NationStates Jolt Archive

*the CDV Negotiable drifted slowly at earth LaGrange Point 6. on board, Envoy DePriest waited, not impatiently, for a message from his superiors back home. his fingers drummed rapidly on his desk as he stared at the blank screen ahead of him, chin resting on the knuckles of his other hand.*

-dammit, light-delay isn't this long, even over that distance...

*his grumblings were interrupted by a soft chime from the computer.*

-Incoming Message from Cenobiarch Kinnison.

*DePriest was stunned. a message from the Cenobiarch himself was quite an honor. he straightened his tie, despite the message being one-way.*

-Mr. Depriest, the Council has reviewed your proposal to establish permanent facilities in the Sol system. after further reviewing your reports of activity there, we've dispatched the Hippocrates to your location. best of luck in the Sol System, Mr. Depriest.

*the transmission ended. it was a moment before DePriest realized he was holding his breath. he turned and called the comm center of the Negotiable.*

-Comms, standby for a system-wide broadcast.
-you got it, Lucas.

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

To: All Sentiences in Sol Space
From: L. L. DePriest, Confederate Diplomatic Envoy
Re: Confederate Activity near Earth LaGrange 6

I have been informed, Friends, that the Confederacy is soon to move a major piece of hardware into LaGrange Point 6. this message is just to warn anybody who has occasion to travel through or near this point. there will be another warning message 5 minutes before it arrives, so that you have time to get clear. I have included details of the arrival, for clarity.

+Class: Deep-Orbit Hospital Installation
+Name: Hippocrates
+Mass: ~2.8 million Terrestrial Tons
+Dimensions: 1200 meters x 400 meters x 400 meters
+Crew: 600 Doctors, 100 Specialist Surgeons, 1100 nurses, 95 administrative personnel


http://www.webpost.net/do/doctordevice/confed/DOHHippocrates.jpg
(the Deep-Orbit Hospital [i]Hippocrates prepares to depart Confederate Space in the center of a small fleet of Jump-Tugs)

This Installation will serve as a base of operations for Confederate Hospital Vessels operating in this system.

-With Regards
http://www.webpost.net/do/doctordevice/confed/depriestsig.jpg

*bump, you'd think somebody warping in a hospital, of all things, would spark a bit more interest...*

OOC: Maybe if you were warping in a military base curiously close to Earth, the moon or something of that sort people would care.

IC: Wormia extends its thanks to the nation of The Coreward Reach for its benevolence towards the inhabitants of the rapidly expanding Sol system, and hopes that further cooperation can exist between the space entities.

-Confederate Staryards, in orbit around Linus 2

*the construction gantry had already been disassembled and returned to the primary yards around the gas giant, leaving the huge hospital floating serenely above the swirling green clouds. myriad flashes of blue-white light announced the arrival of the Hippocrates' escort to the Sol system. 34 jump-tugs, enormous reactors with powerful tractor and pressor projectors. as one the tugs activated these projectors, points of contact appearing as glowing spots on the hull of the otherwise unadorned hospital. then, ferrotropic reactors straining to their prodigious limits, the Hippocrates began to slowly creep out of it's orbit, moving toward a safe distance to engage resonance drives. once there, two enormous self-contained resonance drivers were towed into place and temporarily mounted to the hospital's hull. six CHVs took up station around the Hippocrates, preparing to ride it's resonance wake all the way to Sol.*

http://www.webpost.net/do/doctordevice/confed/DOHHippocrates2.jpg
(the Deep-Orbit Hospital Hippocrates, moments before it jumped into resonant space on it's way to Sol. taken from the observation lounge of the CHV Haven)


-CDV Negotiable, Earth LaGrange 6-

*the time-lag on communications was driving Lucas DePriest up the wall, literally. in the microgravity of his ship, he paced a continuous circle from floor to wall to ceiling to wall to floor, muttering to himself. the familiar chime of his computer brought an instant reaction as he launched off a bulkhead, caught the edge of his desk and spun himself around clumsily to face the screen, a habit from his days working at distances where live two-way communication was possible. now, of course, a simple recorded video message came through. he was more than a little surprised to see the mandibles and multifaceted eyes of a Ragshi staring out at him. the audio began, the translation system filtering out the peculiar whistling and clicking of the native Ragshi language.*

-Envoy DePriest, I am [clicking and whistling, Ragshi names were effectively untranslatable], Dockmaster of Linus Yards. the hospital-station has been dispatched as of 28:72:90 Confederate Linus-adjusted time. we estimate arrival in 78 confederate hours

*the recording simply ended. another Ragshi habit, as most communication within their species was done in person, and relied on body language. formal niceties such as 'good bye' never occured to the hive-oriented creatures. Lucas relaxed finally, adjusted the countdown chronometer on his wrist, and drifted off to sleep.*

-CDV Negotiable, Earth LaGrange 6-

*a soft ping echoed through the room, precisely calculated to achieve the maximum effect for it's intended recipient. and it did so, as Lucas Depriest was almost instantly wide awake, floating in almost the exact center of his office. he flailed a moment, catching his foot on a rung in the ceiling and almost knocking himself cold. the detatched female voice of his computer seemed to sound from every point in his office simultaneously.*


-Quantum Mass-Displacement approaching. ten minutes to intercept.

*a clumsy kick, and an equally clumsy landing brought the Diplomatic envoy to his desk. he vainly tried to straighten his hair and tie, then flicked on the comm circuit.*

-Confederate Diplomatic Envoy Lucas DePriest to any craft in or around Earth LaGrange 6. the Deep-Orbit Hospital Hippocrates is now Ten Minutes from arrival. I advise any craft in the vicinity to move to a distance of at least 500 kilometers. message repeats.

*he flicked two switches between breaths.*

-DePriest to Bridge.
-Bridge here, Luke. what's the word?
-move us away from the LaGrange Point, Mister McCormick
-you got it.

*the gentle pressure of acceleration suffused the ship as she moved out, the image of the semi-distant earth swimming on her polished blue durachrome hull.*

*precisely ten minutes later, a massive filament of blue-white light, almost painfully bright, filled space. it faded as swiftly as it arrived, leaving the Deep Orbit hospital, and it's entire escort. noting the proximity of the Diplomatic vessel, the jumptugs decoupled the drives from the hospital, and all but one jumped out-system. the last executed a quick double-roll while facing the Negotiable, a standard confederate salute between ships, and then jumped. the hospital ships docked to the hospital and began offloading the extra crew that had been aboard, while DePriest made one more announcement to the Sol system.*

-Envoy DePriest speaking once again. the Hippocrates has arrived and it's crew are now at stations.

*he let the transmission fade out, and wondered just how wise this endeavour was. the Council had decided to deploy this hospital and the six ships to rescue military personnel in space combat, the injured left behind on crippled vessels, by all sides. he hoped that their shields would be strong enough to survive the occasional hit by stray fire. he couldn't imagine somebody deliberately firing on a ship on a known mission of mercy.*

Just a minor note, there's no such place as Lagrange point 6. Any two bodies have *five* Lagrange points, no more, no less. There is one directly opposite the orbiting body, one trailing by sixty degrees, one leading by sixty degrees, and two directly in line between the two - one between them, one beyond the outer one. These are the five stable points where the two bodies' gravity wells cancel each other out.

Just a minor note.

~Siri

that means that nobody has anything there, doesn't it *grin*. actually, I haven't done any research on LaGrange points for some time, but the last thing I read about them stated that there were the leading, trailing, opposing, inside, outside, and a 6th farther out, but that it was not as stable as the others. *shrug* I dunno... maybe I'll move it in to the 5th point.