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Post by Lord Harrab on May 8, 2016 22:33:15 GMT
August 2nd, 2711. ANS Sanctuary Blind Jump to Sector 233-45-78-BU The Crovette's hull groaned and shuddered slightly around her crew, the old and battered hull protesting at the velocity and strain FTL travel placed on her, but she wouldn't break, her new captain new that. Sanctuary had served for decades, and jumped through FTL for half that, despite being obsolete and sidelined to this boring yet necessary duty, there were still some in The Alliance Navy who cared for the old and iconic ship. Captain Jones was on the bridge, sitting carefully in his command chair to avoid banging his head on the low ceiling that pressed down on him and occasionally emitted a strange series of clicks and whistles, The Ships Helmswoman was sat immobile in her uplink chair, her arms and legs restrained to prevent involuntary movement during FTL that could affect the accuracy of the Jump while the Gunnery Officer Baylock sat alert and watchful at his station. "EXITING FTL" The ships computer announced, with another whistle from the ceiling above the captain's head, and the view screen in the bulkhead level with the captain's chair changed from the swirling blues and greens of FTL to a soft reddish glow of a Dying star at the systems heart. They had emerged rather closer to the center than they should have, the navigational computer and the skill of the pilot having determined no risk in doing so "Inital Scans compete." Kallen Sato reported from the ships speakers, "No Planetary Bodies, no asteroid belts, looks like a dead system Captain." "Targeting computer just registered an ID beacon." Mordecai Blaylock added, the Marine working the systems withe a practiced ease, "Its an Alliance code, Colonial era. Running it through the database now." "Could it be one of the old Probes?" Jones asked, leaning sideways over his elevated seat to look at the gunnery station, when Kallen Sato interrupted. "Sir, Visual Contact, twenty degrees port side off our bow, distance 300 k. Its not a probe." The view screen flicked as she changed its focus with a thought, and slowly, like a glacier the huge armored bulk of a ship drifted into view, rotating slowly and randomly as it orbited the star, its yellow hull flashing as it rotated and Jones became aware of the sheer size of the vessel. No Probe, no human ship currently in service was that Gigantic, memories of human history classes flashed through his mind and he spoke the ship's name at the exact moment Blaylock did. "Its the ANS Styx, Styx Class Mothership." The Styx drew closer, trapped in its strange and unnatural dance by inertia for who knows now long now, dwarfing the Alliance corvette like a bear does a termite even at this distance, the bridge crew watching it in silence. "FTL Drive is spinning down now sir." The ship's engineer Anya Nakamura reported, jarring them out of their thoughts. "Cool down and recharge will take two hours, i think we pushed her too hard that jump." "Captain? Your orders?" The Pilot Asked, while outside History awaited them. ++Officer++ You Knowledge of alliance history tells you that this sector was not on Styx's initial flight path, and you can see signs of damage and several nonstandard modifications on the Syx's hull, your engineer will be able to tell you more. ++Engineer++ you will need to be on the bridge to properly perform a detailed analysis of the Styx's state. ++Pilot++ The Styx's lack of stabilization indicates to you a total navigation system failure and her engines are cold, her orbit is decaying and getting her back onto a stable flight path will take some work. ++Marine++ Styx is neither sending or receiving comms messages, and its defensive armament hasn't even tried to scan or target you despite your own ID beacon code obviously not being in its own database. There are no signs of any escort ships or Workers either. ++DataMiner++ You know ships of Styx's class were equipped with several AI units, even a dead ship would still have AI's to mange critical systems, something is wrong with either the AI or their internal ship systems. ++Medic++ Even with Styx being designed to be self sufficient, you know that allowing the ship to become in such a state does not bode well for its millions strong crew and colonist compliment.
ANS Sanctuary is fully operational, FTL drive is cooling down, Comms array is ready for use. it can: Transmit a report to the Alliance via subspace Close with the ship and attempt to dock Perform a close flyby of the Styx.
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Post by Darko on May 9, 2016 15:38:22 GMT
Captain Jones sat rigidly upright in his seat, raising his chin somewhat as he glanced at each of his expectant crew-members in turn. Outwardly, he did his best to maintain a calm, neutral expression. Inwardly, he was exhilarated, heart pounding in his chest with such ferocity that it threatened to burst through his rib-cage in excitement. A slight smile crept across the corners of his mouth and his eyes widened as the sheer potential of this discovery processed in his mind. He'd only just recently been granted this command and yet, by pure blind luck, they had jumped into an undiscovered frontier that just so happened to conceal one of the greatest relics of the past... one of the greatest mysteries of the past.
His thoughts drifted onto his crew just after his eyes did, and a pang of doubt darkened his thoughts just as a storm cloud would a serene sky. Ironically he held the most senior position despite being the youngest and, in theory, the least experienced. He knew he was beyond qualified for this position - every test and challenge that the academy put him through said as much. Even so, he couldn't help but feel woefully unprepared to face what lay ahead.
Jones stood suddenly, narrowly avoiding the low-hanging ceiling. "I've seen the power of mother nature first hand on a cosmic scale, yet somehow it's nothing compared to the Mother out there," he said, failing to hide some of the excitement in his tone as he took another moment to behold the behemoth.
"Sato, hold position for a moment. Mikhail, transmit a report to the alliance via subspace - we've found the ANS Styx and request the dispatch of a recovery fleet at their earliest convenience. Advise command that we will be launching our own investigation prior to their arrival."
"Aye captain," the Dataminer answered.
Jones returned to his seat, a single finger hovering over the embedded control panel in the armrest before pressing the intercom button. "Nakamura, I need you on the bridge immediately. We've found... something amazing. I need your initial analysis ASAP - we'll do a close fly-by once you're up here." He closed the channel without wasting any time, and turned to face the resident marine. "Blaylock, scan the Styx for life signals, traces of energy, anything. You must be able to get some kind of reading from it. Double-check for escape pods or support craft nearby, without power they could register as mere space debris."
He flicked the switch to open the intercom to the medbay. "Doctor Mitchell, prepare supplies for an extended away mission and prep the medbay to receive patients, just in case."
The crew began to carry out his orders immediately, and Jones simply stared at the Styx once again, transfixed by its sheer size. Under a strange sky and strange stars indeed, he thought.
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Post by AegisFate on May 13, 2016 5:43:06 GMT
Mikhail didn't so much as look at the ship when it came into view as begin pulling up every bit of data he could, every single bit of technical specs he could scrape up from the archives. Of course, he was silent when he did so, only returning the typical 'Aye captain' when given an order, instead digging deeper and deeper into the data, and then looking back up at the ship that dominated their view, the monstrous vessel making them look like ants.
That he was reminded of an assault on a pirate dreadnought a decade ago only made him shift around in his seat, his eyes containing a hint of remorse, his posture once again going to that defeated, broken sort of look he had. This posting was the last stop for him, for the sins committed and allowed to go through. The work needed to come first though, reminisciencing on the past could wait, the requisite codes brought up, the data packets collected as quickly as possible, their location determined and the message sent, if only to wait for a singular response. Instead of watching with baited breath though, he dug back into those documents.
That he looked back to the ship, so lifeless as it was made him realize just what was wrong, the sphere of data he had often extended out by habit silent, not a single AI from the massive bulk barking out, for if it was awake and alive, it must have been silenced and detached from the rest of the vessel.
"It's silent," he simply spoke to those who might be listening, the two words carrying weight as he looked on at the vessel now more earnestly, the listed contingent of AI Cores providing nothing but questions to the lack of even the most basic signs of attempted correction of the ship's path.
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coolyo294
Iconic
Slayer of Demons
Posts: 1,169
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Post by coolyo294 on May 15, 2016 9:07:30 GMT
"That's a big fucking ship." Mordecai muttered as the Styx crossed view screen. His stony face belied little in the way of interest or excitement, but of course he was astounded by its appearance. What Marine wouldn't? Tales of the great and mighty Styx were common throughout bootcamp and beyond, all about what could be on it and what could possibly make such a behemoth disappear. Though Mordecai had never paid much attention to them, dismissing them as ridiculous ghost stories, he could suddenly remember them all in vivid detail. Maybe this deployment wouldn't be so bad after all.
The Captain began giving orders. Mordecai followed them. He didn't have any particular problems with Captain Jones. Despite being eight years his junior and fresh out of Officer's School he seemed competent enough. Of course it was irrelevant whether or not he liked him. An officer was an officer and it was his job to serve.
Information about the Styx played across Mordecai's terminal screen as the scans finished.
"There's nothing coming from the Styx, sir. No comms messages, no scans, their weapons haven't even tried to lock on to us yet. Main power's cold but secondary systems seem to be running, barely. No escape pods or workers detected either. Oh wait..." he said. "Belay that. I'm getting a faint weapons signal coming from the secondary docking bay. We're out of range and it hasn't locked on but that could change if the ship keeps rotating."
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Post by Darko on May 15, 2016 10:26:01 GMT
Jones listened to the marine's words, almost forgetting to listen as he continued gazing at the gargantuan ship in the distance. If he focused, he could make out numerous non-standard modifications across the hull of the Styx. Scores of damage were a discomforting sign - one that did not bode well for the generation ship's crew.
"The Styx is covered in damage and modifications, floating dead in space a very long way from its initial flight path with no indications of life. I have a bad feeling about this," Jones thought aloud. Normally he'd keep such negative thoughts private to prevent morale from dropping, but under the circumstances it was pointless to disguise his feelings in the face of the behemoth. Better an honest captain than a duplicitous one.
"Ensign Sato, take us in for a closer look. I want to see her from bow to stern - and keep out of targeting range of the weapons mount on the secondary launch bay. Sergeant Blaylock, as a precaution, be ready to initiate defensive measures. The Styx might be four-hundred and sixty-one years old but I don't doubt even its secondary or tertiary weaponry could still do some significant damage."
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Post by Lord Harrab on May 17, 2016 3:14:45 GMT
The Sanctuary shuddered slightly as above the bridge, the subspace comms array was raised and oriented itself back along their FTL Path, seeking the faint and immeasurably distant signal of home. The Array pulsed, sending the report back through the strange half-understood veneer below real-space at a speed far faster than the ship itself could travel, then at a command from the data miner at the station, it folded itself back into its armored pod with another thud.
"Message is away sir."
Something had changed on the Styx.
As it continued to rotate in its aimless dance around this red and dying sun, its underside was finally visible, as armored as the upper side and still riddled with those strange modifications, the mass network of work docks to the stern came into view, where the fleet of miner corvettes would deliver their payloads for refinement and sorting.
At one of these collection ports, a Single light was flashing, a short pattern, a pause, then it repeated again, a code that dated back to the age of steel boats and wireless sets in stark contrast to the techno-sorcery the Sanctuary had just performed.
SOS
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Post by Jack of Names on May 18, 2016 6:20:28 GMT
Nakamura emerged onto the bridge, silently chastising himself for taking longer than he should have to finish his systems check. It was routine to do one after every FTL, but he'd been concerned enough after that last jump to check it twice. Consequently he was a tad late, not something he was known for, but he thought it better to have a thorough engineer than an overly punctual one in this instance. He'd worked too hard to keep this vessel floating to let an easily noticed problem undo all his efforts.
"Apologies Captain." He said as he walked by Jones. He didn't offer an excuse or make light of it, instead getting right to work pulling up the required programs on a terminal and beginning his analysis of the ANS Styx's systems. His eyes squinted at the console and his brow furrowed, which is usually how he looked when he was thinking particularly hard about something. Corbin blinked, and let out a low whistle.
" She's been beat up, sir. Collision damage... maybe asteroids, can't really tell. But there is also some scorching, and focused indentations not random enough to be caused by debris." He paused for a moment, analyzing a bit more data.
"Nothing punctured the hull though... hang on, heavy damage behind the bridge. Looks like something went wrong internally, half the compartment is gone and whatever caused it came from within." It was unsettling, but not something Nakamura hadn't seen before. Then again the Styx was monstrous, and even though there were a multitude of explanations for an interior explosion he didn't even want to begin to guess what could cause that much damage to such a leviathan.
"Somebody started repairing the damage... see those shiny plates?" He gestured for effect to the hull and the blown-out compartment.. "Replacements, can't say when they started. There are also modifications present, FTL mods. Extensive, reminds me of old FTL designs. Lots of spaced pylons, they've even replaced some weapon mounts with them. They're focused towards a central pylon, probably located right above the central engineering deck."
Just as he had finished Nakamura raised his eyes and caught something in the Styx's rotation; a flashing, a pause, and it continued. He blinked, and then it hit him. "Captain, that's an SOS. It's coming from the work docks, one of the collection ports..." He didn't want to sound too excited, the ship was silent as a grave and there was no way of telling how long that SOS had been going. But inside he was absolutely bouncing off the walls.
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Post by Lord Harrab on May 22, 2016 0:09:51 GMT
"Aye Sir." Sato replied, still motionless in her chair and the corvette turned away from the flashing beacon, the much smaller ship closing on the Styx's bow in a wide carefully arc to avoid the active weapons radars.
This end of the ship was dominated by the huge forward facing hanger opening of the main production plant, where ships built within the Styx's colossal shipyard would emerge, just on its port side was the smaller exit bay for frigates and smaller ships, bot where sealed with heavy armored plates.
Sanctuary rolled over and dived towards the ships hull, the ships grace and fluid movement a result of the direct link between mind and ship, allowing for total and instant control while needed and soon the corvette was flying scant meters from the Mother-ship's hull, the battered and yellow plate making it seem like they soared above a strange and metallic ground. Huge cannon mounts, each many times larger than the corvette were spaced equal distant along their path, and nests of sensors and smaller weapons scattered the hull like tiny towns.
"Close scan underway." Mikhail announced, "Gathering data now."
"Definitely signs of weapon damage." Nakamura added, checking the scans on his own station. "relatively minor though, frigate or smaller class weapons."
Jone's console pinged and he looked down at it in surprise. Nothing should have gone directly to his station unless one of the crew sent it to him and they would have mentioned it if they had found something of interest to him.
"Reading some passive weapons radars going live behind us sir." Mordecai reported, as the sanctuary cleared the ships stern and pulled away from the Styx at full burn, retreating to a safe distance " Must have set something off with our proximity. I'd advise against another run, Sir."
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Post by AegisFate on May 22, 2016 4:10:53 GMT
The scan was as always, more aggressive than his little bubble of data, searching out, seeking, feeling, trying to observe every bit of data, every signature, every possible node. There was much silence, except for the most basic of things, and then a sudden blip, a sudden attack back. It was fast, too quick for a human, and it was almost elegant in its pattern, driving its way into the comm logs, and then disappearing like a ghost. He grunted, audibly so as he tried to assess the damage, his eyes cast across the information before he shrugged, speaking out loud, that melancholic grumble of a voice.
"We've been scanned back. Brief contact, AI most likely, combed through recent comm entries," he stated, returning to his scan, attempting to pinpoint where the AI might have attacked the ship from, or if it attacked them at all.
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Post by Darko on May 23, 2016 13:06:55 GMT
The crew spoke briefly around the bridge, each hunched over their station. Jones' lust for exploration was steadily becoming tempered by caution and logic. He sat contemplatively, trying to decide on the best course of action. He didn't trust that SOS - on a behemoth vessel where something had blatantly gone horrifically wrong, that one potential sign of life seemed suspect. No, they'd enter a different way. The breach near the bridge would be an interesting and reasonable place to start, however without EVA gear for the entire crew it wasn't a particularly viable option.
Suddenly he noticed his console had received a message. He opened it and his eyes widened as they scanned the words.
From: Unknown [Sender Error] To: [Error] Subject: (blank)
It's so cold. Why is it so cold?
He suppressed a shiver that tried to run down his spine. Presumably that was the AI that scanned them, making contact, letting them know it existed... and yet, the lack of data on the origin of the sender and the sender's location was troubling. An AI alone for so many centuries - who knew what manner of file corruption and data degradation might have occurred? A rogue AI was a rare and horrifying thing to behold... the thought of the very walls separating each of them from the cold, dead vacuum of space being sentient and dangerous was disconcerting to say the least. Then there was the message itself. He glanced at the crew around him, and then back at his console, before closing the message. He needed them focused, not unnerved.
"Reading some passive weapons radars going live behind us sir." Mordecai reported.
"Duly noted. Nakamura, deactivate all unessential systems and reduce power output to minimal levels - we'll run silent to avoid detection by those sensors. Sato, take us back in and look for an access hatch as close to the bridge as possible. We're going to dock directly onto the hull and find out what happened to the command staff. In the seemingly likely event that we don't find any surviving officers," he said with a forlorn gaze toward the hull breach, "Their personal files and official ship logs may hold some answers."
As the ship began to turn, Jones copied a screenshot of the message he received and sent it as a message to Mikhail's console with additional instructions:
Do not mention this to anyone else. Keep an eye out for AI, friend or foe. I don't want them to catch us with our guard down again.
He didn't know much about the dataminer, but from what he'd seen, the man wasn't unnerved easily. It helped that he was also the only one qualified to deal with matters of software, even advanced software such as AI.
"Everyone else, prepare to board the Styx," he ordered. Perhaps out of instinct or absent-mindedness, he slowly unholstered his sidearm and checked the M-22 pulse pistol's battery. Full charge. He holstered it again and leaned back in his chair. This was going to be a long day.
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