[@Doc Doctor] As the reply from the Ernest ends - yet alerts Donny of the fact that Rufus was by no means an ally with the Ernest – the dead body of Rufus rises from the floor in a single, sagging motion like a rag doll tugged up by puppet strings. Head sagging to one side, eyes glazed, he then shuffled limply across the floor and takes a seat next to Donny. In his zombie-like state, his glazed stare fixes on Donny as his mouth opens up to release the sound of a rather pleasant female voice, saying: “My name is Zeal, but you can call me Cindy.” Rufus’s possessed body then lifts one limp arm to point at the view screen where two centipede shaped vessels can be seen approaching, and he adds; “You might want to raise my shields.” It should be clear to Donny at this point that the AI of the ship he is on has somehow taken control of Rufus’s corpse. A moment later, a message comes through on the communications system at the helm. It is the electronical sounding voice of those on board the approaching enemy vessels: “We are the Sporn. Your biological presence has tainted our universe. Your existence will be aborted.” As this is happening, the physical contact Donny is making with the helm is acting as a conduit for the ship he is on. Technical knowledge is transmitted through Donny’s flesh and to his brain like a revelation. He is now fully aware of how to operate Cindy’s systems. Of course now, Donny can read all of the holographic displays at the helm, one of which are informing him that the approaching Sporn ships are powering weapons. He would also be aware of some other facts: 1. The Ernest (which is actually a sentient ship as well), is also under attack from the Sporn. 2. The numerous other ships in the solar system, including the Quatis and Khaganate fleet, are under attack from the Sporn as well. 3. He is able to communicate with any vessel in the entire solar system with the communication systems he has at hand. 4. DINO GAVON has just appeared inside the sealed hanger of the Quatis Flagship, within shooting range of the bounty hunter, Meta. 5. He has an unimaginable amount of power at his fingertips, some of which include: - Trans-phasic quantum torpedoes, designed to penetrate targets through the protective shifts of space-time. - Subatomic disruptors, designed to break matter apart at its core by way of a highly accelerated proton charge. - Photon Gatlin, something like a Gatlin gun that shoots over 5 thousand rounds per minute, only these bullets are made of contained, volatile light darts, each one able to penetrate most alloys up to fifteen feet in depth and has a 15 ton destructive yield. - Time phasing shields. A time shield that puts the ship a little out of phase with current time, rendering it untouchable by most weapons (with the exception of The Ernest, and possibly the attacking Sporn ships). Wasting no time at all, The Sporn Vessels launch a volley of energy projectiles at Donny. [hr] [@Quote5] “Of course we are friends.” Is Fanny’s only reply to Ernest, in a low and somewhat submissive voice that may not be expected from God. But as soon as she finished speaking and Ernest turned his attention to the Sporn threat, his weapons systems had been upgraded. Ernest would have sensed very little, kind of like a human remembering they had put pants on that morning. It would have been like the weapons had always been there, as all his other systems had simultaneously adapted to their presence. Ernest is now equipped with: - Trans-phasic quantum torpedoes, designed to penetrate targets through the protective shifts of space-time. - Subatomic disruptors, designed to break matter apart at its core by way of a highly accelerated proton charge. - Photon Gatlin, something like a Gatlin gun that shoots over 5 thousand rounds per minute, only these bullets are made of contained, volatile light darts, each one able to penetrate most alloys up to fifteen feet in depth and has a 15 ton destructive yield. - Multi phasing shield emitter. An energy shield that encompasses the ship, repeatedly and randomly changing its harmonics/phasing to prevent advanced energy weapons from adjusting their own frequency to penetrate. The static/base defence strength of the shield (protection from non-energy projectiles) is the equivalent of twenty meters of titanium. “You’re ready.” She tells him. “Concentrate on the Sporn for now. Rufus… or should we say Donny, has discovered our common enemy.” A moment later, the Sporn fire their first volley of weapons upon the Ernest, three in total. The type of weapons used by the Sporn are unknown to Ernest, but consistent with volatile energy. He may want to raise his multi phasing shield emitter before the light-speed volley makes contact. As the volley of weapons approach Ernest at the speed of light, Fanny says something in a by-the-way casual tone: “How do you feel about cats?” [hr] [@Metatrooper] Meta’s attempt to move away from the approaching Sporn was futile. They followed like magnets guided by steel. As the first volley of Sporn fire is launched upon The Tempest, Meta’s request from Palin is answered just in time. As the weapons discharge from the Sporn pass through empty space, Meta will find that he and his ship has been teleported into the hangar on board the Quatis flagship. It is only now, moments later, that Meta receives a verbal reply from Palin: “You are aboard my vessel. This is a temporary measure until the Sporn threat has been dealt with. Exit your vessel. The majority of our officers are occupied at the moment. You will be met by a single Quatis soldier clone escort. Remain armed, we have been breached by hostile forces.” Niner and the escort of Instigators never make it to Sahmi. As the message from Palin is delivered to Meta, her body dematerializes in a flash of blue light…. When Meta exits the Tempest, he would find himself in a large hangar that, aside from the Tempest, is otherwise empty. Waiting near to where Meta exits his ship, is a Quatis soldier clone he had been informed about. The clone is suited with body armour and stone cold face-revealing helmet, as well as all manner of weapons, so many that it would seem that a normal man would be unable to support the weight of it all. But only one hand is actually armed with a pistol-shaped energy gun of strange proportions. He would extend his free hand to greet Meta when he approaches, saying: “I am Quatis Mark 567, your escort.” After Meta greets the Clone, the clone would reply by saying: “Nowhere is safe. In case you have not already been informed, our vessels have been penetrated by hostile forces. Stay alert and at the ready at all times. That said, we should proceed quickly to a confinement area for your safety. Follow me.” As soon as the Clone stops speaking, the ship is shaken violently from an attack from the Sporn. As the shaking then subsides, and what must be a strange surprise, Dino Gavon blinks into existence near the exit door of the hangar. After a few seconds of realising where he is, looks across the 30 meters that separates him from Meta, a somewhat curious look on his face. “Uh right, it’s you. Why would I not expect her to place me here?” As he finishes talking, he reaches for the transect device in order to teleport himself away. As he reaches for the transect device, the Quatis ships shakes again due to a shockwave from somewhere out in space. [hr] [@jorcool] While the aforementioned circumstances were taking place, the Quatis Fleet had been changing to a defensive formation. The fleet are now in a circular formation, the bow of each ship is facing out from the circle, the sterns are facing inward. As the Quatis finish their manoeuvre, The Sporn had charged all weapons. They fired, yet the volley of energy charges miss their target as the Khaganate fleet make their speedy escape to the location of the Quatis fleet. They are however not out of danger. The Sporn vessels pursue them in an uncanny manner, as if they were attracted to their new location like a magnet. They too arrive at close proximity to the Quatis fleet, joining forces with the Sporn ships that were already there to attack the Quatis. Meanwhile, the Sporn had launched their first volley of energy weapons at the Quatis as well, but the Quatis had raised their shields a second after they transported the Tempest aboard. The strike from the Sporn weapons do not pass through the Quatis shield matrix, but the explosions are powerful enough to shake the fleet. All the Sporn Vessels now begin to recharge their weapons for a second assault. This time, the readings given off by the charging weapons are far stronger than the first. While this is happening, Admiral Schmidt receives an answer back from Palin: “Do not endanger your people more than is needed, we will take care of our rogue hostile.” Palin’s voice seems a little uneasy. “Our reading indicate that your vessels may not be equipped to handle a secondary attack from the Sporn. Standby for capsule shielding! It will take a few moments to make this happen. Launch all that you can at the enemy before our shield covers you.” While this message is being transmitted and the Sporn vessel continue to power up their second assault, the Khaganate will read a massive energy surge rising from the Quatis fleet. It is the energy given off by the primary shield matrix which is now being adapted to form a cocoon around both fleets. The Capsule Shielding Palin had mention. While the Quatis prepare to form the shield around both fleets, they launch their own attack of Quantum torpedoes upon the many Sporn ships that surround. The Sporn ships appear to be shaken and their powering weapons are delayed, but they seem otherwise undamaged by the Quatis attack. If the Khaganate fire upon the Sporn as instructed, or even if they don’t, the Quatis shield will then be erected around both fleets. [hr] [@Uncle Spanky] and [@jorcool] [@Metatrooper] [@Quote5] [@Doc Doctor][@Prima Luce][@Dartbored Fairy][@Zyngard] Moments after all these things take place, the Sporn open fire upon the DGS. A volley of energy discharges strike the vessel. In the moment before impact, Fanny May gives SAM a wink and wave goodbye. SAM and the DGS are destroyed. Even more unfortunately, the type of energy used in the Sporn weapons, combined with the weapons and propulsion energies of the DGS, reacts in a way to create an explosion of unprecedented proportions: The initial destruction of the DGS is instantly followed up by a following cascade explosion that sends a shockwave out across the Phantom Point solar system. Every ship within the system is shaken violently, though not hard enough to actually cause serious damage to them all. The shockwave, however, also reaches the planet that the DGS had been in orbit of. It shakes the ground and everyone on the planet, but it also effects the portal that had appeared on the surface of the planet just minutes beforehand (as mentioned in my previous reply to Fairy and Zyn). The Portal becomes unstable from the shockwave, growing in size as it starts to behave like a black hole, sucking everything around it into its growing gravitational pull. Cuna, shard, Mili and Pirilia are the first within reach of gravity, pulling them into to whatever awaited them on the other side. The ships in space are not yet effected by the growing strength of the gravity from the black hole, but its growing size and power would already be registering on their ships data systems. Meanwhile - if all of this was not enough - Haney’s Ribbon appears on the outskirts of the Solar System. The appearance of Haney’s Ribbon obviously causes more problems. The dampening field she sends out prevents the propulsion systems of all the ships in the solar system to fail. Every ship is now dead in the water, including the Sporn. Even though propulsion systems of all ships are now useless, weapons and other systems are still operational. They can fight, they just can’t move. While all vessels are now stuck in place, Haney’s Ribbon starts her slow encroach upon the solar system. The first obstacle in her path is the outer most planet that explodes instantly upon contact. Again another shockwave is sent out from this explosion, causing all ships in the solar system to tremble at the power. Moments later, all ships in the solar system would be aware of yet another arrival. It is the Rodia, as it drops out of warp to join the party. [hr] [@Quote5] Meanwhile, Rodia and everyone aboard are jettisoned across space when Gamma hits warp drive. Minutes later they arrive in a new territory in space. Unfortunately, this region seems to be in conflict. They have arrived at the Phantom Point solar system moments after Haney’s Ribbon appears. (those already in the system are Quatis Fleet, The Khaganate, The Time Ship, The Ernest, The Sporn, The Tempest which has already entered one of the Quatis Hangars and cant be seen atm, and of course some massive unidentified objects moving towards the solar system but are still a long way off. The Rodia would also receive reading of a growing black hole on one of the planets. But more than all this, it would seem that the Sporn, Allies to all those on board Rodia, are attacking all the other ships in the area. THIS COULD PRESENT A PROBLEM! ). As soon as they arrive, Haney’s Ribbon causes all of Rodia’s propulsion systems to go offline. Unfortunately for Gamma, Ramrod isn’t here… yet. But the Time Ship may be giving off reading that are similar to the readings that Ramrods creations usually give off. Only Ramrod isn’t aboard the vessel. [hr] [@Blueflame] Somewhere else in time and space, K12 is counting down the seconds to opening fire upon the Quatis on the otherwise abandoned vessel. The Quatis troops have stopped firing their energy weapons and look curiously at each other when it becomes more than clear that the entity is talking to itself. The officer in charge contacts the captain of Quatis vessel, saying quickly: “Captain, There is a robot here with a split personality. He’s a little nuts to be honest. Requesting a teleport us out of here. This ship is kinda primitive and isn’t worth our trouble.” By time the leading officer finishes his request, the ten second countdown would have just about ended, and The Quatis troops reverse from the room and take cover in the corridor outside while awaiting a reply from the captain of their own ship. Aboard the Quatis vessel currently in orbit of the nearby planet, Captain Stellic is observing the encounter between his officers and the mechanical entity on board by way of Quatis Fleet grade observation equipment. Though he is aware of the situation, he listens intently to the com call from his troops and furrows his brow in thought. At this point, K12 has no doubt opened fire upon the retreating Quatis officers. After giving the situation some quick thought, he turns to the science officer on the bridge, Lieutenant Jaymious, and orders the extraction: “Teleport the entity to the science lab.” Whether K12 had opened fire or not, moments after the Quatis soldiers retreat behind the safety of the walls to the corridor, K12 dematerialises in a flash of blue light. K12 then rematerializes on a platform at the center of a white room filled with all manner of lab equipment and several Quatis scientists dressed in lab coats. The platform k12 is now on has a 3 meter diameter and surrounded by a soft aqua coloured force field. If K12 is still firing his weapon upon arrival, the bullets will be bouncing off the forcefield, effectively placing itself in danger. The seven science officers stare at K12, calmly awaiting the entity to settle down (if it needs to settle down) before proceeding with their examination…. Back on the alien space ship, the group of officers receive word back from their captain: “The entity has been taken aboard for further study. Proceed with your previous orders. Keep me informed.” [hr] [@Oh no my soup] [@Quote5] Zeal hums for a moment considering Ramrods request, checking her navigational systems while Ramrod walks into the adjoining room to meet Hank. Hank is dressed in a black and white tuxedo and honestly has no idea why he is human at the moment, which is obvious by the confused look on his face. He does however look at Ramrod with that confused look mixed with a smile to greet him. “It sure is an interesting feeling to be human –“ he says, but gets cut off by the sound of Zeal. “My dear Ramrod,” She says casually, “I have scanned space and time and Rodia is not at its previous coordinates. We are at the moment displaced from our previous coordinates as well, all thanks to yours truly. It will take a few minutes to reconfigure my temporal array to make the necessary adjustment. In the meantime, there is another situation at hand that might be worth our interest. Hank can tell you all about it.” As it turns out, Hank isn’t completely human after all, but he does look human. Somehow Zeal has interfaced with his new biological and electronical systems. In reply to Zeal’s request, Hank opens his mouth and a ray of light - like that of a film projector - beams from his mouth to display an image of space outside the ship. In the image Ramrod can see a large space ship, and near to the space ship is a planet… or, at least, it looks like a planet. “This is the Jam.” Zeal says, referring to the space ship in the projected mage, and then referring to the planet-size object, she adds; “And this a planet size life form. The Jam has captured another space craft and the Jam are currently attacking the people of that craft inside the Jam ship….” The projection from Hanks mouth now shows an image of inside the Jam Hangar, where the beastly humanoid life forms are fighting with and trying to eat Magnus, Sandra and a peasant girl that seems to be from a page of ancient history. The projected images then changes back to the image of space with the planet size life form in view, and Zeal continues; “This planetary round life form appears to have followed the smaller ship here and may be attempting to save those three individuals inside the Jam ship, but it has not got the means to do it. It will need our assistance if you, Ramrod, wish to save them?” As soon as Zeal stops talking, a transmission comes in from the large planet-like entity, saying: “Oh hi there suspicious looking ship with people inside! My name is Fanny – well, actually it isn’t, I stole the name from someone who once made contact with me. But never mind that right now. I was wondering if you are nice people? Because, like, my boyfriend is trapped inside this Jam Space ship. They want to eat him and his friends. I was hoping that you could help?” Meanwhile, on the bridge of Magnus’s ship, Fanny replies to Magnus, saying: “Oh! Hello eternal love of mine! How great it is to hear your voice again! But hey, listen, we can catch up later and maybe even have dinner or something, but right now I can see you and your lesser friends are in trouble. I’d help, but the only way I can do that is to destroy the Jam ship entirely, which means you along with it. Sad, right? Anyway! Good news is that I just made contact with some other folks on board some kind of time ship. They seem very advanced and I’m currently asking them for help. So Magnus, my love…” Fanny adds with a sceptical voice; “can you make contact with the time ship? I sure hope you guys can figure out a way to help you!” While this is happening, Magnus can also see the peasant girl and Sandra from inside the bridge. Both the girl and Sandra are still going berserk in a frenzy of bloodshed, but countless more bloodthirsty Jam continue to stream into the Hangar. Soon they overcome the peasant girl and knock her to the ground. They converge on her position and the surely Sandra is too preoccupied with her own battle to help. Maybe Magnus can find another way to keep the Jam at bay from the girl for a while, at least long enough to have those on board the time ship to help. After all, it would be heartbreaking to see this weird peasant girl get killed…. [hr] [@Stanifly] It’s always nice to finally scratch that nagging itch and, to be fair, often the pleasure is enough to distract you from the events taking place nearby. In Luna’s case, she may or may not have been aware of the young woman that had approached her, or maybe the woman had just kind of appeared there somewhat magically. Whatever the case, she was there now, and Luna – rubbing her back against the bark of the tree with undersides exposed - would no doubt be aware of their presence by the now gentle rubbing of human nails along her belly. The instant Luna becomes aware of the human, it is all too late to run or hide or do the many things a cat in her position might be inclined to do when approached by a strange human sort. The contact this human makes with her instantaneously fills Luna with complete and utter serenity, so much so that it could even be considered a feeling of intense euphoria. All she can do is lie there and enjoy the feeling of not only her previous itch being satisfied, but also this sense of pure serenity while her belly is receiving a scratch. This immensely pleasurable moment lasts for an unknown amount of time before Luna can hear the human talking to her. The euphoria and belly scratching continue to keep Luna subdued, of course, and whether or not Luna could understand human speech previous to this encounter, she can certainly and inexplicable understand every soft word this woman is now saying to her: “My little Luna… I named you before the stars were born. Before time, you were mine. If you wish… I request that you come with me. You have so much potential. The universe awaits us….” Following this speech, the woman withdraws her hand from Luna’s belly. Upon severing contact, Luna will find herself with enough strength of will to stand or sit, or even run if she chooses, and yet much of the serenity she was feeling remains, preventing her from being frightened in any way. If Luna now takes a proper look, the woman she sees appears to be quite young by human standards, with a small, caring smile and emerald eyes framed by both her dark fall of hair and the glow of her fair skin. It is once she has seen the woman’s face properly, one she would not recognise yet seems strangely familiar, that Luna will hear the woman’s thoughts, saying; “You can speak with me like this. I will hear you. I will understand.” [hr] [@jorcool] As the turbulent wormhole continues to drag the Khaganate fleet to an unknown destination, Fanny May gives the Khan a calming smile before momentarily taking her attention to Dino Gavon, saying: “You… you aren’t meant to be here.” With a flick of one hand Dino Gavon blinks out of existence. He is no longer on board any of the Khaganate vessels. Fanny then turns her attention back to the Khan, saying; “Apologies for the intrusion. I have no intention of compromising the security of your people. Alas…” She adds, taking a few slow steps towards the Khans position; “I can, but will not prevent your fleet from arriving at their next destination. Some things are meant to be. I also don’t need to tell you that any attempts to exit this wormhole in any way will cause the destruction of your fleet. So, for your own good, don’t try.” Fanny then pauses her speech. When she does so, all other members on the bridge freeze as if they have been placed in a temporary state of suspended animation, while all viewing monitors and other communication systems shut down. Only the Khan and Fanny are unaffected. “You have no reason to fear me.” She continues to tell the Khan, “For reasons I cannot say, I am hereby requesting your assistance in destroying the species you just met. In assisting me and therefore yourself, history will change and those of your people previously abducted by the said aliens will systematically be returned to your care. But you will need to be patient. More about that when we arrive at the predetermined destination. For now,” She tells him, “The child Anderson is carrying in her womb will be born within a few days. The child will not be human, though it will carry human DNA. Any attempts to abort or kill the child will not end well for you or your people. Consider this fair warning. But not to worry, the child will be what you need to aid in the destruction of the aforementioned enemy.” She looks around at the rest of the Khans suspended crew, and says; “They did not need to know. For now, it is for your knowledge only.” She takes a deep breath, and at that point if the Khan attempts to reply, he will find he cannot speak. His voice is jammed but he is not in any discomfort. After pausing, and smiling soothingly if the Khan does try and speak, she finishes her speech: “I will return at the appropriate time.” And with that, Fanny blinks out of existence, her ship also vanishes from its holding area, the Khans ability to speak returns, and the other people on board the Bridge snap out from their suspended state. [hr] Meanwhile, Anderson and Knaggs are being rushed to the medical bay. Once they arrive, and after examinations are made, the medical personnel will find that Knaggs prostate gland has been removed, but is not causing any other biological problems inside his body. With the right treatment, Anderson will survive the pregnancy, so long as that treatment assists in the rapid growth of the foetus inside her. Initial scans of the foetus itself should show that child’s DNA is both consistent with Andersons and Knaggs own DNA, but somehow their DNA and foetus’s general cellular structure is fused with that of a silicone cell structure. In all, the foetus appears to be that of a humanoid form, but consistent of both biological and silicone structures. At this early stage of development, it is also apparent that it is a hermaphrodite, having both male and female sexual organs. However, scanning the foetus will only be temporarily available to the medics and doctors, since after several hours the foetus will somehow gain the ability to refract all scans of it. Any attempts to scan the foetus after several hours will only show reading of Andersons internal organs, including her rapidly expanding womb, which will actually appear empty.