RP: Lorath [LSDF] Project Herald

Operations Platform, Pilot Ready Room

“I would personally prefer to say that we were fisting the universe, if you prefer to dick it, that is entirely your prerogative.” Chambers spoke in reply to the gluttonous Nekovalkryja of the group, as her amber-yellow gaze went to the synthetic life-form. Chambers' eyes did not carry any sort of scathing intensity that would be expected, instead, there was something else that her humor in that moment was hiding, hidden behind a momentary smile that had been rarely seen upon the Lorath gunslinger.

I hope you die.

It was a thought that screamed in Chambers’ mind, as species driven prejudice raged like bitter bile within the woman. What churned that bitter ichor was not irrationally born from silly things such as ideological differences, or even the difference of flesh and bone. Chambers’ hate was born from the last five Lorath years; subjugation, dismissal, discrimination, disappointment, betrayal, manipulation, grief, pain. It was a living death that Chambers’ ancestors had known as they were confined beneath the surface of Lor so many years ago. Within the sickly feeling of raw malice that hope, that hate filled hope, was what kept Chambers’ spirits aloft.

“Since it seems there are no objections or uncertainties, I am glad to say we will be departing in one Yamataian hour.” Chambers stated, as she stood from her position in the ready room, and made her way to the hatch of the compartment. “Gather your in-flight belongings to be carried on your person, and complete final checks that your additional belongings and supplies have been loaded into the cargo hold of the Herald, and complete any final arrangements you may have in mind… However, do note, your off-station communications are now suspended.” With those words, Chambers stepped away and made her way through the interior of the orbital operations platform on her own.



Operations Platform Docking Bay, Aboard ‘Herald’



“Tha floor is buzzin’.” Came the raspy chitter of words from a feather-clad Lorthet.

Skills of impressively keen observation were not monopolized by only one of the avian creatures; “Walls too.” It spoke.

“Whas it mean?” Asked the first one of the observationally gifted birds.

“Idjits” Grumbled the third Lorthet, the defacto leader of the trio of stowaways. “Means the ship is being turned on.”

There was a confused expression from one of the other Lorthet, the floor-observing one of the group, as he hopped about while tilting its head quizzically. “Ya mean is horny?”

A hissed squawk left the group’s leader, as the sharp crooked beak ideal for gripping, crushing, and even tearing into carrion was held open in a threatening gesture, before closing to chitter in disapproval. “No! The ship is not fuckin’ horny! It means is getting ready to go!”

“Uhm… whar?” Asked the wall observing Lorthet.

“Tha hell I look like? A fuckin’ navcomputer?” Snapped the leader of the group, before waddling his feather-fluffed body through the interior compartment the group had chosen to nest in, some sort of compartment with brightly colored tarps, and fancy boxes, some of the fancy boxes that even contained foil wrapped food. There were ‘Trade’ words printed on the foil, which meant nothing at all to the Lorthet, ‘Emergency Rations’. More words were on the brightly colored tarp, which they had torn into for nesting bedding, ‘Emergency Shelter’. At that point, as far as the boss-Lorthet knew, the Trade word ‘Emergency’ meant ‘Pretty fucking neato’.

“Let’s just be quiet in here… cut the squakin’, and if you gotta make shit, do it in the zippy-suit there, we don’t want them smellin’ it.” With that instruction, the boss gestured to another item printed with that ‘Pretty fucking neato’ word. Little known to him, he was gesturing to an emergency atmospheric suit of classic Lorath design.



One Yamataian Hour Later, Aboard Herald

It had been an hour since the briefing, and with that hour passed, Chambers had led her group aboard the prototype ship. “Danny on operations, Taela take the sensor monitoring position. Tamamo A, Tamamo B, take primary and secondary helm and get Koa mounted.” Orders came from the Fyunnen, as she made her way through the control compartment. Seats were arranged to form a central aisle to move through, with a seat positioned to port and starboard; one for sensors, one for operations. Ahead was a compartment that was distinctively separate, marked by a threshold meant for an emergency bulkhead, and in that small forward compartment were three seats clustered closely together, two of which were meant for navigational control, one of them was meant for a centralized command role.

It was a cramped compartment, to say the least. Chambers took to her position in the confined forward area, and the moment she rest her head upon the headrest of the seat, a sharp sound followed by a click rang out from her position as a neural interface cable embedded itself into a cybernetic port at the base of the Fyunnen’s skull.

For those of the group which had the benefit of being crammed full of Lorath design data during the course of their preparations, something was distinctive about the design sensibility of the piloting compartment, which differed from the original Star Seeker the Herald was based off of; the overall structural design, control interfaces, even the seats seemed to be adaptations of technology used in the Cardinal and Hawk fighter designs, and almost as a confirmation of that design feature, Chambers’ voice came through the speakers of the ship; “Prepare for atmospheric fluid submersion.” Pouring from ports in the deck and ceiling plates, a swift and steady flow of breathable fluid began to fill the compartment.

“Danny, begin airlock and docking clamp separation procedure.” Chambers ordered, as she felt a flutter of butterflies brought on by the creeping feeling of atmospheric liquid climbing up past her neck, touching upon her lips, and with a sharp steady breath she pulled the liquid into her lungs as her head went under, and everything was fine shortly after. “Taela, link with our sensor network in system” Came the next order, as the Herald sped through much of the pre-flight process on its own, with subtle nudges from its fresh crew. “Tamamo A, when ready, take us out from the docking bay at regulation speed. Tamamo B, coordinate with Koa and Taela’s sensor feed to determine the best FTL route out of system and tune the FTL drive accordingly. I want maximum speed to our hyperfold entry point as soon as possible; I do not want to be intercepted by any curious Garts or Yams. Plot our exit point on the far side of the blackhole.”

With orders set, Chambers closed her eyes, only to see beyond herself, beyond the ship. There was much out there, so much, and none of it was meant for Lorath hands to touch, for Lorath feet to stride upon. As the ship began to move, Chambers could feel the shift in gravity and inertia as synthetic impulses fed into her brain. As the void of space embraced the Herald, and the visual sensors of the ship looked upon the assembled armada of Lorath ships which stood vigil over the start of their venture, the gunslinger had only one thought cross her mind, three words, that expressed all of her regret. Three words that were thought time and time again, by those who wore the armor of the Fyunnen, those who wore the pins and regalia of an officer, and even those who were part of the nobility and royalty of the Matriarchy: ‘I am sorry’. Those words were the only thing that Chambers could use to articulate the feeling of the first steps that her people were about to take as they prepared to leave home.

Operations Platform, Pilot Ready Room
Chambers' clarification to Taela's query of what the mission would entail, surprised that she escalated to something a little more extreme. Still, with the Captain serving smackdown and offering no quarter, Danny decided not to push his luck with prodding the agitated Nekovalkyrja some more - he knew that he and Chambers could prod at her with relative impunity, spotting her brief smile.

Even then, the blonde knew deep down that the Lorath wanted to strangle Taela. The thought of all the justified fury and anger inside the warrior terrified him, barest of cold comforts in being on her good side simply because he was a Nepleslian. As for the incredible bifurcating fox, nothing about the way she and her second moved, or acted felt like a typical Nekovalkyrja's movements - thus Danny could only assume she was in Chambers' good books.

Crossing paths over the last couple of days, he always noted that the two blue foxes seemed quite buoyant, even purring at times, but he never asked why out of professional courtesy; There was a suspicion that it wouldn't be something the Nepleslian could comprehend or be able to empathise with. The sense of inhuman uncanny followed the pair like their braided tails. Seeing her sit on the ceiling for the first time scared the crap out of him. Even so - she was very good at what she did, which was precisely why everyone was here. Danny just had to keep telling himself to trust her even though his gut rebelled.


Operations Platform, Danny's Quarters
He didn't have much to carry with him, storing and stashing most of his wares inside of his duffel bag and attaché case for when the day came to get moving. On the way out, he flicked the light switch off, watching his bag-carrying shadow shadow pour into the dark room. From the side, it was slowly cut off by the door sliding shut in front of him. Once his quarters locked themselves, he glanced over his shoulder before walking away.

Contemplation seeped in as he stared ahead: What opportunities were left here, now, if he turned around and abandoned all this; Theoretically? Plenty if he looked yet enticement of an entirely new start grew on him, as he learned more about how he'd be operating. Even if the exact consequences of how the physics of the world would react to this sojourn were still entirely up in the air, knowing how to operate the equipment in front of him gave some assurance.

"I guess birds have to fly eventually." He spoke to himself, picking up the pace and skipping towards the Herald's docking area gingerly for departure.


Aboard the Herald
The beanpole of a man didn't seem to mind the tight quarters of the ship's interior, bending and contorting as he took position on the port-side seat and settled into the gel-structure with relative ease. He took a moment to recall the ins and outs of the console in front of him from all of the material he'd crammed into his head over the past several days, assuring himself that he studied for it.

Feeling the neural connection interfacing with him and anticipating the tingle that shot down his spine a moment later, Danny locked himself into position and watched the volumetric displays come to life in front of him. He wiggled his toes against the seat pedals as he felt the atmos fluid start to pool up inside the ship, watching the others take their positions in the fore and starboard, footsteps clinking over the hum of the engines and fluid.

"Copy that," Danny replied to the Commander, watching the Herald's systems run through the pre-flight checks, watching the little green checkboxes tick themselves off with regard to each of the vessel's subsystems. He let out an involuntary 'ooo' as the atmos fluid crept over his head, temporarily blurring his displays, but soon coming back into focus, blinking and refocussing on the display as the stuff rose; All the while, remembering to breathe. The upper surface disappeared entirely as the compartment finished filling; Better still everything had powered up in order, and no red flags had been raised.

"All systems nominal, commencing separation procedure," he reported, getting to work with a thought...

Biesi Orbital Operations Platform, Pilot Ready Room

Observing the others quietly, Tamamo-A and Tamamo-B had been initially impressed with the Nepleslian's acceptance of their mission going forward, however, this impression was called into doubt as the man found himself compelled to dredge up one of Taela's earliest comments.

As for Taela herself, the twin Tamamo entities found themselves curious as to just how much Taela had actually picked up. Taela's crass inquiry was admittedly in some ways technically accurate, though Tamamo was fairly certain that these sorts of things held little interest for the more practical-minded woman. Perhaps she'd get to find out after the mission had ended.

What ended up catching both Tamamo-A and Tamamo-B's attention, however, was Chambers' response, particularly what it lacked, which was the usual exasperation or pained tolerance that resulted from Taela's usual lack of tact. While her observations indicated that such an occurrence might indicate a warming toward an individual as relationship bonds grew, Tamamo couldn't help but feel that did not quite apply to the Lorath a feeling that she knew was grounded in the knowledge of the Lorath's brief history on the interstellar stage, a knowledge that largely involved things shaped like Taela.

This uncertain bit of inscrutable feeling was carried beneath the typical perpetually surprised or startled look that both Tamamo-A and Tamamo-B wore as their neutral expression. It was still being juggled uncertainly, like a bomb whose state was unknown even as the order to wrap up was given and the group dispersed to assemble their effects for the beginning of the mission.

Operations Platform, Land Quarters of Snow and Blue

The return to Tamamo's quarters had been very brief, after all apart from a token change of clothing and some hygiene items to remain presentable. Her bag had been stuffed with long term, hardened crystalline data storage blocks, which were not something that someone regularly took out and as such it was already stowed within the Herald's cargo bay. As they had little functional to do, Tamamo-A and Tamamo-B instead spent the time that would have otherwise been spent collecting her things was instead spent cleaning the room as best she could and neatly making the bed with the freshly laundered bedding she had attended to earlier in the morning.

Only a couple minutes passed, and as they left the room clad in issued equipment, the last vision of the living space was almost identical to how she had arrived. Making their way through the station the twins shared the thought, one of fair certainty that the Lorath would burn everything she touched, however, she took comfort that she had at least made the effort to leave things clean and in order.

Herald, Bridge

Despite having been gifted with a functionally complete understanding of the workings and layout of the prototype ship, Tamamo-A, Tamamo-B, and Koa, all shared an almost instinctive urge to explore and familiarize themselves with the layout and details of the vessel. Though this urge continued to bubble in their linked minds the azure Wind clad pair and the orb followed orders without hesitation and settled into their positions with an efficiency that should have come with familiarity rather than upon their first encounter.

For Tamamo-A the connection to the ship's systems was less invasive than some as a short-range high-bandwidth wireless digital interface performed a handshake with the ship's computer systems confirming her access privileges and giving her a diagnostic sweep as she began initial integration and secured herself physically into her seat. Tamamo-B on the other hand much like the Commander, established a physical connection as pico-jelly flesh flowed away from the concealed access jacks in her neck and near the base of her skull, allowing the connection to complete. Finally, for Koa, the alabaster spherical chassis settled into a securing creche, the vise-like structure clamping down into place, as ports opened and metallic and plastic pico-jelly flowed into place establishing and insulating the connection to the ship's systems.

With the three in place as the atmospheric fluid began to pool in the compartment an event that was barely noticed by the duplicate duo and their orb as the trio instead were consumed by their involvement in a brief pass of personal systems optimization and error checking as they set about streamlining their individual compatibility with the Herald's systems in an effort to maximize their synchronization for operations purposes. At this point for the first time in nearly 48 hours, the wireless digital connection between Tamamo-A, Tamamo-B, and Koa was severed instead relaying any needed communication through the ship's systems and otherwise keeping interpersonal chatter non-existent.

Upon receiving the departure orders Tamamo-A gave her response following Danny's own confirmation in a clipped, efficient cadence through the ship's systems, "Acknowledged Commander. Confirming clamp separation. Maneuvering systems all green. Accelerating to regulation taxiing speed. Twenty seconds to clearance from the Orbital Platform. Warming up primary engines and inertial dampening systems in preparation for initiation of full engine burn to bring us to 0.375c for our outward trip."

Tamamo-A's report came with a data input illustrating a route that would take the Herald out of the system from the 'bottom,' perpendicular to the orbital plane of the star, eschewing the typical assumption that one need to travel past the outermost planets of a system, instead opting for the most direct route outside of the system's gravitational influence. Another peculiarity was that she had decided to go 'down' rather than 'up' further stepping outside of the typical assumptions of most pilots.

Concurrently Tamamo-B linked with Koa and pooled their computing power and opened a line to accept the sensor data streaming in from the Herald's sensor systems courtesy of Taela's station as well as the confirmed navigational route out of system chosen by Tamamo-A. This data was processed and a route was chosen with consideration taken for Chambers' desire to avoid Gartagen or Yamataian intervention, to this end Tamamo-B and Koa processed the needs for a course that arced further 'down' beneath the galactic plane and into deep space, greatly increasing the relative distance between their route and any intervening YSE territories or sensors.

Of course, with hyperfold technology this precaution was largely a formality as the actual transit between Biesi and the target black hole would largely be beyond the influence of real-space or any interfering parties. However, taking a less traditional route through the intervening space would make it even less likely that a foreign power might manage to intercept or detect their route at all even if their destination were somehow known and that some sort of interdiction technology were to be attempted. Additionally, the direction of their departure through fold-space would indicate that they were headed for the intergalactic void. Given the importance of their mission, a choice outside of traditional navigation practices seemed wise.

As the course was chosen and an allegorical representation of their fold-space route through real-space was simulated and provided to the crew through the ship's systems as Tamamo-B made her report, "Potential hyperfold route outlined Commander, the trip will be slightly longer than a direct path to the target location, while greatly reducing the already unlikely chance of interception or detection. Hyperfold systems are charging and should be ready upon reaching the entry point with a variance of approximately five-hundred milliseconds plus or minus."

Their tasks for the moment completed, the twinned not-quite-Nekovalkyrja and their companion sphere lapsed into idle monitoring and the occasional correction of their assigned systems following the initial flurry of activity and giving way to the peaceful wait of travel time. Beyond this momentary lull, would be the end of their shakedown and maiden flight and the true test of their mission, but before then was simply the peace and comfort of flight.

Operations Platform, Pilot Ready Room
Taela was a very instinctual thinker. And what her instincts told her was that Chambers loathed her, like like an animal senses an abusive owner. And everything in her gut told her "This person needs to get slugged right in the face." But Taela buried this feeling, and buried it hard in her gut. She had to control herself, this time.

Taela was so close. Just a little bit more, and she'd finally be free.

Aboard the Herald
Taela had very little to pick up, so getting her things was as expedient as could be. If she hadn't been briefed beforehand, she might've been startled by the rising fluid in the cabin. Still, it was an unsettling feeling, having the cool liquid rise above her head. Still, she had the distinct thought in her head of drowning that she couldn't quite shake.

Taela's station was plug n' play for her. Within moments, she had cascades of information flooding her senses, something she'd spent the last week training for. She relied on Lorath satellites to fill her in on what she was missing. Starship traffic, interstellar hazards, meteorite showers, cute fluffy things trying to ruin 5 year journeys into the cosmos, potential threats, and many many more. She sent Tamamo a few smileys in her feed, just to spice up the more mundane bits of information.

The journey was set. Now she had place her faith in her partners, and keep an eye on the horizon.

’Herald’ – Hyperfold Transit T+0d0h5m42s



With a five-second departure from Biesi which was as simple as starting an aircar and making a vertical takeoff, the ‘Herald’ had begun its mission. From the moment the ship had left the docking bay of the orbital platform where it had been assembled, system by system had been given a gentle test. It was the gentle stroll before the sprint, as ‘Herald’ plunged into the forced tunnel through space, creating the avenue which was known as hyperfold.

Chambers had been pleased by the cautionary course plotting which had been carried out by the A-side of the blue skinned synthetic which had graced her crew. Her satisfaction did not stop with the twinned navigational synths, she was also quite pleased with the fact that both the Nepleslian and almost-factory-standard Nekovalkryja had both taken to their functions aboard the ‘Herald’ with suitable proficiency. If anything, knowing that the crew she had was capable of fulfilling their purposes was something that put Chambers’ nerves at ease as she exercised her own interface upon the ‘Herald’, running diagnostics of various systems as minutes and light-years passed.



T+0d1h26m31s



“Navigation, confirm completion of segment one of our hyperfold transit route. Prepare for exit from hyperfold and take us into position for entry into segment two. Upon exit from our current fold, engage subspace wake drive engines on full.” Chambers spoke to the twins, informing them of what they likely already knew was coming.

Hyperfold was suitable for straight-line navigation. Turns were something that were simply outside of the realm of hyperfold navigation due to the nature of the ‘pinch’ that hyperfold conduits formed between point ‘A’ and point ‘B’. When a point ‘C’ was incorporated into navigation over long distance, it was simply mandatory that a ship exit back into normal space, and move into appropriate position to complete the next leg of their journey.

“Sensors, eyes wide, we will be exiting within the area of operations patrolled by the Yamataian 7th Fleet. I do not want any surprises while we transition folds.” Chambers spoke, as a timer ran down into scarce seconds before hitting zero, with the ‘Herald’ exiting into normal space.

“Danny, I want power properly routed to engine cooling and field stabilization systems. I want maximum speed, and I do not want our ass-end exploding because of it.”



Kikyo Sector Spatial Navigation Map Grid 1025



‘Herald’ broke through space-time as the ship transitioned into normal space. Distant starlight shined upon the spacecraft, glistening upon the soft-gloss of the spacecraft’s body. Light was not all that was in play in regard to the appearance of ‘Herald’, but also the outpouring of ripples across the fabric of space-time as the ship immediately shot across space, en route to the next spot in which it would cut a trail to its destination.

Scant light-years away, simply the exit from hyperfold was enough to catch curious eyes, eyes which stared through active sensors, making the probing gaze anything but passive.

Herald, Bridge

Amused by Taela's strangely adorable additions to her feed of sensor data Tamamo-B and Koa had indulged the out-of-element Nekovalkyrja with a little bit of chatter as they neared the fold point as well as off and on over the course of the trip through fold space. Aside from what indulgence they could spare indulgence, the twins had spent the time spent in transit had been spent in self-contained wonder at the realization that despite never having aspired to the position somehow Tamamo, now A and B, had ended up as bridge crew on an important mission. Having been manufactured, trained, and conditioned initially as a space-type Nekovalkyrja, she had known and witnessed many of her peers who had lusted after such a coveted position, the privilege to work and guide a starship to glory.

This was however not a Star Army ship, nor was it a role that she had sought merely one that had been assigned. This odd series of circumstances, working under the Commander's detached professionalism aboard an LSDF, in a way felt right though why exactly the twinned minds could not fathom. Despite the stream of thought originating from her usual affliction of introspection, Tamamo-A, Tamamo-B, and Koa worked diligently at their posts, processing, integrating, self-optimizing, and exploring the new and untested systems and subsystems of the Herald in an attempt to ensure that whatever the circumstance they would be able to perform their tasks optimally. It was thanks to this diligence that Tamamo-A was able to with confidence report an affirmative at the request to transition from the fold to their subspace wake drive. In parallel Tamamo-B and Koa had already begun to process and prepare any changes needed to the Herald's second fold to drop them on target should any unexpected deviations in course occur.

Despite that their foresight and pre-emptive efforts largely negated the need, the twins were quick to comply with the Commander's request in confirmation and response through the ship's systems with Tamamo-B beginning "Hyperfold jump completed without incident and on target, exiting into normal space in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

Seamlessly the count was followed up by Tamamo-A, "Engaging subspace wake drive in 3... 2... 1..."

The hyperfold systems deactivated dropping the Herald into normal space, giving the crew a brief moment of peaceful serenity before the enhanced subspace wake drive came to life, already primed, carrying the Herald away from their exit point, as correction and projections were made, priming the hyperfold systems for their next and final jump that would place them at their target, and the beginning of the Herald's true journey.

"Kinda surprised you guys didn't spring for a super stealth system," Taela remarked through the ship's closed channel after the new orders were issued. She flipped through her feeds, scanning each for anything out of the ordinary before moving to the next. Nothing stood out, thankfully, but she kept vigilant. "So far, landing zone's clear. Unless Hanako's got a super 'fuck you' cruiser with megastealth. But what're the odds of that?"

And then, a private (Well, more like quieter) channel to the Tamamos opened up, accompanied by a smiley-ified Taela's face.

"So then, I'm thinking a dinner to celebrate after we get through this. There's this great place down in Funky City I've been to before and their food is to die for! Sound alright with you?" she asked, still keeping up with her sensor readings.

Herald, Bridge
During the time spent in transit, Danny hadn't reached out to either of the twins or Taela, instead spending the time to himself, reading a digitised mystery novel. The writing itself was pulpier than poorly made orange juice, but it had a charm of its own in its predictability. When the first leg of the journey was coming to a close, he set the reading aside.

For extra speed on this vessel, it was a matter of keeping everything cool and flowing as smoothly as possible - as outlined by Chambers. "Roger." Danny replied, getting the systems revved up for the second leg of the journey, watching the pie chart of the ship's power allotment redistribute itself. "Subspace wake drive is green, power's prioritised to cooling and field stabilisation..." The two systems that mattered most had an enlarged portion of power allotted to them.

In the more technical side hidden behind the 'pie' chart Danny was looking at, he ensured the ship's power output wasn't going to overload the cooling or field stabilisation systems, as either going bust would spell disaster for the Herald's journey. He recalled the notes he wrote about the limits of the system, bringing them up in his HUD and checking them against what the system was telling him. If anything went wrong , he'd cut power back to a safer level and reroute.

"I'm keeping an eye on things, let's keep the pace," he directed, overhearing Taela talking about the possibility of a hidden cruiser with 'mega stealth'. A possibility amused him: "Relax, her idea of stealth probably involves the crew going outside and painting the starship black, let's get moving," On top of that, it was in an area of she'd already salted, and Danny didn't imagine the cats were too flash hot on patrolling dead areas of space. However, that didn't mean the Yamataian 7th Fleet had some tricks of their own - at the very least, the ship was primed to keep on leaping to its destination.

Spatial Navigation Grid 1025 - ’Herald’ – T+0d1h31m01s

“Stealth?” Chambers spoke the word in Trade, there was no accent, she simply parroted the word in an attempt to parse the term to an equivalent in Lorath. Closest word in any Lorath dialect had a translation that was closer to terms such as ‘deceit’, ‘lie’, and ‘feign’. “No, no stealth. Stealth is for small animals and challenging an overwhelming foe when near death.” Chambers explained, granting a glimpse into the Lorath thought process. “Today, we are runners. We have the blessing of speed on our side.”

As Chambers spoke those words, the engines of the ‘Herald’ screamed out, overlapping waves of forces aligned to bend and twist the fabric of the cosmos itself spread from the ship, and lanced forth as the speed of the ‘Herald’ reached a critical point, creating a current which forcefully propelled the ship, while ‘ripping’ space behind them, creating echoes of their ship, as well as the forces which had acted on that strip of space over the eons of the universe’s existence. Within the ‘Herald’, Taela’s monitors would read the differential between ‘normal space’, and the eddy-like calm which the ‘Herald’ rode upon.

26,149c

For a mathematician, which none of the crew of the ‘Herald’ were, the number would carry a significance, yet it was lost upon the group as they exploited the harmonics of the universe, ruining space-and-time in their wake, only to have the intention of ripping it a few more new ones before the day was through. One of those new holes was torn into space as a hyperfold conduit formed before the ‘Herald’ causing it to vanish from ‘normal space’, as it screamed toward the black hole which was their destination.

At an ever-increasing distance away from ‘Herald’, the active gaze of the 7th Fleet would have easily seen the streak of spatial disruption which the Lorath ship had left behind, and more so, would have quite plainly seen just how utterly fast the ship had been traveling. Any notion of intercept born from curiosity was dashed by what was so plainly seen… if it could be believed.



’Herald’ – T+0d2h28m10s

“Take us out of hyperfold right above it.” Chambers ordered, as she felt a creeping sensation in the pit of her stomach, as the void of space unfolded before the ‘Herald’, and in her mind’s eye she looked into the void below. There was a feeling, like last minute jitters, as if the universe were begging her not to go, and everything sane in her wanted to give in. Rationality in its truest form spoke within her mind; Hey, it’s just gravity, enough gravity to render you into a mere memory.

“Mister Lewis, gravitic shields.” Chambers spoke, as she pushed a message to the twin synthetics; “Angle us toward it. Calculate a trajectory to best exploit the gravitational field, while setting us on course for the middle of the anomaly. We need to bring the bow of the ship into contact with the core of the vortex, or the shearing forces will tear us apart before we transition.”

Anything more from Chambers in that moment would have been redundant, at least when speaking on their immediate mission goal, which left her attention to go to Taela. “Make sure we do not have any ‘guests’ en route. If any are observed, we will have to abort.” Of course, neither Chambers nor Taela would know that the 7th Fleet had simply written off the ‘Herald’ as a fluke, a nothing.

Precious minutes passed, before Chambers would receive a final ‘go ahead’ from the twins, and their digital avatar, and once the word crossed her thoughts, Chambers was quick on the draw, she wished to strike the mark, for the sake of the future.

“Take us in. You all know what to do.”

’Herald’ – Beneath a Deck Plate

“Tha fuck they doing up there?” Chittered one of the Lorthet as he felt the gravitational pull momentarily unbalance his equilibrium.

“Damned if I know.” Replied another, as another ration package was depleted by the voracious hunger of the little beast.

“Stop bitchin’ and find out.” Ordered the largest of the three, as he finished excreting waste into the helmet of an atmospheric suit.

“I… fuck… fine!” Yielded the inquisitive one of the group, before squirming about, and attempting to push open the deckplate. “Isstuck.” He mumbled.

“What?”

“It’s stuck.” He repeated.

“Thafuq it is.” Replied the big bird of the group, as he joined the other Lorethet in pushing upon the plate, only to cause a trickle of atmospheric fluid to flow into the compartment.

“WE’RE SINKING!” Exclaimed the middle-of-the-road sized Lorthet.

Within moments, the compartment filled and gained an equilibrium with the rest of the ‘Herald’, and as the equilibrium was reached, the trio peeked out from their hiding space, only to see the rapidly approaching point which served as the churning heart of the black hole which the ‘Herald’ was about to harness for its journey. There was only one action the three Lorthet could do, one of the three even managing to carry out that action even though he had just done it in the helmet left behind.

“Ohshit.”

’Herald’ T±00d00h00m00s

A carefully choreographed series of events unfolded within and outside the ‘Herald’, as manipulation of the very forces which bound reality together was carried out in precise actions. Quantum threads, woven through the universe were seized upon, as if tiny hooks had sunk into the sinew of the living entity which was the universe. Precise manipulation moved those fibers of being, twisting them, guiding them into shape, the shape of a door perhaps? A window? A hole? There was no way to characterize the passage, as the ‘Herald’ cut free from the bonds of all that had influence upon it, and those within. Down to the very electron, ties were cut, as things once paired and acting in sync with the universe were set free, for the first time in… ever. In one final violent action, in one gesture of struggling desperation to flee a universe of misery, the ‘Herald’ delivered the final forceful shove as technological marvels unleashed the very forces of the universe, cutting through the tender flesh of all being, and breaking open the passage to what was elsewhere, and so, the ‘Herald’ passed through and just as quickly as the passage began, the ‘door’ closed firmly behind the ship as it left everything behind.

"Ain't nothing behind us, in front of us, above, below, or anywhere else that shouldn't be there. We're clear for launch," Taela responded to Chambers.

But as the world began to warp around them, breaching into the unknown, all Taela had to think was this: Huh. Things are a little bit green looking now.

And then she was gone.

Herald, Bridge

Had the twins been another person, with a different set of experiences, the reminder of a promised dinner and the demonstration that Taela had been serious about her earlier offer would not have come as a surprise. That it had been reiterated, and that a possible location had been offered only confirmed that Taela was in all likelihood very serious about the offer this left Tamamo-A with a strange bundle of pleasant emotions that she did not understand, nor did she have the time to figure out all she could do was package the feeling up, and send a copy to Tamamo-B whose SILVER based emotional processing systems had been repurposed for additional processing speed at present, but who would appreciate the feeling at a later date.

This left the task of actually responding, a response that surprisingly came easily, "That would be wonderful."

After the brief, but enticing taste of the best that Lorath engineering could accomplish with the activation of the subspace wake drive, the second hyperfold jump was initiated and soon completed. Nearing the end of the second jump Tamamo-A and Tamamo-B initiated a final synchronization procedure completed just before the final arrival at the Herald's destination, the ship dropping into real space placing the Herald, a small mote floating above the void of infinite darkness, on top of their final destination.

The final acknowledgments and preparations had been made, everything that could be said had been said, and now there was only the task to accomplish, emotionless and efficient as the twins synchronized with Koa and the Herald's systems guiding the ship into the heart of the black hole where no ship was meant to exist. They felt nothing as they made the final descent, Tamamo-A using a short lifetime of emotional compartmentalizing skills to discard any wayward considerations that might have impacted her efficiency, while Tamamo-B with her more flexible architecture simply turned the parts of herself that would have allowed her to feel emotion toward achieving her goal.

It was thus that they reached their destination with emptiness, contrasting the impossible density, and the everything that they left behind.

New Herald, Bridge
When Danny looked at the view ahead, or at least what the cameras on the Herald were showing him, he could feel his heart rising in his chest, trying to leap away from him. Everything in him rebelled against the very thought of plunging oneself into a black hole. This is it, then. Danny contemplated, carrying out Chambers' possibly last order. It almost felt like stuffing a magazine down his shirt to protect against a tank shell.

Orders were orders however, and the Herald was designed for this - he was told and had to keep telling himself, over and over again. "Shields are up." The blonde announced, getting the relevant systems into gear as soon as he could. All the while, he felt the world around him lurch. Some of his professionalism waned, and he felt it appropriate to give everyone a tongue in cheek warning: "Everyone, hold onto your--"

He was cut off by the world around the Herald ripping itself asunder in gravity, a liberating weightlessness in his chest despite the Herald's interior being designed to reduce these sensations and feelings. The edges of his vision started to light up in nameless myriad colours, full of oscillating stars and sheens. Like the others on the Herald and the rest of the ship, the unknown claimed him.