Lord Atum
08-02-2006, 18:47
In the occupied territories of New Haven, on the former capital world, a seemingly forgotten ‘monument’ in an open field began moving, a ring of symbols on its surface rotating. Pieces of it began to glow with an inner red light as the device came to life. There were nine visible symbols, seven of which began glowing in a clockwise order, until the final and uppermost one was illuminated.
A flickering light appeared inside the ring, bursting upwards from the ring, and snapping back to form a well of what appeared to be water. Slowly, an object that consisted of a domed upper ‘head’ section, with manipulator limbs coming from it, like a metallic jellyfish floating in the air, emerged upwards. An eerie buzzing sound accompanied the probe’s motor units as it hovered away from the stargate and began examining its environment.
The stargate was intact, obviously, but there was no sign of its dialling device. Instead, it was connected to two rusted objects [vehicles?] the probe’s recognition algorithm tagged them, examining the cables that lead to the downed stargate. They had evidently been used to power it. The probe hovered to the more intact vehicle, and began looking for an entrance, noting down what it surmised to be weapons, and storing images of them, as it did so.
Ignoring scant traces of gamma radiation, it lowered itself into the pilot’s compartment, and began storing images of the controls. When the probe satisfied itself that it had gathered sufficient data on the tank, it rose and looked around once more. In the distance a major settlement was visible. Some kind of expansive conurbation, that the probe considered rather advanced looking.
Summarising that the risk of detection and destruction was too great, it slunk back into the vehicle, and began transmitting a subspace message to its distant master.
On the distant world of Mnewer, Atum, the so-called god and tyrant of millions of people was thinking, as he often did, of the many low-level wars his servants were engaged in, products of his own aggression. His gloved hands steepled in front of his masked face, he considered the holographic map of his vast domain with wicked amusement. There were those out there who hated his dominion, he knew. But the noose was tightening on those traitors and rebels. Eventually, his spies would find them, and when that day arrived, he would rejoice in their slaughter.
A small light flickered on his control console, and he punched the button in irritation as his daydream was disrupted. A selection of two-dimensional images appeared where the hologram had been previously, and he examined them critically. The stargate surprised him, when he had first discovered this world, it had been so thoroughly guarded that the expedition he had sent to reconnoitre it had not returned. That seemed like a lifetime ago, and he wondered how much these stubborn people had been through since that time in order for their civilisation to have discarded such a valuable object in the apparent middle of nowhere.
Perhaps, he wondered, they had been attacked, and had been attempting to move the gate to a safer location when their vehicles – he found those intriguing – had been disabled. If so, might their civilisation have been decimated, or even better, destroyed, in the mean time?
There was one option that sprang to mind. Send forces to investigate.
Minutes later, the probe rose, and began moving towards the city.
A flickering light appeared inside the ring, bursting upwards from the ring, and snapping back to form a well of what appeared to be water. Slowly, an object that consisted of a domed upper ‘head’ section, with manipulator limbs coming from it, like a metallic jellyfish floating in the air, emerged upwards. An eerie buzzing sound accompanied the probe’s motor units as it hovered away from the stargate and began examining its environment.
The stargate was intact, obviously, but there was no sign of its dialling device. Instead, it was connected to two rusted objects [vehicles?] the probe’s recognition algorithm tagged them, examining the cables that lead to the downed stargate. They had evidently been used to power it. The probe hovered to the more intact vehicle, and began looking for an entrance, noting down what it surmised to be weapons, and storing images of them, as it did so.
Ignoring scant traces of gamma radiation, it lowered itself into the pilot’s compartment, and began storing images of the controls. When the probe satisfied itself that it had gathered sufficient data on the tank, it rose and looked around once more. In the distance a major settlement was visible. Some kind of expansive conurbation, that the probe considered rather advanced looking.
Summarising that the risk of detection and destruction was too great, it slunk back into the vehicle, and began transmitting a subspace message to its distant master.
On the distant world of Mnewer, Atum, the so-called god and tyrant of millions of people was thinking, as he often did, of the many low-level wars his servants were engaged in, products of his own aggression. His gloved hands steepled in front of his masked face, he considered the holographic map of his vast domain with wicked amusement. There were those out there who hated his dominion, he knew. But the noose was tightening on those traitors and rebels. Eventually, his spies would find them, and when that day arrived, he would rejoice in their slaughter.
A small light flickered on his control console, and he punched the button in irritation as his daydream was disrupted. A selection of two-dimensional images appeared where the hologram had been previously, and he examined them critically. The stargate surprised him, when he had first discovered this world, it had been so thoroughly guarded that the expedition he had sent to reconnoitre it had not returned. That seemed like a lifetime ago, and he wondered how much these stubborn people had been through since that time in order for their civilisation to have discarded such a valuable object in the apparent middle of nowhere.
Perhaps, he wondered, they had been attacked, and had been attempting to move the gate to a safer location when their vehicles – he found those intriguing – had been disabled. If so, might their civilisation have been decimated, or even better, destroyed, in the mean time?
There was one option that sprang to mind. Send forces to investigate.
Minutes later, the probe rose, and began moving towards the city.