NationStates Jolt Archive

Sultan Emil-had-Jazeer stared into the viewscreen, admiring the planet below; a jewel amongst the void it was, nestled amongst the glittering starscape. Vast blue oceans and swirling white stormfronts covered the surface of Santaria Orion IV. Six continents covered 24% of the planet's surface, mountains and deserts being the most prevalent terrain type. Massive blue rivers and lakes stood out upon the landscape like the veins of a creature's body bringing life to the planet. Upon those fertile banks they would make a living.

The Sultan stood upon the deck of the colony fleet's flagship, the Effulgent Scimitar. Once a massive cargo freighter over a kilometer long, the Effulgent Scimitar had been converted to serve as the hub of the fleet's search. Over 12 million human men and women dwelled in the refitted cargo and exploration ships. They had wandered the galaxy for longer than even their eldest could remember as merchants, traders and explorers.

Now at last they had found a home.

Santaria Orion IV was perfect; gravitational forces were rated at 1.019 times TSG (Terran Standard Gravity) and the atmosphere was nearly identical to Terra's. Now it belonged to the Jazeerian fleet which he led bravely to their fate upon the blasted rock. All 1,186 ships swarmed into orbit, their weathered and ancient hulls accepting the fate that had come before them.

Each ship had a predesignated landing zone; each ship's population had accepted the fate before them. Every scrap of large metal had been used to increase the structural integrity of the ship's skeleton. Every colonist had strapped themselves to the hull with their families, praying to the Jazeerian gods for a safe landing.

Emil knew what he was getting into and he had explained it thoroughly to all his people. They all knew the risks of settling down and claiming a corner of the galaxy as their own. He felt no remorse when he gave his final order to the fleet.

"May the gods be with us...Engage."


Three Weeks Later...


Everything had gone smoothly.

Out of 12 million people, not one single member of the Sultanate had died during the landing. The hull of each ship became the centerpiece of each city and each had crash-landed into or near a mighty river or lake. The population had begun to thrive amongst the fertile green shores of the deep blue water. It had taken less than a week for the fleet's doctors to innoculate the population against the native diseases.

Engines, computer systems, weapons, scrap metal. Much had been salvaged by the colonies and used to improve the ancient shuttlecraft that now served as the basis of their fleet. The Sultan had created what seemed like paradise compared to the dark corridors of the Jazeerian freighters. The Sultan had freed them from their exile, an exile so long that none remembered why they had been cast out.

The only thing the Sultan had not accounted for was the awakening of a massive energy disruption near the edge of the system coupled with the rather large (albeit old) energy signature of nearly 1,200 ships passing through the system. His people remained blissfully unaware of the fact that any nearby interstellar faction with sensors even a hundred years old would have noticed them.

<Begin Standard Data Flow>

<Station a-36>

<Processing>
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<Class-3 Fleet located, sector 36B>
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<End Packet>

Junior Officer Daar'in was scrolling down the screen as he completed the standard sensor log when the alert blinked onto his vidscreen. He blinked as he stared at it for a moment, then waved his CO over franticly.

It only took a half hour to launch a recon ship to the system to investigate...

Lieutenant Commander Esta-el-Fazzi glowered at the sensor display in his cockpit. Long range sensors had just picked something up on the extreme edge of his range. It was hard to tell if it had been a ship or a particularly fast asteroid from this range.

"What on earth could that be..." he muttered.

A push of a button later and he had opened a channel to the Santarian Defense Headquarters. A rather silly name when your defense fleet consists of a few thousand shuttles barely able to cross interplanetary space, let alone interstellar.

"HQ this is LC Foxtrot Oh Seventeen One, forwarding unidentified signal for analysis."

Esta waited for a response.

"We can't identify it Oh Seventeen One, though it's hard to tell from this distance. Could be an asteroid. Proceed closer to unidentified object and commence active scanning, we're diverting another two patrols to assist. If the whisper appears to be moving erratically, inform us and we'll ship a probe, over."

Esta glowered at the screen for a moment, then sighed.

"Acknowledged, Oh Seventeen One out."

He quickly tapped a few commands into the navigational computer and was pleased to see the ship turn 45 degrees and head for the unidentified signal. Soon they would see what all the fuss was about.

Bump.

Bump.

Seems nobody is interested in playing with me. D:

OOC: its only been an hour or so, give it time (: i might join in on this...

(OOC: I know that, but I thought I'd give guilt tripping a try anyway. ;D)

The AFV Blindfolds Aside been assigned a difficult task, she was one of the few ships in the Allied Fleet that was ordered to look for ships that still believed the civil war was still being slugged out. Even though the war had ended in a tragic loss for both sides at least twenty five PSN and AEN ships didn't know the truth.

Captain Knightly was one of the few military officers who had survived the second civil and managed to stay alive through the third. Some said she was a female Joshua Knightly (one of the second civil war's's greatest heroes) while others thought she was his daughter. Even if she wasn't related to him she was one of the best troopers the allied forces had left and she took pride in that.

The current system scan had grown boring enough to put Amber to sleep in her command chair, not that her crew minded. It wasn't until a gentle "push" from the ship's AI system did she wake up.
"What is it now?" she asked after yawning.
"Long range sensors have detected a massive energy wake, it seems to be somewhat old enough to fit the time frame and jump pattern the PSN Infernal Sky had been following during Operation: Shadow's Dagger. I've run the calculations and the system is within range for a rapid fold," the AI responded almost gleefully.
"Fine, we'll investigate," Amber muttered as she tried to get comfortable once more.
Before Amber could get comfortable once more the ship wide warning sirens came online and alerted the crew of the space fold. The warning lasted only a minute before a brilliant sickly green flash enveloped the Blindfolds Aside and sent it into a fold space corridor that would put it just one million km from the second last planet.

After eleven minutes, one more than originally anticipated due to a slight drive error, the eligant light cruiser exited fold space in a massive burst of gamma radiation and a brilliant sickly green flash (almost as if they were showing off).

OCC: Just what I needed to get my mind off of hockey.
Also the Blindfolds Aside is relatively short (for Phalanix) at 2.4km long.

(OOC: Small for you maybe, my poor shuttlecraft are only between 18-30 meters long depending on the model. :P)

Esta muttered an oath...his sensors picked up a flash of light in the distance. His sensors weren't known for their long range and this contact was even further than the unidentifiable one they saw before. Still, he ran another scan, finding only one faint contact outside of his optimum detection radius. A cloud of dissipating radiation in the form of a ship's silhouette...

"HQ, new contact detected, transmitting data now. Request confirmation of ship presence with short-range probe, over."

Esta stared in horror, if that thing was aggressive and well-armed, the Santarians didn't stand a chance. His sensors estimated it as being around two and a half kilometers long, he didn't even want to think about what kind of tonnage it would be sporting.

"Acknowledged Oh Seventeen One, probe dispatched to coordinates, over."

The probe passed his shuttle, so fast that his eyes hadn't even caught it. The sensors came to life as the fuzzy image of the ship sharpened instantly, the sensor probe revealing it instantly.

"By the gods it's huge..." he muttered to himself. "HQ this is Oh Seventeen One, we have confirmed contact with unidentified ship, classification unknown. Contact Alpha is cloaked in radiation, made a big noise when they came in. Requesting permission to pull back into the atmosphere before they head our way, over."

"Negative on that Oh Seventeen One, top brass wants you to observe the situation from a distance, I repeat, observe from a distance, over."

(OOC: I'm sorry Sephrioth, but I made a promise to myself long ago under another nation that I would never RP with you again. Seeing as how your grammar has failed to improve, I shall not respond to any posts you make in this thread. Good day.)

((Glad to see a new nation with a sense of hummor, just be glad I didn't use my original plan. :p))

For roughly thirty seconds the Blindfolds was dead in the water, thanks to the massive energy cost to keep the corridor open during transit, after that half a minute she slowly came to life as the hull lights came online and her engins slowly powered up and sluggishly at first she crawled out of the cloud of radiation, while picking up speed every second.
"Ma'am, a small vessel has been detected a large distance off of our bow," the sensor tech called out, "Nothing in the database matches it and it defenetly isn't a PSN ship."
Amber secretly was relieved, the thought of confronting a massive Peace class was terrifying enough but trying to tell them the war was over and that both sides had allied would only be pushing her limits.
"Scan the vessel and launch a recon Shadow Angel. I want to see what is going on here," Amber barked as she focused on the new task at hand, threat assesment.

Roughly twenty decks below in a port launch tube a sleak jetblack fighter was shot out by magnetic acceleration. After only three seconds the fighter shot forth under it's own power and activated it's ECM system to help mask it's scanns.

"Now, I want full power to the engins and I want us to close the gap with that vessel, and this time make sure the fifty mills are not set on automatic this time. I don't want a repeat of the last shuttle we had to board."

(OOC: I have a sense of humor? WOOHOO! =D )

Rather than increase the chances of detection through active transmissions, Esta triggered a burst transmission reporting to headquarters.

Closing to standard sensor range.

Contact primary power online.

Preparing to conduct active scan.

Then it all happened at once. The massive ship sped up, heading straight for Esta's shuttle. He knew immediately he couldn't outrun it, but maybe he could distract it. There was a small asteroid field nearby, maybe he could escape...no, at that speed he wouldn't make it anywhere near.

Contact approaching at high velocities!

Taking evasive action.

Deploying crybaby.

Headed for Asteroid Field.

As he hit the send, he was already bringing his shuttle into a tight 180 degree turn and gunning the engines to 110%. He had nowhere the speed of the large vessel, but he hoped that his superior maneuverability would allow him to evade capture or destruction in the field. There was a thump as his cargo bay emptied of its contents, including one medium-sized transmission beacon dubbed the 'CRYBABY.'

Pulling another 90 degree turn, he headed for the asteroid field. He was pleased to see another signal appear on his sensor suite: it appeared to be a pirate vessel approximately 600 meters long. The crybaby's operational lifespan was less than five minutes, but the radiation and sensor shadows it emitted might distract the pursuing ship long enough to give him a chance...

His communications console flickered on.

Oh Seventeen One, deactivate Crybaby.

Attempt to Establish Peaceful Contact.

Do not retreat.

"Pfft, to hell with that!" Esta scoffed, instead increasing his engines to 115%.

The recon ship gently completed the final skip through hyperspace and slid into realspace with barely a whisper. As its skipdrive quickly powered down, its cloaking field activated, hopefully rendering invisible to any sensor beacons in the area. From the light cruiser's bridge, Captian Nathi'al turned to his Sensor Officer.
"Report"
The officer scanned the screen briefly. "I'm reading three unidentified ships, two cruisers, one small interface craft, off to starboard."

"On screen"

The screen blinked to life. The small shuttle was speeding towards the nearby asteroid field, and a larger cruiser was following. There was no sigh of the third ship.
"Sensors, where is the third cruiser?"
"I donlt know, sir. It should be right between them. Maybe it's using a visual cloaking device."
"Communications, start transmitting back to command. All crews, general quarters. Raise shields and begin to charge weapons. And bring us closer. We don't make a move until we see whats happening."

A lone Ozymandias class (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10400421&postcount=2) battlecruiser, the Ha Dum ship that had been put in charge of the group of Scouts sent to probe the Milky Way Galaxy, dropped out of Quantum Slipstream near the system's asteroid belt. The system had been choosen by the Shipmind to serve as a location which the scouting fleet used as a base of operations while the Scouts searched this sector of the galaxy. Five of the ten Scouts (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10400437&postcount=6) that made up the rest of the scouting fleet dispatched to the Milky Way Galaxy darted about the larger battlecruiser. Due to the unique ability of the Photonium that Ha Dum ships were made of to absorb energy of all sorts, as part of the Ha Dum defense technology, was that they were invisible on passive sensors and only showed up as a void the size and shape of the craft on active sensors.

Battlecruiser - Bridge

We have arrived.

Scan the system. Lets see if we are alone here or not.

By your command.

OOC: While they may not show up on passives at all and barely on actives, with cloaks deactivated like they are, a visual inspection (ie, using one's eyes) is the best way to notice them.

Esta saw the slight disturbance ahead on his sensors, but the ship's computer automatically logged it as slight subspace interference. It wasn't until he saw the ship looming in front of him in the viewscreen that he realized the computer was dead wrong. His lightning reflexes saved his life as he slammed the thrusters to reverse and moved the ship into a fast dive, blowing his only emergency afterburners on the maneuver.

He missed the unknown ship's bow by less than a meter.

Muttering a silent thank-you to the god of travel, Esta reversed the thrust once more. His engines were overheating from the increased power he had used to buy time. Lowering enginer power to 75%, he hoped the crybaby and new ship would give him the time he needed to make it into the field. Once he had escaped, he could report these new findings to the HQ.

Battlecruiser - Bridge

Scans indicate several ships in the star system. None are from any known nations. There is also what appears to a decoy beacon.

Understood. Are you sure the one is a decoy becon?

Yes. The mass reading we are getting and the object's energy output don't match with with what a craft of the apparent size should be. Obviously designed to confuse less sophisticated sensors than ours.

We just had a Corsair (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10400443&postcount=7) sized craft perform a near miss with this ship.

Is it the closest?

Affirmative. Scans indicate one occupant. Shall I bring it aboard?

Yes. Lets see who would be brazen enough to approach a ship like this that close with a shuttle.

They could have just been in our path when we dropped out of Quantum Slipstream.

I know. Still, lets see who the pilot is. Let the Thrall know we are having a guest.

By your command.

Exterior

A tractor beam snaked out from the battlecruiser and snared the shuttle that had nearly rammed it. The tractor would bring the small craft into direct physical contact with the Photonium hull and then other mechanisms would bring it into a pressurized room where a single Shadow Thrall (http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y160/DragoonKVess/Character%20Pics/shadow1.jpg) of Ha Dum and two male Sernaix (http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/MistrissDraconia/Character%20Pics/sernaix.jpg) were waiting.

The Blindfolds Aside seemed to be startled by the sudden appended of a new vessel. It only took ten seconds for its plasma turrets to open fire on the crybaby, mostly due to the procedures to follow after a space fold dictating that weapons be ready to fire within seconds of exiting fold space.
Though when several torpedoes missed it became apparent it was a sensor trick.
"Damnit, I want that Angel to follow that shuttle and if need be cripple it," Amber cried out in frustration.

The VBR-8 Shadow Angel fighter preformed an extremely tight turn to follow the shuttle's flight path but with the sudden new appearance of another ship, that almost took the shuttle out, the pilot bugged out and began to turn back towards the Blindfolds.

Back on the Blindfolds the sensors detected an energy surge and but before it could be confermed it vanished.
“Ma’am, sensors have picked up an energy spike but no ship, assuming the vessel has a cloak,” the sensor tech called out.


(( Shoddy post = very tired writer ))

Shrill klaxons echoed around Esta's cockpit as his ship fought inevitably against the gravitational forces of the tractor beam. He tried to eject, but the system read as offline. Swearing in frustration, he cut power to the engines and transmitted one last signal to Headquarters.

Priority Red.

Shuttle in tractor beam.

Tell my family I love them.

In the name of Fashan!

Opening the shuttle's weapon hatch, he removed a single weapon and cocked it. The weapon used a primitive 10mm slug projected by explosive power, but it would be more than enough for his purpose.

"Praise Fashan!" he cried into his cockpit, putting the gun up to his head and pulling the trigger.

In the darkness of space, a silent flash illuminated the cockpit of the shuttle. Lifesigns dropped to zero.

"Ma'am the shuttle has been captured by a new target, the VBR-8 only managed to avoid it," the ship's AI said before pulling up images from the VBR-8's external recording systems.
"Great... head to the main planet in the system, I want to see what we may be dealing with," Amber said before tilting her chair slightly back, "And please avoid any new arivals, last thing the fleet needs is another ship lost."

"We have an inbound contact. One confermed visual reading. It's low on the sensors, but we do have a gravitational field."
Captian Nathi'al survayed the new ship, more heavy cruiser then scout.
"Stand by. Do not engage. We'll see how this plays out"
"Sir, the shuttle has stopped. Life signs have dropped to 0%."
"Keep scanning. And ask Command to keep a cruiser squadron on standby, just in case."

Battlecruiser - Bridge

Lifesigns have dropped.

How long ago?

If we act quickly, we may be able to upload the pilot's mind into the Realm.

Make it so.

Exterior

The 'corpse' of the shuttle pilot was transported from the shuttle to the much larger battlecruiser. Meanwhile, the shuttle continued to be brought in with the tractor beam.

Interior - Realm Up-Load Chamber

Getting any brain activity?

Affirmitive. Subject still carries an electrical charge in the neurons.

Begin upload.

Affirmitive.

The body may be dead, but the mind will live on.

Esta's mind was being forceably being uploaded to the Realm, a sub-space network that all Sernaix have their minds uploaded to when their physical bodies die. The Realm not only kept the experience and expertise of a Sernaix intact, but it could be done for other species as well.

The fleet of nearly four thousand shuttlecraft was gathering in the orbit of Santaria Orion IV. Each ship was small, lightly armed and manned by one or two pilots. Against a proper warfleet they wouldn't be able to do much, but if these ships were truly aggressive the shuttles would be able to delay an attack or possible drive it off. In the center of the formation lay the fleet's only operational capital ship, an ancient terran corvette nearly 200 meters long by the name of Last Hope, armed with 120mm magnetic railguns and a particle beam cannon.

"Dear god let's hope we won't have to use these weapons..." Emil-had-Jazeer muttered to himself onboard the bridge of the Corvette. "If they put up a fight, I don't think we can do much to stop them."

(OOC: Bad post, but no time for a real post.)

Exterior

Scouts were entering and exiting warp and Quantum Slipstream randomly. On occasion, some would dock with the battlecruiser.

Battlecruiser - Bridge

Long range scans indicate a fleet of Corsair sized craft forming up in orbit around one of the planet's in the star system. Also detecting a corvette sized object leading the fleet.

Interesting. Looks like the locals are up in arms. Must be all the new arrivals in their system.

Most probable possibility.

Let me know when the Up-Load is completed.

By your command.

Realm Up-Load Chamber

<Is the process going well.>

"Yes, my Thrall. Native pilot's mind is Up-Loading as we speak."

<Good. Inform me when it is complete.>

"By your command, Creator."

OOC: @Santaria Orion IV: Let me know when the Up-Load is complete (basically, I'm digitizing the shuttle pilot's mind into my computers (in Ha Dum, physical death only means going from a physical existance to a digital one)).

Captain Nathi'al continued to watch the scene unfold, as the battle cruiser towed the shuttle into its hanger bay. Out of habit, he double checked the data steam back to Command.
"Sir! Multiple inbound contacts, bearing 3 points of the port bow!"
"How many?" The space around Nathi'al's chari obligingly filled with holograms, showing vidfeeds, sensor locks and other information. "Damn. Red Alert!"
The lights dimmed and the klaxons began to whir. The intercomm voice came online.
"All hands, battle stations. Weapons teams, man your stations. Tactical coontrol, you are autherized to engage at will. Combat teams, report to the operations briefing room."

"Keep us cloaked until the cruiser fleet arrives..."

Amber had grown tired of the constant complications that had plagued what was ment to be a simple pit stop.
"Hail the lead ship around the main planet, I'm sick of these god damned problems," Amber cried out in frustration.
After a moment to compose herself and fix herself up she nodded to the comms officer to begin recording.
"Unidentified fleet this is the AFV Blindfolds Aside of the Allied Forces of Phalanix. Please respond," she said as she tried to look profesional (as much as a young woman who looked only twenty-one could.)

(OOC: I'm assuming that what you speak of (Ha Dum) is basically going to be something along the lines of Esta 'waking up' inside of a computer? That could be interesting...I'd say it can be complete whenever you are ready. I'm ready any time.)

"Sir!" Emil's communcations officer reported. "Contact Alpha is hailing us, audio only."

The Sultan nodded to his subordinate and motioned for him to play the transmission.

"Unidentified fleet this is the AFV Blindfolds Aside of the Allied Forces of Phalanix. Please respond," the voice of a woman came through.

Emil motioned for his comm officer to record a response.

"This is the Former Jazeerian Nomad Ship Last Hope, now flagship of the new Santarian defense fleet. How can we help you?"

The sultan nodded and the transmission was away in a flash. He had done his best to keep his voice calm and level, he only hoped the ship didn't turn aggressive if it saw an opportunity to taste blood.

OOC: Pretty much, but the Realm is more like a nation-wide digital world. He won't know its not the physical world. Its like a very realistic virtual reality. Very few from outside Ha Dum are given the privilage of Up-Load and the Sernaix consider it to be quite the honor for the subject. One cool thing, because its direct mind-to-mind communications, no language barriers.

IC: Battlecruiser - Up-Load Chamber

Up-load is complete.

Inform the Thrall and the bridge.

Realm - Local Sub-Realm Of The Battlecruiser

"Look, a new arrival."

"Come, back off. Give the man some breathing room."

The crowd of male and female Sernaix along with a few members of other nations that had been Up-Loaded circled around the spot in the digital field of the Local Sub-Realm. A very human looking woman of obvious Asian descent crouched down and stared down at Esta's face. She would be the first thing he saw when he came to.

(( Actualy the message was video and audio but lets just blame some technical error for the lack of video >< ))

"Captain the plasma discharges from dealing with that small sensor device are disrupting the video feed and it is doubtful they recived any more than the audio," the AI said.
"God damnit...wait is this thing still on?" Amber cried out, blushing out of embarasment as the COM officer slowly nodded. She sighed as she knew the discharges wouldn't cover that moment up and responded, "Um, please forgive that little...problem. Anyways, we are interested in knowing if you have any knowlage of the PSN Infernal Sky, a massive 9.5 kilometer destoryerm that is assumed to have been in this region during the last month. And just to reasure you we are not here on some imperialistic expansion."

(OOC: Huh, wonder why I thought it was audio only. Ah well... -_-)

Esta opened his eyes slowly, greeted by the visage of...a human?

"Where am I...have the pearly gates of heaven opened to me? Has my faith been rewarded?" He said quietly, remembering his suicide.


----- -=-=- ----- -=-=- -----


Not an imperialistic expansion...Emil breathed a sigh of relief. If that was true, he would only have to worry about the other ship that had appeared...and about where Commander Esta's shuttle had up and disappeared to.

"We are glad to hear that...as for this ship, we have only been here for a week and have never seen any signs of such a craft. Although...our craft's sensors are inadequate to monitor the entire region, as such we have been forced to maintain patrol routes and send probes to investigate unidentifiable signals. You're the first non-Jazeerian ship to entire the system since we arrived."

He mostly spoke the truth...a pair of tiny pirate raiders had attempted an attack on a convoy of Jazeerian nomads coming to join the budding colony two days ago, but his shuttlecraft had been able to damage the ships and drive them off before any real harm was done.

(OOC: Huh, wonder why I thought it was audio only. Ah well... -_-)

Esta opened his eyes slowly, greeted by the visage of...a human?

"Where am I...have the pearly gates of heaven opened to me? Has my faith been rewarded?" He said quietly, remembering his suicide.
*Snip*

"Ehh, close enough," the women replied offering him a hand to help him up, "I'm Lorine. You are?"

"Oh, I..." Esta murmured, slightly embarrased. He was a military man, his job had always been to manage security of the nomad freighter he had lived aboard. That had left no time for women, especially not for marriage.

"Esta-el-Fazzi, pleased to meet you madam," he said as respectfully as possible. Nervously he ran a hand over the black unshaven stubble on his face.

(OOC: Bah, that was me. Forgot to change accounts.)

"Oh, I..." Esta murmured, slightly embarrased. He was a military man, his job had always been to manage security of the nomad freighter he had lived aboard. That had left no time for women, especially not for marriage.

"Esta-el-Fazzi, pleased to meet you madam," he said as respectfully as possible. Nervously he ran a hand over the black unshaven stubble on his face.

"Esta-el-Fazzi," Lorine repeated, "mind if I just call you Esta?"

OOC: Ehehe, a little alteration of the code and here we go. Quote with correct nation name.

He smiled, "Esta will do fine..." The former pilot said, sitting up slowly. "Though I admit Heaven looks nothing like I had imagined..."

(OOC: You clever little code editor you. ;O)

Amber rolled her eyes slightly before continuing, "There is the possiblity you encountered the radiation clouds that the destoryer leaves behind after each jump. Perhaps we could arange a meeting so we would be able to review any sensor data that may have information on our missing ship. At the same time I'm sure you'd enjoy the added protection of a war ship or becoming a member of the Allied Fleet and reciving several 'perks.'"

He smiled, "Esta will do fine..." The former pilot said, sitting up slowly. "Though I admit Heaven looks nothing like I had imagined..."

(OOC: You clever little code editor you. ;O)

"The Realm can look however you want it," replied Lorine, "For example, watch."

She closes her eyes and concentrates for a moment. When she opens them again, the scene has shifted from the middle of a meadow to a Lunar-like surface in appearance.

Emil closed his eyes, sighed, then responded.

"Very well, though understand that I cannot order my shuttles to stand down as of yet. Sensors still indicate the presence of an unknown ship and one of our patrols fleeing from it has vanished, presumably captured or destroyed. I will order the Last Hope to power down weapons and shields as a gesture of goodwill. Once you arrive, we will grant you the sensor information you require."

He glowered at the ship's tactical display. Shields or no shields, a ship that size could probably tear through the Last Hope like a hot knife through butter, then proceed to tear his shuttlecraft to pieces with its point defense systems.


----- -=-=- ----- -=-=- -----


Esta was surprised. "So truly, it is a heaven that can suite the desires of those who inhabit it. Truly the creators must be wise..." he murmured.

*Snip*
Esta was surprised. "So truly, it is a heaven that can suite the desires of those who inhabit it. Truly the creators must be wise..." he murmured.

Local Sub-Realm

Lorine just shrugged. She would let him figure out the truth on his own, like she had when she had been Up-Loaded.

Battlecruiser - Bridge

They all seem to be converging on the fourth planet of this star system.

Move us into orbit as well. Don't take any agressive actions.

As you command.

Exterior

The black form of the battlecruiser started foward towards the orbit of the fourth planet in the star system. The Scouts continued to dart about the larger ship as it plodded along in a straight line, one designed to give no impression of agressive intent.

"Leave your sheilds up, even if it is a gesture of good will it's not the birghtest thing to do in this situation. You're the defenders and we should be the ones making the gesutres," Amber replied.
The Last Hope, if they were scaning the Blindfolds Aside, could easly detect that it's sheilds had powered down as well as her plasma turrets while it's engins began to increase the speed of the ship bringing it closer to the small fleet.

Esta sighed with contentment, thus far it did not seem to be hell. He had been saved, his faith to the gods had brought him beyond the reach of the pain of mortality. He was free.

"Tell me Lorine...what do we do now?" He said, curious as to what one would do in the afterlife.


----- -=-=- ----- -=-=- -----


Emil glanced at the tactical display, there were faint shadows on the long-range sensors, small amounts of background radiation that could indicate the presence of a third ship, possibly cloaked from regular sensors. More importantly, it was in the exact sector where his rogue shuttle had vanished to. Thus far, he seemed to be the only one who noticed it.

"Sir," his tactical officer said. "We have a sensor confirmation, their weapons and shields are powering down. They're headed our way."

"Lieutenant, raise shields but keep the weapons powered down, we don't want to give them a reason to be jumpy. Also, I'd like you to launch a probe to Sector VIIIB1, program it for both subspace and visual scanners."

A dull thud echoed through the decks as a single probe was shot off, its trajectory taking it well away from the approaching Blindfolds Aside.

Local Sub-Realm

"Well," she said, "how about you start by telling me about yourself. When you're done, I'll tell you about myself. Deal?"

Exterior

As she was only accelerating at 0.25c (OOC: 1/4 the speed of light), instead of her full speed, the battlecruiser's trip could be considered a cruise. Of course, 0.25c was the standard sub-light cruising speed due to realtivisitic(sp?) effects traveling that close to the light-speed barrier in real space.

OOC: Its your system, you get to say how long the trip between the asteroid belt and the planet will take me and when I arrive in orbit of the planet.

(OOC: I think I'll say an hour and fifteen minutes at 0.25c. I think the word is relativistic, though I'd have to check www.dictionary.com to be sure.)

Esta folded his arms and leaned his head back in thought.

"Let's see...there's not much to say. I, Esta-el-Fazzi, son of Revan-el-Pasho, lived 38 years onboard the Jazeerian Nomadic Freighter Divine Gypsy, where I served twenty of those years as a security officer and shuttle pilot. Much to my family's dissapointment, I never married nor found any interest in the women of the ship.

"I have lived my life as a soldier, loyal unto the end of my days to the Jazeerian Sultan. The only thing greater than my loyalty to the Sultan was my devotion to the gods. Funny, I always wanted to become a cleric, but life can take funny turns at times. Strange how different the end is, compared to how it begun. What about you, how did life bring you to this place?"

OOC: Still, you get to say when it gets in orbit. Your star system, you call the shots.

IC: Lorine responded, "I come from a planet know as Altera located in a nation known as SeaQuest. I was out with a Draconian friend of mine looking for tech to build a racing ship when we accidently strayed into territory claimed by the nation of Ha Dum. Seems they really like their privacy in their own space."

OOC: I've already gotten permission from SQ to use one of his Alterans.

Amber sighed as she watched the distance slowly count down till they could be in docking range. "That's it, send a message to the Last Hope. We're preforming a pinpoint fold," she said before speaking to the ship AI, "Prepare a pin point space fold to bring us about a thousand kilometers away from the furthest vessel in the small fleet."

Seconds after the message was sent the Blindfolds Aside was slowly coated in a sickly green light before litteraly blinking out of real space and only to re-enter real space in the same style she entered the system (though the energy spike adn radiation cloud was at least half as big as before.)

"Sir, none of the ships are engaging in combat action." The Sensor officer continued to read down his screen. The battlecruiser appears to be disenaging, and the other cruiser is moving towards the fleet at cruising speed. The fleet's main ship has powered down its shields."
Nathi'al checked his own read outs. "Communications, tell command the cruiser team can wait until--"
He was interruped by the very same ships, 3 of them jumping out of hyperspce and cloaking. They blipped on the sensors, then faded. Cursing the efficiancy of the Nistolonian fleet, Nathi'al opened a channel to the cruisers and informed them of the situation.

OOC: Curtesy bump.

OOC: Curtesy bump.

OOC: Curtesy bump.

(OOC: I totally forgot about this, anybody still here?)

(OOC: I totally forgot about this, anybody still here?)

OOC: I am.

OCC: I'm waiting to.

OOC: Curtesy bump.

"Sir, probe revealed nothing! If something was there before...it's not there now."

A green flash filled the command deck of the Last Hope, nearly blinding the crew. Emil squinted and saw a puff of radiation in the distance. A quick glance at the tactical display showed the Blindfolds Aside hovering approximately 1,000 kilometers off the formation's front line.

"Much faster and far more accurate than our drives," Emil muttered. "Make a note to transmit the sensor data of that jump to the science department at the Effulgent Scimitar."

----- -=-=- ----- -=-=- -----

"Ha Dum..." Esta echoed curiously. "A strange word, in all my wanderings I have never heard of them. Then again, we had chosen to move to that sector of space primarily because it is unfamiliar to us. The region the Jazeerian Nomads previously inhabited was heavily populated. I'm sure my brethren on the mortal plane will learn much there. I do admit that I had hoped to help forge a new home, but I do not despair."

"Tell me, surely there are others in heaven? We cannot be alone here, surely if the gods themselves cannot greet me then others besides you would welcome a newly deceased..."

*Snip*
"Ha Dum..." Esta echoed curiously. "A strange word, in all my wanderings I have never heard of them. Then again, we had chosen to move to that sector of space primarily because it is unfamiliar to us. The region the Jazeerian Nomads previously inhabited was heavily populated. I'm sure my brethren on the mortal plane will learn much there. I do admit that I had hoped to help forge a new home, but I do not despair."

"Tell me, surely there are others in heaven? We cannot be alone here, surely if the gods themselves cannot greet me then others besides you would welcome a newly deceased..."

"This is only the local Sub-Realm. Their are," Lorine paused as she thought for a moment, "well, the best descriptive would be to say that there are an infinite number of Sub-Realms. Each unique to a specific place. Things in the physical world in that place are represented according to the local Sub-Realm's current 'theme'.

"As for others, we are the only two in this area of this local Sub-Realm.

"As for Ha Dum, I doubt a member of a Milky Way Galaxy nation would have heard of them as their capital planet is in another galaxy all together."

Esta furrowed his brow. "How does one learn so much? I have not seen any secrets of this galaxy revealed to me yet."

Esta furrowed his brow. "How does one learn so much? I have not seen any secrets of this galaxy revealed to me yet."
"I've been here for some time," came the reply, "no, knowledge isn't instantly granted. You actually still have to look things up."

Lorine makes a flurish with her left hand and a book appears in it.

"Just imagine the info you want, in the form and language you want, and poof."

OOC: Curtesy bump.

OOC: Curtesy bump.

"Sir, probe revealed nothing! If something was there before...it's not there now."

A green flash filled the command deck of the Last Hope, nearly blinding the crew. Emil squinted and saw a puff of radiation in the distance. A quick glance at the tactical display showed the Blindfolds Aside hovering approximately 1,000 kilometers off the formation's front line.

"Much faster and far more accurate than our drives," Emil muttered. "Make a note to transmit the sensor data of that jump to the science department at the Effulgent Scimitar."

*snip*

The Blindfolds Aside seemed dead in the water once more before coming back to life.
"Sorry if we startled you," Amber said in a message, "Anyways where would you like us?"


OCC: Oh crap! Forgot to post ><