15-10-2003, 13:42
Deep in space, the planet Caelum revolved around its sun. High above the planet, the Sajuuk Gate was located. In the command center on the side of the gate, Koran Manaan stared out of a window. For several years now, he had been head engineer of the shipyards located behind the gate.
Standing there, he thought about how it had all begun. A science frigate has discovered the Caelum system, and when an expedition was sent, this Gate was discovered. Behind it, they found the Void, a globe with a 2000 mile diameter, with white walls that could not be scanned. The first race had constructed it to witness the birth of this particular universe, or at least so the scientists thought.
Later, the ancient Kushan had found it. They saw the tactical value of the Void, and constructed shipyards inside of it. When the Corporation opened the gate, the shipyards were still inside, and three years later they had started production again.
Now, this entire sector was a concentration of Corporate firepower. An entire fleet was stationed near the Gate, and Koran could see a pair of Destroyers, with their large kinetic gun batteries, passing by the gate, escorted by squadrons of Gunship corvettes. As Koran watched the tight formations pass by, he was filled with a sense of pride. This entire venture was a very profitable operation, and everything was organized perfectly. He, Koran, was the man responsible for it all, with the incredible assistance of the personnel of the shipyards and the gates. As he was thinking about the past, Koran suddenly saw what he had been waiting for.
Not far from the Gate, five hyperspace gates opened. Their purple lights reflected on the fighters squadrons that immediately proceeded to take position around them. As the bows of the vessels exiting hyperspace became visible, Koran ordered that all recording equipment was disengaged, to make sure this would stay classified. From the five gates, three carriers exited, escorted by two destroyers. Behind the destroyers, six frigates of Flak and Ion configuration exited the gates, after which the portals closed.
"Loki group to Sajuuk Gate Control. Requesting permission to pass through the Gate and deliver the Astrid."
The communications officer looked at Koran, who gave a short nod as a sign to continue.
"This is Sajuuk Gate. We're opening the Gate."
Immediately after that message, several technicians started feeding commands into the mainframe computer. On monitoring screens, it could be seen that the iris protecting the Gate was slowly opening, and a mass of blue plasma became visible. The five vessels accelerated, and slowly started to venture through the Sajuuk Gate. Several fighter squadrons nervously flew around in their slipstream, making sure that nobody would take advantage of this occasion to exit hyperspace and stage a surprise attack.
When the ships had gone through, the Gate closed again and several Field frigates in the vicinity disengaged the jamming fields and hyperspace inhibitors that had been active during the period that the Gate was opened. Slowly, all craft returned to their normal formations.
Inside, Koran turned away from the window, and headed for a door that would take him to the Ambassador corvette that had brought him here. On his way out, he stopped briefly in front of the communications officer.
"Relay a message to Uthar. Tell them that phase 1 of Astrid has commenced."
"Yes sir"
Standing there, he thought about how it had all begun. A science frigate has discovered the Caelum system, and when an expedition was sent, this Gate was discovered. Behind it, they found the Void, a globe with a 2000 mile diameter, with white walls that could not be scanned. The first race had constructed it to witness the birth of this particular universe, or at least so the scientists thought.
Later, the ancient Kushan had found it. They saw the tactical value of the Void, and constructed shipyards inside of it. When the Corporation opened the gate, the shipyards were still inside, and three years later they had started production again.
Now, this entire sector was a concentration of Corporate firepower. An entire fleet was stationed near the Gate, and Koran could see a pair of Destroyers, with their large kinetic gun batteries, passing by the gate, escorted by squadrons of Gunship corvettes. As Koran watched the tight formations pass by, he was filled with a sense of pride. This entire venture was a very profitable operation, and everything was organized perfectly. He, Koran, was the man responsible for it all, with the incredible assistance of the personnel of the shipyards and the gates. As he was thinking about the past, Koran suddenly saw what he had been waiting for.
Not far from the Gate, five hyperspace gates opened. Their purple lights reflected on the fighters squadrons that immediately proceeded to take position around them. As the bows of the vessels exiting hyperspace became visible, Koran ordered that all recording equipment was disengaged, to make sure this would stay classified. From the five gates, three carriers exited, escorted by two destroyers. Behind the destroyers, six frigates of Flak and Ion configuration exited the gates, after which the portals closed.
"Loki group to Sajuuk Gate Control. Requesting permission to pass through the Gate and deliver the Astrid."
The communications officer looked at Koran, who gave a short nod as a sign to continue.
"This is Sajuuk Gate. We're opening the Gate."
Immediately after that message, several technicians started feeding commands into the mainframe computer. On monitoring screens, it could be seen that the iris protecting the Gate was slowly opening, and a mass of blue plasma became visible. The five vessels accelerated, and slowly started to venture through the Sajuuk Gate. Several fighter squadrons nervously flew around in their slipstream, making sure that nobody would take advantage of this occasion to exit hyperspace and stage a surprise attack.
When the ships had gone through, the Gate closed again and several Field frigates in the vicinity disengaged the jamming fields and hyperspace inhibitors that had been active during the period that the Gate was opened. Slowly, all craft returned to their normal formations.
Inside, Koran turned away from the window, and headed for a door that would take him to the Ambassador corvette that had brought him here. On his way out, he stopped briefly in front of the communications officer.
"Relay a message to Uthar. Tell them that phase 1 of Astrid has commenced."
"Yes sir"