Valhalla Rising

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Chapter 1 - New Beginnings

BEEP BEEP BEEP

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.

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*OPEN LOG*
*ID VERIFIED* Commander Jessica Porter
*LOG START*

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.

*LOG ENDED*


*OPEN LOG*
*ID VERIFIED* Commander Jessica Porter
*LOG START

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.

*LOG ENDED*