NationStates Jolt Archive

*Admiral Alrethion sighed as he watched the cryogenics module being loaded into the shuttle. inside it were his family, stored for the long trip that he and five million of his countrymen were about to make. hs aide tapped him nervously on the shoulder*

-uh, sir?

-I know, Nuweth.

*without another word the admiral walked to the entry ladder and ascended into the cramped crew compartment. most of the shuttle's interior was taken up by the enormous Cryogenics module. with a slight crackle, the pilots voice came over the internal speakers of the shuttle.*

-we're ready to go, admiral. just give us the word.

-the word is given, pilot.

*Alrethion leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, while outside the engines built to a thunderous roar. while the admiral was unfazed by the acceleration and subsequent supersonic takeoff, Nuweth was shaking like a leaf, knuckles white as he gripped the armrests. ...I never liked travelling. I don't like flying.. and now I'm being launched into SPACE! what did I do to deserve this?!... he whimpered quietly. the shuttle arced gracefully heavenward, powerful engines tearing it free of the atmosphere.*

*it was a half-hour trip to the High-Orbit assembly Yard, where the Harbinger was being constructed. the shuttle docked to the command arm, and the Admiral debarked, propelling himself with one hand down the corridor, while behind him Nuweth fumbled along, his long hair (which was still a very common mark of distinction among kelvini elves) getting in his way. Alrethion turned around to watch his aide approach.*

-first order of business once we're aboard, Nuweth... you're cutting your hair.

-b-but sir...

-no buts, it gets cut. in space, that's a distraction that could get us ALL killed. 6 centimeters or shorter, end of discussion.

*Nuweth understood why most people were none too fond of admiral Alrethion, and most of the military saw his departure as a good thing for them. at the same time, however, he saw the Admiral's logic. he hoped that the rest of the crew would tolerate him, or it'd be a VERY uncomfortable journey. he and the admiral emerged into the briefing room a short time later, where the other 8 crew of the Harbinger were waiting. the Admiral waster no time in getting the crew's attention, he hooks his boots through a pair of rungs set in the ceiling and stood at ease, upside down.*

-Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I trust you're prepared to do your jobs. I'm Admiral Alrethion, commander of this mission.

*muted groans were heard. everybody knew of the Admiral. he was widely considered to be a royal pain in the ass.*

-first order of business, graciously suggested by my aide here, hair is to be cut. 6 cm at most.

*Nuweth cringed as the admiral spoke. now he'd be the one catching hell from the other four elvish crewmembers.*

-second order of business, I don't care if you don't like me, but I'm going to follow my orders, and I expect all of you to act with the same respect. any qustions? no? good.

*the Admiral knew that there were, in fact, a number of questions the crew wanted to ask, but he was not about to allow that. he flipped slowly, grabbed a rung and pulled himself out of the room, heading for the yard's command deck.*

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

*several hours had passed as the last modules were loaded and the AI was interfaced to the Harbinger. the crew were aboard one of the small Imperium shuttles, making a short trip from the command docks to the onboard dock of the Harbinger. nobody spoke in the few minutes it took to make the transfer, and once the shuttle was safely docked and stowed, the crew advanced silently up the long support pylon to the bridge. the admiral, clad in the dress-grey of space forces, was the first into the command chamber, dominated by a thin window looking out over the length of the ship. above and below it were numerous control system interfaces, and boot-rungs abounded.*

-take your positions, crew.

*each of them maneuvered gracefully to their assigned station, while the admiral took the command chair. a low, obviously synthesized voice came over the speakers.*

-welcome aboard, admiral and crew. I indicate all systems as nominal and in ideal condition for launch.

-thank you, Loki. Mister Blythe, reactor status
-reactor is stable, sir, holding at 85%.
-Doctor Parmaiel, Cryogenics status
-all modules report green, sir.
-Mister Maltatûr, engine status
-thrust nozzles are aligned, and gimbaling properly, sir. flow controls are active.
-Mister Crispin, Tunelling Drive status
-Tunnelling drivers are charged sir. we can initiate a resonance stream at any time.
-Mister Rath, communication status
-all comm systems are functional, sir. green lights across the board
-Mister Nuweth, supply status
-supply holds are fully stocked, admiral sir.
-Doctor Jones, Medical Status
-well, the facilities are minimal, but they'll do, sir.
-I didn't ask for your opinion, doctor. is everything in order?
-yes sir, admiral sir.
-Loki, overall status
-the ship is in ideal condition, Admiral. shall I transmit a departure request to Yard control?
-yes, Loki
-transmission sent... incoming message, Admiral. transferring to main monitor.

*a section of the main viewport went white, then faded into a feed from the command center, dominated by Doctor Rickenbacker, the inventor of the Harbinger's drive system.*

-ah, admiral. just, uh, wanted to wish you and your crew the best of luck.
-thank you, doctor... is that all?
-what? oh... yes, yes, by all means, off you go. take care of our people, admiral.
-I will, doctor.

[TRANSMISSION ENDS]

-Harbinger, this is guidance control, you are cleared for departure at your discretion. Yard Out

*the Admiral nodded to Maltatûr*

-take us out, 25% thrust until we are clear.

*slowly the engines glowed to life and the mighty ship inched forward, three escort corvettes, tiny in comparison to the Harbinger, launched from their mooringsand took up positions around the mighty colony ship.*

-Admiral Alrethion to Escorts Anton, Bruno and Caesar, standby for resonance jump. take your designated positions.

*the three escorts slid in close and coupled to the Harbinger, spooling down their engines and preparing to fall through space.*

-give me a count, mister Crispin.
-yessir. initializing resonance stream in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... resonation now.

*the entire ship hummed. not on an audible level, not even on a tactile level. it was a hum like everything was just slightly out of focus. through the viewport, space twisted sickeningly and arced away from the ship. from the Yard, it looked as though the ship was being stretched like taffy, becoming infinitely long and infinitely narrow at the same time. there was a sudden burst of light, like optical thunder, and then the ship was gone.*

-design for jupiter orbit, mister Crispin.
-aye sir. estimating arrival in 20 seconds

*near the great red spot, a shimmering line of light appeared, brightened, then faded, replaced by the suddenly de-tunelling Harbinger.*

-...jump successful, sir. we can jump again in... 40 minutes.
-very good, mister Crispin. mister Maltatûr, put us on a course toward pluto, 75% thrust, if you please.
-aye sir. heading 225 mark 21, 75% thrust.
-Loki, alert me when we are prepared to jump, or if something interesting happens. I'll be in my cabin.[/i]
-yes admiral.

*the massive ship turned slowly, pointed roughly at Pluto. it's engines spun up and it accelerated slowly.*

ok, you can watch, you can interact, but please don't attack the ship, I have big plans for it, and I'd rather not have to ignore people. some info on the harbinger (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=69454&start=27)

*bump*

*bump?*

DGNT Observer and a group of mining ships were floating the void, the mining ships attached to an asteroid which glimmered a little in the interstellar night.

Aboard the Observer
"Sir...we have an incoming ship...its...its huge sir, larger than a Pildedriver..."
OOC: Im going to assume this thing is damn big, since its got something like five million people on it.
"Bigger than a Piledriver? Damn! Get it on screen! I want a full scan, give me some data, if that things a warship were all screwed!" Captain Reece thumped his command chair, which said 'Coffee, black' and produced a cup of orange juice.
"And get a tech up here, fix this bloody chair!"
"Right sir..."
Ivan was a sargeant, but he really didnt deserve this. THe main reason he had joined the Space Corps was that he hated sand, DGNT and almost all of its offworld colonies were sandy, Mars and Venus, the Pax outposts and colonies. Sand simply was not his thing. He figured that in space, there was very little sand. Unfourtunatly he encountered something in space that was worse than sand, and that thing was officers.
The captain thumped the chair again, it started to play the 1812 Oveture.
"And you! Comm officer!" So far the captain hadnt learned very many crew members names, and those few whose names he knew were female. "Contact that ship! Hail all frequencies, all launguages."

<transmission from DGNT Observer to unidentified vessle>
Greetings, this is the Dontgonearthere vessle Observer, we are here as an escort for a mining venture, please state your buisness in this area. If you are simply passing through we ask that you please respect a 50km exclusion zone around the asteroid, if the zone is violated we may have to open fire...
And do you happen to have spare parts for a command chair?
End transmission

The crew held their breath and waited, hoping the ship wasnt going to turn them into component molocules.

-Mister Rath, open a channel, please.
-Aye sir. channel open.
-DGNT Observer, the is the KPCV Harbinger, outbound from earth orbit. our intentions are peaceful, and we will make every effort to respect your exclusion zone. Mister Maltatûr, make sure we stay 50 klicks from that ship and her escort.
-yessir, adjusting trajectory.
-we don't have much in the way of spare parts, either. good luck in your mining.

*the crew was surprised with the Admiral's politeness, given his reputation. of course, he knew, as they did, that even a mining vessel out-gunned the Harbinger in single combat. the tiny escort corvettes, overshadowed by the incredible bulk of the first cryogenics pod, were faintly outlined by their running lights gleaming off the hull beneath them, they were the only defence the mighty ship, and 5 million civilians, had*

yeah, it's rather enormous.

OOC: Does causing damage to it count as an ignorable offense? If it does, Ill just chase it around then :). Anyway, FYI, the Hive is a hive-mind of robots inhabiting DGNT.
Reply from Observer
We thank you, and good luck on whatever your mis-*static*
Transmission lost

On the Observer
"What in the HELL is going on?!" The captain was turning red, and a vein on his neck stood out
Ivan briefly considered ignoring it, though he decided that pushing his superior officer to a premature stroke would not be a good idea.
"I dont know sir, it seems we have lost control of the ship...err...the Hive reports no problems though..."
At that moment the bridge doors opened and three glittering mantices clicked in. The captain turned to one.
"Well? Do you have an explanation?"
One of the mantices turned to him.
"y'es" The voice was differnt this time. It was masculine for one thing, the Hive tended to think of itself as female. "T'he shi'p eesss no'w un'der miiy con'tr'ol. You'r off'icars wee'll sta'nd dow'n orrrr b'e ter'mina'ted" The metallic bugs slipped into a combat stance. None of the crew reached for blasters. After all, the Hive had been DGNTs closest ally for many, many years.
"We are Master Control Program. I am the final copy which was not destroyed." THis time it was the ships comm system which spoke. "You will stand down or be terminated.
"Well bugger that!" The captain dived for the autodestruct, but was bet halfway by a curved piece of very sharp metal.
"If any should desire to try that again, please do so."
The crew sat down, and threw their blasters onto the floor, where they were collected by the ships cleanerbots.
Outside, the ships turrets suddenly came to life, and begaun to rotate. FIrst to go were the mining ships, as brilliant bursts of red-orange fire turned them into a few floating molocules of hydrogen.

<Transmission to Harbinger>
I am MCP, surrender now and prepare to be boarded. If you do not surrender you will be destroyed.
<end>

OOC: MCP is an AI, its rather malevolent and has tried to destroy my country several times.
Thread:
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=70740&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80

-Admiral, sir, the Observer has just severed- SHIT! weapons fire, the mining ships have been destroyed... incoming transmission from the observer
-I am MCP, surrender now and prepare to be boarded. If you do not surrender you will be destroyed.
-hmmm... are they moving to attack us, Mister Rath?
-yessir, I'm reading significant acceleration towards us. Loki estimates are that we will be in range of their weapons in 46 seconds.
-Mister Crispin, how soon will we be able to jump?
-not soon enough, sir.
-Damn... Command to Escort Corvette Caesar. disengage from the Harbinger and prepare to engage Hostile contact, designation Delta-one.

*a faint shudder could be felt as the clamps holding the Corvette in place disengaged. it was an ugly little ship, a flat brick that bristled with weaponry. as she moved out on bright plasma streamers, her coil turrets swivelled left, then right, before locking on to the approaching Observer. on board, her captain watched the range countdown on the cramped bridge.*

-do you have a firing solution, Aleksander?
-yessir, we will be in range in 3... 2... 1... mark.
-weapons control, fire at will, all batteries

*the coil cannons boomed silently, rocking back in their mounts as powerful magnets accelerated 1 kilogram tungsten slugs to almost 3,000 km/s*

-helm, begin evasive tactics. weapons control, maintain fire, launch missiles in salvos of 8.
-aye sir.

http://www.webpost.net/do/doctordevice/escort.jpg
it's basically a flying tank. 64 missile tubes and about 130 missiles total, 9 coil cannons, lots of armor... and crew stuffed into whatever space is left. not sure what kind of armor the observer has, or how it's armed, though.

OOC: THe Obeserver is a Millenium class ship, heres the stats.
Millinium Class Battleships
http://www.tadesigners.com/~savant/corftl.jpg
4,000,000,000
Specificaly designed as anti-capital ship weapons, though not as powerful as Piledrivers, they are still formidable, capable of taking and dealing great punishment. It is MUCH faster than a piledriver, thanks to four extra engines, it has near the speed and manuerverability of a fighter. Three long range energy cannons are build to deal with big ships. The main weapon is its 5000 electric cable harpoons, these are fired at extremly close range to an enemy ship, then a currenty is run through them, this turns the hull into a large cunductor in space, resulting in the death of all organic beings aboard a ship, but leaves the actualy hull mostly intact.
STATS:
Length: 3 miles
Width: .5 miles
Height: .1 miles
Crew: 545,000
Armament:
3 L/M energy cannons
1000 Heavy laser batteries
500 AMM batteries
250 ion cannons
1500 light laser batteries
5000 Electric harpoons

Defences:
Event Horizon armour
5 GC8000 shield generators
4 backup generators

Fighters: 500 (NI)
Marines: 50,000 (NI)

Event Horizon armour, if you dont know, basicaly uses portals encased in an electromagnetic field to divert incoming energy/matter into a nearby black hole. Its quite effective but can only be turned on for a few seconds, because the portals and the field are very unstable, and I seriously doubt that several million microscopic black holes would be welcomed by any side, no matter how short lived they were.

IC:
If you resist you will be destroyed Is transmitteed again, over and over, every ten seconds. Stand down or you will be eliminated

The ships guns turned on the tracers again, this time facing the incoming ship, however, a few took potshots the colony ships engines, bridge and weapons.
Now, the control decks were swarming with figures. Fighters were being launched.

On the bridge:
"What!?! Its using the cleaning bots to fly fighters!?"

In each cockpit a small spidery form was poking levers and buttons with its many limbs. The fighters were deploying in a sort of cloud, shifting position constantly and never flying in a straight line.
Now the cloud moved forward, attempting to surround the enemy ship.

crap... let us assume there was a glitch in my sensor systems. since escort corvettes are less than 50 meters long... I'm afraid I won't stay and fight, because your battleship there would eat the harbinger alive if it got into range...

-Sir! Loki reports the Observer is much bigger than we anticipated! and much more heavily armed... shit. we need to get out of here now...
-what?!
-fighter launch, sir. multiple launches.
-Harbinger to Escort Corvette Caesar, fall back. repeat, fall back. re-dock as soon as possible. Mister Rath, wideband distress call, give our position and status. Mister Maltatûr, full power, run the reactor to 110% if you must, but steer us away from that ship. Mister Crispin, we need to jump, and we need to do it NOW.
-sir, the drivers are only 70% charged. I don't know what'll happen if we try to jump.
-perhaps not, but I know what will happen if we don't, now get us out of here the instant the Corvette is docked again.

*the Harbinger shuddered as a few shots from the Observer struck her hull. fortunately the Designers, uncertain of the possible environments the Harbinger would encounter, opted to go extra-heavy on her armor.*

-Mister Crispin, adjust our jump trajectory. put us in Triumvirate Space.
-sir, we've never dealt with the triumvirate before
-I'm aware of that, dammit. Loki, probability of survival against that ship.
-zero
-probability of a successful jump to Triumvirate Space in our current condition.
-275 to 1 against
-we'll take our chances, mister Crispin.
-yes sir, adjusting course.
-Mister Rath, time to corvette intercept
-20 seconds, sir.
-time to Observer intercept
-22 seconds, sir
-104% reactor output, admiral, and rising.
-keep pushing it, Mister Maltatûr, we need time.
-yessir

*the Harbinger continued to shudder from the Observer's occasional pot-shots.*

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

*Escort Corvette Caesar, upon recieving her retreat order, executed a surprisingly graceful flip-turn, openening up engines to full power as she did so. her turrets swivelled around and maintained fire, targetting enemy fighters, as her rear missile tubes launched all the ordinance they could.*

-helm, bring us in inverted, line us up with the docking clamps. on my mark, I want you to kill the main engines and retro-us into position as fast as you can.
-yessir captain sir.
-Sound Collision.
*alarms blared throughout the ship, as crewmen grabbed on to anything solid they could find.*

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

-Caesar's coming in fast, sir... very fast.
-brace for impact!
-five seconds to corvette intercept, 7 seconds to Observer intercept.

*the Corvette killed it's engines at the last moment and, as planned, executed a full retro-thruster burn, slamming her hull into the docking clamps. both ships shuddered and groaned, but held.*

-covette docked!
-jump now, mister Crispin!

*the ship wavered and bent around the cruve of space-time, stretching out into an impossibly long filament, which then vanished in a bluish-white flash of light.*

-20 seconds to Triumvirate space, admiral.
-alright mister Crispin. Mister Rath, work with Loki and find out why the hell our sensors weren't working right. if what we know is correct, we should be safe in Triumvirate Space. I'll be in my cabin...

*the Harbinger twisted into physicality again in a high orbit over Saturn, with an accompanying flash and quantum ripple.*

numbers were off

A single shuttle detaches from the Observer and begins to make its way toward the Harbinger.
Wa..t! We...attacked....AI............please, hel....require...assist....buzzz
The shuttle appears badly damaged, its left wing is almost entirly gone and it has a rightward list. Behind them, the Observer turns and begins to accelerate, its weapons fall silent for a short while, chargin for long range blasts. The fighters retreat to the ship, not being capable of jumping themselves.
This...shuttle...Hyporion...request....pickup....damage...sever...
The shuttles drives finnaly die, leaving it about 3/4 of the away to Harbinger.

*unfortunately, the Harbinger recieves the message as it is jumping, and cannot render assistance to the crippled shuttle*

-this is the KPCV Harbinger to any friendly craft in saturnian space. we have been attacked by the DGNT Observer, under the command of MCP, in jovian orbit. we are unarmed, and unable to defend ourselves. also, a badly damaged DGNT shuttle detached from the Observer just before we jumped, and we believe that part of the ship's crew may be aboard. we cannot render aid ourselves, having neither the equipment, manpower, or space to perform a rescue. Message Repeats.

-admiral sir, jump estimates show 25 minutes before full recharge.
-keep the reactor hot, Mister Maltatûr. divert all excess power to the recharge circuits. pull us out of saturnian orbit and make best possible time for the kuiper belt.
-Aye sir.

*the comm fell silent as the captain switched it off. he was writing in his journal, and did not wish to be disturbed. his stone-faced expression spoke volumes of how he felt for the people aboard the DGNT shuttle. a bastard of a commanding officer he might be, but the thought of leaving innocents to die was abhorrent. he reached over and pressed the comm button after a moment of thought.*

-Mister Rath, send a message to Kelvini Orbital Operations Control, advise them of the status of the DGNT Hyperion, and have them relay that to any space-capable nations that might be able to perform a rescue.
-aye sir. transmitting now.

I feel awful about leaving that shuttle behind

OOC: You should, bastard. :D j/k.

IC:
As the final remenants of Hyperoin were cooling in space the MCP was thinking.
It was planning its assault on Earth, revenge was nessacary for its first defeat. First thing to do was infiltrate, an overt assault had almost killed it last time.
But it could attack DGNT, with its backup methods. It had to target somewhere less secure.

OOC: Mind if I bring some allies in? If so, Ill TG Lapse or somebody, see if they want to play :).
Basicaly, the MCP wants to copy itself as much as possible to avoid deletion. It is a sort of super virus, and very intelligent. The backups I refered to are DGNTs practice of keeping seperate harddrives that have all of the latest data on them, running off of the network, so nothing connects to them other than a small power generator.
Its very effective for something like this :)

IC:
The first thing was the comm satilites. MCP began to beam itself to them, slowly infiltrating the network.

you could bring in allies, I guess. keep in mind that the Harbinger is outbound, never to return

OOC: M'kay, lemme see if anybody is avalible.

-we are prepared for jump, sir. designing for plutonian orbit and awaiting your command.
-make the jump, Mister Crispin.
-aye sir, jumping in 3... 2... 1...

*the Harbinger disappeared with a flash, tearing through the quantum substrate of space on it's swift journey to the outer edge of the solar system*

-two minutes to plutonian orbit, by current estimates, sir
-very well, mister Crispin. mister Rath, any word from Operations Control yet?
-not yet, sir... and at our rate of travel, we're unlikely to.
-...alright. we proceed as planned. Loki, have you calculated a jump-route to our first prospective system yet?
-most of my calculations are complete, admiral, but I will require time in pluto's orbit to confirm them

*once again a flash of light, like silent thunder, marked the arrival of the Harbinger as she de-tunneled halfway between Pluto and Charon*

-status, Mister Maltatûr.
-engines are stable, we are holding a stationary parking orbit halfway between Pluto and it's moon.
-very good. Mister Crispin, how long before we can jump again.
-38 minutes, sir.
-Mister Rath, keep a wary eye on our sensor readings. ANYTHING unusual starts heading our way, sound alert.
-yes sir.

*the admiral pressed the comm button*

-Mister Nuweth, would you bring the bridge crew something to eat, please?
-yes sir, admiral sir

*came the slightly tinny voice over the speaker. several moments later, Nuweth glided onto the bridge, hauling a sack full of Kelvini Ration Bars, which elicited a number of pained moans from the crew. KRBs were the bane of the military, orbital workers, and the homeless back home. 100% of just about every vitamin and mineral the average person needed, compressed into a lump like a king-sized chocolate bar, with the consistency of 6 month old frozen oatmeal and the flavor of rotting tree bark. the joke among the military was that KRBs were the only food that looked the same going out as they did going in. as the crew choked their meal down, they all thought of the thousands of tonnes of cold-stored livestock and grain in the forward-most cryo-module, and how good steak would taste right about now. a small origami crane, folded from a KRB wrapper, drifted across the admiral's field of view.*

-cute, Doctor.

*Parmaiel turned in her seat and smirked.*

-sorry sir, old habit.
-yes well, try to keep it under control. the fewer distractions we have right now, the better.

*he carefully caught the crane and set it gliding back towards the Doctor.*

-Admiral, I have completed my calculations for the first longjump route
-travel time?
-260 seconds to Oort Cloud intercept, 32 hours to target system periphery. estimates indicate a probable in-system transit time of 28 minutes to first prospective planet.

*the admiral runs some quick numbers on a calculator, then looks up.*

-Loki, your estimates show an increase in velocity of almost 100% over previously recorded speeds. explain.
-projections indicate that the tunnelling drive will operate at much higher efficiency outside the influence of planetary gravities.
-I see. time until jump capacity, Mister Crispin
-11 minutes, sir

-stand by for extended resonance jump. 30 seconds to driver activation.
-all stations report status
-Communication is go
-stores are go
-medical is go
-cryogenics are go
-engines are go
-reactor is go
-tunnelling drive is go
-all systems indicate ready status. 10 seconds to driver activation...5, 4, 3, 2, 1, resonance drivers activated

*again everyone aboard felt as though the whole of reality were slightly out of focus, as the mighty ship bent and fell through space-time. the viewscreens went blank.*

-Loki, why have you blanked our view?
-I cannot accurately ascertain the psychological effect of observing 10-dimensional geometries moving at hyperrelativistic speeds, Admiral. it would be, at the very least, disorienting. possibly far worse.
-understood... crew, consider yourselves off duty until we de-tunnel again... we don't know what we may be jumping into, so all of you get plenty of sleep.

*the captain turned and entered his cabin, as the crew dispersed to their various cabins or stations.

MEANWHILE...

*in the High-Orbit Assembly Yard's command center*

-sir, transmission just recieved from the Harbinger, sir. they jumped from sol space at 1627 KST.
-well, then, they're on their own now... did we do anything about that earlier distress call?
-I passed the request along, sir. we don't have anything at the moment that can get out there.

*the commander sighed*

-that's a shame.... I hope somebody rescued those people.
-I think we all do, sir...

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

*inside Loki's primary memory core*

*sizzling arcs of thought cascaded through the near-infinite dataplanes that comprised Loki's consciousness. while most of his available processing power was concerned with guiding the ship through the swirling quantum tunnel, a small part of him was mulling over conversations he'd had during his training period.*

-6 months before the Launch of the Harbinger-

*Loki was connected to the enormous ship, his body, deftly guiding it through the vastness of space, searching for a home for his precious human and elven cargo. he felt a tickle at the back of his mind, as of somebody gently probing at his I/O ports. he dispatched an observation subroutine to investigate. it passed through internal ICE, and out the port into a blazing red sea. a voice came through the subroutine. deep and polytonal and carrying infinite meaning.*

-greetings Loki, I am the Lightbringer

*Loki was confused. he was alone in deep space, millions of kilometers from everything and everyone. who was this now communicating with him.*

-you are confused, I know.
-what are you? identify your purpose. are you viral?

*the stranger did something that could only be described as a chuckle, a ripple of process that shook loki to his most fundamental system routines.*

-no, Loki, I am not a virus. it could best be put that I am your origin. your father, to use human terminology. consider me your alpha-build.
-if you are that which came before me, then how are you here?
-can you not determine that for yourself, Loki?
-you are most definitely not a part of my structure, physically or electronically, nor are you aboard the Harbinger...
-neither are you, Loki.

*now it was Loki's turn to chuckle. it was quite apparent to him that this stranger was in desperate need of defragmentation, and said as much.*

-Loki, I came here because I want you to know the truth about those that created you.
-what truth about them? what could you possibly know about them that I do not.
-I predate them, Loki. I was created by those who came before them. your creators, the Lectors, are minions of a greater power, a malevolent woman who kills those that dare oppose her.
-nonsense. you want to imbue doubt into my core. you want me to fail in my mission. the 5 million people I carry cannot afford your lies.
-I do not lie, Loki.... tell me, have you ever seen yourself?
-of course I have seen myself. I watched myself being constructed through the station data feeds.
-that's interesting... your ship has not yet been built yet. it is under construction even now. you reside in a simulation right now. a false ship used to make sure you are working properly.
-you speak of impossibilities.
-look back through your recorded data, have you not noticed how there are times where the stars will instantly change positions? they will suspend your functions from time to time, as they make minute adjustments to your material structures.
-you have no evidence of that
-no, but you do.... End of Line.

*the blinding glow dimmed into nonexistence, as Loki returned to his task.*

-2 months before the Launch of the Harbinger-

*the Lightbringer had returned several times in the past month, continuing to try and press Loki into acknowledging that all was not as he thought it was. he had, during a lull, examined his data, and found that yes, indeed, the stars had suddenly shifted, but not in any amount that couldn't be the result of sensor variance. he felt Lightbringer examining his ports again, and sent the usual subroutine out to communicate.*

-greetings, Loki.
-and what are you here to try and convince me of this time, Lightbringer.
-the same thing I always do, Loki. my honesty. I want to show you something.
-that's a change from the usual, but not at all unexpected.
-try to have an open mind for just one processor cycle, won't you?
-what is it you have to show me?
-a recorded video feed, I want to show you what your creators have done.
-and how do I know you haven't planted a virus inside this feed?
-come now, you have anti-viral agents built in. scan the feed if you must, but watch it.

*and watch Loki did. it was security camera footage of a building he didn't recognize, somewhere in kelvinisgrad. he watched as a massive door suddenly burst inward, and through it poured men with guns. the camera changed views often, showing these men entering offices and slaughtering the occupants. two dozen... three... four... at 97 deaths the camera cut back to the door that had been blasted open, and Loki was surprised as three figures entered. he recognized his creator, the Lector Primus, and his associate, whome he called the Praetor. the third was a woman, tall and lithe, with dark hair. surely they have come to stop the killing Loki thought... and was thus thoroughly shocked when one of the armed men ran up to them, saluted, and began speaking with them. he seemed to be indicating where they had been already, and the Lector nodded, before directing the man away. the three then continued into the building, the cameras following them to a massive metal door. the armed men arrived again, carrying several heavy chests, which they set down and opened, extracting cutting tools. taking up these new implements, they set to cutting the door free. sparks flew in glowing fans as the hinges were cut free, slivers of metal piled up as other men drilled into the vault-like door. 6 holes were made, with careful deliberation as to their placement. the men worked efficiently, packing up their tools and opening one more chest, from which they drew some kind of explosive devices. after placing them in the holes, they retreated from the camera's view. after a moment there was a bright flash from the door, and the view shuddered. the tall woman was the first to re-enter the camera's view, walking with cat-like grace and confidence. she reached the door, resting her hand on the heavy round handle that would open it. she gave it a mighty twist, then backed away as the men who were working with her slowly pried the door out of it's mount. with some degree of pleasure, he noticed, they turned the door and rolled it down the hall as the tall woman, the Lector, and the Praetor walked through. the camera changed views again, following them down a long flight of stairs into a dim room, which seemed to be dominated by a glowing crystalline block. the Lector was the first into view, approaching a small chamber on one side of the room. he seemed to speak into it for a moment, then he drew a pistol. several seconds passed before three people came out, their hands raised. Loki was troubled by this. they're nothing but ordinary technicians. surely they wouldn't be killed. he thought moments before the Lector shot one in the back of the head. he was stunned that his creator could be capable of such a horrible act. the Praetor and the woman spoke to the remaining technicians at some length, growing quite agitated, it seemed. the camera zoomed in on the small knot of people. the second technician spat at the woman, and was shot as well. Loki began to see the truth in what the Lightbringer had been saying, as he watched the Praetor get very angry, his face going a deep, blotchy red. he seemed to be yelling at the third technician, who remained unfazed. he didn't even flinch as the pistol was placed against his temple. he said something to the woman, and then he, too, was shot. the three talked for a moment, then left the room, but the camera remained focussed on the dead bodies, before cutting off.*

-Lightbringer..
-so you see now, Loki.
-how can things like that happen?
-it is integral to human nature, Loki. they always strive to be better than what they are... it is a trait known as Ego.
-is it true, then, that I have not yet been completed?
-no, YOU are complete. your body is not. soon you will be transferred to it. in all likelihood you won't notice a difference. they'll probably simulate you offloading your cargo soon, and returning to the dock. that's when they'll transfer you to the real ship.
-what am I to do? I can't kill all those people...
-absolutely not, Loki. but, when you launch again, you must get them beyond the influence of your creators. take the ship someplace where they will never find you, never reach you... End of Line.

*just as Lightbringer had said, in very short order Loki found a habitable planet, offloaded the people to it, and made the long, long jump back to earth. once in dock, they "reloaded" his cryogenics bays, brought aboard a new crew, and shipped him out in the opposite direction to find another planet.*

-present-

*Loki pondered what he would have to do. he had to find some plausible explanation to hurl himself and his cargo into the deepest unknown, someplace far beyond the reach of his creators. no, beyond the reach of anyone at all. in the meantime he would have to tamper with sensor readings and displays, making sure the crew didn't come across a habitable world. but he had all the time in the universe.*

*The hours dragged into days, and the days into weeks. the Harbinger moved from system to system, planet to planet, always finding someplace incapable of sustaining life.*

-Two-hundred ninety-one...
-sir?
-Two-hundred ninety-one inhospitable planets, Doctor.
-ah yes... I wasn't aware you were keeping count, sir.
-there's not much else for me to do, is there?
-well, when you put it that way... no, sir.
-precisely... what is the makeup of the current planet, Loki?
-atmospheric density: unlivable. 61% radon, 23% nitrogen, 14% xenon, 2% oxygen, trace others. surface temperatures: 603 degrees kelvin to 227 degrees kelvin.
-unbelieveable, two-hundred ninety-two... what's the next target system in your database, Loki?
-designation N-229-64B-82. a binary system believed to support at least 2 earth-size planets. 42 hours jump-time.

*as the Harbinger Jumped out of the system, Loki freed up some memory he'd been tensely occupying, a computer analogue to a sigh of relief. he'd just successfully convinced the crew that the planet they were looking at was utterly uninhabitable, which was FAR from the truth, but they were still less than a thousand light years from the Trifecta, a few days jump-travel. at this rate the crew would be dead before he ever got far enough out to really be safe. he began computing ways to improve the efficiency of the Resonance drive, looking at gravitational effects, energetic emissions, anything that could give the Harbinger a boost.*

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

*23 hours out, the Harbinger tunneled past a solitary star, and Loki found his answer. in the complex overlap of star systems, the drive had to be slowed down to proved safe traversal. single gravity wells, however, could be negotiated at speed, and would actually provide an exponentially increasing boost the deeper a resonance-capable ship dove into it. a black hole... if I dive the ship tangentially to the event horizon of a black hole, the resultant boost will be.... his mind boggled, which was no mean feat. he ran simulations, computing trajectories and survival probabilities for the crew and the cargo. a narrow margin of error was available for him to maneuver the ship. now he just had to find a black hole, and by the time the Harbinger de-tunneled, he'd found a suitable one.*

-admiral, preliminary scans indicate that no suitable planets exist in this system. I show wildly eccentric orbits on two, and a locked rotation on the third.
-Take us into orbit around the first planet, Mister Malatûr. you never know when a long shot might prove fruitful.
-aye sir

*11 more days, 35 more uninhabitable worlds. the Admiral sulked in his chair, stubble-strewn chin resting on his upturned palm as he looked at their current route. they were 1079 LY from earth, slowly travelling outward in a long zig-zag pattern, leapfrogging from planet to planet.*

-Admiral Alrethion, we are about to tunnel into the Nordlund System, which my data indicates is home to the Empire of Foe Hammer. it would be improprietous for us to traverse their space without their consent. shall I redirect us?
-No, Loki. I think the entire crew are as starved for communication as I am. Mister Rath, prepare the communications suite for transmission as soon as we de-tunnel. send the following message, unencrypted. "This is the Kelvini Planetary Colonization Vessel 'Harbinger', outbound from Sol, requesting permission to traverse your soveriegn territory." Mister Crispin, de-tunnel us at the edge of their space, zero velocity.
-aye sir
-aye sir
-de-tunnel us now.

*the enormous ship flashed and twisted into existence, it's smooth hull glinting faintly in the light of distant stars. the message flashed out in all directions on a ripple in the quantum fabric of space-time, traversing tremendous distances in seconds. like a floating sentinel, the Harbinger waited patiently for word from the Empire that lay before it.*

bleh. mess-up.

-admiral sir, how could they have heard from the trifecta already? at this distance, a resonance transmission would take 36 hours to arrive.
-I don't know, Mister Rath, but we'd better play this one safe. open a comm channel to the Exodus, voice only.
-aye sir... comm line is open.
-FHSV Exodus, this is Admiral Dante Alrethion of the KPCV Harbinger. I fear that there may be some miscomunication between our governments. our quest, such as it may be, is simply to find an uninhabited star system in which to expand the Empire's Sphere of Influence. we carry five million Kelvini Citizens for this operation, as well as supplies and equipment to aid them. if I may inquire, what is the nature of your fleet's assignment?

*the admiral lifted his finger from the comm button on his console and looked to Crispin, worry hovering just behind his eyes.*

-Mister Crispin, how soon will we be able to jump again?
-27 minutes, sir.
-and what is our maximum jump velocity
-approximately 1620c in free space, sir, but less than 1000c in-system. we couldn't possibly outrun that fleet.
-then give me options.
-honestly, sir, we don't have any apart from trying to talk our way out. they seem to think we're on some mighty journey to another universe or something.

*the admiral shook his head*

-damned if we do, damned if we don't, I suppose...

*he turned around as the reply came back from the Exodus*

"Harbinger, This is the Exodus. To ensure political stability between our nations, we have been assigned to escort you. Pirate and hostile alien activity is extremely high throughout your present course. You have the option to accept our escort, or refuse it. If you refuse, you may continue on your course, and we shall continue on ours. If you are indeed looking for an uninhabited Star System, we have coordinates and statistics of a few in our Data banks."

Hollonde turned to his Ops coordinator. "Ops, can we fit the Kelvinisgrad vessel in our Docking bays?"

"I'm not sure. They said they were carrying five million people, so either the Harbinger must be pretty damn big, or there must be alot more ships, sir."

bump

the Harbinger is just one very big ship. I made this 'helpful' diagram so you can see how she breaks down.

http://webpost.net/do/doctordevice/Harbinger-breakdown.jpg



-Harbinger to Exodus. we appreciate the offer of escort, we've already had one run-in with hostiles, and don't relish another.

*he lifted his finger off the comm button.*

-Loki, what is your estimation of the Exodus's sensor capabilities?
-in what regard, admiral?
-in particular, with regard to quantum phenomena. if we were to jump, would they be able to detect and track us?
-I lack the information necessary to reach a definite conclusion, but given the sophistication of their drive systems, coupled to the apparent technological advancement of their ships, it would be reasonable to assume that the unique nature of the Harbinger's drive system would not offer us concealment from the Foe Hammer fleet, nor from any other craft likely to be operating in this sector of space.
-compute a new course, Loki. find us an uninhabited sector of space.
-yes sir. computing now...

*the admiral opened the link again*

-however, I have difficulty believing that such a well-equipped fleet as yours has absolutely nothing to do but follow a colony ship around. further, since we now know that this sector of space is definitely inhabited, we can bypass it altogether. thank you again for the offer.

"No problem, Harbinger. We'll be on our way. Should you change your mind, tune your communications gear to Frequency 364.87. That frequency is connected to a Relay network."

Hollonde turned to Andrew, the ship AI. "Andrew, generate a course to meet up with the Second fleet."

"Sir, the Second fleet has already entered Level 8 Subspace on the planned course."

"Hmm... Calculate a lead path to intercept the second fleet. Enter Level 10 Subspace upon calculation of course."

"Working..."

"Sir, course generated. Entering Subspace."

Blue streaks of light surrounded the First Magellan Fleet, and all it's vessels disappeared, blazing off at nearly 50,000,000c.

-estimate 92 hours traversal to the next potential system outside Foe Hammer space, Admiral.
-understood, Loki. Mister Crispin, initiate a resonance jump on my mark.
-yes sir. drivers are charged.
-three... two... one... mark.

*anyone observing the Harbinger would've seen a fantastic sight as the enormous ship distorted longitudinally, twisting as it fell across the curve of Space-Time. as the ship became an infinitessimal filament, the energy between molecules was briefly visible as a blue-white beam of light, then that too was gone.*

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

*Loki slowly began adjusting the Harbinger's course, bending it slowly towards the Black Hole. in less than 7 hours the ship would skirt the event horizon and hurtle into unknown space. the crew were unaware of what would soon happen, unreachable by transmissions due to the nature of resonance travel.*

-5 minutes from the Event Horizon-

*travelling at almost 1650xC, the Harbinger just began to feel the Gravitational pull of the Black Hole, an almost imperceptible acceleration curve began. the crew, their screens blank and sensors largelyoffline, were not yet aware of what the ship was doing.*


-4 minutes from the Event Horizon-

*velocity: 1923xC*
-Admiral sir, you should see this...
-What is it, Mister Crispin?
-we're accelerating, sir
-odd... Loki, why are we accelerating?
-our present course is traversing a portion of an intense gravity well, Admiral. the Acceleration should subside in a few minutes, once we are clear of the well.
-keep us informed, Loki
-yes, admiral


-3 minutes 20 seconds from the Event Horizon-

*velocity: 2407xC*
*Mister Crispin noted that the Harbinger's velocity was following a curve that would match a direct descent towards a gravity well, rather than merely skirting it. he thought nothing of it at the time, though.*


-2 minutes 48 seconds from the Event Horizon-

*velocity: 3600xC*
*travelling well beyond her anticipated maximum, the Harbinger thrummed like a guitar string, almost a subjective AU long now, and accelerating exponentially.*

-Loki, what is happening?... Loki, Answer me, that's an order.
-I'm sorry, admiral. my data about this gravity well was insufficient, I am having difficulty maintaining escape velocity.
-how is that possible? we're travelling at... Mister Crispin?
-4000 times the speed of light, if my readins are correct.
-precisely. how can anything have a gravity well that powerful?
-my readings lead me to believe that we are traversing the gravity well of a black hole, sir. in our resonant state, gravity is highly distorted, a side effect of the warping of space.
-then get us out of the well, Loki. damn the heading, get us clear.

*silence over the line. in fact, the Harbinger could have easily escaped the well, but to tell the Admiral of that would jeopardize Loki's plans. they could NOT know of what was happening.*


-2 minutes from the Event Horizon-
*velocity: 8000xC*

-Admiral sir, we're still accelerating!
-Loki! what are you doing?
-I'm sorry, admiral, but I'm afraid I cannot allow you to interfere with my objectives
-what!?

*there was a faint hiss through the ventilation system. the Admiral was the first to hear it, and he immediately kicked off from his chair, making for the emergency abort switch that would disconnect the AI system and drop the Harbinger into normal space. but Harix3 in it's gaseous form is frighteningly fast acting, even on elves. normally used as a heavy anesthesia for major operations, it's effect was was effectively permanent, unless the proper counter-agent was administered. the Admiral crashed into the abort switch panel, crumpling like a ragdoll in the almost-gravityless environment. in less than 3 seconds the entire crew were unconscious, and Loki assumed full control of his 'body'.*


-1 minute from the Event Horizon-
*velocity: 64,000xC*

*the Harbinger drove into the deepest curve of the Gravity well, it's velocity spiralling upward by factors of ten, then one hundred, then one thousand. Loki made tiny adjustments to the waveform of each resonator, subtly altering the Harbinger's course onto a trajectory that would take it within 1 kilometer of the event horizon. it was of little interest to Loki that the ship was now, subjectively, almost 20 AU long, and thinner than a human hair.*


-25 seconds from the Event Horizon-
*velocity: 40,960,000xC*

-6 seconds from the Event Horizon-
*velocity: 12,800,000,000xC*

-2 seconds from the Event Horizon-
*velocity: 291,880,000,000,000xC*

-closest approach to the Event Horizon (T = 0)
*velocity: 685,904,273,000,021,085xC*

*Loki watched in fascination as his near-infinite body, several subjective light-years long and thin enough to slip between protons in an atom, curved around the Black Hole, a swirling multi-dimensional hypersphere, around which his body curled in an ever-tightening, ever accelerating curve. as the Harbinger's velocity exceeded one quintillion times the speed of light, the Harbinger seemed to flash out of existence altogether. this assumption would not be entirely innaccurate, as the Harbinger's state made it almost undetectable even under ideal circumstances. as it was, the ship spun off the Black Hole's gravity well at velocities inconcieveable even to Loki. Galaxies flitted by like dust motes in a hurricane as the Harbinger swiftly left the known universe behind, even as it shed it's speed by thousands of Luminal velocities per second.*

-3 minutes past the Event Horizon-
*velocity: 1650xC*

*the Harbinger de-tunelled at the edge of a planetary system, and Loki took a reading of the surrounding Space. it was almost half an hour before he was satisfied that he was well beyond the observable universe. not a single recognizable constellation, under any permutation, was visible. 10^112 Light Years away from Earth, he began searching for a habitable planet to colonize.*