Nokkmar
05-12-2007, 16:41
No one in the Relian Confederacy was surprised when the first shots in what could only be called a civil war were fired. What no one had expected was the speed with which various members of the Confederacy had resorted to using fusion and biological weapons. The Relian star cluster had been home to billions upon billions of people. Now it stood in mute testament to humanity’s ability to obliterate utterly anything and everything it created. What little life that remained would take generations to recover.
The leadership of the Republic of Nokkmar, possessed of just enough foresight, had realized early on that life as it they knew it was ending. Rather than stand idly by shouting ‘Oh woe is me’ the government acted, pouring billions of credits into what would come to be known as Project Ark (in reference to some pre-FTL myth). With complete annihilation imminent, thirty ships of the Republic Star Navy and twenty purpose-built mass conveyance vessels fled the Relian star cluster in an effort to preserve a way of life. Nearly six million people went with them.
*** 8 years later. Ark Fleet. Uncharted space ***
Space ruptured. The was no sound and no flash but like a boil being lanced, the very fabric of space was thrown open. Two vessels emerged from the wound and now there was light. Energy bled from the vessels in blood red rivulets as their jump drives powered down.
These were destroyers of the Republic Star Navy. They were sleek vessels, designed for speed and maneuverability. Space was mangled once again as sensor systems went active. Fusion drives thundered to life and the two Rapier class vessels moved, phased radar arrays probing into the star system, seeking, cataloguing.
For three hours, the destroyers maneuvered until finally, seemingly satisfied by what they found or perhaps did not find a single drone was launched. Little more than a jump drive bolted to a comm package, the drone sped toward the outer reaches of the system before finally jumping away. There was little to do now but wait.
Ninety minutes after the drone had disappeared into the aether, space again writhed under the stress of jumping starships only this time there were more. Two, six, ten, sixteen. They kept appearing until fifty ships of varying sizes had jumped into the system. Thirty of these ships were obviously warships. From the single, two million tonne dreadnought, to the heavy and light cruisers and the dozen remaining destroyers of the fleet, all the way down to the two fleet tender vessels and the single Caduceus class hospital ship, the Navy had sent it’s best. The other twenty ships were purpose built mass conveyance ships. Massive in their proportions, these ships even outstripped the dreadnought in terms of sheer size. These were also the most important ships in the Ark fleet for they carried the future of the Republic of Nokkmar. Over five and a half million Republic citizens slumbered in their cavernous holds, tucked away in their cryo-stasis chambers.
The Ark fleet had been fleeing for eight years now. World after livable world were passed by because the leaders of the fleet had not felt they had yet run far enough. That attitude was changing now. Hundreds of light-years now separated them from the home they once knew. Spare parts were also beginning to run low as constant wear and tear took its toll. More importantly, cryosickness was fast becoming as real possibility now. Modern medicine dictated that cryo-containment be held to seven years ideally with ten years being the maximum. After that, the potential for permanent damage to the nervous system, critical psychological disorders, and even death increased tenfold. It was time to stop. The question now was………where?
OOC: New here. Just getting my feet wet. This is an introductory post. I am actually looking forward to trying to establish a new home for these people. Please feel free to jump in if you like. I would like to ask folks to avoid bringing their uber-fleets to this party. ;)
The leadership of the Republic of Nokkmar, possessed of just enough foresight, had realized early on that life as it they knew it was ending. Rather than stand idly by shouting ‘Oh woe is me’ the government acted, pouring billions of credits into what would come to be known as Project Ark (in reference to some pre-FTL myth). With complete annihilation imminent, thirty ships of the Republic Star Navy and twenty purpose-built mass conveyance vessels fled the Relian star cluster in an effort to preserve a way of life. Nearly six million people went with them.
*** 8 years later. Ark Fleet. Uncharted space ***
Space ruptured. The was no sound and no flash but like a boil being lanced, the very fabric of space was thrown open. Two vessels emerged from the wound and now there was light. Energy bled from the vessels in blood red rivulets as their jump drives powered down.
These were destroyers of the Republic Star Navy. They were sleek vessels, designed for speed and maneuverability. Space was mangled once again as sensor systems went active. Fusion drives thundered to life and the two Rapier class vessels moved, phased radar arrays probing into the star system, seeking, cataloguing.
For three hours, the destroyers maneuvered until finally, seemingly satisfied by what they found or perhaps did not find a single drone was launched. Little more than a jump drive bolted to a comm package, the drone sped toward the outer reaches of the system before finally jumping away. There was little to do now but wait.
Ninety minutes after the drone had disappeared into the aether, space again writhed under the stress of jumping starships only this time there were more. Two, six, ten, sixteen. They kept appearing until fifty ships of varying sizes had jumped into the system. Thirty of these ships were obviously warships. From the single, two million tonne dreadnought, to the heavy and light cruisers and the dozen remaining destroyers of the fleet, all the way down to the two fleet tender vessels and the single Caduceus class hospital ship, the Navy had sent it’s best. The other twenty ships were purpose built mass conveyance ships. Massive in their proportions, these ships even outstripped the dreadnought in terms of sheer size. These were also the most important ships in the Ark fleet for they carried the future of the Republic of Nokkmar. Over five and a half million Republic citizens slumbered in their cavernous holds, tucked away in their cryo-stasis chambers.
The Ark fleet had been fleeing for eight years now. World after livable world were passed by because the leaders of the fleet had not felt they had yet run far enough. That attitude was changing now. Hundreds of light-years now separated them from the home they once knew. Spare parts were also beginning to run low as constant wear and tear took its toll. More importantly, cryosickness was fast becoming as real possibility now. Modern medicine dictated that cryo-containment be held to seven years ideally with ten years being the maximum. After that, the potential for permanent damage to the nervous system, critical psychological disorders, and even death increased tenfold. It was time to stop. The question now was………where?
OOC: New here. Just getting my feet wet. This is an introductory post. I am actually looking forward to trying to establish a new home for these people. Please feel free to jump in if you like. I would like to ask folks to avoid bringing their uber-fleets to this party. ;)