Roleplay > Vignettes

The Voyagers

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Daitō:
Part One — MoonshotArtsiv Cosmodrome
UTC 1315
Flight Day 1

It had been an eventful day, the first in a voyage that would take Daitō to the moon. Sitting in their Ryū capsule atop one of the most powerful rockets the Empire had ever produced, Uchūnauts Eijiro Ebashi, Hiroki Inagaki, Isao Kitamori, and Taeko Akiyama waited for the final countdown and liftoff of the spacecraft. Only seven hours earlier, the lander had been launched, with it already being on its way to lunar orbit as they waited. It was far from quiet, with radio chatter back and forth from launch control, mission control over on the mainland, and the capsule being ever-present in their ears.
   "Hinode, this is Shinkyō, we are go for launch." CAPCOM said over comms. Hinode, the name of the capsule as selected by the crew, translated roughly as Sunrise, with this being effectively the dawn of the Daitōjin lunar exploration program as a whole. "T- 60 seconds and counting."
   "Roger, go for launch." Eijiro responded before turning his head over to his crew as the fuel pumps activated. Due to the nature of the suits they wore, they weren't able to turn the helmets with them. "Well, this is it. Lets do our best." He said with a smile before returning his focus to the launch at hand.

A few seconds would pass liftoff drew closer, although for the crew of Ryū M-3, it felt like several minutes. Perhaps they thought about the days to come, of the destination, or maybe just getting back home safe and sound. One may have glanced at the empty spot in the vehicle, a result of it being decided that, for the first landing, only four crewmembers would fly instead of the standard five. Regardless of these thoughts, there was no turning back now. Either they were going to make it, they were going to die, or they were going to abort. No other ways out. Then, over the loop, the final countdown began.
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
Ignition sequence has started
5
4
3
2
1
Liftoff!

Almost immediately, the capsule began to shake, almost as if the crew were trapped in a single-room building during an earthquake. The clock had begun running, and not long after, they would be clear of the tower. The rest of the launch would largely be uneventful, with the core stage first jettisoning its "skirt"—a recoverable ring carrying the four outboard main engines— before carrying on until it too was jettisoned. Once in orbit and before TLI (trans-lunar injection), the crew would perform checks on the spacecraft and their own health. This would be the final stop where they could realistically abort and be home in a few hours. Any further along and it'd be at least a week before they would be home. Once TLI was complete, they would jettison from the upper stage before transpositioning and docking to the mission module then proceeding to extract it from its adapter.

The voyage had begun.

Daitō:
Part Two — Between WorldsHinode, Cislunar Space
UTC 0400
Flight Day 2

Morning came early for Commander Ebashi, who awoke from his rest period in the spacecraft's mission module to the sound of the patriotic song Roei no Uta, a nod to his previous military service. If he were to guess, the next wake-up call would feature music selected by Hiroki's family, though he wasn't particularly certain what it was. Regardless, today was going to be a busy day, as yesterday had been and the next week and a half would too. The first few hours would be spent readying himself for the day and eating his breakfast—Some rice and umeboshi, specially made by Ajinomoto— before getting to work on some experiments. Eventually, he would, however, get some time off following his lunch.
UTC 1300

Upon floating into Hinode's mission module, Eijiro would grab a handrail and decide to take a peek through one of the windows. The module had three of them, one in the aft for observing the spacecraft, one on the side— If one were standing parallel to the seating in the Command Module, it would be directly above— and one in the front to assist in docking. It would be upon doing such that he would see a most wonderous sight as Mundus receded behind them.
   "Look at that..." He murmured to himself as he gazed upon home, effectively entranced by its beauty. "Hey, Hiroki!" He said, raising his voice so he could be heard in the CM. "You gotta see this!"
   "What?" Hiroki, the mission's Command Module Pilot, responded as he entered the module before also floating up to the window. "I see..." He was never one for such outbursts, but it was clear he too was amazed by it just based on the look on his face. "I'll... Uhh, I'll be right back." He said before floating off to find a camera.
   "You think Itsumi-san and the others were so... obsessed with this view on their mission?"
   "Sure." Said Taeko Akiyama, who had been in the module for a while. "I suspect they wish they thought to take a photo with something better than a phone though." She observed with a slight chuckle. A few boxes would fly past the two of them as they spoke, undoubtedly from Hiroki's search for a camera.
   "Ah, I take it you already saw?" Eijiro asked Taeko, a puzzled look on his face given her subdued reaction. Haruki, he expected, but her? No. Their time spent training together told him there was something on her mind if she was acting so disinterested. "Something wrong?" He asked.
   "No? Not really? Just having to ready myself for the descent into the crater."
   "What? You've flown around the world a thousand times and done multiple EVA's during your career. I don't see how a bit of rock climbing should bother you."
   "Descent into a three-kilometer deep crater whose base is permanently dark and contains who knows how much ice throughout it."
   "Just pulling your leg, that's all."
   "Yeah, I know... I'm Just going over every possible scenario that I can think.
   "Alright, I got it." Hiroki said, returning with a camera. "Just one second..." He told the two of them before snapping the photo.
UTC 2200

As Eijiro looked at the camera, he couldn't help but feel annoyed by how the media was making such a show out of the voyage. First a guided tour of the spacecraft yesterday— something which had already been done on M-1 and 2 as well as who knows how many tours aboard Kyuden IV— and now an interview with Akifumi Samejima on DNN. Tomorrow would have two interviews, one in orbit after docking and another on the surface, plus a livestream of their operations on the surface... All he wanted was to be able to do his job without fanfare, even if he knew that was impossible as he was to be the first Daitojin Uchunaut to walk on the lunar surface. Frankly, it was exhausting, but he had to put a good show on for the cameras. But when this interview finally came to a close, he could breathe a sigh of relief, but even so, he had to think of what he would say for the cameras when he took that step. Something solemn, perhaps? Or maybe he could crack a joke... No, that wouldn't go well for such an occasion. He was sure some would want some kind of patriotic statement, and he wouldn't deny it was appealing to him too. Perhaps... Perhaps, as he began to drift to sleep, he would just wing it.

Daitō:
Part Three — Go for UndockingHinode, Lunar Orbit
UTC 1130
Flight Day 3

It had been a few hours since the crew of Hinode had docked the spacecraft with their lander, designated "Tengu" by the landing party. Now, they had to prepare for the final leg of their voyage, at least in regards to the actual voyage to the moon. Three of the crew— Eijiro Ebashi, Isao Kitamori, and Taeko Akiyama— had boarded the lander, and they were preparing to close the hatch at this point. But before they did, Hiroki Inagaki, the command module pilot, had a few words to say.
   "Well, this is it. Just an hour or so and the three of you will be on the moon." He said, looking into the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM, for short). "I'd like to wish the three of you the best of luck on your trip, and... I suppose I'll just have to keep the spacecraft warm for you." He said, reaching to shake the commander's hand before returning to the mission module in order to close the hatch. "Kami know I wish I could be there with you." He said as the two closed their respective hatches.

A few minutes passed as the crew aboard the lander readied themselves for their descent. It felt like hours, of course, but when one was about to make history for their nation, it wasn't particularly surprising. In spite of this, however, it would only be about eight minutes before they had readied themselves the best they could when a transmission was received over the loop.
   "Tengu, Shinkyō. You are go for undocking." CAPCOM reported, undoubtedly relaying it from the flight director.
   "Roger, go for undocking." Commander Ebashi responded before beginning the LSAM's undocking procedures. A few minutes later, the two would be undocked and the Command Module Pilot would get the opportunity to snap the following photo.

Tengu was aloft and was given the go for powered descent. Now, the journey to the Lunar South Pole began.

Daitō:
Part Four — The LandingTengu, Shackleton Crater
UTC 1338
Flight Day 3

The LSAM was now on its final approach to Shackleton Crater, set to land only a few hundred meters away from the rim. The crew braced themselves as the Commander and LSAM pilot guided it down with as great care. They were not to be the first to land on the moon, no, that honor went to the Rokkenjimans back in the 70s, but they did aim to have the longest stay on the surface. Five days, even if the lander was rated for longer, would be the duration of this mission. Future missions would push the lander to its limit of around a week, but for this flight, the main goal was to prove that it could be done. Now, some naysayers would undoubtedly claim that this was a precursor to a moonbase. While yes, it was in theory possible to convert the lander into a long-term habitat, and indeed the DNSA had contemplated it, there were no plans to do it in the current program, nor any for at a minimum a decade.

The surface was approaching quickly, less than a minute or so to landing. Shackleton looked like a door into the void that had been flung open, its floor shadowed in permanent darkness.
   "Twelve-point-eight at one. Clock is on." Isao, the LSAM pilot, reported as he flicked a switch. The rest of the crew was entirely silent, needing to focus or allow everyone else to focus. They were so close it felt like they could reach out and touch the surface now. "Twelve meters, coming down at half." He noted as they continued the approach. After a few seconds, he would pipe up, saying "Nine-point-seven at half. Looking good. Almost down. We are almost down." before returning to focus on their altitude and velocity. Then, that familiar light popped up with a beep. "Contact!"
   "Shutdown." Eijiro called out over comms as he flicked a switch designated as engine arm to its off position.

THUD

For a moment, the three aboard the lander looked at each other, pale as though they had seen a ghost. Perhaps they were wondering if they were dead, as it had gone quicker than any of them thought it would. But as they looked out of the windows, they saw they had stopped moving and were, in fact, down on the surface.
   "...By the gods, we did it. Great work, Ebashi-san!" Isao said with excitement, patting his commander's back as the crew began shutting down the spacecraft's various systems dedicated to landing.
   "We're really here... Amazing." Taeko said as she looked out the window before she, like Isao, turned to the mission's commander.
   "Shinkyō, this is Tengu, we've landed." Eijiro said over comms.
   "Roger, Tengu. Confirm you on the lunar surface. Now lets get to work so you can start your expedition in earnest." CAPCOM responded. After this, Eijiro finally turned to his crew, practically beaming with excitement over what they had just managed. First Daitōjin crew on the surface of the moon... What an honor.
   "Right, which of you want to ask?" He asked his fellow crewmates.
   "I'll do it." Isao said with a slight chuckle. "Uhh, Shinkyō, Tengu. Where are we?"

As it turned out, the LSAM had touched down just a few meters off from its planned site. And as they sat in the cabin on the south pole, waiting for their chance to go on EVA, they knew they had succeeded in going where few had dreamed.

Daitō:
Part Five — The First StepTengu, Shackleton Crater
UTC 1700
Flight Day 3

As he descended the ramp from the airlock, Eijiro thought to himself about what he would say with his first step. He had a good idea, sure, but he wasn't particularly certain about the specifics. If he were to take a look behind him, he would see Isao standing in the airlock and Taeko up in the LSAM's ascent module.
   "Alright, I am descending the ramp now." He said over comms, taking in his surroundings. It was beautiful and desolate. Above, Mundus hung, suspended in a sunbeam. And around him, save for the occasional comms chatter and his own breathing, it was entirely silent. Before he had left, he had made sure to activate the cameras, which would provide footage in 4k of the crew's first steps on the moon. Further footage would be provided by the crew as well on their expedition, meant to be streamed relatively live (there was a delay of a little under two seconds) as the mission continued. "Alright, I'm stepping off the ramp now." Eijiro said as he approached the edge of the LSAM. From above, Mission Specialist Akiyama took a photo of the moment just before he set foot on the lunar surface.
Then, it came time to actually step off. As Taeko descended the module and Isao followed slowly behind the commander, Eijiro would take his first steps on the moon.
   "I take this step for my nation, for my people, and for all the children of Mundus, knowing that today is but a single step in a voyage which will take us all to the stars." He said as walked forwards. "I know this is not the first voyage here, but I know in my heart that it will not be the last."

In time, the rest of the crew would disembark and begin operations on the lunar surface, including deploying a rover which would, in the next few days, take them around the landing site. But for now, any exploration would have to wait as they brought multiple experiments online for their stay here at the edge of Shackleton.

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