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The Voyages of the Penelope and the Yydryl
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On Earth we see Myth walking to a bar.
Once again Myth was rejected to board the SS Continental. The new Anti-Piracy Brigade ship and his only hope to get back into space. The life that he wanted was not what it turned out to be on earth.
Earth "freedom" as the advertisors call it was a lie, there was no such thing as an "honest" living, freedom or peace. Earth was as messed up as any of the other planets he had visited. Full of pirates, full of evil, full of death. Myth was growing tired of it, he wanted to return to space, wanted to get away....
Myth opens the door to the bar and finds a seat in the corner, watching and listening.
A pretty young women caught his eye, but he realized that she was nothing more than a thief and a murderer. The Night Theif, is what she is called. She would lay with someone and before they woke up, all there belongings would be gone. Of course no one knew it was her because she would slit there throats while they slept, a sort of insurance policy.
It was things like this that drove Myth crazy, he wasn't surprised anymore. He could tell you what everyone in the bar was and did. If they were murderers, killers, adulters, or honest people. He looked to his right and saw three people over talking, they were obviously bounty hunters by what they had on. That black patch over there right shoulder, too obvious. The question was what were they thinking....
Myth looked at them and focused. Trying to imagine himself there, in the conversation.
Bounty Hunter 1: Did you hear, The Yydryl is coming this way.
Bounty Hunter 2: I sure did, what a fine vessel it is. Those inferior aliens do not deserve that ship.
Bounty Hunter 1: We could try to take it, infact I think we could take it.
Bounty Hunter 3: No its to risky, lets go after a ship that is easier; than we will take a larger one. That Fleet Justice ship, now that is a nice ship the crew are idiots, we can take it.
Myth smiled.
The Yydryl was the best option, to get into space. Thanks to the bounty hunters, infact the bounty hunters did not sound like Bounty Hunters, but Pirates. But then again, Bounty Hunters are legal Pirates....
Myth looked around knowing that this could be his way back into space. All he needed to do was know where the Yydryl was going to port and perhaps meet up with some of the crew. He had a feeling that he could make his way on, but he was worried, if these bounty hunters know the Yydryl is coming. Who else knows??
Myth stands up and walks out of the bar, heading down the long road. Headed to Avendrose's Port
Myth looks ahead, he can see the guards in front of the Port. But he's still about a hundred yards away. Myth Begins to consider what it would be like back in space again. All the times he was denied to board a ship, because he was a Pirate, will be no more.
He can feel it. He can see it. He knows that he will get onto the ship.
A loud noise is heard and in the sky the SS Continental can be seen. Making its first practice run before it leaves port and heads to the galaxy in search for pirate ships.
Myth stops walking and looks at the SS Continental's green glow (the first organic technology used on a Anti-Piracy ship). The bright green glows and radiates off of Myth's blue eyes, as the ship sails overhead. Soon that would be him, leaving Earth and heading back to space in search of his secrets.
"Its time to be 'free' again." Myth said, as he begins to run to the Port, "Its time to get off of this rock."
[edit on Jun 7th 2009 by TheMythLives]
Once again Myth was rejected to board the SS Continental. The new Anti-Piracy Brigade ship and his only hope to get back into space. The life that he wanted was not what it turned out to be on earth.
Earth "freedom" as the advertisors call it was a lie, there was no such thing as an "honest" living, freedom or peace. Earth was as messed up as any of the other planets he had visited. Full of pirates, full of evil, full of death. Myth was growing tired of it, he wanted to return to space, wanted to get away....
Myth opens the door to the bar and finds a seat in the corner, watching and listening.
A pretty young women caught his eye, but he realized that she was nothing more than a thief and a murderer. The Night Theif, is what she is called. She would lay with someone and before they woke up, all there belongings would be gone. Of course no one knew it was her because she would slit there throats while they slept, a sort of insurance policy.
It was things like this that drove Myth crazy, he wasn't surprised anymore. He could tell you what everyone in the bar was and did. If they were murderers, killers, adulters, or honest people. He looked to his right and saw three people over talking, they were obviously bounty hunters by what they had on. That black patch over there right shoulder, too obvious. The question was what were they thinking....
Myth looked at them and focused. Trying to imagine himself there, in the conversation.
Bounty Hunter 1: Did you hear, The Yydryl is coming this way.
Bounty Hunter 2: I sure did, what a fine vessel it is. Those inferior aliens do not deserve that ship.
Bounty Hunter 1: We could try to take it, infact I think we could take it.
Bounty Hunter 3: No its to risky, lets go after a ship that is easier; than we will take a larger one. That Fleet Justice ship, now that is a nice ship the crew are idiots, we can take it.
Myth smiled.
The Yydryl was the best option, to get into space. Thanks to the bounty hunters, infact the bounty hunters did not sound like Bounty Hunters, but Pirates. But then again, Bounty Hunters are legal Pirates....
Myth looked around knowing that this could be his way back into space. All he needed to do was know where the Yydryl was going to port and perhaps meet up with some of the crew. He had a feeling that he could make his way on, but he was worried, if these bounty hunters know the Yydryl is coming. Who else knows??
Myth stands up and walks out of the bar, heading down the long road. Headed to Avendrose's Port
Myth looks ahead, he can see the guards in front of the Port. But he's still about a hundred yards away. Myth Begins to consider what it would be like back in space again. All the times he was denied to board a ship, because he was a Pirate, will be no more.
He can feel it. He can see it. He knows that he will get onto the ship.
A loud noise is heard and in the sky the SS Continental can be seen. Making its first practice run before it leaves port and heads to the galaxy in search for pirate ships.
Myth stops walking and looks at the SS Continental's green glow (the first organic technology used on a Anti-Piracy ship). The bright green glows and radiates off of Myth's blue eyes, as the ship sails overhead. Soon that would be him, leaving Earth and heading back to space in search of his secrets.
"Its time to be 'free' again." Myth said, as he begins to run to the Port, "Its time to get off of this rock."
[edit on Jun 7th 2009 by TheMythLives]
The dark haired humanoid female seemed distracted as she spoke into the communication device on the wall. This was fine to Asher, as it allowed him
some time to think.
Asher stood before the healing waterfall and gazed at his reflection in the running liquid. Every vein and artery near the surface of his skin stood out, a dark gray color that contrasted heavily with his skin. Even his face was lined and criss-crossed in gray.
It was still his eyes that looked back however, and that was the most important part. For some reason, the arm graft implant had not only thrown off his chains, but had forever shattered them.
A network alert snapped him out of his trance.
The NI Nyx Class dropship had performed its mission admirably, maneuvering around the alien ship to rescue the NI troops in the brig. The alert informed him that all NI personelle were onboard, plus one unidentifiable Penelope crew member.
That seemed odd to Asher. NI was particularly secretive and would have to be hard pressed to include a non-internal for an extraction mission.
It didn't particularly matter at the moment, so Asher accessed the navigation array aboard the dropship. He sent a series of orders and the craft began to maneuver around the bulk of the Yydryl toward his location.
Cautiously, he looked over at the dark haired alien female standing at the organic ship's version of a communication array. She seemed distressed about something.
Acting as casual as possible, Asher strode over to one of the walls in the large shiny hangar and pretended to examine the architecture. His implants were downloading scan data from the Nyx class dropship, allowing him to draw a speculative map of where he was within the alien craft.
According to the estimates, the wall he was examining was adjacent to the outer hull.
Moments later, the dropship carefully closed to a stationary position against the alien ship's outer hull, its stealth systems fully online.
The weapon implanted in his arm suddenly suggested a series of alterations to its output that would greatly facilitate Asher's escape. Asher had a moment of distrust as he wondered just how smart the programming of the implant was. It wasn't up to AI level, but it must be close.
With a mental shrug, Asher reconfigured the output of the "Zone Killer" packaged plasma emitter in his arm to a continuous loop format, an ingenious design that he had never heard of.
With a glance over his shoulder at the occupied female on the other side of the room, Asher engaged the Zone Killer.
The implant sprang from his arm, as unpleasant as ever. Asher noted that it emerged from a singed hole in his EVA suit, the same hole that had nearly killed him.
He looked back at the dark haired humanoid once again, somewhat guilty. Against his better judgment, he called out to her...
"Thank you for saving my life. I've never locked mentalities in the manner you showed me... It was like nothing I've ever experienced. Thanks."
He paused for a moment and turned to look at the shiny metallic wall.
"I hope we can be friends someday, but there are things that I have to do now. Forgive me."
As she watched, her inquisitive look turned to surprise as Asher ignited the Zone Killer. A three foot pillar of white hot plasma packaged by a containment field sprang forth from the implant in his arm.
He turned and delivered an overhead chop to the metallic wall of the medical hangar. The field packaging withdrew where the blade touched the metal, allowing the plasma to burn through it like a hot knife through butter.
Instead of vacuum, Asher was met with the sealed Nyx dropship's outer door outside the thick organic hull of the alien ship. Asher ordered the dropship's outer door to open and he stepped through in an instant.
Quickly, he turned and reconfigured the packaged plasma into a fan shape and seared the gash he had cut in the alien ship's hull, effectively cauterizing the wound and sealing it shut.
The last thing he saw was the shocked face of the dark haired female as she went for her weapon lightning fast. For a moment, Asher was glad he had the jump on her.
He turned around and faced the inner cabin of the dropship as he ordered the outer door to close behind him.
The dropship moved away from the alien craft at the maximum velocity achievable while stealth engaged. With a thought Asher set course back to the Penelope and composed a message to the Penny's bridge:
[USS Penelope, this is the former WCO. I am en route from the alien spacecraft in a cloaked dropship, requesting permission to land in an available docking bay... eventually.]
For the first time, Asher glanced around the cramped dropship's cabin at the motley looking team before him. The ship's core identified them as NI-7, a spec ops crew.
"I believe you were looking for me?" he asked, his voice as cold as the gray substance infiltrating his circulatory system.
He halted the ship somewhere between the alien craft and the Penelope.
"No one is going anywhere until I get some answers."
He did a double take in shock when he finally glanced at the only person aboard who wasn't associated with NI.
"Colonel Studious... What the hell are you doing here?"
[edit on 7-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
Asher stood before the healing waterfall and gazed at his reflection in the running liquid. Every vein and artery near the surface of his skin stood out, a dark gray color that contrasted heavily with his skin. Even his face was lined and criss-crossed in gray.
It was still his eyes that looked back however, and that was the most important part. For some reason, the arm graft implant had not only thrown off his chains, but had forever shattered them.
A network alert snapped him out of his trance.
The NI Nyx Class dropship had performed its mission admirably, maneuvering around the alien ship to rescue the NI troops in the brig. The alert informed him that all NI personelle were onboard, plus one unidentifiable Penelope crew member.
That seemed odd to Asher. NI was particularly secretive and would have to be hard pressed to include a non-internal for an extraction mission.
It didn't particularly matter at the moment, so Asher accessed the navigation array aboard the dropship. He sent a series of orders and the craft began to maneuver around the bulk of the Yydryl toward his location.
Cautiously, he looked over at the dark haired alien female standing at the organic ship's version of a communication array. She seemed distressed about something.
Acting as casual as possible, Asher strode over to one of the walls in the large shiny hangar and pretended to examine the architecture. His implants were downloading scan data from the Nyx class dropship, allowing him to draw a speculative map of where he was within the alien craft.
According to the estimates, the wall he was examining was adjacent to the outer hull.
Moments later, the dropship carefully closed to a stationary position against the alien ship's outer hull, its stealth systems fully online.
The weapon implanted in his arm suddenly suggested a series of alterations to its output that would greatly facilitate Asher's escape. Asher had a moment of distrust as he wondered just how smart the programming of the implant was. It wasn't up to AI level, but it must be close.
With a mental shrug, Asher reconfigured the output of the "Zone Killer" packaged plasma emitter in his arm to a continuous loop format, an ingenious design that he had never heard of.
With a glance over his shoulder at the occupied female on the other side of the room, Asher engaged the Zone Killer.
The implant sprang from his arm, as unpleasant as ever. Asher noted that it emerged from a singed hole in his EVA suit, the same hole that had nearly killed him.
He looked back at the dark haired humanoid once again, somewhat guilty. Against his better judgment, he called out to her...
"Thank you for saving my life. I've never locked mentalities in the manner you showed me... It was like nothing I've ever experienced. Thanks."
He paused for a moment and turned to look at the shiny metallic wall.
"I hope we can be friends someday, but there are things that I have to do now. Forgive me."
As she watched, her inquisitive look turned to surprise as Asher ignited the Zone Killer. A three foot pillar of white hot plasma packaged by a containment field sprang forth from the implant in his arm.
He turned and delivered an overhead chop to the metallic wall of the medical hangar. The field packaging withdrew where the blade touched the metal, allowing the plasma to burn through it like a hot knife through butter.
Instead of vacuum, Asher was met with the sealed Nyx dropship's outer door outside the thick organic hull of the alien ship. Asher ordered the dropship's outer door to open and he stepped through in an instant.
Quickly, he turned and reconfigured the packaged plasma into a fan shape and seared the gash he had cut in the alien ship's hull, effectively cauterizing the wound and sealing it shut.
The last thing he saw was the shocked face of the dark haired female as she went for her weapon lightning fast. For a moment, Asher was glad he had the jump on her.
He turned around and faced the inner cabin of the dropship as he ordered the outer door to close behind him.
The dropship moved away from the alien craft at the maximum velocity achievable while stealth engaged. With a thought Asher set course back to the Penelope and composed a message to the Penny's bridge:
[USS Penelope, this is the former WCO. I am en route from the alien spacecraft in a cloaked dropship, requesting permission to land in an available docking bay... eventually.]
For the first time, Asher glanced around the cramped dropship's cabin at the motley looking team before him. The ship's core identified them as NI-7, a spec ops crew.
"I believe you were looking for me?" he asked, his voice as cold as the gray substance infiltrating his circulatory system.
He halted the ship somewhere between the alien craft and the Penelope.
"No one is going anywhere until I get some answers."
He did a double take in shock when he finally glanced at the only person aboard who wasn't associated with NI.
"Colonel Studious... What the hell are you doing here?"
[edit on 7-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
Nenothtu contemplated Life, the Universe, and Everything as he sat at Penelope's bridge and stared at the image of the Yydryl on the view screen. Funny how things turn out... his reverie was interrupted by a communication from the Captain on the surface.
Originally posted by mf_luder
USS Penelope, this is Captain Luder. I am returning within the next 48 hours. Please have state quarters prepared for guests.
Guests? Well, he'd just have to put out the GOOD china, right after he found out a bit more about the guests. He hit the comm button to reply.
" Cap'n Luder, Cheif nenothtu here. Could you please clarify your last transmission? What sort of guests, and how many? I'll need that information to properly determine the staterooms to be prepared. Also, if they are governmental entities, I'll have to assign bodyguards as befits their station. we'll keep a light on for your imminent return. Nenothtu out."
That taken care of, nenothtu returned his attention to the main bridge view screen, and the Yydryl problem. There had been strange goings-on over there, he mused. A rogue, and thoroughly unauthorized, boarding party had assaulted the ship from among Penelope's own people, right after the aliens had performed the very human act of rescuing another of Penelope's own. Some thanks, huh? He hadn't heard the disposition of the pirate crew members, but really didn't much care if the Rigellians ate the lot of them. That would vastly simplify neno's life, and their handling, should they just "disappear" in space. Evidently Asher was in good hands, or that's the last nenothtu heard, so he had no worries on that account. a couple of hours ago, a smaller vessel had rendezvoused with the Yydryl, but neno had no reason for alarm, as there had been no movement, hostile or otherwise, on the part of the aliens.
All these musings were interrupted once again by a 'flash' from the surface of the Yydryl. Nenothtu went on an instant alert, but after a few moments of no warning klaxons indicating any incoming weaponry, he relaxed again somewhat.
Just as he was beginning to relax again, he was snapped to alert by the comms officer on the bridge. "Chief, we've got an incoming transmission from nearby space, but it's neither of the known ships in the area, and not the planetary surface either. It seems to be coming from nowhere."
"Nowhere? How can can anybody transmit from nowhere? Put it on bridge audio." The Comms Officer complied, and the voice thoroughly surprised neno.
Originally posted by SeekerOfAUTMN
[USS Penelope, this is the former WCO. I am en route from the alien spacecraft in a cloaked dropship, requesting permission to land in an available docking bay... eventually.]
Huh? Seeker... erm Asher was in the middle of space, 'nowhere' if you will, again? How had he gotten hold of a cloaked dropship, and why hadn't Yydryl notified Penelope of his imminent return? Wait, dropship... that pirate gang HAD to get to Yydryl some how. Neno swore to himself 'if he's bringing pirates back to MY boat... what if they're holding him hostage, and using him as a 'shield' of sorts to gain entry?
" Penelope to Asher: boarding permission denied. Repeat, boarding permission denied. I need answers on how you came to be where you are, and whether or not you have 'guests', invited or otherwise, in your proximity. Any attempts at forceful boarding will be met with deadly force, regardless of your situation. I will NOT have a repeat of the Yydryl Incident aboard Penelope. In short, any forced attempts at landing will result in the demise of the landers, and I don't much care which 'side' they're on. I've been known to obliterate my own people, just ask Fooks - wait, you can't anymore."
In a softer tone now, nenothtu continued. "Asher, I appreciate what you did, saving all of us, I really do. You have to understand my position, though. I can't risk the Penelope, and the safety of her crew, on a sudden unknown that just pops out of nowhere. In my experience, too many unexpected events generally never turn out well. Fill me in on your situation, and how it came to be, then we'll talk boarding. nenothtu out."
He opened another channel, this time to Wing Commander Badger.
" Wing Commander Badger. I need an alert patrol to fly formation around the ship for the next while, we have unexpected company, in the form of a Federation dropship, who may attempt unauthorized boarding, and they're cloaked. First day on your new job, and looks like you have your hands full. That's life in the fast lane. nenothtu out. "
Chief nenothtu sat back in the command chair, rubbed his temples with the thumb and fingers of one hand, and sighed. 'momma told me there'd be days like this', he thought to himself. 'She just never said it would be EVERY day...'. He began to wonder if sick bay had a good stock of nerve pills, and not for the first time. He had lived most of his life on 'red alert', and wondered why he never ever got used to it.
'Luder,' he thought to himself, 'I'm gonna roll out the welcome mat and red carpet upon your return with my own two hands.'
[edit on 2009/6/7 by nenothtu]
Badger smiled at Ensign Abernathy.
Abernathy began to speak. “Uh, Sir? I’d like to apologize for my behavior earlier. I uh, well, I…. You see, It was just………”
Badger continued to smile wider and wider looking for the entire world like an escaped mental patient who has a brand new tinfoil hat. . Abernathy continued to stammer and then just stopped speaking altogether. He looked at the floor.
“Ensign?” Badger said in a quiet voice.
“Yes Major?”
“No, no. " Badger said shaking his head, "I’m not warm and fuzzy like your Chief Neno. You don’t get to call me by my first name. Unfortunately, I am an officer so you can call me Sir and I can tell when you pronounce it with a C so don’t bother.”
“Yes sir.”
“Now I know your name is Abernathy but I know that your nature happens to be Abernasty. I’ll call you nasty for short. So, Nasty, what is your problem?”
“Sir?”
“Why would you make a prisoner miserable? Is it entertaining to you?”
“No Sir.”
Badger leaned in and said, “Don’t lie to me kid.”
“I’m sorry sir.” Abernathy answered. “I shouldn’t have acted like that. I’m really not like that. I didn’t want to be on escort duty and I took it out on you.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Why don’t you want to escort prisoners? You’re security. That’s what they do.”
“I know Sir but I didn’t want to be security. I’m a pilot. My squad leader knows I don’t like it so he gives me all of the babysitting jobs.”
“Well, I don’t blame you for that. Babysitting sucks, quite frankly. So why is a pilot pulling security?”
“Well, I’m not a pilot on paper but I am a pilot. I screwed up at the academy and lost my shot. I ended up taking security to get on the Penelope because it was all I was qualified for. I minored in Justice”
“I see. The vagaries of misfortune so often hinge upon the ironic.”
“Sir?”
“Nothing. So, that must have been some screw up.”
“Yes Sir. It was. I’ll never get to fly.”
“So now you spend your time pissing off half thawed vagrants and sipping iced tea.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Well Nasty, I guess you are wondering what I’m going to do with you? By all rights I should be using your crew cut for a toilet brush. There was a time that I’d have done that and a lot worse. From what I’ve heard it sounds as if you are only a few steps from being tossed out an airlock anyway. I imagine I could do anything short of that and no one would care would they?”
Abernathy continued to stare at the floor. “No sir, I don’t think they would.”
“Ok then. I guess I’d be a real hypocrite if I didn’t do this.”
Badger held out his hand
Abernathy frowned and stared at Badger for a moment, uncomprehending.
Badger said,” Second chance you numbskull. Take it.”
Abernathy slowly reached out and shook hands.
“Ensign Abernathy, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Major Chase.
Abernathy, finally catching on, said, “Ensign Nasty sir. Pleased to meet you.”
“Of course you are. Everybody’s pleased to meet me. “
“Yes sir.”
"Good. Now, I’m going to get a shower and some food. You have my crap brought up to my new quarters. I’ve got a lot to do."
“Yes sir.” said Abernathy, heading for the door.
“Nasty.” called Badger.
“Sir?”
“Stay out of trouble.”
Badger followed Abernathy out the door and left the security section. He found a public terminal and checked diagram of the ship. He queried the location of the terminal and a small blinking cursor indicated his position.
“You are here” Badger said to him self. “Idiot.”
A few minutes later he was in the quartermasters section and requested new uniforms, insignia, rank and boots. His next stop was the barber where he got a shave and haircut. He stopped off at the mess hall and took a plate to go. Soon, he was sitting in his own private quarters showered, clean cut, fed and dressed. He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head when he saw the Majors insignia on his collar.
“Yep, that Neno is definitely out of his tree.”
He was about to head to the flight deck when he recieved a message from Neno.
Originally posted by nenothtu
" Wing Commander Badger. I need an alert patrol to fly formation around the ship for the next while, we have unexpected company, in the form of a Federation dropship, who may attempt unauthorized boarding, and they're cloaked. First day on your new job, and looks like you have your hands full. That's life in the fast lane. nenothtu out. "
Dropship? Unauthorized boarding? Cloaked?
"Bout time. I was getting bored." Badger said to himself grabbing his flight bag and heading for the door.
Badger arrived at the fighter wing offices and found the wings first officer sitting in the commanders suite.
She was a lanky brunette with short cropped hair and a pretty face. She came to attention noting the Majors insignia and Pilots wings.
"Can I help you sir?"she began.
"I'm your new commanding officer. Major Chase."
"Lieutenant Petra Leiss, Sir."
"What do we have out?"
"One long range patrol and one short. One section on ready alert. Sir."
"Launch the alert for close coverage. Pull the short patrol back to the ship and prep three more sections for immediate launch."
"Yes Sir."
"Any questions?"
"No Sir"
"Good. Call me Badger."
"Petra."she said.
Badger paged Nenothu,"Neno, birds on the way. Badger, out."
"Ok Petra, you've got three minutes to get me up to speed on our tactical status. While you do that, lets go find my ship."
[edit on 7-6-2009 by badgerprints]
[edit on 8-6-2009 by badgerprints]
Ackerman: “Where are we going Evans?”
Evans: “I don’t know sir, I’m locked out.”
Studious: “So we’re on a runaway train?”
Evans: “Not quite. We’re flying too well, we must be under intelligent control.”
The ship glided to a location near the hull then swooped around and backed up against the ship.
A gentle nudge rocked the ship. They all knew they were attached to the ship.
Suddenly a white hot blaze appeared infront of them. Seeker steeped through a weapon on his arm clearly visible. He turned sealed the section behind him and the ship lurched forward. The team wobbled a little as they accelerated.
They quickly sped away from the alien ship and ended up in empty space the Penelope visible through the window still moving forward.
Asher broke the tense silence first “I believe you were looking for me?”
His words were said as cold as the blackness of space. The team froze and even the ship stopped dead.
He continued "No one is going anywhere until I get some answers."
Then Studious could see Asher’s eyes pass over him and then shoot back with shock.
"Colonel Studious... What the hell are you doing here?"
The Colonel calmly walked toward the new passenger. The others took a step back.
“You’re right we were looking for you. We were here to rescue you but we barely got out ourselves.”
The Colonel squinted he could see Asher’s veins were outlined in darkness.
Studious went on “The enemy there” he points behind himself. “They…..they.”
Nathan speaking softly from the front of the dropship far away from the two Penelope crewman says without turning “They eat humans.” He stood just staring the opposite direction into the blackness of space in front of him.
Studious reaches his hand forward as he had done before with Whisper and thinks “I hope I won’t learn he’s a monster too.”
[edit on 8-6-2009 by Studious]
Jumping back from the closing doorway before my antenna were crushed I called again to the U-Mans, no way to know if they heard me through the solid door.
Ship’s fire prevention reflexes had activated to seal off the brig and prevent fire spread through Ship.
What this prevention measure had also done was effectively seal the U-Mans death.
The best they could hope for in the encapsulate room would be asphyxiation, Creator help them, before roasting alive.
Though I never doubted Ships ability to resolve an emergency - her methods caused me to question an act that would cause the Penelope crewmen a death horrific beyond description. Could Ship be so vengeful they’d cut through her to get aboard? Hadn’t they only been wanting to rescue their crew member - something the Yydryl crew would do if the situation were reversed?
Shuddering in disgust my mind rebelled at the horror of it. That Ship had abandoned the men to such a gruesome death rocked me to the core.
I pound on the door for the last time, the heat burning the sides of my hand galvanizing me into action.
I centered my thoughts on the Penelope, began screaming for help and as waves of distress flew out from my mind, I ran!
Maybe there was something the Penelope could do to save her men trapped in the brig.
That Ship had doomed them men to die didn't mean I couldn't try to save them!
I’d call the Penelope from the bridge - I’d not live with the U-Mans blood on my hands.
Racing onto the bridge I nearly fell to my knees with fear.
The bridge was deserted - and I had no idea how to work the communications center.
Frustration mounting into terror I stared transfixed at the console. The view screen showed a outboard camera view of the Penelope. I could only hope that meant the frequency was fixed to the other Ship.
Ripping a long instrument from it’s cradle beside the console my hand closed around a pressure switch on the handle.
It made sense the raised bar on the inside of the grip would activate speech transmission.
Designed for Rigelians it was long from earpiece to microphone - I’d have to yell into the mic, which came naturally under the circumstance.
Gripping the pressure switch feedback screeched through my ears, I backed away from the console.
“Penelope! This is the...” My voice blared at me from all sides. The console was transmitting to Ship’s intercom.
Manipulating the instruments under my fingers all the while a steady stream of curses flowed from my mouth I continued until the intercom switched off, a buzz of static sizzled in my ear.
That I’d reached a transmitting frequency I was sure, that it would be heard on the Penelope, I was not.
“SS Penelope! Please, can you hear me? Penelope? This is the Yydryl!”
Nothing.
“Penelope, pleaseeee this is the Yydryl! Your men. They’re caught in the brig and it’s on fire. Penelope!”
Screaming into the mic my emotions overflowed, sobs shook my voice and body. I couldn’t keep the grim sight of U-mans writhing in agony form my mind.
“Penelope! Can you hear me PLEASEEEEE! HELP! Help save your Men, Please!...
Continuing on the microphone, my voice raw from exertion scratching out over the airwaves, the litany of pleas from inside my brain poured forth in hopes I’d reach someone, something, anything the communication transmitter might not.
“Don’t let them burn!”
[edit on 8-6-2009 by silo13]
Walking arm in arm with this amazingly creature, Cim threw up a temporal sphere.
“Nice to meet you Adilarius, I just quickly wanted to bring you up to speed, from my
perspective. I am a DTST as you may have guessed, however I am on a vacation more or less.” She stops and looks up into his deep eyes. “Captain Cadbury and I were friends of sorts and I ask if I could crew on the Yydryl as I was looking for a friend of mine that went missing aboard some U man vessel. Anyway Cadbury goes missing, and never shows up, so I have no idea what the mission of the Yydryl even is. I have taken the commission as Leisure Officer/Diplomat and bartender.” She laughs lightly. “Anyway then Officer Loam steps up to Captain and disappears, presently Officer Scurvy is Captain. I have not had a chance to speak with any of the crew at length, so I am filling you in. I wanted to give you this device, it’s a homing communication.” She hands him small rectangular silver instrument with a bar of colored lights. “I am going to take a time excursion to Earth 2010, and I am going to ask ATS Silo if she would like to join me. So if you need me press blue, green, violet, if you want Silo press violet, green, blue, I am going to give her a device that will return her here, one time only and she will come by her choice. I will of course be here, if you call as I am quite fond of this vessel. Be good to her.” She gestures to the Yydryl. “I want to meet the U mans from the Earth vessel if and when, so please call me, Silo and I will arrange a dinner.”
She engages the sphere and transforms it into her blue green tear dropped DTS vehicle and takes Adilarius outside the bridge. She stands on her toes to give him a human kiss on the cheek. “Call me.” She says with a wink. She disengages the vehicle so that he can move out of it; once he does she engages it once again and turns up in her quarter.
She gathers some items, only a few and goes to her console com to send a message to ATS Silo:
“Silo I am making a trip to Earth, want to come? I am leaving right away.
If yes, meet me in my quarters within 30 snips. Also I am forwarding a chip you need to load into your headset. It will download a lot of data on the Earth time we are visiting in a few snips. See you soon?”
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a04b50e8a46e.jpg[/atsimg]
[edit on 8-6-2009 by cindymars]
Asher reviewed Chief Neno's reply to his docking hail as Colonel Studious spoke. He would have to give a full report later.
He glared at Studious coldly for a moment before replying.
"I don't know what part you played in this Studious, but you are well on your way to being recruited by NI, willingly or not. That's not a place you want to be. Trust me, I've been there."
His attention left Studious and he turned to the rest of the NI team, "NI-7" as they were called.
"Team seven. Spec ops, retrieval and extraction emphasis..."
Asher paced around each of the team in turn, calm, calculating, and cold.
"Being a part of such an organization means you've been trained to lie. Like I said, I've been there. Let's get one thing straight:
"I'm not interested in what you have to say.
"If it is true that the aliens aboard that spacecraft eat humans, they will one day pay for such crimes, but that doesn't concern me. The here and now concerns me.
"I know that the alien crew went out of their way to save my life. The interactions I had with them were civil and even pleasant. You opened hostile actions against an otherwise peaceable spacecraft.
"The truth of the matter is that you were sent to retrieve a malfunctioning piece of equipment. Your handlers trained you to be good little boys didn't they? They say jump, you say how high..."
Asher leaned in close to the one near the cockpit who was twitching badly.
"I am no one's property..." he growled. "I am a man, not an investment."
He walked back over to the middle of the dropship.
"NI has forced me to stand back and see reality. The cost of my freedom is going to be high indeed. Many people are going to have to die so that I can live in peace."
With a snap and a muffled thump, Asher ignited the Zone Killer and once again a pillar of white hot plasma sprang from his arm.
"If I let you live you will limp back to your masters for another assignment, and once again, they will send you after me as if I were some malfunctioning computer needing repair.
"A soldier who sprays bullets at a target, blind to morality, is just as guilty as the politician who gives that soldier his ammo...
"I won't spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for NI-7."
With deadly precision, Asher brutally murdered the remaining members of Naval Intelligence spec ops group seven. Screams echoed throughout the small ship as they were mercilessly cut down. Their bodies were seared and shredded by the pillar of packaged plasma, and within moments only Asher and Studious were left alive in the Nyx class dropship.
Gore painted the floors, walls, and ceilings. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air like a sickening cloud.
With a thud, the Zone Killer disengaged and Asher visibly sagged. He turned toward Colonel Studious, his face green with nausea and disgust as he almost tripped over part of a corpse.
"Colonel, I may have just saved you from a hell you can barely imagine. Slavery would be a kind way of putting it. These men weren't your friends, they were NI. There are another 12 NI spec ops teams, and they will hunt me down like a dog that's slipped out of its collar.
"I've been backed into a corner and I have no choice but to fight, and if I don't fight on their terms, I will lose. I'm sorry you had to get involved in this."
Asher hung his head, tired and overwhelmed, as he composed another message to the Penelope.
[Good to hear your voice Chief Neno. I was afraid the Penelope had been compromised by NI. It is not my intention to forcefully board, and I will hold position until you give me the green light. The raid on the Yydryl was orchestrated by NI in an effort to retrieve me. The team opened fire on an otherwise peaceful spacecraft that had treated me very well. They intended to return me to mechanical slavery... I was disinclined. They are no longer a problem. Colonel Studious is with me and unharmed. I am unsure of his involvement, and I will leave the questioning to you.]
[Respectfully requesting permission to dock, Sir.]
[edit on 8-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
He glared at Studious coldly for a moment before replying.
"I don't know what part you played in this Studious, but you are well on your way to being recruited by NI, willingly or not. That's not a place you want to be. Trust me, I've been there."
His attention left Studious and he turned to the rest of the NI team, "NI-7" as they were called.
"Team seven. Spec ops, retrieval and extraction emphasis..."
Asher paced around each of the team in turn, calm, calculating, and cold.
"Being a part of such an organization means you've been trained to lie. Like I said, I've been there. Let's get one thing straight:
"I'm not interested in what you have to say.
"If it is true that the aliens aboard that spacecraft eat humans, they will one day pay for such crimes, but that doesn't concern me. The here and now concerns me.
"I know that the alien crew went out of their way to save my life. The interactions I had with them were civil and even pleasant. You opened hostile actions against an otherwise peaceable spacecraft.
"The truth of the matter is that you were sent to retrieve a malfunctioning piece of equipment. Your handlers trained you to be good little boys didn't they? They say jump, you say how high..."
Asher leaned in close to the one near the cockpit who was twitching badly.
"I am no one's property..." he growled. "I am a man, not an investment."
He walked back over to the middle of the dropship.
"NI has forced me to stand back and see reality. The cost of my freedom is going to be high indeed. Many people are going to have to die so that I can live in peace."
With a snap and a muffled thump, Asher ignited the Zone Killer and once again a pillar of white hot plasma sprang from his arm.
"If I let you live you will limp back to your masters for another assignment, and once again, they will send you after me as if I were some malfunctioning computer needing repair.
"A soldier who sprays bullets at a target, blind to morality, is just as guilty as the politician who gives that soldier his ammo...
"I won't spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for NI-7."
With deadly precision, Asher brutally murdered the remaining members of Naval Intelligence spec ops group seven. Screams echoed throughout the small ship as they were mercilessly cut down. Their bodies were seared and shredded by the pillar of packaged plasma, and within moments only Asher and Studious were left alive in the Nyx class dropship.
Gore painted the floors, walls, and ceilings. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air like a sickening cloud.
With a thud, the Zone Killer disengaged and Asher visibly sagged. He turned toward Colonel Studious, his face green with nausea and disgust as he almost tripped over part of a corpse.
"Colonel, I may have just saved you from a hell you can barely imagine. Slavery would be a kind way of putting it. These men weren't your friends, they were NI. There are another 12 NI spec ops teams, and they will hunt me down like a dog that's slipped out of its collar.
"I've been backed into a corner and I have no choice but to fight, and if I don't fight on their terms, I will lose. I'm sorry you had to get involved in this."
Asher hung his head, tired and overwhelmed, as he composed another message to the Penelope.
[Good to hear your voice Chief Neno. I was afraid the Penelope had been compromised by NI. It is not my intention to forcefully board, and I will hold position until you give me the green light. The raid on the Yydryl was orchestrated by NI in an effort to retrieve me. The team opened fire on an otherwise peaceful spacecraft that had treated me very well. They intended to return me to mechanical slavery... I was disinclined. They are no longer a problem. Colonel Studious is with me and unharmed. I am unsure of his involvement, and I will leave the questioning to you.]
[Respectfully requesting permission to dock, Sir.]
[edit on 8-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
The relay in the shuttle crackled as a message came in from the USS Penelope.
Cap'n Luder, Chief nenothtu here. Could you please clarify your last transmission? What sort of guests, and how many? I'll need that information to properly determine the staterooms to be prepared. Also, if they are governmental entities, I'll have to assign bodyguards as befits their station. we'll keep a light on for your imminent return. Nenothtu out.
Luder flipped a switch and leaned toward the mic. "Neno, we are returning with two world-level ambassadors from Kelvaxx. I would recommend you send at least four extra security guards when we arrive back at the ship. The two ambassadors don't seem to like to play well with each other. Luder out."
As the shuttle drew closer to the Penelope and the Yydryl, Luder could see a flurry of activity taking place amongst the two vessels. There seemed to be at least a squadron of twelve starfighters patrolling the Penelope and a smaller vessel out near the Yydryl, moving toward the Penelope. Luder opened the channel again.
"Neno, is something going on I need to be aware of? I notice you launched fighters. Are we flying into a hot zone?" Luder waited for the reply as the shuttle drew closer to the Penelope.
Luder sent a request to the Penelope as the seconds ticked down.
Shuttle 9A2 requests permission to dock with USS Penelope at time stamp 2939104. Please acknowledge.
[edit on 9-6-2009 by mf_luder]
Badger flew fourth man in Charlie group. The fighter was one of the latest and greatest and had everything but a self serve espresso machine. It was a lot nicer than Badger was used to flying. He was happy to be back on the job.
Charlie’s’ lead was a young pilot named Fogarty. His call sign was Frog. He had been surprised when badger had added himself as a tag along to the group but not bothered. He seemed to be happy to get a chance to show his stuff for the new wing commander. The other two members of the team were Supercat and Rebar. Both seemed very competent.
After appraising the deployed fighters of the situation and setting out a close patrol pattern, things got quiet. The fighters stuck to basic formations and watched instruments to try to locate the cloaked ship.
Badger received a call from Frog.
“Frog to badger.”
“Go for Badger.”
“Sir, we’ve picked up something on scanners. It was a transmission from the alien ship. “The only thing we could make out was a voice that said something like “Let them burn.”
“Did you say, “Let them burn?”
“Yes sir. It was garbled at first but that part was very clear. Let them burn.”
“Ok Frog. Relay that to Penelope and keep on looking.”
“Rodger that.”
Badger was troubled by the idea that an alien would broadcast “Let them burn.” over an open frequency. It didn’t set right and struck him as a bit twisted.
“Must be some evil buggers we’re dealing with here.” Badger said to himself. “Not right at all.
“Rebar to Badger!” said an excited voice.
“Go for Badger.”
“Sir, we’ve got them. There was a large energy signature. Similar to a weapons discharge but very strong. I’m locked on to the anomaly. It’s the cloaked ship. Should I fire sir?”
“Negative Rebar. Hold fire. Link targeting with the group and stay locked on. You on it Frog?”
“Yessir. Got them dead to rights Sir. Just give the word.”
“Good man.” said Badger.” Vector in on them and keep a targeting line.”
Badger hailed the Penelope.” Badger to Neno. We’ve got your bogey. Request instructions.”
Her voice no longer calm and happy, but deeply frightened and incredibly soft as if to console.
“Studious?..............you o.k?.......Studious?”
The Colonel feels his anger rising. His mouth becomes dry as if reacting to his thirst for revenge.
His outstretched hand slumps back away from the second monster he had greeted in this way.
His hand no longer open but clenched tight at his side. His breathing becomes heavy and repetitive. His heart beats faster as his blood boils.
In a soft menacing tone he asks
"Let’s see what does that make it now?” His voice stings.
“4,084.”
“You enjoy it don’t you?...........Or can you?.......After all, you have become what you feared most…..you are a machine.”
“Even your very blood runs dark.”
“I thought we were leaving a man behind, so did they. We were wrong.”
“I gave them the wrong warning about you. I should have told them to run, as fast as they can. Run and hide, because the monster is coming- you Seeker.”
“You aren’t worth saving.”
“The others saw fit to give you a second chance. None of them understand you as I do….No one does………No one can.”
“They’ll probably do it again. Well I say NO!
"NOOOOOOOO!” He bashes out a small glass case with his cane.
“We’ve made too many compromises already. Too many concessions. You kill our men and we welcome you back. You destroy an entire ship and we receive you with open arms. How many lives will it take before it becomes wrong!?”
“NOT AGAIN, THE LINE MUST BE DRAWN HERE!”
“And I will make you pay for what you’ve done!”
Picking up a small medallion from that had fallen off one of the men before they were burned alive. He holds it for one solemn moment in his fist.
Then throws it at one of the only things not connected to the computer, the button for the aft hatch, and says.
“No more second chances, I’m that sort of man now.”
The aft hatch blows off and both are pushed out into the vacuum of space and out of sight of each other.
[edit on 9-6-2009 by Studious]
Fighting off sleep that followed on the heels of such emotional upheaval Silo continued waiting for some word from the Penelope, though all her hopes of hearing the U-Mans had escaped certain death had fallen to ashes hours before.
The communications chair, having molded around her body began to grow cold in the wait, her tears splashed along it's arms having long dried.
Experience being the best teacher Silo didn’t flinch and startle when her headband began to buzz, a class one message awaited her at the nearest com center.
Having become acquainted with the workings of the communication center console while waiting for a word from the Penelope Silo scan her headband across the reader, donned the ear piece and voice activated the response.
“ATS Silo to receive message - Go message.”
A flat computer generated voice chirped in her ear:
“From Leisure Officer CindyMars - To ATS Silo, Message as follows:”
A picture of the Leisure Officer flashed before Silo’s eyes, the voice continued was that of CindyMars herself.
“Silo I am making a trip to Earth, want to come? I am leaving right away.
If yes, meet me in my quarters within 30 snips. Also I am forwarding a chip you need to load into your headset. It will download a lot of data on the Earth time we are visiting in a few snips. See you soon?”
Well that was that, Silo sighed and rose from the chair stretching, though her gaze remained on the viewing port where the Penelope filled the screen.
No more sitting here sulking and waiting for word about some U-Mans that had probably gone back to their soul group long hours before.
Or maybe they’d joined the rest of their damned species burning in the collective hell they’d created for themselves.
Who knew, she didn‘t, but she'd had enough of the lot of them.
Enough, she commanded herself, no more tears for the ungrateful, no more wasted emotion. Silo had a job to do filling Ship with the life it required, no, it demanded, and CindyMars was offering the perfect opportunity to visit Earth and see that life first hand.
Taking a last look at the Penelope through the viewing port Silo removed the communications headset, her fists clenching in a pain she refused to acknowledge.
“Let ’em burn,” She spat, throwing the headset onto the chair she’d just vacated.
Exiting the bridge to rendezvous with CindyMars Silo didn't hear the chatter of voices rising from the console.
The question would never be raised if she would have responded, or cared.
Which at this point in the young Silo’d heart, and for a long time to come, she would not.
“Sir, we’ve picked up something on scanners. It was a transmission from the alien ship. “The only thing we could make out was a voice that said something like “Let them burn.”
“Did you say, “Let them burn?”
“Yes sir. It was garbled at first but that part was very clear. Let them burn.”
“Ok Frog. Relay that to Penelope and keep on looking.”
“Rodger that.”
[edit on 9-6-2009 by silo13]
The Chief woke up with a pounding headache. His mouth was dry and his hands shook. He couldn't see a thing only a bright white blur filled his vision. He instinctively reached to his right for a side table he proceeded to knock over a pitcher of water. The metal pitcher made a god awful clang as it hit the deck. It rang for a few seconds in the Chiefs head. It felt like an eternity.
One of the Med personnel heard the clang and came over to his side picked up the pitcher and wiped the water up with a towel.
I cant see!
The Chief said as he sat up and started getting out of the bed.
Hold on there Chief... Relax she said it's just some gauze covering your eyes as she pushed the Chief back down.
My eyes?
What about my leg it... Your leg is fine she interrupted again. We had to cover your eyes for the radiation treatment. You took a pretty good dose. Not as much as poor ensign Kim over there, but still a fair amount none the less.
Kim? Hows...
The Chief sat up again.
He's going to be fine. She said as she pushed the Chief back down. She began to remove the bandages from his eyes. SEE? Your eyes are fine. The Chief looked up at her she was gorgeous he thought. She walked over and filled the pitcher again and then poured him a glass of water. She handed it to him, the Chief downed it in one gulp.
More...
He said and stuck the glass back out to her and shook it midair. She filled it again then sat the pitcher down on the side table. While he slowly drank the second glass she said. You know Chief you were a real pain in the rear when they brought you in.
I was?
Yes you were! she said as she snatched the now empty glass from him.
You were pretty delirious and wouldn't shut up. But before we get into
that I have to review with you the extent of your injuries. She showed him the scans of his leg injuries and explained what they had done and told him that although they were able to reset the break and heal it with the bone regenerator, that he would have to take it easy on it for at least a day or two.
I'll give you a few minutes to get dressed you are free to go she said as she pulled the curtain closed around him.
I was delirious?
What did I say? He asked her from behind the curtain.
Well you kept proposing marriage she said.
The Chief grabbed the curtain and whipped it open standing there in his briefs. I said what?
She giggled and said. You kept proposing marriage and said it had been a few years since you have been with anybody and how lonely you have been. Uuhhmm Chief! She said looking down at his briefs.
The Chief followed her eyes looked down and realized how he was dressed. He instantly shut the curtain again. He could feel his face heating up from blushing. Well? he said. You cant hold it against a fellow can you? I mean I was delirious right? Besides you're hot! I mean you're very pretty! I mean I mean you're nice. He slapped a hand over his mouth then shrugged his shoulders and bit his knuckle.
If you say so Chief.
He quickly finished dressing and pulled the curtain to the side.
She looked at him and then instantly burst into laughter.
The Chief stood there puzzled for a second.
What?
The Chief trying to act cool and collected. He then looked down. Apparently as he had tucked his shirt in he also tucked in a corner of the bed sheet which was now sticking out of his fly pointing straight out. Rolling his eyes he quickly pulled the curtain closed and yanked the sheet out with such force that he lost his footing on the smooth deck plaiting. He was still only in his socks so they slid very easily on the smooth metal surface
He lost his balance and with a tremendous crash knocked over the side table, the pitcher of water, and the lamp, he banged his head against the wall hit the floor finally spilling out from under the curtain and found himself staring up at her.
She quickly helped him to his feet. She handed him a pad to sign off on. You're free to go now Chief.
You're not going to tell anybody that I kept proposing to you are you?
She laughed out loud and walked over to him and whispered in his ear. She explained that she wasn't the one he kept proposing to, She turned her head to look over at the medical station. Sitting there behind the desk was an heavy set older gray haired nurse with glasses who grinned at the chief and waved to him with her chunky fingers.
Now thoroughly mortified the Chief just stared straight ahead and did not say another word. He just walked straight out of sick bay carrying his shoes and didn't look back. The doors opened and he made a right and almost walked right into Ensign Horn.
You OK Chief ? What was all that noise in sick bay? Horn said turning back towards sick bay.
Oh that! That's nothing! Come on lets go. The Chief said as he grabbed ensign Horns shoulder and turned him in the same direction the Chief was walking. The Chief stumbled down the hallway putting his shoes on.
Here you go Chief. Horn handed him a data pad with the before and after images of the damage. Along with a long lists of repairs that still needed to be done.
Wow! That was some fire. I see it gutted a few work stations, Took out the secondary computer mainframe. Did you replace all the non functioning Halon units?
Yeah Chief apparently they were disabled during routine maintenance. I have made some changes I hope you don't mind. From now on they have to reactivate each Halon sub station prior to moving onto the next one during maintenance instead of the standard routine of disabling all of them in one location. It's all in there. That's fine said the Chief as they entered the lift.
Engineering!
The Computer acknowledged his command and complied.
Looking up from the pad the Chief looked at Horm. The radiation? How bad was it?
It was pretty bad, we had two fatalities. Ensigns Cox and Higgins Chief.
I'll write condolences to the family and send it out in the next long range data stream if and when its available. The lift doors opened to the Engineering deck. The Chief made his way to his station. Typed in his command code he was not surprised to discover he had no less than 40 messages. He sat down and spent the next two hours going through them catching up. After clearing up that mess he swiveled his chair to the main engineering screen typed in another command and brought up the primary reactor. The Chief sat there for a few moments.
Watching the reactor chamber always relaxed him. Loosing two crewmen had never been easy for the Chief. How many young crewmen has he seen parish in the name of space exploration?
The Chief sat there hardly noticing that Ensign Callan had just poured him
a piping hot fresh cup of coffee. He looked over at it for a moment then wiping a small amount of moisture from his eyes he looked up at her young
face cleared his throat and said. Thank you.
He meant it this time...
[edit on 9-6-2009 by SLAYER69]
Badger had just closed the channel and was waiting for a response. He was watching the location where the cloaked ship was expected to be when a rectangle of light appeared suspended in space. It quickly expanded and unfolded into a hatch door. Badger could see the inner surface of the hatch and the inside of the cloaked shuttle but not the exterior. Gas boiled out into the vacuum as well as debris and two intact humanoid figures. The explosive decompression threw the bodies on diverging trajectories away from the shuttle.
Badger Hailed Penelope, “Emergency! Need retrieval. Two humanoids eating vacuum. “Launch retrieval now. Launch retrieval now!”
“Aw, for the love of Pete. I hope those aren’t our guys.”
“Supercat, Rebar, go get those two.”
“Sir, we can’t EVA. What do we do with them?”
“Get in front of them and stop them from going further. Keep them close together.”
“Frog, vector in the recovery team and keep an eye on the shuttle. See if you can see anybody else on board. Hail them and see if you get a response. We don’t know who spaced those two or if it was an accident.”
“Badger to Petra.”
“Go for Petra.”
“We’ve got some stinky fish over here. Have Delta back up Charlie and stay sharp. Something’s not right here.
“Rodger that. Petra out.”
Badger hailed Penelope.
“Uh, Penelope Conn, be advised, you have what appears to be an unmanned shuttle on a collision course with the ship. Shields will keep it from damaging Penelope but you might want to get out of the way so she can be retrieved by EVA. We’ll need those onboard recorders to figure out what happened here."
Badger recieved a return hail from the bridge crew. "Penelope to Badger. Sir, am I to understand that you want a starship, this starship, to give right of way to a shuttle?"
Badger answered,"Rodger that."
"This is highly irregular Sir." came the reply.
"Oh, you picked up on that didja?"said Badger,"Just do it. You don't have much time."
"I'll have to get approval from Chief Neno."
"Well you might want to get it quick. He'll have you polishing the inside of the sewage converters if you screw around and we lose that shuttle."
"Badger out."
"Damn kids. Badger said under his breath."
Badger received a new hail. “Evac one to Badger.”
“Go for Badger.”
“What do we have sir?”
“Two subjects, humanoid. Blown out of a shuttle hatch. I’ve got two ships corralling them in the same location but they can’t bring them into single seat fighters.”
“Rodger that Sir. We’ll get them.”
“Be careful Evac. The inside of that shuttle looks pretty gruesome. I think one of those two might have done that. If they aren’t dead, then they are a threat.”
“Will do sir.”
Badger began a slow circle of the incident area and watched as the evac ship approached the two fighters that had by this point gotten the two bodies slowed down. Frog followed the shuttle and Delta group flew a lazy loop around the entire scene.
[edit on 9-6-2009 by badgerprints]
And suddenly, Asher found himself in the vacuum of space... Again.
Studious simply hadn't understood. They lied to him and he had fallen for it completely. Perhaps it had been too much for him. Asher suspected that he wasn't entirely sane in the first place, but then again, not much was sane in Asher's world anymore.
Once again, Asher waited to die, even embraced it. It would at least mean an end to all the fighting. But this time, the void of space felt different.
There was no burning cold and pressure, no pain. Startled, Asher looked down at himself and saw that the black malaise that had invaded his body had spread out from his veins rapidly, turning every inch of skin dark gray.
The sight was enough to send shivers down Asher's spine.
Another problem quickly arose however. The cold and vacuum of the void might have somehow been staved off, but he still couldn't breathe. In fact, his jaw was clamped shut. His implants quickly informed him that this was a protective measure.
He craned his neck back in time to see the open hatch, seemingly hovering alone in space, slowly moving away, particles of frozen blood and gore drifting out with the vented atmosphere. When he looked to his side, he could see Studious curling up into a fetal position much like he himself had when he had been blasted off of the Penelope's hull.
Out of no where, a fighter swooped in close to Asher's position and nudged close.
Asher flopped on the outer full of the fighter and held on. He was just feet away from the canopy and he could clearly see the shocked expression on the pilot's face.
Reflected in the canopy's Lexan3 pane, Asher saw himself. Every bit of exposed skin was black as night, even his hair and eyes.
Terrified, he queried his implants and was informed that it was a protective measure produced by the nano-particles living in his bloodstream. His mind may have still been human, but his body certainly wasn't anymore.
For a moment, Asher wondered if he might once again be losing himself, becoming something less than human, but they had pushed him there. NI wouldn't let him go until they understood how much of a liability he could be.
His lungs were beginning to burn, and suddenly Asher knew what to do.
He glanced over to see that another fighter had swooped in to corral Studious' limp form, slowing his velocity. The other fighter was less than 100 meters away. Asher's implants calculated the distance and the amount of force required.
It was manageable, but difficult.
Asher folded his legs beneath him and applied exactly the right amount of force. Like a human missile, he pushed off from the fighter and pelted toward the other fighter and the comatose Studious.
At the last second, he reached out and latched on to the other fighter. With one hand, he reached out and grabbed Studious' jumpsuit, with the other he steadied himself on the fighter, its pilot hopefully too surprised to make any sudden maneuvers.
Once again, his implants calculated the distance and force required. The landing would be rough, but survivable.
He held Studious in front of him and pushed off from the fighter with as much force as possible. They careened through the vacuum of space toward the open hatch of the Nyx class stealth dropship, his lungs aching for air.
At the last second, he rolled and protected Studious with his body as they bumped off of the dropship's hull with enough force to break a few of Asher's ribs. Like an eight ball expertly banked into the corner pocket, Asher and Studious crunched through the airlock door and into the dropship's interior.
With a thought routed to the dropship's control core, Asher sealed the hatch and glorious atmosphere was pumped in. Like a passing fog bank, the black coloration to his skin faded back into his veins.
All at once, his jaw was unlock and he sucked in a huge gulp of air. His cracked ribs immediately screamed out in protest. When he looked down at Studious, he wasn't overly enthusiastic about what he saw.
Frost bite had set in deep, and vital signs were very slim. His skin had turned an angry blue color and he wasn't breathing.
With all the strength he had left, Asher picked up Studious and ordered the dropship to open up the medical cabinet. With a hiss, a small hatch popped open in the floor of the ship and Asher stuffed Studious into it as quickly as possible. The hatch closed and the cabinet began life support, pumping blood and stabilizing the brain while doing what it could to repair the frost bite damaged skin.
Asher missed the healing waterfalls of the Yydryl very much at that point.
With a grimace, Asher sank into the pilot's seat of the dropship and ordered a full stop. The ship slid to a silent drift toward the nearby planet. The engines powered down and engaged quiet status, making the ship completely undetectable to scan sweeps.
Exhausted, Asher passed out in the pilot's chair, tatters of the ruined EVA suit hanging off his Penelope Issue jumpsuit underneath.
[edit on 9-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
Studious simply hadn't understood. They lied to him and he had fallen for it completely. Perhaps it had been too much for him. Asher suspected that he wasn't entirely sane in the first place, but then again, not much was sane in Asher's world anymore.
Once again, Asher waited to die, even embraced it. It would at least mean an end to all the fighting. But this time, the void of space felt different.
There was no burning cold and pressure, no pain. Startled, Asher looked down at himself and saw that the black malaise that had invaded his body had spread out from his veins rapidly, turning every inch of skin dark gray.
The sight was enough to send shivers down Asher's spine.
Another problem quickly arose however. The cold and vacuum of the void might have somehow been staved off, but he still couldn't breathe. In fact, his jaw was clamped shut. His implants quickly informed him that this was a protective measure.
He craned his neck back in time to see the open hatch, seemingly hovering alone in space, slowly moving away, particles of frozen blood and gore drifting out with the vented atmosphere. When he looked to his side, he could see Studious curling up into a fetal position much like he himself had when he had been blasted off of the Penelope's hull.
Out of no where, a fighter swooped in close to Asher's position and nudged close.
Asher flopped on the outer full of the fighter and held on. He was just feet away from the canopy and he could clearly see the shocked expression on the pilot's face.
Reflected in the canopy's Lexan3 pane, Asher saw himself. Every bit of exposed skin was black as night, even his hair and eyes.
Terrified, he queried his implants and was informed that it was a protective measure produced by the nano-particles living in his bloodstream. His mind may have still been human, but his body certainly wasn't anymore.
For a moment, Asher wondered if he might once again be losing himself, becoming something less than human, but they had pushed him there. NI wouldn't let him go until they understood how much of a liability he could be.
His lungs were beginning to burn, and suddenly Asher knew what to do.
He glanced over to see that another fighter had swooped in to corral Studious' limp form, slowing his velocity. The other fighter was less than 100 meters away. Asher's implants calculated the distance and the amount of force required.
It was manageable, but difficult.
Asher folded his legs beneath him and applied exactly the right amount of force. Like a human missile, he pushed off from the fighter and pelted toward the other fighter and the comatose Studious.
At the last second, he reached out and latched on to the other fighter. With one hand, he reached out and grabbed Studious' jumpsuit, with the other he steadied himself on the fighter, its pilot hopefully too surprised to make any sudden maneuvers.
Once again, his implants calculated the distance and force required. The landing would be rough, but survivable.
He held Studious in front of him and pushed off from the fighter with as much force as possible. They careened through the vacuum of space toward the open hatch of the Nyx class stealth dropship, his lungs aching for air.
At the last second, he rolled and protected Studious with his body as they bumped off of the dropship's hull with enough force to break a few of Asher's ribs. Like an eight ball expertly banked into the corner pocket, Asher and Studious crunched through the airlock door and into the dropship's interior.
With a thought routed to the dropship's control core, Asher sealed the hatch and glorious atmosphere was pumped in. Like a passing fog bank, the black coloration to his skin faded back into his veins.
All at once, his jaw was unlock and he sucked in a huge gulp of air. His cracked ribs immediately screamed out in protest. When he looked down at Studious, he wasn't overly enthusiastic about what he saw.
Frost bite had set in deep, and vital signs were very slim. His skin had turned an angry blue color and he wasn't breathing.
With all the strength he had left, Asher picked up Studious and ordered the dropship to open up the medical cabinet. With a hiss, a small hatch popped open in the floor of the ship and Asher stuffed Studious into it as quickly as possible. The hatch closed and the cabinet began life support, pumping blood and stabilizing the brain while doing what it could to repair the frost bite damaged skin.
Asher missed the healing waterfalls of the Yydryl very much at that point.
With a grimace, Asher sank into the pilot's seat of the dropship and ordered a full stop. The ship slid to a silent drift toward the nearby planet. The engines powered down and engaged quiet status, making the ship completely undetectable to scan sweeps.
Exhausted, Asher passed out in the pilot's chair, tatters of the ruined EVA suit hanging off his Penelope Issue jumpsuit underneath.
[edit on 9-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
CindyMars gave me thirty snips, I’d already wasted half that time finding her quarters after making a quick pass by my own.
I wish I’d had a chance to stop by Deson’s for a weapon of some kind but having no idea what CindyMars had in mind for our *trip* I’d not know what to take, furthermore I'd no doubt CindyMars would provide whatever she thought I might need.
Earth.
After months of studying memory discs and longing to set foot on the planet I’d become near obsessed with - I was finally getting my chance.
With a steady hand I removed my headband to pass it over the censor outside CindyMars door, letting her know I’d arrived.
Sinking my antenna completely back into their sockets I pulled my headband back on and waited for CindyMars to answer her door.
[edit on 9-6-2009 by silo13]
Myth was growing uneasy. He could hear whispers of the Dark terrority Pirates coming to the dock. These pirates were the meanest and the most
murderous pirates in the galaxy. So without wasting anymore time into the open Myth decided to ask when the next ships were headed to dock.
Myth walked over to the arrivals and deport station, he looked at the man
"When are the next ships arriving?" Myth asked, as the man looked down.
The man had a very strange look out his face, a face of terror...but why?
"Excuse me, I asked you a question." Myth asked again, tapping on the window.
The man had a strange look, he kept looking down and fooling with his hands. Either he was pleasuring himself, or he was up to something else. Myth focused again, listening to what he had to think.
The clerk said: "I hope he doesn't know. I need to get this shot off without any problems, on the count of three."
Myth reached to his side, unclipping his holster, and pulling the trigger back. He was waiting, as the man began to count with his fingers. Myth counted with him and then the clerk raised the gun, it caught Myth off guard. Myth fell back as the blast shattered the glass and the blast went over his head. That was too CLOSE!
People began to run, screaming and pushing toward the exist. Myth looked at the guy and fired a shot, a huge gaping hole was visible in his chest as he fell to the ground. Myth stood up and began to head for the exits as three other people began to fire upon him.
"Damn, this just is not my day." Myth said as he took cover behind a bench.
The men began to talk and fire at Myth. Myth once again focused on them watching there movement and listening to what they were going to do next, just listening and then within 3 seconds Myth stood up from the behind the bench and fired three shots taking the three assassins out.
His stay was over. It was time to run, until the Yydryl was close.
Myth holstered his weapon, better known as the judge, and walked out of the port.
It was time to go to a safer place, a place underground known as the Ditch, a safe hiding place due to the guards surroudning the haven. There Myth would wait and listen until he knew the Yydryl was close. His days on earth were numbered and his life was also in great jeopardy. The Pirates were getting closer and much stronger. Now they have people everywhere and soon everyone would be working for them and Parnoia is not what he needs.
Myth stopped at the entrance of the Ditch, the guards recognized him and let him in.
He took a seat near the entrance and just waited. His time on earth was hell, from his career in the military to his current hiding from the Pirates. This was not the world of freedom, this was the world of death and fear. And it was time to leave, soon he would be on the Yydryl and be safe once again....
[edit on Jun 9th 2009 by TheMythLives]
Myth walked over to the arrivals and deport station, he looked at the man
"When are the next ships arriving?" Myth asked, as the man looked down.
The man had a very strange look out his face, a face of terror...but why?
"Excuse me, I asked you a question." Myth asked again, tapping on the window.
The man had a strange look, he kept looking down and fooling with his hands. Either he was pleasuring himself, or he was up to something else. Myth focused again, listening to what he had to think.
The clerk said: "I hope he doesn't know. I need to get this shot off without any problems, on the count of three."
Myth reached to his side, unclipping his holster, and pulling the trigger back. He was waiting, as the man began to count with his fingers. Myth counted with him and then the clerk raised the gun, it caught Myth off guard. Myth fell back as the blast shattered the glass and the blast went over his head. That was too CLOSE!
People began to run, screaming and pushing toward the exist. Myth looked at the guy and fired a shot, a huge gaping hole was visible in his chest as he fell to the ground. Myth stood up and began to head for the exits as three other people began to fire upon him.
"Damn, this just is not my day." Myth said as he took cover behind a bench.
The men began to talk and fire at Myth. Myth once again focused on them watching there movement and listening to what they were going to do next, just listening and then within 3 seconds Myth stood up from the behind the bench and fired three shots taking the three assassins out.
His stay was over. It was time to run, until the Yydryl was close.
Myth holstered his weapon, better known as the judge, and walked out of the port.
It was time to go to a safer place, a place underground known as the Ditch, a safe hiding place due to the guards surroudning the haven. There Myth would wait and listen until he knew the Yydryl was close. His days on earth were numbered and his life was also in great jeopardy. The Pirates were getting closer and much stronger. Now they have people everywhere and soon everyone would be working for them and Parnoia is not what he needs.
Myth stopped at the entrance of the Ditch, the guards recognized him and let him in.
He took a seat near the entrance and just waited. His time on earth was hell, from his career in the military to his current hiding from the Pirates. This was not the world of freedom, this was the world of death and fear. And it was time to leave, soon he would be on the Yydryl and be safe once again....
[edit on Jun 9th 2009 by TheMythLives]
Chief nenothtu sat waiting on a response from Asher, but instead he got a hail from the Yydryl.
Originally posted by silo13
“SS Penelope! Please, can you hear me? Penelope? This is the Yydryl!”
“Penelope, pleaseeee this is the Yydryl! Your men. They’re caught in the brig and it’s on fire. Penelope!”
“Penelope! Can you hear me PLEASEEEEE! HELP! Help save your Men, Please!...
“Don’t let them burn!”
Burn? So evidently Asher didn't have company on the dropship. Where had he gotten the dropship, then? In any event, if his own crewmen were in danger aboard Yydryl, there was nothing he could do from Penelope if the Yydryl crew itself couldn't do anything from on-site. Nenothtu felt a rage begin to burn in his throat. The nerve of folks! drop themselves in the grease, without authorization, then expect HIM to haul their fat out of the fire when it goes sideways! LITERALLY haul their fat out of the fire, it seemed.
His thoughts were interrupted by a transmission from Asher.
Originally posted by SeekerOfAUTMN
Good to hear your voice Chief Neno. I was afraid the Penelope had been compromised by NI. It is not my intention to forcefully board, and I will hold position until you give me the green light. The raid on the Yydryl was orchestrated by NI in an effort to retrieve me. The team opened fire on an otherwise peaceful spacecraft that had treated me very well. They intended to return me to mechanical slavery... I was disinclined. They are no longer a problem. Colonel Studious is with me and unharmed. I am unsure of his involvement, and I will leave the questioning to you.
Respectfully requesting permission to dock, Sir.
[edit on 8-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
NI? Neno had surmised as much. According to Asher's transmission everyone was accounted for, so nenothtu put the event of a Yydryl brig fire on the back... burner... for the moment. why would Asher think NI had compromised Penelope? Perhaps this cospiracy ran deper than he'd thought. All KNOWN NI agents aboard had ben detained, but evidently this team had been under deeper cover than he realized. More worries. Who ELSE could there be from NI?
"They are no longer a problem", Asher had said. That certainly sounded ominous. Asher had a track record of handling 'problems' with extreme prejudice. Given the circumstances, nenothtu could see how such activity in this case would be a clear-cut act of self-defense. "if that's the way it went, I've one less headache" he mumble to no one in particular, drawing a curious glance from the helmsman.
Neno re-evaluate the situation, and started to formulate a response. before he could formulate it and transmit, he received a response from Captain Luder.
Originally posted by mf_luder
"Neno, we are returning with two world-level ambassadors from Kelvaxx. I would recommend you send at least four extra security guards when we arrive back at the ship. The two ambassadors don't seem to like to play well with each other. Luder out."
Nenothtu decided that things were about to get very active around the landing bays, and opened a channel to his security subordinate. " nenothtu to Sergeant James. I want every available security officer to the landing bays, pronto. Everyone awake, that is. and the ones that aren't awake need to be woke up and sent there. We have two VIPs coming aboard with Captain Luder. Two Bodyguards per VIP, and an additional 4 on each to keep the peace between the two. They seem to be antagonistic toward one another. Everyone else needs to prep to 'greet' a dropship that may have hostiles aboard. They are alleged to be subdued already, but I ain't taking chances on that. The Cap'n's shuttle will arrive starboard side, the possible hostiles to port, to keep 'em all separated, and avoid unneccesary danger to the VIPs. Nenothtu out."
The Captain's channel crackled to life again.
Originally posted by mf_luder
"Neno, is something going on I need to be aware of? I notice you launched fighters. Are we flying into a hot zone?"
Shuttle 9A2 requests permission to dock with USS Penelope at time stamp 2939104. Please acknowledge.
[edit on 9-6-2009 by mf_luder]
nenothtu responded to the captain.
"Cap'n Luder, you're clear to land in the starboard side docking bays. we have a cloaked dropship containing Asher, Studious, an an unknown number of possible hostiles that I'm routing to the port side, and sending a reception party to greet them. That's the reason for the fighter activity you see. I'll route escorts to both vessels to see you home, and prevent unpleasantness. Nenothtu out"
Before he could issue the escort orders, he got a transmission from Badger.
Originally posted by badgerprints
” Badger to Neno. We’ve got your bogey. Request instructions.”
Chief nenothtu intended to issue orders to escort the dropship to the port side docking bays, but before he could get the words out, a 'hole' of light opened up in space, and spewed two bodies out of it. THAT activity brought on a flurry of communications chatter.
Originally posted by badgerprints
“Emergency! Need retrieval. Two humanoids eating vacuum. “Launch retrieval now. Launch retrieval now!”
“Supercat, Rebar, go get those two.”
“Sir, we can’t EVA. What do we do with them?”
“Get in front of them and stop them from going further. Keep them close together.”
“Frog, vector in the recovery team and keep an eye on the shuttle. See if you can see anybody else on board. Hail them and see if you get a response. We don’t know who spaced those two or if it was an accident.”
“Badger to Petra.”
“Go for Petra.”
“We’ve got some stinky fish over here. Have Delta back up Charlie and stay sharp. Something’s not right here.
“Rodger that. Petra out.”
“Uh, Penelope Conn, be advised, you have what appears to be an unmanned shuttle on a collision course with the ship. Shields will keep it from damaging Penelope but you might want to get out of the way so she can be retrieved by EVA. We’ll need those onboard recorders to figure out what happened here."
"Penelope to Badger. Sir, am I to understand that you want a starship, this starship, to give right of way to a shuttle?"
Badger answered,"Rodger that."
"This is highly irregular Sir." came the reply.
"Oh, you picked up on that didja?"said Badger,"Just do it. You don't have much time."
"I'll have to get approval from Chief Neno."
"Well you might want to get it quick. He'll have you polishing the inside of the sewage converters if you screw around and we lose that shuttle."
"Badger out."
Badger received a new hail. “Evac one to Badger.”
“Go for Badger.”
“What do we have sir?”
“Two subjects, humanoid. Blown out of a shuttle hatch. I’ve got two ships corralling them in the same location but they can’t bring them into single seat fighters.”
“Rodger that Sir. We’ll get them.”
“Be careful Evac. The inside of that shuttle looks pretty gruesome. I think one of those two might have done that. If they aren’t dead, then they are a threat.”
“Will do sir.”
Gruesome? That would undoubtedly be Asher's handiwork, whatever it was. "Helm, evade as best you can. I know his thing won't turn on a dime, though." nenothtu commented.
Before the helm could reply, one of the figures in space performed an impossibly precise series of acrobatics, ending with BOTH figures back inside the dropship, with the hatch again closed.
"what the hell? I need a BIG jar of nerve pills and headache medicine" neno muttered, drawing the same curious glance from the helmsman. The dropship disappeared again, making evasion impossible.
"Cheif nenothtu to Asher, or whomever is flying that dropship. Uncloak IMMEDIATELY, and report. I don't know what's going on over there, but you're making me VERY nervous, and I'm the guy with his finger on the big red button. nenothtu OUT."
Neno then opened a channel to the captain's shuttle.
"neno to Captain Luder. Fire up them afterburners and come on home! I need a break and a beer. nenothtu out."
[edit on 2009/6/9 by nenothtu]
That was quite possibly the most interesting encounter he had experienced in a while. Adilaris was not use to being "greeted" in such a way. He
wonder's if she realized that his skin was not his own.
He was quite impressed with what he had witnessed so far. A living ship, a DTS and apparently, a slew of problems that would keep him very busy. Not to mention his need to investigate the mission and the very many details surrounding the events that have already transpired.
He glanced down at the equipment that was handed to him. Seemed like an old technology, perhaps from the the late 21st century. Either way, intergration of technology was his forte. He willed the device into his hand and instantly it became a part of him.
It's inner workings were revealed and it could now be used simply by thinking. He found it very interesting that Cim was willing to converse so candidly and placed a level of trust in a complete stranger. It was not like the DTS' he had known previously. Such gifts were to be earned, not given. Friends were never something he was comfortable with, since they had a tendency to die, and he could not.
These were all things he could ponder later. He was now at his prime destination, the bridge. It was time to find out what was really going on, and to inform the whole crew of his arrival. As he entered the brig, he caught a glimpse of what he was in for.
Monitors displaying various issues, including structural damages and intruders. Written in multiple languages, which he assumed was the result of multiple different species being part the main crew. It was time to amalgamate himself with the Yydryl.
Approaching the main console, he began to glow a soft blue as his physical being began to disintegrate leaving only his true wavelenght form. It had been a while since he had been able to properly release himself, he slowed the process in order to allow time to enjoy the sensation of release.
As the process finished, that familiar voice began to speak.
" You are filled with mystery my friend, what do you intend to do?" It sounded like an agitated inquiry.
"Worry not, I would never do anything which would place your integrity in danger. My orders are very clear and the protection of this ship is my top priority. Your injuries will be fixed shortly."
" Very well, you spoke of integrating yourself with me, what exactly does that entail?"
"It means I will be directly "plugging" my being into your hardware. You will still have full control, and are able to overide any of the decisions I make conciously, however this will allow me to view all members of the crew via security, have complete access to all sections of the ship. It will also allow me to control the vessel from any point and provide fighter support without having to sacrifice the crew."
"Seems you have some big plans for me, anything I should be directly aware of?"
"You and I both know you don't require permission to scan my thoughts and reveal my plans, I have nothing to hide from you." It does seem however that you wish to keep your concious existance a secret from most of the crew, that interests me greatly."
"It's not about secrecy, it is about comprehension. Most would attempt to take advantage of my superior technology and the best way to prevent that form happening is to keep them in the dark. I can be very easily manipulated by any being who would gain complete knowledge of my capabilities and weaknesses. But you will find out soon enough."
"I wish to converse with you further Yydryl, but I have many things to do, and integration comes first, please do not resist, it may be a stress on your system"
As he spoke the words, Adilaris willed himself within the the walls of the Yydryl. As the process began, the ship came to halt whithin space, and the lights were disrupted. Monitors began to flicker and doors opened and closed at will. His arrival would be noticed.
Warning! Emergency systems taking effect. Advising all crew members to return to their stations for status checks. Warning! Emergency systems taking effect. Advising all crew members to return to their stations for status checks.
Instantly he was connected to her conciousness and was given all the information he would ever require to run anything on this ship. He was quite surprised and almost shocked to learn of her capabilities. He security system was immense, yet untapped by most of the crew.
If they only knew he thought, she doesn't require a crew at all. How marvelous.
Everything was at his disposal, security, weapons, cargo and docking. Scanners and navigation, all at the tip of his mind ready to be used. Each seemed to long for some action of some sorts. Seems the previous navigator was some sort of amateur.
It would not matter. As the sequence ended and the ship returned to normal, Adilaris used the vast communications system to send a message to all crew members.
Members of the Yydryl. My name is Adilaris. I have commandered your vessel and control all aspects of it. My intentions are friendly. I am here to aid you in your mission and de-construct as well as record to events taking place. Please return to the bridge for a full briefing
As he finished his communication, he began meddled with the idea of dealing with the ships repairs now, versus later. It would have to wait he decided. I must make sure everybody is accounted for.
And he waited.....
He was quite impressed with what he had witnessed so far. A living ship, a DTS and apparently, a slew of problems that would keep him very busy. Not to mention his need to investigate the mission and the very many details surrounding the events that have already transpired.
He glanced down at the equipment that was handed to him. Seemed like an old technology, perhaps from the the late 21st century. Either way, intergration of technology was his forte. He willed the device into his hand and instantly it became a part of him.
It's inner workings were revealed and it could now be used simply by thinking. He found it very interesting that Cim was willing to converse so candidly and placed a level of trust in a complete stranger. It was not like the DTS' he had known previously. Such gifts were to be earned, not given. Friends were never something he was comfortable with, since they had a tendency to die, and he could not.
These were all things he could ponder later. He was now at his prime destination, the bridge. It was time to find out what was really going on, and to inform the whole crew of his arrival. As he entered the brig, he caught a glimpse of what he was in for.
Monitors displaying various issues, including structural damages and intruders. Written in multiple languages, which he assumed was the result of multiple different species being part the main crew. It was time to amalgamate himself with the Yydryl.
Approaching the main console, he began to glow a soft blue as his physical being began to disintegrate leaving only his true wavelenght form. It had been a while since he had been able to properly release himself, he slowed the process in order to allow time to enjoy the sensation of release.
As the process finished, that familiar voice began to speak.
" You are filled with mystery my friend, what do you intend to do?" It sounded like an agitated inquiry.
"Worry not, I would never do anything which would place your integrity in danger. My orders are very clear and the protection of this ship is my top priority. Your injuries will be fixed shortly."
" Very well, you spoke of integrating yourself with me, what exactly does that entail?"
"It means I will be directly "plugging" my being into your hardware. You will still have full control, and are able to overide any of the decisions I make conciously, however this will allow me to view all members of the crew via security, have complete access to all sections of the ship. It will also allow me to control the vessel from any point and provide fighter support without having to sacrifice the crew."
"Seems you have some big plans for me, anything I should be directly aware of?"
"You and I both know you don't require permission to scan my thoughts and reveal my plans, I have nothing to hide from you." It does seem however that you wish to keep your concious existance a secret from most of the crew, that interests me greatly."
"It's not about secrecy, it is about comprehension. Most would attempt to take advantage of my superior technology and the best way to prevent that form happening is to keep them in the dark. I can be very easily manipulated by any being who would gain complete knowledge of my capabilities and weaknesses. But you will find out soon enough."
"I wish to converse with you further Yydryl, but I have many things to do, and integration comes first, please do not resist, it may be a stress on your system"
As he spoke the words, Adilaris willed himself within the the walls of the Yydryl. As the process began, the ship came to halt whithin space, and the lights were disrupted. Monitors began to flicker and doors opened and closed at will. His arrival would be noticed.
Warning! Emergency systems taking effect. Advising all crew members to return to their stations for status checks. Warning! Emergency systems taking effect. Advising all crew members to return to their stations for status checks.
Instantly he was connected to her conciousness and was given all the information he would ever require to run anything on this ship. He was quite surprised and almost shocked to learn of her capabilities. He security system was immense, yet untapped by most of the crew.
If they only knew he thought, she doesn't require a crew at all. How marvelous.
Everything was at his disposal, security, weapons, cargo and docking. Scanners and navigation, all at the tip of his mind ready to be used. Each seemed to long for some action of some sorts. Seems the previous navigator was some sort of amateur.
It would not matter. As the sequence ended and the ship returned to normal, Adilaris used the vast communications system to send a message to all crew members.
Members of the Yydryl. My name is Adilaris. I have commandered your vessel and control all aspects of it. My intentions are friendly. I am here to aid you in your mission and de-construct as well as record to events taking place. Please return to the bridge for a full briefing
As he finished his communication, he began meddled with the idea of dealing with the ships repairs now, versus later. It would have to wait he decided. I must make sure everybody is accounted for.
And he waited.....
The communications array pinged loudly and Asher jumped awake. His implants informed him that a grand total of seven minutes had passed by.
He groaned and clutched at his broken ribs.
The array pinged again and he answered it, listening to Neno's response. He was somewhat surprised that the dropship was cloaked at all. He could barely remember putting Studious in the medical cabinet, let alone cloaking the dropship.
Moments later the dropship disengaged stealth and stabilized position.
[Sorry about the confusion, Chief. There was a bit of a... Problem. The NI spec ops team, NI-7, was heavily infiltrated aboard the Penelope and took this dropship to retrieve me. Somehow, Studious got involved and swept up in their little conspiracy. They're dead now, NI-7 I mean. I refuse to watch for them for them for the rest of my life. Studious must have been deeper than I thought, possibly NI himself. When I killed the team, he popped the airlock and jettisoned us. I managed to get him back but he's in a bad way. He's going to need some doctors as soon as possible. Asher, out.]
[edit on 9-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
He groaned and clutched at his broken ribs.
The array pinged again and he answered it, listening to Neno's response. He was somewhat surprised that the dropship was cloaked at all. He could barely remember putting Studious in the medical cabinet, let alone cloaking the dropship.
Moments later the dropship disengaged stealth and stabilized position.
[Sorry about the confusion, Chief. There was a bit of a... Problem. The NI spec ops team, NI-7, was heavily infiltrated aboard the Penelope and took this dropship to retrieve me. Somehow, Studious got involved and swept up in their little conspiracy. They're dead now, NI-7 I mean. I refuse to watch for them for them for the rest of my life. Studious must have been deeper than I thought, possibly NI himself. When I killed the team, he popped the airlock and jettisoned us. I managed to get him back but he's in a bad way. He's going to need some doctors as soon as possible. Asher, out.]
[edit on 9-6-2009 by SeekerOfAUTMN]
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Hate makes for strange bedfellows
US Political Madness: 38 minutes ago -
Who guards the guards
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whistleblower Captain Bill Uhouse on the Kingman UFO recovery
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Hate makes for strange bedfellows
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Hate makes for strange bedfellows
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