"Why...?" Clearly the obvious answer was...obvious. "The endeavor couldn't detect anything on Ranger 2, and my own...abilities were clouded. I utilized my own vessel to move closer and determine the status on Ranger 2 and 3."
She didn't...mind Gloire's tone exactly, but she wasn't sure it was particularly welcoming either, so she continued.
"My vessel, being Szoreelli, has no weapons. Were they immediately neccessary? As to the warming shade of mauve, I don't think it will interfere with maneuverability."
"I will position my ship against any...inconveniences, and will be able to relay any incoming problems. The ship's shielding will hopefully prevent any problems if an attack comes."
Jezial positioned her vessel so that it was able to maneuver easily around Ranger 3, in case of any incoming danger. She maintained constant vigil with the surrounding area, feeling her way though the ocean of galactic refuse and through Ranger 2.
Moderator: Rusty
-
angelicyokai
- Lost Knight
- Posts: 457
- Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:34 pm
- Location: In her house at R'lyeh
[CENTER]
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.[/CENTER]
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
― Marcus Aurelius
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.[/CENTER]“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
― Marcus Aurelius
The crew settled down in the wake of Stirling's somber attitude. The unexpected sacrifice of a crewman, necessary and unavoidable due to the nature of the process being attempted, had taken the joy from getting full power back online. Business at hand needed to be dealt with, and personal complications couldn't put it off any longer. The bridge crew, in Stirling's silence, snapped back to their workstations and resumed normal duties, which, as the sensors would immediately indicate, were anything but normal.
"Sir, weapons have full power and are online. Primary beams are ready. Secondary beams can be configured as desired. Torpedoes stand by."
"Shields have full capacity now, Sir, and after that...whatever...storm, I've taken the precaution of raising a low level shield to protect the hull. It wouldn't stop an attack or an incoming craft, but is more of a first warning that something unscannable is coming in. Like not-matter storms."
"Sensors here, I've got Ranger 3 with Ranger 2 in tow, bearing 327, range 2540 and closing slowly. On the starboard side I have 20 vessels from Cad squadron forming up and spreading out to create a perimeter. I have a...civilian ship? I think it's Jezial's ship. It's a Szorreeli engine signature, but it has sensor baffles over the interior, can't verify make or model or capacities. It does ping friendly on IFF. Other than that I've got nothing out there."
"Astrography here, Sir. The superwarp stage left on the same bearing we were given to follow. I can calculate a navigation course to avoid the paradox thread, which I can detect. I've set a series of alarms to sound if were near it or have a bearing directly towards it. It won't harm Endeavor, but it might harm some of the crew if we cross it."
"Helm here, Sir. I've got full maneuverability, warp engines are online, impulse available. It looks like damage control has taken care of whatever we were leaking, and the forces pushing on my steering control have vanished. I have to admit sir, these controls are a little splashier than I would have liked. We might have some further damage that could stand to be fixed."
"Sensors again, Sir. I'm scanning Ranger 2 here, and there's something attached to it. My sensors may be reacting to the environment strangely, but it almost seems like...Z-waves. I know how that sounds, but diagnostics are showing that the sensors are operating normally. Also, my scans cannot penetrate the hull of the ship, it's like it's sensor shielded, but the Ranger class gunships don't have such a sensor mask."
"Comms here, I have an incoming hail from Exemplar aboard Ranger 3, she wants to give a full report before bringing the Rangers in."
"Sir, weapons have full power and are online. Primary beams are ready. Secondary beams can be configured as desired. Torpedoes stand by."
"Shields have full capacity now, Sir, and after that...whatever...storm, I've taken the precaution of raising a low level shield to protect the hull. It wouldn't stop an attack or an incoming craft, but is more of a first warning that something unscannable is coming in. Like not-matter storms."
"Sensors here, I've got Ranger 3 with Ranger 2 in tow, bearing 327, range 2540 and closing slowly. On the starboard side I have 20 vessels from Cad squadron forming up and spreading out to create a perimeter. I have a...civilian ship? I think it's Jezial's ship. It's a Szorreeli engine signature, but it has sensor baffles over the interior, can't verify make or model or capacities. It does ping friendly on IFF. Other than that I've got nothing out there."
"Astrography here, Sir. The superwarp stage left on the same bearing we were given to follow. I can calculate a navigation course to avoid the paradox thread, which I can detect. I've set a series of alarms to sound if were near it or have a bearing directly towards it. It won't harm Endeavor, but it might harm some of the crew if we cross it."
"Helm here, Sir. I've got full maneuverability, warp engines are online, impulse available. It looks like damage control has taken care of whatever we were leaking, and the forces pushing on my steering control have vanished. I have to admit sir, these controls are a little splashier than I would have liked. We might have some further damage that could stand to be fixed."
"Sensors again, Sir. I'm scanning Ranger 2 here, and there's something attached to it. My sensors may be reacting to the environment strangely, but it almost seems like...Z-waves. I know how that sounds, but diagnostics are showing that the sensors are operating normally. Also, my scans cannot penetrate the hull of the ship, it's like it's sensor shielded, but the Ranger class gunships don't have such a sensor mask."
"Comms here, I have an incoming hail from Exemplar aboard Ranger 3, she wants to give a full report before bringing the Rangers in."
Exemplar paused a moment to process the incoming information. No weapons made for poor support, but the ship could scout and run. It could work.
"Alright Jezial, with no weapons you won't be much good on support, but we can switch things up: you play scout, and we'll be home base. Run to us if there's any trouble, and we'll try and keep as low a signature profile as possible so we can surprise anyone tailing you. Just let me send this report and we can get to work."
Was it the heady novelty of command, the excitement she didn't want to end, or duty that kept her in control of the Ranger when she should, by all rights, be back on the Endeavor? Hard to say, and she didn't much care right now.
"Alright Jezial, with no weapons you won't be much good on support, but we can switch things up: you play scout, and we'll be home base. Run to us if there's any trouble, and we'll try and keep as low a signature profile as possible so we can surprise anyone tailing you. Just let me send this report and we can get to work."
Was it the heady novelty of command, the excitement she didn't want to end, or duty that kept her in control of the Ranger when she should, by all rights, be back on the Endeavor? Hard to say, and she didn't much care right now.
Threading the Gerbil since 1982
Cha'llx kept to himself on the voyage back to the Endeavor, lost in thought. That was far too close. How could there be Zorians out here? There shouldn't be anything...unless the teachings are more than just parables. If that is the case, then Captain Sterling and the rest of the crew will need to hear them. There might be some important clues about what we are about to face in them. He took the briefest of moments to commit that thought to memory, before continue his reflection. What if the Zorian warrior's ploy had some tract into my true desires? Is this mission an act of Ego, is it Anathema??? How far have I fallen from the Ways given to us by the AllQueen?
He was brought out of his reverie by a voice that he Knew. The memories of the Starcrusher Unit were so integrated with his own...in fact were his own, that he was momentarily transported back to another life. A life in which a younger Szoreelli had made him a promise.
"Jezial of the Szoreelli, this is Cha'llx Starcrusher, you once knew a Cha'zall Starcrusher decades ago. I hope that you haven't forgotten the promise that you made to him."
He was brought out of his reverie by a voice that he Knew. The memories of the Starcrusher Unit were so integrated with his own...in fact were his own, that he was momentarily transported back to another life. A life in which a younger Szoreelli had made him a promise.
"Jezial of the Szoreelli, this is Cha'llx Starcrusher, you once knew a Cha'zall Starcrusher decades ago. I hope that you haven't forgotten the promise that you made to him."
A number of rather unfriendly looking alerts lit up on the consoles surrounding Gloire. A sheen of nervous sweat re-appeared on her face as she turned to Exemplar.
"Cad squadron is here. They are targeting us and have weapons hot."
The comms crackled on.
"Ranger 3, this is Lieutenant Commander Faarhi Bri. Hold your position until given clearance to dock. Please acknowledge, over."
No sooner than had Bri given her warning, than the much awaited hail from Endeavor finally came.
"Welcome back Endeavor. We are getting some very concerning readings from the attachment to Ranger 2. Please give your report."
The fighter vanguard ripped past Ranger 2 in the dark of space, their pilots eager to exercise the mobility and features of the basically brand new craft. The dire possibilities were rapidly exchanged between Bri and her wingmen; if the readings on that pod were correct, it was entirely possible that the whole away party had been contaminated.
***********
"Jezial, we're still not able to see inside Ranger 2. Is there anything you can do to help? We'd also like you to keep a distance of at least .65 D (OOC: This distance is slightly greater the blast radius of some ship to ship weaponry, notably the torpedoes aboard the Endeavor,) until we can determine what that weird pod thing is."
The comms officer on Endeavor ended her dispatches, and looked to the captain.
Stirling, still morose from the encounter on the hull of the ship, was NOT about to lose his newly restored command to an ancient plague resurgent. The requested channel to Ignak came up.
"Chief Ignak. I have sent you the designs for the Terran Sun Laser. I would like you to immediately begin work on it."
"Captain, after the reactor started up, a whole new set of minor problems came up, I have to..."
Stirling cut him off.
"You have to do what you're told. Build the weapon. Do it now. Give me no excuses."
He closed the channel abruptly. The stories of his people were warnings. The Zorians had resurfaced before, and led to the second Zorian war. The hubris of the great commander to think that they were gone forever was precisely that. At least HE was here, and with those weapon designs, nearly sacred to Terrans and handed down for centuries to all Terran navy men, perhaps they'd have a chance if it came down to it.
As far as the fate of Exemplar and her crew were concerned, the next few minutes would be very important.
"Cad squadron is here. They are targeting us and have weapons hot."
The comms crackled on.
"Ranger 3, this is Lieutenant Commander Faarhi Bri. Hold your position until given clearance to dock. Please acknowledge, over."
No sooner than had Bri given her warning, than the much awaited hail from Endeavor finally came.
"Welcome back Endeavor. We are getting some very concerning readings from the attachment to Ranger 2. Please give your report."
The fighter vanguard ripped past Ranger 2 in the dark of space, their pilots eager to exercise the mobility and features of the basically brand new craft. The dire possibilities were rapidly exchanged between Bri and her wingmen; if the readings on that pod were correct, it was entirely possible that the whole away party had been contaminated.
***********
"Jezial, we're still not able to see inside Ranger 2. Is there anything you can do to help? We'd also like you to keep a distance of at least .65 D (OOC: This distance is slightly greater the blast radius of some ship to ship weaponry, notably the torpedoes aboard the Endeavor,) until we can determine what that weird pod thing is."
The comms officer on Endeavor ended her dispatches, and looked to the captain.
Stirling, still morose from the encounter on the hull of the ship, was NOT about to lose his newly restored command to an ancient plague resurgent. The requested channel to Ignak came up.
"Chief Ignak. I have sent you the designs for the Terran Sun Laser. I would like you to immediately begin work on it."
"Captain, after the reactor started up, a whole new set of minor problems came up, I have to..."
Stirling cut him off.
"You have to do what you're told. Build the weapon. Do it now. Give me no excuses."
He closed the channel abruptly. The stories of his people were warnings. The Zorians had resurfaced before, and led to the second Zorian war. The hubris of the great commander to think that they were gone forever was precisely that. At least HE was here, and with those weapon designs, nearly sacred to Terrans and handed down for centuries to all Terran navy men, perhaps they'd have a chance if it came down to it.
As far as the fate of Exemplar and her crew were concerned, the next few minutes would be very important.
-
angelicyokai
- Lost Knight
- Posts: 457
- Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:34 pm
- Location: In her house at R'lyeh
She nodded at Exemplar's suggestion to play scout, which was unhelpful in an audio feed.
Jezial's thoughts wandered through time and space, thinking over her long decades, centuries?, of life as Cha'llx spoke of their past promise...and came up blank.
"No, I don't recall you...or him...or why this nebulous cloud would be spiraling in a manner counter to the cloud immediately next to it...amazing...but we can speak of the past later.
To the request for sensor aid though, she had a much more focused response.
"I will move to Ranger 2 and focus fully on it. I should be able to see everyone and thing involved in the vessel."
Jezial's thoughts wandered through time and space, thinking over her long decades, centuries?, of life as Cha'llx spoke of their past promise...and came up blank.
"No, I don't recall you...or him...or why this nebulous cloud would be spiraling in a manner counter to the cloud immediately next to it...amazing...but we can speak of the past later.
To the request for sensor aid though, she had a much more focused response.
"I will move to Ranger 2 and focus fully on it. I should be able to see everyone and thing involved in the vessel."
[CENTER]Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.[/CENTER]
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
― Marcus Aurelius
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.[/CENTER]“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
― Marcus Aurelius
Exemplar wasn't exactly surprised by the precautions, but she was a little insulted that he thought she'd let them infect her ship. "Comms, turn on the main viewscreen then turn on live feeds to the rest of the ship and send those over to the endeavor's comms officer." They could sort out what was going on, and would be more likely to believe her report.
"Captain, that pod on the side of the ship was some sort of Zorian attack ship, probably left here to infect anything that came by. The crew of Ranger 2 was lost by the time we got to it, but we fought and destroyed the Zorians and those they'd turned. It was hard fighting, we lost several people, and we could really use a doctor to hold off the infection in the wounded, but anyone that's actually turned was destroyed. As for Ranger 2 itself, I planned on leaving it here with you, maybe our wounded as well, and then scout further. We all need decon before we come on board, and both ships will need decon before they can be used. It seems like a waste of time when we've got so much else going on though, so I figured we'd just stay out until time wasn't so short. Your call though sir, of course."
Some said her people were overconfident. Truth was though, they were just quick to adapt, and generally pretty capable. She was still terrified she would mess everything up, but someone had to be out here...
"Captain, that pod on the side of the ship was some sort of Zorian attack ship, probably left here to infect anything that came by. The crew of Ranger 2 was lost by the time we got to it, but we fought and destroyed the Zorians and those they'd turned. It was hard fighting, we lost several people, and we could really use a doctor to hold off the infection in the wounded, but anyone that's actually turned was destroyed. As for Ranger 2 itself, I planned on leaving it here with you, maybe our wounded as well, and then scout further. We all need decon before we come on board, and both ships will need decon before they can be used. It seems like a waste of time when we've got so much else going on though, so I figured we'd just stay out until time wasn't so short. Your call though sir, of course."
Some said her people were overconfident. Truth was though, they were just quick to adapt, and generally pretty capable. She was still terrified she would mess everything up, but someone had to be out here...
Threading the Gerbil since 1982
Jezial cast her senses into Ranger 2.
The decks were bloody, the incursion with Zorian Commandos first taking the Martians and hostages by storm, the melee with the marines later adding to the mess. Lights shattered, bulkheads beaten, furniture and consoles destroyed.
The boarding pod. Jezial had gathered a glimpse of it from afar. Here though, she could see inside. Reserves of blood were kept carefully in a series of strange containers. The ship was fast, and had a nano-fiber network it had deployed into the hull of Ranger 2, shielding it from sensors and long range clairvoyance.
There was a signal. It was subtle. It was small. It was psychic. Something was tracking the boarding pod from afar. Jezial, alarmed and curious, followed the signal. It stretched into the impossible distance, it stretched all the way back to...a carrier. The mothership. Jezial felt her mind tugged closer to the enormous vessel, nearly equal in size to Endeavor. Massive...gothic...terrible...a relic of a terror of the ancient past. Still alive. Still moving. And turning this way.
Jezial felt her connection take partial control, and her mind was tugged even inside the ship, shielded though it was, clear into the throne room of Vixa the Undying who, beautiful and terrible, pale as death, adorned in battle honors of a thousand wars, gazed back into Jezial. A whisper, cast across the light years, reach back into Jezial. The cold, wet, hungry voice echoed in Jezial's mind.
Panic. She hit the panic button. For the first time. All Szoreeli ships had them, but they were rarely used. It stunned her and shut her down for a brief moment, breaking her connection and silencing her abilities for a brief moment. Just long enough to get a hostile mind out of hers.
The voice had spoken once, all it had to do.
"I see you, Jezial Stormbringer. I see your ship. You have what I want. Come back to me.
What did this mean? Who was this horrible and beautiful queen? What was this name? Come BACK? What? Jezial reeled from the shock of the panic button and the depth of her own questions.
************
Doctor Darius Darr smiled a winning, million credit smile. He stood in the sick bay again, this time, HIS sick bay. Doctor Voracity was nowhere to be found. Nowhere indeed. He knew Voracity was nowhere anyone would look, and his curiosity would finally be sated. How, exactly, DID the matriarch work? What ARE the properties of those wonderful toxins? How long can it be sustained without a host? Beneath his private villa on Cougar Hill, Doctor Darr would find the answers to those questions. For now, he was acting chief medical officer of the Endeavor. He hailed the bridge.
"Captain, this is acting chief medical officer Darius Darr, MD, as seen on TV. We are standing by to decontaminate the crew of Ranger 3."
His staff, for the most part, were just excited to see him. All except that meddlesome blue skinned nurse. She didn't seem too pleased.
The decks were bloody, the incursion with Zorian Commandos first taking the Martians and hostages by storm, the melee with the marines later adding to the mess. Lights shattered, bulkheads beaten, furniture and consoles destroyed.
The boarding pod. Jezial had gathered a glimpse of it from afar. Here though, she could see inside. Reserves of blood were kept carefully in a series of strange containers. The ship was fast, and had a nano-fiber network it had deployed into the hull of Ranger 2, shielding it from sensors and long range clairvoyance.
There was a signal. It was subtle. It was small. It was psychic. Something was tracking the boarding pod from afar. Jezial, alarmed and curious, followed the signal. It stretched into the impossible distance, it stretched all the way back to...a carrier. The mothership. Jezial felt her mind tugged closer to the enormous vessel, nearly equal in size to Endeavor. Massive...gothic...terrible...a relic of a terror of the ancient past. Still alive. Still moving. And turning this way.
Jezial felt her connection take partial control, and her mind was tugged even inside the ship, shielded though it was, clear into the throne room of Vixa the Undying who, beautiful and terrible, pale as death, adorned in battle honors of a thousand wars, gazed back into Jezial. A whisper, cast across the light years, reach back into Jezial. The cold, wet, hungry voice echoed in Jezial's mind.
Panic. She hit the panic button. For the first time. All Szoreeli ships had them, but they were rarely used. It stunned her and shut her down for a brief moment, breaking her connection and silencing her abilities for a brief moment. Just long enough to get a hostile mind out of hers.
The voice had spoken once, all it had to do.
"I see you, Jezial Stormbringer. I see your ship. You have what I want. Come back to me.
What did this mean? Who was this horrible and beautiful queen? What was this name? Come BACK? What? Jezial reeled from the shock of the panic button and the depth of her own questions.
************
Doctor Darius Darr smiled a winning, million credit smile. He stood in the sick bay again, this time, HIS sick bay. Doctor Voracity was nowhere to be found. Nowhere indeed. He knew Voracity was nowhere anyone would look, and his curiosity would finally be sated. How, exactly, DID the matriarch work? What ARE the properties of those wonderful toxins? How long can it be sustained without a host? Beneath his private villa on Cougar Hill, Doctor Darr would find the answers to those questions. For now, he was acting chief medical officer of the Endeavor. He hailed the bridge.
"Captain, this is acting chief medical officer Darius Darr, MD, as seen on TV. We are standing by to decontaminate the crew of Ranger 3."
His staff, for the most part, were just excited to see him. All except that meddlesome blue skinned nurse. She didn't seem too pleased.
"Ranger 3, this is the Captain speaking. Bring the two vessels into the main hangar bay for decontamination and debriefing. With power restored, I want us to get underway as soon as possible. It is easy to forget, after the drama of the last two days, that we are here on a mission of mercy, a mission that has waited long enough. Time is of the essence. We have a bearing to follow, and a message to answer. You've done well, all of you, and the knowledge of this new threat is important. Your dead will be honored. It is time to come home."
With that, the Captain closed the channel, and opened a new one to Jeziel.
"Jeziel, this is the Captain speaking. What do you see out there? Have you had any luck viewing the interior of Ranger 2? While the decontamination is taking place, you can stay out there and let Cad squadron know of any incoming threats we do not see. I had hoped that the sensors aboard Endeavor would function adequately to study the environment out here, but there seems to be a lot more psychic activity than I expected in these parts. Be careful."
With that, the Captain closed the channel, and opened a new one to Jeziel.
"Jeziel, this is the Captain speaking. What do you see out there? Have you had any luck viewing the interior of Ranger 2? While the decontamination is taking place, you can stay out there and let Cad squadron know of any incoming threats we do not see. I had hoped that the sensors aboard Endeavor would function adequately to study the environment out here, but there seems to be a lot more psychic activity than I expected in these parts. Be careful."
[Feel free to wrap this thread up as you like. I'm gonna leave it up for a week or so, but I'm gonna go ahead and put up the next one. As discussed previously, 5xp each. This is the last time a flat rate of xp will be given out. From now on, we'll receive xp based on number of substantive posts while the thread is open, as I mentioned before.]