[spoiler]A plot post a day keeps the insanity away!!![/spoiler] [u][b]Just Inside The Galactic Rim[/b][/u] [b]A ship floats in space, the GRN [i]Matador[/i]. Orbiting a dead planet, the surface scorched by the rays of the red giant it has circled for ages gone by. Staring down at the planet through the viewport stands the Queen of Night. Her dark hair ripples down her back as her pitch black eyes look beyond the universe. Suddenly she shudders, her eyes turning blue as she pivots to face the small group of officers sitting at the table in the center of the board room. Looking over their faces she frowns inside. They were not unfriendly, but they were not the countenances of trust a captain should have. She sighs, then puts up a small smile.[/b] "One week, ladies and gentlemen. A full week. Lovely isn't it? A whole new galaxy. Now, anything to report? Commander Al'mere?" [b]The head astrologist of the ship, Alvarin Al'mere jerks slightly at her name and blushes.[/b] "Y-yes ma'am. So far we have mapped only a few light-years of this galaxy. Of the 20 solar systems encountered, only 10 were likely to sustain life. As far as it behaving, the galaxy follows the usual rules. Physics mostly normal, a few fluctuations near some star clusters in the distance, but that's about it." "Thank you commander. Commander Venelez? Anything from your end?" [b]The head of the communications division, Armondo Venelez, shakes his head.[/b] "Nothing ma'am. Only the normal background noise of a galaxy." [b]Shadow sighs inwardly. It was to be expected.[/b] "Thank you commander. Please notify me at any time if something does show up." "Of course Captain." [b]The rest of the meeting followed a similar pattern, routine drills for the Marines aboard were going well, but soon enough they would need some ground-side experience as well. The ship itself was handling the exploration with the grace deserving of the Type 3 Battlecruiser from the ForgeWorld. The 2 antimatter bottles and 4 fusion bottles spread across the ship were easily handling the relatively low amounts of energy consumption, the antimatter bottles handling the ship's needs while able to run at only half their capacity.[/b] [i]Heck, we could probably power a whole nation with our ship alone. Now don't you get started Murphy....[/i] [b]At the end of the meeting, the Captain stopped Senior Commander Rodriguez with a wave of her hand.[/b] "Come here, kiddo." [b]The officer grinned slightly at the apparent irony as he approached the viewport the Captain stood by. Rodriguez himself was approaching 150 steadily looking like a fit 60 year-old, while the Captain herself only looked like she was fresh out of the academy. The truth however, was quite astounding if one didn't know. The Captain was not human at all. She was one of the long-lived race known as the Sidhe. The young-looking woman, with her odd pointed ears and her sometimes pitch-black eyes, was herself approaching 3 hundred thousand years. As often as she acted what she looked like, she sometimes reminded the humans around her how short their lives really were. As Rodriguez silently gazed out of the viewport down at the broken planet, the Ancient spoke.[/b] "Well Martin, how are the kids?" "Jack's just graduated out of the Academy, and Amy's itching to get out so she can show up her brother. Both of them are the best technicians I've seen so far." "If I remember correctly, so were you. You, ah, shut down an entire fleet for a week?" "It was 4 days, and only 5 ships were actually out of action. Besides, I was just pointing out the fact that Old Haven tech was up to par with ours. Or it was back then." "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a god, Martin?" [b]The question came out of nowhere and Rodriguez paused before answering.[/b] "Yes. And I don't like it." "Good. If the option ever comes up, refuse it. It's not as good a life as they say." [b]Martin 'The Chessman' Rodriguez silently pondered the advice for a few minutes. A god? Able to control the universe itself. Power so great nothing could stand before you. A tempting offer indeed.[/b] "Don't think on it too much, kiddo. Your brain will start hurting after a while." [b]They both share a grin as the planet below them turned in the dance of the cosmos.[/b] [spoiler]Comments welcome. (Closed)[/spoiler]