The Tethys Ocean was known to be a cold, and unforgiving ocean among the inhabitants of Langara, a planet that was important in both Galactic Commerce, and the Empire of which it was the seat of power.

The sky was blue, and the harsh sun beat down on the ocean, the air was calm, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was a good day to fish, and that's exactly what the fishermen of the MV Coho, an unassuming fishing ship happened to be doing.



Fishing nets were cast, and the sound of a bell filled the air.

A gutteral cry almost immediately followed. "Air adhart làn!"

The grizzled captain cried from his post within the helm station of the ship's pilothouse. "Sinn a 'dol a tharraing a-slaodaidh math an-diugh!" The Captain cried out once more, while the boat continued to move underway.

One of the crewman spotted the figure in the water not shortly after, and his hand outstretched, the ragged redhead in a bright yellow rain slicker cried out. "Corp san uisge!" He shouted.

Another voice rang up. "Dè?" A second fisherman asked, and a small group began to gather on the main deck of the fishing boat.

Amid the dark halls of the mountain fortress, the sounds of a Latinesque language filled it's dark, stoney hallways. A small group of individuals, an IIA operative and two archaeological researchers slowly made their way through the fortress to happen upon a large chamber with several other individuals.

Erin moved in first, the brilliant blue white beam of her flashlight illuminating the strange door before them, while the strange eyes sent shivers down her spine.

"This place must be incredibly ancient..." One of the archaeologists commented in Anquietas.

"See if we can get any references to this door in local texts..." Another replied, the small group of Aschen for now, paying little attention to the others, their gazes fixated on the strange door before them.

"We're gonna breach it." Solis called out in Anquietas to the two scientists behind her.

Both of them returned quizzical stares while the dark haired woman stared up at the clearing, shouldering her disruptor rifle, then letting it hang loosely by it's strap, while only briefly regarding her surroundings.

Moving her finger to the communicator nestled inside her ear, she called out in Anquietas.

"I'm gonna pop smoke, there's a small clearing above our position, lower the supply pallet through that, antimatter charges a fusion reactors and a boring laser, asap."

As she finished speaking, she produced a small cylindrical device, tossing it into the center of the room, where it began to produce a plume of vibrant blue smoke, that while smelling slightly of sulfur, would be otherwise harmless.

Once that was done, the woman turned her attention to the door.

Gigashadow, Observation Bridge

As Kesslee turned to leave, Isambard reached out and stopped him, having a sudden change of thought. "No; we prepare our transport, full honor guard." The Emperor instructed. "For many, this is the first time they have truly seen representatives of the Aschen Empire, and while our Continuum Allies may be... unimpressed." Prince offered a brief pause, turning his attention to the large hologram, that had highlighted all three fleets, the Continuum in a shade of blue, and the other two vessels in a brilliant shade of orange.

"I want to make an impression." Prince added.

Gesturing for Kesslee to lead the way, Prince followed his Grand Confessor to the transit-array that would take them via matter-stream transit to the Hangar bay, where as Prince uttered the words, the Honor Guard was being assembled, and being briefed, and prepped for deployment.

Gigashadow - Primary Hangar Bay

Aschen Honor guard were hard at work preparing for the big event, rehearsing their marching practices, keeping their steps in sync, only when the Emperor arrived did they stop their activities. The Squad Captain called out in Anquietas, and the men lined up; forming a column of soldiers on either side of a red carpet that was prepared for Prince, and Kesslee.

Prince and Kesslee kept their pace close, but hurried until they were interrupted by one of Prince's many adjutants.

"My Lord..." The young man called out, holding up a holographic datapad. "Engineering teams were preparing the prefab at the designated coordinates, however initial scans indicated an obstruction..." The man said, handing the datapad to Kesslee, whom furrowed his brows as he took in the image.

After a moment, he passed the datapad over to Prince, who went over it briefly, and then handed it back to Kesslee.

"My Lords, the structure was not there when we completed our initial reconnaisance. The Structure seems to be sitting right where the rendezvous coordinates are located." The Adjutant added, and Prince nodded. The expression on his face immediately betrayed that he knew what the structure was. Of course the Aschen hadn't deployed their prefabs yet.

"At least the food will be good." Prince commented, before he gestured towards Kesslee.

Both of them moved towards an Aschen Condor VTOL, one of six identically marked craft. This was intended to confuse any possible assassin, by offering up decoy craft.

"Imperial One this is Gigashadow LSO; you're cleared for launch; checker is green, you have the ball."

"Acknowledged Gigashadow LSO, flight checks are green, package is secure."

"Door's open, house is clean, good luck Imperial One."

The Aschen moved first, Raptor Talon star-fighters launched from the Gigashadow, followed immediately by six Condor class VTOL transports, each of them moving through the blackness of space, crossing the void between the planet, and the Gigashadow.

"Signal acquired... initiating entry procedures.."

Prince glanced out the window briefly at the Aschen fleet, which was slowly shrinking in size as they drew further, and further away. He could feel someone probing, a presence that was fleeting at best. His brows furrowed, cutting the intruder from his mind much like slamming a door.

Palisia - Flatlands - Meeting Place



A Single structure stood amidst the plains of the Palisian continent where the summit was going to take place. What was a summit without proper accommodations after-all.

The structure had roughly a dozen life signs, and was unremarkable for it's mysterious appearance.

A single pair of eyes perused dossiers from all the attendant factions, slender hands scritched notations in red pen on the margins of the paper. The Individual brought his gaze upwards from his desk in a room adjacent to a large meeting hall where a round table was positioned inside a grand hall decorated with warm wooden tones of teak, and bamboo paper that bore traditional artwork intended to provide a relaxed setting.

Young women in white makeup and ornate robes prepared the table settings, small flags representing each nation were placed where each representative would sit. The Imperial Aquila for the Imperium of Man, the Imperial Phoenix for the Aschen Empire, the symbol of the Continuum, the Eye of Ra for the Mauhasinans, the symbol of the TNG, and lastly, the Rising sun symbol.

Notepads of fine rice paper, along with expensive pens were laid out by the well dressed women, cooks were hard at work in the adjacent kitchen preparing the state dinner, ensuring that only the finest ingredients were being used.

Landing pads were set up surrounding the strange buildings, with signals directing each representative ship to land at their designated pad.

Two strange, and powerful energies could likely be felt by Kinara, if she probed the Planet. One could be felt as cosmic in nature, while the other was raw psionic potential.

The tension of the moment didn't seem to abate one bit as Shimizu stared down at King Sigurd, listening to his words carefully while considering his next move.

Azaka and Kamidake quietly kept their defensive stances, watching as everyone began to assemble around them. They watched the archers, and they watched the common folk assemble behind the shield wall waiting for a battle. This wasn't going to end well for them, either of them thought. They may have had the power, but they were in Sigurd's kingdom, and they were woefully outnumbered.

Yukiko made her next move too, sliding the wooden tiara onto her head, threading it through her hair, and adjusting it so it sat securely like a crown around her head. This provided her a mental link to the royal tree Mizuho. Yukiko quietly prayed to it, pleaded with it to come and help. Status symbols flicked across her field of vision, a HUD moving through her ocular cortex and becoming superimposed into her field of vision.

The Hybrid ship would arrive in due time. They only had to hold out long enough, it's weapons were more than enough to vaporize the entire settlement.

Shimizu quietly considered Sigurd's words, the primitive king's defiance angered the Emperor, and with each of King Sigurd's words in defiance, Shimizu's face seemed to only get redder, and his eyes only seemed to narrow even more.

"In the same breath, you say you are no match for our mightiness. You say you will defy us, that your sword will run red with our blood." Shimizu said, Tenchi still humming.

"So much as a drop of my blood gets spilled here..." Shimizu warned, as he pointed to the sky. "That thing up there, that is the Soja, it is my personal flagship." Shimizu said, slowly stepping forward, almost challenging the King.

"So much as a drop of Taiyou blood gets spilled, that ship will reduce your kingdom to ash in an instant! Everything you have worked so hard to build destroyed! With so much as a push of a button."

Shimizu was about to strike the King down, as he stepped within close enough distance to take a swipe at him with Sword Tenchi, but Yukiko made her move, several long strides away from Azaka, and Kamidake, she reached out and put a hand on Shimizu's shoulder.

"Stop." She said, the magic of the guardians still translating their words. "We cannot fight them, this world is worthless to us, there is no need to provoke this further!" The elder sister implored Shimizu.

"Our father would never allow this to happen, he was an honorable man, and you dishonor his memory with your actions." The woman pleaded, but her words seemed to anger Shimizu further.

Another crack of thunder filled the bay.

"Shimizu, please... let's go home." Yukiko pleaded.

Shimizu kept his gaze locked with Sigurd, before he extinguished Tenchi and whipped around. He shoved Yukiko aside, knocking her to the ground as she stormed towards Kayabuki, grabbing the middle aged woman by the collar, and pulling her close to him.

"I want an army commissioned, equipped, and trained to fight on this world." The Emperor hissed. "These people will be made to pay for their impudence."

He shoved Kayabuki away, and she stumbled backwards several paces before Azaka moved to catch her, Shimizu raised Tenchi in the air, and used it to mentally call out to the Sōja.

A Spherical portal opened up several paces away from Shimizu, crackling, and hissing, it took several moments to stabilize.

Shimizu began to walk towards it, leaving Kraiger where he sat.