Posts: 6,098
Threads: 467
Joined: Nov 2014
Staff roles: Art Developer
It was a relatively quiet day in the shady nebula of Coronado, apart from the usual traffic of Freelancers and smugglers. Deeper within the cloud lay the hidden location of the Battlegroup Auxesia’s flagship, the Eidolon Wraith. The vessel was teeming with personnel preparing for its departure from the safety of the Barrier Nebula’s depths, bound for the more public zone of Barrier Gate Station in order to meet up with the Hellfire Legion as the two groups planned over the Neural Net several nights ago.
“Engines?” - “Check. “ -“Radar systems?” - “Check.” -“Reroute the power from the weapon grid to the shielding system. “ - “Roger that. “ - “Perfect.”
The communications aboard the warship were lively as the engines roared to life. “Reactor room is nominal, energy levels look stable. We’ll be able to fly.“ said a voice over the engineering radio link to inform the Keeper, the commanding officer of the vessel’s bridge. From an elevated position in the center of the bridge, the Keeper was able to monitor a variety of subsystems that ranged from the onboard security systems to the intricate networks of life support and fire control. A tool this powerful was kept restricted by a gamut of voiceprint, fingerprint, and other identification checks in order to prevent abuse from untrustworthy parties.
The current Keeper, Sapphire Raven, stood up from her chair, observing the few guards standing at attention by the bridge’s sole entrance. “Stone, can you go round up some pilots and assign them to escort duty? At bare minimum, we need four escorts on active flight. Go make sure we have the two security teams at the ready,“ Raven called out to Christopher Stone, one of her subordinates. Chris turned his head to the side, acknowledging the request.
“Right-oh. ‘Kenzie, Johnson, on my right n’ left. Davis, you just follow around like you know what you’re doing. A few corridors from now you suckers will go your different ways to scavenge for even more suckers. I’ll tell you who gets who in a ‘sec. You others stay here and make sure that nothin’ explodes, just like a taught you,” he barked at the soldiers, and with a nod towards Sapphire, he and three other guards left the bridge.
Chris looked at the soldiers following him not long after leaving the bridge, turning to the first and saying“McKenzie, go grab Repetti. I’ve no idea who the hell she is and I wanna see what she’s made of.” He turned to Johnson, continuing his list of orders, “You find the weirdo with the donuts. As much as he creeps me the hell out, he’s a good shot. On you go.” At a crossroads between two corridors, he turned towards Davis, speaking,“You’ll look around for the Mione lady, same case as Repetti. I need to start payin’ more attention.” At last he looked at all three, and addressed them as a whole, “Radio back to me once you’ve found them, and I’ll tell the boss. I’ll go around lookin’ for Hale once I pick up somethin’ from my office. Tell ‘em all to go outside.”
On the way to his office, he radioed Raven, “Repetti, Hale, Mione and Dee-Dee will become the Eido’s escorts shortly. I’m pickin’ up the gift you gave in case things go sideways and I’ll go out myself, unless you need me inside.” Back on the bridge, the Keeper smirked, “Good to hear. I’ll need you to stay onboard to ensure the security team follows the protocol we set out. “
As the Eidolon prepared to launch its fighter escorts to ensure its security in the journey to come, the sleek warship commenced its fated voyage to the neutral ground near Barrier Gate Station. The control tower for the vessel crackled over the comms, “This is Eidolon Control; Guardian Wing Alpha-Two, you’re clear to take off. “ One by one, a motley assortment of fighters ejected from the launch tubes of the Battlegroup’s flagship, forming an aluminum cloud to safeguard the path of the Eidolon Wraith. The flotilla arrived at Barrier Gate Station within a short period of time, where Hellfire Legion forces awaited them. Under the command of their Lord Commander, Samuel Locklear, they awaited the coming voyage with a certain impetuous eagerness.
“Ah - Good evening Lord Commander. “ Raven announced, intending to greet Locklear properly.
“Good evening Raven. Are you ready?“ responded Locklear.
“I’d ask the same, but we know the answer to that. And apologies for the delay, we had a little clearing up to do but anyway, let’s get this show on the road. “
“It’s fine. Legionnaires, move out. Wing two, take point and make a clearing ahead. We’ll stick with the Eidolon. “
The two forces, now joined together by a common mission, filled the space around Barrier Gate Station in one massive formation. Centered around the Eidolon Wraith, the combined Hellfire-Auxesia fleet moved towards the Cortez jumphole. Despite the boastful and confident flying of the ships, Raven felt less sure of an easy outcome.
“Let’s just hope that the way is clear. “she muttered, giving a brief pause between her words, “Oh who am I kidding, of course it won’t be clear.. “
Posts: 6,098
Threads: 467
Joined: Nov 2014
Staff roles: Art Developer
Traversing through Cortez with the group, they pass by Planet Curacao. To their surprise, the area lacked life, which was quite unusual for the spatial inter-highway that connected between Bretonia and Liberty. Making progress towards the Magellan Jump Hole with the escort vessels swarming around the Eidolon, the swarm accompanied by a Legionnaire Battlecruiser and Gunship.
Finally entering Magellan, they glide out of the frosty clouds of the Barrier, revealing their group to the open void. Raven begins to feel awfully suspicious about the silence in the region, ultimately feeling paranoid of relative safety, she goes to ramble on,
“Something isn’t right… Where are the Gallics? The Liberty border patrols? The Lane Hackers? Rogues? Hell, even the shipping Corporations? Is something happening? Or is this a stroke of luck? But we all know how luck just doesn’t exists...”
At last, the group nears the Kansas Jump hole, they spot an Outcast warship in the distance, struggling to barge through the asteroid field to scuttle away into the Jump Hole, coincidentally showing up upon the end of her sentence.
“Looks like I spoke too soon. “ She muttered to herself.
Locklear flares up, issuing out commands hastily, “Legionnaires, break formation and power up your weapons. Intercept and destroy that Battleship. “
Keeper Raven turns to her crew, and then back at the visuals, quickly evaluating the situation for a hasty decision, “Charge up the weapon systems, do not compensate for low energy input, re-route the power to the heavy artillery systems, and engage the hostile capital. Control the shots to three every twenty-five seconds. “
Sternly looking back towards the warship, “Let’s do it. “
Posts: 6,098
Threads: 467
Joined: Nov 2014
Staff roles: Art Developer
“Ma’am, multiple Maltese war vessels detected within the vicinity. “
The Keeper’s attention flares up, “Oh? Well - that wasn’t expected at all… “ she would sarcastically note about the guests in the area. Suddenly smacking down on the table, she would flick on the comm’s radio link to the escorts, issuing out a stern command,
“Kill them all. Show no mercy. Hale - stick with the Wraith. “
Releasing the pressure of the button from her fingers, she backs off from the link and begins to order the crew around,
“Let’s finish off this Ranseur, and then we’ll make goose.
Full power to the weapons! Target the main segment. Give it all we have. Annihilate it. “ The Keeper commands in a forceful tone.
“Roger that!”
The room is filled with an aura of excitement, bloodthirst, fear and hope throughout the bridge of the crew who’m are trying to work their best on forcing their way through the hostile vessel.
Out of the blue, a hologram would slide out of a spotlight-like object from the corner of the room, sliding out like a wiggling noodle, it appearing almost suddenly after the ship managed to disperse some shots into the hull of the Ranseur, the construct would seemingly materialize into a small humanoid shape, floating in front of Raven, appearing to fold it’s fuzzy pixelated arms together.
“You must cease.“ It strongly demands.
“What? Why?”
“The amount of energy that is being dispensed is too great. You are being too much of what Humans say, ‘too bloodthirsty’. The buffer system will be damaged from the output of the generator! It’ll overload the entire system. The chance to leave without repercussion is now.”
“Wait - now you’re telling me the generator is on it’s way out too?”
“Essentially so. It is imperative that we move, there are more hostile entities on the way, we’re going to get trapped. We calculated a safe route for our escape. We apologise but you must leave your friends and allies behind. “
“...You’re right, sometimes sacrifices are made for the better. We can’t risk to lose everything we’ve ever worked for. Coordinator! Set a waypoint at the following location… “ Having a moment to herself, she thinks about the route and looks around the scenario of the fight. “Ehrm. “
“We control.“
The figure zips over towards the console, almost like if they were being absorbed into it. The crew back off from their consoles, as they were locked out from it. The ship automatically assigns coordinates, disabling the weapon and various other systems, and re-routes the power to cruise.
Posts: 6,098
Threads: 467
Joined: Nov 2014
Staff roles: Art Developer
Finally reaching Vespucci Jump Hole after a lengthy flight, they idle there and power down all their systems except for communications, life support and radars. Awaiting for the others to rendezvous, they wait quite a lengthy time for the others to arrive.
Ten minutes later, Locklear’s vessel along with his wing returned to their location, some vessels missing prior to the fight. It’s noticeable that his ship is on flames.
“Are you okay? You’re kind of… on fire. ”
He shrugs, “Worry about yourself, you’re in the Commonwealth’s debt now, you know? We lost some good people out there. “
“I know. ”
They proceed to Vespucci, jumping through and then immediately begin to cruise towards Fort Leniex, the group is escorted by the remaining Hellfire wing, and an Arbiter that was waiting for them on the other side.
Entering the orange nebula, a figure in seen in the distance, they approach it, getting closer and closer, until…
“Woah. “
“Welcome to Leniex. “
“I was expecting big, but not this big… “
Fighters appear out of the cloud, swarming around the Eidolon, “This is Patrol Gamma Three to Eidolon Wraith, proceed to Bay Two. “
Muttering silently off the comms, “So much for a warm welcome… “ She immediately proceeds to order out over the radio, “Get the weapon cache ready for transfer, we’re getting ready to moor. “ flicking the radio off, “Alright, Initiate mooring sequence. Steady now. “
Proceeding into the mooring bay, the vessel comes to a halt, the engines powered down, and the nearby connectors latches on to the two main mooing points at the side of the vessel.
“Right, open the entrance bays, and disable the security systems. “
“Acknowledged. “ The crew on the bridge tap away into their consoles, doing as they were instructed.
“Time to go greet our new friends. “
The nanomolecular figure unbinds itself from the console, briefly watching Raven leave the bridge, it takes note of where she’s going before it goes back into the entry point that it originally came in, only to come out again when she goes to the entry point of the Eidolon, suspiciously watching over boarding party and the Keeper’s group.
She goes ahead to greet the armed party, “Welcome aboard. We’ve stashed all of our weapons in that cache which is being held over there on my right, and all defensive systems are disabled. Even the infection scan process was disabled. “
The commander of the boarding party announces, “We’re going to conduct a thorough search of the ship. “
“Very well, I shall guide you around. I’ll upload a schematic to your data pads to help you navigate through the vessel. “
She turns around and begins to walk, suddenly stopping. “Oh. And don’t mind the drones, they’re just… maintenance drones. Follow me, we’ll proceed to the first zones, cyan and blue. “
The little observer that drifted near the ceiling at the corner of the room, out of direct view, slides away back into its initial deploy point, the AI carefully trailing the search party through its network system and through holo constructions, as they check the Eidolon.
Reaching the last red zone at the very center of the ship, they reach a unique hallway, the structure of the hallway is very dark, the walls and floors are a very dark obsidian, with blue glow maps veining through the walls, all of them pointing to the end of the corridor, where a thick door with crystal blue lights is sealed shut.
“Aaand our last stop. This is the… Uh… What’s the word? The Engine reactor’s disposal chamber. However, it’s highly irradiated right now, and the internal damage is too great. It’ll leak everywhere if we attempt to enter. So… Yeah. That concludes our tour.“
“Very well... We will have a intensive scene performed on that section of the ship from Leniex instead. “
She observes them as they leave the corridor, headed towards the stairs, returning to their station. As soon as they leave the general vicinity, she lets out a giant sigh.
The little cloud of nanomolecules form a small figurine beside her.
“We can block and facade their scan. Your equipment remains hidden, and they believe your deceit. You should return to the entrance and finish off the meeting. “
“I know I should. I just - jeesh, I almost spilled it. I was a giant nerve wreck, I didn’t want to ruin it. “
“All is well. Return. “
The little figure fades out, she sighs again and runs off to catch up with the others at the entrance.
Posts: 6,098
Threads: 467
Joined: Nov 2014
Staff roles: Art Developer
Survey teams are scattered all around the Eidolon, these teams are seen collaborating with the Engineers of the Eidolon, exchanging damage reports and information of the vessel. From ‘toe’ to top, the teams pretty much covered the entire vessel. One of the last team radios in to the Head of Engineering, Zelroth Woods, giving a brief report on their findings.
“This is Team Zeta, we’ve discovered a radioactive patch in the lower decks of Engineering, the damage seems to have originated from a pipeline that has decayed and is leaking plasma slowly. We’re working to stop the leakage and are pinpointing where the shielding failed. Over. “
“Roger that, and check the environmental shielding while you’re at it too. “
“Will do sir. “
“Well, that’s the last of the reports from our end. “ The man would mutter to the Legionnaire chief in his office.
“So… Here’s what we’ve gathered. Your main areas of damage include your engine reactors, the external hull and it’s specialised material, the energy grid, the insulation and the capacitors. Although, in the reactor’s chamber, we extracted some kind of a depleted cell?”
“Ah, yes. That was a, well, experimental cell to charge the Antimatter Engine. We had an experimental upgrade that was implemented months ago. We had assistance from a group named the Canaan. The engine reactor was adapted to use modified Nomadic power cells infused with nanoids that manipulated the molecules and energy pattern of it. It powers the main engine of the vessel and the cloaking device. ”
“Say what? A -... Uhm. Okay. I’ll give you the list of items needed for the repair from our gathered analysis. However. Before we proceed, I will have to go consult Legion command before continuing. “ The man clicks on his radio, “Alright, all teams, report back to Leniex. “
Raven stands in the chambers of the Phalanx, where the High Command of Auxesia usually resides to have their talks. She stands in the center of the room, observing the screen that is placed up high on the walls of the giant entry point of the chambers. It shows the Engineering Head’s office, and the two conversing. The floating nano entity hovers on her right side and another unit, which appeared to be more of a physical form, a husk in a humanoid form, bearing some robes, both of them observing the screen along with her, as she holds her arms behind her back.
“This is concerning. “
The floating figure speaks out in a clear manner, being slightly robotic and more of a casual person, “They will understand. “
”Cease fear. Ensure the “Legion” entities are not induced with the emotion your kin knows as ‘fear’ “ The bulky cyborg would speak out in a more heavily deeper robot tone.
”They speak the truth, they will learn to accept our friendship, they are desperate in these times.
“We agree. New imperative. Apply an upgrade to the Reactor Core. Azurite material.
Raven turns her head towards the unit, “Azurite? But - we don’t even kno-” ”Us has analysed, you /can/ adapt. We /will/ adapt. Component necessary.
”They are right. Azurite has proven to be a worthy element, and will prove to assist the next Cell insertion. Infact, the chamber and its supply grid does require a renewal as we’ve equated an error in the previous calculations. It would be wise to take this opportunity to evolve ourselves. “
”I suppose you’re right. Where do I start?”
”Us will provide /you/ a resource list. It is of utmost importance that you obtain four active Nomadic Power Cells.”
“Four…? Four?! FOUR?! ACTIVE?!” She would briefly flail her arms out in expression.
“Yes - Four. /They/ and we know that /you/ are more than capable of achieving that. You must also convince the Legionnaires that /we/ must also upgrade. We cannot keep wasting resources and our energy to constantly generate and code nanites.”
She sighs out, dropping her head down and her her arms to her side, ”Anything else…?”
The floating entity would briefly speak, ”Yes. “
”What is it now ERI?”
Raven would look up at it, and it would slide out to the side, revealing the monitor with a transmission. ”You have a new message. “
”Wonderful… Display the message. “
The transmission would begin to play, showing that it’s from the Lord Commander.
“Miss Raven,
Concerning the repairs of the Eidolon Wraith, we had to cease the operation as concerns were raised during the initial damage report process. As such, I have a few questions to ask you.
First of all.. what exactly were you thinking bringing an alien power cell into my system?
Secondly... what the hell is it *for*?" The recording stops, the screen turning back to its default mode.
”Oooooh - he’s not happy. “
”I know, I get it. I have this handled.” She walks over to a console, initiating a response.
”Start recording… Lord Commander Locklear, allow me to explain. We did not simply *bring* the cell in, it was part of the power supply. It generated generous amounts of energy for the vessel to operate off. We’ve had it since our time in the Core - hell - the time where you found us in Kansas, that’s when we had a secondary upgrade to the engine propulsion system and generally to the entire vessel. I can assure you that all is well. It just needs another replacement, which is a job for us to do. “
She takes a slight pause, ”Additionally, I’d like to inquire on something. We... also wish to take the opportunity to reinforce the reactor with another substance - replacing parts to further upgrade the vessel perhaps. Of course, we can handle issues such as resources and cost covering. We can hire commercial vessels to haul.
Flicking her fingers to remotely terminate the transmission with motion commands.
”An adequate response. Let’s see what he thinks of it. “
The terminal would almost instantly receive a reply.
”I… see. Under normal circumstances I would have your ship expelled from Vespucci at once. I trust you however, and I know that these circumstances are as far from normal as it gets. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re referring to what we know as Azurite when you say ‘another substance’. This is something that Legion R&D has been waiting for an opportunity to experiment with, but for obvious reason we can’t risk losing a ship to it. If you’re willing to take that risk then go ahead, but we expect to receive any and all noteworthy reports on how your experimental reactor performs in the field.
On a more… normal note, our engineering teams have finally put together a detailed shopping list. Some of the components for the Eidolon we can supply ourselves, such as Hull Panels and Energy Field Equipment. The rest is as follows;
I suggest we outsource to a third party to retrieve these items. I had the IMG in mind myself.. with your permission I could arrange for the shipments as soon as possible, I know you’ve been overworked lately.
A brief pause as the transmission ends, ‘ERI’ would stare at her, ”Very… adequate. Does /he/ have /the/ thing for you?”
”Uh - No, he doesn’t and it doesn’t matter.”
”Aha. If you really say so. A small tip, it shall prove to be handy in the future... “
”What? No. I’ll never do such a thing. “
”If you insist. “ It would say in a little charming tone. “You should go work on those materials.“
Raising her brow at them, ”Yeah… Right. Back to work then... “
Raven walks out of the chambers, sighing and processing what materials she has to handle, organising what to obtain first, quickly noting it out on her wrist mounted device. The two drones would ominously hawk her leaving the chambers.
Posts: 6,098
Threads: 467
Joined: Nov 2014
Staff roles: Art Developer
21/2/823 A.S
She returns to the chambers, the lights in the room are far dimmer than before, it’s been weeks since the last visit, ”So, it’s been a very long while since I last came here with the Power Cells, and the external units have done their part. Now. Do elaborate on this prototype.”
”As you have previously learned about Azurite from the Sirens Bell entity, it’s useful function is to absorb energy at an efficient rate. /We/ already ordered your teams to work on the experimental ION-engines. This is the data. “
A holo display would appear above the meeting desk in the center of the room, blue lights filling up the halls of the chambers. One of the consoles at the end of the desk would show information on screen. Raven walks over in curiosity, raising a brow, investigating it.
”/We/ have calculated an even more optimised propulsion than the one we proposed a month ago, which this version has proved successful during some running tests with the /Legionnaires/ in the past few weeks. Your workers have already completed the majority of the construction, and are finalizing their work.”
Quote:
WARNING. ACCESS IS PROHIBITED. CLEARANCE LEVELS: Zeta
PROJECT: “LIGHTRIDER” PROPULSION SYSTEM - AXI-A-577 MODIFIED IONSTREAM-MK2 PROTOTYPE
SHOWING DATA. . .
The main process of the project occurs within Sector E-B. Displaying information.
Spare Power Cells are being contained within the Vault as a backup measure.
-Tests reveal that the emission rate is optimised by 245%
-The Cell Chamber is charged up through a focused beam, and an injector infuses the cell with nanoids - manipulating the energy patterns.
-Energy production is up by 350% - enough to power the entirety of the vessel.
-During the initial test runs, there were two incidents that involved energy failures - these were overcome by applying an enhanced energy suppression field, overcharging it, and adding an additional two layers around the Core.
She folds her arms and comments, ”I guess that explains why we had to order a massive amount of superconductors.”
The hovering object loiters around the room, ”Affirmed. The Lord Commander left a message for you, /he/ wishes to inform you that as soon as the finishing repairs are complete - that we are /free/ to leave, the /Legionnaires/ will transfer the weapon caches back. “
”That’s great to hear. So… Did Engineering give an ETA of completion?”
”Potentially a week or less. I will summon you back here when it is complete. As you have noticed, we’re running on limited auxiliary power. “
She closes the report file and steps away from the console. ”Awesome. I don’t suppose I missed any details out?“
”Negatory. Avoid Section C, B, Zeta levels. They are still securing the energy system. Farewell.“
The unit idles, watching Raven closely, as she steps away, going towards the exit. ”I shall return to my duties on the front then. Reach for me on my personal communicator if something goes wrong. Goodbye ERI. “ Turning away from the chambers, she walks out in silence.
Powering down, the unit goes to hibernate, on low power, awaiting until a particular signal from Engineering is sent.