Lightning Strikes Twice - Printable Version

Tertiary Objectives:
-Obtain DL-Hai "Grizzly" Liberty Shuttle: COMPLETE
-Deploy Ghost Eye to Liberty for Norfolk System Hack: COMPLETE
-Infiltrate Alaska System and hack Juneau Shipyard: COMPLETE
-Backup: Infiltrate Virginia and hack Washington Shipyard: COMPLETE

-Contact Ingenuus Research Group to maximize potential for a new power grid: COMPLETE
-Install Tombstone Array: COMPLETE
-Finalize new power reactor COMPLETE
-Finalize upgraded power grid COMPLETE

-Procure hull plating to be treated for replacement of damaged superstructure: COMPLETE
-Install new weaponry COMPLETE
-Fire Test #1 Not started
-Live Combat Test Not started

Project: STORM COVE Communication/Procurement Archive

Communications with Ingenuus Research Group
Transmission 1: Power Grid

Communications with Solar Runners
Transmission 1: Grizzly Acqusition

Communication with Michael Golanski, regarding Navy Shipyard Norfolk Hack
Transmission: Ghost Eye relocation

IRG Assisstance
Project: TONITRUS

Full Datalog Transcription of contact with ANC Warhammer

Spoiler

RE: Lightning Strikes Twice - Jeremy Hunter - 03-06-2016

They had found the ThunderBay weeks ago, adrift in Delta. The AI Core was offline, her AI Xion dead in the water. Not a light on, and not a body stirred. The entire weapon grid had blown, the cruise engines had gone offline and once power surges shut down Xion, they were doomed. What little crew had come on board for this routine patrol now were long dead, any hope of rescue long since past. All that was left were the bodies, floating in the bridge, engineering, and such. The Svizra had been tasked with towing the ThunderBay back to Evora, and there it now would sit. For months it had been left untouched, the crews focusing on refitting other vessels...but that had begun to change. A crew began to cut away the broken parts, others began to remove the innards that were ruined. The offline AI core of Xion was brought back to Evora and plugged in, but no one knew the safe way to boot it. Of course, history has a funny way of changing itself.

[Image: getcrossplatformimagecak51vjp.jpg]

The doors to Cradle 4's main control deck opened, and the marine on duty turned. He didn't recognize the woman who was entering, and moved to stop her.
"Ma'am, this is a restricted area. I can't let you in without proper authorization."
"You clearly are new." She said dismissively, waving a stylus. A small drone hovered by her, displaying documents upon documents which she looked through. The marine moved to grab her, but she stabbed his hand with the stylus.
"Xion dear -"
"Ma'am. If you don't turn around, I'll have to remove you by force." He put his hand on the sidearm holstered at his waist. "Or else."
"Xion, get Michael on the phone."

"At once." A Comm Screen turned on, and bore a simple, common string of words.

Connection: Michael Golanski

The man paled as the comm screen now started to stream the live connection to Grand Admiral Golanski himself.
"Doctor Hunter. What do you want."
"This idiot is keeping me from my very important work, Michael. It seems the memo hasn't been released just yet."
There was an exasperated sigh. "Doctor Hunter is new OSD Head. Give her full cooperation. That is direct order from myself." He cut the feed, and Ellie brushed past the man. "Carry on." She said absently, stylus writing notes and the like. The man sulked away, now worried he just pissed off someone he really should not have.
Ellie, meanwhile, now looked at the broken hulk of the vessel her AI once inhabited. She had just reinitialized her, and now her hands danced across holographic keyboards the drone emitted for her.
"We need schematics for the original LABC, and most likely the original plans for the LNS ThunderBay...it seems finally the Order's high powered weapons burned out the entire power grid...starting with weapons. I guess after Minor the ThunderBay didn't get any substantial upgrades and it's power systems finally blew. It is a shame, but it will live...Xion, I need intel on what materials will be best for repairing ThunderBay's hull, power grid...I'll need to device some new systems to efficiently use the power...and we'll need to find a new power cell for the entire thing. Nomad is dangerous so we'll need to look around. For now Xion, let's focus on rebuilding the hull and power grid to take our current armaments...Liberty will have the best. Ageira is the biggest tech company around, but again, Liberty...Xion, once we have our plans set I need to message...Ingenuus? Is that it?"
"Correct."
"We'll contact them at once." She swept the stylus to the side. "And get me Aline. She'll head the Logistics vessel that Michael assigns to this...Project..." She pauses. Rolling the stylus between her fingers, the scientist wonders what she should call her new project...there were so many things, but she decided on one very simple name.
"Xion. Create new project directory. Label: Project: STORM COVE."

Ellie looked out to the broken hull that once was a proud Libertonian warship. Once a vessel that carried Jessica Porter to the Order, and into the world of the Nomads. And now, after the failures of time, and herself, Ellie looked upon it, not as a monument to all her sins, but as the beginning so of a new hope. She began sorting her documents.
"Xion, categorize all I need. Begin rewriting all subroutines you'll need, start directing work on a new AI core matrix. I'll begin drawing up new plans...Xion, I heard rumors of an Lab-Cee that is contacting the Order. Dig up more of that scuttlebutt and see if you can't get it's schematics. Anything I can use as a springboard. More info I have on them, the easier my job will be."
"Of course."

Ellie Hunter let herself breath. She had a long, long road ahead of her. Time to start.

RE: Lightning Strikes Twice - Jeremy Hunter - 03-12-2016

The Ghost Eye was one of the oldest surviving Resheph cruisers still in service. No where near as advanced in stealth than the Tombstone, the one thing the Ghost Eye always would excel in, was it's impressive cyberwarfare ability. It was the king, in that regard, to any Resheph to still exist in service. Tombstone can go invisible.
Ghost Eye? it can enter a system the old fashioned way, hack into a network and insert false credentials, leaving no one the wiser. And that was it's mission. Funny enough, it had done this particular run more times than it ever cared to count. Sneaking into Liberty constantly was easy...for those who knew the tricks. Use the fields to mask, keep to the Jump Holes...basic stuff. But using the Badlands to mask and entire cruiser was the easy part. That gave it to leeway to sneak through the debris fields, until it found itself, finally in the Pittsburgh Debris Field. It was from this hidden place the Ghost Eye began the system hack of Norfolk. It was one of the hubs for the Liberty Navy's central communications system, and the place Ellie needed to insert the false IFF credentials for the Grizzly that her friends in the Solar Runners snuck onto Beaumont mere days ago.

The hack took a long time. Liberty, for all the ease of getting in, relatively, gad a robust firewall and anti-intrusion system, something Ellie actually was impressed at. But she knew that Liberty had secrets...and the more dense and large the firewall, the more holes you had to plug. A crack, a chink in the defensive wall was all the Director needed, and in a few hours she had it. The firewall was bypassed, finally, and she was in...but they would detect her. She had to move, and move fast. The easiest part, she admitted, was this one right here. Inputting the Navy IFF Credentials for a Couriser Shuttle called "Tydirium" that would pass through both Zone 21, and Zone 42 if necessary.

The exit took her hours. The problem with chinks were that tracing your way back could be hazardous. Hard shuttons would trigger, and they'd have the entire system on lockdown, with no way to reach the Badlands. But she did it. Maybe half a day of pure, nerve racking hacking with the most powerful Cyberwarfare and Electronic Warfare Cruiser in Sirius, and she did it. Packing herself into a Stargazer, she made her journey to Beaumont, where the Grizzly waited. She uploaded Longhorn Drive the new IFF credentials, and soon the Shuttle Tydirium was out and away.

The first stop was, of course, Alaska. Once a battleground between the Order, Navy, LSF, and Nomads, Alaska now remained under Naval jurisdiction. Zone 21 was...lightly defended, she had to admit. Weapon platforms only, the usual patrols inside...she expected a battleship, battlecruisers...instead, just a nerve-wracking flight to Juneau.
The first hack went off without a hitch...but over the years the plans had become corrupted. Barely anything was salvageable for Storm Cove...which meant, the secondary location. The Liberty Navy's sealed off and classified system: Virginia.

She had to tell herself to fly casual. Literally, she got too close. The Battleship James picked her up, but took the credentials...but if she did not hurry and someone took a closer look, she was cooked. The lanes dropped her in a new minefield and a line of turrets, Interdictors, and finally, the mammoth Washington Shipyard. She sucked in a breath and requested clearance, and soon landed. She set her system to begin the hack while she marched off and began handing over her "documents" of which...all were fictitious and literally would take five minutes to call bull. But they wouldn't look at them just yet, no. She was directed back onto her ship, and hit the FAKEOUT button she had made on the console. Immediately it seemed like her ship lost all power, but in truth the hack continued. She pretended to fiddle and work on her reactor for awhile, even after the hack was done. This chink was a lot more difficult; Washington was nothing like Norfolk, and it took hours upon hours to get it.

But she got them.

And as she sent the Grizzly out into the sun in Texas, she pulled up the original schematix for the LNX-Thunderbay.

Visual aides.

RE: Lightning Strikes Twice - Jeremy Hunter - 03-25-2016

Ellie was never a fan of Zeta. It was a system that reminded her of Minor, New York, and the price of leaving home. The murkynesss of the nebula was just like Omicron Minor, and to most Order agents who flew through it...they felt the gut-punch that was the destruction of Toledo. And this was where Meskenent Station lay, the first line of defense for Omicron Mu and the remaining Order civilians that had managed to escape the tragedy of Minor.
It was here the Kusanagi sat waiting, until finally the IRG came into view. It was...Gallic? Fun. That'd be a story over drinks.

She smiled lightly, and pulled a picture over. She had insisted she and Nixie take a picture, at least once. Smiling happily, she keyed the comm, giving the Kitsunegari docking clearance. She let Rei handle most of it, as...well, someone broke something else, and seriously Ellie was not liking that. Sighing, she felt the Kusanagi begin to move as Axel finally exited...and well, their meeting began.

Arriving after a small mishap in the Wall of Seth, Ellie led the man out. So much to talk about, so much to do...already her mind whirred with activity. Evora was still filled to the brim with damaged ships and transferring personnel. Ellie had to sidestep many a person on her way to Cradle Four with Doctor Erikson and theirMarine Guard, but all in all the final view was...almost impressive. Her project, the last remnant of Jessica Porter and her crusade...

Thunderbay.

And as the first meeting drew to a close for Ellie Hunter, hope rose. The knowledge of the Hyper-Antimatter Core, the idea that this could actually work...Ellie smiled yet again. Nixie's help, Ashley's help, IRG's...she could actually pull this off dammit.
Aline just needed those hull plates, and they'd be in business...very, very good business. And with Thunderbay once again fully Operational, Ellie could deploy Xion into Liberty proper, and then see about Jeremy moving the Oathkeeper further into the Taus, maybe...no, the Ghost Eye would need to be in the Taus.
Ellie sighed. "I'll stick to science. Let Jeremy run the fleet ops." She smiled a bit, once again looking at Nixie's picture. "...thanks Nix. Your little escapades really helped me...now to get this really started."

Full Datalog Transcription of contact with IRG Kitsunegari

Spoiler

RE: Lightning Strikes Twice - Jeremy Hunter - 04-26-2016

It was a long day for Ellie. Between the Tombstone being given to her, following Jeremy's fight with Kelly Hellion...Stone essentially becoming her secret weapon...Silver, her ward. So much was going on...hell, she had a girlfriend and had to deal with a newly un-indoctrinated girl...the last Surivor of Toledo...it was enough to make anyone exhausted. And she wasn't even done with Storm Cove, she hadn't even started Projects: XERXES and Project: ANUBIS. And right now, she was going over with one of the Generals assigned to the area that encompassed the Sinai Mountain Range that helped protect Razgriz Straits and Hierlark Planetary Command from ground-based attacks. More Quietus Lotus locations were needed, and currently they were planning them. But there was more...with herself now in command of the Tombstone, and knowing the precursor to XANA, LYOKO, was still out there...oh, she had work to do.

But for now, Ellie mused, she could use the new schematics that had been given to her by Stone. And now, with Hellion on the run on Akabat, she had new plans to enact. First off...she nodded to the General and bid him good day, before pulling up a new schematic.

The blueprints for the Tombstone Array.

Planning already, she began working on them, molding it to fit within a cavity that the Thunderbay would possess, if the new power reactor took up less space as she was planning. Oh, was she planning...She smiled. Thunderbay would make the Ghost Eye a relic of times past, and while she had no intentions of retiring the Hunter Family's first command, the Ghost Eye would be relegated to new duties. But, for now, she had to work. The Ingennuus Research Group was already working to finish the Thunderbay, she would need to contact Yuki and organize a shipment of Ablative Armor Plating from Alster Shipyard to Shaitan, and finally to Evora. The Thunderbay was only held back by these few things...thing she would finish.
And the Tombstone Array...oh, would the Thunderbay be greater than before. She'd rebuild it into a feared battlecruiser, a true precursor to any Order made one. She'd make Thunderbay a testbed, she'd make it the best damn ship she possibly could.
"Jessica...I didn't know you as well as Xion, but I heard many things about you. You may be out of this fight, but I promise. The crew of yours that lived, that were on leave during the Thunderbay's last flight...they will continue your fight. And I will ensure this vessel is built to become the monument for all you stood for.

Courage to do what is right. Even if it made you the enemy."

She closed the schematics and sent the orders. Tombstone was now hers. And she'd use everything at her disposal to bring the fight to the Nomads...to the Infected...to Indoctrinated. Yes, she'd do it.

"Valentine."

Behind her, a holographic figure appeared. Ellie smiled lightly. "Open a new project. Code-name: XERXES. Opening comment." She took a breath.

"After the success of the Thebes in evacuating Minor, despite the damage, it is well on it's way to be recovered and again our flagship. As such, the Science Division, at the conclusion of Project: Storm Cove, will begin XERXES. The main objective of XERXES is one thing." She paused.

"The creation and construction of a second Horus-Class Super Dreadnought. It's name shall be...Babylon."

Spoiler

RE: Lightning Strikes Twice - Jeremy Hunter - 05-01-2016

It was a harrowing journey, not due to the danger, but due to the pain. The utter pain that was Omicron Minor struck hard for each and every Order Pilot, even the new ones. A Planet, whose crust was now adrift around it, a shadow of it's former self...it was a heartbreaking and terrible sight to behold, a sight that Aline Alexandrie did not enjoy, no matter how many times she witnessed the darkness that surrounded Toledo. The Order home, the sight of so many battles...now dead, and gone.

She looked out of the bridge of the Shaitan, she saw the incoming Stork in the distance. Past Isis, all the way from the direction of the Sigmas, came her courier. Laden with Ablative armor, over four thousand tons of it, one of the final deliveries needed for the final repairs to the Thunderbay had arrived. As it slowed to a stop, Aline directed the Shaitan closer and under, opening the upper hatch. Mooring lines directed into her hold, and the ablative hull plating was transfered through. Quick, clean,and untraceable. That was what they needed, and thanks to Emiko Hunter and her status as a friend of the Order, was what got them the needed material.

Moving off, the Shaitan gained speed, and headed for Omicron 100.

The plating was unloaded at a record place. As it were all moved over and away, the Shaitan was moved over and set into Cradle 4's storage. Logged and tagged, Aline went for a drink finally, done with this part of Project: STORM COVE. It was almost over.

Porter's legacy would live again.

Spoiler

RE: Lightning Strikes Twice - Jeremy Hunter - 05-11-2019

Excerpt: Order Internal Memo

⧫ Razgriz Straits Science Complex, Planet Akabat
⧫ Omicron Mu
⧫ 4/29/826
⧫ FROM: Consul-Director Curtana
⧫ TO: Sicca Shipyard, Forth Carthage Complex

Project STORM COVE

Further models have shown that the Thunderbay will be working at a full 350% efficiency after the reactor is installed, thanks to Doctor Erikson and his work. The Order has learned much from IRG's involvement with the Thunderbay and Project STORM COVE. Despite the setbacks regarding the IRG Power Cells we have acquired, and their true nature, we are almost to launch. Over the past years I have been reverse engineering and developing a new reactor for Order that will match an IRG power cell. This will be a prototype reactor based off of not only an IRG Power Cell, but the Hand of Dawn reactor that was developed for the Oathkeeper. While the Hand of Dawn did it's job, it still does not work at the same output of one of IRG's power cells. This will not be ready in time, and as such we were cleared to install one of the IRG Power Cells we procured.
While we are currently working with the final IRG Cell that is not slated for use, for an eventual "Order Power Cell", if it were, this memo to Sicca's Administration is both a confirmation of delivery of the Cell to Sicca within the next few days, as well as the final details regarding the Thunderbay. I am sending the Core with Major Vakalis, chosen commander of the Thunderbay, for final oversight. With the installation and final testing of both the core and the power grid, a full refit team will need to be formed and dispatched to Order Station DAEDALUS BELIAL to begin the final refit of Asset STANDARD-BEARER. Current project name is SNOW WHITE. Seven Dwarves have been chosen, to match the name.

Second, Logistics Division vessels have no doubt delivered multiple loads of materials to Drydock 3. These are to be used to refit the vessel for long range, autonomous operations in the same vein as the Oathkeeper, the Ghost Eye, and the Cleopatra, two of which were designed almost from the ground up to work autonomously and the third which was designed specifically for covert operations that would keep it out of range of most friendly shipyards for long periods of time. With this in mind, the Thunderbay must have the same ability. Liberty ingenuity may give greatness under pressure, but it does not ensure that greatness endures without making new. This is part of the final details Major Vakalis will be briefing your crews over.

Finally.

Congratulations. The work on the battlecruisers, and the maintained morale despite these years of setbacks in fixing the flaws within the inherent design of the aging vessel to make it ready for our current time has been nothing short of outstanding. The Science Division's work is never done, though. We will be dispatching Asset STANDARD-BEARER to Sicca once major overhauls are finished. After that, we will establish contact with Order Cell LEGACY OF ORILLION to see about upgrading Fort Carthage and Sicca with DAEDALUS BELIAL, and see if we cannot continue increase efficiency in construction and refit of our space-born headquarters.

That will be all. Keep me updated and inform me when final tests may begin.

Consul "Curtana"
Order Science Division