User blog:Savage Ravage/Subject : Project Nightlash 2.0



A technician appears, seated at a computer. The webcam shows the open expanse of a hangar with what appears to be a typical COBRA-owned and operated Night Raven S3P. However, unlike most of the COBRA-owned Night Ravens, this one is swarming with technicians and scientists alike, each wearing a COBRA issued badge that denotes them as part of the R&D department's 'Special Weapons' program. Naturally, no names are listed on the badges, just photos, for the sake of security.

"Alright, Sir, you asked and we're delivering," the technician's heavy Aussie accent is fairly clear over the video feed. "This Night Raven you gave me, it's definitely one of ours, only it isn't." He pauses, tapping a few keys on an unseen keyboard. "Hold on, I'll explain."

Pictures flash up on the side of the screen. "This is the aircraft, tail number Theta Zero-One-Seven-Three. She belonged to R&D a while back, has a rather sparse history in the archives, though. This was back when Ritter ran the show, and he was too secretive for his own good. Pity he can't answer much from six feet under. The pilot, Strato-Viper Seven-Nine-One, likewise had a very involved service in R&D, but was shot down and never recovered alive, making this a curious case."

He clears his throat, letting the old images, all time-stamped around 2010. They show the aircraft in various areas, each time from a bit of a distance and marked with the title 'PROJECT : NIGHTLASH'. The technician dismisses them once they've run they're course. "I looked up Project Nightlash. Big surprise, no records. Checked the aircraft's tail number, going straight to M.A.R.S. Another big surprise, they show no records of ever producing that particular tail-number. That's when we found this."

The Night Raven's image appears in wire-frame format, zooming in on a cross-section of the cockpit. "We've got here an R/A-37-1a transponder module, Cobra standard in our Ravens. Allows the pilot to control the drone while it's unmanned, likewise allows for some automated functions and presets. We've upgraded our platforms to the R/A-42-7b as of last year for advanced functions, but this unit shows up as having been ordered Depot-level repairable without a carcass to turn in."

The cross-section lights up with numerous other modules, an indicator on the side showing a count of 73. "All in all, we found seventy-three different modules, all DLR, uh… depot level repairables, installed throughout the aircraft to give it form and function similar to our own birds, all ordered without a carcass. But here's where it gets stranger still." An image pops up of wiring and circuitry, heavily zoomed in and magnified. "What we see here is non-standard wiring, it's not quite matching our technical publications. Alien technology similar to samples we've recovered in the past, from these… Cybertron automatons, has infused itself with the tech installed that came from us."

Several more images of similar situations, alien tech paired up with COBRA branded and M.A.R.S. branded modules flash across the screen. "So, like I said, this bird… she was ours. But she's not ours. But this, as they say, is the coup-de-grace." The screen fills up with what looks like a micro-nuclear reactor, glowing a bright, almost pure white with purple arcs of lightning crackling along its surface. Several lines are affixed to the metal cylinder, carrying a pink glowing substance throughout the airframe. "It's like the energon sample we have in the labs, only remarkably pure. It all flows through this device. This is how it's powered. Without this, it'd probably cease to function entirely."

The images show the device from several angles, one with marks on it indicating measurements. "It's about a foot and a half in diameter overall with a secondary plating shielding it that takes it out to just shy of two feet. Fairly substantial armor, if you ask me. Nothing like the titanium we use on our birds. This thing's built to take a bruising, which is fortunate because this bird most certainly took a bruising."

The screen returns to normal, showing the technician seated at his desk. "We'll keep digging while repairing the old girl. Got a few studies on the news footage and a few social-media videos that show that tail-number in action, and I've even got Tech-33 working on a spectro-analysis to match it against the alleged Cybertronian automaton, Nightlash, and likewise crossing it against our own birds still in service. She's an impressive beast. A bit…hodge-podge as far as construction goes, but I'm excited to get her back online. Oh, speaking of."

A series of jagged lines, almost like an EKG, fill the screen. "This is her primary computer's activity for as long as we can trace it back, which is a ways. There's volumes of stored data here. But this is interesting. Activity is fairly consistent until about 2010, when this project Nightlash kicked off. Activity straight drops off the grid. Nothing, not a peep. Then, 2012, it spiked again, only erratic. There's a few points where it's so erratic I can't even tell if the bird was dying or just trapped in a nightmare. There's a few more points of inactivity, the most recent being yesterday, but the consistent activity died when Ritter started his work. Not sure what that means, but rest assured we'll find out. Might have to do with how our tech interfaced with alien tech."

He settles back in his chair with a sigh. "Until we've got more, Tech-01 out."

The screen goes dark.