The TML PBeM

1992, Turn 3 - Part 6 (of 11)

Talisman Bridge

After a stunned few seconds, Shrike begins frantically shutting all propulsion systems down to zero. As the last button is pushed, Shrike stares at the outside displays, in a flat emotionless voice, "OK, ... I give up, ... where are we?"

from Mac on the Kingfisher:

>your docking points, and flight data." He starts transmitting docking >instructions.

"Roger your transmission Mac, we'll see what we do about this wreck first. Talisman out."

"Engineering, Shrike here. Check out the wreck with scanners and let me know how we can get it over to the Alcyon. Do we tow it somehow or do we just secure a line to it, get back to the Alcyon and let them pull it in? I'll start moving us a little closer."

"Alli, keep a close watch on these other ships right around us and let me know if any of em start moving around. I'm gonna slide us in a little. closer to the wreck."

"Alliara or Niigurd, to you, Mr Shrike. I am not qualified to strand watch on sensors - I am a linguist, please have someone with better qualifications on bridge, the quicker the better. I am attempting to maintain sensor scans, all data is 5% approximation."

Shrike mutters, "Well, Dear, do the best you can anyway."

Andon proceed to very slowly, using maneuver jets, to slide closer to the Bernoulli.

"What a way to travel." Ralf double-checks the sensors to make sure they recorded the pseudo-jump. "Redd, we got power back up or what?" he throws over his shoulder as he sweeps passive sensors over the derelict lifepod he'd noticed escaping the doomed 1000-tonner just seconds before. "No way to know if we'll have to jump soon or not."

He scans down the sensor readouts, framing a greeting for directional transmission to the occupants. ...apparent lack of power and artificial gravity, no EM emissions, IR leakage from all over, oxy/nitro leakage indicates imminent collapse of life support and environment, minor vibrations indicate moving masses inside pod... "Right."

Discarding all thoughts of hailing the lifepod, Ralf reorients the transmitter on the Kingfisher, which his screens show as the closest ship to the lifepod, able to render aid soonest. "Kingfisher this is Talisman! Scans show lifepod possibly occupied, environment near collapse, your vessel closest, request immediate rescue effort!"

Nishu Neriika has received entirely too many shocks in the last half-hour or so.

It all started, mostly, with IASIC. From the first hint of his presence, the Aurora going dark, through his short stay in the expedition's computers to his abrupt departure and the systems crash that followed, the AI was a source of 'excitement'. Nishu was just coming to terms with having his course plotted for him, and the revelation of the Hoop's nature, when he suddenly had to help bring the Talisman's systems back on line.

Then things got worse. The Solomani fleet. He'd stared in disbelief at the holo, at the numbers the computer decoded from transponder signals and displayed next to each glowing mote as it appeared. It just wasn't possible. All those ships - he hadn't seen a force that size since the War. Here? And SOLOMANI, this far from the Rim? Impossible.

He'd done his best anyway. He'd been responding to Thul's request for some way, any way, out of there, already knowing the answer the computers would give, when the far end of the Ring began to sparkle. It took him a moment to recognize what he was seeing; he'd never seen that many meson guns fired. It was another moment before he understood.

They were dying. Millions, billons of sentient beings in that arc. Every flash was a thousand dead. Insanity.

Nishu heard a voice speaking to him, inside his head. It was a sad and gentle voice. And then the world went grey.

He thought he was dead.

Then he thought they'd gone into Jump.

Now he doesn't know what to think.

Nishu stirs at last, speaking up as Alliara (don't call her 'dear') finishes testily explaining her lack of talent with sensors. His voice is flat, the voice of someone who has gone numb for a while.

"I... I can run sensors. What do you need?"

Alliara snaps, "Mister Nerika, please replace me on the sensor station. I suspect that my talents lie in other areas. As you see, there is precious little one can do with sensors at the moment, but I am sure that as soon as the command and control muddle in the great beyond is sorted out, sensors may be used again."

J.J. sits at the gun control console reading targeting information when suddenly everything goes blank. "Shit... Now what." As he double checks the readings and realizes that the fleet is not there anymore, or more to the point is not here anymore, he makes a decision.

"Thul, this is J.J. looks like the Ring has put us somewhere, whether it is safe or not is another story. Anyway, unless you have any objections we still have a fish in engineering and I think that I should check it out."

With that J.J. secures the turret station and grabs his SMG, and heads for Engineering.

"Don't worry, I won't kill it unless it shoots first." with that he heads for the lounge.

Neriika's hands move across the useless nav board, bringing up new controls and windows at Alliara's request. He's just about finished when the intense pulse of white noise washes over the Talisman (and everyone else).

There is a shriek of feedback as the sensors shut down, most of the board going dark except for the portions that flash red and amber. Nishu silences the alarms and reports, "No good, sir. Some kind of burst, all over the band. Sensors are blind. I can't maintain sensor active or passive lock on wreck for retreival, do you want it done manually?"

Shrike immediately stops the relative motion of the Talisman. "Damn it, what st...". Andon closes his eyes and can be seen taking several slow deep breaths.

"Engineering, I've stopped our motion, what do you recommend we do about the wreck? I'm going to hold position until the sensors clear."

Doejin completes his look around his new home. *A much drier climate,* he notes mentally. At that he addresses the Visitor in front of him.

He glides forward and extends a fin in greeting as Ian had shown him the way of his race. He verbally addresses a greeting to the Visitor, "Click, click, whistle, click, whistle." And he awaits a response...

Sokuku, still trying to figure out exactly where Ian went, thinks, *Hello, what's this?* He examines the Phin carefully.

Doejin appears to be a standard Terran dolphin with the darker gray top and lighter gray underside. There is a mottled coloration on Doejin's chest and extending to just under his chin (or what would pass for a chin.)

He is floating about a half meter above the deck. He is wearing what appears to be a harness and, if one looks closer, a thin, clear film seems to encase most of his body. Attached to the harness, at his midsection and to one side under his right pectoral fin, is a small, rigid, pouch. On a human, it would resemble a belt pouch. Continuing on the midsection strap is an assortment of colorful and polished shell fragments ranging in size from 2 cm in diameter or length to 12 cm in diameter or length. They appear to be worn as decoration. The harness also has straps running along the chest on the inside of the pectoral fins. On each of these straps, just inside of the pectoral fins, appears to be a fabric or material pads. Attached to one set of these pads on the left pectoral fin strap is a 30 cm rod and about 1 cm in diameter.

An additional curiosity, is a periodic mist appearing from points on the harness near the front and back of Doejin's head. The light mist is sprayed at intervals of roughly a minute.

Sokuku says, "Greetings, I'm afraid I don't understand your speech. Computer, do we have any translation programs that can make anything from this?" *Or do I have to start with 'this is 1, this is 2, ...'*

J.J. hits the Iris valve switch on the move. Closing the bridge off from the rest of the ship. Heading toward the Cargo Bay. On his way he is taking mental notes of who was where before the shit hit the fan. As he enters the Cargo bay he is momentarily startled, there floating in mid-air is a dolphin in a space suit. The dolphin is clicking and whistling at a very confused looking Dave Sokuku.

At the entrance of the newcomer, Deojin turns his attention and floats in his direction. His right pectoral fin is extended.

J.J. says to Sokuku, "Sokuku, you ok? Has the fish made any threatening gestures?" He thinks to himself, "I wonder if this thing is friendly. there are no apparent weapons on him. Don't think I will do anything to startle him."

"Yah, I'm okay, the alien has just waved at me a little and made some squeaky sounds. Nothing threatening."

He looks the situation over one more time, "Hey Sokuku, you seen Ian? He was down here just after we exited jump."

"Well, there's an interesting story behind that. You see, this glowing disk appeared, Ian hopped into it, and it disappeared. Then, just a couple of minutes ago, it showed up again and this guy popped out of it. I think we're dealing with a very advanced technology here. We should be careful. I've tried to initiate contact, but had no response yet."

J.J. punches his comdot "Thul, what we got here is an adult Dolphin, in a spacesuit, and a missing Ian. The phin does not look like a threat, but to be on the safe side I think we may want to keep him in here for while, of course considering he appeared from nowhere, I assume he could leave just as easily. I dont know where Ian is but I would assume that he is where this fish came from. Anyway looks like things are under control down here, and we are in no apparent danger, I would recommend that you seal off the Cargo Bay just in case. Also we might want the doc to look at Sokuku he looks mighty spacey right now. J.J. out"

And at the conversation between the two Visitors, Doejin's clicking and whistling subsides and he starts floating slowly backward, almost imperceptibly.

With that J.J. shoulders his SMG and drops his hands to his side. He moves forward toward the phin and extends his right hand, "Hi, uh... my name is J.J. Horne, of the Imperial StarShip Talisman, acting Security Chief. Uh... and you are?"

At the renewed attention, Doejin clicks/whistles, louder than before and moves forward extending his right pectoral fin and "shakes" J.J.'s hand.

The film covering Doejin's body is dry and warm, with a texture similar to latex, but it is much more pliable. Doejin's "grip" is non-existant, but it is readily apparent that there is strength behind the clumsy "shaking" motion.

JJ then shouts at the phin, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING?"

Sokuku winces. *Well, that's one way of going about it.*

At the shout, the clicking/whistling stops and Doejin abruptly backs off. Using a little imagination, one could think that Doejin is a little startled by the yelling.

But the yelling subsides and a brief resumption of the clicking/whistling, first, louder and apparently more excited than before directed at J.J. But this is very brief and Doejin turns toward Sokuku and continues the whistling/clicking at a lesser pace.

"Jeez, J.J., what did you have to shout for? Take it easy." Dave turns back to the phin. "Sorry about that. Now, where were we. Ah yes, I was not understanding you and you were presumably not understanding me."

"Click, whistle, click, click, whistle."

Dave taps his comdot. << Contact Team-- Can anyone track down some dolphin translation software? We've developed an urgent need for it here on the Talisman. Also, anyone who speaks Aslan, please contact Mister Farouk. >>

Turning back to Doejin, Dave holds out his hand.

And a pectoral fin is extended into Dave's hand. A vigorous shake of the fin accompanies, as well as a quick nodding and bobbing of the head.

"Mister Sokuku, this is Niigurd, am checking for translation software of dolphin. Please repeat - is that dolphin or delphin?"

<< To Niigurd: Alliara, it's definitely "Dolphin". >>

"Bridge - since the sensors are now manned, request permission to go about more useful business than being an chair-ornament. There is a, presumably, dolphin in the hold... Err... I hope it is just ONE dolphin and no water. Hmmm. Oh - Mister Sokuku needs a translator, and I have a language cracker on me. Permission to leave bridge, please. "

"Go to it, Alliara," Thul says gruffly. "That's whatcha signed on for."

Alliara briskly walks to her cabin and brings up the computer - "You there, iron monstrocity, have we a blasted library of standard sophont language translators? If so, copy a DOLPHIN translator to a data chip. And, just in case, ORCA. Lesee... Also provide a complete list of possible languages used by under-water beings in known space. Pipe this list to Mister Sokuku's hand comp. And to mine. And start scanning for that software."

_At once, Ms. Niigurd,_ Pater responds. _I have a file on standard Terram GenAssist Delphinese. Will that be adequate?_

As soon as the holo-crystal is popped out of the console, Alliara kicks open the door and makes her way to the lounge.

"Mister Sokuku, Niigurd here. I am on my way to the lounge with a language cracker, sound and text recorders and a flat video cam. Anything else you might need?"

<< No, I can't think of anything right off the top of my head. Make sure you don't make any threatening moves or loud noises when you come in. Also, have we linked up with the Alcyon yet? I'm wondering if we can bring PATER online on the lounge com system. I'd like to log everything that's said in here, at least. >>

For an instant J.J. seems to stare intently at the 'phin.

Then abruptly he turns to Sokuku, "Look Dave, you said you got an important meeting to go to right? I have a really good feeling that this fish ain't going to do anybody any harm, I think you should go to the meeting and check with the Commander to see if he wants to meet this 'phin. I think I handle this situation for a little while, believe me I _think_ I can get some communication going here. I just need to be alone with the fish for awhile, so what d'ya say? I promise that I won't do anything foolish, and I won't hurt the fish at all, he seems like an alright guy...."

Dave regards JJ carefully after this, the longest single speech ANYONE has ever heard him give....

"I think maybe I'd better stick around. I havn't heard back from Ger on how bad he wants me at this meeting, seeing as we have a 'guest' here with us. And we may have some translation software soon."

J.J. then clicks his comdot, "Hey who's on Commo, anyway whoever it is I need to talk to Commander Ger ASAP on a secure line, I will not talk to anyone but him or Vouf, but I prefer Ger. Or if the commander wishes to meet with the 'Phin I can escort the phin to him."

<< Mister Horne, this is Blaine. Commander Ger is in conference at the moment, and should not disturbed. I will relay your request to him, ASAP. >>

"Roger that. I will keep the fish amused until then. J.J. out"

"Geez, we got cats and dogs and fish, a regular zoo around here. Well Dave... I guess it's just you and me and the fish here."

Turning back to the dolphin, Dave says, "Looks like we might be able to understand each other in a minute or so."

Remebering JJ's message Shrike checks the camera for (Crews Lounge/Cargo Bay/Wherever the fish is). "Alcyon this is Talisman over."

<< Alcyon: Blaine acknowledging. Go ahead Talisman. >>

"Alcyon, be advised we have an Adult Dolphin in a spacesuit aboard and we are currently missing one crewman, Ian Thomas."

Ralf blinks again. "Ian turned into a dolphin? *This* I have *got* to see." A quick scan of the onboard monitors reveals the 'phin floating (I assume) in the lounge with Sokuko and J.J. "Hm... Bridge, where's Charyn? Looks like we got something in her specialty here. If she can provide the 'wares, I can probably patch a link for translation software into our guest's suit-comp."

One raised eyebrow later: "Acknowledge, Talisman. Will relay to the CO." Swiveling to the Admiral (and assuming he heard the transmission), "Sir? Any reply to Talisman?"

"Ask them to inquire as to its porp... erh, purpose on board, and If it will require any special environmental measures." Blaine can't tell if there was a shadow of a smile on Ger's face....

Blaine nods, and flicks over to the comm unit again.

"Alcyon to Talisman: The Admiral wishes you would inquire as to the Dolphin's purpose on your ship, and if it is in need of any special enviroment." Turning to Ger: "Should I have them inquire as to its name? Just for the halibut?"

Red lights flash on every monitor: **** PUN ALERT ****

Shrike: "Engineering, Shrike here. Check out the wreck with scanners and let me know how we can get it over to the Alcyon. Do we tow it somehow or do we just secure a line to it, get back to the Alcyon and let them pull it in? I'll start moving us a little closer."

Ralf turns and looks at Redd with the long-suffering expression that engineers habitually cultivate (and which Ralf hasn't had much opportunity to use). "Well, let's see Redd, we've got three options. One, turn the Bernoulli back on. Two, overpump some grav units as short term tugs. ...and three, wait for Ger to come to his senses."

"One may not be possible. Two... there are a few ships, and I know some tricks they don't tell you about in the showrooms for juicing a grav unit. It'd be a neat trick if we could pull it off. A messy trick if we couldn't..."

Ralf then tosses a phrase over his shoulder to Doctor Tabor, who's still standing in Engineering, the EEG monitor clutched in his hand like a religious relic.

"Please relax Doctor Tabor. There should be a drop-sling over in that corner... I can reconfigure some of the holodisplays to allow you to access your records via your medicomp, so your time won't be wasted. My brain waves are perfectly fine; I'm capable of carrying out my duties as required. When we have the time, you'll have my undivided attention. Right now we have to clean up this mess."

Dr. Tabor shakes his head wearily. "I'm not used to patients with perfectly normal EEGs going flatline and then coming back a few minutes later. But since your, ah, post-'incident' EEG appears normal, I'll leave you on duty on my own authority and on YOUR own recognizance. Christian would never believe me anyway...." He packs up his monitors and leaves Engineering, saying, "I'm going to the lounge to relax... hopefully there won't be any NEW surprises awaiting me there...."

His voice fades down the hallway. "Dolphin in the Lounge! That Horne, what a kidder...YIKES!!" And the iris valve closes behind him. A moment later, it opens again, and he backs out, muttering, "I'm going to my room, thank you VERY much...."

In a few moments the passive sensors clear themselves, and Nishu sighs with relief as something seems to be going right at last. A few attempts to sort anything meaningful from the burst turn up nothing, and the probable cause becomes clear when 'Vouf issues his angry ultimatum against anyone doing another active scan.

He has only another minute or two to ponder the nature of the 'bubble' before the problem of what to do with the drifting Bernoulli comes up. The sensors provide a picture of the situation, but Nishu has little to contribute as Shrike nudges the Talisman closer.

The startling announcement that there is a *dolphin* floating in the crew lounge comes over the intercom. Nishu raises an eyebrow, but his attention is commanded by the close maneuevering. Alliara leaves the bridge, and Andon is told to go ahead and dock; Nishu immediately re- orients the sensors on the Alcyon, although at this range Shrike needs little more than his own eyes to find the docking mount.

Ger: << We aren't exactly going anywhere are we? Just put a line to the wreck so it doesn't drift around too much. >>

Blaine: << Talisman, secure the wreck with a drift line and leave it as is-- we'll deal with it later. Proceed to dock point. >>

Shrike: "Alcyon this is Talisman. Wilco. Engineering, you copy that last message?"

Ralf considers rolling his eyes again, but rejects the maneuver. "He wants us to 'tether' a derelict 100-ton ship? With what?? Does he think we dropped by the Ring to pick up some TL25 clothesline? Redd, do we have anything, anywhere in the expedition, like those hauler/tug nets for moving LARGE cargoes outside the ship?"

Ralf chews on his lower lip for a moment as he examines the sensor readouts on the Bernoulli. "The best bet may be to fix the damn thing, then put it where we want it. Bridge, this is Ralf, can we get a detailed report on the bomb damage to the Bernoulli from Commander Bhyarrvouf, or the Aurora? And will somebody please patch me through to Admiral Ger?"

"Patching you through. 'Vouf's on the line. Waiting on Ger...."

A moment later, Bhyarrvouf's voice comes over on the monitor speakers:

<< Ralf, the Bernoulli is cold and without fuel, but the only real damage she suffered was a minor explosion in the peripherals controlling the Jump drive. If you were to tap some fuel from the Alcyon's tanks, and restart the power plant, you could get her maneuverable enough to stash in the aft cargo bay for repairs. I'm authorizing you to plan the operation and set up what needs to be done OUTSIDE the Bernoulli; we have a sticking point in that her computer systems are heavily guarded and her pilot's under sedation right now. I'll keep you posted. 'Vouf out. >>

"The Admiral's on the line, Ralf. Go ahead."

"Admiral, securing the Bernoulli with a drift line is going to do us no good at all. Likewise, I can't think of any decent way to move her other than getting her thruster plates working long enough to move her to the aft cargo bay. Need a better pilot than me to fly it, though. And I'm not sure we have any other spare pilots on the Talisman."

<< I can't believe that we are incapable of securing a drifting ship. I don't want it trussed up for high-G maneuvering, >> Ger replies.

"High-G doesn't have anything to do with it. Mass and inertia are what counts in this instance. We're capable of SECURING a ship, but first we have to MOVE it."

Ger finally sighs, << Just stop it from being able to drift away. Ralf, I'm putting you in charge of this matter. Mister Bhyarrvouf's orders stand. Ger out. >>

"Aye Aye Admiral. Ralf out. Bridge this is engineering. I've been, uh, gifted with the responsibility of securing the Beroulli. I'm going to need a spare pilot, and I don't think we have one. Check around and see if you can find one we can dragoon... Place an ad in the Expedition newspaper "Fun, excitement, valuable tight-maneuvering experience, ALL THIS AND MUCH MORE CAN BE *YOURS*....""

Ralf toggles the engineering commo. "Bridge, please laser-relay this to the Gemini Arbiter:

Gemini Arbiter this is Talisman requesting a copy of your sensor logs from 03:98 to 04:15 for engineering purposes. Thank you."

Ralf returns to scanning the expedition manifests and nav-data on the ships in the pseudojump bubble.

Redd looks up from his work at the console - he has been paying very close attention to his work of late, not that it was anything difficult, just checks on the re-started powerplant, and the jump-grid. Once Ralf has landed himself the job of overseeing the operation, he looks up, smiling -

"Well, as long as her thruster plates are intact, why don't you just run a power-line over from here ? As long as you plug it straight into the plates, there shouldn't be too much of a problem - it should bypass all the security bits, and you just have to worry about controling the thruster plates themselves."

Ralf nods absently at Redd. "Yah, the thought had crossed my mind, though nothing so refreshingly direct as your suggestion. We've got a few hours before it's crucial, so I think I'm going to dredge the owner's brains for information before mucking about with the internals of that thing."

"Best check with 'Vouf about the ships security stuff though - you'll have to board her to make the connections, lucky you."

Ralf grimaces. "Precisely." He looks around to make sure Engineering isn't about to fall apart. "Redd, should I go take a look at our visitor's hardware? I should be able to manage some sort of patch."

"Go ahead. If we aren't Jumping, we should be fine on auto." With that, Redd glances over the engineering setup and, convinced that it will manage without him, goes to wash & change before the docking.

Ralf thinks longingly of the 'fresher in his quarters for second before returning to his plans. The ship intercom sounds a tone.

"Ralf, Shrike here. If you're planning on rigging up some kind of tug setup don't forget we got those 3 Pioneer Grav Carriers, they're each rated at 100t thrust. Then again that all depends on whether gravitics will work in this place."

"Shrike, I don't think gravity is going to be a problem. Uhm, let me rephrase that. We DO have gravity, that's precisely our problem. I think we'll be able to tune the grav modules to interact with the masses of the Alcyon and the Bernoulli, which are precisely the masses that we're worried about."

"So, do we need the Talisman out here or can I dock her? And if you want a grav pilot you better let me dock this tub first."

"Might as well dock, we're going to have to spend some time in preparation anyway. Please relay to Alcyon OOD:

Alcyon this is Talisman engineering, I'm going to need somebody on the bridge over there to keep a VERY close sensor watch on the Bernoulli. We should have an hour or two of safety margin, but then again this place doesn't necessarily obey the rules we're all comfortable with. If it starts moving in any direction I want to know about it. End message."

A quick survey of sensor data from immediately after the pseudo- jump, and Ralf continues, "Bridge, please relay to Alcyon Astrogational officer:

Alcyon this is Talisman engineering. I need somebody to set up a two- body elliptical orbit plot, for a 100 ton scout and a 50 kiloton tender, no extraneous gravity sources. The plot has to stay within a volume of approximately 900 meters diameter. More precise data to follow."

"Bridge, please let me know when Gemini Arbiter responds to sensor log request. Uhm, sorry to keep you guys so busy, but here's another one... no, never mind, I'll take care of it myself after we dock."

Ralf closes up his console and heads off towards his cabin, "Oh Redd... guess who I just DRAFTED?" :-)

Kimball Redd replies, en-route to his cabin & a hot shower :-

"We'll see - I *might* have to rush off to the Alcyon's engineering and take care of vital matters there, otherwise I shall be more than happy to assist you."

Turning off his comdot he adds, quietly, "Right after I get eight hours sleep, and some FOOD!"

"Guess again." Ralf says, watching Redd jump three feet, from just outside the Engineering airlock. "The admiral demonstrated a fine ability to delegate by handing me this problem," Ralf continues with a grin, "and I'm following his example."

Ralf walks from Engineering to the Lounge and blinks at the Dolphin hovering in mid-air. The dolphin he expected, but that 30cm rod on the harness... that CAN'T be the grav system. Can it? Ralf's salivary glands kick in and he tears his eyes away with visible effort.

Ralf digs through the online library files for basic educational programs. Ah, THERE. Basic math to advanced calculus. Now to feed the information through a SIMPLE algorithm reducing it to binary data without the fancy compression or encryption systems. He starts feeding it across to the dolphin's computer at a relatively slow speed. With any luck, between the two of them they should be able to establish some sort of communications parameters using the universal mathematical laws as a basis for building a further language.

...hm, dolphins, probably think a lot in terms of sonar, and in three-dimensional terms too... "Bridge, please relay to Charyn whenever you get an answer, suggest she examine vilani-to-ael-yael chips and consider relationship of threedy mindset in communicating with the dolphin."

Snatching his trusty hand-comp from his belt Ralf runs the scanner up and down the spectrum at the Dolphin, looking for some sort of transceiver to link up with. "Nothing. Damn. Horne, I can't get any sort of connection with this mammal, looks like it's up to you and Alliara... and Charyn, when she gets here."

Ralf dumps a pattern-matching program to the Talisman's computers and ties the lounge audio into it, then snaps the handheld to his belt and catches Redd emerging from his cabin, somewhat refreshed. "Like I said before, we've got some time before we need to deal with the Bernoulli, and I want to talk to the owner before linking up. But when we do, I want you to handle the power systems."

Redd waves and nods affermatively, but he's too busy chewing a large and hastily-prepared sandwich to reply.

"Meanwhile, I've gotta get over the Alcyon, dump my data from the sensor scans, talk to the owner of that derelict, get the three Pioneers warmed up and calibrated as backup plan #3, get somebody started on clearing that hold out, and convince Doc Tabor that I'm not a walking zombie. Looks like you'll have to hold down engineering until we're docked. There should be a datadump coming in from the Gemini Arbiter, do me a favor and let me know about it, huh?" Ralf inhales deeply and plunges off to his cabin, a man obviously submerged in underwater metaphors :-).

Redd nods again, still eating, while he observes the attempts to translate the dolphin's language from the doorway of his cabin. Through the doorway behind him is chaos - the result of being moving all his belongings to the Talisman just before jump-out, and rummaging through them several times since. His hastily removed vac-suit is the only item stored properly, hanging just inside, next to it's backpack.

J.J. lets his mind wander into that place psionics go to communicate. His trance starts and he reaches ever so gently toward the mind of the Dolphin, asking as politely as possible to make contact with the phins thoughts.

If he is permitted to make contact:

*My name is Iadlvref.....*

Redd passes through the lounge at what could almost be called a run, barely glancing at the excited teammembers gathered round the floating dolphin - he's seen them on the monitors anyway, and he's got more immediate concerns. He dives into his cabin while everyone's looking the other way.

Vouf: Dr. Abuko, you might want to check in with Pater on the data he Vouf: uploaded from the sensors. Dan, go with him and collate the stuff Vouf: you and Ralf got... coordinate with the Talisman until Ralf gets Vouf: here in person. [presumably relayed to Ralf in some form]

Ralf blinks and sends the following to the Talisman bridge to be sent to Vouf for clarification. "Sir, will we be moving gear and sensory information to the Alcyon permanently, or are we going to be staying with our present assignments? Most of my heavy duty gear is now in the Talisman, and I'd rather reside here or move the gear to the Alcyon. There's no reason I couldn't attend meetings, etc, in the Alcyon."

The response from 'Vouf is relayed at about 0421. << Ralf, I leave it up to you. We don't know when or if we're going to get thrown out of wherever we are, so I'd recommend you leave the heavy stuff on the Talisman. >>

"Right. Sounds best. And since I stay where my gear is, that settles the living arrangements."

<< However, at least a fib/link to the Alcyon's computers and sensor suites would be advisable, and an easy-to-find intercom address to boot. >>

"Not a problem. I already had my .forward in the Alcyon network set to ralf.handcomp.talisman.pocketverse." [:-)]

'Vouf groans. << Hackers. TSAKHA! >> Ralf gets the impression he isn't really very angry, though.

Meawhile, as the Talisman prepares to dock, Ralf hurriedly puts together the data files and some minimal equipment in the hold, preparing to transfer to the Alcyon. After shunting short term memory to an encrypted process on-chip, he starts playing back the raw sensor data on his wetware's surface memory, familiarizing himself with it. ...don't know why I'm hurrying. If I know fuzz-face, the first thing he's gonna want to try is racing around this pocketverse on his grav bike, and I *know* who he's gonna pick to schlep the grav modules around... :-)

Almost as an afterthought, Ralf considers his micromissile launcher. Much too bulky, too obvious for such strained circumstances. He sets it back inside its shielded case and slides his standard snubb pistol out of its carrying case, loading Type A and Type H/V tranq rounds.

...hm, company. These might come in handy to keep track of our guests... Ralf releases several micromediaglobes from clamps on his private workbench and slips the 7cm metal spheres into a belt pouch. ...now to disembark...

Dave contacts the Talisman bridge:

"Bridge, could you please relay a message to Commander Ger that I may be late getting to his command team meeting as I'm currently sitting about a metre away from a ringworld native. Also, I don't think we should open the doors quite yet. Do you concur, J.J.?"

"Yeah, nobodies leaving this deck right now, not until we figure out what is happening with this fish here."

Ger's response comes a moment later. << Ger to Mr. Sokuku. The meeting that you will be missing is important. If you have more pressing business that is of course your decision, just don't come back to me with any problems you or the contact team have with any decisions made. >>

<< Dave, this is Security. Who do you have that knows the most about the Aslan? Farouk over. >>

"Mister Farouk, you could check with Judge Jett. I believe he knows some Aslan. We don't have an Aslan specialist aboard, to my knowledge. Right now, I've got my own problem. Know anyone who speaks dolphin?"

Shrike: "Talisman acknowledge docking orders, begining docking."

Andon slowly manuevers to the indicated docking point and engages the "Auto Docking" routine. "Alcyon, this is Talisman, final docking procedure engaged."

Grey sounds harried. "Commence docking, Andon."

The Talisman slides into place with a soft thump, interlocks engaging as it connects to the systems of the larger tender once more. Nishu, Thul, and Andon begin the process of powering down the free trader to an idle status once more. For the first time in what seems like several days, there's no rush.

Nishu is efficient but subdued as he goes down the checklist with the other members of the flight crew, quite a change from his typical easy cheer or even the breathless excitement with which he reported aboard. He listens to the occasional intercom traffic, and considers setting up the two-body problem Ralf requests but decides to leave it to the bigger computers aboard the Alcyon.

"Talisman docked, all systems green. Please advise what status the ship is to be on, do we shut down or go to standby? And, are there any special orders about our guest? Over."

"Warm idle, and the fish stays put until the brass meet him."

JJ is quickly interrupted, *Greetings! I am Doejin and, my what curious beings you are!* And Doejin, quickly stops, realizing that the Visitor is continuing.

*....but I am known to most as J.J. Horne. I am from a small planet in the Querion subsector known as Rushu. My race is Vilani, but I was educated by a race known as the Zhodani. These people are well versed in the psionic arts. It is possible that when my colleages find out that I possess the power of psionics that I will be killed, such is the prejudice that is present in our society.*

*Yes, I was made aware that these "prejudices" exist amongst your kind. I do hope my brief outburst has not jeopardized you.*

*Iadlvref... I have not heard myself called that name for twenty years. If the computers can pick up psionic impluses I will know shortly, I am sure....*

{There is some nervousness in that last statement.}

Doejin comments, *I do not know the capabilities of your systems but another of the Visitors was not concerned about the computers. Is it also that there is prejudice between those that can communicate in this fashion?*

*I figured in this crowd, that there would be others that had the Gift,* JJ thinks wryly. *I am pretty careful about using it, just a survival tactic*

JJ starts to sweat; this isn't easy work. *I felt it necessary to risk death to let you know that we mean you no harm, and we wish to know as much about you as you I am sure wish to know about us. Also I wish to know where a human named Ian went. Also the commander of this expedition wishes to know if you require any special environment to survive on board our ship. Also we wish to know your purpose on being here.*

*"Harm"? That thought is reserved for those who are less "gifted" than us. And I have many questions and am very curious about your kind.*

JJ responds, *I surmised that you were not here to harm us, but I was instructed by my commander to ask. Having seen the power of the world you live upon I was sure that if we were considered dangerous to your world, it would have disposed of us long ago, as one squashes a bug*

{There is humor and sincerity behind these thoughts. It seem if J.J. finds the power of the ring ironic}

Doejin thinks, *The other Visitor, Ian, was on our maintenance shuttle when I departed to this ship. He was given a choice and I assume that he made his choice.*

J.J. has not communicated with another being in this manner in almost ten years, not since the 5th Frontier War where he worked for the Imperial Secret Service, he is warming to the freedom and joy that psionic communication brings to the soul.

*You say choice, who gave him a choice and what do you think he did?*

*Ian had three choices given to him by the Great Hoop. To come to this place [the Talisman], go to the Great Hoop surface, or stay with the maintenance shuttle. I assume that he chose, as I did, to learn more and went to the surface.*

In this thought, J.J. also gets a picture of the circumstance with the arches on the shuttle.

* I can see why he made the choice he did, I hope the Great Hoop, protected him as he protected us.*

{There is the thought of the Solomani fleet attacking the Ring}

JJ says, * I am most curious of your world. I have lived most of my life killing or keeping from being killed and I am tired. Maybe this is the place that I was always meant to be. Sorry, my thoughts drifted, I have not communicated this way for a long time and one can get lost in the joy of it.*

At the notions of killing or being killed, J.J. receives a mixed feeling of profound sadness and also, pity, almost as if for a lesser creature.

*The commander is most kind. The atmosphere in this ship is quite dry, but my skysuit maintains my immediate needs satisfactorily. Though, it will require brief maintenance at some future time.*

* I am sure that the engineers on board can help with any maintainence that you need. They are quite skilled and knowledgable from what little I know about such things, my home world is quite primitive by most standards*

*A place for play and fun would be most enjoyable, though you beings do not appear to be suited for such enjoyment.*

This thought is accompanied by a vision of about a dozen dolphins jumping and diving in a large ocean.

{A mental chuckle when J.J. recieves the vision of the ocean}

* No, that kind of fun is not what most humans have in mind, although we do enjoy swimming near the shore*

{Doejin gets a feeling that J.J. wishes to be home again, pictures of a much younger J.J. flood the conversation briefly, he is riding a horse, well, the Rushu version of one, with 6 legs, He wears a leather vest with a tin star on the breast, a six gun on each hip. Smoke curls up from a foul smelling stogie, J.J. is at peace}

*As to my purpose, I am intensely curious about you and it appears that I am now to be among your kind for an unknown length of time.* {There seems to be a hint of sadness in this last thought.}

*I should tell you that your world has placed us and the ships that we travel in, in another place, where that is I do not know, all I know is that I am here with you and that makes me feel good. Ask me any questions that you wish, I will answer them as best I can.*

* I am sure that a tour of the ships can be arranged, My commander is in a meeting with the Aslan, I beleive, that is the last I remember. { A vision of an Aslan fills J.J.'s mind } Either that or the section heads are meeting Anyway once I have permission I will be glad to show you around.*

*The Great Hoop is no longer with us and this is very strange. This discussion requires an effort that has never been needed before. I do not know where we are, but I am sure all will be discovered in time. And, I would thoroughly enjoy meeting your commander or any other Visitor for that matter. Though I would very much enjoy if you could tell me what the other non-gifted Visitors are trying to communicate. Where are the others? What is the purpose of this place? Could I see the rest of the ship? What about the other ships that I saw? Could we see them? What is the purpose of the item across your shoulders? Do the decorations on your clothing hold any special meaning? ....*

JJ handles the stream of questions as best he can....

* Yes, I had forgotten the strain of communicating this way, without special enhancement drugs I do not know how long I can keep this up. I will begin translating as soon as I can, Also we beleive that we may have translator chips in the computer that runs the ship that could help the non-gifted communicate with you. Also I could then communicate with you in a more natural way, for me. The others are dispersed throughout the ships, each of us has a specialized job to do onboard each one of the ships. My job is security, also I am part of the contact team. That means my job is to talk to you and others of your kind. One of the reasons that I am on the contact team is that I possess the gift. So some onboard ship know of my powers and are not threatened by it. This place is the crew lounge, it where the crew of the ship come to relax from their duties. We'll see the rest of the ship in a few minutes; seeing the others can be arranged if we aren't going anywhere at the moment.....*

The entire conversation proceeds at the speed of thought, racing by in the time it takes Dave to make the arrangements with Alliara.

"Redd?" Ralf calls over the comm system. "I'm going over to the Alcyon, as ordered. Let me know if you need me, I'll be back over in a flash." Ralf glides down the null-g ship-connector with ease and grace, more at home here than in the heavy standard gravity of the other ships.

Once inside the Alcyon's physical comm net, Ralf places a private message to security. "Checking in, things have been busy on the Talisman, but I thought I just heard something about a computer intrusion, although they also said something about psi. I'll be reporting to a meeting with Dr. Abuko and Silvmane, please contact me immediately if any computer work is necessary. Computers are something of a specialty with me... Also, I have six prototype miniature surveillance drones, which I will be glad to place at Security's disposal for tracking our guests and keeping them from stumbling into dangerous areas."

J.J. seems lost in his own world for about two minutes then he seems to have come to a decision.

"Dave, Uh... how much do you know about my dossier?" J.J. takes a deep breath it seems he has decided to take the plunge. "Dave, I am psionic, I have established a psionic link with the Phin, His name is Doejin. Anything you want to ask him? I have no psi drugs so I don't know how long I can keep this up without needing rest. I was pretty good at this when I was in deep cover in Zho consulate, working for the Imperium BTW, during the 5th Frontier war. But that was awhile back. I figure you're head of the contact team so you won't shoot me, but if you do get the idea, remember I have killed people for a living." J.J. is not smiling but he does seem a bit tenser than before, Sokuku can see that J.J.'s left hand is hovering very relaxed near his military snub pistol in the quick draw holster on his left thigh. J.J. waits for Dave's reaction. It is obvious he has been in this type of situation a few times before.

Dave quickly says, "Well, look, J.J., I don't have a problem with psis. You take the ball with 'Doejin' here. If you can grok him and he can grok you, you're one up on me."

Dave has a very relaxed pose, trying to remain as non-threatening as possible. Depending on J.J.'s training, he may or may not notice that Dave is prepared to drop and roll if he goes for his pistol.

"The admiral has informed me that our staff meeting is very important, so I think I'd better attend. Please inform Doejin of the fact that I have an important meeting to go to and I will return as soon as possible. Also, if you can find out from him where Ian has disappeared to, we might find that information useful. You are on your own discretion as to where you want to take him. I would suggest you keep him clear of sensitive areas, but since you are also on the security team, you've probably figured that out."

With that, Dave leaves the room and heads for the docking port. He taps his comdot -> << Bridge, have we docked with the Alcyon yet? >> Another tap -> << Commander Ger, I will attend the meeting after all. Mister Horne has the situation with our guest well in hand. Where and when will we be meeting? >> *Hmm, J.J. mentioned that he's unsure of his stamina, I'd better have Alliara help him out with that translation software. Another tap -> << Niigurd, please continue to the lounge and assist mister Horne with our dolphin friend. He has managed to communicate, but a mechanical solution might be useful. Please don't be surprised at anything you find when you get there. >>

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