CLASSIFIED FLEET REPORT Transmission Scrambling Effective Transmission Encoding Successful… Creating sub keys encryption… 11.523.553 combination locks created Key fit encryption matching complete… Matching message with Order CIC passline
For CIC Personnel, High Command and Emergency Protocol Officers Only
To All Order Command Personnel;
We have received reports of a major clash near Major - Minor junction earlier today, involving the Admirality Banner Force strike squadron as well as the Order Primary Fleet 1st Regiment.
According to the last check signal, Khonshu and Orillion were amongst the IFF traces and Secretary of Admirality confirmed Fleet Admiral Sius Malacos to be on command of Khonshu while the operation was underway. Filling command personnel Sasha Vorile and Malacos’ personnal assistant, Chip, were also reported to be on board the Khonshu.
Initial satellite reports state a heavy energy outburst signal prior to the loss of contact with Banner Force and after 23 minutes, at 21.54 (Toledo Standart Hour), Isis CIC confirmed the emergency signal of Orillion, being very faint, coming from the Major system, Dyson Sphere outer rim.
As of 22.53, battleships Deviator and Asar have been dispatched, under the command of Admiral Asar for search and rescue operation, only to find a large debris field. Near the Dyson Sphere enterance.
First reports confirm that one of the downed craft is actually Orillion. Tracing of negative energy wave readings suggest that at least three capital size Nomad ships and lots of smaller fighter level alien forces involved in the battle. It is not possible to give an exact number but an estimation of 90 would be close.
Deviator and Asar managed to recover around 30 pods from the remains of Admirality Banner, most of the pods being damaged beyond recognition, not being able to sustain the stability of life support, causing death of the evacuating crew.
However, none of the 11 search and rescue dispatches were able to pinpoint the debris of Khonshu or prove its destruction.
We have reason to believe that Khonshu has managed a wild jump, sending it to an uncharted part of Sirius or to another known system close by. This is just an estimation and we may well be wrong. Khonshu may perhaps got ripped beyond recognition as well.
At this time, this is a sensitive information and it shall be kept away from standart personnel as well as from third parties.
Searching of Khonshu is being conducted still and will continue to do so until we can be sure of its fate.
Please forward this to your CIC and acting commanders.
.....And there they were. Dozens of Nomad ships aligned to come into the human world. Battleships, Cruisers, Gunboats, Fighters, Bombers, and ships that have never been seen before took up most of the viewscreens of the Khonshu.
....."Commander, order a screen to be put up, let's spread our forces and create a screen." Sius Malacos stood from his command chair onboard his Osiris Flagship as men and woman husstled across the bridge. "Order the Orillian and all other fighter-class bearing ships to deploy squadrons and prepare for interception!"
.....As the Order ships moved into space, the Nomad vessels, caught unprepared, scurried and turned towards the humans. They had delayed entrance into the Omicrons... for now.
....."We have bogeys inbound! Bearing... everywhere!" Sasha, still Sius's apprentice called out.
....."This is it then. We're outmatched and outgunned. Open a comm channel to all ships Chip."
.....The little droid cooperated and Sius was cleared to speak to the fleet.
....."Listen up. Before those Squids get into firing range start shooting all non-projectile weapons to scare them into diversion. Once they do pass into firing range fire everything... and I mean everything. Bombers on Battleships, Fighters on Fighters, Cruisers on Gunboats, Gunboats on Fighters, and Battleships on Cruisers. Once you're done, move up the food chain. Good luck, let this be your bravest hour." Sius clicked the comm off and saw with terror as the biggest Nomad fleet he had ever seen got ever closer and closer to the Khonshu. Before long, turrets from all his sides started blazing fire at the Nomads. But they took it, and took casualties too. Little explosions popped up everywhere but they kept on coming. Dozens upon dozens of Nomads closed in on the humans.
....."what... what happened?" Sius looked around and got up and leaned on his command chair. His back hurt and there were bodies strewn on the floor. Some consoles sparked and the lights where dim. He looked out the viewscreens and saw horror. Order ships... pieces of them, all over space. But not just that. Some bodies too, and an unbelievable amount of Nomad ship remains. They where on all sides of the command center as far as one could see. "Sasha, get up, call up the records, what happened?"
.....Sasha groaned as he tried to lift himself of the ground. He managed to get on one knee and leaned against a console. "Something's... wrong. I've felt like this before, just now it's... stronger. What happened?"
....."I don't know Sash. Chip?"
.....The little drone didn't answer as called. Odd, since he usually did. Sius called the little drone's name again, and again, no response.
.....After a few minutes, some more crewmembers got up, all aching and seeminly hurt. Some didn't get up, nor responded to their name, rank, anything.
....."Well Sius, records just show the battle, but we remember that. It says we took out a large number of their ships, and..."
....."And what?" Sius asked. Sasha got to the forward viewscreen as fast as he could, looked around, and then pointed into space. "What is it?" Sius just looked at Sasha until he turned to the direction of the kids finger. There she was. The Orillion. Or what was left of her. Her 4 launch tubes were completely unrecognizable. Fighter parts were all around her, and her infrastructure was all that remained. Sius got up as did the survivors. The more attention they paid, the more they saw what was around them. The Orillion, the Reliance, the Helvet, and many many more ships were completely destroyed. Fighter and Bomber parts where scattered throughout space. Worst of all, bodies floated still where the cold cruel space had taken the life of the men and women. But that wasn't it. Between all the human debris, was tons and tons of Nomads... or whatever happens to Nomads when you destroy them. Odd shapes of Nomad vessels floated and drifted in space to to end.
....."Get the comm online, I need to contact the other ships!"
.....Sasha looked at Sius. "Don't. It won't do anything. Look at the console."
.....Sius looked and was filled with terror. There were no other ships. The Khonshu was all that remained of both fleets. Sius turned to Sasha and then saw it. Saw the reason behind it all. "Sasha... your eyes."
....."What?" Confused, Sasha looked closely into the viewscreens until he saw his reflection. A big headache came over him and his head felt as if it was about to explode. The feeling befell on all survivors, including Sius, who knew what this was. He had felt it before. He had felt them before.
....."No... get out, get out now! You've tried this before but I'm still in control! Aaaaghhhhh!" Sius screamed a terrible yell into nothing as his eyes glowed the firey blue that was every humans worst nightmare. This wasn't just another lousy Nomad attempt. It was... different. "Sasha! Set a course for whereever that Nomad fleet came from, get us out of human space now!"
CLASSIFIED FLEET REPORT Transmission Scrambling Effective Transmission Encoding Successful Creating sub keys encryption 12.612.119 combination locks created Key fit encryption matching complete Matching message with Order CIC passline
For CIC Personnel, High Command and Emergency Protocol Officers Only
It is a relief that none of the debris we have located belongs to Khonshu. However, scientific measurements show that there was some kind of a hybrid energy signature, possibly a warp drive which suggests human design warp drive being involved.
Reports state that, the signature, although being human in basis, has off the chart energy bursts, looking similar at certain points to the scales created by a Nomad Power Cell.
Any further analysis at this time is impossible and our research teams will continue on looking for a clue about what happened to Khonshu.
Also, the flight recordings of Orillion has been found and will be analyzed to see what really happened there.
.....Sasha awoke shortly, however in reality it was hours. He was the only one awake on the bridge right now. After Sius had ordered him to plot coordinates to where ever the Nomad fleet came from, he sent the ship straight into the jumphole. A strange jumphole. He thought it was normally there, but looking back it was different, and it wasn't normally there. His guess, is that once they jumped the hole closed and they were now stranded in who knows where. His guess was the Nomad home system, or maybe another Omicron Major or perhaps even lost. He did not know, and the trajectory the Khonshu took is not one that the ships navicomputer was familiar with, hence the failure to articulate where they currently where.
.....Sasha got up from his chair and took a little stroll. Things had to be repaired, casualty reports taken, and damages fixed. He strolled to the center of the bridge where the turbolist would take him down. But on his way he stopped, looked down, and frowned. Chip was lying there, rendered unfunctional. Sasha picked the little robotic orb up, and noticed that it had been pierced with something that went through the metal ball. Sasha sighed and just hoped that Chip could be repaired. He was just a prototype and the only one on the ship. If the surviving crew was infected then Chip would be the onyl one left with a form of human common sence. Sasha set chip down on his chair and went to the refresher to clean up.
.....Hours passed and things where under way in the Khonshu. The ship was cleaned up, and mechanical repairs were well under way. Weapons seemed to work and the hull was mostly in-tact. However the crew had been cut down drastically. Over a quarter of the Khonshu's crew had been killed in the battle back in Omicron Major, and the rest of the surviving crew seemed to be under Nomad influence. No matter what they did, they knew the Nomads where in them. Those who could not resist the Nomads well enough to fight for control over their mind, were put out. The crew lessened and the rest all had a war going on in their minds.
.....This wasn't just conventional Nomad infection, this was... different to say the least. The powers of these were stronger, they remained inside the minds of the humans. And yet, the humans had control. Sius knew there was a reason behind this, and knew there was a reason behind their survival. Why else would the Khonshu have been spared out of the entire fleet? Why was he spared? realizing this, he had his top mechanic work on Chip. Sius, and the crew, knew that at any moment, that painful sensation in their heads could return and they would fall under the control of the Nomad mindshare and act as their slaves. Sius wasn't about to give in so easily.
.....As things seemed to shape up, many on the bridge tried to figure out exactly what happened. Where they were, where the Nomad fleet came from, what that jumphole was, what created it, and what they would do now.
.....Meanwhile, Sius knew that back on Toledo the high command would be debating what would happen. Sius's dissapearance was a great lose indeed, but things had to move on. There were strict guidelines within the Order, and everything was done by the book. Sius knew them all of course, and he knew that a new Grand Admiral would be named soon. He only hoped that he or she was capable and would lead the Order well despite the dissapearance of the Khonshu.
.....And then it hit him. Why they were alive. Why the Nomads allowed him and his crew mental freedom. Because of what they knew. Sius knew literally everything about the Order. The top ranking officials, passcodes to planetary and stationary defenses, fleets, ship numbers, construction plans, battle tactics. He knew them all... and the Nomads wanted that. It all finally made sence. Sius put his head down and put his hand up to support it as he layed in his chair. With both hands covering his face as he leaned forward he knew that the future for humanity was grim. The Nomads could finally pass the Order's defenses, and fight straight into the heart of Sirius, just as they had years ago...
.....Things seemed to be getting as back to normal as they could. The remaining crew had their duties and they performed them admirably despite the truths and recent occurances. Last the Nomads took over, they maneuvered the ship back to known space and the crew found themselves now in Omicron lost. For Chip there was little hope. If they tried to repair him, the the Nomads would surely destroy him. However his brain was taken and inserted into the ship's computer so that despite the large gap of crew members, the ship could function as effectively as possible.
.....Sasha walked into Sius's quarters as ordered and sat down in the chair infront of Sius's desk. "We need to get back to minor Sasha. Tell them what happened, and tell them to take the Khonshu out of the transmission recipients list." Sius looked deeper into Sasha's eyes. There seemed to be a faint glow in his eyes... or maybe that was just his imagination. "We all know this isn't the first time the Nomads have tried to take my mind. They're tried it before many times and failed each time. The dark grail project has protected the crew, and I have too strong of a will to have it be broken by Nomad infection. But I guess the jellies figured something new out cause I can't fight this takeover as the others. It's different... it's stronger. It seems like the Nomad mind is lurking in us waiting for the right time to come out and take over. But they want information. I know everything. If they get that, then they can get into Sirius. But on the other hand, we can get information from them. If our minds really are one, then we should be able to get tactical data from them and maybe even discover a way to gain an advantage in this war."
.....Sasha looked at Sius with an ice-cold face. "We need to cut ourselves off from the Order before things get out of hand then. This trip to minor better work. Although I get the feeling they'll try to take over and you realize that we may be hunted down and destroyed by your own men, right?"
.....Sius sighed. "I know. Rand Seith is now Grand Admiral and I hope they understand our position and what's going on. Let's make this trip fast and hope to get out and away so we can fight this war in our minds. We can't afford to lose."
.....Sius stood up as did Sasha. They both went to the bridge. "Set a course for Minor. We're making a quick stop back home." Sius said.
.....The Khonshu drifted in space. The crew has unconscious at their work stations and Sius was slouched over in his chair. It wasn't until Chip, who was now the ship's brain, made enough noises to wake some of the sleepers up. Sius got to his attention and looked around. His head ached again. It seemed as if every time whatever Nomad force that was acting on them came, it would start with a large headache and then the human side would be gone. It were as if they were in deep sleep and would wake up where ever whoever controlled them last put the body. This was the case for most crew members. Sius however, after various Nomadic attempts to "touch" his mind over the course of his career had grown some form of "tolerance" to it. He has constantly been fighting the dominance over his mind and trying to keep it while fighting off the Nomad. Whichever controlled the mind, controlled the body.
.....As the crew began to get up, Sius found Sasha hunched over a console on the rear of the bridge. He seemed to be scrolling through records, and as Sius approached, it was the ship's technical status.
....."Seems the Nommies did more than just fire a few shots. Here, look at the entry about 4 hours ago." Sius put his arm on the console and looked down. "You're kidding me..."
.....Records at that time, indicated that someone, or something had accessed the ship's technical lay-out and changed the Identification Signature of the Khonshu. Or the Sviz'Ra as she was showing up to everyone now.
....."Damn Nommies changed the name of my ship!" Sius slammed the console and stood back up. "Hold on, maybe it's not such a bad thing. I mean, think about it Sius. This way we're sort of... protected." Sius looked at Sasha with a rather irritated look. "We know the Order's been trying to find us, you said it yourself. From what we can tell, and before we stopped recieving transmissions from Toledo, they're divided on if they want to destroy us or save us. But they're lookin for the word "Khonshu" on their scanners. Unless they get into visual range, they won't know that the... Sviz'Ra is us. Plus it sounds kinda neat."
.....Sius held his forhead with his hand. He was getting rather aggravated with all the things going on recently. "We don't even know where we are right now! And then they changed the name of the ship? I guess you're right, but if that was to show their power they don't realize that this is still my ship!"
.....Sasha stood up from his chair and was rather hesitent to speak. "Right, well about where we are right now..." he pointed to the screen which he had just changed. "We're in Omicron Iota. And from the looks of it, it's not the first time we've been here."
.....Sius didn't even bother with the surprise this time, rather moved back to his command chair. Everything was going smoothly, atleast for the worst half of him.