NationStates Jolt Archive

Unclaimed Deep Space

Alarms started going off as the ship's AI took it out of the hyperspace route and raised all defensive shields. Warning messages flashed on all screens, while the viewscreen shifted from visual, to infrared, to electromagnetic, to a split screen of all three.

Captain Amelia Ransom looked up from her report and stared at the viewscreen, while a young science officer yelled about radiation levels too high for the computer to even give an estimate on and the comm officer calmly reported that they were recieving over five thousand automated distress calls, in every language known and a few unknown. She knew that allready, though.

The thing she saw was something she had thought a story... a legend that the old spacers talked about like it was true, along the lines of the lost fleets that lurked in nebula, like ghost ships of old earth. This was real though... Ransom spoke up, cutting through status reports with ease. "Contact the Errant. Inform them that the starcharts need to be updated for this sector... we nearly ran headlong into Polo's Bolos." That got stares from the bridge crew. They hadn't thought the stories were true either.

It was nick-named for the ship that discovered it, the CSS Marco Polo, but was officially named the Galactic Maelstrom. Imagine, if you can, a singularity. A black hole. Then another, nearby... Not close enough to merge, but not far enough away to spin off in it's own direction. Now imagine them rotating like bolos around each other. The bolos aren't balenced though, so the singularities whip towards each other and stretch far away, before careening back again, in a centuries long dance.

Now imagine this bizarre event travelling through space, picking up whatever gets in it's way. Imagine this happening for uncounted milenia. A vast storm of debris made up of solar systems, nebula, space dust, asteroids, starships and anything else that happens to get too close. And all of it emiting enough hard radiation to sear the skin off unprotected bodies at 10 lightyears. The storm itself is only six lightyears at it's longest and four thick. It's moving eight lightyears every decade, but is aimed at uninhabited space.

That doesn't matter though. It's moving in a relativly straight path, while the galaxy is spinning. Which means in another uncounted millions of years, it will suck up what was once the most populace system in the galaxy and Earth, a lifeless barren hunk of minerals, will join in the storm and be drawn slowly towards one of the two black dots in the storm, taking a trillion or so years to reach one of them. A trillion years that will feel like little more than scant seconds, if anyone could experience the ordeal. Time itself was warped inside the storm, between the two singularities.

The ship, RSS Castle was a Vlad Class (http://usera.imagecave.com/Alpha-Zero/renegadevlad.bmp.jpg) heavy battlecruiser. With a depleted uranium and lead battering ram built into the bow, which shielded the ship from much of the radiation, in addition to shields. Even so, the radiation levels more then thirty light years away meant the whole ship and crew would have to be decontamiated when they got back to Discord. "Scan the area... And broadcast a sector wide all stop and general hail. Hoist the Yellow Jack. In case anyone else is out here and wants to be a daredevil."

The battlecruiser's hull lights started pulsing in a white and yellow configuration. Normally that was reserved for border cutters, as an interstellar equivilent of a modern day police cruiser's light bar flashing. Along with the all stop order, that meant the Castle was officially taking command of the sector. Or at least it attempting to... space captains were notoriously stubborn about such things.

http://usera.imagecave.com/Alpha-Zero/renegadecaptain.JPG
Captain Amelia Ransom
Commander RSS Castle

Being a race that lived solely in space along with a capital that was an orbiting city, special care and attention had to be taken to monitor every little anomonally in space. Even their sun was artificial to prevent a black hole in the future. Unfortunatly, monitoring space and all of its workings required a lot of resources and time. Not to mention someone with no life. Still the effort was put forth with deep scanning equipment and the best spacial viewers that the Abh could come up with.

It wasn't hard to believe that such a large problem like two circulating black holes would go missed for so long. It is a big sky out there afterall. It wasn't until years later after monitoring one region after another, this strange case was finally discovered. At the moment it was a low priority with it being no where near Abh territory and its current course seemed to keep it rather far away.

From the technical and exploration sector, approval was given to send an exploratory ship out to the region to investigate the matter further. Something so rare needed to be studied to help understand the rest of the universe. One liner was launched with a small fighter escort to the nearby jump gate where it would travel through Hyperspace and enter the area of space relatively far away from the twin black holes.

Ransom eyed the Maelstrom as the scanners tried to comprehend what it was seeing. She looked at her science station. "Ships nearby?"

"None detected this far out... looks like a cargo ship 50% closer to the edge of the storm. No way anything is alive on board." A grim report, given as if he was reporting what was on the evening menu.

"I see. Cease the All Stop signal and lower the Yellow Jack. Back us away from the Maelstrom by 10 AU and send an updated report to the Errant." She watched as the crew did their jobs without any words of discontent. She applauded that, internally. She knew that they would not be able to remain in the area long, without risking long-term health abnormalities. While she had no desire to have a child, many of the women on board did. Radiation did very damaging things to female reproductive organs and she didn't want to be responsible for such events. She switched on the comm. "All hands, this is the Captain. We will be remaining in this area for six terran hours. Then we will jump out of the sector and make our way home for decontamination. Until then, observe all radiation procedures and please, don't open any windows to get a holoshot of the maelstrom." She smirked at the amused sounds and flicked off the comm. Just a reminder to the crew that she wasn't a hard assed bitch all the time was useful at times.

Liquid orbs in a never ending stream dripping off the edge of an ever changing central shape. Flashes of light stimulated impulses each time the larger glob of blue alloy changed shapes. Contracting and expanding but never seeming to loose any of its substinance. Then the grand finally came as it was made whole once more and then twisting into a double helix. The art piece held its position and began to rotate on its axis. Noline opened his eyes and the mental image that was streaming into his brain, disappeared. An alert siren had sounded throughout the ship which had disturbed his meditation. It seems they had arrived.

Noline lifted himself from a comfortably cushioned chair and made his way to the bridge. Already control panels were begining to pick up readings even in Hyperspace which was remarkable. It seemed that the Maelstrom even effected this dimension of space. Quickly and quietly he took his seat and swivelled around to a control panel. "Alright everyone. Set shields to maximum and bring us in nice and easy."

A solo jump point from a different plane of space formed well off in a safe distance away. It was an amazing site or at least what could be seen as the ships hull shimmered and went "translucent". Now the fun really began. "Prepare several probes and make sure they can withstand severe gravitational fluxuations." He looked up from his clyuno as he finished his conversation with several engineers in the docking bays. The only thing left now was to sit patiently until those probes were ready for launch.

After what seemed like a long time of nothing happening by more data and more radiation exposure, the science officer looked up. "Captain, I'm recieving new readings. A ship has jumped to realspace near the edge of our sensor range."

Ransom looked up. "In front of us or behind?" If it was in front... she would try and contact the ship as soon as possible in order to get as much information as she could... in order to inform the nation and families of those that were dying onboard. Not a pleasent thought.

"Niether... approximatly equal distance from the edge of the Maelstrom." he reported, checking to confirm something. "Ship appears to be of scout tonage. Most likely sent to do a survey of the Maelstrom."

Ransom nodded and stood. "Open a channel, boost the signal to conteract the static coming off that storm." It wasn't all static though, not with that many trapped ships send distress signals. When she got a nod from the comm officer, she spoke again. "This is Senior Captain Amelia Ransom of the Renegade Battlecruiser Castle. I assume you're here either to take a good look at Polo's Bolos or your AI pulled you back to realspace to keep you from running headlong into it. In either event, can we be of any assistance, physical or otherwise?"

Common knowledge about the Renegades, who were the only group to use the name as an official title and badge of honor, was that they were once part of a Terran fleet, but refused to return home and be decomissioned. They chose instead to live in the Void and became a defacto patrol force along dangerous trade routes, often outgunning pirates five or more to one.

After some time, approximatly two decades, they faded from sight along trade routes, though three pirate cartels fell soon after and many of the ships were never found. After that, the Renegades appeared seemingly at random and interacted with who they wanted, when they wanted and ignored all galactic politics, if possible. They adopted a more pirate like attitude, attacking pirate ships and raiding them for supplies and the like. Doing that seemed to be the most efficient way to remain resupplied in times of need.

Not all things tend to go as expected on some fact finding expedition and they had no real short list of problems. Static and gravity fluxuations were Danny Nukem with some of the ship's systems. On the bright side of things, the shields were holding and warding off any radiation emitting from the holes. Power had to be rerouted from reactor cores as well as a few commodities in basic life support. The reply to the Renegade message was a bit slow and perhaps choppy. Finally, a staticy reply of an Abh saluting came across space and time to reach the admiral. "Hello Captain. I am Noline Bebaus head of scientific research and technological development for the Abh Empire. We are purely here on research purposes to study this...odd occurrence. Any information you may have on this Polo's Bolos would be greatly appreciated."

Down in the bays where a few fighters had been docked, engineers had just about finished retrofitting their probe. It looked like a fishing lure but so beit. They were going to catch the mother of all blackholes.

Ransom looks to her science officer. "Abh?"

He taps at the controls for a moment. "A true space faring race, prefering to live in lower gravity enviroments. They are genetically modified to include various traits, each one usually unique to a family line. Apparently the royal line has ears that are strikingly similar to that of elves. All in all, not that much different in society than the Task Force. The major difference is size and level of technology. While, in this situation, we may be superior in technology... overall we are severely lacking."

Ransom sighed and turned back to the audio pickups. "Send a packet on the Maelstrom. Then resend it four times, to make sure that the information gets there."

"Ma'am, we're recieving a reply from the Errant, routed through the Archangel." Standard proceedure. No transmissions directly to the hidden base. No direct jumps, either.

"On screen."

A slightly garbled image of the Fleetlord(he had no other name that anyone knew of) appeared. "Senior Captain Ransom, thank you for the detailed report... correction, reports. The second one is coming to my desk now. We are updating all ship starcharts immediatly and are ordering all ships to inform all merchant vessels of the Maelstrom's location, along with details on the position of the holes and current minimum safe distance. I'm thankful your AI was up to specs, as it would be a shame to lose you, your crew and your ship in these trying times." Amelia repressed a snort. The old man had always tried to get her into bed. If she died, it was a sure thing he wouldn't. He didn't particularly care about one old battlecruiser. The Fleetlord went on. "Your orders are thus: Scan the Maelstorm as thoroughly as possible, report anything out of the ordinary to the Archangel and use your own judement on how long it is safe to stay in the area."

"Send the packets and lets get on with the survey. Launch four probes, towards the extreme edges of the storm." She ordered, then watched her crew work.

Four probes speed away from the ship, in a wide arcing course. It would take them a while to reach the target... if they did. These were designed to fly around in a Gas Giant's lower atmosphere, but the enviroment they were being lanched into was far more extreme.

It was time to get some work done for once instead of fooling around with beakers containing permiscuous liquid or splicing DNA sequences while working on better clones for the military. Here they could actually study something of importance that would perhaps save wayward travellers or unsuspecting merchants. Already this sector of space was being marked off in the ship's analysis crystal as unsafe. Eventually the update would be worked throughout system charts in all ships.

Now came the fun stuff as their one probe exited the docking bay. Usually a fighter or two would escort the probe in the right direction. In this case, it was fealt that the anomonaly would do the work well enough. It seemed that almost immediatly that sensors were picking up readings and radioing back the information it was gathering. Still, in an environment like this, it was thought that it would only be a matter of time before the probe would be crushed under building gravitational influxes.

"I know there are drives in the universe that use the power of black holes as their energy source, but I highly doubt that they could withstand something like this nor could a ship produce something so...extrenuous." Noline had moved from his chair to the holographic screen showing the dark swirling mists. Every so often the screen would flicker but come right back online. Crew members behind him looked up curiously but turned their attention back to the control panels and went about their routines.

Circa 14,000 BC, prior to the Zoir/Alliance war

They say that the longest part of your life is the end, just as you realize you are about to die, and can do nothing about it. This is normally when “life flashes before your very eyes”.

This fact verified itself for Seth as every one of his controls froze up after a near collision with a small planetismal orbiting one of the two blackholes in the area. His vessel’s fragile orbit between the two celestial monsters; Scylla and Charybdis, was thrown off, and he was now in the midst of space turbulence as his vessel spun inward at warp speeds.

The irony. His warp engines had been used to keep him from falling in….now that the ship was frozen up, they would be his destroyer. In the distance, he could swear he saw the circular void that was the event horizon of the one that had been nicknamed “Charybdis”. More irony.

The gravitational pull became too much. He felt his body becoming contorted…being ripped to atoms. The very fabric of space time of his cockpit seemingly became unraveled just as all existence as he knew it came to a close as he lost consciousness.

Present Day

A small single-person vessel was flung free of the orbit, it’s warp engines the only thing keeping it from being thrown back in. It seemed on a course to resume its old orbit, which would take it at least a few hours as it was now heading away from the gravitational pull, and was traversing whole lightyears.

Time would only tell if Scylla would get hungry.

The ship was silver in color, with aqua-blue warp engines and Oricalic weapon strips. It seemed almost fish in design, yet strangely Mayan-esque with its intricate design.

The probes sent back usual data, along with information that gamma ray bursts were like a string of firecrackers across the Maelstrom. A neutron star collided with a Red Giant, sending off a massive burst, while the two black holes were spewing jets of energy into the Maelstrom, then swallowing it again and spitting it out once again.

The fact a ship was moving FTL inside it went unnoticed with so much data coming in, while the Castle's AI scoured and subdivided the event. For once, it didn't complain about being bored. And that worried the crew more than the Maelstrom itself.

OOC: Forums ate my post up...so I'm just gonna do a bare-bones thing

IC:

The first thing Seth realized as he came back into existance was pain. He was in intense pain. Then came flashes of...something. The past? Blackholes...yes, he knew what had happened now. He'd just faced his own death. No wonder he was in pain.

He struggled to open his eyes. As he did, he realized that most of the ships lights were off. It was on Auxillary power, he assumed. The event horizon had done a number on the systems. He blinked. Feeling a little less pain from his re-organized body parts, he got to his knees. His body felt like pudding. Pudding that had just gotten its atoms re-arranged.

Seth looked at the warp statistics. Engines were out cold...but they had managed to deposite his ship, the Charon, in a stable orbit on the very edge of the disk. He needed to be rescued. He thought...wasn't there an Atlantian ship in the area? The Sedna? He should have been able to send a distress call easly now that he was outside most of the interfearance.

"Computer" he said weakly in his native language, hoping it was still working. "Send a priority audio distress signal. Code alpha zero zero one"

"Channel open"

"Sha'ra ixnu' zolen'a ishna shera en iznu. Jon qu'xia terek en un inzu masha. En venix ixnu' ex insar'i. Volox keranga shi ex en va."

The comm officer blinked as the number of distress calls changed. It was steady at 5,397 seperate calls. One more had just started. "Captain, we're recieving a new sitress signal. Tracking.... it's nevermind sir, the ship is so close to the storm the signal must have just been blocked from getting to us."

Ransom nodded. "Language?"

"Atlantian.... I think. Nothing like what those Atlantian rebels were shouting at us two years ago." He said, looking the words over carefully.

"Probably an ancient dialect. Record and log it and we'll send the Atlantians the information. Let them know what happened to one of their old ships." She turned in her chair and eyed the storm again and sighed. "One more crew moved from the Missing rolls to the KIA rolls."

Another medium-sized planetismal flew within a centimeter of the Charon's hull, once again disrupting its orbit. Or rather, the ship flew by it...rather fast. It was sent hurtling out from the edge of the disk, into free space; now almost completly dead. It's hull had been scarred by energy storms and lightning in several places, forming long black tendrils on what was once white-silver hull.

The blue weapons and warp systems had gone out, and the Charon was now missing its left main wing and a part of its back fin. Parts of the hull had been imploded.

It was in a sense, a derelict. Except that there was still one person inside.

Seth continued to hurtle outward, the only thing showing him so being a fuzzy-staticy screen showing the stars twirling. Of course, that could have been the static. He hoped the ship was now far enough away from the two holes that it wouldn't be caught up again. He knew that he wouldn't survive another round-trip.

Where was the Sedna? Had they not heard his distress call? Highly likely...and now the signal was to weak to keep going. Seth sighed. He didn't want to die here.

It is very different to fly a Roanian ship than it is to fly that of most other races in the galaxy. So Alessa Annirere, rogue Roanian and sorceress, was now learning to her cost. The plan had been perfect. Steal the ship of the first offworlder to make the mistake of leaving his ship anywhere on Altecrast, make certain it could be run without too much effort by one person and was designed for interstellar travel.

The Rose had been a godsend, then. Registered to a man who had unfortunately made a mistake in propositioning her and who now lay dead in a Kirgan's stomach, it held more than enough supplies for her to spend a couple of months or even years exploring, and it was simple to make use of. Sure, the existence of three rooms for the crew and numerous control chairs showed that the ship was designed for multiple people, but if a human had been able to run it on his own, so could she.

And she could, after a fashion. Following a couple of unfortunate accidents and near-misses which had led to her deciding that there was never, ever, ever any reason to make use of the two heavy guns that stood on the chassis, up to and including impending death, she had established what most of the buttons and switches could do.

Or so she thought. Her hands traced anxiously over the dials and switches, the ship shuddering. She had been asleep when the autopilot had sounded an alarm, and she had awoken to find out that she was about to die for the second time, and this time there wasn't going to be any unusual rejuvenation. "There must be something!" She shouted, hitting her fists on the table. "Can we turn?" She wasn't even dressed at this point, wearing just a pair of panties and a teddy.

Negative, Lady Alessa. An eddy has caught the Rose The computer didn't sound anxious, or much of anything.

Alessa closed her eyes, and took several slow and calming breaths. The ship shook again, forcing her to look. Her eyes blazed with fear, the glow bright enough to illuminate some of the corners of the ship. That was a new emotion. Before, she didn't have fear. Now, though, it seems she spent a lot of time either scared or crying. But that was it. "No."

No?

"No. I'm not dying at the hands of some bizarre, twisted excuse for a black hole." Alessa reached for a large switch. The ship shuddered heavily, and she screamed in pain as her own body began to start tearing itself apart. "I'm either going to die quickly, or I'm not going to die at all!" The switch was flicked, and the Rose's engines burst into full life at its current angle while Alessa slowly sank to the ground, her eyes closed.

And on the next pass, the Rose went straight as the eddy turned, rocketing into space. The engines cut down on Alessa's mumbled verbal command. After a second or two she managed to stand up. "My head hurts..." She moaned to the computer, knowing there was unlikely to be any sympathy there.

Shall I check to see if the kitchen survived, and make you tea?

Alessa mumbled and almost drifted back to sleep. Then the accursed alarm broke in again. "What is it now?" She demanded.

Several ships are present in this area of space. One of them is alerting all nearby as to its authority. Presumably the residents of a nearby system. Another is a derelict, showing only one fading life-sign. And the third appears to be an observer.

Alessa shrugged at this information. "Run a diagnostic." Then, softly, she asked, "Is our present heading taking us past the derelict starship?" Before, she wouldn't have even thought to ask. Now, though...

Affirmative

Alessa looked up at the ceiling of her cockpit, and thought for a second. "Prepare a connection." She finally ordered, rising from her seat. "I'll go get dressed."


There was no attempt at communication with the derelict, as she was positive it would fail and didn't want to waste time. The Rose just soared to the Charon, let down its connection tubes to a stable 'entrance', and then attempted to find an anchor position. Alessa sighed, and stretched, needing a second to get used to wearing a full suit of clothes again. Then she dropped down the tunnel, breathing through her oxygen tank and carrying a spare for whoever she might find.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/Roania/Rose.jpg
The Rose

Seth felt the ship shake. It wasn't a normal shake...not standard space turbulence. And not like an object had just struck the hull. It was as if something had stabilized the ship.

The Sedna! It had to be them! He slowly got to his feet, still very wobbly and tired. But why didn’t they reply to his message? Or reply to him in general? He moved over to the sensor controls, most of which had gone offline at this point. Moving some junk from the ceiling aside, he activated the hull sensors…one of the few he had left. They were for short-range purposes. Detecting mines on the hull, targeting crew on the hull when they were fixing something, so that they wouldn’t fly off without anyone noticing, that sort of thing. Seth’s heart began to pound as the results came in. The ship in question wasn’t the Sedna. In fact, it wasn’t Atlantian in design at all.

Something was very wrong.

Seth took a deep breath, and saw a cloud of water vapor escape from his mouth. He realized he was running out of time. Already, the room was beginning to spin (which, to be honest, he wasn’t sure if it was lack of air, or his injuries, which had yet to be determined. Being pulled apart atom by atom usually had some negative side-effects, he guessed). Seth grabbed his retractable Trident from his belt as he used his other hand to hold onto the control console to keep him from falling over. If they were pirates, he wasn’t going down without a fight.

Alessa frowned at the figure that met her eyes. She slowly walked into the room, holding her hands up, her eyes glowing softly to show she meant no harm. Then she slid the oxygen tank across to him. "Put this on." She said in English, and then, "Llaa men a.", in Roanian, her eyes changing to meet her words as she said them.

[OOC: Guys, It'd be nice if you waited until someone else posted before you two go on...]

Ransom watched the entire scene of the two ships docking and shook her head in disbelief. "Are they far enough away we can approach?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Take us in and be sure to bring us between them and the Maelstrom, in case their radiation shields aren't up to muster."

----

The ship's engains flared and the battlecruiser slid closer to the two ships, confirming that the ship with power wasn't large enough to survive this sector without some modification. A shadow fell over both ships as it blocked both harmful and harmless rays coming from the Maelstrom.

After sitting there ominously for several moments, a signal came in. "Unknown vessel... this isn't the safest part of space to be performing salvage missions. I am Senior Captain Amelia Ransom, commanding RSS Castle of Task Force Renegade. Indentify yourself." The message was transmitted in multiple languages.

OOC: ...I posted once. God forbid I make a move. >_>

IC:

Seth looked at the woman, his extended Trident pointed at her. He looked down at the oxygen tank, and then back up at her again. He didn’t understand a word she was saying…or even what species she was. But she didn’t seem to be holding any weapons, and he recognized the tank as the same configuration as the one she was wearing.

Of course, it would be an easy kill just to stuff the said tank with some poisonous chemical. But…he decided to trust the woman. After all, he didn’t have much of a choice.

…except maybe kill her and take her ship. Except he didn’t know even what her ship WAS. Seth cautiously kneeled down (yet another chance for the alien to kill him) and grabbed the tank. He put it on. He took a breath…

Oxygen.

He sighed with relief. “Juran” he said. Thank you.

Voices entered the room. Comm was still operational, apparently. Seth didn’t understand one word…but they all seemed to be different languages. One would think—

There. There was one he…kinda recognized. What kind of Atlantian was that? Whoever these people were, they weren’t experts in the language. At all.

Alessa blinked at Seth. She pointed at him. "Juran?" She asked, like she was talking to a fool. Then she pointed to herself. "Alessa." She pointed out of the room. "Ship." She placed her hand over her arm and made a walking motion with her fingers. "Follow." To make it clearer, she walked backwards, gesturing for him to follow with her finger. "And then I'll need to improve my translator, obviously." Then she snapped her fingers. "And I'm an idiot."

Don't be afraid. Her words appeared in his mind, in a language he would understand. Just follow me back to my ship, and I'll get you to someone who can take you to...wherever home is. Okay, Juran? I'm not asking you to trust me, because I can tell you don't, but your choice is either to trust me or to die. So, please try? You seem...nice.

She backed away, and then turned around after she bumped into the door. She rather hoped he was following as she scurried back up to her ship, just in time to catch the end of Amelia's message. Alessa settled back in her chair and folded her feet up, then responded.

Captain Amelia Ransom, this is Free Pilot Alessa Annirere of the Rose. I am in the process of rescuing another sentient being, not a salvage operation. I appreciate your assistance and am willing to accept orders. She fiddled with the radio. Now, how do I turn off this thrice-accursed human piece of... her voice vanished.

[OOC: Well, I remember you and Phal in that other thread a while back... figured I'd say something before it happened.]

Ransom looked at her science officer. "Readings on that ship's course... if did come from inside the Maelstrom, correct?" A nod. "Then how the hell is anyone on board alive?"

"Unknown... I'd love to get that ship and the passenger onboard for analysis, though."

Ransom turned back to the screen and eyed the two ships. "Full scan. I want to know everything there is about that ship. Taking them onboard might be viewed as hostile. If they try to leave, lock on a tractor beam and then clamp them." Beams used energy... clamps didn't. If you didn't have to use energy, you didn't use it onboard her ship.

"It is... of unknown design. There are elements that are similar to modern Atlantian construction, confirming that the message we recieved was most like an ancient Atlantian dialect. Captain... there are massive time anomalies inside that storm. If this ship was hit by one, the pilot may well be an ancient Atlantian."

Ransom continued to eye the screen during the science officer's report. "Send a message. Atlantian only... current time and date on the standard Atlantian calender and current position in the galaxy."

---

Meanwhile the probes continued to shoot towards the Maelstrom, sending back a plethora of data on the staggering amount of flotsam the storm had picked up over the milenia. The AI packed the information and sent it to the Abh ship, as it was better for everyone the more that was known about this storm.

[OOC: Speaking of the Abh... where he go?]

Seth put his hand over his forehead in embarrassment as Alessa began to name things. Juran? She thought his name was “Thank you”? Oh gods. He chuckled. He opened his mouth to tell her that Juran wasn’t his name…then closed it when he realized that that would probably just mess up things even more.

She snapped her fingers, and Seth began hearing things in his head. Even more bizarre, things in his own language. Damn.

She was a telepath.

At any rate, his suspicions about her actions seemed to have been correct. Either she really didn’t mean any harm, or she was pretending not to.

Seth retracted his Trident and placed the small rod back on his belt. By now the woman had entered the other ship and was responding to some sort of message. He shrugged and headed up into the other vessel; taking a second to look back at his dying wreck before doing so.

He entered her ship cautiously, half-expecting an attack. She was at her chair. Seth sighed. If she was a telepath…then possibly…

“My name is not Thank You. It’s Seth. his mind thought…just hoping she could pick up thoughts as well as send them.

Of course, mind-readers were a complete different kind of scary altogether.

Seth heard a message coming in on his own ship. Before Alessa could turn around, he jumped back down into the Charon. He moved over to the main console and opened up the data being sent in from another unknown ship in the area. Star charts, and some date and time in the far future.

His heart pounded. He raced over to another console. “Computer, constellation scan. Determine our position” he said in his native language.

“Unable to comply. Star scanner has been damaged”

He pounded his fist on the table in frustration, then ran back over to the charts, slightly frantic. He studied them.

Alessa turned around and then blinked. Where did you go? She demanded. We don't have time to pick up your luggage, Seth. That storm could hit us again at any time. She flipped through communications channels, listening to static and the thrumming of the black holes.

It was odd, though. She didn't claim to know every human languages, but she knew a lot of them, and Seth's words were vaguely familiar. And...who in the galaxy didn't speak Galstandard English? It confused her, and if there was one thing she disliked, it was confusion. But she was also curious.

She opened a channel to the Crimm ship.

RSS Castle, this is Free Ship Rose. In the interests of safety, I request that further communications with the derelict's passenger be performed through the Rose's communication's systems. If you know where he's from, I'll bring him over to you once we can get going. Her ship shook again.

OOC: I blame Roania for this post, so don’t bitch at me, Crimmond. IT’S ALL ROANIA’S FAULT! >____>;

IC:

Seth climbed back up into the Rose.

What year is it?! he thought as hard as he could. The Atlantian calendar. Now. WHAT YEAR?!

His hand slowly grasped the small rod on his belt.

Alessa stared at him, and then her eyes went to the rod at his belt. Her own hands slowly began slipping to the side, one hand to grab her dagger, the other beginning to idly twirl in 'meaningless' patterns. '...Atlantian? Why would I know anything about...' The Roanian shrugged her shoulders her little, and her eyes dimmed in thought. "Atlantian calendar..." She knew her computer wouldn't be of much use, so she tried to think for herself. Her eyes blazed again, and then darkened, so much that the blue glow almost turned green. Her wings twitched inside her back and she fought back the urge to free them, and then her eyes brightened in triumph.

'The last date I know of specifically in the Atlantian calendar was...um...12,597 A...something. AZ? I don't really know. That was just a couple of years ago. You don't ask an elf to know about an Ork's religious observances, why would you ask a Roanian about someone else's calendar?' Alessa grinned at her little statement, and then frowned. 'But why would you need to ask me that? Shouldn't you know your own calendar? Do you need medicine?'

What the hell is "AZ"?! Stop lying to me. Or I swear to the gods... Seth didn't know what to think. He was confused beyond a doubt.

Do a star map scan. I need to know what year it is. Do you understand me? I need to know WHEN I am. NOW.

Alessa's fingers sketched a little sigil in the air. She was more than ready to defend herself. She spoke to the computer, translating her words inside his mind as she spoke. "Computer? Bring up a list of all current stardates you possess."

The computer began to buzz. By way of conversation, the young woman smiled a little. /Interesting ship design. Is it a new model for the Atlantian navy? I've never seen one like that and while I'm certainly not an expert, I thought I'd at least recognise a batch of them./

Ransom eyed the screen and then looks at the science officer. "Clamp them and haul them to the main fighter bay's docks. Don't pry them apart, unless you wnat to see both die from decompression." A look at the comm officer. "Inform them of what we are doing and that the reason is increased gamma bursts from the neutron stars inside the Maelstrom.... and that we have the ability to transport the Atlantian and his ship to one of his military's outposts in a neighboring sector."

A cloud of vapor ripped through the void as the clamp shot though space, striking the Atlantian ship with a dull clang. An instant later, the message comes in as the cable retracts slowly, pulling the two ships closer to the balltecruiser. Insterments would show that it's a magnetic and physical clamp and is suprisingly simple for such a modern ship(though it is nearly a decade out of date at best).

Ransom eyed the screen and then looks at the science officer. "Clamp them and haul them to the main fighter bay's docks. Don't pry them apart, unless you wnat to see both die from decompression." A look at the comm officer. "Inform them of what we are doing and that the reason is increased gamma bursts from the neutron stars inside the Maelstrom.... and that we have the ability to transport the Atlantian and his ship to one of his military's outposts in a neighboring sector."

A cloud of vapor ripped through the void as the clamp shot though space, striking the Atlantian ship with a dull clang. An instant later, the message comes in as the cable retracts slowly, pulling the two ships closer to the balltecruiser. Insterments would show that it's a magnetic and physical clamp and is suprisingly simple for such a modern ship(though it is nearly a decade out of date at best).

Ransom eyed the screen and then looks at the science officer. "Clamp them and haul them to the main fighter bay's docks. Don't pry them apart, unless you wnat to see both die from decompression." A look at the comm officer. "Inform them of what we are doing and that the reason is increased gamma bursts from the neutron stars inside the Maelstrom.... and that we have the ability to transport the Atlantian and his ship to one of his military's outposts in a neighboring sector."

A cloud of vapor ripped through the void as the clamp shot though space, striking the Atlantian ship with a dull clang. An instant later, the message comes in as the cable retracts slowly, pulling the two ships closer to the balltecruiser. Insterments would show that it's a magnetic and physical clamp and is suprisingly simple for such a modern ship(though it is nearly a decade out of date at best).

Ransom eyed the screen and then looks at the science officer. "Clamp them and haul them to the main fighter bay's docks. Don't pry them apart, unless you wnat to see both die from decompression." A look at the comm officer. "Inform them of what we are doing and that the reason is increased gamma bursts from the neutron stars inside the Maelstrom.... and that we have the ability to transport the Atlantian and his ship to one of his military's outposts in a neighboring sector."

A cloud of vapor ripped through the void as the clamp shot though space, striking the Atlantian ship with a dull clang. An instant later, the message comes in as the cable retracts slowly, pulling the two ships closer to the balltecruiser. Insterments would show that it's a magnetic and physical clamp and is suprisingly simple for such a modern ship(though it is nearly a decade out of date at best).

OOC: Sorry this took so long. Some issues arose.

IC:

The data from the Castle was logged into the analysis crystal and the information gathered by their own probe was being compared and analyzed. It was proving to be a very interesting expedition with so much being gathered. Levels of gamma radiation were being absorbed and studied while readings of gravity fluxuations were being taken. It was a peaceful between two ships however it seemed that the situation was changing. Ships had been identified within the maelstrom though there was little hope of ever retrieving them. Strange how something like this was never reported but the unsuspecting ships never really did have much of a chance to report anything once trapped. Communication even now was a problem.

Time went by as the continued to collect information. "Sir, it seems that the Castle is picking up a ship that has appeared. Unknown origins and signs of life are unknown as well."

Noline walked over to his console and viewed the scene for himself. "Send a message asking if they need help."

"Preparing the communication link.....alright. We're online."

"Captain, this is Dr.Bebaus again. Do you require any assistance with apprehending the ship?"

It might very well be a very OLD model if I think what’s happened has really happened Seth thought, very panicky. He moved over to take a look at the star charts and stardates. Pulling out a piece of paper, he studied both it and the computer.

The piece of paper was a print out of the area’s supposed star chart. His computer had recorded just before being thrown into the maelstrom. He had printed it out a few minutes ago when presented with the Crimmond transmission.

Seth felt a solid *thud* as he was studying. He looked back at Alessa.

What was that?

"Negative... Our clamps are plenty strong enough to tow both of them." Ransom signals at the science officer and another packet is sent, detailing the near impossible fact that someone survived a trip through the Maelstrom and had the dumb luck to emerge while there were ships nearby.

---

As the two ships are brought in slowly, the bay springs to life. Though it would be several minutes before the bay would depressurize(force fields needed more energy than simply pumping all the air from the bay and then pumping it back in after the doors closed), a small team in EVA battlesuits clipped themselves to anchor points in the floor.

They were a Raiding Party, commonly known as the true pirates of the Task Force. They were the ones that would board and do battle with an enemy for supplies. Only in the rarest of cases were the targets something other than pirates.

Another figure stepped up in a standard(unarmored) EVA suit, wearing the insignia of a Lieutenant Commander. The light blue hue of the suit denoted that the wearer was a diplomat and to shoot at them was to most likely cause an international incident. The figure stood away from the Raiding Party and clipped in. "Remember Sergeant, they aren't hostile and you are to only incapacitate them if they start to attack. Fatalities will be punished." A green light flicked on in the man's visor, showing that the Sergeant confirmed the orders. Raiders seemed to enjoy silent communication much more than other crewmembers.

"Understood."

The file was downloaded into the analysis crystal and brought up on the holographic projector. How a ship could survive travelling through this mess, baffled many on board. Perhaps the ship would need to be studied as well to see if there was anything special about it. A technological advance in shielding or something of the sort.

"Let's run the data against our own shielding system and see how far the output would need to be increased to survive a journey through."

"We'll need an enormous amount of data but with time, it can be done."

Noline looked over and nodded. "Do it."

Alessa snarled wordlessly. Now, I guess we just sit here and wait... She flipped off the ship's anti-boarding field, preferring to be boared rather than fired at and hoping that they'd take it as an invitation. Her hand throbbed a little as the energy twisted, seeking release, but other than that nothing betrayed her agitation. Though I haven't commited any crimes in this sector, so I can't figure out why they'd want...

She stared at Seth. You! It's YOU they're after! It has to be! She flipped open a communications switch and spoke into it, translating for Seth as she did. "Renegade, this is Rose requesting an explanation. Please respond, over. If it's a matter of money, I'll be happy to pay the fine, or whatever."

Me huh? Go figure. I bet they want a specimen of an ancient species Seth said, letting on to his current theory on what exactly was going on. He grabbed the rod on his belt and extended it into a long and powerful looking Trident. It was about seven feet long, made of silver and grey colored alloys (as well as the standard Atlantian bluish areas), and filled with intricate designs like seen on his ship.

Let them come. I'm no one's zoo creature.

"This is the Castle. Thank you for alerting us that you are most likely a criminal. All precautions are now being taken. We were actually pulling you in to get you out of the radiation bath you were in."

Both ships were towed to the bay and were held suspended in the large bay as it repressurized. A simple text only message came in, most likely from the AI: Release your docking clamps. Be advised: Ship board gravity is currently at 0.8 Terran. Enviromental settings are set to optimum comfort for Terran cre- The AI's feed is cut and a new message is sent. Damn AI... We aren't Terran! Odd.

Once the two ships were seperated, they were set on the deck and the Raiding Party unclipped and came forward with the diplomat. Once pressure inside the bay was normalized, the blue suited man knocked on whatever hatchway their was, as he removed his helmet. The party stood at the ready, though their weapons were not aimed at the hatchway.

Alessa glared at Seth. "This is no good." I'm not going to try to translate for everyone at once. If you like, I can try to set it up so you can talk to other people. She saw the trident, and automatically assumed it was silver, and then became slightly more pleasant. Unless...you would prefer otherwise. Roanians, and especially Alessa, as magical creatures reacted poorly to silver. It didn't kill them, it just...annoyed them. Rather more than a similar non-silver weapon would.

Her attention kept being drawn to the sparkling weapon, but she still raised communications with the Castle. Castle, I don't like your inference. My statement was only if I had trespassed in national territory. She snapped down on a lever, and the lights flickered in the cabin and the ice machine turned on. She tried another one, and the engines began to power up. Oh! Wrong...wrong...switch...button...thing. She pulled it down, and the engines fell silent. Sorry! Must be this one...damn humans! The Atlantian might not have understood her precise words, but the meaning behind them would have been perfectly clear. She slammed her fist down on a button. Nothing happened, but the lasers began to gather energy.

When she realised what had happened, she shrieked and fumbled with the controls. The lasers stopped, and finally the ruined Atlantian ship was released to float into the aether. This...this is Captain Alessa of the Rose. Everything is ready for boarding...sorry. She sank into her chair and just covered her eyes. This was not the entertaining adventure she had hoped for.

This morning, Seth had given thought to his family. A loving wife and daughter…an older brother…his cousin who would have been visiting by the time he had returned to spaceport.

At that time, he had been looking forward to being home by the end of the week. He had already been on his way home when his ship had been dragged into the event horizon. Now he knew his own curiosity would be his undoing. Now he was who knew when, with a hoard of unknown aliens wanting him for unknown purposes.

Well….they could try. Three different types of the Sherna method. A type of Aruth. And of course, the marksmanship skills of a warrior. The enemy would lose many before getting him. A large price to pay for his body.

Whichever. He thought to the woman. Words are useless at this point.

He pulled a rather thick piece of the staff (which had a handle on it) portion back, and then let it lock back into its former place, as if he was loading a gun. Sure enough, the middle tip of the Trident began to glow. He twirled it around and waited for the inevitable battle.

One of the Raider's hefted his gun and blasted the laser emitter closest to him as it charged, sending energy arching in several directions.

Ransom's voice came over the comm as both ships were settled to the deck. "Don't do that again, pilot, or I won't order my men to hold fire."

The blue suited man, without his helmet, stepped forward and knocked the thick plate on the back of his glove against the hatchway, then keyed his headset, to speak to both of them. "My name is Lieutenant Commander Colleton. I am a Diplomatic officer and I am here to answer any of your questions. I'd rather speak face to face, than to a metal bulkhead though..."

--------

Detailed scans of everyone inside the bay were being conducted, as well as the ships. The Atlantian ship's specifications, as well as the condition of the two inside the stolen ship, were relayed again to the Abh, along with a message from the Captain. "Abh ship, we are nearly through in this area and will be departing for Atlantian space shortly. Please relay to whatever chain of command would be appropriate that the Renegades would like to open diplomatic channels to the Abh, from one space dwelling society to another." Her first officer looked at her,knowing that no such orders had come in... though Renegade captains were known for lone wolf tactics and living by the rule 'it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission'.

The message was a pleasant surprise to the scientist. All scans had basically just been completed and they were running through all mandatory matters that required their attention. Simply, they were jacking around while playing with the gravity distortions by low frequency laser beams in to see how they were manipulated.

"Ah hello again Captain. In the interest of interstellar peace and all that, I will accompany you to the newest destination. There doesn't seem to be much of a reason to inform any higher ups . We'll just follow you once everyone is prepared to leave."

Noline turned in his chair over to the communications officer. "Send a message to the capitol informing them of a secondary mission. Inform them of our destination once we depart."

"Yes sir."

Alessa glared at Seth, 'Put that down. A stick won't do any good if it comes to fighting.' She pressed her hand on her shirt and smoothed it down. She almost wished she had picked up a female passenger instead of a male, so she could get out of this incredibly tight shirt. 'I need to go shopping.' She remarked idly to him, more from conversation than anything else.

Then she slammed her hand on a button she had labelled 'Door'. The door swung open and just barely missed the diplomat's head. Radio contact was established again. Just a moment, sir. We'll be out with you shortly, I'm about to give my passenger a quick course in modern linguistics. She translated that for Seth's benefit, then took a quick breath. Energy burst up her arm and then she quickly placed her arms around his neck and kissed him, leaning in and sliding her tongue inside his mouth. There was a little burst of magical energy, and two seconds later she withdrew, breathing a little quickly, covering her eyes and blushing. "Can you understand me?" She asked, confident the spell would work.

The Trident dropped to the floor, making a “clang” sound as it hit the floor. An energy burst shot out from it, hitting the side of the ship and bouncing off before evaporating.

Seth stumbled back in shock, trying to catch his breath. He knew all about the rule of “expect the unexpected”, but he never knew he’d have to take it to such extremes. He had been totally caught off guard.

“What the crap?! What the hades is wrong wi—”

…What the hades was that? What was that?

“…what did you…”

More. He was speaking an unknown LANGUAGE. More importantly, he was UNDERSTANDING what he said. No translator he had ever known did THAT. Heck, no translator involved ORAL SEX.

“But you…it…how….I’M MARRIED!”

Alessa held up a thumb. A flame danced along its end for a moment, and she took a tube from her belt and held one end against the flame. She ran it over her lips and her lipstick repaired itself. "I...I had to alter your lips and tongue in order to speak galactic-standard." She mumbled, still breathing a little quickly. "And I needed to distract you so I could insert a completely new vocabulary in your mind." And the words dragged themselves out of her. "Also, I just wanted to kiss you."

She blushed and turned away again. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were married." The young woman managed to get her breath back under control. "I just acted...on impulse, I suppose." She reached down and adjusted her shirt again, pulling it back down to meet her pants. Then she frowned, a little disappointed. "It's a pity, though."

Then, avoiding his eyes she hurried to the door. "Come when you're ready." She ran a finger along the small box on her belt, making certain it would activate when she wanted it to, then walked to the bulkead, leaning against the door's side and smiling at the diplomat. "Hi."

The Lieutenant Commander brushed a lock of hair back into place and removed his gloves, "Much better..." He eyes her for a moment and hmms. "Interesting accent. Haven't met any Roanians in a long, long time." He looks back at the Raiding Party, who were still looking as menacing as ever. "You are dismissed. There is no threat from these two..."

After a long pause, a small light blinked on the exterior of the Sergeant's helmet and they moved away, through an armored airlock. He hmmphed. "Blasted Raiders never say a damned word except to each other and the Captain."

Then he turns back. "Now that the gaurd dogs are back in their pens, we can get down to business. As I said, my name is Lieutenant Commander Davion V. Colleton. You and your passenger are?"

-------

On the bridge, the Captain retook her seat. "Helm, bring us about for a jump to star system... Turi. Advise Colleton of the jump, so he can warn the two... passengers. Then inform the Abh of the location of the system and out ETA there." She pauses. "Don't bother with sending the Atlantians in the system any warning of our arrival. I'd rather not risk them planning an unpleasent welcome."

The comm officer got to work, telling Colleton and the Abh of the new course.

-------

Colleton listened to them state their names, but raised a finger to his headset, as a signal to them that someone was speaking to him on it. "Both of you, brace yourselves... these old jump drives shake when they engage."

Not three seconds later, the whole ship lurched down and forward by several inches. Colleton compensated automatically, as he'd been onboard for many years. He watched their reactions with interest... The Castle wasn't a Coach flight around the galaxy, it was Baggage. If they were going to show discomfort, now would be the time.

To say that Alessa was displeased to find herself a prisoner of what appeared to be pirates would be an understatement so large, it would almost be a crime against language. Her eyes, which considering her species were usually remarkably dim (sometimes even allowing a glimpse of the iris and pupil beneath the glow), flashed so brightly that for a moment they cast away some of the shadows directly in front of her. But the moment passed, and they returned to the usual dullness. "My name is Alessa Annirere." She said, trying to suppress her desire to be curt to this man. My passenger... he should be along shortly. I believe him to be an Atlantian, which in this sector is not alarming. He claims to be named Seth. Don't be alarmed if he seems...shaken. Learning an entire language in less than a second can be alarming."

Then, remembering herself, she smiled once more. "I apologise for my curtness, it has been a trying half-century for me. I thank you and your captain for your...help. I believe that my ship's radiation shielding would be easily repairable given a day and access to your craftstations." The ship leapt into space. The woman's eyes dulled and she reached across one side of her body with a hand, gripping the arm loosely. A little flicker of red entered the eye's glow, a sign of annoyance or fury. "We appear to be moving. Might I ask where I am being taken to, Officer?"

Seth stumbled back inside the Rose, not anticipating the sudden movement of the vessel. He fell forward and hit the floor.

“Not my day…” Seth muttered, getting on his knees, and then to his feet. Picking up his Trident off the floor and retracting it into a small rod, Seth moved out towards the hatch where everyone else was, apparently.

“that shukwas?” he asked coldly as he came around the corner to the diplomat, who he saw talking with Alessa. He shook his head, slightly annoyed. Then he restated, “What was that?”

Colleton hmms. "Be that as it may, I'm not the Captain. She's the one that reeled you in... I'm just the welcome skiff." He looked around her at Seth. "Jump drive. We're in hyperspace now, heading for an Atlantian controlled planet. Some place called Turi. Never heard of it, myself... then again, I don't really pay attention to Atlantians. Rather talk to Elarians. Best booze this side of Baggera."

"All hands prepare to depart at once. We're finished in this sector and heading towards a new discovery for our people. Activate jump engines when coordinants have been fully inputed into the analysis crystal."

"Yes sir."

The twinkling of a star drawing in on itself until exploding in blinding brilliance. A swirling vortex replaced this shining, opening up a new dimension as the Abh research vessel moved towards it. In one moment the ship was sucked into Hyperspace enroute to Turi.

OOC: Map of Atlantis (just for reference, although I don’t think we’ll need it)
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9167/nsmapyg1.jpg

IC:

The Turi system was an outpost system, far removed from the rest of the populated portion of the Atlantian star cluster. It was a modest-sized system, containing one star, four planets, one moon, and of course the scattered disk with various ice worldets on the vast fringes.

The innermost planet; Ul, was a class O—Pelagic, a water world. About 85% of its surface was covered in water, so only a few large islands sat above sea-level. There were no permanent Atlantian sites on the planet. Not yet, anyway.

The second was a Litha, a class M—perfect for humanoid life. But like Ul, it was uninhabited.

Rola was a class H, a desert. Oddly enough, it held a population of 5,000. Why this planet and neither of the inner two was known only to the inhabitants…although it might have had something to do with the fact that the main populated body in the system was its moon, Rolba.

The final major world in the system (minor ice worldets on the edge not withstanding) was Year, a class K—adaptable. It was mostly like Mars had once been, a dormant class M.

Rolba was the only major natural satellite in the system, orbiting the third planet Rola. It, like Ul, was a class O, although borderline—it only had 80% water coverage. On it lived 300 million Atlantians, Centaurs, Anubites, Terrans, and Zoir.

In orbit around IT was a very large, 10 kilometer tall, fully armed battlestation. One of the largest modern Atlantian constructs. Citadel 10 (http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/7564/citadelbattlestationsk3.png), the newest built of the starbases. They were usually built over worlds with over 100 million people living on them. They were the lifelines of the fleet, able to construct and/or repair several ships at a time. This one was deemed especially important, as the colony was on the verge of Zoir territory…or rather, former Zoir territory. Before the empire had seemingly fallen apart. Now Citadel ten guarded against rouge factions and pirates that might try to enter Atlantian space from that direction.

But it wasn’t the only construct. Every world with a sizable population also had a sphere of cloaked Hary turrets surrounding it, specifically built for defense in the case of a siege. It was a standard tactic for Atlantian commanders to lure enemy ships towards a patch of turrets in the sphere, and watch them get obliterated.

At the time, the system had about 21 ships in it. Twelve of these were various private craft and cargoships. The remaining eight consisted of 1 Orion (http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/6340/orionsuperbattleship6qh.jpg) class battle cruiser, 1 Oceanus (http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5937/oceanusheavycruiservw4.jpg) class heavy cruiser, 3 Gemini (http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8536/geminilightcruisersn2.jpg) class light cruisers, and 3 Barracuda (http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/5808/barracudascoutdx8.jpg) class scoutships. This was of course, not counting the Citadel’s housed fighters and shuttles.

The Orion class was currently being repaired at the starbase, while the Oceanus sat in orbit around the main planet along with two of the scoutships. The third scoutship was in orbit around Ul, on a scientific mission. Meanwhile, both Geminis were in the outer part of the system, exploring the scattered disk/Kuiper belt portion of the system.

All in all, a busy looking system, but nothing compared to the major systems of Kora, Dopa, and Argala.

…….

Seth grumbled. Turi sounded like a system he had heard of…but wasn’t that in Zoir territory? At the very least, it wasn’t inside alliance space. Then it reoccurred to him. Right...the supposed time zone change.

“…so…were you the one that sent those star charts?”

Colleton nodded. "We were. A lot of things have changed, if you really are time displaced. I wonder what the poor base commander at Turi is going to think when we come knocking."

He stepped away from the ships and headed for the airlock to the rest of the ship. "Come along, both of you. The Captain will want to speak to you before we arrive. At least get you some information on the grandest changes the universe has taken." A pause and he looked at the woman. "And you... I suspect you'll be dropped off with your ship once we get to Turi."

Alessa frowned a little, then decided the best thing to do would be pretend to be stupid. "First time I've kissed a man a million years older than me." She grinned at Seth, her eyes narrowing. 'Don't trust these pirates. Don't trust me either, really, or anyone you meet. Especially back in Atlantis. One thing I know people don't like is anything that might change their opinion of the past.'

She stroked the box that lay hidden behind a fold of her shirt once more, and smiled at the diplomat. "Do lead on."

Quickly stripping the envirosuit off and hanging it up, revealing a uniform that looked rather old, with light blue markings and the same insignia on the collar. "Excuse the dirtyness of the ship... we aren't a luxery liner or a ship of the line in some expensive military."

He walked down a half lit corridor. "Also excuse the darkness. It throws off any boarders that me might have. It also hides some of the dirt." All in all, this ship was looking it's fifty years.

After a series of corridors and the feeling of beeing led back on themselves three or four times, they entered a left and were taken to the bridge. He stepped out onto the equally lit and dirty bridge and over to the captain. "Reporting with the guests, ma'am."

Ransom nodded. "Right, Varchak." Guess that's what the V in his name meant. "Attend to your duties." She looked over the two of them. "Ask your questions. We've got some time left before we reach Atlantian space."

Seth nodded slightly at Alessa’s words, not letting on to anyone that anything was happening between the two; except to Alessa herself in acknowledgement as they followed the diplomat up to the bridge.

Once there, they were introduced to the captain. She seemed rather impatient. Whereas the diplomat had been uncaring, she was coarse. Well, she wanted him to ask his questions; Seth figured he might as well get some answers

“What happened?” he asked with a voice of irritation.

"Temper, temper..." Alessa murmured to Seth, gently. "Try to be a little nicer." She looked around at the ship, plainly wishing to be back in her own pleasant little craft. "I think he wants to know...everything, really. Everything since he went into the Rift."

Ransom eyed the two of them som more and pressed a button on a console. A series of things appeared, showing star maps, images of ships battling and the approximate expansion of the Atlantian Empire. It also showed the Zoir and Elarians vanishing and some backwater called Sol increasing in size exponentially.

"That's the short version. The long version would probably last a lifetime..." She looked back. "I don't have the answers to most of those questions and if I did, I wouldn't be commanding a half century old battlecruiser."

She looked at Alessa. "As for you, Roanian... what are you doing with a Terran ship you can't operate properly? More specifically, what did you do with the owner of the ship?"

Alessa's eyes faded. "I needed to leave the Divine Imperium, and they wouldn't sell me a Roanian ship. So I brought the Rose from some human." She shrugged. "I'm learning to deal with the interface."

Seth watched with confusion and curiosity as everything on the screen unfolded before his eyes. He saw the Zoir sweep over Atlantian territory, then dissipate. He saw empires rise and fall. He saw a system called “Sol” sweep across known space, over what had once all been Zoir territory. He saw its territories fragment. He saw a new Atlantian nation form, only a small fraction of the size as the old one.

…How far had he traveled?

Then it hit him. Hard. Everyone he had ever known was dead. Was…was there any point in remaining alive at this point? He cocked his head slightly when Alessa began to speak with the captain, but still keeping his main attention on the screen. By this point, something called the “ESUS” had spread over large portions of the map. Millions of questions poured though his mind—but one reigned supreme.

What now?

Ransom turned to the screen and hmms. "Tip for you, Atlantian... don't go to Sol. It's the most populated and warring star system in the galxy and probably the universe."

She looks back at Alessa. "That may be the story you tell, Roanian, but 've been dealing with pirates long enough to see through a line when I hear it. Honestly, I don't care what happened to the owner or why you have that ship. I just need to write something down for a report about it."

"Ma'am, we're approaching the target star system." an officer reported.

"Clear the screen and bring us back to realspace. Both of you may want to hold onto a console." The last part being said to the two not of the crew.

Seconds later, the ship shifted down and two the side by several inches as normal stars replaced distored streamers of light.

"Full stop. Hail the Atlantian comm network and inform them..." a pause while she thought. "That there is an Atlantian of some importance onboard, along with his ship. Send specifications and current status. And zoom in on that space station."

A pinpoint of light in the distance magnified until the structure of Citidal 10 filled the screen. "Look familiar at all?"

Alessa reached up and gently touched Seth's shoulder, smiling a little at him. "It'll be okay." She murmured, seeing the sadness in his eyes. "Everything normally is." Then she turned to the captain, a hard little smile on her face. "THe former owner was... rude to me." She understated it. It had been unpleasant and humiliating to be treated in that fashion. "I knew my legal rights within the Divine Imperium's borders. I'm sure nothing more needs to be said. Please."

They arrived at wherever they were going, and Alessa's hand travelled down Seth's arm, giving a gentle squeeze before letting go. "Trust me?" She said to him, quite happy to forget that three minutes ago she had told him not to.

Ransom nodded at her, the pirate captain shrugging. "Like I said, I don't really care about some Terran garbage. Bad enough we're descended from Sol, in my opinion." She takes her seat and says something in a language that sounds like a bastardized clump of languages from Earth, but the pattern to them seems random, to her first mate.

The man nods and moves to the communication station and updates the comm hail. It now includes a new star chart showing the current location of the Maelstrom and a request for any merchant level star charts in return.

"Now... we wait to see how long it takes for them to answer."

Seth continued to eye Sol, dispite the warning the captain had given him. How could one star give birth to a galaxy? The map then vanished, and Seth did has he was told, hanging on to a rail as the ship dropped out of FTL speeds.

He felt Alessa squeeze his arm. There was something about her. As if he could trust her, dispite only knowing her (and admittedly, out of context of the new universe he had stumbled into) for about an hour. Could he really trust her? He noted she seemed conflicted about herself, not trusting herself and then saying the opposite. So, in a bizarre convulsion of facts and opinions, maybe he could trust her. And she had done nothing to harm him thus far. She had saved him, given him the ability to talk in this era, and given him advice.

He smiled weakly and nodded, not looking directly at her; but rather at the screen. A station sat there over a world in the background. It was definitely Atlantian in design; but not any class he recognized.

He shook his head in a half-lie to avoid a detailed answer, “Not really”
…

There are certain jobs that seem almost too good to be true. Usually, these jobs are. And Commander Ikari was finding this out the hard way.

Everyone knew being assigned to the Turi system was a death sentence to one’s career. It was the unofficial “border colony” system, far away from any major points of civilization. If you were assigned here; chances were you wouldn’t be leaving for a long, long time.

This wasn’t what was hard about it in Ikari’s eyes. He had actually embraced it. He was an older fellow, neigh on 320 plus years; and well into his twilight years; and had seen this as a good ending point to a long career, a peaceful retirement while still getting to do stuff; rather then sit at home watching reruns.

No…what had actually annoyed Ikari was the lack of quietness. Something was ALWAYS happening in-system. Most importantly, illegal immigration. Over the last few years (since the end of the Ascendancy war), a large number of ships had begun moving into Atlantian space from what had once been Zoir territory. Granted, a good number of Zoir had settled in the Turi system long ago when the empire collapsed, but this was on an even bigger scale. And even more annoyingly, they weren’t Zoir.

No fewer then 3 distinct alien species had been sneaking past the border and settling on uninhabited Atlantian worlds and systems. The forces in Turi had been able to keep some of them at bay (which was why the Orion class ship (the Hephaestus) was undergoing repairs) but not all of them had been entering through the Turi system. And Commander Ikari was getting the flak for this.

At the time that the Renagade ship had come in, Ikari had been in ops, going over immigration reports from the moon his station orbited over; Rolba. Apparently a group of the most aggressive of the three species; a reptilian race, had landed in one of the major cities and had been causing acts of terrorism. The computer beeped, indicating FTL signatures. A small green hologram of a man appeared on the circular control panel table in the center of ops. He was the AI for Citadel ten, and his name was Oberon.

“Reports of two ships coming in” he said. “One’s a battlecruiser. The other one is still too far away for me to get an accurate reading”

Ikari sighed, it just HAD to happen on the graveyard shift; when most of his command crew was asleep. As it was, only two other people were in ops (not counting the AI); a first year ensign named Rajin, and his tactical officer Lt. Shar.

“Sha’ra, Kreonite, Zoir, or Vilirian?” asked Ikari, expecting one of the four main immigrant races.

“None. They seem to be…wow”

“Wow?” asked Ikari.

“It’s a renegade ship. Crimmond design”

“Raising shields” said Shar.

“Wait” the hologram replied, “They’re sending a message”

On the upper level of ops in the back, ensign Rajin said “I’m putting it through”

Ikari nodded, and patched through the transmission, informing them of Seth and all that had transpired. It also sent a few starcharts, and asked for some in return.

“So…” Shar said.

“Open a channel” Ikari ordered, “Audio and Visual”

“Aye sir” replied Rajin.

An elder Atlantian Commander would appear on the screen, very old but still able to move around without much difficulty. The Ops station’s layout would vaguely resemble that of a Cardassian Nor class station, only with an Atlantian look to it. It was also dimly lit; power was cut and put into reserve during the graveyard shift.

“This is Commander Ikari of the Atlantian station Citadel Ten. I have to say…this is quite a surprise”

Ransom stood up. "I'm Fleet Captain Amelia Ransom of the RSS Castle... and yes it is. We've been trying to stay out of Atlantian space, unless we can't avoid it." The Castle was not one of the ships in that Phalanixian star system during the battle, but it had been making appearences near Atlantian space, chasing small time pirates around like a cat playing with wounded mice.

She motioned towards Seth. "This is 'Seth'. He is an Atlantian whose ship emerged from the Galactic Maelstrom. Apparently he's also been displaced in time, though I have no idea from what point or how even survived those Hell Holes." Again with the capital letters clicking into place. "We're requesting docking clearance. None of my crew will be leaving the ship." A few discontented murmers might be heard over the comm channel.

Alessa watched Ransom, the words making perfect sense to her but not making her overly pleased. She had been promised release, but what did that mean? Her hand sketched patterns in the air from where it lay down beside her leg, several spells readying themselves but not casting yet. "I would appreciate a chance to stretch my wings, Captain." The Roanian murmured, looking down.

Unlike many Roanians, Alessa did not get visibly angry at the existence of other races. But being in cramped quarters with so many 'humans' after long weeks of happy solitude was starting to take its toll on her self-control. She had another problem, too. The Renegades might very well hand her over to the Divine Imperium if she alarmed them, either through magic or otherwise. A fate she dearly desired to avoid.

The Abh research vessel pulled out of Hyperspace a short time after the Castle did. Not much seemed impressive to the scientist about the system but it had chosen for some reason between the different parties involved. There really wasn't much left to do but follow and see where their adventure would lead them.

"Well I suppose an explaination is involved for anyone monitoring our progress. Communications chief, open a link to the Turi outpost or whatever is in charge here. I leave it to you to find the main source of communication traffic."

The chief worked at her station for a few minutes while analyzing energy beams and wavelengths on a glass panel in front of her. "On line sir."

"I am Dr. Noline Bebaus of the Abh Empire of the research vessel Laspul. We were invited to tag along with the Captain of the Castle. Requesting permission to dock and hook up with our fellow researcher."

Ikari’s eyes narrowed a bit at the introduction of Seth. “I see. Very well then” he made a nod to Shar in the background, who began to call up the docking stations. After a few seconds, the information was sent to the central table, which Ikari was standing behind. “You are cleared to dock at platform gamma, section six. I shall meet you there, captain” the transmission cut.

Each Citadel had four large platforms extending from the side. Two of them had large “shipyard” like structures underneath. Gamma was one of those two. Section six would place the Castle on the outside edge, to dock side to side rather then top to bottom.

Ikari had just reached the doors to the turbolift when he heard Oberon shout out “Sir, the other ship we detected has just entered the system. It’s of an unknown configuration. They’re hailing us”

He sighed, “Tell the--”

“Sir, another ship has just emerged from the Zoir jump node. Vilirian configuration”

Ikari took a deep breath and counted to three. “…You’re a sophisticated AI computer. Surly you and two dedicated officers can keep tabs on everyone” the turbolift doors shut, leaving Shar, Rajin, and Oberon’s hologram to themselves.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“…Well?” asked Shar, “Put them through!”

“Oh, were you talking to me? I’m sorry, I was too busy keeping tabs on everyone”

Shar grumbled. The last thing he needed was an asshole for an AI.

A minute later (after having Ikari ok it over a brief communicator discussion), a message was sent to the Abh vessel, courtesy of Oberon.

“Laspul, you are cleared to dock at platform gamma, section seven. A small escort will lead you to our commanding officer, as well as the captain of the Castle. Please excuse this inpersonal reply.”

"You know, I could have talked to them myself" Shar glared at the hologram.

"...You don't say?" Oberon replied innocently.

Ransom nodded at teh Atlantian. "Understood. Castle out." She watched the screen go back to showing the station. "Helm, if you would be so kind?" The ship surged forward as the outdated, yet powerful, engines flared up.

While the ship manuvered for docking, Ransom looked at Alessa. "Right. Your ship is clear to leave whenever you want. Unless the Atlantians wish to talk to you. Actually, in that case, you're their problem and you're free to leave anytime you want."

She looked at her first mate. "When we dock, maintain a security alert and lock down the Gangway deck. Post a Raiding Party on our side of the airlock as guards." Paranoid? Maybe. The first mate nodded and went off to relay the orders as she turned back to the two. "No offense to our guest, but we don't trust anyone."

"Understood and no worries about the informal message. This isn't exactly a military vessel afterall." Noline cut the link off from his counsul and stood up while stretching out his back. "Senior aviator, bring us into platform gamma section seven."

"Bringing her in now sir."

The ship manuevered to its designated docking area where it slowly settled in nice and comfortably. Noline gathered a few things of his own such as his clyuno and a sidearm before making his way to a nearby hatch.

As Alessa walked down the stairs she cricked her neck gently, turning side to side. She almost waved at the people waiting, wanting to make a show of it. She refrained, though, and instead simply stretched out and sighed. Suddenly two large white wings unfolded from her back, feathers gleaming in the ship's light. She dearly wanted to stretch them out all the way, holding them out to the full 12' wingspan. But the continued presence of the escort on either side limited her space. She sighed and slowly folded them against her back. There was a pleasant scent about her suddenly, mingling and complimenting the slight perfume she wore. She didn't notice it, of course, but most Roanians, winged or not, didn't. "Light, that feels good." She mumbled, stretching her attractive pale arms now and then readjusting her shirt, pulling the gap at the back down over the feathers so it was properly aligned..

Relaxing again, her eyes dulled, so that the pupils could be made out. She gave a real little smile. "I hope I didn't...shock anyone?" She murmured. She refrained from giggling, but it was a near-run thing. Not that there was much to be done if she had, apart from dropping the act and melting a large section of the station. A choice which generally made the next time she wanted something from one of these people...awkward. Assuming they didn't just shoot her, of course.

Eight Anubite warriors stood in two groups of four at the airlock leading to the Castle, each guarding each side of the hallway as Commander Ikari made his way to the entrance. He waited for the door to open.

A few hallways down, only two Anubite warriors stood guard, as a female Atlantian by the name of Optiz waited for the people from the Abh ship to come through.

…

Seth (who had been behind Alessa) jumped a few inches into the air at the sight of the wings unfolding. Wings. That was a new one. Angel wings, no less. And for a moment, Seth wondered if her people really were Angels.

After all, she seemed to be magical (no kiss should have been able to do that), she was beautiful, and she had saved him…he shook the thought from his mind as they neared the airlock. Angels were just a fairy tale, just like demons. There were only gods and mortals. And even the gods had seemingly abandoned Seth.


OOC: Eh, sorry for the crap post. I'm not feeling it today...

Ransom wore the same duty uniform she had on the bridge... but now the uniform looked as it really was: Old, (neatly)patched and dirty, as if she had been doing repair work herself(a good possibility).

She stepped away from Alessa as the wings spread, otherwise ignoring the display. She was here on bussiness.

"Fleet Captain Ransom of the CSS Castle. Thank you for granting our docking request. Before we move on, I request that any and all data and power feeds designed to intergrate with docked ships be shut down." More paranoia? Or just trying to present the image?

Pressure hissed from the door as the airlock released and slid open while a stair case descended to meet the floor. The Abh's boot clicked against the metal as he walked while his blue cape swayed behind him. His Star Forces uniform was blue along the edges and grey in the middle with the golden eight headed dragon, Gaftonoshu, on his left breast. Blue hair rushed down past his shoulders and one lock covered part of his right eye. The sidearm in its holster was locked in and was only there for personal protection.

He stopped with a smile when he saw the woman waiting for him. "Hello mad'am. I am Bebaus Sai'ryule Noline of the Abh Empire but you may call me Noline if that pleases you."

Ikari held out his hand to Ransom. “Commander Ikari of Citadel Ten. And we will comply with your request”

…

The woman smiled. “Optiz, Lt. Commander” she pointed down the hallway with her palm. “If you would follow me?” she asked. The two Anubites started with her, but she motioned for them to stay where they were.

The Anubites looked much like their namesake—humanoid black jackles. They were the former shock troops of the now non-existent land military.

Alessa frowned as she followed, and then she leaned suddenly against Seth, as if she had tripped. 'Be careful.' She warned him, and then she pulled herself up. "I would like my own ship put off yours, Captain Ransom." She murmured, though there was a certain force behind her words that belied her seemingly fragile appearance (Which was shaky anyway since the appearance of her wings added at least another 20 visible pounds to her body.)

With a shrug, Noline simply fell in line behind the woman. He acknowledged both guards with a nod of his head as he passed. His eyes scanned the area from time to time trying to get a layout of the facility and possibly the level of technology the people possesed.

Ransom looked at the hand, as if confused. "Ah... Terran gestures." She doesn't take the hand though, choosing to eye the Anubite armor closely instead. "Different model armor than the ones in the historical database. Of course, those images are from the day that the Old Naval Force delivered the first Scarab Class shuttles to your navy. Must have been at least a century ago. More probably."

She followed the Atlantian commander and looked back at Alessa. "I told you, Roanian... your ship is free to leave my ship at any time. I'm not going to waste energy by tractoring it outside. When you're ready, you can fly it out. Unless you hit the wrong controls again..." She chuckled, the first time she had shown any sense of humor at all.

The technology would seem highly advanced in some fields, yet almost ignored in others. Touch-screen computer panels lined the walls, yet the ceiling was lit by old-fashioned florescent lighting…and there seemed to be pipes running about the ceiling as well; thereby lending to the idea that the Atlantian culture wasn’t big on replicators or other advanced nanotechnology. However, everything seemed to be streamlined.

…

Ikari pulled his hand back, a bit of an awkward moment. From their long stay on Earth, the Atlantians had adapted many Terran ways of life such as the hand gesture.

“Yes…although I don’t believe the Anubites had been developed that long ago”. It was true; the Anubites had been a successful project shortly before the disbanding of the land forces.

Optiz came from around the corner, the Abh personnel right behind her.

“Ah…here is our other guest I was told about now. They asked to meet up with you” said Ikari as the two groups met. Ikari left Ransom and Noline to speak, and turned his attention on Seth and Alessa. Guests out the ying-yang.

“So…I would imagine you’d be the time displaced one?” he asked, looking at the only other Atlantian in the group. Seth nodded.

Ikari moved his eyes onto Alessa. “And you are…?”

Alessa started to bow, and then halted, instead curtsying. "My name is Alessa Annerire, sir. I found your missing sailor. I'm a Roanian, sir." She stretched again, her wings beating gently to lift her off the ground for a second. "I was on a trip through space when I got caught in that black hole." She smiled a little. "Heading back, I think I'll just shut them down."

Ransom looked at Alessa. "Keep talking like that Roanian and you'll trade in your ship for a padded room on whatever planet you come from... You'll 'shut down' two black holes that have been bulldozing a six lightyear wide ditch through the galaxy for longer than there's been intelligent life? I don't care if Roanian genetic engineering can give you wings, no one has the technology that can shut down that wound in the universe."

Alessa looked up into space thoughtfully. "Who said anything about technology..." She murmured, her hands clenching reflexively. Then she snapped out of it. "But anyway, that's not important." She curtsied again to the Atlantean. "I'd like to learn more about Atlantean history, if I may. May I remain for the debriefing?"

Noline continued to walk behind though the silence was getting a bit old. Something needed to change that. "So, where is it that you are taking me?"

OOC: Abh…You’ve already been led to Captain Ransom. I was kinda waiting for you two to talk. >_>

IC:

Ikari thought for a moment. “I don’t see why not…although I don’t quite know just how much of a debriefing this is going to be. Have we confirmed what time he has been displaced from?” he looked at Noline, who had just asked where he was being taken.

“You must be from the other ship that just arrived” he held out his hand, hoping that Noline would be more accustomed to some Terran ways then the captain of the Castle. “My name is Commander Ikari, commander of this station. And you are?”

As he asked, Optiz nodded and left, back to her duties. Possibly to take Ikari’s place as senior officer in ops for the time being.

OOC: Missed that smile line. My eyes seem to be getting worse here.

IC:
A handshake wasn't a traditional Abh greeting but he had had enough dealings with the humans within the empire to know their customs. He extended his hand with a slight smile on his face. "I am Bebaus Sai'ryule Noline of the Abh Empire. It seems I've changed from scientist to diplomat today though a change of pace is always nice."

The commander shook hands and then let go. "I wasn't expecting to be a diplomat today myself. Now...would anyone like to join me in the stations conference lounge? I find standing in the middle of the hallway to be less...productive for a debiefing" Ikari started down, looking back and motioning the group to follow.

Seth glanced at the other three standing near him, then slowly started off after the commander.

"A hospitable lot I have found myself in it seems." Noline followed the commander down the hall. "So can you tell me anything about this place? We've heard little of your people and know even less about you. I have no idea if I've found myself on a military outpost or a colony."

[damn forums...]

Ransom nods at the base commander and the Abh scientist. "Captain Ransom." she says to him, before following the Atlantian commander. Eyes the technology around her closely, wondering if she could ever live in such a place. It was so... clean. Even the air was free of any sign this was a place of work beyond offices.

OOC: (Life's kicking my ass and taking names. Sorry for the delay...I promise to have a post up tomorrow night since I'm off)

"A little of both, I'd say. This station protects the interests in this system--most notibly the two colonies nearby" Ikari said, as the group made it towards the nearest turbolift which would take them to the upper levels of the station, and ultimatly the conference lounge. Ikari grimiced a bit when Ransom butted in, but didn't say a thing, instead letting the two get to know each other better as he opened to doors to the lift and stepped inside.

"That makes sense." Noline crammed into the turbolift and looked forward to getting a chance to lounge for a bit. A command chair on one of the research vessels wasn't all that comfortable. The back rest never kept the spine in proper alligning. It seems the emperor has ignored the request again for better seating. Oh well.

Alessa sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall. She was bored now, and it showed in her slowing breath. Her wings clasped around her, and then vanished with a ruffle of feathers. 'Seth, what say that while they're busy debating we escape?'

Ransom looked at Alessa when she heard the rustle and then at the others. "Commander, I'm actually surprised that you didn't react violently when we arrived. Rumors have been spread that Atlantians don't particulary see the Renegades as friendly, after that space battle some time back.

"I suppose that rumors should be taken with so much particulate, yes?"

Escape to where, exactly? Seth thought with faintly sarcastic tone, We're on an elevator in the middle of a space station surrounded by people

The turbolift opened, and Ikari walked out. He turned back to Ransom as he headed for the conference lounge at the end of the hallway. He smiled. "In all my years of service captain, I have learned possibly one very important lesson. 'Don't shoot first'. Well....that and 'Anubites don't like cat people'"

The door to the lounge opened. "Ladies first?"

Inside, the lounge consisted of a long table with seats, and a large wall-spanning window in the direction of the inhabited class O moon below.

Ransom tilted her head for a moment at being called a lady, before stepping inside. "Most of my career was built on shooting first. Half the battle scars on my ship are from my tour alone. By the way... what ever happened with that rebellion you were having?"

She takes a seat at the table and ignores the view of space and the moon below. She had been seeing much more breathtaking sights since she was six years old.

---

The Castle, meanwhile, was performing systematic scans of the station every few minutes. And everytime the scan went over Ransom's position, a strange signature might show up on Atlantian scanners. It looked like the signature one would get from a tracking device, but it was on an ultra low energy band, probably to avoid detection. Apparently the Renegade crew didn't trust the Atlantians much.

On the gangway, a raider team(in full combat armor), were standing and crouching behind several barriers built into the bulkheads. Seems that the deck was refited for close quarters combat. The Raider's seemed content to be a deterant, as nearby turrets seemed powered down.

'Well, I would like to go shopping. So, if the chance arises, I'm going to take it. I'm just not entirely certain I trust your friends, and it'd be rather embarassing for me to have saved you from one fate just to be executed in another.' She pinched her nose and shook her head as if clearing it. "Thank you." Alessa smiled at a private joke at being called a lady, but curtsied slightly nonetheless. She crossed the floor and took a seat herself, curling her feet up behind her and leaning on an armrest, lounging as only a Roanian can lounge.

A Hakekan vessel appeared suddenly in the system, followed by a large Altotan cruiser. The Hakekan vessel was a modified scout; it had been refitted with heavy armor and weapons to survive whatever punishment the universe could throw at it. It was on an expedition mission, sent to map out the space beyond the local group of stars surrounding Datema (of which there were few, as the settlement was located fairly close to the edge of the galaxy). So far, it had recorded one large space-time anomaly which it had deemed "unsafe", and marked with a large red mark on the star map, as well as many star systems, some with Earthlike planets - the ship's AI had marked those systems and transmitted their coordinates back to Datema via casual channel. Sadly, though, they had yet to encounter a system with sentient life.

Captain Euri was sitting at her desk, reading a book. It was one of the only copies of anything that was printed on real paper anymore; back on Earth - before the Exodus, she thought to herself - people had switched to smart paper.
She had been born to a human family, but they had died in an accident when she was very young and had been taken to a foster home, then adopted by an indigenous Dateman family, from which she had acquired her name.

Suddenly the ship's long-rance sensors detected a strong energy signature coming from the system's only moon, a waterworld orbiting a substantially large desert planet. A message was relayed throughout the ship, informing the crew, then to the Altotan vessel. Euri snapped from her book and to her console. "Bridge?"
"M'lady. We've picked up some signals. Radio and hyperspace transmissions. All indications are that the system is inhabited."
"By whom?"
"Humanoids, it seems. We're doing a scan of the system right now. So far, it seems that the majority population is stationed on the moon. There also seems to be a large station in orbit around the satellite. Seems like it might be a military outpost."
"No doubt there are more of them, then. Well, open up a hyperspace channel; they might not use casuals. Send them a message, all languages. We'll find out if they're friendly or not."
"Yes, m'lady." The line clicked off, and the officer with whom Euri had been conversing with activated the hyperspace broadcasting array. It sent out a message in the general direction of the moon: "This is the Hakekan scientific research vessel Defiance. Ours and the Altotan cruiser behind us have arrived from the Datema system, bearing 3000 crew. We wish to meet peacefully, and will be awaiting your response."

Ikari grinned crypticly and moved over to a small counter near the corner, before turning around and replying "We won, of course". He pressed a small button, and a bottle of Elarian Ale popped out of the counter.

"Would anyone care for a drink before we begin?" he asked to everyone in general.

Seth sat down next to Alessa. He said nothing (nor thought sentence-wise to Alessa), but simply eyed everyone in the room--and the door. What to do, what to do...

...

"I'm detecting another...no, two more ships entering the system" said Oberon, the station's AI. "One's a little larger then a scout...the other seems to be some sort of cruiser"

Shar moved over from the science station to the sensor station of ops. "What are they?" he asked, trying to get a sensor lock.

"Unknown" Oberon replied. "They're still headed this way"

"Aaaand they are sending a message" Rajin said, at the communications station.

"Put it through" said Shar. Rajin nodded and pressed a few buttons.

"This is the Hakekan scientific research vessel Defiance. Ours and the Altotan cruiser behind us have arrived from the Datema system, bearing 3000 crew. We wish to meet peacefully, and will be awaiting your response."

"Datema system...Datema system..." Shar muttered to himself, thinking it sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Oberon shook his head. "Eh. It's not on my starcharts. The closest I got to it is "Doma", about 90 lightyears away towards the galactic core. And those ship configurations don't look like anything familiar"

"Hmm..." Shar rubbed his chin. "The Commander's in a meeting...I'm not going to disturb him. ...Options?"

"We could...I dunno..." the AI chuckled sarcasicly "you know, let them in. He suddenly grew a look of annoyance on his face. He could have sworn he just felt a sensor sweep. But...no, there was nothing there to detect. He shrugged the thought off--even though this was the third time he had felt it. He made a mental note to scan for viruses or glitches later.

Shar opened an internal channel to Optiz. "Ops to Subcommander"

"Subcommander here. What is it, Shar?"

"We've got more visitors"

"I'll be up there in a minute"

Shar sighed and turned to Rajin. "Open a channel"

"Channel open"

Shar amused the thought of a research vessel named "Defiance" as he replied to the transmission in both audio and visual. "Attention Defiance. This is Lt. Shar of the Atlantian Outpost Citadel Ten. Welcome to the Turi System"

The Castle suddenly intensified it's scans to normal ranges to do a broad scan of the system, the station and the ships, then sent a low level pulse that was hard to detect itself, but left distorions in other bandwidths.

-----

Ransom's mouth tightened and she rubbed her neck, placing her arms on the table to glance at her wrist mounted readout for a scant second. Dammit... this is why I hate populated systems. Too many people. That pulse had done three things to the small implant in her neck: It pinched a small nerve to cause pain(thus alerting her that something was happening), made the implant relay an update to her readout with the results of that scan and made that little bastard get very, very warm. Need to steal a newer model. One that stays cool... starting to get annoying. she thought as she looked up at the Atlantian. The whole thing took no more than three seconds. Enough that it looked as if she was thinking about her next words. She said nothing of the newcomers. Why bother? It was just more scientists... and if it wasn't? The Castle and her crew knew what to do.

"Elarian Ale? How interesting." She looked at Seth. "I wonder... does today's version match what they had back in your day?"

By now, Euri was sitting in her chair on the bridge. She accepted the channel and listened to the message, then replied: "Citadel, this is Defiance. Thanks for responding; however, we'd like to know if we can dock. We're in need of some fuel and repairs. if that's possible."

OOC: ...Abh? Eh, if he doesn't post by tomorrow night, I'll go on ahead.

OOC: Crimm? Outcasts?
It's gettin' lonely here...

OOC: I'm waiting on AO.

Who's apparently vanished rom the face of the earth.

Heck, I thought I was already in the room with everyone else. Thist things is so old I wouldn't know what to post. If AO ever gets back, he can just assume I'm there with everyone.