To: Admiral Knight, Leader of the Separatists. From: Vulkan, der Alster Union. Subject: A hole in time.
I am Vulkan - the shipwright responsible for the maintenance and modernisation of your vessels. I forge VonHimmel’s vision from structural plate and ingenuity.
As they have been suspected for a number of months, the Cult of Technology has mastered the art of spontaneous jump tunnelling - the creation of specific, targeted jump holes in imitative of nature. Our jump gates are venerable, but crude - we must depend upon the construction of a target portal at both ends of the connection to expand, infinitely slowing us. Agiera monopolise the technical specifics, forcing all to economic slavery, intellectual dependency. They are a cancer.
The Cult’s creations can be turned to serve a more righteous will. I respect those who fittingly see engineering rigour as a means to arrive closer to God, but they will not keep secrets from us. Their technical acumen will be adapted to service ours, and much improved upon, for such is the destiny heaven has chosen for us.
I give you, the first prototype of our spatial tunnelling device:
By mirroring the mechanical interlocks of the Cult’s own devices, we believe we have discovered the secrets of their function. The system is an event-horizon creation based system using exotic matter to hold open a space time curve within the quantum Q field attuned to subspace resonances. By creating a negative energy density state within a local field of spacetime, the device recreates naturally occurring resonances between the cosmic strings that create conventional jump holes. The science is known, if rarely employed. Exotic matter manufacture escapes us.
By scavenging what stockpiles of exotic matter we have salvaged from the remains of the Bering gate, in conjunction with the N-Mass projectors inherent within the remains of the Cult’s cashes, we believe we can have the device ready for activation in less than twenty-hours. The device is strategically critical - it would permit us to succeed in our objective to undermine uncompetitive monopolies - of which Agiera is the worst offender - universalising the means of inter-system travel. Pragmatically, it would provide us the means to better resist the Hesse, to ignore their lines of control utterly, and thus destroy them. For you, it means a gateway into the nucleuses of Liberty, the means to bypass any fleet. However, our own stockpiles are not enough to test the prototype, nor do we have a projectile large enough for delivery. I request that we pool our shared minds into the effort, and combine our inventories of Cultist acquisitions. A suitable delivery device would be one of your Libertonian battleship missiles - the warhead is fittingly scaled.
Arbeiter Zelinsky will contact us when the spatial warhead is ready for trial. We expect mission trial in less than 24 hours.
I remain your servant, Admiral.
Regards,
Vulkan.
First contact representative and Diplomat-in-Chief of der Alster Union, Pacifica Base, Bering.
Transmission Ended
THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
(A co-operative of Rheinland's Shipping Unions, retired from a life of piracy.)
I am more than pleased that our expeditions into these systems were not in vain. My own ships retrieved a good amount of this new technology. If you say we can use them to create our own jump holes I will gladly pool my resources with the Unioners.
We deemed a jump hole to the Ontario system as most beneficial. If your engineers would be capable for using these generators in a manner to open a route to there that would give us a tactical advantage the Navy can only dream of.
I'll have the Philadelphia inbound with what we salvaged. ETA to Pacifica, 2 hours.
To: Admiral Knight, Leader of the Separatists. From: Vulkan, der Alster Union. Subject: A hole in time.
Aaah. A direct route to the Lane Hackers that avoids the Core Worlds and the Gallic contested systems. Shrewd. It would assist us in our artefacts and munitions trades.
Steering the endpoint of the hole requires data mapping that we do not have - it is difficult to act on charts of that which cannot be charted by modern science - there is no precise method to locate the exact position of quantum strings - steering the device will be the work of new science.
We believe the Maltese have used a similar device in the Sigma Nineteen system - one of the first recorded instances of spontaneous jump development. The technology is still relatively young, and all evidence infers its secrets have not thoroughly spread through Maltese society yet.
We have the Philadelphia in a state of rendezvous now. Pacifica’s wings were able to provide optimal guidance. Strange what likeminded people of iron can build, when we weigh our hearts together. Remain true, Harmony. The Unioners has pitched itself to a similar group before, for we once aided the Hellfire legion, before they turned on us. Act as true comrades to us, and we will go to our deaths for you. That is the true brotherhood of the Unioners, for all our rough exteriors.
Our only bottleneck is fabrication - leave that to me. I will ensure the device is fit for testing as soon as the Battlegroup and the Chort’s Forge Cell can be taken to tactical readiness. If the device does create a spatial connection between Bering and Hudson, you will only have a limited number of hours before the device's antimatter reserves drain. Lamentably, our power sources are yet bound by the laws of physics, and we do not possess Dyson Spheres, not matter how great our acumen.
The Philadelphia is a ferocious ship, Admiral. Exceptionally well-made - she impresses us.
That is, for a Libertonian.
Regards,
Vulkan.
First contact representative and Diplomat-in-Chief of der Alster Union, Pacifica Base, Bering.
your flattery about our ships is charming. I am certain the ship will do perfectly for this operation. I remember reading about the situation with the Sigma 19 Jump. Though I guess the Outcasts did not plan it would open up in Colorado.
If they managed to build such a device though they truly are a bigger danger than we anticipated. But that shall not be of concern right now. If we managed this route and keep it secure it'd give us a massive advantage in Liberty.
Even if this is only for a short term our groups should be able to gather data quickly. I suggest informing the Lane Hackers as soon as possible to see if there is a way of recreating this device of use it to manipulate any for of Jump Hole or maybe even the gates.
My ships are ready to start the test and use this device.
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