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Pytheas - The Spear of Exploration - Printable Version +- Discovery Gaming Community (https://discoverygc.com/forums) +-- Forum: Role-Playing (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=9) +--- Forum: Stories and Biographies (https://discoverygc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=56) +--- Thread: Pytheas - The Spear of Exploration (/showthread.php?tid=205344) |
Pytheas - The Spear of Exploration - Dave Synk - 10-24-2024 As in the foregone era of sea navigation and new land cartography, such was Dave adventuring in the realms of the unknown and absurd with his newfound studies, regarding the strange gravimetric anomalies around various sectors of Sirius. Most of these days it was just him alone and his machines from one of the laboratories at Valravn, offering him all the feed and data required to test his theories and experimentations on the subject. For once he felt again in his prime time and doing what he knows best: to break the limits of knowledge and find new frontiers, as strange or sinister as they might be. After long hours without a break, one of Dave’s assistants dared to break his focus with a gentle heads-up regarding a message from Leviathan. He took the datapad holding his glare at some puzzling calculations he was focusing on and then shifted his glance to skim around reading: "Got a surprise for you. Should pass in a few minutes near your deck. You’ll find more info when you reach the drydock. Don’t hold back." Having a glimmering sense of curiosity and knowing how curious Leviathan’s surprises could be, he left the main research room where all his tools were to the lounge nearby to peer over the oversized observation window. And indeed it was of intrigue. Apparently a vessel looking like the head of a spear with sharp angles and rather elegant designs, was guided by the docking lights right into a mooring point into the Citadel’s drydocks. He recognized the designs and carried a light smirk on his face as his eyes were bright with anticipation and curiosity. He left the room speaking to his assistant to make order in his files and did not look back. As he took the accelerating lifts, he took in the size of the ship as he got closer and closer to the drydock area. The vessel had a considerable size and was an imposing one, for an exploration vessel. As the vessel was approaching the drydock, the crew aboard sent technical specs of it and a copy of the owner’s technical manual, so by the moment Dave reached the vessel he had an idea of what this “Bulwark” class exploration vessel had in it. The crew that greeted Dave on the station had a request that was right on his lane. “Good evening and thank you for having us arrive here. We’ve been told that this is the right place for a technical “uplift” even for such a brand new vessel?” The dockmaster from the vessel said jokingly, but showing admiration for the host’s ability in the topic. “Ahh.. yes, Valravn, the cosmic pit stop for ship enhancements and whatnot. But yes, welcome aboard the Citadel. I was just told mere minutes ago about your arrival only to see this impressive vessel in reality. I know about it being the “newest” cool toy in deep space recon..” Dave continued the banter as he slipped curious glances over at the ship. “Yes, we’ve been told that the final technical “send-off” to say so would be this place. We were glad to see your people do their technical magic. I must say, the vessel is well made and sturdy. Some sections even have a real luxury-level comfort. They couldn’t care less about that. Military grade equipment and weapon systems as well. It can face off targets… well as much as it can for its class. It could scare small sized vessels and it would most likely scare nebulas and asteroids with its intriguing telemetry arrays.” The dockmaster mentioned that he noticed Dave’s piercing and serious glance as he was most likely very attentive to the initial details. Dave nodded, crossing his arms as he shifted his glance at the vessel. “So you’re saying there’s a good start to what I need to do. The specs I got from your crew were showing charts and power numbers typical of custom works. Meaning that part replacements could be obtained from their creators. Who manufactured this again?” He darted his glance furrowing one eyebrow at the dockmaster. “Bristol Manufacturing, sir.” Nodded. “Ah right, that construction firm.” Made a pause. “Well as you can imagine, I will not rely on corporate bureaucracy to change reactor components for a higher output, given that as you know, our technology is demanding an.. -“enhanced” to put it lightly-, power grid." “I am aware, also a bonus, the vessel has a sizable cargo area and a small craft can also dock on it. Perhaps useful for an on-demand escort or personal craft deployment?.” The dockmaster kept a light smirk on his face as the exchange was going. “Perhaps. I believe you’d require a consistent retrofit and enhance the possibilities of its exploratory nature?” Dave took a more serious glance, waiting impatiently at the man’s answers as he already knew what he needed to do with this vessel. “Yes, fully. Make usage of what the ship has and add on it with your technical packages on top of it. Our duty ended the moment we got the ship in the drydock.” The man smiled at Dave as he extended his hand respectfully. Dave replied to the handshake and offered a kind smile. “Thank you and it will be a pleasure to work on this marvel. It will take a while but technology is after all our greatest perk hmm? Do you have any vessels to take you back to your station?” “Yes, our transport is on the way as we speak.” Dave nodded and bid his farewells as went through the mooring tunnel getting aboard the ship. He had a satisfied smirk as he looked around. The interiors were sleek and the smell of new materials still lingered. The skeleton crew that piloted the ship to Valravn departed and slowly more Technocratic crew began to do their work of inspecting the vessels’ systems. Dave went to the main bridge, sat on the commanding chair and accessed the vessel’s internal diagnosis and technical schematics. As before in his lab, hours passed and he just sat there studying all he could about the vessel’s power grid, weapon compatibility, and conceived strategies to gradually replace the key parts of the vessel with the more nuanced technology of the Technocracy. In the end, Leviathan did tell him not to hold back, right? And he didn’t. In the following hours and days, he supervised and contributed himself with integrating high-grade level of research equipment, remade the research section of it entirely, but careful enough to feel the level of comfort found. The beauty about the Technocrats’ work in improving existing technology or vessels is that it is seamless. Beyond the same sleek white wall panel, they would carefully integrate intricate blocks of technology fitting like the pieces of a puzzle. As time passed, the small drones darting inside and outside the ship’s hull, procedurally replaced each quarter of the vessel and adapted the component slots seamlessly to support and sustain the Technocracy’s technical packages. The heart of the vessel, its reactor core was greatly improved and the power grid responded nicely. The vessel hummed in a way that if it had a mechanical soul, it would’ve been of happiness. After a couple of good days, towards the completion of the retrofit process, a message from Leviathan came to Dave again on his personal pad. “You created The Pytheas, the spear of exploration and carthography.” He read that as he took another glance at the vessel wondering how many unknowns and frontiers this craft will break. He made sure that it had the means for that, as the veil of the unknown lingered upon its future, the Pytheas’ purpose was clear. RE: Pytheas - The Spear of Exploration - Dave Synk - 02-01-2025 The other day, we moved several assets to Omega-48. I took the Pytheas specifically to Primus Outpost. It's fascinating how these machines chose to create a secluded outpost in the Omegas, though not without reason. The AI Cruisers I observed were busy extracting raw molten metals from the magma asteroid field. I was allowed to moor with the station and exchanged navigational data from the surrounding area with what I had already gathered in Pytheas’ sensor array. I even engaged in some basic conversations with them, but they eventually started ignoring my queries, always replying with, "We are making consensus." I took it as their polite way of saying, "Stop wasting our time." The crew had mixed feelings about these machines, especially my old Order shipmates. My second-in-command, Veradrix, made a few remarks about how she also found my questions redundant. She felt my curiosity made me seem almost naive, like a child in front of them. She didn’t phrase it quite like that, but I could read between the lines. When I suggested she take some R&R on the observation deck, she simply stared at me before shifting her gaze back to her console. At first, I knew she found my way of commanding the vessel too loose and perhaps not entirely in line with Technocracy’s ship protocols. But I prefer to keep a friendly banter—it builds trust. She’ll come around. Some moments later, my sensors detected the Archangel and Titania arriving near Gran Canaria. We rendezvoused, and as I went to greet them, I made full use of the sensor upgrade I implemented during the ship’s retrofit: a full array of Sub-Particle Entanglement Scanners. Think of it like an underwater sonar, but powerful enough to map an entire ocean in a single ping. I had already identified several points of interest across the system's grid-patterned map. When the Andraste later jumped in, I was recommended to explore and observe these locations. The Archangel and Titania quickly joined. Two massive carriers risking their armor in a dense ice field, right where the first anomalies had appeared on Pytheas’ scanners. It felt like a treasure hunt. I triangulated a signal leading to a single container deep within the ice nebula. For a normal vessel, it would have taken months to find—if they even stumbled upon it at all. But the Pytheas was designed precisely for this purpose: anomaly detection and uncovering the unknown. Even with exact coordinates, I still had to make last-minute adjustments as I approached. Fortunately, a massive alignment of asteroids provided natural markers. Coincidentally or not, they led toward the unstable Dublin jumphole. The asteroids acted as amplifying beacons for the container’s signal. In the end, it turned out to be a collector’s hidden stash. Not quite what I expected, but it served as an excellent test for the Pytheas’ sensors. The Archangel’s commanding officer wasn’t particularly thrilled, nor was the additional Technocratic escort, but one crew member enjoyed the trip. A newcomer with the call sign “Perun,” a Zoner scientist, was ecstatic about the natural formations in the field. ![]() ![]() Despite the Archangel’s captain’s frustrations, it was a valuable exercise in pinpointing a small target amidst heavy interference. A crucial test for the Pytheas’ systems. Before leaving, I also investigated a radiation signature near the collapsing Dublin jump point. It turned out to be the shattered remains of a station built inside an asteroid. The structural connectors to storage modules and other sections were broken and salvaged. It made me wonder if the site could be repurposed as a remote research station. ![]() Upon returning to the group, our conversation shifted to the mysteries of hyperspace and theories surrounding Earhart. Someone mentioned ancient ships, centuries old, lost in the void, which immediately sparked my curiosity. Then came the final test—the one that could have been fatal. Leviathan suggested we travel there so I could see these relics for myself. In moments, one of the carriers opened a temporary jump point to hyperspace’s nexus. I’d been there before but never stayed long enough to study the ships. Scanning one vessel, I identified its origins: the "Liberty Space Exploration Council." It dated back over 700 years—an artifact from Liberty’s early colonization efforts. Even fragments from the Texas Incident drifted in a corner of Earhart. Seeing it firsthand was surreal. A legend once whispered across Liberty about an old "ghost ship" near the Texas Dark Particle Cloud—"Brown Bessie." It was there, abandoned by time itself. As I moved in for a closer look, something struck me. A lance-like energy beam hit the Pytheas. My companions quickly warned me that Earhart’s defense system had locked on. The first shot pierced the shielding, disabling the main generator instantly. The backups kicked in just in time, but before I could react, another shot followed. I tried to retreat, pushing the Pytheas to its limits, but a final lance struck the hull. Almost all systems fried. For a few moments, the vessel went completely haywire. Another hit would have been catastrophic. The crew remained calm, each deck executing emergency protocols flawlessly. The Pytheas’ resistive armor absorbed most of the energy, acting like a Faraday cage. The cargo compartment blew apart, leaving the interior decks partially exposed. The crew sealed the area immediately to prevent total atmospheric loss. It was a harrowing experience—but invaluable. Not only did the Pytheas withstand the full force of an advanced weapon system, but as a flying sensor grid, it also recorded extensive data. Energy frequencies, atomic alignments, particle configurations—all captured. The ship’s energy absorption capability was remarkable, though dangerously close to catastrophic overload. This was, without a doubt, the most intense test the Pytheas had ever faced. And it delivered. Now, I will compile a report on the data gathered. With our existing database, perhaps we can make a breakthrough in understanding K’Vosh energy manipulation technology. ![]() |