Rim Fleet Activion's Story

The psychic field and magical elements of the the three Orison's quivered violently, sensing the disturbance emanating from the Aschen ship. Unsettled, the crew of each ship shifted around nervously, ready to assume a combat maneuver or engage in flight from the region should anything go awry. Having encountered few aliens outside of simple creatures, the C'ran personnel were unsure of how to respond to the anti-psychic and anti-magic defenses that had suddenly sprung up around the Iconoclast. Pulses of cerulean and verdant light traveled lazily across the outer hull of the ships, lighting them up against the background of space. Stealth no longer remained an option if the sensors on the ships in the area were of any significant strength.

"Commodore Huras, new vessel is approaching rapdily. Unnatural forces detected, seems similar to the anti-space drives but readings are not clear," prompted one of the bridge operators, his thought flashing into her mind over the network. Shifting the information aside, she focused her mental abilities on the anomaly in the system. Watching attentively, her suspicions rose as a connection shuddered before being reestablished. The psych-net reported that the signature was not anchored to any organic but that there was one near the location with which a connection was being established. An intrusion. Authorizing a regenesis purge, the full psychic might of the local C'ran task force swept through the psych-network, boiling away unnatural and/or unauthorized points of energy.

Opening her eyes from the three second encounter, a surge of psychic force plowed through the vacuum, momentarily distracting Huras. A voice, metallic and inorganic in nature, rang through her head and that of every other C'rani.

Do not trust the Space Tyrants, for they evoke the fury of the Damned and the vengeance of the Dead.

Alarms blared across the C'ran ships, a rare event reserved for only the most grievous emergencies. Staccato shrieks reverberated through the hallways as all personnel immediately ceded all control to Huras, unifying the fleet. Viewing the situation outside, surprise struck her as dozens of silhouettes emerged from behind the asteroids, flaring to life on the Light Bringer's registrars. The Hronathi drop ships engaged afterburners, shorting out shields and weapons as they raced back towards the Orisons.

The Orisons themselves unmasked their weapon systems, compartments all over the semi-organic hull springing open to reveal small batteries designed for quick strikes. Engaging a holding beam, the drop ships sped forward faster than before, decelerating moments before collision and maneuvering into the docking areas. Having done so, the C'ran vessels immediately backed away from the Deathweaver ships, spinning up anti-space drives. Rotating and pouring all reserve energy into shields and engines, space folded in front of the C'ran vessels as they shot away in FTL, leaving naught but their memory for all in the area.

Magus watched in silence as the proverbial Hornet's nest was stirred by the announcement of the Aschen's Intent to seize the ship. His fairly straight face turned into a scowl as the Pirates began to flee, ships coming to life across the field to make their escape.

"I don't have time for your Bureaucracy, do not interfere or it will be construed as an act of war." Magus quipped back to the Pandorians. It was clear he wasn't interested in Diplomacy at this time, only catching the Pirate vessel.

As the Pirate vessels began to come out one by one from the asteroids, Magus made a face as the DRADIS lit up with multiple contacts, alarms began to blare as he stood up and pointed forward.

The Aschen Iconoclast continued to move forwards at a breakneck speed after The Reaper's Vengeance, and given the size of the Imperial Military vessel, it would be suprising to find out that the Aschen ship was gaining on the Pirate vessels, and it was doing so rapidly. With it's gargantuan 4,512Gs Acceleration, and it's five massive Olympus type ion engines, the Iconoclast was more than capable of rapidly gaining on it's target.

Magus made a face, at this rate they wouldn't be in Planck range soon enough to prevent the pirates from escaping, he had to do something drastic.

"Lieutenant, fire forward Phaser arrays at the alien vessel, try to disable it, but if we destroy it then so be it." Magus ordered, while the Lieutenant nodded.

"Thunderbolts are primed and ready." The Lieutenant reported.

"Prime the Planck warheads, prep a second salvo with a Psionic Disruptor warhead." Magus ordered, and the Lieutenant nodded.

"Firing Phasers." The Lieutenant reported, and the Aschen ship loosed it's first bank of weapons, which was displayed as a brilliant orange-red beam that seared across the blackness of space towards Gro'chal's ship. There was one, and then two and three, steady beams fired in rapid succession, and fired with astounding accuracy towards the engines of the fleeing ship, while the Iconoclast largely ignored the Corvettes, and let it's point defense weaponry and shields take asteroid impacts.

Each asteroid impacted with a brilliant flash of white on the Iconoclast's shields, and was tossed aside easily with each impact. And Immediately following the Phaser strike, massive armored panels retracted from it's Thunderbolt missile bays, and two missiles were loosed, the first one containing a Planck warhead, which would detonate and temporarily jam FTL travel in the immediate area, and the second contained a powerful psionic disruption warhead capable of debilitating even the most practiced psionics.

The missiles were free from their bays, only to vanish in a vortex of multi-colored light. They would emerge to detonate almost instantly and within close range to the Reaper's Vengeance.

----

While the Vigilanti Eternas was pursuing the alien vessel, a single massive contact would jump in behind the Pandorian fleet, seemingly in an attempt to head off the Reaper's Vengeance.

The vessel was the Reverence II 'Harbinger of Piety' and it was the flagship of the Aschen Empire's Second Fleet of Homogenous Clarity.

Admiral Whitcomb made a face as the events unfolded before her, and she turned to the Shipboard AI. "Activate Planck Packs." She ordered, and the AI promptly nodded.

The Reverence's Planck Packs began to spool up, and Gro'chal's window of escape started to rapidly narrow.

With two Imperial warships in play, and hundreds more likely on the way, the jaws of the Aschen Empire were rapidly shutting on the Naacani pirate.

Advancing slowly towards the Vertigan stardock, Sura considered the options. Not very many at the moment. Either landing at the designated zones, landing on the planet- which from the description didn't sound particularly promising- or returning to the Fleet without any information about the planet. Frowning briefly, she hooked up to the ship and began boosting it slightly faster towards the port. Thinking, she announced, "Continuing approach vector, will be landing at spacedock."

The crew prepared themselves for landing, conducting the rituals which had grown to accompany every descent to untouched planets. Gathering in the mess hall, each placed a personal possession of theirs on the floor in front of their foot before kneeling in front of the item. Bowing their heads, each placed a pair of finger to their lips simultaneously before pressing the fingers to the floor.

Upon doing so, they formed a non-traditional organo-psychic link. Establishing a normal connection, each crew member immersed themselves into the system. Whereas the link was usually utilized as a device of management and communication, this link became one of bonding for the personnel of The Shadow's Light. Minds melded together and all became one for an instant, a moment of absolute truth in which all reestablished their loyalty to each other, sisters in all senses except for blood.

Rising from her position at the head of the congregation, Sura smiled as all stood and mingled momentarily before returning to their posts. Three, not including Sura, donned their EVA suits for landing. Having already conducted passive scans of the composition of the atmosphere, it was deemed safe to breath without any form of protection. Always one for caution, however, Sura insisted on the suits. Similar to the ones utilized by the military forces of C'ran, the exploratory suits traded many of the combat features for increased environmental hazard survivability and upgraded sensor suites, among several other lesser changes.

Thrumming as the ship decelerated before touching the ground of the stardock, Sura sealed off the airlock before confirming the opening of the outer door. Stepping through, she shaded her eyes and took in all there was to see.

As Shalna awaited their landing, she also kept her guard. Not just about them, but in case any fauna or flora penetrated the safezone and attacked. It was almost like they could smell newcomers. Well, to be fair, they probably could.

As the ship landed, the airlock eventually opened and someone came out. Then, almost on cue, a Crevlin, a bird like creature, swooped down from above to attack. Shalna quickly put several arrows into it, and it dropped to the ground, dead.

"WElcome to Vertiga. My name is Shalna "Quietbird" Dakova, huntress and representative of the Vertigan Clans COmmisary Service, the organization that represents all clans equally to outsiders" she told them. "What is your name?"

Light greeted Sura's eyes, blinding her momentarily. Spotting a woman armed with a bow standing at the base of the landing area, Sura began to step forward when a screech sounded above her. Her two companions jumped backwards while she rolled forward. A moist thump came from behind her, signifying the fall of something. Turning, the body of an avian creature greeted her, stuck through with several arrows. Standing slowly, Sura opened the psy-link with the armorer of her ship.

"Greetings unto you, Captain Sura? How may I assist?" came from the other end, the voice belonging to a Kethan by the name of Alma Kisorijc.

"A blessing unto you, my friend. Were we assigned any special issue electrostasis weapons on this journey?" Sura responded.

"I'm afraid not. The extent of our armory consists of several sonic rifles, one Marker-type particle rifle, and two plasma carbines. There are, of course, the full load of L-class melee modules yet I feel that they will not serve too greatly. "

"An extensive enough selection for our operation. Bring us three L-class fists, the Marker rifle, and two sonic rifles, if it pleases you."

"Immediately, Sura." With that final response, Sura terminated the connection. In speech, the conversation would have taken time to accomplish, yet the psychic nature ensured almost instantaneous understanding. To any onlookers, it would have appeared that Sura had stood in place for no more than two seconds. Finishing that affair she returned to face the woman at the bottom of the landing area. Striding down the ramp, a useful addition for when lev deployment was ineffective, she came to stand in front of Shalna. On the route down, the helmets retracted from the heads of the three C'ran, disappearing into the rest of the suit.

"It is my honor to meet you, Shalna Dakova. My name is Sura Kintareg, licensed explorer for the Meritocracy of C'ran. My two companions are Hetari Guren and Naralya Feyoni. One of my crew members will be coming to us shortly with armaments, both for protection and exploration. Dual-utility is always preferable over single use."

As Sura was speaking, Alma descended from the airlock, dressed in the organo-synthetic suit which many Sakari and Kethan wore commonly. Hers were a sky blue, contrasting with the pigmentation of her skin, almost black. Behind her floated the armaments, resting on a silver platform formed of psychic energy. Bowing as she neared the small grouping, Alma transferred control of the system to Hetari before returning to the ship. Picking up the Marker rifle, Sura turned and presented the weapon to Shalna. "If you would like to inspect these, then you may do so."

Shalna smiled, though on the inside she was still observant and cautious. "I do hope you have your own skills as well, and not just your toys" she mentioned as she had the scanners search for any signs of WMDs, Explosive Ordinance, or any Bioweapons. Though, given the diverse wildlife of the other species on the planet, and the spread of the clans, a Bioweapon would be relatively useless.

If everything checked out they would proceed. "Just, be alert. You may wish you brought bigger guns. That said, these arrows are hot enough to burn through advanced tank armor, so don't try anything either" she told them with a smile. Which on her face, was semi intimidating.

"Toys? Don't insult my little babies like that. Don't fear, however, we bring our own skills. Considering our quaint reception, you shall see some of them fairly quickly," Sura responded, eying the Vertigan. Without any knowledge as to the Sura and her crew Shalna was already insinuating insults against them. The efficacy of such first-contact could be debated quite extensively but it was not her place to do anything until more could be learned as to the attributes of the planet and its people. In light of the attack by the avian creature, almost certainly a race in constant conflict with the environment around it.

As the three C'ran hoisted their weapons onto molecular bonding strips on their backs, the scanners examining the ship would find no sort of devices of the nature that were being searched for disregarding the power units, though such an item was essential to the operation of the ship. Touching the Marker Rifle on her back gently as Shalna spoke again, Sura sighed lightly. Disregarding the physical aspects of the venture, exploring this world would certainly try her patience. "Do not worry as to the size of our guns. Larger weapons would simply decrease the efficiency with which we can travel. And I do not take threats particularly well, Ms. Dakova, to me or those with me. Shall we continue?"

"Its not me or my people that mean to make threats, mostly. Its simply a warning, as many of the creatures here can be very vicious" she told her. "I mean no threats to those who abide by our laws and customs, but many think they may just land wherever they want. We simply warn them that such a choice is not just illegal, but very counter-active towards the goal of staying alive".

"Also, Dakova is a clan name. Calling people that will result in a lot of Ms. Dakova's" Shalna told her. "I figured you may wish to know this to avoid confusion. That said, please understand we are not liable for any injury you experience at the hands of the local fauna, flora, or malfunction of your own equipment possibly affected by the environment".

As they walked, she did add one thing. "We mean no insult, but we have seen explorers before act reckless, and die. On the first night. You won't find any threat from us unless you make trouble".

Across the void gulf separating the stars, impossibly large in comparison to any normal being or construct, streamed the ships of Rim Fleet Activion, or rather, part of it, for the Rim Fleet was a massive organization of thousands of ships and millions if not billions of people, ever expanding, exploring, and contacting for decades, centuries. The story of Rim Fleet Activion was the story of C'ran itself, for without the impressive arrangement of ships arrayed for the task, the aforementioned nation would remain scattered within the confines of its local star systems, ignorant of the greater mysteries of the universe, its wonders and secrets. Forth to a planet of particular interest streamed these ships, one hundred all told, ranging from the darting drone ships that served in mapping star systems to one of the lumbering Bedern Fortress ships, over three kilometers in length and conveying masses of material for whatever purpose might be required, from forward-base establishment to fleet repairs.

On they streamed, or rather, fell, for the anti-space drive folded space, made it malleable so that one might work outside of normal constraints which would prevent a method of faster-than-light travel. With time and distance contracted in front of them and extended behind, the ship could cover the interstellar void much faster than light itself. Assisting was the creation of a wormhole-like structure, also actuated by the drive, that lent itself to shortening the space even further than before. Science built wonders greater than the universe itself.

A distortion passed through the target system, preceding the arrival of the ships by seconds. Any material caught in the field would be shunted aside, thrown at near-light speeds away from the impenetrable bubble of anti-space. Observers who looked at that very moment would see the stars disappear, their image gone until the wayfarers fell out of their faster-than-light state. Three million kilometers separated the fleet from their destination, an orb of iridescent blue and brown, warm in nature due to its proximity to the binary star which it orbited. Three mere minutes would see the ships touching down if no unforeseen circumstances arose.

Tooled by craftsmen who had spent decades at their trade following its production with the finest materials available to C'ran, the CVM Hammer of Wrath coasted in the center of the grouping, its heavily modified systems able to control flotillas many times this size, whose own defenses rivaled those of the Bederns', easily one of the most valuable ships within the entirety of the nation. Nothing else would befit the flagship of C'ran's expansionary fleet. Engines flared brighter.

Within the bowels of the venerable vessel sat not the Fleet Sovereign of Activion, for his duties called him elsewhere. Instead, it was one of the Collectives, assemblies of high-ranking government, civilian, and military officials, assembled and dispatched for only the most important of tasks. The potential of this planet being the location of their ancient home-world requisites such an honor. In communion they sat, minds as one during deliberations so that all might understand the implications and reasoning of their thought.

"So it is decided," stated the Elder One. "The world shall be kept secret from the politics of C'ran if the true nature of its being is discerned. Our decision shall not reach past the confines of this fleet, no message shall leave the system, no ship. We claim the Right of Supersedence in justification of our actions, and so may the Alhembrals note if we are found. This Conclave is complete. Begin the descent." One hundred ships entered far orbit, their hulks resonating with the sounds of marching feet.

Lord Xulganak watched with mild interest as the galaxy spun, and he observed the quantum dance between a nucleus and its electron consorts with a studious curiosity. His eyes and ears were spread across the cosmos, silently monitoring the happenings of the galaxy and the civilizations within from the darkness between the stars and the hidden places of the worlds.

A moon-sized space station cannibalized a barren planet in the uncharted galactic wilderness. What little life found there was collected, studied, cataloged, and then sanitized before the world itself was ripped apart and stripped of any valuable resource. The matter would fuel a new generation of droids and ships, which would further extend the Archiver’s reach across the universe. They would harvest, learn, adapt, and build. Xulganak was satisfied.

He turned his gaze outwards, beyond the galaxy. What other matters required his attention?