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447 - Alley - 05-16-2012
Somewhere, in the streams of conciousness of sirius...
...You are getting better at it Kate...(joy)...This isn't easy you know...This is your first interface ever, you can't master it all of a sudden...Talking about interfaces, you didn't tell me about the human one....I had my reasons and watch out for the rock...
Kate shook her head as she opened her eyes. Getting used to the vision of a nomad isn't an easy thing, but things get better with experience. As she was dressing to go out for a bit, a person entered the room.
- Miss Miller ?
- Well well Miss Carsen what a surprise. Didn't see you for a while. What brings you here ?
- Mr McKay has arrived. Your presence is being requested in the conference room, the room 447.
- What, like, now ?
- Yes. Like now.
Back on Washington Shipyard, in Virginia...
Kate shook her head as she opened her eyes. Getting used to the vision of a nomad isn't an easy thing, but things get better with experience. As she was dressing to go out for a bit, a person entered the room.
- Miss Miller ?
- Well well Miss Carsen what a surprise. Didn't see you for a while. What brings you here ?
- Mr McKay has arrived. Your presence is being requested in the conference room, the room 447.
- What, like, now ?
- Yes. Like now.
447 - Jihadjoe - 05-16-2012
Room 447 - Washington Shipyard
David Hale had been waiting for some time. Robert McKay had been asking questions he'd been unable to answer, and it made him uncomfortable. He glanced out of the viewing window at the ship, allowing himself half a smile.
The secretary of state for defense sat impassively, his stony face seemingly totally immobile.
"And you say she's on the station, Hale?"
"She is, she'll be arriving shortly. There are a good number of questions I'll need answered as well..."
The admiral didn't feel entirely at ease around McKay. They had disagreed in the past over prioritizing this or that, but their working relationship was good enough to get by. Hale was a far more astute man than to disregard the importance of playing nice... Not that he disliked the older man.
'Hurry up, Kate.' Before he could finish the thought, the door swung open.
The secretary of state for defense sat impassively, his stony face seemingly totally immobile.
"And you say she's on the station, Hale?"
"She is, she'll be arriving shortly. There are a good number of questions I'll need answered as well..."
The admiral didn't feel entirely at ease around McKay. They had disagreed in the past over prioritizing this or that, but their working relationship was good enough to get by. Hale was a far more astute man than to disregard the importance of playing nice... Not that he disliked the older man.
'Hurry up, Kate.' Before he could finish the thought, the door swung open.
447 - Alley - 05-17-2012
Kate entered the room as David Hale heard the door swing open. He could instantly notice Kate's attitude. She was on her "professional mode" as she told him once. Cold, distant and hiding any possible emotion.
"You called me ?"
She looked at the window, noticing David and an unknown man next to him looking at the outside.
"You called me ?"
She looked at the window, noticing David and an unknown man next to him looking at the outside.
447 - Jihadjoe - 05-17-2012
"Miss Miller... Hale nodded, briefly catching her eye.
"I doubt you will have met Mr McKay. Secretary of State for Defense..."
McKay nodded by way of a greeting, but didn't extend a hand to shake. He stayed silent and seated, looking back down at his datapad.
Hale paused and glanced at the politician.
"Mr McKay has some questions regarding the arrival of the Normandie, the state of the crew, and how exactly you came into possession of the ship. I'm pretty certain that more things will come up as we continue discussion as well."
"Thank you, Admiral." he said, briskly. "It's not every day we have a Gallic battleship falling into our lap, and while that's not unwelcome it presents a number of issues. Your involvement in it being one of them. I've heard a good deal about you, Miss Miller, and not all of it is complementary."
Hale sighed almost silently and took a seat at the long table that filled the room, placing a datapad infront of him, and flicking the switch on a small recording device.
"Take a seat, Miss Miller."
"First of all, Miss Miller, I would be extremely interested to know where and how you found the vessel in the first place, and what your intentions were in taking the ship."
McKay tapped his fingers slightly impatiently against the table and waited for a response.
"I doubt you will have met Mr McKay. Secretary of State for Defense..."
McKay nodded by way of a greeting, but didn't extend a hand to shake. He stayed silent and seated, looking back down at his datapad.
Hale paused and glanced at the politician.
"Mr McKay has some questions regarding the arrival of the Normandie, the state of the crew, and how exactly you came into possession of the ship. I'm pretty certain that more things will come up as we continue discussion as well."
"Thank you, Admiral." he said, briskly. "It's not every day we have a Gallic battleship falling into our lap, and while that's not unwelcome it presents a number of issues. Your involvement in it being one of them. I've heard a good deal about you, Miss Miller, and not all of it is complementary."
Hale sighed almost silently and took a seat at the long table that filled the room, placing a datapad infront of him, and flicking the switch on a small recording device.
"Take a seat, Miss Miller."
"First of all, Miss Miller, I would be extremely interested to know where and how you found the vessel in the first place, and what your intentions were in taking the ship."
McKay tapped his fingers slightly impatiently against the table and waited for a response.
447 - Alley - 05-20-2012
Kate sat and gazed at McKay.
"What you heard doesn't matter to me, Mr McKay. You're intelligent enough to recognise those who care about opinions, and those who do not. I do believe you have the right to know what happened, but you should never forget that what is right, or wrong... it's only a matter of perspective." she said, pausing for a moment.
"There is much that happened that wasn't expected. Everything doesn't always go according to the plan. What I certainly didn't expect was to be dragged into a second war.
About two months ago, I went to Bretonia. Something was happening in the streams, unusual high spikes of mind emissions that were on a lower frequency than usual, something that nobody without the appropriate equipment could pick up. Fortunately, the incubi that fusioned with me did. What I mistook for a superior node regrouping forces for an attack, was a single, small, nomad. That nomad was being shot at by a group of bounty hunters, but it wasn't firing back, which was surprising. With such powers, he could have shattered their minds in a blink of an eye. Yet he did nothing." finished Kate on a sad tone, looking at David for a second.
"My instinct told me to help him. Why? I don't know. But I did. When the last bounty hunter blew up, he approached me, and asked me why I killed them. I answered all I did was protecting him.
I'll never forget what he said afterwards : "No entity has the right to take life away from another entity."
He asked me to follow him, and I did. After several days of cruise and using a series of totally unknown jump holes I had never seen before, we arrived to an uncharted system I still haven't been able to pinpoint today. He led me to a blue nebula, and that's where I found it. A nomad, four times the size of manhattan. It's only recently that I learned there were only three like this, and interestingly, each have a name. Aurora, Destiny, and Harbinger."
Kate stopped, looking at the two individuals in the event they had a question.
"What you heard doesn't matter to me, Mr McKay. You're intelligent enough to recognise those who care about opinions, and those who do not. I do believe you have the right to know what happened, but you should never forget that what is right, or wrong... it's only a matter of perspective." she said, pausing for a moment.
"There is much that happened that wasn't expected. Everything doesn't always go according to the plan. What I certainly didn't expect was to be dragged into a second war.
About two months ago, I went to Bretonia. Something was happening in the streams, unusual high spikes of mind emissions that were on a lower frequency than usual, something that nobody without the appropriate equipment could pick up. Fortunately, the incubi that fusioned with me did. What I mistook for a superior node regrouping forces for an attack, was a single, small, nomad. That nomad was being shot at by a group of bounty hunters, but it wasn't firing back, which was surprising. With such powers, he could have shattered their minds in a blink of an eye. Yet he did nothing." finished Kate on a sad tone, looking at David for a second.
"My instinct told me to help him. Why? I don't know. But I did. When the last bounty hunter blew up, he approached me, and asked me why I killed them. I answered all I did was protecting him.
I'll never forget what he said afterwards : "No entity has the right to take life away from another entity."
He asked me to follow him, and I did. After several days of cruise and using a series of totally unknown jump holes I had never seen before, we arrived to an uncharted system I still haven't been able to pinpoint today. He led me to a blue nebula, and that's where I found it. A nomad, four times the size of manhattan. It's only recently that I learned there were only three like this, and interestingly, each have a name. Aurora, Destiny, and Harbinger."
Kate stopped, looking at the two individuals in the event they had a question.
447 - Jihadjoe - 05-20-2012
Hale remained silent and made a few notes on his data-pad, before glancing at Kate.
"I don't think..."
"Interesting, Miss Miller..." said McKay, cutting over the Admiral. "Pardon me if I don't find the concept of a 'friendly' Nomad to be the most plausible. However you have mentioned a few things which spark my interest, despite my lack of belief in your story concerning the more peaceful specimin."
He paused, thinking for a second.
"You say a nomad incubi fused with you in some way... I trust this is no longer an issue, and we can consider you not to be an infected individual?"
"I haven't killed you, so you can consider it a positive point..."
Robert McKay coughed. In any other circumstances it would have been considered a polite way of disguising his surprise, however he wasn't a man prone to either politeness or being surprised.
"... And it is not exactly the standard proceedure for infected individual to openly advertise their ties with nomad entities. You seem to be an individual who prefers to get to the point, Miss Miller, which is more normally my realm."
He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Hale for a second.
"Admiral, perhaps you could continue for a moment."
Hale looked up from his notes as Robert McKay lapsed into silence, watching Kate carefully.
"As I understand, Mr Secretary, the infection was dealt with by operatives from The Order..."
"However, Ka... Miss Miller, there are a few other questions which are rather important to clear up. First of all, can you provide the required evidence of this nomad-node's non hostile intent? Furthermore, you mentioned three superiour nodes. I assume each would have had their role, individual specialism and so on."
The admiral glanced down at his notes, then back up.
"We understand that the 'mindshare' is not quite operational in the same respect as it previously was, allowing far more individualistic action from nomad entities. This has been evidenced by the behaviour we witnessed in New York space some time ago, in which a number of nomad vessels were found to be engaged in hostilities with one another... While I find it hard to believe the stories concerning less-than-hostile nomads myself, if the 'mindshare' was fractured in some way, I see no reason for it to be completely impossible. Could you provide a little more clear detail on this?"
"I don't think..."
"Interesting, Miss Miller..." said McKay, cutting over the Admiral. "Pardon me if I don't find the concept of a 'friendly' Nomad to be the most plausible. However you have mentioned a few things which spark my interest, despite my lack of belief in your story concerning the more peaceful specimin."
He paused, thinking for a second.
"You say a nomad incubi fused with you in some way... I trust this is no longer an issue, and we can consider you not to be an infected individual?"
"I haven't killed you, so you can consider it a positive point..."
Robert McKay coughed. In any other circumstances it would have been considered a polite way of disguising his surprise, however he wasn't a man prone to either politeness or being surprised.
"... And it is not exactly the standard proceedure for infected individual to openly advertise their ties with nomad entities. You seem to be an individual who prefers to get to the point, Miss Miller, which is more normally my realm."
He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Hale for a second.
"Admiral, perhaps you could continue for a moment."
Hale looked up from his notes as Robert McKay lapsed into silence, watching Kate carefully.
"As I understand, Mr Secretary, the infection was dealt with by operatives from The Order..."
"However, Ka... Miss Miller, there are a few other questions which are rather important to clear up. First of all, can you provide the required evidence of this nomad-node's non hostile intent? Furthermore, you mentioned three superiour nodes. I assume each would have had their role, individual specialism and so on."
The admiral glanced down at his notes, then back up.
"We understand that the 'mindshare' is not quite operational in the same respect as it previously was, allowing far more individualistic action from nomad entities. This has been evidenced by the behaviour we witnessed in New York space some time ago, in which a number of nomad vessels were found to be engaged in hostilities with one another... While I find it hard to believe the stories concerning less-than-hostile nomads myself, if the 'mindshare' was fractured in some way, I see no reason for it to be completely impossible. Could you provide a little more clear detail on this?"
447 - Alley - 06-06-2012
Kate glanced at David.
"I don't really know more than you about this, nor does Aurora. What we have understood for the moment is that at some point there has been a "bug" in the mindshare that caused all nomad nodes to unlock the individualistic part of their mind, while previously only Harbinger had this priviledge. By node we mean what you would call an individual ship." she said, pausing.
"It makes them much more dangerous, as they gain the ability to learn by themselves, adapt to a situation, retreat, call for help and so on. But on the other hand... it's now possible to communicate with them on an individualistic state. What you say, or do, doesn't reach all of them instantly anymore. The only issue that still stands between us and the individual nomad, is Harbinger. He is the source of their aggressivity, and as long as he'll be alive, the nomad war will never end."
She gazed at McKay for a moment in silence.
"Related to your apparent desire of seeing Aurora as an hostile individual, I can assure you you are wrong. He's extremely powerful, powerful at such a level that he's the only in this universe that is truely capable of opposing Harbinger. We all know what happened years ago, and I'm not implying that the nomad war should be forgotten, but trust me, if Aurora wanted to cause harm, you would quickly notice it. It's time for you all to take the blinders off your eyes and realise that this time we -have- a chance to fight back properly. Not fight back with a clueless extermination plan. This time, we can prepare, and free their people."
Kate knew her words would shock McKay, even if he would hide it.
"Aurora is not connected to any other nomad. From the few shares I had with it, I understood it went to sleep a long time ago before we entered Sirius. You should both understand that even if he isn't hostile, it's still a shock for him to see us all over Sirius. Imagine you went to sleep, and when you wake up you find that the entierity of Sirius is now populated by an unknown alien race, and you don't see any other human around you. That's what happened to him. Think about it, put yourself in his shoes and we'll see how you'll react. In itself, it could have been a total disaster, and thanks god it didn't happen."
She inspired, thinking it would be a good thing to let them think a bit about it and continue with their questions.
"I don't really know more than you about this, nor does Aurora. What we have understood for the moment is that at some point there has been a "bug" in the mindshare that caused all nomad nodes to unlock the individualistic part of their mind, while previously only Harbinger had this priviledge. By node we mean what you would call an individual ship." she said, pausing.
"It makes them much more dangerous, as they gain the ability to learn by themselves, adapt to a situation, retreat, call for help and so on. But on the other hand... it's now possible to communicate with them on an individualistic state. What you say, or do, doesn't reach all of them instantly anymore. The only issue that still stands between us and the individual nomad, is Harbinger. He is the source of their aggressivity, and as long as he'll be alive, the nomad war will never end."
She gazed at McKay for a moment in silence.
"Related to your apparent desire of seeing Aurora as an hostile individual, I can assure you you are wrong. He's extremely powerful, powerful at such a level that he's the only in this universe that is truely capable of opposing Harbinger. We all know what happened years ago, and I'm not implying that the nomad war should be forgotten, but trust me, if Aurora wanted to cause harm, you would quickly notice it. It's time for you all to take the blinders off your eyes and realise that this time we -have- a chance to fight back properly. Not fight back with a clueless extermination plan. This time, we can prepare, and free their people."
Kate knew her words would shock McKay, even if he would hide it.
"Aurora is not connected to any other nomad. From the few shares I had with it, I understood it went to sleep a long time ago before we entered Sirius. You should both understand that even if he isn't hostile, it's still a shock for him to see us all over Sirius. Imagine you went to sleep, and when you wake up you find that the entierity of Sirius is now populated by an unknown alien race, and you don't see any other human around you. That's what happened to him. Think about it, put yourself in his shoes and we'll see how you'll react. In itself, it could have been a total disaster, and thanks god it didn't happen."
She inspired, thinking it would be a good thing to let them think a bit about it and continue with their questions.
447 - Jihadjoe - 06-06-2012
McKay nodded, listening without making eye contact with either Kate or Hale.
"Freeing 'their people' is not something I regard as a priority, Miss Miller, however, if this information allows us to guarantee the freedom of our own, then I suppose there is some worth to be gained from it. With regards to the 'Aurora' node, I will require some documented and irrefutable proof of it's non hostile intentions. Now, as I'm sure you are aware, hostility takes many forms, both overt and covert."
He looked over at the admiral.
"Careful observation is the key, Secretary." Said Hale, responding to the glance. He paused. "I will have a team track it as best as possible, and build a picture of it's behaviour."
"Miss Miller, there are a few more questions, on matters slightly more tangible than nomads." McKay glanced out of the viewing window over to the shipyard frame to which the Normandie was moored. "This ship, the Normandie... We are aware that the Gallics are somewhat less than happy about it's sudden disappearance. However the question remains, why did you take the vessel? What purpose did stealing it serve you, and why have you since delivered it and it's crew into our custody?"
"I think what the secretary of state is attempting to say is... 'Thanks, but why?' We can all assume this isn't totally unrelated to the nomads. However, Gallia's exposure to them is limited at best, or worst depending on your point of view I suppose. The specifics of how it was taken are somewhat less important then the question of why, at the moment at least. Could you provide us with some explanation of this?"
Hale stopped talking and looked over at Kate with a questioning expression.
"Freeing 'their people' is not something I regard as a priority, Miss Miller, however, if this information allows us to guarantee the freedom of our own, then I suppose there is some worth to be gained from it. With regards to the 'Aurora' node, I will require some documented and irrefutable proof of it's non hostile intentions. Now, as I'm sure you are aware, hostility takes many forms, both overt and covert."
He looked over at the admiral.
"Careful observation is the key, Secretary." Said Hale, responding to the glance. He paused. "I will have a team track it as best as possible, and build a picture of it's behaviour."
"Miss Miller, there are a few more questions, on matters slightly more tangible than nomads." McKay glanced out of the viewing window over to the shipyard frame to which the Normandie was moored. "This ship, the Normandie... We are aware that the Gallics are somewhat less than happy about it's sudden disappearance. However the question remains, why did you take the vessel? What purpose did stealing it serve you, and why have you since delivered it and it's crew into our custody?"
"I think what the secretary of state is attempting to say is... 'Thanks, but why?' We can all assume this isn't totally unrelated to the nomads. However, Gallia's exposure to them is limited at best, or worst depending on your point of view I suppose. The specifics of how it was taken are somewhat less important then the question of why, at the moment at least. Could you provide us with some explanation of this?"
Hale stopped talking and looked over at Kate with a questioning expression.
447 - Alley - 06-07-2012
Kate gazed at David, looking at him with that very specific look that he didn't like, as her eyes began to glow purple.
"I don't think a description would be accurate... let's do this instead."
Hale and McKay could suddenly felt weird, as if their eyes were being drawn out of their bodies. Everything seemed to be different, but they could hardly figure out what was wrong. All of a sudden, the furniture that populated the room slowly exploded in a myriad of tiny cubes that disintegrated themselves slowly after. The walls dissapeared in a similar fashion quickly after, leaving only the floor in the middle of space. The infinity of the universe was populated by a new element of long smooth colored lines of billions of particles that seemed to be all around them. They didn't know why, but they were able to understand their content. Some were simple thoughts, the others were the stories of lives, knowledge, communications, pictures... they were able to assemble the pieces without even knowing how they were doing it.
"Welcome to my world. Instead of simply "telling" you how it happened, I figured you'd have a better understanding of what happened if you could live it yourselves. Everything you'll see and has been said here will be printed in your memory when we'll come back to reality. Tell me when you're ready."
"I don't think a description would be accurate... let's do this instead."
Hale and McKay could suddenly felt weird, as if their eyes were being drawn out of their bodies. Everything seemed to be different, but they could hardly figure out what was wrong. All of a sudden, the furniture that populated the room slowly exploded in a myriad of tiny cubes that disintegrated themselves slowly after. The walls dissapeared in a similar fashion quickly after, leaving only the floor in the middle of space. The infinity of the universe was populated by a new element of long smooth colored lines of billions of particles that seemed to be all around them. They didn't know why, but they were able to understand their content. Some were simple thoughts, the others were the stories of lives, knowledge, communications, pictures... they were able to assemble the pieces without even knowing how they were doing it.
"Welcome to my world. Instead of simply "telling" you how it happened, I figured you'd have a better understanding of what happened if you could live it yourselves. Everything you'll see and has been said here will be printed in your memory when we'll come back to reality. Tell me when you're ready."
447 - Jihadjoe - 06-08-2012
Hale sighed. "Here we go again" he thought to himself as quietly as he could manage. The experience wasn't totally new to him. The last few years had proved to be a turbulent ride as far as anything even remotely nomad related went, and Kate's presense was rarely an exception.
"A little warning next time, Kate..." The thought flashed through his mind, before he remebered McKay. The older man's stunned silence was enough to give Hale a fairly good impression of his reaction.
"Hale, this had better be explained, right now."
The admiral's thoughts spiralled for a second, then formed into a clear pattern. "Miss Miller has gained a few skills, Secretary. I find this as discomforting as anyone else would, however, I suspect it would avoid the problems of ambigious wording. Just remember that your own judgement will always remain as just that, your own. Use it... Observe, carefully, and trust your judgement.
Silence... Hale wondered what the reaction was going to be.
"Proceed."
"A little warning next time, Kate..." The thought flashed through his mind, before he remebered McKay. The older man's stunned silence was enough to give Hale a fairly good impression of his reaction.
"Hale, this had better be explained, right now."
The admiral's thoughts spiralled for a second, then formed into a clear pattern. "Miss Miller has gained a few skills, Secretary. I find this as discomforting as anyone else would, however, I suspect it would avoid the problems of ambigious wording. Just remember that your own judgement will always remain as just that, your own. Use it... Observe, carefully, and trust your judgement.
Silence... Hale wondered what the reaction was going to be.
"Proceed."