Author Topic: Ships of crushing despair  (Read 2872 times)

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Offline shadenight123 (OP)

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Ships of crushing despair
« on: August 20, 2011, 06:45:53 AM »
The Neocom commercial shipyard complex

"are these the latest projects?" asked the man sitting at his desk, looking through the bundles of papers and 3D's models in front of him.
"yes they are" answered the female voice of his robotic secretary, a pair of metallic hands and pincers plunging down from the ceiling.
"i see nothing wrong with them...they are hellishly slow compared to the rest, but still, it's not worrisome"
"the research department has high hopes for the ship"
"i understand...run a couple of prospected times of completion"
"in less than a year term, more precisely, it should take 8 months and 8 days and 8 hours"
"and eight minutes and seconds maybe?"
"the calculations are actually correct"
"...bizzarre. maybe we shouldn't..."
"the Supreme Dragon Emperor wants them completed as soon as possible"
"i see..."

Code: [Select]
Gatecreator class Cruiser    27,200 tons     353 Crew     778.4 BP      TCS 544  TH 150  EM 0
275 km/s     Armour 1-80     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
MSP 18    Max Repair 38 MSP
Jump Gate Construction Ship: 360 days

Ion Engine E0,7 (1)    Power 150    Fuel Use 7%    Signature 150    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 47.1 billion km   (1984 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

"but sure it's strange, maybe it's a sign? maybe humanity isn't meant to move through wormholes, or anywhere else for what matters"
"the sol system is corundium near free right now. Either this, or a slow death"
"but there is the hyperdrive technology!"
"but it wasn't implemented on the Regolo's ships. And on the big freighters. Gates are needed"
"i...fine. Have the robots begin production. Our complex should hold enough tonnage to have this built"
"orders received and approved. Procedure sent. Construction shall now begin"

The man sat looking out of the window, giving the chair's back to the door.
He sighed, slowly taking out a sigarette with uncertainty from his pocket. He had stopped smoking.
Since three years ago, the only sight of fire made him shiver. Like maybe many others.
Three years ago, on the 22 of april 2044, the president Pasquale Drago decided that fake democracy wasn't meant to stay anymore. So he became an "emperor" and more than an emperor, a "Dragon" one, with all that smegty religion thing behind. And people had to comply. They had to, because when the ground forces began razing the churches, and the mosques, and every other place, when nothing remained, and millions were killed, he was still there. There no longer was a Democratic and Meritocratic earth. There was a dictatorship and meritocratical earth.
Maybe he had become mad with grief.
He had lost a daughter, an officer, a couple of years prior, while she was assigned on a Cavour ship, which had suffered sensors damage, she went outside to fix them, and never returned.
That was the day the "monument" for Deaths in space was begun.
It was meant to be an artistic statue which depicted the hope, the strength, and the might of the ships and it's crewmembers who set off to the unknown.
it ended up depicting a young girl who was looking at a couple of crystal flowers.
Nobody dared mention how it looked similar to old photos of the daughter of the president.
Maybe, if someone had started asking questions, no coup d'etat would have happened.

The fires of the revolt, and the blood of the dead...the explosions...but now there was peace once more. Under the Dragon empire.
And it's clutch would firmly grab everything...but Corundium...that was still far...far away...

Cavour 4-5-6
"this is cavour Team Survey task group #2"
"this is Gatecreator 1, we have you loud and clear"
"what's the sit rep?"
"we have nearly completed the gate, last check and you'll be free to go through"
"it's a tiny step for humanity"
"Cavour team, who's talking?"
"this is cavour team survey task group #2 leader, i apologise for this idiot. He doesn't realize his place. we shall search him and have him grounded"
"but a big step for mankind"
"this is gatecreator 1, is he reciting the coming on the moon?"
"i thin..."
"no no, it's all wrong armstrong! you need to do it better!"
"what the hell is this, did you copy that?"
"i don'..."
"come on Nasa guys, it's cold out here, can't i go back in?"
"you do realize you're offending a truly historical moment of the entire HISTORY OF MANKIND!?"
"listen now, i don't give a damn about that, i want to enjoy a hot cup of coffee"
"but there is NO coffee on the ship!"
"this is gatecreator 1, we are closing communications, we shall resume once the gate is finished"
"this is chief of survey team #2, we are also closing communications"

in the cavour 2 ship, meanwhile...


"just...just what was that?!"
"maybe an echo"
"an echo from WHAT!?"
"you know, from the parallel universe we use transnewtonian metals to work"
"...i'm not so certain it's safe to go through wormholes..."
"you know tests say it's safe"
"tests didn't have wormholes this big, or echos of luis armstrong from a parallel dimension"
"maybe it's just stress...let's go take a quick nap, we do have to wait for gatecreator 1 signal"
"fine...signal incoming"
"this is gatecreator 1, i repeat, this is gatecreator 1"
"we receive you loud and clear"
"we have completed constructions of jump gates on all the Barnards star system"
"...what? we just left you a couple of minutes ago"
"survey team cavour #2 you can now leave the sector of the barnards star system"
"gatecreator 1 there is a mistake, we are still in the sol system"
"this is gatecreator 1 construction is complete, you may pass through"
"this is gatecreator 1 construction is complete, you may go back"
"this is... this is...this is..."

the commander closed the radio signals. then looked at the portal, the ship was going through it, after all for the gatecreator 1 those were it's orders. the rest of the crew looked at him silently. nobody dared to speak.
"we have our orders. we shall see through them"
"yes sir."
and with the movement of a hand, the first survey team #2 set sail through the jump gates, into the Barnard systems, which would be explored thorougly, in search of minerals, colonizeable planets, and corundium.
but a sense of despair, encircled the ships...what if on the other side, we end in a parallel dimension were the gatecreator is not there? what if there is something...or someone, on the other side? what if we can never return home? what if we can never see our families again?...

"this is survey ship cavour 4, do you copy alpha complex?"
"loud and clear! it's good to hear from you"
"yes...we have the reports"
"start with the corundium"
"yes...a moon has been found with 2635 units of corundium"
"good, procede then"
"we have found duranium on..."
"no no, continue with the corundium"
"it's all there"
"...repeat...once more..."
"it's all there, we are still exploring other moons, but..."
"...do not transmit back until corundium is found. Copy that?"
"yes sir"
"good."
Signal closed
people die all the time, it's not a problem.
it is if you're sending them to die.
i'm not. they just need to learn to be better.
at NOT BREATHING ON MARS!?
they need NOT TO CARE!
my blog (updated 17/12/2011) (updated every saturday):
http://shadenight123.blogspot.com/