Omoikane 59 - The Sojourner
I came up through engineering. There’s always a part of me that’s a ship bunny. My goal is to put my feet or hands on every type of ship Starfleet uses. This is a futile goal. Different regions build different types. Many areas build short runs of ships as experiments and then use what they’ve learned to iterate the next type.
In my office on the Omoikane, I have display shelves. I replicate a little model of each type I’ve visited. Or used. Or commanded.
I don’t tell anyone this. It’s silly.
The first relief ship to get to us was the USS Sojourner. A Reliant class starship. She looked like what you’d get if you took a modern starship engineering program and told it to build you a Miranda class. Interesting idea. Miranda class ships were everywhere when I was a kid. They were generic. Most were retired or scraped out by this time. The hull was just too old.
So, they built a new hull.
The stock crew is about 250 people. They had 223.
I booked up on her as she approached.
-*-
“This is the USS Omoikane, Jay Hailey commanding. Thanks for coming.”
Their CO was a good looking kid. Dark brown skin. Taller than me. Thinner. He blinked. “This is the USS Sojourner, Warren Ashby commanding. Are you all okay?”
I nodded “We will be. It was a close call.”
“Okay, your reports said that ship you’re towing was a neo-Borg? What does Neo-Borg mean here?”
“Someone calling herself the Borg Queen tried to reassert the Borg Collective. She used Borg gear she cooked up to get around the Hansen effect. It was all second-rate compared to the classic stuff, but it worked. At least it did until we channeled a warp core breach at it.”
Ashby winced “Okay, so how did the anti-nanites work?”
“We have updated designs for those They worked perfectly as far as we can tell. All Borg nanites have been deactivated and eaten. All Borg nano-technology, same deal. We’ll share the new nanites with you.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope you don’t mind me inviting myself over. I’d like to see your ship.”
Warren blinked. Unusually the senior Captain in the formation hosted. He adjusted quickly. “We’ll be ready for you. Come on over.”
-*-
The interiors of the Sojourner were Starfleet modern. It looked dark, when I thought about it it was filled with light. Just the bulkheads and ordinary stuff were muted. This allowed operational items to be highlighted in working lights.
I found I preferred the old-fashioned aesthetic. Give me brightly lit beige any day.
All the pieces of the ship were right where I expected them to be, given this ship was a modernized design.
The crew were mostly young folks. I tried to avoid feeling old as I met them. It was like a ship manned by a crew of high school seniors.
-*-
Ezaaz, was the Bajoran XO. She looked young. Painfully young. “What’s this Hansen effect you mentioned?”
“It was named for the scientist who discovered it. The Borg used a subspace network of amazing power. It was much deeper in subspace and at a higher energy than usual. We need specialized equipment to detect stuff that deep. Because it’s that deep in subspace, signals seem to go much farther and much faster than ours.
At some point, oh, here, about 50 years ago, someone set up some sort of a jammer. If you try to access that level of subspace using Borg gear or gear that’s too close to Borg configuration, it creates a feedback pulse, destroying your gear.
The Borg used a device called a Viniculumn to coordinate and enforce their network. When the Hansen effect turned on, it blew up the whole Borg network in one go. The death toll was horrifying.
The Hansen effect is still running. If you find an old Borg Vinicululmn or build a new one that fits Borg specs, it’ll melt down as soon as you turn it on.
This Borg Queen lady built all new gear, working along different lines to achieve similar ends. It wasn’t as good as classic Borg gear, but in time, I’m sure she would have improved it.”
“Why would anyone want to be Borg?”
“We have a few survivors. Feel free to ask. Most victims reacted just like you’d guess.”
-*-
We ate dinner and discussed what happened so far on our cruise.
“I was stationed at Bendross for a while, as a kid,” I mentioned to Warren. He smiled, “I’ve been to Earth a few times myself.” I grinned. He got me.
“I’d like to ask for medical and engineering support until we get to the Lefyt system. After that, we’ll be Starbase 1406’s problem for a while.”
“So, you have survivors of this shade tree Borg cube?”
“More, we have civilian survivors. They were masquerading as a wandering trade hub. All of the civilians we recovered after the madness claimed they had no idea what was going on. Right now, I don’t care.”
“How many survivors?”
“473. A lot of them are in rough shape. There’s severe physical and psychological injury.”
“What happened to this Borg Queen?”
“She was standing in front of me when our improvised plasma cannon went off. From what we’ve been able to piece together, as soon as her off-brand Viniculumn went down, all control over her victims was lost. There was a wave of violence. As near as we can tell, she was torn limb from limb, and the pieces abused in various ways.” The video from the orgy of violence was stomach-turning and traumatizing all on its own. “However, for safety reasons, I’m assuming she had some sort of escape plan and is now plotting a second attack.”
“Uhhh, and what do you mean to do about that?”
“Iterate our Borg defenses and be ready to fight if she shows up. Unless we hear rumors or actionable intelligence, we can’t chase ghosts. “
“And I was afraid this would be a boring cruise,” Ashby said wryly.
“If it were boring, they wouldn’t need us.”
Omoikane - The Lefyt System
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jayphailey
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Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
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jayphailey
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Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
Omoikane 60 - The Victoria
The next ship to join our group was the USS Victoria. A New Orleans class. The New Orleans class was not new. Our scans showed the USS Victoria was a recently built example with updated equipment.
Starfleet was trending towards smaller ships with as much high-tech leverage as they could jam into the hull.
Starfleet was facing a tight personnel squeeze. As the area explored went up, the need for ships and people went up geometrically. So the answer was to split up the large crews of a Galaxy class into smaller ships that could cover more calls.
Every solution contains trade-offs. I hoped the consequences in this case wouldn’t be horrible.
The Victoria even had the siege phasers. These were three pods, two above the main hull and one below the secondary hull. They contained huge axial phaser cannons. They were designed to attack bases, cities, small planets, things like that. They were very powerful, but very slow. Unless you were assaulting a starbase or knocking a rogue planet off course, they were wasted mass and volume. In combat with a moving opponent, they were useless. The rest of the ship was a normal Federation heavy frigate. The USS Victoria.
The USS Victoria had 430 people out of a possible 550. Light, but doable. I was hoping he wouldn’t raid my crew.
-*-
The Captain was a slim man with a very definite mustache.
“Greetings USS Omoikane. This is the USS Victoria. Horatio St. John-Smythe commanding. Please report your status.”
“This is the USS Omoikane, Jay P. Hailey Commanding. Our condition is acceptable. We are proceeding to Starbase 1604 with a captured hulk in tow. We could use engineering and medical support to complete that successfully.”
“Acceptable? Alright. We’ll lend what support we’re able.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Looking at Captain St. John-Smythe, and his crew, I couldn’t shake the notion I’d seen them before. Where had I seen them before?
-*-
“You were asked to leave the Bendarri Empire,” St. John-Smythe said.
“We um…. We got famous. It became an issue in local politics.”
“How big an issue? Will it affect my ship or my mission?”
“I don’t think so. The Bendarri like the idea that we’re becoming their neighbors on their coreward frontier. I… I just wound up accidentally tweaking a monarch’s ego.”
“Which monarch?”
“Nyankapon,” I showed St. John-Smythe the video of Li’ira and I endorsing The Radipakan king.
I pointed “Right there, I was begging him not to kill us.”
St. John-Smythe looked me dead in the face. It was clear he had no patience for such shenanigans. “It would seem some remedial training in diplomacy is in order.”
“It seemed to work out okay. Just don’t be a face to rival anyone with a crown on their head. Helpful Federation friends. That’s what they want to see.”
“Tell me of this Shard Empire,” He said.
We went through each of the governments and places we visited along the spinward frontier. It had been a few months but it felt like a lifetime.
He ended the briefing, “Alright. I have been asked to do a follow-up mission to this Sexatar sector and to firm up contact with these Jigufor people. It seems like you’ve done well enough.”
I was embarrassed to feel complimented by that.
The door to his office opened, and this beautiful teenaged girl poked her head in. Brown skin, long, straight black hair, and deep brown eyes.
“Father, I need you to unlock the parental controls on the holodeck. I finished my class work, and we wanted to visit the beach again.”
“Amber. I *am* working, you know,”
“Hello mister blue guy. You don’t look Bolian or Andorian. What planet are you from?”
I blurted it out “Amber? Amber St.John-Smythe? From the Harrier?” Suddenly, I remembered where I’d seen these people before.
“Oh, a history nerd! I’m a different Amber. I’m going command a much bigger starship.”
I sat back “Someone likes that Constitution era.”
Captain St. John-Smythe looked at me like he was peering over a pair of glasses “Oh?”
“Out in the far sector they caught five connies and crews, You’re not the only ones.”
“Anyone I’d know?”
“James T. Kirk and four copies of Thomas Blair and crew.”
“I’ll have to write them. I went to Academy with Captain Blair.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Amber said.
“I’m a human from Earth. This is regeneration gel.”
She guffawed “What happened?”
“I turned a warp core into an improvised plasma cannon and set it off in the face of a wannabe Borg Queen.”
“Why not just shoot her?”
“That would have been easier. But we didn’t think to bring combat weapons to what we thought was a flying mall.”
“I’d like to go to a mall,” Amber said wistfully.
“Amber, please.”
Amber stood up straight, assumed a perfect attention pose, and threw a sharp British-style salute at her father “Sir, Yes, Sir!” I have never seen such a perfect pose dripping with that much sarcasm before. She turned on her heel and marched out of her father’s office, giggling as she went. “See ya, blue man!”
I looked back at St. John-Smythe. He had a long-suffering expression. “Would you like a teenaged girl?”
I grinned “I think I might just have it simpler!”
The next ship to join our group was the USS Victoria. A New Orleans class. The New Orleans class was not new. Our scans showed the USS Victoria was a recently built example with updated equipment.
Starfleet was trending towards smaller ships with as much high-tech leverage as they could jam into the hull.
Starfleet was facing a tight personnel squeeze. As the area explored went up, the need for ships and people went up geometrically. So the answer was to split up the large crews of a Galaxy class into smaller ships that could cover more calls.
Every solution contains trade-offs. I hoped the consequences in this case wouldn’t be horrible.
The Victoria even had the siege phasers. These were three pods, two above the main hull and one below the secondary hull. They contained huge axial phaser cannons. They were designed to attack bases, cities, small planets, things like that. They were very powerful, but very slow. Unless you were assaulting a starbase or knocking a rogue planet off course, they were wasted mass and volume. In combat with a moving opponent, they were useless. The rest of the ship was a normal Federation heavy frigate. The USS Victoria.
The USS Victoria had 430 people out of a possible 550. Light, but doable. I was hoping he wouldn’t raid my crew.
-*-
The Captain was a slim man with a very definite mustache.
“Greetings USS Omoikane. This is the USS Victoria. Horatio St. John-Smythe commanding. Please report your status.”
“This is the USS Omoikane, Jay P. Hailey Commanding. Our condition is acceptable. We are proceeding to Starbase 1604 with a captured hulk in tow. We could use engineering and medical support to complete that successfully.”
“Acceptable? Alright. We’ll lend what support we’re able.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Looking at Captain St. John-Smythe, and his crew, I couldn’t shake the notion I’d seen them before. Where had I seen them before?
-*-
“You were asked to leave the Bendarri Empire,” St. John-Smythe said.
“We um…. We got famous. It became an issue in local politics.”
“How big an issue? Will it affect my ship or my mission?”
“I don’t think so. The Bendarri like the idea that we’re becoming their neighbors on their coreward frontier. I… I just wound up accidentally tweaking a monarch’s ego.”
“Which monarch?”
“Nyankapon,” I showed St. John-Smythe the video of Li’ira and I endorsing The Radipakan king.
I pointed “Right there, I was begging him not to kill us.”
St. John-Smythe looked me dead in the face. It was clear he had no patience for such shenanigans. “It would seem some remedial training in diplomacy is in order.”
“It seemed to work out okay. Just don’t be a face to rival anyone with a crown on their head. Helpful Federation friends. That’s what they want to see.”
“Tell me of this Shard Empire,” He said.
We went through each of the governments and places we visited along the spinward frontier. It had been a few months but it felt like a lifetime.
He ended the briefing, “Alright. I have been asked to do a follow-up mission to this Sexatar sector and to firm up contact with these Jigufor people. It seems like you’ve done well enough.”
I was embarrassed to feel complimented by that.
The door to his office opened, and this beautiful teenaged girl poked her head in. Brown skin, long, straight black hair, and deep brown eyes.
“Father, I need you to unlock the parental controls on the holodeck. I finished my class work, and we wanted to visit the beach again.”
“Amber. I *am* working, you know,”
“Hello mister blue guy. You don’t look Bolian or Andorian. What planet are you from?”
I blurted it out “Amber? Amber St.John-Smythe? From the Harrier?” Suddenly, I remembered where I’d seen these people before.
“Oh, a history nerd! I’m a different Amber. I’m going command a much bigger starship.”
I sat back “Someone likes that Constitution era.”
Captain St. John-Smythe looked at me like he was peering over a pair of glasses “Oh?”
“Out in the far sector they caught five connies and crews, You’re not the only ones.”
“Anyone I’d know?”
“James T. Kirk and four copies of Thomas Blair and crew.”
“I’ll have to write them. I went to Academy with Captain Blair.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Amber said.
“I’m a human from Earth. This is regeneration gel.”
She guffawed “What happened?”
“I turned a warp core into an improvised plasma cannon and set it off in the face of a wannabe Borg Queen.”
“Why not just shoot her?”
“That would have been easier. But we didn’t think to bring combat weapons to what we thought was a flying mall.”
“I’d like to go to a mall,” Amber said wistfully.
“Amber, please.”
Amber stood up straight, assumed a perfect attention pose, and threw a sharp British-style salute at her father “Sir, Yes, Sir!” I have never seen such a perfect pose dripping with that much sarcasm before. She turned on her heel and marched out of her father’s office, giggling as she went. “See ya, blue man!”
I looked back at St. John-Smythe. He had a long-suffering expression. “Would you like a teenaged girl?”
I grinned “I think I might just have it simpler!”
Last edited by jayphailey on Sun Feb 09, 2025 4:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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jayphailey
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Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
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jayphailey
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Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
Omoikane 61 - The Lefyt System
We finally approached the Lefyt System. It was a quaternary system, 4 stars. The central node was Lefyt itself. A huge blue/white giant. It only had 15 or 20 million more years to live. In many of the Lefyt Colonies, Lefyt was the Sun God, like Zeus or Helios. A massive star, it gravitationally dominated the system.
Orbiting Lefyt were three stars, the Jumoji sisters. Held to be Lefyts sister-wives. Jumoji the Elder, or Jumoji Alpha, was a yellow dwarf star, not too different from Sol. Jumoji the Middle, or Jumoji Beta was an orange K type star, smaller and cooler than Sol. Jumoji the Younger or Jumoji Gamma was a red dwarf-type star.
They’d been captured recently in stellar terms. They didn’t all orbit on the same plane. They were far enough away that Lefyt couldn’t steal their inner planets. Each of the Jumoji sisters had class M planets around them. Jumojia Alpha, the older sister, had three. Jumoji Beta, the middle, had three, and Jumoji Gamma, the younger, had two.
This was so wildly improbable that only stellar engineering could explain it. Someone moved planets where they wanted and then terraformed them.
Each of the eight planets had Lefyt people on them. All of their cultures had histories where the first of their people found themselves in a cave, while the gods told them they were the chosen people.
Gas Giants, asteroids, comets, moons, and small planets orbited Lefyt in chaotic orbits. Many of these were brought into the system by the Jumoji sisters and then lost to Lefyt’s dominant gravity.
As we approached we could see new space infrastructure and traffic happening around the various Jumoji worlds. We saw Damyip 14, inhabiting a rocky moonlet in a trojan orbit of Lefyt with Jumoji Alpha as the other anchor. Shipyards were working, and Damyip cargo ships moved around the system to support the work.
-*-
I ensured Captain Zekaran, Kat-Oh-Lo, and Lotara were on the bridge for the approach. Makolo and Peggera tagged along. I didn’t say anything.
“This is patrol 14-lamba-six, Welcome to Lefyt.” The Damyip patrol ships were about the same size and capacity as the Federations Defiant class ships. One of them had a section with active life support. The designs were an equal mix of Damyip and Federation.
“Greetings, This are the Federation Starships Omoikane, Sojourner and Victoria question permission to approach Starbase 1401.”
Technically, Captain St. John Smythe should have done the talking. He was senior. When I brought it up, he said, “Carry on, please, Captain Hailey.”
The Patrollers opened up visual communications. Strictly regulation. Making sure everyone was who they said they were and everything was okay.
Two of the Damyip ships were crewed by humanoid units that looked like people in plastic armor. The third one, with the life support, was crewed by a mix of the orange-skinned humanoids and Lefyt Colonial Warriors.
Zekaran asked, “Who’s in charge of your patrol?”
A Lefyt woman with curly hair and bronze-colored skin stood up “I’m Major Lee-Ar-Zoh-Mah, Lefyt Colonial Warriors. We’re on detached duty to Starfleet. Who are you, Sir?”
“I’m Captain Zekaran, Colonial Warriors. Class of 278.”
That got a reaction from Lee-Ar-Zoh-Mah “Sir? Sorry? Did you say 278?”
“He did. We have the crew of the scout ship Rebkali with us. There was a temporal distortion,” I said.
“Are the orange people…. Damyip?” Peggera asked.
Lee-Ar-Zoh-Mah said “Yes, Lieutenant. They are. “If you’re really from 278, then you’ll find things are pretty different these days. These Damyip are my co-workers and allies. I hope you’ll treat them appropriately.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Welcome home, people.”
-*-
We towed the hulk of the Teestra into a parking orbit. She was safe, between our counter nanites and aggressive destruction of anything Borg-flavored. Safe-ish.
“Captain, a Mister Goral would like to come aboard and meet you. He has something for you.”
“Permission granted,” I said “Send him to conference room 5.”
“What is it?” Li’ira asked
“No idea. I’m glad he made it, though.”
“Really?”
“Well, until I learn better.”
Li’ira shook her head, and I went to meet Goral the bookseller.
-*-
He walked into the Conference room. He looked much older and more poorly kept. Understandable. He was surviving in a damaged hulk. “Can I get you anything? Have you eaten today?”
He placed four bags on the conference table. They were scorched, partially melted, and smelled of smoke. I recognized them anyway—our books. We’d carried them into the Scalloped Blade’s engineering compartment without thinking about it.
“Were you able to keep the digital information you purchased?” He asked.
I blinked. The weird media card thing was on my person when I was injured. I had no idea where it went to. “I don’t know.”
“No matter. I brought you another set of copies.” He put new carts on the table.
“We owe you for these. Maybe more than you know.”
“Your reaction was strong enough to tell me how much your people value information. I find the attitude charming. I’d bequeath the ruins of my shop to you, but then I’d have nothing to sell in this new system, with new people.”
“Let me work on that and get back to you, Until then, let's have lunch like civilized people.”
“I don’t know anything in your replicator.”
I thought about it “Well, let’s try some things and see what you like?”
He appreciated a sort of Orion calzone. It was listed as workman’s food, often consumed by working-class people on Botchok and other heavily Orion places. I didn’t especially like it myself.
“Tell me a little of your story,” I asked him.
He paused mid-bite and swallowed “My story is sad and tawdry. I learned too late what’s truly valuable. I had to make a new life. What with one thing and another, a voyage into the unknown sounded like just the way to start over. I discovered too late that my new home had dark secrets.”
I guessed, “The Shard?”
He smiled “You’re well travelled. Yes. I was from a Shard world on the far side of the empire from here—years of travel time by normal warp drives. I kept secrets. Mine. Others. Sometimes, secrets can be lucrative. Other times, they become crimes. I was stripped of all rank and status. I was financially ruined. My family disowned me. And some felt their secrets better held by the dead.”
“And you found yourself on the Teestra.”
“Sadly. Yes. It was an ugly compromise.”
“Why didn’t you leave?”
“I don’t think the Queen was any more willing to let her secrets leave with me than anyone else.”
“Hmmm. Okay. I’m going to credit you for adding the data files to the Federation’s knowledge. Our economic system is a little different than the Shard’s. You won’t be rich. But you’ll never have to worry about your needs getting met again.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Best of all, you won’t be forced to make difficult compromises.”
“Excellent news, if true.”
-*-
“Word is, once you’re done with repairs here, you’ll herald back to New Canada for a board of review.” Admiral Enrod told me.
I nodded “Yes, Sir.”
“Some of the crew of the El-Aurian ship wants to stay on the Omoikane.”
“We’re glad to have them. And any of the crew of the Rebkali who wants to come along.
Enrod sighed “The Colonial Warriors were a much more military force back then. Fitting the Starfleet frame of mind might be a stretch for them.”
“You did alright, Sir.”
“I always fantasized about being a space explorer. Thanks to Starfleet, I got to be, for a while.”
“Are you looking to step down and take up a ship command again?”
“I’d love to. But there’s too much work to do here. There’s a long road of recovery ahead, and I’m perfectly placed to manage it. I can do the most good for the most people here.”
“Ouch.”
“You get used to it,” He shifted subjects “Word on the grape vine is that they’re going to offer Harksan Varupuchu 3 a ship. Is that a typo?”
I sighed “No, sir. I am the third Jay P. Hailey. My oldest brother ran into a space weirdness that duplicated our ship and crew, twice.
Admiral Enrod typed on his screen. He looked at it. “How many of you are there?”
I grimaced “Six, that I know of. My two older brothers are in the Far Sector Region. Three of them are in the Fulcrum Region.
“Six? I am seeing two in the Fulcrum Region. Jay Six and Jay Seven. Is the numbering off?”
“Yeah, for reasons no one is clear about, they were given cover identities as Jay Six and Jay Seven of Eminiar, skipping over the rest of us. They retained their new names when they arrived in our time zone.”
“You don’t mind being called Jay 3?”
“Most people don’t. It’s a big Galaxy. They sent me out here to avoid that problem.”
“Really?
“Yup. Too many Jays driving ships in one place would make it look like my older brother is playing favorites.”
“All of you are commanding Starships.”
“Well one of my brothers isn’t. And probably won’t. Jay of A is from somewhere else.”
“Still.”
“If you could hold me and the Omoikane here, would you?”
“Yes. I’d love to have you and the Omoikane here.”
“I rest my case. Starfleet needs competent people and until you find them, you’re stuck with me.”
He grinned and looked out his big picture window at Pytol. It was a pretty world. The interplay of clouds and sunlight could be hypnotic. “What do you think I should do with the survivors from the Teestra?”
“Watch them. The ones still on their feet could cause trouble. There is one guy, Goral. He’s a bookseller.”
Enroad looked at me “Really?”
“He gave the Federation data files on four cultures unknown to us. Lots of material there. He likes information and secrets.”
“And you say I shouldn’t watch him?”
“I was thinking more about you co-opting him. He could prove useful, especially in terms of dealing with The Shard.”
Enrod thought about it “Send him to me. I’ll talk to him.”
“I’m sorry for dumping this mess on you.”
“It’s not like you and your crew could have fixed it yourselves. I’m glad we have the resources to help.”
We talked for a good while longer about the mission and what we learned.
In the end, Enrod said, “You had a good idea. I’ll ask for you back after New Canada finishes with you.”
“That would be interesting, thank you, Sir.”
We finally approached the Lefyt System. It was a quaternary system, 4 stars. The central node was Lefyt itself. A huge blue/white giant. It only had 15 or 20 million more years to live. In many of the Lefyt Colonies, Lefyt was the Sun God, like Zeus or Helios. A massive star, it gravitationally dominated the system.
Orbiting Lefyt were three stars, the Jumoji sisters. Held to be Lefyts sister-wives. Jumoji the Elder, or Jumoji Alpha, was a yellow dwarf star, not too different from Sol. Jumoji the Middle, or Jumoji Beta was an orange K type star, smaller and cooler than Sol. Jumoji the Younger or Jumoji Gamma was a red dwarf-type star.
They’d been captured recently in stellar terms. They didn’t all orbit on the same plane. They were far enough away that Lefyt couldn’t steal their inner planets. Each of the Jumoji sisters had class M planets around them. Jumojia Alpha, the older sister, had three. Jumoji Beta, the middle, had three, and Jumoji Gamma, the younger, had two.
This was so wildly improbable that only stellar engineering could explain it. Someone moved planets where they wanted and then terraformed them.
Each of the eight planets had Lefyt people on them. All of their cultures had histories where the first of their people found themselves in a cave, while the gods told them they were the chosen people.
Gas Giants, asteroids, comets, moons, and small planets orbited Lefyt in chaotic orbits. Many of these were brought into the system by the Jumoji sisters and then lost to Lefyt’s dominant gravity.
As we approached we could see new space infrastructure and traffic happening around the various Jumoji worlds. We saw Damyip 14, inhabiting a rocky moonlet in a trojan orbit of Lefyt with Jumoji Alpha as the other anchor. Shipyards were working, and Damyip cargo ships moved around the system to support the work.
-*-
I ensured Captain Zekaran, Kat-Oh-Lo, and Lotara were on the bridge for the approach. Makolo and Peggera tagged along. I didn’t say anything.
“This is patrol 14-lamba-six, Welcome to Lefyt.” The Damyip patrol ships were about the same size and capacity as the Federations Defiant class ships. One of them had a section with active life support. The designs were an equal mix of Damyip and Federation.
“Greetings, This are the Federation Starships Omoikane, Sojourner and Victoria question permission to approach Starbase 1401.”
Technically, Captain St. John Smythe should have done the talking. He was senior. When I brought it up, he said, “Carry on, please, Captain Hailey.”
The Patrollers opened up visual communications. Strictly regulation. Making sure everyone was who they said they were and everything was okay.
Two of the Damyip ships were crewed by humanoid units that looked like people in plastic armor. The third one, with the life support, was crewed by a mix of the orange-skinned humanoids and Lefyt Colonial Warriors.
Zekaran asked, “Who’s in charge of your patrol?”
A Lefyt woman with curly hair and bronze-colored skin stood up “I’m Major Lee-Ar-Zoh-Mah, Lefyt Colonial Warriors. We’re on detached duty to Starfleet. Who are you, Sir?”
“I’m Captain Zekaran, Colonial Warriors. Class of 278.”
That got a reaction from Lee-Ar-Zoh-Mah “Sir? Sorry? Did you say 278?”
“He did. We have the crew of the scout ship Rebkali with us. There was a temporal distortion,” I said.
“Are the orange people…. Damyip?” Peggera asked.
Lee-Ar-Zoh-Mah said “Yes, Lieutenant. They are. “If you’re really from 278, then you’ll find things are pretty different these days. These Damyip are my co-workers and allies. I hope you’ll treat them appropriately.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Welcome home, people.”
-*-
We towed the hulk of the Teestra into a parking orbit. She was safe, between our counter nanites and aggressive destruction of anything Borg-flavored. Safe-ish.
“Captain, a Mister Goral would like to come aboard and meet you. He has something for you.”
“Permission granted,” I said “Send him to conference room 5.”
“What is it?” Li’ira asked
“No idea. I’m glad he made it, though.”
“Really?”
“Well, until I learn better.”
Li’ira shook her head, and I went to meet Goral the bookseller.
-*-
He walked into the Conference room. He looked much older and more poorly kept. Understandable. He was surviving in a damaged hulk. “Can I get you anything? Have you eaten today?”
He placed four bags on the conference table. They were scorched, partially melted, and smelled of smoke. I recognized them anyway—our books. We’d carried them into the Scalloped Blade’s engineering compartment without thinking about it.
“Were you able to keep the digital information you purchased?” He asked.
I blinked. The weird media card thing was on my person when I was injured. I had no idea where it went to. “I don’t know.”
“No matter. I brought you another set of copies.” He put new carts on the table.
“We owe you for these. Maybe more than you know.”
“Your reaction was strong enough to tell me how much your people value information. I find the attitude charming. I’d bequeath the ruins of my shop to you, but then I’d have nothing to sell in this new system, with new people.”
“Let me work on that and get back to you, Until then, let's have lunch like civilized people.”
“I don’t know anything in your replicator.”
I thought about it “Well, let’s try some things and see what you like?”
He appreciated a sort of Orion calzone. It was listed as workman’s food, often consumed by working-class people on Botchok and other heavily Orion places. I didn’t especially like it myself.
“Tell me a little of your story,” I asked him.
He paused mid-bite and swallowed “My story is sad and tawdry. I learned too late what’s truly valuable. I had to make a new life. What with one thing and another, a voyage into the unknown sounded like just the way to start over. I discovered too late that my new home had dark secrets.”
I guessed, “The Shard?”
He smiled “You’re well travelled. Yes. I was from a Shard world on the far side of the empire from here—years of travel time by normal warp drives. I kept secrets. Mine. Others. Sometimes, secrets can be lucrative. Other times, they become crimes. I was stripped of all rank and status. I was financially ruined. My family disowned me. And some felt their secrets better held by the dead.”
“And you found yourself on the Teestra.”
“Sadly. Yes. It was an ugly compromise.”
“Why didn’t you leave?”
“I don’t think the Queen was any more willing to let her secrets leave with me than anyone else.”
“Hmmm. Okay. I’m going to credit you for adding the data files to the Federation’s knowledge. Our economic system is a little different than the Shard’s. You won’t be rich. But you’ll never have to worry about your needs getting met again.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Best of all, you won’t be forced to make difficult compromises.”
“Excellent news, if true.”
-*-
“Word is, once you’re done with repairs here, you’ll herald back to New Canada for a board of review.” Admiral Enrod told me.
I nodded “Yes, Sir.”
“Some of the crew of the El-Aurian ship wants to stay on the Omoikane.”
“We’re glad to have them. And any of the crew of the Rebkali who wants to come along.
Enrod sighed “The Colonial Warriors were a much more military force back then. Fitting the Starfleet frame of mind might be a stretch for them.”
“You did alright, Sir.”
“I always fantasized about being a space explorer. Thanks to Starfleet, I got to be, for a while.”
“Are you looking to step down and take up a ship command again?”
“I’d love to. But there’s too much work to do here. There’s a long road of recovery ahead, and I’m perfectly placed to manage it. I can do the most good for the most people here.”
“Ouch.”
“You get used to it,” He shifted subjects “Word on the grape vine is that they’re going to offer Harksan Varupuchu 3 a ship. Is that a typo?”
I sighed “No, sir. I am the third Jay P. Hailey. My oldest brother ran into a space weirdness that duplicated our ship and crew, twice.
Admiral Enrod typed on his screen. He looked at it. “How many of you are there?”
I grimaced “Six, that I know of. My two older brothers are in the Far Sector Region. Three of them are in the Fulcrum Region.
“Six? I am seeing two in the Fulcrum Region. Jay Six and Jay Seven. Is the numbering off?”
“Yeah, for reasons no one is clear about, they were given cover identities as Jay Six and Jay Seven of Eminiar, skipping over the rest of us. They retained their new names when they arrived in our time zone.”
“You don’t mind being called Jay 3?”
“Most people don’t. It’s a big Galaxy. They sent me out here to avoid that problem.”
“Really?
“Yup. Too many Jays driving ships in one place would make it look like my older brother is playing favorites.”
“All of you are commanding Starships.”
“Well one of my brothers isn’t. And probably won’t. Jay of A is from somewhere else.”
“Still.”
“If you could hold me and the Omoikane here, would you?”
“Yes. I’d love to have you and the Omoikane here.”
“I rest my case. Starfleet needs competent people and until you find them, you’re stuck with me.”
He grinned and looked out his big picture window at Pytol. It was a pretty world. The interplay of clouds and sunlight could be hypnotic. “What do you think I should do with the survivors from the Teestra?”
“Watch them. The ones still on their feet could cause trouble. There is one guy, Goral. He’s a bookseller.”
Enroad looked at me “Really?”
“He gave the Federation data files on four cultures unknown to us. Lots of material there. He likes information and secrets.”
“And you say I shouldn’t watch him?”
“I was thinking more about you co-opting him. He could prove useful, especially in terms of dealing with The Shard.”
Enrod thought about it “Send him to me. I’ll talk to him.”
“I’m sorry for dumping this mess on you.”
“It’s not like you and your crew could have fixed it yourselves. I’m glad we have the resources to help.”
We talked for a good while longer about the mission and what we learned.
In the end, Enrod said, “You had a good idea. I’ll ask for you back after New Canada finishes with you.”
“That would be interesting, thank you, Sir.”
-
jayphailey
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- Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 7:50 pm
Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
This map is HORRIBLE. But it helped me keep things straight.
Straight ish
Straight ish
- Lefyt1.png (38.12 KiB) Viewed 2519 times
-
jayphailey
- Posts: 1267
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 7:50 pm
Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
Omoikane 62 - Days Gone By
I was wandering around Starbase 1406. It had a lot of big windows, which I liked. It was familiar, which I also liked. The Damyip borrowed a Federation design and reproduced it but then added Lefyt touches.
We were finalizing a leave schedule. I wanted everyone to have plenty of dirt and sky time on Pytol. Many of the Omoikane crew were called to give guest lectures and classes at the Colonial Warrior Academy, which promised to be fun.
I noticed Captain Lorra. He was hunched over in a bar. He looked miserable. He was still wearing his El-Aurian ship suit. Nothing wrong with that. With modern tech, you could wear the same outfit forever or replicate a new one daily.
I approached him “Hey.”
He took a sip “Hey.”
“I, uh, I notice you seem a little unhappy.”
He looked at me. I could see several things cross his mind. “They don’t remember us.”
“It has been a while….”
“You don’t remember us.”
There wasn’t much to say.
“Jay, where I’m at now. It’s like you getting a drink on Romulus. These people…” he waved vaguely, “were the enemy. I should be in danger here.”
He took a sip “But they don’t remember.”
“I don’t know much about it. Tell me.” Sometimes, telling stories about the dead helps them rest easier in our minds.
“I swore an oath to the Emperor. I swore an oath to the Empire. At its height, it was bigger than your Federation. We protected people. We had civil rights and all that good stuff you’re proud of. It was the project of generations. We built a stellar culture. We built a nation in the stars. I believed in it.”
“The Great Orion Empire was our enemy. Our nemesis. They were cruel and rapacious. They viewed people as tools to be used and thrown away. And we resisted them at every turn. It was a contest that lasted centuries.”
“And I sit now, near the heart of the old Orion Empire. Near the ruins of the core of that mighty nation. And the descendants of my enemies see me as a tourist. Some random passerby to whom to sell… “ He glared at his glass “Doctor Pepper.”
“What was it all for? What did it mean? I lived my life to support and protect it, and it’s gone.” He stared into space “I should be gone with it. I don’t belong here.”
I said, “We’re better off because you’re here.”
He looked at me “Are you? You know what got my nation? What destroyed the work of generations? Was it some terrible phenomenon? Was it our enemies with a new, terrible weapon? No. It was my descendants. My own people decided my nation was a bad idea and erased it. They spent their generations undoing what we built.”
I winced.
“That’s a hell of rejection,” he said.
“I don’t know what to say here.” I said, “I could point out that you’re living history, and we’re greedy for your knowledge. We’ll never get to see or visit the Second Empire except through you and what you can show us. Does the approval of your cousins override the rejection of your children? I could point out that we’re building a thing here, and someone with experience could be helpful, but I imagine you might be feeling a little gun-shy about that right now.”
“Yeah,” he said. I understand that you’re trying to be helpful here, but nothing you’ve said is that helpful.”
“So. Tell me the story of your Empire. Tell me what I missed.”
He sighed and started, “A long time ago, the first El-Aurian warp drive was created,”
We were there most of the night while he told me the history of his people and his nation.
-*-
The itching was bad.
Our hair was growing back, and this process itched. But the regenerated skin was delicate and touchy. We shed flakes and dandruff of blue. Undeath, my skin was angry pink.
Dr Hobolisk gave us an ointment that was supposed to help the skin while suppressing the itch. You couldn’t tell it by me. I rubbed my scalp and tried to keep myself from making my new skin bleed.
“How attached are you to my face?” Li’ira asked
I blinked. “Monumentally. Deeply. Eternally.”
She sighed “What if I changed it?”
“Are you thinking about doing that?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. But it would be the first time for solely cosmetic reasons.”
“Why?”
“It kinda bothers me that I’m one of many Li’iras. Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Being a Li’ira wouldn’t bother me at all,” I said.
She bopped me with a pillow “You know what I mean.”
“I… I don’t think of my own face like that. My brothers look familiar to me, but I forget it. Even when I’m in the same room. My awareness of what I look like isn’t that strong.”
“Must be nice.”
“Give yourself the face you want. If it makes you happy, I’ll love it.”
Li’ira looked a little irritated “Thanks. You’re a big help.”
I didn’t know where to go with that. “What are you thinking?”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“Well, you could add an eyebrow ridge and a big unibrow.”
She stopped and looked at me.
“Okay, now, by process of elimination, we know one thing you wouldn’t like.”
“Would you still love me if I was a Cave Woman?”
I spent a few moments trying to picture patheolithic greens “Would I have any choice?”
That got me another pillow to the head.
“Listen, we’ve been places and done things together that no one else has done. We have our own context. Don’t worry too much about the other Li’iras. They’re your sisters, not you. I like our thing together. I’d have to get used to a new face. But it wouldn’t change where we are and what we’re doing. Our thing runs deeper than a face.”
“I’m told the greens on Oz use nanites to add color and decoration to their skins, to tell each other apart.”
“That sounds sort of fun, doesn’t it?”
“It does,”
“So keep your face and get some racing stripes.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Okay. I think I’ll do that.”
I very, very gently traced her left eyebrow. It felt good. The peach fuzz was growing in. Li’ira sighed and leaned into the touch.
-*-
That night, I had a dream. I was small. I could run so fast!
We never had a “school”. That concept would come later. I had a group of friends. We randomly clumped together in The All. Occasional adults, including my Mom, my Dad, and their bond group would bring us together and convey lessons. It was quick. Inside the group it was chatty and filled with exchanges. We chewed over all the new ideas given to us.
In the afternoon, I worked. I loved my job, that’s why I had it. I ran lunches to the work crews.
A great, big brick building was being built over the core of the city. Gronks trundled in their hundreds, hauling supply wagons in. The big steam engines chuffed and huffed, running the machine shops and factories.
We were building a fusion power plant with Victorian-era technology.
We knew it could be done. We had a very clear idea of what we were aiming at. But it was hard. We had to build machines and then use those machines to build better machines and then use those to build better machines. It took a long time to get the right accuracies and consistencies in our work.
We had to fight metal and ceramics with fire, over and over again, to get it right.
The big brick edifice in the town center would be our reactor's cooling tower.
I ran lunches to the work crews and then pestered them about what we were doing in that particular spot. I built a broad but shallow knowledge of the whole project. The math felt like singing to me, and I loved to sing. We turned the fusion equations into a song, and you could hear us whistling that song to ourselves as we built.
Our brethren, bigger and without hands, watched us with love and affection. We were lost in space. They couldn’t reach us. But mentally, I could see them easily and talk easily. It was a big galaxy. I hoped I could get to go see it.
-*-
I awoke with a start. What in the fuck was that?
I was wandering around Starbase 1406. It had a lot of big windows, which I liked. It was familiar, which I also liked. The Damyip borrowed a Federation design and reproduced it but then added Lefyt touches.
We were finalizing a leave schedule. I wanted everyone to have plenty of dirt and sky time on Pytol. Many of the Omoikane crew were called to give guest lectures and classes at the Colonial Warrior Academy, which promised to be fun.
I noticed Captain Lorra. He was hunched over in a bar. He looked miserable. He was still wearing his El-Aurian ship suit. Nothing wrong with that. With modern tech, you could wear the same outfit forever or replicate a new one daily.
I approached him “Hey.”
He took a sip “Hey.”
“I, uh, I notice you seem a little unhappy.”
He looked at me. I could see several things cross his mind. “They don’t remember us.”
“It has been a while….”
“You don’t remember us.”
There wasn’t much to say.
“Jay, where I’m at now. It’s like you getting a drink on Romulus. These people…” he waved vaguely, “were the enemy. I should be in danger here.”
He took a sip “But they don’t remember.”
“I don’t know much about it. Tell me.” Sometimes, telling stories about the dead helps them rest easier in our minds.
“I swore an oath to the Emperor. I swore an oath to the Empire. At its height, it was bigger than your Federation. We protected people. We had civil rights and all that good stuff you’re proud of. It was the project of generations. We built a stellar culture. We built a nation in the stars. I believed in it.”
“The Great Orion Empire was our enemy. Our nemesis. They were cruel and rapacious. They viewed people as tools to be used and thrown away. And we resisted them at every turn. It was a contest that lasted centuries.”
“And I sit now, near the heart of the old Orion Empire. Near the ruins of the core of that mighty nation. And the descendants of my enemies see me as a tourist. Some random passerby to whom to sell… “ He glared at his glass “Doctor Pepper.”
“What was it all for? What did it mean? I lived my life to support and protect it, and it’s gone.” He stared into space “I should be gone with it. I don’t belong here.”
I said, “We’re better off because you’re here.”
He looked at me “Are you? You know what got my nation? What destroyed the work of generations? Was it some terrible phenomenon? Was it our enemies with a new, terrible weapon? No. It was my descendants. My own people decided my nation was a bad idea and erased it. They spent their generations undoing what we built.”
I winced.
“That’s a hell of rejection,” he said.
“I don’t know what to say here.” I said, “I could point out that you’re living history, and we’re greedy for your knowledge. We’ll never get to see or visit the Second Empire except through you and what you can show us. Does the approval of your cousins override the rejection of your children? I could point out that we’re building a thing here, and someone with experience could be helpful, but I imagine you might be feeling a little gun-shy about that right now.”
“Yeah,” he said. I understand that you’re trying to be helpful here, but nothing you’ve said is that helpful.”
“So. Tell me the story of your Empire. Tell me what I missed.”
He sighed and started, “A long time ago, the first El-Aurian warp drive was created,”
We were there most of the night while he told me the history of his people and his nation.
-*-
The itching was bad.
Our hair was growing back, and this process itched. But the regenerated skin was delicate and touchy. We shed flakes and dandruff of blue. Undeath, my skin was angry pink.
Dr Hobolisk gave us an ointment that was supposed to help the skin while suppressing the itch. You couldn’t tell it by me. I rubbed my scalp and tried to keep myself from making my new skin bleed.
“How attached are you to my face?” Li’ira asked
I blinked. “Monumentally. Deeply. Eternally.”
She sighed “What if I changed it?”
“Are you thinking about doing that?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. But it would be the first time for solely cosmetic reasons.”
“Why?”
“It kinda bothers me that I’m one of many Li’iras. Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Being a Li’ira wouldn’t bother me at all,” I said.
She bopped me with a pillow “You know what I mean.”
“I… I don’t think of my own face like that. My brothers look familiar to me, but I forget it. Even when I’m in the same room. My awareness of what I look like isn’t that strong.”
“Must be nice.”
“Give yourself the face you want. If it makes you happy, I’ll love it.”
Li’ira looked a little irritated “Thanks. You’re a big help.”
I didn’t know where to go with that. “What are you thinking?”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“Well, you could add an eyebrow ridge and a big unibrow.”
She stopped and looked at me.
“Okay, now, by process of elimination, we know one thing you wouldn’t like.”
“Would you still love me if I was a Cave Woman?”
I spent a few moments trying to picture patheolithic greens “Would I have any choice?”
That got me another pillow to the head.
“Listen, we’ve been places and done things together that no one else has done. We have our own context. Don’t worry too much about the other Li’iras. They’re your sisters, not you. I like our thing together. I’d have to get used to a new face. But it wouldn’t change where we are and what we’re doing. Our thing runs deeper than a face.”
“I’m told the greens on Oz use nanites to add color and decoration to their skins, to tell each other apart.”
“That sounds sort of fun, doesn’t it?”
“It does,”
“So keep your face and get some racing stripes.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Okay. I think I’ll do that.”
I very, very gently traced her left eyebrow. It felt good. The peach fuzz was growing in. Li’ira sighed and leaned into the touch.
-*-
That night, I had a dream. I was small. I could run so fast!
We never had a “school”. That concept would come later. I had a group of friends. We randomly clumped together in The All. Occasional adults, including my Mom, my Dad, and their bond group would bring us together and convey lessons. It was quick. Inside the group it was chatty and filled with exchanges. We chewed over all the new ideas given to us.
In the afternoon, I worked. I loved my job, that’s why I had it. I ran lunches to the work crews.
A great, big brick building was being built over the core of the city. Gronks trundled in their hundreds, hauling supply wagons in. The big steam engines chuffed and huffed, running the machine shops and factories.
We were building a fusion power plant with Victorian-era technology.
We knew it could be done. We had a very clear idea of what we were aiming at. But it was hard. We had to build machines and then use those machines to build better machines and then use those to build better machines. It took a long time to get the right accuracies and consistencies in our work.
We had to fight metal and ceramics with fire, over and over again, to get it right.
The big brick edifice in the town center would be our reactor's cooling tower.
I ran lunches to the work crews and then pestered them about what we were doing in that particular spot. I built a broad but shallow knowledge of the whole project. The math felt like singing to me, and I loved to sing. We turned the fusion equations into a song, and you could hear us whistling that song to ourselves as we built.
Our brethren, bigger and without hands, watched us with love and affection. We were lost in space. They couldn’t reach us. But mentally, I could see them easily and talk easily. It was a big galaxy. I hoped I could get to go see it.
-*-
I awoke with a start. What in the fuck was that?
-
jayphailey
- Posts: 1267
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 7:50 pm
Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
Omoikane 63 - The Beaches of Pytol
I lounged and enjoyed. Real sunlight. Real ocean. Real sand. The sunlight was indirect. Pytol was on the closer side of the Goldilocks zone for Jumoji Alpha. So the sunlight was a little strong. Especially for my new skin. There wasn’t much night these days. We were in a season where Lefyt was away from Jumoji Alpha, from the point of view of Pytol. So when Jumoji Alpha went down, there was a super bright blue-white spark creating twilight for most of the night.
Li’ira looked a little strange but interesting. Her new skin was lighter green than her original. In time, we’d darken up and our colors would even out. I just looked angry pink and weird. In time the colors would smoothe over. Li’ira had a fuzzy scalp now that felt wonderful to touch. She said the same about mine, but I think she is overly biased.
Kat-Oh-Lo came around our bungalow. He was wearing Bermuda shorts, an open shirt with flower patterns on it, and sunglasses. His hair was randomized by the breezes. He looked much more at home this way. “Cap’n. Commander.”
I waved him over “We’re off duty right now. Also, I don’t if your assignment on the Omoikane will continue.”
He sighed “No, sorry. I’m staying here. They might ask you to take some cadets with you.”
“That’d be good. We’ll be glad to have them.”
“I came by to invite you scuba diving.”
I grinned “Neat!”
-*-
It took a little bit to get familiar with Lefyt gear. Li’ira and I had to replicate standard regulators and set up our meters the way we were used to. I’d learned to Scuba as kid growing up in an oceanside town. Li’ira told me she learned in the academy, with an expression that told me it was more of her super-spy training.
Soon enough we were underwater.
Floating in the ocean is lovely, nice, and relaxing. Moving in the ocean - that’s a different ball game. I soon learned how behind I was on my cardio.
But there was so much to see!
Pytol doesn’t have any ice caps. It’s close to 90 percent water on the surface. The land is what would be mountain tops and mountain ranges on a world with a lower sea level. The ocean circulates aggressively and smoothes the temperatures across the planet's surface.
We were diving on a coral reef some distance away from our bungalow. Some hundred of kiometers. It was its own underwater jungle. Fish and plants of a million different kinds swam by.
I was overwhelmed. I had a tricorder running. Tillean would eat this stuff up. She was probably doing the same thing elsewhere on Pytol.
I had to stop frequently and just look and experience it. I didn’t want to get overwhelmed and I didn’t want to get into trouble.
Li’ira waved at me. “Come here and look!” her wave and her body language said.
I swam over to her. I had to take my time. Oops. I was already physically flagging. We’d have to cut the dive short and head back for the boat. I didn’t want to put myself in the position of being rescued.
I got to her in what seemed like forever and looked at what she was indicating. It was crusted with life forms from the reef.
Humanoid. Suddenly I wasn’t as tired. I scanned it. Metal, plastic. Shit. It was a Damyip.
I couldn’t tell how long it had been down here. Not an occupation bot. A humanoid model like our friend Lotara.
I triggered my beacon. Did the Damyip have some sort of recovery-bot?
-*-
I was getting more and more tired. The dive took a lot out of me. Kat-Oh-Lo and Li’ira were holding up better than I. We weren’t dripping on the Damyip floors anymore. The heavy scuba gear was back at the boat. I could feel the dried salt on my skin. I liked it. Peggera was there, dressed as a tourist.
I recognized a workshop when I saw it. A work table, lights, tools. The Damyip unit was seriously encrusted. That could happen quickly.
Lotara scanned the dead unit. “The subspace communications array has been damaged by a subspace pulse.”
She looked like something out of a crime show. She wore a gown and had a clear plastic shield over her face. The eye mechanisms of the Damyip humanoids were as delicate as humanoid eyes, and so it wouldn’t be efficient to damage them. The gown was to catch evidence before it got mixed up with whatever Lotara brought with her.
“The bioplastic skin is mostly gone. Animal predation accounts for that. There are ambiguous markings on it that may be tool marks or may be coincidence,” Lotara said.
She scanned more deeply “The main processing unit has been damaged by exposure to salt water. There are tool marks and melting. Someone damaged it before this unit went into the water.”
Lotara continued her dispassionate accounting “The memory backup and tertiary memory backup are also severely damaged, both by some sort of applied energy and then submersion in salt water.”
“There are tool marks on the endoskeleton. Several pieces of supporting equipment show signs of idiomatic damage.”
“What’s idiomatic damage?” I asked
“This unit wasn’t shot, or exploded. We know what that looks like, very well. It happened a lot. This unit was damaged differently than we’re used to seeing.”
“How so?”
Lotara stood up straight and looked at the wall. Her eyes flashed. “Processing,”
I didn’t know she could do that.
She blinked out of her trance and considered us.
“Our records show parallels,” She hesitated.
“Go ahead,” Peggera said
“The damage is parallel to the marks torture leaves on a humanoid person.”
“Someone…. Tortured…. A robot?” Peggera asked.
“I cannot speak to the intent. The marks are similar.”
Li’ira asked, “Lotara, are you okay?”
Lotara blinked and smiled at Li’ira “Thank you for asking. Apologies, I have minimized my emotional processes to devote more processing power to analyzing this. I find this puzzling. And something analogous to horrifying. I hope you won’t mind if I don’t put a lot of energy into displaying Lefyt-style horror and revulsion. You already know this is bad. There is no need to communicate that to you.”
“Can you identify this unit?” I asked
“We can. She was Damyip 14.3.12.98456, or Ellora Feahrmassa, on Tyosezot. Our last memory of her is 13 months ago.”
“That’s two planets away. How’d she wind up at the bottom of the ocean here?”
“That’s a very good question.”
-*-
“I must admit that I am very curious, as well,” Ellora said
She was big, nearly six feet tall and built wide. She wore it well.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” I asked
“The week before my last download was absolutely routine. I had children I was nurturing. They meant a lot to me. I was maintaining the house, careful to stay within character. And I was putting some energy into modeling how I would become older to meet the expectations of my people.”
“Was no investigation done? Any missing persons reports?” I asked.
“We don’t know that, yet,” Lotara said.
“I doubt there would be anything official,” Ellora said “I was in a trade clan in the far eastern frontier on Tyosezot. The social organization was clans. It took me years to build an identity my neighbors found acceptable. It took me years to build relationships. What police forces exist on Tyosezot are small, weak, and distrusted. No one in our clan would tell anyone outside much of anything.”
“Man, this is going to gnaw at me,” I said.
“We’ll go take a look,” Li’ira said.
Ellora said “The customs of clan Feahrmassa include robust welcome of visitors and travellers. But you will learn little. The business of the clan is not discussed with outsiders. They retain a strong prejudice against Damyip. That’s why a new Ellora was not sent back. If they understood that I was a Damyip, I’d be rejected.”
I thought about it. “Even if I screw it up, how’s that different from where we’re at now?”
Ellora thought about it “Well put.”
Peggera said, “This, I gotta see.”
I looked at Peggera “You’ve seen angry people telling you to get out before.”
Peggera grinned “Sure. But this is angry people in furs telling me to get the hell out. Completely different.”
I lounged and enjoyed. Real sunlight. Real ocean. Real sand. The sunlight was indirect. Pytol was on the closer side of the Goldilocks zone for Jumoji Alpha. So the sunlight was a little strong. Especially for my new skin. There wasn’t much night these days. We were in a season where Lefyt was away from Jumoji Alpha, from the point of view of Pytol. So when Jumoji Alpha went down, there was a super bright blue-white spark creating twilight for most of the night.
Li’ira looked a little strange but interesting. Her new skin was lighter green than her original. In time, we’d darken up and our colors would even out. I just looked angry pink and weird. In time the colors would smoothe over. Li’ira had a fuzzy scalp now that felt wonderful to touch. She said the same about mine, but I think she is overly biased.
Kat-Oh-Lo came around our bungalow. He was wearing Bermuda shorts, an open shirt with flower patterns on it, and sunglasses. His hair was randomized by the breezes. He looked much more at home this way. “Cap’n. Commander.”
I waved him over “We’re off duty right now. Also, I don’t if your assignment on the Omoikane will continue.”
He sighed “No, sorry. I’m staying here. They might ask you to take some cadets with you.”
“That’d be good. We’ll be glad to have them.”
“I came by to invite you scuba diving.”
I grinned “Neat!”
-*-
It took a little bit to get familiar with Lefyt gear. Li’ira and I had to replicate standard regulators and set up our meters the way we were used to. I’d learned to Scuba as kid growing up in an oceanside town. Li’ira told me she learned in the academy, with an expression that told me it was more of her super-spy training.
Soon enough we were underwater.
Floating in the ocean is lovely, nice, and relaxing. Moving in the ocean - that’s a different ball game. I soon learned how behind I was on my cardio.
But there was so much to see!
Pytol doesn’t have any ice caps. It’s close to 90 percent water on the surface. The land is what would be mountain tops and mountain ranges on a world with a lower sea level. The ocean circulates aggressively and smoothes the temperatures across the planet's surface.
We were diving on a coral reef some distance away from our bungalow. Some hundred of kiometers. It was its own underwater jungle. Fish and plants of a million different kinds swam by.
I was overwhelmed. I had a tricorder running. Tillean would eat this stuff up. She was probably doing the same thing elsewhere on Pytol.
I had to stop frequently and just look and experience it. I didn’t want to get overwhelmed and I didn’t want to get into trouble.
Li’ira waved at me. “Come here and look!” her wave and her body language said.
I swam over to her. I had to take my time. Oops. I was already physically flagging. We’d have to cut the dive short and head back for the boat. I didn’t want to put myself in the position of being rescued.
I got to her in what seemed like forever and looked at what she was indicating. It was crusted with life forms from the reef.
Humanoid. Suddenly I wasn’t as tired. I scanned it. Metal, plastic. Shit. It was a Damyip.
I couldn’t tell how long it had been down here. Not an occupation bot. A humanoid model like our friend Lotara.
I triggered my beacon. Did the Damyip have some sort of recovery-bot?
-*-
I was getting more and more tired. The dive took a lot out of me. Kat-Oh-Lo and Li’ira were holding up better than I. We weren’t dripping on the Damyip floors anymore. The heavy scuba gear was back at the boat. I could feel the dried salt on my skin. I liked it. Peggera was there, dressed as a tourist.
I recognized a workshop when I saw it. A work table, lights, tools. The Damyip unit was seriously encrusted. That could happen quickly.
Lotara scanned the dead unit. “The subspace communications array has been damaged by a subspace pulse.”
She looked like something out of a crime show. She wore a gown and had a clear plastic shield over her face. The eye mechanisms of the Damyip humanoids were as delicate as humanoid eyes, and so it wouldn’t be efficient to damage them. The gown was to catch evidence before it got mixed up with whatever Lotara brought with her.
“The bioplastic skin is mostly gone. Animal predation accounts for that. There are ambiguous markings on it that may be tool marks or may be coincidence,” Lotara said.
She scanned more deeply “The main processing unit has been damaged by exposure to salt water. There are tool marks and melting. Someone damaged it before this unit went into the water.”
Lotara continued her dispassionate accounting “The memory backup and tertiary memory backup are also severely damaged, both by some sort of applied energy and then submersion in salt water.”
“There are tool marks on the endoskeleton. Several pieces of supporting equipment show signs of idiomatic damage.”
“What’s idiomatic damage?” I asked
“This unit wasn’t shot, or exploded. We know what that looks like, very well. It happened a lot. This unit was damaged differently than we’re used to seeing.”
“How so?”
Lotara stood up straight and looked at the wall. Her eyes flashed. “Processing,”
I didn’t know she could do that.
She blinked out of her trance and considered us.
“Our records show parallels,” She hesitated.
“Go ahead,” Peggera said
“The damage is parallel to the marks torture leaves on a humanoid person.”
“Someone…. Tortured…. A robot?” Peggera asked.
“I cannot speak to the intent. The marks are similar.”
Li’ira asked, “Lotara, are you okay?”
Lotara blinked and smiled at Li’ira “Thank you for asking. Apologies, I have minimized my emotional processes to devote more processing power to analyzing this. I find this puzzling. And something analogous to horrifying. I hope you won’t mind if I don’t put a lot of energy into displaying Lefyt-style horror and revulsion. You already know this is bad. There is no need to communicate that to you.”
“Can you identify this unit?” I asked
“We can. She was Damyip 14.3.12.98456, or Ellora Feahrmassa, on Tyosezot. Our last memory of her is 13 months ago.”
“That’s two planets away. How’d she wind up at the bottom of the ocean here?”
“That’s a very good question.”
-*-
“I must admit that I am very curious, as well,” Ellora said
She was big, nearly six feet tall and built wide. She wore it well.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” I asked
“The week before my last download was absolutely routine. I had children I was nurturing. They meant a lot to me. I was maintaining the house, careful to stay within character. And I was putting some energy into modeling how I would become older to meet the expectations of my people.”
“Was no investigation done? Any missing persons reports?” I asked.
“We don’t know that, yet,” Lotara said.
“I doubt there would be anything official,” Ellora said “I was in a trade clan in the far eastern frontier on Tyosezot. The social organization was clans. It took me years to build an identity my neighbors found acceptable. It took me years to build relationships. What police forces exist on Tyosezot are small, weak, and distrusted. No one in our clan would tell anyone outside much of anything.”
“Man, this is going to gnaw at me,” I said.
“We’ll go take a look,” Li’ira said.
Ellora said “The customs of clan Feahrmassa include robust welcome of visitors and travellers. But you will learn little. The business of the clan is not discussed with outsiders. They retain a strong prejudice against Damyip. That’s why a new Ellora was not sent back. If they understood that I was a Damyip, I’d be rejected.”
I thought about it. “Even if I screw it up, how’s that different from where we’re at now?”
Ellora thought about it “Well put.”
Peggera said, “This, I gotta see.”
I looked at Peggera “You’ve seen angry people telling you to get out before.”
Peggera grinned “Sure. But this is angry people in furs telling me to get the hell out. Completely different.”
Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
Are we talking a couple of light years across?jayphailey wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2025 8:05 amThis map is HORRIBLE. But it helped me keep things straight.
Straight ish
Lefyt1.png
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jayphailey
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Re: Omoikane - The Lefyt System
No. Multiple Light hours
The Jumoji sisters are gravitationally bound to Lefyt
Remember how big space is. The rest of the Lefyt bubble are subsidiary colonies.
The Jumoji sisters are gravitationally bound to Lefyt
Remember how big space is. The rest of the Lefyt bubble are subsidiary colonies.