Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Juliet Anders (Chief of Security) in Main Sim - City

Posted by Gamemaster Wookius Furrius (Senior Gamemaster) in Main Sim - City

Posted by Lieutenant Sozi Zakene (Diplomatic Attache) in Main Sim - City
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Snip

At last they stopped. Somewhere in there the ‘alien’ script split screened and there was more Federation standard in there; Reauna must have made some adjustments in the midst of the search. The tracery of script stopped and there was an authorization required for accessing further data. Reauna’s hand touched the display in what looked to be a random place. The imprint of her hand was surrounded in a purple-blue glow then, almost as quickly as it came, it disappeared. A series of icons floated on the screen ..

“This is the foundational information from the Builders, or what there is. It is very old. I’ve never seen it. Where do you all suggest we start looking?” Reauna said.

“Blueprints,” Zoon said. He looked at the others, notably the Starfleet people for their input.

Reauna and Zoon

Shedda nodded in agreement with Zoon, “Blueprints are priority. Any information on how it is powered, and scientific and engineering theories they used as a foundation for the blueprint. Those theories could be significant in reversing what is happening.” Back to the building blocks so to speak.

“Blueprints would be great,” Kaia spoke up from the back of the group. “I was a bit of a late addition to the landing party, I’d appreciate a summary of our goals if that’s possible?” The diminutive officer made her way through and around people’s legs. Barely taller than a cat standing on its hind legs, she squinted up at the display with wide -eyed curiosity.

Kaia, Engineer

Reauna worked at the screen then paused as though uncertain where to go. Zoon pointed to a series of what looked like nested folders. She chose them and then went further following that trail. She answered Kaia, “Our world was endangered by the sun long ago. The Builders created the Machine which sent six of our sister cities far back into time in this world in the hope to survive. What we didn’t know is that, while linked with the machine, six other realities were created.”

Zoon added, “The Machine is not perfect. After all this time all realities are threatened. My city has tried to leap ahead to become an anchor city believing that this city was long deserted.”

“And threatened us all by doing so and sending temporal ripples throughout this reality.”

“Ah Kaia, I am glad you are here. We had a comm from Manhattan. When the portal activated and our new aquantances arrived, it started a power drain on the ship. I need you to corrdinate with the engineering teams on the ship and figure out if there is a connection and if so how to stop it from affecting the Manhattan. If you need to go back to the ship and then return, do what you need to do. Any information you can find here will no doubt also be useful.”

Mal’athar, XO

“Will do, Commander. Gotta figure out what’s going on with the machine, then I’ll use that info to figure out the connection with the teams on the ship.”

As the group worked in the library, Cochrane stayed near the Speaker. He looked at the figure for a long moment, assessing, and then said “Speaker, tell me about your people. Your home. We won’t be able to help one another unless we can try to understand one another.”

Cochrane, CO

“Bakkalia is my city. The Eternal Emperor is enthroned on it and has built a great Hegemony governing space for a hundred light years around. What the Emperor says is law. Bakkalia thrives as the throne city. But it was not always so. We were beset by another species. Parasites they were adapting our own very DNA into their own making a mockery of who we were, a mirror image but twisted. It changed us. When we first translated to the past we were not much different from Reauna and her people. We were a planned city. Scientists. Builders. A society stable. Until they came. They had no name but took our own. It was a bitter and long struggle. Out of those ashes rose the Eternal Emperor. Out it rose a resolve that to survive we must not be off our guard, nor inferior but must lead. Preservation through Might.” The last statement seemed more a slogan or mantra of their people. “How do you preserve yourself, Cochrane Captain?”

“I and my ship and crew belong to a society made up of hundreds of species and thousands of worlds. Every society elects or appoints a representative, and those representatives are responsible for the well-being of the whole. Some of our members operate with the same perspective as you do: Might Makes Right. But as a whole, we believe that all sentient beings have an inherent right to self-determination. The right to choose for themselves. The only limits on that right is when those choices impact others negatively. It is not a perfect system by any means… but it ensures the greater good. Or at least-” and he shrugged slightly, “- that is the overall goal. Just like our goal here. We want to help Reauna and her people… and we want to help you. I believe that we can find a common ground that will enable all of us to help one another.”

Zakene jumped in as well, seeing an opportunity to help, “There are even worlds like my own, that operate semi-independently with the greater organization called the Federation. We still work toward similar goals, but due to a long conflict with an enemy, we have yet to resume our prior might. Thanks to aid from our allies we are able to rebuild our cities. As odd as it may be, their aid has allowed us to maintain our culture, while aiding in the rebuilding efforts.”

“My people are similar. Five different species from one planet, two from two more. We formed an alliance long before we met the Federation, but our values are so similar that my ancestors found it easy to join up with the Federation. We preserve our society through education, through making sure that every child knows where we have come from. So that the future can always be brighter, we work together. We collaborate. That’s what my people value.”

Juliet assigned one of the last of the lingering security to the young engineer. “When you get to the ship, make sure we are secure. I don’t like the idea of a passive power drain, and I won’t understand it, but make sure she’s safe till she’s back on the ship. And set up a second team to stand by. If we need them on the ship or the ground, I want them ready.” The Ensign nodded and stood off to the side ready to head wherever Kaia was going.

Juliet turned back to the Captain. It was just her and one other security officer left behind. She knew the Captain’s competence through the rumors when she boarded and did her own personal recon of him. But she still wasn’t going to shirk her job of protection. It wasn’t in her to turn her back on her Commanding Officer.

Juliet
CoS

The ‘blueprints’ came up. The Machine was by any comparison a simple unit but the underlying power structure to support it was massive. By all indication what the Machine did was create a temporal link with the other cities in series, that link generating complex subspace folds almost like a chain but that ‘chain’ was linked to the power generator of not just this world but all seven of the cities in the line. For Bakkalia to have tried to leapfrog over would have taken tremendous power and would have generated a great deal of disruption in trying to bend and stretch and pull - almost like unsticking oneself from the mud.
Wookiee

Cochrane, CO

Sozi Zakene, Diplomatic Attache

Kaia leaned upwards to examine the blueprints, struggling to make out the details from her place on the floor. She let out a small huff of annoyance, looking for a ledge or a chair she could use to see things better. It was such a pain being a small person in such a big world. She glanced at Sozi, then sidled up to the diplomatic attache, feeling embarrassed. If this was Federation tech she could have linked it to her Remote Interface, but she didn’t want to offend these people by attaching unknown tech to their stuff. “Would you mind lifting me up so I can see the display better?” she asked softly. She was barely heavier than a domestic cat, and not much bigger.

Kaia, Engineer

Perhaps surprisingly it was Zoon who leaned down and picked Kaia up. His hold was surprisingly light on her as he essentially cradled her on one arm.

Juliet watched and listened. Cochrane was good. It was no wonder he was Captain of a deep space exploration ship. His diplomatic skills were something to watch and listen to. Juliet had some skill in that arena, but not like his. Her limited skill was more casual based. Because she listened to nuances, much like the CO watched, she tended to merely ramble on and listen for the cover ups of near slips to responses some didn’t want to give. Those slips lead to more conversation and more findings.

But, sadly, her training was more confrontational. She was used to being the brute force, rather than the gentle hand.

A thought occurred to her then and she took a slow deep breath. Opening her mind, she tried to read the surface thoughts of those around her, both human and non. Looking from one person to another, she tried to asses that everyone was well, not lieing, and ok with the situation as it was. If anyone nearby was a strong telepath, they would sense the ‘brush’ of her mind as curiosity and nothing more.

Juliet
CoS
((If anyone has a strong surface thought, (deception, anger, tired, happy, confused, curious, etc) Juliet would pick up on it. Not words, specifically, unless they were strong enough and aimed at someone in particular))

[[OOC; Kaia would be an exception to that. The emotions and thoughts of people of her species are opaque to telepaths]]
- Kaia

Zakene was somewhere between frantic and curious about the scene in front of them. He’d been on many a diplomatic endeavor, but there was something about this that made his pulse race, almost as though failure would backfired on them quite roughly.

Sozi Zakene, Diplomatic Attache

Zoon was intense. His features were outwardly calm, however he was focused. There was an anxiety present too but that could come from many a different reason.

Reauna was more anxious but holding a similar calm but with the anxiety was a soup of hate, fear and mistrust.

Her shoulders slumped. “Any change would wreak havoc,” she said. “I disagree,” Zoon said but said no more.

Wookiee

Though her face never betrayed it, the lack of anything from Kaia surprised her. She made a mental note to speak to the woman about it later. The others really didn’t surprise her. They were standing here, across from stranger, both sides. They were all unsure what the other side was thinking, or wanted. And they all were sure the ‘powers that be’ had no true what was happening or at stake. These were common through most of the folks on both sides. And she agreed. This was a tense situation. And boots on the ground were rarely in the simple predicaments that those in offices millions of miles away had no clue about.

But she then glanced at Cochrane. While the uneasiness of the Diplomat was a bit disconcerting, she wondered what the Captain was feeling. She left her mind open to feeling him, but was more than careful about keeping from intruding. The last thing she wanted to do was distract him, or make him mad, merely because she wanted to be sure they were all safe.

Juliet “Jewels”
CoS

Cochrane was, surprisingly, excited in a kind of joyous way. His emotions were light, non-invasive to the calm his mind was in… but there was something else. Almost like a spring under tension. The potential for action was there… but it was just potential. There was no preparation.

“We must work on the assumption that as each city was moved away from this timeliness, they entered a wholly new and unique one. One where they were able to exist, develop, and create their own path.” Cochrane said to all present. “No one reality is more or less important than any other. By this point, each is unique and has developed as they needed. So we need to make sure all are safe… and remain that way.”

Cochrane, Co