IverChekt — 43859215
Original forum post: #43859215 by IverChekt, 2026-08-15 17:55 (forum time). The text below is the author's post, copied verbatim.
Calibarkian desert, about a hundred miles west of Tacust.
The IverIrosian space force has always been a small affair. It was a branch of the airforce that has only not been cut because it was too small to catch the attention of anyone high up enough to cut their funding entirely. They had to keep their more ambitious projects under wraps, forcing them to operate far in remote corners of the Calibarkian desert. Today was the day that would change.
The Takish Class Shuttle was a massive machine, nearly the size of a corvette, and designed to reach mach 6 before even taking off from the ground. Her crew of 50 Chunes were a mix of pilots and sailors who volunteered to become the first IverIrosians to sail the stars.
The launcher rail was a massive electric catapult that stretched for about 50 miles west, pointed away from Chunish settlement.
The Captain stood in the bridge with a large ship-like wheel as she waited for the countdown.
"Kochi" Came the voice of ground control over the radio. The Captain had to only ensure the control surfaces were straight at this stage of takeoff.
"Wai ... sen ... pon ..."
In the engine room, several engineers who were pulled from cruiser crews carefully reviewed the ships brain, a large electromechanical computer built from thousands of relays and designed almost exclusively to manage the ship's advanced torque vectoring. They performed a few final tests.
"Jen .... Totsu ... Tem ... "
"Captain we're detecting an over temperature on relays 2837, 39, and 773." One of the engineers said over the radio.
"We can't stop the launch now, but keep an eye on them and be prepared to swap parts." The Captain said over the radio.
"Gots ... at ... O ..."
The engineering crew found their seats and strapped in, they knew there would be no standing until the ship reaches mach 14, if it ever makes it that far.
"Allia"
The ship slams the crew backward as it screams down the rail. The Captain kept a close focus on the speedometer.
"We're approaching mach 5, prepare the engines." The Captain said. Her crew on the bridge frantically flipped switches. As the craft pushes over mach 5, the engines throw the crew back even harder. The ship went over the edge of the rail and quickly begun leaving the desert sands far below.
In the engineering room, the over temperature alarm turned on. One of the engineers fought the brutal G forces to inspect the warning. A small nixie tube display read: "2837" The relays clicked and clacked as they adjusted automatically to new altitude and speed information.
The engineer used a pair of worn out old pliers to remove 2847 and replace it with a brand new relay. Switches clicked again as the computer understood to use a redundant system until the new relay was inserted.
The ground disappeared and the sky turned a dark black. Before the engineer could reach her seat, the over temperature alarm went off again. The tubes showed 0039, then flashed to 2837. The engineer replaced relay 39. As she reached for 2837, the bare skin of her hand touched the metal case, the skin sizzled as it burned. The engineer fought the stinging pain as she gripped the relay with the pliers.
"Mach 14, close the intake doors and switch to LOX." The Captain ordered her crew. the ship was now so high the ground was only a distant memory.
The voltage shot through the relays and the plastic casing of relay 39 caught fire. The engineer hadn't noticed the heat, and a junior engineer had to shove her out of the way to aim a fire extinguisher at the computer.
"Captain, we have a fire, the computer cannot continue!" The engineer shouted into her radio as she clung onto a handhold.
As the relays failed, power was diverted, fires started spreading quickly through the machine.
"Switching to manual override, stand by." The Captain engaged the air brakes, she knew trying to fly the ship with manual controls at mach 15 would be suicidal. She carefully watched the speed slow down until she was finally able to cut power to the computer. The engineers stumbled out of the computer room coughing up smoke as the Takish slowly descended.
"IIRSF Takish to ground control, fire detected in the computer room. We are aborting the mission. Posted peak speed of mach 15.5, altitude of 165,000 feet. The airforce can just try to beak that record." The Captain spoke over the radio.
The Takish lacked the ability to land on her own. She met up with a SN-36 modified nuclear powered bomber for the purpose. The two aircraft carefully latched on to each other and the SN-36 pilot carefully navigated to a pre planned airport. The modified extra strong landing gear supported the weight of both as they slowed down to a stop.
The IverIrosian space force has always been a small affair. It was a branch of the airforce that has only not been cut because it was too small to catch the attention of anyone high up enough to cut their funding entirely. They had to keep their more ambitious projects under wraps, forcing them to operate far in remote corners of the Calibarkian desert. Today was the day that would change.
The Takish Class Shuttle was a massive machine, nearly the size of a corvette, and designed to reach mach 6 before even taking off from the ground. Her crew of 50 Chunes were a mix of pilots and sailors who volunteered to become the first IverIrosians to sail the stars.
The launcher rail was a massive electric catapult that stretched for about 50 miles west, pointed away from Chunish settlement.
The Captain stood in the bridge with a large ship-like wheel as she waited for the countdown.
"Kochi" Came the voice of ground control over the radio. The Captain had to only ensure the control surfaces were straight at this stage of takeoff.
"Wai ... sen ... pon ..."
In the engine room, several engineers who were pulled from cruiser crews carefully reviewed the ships brain, a large electromechanical computer built from thousands of relays and designed almost exclusively to manage the ship's advanced torque vectoring. They performed a few final tests.
"Jen .... Totsu ... Tem ... "
"Captain we're detecting an over temperature on relays 2837, 39, and 773." One of the engineers said over the radio.
"We can't stop the launch now, but keep an eye on them and be prepared to swap parts." The Captain said over the radio.
"Gots ... at ... O ..."
The engineering crew found their seats and strapped in, they knew there would be no standing until the ship reaches mach 14, if it ever makes it that far.
"Allia"
The ship slams the crew backward as it screams down the rail. The Captain kept a close focus on the speedometer.
"We're approaching mach 5, prepare the engines." The Captain said. Her crew on the bridge frantically flipped switches. As the craft pushes over mach 5, the engines throw the crew back even harder. The ship went over the edge of the rail and quickly begun leaving the desert sands far below.
In the engineering room, the over temperature alarm turned on. One of the engineers fought the brutal G forces to inspect the warning. A small nixie tube display read: "2837" The relays clicked and clacked as they adjusted automatically to new altitude and speed information.
The engineer used a pair of worn out old pliers to remove 2847 and replace it with a brand new relay. Switches clicked again as the computer understood to use a redundant system until the new relay was inserted.
The ground disappeared and the sky turned a dark black. Before the engineer could reach her seat, the over temperature alarm went off again. The tubes showed 0039, then flashed to 2837. The engineer replaced relay 39. As she reached for 2837, the bare skin of her hand touched the metal case, the skin sizzled as it burned. The engineer fought the stinging pain as she gripped the relay with the pliers.
"Mach 14, close the intake doors and switch to LOX." The Captain ordered her crew. the ship was now so high the ground was only a distant memory.
The voltage shot through the relays and the plastic casing of relay 39 caught fire. The engineer hadn't noticed the heat, and a junior engineer had to shove her out of the way to aim a fire extinguisher at the computer.
"Captain, we have a fire, the computer cannot continue!" The engineer shouted into her radio as she clung onto a handhold.
As the relays failed, power was diverted, fires started spreading quickly through the machine.
"Switching to manual override, stand by." The Captain engaged the air brakes, she knew trying to fly the ship with manual controls at mach 15 would be suicidal. She carefully watched the speed slow down until she was finally able to cut power to the computer. The engineers stumbled out of the computer room coughing up smoke as the Takish slowly descended.
"IIRSF Takish to ground control, fire detected in the computer room. We are aborting the mission. Posted peak speed of mach 15.5, altitude of 165,000 feet. The airforce can just try to beak that record." The Captain spoke over the radio.
The Takish lacked the ability to land on her own. She met up with a SN-36 modified nuclear powered bomber for the purpose. The two aircraft carefully latched on to each other and the SN-36 pilot carefully navigated to a pre planned airport. The modified extra strong landing gear supported the weight of both as they slowed down to a stop.