Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 5, 2015 18:26:06 GMT
It mystified Andae that the automated ship could've been missed by the Raven as it had left the surface. He'd watched it exit the atmosphere through the windows of the shuttle, as Marionette had begun setting the shuttle down on a platform of something resembling concrete. He'd also seen it on sensors until the point where it had reached orbital velocity, by then no longer reading it due to some form of atmospheric disturbance.
"Oxygen environment outside," Young observed, "We're able to step out without EVA suits, Admiral." Torek got up to leave the craft, Young and Scott holding up hands to stop him, "Sir, I recommend we step down first, there's no way to know for sure what defensive measures the Xallac have -"
"Perhaps what they had," Andae said from the front viewer.
Young jutted his chin out, "What defensive measures they have in place. Sir, in the interest of your own safety." Torek nodded and the marines led the way down the hatch that opened in the shuttle's side, rifles raised in anticipation and crouch-running to the nearest cover.
"Is this wise?" Andae murmured, watching the others leave the shuttle. He stayed inside making last minute checks that the automatic shutdown procedure was running smoothly. Everything automated, he thought, often forgetting it or allowing it to sink into the background whenever he was in engineering on the Raven... the thought that 99% of a starship's systems were automated, run by the computer core upon whose correct function the crew's life depended, was unnerving, and it was recalled again here among this machinery - not a living being in sight. The industry was impressive, however he too, along with those on the Raven as he understood from their brief report moments ago, was confused by the prevalent oxygen atmosphere when the Xallac were meant to be breathers of methane. They'd live well on Neptune, if that planet was rocky at its surface and the porous methane-ice was allowed through the crust.
He joined the rest of the away team - currently hunkered down by a large stack of bewildering and very alien-looking metallic alloy moulds, strange glyph like patterns inscribed in the curved surfaces.
"The Raven reports they're holding half a kilometre off one of the ships," he reported, ambling down the natural ramp that didn't seem to be designed for humanoid or quadruped, only perhaps for some clanking mechanical apparatus. "They're reading oxygen inside the nearest vessels, spreading throughout the whole group of them." Andae only had his imagination to picture what the sight must be like, and what specifically was taking place up there, 70 million ships in a spherical formation, spaced out sufficiently to allow for safe orbital manoeuvring.
Carl squinted at the tangerine horizon which was lost in the haze of bustling industry. Swinging cranes, multi-limbed mechanical appendages lowering internal components and hull pieces hundreds of metres long into place, sparks lighting up dark partitions in factories and 2000 square km construction sites. "Then we have a problem, Andae."
"It appears so. The flotilla is activating with the Raven's proximity, their internal spaces filling with oxygen, which means that they were designed for biological crew and aren't simply automatons." That quelled the nerves slightly - an implacable wall of unfeeling vessels that could be turned into a single instrument of destruction, without a minimum of conscience to temper and guide the 'swarm', was not a palatable prospect. "The good news is that the XO reports the ships aren't showing any signs of powering their weapon relays... It seems they've gone on a minimal alert status that's all.
"As for why we didn't detect them, it's possible the Raven's sensors first thought S1-2 to be slightly non-spherical - the computer's way of explaining the lack of uniformity in mass distribution of the planet... then on approach the computer might've surmised that there was a small moon, maybe even a captured asteroid in an irregular orbit. Only when we got closer did the ships reveal themselves... As for why the Raven can't see the ship that's just left the surface though, I have no idea."
"Well thanks, Andae, that's very useful information..."
They began walking towards what looked like a passage into an internal space in a nearby factory unit, roughly the size of a small one-storey house. "Well, when I say I have no idea..."
"You mean to say you may have some idea but have no evidence," Scott finished, laughing with Young as they entered the internal space.
Nothing humanoid, he thought, looking at the interior. There was hardly space for one person at a time, and virtually no room to manoeuvre; a flat panel that had the marginal appearance of a starship console but with no activation control or motion sensor when one of the team stepped near it; a lift mechanism that no one and certainly not a 7 foot quadruped could fit on which, nevertheless, indicated the existence of a second 'inhabitable' level.
After a comic attempt by Lieutenant Scott to activate the flat screen console by shuffling crablike hands and feet towards it, as he imagined a Xallac quadruped would, the team started fussing over the miniature lift. Andae took a redundant length of wire out of his tricorder and placed it on the lift, which promptly shot upwards and half a minute later down again, the length of wire gone. "Well, we're getting nowhere," he said, summarising all their thoughts succinctly.
"What if the world was conquered by the Halanan, before the alliance? Or what if it's part of their new alliance?" Young said, "Shapeshifters can fit into any space, right? Perhaps this construction is all theirs... they don't need space for humanoid limbs."
"All questions, no answers," Andae retorted. "Though if it is a collaborative effort, it makes sense that the world could've been designed to run automatically, minimal maintenance required by Halanan technicians, producing vessels for the Xallac Empire. That doesn't explain what they're constructing now though; ships with oxygen atmospheres once proximity activated... Unless they've been waiting a long time for the Xallac's arrival and have now resorted to using oxygen-breathing crews, mercenaries to fill their ships that they're still waiting for."
He paused, staring at the empty lift. Wait, what did actually happen to that length of metal wire? In the room with its tight confines he said, "There have been cases, haven't there, of some shapeshifting species not being detected by conventional sensors...?" Dread fell over him. "I think we should get out of here..."
<Tag Carl, All>
Back in the shuttle, the others scattered around the complex that lay about their landing site, Andae contacted the Raven. "Commander, those ships are all black, yes?"
"Confirmed, Andae."
"I have a working theory, and we're in a race against time down here, that part of the reason we couldn't detect the ships was due to an absence of lifesigns owing to the fact the Halanan cannot be detected by conventional sensors. How we missed this I don't know. Now, regarding the ships themselves... scan the nearest, tell me its hull temperature near the engine complex."
A few seconds passed, Blakus waiting pensively. "Uh, we're barely reading it. 5.7 degrees kelvin, Andae. And warming, slowly."
"I knew it. They're masking themselves in a manner even more effective than a cloak. When inert and in drifting in orbit around S1-2, their hulls were so cold they were indistinguishable from the vacuum itself which has a temperature of about 2.7 degrees kelvin. It's no wonder the sensors didn't detect them while we were inbound to the system, and no wonder the ship that recently left this planet effectively 'disappeared' once it reached space. Each ship must have some sort of quantum superconductor, refrigerating the hull 'til its rendered invisible against the vacuum." Andae peered out the windows, hoping the team was rushing back.
<Tag Will, Carl, All>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 7, 2015 19:14:56 GMT
........ "Two hundred seventy of the sub-transmator pillars are now complete Director, but we are falling behind once again due to, supply issues." the young Engineer said nervously.
"You were warned of the consequences should this occur again ?" the Director asked.
"I do Director, but as I attempted to expla ....." the comment was cut off as the Engineer vanished from existence. Torek turned to his Aide and ordered her to assign a suitable replacement then he walked down the nearest tunnel returning the unfamiliar weapon to his pocket ... At one hundred meters in length he could have taken the railed transport but chose to walk. He needed the time to think ... Unaware that his Aide was coming up behind him, he spun as she touched him on the shoulder.
"You took it upon yourself to punish that man. It will not happen again, do you understand me Carl ?"
"Yes." he said, almost in a dazed state as the woman before him held his gaze. Yet, as suddenly as it had begun the lethargy evaporated and he turned to continue along the tunnel, his Aide a few steps behind. On arrival he could see several people working on the superstructure that would eventually hold the transator node. The man supervising came over and began his report:
"We should have the cradle complete by morning Director, but I am still waiting for the node to be brought from the surface."
"It will be here at first light Supervisor." Torek assured the man before walking around the hexagonal cradle that would, when called upon, thrust the device up through the molten lava and into the daylight, where it would instantly connect with it's companion nodes to form an immense portal, capable of allowing tens of thousands of Xallac, and hundreds of ground attack craft, to transport to Earth from their base in the Orion Nebula. When the Xallac were ready, they would decimate the planet and all those on her surface, then .....
"Director, if I may ?" the Supervisor asked tentatively, "Would it be possible to know what we are constructing in the tunnels. Every time I begin to, dwell, on the subject I seem to have trouble, I have looked over the construction blueprints many times, yet even with my extensive experience, the purpose of these constru ...."
"You are not here to question Supervisor." Siwa Ir said menacingly as she approached the man, "Return to your work. Unless you would prefer to be assigned to a task less conclusive to, speculation ?" she said in almost a whisper. The man almost passed out as he retreated from the two quickly, hoping he could escape further scrutiny from the Director's Aide.
"Still one hundred plus nodes to complete. We need more people down here." Torek said, knowing his Aide would see to his needs without question, "I am needed on the surface, plans for the second phase of the radio telescope have arrived. Remain here and see to the addition construction personnel." ......
"Admiral. Admiral." Carl turned at the sound, confused for a second, before realizing someone was addressing him, "Return to the shuttle ?"
"Yes, let's go." he said, allowing one of the other's to take the lead ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 12, 2015 18:46:27 GMT
"It's about time!" Andae waved the others into the shuttle's interior as he surveyed the landscape about them. "Come on, come on get on board." No objects had started melting, Halanan humanoid shapes emerging from the architecture, as he'd feared. That control panel in the small building they'd found obviously had to be there for a reason; Andae guessed it was meant to be Halanan controlled (as no Xallac could fit in that gap), the changeling species maintaining the planet's production facilities over years, generations... The shuttle lifted from the surface and soon the darkness of space closed in about them, blotting out the day in a steady transference, a dissolving of colour to be replaced by that perfect infinity. "Raven, this is Commander Blakus, we are leaving orbit of S1-3, recommend you advise on wisdom of attempting to approach the shuttlebay." He glanced at Torek, who nodded, "As you can imagine we're slightly nervous about the proximity of those ships out there. What is the status of the Xallac fleet?" <Tag Will, Calli>He was uncertain whether that mass of ships were Xallac in origin; he was also deeply curious to see what the sight of 70 million starships in fairly close formation looked like. Fortunately he wasn't kept waiting. "On visual..." Commander Teng, who'd had a minimal role on the away mission thus far spoke, "The fleet is in a roughly spherical formation. Not much can be seen on this view..." Sitting behind the pilot's chair, she switched the small screen in her console that purported to show the fleet of camouflaged warships to thermal imaging. Everyone had a close look... A red-purple blotch covered the middle of the screen, fading out to space and the lifeless (apparently) S1-2 in the background: this was the Xallac fleet. "That's the heat from their initial power up, probably in reaction to the Raven's presence, but it's only happening slowly, temperatures indicate activation of drive systems into what they used to call 'tick over'," Andae reported, "But most of the ships appear to be doing nothing at all... Only a small percentage... A tiny percentage, approximately 0.05% of them have come online, all with oxygen atmospheres." "Certainly no Xallac aboard then." "Unless they're using rebreathers, accommodating non-Xallac oxygen-breathing crew...? Perhaps their numbers are too small to operate these ships themselves." "That would make sense if there were 70 million, or several tens of thousands of ships going by that percentage..." Andae studied his console. "But why aren't we reading any lifesigns, now that we've figured out how to see through their cloaks?" "No Xallac aboard," Young said, stating the obvious and simplest explanation which could well be true. Andae went into the LCARS database, researching the most recent information the Federation had on the Xallac-Halanan war and their supposed alliance. Specifically he wanted to know what bearing on the conflict/alliance this star system had and how far away they were from the Xallac's rumoured homeworld. All the database had to say was that Xallac and Halanan hostilities in this particular region - a formerly hotly contested territory - had ceased completely six months ago. And that radiation from the whole segment of the Orion Arm that contained the Xallac and Halanan empires had reduced significantly, the classic sign of an end to a large interstellar conflict. Thinking he'd exhausted the idea, he was about to turn back to co-pilot instrument monitoring duties, when he saw a footnote at the end of the last file, a sort of addendum, Scans in sectors of Xallac space OA-736 through OA-750 yielded no data. No explanation for failure of deep field sensors available at this time.<Tag Torek, Allll >
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 13, 2015 16:40:29 GMT
"That would make sense if there were 70 million, or several tens of thousands of ships going by that percentage ..." Andae studied his console. "But why aren't we reading any life-signs, now that we've figured out how to see through their cloaks ?" Carl had been looking through the plexi-glass window as they slowly approached the stationary Raven. He turned to one of the vacant consoles and tried to double-check something. Satisfied, he turned to the others: "I think I may have an explanation for what we're seeing, though not the Oxygen atmosphere ....." he said, transferring the information in front of him to all screens on the shuttle, If you look in quadrant delta six, there is a steady stream of ships 'returning' to close planetary orbit then vanishing ..... I have the feeling that the Xallac built the automated surface construction facilities, but for whatever reason, didn't stay around to shut the planet down once they had what the needed ..... We're seeing maybe sixteen, eighteen thousand 'completed' ships all now on minimal power, the rest are dead. I'd wondered about raw materials, and I think the facility used whatever was at hand, once the planet's resources ran out, it had little option but to start taking it from orbit. It's some sort of immense vicious circle, it builds and launches a ship, and all the time it is bringing completed vessels back to use as raw material." "I had wondered about the numbers." one of the others commented, "But it makes sense." "That still leaves us with a lot of questions, namely, why the need for even eighteen thousand ships, they could decimate the Federation with a fraction of that number, and where the hell 'ARE' the Xallac and the Halanan ?" "Contact the Raven, let's dock then get over to that ship. I want a look around while we apparently have a free hand." Torek said. ooo000ooo Informing Commander Wedlerson that he had the Con, the rest moved to transporter room two. In transporter room three a group of Marines and Security Officers were waiting for the 'go' to transport simultaneously ...... The vessel was cold due to the reduced power he decided. Unintelligible script ran down the side of each door, but they didn't have time at this point to begin deciphering. Carl split them up into two teams, each with a Security back-up. Will and Marionette were to go Aft, their remit to find the main computer core and get whatever information they could from it. Andae, Calli, and himself would head Forward, hopefully to the Bridge ... As they made their way along the corridors he had the eerie feeling that they were being watched, nothing he could prove of course, and maybe it was just a little apprehension, but he never ignored his feelings and told the other's to be cautious. With Marines covering them they passed countless empty rooms. Obviously not sleeping quarters but almost waiting rooms. Chairs, tables, small window, and nothing else. "Anyone else wondering where the crew are going to sleep ?" Calli asked. "Maybe they don't." Andae said with a shrug. Carl brought them to a halt and tapped his Comm badge: =^= Torek to Raven .. .. Anything on scanners Commander Wedlerson ? =^= =^= Just the two away teams Admiral =^= =^= Very well .. .. Torek to Jamison .. .. Will do you have anything yet ? =^= =^= A lot of empty rooms .. .. .. We should be nearing the main core if our scans are correct regarding it's location midships =^= he added. =^= OK .. Keep in touch =^= he said, closing the Comm. ~~~~~After almost forty minutes they approached two massive bulkhead doors ... "Bridge ?" Colonel Burwell speculated as he tried to open the doors with no luck, "Sir ?" he said as Andae walked to a small panel set into the wall beside the heavy looking partition. Within a minute he stepped back as the doors slid silently aside. Everyone raised their weapons ready for whatever greeted them, but the Bridge, like the rest of the ship they had passed through was empty. They entered and began looking at the alien control panels, most still powerless, while others were showing readings for who knew what system. The layout was pretty standard. Two large seats, obviously for the Commanding Officer and his Second in Command, four stations set out in a curve before them. Carl speculated Helm control, Navigation, Weapons or Defense, and the last could possibly be Ships' systems he thought. Commander Teng had been scanning the consoles and checking her tricorder every few seconds, finally she turned to Torek: "Sir, the Raven has only been able to translate a fraction of the writing from what we have managed to gather covertly, but I have a little more now ...." she moved around the Bridge partially translating as she went, "This could be life support, this station too, Sir, these readings look odd, I'll have to come back to these, this might be pilot, or navigation, or the drinks dispenser." she said, frustration in her tone. "Take your time Commander, I'd hate to order a coffee and destroy the Raven." Carl said, trying to ease her stress. Teng nodded and moved on. "This one is definitely the pilots console, but unless I'm not reading this right, there doesn't seem to be any sort of warp control systems, just their version of impulse drive." she said, handing the tricorder to Andae as he approached to take a look. He shook his head somewhat confused before he confirmed there were no warp controls which meant, unbelievably, that the kilometer long vessels had no 'Faster Than Light' capability !!! "How were they planning on getting to Earth then ?" Carl asked rhetorically. "Maybe the facility they built in the past ?" Calli commented. He was about to reply when his comm badge chirped to life: =^= Marionette to Admiral Torek =^= =^= Torek =^= =^= Admiral .. We were about to enter what we believe to be the main computer core when we discovered something of interest .. The aft section of this vessel seems to be dedicated to one sole use .. It is full of what appears to be cryogenic support chambers .. As far as we can ascertain without further investigation all are currently occupied by what we believe to be Xallac =^= =^= Occupied ? =^= Carl repeated. =^= Indeed Admiral .. In my estimation given the dimensions of this vessel .. The chambers appear to number in the thousands on this level alone .. I have requested the Raven re-position to thoroughly scan the Aft section =^= "That could account for where everyone is." Burwell said. =^= OK Commander .. Make your way to the main computer core and try to establish if we can get any access .. We will join you shortly .. Out =^= He turned to the others, who had been listening to the conversation. Given the sheer numbers involved, it seemed possible that countless Xallac were in stasis while awaiting completion of their fleet, so why where they still in hibernation ?
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 14, 2015 2:03:35 GMT
OOC: Lt. Milyanov
Milyanov looked over the LCARS database entry that the Chief had provided him prior to his setting out for the Xallac ship away mission. It too mystified him... 15 adjacent sectors of Xallac space completely unmapped, due to either Federation deep-range sensor failure or, as both he and the Chief suspected, some type of jamming of the sensors that'd completely blacked out that region and thus returned no data. The Xallac, and/or Halanan - as they still weren't sure what the diplomatic situation between the two long-warring powers was - had to be hiding something in there. What could be so important, or so large?, that it constituted the effective cloaking of 15 sectors of space?
"Lieutenant Milyanov, you seem perplexed," Wedlerson said, holding vigil in the command chair.
The Russian turned around, "Sorry, sir, I didn't realise I was speaking or moving substantially... Myself and the Chief have found evidence that the Xallac or Halanan are jamming sensors from collecting data on 15 adjoining sectors of their space, the closest sector of which is 6 days away at maximum warp. There's something they don't want us to see, sir."
The Raven had manoeuvred round to the aft of the Xallac ship now, where the aft away team had found the cryogenic pods, and was now conducting scans for Xallac biological material and how many biosigns that amounted to. Whatever pods they were being kept in, they'd have had to be keeping them damn cold, Milyanov thought, If the Xallac breathed methane in atmospheric temperatures of minus 150 degrees centigrade, to put them in cryostasis would require a temperature of at least minus 220, which should represent a serious power drain on the Xallac vessels.
"Sir, problems," tactical reported, Teng's stand-in.
Wedlerson sighed, "Specify?"
"A ship's just dropped out of warp, some 30 million kilometres ahead and above us... they're moving laterally, towards S1-3, now doubling back towards the Xallac fleet. They're on a direct intercept course with the Raven, sir! 243m in length... unknown defensive capabilities, and no lifesigns."
"Red alert," Wedlerson said, gesturing to the bridge crew he had little other choice.
"Now it's jumping to warp!" Sure enough, the sleek bronze craft, now visible on the viewscreen, banked to starboard and shot into the supralight realm. Tactical's exasperation was evident, "Sir. Now reading it again, behind S1's star."
"It scanned us, Harry," Milyanov reported dolefully, turning from the engineering console, "I'd say from the duration and penetration of the scan, they now know everything about us..."
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 14, 2015 2:12:19 GMT
OOC: See above for Milyanov post
"It seems improbable. The biggest mishap in starship design since Utopia Planitia Fleet Yard Commander Terenski -"
"Yes, if we wanted an engineer's perspective on the history of starship design, Commander... we would have asked for it."
Blakus brooded, returning to the lower consoles trying to deduce which corresponded to the engineering station. He halted as his tricorder started beeping, having identified in a console the control interface configuration and subroutines that indicated linkage to engine systems. As he made to sit he came face to face with Colonel Burwell. They held each other's steely gaze until Burwell intoned, "This is a tactical station, Commander."
"I think not, but do try your best."
Burwell gave up after several seconds, swinging out of the seat and offering the chair to Blakus before stalking off. "Not that you're qualified to use such a station anyway, Colonel," Andae smiled, then after agonising minutes trying to decipher what each glyph on the console represented, managed to gain access to the engine systems as minimal power started being fed to the bridge. Indeed, no FTL... He peered at the ceiling of the cerulean-indigo tinted bridge, shaking his head. Stunning - where did this grand armada of ships plan to go at a quarter of light speed? He clutched his upper arms, trying to impart some warmth. And why was it so cold in here?
It chilled him to think the Xallac, that unfamiliar but known to be warlike quadrupedal species were back there, cryogenically preserved, ready to release icy terror on the intruders on their vessel... the temperature would have to drop significantly lower than this before the Xallac could think about awakening from stasis however.
"Impulse engines are being fed minimal power. This thing could move if it wanted to," he reported, settling into the station. Home away from home, he thought. "One thing, sir, this station's locked out. I can only observe, watch what the vessel's doing. I can't enter commands, shut down the power core, reroute power to increase lighting, temperature... Everything's being controlled by the computer core... however," he frowned, reading scrolling lines of data, "I believe, sir, there's a fault in the computer's secondary matr-"
"Away team, this is Wedlerson. Sir, four vessels, approximately a third our size, have warped in and out of the system one after another over the last five minutes... They've made comprehensive scans of the production facility planet, the Xallac fleet, your vessel, and the Raven... No lifesigns on any of the ships."
Andae rose from the engineering station, turning towards Carl and Calli, Lewis Burwell joining them. "I believe we were heading to the computer core to meet Will and Marionette?" the engineer asked as if oblivious to the message from the Raven.
<Tag Torek, All>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 15, 2015 20:58:23 GMT
=^= Away team this is Wedlerson .. Sir four vessels .. Approximately a third our size have warped in and out of the system one after another over the last five minutes .. .. They've made comprehensive scans of the production facility planet .. The Xallac fleet .. Your vessel and the Raven .. .. No life-signs on any of the ships =^=
=^= Go to 'RED ALERT' Commander .. Keep a close eye on any further incursions .. If you feel it safe to attempt a scan of one of the vessels then do so .. But if you feel the ship is in any danger you are to ensure her safety at all costs =^=
=^= Aye Sir .. Raven out =^=
"Let's go." Carl said.
~~~~~
Following the illuminated markers left by Will and Marionette, the others had no trouble reaching the computer core ..... Entering, Carl realized immediately that it was much warmer in this room than the rest of the ship. Possibly a by-product of the constantly running core he speculated. Marionette and Will were at separate consoles and were having varying degrees of success in accessing.
"I'm guessing this is the cryogenics controls." Will said as Carl and Andae approached, "Though to be honest it could be food replication for all I know."
"What's these ?" Carl asked, looking at a set of readings that looked familiar, but again Will could only shrug, saying it looked to him like some sort of filtration or replacement system. Then he realized where he had seen the symbols. On the Bridge only moments before, and they were indicating the level of 'Oxygen' on the ship !
"This appears to be the main control system for the vessel Admiral." Marionette said from across the room, "It seems they have segregated sections of the main or parent core depending on priority, with sub-cores controlling non-essentials like food replication, if indeed they take nourishment at all. This larger core could be drive systems, weapons, astro-navigation, and several unknowns. While this seems to be taking a considerable amount of power despite it's apparent inactive state. As to it's use, I have no information at this point."
"Keep working." Carl said as Calli called him over.
"You remember the readings we were pondering over on the Bridge, the ones we thought could be showing oxygen content in the artificial atmosphere ?" she asked, and Carl nodded for her to continue, "Well .... Only a guess here, but if these two sub-cores are responsible for keeping the methane breathing Xallac alive in their cryo-chambers, then why are we reading almost thirty percent oxygen inside those chambers ? ....... Is it possible to completely convert a species' respiratory system from one medium to another, surely the Xallax can't do that." she said, almost embarrassed at the suggestion, but Lu Yang, one of the Marine Medic's commented that Human's begin life as fluid-breathing and only at birth convert to oxygen for their live-giving requirements ...
"Isn't it The Diruukti who breathe oxygen but are capable of breathing liquids, and even some of the more exotic gasses to sustain their life if the need arose ?" Lysia Teng asked, sparking a conversation.
"Hold on, the ability to change mediums from gaseous to fluid is one thing." Calli said, "But from plus thirty seven degrees down to approximately minus one seventy !. No respiratory system could withstand such a drastic change, hell, they would practically need to have two comple ......."
"Quiet !" one of the Marines spat, spinning his weapon to face the door they had previously entered by. Everyone fell instantly silent, training their phasers on the point Lieutenant Scott was looking at. he crouched and inched towards the doorway, Lu Yang close behind him. With some unspoken signal they stepped into the corridor facing each other with their phaser rifles pointing beyond them .... The corridor was completely empty .... With a glance back into the room the Marines stepped past each other and out of sight, two of the Security Officers taking their place in the doorway instantly, ensuring their Commanding Officer and Senior Staff were safe from direct attack. After thirty meters, both Marines turned around and began to approach each other ... Still in the room, Carl watched the two Security Officers and after a moment quietly approached them. He was less than three meters from Lieutenant Epps when he had the distinct feeling someone had brushed against him !
Stopping dead in his tracks he tried hard to make the action look natural, both to his own Officers, but more-so for 'anyone else' who may have been in the room with them.
Andae and Calli had been watching Carl, so they could see something was amiss. The two Marines returned to the doorway and confirmed they were alone. He nodded, telling everyone to be more aware and less 'jumpy' then turned back to the console he was examining. Andae and Calli followed suit, but both were now hyper-sensitive to the fact their Commanding Officer had something to say but couldn't ...
"I am obviously misreading these damn consoles." Calli said, feigning a frustration that wasn't too far from the truth, "But there should be another sub-core here, wouldn't you think ?"
"Yes, at least ...." Carl said, "I can't find their artificial gravity controls for a start." he was about to continue when his Comm badge chirped to life:
=^= Wedlerson to Away Team =^=
=^= Torek .. Report Commander =^= he replied, wondering if the movement in the corner of his eye was real or paranoia.
=^= Sir .. Two more passes .. No action from either .. We managed basic scans on both occasions .. Neither vessel we scanned conformed to those present in the System and nothing in our database =^=
=^= Any signs that they are interested in the Raven other than their initial scans ? =^= Carl asked, motioning to his left with his eyes knowing Andae and Calli were watching him closely.
=^= No Sir .. .. In fact after their first scan they seem to have lost interest in us altogether .. They scanned the vessel you are on but only minimally .. Otherwise I have no explanation for their erratic behavior Sir =^=
=^= OK Commander .. Stand down from red alert but remain in contact .. You're standing order still stands .. Torek out =^=
He had been casually turning to the left, seeing his Chief Engineer and Mission Advisor following suit. As he closed the Comm he imperceptibly nodded and all three fired into the area of the room he 'hoped' he had seen someone.
Nothing ! .....
The sudden and unexpected firing caused the Security Teams to spin into the room, weapons arcing left and right looking for something viable to fire on, but Torek held up a hand signifying cease firing ... He was convinced that there was, or had been, someone else in the room with them. The Halanan were a race of shape-shifters with the ability to 'influence' anyone close-by into believing or even carrying out subtle tasks.
"How long before our computer has a full translation matrix of the hieroglyphs and language ?" he asked, still concentrating on his peripheral vision as if expecting to see something.
"Twelve point nine minutes Admiral." Marionette confirmed ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 17, 2015 19:39:18 GMT
Andae stood the other side of the computer core, pouring over outputs from the secondary sub-core... He concurred with Calli; none of it made any sense... If these pictograms which was the Xallac written language referred to the cryostasis units, then it meant the ship was indeed powering those units, maintaining their temperature at some -150 - -170 degrees centigrade. How was that possible if the ship was near inert?
Then there was the oxygen in the cryo-units problem; in one way, it potentially solved the power problem (that required to bring the thousands of cryo-units down to hundred degrees above absolute zero) although there was still the issue of where the remnant of the power was coming from - there was, as had been conclusively shown by scientists across the quadrant, no way to create energy out of nothing; even tapping into subspace required energy on the part of the ship to unlock the awesome power that subspace weaponry could bring to bear. (And what could possibly generate the power necessary to take this ship into warp (if it had been designed to do so)?!) The oxygen taking up most of the Xallac chambers would require much less energy to maintain, on the other hand, how were the Xallac being maintained? The minimal gaseous methane in the chambers would be enough to keep their bodies that required little energy in stasis functional, but if so then the oxygen atmosphere would be frozen or liquid, a slosh inside the chambers...
The work was tense, the nagging awareness that they were being watched, by someone or something, which was of course evident from Carl's reaction. The phaser shot in the dark... he wondered if it had perturbed the presence or whatever it might be. Perhaps it was there merely to observe, amused at the reaction that it'd provoked.
"Results, sirs," Marionette said, "We have decoded the Xallac hieroglyphs and language." At that moment a chill swept over the room, driving apart the warm air generated by the computer core. Andae looked around; no one seemed to have noticed it except for him.
"Acknowledged," Carl said, "Andae?"
"Well, I think Calli may be right..." he said after a moment, analysing the data as it suddenly appeared in plain letters and numbers on his screen. "These cores do regulate the cryostasis units... Where they're getting the power from though with only their drive system and impulse active and at their coolest levels, I don't know. Strange, their units are operating at a temperature of -10 degrees... That's not what you'd expect..."
He went over to a subsidiary console, recognising it to be for biosignature analysis of all Xallac in their stasis units aboard, and sure enough found that nearly all were still living - half a dozen units had failed; for it was an unknown how long some of these ships had been up here, perhaps up to a maximum of 400 years, mechanical faults were an inevitability. "Yep, they're all still alive, Admiral... I'm not a biologist, especially regarding sub-zero quadrupeds, but I could confirm marine Lang's suggestion that something has changed radically in their body chemistry."
As he spoke he felt something brush his shoulder, and a subtle mocking laugh seemed to pass through his skull - something between the voice of the internal monologue and hearing something aloud. He twisted on the spot, arm raised in self-defence and his phaser coming out of his holster. The others looked at him with surprise, Carl and Calli's face's knowing. That was definitely not a surreptitious reaction, he thought to himself. Still though, the silence in the chamber, the non-reaction from the entity, endured.
Andae stepped up to Carl, not caring what eyes may be following in his wake, just beyond the periphery of vision. "Admiral, we suspect those ships that've been hounding the Raven have placed someone, something on this vessel, yes? Those ships are unfamiliar, Wedlerson reported... The time period that's passed between first contact with the Halanan from which our results of their ships come and now... Their ship design could've drastically changed in those 150 years..."
"So we have Halanan aboard?" Scott said brusquely from the doorway to the room.
"Ssshhh!"
Andae threw his hands up, "Possibly." He thought some more after several tense seconds had passed, before speaking again to his Admiral, "There's no been reaction from the... intruder since it brushed past me and somehow transmitted laughter into my head. See?" he gestured about, "Again, no reaction. However they, and therefore likely the Xallac if they've formed an alliance, don't have the best of intentions towards the Federation, or at least our presence here."
"Well what do we do?" Teng asked, "Change the temperature dials, roast the Xallac in their cryo-units?"
"That's mass murder," Andae retorted. "Besides we have no access to actually enter commands... We can only observe the data the ship's systems are returning, like a read only sort of format. And, how will the Xallac react then? They may welcome warmer temperatures."
Some of the team pushed out of the chamber. He was reluctant to leave it behind, Andae was thinking, as he saw what looked like eyes, thousands upon thousands of them, lining the skirting of the bending corridor before them, and was reminded of the columbarium he'd unearthed at the dig in the Mojave.
<Tag Carl, Will, All>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Sept 27, 2015 15:47:30 GMT
Observation Lounge ::He sat quietly listening to the conversation around the large curved table .... "Any more information on those ships that appeared ?" he asked. "Nothing Sir. They seemingly warped in, took a good look, then warped out again." Commander Teng replied. "OK ... Options everyone. We can go take a look at 'S1-2' or, move further into the Arm and toward the next closest System." "I think we should take a look at more of those ships out there Admiral." Colonel Burwell said, nodding toward the plexi-glass windows, "I find it hard to believe we found the only one containing cryo-chambers ... I suggest we utilize the Marine contingent and take two shuttles. We can go through several of the vessels at random then go on to 'S1-2' ..." Carl was about to reply when Harry got there first: "Something has occurred to me Sir." he said, duplicating the information on his PADD to the large screen, "Scans show that the vessel we boarded contains approximately fourteen thousand stasis chambers, all containing one Xallac who is undergoing some sort of 'modification' to allow them to breathe Earth's atmosphere ... We've established that precisely eighteen 'thousand' vessels are now on minimal power supposedly to sustain the cryo-chambers they hold, while the rest are sections of incomplete ships that are being used to make even more sections. As far as we can tell, none of the partial sections have any form of drive system and all are open to vacuum. All our information from the Mojave Dig says they intend to attack Earth then the Federation at any time. But without warp capible vessels it would take hundreds of years to reach the Sol System. They would have to have another means of getting from here to there." "The translation matrix could be ready soon, we can look at it more precisely then." Calli informed them. "Sir ...." harry continued, "If these vessels are all holding Xallac in stasis, there could be over a quarter of a million of them frozen." "So an invasion force ?" Burwell said. "No, I don't think so Colonel ....." the Operations Officer said, putting up another schematic, "On our last 'Planetary Defense Review' we calculated that as little as twelve vessels in low Earth orbit, or within the atmosphere itself, could hold the planet to ransom. Similar results were found for Vulcan, the Cardassia Prime .. Even Qon-oS with all their forces, would succumb within days. Sir, the complete collapse of the Federation and all her Colonies could be achieved in a little under seven days." "There is 'NO WAY' you could know that commander." Burwell said, obviously annoyed. "There is colonel. I was one of the people who designed 'worse case' scenarios for Star Fleet Command and the Federation High Council. We ran countless scenarios, all with the same outcome ... If the Xallac get into low orbit of any world, they could flood the atmosphere with methane, killing every living thing on the planet in hours." "We have defenc ....." "No good Colonel. If we shot one of the ships out of the sky or destroyed it in orbit, the result would be exactly the same, they would just loose a few personnel along the way." Harry said, almost but not quite shrugging. "The outer System defenses would be able to cope." Burwell said, not willing to concede. "Yes, they would easily cope with even eighteen thousand kilometer long troop carriers. But I don't think these ships were planning on simply drifting into the Sol System unchallenged." "We need to investigate further before contacting Command." Calli said. "Agreed." Carl confirmed, "In the mean time we'll go with Colonel Burwell's suggestion. Take your teams to investigate a dozen random vessels. No hanging around, just confirm they contain stasis chambers and they are occupied ... Then get to 'S1-2' see what you can find. Once your recon is complete rejoin the ship. We'll move further into the Arm and investigate the nearest System, designated 'S2' ...." "Return to your duties Gentlemen." Carl said. "Has anyone else wondered where they all are ?" Calli asked, making everyone turn in her direction, "Well, we had been led to believe that the Xallac and the Halanan have been at war for hundreds of years. Between them they would number in the thousands of 'BILLIONS' yet we have seen zero evidence of any prolonged war, no concentrations of indigenous people, just one factory planet that seems to be stuck in a loop. We can be pretty certain that 'some' of the Halanan still survive, but I can't believe that the only Xallac left are the possible quarter of a million in stasis .... Just saying." she finished getting out of her chair, no-one spoke as the meeting concluded. oooooo000000oooooo The two shuttles containing Colonel Burwell and his Marine contingent slipped away from the Raven. Engaging impulse power, the massive Galaxy Class Star Ship turned to starboard and headed away from the factory planet designated 'S1-3' then, jumping to warp they headed for the next closest System ........ "Sir, we have completed the translation matrix." Ensign Neliss, the ship's Linguistics expert told Torek, "I began with the information you got from the Xallac vessel ..... I think I have an explanation, or at least a theory, as to 'how' they were planning on getting into the Systems they were going to attack Sir. If you see here ....." she pointed at several lines of script. "What am I looking at Ensign ?" she turned the device and blushed before making several hasty adjustments to the PADD, "Just read it out Ensign." Carl said, a wry smile forming. "Aye Sir. Well, it looks as if they refer to something on several occasions. From what we can decipher so far they mention something called a 'Couloir' or at least that's the closest the computer can come up with, its French, and roughly translates as 'corridor or passage' ... I think it could refer to a stable form of wormhole of trans-dimensional passage from 'A' to 'B' Sir. If this proves to be right then they could practically appear in any System without difficulty." "Keep translating the information Ensign. I want everything you can get me as soon as you can." Carl said, then added, "Excellent work Ensign." He watched the stars as the Raven traversed the empty space between Systems. He didn't want to think what a race, or races, that could control an active or even fabricated wormhole could do ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 28, 2015 12:06:47 GMT
Blakus packed up his equipment and made his way to the beam-out point on the first Xallac-Halanan ship they'd boarded. Not having been able to access the stasis chambers - which would've been most revealing as to how the Xallac were managing to maintain themselves - he'd resolved to resolve the problem back on the Raven.
He never got the chance however, as in conference Wedlerson revealed that something had been happening to the Xallac's body chemistries, a process which would eventually allow them to breathe oxygen. That fact coupled with the chilling thought that the Xallac-Halanan alliance, as nebulous and insubstantial as it seemed to be, could or could've already developed artificial wormhole technology - that could theoretically strike at any place in the Quadrant, depending upon how powerful their energy sources were - did represent serious concern...
Thoughts of sleeping war machines, the quadruped Xallac, dormant for centuries, ready to be sent into combat when the time came, set upon the crew a sense of disquiet as the Raven powered silently through the vacuum, deeper into Xallac territory.
The next system was now only 0.2 lightyears away, reading as a red dwarf star orbited by two rocky worlds, and an outer gas giant with a highly elliptical orbit that was way off the plane of the other planets. S2-1 was a grey glib of a world, tidally locked to the red dwarf and undoubtedly inhospitable to Xallac life. S2-2, on the other hand, was much more interesting... All attempts to pierce its atmosphere with sensor scans and probes were deflected, unaltered, and sent back the way they came or scattered off the upper atmosphere into space. Below this seemingly natural planetary shield, the suggestion, given the overall planetary position and other factors was that the planet was teeming with life... Of what species, Xallac, Halanan or other, however, was unknown.
What was immediately apparent however was the non-spherical mass distribution, the gravitational distortion, of the third planet the gas giant S2-3... Something massive was in orbit, and unlike the fleet of Xallac ships in S1 scans indicated this was definitely a single object. Its steady emission of information, billions of teraquads of data directed seemingly into nothingness left an eerie mark on the outer system.
* * * * *
"I can't understand it. Evidence at the Mojave dig and long-range observations indicate they are planning an invasion of Federation space. Yet, if the dig dates its finds to 400 years ago, while the Xallac-Halanan war was still raging..."
Blakus saw where Milyanov was going, "Then how could they have been in a position to jointly declare war on 20th century Earth - let's not forget - when they were too busy annihilating each other?"
Milyanov tapped the table absently, "Unless it was solely a Xallac plan, as the masses of sleepers in the cryo-chambers would seem to suggest, and once peace was made the Xallac turned the Halanan onto the idea that the now emergent Federation was the new threat as they may have predicted 400 years ago. It could've been the Dominion War that confirmed it for them, or the destruction of Romulus. Qo'nos is still too poor in resources to fight an extended interstellar war... To the Xallac the Federation seems like the obvious target."
Blakus studied the table, calculating, watching the eyes - they all knew the import of what they were saying, what they were plotting, what they were doing, "Yes... I'll see you."
Muted sounds - oohs and aahs - passed round the table. "Three of a kind," the Russian clarified, in case he thought, his Chief was missing anything.
Andae threw the two spades on the table, "Flush," he said. Amongst laughter from the others Milyanov groaned and slapped his hand on the deck, irritatedly shuffling them as the deal was passed to him. Blakus pulled in the chips... He was losing; playing recklessly, chasing hands he knew weren't there but staying in just to see how far the opponents were willing to go. Perhaps this was the start of the reserved fight back.
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Carl Torek
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"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 1, 2015 14:25:36 GMT
It was almost one in the morning, Gamma Shift had the Bridge and all the Senior Staff should be getting some well-earned rest. He doubted that was the case though ....
He was sat in the Observation Lounge, lights dimmed to the point of being extinguished completely. The room was lit by starlight which gave an almost eerie feel to the room, but it suited Carl, he sometimes enjoyed the quiet, the solitude. He was thinking about their situation, the Xallac, the facility on Earth, the two hundred meter ring of what, they had no way of telling when he left as the scans could not penetrate the surface, and the tunnels were still completely blocked. 'What the hell were they constructing ?' he thought to himself as he sipped his cognac.
The far door opened and closed ... Without turning he knew Calli had entered.
"I will never know how you manage to win at poker you know." she said, obviously referring to his somewhat 'predictable' habit of 'night-watching' as she called it. She helped herself to an empty glass from the tray and poured herself a drink.
"I just can't figure this out." Carl began, knowing she had come to allow him a real-life outlet for his worries, "Billions of Xallac, billions of Halanan, fighting for centuries, yet they suddenly manage to decide between them to conquer the Federation of Planets. how did that even become a factor in their war, I just can't get my head around it." he finished, frustration rising.
"Most wars end one of two ways, the unequivocal surrender of one of the warring protagonists, or by mutual consent." she answered his rhetorical question for him, "In our terms, or at least as much as we have in the records, these two have been at each others' throats for centuries, maybe they finally ran out of resources ... Even with a combined population in the hundreds of billions, maybe trillions, centuries of killing would take it's toll. Maybe they decided that there was more to be gained by attacking another supplier." she finished, shrugging.
"There are almost two hundred thousand Systems that could be culled, for want of a better word, by both sides in this segment of the Arm alone. I can't believe that all that is left is those in stasis and a few Halanan."
"Biological warfare isn't unique to Earth. Who's to say that one side or the other had developed something so powerful it 'could' wipe out whole civilisa ......" she stopped in her tracks, "What if they simply constructed a means of deployment on whatever world they chose to, and simply released the toxin directly into the planets atmosphere ! ... They could wipe out any resistance before they even stood on the surface, it would then be a case of walking right in and disposing of the corpses. If I remember rightly, Earth developed the atom bomb, and that pretty much stopped either side from pressing the proverbial button as it could only lead to mutual annihilation .... Of course, that didn't work out too well given we managed to have a Third World War. Is it possible the Xallac and Halanan followed the same route, until one decided they wanted to be top dog ?"
They continued to talk for another hour then both returned to their quarters .......
Zero Eight hundred Hours - Alpha Shift ::
He stepped onto the Bridge, coffee still steaming in the mug he'd carried from his quarters. Harry rose from the Command seat and took over the Operations Console. He gave his report then began requesting Department status updates ... he was going through these when Tactical began to pick up a massive gravitational distortion around the third planet in the second System, designated 'S2-3' .... Something was in orbit around the planet, something massive ! "Anything on long-range scans ?" "Nothing Sir, and no signs of life on the planet or even in the System itself." Lysia Teng reported. "Where's that scout ship we encountered ?" Calli asked. "It went out of sensor range at twenty three thirty hours Commander. If it remains on course, we speculate it is traversing between at least three systems." "That thing 'has' to be fully automated, there's no way either side would assign a single crew the task of monitoring three systems." she commented. "Sir, we're picking up a steady data stream emanating from the structure, billions of teraquads of data, directed seemingly into nothingness, it's binary but I can't decipher any of it." "Is it actively protecting itself ?" Will asked. "No Sir, apart from what looks like the data stream it's simply, sitting there ... I'm detecting another orbital structure, approximately two thousand kilometers behind, and also holding a geo-stationary position above the surface, possibly the control center for the larger structure. I can just pick up a data link between the two." The larger structure seems to consist of two thousand one hundred sixty individual segments, no physical connection between them, almost like a large ring." Harry commented, "Size ... Internal diameter of the 'ring' measures six thousand meters. Each segment is two hundred meters long by one hundred wide and one hundred deep." "Why would they need a transmitter so large ?" Lysia asked, "Our transceiver array can do what that thing is doing and is a fraction of the size." "Maybe, it is not only designed to send only messages." the Navigation Officer commented, then realized the Bridge had gone suddenly quiet, she turned to the Command area to see Torek and the others looking at her. "Let's take a look." Carl ordered. "Drop us to full impulse. At the first sign that that thing is showing interest, come to a full stop and back us away." "Yes Sir." Marionette answered, immediately dropping the ship from warp as ordered ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 5, 2015 18:03:59 GMT
Blakus entered the bridge. On the viewscreen was the planet S2-3, the gas giant, its atmosphere swirling with multihued spectral colours, almost nauseating in their miasmic patterns: forming, holding position for a moment seeming to give some clue, then dissolving again - before whatever imaginary symbol it'd been could be recognised - into the entropic chaos of the multilayered atmosphere; storm systems were clearly visible along the equatorial band, and he could detect occasional flashes of lightning, electric arcs striking at the nebulous surface of the world.
Getting an idea, he leant over to the science station, conferred with the officer there and began performing calculations at the engineering station. "As I thought, sir," he turned, "The properties of the electric storms at the planet's equator are shaping its magnetic field into a single cone, directed at the ring structure on the other side of the planet. It seems someone is manipulating the gas giant's electromagnetic state; no natural phenomenon could cause that."
"But who?" Jamison asked, "The station reads as uninhabited. No other signs of life in the system..."
"It could be a fully automated process, sir, just like the one we encountered on the construction world in the last system. On the other hand they could be using some sort of jamming device to obscure their lifesigns..."
Something started beeping wildly at the tactical station, "Admiral. Registering on long-range sensors that scout ship from the previous system," Teng reported, "Warping in directly ahead of us... They're arming weapons!"
"Red alert, raise shields!"
Blakus turned back to his station. He was puzzled; he'd been sure that the scout vessel had been on an outbound trajectory that would take it deep into the Orion Arm before it returned to the nebula between Federation space and the first system. Something must've alerted the vessel, its occupants or otherwise, to head back to one of the three systems it was surveying... Despite the Raven crew's best efforts, they'd been detected.
"They're hailing, sir. It seems they want to talk first."
"Before we reached the first system, we comprehensively scanned that vessel. It had no weapons..."
"It seems we were wrong, sir, they're employing the same reflective shield technology that we're seeing on S2-2."
"Open a channel." There was no perceptible change to the viewscreen besides the blotting out of the stars. Blakus tried to see through the wispy sepulchre; a vague silhouette against a dim light source lay at the far end of the chamber they were seeing. "I'm Admiral Carl Torek of the Federation starship Raven. State your business here."
"State yours," the universal translator managed to unscramble the groans and strange vocalisations that were like raindrops in puddles. The bridge crew came to a stunned silence; this was potentially first contact with either the Xallac or Halanan - aside from the architectural madhouse and ancient rune-inscribed chrome slabs of unknowable technology of the construction world, and the several million lifeless starships.
Torek answered with some consternation, "We're on an investigatory mission by order of Starfleet Command. We had heard that the Xallac Empire and the Halanan had formed an alliance and are here to ascertain the level of threat." Blakus shrugged; it didn't hurt to tell the truth.
The mysterious figure on the viewscreen replied, "I am the reincarnated Xallac Hierophant of the world your species designates Theta Orionis II. You have trespassed upon sacred territory. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded... Never were you meant to see this, Admiral Carl Torek."
It emphasised the last three words, as if it knew something about the man, Blakus thought. He turned back to the engineering station, "Sir, I'm reading a build-up of energy in the warp core of the Xallac vessel. They may be self-destructing... No, I believe it's a weapon!"
"Brace for impact!" The ship's chassis vibrated and the bridge pitched at an angle of some thirty degrees, plunging them into darkness for an instant, steam escaping from several consoles. Blakus and half the rest of the bridge crew had been cast to the deck. "Report!" someone shouted.
"It seems they directed... a beam of concentrated warp plasma through a hidden delivery system in their ventral weapons array. Shields at 41%," Teng answered, dragging herself up to the tactical rail, blood pouring from a cut in her forehead. Blakus scrambled back to his console, the bridge filled with smoke, red light refracted through the steam casting them all in a hellish glare. "Sir, they're repeating their demands to lower shields."
"Let's get out of here..." At this utterance Blakus fell, clutching his head, the same whispers that'd come to him on the Xallac vessel came back to him, that which he had thought was a Halanan invading his mind once more. The laughter passed through, echoing off into a hazy distance beyond the three spatial dimensions, as if a whole other realm awaited there where the entire Xallac species slept, waiting for the day when the final judgement of the Federation out of the Mojave arrived. Before he could grasp the totality of it he collapsed to the deck, falling unconscious.
The last thing he heard, "Bridge to sickbay, we've got casualties up here..."
Jamison looked across at Torek, murmuring, "Sir, they're preparing another salvo, I recommend we retreat."
<Tag Torek, ALLLL>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 10, 2015 16:25:49 GMT
He quickly instructed Marionette to bring the Raven about and move to ten thousand kilometers as Medic's worked on Blakus ....
"Tactical. Lock onto the other ship and fire." Pure energy lanced from the saucer sections' lower phaser array and slammed into the other ship causing it to tumble away, their second salvo vanishing harmlessly into open space. Marionette brought the ship to a complete stop and rotated until the other, now hopefully disabled vessel was ahead. Scanning the ship it now showed eight life-forms, designation Xallac, within the ship. But there were subtle differences in the bio-readings. Their weapons, now clearly visible were off-line as Carl had hoped. He requested Harry open a channel:
=^= Xallac vessel .. This is Admiral Torek of the Raven =^= the screen showed static for a few seconds as Wedlerson made some adjustments, then it cleared.
=^= Admiral Torek .. We are incapacitated .. You will retreat from this system immediately =^=
=^= You obviously require our assistance .. Disengage all systems other than your life support and we will trans .. .. .. =^=
Without warning the other ship exploded in a multi-colored fireball ... Carl stood, eyes locked on the image before him. He ordered Teng and Wedlerson to revue the log to see if they had caused the destruction of the Xallac craft themselves, but both Officers were confident their firing on the ship didn't cause the catastrophe. He was about to order they continue into the system when Teng suddenly interrupted:
"SIR ! ... Picking up an object, approximately three meters in diameter. I'm reading one life-sign, erratic. Methane Oxygen atmosphere. The sphere is deteriorating Captain.
"Escape pod ?" Jamison speculated.
"Will, inform Doctor Roach she will be having a patient. She is to set up a containment field and set up a Methane Oxygen atmosphere." Torek ordered, then turned to Teng, "Lock onto whoever is in that pod and transport directly to Sick-bay !" He turned to the turbo-lift to see Andae back on his feet, he told the Medic's to accompany them to sick-bay before clearing the Chief Engineer for duty ... As they traveled Deck Twelve the Medic's re-scanned Blakus and gave him a dose of pain killer to take away the ach in his neck from the fall on the Bridge, otherwise the man was free to return to work. satisfied, Carl agreed ......
~~~~~
Stepping into sick-bay they immediately saw the shimmering force-field that spanned the far said of the main room. The smallest hint of green inside the containment field and one, Xallac, lay on a bio-bed. Though this was no Xallac they had records of ! ... When they had first viewed the Xallac Hierophant, he was garbed in a vivid red and gold hooded cloak, covering everything but his face, but now the robe had almost completely burned away, revealing the Xallac's torso. What had first been thought to be the forelimbs of the Xallac had quite obviously been surgically altered, and now almost resembled arms, each with four digits that were obviously fingers of sorts. The patient was completely unconscious. Carl turned to Roach:
"Diagnosis doctor ?" She simply motioned towards the containment field and the occupant therein.
"I'm having to guess as to the proportions of Methane and Oxygen. I could be helping or killing him for all I know ..... His external injuries, or at least what we can see, are healing fast, much faster than we ourselves would. Again, that could be perfectly normal for them, or a result of the obvious genetic manipulation."
"Genetic manipulation ?" Calli repeated.
"He, or she, is breathing a mixture of Methane and Oxygen Commander. From what scant information we have on them, that is highly unusual."
"Is there any way we can communicate with him ?" Carl asked, nearing the containment field.
"When he, it, awakes I'll contact you." Roach said, returning to her desk as if the conversation was now over, but Torek followed her. he was about to argue when the Doctor continued speaking, "I will not force this 'person' into consciousness, anything I try without knowing his full brain physiology and countless other parameters, could be fatal. Besides, he destroyed his own ship without hesitation, who's to say he won't attempt the same once conscious ? ... I will notify you when he wakes naturally Captain."
"Fair enough, Doctor." Carl said, fully agreeing with her. he turned to the others, "Andae, if you feel up to it, I want to get any fragments of that destroyed escape sphere before we move into the second System. Let's go." he said ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 11, 2015 16:26:10 GMT
His mind was still in a mesh of confusion as he entered the turbolift and it descended several decks to the sickbay. Receiving a jab in the neck from a hypospray en route on deck 12, he realised how distant it felt, how distant everything still felt. He'd received a glimpse - he was sure of it, if only in a visual formulation and not the actual reality of it - of the realm, some stratum that made up subspace perhaps, was his first guess, which contained all the Xallac invasion force the Federation had rumoured they'd been building for some time. More alarmingly, there was a high possibility of a Halanan being aboard - unless it'd been some type of psychic echo, left over from the invisible shapeshifter's passing through his mind on the Xallac vessel.
Consciousness and his visual field became less blurry before him and sickbay took on its true characteristics. The floating image of the Xallac - strangely modified, not recognisable as such - was before him, trapped within a green-tinted methane-oxygen atmosphere by a forcefield and attended to by Doctor Roach who was being questioned by Admiral Torek.
"Are you alright, sir," a voice spoke behind him, suddenly coming into sharp piercing clarity, and the fog dispersed from him.
He turned around, unsteadily at first, "Yes, yes I'm fine, Ensign... Thank you."
"Do you know what happened? I read nothing unusual in your biosigns or your brain chemistry."
"Yes..." he rubbed at his neck where the hypospray had entered; it seemed to have increased his alertness beyond normal means. "I believe I might be telling that to Admiral Torek and Commander Jamison later. No change in biosign you say. Most odd..."
He stepped up to the forcefield in which was contained the Xallac. It breathes oxygen and methane, he reflected. Yet it didn't look like the same specimens that were encased in the cryostasis chambers on the Xallac warship in the previous system. If anything it looked far more... humanoid. Could it be that what they'd seen on the Xallac vessel was an intermediary stage, one instant of the metamorphosis of a common quadrupedal sub-zero temperature dwelling Xallac into something eminently more human? And was this, in the Xallac Hierophant - reincarnated it'd said, too, which perhaps indicated it'd finished the course of its cryo sleep and had been awoken - the culmination of the transformation process?
He turned to the others, "Andae, if you feel up to it, I want to get any fragments of that destroyed escape sphere before we move into the second System. Let's go."
"One thing, Admiral," he said as they began departing sickbay, "Or several... I believe there may be a Halanan on board. Just prior to my losing consciousness, I felt the same invasive presence of what we thought were Halanan on the Xallac ship in the previous system. Whether it was a simply a memory, or if there is someone amongst us, someone that followed us back on board the Raven in the previous system..." It was a spooky thought, "I cannot tell. Though I request to research this possibility and recommend that we put the ship on full security alert."
<Tag Torek>
Nodding to his friend and CO he walked the opposite way down the corridor upon leaving sickbay, heading for the cargo bay to bring aboard the remnants of the Xallac's escape pod. This would indeed give them further insight into this theorised transformation process of Xallac methane-breathers into Xallac oxygen-breathers, if they could recover enough of the essential componentry - particularly the life support system - of the sphere to be able to study how such a process would function.
"Lieutenants Milyanov, Taylor, report to cargo bay 1."
* * * * *
Arriving he found his two assistants already present. Momentarily put off, in part due to his own tardiness, he stepped up brusquely, "Are you able to lock onto any of the fragments?"
"I wish I could, sir... The only things we seem able to capture," Milyanov gestured at the cargo bay floor, scattered with very small fragments of blackened hull material - none of it recognisably spherical in origin, "Are the parts of the pod that were propelled towards us at great velocity upon its self-destruction, namely, the outer hull layer that was closest to us at the time." He anticipated Blakus's next question, "It seems there's some sort of transporter dampening, or jamming field in operation around the third planet, preventing beam out of the core of the pod that drifts inside the jamming field and the aft of the pod that was propelled back towards the system, overcoming - quite remarkably - the pod's forward momentum as it shot away from the exploding recon craft.
"The jamming may be connected to that ring structure out there. The information transmitted every second overwhelms any other information source in the vicinity... I can't identify where the information source actually lies; it doesn't come from any of the ring segments, nor the facility behind it that's transmitting only a very faint data stream to the ring... Unless it appears out of vacuum..."
"A singularity perhaps," Blakus said, leaning on the console, while Taylor had gone to study the fragments they had managed to collect.
"Yes, at the centre of the ring, from where the information is being broadcast... If so it would have the characteristics of the singularity of a wormhole in the instants before the wormhole opens..." Milyanov stared into space, marvelling at the possibility though left understandably uneasy, "Somehow, the Xallac, or Halanan, have found a way to suspend the opening of a wormhole - right on its very threshold - in the form of a singularity."
"Where could they be going?" Blakus asked, already knowing which way the conversation was progressing.
"Ingenious, in fact, this way by keeping the wormhole from opening they can mask its destination point. Any ship or fleet they send through could emerge at any location in the galaxy. And the reasons for the ring structure...?"
"The wormhole is artificial in origin," they echoed each other.
<Tag Torek, Allll>
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Carl Torek
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"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 15, 2015 12:25:28 GMT
Stood off to one side, Ensign Siwa Ir listened intently to the conversation. Realizing that the Human's had one of her own on the ship and in captivity was a cause for concern on numerous levels, not least the act that they may somehow get their captive to talk and as a result inform them of her presence !
She had to make a decision regarding her compatriot, and quickly, but leaving Torek's side wasn't an option now. Should they discover the full potential of the portal they would surely destroy it instantly and the Xallac's whole plan hinged on their ability to arrive in the Sol System unchallenged ... Knowledge of the Halanan that may have come aboard concerned her greatly. The two races, while upholding an uneasy alliance, were still wary of each other and their motives, and she was still convinced the Halanan's suggestion that the Xallac be the ones to undergo the biological modifications to allow them to attack the Human Race from the ground had left them at the mercy of the Halanan, but she couldn't concern herself with the politics at this point, Torek and his Staff were heading for the Bridge, and she must follow .....
~~~~~
Approaching the Second System, the Raven scanned out to the limit of her ability. Yet again there was no signs of life ....
"This simply can't be right." Calli said, watching their approach on the view-screen.
"I have carried out the scans a second time Commander, they are correct." Lysia Teng confirmed from the Tactical Station.
"They have to be cloaking themselves somehow, we're talking about 'BILLIONS' of lives here, not a small outpost on some backwater satellite, "Even allowing for the two hundred thousand frozen Xallac, there is no way they could have annihilated each other to this level. They fight each other for centuries, then seemingly out of the blue decide to concentrate their combined efforts on Earth and the Federation. We're speculating these plans came into fruition over four hundred years ago, as proved by the facility in the Mojave Desert ! ... So unless they planned on ridding the Universe of the Federation with the proverbial handful of modified Xallac, they 'MUST' be somewhere." Calli said.
Unfortunately, no-one on the Bridge could fault her logic. Carl too was worrying over the numbers. Invading forces didn't tend to vanish before attacking, yes, there were covert tactics, subterfuge, blind alleys that an attacker could lead their foe down, but he was beginning to think this was lass an 'occupation' of the worlds they were planning to attack, and more a genocidal cull of all life in each of the Systems attacked ! ... They already had evidence that several of the Sun's in the Orion Arm were figuratively nearing the end of their lives, where they would transform into a terrifying colossus, enveloping all the planets in it's own System before shrinking to become a white dwarf Sun. It occurred to him that both the Halanan 'and' the Xallac know their fate should they remain, and simply put aside their own differences before taking the decision to move en masse. Something suddenly occurred to him: If the Xallac were bio-engineering Soldiers for Oxygen-breathing, who was to say they are not doing the same for other respiratory requirements. If two hundred thousand Xallac could take Earth easily, then what if the Mojave Facility wasn't the only one ... What if most or 'ALL' the Primary worlds had a similar facility ... Were they going to fine planet's full of sleeping combatants, all waiting on the Halanan to awaken them and send them through the portal !
"Standard approach to the second planet in this System locked-in Captain." Marionette informed them, breaking his train of thought.
"Move us into a Geostationary orbit over one of the major population or production centers, but keep us in direct line of the orbital ring. If a light goes on over there I want to know about it." Carl said, sitting back in his seat, deep in thought ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 15, 2015 18:05:28 GMT
Mulling over the evidence of the singularity artificially induced by the ring segments, Blakus and Milyanov continued well into the night ship-time attempting to deduce how the cuboid segments functioned, by what mechanism they were creating the singularity and perhaps through an understanding of that discover the intended destination of the coming wormhole.
"It could rely on coordinates being beamed from the segments to the singularity in the seconds, minutes before it opens as a wormhole, meaning to say they might not have programmed a destination yet?" Milyanov theorised.
Blakus shrugged, leaning over the desk - his eyelids were starting to droop and he felt unsteady on his feet, that and a pounding headache were cementing the decision in his mind to call it a night. "I don't know how they would do that though. Transmitting coordinates into a singularity? There may be some quantum field theory that could account for it, but as it's beyond us now we may as well continue looking for preprogrammed coordinates, in whatever form they may exist."
Milyanov sunk to the desk chair again, growing more despondent by the second Blakus could see. Someone appeared at the office door - this being the night shift and an odd-numbered stardate, Ensign Chalmsley would be in charge so he expected to see him... not so. "Ah, Emily, give us a second will you?" She stepped back outside and stood with her back to the glass in a huff.
"If," he said with renewed enthusiasm, as it was clear the night was definitely going to be at an end soon, "The Xallac intend on attacking the Federation, very possibly using this ring structure and its artificial wormhole, and considering one of their scout ships carrying a high-ranking, perhaps in the process of transformation, Xallac official found us here a few hours ago, they may well have programmed coordinates in advance, as part of stepping up their preparations for attacking the Solar System."
Milyanov looked at him with open mouth, "You think they'll go straight after Earth?"
"Why else would the Mojave complex be there? There's something in that facility, which we presume Carter's archaeologists are still uncovering, that could be essential to understanding this matter. The kilometres deep buried shaft and those one degree separated 360 shafts... What were they meant to be for if they were ever completed? I'd say there's a growing link between that facility and this ring structure with its threshold wormhole; they've constructed something that could potentially send thousands of warships through, to various destinations in the galaxy and perhaps foremost amongst them the Federation's worlds."
"We've seen it before of course," Blakus paced up and down the short length of the office, "The Dominion War. The Bajoran wormhole, a key strategic objective that while it was supposed to be under the protection of the Federation was used to send many thousands of Jem Hadar warships to the Alpha Quadrant. And we can discount the possibility of the Xallac, and/or Halanan, using this device of theirs for missions of peace, as evidenced by the massive forces they're building up here. Hundreds of thousands of warships could be sent through this and perhaps other wormholes throughout Xallac-Halanan space in an effort to conquer whoever they see fit."
Milyanov looked up from the desk, having been thinking over something, "You said that the Xallac invasion fleet you believed you witnessed may be being concealed in a layer of subspace...?" Blakus nodded. "So, what if the destination coordinates for the wormhole are being sent from the ring segments to them through that same layer of subspace?"
Milyanov stood up himself now, "The same place in subspace the Xallac are hiding their invasion fleet is the same in which the coordinates of the planets they intend to conquer are given to them. They receive the information from the ring segments instants before the singularity opens into a wormhole; the fleet appears out of that same subspace layer right before the wormhole and having learnt the coordinates they're sent on their way by the wormhole. The wormhole's other end is movable. The singularity doesn't receive the information, that's impossible as we've expounded again and again..." he trailed off as he watched his Chief collapse to the deck.
Hands to his head Blakus recoiled as the invasive presence pierced at his conscious once more. "It's ok..." he waved Milyanov and Emily Mouring away, "It'll pass." The entity - the Halanan he presumed - drew away then attacked him it seemed from several thousand angles at once, ripping through his skull but this time not laughing, instead showing him imagery that gave a strong impression of being foresight, prophecies of things to come, an implacable wall of cold dread: a burning Earth, a scorched surface of Mars, jarred in its orbit by the destruction of the portion of the Asteroid Belt lying behind it bringing it closer to the Sun, Jupiter Station being disintegrated by successive bolts of energy, its pieces degrading in their orbits towards the magnificent gas giant. Then with a whispery cackle - that seemed to have some other purpose than to terrify him as to the possibility, some ambiguity of meaning - the Halanan wiped the memory of all this from him and departed his body, resuming its ghostlike passage through the passageways of the starship. Blakus fell limp on the floor.
He sat up, blinking, skin tingling... Milyanov and Emily were around him. "The Halanan," he said, breathing in short gasps, "No use informing security, the thing's undetectable. I don't know what happened, but I think it was an act of desperation..." He got back to his feet with new resolve, "It was meant as a warning. But all it tells us is that we're on the right track. Now we just need to crack how to get access to that subspace layer."
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Carl Torek
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"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 18, 2015 17:42:46 GMT
The work on the facility continued apace ... Director Torek with his ever-present assistant Siwa Ir pushed those they needed to to the limit and beyond. He had been sat going over construction reports for the facility on the surface when Siwa entered the room. She placed a hand on his shoulder and his eyes rolled upwards:
"..... أننا متأخرون ..... I have been instructed to ensure you force the work onward."
"I can only do what I can do Lady." Torek said in his half-dazed state, "Those above are beginning to ask questions, questions I have no answers for at this time. We have trebled the workforce in the last three months but the surface site is no closer to completion. Those from the government are now sending a delegation of Inspectors to oversee the project."
"The Inspectors will cause us no trouble." Siwa said almost defiantly, "We must increase the completion rate on the sub-transmattor pillars. We still have twenty four to complete. You will take more men from the surface and instruct them to begin the final tunnels from the core shaft ..... I will deal with the Inspectors, personally. Do we have the device in place to penetrate the core when the time comes ?"
"The shaft is currently at two twenty eight miles depth, we are already seeing evidence that the liquid core is less than fifty miles below our current drill position. We can break through in an hour if the need arose. The device is situated at the two hundred mile marker in a sub-cavern awaiting final positioning."
"We have men working twenty hours per day Lady, they cannot work for long periods of time under these conditions." Torek said,his dazed mind struggling to remain conscious.
"They will work, or die doing so ... We have little option if the invasion is to begin on time." she said, removing her hand slowly, then standing back as Torek regained his composure, "You are working much too hard on these sub- levels Director. You have Supervisors to do this work."
"I know Siwa, and I appreciate your concern, but we must finish on time." he said, wondering 'what' they must finish a radio telescope array on time for exactly.
"Shall I go to the surface to meet the Inspectors for you Director ?" she said, happy to help in any way she could. Carl nodded, distracted by yet more incorrect schematic's on the blueprints spread out before him .....
ooo000ooo
Reaching the surface she instructed four men to follow her .... She entered the garage area and climbed into one of the Military trucks they were using. They drove out from the facility and into the desert. If she was right they should meet the Inspectors vehicles roughly thirty miles out from the facility itself. They came to a halt in a small dip in the dusty road between two rocky rises in the terrain, one of the men lifted the bonnet of the lead truck and then they waited .... Fifteen minutes later the two cars appeared over the rise and dropped into the dip coming toward them at a leisurely pace. Siwa began walking towards the oncoming vehicles as the men with her began to appear busy attempting to repair the fault to their truck. She waved them down and as the two cars stopped several men stepped out into the hot sun and approached her.
She waited until two were close then spoke quietly:
"..... سوف اتبع تعليماتي ....." The two men stopped instantly, eyes rolling upwards until only the white could be seen, "You will instruct your colleagues to approach me for instructions." she said, waving the two away and waiting. The first two returned to their vehicles and spoke for a moment with their colleagues, then, looking somewhat confused the second two approached her. She repeated her instruction then told them to return to their cars and follow the trucks back to the facility. Once there she took the Inspectors into one of the conference rooms set up and asked them to be patient while she informed the Director they were waiting for him. But rather than leave the room she stood waiting for the four to turn to her then spoke:
"..... سوف اتبع تعليماتي . هل تفهم ..... You are going to remain at this facility for twenty four hours. At which time you will return to Washington and present your report. It will be most favorable and support the Director in his concerns that the facility is indeed behind schedule. You will assure those superiors that you have every faith that the construction will be completed on time. Do you understand these instructions ?" she asked the four dazed Inspectors, who mutely nodded in unison. Satisfied, she left them alone and closed the door ... Inside the room the four men began to write their individual reports having seen nothing of the facility itself ...
Returning to the sub-levels she instructed several men to begin the final tunnels. They would not halt their progress until they dropped from exhaustion, or death itself, at which time other's would remove the bodies and continue the work. Above all else, the sub-transmattor pillars 'MUST' be finished on time for the signal from the Orion Arm ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 20, 2015 17:39:53 GMT
Blakus paced back and forth in front of the forcefield. He turned back to the biobed, gazing in at the Xallac's purple-red robes and its fast healing form. Its chest rose and fell slowly and rhythmically, its normal respiration already restored to breathe a particular ratio of methane to oxygen, but whether the atmosphere the other side of the forcefield was of the right balance they couldn't tell.
"What do you know?" he murmured, looking at its unconscious form before resuming his pacing.
"Commander. Are you here for a medical check-up? Or just to spy on my patient?" Roach said testily, approaching from behind him. "The CO will be informed when the Xallac is awake."
"But it could wake at any time, right, Doctor?"
"You seem, overwrought, Commander, if I may say so. Maybe you should take a biobed."
"I don't think so. I'm waiting for any insights this being may be able to offer. He will know the location of the Xallac invasion fleet, or whatever it is they have in hiding; he will know where they intend to go. He's not just a patient he's a prisoner... The intelligence suggested that not only had the Halanan and the Xallac formed an alliance remember, but that they were planning an attack on the Federation."
Roach was scanning the back of his head with a medical tricorder. He tried to move away, feeling slightly dizzy as he did so, then the Doctor's tricorder started beeping. "Commander, you've had another one of the attacks? You didn't tell me." He was about to object before Roach ordered him to a biobed, pushing him down and scanning at his temples, "I told you to report straight back here if it happened again. And this is an issue for ship's security as well, I gather. They weren't informed?"
"No they were not. The Halanan's invasive presence, every time it occurs, and that's four times now I should let you know, tells us that we're onto them. I need the attacks to continue to know that I'm on the right track." He cut across the expected Roach objection, "Its attacks are aggressive but desperate. They're countermeasures, deployed because we're drawing closer to the truth. And if I can speak to our Xallac Hierophant friend, perhaps he'll be able to shed some light on where exactly this subspace layer is that's hiding their military forces. I'm betting the Halanan won't want that discovered."
The issue was - as Blakus was finally persuaded to leave sickbay and leave the transforming Xallac in peace - he didn't know how far the Halanan would go to prevent that discovery. When it did occur - an hour later when Milyanov was triumphantly pointing out from tetryonic perturbation data the exact subspace layer the Xallac were hiding their forces (though he was unable to pin down the Xallac ships, or warriors themselves) - it left Blakus wondering, amidst the piercing pain of the Halanan's concurrent intrusion, what else the cloaked or non-corporeal being was trying to keep from him.
As it had left his mind, shrieking rather than laughing this time as its non-corporeal form disappeared through a bulkhead, it had seemed intent that he shouldn't find the subspace layer, but it was positively horrified that there they would find the Xallac, and would possibly destroy them. While the Halanan's intention was to invade him and leave him with an impression, through that invasion the reverse had been achieved... He'd learnt something for himself: the discovery disturbed the Halanan in a different way, as if plans and devices of its species' own, separate from their allies the Xallac, would be discovered. Was the alliance not so stable as the Raven had thought?
He tapped his commbadge upon recovery, =/\=Admiral, we believe we have found, in subspace, where exactly the Xallac forces are hiding.=/\=
<Tag Torek>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 24, 2015 13:18:59 GMT
"Move us into a Geostationary orbit over one of the major population or production centers, but keep us in direct line of the orbital ring. If a light goes on over there I want to know about it."
They had been in-situ for six hours, scanning the surfce visible from their position, and also keeping a wary 'eye' on the ring and the orbital facility beyond. He was tired, and knew that wasn't a good sign. He was about to hand over the Bridge so he could rest when the Comm chirped to life:
=^= Blakus to Bridge .. .. Admiral .. We believe we have found in subspace exactly where the Xallac forces are hiding =^=
=^= I'm coming down =^= Torek said, almost jumping out of his seat, all thoughts of tiredness evaporating instantly as he stepped into the turbo-lift and requested 'Deck Thirty Six - Main engineering .....
~~~~~
Entering he immediately saw Blakus and several of his team gathered around the 'pool table' .... Junior Officer's stepped back to allow him to get to the front.
"What do we have Commander ?" he asked, then allowed Blakus and his Deputy to recount their findings.
"How do we propose to get to this subspace level ?"
"Sir, I think it's possible their means is right in front of us, so to speak." Milyanov said with the approval of his Chief, he made a few adjustments to the readouts on the pool table then allowed Torek to move around to view the data from his side, "We've been passively scanning the ring system and the control facility. Rather than being inactive, it has been picking up a minute subspace harmonic, indicative of a conduit between two or more subspace levels ... I thi ... We think, that the ring itself is being used as the conduit." the Deputy Chief concluded. To say Torek was dumbstruck was an understatement. To think it was possible that the whole attacking force could be hidden 'here' but in subspace had never even occurred to him. If it was true, they could bring the whole Xallac / Halanan issue to a close with two well targeted Mark Three quantum torpedoes ... But Carl wasn't that stupid, or optimistic, it was never going to be that simple !
"How come we have only just managed to discover the subspace layer ?"
"Well Sir." Milyanov fielded the question before his Chief could, "It hadn't occurred to us to be honest, but once we began picking up the minute emissions from what we 'thought' was the inactive device, we started looking deeper."
"So what are our options ?" Torek addressed Blakus.
"I suggest a probe first." Andae said with a wry shrug as if his deputy was doing perfectly fine, and would have made the same suggestion himself. Carl nodded and told them to carry on. A Class II sensor probe was readied then launched into the center of the one thousand meter diameter ring. Surprisingly, it didn't simply pass through and continue on it's course, but vanished from sight as it passed through the event horizon, moments later screens began scrolling through the mass of information being transmitted back to the Raven .....
"Data coming in Captain." Milyanov said, managing to curb his excitement at their findings, "Picking up levels of Methol Iodide, Carbon Tetriodide, Ethane ... The perfect subspace environment for a Methane-breathing race."
Carl turned to Andae, who was nodding confirmation of the probes' readings.
"Can we take the Raven through that thing ?" he asked, realizing his question had brought complete silence to Main Engineering ! ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 26, 2015 23:55:41 GMT
The silence endured for a further ten seconds before Blakus spoke quietly, "Yes, sir, providing the methane/ethane atmosphere in the layer doesn't react with any emissions from our impulse engines, or nacelles. The gases are highly volatile; I'd recommend we set a velocity using impulse then allow the momentum to carry us through, shutting down all used-fuel output ports and if need be collecting excess plasma in the ramscoops."
"Sir... are we planning to... destroy the Xallac fleet?" Milyanov asked. Blakus could tell where his assistant was going. While it was clear that the threat of the Xallac forces to Earth and the other core worlds did need to be removed... "If the Xallac, whether they are in ships, or roaming about in this subspace layer unprotected - given its atmospheric constituents - are to be destroyed, the use of our weapons systems will cause a chain reaction and ignite all the gas for as far as the subspace layer extends - we could well be destroyed with them if we're not careful."
Before Torek could respond his commbadge chirped, "Admiral Torek, bridge. Commander Marionette reports she has lost helm control."
"Repeat?" Blakus blurted out, surprised at what he was hearing, then closing his mouth as he realised he'd spoken out of turn.
Jamison had heard him, "I said we've lost helm control." He seemed to be conferring in the background with somebody, "Sir, the helm has set us on a course towards the larger facility... I don't know what's causing it."
"Acknowledged," Torek said before turning to Andae, "Try to regain control."
"Sir." He leant into the pool table, studying a small screen and tapping through various displays trying to establish a direct link with the bridge and the helm itself. If Commander Marionette had no luck on her end with a positronic brain, then Andae's efforts from an alternate location, engineering, with a less able human brain could well balance out the chance of success or perhaps better it.
"Checking the computer core..." Milyanov said, standing the other side of the console table, "There could've been a malfunction, a glitch in the programming. It happens from time to time, but this seems a little too coincidental if you ask me."
"I concur," Blakus answered, experiencing a gut-wrenching sensation... Non-corporeal, or otherwise cloaked entities (if that cloak was phased) could pass through solid objects, such as the gynoid body of the Raven's helm officer. Milyanov shook his head; nothing was wrong with the computer core, at least not in its primary operating systems. That made up Blakus's mind, "Sir, I have a strong suspicion that it is the Halanan who is taking control of the helm. It doesn't want us anywhere near that ring device."
<Tag Carl>
He never would've thought that the ring device itself could be the... threshold to the subspace layer. He'd expected that perhaps it lay in the near vicinity, tetryonic particle emissions coming from an area around the ring. To think however that a subspace conduit ran through the ring device, a metaphysical corridor conjoining two or more layers of subspace. It was too much to comprehend... luckily before his brain exploded he was brought back to the situation.
"Jamison to Torek, sir the facility's powering up - reading lifesigns within... an oxygen atmosphere," he said with clear surprise, "It's locking a tractor beam on us, pulling us towards it and away from a possible rendezvous with the ring device. I guess they didn't take kindly to our probe launch."
"Full reverse!"
"Not possible, helm's locked out. Unless you can think something up in engineering, they have us."
Blakus climbed the ladder to the upper level of engineering, taking a console near the warp core, "We could generate a feedback loop, using our own warp plasma directed through the navigational deflector and aimed back through their tractor beam," he explained to the people below. He executed the manoeuvre; seconds later they were getting a report from the bridge that the tractor beam's hold had been disrupted, however, they were still on a course for the larger facility - filled with oxygen-breathing Xallac variants, or Halanan, or perhaps even mercenaries... they couldn't tell.
<Tag Carl>
* * *
In the gloom of sickbay, near deserted with minimal noises from the machinery, there was one eminent light source, an orange glow about the active main biobed on which lay the Xallac Hierophant, its slowly recuperating body experiencing haemoglobin rich blood coursing through its veins... oxygenated blood coursing from the interconnected network of its seven hearts. It opened its eyes and laughed; Roach, who had been studying the Xallac's vital signs from a console outside the forcefield was made to jump.
It pulled its bulky, almost-fully metamorphosed body from the biobed and approached the forcefield. It stopped, becoming aware of some presence, some psychic echo resounding throughout the ship. One of 'they' were here, as well as - as he already knew - one of his own kind, who followed this ship's commander rarely letting him out of her sight.
He brooded, tracing a suction pad fingertip along the forcefield, lighting up the features of Roach's face who stood frozen. The Halanan's invisible presence - his people, their plans, were well known to the awakened Hierophant, who had slept for nearly four hundred years, put to his centuries long sleep shortly after the facility on the planet called Earth had been completed. He'd overseen the whole operation, from within the Oval Office of the President of the USA, advising the man that the works at the Mojave were really of no consequence. Then he had retired to await the time when he could take up arms and bring the planet and its Federation to its knees.
The human doctor watched the Hierophant closely. It paced back and forth, thinking. It dared not encounter the Xallac that tailed Admiral Torek; to do so would cause a rupture in the continuum that would bring about the collapse of the timeline, and could mean the Hierophant would've never been put into cryostasis in the first place, and would certainly mean it would be spatially displaced from its current position now. The Halanan, however; ostensibly they were an ally for now, but when the time came the Hierophant and his subjects would reveal the treachery of their 'allies', and bring them to an end once and for all.
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Carl Torek
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"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on Oct 27, 2015 19:59:13 GMT
"FULL REVERSE !"
"Not possible, helm's locked out. Unless you can think something up in engineering, they have us." Jamison said from the Command chair ... In Engineering, Blakus climbed the ladder to the upper level of engineering, taking a console near the warp core.
"We could generate a feedback loop, using our own warp plasma directed through the navigational deflector and aimed back through their tractor beam."
"Do it !" Carl said, watching the exterior view of the base getting ever closer. But after a few moments it was obvious that even though Blakus had managed to interrupt the tractor beam, the Raven was still moving inexorably forwards, "Weapons, do we still have weapons and our own tractor beam ?"
Milyanov ran to another console. He made several inputs, banging his fist into the panel for good measure before turning to Torek ...
"We've suffered a loss of power, but we can use the tractor and we have phasers, I can't guarantee for how long Sir." Carl looked up at Andae who was still making sure they were clear of the facility tractor. Carl tapped his Comm badge:
=^= Torek to Bridge .. Will .. Lock phasers on the facility we are heading towards .. There's no point in trying to keep our presence a secret given their 'invitation' so we will need to act .. .. .. Fire when ready .. .. .. =^=
=^= Structural damage .. They seem to be loosing atmosphere Admiral .. I doubt we are their main concern at this point in time =^= Jamison informed him seconds later.
=^= Bridge .. Stand by Commander .. .. .. .. =^= Torek said, turning back to Milyanov and Blakus.
"Can we use the tractor beam to 'push' us away from the facility ?"
"Not a chance Sir. The Raven weighs four point five million metric tonnes ...... The force needed would have to surpass that weight differential. Basic physics Admiral, one Newton of force to move one kilogram." he shrugged, ".... N=1kg-m/s2 .... We could never generate the power required, but we could exert enough force to prevent us dropping in on the facility, but I'd hate to think what it will do to the dilithium crystals, our power reserves for that matter."
"Thank you for the refresher Mister Milyanov." Carl said with a grin, then he had a thought, "Wait, we don't have helm control at this point, but we 'DO' have drive systems, right ?" Blakus and his Deputy nodded in unison, "OK ... Here's what we do ..... Reconfigure the tractor to push us out of the path of the facility and out into open space. The second we clear the planet, we jump to warp."
"Admiral ?" Milyanov began, but Carl was already holding up a hand to continue:
"We jump to warp for five seconds. That should get us well clear of the facility and the ring. We'll get Helm on-line and then come back." he could see the Deputy glancing at Blakus skeptically, "You have another idea Lieutenant ?"
"Sir, if I may ?" he asked his Chief, who nodded, "Admiral, if we are going to expend so much of our reserves, why not stay in orbit and let the planet do the work ...... We use the tractor to adjust our heading, less expenditure, then we use thrusters to push us past the ground facility and around the planet. We know where they snatched us before, so we stay out of range, set a heading for the ring as we discussed, and shut everything down. If we hit them with another phaser volley as we pass over, I doubt they will be able to grab us again before we pass through the event horizon, Sir."
"Anyone else thought that we could simply destroy the ring of sub-stations, thereby trapping the Xallac in whatever sub-space realm they are hiding ?" Carl asked, a wry grin on his face.
"Who's to say they only have the one." Andae said, a blank expression on his face.
"Trust you." Torek said, making a decision:
=^= Commander Jamison .. Did you hear all of that ? =^=
=^= Yes Sir .. I concur with the Lieutenant's plan of action .. It gives us more options in the long run .. Oh and yes .. We have 'ALL' given thought to destroying the ring and dismissed it for the same reasons .. If we make two full orbits adjusting orbital path with our thrusters we should be able to realign mid-traverse so our drift will take us through the event horizon .. It may be we will regain Helm once out of direct line-of-sight of the facility but Commander Marionette will continue to re-establish control in the mean time .. .. .. Standing-by Admiral =^= he looked at Andae then nodded.
=^= Sit back Will .. We'll do what is required from Engineering .. If you regain Helm control inform us down here .. Otherwise .. .. .. =^=
=^= Aye Sir .. Bridge out =^=
"They don't want us going through their precious ring, do they." Carl said as the Comm closed, "What say we go find out why !" ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Oct 30, 2015 6:03:38 GMT
"Aye!" all those present in engineering who'd heard the CO answered simultaneously. Carl looked about, smiling and proud of his crew. Andae had to agree with Milyanov's plan. It seemed the Halanan - if that was truly what had caused their loss of helm control, and it hadn't been the result of some jamming signal from the Xallac/Halanan facility, or for some other unknown reason - had only intended to lock the controls out then make away to elsewhere on the ship. Perhaps, he thought, that was what'd caused the loss of power - the Halanan ghosting around the ship, working its way into systems, cracking them apart with phantasmgorical magic, disabling from within; 'the ghost in the machine', he thought grimly. "50 seconds til we encounter the facility," Milyanov said, watching the display of the tactical situation being fed down to him from the bridge. "Recommend activation of tractor beam at the 30 second mark." Andae nodded at Milyanov and said to Carl, "I concur, sir." The bridge reported activation of the beam; the course adjustment required was so slight that the ship needed only a short burst aimed at the facility. They felt the g-force, rocking the ship slightly as they were pushed off course from the facility. That inexorable march over, they turned their attention to getting the Raven on the correct trajectory for orbital insertion of S2-3. "With the helm locked out we can't operate the thrusters, as it were, on automatic," Andae said, staring up at the core and its cerulean pulsating length, wondering now if Carl's idea to jump out of the system might've been the better option after all. "However, if we get people in place at the thruster ports themselves, they can manually orientate and activate the propulsion systems behind the thrusters to fine-tune our heading around the planet." "With luck, we'll drift straight into the maw of that thing," Milyanov said, referring to the ring. Blakus nodded. They were now drifting round the gas giant planet, the Xallac or Halanan, or other, on the facility likely wondering how they'd managed to manoeuvre themselves with no helm control. The timescale they found themselves on was ridiculously short; formulating the plan to manually fire the thrusters (and the impulse drive when it came to setting a heading for the ring) using teams of engineers and techs was one thing, but the logistics involved weren't envisaged by them until the plan had been put into action. Blakus consoled Torek and Milyanov saying that at least they had two orbits in which to perfect it. The angle they had to hit and the margin for error were less than an arcsecond from their estimated trajectory every time they would come into sight of the ring in their orbit. Andae received a nod from Carl and leant down to the pool table, "Blakus to bridge, we're ready down here. Our plotted trajectory is as best as we can get it. Who knows, we might still miss the ring by several kilometres but it's our best shot." "You fill me with confidence, Chief," Jamison commed, "Ok, prepare to execute manual firing of impulse engines once the ring machine comes into sight... We'll tell you when." The engineering team waited, the tension in the room veritably palpable. "Ok, 3... 2... 1... Have your teams fire, Blakus!" His finger had been hovering over the button that would give his engineers at the thruster ports their alert signal. He pressed it. Seconds went by. "Tell me you're reading a change in velocity, Commander?" he said, almost beggingly. True enough, the Raven was now on a course for the ring device at a speed of one third impulse. Further thruster connections made by the exhausted engineers - manually rotating the thruster reports, Marionette being helpless to activate them from the helm - set them on a direct heading for the rough centre of the ring, and the subspace layer with its methane and iodide compound atmosphere, liquid and solid phase plateaux where soldiers may be gathering - a place that evoked imagery almost of surreal fantasy - beyond. <Tag Carl - & others please! >
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Carl Torek
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Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 4, 2015 19:17:43 GMT
=^= Ok .. Three .. Two .. One .. Have your teams fire Commander =^= His finger had been hovering over the button that would give his engineers at the thruster ports their alert signal. He pressed it. Seconds went by: =^= Tell me you are reading a change in velocity Commander ? =^= Andae said, almost begging. =^= We are on track Andae .. Well done .. Bridge out =^= The Raven closed the distance to the portal achingly slowly, but close it did .... As the seconds past they watched the almost invisible membrane that separated this realm from the sub-space one the Xallac were hiding in. Then the moment arrived as the leading edge of the saucer section made contact ! ... There was a slight hesitation as it seemingly broke through the semi-solid barrier, then inertia took over, allowing the Galaxy Class Star Ship to 'fall' into the unfathomable depths of the sub-space layer. Utter blackness was replaced with a blue green hue, before it too began to darken to an almost impenetrable black. The ship groaned as the unconventional stresses began to exert their hold on the saucer then the engineering section, and finally the massive nacelles. Pressure increased ten-fold, then one hundred as the gasses occupying this realm attempted to expel the intruder, but the Raven flourished under the onslaught and gradually it completed it's transit into sub-space ..... On the Bridge Carl watched in silence as the screen attempted to generate an image the crew could comprehend, then finally they were given their first glance of the Methane / Iodide realm. But it wasn't the composition of the surrounding space that got their attention, for in orbit around the planet, now a blackened charred wasteland that had suffered from constant bombardment from the toxic sun, were what could be described as strings of pearls ! "Do we have Helm control back Commander ?" Carl asked Marionette. "Commander Blakus and his team are still working to restore control Captain. We have maneuvering thrusters only at this point." "What do you make of those ?" Calli asked, pointing to the shimmering strands that circumnavigated the dead world beyond. "Magnify by twenty." Jamison ordered, then sat almost open-mouthed as they looked at what could only be millions upon millions of Xallac ! ... They were connected via threads or conduits that must be feeding life-sustaining nutrients to each of the sleeping aliens. "You have got to be kidding." he said finally as he stood and approached the massive view-screen. "Well, we already knew they could survive in vacuum." Calli said, "Though I have to admit, I was thinking they could only survive for short periods of time, like the free-walk over to the Raven from their ship, but this, is ....." "Scary ?" Carl offered. "What are those ?" she said, standing and walking forward, "Harry, magnify sector Delta four ..... They look like relay platform, approximately every thousand Xallac is separated by one of those. Maybe that's what is keeping them alive ?" Carl looked at the relay station. It was roughly one hundred meters by fifty, with two 'strings' of Xallac connected to each of the longer sides. He tried to make a rough calculation as to how many could be in orbit but gave up, asking Marionette to hazard a 'guess' on the count. The Gynoid tilted her head to one side as if mulling the query over. "Allowing for the approximate spacing between Xallac, and the number of platforms that could be involved. By calculating six bands circumnavigating the planet, each supporting two individual 'strings' of Xallac ... There are approximately two hundred million, four hundred fifty thousand ... Give or take." she said 'matter of factly' ..... "Give or take !" Andae said, having entered the Bridge moments earlier. "That is a visual assessment based on what can be seen on-screen only Commander. Speculating that the Xallac do indeed populate the rings throughout the full circumference of the planet, if you wish I cou ...." "No, you're first estimate is good enough." Will said, grinning. "Could a shuttle be used in this environment ?" Carl asked, eyeing the closest relay station. "Sir ...." Harry said hesitantly, "If we want to prevent the Xallac from attacking, why not simply fire on those 'stations'then go back through the portal and blow that the hell up too ?" "We could be effectively eradicating a race of being in doing so Commander." Carl answered, more than sympathetic to the man's idea than he cared to admit, "We have no way of knowing if they can survive in those 'chains' without suffering long-term damage, this could just be the staging area for the invasion, or, who knows what .... We could do with a look inside one of those relay platforms, any thoughts on using a shuttle, maybe the Piper Andae ?" he finished. "We would need to modify the shield emitters to form a protective 'skin' around the shuttle to prevent saturation through the hull, but it could work." Blakus confirmed, already running through the modifications he wanted his teams to make. The Medical Shuttle Piper was best suited for the task as it already had numerous safeguards built into it for entering hazardous situations ... Scans showed no other vessels in sensor range, not that they really expected any given the Xallac thought that by hiding in a sub-space realm they would never be discovered. There was one small 'itch' aggravating Torek though; 'IF' it was the Xallac who had attempted to crash the Raven into their planet, they were either willing to sacrifice those that would perish to rid them of the Federation Vessel, or found they had no other option. Either way 'someone' must have been on the surface to activate the tractor, and if that person had access to communications equipment that could span the sub-space barrier effectively, then it was very possible that someone could be expecting them ! Two hours later ::The outer door of the shuttle bay began to rise, the force field crackling and spitting under unaccustomed strain from the surrounding alien space. Harry raised the Piper off the deck and glanced at Admiral Torek: "Whenever you are ready Commander." Carl said with an ease he was not feeling inwardly. The Piper inched forward and a sudden cacophony of sound invaded their ears as the 'shield strained to retain integrity, a light-show of color blossomed before the Medical Shuttle was free of her Mother. Wedlerson piloted away from the ship then turned so everyone, especially the Admiral and the Chief Engineer could see the outer hull for the first time since beginning this mission ... St Elmo's fire was clearly visible over the hull as the coronal discharge created luminous plasma that spectacularly ignited upon contact with the Iodide molecules. Carl realized he could watch this phenomena indefinitely, it was almost hypnotic in nature, but they had a job to do ... Heading for the closest platform Harry scanned the area passively, hoping not to attract any unwanted attention. Clear to approach he began closing the distance, making sure to keep well away from the 'strings' holding the comatose Xallac. Carl opened a Comm to the Raven: =^= Piper to Raven =^= =^= Go ahead Admiral =^= Marionette replied. =^= Commander .. You have your orders .. If we fail to return you are to fire on as many relay stations within range then pass through the portal .. On our side you will destroy the ring complex and contact Star Fleet Command with a full report .. They must destroy the duplicate on Earth with all due haste .. Understood ? =^= =^= Completely Admiral .. Safe return =^= the Gynoid said before closing the Comm. Sat in the Command seat she watched the Piper impassively ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
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Post by Andae Blakus on Nov 6, 2015 18:56:40 GMT
Andae kept an eye on the hull and the modified shield's integrity readouts as the Piper approached one of the relay stations situated about the dark husk of the planet below. The methane and iodide compounds constituting the gaseous phase of this layer of subspace, in the former's case at least, was highly volatile. Any exposure to oxygen or exotic matter in the impulse engines' exhaust could ignite the methane, effectively setting all of surrounding subspace on fire and burning all the Xallac to a crisp - which, he reasoned, might incidentally turn out to be their objective in this bizarre space.
"Looking for a suitable docking port, unless we want to beam over?" Wedlerson asked. The responses were muted and not overwhelmingly in favour. "Ok, hopefully their docking mechanisms are compatible with our own." There was nothing to suggest that was a possibility at all.
The Piper carefully approached the station, using attitude thrusters to fine tune their heading so that it didn't draw too near any of the sleeping Xallac as it banked around the relay station. "Oh, what do you know?" Harry said, looking jubilantly at his controls. Blakus looked at him darkly. "This port should suffice; reversing us into position."
Andae noticed that Carl was watching the viewscreen - now showing an aft view of the approaching docking port - with a pensive look, if not an unnerved one. "Perhaps someone is expecting us!" he said to Andae.
The engineer nodded after a moment; it made sense that if the facility near the ring structure had tried to tractor them in then they at least knew who the Raven crew were or who they represented, and that they would closely track the orbit the ship had made of the planet and observe it pass through the portal. It stood to reason the facility would be able to scan into subspace and transmit messages of an impending Starfleet ship's arrival, but... so much so that they'd configured their docking ports for specific Starfleet shuttle designs? It didn't seem plausible, unless there was another layer to what they knew about the Raven and its crew.
The Piper made hard dock and a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere was detected inside. As they were about to step out of the aft of the shuttle into the inner airlock Andae asked, looking at his colleagues, "Are we sure this is wise?" The others shrugged; it was time to find out.
The security and marine detail they'd brought along would guarantee at least a minimal level of safety; in addition to that, no lifesigns on the relay stations had been detected - though from previous experience, they knew not to take such readings for granted: they'd encountered seemingly automatic recon craft, deserted stations, lifeless planets, on which actually, signs of Halanan activity had been discovered, with industry on unimaginable scales churning out starships that soon exceeded their spaceworthiness (considering the length of time they'd been building them for) and were recycled to create fresher starships.
"All this effort just to accommodate us?" Blakus murmured, looking around as they started roaming the tight but just wide enough corridors, "Admiral, wasn't the Yeoman Siwa Ir going to join us this time? Hmm, Earth-like atmosphere, internal layout designed for humanoids... We know the Halanan can be humanoid but they're shapeshifters - who can also cloak themselves incidentally - and the Xallac, well... Unless this is some proving ground - as preparation for invasion of Earth-like worlds, most of the Federation's core worlds for instance - for the Xallac in their more humanoid form, I'd say we definitely were expected."
They came upon a control interface, above which was a small portal looking out on the two chains of Xallac extending away from this side of the relay station, the next station just visible approximately 2 km away. The lifeforms floated in the methane atmosphere, oblivious hopefully to the Starfleet crew aboard their stations. For just how long had they been sleeping? The security and marines stood guard at the intersection as Blakus and Wedlerson studied the display.
"From here," Andae said, working the console, "We could cut the entire link from this relay station to the next. The Xallac wouldn't survive long without it; it seems these Xallac have undergone near full transformations from methane-breathing quadrupeds to oxygen-breathing bipeds... They would suffocate in the methane air once cut loose." He reflected on his words; he didn't much like the idea of eliminating thousands of a species in the press of a button, and if they were to repeat the trick on all the stations, all 200 million of them - despite what unpalatable purposes the apparent invasion force might soon be turned to.
Another few minutes passed, Andae discussing with Torek and Wedlerson what they should do about the Xallac link, and nothing in their immediate surroundings appeared different. At that time one of the marines, Corporal Tenim, noticed with a start that Lieutenant Epps was missing. No one had heard her walk away; it was as if she'd simply vanished. Just then lights in the walls near the ceiling of the confining corridors, glowing a vibrant purple, dimmed once then restored themselves, a renewed thrum of the station's power core passing through the structure.
<Tag Carl, Alll>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Nov 7, 2015 2:20:11 GMT
Earth ::"Sir, we are beginning to pick up readings from the Mojave Desert region ....." the man said, looking over his shoulder to attract his supervisor's attention.
"What sort of readings ?" the man currently overseeing Earths weather control center.
"It's almost as if there was about to be an eruption. I'm reading magma displacement and a growing pressure increase in the upper mesosphere region at approximately four hundred kilometers."
"Keep an eye on it." the Supervisor said, turning to another one of the team, "Let's get a team out there and see if we can't confirm these readings. The region was a natural caldera, but the magma flume solidified over three five hundred years ago."
At the construction site, almost all of the work had been completed, there was only the internal furnishings to be fitted and the mechanical electrical equipment to be installed, then the facility would finally begin it's research ... The device was small, only one meter in diameter in fact, but more than adequate for the single task it had been developed for so many years in the future. It sat on a solid bed of granite, thousands of meters thick, surrounded by a shaft of granite thousands of meters deep. once in place, the shaft had been filled with meta-crete, sealing the device in it's tomb ... On final activation, it would send a beam of almost pure energy lancing downward towards the Earths molten iron core. This beam, many many times more powerful than the most destructive phaser beam, would pierce the core in seconds. The resulting loss of pressure would force molten iron upwards, pushing the 'plug' almost into orbit before the liquid iron traveled along the specially constructed tunnels to the sub-station relays that encircled the shaft !
The molten iron would push the relay's upwards,forcing them to thrust through the lithosphere, the upper layer of the Earths crust, until they could expand their antenna. Once all three hundred and sixty were exposed, they would link together forming a circle, then and only then would they contact their duplicate light years distant .......... Orion Arm : Perseus Transit : S2-3 orbit ::"From here ..." Andae was saying as he checked the console, "We could cut the entire link from this relay station to the next. The Xallac wouldn't survive long without it; it seems these Xallac have undergone near full transformations from methane-breathing quadrupeds to oxygen-breathing bipeds ... They would suffocate in the methane air once cut loose." Another few minutes passed, Andae discussing with Torek and Wedlerson what they should do about the Xallac link, and nothing in their immediate surroundings appeared different. At that time one of the marines, Corporal Tenim, noticed with a start that Lieutenant Epps was missing. No one had heard her walk away; it was as if she'd simply vanished. Just then lights in the walls near the ceiling of the confining corridors, glowing a vibrant purple, dimmed once then restored themselves, a renewed thrum of the station's power core passing through the structure. "Anyone else curious about that power drain ?" Calli asked, glancing at the deck as they began to work on a plan to find the suddenly missing Epps. "We'll get to that Calli." Carl said as colonel Burwell began assigning search parties. Calli nodded but looked back up at the lighting for a long moment before they moved out of the room and began looking for the missing Lieutenant. ~~~~~"This is useless. We've been over every inch of this place and no sign of the Lieutenant, where the hell could she have gone ?" Lu Yang asked, looking back the way they had come, and instantly realizing something was very wrong, "Hold on ! ... We passed the lock where the Piper was docked only five minutes ago. This structure was one hundred meters long, right .... ?" he asked, making the other's turn to look at him puzzled at his query. "Yes Lu, one hundred, why ?" David Scott asked. "Because ... 'THAT' is a damn-sight further than one hundred meters unless i'm loosing all depth perception !" he said, pointing back the way they had just come from the control room. The corridor, or more accurately, the thoroughfare, was much wider than before, and definitely far longer than when they had arrived ! ... Burwell tapped his comm badge nervously: =^= Burwell to Admiral Torek =^= =^= Go ahead Colonel =^= =^= Sir .. We are experiencing some abnormalities regarding spacial confines .. Wherever you are I suggest you lock onto my Comm signal and meet us .. It is .. Most urgent Admiral =^= =^= We too seem to be finding the station a little 'bigger' than first thought .. Hold your position we'll come to you =^= ~~~~~As Torek and his team approached the Marine contingent, Burwell turned his tricorder around so Carl could see the readings without having to be 'verbally' informed ..... He looked at the small screen then asked Burwell if everyone was accounted for. The Marine replied in the affirmative and Carl looked at the device once again. Looking up then back, then up and left until he thought he had located the source of the anomalous readings. The Marine pointed with his phaser to a set of double doors he was certain weren't there seconds earlier ... Drawing his own phaser and instructing the others to do likewise, he and Burwell approached the doors ... Burwell mouthed: One - Two - Three - then nodded ... They entered the room quickly, Security and Marines covering the life-signs they had picked up, while Torek and the Command Staff moved out of silhouette and against the wall. "There is no need for your weapons here Admiral." Carl looked at the five people, not quite Human, but close enough, sat at the long table, the only furniture in the room, "They will still operate to your specifications of course, but killing one or all of us would be a useless and irrelevant act." Carl's phaser was aimed, with a rock steady grip, directly between the speakers' eyes. "Who are you ?" he asked calmly. "Oh, I think you know the answer to that question already Admiral, but if it pleases you to have a form of address, then you may call me Y'hhor ..... Colonel Burwell, sending your colleagues back to the shuttle would prove, futile, as you are no longer on the relay platform." Burwell stopped in his tracks and turned to Torek, who told him to stand down but keep weapons at the ready. "Who am I addressing ?" "We are the ..... קאמרי ..... Or 'ruling chamber' in terms you would understand. We are the ones who have eradicated the Human race, and the multitude of races encompassing what you call, the Federation." ..........
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