NationStates Jolt Archive

Captains Log Stardate 44401.1
The Enterprise, and at least twenty Alliance starships have been scrambled to Starbase 235. Twenty hours ago Starfleet Command received a Priority One distress call from the station, ten minutes later all communication was lost. The Starbase on the edge of the Alliance.
End Log

The Enterprise and the task group dropped out of warp into a scene of devastation. The debris from the Starbase was spread across the system, as was her small defense fleet.

The blacken Sphere, the twenty eighth constructed by the Technonauts, drifted her engines stilled and cooled to the same temperature of the majority of the ship 290 K, her shields shuttering on and offline in the different sectors and the majority of her weapons offline specially centered on the northern pole and equator and her armor patchmarked by the variety of weapon blasts she had received in the battle only a few hours before, most of her drones were dead or dieing, her Overmind had been overloaded by their death screams and had to be put into a hibernated like state and her Master was fighting to keep the Sphere from completely breaking apart and orbiting the star in some sad state of her former glory.

The Master was furiously pounding on the console, most of the interface had been burned off by a small fire that had erupted after the battle. The silence it felt was deafening to the Master, only 20% of the drones remained in an operational standard and its constant companion the Overmind had to be shut down to preserve the reaming parts of its and the Sphere's sanity.
We have sealed the breaches in sector Alpha ten hundred and twenty, we request permission to repressurize the sector.
Thats which sector again?
The sensor sector, most of it was destroyed by the fires but a few can be salvaged if we can repressurize.
Ah permission granted. And Thirteen of Batch Twenty, good job we may just survive this.
"Now lets see, half the hemisphere sensors are offline. Thats less than helpful, lets see if anyone is still out there. Hmm, that is not good. Not good at all..."

USS Enterprise

"Sir, we've got a bogey in the system" Jamie McGowen reported "Looks like it's damaged, could be the enemy"
"Battle Stations!" Jonathan ordered "All ships to move back into formation"
"Aye sir, all ships manovouring now!" McGowen reported.
"Helm, take us towards it, smartly" Jonathan ordered

The Enterprise and the rest of the fleet moved towards the Sphere

As the blip continued to grow the Master continued to curse under his breath.
"Just had to say something, I hate this galaxy, the Overmind is offline, I have only 20% of my drones and I say that we're fine then of cource the bloody universe has to throw us a screwball..." as it continued to pound the console and coordinate with the remaining drones.
I need an immediate update on commutations, weapons, shields and engines.
Commutations is fully offline and won't be up for several more hours, most of our southern weapon stations survived the battle but anything attacking from the top isn't going to get hit with much, shields are intermediate but can fully cover the Sphere for a few minutes at least, longer if we protect fewer sections, STL can be brought back online but FTL has a single jump in her until we find replacement parts and that jump will only get us a few AUs with horrible targetting.
Well sensors are showing incoming better get those engines online, keep the shield powers low until they start firing and try to shutter them so only parts that are likely to get hit are shielded. *Curses* Also awaken the Overmind, we'll need it before to long.
But it has not had enough time to repair and...
Its a risk we'll have to take, reawaken it and be careful yet quick.

The blacken Sphere suddenly glittered as dozens of engine roared to life on the side of the Sphere facing the incoming vessels as the it tried to run...

USS Enterprise

"Sir, the Bandit is attempting to flee" McGowen reported "Seems it was them"
"All ships, lock weapons on their weapons systems, sensors indicate their upper weapons systems are offline, so aattack from the top" Jonathan ordered "Hold fire until I give the mark, McGowen open hailing frequencies"
"Open sir" McGowen reported.
"Unidentified Starship, this is teh Alliance Starship, you have entered UAP space, and havve seemingly destroyed one of our outposts" Jonathan said "You will surrender immediatly or be destroyed"

The Master watched as several drones moved throughout the small cramp lab frantically connecting and disconnecting cables and wires to a blue central cylinder, as more and more were added and removed the cylinder began to pulse with a blue wave of energy that steadily increased.
How much longer?
Another few minutes, if you have other things to do Master we will notify when the Overmind is activated and its state.
The Master paused, the Sphere was at a critical point, several systems were still offline, many couldn't be repaired without a major resupply mission, contact to other Sphere was still not fully possible though a short message was sent though the nearest one was still to far away to likely get there in time and the sensors had detected a shot burst directed at them, the short amount they had received and decoded had confirmed the Master hunches, they were facing space hillbillies and they weren't happy. The Master made its decision.

I'll wait, best to do all the correct Protocols the Overmind was already in a damaged state and compounding it won't help.
As you wish, but can you please stand back. This is a rather delicate procedure.

The blacken Sphere made no reply to the uncleanse message, its masters were distracted and its normal commutations were down, it instead continued to retreat from the system slowly gaining speed and repairing itself as best it could...

USS Enterprise

"No responce" McGowen reported "And Command has issued Standing orders to disable any ships suspected of the attack"
"ALrihgt, all ships, attack pattern Alpha, all ships open fire!" JOnathan ordered.
The Fleet burst into action. Speeding up they attacked the Sphere, targeting it's Weapons, Engines and long range communications so they couldn't try to get help. The fleet had no intention of destroying the Sphere, only disableing it so they could bring them to justice.

"Captain Ma'am, I am detecting weapons fire from Sector 223434." The Alversian Operations Officer called out, reading the information coming in streams from his semi-circular console that wrapped around his position, allowing easy access to his controls. He was about middle aged, with a worn face and dark, black hair cut short in a traditional military style. He was still scanning the system, checking the weapons in use, cross referencing it with APN databases to see if they could identify the weapons in use prior to actually entering the system. Should they chose to that is. The decision to investigate the system would fall to the female Kitsune now standing in the centre of the circular bridge, watching space shoot past at an incredible speed, deep in thought.

Captain Skype, Master and Commander of the Alversian People's Starship Adrian Cavourna, a Marshall-Class Heavy Cruiser of the Alversian People's Navy, currantly on patrol to keep an eye out for Danaversian incursions against Alversian trade ships in the area. What they seemed to have found though, was a battle raging between two powers, yet to be identified as were the reasons behind this aggression. The Kitsune was young, almost too young to be a Captain, though her deep, vulpine eyes bore the years of toil she had undetaken to reach her position. Her long, green hair was tied back into a ponytail, drapped over the dark maroon tunic that made up her uniform, katana by her side, oversized, red furred fox tail flicking, as her large fox-like ears twitched and turned towards all new sounds. She turned to face her Operations Officer, a frown on her face.

"Can you elaborate, Commander?" She asked patiently, not moving from her position, waiting for an answer.

"I detect Twenty-one vessels in the system Ma'am, twenty concentrating their fire on the one vessel."

"Seems unfair odds." She said mildly, sensing the eyes from the rest of the Bridge crew on her back. She smiled and nodded,
"Can't do much harm to take a look. Drop us from Transwarp, raise shields and call red alert."

"Aye Ma'am." Almost instantly, the bright, white lights on the bridge darkened to a dimmer setting, red lights flashing from the corners of the room, an alarm ringing throughout the ship, dragging crew members from recreation, from non-important work and from bed to their posts, armed and ready for combat if it should need be.

Meanwhile, in the area, the vessel (http://mirk0.deviantart.com/art/Battleship-concept-72883405) appeared suddenly as it dropped from it's multiple-lightspeed heading, shields already raised and prepared for battle should it come to that.

"Hail the lead ships on both sides."

"Hailing frequencies open."

"To all vessels, this is Captain Skype of the Alversian People's Starship Adrian Cavourna. May I ask what has caused this attack?" She dared not get into a confrontation herself and, should either side try to turn their weapons on her 1.5km warship, it would be a simple matter to jump back into Transwarp and be well on their way.

"Sir, we're being hailed by a ship that has dropped from some sort of Transwarp" McGowen reported.
"Lets hear it" Jonathan ordered
"To all vessels, this is Captain Skype of the Alversian People's Starship Adrian Cavourna. May I ask what has caused this attack?
"Adrian Cavourna, this is the Alliance Starship Enterprise, we responded to a distress call from our Starbase that was in this system, we found this vessal here" Joanathan said "We attempted to assertain if they were responsable, they failed to reply, we have assumed that htey are the attackers and are in the process of disableing their ships, as for yourself Captain, what is your intention in United Alliance Space?"

The Master muttered as the sphere continued to rock from the impacts to its flickering shields. They were holding for the moment though the previous damage received would greatly compound the problems that the Sphere was already experiencing.
Status on the commutation?
Still largely down, though you can send a very short burst if you so chose so, Ava though is still offline.
Forget the Ava, concentrate on repairing our basic commutations first and keeping our shields online.
And weapons?
Forget them for the moment, we need to escape and regroup not fight.
Switching from the outer frequencies, the Master focused on those scurrying infront of it.
Are you done yet?
No, and your constant need for updates is slowing us down. *ship rocks from a particularly strong blast to its central sectors* If you are needed else were we can alert the Overmind when it awakens to your location.
I will stay here.
As you wish, that console there can serve your needs for the moment, it is not connected to all system just yet but it should do.
Thank you.

The Master stepped from its location in the left wing of the room and walked over to the pulsing console, inputting the correct codes, it activied the Master account and brought up commutations, deciding that talking to the attackers was useless it targeted a brief and tight laser burst communication towards the newer arrivals. After finishing the commutation it looked over the status of the Sphere and grew concerned while the attackers had yet to breach any major areas the energy depletion caused to the shields and other systems meant that there one jump was steadily decreasing in the amount of distance they could travel and if the fighting did not stop soon, most major systems would start to fail from want of power...

"Hail Captain Skype of Starship Adrian Cavourna. We have been attacked twice today, both times by different species we do not have in our databases. We barely survived the first assault and it seems that this new group wishes to finish the job. We do not know why this group decided to attack us as we arrived well after the battle in this system and were attacked by those that were cleaning up the victorious side destroyed and damaged vessels, these attackers left us after a point with our Overmind incapacitated and our Sphere heavily damaged..."

"Adrian Cavourna, this is the Alliance Starship Enterprise, we responded to a distress call from our Starbase that was in this system, we found this vessal here. We attempted to assertain if they were responsable, they failed to reply, we have assumed that htey are the attackers and are in the process of disableing their ships, as for yourself Captain, what is your intention in United Alliance Space?"

Skype listened to the Captain of the Enterprise speak without even flinching, hands resting behind her back in the most relaxed and calm way possible. The Kitsune seemed to ooze coolness from every pore and her easy attitude was reflected in the rest of the ship. Though they were in a potentially dangerous situation, the crew went about their business quickly, cleanly and effeciently. There was no panic and there was no worry. The Alversian Crewmen were trained to a high standard that was aided by the confidence and experience of their Commanding Officer along with her Executive Officer.

Commander Barlow stood beside the Captain, towering over the slim figure of the Kitsune as most Alversians tended to do. He looked more alert, but no less calm and measured. He was a veteran of a dozen wars, his hair a dulling back, laced with strands of silvery hair to betray his age. His face was hardened, his eyes dulled to the pain and suffering of war, mental barriers already well estabished. He looked over to the Operations Officer, a young Lietuenant who was scanning her instruments as the Enterprise Captain spoke. A slight shake of the head came from the Lieutenant, picked up by the First Officer and whispered almost silently. Though it was virtually impossible for the Alversians to hear more than a mumble, Skype's sensitive fox-ears picked it up, cute features wrinkling into a frown,
"Enterprise, my scans show that the Communications Array of the other vessel is non-operational at this time. Perhaps that is why they could not answer your hails?" She asked airly, before quickly diverting to the second message, offering a customary bow to the Being in front of her.

"Hail Captain Skype of Starship Adrian Cavourna. We have been attacked twice today, both times by different species we do not have in our databases. We barely survived the first assault and it seems that this new group wishes to finish the job. We do not know why this group decided to attack us as we arrived well after the battle in this system and were attacked by those that were cleaning up the victorious side destroyed and damaged vessels, these attackers left us after a point with our Overmind incapacitated and our Sphere heavily damaged..."

"Greetings, I am sorry to hear of your sufferings and can assure you that we do not intend to enhance your troubles. I am in communication with your attackers and I will see if I can pursuade them to hold off their attacks until negotiations can be secured. Standby."

With that, she flicked back to Captain Jonathon of the Enterprise
"Captain, to answer your question, we were merely passing through on our way back to our home territories when we picked up unusual weapons fire. We decided to investigate. Now that we are here, I can tell you that I am communicating with your Opponent, their vessel is heavily damaged and it seems they were not responsible for your loss, tragic though it is. May I advise that you cease firing until a more peaceful meeting can be arranged?" She raised an eyebrow in query, waiting to see what the response would be of this unknown race.

All the while, her ship was still ready to take the punishment of an attack if need be.

"If, as you say, you are communicating with them, why did they not respond to us when we arrived" Jonathan asked "That said, we will cease fire, but please tell them to cut their engines and deactivate any weapons they have, failure to do so will confirm our suspicouns"

"My best guess, Captain, would be that they have only just gotten some emergency system back online." Skype replied patiently, still displaying all the calmness of a Captain under pressure, "I cannot pretend to know for sure what is happening on that vessel but, in my society, people are generally innocent until proven guilty."
She said it easily and smoothly, no hint of rebuke, nor scorn, though personally, she felt the Captain had rather jumped the gun in his attacks of the opposing vessel, especially as even her simplest scans showed that it was damaged beyond attempting a reasonable fight. She could detect no weapons, no Faster-than-light drive and almost no communications. In fact, the only systems that really seemed active were the communications, using one basic channel and their shield systems, and even those were failing.

"I shall ask that they power down their weapons and Drives in return that you do the same Captain. We must have trust here if we are to find out what has happened to your station and this present course of action is proving to be very counter-productive." Again, a neutral tone, nothing there for anyone to get offended at, the key skill of a diplomat, "Standby for a response."

She quickly flicked over to the other ship, bowing again,
"Sir, the Fleet attacking you is willing to cease fire, on the basis that you disarm any active weapons systems and shut down your Drive for the duration of negotiations. Given your present situation and the overall scenario, it is the best that could be done." She sighed silently to herself, voice still strong and relaxed.

Jonathan sckolwed after the other Captain went "McGowen, get me Starfleet command"
"Commnad on Subspace" McGowen reported seconds later.
"Captain Reynolds" The Admiral back on NEw Earth said
"Sir, we've come across a Sphere shaped object in the immediate vicinity of Starbase 235" Jonathan reported "When we attempted to hail them, they proceeded to attempt to flee, we opened fire to disable their engines and weapons so that we can find out if they were responsible, whilst in the process of doing so another ship warped in and has intervened, the Bogey, has conviently been able to contact the new ship"
"Understood Captain, we've got reinforcements en-route" The Admiral reported "And Please remind that other ship that they are in UAP space if need be"

Weapon systems? I thought I ordered those offline hours ago. *punches a few buttons, the console shows the outline of the sphere with a number of power graphs going to various systems, the Master notes that one weapon sector is still online, connects to sector* Batch twenty why is your sector still active?
We were being attacked Master and we wished to defend ourselves so we took things into our own claws.
Well power down, you nearly doomed us all!
Ah, sorry. Powering down Master.
Just power down, you're punishment will have to wait, *switches channel* Well is it active yet.
Remember how I answered last time? Well nothing changed yet.
Letting out a small sigh, the Master began to review the sensor data, they needed to get out of the system yet...

"As our weapon systems were already offline, Captain Skype that is easy enough, as for our engines, our power systems are already running rather low and we don't have enough to accelerate to a resting position but for the moment we will switch them off. If the other ships move to attack again or something else happens we will defend ourselves and/or flee to protect our Sphere and our knowledge..."

"They appear to be powering down" McGowen reported.
Jonathan sighed a sigh of releif "Good, order all ships to come to full stop in a defensive formation, power down all weapons systems, but keep shields up" Jonathan ordered "In fact, back all ships except the Enterprise off a twenty thousand Kilometres"
The Fleet obeyed and backed away from the Enterprise

"Ma'am! Both sides have powered down weapons and and the Enterprise has ceased it's attacks." The Tactical Officer reported from her position behind Skype. The Kitsune let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. It had looked hairy for a moment there but thank Qonn that both sides were willing to give peace a chance. And just as well, because she had had a growing suspicion that the Enterprise considered her vessel a threat and, if the need had arisen, then she would have been forced to call for Assistance in the area, two more Heavy Cruisers on the same duty as her own ship had been. For the moment, they would not be needed. The detected Enterprise reinforcements were no longer enroute and nineteen of the twenty ships had withdrawn to a safer distance. That was a good starting point. Now they had to get talking.

"Open a channel to both Ships." She commanded, then watched as both Captain's appeared on her main viewscreen,
"Captains. I am pleased that a peaceful outcome could be reached in this immediate conflict. May I advise that you meet on neutral ground to discuss this problem with less violent methods?" She offered, "Perhaps my vessel, as a neutral party to this problem, can act as a meeting ground for Ambassadors from both ships?"

Maybe if the Ava program was up thought the Master as it read the decoded transmission as of that moment it was still down and they couldn't spare any ships or drones to meet their attackers at the moment.
The Master sighed, he rather divert the power and other materials to where they were actually needed but stopping the attack for even a few extra minutes would help and the Overmind would be activated sooner or later anyway, if it wasn't during a fire fight the better for all involved. Cueing in the codes, the Master changed the drones subroutines to start to boost the Ava and repair its damaged systems and stop holding the shields for the moment, 5% shield strength should be enough it thought.

The Sphere outer shielding flickered and turned nearly invisible as only a bare minimal was allowed to drain power and most of it was divert to the damaged sectors in the north.

"It will take us a few decaminutes but should be able to send someone to this proposed meeting for a time at least but we do need the resources for repair and to keep our ailing shielding and life support online so intermediate flickering may happen. This new assault while not causing any new wounding did drain power and diverted material away from much needed repairs and creating a strong enough signal will be that much harder because of it. If nothing new occurs you can expect our agent in roughly thirty galactic minutes."

"Agreed" Jonathan said "We'll send our man over when ever the others are ready"

"Very good," Skype smiled, "If you are using shuttles, then I can have a Hangar bay standing by. If not, then I shall provide co-ordinates for your beaming procedures. I look forward to have you aboard this ship for the talks. Hopefully both sides can work out an understanding that will not resort to more shooting. Then we can work out who has destroyed this station and caused this loss of life." She smiled, bowed to both before cutting the image.

She turned to her First Officer and smiled at his expression,
"Problem Commander?"

"Simple peacekeeping job for breakfast?"

"All part of the job, Commander."

Jonathan stood and walked to his ready room to give an updated report to Starfleet command

The Master sighed most of the Ava protocols were still offline, though there may be enough juice left for a decent conversation. The rewiring and realignment of the various dishes and software had taken longer than the Master had wished but it did finally have a semiworkable situation that would allow a small amount of information to be sent and received, less than the Master wished but still enough to talk, the Master scrolled through the various programs before picking a low rez one based on an olden Earth character who had captured something called Pokemon then through a series of enslavement, punishments and what not made them battle other Pokemon for prizes while the newer characters were generally better they also took up more power and other rescouces. The Master always wondered while that particular character was named after a type of wood.

After the Master selected the particular Ava, the programs activated nearly instantaneously transmitting the needed code and information towards the agreed upon vessel while normally the program would have hijacked a nearby hologram projector for its mission, it did not this time instead directly greatly a simple appearance of the Ava that would constantly grow in strength as time went by, it would be able to commute with and sense only those in a roughly ten meter radius, it would also not try and worm its way into the computer cores of the ship like its normal actions required. As the transmission continued to solidify, the Master/Ava spoke.

"Greetings, now if we can finish this quickly I have many other tasks to perform..."

The being that entered the Adrian Cavourna would find a 5'9'' female Kitsune standing in front of them, complete with long green hair and rusty red ears on the top of her head, tail curling around her waist. Flanking her were two taller and much more powerfully built Marines in deep navy-coloured armour, standing rigidly to attention. The Captain's vulpine eyes looked over the device with interest. However, she pushed that quickly to the back of her mind, for there were more pressing issues that needed to be addressed.
"Diplomacy is not a matter that can be rushed. Patience is advised for the duress Mister..." She paused, still not aware of the being's name, for they had neither introduced their Commander, nor their ship in the communique, understandable given their situation. But there was danger of destruction here and the regular customs of Diplomatic meetings could be adhered to with relative ease. Certainly, Skype was going her best to maintain civil at all times, such was her role as Captain.

"We are waiting for the Representitive of your Attacker to arrive before we can talk. Shall we head to the Meeting room?" She indicated down a long white corridor, spotless, light reflecting from every surface to bath the very air itself in white light. The occasional crew member walked past, checking reports, but it seemed quiet for the moment. Everyone was still at battlestations.

The Air would tingle slightly as a Starfleet beaming process began. Seconds later, Cpt Jonathan Reynolds beamed onto the ship. He wasn't openly armed but he had a type-1 phaser hidden on his person.

The Captain would find himself in the Transporter room (http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/stmagazine/pike-transporter.jpg) of the Adrian Cavourna, a large rectangular room that was coloured, as was the rest of the ship, in brilliant white, everything from the floor to the walls to the ceiling was in a bright white that reflected the deep blue glow of the wall mounted lights and created an aura of serene calm and order in a suitably ordered and relaxed vessel. However, it's purpose could not be disguised and, waiting for the Enterprise Captain, was the Alversian First Officer of the Heavy Cruiser, flanked by two Marines, all three of them standing well over six foot in height. The Officer wore a dark maroon tunic and black trousers, a pistol at his side, while the Marines bore a deep Navy armour and carbines slung over their shoulders.

The Officer looked like he had seen enough combat, with a battle-hardened face and, as the Jonathon stepped from the transporter bay, he offered a firm, disciplined salute,

"Welcome aboard Captain," The Officer stated, "I am Commander William Lee of the Alversian Heavy Cruiser Adrian Cavourna. If you will follow me Sir, then I shall accompany you to the Meeting Room. However, first Sir," He stretched out a hand, "Our sensors show that you are carrying a weapon. I must ask that you hand it over to us for the duration of your stay. It will be returned to your before you leave this ship." He said it simply, confidently. Marines tensing slightly.

"Very well" Jonathan said handing over the Phaser after returning teh Salute

Nodding her inclination to go to the meeting room and noting the slight pause in the Captain's speech the Ava decided to introduce itself as they walked towards the meeting room.

"I am Ava six hundred twenty three Alpha of the twenty eighth Sphere constructed by the Technonaut Collective, I was programmed in the second cycle of the Sphere after the destruction of the previous model by the vile Muclkos of the Inner Moons Region, I am programmed with a wide range of languages including the common galactic and its many offshoots totally around six million though I am limited at the moment to a dozen due to the damage to my main processor and while I may start as a rather simple hologram through technology pertained through out our journeys I will able to interact with solid matter rather quickly and can be called more simply Ash. My Master is rather busy at the moment and as such as given me a rather large amount of leeway than usual. My mission outline is to establish talks with the second aggressors and establish a cease fire so we can repair and prepare for our response against the first aggressors and to warn both you and them of the aggressors and the data we were able to collect as I do not wish to repeat myself I will wait until the second party arrives if that is agreeable with you..."

"I will wait until the second party arrives if that is agreeable with you..."

"Of course," Skype nodded as they turned through through the corridors of the Heavy Cruiser, dodging Marines and Crewmen as they passed, all offering the Captain a quick salute, which was returned in passing by their Master and Commander. The ship was as busy as a Naval vessel always is, there was always somewhere to be, something to do and, although the immediate danger had passed, battlestations was still in affect and thus, the lights were dimmer and the red lighting was prevalent thoughout the entire warship.

After several moments of standing in a lift, zooming up through the levels to the boardroom, a meeting point one floor down from the Bridge, bearing the white decoration of the rest of the ship, with a white, rectangular table and a dozen chairs surrounding it. Along one wall were numerous paintings of various APN ships through history, embedded in the wall to the right of the entrance was a large computer screen, currantly adorned with the APN symbol. The final wall to their left was a viewscreen out into the depths of space, showing the Enterprise sitting some distance away.

Already sitting where the First Officer of the vessel, Lieutenant Commander Lee, along with their second vistor and a pair of Marines standing to attention. The pair of Marines who had accompanied the Captain to the meeting room also took up position within the room, the Lieutenant Commander stood at they entered, offering his Captain a salute which was also returned.

"Ava six hundred twenty three Alpha, please meet Captain Jonathon Archer of the Starship Enterprise, the vessel which attacked your ship," She turned to Jonathon, "Ava six hundred twenty three Alpha, also known as Ashe, is here to represent the Sphere you attacked Captain, she has full permission from her Commander to discuss your problem." Skype stated, tail flicking as she spoke.

Nodding the Ava continued to stand as it addressed those assembled before it.

"At the beset of my Masters, I thank you again captain for this time and place of discussion with those that attacked us and have already lost much.As such I would wish to request the usage of that viewscreen most of our data should be easy enough to translate into a programming language they would understand and visual clues are important.

Anyway as all parties sensors have likely found there is a rather large orbiting debris cloud in this system it was not always a debris cloud infact not but a few galactic standard hours ago it was a vibrate and lively station that held multitudes of personnel and supplies, our long range scans noted and the current aggressors can likely testify to it. Anyway our Sphere first detected trouble about four standard hours after first long range sensor contact, we noted the sudden appearance of six fifteen hundred long meter vessel around the station*viewscreen shows the appearance of six new dots highlighted in a menacing red color around a larger central dot* roughly sixteen galactic minutes later we began to receive data of weapon fire between the station and the vessel, after another four minutes we detected what we believe was a lucky strike by the station on one of the vessels either causing a massive explosion in their weapon storage or their reactors, after another two minutes the vessel crashed into the weakened station's shields most of it was destroyed instantaneously but at least a hundred meter chunk crashed through the shields broke into separate chunks and hit the station at least four different spots, destroying a number of critical systems as we detected fewer weapon fire after this collision after another four minutes of bombardment the shielding completely failed. *shown on screen as a hazing outline of the station suddenly snapping into a clear focus* Afterwards the surviving vessels firing became less chaotic and more focused, we also noted the appearance of a number of smaller craft from one of the vessels they proceeded to attach themselves on areas of the station not being bombarded, we don't know what they searched for but after another fifteen minutes these craft detached and three minutes after that the vessel began to break off, two minutes later all but one used their FTL and disappeared, while we don't know their specific FTL we have a decent guess as to their general heading and probable destination. The final vessel then backed off to a four light minute distance from the station, this took roughly six minutes the station then proceded to glow for a few minutes before a brief but very powerful explosion ripped through it creating the debris cloud now there. The final vessel then closed back to the former location of the station and was still there when we arrived sixteen minutes later, our own battle lasted about twenty minutes before the vessel FTL away and left us to drift another hour passed before the second aggressors arrived and we arrived at the current situation.

The battle between the vessel and station lasted about ten minutes before the station weapon fire was minimal and caused no notable harm on the vessels, the bombardment and exploration another fifteen and final disappearance about thirty minutes after first hostility with the final vessel leaving about thirty minutes after that, the total engagement last only about a galactic standard hour, we have first hand accounts of the weapons fire that at least one vessel used though we would guess they are rather specialized bunch so weapon system may change from vessel to vessel. The damaged and readings we recorded have already been downloaded to your computer cores captain and can be viewed at your leisure, the vessel we faced used primary plasma and laser weaponry though we did detect a few missile and railgun type weapon exchanges during the station battle this was not present during our own battle, though it has also been hypothesized that they somehow knew that most of our defenses resolved around missile and railgun defenses and chose to forgo those.

Besides the physical battle our Overmind also tried to sneak a worm into their computer systems to figure who they were and why they had attacked and to try and disable any weapon/shielding systems. This unfortunately opened a door into the Overmind itself and they repaid in kind sending a virus into our systems causing the Master to have to separate and confine the Overmind before it could infect our other systems and a cure could be found. This hampered our combat effective, repair rate and a number of sub programs causing our Master untold pain and hardship and the sudden second attack didn't help.*glares* We did get a number of useful data before the virus and the purge of our worm including their next destiantion and confirming that they are a machine race though we could not confirm if they are a pure machine or cyborg or any degree between.

I am now ready to take any questions you may have and will try and answer to the best of my current knowledge..."

Jonathan sat back in his chair, not reallising he'd inadvertenly sat forward during the tale. He knew the implication of such ships, armed with a magnatude of different weaponary, the ships would only need to find the optinum one. As Lasers had little effect on Modern Starfleet shields, it would be the Plasma based weapons and the kinetic ones that were the death blow.

As he decieded what to reply with, in his head he was already trying to think of a tactic to combat this new enemy. They appeared to be much larger than starfleet ships, so a large enough fleet of Stafleet's agile starships would probably be able to defend the Alliance, additionally with the support of a Station.

Standing up, Jonathan grimly said:
"Please accept my sincere apologies on behalf of the United Alliance Of Planets" He began "We did not know what we were facing when we warped into the system, and we, i'm afraid, jumped to conclusions, for that I'm sorry" He continued "If there is anything we can do to help you in your repairs" He offered "Also, if possible would you provide us with the Attackers next destiantion?" He finished.

Skype stood at the head of the table, watching the viewscreen as the information was relayed by the Ava, speaking of what had happened to the station. She felt an overwhelming sympathy for these people, their loss had been severe. She nodded in approval to what Captain Reynolds had said, chipping in with her own advice,
"I say it would not be difficult to track the direction of their last jump," She said in her calm, patient voice, "and, on behalf of the Alversian People's Republic, I would like to offer my vessel to assist you in tracking down this threat." She smiled, the Adrian Cavourna may have been a mere Heavy Cruiser, but it was 1.5 kilometers in length and packing extensive defensive and offensive armament. Not only that, but her crew were battle hardened and extensively trained. Her vessel would be a key asset to the search for these Aliens, if only they would accept her help. She might even be able to call in assistance if need be.

Jonathan nodded, the addition of a ship the size of Adrian Cavourna would help, he'd read a report from Starfleet of the Reinforcements, when they arrived they could set out.
"Your assistance would be gratefully accepted, once a Starfleet task group, centred around the USS Nimitz arrive, we intend to set out" Jonathan commented turning to the Techonuaght "Your ship is more than welcome to head to Starbase 443, where the shipyards can help in the repairs on your ships"
In his hands was a Padd with Starfleet Deployments, he pressed a button which changed the Class Designation from the Peacetime designation of Explorer, and the like, to a combat analyis:

Current Ships
USS Enterprise- Galaxy Class
Two Nebula Class Ships Heavy Cruisers (USS Kushu and USS Melbourne)
Four Akira Class Heavy Cruisers (USS Akira, USS Cannon, USS Perpetual, USS Kingdom)
Six Excelsior Class Crusiers (USS Lakota, USS Dakota, USS Apache, USS Dodge, USS Empire, USS King)
Six Intrepid Class Light Cruisers (USS Travveler, USS Education, USS Ethical, USS Garden, USS Swan, USS Northwhich)

INCOMMING REINFORCEMENTS
USS Nimitz, Nimitz Class Starfighter Carrier
Two Galaxy Class Battlships
Four Nebula Class Heavy Cruisers
Six Akira Class Heavy Cruisers
Six Cruisers Class Cruisers
Eight Intrepid Class Light Cruisers

"I thank you for the offer but no shipyard can do the repairs that our Sphere now requires. We only require a small planetoid and time and we shall be in working order, our sister Sphere will then bring in any necessary parts that we can not create nor find for ourselves. If you truly wish to follow and fight the first aggressors our measurements suggest that they were heading through what was once seen as Cancer on the planet Earth, we believe that they were heading to the Gate of Men once past that we can not help you with further target information, the data we collected was to corrupted past. But be warned, the data we collected suggest there is a defensive system not normally found in this galaxy anymore. We wish both of you luck as we nor our sisters can leave for revenge at the moment, though with your permission captain (Skype) we would wish to fasten a short live tracker on your vessel it will only send two signals, telling us where your are in the galaxy and your general status. Once we are restocked and refreshed we may chose to join you in your quest if not we will send a signal to deactivate the tracker(and relay a short message as to why we can not join you)..."

Skype listened to both Envoys, pleased that her offer had been accepted, tail flicking from side to side as they talked. She was thinking about where her vessel would need to travel and, more importantly, if she needed to call for reinforcements from the small task force that had been in the area. The two vessels, both Heavy Cruisers, were engaged in more important works than this and she knew that these people would have all the firepower needed, though help could never be turned down.

Now she turned to the Technonaut, thinking about the request that had been put to her. APN rules stated that no attachments were to be made to a vessel on Deep Space assignment, especially from a new species that they had never had contact with before. Skype had a responsibility to the hundreds of crewmen aboard her vessel and she could not risk them for this. She shook her head,
"I cannot allow you to attach an unknown device to my vessel so soon after meeting you. However, I will send a pulse from my vessel at sixty second intervals, containing up to date tactical information, the data from the navigational array and ship status. That way, you recieve your information and I don't need to break my Navy's regulations." A small smile, revealling her pointed, canine teeth.

"When will your fleet be ready to move?" She asked Captain Reynolds, thinking about when her vessel would be ready to move...she did not know of the system which they were speaking,
"Is it possible to obtain star charts for this system?" She asked both Species, "Our knowledge of this system is somewhat lacking and I do not want to be caught short for want of a map." Another smile.

"Starfleet Cartography is liekly to have a starchart, I'll sent a message once were underway" Jonathan replied "As for when we leave" He turned to the Viewport (Hope there is one:-) ) just in time to see numerous flashes of light as twenty seven Starships warped into the system "We're ready to move when your ready"
Here Jonathan turned to The Technonaught
"There's a planatoid in system J2346 that should be suitable for your needs" Jonathan replied "I can provide you with the Co-ordiantes..."

"That will work too.Ah I wanted to test drive that device.Guess you won't get today. As for star maps? Our Collective has largely ignored that sector of space though we can give a brief explanation of what you are liable to find. Our brief probing suggest that most of the stars are of the older variety low in heavy elements, most systems constant of a single white dwarves, neutrons or black holes with a few newer giant blue stars that have recently formed and a few gas giants that have not been flung out or otherwise destroyed, most of the systems are daily bathed in one form or another of deadly radiation and there are only a few native sentients left, most died out, evolved or migrated millions of years ago. There is two primary species in that specific direction, the Volos and the Netros. Due to dwindling resources both have been at one form of war or another since the first stars started to collapse, currently the war is at a stalemate and a long drawn out battle has not happened for decades.

The Volos are a fairly short race about one and a half meters tall, thick skinned and strong willed, they have become experts in mechanical warmachines, they are likely the ones that sold/lost the ships that attacked the former station and us and we would suggest that you try and contact them. Their current homeworld surrounds one of the newer blue giants outer gas giant. It is a humongous station comprised of many fused ships that have created several artificial rings around the planet, they will likely spot you before you spot them. Commutation may be difficult as they do not see or otherwise sense as most do, nearly ninety percent of their race is blind in the traditional sense due to radiation and the destruction caused to their last homeworld.(was nuked from orbit and the few that survived stared alittle to long before leaving). They primarily communicate through "song" these songs are generally to high for most sentients to understand or decode though we have reports of pets that humans bring acting strangely when ever they try to communicate.

The other race in the sector that you are likely to run into is the Netros, the length of those that you are likely to run into is roughly two meters, we have heard them described as many different the humans call them worms and larva, the Volos simply call them enemy. Our problems were destroyed nearly instantaneously upon contact with their homeworlds but they can grew much much larger though if they are still sentient in their later stages we are not sure but their larva stage most defiantly is. They have set up many trading partner ships with the few other minor sentients in system, travelers and others through nearby sectors, all this traffic is routed through one world what happens after is still unknown. We again thank you for your offer aggressors two and captain and we wish you much luck as you peruse those that did this..."

Skype listened to the descriptions of both races in silence, hands togather just below her chin, tail curling around her midriff as she absorbed the information and came to her own conclusions based on it,
"It seems," She said carefully, thinking as she spoke, "That the attackers was perhaps a member of one of these Races or at the very least, employed by them. Perhaps one side is trying to provoke you into destroying their Enemies." She settled back with a sigh, nodding her thanks in Captain Reynolds' first statement,
"Thank you Captain, any information on this sector would be most helpful should we need to engage these Beings." She did not want battle, but would fight if need be.

"If you need any more information do not be afraid to ask. Now I must ask is there anything else that we should be privies to? Each minute that I stay on this meeting adds five to the repair schedule and we do so wish to be repaired. Our Alpha has also requested our Sphere for a "face to face" talk about the attacks and our response. We are not often defeated in one to one combat and it greatly concerns them that ones still exist that can challenge us on that level..."

"There's nothing else from us" Jonathan replied "We'll keep you updated via subspace"

"In that case, Ladies and Gentlemen," Skype stood, "I believe that concludes our immediate business. The Technonauts will withdraw to a planet to regroup and repair while we shall accompany your fleet as it searches for this menace." The Kitsune Captain repeated, waiting to see if anyone objected to her analysis of the situation. If not, then it would be a formality once the Star charts arrived.

Jonathan nodded "I'll be able to get the charts from Starfleet Cartography as soon as I beam back to the Enterprise" Jonathan commented

"Very well," Skype was already walking back to the Transporters with the Captain, heading through the corridors, leaving the Technonaut Representitive with her First Officer as she escorted Reynolds back to his own vessel. She turned to look to him for a moment, yellow eyes full of curiousity,
"Tell me, Captain, what brings you here," She looked out at Space, the endless black sky with the infinite stars, infinite possibilities to explore, "What brings you out here?" She sighed, wondering the same thing herself.

"Curiosity" Jonathan replied "At heart the Alliance is Explorers, we seek out the new frontier, I'm afraid we've made a bad first impression"

The Kitsune female laughed gently, tail flicking from side to side as she walked. She continued to lead him through the corridors, returning the salutes of the crew as they passed. She gave a little sigh herself,
"I suppose I joined as well for curiousity, to see what's out here. I could have gone for a more simple job, an easier one, a less risky one, but then I would not have felt complete and I would have hated myself for passing up this wonderful oppurtunity. A chance to make friends." for the faintest of moments, her burning yellow eyes were sad.
She glanced out at the Enterprise,
"You have just lost a space station in this area. You arrived with a hostile ship present with battle damage. You were bound to draw conclusions. It's human nature." She said mildly, fox-like ears twitching to each new sound as she spoke.

"Human weakness more like" Jonathan replied with a faint smile "Starfleets been my life for many years, I don't know what I'd honestly do without it"

Its task complete and with the others gone. The Ava shimmered, flickering red, green then blue before finally disappearing in a small flash, its evil looking grin the final thing to disintegrate.

The Master leaned back from the console, the meeting had gone better than the Master had dared hope, at least one aggressor would surely be taken care of in the coming days and they had been left alone to repair as best they could. The Master felt some pity towards the neutral, they hadn't seemed to fully understand what they had gotten themselves into though the Ava did give as much information as they had 100% comparative data to. Some of the rumors and less solid data still gave the Master cause for concern. Yet it was beyond the Master hands now so the Master choose to push aside his worries and focus on what it could change.

We're moving out, the third planet's moon looks as good as any for a repair stop...

Unfortunately for the Ava as it had faded away, Commander Lee, First Officer of the Adrian Cavourna had been in the room at the time and he had indeed seen it's face as it vanished. It was something that suddenly alarmed him greatly. He turned to one of the Marines, the face through the helmet confirming that it had not just been his imagination,
"Damn it, damn it all to hell." He said angrily to himself, furious that he had been tricked, and he knew that he had been tricked. He suspected that the Technonauts HAD been involved in the attack and were now trying to deflect the Alliance defenders and the Alversians away to destroy their own attackers. As an old Soldier, Lee was a proud man and being decieved was something he did not appreciate.
He tapped his commlink, nestled in his ear,
"Red Alert," He said darkly, firmly "Battlestations."

Corridors

"Weakness?" Skype laughed again, "I would not go that far as to call it a weakness. In fact..." She was cut off as the bright lights of the Adrian Cavourna dimmed considerably, their elegant white glow replaced by the harsh, deep red of the sirens placed in the corners of the corridor walls, the piercing alarm sounding throughout the ship.

Skype tensed, her expression changing from one of shock to one of anger. Without so much as another word to Reynolds, she turned on her heel and stode towards the bridge, talking through her own communicator,
"Captain to the Bridge, who called the red alert?"

"Commander Lee, Ma'am."

It was another couple of moments before she got through to Lee and demanded angrily why he had called it so soon after the departure of the diplomats,
"I don't have a definitive explaination Ma'am," He too, sounded cross, "But my instinct tells me we're being deceived by the Technonauts."

Skype hesitated. She had found nothing wrong with the Ava during their discussion but she trusted the Veteran soldier with her life and if he felt something was wrong, then she was going to stick that course like a Cutter to the wind,
"Shields up, power weapons and call our reinforcements," She issued the stream of orders, "I'm on my way to the bridge."

"As am I"

"I'll met you there then." She smiled without humour as she strode through the vessel, keeping it just below a trot.
'Qonndamnit all to hell'

Jonathan had been smart enough to beam back to the Enterprise and was back on the bridge by the time the shields were raised.
"Sir, that ships raised their shields" McGowen reported.
"Red Alert" Jonathan ordered grimly "Hail them, I want to know what's spooked them"
Jonathan sat back as he waited to see what the reply would be.

The Sphere continued to head towards the planet's moon. Oblivious to the turmoil on the neutral ship and the trouble their wayward Ava program had gotten them into.

As Skype and Lee reached the bridge, both arriving one after the other, the small Kitsune looked angrily over her Bridge crew, for the viewscreen that had once showed the Technonaut Sphere was gone, now only showing empty space. She turned to her Operations Officer,
"Where the hell have they gone?"

"They've headed towards a moon Ma'am, heading at high speed."

"Plot an intercept course now!" She turned to face the viewscreen, on which the Enterprise Captain,
"I apologise Captain, but I believe that our Friends from the Sphere are not being as honest as they could be. I think we have been duped." She smiled without humour, "I am planning to intercept them with a couple of ships from the Alversian Navy in support. I suggest you do the same." She suggested.

Meanwhile, Lee stood beside the Flight Officer, hand on the top of his seat, watching the viewscreen shoot past,
"How long until we can intercept them?"

"About twenty minutes Sir."

"Understood, we're on out way now" Jonathan said "Enterprise out"
"Helm officer, plot intercept course for the fleet for the Technonaught ship" Jonathan ordered "All ships to pursuit course"

Master.
Yes?
The Overmind is finally ready to be awaken.
About time, I'm on my way do not reactive it until I get there.
Aye, Master there is also something else.
What?
The Neutrals and Aggressors are moving towards us, our measurements suggest they are trying to intercept us.

The Master paused its fingers hovering over the elevator control panel, with a sigh and muttering to itself the Master selected the control sphere, the Overmind would have to wait.
"Why not just send a com? I did say they could ask us if they had any further questions. But no, I hate this universe..."

Master on the bridge!
Status?
The Neutrals moved first and will also arrive first, data is still fairly inconsistent but we predicate their arrival within fifteen minutes.
No point in making it seem that we are fleeing, decelerate and lock on their commutation arrays, we should try and figure out what is up. Also power down any remaining weapon systems, keep the shields offline for now but I want them on a hairtrigger incase they start to attack for some reason.
They are uncleanse Master, they may not need a reason to attack.
Likely but we are still not in a good enough condition to fight and we must survive in order to alert the rest of the Collective of the new Aggressor. But put passive locks onto their highest weapon systems just incase, also when will our sister Sphere arrive?
Another forty minutes at least Master.
Well we'll just have to delay/figure out whats up until then...


Meanwhile Overmind system core.

The head drone(batch twenty two, cleansed number five or TT-5) continued to monitor the power levels, physic energies and more as it directed the others to disconnect the few remaining neutralizes. The air continued to thicken with a pale green haze, the lights were dimmed and TT-5 personally disconnected the last neutralizer before turning back to its console, as the power levels continued to increase and a faint buzzing began to come forth, small sparks of blue electricity started to dart from the some of the parts, showing little concern TT-5 directed two fellow drones to shut down the areas hit, the buzzing continued to increase intensity before falling right before it would have hit the hearing of most uncleansed, pleased TT-5 directed the others to leave. As the central column opened, TT-5 smiled.
Greetings my Overmind, you have been sorrily missed.
I bet, now where is my Master?

The Adrian Cavourna continued through transwarp for several more minutes, everyone on high alert, waiting tensely as they approached the Sphere's position. Skype paced up and down the bridge like a bad-tempered Fox, wondering why the hell is had to happen on her shift, when she was in this territory. She knew that Alliance would be sending ships, on top of the six it was already dispatching, but, nonetheless, her Communications Officer had already sent the signal for reinforcements from the two other Heavy Cruisers in the area. Indeed, the Captains of those ships had been rather annoyed that they had been dragged from their holding positions well beyond the frontiers of Alversian space. However, it seemed from their reports that the rumoured Convoys and excursions had not come to pass. Nevertheless, they were annoyed by Skype's supposed demands. But they were coming. That was the main thing.

As the two Heavy Cruisers, APS Sammi Gerrard and APS Bellerophon, were enroute, the Adrian Cavourna dropped from Transwarp directly in the path of the Sphere. As soon as they landed, the shields and weapons already activated as soon as they had re-entered normal space. The Captain stood grimly and watched the vessel looming up in her screen, when an alarm went off behind her.

"Report." Lee growled from his position behind the Kitsune.

"Sir! They're trying to jam our weapon controls."

The Alversian Master and Commander growled at the news, the sound coming deep within her throat and coming up. She turned to another Console, this one of the Operations Officer,
"Sandra?" A flash of light came from the corner of her eye, turning to face the being that appeared. It was an Alversian female of average height and average build, with pale blue skin catching the light and reflecting it slightly to give her a soft glow. Everything from her uniform to her long flowing hair was blue. She was an AI, a highly advanced being with such deep control over the Adrian Cavourna that she control any or all of the vessel at will, using it to it's full potential, something a crew could never do.

"Yes, Captain?" The AI asked in a timid voice, big, pale blue eyes looking over the Kitsune with interest at what had summoned her, "You summoned me?"

"Yes Sandra," Skype spoke gently for, like all AIs, Sandra was young and inexperienced, like a child really, and needed encouragement and support to reach her maximum potential, "A hostile force is trying to power down our weaponry. Can you block them out?"

"I'll try Captain." The AI replied hesitantly, her form fizzing out into nothingness. However, certain members of the crew began to find their consoles working without their command, buttons being pressed and levers pulled. Slowly, but surely, through a combination of various neural fields and deflectors, she could disappate the signal enough to give the crew back control over the weapons.

"Ma'am! Weapons back online!"

"Well done Sandra," Skype muttered under her breath, then more loudly, "Can you modify the shields to block the signal?"

"Already on it Ma'am."

The Kitsune turned back to the viewscreen, a small smile on her lips,
"Hail them."

As soon as the Technonaut sphere was onscreen, she offered the slightest of bows,
"Technonaut Sphere, I believe we have something else to discuss."

Behind her, Lee leant over the Operations Officer,
"How far away are the Gerrard and the Bellerophon?" he whispered.

"About forty minutes, Sir." Was the answer.

ooc
heh? I said passive as in record waves of electromagnetic (EM) energy that are either emitted or reflected from an object. As in taking in information that was already being reflected not putting out information/blocking targeting data.

A passive lock would be basically a visual scan of a ship looking for weapon ports, once found they would be highlighted on my ship's consoles/etc for possible destruction later on if needed.

Though if you're just doing this for story reasons and knew what I was talking about, carry on...

IC

I am finally awake Master, now what has happened to my Sphere during my absence?
All relevant information is being uploaded, I am sorry I was not at your awakening but we are still in some danger.
Then why have the shields not been active, the weapon systems brought online, the weapon powered...
Calm yourself Overmind, almost everything is explained in the reports I suggest that you read them, as for the weapon it is still offline we had to scrap our plans for repairing it during the second attack and do not currently have enough resources to repair it that is why we were moving to the moon.

You did well enough under the circumstances Master, though I feel you may have been over trusting of some of your drones and the Neutrals as you so call them. We are being hailed so if you so wish to continue to be diplomatic.
Am I dismissed Overmind?
For the moment, we need to rest and review this new data. Punishments and rewards will be dealt with later.

The Master sighed, the Overmind was doing better than expected yet there was still a few minor troubling facts that had presented. But the Overmind seemed to have overcome its earlier insanity and the Sphere's productivity would greatly increase with both a Master and Overmind present, but first things were first. The Master had to insure that they were not destroyed before the sister Sphere arrived and their information downloaded into the Collective. The Master frowned as it scanned through the Ava program, it could not find the previously used one. Even clicking through the history did not help. After a few more seconds of frantic searching the Master selected the male counterpart of the previous Ava and began to respond to the Neutrals hails.

"Greetings Captain, I am Ava six hundred twenty three Beta of the twenty eighth Sphere constructed by the Technonaut Collective, I am afraid my sister program seems to have gone missing. You have a query? Might I suggest you spit it out as it were, your current position only delays our repairing and outfitting, we also wonder as to why you decided to waste your valuable time and our resources to move yourselves into your current position when simply using a tight beam laser transmission would have been faster and easier, we were not moving at FTL speeds and would have received the transmission and answered several times over before you moved into this current position..."

Master, is everything in these reports true?
As far as we can tell.
Why did you not destroy these fools hours ago then? Even in the current state you could have destroyed them before they had enough time to send much more than an emergency signal.
Because we can not hope to defeat fleets at a time with the then current damage. We did manage to repair a rather large chuck during the meetings, as of now, it is more of a formality and we are sure they have already sent for fleets, if for no other reason than to destroy the first aggressors.
Yes, yet you were not very for coming to the Neutrals about data. Why?
I didn't want to give them any ideas if they thought we were laid low by regular plasma weaponry maybe they would underestimate us.
Possibly but instead they greatly underestimated what kind of firepower even one of the Aggesor ships could dish out.
We do not give away our shield strengths to stangers in a strange land Overmind. Heck we don't even give them away to "allies". As it were we did leave it open to question and did download most of our data into their computer banks if they look they can find it.
True and these are a particularly horrid uncleanse.
Yes yes we should teach them about proper Cleansing after we repair and have another Sphere available.
Sorry Master but some of these reports.
I know but I did the best I could with the data I had...

OOC: You didn't say any of that in your original post though. I hadn't a clue what a passive lock was, so I guessed. Sorry for getting it wrong but you really should be more specific :p

I suppose you couldn't give the stats on your Sphere either? Or how many you have?

IC:


Skype stood on the bridge and looked the Ava over, noting the more curt tone this time around and it made her smile, if any only for a moment. She shook her head,
"I always prefer negotiations such as these face to face. There were a couple of things I had forgotten to mention at the conference. Can you please send over your logs of the battle, who fired what, when what was damaged, etc, etc? Can we also see a list of your movements over the past 48 hours please?"

She knew she would be able to take the weapons information recorded in such data and run a scan to compare it with the information taken from the sight of the destroyed station to see who had really fired what during the battle.

"Know thine Enemy." She argued grimly, "In the meantime, halt your course towards the moon. We shall sort this out in open space before we continue on our objectives."

Weapons frequencies could not be faked or immitated. She knew that, if she could cross-reference those findings with those taken from the sensors of the nearest Alliance Starship, she knew she could build a more complete picture of what had happened.
Gotcha.

ooc
I assumed most people knew the difference between passive locks/sensors and active. I guess I didn't give enough information to let others draw that conclusion. My bad.

Sig linked factbook gives about as much information as I'm willing to release at this time concerning the Collective and their Spheres.

As for how many, I say every one million nationstate population equals one Sphere in the milky way, so I have roughly 723 Spheres at the moment.

IC

"You are part of a most unusual species Captain. We have already stopped moving at least as much as one can in space. The removal of our orbiting velocity would not be pleasant and not something we wish to try at this moment. As for weapons data it was deposited by my counterpart before she left, that console may be abit unstable due to the amount of data transferred which was rather higher than its safe perimeters allowed, disabling them was rather trivially but we still suggest transferring the data to a better location rather quickly and then purging that system. As for our movement charts, we have been in this system for most of that time frame and the previous hours only show us moving into this system but as you request here they are."

A small red journal like device suddenly appeared in the Ava outstreched right hand, it began to slowly pulse with a slightly red tinge.

"Where would you like it located? Any data console will work or you can read it as it is though the data overload may not be very pleasant once it is done. If you chose to directly interface with the data you can bring up almost anything in our logs of the past two days, we will monitor your access and deny it where we see fit but you still will have nearly complete access to relevant data. The data itself will kind you if you have any unanswered questions.

One last thing could you call off the second aggressors, our Overmind has finally been reawaken and we can show only so much leniency with their kind..."

OOC:
Your FB tells me nothing, it only shows me a picture of the Sphere but how fast is it? How many weapons does it have? How big is the crew? You can tell me OOCly without my crew knowing it ICly.

And you haven't given me your weapons data, I don't know what guns you have, you need to tell me that as well. And once I have the data, you can'rt interfere with my systems. That's called godmodding.

I'll hold off from an IC post until you reply

ooc
hmm


WIP Info on Spheres (http://z13.invisionfree.com/Chazakain_Storefront/index.php?showtopic=63&st=0&#last)


and considering what I consider the nature of an Ava hacking of your systems is very much within its power...

ooc
hmm



and considering what I consider the nature of an Ava hacking of your systems is very much within its power...

OOC: That's for me to decide, in the same way I can't make my AI attack your computer systems.

ooc
I can(and generally do) instruct my Avas/AIs to try to attack/plant viruses/worms/etc though it doesn't have to secede or even work half way if ones ship firewalls/defenses are up to par. In the first Ava I instructed them to not even try to attack in this one I did. I only see it as godmodding if I say Ava/AI planted a virus now all your weapon systems are offline and there is nothing that you can do. If I give you the chance to fight it or outwit it or detect it and delete it or to fail at first but gain system back or any number of things I personally don't see it as a godmod if you do then I just blow you out of space with my 20 terrawat lasers.:p Not to mention you'd have to assign any damage/data I was able to take since I don't know what data/defenses you may have.

But if you're absolutely dead set against it I can call off the hounds for various reasons..

As for attacking my systems that one of the few ways to hurt the Techs after all they are ruled/commanded by an Overmind/AI, a Master/Cyborg and most of the drones are robots/cyborgs with only minimal organic parts. Though on the other hand they are also greatly harden against that type of attack including but not limited to redundant system, massive back ups, a killer fire wall, physically separating key systems and the Overmind itself which does/can constantly monitor systems for missing/new data though in this case there would already be quite a few messed up parts so it could be missed for a time anyway...

IC
As the Ava continued to talk and then awaited the reply, the Ava began to dump several different versions of lesser known computer viruses, worms and hacks into the neutrals computer system(s) most would likely be found out and deleted rather quickly though a few would likely beable to worm themselves into a safe enough area where they would monitor, record and/or destroy depending on their function. As this Sphere still did not want a full blown battle, most were programmed and sent to monitor and report back while only a dozen were spared to potentially cripple weapon, engines and other combat related systems.

OOC:
My AI cannot attack your system, it is not in their programming, they are merely defensive programmes.

The Kitsune Captain frowned,
"Nevertheless, you will remain at minimal velocity until the 'Second Aggressors' as you call them, arrive. It is their Sovereign territory and, as such, you shall respect their wishes."

Meanwhile, the viruses sent into the Alversian warship were either destroyed by the extensive Alversian virtual defences or by the AI, who acted more as a part of the Vessel rather than an extension of it. This was not the first time that Alversia had faced an enemy who used viral technology and assimilation as their primary weapons of war. In fact, Alversia had extensive experience of such actions and, as such, they were more than willing to engage in action if they needed so. The one and a half kilometer long vessel was already at full red alert, weapons ready to fire, innumerable defences protecting all defensive systems in case of a hacker trying to gain access.

Skype became aware of the viruses via her earpiece and her expression turned from a frown to one of total outrage,
"Technonaut vessel, are you attempting to plant viruses in our computer system?" She asked in a dangerous tone.

"No and Yes Captain. The Second Aggressors no longer have any control of this system nor any rights to it, the First Aggressors saw to that. As such we have very little reason to wait for their fleets to move into position so that you/they may destroy us and/or further delay us.

As to viruses, yes I have deployed several different versions of well known and lesser known viruses, worms, hacks, trojans, logic bombs and sneaks into your systems. As will one of my counterparts to the Second Aggressors once they arrive. For the express purpose of finding data and transferring it to us, monitor your systems for changes and if they must to disable your weapon/engines or life support. We have already stayed to long in this system and our mission can not be compromised nor delayed much further. Our patience runs thin Captain."

As the Ava continued to speak more and more viruses/etc were released, each with a mission and a routine to try and find a chink in the defenses and exploit it as much as possible...

The Rest of the Alliance fleet joined the Enterprise near the Alversian warship, they were running with shields up and weapons on hot stand-by. They formed up in a formation and waited to see what would happen.

"As. Does. Mine." Skype said through gritted teeth, standing upright and scowling at the viewscreen and the Ava in front of her, the rest of the Bridge Crew were on edge. They recognised the situation and, more importantly, they could monitor the continious attempts to infect the Adrian Cavourna's systems with viruses of all kinds and threat-levels. However, they had underestimated the AI's effectiveness at purging such menaces from the Heavy Cruiser's sytems and, indeed, it was continuing on that duty with a tireless effeciency that ensured that when the time came for the Heavy Cruiser to jump into action, it would be able to do so without hesitation or concern of corrupted systems. If the Technonauts were looking to gain an edge with their virus systems then they were going to have to look elsewhere, for the Adrian Cavourna had barred the gates and she was not opening them for any enemy, technological, organic or an alien mixture of the two.

Skype was hesitant, for she knew what the Viruses meant. A quick glance over at her First Officer confirmed her troubled thoughts. She gave a small, internal sigh, for this had not been her intention when she had first broken up the space battle, but she had no choice. 'Cause and Effect' she thought without humour. While she may have been worried on the inside but externally, she was a personification of calmness, cooly looking over the Aliens who dared attack her ship. She licked her lips, tail flicking as she regarded them in silence. However, when she spoke, it was with a strong tone and a dangerous voice,
"Technonaut Sphere, you are commiting an act of war by attacking this vessel electronically. Stop what you are doing or we will be forced to open fire."

She finished speaking and turned to her First Officer,
"Warning shot across their bows, Mister Lee." She commanded, then watched as the Veteran Officer spoke into his earpiece, communicating with Gun Control deep in the ship, ordering them to lay a single shot across the bows of the Sphere. The calculations involved for that single act would be astronomical, for both ships were travelling at high speed, but the Computers and guncrews could do it and now...at this moment, one of the Adrian Cavourna's many turbo-laser turrets turned to face the Technonaut Sphere, billions of calculations and equations going into that single act alone. However, the gun was trained and now, only when the Kitsune gave the order to fire, did one of the three massive guns recoil backwards, the explosion of energy going unheard in the vacuum of space.

The massive blue laser shot past the Sphere, missing it by a comfortable distance before vanishing into the distance, expending energy until it was nothing more than a small ball of gas.

The ball was in the Technonaut Court now.

OOC: Depends, I thought your nation had been destroyed?

-deleted

OCC: did you see the Children of Kash? factbook.

OOC: ...no...log on to MSN so We can talk about this

OCC: did you see the Children of Kash? factbook.

ooc that name make them sound like a cult

ooc that name make them sound like a cult

OOC: No one asked you Isa, so please do not spam threads you are not involved in like some random N00b.

OCC: TG me, im not home riight now

OOC: No one asked you Isa, so please do not spam threads you are not involved in like some random N00b.

00C 1 you'er not a Mod so shut it
2 it's open so you don't have any say if i'am thinking of dropping in

They threaten then before we have any time to respond they fire, how odd.
Indeed they've made their choice now we must make ours.
Remember Master, this Sphere must survive that information must be uploaded and shared.
I know, Ava stop transfer of any and all viruses, worms and other programs to the neutral ship.
But their AI is cracking I can feel it.
To bad you are to stop introducing anything new now. Overmind prepare for emergency course correction.
The stresses that what your thinking of can cause, this Sphere is no where repaired enough to handle.
Well just have to see where'd you or I am correct.

"As you wish, as you have made your choice so must we." With that final sentence, the Ava dispersed in a flash of light, all new electronic attacks stopped as the Sphere suddenly began to glow with a sickly green light.

But first some back story, all Sphere are constructed and designed for multiple purposes, a major one being the introduction of themselves with a planetary crust, primarily through the unimpeded decent into its atmosphere and final collision, this is why the outer hulls of the Spheres is black, the repeated heating and cooling has cracked and killed scores of the alien cybernetic lifeforms that make up its outer armor slowly but surely dying even the newest Spheres jet black. Collisions with other ships were nearly universally avoided by the Technonauts expect for last resorts when nothing else would work and they wished to take their aggressors with them.

Yet this was not what this Sphere was doing not yet anyway instead the Sphere suddenly disappeared and did not reappear for many seconds and many millions of kilometers, it had used the last of its jump energy to make a final desperate push for time and success of its mission. Both the Master and the Overmind were correct with a sudden loud crack a rather large chuck of the heavily damaged northern hemisphere suddenly split off taking nearly a fifth of the remaining drones with it. This piece if left unperturbed would drift dead in all senses of the word for millenniums before finally interacting with the outer gas giants and being flung into deep space and a final fiery death millions of years after that. The remaining part of the Sphere continued towards the moon of the outer planet, it had already alerted the incoming Sphere of the change in plans and uploaded the new velocities and did not wish to be late...

OOC:
1) I am not a Mod, but NC's question was directed at me. He did not want your opinion, he did not ask for it and neither did anyone else in this thread. If you are not going to join then please do not clutter up yet another thread with the pointless and spamming OOC comments that you seem especially fond of making these days.
2) Please do not tell me to shut up. If you cannot think of something intelligent to say, don't say anything at all.

IC:

"Captain Ma'am. They've speared off towards the Moon, travelling at high Velocity!" The Operations Officer reported from his station to the right of the main bridge. Skype's head snapped to face him, expression distorting into a cute sort of frown. She looked back to Lee and saw the same expression mirrored on his face.
"What are they doing?"
She asked aloud, wondering if someone else in the crew had figured out what was going on. The jump made no sense, especially as the Adrian Cavourna would be on them again in minutes and, more importantly, they had chosen their course of action. The Warning shot had merely been to compliment the warning of war and was standard procedure throughout the galaxy. However, while they had withdrawn their viruses, as the happy Sandra had confirmed, they had not altered their course away from the moon. In fact, they were heading towards it even faster than before.

"Plot a course to intercept!" Skype did not even need to think about it, "Prepare to drop from Transwarp with all guns blazing. They have made their decision gentlemen, now we must make ours." She so hated war, but she found little else that she could do. She settled into her chair, tail curling around her waist to avoid the lack of a hole in the back of the Command Chair, built for tail-less Alversians indeed.

Without a second hesitation, the Adrian Cavourna jumped to transwarp and was soon back on top of the damaged Sphere. There was one final message,
"This is the Alversian People's Starship Adrian Cavourna. You have one final chance to surrender before we open fire. You have ten seconds to comply".
Ten Seconds. Then the shooting began.

Unknown to the two vessels, they had just jumped into a area where a cloaked Terror class warship was. Immediately recognizing intruding vessels the Bath of Flame decloaked and powered weapons and shields. Phased plasma cannons immediately pointed at the Sphere and Alversian vessel. Plasma-charged nuclear torpedoes were being loaded into there launchers.

The captain of the ship of the Bath of Flame was a Cyrator by the name of Tear. He immediately hailed the two ships.

" This is captain Tear of the C.K Warship Bath of Flame, you have crossed our perimeter and we must ask why."

Tears Raptor-like body, like all others, was warped by Kash's energy. His scales were a clean white and a gold hand was printed on his shoulder. He licked his lips with his forked tounge and stared at his screen with bright gold eyes.

Another uncleased group lovely, Father Sithis may very well see us before much longer.
The longer they distract the Neutrals the better.
True, they are a rather bossy group of uncleansed for having no claims to this system. Drop your shields, power down your weapons, stop uploading viruses to our systems, stop moving blah blah wah wah yesh. Do you think that they're really young or something?
Not likely, just probably use to getting their way. Whats the status on our sister Sphere?
Currently holding position on the opposite side of the planet in the null verse.
Good continue onward.

A very brief message was beamed to the neutral ship. "No."

OCC: assume my vessel is in between the sphere and alversian ship.

OOC: This entire incident is happening in My Space NC,

Skype's expression was dark as the response from the Sphere came through. The crew was silent as they gazed upon the scene, understanding what needed to be done. They turned and looked to the Captain waiting for the orders that would launch the Adrian Cavourna into war. They were hesitant would performing such an act, and ending the lives of another, but there was no other option. The Sphere had refused to answer to the Alversian's reasonable demands, they had refused to do as requested and now, the only way to stop them was to open fire, an act which would lead to war, something that no Alversian wanted. However, according to their scans, the Heavy Cruiser vastly outgunned the damaged Sphere.

However, before the Kitsune Captain could give her orders to open fire, a third vessel appeared in the midst of the two ships, forcing the Alversians to hold their fire, for fear of hitting the neutral vessel.
Skype frowned at the new arrivals wondering who this was now. The Alliance vessels should be here at any moment and they would reinforce the lone Heavy Cruiser. Lee turned to the Kitsune, waiting to see what orders she gave,
"Commander...respond," She shrugged, "But keep weapons locked on the Sphere. Fire on my orders."

"Yes Ma'am"

"This is the Alversian People's Starship Adrian Cavourna. We are preventing this vessel from unlawfully landing on a moon of a friendly nation. The Sphere is not complying. We recommend you withdraw before you are hit by stray crossfire."

OCC: My vessel snuck into your territory if that's cool, they just showed up to close for comfort.

Another hail was sent from the Bath of Flame Tear awaited to see the face of the Alversians, all the while a whisper of kash's voice entered his mind.

" We wish to offer them a way out of there situation, please give us time, if they do not comply we will allow you to open fire on there vessel."

The Alliance Armarda dropped out of Warp in support of The Alversian ship and to enforce their out borders.

The Sphere continued towards the moon while intercepting a few parts of the transferred messages between the ships.
Unlawful? We've not done anything unlawful and the second aggressors claim has been revoked for this system anyway with the destruction of their station which we submitted data to prove that we had little to do with.
I don't know unlawful landing and thats cause enough for the complete destruction of a sphere that can hold thousands of sentient beings. I don't think these former neutrals quite get the scale, we're a nomadic race which means we'd cram as many sentients into a ship as possible which could lead to even the smallest holding thousands and they wish to destroy us for trespassing?
Maybe their the kind that shots trespassers and then shots the survivors again?
Why is that so common in this sector, is this the hillbilly sector?
I don't think they all sl...
No no thats not what I wax implying.
Then what were you implying?
Forget it, lets just focus on getting to the moon, repairing and getting this data to the other Spheres. We can classify later.
Ok so how fast do you think they'll continue after us?
Hopefully they'll chat for a few more minutes at least though I kind of doubt we'll ever get to the moon or any reinforcements will arrive for anyone in that time.
Bah, boosting engines now.

The Sphere suddenly began to move a noticeable few lightspeed percentages faster towards the moon.

"Very well," Skype bowed in agreement to the Cyrator Captain, surprised that yet another had entered Alliance Space in order to invene in what was a spiralling problem. She had only stepped in herself to try and restore the peace but these Technonauts were not making it easy for her nor for her people. She had no need to pursue them like this and she knew for a fact that the Alversian Admiralty would take a dim view indeed on her dragging several ships so far out from their deployment area to fight a battle they had no need to fight.

"If you can..." She stopped, checking a console just out of the main viewscreen. She sighed in a combination of anger and frustration, "...if you can stop them, then you can indeed negoitate with them. At the moment, they have increased speed. However, I must warn you, once they are half a lightyear from the moon they travelling to, then we will open fire." She warned firmly, then offered a bow,
"Good luck."

She wondered how many other Cloaked vessels were waiting and she quickly passed her orders along for the Sensors to be modified to detect any more vessels."

The Bath of Flame
message was sent to the Sphere and the crew inside it.

" We will not delay your destruction unless you will accept Kash as your guide to ascension and immortality. His light can touch you all if you wish to be saved, if not, the Alversian warship will turn you to dust."

Tear then sent another message to the Adrian Cavourna .

" Forgive me for not introducing my self more formally, I am captain Tear, a Cyrator and captain of the vessel Bath of Flame, we are the Children of Kash."

The Sphere quickly received the message
Great religious nuts.
Indeed, whatever shall we do?

"No and your god(s)/goddess(es) can't protect you here either. The Aggressors see and destroy all..."

OCC: we don't beleive in gods, only a path to evolving into a high plane of existance in evolution till our bodys become energy.