Broken Sun- A Sci-fi Adventure (Closed, Started!)

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Haros Station: Commander's Office: David West and Co.

"I assume so. Now I have matters to attend to. The refueling will done in a few hours. I suggest you grab some chow and keep yourself busy until you are ready to depart."

David returned the salute before giving Natasha a dirty look and leaving.
Just had to be Aliens... He thought as he began making his way back to the canteen, clearly unhappy with this outcome.
It's not that he was scared or anything of that nature, no, that had NOTHING to do with it, but he was more thinking of all the friends in the army that were basically Space Racists.
While he was confident that he wouldn't put his foot in this mouth, he WAS worried that some of their bad habits might reflect poorly on the Human Race.
"[sub]~we're in space David, things are already scary.~[/sub] Pffffff, Yeah right..." He sassed once he was out of earshot before returning to stuffing his face.
"Hey, you guys don't have liquor here do ya?" He asked before picking up another sandwich.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Natasha sighed and shrugged her shoulders at the dirty look David gave her as he practically flounced out of the Commander's quarters. It wasn't like she hadn't made it clear that she was no more happy with the situation than he was. Had she not been the person to raise doubts in the first place? Their orders were clear, and there was no-one else who could conceivably carry them out, and she couldn't understand what it was that David couldn't deal with about that. Quite frankly, she had expected more stones from the man supposedly in charge of her safety.

Whatever, she wasn't going to hold a grudge over such a petty disagreement. She left back in the direction of where the Juliet was docked. David was already with the others, and she reckoned that she'd best give him some space to calm down. Besides, she needed to be on her own as well, to process what she'd just learned.

 

[IFS]

"You really didn't need to do that, honestly now."

"I apologize for my rudeness," Emerson said stiffly "The health and safety of this crew is my concern though, so I will be discussing it further with Dr. Chervenkov in private."

He considered responding to Dr. Chervenkov's statement about personal responsibility, but decided against it even before the man had left. It would be best to discuss the matter further in private as he had said he would, while he didn't care if the crew liked him so long as he was able to do his job, he did realize that it was important that they at least respect him and it seemed his latest remarks were not doing much for that quality.

He considered following Dr. Chervenkov as well, deciding against that too, the man would be fine on his own. Besides the station had some gravity so if nothing else Dr. Chervenkov would get a bit of exercise. Instead he turned back to the others.

"So what do you all think of the first contact related news?" he asked, wanting to gauge their reactions and opinions.

 

[The Hund]

"Dr. Chervenkov is a bit behind on his physical training at the moment, but should be able to recover if he sticks to the regimen, and I intend to make sure that he does, other than that there are no issues that I've found."

When Northfleet had asked about if there were any medical problems he should know of he meant himself. He just nodded in response to Emerson's answer. He thought doing anything other than that would be taking a side and that was certainly something he didn't want to do. He hoped Chervenkov wouldn't hold it against him.

After about a minute if thinking he had come up with a what he though was a good answer to Yifie and Emerson's questions.

"Well I think it means that the aliens know we're coming for our men. They'll probably set up an ambush at the Elliot if they're hostile. That being said, we have no reason to believe they mean us harm. There tech has to be years ahead of ours. They've had plenty of time to gauge our forces and plan an attack. I think if they meant to do so they would've done it a long time ago. Not that we should let our guard down of course. I guess it's up to the commander. Speaking of the commander I haven't seen him in awhile." Northfleet said as he went back to eating his food.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Three hours later...

The drones attending to the fuel line cut off the fuel and carefully detached the line. They led the long chord back in the station with two astronauts overlooking the process. While the drones were finishing up, they did a final inspection of the Juliet. They used their jet-packs, a much more improved version of the ones used decades ago. The pair of thrusters in the rear looked indistinguishable from the rest of the suit and instead of the large fuel tanks, rechargeable battery packs could be seen glowing on the sides showing its charge level. Blips of green emanated from the stark white astronauts as they floated around the Juliet. But finally their dance stopped as everything looked to be good. They exchanged thumbs-up and flew towards the ship's outside intercom.

"Everything checks out. Fuel should be maxed out, and your oxygen levels are good. Good luck out there." The astronaut said before flying away to Haros station.

While closer to the cockpit, the tube for the exit was being finished tucked away into the station. The drones dutifully completed the take down of the tunnel and retreated back to its station. The Juliet was now no longer attached to the station and was free to fly.

"Contact us immediately once you're out of the Cliff. I'll keep in contact the best I can." Commander Farver said to S.S. Juliet as it left Jupiter's orbit. As the Juliet surged forward, Haros station appeared more like a pin in the distance and in comparison with Jupiter's enormous size. "As long as we see you, comms should be clear otherwise stay close to the communication relays. They're unmanned so we'll be the only voices you would hear from here on out."

On the HUD four small markers were revealed showing the location of the communication relays with the closest one being the one on Io. The other three were relays on Rhea, Titania and lastly Charon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yukino spent the rest of her time on Haros station either eating or listening about what the others had to say. She was in charge of guarding these people after all so she might as well got to know them. The thought of having a weapon aboard didn't really affect her. She went through the training, read through the protocols and was reminded repeatedly to only use her pistol if necessary. But she got the talk when she was in the military alongside mission orientation back on Earth so suffice to say, she's heard all that there is to learn about weapons safety, etc.

When it was time to leave, she was the first to be aboard the Juliet. Yukino made sure the android didn't mess with anything on the way out. Since that thing was one of the crew, she had to look after that as well and the prospect of that didn't exactly make her job any easier. Still she focused on the task ahead but she had to admit that she was nervous about what was ahead.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Everything checks out. Fuel should be maxed out, and your oxygen levels are good. Good luck out there."

"Acknowledged." Natasha replied, in her ice-cool pilot's voice, before adding, in a rare display of open humour. "Might want to look out some more steaks, 'cause we'll be back before you know it."

Manual control and navigation were online. Engines were hot. Almost as easily as flying a kite, Natasha took the helm, and sent the Juliet surging away, it's anti-matter engines propelling it to blistering speed in barely seconds, with nothing more than a serene hum, and the slight, but welcome, inertia reminding Natasha's body what gravity felt like.

"Contact us immediately once you're out of the Cliff. I'll keep in contact the best I can."

"Copy that, Commander." she replied, before switching the comms to the internal channel. "Everyone still sitting comfortably?"

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

S.S. Juliet: Storage/Rec Room: David West

After their mission was relayed to them and the Juliet was prepped, David returned back to his bunk, clearly a LOT more PO'd about this change in plans then he let on.
"[sub]Out of all the missions out of all the ships, I just had to get this one...[/sub]" He cursed under his breath as he went to do his mandated exercises in the Storage Bay, mostly to vent the anger at being sent on an possible First Contact mission.
Whatever happened now was far bigger then he could ever imagine and that was the problem.

 

[DarkRawen]

Nikolai had ended up going back to his room after something like two hours, almost passing out as he hit the bed. Obviously, he had tended to the plants and samples before doing so, or finished tending to them anyways. He had been in a good mood, if very dizzy, so when he woke up again an hour later, he stretched, smiling.

Well, that was a pleasant nap. It's too bad I missed a couple of areas, but at least I feel better now.

Nikolai really did, both mentally and physically. He wondered if he should go find the doctor and apologize, but honestly, he didn't feel like he had been in the wrong. However, he recognized the need to go and train, and he would--- after he had spoken to Cui about the robot.

Perhaps she got to know some more when I was out.

He tried to find her, hopefully she'd be looking after the drones or something. As he floated, he thought of the sound they had heard, the one reminiscent of the first contact, or so he assumed. Although Nikolai certainly wondered what they would find, it still didn't worry him. Most of the others seemed to think it was a negative thing, but as a scientist, and as a generally curious human being, Nikolai could only think of the possibilities.

"I wonder if there's sentient plants out there,"

Nikolai mused eagerly.

 

[IFS]

Emerson relaxed in his quarters for a while after returning to the ship, thinking on the prospect of being among the first to meet alien life. It was certainly exciting, the sort of thing he had dreamed about in the past, but at the same time it was frightening. This crew as the ambassador's of humanity? We're all certainly prime examples of what humans can achieve, lets hope we don't disappoint. He said a short prayer before getting up and heading out across the ship, wondering what the others might think about all this.

He made his way to the storage bay to begin his exercises for the day, wouldn't do for me to fall behind in training while berating Nikolai for doing the same. He strapped himself into one of the treadmills and began running, which always felt strange to do without gravity.

He saw David enter, clearly unhappy about something "Hello Officer West," he said, "Is something the matter?"

 

[Azkar Almsivi]

"Cui, come on, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about it early, but you have to understa-" the voice trails off. Everything is black, but the images come quickly. A young Chinese man in a military lab coat is beckoning towards her, a gun in his free hand. She's in some form of room, judging by the structure and venting, it's underground. Mechanical equipment, rigging, consoles and secured mechanical bodies line the walls and tables.
"Cui, this is the best chance we have, everyone is in on it. The government has no right to own what we've done here. Don't you se-" time seems to skip slightly she's infront of him now. He caresses her chin, pulling her lips forward for a kiss.

"That's my girl, everything is going to be fine..."
His eyes close, as he leans in.

Cui's stare as she snatches a heavy multi tool from the bench and swings it wide and hard into the side of the man's head. She seems to plunge into darkness with the swing, now she's floating. Then she feels firm restraints holding her down in a sitting position, she can see bright squares flickering and hissing. The darkness shifts and warps as she hears metal buckle and twist, the sound is agonizing.

She didn't have the ability to comprehend what she knew happened next.

Cui wakes up with a start, smashing her head against the wall due to her odd sleeping position and insistence to sleep without her headcase on for once. "F*%k me sideways..." Cui groans as she tries to rub her sore forehead, her hands off next to no relief though, actually making it worse. The woman stands up quickly although dazed, but pauses for a moment. She reaches a synthetic hand up as if to feel her lips, instead finding nothing but air. The dream quickly begins to escape her, but her recollection of the actual event is perfect, so she can't escape the empty feeling that overcomes her.
Her hand falls back to her side, her soft eyes water over a little as she looks at the floor panel she's more or less 'standing' on.

Her eyes fall back onto her bed, she reaches down, picking up her headcase. She faces it directly and would have given a weak smile if she could. "I shouldn't have taken you off should I? I'm sorry..." the words are barely audible as she strokes a finger across it's ridges, she then gives the object a little cuddle before connecting it back over her face. Cui made her way out of the room, hoping nobody was awake or paying attention to her odd behavior. The cyborg's mechanical feet grasp the handles, allowing her to swiftly make her way down the hall. She stops near the drone bay, but considers having a shower instead, she isn't too sure.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

"Hello Officer West," he said, "Is something the matter?"

S.S. Juliet: Storage/Rec Room: David West, Emerson

"Just the sudden change of orders. That's all." David bluntly answered as he began strapping himself in to do his exercises as Emerson did the same.
"I know that only the best of the best even make the short list for these kind of missions, but I have to question command's logic behind sending us in for a possible first contact mission on such short notice..." He said before he began running on one of the threadmills parallel to Emerson.
"I mean, the whole reason ambassadors go though so much screening because you can't just pick ANYONE and say "Hey, this guy speaks for the entire country." But that's what they did. No one here is trained for this sort of thing and sure, you can say "How hard can it be?" but keep in mind, we represent the entire human race. We so much as Blink at these creatures the wrong way and BOOM! MILLIONS ARE DEAD!" He explained as he increased the speed to that a full sprint, planning to burn much of his anger in this session.
"I. WAS. NOT. TRAINED. FOR. THAT!" The Soldier said as he pushed himself as hard as he could for as long as he could.

 

[IFS]

"I. WAS. NOT. TRAINED. FOR. THAT!"

"You know I thought soldiers were good at handling stress," Emerson replied dryly "If there are aliens I doubt we're going to manage to offend them that easily, I mean have you seen some of the television we've broadcast into space over the years? If that didn't piss them off then I don't know what will."

He ran at an even pace in contrast to West's sprint forward, it was more important to exercise the heart than the legs after all. He hoped some of his words sank in at least, some of it was joking perhaps but all the same reacting like this was hardly a good indication of things to come. Might have to recommend some anti-stress medications if this continues, though I would rather not.

"Short notice is exactly right," he said after a lengthy pause "There was no one else to send in time, and regardless of what has come up the Elijah is still depending on our rescue."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

"There was no one else to send in time, and regardless of what has come up the Elijah is still depending on our rescue."

S.S. Juliet: Storage/Rec Room: David West, Emerson

"I. KNOW. RIGHT?" Was David's answer as he was clocking up a fairly impressive time at full sprint, It wasn't anything a pro-runner would do, but it worthy of a soldier such as himself.
In order to just be able to keep the conversation going however, he soon turned down the speed to a jog, letting the endorphins sink in.
"Still. Soldiers can do Stress to compete the mission. But this is for a diplomat, not a soldier. I mean, I'm not scared of aliens. Hell no. Why the hell would I be scared? Just something we know nothing about, not a big deal..." He then stated, even though Emerson clearly didn't imply that David had some fear of aliens.
Though if that was the case, things were going to get interesting...

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Yukino drifted out of the confines of her bed, heading to her locker. After putting in her code, the door loosened its lock and Yukino pulled the door open. Everything was there once more but what she checked specifically for was for her sidearm. It rested in a thigh holster semi-floating even in the locker. She carefully took the pistol and checked it thoroughly, making sure there wasn't any carbon build up within the firing mechanisms or any other factors of which could hamper her if need be. She was quite aware of her pistol and her duties regarding the safety of the Juliet's crew but even so, she seldom wore the holster let alone the pistol. Often, Yukino noted that people acted differently with firearms in view or most specifically someone having one in their possession. It made people anxious and jumpy so Yukino simply kept hers in her locker so that the crew members would perform in optimal condition. Success of the mission was paramount and anything Yukino could do, she would so that the mission was a success. It was what her father would do.

After checking through everything twice, Yukino deposited her pistol back in its holster and fetched a towel along with a change of clothes. Yukino left the room, and observed what the crew was doing from her point of view for a moment. She could visibly hear people working out in the storage room with the obvious voice of David using the treadmill. Yukino could see Natasha piloting the ship with ease as it should be. Yukino might not be a pilot but she could see piloting a ship equipped with Anti-matter engines through a vast emptiness to be rather easy but then a again, she wasn't a pilot. Yukino floated through down the ship towards the lavatories until she saw Cui acting oddly. Upon getting closer, she seemed rather disturbed.

"Hey Cui, everything alright?" Yukino asked as she drifted closer.

 

[Azkar Almsivi]

"Hey Cui, everything alright?"
The cyborg was cuddling it's upper arms and apparently didn't hear, inside her helmet files began to open and close as he worked her direct neural connection. Cui was starting to choke up and needed to calm herself down. A short video opened, after a burst of skipped security checks.

Only Cui could see the footage, but the audio was loud enough to be heard barely outside during the louder bits. The audio contained the sound of metal grinding and pounding, also what sounded like small arms fire and explosives.
A harsh synthetic voice in Mandarin began to speak coldly.
"Single human element condition critical. Prioritizing patient stabilization over purge of traitorous elements for singular unit."
Another voice chimed in, that sounded like it was coming from nearby judging by the volume and echo.
"Individual unit objective switch, permission?"
The original spoke again, booming. "Granted. Kuan-ti launch code activation remains absolute priority, facility wide purge remains primary objective at this time."
Another new voice chimed in quietly "Launch codes uploaded suc-" it was quickly cut off with a squeal and the sound of small arms fire ricocheting.
The sound of immense metal weight shifting, pipes hissing and plugs popping began to grow as a deafening sound rocked Cui's poor little ears. It sounded like a cross between cutting metal, whistling bombs and the roar of what could have been a giant engine or something.

Cui took a deep breath and lowered her arms, keeping a hand pressed lightly against her heart. The cyborg turned to Yukino and tilted her head in one of her gestures that substituted for a smile. Her demeanor and presence had completely balanced out and she was a lot more relaxed. "Oh I'm fine, just remembered something sad. I also hit my head getting out of bed..." Cui took Yukino's hands and gave them a little bounce, then raised a single finger between Yukino's face and hers.

"Please don't tell anyone I can watch movies in my helmet when I have time off. They might misunderstand and think I'm lazy." Cui gave a little giggle and let go "I really should have a good shower and clean all my added bits and, you know, not so added bits. What are you doing?"

 

[IFS]

"Still. Soldiers can do Stress to compete the mission. But this is for a diplomat, not a soldier. I mean, I'm not scared of aliens. Hell no. Why the hell would I be scared? Just something we know nothing about, not a big deal..."

"At least you learned how to be honest with yourself in the army," Emerson replied dryly "And how to be very loud it seems."

He continued running at a steady pace, there was nothing wrong with being afraid of the unknown in his mind, a great deal of horror fiction was built on such a fear. West seemed far too driven by his fear, or at least his denial of it, though. Shouting and running are both decent stress relief so hopefully he'll manage to calm down soon.

"An encounter like this has been a known risk of any space mission since first contact," Emerson said more seriously "If you were afraid of aliens you shouldn't have gone into space in the first place."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

"If you were afraid of aliens you shouldn't have gone into space in the first place."

S.S. Juliet: Storage/Rec Room: David West, Emerson

David nearly tripped when Emerson suggested that.
"...What part of not afraid of aliens did you not get, Doc?" He then proclaimed as he shut his treadmill off.
"I mean, You'd think I'd even be here if that was the case? Granted, my expertise is mostly in ground based warfare but someone's got to watch out for your sorry asses." He then joked, though there was a hint of passive aggressiveness in his voice as he said that.
"Remember the old saying: If it bleeds, we can kill it. Lets just hope it doesn't come to that. I'm hitting the shower..." The soldier then proclaimed before undoing his straps and began making his way down there.
On his way over, he passed by Yukino and Cui as they were talking.

"I really should have a good shower and clean all my added bits and, you know, not so added bits[...]"

"If that's the case, then you'll either have to wait or share. I don't mind either way" The Irishman joked as he made his way towards the showers as he passed the 2 women.

 

[IFS]

"Remember the old saying: If it bleeds, we can kill it. Lets just hope it doesn't come to that. I'm hitting the shower..."

"You're right, you aren't suited for this mission," Emerson responded coldly, slowing his pace and ending his run "you seem to lack the capacity to remain calm and consider alternatives."

He unstrapped himself from the treadmill and pushed himself off, West had already proceeded down the hall, but not without stopping to make a passing remark to Yifie and Lee.

"If that's the case, then you'll either have to wait or share. I don't mind either way"

"There are two showers you know, in completely separate lavatories," Emerson remarked, considering adding another remark about how the military had seemingly not taught him to count either. He bit it back though, West's apparent paranoid obsession with the potential of conflict with aliens had left a sour taste in his mouth.

Instead he turned towards Yifie and Lee, raising a hand in greeting "Yifie, Lee, how are you both?"

 

[DarkRawen]

When Nikolai found Cui, a crowd had already gathered around her. While he didn't mind any of the others -apart from a certain doctor- he also remembered his outburst earlier. Therefore, Nikolai frowned, and glanced at each of them, before apologizing. "I'm very sorry about how angry I got in the station, I... I had a bit of a headache." He felt like adding a statement making it clear that the doctor also was at fault, but he stopped himself.

Better not to give him any reasons to speak to me.

He examined Emerson slightly, the man didn't look at all as mean as he was. However, he quickly turned to Cui. Apparantly she was going to shower, so he wanted to talk to her first, and be quick about it. "So, did you find out anything about the robot?" he asked. "Has it been behaving as it should so far?"

Is there any chance it's the low-budget version of the terminator? If so, it better not get close to my flowers.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

S.S. Juliet | Communications Room

Package ARK_package_update Download has completed...
Commencing Installation Package ARK_package_update [Do Not Reset or Power Off System During Installation]
Installation of Package ARK_package_update has completed...

System Will Reboot in 30 Seconds...
Commencing Systems Reboot...

Systems Reboot Completed...
Init Systems Check
Hardware Test... Passed (3 of 4)
- Chassis Intrusion Alarm... Passed
- Chassis Integrity... Passed
- Volatile Memory Check... Passed
- Non-Volatile Storage Check... FAILED!
Software Test... Passed

Starting Up...

The Synthetic Humanoid Prototype exited sleep mode and performed a quick scan of the area designated for the S.S. Juliet's communications array. From the vibrations picked up by ARK's seismic sensors, the robot deduced that the S.S. Juliet was already underway towards the Cliff, otherwise designated as Way Point Alpha. Briefly reading the Release Notes on the new drivers that had been installed, ARK found that additional systems that had been left dormant were now active.

The Synthetic Chromatophore System that had been installed on ARK's dermal layer was now active, more or less. Calling up a stored image of the uniform worn by the crew of the S.S. Juliet, ARK's dermal layer began shifting colors until it appeared that the Android was wearing the previously mentioned uniform. It was more probable that the crew's view of the Synth would shift when they viewed ARK adorned with the ship's standardized garb.

Sensing that there were crew nearby, in the area that ARK's schematics of the ship designated as the Storage and Recreation Room, the Synth guided itself in the direction of the voices.

"There are two showers you know, in completely separate lavatories," Said the voice that ARK identified as Doctor Emerson.

"Pardon the intrusion, but this unit's schematics indicate that there is a third lavatory located within the area designated for the Ship's Captain's personal use. There should also be a fourth lavatory if the All Terrain Exploration Craft has been loaded within the Cargo Hold S.S. Juliet." The Synth interjected as it entered the area. Seeing that some of the crew was no longer dressed in uniform but clothing made of a material known colloquially as Terry Cloth that was worn in a fashion that was insufficiently secure against falling off.

Continuing the strategy of mimicking the crew's clothing, ARK's dermal layer began to shift once again into the randomized patterns of thread that made the Android appear to be wearing a towel that covered it from chest to thigh.