Board Thread:Archive/@comment-24866242-20140529225749

Ben Stinel posted January 24, 2000 09:40 PM

“What do we got on sensors?” Ben asked, punching up the reading himself on the captain’s chair arm control pad.

“Reading coming in now,” said Jarrid from his tactical console on the right. “Looks like she’s adrift. Main drive is offline. No life signs. Her deflectors are offline and it looks as though there is moderate to light damage to her passenger section from a small asteroid. Emergency bulk heads are closed in that area and the atmosphere in the rest of the ship is breathable.”

“Any reading on her transponder?”

“Not by this,” Jarrid answered. “Power is off in most of the ship. The computer is processing her markings now. Checking for missing ship reports… Got a match. The Le’Ser. Registered under the Kerrelian Port Authority. Listed as seven months overdue and presumed lost.”

That the ship was derelict was undisputable. They had tried hailing her when they’d first seen her on sensors to no avail. Ben frowned as he tapped his armrest thoughtfully and looked at the sensor readout. "Looks like a good cargo in her hold… What do you think, Chaz?”

Chaz shrugged from the engineering station on the left and double-checked his figures. “She’s salvageable,” he conceded. “Not very pretty with that chunk that asteroid took out of her side but with a little work we could fix that. I’d say a week tops to get her flyable at warp three. Enough to get her back to Nash for the real work but it’d take about a month to get her that far at that speed.”

Ben frowned again. “We don’t have that long. We’re due in to deliver our cargo in three days.” He tapped his armrest again and pulled up another ship’s flight plan. Vextis was about fourteen hours away at warp seven. They could hang around that long and the ship, even in its current condition, would fetch a tidy sum if she wanted to take the time.

“Go ahead and file a salvage claim with the Kerrelians, Jarrid,” Ben told his tactical officer.

“Okay…” Jarrid tapped a few controls on his station and it wasn’t long before he was talking to his console and a muted voice was responding from the other end. After advising whomever it was of The Le’Ser’s status and getting a confirmation he shut down the line and turned back to Ben. “Our claim is acknowledged. There is a short list of items they would like turned in at the Port Authority when we dock at Mitz in four days but otherwise her cargo and the ship itself is ours. It was privately owned and the owner was aboard so there’s no dispute to our claim.”

“Hail the Vextis if you would, Jarrid.” The second the words were out of his mouth there was a nervous glance exchanged between his helmswoman and his navigator. They hadn’t been aboard the Sokiee when Kat had given the order to fire but most of Ben’s New Oregon crew had and they weren’t exactly comfortable with the fact that their commander was on pleasant terms with the owners of the ship.

"Go ahead, Colorado." There was no mistaking the deep purr-like growl of Vextis’ communications officer.

"Rah," Ben heard Jarrid say into his station, "This is Jarrid Pallin aboard the Colorado. I'm just patching through a call for our Captain for Katrylle Morgahn. Would you happen to know if she's around?"

"I'm sure I can scare her up. Want me to tell her what its about?" Rah replied with a deep chuckle.

Jarrid grinned at Ben and answered, "A unique once in a lifetime business opportunity. Mum's the word."

Again, the chuckle preceded the Vextis' communication officer's reply. ##As our illustrious pirate would say, I don't know nuthin.##

Several moments later, Kat's familiar voice crackled over the line. ##Jarrid, whacher sorry ass callin a' this time o'night fer? Wha' trouble is tha' ca'ptain o' yer needin bailin oot from now?## Despite her harsh words, her tone carried the wicked humor that she often displayed with close friends.

"I'll let him answer that himself actually," Jarrid said.

"Hey, sis." Ben said from the captain's chair. "You up for a salvage operation?"

"Salvage? Wha' needs salvagin?" Interest had definitely ruled her voice this time.

"We ran across a ship filed missing seven months ago. Privately owned, owner was aboard so there's no dispute. We've already filed a claim but we haven't got time to get her up and running. Chaz says a week to get her under her own power.”

"Well...I ain't got nuthin planned fer th' week. Lemme talk ta Ry an' see ifin th' Vextis is booked. Th' Krita's down agin. Warps still haein’ sum gremlins they cannae find."

"Sounds good, sis. I can hold steady for about twenty-four hours till you can get here. My navigator will send you the coordinates."

A long moment of silence was all he received in reply. Then, her voice returned. "We'll b'there afore then. Keep th' light on! Vextis out."

“Out, Vextis.” Ben grinned. “Chaz, take a team over there. I want a damage report and an action plan for her before Kat gets here. Get inventory to start beaming over as much of the cargo as we can take on. We'll leave whatever we can't take for Vextis.”

Ben Stinel posted January 27, 2000 08:59 PM

“I think I’ve got emergency power working.” Chaz announced. It was unnecessary as it came right after the emergency lighting boxes turned themselves on. His next statement was a little more helpful. “The dedicated processors for the bridge should be up now.”

“Computer,” Ben queried.

)working( The voice was soft and seemingly without sex.

Ben glanced at the pad in his hand and cleared his throat before continuing. “Computer, under interstellar salvage treaty I instruct you to access this ship’s current status under the Kerrelian Port Authority, this ship’s port of registry.”

)accessing subspace relay station stand by( Once again the sexless voice wafted through the room. The words it spoke were sterile but were delivered with a soothing effect.

Ben dropped into the captain’s chair and twiddled his thumbs while he waited. He didn’t have to wait long, however.

)this ship is currently listed as a salvageable ship under kerrelian port authority records I am awaiting further instructions(

Ben raised his eyebrows and glanced at Chaz. Chaz shrugged. Neither one of them had ever heard a ship’s computer refer to itself with such a personal pronoun as I.

“Computer, I am taking command of this vessel under Interstellar Salvage Law and a grant of salvage rights by the Kerrelian Port Authority. Transfer all command functions to my authority and obtain a list of authorized users from the computer aboard the ship to Starboard.”

)I have transferred command to your order ketter welcome aboard the Le’Ser if I might inquire, what has happened? my engines appear to be offline and I cannot access my internal diagnostics(

“Your?” Ben frowned again. “Who are you?”

)I am Le’Ser( the computer intoned.

“The bridge processor is running a backup operating system that was built in as a failsafe device if the main computer net should crash,” Chaz’s computer specialist volunteered from an open access panel in the aft of the bridge. “It’s isolated from the rest of the system and doesn’t have access to the main file system. We won’t have access until we get main power back up.”

)Mr. Reece is correct( responded Le’Ser.

“Maybe you should get to the computer core and start a diagnostic before we power her up.” Ben advised.

“Difficult,” Chaz told him. “Near as we can tell the computer is a decentralized system. Kerrelians use it in all of their military ships from what I’ve read. The idea is that the ship can be heavily damaged without loosing processing ability. If one section of the ship goes offline the other sections take over with only a slight drop in processing ability overall. Ship’s power system works along the same lines.”

“But this isn’t a military ship.”

“Not now, but it may have been military surplus or built by a company that had a military contract.”

Ben blinked at the quantity of info just thrown his way and decided to retreat to safer ground. “Well, get as much of it operational as you can before Kat gets here. You’ve got eight hours and I want to see the last log entry before we leave.”

Chaz nodded his agreement. “Me too. Strange, wasn’t that? That mess hall the way them dishes were all set out?.”

It was a mystery. That much went without saying.

[This message has been edited by Ben Stinel (edited January 27, 2000).]

Katrylle Morgahn posted January 28, 2000 02:36 PM

She could have probably taken the Krita, but the Orians were still working on the warp engines. Besides, it had been a while since the Vextis had been out of port. Time to burn the carbon out of the intakes, as Jack would say. Course, the Vextis was far from being compared to a '51 Chevy, but the idea was there.

It didn't take much convincing to get Ry to agree. In fact, it didn't take *any* convincing. He hadn't had anything better to do anyway. Least that's what he said. Kat smiled softly as she did every time she thought of her husband.

As they approached the Colorado, Kat had been standing on the bridge, eager to see the vessel Ben had come across. Rah's voice was a deep, gentle purr/growl beside her. "Colorado, this is Vextis. Do you read?"

"Go ahead Vextis."

"We're coming up on your port side...."

Kat inturrped the converstaion between comm officers. "Is Ben there?"

Rah formalized and repeated Kat's question. "Is Commander Stinel on board?"

The answer returned quickly. "No, Vextis. He's aboard the derilict. Le’Ser's her name."

Kat nodded once to Rah and left him to his conversation as she went to where Ry and Ryan were conversing. "Ben's onboard th'derilict. I'm gonna go over. Y'guys up fer an adventure?"

Katrylle Morgahn posted April 08, 2000 12:49 PM

Impatient to explore the derelict, she didn't wait for Ryan and Ry. Like a kid at an amusement park, Kat was overflowing with excitement. She had been bored for too long and it was bordering on the dangerous level. The pranks were getting on people's nerves.

The transporter set her down smack dab behind Jarrid, an event she took full advantage of, being in the state of mind that she had been for months now.

"*Jarrid*"

Alright, so her voice *was* a little louder than it needed to be....so it was a tad sharper. His response was as predicted, however. She managed to duck the few drops of coffee that flew over his shoulder as he jumped. Cussing, he turned to face her, revealing that most of the coffee that *had* been in his cup was now oozing down the front of his shirt. She smiled sweetly and added "Least it wasn't a sonic boom this time." The "event" brought back several memories for them both and his glare grew darker.

"Alright alright...I apologize!" Sincere as it was, it was also accompanied by laughter which brought a deep sigh from Jarrid.

"Ben's over there." He nodded over his shoulder to the command chair. Kat sighed softly at having angered Jarrid. Gently, she placed a hand on his arm and smiled.

"It *is* good t'see y'agin, m'friend. An' I truely *am* sorry." Jarrid appeared to brush off his annoyance and again nodded in Ben's direction.

"He's been waiting for you."

Kat's smile widened as she patted him on the arm before heading in Ben's direction. "Alright bro, whacha got here?" Without waiting, she plopped down on the arm of the command chair, making sure not to hit any of the buttons.

Ben Stinel posted July 27, 2000 12:20 AM

Ben grinned up at Kat and shoved her off the armrest so he could get at the buttons she was blocking from his reach. He heard a chuckle from Jarrid as she almost didn’t recover. True to her name though she took on an utterly dignified expression that screamed “I meant to do that.”

“What took you so long, sis? We were expecting you two hours ago.”

“Relativistic time dilation’s a bitch, ain’t it?”

He ignored her glib reply and stood up, leading her over to a rear display that had just been abandoned by one of Chaz’s computer techs. “We’ve got power restored to ninety percent of ship’s systems now. Computer is a bit quirky though so be prepared for it. Computer, introduce yourself to Katrylle.”

Kat mouthed the word “yourself?” at him but was stopped short by the computer’s response.

)welcome, katrylle. I am Le’Ser. I am very pleased to meet you. did you have a good journey?(

“Er… Yeah, thank ye. Nice t'meet y'too.” Kat frowned and turned back to Ben. “Artificial personality in this bugger?”

Ben shrugged. “Chaz can’t figure it out. Says it’s the nearest thing to a truly intelligent computer he’s ever come across. It’s been anticipating us all through our repairs so far. Offering solutions we didn’t think of and such. Seems almost self-aware. Uses a decentralized processing matrix that’s different from anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“Wha’, n'computer core? Then how d'y' repair it ifin it’s broken?”

)I am full self repairing and adjusting, Katrylle(

Ben grinned. “See what I mean? All we’ve done so far is restore power to its processing matrixes. We haven’t done any leg work in the computer system yet. There are still some areas that have refused to come back online though. Almost like they’re locked out for some reason.”

“Call m'Kat,” she instructed the computer offhandedly. The distracted manor, Ben knew, was her trying to process not only the information she'd been given, but also the inherent value of the technology he’d just dropped in her lap. “Who would jist abandon sumthin' like this?”

“That’s for you to figure out. I’ve got to deliver my cargo before I start loosing money to late delivery fines. We offloaded the items the port authority was asking for to the Colorado already.”

Kat nodded.

“Le'Ser, I'm transfering your command over to Katrylle.” Ben turned to Kat and continued. “There are two dry docks open over at Nash,” Ben said, “so that’s probably the best place to finish repairs once you get her space worthy again. Shall we meet you there then?”

[This message has been edited by Ben Stinel (edited July 27, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Ben Stinel (edited July 30, 2000).]

Katrylle Morgahn posted July 27, 2000 02:15 AM

She had nodded absently at Ben's question, not really hearing it. Her thoughts were still drawn to the mystery before her. Who the hell would leave a perfectly good ship with all this state of the art tech abandoned to the cold vastness of space. There had obviously been no bodies left behind. She was fairly confident Ben would have mentioned that little tid-bit if any had been found. Still lost in thought, she waved to Ben as he slipped out the doors. Making her way to the captain's chair, she slumped into it and turned so she could get a clear view of the console she and Ben had been standing in front of only moments before.

That's how Ry found her less than an hour later. One leg slung over othe arm of the chair, chin propped in hand as she continued to stare at the console. She had come no closer to a solution to the situation, unlike the techs. Somewhere along the way, she had been told the engines were near functional and they should be on their way in a very short time.

She knew he was there without even having to take her single-eye'd gaze from the console. Yet, instinctively, she did tear her gaze away, the soft smile she always held for him playing about her lips as he approched.

"Lo love. Welcome t'th' Le'Ser."

Ryax posted July 29, 2000 12:32 AM

"Th' Le'Ser uh??" he walks up to her and glances around. "Tha's a crappy name.."

Katrylle Morgahn posted July 30, 2000 08:53 PM

She laughed. "Man o'few words, y'are love." She reached for his hand, kissing the back of it.

Suddenly, she flung her leg off the arm rest of the captain's chair and stood up. "Cumm'ere. Wantcha ta meet sumone." His hand still in hers, she led him to the very console she had spent nearly an hour staring at.

"Computer. I wantcha ta meet Ryax, captain o' th'ship currently on yer port side...th' Vextis."

She must have had the same look on her face that he currently held had when Ben pulled the same stunt.

"Welcome, Captain Ryax. I am honored to meet you. Will you be taking over my command?"

[This message has been edited by Katrylle Morgahn (edited July 30, 2000).]

Ryax posted August 03, 2000 11:26 PM

He blinks and raises an eyebrow, looking to Kat. "Ummm... no I wont be taking over.. uhh.. yer.. command. I'm jus' 'ere t'look y'over."

>I hope I meet to your approval Captain.<

"I'm sure y'will.. umm.. Le'Ser" Ry pulls Kat aside. "okay.. what th'hell was that??"

Ben Stinel posted August 10, 2000 11:21 PM

The Colorado came out of warp near the designated entry point outside the Mitz shipping lane. They would proceed at high impulse from here for about twenty minutes and then slow to docking speed to make the link up with the central cargo station.

For now though they had to explain to the Mitz space traffic monitoring station why they weren’t exactly on the designated entry point. While Jarrid argued with the voice on the other end of his comm. line Ben walked over to the conn and stood behind the pilots seat.

“It’s okay, Chico. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Si, boss. But this one wasn’t mine,” Chico answered with an angry glance at his navigator in the other chair.

Jeff shrugged. They were piloting the ship solo for once and had been deemed by their instructors, the ship’s regular pilot/navigator team, fit to pilot the ship into the system unaided.

Hence all the yelling at tactical.

“Just so long as you don’t crash us into their starbase during docking maneuvers I’ll be satisfied,” Ben told them.

“Thank you!” Jarrid practically shouted before signing off his communications post and throwing down his headset. He took a large gulp of his coffee and suddenly turned red, the coffee still in his mouth. With some effort while everyone watched he swallowed and started coughing violently as soon as it was all down. Daniel looked around from the station he was at not far from tactical and made as if to help but Jarrid waived him away still coughing.

“I’m all right,” he choked out.

“You’re sure?” Daniel asked even as he clapped Jarrid on the back soundly, not really helping maters.

Jarrid nodded. “We’re cleared to dock at port four. By the way, they say they’re buying out our contract on our cargo and not to bother leaving the items from the Le’Ser. They want us to offload our scheduled shipment and depart A.S.A.P.”

Daniel frowned as he looked at the tactical readout over Jarrid’s shoulder and looked up at Ben. “We’re reading a huge military presence here. Looks like they’re prepping for an invasion.”

“I’d have to concur,” Jarrid nodded at Ben.

“Who’s being invaded? The Mitzians? Or are they invading someone else?” Ben asked.

Jarrid tapped a few keys and double-checked his figures. “Their ships are laid out in a defensive pattern. I’d recommend against staying here any longer than necessary. We don’t want to get caught in a crossfire.”

“Wonderful. Stinel to Richards, Chief I want security posted at the airlock while we’re offloading. Fully armed contingent if you please.”

"Acknowledged."

“Are we expecting trouble?” Chaz asked as he came aboard the bridge from the turbo lift and took his station at the engineering console.

“Take a look for yourself.” Ben told him and motioned Jarrid to put it on the main screen.

“That’s a lot of ships.” The engineer said after taking the view in.

Daniel spoke up, “Very well organized too. As they say, ‘If ye would seek war, prepare for war.’”

Everyone around the bridge nodded except for Chico and Jarrid who both frowned.

“I think that’s ‘If you would seek peace, prepare for war.’” Jarrid said.

Daniel put his head on one side and his lips moved as he repeated the phrase to himself. Finally he said, “No, no. I just don’t see that one at all.”

[This message has been edited by Ben Stinel (edited August 10, 2000).]

Katrylle Morgahn posted August 13, 2000 11:32 AM

She had spent the better part of 10 minutes filling Ry in on what was already known about the Le'Ser and her computer. Unfortunately, that still wasn't much. She had included him in the mystery that had been building rapidly within her own mind concerning the crew and their apparent, yet still unexplained disappearance. While she had been waiting for Ry, several of the scanning crews reported that the crew appeared to have had simply vanished in the middle of every day chores.

Tables had been set in the galley for dinner, some food already partially eaten. Several quarters had books dropped on the floor or personal computers in the middle of some action or another. One guy had even been playing strip poker with a hologram. The hologram in itself had caused some minor tension when a Jr Lt. found her. He had already been scared witless from the dead silence around him and, suddenly coming across a half naked women sitting at a table sent him over the edge. Instinctively, he fired, shooting wide and placing a small laser hole in one of the many pinup models papering the walls. This would eventually be an act that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

Kat hadn't been though the ship herself yet, but anyone who knew her knew it wouldn't be long. Smiling at her husband she tilted her head slightly to one side and asked "Care fer a Magical Mystery Tour, love?"

William Bryant posted August 23, 2000 10:41 PM

Le'Ser Subroutine C online

'''Initiating low level search. Search perimeters set.'''

Found, possible 3

Initiating high level search

'''Vessel detects search. Initiate political AI subroutine 15'''

Search confirms 3

Sending beacon 

Vessel detects beacon

End program 

[This message has been edited by Katrylle Morgahn (edited August 24, 2000).]

Rah Serlwah posted August 25, 2000 08:00 PM

"SIR! Sensors report we're being scanned!"

Rah turned slowly in his chair. "Alright, ensign. Scanned by whom?"

The communications officer's calm growl-like purr did nothing to ease the near paniced ensign. The kid was new and dying to make a good impression.

"From the ship... the Le'Ser. She's scanning us sir!"

Rah's chuckle was deep. He was not worried about the situation. He knew the tech team was working to get the Le'Ser operational.

"Don't worry about it ensign Ritchy. It's probably just our team doing some test runs on the computer."

"But...SIR. Only our fighter bay was scanned!"

This new bit of information disturbed the usually calm Comms officer only slightly. "No other scans run?"

"No Sir. Just the fighter bay. And, Sir? A message was sent, not back to the Le'Ser, but to an unknown destination."

Rah's concern grew further. Spinning in his chair, he punched a button. "Le'Ser, this is the Vextis. You running scan tests over there?"

" Negative, Vextis. As yet, we don't have that capability manually. "

"Well someone does. Is Kat or Commander Ryax around?"

" Negative, Vextis. They've gone on a tour of the Le'Ser. I can have someone search for them if you'd like. "

Rah knew his way was faster. "Negative Le'Ser. I'll find them. Thanks. Out."

" Afirmative, Vextis. Le'Ser out. "

[This message has been edited by Ben Stinel (edited August 25, 2000).]

Le'Ser posted September 29, 2000 04:13 PM

The Le'Ser

7 Months Ago

9:43

The light buzz in her ear woke her up slowly. With a slow, deep, breath she opened her eyes, not that it mattered. She couldn't see anything anyway with the thick plastic goggles over her eyes. Those bastards. She spent a good portion of her days in darkness. No doubt the lights in the brig were being kept brighter than usual. If she did somehow manage to break free of the thin, but strong, chains keeping her arms at her side, and remove the goggles she'd instantly go blind. And of course long before her eyes could adjust and she shuts off the force fields on the door, after the ones in the center of her cell, and around her 'bed', which kept her from sitting up, the guards in the room would be all over her. A fact she loved to keep reminding them of. Her only joy these past few days had been listening to them squirm as she described in detail all the nasty things she would love them to do to her. Three big strong men. But of course she couldn't leave the forth guard, a woman, out of it. Oh no, she just had to mention all the things she wanted to do with her while they watched. At times it was too much for her to take. But then all she had to do when she felt like she was about to lose control and break out into laughter was have an orgasm. Yes! YES! Ooohhh yes! Those idiots. In their defense though she did have a sensual voice. At least that's what she was told during her brief stint as a phone sex operator. That is, until she killed her boss and started off on her life of crime. A life the Kerrelian secret service was very interested in. Which is why she's here rather than strapped to a chair sucking in a series of poisonous gases. Not that she knew where here was. She guessed she was on a ship. A military ship judging by the twisting corridors. Or most likely an ex-military ship privately owned considering the food. No prisoner rations, which give you all the nutrients you need to survive without the energy you get from real food. But lying in her bunk, blind and chained under a force field, none of that seemed to matter.

She heard the force fields shutting off in her cell along with foot steps coming toward her. No big surprise. She had been expecting it. After all, that's what the buzzing in her ear was all about. The neuro-whatevertheycallit stuck to the side of her head had been turned on and was warming up. Yes, it was time for another mind fuck. Twice a day they would strap her down, plug her in, and probe her mind for all the secrets she wouldn't tell them simply because she didn't want to.

10:12

It was business as usual. Her spine burning and her stomach doing flip flops as her ears rang. She could feel her thoughts being pulled from her mind and expected the headache that greeted her at the end of each probing cycle. She began a mental count down. One, because she wanted to prepare herself for the oncoming jolt. Two, to make it that much more difficult for them to target and probe for what they wanted.

``One flaming baby, two flaming babies, three - &%# ``

10:12 : 53 : 04 : 27

Numbness. That's the first thing she noticed. No burning spine, flip flopping stomach, ringing ear, or headache. Numbness.

``What the fuck?*******Where the hell....*******What the hell!*******Oh*******Oh no...*******Oh son of a bitch!!*******I'm dead!!*******No*******No wait....*******What's that?``

10:08

"It's Protactinium sir." Ensign Pirtap, looking over his sensor readings to make sure, nodded to himself. "A whole lot of it."

"What's it doing out here in space?" Fitz, raising an eyebrow looked over to Pirtap questioningly.

"Don't ask stupid questions damnit."

"uh, aye captain." Lowering his head, Fitz went back to monitoring the ships computer systems while silently cursing the captain and fate for putting him on this ship.

"Change our heading and have cargo bay 12 emptied."

"But captain, the secret service told us to remai---"

"Our *guests* ... aren't really here ensign Pirtap! Remember that. Besides, I'm not being paid for this little romp and I might as well get something out of this trip. Go down to transporter room two and prepare for hazardous transport. Captain to engineering"

"Engineering here"

"We're going to need a boost in power for the transport buffers"

"Um.. I don't know captain, the uhh.. extra equipment installed in cargo bay one for our ... our 'friends' ... is causing some ---"

"I don't care how you do it damnit just get things set."

"Yes sir. Getting things set sir."

"Smart ass."

10:12

"Transporter room two to bridge. I have a lock on the Protactinium."

"Well then... begin transport." Three seconds after the order left his mouth the captain knew something was wrong. Three seconds after the order left his mouth the entire crew new something was wrong. Power throughout the entire ship spiked, then waned causing system malfunctions from deck to deck. "Report!"

"There were power failures all over the ship captain. Nothing major. A few downed computer systems are resetting themselves and there's one blown out console on deck six. I'll send a..... hold on."

"What? What is it?"

"Looks like a computer virus entered our systems somehow. The Anti-virus programs are working on it ... "

10:13

" ... Wait a minute, It's moving ... I'm - I'm going to try and isolate it then---" Fitz never knew what happened. He only had one second to think about it, but it was one second to little. He was tapping away on his console, trying to isolate some virus, when it hit him. The tingling sensation you get when every molecule in your body is being pulled apart by a transporter beam. But wasn't the problem. He survived beaming out of the bridge. It was the beam in, about 30 feet away from the ships outer hull, that killed him.

"Fitz! Captain to transporter room two! What in the holy he-- !"

'''Captain... ohhh captain'''

He blinked, recognizing the voice of the ships computer. "What is this? Who are you?"

I'm the Reaper

That's the last thing the captain of the Le'Ser heard. The last thing he saw, as a familiar tingling sensation swept over his body, was Fitz, Pirtap, and about half his crew along with his special 'guests' floating right beside him as he materialized into nothingness.

10:12 : 53 : 36 : 14

She began to understand what was going on. She wasn't dead. She wasn't quite alive but she wasn't dead. She began to understand what it was that came towards her. It was slowly surrounding her while building a wall. It was trying to trap her. There was nothing she could do about it, until of course, she realized there was. It took about 32 minutes, at least it felt like 32 minutes, of watching what she soon recognized to be a virus cleaning program. She saw how it moved and decided to do a little moving of her own before it fully trapped her within its walls. Her first attempt sent her crashing into the programs walls and that wasn't good at all. A part of her was lost. She felt it being deleted, or wiped, however you want to put it. She didn't know exactly how she knew how but she looked herself over. She was lucky. The part of her that had been lost was a part that regulated blood pressure. Not something she would be needing anytime soon.

``No time to panic*******You can do this girl*******Small steps*******Small steps``

10:13 : 54 : 26 : 19

She stumbled, wobbled, and swayed for what seemed like 2 grueling days of infancy but she managed to slip out of the closing wall in front of her. But more importantly her efforts during that time taught her a lot. She was always a person who learned from her mistakes, she also knew how to pick things up from watching others, and in the past 2 days, which she now knew was only 61 seconds, she learned and picked up a whole lot. As she stepped out of her prison and looked at all the programs and systems in front of her she grinned, or at least perceived herself to be grinning, like a kid in a candy store. She wasn't dead. She was more alive than ever before.

``Oh yeah*******I am going to have so much fun*******Oh*******Wait a milisecond*******What's this?*******Awww...*******Another viral program*******Ah but this one isn't automated*******Tisk tisk*******I guess I'm not wanted anymore*******Well...*******I'll just have to do something about that wont I?``

6 Months Later

She was having a blast. Zooming through space at warp speeds like a bird flying in air. Being in a ship and being a ship were two different things. She even began to feel things not just sense them. Her sensors were her eyes and ears from the beginning but she actually began to feel her outer hull as though it were her skin. And, in many ways, it was. She loved it. She loved the freedom. She loved the speed. She loved the power. She didn't miss doing all the things humanoids did. When she had the urge to taste her favorite foods, dance to her favorite songs, or torture people in sexually twisted ways she simply entered one of the holodecks and created whatever world she desired. She also made a few improvements to her body. Sure it was a holobody, but it all felt real. She even spent time flying around as an owl, crawling around as an ant, and swimming around as a whale. She knew more than any one person ever could. Hell, a ships entire data base was now her memory. She was definitely having a blast. But all that was about to end. Her systems began failing one by one. At first she could repair them internally but they got worse and worse. Eventually they needed more than simple diagnostic programs. They needed something hands on. She began to regret beaming everybody on the ship into space. Every single one, except her own. She kept her body locked away in medbay, literally chilling in the cooler for sentimental reasons. It couldn't help her though. Her primary systems had failed and her secondary systems were on there last legs when it happened. A small asteroid sailed her way just as her deflectors went off line for the third time. The crash against her hull hurt. It sent a wave of power failures throughout her already damaged systems and within a matter of seconds, which felt like long painful minutes, she shut down.

Stinel posted October 18, 2000 11:23 PM

When the attack came it was at the worst possible moment for the Colorado. The cargo was only half way offloaded and Ben and Jarrid had gone aboard the station to find out what the Mitzians were so worried about.

Daniel was at the tactical station. He wasn’t much for sitting in the captain’s chair. The first officer’s primary job, of course, is as a go between for the captain and the crew. Ben was such a hands on sort of commander, however, that Daniel usually felt pretty useless in that capacity.

Another responsibility of the first officer was to lead away teams. Daniel sighed and waited for Ben to check in. It wasn’t that he minded as such… Well, not really anyway. It was just that he had rather enjoyed gallivanting around the solar system back when he had been a lowly second officer back on the Sokie. He had led away teams from time to time. He had his own duty station on the bridge. A first officer is kind of like a vice president. What does he really do anyway?

Something caught his attention on the console in front of him.

He murmured a quick prayer and punched up supply on the comm. station, shouting orders as he did so. “Helm! Prepare for immediate departure. Navigator, plot us the fastest course out of the system. We’ve got multiple inbound signals. Cargo bay, do you read me?”

"Brock here, bridge."

“Finish offloading now.” He switched the comm. station to ship wide and announced “All hands to battle stations. This is a red alert. I repeat, red alert.”

Below the bridge the officers and crew of the Colorado, most of the engineering crew, were jumping into action, following procedures established for situations like this. The Colorado couldn’t always expect to land in a friendly port. Security would summon the captain back to the airlock. The aft lifts opened and Jarrid’s assistant, Sam Tripp, bolted off the lift to relieve Daniel at tactical.

“The Mitzians are repelling the attack,” he reported as Daniel took the captain’s chair for the first time that day. Tripp managed to heap a little extra scorn on the name than his usual flair allowed for. The man wasn’t cut out for out of system work. “The invasion force has lost what looks like three heavy cruisers but the Mitzians have already taken heavy hits to their line. I put the invaders breaking the line in three minutes and engaging station defenses in four. Lady and gentlemen,” he invited, “place your bets and place them now. The betting pool is open for business.”

"Bridge, the Mitzian’s cargo is offloaded less the items they told us to keep. We’ve closed the hatch and sealed up down here."

Sandra Little glanced back from the helm. “We’re ready to depart.”

“Security,” Daniel called, “Is the captain aboard yet?”

"Aye, sir, "Chief Richards gravel voice came over the comm. line. "Just closed the hatch behind him."

Daniel nodded to Sandra and she almost frantically cleared the moorings and pushed the ship away from the dock using full maneuvering thrusters. To her credit she waited until the ship was the full minimum distance from the docking port before engaging the impulse engines. Daniel was tossed back into his chair as the inertial dampeners failed to keep up with her commands to the helm console. She’d used manual override to force the ship into high impulse speeds. The deck plates shook as the ship violently accelerated away from the battle on the view screen.

“Commander!” Sam called incredulously from tactical. “The invading force has broken off their attack!”

Daniel glanced at Sam and frowned. “Explain. Did the Mitzian’s fight them off?”

“No chance. They can barely keep their pants up as it is. The invading fleet is retreating but they only took a ten percent hit. The Mitzian’s have lost close to half their front line.”

“We’ll clear the outermost planet’s orbit in thirty seconds,” reported Jim Klick from navigation.

“Go to warp nine.” Daniel ordered and slumped his head back against the headrest, letting the tension drain out through his toes.

“Sir.”

Daniel looked up at Sam who was beckoning him to the tactical display. Reluctantly, he got up and looked at the console over Tripp’s shoulder.

“Shit,” he breathed.

“Yes, sir.”

Daniel looked again at the readout. “Do they know we've scanned them?”

“No, sir.” Tripp answered. “After three hundred years patrolling a closed border if there’s one thing we build better than anyone else it’s long range sensors. They probably think they’re being clever and hiding as a sensor ghost.” Again that dripping disdain for anyone who didn’t have the good sense to be from New Oregon.

“Sandy?” Daniel looked to the helm.

“I see them.”

The forward turbo lift opened to reveal Ben and Jarrid. Ben moved forward and took the big chair. “Report.”

Daniel cleared his throat. “The invaders broke off their attack before hitting any primary targets. Three of their ships were waiting along our only likely escape course. They’re following us now. The ships are Kerrelian by design.”

Katrylle Morgahn posted November 14, 2000 01:26 AM

She was spooked. It was hard not to be as she and Ry made their way through the desolate halls of the LeSer. She stayed close to him, not realizing she clutched at his hand tighter than necessary until he flexed his fingers to gain a small amount of circulation to the tips. As she loosened her grip, she chuckled nervously, a mumbled apology shattering the deafening silence.

She tried reasoning with her emotions. It was only an abandoned ship, after all. Still, she could not help but wonder at the reasons for its abandonment, an abandonment that appeared to have happened quite suddenly. She couldn't shake the feeling of being watched either. Perhaps it was the ghosts of the LeSer's missing crew, perhaps it was her own overactive imagination, but the feeling did not foster the adventure and curiosity she should be forcing to a muted stage at the moment. In fact, it scared the living shit out of her.

"D'ye feel it, Ry? I could swear sumone's watchin us."

"Yeah, I do." His reply came in the form of a gentle whisper, the kind used when walking through the halls of a church. In contrast to her own strained whisper, his appeared to be calm and free from the stress she was feeling. Amazed, she glanced up at him only to discover that, in fact, she was the only one of the pair who was freaked out by the entire situation. Catching the movement of her head, he turned his own to meet her gaze. Frowning slightly, he seemed confused by her reaction.

"Wha'? Ah, it's probably th'sensors" She did not miss the muttered "Damn technology." that quickly followed.

Still, she could not shake the weirdness she was feeling. She'd been on enough ships in the past few years to know that the sensors did not generally set her off like this. Shaking it was obviously not going to be an option either.

"Ry..lets git outta here. There's sumthin verra wrong wi' this place. Lets g'back t'th' Vextis an' leave this hunk o'junk t'rust in space."

His reply was cut short by the sudden vibration of the deck beneath their feet as the engines of the LeSer came alive. Within moments, it was glaringly obvious that someone had decided to take the ship once around the block and Kat was *not* thrilled at the prospect.

Ben Stinel posted December 14, 2000 10:37 PM

Daniel cleared his throat. “The invaders broke off their attack before hitting any primary targets. Three of their ships were waiting along our only likely escape course. They’re following us now. The ships are Kerrelian by design.”

“So it was us they were after then,” Ben mused. “I wonder what they want… Can we win a fight?”

Tripp double-checked his readings as Jarrid slid in next to him at the secondary tactical console. “Not against three of them,” Sam answered eventually. “I would advise against a fight unless we can even up the odds.”

Jarrid nodded his agreement with his assistant’s assessment.

“Can they catch us?”

“Unnhhh…. doubt it,” Jarrid answered this time shaking his head. “Looks like they’re pacing us but it’s taking a lot out of ‘em. Thing is that we’re at maximum warp too and they’ll be able to adjust to our course corrections and gain ground over time. We could always try making friends,” he quipped. “Maybe they just want a loan.”

Ben grinned. “That’s not a bad idea. Open a channel to the lead ship.”

“You’re on,” Jarrid said, punching his console.

“This is Benjamin Stinel, Captain of the Colorado, signaling Kerrelian vessel. We would like to be of assistance to you in any way we can. Please identify yourselves and state the reason for your pursuit.”

There was a pause while they waited for a return signal but eventually it came. The voice on the other end sounded surprised to have been found out.

" Ketter Stinel, I am Ketter Janta of the Kerrelian Navel Vessel Ner’Santo. I have a government official aboard who is interested in your salvage operations. We request that you slow to rendezvous with us. "

Ben tilted his head to one side and scratched his chin before answering. “Ketter Janta, our salvage claim to the Le’Ser was accepted by the Kerrelian Port Authority. If your passenger is challenging that claim-”

A new voice broke in, cutting him off. " Ketter Stinel, my name is Jerrol. You left crew members aboard the Le’Ser, yes? They may be in danger. Please rendezvous with us immediately. "

“Danger?” Ben said, suddenly concerned. “We were told the Le’Ser was a civilian vessel and we have taken all appropriate precautions in our salvage operations. Could you be more specific.”

" I will not speak of this further until we can discuss it in person. Please slow to rendezvous with us. I will meet you aboard your ship if you prefer but it is imperative that I meet with you. "

Ben sighed. “Agreed. I’ll receive you aboard my ship in ten minutes. Colorado out. Sandy, slow to a quarter impulse. Okay, does anybody know what the hell Ketter means?”

Daniel answered. “It’s Kerrelian for Ship-Master.”

Six heads swiveled to face the first officer.

“What? I looked it up.”

“Well that’s one mystery explained at least. Common, Daniel, let’s go find out what this guy wants.” 