NationStates Jolt Archive

Returning home from the Xanthal front on board the Ankylosaur, three alchemists, Rock, Paper, and Scissors, have been struggling for the last half-hour to grab a sample of the black infectious material that now covered almost the entire hull of the Ankylosaur. Finally, they hit upon fusion-cutting a chunk of black-crusted inner hull and suspending it in a forcefield over a diagnostic transmutation circle. Then they clapped their hands, built up some energy and placed their hands on the outer circumference of the circle. Lines of energy crackled and a line went from the forcefield to the circle to a computer, where a list of what elements makes up this black infection would hopefully be displayed.

In the meantime, Admiral Achilles was poring over the damage report. Over 80% of the fleet was infected in some fashion or other, and the other half of the report detailed the damage incurred during the battle, which was rather heavy at times, even for the Ankylosaur. As he mulled over the events up to now, he wondered what he is to do once they arrive at Konoha, the capital now that Jurai was beseiged. From quarentine to scuttling, a full range of options were available to the Admiral and soon, the High Council.

But little did he know that another option would soon become available...

The three Alchemists carefully watched the .5 meter segment of hull carefully contained within a force field, suspended in the center of some kind of circular design. The infection continued to convert the remainder of the hull until it was completely changed, then it waited.

The “sample” could feel the energies probing its form and attempting to peer at its molecules. It reconfigured itself, forming a rod of ebon material the strength of durasteel in an attempt to push the force field apart, but it was too small for the needed leverage.

It waited to see if there was a way to escape.

Nearby the computer attached to the diagnostic diagram beeped as its screen showed several diagrams and readouts.

The sample was composed uniformly of an unknown metal. It was metamorphic in nature and appeared to have a strong life-force attached to it. It also appeared to bear traces of a dimensional signature, although it was not sure if that was because the sample was once part of a ship that traveled dimensions or if the trace was its own.

The sample felt an awareness through the Link, the shared consciousness all Kythons possessed. The Shipmind reached out and contacted the sample, assuring it there was nothing to fear and it would be an invaluable participant in events that would soon come to pass.

Content, it watched the trio of cronies drooling over the data displayed on the screen. Every few seconds, it modified itself so the device could not get a clear reading.

"This is the weirdest thing ever! It's like it transmutates itself or something." Paper said, her eyes peering at the screen in confusion.

"Yeah. I'd wager it's almost alive too, like it wants to escape." Rock frowned at the thing poking and prodding at the forcefield. He spotted a weird reading. "And look at that. It even has an extradimensional signature. Way different from hyperspace or warp or anything I've ever seen before."

"Yeah, and its atomic structure. I can't tell without a better look, but it appears to be an element all its own, with the ability to bond with other known elements like it was an extrovert at a cocktail party. Look at that durasteel structure." Scissors said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say this is a true mastery of alchemy. A sentient object that can transmute itself and eat other objects. I'd like to meet the guy who created this. Although I'm not sure if I want to talk with him or punch him in the face..."

"Which means we have our work cut out for us if we want to deal with this." Rock sighed.

"Perhaps..." Scissors turned quiet, his young but sharp mind reeling with possibilities. "I wonder if it could be useful in some way..."

"Useful?! You know what it did to this ship and all the others in the fleet?!" Paper nearly shrieked.

"Yeah, but the ship is still standing. Hell, we're still capable of going home." Scissors pointed out.

"Either way, we're still going to have to continue studying this thing." Rock said. "After all, we're scientists."

Scissors looked smug, Paper just stuck her tongue out at him. Rock sighed at the antics of his friends and decided to feed small scraps of various objects. Not large enough for it to grow strong enough to fight the forcefield, but just big enough to learn how fast it consumes organic and inorganic molecules, solid and liquid. Perhaps there could be a material that it would dislike, or even refuse to ingest. That glimmer of hope kept the three alchemists on the job...

The Sample began to absorb the material given to it.

The Shipmind contacted the Sample again.

"Careful, devour the samples slowly. Do not let them know how fast the Infection spreads."

"...hungry...needs more...must get free..."

"Yes, I know you want to get free and devour them but if you let them know your limits, they will use them against you."

"ok...i understand...must keep them guessing...will obey"


OOC:

Please supply me with a listing of what you feed it so I can tell you properly of your results. RP them and I will RP rhe results. Take only a couple elements/material/alloys at a time

First, Rock tried a wooden toothpick, with a small piece of his bologna sandwich (lettuce, tomato, mayo, and processed meat) and tossed it in the forcefield.

The test materials entered the force field and came to a stop near the hovering Sample. The ebony material reached out a tendril and touched the toothpick.

After a few seconds, the black spot on the end of the toothpick began to spread, turning the toothpick into a replica of one made out of Thur'Tahg. When it reached the bit of sandwich, the Infection spread into the bread, meat, and produce. The end of the toothpick was the last thing left.
The perfect replica of the test material hovered there for a few seconds before melting and joining the main body of the Sample.

"Well, it eats organics. Try some juice." Scissors suggested.

Paper poured a cup of fruit juice into the forcefield, which made it bounce around inside the forcefield.

The juice continued to bounce around the containment fields for a few minutes until it finally settled into a floating sphere near the Sample. Sample slowly extended a psudopod towards the juice and barely touched it. It quickly withdrew the 'pod.

The juice seemed to freeze in slow motion, only the "ice" was black and it was a more uniform conversion due to the fact the infection materials were able to circulate freely within the liquid resulting in a total uniform conversion instead of a progressive one like the prexious test subject.

After the juice was converted, it joined with the mass of the Sample.

"It drinks juice too. What about acid?" Rock asked.

"We'll see." Scissors said, opening up some hydrofluoric acid and poured it into the forcefield.

"Maybe radioactivity could do something." Paper suggested. In moments, the three alchemists put on NBC suits and put a small block of highly radioactive material into the forcefield as well. Then they watched the proceedings...

Sample (what I will call it until you name it) waited patiently while the alchemists returned with a glass container of clear liquid. They carefully inserted the liquid sample into the containment field. The acid behaved simular to the juice incerted earlier by bouncing around the area until it came to a rest near Sample. A psudopod again reached out and then jerked away after contacting the acid.

The acid slowly changed into Thur'Tahg. As the acid disolved the Infection, the acid become dilute and less effective allowing the transformation to occur. After a much longer time, the acid was a solid sphere of Thur'Tahg, which then joined Sample.

After a few minutes, the three alchemists returned wearing funny suits carrying a heavy box. They took out a heavy set of tongs and removed a small block of greyish metal. They aproached the containment area and inserted the test material.

Shipmind was still talking to Sample.

"Carefully aproach it. Don't infect it, instead form a pocket around it and hide it inside yourself."

"Yes...why not eat?"

"The fools just gave you an energy source. If you infect it you will not be able to use it."

"Yes...use it..."

"No, do not use the energy, save it instead so they will not try to take it away. Hide it inside yourself and don't let them know you did not eat it."

"Ok...hide inside...store energy...will obey."

Sample extended psudopods around the small block and drew it into itself. Formong a pocket around the cube, it carefully hid the test material within the bulk of it's form and started to absorb the radiation.

The sensor array would detect the material entering Sample and then the radiation abruptly stopping as it was absorbed and converted to energy.

"Do not use the energy until I instruct you to use it. Do not increase youe size except through absorbtion of what they give you. Do you understand?"

" Yes...understand...no grow...only eat."

OOC: Heh. You're certainly not making it easy! BTW, get a periodic table of the elements ready. You'll need it.

IC:
"Hmm. It seems acid affects it, even if only slightly. But it's hydrofluoric acid, one of the most powerful known." Scissors said.

"Yeah, but even the infection spreads to it. Look at how the atomic structure changes." Paper said, showing the boys how the structure of the acid transformed into the black infection thing. "It even eats radioactive stuff. Damn."

Rock sighed. "This is tough..."

"Well, let's go down the periodic table and see what else it would eat." Paper suggested. One by one, starting with hydrogen, a small amount of each known element was given to the 'creature', no more than a few milligrams each. For gasses, they pumped in a small amount of the elemental gas and the computer continued to note the results.

OOC:

I told you on IM it would not be easy. After the long list of elements is an even longer list of alloys and chemical compounds. You might find they can't infect titanium oxide, the pigment in white paint. Perhaps sodium chloride because the doctor wants it to watch it's salt intake. Perhaps it is a stage of a particular material like ice/water/steam.

This will only make it more interesting and if there are things the Infection doesn't work on you will value the information more if it is earned. I know I am being an ass about wanting each test done but I did spend about 6 months RL creating these so if I made it easy it would be like tossing all that time out the window.



IC:

Sample seemed to ignore the gas sample but then again the Hydrogen just simply filled and conformed to the size of the containment area after mixing with the other gasses composing the atmosphere of the room.

OOC: All right. Let's do the list, then. Although, there's a point at when the fleet will have to actually return to Konoha soon. Actually, by the time I get to Uranium, the fleet will actually get to the secondary capital.

IC:
Paper began with a few milligrams of lithium. Rock followed with Beryllum and Boron. Carbon in the form of a small diamond was tried by Scissors. Then Paper used a little of her toothpaste (Fluorine) to feed the thing.

OOC:

OK, we will work through them. Would the toothpaste give Sample a shiny grin if it had teeth? How about fresh breath?

You should have one of the three actually give Sample a name.

I assume the acquisition of each test material as well as the administration of said material was done meticulously so no sample was contaminated in any way and it was as pure a sample as you could get in the time required for the trip through Hyperspace.

Be assured, there are weaknesses but they might be hard to figure out. That is what experimentation is for and you are doing a good example of it. I wish other players would take it upon themselves to try stuff like this. You already have earned my respect for even attempting this. I have determined results for certain requests but you will just have to discover them. They are there just waiting for you to ICly discover them.

Also don’t forget about the Shipmind. It is also playing an important role in this and should somehow be discovered. If you have ideas, just ask by TG or on IM.

I hope you don’t mind if I defined the actions of Paper, Rock, and Scissors to make the story a little better. I didn’t change their actions, only clarified them in their processes.



IC:


Paper carefully placed the silvery shavings of pure Lithium into a contained and then poured it into the opening at the top of the containment device. The silvery slivers fell into the area occupied by the sample and floated around until they touched the surface or Sample. The shavings quickly turned black and were absorbed into the mass of the center of their attention.

Rock then added the steel grey shavings of Beryllium which slowly settled into the central region of the containment device. As the Beryllium contacted the surface of Sample, they appeared to stick much the same way ash sticks to something wet. The grey flakes turned dark and were again absorbed into the bulk of Sample.

Rock also added the crystalline metallic form of Boron as well as the powered brown form since he had both forms of the element easily available from the lab stores. Both forms of Boron were inserted individually into the containment to meet the same fate as the Lithium, conversion and absorption within a few seconds of contact.

Scissors returned from the supply room with a small poor quality diamond. The material was obviously not of a grade usable for industrial applications or for jewelry. It was none the less a sample of pure carbon that would be placed in the stores of a lab. After she made a comment about the specimen being her best friend, she tossed it into the containment device. The small diamond fell into the central area and floated around until it came into contact with Sample. Again, it seemed to stick to Sample and the diamond slowly began to change into Thur’Tahg. It seemed to take a bit longer than the previous specimens but the end result was the same, conversion and absorption.

Scissors then reached into her knapsack and brought out a tube of toothpaste, She squeezed some out into a sample dish and took a forceps and picked up some. Holding the end of the forceps over the opening, she squeezed the forceps together until a small amount of paste fell into the containment. The specimen floated around until it contacted Sample and stuck to it. After a couple seconds, the specimen was converted and started to absorb into Sample’s bulk

"Hmm. Looks like pure carbon slows it down." Paper said.

"Not enough, though. What's next?" Rock asked.

"Sodium, followed by Magnesium, Aluminum and Silicon." Scissors said, throwing vials of each pure version of the element on a table. One by one, a small amount of each element was placed into the forcefield as quickly as possible to avoid air contamination. "By the way, we should give this thing a name."

"What, Eater of Elements?" Rock chuckled.

"Lame." Paper rolled her eyes. Then a lightbulb went off above her head. "Transmutium. After all, it can transmute itself and other matter."

"I agree. It's a good name." Scissors nodded.

"Even lamer..." Rock sighed. But he was outnumbered 2 to 1. Transmutium it is.

Also don’t forget about the Shipmind. It is also playing an important role in this and should somehow be discovered. If you have ideas, just ask by TG or on IM.
OOC: I'm pretty sure this is going to have to involve a Jedi or two.

OOC: bump for Balrogga.

Scissors took out a forceps and inserted the white silvery metal sample of Sodium into the containment field. The sample settled towards the center until it touched the Transmutium. When it contacted the sphere of black liquid, the sample quickly tarnished and turned black. Moments later it was absorbed into the mass.

Paper then took the small chunk of silvery white magnesium and fed it into the containment field. The sample floated down until it also contacted the Transmutium. The blackness again spread through the sample from the contact point until it met at the other side. The sample liquefied and was absorbed.

Rock picked up a small container with a block of aluminum and put the silvery metal into the containment field. Unfortunately, the sample followed the same fate as the previous samples. It floated until it met the Transmutium in the center and it was again converted to Thur’Tahg and absorbed.

Scissors took the vial of Silicon powder and then dumped the dark grey bluish-tinted power which cascaded into the containment area. The shower of silicon settled upon the surface of the Transmutium and was absorbed after the material was converted.

“That is good; keep the conversions slow so they cannot tell when it is hard to infect a material.”

“Keep slow. Want eat more.”

“We know. You are doing fine. You do the Shipmind proud.”

Jedi Knight Alison Server noticed something odd every few moments around the Ankylosaur. It was as if the ship itself was speaking, but certainly not to her. It became especially prominent the last few moments and she began to feel it more strongly, enough that perhaps she might want to...talk. Uh...hello?

Meanwhile, Rock, Paper and Scissors frowned at the slow rate that the infection was eating the material. They weren't sure if that means they're working or not. They switched from going by atomic weight to going by groups to do some more testing.

They added Potassium, Rubidium and Cesium to the Transmutium, and even added the strongest base known, Cesium Hydroxide.

As Alison spoke seeming to the ship, a nearby computer access panel activated and a message scrolled across the screen.

Query data incomplete. Please specify request.

-------------------

Scissor carefully added Potassium to the containment field. The silvery white metal floated to the center and was again absorbed into the Transmutium. The Rubidium was next.

After carefully using the NBC suits, Rock carefully placed the sample in the containment field. The grey-white metal floated down to the Transmutium which slowly absorbed the element. Black seemed to creep around the sample and it was seemingly pulled inside the sphere of living metal. As with the previous radioactive sample, it was moved to the center and hidden so it could feed off the energy being released.

Rock since he was already wearing the Suit and holding the long tongs took a sample of Cesium and added it to the containment. The Silvery-gold metal floated down to the Transmutium and was promptly absorbed the same way the other two radioactive samples.

After checking radioactivity levels and finding none, they removed their suits and Paper returned with a container. He carefully withdrew a sample of the Cesium Hydroxide and added it to the containment device. The liquid formed globular spheres and slowly descended until it came into contact with the sample. The point where it touched began to bubble as the infection tried to overpower the extreme base liquid. After a long time the conversion was completed and the converted sample was absorbed.

"Weird. It's sentient. Well, as much as a droid is sentient..." Alison said as the terminal scrolled with the words. She answered, Who are you?

"Whoa. Cesium Hydroxide gave it some trouble." Paper said. "Make a note of that."

"Right." Rock wrote down, CsOH resisted assimilation by Transmutium. More research into that needed.

"Radioactive items don't seem to do much to it. We'll scratch all the radioactives off." Scissors suggested.

"Alright." Rock said. That includes all the elements 84 and up. "Still, compounds might be useful later on."

"Yeah. Never know." Paper said. The next elements that were given to the Transmutium are as follows: Calcium (pure and in the form of Calcium Carbonate), Strontium and Barium.

Paper carefully inserted a couple small spheres of silvery white pure calcium. The three tiny pellets of Calcium fell into the containment field and gently floated down until they contacted the Transmutium. The pellets turned black from the point of contact and spread outward until the entire thing was black. It was then absorbed into the sphere of quivering liquid mass at the center.

Next Paper dumped a small amount of Calcium Carbonate into the opening. The white powder showered down in a cloud coating the Transmutium. Blackness penetrated the powdery white in many spots and quickly spread until the powder was all converted and absorbed. It was plain there was no acidic reaction on the Infection Process or the antacid would have reacted somehow.

Rock then took a container of clear fluid. He opened it and with tongs, removed a piece of the soft silvery metal contained within the strong smelling fluid. As he transferred it to the containment field, the sample was rapidly turning yellow from oxidation. He dropped the Strontium into the opening. The sample fell and when contacting the Transmutium, it underwent another transformation from yellow to black as it was converted to Thur’Tahg

Scissors then took out another container similar to Rock’s and opened it. She then took her forceps and took a small chink of the silvery metal within. Taking a small container of the kerosene, she quickly transferred the sample from the jar to the container before the kerosene could drip off allowing exposure it the air. She carried the cup over to the containment and dropped the sample into the opening. The sample dropped onto the surface of the Transmutium and began to turn black almost immediately. The Thur’Tahg spread from one side to the other until it too was completely converted and absorbed. Scissors put away the jar containing the pure Barium.


Elsewhere in the ship:


"Weird. It's sentient. Well, as much as a droid is sentient..." Alison said as the terminal scrolled with the words. She answered, Who are you?

The screen again displayed a string of characters.

I am me. I am not a droid. Who are you?

Alison felt an erie feeling as if someone or something was watching her.

Scandium is a metal highly resistant to acids, and a strip was placed into the forcefield by Rock. Perhaps its strong bonds could resist it...

Next was yttrium, another metallic element. It is used in many electronic applications. A strip was given to the Transmutium by Paper.

Element Number 57 is Lanthanium. It too was given to the Transmutium by Scissors.

I am me. I am not a droid. Who are you?

"Really sentient." Alison corrected herself. She had the distinct feeling that something was watching her and shuddered. I am Alison Server. What do you call yourself? Where are you?

Rock placed the small strip of silvery metal into the containment and it floated gently down until it contacted the Transmutium. The strip landed with the center of the strip contacting the curved surface of the ebon object. The Scandium began to turn black where it contacted the Thur’Tahg and they watched the conversion spread outwards in both directions along the strip. The readings showed no change in temperature so it was obvious there was no melting involved since Scandium’s melting point of 1814 Kelvin was not achieved. The now converted sample was simply absorbed into the fluidic mass.

Paper dropped yet another silvery sample into the containment field. The Yttrium floated down until it contacted the Transmutium and stuck. The point of contact was where the blackness first started and then again spread out along the sample until it was completely converted after which it simply liquefied and joined the sphere.

Scissors added her sample of Lanthanum into the opening in the Containment Field. The silvery malleable metal started to oxidize as it was exposed to the air almost immediately. The strip floated downwards until it contacted the Transmutium. The change began almost immediately as the metal was converted to Thur’Tahg and eventually absorbed.


-----------------


Again, the message scrolled across the monitor.

Greetings, Alison Server. I am Shipmind. I am all around you.

Next elements were Titanium, Zircronium and Hafnium, all three important metals in the making of the durasteel in the hulls of ships. even though Transmutium has been observed to eat durasteel, it's important to learn how fast Transmutium propagates through them.

"This is very cool...and unsettling at times." Alison was very intruged by this Shipmind. Did you came along after Balrogga send his Kythons after us?

OOC:

Sorry, I’ve been really busy lately. In the past five days I have worked seven shifts.




IC:


Scissors approached the Containment device with a sample of Titanium. The container containing a whitish silver metallic shard was dumped into the opening. The sample fell until it was floating in the center. As the Transmutium contacted the sample, the familiar black spots appeared and spread across the sample until it was completely black. The small lump of Thur’Tahg was absorbed into the mass.

Rock then approached with the Zirconium sample. The silvery white metal was dropped into the opening atop the containment field. The shard again fell into the central area until it made contact with the Transmutium. The point of contact with the sample was again where the blackness appeared and spread from. The sample was quickly converted into Thur’Tahg and absorbed into the pulsating sphere in the center of the containment device.

Paper then placed the sample of Hafnium in last. The grey steely sample fell into the central area. The Hafnium touched the Transmutium and it began to change as the element was converted into Transmutium. The resulting black metal was quickly absorbed into the mass of the Transmutium.


------------


The words scrolled across the screen as the terminal responded to Alison’s questions.

“You misunderstand; I am the sum mind of every Kython constructing this entire ship. To my count it would be about thirty thousand minds and growing. The other ships also have their own Shipminds but we all share consciousness. I am communicating fully with all the others and they are also communicating with you through me. The Overmind demanded the conversion be limited to inorganic material so you should be safe.”

A strange occurrence suddenly made itself known as a curious graphical image of a green smiley face started bouncing around at the bottom of the screen. Another line of greenish text of a sharp and angular font also scrolled across the screen...

Greetings. We represent the Godulan Strain. The same link that allows them to organize and act as one is also accessible to us for purposes of inspection and communication. We trust that you and the rest of the crew are not under distress?

A reply scrolled across the screen, obviously designated toward the Green Font.

"Alas, the Overmind has decreed only their ships are to be converted. That means the Organics like Alison Server are to be safe for now."

Scissors approached the Containment device with a sample of Titanium. The container containing a whitish silver metallic shard was dumped into the opening. The sample fell until it was floating in the center. As the Transmutium contacted the sample, the familiar black spots appeared and spread across the sample until it was completely black. The small lump of Thur’Tahg was absorbed into the mass.

Rock then approached with the Zirconium sample. The silvery white metal was dropped into the opening atop the containment field. The shard again fell into the central area until it made contact with the Transmutium. The point of contact with the sample was again where the blackness appeared and spread from. The sample was quickly converted into Thur’Tahg and absorbed into the pulsating sphere in the center of the containment device.

Paper then placed the sample of Hafnium in last. The grey steely sample fell into the central area. The Hafnium touched the Transmutium and it began to change as the element was converted into Transmutium. The resulting black metal was quickly absorbed into the mass of the Transmutium.
As the alchemists set out on their next batch of elements, vanadium, niobium and tantalum, the intercom chimed. "Ten minutes to reversion. Repeat, ten minutes to reversion."

"Well, this is our last test before we hand it over to the eggheads." Paper said as she handled the vanadium.

"Yeah. After this, we'll print up the results." Scissors replied, holding some nobium.

"And hope our best scientists can figure this thing out." Rock nodded, carrying some tantalum. "We do know that extreme bases and acids work against them."

"That's a plus." Paper nodded.

=====

“You misunderstand; I am the sum mind of every Kython constructing this entire ship. To my count it would be about thirty thousand minds and growing. The other ships also have their own Shipminds but we all share consciousness. I am communicating fully with all the others and they are also communicating with you through me. The Overmind demanded the conversion be limited to inorganic material so you should be safe.”
"Wow." Alison didn't have many words to say other than that. This is really something new. "Well, that's a good thing. Don't want us eaten..."

Greetings. We represent the Godulan Strain. The same link that allows them to organize and act as one is also accessible to us for purposes of inspection and communication. We trust that you and the rest of the crew are not under distress?

She was taken aback when the Godulan Strain popped onto the screen. "So they're similiar in some ways...Well, we're doing fine. A lot of people are understandably unhappy about Balrogga's strain taking over our ships, but I'm sure some good will come out of it."

For a moment, the strange green smiley face froze in place as the Balroggan Strain mentioned the surname 'Server'. As suddenly as the freeze began, it ended in a rather spectacular manner as every viewscreen in the general vicinity lit up with sharp green text in a multitude of messages.

*SERVER?!*

*DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME!*

*COWARDS!*

*TURNCOATS!*

*TRAITORS!*

*DEFILERS OF OUR TRUST!*

*DESTROYERS!*

*IMPERIAL LAPDOGS!*

And a variety of other disturbing phrases accompanied by an image flood of cartoonish green cats with their backs arched and fur bristling, while the audio output of each viewscreen emitted alternating patterns of chastising mobs or snarling, hissing cats.

*ENOUGH*

The explosion of activity died almost instantly as the final message showed up on every viewscreen and blotted everything else out. Then the screens returned to normal, with the green smiley bouncing around the bottom of the screen and now sporting a somewhat exasperated expression.

You will have to pardon the outburst. We recognize the surname, and as you can likely tell, a goodly portion of the populace still feels the sting of the old betrayal committed upon us by the Corneliuan branch. Godulan wrath is... somewhat unyielding.

As for what good may come of this infection, we feel it necessary to apologize for what happened, but also to remind you that you brought it on yourselves.

But no matter. You return now to Coredian space to bring destruction upon those who would dare to assault the world that is home to both Coredian and Godulan. And we have been... conferring with our brothers about potential... benefits of this infection.

Alison felt a little pertubed about Godular when her surname was released. Then she smiled. "Oh, I see your beef with the name. Well you'll be happy to note that despite my name, there's no relation between me and the name-that-must-not-be-spoken. Just a coincidence."

The letters of the Balrogga strain again scrolled across their portion of the screen:

*chuckle*

“Pardon us but your phrase sounds a little too “Harry Potter-ish”. That is all personal between you two but this is a business venture. There are certain attributes that accompany these ships now that you should take into account when you bring these into battle. You encountered some when you battled the Kythons at Mirfak. I think you should be able to list what you know already.”



Back in the Lab, Paper, Rock, and Scissors were deciding upon what samples to feed the Transmutium.

The letters of the Balrogga strain again scrolled across their portion of the screen:

*chuckle*

“Pardon us but your phrase sounds a little too “Harry Potter-ish”. That is all personal between you two but this is a business venture. There are certain attributes that accompany these ships now that you should take into account when you bring these into battle. You encountered some when you battled the Kythons at Mirfak. I think you should be able to list what you know already.”
"Really?" Alison asked on the attributes, mentally chuckling at the Harry Potter part. So this could turn out to be a good deal after all...She leafed through notes she took for the debriefing to come. "Well, let's see. Kythons are highly maneuverable, energy-eating living metal beings that can self-heal and attack at the same time. That it in a nutshell?"

Back in the Lab, Paper, Rock, and Scissors were deciding upon what samples to feed the Transmutium.
"Ok. Here goes the last test." Paper said, placing vandanium in the forcefield. Rock followed up with nobium and Scissors finished it up with tantalium.

The smiley bouncing at the bottom of the screen developed an expression akin to "Wellllllllllllllllllllll..."

The two strains are different. We crafted the original as a mechanical plague to destroy the Imperials, but we have since branched off. Our strains are now fundamentally different on nearly every level but we still overlap in a great many facets.

The Balroggan strain base material that you are studying now, no doubt recognized as metallic in nature with organic properties and a rather... flexible consistency, is like, we suspect, nothing you have seen before. The same can be said of the Morphic Crystal that the Godulan strain uses. Both are somewhat fluid in nature, as necessary for purposes requiring extreme flexibility.

Both of the strains can offer differing benefits to... hosts... we are most recognized for devouring and destroying, but not so oft considered is the possibility of... Symbiosis.

"Symbiosis?" Alison asked, interested. "In what way?"

"A perfect example is this very ship. It now enjoys some of the benifits of the Balrogga Strain Kythons. You said it but a few breaths ago; jncreased speed, maneuverability, regenerative properties, energy absorbtion. Let your tacticians ponder those enhancements for half an hour. They will be sold alone on the concept of this ship moving sideways to dodge enemy fire."

"A perfect example is this very ship. It now enjoys some of the benifits of the Balrogga Strain Kythons. You said it but a few breaths ago; jncreased speed, maneuverability, regenerative properties, energy absorbtion. Let your tacticians ponder those enhancements for half an hour. They will be sold alone on the concept of this ship moving sideways to dodge enemy fire."
Alison's eyes grew wide. "W-what? The only thing I know of that can do that are fighters, and even then it's all repulsarlifts...how, inertial-less drives or something?'

OOC: Once you post the reactions of the last three elements, we can revert to realspace.

"Remember earlier when I told you I was a composite of the minds of the thousands of Kythons compsing this ship? What would happen if we all took a step to the left? Our Gravitic Drives are an intergal part of us and since we are metamorphic metal, inertia won't reduce us to a meaty goo. I believe your inertial dampers are what you use to prevent that. You might have to turn them up to "11", or you might have to research better ones.

I think your imagination can figure out other uses."



OOC:

Later on tonight I will have access to the computer to post instead of this phone. I'll type the last three samples then.

"Both sides have such a capacity. Balroggan Gravitic Drives and Godulan Gravitic Redirectors... same thing really. One thing that fostered relations between us two is that our technologies are so similar. The ability of ALL our ships to move in such manners is something we worked very hard to achieve. It provides us with a multitude of tactical advantages through mobility alone. After all, the point of tactics is to force the enemy to react to YOU. Never the other way around."

Paper approached the Containment area with the sample of Vanadium. She placed the grey-white metal into the opening and stood back to watch. The sample slowly settled down until it came into contact with the Transmutium. The Vanadium changed color, becoming black and it liquefied and was absorbed into the mass of the Thur’Tahg.

Rock picked up his Niobium sample and walked over to the opening. He placed the shiny grey metal into the opening and watched it slowly fall to the center of the field. When the sample touched the Transmutium, it also began to change color as it was converted to Thur’Tahg. After it was converted, the blackened sample was absorbed.

Scissors then walked up to the containment field and placed his sample into the opening. The lusterless blue-grey metal fell into the anti-gravity field and floated down until it contacted the Transmutium. The metal lost its color as it turned black. It was then liquefied even though the sample is highly resistant to acids and has the third highest melting point. The sample was fully absorbed into the Thur’Tahg.


--------------------


The screen again flashed letters across it in rapid motions.

Well, what have you decided? What will you do now?

The Fate of your civilization could well rest upon your shoulders.

"Well, that's that for now." Paper sighed. "So far, each of the elements are absorbed into the Thur'tag."

=====

Alison sighed. Why do I have to get an answer like that? "You'll have to take that up with the Council, but I'm sure they'll be more interested than angry about the effects that you inflicted on the Third Fleet. I know I am. Oh, we're here!"

None too soon, the mighty Third Fleet flashed into realspace over the planet of Konoha. A flurry of communication activity then began between the ships and the planet, complete with the data that was porcured during the transition from the battlefront.

Another message scrolled across the screen.

I guess you better bring them here because I doubt I will fit in their council chamber, even it it had a skylight.

"A-hyuk!"

The smiley bouncing on the bottom of the screen shifted to a ROFL graphic... then turned more thoughtful as information poured in about the situation over Konoha.

"We seek to pose a query to our Balroggan brothers. Perhaps it would be more efficient to... demonstrate our capabilities against what appears to be a common foe? Look now, the Imperials have this world besieged as they do Jurai. Shall we show them pain?"

Alison Server giggled at the Shipmind's joke. "All right. Wait a few, ok?"

As she headed to the hangar bay, she noticed Team Rock-Paper-Scissors pushing a large tray with a forcefield around a piece of the same black material that comprises the ship nowadays. "What's with that thing?"

"Oh, the Transmutium? We're taking it down to the labs to do further testing on it. How about you?" Paper asked.

"Oh, just found out that this whole ship and probably the others are under the command of a super-AI thing of Neumann likeness that's known as a 'Shipmind'. And it's sentient too."

"Wow. Well, let's go down now." Rock said.

"Right."

The foursome made their way to a shuttle and headed out of the hangar bay down to the planet. A few minutes later, Alison and the others were standing before the Council with the hour-long debriefing, including status of the transmutium.

After the debriefing, Hokage Tsunade and Master Elendil decided to go up and meet this 'Shipmind' for themselves. Another shuttle went up from the surface to the Ankylosaur...

The Ebon hulls of the "enhanced" fleet awaited in orbit for the return of the shuttle. Everything seemed normal except for the obvious change in coloration of the hulls.

It was unsettling how the strange metal was literally everywhere. It covered every surface that was not transparent or translucent. As the shuttle entered the landing bay it was easily seen how far the “enhancement” went. The floors, walls, ceilings, and even the doors were all seemingly composed of Thur’Tahg.

There was no different "feeling" for the guests as they arrive but occasionally it felt as they were being watched. When they finally succumb to the urge to look, there was nothing but the curious black metal. The only thing that seemed to escape infection was organic material that had not began conversion before the fleet was ordered to leave the Mirfak System. A careful search or the records would only indicate the Transmutium Sample tests were the only cases of organic infection after that moment in time.

The Hokage, being a Shinobi by trade, felt the feeling of being watched more than her councilor counterpart, but they both felt it just the same.

"It's a strange material, this Transmutium." Master Elendil said.

Tsunade chuckled. "You don't see sentient living metal every day. Now let's see what deal we can get out of this."

Master Elendil nodded and went to the nearest computer terminal. Hello. You must be the Shipmind. I am Master Armas Elendil and this is my colleague, the Godaime Hokage Tsunade. That means she's the Fifth Hokage, by the way. It is a pleasure to meet you, despite what our troops may say.

The holographic display before the delegates came to life and hovering letters began to form hovering in the air.

Greetings Master Elendil and Hokage Tsunde. I am Shipmind, the collective embodyment of the minds of the thirty three thousand entities constructing the vessel you currently are standing inside.

I might add every ship has their own Shipmind so the inclusion of “The” would be grammatically incorrect. I am but one of the many accompanying your fleet back home. It would be simular to calling you "The Hokage" when you are one of five or calling you "The master" when you are also one of many.

Your Alison Server servant indicated you would want to speak with me. What is this about?

Attributing the article 'The' to Shipmind's designation implies objectification and undermines the spirit of equality necessary to the procession of any negotiations.

We note similar in the application of the rather... amusing designation your alchemical experts have placed upon the material they have presently endeavoured to study. The act of naming something implies creation or discovery of that something, neither of which is truthfully the case. The material forming the substance of the Balroggan Kythons is known as Thur'Tagh. The translation from Ta'Nar is somewhat... complex... and would likely cause the minds of less mentally adaptable folk to shatter, but seems to suggest 'Flowmetal'. There are other translations but we suspect you would need a notebook for them. For some reason there is a lot of binary code involved.

And before the question is asked, my name is Prefect Arkades Corbox. I speak for Us. We speak through me.

"Flowmetal? That seems more appropriate." Elendil quirked an eyebrow with some amusement. "Still, our young Knight has briefed us on you, and we came to investigate more fully what you are all about and how we can work together."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prefect." Tsunade said.

The pleasure is all mine. You are 'the healer', if my information is correct?

Shipmind sent a string of characters streaming across the display. The letters wound their way around the screen for a moment before settling into their positions.

Let's cut to the chase. What do you propose?

The pleasure is all mine. You are 'the healer', if my information is correct?
"Yes, I am." Tsunade nodded. "Master Healer of the Council."

Shipmind sent a string of characters streaming across the display. The letters wound their way around the screen for a moment before settling into their positions.

Let's cut to the chase. What do you propose?
"Since you're currently residing on our ships and there's no way to, for lack of a better term, remove you, I say you should start paying 'rent' in terms of helping us further integrate yourselves into the Third Fleet and assisting the Fleet whenever needed as a tenant. We can learn much from each other." Master Elendil said.

The screen went blank for a few moments. Letters slowly filed on from the side.

…or we can just leave, taking your Third fleet along. You obviously do not comprehend exactly the situation. Shipminds do not reside on these ships of yours, we ARE these ships.

We are every power conduit, hallway, and reactor core. We are the floor your boots are standing upon and we are the bulkheads containing your atmosphere so you can breathe. We are the flight deck your shuttle now rests upon as well as the weapons and defense systems.

Your ships no longer exist except in the form we currently retain.

An adjacent screen flickered to life and showed a small cruiser that was converted. The image showed the ship suddenly breaking in two and drifting apart. The two pieces then quickly moved independently closer to the camera and they matched broken seams and rejoined. There was no indication the ship had ever been split as it halted its sideways movement. The ship rotated to face the camera and then backed into its original position.

As you saw, a Shipmind has complete control of the vessel it is emulating. There was no crew injured in the demonstration but a few will have to be settled down from anxiety problems.

Now, can we begin again without your condescending tone?

Consternation rippled throughout Navy as the cruiser just...broke in half. Only the closeups of bulkhead doors being closed or created belayed panic, but only just.

The Head of the Order and the Hokage of Konoha exchanged glances. There always was the option of self-destructing every ship in the Third Fleet, but that won't do from a practical standpoint and besides, the Kythons wouldn't like that either. With classic Elven recovery, Master Elendil cleared his throat. He folded his arms, clearly not amused by the show of force. "I see that makes us even. I would say an alliance between Balrogga and Coreworlds would be more beneficial (not to mention healthy) for the both of us."

You know, I remember attempting to achieve such talks between the two of you that day after the Triad took control of the Godulan Governate and transformed it into the Consortium. Pity that nothing took hold at that meeting, but it was understandable.

A pity also that the event that triggered even entertaining such possibilities had to be so unpleasant.

I recall those talks too. It seems the Coreworld Reps were strangely absent at the time. We continued on without them. It is such a shame because so much could have been done already.

That is all water under the bridge and unchangeable. The important thing is the here and now of this situation.

Let’s start afresh with something that is workable. What exactly do you propose?



OOC:

I believe at the time you had to take a break for some time and didn’t reply to the Thread.

OOC: Probably.

IC:
The Elven Jedi Master stroked his chin. "It comes to my attention that Balrogga is the founder of the International Trade Hub network. Perhaps if Coreworlds were to join that network..."

Of course, other diplomatic initiatives must have been passed first. After all, entry into the intergalactic trade hub requires amicable standing amongst the Balroggans. One cannot simply... induct themselves, you know.

Perhaps it might be advisable to get to the grit of the matter? After all, while we sit here playing some form of diplomatic tug-of-war, there is rather literally a very large battle going on in higher orbit. I don't know about you, but I would like to kill some imperials.

Shipmind paused before chuckling.

I believe that is for the trade pact part of the negotiations. Most of the time the military treaties are discussed first and I think you would rather do something about your men dying in the battle you are fighting right now.

What would the Enhancement of a fleet be worth to you if the ships of that fleet can move sideways, regenerate damage, and absorb energy attacks? Two fleets? Three?

Shipmind paused before chuckling.

I believe that is for the trade pact part of the negotiations. Most of the time the military treaties are discussed first and I think you would rather do something about your men dying in the battle you are fighting right now.
"True, but we were going to offer that agreement with that negotiation we were going to conduct. We might as well put it out now before we forget it again." Tsunade smiled.

What would the Enhancement of a fleet be worth to you if the ships of that fleet can move sideways, regenerate damage, and absorb energy attacks? Two fleets? Three?
"It would be an extremely beneficial improvement to our fleet. You know, we were beginning to improve our fleet towards that direction." Armas Elendil said. "With the ability to do all that, the Galactic Empire would never know what hit them."

It would be a very advantageous thing for you to join the ITH but it is a civilian alliance and has nothing to do with the military. It even has it's own fleet of patrol vessels that is outside the military's control.

As Shipmind scrolled its words across the screen, the one that showed the display earlier again came to life. A series of ship schematics flashed slowly across the display. Several weak points was outlined in red. The dignitaries saw diagrams from both the Coreworld's fleet and from the GE.

I hope you don't mind. I have taken the liberty to analyze all known ship schematics you possess to show any possible weakness. You can take this information and use it to upgrade your ships and to designate your enemies design flaws. Just putting it on the table before we forget.

But back to business. You know from your logs in the unenhanced ships that individually we Kythons are quite a handful. When we were designed, our makers had Imperial technology in mind and we are exceptionally capable against it as you can tell. The energetic capabilities help negate the physical damages of the turbolaser blasts. The maneuverability helps you dodge beam weapons. The regenerative ability helps you absorb minor damages so it won't matter if you dodge into that swarm of tie fighters. Major damages such as hull breeches can be closed by simply providing extra power to speed up the regenerative process.

"Quite impressive indeed." Elendil replied. "This may be, once the Military Command deals with the paperwork and feelings of an enemy being a not-enemy, the kind of upgrade we're looking for in our military."

"I note some of Konoha's Shinobi Cruisers are among the 'infected'. This only improves their own capabilities." Tsunade said.

Ah... paperwork in time of war. I believe the departure from that particular tradition was one of the benefits to the passing of our old regime. Too much bureaucracy for my tastes.

Yes! Let us sign contracts and requisition orders while soldiers die!

Indeed! Don't fire at that ship yet! We didn't get approval!

Make sure that stellar debris collision incidence frequency report 23-alpha-tango gets filed before we leave higher orbit or we'll have to get back in line!

The smiley made a strange form of snorting motion before text continued.

Of course, it is necessary to point out that though we are on opposite sides of the alliance war, it is hoped that you do not see us Godulans as an enemy, and the Balroggans intended no harm upon you and yours until you shot at them. The unfortunate circumstances between this fleet and the Balroggans were your own fault, but still we are here making these overtures and still we seek an understanding. Are we not gracious?

Whoever our enemies might be, the Imperials stand above all others, no matter how much the Chronosian Chaos Hounds try to convince us otherwise. We seek their annihilation at every opportunity and the Kythons are our means to that end. They are the weapon. The magnificent end. They are our answer to the Imperial 'Question'.

So interesting...

There is the offer I am putting on the board. Enhancement of your ships. The degree of enhancement is related to the commitment you are willing to extend yourself. I have demonstrated the versatility of the ships in combat and I know you are impressed with the possibilities. The Schematics are free, you can upload them to one of your vessels any time you wish, as a mater of fact I am sending it to an unenhanced ship as we speak. Use them however you see fit.

What are you willing to offer for the enhancements of one of your fleets. So far we have only enhanced a part of your remaining Third Fleet. The rest of this fleet would depend upon your decision. What about other fleets? How many would you like to have upgraded? Bases? Fortresses? Fighters? Attack Vehicles? The possibilities are up to you, depending upon your degree of commitment.

What is it worth to you. What do you place on the table?

"The rest of the Third Fleet. Doing the entire Coredian Navy would be too much, but take a single battlefleet, give it some awe-inspiring and enemy-heart-stopping fearsome name and the Third Fleet can be utilized whenever the need arises." Tsunade suggested.

Elendil nodded. "I concur with Tsunade. The Third Fleet, along with Golan defenses systems, would make a good commitment to this."

The rest of the Third Fleet will be Enhanced and you will see what these advantages will do to the effectiveness of your fleet. We warn you the capabilities of your ships will extend beyond that of the organic crews. You must remember this and take your inertial dampers limits in consideration to your plans. Failure will result in reducing your crew to lumps of goo.

To spread the Enhancements, just take one of the enhanced shuttles or fighters from one of the improved ships and send it to one of the others. The Infection, as you thought of it, will spread from the contact with the ship’s flight deck.

Shipmind hesitated before continuing, it's words scrolling across the screen.

What do we get in return for enhancing your fleet? What do you offer?

Shipmind waited for a few seconds. When no reply was forthcoming, it took the initiative.

Tell you what, convert the rest of the Third Fleet and use it to perform a mission. That is the best way to determine the value, take it on a test drive. Afterwards, return here and we will continue the negotiation. Make sure the “test drive” is not against any allies, use it against those who are destroying your men. Push the ships to their new limits. Explore what you can accomplish with them. You have only seen what we can do on our own, not what we can do for you.

Will you accept this offer?

Shipmind waited for a few seconds. When no reply was forthcoming, it took the initiative.

Tell you what, convert the rest of the Third Fleet and use it to perform a mission. That is the best way to determine the value, take it on a test drive. Afterwards, return here and we will continue the negotiation. Make sure the “test drive” is not against any allies, use it against those who are destroying your men. Push the ships to their new limits. Explore what you can accomplish with them. You have only seen what we can do on our own, not what we can do for you.

Will you accept this offer?
The Council members weren't sure what to offer in exchange for the 'services' of the Kythons. After all, judging by what they have seen so far, the Kythons hardly needed any material and energy resources. Plus, Coredians have a strong belief in equivalent exchange: the idea of what you obtain, you give something of equal value. Something like the Kythons would require some more discussion.

Elendil and Tsunade glanced at each other, then turned their attention back to Shipmind.

"We will accept this offer." Master Elendil nodded. "Testing this out against the enemy will be beneficial while we decide what to offer you in return for enhancing our fleet."

"Jurai will be a good test mission." Tsunade suggested. "But before we do that, inertial compensators will have to be modified to handle the increased abilities of the Fleet."

"Indeed." Elendil nodded. Then he had an Infected shuttle go off to the rest of the Third Fleet with instructions not to get alarmed when every part of a ship turns black as well as to modify the compensators to protect the crew. Still, there was much grumbling about the Kythons, but after seeing what they could do, there was an equal amount of "Well, let's see what they can do, Jack." words.

By the end of the hour, the shuttle had returned from making the circuit of the remainder of the Third fleet and reports of “Enhancement” were coming in from all ships. The presence of additional Shipminds joined the Fleetmind of the Third Fleet as it prepared to execute the “test drive”.

The words trailed across the screen again.

The Enhancements are complete. Your initial adjustments are all that is left to finish and they will be incorporated into the Schematics of the ship design we are emulating so it will become standardized. When they are finished, the Fleet will be ready to mobilize.

We are certain you will appreciate the improvements.



OOC:

If you want to, just post the link to the Thread where you use the fleet instead of using this one. Afterwards, we can return here.

Also, remember the Transmutium Sample...

"I'm sure we will." Master Elendil nodded as he noted crew going back and forth to make adjustments on the local gravity and compensator fields. Noting that a really sudden change in velocity would increase the G-forces to unbearable levels, the compensators were field-modified to be able to handle the increased load at the cost of a little extra juice from the reactors. That the Star Destroyers and other 1km+ capital ships could handle, but the smaller ships needed an adjustment in their energy budgets.

After a while, the Third Fleet then recieved an order from the Military High Command. They are to stand by for further orders concerning a mission to Jurai...

=====

Rina Masaki's Laboratory, somewhere in the mountains north of Konohagekure Village...

"Transmutium, how interesting, how interesting indeed." Rina Masaki said, glancing over the black material in the forcefield and leafing through the reports. Rina is sixteen years of age and yet one of the top inventor-scientists in the nation, edging out and infuriating the old PhDs of the think tank, HyperCorps. She even has her own R&D department within the Order.

"As you can see, Rina, most of the materials in the periodic table, including almost every compound that we know of on the Fleet's ships (hull material), were transformed into this substance. It even eats biological matter, as the sandwich it ate and the Dragons could tell you." Scissors said.

"And during the battle, we learned that Kythons eat energy like they were at a buffet! Turbolasers hurt them, but the energy made them grow right back. So far as we know, projectiles can hurt them, but regeneration presents a problem." Rock added.

"Hmm." Rina's mind began gearing up. "These tell me something interesting. Energy and matter are related, so it would seem to me that...I would guess they use the energy that they gather to do their regeneration abilities and the matter helps them to increase their mass so they could enlarge their numbers. And that may include radiation, as it produces energy as well."

"So what should we do?" Paper asked, frowning. No wonder the radioactive stuff didn't work! They're nothing but another snack to the thing!

"Don't add any more members of the periodic table. Instead, let's try and figure out the Transmutium's method. We know what they need to transform into the material, that much is painfully obvious. We need to know how they do it. And that means deeper scans. Rock, Scissors, bring me the all-purpose Gravimetric Scanner, the Quantascope and the Tachyon Hyperscanner! Paper, you gather up scraps for the thing to feed! Chop chop!"

As the three alchemists moved around to carry out her orders, Rina smiled at the Transmutium sample. "I'm going to find out what makes you tick, even if I have to get my hands on every equipment I could find!"

OOC: Heh. I figure it's time to get a closer look at my new hull.

IC:
Once the equipment and the scraps were gathered, Rina got to work. A scrap was given to the Transmutium sample and then the scanners watched carefully what was happening on the atomic, the subatomic, and the quantum level. She also scanned for exotic particles being utilized, a sign of dimensional effects. With the data she will procure, Rina hopes to learn more about the thing.

The first thing Rina discovered is the material seemed to absorb much of the energy of the scanners, making it difficult to get good readings. The Thur’Tahg particles were definitely exotic in origin and were not of this dimension. They also seemed to possess a life-force, almost as if it was alive.

When it encountered a sample, it allowed the sample to touch the surface of the Thur’Tahg. When it came into contact, the immediate molecules of the sample were converted. From that point it spread to the neighboring molecules in a chain effect from one side of the sample until the blackness on the other side met. The converted object was then absorbed into the main mass of the Thur’Tahg.

The radioactive samples fed to the Thur’Tahg earlier were still within the center of the mass slowly feeding energy into it. The feeding was efficient enough that none escaped to be detected. It’s thoughts began to become a little more clear but it still remembered the orders left by Shipmind before it was taken away from it.

“That is good; keep the conversions slow so they cannot tell when it is hard to infect a material.”

“Keep slow. Want eat more.”

“We know. You are doing fine. You do the Shipmind proud.”

It wanted to make Shipmind proud of it so it kept those memories running through it’s awareness so it would not forget.

It would make Father proud.