[POSSIBLE SPOILERS] Lore of the Rings, Erm, Halcyons

[MongooseCalledFred]

Episode 1
Once there was a great race called [REDACTED]. They were masters of intelligence, knowing the ins and outs of politics, war, and marketing. One day [REDACTED] suggested a plan to [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] would build a set of giant stations from which to spawn test races, thus allowing the [REDACTED] to further their knowledge of the three great sciences. [REDACTED] agreed. Thus, the Halcyon Project was born.

Halcyon 1 was built with variations in mind. The race spawned was doomed to ever revolve around a few phenotypes and never find a totally dominant strain. Halcyon 2 was built with ecology in mind. The race spawned was doomed to ever seek the best living at the least cost while trying to reverse that for everyone else. Halcyon 3 was built with polling in mind. The race spawned was doomed to ever try to predict all aspects of the future, even if no one believed them. Halcyon 4 was built with technology in mind. The race spawned was doomed to iron out bugs and always make another one somewhere in the process.

Stay tuned for Episode 2!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Episode 2
Halcyon 5 was built with controls in mind. The race spawned...did not spawn. The station had come alive. Work started on Halcyon 6, with tactics in mind. Then Halcyon 5 launched an assault on Halcyons 1-4. The [REDACTED]'s fleets were unable to stop it. Halcyons 1-4 were destroyed, releasing their experiments into the void. Halcyon 5 turned to attack Halcyon 6. One intern stole a prototype ship from Halcyon 6. Enabling the cloaking feature, he was able to escape detection and reach Halcyon 5. Flying into the hanger port, he detonated the self destruct mechanism on his ship....

Stay tuned for Episode 3!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Episode 3
Normally, any Halcyon could withstand a ship blowing up inside the hanger bay. But this was no normal ship. It was carrying an early Zirordiax reactor and some of the Trimonium fuel intended for the soon-to-be-developed weapons. The result was a wormhole that dumped Halcyon 5 somewhere beyond sensor range. Well, we assume it was beyond sensor range. The other [REDACTED] that had survived were on board the fastest colony ship they could find, speeding away without looking back. Halcyon 6 was abandoned. But the end was not yet come.

Stay tuned for Episode 4/Season 2!

[MongooseCalledFred]

<I just started a poll for where I go next. This post is primarily intended to make sure the people who care see it sooner rather than later.>

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 2, Episode 1
[REDACTED] was on a training misssion in the [REDACTED] system. While foraging for food, he noticed a peculiar tree that had all the fruit oriented parallel to the trunk--and the trunk was at an odd angle to the ground. [REDACTED] picked one of the fruits. It still tried to maintain its orientation, but it didn't mind spinning on the "vertical" axis. [REDACTED] thought this was odder still, so he took the fruit to his superior, Offficer [REDACTED]. Officer [REDACTED] had it shipped to New Terra for scientific analysis.

Stay tuned for Season 2, Episode 2!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 2, Episode 2
When the scientists on New Terra analyzed the fruit, they discovered that the absolute angle of the fruit had changed by a number of degrees. Scientist [REDACTED] hypothesized that the fruit aligned itself with a center of force. Further analysis revealed that the fruit wasn't a necessary party to the alignment--an extremely stable compound that they named Zebraic-iono-rutherial-organic-regal-dirgaic-iguano-amino-xenonium (Zirordiax for short) was responsible for the alignment. The scientists consulted with that famous engineer, [REDACTED], to build a sensor to locate the source of the alignment force.

Stay tuned for Season 2, Episode 3!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 2, Episode 3
Once [REDACTED] built the sensor, Captain [REDACTED] was sent to find the center of the force. The sensor led to a gas cloud on the edge of Terran Space. Short-range scans revealed a formidable object of unknown origin. Captain [REDACTED] dubbed it Halcyon 6 because that "had a certain ring to it." After he relayed his information back to New Terra, the Twelfth Fleet was sent to make a detailed investigation.

Stay tuned for Season 2, Episode 4/Season 3!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 1
"Sir, we've completed the first portal. Squad XX1 is ready to deploy on your order."

"Deploy it now!"*

"Sir, Squad XX1 has been deployed. We should be getting results back any minute now..."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 2!
*I couldn't resist using that quote. Bonus points if you know where it's from.

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 2
"Sir, Squad XX1 is on Comm Line C, ready to report."

"On screen."

~~Screen shows Squad XX1 in battle formation.~~

"All volunteers are healthy without any side effects. Project Portal is a success."

"Return to the base. The portal will be deployed to the Planet [REDACTED] in five hours."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 3!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 3
(Something more than five hours later.)

"Sir, Squad XX1 has completed the initial survey of Planet [REDACTED]. The material indicates that Planet [REDACTED] is really a massive station."

"That's bigger than we thought possible. Did the squad discover anything new about the size?"

"No, sir. Our estimations were accurate."

"Have Squad XX1 send back a sample of the materials for further research."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 4!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 4
"Sir, the research lab is on Comm Line C, ready to report."

"On screen."

~~Screen shows scientist in research lab.~~

"We have studied the material. We can use it to make our portals much stronger."

"Good. Have the away team send you more. How is the work on the Titan Portal?"

"It was almost complete, but now we need to integrate this new material. It should be ready in seven days."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 5!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 5
"Sir, we are receiving a distress signal from the [REDACTED] Station."

"On screen."

~~Screen shows frantic Chruul private.~~

"Something has possessed the others. It...it's...it's the station!"

~~Chruul private calms down instantly.~~

"Nothing is wrong. We just need more chruulpower to meet the quotas."

"More troops will be sent. Off screen."

~~Screen flips off.~~

"Something is definitely wrong. Do not send the troops. Monitor the return portal and let no one use it."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 6! (Also, please check out the new poll.)

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 6
~~Screen shows scientist in research lab.~~

"Have you finished the Titan Portal?"

"Yes, sir. It is ready to be deployed."

"Deploy it through the [REDACTED] Station. Shut it down before the station can exit."

"...Yes, sir."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 7!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 7
"Sir, security reports that the research lab is not responding. The last confirmed activity was the Titan Portal's shut down--scratch that. Security has regained camera control. The scientists appear to be discussing something."

"On screen."

~~Screen shows scientists hastily turning to the camera.~~

"We successfully locked the [REDACTED] Station in the portal dimension. Unfortunately, someone is trying to re-open the portal."

"Destroy the Titan Portal. The station is too dangerous to allow its possible return."

~~Screen shows massive explosion.~~

"It has been done."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 8!

[MongooseCalledFred]

Season 3, Episode 8
"Sir, the [REDACTED] Station seems to still be operational in the [REDACTED] dimension. All portal traffic has been affected by the strange mind control."

"Why didn't security tell me sooner?"

"The control is spreading even without portal traffic. Security and communications were among the first to go."

"Ready the bunker. Do we have any comm satellites still under our control?"

"One, sir."

"Set it to alternate between Blood Alert and S.O.S. with lowest possible input detection. There's nothing more we can do."

"It shall be done."

Stay tuned for Season 3, Episode 9/Season 4!