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Post by Tikobe on Aug 17, 2017 19:36:39 GMT -4
"Yes sir!" Chess says as he goes into the shuttle, Clare in toll.
"Wait, about getting weapons?" Miranda asks.
Jakti takes out a standard military sidearm.
"Keepers already issued one to us all before we took off," he says as climbs in.
"Alright, so we all got guns. I'm not against civilian weaponry, but that doesn't seem smart for this mission," Miranda replies.
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 17, 2017 20:01:10 GMT -4
"The weapons are a last resort for in the event that this goes sideways. If we're lucky we won't need to use them and they won't need to know that we have them."
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 17, 2017 20:08:44 GMT -4
"They know. We have military on our ship. The Keeper force always has guns, it's common sense. What's important is if they have guns, too, as well as the will to use them," Miranda says as she climbs into the shuttle. "Hey Jakti! You're piloting this. Make sure we're ready to leave when the captain gives the order!"
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 17, 2017 20:59:51 GMT -4
I climb into the shuttle and, once everyone is inside the shuttle, give the order for launching it.
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 17, 2017 21:37:47 GMT -4
The ship flies down and lands at a small dock on the Far Beyond colony. As the shuttle doors open, a man in a suit with a large smile on his face is there to greet you.
"Hello!" he says. "We're glad to see you're here. Welcome to Far Beyond! A wonderful new home away from home."
One would wonder why he's trying to sell this place like a resort. Still, to it's credit, it had an Earth like atmosphere, with a terrain that reminded you of an old Earth western movie. Although the buildings around were terribly out of place with that kind of a setting.
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 17, 2017 21:58:02 GMT -4
"If I may ask, how have I never heard of this colony before today?"
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 17, 2017 22:21:12 GMT -4
He chuckles.
"Well, no one from your corner of space has! The governor decides who gets to live here and know about it. It's not like he has any beef against KOMC but sometimes he likes living in a place like this outside of the Keepers' control, that's all. That's not to say we don't get business. We do have some alien civilizations who know and visit quite frequently. This is, after all, the farthest KOMC related outpost from Keeper space and the only, so you'd be surprised to know how many government wish to use us to learn about it. All kinds of things happen out here, like the discovery of humans outside Keeper space."
"What? Humans?" Miranda questions.
"Their population is very small, but they exist. Unfortunately we don't know the story behind this."
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 19, 2017 10:40:01 GMT -4
"I would be very interested in meeting these extraterrestrial humans," I reply.
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 19, 2017 12:31:39 GMT -4
"I would as well, unfortunately I wouldn't know where they are. Perhaps you can ask the governor when you meet him. He's had the most contact with them."
"And where is the governor?" Miranda asks.
"The colony is set up in a line. On the other side of this line is a travel tube. Get on the shuttle and you'll meet him on the other side."
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 19, 2017 23:52:00 GMT -4
"In that case I suppose we had better speak with the governor; I have many questions that he may be able to help me answer."
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 20, 2017 0:34:12 GMT -4
"Of course! Allow me to walk you over there!"
The man guides you to the transport tube, where the five of you sit in a shuttle, and are fired off into the tube. Over head you a see a sign that reads 54 Earth Standard miles, as well a number of other scales that alien races use to measure distance. It drops a mile every second.
"Humans, in space?" Miranda asks.
"Why not?" Jakti replies. "I mean, there's the Zathrelle, and those guys look just like you but with three ear holes and no ears. It's a big galaxy, although I'm sure if you cut one of them open the inside will be nothing like the inside of you guys. Hell, I'm sure if we look hard enough, we'll find lookalikes of the other Keeper races."
3...
2...
1...
"You have arrived at you destination. Have a nice day!"
The shuttle opens it's doors and the five of you come out to see a...
Holy crap, it's a bar that looks like it was literally pulled out of a western. There are no other buildings in sight. One can only assume that either you went down the wrong tube, or that the governor is a weird man.
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 20, 2017 11:59:38 GMT -4
I walk towards the bar and, if nothing interesting happens between now and when I arrive at the bar, I proceed to open the door and step inside.
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 20, 2017 12:27:34 GMT -4
You enter the building to find an elderly man inside.
"You guys the crew of the Magellan?" He asks.
"You're the governor?" Miranda replies.
"Don't answer questions with questions. Now sit down, we got a lot to talk about. Now tell me in person, what is the goal of your little voyage into nowhere?"
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 20, 2017 21:09:55 GMT -4
"It's a voyage of discovery. There is a political faction in the KOMC that supports an end to their isolationist policies, but in order to stop being isolationist we need to find other civilizations and nations to interact with."
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 21, 2017 0:15:17 GMT -4
"Ah, so I see. So here's what I'm wondering: How are you going to get around?"
"What?" Jakti asks.
"From solar system to solar system. It's plausible, but hoping from solar system to solar system with no slingshot is no joke. To travel a space equivalent to that of going from Sol to Proxima Centauri you're looking at a solid two or even three day trip. Even a small government that's worth a damn would have around four solar systems in it's domain. It's not practical is it?" the governor asks.
"Well... no," Miranda agrees.
"Thankfully for you guys, I have just the thing," the governor says, pulling out a device of sorts from under the counter. It's small, with a strange blue glow. It looks like it could easily added onto ship of any design, but most particularly ships of keeper design. You notice a small symbol on it, a trio of trapezoids arranged so their smaller sides all connect and form an equilateral triangle. You've never seen this emblem before.
"Now, see, this here is what they call a jumper coil," the governor begins. "As far as I can tell, every civilization but the Keepers have them."
"Wait, what? Why don't the Keepers have them?" Miranda points out.
"Evidently whoever made the coils took great strides to keep them away from you guys. I don't know anything about the creators, but whoever they are the other civilizations seem to respect. What's important is what it does: It allows a ship to jump without needing a slingshot. Now, it'd be awkward to be found having one of these in Keeper space, and besides, I just set up the slingshot in this system so I don't need a coil anyways, so I'd be willing to cut you a deal for it if you'd like."
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 21, 2017 4:35:29 GMT -4
(I'm assuming that each race has roughly 10 colonized star systems for this post.)
"Every civilization but the Keepers have these devices? How many of these civilizations are there - the Keepers are comprised of twenty seven species and have only around 300 star systems of the hundred billion estimated to be in this galaxy alone."
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 21, 2017 10:22:39 GMT -4
"Frankly, not a damn clue. I think I've counted at least 14 non-Keeper races that have visited here, and they told me about there being even more beyond that. Way more."
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 21, 2017 10:45:18 GMT -4
"If it wouldn't be a bother to you, would you mind supplying me with some copies of files on at least the rudimentary basics of politics outside of the KOMC?"
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 21, 2017 15:11:22 GMT -4
"Got none," the governor replies. "I established this colony to get away from that kind of technology. I only have basic communications equipment here."
"Only that? What about the other part of Far Beyond? They looked pretty up to date," Miranda points out.
"Wasn't my idea. I wanted to create an old western town. The rest wanted something else. That why they're over there and I'm over here. Frankly, I don't know what kind of files they have over there. All I know about the alien races are these weird human-like people with purple eyes, called themselves some kinda empire, I think. There's also these guys," the governor says, pointing at the symbol on the jumper coil.
"Where did you get that, anyways? If the creators of these tried keeping them away from KOMC then it doesn't make sense that someone would just give you guys one," Clare points out.
"I'll tell you guys when I give it to you, if I give it to you. It doesn't come free."
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 21, 2017 19:09:49 GMT -4
"What do you want in exchange for it? We have some money, but for some reason I highly doubt that Keeper Notes would be of use to you outside of Keeper Space."
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 21, 2017 21:46:49 GMT -4
The governor takes a deep breath in.
"See this bar? It takes a lot of work to clean. Clean it for me."
"Now that is an odd request," Chess points out.
"I also had some wood sent to the other side of Far Beyond. I need it for renovations. Get it for me."
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 21, 2017 21:51:38 GMT -4
"We clean your restaurant and get you some wood and you'll give us a device that allows FTL transport without a slingshot? That sounds like a good deal to me."
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 21, 2017 22:20:20 GMT -4
"You're joking," Jakti replies.
"Captain, I must point out that this might be a scam," Miranda rebukes.
"Scam or not, if all goes well, we can go FTL without needing a slingshot," Chess says. "If not, all we did was clean a place up. Now, I'd recommend three of us go get the wood while the other two stay here and get started. Jakti, how much weight can your implants go up to?"
"Uhm... Two hundred pounds, I think," Jakti says, rolling his sleeve up to reveal a detachable monitor resting on his forearm. It wasn't surprising, the Lakto homeworld was incredibly small with a very low level of gravity, to the point that it shouldn't have been able to support life in the first place. The Lakto use implants to help them live in environments suited for other aliens. He takes off the monitor and starts pushing buttons.
"Very well. I'll go with him. Now we just need a third," Chess says, looking around.
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Post by Bannanachair on Aug 21, 2017 22:23:45 GMT -4
"I'll go."
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Post by Tikobe on Aug 22, 2017 1:12:45 GMT -4
"Alright then. You three be safe. I mean, I can't imagine any harm coming to you here but you never know," the governor says as a beep is heard in the backroom. "Huh. Must be the other side. I'll go see what's going on over there. Also, if you want those files on the other aliens, Captain, you can talk to Martin. He may have something. You should've met him when you came planetside."
The governor goes into the room where the beep is heard.
"I can't believe this," Miranda growls. "I'm a soldier. And now I have to clean a bar?"
"Well, on the bright side, all it is is cleaning a bar," Clare shrugs.
On the shuttle ride there, a conversation begins.
"I can't believe that just happened," Jakti says. "We just went into an old, wooden bar and met a guy who just so happens to have a device like that on hand, and he's willing to give us it for something that small?"
"I'm more interested in these other races," Chess says. "Human-like aliens? An empire? What do you think, Captain Edwards?"
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