NationStates Jolt Archive


A bunch of scared girls (FT, open)

The Free Priesthood
21-03-2009, 18:58
OOC

This thread has all you like (I hope) about TFP: most of the developed characters (one or two of them WILL DIE), interesting new technology, and a strange phenomenon.

There may also be a look at the less nice side of TFP, we'll see about that.

Please note: if your characters are able to see the "gods", that means they're sensitive to manipulation through psi (well it's slightly more complicated than that, but this explanation will do). Even when your people are sensitive to psi, you can still choose to not be able to see the gods. Being able to interact with the gods makes you vulnerable to all kinds of trouble.

IC

"Hi Firna. I thought you were back together with Sen?"

Firna put down her drink. "Hello to you too Aniska. That's right. What made you think otherwise?"

"Well, you're alone, in a bar..."

"Drinking," said Firna, "and being in a relationship are not mutually exclusive."

"Yes, but..."

"And no I'm not just here to drink, I'm also quite ready to hit on sexy women with long and pretty dark blue hair."

Aniska suddenly looked awfully nervous, and took a small step away from Firna. Firna burst into laughter. "What do you want, nosy one?"

"You're the famous inventor who can easily get resources now, there's something I'd like you to have a look at." Aniska handed Firna a datapad.

Firna examined the drawings and formulas. "Hmm, using nanos to mine an asteroid and then using a fractal to make a big structure. Interesting. But won't that fall apart once you pressurize it, never mind trying to land it?"

"Look at the next page."

Firna did, and looked very surprised. "You melt the nanos together by letting the the structure pass near a star?"

"Yes, after which the used up asteroid flies away into space, and the new ship passes through the atmosphere of a planet, to fill it with air. After that, it ends up in orbit around the planet."

Firna laughed even more than she had done after teasing Aniska. "That's insane. I love it."

"We could mass produce ships that way, the only problem left is how to add the computers and engines before sending them back to our system for the finishing touch."

Firna thought for a few moments, then created a new page in the datapad and made some sketches. "If we add hooks shaped like this to the engines and such, they could be clicked in. Should be easy enough for a robot. I guess you'll need me in the system used for building, though, to fine-tune things..."

"Are you sure you want to do that? I heard you got very ill very quickly the one time you left Fir!n."

"I think I should be fine. We have teleportation now, so I could always go home quickly..."

Aniska nodded. Her worried look told she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to take Firna into space, but she knew there was no way she could stop her without the entire shipbuilding idea being cancelled.

OOC

Next post will be more exciting, I promise. Note that that will take place some weeks later, and in a different system. No point in flying into the Fir!nan system, but if you want to express interest OOCly please do!
Chronosia
21-03-2009, 19:13
OOC: Hm. We are intrigued.
The Free Priesthood
21-03-2009, 21:18
So far, everything went according to plan. A somewhat modified freighter (ooc think space shuttle, but a couple times bigger and with FTL) orbited a star in a system with several inhabitable planets, none of which had intelligent lifeforms. A steady stream of asteroids containing an unusually low amount of metals shot out into space, and an equally steady stream of half-finished ships with an odd self repeating design teleported back to Fir!n.

The crew of the freighter consisted of Lady Firna, Lady Sen, Sanka, Aniska, Jonathan, and of course the little ones Fir, Is, and Ka.

As I said, everything went according to plan, right until Sanka completely out of the blue said "oh shit".

"Oh shit" said Sanka.

Aniska frowned. "What is it, dear?"

"I don't know, but it's not good."

The lights, as well as all computer screens, went out. So did the artificial gravity.
"Oh shit" Aniska agreed as she rubbed the spot on her head that had hit the ceiling a few seconds before she said it.

Moments later the rest of the crew came floating into the cockpit. "What's going on?" "Why did the ship go dead?"
Aniska replied "I don't know, all I know is that even the goddamn light in my WMDA isn't working. I can't see a thing." She removed a panel and carefully started feeling around in the electronics.

As if to give Aniska some light, a bright shiny ball appeared, together with a skinny man and a dragon-like creature. The adults attempted to drop to their knees, which didn't really work in zero G. "Sol" said Jonathan and Sen. "All-mother" said Firna. "Death" said Aniska.

The shiny orb spoke. "This is a bad place. You really need to go."
"It's not time to fetch you yet. Get away from here" added the skinny man.

Firna stammered "Er, what..."

"LEAVE" dragon-thing growled at her.

Before anyone could ask for a hint about how to fix the ship, the gods flickered and disappeared.

"Did we just get visited by THREE gods at the same time?"
"Yeah."
"And they told us to leave ASAP, then didn't stay to help."
"Yeah."
"And the ship is broken."
"Yeah."
"We're fucked."

"Don't give up yet" said Aniska. "From what I've seen in that light and what I've felt, I think nothing is very broken, only the computers are dead. We only need to switch to manual control."

Firna mumbled a few bad words. "We'll have to rewire the engine to behave like a compressor instead of a teleporter, cause a teleporter is too complicated to control. Who wants to go to the other side of the engine?"

"I'll go" said Jonathan.

"OK give me your hand... memorize this pattern, that's how you'll have to swap the connectors around."

"Got it." Jonathan left the cockpit.

"Who's crying?"
"I think that's Sanka."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm blind."
"You're not blind, it's just dark."
"I mean I can't see your minds."
"Did you hurt your head?"
"It's blinding me."
"What is?"
"I don't know."

...

Firna finished moving plugs around on the cockpit side of the engine. "What's taking Jonathan so long?"

"I'll go have a look. I mean I'll go ask. {Kids, stay with Sanka.}"

A moment later Sanka screamed. Firna pressed her hand on the mouth of the girl. "Shut up I can't hear what's going on with Aniska and Jonathan." She immediately wished she had allowed Sanka to continue to scream, because she could hear Aniska fighting... something: "Stop it. Stop hurting Jonathan. Stop..."

"What in the nine hells... Stay here." Firna left Sen, Sanka and the little ones alone in the cockpit.

---

OOC

cliffhanger time! :)

Things present in the system: a freighter (computers are dead) with the crew described above (and no strange creatures that will show up on your scanner), some kind of construction robot (dead), two half-finished ships of 100m each (dead), and about a hundred rocks flying away at a high speed, just asking to be noticed (or bumped into or something).
Imperial isa
22-03-2009, 01:03
ooc huh after last thread which you never finished,i really need to think if i join
The Free Priesthood
22-03-2009, 11:35
OOC @ IISA the previous thread got completely stuck, with Greywatch dropping out and me having made a big mess of the timeline and whatnot. This new thread is months after that one.

IC

Firna felt her heart jump with excitement - an instinctive response to the smell of blood. The happy rush disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It was human blood, and it was all over the place. She could hear one heartbeat, one person breathing.

{Aniska, is that you?}
{I'm over here. It got Jonathan. I think it got away.}
{"It"?}

Firna "looked" around using her hands. She found Jonathan, examined the body. Next, she found Aniska in the place where she had hear her voice come from.

{Aniska, Jonathan is covered in what feels like hybrid bites, and your mouth smells of human blood. I don't think there's anything here.}
{Did... did I kill him?}
{Looks like it.}

There was a long silence. Firna heard the other heartbeat slow down and get louder. {Hey! Don't kill yourself now.} She punched Aniska in the face - knockout.

Firna returned to the others, dragging unconscious Aniska with her.

"Don't say it," said Sanka, "I got a glimpse."

"Of what? What is attacking us?" Sen whispered.

"Jonathan is dead. Aniska killed him. Are you alright? I feel as if I have to defend you. I... oh I see... It's making me... I have to stop it."

...

"Firna?"

"Too late Sen. She killed herself to make sure she wouldn't kill you. Aniska tried to do the same but Firna knocked her out."

Sen crawled into a corner. "No!"

"Wait a minute" Sanka said to herself. "I'm blinded but I still know what people are thinking. We're in the cockpit, which has windows, so it's not supposed to be completely dark. Maybe it isn't dark, maybe the ship is working just fine..."

"I don't know" said Sen. "If it was working, it probably isn't anymore now they messed with the electronics and the engine. And there is no way the broken gravity is only in our heads."

"You're right. I'm scared."

"Yeah me too."
Imperial isa
22-03-2009, 11:52
ooc more like Greywatch just disappeared altogether and i may send something in when you need me to,due to not having any reason right now