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[autos-official]

Average barbarossa

My stormsurge is ready to take on some tyranids!

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Hubris before the fall

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

A decade ago there was a powerful world by the name of Oma that was the crown jewel of the Omak Domain. Rich with natural resources and rare metals, it was able to establish a powerful trade network that generated billions of credits monthly leading to the people of Oma to grow fat with decadence. This led to a rapid degradation of their societal values to such an extent that they believed that they and only they were truly worthy of running galactic trade and began pressuring their neighboring governments to relinquish trade control of their domains to them.

When they finally approached the humans they sent forth a trade delegation to their parliament. This delegation did not present a sympathetic view of their stewardship, nor a presentation outlining the benefits of their management skills in intergalactic trade. No; this delegation strode into the terran parliament and denounced human trade standards as inferior and unworthy implementation between galactic powers.

No strangers to prideful boasting, the humans naturally took great offense to the grand standing of the delegation and cast them out without even hearing their full proposal. In response, the Oma began sanctioning the terran domain; isolating its trade routes and starving it off much needed resources.

For months the human diplomats tried to reach out to the Oma to find a political solution, but each attempt was met with the repeated message “Submit”.

As time passed and riots began to break out across human worlds from the lack of materials, the terran government finally had enough and dispatched a war fleet to Oma. The fleet was comprised of nearly three fifths of their entire naval power and was spear headed by the latest Herald class battleship “Saladin” with the equally famous Admiral Timmins in command.

Being comprised of mainly trade ships; the Omak Domain navy was primarily built around fast moving frigates, destroyers, and smaller patrol craft capable of catching pirates that preyed upon their shipping lanes. They were little more than a speed bump to the well-disciplined prowess of terran armada and was swept aside easily as the human ships made for orbit directly above Oma. Yet even with this encroaching ring of steel the Oma public did not panic.

Unlike their navy, the Omak Domain’s ground forces were substantially better in comparison. They had fought many ground wars to secure trade outposts, mining operations, and subjugation camps and were thusly made up of a hardened collective of veteran soldiers and automated war machines that were capable to five terran soldiers. So when the human fleet finally did position itself in orbit above Oma, the Omak military was confident they would repel any invasion attempts made by the humans; even going so far as to openly mock Admiral Timmins in a direct communique that not one human soldier would live to set foot on their world.

To their surprise Admiral Timmins agreed to those terms and began the battle.

From the launch bays of every terran ship came hundreds of heavily armed fighters, bombers, drones, and reconnaissance craft that swarmed through Oma’s atmosphere. Not a single lander or ground soldier was deployed as the Admiral coordinated a planet wide devastating air campaign of destruction.

The Omak air force was overwhelmed in a matter of hours by the constant waves of enemy aircraft and found itself further crippled as their launch sites were surgically struck from orbit by human warships. When the last of the Omak air power was expended the human air power had complete control over the skies of the planet.

Civilian targets such as cities and towns were ignored; but the precious foundries, factories, and mining complexes that had given the Omak people such wealth were reduced to little more than burnt pieces of metal and ash. The Omak rulers watched as their life blood of commerce was taken from them one continent at a time and sent countless messages to the human fleet for peace. Their reply was always a single word that none of the Omak would agree to.

“Submit.”

By a month’s end the world of Oma was little more than a smoldering crater. Gleaming cities now stood as silent watchers over miles of burnt landscapes and wasted industrial complexes. The people who had only known wealth and power were now left to wander the ruins of their former trade empire as the human fleet still held orbit over the world. Fragments of the Omak Domain attempted to bypass the human fleet to deliver supplies but each attempt was met with the humans either seizing the ship and the valuable cargo or destroying it just as it was about to land.

It didn’t take long for the previously subjugated peoples that had relinquished control to the Omak to begin rising up once more and regaining their sovereignty. Some the newly freed powers sent their own delegations to the human fleet and kneeled before Admiral Timmins; thanking the humans for bringing their oppressors low. Each time the Admiral would thank the aliens and invite them to the viewing decks so they could look down at the burnt world that had once held them so firmly under its thumb.

In a way it was both a gesture of friendship and a warning to all those that would come after; that the realms of man would never take kindly to the hubris of fools.

[faytelumos]

Into the Black With a Matchstick, pt5

I have no idea what the word count here is but this feels kinda long. @_@

Also, I am so sorry for all of the exposition; I am trying to make it gentle but it feels like a lot! I think we're at/almost at the hump of this story, though! :0

@c00kieknight, @hypersomnia-insomniac, @jxm-1up, @midnight--architect, @robinparravel

@thepotatoofnopes, @those-damn-snippets

@mr-orion, @tildeathiwillwrite, @thelazywitchphotographer

cw: some peril, descriptions of vertigo and vomiting

first previous

---

Ten minutes.

That was no time at all.

The Skel. What in the name of Creation were the Skel doing in this sector? Paxie was here to monitor smuggling, to discourage unlicensed vessels from flying, to report unusual star activity.

The squad of five ships were not equipped for a skirmish with them.

"All ships!" Paxie ordered across the emergency channel. "Spool FTL drives and make heading for nearest fallback position! Defensive power allocations!" Ten minutes. Ten minutes! If the ships weren't all ready in time, if the Earthlings couldn't get ready in time—

They had no FTL travel—

"Ready automated fighters to scramble!" they added hurriedly.

The Earthlings. What were they going to do about the Earthlings.

Kime was scrambling, and she clamored in a rush through the narrow hallway. Paxie got out of her way as she bumped and clawed her way to the shuttle.

"Admiral!" Klte hissed. They looked back towards the med bay to see it looking at them, its helmet already back on its head. "The Earthlings!"

"I know," Paxie barked affirmatively. They couldn't leave this ship behind. But there was no way for it to possibly travel fast enough to keep up.

"Admiral," Harrison said, stepping into the hall. His eyes were wide, and his skin was pale. Paxie worried for a moment he might faint again. "How do your faster than light engines work?" Paxie blinked. They had no idea. And why was this a question to ask? Surely there was no way for the Earthlings to make an FTL drive in ten minutes with the technology available on this ancient ship. "Do they dematerialize?" he asked. "Do you use wormholes? Is it a space deforming drive?"

"It-it warps the shape of space," Klte hissed. Harrison turned sharply to look at them. Ramirez stepped into the hall.

"Does the space around the ship remain unchanged?" Harrison asked. "Is it distorted inside of the rings?"

What was the Earthling talking about? How did he know how FTL drives worked if Earth didn't have them?

"No," Klte said, their voice almost awed. "No, it's distorted in a bubble through the rings and projectors." Harrison turned sharply to Paxie.

"Admiral, we have to move this ship onto the belly of one of your vessels," Harrison said. "If your ships have ferrous hulls, we can clamp onto you to avoid falling off. But we have to begin maneuvers now."

"That's out of the question," Paxie breathed, blanching. The risk of the ship falling out of alignment and crossing the warp barrier.... "If you fall away, your ship will be smeared across open space."

"And what are the chances of the incoming vessel killing us?" Ramirez asked. She was stoic again. The look in her eyes was... haunting. She had the focus of any Xoixe. Of any apex.

Paxie looked again to Harrison. To Klte.

"Unless you have a ship large enough to dock our vessel, we don't have time to think of another solution," Ramirez said. And Paxie didn't. This mission had been routine, and the Earthling's ship was too large and awkwardly shaped to store on any of the Xoixe craft.

They opened a channel to Captain Eme.

"Captain, prepare The Water's Kiss to align and attach to the Earthling vessel, belly-to-belly."

"A-Admiral?!" Eme choked.

Ramirez and Harrison both sprinted to a different room in the ship.

"They know the risk, Captain, and it was their idea."

"This species is completely suicidal," Eme gasped. Paxie considered the conversation Ramirez and Kime had just had.

"I'm inclined to agree," they breathed. Then they looked up to Klte. "Into the shuttle, we have to get back."

"Aye, sir," it said, already getting down on all eight and running headlong for the airlock.

Adina could hear Paxie making their massive way back to the shuttle from the gear room. John swore again, yanking on the thermal regulation layer, and Adina finally managed to get her damned cryo suit off of her body.

"What a fuckin' day," John gasped, getting the tight-fitting undersuit on and zipped up. Adina just laughed bitterly. She'd barely gotten two minutes with the damn IV before she had to yank it out of her arm again.

John shrugged the top half of his spacesuit on just as Adina heard the low-pitched thump of the outer airlock door sealing. A moment later, there was a deep clang as the alien shuttle detached. "Solstice!" Adina barked, yanking her thermal layer into place. The computer chimed. "Override collision controls and roll ship 180 degrees!"

"Right away, Doctor Adina Ramirez," the computer said in its slow, melodic, feminine voice. The ship immediately began to tilt.

"Shit," John hissed, stumbling as he stood on one leg, stepping into the bottom half of his suit.

Once John finished suiting up, he helped Adina get clamped down. They both waddled to the bridge.

"Which chair do I sit in?" Adina cried.

"How many sim hours did you log?" John asked. Adina stuttered, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to remember.

"Um, uh, uh, th-three hundred and f-forty!"

"You're on comms," John said, pointing to the first chair on the left. He took the one mounted facing forward, and she thanked whatever the fuck was left of God that it wasn't up to her to fly this thing.

There was already a hail request open, and when Adina answered it, she got video of the purpley-green Xoixe.

"Earthlings, you have six minutes before the Skel arrive!" the thing boomed. John swore.

"Adina, are you buckled in?"

"N-no!"

"Get buckled, we have to move!"

Adina stumbled and grasped, her breathing coming loud and hard. The buckle was large, made to be used even with the massive spacesuit gloves, and she was able to get strapped in even as the ship kept spinning.

"I'm in!"

The ship lurched downwards, and Adina squeezed her eyes shut against the vertigo.

"Collision shield disabled!" someone in the room on the alien ship cried.

"Away vessel successfully docked!" another announced.

"FTL fully spooled! Bubble zone partially obstructed!"

"Lieutenant Harrison, you have to move faster!" the alien captain cried. Adina could barely hear them over the sound of her breathing. She kept her eyes closed, trying not to remember how close the helmet was to her face, trying not to think about what would happen if they got stuck here or sliced apart in the warp bubble, trying not to think about how it felt like she was going to throw up again.

"If I hit you too hard, I'll bounce off and lose my alignment!" John yelled back over his shoulder.

"Harrison, we don't have time, I promise you will not bounce off of our hull!" the captain yelled back. "Clear the bubble zone, now!"

John swore loudly and Adina cried out when he punched the maneuvering thrusters. It felt like they were free-falling, the entire ship rushing down faster and faster, flinging her stomach into her lungs, and then they slammed to a stop so fast that Adina's teeth cracked shut.

"Bubble zone clear!"

"Engage drive!"

The entire ship seemed to yank to the right, like some kind of twisted roller coaster and rubber band hybrid. Then everything shuddered all at once, and then there was aching, deafening stillness.

Adina could hear her panicked breathing like it was blasting through an amp right next to her face. Her head was spinning like a top but she knew in her body the cabin was unnaturally still. Her breathing picked up — she heard it more than felt it — and suddenly she was scrambling at the latch of her helmet, her gloved fingers clawing at the bottom of her visor.

She got the helmet off in time, but forgot about the seat buckle. The channel was still open in front of her as she coughed up bile. Her ears were ringing. She didn't feel any better at all.

"Adina?" John said. He held her face in his gloved hands, suddenly standing next to her. "Hey, can you stand?" Adina closed her eyes. She would have shaken her head, but even the thought made her want to wretch again.

"N, hh, n, nn-nn...."

"Stay right here, then," John uttered, letting go of her. "We seem stable, so I'm gonna grab the IV again." Adina couldn't speak, and she couldn't move her head, so she just kept trying to breathe.

---

By the time Paxie got out of their suit, The Water's Kiss was well away from where it had come across the Earth vessel. Once again in open hallways, free of the environment suit, Paxie had abandoned propriety and sprinted for the command room.

They ran full-out, their claws scraping against the decks, their blood rushing. Everything was sharp. Their scales buzzed, and they were keenly aware of how hard their muscles were pumping to move them like this. Their body was alight, electrified. Their mind was focused, the Earthling pair their only thought.

They burst into the command room and slowed, their scales itching. They scraped their claws against the deck, panting hard, eyes snapping to the front of the bridge. There was an open channel, and Captain Ramirez was slumped in the display, breathing hard as Lieutenant Harrison worked around them.

Paxie relaxed, and the weight of fatigue settled over them. They padded heavily to the captain's chair. Eme flinched when they came into view and hurriedly vacated the seat. Paxie laid down in it, their chest heaving, and laid their claws down flat.

The Earthlings survived the initial jump. Good.

"Status report," Paxie huffed.

"The Earthling vessel is secured to the bottom hull, sir," Eme explained. "Our Ghost volunteered to engineer the dampener settings to keep them stable. We've evacuated the bottom two decks to keep our personnel from getting sick, but…." Eme glanced at the screen. Ramirez was trembling, and Harrison was wiping their face with the same thing they had given him earlier.

"She'll be okay," Lieutenant Harrison said. It felt all too familiar, to have Ramirez looking close to death and Harrison dismissing the matter. Perhaps it was another quirk of the species. Another avenue of their… self-destructive attitude. "We didn't suffer any damage during the maneuvers, thankfully," Harrison added. He stooped down to look into the feed from over Ramirez's shoulder. "We didn't hurt anything, did we?"

"N-no," Eme said. He was keeping his voice very proper. "No damage was sustained during maneuvers, and we did not have to scramble any automated fighters to escape." He looked again to Paxie. "All four vessels reported clean spool and initiation. We'll arrive at the fallback position five minutes behind them."

"It's going to be a long five minutes for them," Paxie mused. Maybe it felt closer than it was, but Paxie had been terrified the new aliens were going to get The Water's Kiss killed, or die in the retreat, themselves. If it was them waiting at the fallback position for a ship to arrive, they were sure they'd be inconsolably worried.

"Captain Ramirez, Lieutenant Harrison," Paxie said. Harrison looked up, but Ramirez only grunted. She was clearly in bad shape. And she wasn't getting better the way Harrison had. Paxie swallowed thickly and straightened up taller. "On behalf of the Interstellar Federation of Alliance, I, Admiral Uten Paxie, offer you and your species sanctuary. Under Article six of the Orphaned Body protocol, you all will be afforded medical care, nutrition, and housing without the need to prove citizenship of the Federation."

Harrison was staring at Paxie now. He curled one side of his lips upward, and chuffed softly. Ramirez seemed to be barely lucid. Paxie flattened their ears.

"As the commanding officer of this squadron, and your current head of authority, I'm authorizing an extended rest for the two of you," they went on. Harrison's expression went back to something more neutral. "You are both excused from any further duties for the day, and are not required to check in at a specific time."

Harrison nodded his head. He looked more serious now, more focused, the way Ramirez had earlier. He kept his hand on Ramirez's shoulder the entire time.

"Will do, Admiral," he said. He then gently patted Ramirez's shoulder. "We'll… hail you when we're feeling better."

"See that you do," Paxie said. "Rest well."

Harrison nodded again. Paxie nodded to the communications officer, who cut the feed. Then they took a long, deep breath.

"Announce ship-wide rest," they exhaled. "Keep half again extra medical staff on standby."

"Yes, sir," Eme said, opening the ship-wide channel.

---

Paxie roused with a start when their door chimed. They checked the time. It had been almost seven hours since rest had been announced. They still had another hour left.

They clambered up and out of their low bed, then padded over and hit the floor control for the door. It slid open, revealing a Qomo officer.

"The Earthlings have roused," it announced in the Xoixe language. "They've requested council with you and a highly skilled xenomedic at your convenience." Paxie quirked their jaw.

"Has something gone wrong? Are they injured?"

"No, sir," it said, "Captain Ramirez seems to be fairing better, already. But they wish to discuss the lives of their crew."

That was right. Ramirez and Harrison were the only crew members who had been thawed from their cryonic sleep, but there were more Earthlings than them on board. They would all need to be awoken as soon as possible. Keeping any creature in such a state, let alone for so terribly long, was absurdly inhumane.

"Very well. Rouse Ensign Kime and Lieutenant Tapide."

"Aye, sir."

Once Paxie was refreshed and the two xenomedics were gathered, the three entered the bridge. There was an open channel, already, and the second captain stood and relinquished the chair to Paxie. Paxie nodded their head and padded over, but they watched the feed distractedly.

Nobody was in frame. They could tell they were looking at a part of the ship near the helm station, but all there was to see was metal and wiring.

"Captain Ramirez?" Paxie said. They switched on the translation protocol when their words weren't repeated. "Lieutenant Harrison?"

There was a metal clatter. One of the Earthlings said something too quiet for the translation protocol to pick up. Then Harrison came into view. He looked pinker in the face now, and his eyes seemed clearer. He bore his teeth widely.

"Admiral, hi," he said. He was very close to the screen, and the untranslated version of his voice was loud. "How did you sleep?"

Paxie huffed a laugh.

"I think I should be asking you that," they said. "Is Captain Ramirez okay?"

"She's much better now," Harrison said, looking off-screen in the direction he'd come. Then he looked back to them. "She slept like a rock and got some water in her, so now she actually looks like a scientist."

"I can hear you!" Ramirez's voice shouted from off-screen. She sounded agressive, but Harrison was laughing, baring his teeth. Paxie quirked their ears. He didn't seem to be worried about confrontation or repercussions.

"Anyway, Admiral, we have a few questions," Harrison said, hiding his teeth again. He moved, and seemed to lower himself before the screen. Perhaps resting in that odd chair design. He was serious now. "We have around two hundred people on this vessel, six of which are presumed dead."

Paxie jolted, eyes wide. "What happened?" they demanded. "How long have they been dead?"

"They failed to wake from cryo sleep."

Paxie stared. Eight creatures had been awoken from cryo sleep? And only two of them had survived? They knew cryogenic stasis was cruel, but to be so dangerous?

"What is the state of the six individuals?" Lieutenant Tapide asked. She wasn't Xoixe, but a species with long, bright green and blue feathers across her body, small, delicate hands, and a smaller, more delicate voice.

"Once they fail to wake, the system re-suspends the body," Harrison explained. "The hope there is that they'll be preserved enough to resuscitate, if it's an option."

"Then they haven't been dead long enough to degrade?" Tapide asked. She was already going through information on her tablet beside Kime.

"That's the hope," Harrison said. He lowered his voice now, looking away. "We haven't exactly… checked on them. In person. But the computer says they're still viable."

Paxie felt a pang in their gut. Harrison wasn't looking at the feed now, and he had dropped his voice. Nobody knew the body language of these creatures yet, but this was not what they had observed as Harrison's normal demeanor.

Two hundred Earthlings. And six of them were possibly dead. What may have been a small wound to the Xoixe was a great blow to the Earthlings. No planet, no bearings, no familiar species, hunted in open space, and with barely enough of them left to survive.

Paxie rested their weight further back, dizzied with the idea. They could have very possibly witnessed an extinction event had the Earth ship not made it away with The Water's Kiss, had they not made such a risky and unsound exit plan. Not just the death of intelligent life, but the death of an intelligent species.

It was a difficult prospect to swallow.

"We're unable to dispatch a medpod to you during our jump," Tapide said. Paxie looked to her. She was especially unflappable among her people, they knew this, but it always took Paxie off-guard. "How accessible are your cryogenic compatriots?"

"Uh, well," Harrison said, glancing between Paxie, Kime, and Tapide. Paxie already knew Tapide would fit in the Earthling ship better than they did, but still not as well as the Earthlings. And since their spaces seemed to be made compact on purpose, they could only imagine what the stasis array looked like. "We would probably want to remove the pods from our stasis chamber. We can take them wherever you need to work on them once we've… landed?" Harrison raised his shoulders and twisted his hands to be downside-up, then relaxed again. "I don't know how it works."

"Once our jump is concluded, we can dock properly and shuttle your pods aboard," Paxie explained. "The Water's Kiss should have plenty of resources to evaluate your kin, and determine their revivability."

Harrison nodded, looking down. "Okay," he said. "How long until the jump is over?" Paxie turned and looked to the engineering station, manned by the off-rotation crew member. Eme knew their name, but Paxie didn't.

"We have another six hours," the engineer announced. Paxie didn't let it show how disappointed they were to hear that. They couldn't send or receive any messages while jumping, which meant they weren't going to get any further answers, and couldn't even consult command.

This was probably the worst First Contact in recorded history.

"Alright," Harrison said. He got to his feet again. "I guess we'll see you in six hours, then."

"Very well," Paxie said. "If you have further needs, do not hesitate to hail us again."

"Thanks," Harrison said, and he bore his teeth. He reached for the screen, but then stopped suddenly. "Oh, and before I forget," he said. "Thank you for sending the-the Ghost over."

Paxie tilted their head.

"The Ghost is there?"

Harrison raised the fur patches over his eyes.

"Oh," he said, turning to where he had come onscreen from. "Uh…." He glanced to the screen again.

Paxie heaved a long sigh. They hadn't cleared the Ghost to go aboard the Earthling vessel, but they supposed they hadn't specifically barred it, either. This Ghost wriggled through regulations like water through a leash.

The video feed blurred briefly, and then Harrison moved aside. A transparent, blue-gray mass waved into frame, seeming briefly to obscur the video with a sparse star field.

"Greetings, Admiral," the translation protocol said. Paxie withheld a laugh.

"Hello, Weak Force. You were supposed to wait to be introduced." Paxie couldn't help but notice their words weren't translated to the Earthling language, despite the translation protocol still being active.

"These creatures took my appearance with great grace," the automated voice said. "They understand better than we expected, and did not require coaching to comprehend me."

"Oh, that's good," Paxie said. When Harrison had… fainted, well…. Paxie wasn't worried now, because he seemed fine. But he would have been if Ramirez had been the one on screen, and Harrison remained hidden.

"Admiral," the voice said again. The blur on the video solidified somewhat, obscuring much of the background in a faint haze. "I have been searching through the data on this vessel, and I have discovered two important things." Paxie nodded for it to continue. "Number One: The Earthling vessel, The Solstice, had its course artificially altered, beyond the influence of celestial bodies or the intention of the crew." Paxie blinked, but before they could ask about it— "Number Two: These Earthlings are the species self-designated as Human, currently known as the Five-Fingered Ones, from the planet Areterra."

Areterra? Paxie knew that planet.

"They're from the same planet as the Mauilen," Kime gasped.

Paxie's eyes widened.

"That's excellent news," Paxie said. They looked to Tapide and Kime. "We'll need to adjust for environmental shift, but this should mean we know their chemical biology already."

"Correct, sir," Kime said, typing eagerly on her tablet. "We'll want to run tests first, but we should know then what medicines and foods will work for them."

"Admiral," the voice said. Paxie looked to the screen again. "It would be prudent for the Federation to treat the route alteration of this vessel as sabotage."

Paxie felt almost cold to hear those words. Sabotage. But it seemed as likely as anything else. But if these Humans were from Areterra, then there was more to know here.

Areterra's biological lexicon had no example of a species like the Humans. So there was less hope that their twenty-six million year mission clock was a malfunction. And it would cause some unprecedented administrative strife, assuming it was accurate. Did it mean they were truly an orphaned species then? Perhaps it was up to if they could survive the current climate of their planet? If it truly had been so long as that? Would the Mauilen have any responsibility over them, or would these two species be treated as entirely independent? Did the Maulien have any responsibility to home the remaining Humans and the method by which they rehabilitated their numbers, or was that weight solely on the Federation?

Paxie shook their head subtly. These were not questions for a patrol admiral.

"Thank you, Weak Force," Paxie said.

"Signing off," the voice said. The feed cut, then, leaving the bridge in silence.

"This is exciting," Kime uttered. Paxie wasn't so sure. And they couldn't help but wonder how old the Skel were, and if they were or had ever been capable of sabotage like this.

"Notify Gunnery Sergeant Appi," Paxie said. "When rest is concluded, she will be to meet me in my office."

[alita-blue]

Some more thoughts on Pony Express. There's a gun for the captain to use in case of mutiny. The dialogue made me think that the addition of the code scanner is a recent-ish addition to the freighters, and the crew has to constantly ask the captain for codes like a manager at a supermarket, which likely causes malcontent fast given that their deliveries take months to complete. A mutiny is very likely to happen on any of these ships. It made me think of how some excecs and investors will intentionally push a company into a death spiral once they can't milk ever rising profits, and Pony Express is mentioned to be one of the last manned couriers. It was likely intentionally made to fail to be replaced with AI and automation. The Tulpar crew was failed even before Jimmy joined them.

Another thought. In some other post someone said a solution to Jimmy was to put in in a cryo-pod for the remainder of the journey but how feasable is that plan? It requires Anya and Curly getting Swansea and Daisuke alone to explain how Jimmy assaulted Anya (and having the victim explain herself to others is already a big ask), have them believe Anya, and the necessity of pulling out the gun to drag Jimmy into the cryo-pod. And then live the next several months with one essential worker less.

[mazamba]

Fanfic Ideas

I feel like we're sleeping on the fact that Sari is probably immortal, so here's a few ideas that have been niggling my head and I probably won't get around to writing.

Star Trek

Would probably need to move the timeline by around a century. Unfortunately, that means Sari would live through every war and skirmish that leads to the foundation of the Federation.

The Vulcans are NOT happy with Cybertron for beating them to First Contact. Cybertronians as a species are seen as a bull in a china shop, with the galaxy being the china shop.

Sari would probably hop from ship to ship over the centuries, eventually ending up in the Cerritos to get a break from all the epic adventures. She is very disappointed.

Horizon: Zero Dawn / Forbidden West

Once again, move the timeline by a century or so. Sari left Earth after failing to secure ownership of Sumdac Systems when her father died.

She returns after a few thousand years to check up on things, only to find civilization got rebooted in her absence by Faro Automated Solutions, formerly Sumdac Systems.

Also, picture this interaction.

Aloy: You're looking for a thunderjaw? Sari: Sorta? His name's Grimlock. Sari: *shows her a hologram* Aloy: That... I don't wanna mess with that.

Hunger Games.

One of two ways. Either she stays on Earth secretly helping the resistance from the shadows, or leaves and eventually returns to find out the world's gone to shit and then helps the resistance.

Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts.

The Autobots leave Sari behind when the war picks back up and an incident causes her to go into a stasis pod for a while.

She's immune to Charlemagne's control pheromones... Until Soundwave gets involved. Turns out you need to attack both the techno and the organic when controlling a technoorganic.

Foundation

The only remnant of Earth's memory. She's mostly known as a legend by now. The Eternal Child of Earth.

Few know that she's real, and the Cleons fear the day she decides to return.

[greatwyrmgold]

More updates on the factory!

First, a weird problem I was having: Attacks from the rear. Allow me to diagram how I expected things to go with my iron outpost.

("Rockup" is the stone brick pick-up station for that stone outpost I mentioned needing to build.)

Here's how it actually went.

Experienced Factorio players can probably guess where this is going, but I didn't see it coming.

It turns out, Problems will just path to whatever machines caused the pollution they're reacting to, instead of attacking whatever miners or pumpjacks they come across. If I'd figured that out before covering the backside of the iron outpost with turrets, I could have just fortified that path Problems would need to take, which would have been a more elegant solution. But I had other problems.

First, power outages. Second, plastic shortages. Third, copper smelting. Fourth, grenades (for military science). What do all of these have in common? Coal.

Part of the problem is, unsurprisingly, power. The power outages came shortly after I expanded power production, ironically enough. And since I did so in a slightly spaghetti-ish manner...might as well share.

Anyways, the coal outpost is simple. Miners, laser turrets, a few gun turrets I slapped down in case biters came before I plugged in the laser turrets, train station. The interesting bit there is that I ran out of rails before I could finish the train.

I had some semi-automated rail production at the old stone mine; I had to feed it steel and iron manually, but it handled the rest while I wandered around doing other stuff. That was fine for a while, but I'll need to automate rails soon for purple science anyway, so I might as well set up a proper solution. Especially since stone and iron products are so far from each other.

I was going to set up a train car to deliver iron and steel to the stone outpost, when I noticed something.

There's iron on-site. And an advantage of using this iron ore instead of shipping in metal is that I can put aside some iron ore and stone to make concrete! Of course, for the actual rails I'll need to smelt a lot of that iron ore into iron (and most of that iron into steel), and concrete needs water, and this is quickly turning into a big project that will bring me even closer to biter territory...

...but before I think of setting up a decent defensive perimeter of some kind, I need to remind myself why I'm doing this. I need to make rails, so that I can connect the coal to the main base, which has barely enough coal to maintain its power supply but not enough for production.

I don't need to set up a big defensive line to protect a multi-product outpost to support large-scale rail production. Right now, what I need is enough rails to fix the coal supply, and feeding a temporary assembler array with all the steel in my inventory and half the iron makes more than enough.

Though feeding it all my steel and not returning to the main base to resupply has consequences. Like not being able to put chests in the coal loading station.

The inserters are doing fine for now, I guess. I can fill in the chests once I've finished the dropoff station.

To the left is the preexisting coal dropoff system, to the right is iron. In the middle is the old copper patch, still supplying the base with more copper than it needs. Certainly more than it could smelt!

With these basic resources, plus oil and bricks (not displayed), the base has everything it needs to produce the first four tiers of science pack. And while I'm sure I could bolt the last three into the spaghetti somewhere, this spaghetti was supposed to be a starter base.

And blue science unlocks most of the basic production stuff. There's still Kovarex enrichment and better modules and weapons and power armor and numerical bonuses and space, but for the core factory-designing stuff? I've got it all.

So I guess I need to start designing a real base.

[serial-designation-vee]

@serial-designation-jey

From above, two pods boomed as they ripped the upper stratosphere of Copper-9. Light from the rockets, making the clouds glow hot blue and electrifying the unstable atmosphere. As the pods split the cloud cover in their descent, lightning flickered and cracked, striking one of the pods. The surge in power fried the automatic navigation systems, and the craft hurtled off course towards Camp 98.7. Crashing down, it left a trail of destruction and fire in its wake, setting the forest ablaze and leaving a gouge in the ground that ran for several hundred yards before the craft eventually came to a halt. The pod was unlike anything they had ever seen, complex ivory plating with intricate gold designs weaving throughout, the exposed areas revealing an almost muscular conglomeration of black wires that pulsed blue light towards the center of the craft. Upon the side were several logos, of which one V would recognize as her own parent company logo of JCJenson. The others involved were Faro Automated Solutions Inc, Far Zenith Corp, and Miriam Technologies.... As the two dissasembly drones would draw close, the pod let off a shrill tone and an automated warning. "WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! PROXIMITY SENSORS ACTIVE, SHIP IS STABILIZING, DO NOT APPROACH THE STASIS POD UNTIL INSTRUCTED OR RISK MALFUNCTION. PLEASE ENJOY OUR MESSAGE TO THE VALUED CUSTOMER ABOUT YOUR NEW GALAXTIC PAL WHILE YOU WAIT- Uh, is this thing on? This is testing log number uhhh... I've lost count... of project Gemini modelSD: B1-7A PIN: #LK-101, "Beta" or just B, I dont care... Okay... The pod is cooling down right now, but once it's stable, it should scan the environment and inhabitants around it so it can best modify itself to the environment and fit in, I know it might be odd but it will try to copy someone it sees but dont worry, there is a customization setting in the pod if you wish to change her appearance, not that ot will matter uh... Look, this is our last shot. What with earth gone and everything. I've installed various subfunction protocols into two sister drones. The other should be nearby. This one posseses: Minerva, Hephestus, Apollo, and Hades. The robot will tell you what those do, but uhm... She's designed to learn and adapt just as her sister unit A7-04 is, but specifically, she's much more attuned to it. Her sister unit is designed for combat and initial defense of this ones operations of study, terraforming and revitalizing. Make no mistake, though. B isn't defenseless. She is equipped with a highly advanced natite repair and re assimilation device and can construct weapons on her arms of which she knows two by default, but can learn more. The Specter Gauntlet High Energy plasma multitool cannon and the Specter Reaver blade arm. If there was any error during transport, I'd expect something to function incorrectly, and I can't help you. If the unit is severely damaged, return it to the pod for nanitic revitalization procedures to initiate a full system reboot and restore... I think that's it... good luck."

V watched the pod with a calculating gaze, one of her hands turned into a long blade and held out in front of J. They took in the words spoken to her, and their eyes narrowed. She didn't care what this was, they just didn't want it near J.

She remained at the ready, protective urge pulling at her every wire.

[couriermitra]

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[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 120 (Apr. 11, 1988) - “The Arsenal of Freedom”

Teleplay by: Richard Manning & Hans Beimler Story by: Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin Directed by: Les Landau

The Breakdown

The USS Drake has gone missing after being sent to investigate a planet (Minos) whose entire population has ALSO gone missing; so naturally the Enterprise has been sent to figure out why there are so many missing people connected to one planet.  On a probably-unrelated-note, it turns out the Minosians were arms dealers who sold super advanced weaponry, but I’m sure that won’t be relevant to the following 45 minutes.  Anyways, the Enterprise arrives at Minos to find zero signs of life, except for a hailing frequency originating on the planet’s surface.  Obviously Picard accepts the call, but it just turns out to be one of those un-skippable YouTube advertisements for a highly advanced weapons system, and Picard is like “That was weird. We should send some people to the surface to check that out.”

For what must be a first for this ENTIRE crew, Tasha makes a rational security decision in convincing Riker to keep the away team as small as possible, in the interest of general ship safety (since there is absolutely no sign of the missing Drake, which I honestly think is a MUCH bigger red flag than Picard is making it out to be).  Riker agrees (taking only himself, Tasha, and Data), but gets himself caught in a statis field almost immediately, so Picard throws caution to the wind and beams himself AND Dr.  Crusher down to help out… somehow.  Although, credit where credit is due, Picard does have the foresight to leave Geordi in charge of the Enterprise with orders to abandon him and the away team if it means protecting the ship.

Naturally all this leads to a double-jeopardy situation.  Down below, the away team keeps getting attacked by little killer drones that regenerate-and-adapt every time one gets shot down; meanwhile separate drone starts attacking the Enterprise, slowly picking away at the shields (oh, and it can cloak, making it tough to kill).  Geordi finally figures out a way to outsmart his mechanical nemesis by using the displacement of Minos’ upper atmosphere to reveal the drone’s location.  At the same time Picard conveniently falls into a pit that happens to contain a control panel that activates the holographic salesman (from the aforementioned automated message) who prompts him to finalize the purchase of their killer drones, in order to “end the demonstration”; thus completing what has apparently been a VERY high-stakes sales pitch. 

At this point it’s been concluded that the Minosians accidentally created a killing machine that was so effective it accidentally murdered their entire species, in addition to anyone who came poking around.  Since the Enterprise is now safe, and the mystery of the Drake’s disappearance is solved (in that the crew are confirmed to have met a nightmarish end), we can chalk this up to another happy ending!

The Verdict

There’s something to be said for a straightforward adventure story, and ‘arsenal of freedom’ successfully delivers on that front.  I can’t say there’s enough going on here for me to classify this episode as one of “the greats,” but it makes good use what it does have.

The highlight of this episode has to be Geordi’s command of the Enterprise.  It’s nice to see some genuine progression for a character that I’ve often felt gets overlooked, made all the better by the fact that I found his solution to the drone battle refreshingly plausible!  Usually when Star Trek is dealing with cloaked adversaries, it gets resolved with some kind of tachyon-scanner-upgrade-techno babble.  That’s all well-and-good AS LONG the writers also take care not to abuse such genre-conventions (which is another matter entirely), but I still tend to prefer solutions that adhere to the laws of physics.  As for Geordi’s time in command, I also appreciate how this episode builds on his previous experiences, in throwing him a greater challenge to overcome.

The away team’s adventure definitely makes up the weaker half of the episode, but even that is at least cheesily entertaining, avoiding any glaringly cringy moments.  My main criticism would be over how convenient Picard’s discovery of the control panel was, allowing him to call off the drones; but this is far from the most egregious deus ex machina on a Star Trek show, and it certainly won’t be the last.

But yeah, fun stuff.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

I’ve gotta say, the skies of Minos are a beautiful shade of bluescreen- I mean blue.

TNG always suffered from a “women character problem”, in that the writers seldom knew what to do with them, so I was pleasantly surprised with this episode.  It’s not so much that writers did anything groundbreaking with the ladies here, but this has been their best overall use of them up to this point, by my reckoning. Tasha is shown to be competent and reliable, Crusher is able to keep her wits about her after she’s injured (even getting some added backstory), and even Deanna’s council to Goerdi isn’t half bad (which is really saying something for these early episodes).  The show still has a tremendous amount of work left to do in this regard, but it’s at least a tiny step in the right direction.

BATTLE BRIDGE:  This is only the second time we’ve been shown the Enterprise’s saucer section separating from the rest of the ship.  It’s a pretty cool feature that will be seldom used, but it’s an effective way to sell the raised stakes of a given situation, and thoughtfully applied here.

[secrethideoutwhispers]

Building a cargo spaceship capable of exploring our solar system based on current technology and the knowledge gleaned from our understanding of engineering, science, and chemistry requires us to work within practical and realistic constraints, given that we're not yet in an era of faster-than-light travel. This project would involve a modular design, reliable propulsion systems, life support, cargo handling, and advanced automation or AI. Here’s a conceptual breakdown:

1. Ship Structure

Hull and Frame: A spaceship designed for deep space exploration needs a durable, lightweight frame. Advanced materials like titanium alloys and carbon-fiber composites would be used to ensure structural integrity under the stress of space travel while keeping the mass low. The outer hull would be made with multi-layered insulation to protect against micrometeorites and space radiation.

Dimensions: A cargo space vessel could be roughly 80-100 meters long and 30 meters wide, giving it sufficient space for cargo holds, living quarters, and propulsion systems.

Cost: $500 million (materials, assembly, and insulation).

2. Propulsion Systems

Primary Propulsion: Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) or Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP):

NTP would involve heating hydrogen with a nuclear reactor to achieve high exhaust velocities, providing faster travel times across the solar system. NEP converts nuclear energy into electricity, driving highly efficient ion thrusters. Both systems offer relatively efficient interplanetary travel.

A hybrid solution between NTP and NEP could optimize fuel efficiency for longer trips and maneuverability near celestial bodies.

Cost: $1 billion (development of nuclear propulsion, reactors, and installation).

Fuel: For NTP, hydrogen would be used as a propellant; for NEP, xenon or argon would be the ionized fuel. It would be replenished through in-space refueling depots or by mining water on asteroids and moons (future prospect).

Cost (fuel): $50 million.

3. Power Systems

Nuclear Fission Reactor: A compact fission reactor would power the ship’s life support, propulsion, and onboard systems. Reactors designed by NASA’s Kilopower project would provide consistent energy for long missions.

Backup Solar Arrays: Solar panels, optimized for efficiency beyond Mars’ orbit, would serve as secondary power sources in case of reactor failure.

Cost: $300 million (including reactors, solar panels, and energy storage systems).

4. Cargo Modules

The cargo holds need to be pressurized and temperature-controlled for sensitive materials or scientific samples, while some holds could be left unpressurized for bulk materials like metals, water, or fuel.

Modular Design: The ship should have detachable cargo pods for easy unloading and resupply at different planetary bodies or space stations.

Cost: $200 million (modular design, pressurization systems, automation).

5. Life Support Systems

Water and Oxygen Recycling: Systems like NASA’s Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) would recycle water, oxygen, and even waste. These systems are key for long-duration missions where resupply may be limited.

CO2 Scrubbers: To remove carbon dioxide from the air, maintaining breathable conditions for the crew.

Artificial Gravity (optional): A rotating section of the ship could generate artificial gravity through centripetal force, improving the crew’s health on longer missions. However, this would increase complexity and cost.

Cost: $200 million (life support systems, with optional artificial gravity setup).

6. AI and Automation

AI-Controlled Systems: AI would manage navigation, propulsion optimization, cargo handling, and even medical diagnostics. Automated drones could be used for ship maintenance and repairs in space.

Navigation: Advanced AI would assist in calculating complex orbital maneuvers, interplanetary transfers, and landings.

Autonomous Cargo Handling: Robotics and AI would ensure that cargo can be efficiently moved between space stations, planets, and the ship.

Cost: $150 million (AI development, robotics, automation).

7. Communication and Sensors

Communication Arrays: High-gain antennas would allow for deep-space communication back to Earth, supplemented by laser communication systems for high-speed data transfers.

Radars and Sensors: For mapping asteroid belts, detecting anomalies, and navigating planets, advanced LIDAR, radar, and spectrometers would be necessary. These sensors would aid in planetary exploration and mining operations.

Cost: $100 million (communication systems, sensors, and diagnostics).

8. Radiation Protection

Water Shielding: Water, which is also used in life support, would double as a radiation shield around the living quarters.

Electromagnetic Shields: Experimental concepts involve creating a small electromagnetic field around the ship to deflect solar and cosmic radiation (early TRL, requires more development).

Cost: $50 million (radiation shielding).

9. Crew Quarters

Living Quarters: Designed for long-duration missions with the capability to house 4-6 crew members comfortably. The quarters would feature radiation protection, artificial lighting cycles to simulate day and night, and recreational facilities to maintain crew morale on multi-year missions.

Medical Bay: An AI-assisted medical bay equipped with robotic surgery and telemedicine would ensure the crew remains healthy.

Cost: $100 million (crew quarters, recreational facilities, medical systems).

10. Landing and Exploration Modules

Surface Exploration Vehicles: For landing on moons or planets like Mars or Europa, a modular lander or rover system would be required. These vehicles would use methane/oxygen engines or electric propulsion to take off and land on various celestial bodies.

Cost: $300 million (lander, rovers, exploration modules).

---

Total Estimated Cost: $2.95 Billion

Additional Considerations:

1. Launch Vehicles: To get the spacecraft into orbit, you would need a heavy-lift rocket like SpaceX’s Starship or NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Multiple launches may be required to assemble the ship in orbit.

Cost (launch): $500 million (several launches).

2. In-Space Assembly: The ship would likely be built and assembled in low-Earth orbit (LEO), with components brought up in stages by heavy-lift rockets.

Cost: $200 million (orbital assembly infrastructure and operations).

---

Grand Total: $3.65 Billion

This estimate provides a general cost breakdown for building a cargo spaceship that could explore and transport materials across the solar system. This concept ship is realistic based on near-future technologies, leveraging both nuclear propulsion and automation to ensure efficient exploration and cargo transportation across the solar system.

[snorkin-sporks]

My soggy little fic PART 3?!?!

honestly did not think i'd make it, but here we are?

Paz Vizsla sees his world end. [chapter 3]

Paz Vizsla sat, supported by the makeshift cot, wondering if today was the day that his people would died out completely. Everything was quiet, and Paz could hear the distant blaster fire below him.

 He hadn't seen a single medic since the buurenaar’verde had tied him down, Paz assumed they had evacuated, but he doesn't jump to conclusions, (that’s how you get killed, and Paz certainly was not doing that. He had to get out, warn the other Mando’ade, and get the ships out safely.) they might be standing behind his view silently, it was difficult to tell without his helmet. 

And ka’ra, Paz couldn’t think about that, the fact that he was an apostate, that he was dar’manda. He had to slow down, there were solutions, he’d kill them all. As long as the shabuire who saw him were dead, Paz would be within the creed. It still made him violently ill to think about having his face bared to the galaxy, but Paz felt better knowing the fools would pay. 

It was then that the sirens started, bright red lights flashing and the near-deafening screams of the intercomm system. Paz felt the panic bubble up in his chest, threatening to choke him. What did the sirens mean? He took a deep breath and listened.

The automated voice of the intercomm repeated the evac instructions. Paz strained harder, ears ringing, until he could hear a second kind of scream. The noise was nearly indescribable, if not for Paz’s unfortunate experiences with ship malfunctions. That was the sound of a large cruiser going down, fast. Paz could pick out the sharp scrape-fweeew of duristeel panelling being torn off during re-entry, and it scared the osik out of him.

The lights that followed were bright enough to blind, and the following shockwave shook through the room. Paz had been expecting it, but knocked the air from his lungs all the same. The cot shook, and Paz was flung from it like a rag, his limp body crunching against the pulverised glass of the shattered tubes and bay window.

It was all he could do but pray that Ragnar hadn’t been on that ship. All he could do but pray its occupants died instantly and painlessly, that they had died a death worthy of the Manda. 

[clonerightsagenda]

Ok last 'the gang is working at Goddard now' post from discord before I call it a night, assuming tumblr will let me post this one

Kat only loosely related, but although the Hephaestus doesn't have a CAPCOM (too far away) I wonder if closer low Earth orbit Goddard installations have one and if they, like NASA CAPCOMs, are all former astronauts. Probably not, I would think, since if you've got 1 person filtering all communication you'd probably want it to be one of Cutter's more… informed people. now imagining Jordan doing a CAPCOM stint since she's comms Jordan: What, you say the hull isn't damaged but you were hit by something. Was it round? Perhaps…. melon-shaped? Klein who's up doing a satellite launch from a station or whatever: I'll kill you Gill Klein’s just never gonna live that down huh Kat unfortunately he literally didn't Gill Rip Kate : ) but also :’ ( Also remind me what CAPCOM means because I’m like “the video game company?” Gill Concept: the Hephaestus crew doing a shift or two on CAPCOM to unwind after a long day of dismantling Goddard Futuristics from the inside out Kat capsule communicator basically they're the single line of communication between astronauts and the ground, to streamline stuff and they're usually astronauts because they know what the crew is doing more personally "In the context of potential crewed missions to Mars, NASA Ames Research Center has conducted field trials of advanced computer-support for astronaut and remote science teams, to test the possibilities for automating CAPCOM." hm. Maybe Goddard has AI capcoms Gill The Sensus series’ predecessor line, perhaps Kat Some poor asshole on a low orbit station: We've got an ammonia leak Automated CAPCOM: Please choose from the following options. Press 1 for a personnel issue. Press 2 for a maintenance issue Astronaut: We're dying Kate Pfff Kat someone: we've got some crew hostility in one of the low orbit stations Minkowski: Put Eiffel on CAPCOM for a few days. Either they'll calm down or they'll unite in being annoyed by him instead. Win win Kate Their secret weapon Gill Minkowski likes doing CAPCOM to unwind but Lovelace finds it stressful bc she’s way worse about being a backseat driver Kat Minkowski: Finally normal simple problems to solve. It is usually a pretty simple, boring job. Until something goes wrong Gill meanwhile, Lovelace: What do you MEAN you've never had to duct-tape a water reclamation system back together?? Kat Haha yeah. Former astronaut capcoms have creative solutions LEO crew who can get new supplies shipped up basically whenever: We could just… trash this broken part and order a replacement Lovelace: Why when you can mcgyver this solution with only moderate risk to life and limb Gill the Hephaestus Mission and the crew themselves gain such a reputation that when the rumors start circulating that Minkowski got her current job by killing Marcus Cutter ("and did you ever meet Marcus Cutter?") half the company is lowkey terrified of her Kate “Ohhh look at YOU with your cushy life, you can just order a NEW part. Back in MY day my boss came up there personally with a gun and shot at us” Kat Haha It’s a very different life being right next to earth easy mode Gill LEO crewmember whispering to another one while their commander is on the phone: God, I hope we don't have to go through a teambuilding exercise run by Isabel Lovelace… Kat Although I suppose it makes it even easier for cutter to send goons up to harass you Kate True… “Hey, can we have a new part?” “No, but you can have Victor Riemann! Have fun!”

Gill Alternatively: "Uh… we think we need a new part… ma'am." Minkowski: …okay? Let me get the word out to the supply team. "You're… not gonna send Warren Kepler and his minions with them like Mr. Cutter used to, are you?" Minkowski: What? No. Most of them didn't even come back from Wolf 359. "/sighs and other noises of audible relief, oh thank god!" Kat now imagining SI5 showing up for no goddamn reason on a resupply shuttle and the mission commander being like "i didn't order you" and closing the hatch crewmember: don't those burn up on re-entry commander: not my problem Gill Telling command you need help? Admitting human weakness? That's a Kepler-ing. Kat Yeah well does it admit human weakness to have to be let onto the station before you burn up with all the dirty laundry and other garbage when the capsule gets sent back thru the atmosphere Eiffel hearing about life on LEO stations: I can't believe this. They got new underwear sent up to them though it's a dangerous game… .Terry Virts had two consecutive underwear shipments explode thanks space x Cutter: The Andromeda station's psych evals are too far in the green. Blow up their next three laundry shipments.