Ask Towards Utopia

[Newton]

Space, Inner Rim, Coordinates O-9
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After his discovering an ancient Gree world in the Unknown Region, he must say he did develop a taste for it. Although her perfers working with droids above all else, exploring the unknown does bring quite a thrill he never really experienced. The galaxy is a huge place, despite where they are located being in the Inner Rim, closer to the Core Worlds, space is simply too massive for all of it to be explored. There are always discoveries to be had.

Now Newton sits in the passenger seat of Senator Siria Zale's ship The Kirian as it would be emerging from Hyper Space. They've been in transit for a bit, thanks to her ships class one hyperdrive they are able to get here in all due time. They would behold a vast expanse, a red-yellow-white nebula staring straight at them in the background.

Newton would pull up his datapad "We should be in the general area of where the droid world is supposed to be" he turned his head at Siria "It may take us quite a bit of time before we find it." he forewarned Siria. "I hope being a Senator gives plenty of vacation days" he said with a deadpan tone, snarking, although the like hood of finding what they are looking for in one day is unlikely. For Newton, while he is away he would have his Blackwell assistant droid L4 take his calls and manage his office. With that he can full concentrate on the task at hand.

Possible, but still unlikely. "You made sure we have plenty of provisions, yes?". It would be careless to go on these possibly-long expeditions without provisions. Newton brought some stuff as well, a filter mask, an EVA suit. His companion droid M7 would be at his side.

Newton is ready whenever Siria is ready to accelerate, his eyes again looking through the main viewport, time to see what's out there...

@Darasuum

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[Siria Zale]

Siria sat at the controls of The Kirian. The cockpit was located on the froward belly of the star yacht which always made the woman feel like she was really flying. The view of the nebula ahead of them barely changed in terms off perspective for the time being. The suspended seats were also an added feature Siria appreciated. "Wow." She whispered with a smile as she leaned forward ever so slightly.

After taking the moment to appreciate the view she turned her blue eyed gaze over her shoulder to answer Newton. "The Kirian has top notch scanners..." She didn't realize sometimes when she bragged but turned it into a joke easily enough. "...but I hope this can be considered a vacation. That will mean we are doing something right wouldn't you say?" All the same, the woman began setting up the scans to detect for energy signatures or other anomalies. Siria knew the roboticist was still right and it could be time consuming.

They were going out of their way and into possibly dangerous territory. Even now, the senator had her blaster pistol in its hip holster. "Yes. Plenty." The quality of the provisions was fairly good by Siria's standards. The Kirian had essentially doubled its consumables as well as packed some extra exploration gear. There were some extra trinkets and goods that were stowed away but were packed with the intent as gifts. If there was a planet's population who were capable of existing with the rest of the galaxy, like any other hidden world, she wanted to make a good first impression. The ship would begin to smoothly accelerate forward and follow the navigational directions provided by the Blackwell Manager.

@The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

"I guess so" the Blackwell Manager responded in response to them not really vacation if they are doing something. Well, Newton is always doing *things* on vacation as idleness is not productive. Last time he was on vacation he was exploring some ancient Gree ruins.

Newton would then pull out his datapad that has notes from the entry he was reading upon from the library. In order to get to this droid world, assuming it exists, they would need to follow it. As the ship began to accerlerate and they get to speed, Newton would then direct the pilot Siria, using the notes. "Alright, so, Bak Das wrote that after a skirmish with someone pursuing him and his miscalulated hypersapce jump, his ship's thrusters and hyperdrive were not working, experienced cascade failure and was left adrift into this nebula." Newton paused "Full speed ahead" he would say.

When they would close get to the Nebula, Newton would then add "Be wary, Das wrote he has seen ship wreckage inside" he warned "From older ships... at the the time" now Siria needs to be on the look out for that. Who and what could the wreckage be from specifically he wondered, more droids seeking this supposed paradise? Maybe hyperspace mishaps? What if the inhabitants of this droid world are -really- protective...

"This ship has weapons on it right?" Newton wondered, just to make sure

@Darasuum

 

[Siria Zale]

At hearing how things went for Bak Das, Siria cocked a pristine eyebrow. She had a slightly amused expression on her face, not sure if Newton was making a joke. It sounded like something she would have seen in a holo-drama or experience in her worst nightmare. Space still terrified her subconsciously with all its dangers and risks but at the same time she embraced it. In doing so Siria found herself empowered to cross the distance between stars.

The Kirian would draw closer smoothly without issue. Unlike Bak Das, they weren't on the run and used to surviving by the skin of their teeth. Instead the Senator felt they had come prepared and set about making sure the scanners were sweeping the area ahead for telltale signs of anything out of the ordinary.

"Yes. Forward laser cannons but I've got them powered down. Why?" She didn't think they would need them. There were a lot of reasons ships were wrecks and out in the middle of space. All the same, the Senator became accutely aware of the power up sequence for the weapons. It would just take a second but now the Blackwell Manager had her pale hands gripping the controls a little tighter.


@The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

"Hmmmmm" Newton as he was reading more of the datapad again, the more uncomfortable. Usually the Core Worlds through the Inner Rim are safe, but this area of space is a uncertainty. They are going into a nebula, visibility is limited. Laser fire might be needed to remove an obstacle when reaction time to manuever out of the way might not be enough. But then again, if he presses on, would that mean he is becoming a 'backseat pilot'?

Before too long, the Kirian would enter the nebula, then they would be engulfed in the red-yellow-white colored gasses, they'd still be able to see the stars in the background. They are in the nebula "According to this, when the nebula ends, he saw the droid world..." he said. Affirming, that all they need to do is get through the nebula and the goal they are seeking would be within reach.

Eventually, they would come along some debris, through the thick pockets of space gas, the veil would lift as there are ships laying in ruins, snub fighters whose designs don't look recent floating in the void; freighters torn in half, and what appears to larger bulk transports torn to pieces, all with their 'guts' exposed. M7 didn't like this, it'd back off a bit and his vocabulaor let them know as well.

Newton would look towards the corner on his viewport, not seeing much besides the remains of vessels, he was just scanning looking for anything that might be of interest; but he squinted his eyes and saw two objectives, look like they seem alive. "Wait, I think see something moving" Newton would move his head closer and then squint his eyes, he'd seem, they are two sphere looking machines... picking away at a second of a heavy freighter carcass. It took him a few seconds "Wait, I see two salvage drones." Those designs look familiar. "We are not alone" Newton is familar with most models of droids, he knows the model of those salvage drones. If there are those, there will be more around, as well as their 'mothership'. "Looks like someone found themselves some salvage, their carrier might be around..."

As the ship moved forward, Newton got his eyes on the drones, and they looked at the ship spotting it, but they haven't moved yet. No doubt their mothership would be aware of the Kirian now though...

@Darasuum

 

[Siria Zale]

Siria periodically checked the scanners onboard the Kirian. Her protocol droid was at another terminal, monitoring the power levels of the shields. They would let the Senator know if there were any anomalies or issues. Otherwise TC-1138 looked out at the nebula with quite curiosity.

After a few minutes of delving ever farther into the gas cloud, the blue eyes of the young Senator found themselves looking at the cadaver like ships. "What the..." She remarked with an obvious tone of rising concern. "This is more like a graveyard."

When Newton exclaimed, she looked to see where he had spotted something. The shipboard scanners and readouts would give more information than her naked eyes could pickup but that didn't stop her from looking. Just as he said, there were two sphere like salvage drones.

"Will they attack us?" She asked, eyes lingering on the droids before looking towards her co-pilot. The machines had yet to move in any sort of manner but Siria would keep moving forward with the star yacht. It deftly plied the void like it was built to though the woman at the controls slowed down to make sure she didn't risk hitting anything. Siria also knew that space debris could move, unlike most terrestrial terrain. Hopefully they were just there to try and pull what scrap.

@The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

"It depends. These are drones, they have limited intelligence they just do as ordered and little more than that. It depends on who commands their mothership. They might leave us alone as travelers."

the Blackwell Manager would then look towards Zale "Or it is possible might see us as fresh, good salvage." That was a possibility. Space tends to be harsh, Newton tends to expect the worst in people. "We should be ready, just in case, but we should strive to avoid contact." With luck, the two drones didn't seem to notice the Kirian flying it's course, the star yacht would pass by. Fighting these drones might be weird, the Kirian has fixed forward guns while the drones are smaller and can move vertically as well as forward and laterally. It's best to avoid contact with them and their mothership. Speaking of the drone's carrier, no sign of it... yet.

Once the coast is clear for now, Newton would be scanning through the viewports looking out for more of the drones and their carrier, it's around somewhere. He would also look at the ship's sensor instruments. "How reliable would you say are sensors are where we are at longer distances?" Newton wondered aloud as he wasn't sure how hampered the ship's detection capabilities would be affected by being in the smack dab of a large nebula.

Although they avoided two drones, they are still far from worry free, as now there would be a larger chunck of debris drifting into their flight vector. Zale would have to maneuver to avoid it.

@Darasuum

 

[Siria Zale]

Siria did her best to steer the Kirian through the nebula. She listened and kept her eyes on the sensors for any movement. The fair skinned woman looked out keenly for a possible mother ship.

Drifting through, on the far side of a lifeless transport emerged the dangerous prow of starfighter. It came reaching out the shadow and it's tip would slam into the side of the yacht's shields. Warning lights of proximity startled the Senator and she tried to pull away. "Di'kutla shabuir" she cursed under her breath at being so startled by drifting salvage. Following up that frustration was sudden concern. Looking towards Newton she wondered if her maneuver had attracted any other attention. This time she would focus more on making sure she didn't crash.

"You're welcome to check the scanners Mr Arden. I'm focused on flying." She replied curtly. The sensors didn't help her own limited eye sight. She wasn't sure how far the different ships stretched. There were more dense parts of the nebula that would be hard for their scopes to pick up but also would make it harder to see. So far, Siria was opting to try and fly where the winds were calmer.

@The Good Doctor mild failure

 

[Newton]

Newton's was beginning to grow weary of this expedition as the twin troubles of the salvagers and as the ship begins to take damage from the debris as they try to make it out. The salvagers appear to be still nonethewiser, and that's good as they would perfer to avoid them. They have no telling what their intentions might be if they find a functioning vessel flying around in a place such as this.

Unfortunately for the Kiran, the ship really doesn't have a compact design. It's model has a large wing sticking out, it really isn't suited for going through debris fields such as this. As the Kirian maneuvers, it inadvertently would be caught by a debris of a ship larger than the yacht, tearing it off in half, and send the ship recoiling towards . If so, the Kirian would shake, and Newton would be rattling along with the rest of the ship. He can see and hear the warning lights, klaxons and the likes.

Newton would read the dashboards "Uh oh" he grimaced "I hope we don't need that wing for anything...." that might make landing on any world... problematic... Newton doesn't know how that will impact the rest of the flight as well, it could very well make the ship vulnerable to more damage now being more exposed and hamper maneuverability, and perhaps speed. Things are beginning to look bad, they try could turn back now, but it seems like they came too far already.

They are beginning to clear the debris field, although Newton can tell they are far from exiting the nebula. But as soon as obstructions clear, Siria and Newton would be able to see something odd... Newton's jaw would drop

"What is that? Is that... a Black Hole?"

The Blackwell employee would see the object slowly, but surely pulling more debris towards it, and slowly crushing it with gravity. "The book for this never mentioned anything about a black hole..." The Kirian is a mid distance from the Black Hole, far enough that it's not a problem at the moment, but it could be if the Kirian doesn't change course soon.


@Darasuum

 

[Siria Zale]

The jarring sounds and shaking of the Kirian made Siria wince on behalf of her beloved ship. She did her best but was still taking things fast, wanting to get some distance from the previously seen drones. The woman tried to keep them in mind and also hiding places. "how do smugglers manage it?" Siria thought to herself.

The light blue irises of the Senators eyes reflected the dark absence of light surrounded by a a halo of light. It was both beautiful and utterly terrifying. Mouth agap, Siria pulled on the controls to angle her ship away from the black hole. "No way I am going near that. What the hell is that doing out here?" The concern in her voice held back now that there was even more to worry about.

"Maybe that hole swallowed up your droid world. There's no way we can jump past it." They would have to maneuver through another part of the nebula and take a long way around unless they wanted to get pulled into the gravity of the singularity. Even as she thought that, she brought the ship through some thick clouds only to have a drone show up dead center in front of their cockpit. Hauling on the controls, Siria didn't react fast enough and slammed into the drone sending it flying and smacking into a light freighter it had been maneuvering around. The upside was at least she didn't think whomever was control the drones had noticed them. "Maybe they'll think a rock hit it...or something." If they came to investigate though, Siria wanted the Kirian to be out of sight.

@The Good Doctor barely success

 

[Newton]

The Kirian would then continue to fly, gaining distance between the Black Hole and the the salvagers' looting ground. The drone was destroyed, Newton doesn't know if the mothership would go to investigate or not, but by the time he gets there, they would be long gone, sensors pick up nothing and he still had no visual of it either.

The Black Hole would be there, it being there prevents them from going to light speed. Newton still couldn't get over how breathtaking it was to see one in person. Such a thing, to be able to devour anything that reaches the event horizon, even the light. He's never seen one in person before, it would crush the ship with it's gravitational pull before it would consume the ship, but at least for now it's in the background and they are gaining distance from it.

"Is that possible?" Newton was skeptical of such a thing. Then again, maybe the droids are so advanced that somehow they their world imploded a black hole. Flying too close to the sun... But still "We still have to see what's on the otherside of the nebula." any any case.

Newton would then look at his astromech droid now that the metaphorical winds have calmed down. "Hey there, you want to tend to the damage" M7 would be and then proceed on his way, thanks to magnetic wheels, the astromech droid would be able to move on the ship and be able to start inspecting the damage, the droid would be able to see sparks hissing and static.

@Darasuum

 

[Siria Zale]

They were in a bit of a rough spot. It was not going to be smooth flying for the rest of the trip even if the Kirian hadn't sustained damage. The Senator managed to avoid any further debris and beckoned for TC to assist with any repairs.

"It will take us a bit to travel via sublight." Siria's blue eyes peered out into the nebula as the vessel plied the safest route making curves and loops. "Is there any other notes or information you have that might be helpful? I heard purgil might travel these kinds of places." She asked Newton to pass the time.

The journey would be quiet for the most part. Even damaged, the star yacht was faster and more maneuverable than most ships and if the scavengers were following the exploratory crew they would be left behind and lost in the nebula. "The sensor array isn't damaged right? The topographical, full spectrum probably won't do much now but if we reroute power to them we might be able to see a little further." She didn't know as much about starships as she would like but she only brought it up because she figured Newton or one of the droids would have confidence in making the changes. Trying to be optimistic they would end up needing them to record details of the planet anyways. Making sure they were still operating as best as possible would not be a wasted priority from the Senator's perspective.

@The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

Newton would breathe a sigh of relief as they are making good progress, they are free from the debris, from the Black Hole, and possible pirates. M7 did all he could with the wing, patching it up a bit, although the good astromech drioid can't fix a wing that's half torn off. There were some other parts that suffered minor damage that was fixed up. M7 would then return to the bridge, beeping that it accomplished it's tasks. Newton would look at him "Good job little buddy." he would pat him on the top of it's head.

"Purgil?" Newton never heard that term before. "Anyways, nothing much else. If we do find this planet and touch down, we will be sure need a filter" Newton brought him a filter mask along, along with an EVA suit. "The planet atmosphere isn't breathable, it's nothing but pollution. There is also no food and water. Just rock and metal." Not a planet sustainable for organics at all, but just fine for droids.

About the sensor array. "Hey there, can you reroute power to the sensors? We want to see ahead better" he was following the good senators advice. The astromech droid companion would keep in affirmative. M7 would get to the console between the pilot and co-pilot and begin to do just that. WIth time, the sensors would be able to pick up a massive energy signature up ahead, M7 would then make a series of beeps to alert them "What is it?" Newton asked, with an uneasy expression on his face. New threat perhaps. "Massive energy signature coming up ahead..." he said. Looking out the viewport, the nebula is thinning out, he's able to see more of the black void with the stars in the background. Yet in the foreground, there would be a spherical object, all lit up like a lighthouse at night. It would be easier to make out every step they progressed.

It is apparent now, They did it, they found it. "Utopia..." The droid world exists, and it's right in front of them now, clear as day. Newton's jaw dropped, marveling at it.

But after emerging from the thick nebula, power to the ship suddenly went out all at once...

@Darasuum

 

[Siria Zale]

"Yes, Purrgil" She repeated and would continue. "They're like whales and can be a real problem according to spacers. Imagine flying through this nebula and a big maw just comes flying out of nowhere." Siria had never seen one before. But in her line of work she didn't frequent the same space lanes as much as others. She would have thought Newton had heard of them.

The roboticist spoke more about the droid world. With each passing minute of calm travel she wondered what it would be like. The closer they got they detected an energy signature and before long the damaged Kirian exited the nebula and was flying towards the planetoid. "By the forgotten gods..." she muttered the old curse she had heard her father say. Siria was speachless. All she could think to do was make sure the data collection was correctly recording and saving information. "I'm going to head back and change-." Standing up from the pilot's seat, the Senator didn't make it fully from her seat before the ship's lights went dark. "Dank ferrik. Now what?"

@The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

"Eh..." he replied in regards to space whales. Newton just really dismissed them, he's never heard of any 'space whales' and he doubts any exists.

Newton marveled at the droid world just ahead of them. Until the power shut off in the ship. His marvel would transform into a frown and look a what happened. M7's first instinct is to shine a light so people at the helm can see. Before too long, the back-up systems would come on, powering up the bare basics, like life-support, there would also be dimmed red lights as well.

"Great..."

So close to Utopia, yet they are so far. They really don't have anything else. "M7, diagnose the problem please" he said with an annoyed tone M7 would beep and acknowledgement, and scurry off to the ship's power supply to inspect the damage.

Before too long, he would hear his droid wailing while he was in the passenger seat. "Oh no..." Newton said, he would himself hurry to where M7 is. He would find his companion droid with slight burn marks. "You ok?" he would crouch down as he would tend to it. M7 would then start beeping, it's in pain and it's dissorted, but at least he's still alive.

Newton wouldn't know what to do if his companion droid was shorted out permanently or something... Newton would breath a sigh of relief.

@Darasuum