Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Oct 12, 2017 12:20:42 GMT -6
It has been 60 years since the last major conflict, a miracle considering Earth was on the blink of nuclear destruction from her own internal conflicts. While the world is still split up into many pieces, the great wars of the past had convinced almost all existing nations that they must join force to not just gain victory, but to even survive when faced with powerful foreign threats. As time pass, these nations eventually get group together based on their cultural heritage and their geographical positions, forming more powerful alliances that allows nation to stand up against diplomatic and military pressure. Such creation of these alliances help create a temporary peace, not because the contestants lost their will to dominate global politics, but the difficulties of fighting in so many fronts makes it too much of a risk to move into action.
Formed from the remains of past wars is the second Cold War, where nations constantly try to overcome each other not with direct military action, but an arms race even more intensive than the past. When conventional weapons proven not enough to gain any noticeable advantage, some nations even think to look for long lost relics and technology. One such discovery was found in the Pacific, by the Nations of the Commonwealth. 10 years before the end of the second Cold War, an Australian team discovered a strange object, a box around the size of a suitcase made out of undiscovered material. The box was later found to contain some sort of energy, so tests were being done by researchers, hoping to use it as a new energy source. After a series of tests were conducted, an accident occurred. Very little people know what happened, but according to the handful of survivors of the incident, the box had suddenly opened and expanded. A massive explosion rocked America, Asia, and Oceania, making the American Empire, Nations of the Commonwealth, and the Far East Union think they were under attack. Thankfully the leaders of the Commonwealth quickly moved into action, with some skilled diplomacy they were able to stop an open war from breaking out between the three nations involved. The condition is that a team of investigators are sent out, formed by each of the five major alliances.
What they found had baffled them all, in place of the box is a giant warship, one that is floating in midair. The design looks completely different from those of any nations on Earth, built with previously unknown material that is later identified as the same composition as the box, and armed with high tech weapons not used on Earth. While the nations all want their hands on the ship and the technology it processes, further analysis confirms the dangers that the ship might have. The ship is powered by Cold Nuclear Fusion, which means a type of nuclear fusion that occurs in room temperature. While this technology is extremely attractive to the researchers and their nations, they know nothing of why it works, even when compared to existing theories. The ship is deemed too dangerous to use in battle, and the technology level are too high for members of a single alliance to figure out.
What finally ended the second Cold War is the existence of technology that allows ships to function efficiently in space, and the rich resources of outer space, as shown from data contained in the ship. One of the major reason of existing conflicts is resource based, something that could now be solved. The five alliances argued for years, and it wasn't until the five year that they have reached an agreement... why not just let them trade technology and send out teams of their own? Now this does create a problem of who gets what, as such, a new united alliance is created, formed from all five of the existing alliances and creating the New United Nations that is formed from all nations on Earth. The goal of the New United Nations is simple, to act as a fair judge when determining conflicts and trades, formed from equal number of members from each alliances. The first agreement that was signed by the new UN, is to send the mysterious ship out to confirm its data, and the formation of the UN Space Corp... which only makes up of the lone ship.
While the data does show about all the advantages of outer space, there was little means to confirm it, most of the space developments of the past were frozen due to the needs of military funding. So a crew formed from a multi-national roster, was gather in the ship, received as much training as possible based on what they do know, and sent out to space. The crew was not very big when compared to the number of nations involved, only a couple hundreds, at least that way if it blows up it would only take out a couple hundred.
Billions of people watched their monitors, with millions cheering for the ship as it launched off to space. This is a new step for humanity, but more importantly, it signifies the end of the seemingly endless Cold War. Now they just hope that the data contained in the ship is accurate, or else who knows if the UN would cease to function just like it's past attempts.
. . .
[Captain gets to name the ship]
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Oct 12, 2017 12:50:23 GMT -6
Edmund O'Malley strode purposefully down the service umbilical that connected the mysterious vessel to the International Space Station. Once a simple research platform, with the discovery of space travel and the formation of the UN Spacey, the jointly ran station was massively expanded by an influx of funding and personnel to convert it into a forward base from which to service the new department in its mission to explore this final frontier. At his back were 50 uniformed men all walking with him in lockstep. Up here in orbit a similar procedure was taking place to the one that happened mere hours below on Earth; the crews of the station and ship watching intently as the remainder of its compliment was transferred. Since that ship was still extremely untested, so much so that even calling it 'bleeding edge' wouldn't fully grasp how far ahead of humanity's technological curve it was, it made sense to not send over the last parts of the personnel until it had gotten into high orbit.
If it survived getting into high orbit.
As it happened that part of the procedure seemed to go off without a hitch, and after the transfer of Edmund and his soldiers, final preparations were to be made so that the ship could be sent off to parts unknown.
On the far side of the umbilical, on the actual boat itself, the soldier and his men stopped before the captain, or his XO if he deemed keeping an eye on the ship's functions too critical to leave for formalities. O'Malley wouldn't blame him for that. This vessel even had him feeling a little uneasy. He resisted the urge to rubberneck around the cavernous docking bay where a handful of small aerospace vehicles had been placed and instead threw a salute sharp enough to cut glass.
"Major Edmund O'Malley and the 7th Mirror Guard reporting for duty, Captain."
The Mirror Guard were a part of the UNE's new combined military force, the army specifically. They were clones. The technology for that had existed and been used back in the Brush Wars of the Second Cold War, yet it was far from perfect and very primitive. It was just one of the technologies spoken of in the databases of the ship and its deciphering advanced that leg of medical science by decades. While it was a hard sell to the fundamentalists of the alliance, creating new soldiers out of thin air solved such dicey issues as loyalty to host nations rather than the supernational entity whose armies they composed, and the problem of risking lives in peacekeeping actions and exceeding dangerous disasters such as nuclear meltdowns. The rights of clones was still a very hot-button issue, to say nothing of how the technology itself still had a plethora of kinks that needed to be hammered out. This bunch here could be considered prototypical at best. Politics had saw to their inclusion in the mission to test their functionality alongside that of the ship upon which they served, one of the power blocs in particular was very interested in the potential of mass produced soldiers.
And again, if the ship exploded, that was 50 fewer 'real' lives that were lost.
After some more military formalities and logistics work between the army and naval staff the Mirror Guard dispersed to their quarters. They were here to act as the boat's marines. They would defend the ship from boarding actions, or perform them offensively if needed, and protect the science staff and other explorers on trips to the surfaces of foreign planets - or even foreign space structures, since it was now known intelligent alien life with the capability to build such infrastructure existed somewhere in the universe.
While the rest of the procedures went underway the Major turned over the work of settling in the troops to his own XO and wandered the halls of the ship. The walls were smooth metal that showed no seams nor rivets, appearing as if the entire thing were made from one gigantic piece of metal that was folded a million times into the final product's shape with no tools needed. That idea would have been seen as utter nonsense a mere decade ago, but now nobody could be so sure. A cigarette hung from his lips as he inspected the vessel, idly taking a lazy drag from it every so often, his attention clearly more focused on the marvel of science around him than smoking.
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Post by Carlos on Oct 15, 2017 13:19:37 GMT -6
Captain Tercio Flavius had been in cryogenic stasis since the middle of the Second Col War era. Naval Captain in the American Empire he'd participated in various battles. But notably survived a nuclear attack on the fleet he was assigned to. However the radiation he'd received proved to be of a fatal quantity. Developments in radiation treatments were still inadequate to save his life. But cryogenic stasis was already well into human trials. So the Captain and many others like him were placed in stasis in the hopes of being revived when radiation treatment had advanced enough to save them. The "Martial Heritage Society" heard of this man set to be revived and used their connections to bring him to the top of the list. He did after all have the most combat experience while still being fit enough for active service. He was selected due in no small part to the lobbying of Martial Heritage Society.
Tercio Flavius had left the care of his physicians when he was strong enough to move under his own power. Returning to the American Empire's naval service. He was promptly informed of his reassignment to the UN Spacy. With a grunt he departed for his new assignment. As Captain he had supreme authority over the crew and as such he insisted on a naval ship being mocked up to the layout of the alien ship. Allowing them to train while the alien ship was restored to functionality.
The training was quite extensive. The entire crew was aboard the mock up vessel at all times, slept, and ate aboard and did not leave it unless they wanted to lose their spot on the crew. Initially the crew shifts were by nationality. But the Captain ordered the shifts to be of mixed nationality. To ensure they could operate at maximum efficiency regardless of who was on task. To further test the resolve the crew emergency combat station drills were run at irregular times. During this time the crew saw a reduction in size. The Captain offered anyone a transfer out with no punishment. Even going so far as to have the records reflect that they'd been station elsewhere. Finally have shaken out the loose apples from his crew, he started to allow shore leave. The ranks were replenished at a slow pace to ensure all newcomers were up to the standards of the crew.
When the time came to finally board the actual ship. They were surprised by the difference in scale. They'd used the biggest naval ship they could get to mock up the alien vessel. However it clearly failed to match up. The upside was that many of the sections that hadn't been mocked up were intended for scientists and other non crew.
The day of the launch and they were still trying to work out some of the bugs. Captain Flavius was still on the bridge overseeing the preparation for the launch. For this reason he sent his XO. An XO that was placed in his command chain only within the last three weeks. She was from the American Empire, but something about her rankled the Captain.
Executive Officer Annalise Lowells stood with a marine honor guard awaiting the newest arrivals. She put on a professional face for the Mirror Guard CO. But inwardly the idea of mass production clone soldiers irked her something fierce.
"Welcome aboard, Major O'Malley. I am Commander Annalise Lowels, executive officer of the Ticonderoga," Commander Lowells said after returning the Major's salute. She then deferred him to a more junior officer that would help him coordinate the settling of the Mirror Guard.
Aboard the bridge of the newly named Ticonderoga there was a bustle of techs and crew trying to make the screens of all the consoles actually display. The Captain stood with a fixed scowl as he watched the madness unfold.
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Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Oct 15, 2017 14:10:19 GMT -6
Major James Gransela is often viewed as a mad man, the ideas he dishes out as a researcher is often things that no one would even imagine, but at the same time he's no where profession and at times less than rational. He was surprisingly young for someone of this position, barely in his 30s, and looks to be even younger than that. Normally you'd think the Nations of Commonwealth would choose someone older and more lawful, but no this one have a reason to be here, he was a survivor of the incident now known as the Ticonderoga Incident. He was only a minor researcher at the time, much more calm and normal, but the incident changed him in some ways that he had never told anyone. Like several of the survivors of the incident, he too experienced something unworldly, but very little of these people actually spoke about what had happened. The little things he revealed are the reasons why the Commonwealth chose him over some of the more famed scientists in the alliance, at least if you ignore his less than normal personality he does have the right expertise for this position.
The scientists chosen for this mission came on board with their own team of assistants, a handful of guards for their own safety, and different machines and instruments that they deem necessary for their mission. When it comes to James, the ones in charged of inspection might raise an eyebrow, he barely brought anything but his own personal belongings. He doesn't seem to care about the questioning look, then again, the only thing that makes him remotely look like a scientist is the lab coat that he put over his clothes at the last moment and he didn't care about that either.
They soon arrive before the Executive Officer and her men, and waited for introductions and instructions on where to next. They were not very surprised at the clone soldiers, considering most of them have prior knowledge on cloning, and a few of them even had experience with the process themselves. Some of them whisper among themselves about how well this batch has been, and talk about ideas on how else they could improve. A few whispered about ethical problems, not on how to avoid it, but how to slip pass these problems with backdoors to further researches. It seems ethics, is the least worried problem they had in mind.
"Hey there! Executive Officer was it? Here let me put that patch on... here we go, Major James Gransela! I like the sound of that. How do you guys like the ship? I like it better back when it was a box, now it's too big and they won't let me get close to touch it, boo. But hey, now that I'm on board they can't stop me!"
He definitely don't seem like a scientist, but the others in the research team seems to be used to it, and treats it as normal or as normal as it could get. After he's done with his rant, he turns to the leader of the clone commandos beside him.
"Smoking is bad for you Major! Really now don't do it, how can you evolve even more if you work to stop it! Next time I'll tell them to make it so all the future clones hate smoking! If they don't listen then I'll put a few lines in the codes myself, lets see if they can deny that! But hey nice to meet you too."
Not wanting to waste much more time, another scientist from his team comes forth and talks to the Commander instead.
"Don't mind the doctor, he's always like that, but lets just continue or else he might rant for days. I'm sure he won't mind even if we go on ahead without him, he'll catch up."
"Hey, I heard that. Don't try to ditch your boss. But he's right, lets keep going."
Their(or his) attitude sure doesn't seem calming to the rest of the crew, but one's talent is not necessary tied to their behaviors. At least, they're hand picked to be the best of their nations, right? So the one that seems a bit crazy have the right talent for his position, right? They could always test them out by having them help with the bugs over at the bridge, maybe it'll be a good reason to kick off some of the more crazy ones if they couldn't do it.
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[Now we choose the routes, as explained before, we have to analyze the planets in the system until it reaches 100% analyzed. During analysis, events might happen, and the crew can choose to act accordingly.
First we should choose which direction to head to from Earth, so either towards Venus, or Mars. Note that we still have to finish analysis to finish the tutorial part, so it's just a matter of what gets done first.]
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Post by Carlos on Oct 16, 2017 14:15:49 GMT -6
Executive Officer Annalise Lowells looked Major Gransela over, she kept her face impassive as she did so.
"If that's so. Perhaps you should head to the bridge. We're having...technical difficulties. The Captain, such as he is, will appreciate being able to navigate the ship at launch," The XO said in a polite and professional tone. Though her posture was straight and resolute, unwavering in her discipline.
Lieutenant Edgar Ramirez was the more junior officer loaned to the Mirror Guard to help in directing them to their quarters. The American Empire had maintained strict population control and so many in it's Hispanic territories could not simply move to the nicer parts of the Empire. However "Notes of Free Conduct" are issued for anyone serving in the military combat roles. This led to a higher number of Hispanics in American Empire's military forces.
"Sir, we have a dedicated smokers lounge, with it's own dedicated filtration system. We ask that you not pollute our air in this enclosed environment," Lt Ramirez called to the Major as he walked down one of the halls. The Lieutenant didn't follow, staying where he was to help in directing people to their quarters.
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Oct 16, 2017 15:19:19 GMT -6
The clone turned on a heel when he heard someone calling out to him, not that he needed to, he recognized the voice. The doctor, the eccentric personality he was, was known by everyone on the star base that had been stationed there with him. Apparently the man was some kind of genius, but not all there in the upper story, so to speak. Word was he survived the big accident that was caused this ship, and the stuff he was saying only seemed to confirm it. But that was much less interesting to the major right now than being called out for his habits. He had it in mind to reply but was wisely intercepted by one of the scientist's underlings first, whom was clearly much more personable.
"He's over worrying anyway, most of us won't live long enough to die of cancer. If it even takes root - we're not exactly made of weak stock," Edmund said to the attendant scientist with a shrug. And indeed, he didn't dwell on it for very long and continued on.
"So, what do you egg heads know about this ship, exactly? Did it actually come out of some tiny box in the middle of the ocean? Must have been some kind of nanotech fabricator, or do you boys have a different theory?" Edmund asked the scientist while walking. He'd seen pictures and schematics of the ship to prepare him for the real thing, sure, but that was mostly need-to-know kind of data, and it still left a lot of blanks where even the military didn't know. James and his company were probably the closest thing Earth had to a leading authority on this, so the major saw no reason not to tap them for information while they were right here.
Upon being accosted for smoking a second time the major did finally stub out and dispose of the tobacco he had been enjoying. He gave the junior officer a curt nod after doing so and replies, "Thank you for the information, Lieutenant." He wasn't particularly bothered by it, if anything finding the discipline here rather refreshing. Earth side quite a few military forces he had worked with had began to grow lax over the long periods of relative peace. Edmund had seen action in a few peacekeeping operations and got to see that firsthand before being transferred to here.
This too was why he was walking the corridors of the alien vessel. Far from a leisurely activity, the clone was following the schematics he had been shown and carefully dedicated to memory, getting a feel for how it all matched up here in person. This would be their place of work and residence for a very long time, and it'd be up to him and his soldiers to help defend it in the event of hostilities from within or without. Edmund was looking for all the choke points, maintenance tubes, and areas of importance, considering where best to deploy forces in the event of mutiny or hostile boarders. How aliens would fight was a complete unknown, so they had to be prepared for anything. The major wanted to be sure he had covered as many bases as possible.
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Back in the loading docks the executive officer of the 7th was working diligently to get supplies and manpower coordinated and sent to the portions of the ship set aside to act as their barracks and armory. The Guards were given their own armory separate from the ship's generalized cache so that they would have two sources of equipment in different parts of the ship in the event of an attack, and also so that the marines wouldn't be draining the supplies of the crew. Or vice-versa. The man in question was a young clone by the name of Eric Alden, holding the rank of lieutenant. While his superior looked like a career office well in his 30s or 40s, the Lt. here appeared to be much younger, maybe late 20s. This was speaking purely from a standpoint of looks, for the clones aged much faster than an average person. The oldest here not counting O'Malley was probably 10, Alden was maybe half of that.
Ration pills, hydration tablets, racks of armor, and lockers of weaponry were all ferried by civilian and military personnel from the station and the 7th to help the transition progress smoothly and in a timely manner. Every so often the XO would call a stop so that he could randomly inspect some of the equipment being moved through the bowels of the ship. They had a quartermaster for this kind of work, but the Lt. wanted to double check everything and be sure. After all, they might not be coming back here to resupply for a very long time.
A lot of the gear was cutting edge, supplied by pretty much every bloc down on the planet. The primarily armament was an ultra-compact bullpup that magnetically propelled flechettes, produced on the spot by cutting them from a dense spool of wire that operated as the magazine. These guns could dispense hundreds of rounds at a blistering pace with enough force to punch through armor. Those came from Europe. For shipboard use and urban warfare shotguns were provided, courtesy of the American Empire. They were also bullpups with a unique feature in the form of having two tubular magazines below the barrel that the user could swap between, allowing the soldier to bring multiple types of shells to best meet the situation at hand. From the Far East there were stick grenades and missile launchers, ranging from single-use, man-portable RPGs to low-orbit anti ship ordnance. South America provided long knives for both survival and combat situations, alongside an array of broad-spectrum medicines and combat drugs. And for defense, suits of full-body powered armor that could operate for weeks on end without needing a recharge due to the array of nuclear batteries which gave them life.
Everything looked to be in order and the XO communicated such to Edmund via a tiny comm bead in his right ear. The clone commander in turn gave this information to their liaison from the navy and finally provided some good news - they finished ahead of schedule. The clones made for a very efficient workforce, if not one that had a lot of personal initiative without their officers around to crack the whip.
By and large it looks like the 7th were equipped to handle just about anything. But it remained to be seen how close the human's predictions of what combat in a foreign environment would be like compared to the real thing.
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Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Oct 17, 2017 21:15:34 GMT -6
"Technical difficulties? That's absurd, we have everything adjusted and ready for the journey, all you guys had to do is press the button... did you guys messed around with the settings?! I told you guys not to do that, now look what happens! Great, now we'll have to do it again. Fine fine, we'll go fix it up. Some of you guys from the Yankees come with me, and I want some of my own guys too. The rest of you do whatever, fit in or fix something, just leave something fun for me too."
Some of the researchers from his own team and those of the American team goes with him, while others head to the room that they were assigned to. They didn't seem to need a guide around, considering they were the ones that built the place, all they needed is someone to point where they should go. Pretty soon, James and his handful of scientists appeared on the bridge.
"Hello everyone! Hope you lots didn't tinker it so much that it stops working, but no need to fear, we're here to save the day. Nice to meet you Captain... Flavius. Interesting name, sounds Roman, royal too! I'm James Gransela. Now let me just press a few buttons... this and that, there, now it should at least run. The rest of you fix it up a bit more."
The team came like a storm, and worked like a storm, with great speed and in a swarm. They entered codes and readjusted the machines, all sorts of things that makes it look easy, look easy. They redirected the power system correctly so that the powers are provided to the consoles rather than just the bridge's general systems, that made the consoles turn on.
"There we go, it's like you guys forgot to press the power switch, that kind of deal. Now lets see what you guys had typed in... no this won't do!"
He took a look at the numbers and switches, then started shaking his head, he didn't like what he was seeing. What does he do then? He went over and jacked up all the numbers, leaving little care about fuel efficiency and the likes.
"See, you guys are doing it wrong, your numbers are too reserve! We're talking about a ship that can travel through the Solar System in a matter of days! The kind of thruster output, radar range, and pretty much everything else should be much higher than what you guys had in mind! Look at this, with the settings you guys set up, we would barely be able to see coming debris even if it's scratching the paint! Be more ambitious! Don't be scared about the fuel, we're not using the usual stuffs, throw those out the window. The new stuffs will last us for months, even at this speed! I should know, I mixed it last month!"
Which might explain why they didn't hear much of it in advance, it seems to be a new composition, probably created using the technology they got from the ship. With the new type of fuel, they won't need to worry about running out in the middle of a trip, that said it won't hurt to be careful.
"Now Captain, which one of the amazing planets are we going to visit first? The red one that I sure hope the government will colonize? Or the yellow one that looks like something our clone friends might enjoy?"
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Post by Carlos on Oct 17, 2017 22:11:29 GMT -6
Captain Tercio Flavius stood on the bridge with his arms crossed watching the tech try to make sense of the cobbled together mess. Then abruptly his bridge was stormed by various persons clearly not part of the crew. He noticed the badges they wore. All the same when one of them started rambling off word as if his life depended on it. He gave the man a hard stare, not a glare, but not the kind of thing you can endure with ease.
"Major Gransela, if that really is your rank. I would appreciate that if you or your companions could please refrain from entering the bridge without permission. You are not part of the chain of command on this bridge," Captain Flavius said in a flat stern tone, his eyes staring unflinchingly.
"Sir..." Came the hesitant voice of communications officer. "The XO sent a message informing us of technical support arriving soon."
The Captain tilted his head up and took a deep breath through his nostrils. Then looked at the com officer again.
"When was that sent?" He asked in clipped tones.
"Just now sir," Said the young innocent faced ensign that sat that the communications console. Captain Flavius grabbed a nearby plastic cup that had been sitting on the armrest of his chair. He crushed it and the ensign would later swear it became a diamond.
"As you were, Major Gransela," Captain Tercio Flavius said to Jame's grand standing over the technical issues they'd been facing. Ignoring the bustle of all of these scientists as he sat down in his command chair. "Someone get me another cup of water."
Someone brought him another paper cup just as James asked where they were going.
"I am the Captain. But it has not been made clear exactly who is in charge of the mission. You scientists are supposed to be in charge of all science matters. The vat tube soldiers are in charge of any ground assault operations, as well as defending the ship... And I am only a bus driver until a military space operation arises. So far right now. I'm only concerned with launching this metal coffin." Captain Flavius said in a flat tone.
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Rabite
Veteran Member
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Hey, look over here.
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Post by Rabite on Oct 18, 2017 0:26:50 GMT -6
"Oh, that. Don't mind me, I got used to just wandering around this place, before you guys came I mean. If you mind that much then, I can do it in our labs, shouldn't be a problem if it's not hardware based. But then you guys with the badges would complain about not getting a notice before that happen, so I thought I come over and inform the captain before we start working."
If the Captain's authority had some influence in their attitude, they're not showing it. Most of them are showing a lot more attention to their work than to what their captain is saying, on the bright side it means you won't have to worry about them slacking off. It did not take long before all the bugs are fixed, and the ship is ready to go. On the topic of where to head to next, it does become a problem when there's no clear understanding on who exactly is in charge.
"I thought usually the driver do the rounds and the passengers just sit in the bus... oh well. We could pick straws, or vote to see who gets the say... you know what, lets just head for Venus. I'm sure the clones won't mind, they get to have a lifetime supply of smokes, more than they could ever have! Don't mind the detail about being the wrong gas, they'll be fine, I'm sure, lets do it. Here I'll even throw in these cameras that I decided to add to the supply list, we can mount them on the Scout Crafts so you guys up here won't miss the show, even when giant space worms are munching on the crews in the surface!"
It doesn't sound very reassuring, but it does remind them of the possible dangers of exploring this uncharted universe, who knows what they might find on their journey. Monsters? Treasures? History? At least they know they will surely find something, or maybe something will find them instead.
"The Warp Drive should be good to go, but don't blame us if something or someone goes missing. As far as we're concern, surprises like that didn't happen during testing- oh wait, it almost killed everyone with the box... at least you still got me here, right? We got survivors, so we'll at least have someone to tell the tales, maybe, probably, I hope. Well then, time to go bother the clone commandos, bye Captain."
And the overly active scientist leaves along with the rest of his team, their jobs finished and everything is ready for the bridge to deal with. They might not be the strict and orderly team that the Captain might have hoped for, but they get their job done, and are at least not boring.
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Post by Carlos on Oct 21, 2017 18:53:37 GMT -6
Captain Tercio Flavius sat stone faced as he listened to the scientist major ramble on. Giving him only a perfunctory a nod in the hopes of getting him out of the way as soon as possible. And indeed the man went from one rambling statement to another. The Captain's brow rose at the mention of cameras on the scout craft. But he still didn't feel compelled do more than give another nod. With a final mention of the warp drive and clone commandos the scientist major departed. Leaving the bridge blissfully silent with the exception of routine noises.
"That man's pension for rambling is rivaled only by his sense of self worth," Captain Flavius remarked to no one in particular and was pleased that his crew new better than openly laugh at an officer. Even one of no authority over them. Still he did get a few grunts of approval.
"Sir, should I proceed with the launching of the ship?" The helmsman inquired calmly, turning fully to look the Captain in the eye. The Captain stared back directly and nodded his affirmative.
"Ticonderoga to Control Actual," The Communication. "We are beginning our maiden voyage."
"Roger Ticonderoga, you are clear to launch. From anyone aboard the station, good luck out there." Came the reply over the speakers.
The ship dettached from the station and began to maneuver under it's own power for the first time. They were already achieving a higher velocity right out of the gate than had been previously possible by 'modern' human vessels.
"Lay in a course to Venus," The Captain said calmly to the helmsman. Then took up the com mounted to the side of his chair.
"I want a double on routine checks on all system. The Scientist Major may be confident about his abilities. But in my experience, theory and practice, are two wholly different things. Even the most minor discrepancy should be logged and forwarded to the scientists," He told them over the channel for all officers and NCOs. Then he stood from his chair and addressed the bridge.
"Make no mistake, bus ride or not, I expect you to do all of humanity proud! Is that understood!?" Captain Tercio Flavius with a strong voice that echoed throughout the bridge.
The reply was an equally resounding 'Yes, sir!'
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Oct 21, 2017 22:03:18 GMT -6
By the time the ship had actually left the station the clone officer had already finished his rounds and returned to their section of the ship. It was like nothing that he expected, there could be no doubt about that. Whatever race built this craft had a level of scientific understanding well beyond humanity's, so much so that the consoles and electronic equipment they installed to actually access the ship's many systems seemed like crude grafts at best when juxtaposed against the sleek metal interior of the alien vessel. Idly, the major wondered how much work it took to translate xeno computer code into a language that their own machines could interface with, but that train of thought was quickly derailed. That kind of thing was well above his pay grade and far from his field of expertise.
The commando and his platoon all looked up at once when the ship's thrusters came to life and propelled it away from the station, and Earth, and into deeper space. The sudden acceleration caused the boat to jolt, but not badly enough to topple anyone in good health over or displace any loose items from shelves, supposing they weren't right on the edge.
Beside O'Malley stood his XO Alden and their quartermaster, Dannica Volkova. Hailing from somewhere in Russian territories, she was another one of the 'uniques' aboard the craft. Which is to say that they had no one else of matching physical appearance. Their gene templates were of a 'higher quality', specially tailored to produce officers. The other soldiers of the Mirror Guard came from five shared lineages. One from Europe, one from Africa, one from the southern Mediterranean, and the last two Eurasian. There was a roughly even mix of men and women. All of them stood arrayed and at attention behind their officers, assembled so that their orders could be disseminated top-down directly. Now that they were officially out of port the mission had begun and they were to operate on a military footing from now until such a time that they were commanded to do otherwise. With Earth being the only port of call, that might be awhile. Just another reason that clone soldiers were seen as the best choice as the ship's marine compliment.
At the moment Volkova was running by the Major their supply situation and any problems found therein - of which there were fortunately none. The UN had been very careful to supply them with only the best, for once no corners were cut. This project embodied the future of all mankind, it was most certainly a good investment. Edmund dismissed the girl back to the ranks with a curt nod and 'that will be all'. Clearing his throat with an 'ahem', he addressed the troops.
Their forces would be split into roughly three chunks. The first part would be the men on active duty, their jobs would be to patrol the ship and stand guard at vital areas of the ship (such as the reactor control room) and key junctions from which they could intercept intruders or cut off mutineers. The next chunk would be men on passive duty, which would be training and staying active with light workloads to be kept at peak efficiency to act as reserves in case of an emergency. The last batch would be off duty and free to do what they wanted within reason, mostly relaxing and recuperating. The troops would be rotated through the duties with the rest of their squads to keep anyone from getting too bored or fatigued, so as to keep down the natural degradation of job performance that came as a result of both. To that effect no one would be kept at the same postings back-to-back either. Too much monotony could even get to the gene-forged, so combating that was just as big of a hurdle as whatever foe they might actually encounter. With the orders out of the way the major stopped to give some words of inspiration before sending the assembled clones out.
"The whole world is expecting a lot from us. In our hands we're carrying the torch that will throw back the darkness of space and guide humanity into a new age. We can not - will not - fail. Whatever challenges await us, we'll face them together as the 7th, the finest soldiers Earth has ever produced!"
The men and women of the Mirror Guard gave a short cheer after the brief pep talk from their CO.
"As of this time, 2300 hours, the mission has officially commenced and all personnel are to report to their stations. Sergeants, deploy your men as ordered and report to me when everyone is in positions. Now, move out!"
The scientists walking the ship's corridors would be treated to the sight of the 7th walking past them. The troops all marched in perfect synchronicity with each other, eyes forward and arms swinging lightly at their sides with every step taken. In their crisp grey-and-gold uniforms and with matching haircuts and clean-shaven faces it brought one phrase to mind: toy soldiers. It could make for an eerie sight, but perhaps one that wasn't very jarring to the science personnel, whom have surely seen more than their share of oddities over their careers.
One could not doubt their discipline though. Despite being only several months old these troops displayed the kind of steely drilling that you typically only saw in men that had trained and served together for years.
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Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Oct 22, 2017 0:17:07 GMT -6
As the clone soldiers pass the scientists, they would nod in agreement. The soldiers seems to be working out fine, at least they're not falling apart like the most early versions that were produced, and could probably fit their role just fine. With the level of abilities that these clones were showing, they won't have to build robots like some of the scientific society had suggested, an idea that Dr. Gransela had strongly objected against.
The head scientist took a different approach than the captain and the clone commander. They were scientists, they know what they signed up for, in fact they were the ones that wrote up the contract for the rest of the crew. They had no worries nor do they have any pressure about this mission. Instead they were highly interested in what will come as they continue this journey, perhaps it will be the same as when decisive technology were discovered or invented, enough to change the fate of humanity. That said, some of the more normal researchers had James give a few words, so that he actually fits his role.
"Well everyone, I'm sure I won't need to remind you all of our mission. Even if you do need a reminder I won't give one to you, mission? What mission? I sure didn't come because of someone sitting in an office told me to, I came because I wanted to! If you want a reminder on why you want to come, just look outside the window. We're in space, and not just in space, we'll be the ones to explore this whole new world. I don't know about you, but I sure am excited. I'm sure we're not worried about our trip either, we were the ones the refit this ship. I'm confident of our work, and I'm confident that it will just get better. Oh and did I tell you there's no restrictions on your researches as long as it won't get everyone killed? Enjoy!"
It was understandable, and direct on what his team wants, freedom and innovations. Danger? Loneliness? People on Earth? They wouldn't have signed up if they cared any of those things. In some ways, they are fairly selfish, but at the same time their targets are completely beneficial to humanity. It's a win-win situation, and a strangely rational choice.
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It will take a few hours before the ship arrives near Venus, the second planet of the solar system. In the past, it would take years to arrive at Venus, and they're doing it with a small percentage of that time. If anything they won't have to worry about taking too long to explore the solar system, not with this kind of spaceflight speed.
Venus is a planet that is similar in size and shape to Earth, covered by layers of thick cloud of sulfuric acid, and is the hottest planet in the solar system. This planet had previously been researched by space probes, never by any manned missions. As such, even an uneventful research mission would provide interesting data about their sister planet.
The scientists are pretty excited on what they're looking at, an unexplored planet, it's like a treasure chest looking to be opened. It did not take long before their leader granted them their wishes, by submitting a request to the bed for an investigation team down on the planet. According to the request, they would ask a number of clone commandos to come with a handful of scientists down to Venus to collect data and explore the region. Of course, no one is going to just head on down unprepared, the science team will introduce the new and specially designed protective suit to the soldiers that will come with them.
It wasn't something too difficult, and it's a part of their mission, so they expected the captain to accept their request. As such, James and a several selected researchers would be waiting in a conference room, ready to give briefing to the members that will come on this trip. Besides data information, they also have one of the protective suit in the room to be used as display and testing. Of course since this is a fairly important meeting for the soldiers, the hasty science head ask that O'Malley come to the meeting so the commander can create future manuals for his followers.
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Post by Carlos on Oct 25, 2017 21:13:26 GMT -6
Captain Tercio Flavius enabled the ship wide speaker system.
"This is Captain Flavius. We have arrived in Venus geostationary orbit. I will be holding a conference shortly. As this situation does not necessitate a military response. There is no clear chain of command in regards to mission's operations while in orbit. For this reason I invite all senior officers to this conference. To delegate tasks and requests," Captain Flavius said in professional tone that was bordering on stony. He ended the transmission without engaging in the usual radio protocol.
About ten minutes later he was in the largest conference room they had. Joined by his XO who sat across from him, rather than beside him. There was no small tension there as the XO had been abruptly assigned to him and replaced the officer he'd personally selected from among the crew he'd been training. His suspicious was that she was meant to keep an eye on him. The American Empire's brass had claimed that he was mentally and physically unfit after being thawed. It mildly irked the Captain that his nation wanted him out.
When the first person arrived. He dismissed any greeting and motioned for them to sit. He wasn't wasting time with pleasantries. Once the senior officers or at least someone representing them was present he started speaking.
"Let's not mince words. The scientists have things they want to check out. My concern is only with the ship and it's craft. So whatever request you want to make, my XO will see that it's done. At least on the part of the navy. If you need security, I leave that to the Major's discretion," Captain Tercio Flavius said with a nod in Major O'Malley's direction. He sounded a bit dispassionate and his dismissive nature of polite courtesies made one wonder if he was in a hurry.
Executive Officer Annalise Lowells wanted to shoot the man a glare for pawning off dealing with the scientists on her. A junior officer could very much handle it. But then she had sent the scientists like a swarm onto the bridge, with very little warning ahead of them. So she simply nodded to the Captain in subtle acknowledgement.
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Oct 25, 2017 22:18:36 GMT -6
O'Malley and his quartermaster arrived promptly when the summons was given over PA. They arrived and sat with no words to announce their presence, only salutes followed by them taking seats and listening to what everyone else present had to say. The captain seemed to be a man of few words, and considering the importance of this mission, the major found his seeming disinterest out of place. Just about everyone else on board was enthused to be here, even his soldiers. In this, Flavius seemed to be the odd man out.
The head scientist, predictably, had a lot more to say about the entire thing. Edmund waited for Gransela to be finished before giving him anything back.
"At the present time, Major, I'm willing to commit fifteen men to the defense of your researchers down on the surface of the planet. To the best of our knowledge nothing can survive the toxic environment of Venus's surface, saying nothing for the heat, so that should more than suffice. As it stands our powered armor is not equipped to survive such harsh conditions either, which I presume you're aware of since your team has produced these suits ahead of time. This will do for now, but I'd like to make a request: That your team takes whatever we learn down there and uses it to improve our equipment for future endeavors."
It was reasonable enough, they'd no doubt gather a lot of data about the composition of the planet's atmosphere at various altitude and the ranges of temperatures on the surface. While Venus was assumed to be a world devoid of life in this strange galaxy it wasn't out of bounds to assume others of similar chemical composition wouldn't be so dead. It's often been theorized worlds like this one could host ammonia-based lifeforms, and who is to say that they couldn't master advanced technology as well?
The importance of this was because those suits were clearly of civilian make; they would protect workers against the corrosive climate, but they were clearly not streamlined and wouldn't be very efficient to fight in, especially on such a dangerous planet. To be expected since it was the first batch, but it did have the major a little bit worried. On the off chance something did happen his men down there would be relying on skills and training, none of the bells and whistles that their typical suits provided.
Edmund wasn't shy in voicing his concerns. "I trust these suits have been tested prior to planet fall? I don't want to hit the surface and find out about kinks in the design only afterward. I'd like all the technical details sent to my supply officer here," the major nodded to the girl beside him, "for our own perusal. It shouldn't take my soldiers more than a day or two to become familiar enough with your suits to deploy. Until then I would recommend gathering as much data as we can from orbit."
To conclude the clone pointed to a map of the planet that was imposed on a wall-mounted monitor behind the head scientist. In particular, he gestured towards the north and south poles. "I'm no xenoclimatologist, but I'd recommend we touch down and establish a forward base on either of the polar regions. On Earth the atmospheric interference in either area is at its weakest, I'd presume that the cloud coverage of Venus is thinnest there as well. Amongst are supplies are a number of pre-fabricated neo-concrete structures that should be able to withstand the hostile conditions of the surface and allow us to built a temporary foothold that your scientists can collate and examine their findings within. Coming and going through those acidic clouds has to be dangerous, we should keep trips to and from orbit to an absolute minimum."
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Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Oct 25, 2017 23:52:54 GMT -6
Even though their Captain kept his speech short, the head scientist is glad to fill in for him. He paid little attention to the conflicts that the two commanding officers on board might have, and focused more on this own role and goals for this mission. He pointed at a few locations on the map for Venus that seems to match the suggestions that came from the Major.
"You're right! We'll be landing here, then we check out here, and here, and hopefully here as well. See, last time we sent something over to check out Venus, it didn't end up so well. Not as well as I'd hope we do anyways, it crashed after succeeding in gathering data, I hope we get the second part done without the first part. Anyhow, the science team wants to take a look at the remains of the space probe, Magellan. See Major, now we won't have to get your men to vape the gas to see what it might do, we have past data! Aren't that great? And then since the Executive Officer is handling everything, she can have the honors of dealing with the possibly acidic or space bacteria infected remains! Better hope we don't catch the galactic influence or something, but do follow the guideline listed in this folder... and hope it works. If not then for safety purpose we might have to throw the infected off the ship."
He sure throws in a lot of scares and jokes, but it's not too hard to understand what he's saying. He pointed out where the science team hopes to go, and what they should do in the case that they succeeded.
"As for the number of guards... well, I suppose we won't need a lot. Hopefully we won't meet Zontar down there, or some other weird things. If we do, maybe we'll get some data on if we taste different when braised in acid, something like that. I'm sure you guys want to know about the suit here, well time to show it off!"
He takes a tiny, sealed vial of clear liquid that was on the table.
"Don't try this at home kids, this is not water, but one of the most corrosive chemical that one of our guys in the Far East Union made, strong enough to melt through a block of steel. Now watch as I do my magic! Whaaaaaa- and nothing happens at all. Should be good enough for the pretty clouds, if you don't believe me then we can try pouring some of this on you, anyone? No? Good."
The protective suit has multiple layers, designed to not only keep harmful substances from the wearer, but to act as extra protection in case the first few layers gets damaged or fails to function. Insulated enough to enter lava without any major health problems, tough enough to withstand small arms rounds without being too heavy. The scientists might have a bit of problem doing anything too extreme in these suits, but the clone commandos should have no problem with them. The helmets have built in sensor and monitors that helps relay information to the user, and even recycle carbon dioxide back into oxygen. It's not a suit for combat, but it sure provides much safety... according to the doctor.
"Of course, I make no guarantee that it will work in any situation, even in ones that we have carried out tests in. Nothing is 100%, just that we haven't found out enough about it and thought we know everything. So don't blame us if we start melting, don't worry, some of us will be melting with you! Now put it on and test it out. Our testers think it's fine, but we're not as buff as you soldier types, so it might get a bit tight."
That was going to be the end of James' part, but then what O'Malley reminded him, the captain does have something to do.
"Right, right. Our good Captain might want to keep moving so the ship remains close to us. But don't get too close, I'm sure the rest of the crew don't like smoking so much that they want a taste of the golden stuffs. Don't worry, the ship should be fine even when it makes contact with the acidic clouds."
So the ship won't just be idle all the time, they'll have to follow the exploration crew from orbit, and track them as they go. Who knows if they might need some emergency extraction if something unforeseen happens, maybe a volcano would erupt or something.
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