Symarion: Call of the Void.

The first step taken.

Three hours of sleep, that was all Anthony had gotten when Hope woke him. He has been spending most of his night on the Bridge, reading through the sorted information of the Terran Commonwealth, and only noticed time when Alianna came looking for him as her bonding phase induced hunger was getting unbearable for her.

He took care of her, and fell asleep right after as his body felt drained, to the point that he had briefly wondered if he wasn’t perhaps overdoing it. A thought that was quickly discarded as honestly, he could not think the comfort away now, of having so many pretty lady’s bend over, or simply let him use them like they did.

And looking over at Alianna, he only felt sorry about the timing, but she would not be the last of the Siren on the Hope that would be broken into complete submission, he really liked that they were his to use.

But for now, work called, as Hope had notified him of the approach of another Vessel, and Aria’s message that warned them ahead of time that a shuttle would land to pick Anthony up, as the approaching vessel was the one that was to be given to him.

Anthony would take a moment to check his energy level, which now stood at 86%, proving further that the Siren’s happiness in their servitude was an important factor to note, as he has been spending quite a bit of energy on the Hope’s repairs.

“ Yeah. “ He uttered amused, finding it just another reason why he shouldn’t give a fuck about his old morals. It made him happy, made the Siren’s happy, and aside from having a good time, he was fueling his ability.

Well, it was time to get into gear, so he would take a quick shower and get himself dressed. And when he was done, looking over the old Uniform, he found himself wondering if perhaps he should think of something else to wear in the future.

“ Perhaps. “ He mused, as this was of little importance now. The Uniform was serving it’s purpose, that was all that mattered.

“ Hope, how far out is the shuttle ?” He would ask once he had left the quarters that Alianna was currently occupying, intending to let her sleep.

“ It’s approaching the Haunt hangar right now. “ Hope responded.

“ Ok, I am on my way. “ He uttered, and make his way to the lift that would take him down to deck d5, wondering what type of ship they would be giving him. But whatever it was, the mentioned phase drive alone would be worth it.

It was an interesting prospect, the thought of equipping the Hope with one of those, it would cut down travel-times by a lot if he could utilize those phase lanes. And if there where none, well, he could still use the photon drive, it would be a lot slower, but everything indicated that Hope was, at current, one of the fastest ships known when it came to conventional travel.

“ Anthony. “ Modaran greeted him, pulling Anthony from his wonder of what that drive could mean for the Hope.

Anthony was so hopeful of the new prospects opening up, he had barely noticed that he already reached the hangar. And the shuttle that Modaran was standing besides had, as Anthony now saw, quite an odd shape.

“ Dual purpose, it’s shuttle and Escape pod both. “ Modaran explained as he noticed the look on Anthony’s face.

“ Ah, Pleasure to see you. “ Anthony responded, shaking Modaran’s hand while looking the shuttle over.

It was lightly teardrop shaped, with the bottom being unusually flat for the rest of the design, with extended edges along the bottom. But considering Modaran’s words, that likely meant the ship they went to wasn’t very big, and this shuttle would likely dock to the ship from the outside, making it seem to merge with the rest of the ship.

“ Well, shall we ? “ Modaran offered, signing to the back of the shuttle to get into it.

“ Sure, actually looking forward to this. But, what’s with Queen Marianna and Thomas ? I have not seen or heard of them in a while. “ Anthony spoke as he made his way towards the shuttle.

“ Ah, yeah, Marianna has entered her bonding phase, she and Thomas seem to be getting along quite well. “ Modaran responded, and then watched with amusement how Anthony paused for a moment, only to chuckle himself as well.

“ Well, I guess that would seem reasonable then. “ Anthony remarked, finding it amusing that those two were getting together.

“ I guess this would be a good point to mention though, Thomas used to be from the Terran Commonwealth himself. Was an Envoy in fact. “ Modaran shared then as Anthony sat down within the shuttle.

“ Oh ? Now that you mentioned it. I did look through the files last night, did not consider that aspect yet. I was honestly to occupied with a few other details. The war between the Seltran and the Terran’s seems to have gone on for a while. “ Anthony admitted, looking around the shuttles interior, and finding his assumption supported by the fact that there was a hatch on the top with a ladder, meaning that this shuttle would likely dock at the ship from below.

“ Yeah, on and off. The Seltran are actually considering themselves as a sort of, guardian of life, they value life highly, even as synthetics. But being sentient AI’s, Terran’s don’t really trust them. “ Modaran explained.

“ So, relations between Siren and Terran’s is good then ? “ Anthony asked.

“ Not at all. They intended to claim Eden, in part because of the Abilities of the Siren. They are not yet aware that Siren are a minority, and that there are a lot of Nah’Rahan out there. But the First had stepped in recently, and forced a Ceasefire. Don’t think the Terran’s will dare taking aggressive actions towards Eden in the near future. “ Modaran explained.

Anthony considered those words, nearly having given into the impulse to suspect that the First must be very active then in the current political climate. But that idea was quickly discarded. He knew not how strong this First was, but if she made the Terran’s back off. Well, she must have had some strong arguments, which made him wonder what Ina would be capable of.

That aside, he already realized the answer himself. If the First stepped in to protect Eden, then it went to support Modaran’s assumption that she was protecting an Investment. Though It Vexed him a little that he did not know the intent behind it, but at least it wasn’t to his disadvantage so far.

“ Ah, there we go. “ Modaran ushered, pointing at a screen that was now showing the outside.

Anthony was briefly confused, as he had not even noticed the shuttle taking off, but seeing the ship displayed on the screen, his focus quickly shifted.

“ TCS Pride’s fall, a modified frigate. She got some toys you would not want the Terrans to know about though, she got a sort of Mine layer, and those are illegal in Terran space.

It’s an outdated Terran Military ship that has been in use by pirates. “ Modaran explained.

“ Pirates, huh ? “ Anthony uttered, looking at the ship, which was a bit hard to make out, it was painted in a true black which made it seem to melt with the background of the void. But he could see that it held a flat tear shape, pointy tip, round rear, with various armored points along the hull where likely maneuvering thrusters where hidden.

“ Yeah, plenty of those, many of them hiding under the guise of Mercenaries, and Terran’s like to hire them as of late for patrol and bounty missions. “ Modaran stated.

“ Independent military forces, I think I read about it. They want to consolidate all military power to the central government, but the war with the Seltran, and Pirate activities makes that prohibitive, so they permit organizations to act as Local military forces and mercenaries, right ? “ Anthony remarked, recalling to have skimmed over the subject.

“ Yes. Some Systems hire mercenary forces to patrol and guard a group of systems, and place Bounties on known pirates. But many pirates fill both roles.

There are independent sectors with nothing but A Mercenary station in them. No planet worth colonizing, and at most suitable for mining operations. Terran’s hold no interest in those, so some of these stations are pirate stations in disguise, while some pirates have made their home in dense asteroid belts within those systems.

If you want to move in Terran space, you will need to get an ID, and those Merc-bases are usually where you’d get one as they can access the citizenship network. “ Modaran explained to Anthony.

“ I see, and I guess that means I need funds too. “ Anthony guessed.

“ Possibly, but as long as you don’t make a scene in Terran space, and stay away from the central sectors, most people wont look twice at you, unless they suspect you have something of value. “ Modaran noted.

“ Sounds like Crime might be rampant. “ Anthony remarked, watching how, on the screen, the view changed to a docking camera as they approached an open space below the frigate, perfectly shaped to fit the shuttle within.

“ Outer sectors are somewhat lawless. But the Seltran keeps the military busy. Seltran only have a third of what the Terran’s have in claimed space, but their economy is far more efficient. “ Modaran responded.

And then the soft “thunk” sound, followed by the sound of the shuttle being locked down to the frigate’s hull was heard, signaling that they reached their destination.

“ This would be our stop. “ Modaran remarked, getting up to open the hatch above them, before he went ahead to climb up into the Pride’s Fall.

Anthony would follow after, climbing up a tight tunnel that ended up into one of the ships hallways. A cube shaped passageway with a rounded top where lights where placed in regular intervals. Kept in the same black as the exterior, though with colored lines that, as he could see further down the hallway, suggested the direction towards the ships various utilities.

“ Looks kind of, unfriendly. “ Anthony observed.

“ Well, its an Old design, made to fit as much as possible, in as little room as possible, and Pirates reduced what space it had further with their modifications. Todays Terran vessels all have their bridge within the ships core structure for instance.

This one, like many of the older designs, have an exposed bridge located at the top. They were quick to abandon that approach though.” Modaran noted.

“ Want to see the bridge ? Or, want to try and take it over right here ? “ Modaran suggested then before adding, “ Assuming you want to take it with your ability that is. “

“ Hmm, no, ability is fine for now, I want to run some tests anyway. “ Anthony admitted, approaching the hallways wall to place is hand on it, and then try to take over the vessel.

The draw on his energy was noticeable, far more then with the shuttle. But this time, he could nearly feel how his psychic energy spread into the ship structures, and even without the system he used in the Psychic plane, he could sense part of the interior layout now, which suggested to him that his control over it was growing slowly.

“ Interesting. “ He mused, pulling his hand from the wall.

“ It has hidden turrets ? “ He asked, trying to see how accurate his ability was to tell the layout, without using his plane to do so.

“ Sort of, they are covered by hull-platings, and will be extended in combat, that also makes it easier to exchange and repair them as they can be retracted into special maintenance rooms. This ship was build for efficiency and ease of use mostly.

And something else to keep in mind. This is one of the first ships that begun using diffusion shielding. “ Modaran corrected.

“ What is Diffusion shielding then ? “ Anthony asked.

“ A fancy way to say your obscuring damage efficiency with dirt.

In essence, the ship expels dust particles and keeps them floating around the ship within a weak magnetic field. They are mostly harmless. But fast projectiles that slam into them could potentially break up before impacting the hull, and the faster the projectile fired at you, the more effective the diffusion shielding.

Though the effect is limited against laser weapons. But for that, the ship is covered in a carbon fiber plating, it reduces laser damage to some degree, and newer ships use an advanced version with synthetic diamond dust embedded in them, to further decrease laser efficiency. “ Modaran explained.

“ Well, I guess thats one lesson learned from orbiting junk I guess. “ Anthony mused, as the idea of dust stopping projectiles sounded silly at first, until the suggestion of increased speed was made. Reminding him how even a chip of paint could cause quite a bit of damage to a space station if it impacted with enough speed.

“ So, any idea yet what you’ll be doing ? “ Modaran asked then out of the blue.

“ Hmm, not entirely sure yet. I am considering to see if the Phase drive design can be implemented on the Hope. But with the Commonwealth, the Seltran, and who knows what else is out there, I am a little undecided. Let’s just say, I want to explore my options before I make a choice. “ Anthony admitted.

“ As good a start as any. Do you have any questions then ? “ Modaran offered.

“ Hmm, plenty, but I think my mind is more set on experimenting for now. It’s going to be another week, possibly two before the Hope is flight-ready and fueled up. And the prospect that someone guided me here for whatever reason is bugging me a little. “ Anthony admitted, to which Modaran merely nodded.

“ Say, that large vessel behind the Hope, what is it ? “ Anthony then asked.

“ The EDN Wishkeeper, sort of a mobile supply outpost, ship repairs and such, it’s used for rescue operations as well, and well, you needed rescue. It’s likely to be moved in a few days, it’s been a convenient staging ground to watch your moves during the time you been here though. “ Modaran explained.

“ Yeah, the Hope will need to test it’s photon drive soon, it would be good if nothing is in it’s path then. “ Anthony noted.

“ So, want me to take you back to the Hope ? “ Modaran asked.

“ No, I think I explore this vessel a bit, and do some testing. But you could send Kira over here. She is a Pilot. So she can take me back to the Hope later on. “ Anthony spoke.

“ Can do that. And if you have any question, have Hope contact Aria. If there is anything we can do to help, we’ll at least try. “ Modaran assured.

“ I will. I might even once my mind is set on a course of action. And that said, In case I am leaving Cradle, I would like to leave something behind to stay in contact with Eden. Be it that shuttle, or perhaps an Android. In fact, an Android may be a good idea, I wouldn’t mind seeing Eden, and an Android down there would be a good way to do both. “ Anthony admitted.

“ I think that can be arranged. Marianna had intended to invite you down there anyway, and I think it is still an option if you would like to pay a visit. “ Modaran offered.

“ I might just do that. “ Anthony suggests.

“ Well then, I leave you to it, the crew already departed. So she is all yours. Just don’t accidentally discharge a weapon, the turrets and mines are loaded. And you should find production blueprints to their ammunition on the ships computer. “ Modaran advised.

“ Thank you. And please, send Thomas and Marianna my thanks as well. I’ll be sure to inform Aria through Hope, once I know my next steps. “ Anthony spoke towards Modaran, and then turned his gaze back towards the Hallway, already planning his next steps with the wrecks around the 02.

“ I will be sure to let them know. And good luck with your experiment.” Modaran said, and then made his way back to the small passage down to the shuttle.

Anthony would watch as the male Nah’Rahan descending, and then slowly move through the ship, following the estimated feeling he had when taking the ship over to find the bridge.

It wasn’t that far away either, just past a crossing, up a flight of stairs to the second deck, and then a lift ride up to the bridge section, from which he could look over the black hull of the ship.

He could see the Hope from here, that Eden ship, the Wishkeeper as Modaran called it, and the Shuttle Modaran was on, currently approaching the Hope.

“ Yeah, Time to get to work. “ He mused to himself, taking a seat on the captains chair, where he then moved to enter his Psychic plane. It was time to explore what he has gotten here, and what else he could take from that Terran military System.