Ad Astra 1: Encounter at Alpha Centauri

This is the 8th story in Tiberius64's story series, which also begins a fanfiction spinoff series called Ad Astra ("to the stars" in Latin). This story takes place 5 years after Love's Full Blossom (a skip from 2025 to 2030), when humanity is just about to enter its deeper space exploration era. By this time, Phineas and Isabella Flynn have a son named Christopher Flynn (Chris for short).

Chapter 1: The Proposition
By this time (2030), the USS Phineas-A has been so far doomed to the same fate as all other starships of TerraFleet (earth's starship fleet)--being reduced for the time being to a training vessel for officers and enlisted men. The fleet has a complement of 300 ships, but only 112 are operational and fully-loaded with full crews, weapons, scanning equipment, etc. Even then, the largest class of ship (Liberty Class) can only hold a full complement of 80, despite the ability to go at Warp 9.9. Phineas is quite disappointed at such slow progress--and the fact that humans have not even left the solar system in a long time, and even less, they don't even really know any other species besides the Martians and Meap's kind ("Species 1"). At an afternoon meeting before the Flynn-Fletcher Academy, Phineas addresses cadets and officers alike in that he longs to travel outside the Terran solar system again; he proposes that for his wedding anniversary, he will take the Phineas out to the Alpha Centauri binary star system (the closest to the Terran solar with his crew. He announces that he will take the full complement of 80 crew members, so he has his brother, Commander Ferb Fletcher, take a sign-up list of engineers, security guards, and nurses for others to sign onto in interest. He has any who are interested in coming reserved places at the Chez Platypus that evening at 7:00.

Chapter 2: The Dive
It is June 14, 2030. the day of the planned exploration mission to Alpha Centauri. Phineas and his crew (and the bridge crew's children) are aboard and ready for the mission. The given crew complement is as follows:


 *  Bridge 


 * Captain Phineas Flynn
 * Commander Ferb Fletcher (First Officer/Science)
 * Lieutenant Commander Isabella Flynn (Communications)
 * Lieutenant Commander Irving [last name unknown…] (Secondary Science)
 * Lieutenant Katie [same last name as Irving…] (Tactical/Weapons Console)
 * Lieutenant Commander Buford Van Stomm (Security)
 *  Engineering/Security 


 * Lieutenant Commander Baljeet Rai (Chief Engineer)
 * Lieutenant Commander Ginger Rai (Secondary Engineer/Transporter Operator)
 * Lieutenant Commander Adyson Van Stomm (Security)
 * Yeoman Geon Im (Chief Petty Officer—Engineering)
 * Yeoman Peter Leyva (Security)
 * Yeoman Django Brown (Security)
 * Various other engineers/security guards
 *  Medical/Counseling 


 * Lieutenant Commander Holly Im (Chief Medical Officer)
 * Lieutenant Mildred "Milly" Brown (Secondary Medical Officer/Top Nurse)
 * Lieutenant Gretchen Leyva (Ship Counselor)
 * Various other nurses

They clear spacedock and warp off towards the Alpha Centauri System. After jumping into warp, Phineas goes and gets his son Christopher from the mess hall, bringing him up to the bridge. After a short while, Phineas takes Chris down to the holodeck after having a nostalgic moment. As it is Chris' first time, Phineas lets him decide on the experience; he chooses the time when his father had built the rollercoaster on the first day of summer 19 years ago. After a while, they receive a hail from the bridge with a message that the ship is about to arrive at Alpha Centauri. They leave the holodeck and head up to the bridge.

Chapter 3: Away Mission
Phineas arrives on the bridge, where his bridge crew has brought up its children. Phineas relieves Ferb of the conn and orders Vanessa (Ferb's wife and the helmswoman), to slow to Warp 0.5 so that they will be able to see the system for its full worth and beauty. They pass through an asteroid field, which Katie (Irving's wife and the former Fireside Girl), the tactical officer, destroys while Vanessa tries to avoid them. The ship safely passes with minor damage and proceeds to the fifth planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B after a ship passes them. Phineas has himself, Ferb, and the Chief of Security (Lieutenant Commander Buford Van Stomm) as the away team; since he does not wish to assume the luxury of being able to merely beam down with no fear from the natives, Phineas suggests the use of a shuttlecraft. Phineas gives Vanessa the conn, says a quick bye to Isabella and his son, and then goes with his team to engineering to go pick up three prototype communicator badges from Chief Engineer Lt. Commander Baljeet Rai. They leave on the Captain's Yacht (now named Archimedes) and head down to the planet's reddish surface in the outskirts of a village. They enter and see that it has much modern technology, but a traditional setting with open-air markets ans such. After seeing uneasy glances from the natives, Phineas, Ferb, and Buford are approached by two guards, who take them up a long escalator that leads up the mountainside). At the top, a small palace-like structure appears, and the guards say they can go no farther. The away team enters to find that it is one large throne room with an ornately-dressed being sitting on a throne. He greets them before going on a monologue of how humanity (which he has observed for a long time), has been a large disappointment in terms of corruption and malice despite one of the largest abilities in the universe for good. When Phineas asks why this odd being is judging humanity as a whole, he is taken away along with the being instantly. Ferb contacts the Phineas and finds out that Isabella has been taken from the bridge as well. Ferb says he and Buford will take the Archimedes to go survey the planet and search for the Flynn couple.