Project: Nemesis

[Moberg]

[img float=right]http://i.imgur.com/jj9KjYg.jpg?1[/img]The sound of steps on dark metal tiles echoes through the long hallways. Former path lighting has served its purpose and the environments resembling dark chambers make the station appear abandoned, if you would ignore the human activity. While it is, thanks to the war efforts, fairly hectic on the station, you can almost find a certain calm in its atmosphere if you delve into the less populated sections. Searching for solitude amidst the station will inevitably lead you to the damaged sections.
Blackthorne stood in the hallway, debris blocking the path ahead. If he remembered correctly, the station reactor should be at the dark end in the distance beyond the obstacles. But it doesn't matter. Down here the steps can still be heard, although they are more subtle down here. The most prominent sound here is his own breathing and the humming of the reactor that powers the Apophis - and currently also Dabadoru. This setup was the necessary consequence of the assault in which the reactor suffered critical damage. Backup power is not sufficient for powering this station alone, and a decision was made. Sacrificing the Apophis offensive power for making the station fully functional. This setup has worked well for the Order so far, yet here's to hope that the Apophis could soon use its whole firepower again soon.

The captain collected his thoughts and ran through the past months again. There have been no notable incidents regarding his condition, at least none he was aware of. Usually he can remember the presence of the artifact that is buried deep underground in a distant vault, if it exerts its presence on him. It may be pitifully weak at this distance, but it exists nonetheless.
Thanks to efforts of the Zoners, now even more in need of Order assistance, the crucial element in the next phase has been installed on his ship and tested thoroughly in the field. An enormous cloaking device outfitted with a special configuration that allows for greater specialization in scouting purposes by raising the fuel efficiency in return for increased charging time. While the Core is now threatening their place in the Omicrons, Blackthorne can not afford getting into a personal quarrel with them. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, the Core could become useful in the future if they don't pursue more warmongering.

Remembering the timetable, Blackthorne returned down the hallways. He could feel the tranquility slowly dying the closer he got to the airlock that lead to his ship.
The Nightingale, not able to rest much longer, lies peacefully in the harbor, having only recently returned from repairs and being outfitted with the cloaking device.

With the elevator opening at the bridge, the captain stepped in, shouting "At ease" before anyone had the chance to salute. With the situation report confirming all systems ready for launch, the command was given to release the ship. The locks snapping with a metallic noise, the barriers between the ships building up and the airlock retreating to its host, the Nightingale found itself freed from the grasp of Dabadoru. The buzzing of the rear engines joined the list of background noises while the support thrusters at the front of the Resheph-class had a much more prominent noise.

Closing his eyes, he scanned his mind for a specific unwanted presence. He could not find relief even though his search returned nothing. Maybe it wasn't interested? Was it resting? Or is it just waiting in the shadows? There was no way to tell, but it wouldn't stop him either way. There was only the path ahead, one way or another.
"Come to think of it", he thought, "I must account for the eventuality that the humans on this ship will be unable to control the ship." With the Nomads gaining strength and becoming more aggressive, this possibility is ever more likely.

[img float=right]http://i.imgur.com/TLjYTDy.jpg?1[/img]He mentally added this point on his to-do list just as a flash of light was created around the ship. The rattling of the engine, the powercore soon reaching maximum load and the cloaking device activating played their song like a symphony, it's notes playing together to conceal the ship. And eventually, they vanished from sight. Only a few moments later, they submerged into the green flood that held the secret they are looking for.

As soon as they plunged into the vast thick sea of green, the scanners of the Nightingale succumbed to the effects of the cloud.
Blackthorne opened a communication channel into another section of the ship. "Machine room, can you pinpoint the reason for the scanner interference?"
After a few seconds of silence, the first response came. "We are not certain. It looks like this cloud bears a lot of excess energy. Our scanners are not finetuned to notice ship signatures among such background noise. We can only rely on visual scanners until we leave this nebula."
It was a bit disappointing. "How much time would it take to adjust the systems to this interference?" "To find the best setup? At least a day. We can use the data gathered and try to find the most suitable settings. But there's no guarantee this is possible at all with the fluctuation of the signals."

It is only getting worse. They have passed a few larger asteroids in the meantime, but no obvious signs of a source of energy.
He was certain that he is searching for some sort of energy source for these interferences. The cloud is.. changing.
But there's no time for that.
The nearby Nomad swarms are becoming aware of their exact position, and he can not risk a Nomad infecting the mind of a crew member. While his team is trained to withstand Nomad attacks, errors are only human and it's best to cancel the mission at this point.

The Nightingale returned to the docks of Dabadoru once more, although not without damage that the Nomads inflicted once they found the ship.
For this mission to become a success, more preperation is required. The Ingenuus Research Group can certainly help with that.