Recent history of Quadrant: Adamant 4

[dumbluck]

Admiral Daxin Cavix fidgeted in his seat. What a novel concept. His seat. He had never "sat" before Last week. No one had, for that matter. Now that's all he ever did. Sit. But he had to be able to move about; he would not allow himself to be a cripple, to be destitute. He refused to admit even to himself that without his hoversled, that's exactly what he was.

What a monstrosity! A metal contraption, painted red, custom designed and constructed to allow him to jet around "just as if nothing had happened!" Bah! He was still struggling to master these bLasted controls! There were already several scuffs and scratches in that forsaken red paint. He had no doubt that there would be several more before he became proficient in it's use.

"How are you getting on with the hoversled, sir?"

Commodore Xavan had come "just to see how you were doing", but he knew the real purpose of her visit: he was being evaluated. High Command had to determine whether he could still perform his duties as Expeditionary Force Commander, and Xavan was his judge. The logical choice, of coarse; she was the highest ranking of his ministers. That didn't make being evaluated by a junior any more pleasant, of coarse. "Well", he silently growled, "let's see just how well my evaluation is going."

As he did a quick and nearly perfect figure eight around the room, he lied, "Quite well, actually. I couldn't wait to get my arm cast off so that I could start working with it. This machine is a beauty to control. I could almost do it in my sleep." He was lucky, twice during his little exhibition he nearly lost control and careened into a wall. But Xavan seemed quite impressed.

"I didn't think that you would be getting around so well, so soon. Congratulations, sir. And how is your side doing?"

"It is still rather tender; I still have to take the painkillers every once in a while. Doctor Haxen says that 3 of my ribs are still fractured, but that all are healing nicely." He flashes her a conspiratory grin. "He's also quite pleased with himself regarding how little the disfigurements from the neotissue are manifesting. He says that within 3 months they won't even be noticable."

A moment of awkward silence follows, as Xavan seems unsure of how to end the conversation. Cavix realizes that his chance has come. "You know, the doctor's don't let me get much news in here. They seem to think that the universe has stopped turning, and won't start up again until they say so. How's everything going out there?"

Xavan's discomfort becomes even more evident on her face; which says a lot, considering that she is his Political Minister. He knows why, of coarse. Since he is on a Medical Relief of Duty, he technically isn't the EFC right now. Therefore, since most of the strategic info is "need to know", and he doesn't currently need to know... He has put her in a moral quandary. That was his intention, of coarse. How much information she is willing to divulge is a good indication of how likely she is to report that he is capable of continuing in his command role to High Command.

"Honestly, sir, I really shouldn't tell you anything. As you well know, our Strategic Readiness Status is classified..."

"Oh, I know that." He gives her an understanding smile, trying to set her doubts asside. "I'm not asking for specifics, of coarse, just a feel of the situation," he countered. "Come on, Xavan," he silently pleaded, "trust me".

"Well..." Xavan looked at him, torn between loyalty to her Commander and her orders. For a brief moment she wavered in indecision, her hover becoming erratic as she tottered between two opposing forces in her life. It wasn't the first time that Cavix had "bent the rules", so to speak. She considered it a bad precedent to set, but... Suddenly she came to a decision.

"We're doing very well. Our orbital construction platform network is fully operational, and our Scout ships have begun reconnaissance in the surrounding systems. Preliminary reports are in line with the initial Intel reports on the quadrant. Overall, we are on schedule."

Cavix smiled warmly, putting on his most friendly air. "Thanks. It's good to know that everything is in your capable hands." He found out what he wanted to know. He knew she would send a favorable report about his condition. High Command would likely follow her recommendation; sending a new Command Level unit to this distant quadrant would be difficult, and inefficient. And it would be a waste. He knew he could still fulfill his duties. It was his sole reason for existence. If he weren't in command, what else would he do?

[Unknown_Enemy]

I like these story.

Good work.

In fact I just registered to congratulate dumbluck about them....

[dumbluck]

Thanks. At least I know that a few people actually like my stories...

ummm... what does your signature mean????

[capnq]

"In his house in R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." It's a quote from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu".

The second line is "Hail! Hail! Chthulhu dreams!", although to be picky, it's usually spelled "Ia!" (Or even "Ïa!", if you want to be really picky.

[LokiOne]

To dumbluck and the other writers, keep it up! I keep a running record month-by-month in my own games to refer back to at later times always thinking I'll go in and expand it into a story but rarely have the time. Congrats!

I imagine it is the most challenging (and most satisfying) if you take the point of view of an alien race in one of these games. To do the human point of view is easier but to invent an alien culture and create a story from it must be quite a challenge.

[tesco samoa]

Galactic Broadcast Send out on Light Wave Bandwidth Level 7

To all members of the Antarctica Collective.

Lord Michael is dead. Long live Lord Tesco.

As of 2401.3 all trade and commerance with non-Antarctians may commence again.
If you feel that you are entitled to a fair market claim for loss of income contact the nearest Antarctian collective work centre for Forms 10453234.123-a, 10453234.125-c.

You may be entitled to a lump sum settlement.

The following events occurred during the Last 90 days of …..

….. will prevail.

This broad cast will repeat….. Message Alpha Alpha 7….

Date: 2401.2 ….

[TerranC]

It has been a full cycle since Fallon heard the proposition: now he is commanding the ship Aaóuane 1, and he is now one of the decorated officers of Federation Space Agency.

The Last ten months have been eventful.

After Ms. Cealto left, Fallon thought hard and hard. He was all for the abandonment of all space travel technology, but he could not get that phrase out of his mind.

After getting a long sleep, he took a T-cab and rode down to the FIS building.

The building was an enormous structure, which seemed to have rivalled the Gillana Shipyards Control center, Federation Spaceport, and the Gillana resupply depot, which were all in orbit above his planet; all facilities were controlled by planetbound facilities, which were immense like the FIS building.

He met an officer at the main foyer, and was asked to follow him.

He followed him into a corridor, which was filled with art and photos all in digital hifi frames. One photo that was of particular interest was the controversial photo of the Tainor building, a millenium structure, after it was reduced to rubble.

The officer lead him into a conference hall, and told him to take a seat. The officer left a short while after talking to his own communicator.

The conference hall was extremely large. Judging by his vision, it seemed to be the equivalent of a large lecture hall multiplied two times, and them some.

There were many desks, all with a computer terminal. It wasn't strange; computer terminals were commonplace in Gillana, with many toddlers are now learning how to work computers after they learn how to speak, and develop more refined motor skills. What was strange whoever, was that a computer terminal had been left on, with windows open. Computer terminals are turned off immedeatly turned off automatically when lectures or conferences are done; in order to save energy.

He sat down, and accessed the terminal.

An article was left on about the possiblity of space travel, dated 20 years ago. Mediocre journalism at best, it was very repetitive about the use of nuclear engines to propel ships into incredible speeds; about 10 parsecs per month.

Fallon, even though with his skepticism about Ion engines, was horrified at the idea. Both at the Scientific inaccuracy and possiblity of an engine breach.

"Enjoying the article, Mr. Fjornika?"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, are you enjoying the article?"

A person who seemed to be a doctor, or a professor, or some proffesion affiliated with science called out to him, in a mannerly voice. He guessed at his profession for his choice of apparel.

"To be frank, no, not really."

"Why?"

"It is repetitive, it is mind-numbing, it is scientifically incorrect, and it is ridiculous that a nuclear engine could propel a ship for 10 parsecs a month."

The old man let out a laugh.

"I wrote that article, you know."

"My name is Dr. Zurike. I am the head of the Federation Space Agency research and development. You could say that I am the mad scientist trying to pollute Gillana of space."

"Sorry Doctor. I didn't..."

"Don't worry. I dismissed that myself as heresy, 10 years ago. Nuclear engines won't even lift off a probe in the world without some kind of fallout."

"That is why I invented Ion engines."

"You invented Ion engines?"

"Yes. Through a miraculous accident, I saw ionized xenons being the next fuel for space travel."

"What happened?"

"One of my colleagues decided to create Neon signs without the proper equipment."

They both laughed to heart's content.

"Pleasantries aside, Let us get down to business."

He got onto the conference hall into the podium, an started to lecture about the nature of Ionized gases and particles, Ion engines, how they work, how you take care of it, and how it uses supplies. After about an hour and a half; he got off the podium and said to Fallon:

"We're going for a ride. Follow me."

They took the train to the spaceyard control station and went inside.

Fallon had never seen anything like it.

Enormous screens filled the room, more like a hall than a room, showing the progress of the newest ship created for Federation space travel.

Majestic shots from orbit transmitted via satellite linkups and G5 technology showed Fallon the beauty of space. He was then lead into another conference hall and met Mr. Namuko; head of design.

Fallon, Dr. Zurike, and Mr. Namuko all talked about space travel for many hours. After Fallon understood the need for CSMs and safety of Ion engines, he accepted the job of captain, despite reservations.

Fallon then asked the question that has been plaguing his mind:

"When I spoke with an FIS officer, they said that Our race's survival depends on this mission. Why did she say that?"

Mr. Namuko explained the question.

"Despite what you may hear about prosperity in Gillana and how it is becoming a space age Utopia, the Federation knew that there was a problem."

"You see, Gillana's population is expanding rapidly. we are ar 4.8 billion as of right now, and there are no more room for increase in the world population."

"The colony ships that was bound for Gillana 3 and 4 were just shuttles attached with a large colony modules, so that it would give us a breathing space."

"It is a temporary solution, and more colony missions are scheduled, even though our... unreadiness."

"We are also running out of resources in Gillana. Even with massive renurturization programs, the damage done will never be repaired, and we are holding steady just barely above the 100% mark."

"We need to explore the galaxy using that ship, to look for other races for technological advancement and habitable, breathable planets."

"You and your crew, using your ship, will explore the galaxy with these, what we dubbed, Warp points, that we believe links other systems, as it seems that they are very sensetive to gravitons and open up a warp point."

"Gaping holes in space-time that we can use to travel."

"We have done simulations to determine whether if the Aaóuane will stand up to the spacetime pressure, and it seemes to be working."

"The Aaóuane series will be up and ready a month from now."

Sure as sunrise, the Aaóuane 1 was finished.

Fallon recieved angry letters from his former friends and colleagues, some of them labeling him as a traitor and accuses him of destroying Gillana, but it didn't matter to him. He knew that they were short-sighted, and didn't give much thought into them.

A space elevator shot him into space, into the shipyards and then into the vessle.

His crew was already there, and everything was finished and installed, even carpets for the bridge.

As he stepped in, he sat in the bridge, and gave the order to launch.

The ship slowly came out, and the ion engines propelled the ship out of orbit and into space.

It was a marvelous sight to see Gillana from orbit, and see everything at one glance.

The thought of being higher than the birds, higher than planes, higher than everything gave him a thrill, and a sense of importance.

He then recieved the order to go through the warp point.

It was a special feeling, to go into a massive distortion in space, feeling yourself stop almost suddenly, then reappearing again in the blink of an eye several light years away from his home system.

He then set course to explore, after giving a communique to space control, and jumped again.

5 months later, The Aaóuane 1 alrady 2 systems, made contact with two sentient races, The Zion Free Hempire and the Lerconian Collective and has established contact for the Federation and set a trade agreement with the Zion Free Hempire.

News from home has been enlightening.

A new chassis have been developed, that has much more capabilities than the Escort chassis that Aaóuane 1 is based on, which has been christened Frigate.

Miniaturization techniques have improved the price of Ion engines, making them more cheap to produce.

A project was launched in one of the research labs in Gillana in order to manipulate energy fields to create some kind of shiled for ships.

A new class of ships were made called Abercorn that is purely created for exploration.

The opposition group is now disbanded, due to some fanatics that tried to take over as leader after Fallon left.

Fallon retired to his quarters after entering and mapping the Kolos system, and retired to a bright view of the future.

TerranC - Everybody likes a happy ending.