Lieutenant Kimonzi Lahl - Where Did We Park?
Nick Wilcox
((Dyson Sphere, Communications Platform A2))
Kimonzi and her team had been tasked with making changes to a communication node on the dyson sphere and they were finally in that node. However, Stella, the AI that either was the Butler or was inside the Butler, the distinction wasn’t important at the moment, had triggered some sort of self-destruct sequence. Kimonzi had been desperately looking through a computer console for a way to stop it.
She had been unsuccessful.
Lahl: There has to be some way to stop it.
Greaves: Maybe we can buy ourselves more time. The Butler’s self-destruct is tied to anti-matter storage containment. That can be instantaneous if it needs to be. This station doesn’t need antimatter. It’s got a star. That means this detonation likely requires a staged overload of energy storage. Can we slow that overload? Divert flow? Create resistance somewhere in the grid?
That was a good point, Lahl started looking through the console again before it stuttered and disappeared on her. She looked around the room to see if anyone had an explanation.
Varik/Forsyth: Response
Stella: =/\= Unab….acces…amework. Self de…four minu…=/\=
Nilsen: =/\= Go for #@AQSD, Stella, %SA? ::beat:: wh%SDF ^$#@ong? Team, rep%^DF. =/\=
Kimonzi quirked her head as the messages came through. Or, rather, didn’t come through. This was getting frustrating.
Continuance: =/\= Report: Signal degradation correlates with rapid energy accumulation in Sphere internal grid. Mitigation: synchronized EM frequency hopping and phased array coherence correction. Proceed with communications. =/\=
Stella: =/\= Previous message received. Repeated for clarification. Confirm if any statements are false.=/\=
Oh good, she could talk properly again.
Stella: =/\=Go for Nilsen, Stella, who? ::beat:: what’s wrong? Team, report.=/\=
Greaves: =/\= We’ve got less than four minutes before detonation and Stella here can’t even access the Station’s computer core anymore to try and override it. =/\=
Woolheater/Away Team: =/\= Response (optional) =/\=
Nilsen: =/\= Continuance, let’s work together. Is there anything we can do from up here? =/\=
Continuance: =/\= Clarification: STATION self-destruct sequence is a terminal fail-safe embedded at Sphere core-depth to prevent Kevaran Continuance-class intelligences from acquiring write access to foundational code and propagating across Kevaran infrastructure. Trigger condition: unauthorized artificial intelligence interaction with deeper functions. Status: Triggered. Initiator signature: Stella. =/\=
Oh, well that was not good. Now, if only they could get it to stop.
Continuance: =/\= Clarification: Captain Rouiancet’s team has physically removed the STATION computer core. With the core removed, no command channel exists to issue override or abort. The device that can hear “stop” is no longer present. =/\=
Greaves: =/\= I’ll take that as a no then. We need to get the ship out of the system before this thing blows. Who knows how big of an explosion this thing will trigger or what will happen to the system’s star =/\=
Stella: =/\= Continuance, =/\=
Woolheater/Away Team: =/\= Response (optional) =/\=
Greaves: =/\= With the transporter interference here we’ll need to move. We’ll try and find a beam-out point. Greaves out. =/\=
Kimonzi started thinking about where they could go. The graveyard they found? It wasn't like they had a plethora of options before them.
Greaves: Time is short, and there’s no bad ideas. Way I see it, we either need to divert energy flow away from this compartment to clean up localized signal interference, or run to find a new compartment with less energy flow nearby.
Stella: Changing position to a location closer to the hull of the station increases likelihood of successful transportation.
Lahl: Right, so…where do we think we can go?
Forsyth/Greaves/Varik: Response
As they discussed it, Lahl realized that her PADD had been activated again. It appeared the Stella was going to get wireless.
Lahl: Ok, we need to get off this station. Does anyone remember the route we took?
Forsyth/Greaves/Varik/Stella(?): Response
She nodded, stepping into the corridor they had come down to get to the room. The corridor was darker than she remembered though, and she clicked her light on.
Lahl: Ok, let’s retrace our steps. Unless our friend that automaton wants to help us out.
Forsyth/Greaves/Varik/Stella(?): Response
Lahl: Well, hope springs eternal and all that.
Forsyth/Greaves/Varik/Stella(?): Response
Chief Engineer