Hexcalibur
Know what you're doing yet?
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Ah, paperwork. That encounter will produce a lot of paperwork alright.
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Starborn Smith [Massive Scifi MultiFusion / Celestial Forge]
- Thread starter BlazingHyperion
- Start date
Chapter #71: Fleet Reshuffle
New
BlazingHyperion
Getting sticky.
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- - -
POV: Michael Dresden. Epsilon Pegasus system, Columbus (Epsilon Pegasus IV).
I watched from orbit as a few dozen Bilskirnir-class Asgard vessels pulled out of hyperspace. Each of them pulled at least one Goa'uld vessel. Then the large hole in Hyperspace opened, and out came several more Bilskirnir, as well as the station that had been under construction in orbit of Dendred.
Docked in the station's various ribcage-like drydock, were the Manassas, the Cobalt Eye, the Daedalus, and the Deimos.
Now stationed here on Epsilon Pegasus were 12 Tel'tak, 54 Al'kesh, and 14 Cheops, though the Cheops hyperdrives had been disabled to prevent them from going off like a beacon to Ra's forces. The Cheops were primarily troop transporters, so they would be excellent for moving large quantities of resources in system.
The plains near the Columbus facility had been cleared out to make room for the vessels to land. Now we just had to get them down onto the ground in an orderly fashion.
I clicked on my radio. "This is Columbus Command. All RoK ships confirm status."
Over the next few minutes, the status of all the ships was confirmed, and they were ordered to land in their predesignated locations. If used effectively, any of these ships would be capable of crippling the Inner Sphere nations; together, they could have been a credible threat to the SLDF.
It was only after all the ships had been sorted that I contacted the Asgard in command of the fleet. "Thank you for escorting our ships. We appreciate your assistance."
A hologram appeared, taking the appearance of an unfamiliar Asgard. "I am Magni. Is everything in order?"
I smiled and nodded. "Yes. I just wanted to thank you for your aid and wish you luck."
The Asgard nodded once. "Then we will depart. We appreciate your wishes. We will certainly need it in the battles to come."
With that, as one, the Asgard ships turned away and once more entered hyperspace.
- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair. Kaelastrum.
I stared greedily at the pieces of Lantean and Asgard technology. First up was the collection of 60 short-range Asgard communication stones, with "short range" for the Asgard being approximately 5 million light-years.
Genuinely, the most interesting part about the stone was the connector; it allowed it to interface with nearly any piece of advanced computer equipment. It wasn't something I would be capable of reproducing soon, but it certainly gave me some ideas.
The next two things were almost as interesting. First were a pair of two Lantean gateships; each of them was completely depowered, but that hopefully wouldn't be an issue once I got the blueprint for them.
I had been hoping to get the blueprints for the ship's cloak, but this was pretty useful as well. At least, my understanding of the ship's power systems gave me some insight into how the Lantean's distributed power within their ships, and I now knew how to recharge the ship.
There was one last piece of technology that I finally had access to; sitting on a nearby table was a black container. I walked over and undid the clasps holding the thing closed; lying there inside was a single depleted ZPM.
Without any hesitation, I reached my hand down to poke it.
I pursed my lips. I knew the broad strokes of how the ZPM worked, but having that knowledge stuffed into my mind was an entirely unique experience. Within each ZPM was a miniature universe. The extractor mechanism could transform that power into just about any type of energy required and transfer it to a mechanism that would accept it.
All things considered, I was rather disappointed with what I had gotten from the ZPM. If I were to guess, the remaining systems of the ZPM would all be focused on ensuring that the universe that was stuffed into the thing wasn't released.
In essence, the ZPM was literally just a bottle with a hole in it; to "charge" the device would likely cost almost the same as just building a fresh ZPM. I had no doubt that it was possible, but a depleted ZPM itself wasn't all that valuable without the facility that was used to stick the miniature universe inside of it.
I let out a sigh and closed the box. Turning back to Slightly Overweight, I nodded. "Alright, let's get these Jumpers recharged."
Slightly Overweight whistled in response and approached the Jumper. I also pulled out the Diagnostic Tool and began scanning the exterior of the Puddle Jumper. The Diagnostic Tool hadn't been all that useful, all things considered. While it had the best small-scale scanners I'd come across, the "list of small-scale scanners I've encountered" was not very large.
That being said, Ma'chello was pretty sure he could grow critical parts with the upcoming growth chambers, though that was still a few months away at best. Once it was ready though, we would make it standard issue for all engineers and engineering teams. It was expected to reduce repair times on SLDF equipment by at least 30%.
With a deep breath, I began scanning the exterior of the Puddle Jumper. I knew there was a way to release the door in case of a power loss. With the scanner, it took about five minutes to find it and activate it from the outside.
I reverently stepped into the absolutely ancient machine; other than the layer of dust, it looked brand new. With a smile on my face, I opened up one of the floor panels to find a power connector. "Alright then, let's get this baby flying again."
- - -
The next day.
With the movement of the final RoK vessels completed, the time had come for the Asgard to depart. Thor and President Arriston, alongside several others, were all waiting to see off the Asgard.
Arriston stepped forward as Thor waited. "Thank you for waiting. Before you leave, I wanted to thank you and your people for all your help."
Thor inclined his head slightly. "You have aided the Asgard with little expectation in return. We are returning the favor."
Arriston smiled. "Well, thank you. We wish you the best of luck with your fight against the Tyranids."
Thor stared at Arriston for a few seconds before replying. "Thank you." With a flash of light, Thor was gone. In orbit, the Asgard fleet once more entered hyperspace and were quickly on their way out of the Milky Way galaxy.
- - -
POV: James Cromwell.
Michael Dresden had been going over the information we had of Inner Sphere installations for weeks. Now that he actually had the ships to send full-scale expeditions, he had wasted no time in calling us here to discuss his plans. Every member of the cabinet was here, and most of the military leaders as well.
Michael had been named the leader of the Inner Sphere Expedition, and he would be stationed on Columbus for the foreseeable future to watch over everything happening on world. So, as he entered the room, he wasted no time. "Currently, we need ships capable of entering and operating within the Inner Sphere. While the Goa'uld ships work, they are severely limited by HPG coverage. We cannot enter most inhabited systems. We need JumpShips."
The room darkened slightly, and a hologram of the Inner Sphere appeared. It quickly zoomed in on a particular set of systems. I had been unaware of this periphery state's existence during my time in the SLDF, but I was unsurprised when I learned of it. "The Tortuga Dominions; they are a 'pirate state' that survives by raiding their neighbors, namely the Federated Suns and the Taurian Concordat. They have access to a relatively large fleet of JumpShips and DropShips."
He smiled mischievously. "In other words, we can take their ships without having to worry about anyone in the Inner Sphere caring."
I heard a few people chuckle a bit, but Michael's smile disappeared as he continued. "The issue is that the Pirates of Tortuga are also slavers. The worlds of the Dominions are well developed and have significant civilian and slave populations. In fact, a century from now, the capital world of the Dominions will have a population greater than a million people. Taking their fleet likely means leaving hundreds of thousands of people to die. If we wanted to take their ships, we would have to conquer their worlds if we wanted to keep the people from starving."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's in a century. What's the current population of the world?"
Michael nodded. "That's the first mission. I'd like to send scouting missions to the Tortuga Dominions. Once we have a good understanding of the Dominions, we can expand and send scouting missions to all the periphery states. Now, the next few missions are less worrisome."
The map of the Tortuga Dominions zoomed out to display the entire Inner Sphere. Most of the star systems were greyed out, but about a dozen systems were highlighted; I recognized them as the major 'lostech' finds of the next century. There were other sites that we knew of due to the records onboard the Claymore, but what had happened to many of those in the preceding 193 years was unknown. On the other hand, we had a good idea of what had happened to these facilities.
Michael Dresden nodded towards the map as everyone piled around. "This map shows the current locations of major 'Lost Tech' or 'LosTech' discoveries from the next several decades."
"There are three sites that I plan to take before anything else." First, he pointed to an area near the system of Wotan. "Camelot Command. We know that the facility was emptied, but all the infrastructure is still intact. That includes automated production facilities, WarShip repair yards, basically anything you could need from a forward operating base. According to Arthur, the facility won't be discovered for another century. The facility would be a perfect base in Lyran Commonwealth space."
His finger moved down and landed on the New Dallas system. "Arthur's memories showed us six memory cores that survived to the modern day. Of those, five of them are on populated planets with an active HPG. The only one that is likely to be accessible is the one on New Dallas. The world itself was bombed during the Amaris Civil War; most of the planet is supposedly just an irradiated ruin, but the memory core is hidden beneath the planetary militia barracks. Assuming that the HPG that ComStar uses to report anything in the system doesn't activate regularly, that means this core is the only one we stand a chance of retrieving at the moment."
Finally, his finger moved down to New Vandenberg. "Somewhere near the New Vandenberg system is the SLS Tripitz. If we don't salvage it ourselves, then in the next year, the ship will be discovered by the Taurian Concordat, and it will be destroyed by ComStar not long after."
Michael pursed his lips this time. "While the ship itself is valuable, what is of particular note is that this ship was confirmed KIA during the Civil War. According to the late Alistair, as well as Arthur's memories, it was carrying the two infant children of Richard Cameron II."
There was a moment of silence before Arriston spoke. "The ships stationed at Epsilon Pegasus are for you to do with as you see fit. If you believe that this is what they should be used for, then I will not contradict you."
Michael nodded. "Even without the information about the Camerons, just the ship alone is already a significant asset. Letting it be destroyed is not something I'm interested in allowing."
"Then I approve. Your missions are a go." It was at this moment that Arthur physically smacked himself. We all turned to him as his hand dragged itself down his face. "We should have gotten the Asgard's help with retrieving the ships."
A collective round of groans filled the room.
- - -
Author's Note:
Howdy Everyone!
I'm a day late on this second chapter. Sorry about that. This chapter originally included a map which showed the locations of the lostech finds with the help of this site: https://www.gruese.de/innersphere/
However, since this chapter was first released, I started an article over on sarna.net to start collating a lot of the known LosTech caches. If you want to check that out, then you can below. If you know anything I've missed (and there are more than a couple, since I'm still adding two or three to the list every couple of days) then please let me know. I'd appreciate it greatly, or better yet, you can add to it yourself. Just make sure to find the source for the find. If you don't know it for sure, then you can head over to the sarna discord server and a lot of people will be more than happy to help.
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Essay:Known_Lostech_Discoveries
Also, my discord; read up to Chapter #83: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]
POV: Michael Dresden. Epsilon Pegasus system, Columbus (Epsilon Pegasus IV).
I watched from orbit as a few dozen Bilskirnir-class Asgard vessels pulled out of hyperspace. Each of them pulled at least one Goa'uld vessel. Then the large hole in Hyperspace opened, and out came several more Bilskirnir, as well as the station that had been under construction in orbit of Dendred.
Docked in the station's various ribcage-like drydock, were the Manassas, the Cobalt Eye, the Daedalus, and the Deimos.
Now stationed here on Epsilon Pegasus were 12 Tel'tak, 54 Al'kesh, and 14 Cheops, though the Cheops hyperdrives had been disabled to prevent them from going off like a beacon to Ra's forces. The Cheops were primarily troop transporters, so they would be excellent for moving large quantities of resources in system.
The plains near the Columbus facility had been cleared out to make room for the vessels to land. Now we just had to get them down onto the ground in an orderly fashion.
I clicked on my radio. "This is Columbus Command. All RoK ships confirm status."
Over the next few minutes, the status of all the ships was confirmed, and they were ordered to land in their predesignated locations. If used effectively, any of these ships would be capable of crippling the Inner Sphere nations; together, they could have been a credible threat to the SLDF.
It was only after all the ships had been sorted that I contacted the Asgard in command of the fleet. "Thank you for escorting our ships. We appreciate your assistance."
A hologram appeared, taking the appearance of an unfamiliar Asgard. "I am Magni. Is everything in order?"
I smiled and nodded. "Yes. I just wanted to thank you for your aid and wish you luck."
The Asgard nodded once. "Then we will depart. We appreciate your wishes. We will certainly need it in the battles to come."
With that, as one, the Asgard ships turned away and once more entered hyperspace.
- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair. Kaelastrum.
I stared greedily at the pieces of Lantean and Asgard technology. First up was the collection of 60 short-range Asgard communication stones, with "short range" for the Asgard being approximately 5 million light-years.
First Perk Activated. Complete Asgard Short-Range Communication Stone.
|
Genuinely, the most interesting part about the stone was the connector; it allowed it to interface with nearly any piece of advanced computer equipment. It wasn't something I would be capable of reproducing soon, but it certainly gave me some ideas.
The next two things were almost as interesting. First were a pair of two Lantean gateships; each of them was completely depowered, but that hopefully wouldn't be an issue once I got the blueprint for them.
First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Lantean Gateship (Portanavis) (Puddle Jumper)
|
I had been hoping to get the blueprints for the ship's cloak, but this was pretty useful as well. At least, my understanding of the ship's power systems gave me some insight into how the Lantean's distributed power within their ships, and I now knew how to recharge the ship.
There was one last piece of technology that I finally had access to; sitting on a nearby table was a black container. I walked over and undid the clasps holding the thing closed; lying there inside was a single depleted ZPM.
Without any hesitation, I reached my hand down to poke it.
First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Zero Point Module (Potentia)
|
I pursed my lips. I knew the broad strokes of how the ZPM worked, but having that knowledge stuffed into my mind was an entirely unique experience. Within each ZPM was a miniature universe. The extractor mechanism could transform that power into just about any type of energy required and transfer it to a mechanism that would accept it.
All things considered, I was rather disappointed with what I had gotten from the ZPM. If I were to guess, the remaining systems of the ZPM would all be focused on ensuring that the universe that was stuffed into the thing wasn't released.
In essence, the ZPM was literally just a bottle with a hole in it; to "charge" the device would likely cost almost the same as just building a fresh ZPM. I had no doubt that it was possible, but a depleted ZPM itself wasn't all that valuable without the facility that was used to stick the miniature universe inside of it.
I let out a sigh and closed the box. Turning back to Slightly Overweight, I nodded. "Alright, let's get these Jumpers recharged."
Slightly Overweight whistled in response and approached the Jumper. I also pulled out the Diagnostic Tool and began scanning the exterior of the Puddle Jumper. The Diagnostic Tool hadn't been all that useful, all things considered. While it had the best small-scale scanners I'd come across, the "list of small-scale scanners I've encountered" was not very large.
That being said, Ma'chello was pretty sure he could grow critical parts with the upcoming growth chambers, though that was still a few months away at best. Once it was ready though, we would make it standard issue for all engineers and engineering teams. It was expected to reduce repair times on SLDF equipment by at least 30%.
With a deep breath, I began scanning the exterior of the Puddle Jumper. I knew there was a way to release the door in case of a power loss. With the scanner, it took about five minutes to find it and activate it from the outside.
I reverently stepped into the absolutely ancient machine; other than the layer of dust, it looked brand new. With a smile on my face, I opened up one of the floor panels to find a power connector. "Alright then, let's get this baby flying again."
- - -
The next day.
With the movement of the final RoK vessels completed, the time had come for the Asgard to depart. Thor and President Arriston, alongside several others, were all waiting to see off the Asgard.
Arriston stepped forward as Thor waited. "Thank you for waiting. Before you leave, I wanted to thank you and your people for all your help."
Thor inclined his head slightly. "You have aided the Asgard with little expectation in return. We are returning the favor."
Arriston smiled. "Well, thank you. We wish you the best of luck with your fight against the Tyranids."
Thor stared at Arriston for a few seconds before replying. "Thank you." With a flash of light, Thor was gone. In orbit, the Asgard fleet once more entered hyperspace and were quickly on their way out of the Milky Way galaxy.
- - -
POV: James Cromwell.
Michael Dresden had been going over the information we had of Inner Sphere installations for weeks. Now that he actually had the ships to send full-scale expeditions, he had wasted no time in calling us here to discuss his plans. Every member of the cabinet was here, and most of the military leaders as well.
Michael had been named the leader of the Inner Sphere Expedition, and he would be stationed on Columbus for the foreseeable future to watch over everything happening on world. So, as he entered the room, he wasted no time. "Currently, we need ships capable of entering and operating within the Inner Sphere. While the Goa'uld ships work, they are severely limited by HPG coverage. We cannot enter most inhabited systems. We need JumpShips."
The room darkened slightly, and a hologram of the Inner Sphere appeared. It quickly zoomed in on a particular set of systems. I had been unaware of this periphery state's existence during my time in the SLDF, but I was unsurprised when I learned of it. "The Tortuga Dominions; they are a 'pirate state' that survives by raiding their neighbors, namely the Federated Suns and the Taurian Concordat. They have access to a relatively large fleet of JumpShips and DropShips."
He smiled mischievously. "In other words, we can take their ships without having to worry about anyone in the Inner Sphere caring."
I heard a few people chuckle a bit, but Michael's smile disappeared as he continued. "The issue is that the Pirates of Tortuga are also slavers. The worlds of the Dominions are well developed and have significant civilian and slave populations. In fact, a century from now, the capital world of the Dominions will have a population greater than a million people. Taking their fleet likely means leaving hundreds of thousands of people to die. If we wanted to take their ships, we would have to conquer their worlds if we wanted to keep the people from starving."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's in a century. What's the current population of the world?"
Michael nodded. "That's the first mission. I'd like to send scouting missions to the Tortuga Dominions. Once we have a good understanding of the Dominions, we can expand and send scouting missions to all the periphery states. Now, the next few missions are less worrisome."
The map of the Tortuga Dominions zoomed out to display the entire Inner Sphere. Most of the star systems were greyed out, but about a dozen systems were highlighted; I recognized them as the major 'lostech' finds of the next century. There were other sites that we knew of due to the records onboard the Claymore, but what had happened to many of those in the preceding 193 years was unknown. On the other hand, we had a good idea of what had happened to these facilities.
Michael Dresden nodded towards the map as everyone piled around. "This map shows the current locations of major 'Lost Tech' or 'LosTech' discoveries from the next several decades."
"There are three sites that I plan to take before anything else." First, he pointed to an area near the system of Wotan. "Camelot Command. We know that the facility was emptied, but all the infrastructure is still intact. That includes automated production facilities, WarShip repair yards, basically anything you could need from a forward operating base. According to Arthur, the facility won't be discovered for another century. The facility would be a perfect base in Lyran Commonwealth space."
His finger moved down and landed on the New Dallas system. "Arthur's memories showed us six memory cores that survived to the modern day. Of those, five of them are on populated planets with an active HPG. The only one that is likely to be accessible is the one on New Dallas. The world itself was bombed during the Amaris Civil War; most of the planet is supposedly just an irradiated ruin, but the memory core is hidden beneath the planetary militia barracks. Assuming that the HPG that ComStar uses to report anything in the system doesn't activate regularly, that means this core is the only one we stand a chance of retrieving at the moment."
Finally, his finger moved down to New Vandenberg. "Somewhere near the New Vandenberg system is the SLS Tripitz. If we don't salvage it ourselves, then in the next year, the ship will be discovered by the Taurian Concordat, and it will be destroyed by ComStar not long after."
Michael pursed his lips this time. "While the ship itself is valuable, what is of particular note is that this ship was confirmed KIA during the Civil War. According to the late Alistair, as well as Arthur's memories, it was carrying the two infant children of Richard Cameron II."
There was a moment of silence before Arriston spoke. "The ships stationed at Epsilon Pegasus are for you to do with as you see fit. If you believe that this is what they should be used for, then I will not contradict you."
Michael nodded. "Even without the information about the Camerons, just the ship alone is already a significant asset. Letting it be destroyed is not something I'm interested in allowing."
"Then I approve. Your missions are a go." It was at this moment that Arthur physically smacked himself. We all turned to him as his hand dragged itself down his face. "We should have gotten the Asgard's help with retrieving the ships."
A collective round of groans filled the room.
- - -
Author's Note:
Howdy Everyone!
I'm a day late on this second chapter. Sorry about that. This chapter originally included a map which showed the locations of the lostech finds with the help of this site: https://www.gruese.de/innersphere/
However, since this chapter was first released, I started an article over on sarna.net to start collating a lot of the known LosTech caches. If you want to check that out, then you can below. If you know anything I've missed (and there are more than a couple, since I'm still adding two or three to the list every couple of days) then please let me know. I'd appreciate it greatly, or better yet, you can add to it yourself. Just make sure to find the source for the find. If you don't know it for sure, then you can head over to the sarna discord server and a lot of people will be more than happy to help.
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Essay:Known_Lostech_Discoveries
Also, my discord; read up to Chapter #83: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]
Last edited:
Chapter #72: Space Amoeba
New
BlazingHyperion
Getting sticky.
- Joined
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- Likes received
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- - -
POV: Eamon Thorne. Unnamed system in former Baol/Grunur space.
As we dropped out of hyperspace, the pilot immediately activated the radio and spoke. "BES-1 to BES-3. You called for us?"
There was a moment of silence before the reply came. "Yeah. We think we've detected a ship in the atmosphere of this gas giant."
I raised an eyebrow and turned to the co-pilot. "Start scanning. I want to see what they're seeing."
The pilot reactivated the radio and spoke. "Understood. We're scanning. We'll let you know what we find."
The gas giant itself was about twice the mass of Jupiter, and very similar in appearance. There was really nothing all that unique about the planet. So, over the course of the next two hours, we scanned the upper atmosphere of the gas giant. Just as stated, we found some odd ion trails in the upper atmosphere; the only explanation we could come up with was that there was some sort of vessel. Despite this, we could find nothing to indicate the presence of any ship.
It was only after three hours of trying to trace the ion trails that the thought of searching for organic signatures flitted through my head. The instant the ping returned, I immediately understood what was going on. Patting the pilot on the shoulder, I nodded to him. "Take us back to base. I have a report to make."
- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair.
I stared intently at the video that Eamon played on the screen. He paused the video as it centered on the subject of this meeting. "We discovered this creature swimming in the upper atmosphere of this gas giant. As soon as we had visual contact, I returned to give this report."
To my left, the astrocreator stared intently. "Fascinating. I have never seen a space amoeba on its own before. Were there any signs of the mother nearby?"
Eamon simply shrugged in response. "We haven't completed a full scan of the system yet, but we don't believe so, though it is possible such a creature has hidden in orbit around one of the inner planets."
Narrowing my eyes, I interrupted. "I believe this is very similar to one anomaly that is discovered in Stellaris." I took a moment to find a particular file. "The Lost Amoeba event, if my memory is correct."
Arriston at the head of the table raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying it might be possible to raise this creature into an ally?"
With a shrug, I responded. "I'm just pointing out the similarities, though I personally find that to be likely." Once more, I turned my attention to Azaryn. "I believe it takes an amoeba about a year to reach maturity. We'll get a good idea of what's going on during that time."
Azaryn seemed deep in thought. "My people never studied spaceborne lifeforms, at least not in depth. The chance to watch such a creature grow to adulthood is one that I am quite interested in."
Arriston looked back and forth between the two of us. "Alright. I'm giving you permission to retrieve the creature." He turned to Eamon. "Support them for the duration of this mission."
Eamon simply nodded in response and began packing up his equipment. I did the same.
- - -
Unnamed system in former Baol/Grunur space.
I stared out the windows at the marvelous creature floating along before the Al'kesh. The ship was still cloaked to prevent us from spooking the creature. We had been following it for a few minutes now just to get some understanding of how it acted in the wild before we tried to take it.
Azaryn was staring out the screen, enthralled by the creature. "Fascinating. I wonder how it evolved to live so seamlessly in space."
I smiled but shrugged lightly. "It could be artificial. Unless we decide to dissect the thing, I doubt we'll know within the next few years."
Azaryn gave me a dirty look as soon as she heard my words, but soon turned back out the window. "Can you detect anything from it?"
It took me a few moments to understand what she was saying. "I haven't tried. Let's see." With a deep breath, I felt my senses sharpen on the amoeba. Slowly but surely, I felt the whispers become clearer as my mind focused just on the voice of my target.
The first thing that hit me was how incredibly strong and clear the creature's emotions were, even from the several hundred meters that separated us. They were clearly either very strong mentally, or perhaps partially psychic. It didn't have any complex thoughts that I could distinguish, so it clearly wasn't sentient, but it certainly didn't have the mind of a small animal either. It was lonely and scared, but most obvious was an almost desperate hunger.
I pulled my mind away and winced. "I think it's been abandoned here. It's desperately searching for something to eat, but it can't find anything."
I turned to Azaryn. "Do you know what they eat?"
She smiled and nodded in response. "Just energy. They can feed off the ambient energy produced by most energy shields. I'm fairly confident that just approaching it will allow it to siphon energy from the ship for itself."
I nodded and turned to the ship's pilot. "Well, do you want to do the honors?"
He smiled and with a cheery look replied. "Deactivating cloak." Outside the ship, the juvenile space amoeba immediately zoomed into the distance. I narrowed my eyes at the creature and noticed that its fear had jumped through the roof.
With a cough, I smiled. "Okay, maybe it wasn't such a great idea to just decloak right beside the poor thing." I turned back to the pilot. "Let's try following it from above. Let's see what we can do."
Maintaining a distance from the creature, we followed it for the next several minutes, but I could feel the creature's fear continue to rise the longer we followed it. "Stop. Pull back. This isn't working."
The pilot raised an eyebrow, but he still did as I asked. Azaryn frowned. "We can't just follow the creature. All that does is frighten the poor thing."
I tapped my arm as I considered what was happening. "Is it possible that it fears the energy signature of Goa'uld ships?"
That seemed to catch Azaryn off guard for a moment, but she considered it. "I'd say that's a possibility. If the Goa'uld killed the creatures any time they saw them, I could see them specifically avoiding Goa'uld ships. It would be an effective survival strategy."
I pursed my lips. "Then we need to keep the Goa'uld ships hidden, and we need an energy source that isn't Goa'uld, at least until we can convince it not to run away on sight."
I was quiet for a moment before I chuckled. "We have the puddle jumpers. Those fit all the requirements."
Azaryn raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it would. Though I must point out that you are just speculating here. From the amoeba's point of view, we are strange creatures that ambushed it and then followed it for several minutes. It might very well believe we are a hostile predator."
I pursed my lips. My mind instantly ran back over the blueprint of the puddle jumper's power systems. Immediately, I wheeled around and looked at the copilot. "Show me the energy readings we got from the Amoeba."
A second later, I was looking at the readings. It took me a minute, but I quickly had the data transferred over to my flexi. "I can retool the power systems to release this signature, and then use the cloak to hide all other sensor readings. With any luck, the jumper will look exactly like another space amoeba."
Azaryn just nodded back at me, and I turned back to the pilot. "Take us back. I've egotta pick something up."
- - -
Back on Kaelastrum, I spent an hour to acquire the permissions needed to take one of the puddle jumpers out into the field. It was only after I assured everyone involved that the thing would not explode that I was allowed to go grab the ship.
I rushed over to the Hangars and into one of the puddle jumpers. We had barely had them for four days now, and we had barely done initial flight tests. Slightly Overweight saw me entering the hangar and gently floated over. "Arthur? Were you not busy with something else?"
I chuckled. "I am borrowing one of the jumpers for a little project." It bobbed up and down for a few moments before performing a sort-of-shrug where it lifted all of its tentacles straight upwards for a moment. "Alright. How can I help?"
I smiled mischievously and handed him my flexi before walking past it and entering the command room. "I need to reconfigure the power systems to produce those frequencies."
Slightly Overweight immediately got to work disconnecting the power cable in the center of the jumper; he then pulled down several of the overhead computing boxes and began performing maintenance. I read his response on my flexi. "The jumper will still produce the other signatures that are normal for a metallic craft."
I nodded in response. "Which is why I'll reconfigure the cloak to hide the ship's primary signature, but allow the artificial ones to get through."
I sat down in the pilot's seat, and I felt the ship activate around me. It had been clear that I had the Ancient Technology Activation (ATA) Gene, as it was referred to in Stargate: Atlantis, since the moment the jumper had first been powered up. The ship seemed to react to my very whims; it was utterly unlike anything I had experienced before.
When I had first touched the jumper controls, I had absolutely no problem getting the ship to hover just a few centimeters above the ground. Meanwhile, anyone else who tried failed to do even that.
Part of it was that I knew exactly how to operate the ship due to the user manual being stuffed into my brain along with the schematics for the neural interface, but there was definitely more to it.
With a whirring, the rear hatch pulled shut and sealed. With a simple force applied to the controls, the ship took off vertically and rotated 180 degrees around its central axis to face the exit. The doorway to this hangar was wide open, and the tunnel leading out of the mountainside had been cleared for my use.
With almost unnatural ease, the ship floated straight down the large tunnel and out into the open. I gave a command to the ship's cloak, and it activated, but not in full. Instead, it only blocked a particular set of emissions. The ease with which the ship could be operated was incredible.
I grabbed my radio. "This is Puddle Jumper to DHD Control. Is there an expected wormhole within the next 5 minutes?"
There was a moment of silence. "Negative, puddle jumper. Where do you need me to dial?"
I smirked and replied. "Don't worry, I'll dial it on my end." As I spoke, I began inputting the coordinates. "Have the entry site cleared. I'll be coming in from above."
As the last of the symbols were entered, I slowly lowered myself towards the gate. Then, I lined up the jumper and jumped into the puddle. Once on the other side, I flew the jumper into the cargo bay of the Al'kesh and we once more returned to hyperspace.
I used the short travel time to get changed into a space suit – standard procedure when operating an unfamiliar ship – and to grab something to eat. The crew of the Al'kesh already knew the plan, so once we exited hyperspace near the planet, I flew out the cargo hold and the Al'kesh once more cloaked.
Slightly Overweight floated behind the copilot's chair. He whistled loudly, and the jumper automatically translated his words and displayed them for me to read. "The power systems have been recalibrated to your specifications."
I nodded and started scanning the gas giant for any signs of the space amoeba. The creature found us before we found it. Suddenly, it came up from below the jumper and started circling. Almost immediately, the ship informed me we were suffering from a not insignificant power draw.
In fact, it was a lot more than I was expecting. I quickly activated my radio. "This is Arthur. It looks like the jumper is going to be drained. You might have to come by and grab us. I'll keep you informed. Just be aware."
For almost ten minutes, the amoeba circled around the jumper, and unfortunately during that entire time, it didn't appear to be interested in letting us get away with any power. I let out a sigh and activated the radio. "Yeah. You guys are going to have to come save us. Make sure to decloak at a distance and let the Amoeba see you approaching."
The confirmation came in, and I sealed my spacesuit for a worst-case scenario. Then, I turned my attention to the amoeba's emotions. Unfortunately, as the Al'kesh came within a few hundred kilometers, the space amoeba noticed, and I felt its fear spike, but its hunger overwhelmed its fear and it continued to feed. I activated my radio. "Stop. If you get any closer, you'll scare it away."
The Al'kesh pilot confirmed and brought his ship to a stop. It didn't come any closer, and the Amoeba continued to feed, but was still very frightened. With pursed lips, I sighed and stood up. Slightly Overweight whistled at me in confusion. "What are you doing?"
I looked back at it for a moment. "I'm going out to introduce myself." As I shut the doors to the front section of the jumper, I commanded the oxygen in the rear bay to be carefully voided. Slowly but surely, the rear hatch opened up, and I used my EVA pack to let myself out.
The amoeba almost seemed to ignore me, but at this distance I could feel its emotions focus on me. Some surprise and curiosity, though it was still mostly focused on feeding from the jumpers rapidly draining power and keeping its attention on the Al'kesh.
Carefully, I brought myself just barely close enough to touch the creature. I smiled to myself; I was trying to do the same thing Spock had done in Star Trek IV. I placed my hand on the Amoeba's carapace and felt its thoughts. They were much clearer this close, and I had no doubt that if I felt like losing a hand, I could probably get an even better connection if I removed my glove.
Just from being this close, I was fairly sure that the amoeba was at least partially psionic in nature; attempting to show it my own emotions was significantly easier than with humans or even Slightly Overweight, and as I carefully showed it emotions of friendship, family, and more food – that last one was particularly effective – the Amoeba seemed to finally lower its guard a bit. I pulled back and spoke into my radio. "Alright, approach, slowly."
I felt the Al'kesh crawl forward towards us and the Amoeba. It was still wary, but significantly less so than before. The ship closed within visual range, and the Amoeba turned its attention away from the jumper and instead over to the Al'kesh, to immediately start feeding again. Carefully, I maneuvered myself into the jumper and closed the hatch.
There was just barely enough power to flip the thing around and land in the Al'kesh cargo bay. I let out a deep sigh of relief, just as the Celestial Forge threw a notification into my head.
- - -
Author's Note:
Howdy all! Thanks for reading. I wrote two chapters this weekend, so I'll post another one tomorrow.
Read up to Chapter #85 on Discord: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]
POV: Eamon Thorne. Unnamed system in former Baol/Grunur space.
As we dropped out of hyperspace, the pilot immediately activated the radio and spoke. "BES-1 to BES-3. You called for us?"
There was a moment of silence before the reply came. "Yeah. We think we've detected a ship in the atmosphere of this gas giant."
I raised an eyebrow and turned to the co-pilot. "Start scanning. I want to see what they're seeing."
The pilot reactivated the radio and spoke. "Understood. We're scanning. We'll let you know what we find."
The gas giant itself was about twice the mass of Jupiter, and very similar in appearance. There was really nothing all that unique about the planet. So, over the course of the next two hours, we scanned the upper atmosphere of the gas giant. Just as stated, we found some odd ion trails in the upper atmosphere; the only explanation we could come up with was that there was some sort of vessel. Despite this, we could find nothing to indicate the presence of any ship.
It was only after three hours of trying to trace the ion trails that the thought of searching for organic signatures flitted through my head. The instant the ping returned, I immediately understood what was going on. Patting the pilot on the shoulder, I nodded to him. "Take us back to base. I have a report to make."
- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair.
I stared intently at the video that Eamon played on the screen. He paused the video as it centered on the subject of this meeting. "We discovered this creature swimming in the upper atmosphere of this gas giant. As soon as we had visual contact, I returned to give this report."
To my left, the astrocreator stared intently. "Fascinating. I have never seen a space amoeba on its own before. Were there any signs of the mother nearby?"
Eamon simply shrugged in response. "We haven't completed a full scan of the system yet, but we don't believe so, though it is possible such a creature has hidden in orbit around one of the inner planets."
Narrowing my eyes, I interrupted. "I believe this is very similar to one anomaly that is discovered in Stellaris." I took a moment to find a particular file. "The Lost Amoeba event, if my memory is correct."
Arriston at the head of the table raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying it might be possible to raise this creature into an ally?"
With a shrug, I responded. "I'm just pointing out the similarities, though I personally find that to be likely." Once more, I turned my attention to Azaryn. "I believe it takes an amoeba about a year to reach maturity. We'll get a good idea of what's going on during that time."
Azaryn seemed deep in thought. "My people never studied spaceborne lifeforms, at least not in depth. The chance to watch such a creature grow to adulthood is one that I am quite interested in."
Arriston looked back and forth between the two of us. "Alright. I'm giving you permission to retrieve the creature." He turned to Eamon. "Support them for the duration of this mission."
Eamon simply nodded in response and began packing up his equipment. I did the same.
- - -
Unnamed system in former Baol/Grunur space.
I stared out the windows at the marvelous creature floating along before the Al'kesh. The ship was still cloaked to prevent us from spooking the creature. We had been following it for a few minutes now just to get some understanding of how it acted in the wild before we tried to take it.
Azaryn was staring out the screen, enthralled by the creature. "Fascinating. I wonder how it evolved to live so seamlessly in space."
I smiled but shrugged lightly. "It could be artificial. Unless we decide to dissect the thing, I doubt we'll know within the next few years."
Azaryn gave me a dirty look as soon as she heard my words, but soon turned back out the window. "Can you detect anything from it?"
It took me a few moments to understand what she was saying. "I haven't tried. Let's see." With a deep breath, I felt my senses sharpen on the amoeba. Slowly but surely, I felt the whispers become clearer as my mind focused just on the voice of my target.
The first thing that hit me was how incredibly strong and clear the creature's emotions were, even from the several hundred meters that separated us. They were clearly either very strong mentally, or perhaps partially psychic. It didn't have any complex thoughts that I could distinguish, so it clearly wasn't sentient, but it certainly didn't have the mind of a small animal either. It was lonely and scared, but most obvious was an almost desperate hunger.
I pulled my mind away and winced. "I think it's been abandoned here. It's desperately searching for something to eat, but it can't find anything."
I turned to Azaryn. "Do you know what they eat?"
She smiled and nodded in response. "Just energy. They can feed off the ambient energy produced by most energy shields. I'm fairly confident that just approaching it will allow it to siphon energy from the ship for itself."
I nodded and turned to the ship's pilot. "Well, do you want to do the honors?"
He smiled and with a cheery look replied. "Deactivating cloak." Outside the ship, the juvenile space amoeba immediately zoomed into the distance. I narrowed my eyes at the creature and noticed that its fear had jumped through the roof.
With a cough, I smiled. "Okay, maybe it wasn't such a great idea to just decloak right beside the poor thing." I turned back to the pilot. "Let's try following it from above. Let's see what we can do."
Maintaining a distance from the creature, we followed it for the next several minutes, but I could feel the creature's fear continue to rise the longer we followed it. "Stop. Pull back. This isn't working."
The pilot raised an eyebrow, but he still did as I asked. Azaryn frowned. "We can't just follow the creature. All that does is frighten the poor thing."
I tapped my arm as I considered what was happening. "Is it possible that it fears the energy signature of Goa'uld ships?"
That seemed to catch Azaryn off guard for a moment, but she considered it. "I'd say that's a possibility. If the Goa'uld killed the creatures any time they saw them, I could see them specifically avoiding Goa'uld ships. It would be an effective survival strategy."
I pursed my lips. "Then we need to keep the Goa'uld ships hidden, and we need an energy source that isn't Goa'uld, at least until we can convince it not to run away on sight."
I was quiet for a moment before I chuckled. "We have the puddle jumpers. Those fit all the requirements."
Azaryn raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it would. Though I must point out that you are just speculating here. From the amoeba's point of view, we are strange creatures that ambushed it and then followed it for several minutes. It might very well believe we are a hostile predator."
I pursed my lips. My mind instantly ran back over the blueprint of the puddle jumper's power systems. Immediately, I wheeled around and looked at the copilot. "Show me the energy readings we got from the Amoeba."
A second later, I was looking at the readings. It took me a minute, but I quickly had the data transferred over to my flexi. "I can retool the power systems to release this signature, and then use the cloak to hide all other sensor readings. With any luck, the jumper will look exactly like another space amoeba."
Azaryn just nodded back at me, and I turned back to the pilot. "Take us back. I've egotta pick something up."
- - -
Back on Kaelastrum, I spent an hour to acquire the permissions needed to take one of the puddle jumpers out into the field. It was only after I assured everyone involved that the thing would not explode that I was allowed to go grab the ship.
I rushed over to the Hangars and into one of the puddle jumpers. We had barely had them for four days now, and we had barely done initial flight tests. Slightly Overweight saw me entering the hangar and gently floated over. "Arthur? Were you not busy with something else?"
I chuckled. "I am borrowing one of the jumpers for a little project." It bobbed up and down for a few moments before performing a sort-of-shrug where it lifted all of its tentacles straight upwards for a moment. "Alright. How can I help?"
I smiled mischievously and handed him my flexi before walking past it and entering the command room. "I need to reconfigure the power systems to produce those frequencies."
Slightly Overweight immediately got to work disconnecting the power cable in the center of the jumper; he then pulled down several of the overhead computing boxes and began performing maintenance. I read his response on my flexi. "The jumper will still produce the other signatures that are normal for a metallic craft."
I nodded in response. "Which is why I'll reconfigure the cloak to hide the ship's primary signature, but allow the artificial ones to get through."
I sat down in the pilot's seat, and I felt the ship activate around me. It had been clear that I had the Ancient Technology Activation (ATA) Gene, as it was referred to in Stargate: Atlantis, since the moment the jumper had first been powered up. The ship seemed to react to my very whims; it was utterly unlike anything I had experienced before.
When I had first touched the jumper controls, I had absolutely no problem getting the ship to hover just a few centimeters above the ground. Meanwhile, anyone else who tried failed to do even that.
Part of it was that I knew exactly how to operate the ship due to the user manual being stuffed into my brain along with the schematics for the neural interface, but there was definitely more to it.
With a whirring, the rear hatch pulled shut and sealed. With a simple force applied to the controls, the ship took off vertically and rotated 180 degrees around its central axis to face the exit. The doorway to this hangar was wide open, and the tunnel leading out of the mountainside had been cleared for my use.
With almost unnatural ease, the ship floated straight down the large tunnel and out into the open. I gave a command to the ship's cloak, and it activated, but not in full. Instead, it only blocked a particular set of emissions. The ease with which the ship could be operated was incredible.
I grabbed my radio. "This is Puddle Jumper to DHD Control. Is there an expected wormhole within the next 5 minutes?"
There was a moment of silence. "Negative, puddle jumper. Where do you need me to dial?"
I smirked and replied. "Don't worry, I'll dial it on my end." As I spoke, I began inputting the coordinates. "Have the entry site cleared. I'll be coming in from above."
As the last of the symbols were entered, I slowly lowered myself towards the gate. Then, I lined up the jumper and jumped into the puddle. Once on the other side, I flew the jumper into the cargo bay of the Al'kesh and we once more returned to hyperspace.
I used the short travel time to get changed into a space suit – standard procedure when operating an unfamiliar ship – and to grab something to eat. The crew of the Al'kesh already knew the plan, so once we exited hyperspace near the planet, I flew out the cargo hold and the Al'kesh once more cloaked.
Slightly Overweight floated behind the copilot's chair. He whistled loudly, and the jumper automatically translated his words and displayed them for me to read. "The power systems have been recalibrated to your specifications."
I nodded and started scanning the gas giant for any signs of the space amoeba. The creature found us before we found it. Suddenly, it came up from below the jumper and started circling. Almost immediately, the ship informed me we were suffering from a not insignificant power draw.
In fact, it was a lot more than I was expecting. I quickly activated my radio. "This is Arthur. It looks like the jumper is going to be drained. You might have to come by and grab us. I'll keep you informed. Just be aware."
For almost ten minutes, the amoeba circled around the jumper, and unfortunately during that entire time, it didn't appear to be interested in letting us get away with any power. I let out a sigh and activated the radio. "Yeah. You guys are going to have to come save us. Make sure to decloak at a distance and let the Amoeba see you approaching."
The confirmation came in, and I sealed my spacesuit for a worst-case scenario. Then, I turned my attention to the amoeba's emotions. Unfortunately, as the Al'kesh came within a few hundred kilometers, the space amoeba noticed, and I felt its fear spike, but its hunger overwhelmed its fear and it continued to feed. I activated my radio. "Stop. If you get any closer, you'll scare it away."
The Al'kesh pilot confirmed and brought his ship to a stop. It didn't come any closer, and the Amoeba continued to feed, but was still very frightened. With pursed lips, I sighed and stood up. Slightly Overweight whistled at me in confusion. "What are you doing?"
I looked back at it for a moment. "I'm going out to introduce myself." As I shut the doors to the front section of the jumper, I commanded the oxygen in the rear bay to be carefully voided. Slowly but surely, the rear hatch opened up, and I used my EVA pack to let myself out.
The amoeba almost seemed to ignore me, but at this distance I could feel its emotions focus on me. Some surprise and curiosity, though it was still mostly focused on feeding from the jumpers rapidly draining power and keeping its attention on the Al'kesh.
Carefully, I brought myself just barely close enough to touch the creature. I smiled to myself; I was trying to do the same thing Spock had done in Star Trek IV. I placed my hand on the Amoeba's carapace and felt its thoughts. They were much clearer this close, and I had no doubt that if I felt like losing a hand, I could probably get an even better connection if I removed my glove.
Just from being this close, I was fairly sure that the amoeba was at least partially psionic in nature; attempting to show it my own emotions was significantly easier than with humans or even Slightly Overweight, and as I carefully showed it emotions of friendship, family, and more food – that last one was particularly effective – the Amoeba seemed to finally lower its guard a bit. I pulled back and spoke into my radio. "Alright, approach, slowly."
I felt the Al'kesh crawl forward towards us and the Amoeba. It was still wary, but significantly less so than before. The ship closed within visual range, and the Amoeba turned its attention away from the jumper and instead over to the Al'kesh, to immediately start feeding again. Carefully, I maneuvered myself into the jumper and closed the hatch.
There was just barely enough power to flip the thing around and land in the Al'kesh cargo bay. I let out a deep sigh of relief, just as the Celestial Forge threw a notification into my head.
| Special Achievement: It Followed Me Home Perk 'Endless bag of nether warts' missed due to insufficient points. (Available Points: 0, Required Points: 200, Points Doubled, New Point Total: 100) |
- - -
Author's Note:
Howdy all! Thanks for reading. I wrote two chapters this weekend, so I'll post another one tomorrow.
Read up to Chapter #85 on Discord: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]
Hexcalibur
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I was hoping it was one of the Slylandro.
Chapter #73: Departure of the First Periphery Expedition
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BlazingHyperion
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POV: Arthur Sinclair.
"The most recent Celestial Forge achievement is also an achievement that can be obtained in Stellaris." I said as I took my seat at the table across from Arriston. He waited for me to continue. "If the Stellaris achievements count as Celestial Forge achievements, then it means I have something I can work towards."
Arriston nodded. "I assume that you have some further achievements that you could test."
I nodded. "Most obvious is the Mad Genius achievement. It requires us to recruit a scientist from the Curator Enclave. I'm fairly confident that we could recruit a scientist from them as we stand at the moment. This would also allow us to get the Rare Technology 'Curator Archaeology Lab' which would unlock the Break On Through... achievement."
Arriston raised an eyebrow as I handed him a flexi. As he turned it on, he responded. "I seem to remember there being some achievements that should have already been completed."
I nodded. "There are a couple that I would have expected to activate already but just haven't. Namely, Brave New World, which should require us to own more than one world; Mutual Understanding, which requires us to have traded with another empire; and We Come In Peace, which requires us to initiate a non-violent first contact. I have some potential explanations for why, but none of them are particularly satisfying."
Arriston looked over the document. "Alright. What other suggestions do you have that we might test?"
I immediately picked up another flexi and began looking through the list. "Explorer: it would require us to survey one type of every planet. By the standards of Stellaris, I think the only type of world we have yet to survey is a Tomb World, and we can find those in the Inner Sphere easily. Building Better Worlds and Paradise Found could both be accomplished by terraforming a planet into a Gaia World with Azaryn's assistance. We could also get the previous two achievements by finding the Last Baol and activating it to terraform a world of our choosing into a Gaia world; this would also give us the It belongs in a museum! and Unlimited Power! achievements."
I flipped to the next page. "Those are the achievements we could feasibly get in the immediate future. There is one that we could get within a couple of months, but it would require us to stop developing our own hyperdrives. The Path Not Taken, would require us to be in control of 10 colonized worlds before we research hyperdrive technology."
Arriston stopped reading and looked up at me for a moment. "Do you think we stand a good chance of developing hyperdrive technology in the near future?"
I nodded emphatically. "Easily. Once we have the crystal growth chamber, assuming there aren't any issues, we'd have absolutely no issue with just recreating the Goa'uld hyperdrives."
Arriston pursed his lips. "Michael mentioned the possibility of taking over the Tortuga Dominions. Would those count?"
I quickly answered in the affirmative. "Absolutely. We just need to be in control of a total of ten worlds. From there, we'd be free to consolidate our power. If we take over the Tortuga Dominions, then there are two further nearby planets that we could claim with relative ease."
I shared a set of images, namely of the rimward periphery of the Inner Sphere. I first pointed to the Tortuga Dominions. "We already know the Tortuga Dominions, but here." I moved my finger 90 light-years to the south. "About here is the Hope system. The world is populous enough to have a problem with rogue mech warriors, despite my own knowledge stating that only a few thousand live on the world. I don't believe it would take much to claim the planet. However, if the population really is as sparse as my memories claim, then we would need other options."
I moved my finger to the other side of the map, to a system just on the border of the Free Worlds League. "Right here is the world of Astrokaszy. By now it should have either formed a government or be on the way to doing so. I don't know if we could claim it outright, but supporting its development materially could make it a valuable ally. Most importantly, it is between the Magistracy of Canopus and the Free Worlds League. It is an excellent rest stop for traders, and it would be an excellent place for a base of operations in the FWL."
The third system was almost 300 light-years rimward of the Magistracy of Canopus. "This is the Pharos system. The system was independently settled by a Capellan mercenary company, and then later by a group of Taurian and Canopian refugees. I know nothing about the system, but since I was checking all viable options, this one popped out at me. If I were to guess, they likely have access to several JumpShips, or they did when they first settled in the system. If nothing else, then the system is well away from the Inner Sphere and could act as a fallback point."
Arriston looked through the sparse information about the Pharos system, his eyes narrowing. "You've certainly considered this."
I nodded sharply. "All it would take is delaying a project by a few months."
Arriston nodded back and tapped his flexi a few times in thought. "Alright. You should take this information to Michael. If you can convince him to include these systems in the initial survey, then I'll support it."
I smiled. "Thank you. There is one more thing I'd like to bring up. When I first got access to the list of Goa'uld Stargate addresses, there was one gate that was particularly close to Terra. That world showed up in my memories as a system known as Argondale."
I had the flexi zoom out and shift well anti-spinward of Terra to display Argondale's relative location. "If there is really a Stargate there, then it is possible that the Star League discovered it."
This time, the president pursed his lips but shrugged. "If you can convince Michael to send the ships, then I'll sign off on it."
I smiled and nodded. "Understood. Thank you for your time."
He smiled in response. "Of course. If you ever need anything Arthur, then please let me know."
- - -
Two Days Later.
I stood at the back of the room as Michael briefed the pilots and crewmembers of this expedition. The entire briefing room held several hundred people; full crews for all 24 Al'kesh that would begin journeying around the periphery. "Alright everyone. This is the briefing for the Periphery Expedition."
A map instantly appeared on the display, showing a route that meandered around the spinward and the rimward periphery.
So, Michael began the presentation. "You will begin the expedition to the Járnfolk world of Ålborg. You will spend approximately a week there and on the nearby worlds, gathering intel before moving onto the next target."
Next, the world of Alfirk was highlighted. "Alfirk is one of ComStar's hidden worlds. We know next to nothing about the system, other than it is far from Terra and capable of producing their own JumpShips."
Next up was a world on the border between the Draconis Combine and the Outworlds Alliance. "This is Antallos. We know nothing about the world other than it is inhabited and likely contains an HPG. If there is, then you will continue on to your next target."
The fourth target was a collection of ten star systems, with the world of New Delphi highlighted first. "This is the New Delphi Compact. It is one of the few proper republics within Terra's sphere of influence. You will spend anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month surveying their worlds."
Fifth and sixth were a set of systems on the opposite side of the Outworlds Alliance. "These two systems are Novo Franklin and Mica. We know the same amount about Novo Franklin as we do about Antallos. Once more, if you notice subspace interference, then move on. Mica is a set of asteroid mines that were formerly prison colonies of the Draconis Combine. We expect you to do a few days' reconnaissance before continuing on."
Finally, the map moved to the Tortuga Dominions. "As you all know already, this is the Tortuga Dominions. They have been raiding the Federated Suns since before the Star League was brought into existence. For most of you, this will be your primary mission. Once you reach the Tortuga Dominions, you will spend a month doing recon before preparing a forward base. Unless we discover something new, we expect to begin operations against the Tortuga Dominions within three to six months."
The map moved on once more. "This is the Hope system. It is a day away from the nearest world in the Tortuga Dominions. Apparently, the natives have an issue with disenfranchised mech warriors. If all goes according to plan, then we expect to make the world a staging ground for any future operations in the Tortuga Dominions."
Michael coughed once. "Now, once you've completed the initial recon, a group of six Al'kesh will continue on to this system." The map highlighted the next planet. "We know very little about the world, other than that it ended up suffering a significant technological collapse, and we may be able to offer them assistance. There is also a non-zero chance that they have access to several JumpShips."
Finally, the map shifted one final time. "This is the Argondale system. Three of the Al'kesh that were part of the expedition to Pharos will continue here. According to Ares' database, there is a Stargate here."
The screen turned off, and Michael Dresden nodded to everyone. "That is all. Go prepare your ships. You leave in four hours."
There were three more presentations after the first for each of the other three expeditions. They would travel to select points in the Inner Sphere to distribute the Asgard subspace oscillation monitors — a piece of tech I would be sure to get my hands on soon — before continuing on to their final destinations.
The first would comprise six Al'kesh and would visit Camelot Command in the Dark Nebula, near the Wotan system. Wotan had an active HPG, and it was only through sheer luck that Camelot Command was outside of the 15 light year range of subspace disturbances.
Camelot Command was defended by automated drones and required a specific set of access codes to get in. Luckily, the Manassas had been stationed at Camelot Command alongside the Cobalt Eye, so the access codes were well known.
The second would also comprise three Al'kesh, and would first be traveling to New Dallas to search for the New Dallas memory core. From there, they would continue on to Niops, a Star League research outpost that had grown into a full-fledged independent star system. They had retained most of the tech they had at their peak and had become a technocracy, where the highly educated remained at the top and the uneducated were stuck doing manual labor. It wasn't the greatest setup, but they had survived the fall of the Star League, so it was something.
The third would comprise six Al'kesh and would travel to the New Vandenberg system in the Taurian Concordat to search for the SLS Tripitz. Unfortunately, New Vandenberg itself had an active HPG, so about a fourth of the systems that might hold the vessel just couldn't be reached. If they failed to find the Tripitz in the reachable systems, then several of the XJF fighters would be sent over to search the closer star systems.
In the meantime, three of the Al'kesh would head for Detroit and then for Alloway to find the SLS Argo, an experimental Star League dropship (that is currently being used as a pirate base). There would likely be one or more pirate JumpShips in the system that could be stolen. By then, it was expected to have proper weapons and armor for boarding and commandeering a JumpShip.
If the Tripitz was within the unreachable star systems, then the plan was to steal one or more pirate JumpShips, perform upgrades, and then go salvage the Tripitz.
Of course, that left a lot of pressure on me. I needed to have the first stealth Nighthawk variants ready by then. It would take 16 days for the Al'kesh to reach New Vandenberg and begin the search. From there, assuming four days for a preliminary scan of the system, and with 34 systems to scan, that would mean up to five months to get the Nighthawk ready for anti-piracy actions.
An initial prototype wouldn't take anywhere close to that long. Producing assembly lines would be the real time cost. So, as I watched all 38 vessels in total depart into the depths of space, I once more turned back and prepared to get back to work; if anyone ever said that they were done with work, I would be sure to smack them before pointing them at the next thing that needed to be done.
- - -
Author's Note:
Wow. I just realized how slow this story is moving. I've been trying to speed it up in the more recent chapters, but sheesh.
Anyway, I've never really explained why I have the Discord channel, but there are a couple of reasons. The main reason is so that readers can keep me accountable and so that I can stay motivated. You have no idea how nice it is to be able to say "hey, I'm feeling kinda burnt out. Does anyone have some cool ideas that will get my brain moving?" Without the people over on discord to cheer me on, I would have probably dropped this story multiple times over.
So, I would really appreciate it if you decided to join. I'm pretty busy with classes at the moment, but I try to always get around to reading every message I can, and new ideas for things I can add to the story are always appreciated.
That all being said, I have up to Chapter #85 on Discord for free as extra incentive: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]
POV: Arthur Sinclair.
"The most recent Celestial Forge achievement is also an achievement that can be obtained in Stellaris." I said as I took my seat at the table across from Arriston. He waited for me to continue. "If the Stellaris achievements count as Celestial Forge achievements, then it means I have something I can work towards."
Arriston nodded. "I assume that you have some further achievements that you could test."
I nodded. "Most obvious is the Mad Genius achievement. It requires us to recruit a scientist from the Curator Enclave. I'm fairly confident that we could recruit a scientist from them as we stand at the moment. This would also allow us to get the Rare Technology 'Curator Archaeology Lab' which would unlock the Break On Through... achievement."
Arriston raised an eyebrow as I handed him a flexi. As he turned it on, he responded. "I seem to remember there being some achievements that should have already been completed."
I nodded. "There are a couple that I would have expected to activate already but just haven't. Namely, Brave New World, which should require us to own more than one world; Mutual Understanding, which requires us to have traded with another empire; and We Come In Peace, which requires us to initiate a non-violent first contact. I have some potential explanations for why, but none of them are particularly satisfying."
Arriston looked over the document. "Alright. What other suggestions do you have that we might test?"
I immediately picked up another flexi and began looking through the list. "Explorer: it would require us to survey one type of every planet. By the standards of Stellaris, I think the only type of world we have yet to survey is a Tomb World, and we can find those in the Inner Sphere easily. Building Better Worlds and Paradise Found could both be accomplished by terraforming a planet into a Gaia World with Azaryn's assistance. We could also get the previous two achievements by finding the Last Baol and activating it to terraform a world of our choosing into a Gaia world; this would also give us the It belongs in a museum! and Unlimited Power! achievements."
I flipped to the next page. "Those are the achievements we could feasibly get in the immediate future. There is one that we could get within a couple of months, but it would require us to stop developing our own hyperdrives. The Path Not Taken, would require us to be in control of 10 colonized worlds before we research hyperdrive technology."
Arriston stopped reading and looked up at me for a moment. "Do you think we stand a good chance of developing hyperdrive technology in the near future?"
I nodded emphatically. "Easily. Once we have the crystal growth chamber, assuming there aren't any issues, we'd have absolutely no issue with just recreating the Goa'uld hyperdrives."
Arriston pursed his lips. "Michael mentioned the possibility of taking over the Tortuga Dominions. Would those count?"
I quickly answered in the affirmative. "Absolutely. We just need to be in control of a total of ten worlds. From there, we'd be free to consolidate our power. If we take over the Tortuga Dominions, then there are two further nearby planets that we could claim with relative ease."
I shared a set of images, namely of the rimward periphery of the Inner Sphere. I first pointed to the Tortuga Dominions. "We already know the Tortuga Dominions, but here." I moved my finger 90 light-years to the south. "About here is the Hope system. The world is populous enough to have a problem with rogue mech warriors, despite my own knowledge stating that only a few thousand live on the world. I don't believe it would take much to claim the planet. However, if the population really is as sparse as my memories claim, then we would need other options."
I moved my finger to the other side of the map, to a system just on the border of the Free Worlds League. "Right here is the world of Astrokaszy. By now it should have either formed a government or be on the way to doing so. I don't know if we could claim it outright, but supporting its development materially could make it a valuable ally. Most importantly, it is between the Magistracy of Canopus and the Free Worlds League. It is an excellent rest stop for traders, and it would be an excellent place for a base of operations in the FWL."
The third system was almost 300 light-years rimward of the Magistracy of Canopus. "This is the Pharos system. The system was independently settled by a Capellan mercenary company, and then later by a group of Taurian and Canopian refugees. I know nothing about the system, but since I was checking all viable options, this one popped out at me. If I were to guess, they likely have access to several JumpShips, or they did when they first settled in the system. If nothing else, then the system is well away from the Inner Sphere and could act as a fallback point."
Arriston looked through the sparse information about the Pharos system, his eyes narrowing. "You've certainly considered this."
I nodded sharply. "All it would take is delaying a project by a few months."
Arriston nodded back and tapped his flexi a few times in thought. "Alright. You should take this information to Michael. If you can convince him to include these systems in the initial survey, then I'll support it."
I smiled. "Thank you. There is one more thing I'd like to bring up. When I first got access to the list of Goa'uld Stargate addresses, there was one gate that was particularly close to Terra. That world showed up in my memories as a system known as Argondale."
I had the flexi zoom out and shift well anti-spinward of Terra to display Argondale's relative location. "If there is really a Stargate there, then it is possible that the Star League discovered it."
This time, the president pursed his lips but shrugged. "If you can convince Michael to send the ships, then I'll sign off on it."
I smiled and nodded. "Understood. Thank you for your time."
He smiled in response. "Of course. If you ever need anything Arthur, then please let me know."
- - -
Two Days Later.
I stood at the back of the room as Michael briefed the pilots and crewmembers of this expedition. The entire briefing room held several hundred people; full crews for all 24 Al'kesh that would begin journeying around the periphery. "Alright everyone. This is the briefing for the Periphery Expedition."
A map instantly appeared on the display, showing a route that meandered around the spinward and the rimward periphery.
|
NOTE: Hope IV was the name of Randis IV before about 2990.
|
So, Michael began the presentation. "You will begin the expedition to the Járnfolk world of Ålborg. You will spend approximately a week there and on the nearby worlds, gathering intel before moving onto the next target."
Next, the world of Alfirk was highlighted. "Alfirk is one of ComStar's hidden worlds. We know next to nothing about the system, other than it is far from Terra and capable of producing their own JumpShips."
Next up was a world on the border between the Draconis Combine and the Outworlds Alliance. "This is Antallos. We know nothing about the world other than it is inhabited and likely contains an HPG. If there is, then you will continue on to your next target."
The fourth target was a collection of ten star systems, with the world of New Delphi highlighted first. "This is the New Delphi Compact. It is one of the few proper republics within Terra's sphere of influence. You will spend anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month surveying their worlds."
Fifth and sixth were a set of systems on the opposite side of the Outworlds Alliance. "These two systems are Novo Franklin and Mica. We know the same amount about Novo Franklin as we do about Antallos. Once more, if you notice subspace interference, then move on. Mica is a set of asteroid mines that were formerly prison colonies of the Draconis Combine. We expect you to do a few days' reconnaissance before continuing on."
Finally, the map moved to the Tortuga Dominions. "As you all know already, this is the Tortuga Dominions. They have been raiding the Federated Suns since before the Star League was brought into existence. For most of you, this will be your primary mission. Once you reach the Tortuga Dominions, you will spend a month doing recon before preparing a forward base. Unless we discover something new, we expect to begin operations against the Tortuga Dominions within three to six months."
The map moved on once more. "This is the Hope system. It is a day away from the nearest world in the Tortuga Dominions. Apparently, the natives have an issue with disenfranchised mech warriors. If all goes according to plan, then we expect to make the world a staging ground for any future operations in the Tortuga Dominions."
Michael coughed once. "Now, once you've completed the initial recon, a group of six Al'kesh will continue on to this system." The map highlighted the next planet. "We know very little about the world, other than that it ended up suffering a significant technological collapse, and we may be able to offer them assistance. There is also a non-zero chance that they have access to several JumpShips."
Finally, the map shifted one final time. "This is the Argondale system. Three of the Al'kesh that were part of the expedition to Pharos will continue here. According to Ares' database, there is a Stargate here."
The screen turned off, and Michael Dresden nodded to everyone. "That is all. Go prepare your ships. You leave in four hours."
There were three more presentations after the first for each of the other three expeditions. They would travel to select points in the Inner Sphere to distribute the Asgard subspace oscillation monitors — a piece of tech I would be sure to get my hands on soon — before continuing on to their final destinations.
The first would comprise six Al'kesh and would visit Camelot Command in the Dark Nebula, near the Wotan system. Wotan had an active HPG, and it was only through sheer luck that Camelot Command was outside of the 15 light year range of subspace disturbances.
Camelot Command was defended by automated drones and required a specific set of access codes to get in. Luckily, the Manassas had been stationed at Camelot Command alongside the Cobalt Eye, so the access codes were well known.
The second would also comprise three Al'kesh, and would first be traveling to New Dallas to search for the New Dallas memory core. From there, they would continue on to Niops, a Star League research outpost that had grown into a full-fledged independent star system. They had retained most of the tech they had at their peak and had become a technocracy, where the highly educated remained at the top and the uneducated were stuck doing manual labor. It wasn't the greatest setup, but they had survived the fall of the Star League, so it was something.
The third would comprise six Al'kesh and would travel to the New Vandenberg system in the Taurian Concordat to search for the SLS Tripitz. Unfortunately, New Vandenberg itself had an active HPG, so about a fourth of the systems that might hold the vessel just couldn't be reached. If they failed to find the Tripitz in the reachable systems, then several of the XJF fighters would be sent over to search the closer star systems.
In the meantime, three of the Al'kesh would head for Detroit and then for Alloway to find the SLS Argo, an experimental Star League dropship (that is currently being used as a pirate base). There would likely be one or more pirate JumpShips in the system that could be stolen. By then, it was expected to have proper weapons and armor for boarding and commandeering a JumpShip.
If the Tripitz was within the unreachable star systems, then the plan was to steal one or more pirate JumpShips, perform upgrades, and then go salvage the Tripitz.
Of course, that left a lot of pressure on me. I needed to have the first stealth Nighthawk variants ready by then. It would take 16 days for the Al'kesh to reach New Vandenberg and begin the search. From there, assuming four days for a preliminary scan of the system, and with 34 systems to scan, that would mean up to five months to get the Nighthawk ready for anti-piracy actions.
An initial prototype wouldn't take anywhere close to that long. Producing assembly lines would be the real time cost. So, as I watched all 38 vessels in total depart into the depths of space, I once more turned back and prepared to get back to work; if anyone ever said that they were done with work, I would be sure to smack them before pointing them at the next thing that needed to be done.
- - -
Author's Note:
Wow. I just realized how slow this story is moving. I've been trying to speed it up in the more recent chapters, but sheesh.
Anyway, I've never really explained why I have the Discord channel, but there are a couple of reasons. The main reason is so that readers can keep me accountable and so that I can stay motivated. You have no idea how nice it is to be able to say "hey, I'm feeling kinda burnt out. Does anyone have some cool ideas that will get my brain moving?" Without the people over on discord to cheer me on, I would have probably dropped this story multiple times over.
So, I would really appreciate it if you decided to join. I'm pretty busy with classes at the moment, but I try to always get around to reading every message I can, and new ideas for things I can add to the story are always appreciated.
That all being said, I have up to Chapter #85 on Discord for free as extra incentive: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]