PBEM Turn 92.02f (742 lines) - THIS IS PART 6 OF 6.
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=== Kingfisher ===
Daniel Silvmane is happy as a pig in mud. The sensor suite of the Kingfisher
is reeling in data in reams, and his hands are in constant motion over
the holodynamic panel he set up for himself in the Common Room. Headphones
blare the latest record from Near Miss ("Dance of Fools," currently banned
by the realms of Lucan, Dulinor, Strephon, and Margaret, with the Ziru
Sirkaa and the League of Antares soon to follow) in his ears as he immerses
himself in the unending display of fascinating trivia about the Ring....
The sensor system was set up for him by Johann Abuko, with the approval of
Count Ger. It is totally passive, and completely disconnected from anything
that might affect the operation of the Kingfisher in a crisis. The many
alarms and telltales were getting annoying, so he turned them off....
Wait until Ralf sees this, he thinks to himself. I hope the sensors on
the Talisman are up to snuff-- if we can triangulate on some of these
phenomena, we can map out the whole--
Suddenly his reverie is broken by a coruscating flash of light from across
the Ring, temporarily blinding the light-collector arrays. "Huh?"
He scans the readouts. Multiple Jump exits, fusion sources, meson fire....
He frowns and switches off the music, turning around. "Hey, Fitz--"
Severin is gone. Dan gets up and makes his way forward.
Stepping onto the Bridge, he pushes Lazer's gun barrel aside with a
finger and says, "Has anyone noticed that we have company? Oh, hi,
'Vouf. Um, why's everybody running around?"
"GET your UGLY pink KEESTER BACK on those SENSORS," Vouf snarls without
turning around. He glances at Abuko. "Sounds like you KNOW this guy, A.P."
=== Gemini Arbiter ===
Startled out of her concentration, Nikki yells, "Huh!? 50%!" Then
the content of the radio message begins to sink in.
"Solomani!" Glancing at Aurelia, she asks, "What's your plan?"
Still programming the helm at breakneck speed, Aurelia replies,
"Maybe we can get to a large body of water and hide."
Nichole nods, "Or at least get the Ring between us and them. Good idea."
"Yeah." agrees Aurelia. "Now only if it works!"
"Well," offers Nikki, "we can always say we got over excited and pressed
the wrong buttons!"
Aurelia arches her eyebrows as she rapidly scans the info streaming from
the sensors. "Right. I'm SURE they'll believe us!"
Checking the engineering displays, Nikki says, "We won't be able to hold
this output much longer."
"How long?" asks Aurelia.
Nikki taps out a quick calculation.
"Long enough to get to the Ring."
=== Talisman ===
In the midst of trying to make sense of the gunnery data coming in, J.J.
notices a flash from the secure-cam holo-display. He glances at it and there
in the picture is a dolphin. And it is on-board the Talisman. "Security to
Capt. INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! we have been board by a dolphin,
present location Engineering. Where do you want me Thul, with the guns
or do I go get the fish?"
=== Alcyon Maneuver Drives ===
"If I live through this day, I'll never sign on another damn hazduty
contract again, I SWEAR!" Slide Wrinkley is running like a maniac
between the main Jump Drive controls and the Power Plant. As his hands
fly across the controls, easing the plant on line and preparing to
charge the Jump grid, he mutters to himself nonstop.
"Goddamn it Grey, once in a while I'd like to put this baby through a
Jump WITHOUT having to crash charge the Zuchai crystals! We barely
patched together the fuel lines after the LAST time, and..." He slams
a fist down on the commo panel. "O'SHI, GETCHER BUTT *DOWN* HERE ALREADY!"
The voice that replies is smug. "Can't. Confined to quarters."
Slide's eyes bulge. "BY *WHO*, FOR SET'S SAKE?!"
"Chief Medical Officer. He ranks you an' Grey, man. An' he really DID
pop inta Sickbay outa nowhere...."
"Doesn't surprise me," Grey's voice cuts in shakily. "Count Ger just
poofed onto the Bridge. Attention, all hands-- CO on the Bridge."
"Whattayamean, just POOFED!" Slide runs down the status logs with a
fingertip as he continues to bring systems on line. "Well, get him to
gimme back O'Shi, or 'poof' Bhyarrvouf or Abuko or Silvmane or
SOMEBODY! We had barely enough manpower to do this in a hurry LAST
time, and that was with the Anslinger covering our butts--"
He stops dead on that thought. In his mind, he remembers a flash of
exploding hydrogen, fired by the other Turnskaad ships to cover
the Alcyon's escape....hydrogen meant for the Alcyon....
He whirls to the main fuel-tank monitor system, and tabulates the
ullage rapidly. His eyes squeeze shut, as if he'd just received
a painful injection in a tender spot, and he slumps into a chair.
"Bridge," he whispers, "Tell the Commander that stunt with the
exploding fuel at the last jump point cost us thirty percent of
our go juice. We're sitting at about three-hundred-fifty thou.
That's enough to jump us about three parsecs...but not enough
to make the rendezvous."
"We're stranded...."
=== Trakh ===
Nerves, tempered and battle-hardened, trained by a lifetime of military
tradition, respond within milliseconds to the call of the warrior, yet
in this moment of crisis Akhouw calmly takes charge. The low pitch and
sharp tone of his voice are the only indicators of his internal stress.
In a blur, his right claw stabs down, activating the panic button. The
lighting changes instantly to the subdued reddish hues of combat lighting
and in the background a klaxon begins to sound general quarters.
He snaps off an order to Aolrkhea'. "Engage EM cloak! Order for_Khaurl_:
Engage cloak, execute maximum thrust rendesvouz with _Trakh_."
Akhouw throws an order at Aiwi. "Speeder emergency recall! Begin nav
calcuations for jump, best wilderness refueling point!"
The claw shifts a centimeter to the left, activating the intercom.
"Aeawiyh, full combat power, NOW!"
Then a last, more ominous order. "Fa'eairl. Missile load, nuclear
magazine."
=== Alcyon Jump Drives ===
Aaron haut-Frieder is running like a madman down the corridors of the
Alcyon. He's in good shape, his muscles toned but not bulging, his
blonde hair and thick walrus mustache flying behind him. It's easy
to see that he's in good shape, because he's almost naked. Only a
pair of black boxer shorts lie between him and an indecency charge;
he only threw THOSE on after Slide's screaming woke him up because
he knew Pater would film his flight and that Ger and 'Vouf would
do a crew-efficiency review of the tapes later....
He skids to a barefoot stop at the iris valve to the main Jump Drive
monitor area, several decks above where Wrinkley is battling the
Power Plant, and opens the door. "Slide," he pants as he jumps into
a chair, "This is Aaron. I'm on station in the Jump area-- yell if
you need me and can't get anyone else."
A tiny wind tickles Aaron's mustache. He frowns and looks puzzled
for a moment, then shrugs and runs a hand through his mustache to
calm the itch as he sets to work. Another breeze, stronger than
the last, ruffles his hair, but he ignores it....
=== Phin Shuttle ===
Ian grabs Doejin forcefully on the fluke or fin, or just about
anything going past him.
*WAIT! JUST A SECOND! Doejin, if you're going with the humans, take this
message to Judge Jett: (This is *IMPORTANT*!) Tell him the crystals in my
chamber are NOT to fall into the hands of people who shoot first. Tell him
to destroy them if he has to to keep them away from whoever just got here.
Here is my Turnskaad ID, so he will know the message is from me, and
only he will know the codes (to use with it) to get the info from
those crystals.*
Ian smiles.
*I must stay behind and do what I can help the Hoop. That's why I'm
here. If we should never meet again, I am enriched by these few
minutes. Now -- GO!*
And Ian pushes himself through the other at almost the same instant,
hoping like hell he doesn't wind up 200 m underwater.
There is a shift in gravity, and suddenly a cool, sweet wind is ruffling
Ian's hair. A calm, placid voice-- more calm than it had ever been heard
on the Alcyon-- greets Ian.
"Oh, hello, Ian. It's good to know I won't be alone on this trip."
Ian turns and faces Richard Jett, and breaks into a wide grin. "Yes, it is,"
he agrees. "Let's find a place to spend the night, and then get moving.
I expect Ferdy will catch up to us after he checks in, but in the meantime
it's getting on toward Sunfade...."
=== Yori/Regina - Date: 249-956 ===
"T minus two-hundred forty seconds and counting," Announced the
loudspeaker, "All systems reporting nominal. Tertiary interlocks
disengaged."
A large chronometer placed on the wall of the laboratory confirmed
the announcement. The number continued to descend, but none of the
technicians seemed to pay much attention to it. Although there was
no obvious sign of stress or foreboding in the expressions or actions
of any of the personnel, the tension was definitely there. The heavily
armed Imperial Marines surrounding the room betrayed the importance of
the process at hand.
Vigorous streams of data poured forth from the various terminals and
hard-copy printers around the room. A green light indicated that all
systems were 'go', but one observer was skeptical. Checking his hand
computer, which was directly linked into the tactical and security
network, the figure frowned to see that there were no irregularities
reported. Unconvinced, except by his own eyes, the man in the uniform
bearing the markings of a lieutenant commander and sporting the name
"Greyson" on the name tag left the lab to make one last round in the
security perimeter before the test was executed.
Placing an identification card into a slot by the door, he stared into
a beam of red light. Three seconds later, the panel above the slot
where he placed his card read:
Greyson, Darrow
Lt. Commander
Security clearance: Alpha Primus
Identity verified
ACCESS GRANTED
After which, the door slid open, revealing that it was composed of a
twenty centimeter-thick bonded superdense alloy. Greyson passed through
the portal, which then promptly resealed, it's magnetic locks audibly
reengaging.
He checked his watch. There were still a few minutes left for him to
make his rounds in the secured corridor. Checking his hand computer, he
was not entirely please to see that he was the only entity registering in
the area. Despite his equipment, he knew that something was amiss. He
had a highly developed intuition for these things. If he sensed something
were wrong, then he would believe his gut instinct over any mere piece of
machinery, no matter how sophisticated or 'fail-safe'.
Greyson inspected every possible point of entry, checked every security
sensor. There were no flaws . . . yet. Although many of his compatriots
discounted it, Greyson believed that he had a sort of precognizant
ability; A sort of clairvoyance into the future. It was nothing of the
psionic hokus-pokus that the press was so busy maligning. He had dealt
with the Zhodani. He knew them to be honorable. They would not be the
ones to attack the Imperium while it was weak. If any attack was to come,
it would be from the perennially restive Solomani. Their politics of
racial supremacy were dangerous because they were so intoxicating to
so many normally rational people.
"Thirty seconds until test. All personnel prepare for primary safety
interlock release."
The man mentally chastised himself for falling into daydreaming. This
had never happened to him before while on so important a duty. Dismissing
the transgression to fatigue, he consoled himself with the thought that,
after the test was complete, he could relax. At that moment,however,
he realized that he would have to hurry if he was to get back to the
laboratory in time.
As he was heading down one of the corridors, he felt a presence behind
him. In one lightning-fast action, he drew his specially-balanced 9mm
autopistol, wheeled around, dropped to a squat while levelling his weapon,
and shouted into his headset.
"Priority one! Security team to secured perimeter! Repeat, security
team to secured perimeter!"
Suddenly, all went red. The base went on to top alert. Greyson
plastered himself to the wall of the corridor as he crept down the
direction of the disturbance. He knew that something had been wrong
with the security system. Within fifteen seconds, the entire security
perimeter was filled with Marines, some equipped with battledress, others
with flak jackets. All had gauss rifles.
The final countdown was underway. Neither Greyson nor his troops had
found anything yet. Then, just as he heard the loudspeakers announce
that the test was proceeding, and that the primary interlocks had been
released, a corporal shouted, "look out!" while making a dive toward
the lieutenant commander.
Greyson could not discern what happened after that.
It was as if everything had been turned inside out. There was a
flash of white; a gut-wrenching feeling. His body was being torn apart.
Every blood vessel in him felt like there were about to burst. His heart
felt as if it would explode, were it not for the kevlar flak jacket he
was wearing.
Then, all was calm . . .
Visions passed before him: His mother and father reading to him one
night . . . His grandmother visiting the family one weekend . . . His
girlfriend on the night of the Graduation Dance . . . His brother's
horribly burned body and the painful expression in his eyes . . . His
sister crying at the starport . . .
His sister crying at the starport. That was the vision that remained
with him, if only for a moment.
=== Phin shuttle ===
Ferdy looks on with a feeling close to despair as he watches Doejin
disappear through one portal and then Ian through the other. Whichever
way he chooses, he will have lost one of his friends, perhaps forever.
* The Visitors are leaving? So soon? No time to even meet them all?
This is getting worse all the time. *
He hangs there for a long moment, looking back and forth from one
portal to the other.
* Well, I've got to make a decision... *
Ferdy makes a long and not very pleasant noise through his blowhole.
* Darn it, I'm too old to go off splashing about the cosmos. The
Great Hoop is my ocean, and that's where I'm going to die. *
With a flick of his tail and a mental prod at his skysuit, Ferdy darts
straight through the centre of one of the portals.
* Ian! Wait for me...! *
The portal shrinks to nothingness behind him, and the Phin shuttle is
empty.
=== Westwind ===
Nick Talon and Hur'Shurvan watch the Phin shuttle on their bridge displays,
as it slows and maneuvers for docking. Less then one hundred meters are
left between the two spacecraft and the distance continues to shrink.
The Westwind's sensors continue to dump data on the invasion fleet into
the ship's computer for later analysis. Only a few scant seconds have
passed since a flash of light and wave of hard radiation heralded the
conversion of the unexplored derelict in highly charged plasma.
Talon and Shurv listen silently to the Solomani diatribe. When it ends,
Talon lets out a long, low groan. "My mother warned me there'd be days
like this. I never believed her. I wonder if--"
Suddenly, without any warning, the Phin shuttle pirouettes on its center
of mass, in a move that almost appears fast-forward. Changing its heading
with close to one hundred and eighty degree yaw, the shuttle engages what
must be its maneuver drive. In a pulse of glaring ultraviolet light,
the shuttle recedes from the Westwind at well over fifty Gees.
Talon whirls to look out of the viewport, as the Phin shuttle suddenly
veers away and shoots off at immense speed.
"Freeeow! I think our hosts just left us in the lurch. Incredible
ship, though, isn't it?"
"Umm, Nicholas..."
"I'd love to get my hands on one of those."
"Excuse me Nicholas, but..."
"What a mover! It must-- What is it, Shurv?"
"Nicholas, what do you suppose that is, dead ahead of us?"
"What? Oh, it's just a thirty meter glowing disk that we're about
to crash into."
"Oh."
Before Talon or Shurv can react, the large glowing disk quickly sweeps
over the scout-ship and devours it.
=== Trakh ===
"Aye, sir," Aiwi nods, beginning to assemble a course for.... she stops.
"Admiral," she says quietly, "Wilderness refuel beyond the Ring is not
possible. This system has no other fuel sources. Suggest we attempt a
landing at once."
Aiwi calls up the Ring's frequency on the audio comm panel as she frantically
attempts to assemble a course toward the Ringworld. "Calling the entity
known as Iasic! This is the Trakh, requesting guidance on an evasive
course to the surface of the Ring and the location of a safe landing zone!"
There is no answer....
=== Alcyon Jump Drives ===
Aaron haut-Frieder is slaving away at the Jump console, trying to coax
recently-dormant systems to life, when he feels the breeze again. It's
stronger this time, and cold.
He turns around, and looks suspiciously out over the vast expanses of
the Jump Drives, and the open room where 'Vouf did his ice-dancing act,
and poor MT died, and Leadfoot nearly killed everyone. If some lingering
bit of sabotage hadn't been caught....
He sighs. A vacuum leak would produce a steady wind, not gusts. "I must
be imagining things," he says, and returns to the console.
A tiny sound jerks him around in his seat-- the sound of a spark arcing
across a gap. It was tiny, but unmistakeable. Frowning, he flicks the
com unit on. "Slide, this is Aaron. Hold off on routing me power or
fuel just yet.... I may have a problem up here."
Another spark-sound, from behind him. He whirls in place, but it's gone.
"Correction," he says. "I DEFINITELY have a problem here."
=== R-Alpha ===
Hfolraw manages a slight smile as the Aorlakht-class speeder makes a low,
tight turn around a clump of trees. A slight break in the tangle of
brush ahead is the only place the native should be able to maneuver his
mount through the wall of heavy foliage. *He'll have to come to us!*,
thinks Hfolraw, and the smile grows. Hryawi will have her specimen to
interrogate, which will please her. And if she is pleased, the Admiral
will be pleased.
Quietly, the speeder settles into the grassy clearing. Almost on cue,
Grob and his terrified gara crash out of the brush, only a dozen meters
in front of the Aslan craft.
*I have you now!* exhorts Hfolraw mentally, as he quickly opens the
speeder hatch and rises from his seat. A flash of light underfoot
causes him to suddenly shield his eyes as he steps out of the small
recon vehicle...
=== Trakh ===
... and onto the cold, hard deck of the speeder
hangar of the Trakh.
"Hleea!!" exclaims Hfolraw. "What trick is this!?!" Hryawi sits
stunned in the passenger seat of the speeder and only now it beginning
to take note of her new surroundings. A single whispered oath escapes
her lips, the Aslan equivalent of "HOLY SHIT!!"
Hfolraw nervously glances about the hangar, as if searching for the
owner of the unseen hand that snatched them across thousands of kilometers
of space. In a ritual move as old as Aslan history, he drops to one
knee and bows his head.
"Khaofiy," he intones. "I submit to the stronger force." Then slowly
rising to his feet, he reaches for his commdot.
"Bridge, Hfolraw. Something has just returned us to the speeder
hangar." Hfolraw pauses, realizing that in flight, he has no duty
station, and that his stateroom in the pinnace is a little far to
walk. "Permission to come to bridge?"
Hryawi slowly opens the hatch on her side and gingerly steps from
the still vehicle. "The technology..." she murmurs, then falls
silent, totally at a loss for words.
Hfolraw ponders the power that could teleport the speeder and its crew
across that distance. Once he earned a place as an officer in the
Emperor's Aslan Guard. Since he renounced his allegiance to an
Imperium that no longer existed, he has had to fight battles no less
vicious, if not as bloody, to earn a place in the Hierate, and as
a member of his new clan. He has yet to meet an enemy he did not
feel he could master. Yet now this scarred veteran trembles slightly
as he awaits his commander's reply.
=== Alcyon Jump Drives ===
"What kind of problem?" Slide demands over the intercom.
The wind brushes Aaron's mustache again.
"Dunno...." Aaron frowns. "Lingering damage from Leadfoot's little
ballet with Our Vargr of the Flying Fists? Sabotage? I've got what
*sounds* like static discharge activity somewhere. Intermittent but
getting worse...."
"HELL'S BELLS! I'M ON MY WAY UP!" As Slide clicks off, Aaron notices
the wind again... a gust of crosswind, from a direction where there
was no vent grating....
=== Alcyon Maneuver Drives ===
The door to main Engineering slides open to reveal a most unusual sight:
Doctor Van Der Merwe being held gently but firmly in the tentacles of a
warbot. Christian lightly hops to the ground as the odd couple crosses into
the room; OSF-4 hovers in the background as unobtrusive as it is possible
for a warbot to be.
Christian dashes for the control station, offering a short greeting to
Slide as he slides into the next seat. "Hello, Mister Winkley, we're
short of crew, so I'm here to help matters out." He frowns in concern
as he looks at the main holomonitors, then with a few quick taps on his
controls, establishes a link with the bridge sensors and sets up a
secondary tactical status holo, so that he can keep abreast of the
tactical situation.
"VDM to Ger." barks Christian. "Am in control of Engineering. Full
maneuver power, aye. Will advise as thrusters come online. Am monitoring
tactical situation from down here. Good luck. VDM out."
As he finishes his message to the bridge, Christian turns to see
Wrinkley hustling for the door.
"Damn glad to see you, Doc." exclaims Slide. "I gotta run. Frieder
got a problem in Jump Engineering and we don't need the J-drives crapping
out on us now." As he hits the doorway, he pauses and adds, "And, by
the way. It's 'Wrinkley', not 'Winkley'!" Then he's gone.
=== Talisman ===
Kimball Redd, sitting at a rury-rigged second acceleration couch, where
the engineering console was originally designed for just the one
engineer, stops in surprise as the fleet & explosions light up the
sensor displays. His fingers idly wander over the controls, calling up
system status for various parts of the ship, while his mind is trying to
come to terms with this latest shock.
Resignation shows in his face, his shoulders slump & he sighs deeply. He
looks round at Ralf and the Doctor:
"Time to go, I think."
=== Alcyon Jump Drives ===
"Pater," Aaron barks. "Run back the securecam a minute or two. Where
did those arcs come from?"
_I have no visual record of the first. The second came from the Number
Eight Panel._
"Number Eight... hell, that's the fuel feed system!" Aaron strides over
to the panel and begins undoing an access plate. He freezes when he
hears another arc, from behind him. "Pater," he calls, "Where was THAT?"
_Panel Number Four,_ Pater replies easily.
"That's clear across the room! How--" Aaron never finishes his
sentence. Another spark arcs across the panel near his face, and he
jerks away from it instinctively, dropping the access plate with a
clang. He begins to slowly back away, tense, searching for the
slightest noise, the briefest glimmer....
The wind returns, gusting harder this time. Aaron shivers, and turns--
"Hey!"
"YIKES!" Aaron leaps a foot in the air and whirls to face Slide, who's
just come running in. Slide skids to a stop and appraises Aaron
critically. "Nice jammies," he snickers.
"You have a problem with my underwear, MISTER Wrinkely?" Aaron says
with a nobleman's sneer, towering over the smaller man. The rising
wind blows his long hair about him like a banner.
"No," Slide laughs. "Whatever turns y--" His eyes bug out and he stares
past Aaron. "What the hell---?"
Aaron turns around, and sucks in his breath in surprise. Other sparks
are leaping from place to place on the machinery, fizzling and vanishing.
The wind is now steady, blowing at them from the center of the room, and
getting stronger by the second. It doesn't smell like ship's air, either--
"Hey! What's that SMELL?" Slide gasps. "Not just ozone...."
"It's like... SAND," Aaron frowns. "DESERTS smell like that. Arid, dry..."
=== Paladin ===
Goughzar barely has time to grab for the holo-console and throw an
arm across his face, in a futile attempt to shield himself, and by
extension his ship, from the glaring disk which suddenly looms directly
ahead. Before 'Zar can even begin to attempt a breaking maneuver, the
disk is gone. This is the first thing he notices. The second thing is
the Alcyon, floating serenely off the port beam, less than two hundred
meters away.
=== Alcyon Jump Drives ===
"Pater," Slide whispers, "You recording this?"
_Yes,_ Pater replies. _My recording apparatus is suffering from some
interference, however. The picture quality may be poor._
"Engineering!" Grey's voice sounds desperate. "The Commander wants--"
"SHADDUP, GREY!" Slide howls. "We got sumpin' WEIRD going on down here!"
"Pater, put the securecam on the Bridge holo!" Aaron snaps.
Both men back toward the door, but neither can tear his eyes away from the
spectacle. As they watch, the sparks grow in size and frequency. They arc
over each other, dancing across the machinery. Minor subsystems crash and
reboot all over Engineering as the sparks jump and dance across vital
circuits. The wind is now strong enough to buffet them backwards.
As the sparking reaches a crescendo, sparks begin to leap across the
center of the room toward one another. A jump is made. Then another,
and another. Soon, ALL of the sparks are leaping into the center of the
room, forming a network of lines converging on a single point, which glows
blue in the dim room. The sparks gain in intensity and power, and the wind
rises to a howling tornado, blowing both men back against the consoles,
covering their eyes against the glare.
"WHAT IS IT?" Slide has to yell over the wind.
"I DON'T KNOW," Aaron bellows. "IT LOOKS LIKE--"
The sparks suddenly detach themselves, forming a perfect sphere in the
center of the room, some three meters in diameter. As Slide and Aaron
watch in utter disbelief, the sparks disconnect themselves from the
center point as it expands, forming a hollow sphere of howling wind
and lambent purple flame.
"--LIKE A JUMP-OUT!"
==== Aurora ===
Only Moira is left to witness the abrupt transition of the ship, and
she makes no comment, intent on logging data on the phenomenon against
a future time when she may again carry those who would examine it.
==== Alcyon ===
In rapid succession, a small army of gates marshall around the Alcyon,
winking into existance like eyes opening in space. As they vanish
they leave smaller ships in their wake. Westwind, Kingfisher, Talisman,
Gemini Arbiter, Aurora, the Trakh and its shuttle, even the wreck of
the Bernoulli are left in a loose cluster around the Alcyon, like moths
near a flame. Even a small, five-meter long cylinder, one end of which
is badly scorched and deformed, floats among them.
In Engineering, both Slide and Aaron are transfixed by the sight before
them-- a glowing sphere of crackling energy where a moment before there
had been nothing. A Jump-out.
"INSIDE ANOTHER GRID?!" Slide screams. "THAT'S IMPOSS--"
Then, with a sudden wrench in their guts, Slide and Aaron feel the
Alcyon heave under their feet. The light and sound are extinguished in
an instant, and for one brief moment, in the sudden dark silence, they
see the impossible: a man in a uniform of some kind, standing on what
looks like it was once a solid stone floor but was scooped out with a
giant, curved knife. One hand is clutching his face, and the other is
resting against a section of wall, also scooped into a curved surface.
Exposed, sheared-off sections of pipe and cable are visible behind the
wall-- one jets out a puff of steam, another a dribble of water,
another gives off a feeble spark. It's as if a spherical section of a
stone corridor were removed by some invisible hand, and then placed in
mid-air....
...and then gravity takes over, and the entire deck rings with the
clang as both pieces of stone fall to the deck and shatter into
rubble. The man crumples atop what used to be the piece of floor,
managing to at least stay on his knees. He lunges unsteadily to
his feet.
Pulling a 9mm out of its holster with lightning speed, he heels to the
right, dropping to a crouch, and yells out, "You are in a restricted
area, scum!" He then peels off three rounds into a part of the jump
drive, which ricochete wildly off into the engineering spaces.
A confused looks appears on his face, as if he were seeing his
surroundings for the first time. Before he can do anything else,
however, he falls to the floor unconscious, the weapon still nestled
tightly in his grip, with the safety off.
The echoes of the crash and gunfire reverberate throughout the Alcyon.
And then there is silence.
=== All Ships ===
Once again, the voice that greeted the visitors upon their arrival
speaks, but without the ease and authority it previously possessed.
*I apologize for the interference. It is not my way, but I must protect
myself and I cannot spare the energy to protect all of you as well.
I hope we will have the opportunity to meet again, once this situation
is resolved. Farewell.*
The voice ceases abruptly.
Then the stars all vanish, leaving only a featureless gray sky.
=== R-Alpha ===
Ayrlathi swings open the wide wooden shutters atop the arzeth danunduln
and looks out. It is sunfade -- Ayrlathi's favourite time of day. At
least it used to be, when he had a favourite time of day. An irridescent
hipsir flits through the sky in front of him, trilling its roosting song.
Ayrlathi ignores it.
In past times he would have looked out over the fields of taspeln, or
down onto the town below. But now he can only look up into the sky.
His tendrils lay flat down on his head, motionless save for an occasional
wistful twitch.
Ayrlathi whispers, so quietly that it is barely audible above the gentle
summer breeze, and yet it is a whisper that -- in spirit at least --
carries far up into the evening twilight.
"Come back soon."
Almost as if in answer to his whisper, there is a knock on the door.
Dejectedly, Ayrlathi turns from the silent stars above and opens
the door. His eyes go wide and his tendrils stand straight up in
utter shock. The voice in his head is friendly and full of welcome.
*Uh, hi! I'm Ian, and this is Richard, and this is Ferdy. We were told
by the Ring that we would find a friendly welcome here....?*
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
END OF THIS TURN