[b]Uncharted Space: The Etherals[/b]
Both exploration/warships came out of 'port-space asleep and quiet. Sensors detected the two unknown contacts immediately after they came online, a few seconds after the ship had been re-assembled. Shortly afterwards, the cryopods, as they were imbedded in the walls at regular intervals between stations, opened, revealing the flash-frozen faces of the Valkian bridge crew. Shortly after they opened, only ten seconds at best, the room thawed them and they blinked their eyes unsteadily. The ship commander, taking in the spinning balls [since they can't see light, they use spinning objects for alarms instead] on multiple consoles, and of the two friendly Valkian ship representations being very distantly approached by one of the two neutral-symbolized representations in the center of the room.

The bridge itself is not too terribly impressive; simple computer screens armed with a keyboard, a flat pad sticking out for similar use as a mouse pad, and a joystick. As the Valkians took in the alarms and the red lights on their consoles, they awakened quickly and ran to secure the ship's systems, and to send a message to their accompanying Varren. Right before they sent their own message, however, the Varren sent theirs, asking for orders.

The ship commander didn't quite know what to do. He was a Tinkerer, with a Hunter assistant for military operations, and he thought through all this very quickly. An unidentified ship was moving towards them on intercept course, and they appeared to make no attempts at communication. Uneasy, the Tinkerer ordered the three weapons officers to arm the ship. One coordinated the particle lasers, another the swarmers, and another coordinated what should hit where when. Their screens weren't holographic or LED; they were a black slate that raised tiny, pixel-width lengths of black metal to have a similar effect of a screen for those who sensed the surfaces around them, instead of those who can detect light and other radiation. Their holographic 'table' was simply a mass projection field, which is their version of a fancy device that makes things in the vicinity float, swirl, or anything else they want. Their 'holograms' were sandy-colored... sand, which floated with a strange eeriness that would have been felt by any non-Valkian present. 

A mere minute after the two ships came out of a normal, non-combat 'port, they were wary and ready for a fight. The Varren, a little less armored with a good bit more firepower and weakspots, with less tactical pieces such as advanced scanners or missile re-targeting systems, moved to circle around, slowing down so that the Explorer could approach.