A LONELY FORTRESS
CH.01- Insertion
The year is 2062. Humanity has truly entered its orbital...
CH.01- Insertion
The year is 2062. Humanity has truly entered its orbital...
A Lonely Fortress (Mystery Adventure Quest)
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01-Insertion
A LONELY FORTRESS
CH.01- Insertion
CH.01- Insertion
The year is 2062. Humanity has truly entered its orbital age.
Where once only a handful of brave souls had dipped their toes into the black, with timid forays to high orbit and a few cramped modules huddled close to the motherworld, there are now hundreds living, working and building.
Earth is ringed with stations and installations, permanent structures have been raised on the moon, and expeditions have reached out to touch the red sands of Mars, and survey the bounties of the asteroid belt.
The foundations have been laid upon which mankind will build it's path to the stars. It is a time of great potential, of hope for a bright and prosperous future.
It is about to change.
"...Breaking news..."
"We are sorry to interrupt this program..."
"...obviously there has been some kind of serious event..."
"...all flights to low orbit installations have been temporarily suspended. Passengers should expect significant delays. More information will be posted to public access as it becomes available..."
"..ATTENTION THIS IS STATION CONTROL: CODE BLUE. ALL HANDS REPORT TO DAMAGE CONTROL STATIONS.---
PLEASE REMAIN CALM. CIVILIANS AND NON ESSENTIAL STAFF ARE TO REMAIN IN QUARTERS.
ATTENTION THIS IS STATION CONTROL..."
"Alarme de Colisão! Completa deixou impulso lateral, agora!"
"SANTA MARIA! Olha o tamanho dessa coisa!"
"Não adianta! Prepa-""
-=TRANSMISSÃO PERDIDO=-
"Despite the loss of a significant part of our high resolution monitoring network, we have a large amount of data to analyse.
Hawking Observatory has reported several very high frequency emissions spikes simultaneous with the incident, despite being shielded by Earth's mass.
The Deep Himalaya Neutrino Detector..."
"FLASHCOM MSG: All units stand down to REDSTAT 3. JHQ believes that there is no strategic threat at this time. Strike assets are to return to holding patrols and await further instructions."
"The object is approximately one and a half kilometres in length, and has settled into an upper mid earth orbit. I would like to repeat for the benefit of our viewers that there is currently no imminent danger of impact with Earth or any manned stations.
We have ISO Public Relations Director Jessop on the line who will now outline how her organization is responding to the crisis."
"Alright guys the array is just about aligned and we should..." -Ding- "Thank you RokDokter for subscribing! Once again I'd like to welcome all the new viewers to my stream. I know this is all super exciting for us all and I'm just happy to be able to provide another viewpoint in this fantastic event.
Okay Array is aligned, and imaging is online. As we can see the object is highly irregular, and has a slight lateral spin. If we focus on this area we can clearly see some gaseous emissions, suggesting composition is...
...Huh, significant discolouration on the bottom left surface. Lets focus in on that...
Oh my god!
Is that writing?!
Oh my god!"
"Posted on 17/04/2062:
Damn. Well at least we can rule out aliens."
"Speculation surrounding the object is rampant, but the identification of the symbols, and the presence of clear structural lines had lead us to a classify it as being definitely non-natural in origin.
ISO has given us access to high definition imagery from a remote drone flypast, based upon which their analysts are now confident in determining that it is some sort of space vehicle. Albeit one on a massive scale, and given the size of the engine apertures likely capable of interstellar travel."
"...but who could have built such a monstrosity? And for what purpose? This 'Ulysses' is far too large for any nation to even contemplate. Hell, I don't think LM's new space frame could even construct one of the letters on the nameplate..."
"...attempts at communication on all bands have been met with silence, if anyone is home on that ship, they are keeping quiet."
"FROM: jplissete@IORnet.org
SUBJECT: Topo Survey Anomalies
TO: rvkumar@IORnet.org
Hey Raj, I've been completing the topographic model of sector B2-2. And I began noticing some repeating patterns.
Take a look at the attachment.
Don't those looks like weapons? What is this thing?"
"-PRIORITY ALERT-
-Separation of debris from Object Ulysses detected.
-Confirmed impact trajectory with continental North America.
-GRID REF: 35.69, -107.66
-Minimal expected risk to populated areas.
-NORAD ASAT defenses have been ordered to stand down.
-Impact in 12min 45s
/END"
"This is an Emergency Broadcast System announcement- Please remain calm. National Guard units have been deployed for your safety. All citizens are advised to remain indoors until the all clear has been sounded. If you have an urgent emergency please call 911 as normal."
"...this is Recon-2-3 we are 2 miles out from the impact site, and have visual confirmation. Whatever it is, it came down in one piece. Over"
...
"..it looks like some kind of... pod."
...
"Movement! Movement from the impact site!"
...
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!"
The year is 2062, and our bright future has become... confused.
The once clear path forward has been wiped clean in a flash light and EM radiation. What remains is a mystery.
A large object has appeared in cis-lunar space, it's arrival searing out the sensitive optics and receivers on half the scientific platforms in orbit. But even from Earth it is clear that this is no rogue asteroid.
Streaming debris and oxygen, the behemoth blunders though the delicate web of orbital platforms and stations, taking no heed of the chaos that reels in it's wake. Surface to orbit and inter-station traffic has been immediately halted, and rolling disruptions of communications across Earth given pause to every facet of our civilization.
Predictably when faced with the sudden unknown, panic reigned. The actions of a steely-nerved few prevented overreaction from snowballing into disaster. But as the hulk settles into a sedate mid earth orbit the global fear is replaced with a burning curiosity.
It is quite obvious that the object is some kind of space craft, large blocky forms dominate it's battered structure. Some features seem to be massive engines, others the wicked forms of jutting gun turrets. Prominent on the side, seemingly wrought in thick armour plate is a name.
USCS Ulysses, ACV805
Perplexed, the governments of Earth, lead in concert by the International Space Organisation, attempt to communicate with the megatonnes of metal hanging above them. They receive no reply.
For thirty four hours there is nothing. Faced with such an astounding occurrence, and with no imminent explanation, across the world government organisations and scientific departments alike rush to study the arrival, modelling and analysing all the data they could gather. Trying to make sense of the way their universe had been twisted.
And then something fell. A minor explosion on the hull of the derelict propelled a small object down to the Earth's surface. It impacted in a remote area of the central North American state of New Mexico.
Military forces quickly secured the area, and discovered not a burning and broken fragment of the vessels itself, but a discrete obelisk-like structure standing in the desert, singed but intact.
As the soldiers moved in, the structure unfurled as explosive panels blew clear, throwing clouds of dust into the surrounding area. From within this concealing screen strode an impossibly tall figure, imposing in build and seemingly armoured in dark metal.
Swift action by the officer in charge prevented rash action, but before the disturbed troops had a chance to respond to this development, the new arrival collapsed forward into the dirt.
Transported to a secure location, what could now be identified as a highly advanced suit of power armour was intensely studied. Carefully the technicians and scientists dismantled it, desperate to find to clues that would unravel the mystery that had stunned the world.
In tense meetings across the planet, powerful men and women have gathered, their discussion is focused on answering one question. What now?
So many of their plans, and hopes now seem irrelevant, or... obsolete. The Ulysses objects presents new opportunities, new mysteries, and a possibly a new future that yesterday none could even have dreamed of.
However there is a problem.
A fact kept from the populace at large, but one that would soon be revealed, no matter how hard the world's leader attempt to suppress it. The Ulysses object is in an unstable orbit, long term modelling has revealed that eventually, inevitably it will fall to Earth.
The destruction such an impact would cause is projected to be immense. It would also mean the loss of the object itself and any answers it held, and more importantly for some the technology that may be contained with it.
The spaceborne powers currently lack any vehicle capable of correcting Ulysses's orbit. The China National Space Agency, and the Joint Indo-Brazilian Space Program have already united behind the International Space Organisation to start a program to produce an orbital vehicle powerful enough push the object into a stable orbit.
There are serious doubts that such an undertaking can be readied in time. An alternate solution is to try and bombard the Ulysses with nuclear warheads to shift its orbit. Though easily accomplished in the short term, the unknown structure and composition of the titanic craft makes this uncertain to succeed, and an option to be held only as a last resort.
Discoveries rapidly gleaned from the pod that impacted the New Mexico desert, have enabled the possibility of a third option. ISO mission planners believe it might be possible to dock with Ulysses, and gain entry into it.
A team of the best astronauts and orbital engineers so inserted would have the task of finding a way of using the huge vessel's own power to stabilise it's orbit, or at the very least retrieve what artifacts they can before it's destruction.
The leaders of the world thus have an important choice. Who will lead this expedition?
Very quickly it is narrowed down to three candidates. Whomever is picked, will be tasked with taking the first steps in humanity's new path. They face unknown obstacles and challenges, and hold perhaps the fates of millions of people within their hands.
Choose wisely.
Expedition Leader Candidate Files;
[ ]Commander Verne Usoko-Mercier, International Space Organisation
M, 46, Grenoble, France
Juno I Mission Commander, ISO Long Range Exploration Division
Born to 4th generation Afro-French parents on the 24th of May 2016 in Grenoble, Verne Usoko-Mercier seemed destined for great things from an early age. He completed a doctorate in engineering at the Ecole Central Paris at age 25, and subsequently joined the then European Space Agency. Working his way up, he earned his space wings in 2044, completing astronaut training aboard the newly completed Space Station Arcadia, in time to be selected for the ESA's Selene program. As part of this endeavor Mercier helped construct and operate the ESA's semi-permanent Aurora base in Sea of Serenity. With the formation of the ISO in 2047, Mercier took part in construction of much of the modern orbital infrastructure.
A veteran of ISO's inter planetary exploration efforts, Commander Mercier is perhaps the most experienced astronaut currently in ISO service. He holds the distinction of being the only human to have visited Mars twice, having served as Systems Engineer on Aries IV, and Mission Commander for Aries VIII.
He has been selected as the commander of the Magellan Class Outer System Survey Vehicle, ISV Lewis and Clark, as part of the Juno I Manned Jupiter Expedition, and is currently stationed at the ISO Surface Crew Training Facility in Malmo, Sweden.
A meticulous and efficient leader, Commander Verne Usoko-Mercier is respected and praised by almost the entire space exploration community, and is a household name across the world.
[ ]Captain Liao Wei Xiang, Jinying Translunar Logistics
F, 39, Nantong, China
Captain of the OV Jade Rabbit
Liao Wei Xiang had a troubled childhood, she grew up in the factory slums of Nantong, associating with with gang members, and was often in trouble with authorities. However after suffering a personal tragedy when her elder sister died saving her life in 2038, Wei Xiang changed. She threw herself into studie, and was accepted into a prestigious scholarship program.
Graduating with outstanding grades from Shanghai university in 2045, Liao was a rising star that soon drew patronage from high level government and corporate sponsors.
In 2046 she was recruited by the CSNA, and put though taikonaut training. Subsequent to this she assisted in the construction of Tianlong-5 in 2049, and served on the Chinese Space Guard orbital tug Taiyang Sheng first as pilot, and then as commander.
In 2052 Liao Wei Xiang left the CSNA when she was recruited by the rapidly expanding Jinying-Vector Orbital Construction corporation. One of the more successful ventures in the space privatization market. Since then Liao has become very wealthy piloting construction tugs around Earth orbit and plying the Lunar resupply route. By 2057 she had become a shareholder in the company and was a deputy director of it's subsidiary Jinying Translunar Logisitcs, for which she captains the powerful Orbital transporter-tug OV Jade Rabbit.
Liao Wei Xiang rose to global attention in 2059 when she and the Jade Rabbit came to the rescue of the Horizon Dream space hotel, when it suffered a serious decompression incident and began to de-orbit. Through quick action and daring risk to their own craft, she and her crew managed to stabilize the ailing station, and save the fifteen surviving people on board.
Liao is a celebrated astronaut and international hero, with strong connections to both corporate interests and the Chinese government. She has a wealth of practical experience in orbital construction and salvage operations.
[ ] Major Charles 'Chuck' Wayland, United States Air Force
M, 37, Elwood, IN, USA
CO of 33rd Special Tactics Squadron, 727th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command
Hailing from a rural farming community in Indiana, Charles Wayland's family has a long history of service in the United States' military. His mother served in the Army as a tank commander, and his grandfather was a Marine. Military service was therefore always his goal.
After joining the United States Air Force in 2046 Charles Wayland became part of the Air Force Special Operations Command, serving initially in the 724th Special Operations Wing as part of a combat air control team. He participated in Operation Harlequin in 2048, directing airstrikes onto FKA positions, and later as part of the United States Assistance Force in the Philippines in 2051. It was during this assignment that he was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions during the battle of Wawa river, when he called danger close missile strikes onto his own position to prevent rebels from overrunning nearby Filipino National Army troops and an accompanying ASAF team.
After a string of covert missions still marked as top secret, Wayland transferred to the 727th Special operations Wing and underwent space combat training on Griffon Station, he joined the 33rd Special Tactics Squadron, part of the United State's new orbital counter terrorism and security force.
As a captain in 2055 he commanded the retaking of Armstrong Station Hub after it was seized by two rogue ISO personnel who were later found to be deep cover operatives of the radical group Blue Sky Green Earth. This mission was a success with the installation recaptured with minimal damage, though both of the BSGE members were killed in the process.
In the following years Wayland was promoted to the rank of major and rose to command the 33rd STS. He is a highly decorated officer, rated as a extremely loyal to the United States, and is proficient in both unarmed and armed combat in zero-g environments.
He is regarded by his peers as a highly motivated officer, and a natural leader, willing to complete a mission by whatever means necessary.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, Welcome to A Lonely Fortress!
This quest is a high stakes adventure focused on uncovering the mystery of the Ulysses. The first decision will serve as picking the main character of the story and will influence later events and options that will be available. The characters not picked may appear later on in the story.
Next we will meet the rest of the expedition team and get started on our journey.
I hope everyone has fun.
Last edited:
- Location
- Rochester, NY
[X]Commander Verne Usoko-Mercier, International Space Organisation
Cybandeath
Lord Darkness, and Representative of Mad Science
- Location
- The United States of America
[X] Major Charles 'Chuck' Wayland, United States Air Force
Dromeosaur
Feathery Raptor of snowy planes and frozen sea
- Location
- The land of Trees and Squirrels
[X]Captain Liao Wei Xiang, Jinying Translunar Logistics
I don't think we need a soldier, and she seemes the best in salvage and operations in critical conditions.
I don't think we need a soldier, and she seemes the best in salvage and operations in critical conditions.
- Location
- va
[X]Commander Verne Usoko-Mercier, International Space Organisation
[X]Captain Liao Wei Xiang, Jinying Translunar Logistics
02-Drift
[X]Captain Liao Wei Xiang, Jinying Translunar Logistics
CH.02- Drift
The tablet floats in a lazy arc across the observation window, it's screen mutely replaying a hover-cam's view of a women's soccer match. The glow casting patterns of shifting tinted light and weak shadows around the dimly lit compartment.
Several other pieces of debris and detritus drift alongside, all orbiting serenely around a central figure, weightlessly reclining on nothing, as if seated languidly upon a throne of air.
Faint strains of music leak out from under a pair of worn, heavy duty looking, headphones; the tones are raucous and heavily synthesized, but woven together by a strong classical theme.
Captain Liao Xiang Wei relaxes with a calm expression and closed eyes, letting the reflected glow of Earthlight wash over her. Immersed in the sound as she lets her body and mind drift, isolated from all wor-
A rapid series of harsh thumps hammer against the compartment hatch, shattering the reverie.
Her eyes flick open. An expression of irritation creeps onto her lips, before retreating, resigned to the inevitable. She knocks the headphones down to rest around her neck and in a smooth motion twists to grab a nearby support bar.
"Enter!" She calls out. Her voice steeped in the well used tone of command.
The hatch swings open, revealing flight officer Minh clinging to a hand hold in the companionway. Clad in an orange jumpsuit, stained and worn from the rigours of ship life, marked with the patches of the Jade Rabbit, and Jinying Translunar Logistics.
He hovers at the threshold of the observation blister, a look of uncertainty beneath his professional manner, it is unlike him. But then recent have events have been enough to erode the certainty of many people. Xiang does not begrudge him his worries.
"Sorry to interrupt ma'am. There is a priority message burst from Lighthouse. Marked your eyes only." He looks unsure for a moment, before continuing. "Waverley is down in the comms bay setting things up now."
Xiang nods, and deftly grabs the floating tablet from the air, tucking it into a pocket on her jumpsuit.
"Tell her I'm on my way." Pushing off firmly from the interior bracing, she launches herself into the companionway. Minh smoothly slides to the side to let his captain past, his hand already going to his earbud comm unit.
Captain Liao moves though her ship as if she had been born in zero-g, each polymer panel and alloy strut of the Jade Rabbit is known to her. Her movements are efficient and graceful, each economical burst of energy sends her gliding though the air like a predatory animal. She passes a couple of her crew on the journey, each swiftly making way for their captain.
It does not take long for her to reach the communications compartment at the rear of the command module. Reaching out to grab a ceiling hand hold, she swings effortlessly though the open hatch.
Communications Officer Carol Waverley looks up sharply from her terminal at the soft noise of her Captain's entrance.
"As you were Waverley." Says Xiang, motioning for the other woman to continue her task.
"Actually I'm pretty much all finished Captain." The Comm officer answers in her clipped Australian accent. "The message is on that terminal. She says pointing to another screen.
Xiang arches her eyebrow questioningly.
"What's with all the prep work for a simple burst from Lighthouse?" She asks.
It is good question. Communicating via orbiting Lighthouse network is quick and cheap, low bandwidth messaging anywhere in cis lunar space. Anything realtime however requires aligning with a dedicated transmitter, the time on which is generally pretty expensive.
"Beats me Captain, the rider had instructions to rig for real time link. Beyond that is marked for you only." Replies Waverley pushing herself out into the companionway.
"Hey, maybe they're gonna ask us to go tow that big hunk of junk somewhere." She says with a grin, thumbing in a nebulous direction over her shoulder."
Xiang laughs shallowly.
"Sure just hook us up to a few trillion gallons of propellant and give us a month, and I bet we could get it moving."
Waverley laughs as well, giving her captain a sloppy salute.
"With you all the way ma'am. Just makes sure you squeeze them for everything they've got." With that she pushes the compartment hatch closed, giving Liao Xiang Wei privacy from the rest of the ship.
Xiang straps herself into the seat, and rapidly types her personal key into the terminal, unlocking the message to her. It's contents are simple.
To: LXW823@JTL/[OV-0967]/OC
FROM: RYT1119@JVOI/[SHGO]/CEO
Subject: Urgent, OC EYES ONLY
Sorry to grab you like this Xiang, but our mutual friends have been on me like a rash since this morning.
Use this to link to open the live chat as soon as possible.
Vmgate/rplink/@Sringnar2/gh7&m04522!kmv=8582
Yao Tai
Xiang's brow furrows reading the message. Arranging an ad-hoc real time link to an orbital ship in transit was costly but not entirely unusual, but it typically meant setting a discrete time for the uplink to be initiated. Keeping a directional transmitter reserved to be directed and tracking the Jade Rabbit from when this message was sent to whenever she used the link to open the real time protocol, would be exceedingly expensive.
Expensive but not outside the means of her boss, Ryung Yao Tai, the CEO of her parent company, Jinying-Vector Orbital Industries, is a an immensely wealthy and connected man. Who of course owned several of the powerful directional arrays used for real time communication with vessels in cis-lunar space.
But even he would be unlikely to devote these kind of resources to have a friendly chat on a whim.
She opens the secure link, and watches as the terminal automatically authenticates and loads the video conferencing program.
The grinning face of Ryung Yao Tai immediately pops into view in one pane, another is filled with the visage of a stern looking woman that Xiang vaguely recognizes in the uniform of the China Orbital Guard.
A third pane is blank for a moment, before being occupied by the image of someone that she definitely does know, but has never met. ISO Director Carson Ford.
Ryung is the first to speak.
"Thank you for responding so quickly Captain Liao, as you no doubt have realized by now this is very important. And time critical." Despite the warning Yao Tai's grin remains
"Please let me introduce ISO Director Ford." The man in the appropriate pane nods in acknowledgement. "And Vice Admiral Song Yu Chen director of operations for the COG, whom I believe you have already met."
A memory of a medal ceremony in front of many cameras and a cheering crowd briefly flashes across Xiang's mind.
A tight smile forms on the admiral's lips.
"I am pleased to met you again Captain Liao." She says curtly.
"Likewise Admiral." Xiang replies with a respectful nod.
"Needless to say, what follows is revealed to you under the utmost secrecy, Captain Liao." Continues the admiral.
"Revealing anything of this conversation of consequent information packets without prior authorisation will result in the highest of penalties."
"Of course." Replied Xiang, hoping that someone get to the point of all this cloak and dagger soon.
"Well, now that we have the formalities over with, let us please get to the matter at hand." Chimed in Director Ford.
"I hope it hasn't taken you to long to guess that this is about the Ulysses object. I'm afraid to say Captain Liao that there is a a problem, and we need your help."
At these words the trepidation Xiang had felt since the beginning of this conversation coalesced into lead weight sitting at the bottom of her stomach, seemingly ignorant of the weightless conditions of the Jade Rabbit.
It only got worse.
After an explanation that seemed criminally short for the amount of crisis and danger it detailed, Xiang let out a breath that she didn't even know she had been holding.
"Okay." She says. And part of her doesn't really believe that word just came out of her mouth. "I'll do it."
Director Ford smiles with obvious relief.
"Thank you, Captain Liao. I can't stress enough how important this is. And the implications it could have for all of humanity, But it has been agreed that you are the best candidate for the mission. If you succeed the entire world will owe you a debt of gratitude." He says.
"Not to mention a considerable financial remuneration." Yao Tai pipes up, still beaming from ear to ear.
"Yes of course. Mr Ryung has negotiated a generous contract for your services Captain." The director continued.
He damn well better thinks Xiang, her mind still turning over the enormity of what she has agreed to.
"Time is of course of the essence, the Trans-Lunar Shuttle Lovell is being diverted to match vectors with the Jade Rabbit, and will transfer you to Arcadia station where we are staging the mission. In depth briefing documents on the Ulysses object and our team selection will be on board. Until then, goodbye Captain."
The Director's video pane winks out. Leaving Admiral Song, and Ryung Yao Tai still on the call.
"He is right Captain." Says the admiral, she brings her hands together on her desk, steepling her forefingers.
"This is very likely a defining moment for humanity, and the outcome of your mission could change everything. More so than simply preventing disaster. This 'Ulysses' may well hold technologies and knowledge beyond what we can imagine. Who is able to obtain it could quite possibly determine the balance of power for the next century, perhaps even beyond. You will have the first, and perhaps even the only chance to recover artefacts from the derelict.
Despite this being an ISO lead mission, it is your duty to the people and state of China to recover what you can for your country. Even the smallest item could have profound advantages locked within it."
Ryung lets out an indiscreet cough, still grinning.
"And of course the gratitude of our nation can be most... bountiful Captain." She continues. "So. Will you accomplish this task for the Chinese people?"
[] Accept. You will endeavor to covertly recover technology and information for the Chinese Government.
[] Decline. This mission is too important to all of humanity to risk with petty national interests.
CH.02- Drift
The tablet floats in a lazy arc across the observation window, it's screen mutely replaying a hover-cam's view of a women's soccer match. The glow casting patterns of shifting tinted light and weak shadows around the dimly lit compartment.
Several other pieces of debris and detritus drift alongside, all orbiting serenely around a central figure, weightlessly reclining on nothing, as if seated languidly upon a throne of air.
Faint strains of music leak out from under a pair of worn, heavy duty looking, headphones; the tones are raucous and heavily synthesized, but woven together by a strong classical theme.
Captain Liao Xiang Wei relaxes with a calm expression and closed eyes, letting the reflected glow of Earthlight wash over her. Immersed in the sound as she lets her body and mind drift, isolated from all wor-
A rapid series of harsh thumps hammer against the compartment hatch, shattering the reverie.
Her eyes flick open. An expression of irritation creeps onto her lips, before retreating, resigned to the inevitable. She knocks the headphones down to rest around her neck and in a smooth motion twists to grab a nearby support bar.
"Enter!" She calls out. Her voice steeped in the well used tone of command.
The hatch swings open, revealing flight officer Minh clinging to a hand hold in the companionway. Clad in an orange jumpsuit, stained and worn from the rigours of ship life, marked with the patches of the Jade Rabbit, and Jinying Translunar Logistics.
He hovers at the threshold of the observation blister, a look of uncertainty beneath his professional manner, it is unlike him. But then recent have events have been enough to erode the certainty of many people. Xiang does not begrudge him his worries.
"Sorry to interrupt ma'am. There is a priority message burst from Lighthouse. Marked your eyes only." He looks unsure for a moment, before continuing. "Waverley is down in the comms bay setting things up now."
Xiang nods, and deftly grabs the floating tablet from the air, tucking it into a pocket on her jumpsuit.
"Tell her I'm on my way." Pushing off firmly from the interior bracing, she launches herself into the companionway. Minh smoothly slides to the side to let his captain past, his hand already going to his earbud comm unit.
Captain Liao moves though her ship as if she had been born in zero-g, each polymer panel and alloy strut of the Jade Rabbit is known to her. Her movements are efficient and graceful, each economical burst of energy sends her gliding though the air like a predatory animal. She passes a couple of her crew on the journey, each swiftly making way for their captain.
It does not take long for her to reach the communications compartment at the rear of the command module. Reaching out to grab a ceiling hand hold, she swings effortlessly though the open hatch.
Communications Officer Carol Waverley looks up sharply from her terminal at the soft noise of her Captain's entrance.
"As you were Waverley." Says Xiang, motioning for the other woman to continue her task.
"Actually I'm pretty much all finished Captain." The Comm officer answers in her clipped Australian accent. "The message is on that terminal. She says pointing to another screen.
Xiang arches her eyebrow questioningly.
"What's with all the prep work for a simple burst from Lighthouse?" She asks.
It is good question. Communicating via orbiting Lighthouse network is quick and cheap, low bandwidth messaging anywhere in cis lunar space. Anything realtime however requires aligning with a dedicated transmitter, the time on which is generally pretty expensive.
"Beats me Captain, the rider had instructions to rig for real time link. Beyond that is marked for you only." Replies Waverley pushing herself out into the companionway.
"Hey, maybe they're gonna ask us to go tow that big hunk of junk somewhere." She says with a grin, thumbing in a nebulous direction over her shoulder."
Xiang laughs shallowly.
"Sure just hook us up to a few trillion gallons of propellant and give us a month, and I bet we could get it moving."
Waverley laughs as well, giving her captain a sloppy salute.
"With you all the way ma'am. Just makes sure you squeeze them for everything they've got." With that she pushes the compartment hatch closed, giving Liao Xiang Wei privacy from the rest of the ship.
Xiang straps herself into the seat, and rapidly types her personal key into the terminal, unlocking the message to her. It's contents are simple.
To: LXW823@JTL/[OV-0967]/OC
FROM: RYT1119@JVOI/[SHGO]/CEO
Subject: Urgent, OC EYES ONLY
Sorry to grab you like this Xiang, but our mutual friends have been on me like a rash since this morning.
Use this to link to open the live chat as soon as possible.
Vmgate/rplink/@Sringnar2/gh7&m04522!kmv=8582
Yao Tai
Xiang's brow furrows reading the message. Arranging an ad-hoc real time link to an orbital ship in transit was costly but not entirely unusual, but it typically meant setting a discrete time for the uplink to be initiated. Keeping a directional transmitter reserved to be directed and tracking the Jade Rabbit from when this message was sent to whenever she used the link to open the real time protocol, would be exceedingly expensive.
Expensive but not outside the means of her boss, Ryung Yao Tai, the CEO of her parent company, Jinying-Vector Orbital Industries, is a an immensely wealthy and connected man. Who of course owned several of the powerful directional arrays used for real time communication with vessels in cis-lunar space.
But even he would be unlikely to devote these kind of resources to have a friendly chat on a whim.
She opens the secure link, and watches as the terminal automatically authenticates and loads the video conferencing program.
The grinning face of Ryung Yao Tai immediately pops into view in one pane, another is filled with the visage of a stern looking woman that Xiang vaguely recognizes in the uniform of the China Orbital Guard.
A third pane is blank for a moment, before being occupied by the image of someone that she definitely does know, but has never met. ISO Director Carson Ford.
Ryung is the first to speak.
"Thank you for responding so quickly Captain Liao, as you no doubt have realized by now this is very important. And time critical." Despite the warning Yao Tai's grin remains
"Please let me introduce ISO Director Ford." The man in the appropriate pane nods in acknowledgement. "And Vice Admiral Song Yu Chen director of operations for the COG, whom I believe you have already met."
A memory of a medal ceremony in front of many cameras and a cheering crowd briefly flashes across Xiang's mind.
A tight smile forms on the admiral's lips.
"I am pleased to met you again Captain Liao." She says curtly.
"Likewise Admiral." Xiang replies with a respectful nod.
"Needless to say, what follows is revealed to you under the utmost secrecy, Captain Liao." Continues the admiral.
"Revealing anything of this conversation of consequent information packets without prior authorisation will result in the highest of penalties."
"Of course." Replied Xiang, hoping that someone get to the point of all this cloak and dagger soon.
"Well, now that we have the formalities over with, let us please get to the matter at hand." Chimed in Director Ford.
"I hope it hasn't taken you to long to guess that this is about the Ulysses object. I'm afraid to say Captain Liao that there is a a problem, and we need your help."
At these words the trepidation Xiang had felt since the beginning of this conversation coalesced into lead weight sitting at the bottom of her stomach, seemingly ignorant of the weightless conditions of the Jade Rabbit.
It only got worse.
After an explanation that seemed criminally short for the amount of crisis and danger it detailed, Xiang let out a breath that she didn't even know she had been holding.
"Okay." She says. And part of her doesn't really believe that word just came out of her mouth. "I'll do it."
Director Ford smiles with obvious relief.
"Thank you, Captain Liao. I can't stress enough how important this is. And the implications it could have for all of humanity, But it has been agreed that you are the best candidate for the mission. If you succeed the entire world will owe you a debt of gratitude." He says.
"Not to mention a considerable financial remuneration." Yao Tai pipes up, still beaming from ear to ear.
"Yes of course. Mr Ryung has negotiated a generous contract for your services Captain." The director continued.
He damn well better thinks Xiang, her mind still turning over the enormity of what she has agreed to.
"Time is of course of the essence, the Trans-Lunar Shuttle Lovell is being diverted to match vectors with the Jade Rabbit, and will transfer you to Arcadia station where we are staging the mission. In depth briefing documents on the Ulysses object and our team selection will be on board. Until then, goodbye Captain."
The Director's video pane winks out. Leaving Admiral Song, and Ryung Yao Tai still on the call.
"He is right Captain." Says the admiral, she brings her hands together on her desk, steepling her forefingers.
"This is very likely a defining moment for humanity, and the outcome of your mission could change everything. More so than simply preventing disaster. This 'Ulysses' may well hold technologies and knowledge beyond what we can imagine. Who is able to obtain it could quite possibly determine the balance of power for the next century, perhaps even beyond. You will have the first, and perhaps even the only chance to recover artefacts from the derelict.
Despite this being an ISO lead mission, it is your duty to the people and state of China to recover what you can for your country. Even the smallest item could have profound advantages locked within it."
Ryung lets out an indiscreet cough, still grinning.
"And of course the gratitude of our nation can be most... bountiful Captain." She continues. "So. Will you accomplish this task for the Chinese people?"
[] Accept. You will endeavor to covertly recover technology and information for the Chinese Government.
[] Decline. This mission is too important to all of humanity to risk with petty national interests.
Last edited:
- Location
- va
[X] Decline. This mission is too important to all of humanity to risk with petty national interests.
- Location
- Rochester, NY
[X] Accept. You will endeavor to covertly recover technology and information for the Chinese Government.
03-Transit
I'm back...
No really this time.
[X]Accept. You will endeavor to covertly recover technology and information for the Chinese Government.
The four hours until the Lovell made rendezvous were filled with an absurd mixture of frenetic activity, and boredom.
The physical preparations for her departure were relatively simple, Xiang had filled a single soft case with some clothing and few minor personal effects. The most important of which was of course her personal data storage device. Every spacer had their own stash of distractions, and though there was usually always something to be done on board ship, the stretches of downtime could be significant. Especially when you were going to be cargo.
There was only so much time you could spend in another person's company before you began to get on each other's nerves, and personal entertainment provision was pretty much mandated by the International Aerospace Safety Board. Xiang's own tastes were rather simple: music and recordings of the Pan-Asian Women's Soccer league, but she knew some who simply could not venture into the black without a library of VR games, an a range of full sensory erotica.
Making sure the Jade Rabbit was ready for her prolonged absence was a bit more involved of a process. She considered her crew supremely competent, and they had her absolute trust, but it was a tight ship that usually had her direct involvement on almost every aspect of it's operation. A good chunk of her time was spent meeting with each of her crew, and making sure they were set. The last of which was with Flight Officer Minh, her second in command.
"You finally finished worrying over the little details like a mother hen?" Minh's easy smile greeted Xiang as she swung herself into the flight compartment.
"A hen? What does that make you, a wayward chick?" She replied with an arched eyebrow.
"Cheep, cheep. Ma'am." Minh responded, deadpan.
"Well you are the one I'm getting to sit on this delicate egg shell whilst I'm gone."
"I've been told I'm very good at brooding." A serious cast fell over Minh's features. "It will be honour Ma'am."
"Sod honour Minh. You put a crack in the Rabbit, and I will space you myself." A smile crept onto Xiang's own face.
"As if would even have the opportunity. Control just sent up a new tasking for us. Our jaunt out to Luna has been scrubbed. Once you are packed onto your express transfer flight, we are off corralling wayward weather sats."
Xiang laughed dryly.
"At least you will have something to keep yourselves occupied then. I shudder to think what Saranda would do to my engines if he was left unsupervised."
She sighed and reached into the breast pocket of her flight suit, retrieving a thin data drive. Minh eyed it with caution. The Jade Rabbit's command authorisation codes. They conveyed the authority to control what was essentially a five hundred ton fusion powered missile, and direct it where one pleased. Along with the responsibility for the consequences.
"Flight officer Minh, you have the ship." She said formally, handing the drive over to him.
"I have the ship." He murmured in reply, accepting and placing it into his own flight suit.
Minh paused, and then looked directly at his captain. Giving her a a sharp salute.
Just then Xiang's comm bead beeped in her ear, followed by Waverley's voice.
"Ma'am I've got the scheduled real time link you asked for."
"I'm on my way" She replied, and then turned to leave, before pausing to look back at Minh.
"Go. Go, I'll handle everything here." He said kindly.
Xiang nodded, and swung herself back into the companionway. Behind her Minh settled into the Command Seat, gently massaging the armrests, a wide grin plastered across his face.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waverley eased out of her way as Xiang entered the Comm compartment.
"Everything is ready ma'am." She said, and slipped out, closing the hatch behind her.
This was the last part of her preparations. And perhaps the hardest.
The terminal displayed a Connection Established message, as the ground-side antennae tracked onto the Jade Rabbit's position. Though nowhere near as wealthy as her boss, Liao Wei Xiang had amassed enough of a fortune to be able to afford occasional real time links such as this. If anything she sometimes felt as if the expense were merely an excuse for not making them more often...
She tapped the call icon, and waited.
The video image snapped on, showing a hardwood table, and a balcony looking out onto a view of Hangzhou bay. It was a bright sunlight day, in the distance gulls swooped though air beneath fluffy white clouds.
A sound of tapping feet came from off-screen and then the face of a ten year old girl filled the screen.
"Mother!"
Xiang smiled.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An hour later found Xiang back in her quarters. Her travel case placed neatly on top of her cot, and the rest of her effects securely stowed to prevent damage during acceleration burns when she was no longer on board. Everything was ready.
She sat idly rubbing a small, delicately embossed, locket between her fingers. Contemplating the ridiculous enormity of her situation.
Who would have thought, a Nantong street urchin with the fate of the planet on her shoulders?
Well stranger things have happened, the last few days were proof enough of that, but she had a feeling in her gut. A feeling that said it was only going to get stranger from here.
A comm bead beep.
"The Lovell is on approach Captain." Said Minh from the flight deck.
Xiang sighed and pulled herself up. Slipping the locket back over her head and tucking it back beneath her flight suit.
Well multi-megatonne derelict space battleships required her attention. Time to go to work.
She picked up her case and made to leave the small compartment, but something made her stop. The feeling that she was missing something. She hooked the case onto the door and moved back inside to retrieve...
[][TAKE] A small flechette pistol and holdout holster from the locker next to her bunk.
Though she had never fired it in anger, it had been an ever present last resort when dealing with some of the shadier characters in the private space business. That and on infrequent trips to the bars in the Hengsha Spaceport free commerce zone. It was perhaps a good idea to be prepared for the worst when going into the unknown.
[][TAKE] A personal Lighthouse comm unit.
Bulkier than a normal comm, and restricted to text messages, this unit taken from a scrapped EVA suit, can send messages all across Cis-Lunar space thanks to the network of Lighthouse satellites. The ability to communicate without the oversight of her 'new employers' might be useful.
[][TAKE] An industrial multi-tool.
A present from her husband after the last one got left inside an old GPS satellite before it got de orbited into the Pacific ocean. This model has a selection of precision manufactured tool heads to fit a wide range of fastenings, and a thermal saw blade. Despite only having a small power supply, it is able to cut and cauterize anything from the active polymer used in solar panels to human flesh. The whole cell might even be sufficient to make a small hole in the hull plating on most space craft.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The airlock panel announced with a chime that the connection tube was sealed and fully pressurized.
Xiang waited with Minh, as the far hatched opened and a man wearing an ISO standard issue flight suit clambered across the distance between the two vessels. He quickly reached the Rabbit's airlock door and gave a thumbs up signal. The Lovell's hatch closed behind him. As a safety precaution ships connected by tube did not have both their pressure doors open at the same time, should the worst happen, at least one vehicle would retain a secure atmosphere.
One had to get in the tube, and be sealed in before the hatch on the other side was opened for you.
Minh obligingly hit the airlock release.
The man grabbed the bar just inside to stabilize himself.
"Permission to come aboard." Minh looked at Xiang, she just shrugged in reply. He was in command now.
"Granted." He replied.
The man hauled himself the rest of the way in.
"Captain Liao?" He said addressing Xiang, who nodded in reply. "I'm Lieutenant Mitchell, the Lovell's flight commander. If you wouldn't mind following me back, we are on a bit of tight schedule if we want to make a timely transit to Arcadia station."
"Of course." Xiang replied, pulling her soft case onto her shoulder. "After you."
Mitchell swung back into the connecting tube and Xiang followed. Pausing to turn back to Minh.
"Remember one scratch and you're spaced." She said.
"Good luck Ma'am." He responded with a grin. And shut the hatch.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitchell herded her into the spartan passenger bay on the Lovell, and let her pick a seat.
"We'll be doing a pretty hard burn to catch back up to Arcadia, but nothing you shouldn't be used to. Please remain in your seat whilst we are under acceleration." He informed her.
"Of course." Xiang replied lightly as she pulled herself into the nearest chair and stowed her case in the nearest bin.
"Our ETA to the station is approximately 77 minutes. Commander Heisner has provided a data package with preliminary mission details for you to look over during transit. If you need anything please use the comm on you seat."
With that he pulled himself forward onto the flight deck and sealed the hatch.
Alone, Xiang strapped herself in and swung the seat's built in screen round in front of her. Turning it on she found a large file containing several documents , all seemingly reports on parts of the proposed mission to the Ulysses object. Far more than she could hope to read in the short trip.
Xiang glanced across the titles, unsure of where to at least make a start.
[][READ] Profiles on potential candidates for slots in the expedition.
[][READ] Proposed mission outline from ISO planning office.
[][READ] Report on Ulysses 'emergence' event and a brief synopsis of the Ulysses' theorised structure and composition.
[][READ] Report on the New Mexico Impactor.
[][READ] Details on contingencies should the expedition fail, and projected disaster estimates should the Ulysses collide with Earth.
She makes her choice, and settles in for the ride.
No really this time.
[X]Accept. You will endeavor to covertly recover technology and information for the Chinese Government.
CH.03- Transit
The four hours until the Lovell made rendezvous were filled with an absurd mixture of frenetic activity, and boredom.
The physical preparations for her departure were relatively simple, Xiang had filled a single soft case with some clothing and few minor personal effects. The most important of which was of course her personal data storage device. Every spacer had their own stash of distractions, and though there was usually always something to be done on board ship, the stretches of downtime could be significant. Especially when you were going to be cargo.
There was only so much time you could spend in another person's company before you began to get on each other's nerves, and personal entertainment provision was pretty much mandated by the International Aerospace Safety Board. Xiang's own tastes were rather simple: music and recordings of the Pan-Asian Women's Soccer league, but she knew some who simply could not venture into the black without a library of VR games, an a range of full sensory erotica.
Making sure the Jade Rabbit was ready for her prolonged absence was a bit more involved of a process. She considered her crew supremely competent, and they had her absolute trust, but it was a tight ship that usually had her direct involvement on almost every aspect of it's operation. A good chunk of her time was spent meeting with each of her crew, and making sure they were set. The last of which was with Flight Officer Minh, her second in command.
"You finally finished worrying over the little details like a mother hen?" Minh's easy smile greeted Xiang as she swung herself into the flight compartment.
"A hen? What does that make you, a wayward chick?" She replied with an arched eyebrow.
"Cheep, cheep. Ma'am." Minh responded, deadpan.
"Well you are the one I'm getting to sit on this delicate egg shell whilst I'm gone."
"I've been told I'm very good at brooding." A serious cast fell over Minh's features. "It will be honour Ma'am."
"Sod honour Minh. You put a crack in the Rabbit, and I will space you myself." A smile crept onto Xiang's own face.
"As if would even have the opportunity. Control just sent up a new tasking for us. Our jaunt out to Luna has been scrubbed. Once you are packed onto your express transfer flight, we are off corralling wayward weather sats."
Xiang laughed dryly.
"At least you will have something to keep yourselves occupied then. I shudder to think what Saranda would do to my engines if he was left unsupervised."
She sighed and reached into the breast pocket of her flight suit, retrieving a thin data drive. Minh eyed it with caution. The Jade Rabbit's command authorisation codes. They conveyed the authority to control what was essentially a five hundred ton fusion powered missile, and direct it where one pleased. Along with the responsibility for the consequences.
"Flight officer Minh, you have the ship." She said formally, handing the drive over to him.
"I have the ship." He murmured in reply, accepting and placing it into his own flight suit.
Minh paused, and then looked directly at his captain. Giving her a a sharp salute.
Just then Xiang's comm bead beeped in her ear, followed by Waverley's voice.
"Ma'am I've got the scheduled real time link you asked for."
"I'm on my way" She replied, and then turned to leave, before pausing to look back at Minh.
"Go. Go, I'll handle everything here." He said kindly.
Xiang nodded, and swung herself back into the companionway. Behind her Minh settled into the Command Seat, gently massaging the armrests, a wide grin plastered across his face.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waverley eased out of her way as Xiang entered the Comm compartment.
"Everything is ready ma'am." She said, and slipped out, closing the hatch behind her.
This was the last part of her preparations. And perhaps the hardest.
The terminal displayed a Connection Established message, as the ground-side antennae tracked onto the Jade Rabbit's position. Though nowhere near as wealthy as her boss, Liao Wei Xiang had amassed enough of a fortune to be able to afford occasional real time links such as this. If anything she sometimes felt as if the expense were merely an excuse for not making them more often...
She tapped the call icon, and waited.
The video image snapped on, showing a hardwood table, and a balcony looking out onto a view of Hangzhou bay. It was a bright sunlight day, in the distance gulls swooped though air beneath fluffy white clouds.
A sound of tapping feet came from off-screen and then the face of a ten year old girl filled the screen.
"Mother!"
Xiang smiled.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An hour later found Xiang back in her quarters. Her travel case placed neatly on top of her cot, and the rest of her effects securely stowed to prevent damage during acceleration burns when she was no longer on board. Everything was ready.
She sat idly rubbing a small, delicately embossed, locket between her fingers. Contemplating the ridiculous enormity of her situation.
Who would have thought, a Nantong street urchin with the fate of the planet on her shoulders?
Well stranger things have happened, the last few days were proof enough of that, but she had a feeling in her gut. A feeling that said it was only going to get stranger from here.
A comm bead beep.
"The Lovell is on approach Captain." Said Minh from the flight deck.
Xiang sighed and pulled herself up. Slipping the locket back over her head and tucking it back beneath her flight suit.
Well multi-megatonne derelict space battleships required her attention. Time to go to work.
She picked up her case and made to leave the small compartment, but something made her stop. The feeling that she was missing something. She hooked the case onto the door and moved back inside to retrieve...
[][TAKE] A small flechette pistol and holdout holster from the locker next to her bunk.
Though she had never fired it in anger, it had been an ever present last resort when dealing with some of the shadier characters in the private space business. That and on infrequent trips to the bars in the Hengsha Spaceport free commerce zone. It was perhaps a good idea to be prepared for the worst when going into the unknown.
[][TAKE] A personal Lighthouse comm unit.
Bulkier than a normal comm, and restricted to text messages, this unit taken from a scrapped EVA suit, can send messages all across Cis-Lunar space thanks to the network of Lighthouse satellites. The ability to communicate without the oversight of her 'new employers' might be useful.
[][TAKE] An industrial multi-tool.
A present from her husband after the last one got left inside an old GPS satellite before it got de orbited into the Pacific ocean. This model has a selection of precision manufactured tool heads to fit a wide range of fastenings, and a thermal saw blade. Despite only having a small power supply, it is able to cut and cauterize anything from the active polymer used in solar panels to human flesh. The whole cell might even be sufficient to make a small hole in the hull plating on most space craft.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The airlock panel announced with a chime that the connection tube was sealed and fully pressurized.
Xiang waited with Minh, as the far hatched opened and a man wearing an ISO standard issue flight suit clambered across the distance between the two vessels. He quickly reached the Rabbit's airlock door and gave a thumbs up signal. The Lovell's hatch closed behind him. As a safety precaution ships connected by tube did not have both their pressure doors open at the same time, should the worst happen, at least one vehicle would retain a secure atmosphere.
One had to get in the tube, and be sealed in before the hatch on the other side was opened for you.
Minh obligingly hit the airlock release.
The man grabbed the bar just inside to stabilize himself.
"Permission to come aboard." Minh looked at Xiang, she just shrugged in reply. He was in command now.
"Granted." He replied.
The man hauled himself the rest of the way in.
"Captain Liao?" He said addressing Xiang, who nodded in reply. "I'm Lieutenant Mitchell, the Lovell's flight commander. If you wouldn't mind following me back, we are on a bit of tight schedule if we want to make a timely transit to Arcadia station."
"Of course." Xiang replied, pulling her soft case onto her shoulder. "After you."
Mitchell swung back into the connecting tube and Xiang followed. Pausing to turn back to Minh.
"Remember one scratch and you're spaced." She said.
"Good luck Ma'am." He responded with a grin. And shut the hatch.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitchell herded her into the spartan passenger bay on the Lovell, and let her pick a seat.
"We'll be doing a pretty hard burn to catch back up to Arcadia, but nothing you shouldn't be used to. Please remain in your seat whilst we are under acceleration." He informed her.
"Of course." Xiang replied lightly as she pulled herself into the nearest chair and stowed her case in the nearest bin.
"Our ETA to the station is approximately 77 minutes. Commander Heisner has provided a data package with preliminary mission details for you to look over during transit. If you need anything please use the comm on you seat."
With that he pulled himself forward onto the flight deck and sealed the hatch.
Alone, Xiang strapped herself in and swung the seat's built in screen round in front of her. Turning it on she found a large file containing several documents , all seemingly reports on parts of the proposed mission to the Ulysses object. Far more than she could hope to read in the short trip.
Xiang glanced across the titles, unsure of where to at least make a start.
[][READ] Profiles on potential candidates for slots in the expedition.
[][READ] Proposed mission outline from ISO planning office.
[][READ] Report on Ulysses 'emergence' event and a brief synopsis of the Ulysses' theorised structure and composition.
[][READ] Report on the New Mexico Impactor.
[][READ] Details on contingencies should the expedition fail, and projected disaster estimates should the Ulysses collide with Earth.
She makes her choice, and settles in for the ride.
Last edited:
- Location
- Philippines
[X][TAKE] A personal Lighthouse comm unit.
[X][READ] Report on Ulysses 'emergence' event and a brief synopsis of the Ulysses' theorised structure and composition.
[X][READ] Report on Ulysses 'emergence' event and a brief synopsis of the Ulysses' theorised structure and composition.
04-Rotation
[X][TAKE] A personal Lighthouse comm unit.
[X][READ] Report on Ulysses 'emergence' event and a brief synopsis of the Ulysses' theorised structure and composition.
CH.04- Rotation
=ISO Incident Report 620416-003=
Origin-
Sector: 8B Cis-lunar 7
Altitude: 19,458km
Time start: 62/04/16- 11:34:14 UST
Severity- BLACK
Record-
11:34:14- High energy fast neutrino scatter event recorded by the Deep Himalaya Neutrino Detector (DHND) at 12% higher than solar average.
11:34:16- Multiple radio observatories report high frequency emissions spikes across multiple bands, including the Lunar Far Side Observatory (LFSO) at Hawking Station which at the time was shielded by both the mass of the Earth and Luna. [See ADD:06756-4]
11:34:16- Contact is lost with Constellation, Galileo, Archimedes and CirrusSat platforms in sectors 7C, 8A, 8B, and 9B. Real time telemetry from Constellation suggests high frequency radio emissions are responsible. [See ADD:06756-12]
Multiple commercial and military owned satellite platforms are also reported to have been lost during this time frame [See ADD:08497-8]
11:34:18- Telescopes at Mauna Kea Observatory Complex detect a flash emission event in the visible spectrum with an apparent magnitude of -22. This is corroborated by similar observations across the hemisphere with line of sight to sector 8B. [See ADD:06758-4]
11:37:18- Telemtery and communications lost with BISA orbital tug OV Falcão as it's orbit transited into Sector 8B.
11:46:45- ISO emergency advisory issued to all spaceflight organisations restricting all further orbital manoeuvres and launches.
11:58:12- Telescopes at the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory locate a large object in Sector 8B. [See ADD:06760-1]
Corroborated by subsequent observations. Initial mapping estimates size at 1,456m in maximum dimesnion. Object is given provisional designation 2062 XV1
12:01:37- ISO Orbital control issues a notice of major navigation hazard in Sectors 8B and 7C.
12:15:51- Radar Telemetry from rebooted Woomera Tracking Array and Dalixiang Tracking Station confirm that 2062 XV1 is on a descending orbit into sector 7D. [See ADD:06761-15]
12:45:17-14:01:59- CirrusSat 35, PearlSky, Azul M, and Duanxu-H5 all collide with 2062 XV1. [See ADD:0761-16]
15:13:22- 2062 XV1 enters a short term stable orbit in Sector 7D.
17:22:05- Amateur satellite telescope observation records significant surface details of 2062 XV1. [See ADD:07251-5]
17:38:19- Object 2062 XV1 is officially re-designated 'Ulysses'.
19:44:20- Starhound-3 is remotely instructed to make a course rendezvous with Ulysses, analysis of image capture confirms that 'Ulysses' is not of natural origin. [See ADD:06820-2]
19:48:52- Starhound-5 is launched from Arcadia with a high definition imaging package. The drone makes rendezvous with Ulysses and proceeds to methodically map the objects exterior surface. [See ADD:06820-4]
=Ulysses Object- Initial Survey Report=
-Rajesh Kumar
-2062
The appearance of the Ulysses object is has far reaching consequences for our understanding of the universe. To fully comprehend those implications we must first strive to understand the the physical structure of the object as we can observe it.
At the most basic level Ulysses is a 1,420m long, prism of metallic material. Gravimetric surveys have however estimated its mass at around 1,630,000 tons. Sampling of a detached piece of debris, and the New Mexico impactor suggests that the object is composed of a sophisticated titanium-iron alloy.
Observed gaseous venting from openings on the 'Ulysses' structure suggests that have been confirmed by spectrographic analysis to be almost entirely congruous with Earth normal atmosphere. Given the quantities being vented during the period that Ulysses has been in orbit, it is safe to say that a large interior volume of the object was taken up by this gas, which is supported by the discrepancy between its mass and composition.
Topographic mapping of the Ulysses' surface have revealed a vast array of features, many of which appear strikingly familiar in form. The such 'educated guesswork' is generally frowned upon, I believe in this case a series of logical inferences can be made based upon what we can observe.
The largest features are of course what appear to be a set of immense engines mounted at one end of the object. Though inactive, the sheer size of these, even in comparison to the objects own titanic mass, seem to imply that Ulysses is a space vessel, one likely capable of interstellar travel.
Perhaps of similar importance are the clearly visible viewports, and hatches that can be found on certain sections of the hull. The sizing of the most common examples are consistent with that which would be comfortable for human scale operators.
Even using the mass to crew complement ratios of our own vessels as an extremely imprecise guide, such a vessel would be capable of holding a crew in the tens of thousands. Much larger hatches also exist on the outer surface, perhaps as some way of docking smaller craft. It is known the the New Mexico Impactor originated from one of these larger openings.
There are also numerous instances of features which our space vehicles do not posses, but which seem all to familiar to us as throw backs from our past. There are seven examples of what can only be described as 'gun turrets' akin to those found on the seaborne dreadnoughts of old, albeit wrought on a much larger scale. A multitude of smaller emplacements are scattered liberally across the hull, in positions that a military advisor has assured me would be sufficient to provide full coverage from every angle or approach.
There could be other explanations. As my colleagues are eager to remind me, it is difficult to assign purpose to things we do not fully understand. And yes these features could be some sort of sensor mounts or drone launchers. However I find it hard to agree with that line of thinking.
A second piece of evidence is crucial here. The great rents in the ship give us some insight into the internal structure. Oh which we can observe the twisted remains of decks fit for humanoid proportions arranged in a longitudinal fashion, but also the thickness of the outer hull itself. Which is substantial, in places it is over five metres thick. This is far in excess of what would be necessary to withstand most astrological conditions outside of edge cases. The most probable explanation is that this thick skin is in fact armour. Armour to withstand weapons similar to Ulysses' own.
With this evidence the conclusion seems inescapable. Ulysses is a warship.
Which brings us to the most confounding, and maddeningly the most simple pieces of evidence for Ulysses origin. The name. The letters USCS ULYSSES ACV805 are painted on the hull in massive letters. Letters of the Roman alphabet, and Arabic numerals. High definition imagery reveals a host of other markings upon outer hatches and other surface features, all in recognizable English, if perhaps interspersed with unknown acronyms.
Which bring us to the answers to the questions that everyone person on Earth has had since the event. What is Ulysses? Where did it come from? Why is it here?
The first two we can answer with reasonable certainty. Ulysses is an interstellar warship built for humans. Though we have seen nothing that appears to be the remains of crew, despite the terrible damage inflicted. Nor active signs of any living inhabitants.
It is likely that it was built by humans as well. Of course no such ship has ever been built, nor is it possible for any organization on earth to have built it. Which leads us to one last piece of evidence, the material debris analysed had a unique isotope composition unlike any that we have encountered on Earth or within the asteroid belt. It is almost certainly extra-solar in origin.
I have no answers to this paradox this presents., and can only hope that further explorations of the derelict ship will shed further light on the problem. Perhaps also they will find the answer to that last question.
Why is Ulysses here?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We are on approach to Arcadia, please ensure you are seated and all restraints are in place." Mitchell's voice came over the interior comm. His words were so by the book, they could have been read from a script.
The Lieutenant's brusque manner and insistence on treating her like a neophyte day-tripper was beginning to grate. Perhaps he was irritated by having to divert the Lovell's flight path to pick her up, and was taking it out on her; or maybe he was simply used to having to baby passengers in his job as a glorified bus driver.
Whatever the cause the kid needed to learn to relax.
Xiang knew most of the old hands out here in orbit, and nobody got far by being so uptight. Hopefully he would mellow out with experience.
She sighed and stowed the datapad, before checking her seat restraints. Mitchell may be acting like an ass, but there was still common sense.
A moment later the retros fired with a short burst, before she felt the gentle kick of the RCS placed the Lovell into a slow lateral spin. Looking out off the nearest window she could just see the giant arc of the Arcadia's hab ring drift into sight. Another nudge from the RCS and the spin stopped.
The ring and central docking hub filled her constrained view. Just beyond she could make out the spindly latticework of the Large Orbital Construction Frame; within which, obscured from view now, would sit the long hull of the SV Lewis and Clark. The ISO's newest interplanetary vehicle, currently being fitted out for it's mission to the Jovian system.
Constructed as a joint project between NASA, ESA and JAXA, just before those organisations joined together to form the ISO. Arcadia is perhaps the premier hub for orbital activity, hosting not only multiple berths for orbital vehicles, but also a self sufficient hydroponic garden, satellite repair workshops, microwave power relay, accommodation for up to two hundred guests alongside its permanent crew of forty two, and of course the biggest construction slip in orbit.
Until six days ago it was the largest man-made object in the sky. Compared to the massive brute size of Ulysses, it now seemed to pale into insignificance.
A dull thump shuddered though the compartment. The Lovell had just docked with the station.
Xiang released her harness, and immediately drifted away from the seat. She twisted slightly and grabbed the overhead stowage bin to retrieve her case. Before hauling herself along the interior guide rails towards the hatch.
Mitchell and his co-pilot seemed to be busy with their post-transit checklist, but Xiang was in no mood to wait until the man deigned to let her disembark. To the non-spacers that were the Lovell's typical passengers the airlock control would have been unusable at best, and dangerous to tamper with at worst. Xiang however had been around the drift more than once, and knew here way around ISO systems. Engaging the auto release was easy enough when the system could detect atmosphere on the other side.
The lock opened just in time for Lieutenant Mitchell to push himself into the compartment, an expression of outrage drawing his face taught. Xiang gave him a jaunty wave and launched herself into the connecting tube, palming the control for the door on the other side to cycle as she went.
Having parted ways with her erstwhile chauffeur, she swung through into the station itself.
The interior of Arcadia's docking hub was a strange place for a veteran spacer. Almost every other working station or orbital craft, the piping, conduits and control boxes were exposed in the walls for ease of maintenance. Here they were hidden away behind smooth paneling, with only small markings on discreet hatches to show where a vital power supply or pressure valve might be. Absurdly for the weightless environment of the hub, there was a clear distinction between ceiling and floor. 'Above' her was the mild glow of inset strip lighting in an unadorned ceiling, on the floor there was carpet.
Carpet in zero G.
Xiang assumed it was for the benefit of the tourists and other grounders who visited Arcadia in droves. Perhaps it helped assuage their fears of being inside such a fragile bubble hanging in the void if they couldn't see the piping and delicate wiring that kept them alive. But to her trained sensibilities it was... disconcerting.
Hanging lightly from a handhold in the 'embarkation lounge' was the welcoming committee. Xiang let an easy smirk fall onto her lips, and pushed her way towards them.
Commander Ariadne Heisner, ISO mission co-ordinator for Cis-lunar space, was a short woman with light brown hair pulled back into a bun, and warm eyes the colour of amber. Early in her career it had been common for many to underestimate her, either due to her size, or her gender. Today few made that mistake. In her younger days as a highly skilled EVA specialist and the commander of the Ares III Mars mission, she had earned renown in the Spacer community, and now was responsible for all ISO operations between Earth and Luna..
She ran her dominion with a firm hand, and it was rumoured amongst the younger ISO cohorts that displeasing her was a fast way to earn a tour at the Lunar Far Side Observatory.
As Xiang approached the Commander passed off a data pad to a subordinate, and turned to face her. A warm smile appearing from the previously stony composure.
"Xiang!" She exclaimed throwing her free arm out wide to offer the younger woman a welcoming hug.
"Its good to see you too Ari." She responded with a laugh, as she accepted the gesture. "They have you running this show then?"
The two women drew apart.
"Well you know what the young ones say." A wry smirk twisting her lips. "I'm the 'ice queen of cis-lunar space', everything from the thermosphere to the regolith is my domain. How could they possibly leave me out?."
"Well there goes my first pick for expedition 2IC. " Xiang replied jokingly.
"Alas, if only I could. But I'm afraid that if I left this station the other half of our orbital platforms would find a way to fall from the sky."
"A shame." Xiang paused. "Having the second best EVA operator in orbit could have made our job a lot easier."
"Second best!" Heisner gasped in mock outrage. "One day I am going get that rematch. How you made it through the course so fast..." She trailed off and let out a wistful sigh. "You know Pasternak is still mad that the official leaderboard is topped by a non ISO spacer?"
"Hah! I bet he is, the arse. I still remember his face after the joint op on Aurora 6. " Xiang responded.
The two women let a comfortable silence hang between them for a moment. Accompanied by the memories of their misspent youth.
"Well." Heisner broke the moment first. "That is enough reminiscing. Shall we get to work or does the decrepit veteran need a rest after her long journey?"
Xiang responded with a gentle punch to the Commander's arm. The imparted momentum pushing her slightly backwards.
"Decrepit? I'm younger than you!" She replied incredulously.
"Ah Xiang, still so easy to tease."
"I've had enough rest on the flight over, lead on."
"Very well, our ops centre is being set up in section five. Moretti will make sure your effects are stowed in your quarters."
The assistant dipped her head in acknowledgement and received Xiang's case. Floating off towards one of the transit pods. From her expression Xiang thought the girl looked relieved to be away from them. Seeing your usually hardassed superior acting so warmly must be disconcerting.
Heisner slipped her arm though Xiang's and steered her in a different direction.
"On our way there we can catch up properly. How is Yan anyway?"
"Oh, happy as always. Though the other week she was talking about a boy..."
"A boy! At her age?" Heisner gasped, scandalized.
"I know right? After this mission I have half a mind to go dirtside and have a talk with the miscreant."
Heisner snorted. The pair came to the hatch for one of the transit pods.
"Ha. You should. Meeting the hero space captain mother of his crush should put the fear of god into the boy."
The door opened and they both climbed in.
"Crush? That makes it sound even worse." Xiang said. "I might have to go in full uniform, really scare him off....
The hatch closed behind them.
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The operations centre that ISO had set up for the the Ulysses Expedition was well appointed. It looked like one of the command suites they used for their major exploration missions.
A large control pit with banks of multi function stations facing a set of large displays. Dominated the centre of the suite, off to the left side was a break room and a set of offices, and to the right a large conference room.
From their position near the entrance Xiang could see that it was mostly empty. A single technician was working on a console in the pit, and a pair of people stood near the entrance to the conference room. A tall young woman with an serious expression, and a man who appeared to be from station security. They seemed to be pointedly not talking to one another.
As commander Heisner lead her in that direction, Xiang suppressed a wince as the pull of gravity from each step. Despite it being only half earth normal, and the constant exercises and supplements that all serious spacers partook, walking in significant G after so long weightless took a while to get used to.
Official regulations called for an adjustment period, even in the reduced artificial G of a station like Arcadia. Spacers, being the headstrong bunch that they were, tended to make it a point of pride to push through the pain. To the frustration of flight doctors in pretty much every organisation.
The Commander stopped before getting to the door and nodded in greeting to the pair, before turning to face Xiang.
"This is Lieutenant Katja Adake. She has worked with the New Mexico material, and is part of the Operational Planning Team." Heisner gestured to the woman in an unadorned ISO flightsuit standing to her left. "Lieutenant Adake, this is Captain Liao Wei Xiang of the Jade Rabbit, who has been selected as the leader of the expedition to the Ulysses."
The Lieutenant looked at Xiang with an uncertain expression.
"A civilian Commander?" She asks, her brow arching ever so slightly.
Her accent is odd, hard to place, but not the sort of neutral international English that many in the ISO seemed to adopt by osmosis.
A twitch tugged at the edges of Commander Heisner's lips, giving the briefest impression that she was struggling to remain patient.
"Captain Liao is a highly experienced spacer, who has served in the Chinese Space Guard. Her selection for the mission was agreed upon by all three major parties, and she is a personal friend."
The young woman appeared to be somewhat chastened, and turned to face Xiang directly. Seemingly standing straighter.
"I apologize for any offence, I might have given Captain." She said, inclining her head slightly. "I am committed to ensuring the success of the mission."
[][COMMAND] Accept the apology.
[][COMMAND] Reprimand the Lieutenant.
Heisner gaze flicked warily between Xiang and Adake. Finally she gestured to the conference room door.
"Well, shall we get on with it?"
Inside a number of people were already seated around the table, engaging in light conversation. Which stuttered to a stop at the group's entrance. Xiang shrugged and took the nearest seat available. Lieutenant Adake seemed unsure of herself, and lingered until the Commander ushered her towards a spare chair.
With everyone seated, Heisner took the lead in proceedings.
"Good I see pretty much everyone is here. Lets start with introductions so everyone is on the same page. This is Captain Laio Wei Xiang, who I am sure you are all familiar with anyway. She has been chosen as the commander of the Ulysses expedition.
Around the table in no particular order we have; Major Zhou Han of the CSNA and Commander Gabriel Rocha of the BISA, who are respectively official liaisons from our sister organisations." Both men nodded in acknowledgement.
"Down there at the end is Rachel Theroux, our Flight Engineer, who is responsible for mission materiel and payload. Next to her is Doctor Karl Amsel, the Flight Surgeon, and Miriam Ansari the Flight Operations Director. And lastly to my my right is Oskar Mateu our Communications Director.
With that done the first operation planning session for the Ulysses expedition is now official under way. First order of business is expedition crew selection, if you would open the dossiers in front of you, lets begin at the top..."
Ulysses Expedition Crew Selection:
(Pick 5)
[ ][CREW] Doctor Agatha Kiatbusa
F, 33, Pattaya, Thailand
Security Rating: A+
Specialty: Flight rated Surgeon
ISO Medical Directorate, Arcadia Station
The youngest person to have visited the surface of Mars, Doctor Kiatbusa was the Medical Officer on the Aries VIII mission, under the leadership of the legendary Commander Usoko-Mercier.
Kiatbusa is trained in the most modern techniques of medical practice in space, and has had direct front-line experience in the field of frontier medicine. When serious injuries caused malfunction at Syrtis Base, he skills were instrumental in saving the lives of two of her team-mates, and allowing the mission to continue.
She currently serves as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Arcadia Station.
[ ][CREW] Annett Svane
F, 36 Copenhagen, DN, EU
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Language Specialist
Professor of Linguistics, Free University of Berlin
A polyglot with fluency in fifteen languages, Annet Svane is one of the worlds leading experts in applied linguistics. She has undertaken extensive research into the way languages have developed and mutually influenced each other over time.
Recently she has worked closely with ISO to develop common language structures for their documentation and training material, and most significantly into developing a system of markers and symbols that can effectively communicate the purpose of technical systems.
[ ][CREW] Aurora Secada
F, 34, Sacramento, CA, USA
Security Rating: C
Specialty: Mechanical Engineer, Rated EMT
Chief Engineering Officer, StarSeeker Materials Limited.
Aurora Secada has a history of hopping from start-up to start up, offering the starry eyed dreamers, who see their fortunes in Cis-Lunar space, her talents as an engineer. Some of those ventures have gone onto astounding success, others are forgotten failures. The result however is that a large number of platforms and stations in orbit bear her handiwork.
Aurora's talent for using limited resources to achieve results on the high frontier are renowned in the space community. Almost as much as her vices cheap alcohol and fast men.
[ ][CREW] Eliot Maheux
M, 43 Blainville, QC, Canada
Security Rating: A+
Specialty: Zero G Construction
Site Manager ISO Lunar operations, Armstrong Station
Eliot Maheux is currently employed in building the ISO's third phase expansion of Armstrong base. He is a master of heavy orbital construction techniques, turning lunacrete and steel into structures that will withstand the harshest challenges of space.
Given the fortress-like nature of the Ulysses his skills might come in use when trying to restore functionality to the derelict.
[ ][CREW] Helena Mikova
F, 26 Liberec, CZ, EU
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Communications Specialist, Rated EMT
ISO Operations Division, Arcadia Station
Helen Mikova is from the newest intake of ISO's astronaut training program. A gifted systems operator, she has distinguished herself in her current role as a flight co-ordinator in ISO's orbital traffic control centre.
Her ability with comms systems has earned her an offer to transfer to the Exploration Division, with the potential to become Communications Officer for one of the upcoming expeditions to the asteroid belt.
[ ][CREW] Kenard Oate
M, 36, Portmore, Jamaica
Security Rating: B
Specialty: Orbital Demolitions
United Nations Orbital Commission Hazard Removal Unit, BISA Contingent
Over a century of human space flight has left a lot of debris in orbit, even the smallest piece of which could be catastrophic if it struck an installation. The explosion of orbital activity has only worsened the problem.The international Hazard Removal Unit has the task of meticulously disposing of this debris. It is not a glamorous job, but one that Kenard Oate has been doing with passion for six years.
As a young man he left his native Jamaica and studied to become a pilot and engineer in Sao Paulo. From there he enlisted in the Brazillian-Indian Space Alliance. If anything needs chopping up, breaking down, or moving around Earth orbit, Kenard is your man.
[ ][CREW] Captain Lian Cai
M, 44, Shenyang, China
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Propulsion Engineer
SV Fènghuáng Flight engineer, CSNA Taikonaut corps
A long service Taikonaut in China's national space program, Lian Cai has worked for decades on every conceivable type of engine that powers space vehicles, from ion drives to fusion pulse thrusters.
Currently he serves as the Engineering Officer on the CSNA's own deep space exploration vehicle, the Fènghuáng. But his service has taken him across the system from Venus to Ceres.
What Lian Cai doesn;t know about moving spaceships around, probably isn't worth knowing.
[ ][CREW] Luka Nikolov
M, 33, Tver, Russia
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Electronics Systems Engineer
Control Systems Architect, Mir III station
Though ROSCOSMOS has seen better days it still maintains a strong orbital presence. Mir III station is one of the most technologically sophisticated in orbit, and that technology is maintained by Luka Nikolov. A gifted programmer, whereas many of his peers went on to fouind their own companies during the Russian Software boom, Nikolov instead fulfilled him childhood dream to work in orbit.
His control systems have formed a lucrative sideline for the Russian space agency, being licensed by many corporate space programs, and even ISO.
[ ][CREW] Marvin Wright
M, 39, Rockford, IL, USA
Security Rating: A+
Specialty: Mechanical Engineer
ISO Orbital Maintenance Division, Arcadia Station
Marvin Wright has had solid carer in the business of building and maintaining space vehicles. He started out in the Lockheed-Boeing project that built the ISO's Zenith space planes, and has since had a role in several important orbital vehicle projects, including the Grissom class of orbital tugs.
Currently he is once of the engineering officers overseeing ISO's fleet of orbital vehicles at Arcadia Station.
Marvin is notorious for his ability to scrounge up material and resources from sources his superiors would rather not know about. The effect to which he puts them however tends to make such question be forgotten. Notably he once built an entire Starhound drone from spar parts.
[ ][CREW] Nhahala Lindela
F, 28, Durban, South Africa
Security Rating: B
Specialty: Environmental Systems Engineer
Site Supervisor, Miostar Life Systems
As big as ISO is, it was decided early on in the organisations formation that space must be left aside for private companies to have a role in the colonization and industrialization of orbit. To this end several subsidiary functions and services are provided to ISO by third party contractors, one of which is the life support systems and maintenance for Arcadia Station.
Nhahala Lindela has worked for Miostar Life Systems on contracts not just for the ISO, but also on many of new commercial stations and habitats that are being set up in Cis-Lunar space. Though comparatively junior in her field, she has worked up an impressive list of achievements, and is available on short notice.
[ ][CREW] Sazama Ayuko
F, 40, Nagoya, Japan
Security Rating: B
Specialty: Data Retrieval Specialist
Independent Contractor
There comes a point for many large organisations when they become very interested in what the otherwise private affairs of their peers. There can be many reasons for this, from wanting to retrive proprietary information, or a desire to get a leg up on the competition. Sazam Ayuko in uninterested in reasons, she deals in results. To her the job is no different whether she is breaking into highly secured networks, or cleaning up after someone managed to lose the password to the secure data store. Though ISO leadership could never admit to having relied upon her skills in the past, they can recommend her talents, and discretion.
[ ][CREW] Vincent Ballard
M, 28, Tamworth, UK
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Flight Technician, Rated EMT
Maintenance Chief, ISO Flight Operations Division, Mistral Station
Though Arcadia is the beating heart of ISO's operations in Cis-Lunar space, it is far from the only station that the massive organisation operates. The perhaps whimsically named Mistral Station, has another name, the L1 Refueling Depot. Essentially a giant tank of propellant hanging in the gap between Earth and Luna, Mistral is a frequent stop for vehicles moving about Cis-Luanr space, and transiting into inter-planetary vectors.
The constant activity requires a dedicated crew to keep the facilities in working order. Vincent Ballard has worked Mistral for two years, and is now the second shift maintenance chief. He duties require him to keep on top of a massive scope of issues, and consequently Ballard has developed a wide variety of skills. Capable of fixing everything from a CO2 scrubber to a LOX pump, he is in high demand, and has been offered posting by corporate outfits with far higher pay. Ballard however has remained loyal to ISO, apparently preferring the challenge at the heart of humanity's drive towards the stars.
[ ][CREW] Refuse all the options, demand your own crew
The Crew of the Jade Rabbit is the best there is , you couldn't consider doing this mission without them.
Minh Luc Ty, Flight Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Electronics Engineer, Pilot
Carol Waverley, Comms Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Communications Specialist
Ayaan Saranda, Engineering Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Propulsion Engineer
William Redford, Engineering Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Mechanical Engineer
Qiao An Bo, Cargo Master, OV Jade Rabbit
Orbital Demolitions Specialist
AN: Ugh that took a while.
[X][READ] Report on Ulysses 'emergence' event and a brief synopsis of the Ulysses' theorised structure and composition.
CH.04- Rotation
=ISO Incident Report 620416-003=
Origin-
Sector: 8B Cis-lunar 7
Altitude: 19,458km
Time start: 62/04/16- 11:34:14 UST
Severity- BLACK
Record-
11:34:14- High energy fast neutrino scatter event recorded by the Deep Himalaya Neutrino Detector (DHND) at 12% higher than solar average.
11:34:16- Multiple radio observatories report high frequency emissions spikes across multiple bands, including the Lunar Far Side Observatory (LFSO) at Hawking Station which at the time was shielded by both the mass of the Earth and Luna. [See ADD:06756-4]
11:34:16- Contact is lost with Constellation, Galileo, Archimedes and CirrusSat platforms in sectors 7C, 8A, 8B, and 9B. Real time telemetry from Constellation suggests high frequency radio emissions are responsible. [See ADD:06756-12]
Multiple commercial and military owned satellite platforms are also reported to have been lost during this time frame [See ADD:08497-8]
11:34:18- Telescopes at Mauna Kea Observatory Complex detect a flash emission event in the visible spectrum with an apparent magnitude of -22. This is corroborated by similar observations across the hemisphere with line of sight to sector 8B. [See ADD:06758-4]
11:37:18- Telemtery and communications lost with BISA orbital tug OV Falcão as it's orbit transited into Sector 8B.
11:46:45- ISO emergency advisory issued to all spaceflight organisations restricting all further orbital manoeuvres and launches.
11:58:12- Telescopes at the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory locate a large object in Sector 8B. [See ADD:06760-1]
Corroborated by subsequent observations. Initial mapping estimates size at 1,456m in maximum dimesnion. Object is given provisional designation 2062 XV1
12:01:37- ISO Orbital control issues a notice of major navigation hazard in Sectors 8B and 7C.
12:15:51- Radar Telemetry from rebooted Woomera Tracking Array and Dalixiang Tracking Station confirm that 2062 XV1 is on a descending orbit into sector 7D. [See ADD:06761-15]
12:45:17-14:01:59- CirrusSat 35, PearlSky, Azul M, and Duanxu-H5 all collide with 2062 XV1. [See ADD:0761-16]
15:13:22- 2062 XV1 enters a short term stable orbit in Sector 7D.
17:22:05- Amateur satellite telescope observation records significant surface details of 2062 XV1. [See ADD:07251-5]
17:38:19- Object 2062 XV1 is officially re-designated 'Ulysses'.
19:44:20- Starhound-3 is remotely instructed to make a course rendezvous with Ulysses, analysis of image capture confirms that 'Ulysses' is not of natural origin. [See ADD:06820-2]
19:48:52- Starhound-5 is launched from Arcadia with a high definition imaging package. The drone makes rendezvous with Ulysses and proceeds to methodically map the objects exterior surface. [See ADD:06820-4]
=Ulysses Object- Initial Survey Report=
-Rajesh Kumar
-2062
The appearance of the Ulysses object is has far reaching consequences for our understanding of the universe. To fully comprehend those implications we must first strive to understand the the physical structure of the object as we can observe it.
At the most basic level Ulysses is a 1,420m long, prism of metallic material. Gravimetric surveys have however estimated its mass at around 1,630,000 tons. Sampling of a detached piece of debris, and the New Mexico impactor suggests that the object is composed of a sophisticated titanium-iron alloy.
Observed gaseous venting from openings on the 'Ulysses' structure suggests that have been confirmed by spectrographic analysis to be almost entirely congruous with Earth normal atmosphere. Given the quantities being vented during the period that Ulysses has been in orbit, it is safe to say that a large interior volume of the object was taken up by this gas, which is supported by the discrepancy between its mass and composition.
Topographic mapping of the Ulysses' surface have revealed a vast array of features, many of which appear strikingly familiar in form. The such 'educated guesswork' is generally frowned upon, I believe in this case a series of logical inferences can be made based upon what we can observe.
The largest features are of course what appear to be a set of immense engines mounted at one end of the object. Though inactive, the sheer size of these, even in comparison to the objects own titanic mass, seem to imply that Ulysses is a space vessel, one likely capable of interstellar travel.
Perhaps of similar importance are the clearly visible viewports, and hatches that can be found on certain sections of the hull. The sizing of the most common examples are consistent with that which would be comfortable for human scale operators.
Even using the mass to crew complement ratios of our own vessels as an extremely imprecise guide, such a vessel would be capable of holding a crew in the tens of thousands. Much larger hatches also exist on the outer surface, perhaps as some way of docking smaller craft. It is known the the New Mexico Impactor originated from one of these larger openings.
There are also numerous instances of features which our space vehicles do not posses, but which seem all to familiar to us as throw backs from our past. There are seven examples of what can only be described as 'gun turrets' akin to those found on the seaborne dreadnoughts of old, albeit wrought on a much larger scale. A multitude of smaller emplacements are scattered liberally across the hull, in positions that a military advisor has assured me would be sufficient to provide full coverage from every angle or approach.
There could be other explanations. As my colleagues are eager to remind me, it is difficult to assign purpose to things we do not fully understand. And yes these features could be some sort of sensor mounts or drone launchers. However I find it hard to agree with that line of thinking.
A second piece of evidence is crucial here. The great rents in the ship give us some insight into the internal structure. Oh which we can observe the twisted remains of decks fit for humanoid proportions arranged in a longitudinal fashion, but also the thickness of the outer hull itself. Which is substantial, in places it is over five metres thick. This is far in excess of what would be necessary to withstand most astrological conditions outside of edge cases. The most probable explanation is that this thick skin is in fact armour. Armour to withstand weapons similar to Ulysses' own.
With this evidence the conclusion seems inescapable. Ulysses is a warship.
Which brings us to the most confounding, and maddeningly the most simple pieces of evidence for Ulysses origin. The name. The letters USCS ULYSSES ACV805 are painted on the hull in massive letters. Letters of the Roman alphabet, and Arabic numerals. High definition imagery reveals a host of other markings upon outer hatches and other surface features, all in recognizable English, if perhaps interspersed with unknown acronyms.
Which bring us to the answers to the questions that everyone person on Earth has had since the event. What is Ulysses? Where did it come from? Why is it here?
The first two we can answer with reasonable certainty. Ulysses is an interstellar warship built for humans. Though we have seen nothing that appears to be the remains of crew, despite the terrible damage inflicted. Nor active signs of any living inhabitants.
It is likely that it was built by humans as well. Of course no such ship has ever been built, nor is it possible for any organization on earth to have built it. Which leads us to one last piece of evidence, the material debris analysed had a unique isotope composition unlike any that we have encountered on Earth or within the asteroid belt. It is almost certainly extra-solar in origin.
I have no answers to this paradox this presents., and can only hope that further explorations of the derelict ship will shed further light on the problem. Perhaps also they will find the answer to that last question.
Why is Ulysses here?
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"We are on approach to Arcadia, please ensure you are seated and all restraints are in place." Mitchell's voice came over the interior comm. His words were so by the book, they could have been read from a script.
The Lieutenant's brusque manner and insistence on treating her like a neophyte day-tripper was beginning to grate. Perhaps he was irritated by having to divert the Lovell's flight path to pick her up, and was taking it out on her; or maybe he was simply used to having to baby passengers in his job as a glorified bus driver.
Whatever the cause the kid needed to learn to relax.
Xiang knew most of the old hands out here in orbit, and nobody got far by being so uptight. Hopefully he would mellow out with experience.
She sighed and stowed the datapad, before checking her seat restraints. Mitchell may be acting like an ass, but there was still common sense.
A moment later the retros fired with a short burst, before she felt the gentle kick of the RCS placed the Lovell into a slow lateral spin. Looking out off the nearest window she could just see the giant arc of the Arcadia's hab ring drift into sight. Another nudge from the RCS and the spin stopped.
The ring and central docking hub filled her constrained view. Just beyond she could make out the spindly latticework of the Large Orbital Construction Frame; within which, obscured from view now, would sit the long hull of the SV Lewis and Clark. The ISO's newest interplanetary vehicle, currently being fitted out for it's mission to the Jovian system.
Constructed as a joint project between NASA, ESA and JAXA, just before those organisations joined together to form the ISO. Arcadia is perhaps the premier hub for orbital activity, hosting not only multiple berths for orbital vehicles, but also a self sufficient hydroponic garden, satellite repair workshops, microwave power relay, accommodation for up to two hundred guests alongside its permanent crew of forty two, and of course the biggest construction slip in orbit.
Until six days ago it was the largest man-made object in the sky. Compared to the massive brute size of Ulysses, it now seemed to pale into insignificance.
A dull thump shuddered though the compartment. The Lovell had just docked with the station.
Xiang released her harness, and immediately drifted away from the seat. She twisted slightly and grabbed the overhead stowage bin to retrieve her case. Before hauling herself along the interior guide rails towards the hatch.
Mitchell and his co-pilot seemed to be busy with their post-transit checklist, but Xiang was in no mood to wait until the man deigned to let her disembark. To the non-spacers that were the Lovell's typical passengers the airlock control would have been unusable at best, and dangerous to tamper with at worst. Xiang however had been around the drift more than once, and knew here way around ISO systems. Engaging the auto release was easy enough when the system could detect atmosphere on the other side.
The lock opened just in time for Lieutenant Mitchell to push himself into the compartment, an expression of outrage drawing his face taught. Xiang gave him a jaunty wave and launched herself into the connecting tube, palming the control for the door on the other side to cycle as she went.
Having parted ways with her erstwhile chauffeur, she swung through into the station itself.
The interior of Arcadia's docking hub was a strange place for a veteran spacer. Almost every other working station or orbital craft, the piping, conduits and control boxes were exposed in the walls for ease of maintenance. Here they were hidden away behind smooth paneling, with only small markings on discreet hatches to show where a vital power supply or pressure valve might be. Absurdly for the weightless environment of the hub, there was a clear distinction between ceiling and floor. 'Above' her was the mild glow of inset strip lighting in an unadorned ceiling, on the floor there was carpet.
Carpet in zero G.
Xiang assumed it was for the benefit of the tourists and other grounders who visited Arcadia in droves. Perhaps it helped assuage their fears of being inside such a fragile bubble hanging in the void if they couldn't see the piping and delicate wiring that kept them alive. But to her trained sensibilities it was... disconcerting.
Hanging lightly from a handhold in the 'embarkation lounge' was the welcoming committee. Xiang let an easy smirk fall onto her lips, and pushed her way towards them.
Commander Ariadne Heisner, ISO mission co-ordinator for Cis-lunar space, was a short woman with light brown hair pulled back into a bun, and warm eyes the colour of amber. Early in her career it had been common for many to underestimate her, either due to her size, or her gender. Today few made that mistake. In her younger days as a highly skilled EVA specialist and the commander of the Ares III Mars mission, she had earned renown in the Spacer community, and now was responsible for all ISO operations between Earth and Luna..
She ran her dominion with a firm hand, and it was rumoured amongst the younger ISO cohorts that displeasing her was a fast way to earn a tour at the Lunar Far Side Observatory.
As Xiang approached the Commander passed off a data pad to a subordinate, and turned to face her. A warm smile appearing from the previously stony composure.
"Xiang!" She exclaimed throwing her free arm out wide to offer the younger woman a welcoming hug.
"Its good to see you too Ari." She responded with a laugh, as she accepted the gesture. "They have you running this show then?"
The two women drew apart.
"Well you know what the young ones say." A wry smirk twisting her lips. "I'm the 'ice queen of cis-lunar space', everything from the thermosphere to the regolith is my domain. How could they possibly leave me out?."
"Well there goes my first pick for expedition 2IC. " Xiang replied jokingly.
"Alas, if only I could. But I'm afraid that if I left this station the other half of our orbital platforms would find a way to fall from the sky."
"A shame." Xiang paused. "Having the second best EVA operator in orbit could have made our job a lot easier."
"Second best!" Heisner gasped in mock outrage. "One day I am going get that rematch. How you made it through the course so fast..." She trailed off and let out a wistful sigh. "You know Pasternak is still mad that the official leaderboard is topped by a non ISO spacer?"
"Hah! I bet he is, the arse. I still remember his face after the joint op on Aurora 6. " Xiang responded.
The two women let a comfortable silence hang between them for a moment. Accompanied by the memories of their misspent youth.
"Well." Heisner broke the moment first. "That is enough reminiscing. Shall we get to work or does the decrepit veteran need a rest after her long journey?"
Xiang responded with a gentle punch to the Commander's arm. The imparted momentum pushing her slightly backwards.
"Decrepit? I'm younger than you!" She replied incredulously.
"Ah Xiang, still so easy to tease."
"I've had enough rest on the flight over, lead on."
"Very well, our ops centre is being set up in section five. Moretti will make sure your effects are stowed in your quarters."
The assistant dipped her head in acknowledgement and received Xiang's case. Floating off towards one of the transit pods. From her expression Xiang thought the girl looked relieved to be away from them. Seeing your usually hardassed superior acting so warmly must be disconcerting.
Heisner slipped her arm though Xiang's and steered her in a different direction.
"On our way there we can catch up properly. How is Yan anyway?"
"Oh, happy as always. Though the other week she was talking about a boy..."
"A boy! At her age?" Heisner gasped, scandalized.
"I know right? After this mission I have half a mind to go dirtside and have a talk with the miscreant."
Heisner snorted. The pair came to the hatch for one of the transit pods.
"Ha. You should. Meeting the hero space captain mother of his crush should put the fear of god into the boy."
The door opened and they both climbed in.
"Crush? That makes it sound even worse." Xiang said. "I might have to go in full uniform, really scare him off....
The hatch closed behind them.
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The operations centre that ISO had set up for the the Ulysses Expedition was well appointed. It looked like one of the command suites they used for their major exploration missions.
A large control pit with banks of multi function stations facing a set of large displays. Dominated the centre of the suite, off to the left side was a break room and a set of offices, and to the right a large conference room.
From their position near the entrance Xiang could see that it was mostly empty. A single technician was working on a console in the pit, and a pair of people stood near the entrance to the conference room. A tall young woman with an serious expression, and a man who appeared to be from station security. They seemed to be pointedly not talking to one another.
As commander Heisner lead her in that direction, Xiang suppressed a wince as the pull of gravity from each step. Despite it being only half earth normal, and the constant exercises and supplements that all serious spacers partook, walking in significant G after so long weightless took a while to get used to.
Official regulations called for an adjustment period, even in the reduced artificial G of a station like Arcadia. Spacers, being the headstrong bunch that they were, tended to make it a point of pride to push through the pain. To the frustration of flight doctors in pretty much every organisation.
The Commander stopped before getting to the door and nodded in greeting to the pair, before turning to face Xiang.
"This is Lieutenant Katja Adake. She has worked with the New Mexico material, and is part of the Operational Planning Team." Heisner gestured to the woman in an unadorned ISO flightsuit standing to her left. "Lieutenant Adake, this is Captain Liao Wei Xiang of the Jade Rabbit, who has been selected as the leader of the expedition to the Ulysses."
The Lieutenant looked at Xiang with an uncertain expression.
"A civilian Commander?" She asks, her brow arching ever so slightly.
Her accent is odd, hard to place, but not the sort of neutral international English that many in the ISO seemed to adopt by osmosis.
A twitch tugged at the edges of Commander Heisner's lips, giving the briefest impression that she was struggling to remain patient.
"Captain Liao is a highly experienced spacer, who has served in the Chinese Space Guard. Her selection for the mission was agreed upon by all three major parties, and she is a personal friend."
The young woman appeared to be somewhat chastened, and turned to face Xiang directly. Seemingly standing straighter.
"I apologize for any offence, I might have given Captain." She said, inclining her head slightly. "I am committed to ensuring the success of the mission."
[][COMMAND] Accept the apology.
[][COMMAND] Reprimand the Lieutenant.
Heisner gaze flicked warily between Xiang and Adake. Finally she gestured to the conference room door.
"Well, shall we get on with it?"
Inside a number of people were already seated around the table, engaging in light conversation. Which stuttered to a stop at the group's entrance. Xiang shrugged and took the nearest seat available. Lieutenant Adake seemed unsure of herself, and lingered until the Commander ushered her towards a spare chair.
With everyone seated, Heisner took the lead in proceedings.
"Good I see pretty much everyone is here. Lets start with introductions so everyone is on the same page. This is Captain Laio Wei Xiang, who I am sure you are all familiar with anyway. She has been chosen as the commander of the Ulysses expedition.
Around the table in no particular order we have; Major Zhou Han of the CSNA and Commander Gabriel Rocha of the BISA, who are respectively official liaisons from our sister organisations." Both men nodded in acknowledgement.
"Down there at the end is Rachel Theroux, our Flight Engineer, who is responsible for mission materiel and payload. Next to her is Doctor Karl Amsel, the Flight Surgeon, and Miriam Ansari the Flight Operations Director. And lastly to my my right is Oskar Mateu our Communications Director.
With that done the first operation planning session for the Ulysses expedition is now official under way. First order of business is expedition crew selection, if you would open the dossiers in front of you, lets begin at the top..."
Ulysses Expedition Crew Selection:
(Pick 5)
[ ][CREW] Doctor Agatha Kiatbusa
F, 33, Pattaya, Thailand
Security Rating: A+
Specialty: Flight rated Surgeon
ISO Medical Directorate, Arcadia Station
The youngest person to have visited the surface of Mars, Doctor Kiatbusa was the Medical Officer on the Aries VIII mission, under the leadership of the legendary Commander Usoko-Mercier.
Kiatbusa is trained in the most modern techniques of medical practice in space, and has had direct front-line experience in the field of frontier medicine. When serious injuries caused malfunction at Syrtis Base, he skills were instrumental in saving the lives of two of her team-mates, and allowing the mission to continue.
She currently serves as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Arcadia Station.
[ ][CREW] Annett Svane
F, 36 Copenhagen, DN, EU
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Language Specialist
Professor of Linguistics, Free University of Berlin
A polyglot with fluency in fifteen languages, Annet Svane is one of the worlds leading experts in applied linguistics. She has undertaken extensive research into the way languages have developed and mutually influenced each other over time.
Recently she has worked closely with ISO to develop common language structures for their documentation and training material, and most significantly into developing a system of markers and symbols that can effectively communicate the purpose of technical systems.
[ ][CREW] Aurora Secada
F, 34, Sacramento, CA, USA
Security Rating: C
Specialty: Mechanical Engineer, Rated EMT
Chief Engineering Officer, StarSeeker Materials Limited.
Aurora Secada has a history of hopping from start-up to start up, offering the starry eyed dreamers, who see their fortunes in Cis-Lunar space, her talents as an engineer. Some of those ventures have gone onto astounding success, others are forgotten failures. The result however is that a large number of platforms and stations in orbit bear her handiwork.
Aurora's talent for using limited resources to achieve results on the high frontier are renowned in the space community. Almost as much as her vices cheap alcohol and fast men.
[ ][CREW] Eliot Maheux
M, 43 Blainville, QC, Canada
Security Rating: A+
Specialty: Zero G Construction
Site Manager ISO Lunar operations, Armstrong Station
Eliot Maheux is currently employed in building the ISO's third phase expansion of Armstrong base. He is a master of heavy orbital construction techniques, turning lunacrete and steel into structures that will withstand the harshest challenges of space.
Given the fortress-like nature of the Ulysses his skills might come in use when trying to restore functionality to the derelict.
[ ][CREW] Helena Mikova
F, 26 Liberec, CZ, EU
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Communications Specialist, Rated EMT
ISO Operations Division, Arcadia Station
Helen Mikova is from the newest intake of ISO's astronaut training program. A gifted systems operator, she has distinguished herself in her current role as a flight co-ordinator in ISO's orbital traffic control centre.
Her ability with comms systems has earned her an offer to transfer to the Exploration Division, with the potential to become Communications Officer for one of the upcoming expeditions to the asteroid belt.
[ ][CREW] Kenard Oate
M, 36, Portmore, Jamaica
Security Rating: B
Specialty: Orbital Demolitions
United Nations Orbital Commission Hazard Removal Unit, BISA Contingent
Over a century of human space flight has left a lot of debris in orbit, even the smallest piece of which could be catastrophic if it struck an installation. The explosion of orbital activity has only worsened the problem.The international Hazard Removal Unit has the task of meticulously disposing of this debris. It is not a glamorous job, but one that Kenard Oate has been doing with passion for six years.
As a young man he left his native Jamaica and studied to become a pilot and engineer in Sao Paulo. From there he enlisted in the Brazillian-Indian Space Alliance. If anything needs chopping up, breaking down, or moving around Earth orbit, Kenard is your man.
[ ][CREW] Captain Lian Cai
M, 44, Shenyang, China
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Propulsion Engineer
SV Fènghuáng Flight engineer, CSNA Taikonaut corps
A long service Taikonaut in China's national space program, Lian Cai has worked for decades on every conceivable type of engine that powers space vehicles, from ion drives to fusion pulse thrusters.
Currently he serves as the Engineering Officer on the CSNA's own deep space exploration vehicle, the Fènghuáng. But his service has taken him across the system from Venus to Ceres.
What Lian Cai doesn;t know about moving spaceships around, probably isn't worth knowing.
[ ][CREW] Luka Nikolov
M, 33, Tver, Russia
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Electronics Systems Engineer
Control Systems Architect, Mir III station
Though ROSCOSMOS has seen better days it still maintains a strong orbital presence. Mir III station is one of the most technologically sophisticated in orbit, and that technology is maintained by Luka Nikolov. A gifted programmer, whereas many of his peers went on to fouind their own companies during the Russian Software boom, Nikolov instead fulfilled him childhood dream to work in orbit.
His control systems have formed a lucrative sideline for the Russian space agency, being licensed by many corporate space programs, and even ISO.
[ ][CREW] Marvin Wright
M, 39, Rockford, IL, USA
Security Rating: A+
Specialty: Mechanical Engineer
ISO Orbital Maintenance Division, Arcadia Station
Marvin Wright has had solid carer in the business of building and maintaining space vehicles. He started out in the Lockheed-Boeing project that built the ISO's Zenith space planes, and has since had a role in several important orbital vehicle projects, including the Grissom class of orbital tugs.
Currently he is once of the engineering officers overseeing ISO's fleet of orbital vehicles at Arcadia Station.
Marvin is notorious for his ability to scrounge up material and resources from sources his superiors would rather not know about. The effect to which he puts them however tends to make such question be forgotten. Notably he once built an entire Starhound drone from spar parts.
[ ][CREW] Nhahala Lindela
F, 28, Durban, South Africa
Security Rating: B
Specialty: Environmental Systems Engineer
Site Supervisor, Miostar Life Systems
As big as ISO is, it was decided early on in the organisations formation that space must be left aside for private companies to have a role in the colonization and industrialization of orbit. To this end several subsidiary functions and services are provided to ISO by third party contractors, one of which is the life support systems and maintenance for Arcadia Station.
Nhahala Lindela has worked for Miostar Life Systems on contracts not just for the ISO, but also on many of new commercial stations and habitats that are being set up in Cis-Lunar space. Though comparatively junior in her field, she has worked up an impressive list of achievements, and is available on short notice.
[ ][CREW] Sazama Ayuko
F, 40, Nagoya, Japan
Security Rating: B
Specialty: Data Retrieval Specialist
Independent Contractor
There comes a point for many large organisations when they become very interested in what the otherwise private affairs of their peers. There can be many reasons for this, from wanting to retrive proprietary information, or a desire to get a leg up on the competition. Sazam Ayuko in uninterested in reasons, she deals in results. To her the job is no different whether she is breaking into highly secured networks, or cleaning up after someone managed to lose the password to the secure data store. Though ISO leadership could never admit to having relied upon her skills in the past, they can recommend her talents, and discretion.
[ ][CREW] Vincent Ballard
M, 28, Tamworth, UK
Security Rating: A
Specialty: Flight Technician, Rated EMT
Maintenance Chief, ISO Flight Operations Division, Mistral Station
Though Arcadia is the beating heart of ISO's operations in Cis-Lunar space, it is far from the only station that the massive organisation operates. The perhaps whimsically named Mistral Station, has another name, the L1 Refueling Depot. Essentially a giant tank of propellant hanging in the gap between Earth and Luna, Mistral is a frequent stop for vehicles moving about Cis-Luanr space, and transiting into inter-planetary vectors.
The constant activity requires a dedicated crew to keep the facilities in working order. Vincent Ballard has worked Mistral for two years, and is now the second shift maintenance chief. He duties require him to keep on top of a massive scope of issues, and consequently Ballard has developed a wide variety of skills. Capable of fixing everything from a CO2 scrubber to a LOX pump, he is in high demand, and has been offered posting by corporate outfits with far higher pay. Ballard however has remained loyal to ISO, apparently preferring the challenge at the heart of humanity's drive towards the stars.
[ ][CREW] Refuse all the options, demand your own crew
The Crew of the Jade Rabbit is the best there is , you couldn't consider doing this mission without them.
Minh Luc Ty, Flight Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Electronics Engineer, Pilot
Carol Waverley, Comms Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Communications Specialist
Ayaan Saranda, Engineering Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Propulsion Engineer
William Redford, Engineering Officer, OV Jade Rabbit
Mechanical Engineer
Qiao An Bo, Cargo Master, OV Jade Rabbit
Orbital Demolitions Specialist
AN: Ugh that took a while.
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
I really like how the characters are fleshed out through dialogue in this one.
We probably don't need to antagonize our crew just yet after we have accepted a covert mission for Chinese government. It might be better not to give people reasons to scrutinize our actions in order to get back at us. So I lean towards accepting the apology.
The crew, though, is a pretty tough choice. But first things first, what does 'Security rating' mean as far as we are concerned? The loyalty to the ISO mission? Overall integrity? Something else?
Unless we somehow rig it to blow up and need to clean up the resulting mess before it hits Earth, I guess.
Speaking of, we have two of those.
As far as political situation is concerned... should people's country of origin be taken into consideration, or does our 'private' mission benefits China only and as such would be better kept a secret from anyone unless they could be personally bought or otherwise subverted? Do we have countries that would be more/less sympathetic to our cause if we get caught?
We probably don't need to antagonize our crew just yet after we have accepted a covert mission for Chinese government. It might be better not to give people reasons to scrutinize our actions in order to get back at us. So I lean towards accepting the apology.
The crew, though, is a pretty tough choice. But first things first, what does 'Security rating' mean as far as we are concerned? The loyalty to the ISO mission? Overall integrity? Something else?
What does EMT mean? Also, what are the benefits of having a Communications Specialist on board?
Same. What Hazard Removal has to do with it? I mean, sure Ulysses qualifies as a hazard, but if it could be removed conventionally the problem wouldn't have the priority level it does.
Unless we somehow rig it to blow up and need to clean up the resulting mess before it hits Earth, I guess.
Same. Do we expect to reprogram Ulysses' systems if we take him with us? So mechanical engineers would tamper with hardware while a programmer would attempt to take control over them. But then, if we accept that...
I would have expected that to fall under the purview of mechanical engineers. Am I mistaken?
Speaking of, we have two of those.
What are the practical differences between their spheres of expertise?
As far as political situation is concerned... should people's country of origin be taken into consideration, or does our 'private' mission benefits China only and as such would be better kept a secret from anyone unless they could be personally bought or otherwise subverted? Do we have countries that would be more/less sympathetic to our cause if we get caught?
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Security Rating is how much ISO trusts that person. That is of course entirely ISO's opinion
EMT stands for Emergency Medical Technician
A Communications Specialist is as the name implies good at using comms equipment and patching into the various communications networks, if you need to contact and co-ordinate with outside agencies they might be key.
An Orbital Demolitions Specialist is an expert in zero G work who is also adept at using heavy equipment to break up debris. Something that might be useful if you need to traverse the wrecked areas of the Ulysses.
The Zero G Construction Expert is in much the same line of work. Though of course he is better at building things. Maybe if something needed to be jury rigged his skills could be crucial.
A Mechanical Engineer is good at manipulating and fixing mechanical systems like doors, airlocks elevators, etc. You can take both if you want.
The Electronic Systems engineer could be of use if you needed to restore some of the Ulysses systems.
No matter what roster you choose there isn't one where you will be unable to fulfill the misison. But they will give you different choices.
I forgot to add a crew choice, which is available as a result of choosing Xiang as the Expedition leader. So that is now at the end.