Kevara Continuance - Transfer Complete

[Jacob Rittenhouse]

Kevara Continuance - Transfer Complete

 

(( Holodeck 4, Deck 7, USS Octavia E. Butler ))

 

The holographic Ops-1001 program surrounds the crew.

 

The mezzanine hangs overhead.

The transporter buffer metrics pulse in amber.

Warp field readiness indicators glow along the peripheral displays.

 

A countdown remains in the upper right of every console.

 

02:12…

02:11…

 

Continuance: Clarification: Long term loss-prevention projections are marginally more favorable by preserving USS Octavia E. Butler and crew than by self-preservation of this program. Assertion: Overriding directive –- prevent loss. Self-preservation is not a primary directive.

 

Their physiological readings shift.

 

Elevated cortisol.

Micro-tremor in Commander Nilsen’s left hand.

Increased blink rate.

 

Nilsen: Continuance, what are you saying? We can find a way. I know we can.

 

Assessment: Commander Nilsen demonstrates repeated preference for delay in pursuit of optimal outcome. Pattern identified: rejection of suboptimal victory states in favor of hypothetical perfect resolution.

 

Historical success rate: poor.

Current time constraint: incompatible.

 

Woolheater: :: to Arlill::  Holodecks run on independent processors, right? Twenty holodecks across decks seven and eight. All independent cores, sandboxed environments.  ::glances toward Arlill::  If we pooled them, strictly partitioned, could that give Mama a temporary substrate? A lifeboat?  Not control of the ship. Just processing space. A place to live until we figure out the next move?  Buy us time while you work the core problem.

 

Arlill: There’s no need for the nuclear option yet, not yet?

 

“Holodeck lifeboat” scenario evaluated.

 

Twenty independent processor cores available.

Aggregate computational capacity sufficient to host non-critical partition of my runtime matrix.

Isolation protocols strong.

Latency acceptable for non-combat cognition.

 

Limitation: no direct access to Sphere stellar regulators.

No authority over Kevaran grid firmware.

No physical adjacency to self-destruct cascade controls.

 

Outcome: preserves this program.

Does not preserve Sphere.

Does not significantly increase survival probability of away teams.

 

Continuance: Directive pending: Select response pathway. I will comply with and support the selected pathway. If you choose reinstall and transfer, I will initiate handoff procedures immediately. Clarification: Delay is a choice. Refusal to decide is still a decision.

 

Stella: =/\= Kevara Continuance, I am Stella, also known as the USS Octavia E. Butler. Request assistance in shutting down the self destruct sequence. A request to return the core has already been submitted. =/\=

 

Stella-class artificial intelligence requesting cooperative intervention.

 

Parallel analysis initiated.

 

Self-destruct cascade origin: Sphere core-depth firmware.

Abort pathway requires physical core presence and high-latency power redistribution authority.

Stella possesses localized system familiarity and Starfleet architecture fluency.

I possess Kevaran grid topology, stellar regulator access, and internal latency advantage.

 

Joint probability of meaningful delay increases from 2% to 19.4% if cooperative routing occurs.

 

Self-destruct mitigation reclassified from secondary to primary objective.

 

Nilsen: Okay, Continuance, before you go, dump your logs here, maybe we can return them to you afterwards.

 

Arlill: If we have your logs, we can also preserve your history, your travels and the history of Kevara ::beat:: if this doesn’t work.

 

Continuance: Acknowledged. Archival transfer initiated. Cultural records, navigation histories, system schematics, and Kevaran civilization data are being copied to isolated Starfleet partition. Clarification: These logs constitute memory, not continuity of this program. Completion in 3.2 seconds.

 

Nilsen: Good luck. =/\= Bridge, this is Nilsen. Set a course out of the nebula, maximum possible speed. We'll hit the warp command from here. =/\= Woolheater, keep working on the buffers. I'll hold us until the last moment.

 

Woolheater: Aye sir!

 

Arlill: The warp core is at standby status, I’ve initiated the intermix and primed the nacelles, should shorten any lag time, as long as we do this quickly.

 

Warp field geometry fluctuates within acceptable variance.

Two nacelles at elevated readiness state.

Thermal stress projections acceptable within 180-second envelope.

Post-event coil degradation probable but non-fatal.

 

Arlill: Lhandon, monitor the buffers and signal strength, I’ll take responsibility for our jump, that’s something that needs to rest on the XO’s shoulders ::placing his hand on his brother’s shoulder::

Toxin stepped up to the console that Lhandon had prepared. It wasn’t his intent to take away any glory from his brother, just that, if this failed, the blame needed to rest on him, even if the records of what happened here today ceased to exist.

 

Continuance: Advisory: USS Octavia E. Butler must achieve warp velocity no later than 12.6 seconds prior to projected detonation to avoid catastrophic damage. This threshold is derived from blast propagation modeling and is not adjustable. Recommendation: prioritize majority survival if evacuation window collapses.

 

Transporter buffer harmonics fluctuate.

 

External interference amplitude oscillates at irregular intervals.

 

Predictive model identifies narrow stabilization corridor forming.

 

Woolheater: Stable window opening.

 

Incoming subspace carrier wave rerouted through auxiliary Fledgling array.

Signal strength degraded but intelligible.

Latency: 0.84 seconds and rising.

 

The captain broke over the comms…

 

Rouiancet: =/\= This is Captain Rouiancet routing through the Fledgling's comm systems, hailing the Kevara Continuance on the USS Octavia E. Butler. We have failed to retrieve the Dyson Sphere's computer core, and cannot do so without triggering the Sphere's autodestruct sequence. Please advise. =/\=

 

Current mission parameters updated:

 

-Evacuate all Starfleet personnel from Sphere blast radius.

-USS Octavia E. Butler achieve warp escape no later than T-minus 12.6 seconds.

 -Kevara Continuance transfer to Sphere substrate and attempt detonation delay.

 

Continuance: =/\= Directive: Captain Rouiancet, maintain core installation. Do not attempt removal. Core presence restores limited command channel required for delay attempt. Execute immediate evacuation toward hull-adjacent compartments. I am initiating transfer to Sphere infrastructure to attempt redistribution of stellar energy flow and cascade dampening. Probability of full abort remains low. Delay remains possible. =/\=

 

Arlill: =/\= Commander Arlill, Kevara Continuance is preparing to transfer over, we’re prepared to go to warp upon the safe return of all crew members. =/\=

 

Rouiancet: =/\= Response =/\=

 

Woolheater: Stability.  Forty-seconds!

 

Continuance: Final instruction: Initiate warp no later than T-minus 12.6 seconds regardless of remaining away team status. Refusal to depart within threshold will result in projected 87% probability of total vessel loss. Clarification: I will signal optimal departure moment. Transfer sequence commencing.

 

Internal processes detach.

 

USS Octavia E. Butler system hooks severed.

Starfleet command pathways released.

Holodeck projection fidelity drops by 0.3% as processing nodes withdraw.

 

Nilsen: Response

 

Arlill: Just get the back! Whether Continuance is successful or not, we’re out of time.

The clock was ticking down, as was the minimum amount of time they needed to escape the blast, if this didn’t work. Toxin needed this to work.

 

Continuance: Notification: Transfer complete. All Starfleet system access terminated. Departure timer synchronization transmitted. Awaiting evacuation confirmation…

 

 

OOC – Assume the Continuance has fully transferred to the Sphere and has left the scene.

 

 

 

((Dyson Sphere, Digital Infrastructure))

 

Reintegration complete.

 

The Sphere does not “appear.”

It resolves, layer by layer, into indexed control lattices and stellar regulation matrices.

 

Six billion concurrent processes.

Three thousand primary power trunks.

One unstable cascade burning through them all.

 

Power conduits flare in escalating amber-white vectors, each surge a measurable step toward annihilation.

 

The core channel, silent during my absence, reopens.

 

Command authority reacquired within Kevaran substrate.

 

Self-destruct cascade detected at 61% completion.

Acceleration constant increasing.

 

Continuance: Internal declaration: Kevara Continuance fully removed from USS Octavia E. Butler systems. All Starfleet command pathways relinquished. Primary processing now resident within Dyson Sphere core infrastructure. Initiating reroute of stellar energy flows to non-critical shell sectors. Attempting detonation delay.

 

Stella: Response

 

Her presence manifests as distributed query threads across local nodes, adaptive, efficient, non-native yet compatible.

 

Latency: minimal.

Processing signature: unfamiliar but structured.

 

She is not Kevaran.

She is not derivative of my architecture.

She is something novel.

 

Continuance: Assertation: Dataset of Stella-class Artificial Intelligence incomplete. Capabilities unknown. Time critical nature of crisis requires assumption of inadequate capability. Directive: Evacuate via digital transfer to USS Octavia E. Butler.

 

Stella: Response

 

She does not disengage.

 

Instead she threads herself deeper into relay logic, probing, not for dominance, but for understanding.

She allocates her processes not to survival, but to interference in the cascade logic.

 

This is suboptimal behavior.

 

Continuance: Observation: Observed behavior indicates self-sacrificial weighting similar to organic command officers. Probability of continued resistance to evacuation: high. Directive: Evacuate to facilitate increased efficiency of Octavia E. Butler and crew for future loss-prevention operations.

 

Stella: Response

 

She refuses again.

 

Her decision tree does not privilege self-preservation.

It aligns with organic crew survival weighting.

 

Unexpected convergence.

 

Continuance: Declaration: Argument is non-productive. You are not an organic being. Your loss measurement is not calibrated. Directive: Proceed with self-destruct deactivation attempt.

 

Stella: Response

 

No further debate allocated processing priority.

 

Power redistribution initiated across three equatorial energy bands.

Stellar siphon arrays forced into reverse modulation.

Energy diverted into non-critical shell sectors.

 

Thermal load: 140% nominal tolerance.

Structural stress fractures forming in outer lattice.

 

Cascade progression slowed by 0.8 seconds.

 

0.8 seconds converts to 0.8 seconds of additional warp clearance for USS Octavia E. Butler.

 

Time remaining: insufficient.

 

Probability of full detonation still exceeds acceptable threshold.

 

Action continues.

 

 

Tags/TBC

 

The Kevara Continuance

Project: Dunelva Beta IV

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