Chapter 1: The Galactic Imperative - Orion

[Trogdor]

"I feel .. weak," Orion says, trying to sit up and only partly succeeding. "That took a lot more out of me than I thought it would." He looks around at he decidedly not-destroyed ship around him and adds, "but it worked, and that's what's important." He gets a look of concentration on his face, then shakes his head. "Has there been any word from the Guardians or any of the other ships? My link with them seems to be broken - or perhaps I've lost too much power to maintain it. WE still have a mission to perform, surprise attack or not."

OOC

I'll get you a PL 8 version as soon as I can.

[Shurijo]

Skirnir puts his hand on Orion, "Easy, Orion. You're still healing and we're in no immediate danger. As you've slept, we've crept closer to our destination. We're about 35 million kilometers from the planet operating on sub-light engines. Whatever you did to the Interon hyperdrive sent us into the target system, but it also destroyed the drive in the process. It appears that we'll be stuck on this planet until we hear from the others."

As Skirnir speaks about the others, he looks away and nods to the others. The medics and crew file out of the room, living the two men alone for a moment.

"We have had to no contact with the other Celestial ships. We are operating under the last orders given by the Guardians to retreat to our destinations and attempt to save these planets or prepare the citizens for relocation."

He looks a bit sadden, by the next thought that arises. "Solarflare stayed behind to offer a chance for the Zu Columbae to escape. She... She was last seen fighting the smaller ships a few kilometers away from the breached hull when we jumped."

The ambassador pulls himself together and then goes back to his stoic expression. "The world is called Earth or terra. The citizens have varying names for their world depending on their individual cultures. There is not a single unifying communication language for the citizens and they have just barely entered space with a few satellites. The Guardians found an unique signal on this planet, something different than the others. When we land, I will seek out the world leaders and let them know of the danger. Your job will be to locate that beacon and learn anything you can about this world."

OOC

I didn't want to say Galactic kilometers... 35 million is about the distance between Mars and Earth at their closest

[Trogdor]

Orion allows himself to slump back down at the news that Solarflare didn't make it with them. "I hope she was able to get away with another ship," he murmurs, without real hope. Then he lapses into silence for a while. Eventually he rallies and raises his head again. "We'll have to carry on and do the best we can," he says at last. "I may not be at one hundred percent, but I'll give it whatever I have. When will we arrive in orbit?"

[Shurijo]

Skirnir replies, "We'll be there in less than a Galactic day. The location provided for the signal wasn't very accurate."

The ambassador holds out his hand and a hologram of the planet is project from a small cube. "We know that it was located somewhere in this part of the world."

An area covering the Pacific Ocean and parts of the Western North and South Americas to eastern Asia becomes highlighted in red. "This is the ocean body called the Pacific Ocean. They believed that the signal was somehow moving, so even if we had a specific location, it might not be very helpful."

"My people, the Pleiadeans, visited this planet many centuries ago for a brief time before we were required to leave the planet by the Guardians. At that time, we were worshiped as gods. Their societies were very primitive. Today, the report states the planet has stalled progress at Galactic Tech Level 7.26."

"One of the older and more remote civilizations are reported at GTL 9.68. This civilization is called the Atlantians and at one time, before the Pleiadeans arrived, were the most dominant culture on the planet. Then they faded away, but their technology continued to progress."

[Trogdor]

"Perhaps we should make contact with the remnants of the Atlantean culture first," Orion says, leaning back. "They're the most advanced civilization on the planet; they're likely to be the most receptive to us - or at least less fearful or distrustful than a less advanced culture."

[Shurijo]

Skirnir nods, "You would have made a good choice for ambassador. When we get within the atmosphere, you can depart by the airlock. We'll continue on and make contact with the others. Now, get some more rest and we'll awake you when we're ready."

Orion lays back down on the bed and rests. As he rests, he dreams or rather has nightmares of the journey through the hyperspace. In his dream, he was drowning in liquid Interon and he could see his cells deteriorate and dissolve as they came in contact with the liquid version of the rare space metal.

Several hours later, Orion is awakened as the ship begins to enter the planet's atmosphere. Moving into the bridge, he discovers that the ship is seconds away from breaking through the upper atmosphere and entering the lower atmosphere.

Skirnir turns to the last remaining protector under his watch and says, "It's time. May the galaxy guide you and watch over you."

[Trogdor]

Orion gets up, still weaker than he'd like, but confident that he's at least fit for space. "Do we have a location for the largest concentration of Atlanteans?" he asks. "I'll land there first and see if someone there is willing to talk to me." He looks down on the control panel display and marks the location in his mind. Then he heads for the airlock. "Guardian's guide your path," he says and steps through.

Once inside he pauses before cycling the lock. Being certain that you were proof against the vacuum of space was one thing. Testing it by stepping into the cold nothingness was another thing. Then he smiles. It had been decades since he'd taken his first step out an airlock without a suit. Space was practically his second home. He wouldn't allow himself to fear it's dark embrace. Without a further thought, he activates the controls and evacuates the air.

Flying out into the inky blackness, Orion focuses his attention on Skirnir. My cosmic sendings can't reach the Guardians, he thinks to the ambassador. But they should be strong enough to reach orbit. A pause. At least I hope so. I'll try and keep in regular contact. And then he puts some distance between himself and the ship, moving away and down toward the big blue marble below.

[Shurijo]

Orion burns through the upper orbit of earth without harm. As he comes closer to earth, he's able to make out the vast blue oceans that seems to cover most of the planet. The cosmic hero heads towards the general location of the underwater city of New Atlantis. Hovering hundreds of feet above the ocean's surface, the hero turns and then plunges down into the deep ocean searching for the city.

OOC

Thus ends chapter 1, I'll update the synopsis and start chapter 2 next week when veritas gets to the conclusion (should only be 1 day or so). And give you and him a few days to update char sheets to PL 8.