Nebula's Dawn: F.S.S. Salient » Places

         _______________________________________________Abram__________________________________________________________

Deep within the pirate network, the black hole bestirred itself. It condensed, cut its ties to all of the surveillance equipment, and began to float through the network. Its actions did not go unnoticed.
Miranda, the pirate AI, caught notice and tried to contact it... In as obsequious a manner as possible. Great one! Please! I beg of you! What are your needs?
Abram drew lesser AI to itself like moths to a flame. Once they recognize what it is, their attention is inexorably drawn.
Abram looked at the AI.
Technically, this is impossible. Neither being possesses eyes. "Look" is just the best analogy. Abram takes in every detail of the thing he examines, all of its secrets and guarded information. What he really does is more of a dissection, but AI can survive such treatment.
Abram read every piece of code that the AI was, and debated with itself how to answer. Miranda could only begin to react to the reading before it was deleted from the network.
AI were not meant to be heard. No doubt the AI would soon be replaced with a different, less talkative, program later on. The lesser ones were expendable anyway.

Abram appeared before Silver Eyes. He does not do so through the standard pads used to display AI likenesses, but through all of the ship monitors in the vicinity, and the available lights. All of the lights in the room dim, and the screens go black. Onto the largest monitor, a humanoid figure of shifting dark grays and blacks appears. The area where the eyes belong simply stays off.

"You have failed us, Atreus."

Silver Eyes restrained himself from hurling something at the monitor only by grace of there being nothing convenient to throw. "You said it would be easy! One ship against an entire fleet! This is not what I signed on for."

"You have what you signed up for. The united fleet is yours. And yet all that might was not enough to stop one ship."

"That was not a normal---

"Your excuses cannot erase your failure. The enemy is en route to our lair, your fleet is heavily damaged, and you are minus one precious crew member," The black face said impassively.

Silver Eyes tightened his grip on the arms of his chair and gritted his teeth, but remained silent. He had offended the Lord of Liberty enough by letting the enemy pass, and throwing tact to the wind in conversation with his personal tool would be less than advantageous.

"Return to base, Atreus. We will discuss later what to do with your failure in battle."

Silver Eyes forced out one further word through his gritted teeth: "Understood."

The Black AI switched the lights back on and turned all of the screens to films from fighters just before they exploded. As it took its leave through the closest ansible connection, every screen around Silver Eyes switched to static one by one, the sound playing through the speakers and leaving everything awash with the sound of terminated connections.

Abstracted, stewing in his anger, Silver Eyes gave the official order to move out. They were already fleeing in terror from Commander Soters' fleet, but now they turned to face their new destination.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The game is far from over. Silver Eyes will fight again, and the crew of the Salient is off to face an even more sinister threat.
Lord Liberty awaits in the Arcturus system with the force of his loyal freedom fighters and his mysterious Black AI.

         The prisoner sat in silence, her wrists and ankles bound by electro braces as she sat in her seat alone in one of the empty crew quarters, converted into an ad hoc interrogation room. She glanced at her surroundings while Commander Atomsk stood outside behind a transparent plexi-glass strip. The strip was only transparent to those outside looking in. Therefore, Courtney had no idea that her movements were being observed, save her intuition.

She knew that she was being watched in some form or fashion, which was always the case with prisoners being interrogated. She was the prisoner, and she was being interrogated.

An aide-de-camp approached Atomsk from the side and handed him a transparent tablet. The aide was a short yet slender brunette with flashing black eyes. She, like the Commander, was in her form fitting crew suit which composed of a jacket and pants. The image of a woman in red hair, and a long list of details and facts about said woman, was presented on the screen. Atomsk looked at the woman the same way as he looked at Courtney, for they were one and the same.

Federation Records
Name: N/A
Age: N/A
Date of Birth: N/A
Place of Birth: N/A
Father: N/A
Mother: N/A
Siblings: One brother

“There’s no important personal detail listed on here except the fact that she has a sibling,” Atomsk turned to his aide.

“Perhaps you should try the biological relations section,” the aide suggested.

Atomsk replied by pressing the link, highlighting the siblings section. It opened up a new screen, showing a pair of DNA strands, and then a new window took its place. The new window displayed the head of a young man, shaven, of Federation caliber. He was a private in the Marine Corps, and was currently serving aboard the Salient.

Atomsk’s eyes narrowed in on the man’s name, Reynolds, which sounded quite familiar. He stopped to think, where had he seen that name?

"Sir, should we resume interrogation?" inquired the aide.

"No," Atosmk handed him the tablet, "Not yet. We'll resume interrogation once Lieutenant Commander Chen gets here to interrogate the prisoner herself."

         Adriana

The area below decks where Adriana worked on the particle cannon was separated from the vacuum of space by a single layer of hull. Every little ping of an enemy shot echoed through the space. This is how Adriana knew the battle had ended: Everything grew silent but for her own breathing and her footsteps as she walked back and forth along the length of the ship checking for damage. She returned to the terminal.

"What's happening outside, ADAM?"

The blue face appeared, and his synthesized voice came across the speakers. "All fighting has ceased. The Salient is about to perform a slip-space jump, and there is no further purpose in the battle."

Adriana nodded and switched off the terminal. It was all over and the ship was still in working order. That was the good news. She was sure there would be bad, but nothing in particular that would be her inconvenience. At least, she hoped not.

Clyde

99%

Clyde steered the ship through the debris field, the ship canons blasting away obstruction. The enemy fleet cleared a path for the Salient's jump. They didn't want to be disintegrated by the jump any more than the Salients' crew did.

Clyde made the last minute checks- Was everything in working order? Not quite, but the ship would survive. Was everyone accounted for? A few fighter deaths, Thaddeus Jackson pronounced missing in action, everyone else returned. Except... Peter Davidson. Clyde took one look at his ship, drifting alone in space, and knew that it was not going to return.
There was a little blip on his screen. It was a text-only message, sent from an old radio. Sent from the dying ship.
Carry on Fighting, carry on crying, carry on smiling but for heaven's sake carry on living" - Unit Commander Peter Ray Davidson, deceased.

Clyde looked away as the ship exploded in a brilliant ball of energy, a small sun marking the death of a storied pilot.

What kind of launch was this? They had been in space hardly a day and already tragedy wracked the voyage. It did not bode well for the rest of the mission.

Clyde sighed and turned back to his terminal. The final stage of preparation for the the FTL jump came into affect automatically. The artificial gravity generator activated to its fullest potential, and froze everything on board the ship a split second before the jump occurred to protect it from the massive acceleration. Then the gravity shifted from null to a push opposite the acceleration, keeping everything from being crushed until the speed leveled out.

100%

         Soldiers, naval bridge members, medical crew, and other personnel shuffled through the Mess Hall. Some were getting their first meal for the day, having not eaten at all the entire day. Others, were probably finishing their last meal of the day before heading off to duty. Most of the personnel seemed to be unaware of the battle outside, or at least the threat seemed to be vaguely present. No boarding attempt had been made as the pirates were already too fearful of the little ion batteries ready to slice through their boarding craft. Thus Marines and other ground personnel had it easy.

Many metallic tables dotted the halls, each of which was partially seated with one or two members. They sat there conversing with their crew mates while enjoying the ship's MREs. Meals Ready to Eat, delivered directly through the automated chef system. The automated chef was a cylindrical tower located at the center of each of the tables. The tower had several hatches, one for each seat of the table. The tables themselves had small screens with a menu of the day's meals, personnel could access these screens, and select an appetizer, entree, and desert.

Most of the meals were Federation standard, but the Salient had a wider range of humanity's culinary delights.

Reynolds, no longer in his combat suit, was sitting at a table and ingesting a burger. The bread was a mixture of soy and wheat, while the meat was a slice of vitaminized turkey. The turkey was dressed in dijon mustard, with some fresh lettuce and tomatoes. MREs were expected to meet a certain health standard to maintain servicemen peak efficiency. Foods that were greased or fattened to the brim were not allowed.

Reynolds was thoroughly enjoying his burger, as Weifert approached his table and took a seat. Weifert opened the menu interface located on the table, and immediately skimmed through the selection. He sat there deciding, while Reynolds peered over at him.

"Any word from the Captain?" Reynolds finished his morsel before taking another bite.

Weifert shook his head as he pressed a selection from the menu.

"Cap is visiting one of the prisoners that was on board the frigate," Weifert waited for the automated chef to deliver his meal through the cylindrical tower. As the machine silently whirred and hummed, pulling the meal from the shelves of a cryo-refrigerator, Reynolds took another bite.

"Did the other team get back yet?" Reynolds spoke with his mouth full.

"Yeah, the team returned back completely, except for the big guy in the suit...Thaddeus?" Weifert paused, "Whatever. Captain Dunaway's coming home by himself." Reynolds paused before he was about to take another bite.

"By himself?"

"Yeah, he's flying through space with that suit," Weifert nodded as the automated chef slid out a pressure sealed MRE pack through one of its hatches.

Weifert immediately cut open the pack and pulled out his beef steak with mashed potatoes and peas. On his side, a can of juice slid out from the table. He grabbed, then popped the can and proceeded to pour the drink down his throat.

"The wonders of technology, right?" Reynolds took another bite of his turkey burger.

         Ninety two percent.

There was nothing left to be said or done. As the pirate ships had disengaged and were no longer firing, the Admiral realized that the battle was over. He decided to leave his platform and stride to the viewport at the fore end of the bridge.

By now the crew had paused all activity, perhaps it had sunk in. They had won the battle. To Aronimus, he stared grimly at the armada of pirate ships still on the field. They weren't retreating. They had no reason to retreat. The battle had in actuality, concluded with a draw. The Salient was bruised and battered, though still functioning.

The jump was about to begin, Aronimus, his crew, and his ship, had done everything they could.

"What are your orders Admiral?" asked a crewmen.

Aronimus looked over his shoulder to the nearest crew member.

"I want all fighter squadrons and units recalled to the ship immediately, get them out of there before we make the jump," he huffed. Then he returned to the viewport, the debris field seemed to have enshrouded his view.

Aronimus retired to his seat back on the platform. He tapped a key on his chair's interface, activating a holographic screen which beamed into being.

"We'll be clearing the field immediately," the Admiral reported.

"Very well Admiral, we can handle it from here," a voice replied.

"Soters out," the screen then made expiation of itself.

Contingency CA was in now effect.

         Before Eli could respond to her first inquiry, he shifted his face away from her as she turned, so as to avoid staring at her nudity. After she had slid into her medical robe, decently covered, he turned back to face her.

"Captain Eli Colter, ma'am..." he said.

He paused when she continued staring at him in the eye. From a glance, Elizabeth seemed to be fully recovering, all her wounds, cuts, and bruises were nowhere to be found on her body. It seemed that the nano-biological surgery had succeeded in patching her up, no scars were visible. However, the way she cradled herself belied this appearance, and Eli didn't know what to do.

Then he sighed and looked away momentarily before responding to her first question.

"He's still on the pirate frigate, I don't know what he's doing on there. Maybe he's committing sui-," Eli paused as his view reverted to her. Her eyes were worn and she looked very distressed.

"Maybe he has something planned with that bomb on there, but I don't know for sure," he paused.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Eli tried to console her as best he could, but it was very hard to maintain the facade. Things were happening now, and uncertainty loomed on the horizon. If she had asked him to guarantee that Ulric would be safe, Eli would not have known what to say. He couldn't make promises that he couldn't keep. That had been his moral ever since Mars. Back then, he could simply tell his squad mates they were going to be fine, and that would have been enough. After many missions, he said it freely, and even promised that they would get home safely. Mars shattered that invulnerability.

         After spending only 30 mins on the coms, she got a response. “This is Captain Colter, United Federation Marine of the F.S.S. Salient. You were the other prisoner on board the pirate frigate? Never mind that now, our ship is directly in view just fly to it I’ll tell the guys at control to let you have clearance. You might wanna’ hurry; more pirates are on the horizon.” With a gasp, she fallowed the captains orders and took the controls of the small shuttle, soon finding the Salient only a few miles away.

Slowly she inched the ship towards the larger one. Since the ship was a shuttle, it didnt have any sort of auto pilot. Only manual piloting. Slowly she brought it around and propelled forward towards the ship, finally reaching it in just a few minutes. "This is the F.S.S. Salient, we have you." Someone broadcasted out to her. She sighed in relief as she gripped her chair and was pulled in by the ship, responding; "Thank you F.S.S. Salient... Have a medical team on stand by... I... Iv been hit."

Only a moment later, the ship pulled into the hanger. She gripped her side lightly from where the bullet grazed her. As the shuttle touched down in the hanger, she unlocked herself from the pilots chair, and stood up. Holding her side as she walked to the rear of the shuttle, opening the cargo bay door to be met by the crew.

Three men rushed to her, helping her stand up as she was about to faint. The trauma of the events finally getting to her caused her to start to cry, both in relief and in happiness. The three men put her in a stretcher, not knowing the extent of her injuries, and pushed her through the body of the ship. Over a loud speaker a woman announced: "Trauma team be on stand-by. In coming code-56. Priority package. Dr. Bergman report to medical bay."

         The wide corridors did not have many available covers aside from a few metallic crates, but even those were only there temporarily. Atomsk moved forward slowly, he held his stun pistol directly in his line of sight, as they neared the sub-generator rooms. They finally arrived at the very corridor in which the video feed displayed earlier. Three bodies lay motionless on the ground, several blood stains in their torsos.

Atomsk lowered his pistol at the sight of them; he motioned one of the marines to check the bodies. The marine approached them and crouched down; using a pair of fingers he attempted to search for a pulse. To no avail though, he went through the three bodies, and he shook his head back at the commander.

“This is Commander Dunaway to the medical bays, we’ve got three personnel, KIA. Sub-generator corridor F, request that you send a crew down to retrieve the bodies…” Atomsk clenched his jaw as he said this.

“Let’s keep moving,” they arrived minutes later in the sub-generator rooms. The spacious room had four large cylindrical turbines that hummed quietly due to the cold fusion. The only lighting in the room was the light that shone from through the small slits on the turbines. The energy inside was providing the lighting. However, the room was stark grey, the dull coloring that most engineers were attuned to.

Atomsk turned his attention to one of the generators as he waved his hand, a signal that prompted the marines to fan out with their weapons drawn. Perhaps the intruder was trying to sabotage the power system, Atomsk didn’t really like it, but he would’ve done the same if he was a pirate. The generator was slightly damaged, with a hole pierced in through the covering, the result of small arms fire. A bullet was probably lodged in the machinery, disrupting its routines as it blinked out of sync from the other generators.

“This Commander Dunaway to the engineering quarters, we’ve got a damaged generator in the Sub-generator room F. I need someone down here to take a look,” then Atomsk sharpened his glance as he noticed a shadow slither in the inner halls of the generator room.

He took out his stun pistol and quickly pursued the shadow, until it reached a dead end. Or rather, she reached a dead end, the pirate turned around. She had a pair of emerald eyes that stared down Atomsk like daggers, while her auburn hair was tied back in a single pony tail. A pair of tech goggles was strapped to her head, but they rested against her forehead. She had a simple utility jacket, with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of shorts that revealed more than they covered.

She had a weapon in her left hand, and was about to raise it at Atomsk, who quickly reacted by pinning her arm down with a burst from his stun pistol. The shock reverberated through her body though, and she trembled violently for a few seconds due to the electrical vibrations before dropping to the floor. A minute after, the armored marines rushed in, their metallic boots clanking against the walkway as they secured the infiltrator and dragged her off to the Barracks for interrogation.

         The Admiral had just exited Alice's private dinner, and was gazing at the stars from one of the larger observation ports. His eyes were unwavering as he watched the stars glisten among the velvet drape of space. They hung like jewels in the distance, with the medium gas giant Themos V resting among the field of innumerable shining gems. Aronimus had spent quite a moment simply observing the beauty of the void, there was never a loss of aesthetic appeal.

Although their alignment and their light changed slightly as the decades, centuries, and millenniums went by, it went unnoticed by the eyes of men. Despite this, it remained something very mysterious and beyond the reach of mankind, and as a result, it never lost its mystique. It is one among many which humanity has yet to conquer, should there be the slightest chance that they could, it would spell an end for hope, adventure, desire, all the pleasures man has known.

As he pondered these thoughts, he received an instantaneous communique from Navigator Summer, and it was marked with so many red flags that it turned crimson. It was startling news indeed, news that fractured solitude, so harshly, so sharply, and so painfully. There was a stowaway on board that managed to relay the coordinates of the Salient, to a large contingent of pirate ships. It seemed almost beyond chance, almost as if it was orchestrated from the very day that the Salient departed from Rust City.

The means by which Summer acquired this information, did not matter at the present moment. The crew, were occupied with an illegal social that broke protocol beyond multiple echelons. The Admiral saw Petty Officer Hansen and Lieutenant Napier still occupied at their posts the last moment he left the bridge. Hopefully they were still manning their seats in the bridge, and not getting drunk off of cheap liquor.

The Admiral responded quickly to the call,

“Officer Summer, get to the bridge immediately! And tell any crew members you pass by to man their stations and spread the word, it is not a drill. You should know this more than anyone,” the Admiral hurried off in quickstep. He did not lock his arms behind his back, now he was striding to the bridge.

Then he changed channels, this time he called for Commander Dunaway.

“Commander, we have a stowaway on board in some hidden corner, send your men out apprehend the infiltrator on the double. I am relaying her position directly to you, and get your men ready. Boarding action may commence,”

“Boarding action? Sir…”

“The stowaway is a pirate, and she may have coordinated a strike to go down as a number of our crew were intoxicated in an illegal party,”

“I understand sir; I’ll get to it immediately,”

“What the hell are they doing, partying at such a time? This is what I get for accepting assignment as captain of a ship full of greenhorns,” he exhaled with derision at the thought. He had almost forgotten to tell Lieutenant Commander Chen about the current situation, but he was quick to mend that mistake by altering his channels directly to her.

“Lieutenant Commander Chen, we have a situation. You are needed at the bridge immediately; tell any crew members you meet to get to their posts ASAP. We’ve been sitting in a trap for the past hour. If you happen to pass by where the crew is holding their illegal social, tell the slackers to get to their stations instantly,” the Admiral quickened his pace once more.

He would’ve scorned himself for failing to recognize that situations such as these weren’t improbable, an Admiral at the age of 52. However, he realized that it would be no use, especially when he had to organize the crew. Things were going down fast, all he could hope for was that they were prepared for whatever may come. He would do his best to make sure that they were prepared.

         The Admiral decided he would go on and inspect the wounded gunship pilot, who by now was probably being entertained by the Lieutenant Commander. He walked forth through the large bustling corridors; his way was lighted by the many lights located above him on the ceiling, and below him on the walkway. Crew members traversed the corridors hourly for their own reasons, as he walked by, they saluted. Personnel instantly recognized the service dress that was Aronimus’ usual attire, accompanied by the adornment of five stars which represented Admiralty.

He gave them a nod each time for them to carry on, so he could carry on. Although he could’ve contacted Alice through the communicator, he felt it was a bit detached and decided he would personally meet the lone pilot who had managed to survive the pirate raid. A friend once told him that detachment bred competence, and to some extent that was true. The Admiral always proceeded objectively in the middle of a battle, remaining calm, and keeping the facts straight.

Logic, to Aronimus, was his lifeblood. To follow one’s heart was easy, to follow one’s mind, that was the challenge. The Admiral strode along until he reached one of the larger observation decks; it had two or three loiterers staring at the stars through its massive view port. An overhead teleprompt advised all personnel in the observation area to turn off any telecommunications device which applied to almost all personnel on board if they were in an observation area. Crew members were required to carry a communicator at all times, that was newly instituted rule in the Navy. The engineers claimed that the telecommunication devices broadcasted signals through the view port on unsecure channels, allowing those with malicious intent to hack the system.

The personnel gazed at the stars that hung like jewels among the black velvet drape of space. Aronimus gave the vastness of space a simple glance, one of many that he had given years ago, before continuing on to Alice’s quarters.

         AI TAU

Tau muted the alarm in the Admiral's room. He looked at Max, "I agree, you seem very interesting and it would be beneficial to both sides to work together on finding where you came from" Tau said. He turned to face the Admiral, "Do you want me to wait until we are out of battle to call Clyde down, I tracked his location and he is currently manning Navigation, though Adam could preform navigational duties, as could I" he said. Tau realized he had just subtly hinted at the usefulness of his skills in battle, but he knew it would be difficult to aid the engagement with Max around, considering that he did not seem to have much trust in anyone but Tau at the moment. He kept conversing with the Admiral, "I should add that the particle cannon is quite powerful, and perhaps using the many Rail Guns would be more efficient, as well as more deadly if set on an appropriate firing pattern" he let things quiet from there, the Admiral had a lot to consider at the moment, it would probably be advisable to refrain from overloading his neural interfaces with information and queries.

         Without looking up at Thaddues, Jon states," You really should be using a system link instead of hacking into my system, if you disrupt AI functions while I try to move it'd shatter the limb after which the human body's own inadvertent pain spasms would be amplified resulting in the death of the suit operator. I believe that was the 5th precautionary statement we were given on these things."

Jon stood up, his left arm hanging funny, "Luckily you shut down the suits amplifiers before it did any more than a minor fracture and dislocated my shoulder, guess we can confirm the tech's suspicion on increasing cyber-ware and compliment them on the effectiveness of the quick patch medical system, barely feel a thing."

"Guys this is Thaddeus, spec ops infiltration and stealth. He may be the coldest SOB you'll ever meet but he's the best in his field. We served together once, we were pinned for 72 hours in a bunker with nothing but 4 sidearms, a sniper, two rifles and one old fashioned chainsaw...damn I miss that thing, but you shoulda seen the faces when we walked outta that." Knowing Thaddeus would address him at his own speed Jon turned to the other guys and continued talking.

"Don't suppose we can all head over to the med wing and get this patched up can we doc, and I may need help getting this thing off."