Conflict in the Stars

[Narath]

((*GIGANTIC GASP!* ARE YOU A VOYAGER FAN TOO?!

Also, please put all of the OOC post in parentheses.))

Edited February 6, 2014 by Narath

[SUP3RSPAWN3R]

(I'm more of a Next Generation person myself.)

[Narath]

((I got Garret Wang's (Ensign Harry Kim) signature and a picture with him a while ago. Childhood dream come true!))

[Takhesis]

Kosh'tor leaned back in his pilot's chair, his vessel gently drifting in a holding pattern near twin stars. He watched as one of the siblings seemed to lash out it the other - a small finger of flame trying to cross the gap between them.

 

This was the furthest his curious wanderings had taken him from Penumbral space. The high council had not forbidden it - though they were wary of the other races. Kosh'tor didn't quite understand why they hid themselves from their neighbours, especially as these were not the same as the ones in the old stories.

 

Time to replenish your strength, sister. We have a long journey ahead of us.

 

Four panels parted from the patterned hull, and unfolded like flower petals. And like a flower seeking the warm light, the ship turned so that all four were bathed in the orangey glow of its closest stellar companions.

 

Kosh'tor turned to contemplating the council's motives in staying secret as the gentle hum of recharging power cells filled the cockpit.

 

[Random sector of space - feel free to come across this ship drifting near the twins]

[Ryujin13]

"Yes sir." Evelyn said, lowering her salute as the screen went back to showing stars. "Sun Tzu, you heard him, link with the generals ship. Ensign Jain, fall into formation alpha with the generals ship. Prep us for the jump." She ordered, looking around. "As per order 1245 I am required to give a mission briefing to my senior crew. We are ordered to escort the Generals ship to the ring installation where he will relieve the current general stationed there. I need not remind you of the importance of this mission, nor remind you of the honor of serving under him. Now, prepare for the jump. All battle stations to standby, have all bulkheads ready to seal and emergency crews standing by." She ordered, causing a few of the officers to look up in confusion.

"Um, ma'am?" One of the younger crewman asked from his station.

Evelyn turned and looked down at the lieutenant, a calm expression on her face, but a look in her eyes that seemed to be both appraising and, if not cold, then at least steely.

"Yes lieutenant...?"

"Wilder ma'am. John Wilder." The man said, giving a shaky salute.

Evelyn tapped her chin thoughtfully, then walked over to the man and stood in front of him. "Wilder, did you go through the academy?" She asked calmly, although from the tone of her voice she might as well have been threatening him.

"Um, yes ma'am." Wilder said shakily.

"Hmm, well stand up mister Wilder." She said, watching him do so. "Mister Wilder, were you ever in trouble in the academy?" She asked, still speaking in a calm tone. "Of course you were, everyone does at some point." She interrupted, continuing to circle him. "Now, when you were being dressed down by a senior officer, what were you doing?" She asked.

"Um, standing ma'am?"

"Well that's true enough I suppose, but in what way were you standing?"

"At attention ma'am." Wilder said, straightening a bit as he began to understand.

"Very good, now why don't you show everyone what that looks like." She said, watching him snap to. "That'll do I suppose, at ease." She said, watching as he relaxed. "Now, here is what I expect from my senior officers." She said, her voice still ringing around the bridge, everyone staring with rapt attention. "When you are at station like mister Wilder here was, it is alright to remain sitting. Obviously jumping up every time you spoke would get tiring, and I need you all at peak efficiency." She said, stopping and looking around. "When you address me for the first time on the bridge, I expect a salute under normal conditions. Obviously this to would get tiring as well over time. That being said, the first time you address me each day, I expect a salute, like mister Wilder will now demonstrate." She said, watching as the lieutenant did so. Carefully she made a few adjustments so that he was saluting perfectly.

"Now, I do expect discipline of my crew, I do expect your best performance, but that doesn't mean I don't understand compassion. None of us can be perfect, not even me. That being said, I want everyone's best attempt at it. So, if I ask you to stand, I expect you to stand at attention. If I address you and you are seated, I expect you to straighten up and face me. If I order you to go and scrub my bathroom clean with your toothbrush, it damn well better be done. These are guidelines we can all follow. Respect the chain of command, respect the rules laid down at the academy, respect the ship, this bridge, the power under your fingertips and most importantly, your fellows. They are what stands between you and the beautiful black oblivion outside that window." She said, pointing at the window in question.

"Now, this might all seem like I am on a power trip, understandable given what I have said, but I assure you I am not. I am merely stating that I expect you all to be the best you can be, to chase perfection. I will endeavor to the same. Obviously these rules will not apply in emergency situation where lives hang on quick reactions and good decisions. Now, resume stations." She finished, walking back towards her chair before stopping and looking back at Wilder again. "I believe you had something to address mister Wilder?" She asked, watching him salute her promptly before speaking.

"Yes ma'am. I was going to tell you that putting the weapons into standby will cause a serious drain on our power, especially with the rod catapults." He said, avoiding eye contact with Evelyn.

The captain carefully considered this, then nodded. "That is an excellent point mister Wilder, and I one I had hoped you would bring up as tactical officer. Yes, very good. Do not power the main guns as ordered, however, do have the point defense turrets put into standby, and have the larger weapons at least prepared to be powered on." She ordered, taking her seat again as Wilder nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He said, quickly touching keys to bring up the weapons requested.

"Is everything ready for the jump?" Evelyn called, watching a number of salutes pop up and an equal number of 'yes captain' or 'yes maam's' rang out across the bridge.

"Jump on the generals mark then." She ordered, sitting back and patiently waiting for the coming acceleration.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Ryujin13

[Narath]

((I almost feel like just sitting back and watching the events on Evelyn's ship. It's quite amusing.

Why are female captains always the best?))

 

"General, the fleet is in position, all AIs are linked, and they are now awaiting orders." Reported the navigations officer.

"Jump calculations have been made, and checked twenty times over." Deja added, appearing in the panel next to the command chair. "All lights are green. We are ready to go sir."

"Excellent." The General replied, sitting down in the chair before hailing the other ships. "This is General Thomas Laskey. We will be jumping to the ring installation, and will relieve the previous General's capital ship. The fleet will exit the jump at the edge of the system, an will then proceed in formation towards the research station at full impulse. Execute jump on my command. Five, four, three, two, one, jump."

The viewscreen became a blur of white lights across a black backdrop, as the ship lurched to a speed even faster than light. Though the inertial dampeners eliminated the g-forces caused by the incredible acceleration, Laskey could not help but feel some sense of movement.

"Jump successful sir." Deja informed him. "Jump drives are holding steadily, and generators are supplying all systems with an excess of Forty one point three six two percent available."

"Very good." Thomas replied, standing from the chair. "Alert me when we are ten minutes from jump exit. I'll be in my quarters."

"Yes sir."

"Commander Pike, you have the bridge."

[Ryujin13]

(Lol, soooo many Halo references. And yes I know all the references.)

 

There was a slight lurch of the stomach as The Shadow jumped after the Archimedes. The lurch wasn't actually due to acceleration, instead it was due to the energy field coming up around the ship.

"Excellent work." Evelyn said to the crew. "Stay linked with the Archimedes, Sun Tzu. Everyone else, maintain current state." She ordered before sitting back for the ride.

 

(No idea how long the trip will take.)

[Narath]

((OOC: It will take some time. Hopefully my friend will reply soon, and we'll have a conversation to gauge the time it takes.

 

Really? What are all the halo references?))

[SUP3RSPAWN3R]

The Quothian Admiaral paced the deck of the second ship under his command, the Grey Harbinger. A Quothian Superdreadnought, 12,000 human meters in full length, armed with 10 Particle Accelerators and bristling with conventional laser turrets. It was the most powerful ship in the fleet, one of a kind, and built to specifics on his orders. "Sir, there is an unknown vessel on the radar." The AI's voice chimed, a small holographic sphere glowing to life on the main console. It pulsed gently, like the deep sea jellyfish of Ancient Quothos, before the Great Burning reduced the world to a wasteland. That weapon was too great a power for any civilization to wield. "Open hailing channels, give me direct contact. This may be a warship, but we can still be courteous." At his command, a holographic screen appeared on the main viewport, showing a staticky picture of nothing. He waited for the other ships response, prepared to remove it from existence if it so much as tried to attack.

Edited February 11, 2014 by SUP3RSPAWN3R

[Narath]

((Sup3r, I don't want to undermine your species, but I'd rather you not have your ship 20,000 meters long, as that is how long the Zaarfur capitol ship is. You can make your ship larger, like 10000 meters, but I just don't want it 20k because I made the Zaarfur to be large, intimidating, and menacing.))

[SUP3RSPAWN3R]

(Oh, well I was going for that size since it was the only ship of it's kind, and the Zaarfur must have more than one of their own giant ships.)

[Narath]

((They'd only have a couple of others, but only one when they appear. The thing is, if another species has one of the same size, they won't seem as dangerous and intimidating.))

[SUP3RSPAWN3R]

(Hmm, ok. I'll downsize it a bit to 12k meters.)

[Narath]

((That's better. Thank you.))

[Ryujin13]

(Lol well you've got the ring instillation albeit with a few differences, déjà, an AI from one of the books, fall of reach I believe, Laskey, he was first officer and then captain of the infinity, Pike is actually a Star Trek admiral and a friend of Kirks. You have given humans the same line of weapons as those in the games, although their ships didn't have shields until the infinity. The MAC guns were a staple of the humans as well, and their main defense against the covenant. I haven't read all of your posts, but that's fine, I actually like having a fellow halo fan here. At least I'm not the only one who views the series as an online game instead of an actual story. Anyway I'm relay for a response whenever you are.)

[Narath]

((Good job. You've gotten them right, but the ring is a different reference. MACs are actually a real technology that has been looked into in fact, but they require too much power, and would in fact melt after one shot. I thought of Pike off the top of my head. I was going to say Adama, but I couldn't think of the name at the time.

The reason I am in love with the Halo games is because of the story. So sad! So good! Johnson, whyyyyy?!

My friend said she'll post soon. It's a good place for her character to but in too.))

[Ryujin13]

(I know that MACS are a real weapon, I was just confirming the point. Anyway, the navy is currently working on rail guns to put on their new destroyers. It's really cool, they shoot rounds so fast that the air catches fire as the shell goes by at Mach 4. Anyway, it'll be really cool. But yeah, i love the halo story, it's great and I'm really excited to see what comes next.)

[Takhesis]

[Assuming the Quothians have detected Kosh'tor's ship. Also the ring - I believe - is the supergate from Stargate SG-1]

 

Kosh'tor's musing was interrupted by the chime of an incoming transmission. Wonder who else is in this sector? For a split second, there was a brief worry on how a ship could sneak up - did it have stealth capability? - but that was dismissed quickly, as Kosh'tor realised it was his inattention that was at fault.

 

He switched on the two-way comms to reply to the hail. The power cells continued their gentle hum as they converted the solar energy into stored charge.

 

"Greetings fellow travellers." Kosh'tor spoke, aware that most other races were not used to the mental forms of contact that prevailed in Penumbral society.

 

The view-screen would show a golden wraith-like being wearing a simple flight suit. What could be seen in the background was mostly chair, due to Kosh'tor's rather unimpressive diminutive physique, though glimpses of control panels could just be made out.

[SUP3RSPAWN3R]

As the Penumbral appeared on the screen, the tension in the bridge increased. Who knows what kind of weapons they had? Even the massive Superdreadnought could be considered weak by their standards. The Admiral spoke first, it was his duty to make contact with a new species. "Greetings, alien ship. I am Galtun' Tauseis of the Quothian Oligarchy. Who may I be speaking to?" He muted his transmitter, speaking a command to the AI, unheard by the alien ship. "Ready the plasma batteries, we don't know if they are hostile or not." He flicked his transmitter back on, once more letting his voice be heard, albeit muffled by his armor. "Do not be afraid, we mean no harm. I hope you intend similarly." His opaque faceplate showed no signs of emotion, but his voice had a slight tinge of nervousness.

Edited February 12, 2014 by SUP3RSPAWN3R

[Takhesis]

Seeing no reason not to give his name; Kosh'tor replied in kind:

 

"I am known as Star Rider Kosh'tor of the Penumbral Court. Be assured that myself and my ship pose no threat to you."

 

Kosh'tor did wonder why his ship could be considered a threat, but considering the state of the galaxy it was perhaps unsurprising that such cautions were taken in initial contact situations.

 

He was also aware that his race had very limited dealings with the rest of the galaxy - choosing instead to isolate themselves. Though they dealt no harm to any that entered their sector, they did interfere somewhat with the star mapping process. Part of their past history that Kosh'tor didn't quite fully understand.

 

His ship remained motionless - though not completely inactive, the solar petals still performing their passive purpose. It wouldn't take long for the cells to have recharged sufficient power to make the return journey to Penumbral space.

 

Kosh'tor searched his memories, and those of the ship, to see if there was any information on the Quothians. Though it was very unlikely - their ships were not encountered as regularly as the other species.

 

[i'm making the assumption that the warring species would be more likely to try Penumbral space - whether for resources or other strategic advantages.]

 

"How may I be of service to you or the Oligarchy, Galtun' Tauseis?" Kosh'tor spoke formally.

[Mistress of Whispers]

By now, Teela was running down the hallways of the security compound trailed by two Vangiir guards. Admittedly it wasn't her best plan ever (and to be entirely honest - this had never been the plan to begin with), but at least it would give Keith all the time he needed. Rounding a corner at full speed, she dearly hoped that the Vangiir wouldn't trace her back to the Slip....

[Narath]

((So sorry I took so long! I've been really busy!))

 

Thomas made his way to his quarters, his strides long and even and his posture still upright and straight. All the men and women aboard his ship that he passed on his way gave him a brisk salute. They would probably stop that eventually after some time of service with one another. As much as he wanted the crew to feel at home on this ship, he'd have to ensure that their strict military training would stay in effect. This ship and it's crew had to stay functional, just like a well oiled machine. Arriving at his room, the doors slid open silently allowing him inside the room before sealing back up behind him. The room's lights quickly illuminated the room to reveal a couple of bookshelves along the the wall with actual books of paper, as well as a few glass displays of antique weaponry from as early as the eighteen hundreds. There was not much decorating the room out of the ordinary; a couch here, a holo-display there, a plain dining area, and a small kitchen with the bare essentials. The only other thing was a heavy desk made of mahogany in a room off to the side that served as his office. Anything made of wood, let alone mahogany, was rather rare for humanity nowadays because of the fact that Earth was nearly devoid of plantlife. However, Laskey was quite the enthusiastic when it came to antiquities so many of these things came as gifts as he quickly ascended the ranks of the fleet. The desk was his most recent gift for his promotion to the rank of General. With a sigh, Thomas' body relaxed somewhat and he retrieved a book from a shelf and opened it's yellowed pages as he sat back to read.

 

------------------------

 

Finally! Keith resisted the urge to cry out in triumph as he at last found the little troublemaker he and Teela called Skipper. The man immediately jumped from his seat and bolted out the door, barely staying undetected by the security. Once outside and into the ship bay, Keith activated his comm unit.

"Teela, you there? I found him!"

 

((I'm going to let you decide where Skip is mistress))

[Narath]

((Bump))

[Mistress of Whispers]

"I'm here!" Teela shouted somewhat frantically as she continued to run from the two Vangriiir.

 

"Just tell me where he is and I'll hightail it over there." She didn't felt the need to tell Keith that right now she would hightail it anywhere in an effort to shake her pursuers.

 

Following her first mate's directions, she turned several corners at high speed, losing the guards in the process. Nevertheless, she continued running until she arrived at the large cargo bay where Keith believed Skip was.

 

Large crates were stacked to the high ceiling. A few of them had air holes and seemed to be emitting growling sounds. Great, she thought to herself, of course Skip found his way to the local zoo shipment. Given that this was Sarenthal, the 'local zoo' was likely to feature a lot of bite as well as a lot of bark.

 

"Skip," she whispered in a low voice, "are you here?"

[Narath]

Keith quickly relayed directions to Skip's general location to Teela, running flat footed to the same location as he did so.

When Keith arrived at the storage area and soon found that it housed quite a number of creatures judging from the noises and animal containers.

"What has that boy gotten himself into?" Keith mumbled to himself.

"Teela, I'm at the storage location." Keith said into the radio this time. "Also, I vote that we plant a tracker on Skip the moment we get back to the ship. As well as grounding him. For a long time."