NEVID-1

[Trigger]

OBS: I HAVE YOU NOW YOU TENTACLED SHIT!
CMND: ...Report.
OBS: Ah. Excuse me.
CMND: Week-long sleep depravation and exhaustion. You are excused. Report.
OBS: Enemy unit detected, initial image on screen.

CMND: If this image were of a chicken, it'd be baked and crispy enough to eat. Are those physical limbs all around it?
OBS: Yes, sir. I have reason to believe those are just the thickest limbs. There's a fine mesh of sub-millimiter fur in a disk all around the contact, anchored on these limbs. It's a big disk of sensory branches, I think. And it's effectly perfectly light-absorbing. I don't know how it's getting rid of heat, but it's not emtiting or reflecting. I'm only seeing it by obstruction.
CMND: Get me coordinates, dimentions, and a better image. I'll begin composing for A-c command. They've been on standby all week. Well done giving them something to chew on.
OBS: Thank you, sir. On it.

[Trigger]

OBS: [ COMMAND TO THE BRIDGE, COMMAND TO THE BRIDGE. ]
CMND: [ ... On my way. ]

CMND: Report.
OBS: I believe we've just received a message from a Beast.
CMND: What? Show me.
CMND: What the fuck is this?

CMND: Is that... Times New Roman?
OBS: Yes, sir. It came in using old television encoding. They sent it as a single frame image, slowed for low power long range transmission.
CMND: Why that encoding?
OBS: Just a guess, but it's rougly what we filter out as noise. If you look at just a fragment, it's just normal Human background noise. The only thing that stands out about it is the content, the timing, and the fact that it's aimed at us. It's really poor comms security, but that just tells me they have nothing better.
CMND: It's in Territorial standard. It's speaking our language.
OBS: I have no explanation, sir.
CMND: It... it misidentified us... It saw the Rip, and it thinks another one of its kind arrived. And it can't actually see us. Did you filter this... transmisison?
OBS: Yes, it flagged all the detectors. The original signal was laced with harm, but it wasn't calibrated for Humans. I think it was a full on attempt to kill us, if we were one of its kind.
CMND: You saved what it used?
OBS: Yes, sir. I'll go through it with Warfare to see if we can use it. Sir, it knows we're here. What should we do?
CMND: Where's the telescope pointing?
OBS: Tracking the enemy stealth asset, sir. I'm building a vector to send A-c.
CMND: Warn A-c of a complication, then rotate to point the telescope to where the signal came from. Find me that beast. And ask A-c to talk to Beta Centauri command - we'll need their catapult for this, too.
OBS: Yes, sir.
CMND: Wait. Do you know the orientation of the enemy stealth probe?
OBS: Yes, sir.
CMND: Does its long axis intercept the vector from which you received that transmission?
OBS: Checking.
OBS: Yes, sir. The vectors cross roughly 8 light hours out. Rotating to point the telescope.

(( Why is the font suddenly blindingly white? ))

[Talvieno]

((Nar's extension. Currently working on a fix.))

((edit: hard refresh of the site should fix everything now.))

[Trigger]

CMND: Once the light from Assault Vector 1 arrives, we have about 7 minutes to turn to look at Assault Vector 2. Can you do it?
OBS: Yes, sir.
CMND: Good. Get ready. 10 minutes until light from Vector 1 is scheduled.
WAR: Command, why did Beta Centauri send the bigger kill team?
CMND: They had logistics ships on standby. It'll take the strike force 70 days to get back from the Beast's location. They'll need fuel and supplies to drag that mass home.
NAV: Command, I did the math, and our rip could handle the mass and size of the escorts.
CMND: But nothing else?
NAV: No, sir.
CMND: If Vector B is attacked on the way back, they'll need those escorts.
NAV: Aye, sir.

CMND: One minute until Assault Vector A's light of arrival. Void be clear for their guns, stars be watchful of their wrath, home be patient for their return.

[Trigger]

(( That was the 20th indexed image ( there were more, but the Rip sequence is indexed 15a 15b etc ), so here's a screenshot of my workspace! No spoilers. Because that would require me planning ahead. ))

Spoiler

[Talvieno]

Crafted like an artist. Just a big image file you can crop panels out of. Very awesome. Don't think I would ever have thought of doing it that way, honestly.

[Trigger]

OBS: Feed on screen. Assault Vector Alpha dropping in approximately 10 seconds.
OBS: Warp field breakdown effect. They are approximately one light second clear of the target.
OBS: Vector A drives going live, they're burning up to full power.
OBS: Vector A firing. Enemy stealth asset killed.

CMND: I see they loaded tracer fuel into their drives.
OBS: Yes sir. Rotating us to point at target B.

[Trigger]

OBS: On-target. Let's see if I have the focus and exposure right...
OBS: Warp field breakdown effect. They're... three light seconds clear of the target.
OBS: Drives spinning up... and firing. Also tracer fuel, we can see the beams even from here.
OBS: WOAH! That's a lot of reflected energy.

Spoiler

CMND: Three... four... they're still beaming, six, seven... Warfare?
WAR: Spectragraph says it's reflected fire and beast carapace turning to plasma, no kill yet.
WAR: Fifteen seconds and it's still holding. Not good.
WAR: OBSERVE, CUT EXPOSURE.
OBS: Cutting---

Spoiler

CMND: Oh shit.
CMND: [ ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR ACCELERATION, 3 GRAVITIES. ]
CMND: Warfare, omnidirectional sweep, full power, look for a forming Rip. Navigat, 3 gravities acceleration immediate, ahead, hold heading. Observe, try to keep the fight in focus through our acceleration.
OBS: I'll try. All Heavy Line Ships destroyed, it's sweeping the artillery ships now. Escorts are scattering.
WAR: Pulling power... for ping. Ping now.
WAR: RIP DETECTED. It's in our wake. It's halfway formed. Looks like... it has been... quietly burrowing... into this space... for the last 7 hours.
CMND: Warfare... drop drones... drop missiles.. paint and lock... that Rip... and give... Centauri command the track. Tell them to start... shelling our position.
WAR: Missiles... Drones... Locking... Locked.
OBS: Assault Vector B... force destroyed. Incoming.... signal...

Spoiler

[Trigger]

CMND: Observe. Signal local command.
OBS: Ready.

Spoiler

MESSAGE START
IMMINENT ATTACK WARNING
ASSAULT VECTOR B ANIHHILATED BY XS-1 BEAST-1
LIGHT LAG TO SITE OF BATTLE IS 8 HOURS
BEAST-1 USED LIGHT LAG TO OPEN A RIP BESIDE TRENCHER
RIP WILL OPEN WITHIN 1 HOUR
BEAST-1 ESTIMATED TO BE CLASS 7
RIP COORDINATES ATTACHED
RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE SHELLING OF RIP SITE
TRENCHER VACATING VICINITY
TRENCHER WILL PROVIDE SPOTTING AFTER BEAST-1 ARRIVES
MEDDAGE END

MESSAGE START
SHELLING IMMINENT
MEDDAGE END

Spoiler

OBS: Woah.
CMND: Observe. Report.
OBS: Lasers. Fusion. Beams. The void. Glows.
NAV: Command. Orders?
CMND: Acceleration?
NAV: 9 G.
CMND: Keep. Running.