Dave walked with easy steps towards the command chair, as his attention was slightly focused on datapad. The bridge was busy with the senior officers exchanging various information about whatever tasks they were assigned to perform. His second in command, left the chair and greeted him.
"Welcome back, sir. The Terminus is ready to leave the Citadel's drydock as instructed. We've also calibrated the forward sensor array for our anomaly scan." The relatively slender woman stood firm and in attention as she reported to Dave.
He looked at her for a moment put a small smirk and casually sat down into the chair. Leaned on the side of it and said: "Well done officer.. Veradrix? You're a new transfer right?"
The woman never changed her posture, her minimalistic augmentations across her face was the clear sign that she was an authentic technocrat."Yes, sir. Served on Aergia, as a science officer. Stellar telemetry and radiation manipulations, sir."
"And now you're my first officer, Vera. I'm pretty sure you're enthusiastic about it. You can be at ease and you can call me Dave. Most of them do and they still remember I'm their captain and if the situation is required... a Venator." Kept a light smirk easing the atmosphere around the bridge. The other officers knowing him or getting used to his more libertarian style of command were either smiling, smirking or chuckling.
"I am not fond of fraternization but I can comply to your orders if that's what you want si-... Dave." Vera slightly changed her posture but not as much. She was a professional to the core.
Dave chuckled nodding to her. He then changed his attention ahead at the viewport and gestured Vera to take her seat. "Our anomaly scan will have to wait for a moment. We'll make a stop to the Threadripper Research Station. I received an invite by the owner, Doctor Nana Threadripper, to visit her station. We're supposed to talk about a specific "rock" I know of in Omicron Pi. Set course to the station and open a channel when we're below ten clicks."
The helm officer manipulated a holographic overview of Inverness and plotted a course to the station that was registered on the navigational charts of the Terminus. The undocking sound of the releasing mag-locks from the drydock gave the vessel a small vibration and they were good to go. Dave continued to watch and study the pad he carried with great interest until Veradrix notified him.
"Venator Synk, we're approaching the designated coordinates. The station is in our range.. hailing frequencies open."
Dave immediately shifted his attention again to the viewport as he awaited visual link as well.
"Good day, doctor Nana, Dave Synk speaking. I believe you offered me an invitation yesterday, does it still stand?" Dave kept a light smile awaiting for a response from the station.
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
In a dark isolated chamber, dotted by constellations of flickering lights, a sole projection device swirled light exploding into a holographic display. The reciprocal device would receive a signal in turn, authenticated swiftly; mostly devoid of content. Inside the projected void, a single capsule provided shape for the emitter, its lids parting in half to unearth jets of vapor and a body within. The occupant's eyes were closed, her expression bitter from the interruption. Her legs were the first to recover sensation, a knee shooting up from the R&R chamber, followed by a hand and a drowsy pale face.
Threadripper turned toward Synk's image, taking her time to read the situation, her features easing into a more professional expression. She forced a thin smile and spoke up:
"Greetings, it seems you have caught me at a strange time," she said flickering a series of messages away from a personal data assistant's screen. Nana's brow furrowed at one, giving its disposal derisive attention, before an item on the list received confirmation. She smiled at the holo display with a casual wave, and said "You are authorized to dock. Alas, I will have to delay our meeting 900 seconds past schedule. Please enjoy the care of station staff once you are inside."
The image then cut off, the audio on the other side muted, uplink left up to the Venator to terminate. The station sent the ship's navigator official confirmation over comms, laying out a path of green and red lights outside its hull, indicating the entry corridor. Small fleets of cutters and maintenance pods scattered away like wildlife discovering stalking giant. Long range sensors indicated a nearby automated mining vessel firing forward thrusters in a sudden stop, nearby traffic giving way to the captain's ship in unnatural unison, instantly reacting to the station's whims. Its mooring point wiggled into activity, robotic arms waiting to take his ship into their embrace and grant passage to the inner cloister of the research facility.
Dave took a brief smile and nodded. After the communication was terminated abruptly he took a moment to chuckle and say to himself. "Strange time? What a curious person." As he observed the docking corridor lights, he continued to address to the helms officer.
"Proceed to the designated docking port. Take it steady. Interact with the station's autonomous mooring mechanisms. I doubt the good doctor's station would swirl our vessel around." He gave a short and slightly amused smirk before he headed to the docking port on Terminus' side. "Vera, you got the bridge."
He walked and waited for the vessel to dock with the station. The autonomous arms and synced in perfect motion with the vessel's steady arrival. It danced easily in the void of space until the magnetic locks were heard coupling. The connection corridor on the ports was emplaced and Dave proceeded through.
He arrived inside the station peering around, finding someone to talk to or a place to head over to.
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
The coupling between station and ship was a small tube, dark and thin, the guiding lights all too small and dim, for more wasn't needed. The station's gravity seemed to be kept weaker than usual, the pocket of weightlessness between the inertial dampening field of the ship and Threadripper feeling unnaturally big. Once the tight space gave way to a wider cavity in the station, the guest entering would hit an invisible tractor net, stabilizing his ascent and slowly turning him along three axis to be delivered onto solid ground. Or in this case a thick metallic mesh of rhomboid patterns, followed by a platform of unnaturally regular panels. The reason for it was hardly obscure, ball-shaped drones floating around the low gravity space, generating a small breeze with their activity. Colored black and purple, the small machines were everywhere and all too busy in a constant repair and maintenance loop. Besides the small buzzing fleet, a welcoming party was nowhere to be found.
That swiftly changed with the hiss of decompression to the left of the Venator, a large gate lighting up and parting itself in four slices, each rotating out of the way. Bright light coated the mooring bay in a ray from therein, the contents obscured by cumulus clouds of haze and a dark silhouette at their center. The machine was all but naked, its robotic limbs uncovered, the servos whirling with every motion. It had a roughly humanoid shape, its head having the largest resemblance of such, shaped like a clear pilot's helmet, a black screen with a "face" of sorts projected on the visor. Its chin blinked with blue lights, denoting the processor inside working. It synthesized a welcome:
|:: proxy(c93a12).venv.parse("Welcome to the station, Venator David Synk. Threadripper requests you state any life support peculiarities before entering through this gate. You will be barred entry beyond the lobby before meeting Dr Nana Threadripper, upon which she will take over escort. The station nexus is sorry for the inconvenience.") ::|
Upon which the helmet projected a smiling face, the lights under it turning green. The robot remained on standby at the side of the corridor, waiting for the man to continue onward. The lobby itself wasn't too far off, part of its dome shaped interior now visible with the dissipation of the mist. A dark brown lounge with a crystalline table waited under pale yellow lights lined up in a circle above the edge of the area. There seemed to be something glittering to the side, still not visible. Another sound of decompression further urged the situation, echoing from somewhere inside the lobby, footsteps clicking over that and the background hum of the station power grid. The lady owning them groaned and stretched, unaware she was within audible range.
Dave carefully observed the process of him being carried away by the tractor field to the next part of the station where he was met by the machine. He took a bold stern look as his curiosity and scientific mind was probably intrigued by the technology he observed. Perhaps it reminded him of something? As he landed on the new metallic mesh, he looked at the patterns. For a moment his ocular implants blinked a light purple as they got activated. Probably a scan mode of sorts. He took in the shapes, the whirling sounds, the orbiting spherical drones that worked tirelessly around the room.
The gate opening, made him glance with intrigue observing the developments ahead and whom or what might've come to greet him. He had no change in expression, he kept quiet. Upon being asked he simply replied to no, before offering a light smile. His ocular implants being fully active as before as in all this time he scanned and possibly obtained telemetry date from his surroundings.
Dave proceeded forward towards the lounge as he noticed the crystalline table. Took a light a smirk this time, probably remembering the doctor's affinity towards asteroids and minerals. He appreciated the fact that she expressed her passion and life work even into the more relaxed environments. He did not clicked when he heard the decompression, he just analyzed the table and upon hear the footsteps approach, it was clear the one approaching was Nana.
"Why do I have the feeling, that even this table here has quite a story of how you got the mineral that's made of?" His voice echoed around the lounge. Immediately he shifted his glance towards the source of the footsteps, greeting her with a lightly amused smirk.
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
The heels stopped in place, a puzzled expression on an oversized head cocked to the side. Her mane of ruffled raven black hair floated out in various directions, serene pale blue eyes on an ever paler face completing the portrait of dazed confusion. Saying she was lithe and gaunt would have been an understatement, her body shape reminiscent of a black bird as much as human. Her limbs and torso were elongated, accordingly. With a wave of her spindly fingers coated in black synthetic fabric, she gestured toward the table, securing the man within her vision, her voice ringing out in explanation:
"Looks like a simple quartz, doesn't it? It's sturdier than most crystals in my collection, hence why I left only part of it cut and polished," her eyes shined joyously, her vision somewhere else for the time being, adding "I found it close to a block of black ice, inside the remnants of a gas giant," her eyes turned toward the table lovingly, she took a couple of seconds to regain her bearings and beckon the Venator, "I was supposed to call you Dave, I recall? Would you prefer to examine the table closer, or would you prefer to see the rest of the exhibit, first?" One of the spherical drones quickly swerved by, opening its top compartment as a lid, champagne flutes with some sort of sparkling purple fluid poured in, powdered ice unleashing tongues of mist up from its surface. There was a small black metallic ball of nourishment cubes to it side, the wrapper containing a "Threadripper R&D" logo on them. If Synk used his implants to zoom in, he would have noticed they were color coded and contained labels for different flavors such as "sweet and sour," "spicy and refreshing," and something called "umami" with a strange couple of characters next to it. Among others. The drone brought its platter within arm's reach of the man, Nana's thin fingers clawing around one of the glasses on the way, snatching it with a swift motion. She played with the side of the glass, waiting for Synk's reaction.
As she appeared he noticed her features. Observing the rather different physical constitution of the woman, perhaps a side effect to lower gravity environments, his eyes when glancing towards her were fixated on her own pale blue ones and glancing over her black hair from time to time. He also shifted his attention at the table as she briefly said a few things about it and upon addressed, he answered:
"Of course, Nana. If I may call you on your name?" He kept the light smirk. Despite having a stern and intrigued glance as he'd peek around observing new things, he'd carry a warmth when looking towards her. As he answered he took the glass as well and chose the "sweet and sour" little cube. He ate it and his smirk turned wider as he was pleased with the taste. He then continued with his lighthearted replies.
"You could tell me more about it as we head towards the exhibition. Was the only thing I thought the last couple of days, pondering what I might see aboard your station." He had a joking tone, perhaps setting the mood in the air around, that despite him being a Venator in rank, it wasn't about that now.
"Also.. what are these little things made off? They're pretty good. Seen you got a logo on them.. don't tell me that aside from studying fascinating inorganic materials, you're selling snacks." Again, the same joking tone followed by a chuckle.
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
Her shoulders slump with an apologetic smile. She straightens her posture, and responds: "Nana is fine, yes. We experimented with miniaturizing food rations. As you know, deep space exploration can take a long time, and finding a station every two weeks has been a chore. The result may surprise you, they are great snacks alongside a drink," she smiles wryly, her eyes darting toward Synk's glass and back. She then waves an open hand toward the ceiling, a portal opening toward open space and another facility above this one. With a softer voice, she says:
"Our hydroponics up there are mostly herbal. Once a more natural taste of herb and spice is extracted, a lot of the compost goes into the condensed organics ready to release nourishment without searing taste receptors. It was mostly my assistant's idea," she says excusing herself, and adds "My specialty only contributed to the size reduction. I'm a specialist in hypercondensed matter, after all. Let us be on our way, then."
The doctor turns slowly toward the next quad gate opening. Within was an even larger space, separated in three different modules with a central pillar of Valravn design. An obvious mass power conduit with the classic mix of Libertonian and Bretonian influences in the containment scaffolding, something out of the ordinary was yet present in the honeycomb grid of translucent crystal covering the tube. The lavender light within was still usual for the facility, considering its origin, but cast curious rainbow like rays toward the other chambers, where arched metallic compartments housed brightly lit columns with differently shaped items on them. They were all rocks of course, though many had odd, almost artificial or robotic shapes to them.
She seemed to have a preference for crystals that seemed more unnatural, threatening, even. One jagged piece of rock nearby completely absorbed light, vantablack in its makeup, curved and sharp in its shape. Another seemed closer to a scale mail of square lattices, growing one over the other, a naturally occurring circuit board, melting in a strange direction, showing signs of erosion that shouldn't be. Nana blinked once as she surveyed the scene, letting it sink in for Synk, more attentive to anything he might have said, than the strange rocks. The tips of her heels yet pointed toward her passion within those chambers. She seemed rather torn what direction to go in, and steadied herself with a sip of her steaming drink.
Dave observed carefully everything she showed him, or what she told him. He kept a constant light smirk that was really forming into an eventual smile. Despite being friendly, it was obvious he was carefully observing everything and perhaps even Nana herself. What she described, how she acted towards what she showed him. He mostly nodded and attentively watched being guided by Nana to the next part of the station. He truly liked the designs and the technology he seen so far. When they reached the room where the collection of rocks were present, his expression changed to a genuine curiosity and wonder.
He seen several peculiar looking rocks that look artificial in their formation. Or at least the thought so. They looked peculiar and unnatural indeed. He then said:
"I did not expect to see such things really. To my shame I have to admit that I thought you would've shown me a collection of colorful crystals." He made a brief pause chuckling and side eyeing her to see a reaction from her, before continuing."What sorts of.. minerals are these.. if they are even such? Remnants of old technology? If these have been obtained from the outer edge of Sirius, I do expect the concentration of these "artifacts" to be more common... but what are they?"
He lightly swirled the glass as he took another sip. One hand going into a pocket keeping a relaxed and also curious posture as he glanced towards her as he did so far.
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
A flash of red colored her face upon the question. She looked away and paused, saying: "I'm afraid to say... I'm not too sure. I can tell you a lot more about their composition than the nature of their origin. Your guess was correct, however. They are indeed from the edge worlds and beyond. Am I right to assume you are vaguely aware of their properties? The black one served as the basis of a new alloy used for an upcoming ship design. Its absorbent properties proved rather straightforward, failing to reflect many forms of scanner radiation, among other things. That..." She stumbled in front of the circuit mail, looking at it as if to interrogate the stone for any secrets, finally saying "was recovered near Knossos and has shown no indication of its origin. All I know is the pattern was formed unassisted, and that its layering is reminiscent of fossilized organics, but the structure has nothing in common with such. It cannot be dated to any era hosting Gammu presence in the sector, either."
Nana turned her body toward Dave next, a smile at the corner of her mouth. She raised her arms in welcome, and asked: "Would you like to explore these wonders with me? The cyborgs downstairs try their best, but aren't sufficiently advanced."
