[u][b]Hiigaran Pulsar Corvette [i]Diirvaas One[/i][/b][/u] There was the briefest of delays as the airlock system on the Corvette ascertained whether the seal was complete or not, during which Ariel wondered if she should’ve preemptively put on an EVA suit for this. Her worries about delaying were quickly cast aside as the light on the airlock went green, signifying a solid connection. Before she opened it, she turned to Jakuur and his men to give them instructions. This was hardly a normal situation for them and she wanted to avoid any mishaps. “In all likelihood, there will be men with guns waiting on the other side of that door, probably pointing them at us. We did just arrive in an armed ship after all. I need you to keep your weapons down. We’re here for peace, and threats of violence will not help.” Jakuur silently nodded at her orders, though she could see in his eyes that it went against his nature. With that, she turned to the airlock and began the sequence that would allow her onto the other ship, stepping through as each door opened. The door to the other ship, once revealed, was unusually primitive. She hadn’t expected to see a manual bulkhead from a race with such elegant fighter craft, but there it was. When it eventually swung open, the man on the other side looked remarkably… normal. Aside from skin somewhat paler than she was used to seeing from non-spacefaring Kiiths, he looked like any other Hiigaran or Taiidan person. Part of her that had been hoping for some kind of fantastic and exotic creature was disappointed, but the more logical side of her saw the advantage she’d have. Someone with the face of a Hiigaran would be far easier to read than an exotic creature. When she had passed through the second airlock and into the alien ship, she was once again surprised by how apparently primitive the technology was. It was amazing they could build such a large vessel and not develop more advanced technology in the process, as the Hiigarans had when they built the first Mothership. Still, she didn’t comment on it. She instead looked for the one with the fanciest uniform, stepped forward and introduced herself. “Commander Ariel Manaan.” She said, the angel-moon badge on her lapel repeating it for her in the language of this ship. [u][b]BS-14 Battlestar [i]Columbia[/i][/b][/u] The whole double chat was going to be disconcerting. At least he didn’t have to worry about a translator. Lorne nodded to the marine standing behind the hatch who then closed it and sealed it. The airlock buzzing as it pressurized. “Commander Tyrell Lorne. Colonial fleet, welcome aboard the Battlestar Columbia.” He hid his surprise at seeing them being Human, that was an unexpected variation. However the things behind her concerned him more. They didn’t look entirely human, they looked robotic and that was the only concern to him. The marines were still aiming their weapons at them. “With respect Commander, have your marines remove their helmets. I want to ensure there are heads under there and not circuitry. If they are human we can continue if not these negotiations are over” A private ran up behind him and spoke into his ear. The FTL engines were back online and another ship had appeared heavily damaged, Phillips was preparing a SAR which was exactly what he should be doing and things were going well with the other ship the Romanova and the Colonel was wanting to know how he felt on taking a delegation from the vessel. He voiced his affirmative before turning back to the current [i]diplomat[/i] aboard his ship. --- Ariel listened to the mans speech as it was translated into her ear by her comms equipment. He seemed awfully distrustful of robotics. She could somewhat understand as some of the artificial intelligences they had encountered in the past proved truly formidable enemies. Perhaps these people had unwittingly encountered a Keeper at some point? She turned to Jakuur and spoke. “Do as the man says, take off your helmets.” Jakuur hesitated for a moment, looking around at the many armed and armoured men around them, evidently with suspicion, before reaching up and removing his armoured helmet, his fellow marines following suit. A thousand questions burned in her throat as she looked around the low tech ship and at the people that crewed it, but she fought them down in favour of establishing some form of working alliance. “In light of current circumstances, that is to say that neither of us know how we got here or where here is, I propose we pool our resources to find some answers. My ship has a number of scientific facilities, but we seem to have lost our escort.” She spoke clearly to ensure the translator picked everything up properly, but with the unknown intent of these people was also careful to avoid mentioning that the Tor-Selim was currently largely crippled. --- The marines lowered their weapons when it was obvious that these other people were in fact people. “Well thats useful. We’re a battlestar, we’re built for combat. Fully armed as we were set to go to a crucial battle with the Cylons.” He looked at the marines. “We don’t have the facilities to find out how we got here or rather why. If you can help us find out how to get us back I’d be willing to form some form of an agreement. We’re currently in communications with another vessel nearby who apparently also has no idea why they are here. We’ve managed to repair their vessels they might also be able to help our situation.” He thought for a minute. “If yours isn’t a combat vessel, you may give permission for your ships Commander to take up position behind ours. I’ll have CIC relay emergency jump coordinates to you if things go rough here. I don’t know how exactly your FTL engines work though I assume you will need precise co-ordinates anyway. It isn’t a long jump, into Empty space a couple of systems along until we can get a better astrometrical read on our nearby star system.” He stepped to the side and indicated for her to walk with him. “We’ll head to the Ward room. It is better suited to these kind of discussions than the corridor is, however do you have any questions before you proceed?” --- Ariel smiled at the suddenly more friendly demeanour of her hosts. It was a good feeling to make a new ally. “That is a good idea. If you will just permit me to relay our progress to my captain while we remain close to my ship, then we will go.” She tapped the Angel moon insignia, reconfiguring it from translation back to short range comms, sending a signal to the nearby corvette and from there to the Tor-Selim. What she said now would not be translated for the others, a precaution she felt necessary while she gave authenticity codes. She also spoke much more quickly than before to ensure they wouldn’t pick up any stray words. “Commander Ariel to Tor-Selim. Authorisation code: Bentus Repentant. The people of this ship seem friendly and have the same short term goals as us. They have offered to shelter our ship behind theirs. I believe we should take up the offer. Ariel out.” Re-activating the translator, she looked back at Commander Tyrell. “My ship should be moving into position now.” With that the group started walking, and on the way Ariel began to ask some of her questions. “The language you speak is similar to a dialect used by the Vaygr. Were you part of the Vaygr empire at any point?” --- As they approached the train that would move them around the ship he stopped and pick up a phone. “Combat, this is the Commander.” He paused for a second as someone answered on the other side. “Alert the XO that one of the unknown vessels will be maneuvering to our side to protect itself. This move is authorized.” He put down the phone without so much as a response. “I have no idea what the Vaygr are or what it sounds like. I speak Caprican, I’m personally from Caprica city but my crew is composed of members from all of the Twelve Colonies. I don’t think contact has ever been made with anyone outside of the Twelve Colonies before however we are further out than I think anyone has ever been, well passed the red line.” He lifted the security railing on the train that ran the length of the ship. Stepping onto it and indicating for everyone else to do so. “I warn you, for people on their first time on this thing it often helps to hold on. There won’t really be a chance to talk once we get going either.” Without further ado he pressed the button indicating what bulkhead he wanted it to stop at, as it shot off down the tunnel. He envied the marines who were still fit enough to just balance themselves to compensate for the speed up. He himself in his age had to hold on slightly until they sped up. The cart eventually slowed down and came to a stop and he stepped off. Sorting out his uniforms collar as he did so and walked off. He looked back at the delegates. “Just this way now.” He turned a couple of corridors before opening a door, inside were three tables constructing the outline of a rectangle, where the fourth was supposed to be there was a slightly raised podium. He turned to the marines. “Stand Watch.””Yessir.” He then moved in and dragged one of the seats around to the inside of the shape, so that when Ariel sat down they would be sitting more or less face to face. --- Ariel stepped onto the tram with slight trepidation, taking hold of the indicated bar to steady herself. When it sped up, her hair tugged at its binds and some of it whipped across her face with the air flow. She could see the various marines all standing without support, but she was thankful she was holding on, the acceleration had been somewhat unexpected. When the tram stopped, she quickly pulled her hair out of her face and began to re-tie it while she followed Commander Tyrell. His story seemed strange, not false, but odd. Everyone had heard of the Vaygr war, even in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. The Vaygr had swept across the stars in an unstoppable wave of might until they were finally stopped above Hiigara. When she was seated and looking at him she spoke again. “So, Commander Tyrell, you don’t know of the Vaygr war? The Sajuuk-Khar? The Eye of Aarran? The Taiidan Empire? What about the Bentusi or the Galactic Council?” Many of these things were reasonably common knowledge across the galaxy, no matter which race you were from. If he truly did not know of any of them, she would have to consider the possibility that this ship was extragalactic. Kira was just going to [i]love[/i] this. --- He poured himself a glass of water, the Ward Room had been hurriedly prepared but still had water. Offering it then to his guest. “Commander Lorne, actually Commander Manaan.” He took a sip off his water before continuing. “I have absolutely no idea what any of these are. I come from the Twelve Colonies. Caprica, Tauron, Picon, Aerilon, Aquaria, Canceron, Geminon, Leonis, Libran, Sagittaron, Scorpia and Virgon. We’ve never had contact of anyone outside of these colonies. Only the Cylons have ventured further outside of the Red Line simply so that we wouldn’t go after them.” He took another sip from his glass. “No-one has ever reported anything like this happening from an FTL jump before, and no ship has ever disappeared simply from doing a jump unless it was a blind jump and our system isn’t faulty we checked it as one of the first things we did as we came through. My main question is, that if we are to make a deal to pool resources until we can find out what has happened my ships purpose is pretty clear. It’s all in the name. I need to know what your ship is capable off. I don’t need military secrets I just need the basics. --- “Commander Ariel, actually Commander Lorne.” She said with a smile. “Manaan is the name of my Kiith. Over a third of the crew on the Tor-Selim are also part of Kiith Manaan and so share the name. There are only a few major Kiiths in modern times, my ships crew is made of Manaan, S’jet and Soban for the most part. Everyone within a Kiith is related somehow, with varying degrees of closeness, and most people are related to other Kiiths somehow, some to the degree that they can choose which to belong too. But I wont bore you with the complexities of Hiigaran social structure.” While she certainly enjoyed talking about such things she doubted this military man would care beyond the most basic concept. “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of your worlds, nor do I know what a Cylon is.” She was about to launch into the capabilities of the Tor-Selim when there was a sudden loud thud on the door behind her, nearly making her jump out of the seat.