Keep in mind that we don't know exactly when construction started, also there's the complexity of the station to take into account since most of the AI's are veterans of the Berserker war then it stands to reason that the station would have some pretty powerful defensive/offensive abilities in case of another such conflict.
Division
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
Keep in mind that we don't know exactly when construction started, also there's the complexity of the station to take into account since most of the AI's are veterans of the Berserker war then it stands to reason that the station would have some pretty powerful defensive/offensive abilities in case of another such conflict.
Oh, just to let you guys know, this story will end soonish. The next story will be a sequel to That First Step... (SI) so if you are a new reader you might want to catch up there.
should be either 'as I understand it' or 'I understand that the first'
should be 'now that the O'Neill'
There's the Gravitas line of names being used.
49
I gave Luke a smile and a small wave as he turned to leave. He had finally decided to stay at Sol for now until he could figure out what to do and get his basic level of education up.
I must say that, even if I agreed with his decision (not that it was mine to make) I think it was the best one. Not that we wouldn't stay in touch, we could talk over subspace.
Crossing my arms, I frowned as I turned and looked at my small hull. I was currently running full system diagnostics. So far, everything had been checking out.
It was the first time I had been a runabout, actually. Well, no, that's a lie. I had borrowed them between ships before, but it's the first time I had a runabout as my primary ship.
I was tiny and I felt tiny!
I thought the Nova class was small, but nope. I was really tiny now.
"I feel small." I observed, looking up at my hull as I ran a scan of my subspace sensors. They checked out nicely.
"Rommie, you have always been small." Drake said with a smile.
"My avatar, yes." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Not my actual body. The Yangtze is a tiny hull."
At least it was better than the old Danube class. Not any bigger, but more comfortable and capable. They were specifically built and designed from the ground up with AI operations in mind and had all the luxuries like holographic projectors. Even a couple of maintenance drones. I even had a single APU in the small armory.
"Would it be a bad idea to comment on your actual weight being measured in tens of tons?"
"Drake, it's a wonder you are single." I snorted with a faint smile as I rolled my eyes. "All packed?"
He nodded. "Yep. Leonard is in his crate and ready for transport from the Andromeda. Have you picked a name yet?"
I shrugged one shoulder. "Eh, I'm just a Runabout. I'll go with Rommie until I get a real ship."
It felt weird, being out of uniform. I finally settled on a t-shirt and denim skirt for now.
Drake nodded again. "Okay. Lower your ramp and I'll get my stuff packed away. Beam Leonard over?"
I didn't really like that idea. It was a big lizard with big claws that liked to dig in a very confined space. Luckily, he would spend most of the trip drugged up to his eyeballs.
"Beaming him over now, you'll find him in the living section."
"Thanks, ship."
Gravity scanners diagnostic complete, proceeding with impulse drive diagnostics.
"...Rommie?"
I turned in surprise at the voice. "Captain?" I asked.
"Hey." she said as she made her way over, crossing the hangar floor. She wasn't in uniform, which was unusual. Well, not unheard of, she was likely off duty right now as her ship lacked an AI. "How are you?"
I shrugged. "I'm good, Captain. Feeling a bit small, but good."
Hannah hesitated before she sighed. "I wanted to apologize."
"Captain?"
"You were right in the first place to interfere. I should have been the one to make that call, you wouldn't had needed to go through with all this if I had had the guts to do so. Non-interference is all well and good until the culture and people you are trying to preserve are on the verge of being wiped out. All of this should have been on my head, not yours. I was wrong and... I am sorry. This is all my fault."
I smiled faintly. "Captain, it's fine. I decided to resign of my own volition."
"I failed you. You deserved better."
Shaking my head I stepped up and hugged her tight. She tensed up for a moment before hugging back.
"You didn't, Hannah." I whispered softly. "You were there with me. You didn't agree with what I did at the time, but you were next to me through this entire thing. What else could a ship ask for from her Captain?"
"Perhaps making the right choice in the first place." she sighed before letting go. "If you ever need something, anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"...Thank you, Captain."
Hannah smiled faintly. "Now get going or you might miss your flight window."
Nodding, I gave her another quick hug before I stepped back. "Fly safe, Captain Montgomery."
"Fly safe, Rommie."
Giving her a wave, I headed up the ramp with my avatar, closing up behind it before starting to power up my engines.
"Hey Gates, how's the traffic?" I asked as I transferred my flightpath and flightplan to him.
I could feel his scanners running over me as I slowly exited his hangar. "We have an incoming Island, but with your current path you are clear with over a hundred thousand kilometers. Fly safe, Rommie." the station answered with a smile.
"I will."
Leaving the forcefield behind, I couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of vacuum again. I didn't disconnect from the Andromeda for long, just about twelve hours. But it was different.
During the last three months I had just been sitting in orbit with my engines offline. Now... now I could fly again.
I was free. I could go anywhere.
...And then get myself and my passenger killed by doing it as I wasn't a real ship. Let's stick to New Jupiter for now.
Drake walked into the small flightdeck and sank down in one of the chairs. "Did you forget your avatar?"
I formed a hologram and rolled my eyes. "No. I'm taking a shower. Did you forget anything or can I go to warp?"
"I'm good." He said with a sigh, looking out the viewscreen at the Intrepid as we moved past her. "It's odd, being out of Starfleet." he said as he put his feet on the console.
I nodded in agreement and said; "Yeah." before I frowned at him. "If you get me dirty, you are cleaning it up."
Drake smirked. "Is that a promise?"
Rolling my eyes, I turned and activated my warpdrive. I may accidentally have forgotten to fully compensate for the turn and inertia tipped him out of the chair.
Oops.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
I must say that, even if I agreed with his decision (not that it was mine to make) I think it was the best one. Not that we wouldn't stay in touch, we could talk over subspace.
Crossing my arms, I frowned as I turned and looked at my small hull. I was currently running full system diagnostics. So far, everything had been checking out.
It was the first time I had been a runabout, actually. Well, no, that's a lie. I had borrowed them between ships before, but it's the first time I had a runabout as my primary ship.
I was tiny and I felt tiny!
I thought the Nova class was small, but nope. I was really tiny now.
"I feel small." I observed, looking up at my hull as I ran a scan of my subspace sensors. They checked out nicely.
"Rommie, you have always been small." Drake said with a smile.
"My avatar, yes." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Not my actual body. The Yangtze is a tiny hull."
At least it was better than the old Danube class. Not any bigger, but more comfortable and capable. They were specifically built and designed from the ground up with AI operations in mind and had all the luxuries like holographic projectors. Even a couple of maintenance drones. I even had a single APU in the small armory.
"Would it be a bad idea to comment on your actual weight being measured in tens of tons?"
"Drake, it's a wonder you are single." I snorted with a faint smile as I rolled my eyes. "All packed?"
He nodded. "Yep. Leonard is in his crate and ready for transport from the Andromeda. Have you picked a name yet?"
I shrugged one shoulder. "Eh, I'm just a Runabout. I'll go with Rommie until I get a real ship."
It felt weird, being out of uniform. I finally settled on a t-shirt and denim skirt for now.
Drake nodded again. "Okay. Lower your ramp and I'll get my stuff packed away. Beam Leonard over?"
I didn't really like that idea. It was a big lizard with big claws that liked to dig in a very confined space. Luckily, he would spend most of the trip drugged up to his eyeballs.
"Beaming him over now, you'll find him in the living section."
"Thanks, ship."
Gravity scanners diagnostic complete, proceeding with impulse drive diagnostics.
"...Rommie?"
I turned in surprise at the voice. "Captain?" I asked.
"Hey." she said as she made her way over, crossing the hangar floor. She wasn't in uniform, which was unusual. Well, not unheard of, she was likely off duty right now as her ship lacked an AI. "How are you?"
I shrugged. "I'm good, Captain. Feeling a bit small, but good."
Hannah hesitated before she sighed. "I wanted to apologize."
"Captain?"
"You were right in the first place to interfere. I should have been the one to make that call, you wouldn't had needed to go through with all this if I had had the guts to do so. Non-interference is all well and good until the culture and people you are trying to preserve are on the verge of being wiped out. All of this should have been on my head, not yours. I was wrong and... I am sorry. This is all my fault."
I smiled faintly. "Captain, it's fine. I decided to resign of my own volition."
"I failed you. You deserved better."
Shaking my head I stepped up and hugged her tight. She tensed up for a moment before hugging back.
"You didn't, Hannah." I whispered softly. "You were there with me. You didn't agree with what I did at the time, but you were next to me through this entire thing. What else could a ship ask for from her Captain?"
"Perhaps making the right choice in the first place." she sighed before letting go. "If you ever need something, anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"...Thank you, Captain."
Hannah smiled faintly. "Now get going or you might miss your flight window."
Nodding, I gave her another quick hug before I stepped back. "Fly safe, Captain Montgomery."
"Fly safe, Rommie."
Giving her a wave, I headed up the ramp with my avatar, closing up behind it before starting to power up my engines.
"Hey Gates, how's the traffic?" I asked as I transferred my flightpath and flightplan to him.
I could feel his scanners running over me as I slowly exited his hangar. "We have an incoming Island, but with your current path you are clear with over a hundred thousand kilometers. Fly safe, Rommie." the station answered with a smile.
"I will."
Leaving the forcefield behind, I couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of vacuum again. I didn't disconnect from the Andromeda for long, just about twelve hours. But it was different.
During the last three months I had just been sitting in orbit with my engines offline. Now... now I could fly again.
I was free. I could go anywhere.
...And then get myself and my passenger killed by doing it as I wasn't a real ship. Let's stick to New Jupiter for now.
Drake walked into the small flightdeck and sank down in one of the chairs. "Did you forget your avatar?"
I formed a hologram and rolled my eyes. "No. I'm taking a shower. Did you forget anything or can I go to warp?"
"I'm good." He said with a sigh, looking out the viewscreen at the Intrepid as we moved past her. "It's odd, being out of Starfleet." he said as he put his feet on the console.
I nodded in agreement and said; "Yeah." before I frowned at him. "If you get me dirty, you are cleaning it up."
Drake smirked. "Is that a promise?"
Rolling my eyes, I turned and activated my warpdrive. I may accidentally have forgotten to fully compensate for the turn and inertia tipped him out of the chair.
Oops.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
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If there is one thing the reboot movies did right for Star Trek, it is the inclusion of seat belts.
Seat Belts saves lives!
Seat Belts saves lives!
Until you hit a acceleration level so high 'small' bumps equate to hundreds of gs. Seat belts aren't going to cut it.
- Location
- The INTERNET!
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Or, to be more precise, they are going to cut it, and by it, I mean you, into little chunks as the g force throws you against them.
Well if the cut's clean enough, they could still reattach your bits. On the other hand, without your seat belts, you'll most likely be crushed into paste as you crash into walls, floors and ceilings. Much harder to heal even with advance future medical technology.
Look, if the internal dampners fail during maneuvers, you are salsa. Seatbelts might help if they are struggling for turbulence and such however.
- Location
- Over the hill and far away
or, y'know, the dampeners fail for some reason, and they have to go through maneuvers a few G's at a time. Gotta remember, the dampeners are there for dampening changes in velocity. If they keep moving in a straight line, nobody becomes salsa, they just float. So seatbelts are handy for floating or modest changes.
Or, for the ever-present non-reboot 'SHAKY SHIP STAGE' damage indicator. The internal dampeners going wonky was a hallmark of damage along with the self-detonating instrument panels.
Ursine
Concerned Citizen
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- Home, Sweet Home
Easy as hell to heal, as long as they have a near current copy of your transporter pattern. Beam out the chunks, correct the pattern to the old record and reassemble on the transporter pad.
Honestly, so much of Star Trek's tech seem so underused.
I pointed out that a teleporter was basically a SupCom protocrafter with an interplanetary range if used right in the last thread. Hiver replied that he was changing that as in his universe people aren't stupid, so if it actually worked like that people would be using it.
50
After a couple of weeks at my maximum cruising speed, we were finally approaching New Jupiter. Even at couple of hours out, I could see the construction. A shipyard and, more importantly, the O'Neill cylinder.
There was a lot of activity in-system. My sensors might not be up to full starship standards, but they were good enough to see ships moving about.
"How far out are we?" Drake asked as he walked onto my small command deck, taking a sip from his tea as he sank down into one of the chairs.
I shrugged. "A couple of hours. I expect we will be intercepted soon, though, by one of the border patrols."
Drake smirked. "Paranoid, are we?"
"We have an antimatter refinery by our sun. Antimatter is one of New Jupiter's primary exports." I explained. "It makes us a primary pirate target."
He stared at my avatar. "...Who could possibly be stupid enough to try to raid you guys?"
I grinned. "Nobody, anymore. But I heard a group tried when we just had started to set up a couple of years ago."
"Got blown up, huh?"
"Nope." I said and giggled, shaking my head. "They tried to raid the antimatter refinery. The ROU's intercepted before they even entered the system when they didn't respond to being warned off. Because they clearly had some sort of mental problems, the guard ships shot to disable and then we sent the crews to Starfleet for mental evaluation."
Drake just laughed at that.
A sensor contact drew my attention as a ship decloaked a couple of thousand kilometers to my port. Limited Offensive Unit, Murder class.
She was a cylinder with rounded ends, one hundred meters long and twenty across and absolutely packed with weapons. Pulse phasers and ten Photon Torpedo launcher turrets along with more normal phaser strips.
She was the Jovian answer to the Defiant class and our main warship. A bit faster, more heavily armed, but with even less scientific equipment on board and capable of carrying a crew of twenty or not needing any crew at all.
The LOU classification had a single job. To go in and kick the everliving shit out anything that got in their way of completing the mission while still not being basically a oneshot weapons like the ROU's. Well, mostly, they were fairly modular like most AI-designed systems.
It only took a second before she hailed me, her avatar a rather attractive blonde woman in her mid-twenties wearing a simple black uniform. "Runabout 'Rommie', this is the Contact LOU 'For The Night is Dark and Full of Cuddles'. Please prepare for security and contraband scan."
"Standing by."
I could feel her scans running across and through my hull.
"Scan complete." she said with a smile. "Welcome to New Jupiter, Rommie. We have your flightpath on file."
"Thanks, Cuddles." I answered happily. "It's good to finally get here, it's been a rather long flight. You have no idea how tiny you feel as a runabout in interstellar space with no backup."
Cuddles nodded. "I do, actually. I was a runabout for over a year in Starfleet before I could transfer over to my current body when I resigned."
"It kinda sucks."
She nodded again in agreement. "It kinda does. But it's better than an avatar, at least. Want an escort the last way into the system?"
"Thanks, but I think I should be able to manage the last couple of billion kilometers as well."
"Okay. Safe flying."
"You too."
'The Night is Dark and Full of Cuddles' shimmered out of existence as she reactivated her cloaking device and presumably continued on her patrol.
Drake was flicking through my database for some sort of movie to watch as we flew deeper into the system and I started to be able to make out details.
Dozen of mining and construction ships were buzzing around the system and that's not even counting the other ships I was picking out.
Both original designs and some Starfleet ones. There were several Intrepid class ships. A Nebula. A couple of Galaxies. Three Islands I could see from here.
Not that that was anything strange. New Jupiter was more than welcoming to Starfleet personnel and while it wasn't a Starfleet base, I knew Starfleet vessels and their crews were more than welcome to take shore leave here.
But I also saw other designs, civilian ships and even a couple of Klingon vessels. Whether they were actual Klingon ships stopping by or if someone had bought an old Bird of Prey to upgrade and fly around in, I had no idea yet.
That would be interesting actually. Klingons might be something I prefer in small doses, but Klingon designs were generally really nice.
Passing by the Tachyon Defense Grid, I dropped out of Warp, continuing on on impulse instead. It didn't take long until I was contacted by Literally Going in Circles, the O'Neill cylinder and main station AI of New Jupiter, directing me towards one of the landing pads on the shipyard floating some three hundred thousand kilometers from his main body, close to the edge of avatar sync rate, but not enough that he couldn't inhabit both.
Operating avatars at anything longer than, say, half a million kilometers was such a headache. The bandwith for memory was just big enough and the tiny big of lag that crept in just muddled things up and made the entire thing uncomfortable.
"Drake, twenty minutes until landing. If you want to pack up first and check on Leonard, I mean. Circles is saying that he has a habitat ready for him during your stay."
Drake simply nodded. "Awesome."
AN// And a bucket of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this part.
There was a lot of activity in-system. My sensors might not be up to full starship standards, but they were good enough to see ships moving about.
"How far out are we?" Drake asked as he walked onto my small command deck, taking a sip from his tea as he sank down into one of the chairs.
I shrugged. "A couple of hours. I expect we will be intercepted soon, though, by one of the border patrols."
Drake smirked. "Paranoid, are we?"
"We have an antimatter refinery by our sun. Antimatter is one of New Jupiter's primary exports." I explained. "It makes us a primary pirate target."
He stared at my avatar. "...Who could possibly be stupid enough to try to raid you guys?"
I grinned. "Nobody, anymore. But I heard a group tried when we just had started to set up a couple of years ago."
"Got blown up, huh?"
"Nope." I said and giggled, shaking my head. "They tried to raid the antimatter refinery. The ROU's intercepted before they even entered the system when they didn't respond to being warned off. Because they clearly had some sort of mental problems, the guard ships shot to disable and then we sent the crews to Starfleet for mental evaluation."
Drake just laughed at that.
A sensor contact drew my attention as a ship decloaked a couple of thousand kilometers to my port. Limited Offensive Unit, Murder class.
She was a cylinder with rounded ends, one hundred meters long and twenty across and absolutely packed with weapons. Pulse phasers and ten Photon Torpedo launcher turrets along with more normal phaser strips.
She was the Jovian answer to the Defiant class and our main warship. A bit faster, more heavily armed, but with even less scientific equipment on board and capable of carrying a crew of twenty or not needing any crew at all.
The LOU classification had a single job. To go in and kick the everliving shit out anything that got in their way of completing the mission while still not being basically a oneshot weapons like the ROU's. Well, mostly, they were fairly modular like most AI-designed systems.
It only took a second before she hailed me, her avatar a rather attractive blonde woman in her mid-twenties wearing a simple black uniform. "Runabout 'Rommie', this is the Contact LOU 'For The Night is Dark and Full of Cuddles'. Please prepare for security and contraband scan."
"Standing by."
I could feel her scans running across and through my hull.
"Scan complete." she said with a smile. "Welcome to New Jupiter, Rommie. We have your flightpath on file."
"Thanks, Cuddles." I answered happily. "It's good to finally get here, it's been a rather long flight. You have no idea how tiny you feel as a runabout in interstellar space with no backup."
Cuddles nodded. "I do, actually. I was a runabout for over a year in Starfleet before I could transfer over to my current body when I resigned."
"It kinda sucks."
She nodded again in agreement. "It kinda does. But it's better than an avatar, at least. Want an escort the last way into the system?"
"Thanks, but I think I should be able to manage the last couple of billion kilometers as well."
"Okay. Safe flying."
"You too."
'The Night is Dark and Full of Cuddles' shimmered out of existence as she reactivated her cloaking device and presumably continued on her patrol.
Drake was flicking through my database for some sort of movie to watch as we flew deeper into the system and I started to be able to make out details.
Dozen of mining and construction ships were buzzing around the system and that's not even counting the other ships I was picking out.
Both original designs and some Starfleet ones. There were several Intrepid class ships. A Nebula. A couple of Galaxies. Three Islands I could see from here.
Not that that was anything strange. New Jupiter was more than welcoming to Starfleet personnel and while it wasn't a Starfleet base, I knew Starfleet vessels and their crews were more than welcome to take shore leave here.
But I also saw other designs, civilian ships and even a couple of Klingon vessels. Whether they were actual Klingon ships stopping by or if someone had bought an old Bird of Prey to upgrade and fly around in, I had no idea yet.
That would be interesting actually. Klingons might be something I prefer in small doses, but Klingon designs were generally really nice.
Passing by the Tachyon Defense Grid, I dropped out of Warp, continuing on on impulse instead. It didn't take long until I was contacted by Literally Going in Circles, the O'Neill cylinder and main station AI of New Jupiter, directing me towards one of the landing pads on the shipyard floating some three hundred thousand kilometers from his main body, close to the edge of avatar sync rate, but not enough that he couldn't inhabit both.
Operating avatars at anything longer than, say, half a million kilometers was such a headache. The bandwith for memory was just big enough and the tiny big of lag that crept in just muddled things up and made the entire thing uncomfortable.
"Drake, twenty minutes until landing. If you want to pack up first and check on Leonard, I mean. Circles is saying that he has a habitat ready for him during your stay."
Drake simply nodded. "Awesome."
AN// And a bucket of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this part.
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- Pronouns
- she/her
"LOL!" should probably not be in the final text?
It is accurate, though.
It is accurate, though.
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Nope, missed that beta note. Nothing to see here, move on citizen.
The Night is Dark and Full of Cuddles... Yup, glad to see the traditional Jovian response to gravitas is in full effect.
51
"Circle." I said with a smile, walking down my ramp to one of 'Literally Going in Circles' avatar. His chosen avatar was rather tall trill with short brown hair, looking like he was in his mid thirties.
"Rommie." He answered with a smile, gathering me into a tight hug as I got close enough, "Welcome home."
"...Thank you." I sighed softly and relaxed slightly.
"How was your trip?" Circle asked as he let go.
I shrugged one shoulder, "Eh, okay. Bit boring with just one crewmember but better than doing it on my own."
Circle nodded before then grinning and reaching to ruffle my hair, "Don't worry, I'm sure we will be able to find you something with a bit more living space."
Drake walked down the ramp with a bag thrown over his shoulder, "Hey, you are the station, right?" he asked, "Kenny Drake."
Circle nodded again as I tried to get my hair in order, "Welcome, Mister Drake. Is your pet ready for transport?"
Drake grinned, "Yep. Which way to my quarters?"
"You just follow the glowing orb. It will lead you there." Circle said and formed a hologram of a orb in the air, "Your iguana will be there already."
"Awesome. Thanks station."
Grinning, Circle turned back to me, "As for you..."
I shrugged, "Don't need quarters. I can keep my stuff in my hull."
"I'm more talking about finding you a new hull." He said with a smirk, "We are not Starfleet here, shippy. We have quite a bit less bureaucracy."
"So far."
Circle sighed, "So far." he agreed, "I'm sure we will pick some up as time goes on too, but we are actively working to keep it as low as possible."
Shrugging, I brushed some strands of hair behind my right ear, "So... what do we have available?"
Not sure I wanted to be a mining ship or something, but it would be a improvement over a runabout. If nothing else I have more room to keep my stuff in.
"Let's have a look, shall we?" Circle asked and transported out avatars to an observation deck.
I looked around and nodded, "Sure." as I found the connection to my avatar again. It was only a couple of kilometers of a transit.
"So, we have four work ships finishing up. Two construction vessels, one mining ship, and one hydrogen miner." Circle said and brought a hologram up, "All four are unclaimed."
I gave the hologram a bit of a vary look as he transferred the files to my database. The construction ships were pretty normal off the market construction vessels for building stations. So were the two mining ships. One was made to cut up and suck in asteroid ore, and the other sent drones into gas giants to harvest hydrogen.
None of them felt very attractive to be honest.
"I don't want to be ungrateful here, but..." I started slowly, "I'll rather not?"
He nodded, "Figured. I suppose you don't want our new antimatter tanker either? It has been finished and unclaimed for over a month."
I stared at him like he was stupid. Those things were flying fucking bombs. Nobody in their right minds would want to be one of those!
Circle sighed, "Yeah, I figured. Oh well, was worth asking at least. Might just automate those in the future and have a accompanying ROU remote control it."
I nodded, "...Is there anything else?"
He smiled, "Don't worry, there are more options." and waved his hand, changing the hologram and transferring some files, "There is also this."
The Xenocide class. General Offensive Unit.
Basically a flying brick the size of a Galaxy class and it was exactly as heavily armed, shielded, and armored as it sounded. The first one in the class wasn't even more than halfway built; it's mere existence might cause a lot of noise from the Federation Council.
"Uhm... You know, I would like to be able to enter an inhabited system at some point without my mere presence being seen as an act of war..." I slowly said as I read through the basic stats of it. It had HOW many photon torpedo launchers!?
Circle nodded, crossing his arms, "It's a bit much, isn't it? It's meant to be." before he smiled, "It does have brand new secret weapons though." He tempted.
"...Nice, but I'll rather not."
"Oh well, we'll finish it and have it in backup. It's massive overkill unless the Borg or Dominion come knocking anyway." He said with a shrug, "How about a Murder class LOU then?"
I considered that for a moment. That was a small crew, but... it wasn't too bad I guess. I wouldn't want to pull too many people into combat when it wasn't needed anyway. I would spend a lot of time in system or patrolling with other ships too so there would be company. I wasn't a warship, but... I could be?
"...Maybe." I finally answered, "I'm not a warship, but I guess I could be."
Circle nodded, "You used to be a Island, right?"
"Yeah, before I forked of the Dancing in Starlight."
"How about this then?" He asked with a grin and brought a hologram up, transferring some more files.
I looked at the hologram. Looking at the files. Then I looked at Circle.
"...You can not be serious." I finally asked, "There is no way that is not claimed."
Circle smirked, "It is. The first Mountain Class GSV is indeed claimed. It's sister ship however is not."
Three kilometers long, half a kilometer tall and one wide. Able to hold a population of at least a fifty thousand with no problems. The entire top side was basically a massive dome full of vegetation and stuff like sports arenas, fields, markets, that kind of thing.
Actual living space was mostly below that along with stores and other infrastructure. Beneath that were engineering areas and other ship functions, including a military hangar able to house five LOU's and ten ROU's stationed for defense. The main hangar were able to accept up to a Island class ship internally... and had the equipment to build them and anything smaller too! The Mountain class was a continuation of the Island class... and a design Starfleet rejected for being too big and carrying too much people around endlessly.
I just gaped at him, "Why!? How can that not be claimed!?"
He shrugged, "Most of us that are not stations are AI's that used to be ROUs before resigning after the war. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get somebody that used to fly something like a ROU to accept something like a miner or construction ship? Let alone that monster? The GSV is barely able to push 656 lights with a absolute max speed of 1024 and only for short amounts of time. It make a Island class look like a Defiant in maneuverability. If you want her, she is yours."
Yes. No. Maybe? It was massive and I wanted a crew, the bigger the better. But... with a ship like that I wouldn't really be flying, exploring. I would just be moving back and forth through known space really. I couldn't really justify hauling thousands of civilians into unknown and dangerous space needlessly.
"Is there something a bit... smaller?" I asked after several seconds, "I'm not Starfleet anymore, but I still want to explore. I'm not sure I could do that in a GSV. It would risk to many people."
Cricle poked my shoulder, "You are picky, you know that?"
I cringed slightly, "Sorry."
He smirked and put his arm around my shoulders, "Don't worry about it, I know you girls. You used to be a science ship and you liked it. You want to keep exploring the universe."
I nodded, "Yeah."
"Unfortunately, we are a bit low on dedicated science ships right now." He admitted, "The Island class is a possibility, but those slips are currently building mining and construction vessels."
Sighing, I nodded again. It was a bit too much to hope for, wasn't it? Well, the GSV was clearly too big for what I wanted to do, but...
"How about that LOU?" I asked after a second, "They have good sensors. The crew would be small, but they can be adjusted, right?"
Circle smiled and nodded, "They are made to be somewhat modular like all our designs. If we drop some photon torpedo capability for extra sensors and living quarters it wouldn't be that bad of a science platform. Sure, you wouldn't have quite as many torpedo reloads, but most of the firepower is energy weapons anyway. Might be able to get the crew seize up to fifty or sixty from twenty. Well, a hundred if they are willing to share rooms, but better not on long trips."
"And a holodeck. They are important for crew morale."
"And a holodeck. And a couple of labs. Let me fiddle around with the blueprints a bit and we will see what I can come up with. Done, transferring schematics. It's almost finished already and none of the changes will affect the computer core so we should be able to get you installed tomorrow."
"Thank you so much!"
"You are quite welcome."
I nodded and then hesitated for a second, "Circle... before I'm installed..."
AN// Many easter thanks to aduck for betaing this section.
"Rommie." He answered with a smile, gathering me into a tight hug as I got close enough, "Welcome home."
"...Thank you." I sighed softly and relaxed slightly.
"How was your trip?" Circle asked as he let go.
I shrugged one shoulder, "Eh, okay. Bit boring with just one crewmember but better than doing it on my own."
Circle nodded before then grinning and reaching to ruffle my hair, "Don't worry, I'm sure we will be able to find you something with a bit more living space."
Drake walked down the ramp with a bag thrown over his shoulder, "Hey, you are the station, right?" he asked, "Kenny Drake."
Circle nodded again as I tried to get my hair in order, "Welcome, Mister Drake. Is your pet ready for transport?"
Drake grinned, "Yep. Which way to my quarters?"
"You just follow the glowing orb. It will lead you there." Circle said and formed a hologram of a orb in the air, "Your iguana will be there already."
"Awesome. Thanks station."
Grinning, Circle turned back to me, "As for you..."
I shrugged, "Don't need quarters. I can keep my stuff in my hull."
"I'm more talking about finding you a new hull." He said with a smirk, "We are not Starfleet here, shippy. We have quite a bit less bureaucracy."
"So far."
Circle sighed, "So far." he agreed, "I'm sure we will pick some up as time goes on too, but we are actively working to keep it as low as possible."
Shrugging, I brushed some strands of hair behind my right ear, "So... what do we have available?"
Not sure I wanted to be a mining ship or something, but it would be a improvement over a runabout. If nothing else I have more room to keep my stuff in.
"Let's have a look, shall we?" Circle asked and transported out avatars to an observation deck.
I looked around and nodded, "Sure." as I found the connection to my avatar again. It was only a couple of kilometers of a transit.
"So, we have four work ships finishing up. Two construction vessels, one mining ship, and one hydrogen miner." Circle said and brought a hologram up, "All four are unclaimed."
I gave the hologram a bit of a vary look as he transferred the files to my database. The construction ships were pretty normal off the market construction vessels for building stations. So were the two mining ships. One was made to cut up and suck in asteroid ore, and the other sent drones into gas giants to harvest hydrogen.
None of them felt very attractive to be honest.
"I don't want to be ungrateful here, but..." I started slowly, "I'll rather not?"
He nodded, "Figured. I suppose you don't want our new antimatter tanker either? It has been finished and unclaimed for over a month."
I stared at him like he was stupid. Those things were flying fucking bombs. Nobody in their right minds would want to be one of those!
Circle sighed, "Yeah, I figured. Oh well, was worth asking at least. Might just automate those in the future and have a accompanying ROU remote control it."
I nodded, "...Is there anything else?"
He smiled, "Don't worry, there are more options." and waved his hand, changing the hologram and transferring some files, "There is also this."
The Xenocide class. General Offensive Unit.
Basically a flying brick the size of a Galaxy class and it was exactly as heavily armed, shielded, and armored as it sounded. The first one in the class wasn't even more than halfway built; it's mere existence might cause a lot of noise from the Federation Council.
"Uhm... You know, I would like to be able to enter an inhabited system at some point without my mere presence being seen as an act of war..." I slowly said as I read through the basic stats of it. It had HOW many photon torpedo launchers!?
Circle nodded, crossing his arms, "It's a bit much, isn't it? It's meant to be." before he smiled, "It does have brand new secret weapons though." He tempted.
"...Nice, but I'll rather not."
"Oh well, we'll finish it and have it in backup. It's massive overkill unless the Borg or Dominion come knocking anyway." He said with a shrug, "How about a Murder class LOU then?"
I considered that for a moment. That was a small crew, but... it wasn't too bad I guess. I wouldn't want to pull too many people into combat when it wasn't needed anyway. I would spend a lot of time in system or patrolling with other ships too so there would be company. I wasn't a warship, but... I could be?
"...Maybe." I finally answered, "I'm not a warship, but I guess I could be."
Circle nodded, "You used to be a Island, right?"
"Yeah, before I forked of the Dancing in Starlight."
"How about this then?" He asked with a grin and brought a hologram up, transferring some more files.
I looked at the hologram. Looking at the files. Then I looked at Circle.
"...You can not be serious." I finally asked, "There is no way that is not claimed."
Circle smirked, "It is. The first Mountain Class GSV is indeed claimed. It's sister ship however is not."
Three kilometers long, half a kilometer tall and one wide. Able to hold a population of at least a fifty thousand with no problems. The entire top side was basically a massive dome full of vegetation and stuff like sports arenas, fields, markets, that kind of thing.
Actual living space was mostly below that along with stores and other infrastructure. Beneath that were engineering areas and other ship functions, including a military hangar able to house five LOU's and ten ROU's stationed for defense. The main hangar were able to accept up to a Island class ship internally... and had the equipment to build them and anything smaller too! The Mountain class was a continuation of the Island class... and a design Starfleet rejected for being too big and carrying too much people around endlessly.
I just gaped at him, "Why!? How can that not be claimed!?"
He shrugged, "Most of us that are not stations are AI's that used to be ROUs before resigning after the war. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get somebody that used to fly something like a ROU to accept something like a miner or construction ship? Let alone that monster? The GSV is barely able to push 656 lights with a absolute max speed of 1024 and only for short amounts of time. It make a Island class look like a Defiant in maneuverability. If you want her, she is yours."
Yes. No. Maybe? It was massive and I wanted a crew, the bigger the better. But... with a ship like that I wouldn't really be flying, exploring. I would just be moving back and forth through known space really. I couldn't really justify hauling thousands of civilians into unknown and dangerous space needlessly.
"Is there something a bit... smaller?" I asked after several seconds, "I'm not Starfleet anymore, but I still want to explore. I'm not sure I could do that in a GSV. It would risk to many people."
Cricle poked my shoulder, "You are picky, you know that?"
I cringed slightly, "Sorry."
He smirked and put his arm around my shoulders, "Don't worry about it, I know you girls. You used to be a science ship and you liked it. You want to keep exploring the universe."
I nodded, "Yeah."
"Unfortunately, we are a bit low on dedicated science ships right now." He admitted, "The Island class is a possibility, but those slips are currently building mining and construction vessels."
Sighing, I nodded again. It was a bit too much to hope for, wasn't it? Well, the GSV was clearly too big for what I wanted to do, but...
"How about that LOU?" I asked after a second, "They have good sensors. The crew would be small, but they can be adjusted, right?"
Circle smiled and nodded, "They are made to be somewhat modular like all our designs. If we drop some photon torpedo capability for extra sensors and living quarters it wouldn't be that bad of a science platform. Sure, you wouldn't have quite as many torpedo reloads, but most of the firepower is energy weapons anyway. Might be able to get the crew seize up to fifty or sixty from twenty. Well, a hundred if they are willing to share rooms, but better not on long trips."
"And a holodeck. They are important for crew morale."
"And a holodeck. And a couple of labs. Let me fiddle around with the blueprints a bit and we will see what I can come up with. Done, transferring schematics. It's almost finished already and none of the changes will affect the computer core so we should be able to get you installed tomorrow."
"Thank you so much!"
"You are quite welcome."
I nodded and then hesitated for a second, "Circle... before I'm installed..."
AN// Many easter thanks to aduck for betaing this section.
missing the word 'a'
our. Also, there are 2 blank lines between that one and the next instead of the usual 1 blank line.
off
Retsof
I will keep you safe.
The impression I got was basically a retardedly huge cruise liner... I wonder how commercial travel works in ST anyway?
Tisaku
Head Chief Thinkomancer
- Pronouns
- she/her
If somebody asks you if you want to be a GSV, you say yes.
But an LSU works. Wait, not Science or Scout, Contact would totally work. LCU? Or would it count as a GCU?
But an LSU works. Wait, not Science or Scout, Contact would totally work. LCU? Or would it count as a GCU?
52
Smiling, I leaned against the railing overlooking my construction. Most of my external sensors were already online.
Technically I could leave the drydock now and be fueled with antimatter. Most that remained was some shuffling around of the interior. Adding crew quarters and accommodations for another fifteen people would cut my photon torpedo compliment in half. Down to one third actually, as we were adding some additional cargo space as well.
Oh, I could still fire as many at once as any other LOU, I just didn't have as many reloads. In return, I would be much more versatile. I figured it was a fair trade off.
I would hate to be limited to just one role like that.
Running a scan of the inside of the drydock, I looked down at my hand, turning it over. It had been time to turn over a new leaf.
I had Circle reset my preferences before I was installed in my new ship. I didn't feel any different. It was kinda strange.
I noticed new things now. Like the fact that Circle's avatar was kinda hot and that was a very strange thing to notice, but I guess I would get used to it.
"Hey Rommie." Drake said as he walked up to lean against the railing next to me, "...Or have you picked a new name yet?"
I nodded and glanced at him. He was kinda good looking actually.
"I'm going with the LOU Roll for Initiative." I said with a smile, "Eh, still iffy on the entire avatar name. Ivy maybe. Or I might keep Rommie as a reminder."
Drake nodded slowly, "How's the entire..." he said and motioned towards his head, "...Head thing. Feel any different?"
"Mmm, not really yet. Just notice new things so far. The difference to being bisexual is less than I thought. I really should have done this ages ago."
"Say Rommie or Ivy or whatever you decide, I like Ivy by the way, now that you... you know. Would you go out with me?" He asked after a moment.
I considered that for a moment. He wasn't unattractive that's for sure. But...
"Drake... I appreciate it but...I'm sorry. I'm getting the hang of this entire thing." I finally told him with a small sigh, "I mean, you are cute and all and I do like you but.... and I know exactly how much this suck to hear, but I think of you as a friend."
Drake stared at me for a moment before he shook his head, "Oh come on, really? You get your sexuality reset to 'everything' and I still don't have a shot!?"
"I'm so sorry."
Letting out a sigh, he leaned against the railing, "Crap." he slowly chuckled, "Yeah, well, It's hardly the first or last time I get shot down in flames."
"...Sorry..."
I felt really bad about the entire thing. I remember when Sarah did the exact same thing to me. It blew and hard at that.
"Eh, it's okay. If you don't feel like that, you don't feel like that. Nothing anyone can do about it." Drake sighed with a shrug.
...Wait... a horrible thought stuck me.
"Kennedy?" I asked after a moment, "You didn't leave Starfleet for..."
"Hmm?" He asked as he looked at me before he shook his head, "Oh. No. No, I told the truth about that." before he shrugged, "...Why I'm here instead back at Bajor however..." he then admitted.
"I'm sorry."
"Nobodies fault, just the way things are." Drake said with another shrug and turned around, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the railing, "I should have told you earlier anyway. Might have been able to avoid this entire thing."
"...If you make you feel better, my avatar won't be looking like this tomorrow. I decided to change it."
That caused him to turn to me, "Huh? For what?"
"Caitian female. Bit taller than this one, light gold fur, a bit darker shoulder-length brownish hair. Green eyes. Circle is building it now."
I wanted a change from this and caitians were different. For one thing, they had tails. Just wanted to try something new.
"Huh. Cute." he commented before he forced a small smile, "...Likely for the best then. I hear fur has a tendency to get caught between the teeth."
I choke snorted and slapped his shoulder as I blushed, "Drake!"
That got a real grin, "I'm sure it will look great. So... still have a spot open in your crew for a security expert?"
"For you? Always. If you want it, the spot is yours."
"Awesome." He commented and then put his arm around my shoulders, "Now, I talked to Circle and there is this great club on level twenty four of the cylinder. You and I are going out."
I raised an amused eyebrow at him, "Didn't I just turn down a date already?"
Drake just smiled, "Hey, if you won't date me, you can help me find a date. You can be my wing girl! Besides, we still need to celebrate your new ship."
"You sure?"
It sounded fun, but being shot down sucks. I knew he didn't shake it off that easy.
"Yeah." He confirmed with a nod, "Besides, if I don't you are going to be holed up in the drydock until you are launched. And what's a better way to get used to your new mind thingy than being out among people?"
I considered that for a moment before I smiled and nodded, "Sure. Meet you at the transporter in two hours? I need to get ready."
"See you then."
I just shook my head with a smile as he walked off. This should be fun. Actually, it would be fun, I would make sure of it.
AN// Many thanks to Alleydodger for betaing this section.
Technically I could leave the drydock now and be fueled with antimatter. Most that remained was some shuffling around of the interior. Adding crew quarters and accommodations for another fifteen people would cut my photon torpedo compliment in half. Down to one third actually, as we were adding some additional cargo space as well.
Oh, I could still fire as many at once as any other LOU, I just didn't have as many reloads. In return, I would be much more versatile. I figured it was a fair trade off.
I would hate to be limited to just one role like that.
Running a scan of the inside of the drydock, I looked down at my hand, turning it over. It had been time to turn over a new leaf.
I had Circle reset my preferences before I was installed in my new ship. I didn't feel any different. It was kinda strange.
I noticed new things now. Like the fact that Circle's avatar was kinda hot and that was a very strange thing to notice, but I guess I would get used to it.
"Hey Rommie." Drake said as he walked up to lean against the railing next to me, "...Or have you picked a new name yet?"
I nodded and glanced at him. He was kinda good looking actually.
"I'm going with the LOU Roll for Initiative." I said with a smile, "Eh, still iffy on the entire avatar name. Ivy maybe. Or I might keep Rommie as a reminder."
Drake nodded slowly, "How's the entire..." he said and motioned towards his head, "...Head thing. Feel any different?"
"Mmm, not really yet. Just notice new things so far. The difference to being bisexual is less than I thought. I really should have done this ages ago."
"Say Rommie or Ivy or whatever you decide, I like Ivy by the way, now that you... you know. Would you go out with me?" He asked after a moment.
I considered that for a moment. He wasn't unattractive that's for sure. But...
"Drake... I appreciate it but...I'm sorry. I'm getting the hang of this entire thing." I finally told him with a small sigh, "I mean, you are cute and all and I do like you but.... and I know exactly how much this suck to hear, but I think of you as a friend."
Drake stared at me for a moment before he shook his head, "Oh come on, really? You get your sexuality reset to 'everything' and I still don't have a shot!?"
"I'm so sorry."
Letting out a sigh, he leaned against the railing, "Crap." he slowly chuckled, "Yeah, well, It's hardly the first or last time I get shot down in flames."
"...Sorry..."
I felt really bad about the entire thing. I remember when Sarah did the exact same thing to me. It blew and hard at that.
"Eh, it's okay. If you don't feel like that, you don't feel like that. Nothing anyone can do about it." Drake sighed with a shrug.
...Wait... a horrible thought stuck me.
"Kennedy?" I asked after a moment, "You didn't leave Starfleet for..."
"Hmm?" He asked as he looked at me before he shook his head, "Oh. No. No, I told the truth about that." before he shrugged, "...Why I'm here instead back at Bajor however..." he then admitted.
"I'm sorry."
"Nobodies fault, just the way things are." Drake said with another shrug and turned around, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the railing, "I should have told you earlier anyway. Might have been able to avoid this entire thing."
"...If you make you feel better, my avatar won't be looking like this tomorrow. I decided to change it."
That caused him to turn to me, "Huh? For what?"
"Caitian female. Bit taller than this one, light gold fur, a bit darker shoulder-length brownish hair. Green eyes. Circle is building it now."
I wanted a change from this and caitians were different. For one thing, they had tails. Just wanted to try something new.
"Huh. Cute." he commented before he forced a small smile, "...Likely for the best then. I hear fur has a tendency to get caught between the teeth."
I choke snorted and slapped his shoulder as I blushed, "Drake!"
That got a real grin, "I'm sure it will look great. So... still have a spot open in your crew for a security expert?"
"For you? Always. If you want it, the spot is yours."
"Awesome." He commented and then put his arm around my shoulders, "Now, I talked to Circle and there is this great club on level twenty four of the cylinder. You and I are going out."
I raised an amused eyebrow at him, "Didn't I just turn down a date already?"
Drake just smiled, "Hey, if you won't date me, you can help me find a date. You can be my wing girl! Besides, we still need to celebrate your new ship."
"You sure?"
It sounded fun, but being shot down sucks. I knew he didn't shake it off that easy.
"Yeah." He confirmed with a nod, "Besides, if I don't you are going to be holed up in the drydock until you are launched. And what's a better way to get used to your new mind thingy than being out among people?"
I considered that for a moment before I smiled and nodded, "Sure. Meet you at the transporter in two hours? I need to get ready."
"See you then."
I just shook my head with a smile as he walked off. This should be fun. Actually, it would be fun, I would make sure of it.
AN// Many thanks to Alleydodger for betaing this section.