STARTING POINT: INEVITABLE DESTINATION



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“Captain on the bridge!” barked the Botnaar marine next to bridge access, as the Saran captain passed through the fast opening iris doors.

The bridge was darkened, only runner lights on the floors and the subdued lights of the duty stations illuminated the command center of this modern Union dreadnought.

There was a soft whisper of electronic sounds and subdued voices, while the gorgeous woman with the traditional Cleopatra hair cut and make up approached the command seat.

Her XO, a terrifying looking Nul got up, the Ship AI noticing the Captain reshaped the Vari form command seat to the petite body of the female CO.

Yellow condition was called as the sensors picked up the mass of a large object in interstellar space, where natural objects were very rare, and thus the mass had to be artificial.

Given the fact, it radiated energy and had a high albedo were also factors that pointed towards an artificial object.

She sat flowed in an elegant very feminine move into the syntho leather of the Command seat. Seconds later her seat was raised into Battle view.

The bridge, the entire ship vanished and was replaced by an unobstructed spherical, computronic enhanced view of space. The computronic detected her eye and head movements and gave her a gravitonic sense of up and down attuned to the galactic planes.

The icons of all ship departments floated at the edge of her field of vision. She blinked at HELM and said. “Drop out of Quasi and slow down to drift. System give me tactical display.”

She registered Helms acknowledgment and the view of space changed as a faint grid overlay was projected, faint blue circles depicted the range of her weapon systems, a light blue bubble represented sensor range, and the unknown object was now represented as a red icon with sensor data displayed next to it.

“Mr. T'thack inform Fleet Command that we encountering a massive artificial object of yet undetermined nature and relay all sensor data.”

She wanted to do it by the book. Encountering an artificial object the size of the mighty Devastator so deep in Union space was certainly cause to be concerned.

The object was well within reach of Gandor System and fifty billion Union citizens.

“Science what do you know?”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Captain, it is a spaceship of 30,148 meters in diameter and 12 klicks thick. We are registering nothing in terms of dim- energies and what we detect is simple straight modulated electricity. The object travels at a speed of 87 percent light. We are still out of range for life sensors, but we have thought murmur on the PSI-listener. “

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Alright, then Flight Deck two Specter authorized. Get us a closer look.”

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Far below the bridge, at the main hangar deck, at the standby room the voice of the Flight boss, boomed over the field speakers. “Black Jack and Firebrand Specter mission. “

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Black Jack was the call sign for an all black furredd Attike-Tak while Firebrand was a Non Corp, they both rushed to the deployment tubes.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">With a gravo magnetic surge they were sucked through the eighty meter tube and dropped right before their Wolfcraft IX-Specter

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Both rushed into their pilot seats and the seat raised attached to a hydraulic arm into the cockpit.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Nano wires penetrated the Attike -Taks skin and connected it to the fighter. The Non Corp not having a body, simply merged some of its essence with the system.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Both pilots were now a symbiotic unit with their space craft.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Specter were based on the Unions heavy space fighter the fearsome Wolfcraft, but had only a fraction of weapons, but were equipped with extra sensors and science scanners. Specter could fully cloak and appear invisible to any know sensor.. Actual invisibility meant little in space, but the ability to bleed excessive heat into hyperspace rather than into standard space was. Of course the Recon craft also created a gravo lens, bending light around and thus becoming also invisible to any form of electromagnetic radiation including of course visible light.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Both pilots had completed their preflight check, something that was done at the speed of thought and both machines were pushed into the revolving starter tubes.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">In a real combat situation, the USS Vanguard could deploy all her 200 Wolfcrafts in less and 3 minutes. The gravitation catapult accelerated both fighters to 400 km per second to the square, or 53 percent light speed by the time the fighter emerged out of the starter tube.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Both pilots kicked their main ISAH drives into full power right after they had cleared the Dreadnoughts shields and slipped a heartbeat later into Quasi space.

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">–

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The mood in the City was close to a colony wide panic. After hundred thirty four generations the resources of the city started to deteriorate. Even though the engineers who had built this generation ship had designed the most efficient recycling system they could. The molecular structure of the continuously recycled materials was breaking down and even the most minute losses of matter became problematic after millions of cycles. That and the fact that the mutiny revolt, six hundred years had killed the last knowledge keepers. The current caste of Engineering Priests did little more than chant over a system that quit working. Fortunately the old engineers had put much thought in creating the systems as self sufficient and redundant as possible. Chanting the old and now completely garbled texts of the old maintenance manuals had been understood by the Computers up to a point but now meant nothing to the machines that were at the verge of ceasing function.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">To all this came the fact that the Green Robes of the Star gazing Astrologers observed a beautiful but disturbing shape through the old telescopes of the old Astrogation center that was now a temple and center of star magic. That the shape was just the Crab nebula over 6,500 light years from their current location.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The Astrologers of the Star gazer guild had no idea about red shift and how to calculate the distance, which would have been quite impossible even for someone who still possessed the scientific knowledge without knowing their own location and speed.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The Green Robes were convinced they would reach that magic eye anytime soon and preached impeding doom. They figured if they could convince the inhabitants of the city to provide them with a few hundred human sacrifices, the resources could be stretched and the Eye of god would see them as worthy. In other words they re-invented ancient religious practices that were as foolish back then in the foggy pre history of man as it was now.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He-from-Africa felt quite important as he stood dressed in his green robe, richly decorated with the magic symbols of the Old-that knew. That his robe was embroidered with the instructions how to to maintain a low grav toilet was of course lost to him. Similar to the fact that his crown of wisdom was technically just a fanciful folded emergency foil blanket..

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He gazed across the masses, every living soul of the City had gathered to hear what he had to say.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He raised his hands in a majestic commanding gesture and raised his voice. “People of the City, the Eye of God is upon us, we have seen it through the magic gazer.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He let it sink in and then said. “The speaking box of the Old has warned that it will not be able to produce any more food if we don't present it with sacrifice. So I have decided that 200 of those who are not of the beautiful blacks must be gathered and send into the box that makes things.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">It was my great ancestor, He-from-Zambia who led the Beautiful Black against the foolish who kept the magic knowledge from those who deserve it. Now it is me who will lead us to the Gods and to the place that was promised.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">–

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Firebrand speaking. We have a clear visual know. It is quite pretty and big, but sensors confirm nothing past Tech level 4. Black Jack has just completed a complete energy detail scan, there are no weapon energy nodes, and the things main engines appear to be offline.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The voice from the Captain came through. “Life sensors?” “Yes, we have neuro signals of approximately 50,000 individual life forms, uploading the scan results to science now.” “Alright, you two come back. Fleet Command has authorized First Contact.”

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">–

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“He-from-Africa, there is a box that speaks in the forbidden room of guidance that suddenly speaks.” One of the Beautiful Green Robes and senior priest of the Speaking Box gods reported.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“What does it say?”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“It wants to talk to you. It said something about contact and command and you are the one who leads us.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The tall black man adjusted his silver head dress and made sure his necklace of importance was outside his green robe. Then he proceeded to the forbidden room where his ancestor and the men he lead killed the ones who kept the knowledge away from everyone.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The mummified corpse of the one who was the leader of these evil men was still sitting in a central seat, kept there as a reminder what would happen to anyone who questioned the decisions of the Green Robes.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">One of the boxes arranged in a semi circle in that room had always been dark, but now several lights glowed and a voice could be heard. “..of the USS Vanguard. We have established a link with your computronic and established that you are from Earth. Please respond.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The voice spoke in the language of the Old that was only to be chanted by priests.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He said to the box. “We are now the ones that lead, if you are a ghost of the Old then begone. We have magic to banish you.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He was prepared to do the same thing his father did to a speaking box and had it smashed with hammers.

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">–

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The Captain of the Vanguard looked at the Avatar projection of the Admiral of the Fleet himself. The old man looked as he had just gotten out of bed, considering it was Three Hour it was not surprising. The immortal suppressed a yawn and said. “I wish that events like this would just once occur during regular office hours.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“I am sorry sir, but it was you who contacted us, we got thing s under control. As weird as they may be.” “Never mind Captain Imateph. What you have found is Sky York.” “It is what, Sir?” “Right after the ascent and Earth becoming aware of the Xunx threat, not everyone believed that Stahl's plan would work. Back then he was as unknown as I was.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Anyhow a large group of the old Earth city New York wanted to evacuate and be gone before the Xunx arrived. The Sarans gave them a truly ancient generation ship, it was refurbished and 200,000 New Yorkers not wanting to stay and fight left the Sol System. Records of those early years are less than complete, and I only remembered it after I saw the images you transmitted.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Well there aren't 200,000 anymore and from what we gathered after the first transmissions they are as wacko as can be. They think we are ghosts in some sort of box.”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Considering from where they came, it doesn't surprise me much. “

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“What do you want us to do?”

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">“Science Corps is sending a First Contact team, and a Tiny Tim is dispatched to tow that thing to Gandor.”

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">–

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He-from-Africa wasn't as pleased as everyone else. The voice of the box had turned out to come from Earth the place of the Ancestors. They had come with food and the news that the threat of the Xunx had long been eliminated.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Humankind was now part of a society of many beings and traveled the stars faster than light. Easily covering distances in days what took them many centuries.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He was deposed of his leading position by the other inhabitants, no one had to be sacrificed and no one had to bow to the Green Robes.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">The magic eye of god was declared to be a simple stellar nebula. While he had no idea what a simple nebula was, it was clear even to him, it was not a god and much further away than they thought.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He was especially hurt by one of the human visitors who actually fell to the floor laughing as he declared that he was the First Turd of the Lowgrafitolet. A sentence he always loved in the holy scripture of the tolet-manual.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">He was then truly irate as they explained to him what the holy scripture really was and what his self chosen title actually meant.

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">Some of first City dwellers stepping out of the shuttle and under the blue skies of Gandor Planet, felt agoraphobic, others could not take their eyes of clouds and filled their lungs with the wonderful taste of fresh air that was such a contrast to the stale metallic tasting air of their city.”

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm">END

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