Fwurg

[Ariana Danacia]

After the two days had passed Ariana was walking around in the ship when she felt the shock wave. She hurried towards the observation deck to check up on the scientists. When she found the Priestess sitting on the ground she was a bit confused as well. "What was that?"

[Dragonmaster352]

The scientists stood in a daze staring out the window into space when the jedi walked in. They didn't react for a moment.

Suddenly they scrambled to get to work. More active then when they started two days ago. Holoscreens appeared throughout the observation deck, displaying navigation data, temperature graphs, gravitational data and a lot more. Non of the scientists paid any attention to Ajava or Ariana.

Then captain Miller walked onto the observation deck.

"What the hell just happened? What did you people do to my ship? And why do I have three women claiming to be High-Priestesses from something called the Divine Nova Triage demanding access to all our sensor data including live access to our external cameras on hold?"

Doctor Hasley finally looked up. Her voice came through the ship's intercom.

"Look out the window and see for your selves."

The captain looked out the window confused. "What are you talking about all I see is a st...ar." The captain seemed to have come to a realisation.

"Your not telling me we just witnessed the birth of a star up close, are you?"

"We're still confirming the data, but yes that is what just happened. Now if you would be so kind to grant the request from the High-Priestesses, I am sure Lady-Priestess Ashikata would appreciate it."

[Shebi Ajava]

((OOC: Clarification Request: I must admit that I am a bit confused -- we are somewhere in 7 -3, right? If so, this is an awesome twist to the story!))

Ajava reacted immediately: "Do not allow anyone access to these feeds or data. Block any outgoing communications until further notice!"

"Out here we don't have any holonet without heavy-duty communications arrays, so the Divine Nova Triage can not possibly be aware of this event already. Next to that, interference of this event will surely be preventing long-range holonet communications as well. Most likely some other vessel is nearby and is trying to trick us into sharing our close-up recordings.

Captain, interference is most likely preventing us from scanning, but start a long range scan to see if there are any other vessels nearby."

[Dragonmaster352]

((OOC: Uhm, yes you are in sector 7 -3 as the topic title says. My reasoning was that sector to sector communication is possible with most FTL capable ships. Even larger distances. Without the need for giant expensive holonet transmitters and receivers. You bandwidth may be limited, but I don't think it's far fetched. Otherwise you could reason the Labraham Incoln is just very well equipped.))

[Shebi Ajava]

((OOC: Well... That would require actually using a communications terminal, or something at least. In most movies and series they have to set up a line of communications first, and any nearby event usually disturbs it (for the benefit of the story mostly). But it does sound logical that a hyperspace capable vessel is capable of sector-to-sector comms.

My reasoning was that since the event was really just a few minutes ago, they can't know of it yet since they can't be informed of it yet; Ajava expects forming stars to create a large amount of interference in hyperspace as well (since their mass becomes concentrated, hyperspace inflates rapidly, making any form of navigation effectively moot -- the same would hold for holonet comms that use hyperspace). She can be wrong about this of course...

Next to that, she reasons that since the Divine Nova Triage is actually rather important, they won't be able to synchronously react even IF they were somehow magically already aware of the event. I wouldn't know who would have been capable of actually sending the message out this fast -- no one I observed (OOCly) used a communications console, and the Labraham Incoln most likely has no capability of actually receiving Astrian cybertech comms; it is after all a hired vessel from elsewhere.

Blegh, I'm overexplaining. You're the ST, it's your story, so go for it!

Ajava's actions remain unchanged; I'll assume the Labraham Incoln is just very advanced, which doesn't really mesh well with the 'poorness' of the crew, but meh.))

[Dragonmaster352]

"What interference? At this range stellar particles don't cause any trouble. Which reminds me is anyone recording the formation of the heliosheath?"

Doctor Hasley asked, one of the scientists raised his hand without looking away from his work.

"The gravity-well is actually a bit less concentrated, the explosive force from the nuclear fusion pushes the core density down a bit."

"I told them." Lady-Priestess Ashikata had stopped with whatever she had been doing and was now trying to get back up. She seemed to have some trouble doing so with her leg.

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava quickly moved to assist the priestess.

"Can you verify it's really them? If they are, share the information over an encrypted connection."

Ajava still wondered how all three of them were just available without prior notice. She also looked forward to seeing high priestess Amilia again.

((OOC: Nitpick: Hasley was a woman...))

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana still looked out of the window. She was still cooping with the fact that they noticed the birth of a star. This was not something she expected.

Ariana snapped out of it and immediately came back to reality.

"What is our current planning? How much more research time do we need?" She asked towards Shebi Ajava and the Priestess.

[Dragonmaster352]

((OOC: Your nitpick: Tore it's skull out and beat it to death with it.
Hasley wasn't the scientist that raised their hand, I thought the HIM made that clear. It was an answer to her question.))

"I think we're nearly done, though I would like to leave a probe here. So we can keep recording until a new ship arrives." The Lady-Priestess answered Ariana.

"What exactly are you afraid of Miss Shebi? I see little problem with sending scientific data to Stellaria. The birth of a Goddess is a joyous occasion and even if you don't believe, I'm sure you understand that witnessing the birth of a star is headline news. The world of academics is cut-throat but not that cut-throat."

The captain seemed a bit confused.

"Look we spent the last two days with all sensors, both long and short range, on-line at full power. I seriously doubt we wouldn't have detected a ship in the vicinity by now."

[Shebi Ajava]

((OOC: Whoa... What a way to reply to to a small mistake; try being nice next time.))

"Joyous occasion?!", Ajava couldn't believe what she was hearing. "We just discovered living creatures that seemingly are capable of creating stars. There is no way I'm going to allow this data to be publicly broadcast."

This has very little to do with religion or academics. If these creatures can create stars, they are a very dangerous weapon -- just imagine what would happen if the Mandalorians would have been aware of these creatures. These creatures will be hunted and analysed, and eventually someone will devise a way to weaponise them and start destroying star systems.

This will not be broadcast, and that is the end of the discussion. Inform your high-priestess that their request for life access has been denied."

[Dragonmaster352]

((OOC: relax I was joking. once more the proof that writing is an inferior method of communicating.<_<))

[Shebi Ajava]

((OOC: If you're joking, it works wonders to use a smiley like :P instead of angry red text and capitalisation emphasis o_O))

[Ariana Danacia]

"I agree with Shebi Ajava. These creatures are too powerful and information about them must not fall in the wrong hands.

Leaving a probe here is fine by me. But this probe must only scan. It will not be allowed to broadcast any signals. Broadcasting will only give away its location to enemies."

[Dragonmaster352]

The Lady-Priestess got angry. "And on what evidence do you base that assumption? Do you really think the Goddesses would allow themselves to be used as a cudgel by barbarians? We've studied these creatures for two days and have yet to detect anything that could start a nuclear reaction. I will not allow you to speak such blasphemy in my presence!"

The scientists stopped their work at the Lady-Priestess' out burst. One of them stepped forward.

"Milady, please calm down. I am sure she didn't mean it like that. But I will counter her hypothesis. I just finished calculating the energy contained in the shock wave we just experienced and compared it to the stars energy output." The scientist paused a moment.

"It falls short. The shock wave was to weak. It should have been at least twice as strong."

The male scientist who raised his hand earlier reacted to that.

"Could that be the creatures doing? I noticed they blocked a significant amount of particles from entering interstellar space. The Heliosheath is a lot denser then normal for a star like this."

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana was not going to get herself in the middle of some kind of religious discussion. Her job was to protect the scientists which was successful so far.

"Please notify me when you will launch the probe. I will be monitoring the scanners, just tell me if you need me."

Ariana left the observation deck and moved towards the console that was used to monitor scanning. At the scanning station she waited for the scientists to conclude their research while keeping an eye on the surroundings of their ship.

((Check: 9 = 6 Force Level + 3 Vision -- Keeping an eye on the scanners.))

((OOC: I am ready for a timeskip.))

[Shebi Ajava]

Instead of reacting immediately, Ajava waited a moment to let the priestess calm down.

"Priestess, I did not intend to deride your religion. I did not assume anything, I said that these creates are seeminlgy capable of creating stars, and if these creatures can create stars, they are very dangerous weapons. And if they are capable of creating stars, they might also be capable of destroying stars; it is a known fact that stars are sometimes destroyed, for example when they go supernova.

There is no hypothesis to be countered, as I did not pose a scientific theory. I only stated what the reaction of other people would be. I don't think I need to provide evidence for the fact that there are factions in the galaxy that would stop at nothing to gain the power to destroy stars, even if this power is not at all guaranteed."

"Regardless of what these creatures can really do, others will follow the same reasoning. The creatures will be hunted down even if they are not capable of creating or destroying stars. In my opinion, that should be prevented. And publicly broadcasting this event ensures that the creatures will be hunted.

Furthermore, I am tasked with protecting you, and the scientists present. I would be remiss if I allowed this event to be broadcasted publicly, as that would paint a target on each of you. You would be seen as valuable to groups that are capable of kidnapping you, or extorting you through pressure on your loved ones."

"I am sorry, priestess. But I will not allow this data to be transmitted elsewhere while you are under my protection. Besides, the fact that we were even capable of establishing a communications link to the ACA home world does not guarantee any form of security, or the necessary bandwidth to actually transmit more than text messages."


"I propose that you continue to make extensive recordings of this event, and that we remain here for a few more days to see if the creatures remain or leave. This would allow you and the scientists some time to further analyse the event."

((OOC: I'm ready for skip and debrief.))

[Dragonmaster352]

"We could edit out the creatures." Doctor Hasley suggested. "Regardless I don't think we can hide a new star, no matter how it came into existence."

Lady-Priestess Ashikata took a deep breath to calm down. "Would that be acceptable miss Shebi? To make these creatures classified is surely within the Jedi's capability, is it not?"

Casting a glance to captain Miller she continued. "And I am sure the Divine Nova Triage is capable of convincing the good captain and his crew to forget them if the jedi can't."

((OOC: I'm going to skip ahead a bit but you can still answer or ask questions in your next post if you want to.))

After the conversation the scientists went back to work. The Lady-Priestess went to communicate with the High Priestesses.

In the next few days the scientists found out the density of the new star's heliosheath went down and that the creatures seemed to absorb the stellar particles in the heliosheath.

When the density of the heliosheath started to approach normal for a star like this the creatures started to break the circular formation they had held up till now. Less than an hour after they broke formation the first ones started to jump to hyperspace, their direction seemingly random. The jedi could sense Violet was still near, but since she hadn't contacted them it might be she was focussed on something else.

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava was glad that the priestess calmed down.

"Doctor Hasley, if we reduce the quality of the feed, the editing might not be detectable. I also estimate that this new star won't be noticed for another few years: this sector is not part of a common route, and the star won't be detected by normal means unless someone goes looking."

"Priestess, declaring these creatures classified is very possible. I will inform the Jedi council of their existence, and explain the reason for keeping this silent."


Ajava had no further plans, so for the rest of the days, she let the scientists and the priestess do their thing. She noted that Violet was still near, but had not direct interest in the creature.

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana continued to monitor the situation. She waited for the scientists to finish their research.

[Dragonmaster352]

It took about a day for all the creatures to leave. After which the Labraham Incoln started it's journey back to the Novalia System.

The return trip was fairly uneventful with the exception of the last few hours. While going through the collected data, the science team discovered strong indications the creatures had nothing to do with the birth of the star. That they where drawn to it instead.

Lady-Priestess Ashikata approached the jedi.

"Excuse me, Miss Shebi? When we met you expressed an interest in Astrian beliefs? I realise we haven't had the chance to speak on the subject so I told High Priestess Minoka about it.

She has invited both of you to come to the main temple of the Divine Nova Triage on Stellaria to learn about our faith. Of course she understands you need to report to your superiors first, so this is an invitation for after you finish that. Feel free to decline if you are to busy."

((OOC: Ok I think that's a wrap. I hope you enjoyed this story. It took quite a bit longer then anticipated. You both did excellent IMO. You will be granted 3 upon completing the report.
At the start I said there would be a chance for casual roleplay. If you wish to participate I suggest answering the invitation from the Lady-Priestess. Declining the invitation will have no consequences.

Thank you and if you have to drive, don't forget your car. :)))

[Shebi Ajava]

"I would love to accept the high priestess' invitation", Ajava replied, "though I will indeed have some other matters to tend to before I am able to visit."

Ajava made sure that the scientists safely returned home. As promised, she brought the captain of the Labraham Incoln in contact with a veolian noble that was very interested in the services offered by the captain. Especially after Shebi informed the man of the captain's drive and bravery.

After delivering the report to the Jedi Council, and explaining to them the decision to classify these creatures for now, she booked a flight to Stellaria.

((OOC: Thank you for trying your hand at story-telling. I enjoyed it a lot!

I have written the report, though Chriz hasn't seen it yet.))

[Ariana Danacia]

"Thank you for the invitation. Unfortunately I have to start preparing for my Jedi Knight trial. Maybe I will visit the temple at a later moment."

((OOC: I have nothing to add to the report.
Thank you for this interesting story with some nice unexpected turns :)))

[Dragonmaster352]

((OOC: Report looks good and is there for: approved

@Ajava: I'll start the tread early next week.))