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"It is a time of unrest. The Human Union, once a powerful force in the galaxy, is now torn in a violent and bloody civil war. The question dividing the humans is one of loyalty - either to the Shining Alliance, or the Black Confederates. This war only serves to increase the tension between these factions, and each has sent a small complement of troops to aid the humans that are on their side in the conflict.

Reports of the hated Dark Elves, who in their past had been dangerous warlords and powerful oppressors, are beginning to trickle in. They had been one of the first races into space, and have not been seen in large numbers since their great exodus. They left as fugitives from a world which did not love them. Some fear they may be back for revenge. The reports concerning them have not been of outlying settlements or space stations, but rather of lightning-fast raids on freighters and small convoys.

The powerful orcs are in their prime. They are the core of the Black Confederates, a loose bond of various orc and goblin tribes which are scattered across Athatar. Their powerful warships and dedicated ground troops stand ready, awaiting a chance for battle. They have become nearly symbiotic with the diminutive Goblins, without whose technology they could not survive. In return, the mighty orc warriors protect and provide for their dangerously intelligent comrades.

The clever goblins are known for their unmatched knowledge of explosives and accelerants. Their culture honors those who can build something great. It gives even more honor to someone who can then either blow it up or burn it down. They are members of the Black Confederates as a matter of necessity. Goblins are notoriously bad at surviving in all but the safest environments, usually because they spend most of their time thinking about great inventions - and ways of destroying them.

At the center of the Shining Alliance stand the ageless elves, whose attunement to magic is the stuff of legends. Their capital planet, Anathan, is the political hub of the SA, as well as being the art capital of the galaxy. They love nature, and use it to their benefit whenever they can. There are entire elven cities carved from living trees. The elves have also been able to tame a number of local creatures, which they use for varying purposes, including beasts of burden, air filters, and pets.

The quirky, industrial gnomes are the great innovators of the Shining Alliance. There unusual, yet ingenious inventions are known to be both useful and somewhat unreliable. However, if anyone ever has an engineering problem to solve, the gnomes are who they turn to.

The stoic dwarves have taken well to space. Their culture is a great blend of the old and the new. They now control the most lucrative and bountiful asteroid fields in the Shining Alliance, including the Sobad asteroid field, the only known place in the galaxy where Byridium, one of the hardest and lightest metals in the galaxy, can be found. They are a key member of the Shining Alliance and possibly the most militarily able race in that faction.

You are about to enter a world of fantasy and science fiction. A place where dragons soar through space and Admirals wage war. Welcome... to Athatar."

OOC: The official OOC thread can be found here: http://www.roleplaygateway.com/athatar-ooc-signips-t18181.html
This will be the only OOC post in the RP.




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On the bridge of Dorum's Hold:

Dorin sat back in his command chair, listening to the routine reports of the bridge crew.

"ETA to wormhole aperture: 15 standard minutes." The helmsman stated. A small circle showing open blackness of space was directly ahead of them in the midst of the colorful display of the wormhole all around it.

"Wormhole holding steady, captain." The science officer announced.

"Jump drive levels normal." the engineer's voice came over the comm unit.

"Captain, " the tactical officer said, suddenly, in alarm. "I'm picking up a faint signal near the exit aperture."

Dorin remained calm. "Probably just an asteroid. How big is it?"

"Around 500 meters in diameter." the tactical officer's heavy accent drawled out through his short blond beard.

"By Muradin! That's the size of a class-M ship!" Dorin was on his feet now. "Sensor Analasys!" he snapped.

"Highly metallic." The science officer replied. "Infrared analasys suggests exhaust trails."

"It's not transmitting any hailing frequencies or transponder codes." The Comm officer reported.

"Onscreen! Full magnification!" Dorin ordered, throwing himself back into the command chair. This was getting interesting.

The main screen showed a grainy but unmistakable image.

Dorin smiled. "Vulture in the sky!" (This was a common expression used when encountering an orc Warbird.) "Battle stations."

"Captain!" The tactical officer cried in disbelief. "We're in mid-jump! Only a few good hits and this wormhole collapses on top of us!"

"Come now, Thorgum. Where's ye sense o' fun?!" Dorin goaded.

Navan Delos was walking down a dark alleyway. She was headed for a rather large group of people, all of them form her guild. Navan darted into the nearest doorway, it was pretty dark so they shouldn't spot her. She held her breath as they walked by. After they passed she let it go, being around people was not good for her, dodging people was her specialty.
She started walking again, and she looked up at the sky, it would be morning soon. So few dragons ever passed through this sky, but the sky here was almost always filled with ships. Navan smiled, and she looked back in front of her and started to run. The guild house was close by, and she needed to get in there to make her report. Her guild master was very particular, he needed daily reports.
Just as Navan was about to turn into the door for her guild house, she heard something. She looked up again, there was a dragon soaring through the sky, this was definitely important news.

In the Bal'shin Wastelands Stood a large construction towed over the flat dry rubble. This large Warehouse was sprawling with goblins Moving parts from place to place as well as Dangerous chemicals. At the top of a catwalk in the compound stood Gix ,recently placed in the fifth rank in the Bal'shin Engineers Guild explosive's division, was admiring at this gift he "collected" from the last fifth rank engineer. Though he was also admiring on his newest creation It was to be the biggest bomb ever created,Which is only part of a much bigger project. For now he had only part of the outer shell and a explosive solution in the working. He walked over on the catwalk to where there was a large vat of strange yellow colored solution. Gix gazed angry into it as he called "Dengu!" as the small goblin struggled up the latter to the cat walk. Dengu was short ,yet strong, for a goblin ,but this was impeded by the several bombs surgically attached to his body some so large that the stuck out like disgusting metal warts."Yes'h ,Mas'hta Gix" came a frail voice Dengu. "Dengu I need ya ta go bring me 5oz of da Compound 72-80 and 8lbs da white stuff, ya Gots that Dengu." With a nod Dengu left And returned as quickly as possible. Gix took the compounds and threw them Into the mixture.Swirling and turning the yellow solution quickly turned to a deep boiling red.

Arath stood behind a beautifully carved podium, made of the rare Tu'kas tree, and admired the artsy engravement that wound around the top of the podium as a sort of border. Set in the podium was a control screen that could be used to amplify his voice across the vast chamber, call for silence, recieve urgent messages (both video and audio), or to conjure up a glass of water to soothe his throat during long speeches. Hopefully this wouldn't be one of them.

Before him was the vast Senate Chamber, big enough to hold all of the senators within the Shining Alliance. Instead of seperating each race into individual sections, as had been suggested at the construction of the building, the Elves thought it wise to intermix all the races together to try and erradicate any thoughts of racism within the SA.

The mixed chattering of the senators, while individually quiet, was added to one another to form a loud roar to whoever stood behind the podium. Arath held up his hands, his image being projected onto the large screens behind him so that everyone could see. Floating cam-bots floated before and around the podium (and throughout the Senate Chamber), broadcasting his image, and the image of any senators that the cam-bot had decided to focus on, to all monitors and personal devices tuned to this particular frequency.

He could see his own image on one of the monitors across from the podium. Arath was the image of a perfect elf. He was young (for his people, about 38 in human years), tall, and physically fit. His golden hair came down to his shoulders, his long, sensative ears pertruding from his golden hair. His magical blue eyes seemed to gaze deep into ones soul, eminating genuine kindness and the will to help others.

The chamber grew quiet without Arath having to say anything. This was one of the many upsides of being a highly respected politician. "My fellow members of the Shining Alliance," he said, bringing all attention to him. "As you all are aware, there was an attempt on my life last night... The initial report was that Dark Elf assassins were able to infiltrate my home, but new evidence suggests that it was goblins. Luckily, the assassins weren't smart enough to not activate my security systems, which alerted me to the infiltraters.

Fleeing the scene before the authorities were alerted, the assassins were able to flee the area, and most likely the planet, without hinderance." He paused, as if to compose himself. "I want everyone in this galaxy to know that this attempt on my life has not changed my position!" he said, his voice growing more fiery as he spoke, his voice fluctation having the wanted affect on his audience. "The Elves will not back out of this war! We have thrown in our support to the Shining Alliance and no amount of Black Confederate bullying will change that! No longer will this galaxy be ruled in anarchy! No longer must helpless races tremble beneath the powerful foot of the Orcs!

I see a long and hard journey ahead of us... A journey full of peril, of war, of death... But as a result of what is to come I see an age of freedom! An age of prosperity! But most important of all, I see an age of peace for the inhabitants of this galaxy!"

The conclusion of his speech was met by the thunderous applause of the senators. He held both arms out to the sky, his charming smile and twinkling eyes sure to make him look great on camera.

The age of peace was coming... And Arath would do anything in his power to make it so.

High General Kregan Thrick was on his seat at the base of Odin's neck. I'm late again, am I not, Odin? he thought to his dragon and life-partner. Yes, I believe you are, Kregan. He saw the Senator on a large screen and heard him speaking. We'll probably read about it or see a repeat of it on a late show, anyway. said Kregan, We, or at least you, should go anyway. You're the only Rider who has pledged himself to the Shining Alliance's cause. Odin said. Fine. I'll go, but you have to wait in the hold so I can leave right after. Smoke blew by Kregan as Odin laughed and it blew out of his nostrils.

About five minutes later Odin was in his special Dragon Hold in the Meeting House and Kregan was walking into the Senate Chamber and taking his seat, an Elvish senator had been nice enough to update him on the speech. He waited to see if there was more, as he wanted to speak with Arath.

In Orbit above New Rivendon
Eso woke up completely disoriented. Where am I? He thought. That's right. I am stuck on the merchant ship Kiffern. He had been on the ship for about week. He got up and started preparing for the day. I have to get back the Elven navy soon, he thought. I have to tell them about what I saw. It had been almost two weeks since the Shilnor had been destroyed. He was getting weaker by the day. Soon he would not be able to walk. He ran a self diagnostic of health. It confirmed his fear. He needed to find a life stone soon or he would die.

These stones were vital to the existence of all elves. Shortly after achieving space flight, the elves had discovered that they needed a certain frequency of radiation only present in their native atmosphere to survive. They had first colonized Anathan because it had a supply of inherently magic stones which emitted this proper radiation frequency. The one on the Shilnor had been destroyed with the ship.

He walked out of his quarters. When he got the command deck he was surprised to discover that he was in orbit around New Rivendon. “Now what was important about New Rivendon?” He asked himself. “Oh, that’s right it has one of the largest markets in this part of the galaxy.” I might be able to buy what I need maybe even a power crystal. He thought. With that thought he went to find the captain.

Navan walked into the guild and bowed to the master. "I have important news, a dragon was just seen flying in our skies. The SA held an important meeting today, I think one of our other informants are spying on them now. And there still is no news from our informant in the BC."
She waited to hear her masters response to all this news, but he stayed silent. She started to turn away when he started to say something.
"I'm sorry, I didn't understand that." He started to talk louder, "Very nice, you may go. Please try to find more out about that dragon, and visit the SA."
Navan smiled, she had intended to visit them anyway, for personal research, and for the fact that she wanted to help them. She turned and walked out, avoiding almost everyone there, hiding in the shadows.

The applause had stopped, and Arath was done, so the assembly was dismissed after much discussion. Before Arath could leave, Kregan caught up to him and tugged at his sleeve, "Arath, sir. Kregan Thrik, Dragon Rider." he extended his hand for a shake.

Arath sighed, expecting another reporter or thankful citizen to be trying to say some praise of thanks to him before he left. Didn't people understand that he had a life? That he had more important things to do than shake hands and kiss babies all day? He put on a smile and turned to greet his admirer, but was instead met by an unexpected greeting.

"Ah! I Dragon Rider?" he said, clearly surprised to hear the words. Arath had met Riders before, but only a small few in his long (but human standards) lifetime. He met the other mans hand with his own, his magical energy sending a slight tingle into the other mans hand. His fake smile turned into a genuine one as he clasped hands with the Dragon Rider. "I'm honored to have made your acquantance, Rider Thrik.

I have to say, you are the last person I expected to see running up to me after a conference... Which brings up the question," he paused for a second. "What brings you here?"


~~~~~~~~~~


Mirtek Ven sat with his feet propped up on the table. He sat in a seedy, out-of-the-way bar. The lights were dim, making the scene seem even more grimy and unclean that it probably really was. His black boots rested on the top of his booth's table, the table-top coated in a layer of grease. His booth was located in one of the darker corners. Mirtek wasn't worried of being noticed as a "suspicious character", there were plenty of them around the bar. The cheap bar/space-hub that he now occupied, known simply as Comets Bar and Rest-stop, was located within the Neutral Zone; An area of space set aside as an area where both the BA and SA, and anything inbetween, could trade, drink, and make a living without shooting eachother on sight.

The bar was filled with clanking glasses and low murmering. Mirtek took another sip of his very distasteful drink, supposed to be some type of alcohol but too flat to taste anything, and looked up as a very large brute of an orc approached. Mirtek's hood was drawn, so he needn't worry about being recognized as a Dark Elf. He glanced up at the orc, and seeing that he hadn't moved, tilted his face to look at him. "Can I help you with something?" he asked, putting as much sarcasm and loathing into his voice as he could muster.

The orc gave a laugh; a short, disgusting snort, and leaned over, one hand on the table's edge, the other on the seat. "You're in my seat," he said, his voice deep and rumbling. His breath smelled like a dead Rkk'Taa (pronounced Irk-Tah) and glistening drool covered his yellowing teeth. Mirtek slowly looked over to the empty seat across the table, then across the table, then across his own seat, finally bringing his gaze back to the orc. "Huh, I don't seem to see your name on it... Funny, cause if it's your seat it must be here somewhere-"

His sentence was interrupted by the orc grabbing him by his cloak and body armor, the large green hands literally covering his shoulders. He hefted Mirtek into the air fast enough to take his hood from his head. The orc stared at him for a second as if unsure what to do. Then he started laughing in his deep, guttural voice. Mirtek was cast down to the floor, striking the metal deck hard. The loud smack brought the attention of others, which wasn't something Mirtek wanted. The orc stepped over him and laughed again. "Dark Elf, boys!"

(continued in my next Mirtek post)

Kregan was slightly surprised by the magical tingle, but didn't show it, though what he did show was barely concealed worry, "Senator Arath, I have heard of the attempt on your life, and I heard your speech. What I would like you to know is that..well," he leaned in as close as his stumpy height allowed, then whispered "Odin, that is my dragon, and I were flying through space when we saw something strange going on, so we went in closer, and...this is the most direct way I can put it: The Dark Elves are stirring. I don't know what they're up to, but it's nothing good." he leaned back down, "I tell you this because I think I can trust you, and you are known to be a wise person."

Gix looked into the mixture and back at Dengu."Dengu ya dud!I told ya Eig..."
He was cut off mid sentence when a large gong sound rang through the compound. He claimed off the catwalks and down to a large gate. This was strange to him he wasn't expecting anyone. Quickly paranoia over struck him as the loud gong rang, again. He back away from the door and pointed at one of the Goblins holding up a detonator.

"ya get, go open up da door."

This goblin looked fairly normal on the outside but like many other goblins in the compound was just another security measure for Gix. For they all have had explosives implanted inside of them. While sum more then others these where all measures too keep them inline and doing what he says ,though most accept this out of fear.

Once more the gong rings. As the goblin skittishly opens the door. The breeze blew in and the chill ran off Gix's Spine, scared, he accidentally set off the detonator. The Goblin exploded into a fountain of blood and fire in every direction. On the other side of the door stood a band of goblins, now partly covered in more goblin. He Recognized them.A Bombs as Goblin squad sent on an assassination mission though he wasn't too sure on the particulars he only knew it was a important member of the Shining alliance.

"Ya bunch of no good dirty duds all ya is, none ya should be alive!"

One of the goblins steeped up "Tha booma didn't go off Masta Gix."

Worried Gix looked up "Da bigboss didn'ta find out did he?"

"No Masta Gix" came the group with uneasy smile's he invited them back inside to fix the bombs.

"None ya be worryin Da boss will think you all died, and failed and ill be sendin ya back out for some more boomin. Soon as I get da call for more Bombs as gobbies."

The Dorum's Hold was now only 10 minutes from reaching the aperture.

"How long can we keep this aperture open?" Dorin asked, Frad, the black-bearded science officer.

"Twenty seven minutes at current power consumption."

The Warbird was waiting for them just outside the open aperture. The ships were about the same size. In open space, they would have been an even match. Unfortunately, this was not open space. The ship was in the confined quarters of a wormhole which it had to expend power to sustain. There was not enough room for the Hold to be able to slip past the opposing ship, nor would they be able to raise their shields to full power and fight their way out with the immense strain being put on the generators by the Jump Drive.

Dorin smiled. He was in his element. "Anyone have a suggestion?"

"We increase our speed, raise our shields, and ram them!" the tactical officer offered.

"No way!" the voice of the chief engineer countered over the comm. "These reactors down here can't take much more than they're doing now. Our shields would never hold."

"Sir, " the comm officer, a young ensign named Buldan piped up cautiously, "I think I have an idea."

"Let's hear it, son." Dorin encouraged.

Dorin smiled as he listened to the ensign's suggestion. "If this works, you're getting a promotion. Let's get to it."

Navan went to find where that SA meeting was taking place. She just had to get there, it was quite important. She hurried through the streets looking everywhere, she just couldn't find it. Then she saw someone else, she'd never seen them before, she walked over there. She didn't know exactly what would happen by approaching him, but if this was anything important she had to be near.
Navan stayed in the shadows, trying to stay out of sight. Surveying everything before she exposed herself was definitely the beast thing to do. There was a dragon nearby the man, it was the same one that she'd seen earlier. She smiled slyly, she just had to get closer to that dragon. Suddenly, the dragon started to make some sort of scream, Navan covered her ears, it was awful sounding. The dragon must have sensed her. She tried to get away, but not before she was grabbed. Navan kicked but she didn't hit anything.

While Krehan was waiting for Arath's reply Odin contacted him, Kregan, I have a young human female between my talons and she's struggling to get free. Kregan was intrigued and angry that someone would dare disturb Odin, I'll be that in a moment. He looked at the senetor, "I'm sorry, sir. But Odin has a problem I must attend to, I must beg your pardon for excusing myself." he lingered for a moment then sprinted to the Dragon Hold, his enhanced vision making the dark hold easy to behold. He saw Odin, of course, you couldn't miss a quarter-mile long dragon, and he also saw the female between his claws raised about fifteen feet off the ground. "What, may I ask, are you doing here?" he said loudly enough for her to hear.

Navan started to squirm, she was being crushed. Then a really short person came along, and asked her what she was doing here. "I'm trying to get into the SA meeting, I want to check them out further, closer up. Before I decide to fully support the Shining Alliance I want to know everything I can about them." Navan kept squirming, and the pressure on her kept increasing every time she moved. Any more pressure and she was going to have a few broken bones. "Can you tell this dragon to put me down, please." She faltered as she said it. She was quite nervous, this want good, being seen, and being around a person. "By the way are you a.. child?"

Kregan had gotten that a lot, but he still too it as an insult, "I am Kregan Thrick, Dragon Rader of 136 years and you are in the claws of my dragon." he said loudly, his voice booming across the cavern. Then in a calmer tone, "And if you must know, the meeting is adjurned for now...If you want to join the SA, consult Senator Arath. And if it is not too much too ask of you, why are you in the Dragon Hold?"

Eso was almost to the navigation room when he heard people talking. “I don’t trust him,” the dwarf said.
“Agreed but how do we get him off the ship?” the captain asked.
“We could send him planet side to get stuff?” the gnome responded.
Eso knock at this time and asked. “Could I please go to the market I need to buy some things and the navigational crystals needs to be replaced. I was barely able to jury rig it to gets us this far it needed to be replaced on the planet you picked me up on.”
“Sure, I’ll take you down.” The dwarf said. “Get you stuff and meet me at the shuttle bay one.”
“Will do,” Eso responded as he headed back to his room to get his supplies. They could just ask me to leave. What could I do He thought.

Navan stared at the guy, he must be crazy, she just told him to have the Dragon let her down, and he tells her she's being held by a dragon. Either this guy was crazy or he had bad hearing. "I know I'm being held by a dragon, tell it to let me down. If you want anymore questions answered you'll have this dragon put me down." She started to squirm again, this was really uncomfortable. "By the way, if you are not a child what are you, aside from a dragon rider, besides you being a dragon rider was pretty obvious."

Kregan was astounded by this woman's attitude, considering the circumstances, "I'm a dwarf! What else?" he said, then to Odin, Let her down but don't let her get away, I'd like to question her. So Odin unclasped his claws, letting the woman fall. Kregan cringed as her struggling form hit the floor, I meant gentler than that. Odin chuckled to himself, You never said how to put her down. Besides, she was getting very irritating. Kregan allowed a chuckle of his own, which was more of a grunt, as he walked closer to the obviously human female, "Now I'd like my questions answered, woman: First things first, What are you doing here?"

Bridge of the Dorum's Hold, seven minutes from the aperture.

"Frad, I need as much spare power to the shields as you can give me. Turn off all but life support to all non-essential areas of the ship." Dorin commanded.

"Aye, Captain." the chief engineer's voice came over the comm.

"Stone Squadron ready for launch." another voice crackled over the comm.

"Steel Squadron ready for launch."

"Rock Squadron ready for launch."

"Forge Squadron ready for launch."

"Deep Squadron ready for launch."

"This is Mace Leader. Mace 2 and Mace 6 are down for repairs, but the rest of us are good to go."

"Alright lads." Dorin instructed, "This operation's a wee bit tricky, so here's how things will go. Rock Squadron and Forge Squadron will launch in one minute. Stone Squadron and steel Squadron will launch a minute after that. In three minutes, we'll be within range of their rockets, so our shields will go up. Frad, we've got to keep those shields up until we're out. At two minutes to impact, Deep Squadron and Mace Squadron will launch. You know the rest. Remember to keep clear of the wormhole walls and get clear of the aperture as soon as possible once we're out. Let's get to it!"

The first two squadrons of Barmolier Fighters, heavy bomber craft designed for punching through shields to take out key systems, launched precisely on time. Each squadron was composed of thirteen ships. They darted out ahead of the Dorum's Hold, heading straight for the enemy craft, which was by now looming quite large in their forward viewports. They reached the orc ship, a Class-M Light Battle Cruiser with a crew capacity of 237, and started raining down heavy fire on the shield generators.

The Vulture launched its own fighters just as the second wave of dwarves arrived. The second wave was not bombers, but interceptors, which were designed for dogfighting. They swooped down toward the orc and goblin fighters, attempting to keep them busy so the bombers could continue.

Meanwhile, the Hold was hurtling toward the battle. It would be limited to firing rockets and torpedoes until the power drain of the J-Drive was eliminated. The shields were raised just as the orcs fired their first long-range missiles.

"Do not return fire until I give the word." Dorin told the tactical officer. "We need to get close. We don't have the power to use the targeting computer, so every shot must count."

They were now two minutes from impacting with the other ship. The final two squadrons launched. Mace squadron was a squadron of space-superiority Gadrel Fighters, powerful multi-purpose craft. Deep Squadron was the Hold's entire complement of space tugs.

"Don't spare the Nerkpower, lads!" Deep Leader commanded. (A Nerk was a beast of burden native to Duradan.)

The tugs streamed toward their desitnation, accelerating to their top speed. The Gadrels kept just in front of them, staying in a defensive formation. The tugs and their escort reached the Vulture - and kept flying.

"Tractors Away!" Deep Leader called over the private comm frequency. The tugs activated their tractor beams on the Vulture in an attempt to drag it backwards away from the aperture. The tugs decelerated violently as the tractors locked on, but they kept moving, dragging the huge bulk of the ship with them. Then the Dorum's Hold let loose with all it had. A massive barrage of rockets and missiles bombarded the orc ship, punching through the already weakened shield and scoring several hits. One rocket even breached the hull near the bridge of the enemy ship. The Vulture responded with its own salvo of laser fire and torpedoes.

"Captain!" Frad shouted over the comm. "We can't take another hit like that!"

"I hope we won't have to" Dorin replied, his voice tense. He glanced at Buldan. The ensign was watching the battle nervously. "Deep leader. We're out of time. You won't get them out of the way fast enough. Go to the backup plan!"

The entire bridge crew stared at him in alarm. "Muradin save us." Frad almost whispered over the comm.

"Amen." the bridge crew said in unison.