Like I said earlier some things will stay the same, technology being one of them. For those who read my first attempt you might remember my description on the harpoon. If you have no idea its at the bottom.
July 21, 2025: The first human FLT drive, the Harpoon Mk I is successfully developed and constructed though tests are unable to be preformed within an atmosphere. The Explorer project is put into overdrive, estimated completion of the vessel is early December.
August 04, 2025: The United Terran Navy is formed, as well a new army and navy regulation is put into effect. For all personal on duty full nanoshells are expected and in the UTN absolutely mandatory due to hazardous work spaces.
December 10, 2025: The UTN Explorer is completed, and its launch into space is successful. Tests on the ship's systems are to proceed before the testing of the Harpoon Mk I.
December 13, 2025
UTA Explorer
Mars orbit
"Fold successful, power cells steady, engine are a go and awaiting your orders ma'am!" Shouted a bridge officer over the sounds of celebration.
Hanna smiled, though it wasn't visible through the helmet of her nanoshell everyone on the bridge could see she approved.
"All right, good job everyone!" She shouted receiving another cheer from the bridge. "But," she continued, "we still have our duties to fulfill." The noise level dropped considerably as the words sunk in and people fell silent.
"Helm, keep us in stable orbit. Ops, I want scanners sweeping the surface," she stood from her captains chair. "If anything happens call me, I'll be down in the communication room."
After receiving signals of acknowledgment she turned, leaving the bridge and headed to the crew deck of the Explorer.
Over all it wasn't that bad of a vessel. The 300 meter long arrow shaped scout ship was the very first humanity had constructed and had taken no shortcuts in its design. The ship's armor was a fully synthetic nanoweave over top of a brand new titanium alloy. As well it was equipped with a newly developed Archangel laser beam weapon, supported with almost 20 Medusa missile pods and 45mm Gauss supported auto cannons. But the main power house of the Explorer was its prototype Harpoon engine. They had just tested its capabilities on this trip to Mars, traveling a distance of 219 million km in under 10 seconds. Though its estimated that this distance is only 0.5 percent of its maximum range though no one is willing to test its full capabilities yet.
Hanna's train of thought ended as she entered the comms room. Walking to the holotable in the center she keyed in the link to command and waited for the Quantum Entanglement Communicator to receive the returning signal. With a crackle the holotable lit up revealing none other than the nanosuited General Barnes, otherwise know as Prophet, himself.
"General," Hanna snapped off a textbook salute which he returned.
"Admiral, I'm guessing everything is alright with the ship?"
"Everything is fine Barnes," she said removing her helmet letting down her bright red hair. After a moments hesitation Barnes removed his as well showing his scarred face, it was just a mutual sign of respect between friends.
"Good, Gould was saying there was a chance of the ship tearing it's self in half."
"Well general thankfully he was wrong," she replied.
"Yes thankfully," he began to type something into an invisible keyboard in front of him.
"Admiral what I am about to show you is classified beyond top secret, even I wasn't told of this till two hours ago." His holographic body vanished to be replaced with an image of a very old space station.
"The Hubble space telescope," Barnes voice continued. "It provided our first views into the galaxy that we would enter, but the one thing it lied of was an empty galaxy." The map disappeared and in its place was an old photograph taken of somewhere the asteroid belt, but the object in the picture could hardly be called a rock. It was a massive ship, compared to the rocks around it the entire thing was a staggering 2 km long and almost 500 meters wide. Though it vaguely resembled the Ceph in terms of a giant space squid the thing was completely alien, unknown.
"Since it's discovery in 2010 NASA locked up all records of the thing and only released them after the Ceph invasion, even then they only told the highest authority." The image disappeared and Barnes returned with an irritated expression.
Hanna stood stunned for a moment before asking, "highest authority?"
"Oh you know, presidents, prime ministers the usual." Barnes scolded before continuing. "They should have told us instead, the military, the people who will actually do something about it!" Hanna was surprised by his outburst usually he was calm, collected, but this? Something wasn't right.
"What's your problem Barnes," she asked though not unkindly.
He sighed, lowering his head before replying softly. "I don't know Shepard, something about this thing just rubs me the wrong way, if you know what I mean." Hanna nodded, she had the same feeling in 2024 when the fleet was called to Lingshan back when she was still a captain.
Barnes sighed one last time before replacing his helmet and addressing her. "We now have updated coordinates on the thing's location, find it and investigate then report back in 24 hours understood?"
Hanna smiled while putting her helmet back on. "Your not in a position to order me around Barnes," she joked.
"Ha ha, 24 hours, good luck." He hesitated, "and stay safe, I'm low on people to trust down here." With that the hologram blinked out leaving her in silence.
"Coordinates received." Josh intoned.
"Send them to the bridge, tell them to plot a course."
"Orders received." She sighed heavily leaning on the holotable for support, this was going to be a long day.
Nazara systems sluggishly rebooted after 49842 years adrift, memory banks struggling to remember his last memory file before deactivation.
Ah yes, the Protheans. A small group attempted to prolong their species harvest by hiding behind a seemingly dormant relay, cowering on the fourth planet of the system. Though it had nearly been over looked an indoctrinated individual transmitted its location and he was diverted from his duties as vanguard. He had utterly destroyed them, no trace of that place remained. Not even enough for the new species of this system to find anything larger than microscopic dust. Once the facility was gone he had chosen to wait the long cycle in the current system, it would give him an opportunity to let the species evolve under his guidance. Then when the time was right, control them completely.
As his processors fully reboot, an irregularity from other cycles made itself known. Unless the time has come for the harvest or he was directly discovered by anyone he was not supposed to awake from his slumber. His scanners determined that the space around him was unoccupied by any vessels except for the rock organics labeled as, asteroids. Also unless his internal time line was off the harvest was still 158 years ahead of his awakining. As he continued to puzzle over these problems he detected an anomaly off his port bow, a ship of unknown make and completely foreign power source. This new development would prove, difficult if they were at the height of their power. No matter, these organics would tremble at his might when...
His systems stalled, unable to process what his scanners were telling him. Synthesis. The organics on the vessel were the perfection that his kind had been searching for.
This species. Perfect.
Hanna griped the arms of her chair nervously, and the creek of the warping metal didn't help much. The fold had been successful taking them within 10000 km of the thing which was currently drifting in front of the Explorer, no more than 2 km away. The entire bridge was silent and a sense of foreboding had settled over the ship in the presence of this hulk.
"Scan complete," the tactical officer bent over his screen taping frantically.
"Incredible," he breathed. Releasing her death grip on the chair, Hanna stood and made her way to tactical station.
"It's an AI, impossibly old." He hit a few more buttons. "SECOND can't get a confirmed reading on its age, but it's placing it's last activation at nearly 50000 years ago." Hanna considered this new information before asking the one question on everyone's mind.
"Can we kill it?"
Tactical shrugged. "I don't know yet, SECOND is still analyzing its armor."
"Any shields?"
"We won't know till it activates them ma'am," he resumed typing on his screen. "We're running a full spectrum scan, estimated completion time is 2 hours."
She sighed trying to rub her forehead through her helmet, this was going to long wait. She turned to leave when the unthinkable happened.
"Alert! Unknown power surge detected. Foreign AI is rebooting." Hanna stopped dead, this was bad. An alien ship with unknown capabilities against her fresh off the ship yards light frigate.
"Divert all power to armor and weapons," she ordered jumped back to tactical. "I want every single SECOND protecting all vital systems and working on a counter offensive, understood!"
"Yes ma'am!" She calmly walked back to chair and sat down, if a CO lost their cool then the entire ship would follow. She would not let that happen, but now they played the waiting game. The entire ship was silent, everyone holding their breath for the tinniest movement from the vessel.
The alert came so suddenly and unexpected that she jumped, it wasn't from tactical but communication.
The comms officer hesitated before saying. "Its hailing us ma'am, orders?"
Second first contact in 5 years, was humanity on a bad luck streak or something? "Alright comms ready a reply, Josh start recording."
"Recording."
She breathed deeply before starting. "I am Admiral Shepard of the UTN Explorer, we come in peace."
"Recording complete. Message sent."
The voice in the reply was as emotionless as SECOND yet sounded old and powerful.
"I am Sovereign."
Here is the FLT systems that I am using:
The Ceph had two different means of space travel; one of them was directly opening a portal from one place to the other, which required already built "space bridges". The second was a system of FLT where their ships would fold space by firing a invisible Directed Energy Beam almost instantaneously at the targeted space and, acting almost like a harpoon when pulled taut, pull the targeted space almost to touching the craft and pull the ship over the fold to the target before releasing the fold and resuming normal space, turning a five year trips to seconds.
I have honestly no idea how or what Ceph actually use for FLT and I looked every where I could so if you don't approve please don't judge me.