Freezer

Reply 19# CM_Zardon
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% G- f$ `1 L- NNope.

CM_Zardon

This forum is so weird....7 _; ]+ f# H, f; t

2 R3 ^; n8 R, M: IAnyways, keep submitting your entries

Steeldeath

Alright. I promised you all a story, so please get something to drink, make yourselves comfortable and relax. This will be a moderately long read. Hopefully an enjoyable one though.7 H% V+ l2 ~4 }( ~: U  r
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' @9 P. q+ a) X1 N7 l6 M+ c     UEO Supreme Commander Hector sighed with boredom as he leafed through field reports. Of all of his responsibilities, this was what he enjoyed the least - reading about things rather than doing them.  A new outpost started on Diploe?  Diploe is old news he thought, barely worth the expense in resources to merit multiple outposts, with an atmosphere so heavy in trash gases that breathing it would kill anyone in short order.  Hector skimmed most of the report, having little interest in the day-to-day trivia of Hydroponics energy consumption or fuel synthesis efficiency and at last came upon something that sparked interest: a raid on a pirate corsair.  
4 h9 D& [* Z& _6 k4 {     Hector grinned with pleasure as he read through this section of the report, recalling
( ?) [: `* w9 p" Vhow the craven fools had traitorously abandoned the UEO to take up a life of murderously
6 ^/ a! P6 F3 k2 N5 `raiding their former comrades.  The Supreme Commander spared the time to look over the
9 @% J- o; ?7 U3 d6 g( Mmanifest of items confiscated, it never ceased to amaze what these packrats held, and one' d& ~5 J7 i, E7 Q
of the items caught his eye. "Crude Metal Panel. Approximately 1 meter in length by half a
6 u* C& k. D+ T2 n# |. Umeter wide. Bears script of unknown origin." Hector glanced at the report once more, to: p* x6 B% D$ l5 s& J
confirm the identity of its sender, and yelled for his second in command.  N& _# j! O/ s

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Steeldeath

On an Altairian Battlecruiser in the Pollux system, Lead Scientist Adrian studied a* A1 g' T6 |8 M0 g- h2 z
similar artifact in one of the ships several contaminant free 'clean labs'.  He turned to+ a% E7 n" s! j3 @) `
long time friend and colleague Veronica, "This was taken from Pirates you say?" She
" _7 F0 X- y3 k/ J% A" Preplied, "Yes. Unfortunately we were unable to take any of them alive, so we couldn't + t$ N. L4 E$ H) ?/ F) T7 c
determine how they came by it, nor was there any mention of it in their ship's central9 y6 u8 d& _+ z5 h) P, y% Q
computer." "Not surprising", Adrian remarked, "if the Pirates used a computer advanced6 \; @3 B& N. q' Q( |1 w5 c
enough to navigate interstellear space for something other than tying their own shoelaces,
. _+ Y$ b% ^/ ~& j, [, oI'd be amazed." Adrian turned back to analyzing the object.( [5 D7 U8 Y+ F* u& Z! V

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Steeldeath

"Then you both agree?" Hector inquired of both Barbily and Caroline. Barbily glanced
% v# ?' }# K- s- h6 ?. hat Caroline, who offered a terse nod. "The script on that panel didn't originate from Altair,% T6 F' [, x- {
nor Seeker, nor any of the alien races we're familiar with, past or present alphabets
! W9 V$ c8 j" k. r7 v* vincluded." Barbily stated. Hector regarded her, "We've long thought that there was another
# z8 j& R5 \4 w  x- P1 Walien race, another power at play in the galaxy. Where else did a bunch of mongrel pirates7 I% L, L0 i5 h0 J& |$ M( a
obtain superior colony ship technology?  They've no doubt been behind some of the threats we've faced so far, watching us. Making sure we were divided and off balance. If this" Hector pointed to the metal panel, "may give us any further insight into them, then it must be deciphered immediately."
& K; E: a4 U" c& |1 i) z2 A     Hector touched the button to activate the comm system built into his desk. "Please send, A# @+ B0 L$ p
in Fleet Commanders Charles and Hugh", he said to his Aide located in the room just outside his office. The Supreme Commander watches them enter and motions them to a pair of empty chairs. "Please be seated gentlemen, we have work to do. I need the two of you to set up bases on Jacot and Zeus, within striking distance of the existing Seeker and Altairian production facilities. They both know we don't possess the technology to harvest either crystal or gas, so they'll conclude we mean to raid them. It's critical to your mission4 z& j+ V# _& |3 h" g9 B2 c
that you not initiate any hostile acts against them. You will each have a second fleet
9 u4 P/ Z. |4 q/ W5 G9 Wstanding by to assist you in the event of either an attack or diplomatic visit.  Do you 4 K0 o( y& J8 l$ a! F2 Z
both understand?" The Fleet Commanders answer "Yes Sir" as one.  "Very well, pick up copies of your orders from my Aide on the way out.  Godspeed Gentleman."  Salutes are exhangedand Hector is alone with his two senior generals again.
* f/ m/ V$ v  m$ t, Z5 G: m" y     "If you two haven't figured it out by now, you are to be the backup. We need the . ~. J. F; Z" q9 Z8 j5 ]
other two factions' help with this but I prefer to ask from a position of strength.  I do' }. N. I# K8 K/ N: o1 J+ A
not feel like spending six months to a year chasing them around or being tied up in / `; E/ K1 P$ ~% s
diplomatic red tape, so we'll bring them to us. The simplest way to do that is to threaten  N+ l, x3 ?/ ?* s( u
to cut off the flow of their most precious resources, and at the same time let them worry! {( }9 O. r. d* ^1 `8 ?& N: H, \4 Y
about fleets of UEO battleships equipped with the most advanced energy weapons and shield technology." Hector pauses and regards both Barbily and Caroline. "The objective here is peaceful contact, but on the chance that either of them attacks I want you there to force them to break off and attempt to negotiate. When they do, I need you to arrange meetings with their leaders. I'll attend holographically until we can all meet face to face. Any ; Y: ]! [2 J& s; z) x
questions? No? Good. Good luck to you both, and a good voyage to you."
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Steeldeath

Seeker Commander Raymond waited outside the chambers of Seeker Prime Alice. Why was it, he wondered, that whenever he wanted time away to sort out his feelings for her that the business at hand always found a way to shove him right back into her presence?  Best to have done with it quickly then, he decided, and pushed the intercom button next to her door. "Yes?" A feminine and almost musical voice asked.  Raymond winced inwardly, if only she realized what the mere sound of her voice did to him.  Best to lock such thoughts away where they wouldn't betray him, the Seeker Prime didn't rise to her position without being able to read people and right now she had more to worry about than childish pining. Time enough for this later.) W  f, I& ^# T1 g
     "Raymond, Seeker Prime. The mission is complete." After a few seconds, the door slid : ~) n8 V/ y: e+ b) j
open and Alice said gently "Enter please Commander."  He did so and the door slid shut after him. Alice looked up from the divan she lounged on, "They suspect nothing?" Raymond took a seat in a chair facing her and replied "If they suspect anything at all, it's that the pirates have a powerful force backing them. That the pirates know nothing about these specific artifacts? Well, neither faction will believe that and it will just scare them that
( j2 P! f& N$ M1 i) Rmuch more. Which was the point all along." Alice sat up and declared "Good. The UEO will no doubt react with some degree of belligerance but I doubt they'll launch an attack. They're the easy part. We can only hope their reaction distracts Adrian so that he doesn't put the pieces of this together until we're all together in one place. We need him if we're to get any proper answers. We've lost so much time already in petty conflicts and schemes and we still don't have any answers."
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--

Steeldeath

Circumstances were, for once, kind to the Faction Leaders and three weeks later they
$ h7 v/ }+ v. a+ ^7 t. Y2 omet in a hastily secured abandoned colony site on the peaceful world of Leda. Only the
, a/ Q. r8 E* vmassive twin supervolcano five hundred miles to the east and the occassional meteoritic
3 X& _, Z. g, v0 dcrater served to remind anyone that life had only just begun to take hold here.  Security
- C  r! N/ V+ y" Sdetails moved about the perimeter of the site while fleets of battlecruisers above ensured
: b8 q8 e, n8 r( l5 [: X4 [that nothing interfered with the meeting below.# \' v; f- M8 n
     The mood among the heads of state however, was anything but peaceful. "... a blatant( F# s5 V& P# q: r+ j' H
violation of the non-aggression accords you yourself signed Hector!" Adrian bellowed towards the UEO Supreme Commander. Studying the man, Adrian allowed himself a shrewd grin for the first time since touching down on the planet.  "Or perhaps, is there more to it than that?" The Supreme Commander shrugged and said, "No I think that about sums it up. Oh wait, hmm. More to it than that. Hey Barbily, was there more to it than that? I may have dozed off somewhere between 'Your forces blah blah' and 'military bases stationed near peaceful colony sites'. Major General Barbily muttered under her breath "sometimes its like I work for a bored child."  "What was that Major General?" "Nothing sir, I was just musing that we weren't going to accomplish anything waving the sword wild."' z, _0 ^4 ^/ `1 ]- A% f+ a
     Barbily rose and distributed pictures of the recovered artifact to both the Seeker and
. U( J; Z1 e, {3 BAltairian delegations. "We recovered this from a Pirate Corsair. We've been unable to ! V8 s4 N2 r& z! Z! C
decrypt the writing, but our scientists tell us the panel itself is well over 5,000 standard
7 `# }- ^8 H- O5 Oyears old. This predates all three of our factions, the pirates, the recent crisis on
- p1 Z/ [& Q3 u: fearth and a pretty good stretch of recorded human history.") m6 E' m. K3 l$ x
     Adrian narrowed his eyes almost immediately upon seeing the picture. "A... pirate...
/ J1 [; V8 k3 b6 v2 z( Kcorsair. Really? Either five thousand year old artifacts are standard issue on pirate ships+ ]; s& c& h, T& ^% W; _0 J
these days or perhaps they had help getting there." He paused to turn and look directly at2 y+ E, `5 b  x. }
Alice. "Seeker Alice, what do you suppose the odds are of two pirate ships, both carrying
& p/ e! m* X: n; G; L0 ^% w4 esuch items would be?"
* w! w' g# c# \% h( H! k6 e/ N     Hector took it all in at once and picked up where Adrian left off. "Obviously we went
! x$ f: I+ n: Nto a lot of trouble, expense, and risk if the UEO were responsible.  Not to mention that
8 b6 n* E. r# R, l. s6 Y/ ?' s( X/ Wthis sort of thing isn't my style." He turned to regard Adrian "Adrian and his bunch of # g+ ~# o, g" @& ~' c( R5 l2 q+ x
Altairians couldn't care less for subterfuge so long as they have a new toy to study." ( q+ O5 t& l, U% N  c! z
"Now the Seekers...", Hector turns to face Raymond squarely, "this is just the sort of thing
+ }$ S+ \. s+ r* Fwe'd expect from them. Isn't it Raymond?" Hector gestured vaguely at the picture, "Are $ r3 K, p+ E/ D7 `! p
these... things... even authentic or just an excuse for us to listen to more Seeker tripe?!"

Steeldeath

Raymond met Hector's scowl squarely with a glare of his own just as Hector added the0 k. ^0 h9 x5 v; e9 m! S0 S3 m
final words, "Have you anything to say in your lapdog's defense Alice?" Raymond slowly stood and said "If you wish, we can sort this out in the Arena..." before Alice cut him off. * W) C2 v8 @- |) j, D. G7 j0 ]
"Enough. Please. No Raymond. We all know full well that if you and Hector contend with ; d+ b2 F* h- W: W
each other in Arena Space that due to your respective positions and the seriousness of the ! D" G' v4 Y) M. n& X) b8 s
matter, that all safety mechanisms would be off and that one or both of you would not / a6 H& i0 c& [
leave alive. The ancient traditions on this point were all too clear."
- G0 p/ f+ c# Q$ R3 u0 O" n, U     Alice rose gracefully and motioned for all to be seated before continuing. "No Adrian . r+ \+ N  I0 v( X
and Hector, you are both correct. I had anticipated Adrian eventually seeing through our / r* r9 |+ l8 \6 z: q3 m9 x
little deception, but not that it would give you such grave offense Hector and for that I
$ T" X. T# y- a2 Y2 uapologize. Do not fault Raymond, as it was I who assigned him the task." Alice motioned to
! f# N' a* v( l4 _) B$ Ean attendant, who nodded and signaled someone outside the room. In short order, four more metal panels similar to the two recovered by the UEO and Altairians were brought in. "You see," Alice continued, "we've been looking for a way to involve both of you for a while now."" n/ ?6 ^6 |" B* G! S
     While Hector sat dumbstruck, Adrian became absolutely excited. "We have them all!"
+ \& D* l  i7 U  L3 s* N7 r5 XFive pairs of confused eyes turned towards him. Barbily asked, "Adrian, we all know you 3 E: z8 O5 W) b2 ?
read your fair share of books but would you mind explaining how it is you knew how many there would be?" Smiling and completely in his element, Adrian explained "As I suggested earlier, we also recovered one of these. We however, were able to finally crack the cipher. At first we thought the alphabet was phonetic like many of those on earth. We got nowhere with that, nor with ideograms, pictoglyphs, or even sonic frequencies. But when we looked at it from a standpoint of pure physics and matter to energy conversion we got it."
. _* ^3 Y$ ?$ o/ Y4 K9 P+ m1 q7 V     Adrian smiled and said, "What better language than that of discreet bits of energy?
# O' N2 r' x/ Y6 o; ^% ^' Q8 v4 eThe proton, neutron, and electron? Their alphabet reads like a periodic table." Prime Seeker Alice smiled warmly at him and said, "Adrian. You are a true genius. But... what does it say?!"
1 p. f! v' R7 I$ b; r$ G, ]  N     Adrian motioned for silence as he checked the picture of the UEO panel and read the ! z6 U% c' A( O* j
remaining four artifacts. His smile faded as he looked up. "Three things: First, I believe + Q& u: h/ v) L0 Q- n! S5 R) S
these were the beings that gave colony ship technology to the Pirates. These panels together, contain a full and exact blueprint for such a ship that would function better than either our current colony ships or those of the pirates. Second, they were minted by a race of beings that live on the far side of the galaxy. They're not like us. They don't see things as we do.  They may not even be physical beings but pure energy. Third, a series of coordinates to three star systems. The text refers to them as 'Supremacy Stars'. 5 [) }# m, ]5 P: J  X( r. @
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-The End (for now)

Freezer

LOL! Steel, you killed this thread

Steeldeath

Didn't mean to. ! H9 V; c. ~* r2 A& \- N1 E( a

7 N$ z  {! y! O) Q0 m" ?3 s# BBut, in any case, I think we've given the developers plenty of material to work with. ;)