Talk:AIF/@comment-10905876-20160819010545/@comment-10905876-20160826180923

-Colonial HQ, New Coronet-

"Admiral Hodston, commodore Riley is here to meet with you." Said lieutenant Roberts, one of the staff officers at Colonial Headquarters. Hodston looks up from a holographic display showing the warp engines of the Ascendant Justice class, pausing for a moment before replying. "Send him in then, Roberts."

"Aye sir."

The young commodore walks in and salutes, crisply attired in a formal dress uniform. Hodston returns his salute, then speaks. "Ah, Kevin, welcome to Telos." Riley, slightly taken aback by Hodston's informal demeanor, takes a moment to reply. "Uhh, thank you admiral. My crew has been looking forward to some real time off from constant combat readiness."

"Yes, Telos is a safe place to rest and recover. Tell me, are you familiar with the warp engines on the Ascendant Justice? They're quite an interesting design." Responded Hodston as he motioned Riley over to the holographic display. "I've read a bit on them sir, and I've seen some ridges on their hull, but aside from that, no."

Hodston continues. "They're much larger warp drives relative to her hull. These ridges house oversized warp coils, and they're spaced further apart for better field geometry. Very fast for such a large ship, interesting potential. But enough of that. You wished to speak to me about something?" Riley, who had leaned over to examine the hologram more closely, straightens up and replies.

"Yes, admiral. About a warp drive actually. One of the cruisers in my squadron, the Phaeton, has had her warp drive damaged in some sort of incident. She's been sent off to some unknown shipyard, and the circumstances of the, incident, that damaged her core have been classified from me. Any time I try to get a schedule of her return, or a repair summary, I hit a wall. I understand the need for security, but I also want to know what is happening with my ships." Hodston ponders Riley's words for several moments, weighing his options. Finally, he speaks.

"While it usually takes a review by several officers at Admiralty and a screening by ONI to let a low ranking flag officer such as yourself in on this. But I like you, Kevin Riley. You have initiative and show some spunk, and being a fleet admiral comes with certain benefits. While you cannot be yet granted access to classified documents without additional approval, you can be privy to some more information. You understand this project is of a highly sensitive nature."

Riley, elated to be privy to information on the fleet's latest toys, responds. "Yes sir. I will keep this to myself of course." After which Hodston continues.

"Good. Do not speak of this to anyone, not even your closest officers. ONI doesn't like our secrets getting out, and they would have no second thoughts on arranging an 'accident' should your tongue get loose." He reaches over to a panel on the holographic display. The sound of locks clicking shut is heard while the image of an unusual looking ship replaced the previous images.

"The Phaeton is part of a project to develop and test advanced warp theory and capabilities. Her role is as a baseline engine. In addition, we have five of these engine testbed ships, which have powerful new warp engines for testing. Enterprise is also partaking in these tests, her large engines providing a useful framework for modifications." Hodston presses more buttons, making the display change again, now showing several warp bubbles with one of the test vessels in each. As the admiral continues to speak, the bubbles are shown to merge into a single warp field.

"The merging of warp fields is one of the primary goals of this project. So far, only specially modified, and large, warp drives can perform such a feat. When the Phaeton and another ship tried, her core burned out. The exact details are in a classified report, if ONI approves you, you'll receive it later at a briefing." As Hodston pauses, Riley begins to ask some questions.

"So, what is the role that you have in mind for this capability sir?"

"A very good question, commodore. The Fleet's current goal with this technology is the ability to have entire fleets encompassed in a single warp bubble. There are numerous uses for this of course. We could remain in formation if we hit an unexpected disruption field. Or, more importantly, we could envelop carriers in a a stable field, allowing fighters and strike bombers to be launched before the fleet arrives at a battle."

"I assume the Phaeton is at some ultra classified ONI facility in some hidden rock."

Upon hearing this, a small grin spreads on Hodston's face. "They told me you were a smart fellow. I also heard from admiral Greenwood that you had guesses about a 'secret shipyard in God knows where' being the location of your cruiser. Since you more or less know about it already, yes, there's a secret shipyard. We call it Fondor, and it is in the asteroid belt of this system. A large portion of fleet production happens there these days. Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

Riley pauses for a moment, mulling over the information he had just been told. Finally. "I don't think so sir. Although, I'd prefer to be involved on this project, if it can be allowed. I'll still be available to command my cruisers, but, this looks like the future of the fleet."

"I can look in to that. Still, ONI will have to approve of this, so expect a lot of spooks following you from behind bushes. Now, I think that there's a lieutenant outside who wants in."

Hodston presses a few more buttons on the holo-display, which powers down as the doors audibly unlock. An officer then enters. "Admiral, Enterprise reports ready for inspection. Your transport is standing by." Hodston then acknowledges the officer, and turns back to Riley. "Come join me, Kevin. Your broken ship is up there, and you can witness one of the tests on Enterprise."

Hodston then exits the room, with Riley following. They head to a smaller docking area, where a Swiftsurf corvette waits. The two board, and head to the bridge as the ship lifts off.

"Cloak engaged captain. Plotting course for Fondor, standing by on impulse drive."

"Very good. Engage impulse engines and take us out."

The ship takes several hours to make the trip under cloak, using only her impulse drive to avoid warp detection. During the trip the two officers engage in several games of chess, which Hodston wins the majority of. As the ship approaches the asteroid belt, both officers return to the bridge.

"Fondor defense control this is the Surefoot in approach vector Tango. Request clearance to approach perimeter."

Roger that Surefoot, decloak and continue approach on Tango.

"Roger that defense, disengaging cloak and continuing approach. Request docking at Hangar Zulu..."

The ship decloaks and continues her approach. The first signs of the base are sensor pods, followed by defense platforms. As the ship passes a large asteroid with a partly built SOD MKI laser on it, the main shipyard comes in to view. Riley gasps as he sees it, there are hundreds of orbiting space docks, and thousands of defense sats and ore processors. In the middle of it all is the heavily fortified Fondor Planetoid. Large entrances cover the surface, from which starship components exit following tugs to the dockyards.

"How does the high command keep this under such tight wraps?" Asks an incredulous Riley.

"Simple really. In this whole facility, there are only ten thousand living personnel on permanent assignment, most without families or other ties to Earth. The manpower is made up for with drones and robots, which are better suited to construction anyways. Of course, officers and a few engineers take command of ships from here, but the crews are usually embarked back at Telos or Earth." Replied Hodston. The admiral then points out a smaller orbital dock. "That there is your ship. We will pass by it closely on our trip to the Enterprise."

The small corvette soon docks in the large planetoid. The two officers disembark and head to another part of the dock. A small shuttlecraft is waiting, which the two board. As the officers sit down in the passenger compartment, which houses a large observation window, the pilot launches the craft. It flies out towards one of the spacedocks, passing a tug as it departs.

The shuttle passes the dock where the Phaeton is being repaired. Blackened warp coils and other drive components are drifting in space below the ship, while the armored access panels to the engines are being resealed by welding droids. The shuttle continues onward, landing in the hangar bay of the Enterprise...