Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 16, 2017 19:42:23 GMT
Right Eries system (its Union fortress world, far east of its territory) On board the Dart Class Mushashi
Union Fortress World, Eries System, “eastern” Union Space.
Dart Class Mushashi, Aft Service Corridor, Subsection B28.
The Ensign mumbled to himself as he made his way down the service corridor. This is what he got for being at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of rank. And allowing himself to be swept up by the machinations of other cultures. He cringed at the memory of his last Liberty in the public docks of Eridanus 88. He had wandered into a tavern.
The Card game had looked interesting, and a good test of mathematical and analytical skills. The Spartan freighter crews had been welcoming enough, and he had indeed won the first few hands.
He smiled wryly to himself. This is what he got for being cocky. The memory of the intergalactic credit chips glittering in the sunlight (Spartan ones had real gold in them) still haunted his mind. They had suckered him in with choice “losses”, and not only had he lost what he had earned, but he had also lost last month’s pay, AND his private speed-cycle in a desperate last hand.
The Spartans had let him depart with his dignity, at least: the man who won was even kind enough to return the key to his cycle. But word had spread around among his fellow crew members. His CO had given him the evil eye with a wry smile. And the tormenting from his fellows had been merciless.
He sighed again. It would take him time to lose the nickname “Vegas.”
It was due in part to his social pariah status that he had been dispatched to investigate what looked like a short circuit in the computer connections in the Engine room. The central computer had been unable to quantify the disturbance, much to the confusion-and worry- of the officers and engineering staff. The Quantum computers were able to process billions of calculations in nano-seconds.
The ensign sighed again as he continued his way down the corridor. Even on a ship as small as the Dart Class, it was very easy to get lost, and his duty station was up in the monitor room three decks above, so he had rarely come down to this level. Indeed, few of the regular crewmen, or even the engineers had.
as he drew closer to where his com-pad told him the problem was, he heard what sounded like the hissing of sparking wires. He frowned. Must have been one hell of a short. Maintenance was gonna catch hell for this….
He thus was not expecting the sight that presented itself as he rounded the corner.
“what in the name of-?” he said in alarm as the black-suited figure’s head snapped up to look at him from where it was focused on one of the computer terminal housings. The access panel was removed, and a few wires fell from the figure’s hand.
Neon-green eyes widened in apparent alarm at the sight of the Union ensign.
”Svylotch!” the figure hissed as it suddenly sprang to it’s feet.
“H-hey, hold it!” “Vegas” shouted, fumbling with his com-pad as he tried to send an alert signal.
The figure noticed his movement, and waved his hand while making a gesture with his fingers.
Abruptly, the screen of the com-pad dissolved into static. Vegas jerked it away in alarm.
“-the hell?!” he said. That…..that NEVER happened with these things! What was going on?!
The figure was already disappearing around the far corner. Vegas cursed to himself as he realized it was getting away. Shoving the com-pad back into his belt, he made to give chase, before noticing the computer the figure had been manipulating. Two main server wires were dangling from the housing, but otherwise the computer appeared undamaged.
More importantly, it looked that in his haste to get away, the figure had not thought to perform the same voodoo he had performed on the com-pad. Smiling to himself, Vegas quickly slid his sleeve down to protect his hands as he twisted the broken wires back into place. Immediately the computer gave the “all-clear” active ping. He immediately sprang to the key panel and keyed in the bridge code.
“alert, alert, this is Ensign Unitas, Maintenance section 2, can anyone hear me?”
For a moment, the screen sputtered, and he was worried that the creature had sabotaged it after all.
“-zzzzz-ear you, ensign. I dunno what you did, but that short’s reading all clear. Good job, ma-“
Vegas was caught off guard by the voice of the comm officer, but quickly recovered and cut him off.
“there’s no time! Sir, it wasn’t a short! Someone was here, messing around with the wiring on the terminal!”
“an intruder?” came back the voice of the comm officer. He sounded half-skeptical.
“yes, sir! I tried to call it in on my com-pad, but it failed to work for some reason. The intruder was messing around with the wiring, and took off when he saw me.”
‘and you didn’t persue him, ensign?”
Vegas shuddered as the voice of the Captain suddenly cut into the channel.
“n-no, sir: when my com-pad failed, I thought it was prudent to report the intruder, sir. And….I’m unarmed, sir.”
Vegas thought he heard a sigh on the other end.
“Security!”
Vegas sighed with relief as the red-lights of a security alert began to flash on the control panel. Already, he heard the boots of security troops on the deck above.
[=]
The black-clad figure raced down corridors with a speed unnatural for a humanoid form. When the red lights started flashing, he seemed to actually accelerate, dashing past crew members momentarily confused by the sudden alert. He knew his window for escape was rapidly closing, as other ships would respond to the alert, and areas of the hull would be put on lockdown.
The latter was not of overwhelming concern, he thought on as he slapped a palm down onto the door controls of a sealed blast door. He poured his “touch’ into the simple matrices of the door control, and was rewarded with a spark from the panel as his will overrode the computer and the door slid open. His speed proved useful, as the computer immediately reasserted itself once he took his hand away, and he was through the door even as it began to slam back shut.
He did this several more times, and was rewarded each time as the computer failed to quantify what he was and what he was doing.
His content vanished as he opened another door and was met with the startled face of a Security trooper.
“Hey!” the soldier shouted, and his gun began to come up.
The figure was faster.
A salmon-skin-colored hand snapped out of the suit, grabbing the main housing of the gun almost faster than the eye could register. The “touch” poured into the gun, quickly overloading the power supply and deactivating the trigger mechanism. At the same moment, his other hand slammed into the trooper’s helmet visor. The “touch” ripped into his HUD, scrambling his armor’s systems before he could react.
“what the-?”
With a flash of black and pink, the figure dashed down the corridor. Behind him, the trooper ripped off his helmet and dropped his ruined rifle as he stumbled back. Liquid energy leaked out of the ruptured rifle and sizzled on the floor, and the helmet sparked and sizzled, the visor cracking.
It was thus that the figure was caught off-guard.
The figure barely heard the *click* of a pistol being de-holstered as his eyes widened in realization. The trooper had recovered faster than he had anticipated, even as he saw two energy bolts snap past his head. The soldier, eyes still dazzled from the scrambling of his HUD, was off on his aim.
But off-aimed shots can still be dangerous.
The figure held in a cry of as much outrage as pain as he felt a third bolt rip through his shoulder. The wound, quickly cauterized, still gave off enough blood to leave a small splatter on the wall.
The figure didn’t slow down; even as he heard the trooper shouting into his radio fade behind him. Now he could feel his window of escape closing. He could hear over his rushing blood the boots of approaching troops, of security drones, and blast doors sealing shut.
The Touch could work on a single target at distance…but not a squad.
He felt the fire tearing up and down his arm, which now hung useless, the tendons barbequed. Sweat poured down his face. He was running out of time.
But he had found his avenue.
“airlock” said in illuminated letters overhead of a heavy door. He could see though the observation window the doorway beyond, and beyond that…
His good hand slammed down on the panel, the touch did it’s work, and the alarm of immediate evacuation rang throughout the corridor even as security troopers poured in from the other side.
Determination quickly turned to panic as the men, non of whom were in space suits, realized what was about the happen.
With a blast of silence and a roar of wind, both Airlock doors overrode their safeties and snapped open.
The figure vanished into the void, his body lost amongst the stars immediately. The troopers screamed as they were sucked towards the opening, some grabbing desperately at handholds…before the doors recovered control and slammed shut, the first man close enough to the door to slam into it with a crunch of breaking bones.
Outside, the figure, his suit immediately sealing all openings upon registering vacuum, shot towards the planet below.
A hand went to his “ear" as he took in the spectacle of the fortress world.
“opgave færdig. Brug undslippe.”
In moments, a small circle of swirling red energy opened below his falling form. He struck the small disk, barely large enough for his shoulders to pass through….and was gone.
Union Fortress World, Eries System, “eastern” Union Space.
Dart Class Mushashi, Aft Service Corridor, Subsection B28.
The Ensign mumbled to himself as he made his way down the service corridor. This is what he got for being at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of rank. And allowing himself to be swept up by the machinations of other cultures. He cringed at the memory of his last Liberty in the public docks of Eridanus 88. He had wandered into a tavern.
The Card game had looked interesting, and a good test of mathematical and analytical skills. The Spartan freighter crews had been welcoming enough, and he had indeed won the first few hands.
He smiled wryly to himself. This is what he got for being cocky. The memory of the intergalactic credit chips glittering in the sunlight (Spartan ones had real gold in them) still haunted his mind. They had suckered him in with choice “losses”, and not only had he lost what he had earned, but he had also lost last month’s pay, AND his private speed-cycle in a desperate last hand.
The Spartans had let him depart with his dignity, at least: the man who won was even kind enough to return the key to his cycle. But word had spread around among his fellow crew members. His CO had given him the evil eye with a wry smile. And the tormenting from his fellows had been merciless.
He sighed again. It would take him time to lose the nickname “Vegas.”
It was due in part to his social pariah status that he had been dispatched to investigate what looked like a short circuit in the computer connections in the Engine room. The central computer had been unable to quantify the disturbance, much to the confusion-and worry- of the officers and engineering staff. The Quantum computers were able to process billions of calculations in nano-seconds.
The ensign sighed again as he continued his way down the corridor. Even on a ship as small as the Dart Class, it was very easy to get lost, and his duty station was up in the monitor room three decks above, so he had rarely come down to this level. Indeed, few of the regular crewmen, or even the engineers had.
as he drew closer to where his com-pad told him the problem was, he heard what sounded like the hissing of sparking wires. He frowned. Must have been one hell of a short. Maintenance was gonna catch hell for this….
He thus was not expecting the sight that presented itself as he rounded the corner.
“what in the name of-?” he said in alarm as the black-suited figure’s head snapped up to look at him from where it was focused on one of the computer terminal housings. The access panel was removed, and a few wires fell from the figure’s hand.
Neon-green eyes widened in apparent alarm at the sight of the Union ensign.
”Svylotch!” the figure hissed as it suddenly sprang to it’s feet.
“H-hey, hold it!” “Vegas” shouted, fumbling with his com-pad as he tried to send an alert signal.
The figure noticed his movement, and waved his hand while making a gesture with his fingers.
Abruptly, the screen of the com-pad dissolved into static. Vegas jerked it away in alarm.
“-the hell?!” he said. That…..that NEVER happened with these things! What was going on?!
The figure was already disappearing around the far corner. Vegas cursed to himself as he realized it was getting away. Shoving the com-pad back into his belt, he made to give chase, before noticing the computer the figure had been manipulating. Two main server wires were dangling from the housing, but otherwise the computer appeared undamaged.
More importantly, it looked that in his haste to get away, the figure had not thought to perform the same voodoo he had performed on the com-pad. Smiling to himself, Vegas quickly slid his sleeve down to protect his hands as he twisted the broken wires back into place. Immediately the computer gave the “all-clear” active ping. He immediately sprang to the key panel and keyed in the bridge code.
“alert, alert, this is Ensign Unitas, Maintenance section 2, can anyone hear me?”
For a moment, the screen sputtered, and he was worried that the creature had sabotaged it after all.
“-zzzzz-ear you, ensign. I dunno what you did, but that short’s reading all clear. Good job, ma-“
Vegas was caught off guard by the voice of the comm officer, but quickly recovered and cut him off.
“there’s no time! Sir, it wasn’t a short! Someone was here, messing around with the wiring on the terminal!”
“an intruder?” came back the voice of the comm officer. He sounded half-skeptical.
“yes, sir! I tried to call it in on my com-pad, but it failed to work for some reason. The intruder was messing around with the wiring, and took off when he saw me.”
‘and you didn’t persue him, ensign?”
Vegas shuddered as the voice of the Captain suddenly cut into the channel.
“n-no, sir: when my com-pad failed, I thought it was prudent to report the intruder, sir. And….I’m unarmed, sir.”
Vegas thought he heard a sigh on the other end.
“Security!”
Vegas sighed with relief as the red-lights of a security alert began to flash on the control panel. Already, he heard the boots of security troops on the deck above.
[=]
The black-clad figure raced down corridors with a speed unnatural for a humanoid form. When the red lights started flashing, he seemed to actually accelerate, dashing past crew members momentarily confused by the sudden alert. He knew his window for escape was rapidly closing, as other ships would respond to the alert, and areas of the hull would be put on lockdown.
The latter was not of overwhelming concern, he thought on as he slapped a palm down onto the door controls of a sealed blast door. He poured his “touch’ into the simple matrices of the door control, and was rewarded with a spark from the panel as his will overrode the computer and the door slid open. His speed proved useful, as the computer immediately reasserted itself once he took his hand away, and he was through the door even as it began to slam back shut.
He did this several more times, and was rewarded each time as the computer failed to quantify what he was and what he was doing.
His content vanished as he opened another door and was met with the startled face of a Security trooper.
“Hey!” the soldier shouted, and his gun began to come up.
The figure was faster.
A salmon-skin-colored hand snapped out of the suit, grabbing the main housing of the gun almost faster than the eye could register. The “touch” poured into the gun, quickly overloading the power supply and deactivating the trigger mechanism. At the same moment, his other hand slammed into the trooper’s helmet visor. The “touch” ripped into his HUD, scrambling his armor’s systems before he could react.
“what the-?”
With a flash of black and pink, the figure dashed down the corridor. Behind him, the trooper ripped off his helmet and dropped his ruined rifle as he stumbled back. Liquid energy leaked out of the ruptured rifle and sizzled on the floor, and the helmet sparked and sizzled, the visor cracking.
It was thus that the figure was caught off-guard.
The figure barely heard the *click* of a pistol being de-holstered as his eyes widened in realization. The trooper had recovered faster than he had anticipated, even as he saw two energy bolts snap past his head. The soldier, eyes still dazzled from the scrambling of his HUD, was off on his aim.
But off-aimed shots can still be dangerous.
The figure held in a cry of as much outrage as pain as he felt a third bolt rip through his shoulder. The wound, quickly cauterized, still gave off enough blood to leave a small splatter on the wall.
The figure didn’t slow down; even as he heard the trooper shouting into his radio fade behind him. Now he could feel his window of escape closing. He could hear over his rushing blood the boots of approaching troops, of security drones, and blast doors sealing shut.
The Touch could work on a single target at distance…but not a squad.
He felt the fire tearing up and down his arm, which now hung useless, the tendons barbequed. Sweat poured down his face. He was running out of time.
But he had found his avenue.
“airlock” said in illuminated letters overhead of a heavy door. He could see though the observation window the doorway beyond, and beyond that…
His good hand slammed down on the panel, the touch did it’s work, and the alarm of immediate evacuation rang throughout the corridor even as security troopers poured in from the other side.
Determination quickly turned to panic as the men, non of whom were in space suits, realized what was about the happen.
With a blast of silence and a roar of wind, both Airlock doors overrode their safeties and snapped open.
The figure vanished into the void, his body lost amongst the stars immediately. The troopers screamed as they were sucked towards the opening, some grabbing desperately at handholds…before the doors recovered control and slammed shut, the first man close enough to the door to slam into it with a crunch of breaking bones.
Outside, the figure, his suit immediately sealing all openings upon registering vacuum, shot towards the planet below.
A hand went to his “ear" as he took in the spectacle of the fortress world.
“opgave færdig. Brug undslippe.”
In moments, a small circle of swirling red energy opened below his falling form. He struck the small disk, barely large enough for his shoulders to pass through….and was gone.