally came to a large conference room as the door phased open for them "At ease everyone, don't salute me every time I walk through the door I'm not that kind of stickler for the rules"she said waving her hand "Everyone I'd like you to meet our new Commander who'll be taking over head of the Exploration's Strike Team, Kai Lyon, Commander Lyon, meet your new Crew..."she said waving her hand to introduce them

In the room were the best AIRWAR Pilots the Fleet had to offer for this mission. The first one to step up was girl with the Peach colored hair. “Vice Strike Commander Ezra Lee. Pilot of Alpha Blue.” She said. Alpha blue was a Lion AIRWAR Mech that was fitted with blasters in the mouth and tail as well as one larger on on its back.

“Tristan Daniels. Pilot of Valkyrie Skies.” His was a humanoid mech armed with plasma blade and wings that could reach incredible speeds. He held the record for fastest land to space launch.

“Sheria Johnson. Pilot of Dancers June.” Hers was another animal based mech. This time it was a Wolf styled one with no visible means of weaponry but was told to be designed for stealth missions.

The women that Captain storm spoke of Viktoria Edwards was a rather notable figure, she was silent most times but calculating always looking over the data but sometimes even shocking others with her random attack plans. They worked for her, earning her the name Black Cat....due to her swiftness and her rather random luck that at first seemed unlucky but she turned it around. It had nothing to do with the fact that her hair was pitch black and her eyes a amber color, some swore her pupils even adjusted like a cats. She was the reason Lyon was given this chance, she had seen his ability thanks to Storm placing his file before her and with humanity's fate resting in the balance she wasn't going to take the safe way it was either done or it wasn't this wasn't a well rehearsed play...this was the final act walk on the tight rope over a pit of hungry lions the wrong move got one killed. Edwards would soon look towards Admiral Storm her voice finally breaking its silence, "I have little fear that things will not go as planned Sir, we've gathered the best and those wishing to put their foot forward. A few have some interesting backgrounds but when exploring the unknown....one must take chances" she stated a rather playful smile showing on her lips showing that 'cat like grin' of hers. "As stated from Admiral Striker.....Dr. Green is an excellent choice in the medical area, I've chosen another ace thanks to your daughter Captain Storm. Commander Lyon excellent scores in the academy and the son of a decorated war hero as well...itching to prove himself. We must be like Eve daring to test Gods Limits if we are to succeed."

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As Captain storm and commander Lyon stepped into the conference room a rather frail looking women with large glasses a bit big for her face turned holding a clip board of different charts all floating above the surface. Showing different things at once, she stood up pushing her glasses back up her nose as her green colored hair hung on either side of her shoulders in braided pig tails, her lab coat even seemed a bit large for her hanging off her shoulders and onto her elbows. "c...cap..patain.." she stammard out, going to raise her hand before Storm shot her and the others down from saluting. "we...I was...Welcome Aboard!!" she suddenly shouted, getting rather nervous and shy as people began to stair at her.

"Mitch Moses, pilot of the Iron Kong. I got the all the heavy artillery you need boss"said the large burly man sitting at the table who piloted the Gorilla shaped mecha with large canons on its back

Lyon looked on as they introduced themselves as he shook their hands though took special attention to his new Vice Commander "Oh so you're the one who pilots Alpha Blue. I've heard a lot of good things about you around the water cooler. You sure you're gonna be cool giving up command of missions to me? I fly the Omega Black Falcon."he said referring to his mech, a large bird of prey shaped machine armed to the teeth with missals and lasers while capable of flying at supersonic speeds that crushed other pilots who attempted to fly her until Kai came along. "I heard the guys down in Engineering and R&D were coming up with a way to sync up our two AIRWARs for advanced combat sorties. With Omega's wings attached to your Lion's body, it'll be a monster for both ground and aerial combat. At least that's what they said would be in development during the long time spent in flight when they had nothing to do."he said before turning to the others "It's an honor to lead you all." he said before turning "And you're Dr. Green right? I have a feeling I'll be seeing you a lot so please keep us safe"he said with a smile at her quirkiness

"Right...well if introductions are done, lets get down to Engineering and see what the hell is taking so long to get this bird in the air"Storm said as she turned from the group and began heading towards another hallway as Commander Lyon bowed to them all before following suit

“Wether or not I care is irrelevant. You were chosen to lead the strike team. I wasn’t. Not much else to it.” She said and walked passed him to the door to follow the others out and down to engineering.

“Oi! I don’ told ya’ a thousand times! The partical to energy converter goes to the Aft powered generator. I won’ tell ya again, ya Daft Bastards.” Shouted an Irish voice. The man shouting happened to be Chief Engieneer, Cam Hanson(can’t remember his last name) a gifted and truly brilliant engeneer who helped in the overall design and structure of the Eden. Those that knew should say he was even smarter when he had a bottle of whiskey near by.

Dr. Green would look at him and would shift slightly as she nodded "well i um....hope that isn't the case...a...after all you all a d..doctor is happy when they don't see their patients....means nothings wrong" she stated pushing up her glasses again, though she shifted that much more and would then look back down at her clipboard tapping a few things on the screen. "t..though your checkup before going into stasis is required...I still need lab work from you Commander.."

Lyon watched her walk past him his eyes lingering curiously for a momemt before snapping back to the Dr. "Oh? You do? A full physical huh?" Lyon said as he looked at her sighing "I hate going to the doctors
Fiiiine. As soon as we check out how this thing flies I'll head straight over to medbay"he said "I still dont like the idea of being put in stasis...how do I know you're actually gonna wake me up hmmm?"he questioned in a teasing manner as they walked in to the Irish rantings of their Chief Engineer

"Hanson, you're the one person I let hand pick each member of their crew because I dont want anything going wrong with my ship. They better be ready to get this thing into orbit on a moments notice." Captain Storm said as she turned to face the crew "Officers, meet the man who makes this ship float. The person who was primarily involved in designing the ship. Lieutenant Cam Hanson. Cam meet our new crew menbers."

"Dont forget about me!" Called another softer voice from beneath them as down below another young woman was typing at a large computer "Oh yeah Kuki Chao, lead designer of the AIRWAR tech and maintenance, she pretty much just gives her ideas for Cam to execute" Storm said causing the woman to puff out her cheeks and stick out her tongue

“Ah so yer the crew flying these Beauties? Glad to meet ya.” He said. “I’ll be the one taken care of them for aye, so don’t make me life hard and go gallivanting into god knows what or coming back with a missing limb or nothin!”
“Yes sir.” The crew said with smirks and smiles
“Augh! Don’ go callin me sir. Just Chief or Cam be fine.” He said and scratches as his greeting stubble, “I feel old enough as it is.”

"I understand the uneasiness with doing a check up Commander, but I promise the stasis is completely safe. All my test runs I do on myself, I did a three day test with my assistants monitoring me. Since Human's can survive 3 days without food or water, so that was my test to see if my body was receiving the right amount..." her stammer seemed to go away as she began to explain the process, her excitement and joy from running a successful test showing her eyes that seemed to just light up like a kid at Christmas. "so you have no worries!!" she was already off in her own little world starting to mutter to herself as they left to head down to the engineering department.

Commander Lyon blinked in surprise as he looked down towards her "You actually do all of your own tests? Isn't that really dangerous? Aren't you like one of the best scientific minds of our times? Isn't that why everyone who was chosen to go on Eden is as elite as they can come by right? There isn't any room for errors or accidents once we are out of the Milky Way"

"That's because you are old"Storm said as she shook her head at him "You all will be working together a lot. I suggest you form a strong bond with this man. Your mech's lives depend on it."she said before turning to face him "I want this bird ready for launch in T-10 min got it? All civilians and non essential are already frozen. No reason for us to dwell here any longer. Everyone get your final preps done once we get out of orbit and into your stasis pods until we jump through the event horizon. Once we cross through the black hole's surface the pod will automatically wake up all key personnel needed to pilot and navigate the ship until we make our first exit port in Andromeda galaxy. Now that we're all on the same page, let's get going"Captain Storm said as she headed back up to the navigation deck with the rest of them in tow

As they got to the bridge before them a large intergalactic hologram was being projected in the center. Around the Captain's chair was a second chair for Commander Lyon, followed by different stations for the corresponding pilots in charge of different weapon and defense systems on the ship. In front of the projection another woman stood to salute them "Ma'am Ensign Miranda Smith, Communications and Logistics Officer. I'll be the one directing all communications between Eden and Admiral Dean back on Earth once we take off. Also if the management and procurement of supplies between departments of Eden is also in my charge so Doc or Cam or anyone else needs supplies for their division then I'm your gal."she said to the group "Everything on the bridge is operational and ready for take-off Captain. Awaiting your orders."

"Once I get word from Engineering that their final preps are done, prepare for launch"Captain Storm ordered "Everyone, get settled into your seats. Except you Lyon, you go with Doc to get those tests she was talking about over and report back to the bridge."she said as Kai sighed "Fine. Man, I wanted to play with all the controls of the ship right now too."he said before turning "let's go to medbay"

Dr. Green was sitting in the med bay going over different records and charts as she went, her small body moving about but when she heard the door she turned seeing Lyon and blinked a few times. She almost looked at him questionably but if he noticed she didn't have her glasses on, they where pushed up onto her head "yes...is someone there?" it was clear...the doctor was practically blind without her glasses on.

“Like yer a spring chicken yerself.” He shot back playfully before sending them off.

Ezra and the strike team, like all the others already in their pods, had changed into a comfortable set of stasis wear that helped to Monitor those in status with their nanotechnology mesh that lined the fabric.
“Alright Strike team. This is what we’ve trained for. For the good of the fleet and for the good of the Eden colony, let’s do our best. Look forward to flying with you.” She said with a smile. “Let’s get into stasis.” She said and went to her coms link to the captain. “This is vice Commander Lee of the strike team checking in with final preparations.Team is heading into stasis and the Commander is heading to medical for final preflight evaluation.”
“Roger that Commander.”

Lyon blinked as the realization dawned on him before he snickered as he began sneaking past her moving around the med bay looking around. He was thoroughly impressed with the high tech equipment in the area but he was still wasn't one to get checked out until he ran into a cart knocking over a bunch of medical instruments

"Roger that Commander."Captain Storm's voice shot back "You'll be among the first people woken up when we cross the event horizon so be prepared."she told them as the ships engines could be felt beginning to kick to life as the final preparations were being completed around the deck "This is your Captain speaking. All hands prepare for take off. All non essential personnel report to stasis pods. Take off is in T-10 mins"she chimed

Hanson gave a nod to Kuki as they climbed into their own pods. Across the ship others did the same.

At the fleet headquarters, the admirals were gathered to watch the launch. Sara Dean looked to he tablet when an alert chimed. “10 minute countdown has begun.”

The sudden loud bang of the table going over, made Jayden turn and she would soon blink just as her glasses fell back into place and she could see. "Oh...." she pushed her glasses up her nose, "Commander....perfect you're her...here" she said feeling a bit uneasy but she would clear her throat as she moved over to another area and patted the bed. "please take a seat here....I need to get blood work from you."

Lyon sighed holding out his arm "Go ahead. I hate needles. They always freak me out" he said looking around the medbay again "I can't believe it's finally time for launch. What made you decide you wanted to join the Eden?"he asked curiously, partly to distract himself from her needle

Admiral Storm sat up in his chair with an excited gleam in his eye as he nodded his head "Leave it to Eluna to rush the timeline" he said as Admiral Yi looked over to him "Are you going to be okay sir? She is your only child after all..." she stated but Storm held up his hand "She's Storm borne. There's no controlling her winds once they start blowing, your best bet is just hope to not be blown away. Humanity's future is in good hands. Let's send them off in the best way we can"he told the group still watching the screen

“The likelyhiid of this mission succeeding with other commanders drops significantly....a whole 46.452%. With Commander Storm leading the Eden, the likelihood of successs remains at a steady 99.991%”
One of the other admirals turned to admiral Dean. “Why only 99%?”

“....room for Growth.”

"I promise to make this quick, your....your not the only one whos afraid o needles here" she said as she stood there, she even made a list of those with those phobea's so that she could keep track of it and help them later on. As he held out his arm, she moved quickly as she prepped him before he felt the small prick as she drew the blood needed. Once that was done she had him press down the cotton ball. "You...you seem updated on your vaccines but...." she soon had another needle and even held out a cup with some pills in them. "I need to give you this, and take these...they'll help with the stasis help the body adjust to the hibernation"

Lyon winced slightly as he was pricked before downing the small cup of pills "Alrighty, anything to help. The idea of being frozen and put to sleep for no matter how long doesn't sit right with me."he said as he finished putting his clothing back on "But they say you're the expert on this stuff so I'm gonna trust you Doc. I hope I'm in good hands."he said with a smile

Admiral Storm smiled "With Eluna that's always a priority. Alright then, let's get this bird in the sky!"he said as he then brought up the monitor as Captain Storm's face appeared "Admiral Storm, the Eden is ready to disembark. All system are go. Do we have permission for take off?"she asked as she looked at the image of her father on her monitor

"Permission granted. Get into stasis and let the autopilot take the ship into the black hole, after you come out on the other side, you're in command Eluna. Make us proud."Admiral Storm said to his daughter with a warm smile before saluting her as she took in a deep breath befoer saluting him back as the communication link clicked off as the ship's engines roared into full gear.

Once everyone aboard was finally locked into their stasis pods and the cryogenic freezing had finished, the Eden launched. Its large, blue afterburner could be seen in its wake as the ship launched out of Earth's orbit before the thrusters truly kicked in send the ship flying at near lightspeeds as it seemed to teleport heading towards the center of the milky way

As the ship entered the gravitational pull of the black hole found in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, as is the case with most spiral galaxies, the ship continued pushing through, made of a high density metal able to withstand the crushing pressure of a black hole ingrained with ED tech making it capable, in theory, being the only material in our galaxy that can pass through a black hole as a solid without getting stretched infinitely along the event horizon

The ship rattled and shook violently the closer it got to towards the center and as it finally reached, darkness loomed. Light could only be seen along the edges as it was stretched for infinity before passing through, however the ship held firm as it pierced the darkness... what could be seen on the other side was amazing.

Gravity had seemed to returned to universal norms, however inside the black hole were stardust and twisting nebulas and dead planets that had been swallowed along the black holes path through space as the ship headed forward on its predetermined path as the life systems began rebooting and unfreezing essential personnel needed to run the ship

Once the ship had reached its desired distance from Earth. The needed edens crew Crypods began to waking process. When Ezra’s pod door opened she sighed and rubbed her eyes. She stumbled over to the com bay and hit the keys before sending her update. “Vice Strike Commander Ezra Lee checking in.”
A computer voice responded. “Voice recognition. Ezra Lee. Confirmed. Check in time recorded and logged”

"Welcome Vice Commander Lee."came a computerized voice as a small glowing nodule flashed on the screen before her "I am Eden's Virtual Intelligence Data Analyst or VIDA for short. I am the ship's on board VI in charge of navigation, communication and data analysis. Please feel free to ask me anything and I will assist you to the best of my current capabilities. Currently the ship has successfully crossed through the Event Horizon and is navigating towards the Andromeda Galaxy on due course. Critical stasis pods are waking up and Captain Storm is currently on the Navigation Deck monitoring the ship's progress. Commander Lyon still appears to be in stasis however. Bioscans from the pod indicate failure to wake the Commander from cycled REM-sleep. Biorhythms indicate increased heart rate and brain wave activity. I believe the Commander may be stuck in a bad dream. Suggesting manual override of cryogenic pod in order to force start reactivation, Commander Lee. Your orders?" VIDA asked as a light chime could be heard as well

Meanwhile, in the area where the stasis pods for the Commander was held with the other high ranking officers, Commander's Lyon's eyebrows could be seen furrowed above the oxygen mask he was currently wearing. His monitor was beginning to rapidly beep as his vitals began spiking towards the red. Inside his mind, Lyon was piloting Omega Black though he was racing through space at top speeds as crushing darkness began to close in around him, pulling at the controls, closing in, crushing everything, air becoming harder and harder to find with each passing second as faster, faster, faster he throttled the controls trying to escape the dark

“First day of the actual mission and he is already in trouble...”she sighed, “Notify Commander storm and the Doctor if they are already awake and have them get to his pod. I’m on my way there. When the strike team wakes up, have them get into their flight suits, fed and waiting in the briefing room.” She said as she quickly changed and left the room where the rest of her team was slowly starting their wake up process

"Yes, Commander" VIDA's voice chimed before the monitor turned off before the monitor in the Med-bay lit up as Dr. Green's stasis pod had been deactivated and she had awoken once more "Dr. Green, there has been an issue in Commander Lyon's cryogenic awakening procedure. Patient seems to be stuck in REM sleep. Manual pod override protocol was given to Vice Commander Lee and she is on her way down to his pod. Your orders, Doctor?"the AI asked after updating the Dr. first on the current status of all other life pods currently being reactivated.

Captain Storm buzzed in on Commander Lee's holocommunicator on the wrist of her flight suit "Ah, Erza, you're awake good. I needed someone with a cool attitude to keep this thing going. And to counteract Kai when he goes a little off the wall. He's a good pilot, but he's got a bit of a reputation that proceeds him so as his Vice Commander it's your job to reel him in and keep him going at the same time, especially out in the field when I cannot be in command of you idiots"she told her "And at the same time, this is a good opportunity for you to learn as well too. You're missing that one thing that it takes to fully take command and I hope by pairing you with him, he'll be able to pull it out of you. I see a lot of myself in you when I was your age, that's one of the reason's I personally requested you to be on my ship to Admiral Dean. Make me proud. Get Kai out of his pod and get to Med-bay, after getting the all clear from the Doc I want all three of you to head up to the Navigation Deck. There's something you're gonna want to see."she said as her holocommunicator then chimed off as another one chimed on below deck

"Cam, get your team and come up to the Navigation Deck. I may be the one piloting this ship, but you all deserve to be some of the first people to witness this" Eluna said before closing the connection once again. As the Engineering crew came up from below, Captain Storm stood facing them, her back to the large window of the ship, which beyond that showed images unimaginable. Entire planets and clusters of galaxies and nebulas stretching off into the distance swirling around the dark void as their ship continued sailing along "This is what you all have made possible. Your knowledge of ED Tech, and your passion for the advancement for humanity has caused us to be the first ever people to glimpse exactly what is on the other side of a black hole. Give yourselves a pat on the back for your accomplishments here today, you've earned them."