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Tenacity

11-20-2018, 06:13 AM
Log #001 - Maiden Voyage
19.11.825-A.S

Official Service Entry Date: 19.11.817-A.S.

Damien Mekal entered the bridge of the Ailuros, sitting in the command chair at the center of the control room. The chair swiveled around, from facing the entryway to centered with the forward viewport, giving Damien a clear view out into space. The durasteel beams of Alabama Shipyard's drydocks surrounded the ship, and bright flood lights basked the hull in a stark white glow. To his forward left was the ship's tactical officer and gunner, Katrina Summers, and to his forward right was the helmsman, Troy Carter. As the two brought systems online and went over their pre-flight checks, the consoles around Damien and the Heads-Up-Displays on the forward viewports began to light up, illuminating the interior of the bridge with a blue hue.


A holographic Orb was projected from the center console in front of Damien's command chair, creating a three-dimensional sensor readout that extended fifteen kilometers outward from the ship, an impressive range made possible by the miniaturized spyglass technology utilized by the Ailuros' scanner suite. Tiny shapes flitted about the orb, indicating incoming and outbound transports and Core patrols in the vicinity. The left viewport display, in front of Summers, displayed weapon and shield systems powering up, and targeting info being relayed via the scanners. The opposite viewport display, in front of Carter, fluxed with gravimetric readings and spatial cartography displays necessary for navigating the system. The central display brought these data systems together, providing the captain - in this case, Damien Mekal - with all of the information necessary to make command decisions.

Damien punched a few keys on his armrest, and one of the smaller displays surrounding his command chair brought up the ship manifesto...


Confirming that all cargo and crew were onboard, he flipped a switch, opening a hailing frequency to the flight control tower at Alabama Shipyard. "Alabama, this is the Ailuros, cargo and crew accounted for and systems are all go. Requesting permission for departure."

A few moments later, the STC operator responded, granting clearance. Damien looked up at his awaiting helmsman, "Carter, take us out, set course for check-in at Durban station." Troy turned to the forward viewport and pushed forward the throttle control to quarter speed. The Ailuros slowly lurched forward, crawling out of the drydock before going to full full impulse speed. On Mekal's command, Carter slid forward a second throttle lever, engaging the ship's cruise engines and altering course towards planet Rio and Durban Station.


At cruise speed, it took only a few minutes to reach Durban. Damien flipped open the communications channel again, hailing the station, "Durban Station, this is APM Research Vessel Ailuros, checking in en-route to Omicron-Delta." Battlecruiser Luna could be seen hovering in geosynchronous orbit of planet Rio, just on the far side of Durban, ready to provide security to the station should any hostiles attempt intrusion into the Core's home system. A few silent moments passed before a response came through from Durban, acknowledging Mekal's transmission and sending them on their way.


It was a short distance from Rio to the Omicron Delta jump point; a gravitational anomaly that created a hole in space, linking two distance star systems via a short tunnel. Carter punched coordinates into the ship's navcom, plotting a path through the anomaly. "Sir, course plotted, the jump point is stable." Mekal nodded, "Take us through."


As the Ailuros entered the event horizon of the anomaly, it was sucked through, lunging ahead faster than the speed of light as the spatial tunnel swirled around it. With a 'whoosh' that was more felt than heard, the ship flared through the far side, departing the jump tunnel with a flash of light and a quickly dissipating particle cloud trailing in its wake. Summers hit a button on her console, and a pulse radiated from the center of the holographic scanner outward, an active sensor ping to pick up any possible hostiles lying in wait. After a few seconds, the pulse faded and the sensor display remained clear of targets.

"Alright, take us by Nauru, we'll check in with Yaren control before proceeding towards the edge nebula." Once more, Carter pushed forward the throttle, sending the Ailuros to cruise speed and towards the dusty bronze moon in the distance. Yaren was the Core's primary outpost in Omicron Delta, and would need to be informed of their operational plans.

After a short time at cruise speed, the ship crossed Yaren station, with Battleship Bellona moored alongside it, passing off mission plans and proceeding towards the dense purple and pink nebula at the far side of the system.


As they entered the Palau ice cloud - the border of the edge nebula - visibility plummeted and scanner range was cut in half. Carter cut speed back, relying on the diminished sensors and navigational buoys rather than line of sight to pilot the ship. Summers kept a close eye on the scanners, and sent active sensor pulses more frequently; both The Order and Nomads were known to frequent this area, and prey on any ships that were disoriented by the cloud's properties.

A dark shape loomed in front of them, slowly growing larger until, at an uncomfortable distance, it became more clearly visible. Carter altered course slightly, avoiding impact with the structure as he navigated around it.


This was the Azurite Reactor, a massive alien structure that loomed ominously just within the edge nebula. It was, presumably, constructed by the ancient alien race known as the Daam K'vosh, though Mekal had been here only a few days prior - onboard APM transport Remora, undertaking surveys and collection operations in the reactor - and had found evidence of organic technology that was undeniably Nomad - or K'hara - in origin.

Carter carefully navigated the Ailuros closer to the structure, and towards the cave-like entrance ahead of them.


Despite the immense size of the Azurite Reactor, indeed it was far larger than any human construct in Sirius, entering the tunnel for a ship the size of the Ailuros still required precision piloting and low speed maneuvers. Several tense minutes went by as Carter cautiously steered the ship into the precipice, until finally it broke through to the central chamber, revealing the inner workings of the reactor itself.


"Full stop, Carter keep us positioned here at the entry, I dont need the radiation from that thing damaging APM's billion-credit research ship on our first flight. Summers, keep weapon systems online and sensors focused aft, there's only one direction hostiles can come from here, we shouldn't be caught offguard. Send a Communique to Invicta and inform them we've reached the reactor and are getting underway with the assignment."

Damien's command chair spun around, and he stood and headed for the doorway at the rear of the bridge, making towards the research labs on the lower deck. While the Remora and Novitas had previously completed surveys and collections of Azurite gas here, under his supervision, they were ill equipped to study the reactor and Azurite applications on their own. The Ailuros, APM's newest and most advanced research vessel, was the perfect ship for this task.

End of Log

Tenacity

11-20-2018, 05:23 PM
Log #002 - Azurite Reactor Surveys
20.11.825-A.S

Research Log - Damien Mekal

"The Ailuros has been stationed at the Azurite Reactor in Omicron Delta for 10 hours now performing initial surveys on the superstructure. Past studies in collection and storage of Azurite have been successful, but I am more interested in the substance's creation and applications beyond merely 'mining' it. My logs on Project Copiam state my initial findings: Azurite is unremarkable in its neutral state; however, once it has absorbed one of a variety of energy forms, that energy is maintained with - as near as I can calculate - zero loss."

"This property of Azurite has nearly limitless applications. Current power cells and batteries degrade quite quickly and are largely based on chemical reactions which suffer from diminishing returns. Likewise, modern capacitor systems such as those used in shield batteries, while relatively efficient, are prone to storage dissipation via loose static conduction into the surrounding materials and power transfer conduits."

"Similarly, transferring power throughout a ship or structure currently relies on basic electrical wiring or magnetically charged plasma conduits, neither of which can claim anything near 100% efficiency. If we can modify standard plasma conduits to relay highly charged Azurite gas, rather than traditional drive reactor plasma, efficiency of a variety of systems would increase exponentially."

"The first hurdle lies in effectively recycling Azurite. The reactor in Omicron Delta compounds and charges clusters of the gas through a massive electrostatic field powered by the atomic forces of the edge nebula. Starship reactors arent capable of producing that kind of power, and the charge contained within a volume of Azurite must be maintained, if it loses too much energy the gas disperses and loses atomic bonds, reverting into a number of basic elements that not only become useless, but also inherently dangerous to the conduit system. A high-output, and high-efficiency, power source is absolutely necessary to maximize the utilization of this resource."


"Mr. Greele has already gotten underway, with impressive speed I might add, at modifying our plasma conduits to accept Azurite rather than drive plasma. He's tested the system already utilizing some of the Azurite we brought with us from Invicta following project Copiam, and we've supplemented it with additional gas collected from the reactor nearby. The once-blue glow of the reactor room is now a mute purple as the Azurite flows in our power conduits. Some systems were initially overloaded and damaged following the modifications, but have since been repaired and refit to allow for the higher energy capacity of the Azurite over standard plasma."

"This modification has increased the Ailuros' total power capacity by roughly 800,000GW, up from the standard 600,000GW capacity of the traditional tier-3 gunship reactor core used in the initial construction of the vessel, bringing it to a total of 1,400,000GW capacity and an output of 100,000GWh, over the original 60,000GWh. This translates to a roughly 133% increase in power capacity and a 40% increase in output, boosting the Ailuros' potential from gunboat to cruiser-level in terms of power storage and generation. However, the issue of maintaining these levels still remains; as our Azurite supply is exhausted, the ship's efficiency deteriorates rapidly."

"Greele has already begun prototyping a power extraction system that could, in essence, re-charge the Azurite gas we have onboard and create a circulatory system with no loss. This would allow a minimal amount of Azurite to flood the system, and remove the need for constant replenishment, assuming we can find a power source to utilize with the exraction system that outputs the necessary energy requirements. Finding anything close to the amount of energy output produced by the alien-designed Azurite Reactor is not an easy task."


"There are sources we might use to sustain the power levels of the gas, replacing our standard drive reactor; however, system compatibility must be taken into account, as well as safety. Initially, suggestions to utilize Nomad Power cells were made, and while I am not opposed to integrating alien technology it must be done in a safe manner. Nomad Power Cells have been utilized onboard other ships in the past, and documentation about the negative side effects is extensive, with reports of overloading systems, crew hallucinations and health issues, or even the ship becoming 'sentient' and killing off or impairing the crew. That option is not desirable, I'd like to maintain my sanity."

[Image: PiFFz0F.png] [Image: rBksLYj.png]

"An alternative is available, however, from the Ingenuus Research Group; a device they've marketed as the 'Ingenuus Power Cell'. I have not yet had the chance to study one of these devices, but from all accounts it may be just what we need to sustain the Azurite system. These power cells apparently have an output great enough to maintain their Nephilim-Class colony ships, supplanting the traditional fusion reactor drive cores. Following Marcus' development of the power extraction prototype, I will put in a request to the IRG to acquire some of these power cells for study."



End of Log

Tenacity

11-21-2018, 04:19 AM
Log #003 - Nomad Encounter
20.11.825-A.S

Post-Combat Report

An intermission in our study of the Azurite Reactor was made for a brief resupply at Yaren base. During our flight to the station, we came across two Core warships: WV-Unity and WV-"Sulla.Felix", a Mako-Class Battleship and Bullhead-Class Battlecruiser, on patrol in the system deterring Nomad threats. Their ships had been under harassment from a Nomad entity performing hit-and-run attacks, and the captain of the Unity warned us of its presence in the area.

Shortly after this exchange, the Nomad vessel was sighted again, along with a Coalition battlecruiser contact on scanners, the following exchange took place:


[+]Spoiler


Initial contact with the Nomad - a gunboat-sized form - was met with no immediate attack, however it took an interest in the Ailuros once at close range. Distance was maintained, and I determined this to be a perfect opportunity to acquire samples from the creature. Nomad specimens are ever-evolving, ever-changing, and we need constant samples to keep up with these evolutions and ensure our defensive and offensive technologies are kept up to par.

The engagement with the creature was lengthy; it continually bent visible-spectrum light around itself to disappear from view, shortly after reappearing in a more advantageous tactical position. To date, I have not personally seen such efficient and effective use of "cloaking" technology, from either the Nomads or from human vessels. Still, despite the tactical advantage this afforded the creature, our newly Azurite-Powered systems easily kept our shields powered against its attacks and gave us a decisive edge in combat.

Unfortunately, once we had severely wounded it, the Nomad cloaked once more and fled. However, not before we had 'cut' a significant portion of its anatomy away with the Ailuros' "Razor" antimatter cannon. These remains, left floating in space and still glowing as they bled out into the vacuum, were collected and secured in one of our containment labs. Once we had landed at Yaren and resupplied, the remains were offloaded in secure containment units and packed into an APM freighter bound for Invicta Research Complex. Our colleagues there will surely relish the opportunity to study fresh specimens.

Following the engagement with the Nomad, we returned to the Core battlegroup, which was now engaged in combat with the Coalition battlecruiser previously mentioned. Despite our successes against the smaller Nomad form, the Ailuros is certainly not equipped to combat a true warship, and I chose to err on the side of caution, maintaining distance and observing Coalition combat tactics while the Core warships did their job. The battlecruiser was shortly thereafter destroyed, though the antimatter blast that struck the final blow left very little debris, and nothing worth recovering for study.

Ultimately, I was pleased with the Ailuros' combat performance against the Nomad, however there is certainly room for improvement. If it were not for our Azurite-Enhanced power systems and the supply of gas we had onboard, things could have turned out very differently. Hopefully as my studies into Azurite technology progress, we can further improve on the Ailuros' combat efficacy. Additional power means room for additional systems, and I would certainly like to see an improved armament onboard for peace of mind.


Addendum:
I will put in a formal request with Invicta to procure an EM-pulse cloak disruptor the next time we make drydock for refit. If it were not for the Nomad's ability to disappear from scanners and sight, this encounter would have ended with an entire Nammu form for study, rather than just a few pieces. The cloaking ability of Nomad vessels is uncanny, and has both defensive and offensive applications that must be accounted for in future encounters.



End of Log

Tenacity

11-24-2018, 04:52 AM
Log #004 - Azurite Developments
23.11.825-A.S

Operational Report


Our four-day deployment to the Azurite Reactor in zone 42 has come to a close, and we are returning to Invicta Research Complex with our findings and prototypes. Other than the anomalous mindnode encounter, hostile contacts in the vicinity of zone 42 have been null, no doubt due to the prevalence of Core patrols throughout the area.


During our return trip to Omicron Rho, we received a communique from research associates on Planet Nauru, requesting a senior archaeological specialist to aid with uncovering a newly-discovered alien ruin on the planet surface. I have sent my assistant, Dr. Eva Strauss, with the Artemis to Nauru; she has more experience with xeno-archaeology than anyone else onboard. I expect her reports from the excavation will be every bit as detailed and professional as my own.

Upon returning to Invicta, I presented our findings to the research and development board for review. I trust that these new insights into Azurite gas and its applications will greatly improve the Core's technological superiority, and plan to implement several testbed prototypes onto the Ailuros as soon as we are able, details noted in my report to Invicta.
We still await response from the Ingenuus Research Group regarding the acquisition of Ingenuus Power Cells to properly recirculate energy content within the Azurite conduits we've already implemented into the vessel.

Once the IRG has provided the necessary power cells, and Greele has completed initial designs for the Azurite Recycler Core and Azurite Flow Regulator, we will attempt the utilization of Azurite as a power source for the subspace scanning array.



End of Log

Tenacity

11-27-2018, 07:37 PM
Log #005 - Shoreleave
27.11.825-A.S

Project Update

"We've spent the past few days in drydock at Alabama, giving the crew time for shoreleave while sorting out a shipment of Ingenuus Power Cells from the IRG. Marcus Greele has been hard at work building the Azurite Recycler Core that he prototyped following our research at the reactor in Delta. He should have the system ready for implementation by the time the Power Cells are delivered. Once we're able to plug in an Ingenuus Power Cell to the system, we should be able to recharge and recycle the depleted Azurite gas in our plasma conduits, and maintain a heightened level of operational power, both output and reserve capacity."

"I've been receiving reports from Dr. Strauss as her excavation makes progress on Nauru. She seems to be on the cusp of a major archaeological breakthrough; hopefully by the time we're ready to move out and begin testing the new cartography array she will have finished the excavation and be ready to return to work onboard the Ailuros."



End of Log

Tenacity

11-29-2018, 02:37 AM
Log #006 - Power Cells
28.11.825-A.S

Logistics Report

"Word from the Ingenuus Research Group has been received; five power cells are ready and waiting to be picked up from the Itherael at Ames Research Station. Due to the expensive and sensitive nature of this cargo, I thought it prudent to avoid traditional shipping methods, even with our hardened APM transports. Instead, I called upon Core| resources; the Battleship Everest and an escort bomber were allocated for this operation, and the Everest would be utilizing its jump drive to make the trip quickly and safely."


"Additionally, due to the Azurite systems in use onboard the Ailuros, I deemed it too great a risk to send it through a hyperspace breach; perhaps one day when our systems are fully hardened and tested, that will be an option. For now, I had the Ailuros return to Nauru to requisition the Artemis for this task. Dr. Strauss is still in the thick of her work, and requested to stay behind planetside."


"Once the Artemis was back in the air, we made contact with the Everest and her escort bomber and proceeded to jump to Kepler, where the IRG|Itherael awaited us, along with an unannounced guest; the Amenhotep."

[+]Spoiler

"Following the return jump to Omicron Delta, we returned to the Ailuros and unloaded the power cells. Greele immediately began to work on integrating one cell with our Azurite Recycler Core, as the Ailuros was escorted back to Invicta Research Complex by the Everest."


"Completion of the Recycler Core will be done at Invicta over the next few hours, and afterwards we will proceed to field testing."



End of Log

Tenacity

11-30-2018, 12:56 AM
Log #007 - Azurite Recycler Core
29.11.825-A.S

Development Report

"With additional personnel from Invicta to speed along the process, Greele was able to finalize the Recycler Core. One of the power cells we procured has been installed to the Core, the others are currently being held in reserve."


"Our Azurite supply is being replenished by the station's storage tanks, and we'll be departing shortly. Greele claims the flow regulator is ready, barring some last-minute calibrations. The original prototype for the flow regulator was a bit smaller than what had to be built, the new system utilizes several coaxial energy fields that control the supply of Azurite into the scanning array's power conduits."


"The result is a physically uncontained stream of energized Azurite. Unfortunately the regulator had to be encased in shielding panels, as it emits the same form of radiation found within the Azurite Reactor in omicron delta. Keeping the rest of the ship and crew protected from the radiation is imperative to the future success of this project."



End of Log

Tenacity

12-04-2018, 02:16 AM
Log #008 - Unofficial Results
3.12.825-A.S

Personal Report

"Progress with the Azurite systems has been slow. I had the Artemis sent back with additional personnel to Nauru to assist Dr. Strauss in her excavation, it isnt needed aboard the Ailuros at the moment. She seems to be making good progress, some of the text files are already translated and she made a report yesterday that, with the help of some of my old friends in the Liberty Security Force, the encoded media file in the database was unlocked. Apparently it shows some sort of alien craft firing on the planet, perhaps that's what led to the Naurians going extinct - though lack of damage to the ruin sites suggests otherwise. She also reports that the manufacturing facility uncovered at the excavation is full to the brim of advanced alien technology; to be perfectly honest I wish I could be there figuring out what all of it does, it brings back memories of working on the articles from the Valhalla One complex."

"For now, Greele is tuning the Azurite flow regulator. The first test overloaded the array and caused quite a bit of damage to the sensors that had to be repaired. Hopefully he gets it working properly before I have to dock his paychecks."


End of Log

Tenacity

12-09-2018, 07:24 AM
Log #009 - Stellar Mapping
08.12.825-A.S

Cartography Report


Two days ago, Greele was able to complete the fine tuning of the Azurite flow regulator and get the hyperspace scanner functional. I pulled a few strings with some old friends in the LSF, and had a top of the line navigational computer loaned to us for the cartography project, we'll have to return it after we're finished, but it was the fastest way to get ahold of a navcom that could handle these scans.

We set out with the Areion hauling additional fuel supplies, and an escort pilot named Samantha Hale providing security for the operation just in case any hostiles were encountered. Thus far, we've managed to complete full system cartography for almost a dozen systems, including Omicron Rho, Delta, and Minor. Additionally, we chose to risk braving Nomad space, as hyperspace coordinates reaching into the Nomad systems have yet to be documented. There was significant resistance from Nomad specimens present, but we prevailed, though not without damage to the Areion and Ailuros alike - though, nothing irreparable.

While deep into Nomad territory, we came across a vault of some type. The entry to this vault was small, barely large enough for the Ailuros to fit through, and too small for the Areion, so Hale stayed with the transport while I took us in to investigate the structure. Upon reaching what seemed to be the core of a maze-like network of tunnels, we discovered what appears to be some form of alien reactor.


We were able to dismantle the outer shell of the reactor, exposing the core for retrieval and further study. I think this will be of great interest to my colleagues at Invicta, and could lead to additional breakthroughs in hybridized technology. For now, it is stored securely in a class-1 containment field onboard the Ailuros. Removal of the core caused the reactor to go critical, and we had little time to pilot through the network of tunnels and escape.


This structure, as well, bears further study, but the area was teeming with hostile nomad specimens, including several of battleship and dreadnought size. We're lucky to have made it out alive, and I think we can chalk our survival up to the fact that we had small, agile vessels that did not present an immediate threat, and thus avoided drawing attention from the aliens.



End of Log

Tenacity

12-23-2018, 07:57 PM
Log #010 - Galactic Excursion
23.12.825-A.S

Special Expedition


Our Stellar Cartography project has been interrupted by a spur of the moment expedition through an anomalous gravity distortion detected in Omicron Delta by famed Zoner Researcher Dr. Lexa Moreno. These distortions, unstable jump holes, appear sporadically throughout Sirius and linger only for a short while, so we thought it prudent to capitalize on the event. A number of Core warships were rallied as escort and - much to our dismay - numerous Order vessels also made their way through the anomaly. In the interest of mutual survival, we brokered a tentative cease fire between our ships, though we were not above utilizing them to protect our assets.

[+]Spoiler
Core vessels provided a security perimeter for the research vessels present, among them the Ailuros and Dr. Moreno's vessel, while the spatial anomalies in LXP 48N were scanned and dissipated. Each anomaly's collapse triggered a retaliation from Nomad vessels in the area, though it should be noted that these Nomads appeared to behave and be structured somewhat differently than those we're accustomed to encountering in Sirius.

Performing a stellar cartography scan to pinpoint our whereabouts in space, it was determined that system LXP 48N exists far beyond the perimeter of Sirius, and is located in the far Perseus arm of the milky way.


Following the completed scans and collapse of all three present anomalies, a massive darkmatter storm was detected moving in on the system. All assembled vessels made their way into a local nebula for shelter, only to discover the nebula defended by a Nomad Minefield, and harboring numerous Nomad structures and dormant vessels. An alien jump gate at the center of the area was unpowered, and determined to be our only path back to Sirius following the dark matter storm's collapse of the entrance anomaly.


Whether it be out of Insanity, Incompetence, or possibly Nomad Influence, the captain of the Order warship "P'Tah" opened fire on the alien gate almost immediately after it was encountered.

[+]Spoiler
It was deemed necessary, for the survival of all others present, to eliminate this potential threat to our escape. Core warships engaged and destroyed the P'Tah and recovered the Nomad Power Cell it was carying - possibly the source of the crew's unusual behavior - and it was used in conjunction with a second power source extracted from a nearby weapons platform by Dr. Moreno to re-activate the Alien Gate, providing a brief, unstable link back to Omicron Delta.

Significant data was gained from this excursion beyond Sirius, hopefully once analyzed it can be put to use for the Core.



End of Log

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Discovery Gaming Community > Role-Playing > Stories and Biographies > APM Research Vessel "Ailuros" - Ship Logs