damned_bulletin | [Handwriting non-anonymous, but unfamilliar]

[Handwriting non-anonymous, but unfamilliar]

Yuber:

Do you want to join up tonight?

~ Your ally from last night

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Zigbar:

I meant it when I said thank you. I hope we can speak again.

~ Your breakfast companion

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Yuber's weapon-making ally:

I think we should speak; Yuber and I collected some very... interesting chemicals last night. Are you familiar with gunpowder? :)

~ Someone who'd like to help in the weapon-making

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Anyone who has been displaced:

Ur-Quan, slaveshield, Alliance of Free Stars, Commander Talana, Commander Hayes, Spathi, Pkunk, Arilou, Shofixti, Syreen, Vindicator, Melnorme, Yehat, Umgah, Sa-matra, Sol III, Dnyarri and Talking Pets, Precursors...

[To the side, he posts this page of drawings, a large arrow pointing at it.]

Please reply if any of this is familiar to you.

~ "Captain"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hmm, can't say I've heard of it. Do you know what sector it's in?

I'm originally from Earth, but I was on the planet Expel before waking up here.

I've never used "sectors" to locate systems; as long as I've been alive and longer, Hyperspace coordinates have been the standard. (The Vela system is 334.5 : 193.1; Sol is at 175.2 : 145.0, if it means anything to you.)

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Expel.

Oh really? I use coordinates too, but, as far as I know, things have always been divided into sectors and systems. I'm afraid none of those coordinates sound familiar to me, though.

As for Expel, well...it wasn't very well-known when I arrived there anyway, so I guess that's no surprise.

The only thing that sounds remotely familiar is this Sol you mentioned, but only because it's the system Earth is located in. And even then, there isn't anything like a Sol III.

How odd. But I guess that's the norm for this place. Even my friends and I have a hard time matching things up correctly, if you can believe it.

Well, it's not unheard of to refer to location as what constellation a star is in-- "over in the Vulpeculae stars" is where the Orz live, for example.

My home world was a secret, which is why no-one knew to look for it when my parent's ship got stuck there. I understand the not-well-known bit, believe me.

Sol III is Earth, actually. Third planet out from the star called Sol. Unzervalt is "Vela I" because it's the closest planet to the star Vela. :) There's also an alpha/beta/gamma/delta (and so forth) for stars in the same constellation-- so there's multiple stars called Vulpeculae, each with an alpha or beta or whatever before it.

Hmm, interesting. When you mention the Vulpeculae stars, you're talking about the Vulpecula constellation, right? The one in the Summer Triangle? I wasn't aware there was a race by that name living near that constellation.

So you got stranded on an obscure planet, too? Seems like everyone's doing that these days.

...oh, right. Third planet from the sun and all that, hahah. ~~I knew that. D:~~ Just got kind of confused with all the other unfamiliar terms in there, especially since few people I know really refer to it that way in casual conversation. I suspected they were the same, but...

What year are you from, anyway?

Well... sort of. The "constellation" Vulpecula is different from the group of stars we call Vulpeculae. Stars in constellations can be millions of light-years apart, after all, it's just that there so far away the human eye can't distinguish between "that star is twenty light-years away" and "that star is 20,000 light-years away". When we achieved interstellar flight, we assigned clusters of stars that are actually close together constellation names-- I'm pretty sure that if you stood on Earth and looked at Vulpecula, you wouldn't even be close to where the Orz actually live. (The Orz are... bizarre; it's probably a good thing you don't know them.)

Well, my parents were; I was born there, myself. If this really IS Earth, it's my first time on the planet's surface.

Don't worry about it. :) I'm a ship's captain, so it's my business to know all the official stuff.

Last I remember, it was June of 2158 A.D.

Well, of course, that makes perfect sense. I'm used to areas being known based off of what celestial body a planet is in orbit with, which I guess is still technically what you're describing, but...well, I was never much of a navigator when I served aboard a space vessel, so I'm afraid I can't offer a whole lot of detailed insight on how things work like you can.

And, really? You were stranded on a undiscovered planet and grew up without seeing your place of origin? You know, that reminds me of a close friend of mine. I guess it's a good thing you had your parents with you, huh?

And, hahah, thanks. Although...I'm the son of a ship's captain and a science officer, so, really, it should be my business to know the official stuff. D: I feel kind of ridiculous.

Hmm, so about 70-ish years after after Earth learned how to break the barrier of light speed? I guess that might explain some of the differences in our "landscapes", so to speak. I'm from 2452 A.D. myself. SD 366, if you're not going by the old calendar system.

Edited 2008-02-20 05:19 (UTC)

I was also the pilot, and the only one that could really fly the big, beautiful thing... and fly her I did, for over five years, all over the bis of space closest to us. :) So it was twice-over my business to know, I suppose you could say.

Yeah, but it wasn't a bad thing, I don't think. If we hadn't been on Unzervalt, I would have never seen the stars, let alone flown between them.

That's... hmm. Your timeline is about right, but you've really never heard of the aliens I mentioned up there? Not even the Ur-Quan? We lost a war against them...

Woah, the pilot too? You obviously know your field very well. Sir, is there anything you don't do?

Well, that's good at least. It's important to discover and pursue the things you love, after all. : )

And, no, I'm afraid I haven't heard of the races you mentioned, much less losing any wars against them. They were all really important, right? Surely I would have learned of them before. I may not look it, but I actually earned pretty good grades back in school, you know.

Hmm. Either I need to take a much-needed crash course in history, or something much more complicated is going on here. Either way, I don't like it.

Xenobiology, alien languages, and diplomacy are all way out of my league. And please don't call me sir, it makes me feel twice my age. :)

I would have loved it more if there were fewer species trying to kill me. But... I wouldn't have traded it for anything else in the galaxy.

All those and more were involved in the second war-- either allied with the New Alliance of Free Stars, or as Hierarchy slaves, or carefully neutral. Several were also involved in the first war against the Ur-Quan. I don't doubt you!

Perhaps we come from divergent timelines? If your timeline diverged before we made contact with the Chenjesu, your "history" may not be my "history". Or perhaps, in your history, humanity didn't develop hyperspace 'casters till after the Kohr-ah moved through... Though I hope that idea's wrong. ):

Oh! All right then ~~sir~~. In that case, what shall I call you?

It sounds like you're quite popular where (when?) you come from. : ) But as long as you enjoy what you're doing, right?

Oh, great, more terms I'm not familiar with. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point. I'd make a guess and say that the Terran Alliance or the Earth Federation don't mean anything to you? And, uh, thanks. Sorry, just had to make myself clear.

Hmm, divergent timelines. This isn't the first time that theory's been brought up since I got here. These days, my friends and I have a hard time keeping events from even our time together straight. I suppose alternate realities are possible, though I've noticed this place is also very capable of tampering with memories, if you catch my drift.

There's more I could say, but I'm hesitant to give too many detailed history lessons on the board, where other people can easily read. There are probably laws against that sort of thing somewhere.

I would be interested in meeting you in person sometime, though. Seeing that the day is going to be ending soon, would tomorrow be all right?

Captain and Zelnick are both fine. :)

I could have done with being a little less popular with the more hostile species...

Never heard of them, I'm afraid. They may just be after my time, though. I understand perfectly. :) A person can be plenty smart without being able to recall history, especially if it's not history they know.

I think I'd like to meet you, as well. And tomorrow would be fine, I think. After breakfast?

All right, then, thanks. I'll remember that in the future.

Well, considering the Terran Alliance was formed about a decade after subspace warp technology was discovered, I'm not so sure. And I suppose that's true. I've met many smart people in the past who come from totally different backgrounds, so...

After breakfast sounds great. How will I know how to identify you? Or would it be better to leave those details for the morning?

:)

I see. As have I. :) There's little background that can be more different than "sapient plant"...

Ah, I'm... pretty normal looking, actually. Twenty-something, brown hair, brown eyes, middling height... I could hold up a sign for you, I guess. Or you one for me. :)

Wow, that does sound very different. Interesting, but different, yes.

Hahah! I'm afraid I'm not that unusual-looking, either. 19, blond hair, blue eyes, average height, maybe a tad on the thin side. I don't think a sign should be necessary, though. How about I wear a makeshift headband? That should make it easier to spot me, shouldn't it?

They even admit that they're scientifically improbable. :) Nice guys, though, they always wish you plentiful sunlight and water.

Yeah, that would make it less impossible to pick you out of a crowd. :) I'll see you then, then!

I think I would have liked to meet them.

Great, I'll remember to do that. Take care until then. I'm sure you know how dangerous the night can be.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Handwriting non-anonymous, but unfamilliar]

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