NationStates Jolt Archive

Keirn've smiled as he watched Sabriel's reaction. "Forgive me if this seems odd. A cluyuno is the normal means of communication amongst the Abh Empire. It holds the ability to store information and contact anyone you choose as long as the person you are trying to reach is wearing theirs. I thought it would be a nice gift as it has more purposes than communication and I find them more affective than letters though I am not above sitting down and writing a letter. It's yours to accept or refuse."

A sudden grip of pain overtakes his body so he excuses himself to contact the doctor with his cluyuno. "I think I may have rushed coming back to duty."

"You stubborn S-O-B, you never listen to a single word. Sit down somewhere and I'll bring some pain relievers."

Sabriel smiles. So it wasn't such a personal gesture after all. "Very well," she says. "I will keep it." She looks like she wants to help him as he retreats, but she has a post to tend to. It's an understanding almost all military personnel have, one that transcends national boundaries: no matter what the situation, abandoning one's post for personal reasons is simply not an option.

Both ships make it to the sord they are investigating at about the same time, coming to rest close enough to conduct their tests but not so close that they are affected by the distortion. The Alphashra takes action first, deploying a probe from its port hull section. The sensor drone, manufactured in Valinon, races away from the ship and through the sord... though "through" may be an incorrect term. The thing seems to freeze at the event horizon, collapsing in on itself as it goes. The rear end of the probe collides with the stopped matter and loses structural integrity, the power source detonating with a large explosion made small by the sheer vastness of space and quickly consumed by the energies of planespace as its space-time bubble disintegrates. The forward end remains, still sitting in a thin sheet on the very surface of the sord, trapped in the tenuous barrier between frasas ad dadeocks, as if time itself were stopped at that point. It is an interesting spectacle, one never seen before and likely never to be seen again by any mortal present.

The explosion of the probe was monitored by Kenesh and Dusanyu. He briskly walked back to the console to conference with Lowe. "It seems it would be pointless for us to conduct a test of our own since the sord will not allow you access. What do you suggest we do now?"

Keirn've rested uneasily in a chair a few feet away from Sabriel's post. From there he could still watch over her but his breath was coming in laborously. The medic finally arrived on the floor. His uniform was fairly plane with the crest of the Abriel family depicted on his chest. His blue hair was slicked back with the tiarra holding it in place. "Take this you bloody fool."

Keirn've took the pills and swallowed them without a drink. He nodded his thanks as the medic looked him up and down. "I'm watching you Keirn've Safugnoff, if you pull something like this again without at least a full days rest...."

"I know I know but you don't have to use my full title for me to get the hint. I'll be more careful it's only that I prefer to fix things myself so that I know that it is fixed properly."

The doctor looked at him skeptically. "And you mean to tell me that Pervuyua and the rest of his men are not capable of fixing such a minor problem without the aid of the Great Keirn've? You mean to tell me that they have gone through rigorous training and have been in countless battles for nothing?"

Keirn've averted his eyes to the ground. This was terribly embarassing for him infront of the crew. "No, you're right. Hey! Go easy on me! I'm injured."

"Well if you ask me, you should have got hit in the head a few times to straighten things out." And with that the doctor walked off and back down to the medical bay.

Sabriel almost smiles. Doctors are bossy no matter where you are.

Over on the Alphashra, Lowe and the rest of the bridge crew are putting on their thinking caps. Their ship is one of the most versatile in the galactic quadrant. They all know what they think the answer is, but they also realize that a hunch alone is not enough to justify running their state-of-the-art vessel blindly into the unknown. They need data on what lies beyond the sord. The bomowas replies to Dusanyu, slightly distracted. "That is a good question, Emperor. We are working on an answer over here right now." He pulls himself entirely to the conversation at hand, leaving the thinking to his science experts. "If there is, within reason, a way to get through, we will. I was given a mission to accomplish here, and I am not about to give up on it unless I have to."

Keirn've sighed glad to be rid of the doctor's withering glare. The pain relievers would take time to have any affect but he figured that he would be alright to stand buck up. He rests his left shoulder against the wall as he tries to slide up it. He grimaces the pain away and walks back towards Sabriel. "It looks like you'll be in control of the ship for the remainder of the mission unless you need a break. I doubt a broken bone will heal by then." He did his best to smile through the pain he was in.

Dusanyu smiled through the screen. "I admire you Mr. Lowe. That determination is admirable. We'll prepare our own probe to test out the Sord incase that will lend your scientists any valuable information."

Sabriel gives an almost-motherly disapproving look to Keirn've. "I can operate this station, and a junior pilot can take over if need demands it. You are in no position to be on the bridge. One good eye and a crippled control arm? You could not pilot the ship effectively even if the lives of everyone here depended on it. As much as I hate to agree with the medical staff, you must rest. The sooner you recover the sooner you will be able to return to your post and carry out your own duty. Until you do, the Sankakue will be without its senior pilot." The lecture is all too familiar to her. She has been confronted with identical logic in the past after accidents on her own ship. It feels strange to be giving the speech to someone else, but her words are the truth. The harder Keirn've pushes himself, the longer it will take for his wounds to heal and the longer he will be unable to pilot. On another ship his condition might be acceptable, but the Sankakue's control mechanism requires two hands to operate and even with the help of the froch a pilot with no visual depth perception is a safety risk. Sabriel has learned in a very short time that the efficient routine operation of an Abh vessel relies heavily on its senior crew. Keirn've must be off-duty for the shortest possible time, and since he cannot go on duty now his top priority must be to recover enough so that he can. At least, that is how she sees it.

Lowe smiles. "Please, Emperor. This may be a diplomatic starship, but I am still a military officer. It is my job and my passion to achieve whatever goal my leaders set for me. Certainly not all missions can succeed, but it rests upon the shoulders of commanders to see that as few as possible fail. Conduct whatever tests you see fit and see what your people can come up with. As I have said before; this is a joint mission. It would be a waste not to work together. Let us take a half-hour to asses the situation independently; then we can reconvene. Is that agreeable?"

Keirn've merely smiled. He wasn't really used to being out of action so matters like this he tended to be stubborn. "I'll be alright. My legs work fine and it's only my arms that are hurt so I can stand fine." His breath still comes in laborously as his chest rises and falls heavily.

The Emperor nodded. "We shall do so. I'll report back within a half hour."

Dusanyu looked around the bridge and pressed the comm button for the ship. "All crew may step down from their stations for a break. Please report back to your stations in twenty-five minutes."

He walked over to Kenesh. "Alright fire the probe."

The metalic oval shaped orbed fired from a Space Mine port and headed straight for the sord leaving behind a blue anti-matter trail. The probe pushed through the Sord and began sending back readings for a few seconds but its fate soon became that of the Xanthalian probe. Its Space Time Bubble collapsed and a slight explosion could still be seen.

Kenesh walked back up to the Emperor. "We obtained a few readings but nothing major."

Dusanyu nodded. "Do you think it could be a closed Sord?"

Her eyes went wide. "Closed? Well...I suppose it's possible but I've never heard being done before or at least successful."

"It can be done in theory since it was one of the last defenses of the Capital. To move to a new part of the galaxy through a single sord and then close it behind you to prevent anyone from finding you. The only problem is that I don't know if it can be reversed. That is if this what this is. I honestly don't even know how to close a Sord in the first place."

Sabriel sighs. Still, she can hardly blame Keirn've for staying. She probably would do the same in his place. They share that defiant streak, at least.

While the Abh are investigating the possibility that the sord has been closed the Xanthalians, unaware that such a thing is even possible, are working on their own theory. The Alphashra's investigators consider the possibility that there is a temporal distortion of some sort on the other side of the sord, preventing anything from penetrating the event horizon. This deduction springs partly from the fact that the objects trying to pass through are being frozen on that plane and partly from the poem's next line; 'Where all else is stopped, you alone must take flight.' So, while their counterparts ponder how to penetrate a closed sord, the Xanthalian scientists begin to devise a way to penetrate a temporal distortion.

Dusanyu and Kenesh still conversed about this possibility. "That's right. The sord will completely stop anything from entering. Now if we can the settings on our generators to accomodate for the destortion in the sord, we can move forward."

Kenesh looked at Dusanyu skeptically. "Even if we had the equipment, manpower and no how to do such a task we don't know how they changed the Sord. Do you recommend firing countless probes with different space time settings?"

Dusanyu looked as if he might be thinking of that exact thing.

Aboard the Alphashra, Richard Lowe is wishing that his ship has even more capabilities than it does. If their theory is correct they can penetrate the sord, but only with the Alphashra itself, which is equipped with a temporal nullifier from Kanuckistan that excludes any time distortion from its sphere. However, the decision to do so is not as simple. If the problem actually is a temporal distortion, there must be something causing it. Is that something a black hole, a time ship, a dimensional anomaly? Finding out could easily be as deadly as running through the sord with no protection at all. At that, they don't even know if temporal distortion is the problem. Even testing the theory with the tip of the ship's defensive grid could destroy the space-time bubble. There is a consensus among the science staff that the risk is too great. They will have to think of another way.

Dusanyu sat there thoroughly disgusted. They didn't have the resources, manpower, or time to launch such an effort as we being discussed on the Sankakue. He sighed as he walked back over to the come to Alphashra. "Lowe are you there? Have you come up with anything yet?"

Lowe responds quickly, looking just as pessimistic as his counterpart. "We have a theory, but we have a limited number of options available to us to test it, all of which involve significant risk. We have been exploring the possibility that there is a temporal disturbance in the region of normal space occupied by the sord. Our science staff believe that there is a good chance the hypothesis is correct, but the only way to find out is to test the sord with the Alphashra itself. What have you discussed?"

He let out a sigh. "We have discovered much the samething more or less. However, instead of testing the ship itself we have a number of probes to decide how to adapt to the current situation. We just don't quite know how to overcome this little hurtle with the sord. We haven't quite figured out how to make the bubbles react to the sord."

Lowe sighs. "We can try something unique on this end, but if it does not work I fear that we will be out of options entirely. Our science personnel have suggested forming a double frasas around the ship to allow us to test the sord without compromising structural integrity, but if the first bubble cannot be maintained through the sord we will have no option but to abort our entry attempt."

Dusanyu looked at Lowe curiously. "There is a problem with this plan though Lowe. If there outter bubble is compromised, then the inner one will likely be crushed with it. I can have a shuttle with as many probes as you need sent to your ship. This way you can tweak them to form any outer bubble you would like. The only difference is that the inner bubble will be of Abh designs. If this plan works, then what the inner bubble is will not matter. I recommend this first to at least try."

Keirn've overheard the continued conversation. He places a hand on the shoulder of Sabriel's chair and looks down at her. "It seems that our mission together is coming to an end. If this is true, then I want you to know something. It has been a pleasure working alongside you. I do hope you don't forget about me when you return home."

Lowe looks intrigued. "How large a bubble can these probes of yours create?"

Sabriel continues monitoring her station, replying in a passive tone, "Even if we are stopped here, it will still take over a day of travel to reach Mirfak. I believe it is too early to speak of my imminent departure at this point."

Dusanyu smiled. "It all depends. Its inner bubble is just big enough to cover the probe. If there is need of a second one then it does not matter how big the outter bubble would be. The Probes are expendable to some extent since we have brought along quite a contigent for this particular mission. We can begin sending them over if this intrigues you."

Keirn've merely smiled. "This is true enough. I just figured now would be as good as time as any. Forgive me if I sounded as if I was in a hurry for you to leave."

Lowe considers this, and goes off-screen for a moment to discuss it with a science officer. He returns a few moments later and shakes his head. "If the inner bubble of the probe is not expandable, I do not believe they will not be useful for this experiment. I am reasonably confident that the test can be conducted within an acceptable margin of safety using our own facilities. However, as I said before, there is only the one method we can use. If it fails we will have to devise another way through the sord or begin investigating the exit points of the other sords in this area."

Sabriel lets a smile briefly flit across her lips as well. "You are a... unique individual, Keirn've."

Dusanyu nodded. "I'm sorry we couldn't have been more useful to you. We will standby until you have finished your test."

Keirn've smiled. "As are you Sabriel."

The Alphashra begins layering its various shields in the proper order for the task at hand. It is a seemingly simple but complex process, quickly achieved by the ship's powerful computer. Then it moves towards the sord at a rate so slow that, once it gets close, it is barely moving at all. Asari is being cautious, as he should be considering the danger involved.

The crew on the Sankakue silently watched as the Alphashra made its way towards the Sord. They all hoped this plan would succeed.

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Lafiel looked at her instructor. "Do you think this will work."

OOC: Well, that was unexpected. Oh well, it gives us a new character to focus on anyway.

IC: Asari looks around to see Lafiel, a bit surprised that she has returned. "It is impossible to know for sure." He goes back to his controls. "When did you get here? Your shift ended nearly twenty minutes ago."

OOC: Ooops sorry. *cringes* I was trying to keep focus on someone since the crew would only be watching.

IC: Lafiel was bit taken aback. "I was just curious that's all. Besides my husband is sleeping. I've never seen something done like this before so I wanted to be here to see it. Sorry if I shouldn't be here at the moment. I will return to my room if I shouldn't be here."

The helmsman tilts his head slightly. "I do not see any problem with your presence." The outer space-time bubble makes contact with the sord. The outer bubble is merely an extended projection of the primary bubble; a sort of echo. As such, it does not provide what would normally be considered normal protection, but because it is only protecting the temporal nullifier's sphere, also extended for this task, the integrity of the outer bubble is not a problem. The bubble freezes against the event horizon as the ship advances, just as the probes that came before it, but the bubble itslef stays together, in part because of its tenuous composition. The temporal nullifier seems to have no effect on the sord, however, and the senmon stops the ship, its outer defense grid literally pressed up against the gateway. He looks back at Lowe. No reports are needed; they are all watching the readouts. "Orders Sir?"

Lowe sighs. There is nothing else for it. They gave it their best shot and failed. "Restrict the temporal nullifier's protective range. Focus the frasas," he instructs. Kase nods and makes the necessary adjustments. The ship stops projecting the outer frasas and it disappears except for the section still frozen in the sord. A small ripple moves along the surface of the inner space-time bubble as it reacts to the sdjustment. "Theodore, back us away." Asari fires the forward thrusters and the ship retreats. "Contact the Sankakue." Kase opens the channel again and Lowe confronts the Dusanyu's image on the main forward screen. "Emperor, as I am sure you witnessed we were unable to penetrate the sord. If you have any brilliant ideas, now would be a good time to share them." There is an obvious note of stress in his voice. Lowe is confronting the possibility of having to turn back, something he does not wish to do.

Dusanyu sighed. "Well there are a few options. It is quite a rare thing indeed for there to be only one sord leading to a location. There is the possibility of searching other sords in the area. There is one thing though but it is far fetched. We have been discussing how to nulify the current stasis of the Sord. The problem is that we only have limited reading from the probe that actually made contact with the Sord. We are at a standstill with the data we have."

Lowe shrugs. "Scouting the surrounding sords seems to be the only option then. I believe we should split up to accomplish the task faster, but I will leave that decision to you."

Dusanyu shrugged in return. "Seems as good as option as any. Where do you want to start looking and how far should we extend the search?"

The Xanthalian admiral thinks a moment, then replies, "We can each take one side of the sord and work our way outward as far as we can and meet back here in, say, five standard hours. Does that sound reasonable?"

The Emperor nodded. "That is acceptable. We will report back in five hours. Sankakue out."

He then took out his command saber and prepared to give orders. "Bring us to about ten kilometers of the left side of the Sord. We will begin our sweep outward from there. Linewing aviator, keep scanners at full. I want any reading on Sords reported back to me immediatly. Let's move out! We have exactly five hours."

The bulky Alphashra begins its search, slowly going from one sord to the next, using its complement of Ferret drones to speed up the search on its end. Sabriel, meanwhile, guides the Sankakue through its maneuvers.

Dusanyu brought his cluyuno up for the next set of orders. "All pilot trainees and pilots are to report to the communication ships. You are to use the Sankakue as an anchor and fan out. I want three to the left and three to the right spaced at a maximum of a thousand kilometers. Scanners run at full and reports every ten minutes. Pilot Sabriel, maintain present heading and speed."

6 communication ship launched from the the shuttle and began their start for a search of any Sord.

Time passes as the ships go from one sord to the next. It does not seem long before five hours have passed and the time has come for the Sankakue and KLZ-01 to meet. However, the Xanthalian ship is nowhere to be seen.

Dusanyu stands by Kenesh as they look over the large tactical display down below the upper tier of the bridge. "Do you think they found a sord to explore?"

Dusanyu only stood there with his eyes closed. "It's possible. Recall all communication ships so they may be refueled."

Kenesh walked off and left him alone for his next order. "Pilot Sabriel, hold current position. Communications officer, I want channels fired out in all directions to locate the Alphashra. Prepare capsules with messages to be fired in random Sords in case they can't hear us."

All 6 ships returned to the hanger to be refueled. The Sankakue sent out hales in all directions to locate its lost comrade.

Fortunately, everyone is saved a great deal of trouble as the Alphashra quickly comes of its own accord, penetrating a sord just a few million kilometers out and heading back. Lowe's face quickly appears on the Emperor's screen, smiling triumphantly. "No need to shout," he says, referring to the string of hails. "I apologize for our tardiness. What have you found?"

Dusanyu smiled. "Not as much it would seem. We found a few Sords but most of them were deadends. You seem to be smiling quite wide. What have you discovered?"

Lowe changes expressions as if on command, now looking quite serious. "We may have found a sord in range of the place we are looking for, but we can not be sure. Still, I believe that it is worth investigating."

Dusanyu smiled. "Any lead is a good lead at this moment in our mission. I say we follow it up. We don't have much to lose. Have you already tested the Sord?"

Lowe nods. "We have. If you will please follow us, ladies and gentlemen..." The Xanthalian ship makes a loop around the Sankakue and heads back to the sord it emerged from less than a minute ago.

Dusanyu rested his hands on the rail. "Pilot Sabriel, follow the Alphashra. Linewing Aviator, match speed of target and keep pace."

"Yes your highness."

Sabriel does as instructed. "Course set, Sir."

The Alphashra moves through the sord and into a region of space barely ten million kilometers from the center of a black hole. Grouped within a ten thousand kilometer radius of the nearest one are two more black holes, creating a complex mesh of gravity currents and space-time distortions. They are so close that it takes most of the ship's thruster power to maintain range. As the Sankakue joins them, Lowe contacts it on a notably disrupted carrier wave, sound and picture stretched and compressed by the disruptive forces in the area. "Well Emperor, I do not know where we are, but if you can manage a detailed scan towards the beast you will pick up several areas of extreme temporal dilation. Sensors can not penetrate them, so it is impossible to say if the sord we are searching for is really in there, but it seems likely that it is."

Dusanyu smiled as he sighed. "It's only a minor gravital distortion. Nothing to worry about. You want to lead the way?" Dusanyu shook his head. "What do you want to do?"

Dusanyu could feel the ship begin drift. "Pilot Sabriel. Keep her steady!"

He looked back to Lowe. "We better think of something fast."

Sabriel is having difficulty managing the ship with the intense forces pulling it out of position. The reactive control setup is not well-suited to this purpose, so she calls upon Keirn've. After all, if he insists on being present he might as well make use of himself. "Is there some way to set the thrusters to compensate for these disturbances automatically?"

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Lafiel, Lowe, and the rest of KLZ-01's crew are enjoying a considerably smoother ride. The Alphashra's maneuvering power may be a bit on the minimalist side, but its mass makes it more stable, even in space, and its advanced computers are able to keep the ship steady, leaving Theodore to attend to other things. It is subtle, but impressive nonetheless. After all, this is precisely the sort of thing the Alphashra was designed for. The admiral instructs Asari to join another human man, this one much lighter-skinned and notably shorter, at the engineering monitoring station; then fixes his eyes on Lafiel. "Hecto Commander, take the helm." Theodore slips out of his seat and moves towards the center engineering station along the left wall without a word. Lowe then eyes the Captain. "Manowas, zolisios Senmon Sithran partios mor gahol." The than, too, acknowledges with a simple nod and begins speaking into an intercom. Lowe checks to be sure Lafiel has taken control of the ship, then, confident that all is well on his end, he continues his conversation with Dusanyu. "If you are having difficulty we can increase our range from the anomaly or return to planespace. However, I do not think we will be moving on for some time. We have not yet deciphered the next part of the poem."

Keirn've walked over and stood behind her. "Linewing Aviator. Set Space Time Bubble into stasis."

"Yes sir." The linewing aviator directed the power and put it into the Space Time Bubble so that it would stop moving in the Sord. It continued to spin but it was now anchored and set into stasis.

Keirn've stepped around to her side. "I told you that you no longer have to worry about engine output. Just ask the Linewing Aviator for help next time with engine control."

Dusanyu steadied himself after the ship was stationary. "Well what is our next clue in the poem?"
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Lafiel took her seat at the helm and had relative controling the ship in this situation. She was impressed that it handled so well under such gravitation anamolies.

OOC: They did send the Emperor a copy of the poem, remember?

IC:
Sabriel shrugs, being careful not to move her piloting hand in the process. "I was not asking about the main engines, I was asking about the thrusters. However, the problem is solved so I have no complaints. However, as I am certain you know, as long as we remain anchored to the sord I will not be able to maneuver."

Lowe reads the next line off. "Set a course from the moment perfection was lost: to the right fourteen points, though your life is the cost." He clucks disapprovingly to himself. "The moment perfection was lost probably refers to the time at which Aellis was taken, but it seems to me that we have to set a course from the sord indicated indicated by the poem earlier." Richard crosses his arms. "How are we to do that when we can not scan into the area it is located? We have no point of origin to work with."

OOC: Yes but it just seems more logical for him to ask for the next line. Besides, I'm too lazy to go back through it all to find the poem.

IC: Keirn've shook his head. "There is nothing you can do with the thrusters that would have kept the ship from being engulfed in the gravity field. We would have ran out of pressure fairly quickly. This is the best choice."

Dusanyu sighed. "That's a very good question. Another question is why is there a gravitational anomanly in an energy source? That is quite puzzling in itself. How can this be in pure energy?"

Lowe pauses. "Energy source? I am afraid that I do not understand. What are you referring to?"

Dusanyu looked at Lowe. "Sord Raza is pure energy that leads to a different dimension of space. The entrance itself is pure energy. That is why we need the Space Time Generators to travel through it. As you know, it is impossible to destroy energy. These Sords last forever. That is why I am curious as to how a gravitation collapse is here."

Dusanyu paused for a second. "Do you think it could there could be a similarity between a sun collapsing and what this is?"

Lowe lowers his arms to his sides. "It is possible, but I cannot imagine a natural occurance of a trinary black hole system. If these were stars, I suspect that what we see here is the result of the use of a weapon specifically designed to collapse the stellar core into itself, deliberately making a black hole. The gravitational and temporal distortions in this region alone do not account for our inability to pass through a sord there though, so I am inclined to infer that the sords here are the result of the distortions rather than a primary component. It is odd though. Almost as if the sord we tried to pass through earlier has somehow been artificially sealed. I have never heard of anything like it."

Dusanyu looked at Kenesh who nodded her head. Dusanyu ran his fingers through his hair as he looked back to Lowe. "Funny you should mention that. We have records of attempts actually being done in our history logs. Back during the first few Emperors that were on the throne and our military was still young and weak, they tried to create a way to seal the capital off into Space Time and then seal the Sord behind it so no one could follow. However, that is where the information stops. We've taken this project back up along with trying to create artificial Sords. All is still in its infancy though. Some of this is still well beyond our means of understanding. We do know that there is a way to un do what has been done to the sealed Sord though its not easy and I do not know if we have the resources to do it."

Lowe looks very interested by this prospect. "If you have information, I encourage you to share it. It is unlikely that we will be able to proceed if we cannot obtain an accurate fix on the position of that sord; and the only way we can do that is to travel through it."

Dusanyu nodded and Kenesh walked off to retrieve the reports. "It's still in its experimental phase. We are trying to use an artificial energy source that bends the very fabric of space. We've been successful in creating black holes but have had only a few advances in the way of Sords. We managed to create one temporarly before it collapsed on us."

Kenesh brought the report to communications who in turn sent a signal with the file attached to the Alphashra.

"All research and reports are being sent as of now. The problem is going to be getting a high concentration of energy. I believe if we can use these means, we'll be able to reverse the affect. This is all in theory of course."

Lowe sends the report on to the engineering and science stations to look over. Meanwhile, Dorathy arrives on the bridge, Samson still tagging along behind her. "Partios, Bomowas."

Richard directs her to the engineering station where Theodore was sent earlier, instructing Asari to retake his place at helm. He relieves Lafiel there, leaving her and Samson standing on the bridge with nothing to do.

Lafiel smiles at Samson. "So how are things going with Dorathy?"

Samson scrathes the back of his head. "As good as can be expected I suppose." He looked around. "Where's Jinto?"

Lafiel blushed. "He was tired so he is sleeping in the room."

Samson looked on with a knowing look.

OOC personal reference: time at this post is 540 minutes.

IC:
Lowe decides there is too much to look over to make a quick decision, so he tells the Emperor that the crew needs two hours to look the data over and come up with ideas.

Dusanyu nodded his agreement. "Then I recommend we move out of this Sord for the moment since this is an unknown circumstance. That way farrying between ships would be easier as well."

"You may return to planespace at your own discretion," the admiral replies. "We will remain in normal space and survey this area. The region appears to be stable, so I would like to get a full view of the system and make an attempt at triangulating our position. We may use our slipstream drive to get some range, but be assured that we will not be far off and we will return within the two hour period I requested."

Dusanyu shook his head. "The ship is fine. In anycase I suggest we begin working on anaylizing the data to see what we can come up with."

"We will return here in two hours to compare findings," the admiral replies. "KLZ-01 out." The Alphashra begins a series of short slipstream jumps around the area, always staying at safe range, trying to get a fix on their position and the most complete data possible on the triple black hole system. As the navigator and a science officer focus on that, the rest of the science and engineering bridge staff study the documents sent by the Abh.

Dusanyu turned to Kenesh. "We better get to work. I want all resources accounted for. We are going to either need make some projectile weaponry or need to refit a mobile mine. I want all technical staff to report to the hangar with me."

He looked down at the lower tier. "Keirn've, being senior pilot I leave you in control of the ship in my absence and that of the Chief of Staff."

Keirn've looked up and then bowed his head. "Yes your highness. I'll hold the ship steady here."

Dusanyu nodded and then left with Kenesh, heading down to the lowest level of the ship.

Lowe, left with nothing to do now that tasks have been delegated, steps down from his chair and crosses over to where Lafiel and Samson are standing together. "I have not had a chance to speak to you since we started this mission. How are your accomodations? Is there any problem that you have had?"

Lafiel smiled. "Yes everything is going quite well. My husband seems to have found the rooms quite comfortable as well. Please excuse his laziness. I'll never know how he has managed to help me raise two children."

Samson was his usual self with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "Everything has been fine so far. It is a pleasure to work on such a ship. She really is a beauty. I would like to stay on as long as possible to learn more about her."
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Dusanyu, Kenesh, and the research team were in the hangar bay going over the data. "Alright. It has been decided that we do not have enough resources to make a temporary energy cannon for such an operation and it would take far too long. Our only option is to use enginuity on a mobile mine. The energy source will have to be small to fit in place of any warheads. We may also have to use more than one to have an effect on the Sord."

Kenesh looked at the Emperor. "That is correct. However we are still having trouble getting it down to that small of a scale."

Dusanyu turned away and looked at what they had created so far. The Empire was experimenting with making artificial Sords so that they could be placed in systems of their allies that had none to increase trade and for ease of troop movements. The large reactor held a bright blueish glow inside. Pure energy teaming inside the large reactor. They had come a long way in getting this far with energy manufacturing. According to physics, the creation of energy is impossible along with destroying it. Therefore, they had transformed the energy from another source into what could be used as a functional Sord. The only thing left to do now is to figure out how to correct the closed sord with this new information.

Lowe smiles. "Jinto is entitled to his rest. He is off-duty after all, as are you," he points out to the princess. "I am pleased that you are finding your time spent here worthwhile. Samson," he says, still the only Xanthalian aboard to get the pronunciation correct, "The Empire's knowledge of planespace exceeds that of the Republic. I would be pleased if you could assist our staff in interpreting the data sent to us by the Abh."

Lafiel nodded her head. "I may head back to the room for the rest of my break if there is nothing here for me to do."

Samson smiled. "I wouldn't mind helping you out a bit. One of the best engineers on any ship in the Empire you know. Just let me know what you want me to do and I'll get to work."
------------------------------------

A few more progressions were made but there was still the problem of nuetralizing the Sord. Dusanyu continued to pace in front of their new energy source. "Alright, we can't scale the energy source down. That is apparent. So...that leaves sending this huge thing into space streaking straight for the Sord. So how do we get it there?"

Kenesh fumbled around with a few thoughts. "Well we can attach several mobile mines to it and then fire them off."

Dusanyu continued to pace. "The problem is we only get one shot with this."

Richard's smile turns into a half-grin. "You are so modest. You can work with Senmon Sithran and Gunkak Park for now. I will ask the engineers and scientists to congregate later on."

Samson smiled. "Thank you. I shall report there when you assign me."
-------------

Dusanyu returned to the bridge about twenty-five minutes later. "Pilot Sabriel, take the Sankakue out of the Sord and enter normal space. Head back on original coordinates to previous Sord. We'll await for the Alphashra to report back in."

Dorathy and Aaran greet Samson as he takes the third seat at the engineering console set. Dorathy asks him, in Mirfakan translated by his communicator in the usual shoddy fashion, for an explanation of the idea behind sealing a sord; how it is done and what can be done to open it again.

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

Sabriel hesitstes. "Sir, we agreed to meet KLZ-01 here, not at the sealed sord. If we depart and do not leave a message beacon they may have difficulty finding us."

Samson scratched his head. This wasn't going to be easy especially since he was not aquainted with this research in the Empire. He thanked the stars that he had the files in front of him. He took a deep breath. "This is quite complimented. We know from physics that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Therefore, the idea behind sealing a Sord was to change the energy reading that would react with a Space Time Generator. The generators react with the energy in the Sord. What is excellent about this system of travel is that it also makes an excellent defense. If you don't have the correct generator or nothing at all, your ship is destroyed on contact. With sealing a Sord, you change the readings so that the energy of a Sord crushes the ship itself. We had never succeeded in doing this but we have tried to create artificial Sords."
------------------------------------

Dusanyu nodded. "Don't worry, we'll set a communication orb in stasis at this spot to inform them of our new location. Proceed pilot Sabriel."

Dorathy looks incredulously at the foreign engineer. "What type energy could do that? Sord is still there; but blocked. It blocks other energy only or matter too?"

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

Sabriel nods. "Understood. Re-entering planespace and setting course for the closed sord."

Samson shook his head. "The Sord is what sends us into Plane Space and that itself is pure energy. As I was saying, we can neither create nor destroy energy however we can change its form. For example, a ball at the top of a hill has potential energy. If we push it down, it transform into kinetic energy along with a few other minor types. The proposal in the early days of the Empire was to change the energy from one form to another. We could never get it to work mostly because there wasn't a Sord that we could afford to try it out on."

Samson stopped to make sure everyone was still with him. "Now, the problem before us is that it has already been done so we need to revert it back. Just like placing your hand in front of the ball and putting it back on the hill, you restore the energy to its original amount in original form. In this way we are going to try to revert the closed Sord back to its original form. We have a standard reading of how much energy a Sord should contain. The tricky part is going to be changing it back."

He looked around with a grin on his face. "Are you still with me?"

Dorathy has the distinct feeling that she's being talked down to, but between a suspicion that it is unintentional and a sense of duty to not alienate their guests, she places her instinctive bristly reaction aside. "Yes Samsan, I know laws of energy. Point is, problem is not simply amount of energy, it is type. We can not scan sord because distortion of time. What alignment, concentration, wavelength is energy; and how we able restore normal energy when we can not get past distortion?"

Samson sighed realizing that this didn't exactly all sound sophisticated. "I know Dorathy. That was what I was trying to get out. Forgive me for using such a simple model to demonstrate my point but I kept it simple purely for my sake. We have readings of average Sords within our Empire and can process normal wavelenghts and everything. The problem with this is that we would be assuming that ALL Sords are the same. This is where we run into another problem. We know how to create a Sord and could very well make a new one right on top of it but we have so many factors against us. We have the black holes that prevent the Sankakue from getting near it and the distortion of the Sord itself that prevents this ship from entering the Sord. With the resources on board the Sankakue, we could not create a new Sord on top of the old in hopes of correcting the problem."

He sighed as he leaned back and looked at Dorathy. "I am open to suggestions on all accounts dear lady."

Dorathy sighs. "There are three problems: distortion of gravity, distortion of time, sord is closed. I believe we can overcome one problem, small maybe two; but not all." She slumps back in her seat. "I believe we do not have ability to solve this."

Samson was a bit curious about any of the problems being solved. "What problems are you able to solve? Perhaps solving one or two may present light on the the other problem?"

Aaran pipes in. "We can travel through distortion of time, but not open closed sord or fly ship through black hole system."

Samson nodded his head. "And the Sankakue can suffer the pressure of a closed for a short time but no more than that. I doubt there is a combination of both to form a solution to our current problem."

"Not with gravity distortion of black holes," Park continues.

Dorathy interrupts them in her authoritative, businesslike tone. "Stop bad thought. We should try anyway if there is small chance."

Samson nodded his head. "I agree. Our only problem is, how do we combine the two advantages into one to fix the last problem?"

Dorathy smiles. "I am do person. Technology is my place of knowledge, not natural things. We should collaborate with science crew." With that, she rises from her seat and moves across the bridge to the science stations. Aaran shrugs and follows her. After all, she's the boss.

Samson stood up from his chair and followed the rest of them. Combining these two technologies? This he had to see.

When he arrives Dorathy is already engaged in earnest conversation with the head science officer, a bony xanthalian woman that is not very attractive but does have intelligence and intuition to match her high position. Unfortunately, he is missing out on it because his translator has identified the conversation as one he is not involved in.

Samson fumbled around with the translator trying to make it pick up the conversation. He eventually gave up and leaned over to whisper to Aran. "What are they talking about?"

The man replies in Galactic Standard slightly better than Dorathy's. "Not anything useful. They are arguing about physics of sord closing and opening."

Samson seemed a bit impatient. "If I could get this translator to work, I might be able to help Dorathy with explaining the physics."

Aaran takes the device from Samson's hand and fiddles with it for a moment, then hands it back as it begins to relay the dialogue, picking up as Dorathy finishes a sentence. "...chance than other."

The xanthalian replies curtly, "Black holes have too much gravity. Risk is too much to try. We do not have technology to accomplish task. You are engineer. You know this."

Samson nodded his head. "Thank you."

He listened intently to the rest of the conversation though it did him little good. The Sankakue couldn't manuever through black holes and he entered this discussion too late to figure out what they were talking about with regards to the black holes.

Dorathy sighs. "It is really no possible?"

"Small maybe with many years of planning, setup. Now, we are not able."

"Est..." Sighs the engineer. Looking somewhat dejected she goes to tell the bomowas.

Samson looked around getting the feel that they had come to a dead end. Dorathy didn't exactly look thrilled which was an answer enough for Samson. "I take it that they cannot find a way around the black holes and everything else?"

Aaron shrugs. "It appears that you are correct. There is still chance that Abh crew will have plan."

Samson wasn't so hopeful. "I know the contigent for a case like this and it is still in its experimental phase. The theory behind creating a Sord is much the same way that a black hole is created. They come from collapsed stars and races have found a way to travel through black holes in another dimension of space. The Empire's theory is to collapse an even larger source of energy. One larger than that of any star. The collapse of this energy will open a tear into time itself thus creating a gate to Plane Space. That's the theory anyway and it's not easy to do as you can well guess."

"Technology to open sord probably will not solve problem anyway," Aaran comments dryly. He then pivots on his heel and returns to his station.

Samson followed Aran back to where Dorathy was.

The Sankakue had taken up position in front of the closed Sord. "Fire probe. I want it looking strictly for readings on energy wavelength. If we can get a reading on that then it's a start."

The probe was fired into the Sord. It lasted about ten seconds relaying back to the ship what it could in that amount of time.

OOC: It should be clarified that it is physically impossible for anything to get into or through the sord from either side without some sort of temporal nullifier and a way to cut through the interference caused by its being closed.

IC:
Sabriel sings to herself as she pilots the ship around the sord, being careful to keep her volume down to a level where it will not distract anyone. It is a rousing tune, strong and resolved, perhaps a national anthem or some sort of patriotic song. One who is familiar with it might recognize the tune as the French song L'internationale, an internationally recognized and oft-translated communist/socialist theme. Sabriel, naturally, sings the Mirfakan version, going through the first verse and refrain before stopping herself.

"Fekios keldral laninteri, lanregi zinel cili jzal.
Lyutkosios fanbreli, lootkos est mikarkafal.
Maystikios lanyui keldral, terminios banzeyelan.
Jood lanyuiregal kufazet zekal too fabrilios zan.

"Vios lanyui keldral, kufazet voymorios.
International astios putalosios tot.
Vieye alfai, soporuka nilterminios.
International astios putalosios tot."

Keirn've listened to her voice for a long moment. He looked over at her. "What are you singing?"

Dusanyu awaited reports from the probe. "Anything?"

"Nothing sir. It came into contact with the Sord and was destroyed within ten seconds. It didn't even penetrate the Sord for an accurate ready."

Dusanyu sighed. "That's it for us then. We don't have the technology on board to counter this problem. Hold position until the Alphashra arrives."

Sabriel clears her throat. "I apologize Sir. I was distracted. It will not happen again."

Keirn've shook his head. "No no no. I don't mind you singing. I was just curious as to what you were singing. I don't know Mirfakan so I don't know the words."

Sabriel smiles. "It is called the Internationale, Sir. It translates more or less to 'rise all workers, the absolutist rulers fear you. Let go of your property, freedom is most important. Love all people and stop hatred. Democratic justice allows us to build a utopia. Come all people, duty endures. The internationale will unite the Universe. Rally comrades, the battle never ends. The internationale will unite the Universe.'"

Keirn've smiled. "It sounds like a very pleasant song. It's almost soothing to think of such ideals. You have a lovely voice Sabriel. Is there anymore to the song."

Sabriel blushes. "Yes, but... I do not remember the rest of it. I know the first part because it is the traditional anthem of the political party that I support."

Keirn've's smile widened. "Perhaps you could learn the rest and sing the entire song to me one day. If that is alright with you."

She shrugs. "If you wish."

Keirn've nodded. "I believe that would be nice." He got a far away look in his eyes. "Yes that would be nice to hear your voice with the rythm of the waves crashing against the shore."

Sabriel blinks, looking half confounded, half disgusted. "I beg your pardon?"

Keirn've grinned as he looked down at her. "Have you forgotten? You told me that you would show me around your home. Show me some of the planet side scenary, the ocean even. I was just thinking I guess of the ocean. I've only seen it in holo art and other paintings but never really been to the beach."

He crossed his arms and put his chin in his palm. "I don't know why but for some reason I pictured you singing at the edge of a rocking shore line with waves crashing in."

He sighed. "I suppose I may just be a fool though."

Sabriel shakes her head. "That much seems obvious. I may have assented to be your host, but you will not misinterpret that to mean anything more than it does in the professional sense." She states it as a fact, as if daring him to cross the line she is drawing. Despite the hardness of the statement though, a small smile and a playful glint of her eyes play across her features adding an element of ambiguity to the message. Sabriel leans over to the abh and whispers in his ear. "Pios zelka, Keirn've." She gives him a crafty smile, then returns her full attention to her station.

Time passes and the Xanthalian ship returns to the rendezvous point. Finding the Sankakue's beacon, KLZ-01 proceeds into planespace where it moves alongside its Abh counterpart. Richard Lowe contacts Emperor Dusanyu with the bad news. "...We did gather a large amount of data on the system, and we also managed to calculate its position relative to known space. Unfortunately, we were unable to devise a way to overcome the barriers to obtaining normal space position data on the sord despite our best efforts."

Keirn've stood there stunned. He even forgot about all the pain for a while. He silently cursed himself wishing that he spoke Mirfakan. A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I suppose you are not going to tell me what that meant?"

Dusanyu sighed with the bad news. "We do not possess the equipment on board to even attempt to fix this Sord. It may have to be a project for a latter date when I have more man power at my disposal."

He paced back and forth on the bridge for a moment. "Is there a way to travel through the slip stream with the data you have obtained in an attempt to get remotly close to our destination?"

"We certainly could travel through slipstream," Lowe replies, "but there is no way to tell which direction to travel in without the sord positioning data. I apologize, but there is no way that we can proceed any further. The tactical barriers are insurmountable."

Sabriel chuckles. "Look it up. I can not imagine that a ship like this would not have a language cross-referencing database. While you are at it, learn some basic phrases. I am not going to babysit you when you come to visit, and you may need to find a bathroom at some point."

"I understand." Dusanyu nodded a little disappointed. "What do we do now then?"

Keirn've grinned. "Well so much for hoping to get pampered on my first vacation in a long time. I wonder if I can requisition one of your translators to help decipher Mirfakan easier."

As a second thought, Keirn've looks to his cluyuno to see what information it had on diverce languages. He scrolled down through all the known languages in the database looking for Mirfakan and the words that Sabriel said.

"Unless you can propose an alternative, the only reasonable course of action at this point seems to be aborting the mission and returning to our starting point."

"Mirfakan is not a secret language, and general-distribution Xanthalian translators are of inferior quality. I suggest you find a third-party model," Sabriel replies. Keirn've finds Mirfakan easily in the database, but finding the words he needs is more complicated, as they are listed in the Mirfakan alphabet. After a few minutes of sounding out the phrase, he is able to decipher the meaning as simply 'use caution.'

Dusanyu shook his head. "I hate leaving a mission unfinished. Unfortunatly, I do not know what else to do. I am out of ideas and the only one that seems left is to return to our original starting point."

Keirn've raised a brow when he found the phrase "use caution." He looked over at Sabriel while she was sitting there. "Perhaps I should just learn it myself. That way there won't be any surprises and I'll be able to interpret your singing."

He smirked. "Besides, if I need to use a bathroom I could always just look at the symbol on the door."

Sabriel repeats herself: "Pios zelka." Then she adds, with just a touch of a threat, "Iia hastios watashi to nehrisios cil." This translates much less directly, but comes out to mean something like 'Do not force me to hurt you.'

Keirn've couldn't help but laugh. "Well I suppose you do owe me for the wrist injury you received."

He looked down at her wrist. "How is your wrist doing anyways?"

"Very well. The brace allows me to use the hand normally. I am certainly in better condition than you."

Meanwhile, KLZ-01 and the Sankakue have turned about and are headed for home. They emerge back into normal space and make their way out of the stellar nursery.

Keirn've looked down at the mess he looked. "Well yes....but I'm in better condition than I look."

He grinned. "Pios zelka Sabriel. Appearances can be deceiving."

Sabriel rolls her eyes. "And if we were to take off our bandages, they would be even more decieving."

Keirn've laughed. "Well it wouldn't be the first time I was at a disadvanatge. So I would have to fight with one arm behind my back, oh well. Would my wounds intimidate you?"

He couldn't help but chuckle knowing that it wasn't true. He grinned as he looked back down at her. "If you want to wait until I'm healed, I'd be more than happy to do a mock spar with you."

Sabriel sniffs disdainfully. "Your wounds are merely a weakness to be exploited by any potential enemy. It is a disease of those who serve in military forces that they deny their own inabilities and injuries. If people such as you and I were to focus our energies on recovering from our wounds rather than putting forth a fascade of well-being and prolonging our recoveries, we would serve our commanders all the better for it."

With no emotions on his face, Keirn've looked down at Sabriel. "Iia hastios watashi to nehrisios cil. It is all in jest Sabriel. I do know my place when it comes to serving the Emperor and I do not let pride cloud my judgement when it comes to serving on this ship. Only a fool does not know one's weakness."

Keirn've around and headed towards the elevator. "Excuse me, I am already late for my next appointment with the medic. If I don't hurry down, he'll be back up here chewing my ear off. I'll be back momentarily."

Sabriel shakes her head. Funny how someone could be so presumptuous and still so touchy. Her reply takes on a hint of annoyance. "Your linguistic prowess would be more impressive if you did more than repeat my own statements. Tell the medic to tighten your bandages for me."

Keirn've paid her no heed. He was already in the elevator heading down to medical bay.

The medic looked up upon seeing Keirn've. "What are you doing here?"

He sat down on a cushy pad. "I came to get these bandages off and some pain relievers. Do you know how to stitch?"

The doc looked at him with an I'll slap you look. "I'm a doctor you moron. Of course I know how to stitch. Your injuries should already be fast healing. What do you need stitching for?"

Keirn've smiled. "I want you to stitch my uniform back up."

Doctor glared. "Do I look like a taylor to you?" He sighed. "Go ahead and take it off."

Keirn've began to strip to the waste so the doctor could work on the sleeves. He went at the bandages first and was happy to see that his wounds had healed and scars were fast fading though it would take some time for the shoulder tendons to fully heal.

Aboard the Alphashra, the crew is switching gears. It is not long before C shift comes on duty, but in the meantime B shift has a lot of work to catch up on after the hours of intensive study that have just gone on. For high ranking special duty personnel like Dorathy, their shift half wasted on ultimately futile efforts, this means overtime. Fortunately, most of the slack is picked up by the rest of the team. Nevertheless, Dorathy and Samson soon find themselves back on deck sixteen preparing with another low-ranking crewman, a beefy-looking male katarl, to conduct maintenance on one of the ship's ion engines.

This is a large-scale task, and several other team members are on their way. While these preparations are made, KLZ-01 and the Sankakue once again begin maneuvering into their intimate pose for the slipstream journey back to known space. This time, however, their flight will be direct to Mirfak with no more need to attend the vacuum where Aellis once burned. Their transit will be several minutes shorter for the diversion, but against what will still be a twenty-hour trip the difference is negligible for most practical purposes.

As the ships make the jump to slipstream the ion engines are powered down. Unlike planespace travel, no sublight propulsion is needed to facilitate movement through the slipstream. Engine number one is shut off completely for the procedure ahead as the final team members arrive, the now-familiar face of Ashia as well as two than, also members of the maintenance team. Samson is left largely on the sidelines as the Xanthalian crew prepare for the procedures that are to take place. Dorathy brings him into the loop close to the end of the conversation, a clear signal that he is to be involved, but not in any essential capacity; perhaps not surprising considering that, despite his exprience, he is still not trained in Xanthalian equipment and procedures. "Samsan, you will assist me with checking relays, exhaust safety equipment. Everything is off inside, so I do not expect any problems. If something wrong happens, do what I tell you to. Understand?"

Samson nodded and smiled. "Yes Dorathy. It seems deck sixteen has missed us and once us back. I suppose we will be checking the relays much as the last time?"
-----------------------

Keirn've had taken a few minutes to rest while had taken a few pain relievers for his shoulder and head ache. The doctor had gone ahead and given him a replacement suit since it was covered in blood.

Keirn've's wounds had all but faded away with a small thin line on his cheeck was all that he had to show on the outside. His left arm and side was healed and the only markings of shrapnel flying through him was in the form of a few pin like dots.

He took a moment and that got back in the elevator to return to his post.

"Last time was one replacement. This is routine check, maintenance of all engine systems," Dorathy replies. With that, the access locks open and the team streams into the chamber.

Samson smiled. "Well that means there will be more fun for a longer time. Hopefully there will be some more zero gravity to fly through."
--------------------

Keirn've returned to the bridge looking fresh as if nothing had happened. He sighed as he took his post behind Sabriel's left shoulder. "I'm back."

Dorathy gives Samson a look that trancends borders. Even as removed as they are culturally, there is only one Evil Eye. "Not be foolish, Samsan. This is serious work."

The engine workings are massive and spread out over this and the deck above, though this is the only access point. The rows of circutry and housings span the width of the ship ten meters back. A narrow walkway runs around the external casing of the huge main exhaust port that extends from the far aft. The air is hot and rapidly becomes humid due to the combination of residual heat from the engine and the people now using the space. The team branches out to attend to their respective tasks, two ascending to the uper deck, two remaining on the main level with Dorathy and Samson. Dorathy goes straight to work scanning the relays with a handheld device and making notes. She ignores her guest completely, much as she did when he was first assigned to her. When she moves back to double-check a reading, she simply maneuvers him out of the way with a light push.

Samson took his top layer off and set the uniformed top off to the side and out of the way. He was left down to a small t-shirt and his military pants. He kept out of the way of Dorathy's work and waited for her to tell him what he was needed for.
---------------------------
Keirn've looked down at Sabriel. "Would you like a break?"

OOC: Okay, okay. I'll let you pull me into doing Dorathy and Sabriel at the same time.

IC:
Dorathy does not oblige him. This is not really a two-person job, and with the disappointment of their mission's failure she is in no mood to make it one. She does not mind Samson being there, actually enjoying his presence on some level, but she is letting him act only as an observer.

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Sabriel raises an eyebrow. "Are you able to take over?"

OOC: Sorry, just wanted to get all that we can out of Sabriel and Keirn've. Didn't mean to complicate things for you. You'll have to tell me Mirfakan for "not everything is always what it seems."

IC:

Samson leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He really didn't like being useless but he would fool himself either. This was a ship that he didn't know much about with technology that he knew even less about. He did his best to stay out of the way.
-----------------------------

Keirn've clenched and unclenched his left hand. "All healed for the most part. The shoulder tendons are a little sore and swollen but they are whole again. May I?"

OOC: The literal translation would be "Eä pele kĕldräl ĕsteos tĕp kĕldräl öke vĭzeos kĕläl," though you'd have better luck getting your meaning across to a native speaker with "Pele vĭzăle eä ĕsteos mäl tĕp kĕldräl." ("The appearances of things are not always true.")

IC:
Dorathy finishes her check and determines that everything is in working order, a pleasant surprise for an engineer. She helps bring in parts for the rest of the team from the deck's forward compartment and, in just under twenty standard minutes, the task is complete; just in time for the end of the shift. Dorathy thanks her people and sends them off, then cleans her own hands before smiling appreciatively at Samson. "My thanks for you tolerating me," she says with a deep bow. She clears her throat and tries the phrase she practiced in the morning. "Will you accompany me for dinner?" The poor woman tries her best, but still speaks slowly, slurring over the 'o' in accompany and elongating the vowels unnaturally. She sighs inwardly. She never was very good in her Galactic Standard class at school.

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Sabriel shrugs actively, not caring that her hand moves with the glove on as the thrusters are offline for slipstream travel anyway. "As you wish, Sir." She slips her hand out of the control mechanism and begins to stand. She is quickly forced back into her seat though by the taughtening wires of the alpha stil hooked in to the chair. She blushes almost imperceptibly and disengages her connection to the ship, embarassed that she would come so close to breaking the Emperor's property. She stands and steps back, removing the tiara and replacing it at her belt. "I do not imagine you will find much to do with the engines offline, but you are welcome to take the seat."

Samson smiles while Dorathy gave her thanks. "It was no problem dear lady. The only problem I have is feeling useless at times." He shrugged. "You know about this ship and technology far more than me so I don't staying out of your way."

He remained patient while she did her best with galatic standard and kept a pleasant smile on his face. It wasn't condescending, more along the lines of appreciating that she even takes the time to try and speak the language. Samson bowed deep. "I would be most honored to accompany you to dinner though I must say that I don't have much in the way of clothing other than my military uniform. Is that alright with you?"

On an impulse, Samson looked down at his cluyuno. It was accomodated with a recorder along with many other features. A sly smile spread on his face. He activated the recording feature so that he would have Dorathy's voice on standby. He made a mental note to fix his current translator though he would have to find the tools for it. He was confident that he could improve on his current design by mimicking her vocal cords to fit in translations. Hopefully that will make the translations sound less robotic.
---------------------------------------
Keirn've shrugged as he sat in the chair and plugged his Alpha in. He was immediatly aware of the Alphashra attached to the Sankakue. "I figured you would like a break from the monotonous task of sitting in the pilot's seat and doing nothing. I really don't mind. Besides, this will give you a chance to stretch your legs."

He grinned out of the right corner of his mouth so Sabriel couldn't see. "Plus since you really don't have anything to mind, you can always tell me more stories about your home and yourself. Forgive me if I seem curious."

Dorathy nods. "Yes. Official clothes are all I have here too. Is seven hundred two ten minutes yes time for you?"

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

Sabriel walks away, towards the lift. "If I was not forgiving you for your presumptions I would have stopped speaking to you by now. I am going to eat, then I am going to sleep."

Samson nodded and smiled. "Yes that is fine with me."
--------------------------

Keirn've nodded. "Sleep well."

He grumbled to himself. "Well I guess that means the end of our conversations for a while. I didn't even get another story."

Dorathy bows gracefully. "I will meet you at food room at then." Then she turns and exits the room.

OOC: Oh you're evil

IC:

Samson left the room in search of his own private quarters. He found the turbo lift and made it to the floor with his room so he could shower and prepare for his meal with Dorathy.

At precisely 7:20, Dorathy arrives in the ship's messhall, a room with a modern theme; curved tables and delicate-looking but well-built chairs. The kitchen is seperate and it lacks anything like a bar; essentially creating a large dining room in rare style for a military starship. She stands to the side of the entrance, scanning the room for Samson.

Samson arrives shortly after. He had his military jacket back on but left his sidearm in the room. His translator had a slight modification for this particular dinner. He took it apart and used his recording of Dorathy's voice to take the place of the robotic scrabble that came out. He couldn't tweak the notes to mold to all Galatic Standard and the gaps were filled in with the original sound. Hopefully it would work like he had hoped.

He smiled when he saw Dorathy. "Good evening m'Lady." Samson bowed deep.

Dorathy smiles and returns the bow, though hers is notably shallower. "You want pick table?" She continues to speak in Galactic Standard.

Samson smiled. "As you wish."

He lead the way off to the side of the room away from the cluster of other tables. He found a table for two (hoping there is one) and pulled out the chair for Dorathy. Samson uses his best garcon voice with a smile. "Your chair mademoiselle"

Dorathy is unimpressed, even confused between the unaccustomed service and her complete lack of comprehension of his statement. She sits in the chair anyway. "My thanks to you."

Samson moved around to his own chair and sat down. "Thank you for inviting me to dinner Dorathy. It's not every day that a man is lucky enough to dine with a woman such as yourself."

She smiles. "I not allow you assist big. This is not much for me to do."

The broken Galactic gives Samson a little trouble as he tries to decipher what she meant by that. "But still, you are taking the time to have dinner with me. Or is it just purely diplomatic?" He finished with a grin.

"I like you," she says, not fully comprehending him herself.

OOC: I just realized what she was trying to say. Forgive me my head has been in the clouds.

Samson is a little taken aback by her bluntness. "I like you as well Dorathy. Don't worry about keeping me off to the side. I understand your reasons. So tell me, how long have you been aboard this ship?"

She thinks about it for a moment, then replies "About four manths." The Mirfakan pronunciation of the word calls attention to the fact that she is referring to Xanthalian time, but because of her usage of Galactic Standard Samson's translator neglects to convert the unit.

"Hmmm. That doesn't seem like too long of a time to be assigned to this ship." Samson looks around wondering when a waiter was going to show up. He could sure use a drink right about now.

"The drive system on board is commendable. Amazing that you can have both Space Time generators and the ability to use slipstream while the Alphashra is still able to manuever like it does. I figured the weight would have been far greater."

Samson switches his translator off as he takes a leap of faith. He has a better idea for it if he can get it to work.

"I am assigned here since ship was..." She can't remember the word she needs to complete the sentence. "Since ship left first dock. What is maneuver?" She is seriously considering going back to Mirfakan.

Samson lifts up a finger singaling the waiter over. "A manuever? Well that is the term we use for how well a ship moves. I have only seen the Alphashra make basic movements like going to slipstream or Space Time but it seems to move quite well. Though I could be wrong. I've been wrong before."

The waiter, a rankless crewman, acknowledges the call with a nod, but he is only one man. It will be a short while before he is finished with everyone else that has already called for his service and gets to them. Dorathy looks over as Samson signals, then returns her attention to her guest. "This ship turn big. Not big fast, too."

Samson nodded as he returned his attention to Dorathy. "I see what you mean. I have not seen what it can do in a battle situation and I hope I never have to. So how many other ships have you worked aboard?"

"Alphashra is no built for battle. It no can fight well. I did serve on only here, ship building place."

"I assumed someone of your talent would have served on other vessels before this was comissioned. I was under the impression that this ship was for expeditions with the ability to defend itself."

"Alphashra has lasers, torpedoes, good shields. It is not made for battle." This seems like a contradiction, but makes sense with the proper context, which Samson does not have and Dorathy is too linguistically inept to relate. "I am build person. I joined this crew because I am need here. I am only age nine years, in military for three years." She says it proudly, but doesn't indicate why.

Samson looks puzzled since her last statement didn't add up but he knew he was misunderstanding something. "Well they certainly picked the right person for this ship."

OOC: Not entirely clear if Samson has an operational translator at the moment. I'll post the translation. If he doesn't, tell me and I'll change this post so Dorathy relays the message herself.

IC:
Dorathy reddens ever so slightly and bows. "I thank you." They are interrupted at this opportune moment by the xanthalian server, finally making his way to them through the maze of tables. "Par. Watashi Sho Miura. Quel cili zolkal?" "Hello. I Sho Miura. What you want?"

OOC: I'm using his cluyuno at the moment. It's not verbal but will just read it out. So he's reading the translations.

IC: Samson looks at Dorathy. "What would you recommend to drink? I don't know if we are allowed to have anything alcoholic either."

He's a bit embarassed at this point but figures it never hurts to ask.

"You just want drink? Not hungry?" Dorathy ignores the second part of his query, not understanding the word 'alcoholic' anyway. She struggles to remember the name of any food or drink in GS. She can't. Realizing that Samson cannot order if neither she nor the server can understand him, she takes out her own communicator and hastily begins pressing buttons, setting it up to translate.

OC: This aughta be interesting

IC: Samson smiled. "No, I just want a drink first."

He looked at the waiter. "If I could have an ale or something along the lines of a beer. I'm not liable to get drunk off one beer. It'll take something stronger than that."

He looked at his cluyuno wishing it was capable of listing the food on board this ship as well. He looked at Dorathy. "What food is good?"

"Wait," she says. She makes a few more adjustments to her device's settings, then nods with satisfaction. "I like tomonah fruit. Tskirtsh is good I think, but most people no like it. Eenoos safe for taste." She shrugs. "Replicate machine can make most food things." The translator does her absolutely no good, as she is speaking of foods that have no independent names in Galactic Standard. Samson's clyuno is a little more helpful, but not much. It is able to identify 'tomonah' as a tree, 'tskirtsh' as an insect and 'eenoos' as a flowering plant, but not classify them in terms of their taste, how they are generally served, or even specific information about the particular species the words represent. He's on his own, and the server is beginning to look impatient.

Samson was willing to take Dorathy's suggestions. "I'll try anything once. I'll take the lady's suggestion. I'll have some tomonah fruit."

He doesn't specify how it should be cooked since he really doesn't know any better and he just imagines that it is a type of fruit.

"What for drink?" Dorathy inquires.

"Oh, an ale will be fine. I don't know what else you have."

Dorathy nods. "Tomonah slal, atmis to uk. Eenoos, mitz to watashi," she instructs the server, then bows politely. "Winnej cil." The waiter nods, already moving off, unwilling to waste the time for a full bow. "Est yilsi." He brings the order to the kitchen and re-emerges with several plates of food on a large tray that he degins distributing amongst several other tables. Dorathy regards Samson while they wait for their order to be prepared. "Samsan, where are you origin?"

Samson smiled as he turned back to her. "My home is planet Dokofu or Midgrat in the Abh tongue. Planet much like all the rest I suppose full of its own mountain ranges, forests, and oceans."

He regarded her with a tilted head. "What about you? Where's home?"

She considers the question a moment, then replies "Ravij. Lasindra land on Trasnia. By ocean. Big city, short buildings. Nice, but big cold."

Samson nodded with a grin. "Sounds nice though it doesn't sound like there would be much in the way of wildlife with it being so cold. Though I could be wrong."

Dorathy has to look up 'wildlife' on her readout, then nods. "There many animals, plants in Lasindra, but not in cities."

Samson nodded. "That makes sense. Do you live in the city or outside of the city?"

"I have small live place in middle of city."

"I see." Samson began to wonder if that drink would ever get here.

"I own a farm in sight of one of our mountain ranges. I bought it during my first retirement from Star Forces but left it to the care of some friends until I return to it."

OOC: Samson had better simmer. It's only been about 60 seconds game time since they ordered.

IC:
Dorathy seems intrigued by this. "Farm? You grow things?"

Samson smiled pleased that he caught something that Dorathy might be interested in. "Yes I grow food on my farm. Let's see..."

He twisted in his seat and draped an arm over the back of his chair. He leaned back with a grin on his face while thinking fondly of his small strip of land. "Ah yes, corn grows there in abundance. It grows taller than a man. I also grow vegetables like squash and zuccini. Oh, there is a specialty from my planet as well. It's like a type of egg plant. The skin is a bright purple and very tasty."

OOC: Soul Calibur III totally rules. I will continue posting a bit less than usual until I've worked through my temporary obsession.

IC:
Dorathy nods knowingly at his mention of corn, but she goes blank at the other foods. She acknowledges him with a nod and, after a moment's hesitation, continues her questioning. "Where is your farm?"

OOC: No fair. I haven't gotten a chance to play it yet. Oh well, I got some games and a story to write so it's all good.

IC: Samson smiles while thinking of his farm. "It is quite a beautiful place. My farm is located in a valley at the base of a small mountain range. The land is the purest green imaginable with a crystal clear stream that lazily winds through it. A tall forest stands at the other end of the valley. Trees as tall as some of our ships. My house was built from some of those trees and rests near the little stream. If there is no wind then you can see smoke coming from my chimney for miles around. It's my own little patch of heaven in this universe."

Dorathy takes nearly a full minute to work through that sentence with the help of her communicator. By the time she has finished, their drinks have already arrived. They recieve identical metal glasses that blend nicely with the room's archetecture. Samson's ale is, however, not very good. Besides a poor alcohol substitute, the blend itself is of mediocre quality. It's certainly palateable, but not very enjoyable. Dorathy takes a drink from her cup of what Samson can only assume is 'mitz,' based on his overhearing her order.

Samson takes a drink of his ale and makes a faces as if he is swallowing a shot of whiskey. He sets the glass down. "What about you? What is your home like?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Apartments are same almost all places. It has three rooms. Small, but I not am there most times."

Samson's look was a bit downcast. "Yes. The same is true for me as well. I don't seem to spend enough time with the land that I love and enjoy."

He tried to brighten the mood with a smile. "I blame it all on that young count and his wife. They get into more trouble than I care to remember."

Dorathy tilts her head to the side a bit. "Count?"

OOC: Ooops...?

IC
Sasmon looked a bit puzzled at first but remembered what Lowe had said. "Yeah.. a Count. He oversees the government to his home planet. He is from a small planet called Martine. He is in charge of with the political dealings there and reports to the Emperor. A peculiar thing I guess."

She nods. "Ah, kufalia." Casting a quick glance at his glass, which he hasn't touched since his first mouthful, Dorathy questions him: "Is drink no good?"

Whether or not she fully grasps the implications of the word 'count' is uncertain. Samson's clyuno gives him its best attempt at 'kufalia,' translated rather unhelpfully as 'Xanthalian provincial executive leader.'

Samson looked down at his glass and smiled sheepishly. "Oh it's fine. I just got a little caught up with talking about my little piece of land."

He looked down at his glass. I've drank worse. He picked the glass up and took another big gulp taking it down to about a third.

She smiles, not wishing to contest the point. "Yes." Dorathy settles back into her seat and falls silent, looking out the windows curving around the outer wall to her right at space flying past them through the tunnel glow of the slipstream.

Samson watches Dorathy sit there quietly looking out the window. So things are a bit quieter than he had hoped but that is to be expected since they are from different worlds. Samson turns his head to view the sene outside the window. "Beautiful isn't it. Almost enchanting."

She shrugs. "Is, but it is usual too. I do not think of it much." She looks back towards the kitchen, wishing that the food will come soon. She is hungry; it's been almost four hours since she had any food, over eleven by standard time.

Samson pickes his glass up and takes a sip. He rests his elbow on the table and swirls what's left of the ale around in his glass. "Do you have any family Dorathy? I mean any that you still keep in close contact with while you are away?"

"No with talk much while me away, but I see, talk some with my lanprieyei, lanzini." These words are translated as 'parents' and 'siblings,' respectively.

Samson smiled. "How many siblings do you have?"

She holds up four fingers. "This. Faneb, rajyu." She lowers her pointer finger at the second word and raises it again, lowering all the others at the second. The translator interprets the foreign words as 'male' and 'female' respectively. "Lanprieyei had pay all money for us. Made more than law say."

He nodded. "Well with a family that size, I would think you would need a little extra money. How old are your brothers and sisters?"

"Fanebi are one ten one, one ten one, nine. Rajyu is ten. Me is ten." She pauses, knowing she doesn't have her number form completely right. "Understand?"

Samson looked puzzled. "I think I may have it right but I'm not sure. Two of your brothers are eleven and the other one is nine years old. Your sister is ten years old. Is that right?"

She checks her communicator and nods. "Yil. Yes," she corrects herself. Dorathy then turns to recieve the server, who delivers their dishes and bows. Dorathy returns the bow, then looks to Samson and spreads her arms as Sho retreats to another table. "Please, like. I will get new drinks." She takes the cups and moves across the room to the replicator. In front of Samson is a large, neatly quartered pale green fruit that resembles an oversized pear and a fork. Dorathy's plate resembles a boquet minus the stems, piled with a modest portion of red daisy-like flowers. Dorathy returns with more mitz for herself and atmis for her guest, setting the vessels back in their places and retaking her seat.

Samson waited patiently for Dorathy to return while he studied his meal. "Why thank you my Lady but you didn't have to do that for me."

He looked down at his food. "This does look good."

She smiles, then stabs through one of the flowers with her fork, beginning to eat.

Samson follows suit and slices off a piece of the large fruit. He stabs it with his fork and begins to eat. After chewing for a few moments and getting all the flavor out and swallowing, he looks back up at Dorathy. "What is this? I've never seen a fruit quite like it."

The fruit is chewy, the consistency of warm cheese, and tastes mildly of citrus. Unremarkable overall. "Is tomonah fruit, like you order."

Samson grinned. "I know it is what I ordered but..." He sat there a moment and took a drink from his glass as he tried to think of a better way to ask the same question. "Where did the fruit come from? What kind of tree?"

Dorathy is literally at a loss for words. She simply doesn't know how to answer Samson's question, even in Mirfakan, where the words used in most languages don't really exist. She gives it her best shot with an exceedingly broken sentence. "Is... about two meters ros, five meters tos. Plant mafizer kres. Posilioi is miksos, oosros..." She hesitates, then continues in an almost apologetic tone. "Is thojku..." She brings her hands together and parts them in front of her, an unfamiliar gesture. The translator gives Samson the following pointers:
Ros - Width
Tos - Height
Mafizer - Cone
Kres - Shape
Posilio - Leaves
Miksos - Longer
Oosros - Narrower
Thojku - Green

Samson pieces the gist of it together through his translator. He smiles apologetically to Dorathy. "My apologies my Lady. I got a little carried away. It seems the farmer in me took over and I wanted to know about the plant. It does seem a bit...exotic. I wonder if I could find a seed somewhere and perhaps plant one back on my farm."

"You come Trasnia Six, they are there. You need government permission for take." She focuses on her "salad," eating the flowers one at a time and occasionally taking a drought of liquid from her cup.

Samson smiled as he picked at another piece of his fruit. "Perhaps some other time."

He picked up another piece of the fruit on his fork and ate away. He finished his slice and took another drink as he sat there thinking of what else to talk about.

Dorathy works through her flowers and finishes her drink, then sits waiting for Samson to do the same.

Samson eats the last bit of fruit and drains his glass. He wipes away a bit of moisture from the corner of his mouth and sits back up smiling. "That was delicious. Thank you young lady."

Dorathy bows. "Thank you." She stands and starts for the door.

Samons stood up from the table and made to follow her but stopped short. "Dorathy...thanks for inviting me to dinner with you. I..." he clears his throat, "If I can ever return the favor, let me know."

She turns and bows. "I will see you tomorrow." Then she passes through the doors to the hall and disappears from view.

The remainder of the shift goes by without notable incident, and the next shift comes and goes as well while the ship continues its smooth, linear journey through subspace. As the second shift of the day comes on duty again the admiral calls his guests to his office, adjacent to the bridge. He greets them as they arrive, first Jinto and Lafiel coming straight from the bridge, then Samson. Richard looks imensely pleased, seemingly already over his initial disappointment at the failure of their mission. He seats the visitors in chairs in front of his desk, then takes his own seat opposite them, spreading his arms and getting directly to his speech. "Firstly, I wish to thank you all for your participation in this mission and hope that you have learned something about us that you can bring back to your people. I want to take some time to address any concerns or questions you have now, before you leave here. Anything at all that interests you, I want you to be straightforward for me."

Jinto and Lafiel looked at each other. No remarks were really forth coming since they had no complaints about anything. They sat there staring at each other trying to think of something constructive to say.

Samson, never the shy one, voiced his own question. "This may seem odd but I'm speaking as a farmer, not as a body guard to these two or as a member of Star Forces. What kind of permission do I need to pick up a tomonah seed and where is Trasnia Six?"

"Trasnia VI is the sixth planet in the Trasnia star system. You can find it on any decent star chart of the galactic sector. If you want a sample of Xanthalian flora or fauna, you can fill out a request form. I believe that the appropriate documents can be obtained from the Ministry of Science, though it will of course have to be approved by the Alphin if you are seeking to remove the seed from Xanthalian jurisdiction." Richard does not look optimistic about the prospects of obtaining an affirmative response, even as he relates the procedure.

Samson doesn't look optimistic as well. "All that for a seed." He sighed. "I think it would be best if I stuck with my own crops."

Lafiel and Jinto on the other hand were having a quiet conversation amongst themselves and it ended when they both nodded at each other. Lafiel looked back up. "Mr. Lowe, what are your plans now?"

He tilts his head in a questioning pose. "My plans? Regarding what?"

Lafiel looks to her husband for support. Jinto cleared his throat as he adjusted his weight in the seat. "Well we know that Aellis cannot be found at the moment and that we all must return to our separate nations. I believe my wife is trying to ask what are your intentions and plan towards our own nation?"

Lowe holds up his hands. "I may be the commander of this vessel, but I take my orders from the executive authority of the Xanthalian government. It is the decision of the Lanalphini whether to pursue further diplomatic contact, and further the decision of the Council to approve any formal agreements. I would not dare to presume to speak for such a large and diverse group. After this mission is complete, I will be off to the next place this ship is needed. We have been in service less than a year, but our docket of medium- to low-priority missions is already backed up two years; and I'm speaking in Xanthalian time. It is a unique vessel, we are in high demand," he says pridefully.

Lafiel smiled and nodded. "Yes this is a fascinating ship. A wonderful blend of technologies I might add."

Jinto chimed in with a grin as well. "In any case, it is our hope that further diplomatic relations are pursued. In hopes that our governments can aid one another."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you," the bomowas replies, stooping over the desk in a bow as deep as his seated posture allows. He straightens with a smile. "Is there any other subject on which you wish to comment or question before you go?"

There were unified shakes of the head. Lafiel was the one to speak up again. "No not really. We all wish you will on your adventures though and may you have good fortunes."

"Well then, I will let you take the next thirty minutes to tie up any loose ends you wish to. You are to report to the ventral rear docking port at three hours, sixty-five minutes prepared to disembark. Dismissed."

"Well I suppose we better get packed but I think it would be best to say goodbye to instructors one last time. It had to have been trying on them to be patient with those that don't understand some of the basic mechanics."

Lafiel looked at her husband with one eye narrowed. "That is about the most intelligent thing I think you've said during this whole trip."

"Oh flattery. Well that won't get you no where."

"Jerk."

Samson quickly stepped in playing mediator like he typically does. "Now now you two. Go ahead and find those that helped you on the bridge so we can be on our way and out of their hair."

Theodore and Naomi have gone off-duty for the day. Lafiel's instructor has made his way to the messhall, Naomi to her quarters.

Lafiel takes the turbolift to the mess hall where she looks for Theodore. Jinto on the other hand inquires aroung the ship as to Naomi's quarters whereabouts.

Samson is doing the similar thing as he looks for Dorathy but he on the other hand has an idea where she might be. He keeps asking but steadily makes his way back to the engine room.

OOC: Two at a time is plenty, though I appreciate your enthusiasm. Don't worry, We won't forget about Dorathy, Keirn've, Sabriel and Samson. I've already planned for each pair to have a last round in the spotlight.

IC:
Lafiel finds the human there, quiet and thoughtful, an interesting contrast to his on-duty personability. Asari is working on an unknown beverage, sitting at a corner table next to one of the huge windows, sitting parallel to the pane and facing the wall. He turns and nods in acknowledgement of the abh as she walks around to where he can see her. "Parios." "Welcome."

Jinto is assisted by a helpful than he meets in the elevator who takes him with her to her own room. There, she accesses the computer and locates the appropriate room, 13-2, which she relays to the Count.

Samson has less luck. Dorathy, now off-duty, is absent from all of the engineering sections and her quarters. When he tries to contact her, the communicator informs him that the engineer's device is set to privacy mode and that non-urgent calls should be avoided.

Samson finding that he has no luck locating Dorathy, he decides to kill time around the ship by investigating matters that were not covered on the tour.

Lafiel stood there at attention as she gave on last salute with two fingers up to her tiara. She slowly brought her hand back down. "I wanted to thank you for your instructions and patience during my time at the helm."

Jinto takes the elevator to the thirteenth floor and finds his way down the hall to room two. He gently knocks on the door.

Theodore smiles. "Yils. Winnej cil to ra cilal." "Acceptable. Thank you for your attendance."

Jinto gets no response.

Lafiel gives a slight bow with her head. "My apologies if I was a burden to you. Well, I believe that I should get back to my husband and Samson."

Jinto knocks on the door a little harder this time. He had one last idea if he couldn't get a response. He started fishing around in his pockets.

Theodore nods again. "Yil." "Yes."

On deck thirteen, an annoyed Senmon Kase rises from bed, wrapping a cloth robe around her naked body and going to the door. "Quel estios?" "What is?" She opens the door and meets Jinto's eyes, looking unhappy. "Eh, cil. Quel?" "You. What?"

Lafiel shortly left the room to head back to where she would need to be for her shuttle ride back to the Sankakue.

Jinto took a step back with eyes wide (think typical Jinto shock pose). A small reddish hue began to appear on his cheeks now that he has discovered that he caught her at a bad time. He stumbled over a few words. "M-my apologies f-for intruding. I just wanted to thank you for your time and patience when showing me around the controls of this ship. I will leave now."

She smiles superficially. "Estios yils. Vo." "Is acceptable. Goodbye." With that, she closes the door and returns to bed.

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

Aboard the Sankakue loose ends are being tied up as well. Sabriel gathers the few things she has unpacked since she came aboard and the gifts she has been given, after checking with Keirn've and Dusanyu that keeping them is appropriate. Putting the last of it into her bag, along with the garments left from her last change of clothing, she bathes and smooths out the most obvious wrinkles in her clean uniform before slipping into its tight confines. She takes a deep breath and a last look, then leaves the room for the command center, taking her single article of luggage with her. She emerges onto the uper level of the bridge and stands aside of the Emperor, waiting for him to conclude whatever business is at hand.

OC: I believe you mean Sabriel.

IC:
Jinto left the doorway and headed back to where Lafiel was awaiting.
-------------------------------------
Dusanyu smiled upon seeing Sabriel accent the bridge. "Ah all packed I see."

He squared his shoulders to speak more directly with her. "I trust that your stay aboard the Sankakue was a. . . . .memorable one. It was an honor having an officer such as yourself serving under me for this mission. Perhaps we may meet again one day."

The Emperor brought his two fingers up in a salute next to his tiara. He then lowered his hand and extended it in offer of a shake before she left.

Keirn've on the other hand remained at his post for the time.

Sabriel returns his salute, first in the Abh fashion, then fist to chest as her people do. She shakes his hand firmly, then bows as well, completing a sort of universal sequence of gestures. It is excessive, but she manages to do it semi-naturally, without looking as ridiculous as the execution of such an excercise might be envisioned. "You have my thanks and the thanks of the Republic for your hospitality. With your permission, I will travel back to my ship aboard whatever shuttle you dispatch to retrieve your own personnel."

Dusanyu nodded. "Of course. I have already taken the liberty to have a Calyke prepared for you."

The Emperor brought his clyuno close to his mouth. "Pilot traniee, report to the bridge."

A young 16 year old Abh female shortly arrived on the bridge. Her blue hair reached to her shoulders and her blue eyes shone brightly back at the Emperor. Obviously enthused to be serving under the Emperor and if an observor was quick, they could almost catch a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Kenesh's eye reflexivly twitched.

The Emperor looked down at the young woman. "You are to releave Pilot Keirn've from his post and you shall take up the controls for the Sankakue."

The young woman's eyes brightened considerably, if it was possible, and walked down the ramp to where Keirn've was stationed. The dialogue couldn't be heard but after a few moments, it ended with Keirn've nodding and unplugging his alpha. He made his way to stand before the Emperor.

"Yes Emperor?"

Dusanyu gestured towards Sabriel. "You are to take the calikye and transport Sabriel back to the Alphashra. Once she is delivered, you are to bring the young Count, the Princess, and Samson back to the Sankakue."

Keirn've merely nodded then turned his attention to Sabriel. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," she replies, following him.

Keirn've led Sabriel over to the elevator behind the bridge. The ride down was fairly quiet as Keirn've merely watched the signals until it read that they were in the bay.

There before them stood a row of calickes but one had already been placed in the launch position. In the crudest decsription possible, it looked like nothing more than a flying rectangle. Electrical connections were already in placed and ready for the pilot to begin downloading.

A small ramp was already down in the rear of the shuttle and Keirn've quickly showed Sabriel the way in. The shuttle seated fifty people and it looked like a small luxury liner with seats lining the ailes. Keirn've made his way to the cockpit and took the pilot's chair. He looked back to Sabriel. "You may seat here or in the back if you wish."

Keirn've plugged his alpha into the ship's computer and began doing a diagnostics check. Screens began flashing faster than any person could possibly read. If one was to catch the language, they would have noticed that it was not in the Galactic Standard but it was in the Abh native language.

Sabriel sets her bag against the rear wall and straps herself in beside him. She croses her arms and waits for launch.

The screen flashed a few more times showing engine systems and space time bubble readiness. All grids eventually disappeared and the screen flashed blue revealing something in Abh that would have roughly translated into "systems clear"

Keirn've merely nodded to the computer. "Dock bay control, this is calicke 0-1 requesting dock bay doors to be opened."

"Permission granted."

The docking bay doors slid open and the small shuttle was dropped through the opening. The slight jolt of acceleration could be felt just like the feeling of going down a steep hill on a rollercoaster.

Once they were clear of the ship, the calicke's engines ignited and pushed it towards the Alphashra. Keirn've looked over to Sabriel. "Should only take a couple of minutes."

"Alright," she replies, apparently not about to become the driving force behind a conversation.

Keirn've followed the flight path to the Alphashra. It had already been mapped out by the computer. He leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes allowing himself to be immensed in the vastness of space. A faint smile spread over his face as he himself began to feel as if he was flying.

A moment or two passed before he said anything. "Did you enjoy your stay on the Sankakue?"

"It is a capable vessel with a crew to match. I appreciated the opportunity to interact with you and other abh. I believe it was valuable, both personally and professionally." She bows, though because of her restraints it is more like a nod. "Thank you for your assistance."

Keirn've still had his eyes closed. "It was my pleasure though there were times when you hardly required my assistance."

He thought for a moment. "What did it feel like using your froch for the first time?" He pointed to the center of his forehead where the Abh's extra sensory organ was located.

She pauses. "There really are not words to describe the feeling. It was exhilarating; almost as if I was the ship on some level. It was a bit awkward too, like being in two places at once. Once I was acclimated to the experience though, I came to appreciate the level of integration it provides to its operator."

The smile on Keirn've's face is even more apparent now. "Yes it is. That is quite an accurate description. It is a joy that all should experience and makes the position of pilot even more enjoyable."

He paused there for a moment before opening his eyes again. "What did you think about working alongside an all Abh crew?"

He knew it may have been controversial to her but he was still curious about her stay.

"It was a strange experience for me, as I am used to a much more diverse group. Beyond that though, the differences were more a matter of culture and design than species and race."

"I see. Then how was the cultural experience for you?"

"Interesting. Sometimes disagreeable. I was interested to learn that your military procedures are so informal, and I enjoyed very much the..." she searches for the word briefly before remembering, "jousting. To be perfectly honest, I was less pleased to learn about the social tiering that has become built into the Empire so that its traditional structure can be facilitated."

Keirn've smiled. "Well not everyone is close to the Emperor as I and the Chief of Staff though don't let it fool you. In times of war, that ship runs flawlessly with the proper respects paid. This was just a pleasant mission for a war vessel to take instead of heading into battle."

He leaned back to relax. "You may see it as social tiering but the rest of the Abh do not and land dwellers, terran, humans, or whatever name you want to give them may become Abh citizens if they desire. Through the laws of the Empire, they are given the benefits the citizen of the Empire are intitled to."

She looks like she wants to argue the point, but her professionalism takes over and she answeres with a simple "If you say so."

A sly grin spread on his face. "I do say so and it is a well known fact. If you are curious then you may look it up if you want. It's one of the many things that your clyuno will do."

Sabriel glares at him. "You should be glad that I am on diplomatic assignment. If you come to visit me on Trasnia you risk serious injury should you insist upon your asinine commentary."

Keirn've smile was genuine but he attempts to fiegn shock. "Are you threatening me Sabriel?"

The smile returned to his face. "Ah so quickly you forgot the little exchange in the jousting ring. In any case this is a well known fact that the Abh Empire has such laws. They were enacted to bring about more equality. No one looks at another race other than an Abh or at least those that desire to be such."

"Law does not create reality. In any case, your skill at a game does not qualify your ability to defeat me in combat. You are making me very angry, Keirn've. Do not make our parting an ill one."

Keirn've bowed his head the best he could with the harness holding him back. "My apologies Sabriel. I shall be silent for the rest of the trip if that would be better for you."

Sabriel looks out the window at the Alphashra, which is rapidly filling the screen. She is looking forward to being back among Xanthalians and away from the strange foreigners. Not that she regrets accepting the assignment, but it has been as stressful as it has been worthwhile. It will be nice to return to normalcy.