Shattered Loyalties (from the records of the UV Vision)

[Lanadyr]

[OOC: See the "UV in the stars" thread (viewtopic.php?f=25&t=33625) for the original idea behind this thread.

Short description: This is a non-canon, alternate reality, sci-fi, spacefaring version of UV.

I know this first post is rather long, but I felt there were a lot of things that needed established right off the bat.

Oh, and don't worry, the technobabble is pretty well front-loaded in this post and, as simple flavor text, can be safely skimmed.

Everyone is welcome to join!]

***

Mission Record 44-1-CO
CO: Captain Orb

ConDos: The UV Vision has been tasked with delivering a diplomatic delegation from the Maw solar system to Forest Prime. There, they will meet with a delegation arriving from the UV charter planet Vitreous, in the hopes that these representatives can arrive at an agreement that will bring an end to the current hostilities between the two civilizations. It was decided that my ship would be cleared of extraneous personnel to accommodate the delegation, as the deployment of this ship and its Vitreum captain would be seen by the Chosen as a gesture of deference and goodwill on the part of the Vitrea and the whole of the Unicornis Vox.

Despite the unusually high stakes, the Vision's actual orders are relatively routine. I do not anticipate any difficulties in carrying out our mission.

***

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do with the candlebox fried like this. It looks like that last beta radiation belt we passed through turned the omnifuses to syrup and still had enough juice left over to kill the STR junction. I've seen it happen before. I mean, only that one time, but still, it's not unprecedented." Head Damage Controller Court was on her back beneath a low-lying shelf of computer hardware, the wires and cables that made up her hair scraping against the metal sole as she extricated her blade spanner from the blackened mainframe. "Bottom line, Captain: Deep Voice is down until we can get back to Forest Prime for a full IS maintenance cycle."

Captain Orb had personally come below decks to help Bottle with the repairs. It wasn't the best use of the captain's decidedly non-engineering skill set, but it was the best use of her time, given how short-staffed the Vision was at the moment. She was kneeling at Bottle's side, taking the spanner from the Helmont as her subordinate made her way back to her feet. Orb placed the spanner into a nearby toolbox as the vocalizer around her neck activated itself to enhance her difficult-to-understand voice. "This is a hell of a time for our computer to lose its higher functions, Bottle. We'll be at the edge of the Maw in less than a half-hour. If we have to do anything more complicated than navigate the ship…"

"Look, Orb, I know I have a reputation as a miracle worker around here, but this repair is currently beyond even my capabilities. Articulating the stakes doesn't change that fact." Controller Court wiped a large chunk of yellow grease from her metal hands onto the fading, formerly black pants of her disheveled uniform. "You know, Captain, I can't find any evidence for it, but I wouldn't discount the possibility of sabotage just yet. Maybe someone adjusted the flight path a slight bit to hit that belt head-on, or maybe someone put a dissolving power shunt in place nearby to direct all of the energy to this single grid location. All I know is, there are interests out there who don't want this peace process to succeed. After all, this war's got to be good for somebody, otherwise it wouldn't have started in the first place."

Orb ambivalently shook her head as she stood. "Perhaps, but it's not as if we have trained security personnel to spare for a comprehensive investigation. When we rendezvous with our sister ship Reflection and retrieve the bulk of our crew, we'll look into the matter more thoroughly. In the meantime, I'll have fireteams stationed at all critical ship locations."

Bottle was taken aback, the leaf shutters that surrounded her glowing eyes blinking involuntarily. "Captain, we both know that we can't protect both ship infrastructure and keep an eye on the Maw delegation with the few fireteams we still have on board…"

"Then we'll have to trust Ambassador Tourniquet and his delegation to maintain some semblance of civility for the duration of the journey."

"Trust them? I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw them around my ship!"

"My ship, Controller Court." Captain Orb closed in on her subordinate with an air of authority. "And I would much rather have the Maw delegation left to their own most assuredly capable defenses than give a saboteur a clean chance to kill us all by monkeying around with our hyperdim field generator or our life support. Clear?"

"As clear as your glass head, Captain." Bottle gave her a mocking salute. Controller Court was one of only a few crew members that were familiar enough with the captain to get away with such a level of subordination, and only then because no one else was around to see such an apparent breakdown in the chain of command.

Orb, unfazed by the gentle teasing of an old friend, continued. "And the delegations' quarters?"

Bottle lowered her hand. "Most of the newly emptied crew quarters have been made sufficiently unpleasant by any reasonable standards, so they should be just fine for the…Maw-ites? Maw-ians? I've never been clear on what to call them."

"They call themselves the Chosen."

Bottle would have rolled her robotic eyes if they could have performed that motion. Instead, she simply struck a defiant pose with the remainder of her body. "Well, hell, that just makes them all the more endearing, then, doesn't it?" She relaxed her stance. "Oh, and that reminds me, I'd like to be there when you greet the delegation at the airlock. Someone has to explain to these psychopaths what they can and cannot touch around here, and I don't particularly care if they like me or not. This will, of course, let you keep your nonexistent nose clean, which might help things all around. I know there's no chance of them actually liking you, given the...circumstances..."

Orb nodded as her vocalizer crackled to life once again. "A fair assessment, and I would welcome the 'backup', as it were. But you will clean yourself up and change into your service dress beforehand. This is a diplomatic mission and will be respected as such. No grease stains." She began to make her way to the door. "While you do that, I'll warn the remaining crew that we'll be going analog for the duration of the mission. That will require longer shifts from everyone in general, and all hands will be required for the upcoming docking procedure. Thank the Guardians the radiation belt didn't nuke our coffee supply as well."

***

The airlock iris slid open with no ceremony. Only Captain Orb and Controller Court, in full formal service dress, awaited the Vision's oncoming guests in the receiving bay. Bottle herself, standing by the captain's side, operated the airlock controls using a remote interface conveniently embedded in one of her mechanical forearms. Even if the Vision were fully manned, such a small reception would have been appropriate. The Chosen saw everything in terms of power dynamics, and this lack of a show of force, nonetheless representing a heretofore worthy opponent, would be seen as a gesture of goodwill.

Ambassador Tourniquet, the leader of the delegation, was the first pass through the iris. He was tall, almost two and a half meters, and was required to bend a bit at his knees to enter the bay, as the Chosen were not in the habit of bowing to outsiders, even if unintentionally. He performed the action smoothly, keeping his eyes forward at all times, glaring unsettlingly at Orb and Court with bizarre blue eyes as he did so.

The ambassador was humanoid, roughly speaking, but with a horse's head, and his body was covered in a short, dark red hair, save the ashen trail of dark gray running down his spine and the dark gray feathering on his forearms. He wore an elaborately decorated, obviously ceremonial breechcloth and a pair of long, black leather boots, but nothing else. His upper body, up to and including his head, was, in lieu of clothing, painted in multicolored, interlaced geometric patterns that had no clearly intended meaning outside of the Maw.

The ambassador was followed by a host of Maw functionaries, the many purposes of which Captain Orb could not generally even guess at. She did, however, note the obviously enslaved beings amongst them, and noted Bottle's clenched fists as the Helmont noticed the same.

Until only a decade ago, those of Bottle's spontaneously-generating species were not considered truly sentient on at least some UV charter worlds, and were effectively conscripted into a cost-free engineering corps on these worlds as a consequence. Only a massive, heated diplomatic summit on Forest Prime won the Helmonts their rights as UV citizens, and the equally heated memories of that summit, and all that led up to it, were still fresh for all of those involved. This not only included Bottle, but also Orb, for whom an historical research posting during the summit was her first official duty as a UV diplomat. It was at this posting that Orb had first met Bottle, and it was then and there that the two of them struck a professional relationship, and a deep friendship, that had lasted to this day.

Ambassador Tourniquet stopped before the captain and her subordinate, far enough away that the other two did not have to crane their necks too much to meet his gaze. He looked the two of them over with menacing eyes, but quickly settled his discomfiting gaze upon the Vitreum. "Captain Orb, I presume." Orb gave a simple nod in acknowledgement, and the ambassador continued. "I am Chosen Ambassador Tourniquet of the federated worlds of the Maw system. On behalf of the Maw, I allow our gratitude for your service."

The voice that came from the captain's vocalizer remained even. Ever the diplomat, Orb had studied the proper responses to the ambassador's words long before she even knew she was going to be sent on such a mission. "Your gratitude is all our service requires, Ambassador. We are to be underway at your pleasure."

The ambassador's voice was equally even. "I've met your people on the battlefield. They…break easily."

Orb was not fazed by the seemingly non-sequitur comment, as she knew that low-key tests of resolve such as these were not uncommon in even casual conversations with the Chosen. "Not easily enough, apparently. Otherwise, neither of us would be here."

Tourniquet narrowed his eyes. A small bit of smoke left the ambassador's nostrils, but the eyes did not show an equal amount of heat. After a few moments of intentionally extended silence, the ambassador nodded slightly in some sort of satisfaction at the captain's firm stoicism. "Our pleasure is yours." He nodded to a spider-like thing next to him, who, in turn, activated a handheld communicator and spoke into it in a thin, harsh language to which Orb's xenotrans was not currently attuned. The vibrations suddenly apparent in the bay's sole clearly indicated that the Chosen's own vessel was decoupling from the Vision.

Orb nodded respectfully as the operation proceeded. "We will arrive at Forest Prime in just a few days. My functionary, Head Damage Controller Bottle Court," she slightly motioned to the Helmont, "will show you to your quarters and present information on the ship's proper operations to facilitate a pleasant voyage."

Bottle, annoyed enough by being referred to as a 'functionary', decided she needed to speak for herself. "In other words, I'm going to tell you how to not break anything while you're aboard the Vision. Also, we're having computer issues, the details of which I won't stress you eggheads with, so don't bother asking our IS for anything. I'll show you how to get in touch with ship personnel directly, including and especially the mess, because we loaded up with the esoterica your civilization apparently thinks is food, and I want it GONE before you leave. Even more importantly than that, if you folks have any technical problems with your quarters, and I mean ANY problems, contact me, day or night, and I'll deal with it personally. Do not, DO NOT touch anything, because you'll probably just make it worse."

Ambassador Tourniquet looked the Helmont over with critical eyes as she spoke. When she finished, Orb had expected a much different reaction than the one she received.

He began to laugh. His entourage began to laugh as well, though it seemed they were merely nervously following his lead. The ambassador himself, on the other hand, seemed to find something genuinely amusing about the situation.

Tourniquet quickly clarified his response upon seeing Orb and Bottle glance at one another in confusion. "I have not been spoken to with anything less than formal respect since arising to my current position. I find the honest irritation…refreshing." He then focused on the controller, and his smile abated a bit. "In small doses, at least."

Bottle's leaf shutter 'eyelids' narrowed a bit. "Well, if you ever want another dose, Ambassador, I've got plenty more where that came from."

Tourniquet's smile continued to disappear as he spoke. "I'm sure you do."

Captain Orb turned her head toward Bottle. "But before the two of you exchange any more undiplomatic snark, Controller Court, please carry out your more official duties and see to our guests." She then looked back at the ambassador, noting that the sole's vibrations had ceased. "I'll see that we're on our way as soon as possible. My leave is my service." She began to turn toward the bay's main door.

"Before you take your leave, Captain," Ambassador Tourniquet held a deferential hand in Orb's direction, which she acknowledged by turning back toward him, "I respectfully request a private audience with you at your earliest convenience."

Orb thought a moment, then nodded. "I will contact you when I have such a convenience." Without another word, Orb left the receiving bay, followed almost immediately by Bottle with the entirety of the Maw delegation in tow.