The Next day aboard the Andromeda
The crew had not received any word from the Triumvere or the Conclave and each time they had tried to contact either one they were told that they were in a meeting and could not be disturbed. Everyone was starting to get restless, they all wanted to hurry up and hear the decision so that they could go to Vegas drift and start doing something. When they had arrived back on Andromeda yesterday all happy Andromeda thought that something was wrong with them 'How can they be happy today?' But when they explained, she was the most eager to hurry onto Vegas drift and find the information they were looking for. So they sat around talking and doing odd jobs around the place whilst waiting for the Triumvere to contact them. The minutes grew to hours and the hours felt like days until everyone was starting to get a short fuse, they would snap at each other then immediately apologize, although no apology was needed as they each understood what the rest were going through. Then finally a day and a half later they received a transmission from First Triumvere Constance.
"To the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant, after carefully reviewing the material you provided and discussing it with the Conclave we have come to the decision that although the beings behind the abduction, torture and murder of Captain Dylan Hunt are vicious, we could find no evidence that they pose a military threat. Therefore it is our ruling that until such evidence is appropriated we will do nothing other then try to figure out who they are and what they want. I know this isn't the response you were looking for but it's what the situation is." After she had said all that the Triumvere took off her official face and looked at them like friends. "However if you want to go out looking for evidence as to how serious a threat this might be, I suggest you leave orbit now before someone thinks to order you to stay."
'Thank you First Triumvere Constance. I know for a fact that you only have as much power as the Conclave is willing to bestow upon you and thank you for not ordering us to stay here" said Rommie
"Yes I'm sure you do understand. Now quickly go and I pray to the Divine that what we both fear about these people is proven false, for if it is not then we are going to need all the help we can get" she said before terminating the transmission.
"So what do we do now? Do we head straight for Vegas or do we stop at a shipyard for much needed repairs and fully reload?" Rommie asked turning to Beka to find out what her orders were
"Well... I guess we should go in for repairs and reloading, just in case we come up against any bad guys"
"Agreed we will be much more likely to survive if everything is at peak efficiency"
"Ok then. Rommie head towards the nearest space dock maximum speed"
"Aye Aye Captain" Rommie said before directing the ship towards the outer rim of the solar system where the Commonwealth's main shipyard was located.
"This is the Andromeda Ascendant hailing the Sintii Space dock" said Beka as she opened a com channel
"This is Sintii Space dock, how can we be of assistance?"
"We would like to put in for some repairs and a reload if that is at all possible"
"Very good Andromeda you are cleared to land on platform 3" the voice said before shutting off the link
"Now all we have to do is wait for the repairs and reload to finish then we can make our way to Vegas and begin our little investigation. But until then everyone your time is your own do what you want." Beka said before heading to her quarters to get some much-needed sleep.
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Same time on Vedrans Vengeance
"Sir the weapons are now at 100 percent accuracy" replied the Hologram Dylan when he appeared before his Master
"Excellent ship. How long will it take to get to Vegas drift from here?"
"Approximately 1 day Sir"
"Good. I'll be on command in a few moments you may go"
"Very good Sir" and with that he blinked out of existence. The hooded man made his way through the decks of his new flagship nodding as each crewmember he passed dropped to their knees before him. He made his way onto command and as he entered the android Dylan called out
"Master on deck" when he said that everyone turned around and dropped to their knees in respect and also a little fear
"As you were" everyone returned to their previous jobs and waited for the next orders. "Helmsman set a course for Vegas Drift maximum speed" he said as he sat down in his throne and waited for the feel of the ship entering slipstream. When he felt it he turned to the man manning the communications console and asked "any news from my son and Mat?"
"Yes sir they said they would meet up with you at Vegas drift. They also reported success in the mission." He replied
"Very good continue what you were doing, also I would like you to find the co-ordinates of the next closest Neutral drift or planet to Vegas drift and give them to the helmsman"
"Yes Sir"
"Ship" the man called as he turned back to look at the android
"Sir?"
"I want you to record a message for me and transmit it as soon as we reach real time communications range with Vegas drift"
"Ready to record message Sir"
"Good. Attention drift this is Supreme Overlord Loki of the Children of Loki Revolutionary Movement. You may have noticed a very large and very powerful vessel just appeared in your system, this vessel is my flagship. The reason we have come here is to offer you a choice Join us or Die. You see we are about to start a war with the New Commonwealth and anyone not with us is against us. There will be no Neutral systems you are either with the Commonwealth or us. I give you 2 minutes to decide your response, don't bother trying to send a signal out for help as all of your communications systems are being jammed. End recording."
"Recording ended"
"Good now remember, as soon as we reach real time communications range you are to broadcast that message to all communication stations on the drift."
"Yes sir" they waited in silence for their arrival at the drift and Dylan dreaded what he knew was about to happen.
They arrived at the drift a day later and moved in to communications range. When they had reached real time communications range Dylan transmitted the message just as he had been ordered to do and then stood beside Loki awaiting the reply from the drift. A minute later they got the response that Dylan had been dreading
"Political matters do not concern us, so we will not join yours or any other faction we will stay Neutral as we always do. We also don't take kindly to threats, you may have noticed the massive amount of vessels out there and I assure you that each and every one of them will fight to the death"
"That is your final response then?"
"Yes it is"
"Ok you asked for it. Ship target and destroy every single vessel out there do not allow any of them to escape"
"Yes Sir" the VDU replied before targeting and destroying every vessel. Even though there were over 100 vessels not one of them had a chance to fire before they were destroyed. Upon seeing this the drift owners reopened the com channel
"We take it back we will join you" the voice sounded desperate and pleading
"No. You had your chance and you refused" Loki said before cutting the com channel once again "Ship target the drift and open fire"
"No don't do this I beg you" the android Dylan pleaded with his captain as he heard what he was being asked to do
"We must they have chosen to remain Neutral and we cannot allow that"
"But there are innocent people on this Drift, and they are not a military threat so why do we need to destroy them?"
"Because if we do not nobody will think we are serious"
"But..."
"ENOUGH! Ship do as you are ordered to do"
"Yes sir" replied the VDU version of Dylan who had been waiting quietly for his orders "Missiles away... They will reach target in 5...4...3...2...1... Impact. Reporting drift completely destroyed, No survivors" and with that he disappeared
"Good. Continue on to next location." The Captain replied "Fitting that the first target in our campaign is the place that made it possible in the first place don't you think?" He said turning towards the android Dylan who didn't reply. "I knew you would say that you are dismissed" and with a wave of his hand he sent the android away.
As Dylan walked through the decks of himself he reached out with his sensors scanning the debris in the hope of finding anything. When he found nothing he thought to himself '90,000 innocent people were on that drift, 90,000 people that I killed... And yet this is only just the beginning' he then felt the ship enter slipstream. The only place that Vegas Drift lived anymore was in the memories of people who had visited it.
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The crew had not received any word from the Triumvere or the Conclave and each time they had tried to contact either one they were told that they were in a meeting and could not be disturbed. Everyone was starting to get restless, they all wanted to hurry up and hear the decision so that they could go to Vegas drift and start doing something. When they had arrived back on Andromeda yesterday all happy Andromeda thought that something was wrong with them 'How can they be happy today?' But when they explained, she was the most eager to hurry onto Vegas drift and find the information they were looking for. So they sat around talking and doing odd jobs around the place whilst waiting for the Triumvere to contact them. The minutes grew to hours and the hours felt like days until everyone was starting to get a short fuse, they would snap at each other then immediately apologize, although no apology was needed as they each understood what the rest were going through. Then finally a day and a half later they received a transmission from First Triumvere Constance.
"To the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant, after carefully reviewing the material you provided and discussing it with the Conclave we have come to the decision that although the beings behind the abduction, torture and murder of Captain Dylan Hunt are vicious, we could find no evidence that they pose a military threat. Therefore it is our ruling that until such evidence is appropriated we will do nothing other then try to figure out who they are and what they want. I know this isn't the response you were looking for but it's what the situation is." After she had said all that the Triumvere took off her official face and looked at them like friends. "However if you want to go out looking for evidence as to how serious a threat this might be, I suggest you leave orbit now before someone thinks to order you to stay."
'Thank you First Triumvere Constance. I know for a fact that you only have as much power as the Conclave is willing to bestow upon you and thank you for not ordering us to stay here" said Rommie
"Yes I'm sure you do understand. Now quickly go and I pray to the Divine that what we both fear about these people is proven false, for if it is not then we are going to need all the help we can get" she said before terminating the transmission.
"So what do we do now? Do we head straight for Vegas or do we stop at a shipyard for much needed repairs and fully reload?" Rommie asked turning to Beka to find out what her orders were
"Well... I guess we should go in for repairs and reloading, just in case we come up against any bad guys"
"Agreed we will be much more likely to survive if everything is at peak efficiency"
"Ok then. Rommie head towards the nearest space dock maximum speed"
"Aye Aye Captain" Rommie said before directing the ship towards the outer rim of the solar system where the Commonwealth's main shipyard was located.
"This is the Andromeda Ascendant hailing the Sintii Space dock" said Beka as she opened a com channel
"This is Sintii Space dock, how can we be of assistance?"
"We would like to put in for some repairs and a reload if that is at all possible"
"Very good Andromeda you are cleared to land on platform 3" the voice said before shutting off the link
"Now all we have to do is wait for the repairs and reload to finish then we can make our way to Vegas and begin our little investigation. But until then everyone your time is your own do what you want." Beka said before heading to her quarters to get some much-needed sleep.
===============================================================================
Same time on Vedrans Vengeance
"Sir the weapons are now at 100 percent accuracy" replied the Hologram Dylan when he appeared before his Master
"Excellent ship. How long will it take to get to Vegas drift from here?"
"Approximately 1 day Sir"
"Good. I'll be on command in a few moments you may go"
"Very good Sir" and with that he blinked out of existence. The hooded man made his way through the decks of his new flagship nodding as each crewmember he passed dropped to their knees before him. He made his way onto command and as he entered the android Dylan called out
"Master on deck" when he said that everyone turned around and dropped to their knees in respect and also a little fear
"As you were" everyone returned to their previous jobs and waited for the next orders. "Helmsman set a course for Vegas Drift maximum speed" he said as he sat down in his throne and waited for the feel of the ship entering slipstream. When he felt it he turned to the man manning the communications console and asked "any news from my son and Mat?"
"Yes sir they said they would meet up with you at Vegas drift. They also reported success in the mission." He replied
"Very good continue what you were doing, also I would like you to find the co-ordinates of the next closest Neutral drift or planet to Vegas drift and give them to the helmsman"
"Yes Sir"
"Ship" the man called as he turned back to look at the android
"Sir?"
"I want you to record a message for me and transmit it as soon as we reach real time communications range with Vegas drift"
"Ready to record message Sir"
"Good. Attention drift this is Supreme Overlord Loki of the Children of Loki Revolutionary Movement. You may have noticed a very large and very powerful vessel just appeared in your system, this vessel is my flagship. The reason we have come here is to offer you a choice Join us or Die. You see we are about to start a war with the New Commonwealth and anyone not with us is against us. There will be no Neutral systems you are either with the Commonwealth or us. I give you 2 minutes to decide your response, don't bother trying to send a signal out for help as all of your communications systems are being jammed. End recording."
"Recording ended"
"Good now remember, as soon as we reach real time communications range you are to broadcast that message to all communication stations on the drift."
"Yes sir" they waited in silence for their arrival at the drift and Dylan dreaded what he knew was about to happen.
They arrived at the drift a day later and moved in to communications range. When they had reached real time communications range Dylan transmitted the message just as he had been ordered to do and then stood beside Loki awaiting the reply from the drift. A minute later they got the response that Dylan had been dreading
"Political matters do not concern us, so we will not join yours or any other faction we will stay Neutral as we always do. We also don't take kindly to threats, you may have noticed the massive amount of vessels out there and I assure you that each and every one of them will fight to the death"
"That is your final response then?"
"Yes it is"
"Ok you asked for it. Ship target and destroy every single vessel out there do not allow any of them to escape"
"Yes Sir" the VDU replied before targeting and destroying every vessel. Even though there were over 100 vessels not one of them had a chance to fire before they were destroyed. Upon seeing this the drift owners reopened the com channel
"We take it back we will join you" the voice sounded desperate and pleading
"No. You had your chance and you refused" Loki said before cutting the com channel once again "Ship target the drift and open fire"
"No don't do this I beg you" the android Dylan pleaded with his captain as he heard what he was being asked to do
"We must they have chosen to remain Neutral and we cannot allow that"
"But there are innocent people on this Drift, and they are not a military threat so why do we need to destroy them?"
"Because if we do not nobody will think we are serious"
"But..."
"ENOUGH! Ship do as you are ordered to do"
"Yes sir" replied the VDU version of Dylan who had been waiting quietly for his orders "Missiles away... They will reach target in 5...4...3...2...1... Impact. Reporting drift completely destroyed, No survivors" and with that he disappeared
"Good. Continue on to next location." The Captain replied "Fitting that the first target in our campaign is the place that made it possible in the first place don't you think?" He said turning towards the android Dylan who didn't reply. "I knew you would say that you are dismissed" and with a wave of his hand he sent the android away.
As Dylan walked through the decks of himself he reached out with his sensors scanning the debris in the hope of finding anything. When he found nothing he thought to himself '90,000 innocent people were on that drift, 90,000 people that I killed... And yet this is only just the beginning' he then felt the ship enter slipstream. The only place that Vegas Drift lived anymore was in the memories of people who had visited it.
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