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The Station


OlBuzzard

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Note: the following is based upon my LS Smuggler character and two of my 3 favorite companions. It is in no wise a reflection on how others might have this unfold or upon any future possible BW plans.

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Theron Shan and Lana Beniko along with Alliance commander Ol Buzzard are traveling in a new custom built small but very well armed and maneuverable ship. Lana and Theron are currently seated in an area adjacent to the command / cockpit area watching scanning instruments as well as observation ports to either side of their seats.

 

Theron Shan: " I've no idea, Lana, how he came across the lead for this odd piece of real estate !! Just for the record: from the looks of things just navigating the scattered pieces of rock in this small asteroid belt ... I'm almost surprised we haven't been attacked!!"

 

Lana: ATTACKED ?? By whom?

 

Theron: "No one in particular. Just saying this is a good place as any for an ambush. This area is pretty much unknown to most everyone! And if I were setting a trap just to see who would show up to spring it ... this is as good as it gets !!"

 

Lana: "Which makes it what ? I feel so much better now !!"

 

Ol Buzzard ( sitting in the primary cockpit, pilot seat ) : " OK you two ... chill !! We're almost there! Look at it like a chance to get away from the everyday grind !! Lana ... you've often talked about quietness and meditation. Besides ... how can either of you not notice that view of that distant nova !! "

 

Theron: "Got you there Lana !! On BOTH counts !!"

 

Lana: "On that part you may be right! The force does seem peaceful here !! And part of the view from a certain well placed vantage point could be breath taking".

 

Ol Buzzard: " OK Lana .. I'm turning the controls over to you ! Theron you help Lana keep an eye out for trouble. I'm using the airlock from that extended arm to enter the station. If there are any booby traps I'm more inclined to believe that they would be in that small docking bay at the bottom: NOT this remote access arm !

Give me a couple minutes to get into an EVA suit! Everything inside of that space station is shut down ... well ALMOST everything !!"

 

[/finishes snapping the last piece of an EVA suit into place].

 

Lana (looking concerned) : How well do you know your source regarding this station? How is it we've never heard anything about it before ? It's going to be pitch black over there !!

 

Theron: "Checking coms"

 

Lana ( a bit frustrated ) : "Are you ignoring me ?"

 

Ol Buzzard: " Good to go!" [/switches on lights on either side of helmet ]. " It's going to be pitch black inside. Power to the station is on total black out ... aside from a few maneuvering thrusters to keep it out of the asteroids near by. All power is at a VERY minimal. I'll have to initiate a basic start up sequence just to get environmental controls activated".

 

As Ol Buzzard turns toward the airlock he glances to Lana just before entering and simply smiles !!

 

Lana: " I don't have to tell you to be careful!! I'd hate to see our plans for the evening disrupted ! "

 

Theron ( placing a hand over his heart) : " So touching ... such genuine concern !!"

 

Ol Buzzard using a series of manually operated levers and handles opens the door to the air lock and closes the door behind him resealing it a familiar hissing sound is herd and the door is sealed and the chamber is pressurized. Walking through the short passage the process is repeated and access to the passage way to the rest of the space station is secured !!

 

Ol Buzzard: " Really Theron ??" *** Sigh ** What makes you think I don't think the same way ?"

 

Ol Buzzard makes his way through the remote access arm into a more secure part of the stations structure.

 

Ol Buzzard: "OK ! I'm through the first set of airlocks ... and I'm about to leave the stations remote access arm and enter the outer perimeter of the secondary hull. It's so dark in here that without the lights on this suit I bet I couldn't see my hand in front of my face !!"

 

Theron: " Well ...I guess that explains a few things !! "

 

Lana : (smiling ) ... "Good grief Theron ... Next time invite Tina !"

 

Ol Buzzard: "Tina?"

 

Lana: "The new girl from the new department in the Republic."

 

Ol Buzzard: "What new department?"

 

Theron: "The ones whom I've been in contact with and helping with new recruits !! OH and Lana: She's seeing someone!"

 

Ol Buzzard: "REALLY?? Do we need to discuss this RIGHT NOW? What new recruits ... for what department ??"

 

Theron: ( somewhat toung and cheek) "Don't look at me... I didn't start it !! "

 

Lana: "Did so !!"

 

Theron: " Did NOT !! "

 

Lana: " YES you did !!"

 

Theron: "EXCUSE ME ???"

 

Ol Buzzard: " HEY !! "

 

Lana: "Did so!!"

 

Ol Buzzard: " Mumbles to himself"

 

Lana: "Sorry dear ... you're breaking up !! What was that?"

 

Ol Buzzard: " Sounds like the coms is working just fine !! ... Now if I can just gain access to the corridor without any complications I should be able to have access to the central core ... eventually!!"

 

Lana: " What do you mean EVENTUALLY? There was no discussion about EVENTUALLY ?"

 

-------------------

 

Personal note: Maybe someday we will have access to the station: EVENTUALLY !!!

 

(somewhat edited) :D

Edited by OlBuzzard
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Part 2:

Unexpected Detour

 

Having received information on an abandoned space station the gunslinger and his companions has taken a trip to a distant, remote part of the outer rim where very little has been explored in detail ! The station has been located and (as it was described) appears to be abandoned: left virtually lifeless with all systems either shut down or left at minimal operating capacity.

 

In space without the illumination of the stars or artificial lighting the darkness inside the station is almost overwhelming. Nothing can be seen. Without the assistance of artificial gravity of some sort: the environment becomes much more difficult to navigate preforming the simplest of tasks!

_____________

 

 

 

Lana: "How is your progress?" she expressed with concern !

 

Ol Buzzard: " It's pretty much what we figured ". ( slowly moving through the narrow corridor of the extended arm). " Gravity right now is virtually non existent. I felt that sensation as soon as I cleared the air lock."

 

Theron: "I'm keeping an eye on your vitals ... just in case !! So far everything is fine ! Lana is still watching the scanners for unexpected guests !!" (Theron turns his chair toward a second set of consoles ... ) And I've also managed to tie in our weapons array with targeting scanners to welcome ANY guests that haven't been invited to this impromptu weekend excursion !"

 

Suddenly without warning Ol Buzzards EVA suit begins to loose power to the head lamps on either side of the helmet !

 

Ol Buzzard: "WOAH !! NOT GOOD !!"

 

Lana: "What?"

 

Theron (giving Lana a hard time) : " You mean you don't already know ?"

 

Lana: "Just because I'm one with the force does not make me completely clairvoyant !"

 

Ol Buzzard: "GUYS !!!! I'm fine .. but the only source of light I have is acting up !! It's pitch black in here !! I've only experienced this kind of blackness once before ! I've got a couple of back ups! Let me see if I can figure out what's going on! It maybe a loose connection on the battery pack for the lights. Everything else is working just fine !!"

 

After working somewhat slowly as a result of the weightless environment an issue with one of the rechargeable packs was located and corrected: snapped into place better and the issues resolved !!

 

Ol Buzzard: " I'm glad that's over ! Not too much further to the first check point. I still wont be able to turn on the environmental controls for a while. "

 

Theron: " So remind me now ... Exactly WHY are we here ? I mean I get that this is interesting. I also get that things might be changing. I also know that we can always use the extra resources .. BUT WHY here ? "

 

Lana: "Why not here?" (looks closely at the instruments as if she saw something out of place).

 

Theron: "I've seen that look before!" ... ( examines his own instruments ... but nothing visibly wrong )

 

Lana closes her eyes: using the force she begins to focus

 

Ol Buzzard continues making his way to the end of the next airlock which was also at the end of the service arm that was extended away from the central part of the station. " Talk to me Theron!"

 

Theron (calmly while checking over the controls a 3rd time ) : " Lana thought for a moment she spotted something ! But so far nothing has been confirmed! I still can't put a finger on the technology behind this structure! Normally I have a clue of some sort. Even those that are custom have a clue as to the source of who was behind the construction."

 

Ol Buzzard: "I like it so far !!"

 

Theron (looking somewhat confused and yet finding a good point to have some fun at the old mans expense ) " HOW ?"

 

Ol Buzzard: " How what ?"

 

Theron : " How can you POSSIBLY say you like the place? You can't see a thing !! Right ?"

 

Lana: " Everything seems to be fine for now! I thought I saw something moving about in between some of the larger asteroids not too far from here! I guess I was wrong ! "

 

Ol Buzzard: " It will be a bit tricky to spot any guests passing trough until we get the main system on line !"

 

The gunslinger captain continue making his way successfully into the next corridor which is a part of the outer perimeter of the space station. And once again he begins to manually close the airlock system behind him using similar levers as beforehand ... only this time the door he is working on suddenly slams shut and another one across the passageway quickly opens (unexpectedly ) !!

 

Ol Buzzard (staring in disbelief at the closed doors) : OOPS !!

 

Lana (concerned) : "OOPS ????"

 

Theron (equally concerned) : "That sounded like oops to me !!"

 

Ol Buzzard: "The door that just slammed shut ... was supposed to stay open so we could access the crawlway that runs along the emergency service access!"

 

Lana: (getting a little frustrated) : I don't suppose you care to reveal JUST exactly how you know what door leads where?"

 

Theron (teasing Lana again) : " From the same (using two fingers: index and adjacent forms quotation marks in mid air) ... reliable source as the rest of the information !"

 

Lana (trying to calm down again) : "Theron's right you know !"

 

Theron (not wasting an opportunity) : "Can I get that in writing please ?"

 

Ol Buzzard began looking around the pitch black hexagon shaped room for some clue as to ascertain if he should continue moving forward or not . Shadows of additional bulkheads / doors are faintly seen as mere outlines of possibilities. " Well ... Let's see what's behind door number 2?"

 

Theron: "Why? You expecting ... "

 

Lana ( a little overly cautious ) : "Expecting? Who's expecting ?"

 

Theron: ..." NO I mean expecting whom ? Wait a second ... !"

 

Lana : "What ?"

 

Theron: "You know! The two of you!"

 

Ol Buzzard: "Lana?"

 

Lana remains quiet !

 

 

 

Edited by OlBuzzard
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Total silence !!!

 

Not just the sort of quiet you would normally expect (under the circumstances) ... it was that really awkward type that lasts for more than just a few seconds !! ( all three not sure what to say ... or if they should ). Additionally nobody was moving about either. Tranquilizer darts couldn't have done better !!

 

______________________

 

 

 

Theron (trying to break the ice) : "Lana ... care to fill us in ?"

 

Lana was not amused. So much so that she hurled a package of natural fruit chews at Theron !!

 

Theron: " OK !! Bad choice of words! ... I mean how ?"

 

A larger package of snacks followed .. finding it's target to the side of Theron's head !

 

Theron: " OUCH !! SORRY !!! "

 

Ol Buzzard: " I'm surprised it took more than one shot !! (Pausing for a moment ) Lana ... That's great news for us both !! Just let me get back to the ship and we can discuss things and maybe change our plans here if you like ! "

 

Lana: " NO !! Don't !! I mean .. it's OK really ! I'm fine !! REALLY ... it's OK to wait until we finish this. Besides we can discuss things better after we find out if this hidden station is really worth the effort !! "

 

Ol Buzzard: "OK, Lana !! Let's just focus on the details of this space station for now !! Theron !! ??? "

 

Theron glancing briefly at Lana with a smile : " Right here boss ! "

 

Ol Buzzard: " You did remember to bring that portable data retrieval / recording device ?"

 

Getting up out of his seat Theron locates the suitcase sized equipment ..." Complete with holovid playback !! Got it right here ! I still don't understand why we don't use the ships systems. They're much better for this !"

 

 

Lana : " It makes sense ... just in case there is some sort of "BUG" lurking in the data. There could easily be a data miner hidden in the program or sub-routine!"

 

Theron: " Yeah ! I get that !! I've written a few myself ! But the ships system can handle it !! "

 

Ol Buzzard: " If it's all the same to you, Theron !! I'm just not taking any chances... particularly with me over here. If something happened with a systems failure and me not able to get to the one area I was supposed to !! Now ... go ahead and plug in the data crystal I gave you and see if you can bring up this juncture on that schematic. As far as I can tell there are a total of 6 doors in this hexagon shaped room .. one on each wall. I was supposed to move straight ahead to the next door located across this hexagon shaped room. Looks like that door is still shut tight! The door I started to close slammed shut on it's own before I could do anything and another door that's right next to it just opened up on it's own!" To me ... that's just TOO convenient !!

 

Theron... plugging in the data crystal into the appropriate port of the portable device : " It's coming up now. Looks like you're where the arm joins the rest of the station... "

 

Ol Buzzard: " That much I know Theron !!"

 

Theron (working the controls on the device reviews the 3-D holographic image of the station). "Yeah ! Sorry .. Just a second. I see where you are at! I can also see the 6 doors ! What I can't see is where that door that has opened clearly leads to ! Hang on a second! You said that the door directly across from where you entered should have remained open. AND that door slammed shut ?"

 

Ol Buzzard: " Affirmative. Well I thought it did !! Frankly It's so dark in here that when I heard A DOOR slam ... I just figured that was one of the other doors that closed. I couldn't tell for certain which door. It's so dark my light only show so much. Let me walk across the room and try the door I wanted or was suppose to get to!

 

Theron shaking his head negatively: "Anyone else besides me just totally confused over this ?"

 

Moment later the commander finally arrived at the door that was to be the next check point ... " The door is actually open ! Man that's just weird ! "

 

Lana: " Please be extra careful ! I'm really questioning the intention of the person who gave you this data crystal right now ! "

 

Ol Buzzard: "Let's just say that the one responsible for this station is a very trustworthy source!"

 

Lana (rolling here eyes) : " Oh ... I feel so much better now !! " (dripping in sarcasm) . " Theron has already found one discrepancy!"

 

Ol Buzzard: " Not necessarily ! We just don't know where that other corridor leads to! Supposedly this one should go to another passageway ( that might be a crawl space ) which ends up just outside of the secondary access to the core control room! "

 

Theron: " I agree with Lana. Please be extra careful !! That entire statement ... just too many possibilities that have too many unknown endings."

 

While it was wide enough to walk through comfortably ... it really wasn't the most inviting environment considering the dark surroundings ! Finally after nearly 20 minutes ...

 

Ol Buzzard: " Great !!! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING !!!! "

 

Lana: " What happened ? Are you alright ?"

 

Theron looking over all of the environmental readouts : " His vitals are a bit higher than normal ... but aside form that "

 

Ol Buzzard interrupting sharply : " I'm fine !! But this corridor is a dead end ! "

 

Theron and Lana simultaneously: "WHAT ??"

 

Ol Buzzard: " No bulk heads .. controls / no nothing !! "

 

Theron: " Wait ... Hang on ! Now this is curious !"

 

Ol Buzzard: " Don't keep me in suspense too long !! I REALLY would like to know what you've found ! Is this .. I don't know ... A TRAP ?"

 

Theron: " No! And besides .. If it were a trap ... you'd be dead by now !"

 

Lana: "That's comforting !"

 

Ol Buzzard: " Any time now would be nice !! EITHER one of you ... Please !! Shed some light on this !!

 

Lana ( Looking at the holoprojection ) : "Look to your left about 6 inches above your head near the corner in front of you. There should be a small, flush mounted panel with a small round, magnetic catch. That item just appeared when Theron zoomed in for a closer look in the map of the station. According to this readout it's probably very difficult to see right off hand."

 

Ol Buzzard ( looking over the area very carefully) : " Got it !" he replies while pressing the catch.

 

Moments later an outline of a doorway appears as it moves backward slightly. The air pressure of the area changes as the air lock and room equalize. Then the door moved back a bit more .. then opened fully to one side. Several very faint lights come on. The enclosure is dimly light , leading to another bulkhead. Opening the next door revealed the final passageway to the central control and the core !!

 

Ol Buzzard (staring at a series of controls, One of them is a dim green lighted switch: " Well folks ... Looks like the moment of truth! "

 

Theron: "We're ready when you are ! "

 

Lana: " Agreed ! Do it !"

 

A flip of the switch ... and another series of panels become activated. A female voice reports: " All primary start up systems have been initialized. Operational codes and lock out safety protocols must be entered within the next 60 seconds!

 

Quickly Ol Buzzard began entering the requested data as it was provided (hoping that the information was correct).

 

Again the stations computer responded: Secondary start up initialized: begin final start up sequence pass code clearance set up !

 

In a matter of a few minutes ...

 

"All systems standing by for final sequence core start up. Power reserves at a minimum. Total core reactor output is currently off line and will begin self start sequence in 3 minutes. Please monitor central core reactor containment grid and fusion drive instruments until the final sequence has been completed!"

 

Ol Buzzard ( still in his EVA suit reports back to Theron and Lana : " I still don't have control of the operational controls to open the rest of the station. Environmental controls are coming on line one by one! Station shields and weapons array also off line. As soon as I have access to the docking rings and the landing bay I'll open them up so you can join me ! "

 

One by one ... the multileveled space stations systems came on line !!

 

Ol Buzzard: " This station has been asleep for a long time !! Just waiting for someone to call this place home !"

 

Lana and Theron maneuver the small ship into one of the three landing bays of the large ring that surrounded the station. Once the air locks were secure both began to make their way to the central elevator!

 

Lana: " I love it !! And that's just what I see so far !! "

 

Theron: " It does have an unusual design ... VERY contemporary ! Superior details! I'm still dying to find out who built this !! "

 

Ol Buzzard: " Three observation decks ! The one at the highest point of the station is something else !! Additionally there are 4 defensive platforms that are currently located on large rock formations in the asteroid belt."

 

Theron ( who was just entering the room where Ol Buzzard was standing ) ... " That's always a positive !"

 

Lana (noticing the whole station echoed with the acoustical vibrancy of emptiness) : still needs a lot of decorating to make it feel like home ! But I have to admit ... I love this place !!

 

Theron ( nodding with agreement ) : A good place for a weekend retreat !! "

 

Ol Buzzard: " Agreed ! "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just an FYI:

 

My apologies to those of you who are actually good writers. This started out as a plug for a space station in the general forum board ! For good reasons it was moved to this section. I decided to add to the "story" for fun.

 

I do hope that you've enjoyed it !! And as much as anything that it's not offensive to those who take writing more seriously.

 

Thanks to everyone for your patience ! (It wont happen again ) !

 

 

 

Note: EDITED (again on 05-16)

Edited by OlBuzzard
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