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Pulses in the Dark, Atum Stories Pt.1 - Printable Version

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Pulses in the Dark, Atum Stories Pt.1 - Vibrant Songs - 05-18-2016

Prologue: Warnings Ignored

The Tombstone, one of the most advanced warships designed and made by the Order after the fall of Toledo, a ship showing its fear in forms of detection, spying and many other possibility in its old dusty hulls and forms that lingered in and out of the Order space. Five new additions were made for the Order, only three remained, the Tombstone, Palettes and the Razgirz, all three still accounted for. The fourth, suffering total destruction at the hands of on board combat during the apprehension of Admiral Kelly Hellion, causing the full loss of the forth warship in its entirety, remaining a burning broken husk on the ground of Planet Akabat. All that remained was the fifth, codenamed the Atum warship, the personal flagship of Milly Stone which had been missing for longer then most agents recalled. Recently brought back to light by the Order Primary Fleet, the Atum had its eyes set by the Order to be located, found and brought back fully. Little to the Order's knowing until recently, this lone Tombstone stored more data then most people knew of, ranging from all encounters the Order held, to spying networks, information on people and more. While Milly didn't speak much on what the warship could do, she warned Jeremy Hunter and Admiral Golanski that the warship was by no means a joke in terms of defense... Yet little heed was paid toward the warning that Stone tried to give them...

Last sighting paper report Wrote:Last Location: Omicron Minor, Unknown Sector
Camera: 10
Pulse Detection: 127th

Unknown energy and sensory detected, warning, cloaking device detected coming online
Error, Cruiser Atum lost

After weeks and months of searching, tons of missing patrol reports, sightings and listings, the Order ground bases all over Akabat were abuze about the sighting of the almost six year old warship known as Atum, or properly the Tombstone warship inside the Minor system. While reports gave off little, the detailed reports said it was moving on its on and blocking out all forms of detection possible, as if using some form of unknown sensory jamming. While the ship was old, it was quite clear that it was doing quite well, but how it was still around after Toledo remained a mystery entirely that even Milly remained tight lipped on, seeming to fear some hidden truth. The sighting was a rare one, and the location was right near the Mu hole location in Minor yet it was moving around quickly, almost scanning and looking for something. Upon being detected by the patrolling warship, the scouting patrol noted how the warship began to glow slowly a blueish tint before it flashed and was gone, having not jumped however, it seems the Atum still had what the Tombstone sister of it did, a prototype cloaking system that rendered the warship practically not only invisible to the naked eye, but also to scanners, sensors and more, however the odd effect was when the pilots returned after finding it, all three agents repeating the same thing, a ghost in the shadows, pulses in the dark, a demon in the clouds. Clearly not a nomad, or an infested vessel, all pilots seemed to repeatedly suffer from the same flash effect over and over again, each time they personally saw it. As medical reports came in the next day, the admirals and commanders would found the cruisers flashing effect in the Minor cloud was causing them to suffer from some form of mental trauma, either about some creature or beast near the Atum, while those that didn't see it but detected it reported nothing was even with it to begin with, most likely showing that the cruiser was using the fact the field of Minor caused Terror to many to its advantage to run and hide each time it was detected

Finally breaking her silence, the sister told Golanski and Jeremy what they wanted, that this was the most experimental prototype the Order had of the Tombstone class, holding not only what they gave, but also boosted jamming, sensors and many other things that rendered locating and tracking of the Atum next to impossible unless some form of great measures were taken to trick the warship to go into its lockdown PESS phase, however noting that the fact the nebula didn't effect the cruiser was far from normal and that it seemed to be operating on its own was...she noted the one possibility of an agent who could of been, but the chances were extremely slim...Finally breaking and giving out more and more information during the questioning, Golanski and Jeremy would hear that Aelita was never recovered, and the Stone they had was a matter of fact her older sister Milly. She repeated the fact and statement that the possibility of Aelita being alive and captaining the ship was next to impossible...yet didn't deny the fact it was completely impossible, even hinting that it may be here...why she didn't return for the last five years after Toledo fell and more had yet to be reveled, Aelita still remaining one of the few agents missing in action after Milly finally told Jeremy and Golanski who she was...if she was not the real Aelita, that meant the real Stone was still missing, and now her ships had upped and vanished besides the Lyoko Gunship which was destroyed over a year ago during Millys attempt to escape

Time: 14:00
Location: Omicron Minor, Sector Six Beta

The patrol began to lead them to where the ship was last located, the search began as Jeremy and Golanski remained behind to watch from a command center, it was fine...well, quiet for nearly an hour before the warship decloaked dead center of the ships. The fact it decloaked on the patrol then running made it look extremely off before several wide shots came off it, the agents spreading in panic away, the leader calling in back up as one of his men were podded as the Tombstone's razor system downed the ship. "This is Yellow leader requesting back up, the Tombstone has decloaked on us but has begun firing without warning, two of my squad members are down-" Static came in, the pilot became confused as his ship suddenly turned around and to the Tombstone behind him "What the hell?! Overwatch command, I've lost all control over my ship, I repeat, the Tombstone ha-" The comms for the wing leader went quiet as it suffered the direct hits of battle razor weaponry from the cruiser

The three remaining pilots tractored in their wing mates and ran quickly as the Tombstone gave chase, the nearest patrol, a single Hathor and bomber wing near the planet, acting as the leader of the entire patrol and the mobile command post, closed in on the desperate wing to aid his men. Yet as the captain of the Hathor ordered his crew to fire, the Atum's weapons seemed to suddenly shift, pausing to watch all of this unfold, the now shocked captain would see five glowing bolts streak across space itself at the ships, all five landing, the power of the gunship dying, as well as the three snub pilots with it before it restored. By the time their systems came back online, the Atum was completely gone, this time however there was no flash or anything..no trace...it was just gone again...the weakened and hurt soldiers returning to Akabat with this disturbing information how well armed the Tombstone might be...

For the next few days the same thing happened over and over, the disabling and fleeing again and again till the Tombstone got itself trapped before two Hathors and a light fighter escort, however the panicked captains had opened fire at this point, knowing the Tombstone's detection of fire and the sudden glow, all three ships ceased to exist as the Atum punched a mortar each into their hulls before leaving in lockdown mode...three weeks passed for its lockdown mode to stop...giving enough time for the Order to plan how to finally capture the Atum and stop it from running or attacking...and find out who was crewing and captaining the Tombstone cruiser...


RE: Pulses in the Dark, Atum Stories Pt.1 - Jeremy Hunter - 05-24-2016

To hunt successfully, you must know your ground, your pack, and your quarry.
K.J Parker


The fact that Milly wasn't Aelita was what angered Jeremy. Quite honestly, he missed Aelita. He had known her for so long, back when he had a crush on her...before Storm, the bastard. Shaking his head, Jeremy looked back at the map before him, the holographic interface sending points of light all over the bridge. He was currently onboard the Sarcophagus, coordinating with Golanski and the rest of the search fleet. For this he had pulled out everything the Wedjat Division had, damn near brought the Ghost Eye[/]i back from Liberty. The [i]Atum was a quarry that would be extremely difficult to capture, but based on what had incapacitated the rest of the search ships, well...Jeremy had a secret weapon. That secret weapon was currently positioned on the starboard side of the Sarcophagus - The Overwatch Command and Control Asset, the CV-Silent Wait. One of many CIC assets deployed to filter combat data for the Order Overwatch, the Silent Wait was controlled, not by man, but AI. The Artifical Intelligence known as Kairi currently was controlling the new Hathor, and that was the trick.

The Atum had been using a combination of strobe lights, going off in specific patterns, to overwhelm the vision of search pilots, as well as using EMP and conventional weaponry to survive. But this time, they had a small trump card - Kairi.
Unable to feel fear nor be tricked by flashing lights, Kairi would be able to get in close and initiate a Dragonfly Missile strike on the Tombstone. With the Sarcophagus being outfitted with EMP missiles, Kairi would have to cripple the Atum before it got away, leaving it open for a boarding partied led by Jeremy and Golanski.

"Colonel? We see it."
Jeremy looked up, and took a breath. He studied the position of all their ships - He had a brace of EMP interception Sekhmets on standbye, a contingent of Razor Bastets, and had deployed the Svizra to lockdown the way to Delta. They had the ship dead to rights...they couldn't mess up.
"Execute Operation: Graverobber."

All around the Atum came the Order. The Sekhmets unleashed a wave of EMP Torpedoes as the Sarcophagus revealed itself, firing it's own high-powred EMP missile. Catching it off-guard, a majority of the munitions impacting. The shield crumbled before them, paving way for the Silent Wait to move in. And, once in range, it unleashed Dragonflies. Blood Dragon built, the Dragonfly was designed to cause the most damage to a vessel's hardware...and perfect for incapacitating the Atum.
The first volleys hit on target, and already the Atum began to lose speed. it was then, as the Silent Wait came for another pass, that the Bastet Wing engaged, mini Razors cutting into the engines and guns. Unlike the panicked patrols and botched missions, the Atum was facing two Overwatch members - one, who led the Order out of the darkness of the Fall, and another who fought the Nomads since their reveal. It had awaken the beasts of yore and legend, ones that knew what they were doing.
And it was them that unleashed the fiery hellstorm upon the Atum, using misdirection and the nebula against it....and the supreme fact that the Atum was lightly armored...perfect for Dragonfly and Mini Razors.

"Sir? It attempted to fire but with our four unit offensive, we caught it off guard. Engines disabled, guns inoperative. Most of our pilots avoided the lightshow, but Sierras Four, Nine, and Eleven were caught and are being evac'd to Taba. The Atum is inert. Svizra is currently on it's way with it's squadrons. Sarcophagus will move in."
Jeremy nodded. "Tell the Admiral we'll be setting up in Airlock Five." Leaving the order to the man, Jeremy headed down to Airlock Five.

There, were a full Ghost Team - Ghost Team Zulu. Grabbing himself an assault rifle, Jeremy leaned against a wall and checked it over. "...haven't invaded a ship with Michal in years. Feels like the Preservers all over again." He joked to himself. Those days were long, long gone. There was no Tainer to lead, no Leigh to be an ass...no Cat's Eyes, Edge...the days when he and Michal were but secondary agents doing what they could to save the galaxy...those were long gone.
Now they were leaders...true leaders. One, the Admiral. He, the Colonel. And for a brief operation, they would revist the days when they but followed orders, and the time when they were closer friends.
Much had changed.
Much still would.

RE: Pulses in the Dark, Atum Stories Pt.1 - Shizune - 05-24-2016

Chapter 2: Entering the coffin

Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne


The teams were getting ready and suited up, however oddly enough the scouting units reported little activity inside the Atum for the most part beyond the oddly high advanced walling and systems. What seemed off is a majority of the rooms were sealed off even though they were not hit, the armory, sleeping rooms and whatever other rooms there was.

The bridge door however was sealed closed, not welded or even a door, but instead a energy barrier between it and them, as were most of the doors on the Tombstone Atum, yet the ghost still held a few tricks up her sleeves...

Every so often, the Ghost scouts reported hearing movement around them before one of them became dazzed as if hit by something, on the large screen of the Reshephs outside, movement detection would slowly come from all over. Around the troops were hidden laser grid trip wires from port to door and halls alike. Unlike the recent recovery of the Ghost technology for the Order, the Atum had a more advanced version of said troops, utilizing personal stealth boys and silenced knockout weapons and exo-suits.

Forcing them to slowly advance, the troops managed to hunker down in the area near the airlock, unable to advance due to the security systems they sat off by mistake. And knowing Aelita, her personal cruiser was non-to-short of automatic drones and robots either which mainly held them back, a majority of them using stun pulse weapons, tasers and more. The engine however seemed to slowly repair itself, however as they began to close on the engine room to take control of the power systems, the Order would find something off about this Tombstone. The reactor room was actually sealed off with an unknown type of door, unlike all other known types, it was almost like an energy metal door grid system instead, the heat inside the room even requiring some form of heat resistance to enter first off however they could see three odd looking sphere hooked up where the reactor should of been which gave the ship all the energy it needed.

As the third team moved in, ghost unit Nu to the bridge, they were met with more resistance then before hand, however noted that the bridge had a cryo sleep unit still active inside beyond the barrier wall however were forced back by two large bulky robotic drones, or rather sentry bots...

Everything was in position, yet advancing into this type of territory was going to be a tactical nightmare...
And knowing Stone, these small drones were just the beginning of her AI defensive grid

RE: Pulses in the Dark, Atum Stories Pt.1 - Omicron - 05-30-2016

Admiral stood quiet, not uttering a word.

Clad in his black power armor, he did not even said a word to Jeremy, his years long friend and ally. No one could work out what was his problem as of late, but he accepted Hunter's request to join him on his personnal quest to recover what layed within Atum. As boarding came close, he put on his helmet in silence and loaded up his shotgun with high caliber shells. High-penetration anti-armor device unwieldable by anyone not fitted with a vehicle, exoskeleton or significant augmentations, in its bulky state resembling something more akin a flak gun.

When he had to actually say a word, he turned towards the Colonel, face obscured by the full helmet. "Utmost priority, recover the ship." He had expected AI-related monstrosity aboard, running processes it had been designed to. Whether it had been corrupted or gone rogue, he did not cared. It all became clear then, his crusade of recovering technology was what drawed him to the cruiser. His reign of iron fist since Omicron Minor saw aggressive re-accquisition of all assortment of Order hardware no matter the circumstances, preserving as much useful gear for The Order fleet into the days ahead. He remembered the "original Aelita", a young pilot and genetically cursed with height almost making it impossible for her to pilot a starship at that. He did not knew, nor cared about Jeremy's feelings towards her.

Golanski was not entirely soul-less about the incursion, finding some compassion to the veterans suffering various ailments, granting them medical care and augmentations to continue their service. He would make Aelita the same offer, assuming she still is alive that is. Some would mistake his perseverence as unhuman, however The Grand Admiral could hardly find a proper way to communicate his state of emotions to his fellow subordinates. Everyone however knew the hotheaded, inspired calls for wars and operations to capitalize on his ideals. Few would heard his full sentence upon discovery of the first defenders of the cruiser, however as guns went quiet last part of his sentence was clearly audible to everyone present.

"...those damned toasters."

RE: Pulses in the Dark, Atum Stories Pt.1 - Jeremy Hunter - 06-05-2016

We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.

-Tom Robbins


Jeremy Hunter's feelings for Aelita had waned in the past years, her relationship with Storm souring what his heart tried to convey. Now he followed Michal into the fray, relying on two submachineguns instead of the assault rifle he had on his back - or the twin swords he had made himself, a nod off to antiquity and the fact not many people expected one to draw blades in a world of lasers and planet-crushing aliens. The shock value was the most defining trait he had utilized with his weapons, but right now, he chose the range and safety of the twin SMGs - dubbed "Deathflowers" - as his weapons. Kemwer Munitions were a wide range of weaponry, not just ammunition. These SMGs, the Reaper's Kin Assault Cannon (jokingly called a shotgun) that Michal had...Kemwer had many things to it's name, and many of them were being used to clear the Atum-Ra...to little effect.
"Colonel, Type-Twenty Four Sentry Drones are guarding the bridge."
"Relics of days gone by...the Atum-Ra hasn't been refitted with the newer weaponry." Jeremy reloaded the SMGs, then looked around. Michal had taken out a good chunk of the initial wave with his gun, and Jeremy frowned. "Micha - Admiral. Ghost Team Epsilon reports a weird door guarding the reactor. I'm suggesting you lead a science team down to take it offline. I'll link up with team Nu and assault the bridge." He spun the SMGs, his cocky side showing. "Doubt these toasters can handle both of us at once. Might as well make it fair." He waved a team over, holstering the small SMGs before unslinging the somewhat oversized assault rifle - a Hybrid Pulse variant, able to switch between full auto, three round burst, and single-shot, it was the new standard AR of the Order's Marines, being dubbed the "Seventy Sixes" due to the Marine's making a list of Seventy Six ways to kill someone with them. It had an underslung helix tri-rocket launcher, making it an all-around weapon for the marines. Jeremy hefted it with little problem, though it looked...comical with him. He waved the soldiers forward, and headed through.

What came next was as if from a movie. Drones crawled all over, heavier bots tying to block. What Jeremy couldn't get through tactically, he just blew up with extreme prejudice. The halls would shake at the sheer amount of times Jeremy said "forget it." And ordered whatever blocked him be removed - violently. The drones tried to adapt, but nothing the Atum-Ra could throw at Jeremy was able to survive the fact he could adapt on the fly, causing whatever was running the Atum-Ra much displeasure, he was certain.
But he did make it to the bridge, to where the really big, and really armed, sentry drones sat. He handed the rifle to a subordinate, then took out a small handled. It extended into a gilded Katana, a gift from the laser-melee forges of Akihibara. He began to advance, and as the laser chainguns revved up, he held up a portable shield gauntlet. It sprung to life, blocking everything thrown...but it wouldn't last long.
Not that it would need to.

Once close enough, Jeremy turned it off and sprinted. The guns had tried to track, but he already was sliding underneath, blade slicing through the underside of the first one. It didn't do much damage at first, but as he hacked at a few legs and jumped onto the first's back, the next opened fire. Jeremy of course just hopped off as the first was hit, and it flaired...and caused it's legs to collapse, sending it groundside. Jeremy used the time to rush forward and draw and SMG, cutting open the bottom and inserting the barrel, unloading the magazine into it's innards. He got out before it collapsed, and he cut it down the middle for good measure.
Returning his blade to it's holding spot, Jeremy looked to the Ghost Team, who was indifferent to his peculiar brand of insanity. "Sir, how do we get into the bridge? Your Shinkiro isn't going to get through the shield."
He took out another, which formed a broadsword, much like Excalibur. He then activated the energy emitters and stabbed it into the wall, and dragged it just close to the phase wall...and cut down as close as he could. Sparks flew and the wall flickered, and he repeated the process on the other side.
The wall died, leaving the Ghosts to finally admit that, yes, his insanity did work. Sometimes. Not that they were impressed at that...no, the stories of Hunter were very weird, to which they bore uncertain skepticism to his very existence. But he was a friend of Golanski, so they followed him onto the bridge...where the blast doors closed. Turrets on the cryopod came to life, as did...two...really big sentry bots.
"Sir?" One Ghost asked nervously, raising his Seventy-Six. Jeremy just leaned against a wall, nonchalant about possible impending doom. They began to advance, the Ghosts taking cover and preparing to engage. Jeremy then walked towards said robots, hands in his pockets.
"Sir, you trying to die?"
Jeremy just chuckled. The robots turned to him...then froze. He walked right past them, before they smashed into each other, crushing their sides. They were then slammed into the ground, where they tried to rise, before the Ghost Team blasted their heads off with rockets and emptied Kemwer munitions into their inner workings, leaving them there...but now the Ghosts were nervous. Nothing like that should have happened...could have happened...that was now what scared him. How did Jeremy get them to smash into each other, how did he act so confident and cool under the threat his plan couldn't work?
They only could shoot the turrets off, as he stood in front of the cryopod.
"...I came back, Ael. Like I promised."

The Ghosts slowly advanced. "Sir?"
"Ghost Team Nu, I'm declassifying the Blackreach Files. The woman claiming to be Aelita Stone, who currently resides in the Razgriz Straits Science Complex's Deep Quarantine, under close watch of my sister, is not the true Aelita Stone. Her name is Milly Stone." He keyed the pod open, revealing another cybernetic girl connected to the vessel. "This is Agent Aelita Stone, CO of the CV-Lyoko, and the girl who originally started the Tombstone Project."
"And also, one of my closest friends."
They could only watch as he began to unhook her, when the main screen snapped on to show the Eye of Horus, and a disembodied voice.
"Jeremy Hunter! You took the Lyoko Cortex, you found Aelita...but I was charged with protecting her! I will fufill the mission Milly Stone set out for me, I will-"
Bang
Jeremy's hand cannon boomed, the screen now sporting a new hole. The disembodied voice had stopped. "Milly Stone is a traitor to the Order, to Humanity. And if you continue attempting to keep Aelita, or the Order, from reclaiming this cruiser, I will personally tear every single wire from your screaming matrix, and listen to your programming error and die after I upload the FOXDEATH Virus into your system. I will watch, and I will laugh."
"You talk, oh Colonel, but you are not of such vile actions. Even to I, you cannot do something so horrid!"
"Feelin' lucky?"
The voice had fallen silent as Jeremy resumed unhooking Aelita. He then picked her up. "Go find the Admiral and assist him. I have an AI to tear asunder."
"I HAVE NOT D-"
"I decided for you."

The AI screamed and threatened, but all the Ghosts could see was Hunter - and how, despite his appearance, and his insanity...was something far more dangerous. Something that they were going to have to contend with. They immediately turned to link up with the Admiral, but Jeremy stayed behind. He laid Aelita out beside the main console, and took to it. His hands danced across the console, and soon every screen showed a symbol, long forgotten to the sands of time.

[Image: preserv-notxt.png]

"You are fighting forces of antiquity, Lyoko...forces older than you, your gunship, this cruiser..." He said quietly. "...Beware of the coming resurgences of antiquity long forgotten."
He turned and picked Aelita up, as the Atum-Ra's engines cycled down, leaving the cruiser still...save for the highly trained Ghost Teams currently in the cruiser, led by the Viking, and the one whom the Defcon Hunter protocol had been made for.
It was a very dangerous game that was playing.
A game of shadows.

Knight to Delta Five.

Purged - Shizune - 06-10-2016

Purged