12hr Game Story

[Atrocities]

Originally posted by Cyrien:
Fleet locations? What? Can't you see them from your homeplanet? Oh wait... darn those cloaking devices...

Oh those, we know all about those ships.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

so THAT'S what atrocities has been doing. he's not making shipsets, those are real ships he's built! RUN!

[Jack Simth]

Cyrien: That works - I was just pointing out a few things that I hadn't seen covered in your initial post.

As for them being plants: If it is a living thing that draws it's energy directly (or nearly so) from the nearest star, I tend to call it a plant.

[Cyrien]

The thoughts of the crew were in confusion. They had passed through this warp point as they had others in the past. But on through this one lay not just another system with planets, moons, asteroids and a star or two. Through this one lay a fundamental change in their view of the universe.
As they warped into this system the minds of those responsible for scanning the system reached out. In a few moments their minds had found all the large bodies, each catalogued with orbital paths and various other important data(Note the Alteri do not possess or use technology that scans, their own inherent psychic abilities are used to scan their surroundings and this is a basic skill all Alteri possess though a few excell at it and can extend their thoughts to scan vast areas at once, this would be considered basic Alteri scanners). Next they moved their minds to smaller things and lower and lower... a ship?
"Captain...?" The scanners thoughts wavered as he called out to the Captain in confusion.
"There is a vessel here. It is of our size but... different. Sir... there should be no ship here."
The Captain was stunned, unlike the scanner he was in contact with the Captains of all the other ships of the Alteri and knew where each and every one was. Yet as he stretched out his own mind he could not account for what he found. It was a ship, very much like their own yet... different. For starters he could not detect the minds of any others on there... this was troubling. He hastily made contact with other minds in the chain of command on the homeworld, requesting orders for what actions to take next.
________________________

Several days later they had more complete information. It was a simple ship in orbit of a planet. Not a planet they had any expectations for either. It possessed an extremely dense atmosphere of Oxygen (dense to creatures that live in a vacuum) and was quite hostile to them. Despite that their most advanced scanner crew had detected what could only be considered signs of life (Note that the Alteri expect no life anywhere and as such when they do find it would have no differentials for sentient versus not sentient and as they are the only comparison they have would initially view any life as sentient once they come to grasp with the possibility of other life). Construction, manipulations of what was around them, modification. And the faintest of mental signatures, though once you knew what to look for it was quite pronounced. The mental signatures seemed to come in many types though, some stronger and some very weak. There was only one type of signature on the ship though. It was of the strongest type.
The Alteri had tried to reach out to these minds, but with no real success. A few of the strongest minds had managed to gain conflicting images and other perceptions from the minds but it was mixed in and strongly influenced by senses the Alteri could not understand. For a race that had never experienced sound, or taste or smell and always had a constant mental awareness of everything around them that which comprised environemntal awareness in this new species thoughts were beyond comprehension.

A decision was made, they would continue to try and contact and understand this new life. They would also reevaluate existing procedures for scanning a system. Some argued for going back and rechecking all the old systems, but most felt that even without the presence of the ship they would have found this other life based on the unusual surface alterations they had made to the planet. Others argued that some other planets had had similiar features on a smaller scale. They warranted new scans aimed at finding the strange mental patterns given out by this other life. In the end compromise was reached. A colony ship was already headed for one of the planets with one of these unusual smaller scale scan patterns similiar to what was found with this new life. It would also be the first colony ever formed on a planet with an atmosphere. Other studies could be conducted alongside the search on that planet. In time they would get around to each of the others. For now they must understand that which they had already found. To understand that which could also possibly reach them based on what the new life ship possessed for technology.
In the end the exploration ships continued on as they had. With new guidelines for scanning each system they entered.
___________________
At the time little seemed to change that affected the average Alteri. Much later though those who looked back would see this as the time when everything changed.

[Cyrien]

2400.6

"Captain, the ship is moving. Plotting course now."
The captain waited silently for the scanners report. After half a month they had started up their own drives and headed into the system to continue their exploration of the warp points within this system. It seemed too much of a coincidence that just as they started their drives the other ship did as well.
"Captain, the ship is on an intercept course with our current path. Shall we alter course?"

The Captain quickly reached out with his mind and queried his superiors. With a brief argumnet it was decided that perhaps at closer ranges they could make the contact that had eluded them thus far.
_______________
Several days later...

"Captain they continue to close with us."
The approach the Alteri would take had already been decided. The Captain had only to follow his orders.
"Slow us down."
"Captain! Two small incoming projectiles, very high speed."
Just then the scanner that had been dedicated to attempting to make contact with the new life shuddered and cried out.
"Captain! We must leave! They are here to destroy us!"
It was already to late. In the moments before the impact that Captain reached out one Last time and made his final report. Then in a bright explosion of energy the ship and all it's crew ceased to be.

A disaster of this magnitude was unknown to the Alteri. Never before had several thousand young vibrant Alteri been extinguished all at once. Without even a chance to make the final sacrifice and pass themselves on to the next generation. It was unheard of. It was unforgivable.
_________________
Elsewhere...

She reached out with her mind... she reached out to the universe and listened to it... she heard it... she felt it reverbrating through her very being... everything! Echoing... rebounding... moving away and then back... patterns... deeper into the heart of the universe... deeper... THERE!

She shuddered as she fell back... slowly she gathered her sense back to herself and reached out with her mind to the others. She had done it. They had done it. Space was no longer a barrier, time was no longer a barrier. The secrets that time kept hidden from all were to be known. Already she could see the patterns. Swirling off into the distant future. Breaking up into so many possibilities. But closer... closer they were so few... things could be seen.
She knew of and had felt the tragedy of their lost ship and all those lives. It was nothing compared to what she could see waiting in the distance... They must be prepared. She reached out with her mind and contacted those that must know and must act.

[ October 22, 2003, 14:55: Message edited by: Cyrien ]

[Ruatha]

A good one.

[Cyrien]

(Special note. For close or same room communications I am using standard "text" to denote communication. For distant interplanetary or intersystem communications I will use -*text*-. All communication is telepathic in nature but I hope it will limit confusion to delineate between local and distant communication.

2400.7

The Exploratory Team leader was eager to be away. It had been almost a half month since the tragic news of the Alteri loss of the exploratory vessel to unknown life forms. In that time their ship had traversed the final distances to their new home and had colonized this planet. The first priority had been to setup vacuum domes to prevent the deadly atmosphere that would eat away at their exoskeletons and leave them to linger in slow agonized deaths. The second order of business was this expedition.

Since the initial contact with the new life certain patterns had been detected that could be signs of this life being in other areas. This planet was one such place, and the only one readily available for exploration and probing. Their own scanners had added nothing to what the older exploration data showed. That as to be expected, as all those with the strongest gift in remote mental scanning went with the exploratory ships and the colony ships where only going where those ships had already passed through. Their scanners should not have needed to be so skilled.

This meant that only through vissiting these locations physically could any additional information be obtained. The preperations were well underway. Soon they could set out and see what was out there.

________________
A few days later.


The city was massive, impressive, technologically advanced, and like the rest of the planet very much empty of any life. The exploratory team was scattered all throughout searching, exploring, studying.

"We have something over here!"
The thought leapt out and brought the rest of the team to converge rapidly on the decayed remains of somesort of ground based platform. The most skilled of the team reached out and studied the device.
"It has an active power source still flowing through it. Most of the connectors appeared damage and it itself is badly decayed. Yet... this one device here seems to still function."

The leader of the team reached out to far distant minds more capable than his own to make decisions regarding such a find.
-*We have found an artifact but nothing else of value. I do not think there is more here, but we shall continue our search.*-

-*Salvage it. A science team will be sent to study or retrieve it. If there is no life, there should be no threat. Continue your search and studies but do not allow it to hinder colony growth.*-

The leader turned and relayed the orders.
_________________________
The Homeworld - Meeting of the Council and Grand Speaker.

"The colony has found only ruins. It would suggest that other life has been around for a great time. Time enough to grow greater than we are now and time enough to fall into memory."

"We do not know why they fell?"

"No. It is not known. The only ruins we have access to offer no clues to this."

"Then we shall proceed with caution."

"The other life that destroyed our ship... there is one that has touched their minds and understood what is there. They do not mean any great harm to us."

"What? They destroyed thousands of young lives! How could they mean no harm?!"

"They destroy hundreds of thousand of their own lives regularly. They call it 'war'. It is how they settle their disputes. They feared us when we appeared out of nothing. The one who has touched their minds says they use 'war' when they fear a thing."

"This is strange. I can not understand such things. The thoughts are not right."

"It is as you say. But the one who does understand claims we should leave them alone and they will not harm us. She says that they do not know how to traverse the warp points. They are as we were 150 years ago. Possessing the technology but not the knowledge."

The Grand Speaker considered this and spoke for the first time during this meeting.
"Then we have time enough to deal with them. Leave them to their system... for now."

The rest of the meeting was spent in the standard discussions that were necessary to run an ever growing nation spanning the stars.

[Cyrien]

2401.2

Exod Class Light Population Transport - Temporary Reassignment to Local Warp Point Exploration

_____________

"Captain. We have cleared the warp point horizon, system scan possible."

"Scanners ready, Captain."

With that the Scanners reached out and searched the system. A new order of precedence had been determined. As one scanner searched the regular steller patterns of the system two others reached out looking for the newly recognized patterns of new life. The Scanners were on special assignment for the duration of the local warp point exploration order. So far nothing unusual had been found in the previous systems.

There... small... not like they had been told it would look like. Almost like one of those ruins. But...

There! A ship! Life signs. Thoughts! So strange! Not at all like the ones they had been taught to recognize.

"Captain. We have life patterns and thoughts. They are different from the ones we know."

The Captain reached out to those far distant and reported even as he gave out his orders.
"Deeper scans. Which is the homeworld? What are the specifics with ship detection?"

The Last he considered most important. While all the new exploration vessels had weapons systems installed, his transport did not. He had no intention of becoming a second great tragedy for his people to mourn.

"Captain. The ship has massive thought patterns. Millions. It must be a ship for colonization. Analysis of ship movement support this theory as it appears to be heading directly to one of the systems planets. Scan of the existing planet with settlement patterns suggests it is also new possessing low population levels. There is no indication of a planet in system capable of supporting planetary travel and colonization efforts on such a scale. Conclusion is this race has knowledge of worm holes as we do. Further Analysis of ship movement pattern quite clearly indicates it entered the system via the warp point opposite the one we entered shortly before we entered system. Data indicates currently low threat level. We can make no sense of the thought patterns we are recieving from them."

The Captain considered his orders and his position.
"We shall complete required exploratory scans and continue our mission as originally intended. We are not equipped to deal with new life encounters. Complete Scans. Exit system via this warp point and set course for next scheduled system."

The Captain hoped he would not find proof of further new life activity in the next system. Current scan data suggested it was linked with this system as well. Dealing with the new life would be someone elses problem however. For that he was grateful. His brief touch with their chaotic thoughts had been more than enough.