This is the story of the LNS_ThunderBay, an advanced Liberty Navy prototype. The story will be told in both real time format, and in the form of logs, to cover events that occur in game. At the moments 5 characters exist, to provide different points of view on what has happened. There is no solid plans made for the story, but there is a direction I want to take it, and a few events along the way that I want to happen. The ship will mostly operate in Zone21 (Alaska) but will occasionally be seen in Liberty space, and perhaps beyond, for special RP events. The ship at times may be seen with 1 or 2 nomad turrets mounted. This is for testing of nomad weaponry, not a PVP decision. The ship likely won't see too much combat, with the exception of violators of zone 21, and emergency situations. (Example, a fleet of capships are attacking and none are present for the lawful side) Otherwise I'll use my LPI for policing.
Of course comments and questions will be most welcomed, simply PM me and I'll try to get back to you.
Important ships
LNS_Ontario
Liberty cruiser destroyed along with its task group in Alaska while on a routine patrol.
//My first capship, which I neglected to write a story for at the time, and simply deleted, seems fitting to involve it in the new story.
LNX_Yellowstone
Liberty Gunboat, attached to the new ThunderBay. This gunboat was used as a training ship, while the Superior was being constructed, and remains with the ship at all times for further support. There is a specialty docking bay designed for this gunboat, allowing it to be brought where ever the ThunderBay goes. (Named after the Yellowstone River)
LNX_ThunderBay
A new prototype ship being constructed by the liberty navy under project Valhalla. The ship makes use of various alien technologies, potentially being one of the most advanced vessels in the Liberty Navy.
Characters
James Decker
Age: 48
Rank Captain
Position Captain...
Status Nomad Infested and on the run
Captain Decker is a traditional leader, he believes that the crew should follow his orders without question, even if the orders are flawed or wrong. He tends to be distant, and doesn't socialize with the crew with the exception of Chief McDuff, who seems to have been cut from the same cloth as he is. Both share the same military values, and served together in the past.
Jessica Porter
Age 22
Rank ---------
Position Captain of the ThunderBay
Status Alive and well
Jessica is a recent graduate of Westpoint Academy. She graduated top of her class with honours, in the field of command. She was almost immediately given a position onboard a liberty Navy ship. Despite being looked down upon by the older members of the crew, her charismatic leadership style quickly won her over with the younger members of the crew. Her leadership skills are that of the new generation, almost opposite to the Captain. She prefers to stay close to the crew, making it easier for them to approach her with their concerns.
John Bertrand
Age 27
Rank Captain
Position Tactical Officer and Second in Command of the LNX ThunderBay
Status Alive and well
The tactical officer of the crew, John can be inpatient at times, and enjoys action. He's also proficient in many different weapon systems, and enjoys the challenges and thrill of finding new weapons to learn. Though at time his enthusiasm gets him into trouble, he's often quick to recover and find a solution to the problems he's caused. John is also a close friend of Jessica and Sharon.
Chief McDuff
Age 50
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Position Chief Engineer
Status Deceased
The chief is your typical engineer, he knows his ship systems like he knows the back of his hand. While most engineers claim to be miracle workers, the chief's miracles come far and few in between. Though maybe this is because he keeps his ship running in tip top shape, not allowing a single bolt to be loose... He's a man of few words, being an old colleague and friend of the captain for a long time, few words are often needed between the two.
Sharon Valdores
Age 26
Rank Lieutenant
Position Chief Medical Officer
Status Alive and well
Sharon Valdores holds the position of chief medical officer, she is a caring individual, who has devoted her life to healing others. Jessica and John are both her closest friends onboard the ship, and they can often be seen together while off duty.
Phil Garner
Age 60
Rank Admiral
Position Director of Valhalla
Status Alive and well
Not much information is available on Admiral Garner, he leads a secretive life, not socializing much with those under his command. He is a veteran of the first nomad war.
*** All posts edited and re-arranged to save space (*note the empty posts on the second page)
**** Special Thanks to Fletcher for his help in proof reading and editing.
Iâll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because itâs flag that I love
And a flag that I trust
Prelude - Fate of the LNS_Ontario
"Battle Stations! Battle Stations, all hands to Battle Stations, this is not a drill, repeat....” Came over the ship's comm system.
“Now what? First The Order and now we are under attack again?” Jessica Porter stood up from her desk, and proceeded towards the bridge. She had been the second in command of the LNS Ontario for only two months now, but she already knew its layout by heart. As a recent graduate from West Point military academy, she was considered very young to have such a high position on the ship. Many of the ship's older officers looked down on her with disapproval at first, but after leading them to several victories, that had changed.
She took note of the confusion around her, to an outsider this would look like random people running in random directions, but the reality was, that everyone knew exactly where to be, even the new recruits. "Report!" she shouted before she had stepped fully onto the bridge.
"We have a Nomad battle group on an intercept course, sir!" replied Lieutenant Bertrand, the ship's tactical officer. "A Nomad battleship, two gunboat escorts and a handful of fighters".
Captain James Decker turned in his seat to face the view screen "Commander, relay a message to the LNS West Beach, and the LNS Riverside, tell them to focus their main guns on the Nomad battleship, while all the fighters focus on the gunboats"
"Aye, sir" replied Jessica, with no hesitation. The LNS Ontario was leading task force Delta on a routine patrol of the Alaska system. Task force Delta consisted of three cruisers, and two full fighter wings.
"The Nomad ships will enter weapon range in three minutes" reported Lieutenant Bertrand "Wait... damn, we have more enemy contacts, we’re picking up two other Nomad battle groups closing in on us from all directions!"
Captain Decker turned to his Tactical officer "What? How did they manage to surround us like this?"
"Captain, we are severely outgunned, we need to get out of here now..."
"I'm hesitant to agree with you Commander… order the other ships to regroup and power up their cruise engines, we need to make a run for it"
The young pilot turned, his face white "Sir, our cruise engines... they aren't responding, Chief McDuff and his engineering teams can't find the problem"
Jessica looked over the system scans carefully, noticing an odd detail "There's nothing wrong with the engines, this nebula we are passing through is disrupting our cruise engines… The Nomads set up a trap for us..."
Suddenly, the ship was rocked by a large explosion, as the Nomads began their attack.
"ALL SHIPS FIRE AT WILL!"
The battle raged on for over an hour, the combined fire of the three cruisers managed to destroy the first Nomad Battleship, but were overwhelmed when the other Nomads arrived. One by one the fighters were being destroyed; eventually the West Beach lost all engine power, and was quickly destroyed. Soon after the Riverside had a similar fate, only this time the destruction was caused by an engine core breach. All that remained now was the Ontario and a handful of fighters.
"Our hull is starting to buckle, engines are down, and weapons are failing" Reported an exhausted and clearly frightened ensign.
Captain Decker shouted into his communicator "Engineering, get me my weapons back, NOW!"
Jessica turned to the Captain "Captain, it’s hopeless, the ship is lost, we can still evacuate in ti---"
"You mean run away? Never, I wont lose this ship to them, get down to engineering, and find out what is taking so long"
"Captain, we need to run, this isn't worth losing our lives for, there is no way we can hope to win. If we escape now, we can at least hope to warn the Navy of the new tactics these Nomads are using."
Deep in thought for a moment Decker stood up" Commander sound the evacuation alarm, then report to the escape pods"
"ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP, I REPEAT, ALL HANDS TO EMERGENCY ESCAPE PODS"
Just as the escape pods launched and cleared the ship, the LNS Ontario began to break apart. Through the window of her escape pod, Jessica watched in horror as the ship slowly broke into pieces, and then finally exploded. She closed her eyes to shield them from the light when....
Jessica awoke from the nightmare to the sounds of her alarm clock, and the sun in her face. She was back on Manhattan, and was still having nightmares of the events which took place 4 months ago. She checked the time and got up to begin the morning routines, it would be a long day today. Her and most of the crew of the LNS Ontario, were finally about to be re-assigned to another ship.
Her orders were to be at the Navy space dock by nine; from there the crew would be brought to Norfolk shipyards, where they would be briefed on the details of their new assignments. As she climbed onboard the train, she couldn't help but wonder what the fate of the crew would be. It’s not often, that you are given ship, so soon after losing another, let alone when you lose an entire task force.... Knowing her luck, she'd end up on a waste transport, or in an office, doing paperwork for some grey haired Admiral...
"Jess?" The young woman standing beside Jessica as she got off the train was, Sharon Valdores the Chief medical officer of the LNS Ontario
"Sharon, how are you doing!? I haven't seen you since the first inquiry!" Replied Jessica as she moved to give her friend a hug.
"Not too bad, kind of nervous about where we are all going to be assigned"
"Honestly, I'm not sure what to expect" She checked her watch "We'd better hurry, the transport leaves in 10 minutes"
The senior officers from each department, were all seated in a small briefing room at Norfolk Shipyards, waiting for the Admirals to enter. There had been little time to catch up with one another before they were all told to take their seats. One by one a panel of three Admirals entered the room.
"Good morning" began the first Admiral "We have a long day ahead of us, so lets get started. What you hear today does not leave this room, understood? In the folders in front of you, is all you need to know about Project Vahalla, the Navy's top secret program, tasked to study and unlock the mysteries of alien technologies, including Nomad technology. You and your crew will be assigned to a new liberty prototype that is currently being constructed. This ship will be used for testing various new technologies and weapons. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to project Valhalla."
Project Valhalla *Warning, contents of this file are highly classified*
In 15AS
A survey team discovered an artificial construction, of alien organisms. This construction was codenamed Valhalla 1 and was dated at being over 100,000 years old. Inside vast wealth of alien artifacts was found, and immediately work commenced on decoding these artifacts. Valhalla 1 was the first ever indication of non-human life, and provided a subtle warning to the Nomad threat.
Of the technological advancements discovered from Valhalla 1 was a special polymer, which is used now in the construction of ship hull panels. Another advancement was the new Liberty engine, based loosely on the original engines the sleeper ships used, this engine was highly modified using Valhalla 1 technology. With these modifications the engines could be much smaller, more efficient, and travel between systems was reduced to months, instead of years. The next advancement thanks to Valhalla is the invention of planetary docking rings, the jump gates and finally the trade lanes.
500 AS,
The Texas incident occurred during the testing of a new Long-range jump gate by Valhalla project. During the test, an explosion occurred, decimating the Texas system, and forcing the abandonment of the long range jump gate technology for the time being. Valhalla research is now moved to the Alaska system, where the Juneau Shipyards are constructed. Work then began on a new Jump drive which would allow ships to jump from system to system without the need for Jump Gates or Trade Lanes.
Present
Valhalla work continues, despite setbacks, the recent Nomad activity has activated many of Valhalla 1's artifacts, opening the doors for much more advancements.
Well, we finally got out of the briefing... it took over 12 hours but the information presented was interesting. So now, we all have piles upon piles of paperwork to study and memorize, along with ship schematics. I don't envy the Chief, learning the new systems will be quite a challenge for someone used to the old cruiser designs.
I'm very surprised that we've been assigned such a position, I guess they realized there wasn't anything we could have done about the loss of the Ontario.
From my quarters here on Norfolk, I can see the new ship being constructed, so far, she's just a bunch of beams and hull panels, doesn't even have a name yet. Tomorrow is the first meeting with the engineers in charge of her construction, after that it is a trip to Alaska to be briefed on some of the alien technologies that will be incorporated into the new ship. Well, best I head to bed; it's going to be a busy day tomorrow.
*LOG ENDED*
*OPEN LOG*
*ID VERIFIED* Lieutenant John Bertrand
*LOG START
Man, I'm glad to be out of that briefing room. 12 hours of blah blah blah... and they barely mentioned the most interesting part of the new ship. The weapons... I can't wait to tour the shipyards tomorrow, I'll get to see first hand what kind of fire power this new ship will have...
*LOG ENDED*
*OPEN LOG*
*ID VERIFIED* Captain James Decker
*LOG START
I've just been notified that while the new ship is being constructed, I will be given command of a Gunboat, which has been modified as a training ship for the new prototype. I guess they figure it will help to shake off the rust and familiarize the crew with the new systems. I'm going to have Commander Porter to oversee all training onboard this gunboat.
Well, it begins... Captain Decker decided to task me with training all of the new crew for the Superior. We've been just given command of the LNX_Yellowstone, a fine ship if I say so myself. Though a bit cramped, I'm used to being in a ship the size of a cruiser.
Lots happened today, including a run in with Navy ships guarding zone 21. Apparently somebody forgot to send the proper paperwork in. Luckily a Commander of he 522nd was there to defuse the situation, as it was pretty scary staring down the business end of a cruiser. After dealing with a Zoner ship, which was intent on holding position near zone 21, we received a distress call from a transport in california. Apparently they were being pirates, though the pirate called himself a revolutionist, or something like that. The Yellowstone along with the LNS_Niagarafalls, another gunboat, moved in to investigate, however we arrived too late and the transport was lost. We did however manage to save the pilot, and brought him to Westpoint for medical care.
The day ended with a Lanehacker buzzing around Manhattan, apparently testing the defense grids. Luckily we were able to avoid combat and the hacker left the area. All in all, it was a good day for training, the crew is gaining confidence and experience, we'll see what tomorrow brings.
John Bertrand moved silently and quickly down the halls of the research building. He had personally requested to be briefed on some new tactical systems, and surprisingly, the Admiral agreed. His enthusiasm was quite evident, he was like a child in a candy store, behind each door was something spectacular and exciting, he wished he could open every door, even the closet, because at a top secret facility like this, even the broom closet must be amazing.
He slowed his pace down as he approached room 21B, where he was to be briefed by one of Valhalla's top scientists.
"Good day, you must be Lieutenant Bertrand, I am Doctor McGraw"
"Hello, I hear you have some toys to show me" replied John with a smile, as the scientist led him across the room.
"That we have, first things first, the new cloaking technology. We've nearly perfected it; it can cloak a ship the size of a dreadnought and minimize its signature, without draining the reactor of power." McGraw said as he passed a strange spherical object on a pedestal.
With curiosity, John asked "So, will the ship using this system need to be covered in hull panels similar to the Osiris?"
"No, that’s the genius part about it. The Osiris cloaking system needed the hull to be made of certain specialty panels, which ultimately reduced the armour the ship could use. This is one of the reasons our Osiris project was cancelled after the prototype was stolen. This new system however, does not need special hull plating, meaning a ship can be armoured normally."
"This technology is amazing, has it been tested yet?" John inquired.
"No, the LNX Superior will be the first Liberty ship to have such a cloaking device, from there if it works, we can begin mass producing it."....
I'm growing tired of Navy ships who do not have up to date paperwork, another cruiser stopped us demanding we leave Zone 21 because we don't have clearance... I sure hope the Navy gets their act together soon, before I need to start reporting ships who aren't taking care of the proper paperwork.. I also grow tired of hauling scientists and politicians around... the crew is ready for much more than this, and the ship is running without problems. Luckily I've just been ordered to bring the Yellowstone into Juneau shipyards for a minor refit. Something about new weapons based on nomad turrets that were salvaged from the first nomad war. I don't know if it is wise to mess with such things, but they claim it is safe.
I'm sure John will be pleased, new toys to play with. He's already been bugging the scientists about all the new systems we'll be receiving. I'll just have to make sure he doesn't get us all into trouble.
The Captain will be finally coming on board the Yellowstone for the initial testing.
On another note, the LNX Lake Superior, as she is called right now... (You never know when those politicians will change their minds...) is nearing the 10% completion mark, there’s still a lot of work to do but every day, she transforms more and more into her true form.
Better go make sure the off loading of supplies is going well...
*LOG ENDED*
Captain Decker and Commander Porter entered the cluttered office of the director of Valhalla. The director, an Admiral in the Navy was a short man, but none the less his mere presence demanded attention. "Ah, Captain, Commander, I've been expecting you, please sit, I hear you have made great progress with the new weapon systems"
"Aye sir we have" replied Decker. "In fact, the new Nomad weaponry worked much better then we could have anticipated, Commander, why don't you fill the Admiral in on the recent testing?"
Jessica moved to the computer panel on the screen and punched in a few access codes, bringing up the specifications on the new weaponry. "This is the new Nomad-Human hybrid turret. We've modified captured nomad turrets with our own technology, allowing us to install and use on our own ships. As you know Nomad weaponry in itself is alive, and can be dangerous those operating it. To combat this, the ship is modified to produce a low level radiation field on a specific frequency; this in a way puts the turret in a dormant state. Now we can still fire the weapon, but we don't have to worry about it growing, or infecting any crew members. The human technology surrounding the weapon also hides the organic nature from any other ships."
"And how did the weapons testing go?"
With that Jessica punched in a few more keys bringing up footage showing the weapon being fired on a floating target. She paused the footage towards the end, and turned to face the Admiral and Captain "This target was constructed of armour plating, similar to what we use on our Dreadnoughts...."
"Amazing, I can only imagine what can be done when the weapons are fully tweaked to perfection, is there anything else?"
Captain Decker stood up "Yes actually, we have a problem. Seems the weaponry has attracted some attention within the Navy, the Captains of a couple of Battle cruisers to be exact. They claimed that the testing was illegal and we must remove the weapon. When asked to identify themselves they wouldn't give a name, the lead ship was named "Gafwmn" does it ring a bell?"
"No, I have no ships here named that under my command... he must be acting independently, and the fact that he refused to give a name is worrisome..."
"He demanded we sell the turret? which makes no sense, I suspect he meant unmount, and threatened to deny Valhalla access to Alaska if we didn't comply"
"I'll speak with high command, there must have been a misunderstanding somewhere, without us there would be NO Alaska"
"Thank you Admiral, and what shall we do with the weapon?"
"Begin phase 2 testing, we won't have a confused Captain delaying the program anymore, not after it finally got going again"
"Yes Sir!" Captain Decker turned and motioned for Jessica to follow as he left the office.
On board Norfolk shipyards, off hours
Jessica Porter walked down the corridor to the mess hall, it was late and just about time for the weekly poker games. Sort of a tradition for the crew, she had seen no reason to stop playing, even though they technically didn't have a ship yet. Even some of the officers at Norfolk joined in, and were interested in getting the tradition going there as well.
As she walked she noticed Captain Decker walking in the opposite direction. "Good evening Captain"
"Good evening Commander, where are you heading?"
"To the mess hall, some of the crew are holding a poker game, you are welcome to join us if you like"
"No thank you Commander, I've never really liked card games, besides, I have plenty of work to do"
"Fair enough, I'll see you tommorow in the briefing room"
With that they split paths, and she entered the mess taking her seat at the end of the table...
*2 hours pass, Jessica and John each have the largest chip piles, Sharon is down to only a few and everyone else is out of the game*
"I'll raise you 500" John said confidently
"Too rich for me, I'm out" Sharon backed down..
"Hmm, I'll see your 500 and raise you another 1000" said Jessica
"You're bluffing, I'll call" replied John without a beat. "What have you got" as he uncovered his full house, kings and 8s.
"Well, not that..." She uncovered another full house, Aces and 9s.
"What?! No way...." John was surprised...
"Well sometimes you win ‘em, sometimes you lose ‘em, tough luck John" As Jessica pulled the pile of chips her way. "Another game? Perhaps you can win your money back"
"Another time perhaps, we all have early duty shifts tomorrow" Sharon said as she pointed to the clock.
"Alright, goodnight guys" Jessica said with a yawn as they moved towards the crew quarters.
The senior staff sat around a large oak table, as the Admiral walked in. "Good morning, we have a long briefing for you all today, so best get comfortable.
The scientists here need you folks to acquire some Nomad samples for them" He gestured towards an elderly man with grey hair and a white lab coat.
The scientist took a step forward "In particular, we need some Nomad brains, of all varieties, we figure we can slave one of these brains to a ship's computer core, increasing processing power, and decreasing reaction times. If we are successful our ships could almost fly themselves"
*an hour of lengthy and boring explanations pass*
"Commander Porter, you are to take the Yellowstone along with a small skeleton crew deep into Nomad space, to harvest what the scientists need, the Yellowstone is currently being refitted to quarantine and store the brains without risking exposure. Doctor Valdores, I want you on board to oversee the storage of the samples. The rest of the crew choice is up to Commander Porter, you all leave tomorrow morning, so best you get some rest" With that the Admiral and the scientist left the room, and everyone turned to Jessica.
"I'll have the Yellowstone's engines running at peak performance, just in case you need to make a speedy exit" the Chief said without emotion.
"Thank you Chief, John I'll need you at tactical, I will pilot the Yellowstone, and we'll carry a detachment of marines, I want to put as few people as possible at risk" Jessica spoke softly, while still reading over some reports.
As the briefing ended and the crew moved off, Sharon stayed back and approached Jessica.
"Jess, are you sure this is a good idea? You know as well as I do how dangerous those Nomads can be, should we really be plugging one right into our computer?"
"I don't like it either, but orders are orders for now we will collect the samples, and when it comes time to test the new computers, I'll fight having it installed on our ship"
The two women walked out of the briefing room together, continuing their conversation as they walked...
Juneau Shipyard, Command Deck
Captain Decker nervously paced back and forth in front of the main view screen "They should have been back by now, its been too long"
"Give her some time, I'm sure Commander Porter is more then capable of completing the mission". Admiral Garner reassured the Captain.
"This is no ordinary mission, I bet even those LSF types wouldn't go on such a mission, I should have been in command"
"No, I chose the Commander for a reason, besides you are too valuable to risk on a mission like this"
The comms officer turned around "Sirs, we are picking up a distress call on all Navy frequencies"
"Put it through" ordered Garner
*static* The voice of Sharon Valdores, the CMO of the Yellowstone came through behind thick static
"This is the LNX Yellowstone, requesting immediate assistance, our engines are dead and we require immediate assistance" *Static* "We've been boarded by Nomads and have taken heavy casualties, repeat, heavy casualties, the Commander is hurt bad and Lieutenant Bertrand is leading the assault team to repel boarders" *static* "Please somebody help us.... * static and the signal dies off, you can hear gunfire getting closer*
"What ships do we have in the area?" Captain Decker demanded
"None, the Yellowstone is still far out, I'll see what I can redirect towards them..." Garner said while looking over ship deployment charts
"They better hurry, it sounds bad, we should have granted the Commander's request for additional marines"
"Whatever ship is sent, will have to maintain quarantine procedures, there's no way to know if anyone has been infested until we get them back to Juneau... ensign, get me high command" Garner replied.
Through a window Captain Decker studied the damage on the Yellowstone, the outer hull was covered in weapons blasts, in the rear a compartment hatch was blown out and scorch marks cover the ship. The inside was much of the same, bullet holes could be seen in the walls from the bridge all the way to the rear section, there were also scorch marks from flame throwers. The engine room itself was completely destroyed and would require extensive repairs.
Decker turned around to face Lieutenant Bertrand and Sharon Valdores "What happened out there?"
"We managed to collect the samples without issue, containment was holding, so we started to head back to Juneau," Started Sharon
John Bertrand continued "Before we could make it back we were attacked by a Nomad battleship and several gunboats, they knocked out our engines and boarded us, Commander Porter lead the assault team to repel the boarders and was injured in the attack, along with several marines"
"We lost 5 good men out there Captain and all for something we couldn't use"
"Can't use? Explain" Decker queried.
"Well, after our distress call was answered by the LNS Niagara..." John began before Decker cut him off
"That ship is part of the 106th, I've heard of them"
John continued "After the Niagara approached and her boarding parties managed to bring the survivors on board and destroy the Nomad intruders, they towed us back to Juneau, however we still weren't safe and the Nomad battleship returned, then fled, then returned, as if looking for something. We decided it was the samples it wanted and jettisoned them into space, the Niagara them escorted us back to Norfolk"
"Juneau shipyards confirms that the Nomads did stop their attack after you jettisoned the samples... now how did the crew of the Niagara kill the Nomad intruders?" Decker asked
"Rather ingenious actually, they blew the engineering hatch then turned their own ship so that its engine thrust burnt the little critters to death... they then cleared the rest of the ship with flame throwers"
"Good, and you were all cleared by Juneau so I see no reason to keep you from your duties any longer, John I'd like you to supervise the weapon system installation on the Thunderbay, oh while you were gone the politicians renamed the ship again... and Dr Valdores, please take the next shuttle to Manhattan and see how the Commander is, we need her back on her feet as soon as possible. As for me, I need to go calm the Admiral down, and explain what happened, he's not too happy that’s for sure... Chief how long will repairs take on the Yellowstone?"
The Chief looked up, he had been busy reading engineering reports throughout the entire debriefing "huh, oh yes, I'd say 3 weeks is the best we can do"
"Three weeks? You have only one; I want a miracle on this one..."
"Aye Sir we'll do our best"
"Alright you are all dismissed" The Captain motioned for the door and headed off to make his report to the Admiral.
Code:
LNX Thunderbay Construction Report
Outer hull - 100%
Inner hull - 75%
Power Core - 100% operational
Engine Core - 50%
Jump drive - 0%
Scanners - 50% operational with limited range
Communications - 100% fully operational
Computer - 50%
Weapons - 25% non operational
Shields - 0% non operational
Life support - Operational in 75% of ship
Overall Ship completion 75%
Estimated time to completion: 2 weeks
*OPEN LOG*
*ID VERIFIED* Captain James Decker
*LOG START
After the disaster of mission 342 and the recent charges being brought up by the Captain of a battle cruiser, this project could sure use some good news, and that news is here.
Chief Mc. Duff informed me this morning that the LNX Thunderbay is nearly complete, the only systems left to be completed are the engines and weapons. Once complete, the commissioning ceremony can take place and we can take her for her first tour of Liberty, a tradition I am more than pleased with. What Captain wouldn't want to show off their new command?
Doctor Valdores reports that Commander Porter will be back on her feet in time for the commissioning. I intend to allow her to be on duty for this event, if the Navy wishes her to go before a committee regarding Mr. Gafwmn’s charges, she won't be far, besides we'll need her on the bridge.
*On board the LNX Thunderbay, the dry dock at Norfolk*
John casually walked down the now quiet hallways of the ship. Most of the workers had left and the crew hadn't been fully transferred over yet... it was eerily peaceful. The installation of the weapons was a success, and he had the chance to test them out unexpectedly.
At 1400 hours, an Outcast dreadnought and destroyer attacked Norfolk shipyards. Thankfully, the Missouri and the Thunderbay were on hand along with numerous fighter squadrons, and the enemy ships were dispatched. The Thunderbay couldn't leave drydock, so she had taken damage, but nothing that couldn't be repaired.
Now why did these two Outcast capital ships suddenly attack when the Thunderbay was so close to being completed and launched? The Navy had lost several prototypes in the past, the Osiris, the Spyglass... could the Outcasts have been trying to steal the Thunderbay? There were certainly plenty of technology on board they'd want to get their hands on, but their attack seemed almost suicidal...
He stopped in front of a closed doorway and knocked
"Come in!"
He opened the hatch and stepped into the room, it was the quarters of Commander Porter, who had been transferred from Manhattan medical.
"So, you are still lazily lying around while the rest of us work?" John teased.
"They won't let me go on duty, I guess I should just be thankful the Captain arranged to have me transferred here... say, how about you spring me from here?" Jessica replied
"Hey, orders are orders"
"I seem to recall Sharon and me rescuing you from the hospital when you broke a leg and they wouldn't release you..."
"That was different, besides I was told to come here and order you to be on the bridge for tomorrow mornings shift"
Jessica raised and eyebrow and asked "What is going on tomorrow morning?"
John grinned, amused that he knew something Jessica didn't for once "Ah guess they didn't tell you, the Thunderbay is going to be launched tomorrow, all the major work is done"
"What? I better get to the bridge now, there’s a lot to get ready!"
"No, you stay here and rest up, we can handle the preparations without you watching over our shoulders" he turned and stepped out the hatch "See you tomorrow morning"
He closed the hatch and waved a pair of security officers over "Stand watch here, the Commander is not to leave her quarters till tomorrow morning"
He walked towards the bridge, thinking of how angry Jessica would be next time she saw him, but he knew she'd try and sneak out, and it was best for her to rest tonight.
Tomorrow would be a busy day, once launched there was a series of tests scheduled along with the customary tour of liberty space.
Admiral Garner sits quietly at his desk, looking over mission reports when the comm unit activates
"Sir, we are picking up strange readings on the scanners"
"I'll be right there" replied the Admiral before he got up and stepped out of his ready room and onto the busy command deck.
"What have we got ensign?"
"We didn't pick anything up till it was right on top of us, but there seems to be a distortion in space, just in front of dry dock three" the ensign replied as she busily tapped commands into her console.
"On screen" the Admiral ordered.
The view screen popped on, showing a distortion in space, almost a blur, and then suddenly the space started to change, as if folding in on itself, revealing the presence of a ship. The LNX Thunderbay had just proven its new cloaking device worked as planned..
"Admiral, this is Captain Decker of the Thunderbay, requesting permission to moor with Juneau"
"Captain, you sure know how to make an entrance, and you’re early"
"Yes sir, we are ready to take on the scientists and research equipment as ordered"
The Thunderbay then proceeded to dock, taking on a large contingent of scientists, along with their equipment, all for preparations of the next phase of testing.
*On board the LNX Thunderbay’s briefing room*
"Intel suggests that the information we are looking for is still locked inside the old computers on Ithaca station, the problem being, the station was abandoned a long time ago, Chief, do you think you can get the information out?" The Commander queried Jessica Porter, as she flipped through a few slides, showing the abandoned station.
"I don't doubt it, the computers back then weren't as complicated as now days, it will be a cake walk, the problem is the station has been exposed to space for over 24 years, so we'll have to do our work in EVA suits" the Chief replied, his nose buried in a tech manual of some sort, as usual.
"Just what kind of information are we looking for?" Lieutenant Bertrand asked.
"As you know, in the early days of colonization, Liberty expended much of its resources, and had sort of a fuel crisis. In order to try and solve that problem, the Liberty government built two research stations in the badlands named Ithaca and Bedford. They were each built around strange spatial anomalies, which generated massive amounts of energy. The energy came in the form of particles, coming from deep subspace, and they were called Particle fountains."
She flipped to a slide, with a diagram showing the fountain.
"Now these stations tried to harvest the fountains, but the technology wasn't there to control it and a massive explosion was caused. Most of Ithaca was destroyed and the station needed to be abandoned due to heavy radiation in the area. After this the entire research project was abandoned... New Bedford station however, wasn't completely abandoned and a lone scientist remained to study the remaining anomaly. Unfortunately the station was later destroyed during the Nomad wars."
"Why would the Navy abandon such a project then and why bring it back now?" John queried.
"At the time it was unfeasible, the technology wasn't there, heck even now we don't have the technology to properly harness the energy, that and the GMG had started up and Liberty's fuel crisis ended." She took a sip of her water "As for why it’s suddenly being looked into again, the scientists finally decoded another one of Valhalla's artifacts, and it mentions the badlands. Specifically it seems to describe the Particle fountains. The badlands seem to be relatively unique in Sirius, and now it seems there’s a reason for it. They believe the Badlands will eventually transform into a huge particle fountain, unleashing vast amounts of energy, though why we can't say..."
She turned off the projector.
"Ok our mission is to retrieve whatever research data we can from Ithaca station, and to find the particle fountain for analysis."
The officers then left the briefing room, knowing what needed to be done.
"Helm, set a course for West Point, when we arrive there, take us through the trade lane to Ithaca" Captain Decker ordered.
A low hum could be heard as the ship's massive cruise engines charged and the ship leapt towards West Point. Within a half hour the ship had reached its destination and was cruising through the trade lane. When the ship exited the trade lane, she was completely shrouded in darkness. Between lightning flashes, Ithaca could be seen, a mangled lifeless hulk, begging to be seen.
As the Thunderbay approached Ithaca, several fighter wings were launched in order to secure the area from the numerous Rogues lurking in the shadows. Everyone knew they were being watched, studied, even preyed upon, so all security precautions were made.
"Geez, how can the Rogues call this place home" John mumbled under his breath as he strained to scan the area for ships. "Sir, Rogue fighters on scanners, shall we move to intercept?"
"Negative, let the fighters deal with those" The Captain said as he stood up "Prepare the shuttle with the EVA squad and have them launch when ready"
"Shuttle is away" Commander Porter responded.
The shuttle left the Hanger bay, and slowly made its way towards the battered station. With the Chief directing the pilot, the shuttle slowly headed for what was left of a docking port, though it was doubtful it could ever maintain a seal anymore. The shuttle then made its docking approach, clamping down on the station.
The hatch slide open surprisingly well, for something that was closed and exposed for so long, it just took a little muscle power. When they entered the station, the Chief was saddened by the state it was in, not a part was left undamaged. Led by a security team, the engineers made their way to what should have been the secondary control room, but what they found was a mess of bulkheads, smashed computers and debris.
"Alright, the information we are looking for should be kept in the backup module, which should be behind that wall panel, give me a hand to move some of this junk"
The engineering crew began its work, working carefully to ensure they don't knock down the ceiling or damage the information they needed.
Back on the Thunderbay, John was coordinating the fighter squadrons, keeping the Rogue ships at bay. Seems the Rogues were curious what the Navy was doing at this old station that was sitting on their doorstep, for years, had they missed something important when they looted the station?
"Sir, the Chief and his team are returning, and they confirm they have the data" the enthusiastic ensign reported.
"Helm, set a course for the last known location of the second station and set scanners to search for the Particle Fountain" Commander Porter ordered.
The Thunderbay crept forward at a low speed, it was impossible to use cruise engines in this mess, the search would take awhile.
Several long hours pass, the ship had been searching for awhile and found nothing. The Captain had retired to his ready room, leaving Jessica to lead the search; she and the rest of the bridge crew were tired however, after searching for hours.
"Helm, take us to quadrant 59, and halt for scans"
John suddenly jumped up "Jess, we have something, about 2k from this position, it looks like our target!"
She walked over to his console and looked at the data and smiled "Great work John, Captain to the bridge!"
A few minutes later, the Captain walked in, apparently annoyed at being disturbed while reading his favourite book.
"Captain, looks like we found it, we are moving towards it now"
"Ah good work Commander, take us within 1k distance of the Anomaly and begin scans, we don't want to get too close"
With that the LNX Thunderbay approached the Particle Fountain, easing into the best position for taking scans and samples. It would be a long night, but the scientists were happy, and quite busy. At least for now the bridge crew could take a break, their job was done, for now.
Captain Decker sits at his desk, looking through mission reports, ship status reports.... most notably the report on the recent engagement with an Order Osiris known as "Lee". The Thunderbay had managed to severely damage the "Lee" when backup arrived, in the form of the new 106th Battlecruiser, Captained by Captain Patterson. The combined firepower of these two ships along with the fighter squadrons were able to easily take down this ship.
Though the Thunderbay had taken minor damage, repairs would only take a few hours and the shields were already at full strength.
"Captain, we are receiving a priority one message from Admiral Garner, directed to you" the Ships comms officer reported
"Put it through to my office" the Captain replied as he turned on his computer monitor, looking intently at the message that appeared.
*Meanwhile on the bridge*
Commander Porter stands in front of a group of new recruits
"Listen closely, I know you've all been training on the Yellowstone for quite awhile and feel you know everything about how to run the Thunderbay, but you don't. They say the Yellowstone is a perfect training ship with all its advanced simulators, but there is no way to simulate the real thing, and you are on it. On the Yellowstone mistakes could easily be compensated for, here mistakes will cause good men and women to lose their lives. I'll only stand for perfection, if you don't feel you can do the job, let me know and I'll set up extra training, understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the recruits respond in unison...
"And please don't call me sir.... on off time call me Jessica, on duty Commander will do, dismissed!
John Bertrand looked up from his console "Bit hard on them Jess?"
"Maybe, but this is serious, we can't afford any mistakes out here, they need to know we count on every move they make" Jess replied with a shrug.
Captain Decker stepped forward onto the bridge, "I see you are busy with the training Commander, however I have a new assignment for you, just now I received encrypted orders from Admiral Garner"
"We'll have the ship ready to leave in an hour's time, sir" replied Jess as she moved to her station.
"No your assignment is to take command of the Thunderbay while I'm gone, the orders are for me only."
"What are these orders?"
"I can't say, top level clearance required... have the hangar deck prep a fighter, I'll launch when its ready, oh and Commander, she's all yours" he motioned towards the Command Chair, as he walked off the bridge....
15 minutes later Captain Decker launched in his fighter and headed off without disclosing his destination nor his orders.
The Captain has been gone for 2 days now, still no word on what the orders were, nor where he went. Everything on board the ship is going fine, the new recruits seem to be getting into the groove of things and there have been no major problems.
It seems recently the Order has invested quite the interest in NewYork, we've had to defend the area from at least 3 of their Osiris class ships. Somehow they are able to open the Alaska gate and move though all our defences undetected...
The scientists think they can use some of the particles we found in the badlands to power our jumpdrive, hopefully allowing the ship to jump from one side of the sector to the other, they are busy making the modifications. This mission will be a go once the captain returns.
Finally looking through fleet reports, I noticed the Navy made an error and named a cruiser LNS_Yellowstone, the same name as the prototype gunboat in this program. I'll bring it up with the Admiral, though I suspect it may be on purpose. Perhaps that way if any civilians happen to see the LNX_Yellowstone, the navy can easily deny it exists and claim that civy instead seen the Cruiser Yellowstone and is mistaken... maybe..
*LOG ENDED*
*Onboard the LNX Thunderbay*
Commander Porter walks down the busy halls of the engineering deck; she had just stopped by and spoke with the Chief regarding the modifications being made to the jump drive. It seems everything is on schedule and they are ready for a test, but the Captain is still missing and now she would hopefully find out why. After climbing several decks, she reached deck two where her quarters were located. As she slipped behind her desk, she punched in her access codes into the computer terminal and opened up a comm link with Juneau station.
"Ah Commander, what can I do for you?" Admiral Garner asked as his image appeared on the screen
"Well, sir our jump drive modifications are complete, and we are just about ready to do a test run, but the Captain is still away on the mission you sent him, I was hoping---"
"Excuse me Commander? But you must be mistaken, I never ordered the Captain to go on any missions"
"Oh, perhaps I heard wrong then"
"Its quite alright, though do me a favour and let me know when the Captain returns, till then hold off the jump drive tests"
The Comm channel closed and her computer screen went blank..
So the Admiral never sent the Captain orders? Yet the Captain had said the orders came from the Admiral... maybe my clearance isn't high enough to even know of the mission and the Captain accidentally mentioned it?
She sighed and headed for the shower, it had been a busy day, one she wanted to just let the water wash away, but the conversation with the Captain before he left stayed in her mind... if it wasn't Admiral Garner giving orders who was?
*On board the LNX Thunderbay, off hours*
Jessica slowly moved down the hall towards the mess hall, it had been a long day, but the new recruits are finally showing promise, she'd found herself particularly attached to a young ensign by the name of Michelle. Michelle reminded Jessica of herself, from when she took her first posting onboard the LNS Ontario. Full of energy, not a care in the world... maybe she could shield this kid from the troubles she encountered, certainly she didn't plan to lose the Thunderbay anyway...
As she walked down the hall, she noticed someone familiar by the doorway, it was Captain Decker.
"Captain, when did you get back?"
"Just now actually"
"Why didn't the bridge crew inform me you were returning..."
"I wanted to keep things quiet; no point in creating a stir, anyways tonight is the weekly poker game isn't it?"
"Yes, it is actually" replied Jessica
"You wouldn't happen to have an open seat?"
"I thought you said you hated card games?"
"Hmm you must have heard wrong, I love card games!"
"Yeah, of course, there is room, come on in".
She opened the door and let the captain enter first, but hesitated before she herself entered, something was off. She remembered all too clearly, the last time she invited the Captain in for a game he declined saying he hated cards... She cleared her mind and entered the mess hall, taking her seat at the head of the table, greeting Sharon and John as she sat.
A few hours pass, the game has been going on for awhile, John has swept the table, having all the chips in front of him.
"Whats wrong Jess? This is the first time in awhile that you've lost, maybe I've gotten better!" John shouted from across the table, a cocky smile appearing on his face.
"Huh?" replied Jessica startled from being brought out of deep thought.
"Jess you ok? Sharon asked, looking a bit concerned.
"Yeah, its been a long night, I think I will retire to my bunk for the night, goodnight everyone".
She then stood up, gave a final glance over the table and headed out. She was sure that the Captain hated cards and disliked playing. Maybe he changed his mind? He was sure good at playing anyways... She sighed and headed to her quarters, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind, but they still lingered.
It had been a long sleepless night, she yawned as her alarm clock chirped at her from the other side of the room and slowly got up to turn it off. Today would be interesting, perhaps she would find out where the Captain has been, but then again, her security clearance may not be high enough. Besides that, preparations were underway for the jump drive testing. For the test, engineers were plotting course for the ship to jump from Alaska to a far away system, devoid of any planetoids or life, then back. This jump drive should not be confused with the old jump drives that the Sleeper ships limped into Sirius with. This would be an almost instantaneous jump. If this works, nothing is out of reach for humanity.
Before heading to the bridge she made a stop over at John's quarters and knocked.
"One second" a voice shouted from inside and a commotion could be heard, John obviously had slept in and was rushing to get ready.
"Take your time John"
The door opened, and John stood there, with his uniform half on
"Hey Jess, come to ask for your money back from last night?"
"No, but I need to talk with you"
"Umm, alright come in, just ignore the mess..."
It looked like someone had tossed a live grenade into his quarters, clothes and papers were scattered everywhere, not very tidy for the Navy, he'd better get it cleaned before the next inspection... Mind you he is the one that runs the inspections...
"John, did you notice anything odd about the Captain last night?"
"Yeah, sure, he played poker with us, why?"
"Well, a good while ago, I had invited him to a game and he declined telling me he hated card games."
"Maybe he changed his mind"
"Add to that his recent disappearing act, he told me it was orders of the Admiral, but I talked to the Admiral and he claimed he gave no orders to the Captain for any solo missions. I'm sure I heard the Captain say the mission was the Admiral's orders."
"Maybe you didn't have proper clearance"
"John, we have basically the highest clearance there is, you can't get much higher then Z-21 clearance"
"Ok, so you think he lied?"
"I don't know... Look I want you to check his fighter, find out where he went."
"Ok, I'll do it, but only for you"
"Thanks, keep it between you and me please"
She walked out, and headed for the medical deck, there was someone else she had to talk to. She entered Dr. Valdores office, finding it empty, she must be in the lab... As she started towards the lab, Sharon came out.
"Jess, what brings you here, not sick are you? You didn't look good last night" Sharon said as she walked towards Jessica, looking concerned.
"Sharon, when Captain Decker returned, did he report here for a check-up? As standard procedure says he should?"
"Let me check the log book" Sharon tapped a few buttons on her computer "No, he didn't, he should have though..."
"He came in during off hours, and ordered the bridge crew to keep things quiet, look I'll talk to him and have him come in for a check up"
"Alright, though as Captain he should know what the procedures are... all crew members returning from leave or missions are to be scanned and checked up on, for possible medical problems and---"
"I know..." Jessica turned and left Sharon's office.
She headed for the bridge, intent now on finding out what this secret mission was.
"Jess, hold up a second" came a voice from behind, it was John.
"Whats up John?"
"I just checked the Captain's fighter, nothing too curious about it; he left the ThunderBay, did a loop around New York then landed on Pittsburgh, somewhere remote."
"Thats all it says?"
"Yup... sorry if it doesn't help".
"No it doesn't".
They continued walking towards the bridge, duty calls and her investigations would have to wait for now.
"Captain, I was speaking to Dr. Valdores earlier, and she says you failed to show up for the routine medical scans when you arrived" Jessica stated.
"Yes, I see no reason to waste time with that"
"It is procedure, sir, you can't just decided whenever you like to ignore it"
"Sure I can, I'm the Captain"
"Captain, if you don't report to med deck for the scans I'll have to relieve you of duty"
"You won't do that". The captain moved towards her slowly "Besides, I'll just have you arrested for mutiny".
"Captain please---"
"Commander you’re relieved of duty" Shouted the Captain as he pressed a button on the intercom "Security to ready room"
John entered the room
"Lieutenant Bertrand, take the Commander into custody" the Captain ordered.
"Captain? Commander?"
"John, the Captain refused to take a medical scan when he returned from his mission, he could be Nomad infested"
"Lieutenant, you have your orders" The captain was visibly angry now, and moved behind his desk.
John looked at the Captain then back at Jessica, the look in her eyes told him all that needed to be said.
"Captain, you are to accompany us to medical deck..." he was cut off and the Captain pulled a pistol out from under his desk and fired twice, both times hitting John's armoured vest, knocking him down from the force of the hits.
"John!" Jessica screamed out as he fell to the floor, instinctively pulling her side arm, but finding the captain in front of her with his weapon pointed at her face
"Drop the weapon Commander" His voice sounded odd, and a slight glow was in his eyes.
Jessica slowly dropped her side arm, raising her arms in the air "Who are you?"
"I didn't think anyone would notice so fast, guess I got sloppy".
"Captain?"
"Your captain is... no longer here"
"A Nomad..."
"For now you need to sit tight" said Decker as he moved behind her and with one swift motion he brought his pistol down against the back of her head, knocking her out cold.
Ten minutes pass, as Jessica slowly awakes... moaning slightly at the pain, she felt her forehead, and her hand came back bloody. She must have hit her head on the desk as she came down...
"John? Oh God John are you alright?" She moved to his side and checked his pulse, he was alive and slowly recovering, from the hits.
"Damn, I'm glad I wore that vest today" he groaned as he got up
Jessica led the way onto the bridge, but entered to see something horrific. The entire bridge crew was dead, including the young ensign. Michelle. All were shot; apparently they had heard the commotion in the ready room but were unable to react before he shot them all. Jessica approached Michelle and checked her pulse "She's still alive! Call security and medical teams"
John ran to the security console. "Security alert, all security teams apprehend Captain Decker, he is armed and extremely dangerous, medical teams to the bridge"
"Lock out the ship's primary systems" Jessica ordered
"I'm trying… Damn I'm locked out, it will take time to get through the Captain’s security codes"
"Bridge this is security team Bravo, the Captain has been seen on E deck, we are moving to intercept"
"Engineering..." said John
"Engineering please respond, Chief Mc.Duff are you there?" No response... "John, get down there"
John got up, pulled out his side arm and headed out as medical teams and replacement bridge crew began pouring in.
*5 minutes earlier in engineering*
Chief McDuff was busy as usual, especially with the new jump drive tests and one thing he HATED was people tampering with his engines, so as you can imagine he was furious when he seen someone in the engine room who didn't belong to his engineering team.
"You there, what are you doing in here?"
Captain Decker turned around
"Oh Captain, I didn't know you'd be doing an inspection" The Chief walked up, glancing at the console the Captain was working on "What are you doing James?"
Decker did not respond, instead he pulled his sidearm and shot his best friend twice in the chest. "I can't let you fix this". He turned headed out of engineering
"Wha... What have you done James?" the Chief managed to let out before he collapsed, his life draining fast.
*Back on the bridge, Present time*
"Commander Porter, this is security team Bravo, we entered engineering, and the Chief… he’s dead".
"What? Damnit! Check for damage, did the Captain do anything?" Jessica asked, clearly frustrated.
"No visible damage.... the Captain was seen headed for the Hangar deck, we'll pursue him".
"Ok be careful, and wait for Lieutenant Bertrand to show up before you enter".
"Roger".
The ship suddenly shakes and a strange hum over takes the entire ship.
"Captain, it’s the new jump drive, its powering up, I can't shut it down..." A startled officer let out.
"What? That must be what the Captain did in engineering.... cut power to the engines"
"It’s too late"
The ship violently lurched as its jump drive engaged, a blinding light overwhelmed everyone near a window or view screen. Some officers were thrown into bulkheads, any unsecured equipment were sent flying along with crew members.
When the ship exited the Jump, fires were burning across the ship and main power was down.
"Report" Jessica ordered as the bridge crew recovered
"We've got fires across the ship, main power is down and all decks are reporting injuries, damage control and medical teams are responding..." the officer replied.
"Where are we?"
"I can't tell, the computer is down and I don't recognize the system we are in.. . there’s nothing around us, we appear to be drifting in a nebula of some sort"
"Damn, work on getting main power back up, and I want a full damage report"
John Bertrand and his security team stormed into the hangar deck to find it empty, all the fighters were gone. It would seem that Decker had blown all the fighters into space during his escape... There was no way to get to them with the Thunderbay disabled. Looks like he escaped... But a lone shuttle remained caught up against a broken pipe... But if they pursued in that Decker would easily take them down. No... Decker had won today.
The ThunderBay drifts aimlessly in a strange nebula, far from any known stars, planets, stations... Crippled while the Nomad infested Decker makes his escape.
Crew members ran around chaotically with flashlights to light their way. The fires were out but main power was still down and the ship was vulnerable. Jessica knew what had to be done, they needed to get their main systems back up and determine where they were... She made her way through the dark towards engineering. As she entered, she spotted the Chief's body, lying where he had been murdered, next to him, his young apprentice, obviously distraught.
"Lieutenant Powers? We need you working on the engines" she spoke softly as she approached and sat next to him.
"I can't... I can't, only the Chief could do it, but he's dead... and the rest of us will be soon..."
"Listen, Mike, can I call you Mike? I know you can do it, you are the most qualified engineer here, the Chief taught you everything he knew, in fact when he retired you were to be his replacement."
"I don’t know if I can do it though, what if I fail?"
"If you fail we'll be in the same situation we are in now, but if you succeed we'll have a chance... Then we can make the Chief's death worth something."
"Alright I'll try my best".
"Thank you Mike" She got up and headed for the door and motioned for the medical team to enter and retrieve the Chief's body.
All those words of encouragement but she didn't believe any of it herself. Could they get out of this? Was she a good enough leader to pull through? She'd have to be.
She headed for medical deck, surveying her surroundings, there were stretchers everywhere, wounded and dead crew members everywhere.
"Sharon, how bad is it…"
Dr. Valdores appeared, her uniform covered in blood.
"Not good, over 200 wounded, 10 seriously and 56 dead"
Beep Beep Beep Beeeeeeeeee
"Damn, she's crashing, get a deliberator cart over here NOW" Sharon screamed as she ran to the patient.
Jessica gasped as she seen the girl's face. It was Michelle, the recruit so full of potential, so full of energy, so innocent...
"Her heart has stopped and she's not breathing" she let out as she checked vitals
"Charging paddles, CLEAR"
The med team tried in vain to bring back the young crew member, who's name was Michelle but it was for nothing...
"Dammit... thats 57 dead... mark the time of death..." A frustrated Sharon let out...
Jessica approached... took Michelle's hand in hers and whispered "I'll make sure your death had meaning, we'll make Decker pay for this" She let go and stepped back, shaking "Sharon, make sure EVERYONE is checked for Nomad infestation, have security stand guard"
As she entered she shouted "John, will you come to the briefing room"
They both entered the briefing room silent...
"John, I'm promoting you to the position of XO... if I am going to command this ship and get us out of here I'll need your strength"
"Of course"
"Lieutenant Powers, the Chief's apprentice is working on getting power up.. I don't doubt he will get it up..."
"Commander while you were down on E deck we received a transmission from an unknown ship, but we couldn't respond since the transmitter was down"
"Let me see it"
"Here" John tapped a few commands onto the only working computer in the room and the message popped up.
"Damn, that’s an Outcast ship; we must have jumped into their territory..." she said in surprise.
"The good news is they haven't found us yet... bad news without power, we can't detect nor defend ourselves if they do try something”. John stated.
"Our problems just got a WHOLE lot worse..." as she looked out the window she saw something" John look, a station, it almost looks like the design Zoners use for Freeports"
"I see it"
"Regardless, we have other things to deal with, but that might be a place to get supplies later and perhaps spare parts" she turned around... "For now lets get main power back up and solve our outcast problem.." ♠
*3 hours later*
The remaining senior staff sat around the briefing room...
"Give me some good news...." said Jessica
"I'm sorry... But there is no hope in getting that jump drive working again, nor can we get the cloak operational" John mumbled as he read his computer screen. "The only hint of good news is that our conventional systems seem to be ok, we've stabilized the ship but we've lost a lot of our fuel reserves… If we are going to be leaving we'll need to refuel somewhere".
"John, get a team together and have them report to the hangar deck in civilian clothing, I think it is time we visit that station, we'll take that one shuttle that is remaining".
"No offence Jessica but I should go in your place".
"Care to explain" she looked up.
"Jess, you haven't slept in 3 days, you’re exhausted, let John go---" .
"You heard the doctor… I can handle this".
"Alright John... if it is a Freeport, try and arrange for some fuel and maybe some maps of the area"
The briefing ended and the crew split up, John headed for the hangar deck and prepared for a "diplomatic mission"
The shuttle launched, with its transponder and ID system disabled, making it look like a neutral trade vessel. It then headed for the unknown station which would soon be known as Freeport 10. After landing John sent his men off to purchase parts while he headed to the administrative offices to arrange for the more critical fuel transfer. He had to be careful... The Zoners would not like to find a Liberty battleship in their space… This would be a very fragile matter to deal with.
*1 hour later*
Mike Agathon sat at his desk casually scanning the stranger in front of him. As a Zoner council member, Mike knew he had to be careful in any decisions he made, Freeport 10 was balancing on the edge of a knife blade... Any deals he made could easily cause problems. It would be easy to just say no and not help these people, but he also felt as if he owed them something, being from Liberty himself, his brother Karl Agathon still worked for the LPI.
"That’s a lot of fuel you are requesting Mr. Bertrand, it won't come cheap"
"I realize this, and have prepared a list of items we'd be willing to trade with" John replied without pause.
"I'm sure we could come to some sort of agreement; however I'd like to keep this as quiet as possible, Outcasts get agitated quite easily"
They continued the negotiations and eventually agreed upon a fair trade. Of course what the Zoners were getting was worth more than the fuel but John could not complain. He'd even gotten a map of the area from the Zoner, perhaps helping them figure a way home.
It wasn't good though... As far as he knew there was three ways back to Liberty...
1- Through Outcast space
2- Through Bretonia, though that would require passing through the Kusari - Bretonia war zone…
3- Through Kusari… They'd have to be careful not to be detected or Liberty would have quite the diplomatic incident on their hands...
Decker's Guardian cut through space like a knife through butter, the fighter's sleek design screaming to be noticed as is slipped past a Universal convoy en-route to planet Pittsburgh. Captain Decker had received encrypted orders from Admiral Garner to head to a marked set of coordinates on planet Pittsburgh. He was given no reasons for it, just that it was classified as top level clearance only.
As he approached the planet, he punched in his ID and landing codes, causing the massive docking rings to open up, confirming he was cleared to land. However he was not headed to any of the habitable bases, but instead towards a set of coordinates which would take him into the polar mountains. He didn't question the orders but was curious why he was being sent out to the middle of nowhere.
Over a mountain peak he could see an armoured transport sitting in a clearing, directly on top of the coordinates he was given. He eased his fighter down slowly, landing close to the transport and powered down its engines. He then opened the canopy and climbed out, scanning the transport for activity, it was quiet.
Decker's hand slowly dropped to his sidearm, not actually touching it, but remaining close by, something seemed wrong here. He reached for a control panel and hit a few keys; opening a small hatch on the underside of the transport... it wasn't locked. As he entered the hatch closed behind him with a loud clunk, apparently locking. It was dark inside the ship, but he could see some individuals standing around a cargo container in the back of the ship. As he approached one of the men looked up.
"Ah Captain Decker, nice of you to join us". The stranger shouted out
"And who might you be?" queried Decker, these men did not look like Navy personnel.
"We are... well that doesn't matter… You'll find out shortly, now please have a seat and please surrender your side arm".
Decker took another look at the men around him, they all were armed, it would appear he had no chance if it came down to a fight. With a sigh he removed his sidearm from its holster and tossed it to the nearest of the men, then moved towards an empty seat and sat down.
"What is the meaning of this?".
"You Captain, have been selected to become one of our operatives, you see we need someone working for us in the project you call Valhalla" .
"You honestly don't think I'd betray the Navy and work for you do you?"
"No of course not... In fact it is not you we need, its your body"
"What?"
The strangers eyes began glowing, and his voice turned deeper
"You will see soon enough, soon enough..."
The men opened the cargo container; inside rested a nomad, waiting to take a host.
Decker or at least the creature claiming to be Decker left the transport and headed towards the fighter. Launching without even looking back or even hesitating. He now knew everything Decker once did, still one important piece of information in particular. The original plan was to simply infiltrate project Valhalla, but now a new opportunity showed itself. Deep in Decker's mind lied a memory, a slight glimpse of an artifact, Decker had seen when he entered a storage room on Juneau. The humans had simply filed this artifact away, not knowing what it was… But it was certainly important. His job now was to steal this artifact and arrange for its return to its rightful owners.
*Advance several days, after Decker stranded the LNX Thunderbay out of Liberty*
Something was wrong, he had meant to set the ThunderBay's powercore to overload, but the ship had survived its jump somehow... Looking back he noticed the problem, he had forgotten... No not forgotten... It was his host… His host somehow manipulated him, saving the ship. This host was stronger then many others... Even now he could feel the host fighting him... It was tiring but he still maintained full control… He would not let the host interfere with anything again.
He sat confidently in the command seat of the Yellowstone. The Navy believed the ThunderBay had been destroyed but... It wasn't... It won't be long before they get a message back to Liberty, exposing him, he had to move quickly. As the Yellowstone docked with Juneau he reviewed his plans… With his clearance level it was easy for him to enter Juneau and retrieve the artifact, but there was no way to get it off the station without setting off some sort of alarm. He headed for the docking port, checking his watch... All was going according to schedule.
Within minutes explosions rocked the station, Decker had placed small charges in several critical power junctions, knocking power out. The humans never suspected one of their own would sabotage the station and as a result, the security was pathetic. Security and repair crews were now rushing about, similar to when you poke a hornet’s nest with a stick. He entered the docking port; its alarms remained quiet due to a power outage... He entered the Yellowstone and ordered her off. The crew members onboard protested, but his authority remained. The Yellowstone moved off slowly, cutting all communications and ignoring the frantic calls from Juneau. As far as the crew believed, they were on a top secret mission, and were running silent.
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