NationStates Jolt Archive

The huge ship, which was embedded in the Martian soil due to a navigation error, served as home for the Pakled colony. Indeed, after their disastrous defeat at the hands of Vohrsoth resulting in the lose of a scout ship, the Pakleds decided to remain low. Only one small ship was busy cruising about the solar system annoying people, or as the Pakleds would see it – an honest attempt to understand the universe.

Pakleds milled about, unsure of what do. Geordi was away and the huge colony ship’s AI was partially disabled. What remained of the AI was concentrating on the task of repairing itself. However, the structure and most other systems of the ship were intact since the ship was nigh-invulnerable.

Attempts to contact neighboring nations on Green Mars were met with scorn, mockery, and derision. Therefore, the Commander decided, after a long thinking session, that is was time to leave Green Mars and roam.

A message was sent to the small scout ship, ordering it to scour for new regions and perhaps to revive the Pakled trading consortium. Efforts were now focused on extracting the hulking colony ship from the Martian soil and bedrock. Luckily, some heavy equipment was being unloaded from the ship but unfortunately were being crewed by the Pakleds. This resulted in some Pakleds crashing into eachother causing further damage. However, as directed by the ship’s AI, some Pakleds managed to start digging near the middle of the ship, closer to the bow.

“Our ship doesn’t go. We need help,” mused the Pakled Commander.

OOC: I would help, but my Mars colony just had it's capital leveled by two asteroids. Nicely done though.

OOC: Thank you. :) As well Crimmond, please check your telegrams. I'm not sure if the message made it through since the server was hung up and I don't want to clog your t-gram box.

OOC: It did, I want to consider all options though.

((So your people are a bunch of idiots? Haha, very interesting. Nicely done, by the way. We don't have space tech that could help you, though. :? ))

OOC: The mysterious Pakleds....who knows where they will strike next! :)

IC:

Geordi looked over incoming reports and again cast a glance at the strange manacle that bound him to the Pakleds. One day I’ll remove this and get my revenge he thought. A nearby Pakled was about to give Geordi yet another compliment but Geordi turned and shouted, “Leave me alone you frigging dunce!”

Suddenly, a message breeped over the com array. It was diverted to the main screen where it could be viewed by the assembled bridge crew.

[code:1:8d1d522c27]
==Link Established==
==Play message==

This is Colony Ship designation #4. Go forth and establish relations with other nations that can make our ship go.

==Message End==
[/code:1:8d1d522c27]

The Pakled captain called Geordi over and asked, “Geordi, what does this mean?”
Geordi sighed and said, “Listen, Captain. It means that the big ship on Mars can’t get out. So we need help.”
“Oh. You’re so smart Geordi.”
“I know. Let me do the talking when we meet someone, okay? You guys are bound to screw it up.”
“Okay Geordi.”

The small scout ship then turned and headed for…Earth.

((Feel free to land in my war-torn nation. Hilarity shall ensue!))

OOC: We'll see how it goes...

<tag>

if these guys enter the LV system their toasted :x

A trio of scoutships/fighters spot the ship and move closer. The leader, a man with an extremely Texan accent contacts them "This is Crimmond Local Patrol 1, based out of Lunar Yard 3... How you folks doin'?"

OOC: Some of my pilots have a less than official way of communicating.

Drifting quite aimlessly about the universe in search of sizeable deposits of scrap, a..er..sizeable deposit of scrap might chance to cross the path of an intrepid space explorer. Or a Pakled. The latter apparently being the case, a message -including visual- was hastily transmitted for the benefit of the passing scout ship.


"Ba weep ba-na weep ninny ban.."

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/the_junkions.jpg



(ooc:Don't worry- the giant near-indestructible robots aren't presently planning any kind of serious rampage.. or serious anything. I really can't be arsed, and so they have all been set to "light hearted" :) )

The pilot blinks. "What in the hell was that? 80's music?"

OOC:

Soviet Trasa, calm down. You would get all worked up over one ship? Wow.

IC:

A trio of scoutships/fighters spot the ship and move closer. The leader, a man with an extremely Texan accent contacts them "This is Crimmond Local Patrol 1, based out of Lunar Yard 3... How you folks doin'?"

The audio message fills the bridge and the Pakled Captain was about to respond when Geordi grabbed the mic.

“Let me handle this,” said an annoyed Geordi. He flipped a switch.

“Uh… Crimmond Local Patrol 1, this is Pakled scout ship designation Alpha 2. We are in need of assistance…”

“Our ship won’t go. Can you make it go?” inquired the Pakled Captain.

“Uh…basically we are looking for some extremely heavy equipment and/or explosives that can dislodge our primary ship.”

The message from the Junkion cut in…

[code:1:305f5decb0] Ba weep ba-na weep ninny ban..[/code:1:305f5decb0]

“What does that mean Geordi?”
“Even I don’t know that,” he replied, “But don’t worry guys. I’m still smart.”
"They look strong," remarked one Pakled after viewing the picture of the robots.

The scouts make a quick radio call back to the main ship and then responds. "Uh... I think we can help you out, we got our own problems though, what with the asteroids hitting Mars. Anyways, the higher ups will decide, we're just the flyboys."

He scans the ship. "Hey, are you the only human on that flying junkyard?"

Geordi flipped the switch on again,

“Uh, yeah. Just me. It’s a long story. Anyhow, I understand. You guys are on Mars? Perhaps you can communicate with our colony there. It’s rather hard to miss. I mean, about three kilometers of ship is sticking out of the ground in the middle of the crater it made while…um…crashing.”

“Please make our ship go,” pleaded the Captain.

(( Nice choice of name. "Geordi" indeed. :) ))

(( Nice choice of name. "Geordi" indeed. :) ))It's a Star Trek reference. Lt Commander LaForge was kidnapped in one episode by the Pakleds.

The pilot nods to himself. "Yeah, the Mizar colony in the Southern hemisphere. Not gettin' any help from there though. Two asteroids flattened the capital. They're tryin' to deflect the rest of the asteroids. I'll see what I can do about that ship, I doubt it'd be spaceworthy though. I'd suggest getting a new one...." He pauses. "How did it end up crashing anyhow?"

Wreck-Gar considered the possibility that no one else used the so-called "universal greeting" any longer, and so naturally moved on to what ought to be the next most widely spoken language in the universe...

"Welcome wagon hello stranger with that good coffee flavor for you... We talk TV- You talk some TV?" His ever changing voice inquired, sometimes sounding almost Japanese, sometimes Texan, always a little Eric Idle, and..was that Weird Al playing in the background? Wreck-Gar went on:

"..By George kemosabes, your smashed-up ship soon like brand new with ninety day warranty Happy motoring, cocka-doodledooo!"

Apparently the Junkions had heard talk of the stranded vessel, and being in the scap business, they were naturally interested.

Believing more than one ship to be present, and not having got very far in communicating with either of them, he used an open channel.

..No one ever said that The Planet of Junk was civilised. Or that its scrap-merchant inhabitants were anything if not annoying.

The pilot blinks again. "Well butter my butt and call me a biscut... used car salesmen in space!"

Geordi paused after the latest transmission from the Crimmond patrol. Ordinarily, most ships would be flattened and rendered useless after crashing into a planet. But the Pakled colony ship was far beyond any technology that he could tell and its resilience was indeed, in a word, amazing. He looked around at the Pakleds. No way these morons made that ship.

“Well, bit of a long story but the ship encountered an excess amount of radiation that compromised our shields and impaired the drive-nav system. We welcome any assistance that you can lend. The Pakled base is located here.”

Here, Geordi transmitted the universal grid coordinates.

Geordi flipped to another channel and responded to the Junkions.

“Ah…well. The ship is actually in good shape. But some things were damaged in the crash. Can you do a trade? Lend us some muscle in exchange for some scrap?”

Most of the Junkions weighed far in excess of a tonne, and so muscle came farely cheaply to Wreck-Gar's many thousand-strong crew.

"Get muscles and no risk - satisfaction guaranteed or your money back!" Came the leader's reply, and this was probably indicative of his acceptance of the trade-off.

Wreck-Gar went back to wondering why his nipples were variously laser-cannons and exhaust pipes, as the crew set to a course change.

God knows what corney sci-fi references would be tossed about on the Junkion vessel on the approach to Mars of all places.

“Okay,” replied Geordi and he transmitted the universal grid coordinates, “Just tell the Commander that I sent you. Bring your coupons and get a free toy!”

Geordi winced as he tried his hand at TV speak. The Pakleds were, as usual, impressed with their very smart engineer.

A message was quickly sent to the colony ship

[code:1:6f36d3167f]
==Link Established==
==Link route: Scout ship Alpha 2 ** Colony Ship #4==
==Play message==

We established contact with some robots that can help us make the ship go.

==Message End==
[/code:1:6f36d3167f]


Almost immediately, a message returned

[code:1:6f36d3167f]
==Link Established==
==Link route: Colony Ship #4 ** Scout ship Alpha 2==
==Play message==

Good job Geordi. You are smart.

==Message End==
[/code:1:6f36d3167f]

On board the colony ship the AI displayed the message to the Pakled Commander.

“I sure hope robots are strong,” he wondered aloud, appraising the sheer bulk of the ship.

The pilot speaks up again. "Well, I do hav esomething I can give you... A small piece of advise. Invest in an AI if those guys are going to be driving."

"I'm sorry t' say that your request has been rejected though, we need everythin' we got I suppose." he says as the three scoutships pull away. "And if you need any help findin' a new ship... give us a call."

“We’ll do,” replied Geordi cheerfully.

The scout ship continued its course towards Earth.

Back on Mars

The Pakled Commander rose and left the ship AI conference room. He ambled over to a nearby food dispenser and, after a few frustrating minutes, finally managed to retrieve a soda. He then went outside to survey the activities of his people.

The large excavators were busy digging around the trapped portion of the colossal ship. Some Pakleds managed to get a hold of some batons and were waving them around in a hopeless effort to direct the heavy machinery. Most Pakleds, however, were busy packing their belongings and moving a safe distance away. However, those that camped directly under the ship rather liked their shady spot and refused to budge.

“Hmmmmm,” hummed the Commander. He scanned the Martian sky, wondering when the robots will arrive…

A cargo ship of L.O.W passes by to notice the Pakled colony....but decided that dealing with Dyelbians is enough trouble....

((OOC: Tis these that shall kill the dimond...))

The Pakled commander sees the L.O.W. cargo ship pass by (OOC: assuming within visual range) and waves stupidly.

The Junkion vessel- a huge object apparently cobbled together from the remains of X other vessels.. and refrigerators, and God knows what else, hundreds of metres long- eventually drifts into orbit over the stranded Pakleds.

The rusty-brown ship displays some almost elegent curves, twisted as it appears, into an almost corkscrew shape.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, come right on down! New improved Junkion cruiiiiser is sleek sexy import with turbo handling!" Wreck-Gar exclaims, frequencies still open as he orders the great ship.. to prepare for landing!

"Ger-ron-ron-ronimoooo!"

The Pakled scout ship drew closer to Earth.

“Let’s ask people for help,” said the Captain.
“I was just about to do that,” replied Geordi. He then flipped a switch.

Suddenly a hideous image accompanies the previously taped message:

http://www.eskimo.com/~bpentium/pakleds/pakled01.jpg

[code:1:66c4669ab0]Hello. We need help to make our ship go. Can you help us? Please?[/code:1:66c4669ab0]

The Junkion vessel- a huge object apparently cobbled together from the remains of X other vessels.. and refrigerators, and God knows what else, hundreds of metres long- eventually drifts into orbit over the stranded Pakleds.

The rusty-brown ship displays some almost elegent curves, twisted as it appears, into an almost corkscrew shape.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, come right on down! New improved Junkion cruiiiiser is sleek sexy import with turbo handling!" Wreck-Gar exclaims, frequencies still open as he orders the great ship.. to prepare for landing!

"Ger-ron-ron-ronimoooo!"

The Pakleds look skyward as the Junkion ship begins its descent. General panic ensures and most likely some Pakleds will either be squished by the landing gear or roasted by the re-entry rockets.

The odd ship takes its time, coming in to land in a rather unusual fashion. The captain directs his vessel into what looks like a nose-dive before firing angled re-entry rockets which put the vertically-angled craft into a moderately paced spin. Eventually it becomes evident that the Junkions will effectively drill into the ground some way, leaving their ship erect as if a sky-scraper of some sort. One can only imagine what happens inside as tonnes of unsecured scrap is tossed about and ends up lying on what used to be a wall.

With a gangway deployed, Wreck-Gar (pictured earlier) and four of his crew"men" disembark, Bar weep gra-na weep ninny bonning as they come.


(And apologies if I am scarce after this. I will try to pop in as and when I can. If I am not around enough, and it is important to your plot/progress, you may assume that the Junkions were quite helpful and glad to exchange scrap and trinkets for labour. Oh, and they're probably all over seven foot tall ;) )

OOC: Okay, I’ll hopefully make them act realistically. If I remember correctly, and assuming that you are basing this on the Transformer Universe, are these dudes a little small? Or is that how big they are? I was expected around 20-25 feet tall.

The drilling is a definite plus but extracting a ship this size may require more help. Looking back at my posts, I must have forgotten to mention the size of this ship. Its overall length is about 5 km and 1.5 km high and wide. Basically a masssive, flying brick.

IC:

Most of the Pakleds were cowering in fear at the noisy Junkion ship and its fearsome-looking inhabitants. Even the Commander turned tail and hid in the colony ship.

Finally, one brave Pakled ventured up to Wreck-Gar and exclaimed,

“You are STRONG! Will you be our friends? Please make our ship go.”

Wreck-Gar nodded and said,

“Howdy doody partner! We can get your ship up and going clean as a whistle jack. Have no fear! Wreck-Gar is hear!”

The drilling began and some other Pakleds came out and manned the excavation equipment to assist the Junkions. Some of the Pakleds camped below the ship moved at the arrival of the robots. However, a group of teenage Pakleds found some beer and began whooping it up under the long shadow.

A lone ship comes overhead. It looks strikingly like... a scarab beetle.
Pic (http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/scarab_ship.jpg)

It lands beside the colony ship and two people exit. One is the pilot, who begins the check of the shuttle. The other a man looking rather sophisticated and intelligent. He has the air of an engineer. Not the sort of person to send to the Pakleds.

He walks right up to the ship and walks in through an open hatch, not even asking permission. He looks at the Pakleds and nods. He speaks at first in perfect Russian. Seeing their dumbfounded looks(more so than usual) he drops into English. "I am Doctor Pavel Saratov. I understand you have been having some trouble?"

http://home.earthlink.net/~alpha_zero_usm/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/saratov.jpg
Dr. Pavel Saratov
Head of Crimmond Science Council
Quote: "In science, we seek to find answers, but only find new questions."

* The Tercero mused within his office chambers upon hearing of the "plight" of the Pakleds. How could he use this to his advantage?*

"Open a channel to the Pakled ship and this Mr "Geordi", he seems a decent chap."

"Yes sir" the aide replies, somewhat befuddled*

"Greetings from the nation of Crownguard! We here you have had several difficulties with your "ship" and we are glad to cheerfully offer our assistance. We will provide a "super duper smart machine" as a present, smarter even than Geordi. It even predicts the future! At any rate, we ask that you allow us to send a few representatives and engineers, along with the "Super Hyper Extreme Turbo X Fantastic Future Machine" in a beautiful box. Please respond back when you can, and if this is "Geordi", I hope you realize the idea behind all this. Crownguard, out.

*wonders if the man will realize the rescue attempt. The Tercero picked up a paperholder on his desk, a black orb-llike structure and tossed it into a shoe box, covered in glitter and gloss from a 5 yr old's art project*

"I wonder if they will ever realize we gave them a magic 8-ball...."

Near the looming colony ship

The Pakleds before Dr. Pavel Saratov began muttering to themselves. One of them went to fetch the Commander while some Pakled children drew close and encircled their own eyes in mockery of his funny spectacles while others tugged at his jacket.

The roar of the Junkion drill and other heavy machinery was nearly deafening.

On Scout ship Alpha 2

Geordi caught the drift and secretly began to plot, casting a furtive glance at the strange manacle on his wrist.

The Pakled Captain was suitably impressed and exclaimed, “Smarter that Geordi? I don’t know. But "Super Hyper Extreme Turbo X Fantastic Future Machine"? They must be really smart!

While no one was looking, Geordi flipped another switch and spoke quickly into the mic on a frequency that may not ordinarily be picked up:

Be careful about sending over engineers. The Pakleds might look dumb but they are cunning. Advise your team carry suitable weaponry. They won’t allow more than six people on at a time.

The Pakled Captain then flicked a switch and addressed Crownguard:

“You sound smart! We don’t think anyone is smarter than Geordi. Send six people over if you can make our ship go.”

Saratov arches an eyebrow and looks amused at the childrens actions. The noise from outside is grating and he wishes he brought earplugs.

Soon the Pakled commander came out like the cowardly dog he was. His uniform looked grimy and traces of leftover food were visible. He sized up Saratov and remarked,

“Your glasses are neat! Green and red, like a traffic light! Our ship is stuck. Can you make it go?” he said loudly above the noise.

The commander then began gesturing wildly with his hands and made whooshing noises. It would appear that he was trying to tell how the ship crash landed onto Mars.

Saratov nods. "I think I might be able to help. I was suprised the ship even survived the impact at all." He pasues. "I assume the AI interface area is more quiet? I'll never be able to work with my eardrums ready to pop." he says loudly.

The Pakled commander caught Saratov’s meaning and gestured him to follow. Together they marched towards the nearest entrance into the ship. Some children were still hanging on to Saratov’s jacket but were then admonished by the commander.

“Go away!”

The children ran back to their mothers.

The ship, tilted at a near 70 degree angle, did present some problems. That is, the door slide open but it gave the effect of a garage door opening. The commander ducked in first and then began climbing a jury-rigged ladder that laid on the floor of the ship.

“This way,” beckoned the commander.

Saratov follows, climbing up the ladder, noting that ste structure of the ship looked intact. Even the Empire can't build ships that can withstand planetfall hard enough to make a crater... He looks at the commander. It is highly unlikely that these creatures have the cranial capacity to create such a fantastic ship.

OOC: Couldn't resist having him think the same thing Geordi did, with his own flare of vacabulary.

The Pakled commander was wheezing at their final destination. A door opened to his left and he scurried in. The good doctor followed.

The large room, being at such an angle, might be slightly disorientating at first for those not accustomed to the bizarreness of the situation. In the middle a build-in chair could be seen. The commander, hanging onto a rope and carefully navigating along the catwalk, arrived at the second ladder. Going down, this ladder rested on the back of the chair which was wide enough to accommodate at least two people. However, no temporary handrails could be seen. A rather big tv-like screen occupied the opposite “wall” of the chair.

The commander called out in a loud voice.

“Ship. A smart man Dr. Saratov has come to help us make our ship go.”

The outside drilling could not be heard at all.

OOC: I rather suspect that the poor Pakleds will get that all the time.
:)

Saratov leans against the chair. "Computer. Identify your model and current status. Also display current ship status." he looks around the room. "That must have been quite a ride coming through the atmosphere and hitting rock..."

The door to the room suddenly, and ominously, slammed shut. A harsh voice filled the room:

“Dr. Saratov. I am Colony Ship #4. Be still, please, and prepare to be scanned.”

A small, flying, spherical robot exited from a hidden panel and arced towards Saratov. It stopped about one meter from his head and a laser-like sweeping beam flashed out from the robot’s “eye”. After a quick scan from head to toe, the beam withdrew into the robot and it promptly flew back from whence it came.

“Our status will be given once your threat level is assessed. Stand by for further questions.”

The commander leaned over and said,

“Oh. I forgot about the scan. Ship always scans.”

He hit his forehead in a Homer-like manner.

OOC: Basically, the scan will be able to determine the complete biological makeup of Saratov, the material of his clothing, if he has any weapons or other matter of equipment, etc… It’s rather…thorough.

OOC: Saratov is a geneticly engineered humanoid with several cybernetic implants and such, to make his work much easier. He carries two weapons, a Bryar Blaster Pistol and a Stun Baton. Both are powered down. He carries many different tools for making any needed repairs and several diagnostic tools. He is the living Boy Scout motto.

IC: Saratov nods. "A very wise addition to the AI. A little tedious, but I can see the logic."

The ship addressed Saratov.

Please give your baton and blaster to the commander. Then I shall answer your questions and ask you some as well.

Upon hearing this, the commander looked at Saratov and held out his hands in an expectant manner.

"Better do as ship says," whispered the commander. A little fearfully perhaps?

The Pakled scout ships draws closer to Earth and the same message is broadcast, minus the ugly visage:

[code:1:de0dd953cc]Hello. We need help to make our ship go. Can you help us? Please?[/code:1:de0dd953cc]

*THe RCS Valiant lifts off from Gariland City in response to the call, 2 security guards, dressed as engineers, accompany the head engineer and assistants on the old courier ship (incidently, all of them carried weapons and were trained with them)*

"This is the R.C.S. Valiant, we are en route to the crash site and desire coordinates, as well as a layout of the ship. Please send all information and tell us where to set down. yes, we have the Future Machien with us. Valiant out."

*the message ends*

Saratov smiles. "A very through scan." He removes bothe and hands them to the commander. "Watch it with that baton, it'll knock a man flat on full power..." He turns to the screen, "Proceed Ship."

o.o.c. darn. i need to catch u[p.

On Mars

The commander gingerly takes the baton and pistol and rests them on the chair, away from Saratov. The ship then begans to speak.

Dr. Saratov, please answer the following questions:

What organization do you represent?
What is your status within the organization?
What is the political make up of this space sector?


A flying robot, similar to the one before flew out and hovered near Saratov. A beam of light shone out, creating a holographic display of statistics as well as a mini-representation of the current ship situation in great detail.


Overall length: 5 km
Beam: 1.5 km
Depth: 1.5 km
Displacement: 8.8+ billion metric tons


FTL engines: 50% operational - offline
Sublight engines: 80% operational - offline
Maneuvering thrusters: 50% operational - offline
Repulsor lifts: 75% operational - offline
Hull: 98.5 % intact
Internal structures: 97% intact
Cargo hold: 98% intact.
Independent equipment 75% damaged
Main comm array: 90% damaged - offline
Back up comm array: 100% intact - online
AI mind: ---
Weapon systems: ---

Repair rate: normal

Summary:

This ship is embedded 2 km into the planet surface. Excavation operations underway. Estimated time of completion: 1 – 1.5 months. High yield explosives or nuclear devices would speed up extradition.

Dr. Saratov, do you have any thoughts on the matter?

The Pakled commander tried to touch the holographic display with his hands.


Pakled Scoutship Alpha 2

"This is the R.C.S. Valiant, we are en route to the crash site and desire coordinates, as well as a layout of the ship. Please send all information and tell us where to set down. yes, we have the Future Machien with us. Valiant out."

Geordi responds, “I’m transmitting the universal grid coordinates to you…now.”

He flicked a switch and a stream of numbers describing the location of the colony ship on Mars was relayed.

A press of another button and another message was sent:


[code:1:28eb9d2e20]
==Link Established==
==Link route: Scout ship Alpha 2 ** Colony Ship #4==
==Play message==

We established contact with another nation called Crownguard. They are sending some engineers to help us make the ship go.

==Message End==
[/code:1:28eb9d2e20]

Almost immediately, a message returned

[code:1:28eb9d2e20]
==Link Established==
==Link route: Colony Ship #4 ** Scout ship Alpha 2==
==Play message==

Well done Geordi. Come back to base.

==Message End==
[/code:1:28eb9d2e20]

At this, the scout craft turned and headed back to Mars at top speed.

*tightbeam transmission to Geordi*

"Why are you following their orders? We can provide safe haven if you should so choose."


*Main message*

"We have recieved confirmation of coordinates, are proceeding en route after picking up supplies at Oversector Outer (Crownguard listening post). We should be there soon. Crownguard out"

*The man turns to the crew*


(Ill be gone till Sunday night, assume I am spending time loading the ship up.)
"Well...I would say good luck gentlemen, but iit doesnt seem we need it."

*tightbeam transmission to Geordi*

"Why are you following their orders? We can provide safe haven if you should so choose."

Geordi tapped out a quick message:

It's not so simple. I can't leave easily.


*Main message*

"We have recieved confirmation of coordinates, are proceeding en route after picking up supplies at Oversector Outer (Crownguard listening post). We should be there soon. Crownguard out"

The Pakled captain answers,

"Okay. See you there!"

On Mars

The commander gingerly takes the baton and pistol and rests them on the chair, away from Saratov. The ship then begans to speak.

Dr. Saratov, please answer the following questions:

What organization do you represent?
What is your status within the organization?
What is the political make up of this space sector?


A flying robot, similar to the one before flew out and hovered near Saratov. A beam of light shone out, creating a holographic display of statistics as well as a mini-representation of the current ship situation in great detail.

[ship status here]

Summary:

This ship is embedded 2 km into the planet surface. Excavation operations underway. Estimated time of completion: 1 – 1.5 months. High yield explosives or nuclear devices would speed up extradition.[/color]

Dr. Saratov, do you have any thoughts on the matter?

The Pakled commander tried to touch the holographic display with his hands. "I represent the Crimmond Empire. I hold the position of Head of Science Council. The political makeup? You crashed in the most politically unstable solar system in the galaxy. Feel lucky you hit Mars and not Earth, the next planet in. You'd have been annexed by some nation by now." he said, looking at the readout. Hull: 98.5%... This is perhaps the strongest ship I have ever seen!

"Nuclear devices are heavily fround upon because of the after effects. The Empire does produce a weapon that has megaton blasts, but no radioactive waste products." He looks at the readout again. "Why is the power core not listed here?"

OOC: Power core…uh…whoops. Suppose I can blame the AI though. :)

IC:

Understood. Would it be possible to secure the use of this weapon to extradite this ship? We cannot pay you now but only offer our services in cargo hauling. The Pakleds are basically low-budget haulers and often willing to travel to riskier zones.

The Pakled commander was busy twiddling his fingers but looked up when he heard his race mentioned and gave the good doctor a gentle smile.

Saratov thinks about this. "I think I may be able to get one or two of the medium sized warheads... Payment would not be needed. Whatever you and the Pakleds could offer, the Empire most likely can do... more easily." He reaches into his vest and removes a communicator. "Pliot Aron." He waited for the reply, then continued. "Relay a message to the Mizar Colony. Get me Admiral Saratov." Helooked at the Pakled. "It helps to have family in high places throughout the Empire," he said quietly.

Saratov thinks about this. "I think I may be able to get one or two of the medium sized warheads... Payment would not be needed. Whatever you and the Pakleds could offer, the Empire most likely can do... more easily." He reaches into his vest and removes a communicator. "Pliot Aron." He waited for the reply, then continued. "Relay a message to the Mizar Colony. Get me Admiral Saratov." Helooked at the Pakled. "It helps to have family in high places throughout the Empire," he said quietly.

OOC: Oh my. Communicating through several tens of meters thick of hull? Ah...I should have mentioned it before. Sorry. :oops: Or your communicator is damn good. 8)

IC:

We are grateful for your help.

The Pakled looks at Saratov with a mixture of awe and respect. Finally he blurts out,

"You are...SMART!"

Then he blurts out another question.

"Why do you wear glasses with different colors?"

OOC: Hmmm....well, have the ship use it's comm system then.

IC: Saratov smiles. "Thank you, commander. I wear them because they prvide me with a partial uplink to whatever computer I am monitoring. Normally they are clear, I just liked the colors.

OOC: Hmmm....well, have the ship use it's comm system then.

IC: Saratov smiles. "Thank you, commander. I wear them because they prvide me with a partial uplink to whatever computer I am monitoring. Normally they are clear, I just liked the colors.

OOC: No matter. Thank goodness the back up comm works!

The Lords Battlecruiser Pathon came out of sidereel space un noticed by most in the system. The only reason it was here was to pick up some reaction mass for the trip to Herran, the Earth colony didn't like to make notice of itself. Just hide in the background really...a resupply facility had been built in a abandoned, partly mined astroid.

The ship's ancient electronics worked just as they had been designed to. An encrypted IFF code that most space nations only thought was noise expanded into the system. It declared that a Var Lokor Battlecruiser was in system.

The same unit began to look for any familiar IFF codes in system...most of the Lords vessels present were 'new' post-terra codes from rebuilt or new transmitters...except for one.

The colony ship back up comm array picked up the LOW IFF code. Immediately, it was sent top priority to the colony AI mind. A sense of worry descended upon the AI.

A Lords of War ship here? A Var Lokor Battlecruiser no less! But Herran was too far and no IFF codes were detected upon entry into this system. What is going on? Cannot risk detection. Survival of this ship is paramount.

Unfortunaly, for the AI humans were going to prove to be an anoying problem. That was the little Lord transport craft had just sent a hail to the battlecruiser about repairs to the fueling station.

Pathon This is CLN P-78, we are on route to fix a frozen hydrogen transfer pump. Suggest that you maintain orbit...sorry we are so late but some idiots crashed into Mars and we went to have a peek.

The image of the ship stuck out of the ground started some jokes around the bridge. And dropped the fustration levels with the repair crew on P-78.

"Look, Captain you said evasie manuvers...so I'm being evasive"

"Ah, that must be the throttle not the break..."

"Well, that's what you get for letting the 16 year old sit in your lap and 'drive'"

"Hey you mean I can't FTL through a planet who knew..."

A beep sounded on the bridge and the laughter dropped, as a dark booming voice came over the com "This is Lord Oray...we shall investigate this ship immediatly. Send out a standard Imperial Hail, I will attend you in a moment."

In his cabin the Var looked at the image. He had seen diagrams of such ships, in the images of those in planets long ago dead...but what was a death ship doing here, and why had it attacked the planet of Mars?

OOC: I doubt the AI would think of Herran since it was an outpost, a significant outpost but not high in rank as many other planets in the old Empire.

OOC: Ah...okay. I would have thought that the ship AI might be smart enough to put two and two together. No matter though. The presence of the LOW battlecruiser (excluding the earlier cargo ship) would send it into fits...

Survival of this ship is paramount! Must speed up repairs.

The AI did not respond to the Imperial Hail, rather, it wanted to see what the LOW battlecruiser will do...

Outside, the Junkions and the Pakled-run heavy equipment were, for the most part, making good time. The majority of the Pakleds proceeded with their daily affairs, not realizing the events unfolding around them.

The call came back. "This is Admiral Saratov. What do you need doctor?"

He smiled and spoke, in a variation of Russian. "I require three Devastator warheads. Now before you jump up and tell me how insane a request that is, let me explain..." He went on for almost five minutes straight.

"Allright... but only three." the response came back, also in Russian.

Saratov smiles. "Thank you Vlad. Pavel out." He put the communicator away and smiled at the commander. "Sorry, English is to bulky a language. Russian is much easier for me. I just got the warheads we need to free the ship. They will arrive on the CSS Lionsbane, one of our flagships, within four hours."

The call came back. "This is Admiral Saratov. What do you need doctor?"

He smiled and spoke, in a variation of Russian. "I require three Devastator warheads. Now before you jump up and tell me how insane a request that is, let me explain..." He went on for almost five minutes straight.

"Allright... but only three." the response came back, also in Russian.

Saratov smiles. "Thank you Vlad. Pavel out." He put the communicator away and smiled at the commander. "Sorry, English is to bulky a language. Russian is much easier for me. I just got the warheads we need to free the ship. They will arrive on the CSS Lionsbane, one of our flagships, within four hours."

"Okay!" replied the commander, not having the faintest idea what Russian is but nodded in an appreciative manner. Then he worked up his courage again and asked, "Do you want to wait here? Much quieter."

Near Mars

The Pakled scout ship drew closer.

OOC: LOW, will the scout ship be able to detect the battlecruiser? Or more importantly, will the battlecruiser detect the scout ship? :wink:

OOC:IT'S THE IDIOTS FROM ST! SCATTER! J/K! :lol: continue, this is quite entertaining for me :lol:

OOC: The AI can't read post Terra landing IFF codes for L.O.W...well it can but it doesn't glare in red...it might realize it if it starts looking for them, but they don't read 'right'...the AI would likely find it confusing...as for the shuttle well...that depends on where it is from...(same source?) If so I doubt the pakleds would have changed the IFF...

Actually wait until the Var and the pakleds meet.. :wink:

IC:
The Battlecruiser Highdrive popped on and the ship began to accelerate at speeds that said it was heading to the crash site at full speed.

In his cabin the Var Lord looked at items downloading from the archives and the ship...It is the right class, but what model? And will these old Imperial Acess codes work? He called the bridge.

"Has it responded to the hail?"
"No My Lord, it has not"
"Hmm, that is not a good sign..."
"Maybe it can't hear us? My Lord"
"Perhaps..."
"My Lord, what is the trouble with one ship stuck in the side of Mars?"
"Because it may mean the comming of the Death Ships..."
"I thought those were just legends..."
"History Terran, history...our history, my history..."
"Ah, yes My Lord..."
"Perpare the heavy shuttle and the marines...We will be doing a fast drop..."

Saratov shook his head. "I will wait in my shuttle, there isn't a lot for me to do here, except maybe play some chess with the ship." He starts to move, but pauses. "My armaments, please?"

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

OOC: I feel like showing off a bit here. ;)

IC: A ship cruised through open space. Quite visable as it's hull lights and engines illuminated it's yellow hull along with the natural light from Sol. Several ships veered off and dove below the galactic plane to get away. The cargo ship they were going after sent their thanks.

The CSS Lionsbane. The namesake of the Lion Class Dreadnaughts. The heavy capital ships of the Empire.

As it cruised steadily towards Mars, which was now a large blue and orange ball in front of them, the scanners showed the progress of the terraforming efforts and the setbacks of the asteroid impacts. It also showed the impact site of the Pakled ship. That was their destination.

The ship increased speed to 3/4 sublight and alteredto an orbital course.

The commander gives back Saratov’s equipment and follows him out of the ship. He waves as Saratov enters his own shuttle. Arcing overhead, the Pakled scout ship nears the colony ship and begins landing maneuvers.

Geordi, along with the Captain, exit the shuttle.

“Hello Geordi!” exclaims the commander.
“Hello Commander. What’s up?”
“The robots have come. Look! As well, smart man Dr. Saratov from Crimmond has come too.”
“Indeed,” replied Geordi, “I wonder if the good doctor would mind if I intruded upon him?”

Geordi abled over to the Crimmond shuttle. The Commander and Captain exchanged looks and then caught up on the latest news and gossip.

====

The colony ship sensor array detected the arriving CSS Lionsbane.

OOC: Can I assume that Saratov did inform the AI what’s up to prevent any kind of…er…friendly fire?

OOC: Yes, he did.

IC: The Lionsbane arrives and three cargo shuttles launch, carrying the warheads. They descend through the atmosphere, hulls glowing as they break through a cloud bank and head towards the colony ship.

In space the Lionsbane moves off to the Southern hemisphere, transmitting a warning to nations around Hellas Basin to oull out troops from the area or face the consequences. Several minutes later more warships arrive and join the Lionsbane over the Basin.

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

On the surface, Saratov turns off the commlink inside the shuttle and sighs as the pilot steps in, he doesn't notice Geordi is with him as he has his back turned. "It is quite amazing these creatures managed to gain control of a colony ship that can survive re-entry and crash landing and still be amazed at simple technology like a non-radioactive multimegaton warhead."

He turns and sees the engineer. "Who are you?"

Geordi, somewhat put off at Saratov’s response and perhaps incorrectly interprets that he is being looked down upon due to his association with the Pakleds, replies,

“I’m Geordi LaForge, an engineer Dr. Saratov, and I also act as an unofficial ambassador of the Pakleds. How do you propose to get this huge ship out of the ground? I mean, you are taking into account that it could topple on its side, which wouldn’t help things now would it?”

Geordi waved at the looming colony ship.

====

Inside the colony ship, the AI watched the arriving Crimmond ships. Some small, flying robots were sent out to monitor the situation more closely. One swooped near Geordi and hovered near his shoulder to act as a convenient point of contact with the humans outside of the ship.

Welcome back Geordi.

“Hello ship,” replied Geordi.

Saratov shrugs. "I am merely the scientist, Mr. Laforge. Not the exposives expert." He watched the three ships land and the ones who were the experts, all wearing fleet uniforms, exit and start looking over the colony ship. A cmplement of Marines is with them, as per regulations with the warheads and unknown situations. "They are the experts. I deal with ships systems, AIs, and spacial elctromagnetic fields."

One of the officers walked over to the two. "Doctor, it's going to take some time before we know where to drill and place the warheads. We dont want to blow it up or cause it to sink lower into the bedrock." She glances at Geordi, then continues. "Sir, I've never seen a ship that can take the punishment this one already has,can it stand three seperate 5 kiloton blasts?"

Saratov smiles. The crash barely scratched the hull, my dear." He ignores the look he gets and instead looks to the ship. "I don't know who built that ship, but I'd love to trade notes..."

The L.O.W. Battlecruiser manuvered into orbit. As it did so a heavy shuttle pulled out of the hanger and decends to the surface near the crashed ship. As it settles to the surface the rear gangway starts to open.

A group in tight fighting suits appeared at the back supported by two
robots that are strangly familar to those already present.

*The RCS Valiant completes its logistical supplies, plotting the simplest course for the crash site as the ion engines engage, rocketing the small, silver colored ship from the maw of Oversector Outer. On board are numerous technical supplis, equipment for the team, and explosives.*

"RCS Valiant en route to Mars crash site. Advice preparations for our arrival. If Geordi is there, please be advised that security measures are being prepared for "initiation"

*THe main scientist smokes a cigarette.*

"Crownguard out"

The colony ship AI watched the strange shuttle descend but paid it no head. It was busy concerning itself with the repairs but did decide to send out a flying robot out to investigate the new arrivals.

The Crownguard message was intercepted and analyzed.

====

Geordi was about to answer the Crimmond officer but was then cut off by Saratov again. Infuriated, he then said to the officer in a haughty tone,

“Well, I think that you should put the charges here, here, and here. That way, the ship will not fall on its side but on its belly, as it were. The repulsorlifts are still offline but nearly all of them are operational. It’s just a matter of starting them up. As well, the Junkions could try to ensure that the colony ship lands right. Especially if it pushed at this spot here but be ready to avoid any kickback.”

The flying robot flashed a display earlier to the one Saratov saw with updated statistics:


FTL engines: 55% operational - offline
Sublight engines: 85% operational - offline
Maneuvering thrusters: 60% operational - offline
Repulsor lifts: 85% operational - offline
Hull: 98.5 % intact
Internal structures: 97% intact
Cargo hold: 98% intact.
Independent equipment 75% damaged
Main comm array: 85% damaged - offline
Back up comm array: 100% intact - online
AI mind: ---
Weapon systems: ---
Power core: ---

Repair rate: accelerated


The nearly-deafening roar of jackhammers, excavators, and other manner of heavy machinery was still going strong.

Saratov does notice Geordi's tone and seems confused. The officer was addressing him, not the engineer.

The officer nods. "I'll take that advice and compare it to our findings."She turns to Saratov and nods, walking off towards the teams.

Saratov shakes his head. "Fleet officers, so rude..."

The pilot holds up a hand to stop Geordi from speaking and waits untill Saratov goes inside the shuttle. "Don't mind him, we think he's so smart all the courtesy got shoved out of his brain..." The pilot sighs. "We draw straws to see who has to shuttle him around each time."

He turns to watch the first warhead, as big as a man, being pulled out of the transport on a grav-cart. The cart seems to be straining a bit under the weight.

The group scans the air for a few moments, and then hails someone from the shuttle. A eight foot tall creature, cloaked in black with red shoulders and a hood emerges from the shuttle and into the center of the group. It is a Var. The group surrounds it as they start to cross to the Pakled ship. Two men stay behind, while the rest form a circle around the Var. The flying drones flank the group.

Upon seeing the aproaching robot, the Var calls out in a strange, three tone lanquage that sounds like whales being tourchered.

Translation:
Sentinal, take me to this Vessel's commander, I Kerzus of House Manstaf, Lord of the Var, command so.

“Yeah, I know the feeling. It’s always ‘Give me more warp power Geordi’ or ‘We only have one hour before the ship blows apart Geordi. Hurry up!’ or ‘Make it so, Mr. LaForge’. That Captain sitting so smug in his stupid chair! What does he know about turning wrenches or being knee-deep in coolant! Man, if I had my way…”

Geordi keeps ranting, giving the impression that perhaps he is slightly unhindged.

====

The sentinel hovers momentarily. Suddenly, the colony ship AI responds through the robot.

What does Kerzus of the House Manstaf, Lord of Var wish?

OOC: Oh, no... Pakleds! :) I thought Geordi had escaped... :)

The pilot tunes him out for the most part and watches the crews moving the warheads out. Others walk around parts of the ship, scanning and such.

Other flying robots hover nearby the Crimmond crews, monitoring. Most of the Pakleds carry on their daily routines. Some have decided to draw near the huge Junkions exclaiming “You guys are sure STRONG!”

Geordi, after his exertions, flops down and begins to rock back and forth while looking at his manacle. The flying sphere near him attempts to comfort him but he irritably waves it away.

Translated again...
How dare you talk back to me Drone, I told you take me to this vessel's master at once...wait. Do I speak with the Ship Intelligence?

*the ship touches down near the impact site, the teams each donning DCS Suits as they stepped out, the engineers carrying the tools as the guards carried two "welders" which were really just overblown flamethrowers. The head engineer looks around*

"Did someone call for a rescue?" he murmured to himself, gazing around the area for signs of these "Pakleds" and this Geordi.*

*he sets up a transponder system, recording all future events via Oversector Outer as he activates his suit speakers*

"This is the Crownguardian repair team, we wish to speak to the man in charge of this operation here. We come bearing the 'Future Machine'".

*he mumbled "ought to get their attention..."*

The drone replies, with an ever so slight edge of menace.

You are addressing Colony Ship #4 AI. What do you require Kerzus of the House Manstaf, Lord of Var?

====

"This is the Crownguardian repair team, we wish to speak to the man in charge of this operation here. We come bearing the 'Future Machine'".

At this, the nearby Pakleds start to whisper and suddenly, like the sound of bees, the whispering grows louder. A throng of Pakleds soon surround the Crownguardians, excitedly pointing at them and exclaiming ’Future Machine’. Soon, the Pakled commander arrives, pushing his way through the crowd.

“Where is the ‘Future Machine’?” he demands.

Geordi, however, upon seeing the crowd moves away. He isn’t keen on greeting any new arrivals at the moment, at least not after his little tirade.

Other flying robots hover nearby the Crimmond crews, monitoring.One of the techs turns arond and bashes his head against one of the robots rather hard. The robot gets a quick rundown of the curses that are poular in Crimmond, the most original being 'May your internal mechanics be the haven of the epitome of Murphy's Law!'. He calms down after a minute and walks off towards the transports, rubbing his head and muttering.

Geordi, after his exertions, flops down and begins to rock back and forth while looking at his manacle. The flying sphere near him attempts to comfort him but he irritably waves it away.Geordi, however, upon seeing the crowd moves away. He isn’t keen on greeting any new arrivals at the moment, at least not after his little tirade.The pilot follows, grateful to get away from Saratov, yet wondering if Geordi is any more sane, and looks at the manacle. "I haven't seen that kind of thing on an engineer before..."

The drone replies, with an ever so slight edge of menace.

You are addressing Colony Ship #4 AI. What do you require Kerzus of the House Manstaf, Lord of Var?



The Var replies with even more malice in his voice,
"Hah, A Colony Ship? Am I to believe that? That is a vessel of the Order of Science, a ship of the Varian Imperial Fleet. As such I demand to meet with the Operator of this craft, and it's cheif engineer. Or have you become an independent AI, Colony Ship 4?"

As he does this one of the suited men in the protective detail slips away as a small hand signal from the Var one of the drones follows him. He approaches one of the Crimmond work crews and states dryly..."where can I find the officer incharge of this operation?"

The Var replies with even more malice in his voice,
"Hah, A Colony Ship? Am I to believe that? That is a vessel of the Order of Science, a ship of the Varian Imperial Fleet. As such I demand to meet with the Operator of this craft, and it's cheif engineer. Or have you become an independent AI, Colony Ship 4?"


Wait, Kerzus of the House Manstaf, Lord of Var. The Operator and Chief Engineer shall arrive soon…

====

The robot near Geordi said,

Geordi. This is the ship. Come over here and present yourself to Kerzus the House Manstaf, Lord of Var.

Geordi, not particularly keen on responding, just sat. Soon, the strange manacle began to softly glow and Geordi felt a warmth emanating from it. Quickly, he got up and followed the flying robot.

Another robot zoomed to the Pakled commander and repeated the same message – much to the surprise of the recently arrived Crownguardians. The commander grunted and nodded to the scout ship captain who then took over negotiations.

====

Geordi and the commander approached the LOW delegation with trepidation. Needless to say, their knees were knocking at the sight of the imposing Var. They exchanged glances as if to say The ship AI has never done this before. And who is this Kerzus? Lord of Var?

Meanwhile, the Junkions and the Pakleds were making fairly decent time in their excavation work. The Junkions were, for the most part, avoiding the inept Pakleds and concentrating on the task at hand.

Some of the Pakleds by now reached the lip of the crater and began construction pre-fab living structures. Still, many were unwisely living quite close to the colony ship itself.

At the stern of the massive colony ship, a large hatch opened. Then, with a single roar, a thruster lit up and did a full burn for about 3 seconds before shutting down. The ship itself was still deeply embedded so it did not shift, but the unexpected noise caused many to look up.

Geordi inadvertently looked up and though, Oh man. The maneuvering jets are online. The ship is further along in its repairs than I thought.

The Junkions, although quite powerful, decided to take a break. They moved as far away as possible from the moronic Pakleds who managed to wreck even more heavy equipment - which was no small feat. All the damaged equipment was hauled away to a giant scrap heap which kept some of the Junkions quite busy since the machinery itself was quite large. But then again, scrap machinery and parts for muscle was the agreement.

Wreck-gar ambled over to where the Crownguardians and others assembled. He addressed the Pakled captain but it seemed he was talking to everyone.

“Almost finished kemosabe. WD-40 fix me up good. It cleans, protects, penetrates, lubricates and displaces moisture like no other product on earth. Good enough for NASCAR. Good enough for Wreck-gar! I made that last part up myself!”

If a transformer could grin, Wreck-gar would from ear to ear.

The main researcher reaches back into an ornate bag and draws out a stunning box, therin lay a perfectly mirrored black sphere. He miled a bit as he bowed his head, showing it ot the assembled denizens.


"This is the device you have heard of...you merely ask it a question and then shake it...the energy ball inside shall answer your question in a yes or no format. It is NEVER wrong..the only reason it may look wrong is because you dont understand your own question. We offer it as a gift of friendship, and hope that you will return Geordi to our care, at least for awhile, as a gift of your own. We will also assist you in your endeavorus to free your ship, since we carry high grade explosives and numerous tools. What do you say, my Lord?"

*he nods his head again, playing up on the ego of the Pakled as best he could*

The Captain eagerly grabbed the sphere and began to eagerly shake it.

“Will our ship go?” he asked expectantly as he peered deep into the mirrored surface. Soon, the answer rolled into place.

“Yes? Yes! YES!” shouted the ecstatic Captain, “YES! Ah ha ha ha!” The crowd cheered as the Captain held the sphere aloft like a wrestler holding his championship belt. Clearly he was too excited to answer the Crownguard delegates but merely went off in a random direction shouting “YES! THE SHIP WILL GO!”


Wreck-gar looked on curiously then shook his head. He sat down and merely nodded to the Crownguardians. Geordi and the Commander were quite a ways distant. A small flying robot came near the Crownguardians and a voice addressed them.

Please identify yourselves

Looks curiously at the thing, having never seen it before"


"I am Dr. Brandon Wilder. This is my team and we represent the nation of Crownguard, here on a scientific and rescue mission. We hope to gain valuable technology for our own use, as well as assist in this endeavour."

The response came and there was a slight edge of menace.

This ship is not interested in technological exchange with your primitive nation. State your intentions more specifically. Are you hear to assist in the extradition of this ship?

"Our intentions are quite clear..we will analyze this ship's technology. We will help free it, but only in return for such. Our equipment can do the job easily, robot."


*Thinks, "Ill be damned if Im talked down to by a robot'*

OOC: You have no idea what type of power resides in this ship. One would think that its sheer size (5 km long by 1.5 km wide and 1.5 km deep) and with the hull suffering insignificant damage anyone would give pause. I do realize that your characters on Mars do not know that though…

IC:

The spherical robot, after hearing that rebuke, floated above the Crownguard team. It then merely observed their movements.

Any easily accessible colony ship entrance ways slammed shut, even the one near the Var Lord. Luckily the Junkions that were removing scrap from the inside cargo bay were already outside. There were struggling with a giant, but mangled, crane/backhoe machine.

Geordi turned as he heard the loud *boom* of the doors.

Now what the heck is going on? he wondered.

OOC: The head scientist is SUPPOSED to be an asshole..he has a bigger ego than Howard Stern. Suffice to say, maybe youll want to talk to someone else..he is slightly...unstable))

*Wilder frowns...looking at the door*


"Men....cut that door down.... (speaking to himself now)and look at this..." *Wilder said imperiously, gazing about.

**The well trained troops hurried to follow his orders, drawing hand torches and starting to work on it. An associate scientist, by the name of Johnathan Brown shaook his head..this was supposed to be a SCIENTIFIC mission..not a tech-grab/theft.**

"Sir...maybe we should be a bit more diplomatic...I thought it was a humanit..."

"A self-responsive AI computer..fascinating...." *Wilder interrupted, yelling as he spoke over the assistant.

*he turns around, furious, as he punches the assistant in the face. Now..it didnt hurt so much as caused great shame to Brown, who looked at him wild-eyed.*

"I made you! Get over there with the conscripts and start cutting, ASSistant....TRAINEE Brown"

"yes sir..." **he said...stinging at the blow and the demotion as he picked up a spare cutter, starting to work and shaking his head as Wilder gazed at the surroundings, trying to contemplate the sheer effort involved.**

"Brilliant...."

OOC: Oh no. No problem with the scientist. That’s cool with me. Don’t worry, I’m quite reasonable with the capabilities of the ship. Still fleshing out some details with another person on the backstory.

IC:

Strangely enough, the blowtorches are having no effect at all on the door. As well, there seems to be no buttons nor control panel that one might be able to try and circumnavigate. In fact, the alloy is something they have never seen before.

The hovering robot relays the information to the ship AI.

Brown turns on Wilder, his eyes burning in rage** "Were locked in here and its your own idiotic fault..SIR!"


*Wilder cooly draws a needler pistol and shoot Brown in the kneecap, causing to crumple to the ground in howling agony*

"Next one is in the head. Right then....anyone else want to question my orders? No? Get the FUCK back to work you simpletons.." says Wlder

"Godamn idiots..." Wilder mutters as he runs a hand over the door, looking for an access plate, something..anything..ignoring the mumbling of the guards around him and the collapsed form of Brown. THankfully, brown had passed out, sparing Wilder the crybaby whining...**

OOC: Huh? You made it inside a compartment? Remember that the ship is at a severe angle – making getting around quite difficult unless you have ladders. But I’ll go with this.

IC:

The robot hovered as far away from the frustrated Crownguardians as possible. Needless to say, this particular compartment was sealed off. So far, the airducts were still running…

*The Crownguardians, though well trained..after being cooped up in this place the whole time start to turn on Wilderm slowly building up in rage as he waves the pistol. Brown is currently out cold, the fact that Wilder was a hardass and Brown was pretty much liked didnt sit well with the soldiers and assistants....*

"We'l find a way out....or did you all forget the bombs you are all carrying? Oh...didnt tell you about that did I? Well then..guess you better be good little boys and girls or each of you is going to become a nasty mess for these "machines" to clean up. Now then...lets see here..."

*he starts to run a hand over the wall as the others look at each other, angered beyond belief. If they could get out of here and take care of the tyrant, then they could perform their job and go home. But no..Wilder had to take command, citing his "expertise". They mumbled, one of them half-wishing the robots would help them with Wilder*

OOC: Perhaps some dimensions would help. Your particular compartment is about 3 meters high by 5 meters wide by about 15 meters long. But you would be standing I think on the “floor” section (3x5) and so it would appear that you are looking up a shaft. The floating robot is in one corner above you near the blast door. When you came in you would notice that the hull itself is tens of meters thick (like passing into a corridor itself).

OOC going for the night..continue in the afternoon))

The Var replies with even more malice in his voice,
"Hah, A Colony Ship? Am I to believe that? That is a vessel of the Order of Science, a ship of the Varian Imperial Fleet. As such I demand to meet with the Operator of this craft, and it's cheif engineer. Or have you become an independent AI, Colony Ship 4?"


Wait, Kerzus of the House Manstaf, Lord of Var. The Operator and Chief Engineer shall arrive soon…

====

The robot near Geordi said,

Geordi. This is the ship. Come over here and present yourself to Kerzus the House Manstaf, Lord of Var.

Geordi, not particularly keen on responding, just sat. Soon, the strange manacle began to softly glow and Geordi felt a warmth emanating from it. Quickly, he got up and followed the flying robot.

Another robot zoomed to the Pakled commander and repeated the same message – much to the surprise of the recently arrived Crownguardians. The commander grunted and nodded to the scout ship captain who then took over negotiations.

====

Geordi and the commander approached the LOW delegation with trepidation. Needless to say, their knees were knocking at the sight of the imposing Var. They exchanged glances as if to say The ship AI has never done this before. And who is this Kerzus? Lord of Var?

The Var looked at Gordi and the Packled, "Who here is the operator of Colony Ship 4 and which of you is the engineer? I Kerzus, Lord of Var demand to know how you came into acquisiton of this vessel and to inspect it for the Plauge."

Both of them were so nervous at the ferocity of the Var that they didn't answer for at least a minute. Finally, Geordi raises his hand meekly and said,"Um...Mr. Lord Var sir...I'm the engineer and the Commander is the operator."

The Pakled commander bobbed his head and said, "Yes! We found the ship! "

Then he covered his mouth with one fleshy hand as if he blurted out something he shouldn't have said.

The Var looks at the Terran...since no one can see his face it is impossilbe to read his facial expressions...if he ever had any. The head turns to the ships commander. "So you say you have foundthis ship? What creature are you that may lay claim to this vessel?"

The Pakled commander, after recovering his voice, managed to say,

“We are Pakleds. We look for things. Things that make our ship go. Our ship is stuck. Can you make it go?”

For some strange reason, the manacle on Geordi's wrist began to glow again.

OOC:

Looks at Post

starts to chuckle to himself

then it mutates into a small laugh

about less then 1 minute later He is rolling on the floor laughing like crazy

The Pakled commander, after recovering his voice, managed to say,

“We are Pakleds. We look for things. Things that make our ship go. Our ship is stuck. Can you make it go?”

For some strange reason, the manacle on Geordi's wrist began to glow again.

The Var just repeats..."You look for things?....Can I make it go?"
The head nods for a moment and then the Var's voice increased in volume..."You desire a Var to help you leave this planet with a Varian Imperial Colony Ship, with an active AI? Perhaps I should make this simple..."
An arm extends from a bit below the shoulders, the creature only appears to have three talons, one is opposable. The Var begins to point...

"I Var, you Pakled, Old Var build your ship. Pakled tell Var where he find ship or Var shall make you go into his belly..."

He will taste like an overgrown walrus with all that blubber, yelch thinks the Var as he makes his threat...

One of the guards notices the glowing manacle and nods to a second sentry. The second seems to also notice something and narrows his eyes...

OOC Ill be gone till Sunday, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving! 8)

The Pakled Commander, while not the brightest lightbulb, was considered rather clever by his fellow Pakleds. He did understand the Var’s meaning and tone and so he began his tale, interspersed with wild hand gestures and maddening repetition of useless utterances as a result of nervousness and fear.

“We were looking for things in the Alpha Centauri sector. We look for things. Things that make us go. We also look for shiny new things and things that we don’t understand, but maybe good for trade. Sometimes we haul things for people for money. We can haul anything. We don’t care.

So, one of our haulers found this ship. Ship was adrift. Maybe dead, we don’t know. But ship is big so maybe there is some stuff on the ship. So we sent a boarding party onto the ship. Geordi said we had to be careful. So we took Geordi with us since he is smart.

Anyhow, ship came alive and captured us. Some of us were taken to a room and brains were taken out! We were scared but ship wouldn’t let us leave. Ship didn’t say why it was doing these things.

Ship then blew up our ship and then went to our colony in Alpha Centauri. Ship told everyone to get on. Then it blew up the rest of the colony.

Ship then started to go for Earth. We don’t know why but ship told us to shut up. Then some kind of strange field interacted with ship. Ship then became worse. Geordi tried to steer ship but then we crashed. Now we are stuck.”

The Pakled Commander took a deep breath and collapsed. He looked around to see if there were any flying robots about.

====

In the compartment, the flying robot observed the Crownguardians with detachment.

The Junkions, having finished the majority of the necessary excavation work, began to move as much scrap machinery, parts, and other items they deemed useful into their ship. Soon, they will depart and scour the universe for more stuff. Much like the Pakleds.

Wreck-gar then strode up to the nearest Crimmond engineer/explosives expert and said,

"All ready to go boom, partner! Bada bing bada bing! We is tired from all this backbreaking labour! Need some Tiger Balm extra strength!"

~~

In the distance, the Pakleds set up a small altar with the magic 8-ball prominently displayed next to an effigy of the Holy Wombat. Many Pakleds could not believe their stroke of fortune. First, the discovery of their lost god in the Pakled pantheon and now the arrival of the futuristic device. Indeed, the gods must be smiling upon them.

Some even believed that the device delivered by the Crownguardians came from the Holy Wombat itself. Hence, efforts were made to look for the missing Crownguardians so that a special feast could be held in their honour - as befitting the emissaries of the gods.


OOC: LOW, you may want to see if the Junkions are taking any Var technology.

OOC: Hmm, likely the Junkton's already have some Var technology...based on other things

IC:
The Var stared at the commander for a moment and just said "Puka" and then turned to his men. "Send the Drones out I want a full scan of this colony ship..." He turns back to Geordi..."Speak Terran, tell me your veiw in this tale and Perhaps I will not test out a flatchette gun on you...

Two more drones exit the heavy shuttle, they are smaller really looking nothing more than floating cylinders and begin to probe the ship. One of the armed drones also beings to probe, but through the communications array...the simple minded AI sounds like a packled

Look for Door....find Door......Door Unlocked?...No...Find Unlocked Door....Smelly Creature Near....Shoot?....No....Find Unlocked Door...Door Locked...Wait...Have Key...Yes!....Door not Locked... Unlock Door A5-79...

Geordi threw up his hands in despair.

“Well, basically I was an engineer aboard the USS Enterprise. One day, these Pakleds tricked the Enterprise crew and I was captured. Basically, the Pakleds managed to get away from them with me as a hostage, but between you and me, I never did get along with that bald-headed captain. He and Riker were probably laughing as the Pakleds left. Bastards!”

Geordi drew in a sharp breath and then continued.

“Well, it’s pretty obvious that I’m much smarter than the Pakleds and so therefore I rose quickly in their society. I would often participate in survey missions with the Pakleds and fix stuff that they would find. An interesting way of finding about new technologies.

Anyhow, on one survey mission, we came across this ship…”

Geordi waves to the colony ship.

“…and decided to take a closer look. It appeared dead so we sent a team over. Suddenly the ship activated itself. I don’t remember touching any buttons but maybe one of the Pakleds set it off. Anyhow, a bunch of robots came out and rounded us up. Then the ship’s AI said it was a colony ship and forced the rest of the crew on the Pakled ship to come over. It then fired upon the Pakled ship, killing it with one blast.

“We then went back to the Pakled colony and a whole bunch of them were forced onboard. Don’t know what happened to some of them. Then we started heading for Earth for who knows what.

"But we encountered some kind of strange anolamy. I don’t what is was, maybe some kind of rupture in the space time continuum emitting heavy bursts of karo radiation. Anyhow, it went through the shields and affected the FTL drive and associated systems. We couldn’t steer or stop. I tried to reroute power into the emergency retro-rockets by way of shunting off the main conduits to the FTL drive while maintaining the inertial fields and structural integrity, but obviously I failed. We crash landed pretty hard. The ship’s AI must have been affected too.”

Geordi was still trembling at the retelling of the tale and the presence of the Var didn’t easy his nervousness.

~~

Meanwhile, door A5-79 opened.

** Wilder started to get annoyed as he stared at the robot...Brown was sulking in the corner with distrust**


"Your all fired after this..cant even get a single door open...idiots.."

*Wilder..wild eyed, started to pace back and forth, back and forth*


**Brown looked on with a detached air..."someone rescue us from this madman..." he said....looking over at the other soldiers. No one dared act, considering the supposed "bombs". But were they real...or a lie? Could they take the chance?**

**Brown whispered to the robot as best he could while Wilder dozed off**

"My name is Brown...Im willing to help you..but please..help us with this madman. We have no intention of damaging your ship nor anything else. He is holding us here via a threat of detonation..something that may damage you as well. Can you help us?"

*Brown decided...why not...why not trust the robot. They picked a fine place to set up an asylum for Wilder, thats for sure..*

(Im gone till Sunday most likely...if I can get on, I will. But please dont expect me to before Sunday night. Ill do the best I can)

OOC: No problem at all.

IC:

The robot, although far away from Brown, was able to pick up his whisper. It drifted closer, much closer to him and then a small screen opened. No voice accompanied the text display.

What is your plan? Do you wish to be free from this ship?

The Var looked at them both...
"Well Terran, you have become a Puka a slave, a slave to an AI. In my culture, your not even fit to be used to clean up my beast's excriment. But Terran's can not be Puka it is forbiden by the Overlord himself. The lowest you could be is a Kopu.

He looks at the commander...
"You, dimwitted Puka Ka, take me to your master. The AI"

He notices a handsignal from one of this Terran guard and shakes his head. Two men peel off and joint the armored Robot as it makes it's way to the door.

Climbing up the surface they reach the door and peer in
At the bottom of the entrance shaft is a similar room to the one the crowngaurdians are in...but the room is filled with the massive bulk of a retracted, 30" Grazer. The two men look at each other and call back to the ship...

"Tell the Lord this isn't a Colony Ship....she's got to be a Baka..."

The Robot AI starts to query several of the vessles subsystems with the same moronic question...

Baka Class Super Dreadnaught Yes?...Give Hull Number....

edit:I keep on thinking Big Bertha...so...made a mistake there...

Geordi and the Commander look at the Var again. Geordi, noting the Var’s words carefully thinks to himself.

These ‘Var’ know about this ship! Maybe they can free me from this manacle that the ship put on me! It's my only chance! Free from the ship! Free from these smelly Pakleds!

Suddenly Geordi went down to his knees, arms stretched out as if to grab the Var’s robes.

“Save me! Save me from this ship!”

~~

One subsystem responded to the robot AI’s inqueries…

Query: Ship class requested.

Access granted: Ship class: Baka Class Super Dreadnought. Ship yards: --- Production date: ---- Commissioned: ----

Query: Hull number requested.

Access granted: Hull number D-01.

++RECORDS INCOMPLETE++

~~

The super dreadnought AI stirred. Its routine security sweep detected an unauthorized access from one of its terminals. Two semi-functional sentry drones were sent to investigate.

The Var looks down and then says..."You are a Puka Puka rise Terran, I may only save you if you did not give your oath to the ship and now give it to me. You shall be a Kopu of my Lord's House..."

The rest of the guards shift about looking at the scene, begging wasn't going to get him much of anything.

A buzzing sound could be heard and the creature raised one of it's claws to the back of it's head. It's voice was muffled as though talking but in a wisper...

It turned again..."Terran, you have lied...This is not a Colony Ship...It is a Berka...tell me why I should not have you butchered here on the place you kneel..."

The men listend to their orders, and then dropped down into the darkness around the Grazer...The armed drone followed much more elegantly just passing between the front lens of the unit and the wall.

The drone began to show a light...almost invisible to terran eyes. The two humans doned goggles and the walls lit up with the heavy three layered varian runes...invisible to human eyes...a trick to hinder borders...They found the sealed acess hatch. The only way to open it was a small dimple on the surface. The armored drone dropped down and began to work on opening the hatch...

Hatch A5-79 EM....Secuirty Code?....Code Emergency....Fire...Open...Imperial Overide Key...Opa, Opa Taz.

It turned again..."Terran, you have lied...This is not a Colony Ship...It is a Berka...tell me why I should not have you butchered here on the place you kneel..."

“The ship didn’t tell us is was a Berka or whatever! It just said it was a colony ship!,” moaned Geordi. Clearly, his nerves were frayed and he began to sob.

The Commander, having never seen Geordi in this state, attempted to comfort him. He moved closer and put his arm around Geordi's shoulder. The effect was electric. Geordi leapt up and spun, grabbing the Pakled’s hand and squeezed it - hard.

“Keep your hands off me, you damn dirty, smelly Pakleds!” he hissed.

He then proceeded to punch the commander with his other hand.

~~

Emergency code accepted.

The hatch smoothly slide open. Far down in the corridor, a humming sound could be heard.

OOC: No problem at all.

IC:

The robot, although far away from Brown, was able to pick up his whisper. It drifted closer, much closer to him and then a small screen opened. No voice accompanied the text display.

What is your plan? Do you wish to be free from this ship?

Brown whispered to it silently "Yes...we wish to be free of this ship, as well as assist our fellow human, the man known as Geordi. In return we wil do our best to aid you, but the bastard...the scientist known as Wilder supposedly has a bomb. Can you scan him for such, so we may "deal" with him? After all, the bomb could damage YOU as well..we just wish to elarn about your wonderful technology peacefully, we dont wish to damage you, well...maybe a bulkhead will have a bit of color on it afterwards..but thats all....."

*Each of the soldiers grinned at the last part, as well as the assistants..every citizen had a year of military training. Wilder continued to sleep soundly in the silence.*

A pencil-thin beam of light emitted from the robot and scanned Wilder. It then withdrew after a few seconds. Then, the robot’s screen came alive.

Why do you wish to assist Geordi? He is bound to me by oath.

Wilder’s bomb has been analyzed and will present no harm to this ship. In fact, it is unlikely that any known power can harm this colony ship.

You are judged deceitful but, in our mercy, you and your men shall leave this ship and depart Mars. You will leave Wilder behind. That is the “deal.”

The door in which they entered once again opened. Above them, the bulkhead door opened at the same time, revealing two more floating robots but far larger than the one near Brown. Each one appeared to be cylindrically-shaped and about 1.5 m tall. Some odd-looking devices extended from them and some seemed to be pointing at the Crownguard team.

Wreck-gar did some final checks with his fellow Junkions. Whatever they could manage and stow away their ship was complete. The excavation work was done since all that remained were the nuclear devices to be set.

Wreck-gar ambled over to the the Crimmond team and said,

"We are blowing this pop-stand. We got our goods and now it's time to mosey. Are you guys to to light it up or what? Sure would like to see the fireworks!"

*The soldiers stood around, shaking their heads. This whole thing was a sham, but at least they got rid of Wilder. The rest of the team departs, heading back to their ship. Mission was a failure, but it really wasnt their fault with the odds stacked against them. Brown sighed, he would have hell to explain once this was all over.*


*Wilder finally woke up, looking to the robots around him* "What in the hell....where are my assistants!? And what do you want NOW?" he screamed at one of them, hand on his pistol*


(OOC: I wanted to play Wilder alone anyways..he is far more interesting than a "team" per se. He is slightly crazy, a bastard and such, but very intelligent...if a little "out there")

The much smaller flying robot disappears into a hatch. The two larger robots slowly float to Wilder, extending various appendages. The dull lighting and the robot’s grey black exterior only heighten the tension.

One of the robots withdraws a cattle prod type device…

OOC: Okay, we’ll see what happens. Always a chance that a vital spot could be hit but these robots are military grade and thus armoured, unlike the small flying one. Short post here since I need to sleep.

It turned again..."Terran, you have lied...This is not a Colony Ship...It is a Berka...tell me why I should not have you butchered here on the place you kneel..."

“The ship didn’t tell us is was a Berka or whatever! It just said it was a colony ship!,” moaned Geordi. Clearly, his nerves were frayed and he began to sob.

The Commander, having never seen Geordi in this state, attempted to comfort him. He moved closer and put his arm around Geordi's shoulder. The effect was electric. Geordi leapt up and spun, grabbing the Pakled’s hand and squeezed it - hard.

“Keep your hands off me, you damn dirty, smelly Pakleds!” he hissed.

He then proceeded to punch the commander with his other hand.

~~

Emergency code accepted.

The hatch smoothly slide open. Far down in the corridor, a humming sound could be heard.

The two were seperated by the guard contingent. The Var turned to the commander and said dryly. "Take me your AI now. We have much to discuss..."

*********
The men climed into the gunners gallery beyound. The long hallway was some 4 meters high and 5 meters wide with a massive crane standing in the darkness...The men turned to the Drone and asked..
"Where are we?"

Gunner's gallery Level 5

The two were seperated by the guard contingent. The Var turned to the commander and said dryly. "Take me your AI now. We have much to discuss..."

The Pakled commander, still rubbing his head at the sudden visciousness of Geordi's attack, waved to the ship and made his way to the nearest entranceway.

*********

The men climed into the gunners gallery beyound. The long hallway was some 4 meters high and 5 meters wide with a massive crane standing in the darkness...The men turned to the Drone and asked..
"Where are we?"

Gunner's gallery Level 5

The humming appeared to be coming from a nearby generator. At the far end of the corridor appeared two cylindrically-shaped floating robots with some appendages extended. They made their way to the Var boarding party.

The armored drone just responds...
Stop...Or I will shoot

************
The Var and two men begin to follow the commander. Geordi is held back by a third armsman and the second armored drone.

The two dreadnought drones open fire, targeting the drone and the two men. The crane suddenly comes to life, its large but slow-moving claw scrapping about for enemies. Corridor doors begin to close.

The Junkions departed in their odd ship, careful to avoid the current battle above Mars.

The two men drop to the floor and open fire with a full stream of flatchets. The armored drone takes two hits and returns fire with several heavy plasma bolts, they are aimed at the drone's sensors.

One of the L.O.W marines throws a signal scrambler, and it exploedes in a mass of white light and noise as the group attempts to run down to the other end of the corridor, about 30m down they stop and open a hatch in the floor, dropping into one of the missle magazines.

One of the drones goes down, clunking into a wall before falling heavily onto the floor. The second drone manages to find some cover and returns fire, albeit wildly with most of its targeting sensors blasted off. The signal scrambler didn’t help matters much as it tried to concentrate its laser fire on the LOW drone. The claw scrapped about uselessly.

The entire section was being sealed off as more dreadnought drones were activated.

OOC: That is, your guys can probably run around a bit but some sections and decks will be sealed. The AI will try to isolate the area, just as it would normally respond to intruders. Some kind of survelliance devices will now most likely be activated, but it depends on what actually works. Some internal things were shaken up pretty good which I think would be realistic.

Meanwhile, in keeping with defensive protocol, the dreadnought deployed its 30" grazer cannon. The massive turrent swiveled skyward while sensors began to calculate the strongest forces currently engaged and tracking of targets was initiated. As well, other weapon systems came online, ready to defend the ship. So far, no aggressive moves towards the dreadnought could be discerned, therefore no firing was done. Two aft-mounted long-range missles were, however, loaded into their tubes. As well, the ship's engines rumbled, trying to free itself from the Martian landscape's embrace.


The rise of the morons

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2295823#2295823

Old Rivarlies Revived, Bajon(GDODAD) vs. ADK

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2311452#2311452

OOC: Getting a bit frustrated. I'm about to basically say that Crimmond blasted his nukes to free the ship just to wrap this up so the dreadnought with the Pakled crew can journey around the Sol system. :x

(BUMP 'cause it seems like it's just getting interesting...)

OOC: Well, this has been about a month and it hasn't been the most lively RPs. Not enough blood and guts I guess. Wait till the dreadnought finally moves though! Then we'll see some smashing!

OOC: When we were working on these ships the Grazers were broadside mounted...?? Damn I just kept on missing the updates to this thread...

(Also the missles are not going to work on a planet...not in the Var tech bible!)

Also what about my Var following the commander back to the ship?

IC: The two Marines were now seeminly trapped inside of the missle magazine. Only the AI of the armored drone knew better. It attempted to mask itself as one of the ships own drones and ask for permission to return to drone engineering for emergency repairs...

OOC: Urgh, I forgot. I kind of figured that the big 30" one would be topside. Forgot about your Var. Sorry.

IC:

The dreadnought drone pressed closer, continuing to wildly fire. Its comrade tried to rise but its repulsors were damaged as it fell onto the deck. A small fire started inside some exposed panels, since their protective coverings were shaken loose from the impact.

Another hatch opened and two more drones could be seen, several meters behind the first still floating one.

A nearby access terminal could be seen.

~~

The huge hatch loomed before the Pakled commander, the Var, and his escort. The commander proceeded to bang on the nearly flawless surface which seemed undamaged from the rentry.

"Ship! Var Lord here! Open up ship! Please!" pleaded the Pakled.

Silence.

Then, ponderous gears opened the massive hatch - which resembled more of a cargo bay for small ships than a regular entranceway. Luckily, no scrap was near hatchway and therefore didn't roll out and crush the party. Inside though and at the "bottom" some loose machinery, now rendered useless, could be seen in a heap. This particular cargo bay was fairly large, with the rectangular hatch measuring about 10 meters high and 30 meters long.

The superdreadnought AI stirred. The presence of unknowns and yet not unknowns had alarmed the AI. Fortunately, internal repairs were going smoothly and there were enough parts salvagable to repair or replace any necessary components. As well, the onboard machine shop was largely unaffected by the crash. The mighty ship was build to endure extreme conditions, take on entire fleets, and detroy massive asteroids, although this was its first high-impact planet fall.


FTL engines: 70% operational - offline
Sublight engines: 100% operational - warm up
Maneuvering thrusters: 100% operational - online
Repulsor lifts: 100% operational - online
Hull: 98.5 % intact - repairs initiated
Internal structures: 97% intact - repairs initiated
Cargo hold: 98% intact.- repairs initiated
Independent equipment 75% damaged - salvaged 30%
Main comm array: 100% operational - online
Back up comm array: 100% operational - online
Main sensor array: 100% operational - online
Back up sensor array: 100% operational - online
AI mind: --- online
Shields --- online
Weapon systems: --- online
Power core: operational 100% - online



Initiate #5 Release program. Excavation work increased chances for this unit's release. Begin #4 Perimeter program after release is complete. Monitor targets. This "Mars" planet deemed not conducive for this unit's plan. #6 Perimeter program already in place.


~~

The Var, the escort, and the Pakled commander could suddenly feel ground beneath them to vibrate.

The Battlecrusier above the scene noted the ship's gravametric drive comming up...

"S***...there going to try driving that b***** out of the rock...."

"If the ship doesn't tear itself appart it is going to leave a god awful mess on the ground...like a new volcano..."

"I'll inform the Lord at once..."

********
The Var who had been eyeing the equipment suspciously until the ground started shaking raised his hand. "It appears the ship is leaving...I have no care to be aboard or on the surface when she leaves...Grab this creature and let us return to the shuttle...we will have to deal with this AI in space..."

The L.O.W group turns, two marines seizeing the 'commander' and pulling them all back towards the Heavy Shuttle...Geordi is also grabed and pulled towards the shuttle...the marine placing a rod into the manacle on his arm......

*********
In the missle compartment the armored drone is the only survivor...the last two shots had but all killed the two marines. The armored drone returned a sweep of heavy fire and began to acess the old emergency codes, and hijack the secondary communication array...



*********

The massive 30” grazer cannon came alive once more. It swiveled its turret towards the Martian surface this time and began blasting. The land shook under the impact as hundreds of cubic meters of rock were vaporized while the maneuvering thrusters near the bow of the ship were activated. The rock soon melted under the intense heat and the prodigious bow slowly began to raise – tilting the ship like an enormous see saw or, more aptly, a large redwood tree about to fall…

Luckily, the rear repulsors also came online, balancing and stabilizing the fall as the bow rose quicker, shedding off the rocks that were on it. The stern began to fall when suddenly, with a whine, more power was fed to the repulsors. The ship did not fall. In fact, it hung over the surface, impossible to behold.

The Pakleds that were nearby were either crushed by the falling rock, turned to ash by the grazer, roasted by the bow thrusters, or squished into the land by the repulsors. Needless to say, the ground was scattered with mangled and barely recognizable bodies. Those camping on the edge of the several kilometer wide crater were still alive but shaken.

As the ship hung suspended, several drones could be seen exiting the ship and heading for the Pakleds. As they drew closer, they began broadcasting a message over their external mics:

Hurry! Board the ship! Hurry! Board the ship! Hurry…

The Pakleds, much like lemmings and easily swayed, obeyed and began marching. Whole families walked together, mothers carrying infants while fathers tugged at their older children. Even the elderly made their way to the ship at a steady gait.

~~

Inside, the terminal responded to the Var drone. The three dreadnought drones drew closer…

OOC edit: I should add that the ship is still somewhat vulnerable in that it's stationary and waiting for the Pakleds to board. Once it gets moving though, it will be quite difficult to stop. Give me a telegram LOW and we can work out some stats for the ship, its capabilities, and what comes next.

The majority of the Pakleds were onboard, while those that didn't make it were turned aside rather roughtly by the dreadnought drones. These Pakleds were most bewildered and unwisely turned their gaze skyward to the ship, mouths agape.

A cargo bay door opened and some dark shapes could be seen - 6 smaller ones and one large boxlike one. Closer they drew to the Martian surface and soon they landed. After a few minutes, the 6 smaller shapes left and proceeded rapidly to the dreadnought. The curious box was left behind on the landscape.

With an earpiercing roar, the super dreadnought begin to ease slowly from the Mars. Not knowing the exact political make up but being aware of the current space engagements, it soon charted a trajectory that would take it over the Darksith Mars colony, Snel, Tiburon, and finally the Kinslayer territory, reaching escape velocity.

The stupid Pakleds that were too close were roasted by the maneuvering thrusters.


The AI mind contemplated the following information...


Weapon systems: 100% operational - online
Main grazer cannon - activated
Secondary grazer cannons - activated
Plasma cannons - activated
Long range missiles - activated
Shields: 100% - online
Power core: 100% - online
AI mind: 100% - online
Sublight engines: 100% - online - warm up complete. Stand by for full activation.
Main comm array: 100% online - message transmission ready


...and made its decision.


Initiate Perimeter defense protocol #4. Ready combat protocol #2. Relay message.


Soon, a powerful broadcast on all electronic, tight beam, or other communication mediums to the surrounding Mars nations and nearby vessels could be heard.



This is Colony Ship #4 leaving Mars territory. Our trajectory is set and we shall not deviate from it. Clear a path or face destruction. Repeat. This is Colony Ship #4 leaving...