CAPTAIN COSMO’S PERSONAL LOG
AFTER ORBIT DATE 0000.00.00

Our noble mission continues! In efforts to achieve optimal visual acuity of the distant stars, we have raised the Astrolab perhaps a bit higher than the Arcanist intended. Consequently, we are now trapped in orbit above the planet’s surface.

This has caused a minor disruption to crew activities due to the sudden loss of gravity. My first officer and science officer have been colliding physically as well as philosophically. The mess hall has been temporarily decommissioned due to the deadly floating utensils.

Using information within the Astrolab’s Operations Manual, Ensign Pistachio believes he has devised a solution to our gravitational woes. The plan involves reconfiguring fourteen of the minor hull sigils to restore standard gravity. Ensign Pistachio has since somehow misplaced his copy of the Manual, but the Arcanist wisely provided more than enough copies for the entire crew.





Generations Later


“Attention crew. This is Captain Xanda speaking. It appears we’ve lost the rune that repels astral debris and experienced a minor impact event as a result. Now, I don’t want anyone to panic but the collision may have dislodged a primary stabilizing crystal and we’re in a wee bit of an orbital decay and…well, ah…it does look like uncontrolled-reentry-to-the-planet-below-is-imminent. Don’t panic, but um, there isn’t much time to secure the insectariums and more, ah, flammable research so you should get on that a-sap. Oh, and I resign. Effective immediately. First-Officer-Sparkle-is-hereby-promoted-to-Captain-Sparkle-thanks-and-good-luck!”

Spluttered indignation could be heard before the communication pipes snapped closed, followed by a BOOM somewhere from the underside of the chaotically orbiting island. The structure shuddered in response, sending all unsecured items and Aether rolling. Screams echoed back and forth under the Arcglass and throughout the central building, which housed Astrolab Command, the research laboratories, and storage for the various clans on the facility. Within, two Aether silently hovered over the chaos set off by the former captain’s announcement. Leppi shared a long look with her youngest sister.

“Dot.” Tera’s expression was as hard as stone. “We have to find Dot,” she stated flatly, her dark earthen eyes glinting in the glow of failing runelight.

The older dragon gasped at her suggestion. “No! You don’t think she went through with it!”

“Only one way to find out!” Tera snapped, clearly livid, before flying off at breakneck speed towards their middle sister’s lab.





CAPTAIN COSMO’S PERSONAL LOG
AFTER ORBIT DATE 0000.17.00

Ensign Pistachio’s reconfigured runes have successfully rerouted excess arcane energy from the structural enhancement sigils around the Quantillium Telescope.

This did have the unfortunate effect of detaching the telescope from the Astrolab… but Second Lieutenant xXxDarkStarxXx has stepped up with a novel solution devised from their copy of the Operations Manual! Regrettably their copy was later lost amidst the frenzy to patch the resulting deadly space vacuum, but we have plenty more manuals, and I foresee only smooth sailing on this mission henceforth!

On a personal note, the constant challenges created by our unanticipated orbit have left me with a great deal of anxiety for the future of these brave dragons! I could do with a good novel to calm me down and settle my stomach.





“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE RUNE NO ONE EVER TOUCHES OR USES IN QUANTILLIUM ASTROMETRICS WAS THERE TO REPEL ASTRAL DEBRIS?!!”

In the middle of the upended chaos of her private research laboratory sat Dot, wringing one set of claws and tugging on her antennae with the other. Dot alternated between wide-eyed teary shame and scrunched-up wailing. “IT’S NOT LIKE THEY DOCUMENTED WHAT IT DOES ANYWHERE! I TRIPLE CHECKED AND EVERYTHING!” She stared pleadingly at her sisters, her pink eyes enormous, red rimmed, and glistening with fresh tears.

Dot rushed to make her case to her horrified siblings. “I got my readings back from the Ancillary Telescope of Far Stars two days ago and you know how long I’ve been waiting for that data! But when I tried to recreate the gravitational forces, the results didn’t match the data! My experiment needed a more powerful driver, a greater rune! And that one is...was…perfect and the experiment was going perfect and-and-and…” She gesticulated two sets of limbs wildly at the mess that was once her lab. “Now the rune is burned out! My experiment is ruined and I don’t have any runes here that can replace it!”

Tera sat back on her haunches, upper limbs crossed, looking decidedly unimpressed. “I told you not to poach any runes! Do you remember what happened five cycles ago when that rocks-for-brains captain wanted a fancy bubble bath and tried pulling a rune off field maintenance? We’re lucky my crew inhibited the reaction when we did or this would be a dome of dirt!”

“We don’t have time for claw-pointing!” Leppi stepped between her two sisters and pointed at Tera. “Reentry is imminent. We need to get down to storage and find the box! We have a duty to our family and our kin.” Leppi fixed them with a firm stare, her deep blue eyes uncompromising. “What is our clan motto?!”

Dot and Tera shuffled awkwardly before reluctantly muttering in unison.

“In the event of orbital decay, refer to the Operations Manual; See Page 42.”





CAPTAIN COSMO’S PERSONAL LOG
AFTER ORBIT DATE 0001.39.00

The past forty-three rotations have tested the mettle of our crew, but we continue to boldly persevere!

We managed to rope the Quantillium Telescope back into place. Unfortunately, its jerry-rigged anchor loosened one of the Astrolab’s levitation crystals, which created a minor catastrophic fissure in the island’s structure. With exceptional prowess, Commander Crinkle has applied the wisdom of the Operations Manual to restore power to the stabilization sigils on the Starboard of the Astrolab— before, of course, losing her copy.

It should be reported that Lieutenant Commander Trubert lost another manual trying to figure out how to dry out oversaturated crop soil, and then Cadet Second Class Gobari misplaced— wait, do I see Constellation Chief Fiddlesticks eating his Manual??

The stress has broken us! I have put out a requisition order for manuals to replace those the officers no longer possess, but no crew members have stepped forward with usable copies. I fear our love of paper may have doomed us all! I shall endeavor to preserve the final copy of the Operations Manual: my own. I entrust its care to my clan and our descendents. May Arcanist help us all.





As secondary explosions rocked the Astrolab, the trio made their way to the underground levels that stored generations of Aether hoards. Upon entering their clan’s designated repository, Dot became a veritable whirlwind of chaos as she ripped through generations of cherished heirlooms, valuable research, and fragile—often forgotten—experiments crammed into all the nooks and crannies of the chamber. Leppi and Tera scrambled back and forth trying to catch the stored effects Dot recklessly hurled out of her way in her desperate search for the last Operations Manual.

Abruptly, the Astrolab lurched to the left, sending everything and everyone sliding across the chamber. A jar of bright pink glowing goo went flying past Tera, smashing into the wall and splattering its contents all over her, the wall, and across the floor. She attempted to disentangle herself without dropping what items she'd managed to save when Dot cried out.

“I THINK I SEE IT! It’s under this box of, uh, glitter!?” Perplexed by both someone’s past decision to hoard glitter and by the box’s markings, Dot shrugged and tossed the now-open container behind her and out of her way.

Tera, recognizing the stenciled warning runes on the parcel’s side, dropped the jar of pickled noggle quills and drapery marked From Before Orbit as she dove for the box of unstable minerals. Her claws scrabbled across the surface, failing to find purchase before it tumbled into the puddle of radioactive goo, emptying its contents into the pink liquid with a sizzle.

“Eggshells!” Tera spat. “Can you get her under control?! Do you know what will happen if mana-fused alkali comes into contact with a mineralized liquid?! BIG…BOOM…” she described, pantomiming an explosion in mid-air with all six of her limbs and a flourish with her tail for emphasis before glaring at their middle sister.

Dot rolled her eyes, “Please, Tera, there are no mineralized liquids in this room! And forget about that, because look!”

Leppi and Tera’s eyes locked onto the small metal box Dot held triumphantly over her furry head.

“WE HAVE THE OPERATIONS MANUAL!” Dot crowed as she went to open the box. “This safe holds the salvation of the Aether, and with it we can fulfill the solemn duty entrusted to our clan by the legendary Captain Cosmo to one day save our home!” Her expression rapidly changed from anticipated glory to horrified desperation as she started slamming the box against the stone floor. “AND IT WON’T OPEN! LEPPI, IT WON’T OPEN! MAKE IT OPEN, LEPPI!”

Panic finally gripped Leppi and her mind started to race through the list of runes that could be repurposed to break the lock—”Wait! A password! Didn’t the log notes say it had a password? Tera! Do you remember?”

Tera groaned. “By the Library, we get this close only to fail now?! No! I don’t!”

Dot’s head snapped up at Tera’s words. “Library…library…the old logs said the password was one of the Arcanist’s regular mantras…library—THAT’S IT!” She slammed her claws on either side of the box and leaned over it to shout:



“PLEASE STOP EATING MY LIBRARY!”



There was a click and a pop as the lid opened, bathing her snout and eyes in a joyous pink aura. Dot fell silent as she inspected the contents. She opened her mouth to say something but all that came out was a squeak. Leppi and Tera exchanged a quick look and scrambled over to Dot’s side. Disheveled from their desperate endeavors, there the three sisters sat, awash in the pink glow and staring into the open box. Scratched into the bottom was a simple message:






They stared in disbelief at Cosmo’s final gambit. Leppi tried to speak and failed. It was then the storage room’s communication pipes slammed open with a BANG!

“Is this thing working? Ahem, okay yes very good. This is Captain Sparkle speaking. Well, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is, we’ve begun an uncontrolled reentry into the atmosphere that will almost certainly be a crash landing. We can’t guarantee the integrity of the Arcglass or the island after it goes through reentry. The good news is, the gravimetric team over in Runic Engineering managed to wrench us into a trajectory that lands us in the ocean to the west of the mainland. This should keep our furry butts intact through reentry while minimizing collateral damage! Or so they tell me… Oh! Also! Crews are being sent to help clans with securing and evacuating eggs or any dragon unable to fly to the mainland after reentry! Oh! And according to the new First Officer—wait, what? Stick to the report? Okay! Fine! Whatever! It’s not like I asked for this assignment! HEADS UP, FURBALLS! This blasted island’s likely to flood with seawater so get ready to haul tail out of here!”

As one, Leppi, Dot, and Tera lifted their heads from the box to stare at the now bubbling puddle of pink goo they previously dismissed. Tera mouthed the words mineralized liquids, Dot squeaked, and Leppi finally found her voice.

“Well, shards.”