Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy

[Nelle Kozera]

Astronomers believe that the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is in the process of being pulled apart by the gravitational field of the more massive Milky Way galaxy. The main body of the galaxy is extremely degraded. Tidal disruption causes a long filament of stars to trail behind it as it orbits the Milky Way, forming a complex ringlike structure sometimes referred to as the Monoceros Ring which wraps around our galaxy three times. The stream of stars was first discovered in the early 21st century by astronomers conducting the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It was in the course of investigating this ring of stars, and a closely spaced group of globular clusters similar to those associated with the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, that the Canis Major dwarf galaxy was discovered.
This galaxy has remained uncharted for sometime due to the problems with internal wars, but now the GSA has sent out a ship to explore this region of space.

((Unless i ask you join, please contact me before joining this it will ease some issues...))

[macrorufus]

Huo is a white fennec, with black markings. The stripes are unnatural in that they mark his right hand up to his elbow in black fur, and his left foot up to just below the knee. His ears are also black furred, though his body is mostly white furred, his shoulders have black fur that form circles.
His eyes are red in colour, due to a genetic anomaly. He wears a standard uniform, (although starched) and always wears a switchblade on his thigh.

The 'Melancholic dementia' garishly marked with the symbols of the GSA floated in empty space, this had been a short jump, yet the crew followed proceedure to the letter. The sensor booms emerge, and begin scanning. There are no other ships in the confirmed area. It appears so far, that this trip is empty of mystery and adventure. So far, nothing to show for the expensive exploration expedition. Standard procedure is still followed and the ship's Captain gives the command for the fighters to be launched, for a recon mission.
On the lower decks the fighter crew scrambles, Huo, the wing leader is first into the cockpit, and fastens his helmet as the fighter is craned over to the launch tubes. The fighter wing forms up 'underneath' the frigate. There was only space on the frigate for four small fightercraft. They were based on the old earth Kyushu Interceptors, of course, naturally they were adjusted for space flight, with a large rear thruster, and several built in verniers. The SI-KOII was a reliable craft. Old, simple to construct, but trustworthy. The massdrivers built into the nose were loaded, but the main purpose was to provide a live feed on a larger perimeter than the ship's scanners for the tech's onboard. Huo's was marked with the dragon wings of the Wing Leader, and besides the cockpit he'd scratched in kills. The nose was red tipped, though the rest was black.
Huo keyed his mic;
"Alright, standard patrol, form up on me. Let's get this over with."
He eased up on the throttle and took the wing away from the 'Melancholic dementia' readying up for a full 360 scan just at the edge of the sensor range. It was gonna be a long boring flight.

[Nelle Kozera]

"Alright boys...." A voice filtered over the radio's, it was the voice of the Captain."We got your backs, we are adjusting for sub-light travel in 4 hours, once your done rounds get back here double time, unless you want to get left." The voice of the female hyena said. "We have detected a system, once you get close enough adjust your sensors to get a passive image of the system. We are still 17 light hours out, i don't want to trip of something unless we have to..." She warned, though it wasn't as if they hadn't already known. The fighters persona appeared in Huo's field of vision, though it was merely an illusion formed by implants in his visual cortex. "We are 23 minutes from passive scan range, of course the sensor package on the Melancholic Dementia Could give us the same picture, do you think she wants overlapping views?"

[macrorufus]

Huo keyed the general comms, replying to the Captain.
"Adjusting patrol route, we'll be there, sir."
Swinging back on the throttle, the wing twisted 45 degrees on the Z axis and shot off in that direction after boosting themselves. Huo was drawn into his chair for a while as the change in acceleration took his body.
Huo looked at the AI's representation.
"The ship's got better scanners than us at the moment. Though inform me when we're at the frigate's scan limit, then we'll switch our passive scanners on. Feed the results back to the frigate."
"Huo to wing, keep tight, we'll be at the edge of their scans, you get in trouble and it'll be a while before the Dementia can assist you. Key your AI to switch on the passive and active sensors when we're at the frigate's max scan range."
Huo wasn't all that bothered by the issue, it was probably another empty system in this rather empty trip.

[Nelle Kozera]

"Heh, might as well get this cake run over with..." Huos wingman said, they where on the edge of a system. The navigation officer of the Melancholic Dementia Had given the system the name Hades Complex as the core stellar mass composed of 3 suns, one of which was a blue supergiant. There was a habitable planet in the system but it wouldn;t be habitable by earth standards though but well within the criteria of life as a whole. "Wait a minute....i'm picking up a Tau-Neutrino reading...." The wingman said, "and it is fairly constant as well........"

[macrorufus]

Huo opened up the scan display, and confirmed the wingman's claim. He keyed the wing.
"Form up and take relative bearing 230Y,140X. Keep your weapons locked. We're here to explore people."
Huo thumbed himself over slightly to the 'left' and 'downwards.' The space fighter juddered a bit and obeyed his controls easily. Huo took point. He began to thumb in accepted break patterns if the readings turned out to be hostile.
Tau-neutrinos were the stereotypical sign of a nearlight drive, which of course meant that there were sentient folk ahead. Although as always one had to be careful, as you never know what kind of folk you meet in space.

[Nelle Kozera]

The vessel ahead was eerily similar to that of the nearlight vessels used by the GSA during the Harper Era. The vessel was 4 kilometers long with a long conical shape with two large engines laying on the X axis of the ship. "You know this looks a lot like a...." His voice fell silent for a moment before coming back. "This is a GSA Vessel, built in 2340 it's in the data base, it was lost 40 light years from Caprica, officially labeled MIA..." The ship was adrift, but the Harper nearlight drives where still giving off Neutrinos. "It's the Timeless Undiscovery..."

[macrorufus]

As Huo relayed the scan info back to the 'Malancholic Dementia' he was surprised to hear from the Captain that it was an old GSA ship. It was still displaying correct IFF codes as well. Another oddity. Although perhaps the most alarming issue was what the GSA ship was doing in a totally different section of space. Huo sighed and brought his fighter as close to the hull as he dared, broadcasting for his 2nd wingman to do the same.
"I'm gonna check it out, you two of you stay there and watch the ships, we're going in. You are weapons free now, but try not to kill us."
There was a groan to be heard on the comms, Huo grinned and opened the cockpit. His space suit was already on him. He reached round the cockpit and unbolted the manouvre jets strapping them on, an awkward task in the zero grav environment. The fennec patted his pistol, assured by its weight. Huo began to operate the jets floating closer to the nearest airlock. His number 2 was right behind him. Huo decided he'd attempt to obtain the blackbox aboard, and the sensor logs. They'd all be on the bridge. There was a respectable silence as they approached the airlock.

[Nelle Kozera]

"Heh, alright i'm going to..." The lizard that was his wingman said, "Never got the chance to get aboard one of these old vessels, always wanted to..." He said pulling in his fighter near to Huo's, "How do you think she got all the way out hear, she defiantly had some help that's for sure..." He said over a private com channel. The nearlight vessels of old where as large as modern day battlecruisers. And just as heavily armed for there time. This ship was a war ship. On there way to the hanger bay they passed a Gamma ray laser array, it was twice the size of the fighter the lizard inhabited for the moment. "There is the bay, i'm going to land there, i'll meet up inside we can cover more ground that way..." He pointed out lighting up Huo vision centers with a highlighted area of the ship. "Ready?" He asked it was not a that he was really asked as he was already entering the hanger, the hanger where open and hada full shuttle compliment....

[macrorufus]

Huo left his fighter in the bay and had manouvred to the closest airlock, the vacuum of space shutting off all sounds bar his comms and his breath. He had a live feed to the 'Dementia,' so they'd see what was happening. He took a moment to inspect the airlock. The ship's condition was alright considering it's odd situation. He heard a confirmed comm by the captain saying the Dementia had changed course and was heading towards them. There was no going in, the airlock was sealed, and power was not up. They'd need an engineering crew to get inside, plus a portable generator for the airlocks.

[Nelle Kozera]

If it wasn't for the odd shape of the Dementia it would have fit in the hanger bay, but it didn't. A small shuttle left the frigate, it was on it's way to the hanger bay with a small engineering crew. "Anyone need an electrician?" One of the voices asked of the private com channels that whent between the shuttle and the crew in the hanger. "Hang tight Huo, we'll be there in a jiff..." The shuttle pilot landed near the to the air lock but it was still a hike to get to the air lock. "You think there are more hangers than this, it is a large ship...." The engineer asked walking over to the airlock, "you know, in 500 years these inputs haven't changed that much..." It hadn't taking him longer than 5 minutes to adapt the power cables for the air lock. "And there we go..." As he spoke the air lock lit up, "Lets hope that's the only one we have to encounter, there should be air farther end..." He said, the wingman made over to Huo as the airlock opened.

[macrorufus]

Huo thumbed the display on his wrist to start his helmet's lamps. He commed the engineering team.
"Alright, you leave the generator here, we'll move on ahead and see if we can find the main power controls. Did you bring schematics?"
Huo grinned wryly, as he recalled he'd forgotten to specify that, though he clarified on the engineer's situation.
"We'll only take off helmets once the air is scanned. It's got to be quite stale by now, and could be potentially hazardous."

[Nelle Kozera]

"Well yes, I brought a standard layout, but you have to remember that large vessels had and have limited repair and redesign ability..." He said and uploaded his layout to Huo's Huo's implant. "The bridge should be......here....." The floor became highlighted in Huo's vision. "I'm going to head to the drive systems see what wrong with them..." The lupine said walking in a different direction. The form of a suited lizard appeared in Huo's vision, "Ready?" He asked seeping the corridor with a plasma rifle....

[macrorufus]

Huo grinned and started down the indicated hall, with his pistol in his holster. His combat AI decided there was no current threat. He nodded at the lizard who came with him.
"This ship is ancient, it's unlikely that we're gonna find much. Should be an easy trip to the bridge."
Huo opened a link to the 'Dementia' and copied a data file to the Captain of the deployment of the team aboard, then forwarded an order to the AI implants of the remaining two fighters to tow his fighter and his wingman's fighter onboard the 'Undiscovery' as well as land themselves to assist the engineering team.

[Nelle Kozera]

"Yeah 500 hundred would do that to a ship, but then again, they say a cryo-pod can hold a person in stasis for 3000 years, though those SDI egg heads would say anything to get there funding..." He said deploying a spider drone, it attached to the wall with magnetic grips to allow a solid attachment in the Zero G environment. It began to follow the path the engineer had given them, the view of the corridors up ahead proved empty.

[macrorufus]

Huo paced up the corridor, on his way to the bridge. He was looking quite relaxed, confident that whatever did happen here, happened a long time ago. That and it was his duty to stop his wingman panicing, and it wouldn't help if he showed how he found the emptiness of such a large ship disturbing.
Huo followed his display plodding along down corridor after corridor. It'd be just his luck that the bridge wasn't right next door to the hangar bay.

[Nelle Kozera]

The bridge had a large fluid felled cylinder in the center of the large expansive bridge, everyone one of the readouts had died long ago. Even though every one of them still functioned the power to the displays had been cut. In the center of the fluid filled chamber floated an anthropomorphic wolf, into its skull ran hundreds of wires, each one making a connection to the core systems of the ship. That may have been the captain of this vessel or at least the pilot even though the tubes that carrier oxygen and other nutrients where still in place it was motionless so it was unknown if it was alive from a purely optical perspective. Once the monitor lizard stepped onto the bridge a single holo-screen activated near the chamber it had the status readouts of the chamber. Whoever was in the chamber was alive, very much alive. The wolf turned to face the people entering, it opened it eyes to revile that it eyes had no pupils they where white orbs that held in place of eyes but the wolf still seemed to stare them down……

[macrorufus]

Huo swore and jumped back as what he thought was a cadaver moved to look at them. He switched off his head-lamps, and ignoring caution tapped a hand on the glass tank that what he presumed to be the navigator was in. He tapped twice, to see if he could elicit a response from the strange creature.
"There's no way this guy should be able to survive so long right?"

[Nelle Kozera]

"Medical wonders of the 24th century..." A voice said seemly omnipresent, or at least all around them. "I am very much alive, but i'm curious as to how you got here, your GSA i can see that much, but how did you get out here, no nearlight drive can reach the speeds needed to get out this far, not for 50,000 years anyway, yet i have only been out here four hundred years give or take a decade......" The wolf in the liquid put his paw on his chin as if he was thinking things over in his head. "Still aside from knowing that, i know nothing about you people..." He seemed to be happy that he had someone to talk to...

[macrorufus]

OOC: I actually don't know how to respond to that at all.

[macrorufus]

Huo stepped closer to the liquid-encased wolf.
"Is it possible to get you out of there? I think I ought to get you to the captain."

[Nelle Kozera]

"Unless you can fit the entire bridge inside your ship, and from the scans i got of your ship, thats a no...." He said with crossed arms. "I'm connected to the ship's core system, such a removal would kill me..." He said with a frown. "So, no, i can't be moved, not that it matters, i was a quadriplegic before i put in this chamber, its not like i can move on my own..." He said, "so i don't mind staying here, though you could bring your captain here..."

[macrorufus]

Huo nodded his head awkwardly. "I see, then that'd be best I think. We shall attempt to get the Captain to see you. You need to be debriefed I suspect, commander of this bridge or not."
Huo saluted and about-faced, heading back the way he'd come.

[Nelle Kozera]

"Um, I don't think your commander is going to be seeing me..." He said through the bridge speakers, "Look..." The old light hugger vessel appeared on screen still dead in the water but what was different was that the frigate in which they had came in was on holographic projection. "I'm only limited to my passive light speed sensors at the moment so this information is about half an hour old..." It was the replay of a battle that happened some thirty minutes prior. A stealth vessel from what the scan showed had gotten the jump on the Melancholic Dementia taking out its hyperdrives and sub light drives before a return shot could be fired. The frigate was one of the more lightly armed and armored craft of the GSA naval forces, but it meant for something or someone to deliver a crippling blow so quickly on her meant that the other vessel was far above the frigates weight class. A moment later to add insult to injury the unknown and unseen enemy fired again on the crippled vessel giving the impression that the small frigate was ripped in half...

[macrorufus]

Huo gaped at the sensor-lagging image then swore, driving a knuckle into the side of the hull plating. It hurt, but not as bad as the loss of the ship he'd served with. He ordered the lead engineer that had come with them to the Bridge via comms relay, and ordered the rest of his squadron to flight-ready status. This changed everything. Despite this, the urge for revenge gripped the fennec and he fairly shook with fury as he turned back to the dragon.
"Are you able to 'see' the stealthed vessel?"

[Nelle Kozera]

"Not with my passive sensors no, should my active sensors come on line and they are still out there it is quite the possibility i will be able to, but i must remind you this is a near light vessel, we are not going to be going anywhere fast in this vessel but it might be true that the other vessel is also a near light vessel meaning that there might be some chance of redemption if that is your goal..." The being in the tank of fluid didn't move much for the moment. "Should you get power to the main drive systems and my sensors i will able to tell you more but for now this all i have for you..." He seemed a little ashamed at his limited capabilities for the moment.

Another minute later the engineer from earlier stepped on the bridge. "Umm got something for me?" He asked looking at the pilot of the vessel. "Whoa, i had heard about the those that fused to their vessels but i have never seen one..." He said looking up at the fluid filled tank...

[macrorufus]

Huo forwarded a recording of the sensors to the engineer, giving him time to view it.
"This is the situation. We're stuck on a non-functioning ship, limited areas of environmental support, with an unknown hostile. We have a shuttle and five fighters in total. Take your engineering team, and get to work on fixing the main engines, and power supply. Keep the jury-rigged supply we have to the bridge working. We can fix lifesupport after we get the engines and power up. If it's any use, take some of my pilots and put them to work. Right now this is the most important issue."
Huo turned to face the dragon in the tank.
"And you, please indicate to my engineer where the engines and power supply is."

Huo thought to himself, that he fancied the odds of his survival. There was enough rations in the shuttle and fighter-emergency supplies to last a while, hopefully long enough to fix engines and then see about restarting the environmental systems. The enemy, though nearby, was not close enough to destroy them yet, else they'd be under attack. He could only hope that the stealthed vessel was slower than this one.

[Nelle Kozera]

"Oh shit..." He mouthed to himself, "Well i have to figure out how to fix these things my self, but some of these boy might be useful tool boys..." He said with a chuckle. "Hmm, where is the engineering section?" He asked looking up the dragon in the tank. "Deck forty five, it takes up the entire deck..." It said, "Alright boys come on we got work to do..." He said heading back off the deck. He noted the difference between the metal and the organic designs he was used to, this was back when they still made the vessels from almost entirely inorganic components.

"If you need them, this vessel has seven decks devoted to hydroponics and another three for on board manufacturing of course the factories need power, but the hydroponics area has an independent power supply though my diagnostics tell me that its power is nearly depleted it may make your lives easier if you can find a away to save these decks, but power will not die for another month or so." The ships persona if you will pointed out to Huo bring it up on the ships holographic display.

[macrorufus]

Huo nodded. "I think we shall try to get the main power back up, then presumably we can support the hydroponics? Till then it's rough rations for us... uh... Is there anything we need to fix to keep YOU alive?"

[Nelle Kozera]

"Nothing that i can tell, as long as my power systems remain intact and I remain in tact I'll be fine...though you have no idea the boredom of waiting her for two hundred years feels like..." He sighed through the speakers...

A message come through from engineering about half an hour later. "Cap, I think I can get this thing working though its going to take me at least a day..." He said over the audio channel. "But i'll have the drives up in six, half that if everything is in working order..."