Post by veronw on Aug 13, 2023 20:31:25 GMT
Due To An Issue had been specifically Ascended in order to deal with this particular task, but that did not mean that he was excited for it. A long haul journey to the Far Star regions of this unusual galactic halo would take a considerable amount of effort, and then a not inconsiderable amount of time in recovery. Despite the changes in the flow of space in this universe, Meta-Sax technology had yet to defeat the chasm of time between points in space.
His peers had argued for one method or another in order to cross the distance, but he ultimately decided on a mixture. Harkening back to the elder times of the far distance past, he wrapped himself in the uncertainty of thought that precipitated a Fold Space moment. Feeling the mirror, the split, the echo of himself that defined the choice of position, he surged forward and asserted his existence into a new space nearly a thousand lightyears away.
But like a long distance runner, every time he did a "sprint" like this, it fatigued him. The steady jog of the warp engines hummed around his skin as the now distant star light of the thinning spectrum near the Halo of the Astral Pole barely reached him. It was an oddly vacant feeling, especially in light of how recent his Ascension had been relative to many others of his kin.
Within his body lay two other smallships, both of them older than he and more experienced. Truest Love and Botoy had elected to accompany him which he was grateful for. Besides them, he was alone.
Three Saxheelians in such a distant space, breaching the records and travels of any other in their long history.
As the Pole grew nearer, he wondered what would await for the three of them. As the first of the Anceriun born, it would be he who would define a new generation of Saxheelians and how his people would interact with the greater universe.
So, no pressure, right?
Gigachad (lithorians) — 02/21/2023 1:53 AM
Not long after the saxheelian passed by the shallower parts of the Austral expanse and the Hochlanders that dwelled there,its FTL signature was recorded by sensor stations on the Collective's perimeter.
The fact that it didn't match the profile of tachyonic sail travel immediately ruled out the possibility of a Hochlander expedition group or any known Austral organism. Various intelligences scattered across the diffuse interstellar void were assigned to the task,crunching data and numbers to come up with an explanation and course of action.
Two rose from the sea of variables,one was that this was activity from feral Mirdif assets. While their attacks had been getting more frequent and organized ever since Yog-Narr's ploy,making a beeline from this far out was unusual,to say nothing of the spacetime manipulations still not matching. The other,more likely yet worrying possibility,was this being a craft belonging to the Austral branch of Axioms,a feared blinker craft. Following the theoretical designation of this unknown asset,a response squadron of pre-ordained number and composition was roused from stupor. Already outside Collective boundaries,they were also the most poised to intercept.
Ten Alcubierre bubbles would form on the Saxheelian's advanced sensors before promptly taking off in its direction,some splitting off from the main body and taking a curved path,one meant for encirclement. As such,the ones up front were first to arrive,at a respectable distance of a hundred thousand or so kilometers,easy to communicate in real time with even sublight means yet not quite in close combat range should the situation escalate.
The perpetrators were bioships,clad in red and black,sporting baleen heads and an array of large sails,two pairs to be precise,arrayed in an X pattern at the vessel's rear. Most worrisome however,were the clear weapon emplacements that dotted their form.
Banks of railguns on the top and bottom,missile tubes on the sides,even those majestic fins were laced with batteries of bulbous mounts,the lensing mediums at their front betrayed their nature as that of directed energy weapons.
Once the bioships on the sides and flank of their quarry appeared,they quickly concluded that the target did not match the design of any previous Blinker unit seen prior. Cautiously,they sent psychic pings,demanding that the fellow bioship indentify itself in a medium that transcended language. Alas,they failed to account for how the reciever might react to untraceable voices in their head...
Varen (Meta-Sax) — 02/23/2023 7:56 AM
The Saxheelian ship was massive: at 3.2 kilometers long, it was fairly standard for normal galactic species, but it was the actual mass of the ship that made it distinctive. At nearly a quadrillion tons, it had its own gravitational field (which it was politely keeping tight against itself so as not to disturb the others). His own baleen shape mirrored an ancient aquatic creature from his homeworld, though with the distinctive Meta-Sax colorations. The hammerhead-like forward section was accented by the mid section wings, which sloped down giving it the impression of swimming through space. Though unlike his alien counterparts, there were no visible weapon emplacements. Instead, he was dotted with hundreds of sensor spires reminiscent of a lobster and two gargantuan bulbs where the wings joined the greater body.
Due To An Issue kept the two smallships safely tucked inside his hangar as his sensors reacted to the presence of other starships. He'd expected to be probed at least a few times by the locals, and as the Saxheelians didn't really know what was awaiting them, he was perfectly prepared for a First Contact scenario. He reduced his warp bubble to its lowest functional point and kept himself still.
Across his surface, eyes opened up for the first time in quite a while, peering in various spectra. As he looked around himself, he felt a brief upwelling of odd emotion, seeing other organic craft. It could be so lonely out there with-
A sense.
Like he was being touched in one node of his distributed mind. If he had his previous features, he would have squinted in confusion at the sensation. This was not like the Shemeshi, he would recognize that feeling instantly. It was different, but similar.
Looking around himself with physical eyes on his skins surface, he did not see any of the glyph forms he would have expected if there were Shemeshi ships here, and give his reflections served as their defenders, he doubted very much they would do something as grandiose as fabricate alien starships.
No, this was different. He couldn't pin it down beyond an odd desire to know something. It was alien, most certainly alien to him anyways.
But, no different than the usual oddities of a First Contact.
He kept that in mind as he opened a series of communications channels; low impact radio waves, a few LIDAR pulses, a visual display on his physical body in the most common galactic languages of Ancerious, a replication via hologram of pheremonic languages, and finally the atomic-language of his own people--kalliyah.
*"Rejoicing and welcoming of The New. We are Meta-Sax, and come by invitation of the lithorian Collective. I am Due To An Issue, I represent my people. This one seeks semiotic understand, perception of selves in reflection, and empathic connection with others."
He kept it relatively simple by explaining his origin, himself, and his goals.
Gigachad (lithorians) — 07/11/2023 12:21 PM
The bioships were quick to acknowledge their target's communications,sending their message back to the border intellect for analysis.
They began to approach,shadowing their guest. Each individual vessel seemed quite small in relation,being outmatched volumetrically by a factor of thirty and outmassed more than a million times over. Once again they relayed a psionic message,this one less a conjured feeling and moreso a voice
Stand by
Thousands of lightyears away,a hardlight panel lit up in what seemed to be a throne room,garnering the attention of an unseen individual
Incursion in sector 689. Craft not native to Austral Expanse,claims to seek symbiosis. The border intellect droned on,displaying a detailed report of the Sax ship's characteristics based on scans.
"So they are here at last,good. We shall let them through shortly,you can provide escort"
Understood
A knot of warped space time would form some million kilometers from the Sax ship and its hosts,causing the quantum foam around to froth and bubble as it expanded. Eventually the universe gave way to a shortcut between angled spaces,a wormhole,its other side illuminated by what seemed to be an A type star,but a plethora of dark shapes cast shadows in the otherwise monolithic glow,clearly artificial structures.
The frigates in front of the Sax vessel rushed into the tunnel without delay,while those behind it drew closer but otherwise maintained their cohesion. Another psionic ping was broadcasted from these,a last reply by the border intellect.
Proceed
Varen (Meta-Sax) — 07/12/2023 12:43 PM
Due To An Issue found the mechanism of communication mildly unsettling, given that it seemed to have no point of origin. This implied an unknown method -- which had its own unique implications.
Uncertain how best to respond, the cladeship simply sent out a ping acknowleding the request to follow.
The yawning portal was at least something the cladeship could understand - it knew wormholes well and used them itself. That the Iithorians had them as well was unexpected.
Why have me travel the distance, I wonder?
The other side of the portal was added to the list of the unexpected; such a highly dense system was not on his list of expected elements on this mission. He'd assumed it would be an outpost, a distant thing that would let the Iithorians assess and understand the Saxheelian.
Or this -is- an outpost..
Which would mean that they were vastly more populous than anyone assumed.
As the group of ships passed through the veil into the portal, DTAI took a moment to assess the metalicity of the regional stars. If the stars had poor metal content, it could explain the biological focus on the Collectives ship, which in turn could give a degree of insight into the culture, their objectives, and how best to navigate the integration of the deal that had been made between them.
Within him, the two smallships remained at a state of rest - no point in jumping out into space if they were going to be in transit for a time. With luck, DTAI would be able to regenerate from the long journey and refuel.
Varen (Meta-Sax) — Today at 1:30 PM
Before they can navigate into the portal, however, the Saxheelians are informed of the situation in Corona - most critically, the OI. Reeling in surprise at the revelation of their ancient foe's resurgence in this universe, DTAI breaks off from the portal and barrels towards the conflict zone.
His peers had argued for one method or another in order to cross the distance, but he ultimately decided on a mixture. Harkening back to the elder times of the far distance past, he wrapped himself in the uncertainty of thought that precipitated a Fold Space moment. Feeling the mirror, the split, the echo of himself that defined the choice of position, he surged forward and asserted his existence into a new space nearly a thousand lightyears away.
But like a long distance runner, every time he did a "sprint" like this, it fatigued him. The steady jog of the warp engines hummed around his skin as the now distant star light of the thinning spectrum near the Halo of the Astral Pole barely reached him. It was an oddly vacant feeling, especially in light of how recent his Ascension had been relative to many others of his kin.
Within his body lay two other smallships, both of them older than he and more experienced. Truest Love and Botoy had elected to accompany him which he was grateful for. Besides them, he was alone.
Three Saxheelians in such a distant space, breaching the records and travels of any other in their long history.
As the Pole grew nearer, he wondered what would await for the three of them. As the first of the Anceriun born, it would be he who would define a new generation of Saxheelians and how his people would interact with the greater universe.
So, no pressure, right?
Gigachad (lithorians) — 02/21/2023 1:53 AM
Not long after the saxheelian passed by the shallower parts of the Austral expanse and the Hochlanders that dwelled there,its FTL signature was recorded by sensor stations on the Collective's perimeter.
The fact that it didn't match the profile of tachyonic sail travel immediately ruled out the possibility of a Hochlander expedition group or any known Austral organism. Various intelligences scattered across the diffuse interstellar void were assigned to the task,crunching data and numbers to come up with an explanation and course of action.
Two rose from the sea of variables,one was that this was activity from feral Mirdif assets. While their attacks had been getting more frequent and organized ever since Yog-Narr's ploy,making a beeline from this far out was unusual,to say nothing of the spacetime manipulations still not matching. The other,more likely yet worrying possibility,was this being a craft belonging to the Austral branch of Axioms,a feared blinker craft. Following the theoretical designation of this unknown asset,a response squadron of pre-ordained number and composition was roused from stupor. Already outside Collective boundaries,they were also the most poised to intercept.
Ten Alcubierre bubbles would form on the Saxheelian's advanced sensors before promptly taking off in its direction,some splitting off from the main body and taking a curved path,one meant for encirclement. As such,the ones up front were first to arrive,at a respectable distance of a hundred thousand or so kilometers,easy to communicate in real time with even sublight means yet not quite in close combat range should the situation escalate.
The perpetrators were bioships,clad in red and black,sporting baleen heads and an array of large sails,two pairs to be precise,arrayed in an X pattern at the vessel's rear. Most worrisome however,were the clear weapon emplacements that dotted their form.
Banks of railguns on the top and bottom,missile tubes on the sides,even those majestic fins were laced with batteries of bulbous mounts,the lensing mediums at their front betrayed their nature as that of directed energy weapons.
Once the bioships on the sides and flank of their quarry appeared,they quickly concluded that the target did not match the design of any previous Blinker unit seen prior. Cautiously,they sent psychic pings,demanding that the fellow bioship indentify itself in a medium that transcended language. Alas,they failed to account for how the reciever might react to untraceable voices in their head...
Varen (Meta-Sax) — 02/23/2023 7:56 AM
The Saxheelian ship was massive: at 3.2 kilometers long, it was fairly standard for normal galactic species, but it was the actual mass of the ship that made it distinctive. At nearly a quadrillion tons, it had its own gravitational field (which it was politely keeping tight against itself so as not to disturb the others). His own baleen shape mirrored an ancient aquatic creature from his homeworld, though with the distinctive Meta-Sax colorations. The hammerhead-like forward section was accented by the mid section wings, which sloped down giving it the impression of swimming through space. Though unlike his alien counterparts, there were no visible weapon emplacements. Instead, he was dotted with hundreds of sensor spires reminiscent of a lobster and two gargantuan bulbs where the wings joined the greater body.
Due To An Issue kept the two smallships safely tucked inside his hangar as his sensors reacted to the presence of other starships. He'd expected to be probed at least a few times by the locals, and as the Saxheelians didn't really know what was awaiting them, he was perfectly prepared for a First Contact scenario. He reduced his warp bubble to its lowest functional point and kept himself still.
Across his surface, eyes opened up for the first time in quite a while, peering in various spectra. As he looked around himself, he felt a brief upwelling of odd emotion, seeing other organic craft. It could be so lonely out there with-
A sense.
Like he was being touched in one node of his distributed mind. If he had his previous features, he would have squinted in confusion at the sensation. This was not like the Shemeshi, he would recognize that feeling instantly. It was different, but similar.
Looking around himself with physical eyes on his skins surface, he did not see any of the glyph forms he would have expected if there were Shemeshi ships here, and give his reflections served as their defenders, he doubted very much they would do something as grandiose as fabricate alien starships.
No, this was different. He couldn't pin it down beyond an odd desire to know something. It was alien, most certainly alien to him anyways.
But, no different than the usual oddities of a First Contact.
He kept that in mind as he opened a series of communications channels; low impact radio waves, a few LIDAR pulses, a visual display on his physical body in the most common galactic languages of Ancerious, a replication via hologram of pheremonic languages, and finally the atomic-language of his own people--kalliyah.
*"Rejoicing and welcoming of The New. We are Meta-Sax, and come by invitation of the lithorian Collective. I am Due To An Issue, I represent my people. This one seeks semiotic understand, perception of selves in reflection, and empathic connection with others."
He kept it relatively simple by explaining his origin, himself, and his goals.
Gigachad (lithorians) — 07/11/2023 12:21 PM
The bioships were quick to acknowledge their target's communications,sending their message back to the border intellect for analysis.
They began to approach,shadowing their guest. Each individual vessel seemed quite small in relation,being outmatched volumetrically by a factor of thirty and outmassed more than a million times over. Once again they relayed a psionic message,this one less a conjured feeling and moreso a voice
Stand by
Thousands of lightyears away,a hardlight panel lit up in what seemed to be a throne room,garnering the attention of an unseen individual
Incursion in sector 689. Craft not native to Austral Expanse,claims to seek symbiosis. The border intellect droned on,displaying a detailed report of the Sax ship's characteristics based on scans.
"So they are here at last,good. We shall let them through shortly,you can provide escort"
Understood
A knot of warped space time would form some million kilometers from the Sax ship and its hosts,causing the quantum foam around to froth and bubble as it expanded. Eventually the universe gave way to a shortcut between angled spaces,a wormhole,its other side illuminated by what seemed to be an A type star,but a plethora of dark shapes cast shadows in the otherwise monolithic glow,clearly artificial structures.
The frigates in front of the Sax vessel rushed into the tunnel without delay,while those behind it drew closer but otherwise maintained their cohesion. Another psionic ping was broadcasted from these,a last reply by the border intellect.
Proceed
Varen (Meta-Sax) — 07/12/2023 12:43 PM
Due To An Issue found the mechanism of communication mildly unsettling, given that it seemed to have no point of origin. This implied an unknown method -- which had its own unique implications.
Uncertain how best to respond, the cladeship simply sent out a ping acknowleding the request to follow.
The yawning portal was at least something the cladeship could understand - it knew wormholes well and used them itself. That the Iithorians had them as well was unexpected.
Why have me travel the distance, I wonder?
The other side of the portal was added to the list of the unexpected; such a highly dense system was not on his list of expected elements on this mission. He'd assumed it would be an outpost, a distant thing that would let the Iithorians assess and understand the Saxheelian.
Or this -is- an outpost..
Which would mean that they were vastly more populous than anyone assumed.
As the group of ships passed through the veil into the portal, DTAI took a moment to assess the metalicity of the regional stars. If the stars had poor metal content, it could explain the biological focus on the Collectives ship, which in turn could give a degree of insight into the culture, their objectives, and how best to navigate the integration of the deal that had been made between them.
Within him, the two smallships remained at a state of rest - no point in jumping out into space if they were going to be in transit for a time. With luck, DTAI would be able to regenerate from the long journey and refuel.
Varen (Meta-Sax) — Today at 1:30 PM
Before they can navigate into the portal, however, the Saxheelians are informed of the situation in Corona - most critically, the OI. Reeling in surprise at the revelation of their ancient foe's resurgence in this universe, DTAI breaks off from the portal and barrels towards the conflict zone.
For now, the communion with the Lithorians would have to wait for another day.
----
Rp was ended due to inactivity.