HNS-308

[Treewyrm]

Name: Unknown (HNS-308)

Faction: Lane Hackers

Age: ~30

Prologue

The story behind starts as usual for a person like me. Thrown out from every lawful system for disobeying orders, contraband and hi-jacking. I went to the Border Worlds, they said it would fit me and it did. The Omicron system became known for dangers that lurk within its dense nebula, some said there is more than meets the eye. A fellow Outcasts inhabiting this area of space whom I've got friendly with has told me about The Order, I've heard about it before but most were just a tales and whole existence of this faction was considered a myth. Turned out it wasn't a myth as once I saw strange ships flying in nebula, scanners shown their configuration resembling customized Liberty ships, they had no signs, nothing, just unnamed ships going somewhere far into the nebula. An attempt to peek closer was rewarded with plasma fire so I went away. I was trying to figure out what are they and what do they do in this area of space but nobody knew for sure, just theories and wild rumors. My day-to-day job was smuggling cardamine to colonies and few runs straight into liberty space to sell for a higher price. Of course not all of them were good, few times I've been caught by police and navy but thanks to the fellow liberty rogues I was able to get away just in time before my ship was shred to pieces. Unexplored regions of space has always been attractive. Last week I had a new job, I was to explore systems beyond Omicron and Omega.

Nullpoint

They told it will be too dangerous. Did I listen? Of course not, never listened. Did I find riches there I sought, did I find new lush worlds, space anomalies? Not at all, far reaches of space were lifeless, there was no value.

A weeks wandering around the unidentified systems, looking for jumpholes and carefully pinning down detailed information on each planet, asteroid belt and so on. At least I have gathered some information. Besides Samura and GMG both were looking to expand far into Omicron system and I could sell the data to them as well. Gas rich nebulas were steady source income and both corporations paid a lot for deep space exploration particularly when it's done by whom they are not responsible for.

Approaching to jumphole leading back to omicron gamma my ship was hit from behind, I could not see what was attacking me, my scanners did not show anything. The next moment a hit again, the damage was so high that ship shields were depleted in an instant, I pushed thrusters as much as I can, a round-clock turn and saw who was attacking me: a trio of ships were coming very close on attack vector. They must have had some sort of cloaking device so that my scanners could not detect them coming. I suddenly recognized: two LSF heavy fighter ships. The third was a gunboat which configuration was unfamiliar to me. What the heck they were doing here?! Several EMP missiles hit very hard before the crusie engines could fire up. The ship stopped and I fallen into darkness...

Flash I: The Imprisonment

A prison I thought at first. I was sitting in a small cell, much like the ones in other prison facilities throughout the Sirius. Cell door opened and a man in a LSF uniform was standing at the doorsteps. He told me that I have "volunteered" for a scientific project and that from now on my name is HNS-308. Before I could say anything he went away and the door was shut. I tried to remember how I got here but the memory wasn't there, only few flashes. In one I was talking to some man in a uniform in a huge city, there was a strange huge ship, I recall someone calling them a "sleeper ships", the sign over it read "Liberty". The Liberty? It must have been a New Manhattan, a capital of Liberty space. The other one was lush world with bright green sun, a strange people were around, I knew some of them, they were my friends I remember.

Flash II: The Transition

I woke up to see myself wired up with some strange devices. I could not feel my hands, I could not move my legs, my entire body was paralyzed save for the head which I was loosing quick inside this station. I was hearing personel speaking, there were almost whispering and I could not recognize what they were talking about. Then a man came into the room, I did not see his face, my vision was blurred and I constantly felt like falling into abyss. The man said "he is ready" and I knew he meant me. They injected another medicine into me and in a few seconds I could not see anything at all, everything was black, only shouts somewhere far away but I was starting to loose them as well.

From time to time my vision came to me only to see horrible scenes I shouldn't have seen. At one time I seen myself attached to some device which in turn was attached to a huge "thing" above me, it was pulsating with the rythm of my heartbeat. I remember seeing "it" before but the actual memories were fading away and my thoughts were slowly stopping.

I don't know how much time has passed in this state, but it felt like years. I was trying to remember my entire life, what else could I do, but even my memories started to escape me, I was loosing myself.

Flash III: The Birth

Then a bright flash, a supernova went through my mind. Once again I was alive. Or was I? I could not open my eyes, I could not breathe but I felt like I had no need to. Then a vision came, slowly, blurred, a vision that I was inside of something, like I was underwater. The next moment I suddenly realized what have been done and remembered what that "thing" was. The nomad ship, a myth, I was inside of it... part of it. Streams of thoughts ran through my mind but those weren't mine, I could not even understand what they meant, what I was thinking about, or was it just me there in my head? I heard a slow pulse and then I felt asleep. But it was no common dream: stars, entire systems, everything went through my vision...

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During the nomad invasion LSF and Rheinland military top secret R&D branch was ordered to construct a scientific facility on the outer rim beyond the omicron sector. The goal of the project was to construct a new type of ships for nomads that would maintain fighting capability at loss of main control source. The violate nebula was chosen as the location, constant discharges prevented the facility from being detected outside. The Council was formed, consisted of a few nomad-infested high ranking military officers it was overseeing the project. Nomads also offered direct support. Normal terran navigation didn't work there so all supply ships and transportation had be guided by nomads.

Until the very last months of the war the facility remained unfound. It was then a single zoner pilot tracked down supply cargo inside the nebula and found out the station there. It cost him a life. Before the ship was blown out to pieces the pilot sent transmission, it was picked up by the Order as well as Outcasts and Corsairs. Shorty after a full-scale joint raid devastated the facility. Most experimental ships held there were destroyed by their own creators before they could fall into Order's hands, a few have attempted to escape from the massacre, but none knew the way out. Yet a single ship has managed to get out.

The technology used to infuse a human body into nomad ship was partially based on implants developed by Lane Hackers. Those implants were used to enhance ship control. Although the implants were unstable still they are popular among the desperate pilots of the border worlds, Outcast most of them all. Similarity between implants and technology used in experimental nomad ship allowed the pilot to communicate with Lane Hackers. Several enhancements were made also for equipment compatibility.

However the technology is so complicated and alien it would be impossible to get out of the ship, disconnecting from the system would certainly kill the pilot. The ship itself has also some sentience and a special ability: in extreme situations it can go into dormant state rendering immovable energy shield around impenetrable by normal weapons, the pilot will fall into comatose state to save some energy. After a while the ship will be brought back and the pilot will awake.

Now a single entity: a ship, a pilot, partially human, partially alien. Feared but some, unknown to most and the usual theme for rumors in the bars of the Border Worlds.



[HF]-HFGB-Taurvi

p.s. yea yea, my english sucks, I know, sorry...