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Forsythe
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Time, I think, for me to read only the relevant IC posts in order to get Reigenleif back in the action.
Lothar Mesner being my character in our little collaborative effort here.
I am aware I don't have the personality section done, but its very late for me right now and I don't want to hold up any longer. I'll get it done and have it edited in tomorrow.
I am aware I don't have the personality section done, but its very late for me right now and I don't want to hold up any longer. I'll get it done and have it edited in tomorrow.
Well, like the rest, I am sad to see this go. Mass Effect: Nova (the iteration with the Shadow Broker Characters) was my first RP on the Guild ever (as well as the thing that put the Guild on my Radar and persuaded me to join the Guild), so many strong feels at is final death, but death comes to all things in time.
Nonetheless, you guys were an awesome introduction to the Guild for me, and remain awesome people now.
Like Derv, I am making another Mass Effect Production for the Guild set in Nova's continuity, though it wont be a direct continuation of Nova. Everyones favourite super-rich Krogan, Khel Zhar, will be featuring in it, and it will be quite different to any other Mass Effect RP around at the moment.
Nonetheless, you guys were an awesome introduction to the Guild for me, and remain awesome people now.
Like Derv, I am making another Mass Effect Production for the Guild set in Nova's continuity, though it wont be a direct continuation of Nova. Everyones favourite super-rich Krogan, Khel Zhar, will be featuring in it, and it will be quite different to any other Mass Effect RP around at the moment.
Ain't no corpse worship gonna happen on the Tor-Selim...
We've got manifest gods already. Sajuuk for the traditionalists, Karan S'jet the Sajuuk-Khar for the more modernist folks, and good old fashioned atheism for the rest. On the other hand, people are quite welcome to sign up to the worship of Sajuuk, Whose Hand Shapes What Is. Its a pretty simple religion really, you just have to believe that Sajuuk made everything and that all the events are going perfectly along with his plan.
It's pretty relaxed, all the extremists in the Hiigaran race got killed and driven out of society a long time ago. Kharaks equivilant of the dark age ended (very quickly) with Kiith Sidiim and Kiith Gaalsien, the religious fanatics, being wiped out by the technologically far superior Kiith Nabaal armies.
We've got manifest gods already. Sajuuk for the traditionalists, Karan S'jet the Sajuuk-Khar for the more modernist folks, and good old fashioned atheism for the rest. On the other hand, people are quite welcome to sign up to the worship of Sajuuk, Whose Hand Shapes What Is. Its a pretty simple religion really, you just have to believe that Sajuuk made everything and that all the events are going perfectly along with his plan.
It's pretty relaxed, all the extremists in the Hiigaran race got killed and driven out of society a long time ago. Kharaks equivilant of the dark age ended (very quickly) with Kiith Sidiim and Kiith Gaalsien, the religious fanatics, being wiped out by the technologically far superior Kiith Nabaal armies.
Tok'ra High command is also looking to select new operatives...
Actually, you would be wrong, well, half wrong. Why would you put life support on the pel'tak? On Ha'taks, that system can be controled from the Pel'tak sure, but she went to the system itself and sabotaged it manually. As has been seen many times before, engine room access often overides orders from the Pel'tak, whereas if you outright sabotage the system, its not going to be overridden.
And she didn't sabotage the hyperdrive itself, which is definitely in the engine room, merely the control that would let someone in the Pel'tak activate the engine. Like cutting the line between the accelerator pedal and the engine on a car. The engine is fine, and can still accelerate, but pushing the pedal won't tell it to do that. If someone was bright enough, they could poke around in the engine room and activate the hyperdrive, but since she was about to go there anyway, safer to cut control systems rather than mess around with the drive itself.
And she didn't sabotage the hyperdrive itself, which is definitely in the engine room, merely the control that would let someone in the Pel'tak activate the engine. Like cutting the line between the accelerator pedal and the engine on a car. The engine is fine, and can still accelerate, but pushing the pedal won't tell it to do that. If someone was bright enough, they could poke around in the engine room and activate the hyperdrive, but since she was about to go there anyway, safer to cut control systems rather than mess around with the drive itself.
Enjoy the Grand Theft Starship folks.
Ariadne nodded quickly at the command to begin her plan. Much as she wished to stay on the Pel’tak of the Tau’ri ship and witness how they waged war first hand, she had a task of her own. It was unfortunate that the Ha’tak had been destroyed, but even an Al’kesh was a powerful tool in the right hands, and indeed, a far more versatile ship. Her running was slightly encumbered by the unfamiliar Tau’ri armoured vest she was wearing, but not enough to meaningfully slow her on her journey to the Ring Room.
Once she arrived, she immediately located the control panel for the rings and pulled the front facing for it off, smiling slightly at the amusing fact the Tau’ri had incorporated the original golden paneling rather than making their own interface. She wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Goa’uld world somewhere with a ring shaped hole in one of its pyramids. A nearby technician made a noise as if to both question what she was doing and express outrage at not consulting him before poking around in the systems innards, but Ariadne simply held an outstretched finger up to him with a stern glance and he was silenced. She began pulling some of the control crystals out - ring systems didn’t have many, at least not in this panel, and re-arranging them.
It was a simple enough reconfiguration, one she had used numerous times before. It would override the rings security features, including any code on the keypanel, and order the rings to seek out the nearest receiving platform. While there was a similar function as part of the rings base systems, it did not always account for cloaked ring platforms. Her modification would. It would also make it very easy for someone else to send to this ring platform the same way, since security codes would be down, but the Tau’ri could handle it.
Once she had the crystals arranged as she needed them, she replaced the front panel and looked at the technician. “Once I leave, deactivate this ring platform. Pulling any control crystal out should be sufficient. Then make sure these control crystals are returned to the standard configuration. If you cannot do it, find someone who can.” The man looked slightly intimidated by her unnatural voice, but he swiftly nodded all the same. With that taken care of, Ariadne stepped into the ring platform and drew her Zat. The man she had just given orders to then activated the rings, and the familiar sound and sensation surrounded Ariadne as she was transported across space to another vessel.
She arrived on the other ship, to the sight of an empty Ring Room. Clearly the locals did not consider this to be a likely form of attack. First she opened up the ring control panel and removed the crystal responsible for incoming travellers, pocketing it. Then she opened the door to the corridor and peered out quickly, withdrawing as a staff blast flew past her head. They may not have had guards waiting, but they at least had some ready. The moment there was a pause in the shots, she looked out again, this time with her Zat aimed already. She quickly spotted the shooter, hiding poorly behind one of the angular golden struts. She fired a pair of blasts at him, the first taking him in the shoulder, causing him to tense up in pain, and the second catching him dead center, ending his pain permanently. From what she knew, the Tau’ri often just stunned targets, but she saw no reason for leaving any of these men alive. They would just have to be disposed of later anyway.
She kept moving, picking up the fallen mans staff weapon as she went, making her way to the pel’tak. The ship suddenly shuddered then and Ariadne staggered. Of course this was one of the ships currently engaging the Langford, as the rings had taken her to the nearest one. That shuddering had probably been a near miss from the langfords weapons. She had to act quickly to get it clear of the battle at least, being destroyed by friendly fire was not on her agenda. There was no more opposition before the pel’tak, but the moment the door slid open a Zat blast flew right past her head. She immediately stepped to the side of the door, back into cover. There was one man at the controls for the ship and another taking cover behind a seat and firing at her. She couldn’t fire back to supress them without risking damaging something important. Instead, she lifted the liberated Staff weapon to a shoulder braced position and prepared for an aimed shot. Normally staff weapons were terribly inaccurate, but a millennia of experience wielding one had given her a fairly good aim.
Peering around the door just enough to poke the staff out and sight down it, she fired a shot at the pilots head before retreating back into cover. The resultant thud of a mans body hitting the ground and the feeling as the ship simply flew straight ahead instead of manoeuvring told her her shot had struck true, no doubt both frying and liquefying the poor mans brain. At least such a death was instant. She tried to poke the weapon around the corner again, to deal with the second man, but had to withdraw as Zat blasts struck the bulkhead. This man seemed to be a decent shot. From her safe position, she threw the staff weapon out into the corridor, where the man would be clearly able to see it. It would probably confuse the man long enough. When no more zat fire came, she rolled out of cover, keeping low, and came up on her knee, firing her own Zat into the man, delivering a second shot as quickly as the first.
Just as the elation of victory was filling her, she felt the tip of a staff weapon roughly shoved into her back before the wielder opened it. “Its over lady. Drop the Zat.” The man said confidently. Ariadne did as asked, dropping the weapon to the ground. “Now get up slowly.” Again, she did as the man said, rising from her kneeling position, still feeling the staff pressed against her back as she rose. “Uh-” The man hadn’t thought this through obviously, and the moment of indecision was all she needed. Trusting the Tau’ri armour would deflect any staff blast he might manage to get off, she spun about and pushed the weapon aside with one hand, grabbing hold of the shaft as she did so. A blast discharged, but far too late, merely impacting the wall to the side of her before she caught the man's throat in her other hand. Her eyes flashed and terror spread over the man's face before she threw him down the corridor, making full use of her augmented strength. He lost grip of the staff weapon as he went, and Ariadne quickly spun the staff around in her own hands, aiming it at him. She was tempted for a moment to force him to move as she had, but rather than waste time gloating she just shot him twice instead.
With the bridge taken, she retrieved her own Zat and shut the pel’tak door, once again locking it down with a deft crystal removal, just in case there were more people on board. Pushing the corpse of the former pilot to the side, she climbed into the pilot's chair and began to steer the ship well away from the battle. For just a moment, a thought touched the minds of both Host and Symbiote - to take the ship and flee, to leave behind the Tau’ri and the Tok’ra and all their big causes and simply explore the galaxy alone, with no-one to complicate matters.
The thought passed quickly though, she had tried that before, and even with Idalia’s help she would probably still do a poor job of it. She just was not cut out for an entirely solitary existence like that. Once she had taken the ship far enough away, she opened a hyperspace window and jumped a short distance, away from the system into deep space. Standing again, she yanked open the crystal rack for the control systems and removed the one that would allow for hyperspace, adding it to her growing collection of vital control crystals. Knowing the ship would not be going anywhere, she now had to make sure no-one was left onboard. That was simple to do from the engine room. A quick run with weapons ready saw her in the room, where stacks of large control crystals regulated the ships many systems.
After locking the doors, she found the life support rack and pulled it open. it did not take long to find the right combination that would vent all air from the ship excepting that in the engine room. It was a harsh thing to do, but neither Ariadne nor Idalia wished to show mercy for those that had no qualms with killing them. Quickly arranging the crystals, she left them that way and began to check over the numerous other racks. These ships were old and hadn’t been maintained in some time, and before embarking on a long journey she had to ensure she would actually get to where she was going.
An hour later, when she had discovered that everything was in remarkably good working order for an unmaintained ship, she put the life support crystals back where they were meant to be and returned to the pel’tak. Turning the ship towards Earth, she activated the Hyperspace drive and sat back to relax for an undoubtedly long journey.
Once she arrived, she immediately located the control panel for the rings and pulled the front facing for it off, smiling slightly at the amusing fact the Tau’ri had incorporated the original golden paneling rather than making their own interface. She wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Goa’uld world somewhere with a ring shaped hole in one of its pyramids. A nearby technician made a noise as if to both question what she was doing and express outrage at not consulting him before poking around in the systems innards, but Ariadne simply held an outstretched finger up to him with a stern glance and he was silenced. She began pulling some of the control crystals out - ring systems didn’t have many, at least not in this panel, and re-arranging them.
It was a simple enough reconfiguration, one she had used numerous times before. It would override the rings security features, including any code on the keypanel, and order the rings to seek out the nearest receiving platform. While there was a similar function as part of the rings base systems, it did not always account for cloaked ring platforms. Her modification would. It would also make it very easy for someone else to send to this ring platform the same way, since security codes would be down, but the Tau’ri could handle it.
Once she had the crystals arranged as she needed them, she replaced the front panel and looked at the technician. “Once I leave, deactivate this ring platform. Pulling any control crystal out should be sufficient. Then make sure these control crystals are returned to the standard configuration. If you cannot do it, find someone who can.” The man looked slightly intimidated by her unnatural voice, but he swiftly nodded all the same. With that taken care of, Ariadne stepped into the ring platform and drew her Zat. The man she had just given orders to then activated the rings, and the familiar sound and sensation surrounded Ariadne as she was transported across space to another vessel.
She arrived on the other ship, to the sight of an empty Ring Room. Clearly the locals did not consider this to be a likely form of attack. First she opened up the ring control panel and removed the crystal responsible for incoming travellers, pocketing it. Then she opened the door to the corridor and peered out quickly, withdrawing as a staff blast flew past her head. They may not have had guards waiting, but they at least had some ready. The moment there was a pause in the shots, she looked out again, this time with her Zat aimed already. She quickly spotted the shooter, hiding poorly behind one of the angular golden struts. She fired a pair of blasts at him, the first taking him in the shoulder, causing him to tense up in pain, and the second catching him dead center, ending his pain permanently. From what she knew, the Tau’ri often just stunned targets, but she saw no reason for leaving any of these men alive. They would just have to be disposed of later anyway.
She kept moving, picking up the fallen mans staff weapon as she went, making her way to the pel’tak. The ship suddenly shuddered then and Ariadne staggered. Of course this was one of the ships currently engaging the Langford, as the rings had taken her to the nearest one. That shuddering had probably been a near miss from the langfords weapons. She had to act quickly to get it clear of the battle at least, being destroyed by friendly fire was not on her agenda. There was no more opposition before the pel’tak, but the moment the door slid open a Zat blast flew right past her head. She immediately stepped to the side of the door, back into cover. There was one man at the controls for the ship and another taking cover behind a seat and firing at her. She couldn’t fire back to supress them without risking damaging something important. Instead, she lifted the liberated Staff weapon to a shoulder braced position and prepared for an aimed shot. Normally staff weapons were terribly inaccurate, but a millennia of experience wielding one had given her a fairly good aim.
Peering around the door just enough to poke the staff out and sight down it, she fired a shot at the pilots head before retreating back into cover. The resultant thud of a mans body hitting the ground and the feeling as the ship simply flew straight ahead instead of manoeuvring told her her shot had struck true, no doubt both frying and liquefying the poor mans brain. At least such a death was instant. She tried to poke the weapon around the corner again, to deal with the second man, but had to withdraw as Zat blasts struck the bulkhead. This man seemed to be a decent shot. From her safe position, she threw the staff weapon out into the corridor, where the man would be clearly able to see it. It would probably confuse the man long enough. When no more zat fire came, she rolled out of cover, keeping low, and came up on her knee, firing her own Zat into the man, delivering a second shot as quickly as the first.
Just as the elation of victory was filling her, she felt the tip of a staff weapon roughly shoved into her back before the wielder opened it. “Its over lady. Drop the Zat.” The man said confidently. Ariadne did as asked, dropping the weapon to the ground. “Now get up slowly.” Again, she did as the man said, rising from her kneeling position, still feeling the staff pressed against her back as she rose. “Uh-” The man hadn’t thought this through obviously, and the moment of indecision was all she needed. Trusting the Tau’ri armour would deflect any staff blast he might manage to get off, she spun about and pushed the weapon aside with one hand, grabbing hold of the shaft as she did so. A blast discharged, but far too late, merely impacting the wall to the side of her before she caught the man's throat in her other hand. Her eyes flashed and terror spread over the man's face before she threw him down the corridor, making full use of her augmented strength. He lost grip of the staff weapon as he went, and Ariadne quickly spun the staff around in her own hands, aiming it at him. She was tempted for a moment to force him to move as she had, but rather than waste time gloating she just shot him twice instead.
With the bridge taken, she retrieved her own Zat and shut the pel’tak door, once again locking it down with a deft crystal removal, just in case there were more people on board. Pushing the corpse of the former pilot to the side, she climbed into the pilot's chair and began to steer the ship well away from the battle. For just a moment, a thought touched the minds of both Host and Symbiote - to take the ship and flee, to leave behind the Tau’ri and the Tok’ra and all their big causes and simply explore the galaxy alone, with no-one to complicate matters.
The thought passed quickly though, she had tried that before, and even with Idalia’s help she would probably still do a poor job of it. She just was not cut out for an entirely solitary existence like that. Once she had taken the ship far enough away, she opened a hyperspace window and jumped a short distance, away from the system into deep space. Standing again, she yanked open the crystal rack for the control systems and removed the one that would allow for hyperspace, adding it to her growing collection of vital control crystals. Knowing the ship would not be going anywhere, she now had to make sure no-one was left onboard. That was simple to do from the engine room. A quick run with weapons ready saw her in the room, where stacks of large control crystals regulated the ships many systems.
After locking the doors, she found the life support rack and pulled it open. it did not take long to find the right combination that would vent all air from the ship excepting that in the engine room. It was a harsh thing to do, but neither Ariadne nor Idalia wished to show mercy for those that had no qualms with killing them. Quickly arranging the crystals, she left them that way and began to check over the numerous other racks. These ships were old and hadn’t been maintained in some time, and before embarking on a long journey she had to ensure she would actually get to where she was going.
An hour later, when she had discovered that everything was in remarkably good working order for an unmaintained ship, she put the life support crystals back where they were meant to be and returned to the pel’tak. Turning the ship towards Earth, she activated the Hyperspace drive and sat back to relax for an undoubtedly long journey.
Hiigaran Pulsar Corvette Diirvaas One
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.
BS-14 Battlestar Columbia
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 diplomat 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 love 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.
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.
BS-14 Battlestar Columbia
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 diplomat 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 love 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.
Kith, are the enemy.
Kiith, are your friends (I hope. I'd prefer not to fight potential allies....).
The word Kiith basically means clan or tribe in the Hiigaran language. Just remember how fond of double letters my people are and it should be easy to keep it straight...
Kiith, are your friends (I hope. I'd prefer not to fight potential allies....).
The word Kiith basically means clan or tribe in the Hiigaran language. Just remember how fond of double letters my people are and it should be easy to keep it straight...
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