Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Niihama City

Big Brother

Grand Confessor
dehr-heng-sha2_zpsfec7e646.jpg

Niihama City is the center of the Taiyou Empire, a massive multi-layer city comprised of a population easily upwards of 8 billion people. Niihama City serves as the capital of the Taiyou Empire, with the Taiyou Cabinet Building, the Imperial Palace, and several government headquarters.

Niihama City consists of five sectors, from sea level to among the clouds.



-Sector 05-




Sector Five - The top most layer of Niihama City, this is where sunlight glistens atop massive skyscrapers that seem to erupt and pierce the layer of cloud below. This is home to wealthy businesses, wealthy individuals, and most government buildings. However, even Sector Five is unable to escape Niihama's pollution, and much of the sunlight is marred by haze.


-Sector 04-




Sector Four - The layer that is home to most upper class, several businesses, industry, and some government complexes, a good deal of sunlight reaches here and the people live in relative comfort.


-Sector 03-




Sector Three - The middle class live here, among houses built into Sector Five's massive support pillars, it's a hive like existence.



-Sector 02, 01-




Sectors Two and One are where the poor live, slums living in polluted shanties forgotten by society at large. They live in perpetual darkness.



The outer fringes of Niihama City often will only be one, or maybe two levels as the population density decreases, but on many edges of the city, it's layer cake design can be clearly seen.



What amounts to a 'Skyline' for Niihama City
 
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as written by Lobos, Zarhara, and Tiko

The Fire of Life angled in for an approach vector, the navigation officer and the corvette’s AI working in tandem. To observers, the operator looked to be asleep, locked in heuristic communication with the AI in what was a merging of minds organic and machine, amplifying the abilities of both. There were few shudders of re-entry turbulence, easily smoothed into minor quivers by the internal inertia dampeners. Within thirty seconds, however, the vessel smoothed out, Kyle clicking his own crash couch’s bands off. “Re-entry complete, slowly descending from...9.4 kilometers up. Sensor, external cameras on main screens if you would.”

What they were met with was images of a ghost city. The months hadn't been near enough to clear the skies of the smog of pollution, but as they neared the capital not a shred of life seemed to stir. The streets were devoid of people as bits of trash blew along the ground, and not even so much as a wild-animal was coming up on their sensors. It was as if everyone had simply packed up and left. The atmosphere was reading as stable though, and the air capable of sustaining life.

Quiet on the bridge, as they descended in a spiral pattern for the surface. Nearing, they proceeded cautiously, checking a chosen landing site for stability before finally extending landing gear and touching down near the palace. Rising, Kyle pinged his three off duty personnel to draw weapons and proceed to the airlock to do perimeter check. “Alright. Two minutes for the advance team to check around, and we can take a look ourselves. Atmospheric readings look normal enough.”

Two minutes later, and the airlock cycled again, this time allowing everyone to disembark.

Damion exited the ship, he could see the palace in the distance, behind him his aid followed.

“What is going on here…” Damion muttered as he looked around in confusion.

Shreya was the last to exit the ship and she raised an arm to her mouth as the polluted air of the planet filled the ship. She coughed into her arm several times before stepping out after the rest of them. Her partner, Aarika, was at her side, but the two members of the royal guard had been instructed to remain with the ship to help safeguard it. She trusted in Kyle’s choice of escort for their venture planet-side, and the atmosphere of Niihama was notoriously noxious to avorians. The fewer of them exposed to it the better. Aarika had advised they remain aboard the ship as well, but she hadn’t heard any of it. Two months on that ship had her more than willing to endure the polluted air if it meant getting outside even for a short while.

Things were no less eerie down here on the ground though. It was as if life had simply ceased to exist in an instant. Abandoned cars filled the nearby streets, and the Imperial Palace appeared to sit as empty as the rest of the city.

as written by Lobos, Zarhara, and Tiko

The SDS Fire of Life slipped out of tunnel space quietly, dark procedures in play as it drifted from momentum away from the muted exit signature it’s jump had made. Passive sensors looked around, the three man bridge crew studying their stations closely as Lieutenant Kyle Oglivy watched over them.

“That’s strange.” Sensor reported. “I’m not getting anything on quiet-scopes.”

“Sweep one with active, then back to dark and air-maneuver right three ticks and down two,” Kyle murmured. “Comm, any chatter?”

“Nothing, sir.”

The Piranha-class corvette swept ahead with a burst of active sensor transmissions, cleverly disguised to appear as ambient static noise, then cut the superluminal waves and used bursts of stored CO2 to alter its vector, still drifting quietly through the void. On the bridge, Sensor glanced to the lieutenant. “Still nothing, sir. I’m not picking up anything at all.”

“Wide band hail, Comm.” Oglivy frowned. “Message is ‘Anyone out there?’”

Turning to the SEC representative behind him, Kyle rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment. The Comm operator murmured into his instruments at his console. “What do you think?”

Damion paused a moment, he had been observing the actions of the crew. He placed a hand on his chin.

“Something’s not right here, no chatter or ships from what I understand.”

“I’m not an expert on space travel so forgive me if I come across as insulting, we are within the Amaterasu system correct?” He asked.

Kyle nodded. “According to the charts, we’re at the edge of the system drifting inwards at…” He glanced over at the nav console. “Roughly three kilometers a second. Anything that should be in this system is well within range of our sensors, but we’re not picking up any take. Hell, it looks like Niihama is dark, and that’s troubling.”

The door to the bridge hissed open to admit the Volarian Ambassador, Shreya. Of everyone aboard the ship, the young avorian woman seemed the most out of place and she was clad in Volarian finery as she entered. Even two months aboard a cramped ship hadn't been enough to sway her into leaving behind some of the luxuries of home.

She walked slowly and purposefully though as she joined Kyle and Damion.

"Any news yet?" she asked.

Her grasp of the Terran tongue was fluent, but thickly accented.

Damion turned as the Ambassador entered the bridge. He nodded in greeting, “Things aren’t looking good.The Lieutenant was just informing me that we have arrived in the Amaterasu system, however, there isn’t any comm traffic or any detectable ships in the system, the planet appears to be dark as well.” He stated.

Nodding, Oglivy grimaced. “Unless our instruments are off, we’re not getting anything. It’s possible, but the only way to be sure would be to head in system. Possibly go planetside to take a look.”

Scowling slightly, the lieutenant continued. “Which, under normal circumstances, would be routine. But these aren’t normal circumstances. There are unknowns in the equation, and both of you are on my list of remaining safe. However,” He held up a hand to stall protesting. “This is also a joint venture. So, thoughts?”

"It would serve little purpose to come this far, only to leave without answers," Shreya answered.

“Agreed, there’s little point in coming this far, I think we aren’t going to get answers unless we go planetside.” Damion said.

Nodding with a grimace, the lieutenant excused himself, seating at his command station. “Nav, how’s the tunnel lanes look from here to Niihama?”

“Pinging...got it. The cartography lanes are still viable, Loot. Five seconds, give or take few fractions.” The woman replied.

“Plot the jump then. Comm, you’re on standby. Sensor, bring the battlescreen up to full strength, we are going hot. Actives up, broadcast IFF tags.” His own contributions were warming the guns and synchronizing the ship’s AI into the flight crew’s operations. Nav pumped a fist, then flashed fingers, counting down silently.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One. The external displays went dark for a few moments, the internal lights illuminating the bridge, before the cameras saw around them again, the viewscreens showing Niihama dead ahead. Kyle checked the ranges, nodding absently. “Good plot, Nav. Ten Kay kilos up. Comm, anything?”

“Nada boss.”

“Alright, Mrs. Shreya, Mr. Damion. Last chance is you have second thoughts. If not, buckle in.”
 
as written by Zarhara, Lobos, and Tiko

Lifting a pair of binoculars to his eyes, Kyle scanned the immediate area, then dialed the magnification up to peer at more distant sites. One member of the crew made his way around, offering a bag with a few pieces of observational equipment. Another was readying a drone to lift skyward to have a look around in the direction of the city.

“This is wrong.” Oglivy muttered. Pausing, he spoke again. “How’s everyone holding up?”

Something struck him as off with how his voice sounded.

“Just a tad shocked and confused….” Damion said he noticed something seemed off about his voice as well. He took a few steps forward and noticed that his footsteps sounded heavy, and muffled.

“How could so many people just… leave,” Shreya asked.

“Well, that’s part of why we’re out here,” the man replied. Looking towards the palace, he sighed. “We might as well start here. Let me know when the drone’s airborne, and if you find anything.”

A gesture, and then he strapped the binoculars down, sliding his own bead rifle around. Two crewman advanced on the doors.

Damion and his aide followed the others toward the palace.

He looked out through a pair of binoclulars that the crewman had passed out scanning the city.

“This doesn’t look like people up and ran.” Damion murmured. “It’s like they just disappeared.”

The palace proved as empty as the rest of the city, but no echoes filled the halls as they walked.

Aarika paused to pick up some documents that were sitting out on a table as he rifled through them. They didn't appear to be anything of importance though and he set them back down.

He frowned though as he did so and rubbed his fingers together. Two months of abandonment had left everything coated in a light layering of dust, but it had been disturbed here on the table. He didn't recall touching the table when he picked up the papers.

"I think someone else was here," he said aloud.

Kyle walked over, looking himself. “Who else would have been here though? Were they like us, or are they the reason the Taiyou aren’t in Niihama and the rest of the system?”

The armed crew increased their vigilance, as unease deepened.

Damion listened quietly, “And if someone was here, where are they now, did they suffer the same fate or have they just left.” Damion muttered.

He wondered if this was just the fate of Niihama or if the entire Galaxy had suffered a similar fate.
 
as written by Tiko, Lobos, and Zarhara

Whatever thoughts they might have had as to the source of the disturbance was likely not remotely on par with what presented itself. The doors on the far end of the long hall opened only for half a dozen Aschen marines to freeze with half-raised rifles as they came face to face with the first people they had seen on the planet since their arrival nearly a week ago.

Seven rifles snapped upwards and leveled, only the sudden breath leaving them and the slight tilt downwards easing fingers away from triggers. Kyle cursed under his breath, suddenly thanking the easily visible insignia of the Dominion on their uniforms. “Shit, that was fuckin’ stupid. How about knock next time?”

Damion instinctively threw a hand toward the repeating blaster pistol on his hip, however he did not draw the weapon. He noticed the insignia of the Aschen on their uniforms. He considered speaking but decided to remain quiet.

"We haven't seen anyone else here since we landed a week ago," Derek replied as he signaled his men to lower their guns. "We thought we were alone here. How long have you been here?" the Aschen commander asked.

Rifles shipped to rest on slings, Kyle willed his hand to not shake before striding forward. “Few hours. We hopped in at the edge of the system, didn’t see anything on scopes, and came for a closer look. I’ve got Volarian ambassadors and a representative of the SEC with us. Came to find out why Andromeda went silent.”

Quirking a brow, he offered his hand. “Lieutenant Kyle Oglivy. What are you doing all the way out here?”

"Commander Derek Adams," the Aschen officer answered as he took the offered hand. "We're here for the same reason as you it sounds like. Recon," he explained.

He didn't extrapolate, but given the Aschen and Taiyou's less than stellar relations it was likely that their intentions were probably for less honorable reasons than Kyle and his people.

Damion stepped forward after the Aschen introduced themselves. “Director Damion Teller, of the Syntori Enterprise Confederation.” He said extending a hand to the commander.

“And that would make me, Ambassador Shreya Johar,” the avorian woman offered. “And this is my ah… I believe your word is husband? Aarika.”

“Well met,” Aarika offered.

Stepping back, Kyle glanced to the side a moment, pinging the drone operator from his implant. Pondering a moment, he chanced a question. “Have you found any clues, Commander? Anything to point where they might have went, or why Niihama was left abandoned?”

The thoughts troubled him. The unofficial opinion of the Taiyou wasn’t favorable, in the Dominion, but the sheer numbers made them formidable. For them to merely vanish made him fear what would be found deeper into Dominion territory.

“Nothing,” Derek answered. “Nothing about this place is right. We’ve been here a week and not even so much as an insect. And the food might as well be ash in your mouth. Though if you’re here, do you carry word from the Shade Dominion?” he inquired. “Shortly after we lost contact, one of our watchtowers in Isiria was destroyed by an unknown enemy force. We initially feared foul play responsible for the break in communications.”

“Unfortunately not. That’s part of the reason we’re here. We were part of Director Issane’s detachment on Valore when communications to Andromeda shut down, and we’re the force dispatched to determine what the problem was.” The Lieutenant shook his head slightly. “Given our station in Volaria and shared interests in Andromeda, organization was made for Volarian and SEC attachment all within the same mission.”

"Well, we were just packing up to pull out of here," Derek answered. "Why don't we accompany you on to the Umbral Sector when you depart. Though if it's anything like what we found here, I fear to know what awaits us..." he added with a grimace.

He and his crew had yet to venture that far into the Andromeda Galaxy, largely due to the risks involved with trying to blindly navigate the Umbral Sector.

“That sounds like a reasonable enough plan.” Kyle admitted. “We’ll drop in outside the Gamma perimeter and see if the waystation is still online. I’d rather not risk a direct jump into the Umbral Sector, in case our people are still there and the Sphere is still online.”

He briefly went into detail, explaining that the Sphere was a spatial stabilization technology the prevented direct FTL jumps into the systems without cleared access. “The nearest exit point is smack in the middle of mined asteroid fields. That’s discounting if a cosmic storm is currently active on the borders, of course.

“We’ll go begin preparations then,” Derek said. “Hail us when you’re done here.”
 
as written by Tiko

By the time everyone had returned to the UDW ship, Shreya was coughing furiously into one arm. Aarika too was suffering the effects of the polluted air, but he lingered long enough to help Shreya back aboard.

The filtered air of the ship was a welcome reprieve for the pair of avorians.
 
as written by barney_fife

As the group was returning to the UDW Ship, a lone pair of eyes had been watching on a pair of displays. The Matokey Reaper Tripod had been obscured from Dominion Sensors through a sophisticated array of camouflage technology.

Something odd cut through the silence of Niihama City, the sound of what could be described as an alien foghorn. Appearing seemingly out of nowhere, a tripod several stories tall started walking towards the Dominion ship.

Each movement of the Tripod was muffled from the strange anomaly, and even the blaring foghorn sound didn't echo through the buildings. To the uninitiated, the tripod was terrifying in appearance. Though it was making it's way down the street, it did not open fire.

Once the tripod was close enough, it began to lower it's body, until it was close to the ground, a plume of steam billowed out and an access hatch opened up.

Climbing down, a small and familiar creature made an assortment of trills and clicks, before it landed on the asphalt, it's feet muffled as it landed. The lone Mt'kee surveyed the group still outside the ship, before it started it's approach.

"First sign of life I've seen in months." The Mt'kee trilled. "Aside from the Aschen that landed, that is. Do you bring good news from the Dominion?"
 
as written by Lobos

Shaking his head, the Lieutenant answered. "I'm Lieutenant Kyle Oglivy. I hope we do. We're actually trying to see if they're still out there."

It had been a few tense moments as the tripod had approached. The Dominion knew of the Matokey, but direct experience was virtually non-existent. The Stormbores of the Fire of Life had been trained on it till intentions demonstrated hostilities weren't pending, and readiness of the onboard crew was intense for a time. Most were likely cursing aboard the ship about the idiocy of approaching unannounced, given the state of the surface of Niihama.

"We stopped here direct from Valore to determine what had happened to the Taiyou and AXIS, as well as the SEC. I have representatives from both the Volarians and the SEC onboard with me right now." Kyle continued, glancing to survey his crew prepping the Dominion corvette for launch. "Do you have anything to shed some light on things?"
 
as written by barney_fife and Lobos

"Our knowledge is limited." The lone Matokey replied. "What we do know is there was a series of spatial anomalies that raged through this Galaxy, rending it asunder for a time." He explained.

"Our guardian trees preserved us from whatever storm consumed the rest of this Galaxy." He said, before the Matokey looked around.

"The best we can theorize is that the Taiyou never really disappeared, simply exist in a different band of space and time. We've detected large amounts of Chronitons in and around Taiyou space, in addition to the rest of the Galaxy, which points to some kind of temporal anomaly. Allow me to demonstrate." The Matokey said, turning towards a Taiyou shop, walking towards it and picking up a box of Pocky and a Ramune soda.

"I discovered this entirely by accident." The Matokey said, pulling out a piece of Pocky and handing it to Kyle. "You would expect the food to be bland, like ash, and this soft drink flat." He said, opening the drink to reveal it was indeed flat.

"That's odd. Seems like it's the same thing with sound as well." Testing the Pocky, the man shook his head. "So, essentially, they were offset from the current timeline? Is that what you're saying?"


"Do I have permission to come aboard your vessel, for the second part of my demonstration?" The Matokey asked.

"Please. This is the closest we've gotten to an answer, so by all means." The Lieutenant lead the way.

The lone Matokey followed the Lieutenant onboard the ship, with the Ramune soda, and the Pocky in hand. "I discovered this when I was bring samples into my Tripod for analysis." The Matokey explained, placing the Ramune on the console.

Thirty seconds passed, and inexplicably the Ramune began to fizz, bubbling. "Try the rest of your Pocky." The Matokey suggested, and should Kyle comply, he would find the candy flavorful where it was once bland.

"The insides of our ships, they are like a temporal bubble, when brought aboard, the food exists fully in our timeline. Whatever we bring off our ships persist in our temporal thread. To make it simple, if we're to remedy this, we require a device capable of warping time itself just enough, that everything is realigned."

Wistfully, Kyle shook his head. "That's rather interesting, but I know it's beyond our capabilities. I'm assuming the Matokey are intending to attempt your theory, and I wish you luck on your endeavor."

Oglivy sighed. "But at least part of our questions are answered. I just hope that the same affliction didn't happen back at home."

"To warp time is an extremely complex endeavor, the theory is sound, but if we're wrong, we risk damaging things here further. Possibly irreparably." The Matokey explained, turning to leave.

"We haven't ventured into Umbral, so we can provide you no answers as to the state of your people.." The Matokey paused a moment, recieving a telepathic message.

"Fleetmaster 'Nchardek will contact you if we can offer any further information, however I must return to my duties; May fortune favor you all." He said, as he started off the ship, back towards his Tripod.

"Thank you. Best of luck to you as well." The man watched from the hatch until the Matokey reached his tripod before sealing the hatch and turning to his crew. "Time to go."
 
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