Derelicts: Praxis (FT, Open)

[TRIAD Enterprises]

((OOC Notes: This is one of five planned threads. This thread details the state of one of TRIAD Enterprises five major systems which they'd held prior to the Exodus. While massive cargoes were packed up and taken with the corporate state, much was either too large or took too long to dismantle. These systems still hold abandoned treasures for the curious or the brave. I leave these threads open so that others may seek to rob the grave of TRIAD.
Also, there is an OOC discussion thread HERE))


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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Former location of Arklight Shipyards
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Praxis was not all that unusual as star systems went. A yellow primary with eighteen planets, four of them gas-giants. The only thing that had attracted TRIAD Enterprises to the Praxis system was it's abundance of natural resources. None of the inner eight worlds bore any life, but all were flush with mineral, metallic, and transuranic ores. In addition to it's abundance of local resources, Praxis sat in the middle of a cluster of seventeen stars, each of which were also rish in resources. This cluster was only twenty light-years wide, quite a close neighborhood as stars went. The sheer plethora of raw materials available made Praxis the perfect place for TRIAD to establish a massive ship-building outpost, overseen by subsidiary Arklight Shipwrights.

As per standard "Investment Doctrine", the focal point for this colony was a large asteroid, some fifty kilometers in diameter. Towed into orbit around one of the gas-giants, hollowed out, and turned into a trade station. At it's height, the Praxis shipyards had been alight with activity as orders placed by extra-national entities were filled. Dozens of ships were in various stages of construction at any given time.
The shipyards themselves were spread into the orbits of all four gas giants, while mining operations stripped the inner eight planets for their materials. Massive, kilometer long scaffolds and drydocks studded the darkness like so many artificial moons.

All of this came to an end when TRIAD abandoned the system and left this universe for home. While much of the machinery had been packed up and shipped home on the Exodus Fleets, the superstructures of shipyards still sat in silent orbits. A monument to more productive days.

Praxis now resembled a graveyard, and like all graves, this one just might hold treasure for those who would seek it.

[United Planets 1]

An Avenger Class Battleship returned to real-space at the edge of system. This ship, the UPS Tranquillity, had been assigned to chart this far away part of the galaxy. Far away from the core of the united Planets, the Tranquillity was out here, by the grace of it's experimental engine drive. It's mission was to explore the sectors and locate planets suitable for colonization. They had picked up the Praxus system due to it's shipyards, they had shown up on the ships sensors a few hours ago and the ship was now exploring the system. The two Kilometre ship picked it's way throught the abandoned shipyards with ease.
On the Bridge Captain Richard Munro was decideing the best course of action. He'd figured that if the united Planets could reactivate these lost shipyards it would give them a steady foothold in this part of the Galaxy. Munro nodded to himself as he decided. He turned to his XO.
"Take a team over to the Asteriod base" He ordered "Find out anything you can about who owned this, where they are, and how to activate the shipyards"

Shuttlecraft, Approaching the Asteroid base.

Commander Jenny Stars, looked out the forward viewport as the shuttle got closer. They were all in environmenat suits as they didn't know what sort of environment they were walking into. They also had power flash lights on the arms of their suits, and a Side arm on their belts. The Shuttle found a docking port and docked. It didn't take long for them to open the air lock and get inside. Once inside they began to look around.

[Pyrovia]

At the edge of the system a small portal opened and a small black ovoid, roughly 50m in length, moved silently out of it, with the portal disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

the object rested quietly there for a few minutes and then opened a communications micro-wormhole
Encrypted Point to Point Transmission

Source: PSF-AJP1563D6J8
Recipient: Pyrovian Intelligence (via Communications Relay PSF-CR2674G7S9)

Exodus of TRIAD Enterprises preliminary Confirmed
System SJ46-337482 (Praxis)

Current System Activity level: Negligible
Preliminary System Status Analysis: Abandoned

Preliminary Situation Analysis

No indication of current TRIAD Enterprises or Arklight shipyards activity, preliminary confirmation of exodus of TRIAD Enterprises from this system.
Indications of remaining abandoned facilities detected, potential source of material, technology and information salvage.

passive sensor readings indicate possible 3rd party activity, probability of 3rd party salvager activity high

Current course of Action
Move into system to analyse abandoned facilities
Prepare for 3rd party contact, possible hostile or first contact
Prioritise Information and Technology Salvage in event of 3rd party activity

Requested Actions

Inform nearby vessels and rapid response force of situation and request standby in case needed.

A new portal opened in front of the small object and it disappeared into it, a few minutes latter a portal opened near one of the larger abandoned shipyards and the object emerged, with the portal disappearing a second later. It rested for a second and it moved towards the shipyard

[United Planets 1]

UPS Tranquillity, Main bridge

"Sir we've got an unidentified object, just appeared in the system" The Tactical officer reported.
"Yellow alert" Munro ordered "What is it?"
"I'm not sure sir, but it's heading further into the shipyards" Tactical reported.
"Intercept course, open hailing frequncies" Munro ordered.
"Open sir" Comms reprted.
"Unidentifed object, this is the UPS Tranquillity, please identfiy yourselves" Munro requested politelty.
Meanwhile the ship was brought to yellow alert status, shields raised, weapons on stand-by.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Asteroid Station
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As the United Planets' vessel entered the system, they were met with no active scans, no communications, and no traffic. For all intents and purposes, the facilities scattered through space resembled a ghost town. As the shuttle approached the converted asteroid, they would find the large doors of the docking bays wide open. Sensors read no power, lighting, or atmosphere. Once inside the docking bay debris posed a hazard in the form of cargo pallets, trailing cables, and various forms of junk floating in the open bays. When the shuttle's team finally found what appeared to be an airlock, they would be similarly met with a total lack of power, gravity, or atmosphere. Every hatch they came across was open to cold vacuum.

The layout of the station resembled an O'Niel-type space colony, with the interior designed to rotate to simulate gravity, and the center cylinder an open void. Without power, the search team would be forced to rely on whatever lighting they brought with them, which would slow exploration, but at least they were not hindered by a single closed hatchway. Everywhere they looked they found empty rooms, and corridors littered with floating debris. All signs of hurried packing as trinkets and bits were discarded or forgotten.


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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Dockyard A-13
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The Pyrovian vessel would find a similar scene to that of the United Planets' search team. Every facility had no power or atmosphere. A handful of the smaller facilities had even had portions of their outer hulls cut apart, though some of these pieces simply drifted along, apparently forgotten.

[United Planets 1]

The Away team made slow progress through the asteroid base. Their arm carried lights did their job as well as they could. Jenny could feel the tenseness of her team as they continued to explore. She knew why, this entire place gave her the creeps. They were looking for some sort of engineering bay or power socket, once they found it they would effectivly hot-wire the starfleet power cell they had brought with them to attempt to get some power back on-line.

[Pyrovia]

Directional Burst Transmission To UPS Tranquillity

UPS Tranquillity this is the Pyrovian Space Forces AJP1563D6J8
and I am Zhi

What is it that you require?

The as the Pyrovian vessel moved closer to the main shipyard its power output increased and scanning beams targeted, mapped and catalogued the smaller structures as it passed by.
Upon reaching the main structure it entered a docking bay and came to a halt, the scanning beams briefly mapped the inside of the bay then shut down.

One large orb 50cm in diameter exited from the side of the vessel followed by 6 small orbs of 10cm in diameter, the 7 orbs moved away from the ship with each of the small orbs projecting a directional light source, and began the sequence required to power up a nearby airlock to access the rest of the station

[United Planets 1]

UPS Tranquillity, Main bridge

"Just enquiring as to your bussiness in this Graveyard" Munro replied evenly as his crew got on with their duties. The ship was on Hightened alert, as they knew not what the Graveyard, or indeed this new ship would bring. As such the ship was running with shields raised. But her weapons systems were not activated.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

OOC Note:

I forgot to mention something last post. Each of the gas giants is given a letter code in my notes, Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma. These progress from innermost world to outermost. When I mention Dockyard Alpha-13, that means the dock orbits gas giant Alpha, and is number 13 in that orbit.
There are twenty visible stations orbiting Alpha.
There are ten stations in orbit of Beta.
There are thirty stations around Delta.
There are five stations around Gamma.

As you explore, let me know which location you are headed to. I have scattered prizes and treasures around the system, so I need to know where you are. First come-first served, however you are welcome to fight for the prizes. Heh.

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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Asteroid Station
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It took almost an hour of searching before one of the team stumbled across what appeared to be an open panel. Inside was a receptacle that appeared to tie into the station's power grid. After ten minutes the team managed to cobble together a functional adapter, and energy was finally flowing into the cold lines. For the first five minutes, nothing at all happened except the charge on the power-cell being steadily depleted. Finally though strips of lighting at the corners of floor and ceiling crackled and flickered to life. The light was a weak, muted amber, and began flashing in a strobe effect along the corridors. If one followed the path of the lighting, they would discover it was emergency lighting intended to show the way to the nearest emergency shelter. Or at least it could be assumed to be an emergency shelter, considering the signs printed in ten different languages across the now-closed blast doors for the shelters.


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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Dockyard Alpha-13
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None of the facilities the Pyrovia vessel passed resisted or interfered with the scanning in any way, their hulls almost transparent to the advanced scanners. Within short order, the scout would have a rather reliable map of the portions of those facilities scanned. As with the United Planets team aboard the trade station, the Pyrovian would find no obstacle to entering the dockyard facility: all the hatches and airlocks were open to vacuum and entry was simple. Inside, the situation was the same, every hatch and blast door was locked in open positions and all power and life support was dead.

[United Planets 1]

Asteroid Base"

With the lighting somewhat reactivated the away team now attempted to find if there were any of the power plant of the base left. They didn't expect there to be. Either way they split into three teams of three and began to explore the base.

UPS Tranquillity

The Tranquillity had meanwhile headed towards towards Dockyard Beta Three and were copying the same procedure here. Lt Commander Joe Larsen was leading the away team. Again all in EV Suits they boarded the dockyard. Their initial mission would be the same, get some lighting if possible and explre the station.

[Pyrovia]

occ: which gas giant is the asteroid station at, as haven't seen a specific mention of that, though might have missed somehow

Directional Burst Transmission To UPS Tranquillity

My purpose in this system, as I venture to assume yours, is to survey the abandoned facilities for potential salvage

On moving closer to the airlock, and discovering that it was open and exposed to vacuum, Zhi thought "interesting most airlocks would fail-safe in a closed position, to prevent loss of atmosphere, and especially in the event of a total power loss they would all close automatically for that reason, and would have to be opened manually. But here they were locked open, someone must have deliberately disabled the fail-safe systems, an unusual step even if abandoning the station.

The seven orbs proceeded through the open airlock further into the station at minor junctions and side rooms the large orb would pause and one or more of the small orbs would break off and scan the side rooms, before returning to the large orb and moving on. The orbs would work there way through the station identifying and tracking power and computer networks looking for any remaining technology or information, including any crew logs that might hold pointers to useful technology.
Special interest would be taken in science or engineering labs or workshops and any isolated computer systems. An ideal find would be a primary or secondary computer core containing blueprints or research but the chances of finding something like that remaining were extremely low.

[Rethan]

Imperial Palace - Rethan
"Is this information accurate?"

"Yes Primarch. The drone managed to get some information into us before self-destructing. Analysis indicates the system is largely abandoned. However, we cannot be sure that other powers have not discovered this system. Given the aparent richness in resources, it would be fair to assume that any other would not willingly give up the system."

Nihil sat in silence, Lord-Marshal Vaylen waiting for a response. These numerous abandoned worlds could prove valuable to the now rapidly expanding Militocracy, both as potential colonies and as resources.

"Very well, dispatch a standard explorator fleet. I want as much as we can grab Vaylen."

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Within an hour, an Explorator fleet of three Penance class destroyers had been readied. The three ships were co-ordinated by a Kraken carrier, codenamed Carrion and outfitted with modified Havoc Drones for the express purpose of eploratory missions.

"Carrion, this is command. You are go for launch."

"Acknowledged. Jumping now."

In scant seconds the four ships had jumped to faster than light speeds, their Inertialess Drives allowing phenomenal and nigh-infinite acceleration from regular sublight engines. A bonus to this method was the inherent stealth provided. No bending of physics beyond the ship itself, no wormholes... The system was undetectable and difficult to prevent. A major downside, however, was that the ships were not immune to anomalies while travelling and it was difficult to make sharp turns. While there was no worry in inertia tearing the ship apart, at the speeds Rethast vessels travelled by the time a 90 degree turn was made they would have crossed several hundred light years.

Mere minutes after leaving Rethan's orbit, the four vessels decellerated rapidly in the unknown system. One second there was nothing, the next there was four ships visibly slowing to more manageable (and visible) speeds.

"Sir, scans indicate the presence of enemy vessels."

"Ignore them. We do not wish to advertise our presence, nor do we wish to spark a conflict unecessarily. Find a star system and move towards it as fast as possible. Let's see if there's any point jumping a carrier in here."

"Sir, this star has most obviously detectable stations. Recommend we explore there first."

With a nod, the captain of the Carrion ordered the explorator fleet forward towards the system, dispatching Leech craft as they drew closer. Accompanied by five Havoc Drones each, the fifteen Leech craft spread out through the system, the Havocs scanning for any possible prizes at which point the Leech craft would depsoit armed Marine squads and engineers for salvage missions.

Meanwhile, the three Penance destroyers kept close to the carrier, with a watchful eye on the other craft nearby. The Rethast did not want to fight and risk a war with their nation, but they were tenacious and were determined to claim as much of the prize as possible...

OOC: I'm heading for the Delta star TRIAD. Sorry for the late arrival.

[United Planets 1]

UPS Tranquillity

THe Bridge crew was just getting used to the routine of operations in the 'Graveyard' when the sensors went haywire. The Sensors picked up the sudden arrival of four ships and reacated by sending out alerts to the operators. The officers who weren't in the seats scrambled to their stations. Almost immediatly Munro was buried under reports. Within a few minutes he gathered that there were four ships, aparrently Carrier rate and three Destroyers. Munro licked his lips nervously.
"Yellow alert" He ordered.
The ships lighting changed, the Lighting strips in teh ceilings, that were originally white, now turned bright yellow. A Low Beep was let out that alerted the crew to the changed status. The Battleships powerful shields were raised, and weapons were put on hot stand-by, but not fully operational.
"Hail them" Munro ordered. The Comms officer would now send out a standard hail.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

((OOC Note:))

Quick placeholder and update post for now. Pyrovia, sorry I forgot to mention where the trade station is at. It's in close orbit around Delta.
Rethan, welcome to the party. Note this is a single system. Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma are the code-names for each of the four gas giants in the system. Your arrival would be rather obvious to the other two here, at least if you brought all four ships into the system. If you leave the Carrion out in deep space, you could get away hiding the smaller ships' approach for a short time. Also, if you're headed for Delta and the trade station, that's where United Planets is sitting.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

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United Planets
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Asteroid Base

With the dim emergency lighting, it was somewhat easier to explore the station, however there was nearly thirty kilometers of length and at least five of depth to explore, so it would take some time. Still, one could easily determine how the station was arranged. Docking and storage bays took up the first "section" of the station, following this was what appeared to be administration and crew areas, followed by a second and third habitation area. In this fourth section the explorers came across what appeared to be commercial shopping and trade areas. The scene was eerie, and resembled a city following a major disaster. Shops were empty, looted to the shelves, and everywhere were the signs of hurried struggle and escape.

Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Dockyard Beta-3

Approaching the Beta gas-giant, as sensor returns increased, the Tranquility would be able to see that the Beta shipyards were smaller in scale to the other four sites. As they moved among the arms of scaffolds and stations, bits and pieces of small fighters, bombers, and other strike craft could be found. The Beta shipyards had once been dedicated to producing such strike vessels, and handfuls of examples could be found drifting in either damaged, partially constructed, or nearly destroyed conditions: X-wings, Tie fighters, Starfuries, Nial class, Gunstars, Peregrine fighters, Vipers, Raiders, Prowlers, Slipfighters, Longsword Bombers. These and other craft littered the space surrounding the ten Beta dockyards.
Beta-3 itself seemed to have been one of those which had been partially dismantled in the Exodus, however much of the structure which had been cut apart was simply drifting in cargo nets on tethers, indicating that they had simply been left behind. Power was down, hatched were locked open, and parts of the dockyard stared into open space with bulkheads missing.


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Pyrovia
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Alpha-13

Tracking the pathways of power and data-transfer conduits was a simple affair, once they had been initially identified. None of the materials present in the superstructure seemed to impair the probe's scanners, so progress was smooth and efficient. So far the Pyrovian probe had not located a single power source however. Everything was dead, and there didn't seem to be much left either. Most of the manufacturing and assembly bays were empty, save for the occasional lifting arm or conveyor line. In one area, which appeared to be crew quarters, the probe came across what appeared to be personal data devices floating around the opening of a duffel bag, discarded by their owner. The power cells were drained, however whatever information was contained might be retrieved from the solid-state memory.

Following the data conduits back to their sources would eventually lead to what had once been the computer core, however the trailing cables running from the bulkheads and mounting plates clearly showed that the storage modules had been hurriedly removed somewhere along the line. If there was information to be had, it would not be this easy to obtain.


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Rethan
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Jovian Delta

In addition to the other two exploring parties, Rethast sensors would discover the asteroid base as the most prominent feature in the neighborhood of planet Delta. Next to the giant rock of the trade station orbited the Delta shipyards. Thirty individual facilities could be made out, but at this range resolution was poor enough to make out what those dockyards had once produced. The Rethast would need to get closer to individual facilities to get more details.

[Vocenae]

Inner Praxis System

The Vocian fleet exited faster-than-light space around the third terrestial planet of the abandoned system. The two ships were massive, far larger than their crew required, and looked much like dark metal birds, the only signs of life being the sapphire blue engine clusters. For several minutes, the ships drifted lifelessly in high orbit until a flurry of activity betrayed their silent arrival.

Running lights sprang to life along the spines of the starships, sickly yellow lights that ran from bow to stern, and then upwards along the edges of the great wings that were mounted upon the engine section. Smaller lights, shining like diamonds in the light of the system's sun, detached themselves from the great blunt bow sections, and fell planet-ward.

If any of the other powers in the system had were listening, they would be bombarded by a flood of data coming from the probes, all basic in nature. Altitude, terrain, topography, nothing more than basic environmental data as the swarm of tiny objects disappeared one by one against the masive bulk of the dead world. A burst of static followed as the open channel suddenly encrypted itself, and the two ships began communicating with each other, sharing, comparing, and compiling the information from the probes.

For many minutes, the static filled vaccumn around the two ships continued nonstop.

The Imperial Star Republic was here.

OOC: Hope this is okay. It's my first post exploring my FT-Alternate version of Vocenae, so I'll try to stay as close to my opening impression as possible. I haven't fully connected all the dots with it, so inconsistencies in theme might occur. Don't worry, just because the ships are giant doesn't mean they bite. Hard. The ships are basically the Event Horizon, from the film of the same name only without all the Hellspirits and such.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

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Vocenae
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Praxis III

The world below the four vessels resembled the planet called Mars back in the Sol system, only this one's soil was a deep blue-green from high concentrations of copper in the soil, and this world didn't even possess the rudimentary atmosphere that Mars had held onto. In addition, the probes sent to the surface would easily pick out the signs of extensive large-scale mining operations all over the surface of the world. While very little large machinery could be identified, the huge gashes and craters of open-pit strip mining were easily seen, even from space.

This world had been in the process of being brutally raped for it's mineral wealth, when the violators had simply up and left...

[Rethan]

Kraken Class "Carrion" - Praxis System - Gas Giant Delta
"Captain, we're being hailed. There doesn't seem to be a transmission."

Nodding, the captain stood. His comms officer prepared a standard audio only broadcast, no need to show faces here.

Unidentified vessels. We are the supercarrier Carrion. This system has been deemed a possible scavenging site for our people. You will not interfere. Attempts at preventing our explorations will result in response with lethal force. You have been warned.

We are the Rethast. Your species is now obsolete.

The captain turned to the drone controller.

"Now that the unpleasantness is dealt with, get the drones and Leeches closer to those stations, especially that asteroid. That seems to be our most likely option. Tell the Marines to prepare for others on board, these other factions have probably already started tearing the place apart. They are not to fire unless fired upon. Keep us at a distance, but be ready for a full combat run to get our fighters in range should things turn...ugly."

The controller nodded and relayed the orders. The Havoc Drones and their escorts slipped through space at the typical above-average speed of Rethast vessels. They slowed down as the shipyards drew closer, allowing their sensors time to scan the many facilities to their utmost potential for any sign of valuable remains. The Kriegmarines readied their weaponry: Light Assault rifles, SMGs and Pulse Grenades. Frags had been deemed an unnecessary risk, and so the Electrical Pulse Grenades had been chosen as they would deal less damage to the physical structures. The Rethast were not looking for a fight, but if one should occur they were more than ready.

On board the Carrion, he captain watched the arrival of the mammoth new ships. Their sudden appearance was somewhat worrying, as was their size. But it was apparent that the ships were still getting their bearings in the new system and so the Rethast decided instead to ignore them...Well, they would keep an eye on them, but chose not to openly acknowledge their presence.

[Pyrovia]

Unidentified vessels. We are the supercarrier Carrion. This system has been deemed a possible scavenging site for our people. You will not interfere. Attempts at preventing our explorations will result in response with lethal force. You have been warned.

We are the Rethast. Your species is now obsolete.

on receipt of this message Zhi thought "Well someone appears to have somewhat of an ego"

With all the FTL events Zhi decided it was time to update intelligence

Encrypted micro Wormhole Point to Point Transmission

Source: PSF-AJP1563D6J8
Recipient: Pyrovian Intelligence (via Communications Relay PSF-CR2674G7S9)

Exodus of TRIAD Enterprises Confirmed
System SJ46-337482 (Praxis)

Current System Activity level: light (1 confirmed potential hostile)
Preliminary System Status Analysis: Abandoned (potential salvage dispute)

Situation Update
No Active TRIAD Enterprises presence
Three other Nations present, The United Planets, Rethan and one currently unidentified

Current course of Action
Proceeding with investigation

Requested Actions
Second investigation vessel requested due to increased third party presence and number of facilities, (targeted jump coordinates included)
Response Force on active standby, Rethan potential hostility, no activity, possibly just posturing

Directional Burst Transmission To UPS Tranquillity

With the overtly aggressive communication from the Rethan carrier, If you are interested I would propose a non aggression pact and information sharing agreement for the duration of our activity in this system.

the large orb approached the floating data devices, the orb's surface shifted and started to change shape a minute or so latter it resembled a floating silver torso with a single right arm, the arm reached out and took one of the floating devices, Zhi thought "Hmm power is depleted, holding the device in the palm of the hand it was slowly engulfed in what appeared to be a silvery liquid resembling mercury, as millions of tiny robots swarmed over the device, stripping off the outer housing and analysing the device. "Ok simple VDU, power cell, wireless transmitter, binary processor, solid-state memory a relatively simple device. Zhi quickly copied the contents of the memory into a isolated protected memory and began analysis of its content, constructing a virtual model of the device as needed. The process would be repeated of the other devices, holding on to the original devices until information was either extracted or determined as unrecoverable.

On entering the computer core room, Zhi thought "Well this was not unexpected, since it appears they have removed everything that was not nailed down, but did it in a hurry, what is there in here that they could not be remove easily or quickly. Zhi began to go over previous scan results looking for any parts of the power or data networks that lead to shielded or hard to access areas of the facility.

[United Planets 1]

Secure Message TO Pyvrovian ship

I agree, the Rethan have caused quite a stir over here, I suggest that we give the a wide berth

Asteroid Base

The away team continued to explore. They would take Holo-pictures of the base that could be analysed by Intelligence once they got back, They were still on the look out for anything that could bea computer console that was accesable.

Dockyard Beta-3

The B-3 Away team was having a field day. The engineers were exaiming the strike fighters, and were considering salvegeing some of them. Especially seeing as the Ship could hold hundreds of them if it needed to. The Engineers would try to activate some of the more together ones and move them back to hte ship, if not they would be towed into the Tranquillity.

Meanwhile the Tranquillity was moving towards Beta-2 to deploy another away team.

[Vocenae]

High Orbit, Praxis III

Fleet Captain Etienne Narroll leaned back in the command chair, frowning at the probe reports displayed on the large holoscreen that dominated the cavernous bridge of the starship Orpheus. The preliminary reports were...unimpressive, to say the least. Copper was common metal and it looked like whoever had been here before had taken the best resources for themselves before vanishing into thin air. Command would not be pleased, especially if they had to scrap the mission entirely.

He mulled his options over in his head, the pale blue-white glow of the screen making his aged face seem decades older. Many of the younger bridge crew had taken to calling him 'The Mummy' because of this, and though he knew of this disrespect, he let it slide. Etienne always preferred to let experience speak for him, it could humble a man and build respect all in one fell swoop.

The other ship of the Vocian fleet were spreading out across the planet's orbit, continuing the mapping process. And to get away from him, he knew. Prospecting missions were always solo-affairs, one ship, one crew, and one captain who decided everything. And as young as the other captain was, he knew it was an insult to her pride to have a Fleet Captain along, as if Central Command doubted her abilities.

He sighed, and stood from his chair, it was time to get to work. If the planet itself was worthless, then maybe something of value could be gleaned from whoever had been here before.

"Starhog, I think we've done what we can from orbit. Let's get some men on the ground down there and see what we can see. Pick out a landing site and relay co-ordinates, no sense in us walking over each others toes. Orpheus out."
_______________________________

The shuttles were basically small, pressurized cargo holds strapped to two oversized engine wings with a small pilot's bubble wedged between the two. Not much more than aerodynamic wedges, the six shuttles of the Orpheus plummeted towards the dead planet of Praxis III, headed for one of the titanic strip mines that marred the blue-green surface like open wounds. Inside their cramped holds were squads of power armored giants, normal men protected by the deadly vaccumn that would be waiting for them when they landed.

The landing was uneventful aside from the static-charged regolith that billowed up from beneath the shuttles as they fired their landing thrusters and settled against the alien surface.

Landfall.

OOC: Added some more information to give you some more working room, TRIAD.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

((OOC Note:))

Okay folks, I need to ask for a temporary hold while I whip up some quick responses to recent posts. RL's being a pain in the ass today so I didn't get a chance to write today, will do so tomorrow.

[Kostemetsia]

OOC: Hey fellas. My major external worlds naval base is the closest recognised political object to Praxis Shipyards. Expect a large force rolling in, and soon - tag for post.

[TRIAD Enterprises]

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Rethan
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Delta Shipyards
An initial survey of the facilities surrounging the Delta Jovian revealed that while these shipyard platforms were more numerous than those orbiting the other three gas giants, the Delta Shopyards were the most diverse. Platform sizes ranged from two hundred meters up to ten kilometers. Surrounding roughly a third of these platforms was debris and materials indicative of ship-building efforts, and at a couple platforms could be seen the empty shells of partially-constructed ships. Only a handful of these showed any similarity with each other, and the Rethast would have to get closer to individual platforms to accurately identify what was there.

As the Rethast vessels approached the asteroid base itself, they would see the same things that the United Planets survey had revealed. An asteroid some forty eight kilometers long, had been hollowed out and set rotating on it's long axis. Inside was what would resemble an O'Neal-type space colony, with habitation on the inner surface of the hollow. Scans showed that the asteroid had been separated into eight uneven sections, starting at the single opening on one end. Extending from this opening, clearly the hangar entrance, were six radial arms. These arms acted as spokes in a wheel, as three concentric rings connected the arms, forming an overall cone or funnel at the center of which was the hangar entrance. Even without power, the purpose of arms and rings was clear, ships too large to enter the asteroid itself would dock on this scaffold, offloading cargo or passengers who could then walk down into the asteroid's interior.

Scans would also reveal the presence of the United Planets' survey team already inside, slowly working their way aft through the station...

((OOC Note:))

Rethan, I'm going to need you to specify which platforms you're checking out. Format would be "Platform Delta-13" or "Alpha-06". Until you let me know which specific shipyards you're checking out, all I'll give is general and vague details. None of this "I fly by and scan everything, now where's the loot?". Sorry.
Yes, this goes for the rest of you as well. This is a scavenger hunt, not a shopping trip. Hehe.

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Pyrovia
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Alpha 13
The efforts taken by Zhi to preserve and download the data on the PADDs paid off. Soon enough all eight storage devices' contents belonged to the mechanical entity. Five of the PADDs contained trivial data, novels, letters to friends and family, a crew evaluation report. Another seemed to be a personal diary, but the only information contained within that wasn't simply personal details had to do with the crewman's previous postings.
One Jamilla Arzala Al Shereef had served as a sensor system installation technician for sixteen months at the various Praxis facilities. Before Praxis, she had served aboard an explorer vessel maintaining the sensor systems of the cruiser "TEEF Height of Insanity", surveying potential colony and mining sites across almost thirty star systems, each of which was referenced only by star catalog number and the color of the star. Prior to that Jamilla had been assigned to the Rhydin shipyards. Once again, descriptions of the locations were vague and incomplete.
The real prize actually came from the final device. It contained brochures of vacation facilities which one of TRIAD's subsidiaries had established in this universe. Included with the advertisements were coordinates to three star systems where the resorts had been located.

Zhi's examination of the bay that had previously housed the computer core for the platform did indeed bear fruit. One of the smaller Pyrovian probes was able to slip down a conduit which fed power and data lines to other portions of the shipyard. Roughly a hundred meters down this tiny pipe the probe came across a small, one meter spheroid which was giving off faint neutron radiation indicative of fusion reactions. The readings were faint, but there was indeed power trickling from the device into the power conduits.


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United Planets
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Asteroid Base
As the away team continued to work their way further aft into the asteroid's interior, they came to the end of what was identified as the commercial district, and entered the largest section so far. Stretching almost four kilometers long, this section held fewer vertical "decks" than the previous four sections, and it was obvious why. The top level of this section had been turned into a massive agricultural greenspace... Again, unlike the previous sections, this place still held atmosphere, though the temperature had long since dropped to below freezing. Ahead of the away team was what had once been a large lake, now frozen over. Here and there what looked like recreation boats were frozen into the ice. The strobing emergency lights snaked their way through the frozen landscape, presenting an unreal scenery.
It would take time just to cross this section, much less perform even a cursory search...

Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Beta-3
Close examination of the multitude of craft showed that very few of these vessels were intact, and even the most intact would take some work to bring to an operational state. The only craft that would need less than two hours of work amounted to three X-wings, two Mimbari Nial-class fighters, four Earthforce Starfury fighters, one Earthforce Thunderbolt Starfury, one Gunstar-class superfighter, six Cylon Raiders, three Peacekeeper Prowlers, and two UNSC Longsword Bombers. To a one, each of these ships were missing their powerplants, though all other systems seemed more or less intact.
The remainder of the fighters, bombers, and other small vessels would need to be towed out, because without the shipyards being operational, they weren't going anywhere on their own.

Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Beta-2
While their away teams aboard the trade station and Beta-3 enjoyed themselves, the crew of the Tranquility got a closer look at shipyard Beta-2. Unlike Beta-3, this facility was much smaller, only five hundred meters long, and seemed dedicated exclusively to constructing Earthforce designed strike craft such as the Aurora-class Starfuries and Thunderbolt-class Starfuries. A closer inspection would be needed to determine how many, if any, of these fighters could be serviced into functional condition...


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Vocenae
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Sector RK12 - Praxis System - Praxis III
While the initial survey reports were unpromising, the planet seemed worthless on the surface, with only a very weak magnetic field, and a long-dead core. However, as the shuttles' scanners passed over one of the large open mines, the spectrograph data suddenly changed. Deep in the base of the pit were high concentrations of titanium, palladium, gold, silver, lead and even uranium. Just underneath the former crust was hidden a fair amount of various mineral and metallic wealth.

[Rethan]

Unidentified Asteroid Installation - Praxis System
"Carrion, this is leech 13. Havocs indicated unknown presence on the Asteroid."

"Acknowledged. Have yourself and Leech 14 deploy Marines into the stations via one of thos spokes. As quietly as possible please. Marines, you are not to fire unless threatened. Understood?"

"Acknowledged command. Deploying now."

The leeches, specially designed for violent boarding actions, aimed for the spokes emanating from the obvious hangar bay. The Havoc escorts flew forward, ensuring the spokes were clear. They chose two spokes close together, slowing down to ensure as silent a docking as possible. The procedure complete, the two seperate squads of Marines moved into the arms, seeking out cover.

"Visors on. Techies, you are under our command for the duration of this mission. Captain Straatman, this is Sergeant Lieber. Area is clear, moving down to hangar bay now."

"Acknowledged. Stay sharp."

"Alright everyone, visors down. Switch to beta-channel."

The ten Marines of squad two pressed a button on their helmets in almost perfect unison. The technicians were just a little bit behind. The area lit up to an almost perfect level, the visors taking in several types of vison - thermal, night vision, electromagnetic, sonar - and siphoning it all into one view for the soldiers. Lieber was a slight bit distracted as they moved forward, one of the techies had difficulty moving.

"You moron." Lieber moved over and knelt down, clicking on the mechanisms of their magnetic boots.

"You left it on stationary. Idiot."

The techie mumbled something inaudible, but knew better than to irritate a Marine. Finally the unit got moving, heading to regroup with Squad One at the bottom of the tunnel. The Marines kept an eye out for anything that moved, the techies for anything that could be valuable. In short order the squad was in the main body of the asteroid. The sergeant locked onto the broadcast signal of Squad One and moved to rejoin.

"About time Sergeant. We're about to begin a sweep. Looks like some kind of cargo area. Get your squad to do a sweep, have something to show you."

As the Marines searched with weapons raised for any form of aggressive resistance, the two squad leaders walked past the confused and nervous technicians. They stopped and Lieber followed Straatmans extended arm. It took only a second to see...

"Ah..."

"Indeed. Command, this is Captain Straatman. Looks like we stumbled upon an old TRIAD sector. Seems like they left in a hurry."

TRIAD Enterprises.... The Rethast had met them once before in their first violent engagement after opening borders. The fact that their enemy had apparently left this place for pickings showed a possible full retreat. Straatman doubted that their engagement had anything to do with it, but pride is a difficult thing to manage.

"Confirmed. High Command has been informed. Continue your exploration."

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Kraken Class "Carrion" - Praxis System
"Okay alert High Command of the development. Keep the drones scanning, see if we come upon anything useful."

Outside, the Drones were finally close enough to the first few targeted installations to do a full sweep. The large number of drones would have allowed multiple sweeps atonce, but that would lower accuracy. Instead, two or three Leeches would bond together their escorts to ensure a full picture of each shipyard was captured. 10 or 15 drones would do more than 5 ever could.

OOC: Okay, time to clarify. I have an awful habit of not doing that. Ideally we'd go for biggest shipyard first, but because I don't know which those are consider the following are being targeted. Delta-30, Delta-25, Delta-28, Delta-13, Delta-06. I would scan more (65 drones after all, not including the ones circling and scanning the asteroid for the marines) but I don't wanna seem greedy. There's between 15 and 10 for each station.

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Military High Command - Rethan
"It is definitely TRIAD?"

"Yes, Lord-Marshal. Should we contact..."

"So long as they agree to share whatever they find. Send the data packet. I want them to know exactly what they're getting into."