NationStates Jolt Archive

In order to speed our space exploration, the Commonalitarianism has launched three self-replicating -- Von Neumann deep space probes. It contains equipment to mine, process, and build a close to exact copy of itself when it reaches a new system. It will start by building two copies of itself when it reaches a new system, these will be sent farther out. This is faster than our regular scout ships, because of the lack of human passengers. These probes will send back data from each system they visit using a quantum tunneling bell communicator. This will be first step before we send scout ships to interesting systems. These probes will have stealth technology to avoid being detected. They should be about 30 meters in length. They will not be designed for contact with other systems, and will have shut down if tampered with.

We started with three probes. With a probe building 2 new probes in each new system-- and the new probes leaving for other systems, in a period of ten years we have probes in all 300 systems within 8 light years of earth mapping out each solar system. This allows us to identify two new viable colony worlds to send ships to. We also have a stellar map of systems within 8 light years of earth. We also will send scout ships to systems with interesting solar or other anomalies to look over the systems. The probes are designed to collect hydrogen fuel and solar power, to power the electromagnetic Burkhard Heim drives between systems.

Probes have been sent out to some 150,000 worlds with the probes building 2 copies of themselves. Many of them have simply disappeared into the void. Some 30,000 of them. We can no longer keep track of the massive amount of data streaming in from multiple solar systems.

There are multiple alien civilizations. Many of them are destroyed in nuclear fire. Others simply destroyed their own worlds with wasted ecologies, bare remnants of once great civilizations surviving. There are places which we quarantine immediately, with signs of other von neumann style machines having wiped out all life.

Occassionally we find artifacts floating in the void, empty structures, or strange alien art. They are without explanation. There seems to be a threatening presence in some places best left alone.

Some worlds are so inimical to human life, but thrive with strange alien creatures.

Most worlds are uninhabitable by humans.

In the time period we were waiting we have acquired new technology. Nova Boozia has given us the ability to rebuild the skeletons of humans with titanium, improve our nervous structure, and rebuild us. Mei Li has provided us with bionanites which we have found can help regenerate and rebuild humans. This combined with our own advances in medical sciences allows us to rebuild humans, implanting wetware and biotechnology. This costs a fortune, but if we are going to open new worlds, we need to send out explorers to some of the most inhospitable dangerous places in the galaxy as well as possible colony worlds.

We send out a recruitment drive. Are you over 70, do you want a new life, have you served at the highest capacity in civilian or military life. We need men and women who are willing to start anew, leave their old lives behind. We test the recruits mental fitness and ability to withstand change. We interview their families, their friends, and sign confidentiality agreements. Those who are willing to go through the process are sent out to the far oort clouds and the new colony of Paradise to be rebuilt, retrained, and sent out to the stars. Many do not survive the process. Few are even chosen.

Small stealthed scout ships with pairs of the rebuilt are sent out to the stars to check the places of interest which have shown up on our new star charts...

ICCD is willing to send out some of our ESSI Space Division officers on your exploration missions or in concert. ICCD is concentrating on in system and planetary development and has not spent much effort on other system exploration.

We can contribute a few hundred officers to start with and as our population and space stations increase we can invest more personnel resources to the missions.

We will accept 100 personnel for our deep space scout service.

any of these probes come near the empirew they will be destroyed

Sephiroth:

You find several of the probes wandering in different star systems. Feel free to destroy them.

ICCD has had a major technology advance (A jump gate).

ICCD is still interested in sending out crew in cooperation.

ICCD appears very close to securing a business relationship with the Tveyas Corporation, which would see a potential wealth of new space technologies.

Every once in a while, someone - or something - stumbles across what the Kajali term "The Borderlands". This expanse of space is itself some fifty light years distant from Kajal proper, and is monitored by clusters of satellites - once intended as a defense grid of sorts - that have been organized into arrays.

Placement of these arrays has historically been one of the most agonizing logistical nightmares known to the Ministry of Defense. Later models are equipped with superluminal sensing equipment - though much of it in service within arrays is comparitively crude in contrast to modern systems.

At one point, these arrays were deployed by ships. Like the Von Neumann probes, the modern arrays are composed of satellites that are themselves capable of self-replication and repair. They're far more economical to deploy than the originals, of course, and there are a great many more of these arrays now than there were three hundred years ago.

Even so, only the known main approaches towards Kajal proper are covered, and coverage is sparse, if even present, in the sector that the one device is detected.

SYSNET R-4552 issues a hostile Friend or Foe challenge, and upon reciept, or lack thereof, it powers defensive systems. The foreign object is assessed as falling within acceptable engagement parameters, though it is at current still out of range.

In accordance to SYSNET programming, if a vessel, automated or not - does not return valid IFF status, it is to be directed away from Kajali space, disabled, or destroyed if necessary.

SYSNET R-4552 sends the standard Cease and Desist order to the foreign object. If it continues on course it will attempt to disable it. If suitable resistance is encountered, SYSNET Array R-455 will attempt to destroy it.

It's all very standard procedure, and no one in the Ministry of Defense is actually notifed.

The probe is not classified as an object with such priority.

Kajal: The probe only records. Its sole purpose is as a collector. Your probes upon scanning it find only detection equipment. It is like something is buiilding a massive monitoring network. The probes are clearly designed as something which can be thrown away. It sends a signal back to point of origin using quantum tunneling.

After a while a small ship appears on the outer edge of the system. It hovers there. Then it sends a simple binary code with an alien alphabet, and numbers.

ICCD: We are interested in the jump gate or wormhole technology. I think with jump gates, you need to travel between the two locations then make the jump. We have made some advances in technology which may interest you.

The array records the arrival of the small vessel, and logs the transmission. It is then relayed back to arrays closer to Kajal, and then to the Ministry of Defense proper. The alphabet is analyzed, and continues to be subject to scrutiny even as the patrol ship is dispatched.

The vessel dispatched - A Nightingale variant "Preybird" - holds position ten thousand kilometers away from the small ship. It sends a similar code to the alien ship. This code, however, includes the alphabets of four languages - three are variations of riikan, while the fourth is English. Also included is the original signal, matched to equivalents in the other languages, though not perfectly.

The small ship receives the signal and feeds it into the resident AI which is neurally linked to the pilot. Translation occurs fairly quickly. A simple message is sent out, "We are scout ship, Firebird, a first contact survey vessel. We wish to meet you. Please let us know if contact is permissible." The ship sends the image of a male human in a high collared blue jacket. He is completely bald.

Messages are exchanged briefly between the patrol ship and various government Ministries. The word comes back quickly, though the patrol ship has understandably limited ambassadorial capability.

Communications are opened, and the commanding officer of the ship is revealed. He appears human, of indian descent. Were it not for the ears, pointed as those of elves are, one would estimate that he was from Mumbai. Rank insignia are present, and seem consistent with that of other nations, indicating his position as Lieutenant-Commander.

"This is the Federated Kajali Frigate Soraal," The Commander's words are delivered in English, with a noticeable accent. "We have limited diplomatic capabilities, however, the Ministry of Defense has granted clearance for contact."

A signal accompanies the communications - it contains a small database of standard protocols, and a temporary IFF code, which will cause SYSNET to disregard the vessel The code will expire in approximately 24 hours, if not renewed.

Commonalitarianism.

" I am from the Commonalitarianism, or the First Commonality of Man, we are a direct compulsory forced vote democracy with an electronic commons and a physical assembly house. My name is Commander Cruonis, I am from the deep space exploration service."

"I would like to meet you. Would you like me to come over to your ship, or would you prefer to meet me aboard mine. I will come unarmed in a light unarmored spacesuit if you would like. I will be carrying a datapad. I am open to negotiations about basic technical trade, cultural and scientific information. I do have some samples of basic trade goods."

a dx 67 spy prob exits slipsteam cloacked and begins recoarding data

a dx 67 spy prob exits slipsteam cloacked and begins recoarding data

The design of SYSNET is one of multiple redundancies. Every sensor type is represented, some doubly. Dubbed Pentascanners, the main suite encompasses five discrete systems.

SUDAR, or the Subspace Detection And Ranging system, is based on the observations of disturbances within the subspace medium. Every object in space is reflected in the realm, in the form of varying energy states. Any matter is detectable with a fine enough instrument.

A slight disturbance in local fields is noted, and analyzed, and checked against other sensor types. When three of the five scanners return no data, a conclusion is reached.

The object has mass, and is nearby. Gravitational influence is minimal, though present, and subspace energy states quite clearly show an energetic field, remaining from an object exiting an energy-intensive state, in this case, FTL travel.

The sensors of SYSNET R-455 are not particularly new, but have been recently retrofitted. Gravitic generators flare to life, grasping at the invisible object, and finding it quite tangible, despite lack of evidence that it exists.

The main offensive armament of the array - a small Compression Reactor - is spun up. Gravitics create crude channels in space, and the reactor begins to vent fusion plasma into these channels. From there, it is compressed into beams perhaps three to five centimeters across, and is accellerated greatly towards the object.

It's a new approach to creating a plasma lance, perhaps overcomplicated, but appreciated for its stealth. This particular lance is not all too dangerous - at most, it could put a hole in the Kajali frigate nearby.

That it is likely overkill for the unseen object is not particularly considered.

Directed towards the Commonii ship is another type of energy.

"I am Lieutenant Commander Keraan. We will make arrangements to recieve you aboard our craft. If your vessel is capable, you may dock to the port or aft docking ports... Our shuttlebays, alas, are less of a bay and more of a rack, and cannot normally accommodate foreign craft."