NationStates Jolt Archive


The Astrid project (GDT and TVC)

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"
Tarasovka
15-10-2003, 14:27
Three ships warped into normal space near the gates.

A Taraskovyan "Thylacin" Class Heavy Cruiser, escorted by two "Emerald Spire" Class Cruisers.

The Three cruisers took the direction of the Sajuuk Gates, with fighters springing out of the launching bays and forming escort formations.

Kerlana, the BSI of the "Thylacin" Class Cruiser established a direct uplink with the gates control.

- Attention Sajuuk Gate Control, this is TSV "Kerathor", requesting approach vectors for the Gate and permission to pass through.

Several Vortex ships moved out towards the Taraskovyan group...
15-10-2003, 16:25
"Attention Sajuuk Gate Control, this is TSV "Kerathor", requesting approach vectors for the Gate and permission to pass through"

As the message was received by the control center, three Gunship corvette squadrons moved near the Taraskovyan ships, under the cover of three assault frigates. Quickly, a few scans were made to confirm the identity of the GDT vessels. While the scans were made, a Battlecruiser positioned itself between the Gate and the newly arrived visitors, following standard procedures.

"This is the Corporate Battlecruiser "Mandulis". We've scanned your signatures and transmission codes. Hang in there for another minute, and we'll open the gate for you". Slowly, the battlecruiser moved out of the way, clearing a path for the Taraskovyan vessel. Not much later, they witnessed how the iris of the gate opened, clearing their path into the Void. As they moved through, the corvettes stayed close to their hulls, making sure they could go trough the gate without having to break free from their protegé's.

After passing through the gate, the GDT vessels found themselves inside the Void, the white sphere behing the Gate. Shortly after, the gate closed again and instructions from the Sajuuk Shipyards started coming in. The broadcasts included an official welcoming message, as well as flight vectors. The Heavy Cruiser was directed to the main dock, and two secondary hangar bays had been cleared to accomodate the Cruisers that escorted it.

http://well-of-souls.com/homeworld/hws/taiidan/battle_station4.gif
Passing by other, smaller hangars, the tree vessels recorded images of the previous group that had entered the gates. Very clearly, they could see the last of the carriers in it docking in a large docking bay, situated between several smaller fighter docks. It appeared as if it was unloading heavy equipment, and a couple of Flak frigates were making sure that no ship came too close to make exact observations.

After the vessels had docked, the hangar doors were closed. In the end, the two normal cruisers had been docked in the same space, with the Heavy Cruiser stationed in a separate dock, in which it only just fitted.
As the commanders of the three vessels exited their craft, they were formally received by Corporate officers, and guided to a large briefing room, where a mini bar, comfortable seats and a large projector screen were awaiting them, with Koran receiving them at the door.

"Good morning, my friends. I'm glad you could all make it on such a short notice, and with all the problems currently going on in the world. But as you probably know, this project means a lot to us."

Suddenly, Koran seemed to realize something. He stopped talking and his eyes widened a little.

"Oh...how rude. I totally forgot to introduce myself! My name is Koran Manaan. I am the head engineer of this station."
17-10-2003, 11:24
[Bump for GDT to introduce characters]