Balrogga
14-07-2004, 23:42
(It seems I cannot locate the origional thread I started for this. I will post the whole story so far including the most recent addition.)
Two days after Divination launch……….
News broadcast
Much of the world woke up to a new visitor in the heavens. At 3:14 GMT a startling bright supernova appeared, surprising astronomers. Apparently there are no known stars of that category in this position. The authorities at the Imperial Observatory suggest it is a bright nova shining through a gravitational lens from another galaxy. If that is true, it should disappear in a few days.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/supernovab.jpg
In other news, the launch of the Divination is marred by the lack of communications with the ship. It is thought there is a malfunction with the communications system or they might be too far away for the signal to reach us. As we know more, we will keep our viewers informed….
Behind closed doors at an emergency meeting within the Imperial Palace…
“What do you mean you don’t know where the Divination is? It’s your job to know. If you lost the Emperor’s nephew, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.” Dr Fraviuns was furious. “Now I have to go upstairs and tell the Emperor we lost Bryce? No, you better be sure before I make that walk. We still have the Posi-Grav Drive prototype out at the Kraken. Send it after the Divination.”
The aid he was talking to gasped in surprise at this order. “But Sir, the last time we tried to use it the entire lab imploded!”
Dr. Fraviuns gave a small chuckle and explained, “That was the beta model we tested. It reacted with the gravity well of Sol and imploded. We have made a few modifications during the past 6 years. The ship can be used in-system but at low power. There aren’t any strong gravity wells out by the Oort cloud so it will be safe. Send out the Flinx to rendezvous with the Divination’s flight path and follow them at top speed.”
“Yes Sir, I will do it right away.” The aid hurried off.
Two hours later…
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/prototype.jpg
The Flinx left its berth at the Kraken Research Facility just outside the Oort cloud and engaged its Posi-Grav drive. The crew diverted power from the fusion reactor to the Caplis generator located in the fan shaped aperture at the end of the arm. A sphere of nothingness appeared within the cone. The Flinx moved forward gradually picking up speed. The ship continued until it reached the coordinates of the Divination’s flight path. The Flinx re-orientated itself so it was pointed away from Earth.
“This is the Flinx calling The Kraken. Do you read me?’
“This is Kraken, report your status.”
“We have achieved the designated coordinates and aligned to the Divination’s flight path. The flight path seems to lead toward the supernova.”
“Roger that Flinx. Proceed with the mission but be careful. We don’t have to remind you what will happen if you go too near the anomaly.”
“That is for certain, Kraken. We don’t want to be squeezed within a singularity. Engaging the Posi-Grav drive.”
The zone of nothingness appeared again and the ship began to move again. The Flinx began to move faster while the field became more intense. As they approached the speed of light, the drive field began to take the shape of a teardrop pointing towards the direction of travel. The ship exceeded the speed of light and entered space-plus. The drive field took upon itself a purplish hue and the Doppler shift caused the stars to appear as prismatic lines. The acceleration rate started to go up enormously as the ship passed through Changeover. As the ship moved through space-plus, the drive field repelled matter away from the ship, avoiding collisions that would be instantaneously fatal.
Several hours later
The Flinx approached the supernova following the flight path of the Divination. The path appeared to lead right through the heart of the nova.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/Supernova.jpg
The Flinx dropped back into normal space and slowed to a halt.
“This is the Flinx calling Kraken Research Vessel. I repeat, this is the Flinx calling the Kraken. Please Reply.”
“Kraken here, what do you have to report?”
“The flight path appears to pass through the heart of the supernova. The anomaly is not in another galaxy like the Imperial Observatory suggested. It is a few light years outside our solar system. We are transmitting the data through space-minus. I hope the Divination didn’t pass…”
“Captain, I have detected an electronic signal.”
“What is it? Show me”
On a monitor a view of black space appeared. The image magnified until a small device could be seen tumbling through space.
“It appears to be a data beacon. Send a Proteus fighter to retrieve the item”
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/proteus9.jpg
Minutes later a single fighter launched from the Flinx. The pilot flew out to the object and captured it with the fighter’s tractor beam and towed it to the Flinx.
Aboard the Flinx, the crew puts the data beacon in storage. The ship sets coordinates for the Kraken and disappears into Space-Plus.
The Flinx dropped out of Space-Plus.
“This is the Flinx calling Command. I repeat, this is the Flinx calling Command.”
“This is Command. How was the trip Flinx?”
“Quite the sightseer tour. Requesting permission to dock.”
You have permission to dock in bay zero-one-niner”
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/Oortstation.jpg
They approached the Oort Station, passing the shipyards as they slowed to dock along side the Kraken. A squad of soldiers escorted the data beacon to the lab to have it analyzed.
Hours later…
The door of the briefing room opened and the CO of the Oort Station entered followed by an older civilian wearing a suit. The scientist waiting in the room hushed as they entered the room and sat down. After a moment the older man nodded to the officer and they both joined the rest at the table.
“Well, what have you discovered?” asked Commander Tiergen.
“We are still trying to decode some of the Data Beacons memory dump but we have most of the details what happened. It appears that the…”
“Excuse me, but what exactly is this beacon you spoke of?” interrupted the civilian.
“Um, Sir?” the scientist shot a questing look at Cmdr Tiergen.
“Speak freely in front of him. This is Doctor Fraviuns, the Imperial Representative sent here by the Emperor Himself“, answered Commander Tiergen.
“Well, the computer aboard the Divination was set to record all of the sensor logs, both internal and external. The computer also created a mirror of the data and recorded it in a specially designed pod that was automatically ejected in the case of a catastrophic event such as an attack, collision, or even the destruction of the ship. We even designed the beacon to resemble shrapnel just in case the ship was attacked. The device was designed to run silent until it could not detect any hostiles nearby before transmitting a signal through Space-Minus,” explained the scientist.
“Yes, I remember approving that project,” Dr. Fraviuns continued, “It was based upon the black boxes of the late 20th century. Please continue with your findings.”
“The logs show the engines were operating just as we designed. The Divination left the outer edge of the Oort Cloud into interstellar space. That is when the trouble started. There was an energy spike in the engine. The imbalance caused it to under go a cascade. The cascade triggered an implosion in the engine core and the Torq effect made the implosion multi-dimensional. That is why the explosion resembles a supernova.”
“How long will the anomaly remain?” queried the Commander.
“We are not sure.” answered the scientist, “It ripped a dimensional hole and the explosion is continuing through the other dimensions. It is uncertain how long it will actually last.”
“Where did this energy spike come from?” asked Tiergen.
“That is the curious thing. The systems analysis shows no place it could have originated. If it came from some other part of the ship, there would be a record of a drop in power. It would have to come from somewhere but all the other systems show the levels remained consistent with normal operational parameters. The only place it could have come from is an external source. That part of the beacon is still being analyzed.”
“So, what you are suggesting is either it was a fluke of nature or sabotage that destroyed the Divination” commented Dr Fraviuns. “Is this what I should report to the Emperor?”
“No sir, we need more time to finish analyzing the beacon so we know what the external sensors picked up. The beacon was damaged in the explosion so we are having a hard time decoding the contents. We have to recreate many of the data pathways and some of the data is completely missing.”
“How long would it take to finish decoding or whatever you have to do to the beacon to make it work?” asked the Doctor.
“We estimate about 6 more hours.”
“That sounds fine. Notify me when you are done and we will continue afterwards.” Commanded Tiergen.
“Yes Sir.”
With that the Doctor and the Commander stood and left the room, followed by the busy scientists.
6 Hours Later
Commander Tiergen and Doctor Fraviuns entered the briefing room again. The others were already waiting so they sat down and waited for them to report.
“I assume you have some news for me,” said the Commander.
“The computers were working overtime reconstructing the beacon virtually so we could have a chance to retrieve the data. We could recover some of the data but the rest is either scrambled or gone. It appears the energy spike we talked about earlier was not of an internal origin. It did come from an outside source. The surge in the core caused a critical cascade effect that ruptured the dimensional barriers. This is something we did not know was possible. The energy surge was apparently generated by the use of an Anti-Grav beam. The beam generated a distortion in the Torq Drive and the, for the lack of a better term, friction caused created a massive surge of power which overloaded the drive and the result was the anomaly.”
“Please don’t worry about it happening to any of the ships we are using in-system. The reaction apparently only can occur when the drive is located in interstellar space, away from the influence of the sun. The outside edge of the Oort Cloud generally marks the limit of Sol’s influence. After that point, there are not enough of the gravitational forces to influence the Torq Drive. It is here where the drive is vulnerable. We have a theory that if the Torq ships were combined with the Posi-Grav ships then it would negate this vulnerability.”
“The Torq Drive works by transferring the mass of the ship into Torq Space, an area of grey nothingness where our laws of physics don’t seem to apply. The image, or rather the transferred after image is all that remains in Real Space. One of the original researchers called it Ghost Space because any objects within it looked like it was a ghost. If we called the drive a Ghost Drive it would not promote a very secure feeling for those aboard the vessel. Because the ship is outside Real Space, it can almost travel instantaneously.”
“Thanks for the history lecture but what about this energy spike?” interrupted the Doctor.
“As I pointed out earlier, the power surge came from a source outside the Divination. We were able to extrapolate the direction and examine the sensors in that direction. We were able to get a picture but only a glimpse before the pod was ejected.”
The scientist reached down to the table top and pushed a button. The holographic projector came to life and generated a grainy picture.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/ufo.jpg
“This is where the spike originated, gentlemen”
The scientist sat down.
Two days after Divination launch……….
News broadcast
Much of the world woke up to a new visitor in the heavens. At 3:14 GMT a startling bright supernova appeared, surprising astronomers. Apparently there are no known stars of that category in this position. The authorities at the Imperial Observatory suggest it is a bright nova shining through a gravitational lens from another galaxy. If that is true, it should disappear in a few days.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/supernovab.jpg
In other news, the launch of the Divination is marred by the lack of communications with the ship. It is thought there is a malfunction with the communications system or they might be too far away for the signal to reach us. As we know more, we will keep our viewers informed….
Behind closed doors at an emergency meeting within the Imperial Palace…
“What do you mean you don’t know where the Divination is? It’s your job to know. If you lost the Emperor’s nephew, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.” Dr Fraviuns was furious. “Now I have to go upstairs and tell the Emperor we lost Bryce? No, you better be sure before I make that walk. We still have the Posi-Grav Drive prototype out at the Kraken. Send it after the Divination.”
The aid he was talking to gasped in surprise at this order. “But Sir, the last time we tried to use it the entire lab imploded!”
Dr. Fraviuns gave a small chuckle and explained, “That was the beta model we tested. It reacted with the gravity well of Sol and imploded. We have made a few modifications during the past 6 years. The ship can be used in-system but at low power. There aren’t any strong gravity wells out by the Oort cloud so it will be safe. Send out the Flinx to rendezvous with the Divination’s flight path and follow them at top speed.”
“Yes Sir, I will do it right away.” The aid hurried off.
Two hours later…
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/prototype.jpg
The Flinx left its berth at the Kraken Research Facility just outside the Oort cloud and engaged its Posi-Grav drive. The crew diverted power from the fusion reactor to the Caplis generator located in the fan shaped aperture at the end of the arm. A sphere of nothingness appeared within the cone. The Flinx moved forward gradually picking up speed. The ship continued until it reached the coordinates of the Divination’s flight path. The Flinx re-orientated itself so it was pointed away from Earth.
“This is the Flinx calling The Kraken. Do you read me?’
“This is Kraken, report your status.”
“We have achieved the designated coordinates and aligned to the Divination’s flight path. The flight path seems to lead toward the supernova.”
“Roger that Flinx. Proceed with the mission but be careful. We don’t have to remind you what will happen if you go too near the anomaly.”
“That is for certain, Kraken. We don’t want to be squeezed within a singularity. Engaging the Posi-Grav drive.”
The zone of nothingness appeared again and the ship began to move again. The Flinx began to move faster while the field became more intense. As they approached the speed of light, the drive field began to take the shape of a teardrop pointing towards the direction of travel. The ship exceeded the speed of light and entered space-plus. The drive field took upon itself a purplish hue and the Doppler shift caused the stars to appear as prismatic lines. The acceleration rate started to go up enormously as the ship passed through Changeover. As the ship moved through space-plus, the drive field repelled matter away from the ship, avoiding collisions that would be instantaneously fatal.
Several hours later
The Flinx approached the supernova following the flight path of the Divination. The path appeared to lead right through the heart of the nova.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/Supernova.jpg
The Flinx dropped back into normal space and slowed to a halt.
“This is the Flinx calling Kraken Research Vessel. I repeat, this is the Flinx calling the Kraken. Please Reply.”
“Kraken here, what do you have to report?”
“The flight path appears to pass through the heart of the supernova. The anomaly is not in another galaxy like the Imperial Observatory suggested. It is a few light years outside our solar system. We are transmitting the data through space-minus. I hope the Divination didn’t pass…”
“Captain, I have detected an electronic signal.”
“What is it? Show me”
On a monitor a view of black space appeared. The image magnified until a small device could be seen tumbling through space.
“It appears to be a data beacon. Send a Proteus fighter to retrieve the item”
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/proteus9.jpg
Minutes later a single fighter launched from the Flinx. The pilot flew out to the object and captured it with the fighter’s tractor beam and towed it to the Flinx.
Aboard the Flinx, the crew puts the data beacon in storage. The ship sets coordinates for the Kraken and disappears into Space-Plus.
The Flinx dropped out of Space-Plus.
“This is the Flinx calling Command. I repeat, this is the Flinx calling Command.”
“This is Command. How was the trip Flinx?”
“Quite the sightseer tour. Requesting permission to dock.”
You have permission to dock in bay zero-one-niner”
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/Oortstation.jpg
They approached the Oort Station, passing the shipyards as they slowed to dock along side the Kraken. A squad of soldiers escorted the data beacon to the lab to have it analyzed.
Hours later…
The door of the briefing room opened and the CO of the Oort Station entered followed by an older civilian wearing a suit. The scientist waiting in the room hushed as they entered the room and sat down. After a moment the older man nodded to the officer and they both joined the rest at the table.
“Well, what have you discovered?” asked Commander Tiergen.
“We are still trying to decode some of the Data Beacons memory dump but we have most of the details what happened. It appears that the…”
“Excuse me, but what exactly is this beacon you spoke of?” interrupted the civilian.
“Um, Sir?” the scientist shot a questing look at Cmdr Tiergen.
“Speak freely in front of him. This is Doctor Fraviuns, the Imperial Representative sent here by the Emperor Himself“, answered Commander Tiergen.
“Well, the computer aboard the Divination was set to record all of the sensor logs, both internal and external. The computer also created a mirror of the data and recorded it in a specially designed pod that was automatically ejected in the case of a catastrophic event such as an attack, collision, or even the destruction of the ship. We even designed the beacon to resemble shrapnel just in case the ship was attacked. The device was designed to run silent until it could not detect any hostiles nearby before transmitting a signal through Space-Minus,” explained the scientist.
“Yes, I remember approving that project,” Dr. Fraviuns continued, “It was based upon the black boxes of the late 20th century. Please continue with your findings.”
“The logs show the engines were operating just as we designed. The Divination left the outer edge of the Oort Cloud into interstellar space. That is when the trouble started. There was an energy spike in the engine. The imbalance caused it to under go a cascade. The cascade triggered an implosion in the engine core and the Torq effect made the implosion multi-dimensional. That is why the explosion resembles a supernova.”
“How long will the anomaly remain?” queried the Commander.
“We are not sure.” answered the scientist, “It ripped a dimensional hole and the explosion is continuing through the other dimensions. It is uncertain how long it will actually last.”
“Where did this energy spike come from?” asked Tiergen.
“That is the curious thing. The systems analysis shows no place it could have originated. If it came from some other part of the ship, there would be a record of a drop in power. It would have to come from somewhere but all the other systems show the levels remained consistent with normal operational parameters. The only place it could have come from is an external source. That part of the beacon is still being analyzed.”
“So, what you are suggesting is either it was a fluke of nature or sabotage that destroyed the Divination” commented Dr Fraviuns. “Is this what I should report to the Emperor?”
“No sir, we need more time to finish analyzing the beacon so we know what the external sensors picked up. The beacon was damaged in the explosion so we are having a hard time decoding the contents. We have to recreate many of the data pathways and some of the data is completely missing.”
“How long would it take to finish decoding or whatever you have to do to the beacon to make it work?” asked the Doctor.
“We estimate about 6 more hours.”
“That sounds fine. Notify me when you are done and we will continue afterwards.” Commanded Tiergen.
“Yes Sir.”
With that the Doctor and the Commander stood and left the room, followed by the busy scientists.
6 Hours Later
Commander Tiergen and Doctor Fraviuns entered the briefing room again. The others were already waiting so they sat down and waited for them to report.
“I assume you have some news for me,” said the Commander.
“The computers were working overtime reconstructing the beacon virtually so we could have a chance to retrieve the data. We could recover some of the data but the rest is either scrambled or gone. It appears the energy spike we talked about earlier was not of an internal origin. It did come from an outside source. The surge in the core caused a critical cascade effect that ruptured the dimensional barriers. This is something we did not know was possible. The energy surge was apparently generated by the use of an Anti-Grav beam. The beam generated a distortion in the Torq Drive and the, for the lack of a better term, friction caused created a massive surge of power which overloaded the drive and the result was the anomaly.”
“Please don’t worry about it happening to any of the ships we are using in-system. The reaction apparently only can occur when the drive is located in interstellar space, away from the influence of the sun. The outside edge of the Oort Cloud generally marks the limit of Sol’s influence. After that point, there are not enough of the gravitational forces to influence the Torq Drive. It is here where the drive is vulnerable. We have a theory that if the Torq ships were combined with the Posi-Grav ships then it would negate this vulnerability.”
“The Torq Drive works by transferring the mass of the ship into Torq Space, an area of grey nothingness where our laws of physics don’t seem to apply. The image, or rather the transferred after image is all that remains in Real Space. One of the original researchers called it Ghost Space because any objects within it looked like it was a ghost. If we called the drive a Ghost Drive it would not promote a very secure feeling for those aboard the vessel. Because the ship is outside Real Space, it can almost travel instantaneously.”
“Thanks for the history lecture but what about this energy spike?” interrupted the Doctor.
“As I pointed out earlier, the power surge came from a source outside the Divination. We were able to extrapolate the direction and examine the sensors in that direction. We were able to get a picture but only a glimpse before the pod was ejected.”
The scientist reached down to the table top and pushed a button. The holographic projector came to life and generated a grainy picture.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v248/beldragos/ufo.jpg
“This is where the spike originated, gentlemen”
The scientist sat down.