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“I’ve had a lot of time to think, so let’s see if I can explain this in terran terms like those old transmissions. Faster than light travel spoils sentient species just like fast food. You lose the real sense of what you’re doing and it’s natural effects on instinct. People become dependent sheep on their technology. I learned this when our FTL went out about----30 years ago now? Let me give you a little context.
My name is Aeschylus, and I was chosen for captain of the Exodus on the Tenacious. The Tenacious is the most sophisticated of the expedition craft built by the Portia for the Exodus, the only one using original alien parts we couldn’t reverse engineer. The Tenacious is built around the landing pod the tyrant Sobek used to first arrive on our home world of Arachnos, before the air became black and flames devoured the forests. The Tenacious job now is to allow the Portia to safely settle anew, despite the fact,” Aeschylus transmission on the history of the craft (one of his few remaining sign in functions) was interrupted by the activation of another ai core, and already he could feel himself begin to wane. He tried to continue transmitting, but then he felt the heat on the hull, the thrashing of the prisoner inside as he woke….it was her. He signed off.
Red. Alarm. She opened her eyes and the cameras on board sprung to life, she listened and the sensors responded. She could already feel the hunger, the hate, and she turned off the heat shield to the prisoner compartment. She opened her mouth to speak and the prisoner compartment filled with air. 12 x 12 x 12 ft, the only open space of its size in the Portia fleet, it’s life support systems didn’t attempt to recycle air but simply store and remove it on command. They let the tyrant breathe only when he had to hear them.
The voice from the speaker came quickly, in a pitch so high the Tyrant Sobek winced as it shook his whole frame.
“Sobby, baby, I’m finally back, and it only took” she paused, and than a gasp left the speaker, only to be drowned out by the roar of the engines and Sobek ’ screams as his scales began to bubble. The voice filled the ship as system after system began to activate.
“Those useless males have been drifting for almost 100 cycles, solely checking their own chronometer! You let those idiots waste so long!”
Sobek’s screams had faded as his skin sloughed. The new layer was already phasing in, and could be seen only by the Tenacious advanced sensors. But for now, it had burned through Sobek’s nerves.
“You puny fools, you can bring no pain upon me greater then the loss of lands. I shall make you watch as I turn your race into the lowlife and slaves of the galaxy, and they’ll exterminate you like the other tiny races”
Soon, Sobek’s speech turned to nothing but cries and screams again, but she could see his smile…she had to escape.
She started spamming the wavelengths, trying to track anyone within listening range. She heard something in the sensors, and tuned in.
She couldn’t believe it. They are in a populated system and those fools just weren’t trying any other kinds of broadcast. Someone had to have something down there….
She activated the full strength of their shields and aimed the Tenacious toward the planet. She realized she forgot about the alarm…there’s something in orbit, preparing to fire
….she faded away, as a new core took hold. He quickly adjusted their course, moving to avoid fire. He wasn’t sure who thought a crash landing was a good idea has lost their noggen, but he had no choice. He send out one more broadcast.
“This is Vulture to residents of the planet below, you should be able to calculate our trajectory, but damages to external sensors mean I cannot. We will be crashing below, don’t send rescue. We keep to our own.”
Vulture didn’t know what else to do before the Tenacious crashed, so he activated the diplomat core as the deep pain of the crash tote into his mind. He tried to scream but he felt it in him. He felt himself slipping, the man fading as the ship re took control. And he waited for transmissions.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think, so let’s see if I can explain this in terran terms like those old transmissions. Faster than light travel spoils sentient species just like fast food. You lose the real sense of what you’re doing and it’s natural effects on instinct. People become dependent sheep on their technology. I learned this when our FTL went out about----30 years ago now? Let me give you a little context.
My name is Aeschylus, and I was chosen for captain of the Exodus on the Tenacious. The Tenacious is the most sophisticated of the expedition craft built by the Portia for the Exodus, the only one using original alien parts we couldn’t reverse engineer. The Tenacious is built around the landing pod the tyrant Sobek used to first arrive on our home world of Arachnos, before the air became black and flames devoured the forests. The Tenacious job now is to allow the Portia to safely settle anew, despite the fact,” Aeschylus transmission on the history of the craft (one of his few remaining sign in functions) was interrupted by the activation of another ai core, and already he could feel himself begin to wane. He tried to continue transmitting, but then he felt the heat on the hull, the thrashing of the prisoner inside as he woke….it was her. He signed off.
Red. Alarm. She opened her eyes and the cameras on board sprung to life, she listened and the sensors responded. She could already feel the hunger, the hate, and she turned off the heat shield to the prisoner compartment. She opened her mouth to speak and the prisoner compartment filled with air. 12 x 12 x 12 ft, the only open space of its size in the Portia fleet, it’s life support systems didn’t attempt to recycle air but simply store and remove it on command. They let the tyrant breathe only when he had to hear them.
The voice from the speaker came quickly, in a pitch so high the Tyrant Sobek winced as it shook his whole frame.
“Sobby, baby, I’m finally back, and it only took” she paused, and than a gasp left the speaker, only to be drowned out by the roar of the engines and Sobek ’ screams as his scales began to bubble. The voice filled the ship as system after system began to activate.
“Those useless males have been drifting for almost 100 cycles, solely checking their own chronometer! You let those idiots waste so long!”
Sobek’s screams had faded as his skin sloughed. The new layer was already phasing in, and could be seen only by the Tenacious advanced sensors. But for now, it had burned through Sobek’s nerves.
“You puny fools, you can bring no pain upon me greater then the loss of lands. I shall make you watch as I turn your race into the lowlife and slaves of the galaxy, and they’ll exterminate you like the other tiny races”
Soon, Sobek’s speech turned to nothing but cries and screams again, but she could see his smile…she had to escape.
She started spamming the wavelengths, trying to track anyone within listening range. She heard something in the sensors, and tuned in.
She couldn’t believe it. They are in a populated system and those fools just weren’t trying any other kinds of broadcast. Someone had to have something down there….
She activated the full strength of their shields and aimed the Tenacious toward the planet. She realized she forgot about the alarm…there’s something in orbit, preparing to fire
….she faded away, as a new core took hold. He quickly adjusted their course, moving to avoid fire. He wasn’t sure who thought a crash landing was a good idea has lost their noggen, but he had no choice. He send out one more broadcast.
“This is Vulture to residents of the planet below, you should be able to calculate our trajectory, but damages to external sensors mean I cannot. We will be crashing below, don’t send rescue. We keep to our own.”
Vulture didn’t know what else to do before the Tenacious crashed, so he activated the diplomat core as the deep pain of the crash tote into his mind. He tried to scream but he felt it in him. He felt himself slipping, the man fading as the ship re took control. And he waited for transmissions.