Im sick of these attacks, da** it! Doctor Kerrigan said in a brief with a representative of Cambridge. There has been too much death and destruction, both me and my crew are being worn steadily, we have to do something about it.
Ive already said, doctor, were working on a planetary shield. It will be some time before we can get it functional and operational, but we have the best scientists working on it, the rep said.
Who? BMM? Theyre so corrupt that the scientists will probably try to hijack our efforts to save Bretonia against these horrific people. Weve had terrorist strikes hitting us every which way for some time now, and were growing thin. If we keep relying on a company rather than ourselves to produce our goods, we might survive until the next one.
The representative stood up, and looked into Kerrigans eyes. Were working on it, but thats all that I can say. You have patients to treat, so I suggest youd better get on it, and let the politicians do their work, while you do yours. With that, the Cambridge representative opened the door, dismissing the doctor.
Let the record show that you were the one who called me here, Kerrigan said, and walked out of the office. As he began to walk out of the building, he had to prepare himself. The mass carnage that was littering the streets was horrific, and he wished that he could stay and help, but there were patients up on the Horizon that needed him too. He boarded the shuttlecraft, and the pilot brought him back to the ship.
Upon exiting, Kerrigan walked briskly to the medical sections of the ship. Walking past dieing people the entire way, he stopped at the main center. There were several nurses there who had cases that needed to be attended to immediately. He took the records from one, and went straight to room 4b. The patient that was there was completely unrecognizable as the techs wheeled him in. The radiation damage from the MOX was indescribably horrible. There were third-degree burns over seventy percent of the patients body. First thing first, though, and Kerrigan began to immediately start airway management.
I need a laryngoscope, and a breathing tube, and whatever else you can get me, Kerrigan told the one available nurse assisting him. He would have liked more, but with this type of incident, he was lucky he even got one.
As the nurse readied the materials necessary, Dr. Kerrigan examined the burns. When youre done with that, Im going to need some mitochlorbic acid and an injection array. This was the one method that guaranteed that burn patients would get no deadly infection underneath the skin. It was also the best treatment for radiation, which was sorely needed here.
The nurse gave him everything necessary for the first procedure, and he administered it as best he could. [i]At least he can breathe now,[i] Jeff thought. By the time he was done, his nurse had pooled the necessary components for the mitochlorbic injection. Kerrigan flipped on the array, and began to drill a small hole through the sternum and into the heart. Holding it there for several minutes until it was all used up, Dr. Kerrigan pulled everything out of the patient. The mitochlorbic acid would soon be in the blood stream, and move to the outside of the patient. His burns wouldnt get infected, but he still needed surgery for the appearance, and no doubt he would have minor internal organ damage.
20 ccs of mito are in the patient, doc. Good he was easy enough for the medics to stabilize, or he would have died.
Good thing all right, but we still have hundreds to go, lets bring in the next one. But first, tell the surgeons weve got one for them in here.
This one patient had been lucky. The radiation burns and damage done to the rest were much harder to resuscitate, and it wasnt going to be any easier as the week progressed. Billions needed treatment, and there were only so many that the horizon could take. Yet, he got through his 40th patient that day, almost falling asleep by the bedside. It was only after the 74th that his sixty hour shift was over, and that he could finally get a rest for the next day, that he went back to his quarters, dizzy and feeling sick. He crawled into his bed, and slept for seven hours, only to awake to the same thing the next day.
Retired A very big thanks to Dark Oddity who put my signature pic together
The GNN report was full of static as Admiral Alpha watched it on the bridge of the Leviathan, the rest of the bridge crew watched emotionlessly, they themselves had sacrificed much more than they should have ever had to these past few months. Yet the message from Sirrius reminded him of how much he wanted to be there surrounded by his friends. But now was not the time for that. He knew that the Leviathan was being followed, it had been since they arrived here.
Jack Alpha: "Come on Obliterator, i know your out there watching."
He watches the faint engine signals of the ravenclaw hiding in a dark matter cloud 7k from his ship. Suddenly it moves off at great speed away from the Battleship and deeper into the cloud.
*Alarm sirens go off all over the ship*
Ensign Kai appears back on the bridge again, the massive bandage still round part of his head from the ships last enagement.
Ensign Kai: "Sir! contacts sighted 15K away here they come again!"
Jack Alpha: "Let them come Ensign, We will crush them again. Battle stations"
OOC yeah guys Hood is right so would you all plz shut up and let it slide.
I know where it is Cortana, I just have to find it. - Commodore Puddles
Ember awoke in the belly of the fortress that was Night Plateau.
She lifted onto her elbows and blinked. She was lying on a bed in a very comfortable room. It took some time to focus through the viewscreen positioned where her eyes used to be. She lifted her hands to inspect them. They were covered with a skin suit just like the rest of her body. This 'skin' was awkward, as was her sight. Strange sensations coursed through her body.
Trying to get out of the bed proved harder than Ember had expected. Her body wouldn't listen to any command she sent it. Frustrated, she let herself fall back onto the pillow.
"There are facilities dedicated to your rehibilitation, Ms. Ember," said a gray haired man.
Ember immediately focused on the man who had spoken. Statistics started running down her viewscreen; Species: Human Male, 5 feet 10 inches, Approximate age: 65, Attitude: Calm....the list went on and on. She recoiled, despite herself.
The man chuckled, "You'll soon be able to control that information you see now. That's just one of hundreds of things you can now do. You've been given a new skin, or suit rather. You were on the brink of death. We, SiN|Tech, have brought you back. You've been under our care for quite some time now."
She tried to speak, her voice rusty from disuse, a voice not her own. "Why?" she said simply.
"My dear, SiN|Tech has waited a long time to showcase what we do. You are the shining example of all our hard work and perserverance. We're not done yet. We need to rehabilitate you, counsel you, teach you to fight, shoot and fly again. It will be a long and arduous journey. Tell me Ember. Are you willing to do this?" He'd moved closer to the bed and looked down on her."
Ember looked up at this man. The information still reeling on her viewscreen. The Attitude had changed to sincere. She cocked her head to one side, that struck her a little. What could she do? She'd been saved by these people. Albeit, not in her old flesh. Could she live like this? Did her brothers and sister know she was still alive? She wouldn't go back to them. The shame of failing was too much to bear. She had no where else to go. If she had to live like this now then she'd better know how to use this new body of hers.
The rehabilitation was long and arduous. Learning to live with the suit on was a delayed reaction type thing, while the more immediate concerns of how to use the neural interface to turn on and off the recoil compensators, flipping through the vision modes, and how to access the basic biological needs every living thing has too precedence. The process took time, and outside the safe bubble of the High Security labs, the world moved on.
SiN Tech produced nanomachines drifted over the world in clouds, scrubbing the air of irradiated particles and stopping further spread of the toxin storm. The final bodies were recovered and counted, bringing the total dead up to 203,756,492 killed in the attack. On the edges of the disaster, reconstruction was already underway. At the center still stood a ruined city, darkened clouds overhead lighting up the devastation every once in a while with electric blue light, a stark contrast to the yellow-orange glow of the remaining street lamps and other lights that bathed the city with strange colors, leaving an illusionary phosphorescence in the mist. Like some ravaged dream world, the city and surrounding suburbs seemed utterly devoid of life for the most part, yet it still seemed like people should be there.
And at the Night Plateau research and production facility, a small argument was taking place;
"Let us in!"
"I can't, sir. You don't have access to the High Security labs."
"I am an officer with the Sirius Federation, and you will let me in!"
"I can't! You don't have access, you don't have command rights here, and you certainly don't have a search warrant!"
The heated debate between the SF Colonel and the SiN Tech bridge operator echoed about the massive natural cavern that was the first checkpoint into the High Security area. The two armed guards that stayed with the security technician in his booth watched with detached interest now; This argument had been going on for the past 15 minutes, and was starting to repeat itself.
While the technician and Colonel ran around each other in circles, Central Dogma received reports and began to question itself. Why would the SF be looking around? What purpose would they have trying to access the High Security labs? Was it possible they knew?
Running the risks, it decided that the "guest" was in danger and it was time to move. Communications were sent, inquiries were made, and a text message was delivered;
'Night Plateau, this is LSF A1-10, I have an appointment at your place, requesting permission to land!' said the pilot of the LSF-tagged Talon fighter.
A short pause and a reply came. 'SiN|Tech - Night Plateau to LSF A1-10, you have clearance to land on Pad 2!'
The pilot smiled to himself 'I never thought I would be sneaking into Cambridge because a Cardamine-induced vision told me to'. Nightfall was glad his IFF transponder was broadcasting LSF colors, the lot of SF ships were ignoring him. He was in no mood to take them all on in a lone fighter anyway, he was there because of more important business.
Not long ago, a pill of green color was delivered to him on the Sanctum. Not a new and uncommon thing to him. He knew it was a message for him and readable only to him personally - it was tailored to his DNA only and a certain amount of Cardamine in his blood. A message from the SiN|Tech Corporation. The extensive analysis to see if it's authentic and safe to 'read' it proved it to be such. Not that he didn't trust the SiN|Tech, doubtful fact that they'd bite a hand that feeds them, after all he was a rather important figure in the Outcast society and precautions had to be taken. He swalloved the pill, gave it some of the Porto he was almost constantly drinking to help it slide down and upped the setting on his cardamine mask, increasing the dosage. Nightfall felt the vision kicking in on the reality, he sat in the comfortable chair.
'Dear Mr. Fokke...' the gray haired vision in a white medic uniform started it's monologue 'my name is dr. Gray. It is my pleasure to announce you that your order of...' it continued and mixed the sound with images in his mind. Images of various 'special items' he ordered being loaded into containers, the containers being loaded into freighters ready to transport at the given command. It all looked like a busy army of ants gathering resources somewhere deep within the Night Plateau Facility compound.
'However', continued dr. Gray 'your presence is required. I assure you, it will make a lot more sense when you come here and we talk in person.', his mind got overwhwlmed by an image of a woman in a regeneration tank...
If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor
Transmit to: General Broadcast
Comm ID: Admiral Firebird
Through continued research conducted by CRI into large-scale shield technology, the development of the Cambridge defense shield has been completed. Consisting of 14 generators located around the planet, the shield is effective at preventing ships from approaching the surface of the planet with the exception of a docking ring where the shield can be locally dropped. The shield will absorb fire from any orbital bombardment and requires 6 generators to be disabled in order for the shield to collapse. The shield uses the generator concepts of a battleship to generate it from the surface of the planet. Similar designs are being devised for New London and Leeds but obtaining the materials necessary will take time.
End of Transmission
From orbit the shield appears invisible to the eye. Until a small craft attempting to smuggle artifacts encounters it on the far side just on the edge of sight. The small vessel bounces off the field suffering minor damage with a localized flash of bright blue. The vessel regains its composure and quickly speeds off, immediately followed by a wing of the local police.
OOC: Design is based on Nomad Technology aquired by CRI and the studies conducted in Newcastle by the BAF. Since the technology is based off a re-engineered design, its less efficient so need more generators to maintain. The shield is geothermally powered and like the shields around the nomad ruins is unaffected by weapons fire and are burried (think like area-51 or a hidden missile silo).
Spike Harris stood at ease on the Command deck of the Sirius Federation Assault Frigate Exeter, gazing out the forward viewscreen.
A half smile showed on his face as planet Cambridge came into view, sensors showing the new planetary defense shield as a faint shimmer.
"Helm. Make course for Cambridge Research Station and request docking clearance."
"Aye sir", came the prompt reply.
Lieutenant Harris thumbed the com relay to the hold. "How's the paperwork going on the collected Nomad items ensign?"
A burst of static and what sounded like small arms fire came back in reply.
A brief silence and then an irate sounding voice.
"Sir, we had a containment field failure and lost a couple of high quality items. Well we blasted the damned things anyway. We're fine now...situation normal...how are you?"
Spike Harris gave a terse reply and started pacing the command deck, a scowl crossing his face.
This was the second containment field failure in as many days. Hopefully the techs at Cambridge Research would be able to do something.
It was almost as if the Nomads had found a way to cancel the specialised fields. Not a problem at the moment but security would have to be increased when live cargo was being carried, especially in combat situations. A breakout could mean the loss of his prized ship, or worse.
"All hands, prepare for docking. Well done on a successful mission."
The Assault Frigate eased into it's berth, systems powering down until the next call to duty.
*This is a compilation written by Nightfall and myself. The quoted sections are Nightfall's additions to the story. The RP of Ember started with The Experiment. I hope you like. Enjoy*
She raised the pistol. Recalling her lessons she let her new body take over old instincts. Her aim had been accurate before. Now it was deadly, every time. Just another perk from the boys at SiN|Tech, she smiled to herself. She raised the pistol again.
Quote: Her pulse drumming. Then calming as she gave way to the machine controlling the muscles. Time slowed down. Perception amplified. She stopped her breath, her finger pulling the trigger BANG! heartbeat BANG! boom BANG! Three separate shots went out of the muzzle with deadly precision ending their trajectories inside the skull of the target dummy causing it to explode into a million tiny white shards.
Bernard was sincerely impressed. Sneaking through the radiation of Omega-41, flying so close to Cadiz and finally landing on Cambridge in a craft that was sporting LSF colors, going through the gigantic dark halls and hallways of Night Plateau seemed to be proving a fruitful endeavor.
She sensed she wasn't alone. Ahh, Dr. Grey, she thought. Smiling, Ember turned toward to him. She started. Dr. Grey wasn't alone. With him was a man, feet shoulder width apart, hands clasped behind his back. He surveyed her with steel blue eyes framed by silver white hair.
Quote: The blue eyed Outcast was conquered by the deadly precision he had just witnessed. 'What would this woman do in a Sabre?' he thought. He could not help noticing the perfection of the body under that suit she wore. Then he remembered the vision he had on the Sanctum. The ravaged flesh. The grin of death. 'She is amazingly beautiful!' he did not speak his thoughts.
She knew this man standing sanguinely in front of her. Was it arrogance he exuded? No, that wasn't it. He stood with an air of authority and quiet contentment.
Then it came to her. This was the infamous Outcast Fokke. Bernard Fokke. As a GC she remembered the talk concerning him and she'd seen him once when he'd visited Ainu. The question was, what the hell was he doing 'here'.
Dr. Grey stepped forward, Ember, this is Bernard Fokke. Mr. Fokke, Ember.
Quote: This Ember girl had a somewhat familiar air to her that was escaping him.
The Duke bowed to her.
"No, my Lord. I bow to you," Ember said as she did so.
Quote: Bernard took her hand, No need to! he said calmly but with an authoritative voice. I come here as a friend! He helped her up. You are free to choose, I can offer sanctuary! He looked to Dr. Grey.
Dr. Grey spoke up, "Ember, it's time for you to leave us. It's no longer safe here and the SF are beginning to get suspicious."
She glanced from Dr. Grey to the white haired Outcast.
"Why? How? Where am I going?" Confusion and, she hated to admit, panic started creeping up her spine. Her view screen showed no hostility in Bernard, only a deep curiosity. That calmed her oddly enough.
Quote: 'To the Omicrons, to my domain, The Corsica Outer Sanctum.' Nightfall almost whispered as if he was afraid unwelcome ears might hear him.
"SiN|Tech Omega will see to it that you launch safely. He'll escort you as far as the Ampoliros. SiN|Tech trusts Bernard explicitly. Youll be safe with him, Dr. Grey said to Ember. He could see her unease.
Before Ember could ask anything Bernard spoke up, "The Ampoliros is my battleship. It's waiting in Omega 41. Will you come?" He asked this as he took a deep breath from the cardamine mask.
Ember wondered if anyone had ever refused this man. She wasn't about to find out.
She turned to Dr. Grey, "I trust your friend to see me safely to his domain. You've done so much for me. Not just now but long ago as well. I'm in your debt. Say the word and I'll do whatever you need of me."
"My dear Ember, you've become almost like a daughter to me. Go, you must leave soon." Dr. Grey stepped toward Ember. With that she hugged the man who'd saved her, in more ways than one.
-----
They'd made it to their final destination aboard the Ampoliros. Corsica was where they had come to and this, the system home to the Ghosts of Razgriz.
She was Meridith Harolds; a Kusari scientist, a GC, a Phantom. Never had any of those titles felt right. This, this base in an all but empty system felt so right. Bernard held out his hand to her, she took it and he helped her down the ramp.
Quote: The Outcast Duke took her to a place named 'The Corsica Outer Sanctum'. There could not be a better name for it. The Sanctum was well hidden and even better protected. There was an arch structure supporting the shielded dome on the bigger central asteroid. The rocks were obsidian black, as were the much smaller ones surrounding the structure, remains of a planet most probably.
The opaque force field became more and more transparent as the lights in the bar-like room dimmed, letting the sight above their heads take their breaths with it's cosmic beauty of destruction. Bernard offered her a glass of Porto from the bottle he just opened. Ember took the glass with a small bow of her head. She had to sit down. Nightfall helped her and remained standing with his hand resting on her shoulder.
'The Razgriz Black Hole, old Edmundo never left here, his Sabre is still on the other side, facing the Hole.' Bernard spoke, breaking the long silence 'They say that it's still shooting down trespassers careless enough to come within the range of his guns...'
The room fell into revered silence as both inhabitants were just there, gazing at the hypnotic spinning of the gravity well..
She found no words, only the sweet taste of wine in her mouth. She looked up at the dizzyingly beautiful sight above her. The swirling mass overhead was mesmerizing.
* Many thanx to *ravenwoodarts for X - an excellent work of art without which this wouldn't have been possible *
If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor