Hail to the King, Part I

Laboratory 

Several lab tables are arranged throughout the room. Each table has a black top, certain gas and electrical feeds, and a computer unit. By the front of the room, one table has been set apart from the others, and has a large projection screen behind it. The pressure in this room is slightly lower then the rest of the institute, which causes a slight whistling sound to be generated by the door.

Its sterile, airtight partition appears to be habitable for offworlders. It features numerous surgical implements and two padded tables.

Sat Nov 16 23:53:00 3002

Contents: Exits: [H] Hallway

Axirpolitafix rotates slowly next to a large hovercar-sized metallic construct with wires and a glowing blue containment chamber.

It is a bulky figure that enters the laboratory, but at least one polite enough to have turne off her worksuit's helmets lights. There is a touch of frost on her visors as she looks across the lab. She spies the centauran, and then reches for her left arm with her right. tapping a few commands into the keypad she activates her suit's external speaker. "Dobry vyechyir ... efenink ... you must be Axirpolitafix, da? come, time fortreep to Luna. Porter has sent me for you. Got to geet zeese box to vhere eet must vork."

"Yes," the Centauran says through its vocalizer. "I am Axirpolitafix. The device is ready." Slowly, the device is lifted via telekinesis and placed upon a hoversled. "I will await you on the pad." And then the Centauran leaves Katya to move the sled.

The courier blinks, once, twice and watches the centauran leave. "Tcha ... vhat else deet i expect. Zey get zee acshun, I play pack mule." She moves behind the hoversled and leans into it. "I knev I should hafe hire't zomeone stronger. Lets just zee eef he likes an accelershun couch zough ..." She then starts oooshing the hoversled towards the starport.

The scientist proceeds to the landing pad...

Centauri Landing Platform 

The transparent crystalline walls grant a magnificent view of icy Shalyaris. Overhead you notice several hovertanks patroling the city and this spaceport in particular. Various ships, mostly of Centauran design, occupy spaces on the platform. Many Centaurans mill about, speaking silently with telepathic voices. In the center of the platform, a smooth-walled tube with ten foot glassy walls around it plunges into the heart of the tower. A conventional staircase also spirals downwards for non-Centauran visitors.

Sun Nov 17 00:10:54 3002 The night sky glitters with stars, the yellow-orange companion of the sun a particularly bright one. Patches of the city extending off into the distance begin to darken their lights; a distant mountain remains completely dark. The spaceport itself glows from within. Contents: Exits: Gray Horse [ST] Stairs Refueling Console - Centauri [TU] Tube

Axirpolitafix drifts in a slow rotation near the Gray Horse, awaiting the arrival of the Moebius Device.

Innokentevna pushes the the hoversled slowly across the deck, bent in half and just using the hints of sight to guide her beneath the Gray Horse. There though, she undogs her helmet, setting it atop the device. She is lost for a moment in a haze of ring mist as the warm air of the suit condenses. Then its a step, up, on to the sled so she can reach the courier's small cargo compartment hatches. "Gonna be a tight fit. The doors swing down, and tapping the sled's controls she raises the device into the tight bay.

Axirpolitafix emanates waves of excited anticipation. "We are running out of time," it vocalizes.

"Tcha ... nefer been late for a deelefery een my life ... ain't startink nov."Katya slams closed the hatches and then just looks to the centauran. "Efer use an accelerashun couch?" She starts to scramble up the ship's boarding ladder. "An zee ansver better be da ... for I am nyi goink to peekink up pieces ov you shatter't een by mit bay."

"I am capable of holding myself in place using telekinetic energy," the Centauran vocalizes, drifting upward after the Ungstiri.

"Kharasho ... but ton't blame me eef you are too tire't to to anytheen vhen ve heet Lunar orbeet." Katya waits till the scientist enters and then dogs down the hatch. She literally sheds her worksuit as she scrambles to the pilot's chair, settling down with a whumf and a snap of harness straps. "I hope zere are no speet leemits here .." She slams the joystick forward, spinning the ship about, her couch swinging dramatically as it compensates. "Next stop zee Crystal Palace!"

A while later, the Gray Horse lands on Luna...

Landing Pad  - Luna -

The landing pad to Neidermeyer's Landing is gigantic platform, encased in an equally gigantic, glass atmosphere bubble. The landing pad looks out over the great plains of the Mare Tranquilis on one side, and the domed city of Neidermeyer's Landing on the other. At the top of the bubble there is an opening, large enough for even Consortium Battleships to enter through. Various hangars litter the perimiter of the landing pad, and a long corridor leads towards the famed city of Neidermeyer's Landing.

Sat Nov 16 15:26:33 3002

Contents: Exits:  Entrance Corridor

The Intruder dives across the platform, its braking thrusters slamming forward as the ship slams to a sudden halt. Its gear drops down, and without a rustle the Gray Horse comes to rest, the landing gear struts flexing just a bit as the take up the load of the ship. The ship's power and drive system quiet to a dull grumble as she idles. Innokentevna looks back over her shoulder. "Velcome to Luna. Zat you feerst treep vith a spintrife?'

Axirpolitafix rotates slowly, finally free to move again. It emanates waves of masked weariness. Through the vocalizer, it says: "I prefer teleportation."

"Tcha ... but you can't go *anyvheres8 by teleportink ... only places you hafe alreaty been." The engines powered down, Innokentevna channels the extra power to the ship's sensors. "Letz zee vhat ve can zee."

Axirpolitafix drifts a little bit forward to observe the displays.

It starts off simple, as most things often do: A burning blue light in the dark sky beyond the bubble of glass, dancing around two other lights of crimson. While it's true that there are many lights upon the starfield, none of them move around with such chaos.

"Tcha ...." the courier's expletive is repeated. "I hafe nyi efer like'd zee color blue." Innokentevna's fingers snap out, bringing the ship's shields online. Then, one hand on the joystick, she nods to the Centauran "Zee sensor suite ees to zee starboart .. zee right. Let me knov vhat vhat you can see scienteest ... vhat company has join't us out zere ... " Then her voice falls. "For I hafe nyi hat goot luck vith strange blue lights, da?"

Axirpolitafix also has its attention drawn to the visuals of the confrontation.

The burning lights in the heavens above continue their ballet of colour, adding shimmering strands of searing green energy intermixed with with a pulsing amber, occasionally adding a streak of firey red to the mix. The sensor suite reads them not as stars, but Kretonian fighters. Three, to be exact, and two of which with somewhat damaged systems.

Innokentevna looks back at the scientist with a frown. "Gospadi." She scrambles back a bit, half climbing from the pilot's chair to tag out a set of commands upon the sensor suite controls. "Eef ve are lucky, only starfighters. Hoop, vhere ees zee Meenerfa ... late, late, late." She focuses her attentions then. "Tcha ... Kretonians, fitink each other." She then slips back into the pilots seat and very carefully slips the Gray Horse into the shadow of a bigh piece of dockside loading equipment. "maybe ve shall be lucky an zey veelsolf any problems for us all by zemselves."

Emanating waves of confusion, the Centauran inquires: "Why would they fight *each other*?"

One of the problems, it seems, is quickly resolved: One of the red lights suddenly flickers out, the star burning all it can burn, before being engulfed by a supernova of crimson and amber fire; the burning of oxygen and plasma. That leaves two, both of whom promptly duck into the opening of the dome overhead, the lights and sounds now clearer, the outlines sharper. One of which - the blue star - also begins to bellow smoke from one of it's engines as the oxygen within the dome takes effect on the fires within.

"Do nyi knov ... could juzzt be like zee Nall ... vith zee destrucshun ov command, zey mite hafe faczzionz fitink amoungzt each ozer. Remeberzz, zzese are nyi zee Kretonianzz we know or have metzz. Tcha ... where are the Lemminkzz vhen you neet zem." Innokentevna slowly starts to charge the Gray Horse's weapons system. "To nyi vorry, I von't let zem catch us on zee deck, da?"

"It appears to be coming to us," the Centauran replies.

The deadly dance continues its endless waltz; both fighters jink and dive around each other, attempting to steal a few moments of clean fire, or just to tuck in behind the others tail. The blue star apparently gets that honour first, sneaking in behind the other after a somewhat sneaky split-S manouver, then proceeding to tear into the sides of the other. A lot of the shots miss, thanks mostly to the evasive action of the lead ship, before that manages to roll away, peel to the side, and fall back for just long enough to get a missile off - the weapons trail shrouded by the smoke that blisters out of the fighter itself. It takes some effort, but the missile finally hits its target, and the blue star burns out in turn... however, not in a glorious explosion of flame and fire, but just as an even deeper trail of smoke as it begins to spiral. The now wounded victor attempts to peel off, but finding its damage more serious than it expected, instead decides to aim for targets below to clear a space.

Innokentevna says, "Vunterful." Innorkentevna brings up the the ship's own targeting systems. "vorse comes to vorse, starfighter vith one engine can nyi catch us ... zo..." She brings up her gunnery systems. "Guess eets zee secont ov zee rets vee go for feerst.' As she watches the two starfighters come into range she slowly powers up the scoutship's eingine. "Hopefully zey are both too busy to noteece us.""

"Hopefully," the Centauran concurs, emanating waves of concern.

The blue engined fighter, IDed as a Fighter-Bomber variant, that was just shot down doesn't seem much of a threat to anyone - it just follows a long and mournful spiral, smoke flowing behind it, as it slowly glides downwards, devoid of all power of fight. The other, with it's engines torn apart, instead seems more intent on reaching the Landing Pad below to settle in, even if that pad is already occupied...

"Oh hoop." And Katya slams the small scoutship forward, dragging up its gear, a suddenly galloping horse out of the blue fighters line of fire. She is slammed back into the accelerashun couch, skating but a few feet above the deck until she can roll upwards and try and sideslip hard behind the descending starfighter.

Caught unprepared, the Centauran scientist struggles to maintain its position.

The fighter suddenly becomes fully aware that the ship it was intending to remove to make space for itself is alive, and so attempts to peel off after it. However, with a dead engine, and missing half a wing, tail, and side, it's not all that able to keep on target: But it looks like it's going to give it a good shot.

Axirpolitafix is flung backward inside the Gray Horse, thwacking with a crystalline crunch against the bulkhead. One of his tentacles, engraved with data encrypted in Tataskra script, is shattered to shards and dust.

The fighter, lacking its usual advantage of agility thanks to its prior engagement, is unable to keep up with the tactics of its target, and so leaves itself wide open for the other ship to get on its tail...

Another vessel descends toward the landing pad: The Minerva.

"Tcha ... " Katya lines the ship up, an then takes a deep breath. No choice. Minerva coming in and a broken Centauran in her cockpit. She doesn't turn around but she can hear. Gospadi ... was it like this for Father? How could he ... The young ungstiri ignores the descending starship and just builds another wall and squeezes the trigger.

Sending off waves of discomfort and perturbedness, the scientist regards the remnants of its crushed tentacle and the plastic pocket containing tools that seems to have survived the impact. "Fortunate." It uses telekinesis to draw the pocket toward a waiting tentacle.

The Kretonian fighter rocks back and forth in an attempt to shake the other fighter, but it's no good... the damage mounts as various hits make things from bad to worse, and the fighters agilty now begins to decrate to something comparable with a brick. Bricks are often easy targets...

Axirpolitafix is currently aboard the Gray Horse with Katya. He just got slammed against the bulkhead during an acceleration maneuver, and lost a tentacle.

The small scoutship keeps to the starfighter'stail, a race of thuroubred against damaged racer, the Gray Horse screams just above the deck, following it down. From beneath its nose comes a lancing of brilliant energy, seeking out the Kretonian in its sights.

Daneel says, "What the hell." He looks back at Tarkovsky. "Get back in the ship!"

The Gray Horse is locked in battle with a damaged Kretonian fighter that looks pretty much about to bite it... and it does as the energy lights up the fighters already damaged starboard engine, causing it to explode in a blaze of glory and create a cascade of smaller ruptures that tear the ship apart. It begins to rain on Luna: a rare sight indeed, only this isn't water, but starfighter debris.

One might also note that a second Kretonian fighter, gliding to the ground and looking shot to ribbons, is about to crash on the landing pad.

Tarkovsky disembarks the Minerva shortly after Daneel. Her instinctive sweeping look around the dome takes in the airbourne conflict. "Hoop!" She doesn't need Daneel's urging to dive back into the Minerva.

Daneel practically rockets back up the ramp, heading for the shuttle bay.

The gray horse then pulls itself into a tight turn, powering back as the third starfighter heads to the landing pad. It slows and shadows, just above it as it heads to the deck.

The second fighter - that is, the one that was dead from the start, and not engaged in the dogfight against the Gray Horse, screams down at the Landing Pad as it glides in to crash. Smoke billows from it's aft sections, the craft apparently aimed to hit the Minerva until at the very last moment - by sheer grace of God, Volir, Altheor, or whatever other God you believe in - pulls its nose starward, hopping over the form of the larger vessel before slamming hard into the deck, screeching to a halt as the friction between the ground and the fighter kicks in, and sliding to a halt near to one of the surrounding buildings.

Daneel stops at the hatch to the shuttlebay and watches the fighter leapfrog over his area of the ship. He freezes.

Watching from within the Minerva, Christine ducks for cover as the Kretonian crashes. When the noise stops, she looks out once more. "That's a fighter-bomber," she whispers, her eyes then taking in the name painted upon it. "Darktail!" Other thoughts forgotten, she runs down the ramp to the crashed ship, searching for a way in. "Darktail?"

The Gray Horse settles down, but a handful of meters from the fallen craft. her nose is pointed directly at the ship, energy crackling from her forward pointing guns. All esle the starship is silent, like a wardog watching a fallen rat.

The fighter, smouldering and shadowing by a cloud of whispy smoke, remains as silent as the larger ship watching it. It just rests there, quietly. Though Christine calls, there is no answer from the ship, nor the cockpit...

Daneel slowly, ever so slowly, comes back into the real world.

Tarkovsky scrambles around the crashed ship until she reaches the cockpit, searching then for a manual release, some way to get it open. "Darktail! Damn it!"

Inside the Gray Horse the courier looks back over her shoulder, finally, to the Centaura scientist. "Gospadi, ve hat a beet ov excitemet zere .. youeen one ... okay, vell een mostly one piece? You goink to be fine?" innokentevna hits her harbess strap, one eye still watching the downed starfighter. "You goink to be okay ... I ... I don't knov hov to help, outsite ov zee minerfa'z seeck bay."

Sanhitlon floats down from the ramp, for a moment attempting to take in the flurry of activity on the landing area.

Daneel runs for the Gray Horse. Obviously intent on getting the device on the Minerva quickly.

A wave of frustration sweeps out from the Centauran scientist toward the Ungstiri pilot. Through its vocalizer, it intones: "*That* is why I prefer teleportation." It then drifts away from the shattered remnants of its tentacle. "It can be replaced. The data held on it...cannot. The Moebius Device can never be built again."

"Zen ve hafe no choice but to make zeese one vork, da? Nyi a probleem." Katya then flashes the Gray horse's running lihts, her palm coming down to slam a heavy lever ... triggering the cargo compartment's access hatches. "Vhich means ... eets time to geet on vith eet."

Daneel gets over to the boarding ramp just as it touches the ground. He bounds up the ramp.

The frantic searching from Tarkovsky is soon answered by a hiss, the screech of glass against glass, and the canopy to the cockpit of the Wildcat retracting back to reveal the cockpit within... as well as a somewhat frayed looking Snowcat, who even after being shot down and crashing looks, well, himself. "Power to engines: off. Power to weapons: off. Well, I guess they got me."

Gripping the side of the crashed fighter's cockpit, Christine gives a heartfelt sigh of relief as she finds the Demarian alive. "Darktail. Thank god... are you all right?" She stares at him in the cockpit, not quite able to belief his casual tone of voice.

Daneel realizes that the hatch in question is about a third of the way farther down the spaceframe, and walks over to where the hatch opened.

Axirpolitafix drifts down out of the Gray Horse, short a tentacle, while the other tentacles are inscribed with Tataskra and strapped here and there with plastic tool pockets.

Daneel stands next to the opened hatch of the Gray Horse, working the control panel nearby to lower a hoversled.

Gabriel walks down the boarding ramp of the Minerva, weapon cradled in his hands.

Ainsworth comes out behind everyone else. His eyes scan the area, as the rifle held in his hands is held at loose attention and down, stepping behind the rest of the assault element.

Christine Tarkovsky is standing at the side of a crashed Kretonian fighter-bomber, gripping the side of its cockpit and looking with relief at it's unlikely Demarian pilot.

Martha follows the soldiers from a discreet distance, followed by the cameraman who is straining to get good pictures. Martha draws her stun pistol.

Innokentevna clambers down from the Gray Horse, bouncing off the from wheel, her attention on the fallen starfighter. "Gospadi ... zat ees zee ungliezzt Kretonian i hafe efer zeen." She peers.

Giirvoth limps rather quickly down the Minerva boarding ramp, a heavy machine gun cradled in his hands as his armoured head turns to scan the landing pad.

"I've..." The Snowcat looks just about to say 'fine', but after noting a few singe marks on his fur, and the state of the ship he called home for the past month or so, re-evaluates his answer. "...been better. Much better." Still, he manages to unbuckle himself from the cockpit harness, pulling himself free of the actual canopy area before offering a paw to the Ungstiri for support, while picking up a somewhat ancient looking pistol with the other before he climbs out. "Like, not shot down better."

Axirpolitafix drifts back toward the cargo hatch, where Daneel is preparing to unload the device. Through its vocalizer, the Centauran says, "Utilize caution when taking the device. It cannot be replicated again."

Daneel nods. "I'll be careful with it. Might I ask why it cannot be replicated?'

Sanhitlon floats over towards the location of the device and the Centauran scientist. To its fellow Centauran it sends, "~By your statement I am to assume that all technical data on the device has been lost?~"

"The tentacle with some of the critical data regarding its construction was shattered during this flight," the Centauran scientist explains to Daneel.

Daneel nods. "Well, then I hope the damned thing works."

Tarkovsky takes the paw in a firm grip to support Darktail as he climbs out of the cockpit. "Well, yes, I can understand that," she says slowly as she runs her eyes over him looking for any serious wounds. She smiles when she doesn't see much more than the odd singe mark. "It's.... it's good to see you again. I was afraid something would have happened to you by now."

Martha listens to the two Centaurans. "It is beginning to sound as if technical data relating to the construction of the Moebius device has been destroyed," she surmises.

Daneel manages to get the hoversled free of the freighter, and moves the device quickly towards the shuttlebay of the Minerva.

Giirvoth flops down behind the Minerva's boarding ramp with a dull thud of composite armour on the surface of the landing pad, The Grimlahdi shifts slightly in order to get a better view of the entrance corridor, then pushes his Kord out infront of him, deploys the bipod, and rests the butt firmly against his shoulder as he sites himself covering the entrance.

Ainsworth settles behind the group and slightly to the right. He stands easily, apparently just watching and listening right now, his main attention focused on that.

"Da ... better zan loosink zee defice vhen zat feerst starfiter vant't to lant on top o us." Innokentevna then almost stumbles ... tapping her commlink, coming to one knee as she slips the unit of. "Tcha ... tcha .. tcha. Last theenk I neet."

The cameraman gets a good shot of the device as it approaches the ramp to the Minerva's shuttlebay.

Volidana comes onto the lunite surfice looking a rather odd picture clad in kevlar and cradling a stun pistol

Darktail sighs at Tarkovsky, but it's one of affection for his friend, nothing more. "Things did happen to me. But, hey, all part of the package and purrpose, I guess. It's good to see you again, too... you spend a month shooting at Kretonians, listening to Kretonians, seeing Kretonians..." The Snowcat finally puts paw to ground, helped by Christine, and for the first time in a while his tail begins to sway. "...and then you bring a whole party here. Minerva and all. Fun."

Axirpolitafix begins to drift after the device and Daneel. It emanates waves of curiosity at Sanhitlon, sending telepathically: ~You have done well for yourself. I have heard of your accomplishments on Sanctuary. Your parent would be proud.~

Sanhitlon floats alongside Axir. "~Your statements honor me.~"

Daneel walks the hoversled up he ramp, and into the Shuttle bay of the Minerva.

~My statement may honor you,~ the scientist goes on, still telepathically, ~but my actions have not. My creation has not. Learn from this.~ And then the Centauran drifts aboard the Minerva.

"Yes, we brought the works," Christine has only a smile for Darktail's sigh. She casts a brief glance over her shoulder. "Looks like our Ambassador brought the device..." She looks back once more to Darktail. "If your up to it, come with us," she says, her tone becoming one of grim, black humour. "Take the chance to shoot some Guardian Fleet? We're after Neidermeyer next."

Ainsworth seems to become more attentive now, his weapon brought up slightly as the team begins to pull back towards the Minerva once again - he'll slide in past the last few people returning.

Sanhitlon sends, "~Unfortunately history tends to repeat itself, even if one notes the mistakes of the past. I fear a similar situation will return to haunt those who come after us. In the meantime, let us repair what was done.~" It floats after Axir.