"..."
While not too amused with pretty much being called cargo, Saevus nods and allows himself to be secured.
You follow Icarus' instructions and position yourself at the front of the passenger section. Padded restraints come out of the walls and secure you in place, trying to distribute pressure equally.
Staging Area
I like the AR enhanced sensor HUD idea. Let's go with that one.
Do I get to take the rifle I summoned earlier with me? I totally get if that'd be a bit OP to let me pre-summon equipment.
"Right, then, naptime."
Deactivate it.
Now let's try a rifle. Let's say... a nice energy rifle, military grade. How fast is it summoning now? How fast would it take to copy?
You cut the bot's power and it shuts down with a sad *bwoop*.
You summon a nice plasma rifle. It has a long barrel with various superconducting magnetic focusing rings. Its main body is circular, holding the synchrotron and the power source, a miniature fusion reactor. It vents part of its reactor content and magnetically accelerates it at high speed. The plasma is contained by the spiral magnetic field the beam itself creates, allowing it to travel a good distance before it dissipates. Even unfocused it could wreak havoc on unarmoured organics and unshielded electronics. Frankly you're not sure how it can work, it would require some very alien physics-breaking materials, but it does. And you are able to arm an army of armoured automatons with it within minutes, so who cares?
When you say "Let's go with that" you mean right now? Or as a plan for the future?
You approach Icarus as he floats up towards the cockpit and ask him if you can take your big gun with you.
"Oh, sure. Just please deactivate the fusion core before we get going. The kind of exotic materials used in this weapon can become unstable when physics change or in the presence of supernatural influences. Leaving it unpowered will reduce the chances of an accident occurring."
You look at him with curiosity as he folds his floating wings into his back and sits on the pilot seat. You point at the spaceship's wings that are of a similar design, floating things detached from the main body, currently stabbed into the ground.
"Wait a second. If my rifle is unstable, doesn't that mean that this spaceship is also unstable?"
Icarus puts his hand in the back of his neck and looks at you awkwardly.
"Well... Yes, you are right in a way. Certain parts can be unstable. But you don't have to worry! There are several ways to prevent that from becoming a serious problem. First of all, the ship tries to maintain a certain set of conditions inside it to help it mitigate the different laws of reality one might encounter in other universes. And it also has good protection against supernatural influences. If those two fail, the more exotic components can be deactivated or jettisoned and it can keep operating at an acceptable level, like an old space rocket. The most important parts (like those responsible for keeping you alive) are the most mundane, those that are less likely to fail."
"I suppose that could make sense, although I'd still like to keep my rifle."
"That is fine. Just deactivate it. You can summon a new fusion core when we're there. Or I could use the Phoenix's reactor to try to restart the old one."
((Yes, meant now. But let's just wait for spooky spooky physics reasons.))
John nodded. "No problem; I'll cut it off. Or just chuck it if it won't go off; sometimes these things are weird like that. Say... can I ride up front with you? Need a copilot?"
Request seat upgrade. Disable rifle if possible, leave it behind if no.
Okay, then in that case you get exactly what you wanted. A suit of sensors located in various parts of your body that can project information on your visor. You've got to use voice commands through your radio or use your Interface to direct them to do something, but they're smart enough to be able to follow simple orders, like "highlight motion" or "make a map".
John nodded. "No problem; I'll cut it off. Or just chuck it if it won't go off; sometimes these things are weird like that.""Brilliant!"You power down the fusion core and keep it on your rifle for later. If you can't get it to reactivate, you can just try to copy it and hope the copy is active. Or maybe find another source of ammunition and power for it on the Maximus.
"Say... can I ride up front with you? Need a copilot?""Yes! That would be brilliant!"He turns around and fiddles with something on the cockpit. Some of those floating rectangles that form the Phoenix's wings move into position to allow you to climb up to the cockpit. They feel surprisingly steady, they don't move at all when you step on them. You get up and sit on the co-pilot seat. It's quite similar to the ones located on the passenger area, but with a slightly different configuration for your arms and head, allowing you to move them more freely. There's two control sticks, one for translation and one for rotation, as well as a keyboard and a screen. The pilot's controls are similar, but instead of a keyboard and screen there's lots of smaller MFDs and switches. With a couple of keypresses and switch-flips, the wings return to their previous configuration and the canopy begins closing.
Icarus caresses a picture wedged between two screens as the canopy closes. It looks like it was part of a greater picture once, its right side has been torn. On the left side of the picture, there's a woman in golden armor, holding a sword and a shield. On its right there's a bare-chested man with angel-like wings sprouting from his back, holding a spear that looks much like yours. That done, he lays back on the pilot's chair. The back of his neck opens up, revealing various ports. A few wires rise out of the pilot's seat and embed themselves in the ports. Out of curiosity, you direct your ranged technopathy towards him and are a bit surprised to find his outer body is completely mechanical (you can't tell more than that because he appears to have protection from your ESP similar to the Phoenix). And yet when you look at him, it looks like he has real skin and real muscles underneath that skin.
"You can ask about it if you want.""What do you mean?""My body. It's synthetic. But I don't mind talking about it. You can just ask, you don't have to use your abilities on it.""Oh, so your sensors let you know when people try something like that?""Yes. My sensors. And my soul. It would be similar if I tried looking into you or changing your body by supernatural means. If I wasn't subtle enough your soul would instinctively try to fight back against the intrusion. And if your defense was stronger than my attack, you would succeed.""Does that mean that the Phoenix also has a soul?""Ummm... In a way. Not like you or me, but it does have one, yes."Hmmm... Maybe that's why it didn't automatically get 'improved' by my power like other machines I use."Does the ship we're going to the... how did you call it? Maximus?""Yeah. Latte Maximus.""Strange name.""Well, the Light chose the first part, the Dark chose the second part. And when you start getting in the scale of universes, you have so many ships that even if you use completely random words to name them you still get overlap. But having mostly random, quirky and/or smart names means you have less chances of running into someone with the same name. That gets awkward.""Yeah, so, is the Maximus going to have a soul too?""That's... a hard question. A good one, but also a hard one. I don't know in what state that poor ship is going to be in. But I do know that it has heavy shielding against supernatural influences from the outside and many of the internal components also have similiar but weaker protection.""So you use that connection to fly?""It's easier. Lets me feel the Phoenix as an extension of my body and react as fast as I can think. But, as you can see, there are redundancies in place, in case there's a problem with the link or in case someone else has to fly the ship."While you are talking, without any visible inputs from Icarus, the ship shudders and begins to move. The acceleration seats begin engulfing you in their protective embrace. As you fly, you ask Icarus to give you some pointers to get you started with this computer thing. He gives you the way to search for commands and the way to display a command's manual entry, as well as a few basic commands about how to partition your screen to different segments and display some basic information like position and relative speed. This should help you understand what he's doing a bit better. Good thing the entities gave you an understanding of this language.
The Phoenix's ramp closes as the ship starts floating higher, accompanied by a mechanical whine that increases in pitch. Its wings rise out of where they had stabbed themselves into the ground and fold into a more conventional shape. You can see all this through a convenient screen on the back of the seat in front of you (or on the cargo compartment in the case of Saevus) that gives you a view of whichever side of the ship you want (except for Brian who just uses his eyes to look wherever he wants and John who can look around from the cockpit).
: Okay guys, this is it. Next stop, the Sage Cluster. : Normally the screen would not be visible, as it is hidden behind the various mechanical limbs on the back of the seat. But by now those limbs have began extending, most of them forming a soft transparent protective cocoon around you, reinforcing it with a gel-like substance. Some of them connect with ports in your spacesuit, pumping you full of unknown substances. And then the Phoenix's wings expand and you immediately know why the special seats were necessary as you feel its insane acceleration.
: Acceleration seats engaged. Charging jump device. : The inside of the ship remains mostly the same, but the view of the outside provided by the screens becomes more and more dim. But then you realise that it's not the view that's getting dim, it's the world itself. The clouds around you become darker, yet the golden floating rectangles that make up the wings of the Phoenix are still visible, glowing with their own internal light. John's technosense gives him the feeling like the ship is evaporating, becoming transparent, quickly disappearing from his mind's eye.
: Phase state normal and aligned with the target universe. Jump device charged. Coordinates set for Midnight Star. Materialization point locked. Jumping in 3, 2, 1... : There is no great vortex or flash of light. One moment the Phoenix is floating alone in a dark void, the next it is floating in an entirely different black void on an entirely different universe and everything is back to normal.
: Jump successful. We are alone. : With that, you begin your journey through the worlds of the Sage Cluster towards your final destination.
The screens show the outside world is completely dark, save for an incredibly bright point of light. Even when Brian's vortexes get in front of it, it doesn't get darker, merely a bit distorted.
: This is Midnight Star, our insertion point. Single star-like object, a few small rocks. Stable, safe. :
You feel the Phoenix accelerate once more. It accelerates away from the star, towards the emptiness surrounding it.
: We're supposed to meet an escort on the next two systems. They'll get us the rest of the way to Deserted Haystack. :
Without any reference points, it's hard to judge where exactly you're going or how fast you are moving. But eventually the acceleration stops for a moment, the ship turns around and then you start accelerating in the opposite direction. The wonders of brachistochrone trajectories.
: This was the closest world to Deserted Haystack (that we know of) that can support a stable materialization point. It would be too risky to make a jump to an unknown and potentially unstable destination. We'll be using the Streams that connect the worlds of the Sage Cluster to make our way to our destination. :
As was to be expected by anyone with some knowledge of physics, it takes about as much time as it took you to accelerate to finish decelerating. The view of the outside world remains completely unchanged during all this time. This patch of empty space looks much the same as any other patch of empty space.
: Stream entry point reached. Engaging Stream Breakers. :
Unlike the rather anti-climactic jump drive, the Stream Breakers provide more of a show. The wings of the Phoenix extend forward and glow. The glow spreads to the space in front of the ship, forming a bubble that soon turns into a glowing tunnel of light. Before long, the tunnel ends, dumping you into your destination.
: Transition successful. Entering system: Black Hole Sun. :
Black Hole Sun is a lot more trippy than your previous location. It is full of black pillars, all parallel to each other, all perfectly round, extending towards infinity. At some central point there is the 'sun' after which the system is named, a point of darkness that, as you can tell by looking at the hull of the Phoenix, makes the colour of everything it touches appear inverted. It also makes the Stream entry point behind you look very bright compared to the rest of this grey void.
From the cockpit, John can see that the canopy has trouble adjusting to these conditions, changing its opacity as it tries and fails to keep the effect out of the cockpit, only managing to stop it when it has turned completely dark and opaque. Suddenly the cockpit feels more like a cramped submarine cockpit to John as he is forced to use the screen in front of him to try to figure out what's going on. By accessing the ship's sensors, he can tell despite the interference that there is something else waiting for them there, floating nearby. Sensors show it is a giant protective bowl with a very long engine block trailing behind it.
: This is Electra Kelvin of the Dark, captain of the vessel Infinite Sloop. We have orders to escort you to the next Stream entry point. :
: Hi Electra! I am happy to meet you. :
: Well, I am not! I don't know what they expect you to do there, but I bet me and my crew could do it ten times better. You're just wasting our time and getting more people killed. :
: I-I didn't - :
: They should had let us go in the moment we got the distress signal. You goody-two-shoes probably think this is all a game. You can't take it seriously. :
: I really don't- :
: Stay in our warp-shadow and keep up. Captain Kelvin out. *static* :
"... Oh, well. Off we go!"
The Infinite Sloop takes point, with the Phoenix following closely, staying right behind it. There is something in the 'air' of this place that causes interference and slows everything down, but staying behind the lead ship seems to minimize the effects. The two vessels travel through the 'forest' for some time, making their way between the rows of pillars in right angles, constantly flipping their colours as they pass through the shadows of the pillars. There is very rarely a pillar with a 'branch' on it, a smaller pillar that extends from it in a 45 degree angle, those help break the monotony a bit, but otherwise this place looks as dead and empty as the last one you were in. Which is to say, it's really boring, especially when you're trapped in a seat and can barely move, can't even scratch your nose.
: I spy with my litte eye something beginning with P. : Icarus' voice says through the passenger area speakers, trying to alleviate the boredom a bit.
"Is it pillar?"
: Yes! Now you do one! :
"I spy something beginning with C."
: Hmm... Is it a cabin light? :
"No."
"Is it the cargo compartment?"
"No."
"Is it a chair?"
"No."
"Is it a corner?"
"No."
"Is a corner even a valid choice?"
"Of course it's a valid choice."
"Well, it's not really an object, it's more of a concept."
"It is something you see with your eyes."
: Anyway, what was it? What else is in here that's starting with C? :
"This Crushing feeling of boredom."
"OK, now that's definitely not a valid choice."
You eventually reach another Stream entry point, another incredibly bright point against the grey void and black trunks.
: This is it. Make your way through this Stream and brace for kinetic interference on the other side. :
: Okay. Bye! Thanks for- :
: Do us all a favour and die quickly. *static* :
The Infinite Sloop turns around and blasts off into the opposite direction, quickly becoming a distant point flipping between darkness and light as it passes through the pillar's shadows.
"She was... helpful."
The Phoenix engages its Stream Breakers and disappears into the ensuing vortex.
It's not long before you reach the other side.
: Entering system: Screwdriver North. Locking wings in- :
The ship shudders and then all acceleration stops.
: We've got kinetic interference, as expected. Shields are holding but we've lost control. We can't move at all. Can't even rotate. :
The cameras show the outside world is full of colored beads moving through space, following invisible routes as if they're part of a giant, invisible Rube Goldberg device. And it looks like by entering this system, you became part of it.
: Powering down engines. Engaging inertial guidance system. :
The hull of the ship moves as if it has no mass, no inertia, as if it's an object on rails set by some video game programmer. But the laws of physics they are familiar with still apply to the passenger of the shielded vehicle, so every sudden change of direction is felt as a sudden acceleration, mitigated by their acceleration seats.
: This is Ray Swan of the Light, captain of the vessel Fractal Duck. Good to see you again kid. :
: Ray Swan? Oh, wow! What are you doing here? Last I heard you were training in Haydsen Six. :
: Yeah, well, after that whole incident with the chicken I started looking for a transfer, and volunteered for any job I could find. :
: Chicken... incident? :
: Uh, don't think about it, nothing important. So, anyway, I thought I got a lucky break when I was selected for a mission in another universe, but it turns out all they have me do here is look at weird things and then feed them into a computer. :
: That... doesn't sound like the proper way to use a computer. :
: Feed the information. I meant feed the information into a computer. :
: Oh, yeah, that's more reasonable. But, I dunno, I think these worlds are interesting. :
: Eh, the novelty wears off after a couple of years. Branch point up ahead, follow me hard to port. :
The Phoenix reaches a weakpoint in the fabric of this world, a place where the "tracks" branch off and objects can move freely for a second. Its wings flare up for a moment and it follows the Fractal Duck down another set of rails.
: You gotta be careful going through here. You don't know when a decision tree might mutate and you end up stuck in an infinite loop for the next hundred years. It's gotten a lot worse since Lonely Sandbox exploded. :
: It's so wonderful how they can all move without colliding or getting stuck... :
: Eh. Just give it time. I'm sure it will happen eventually. But anyway, yeah, almost a full Guardian now. Frankly this whole training thing is moving a bit slower than expected. :
: It can't be that boring. :
: Oh, no, certainly not boring. Did I ever tell you about the time I went on a mission with Stellar to Exax Seven? :
: No, I don't think I've heard that one before. :
: Okay, so the seniors gather all of us up, say it's really important and all that and we... :
...
: ... So, me and her are there all alone, completely surrounded and I'm like, 'there's no way I'm getting out of this one alive'. And then Stellar punches the guy right in the- :
Ray is interrupted by a warning beep, followed by a sudden acceleration.
: Oh. We're here. Looks like we'll have to finish that story another time. :
: I'll hold you to that. :
: I'll stay close to the entry point and keep my ears open. Just say the word and me and the Duck will be there in no time. :
: Thanks Ray, I'll remember that. :
: We've only sent drones in the next one. Some sort of living things in there. Feed off of energy. They shouldn't be much trouble if you keep your distance. Just be careful of the atmosphere, it blinds long range sensors. :
: Okay. :
: We haven't gotten a probe to Deserted Haystack yet, so I can't tell you what's there. We've only caught glimpses of the stream entry point, but we got its most recent coordinates. Sending them over now. :
: Got it. See you soon. :
: Good luck kid. Get'em home. :
: Will do. :
With that, the Phoenix is pushed into the Stream entry point and flies through it, moving on to the next world.
: Entering system: Empty Breeze. Switching to atmospheric mode. :
The next system looks like something out of a fantasy book. Endless skies and clouds of various colours as far as the eye can see. Even the air is breathable with some filtering and the temperatures are cold but bearable with the proper equipment. There's no gravity though and while it looks like there's light coming from somewhere, it's all spread out so evenly it's hard to tell where exactly it comes from.
John was not idle during his time in the co-pilot seat. In the lulls in activity, he's been familiarizing himself with the Phoenix's sensor controls, letting him aid Icarus by directing sensor pulses at whatever looks fishy. Which turns out to be a good thing, as he discovers a cloud hides something solid inside it. At the speed they're going he doesn't have time to warn Icarus but it turns out he doesn't have to, as Icarus has used his connection to the ship to witness John's discovery. The ship tilts its wings and accelerates, dodging the solid thing. The vortices generated by the Phoenix's passing pull the cloud away, briefly revealing the solid thing underneath it. It looks like a mountain top, filled with small cave-like holes. As the wind recedes, the cloud takes its previous place over the rock, once again hiding it from sight and sensors.
"Phew."
"Yeah, that was a phew moment alright."
"Wonder what that was."
"Wouldn't want to find out by colliding with it."
"Yeah. Thanks John."
"Don't mention it. Besides, I'm in the same boat as you. Literally."
"Haha! You're calling my ship a boat?"
"Well, it's a very beautiful boat, if it's any consolation."
"I would accept plane or spaceship. But boat?"
"How about spaceplane?"
"Awesome spaceplane?"
"I bet I could make it more awesome."
"Nah, you'd probably just end up cutting your legs off and merging with it somehow."
"Hey, I'm awesome enough to make things I merge with even more awesome."
"Probably, but I still don't think that's valid."
"You're merged with it to make it more awesome right now."
"Touché."
During your journey through this sector you encounter those energy-feeders Ray warned you about. From the glimpses you catch of them on cameras, they look like translucent bird-like creatures, barely visible as they soar through the clouds. They are quite quick and surprisingly intelligent, trying to lead you into up ambushes in dark clouds or trying to surround you. But the Phoenix is quicker and nimbler, dodging them and outrunning them before they can become too dangerous, and John and Icarus are able to use its advanced sensors to find ambushes before the could become a danger. Eventually the energy-feeders give up, probably realizing that the Phoenix is not worth the trouble.
With them off your back, you are able to reach the Stream entry point without wasting too much time. You go through the Stream, the one that will lead you to Deserted Haystack, the system that holds your target.
Icarus redirects all power to shields and shutdowns anything that is not necessary, bracing for your entry into the unknown system. The moment you are through the Stream you are faced with a sudden deceleration. The ship rocks violently in every direction and begins to spin. Overlapping warning beeps of various pitches and frequencies fill the air and several different warning lights begin flashing.
: We're at Deserted Haystack. Switching to Aquatic Mode. : The Phoenix's wings rearrange themselves into a thicker, more curved configuration and lock themselves in place, making it look like a mix between a plane and a dolphin. This allows it to regain some semblance of control and stop itself from spinning.
: We've got... unstable... unstable conditions. Too much turbulence. Pressure still rising. Shield is strained but holding for now. : Sections of the Phoenix light up, sending rays of light into your surroundings. For the few metres around you they manage to illuminate, they reveal nothing but murky waters spinning with violent turbulence.
: I can't see anything, I- I have... something on sensors. It's- I think it's the beacon. I'm going to need another pulse to confirm location. : The Phoenix reorients itself and cuts a path through the liquid, leaving a trail of quickly collapsing bubbles behind it. Those of you with a very good sense of direction (or John who can just look at the inertial guidance system) can tell that you are moving away from your entry point.
: Yes, it's the Maximus' emergency beacon. Still attempting triangulation... This liquid is interfering with my sensors. Still unable to determine the liquid's composition. : The Phoenix stops rocking from side to side. Almost. The more perceptive amongst you can still feel sudden accelerations from time to time, dulled by your acceleration seats. There's also a constant noise, the vibrations caused by the liquid hitting the ship travelling through the hull.
: Turbulence is fading. Pressure stabilizing. I think we're okay. Getting back to the Stream entry point will require some good flying though. : All and all, it hasn't been more than 5 minutes since you entered the system, but it feels like it's been much longer. Thankfully things have calmed down for now, which gives Icarus and John some time to silence all those alarms that have popped up.
: The flow of the liquid is drawing us away from our every point and towards the beacon. Pressure still stable though. It doesn't look like it increases too much as you go further in. I haven't generated a set of infons yet but I think there's no gravity here. :
: The beacon's signal is coming from in there, which makes sense. If the ship has no power then it makes sense for it to go with the flow. I'll head there as fast as I can. : : Or it could be because it has been destroyed and only the beacon is left. : : I try to hope that is not the case. : There are a few more minutes of somewhat quiet travel. The liquid appears quite good at absorbing radiation, so John and Icarus switch to using sonar, which has somewhat better range. It still doesn't reveal anything of interest around them. Just this constantly moving liquid.
: Still can't see the Maximus, I only have the beacon to go on. It's nearby, but I- : The ship's sonar picks up a distant rumbling noise and pipes it through to the speakers of the passenger section.
: Wait, we have... Sonar says something coming... It's got a rocket engine, it's- Torpedo inbound, brace for evasive action! : The passengers have few options, trapped in their acceleration chairs, but they tense up anyway in response to Icarus' warning. The Phoenix's wings light up, sending forth energy beams that try to pierce through the liquid surrounding them.
: Firing weapons... No effect! This liquid absorbs energy too well. : The Phoenix continues its attack but angles its wings so that it moves sideways. The torpedo is visible for a moment through the cameras as a bright point of light, then the Phoenix jerks upwards and then down again, putting the Torpedo on its sights. Now there's little distance between them and the Icarus can hit its less armoured sides. The torpedo explodes, the shock-wave traveling through the liquid and causing the ship to shudder.
: Got it! Still moving towards the beacon as fast as I can. : There is about 30 seconds of quiet travel before there is a slight change in direction.
: I've got something on sensors. Looks like the Maximus. No power readings. I bet that's why I couldn't see it. Looks mostly intact, some damage to one of the fins but it doesn't- : He is interrupted by a warning beep.
: Wait, a defensive turret is powering- Another torpedo launch. Source is a defensive turret on the Fore Cargo compartment. : : This is Icarus of the Light, captain of the Phoenix. This is a rescue operation, we mean you no harm! Stop firing! : Icarus pleads on the radio for the shooting to stop for a few seconds, but his pleas go unanswered. The torpedo continues to fly towards them. And soon it is joined by another.
: Please, stop firing! We are here to help! Let us dock and we can aid you! We can- Another torpedo launch. I can hold them off but not forever. We need a way to either stop the turret or get in the Maximus. : The Phoenix flips around and intercepts the second torpedo. The passengers can't really see much through the blur that is their screens, but they can feel the shockwave of another explosion.
: The Maximus is not responding, so I can't open up a hangar. And the Phoenix's weapons need time to cut through its armour. Either we ditch the Phoenix and get in through the damaged fin, I eject you close to the turret to try to disable it or I eject you close to a hangar door to try and open it. Unless you have a better suggestion or want to split up. That's all I can think of right now. :
OOCToday was a long day... I hope I haven't made too many mistakes. Got to sleep now.
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Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1145593 times)