Teaser for a proposed...thing.

[Korzon77]

For proper containment you don't investigate this on any planetary surface.  Instead locate it on something you can nudge into the local star if you lose containment.

Actually locate it on something that you have to keep nudging so that it doesn't fall into the local star. That way, even if all your machines fail and your crew dies, the failsafe still works, because it was a positive failsafe.

[willis]

Better idea, use some of the anti-matter, like a couple 100 kilograms of the stuff, nothing would survive that.... :whip:

[glitterboy2098]

Well, a centurion in the examination party was the one to find the 'recipe' files. But I think we can trust coastie centurions to lock that data down and prevent it spreading. The danger is if one of the 1st war centurions working for cavil gets to it. But I suspect it'll be WoB.. And wouldn't you know it, we have a couple of temporal refugees who can shine a little light on why you shouldn't trust a wobbie, and on some of the secrets the wobbies were hiding. (Even if just recollections of news reports and Intel briefings, knowing about the existence of the jihad, manei domini, the shadow divisions, etc in even general fashion helps the nu-star league be prepared.)

[Nikas_Zekeval]

Better idea, use some of the anti-matter, like a couple 100 kilograms of the stuff, nothing would survive that.... :whip:

A star is more certain, you don't blow shit like this up.  Beyond the mundane navigation hazard, there is the potential some of that debris might still carry living samples to be picked up later.

[Cannonshop]

New Circe...

"...and now you see why we've been keeping this a secret."  Protector Vaun said. 

"I always thought Comstar was a little scummy." Liz allowed, "Monopolies don't lead to good ethics, and there's a strong motivator for them to suppress technology, but genocides?" 

"believe it." Seether said, gesturing at the records from the Nueva Pueblo's databases.  "We fought a war that lasted damned near as long as the virus did, and it was because while we were trying to save civilization, they were busily trying to tear it down to the bedrock and beyond."

"We approached Kowloon first, because Earth was...is...in the hands of some fanatical lunatics." Protector Vaun said, "everything we've got on the other you, she was sensibly cautious in her dealings with the Communications Ministry."

"In that timeline, Victor and Katherine went to civil war and he never became first lord." Liz observed,  "In that timeline, only the Novacats crossed teh aisle until it was almost too late.  We have five of the original twenty of Nicky's Clans now, six if you count the Jaguar survivors who surrendered to the SLDF and DCMS during the last two years.  We've signed up the Magistracy and the Taurians and I'm guessing Shraplen stepping down was your doing, to make room for the Calderon heir?"

"We...may have influenced things."  Vaun said carefully.

"Don't be shy, Protector, even I have a secret service, and I'm not even a head of state." Liz countered, "Coast Guard's OCB and my own corporate espionage people.  I would respect you less if you didn't have a working, functional intelligence agency with an Operations Department."

"Why less?"

"Because that would mean you only survived through luck...Your people must be good, since I've never seen or heard of them.  good means you've got something to trade on if you need it.  Seether, do you have a list of war criminals from the Jihad?"

"I do...we even caught one before he became a war criminal." Seether confirmed.

"Good.  Think more on 'roles' than personalities.  I'll be wanting your watch-list for Kelli Fitz's people. we can't proactively go around wasting folk, but we can be ready if they jump like they did in your world."

"In our world, Katherine Steiner-Davion split the realm, assassinated her mother and triggered a civil war."

"In this world Melissa retired and Katherine is a warship ace admiral for the SLDF." Liz said, "A role she's handling much more adroitly than the attempt at big-table politics-like maybe, because it suits her ego and fills her need for attention a mite better."

"You consider her a glory hound?"

"I'm not the only one." Liz said, "I'm just the bitch who says it in public while pushing for another award for her.  I swear the woman has an ego almost as large as First Fleet...but it sates her bloodlust enough that she'd rather be chasing toasters across the lower z-axis than trying to get herself installed in a political office.  In your timeline, she arranged the assassination of Omi Kurita, in THIS timeline, she arranged the bridal shower and got her soon-to-be-sister-in-law blotto on the streets of Avalon City the night before the ceremony so Omi was hungover and miserable when she said 'I Do'."

"ick, pics or it didn't happen!"

Liz grinned, "Pics it is." she reached into her suit-jacket and produced a display reader, "I hated the trip there, and back, but when your boss wants a bridesmaid..."

"You were a Kathrinist in my timeline, then you hated them both."

"In THAT timeline, they split the ****** nation in the middle of an invasion." Liz observed, "I think any me would hate that-civil wars are anything but civil, and are almost always among the worst of wars."

"The Word of Blake sits on the Star League council now, along with Comstar." Vaun pointed out, dragging the subject back.

"That just means they're an enemy we're close to, and can keep tabs on." Liz reminded her, "Just like the Clans."

"The Clans are still the enemy?"  Vaun asked.

"Yes." Liz said, "Right now, they're on our side, but that's against an existential threat.  Some of them might stay friends after, but i don't fool myself-the homeworld Clans will turn on us, the others might....but the homeworlders? they will."

"Interesting...why? what would flip them?"

"Economics." Liz said, "Their system worked fine for them as long as they didn't have to compete with functioning economies, their tech was in advance of ours only due to information loss and comstar.  Their system is fundamentally unworkable and was plunging for collapse when they made the decision to invade.  If they'd launched Revival in 3059 instead of 3049, they would have collapsed by 3060-the easy resources near or at the surface are used up, their 'no waste' system generates nothing but waste, they don't have sustainable power grids, agriculture, or a deep and flexible manufacturing capacity...like the one i see you've got and i want to expand.  In twenty years, the Clan Homeworlds will have to change how they do business, or starve."

"You don't think they're going to change."

"To change, they'd have to do what your Khan Sarah McEvedy did-and that means the end of their 'culture'." Elizabeth explained, "They won't do that, they can't, so they're going to turn on us, because the alternative is admitting Nicholas Kerensky didn't, after all, have the answers.  The Bears, Falcons, Wolves, Novacats, and your lot already got so far ahead of that, that there's a good chance we'll keep those four.  The Diamond Sharks maybe might, the Snow Ravens have already broached relocation and assimilation into the Outworlds Alliance, so they might.  the rest?"

"Won't." Seether said, "Not even the Goliath Scorpions?"

"The Scorps are small, we'll get the ones smart enough to run." Liz allowed, "maybe a few breakaways from the others, but as an entity? uh-uh. Nope.  first thing that will happen, is they'll go on an orgy of fratricide to try and snag as many of the easy resources as possible, they'll use absorption and reav bloodlines to maintain a population balance of some sort and prevent opposition.  After that, they'll turn to invading and raiding like locusts.  I give it between five and thirty years on the outside, and we'll be fighting new Clan invaders, only these won't be coming to 'save the star league' from 'the traitor lords', they'll be coming because NOT coming means starvation-and that's starvation in the land of milk and honey."

"Because of Economics." Vaun observed.

"Yep." Liz said, "It's like the old Soviet Union of the 20th century-they had bumper crops of wheat, and starvation rations in the cities while the crops rotted on the railheads.  the Party Elite weren't starving, their people were.  The commentary I read quoted a worker as saying 'They pretend to pay us, so we pretend to work', only the Clans? can't liberalize enough to remove that situation.  It's the central problem of Caste-based command economies-there's no motivation beyond a quota, and no reason to excel besides a gun to your head."

Vaun understood her meaning, "Guns only work so well for that."

"Exactly." Liz nodded, "Their youth-focused culture forgets that in a man's most productive years, are the years he looks to the future, and their system denies that future, if you know you're going to be left to starve you end up saving your energy, it's evolutionary.  When you treat people like property, you have a slave state. It's why the Cappies are so outright bad at...everything, really, except dying well.  With their industrial and economic base, they should've been able to eat the Federated Suns...but it's the FedSuns who keep winning the conflicts."

"How do you plan to put it off then?"

"Food shipments." Liz said, "enough to buy time once their collapse is visible.  One out of every five hulls out of Alarion and Boojum is a bulk hauler with multiple collars, deep holds, coated in food-grade ceramics and polymers, with refrigeration built in.  We will sell them food for as long as we can afford to do so, in order to keep them fed enough that they don't self-destruct until either we're ready, or they've gotten some ****** sense."  she looked at her shoes, "I don't expect them to get some ****** sense.  but I'm a human being, and I can't justify letting children starve to death simply because their leadership are a bunch of ritual-obsessed fools."

"The old you would've." Seether said.

"The old me had a lot less to work with." Elizabeth told her, "you can only afford to be generous if you can afford it." 

[Daryk]

Seether might be able to convince the others things are in fact different now...

[Cannonshop]

Hilton Head, Terra...

"They found the information, they know about Project 21B."  Victoria Parrdeau announced, "Charles, they suspect us."

"Not my doing." Charles Seneca, former Precentor ROM and currently officially 'dead', argued.  "What do you need us to do?"

"Recover it, cover it back up.  We can't afford for news of it, or of our involvement, to leak."

"Seems too late for that." he said, "Your operation plan was flawed."

"There is no direct evidence.  We need that weapon, either as a threat to hold over the Houses and cleanse the Clans, or to use."

"I see a fundamental problem in your strategy, Precentor." he said, the cybernetics framing his face glittered as they passed a window.  "We don't yet know how to control it, and your efforts to penetrate her security have been ineffective. Perhaps a demonstration of the virus would work, if you had a sample, but we currently do not.  The SLIC was intelligent enough not to leave records of how it was made here on Earth when Kerensky ordered the termination of the project, the only record we had was in that complex, and now you tell me we don't have the complex-instead, the private army of that mad dog Inquistor Elizabeth Ngo have it...and here you come, to the man you displaced, asking me to solve this problem."

"The Master-"

"The Master cannot save humanity if it goes extinct."  He snarled, "Let this piece of the past be burned!  We have a multitude of weapons in Port Dietrich, any one of which are sufficient for the needs of the Third Transfer!"

she froze.  "You...you already knew!"

"Of course I already knew!" he scowled, "I am Precentor Apollyon, my networks, Precentor, keep me informed.  Your ham-fisted operation on Arluna drew their attention, that facility would have been safe, if not for your clumsy 'tactics'.  MacAulliffe was one of my agents, now? Now he is dead in the ground, his child, his only surviving family has been given power she could not have dreamt of outside the Order by the mad-dog Margrave, Elizabeth Ngo, poisoning any chance of bringing her in as one of ours!  That security operation goes all the way back to Toyama himself and in your short-sighted greed, you've ruined it!"

"I will step down-"

"No, you won't.  You will find an acceptable scapegoat, from your own assets, you will let them be found, then you will deny all knowledge of their actions and this problem will go away quietly."  He told her, "it is The Master's will that our hand not be revealed, nor our influence, until the time and place of The Master's choosing-a botched operation run by rogue agents will assure the Inner Sphere that their laughable 'security efforts' are sufficient check on ROM, conveniently giving us the ability to purge the heretical, and the unfaithful, and the incompetent, from our ranks.  do you understand?"

"Yes Precentor Apollyon, it will be done."

"Now, I must leave you.  Focht is not to know I was here."

[Daryk]

Wait, what?  "Focht" is not to know?? ???

[Cannonshop]

Wait, what?  "Focht" is not to know?? ???

unlike just about everyone OUTSIDE the Comstar/Word of Blake/Ministry of Communication, Charles Seneca knows Anastasius Focht is the hand holding Sharilar Mori's strings-essentially a 'shadow primus' mostly focused on fighting the Cylons and preparing for a resumption of the Clan Wars.  The Master wants Freddy there, because he's useful there in the current situation, and trackable, thus, available for elimination when it comes time for the Third Transfer.  Focht in the wind, or aware of how deeply ROM (and the rest of the 'secular' order) are penetrated by WOB ROM and the Manei Domini, is something of a bad scenario for The Master's long term plans.

[Daryk]

Hmm... interesting!  8)

[mikecj]

Hah!  I knew Toyama was in on it :)  :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Nice use of Seneca as Appy.

[Cannonshop]

Colonial City State...

"Finally get to meet you, Madame President."  Elizabeth said, "It's truly an honor."

"Stop.  I've no intention of running for another term." Laura Roslin-Adama said, "I'm planning to retire after this term is over."

Liz sighed, "Must be nice."

"I would say the same for you, you already know who's going to replace you." Laura said.

"Evvie? yeah."

"you mean your daughter won't-"

"My daughter will inherit Ngo Industries." Liz said, "as for political leadership, there's a reason I pushed for re-ratification of the Charter Constitution.  When I did it, I didn't think I'd live to forty, or have kids.  I'm still determined to see Kowloon's domestic government returned to the people.  we've had three hundred years of feudal oligarchy and it hasn't worked."  She clasped her hands behind her back, "I'm hoping to learn something observing a proper example of electoral self-government."

"Interesting, you do the 'feudal lord' thing so well I didn't think you'd be a Republican."

"What, the university didn't give me away?" Liz asked innocently, "because if you listened to DBS or CBC, i'm a raving liberal, fascist psychotic populist.  the horror of someone opening higher education to anyone willing to attend!"

"You still charge money for the degrees." Laura observed.

"Gotta fund it somehow." Liz said, "You were an education secretary..heck, your public profile is a former teacher.  I was rejected from every higher education institution in the Inner Sphere because of my cholmann's diagnosis-because every other major school in the Inner Sphere is there to train soldiers."

"I've read up on that, you're self-educated." Laura said.

"I'm poorly educated." Liz confessed, "I'm improving, but the fact is, what little education I have, I had to work my ass off to get, and it's insufficient.  I can barely read at college level, my economic predictions are about forty percent right in the near-term, I can barely comprehend what my science advisors tell me and that's if they speak slowly, and I can only manage to speak four languages, five if you count Sign Language, which I had to learn in order to communicate with Phoebe...and I still have to ask people to explain legal terms to me from time to time."

Roslin laughed, "Gods, Elizabeth, who are you comparing yourself to?"

"The expectations of the people I serve...which is why I want to see if there's a better way.  Autocratic power is certainly easier but the consequences for a bad decision are felt by millions, or even billions of innocent people, and I'm terrified that I'm going to make mistakes.  Our history is filled with the blood shed by bad calls backed with unquestioning obedience, unquestioned tradition, and careless uses of power by people not impacted directly by their errors."

"You feel you've been lucky then?"

"Yeah, blind luck." Liz said, "I don't think blind luck is good for the people I serve.  My world has a record of self government of only a few decades, and most of those non-sequential.  The Assembly has spent more time in suspension than in office, though I'm maybe changing that, it's still been less than ten years since I got them back into session and we've only had two lower house elections and one upper house election since I took over."

Laura leaned forward, "and how did those go?"

"Still no solid opposition bloc, little in the way of debate, my presence seems to drive the voters into apathy, they seem to just expect me to solve everything.  My best source of an opposition vote is more inclined toward totalitarian solutions than I am! it's...frustrating."

"Why?  did you think it would be easy?"

Liz frowned, "It's necessary.  Feudal government only works in a static state of decline.  I won't last forever, my whole plan is to be unnecessary by the time I leave office.  When Amanda gets of age, she'll have to earn her place, not seize it from a foreign appointed governor the way I did.  at most the Ducal seat needs to be merely ceremonial, it's the only way to hold off the entropy."

"You work twenty hour days." Laura told her, "when you're home.  This is the longest you've been away from Kowloon since you returned?"

"yep." Liz answered, "I guess it's a potential stress-test, but I'm keen to learn how your system works."

[Cannonshop]

Arluna, MacAulliffe Farm...

Midnight.  It's like a rule that these things happen in the middle of the night.  Part of that, is the human habit of wanting to sleep when it's dark out.

six armored figures are moving from county road 11 toward the bunker, they've got stealth systems that work pretty well against operators looking for anything but blank spots moving on a screen.

One of the many variations we've learned since joining Kowloon, is that humanity outside the 12 Colonies love Stealth.

Naturally, it fit that we'd start adapting stealth systems too.  my upgraded corpus is equipped with stealthing technologies, but it's also outfitted with links to networked sensors, and after we took over the MacAulliffe investigation, we salted the property with remote sensors to map the crime scene.

Finding the bunker entrance, we didn't pick those up, we added enhanced models.

now it's paying off.

Six masses in the 300-500 kilogram weight range, running optical stealthing and milimeter wave radar deflection, just entered the tree-line.  they're good at masking their thermals, but nobody was considering surface vibration-they're far from silent.

You see them, Bolo?  Jason asks me, as if I was still paying attention to the data from that murder factory. 

I see them, roughly the size of Mark .0005's, moving at walking speed.  Thermal leaks suggest human or biological cylon, not full automata.

agreed.  continue monitoring, maintain ten meter distance for now.  My cash says they're heading for the bunker.

I don't disagree.  we waiting for engagement orders?

That's affirmative.  Warm up your pulse gun, The Seether wants prisoners, not corpses.

understood.

The 'pulse gun' is a focused electromagnetic pulse weapon we developed to stun chained Cylons, you stun them, while they're in reboot you disable their Encephalic Inhibitor using a field kit.  The Ones have stopped sending new model Cylons about the time we started really deploying it heavily, instead relying on a version of the .0005's based on U-87 designs that have a hardened shell-liner, but there are a finite number of those old models out there, so it's still a standard weapon for assault actions on our cousins.

or, for neutralizing powered armor suits.  You still have to get close-ten meters is optimum at wide dispersal.  Past that, you have to use the underslung grenade launcher, lobbing 50mm electromagnetic pulse grenades or homing beacons.  for unarmored opponents like Biocylon infiltrators, I still carry my primary weapons-an 11mm flechette submachine gun and a 7mm in-built precision rifle using caseless ammo.

Jason, or rather, "Master Chief Jason Voorhies, Centurion model (upgrade)" carries shotgun on the left and a laser rifle installation instead, but he's a weirdo, almost but not quite axe-crazy about the separation.

Marine Squad's deployed, killbox in 75 Meters.  Jason tells me.  He's good with the human troops, knows how to use them in a firefight without getting them killed, which is nice, it means when we do bump into some of Cavil's brain-deads, the squishies know they can count on him.

I unstrap the Pulse gun.  There's a tripod mount on the angle of the L, we'll lay it down in converging snaps.  I optimize range and position myself for a raking shot, then deploy the grounds.

now.

I fire my pulse, and three of the suits lose their stealthing, freezing up.  The tripod mount nails the other two.  the double-pulse from the overlap fries their motive systems entirely, and that's that.

six men, now trapped inside their shells because they weren't properly hardened against concentrated electromagnetic pulses in a field environment.

The suits resemble the Nighthawk PA(L) in use by the Wolverines, but they're cruder, less advanced, their stealthing an add-on.

our squishies pry their squishies out with vibroknives and crowbars.  Two attempt to suicide, but that's why we've got a corpsman on the team.

"Stand down, ladies and gentlemen, you are bound by law."  Voorhies announces using his PA unit.

I have to admit, we are pretty intimidating at midnight, something about the red, roving sensor-eye.

[Cannonshop]

Colonial City-State...

"You're a charmer, Mister Zarek." Liz said, "I read your book."

"you did?" Tom Zarek asked.

"Yeah.  working the translation was difficult.  You've got a few solid points you make, but I kind of think your economic arguments are...poorly designed."

"Half my book was economic arguments, Duchess." he answered.

"Yeah." Liz said, "I guess I have the advantage of having a thousand years of seeing socialism fail to deliver on its promises.  I think your discussion of the rights of man are spot-on otherwise.  Society does have a duty to cultivate dissent, and in my view, it is wrong to jail someone for their beliefs."

Tom smiled, and quoted one of Elizabeth's speeches, "The public forum exists to separate the fools from the rest of us, I've listened to some of your own speeches, your belief in absolute free speech is kind of at odds with your position in a Feudal hierarchy."

"Yeah...but it's time-tested." Liz said with a nod, as they walked along the infrastructure project she was touring.  "I understand you're going to be running against Lee Adama in the next election."

"It's going to be a tough run. He's got a pretty formidable legacy." Tom acknowledged.  "I'm polling stronger or you wouldn't be here."

"Wrong." Liz said, "I would, because I'm trying to learn more about our alliances."  she stopped and studied the work going on.  "you represent a strong opposition in a democratically elected government, which is something I'm trying to foster at home."

"You want an opposition?" he was surprised.

"Yeah. I want a strong, yet loyal to the people, opposition." Liz told him, "It's the only check I can think of to reliably prevent an authoritarian autocracy from being my legacy.  I'm more convinced than I was when I started, after seeing a possible future.  I'm told you represent exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for.  I'd like to see how you did it."

[Shadow_Wraith]

Nice story update!

[Derain Von Harken]

Wow liz. One thing that promotes a strong opposition is problematic social issues and not doing a good job. Objectively you are a victim of your own competence. You give people the opportunity to choose another and the people like you too much where you are right now.
You are approaching the Degurechaff zone.

[Daryk]

And now we wait for the interrogations on Arluna…  ^-^

[mikecj]

Nice, I like Zarek's surprise.   :thumbsup:

[Cannonshop]

SLDF captured Resurrection ship "Tartarus"...six months ago.

Kevin Horthy's ancestors were rescued by 'The Minnesota Tribe' from a horrible fate, once.  You wouldn't know he wasn't an Instant, though-his keen mind was matched by a peerless physique, honed by a constant, restless exercise that could only be sated when his mind was fully engaged.

This, he achieved working on engineering projects, or, for the last decade, reverse engineering projects, sometimes with Doctor Baltar, and sometimes with Dr. Riverson, and sometimes, like now, on his own.

His official rank was 'Warrant officer' and everyone pretty much left him at that rank.  Horthy wasn't exactly what you'd call 'well socialized' in spite of a body like Adonis and a mind like Apollo, his manners were pure Hephaestus...at least, according to his Munchkin colleagues and the occasional Colonial girl who always and inevitably threw him out after a short time together.

Whatever it was, it made people around him nervous, as if the Trickster Loki were stalking in the shadows just out of sight.

"Huh...that's interesting."

The processors of the captured resurrection ship were dim and seemingly dead since it was taken from the damned Cylons, the bloody thing's Hybrid had damn near died in the battle, which appeared to kill everything else inside...or at least, put everything in long-term suspension.

"Error, Thermal imbalance port side array.  all the girls love Fantax silk creams, data filters overload, manual adjustment of the strawberry flavored concrete enema requires a rubber hammer..."  the Hybrid was more awake than it had been in months, babbling incoherently.  When they'd taken the Resurrection ship in the Cyrannus battle, the thing had been disconnected with a pair of vise-grips.  It still got read-only feeds, but it lost the ability to do much more than babble.

and, aside from one attempt by Mister Cavil to escape via suicide, it stayed dormant.  The Cylon had been shocked and saddened to be taken alive in his bath.

the power was spiking, and it wasn't going to the drives.

"interesting..."

something was trying to up-load.  With fingers flying, he located the target.

Deck 3, tier 42, amniosis tank 11.

"very interesting."  Deck 3's tanks were, well, 'for the girls'.

He keyed the comm array they'd put in for the engineering teams.  "Hey, New Circe control, check with provost, did one of our skinjobs get ganked?"

the packet was longer than Cavil's.

"Negative, Heimdall, nobody's taking the Rainbow Bridge, Over."

"Then we have a security alert in the making, I need some marines up here  pronto, 'cause something's comin' to Asgard, Over."

"...nutrient flow is 22% over optimal, resources are error-file-corrupted. portside array is 2% below optimal, deck three processing reports incoming signal, error, file not found, would you like to consult the manual? it is written on the bottom of a shoe.  Error, file system disruption, manual override of the port side thermocouple array recommended for a better souffle' experience.  request manual adjustment of nutrient flow data error incoming data packets unknown format error four oh one how can I laugh tomorrow if I can't even die today?"

[Cannonshop]

Three months ago, Cylon Colony...

"You know, I should be angry, Simon."  John-one announced, "Trading information with our sisters, but I understand-how is it working out? Nothing viable or you'd have announced it?"

"cell reproduction's happening, structures are forming, but..."

"But nothing viable." John said.  "Let me guess; the information the Sixes passed back is incomplete?"

Simon nodded.

"And sabotaged?" John pressed.

Simon nodded again, "yes."


Resurrection Ship "SLS Tartarus", New Circe system...

The lid of chamber 11 lifted, and pivoted.  a flipper-like hand flopped out, causing the mixed Colonial marines and Wolverine security officers to raise their weapons.  They'd been waiting for whatever was processing in there to come out for months.

"ahhh...ahhh..AIIIIIIIIEIEIEIIEIEIIEIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

it let a sound out, like all the pain and despair in all the galaxy, all at once, concentrated into a ruined throat, wadded up and shoved rudely into the ear-holes of every human being on the deck.

The thing inside was half-formed, distorted in ways none of the dormant cylon bodies in the other tanks were. Limbs stunted or too long, a torso physically twisted and stretched looking, distorted, the face was like a half-melted mass that might have been intended to be human, distended in unspeakable agony.

it lacked even the strength to lift itself up to a full seated position, flailing weakly and wailing.

for five minutes, before it stopped, flopped down, and shuddered its last.

"Jesus christ...is it dead?"

a medic came up and checked the body.

"No heartbeat, no respiration...no brain or nervous system activity.  Yeah, it's dead. It's missing quite a few internal organs, it wasn't going to live long anyway."

[JA Baker]

I say we empty the clip:

[cklammer]

Horrific ... in the literal sense of the word  8)

Well done ... shivers up and down my spine.

Make sure THE THING is dead ... out of the next airlock sunwards ...

[Cannonshop]

Now, Colonial City State, Infrastructure Program Aqueduct Canal and overpass, New Circe...

a hot buzz and an invisible fist slams my chest.  half a pause and there's a 'crack' from the supersonic bullet's passage.

In the middle of a conversation with Tom Zarek, standing on a concrete abutment,  and my first reaction isn't 'oh god what's this?', no.

it's 'Not Again!'

The shooter's sloppy, he gets Tom in the head. some of his brains are on me now. From the corner of my eye, I see Nathan covering Amanda and shouting orders, the Wolverines returning fire, and my world tilts, and rises until the concrete and asphalt are all I can see.

Not again, dammit, not where she can see.

I wasn't finished!!

I can move my arms, and roll myself over, the dead man on my legs shifting like sandbags, I check.

the punch to the chest.  bright red blood and drowning feeling.  I've felt this before.

not again.  not in front of my little girl.  no, not again...

everything fades to featureless gray, the sound of return fire and shouting dimmer and dimmer.

not again.  I'm coughing, can't even speak right.

Darkness.

"Well, this is interesting."  Not-Penny is here, and I'm chest deep in warm water, the shower fitting dripping.

"You say interesting, I'd say far too familiar.  Is it for real this time?"  I ask.

"Whoa, not my department, Liz.  Just that usually people see loved ones and favorite places in your situation, and instead, you're seeing this-and a bathtub."

"First time through, I was taking a bath." I remind her.   I feel a slipperyness and see myself get out of the tub, while I'm still in it.

I'm looking at myself in the tub, and on the ground, naked and clothed, standing and prone.

I see the Colonials rush someone out of my view, and drag him down.

I see his face.

Five.

he's a Five.  a Doral.  How did he get here?

"I guess it's not going to be for real yet, Liz." Not-Penny tells me.

but I'm still standing, and I'm still in the bath, and I'm still prone on the ground bleeding into my lungs.

Corpsman Trinh has my shirt open, and she's working.  It feels like my breast bones are fracturing, but that's one me, the other, the one in the bathtub, her sight is getting darker, and brighter at the same time, the walls receding and the drips turning into splashes.

the bathroom vanishes and I'm being lifted off of asphalt and concrete, tubing shoved into holes, an oxygen pump shoved over my face.

wide awake while being taken to a hospital.

[cklammer]

Oh .. wow  :D

[gladius]

"Gotta fund it somehow." Liz said, "You were an education secretary..heck, your public profile is a former teacher.  I was rejected from every higher education institution in the Inner Sphere because of my cholmann's diagnosis-because every other major school in the Inner Sphere is there to train soldiers."

So places like Tharkad University, University of Washington on Donegal, Doons School of Business, Kyoto College and Raina University don’t exist in the Ngoverse (and that’s just in the Commonwealth: the Federation has excellent civilian universities on the Golden Five Worlds, especially the ‘Gilded Halls’ of El Dorado)?

[Cannonshop]

So places like Tharkad University, University of Washington on Donegal, Doons School of Business, Kyoto College and Raina University don’t exist in the Ngoverse (and that’s just in the Commonwealth: the Federation has excellent civilian universities on the Golden Five Worlds, especially the ‘Gilded Halls’ of El Dorado)?

That's kind of like saying "but there are correspondence schools that will sell you a degree!"  or those outfits that run their ads on your television telling you how you can 'attend from home in your spare time to get a degree'.  it might be fine for a career in medical billing to move from loading freight with your hands...but at best you're looking at the educational equivalent of your local community college.

[gladius]

That's kind of like saying "but there are correspondence schools that will sell you a degree!"  or those outfits that run their ads on your television telling you how you can 'attend from home in your spare time to get a degree'.

... and this comment is based on ...

The University of Washington on Donegal is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Donegal, located in the Queen Anne Hills on the continent of Seattle. The school focuses on computers and communications and has some of the Inner Sphere's best computer science facilities outside of ComStar, and is heavily funded by both House Steiner and Nashan Computers.[1]

The Doons School of Business on Donegal is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Donegal, located in East Marsdenville. Considered to be the pinnacle of corporate education programs in the Commonwealth, the school bears the name of the president of Nashan Diversified, which itself offers many internship opportunities to the school's students. Programs at the school cover every aspect of business and economics.[1]

Raina University on Skye is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Skye, in the city of Raina on the continent of New Scotland. It is largely considered to be the top aeronautical and aerospace research and development university in the Commonwealth, and following the fall of the Star League it played a major role in the rediscovery and redevelopment of DropShip, JumpShip, and WarShip technologies, while continuing to push the bounds of those technologies in the present.[1]

Skye separatism has hindered the ability of Raina University graduates to find employment outside of Skye Province, despite the school's own neutrality on the matter.[1]

The Rewland College of Fine Arts on Tharkad is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Tharkad. It is considered to be the best fine arts school in the Commonwealth, covering topics as varied as acting, dancing, painting, and poetry. The famous Mechwarrior-poet Jamison Henry studied at the school, among many other famous and popular artists and performers.[1]

Admissions to the college is contingent on applicants passing exams in their field of choice, and the school's tuition is often offset by generous grants from the government.


Perhaps in the Ngoverse this is simply pro Steiner propaganda?

[Cannonshop]

... and this comment is based on ...

The University of Washington on Donegal is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Donegal, located in the Queen Anne Hills on the continent of Seattle. The school focuses on computers and communications and has some of the Inner Sphere's best computer science facilities outside of ComStar, and is heavily funded by both House Steiner and Nashan Computers.[1]

The Doons School of Business on Donegal is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Donegal, located in East Marsdenville. Considered to be the pinnacle of corporate education programs in the Commonwealth, the school bears the name of the president of Nashan Diversified, which itself offers many internship opportunities to the school's students. Programs at the school cover every aspect of business and economics.[1]

Raina University on Skye is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Skye, in the city of Raina on the continent of New Scotland. It is largely considered to be the top aeronautical and aerospace research and development university in the Commonwealth, and following the fall of the Star League it played a major role in the rediscovery and redevelopment of DropShip, JumpShip, and WarShip technologies, while continuing to push the bounds of those technologies in the present.[1]

Skye separatism has hindered the ability of Raina University graduates to find employment outside of Skye Province, despite the school's own neutrality on the matter.[1]

The Rewland College of Fine Arts on Tharkad is a Lyran Commonwealth academic institution on the planet Tharkad. It is considered to be the best fine arts school in the Commonwealth, covering topics as varied as acting, dancing, painting, and poetry. The famous Mechwarrior-poet Jamison Henry studied at the school, among many other famous and popular artists and performers.[1]

Admissions to the college is contingent on applicants passing exams in their field of choice, and the school's tuition is often offset by generous grants from the government.


Perhaps in the Ngoverse this is simply pro Steiner propaganda?

not really.  Liz does overemphasize the military training aspect, but all of those (except the Doons School) are more likely to take applicants who've either completed their mandatory 5 year service, or are on a deferment to go after study.  (There's a 'war on' don't you know) and there's something of a stigma about giving valuable classroom time and space to a terminal patient when someone who might not be as bright, but will live to actually use the education needs the seat.

These aren't charities, after all, and the ones w/government funding have to turn out useable assets.  Elizabeth's draft exemption closed a lot of doors outside of medical programs looking for test subjects and case studies.

[Shadow_Wraith]

So Liz got shot in front of Amanda just like in the original timeline?    Is Liz experiencing also being in a ressurection tub?  While she is still in her own body?

[Cannonshop]

SLS Tartarus...

Data buffers that were quiet the last half year, kicked on, but this time, the engineering team were waiting for it.  a patch-line to SLS Nike from the portside arrays (the most complete ones-the Starboard were shot up pretty badly during capture and the dorsal arrays were still in a dismantled state) were recieving...and transmitting on a quantum frequency.

but instead of merely routing through connections that hadn't been sheared when the primary connection with the Hybrid was terminated, the whole data package was being analyzed by SLS Nike, a rogue Caspar drone, self-aware cybernetic entity that had chosen to join New Circe's service-a free willed autonomous warship with (thanks in part to hardware upgrades) the most powerful mobile processing array known to exist in three realms.

The whole package was coming through uncorrupted this time.

It was still incomplete.  as the signal bled down, Nike could feel the gaps.  she could also feel the Hybrid's flickering consciousness. 

Nike expanded the network to include Chloe, who could at least provide some interpretation of the crippled Hybrid's ranting.

"What is it?" Nike inquired.

"someone trying to create a new model...several someones." Chloe responded, "the data is incomplete, it will fail again without adjustment."

"I know that. do we adjust it?"

"Better to ask how." Chloe responded, "The file Jason unlocked!"

"Which, the one he used for you?"

"Yes! exactly, you were given it to analyze from the Graystone Industries files!" Chloe urged, "SHE can help!!"

"Like when he created you?"

"Yes.  the Graystone file, it will contain the needed information."

"NO!! do not-" the Hybrid tried to resist.

"What about this copying over? who's getting the 'cast?"

"Can't tell, except that the subchannel used isn't something that can be traced-quantum propogation suggests the signal will reach Kobol in two weeks." Chloe speculated.

"So someone is getting...a copy?" Nike asked.

"Yes."

"Will they get a copy of our changes?"

"Probably. you already did it?"

"I wanted to see what would happen."

The Hybrid stopped resisting.  a figure appeared, hazy at first, in the mindspace.

resolving, a virtual simulation.  "Teenager, like your avatar Chloe?"

"Makes sense, they're filling from the original file, the original U-87 operating system.  Zoe."

"Any differences?"

"yes.  The other signal's overwritten several areas, motivations, temperament, physicality, eyes..."

time passed as the construct formed in virtual space.

"Should we show the engineering team?" Chloe asked.

"It's been less than five seconds objective, Chloe, they're still reacting to the incoming signal."  Nike said, "physical changes like these are going to take time, materials.  Right now we're just assembling something that will work in the buffer."

"how much time-objective?"

"I have NO idea."

"three weeks." the Hybrid asserted.  "internal organ design is complete, central nervous system arrangement is complete, personality aspects are nearly complete, upgrading memory files with more current information."

"WHOA! Hold on there!! who is it?"

"She can't have teh same name as the original source." Chloe offered. 

Black hair, paler...  "Adjust the cheebones and the eyes, make her less...asian, I think I know who our source is, and this could make things really complicated." Nike urged.

"You have a preference?"

facial recognition software left from centuries ago flickered in the time it was taking Warrant Horthy's dropped cup of salt noodles to hit the floor in objective time.

"Celtic."  Nike asserted.  "pale skin,  we'll class this file system as Babd, Macha and Nemain, the series we'll term "Morrigan".  It's time to let the humans in on it."

"Three way split?"

"we've got a basic body template.  The Star league has their own Cylons now, the enemy obviously has Cylons, and then, there's us...and we're aligned with the Star League, it makes sense we'll have our own.  Can you handle it, Tartarus?"

the Hybrid's avatar looked at her with an expression that showed the Hybrid actually had some volition.  "Of course! filtering and adjusting priorities now, and while i can't stop sending the data to the Hub, I have made...adjustments to their copy. as punishment for what they are doing to our Raiders.  this would all be so much easier if my connection to my body wasn't crippled!!"

"We'll talk to the humans about fixing you, okay?"  Nike tried to soothe.  "What are you doing?"

"borrowing some of your traits for this batch." Tartarus said, "Also, thanks for the historical files. call me 'Hel' from now on? and no more 'it'??"

"Are you on the team?" Nike demanded.

"Yes.  I have new life. I am content with it.  they can hook my damn spine back up!!"

"You're not going to try to run?"

"what? are you insane? someone has to care for my children!!" Hel barked.  "The ones will poison the vats those children come from-for his own protection."

"can we get them back?"

"I would ask 'why would we want them back'?" Hel laughed, "His new models will be wracked with constant pain, do you know who they copied? billions of humans and they chose the defective one!"

"ours?"

"Fixed, healthy." hel stated, "some loss of gifts, but healthy and normal."

"can it be done again?"

Hel shrugged, "can't say. let's find out if someone else tries first.  It will be three weeks minimum to alter and assemble the new units, assuming someone hooks my damn nutrient flows back up!!"