Pulsar PSR B3256
"Captain, we're ready for drop."
"Take us out."
An outside observer in the vast emptiness here might notice the stars bending as an 805 meter warship warped space time to enable travel to this star system in reasonable time. The UFHC-007 Vanargand Class Cruiser soon became visible to the eye as it disengaged its frameshift Alcubierre drive. Accompanying the flagship were two smaller 145 meter transports and other smaller ships that had their own frameshift drives. They drifted through empty space. Crew members eyed the rare sight of a pulsar in the distance.
"Lieutenant, how far are we from the pulsar?" Inquired the white-uniformed captain, sitting at a gray chair positioned at the center of the command bridge of the cruiser. Everything was positioned around him with the aim of streamlining the command and control process.
"About 2500 light seconds, captain." The white-uniformed adjutant standing before him informed, her feet forming sharp 45 degree angles and legs closed, red pony-tailed hair falling to the side of her neck, unmoving in her firm, attendant posture.
"Set course for Methuselah. Deploy the recon team to scope out the area. We aren't here to sightsee," The captain ordered with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, captain," The adjutant agreed, and turned to relay the captain's orders to its necessary location. The captain turned his focus away from his lieutenant and to the left side of his chair, where he gestured with his fingers on the armrest. The touchscreen displayed several holographic menus before him, which he navigated with his gestures on the armrest comfortably. Eventually, he managed to display a live feed of an orange uniformed officer's face.
"Captain, what do you request?" The face uttered with submission.
"Contact command to alert them of our arrival, and send me an ORBAT of our forces in the area once more. I'd like to review our strategic ability here in case we encounter any stray Bydo or another unfriendly entity."
"Right away, sir," The face on the screen complied, and quickly vanished. Replacing the face was a list of the captain's available forces,
The captain examined this data and planned his moves accordingly. He swiftly ordered the undocked R-9ER Powered Silence AWACS craft to begin scans of the area. The three fighters spread out and maneuvered to to the outside of the fleet's sphere of influence to begin scans of the pulsar system, identifying in more detail the four planets that orbited the peculiar star and their moons. The fleet had already begun moving toward the second closest planet to the pulsar.
The captain began to dictate his voice log,
We have arrived at the pulsar system and are approaching Methuselah. It is the oldest known exoplanet to humanity's knowledge. We believe that we may be able to find secrets about the early universe here, perhaps even the history of ancient civilizations. Also, strange readings from this place have puzzled Union Space Corps leaders for some time. They believe there might be some kind of resource here that's behind the anomaly. Though I haven't been filled in on the details, I can tell that we are looking for something incredibly valuable. This untouched world, so ancient, may hold value we cannot even imagine. To think that it is unknown to all in our galaxy is not an assumption I'm willing to bet on, however. The Bydo could have spread to this place already. Perhaps it is in the cross hairs of some other alien race. We cannot know for sure. My expedition is the first to this system, and I am prepared for whatever we may encounter as we approach Methuselah."
The fleet trudged on toward the rocky planet, its tiny, bright sun shining bright like a cosmic lighthouse.