A short silence follows the exchange, Dai looking bored and Rinn shifting nervously before Tynes clears his throat and speaks up, “I will agree with Lieutenant Ivanova here. If we can I would suggest taking the gates. We don’t know what’s on the other side but from what Chief Dai has said we’re already pushing the reactor doing jumps like this. Right?”

Dai nods, “Borderline to jump so far consecutively, but should be fine. Within adjusted parameters.”

“Rinn?”

The grey-haired man scratches his head, “Systems are in pretty bad repair, but we thrashed the trash the xenos sent after us last time. Figure we could probably do it again if they’re xenos. But... well, we’d be on primary nodes and we might run into old Ohpidian defenses that don’t recognize us like these. ‘Cept those might have a bit more bite to ‘em, if you know what I’m sayin’ Sir.”

You nod, “And the crew condition, Doctor Burr?”

He smiles, “Well, the scientists have finally stopped coming to me for painkillers after Rinn got wind of it.”

“‘S not the point if they don’t feel the burn! Need to toughen up!” Rinn says emphatically, giving a sharp nod.

Burr just sighs, “But other than their general state of exhaustion the crew is in prime condition. Spoleto is fully recovered and everyone is healthy.”

You sit silently for a moment, thinking, before standing. The others follow and you nod, “All right, dismissed. I’ll have a decision by the time our drive is charged. Even if we do take the gate I don’t want to be stuck without the ability to jump out.”

A chorus of “Yes, Sir.” answers you and the others leave the table. Rinn and Tynes head to the door, chatting about the next mock-battle and intercepting Ivanova. Tynes smiles, “Hey, Ivanova. Juniors are getting uppity again, challenged the Senior Officers to another match -- minus the Captain, for some reason. Think two days from now would be good? Rinn and I have an interesting new tactic to try.”

Your XO stops and regards them cooly, pulling on her uniform gloves, “I will not be participating.”

“Oh... uh, okay. Would another day work better?”

“No. I will simply not be participating. I apologize if this causes you inconvenience. Now if you will excuse me, Lieutenant. I have duties to attend to on the bridge.”

“Oh. Yes, Sir.” Tynes and Rinn both straighten, saluting. She returns the gesture before leaving, the others filing out behind her one by one.

“Captain?”

You look up from your datapad and see Tynes standing at attention. “I thought you left with Rinn?”

He shakes his head, “No, sir. He went on ahead. I stayed back to speak with you on a formal matter, Captain.”

You lean back in your chair, swiveling toward him and steepling your fingers as you put on your best ‘captain’s face’. “I see. Very well, go ahead Lieutenant. I’m listening.”

“Sir, I have concerns about Lieutenant Ivanova. Her demeanor has changed in the past two days, since she got back from the bioweapons base. I believe she might be under stress from losing a man while down there. I can find no faults with her command, decisions, or leadership and recognize that this is a serious issue to be coming to you with. I did feel it appropriate to do so, however.”

“I see. If not her command nor decisions what is your issue?”

“She has become far less approchible and seems far less more controlled. I realize that this is not an issue in and of itself, I have served with many captains and superiors who were the same way. It is the change that I have found unsettling. We have already had an issue once with Parson. I simply felt it proper to inform you of the situation and leave the appropriate measures, if any at all, to you. That is all, Sir,”

“Hmmm. Very well, so noted Lieutenant. Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me on this matter or another?”

“No, Sir.”

“Then you are dismissed.” With that the man salutes sharply and strides from the room, leaving your human form in solitude once again.

==Map Legend==
Green Dotted Arrow: Current Jump
Yellow Dotted Arrow: Last Jump
Orange Dotted Arrow: Last minus 1 Jump
Red Dotted Arrow: Prior jumps.
Green dot: Current position.
Purple Dot: Elaborated Destination
Yellow Square: Your awakening position
Teal dotted zone: Hundred Systems Territory (Hundred Worlds Rebellion)

==Command Staff==
Lieutenant Kateryna Ivanova - Executive Officer
>Second Lieutenant Dray Parson - Intelligence Officer (Cryo)
Second Lieutenant Robert Tynes - Steward
Chun-Fan Dai - Chief Engineer
Third Lieutenant Mardigan “Guns” Rinn - Weapons Officer
Dr. Christof Burr - Physician

==Junior Officers==
Ensign Fie - Communictions Officer
Ensign DuBois - Staff officer
Ensign Tremko - Staff officer
Ensign Rao - Staff officer

==Persons of Note==
>Dr. Eliphim Ketro -- Civilian Scientist (Cryo)

Previous Threads:

1: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15474877/
2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15527576/
3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15547424/
4: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15558914/
5: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15581324/
6: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15603188/
7: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15626860/
8: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15671288/
9: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15681393/
10: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15702140/
11: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15725852/
12: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15749179/
13: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15760403/
13-2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15765549/
14: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15783485/
15: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15807704/
16: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15856771/
17: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15880596/
18: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15904452/
19: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15916825/
20: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15949806/
20-2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15954334/
21: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15994976/

>Also, when archiving make sure to include the thread number in the title and a "Void Quest" tag.

Oh, I'm on time.
Bump Ivanova gently.

Keep the Shields at max and the Drive core ready to jump at a moment's notice.
Use the gates, but be ready to jump.
Also, get one of the Ensigns subordinate to Ivanova to act as her assistant for Comms. Not just to reduce her workload, but also because "Hey, let's just ignore these incoming communications from that Top Secret Retreaty Hidey Hole because doop de doo spook implants intel OoooOoOOooo".

>>16075963
Correction:
>“She has become far less approachable and seems far more controlled and imperious.

Man I fucked that proofreading up right and proper.

I think we should give Ivanova a little more time before worrying too much over her.

In the meantime, let's continue with our previous movement plans. No need to drag this out.

>She has become far less approchible and seems far less more controlled.
"Remember the Still you set up, Lieutenant? In times such as these, I am willing to forgo strict military regulations, for the sake of Morale of the crew.
Ivanova and I are engaged in Morale-building exercises that can only be described as 'private'. Privacy is very important to her, and she may seem distant, but she has everyone's best interests at heart."

>>16076110
Basically, giving Kateryna the "XO in a tsundere relationship with the captain" cover story.

I mean, the REAL reason is because she's scared of the way her implants alter her emotions and her body, and the way they COULD potentially say "Lolno" to anything she thinks, feels, or does. But we don't tell that to anyone because her Intel background is something that she trusted us, as a friend, to keep secret. And we -will- keep it secret.

>>16076190
>>16076110
Wouldn't that be basically violating her privacy too... just in a different way?

>>16076204
You make a good point. I don't know what to do then.

>>16076238
Leave it be for now.
Best to just let this one sit for a bit.

>>16075958
>No. I will simply not be participating

>>16076274
But the Tynes is worried! We should unworry the Tynes.

>>16076290
Meanwhile aboard the OIS Harbinger...

>>16076306
He has all the alcohol he wants, and free pills from Doctor Burr, and underlings to abuse, and his captain's an awesome cyborg zombie ship.

He can't be that worried.

>>16076312
We need to start arguing about something and calling each-other dumbass faggots.

Hey guys, we should:
Use the gate network so as not to put strain on the reactor
Use the reactor to minimise the chance of gating straight into defenses and dying
Bump Ivanova gently
Leave Ivanova alone
Tell Tynes a cover story
Tell Tynes the truth
Dismiss Tynes without telling him anything
Thaw Parsons and Ketro, punch both, then re-thaw them
Thaw only Parsons and punch him twice
Thaw only Ketro and punch him twice
Wait in line
Gently bump the ship in a close orbit around a star
Make drones vibrate at 10 Hertz
Make drones vibrate at 50 Hz
Make drones vibrate at 200 Hz

>>16076365
Also, anyone who disagrees is obviously an idiot. Therefore, since I am the loudest samefagging spammer, consensus is reached. DO EVERYTHING.

>>16076371
Seconding everything

>>16076365
We should:

Use whatever propulsion method is most practical at the moment.

Give Ivanova time to come to a decision about whether she wants to bump us or not.

Tell Tynes not to worry because we are in control of the situation.

Attach both cryo-tubes to drones and have Parson and Ketro "participate" in team-building combat exercises.

Bump the ship through the gate.

Make drones vibrate at variable speed.

>>16076365
In regards to our Lt. demeanor:

"Ivonoava, rabu."

In regards to Tynes' concerns:

"Tynes, rabu."

In reagaurds to our engines and enginseer:

Us the gates as much as possible, and;

"Dai, rabu."

>>16076490
That's what got her that way to begin with.

Though seeing Dai's reaction would be interesting.

Just tell Tynes we already spoke with her on the matter.

Vedibere, you writing or facepalming?

>>16076600
i suspect the latter. doesn't he always :P

>>16076033
>>16076064
these two should do quite nicely

also blame parsons for ivanova's moodiness

Hey Vedibere, I have a question.

When the system defenses here queried us for IFF codes, did they transmit who they belonged to, first?
As in, is there any way to tell if this system was waiting for Ophidian Armada codes, codes belonging to one of the Great Houses, or someone else?

You choose the gates and, for once, nothing goes wrong. The transitions are smooth and seamless... oddly, all the primary gates have commands set into them to not connect with secondaries while still being able to connect to other primaries. Whatever the reason, you’re glad for it as it saves you an enormous amount of time. Twenty five thousand lightyears are covered in the span of hours as you transition from one to another... the primary nodes themselves always in deep space and every monitoring and resupply station at them completely obliterated. Finally, after several gatejumps, you arrive at the closest primary node to your destination... a mere one jump from FarCom. All that remains now are the jump parameters and reactor check before your final transition. One to three hours of rest and preparation.

###################

You float through space, simultaneously laying awake in bed. Only a few months out before the accident and now a few more, your perspective on your situation remains on uneven footing. You think, therefore you are... but what exactly? You slip between bodies as easily as turning your head or, no, easier. There is not even a transition to speak of, you are always just “there” and aware. Even when you “sleep” you are constantly monitoring the environment, maintaining course, and performing thousands of minor tasks throughout your unisteel form.

And more than anything odd feelings doggedly nip at your mental heels.

You twirl the object in your right hand between your fingers. An expertly carved chess piece -- a pawn -- taken from “Asura”’s corpse. Or rather Captain Razon’s, pried from his clenched fist. You flick it back into your palm and run your gaze over the marble figurine. Real marble, from Earth itself. Beyond priceless by itself then also inlaid with gold and pearl. Sigh. If only you had known Captain Razon liked to play. In all the years with the man you never suspected and he never hinted, but a chess set of this caliber... he must have been a master. Which only makes sense considering his enhanced abilities. Aurora loved the game and would often thrash you soundly at it when you were an Ensign. Though you knew at the time she had an advantage you could never have imagined how great it was.

Now, though? You raise your left hand, tossing the piece back onto the nightstand beside your bed as you do. Flex the muscles, one by one. Thumb, index, middle, ring, pinky. Each coordinated and perfect, viewed from a dozen angles at once. Precise, calculated, and exact.

And that’s just it. On occasion you’ve found yourself viewing your body from the outside, separate. Moving it in concert with your desires, a third person looking on and in. No special attachment, nothing save a node capable of increased computation and storage.

Another drone. Another set of sensors.

You aren’t sure when it started, exactly. Though hard to describe, ever since you were transformed into an EI you were a human who was a ship. Still within the presence of a human form while treating the ship as an extension of that. But now... now you are not so sure.

Accessing your memories, you think back and replay the conversations with the experts after the reformation. Eventually, they said, you would come into a sort of harmony between ship and body. Both as one, equally present and comfortable in both at all times. As you flex your hand again and watch it through a dozen lenses, you wonder... is this that equilibrium? If so, why do you feel more as if you are cruising through space rather than lying in bed? An uneasy feeling settles in your reactor --- no, you correct yourself. In your gut. Only a handful of EIs have ever lost their bodies and the process supposedly traumatic. You were spared that by shutting down but when you awoke it was very much dead.

What if....

You get a signal from the engineering comms.

#################

“Captain?”

“Yes, Chief, what is it?”

Dai wipes his forehead, or rather the small bit of skin left unreplaced by metal, smearing grease across it. “The reactor is prepared for the final jump to FarCom. Edge of range but should work fine. Ready to jump on command.”

>>16076834
They shot on sight. The only energy or signals they gave off were in the form of weapon blasts.

>>16076976
>Oh, and this is an optional WAT DO?
>You can just say "Jump to that shit."
>Or you can choose to do other stuff before going if you want.

>>16077015
Everyone report to battlestations before the Jump. We don't know what we'll find, so better to be prepared.
Then Jump.

>>16077039
This. We want everyone up and ready should it come to it.

>>16077039

Agreed. Prepare for the jump as though the gate were hot.

And I was just wondering today if this quest had died, Vedi. Damned glad to see it's not. That's what I get for going on vacation. ^_^

>>16077015
Tidy up and switch to our "dress uniform" if we have one.

guys...

what if ivanova got that one drug that dampens emotion?

ask the doctor to look at the stores of the drug. do not specify why.

>>16077331
Ivanova's digestive system doesn't work like a normal person's. She was eating, literally, 50 kilograms of food at once. Drugs probably won't work on her.
>>16077039
I agree. Gently bump the command staff onto the bridge in preparation for the jump.

Also, tell Dai to gently bump us about a light-day out of Farcom, and we can cruise in from a distance after scanning.

i still think it would be a good idea to ask the doctor. we have no idea what the hell she can do with that damn suit and all those "improvements".

>>16077367
She can bump everything gently.
EVERYTHING.
I'm glad she's on our side.

>>16077382
For now.
Master spook might loot her from us.

If we're curious, perhaps we should see how many different perspectives we can maintain without difficulty.

We could try to "be" the ship, our human body, and a drone at the same time, incrementing the number of drones by one until we hit a limit.

It might be interesting if we could, for instance, carry on a separate conversation with every person on the ship at the same time and keep them all straight.

hey ved you writing or trying to repair your face from all the facepalming?

>>16077880
Wiring. Nothing bad to facepalm at yet, really.

(I don't expect it to last.)

>>16077891
I know this is a fairly slow moving quest, but are you sure that's something you should be multitasking?

Don't fry yourself Vedibere!

Have we considered talking to Ivanova?

I don't want her exploding on us.

Maybe just a simple apology for causing her undue stress. Perhaps what we did was uncalled for or inappropriate.

>>16078308

Give it a week or two. If that's the problem, then rehashing it this soon is just going to exacerbate things. Let her have some time to deal with things before we go sticking our nose (prow) back in.

>>16078340
acceptable.

I'm kind of thinking that she was sent to keep an eye on us. Basically, if the captain started going crazy, then she would break into our core, wipe us, and upload herself. Let's hope that doesn't happen. I don't want to have to try to stop Ivanova with the power of love or something, because that's what I'm imagining the scenario playing out as.

“There you are, Sir. I have prepared the dro-” Tynes trails off as you step up onto the main bridge platform and take your command chair. Arrayed in your Dress Blacks, silver trim glinting and array of decorations tinkling softly you nod and gesture for the man to continue.

“Uh, the drones are prepared. The other systems too. We’re nearly ready.”

“Good. Why are you telling me this, though? Where’s Ivanova?”

Your XO’s voice rings from the entryway, “Here, Sir. My apologies.” You see her step up onto the dais with Ensign Rao. “I was verifying Ensign Rao’s skill reading the sensor output since you saw fit to appoint him to the position.”

“I assume he passed?”

“Yes. As for our status, systems are prepped and ready.” She swings past and takes her position.

“I have been informed. Battlestations, prepare for jump.” You recline your chair and slip easily into your trance. A soft humming courses through your frame, intensive systems coming online. The tingle of energy courses along your skin, shield deploying, and you feel your combat processing beginning final sequencing... then activate.

“Status report.” you intone, eyes closed and body insensate.

“Weapons, check.”
“Drones, check.”
*Engineering, check.*
“Comms, check.”
“Sensors, check.”
“All systems, check. Prepared for jump.” Ivanova finishes, looking over. “Beginning countdown.”

Kateryna’s voice slides smoothly through the air, her counting modulated to your own clock. Twenty seconds. The jumprings, concentric and perfect, begin their spin-up. Fifteen, the reactor field shimmers and the midnight-black void of the singularity pulses. Providing power enough to destroy worlds, star, solar systems. Your dark heart beating out a slow rhythm. “Five.” Calculations locked in. “Four.” Weapons hot. “Three.” Form shield at maximum. “Two.” Final systems check green, emergency abort not required. “One.”

The blurred rings slam into concentric form. The world blurs, reality rips and distorts. Between instants the stars shift, reorganize.

Reality snaps back into place, a silent impact and feeling of intense pressure for an instant. The jump-rings spinning again, throwing off flakes of ice at supersonic speeds as they wind down.

“Jump complete.” Ivanova finishes.

Spread out before you is Armada Far Arm Command, known as FarCom. Built around a trio of rapidly rotationg planetless brown dwarves, the complex forming a polyhedral lattice around the proto-stars with tens of thousands of berths and dockyards for ships of all classes and a population of over three million Armada personnel. Leads run from the gleaming structure into the very core of the dwarves from all points on the lattice, automated of course, drawing up elemental substances to aid in the repair and construction of ships at this massive far point station. Dozens of habitats dot the station at various points and hold hundreds of thousands of workers and billions of drones, a massive facility with production facilities able to build or equip any class of ship from scratch.

Or at least, that’s how you remember it. As your sensors flick out and over the glittering tracery you get a sinking feeling. Debris. Debris everywhere. Around the stars, falling in. Around the stars, spinning outward. And scattered in enormous spiral arms of destruction, craning off into the distance. Dozens of hulks; Hydra, Serpentine, Marquis, Eray-Sho class all ripped through with heavy lances and floating listlessly... and more. Alien ships as well, in the hundreds or thousands, all sizes.

>Atmosphere:
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTm2XwmSCIY

And one in particular. An enormous five-kilometer long vessel still breaking apart slowly. Small fires peek from blackened holes, burning off whatever is left despite the apex of their fury having long passed. Hundreds upon hundreds of tiny pockmarcks across the hull and two large rends caused by....

“Rinn, assessment of this ship? Quickly.”

The man’s brow furrows before looking over at you, confused, “Those are... heavy lances, sir. I’d bet my balls on it.”

“I would believe you without that, I’m sure Lieutenant.” you say drolly, “But if those are lances then wha--”

“Contacts!” Rao calls, his voice hoarse. “Multiple contacts! Two dozen energy sources heading for us, one more hanging back.”

“What are they?”

“They... they look like fighters, sir? Maybe corvettes?” Rao says, looking up.

“Be sure!” Ivanova snaps, pulling down her own screen before frowning, “Yes, large fighters. Twenty two incoming, two more hanging back Other power source is on the other side of a dwarf, but moving. It’s bigger. Much bigger.”

“Time to intercept?”

“Two minutes twelve seconds for the fighters.” Tynes replies, “Unknown for the larger signature, but will be in view in fifteen.”

>WAT DO?

>>16078450
Send out a transmission, open channel.
"This is the Ophidian Imperial Armada ship Harbinger. Unidentified craft, state your designation and purpose in this system."

Let's play it cool for now, no launching the drones just yet. ECM active, though.

identify ourselves as Ophelian. attempt to contact, and use video feed if we can. if they do not respond open up with medium lances. if that doesn't work fire nukes if that doesn't work start accelerating away.

>>16078450
Analyze the fighters. Transmit warning in all languages on file. Tell them we're a warship of the Ophidian Empire and they will break off immediately or be destroyed. Fire a warning shot.

Keep our best weapons trained on the large contact and ready to fire on it as soon as it passes in front of the dwarf.

>>16078540
>Accelerate away

No, we've got to gentle bump them first.

>>16078540
If our lances can't destroy these -fighters- I doubt nukes will solve the problem.

Vedibere, you mentioned that we could still handle medium lance hits, even with our shields reduced as they are.
Can we handle heavy lance strikes at all? Or would they shred through our form shield?

Whatever that big ship is, we have to assume that it has Imperial heavy lances, or something equivalent. It could be a surviving Imperial Armada ship, or the ship of a xeno empire that has access to Ophidian relics or technology. We need to be careful with this.

>>16078577
Depends on the yields they are set at, maximum output, blah blah. Assume you could handle some, but if it's a sustained slugging match you'll have problems.

>>16078523
In addition to that, full combat footing for weapons and shields, we have no idea what the capabilities of these ships are.

They may fire first, but they will not fire again.

>>16078541
I'm against firing a warning shot.
We don't know who they are, or whether they'll respond to our first hails or not. We shouldn't take the chance of a warning shot being interpreted as the opening shots of a fight.

>>16078665
You're right. We should only fire if they continue to approach.

>>16078665
I'd like to remind people of the HFY writefaggotry "Veil of Madness" as an example of a warning shot being poorly taken.

Oh, and:
>>16077331
You ask and he takes inventory. It's all accounted for.

>>16078523
>>16078541

Agreeing with these two. Try not to be TOO hostile though or that may just provoke them.

>>16078523

This to the letter. Meet hostile fire with the like. Prepare for evasive maneuvering. And if the source of those lances comes around that brown dwarf, PUT SOMETHING THE FUCK BETWEEN US. Unless I've missed something, we're not really in the shape needed for tanking heavy lance fire.

>>16078799
But we can't get a good scan on it with a brown dwarf in the way.
Considering the power of a heavy lance, it could probably burn through any debris we try to hide behind; hiding on the other side of a brown dwarf would be our best bet. But then we wouldn't be able to see what it is that we're facing.

The large ship. The destroyed one that has the heavy lance scars.

Can we identify it? Scan that shit. Ask the crew if they know of it in the case that we do not.

>>16078799
Also this, (especially putting something between us and the big signature) but disagree with firing a warning shot. It should be obvious if the unknowns are hostile or not, or if they are willing to talk this out.

If possible, open a video communication channel, with a view of our bridge, with the captain's chair in the center, obviously. You know, like "this is the picture of our bridge. We are here. We mean business."

>>16078861
That's what drones are for.

>>16077331
What if her own implants are generating the drug?

>>16078881
not much we can do then.

probably should talk to her after this though.

>>16078879

DING DING DING

If Space Cthulhu or Lord Killeverything's flagship, the Eternal Assraper, peeks around the brown dwarf, we use the hulk as cover and use drones as our eyes. Drones are expendable. The ship is not.

>>16078879
>>16078939
Well, what level of scanning are we going for?
If it's just to see what the other ship looks like, sure the drones will likely be enough.
But any actual in-depth scanning will likely require the sensor suite on the Harbinger itself. I don't think the drones would have scanners with a high enough fidelity.

>>16078523
>>16078540
>>16078771
All of this; declare who we are, declare us as friendlys, but be at the ready to return fire if fired upon.

Also: A good evening to everyone, as always Vedis faggotry is a pleasure to read

“Transmitting.” you bark at Fai, locking in all the known languages in your system and preparing your message; “Unidentified craft, this is the OIS Harbinger. State your designation and purpose in this system.”

Silence.

“Still closing sir. One minute thirty seconds.” Rao reports.

“Fie, retransmit. Tynes, drones prepared?”

“Ready to launch, Sir.”

You send the second message and wait again, fifteen more seconds. The swarm of fighters draw closer, and you give a slow shake of your head. “Enough, we’ve given them enough time. Prepare to launch.”

Tynes acknowledges, hands going to his console, but at that very moment Fie speaks; “Sir! Incoming transmission.”

“Belay that order, Mister Tynes. What is the message?”

Fie hesitates for a moment, “Very rough, sir, but it sounds like Ophidian Common. Well, mostly. Whoever’s speaking really can’t speak it very well. Putting it on.”

The air in the holoscreen mists, displaying the words: “The tongues of your speakings are Most Holy ? and or defilement of the Graveyard of Gods and or false god speakings allowance we will not ! however then”

“Report.” You look over to Rao.

“Fighters looped around, most of them are milling about. I’m picking up some energy signatures to and from them...”

“Those are comm traces.” Ivanova interjects. “Fie, can you tell what they are saying?”

“Ah, no M’am. I can tell that they are bouncing message back and forth between the fighters and the power source on the other side. It’s all encrypted though.”

claim we are their long lost gods. demand they start worshiping.

>>16079004
"WE ARE YOUR GODS. OBEY US!"

I don't think that will go well.

>>16079004
Err, perhaps instead of that:

"We are they. We are returned."

>>16079019
This. They obviously don't have the grammatical structure down, so keep it short and simple.

>>16079010
if we light a few off it will. ofcourse we sound more... god like though.

I KNOW, say that THEY'RE defiling the language, and we demand they stop

>>16079027
We don't want to do that, because if they obey, we won't be able to talk to them at all.

>Oh, right!
You scan the large group of fighters and the results are surprising to say the least. Heavily modified Ophidian designs, very heavily shielded, light lances, missiles... and lifesigns on board. They are heavily armed and easily fall into a super-heavy fighter category, and you can understand why Rao might have been confused at first. The two hanging back are spitting out a large amount of ECM and would take focused high-power scanning to penetrate.

Shred the encryption. Try to get a better grasp of linguistics before we go to broadcast, "Yes, we are of the race of the Old Gods," and instead broadcast, "We murdered the Old Gods. Want to race?"

Perhaps try to coax a little more commo out of them. Any ideas on something blase and noncommittal we can use to buy enough time and words to digest the linguistic shift?

>>16079042
How do they compare to our own fighters?

>>16078983
"Ivanova, begin decryption attempts at once."
Begin moving us so that we can get a good scan on the unidentified ship, and so that they can see us and see our Ophidian workmanship.

Transmit in Ophidian Common "We repeat, we are the Harbinger, ship of the Ophidian Empire. Identify yourself."

>>16079062
Maybe you should read his post again.

>>16078983
Send a message back, "We are those who came before, we left once long ago, but now we return to reclaim what is rightfully ours. "

Pause for a second and continue with "We thank you for defending our relics from those who would despoil it."

>>16079056
This, or any of the close permutations.
We repeat our claim, we ask them to identify themselves.

Is anyone reminded of that Andromeda Episode where there's an old commonwealth station full of kids who then go out to nuke some suns in the end due to the societal devolution over millenia?

>>16079048
>"We murdered the Old Gods. Want to race?"
No. Nonononono.

I still hold with
>open video comms

Say something like "after much time, we have awoken."

Fuck, I got this. Guys, are you ready for the best idea ever?

Instead of opening video comms of the bridge, can we send a video feed of our memories of this system in its prime?

>>16079042
Modified Ophidian designs? What about computer systems?
If we transmit to the computers on those fighters a computer handshake request, do the fighter computers respond and accept?

If we can get into their computer systems, and show whoever owns those fighters and that ship, that their computers defer to us, that would prove to them that we are their gods.

>>16079101
That's... actually a pretty damn good idea.

I vote for the video idea.

>>16079042
How much of a threat to us would the fighters be if there was 4 times more of them? If there's a ship out there it's a good bet they'll launch more fighters.

Agreeing that we should try to simplify our speech so that it's easier to get stuff across.

>>16079101
Hell yes, that's brilliant. Do it.

>>16079101

...so we are to act like a Stargate Villain?

"AFTER MUCH TIME WE HAVE AWOKEN!"

On the bridge of the enemy ship

"Seriously, who speaks like that?"

>>16079149
Hey, that's how you talk when grammar isn't fully grasped.

>>16079101
I support this

We can also drop ECM but keep shields up as long as they aren't getting closer.

>>16079101
>Instead of opening video comms of the bridge, can we send a video feed of our memories of this system in its prime?
Nice. I like this.

>>16079101
>Instead of opening video comms of the bridge, can we send a video feed of our memories of this system in its prime?

>*guinnessbrilliant.jpg*

>>16079149
I HAVE AWOKEN!

totally unrelated, but on the Ivanova front: Has anyone else considered that her implants might not let her fall in love? Love is a great way to make someone forsake other obligations, no matter how important.

>>16079333
Yep, considered that possibility.

M heart, black hole, filled with sorrow, etc etc.

>>16079333

It's far more likely she has a brain switch that lets her turn her emotions off. The ability to feel genuine emotion, especially love, is a bulletproof cover story, and the ability to turn it off, perform the mission, and then let the shrinks rebuild the resulting mental disaster later is one helluva weapon.

>>16079397
Interesting. I suppose the question then is whether or not she's in control of the on/off switch.

We should probably just try to talk to her about it when we have the time.

>>16079397
It's by far the most likely that she's just keeping a very tight wrap on all her external signs of emotion to prevent anyone from getting close to her while she works things out.

Some people do do that you know, not everything needs to be "brain implant did it".

>>16079444
Unless the brain implant DID do it.

>>16079444

Agreed. Occam's Razor - it's far more likely it's a coping mechanism than brain tinkering. Still, an emotional off switch is more likely than YOU CAN NEVER LOVE.

>>16078444
>very core of the dwarves
DELICIOUS MAGMA

>>16079551
> core of a brown dwarf
> magma
> wtfamireadingisthisguyretardedorwhat?!.jpg

>>16079629
>Brown Dwarf
>Dwarf
>Dwarf Fortress
>MAGMA!!

At least, that's how I think it goes. *shrugs*

>>16079694
you know... tapping into the heart of a star to power a still would probably make for pretty damn awesome alcohol, not because it tastes different, but simply because you powered it with the heart of a star.

>>16079717
As opposed to powering a still with a black hole?

“Ivanova, Fie. Get on decrypting those transmissions.” you say, simultaneously composing another message. “Much time has passed. We have returned.” Simple, short, to the point. If they really are worshipping the Ophidians as gods then hopefully that will do... something. Minutes pass, however and still no response. The fighters continue to weave about uncertainly and the strong power-source continues its journey around the brown dwarf.

“Sir. I’ve finished decryption procedures.” Fie announces.

“And?”

“Ah, well. Um, I’m afraid it’s based off of Ophidian encryption, Sir. Military encryption. I don’t think we have any way to break it.”

Blast. “Ivanova, is your assessment in line with his?”

“Yes, Sir. I’ve tried every trick I know, it’s a good cypher and doesn’t respond to anything I throw at it. I would /guess/ that it’s not keyed to any standard Imperial access codes at all.”

“Hell of a guess.” Rinn states, “Probably just one we don’t have in the banks. There were thousands of ‘em you know.”

“As I said, it is just a guess.” she replies.

“They still aren’t responding, Sir.” Fie interjects smoothly and you nod.

“Fine. I have something else prepared for them. Prepare to transmit as I send.” At that you dredge deep into your databanks, pulling together copies of your memories of this place as it once was. A shining, radiant lattice, surrounded by a sphere of enormous hollow asteroids packed with weaponry and covered in a shield that could withstand the fury of stars.

An image of an age gone by.

“Ready. Begin transmission. Message is the video image along with this, ‘I am the Harbinger. I have returned.’ and that’s it. Let’s see how they respond.”

“Sir.” the Ensign replies, bending to his console. You soon feel the transmission span the distance, sweeping across fighter and unknown craft alike. Transmissions between the others cut off and a few seconds pass. Then a few more.

“Transmission, sir. Not at us, and encrypted.” Fie states. You already knew of course, just as you know the next statement by Rao.

“Enemy craft pulling back. ECM disengaged. They’re all rendevousing with the large energy signature.”

A low whistle issues from Rinn. “Is there something you’ve noticed, Lieutenant Rinn?”

“No, cap’n. Well, not anymore. But take a look at these two puppies in the back.” He flicks the images the sensors are reading back to the main holoscreen. An extremly long corvette pops up rather than a fighter, large ECM dishes and radiator fins sprout from it at every possible location along the length and its enormous central mass. Rinn stands and walks over, running his finger down the length of the holo-image, “See this? Whole damn thing is one big gun! It’s a bloody flyin’ heavy lance. An’ this,” he points to the midsection, “this sucker is a power storage component. Look at the emissions and all the radiator fins! Damn things were charged and ready to hit us, I bet. Would have packed a pretty punch, too.”

“Noted, Lieutenant. But back to your station. The command ship is coming into view in three minutes.” The man acknowledges and you wait tensely, the entire bridge bracing for whatever comes around the hemisphere of the dwarf...

...But you would never have expected this. An enormous ship burgeons into view... at least, enormous in raw size, and you’re not sure if you should truly even call it a ship. Rather than a standard vessel you gaze upon what is, plainly, a Gate with several hundred engines affixed to it.

“Sir!” Rao grabs your attention, “Extremely large amounts of power building in the new ship.”

“Rinn, armaments?”

The craggy man stares down at his console, scarred face lit by the backglow, “Don’t see more than a few mediums and point defense, at best, Sir.”

“Course of action, Sir? I’m not seeing any hails and they’re just flying away.” Tynes asks.

>What now?

Well, that beat the hell out of getting shot into tiny little pieces. Thanks, BrilliantAnon!

>>16079774

They mobilized a gate. Or possibly weaponized it. Wow. These guys might be keepers.

I suppose the best thing to do for now is wait. My money's on SOMETHING coming out of that gate. Whether it's a capital ship, the Grand Poobah's asteroid / palace, an armada, or Nyarlathotep, we find out when it gets here.

>>16079774
Shields up and wait.
Don't fire upon anything.
Say "Hello, unidentified craft. Why are you near the three weak stars? What brings you to this system?"

>>16079774
My thoughts are they're either going to
a) retreat through the gate (And possibly self destruct the gate afterwards)
b) form up on the gate ship and await reinforcemnts to come through
c) Return to base while they send for an ambassador?

>>16079774
Let them go.

Ensure that you are never directly in front of the gates opening, since it's likely that a gate opening could be weaponized.

Start scanning the ruins for ships you may recognize, as well as active power other than the modified ships.

check to see if there are any intact stations at all that could be used for further repairs, we have all sorts of items that could be used just floating around.

>>16079774
Contact Dai and get him to speculate, quickly, on what that sort of power could be used for. Obviously, the first guess is "bigass weapon," but they could be summoning their home fleet to bump us gently in a welcoming manner.

>>16079840
>Ensure that you are never directly in front of the gates opening, since it's likely that a gate opening could be weaponized.

This is also probably prudent. Better safe than a billion billion subatomic particles scattering on the stellar winds.

>>16079774
>What now?
Ophidian National Anthem
Images of Earth
Images of a great fleet of starships (we must've seen some in our time)
A few "Hello. Peace?" messages.

>>16079838
>FUCK
d) Invert the gate field to push us out of reality/the universe effectively destroying us in one shot.

>>16079840
>>16079854
Gates are point to point. You can't fire -through- them. You can use them to teleport a bomb or a gun through, though.

>>16079859
I still like the idea of transmitting our memory of the shipyards intact if we haven't already.

>memoire oncerne
I'm assuming that means Captcha agrees.

>>16079878

We're more envisioning rewiring one so it generates a stupidly huge pulse of energy along the transit axis, or randomly relocates the molecules of whatever it's pointed at until it looks like a rendition of Picasso's Guernica.

>>16079864
>>16079838
>>16079841
They referred to our language as "Most Holy"
>and or defilement of the Graveyard of Gods and or false god speakings allowance we will not
If we try to loot the system, or if we bullshit them, they fire upon us.
However, they consider the Ophidians as some kind of God.

>>16079878
nothing to do with firing through them, everything to do with changing the opening protocols so that instead of making a nice circular portal within the gate, it instead forces all that energy into a type of subspace lance effectively shooting you with the space/time fabric of an alternate universe.

(shit like this has been done with "gate" tech in universes I've read about and i don't know what vedi has done)

obviously some of the technobabble may change, but it's a possibility

and in character, the captain has pretty much no understanding of the math and physics involved, he just knows that there's a huge energy build-up and no obvious major weapons other than the ring itself.

>>16079859

I'm more inclined to wait until they DO something. We lose nothing by sitting still except initiative, and it looks like they might just have the assets to take that initiative and ram it straight up our ass.

rolled 35 = 35

>>16079859
That, without the "Hello Peace". Just Human Propaganda.

>>16079932
>and in character, the captain has pretty much no understanding of the math and physics involved, he just knows that there's a huge energy build-up and no obvious major weapons other than the ring itself

Which is why we need to ask someone who knows this shit, namely Dai.

Looks like we wait.
Hope Vedi isn't facepalming at that suggestion

I don't think the power emanations from the gateship are necessarily a weapon. It must take a sizable amount of power to run all the engines it needs in order to move.

>>16079951

So long as we're waiting off a direct line along the transit axis. Because that's the equivalent of laying face-down on train tracks and hoping that the rumbling is an earthquake.

>>16079900
We lave, l2read

I second the notion of stayibg clear of the gates, probably prep an emergency jump just in case, but wait for their next move

>>16079951
They outnumber and outgun us and have a huge roving gate that they can probably launch more of the flying heavy lances through. And at the same time they haven't been actively antagonistic or hostile towards us yet.

We should stay on our guard but play wait and see while we try to communicate.

>>16079974
durr I always feel stupid when I see messups due to typing on the phone

I'd like to add that I read their actions as non-agressive, what with decloaking the bigass guns et al, so waiting for our new friends to do the next move while staying alert and ready to bail is probably prudent

>>16080000
At this point, they don't outnumber or outgun us. We don't yet know what they're doing with the gate, but the ships themselves we can take easily.

>An enormous five-kilometer long vessel still breaking apart slowly

I want a scan of this vessel. We were interrupted by these whoever they are before but I think it would be a good idea to find out what this ship is.

>>16080015

I don't think you truly understand the sheer havoc that could be wreaked upon us by not one, but TWO flying-heavy-lances-chock-full-o'-ECM with a support fleet. And the mediums on the flying gate. And that's before you even factor the whole gate-as-a-weapon premise. In short, it'd look something like the pain olympics, but with spaceships.

...why am I even explaining this to you. You're dumber than a bag of hammers, and half as useful.

>>16080030
You don't think it's another Harbinger class do you? How big is the Harbinger anyway?

>>16080015
Our shields are shit. We can't take a hit from a heavy lance. It would undo all the repairs we have made and then some.

>>16080030
I see no reason not to finish analyzing that 5km ship while we are waiting for whatever these guys are doing.

>>16080067
I don't think you understand what the Harbinger actually has. 1000 missile tubes. 8 heavy railguns. 31 medium lances. 4 heavy lances. Over 6000 interceptors and over 1600 fighters. Full ECM capability and 65% point defense coverage.

We massively outgun the aliens. If the gate HAS been weaponized, we have no idea what it can do, because we haven't talked to Dai yet.

The insults aren't necessary, by the way.

>>16080085
We can, we just can't take it for long. If this comes to a fight, we should concentrate as much of our firepower on the corvettes as possible.

>>16080113
Edit: Unless the gate proves to be a bigger threat.

>>16080113
Wait.

We do probably outgun them, but they have sufficient firepower to assure mutual destruction.

It's like US vs UDSSR: Sure the US outgunned the UDSSR, still the soviets could nuke the US.
Keep analyzing the big ship, I overlooked that!

Anyone else wondering if the people we are talking to are descendants of human survivors from the battle that took place here that have forgotten their real history over 65000 years worth of generations?

>>16080142
I don't think they do. The fighters are armed only with light lances, the corvettes one heavy lance apiece. And there are only two of those.

They'll do some damage, but not MAD-level. We're a full-fledged warship, and our shields may be piss at this point, but those are just strike craft. The twins are ion frigates at best. We can bust them up just fine.

I think in a similar act of non-aggression we can stand to lower ECM. It's clear they will not fire at us, or if they will, they are waiting for reinforcements.

At this point, we could ask them who they are.

Something like "who are you? Why are you here?"

>>16080160
I wonder how this might end.

>>16080160
possibly, although they might just be a race that sprang up in the wake up humanity.

“A moment, Tynes.” At that you shift to engineering, finding your Chief Engineer scowling down at a power output display.

“Captain.” the man states offhandedly, not even looking up as he acknowledges your presence.

“I need you to assess something for me. Power buildup. What it is doing, what it can do.”

“Right. Let me see.” You feel him jack into the ship systems and link a direct feed to the sensors, waiting as the data flows back and forth.

Eventually he breaks from the console, “Gate is charging. Some fighters. Nothing else.”

“Right, but what can the gate do with all that energy is it a weapon? Could they harm us with it?”

He frowns, “Gate is powered by a singularity. Could wipe out entire section of system maybe more if detonated. But just normal gate-jump waveform. Interesting jury-rigged transport system. Look to be aligning it for jump out. As weapon?” He shrugs, “Maybe. Would have to study, research feasibility. Probably better choices. Lances. Missiles. Other things. That all?”

“Yes, but keep an eye on it. Tell me if anything changes.”

He nods and you focus back on the bridge where Rao is speaking, “Gate has stopped moving. Ships launching from command section, aligning for transit with the others. Power output leveled off.”

“Order, Sir?” Ivanova asks.

“Let them be, for now. We’re watching.”

>>16080166
I'll reiterate: You are WRONG
Vedibere answered the question of what were to happen if somebody shot heavy lances at us.
He answered in THIS THREAD.

Our shields could sustain a hit, or two, and then we're jusr DEAD.


Re: Descendants: Yes. I alluded to an Andromeda episode earlier.

And watch you do. It is only a few minutes before the ships are arrayed in front of the gate and the rend appears as a crashing wave, ethereal sub-dimensional matter blasting outward from the center in a translucent white sphere. And then they are through, transitioning all at once... and the gate closes once more.

But that’s not the end. The engines fire once more, despite all lifesigns on the station having departed. It slowly flies back to the three brown dwarves, taking up a holding position in the center near where the main complex of the station used to be before shutting down all power completely.

One more lifeless hunk of metal nearly indistinguishable from all the rest.

A query pops up from engineering and you answer, “Yes, Chief.”

“Said to keep you appraised. They shut off the gate.”

….

“Thank you, Chief. That’s all for now.”

He grunts, flipping off the comm again.

>>16080210
No, that's not what he said at all. Read:

>>16078645

>>16080212
And now we have time to assess the wrecks in-system.

>>16080212
So wait, did they all just leave? Just like that we're alone again?

I'm kind of disappointed, but considering our previous track record it's probably for the best.

>>16080212
>>16080204
An analysis of a certain 5KM ship, and hell, a full sensor sweep of the system would be nice.

And that's 2 for 2 on reconciling the encounter without blowing anything to teeny tiny bits.

>>16080212

Okay, so time for investigatin'. A more thorough scan of that hulk, as mentioned above. Investigate the gate itself, see if we can figure out where they went, or why they fucked off (on an outside chance). A slightly more exhaustive (but still timely) inventory of the system, in case there's something here that could aid us.

>>16080212
Is that a wat do?

Is there anyone else in this system? Can we attempt to send out a hailing message?

I have a feeling those guys will be back.

Now. The hulks. Any ruined hulks that are notable? Any energy signatures to investigate? I guess this is where we can scan the entire system in detail and point out notable things.

>>16080242
This, analyse the bigass hulk, probably send a drone to the gate, maybe the gate can tell us...
... Something about those guys
... Where they went.

However, I doubt that they could give us much intel.

>>16080263
>Investigate the gate itself

We should see if we can assert control of it like the others, in case we need to stop them from flooding the system with impossible rape ships.

>>16080281
Ever heard the phrase "Let sleeping dogs lay."
They've been relatively amicable compared to our other encounters with xenos, it's probably best not to mess with them.

>>16080281

Sure, sounds reasonable. We should also do a more in-depth study of the gate, and try to get a more thorough understanding of exactly how much modding they did to it. Between that and after-action analysis of the heavy lance corvettes, we should get a rough idea of what kind of a tech level we're working with here.

>>16080290
Perhaps. We'll just have to weight that sentiment against our potential safety, should they decide to return with bigger guns, proclaim us false gods, and force us to eat our own supposed superiority.

>>16080323

I agree. Verifying the option to turn the gate off isn't turning the gate off, and I'd strongly suggest we leave it as-is until we have a better grasp of the situation. You don't have to burn a bridge down to see if it'll burn.

I bet you anything they have gone back to the rest of their people to report that the gods have returned.
We'll be hearing from them again, though what they'll have to say I don't know.

>>16080371
More importantly, what do we say?

>>16080371

Here's hoping it's more "72 billion virgins and the abject prostration of the entire ruling cadre" and less "BURN THE IMPOSTERS".

>>16080380
"Your resistance makes my penis harder."

>>16080345
I agree.

>>16080380
"Have you tended our garden well?"

I think they might think we're the space-devil.

harbinger was one of the main reasons the ophidian empire fell, if these xeno scum have learnt not only our language but some of our history, we might have scared the living shit out of them.

I also do not care for their ship which is bigger than us! We and we alone must be the gentle bumper, not the gentle bumpee!

>>16080390
>"Have you tended our garden well?"

Sure, except it's in ruins.

>>16080482
I'm hoping other systems under their control are better-off. If their use of modified Ophidian tech is any indication, they should have infrastructure we can use.

Anyway, the fact that they have not managed to preserve our things perfectly gives us some leverage. "You have served us only semi-well. We will punish you with extravagant demands now."

The full system scan takes several hours and reports are, sadly, much as you expected. Ruined ships, more of the same. The shipyard of course wrecked, stabbed through thousands of times of times with heavy lances at the least. The ships husks, as you’ve seen before with the Asura and her kin. And alien ships wrecked and slain, wounds gaping to vacuum.

The large ship with fires still burning catches your attention, especially. A monstrous behemoth five klicks long, the rear section en huge and bloated like some sort of steel bug. Hollow it turns out, massive spaces dedicated to cargo. The front of the ship is different, however. Equally massive to the rear in total, it is instead a long, thin cylinder stretching out six times the length of the rear holds and studded with dozens of railguns and laser cannons. You even see some bubble shield projectors on the pockmarked surface, obviously inadequate to the task they were put to.

Scans show detonations still occurring and superheated throughout, focused on the lance impacts, including the heavies that bisected the front portion and pierced the rear bulb completely through.. Rinn confirms that they are consistent with weapons fire and estimates the ship can’t be over two days dead, even going so far as to praise the thoroughness of the lancing. Professionally done, he says, and targeting every section of the ship that could possibly be used as a refuge in the event of depressurization.

And so you turn your attention to the gate. Drone interceptor scans confirm no lifesigns onboard so you send a shuttle with a complement of repair bots. Dai, cursing the awkwardness of working remotely yet again, confirms that the gate is still intact and -- interestingly -- is rigged to a large intersteller receiver dish. The dish feeds directly into the main computer core and, presumably, is how the fighters got to the system in the first place.
You

>>16080575
No. You!

>>16080575
is.... that a wat do?

>>16080575
No You!

Is that the wat do, or is more coming?

>>16080617
Huh. Wonder how that got there.

Anyway, it isn't supposed to be included.

Yes, it is wat do.

>>16080638
Try to enter the gates computersystems, search for info on our welcoming comittee and where they went.

However, if that was all, I say we get going to the core worlds. Chances are, all bigger installations this far out have been destroyed, I don't feel like there's much waiting for us on the Rim.

While we're here, evaluate salvage. I realize it's going to take many days to catalog even a fraction of this stuff due to the sheer volume of it, but we don't have much else to do while we're waiting for our little friends to return.

Since it's nice and convenient, check the 5k hulk first, then move on to other targets likely to contain items of interest, like cryopods, ordnance, or bean paste.

Analyze the gate computer core.

>>16080575
>main computer core

What's up.

Time to access that bad boy.

Keep everyone on alert, and shields up. We don't know what's going on, but it's obvious conflict has happened here recently.

I suggest we sweep the area to see if there's anything worth salvaging. Then, if possible, we should consider boarding the gate and seeing what the xenos have done to our technology.

>>16080670
>>16080662
After several hours of cursing, sweat, and blood you and Dai crack the computer core. It has nav coordinates for proper placement, protocols for transmission, flight protocols, atmospheric information to sustain an oxygen/nitrogen environment onboard the control facilities regulated at 22.5 degrees centigrade...

But most importantly it has information for linking to another gate. And checking your gatemap... well, there shouldn't be anything linking to or from here at all. Or even a gate in the system.

Check out the big ship, see if we can figure out where it came from. If it's still burning it was shot up recently, likely by the guardians that left.

>>16080707
Intriguing.

>>16080707
Cross reference that system with our own records. See if it lines up with any Orphidian system from the past.

>>16080707
Huh, looks like somebody figured out how to build gate after the fall of the empire.

>>16080738
Or the gate was omitted from the map. Or one was moved there from another system.

Are our long range coms working? Could we broadcast a transmission (near) instantly to the system in question?

>>16080707
Is that place where the strangers went?

I kinda do not wanna follow them, as the chance of them having mire and bigger ordenance at home scares me.
However, them leaving and us following cpuld be the proof for us being who we are. After all, they wouldn't expect a stranger to be capeable of controlling a gate.
Well, fuck it, go there, nao. We may live or die or whatever, just jump there and hope their good manners keep up.

Could we use the huge array to communicate with whoever's on the other end of that new gate?

>>16080721
The system is obtuse and the best you can determine is their last flight was a long-distance trip from another star system nearby that you have never heard of.

>>16080735
Nope. Exactly three systems intersect that particular perfect line. None inhabited.

>>16080774
Partial. Range limited and transmissions likely somewhat garbled or fuzzy. Also, uh, ENORMOUS power drain.

>>16080783
It's a receiver.

>>16080774
I'm pretty sure our long range coms work. Didn't we send messages to Sol early on and get no response? So I think that they should work.

So yeah, it looks like we're speaking the equivalent of Hebrew and Latin or Aramaic to these guys. The Holy Language.

How far away is the system that they jumped to?

And, once again referencing our old Ophidian star charts and the gate charts, are there any systems of note that lie between us and that system if we were to travel to it.

Hm, we should make a jump through the gate into the unknown system. See what's crackin'.

I mean, after we're done here.

I'm pretty sure there isn't much to salvage, but spend some time looking in obvious places: Empire ships' cores or power sources.

>>16080953
They deactivated the gate. Presumably remotely. We can't simply follow them through.

>>16080953
>>16080970
Also, they do have weapons which could potentially destroy us. I agree that we should reestablish contact with these people. But we've got to do it slowly and cautiously.

>>16080970
So we reactivate it.

Maybe they had a prophecy about how the ancients would return.

So they kept this place warm for us, and then left when we returned.

Fuckin' mystery, the best way to solve the problem is to reactivate the gate and head through, after we're done here

Well, looking kinda dead.

>Wat Do? is still in effect, but I'm closing the thread out for tonight I think. Tomorrow, 18:00, blah blah.

Also, because I'm lazy, anyone have sauce on this IS doujin?

>>16081061
Not with just that. If you have a title, or an author, or a theme, or the names of the characters, or what they're from, or the fetishes involved, I can probably help.

>>16081306
Mmm? It's an Infinite Stratos doujin. Likely a Charlotte one, but it's possible there's Houki/Cecilia action too. Purely from the single page, of course. /Which/ doujin involving those characters I have no idea. Already tried the usual suspects for image searches, too.

>>16081338
http://g.e-hentai.org/g/364750/e1276bfece/

Found it!

>>16081492
You, sir, are a miracle worker.

You have earned a question. The answer to this question will be true. Nothing tremendous will be spoiled, however.

>>16081650
Hmm, a boon from Vedibere...

Is it possible to have Ivanova's behavioral implants removed/disabled given the level of medical technology we currently have access to?

>>16081650
Oh, and do feel free to ask me to find more doujins. I'm like, one of the three people who actually find shit for people in /r/.

>>16081663
No, they are not able to be physically removed nor disabled with the medical technology you possess. It is possible to do so through other means. I will warn you, however, that doing so through the most readily available method will be incredibly dangerous and difficult.

>>16081705
Well, no need to risk our new waifu.

>>16081717
>waifu
YOU FOOL! YOU'VE JUST KILLED HER!

>>16081705
Oh, and by "other means" there are like... two, other than the whole physical removal/disabling deal. That leaves a total of three potential methods to disable or remove her implants, some of which may or may not ever be available to you depending on your own choices. I doubt there will be more due to the various specs for her hardware I've drawn up.

Those Intel boys don't play, man.

>>16081730
At a guess:

1. Miracle alien tech
2. One in a billion hit with a particular kind of energy that will either free her or kill her.
3. Finding one of said intel guys in cryo.

>>16081730
Well, the methods I came up when thinking about it were:

-Physical removal via medical technology.
-Hacking her implants.
-Finding some kind of override code, if we should ever happen upon an important intel facility or date storage.

>>16081735
>>16081740
Mmmm. If only you had another question, eh?

>>16081774

>>16081774
Nah, that would take all the fun out of it.

We used a Jump to get to FarCom, so our reactor still needs a week to stabilize.

Wat do:
1. Wait one week for reactor to stabilize. If we're following the Unknowns into their system, we need a way to bug out.
2. During the week, have Ivanova and Fie continue cranking away at the encryption used by the superheavy fighters. Not much hope, but maybe they'll get lucky.
3. They might return within a week, in which case we can open communication with them.
4. Otherwise, Gate to their system and try to make contact.