Introduction
The galaxy sucks. Simply put, everything in the universe is trying is hardest to kill that which took billions of years to create.
Stellar phenomena like supernovas and black holes eat whole solar systems in the blink of an eye.
Crazed fanatics kill all they can get within weapons' range of their ships.
Pirates from all races join together to plunder, rape, and kill all others around them for mere profit and fun.
And yet... life thrives. Many, many races all live in harmony, searching for any number of things. Okay... not so much harmony as a tense peace, but bear with me! They all seek hapiness, among things like military or economic might, or intellectual superiority. Each is but a facet in the massive gem known as life.
You, the roleplayer, will become one of these facets. You will create a nation, and lead it along it's path, whether it be glory or power, or something else.
But beware, for dark things are stirring. Things that should remain alone and in the dark, far from any civilized planet.
So... what are you going to do? Save your people? Kill another? Trade your way to greatness? Reach the epitony of scientific knowledge?
It doesn't matter, for Life is just one giant painting plastered on the Galaxy, full of random spurts of color and form, somehow utterly chaotic and utterly ordered at the same time.
Stellar phenomena like supernovas and black holes eat whole solar systems in the blink of an eye.
Crazed fanatics kill all they can get within weapons' range of their ships.
Pirates from all races join together to plunder, rape, and kill all others around them for mere profit and fun.
And yet... life thrives. Many, many races all live in harmony, searching for any number of things. Okay... not so much harmony as a tense peace, but bear with me! They all seek hapiness, among things like military or economic might, or intellectual superiority. Each is but a facet in the massive gem known as life.
You, the roleplayer, will become one of these facets. You will create a nation, and lead it along it's path, whether it be glory or power, or something else.
But beware, for dark things are stirring. Things that should remain alone and in the dark, far from any civilized planet.
So... what are you going to do? Save your people? Kill another? Trade your way to greatness? Reach the epitony of scientific knowledge?
It doesn't matter, for Life is just one giant painting plastered on the Galaxy, full of random spurts of color and form, somehow utterly chaotic and utterly ordered at the same time.
- 45 posts here • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 10 authors
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Xr'ii'ra Space
Xr'lii'mi (Rich System)
The Maw
Some say The Maw, as it is named by the traders that ply their trade there, is a little over the top. The Xr'lii say it is adequate. Since it is the only place foreign ships are allowed in Xr'lii space, it has to be rather large. Some say too large, but its not like the Xr'lii actually listen to them!
A ship arriving in system notices two things right off. One is the massive space station staring at them. The odd thing is made of about seventeen massive asteroids, each around twenty Kilometers across, held in a three-dimensional lattice. Connecting each to all the others is tubes of black, each a half-kilometer thick and around five long. They act like a giant spider's web holding the blank rocks in place around each other. The asteroids are hollow, mostly for storage and for the services to feed and house the millions of traders that pass through the Maw. Xr'lii hired outside groups to create the recreational and restaurant districts, as well as the temporary and permanent housing. The Maw's areas are spartan, lacking any real art in the normal Xr'lii manner, but are well made and clean. Hundreds of ships dock at the thousands of bays scattered all over The Maw daily, to buy goods from both Xr'lii and other traders.
The second thing the ship would notice is the number of armed ships that light its hull. The Xr'lii are paranoid to the extreme, beyond what is normal. Being almost exterminated over ten different times does that. Even loved diplomats are still heavily searched and put under armed guard at all times. Fresh meetings and mundane treaty-drafting both are met with an odd amount of weapons pointed at the non-Xr'lii. Many diplomats leave in anger when the Xr'lii refuse to put the guns away. Those that can ignore the troops learn that the Xr'lii are not mistrusting, they are just... equal. Everyone, no matter their standing or political power, is treated the same. the Xr'lii do not care for politics and tend to not acknowledge it most of the time.
Xr'lii'lo
Hiveholm
Hybrid Grike's Home
The man lounging in the couch is as much bug as human. He is a Hybrid. Grike is proportionally normal, but otherwise he looks like something out of a bad sci fi novel. His body is covered in black carapace strong enough to survive tank shots. The armor covers his whole body, from feet to head. His face is exposed to let his cat-pupiled eyes stare out over a fanged mouth and sharp features. On his back sprouts four long spider legs. Each is as thick around as a forearm while also being strong enough to spear a man through his armor. Grike has no weapons currently, but it would only take a few minutes to grow or implant any of a large assortment of ways to kill. Tiny crystal-chemical explosive missiles, seeking nanite spikes, flechette launchers (a biological shotgun perfect for ship-based combat), or even plasma emitters. Even without any ranged weapons, Grike could outrun an old Earth car at a sprint and rip a light vehicle to pieces with his bare hands. Hybrids are small in number, but are tougher than some main-battle tanks. Sadly, Grike is not a soldier, as most Hybrids.
He is an Admiral. The only Hybrid one in fact.
So what do you need, if I might ask? Grike thinks.
There is some important information that you should be informed of, Admiral. A deep, echoing voice responds. Why the hivemind has such a cliche voice, Grike will never know.
Ahh? Then please, inform me.
A sudden burst of thoughts, data mostly, enters Grike's mind. The hivemind, or Mind for short, is more like a sentient computer than a regular mind. It bypasses most emotion to think in terms of numbers and logic. Even though it is organic, the Mind can send data around like any computer of a inorganic style.
What Grike sees is a system. An average one, but with three inhabited planets. Those that live on them are humanoid, humans from Earth actually. His old people. Along with climate data and a map of the system, Grike learns of their raids on the nearby Xr'lii system of Xr'lii'rya. Apparently they are being normal shortsighted humans. Just because a system is poor doesn't mean its neighbors cannot stomp the living daylights out of your system. A month earlier they lead a group of cruisers deep into the system. The small fleet presence could do nothing as they captured five Superdreadnought-sized freighters and stole the expensive organic compounds on them.
They need to be taught a lesson, the sneaking bastards.
When will the task force be ready? Grike asks.
They are meeting as we speak.The Mind responds.
Good. I will be at the shuttle in twenty minutes.
Xr'lii'mi (Rich System)
The Maw
Some say The Maw, as it is named by the traders that ply their trade there, is a little over the top. The Xr'lii say it is adequate. Since it is the only place foreign ships are allowed in Xr'lii space, it has to be rather large. Some say too large, but its not like the Xr'lii actually listen to them!
A ship arriving in system notices two things right off. One is the massive space station staring at them. The odd thing is made of about seventeen massive asteroids, each around twenty Kilometers across, held in a three-dimensional lattice. Connecting each to all the others is tubes of black, each a half-kilometer thick and around five long. They act like a giant spider's web holding the blank rocks in place around each other. The asteroids are hollow, mostly for storage and for the services to feed and house the millions of traders that pass through the Maw. Xr'lii hired outside groups to create the recreational and restaurant districts, as well as the temporary and permanent housing. The Maw's areas are spartan, lacking any real art in the normal Xr'lii manner, but are well made and clean. Hundreds of ships dock at the thousands of bays scattered all over The Maw daily, to buy goods from both Xr'lii and other traders.
The second thing the ship would notice is the number of armed ships that light its hull. The Xr'lii are paranoid to the extreme, beyond what is normal. Being almost exterminated over ten different times does that. Even loved diplomats are still heavily searched and put under armed guard at all times. Fresh meetings and mundane treaty-drafting both are met with an odd amount of weapons pointed at the non-Xr'lii. Many diplomats leave in anger when the Xr'lii refuse to put the guns away. Those that can ignore the troops learn that the Xr'lii are not mistrusting, they are just... equal. Everyone, no matter their standing or political power, is treated the same. the Xr'lii do not care for politics and tend to not acknowledge it most of the time.
Xr'lii'lo
Hiveholm
Hybrid Grike's Home
The man lounging in the couch is as much bug as human. He is a Hybrid. Grike is proportionally normal, but otherwise he looks like something out of a bad sci fi novel. His body is covered in black carapace strong enough to survive tank shots. The armor covers his whole body, from feet to head. His face is exposed to let his cat-pupiled eyes stare out over a fanged mouth and sharp features. On his back sprouts four long spider legs. Each is as thick around as a forearm while also being strong enough to spear a man through his armor. Grike has no weapons currently, but it would only take a few minutes to grow or implant any of a large assortment of ways to kill. Tiny crystal-chemical explosive missiles, seeking nanite spikes, flechette launchers (a biological shotgun perfect for ship-based combat), or even plasma emitters. Even without any ranged weapons, Grike could outrun an old Earth car at a sprint and rip a light vehicle to pieces with his bare hands. Hybrids are small in number, but are tougher than some main-battle tanks. Sadly, Grike is not a soldier, as most Hybrids.
He is an Admiral. The only Hybrid one in fact.
So what do you need, if I might ask? Grike thinks.
There is some important information that you should be informed of, Admiral. A deep, echoing voice responds. Why the hivemind has such a cliche voice, Grike will never know.
Ahh? Then please, inform me.
A sudden burst of thoughts, data mostly, enters Grike's mind. The hivemind, or Mind for short, is more like a sentient computer than a regular mind. It bypasses most emotion to think in terms of numbers and logic. Even though it is organic, the Mind can send data around like any computer of a inorganic style.
What Grike sees is a system. An average one, but with three inhabited planets. Those that live on them are humanoid, humans from Earth actually. His old people. Along with climate data and a map of the system, Grike learns of their raids on the nearby Xr'lii system of Xr'lii'rya. Apparently they are being normal shortsighted humans. Just because a system is poor doesn't mean its neighbors cannot stomp the living daylights out of your system. A month earlier they lead a group of cruisers deep into the system. The small fleet presence could do nothing as they captured five Superdreadnought-sized freighters and stole the expensive organic compounds on them.
They need to be taught a lesson, the sneaking bastards.
When will the task force be ready? Grike asks.
They are meeting as we speak.The Mind responds.
Good. I will be at the shuttle in twenty minutes.
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Qujoray Territory
Krups System
Ngo: Brackish Water, Research Moon of Krupsnga
The Infallible Thuyasta Subterranean Medical Facility
Conference Room 801
The languages of the Qujoray are fascinating underwater. It is an amphibian language, and some old poets used to praise its adaptability. It was vocalic, trilled, and above ground sounded like singing, sometimes sweet, sometimes dissonant. Certain languages were more vocalic, and sounded like whale songs, others were cut up by clicks, yet more had a variety of whistles involved.
ThuyastaHrn had insisted that an international language be used in all colonies. This particular Qujoray was fresh from the Fay system, young and innocent. He was brought into a room to the sound of thundering cries. A whole committee of the brightest medical minds from every corner of the Confederacy was trilling and cooing over this medical marvel.
His Qujoray name was Fe'eiungswi. He had taken the name Quincy, which had been a very derogatory word for Qujoray among human races. He had just finished his physical therapy, and now had full control of himself with the help of incredibly expensive foreign cybernetics. The masses around him were blue and violet and green and all glowed violently with glee.
His skin was a very rich blue color. His face was well shaped by human standards, with fascinatingly yellow eyes. His head was bald, and every part of him was smooth. He had a small scar where his dorsal fin had once been, down his muscled back, and stood on two human legs.
He stood there, feeling trapped in a foreign body, though stripped bare by any human standard. He would live like a prince for the cost of his tendrils and fin, but he regretted it still.
That was Quincy's first day as assistant ambassador of the Qujoray. The inside of his massive haunches were computer regulated, and the wires could be seen when his glow was particularly dim. He was being whisked into a whole new world, a brave new world. He was wearing clothes, something uncomfortable and totally foreign. He had already been forced to learn the various human languages and had a special mouthpiece to help him in his attempts to speak like the bugs and birds of the galaxy.
He was a masterpiece. A Greek God in stature, a marvel of modern science, and well equipped by the greedy Qujoray. His usual water soluble pheromones were modified to disperse throughout the air, giving a distinctly cheery glow to everyone he was around. He was going to change the view of Qujoray as backwards, trinity obsessed capitalists, and sell them as a hyper advanced, beautiful people who could supply any demographic.
Any demographic. Quincy was a prototype. He couldn't imagine being forced into the shape of some other creatures. Some had wings, some had feelers. Legs were enough to make him vomit.
The only aspect of his surgery he could thank was the immunity processor. He had cost the Qujoray more money than most other single projects, and forced them to purchase foreign scientists just to prepare Quincy for his day in the spotlight.
That day arrived as his star cruiser, with its fluid translucent shell and various tendrils making it look like a glowing space jellyfish, awaited permission to enter the Maunkee System. Across a distance he could hardly fathom were his friends and family, diligently sliding levers and crafting intricate nothings. Still further were the old Ziqujoray, still beautiful with their spherical forms and wonderful three-ness. Somewhere were his loves Ngalu and Talo'oha. He figured they would have to find another now. His dice had been cast in a different world, a world of politics and self preservation. Something about the situation made Quincy intensely depressed and almost philosophical.
Being human sucked.
Krups System
Ngo: Brackish Water, Research Moon of Krupsnga
The Infallible Thuyasta Subterranean Medical Facility
Conference Room 801
The languages of the Qujoray are fascinating underwater. It is an amphibian language, and some old poets used to praise its adaptability. It was vocalic, trilled, and above ground sounded like singing, sometimes sweet, sometimes dissonant. Certain languages were more vocalic, and sounded like whale songs, others were cut up by clicks, yet more had a variety of whistles involved.
ThuyastaHrn had insisted that an international language be used in all colonies. This particular Qujoray was fresh from the Fay system, young and innocent. He was brought into a room to the sound of thundering cries. A whole committee of the brightest medical minds from every corner of the Confederacy was trilling and cooing over this medical marvel.
His Qujoray name was Fe'eiungswi. He had taken the name Quincy, which had been a very derogatory word for Qujoray among human races. He had just finished his physical therapy, and now had full control of himself with the help of incredibly expensive foreign cybernetics. The masses around him were blue and violet and green and all glowed violently with glee.
His skin was a very rich blue color. His face was well shaped by human standards, with fascinatingly yellow eyes. His head was bald, and every part of him was smooth. He had a small scar where his dorsal fin had once been, down his muscled back, and stood on two human legs.
He stood there, feeling trapped in a foreign body, though stripped bare by any human standard. He would live like a prince for the cost of his tendrils and fin, but he regretted it still.
That was Quincy's first day as assistant ambassador of the Qujoray. The inside of his massive haunches were computer regulated, and the wires could be seen when his glow was particularly dim. He was being whisked into a whole new world, a brave new world. He was wearing clothes, something uncomfortable and totally foreign. He had already been forced to learn the various human languages and had a special mouthpiece to help him in his attempts to speak like the bugs and birds of the galaxy.
He was a masterpiece. A Greek God in stature, a marvel of modern science, and well equipped by the greedy Qujoray. His usual water soluble pheromones were modified to disperse throughout the air, giving a distinctly cheery glow to everyone he was around. He was going to change the view of Qujoray as backwards, trinity obsessed capitalists, and sell them as a hyper advanced, beautiful people who could supply any demographic.
Any demographic. Quincy was a prototype. He couldn't imagine being forced into the shape of some other creatures. Some had wings, some had feelers. Legs were enough to make him vomit.
The only aspect of his surgery he could thank was the immunity processor. He had cost the Qujoray more money than most other single projects, and forced them to purchase foreign scientists just to prepare Quincy for his day in the spotlight.
That day arrived as his star cruiser, with its fluid translucent shell and various tendrils making it look like a glowing space jellyfish, awaited permission to enter the Maunkee System. Across a distance he could hardly fathom were his friends and family, diligently sliding levers and crafting intricate nothings. Still further were the old Ziqujoray, still beautiful with their spherical forms and wonderful three-ness. Somewhere were his loves Ngalu and Talo'oha. He figured they would have to find another now. His dice had been cast in a different world, a world of politics and self preservation. Something about the situation made Quincy intensely depressed and almost philosophical.
Being human sucked.
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Nearby Xr'ii'ra space
Unnamed Humanoid System (Class 3 Star - System AA1232)
Privateer Fleet Mauler
The fleet waited, holding pattern near the outer rims of the system. Like sharks or birds of prey they focused on their prey. Prey... strange how such a word could apply to anything; a creature, a man, a vehicle... a planet. The ships, uniform in nature and shape, were black. Black against the blackness of space, the shadows in the night. Every one of them clawed at the prow, curved spines jutting from the hull. Spines ran along the ships giving them the look of demon-spawn. They weren't demon-spawn however, but they would soon gain that reputation as the cruisers began to shift toward the little blue dot ahead of them. Engines glowed lightly and the ships shimmered for a moment before the black no longer blocked out the distant specks of light. In front of the unseen shapes space seemed to twist and writhe as reaper drives folded space around the fleet. The Kirata had arrived.
The invisible ships appeared again, nearby a small convoy which made its way towards the blue-green planet. Mostly bulky, slow freighters with a minute fighter escort. Easy pickings. The warships opened fire, with a slight wavering in their camouflage as shells were magnetically propelled towards their juicy targets. The high-density rounds smashed out the engines on most of the transports. A few shots were off target and either missed or obliterate the freighter they were aiming for. For a moment the convoy was in disarray as the unknown, in an instant, had won. Fighters dropped out of hidden bays in the bellies of the Privateers. More black shapes whipping towards the convoy. Several smarter escort pilots flew to intercept and engage. However some were too slow and were destroyed in a blaze of Ion canon fire. Hawks quickly outraced the shoddy and poor humanoid fighters, eventually nothing was left but floating rubble and dead spacecraft. More fighters appeared out of no where, larger then the deadly hawks, these ships boasted claws which latched on the the helpless freighters and began to ship them towards the now visible Ultima Veneras. Cargo Bays waiting, open like a giant maw. Quickly the cargo was loaded and fighters returned. As quick as they had come the pirates had disappeared; Destination: Myrmadon.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Approaching T'au System
Diplomatic Fleet Cyan
Bridge of fleet flagship The Uturia
Reaper drives disengaged, the diplomatic fleet of a mere fifteen Privateers approached the capital of the Maunkee Empire. The Oracle stood on a raised dias above an assortment of control panels below, the view screen was filled with the starry blackness of space with the frontal "claws" of The Uturia. The Khan had requested contact with the newly discovered empire. To see if they were a threat to Kirata's security. The Oracle sighed and stood tall. He was a large specimen; 7 ft 5 to be precise. His muscles where obvious beneath his short golden fur. A scar crossed his fanged muzzle and across his left eye to the tip of his ear. The eye had been replaced by a cybernetic enhancement. Instead of looking ridiculous as one would expect the replacement made the feline creature even more terrifying. He stepped down and towered of the Kira at the communications panel "Contact the Empire, tell them we have diplomatic intents." He snarled. The size and development of the fleet he could see out the view screen was certainly enough to take down his small Diplomatic fleet. He knew however if they so much as twitched towards his fleet with malicious intentions the Reaper drives would send them safely out of the reach of this empire.
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The Siridar Imperium
Siridar Imperia
Faerin
The Imperial Palace
The vaulting Exigent Gathering chamber high in the Imperial Palace on Faerin sparkled and shone. A legion of servants had spent hours whipping the dust sheets off the fine, ancient furniture, polishing and buffing until wood and gold glowed warmly and upholstery silks shimmered again in breathtaking colour and complexity.
The centrepiece of the chamber, beneath an heraldic ceiling bearing all the Great Houses’ coats of arms, was an enormous boardroom table, hewn from an enormous hunk of shimmerwood and polished to a mirror-brightness, the swirling, hypnotic patterns seeming to move under the high gloss.
Ornate metal chairs that were almost thrones were ranged around it, and papers were piled in orderly heaps in front of each.
As if on cue, the double doors – like everything in the Siridar Imperial Palace, a work of art, depicting the Flower Houses routing their enemies in the ancient days before space travel – were swung open by two footmen in rainbow Palace livery, admitting the most senior Siridar in the entirety of the Imperium into their private conference room.
The first through was a careworn, languid Siridar with deep violet wings. His elaborate robes and undercoat flashed with gold, the silk shimmering with rainbowed colour in fantastic patterns. He wore no crown, carried no sceptre or orb, but there was an indefinable air of power about him, a dense halo that throbbed around him.
The others swiftly followed that single figure, and for a few moments the room was filled with the beating of ordered wings and the hushed rustle of silk on silk as the Lords and Ladies of the Great Houses of the Siridar Imperium seated themselves.
The first figure, seated now in the most thronelike of all the chairs at the head of the oval, reached out with one alabaster finger, slow and unhurried, and tapped a small silver bell held in an exquisite filigree mount.
A gentle, chiming carillon of notes rippled across the room and the Siridar quieted. “I call this Exigent Gathering of the Flower Lords of the Great Houses to order. Are we all present?” He took a breath.
“Lady Serelle Holly, Marquess of the Crown?” He nodded to a martial Siridar with bloodred wings and robes that were a waterfall of crimson. Dragons in golden thread ran rampant across the fabric.
“Lord Aurelius Foxglove, Viscount of Creation?” He smiled at the least formally-dressed of all the House Lords. The dar was easygoing and genial, everyone got on with Aurelius Foxglove, and the massive power of his Concorrant Industries only helped.
“Lord Elnath Hellebore, Duke of the Diadem?” An ill, pale Siridar inclined his head slowly towards the Emperor. His wings were a brilliant, hard white, but they looked awkward and wrong. Suspensor belts wrapped his gaunt form.
“Countess Indra Violet, Countess of Tarona, representing the interests of Violet House?”
A stately, aristocratic dar – of the type commonly called an Empire lady – smiled dazzlingly. “At your service, my Emperor, Lord Violet.”
The Emperor continued until all the Great Houses had been greeted. He tapped the bell again. “Meeting is now in session,” he announced, sounding laissez-faire and bored.
He waved a hand; bronze statues holding up intricately-carved globes lit up suddenly and the vaulting ceiling faded to black; it was as if the Flower Lords now gazed up at the cosmos.
A flock of stars suddenly burned bright gold, a sprawling conglomeration of stellar systems sailing through the astral void. Each and every Lord recognized the familiar shape of the Imperium. Other significant powers the Imperium knew of began to burn in different colours, and the galaxy ignited before them.
“The galaxy in which we find ourselves,” said the Emperor, with a small smile. After all, there were few powers to rival the Imperium. A gesture, and golden lines crawled out of the Imperium cluster, heading for almost every other burning clump of stars, quickly followed by the wave of Imperial gold itself, engulfing smaller systems, following the history of the Imperium. “Trade routes, the very lifeblood of our civilisation. Exporting art, antiques, machinery, missiles, foodstuffs, clothing, culture to every corner of the benighted galaxy.”
Lady Delphinion smiled; Siridar films, theatre, mechanikopera and many other artforms that were her House’s specialty were famed and known across the galaxy. Her sons were heavily involved in the trade; Irenaeus Delphinion was a household name across a million worlds.
“However.” Seras Violet pointed at several star clusters, circled in bright green. “There are several powers we have never been able to treat with, for one reason or another.” He waved a hand airily. “Mostly because they were too small to bother with. They have now grown, or show signs of doing so.”
“Having no contact with these powers is unacceptable. We all know that influence is much more powerful than military might when applied in the right way, and to have such a number of potentially-powerful nations with no links to us cannot continue. Suggestions?”
“What do they want?” asked Aurelius bluntly, spreading wide his hands. “Concorrant Industries can provide – at very reasonable prices, too.”
Indra Violet leaned forwards. “Reports are some of them have organic tech, but not all. Perhaps they’d be interested in what we develop?”
“Could they make use of House Rose’s products?” asked Orion Rose, plump and jolly, waving a sweetie around airily.
“May I make the suggestion of sending out a Rubicon cruiser?” murmured Elnath Hellebore, having remained silent for much of the time. “Let us find out more about them before we start offering things. Giving insult unintentionally would not help our position.”
Seras Violet nodded. “Astute as always, your grace,” he said, scrupulously polite. “Does this have the support of the Flower Houses?”
It was ritual and ceremony, nothing more – when a Violet was in power, the Imperium was in truth an absolute monarchy. Biobombs and the total annihilation of worlds saw to that. Violets who actually realised that fact were exceptionally dangerous. Seras Violet may have known, but he allowed no sign of it to slip from his laissez-faire mask and to the other Houses – he always consulted with them, and usually the Parliament of Stars as well, before he took action.
A low murmur of assent rolled around the room, and Seras nodded with a faint smile, making a note. Within the hour, the ministers and aides who ran the government according to the wishes of the Flowers would turn that little note into an iron-clad order to the Diplomatic Service’s flagship cruiser, the Rubicon Pale.
“Now, onto other matters, now I have you here. Lady Holly, Lord Hellebore. I have to raise the sorry issue of border contraventions between the Crown and the Diadem. Again. Now...”
Qujoray Confederacy
The Edge of the Krups System
On the very edge of the system, space ripped and tore, and from the gaping rent in space-time shot an elegant Siridar cruiser. A precious-metal hull worked in intricate designs, glowing lovely-gravity nets that shone brightly against the blackness of space and a complete absence of offensive armaments told any observer exactly what this ship was – a Rubicon cruiser, one of the Siridar Diplomatic Service’s fleet of vessels. Six of the Imperium’s standard heavy cruisers accompanied it, but they were hardly necessary.
The Imperium had made it quite, quite clear that any assault on one of their diplomatic cruisers would be a declaration of war – and war with the Siridar, with their dreadnaught fleets and the utter terror of their methods of ‘civilising’ planets – was surely not high on anyone’s list of things to do.
The ship’s captain, Dawn Delphinion, the Duke of Calraiso, sighed at the return to normal space. “Open all standard hailing frequencies. Chances are they don’t use entangled quantum communications like us.”
“Channels open. Ready to transmit.”
Dawn Delphinion cleared his throat, shifting it into the rolling, near-hypnotic oratory that Delphinions were known for. It worked better in person, with the full force of Siridar beauty and charm, but it was still quite effective. “This is the Siridar Diplomatic Service Rubicon cruiser the Rubicon Pale, requesting audience with the Qujoray at their earliest convenience. I repeat...”
Siridar Imperia
Faerin
The Imperial Palace
The vaulting Exigent Gathering chamber high in the Imperial Palace on Faerin sparkled and shone. A legion of servants had spent hours whipping the dust sheets off the fine, ancient furniture, polishing and buffing until wood and gold glowed warmly and upholstery silks shimmered again in breathtaking colour and complexity.
The centrepiece of the chamber, beneath an heraldic ceiling bearing all the Great Houses’ coats of arms, was an enormous boardroom table, hewn from an enormous hunk of shimmerwood and polished to a mirror-brightness, the swirling, hypnotic patterns seeming to move under the high gloss.
Ornate metal chairs that were almost thrones were ranged around it, and papers were piled in orderly heaps in front of each.
As if on cue, the double doors – like everything in the Siridar Imperial Palace, a work of art, depicting the Flower Houses routing their enemies in the ancient days before space travel – were swung open by two footmen in rainbow Palace livery, admitting the most senior Siridar in the entirety of the Imperium into their private conference room.
The first through was a careworn, languid Siridar with deep violet wings. His elaborate robes and undercoat flashed with gold, the silk shimmering with rainbowed colour in fantastic patterns. He wore no crown, carried no sceptre or orb, but there was an indefinable air of power about him, a dense halo that throbbed around him.
The others swiftly followed that single figure, and for a few moments the room was filled with the beating of ordered wings and the hushed rustle of silk on silk as the Lords and Ladies of the Great Houses of the Siridar Imperium seated themselves.
The first figure, seated now in the most thronelike of all the chairs at the head of the oval, reached out with one alabaster finger, slow and unhurried, and tapped a small silver bell held in an exquisite filigree mount.
A gentle, chiming carillon of notes rippled across the room and the Siridar quieted. “I call this Exigent Gathering of the Flower Lords of the Great Houses to order. Are we all present?” He took a breath.
“Lady Serelle Holly, Marquess of the Crown?” He nodded to a martial Siridar with bloodred wings and robes that were a waterfall of crimson. Dragons in golden thread ran rampant across the fabric.
“Lord Aurelius Foxglove, Viscount of Creation?” He smiled at the least formally-dressed of all the House Lords. The dar was easygoing and genial, everyone got on with Aurelius Foxglove, and the massive power of his Concorrant Industries only helped.
“Lord Elnath Hellebore, Duke of the Diadem?” An ill, pale Siridar inclined his head slowly towards the Emperor. His wings were a brilliant, hard white, but they looked awkward and wrong. Suspensor belts wrapped his gaunt form.
“Countess Indra Violet, Countess of Tarona, representing the interests of Violet House?”
A stately, aristocratic dar – of the type commonly called an Empire lady – smiled dazzlingly. “At your service, my Emperor, Lord Violet.”
The Emperor continued until all the Great Houses had been greeted. He tapped the bell again. “Meeting is now in session,” he announced, sounding laissez-faire and bored.
He waved a hand; bronze statues holding up intricately-carved globes lit up suddenly and the vaulting ceiling faded to black; it was as if the Flower Lords now gazed up at the cosmos.
A flock of stars suddenly burned bright gold, a sprawling conglomeration of stellar systems sailing through the astral void. Each and every Lord recognized the familiar shape of the Imperium. Other significant powers the Imperium knew of began to burn in different colours, and the galaxy ignited before them.
“The galaxy in which we find ourselves,” said the Emperor, with a small smile. After all, there were few powers to rival the Imperium. A gesture, and golden lines crawled out of the Imperium cluster, heading for almost every other burning clump of stars, quickly followed by the wave of Imperial gold itself, engulfing smaller systems, following the history of the Imperium. “Trade routes, the very lifeblood of our civilisation. Exporting art, antiques, machinery, missiles, foodstuffs, clothing, culture to every corner of the benighted galaxy.”
Lady Delphinion smiled; Siridar films, theatre, mechanikopera and many other artforms that were her House’s specialty were famed and known across the galaxy. Her sons were heavily involved in the trade; Irenaeus Delphinion was a household name across a million worlds.
“However.” Seras Violet pointed at several star clusters, circled in bright green. “There are several powers we have never been able to treat with, for one reason or another.” He waved a hand airily. “Mostly because they were too small to bother with. They have now grown, or show signs of doing so.”
“Having no contact with these powers is unacceptable. We all know that influence is much more powerful than military might when applied in the right way, and to have such a number of potentially-powerful nations with no links to us cannot continue. Suggestions?”
“What do they want?” asked Aurelius bluntly, spreading wide his hands. “Concorrant Industries can provide – at very reasonable prices, too.”
Indra Violet leaned forwards. “Reports are some of them have organic tech, but not all. Perhaps they’d be interested in what we develop?”
“Could they make use of House Rose’s products?” asked Orion Rose, plump and jolly, waving a sweetie around airily.
“May I make the suggestion of sending out a Rubicon cruiser?” murmured Elnath Hellebore, having remained silent for much of the time. “Let us find out more about them before we start offering things. Giving insult unintentionally would not help our position.”
Seras Violet nodded. “Astute as always, your grace,” he said, scrupulously polite. “Does this have the support of the Flower Houses?”
It was ritual and ceremony, nothing more – when a Violet was in power, the Imperium was in truth an absolute monarchy. Biobombs and the total annihilation of worlds saw to that. Violets who actually realised that fact were exceptionally dangerous. Seras Violet may have known, but he allowed no sign of it to slip from his laissez-faire mask and to the other Houses – he always consulted with them, and usually the Parliament of Stars as well, before he took action.
A low murmur of assent rolled around the room, and Seras nodded with a faint smile, making a note. Within the hour, the ministers and aides who ran the government according to the wishes of the Flowers would turn that little note into an iron-clad order to the Diplomatic Service’s flagship cruiser, the Rubicon Pale.
“Now, onto other matters, now I have you here. Lady Holly, Lord Hellebore. I have to raise the sorry issue of border contraventions between the Crown and the Diadem. Again. Now...”
Qujoray Confederacy
The Edge of the Krups System
On the very edge of the system, space ripped and tore, and from the gaping rent in space-time shot an elegant Siridar cruiser. A precious-metal hull worked in intricate designs, glowing lovely-gravity nets that shone brightly against the blackness of space and a complete absence of offensive armaments told any observer exactly what this ship was – a Rubicon cruiser, one of the Siridar Diplomatic Service’s fleet of vessels. Six of the Imperium’s standard heavy cruisers accompanied it, but they were hardly necessary.
The Imperium had made it quite, quite clear that any assault on one of their diplomatic cruisers would be a declaration of war – and war with the Siridar, with their dreadnaught fleets and the utter terror of their methods of ‘civilising’ planets – was surely not high on anyone’s list of things to do.
The ship’s captain, Dawn Delphinion, the Duke of Calraiso, sighed at the return to normal space. “Open all standard hailing frequencies. Chances are they don’t use entangled quantum communications like us.”
“Channels open. Ready to transmit.”
Dawn Delphinion cleared his throat, shifting it into the rolling, near-hypnotic oratory that Delphinions were known for. It worked better in person, with the full force of Siridar beauty and charm, but it was still quite effective. “This is the Siridar Diplomatic Service Rubicon cruiser the Rubicon Pale, requesting audience with the Qujoray at their earliest convenience. I repeat...”
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Maunkee Empire
Phophies System
External Communication Center of Planet Phophies I
Room 307-BF
Cang Guang was at duty when the AI alarmed him of an unknown ship approaching. Warning, USV approaching Maunkee Space Territory. Requests all organic personal at their stations.
The alarm continued till the Maunkee and local workers were at their station and Cang Guang then send out a message to the unknown ship.
Cang Guang then waited for the USV to respond to the signal that was send to it. The message itself had been translated from Maunkeen to the intergalactic language that was often used to communicate between nations. If the ship didn't respond within the next half hour it would receive a message in every translatable language that the Maunkee knows of, however if the USV entered the Maunkee Space Territory, a fleet would be send to stop it and diplomatically solve the problem by gently boarding the ship and making direct communication with the leader of the ship.
Maunkee Empire
Planet T'au
External Government of Planet T'au
Room 125-T
Chao Lin received the message that a ship that had entered the Maunkee System a while ago had finally made its way to the capital planet. The Maunkee government had been aware of this ships presence every since it entered its Space Territory, and thus had kept a close eye to where it was headed.
As the Maunkees themselves were friendly, and didn't wish a war, they hadn't opposed any of the actions that the space vessel had done as it had been guided to the capital planet of T'au.
The Maunkee Empire was a rather young empire, it was only one hundred and eighty seven Human years old, which could be converted over to nearly one hundred years in T'au years. Thus Chao was happy to see that their young empire growing so vast and becoming so politically centered, after all, most races preferred talk over guns. Most races, not all, sadly.
Chao Lin was looking forward to meet this new race. He had met many races, every planet that the Maunkee had colonized or annexed bore a different race but they were all united for The Greater Good, and if Chao would be able to add another civilization to this fabulous organization, it would improve the better of everyone, and bring the Maunkee one step closer to uniting the universe for a single common cause. A single nation. A single people.
It was a most significan belief, and Chao didn't understand why certain civilizations didn't accept this philosophy of equality of all things. The Maunkee would gladly offer its technology to those that joined their cause, they would gladly economically aid those in need, and bring food and medical care for those who suffered from the many grievous wars that were waged across the galaxy.
Chao sat down at his desk and began to transmit a message back to the Kirata spaceship.
The borders of "The Kingdom of Draok"
Walhalla System
High Orbital
Command Bridge of "Gualo", Achilles; Political Expedition.
Admiral Liang xin Bosscher was at the command bridge and looked out of the window and at the cluster of planets ahead. The sensors had picked up highly-intelligent life, and with the sight of a navy and defenses, the Maunkee commander knew that he would have to approach this system with care, he had come to bring establish a political relationship with external galactic solar systems, and thus the ship had been accompanied with one representative of each section of the External Government, so there could be made a decision on the newly discovered nation's planet and not all the way back on T'au.
Admiral Liang send a message to the local governor of the planets.
This message was then send to all the planets in the Walhalla System. The admiral then awaited for an answer, hoping it would be a peaceful one, and that they could soon start a political meeting between these two nations.
Phophies System
External Communication Center of Planet Phophies I
Room 307-BF
Cang Guang was at duty when the AI alarmed him of an unknown ship approaching. Warning, USV approaching Maunkee Space Territory. Requests all organic personal at their stations.
The alarm continued till the Maunkee and local workers were at their station and Cang Guang then send out a message to the unknown ship.
From: Planet Phophies I, Head of External Communication, Cang Guang
To:Unauthorized Space Vessel.
This is the control center of planet Phophies I. It is a warning that you are entering the Space Territory of the Maunkee Empire, if you would please state your reason of entering our space, the ship type, and which planet you are headed for within our system, we shall send an escort to help you to get to your destination safely.
It is understandable if you have come for political reasons, we will direct you directly to our capital planet, T'au, and have a meeting arranged with our External Government.
As long as you come with a peaceful reason, our hospitality will be at your service along with anything else you, and your organic crew may require.
The atmospheres on all our planets, save for the Ur'Guan System and Planet Jua'an V, are based on oxygen and should hopefully be suitable for your organic standards.
May the Greater Good be with you.
Cang Guang then waited for the USV to respond to the signal that was send to it. The message itself had been translated from Maunkeen to the intergalactic language that was often used to communicate between nations. If the ship didn't respond within the next half hour it would receive a message in every translatable language that the Maunkee knows of, however if the USV entered the Maunkee Space Territory, a fleet would be send to stop it and diplomatically solve the problem by gently boarding the ship and making direct communication with the leader of the ship.
Maunkee Empire
Planet T'au
External Government of Planet T'au
Room 125-T
Chao Lin received the message that a ship that had entered the Maunkee System a while ago had finally made its way to the capital planet. The Maunkee government had been aware of this ships presence every since it entered its Space Territory, and thus had kept a close eye to where it was headed.
As the Maunkees themselves were friendly, and didn't wish a war, they hadn't opposed any of the actions that the space vessel had done as it had been guided to the capital planet of T'au.
The Maunkee Empire was a rather young empire, it was only one hundred and eighty seven Human years old, which could be converted over to nearly one hundred years in T'au years. Thus Chao was happy to see that their young empire growing so vast and becoming so politically centered, after all, most races preferred talk over guns. Most races, not all, sadly.
Chao Lin was looking forward to meet this new race. He had met many races, every planet that the Maunkee had colonized or annexed bore a different race but they were all united for The Greater Good, and if Chao would be able to add another civilization to this fabulous organization, it would improve the better of everyone, and bring the Maunkee one step closer to uniting the universe for a single common cause. A single nation. A single people.
It was a most significan belief, and Chao didn't understand why certain civilizations didn't accept this philosophy of equality of all things. The Maunkee would gladly offer its technology to those that joined their cause, they would gladly economically aid those in need, and bring food and medical care for those who suffered from the many grievous wars that were waged across the galaxy.
Chao sat down at his desk and began to transmit a message back to the Kirata spaceship.
From: High Councilor Chao Lin. Responsible for Internal and External Government.
To: Feline Admiral
Greetings mighty one! I am Chao Lin, leader of the Internal an External Government, and I am delighted to make your appointment. I understand that you have traveled a long way to reach our system and therefore I offer the Maunkee hospitality for you, and any crew man that may set foot on our beloved capital planet.
I would be most eager to get political relationships started, start trade and possibly even enter a military alliance, and if you are interested you may join our intergalactic organization "The Greater Good", however I am getting ahead of myself.
You, as a honorable leader of your people, must understand that once you, or any other of your men, enter T'au's atmosphere, you will be subject to our External Laws, and thus you must have two members of the local militia and a guide escorting you, wherever you may go on, they will be provided at our own expenditure, no worries about that.
Also, I would like to inform you that foreign violence on T'au is strictly forbidden. You are guests on our holy planet, and you will be present in the same room that our glorious ancestors made important decisions, thus you must respect these rooms and wear (at least) the appropriate footing as every other political member had to.
I dearly hope that we will have a satisfying meeting when you come to our Planetary Government, and may the Great Good be with you.
The borders of "The Kingdom of Draok"
Walhalla System
High Orbital
Command Bridge of "Gualo", Achilles; Political Expedition.
Admiral Liang xin Bosscher was at the command bridge and looked out of the window and at the cluster of planets ahead. The sensors had picked up highly-intelligent life, and with the sight of a navy and defenses, the Maunkee commander knew that he would have to approach this system with care, he had come to bring establish a political relationship with external galactic solar systems, and thus the ship had been accompanied with one representative of each section of the External Government, so there could be made a decision on the newly discovered nation's planet and not all the way back on T'au.
Admiral Liang send a message to the local governor of the planets.
From: Admiral Liang xin Bossxher
To: Local Governor of these Planets
I, Liang xin Bosscher, is a representative of the Maunkee Empire and have come in peace. I have come with delegates and representatives of my nation in hope that there can be established a peaceful relationship between our nations. I am aware that the Maunkee Empire is eager to open new trade routes and thus will be overjoyed to start trading with your nation(s).
I understand that your laws are different from ours, thus me and every other Maunkee specie that set foot on your planets will obey your laws at the best of their abilities.
I hope there can be forged a political and economical relationship. May the Greater Good be with you.
This message was then send to all the planets in the Walhalla System. The admiral then awaited for an answer, hoping it would be a peaceful one, and that they could soon start a political meeting between these two nations.
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Border-Sector of the Draok-Kingdom
Walhalla System
Orbit of Planet Freya
Bridge of the Chevalier class "Imperial Honor"; Patrolling
Baron William is on his way back to the bridge of the large ship. He has been assigned to wait here for further orders and patrol the borders for that time. The Walhalla System is one of the darker systems in the Draok Kingdom, having only a relatively small sun. But it makes tasty and strange vegetables grow on the few planets. While William enjoys the little rest from the political quarrel between the lords at home, he feels rather bored about the service he offers here. He just returned from his lunch with one of the local barons and one of his daughters. Life hasn't grown easier since I was pronounced as a "Hero of the Kingdom", the young Baron William thought to himself. He has saved the Duke Feredas' life from assasination by a pirate organization. He became enobled by him and recommended to the Royal Household. Well at least he made a career throught that.
He just arrives on the bridge as one of the lieutenant, who was responsible for the communication systems, turns towards him.
"Milord, I am glad that you are here. Baron Jeral had sent us a transmission from a ship in the sector. I have sent it to your personal terminal."
William just nods and went to his seat to read the message.
William sits on his seat an thinks about the name. He had heard of the Maunkee empire, at least he thinks so. In the name of peace and friendship he should let this representives enter the planet, but he can't decide anything upon that. William turns to the COM-officier:
"Send them a message of our acceptance, their ship shall stay where it is. Offer them a shuttle of our stock, but don't urge them. They can have a honor guard of ten soldiers with them, but their representives are to be unarmed."
Willam starts to go towards his own fighter, a modified Polearm class ship. He stops for another order before he leaves the bridge.
"Oh, and send a message to Corak IV, too. Tell them about this."
Message to the ship of the Maunkee empire:
Walhalla System
Orbit of Planet Freya
Bridge of the Chevalier class "Imperial Honor"; Patrolling
Baron William is on his way back to the bridge of the large ship. He has been assigned to wait here for further orders and patrol the borders for that time. The Walhalla System is one of the darker systems in the Draok Kingdom, having only a relatively small sun. But it makes tasty and strange vegetables grow on the few planets. While William enjoys the little rest from the political quarrel between the lords at home, he feels rather bored about the service he offers here. He just returned from his lunch with one of the local barons and one of his daughters. Life hasn't grown easier since I was pronounced as a "Hero of the Kingdom", the young Baron William thought to himself. He has saved the Duke Feredas' life from assasination by a pirate organization. He became enobled by him and recommended to the Royal Household. Well at least he made a career throught that.
He just arrives on the bridge as one of the lieutenant, who was responsible for the communication systems, turns towards him.
"Milord, I am glad that you are here. Baron Jeral had sent us a transmission from a ship in the sector. I have sent it to your personal terminal."
William just nods and went to his seat to read the message.
From: Admiral Liang xin Bossxher
To: Local Governor of these Planets
I, Liang xin Bosscher, is a representative of the Maunkee Empire and have come in peace. I have come with delegates and representatives of my nation in hope that there can be established a peaceful relationship between our nations. I am aware that the Maunkee Empire is eager to open new trade routes and thus will be overjoyed to start trading with your nation(s).
I understand that your laws are different from ours, thus me and every other Maunkee specie that set foot on your planets will obey your laws at the best of their abilities.
I hope there can be forged a political and economical relationship. May the Greater Good be with you.
William sits on his seat an thinks about the name. He had heard of the Maunkee empire, at least he thinks so. In the name of peace and friendship he should let this representives enter the planet, but he can't decide anything upon that. William turns to the COM-officier:
"Send them a message of our acceptance, their ship shall stay where it is. Offer them a shuttle of our stock, but don't urge them. They can have a honor guard of ten soldiers with them, but their representives are to be unarmed."
Willam starts to go towards his own fighter, a modified Polearm class ship. He stops for another order before he leaves the bridge.
"Oh, and send a message to Corak IV, too. Tell them about this."
Message to the ship of the Maunkee empire:
From: Baron Williams, Baron of the Zulian continent on planet Corak II
To: Admiral Liang xin Bossxher
You're representives are of course welcome to our planet. As described in the laws of our nation your envoy is allowed to bring ten armed soldiers as honor guards with you. The envoy in itself should not be armed. If you would like to be transported from your ship and back, we will gladly offer you one of our shuttles. Your ship may remain where it is. If you would be so kind to deliever us a notice about your favorite food, our cooks will provide what they can for you.
Sincerely,
Baron Williams.
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Qujoray Territory
Krups System
Transmittance from Air: Closest Moon to Unidentified Cruiser
Amphibian Station 2
The words filed into the room of Qujoray. Air was famous for supporting the largest mint green Qujoray population. They worked to supply the Qujoray with foods of all sorts. Air was the first true agri-planet attempted by the Qujoray, and it was a major success. The massive plantations stretched over miles of shallow water, walled off by the worker's homes, each one relative palaces. The Qujoray of Air were the most aristocratic and genteel, and the summer homes on Air were considered of pristine beauty, looking over the sea spice marshes, seeing the three stages of day from the relaxing balcony over the coral mines.
Lately the homes were building massive domed greenhouses to support luxury ingredients from abroad. The Qujoray found them all wonderful and unique, and a fervor for culinary reform swept the systems. The Qujoray Culinary Institute was often a joke amongst other species, as it received more funding than the actual education system. Lately, however, it had met some trouble on foreign issues. Molecular Gastronomy had been a practiced art, and those rich enough kept a little "Squit" (another derogatory term for Qujoray) in the back to make their favorite meals.
This cruiser was interrupting a wonderful amuse-bouche of truffled butternut froth with sesame and black Qujoray coral with a bit of bio-okra suspended ginger-steam.
The minty green Qujoray looked at each other, and a mutual grin was had. It was like a customer, but on a galactic scale. The information was loading. The Siridar Imperium! The sort of ally you had to have and had to exploit.
The Qujoray sent a swift message back, worded in well enunciated galactic standard. It was a new language for the Qujoray, but they had to accept it to get ahead.
"Audience Request Accepted. Sending your landing coordinates. Please proceed to the sterilized region on Air. Due to recent events, all incoming ships must undergo basic sterilization. We are sorry for the inconvenience. A terranean Qujoray welcome will await your arrival."
The heat from reentry would kill any nasty bacteria, but all ships were to pass through a sterilizing loop. It was suspended, monolithicly, in the middle of a broad stretch of ocean, and was angled over a large landing base. Hanging precariously on a building that looked like the tail of a great sea monster was a platform lit up for the cruiser to land on.
Qujoray, their eyes glowing behind the brows and their mouths and gills covered with stylish water braces awaited the ship. Already prepared was a team to assist the maintenance crew on any possible thing, cleaning, mild repair, translator installation. The Qujoray were about to do a little improvisation, and do their best to sell everything they had to the Siridar. Air was a beautiful place. Water of a thousand different colors and rock formations of the strangest types. It was fresh water to, and the algae species within was sweet and fresh. Waterfalls sprung out of spires in the water, and the sky's three color system would make for the most fabulous sunrises and sunsets. The occasional Qujoray palace would rise out of the water, like giant jeweled serpents climbing up a great mountain, with amphibious gardens in between each spiral of smooth domes buildings.
Maunkee Empire
Phophies System
Diplomatic Vessel 4: Jellyfish Model
Transmission Room
Quincy was already worried. Greater Good? These people sounded like nut jobs. He always used to argue with his mentors about fate and predestination, and they all explained that life was defined by time, like distance in meters or cyanothaline tendril oil concentration in fluiingsaa'as. Time could only move forward.
He summoned up his courage, and stepped up to the podium to send the signal back to the Maunkee. He wasn't exactly good at it.
"This is a-a Qujoray Confederacy Cruiser. We ask for a diplomtic meeting of sorts, and have no intention of anything that would mean anything... physical... violent... We want to arrange a diplomatic presence in your... well, begin to talk about a diplomatic relationship between"
The other Qujoray couldn't stand the pain, and cut him off.
"Diplomatic missions only. Requesting permission to approach the capitol. Economic alliances sought."
Quincy sank to the back of the ship, crushed. He had practiced for so long. He had always been told, "Never let a machine talk for you. Your best selling point is always in the voice. The voice has a million intricacies. You have to understand that when speaking in a foreign language, control over tone, stress, intensity, and speed are all more vital than ever. In a marketing situation, the pressure is double. You're eloquent in Wayaa'ai and Sektekromedrux, but the Galactic Standard is a new language entirely."
He wished he didn't cost so much money, or he would have thrown himself into the reactor.
Krups System
Transmittance from Air: Closest Moon to Unidentified Cruiser
Amphibian Station 2
The words filed into the room of Qujoray. Air was famous for supporting the largest mint green Qujoray population. They worked to supply the Qujoray with foods of all sorts. Air was the first true agri-planet attempted by the Qujoray, and it was a major success. The massive plantations stretched over miles of shallow water, walled off by the worker's homes, each one relative palaces. The Qujoray of Air were the most aristocratic and genteel, and the summer homes on Air were considered of pristine beauty, looking over the sea spice marshes, seeing the three stages of day from the relaxing balcony over the coral mines.
Lately the homes were building massive domed greenhouses to support luxury ingredients from abroad. The Qujoray found them all wonderful and unique, and a fervor for culinary reform swept the systems. The Qujoray Culinary Institute was often a joke amongst other species, as it received more funding than the actual education system. Lately, however, it had met some trouble on foreign issues. Molecular Gastronomy had been a practiced art, and those rich enough kept a little "Squit" (another derogatory term for Qujoray) in the back to make their favorite meals.
This cruiser was interrupting a wonderful amuse-bouche of truffled butternut froth with sesame and black Qujoray coral with a bit of bio-okra suspended ginger-steam.
The minty green Qujoray looked at each other, and a mutual grin was had. It was like a customer, but on a galactic scale. The information was loading. The Siridar Imperium! The sort of ally you had to have and had to exploit.
The Qujoray sent a swift message back, worded in well enunciated galactic standard. It was a new language for the Qujoray, but they had to accept it to get ahead.
"Audience Request Accepted. Sending your landing coordinates. Please proceed to the sterilized region on Air. Due to recent events, all incoming ships must undergo basic sterilization. We are sorry for the inconvenience. A terranean Qujoray welcome will await your arrival."
The heat from reentry would kill any nasty bacteria, but all ships were to pass through a sterilizing loop. It was suspended, monolithicly, in the middle of a broad stretch of ocean, and was angled over a large landing base. Hanging precariously on a building that looked like the tail of a great sea monster was a platform lit up for the cruiser to land on.
Qujoray, their eyes glowing behind the brows and their mouths and gills covered with stylish water braces awaited the ship. Already prepared was a team to assist the maintenance crew on any possible thing, cleaning, mild repair, translator installation. The Qujoray were about to do a little improvisation, and do their best to sell everything they had to the Siridar. Air was a beautiful place. Water of a thousand different colors and rock formations of the strangest types. It was fresh water to, and the algae species within was sweet and fresh. Waterfalls sprung out of spires in the water, and the sky's three color system would make for the most fabulous sunrises and sunsets. The occasional Qujoray palace would rise out of the water, like giant jeweled serpents climbing up a great mountain, with amphibious gardens in between each spiral of smooth domes buildings.
Maunkee Empire
Phophies System
Diplomatic Vessel 4: Jellyfish Model
Transmission Room
Quincy was already worried. Greater Good? These people sounded like nut jobs. He always used to argue with his mentors about fate and predestination, and they all explained that life was defined by time, like distance in meters or cyanothaline tendril oil concentration in fluiingsaa'as. Time could only move forward.
He summoned up his courage, and stepped up to the podium to send the signal back to the Maunkee. He wasn't exactly good at it.
"This is a-a Qujoray Confederacy Cruiser. We ask for a diplomtic meeting of sorts, and have no intention of anything that would mean anything... physical... violent... We want to arrange a diplomatic presence in your... well, begin to talk about a diplomatic relationship between"
The other Qujoray couldn't stand the pain, and cut him off.
"Diplomatic missions only. Requesting permission to approach the capitol. Economic alliances sought."
Quincy sank to the back of the ship, crushed. He had practiced for so long. He had always been told, "Never let a machine talk for you. Your best selling point is always in the voice. The voice has a million intricacies. You have to understand that when speaking in a foreign language, control over tone, stress, intensity, and speed are all more vital than ever. In a marketing situation, the pressure is double. You're eloquent in Wayaa'ai and Sektekromedrux, but the Galactic Standard is a new language entirely."
He wished he didn't cost so much money, or he would have thrown himself into the reactor.
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Maunkee Empire Territory
Approaching T'au
Diplomatic Fleet Cyan
Bridge of fleet flagship The Uturia
The Oracle grinned; A worrying, predator grin. These creatures seemed easy; Peaceful and naive. He wondered at how bounteous their trade routes and cargo would be. He also wondered at what their specimens would be like. He looked around at the bridge crew. Every one of them killers that would gladly take on any Maunkee, however powerful the race would be. However an engagement would not be acceptable at a time like this. The large warship presence and the lack of knowledge of this species would make it so.
The Oracle walked back up on to the dais and sat on his command chair. "Transfer communication controls to me." He commanded the lesser Kira at the communications panel. Within moment it had been done.
He studied the Maunkee fleet for a moment before commanding another officer. "Deploy fighter escort, deploy scanner drones amongst them. We want to make an entrance, and know how we could rip their throats out if need be."
A noise of agreement arose from the bridge. Blood thirsty as all Kirans were.
The Oracle began his correspondence with the Maunkee leader
The Oracle was amused as he wrote this. The number of lies, hidden intents and threating language present in the message would certainly make his clan proud.
Approaching T'au
Diplomatic Fleet Cyan
Bridge of fleet flagship The Uturia
From: High Councilor Chao Lin. Responsible for Internal and External Government.
To: Feline Admiral
Greetings mighty one! I am Chao Lin, leader of the Internal an External Government, and I am delighted to make your appointment. I understand that you have traveled a long way to reach our system and therefore I offer the Maunkee hospitality for you, and any crew man that may set foot on our beloved capital planet.
I would be most eager to get political relationships started, start trade and possibly even enter a military alliance, and if you are interested you may join our intergalactic organization "The Greater Good", however I am getting ahead of myself.
You, as a honorable leader of your people, must understand that once you, or any other of your men, enter T'au's atmosphere, you will be subject to our External Laws, and thus you must have two members of the local militia and a guide escorting you, wherever you may go on, they will be provided at our own expenditure, no worries about that.
Also, I would like to inform you that foreign violence on T'au is strictly forbidden. You are guests on our holy planet, and you will be present in the same room that our glorious ancestors made important decisions, thus you must respect these rooms and wear (at least) the appropriate footing as every other political member had to.
I dearly hope that we will have a satisfying meeting when you come to our Planetary Government, and may the Great Good be with you.
The Oracle grinned; A worrying, predator grin. These creatures seemed easy; Peaceful and naive. He wondered at how bounteous their trade routes and cargo would be. He also wondered at what their specimens would be like. He looked around at the bridge crew. Every one of them killers that would gladly take on any Maunkee, however powerful the race would be. However an engagement would not be acceptable at a time like this. The large warship presence and the lack of knowledge of this species would make it so.
The Oracle walked back up on to the dais and sat on his command chair. "Transfer communication controls to me." He commanded the lesser Kira at the communications panel. Within moment it had been done.
He studied the Maunkee fleet for a moment before commanding another officer. "Deploy fighter escort, deploy scanner drones amongst them. We want to make an entrance, and know how we could rip their throats out if need be."
A noise of agreement arose from the bridge. Blood thirsty as all Kirans were.
The Oracle began his correspondence with the Maunkee leader
Recipient: High Councilor Chao Lin.
Sender: The Oracle, Cyan diplomatic fleet
Greetings to you, High Councilor. I, The Oracle, am the diplomatic representative of the Kirata Empire. I and my crew thank you offer of hospitality and will consider it to the full.
We will also respect your local customs and traditions. However because of the physique of my race we do not wear any form of footwear, if you request our presence in your sacred places you must provide footwear fabricated yourselves as we have no facilities of staff capable of such intricacies. We will submit to escort. Humbly requesting that you provide excessive presence so our trust may be proven.
I, as The Oracle of the Kirata Empire, stress the fact that I do not have the power to grant request such as a military alliance or other agreements on par with this. However I will gladly undertake studies of possible trade and political agreements, including acquisition of technology and resources if you so offer. Our military is well developed. Therefore we offer trade escort services, for a price which may be paid in many ways.
I understand that our meeting shall be beneficial for both our great nations, and look anticipate the event with interest.
May your hunt be vicious.
The Oracle was amused as he wrote this. The number of lies, hidden intents and threating language present in the message would certainly make his clan proud.
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Qujoray Confederacy
Krups System
Air
SINS Rubicon Pale
“Receiving return transmission,” one of the techs reported, and the message echoed over the bridge speakers.
“Very well. Mr. Speedwell, please give us a scan of the planet. Miss Osier, kindly bring us into high orbit.” Dawn leaned back in his chair as the cruiser rapidly approached Air, staring down at the watery globe.
“Mr. Hollyhock, Viscountess Brier, Miss wing-Cherry, you’re all with me.” He nodded to the executive officer of the Rubicon Pale. “Prepare to launch the shuttle.”
Dawn Delphinion and those he’d chosen all closed their eyes, seeking the exquisite drones stored in one of the cruiser’s shuttles in their second-sight, linking their minds to the intricate bio-metallic systems of the machines.
The Siridar abhorred the loss of their own lives; thus, save for in exceptional circumstances or a very long alliance, they did not contact others in the flesh, rather remaining safe in armoured cocoons in their ships and linking to drones which they controlled from afar.
The Rubicon vessels of the Imperium had a full complement of exquisite drones for just this purpose, keeping their valuable diplomats as safe as possible from harm. In any case, it was extremely difficult to tell an exquisite drone, one mostly built from Violet bio-organic compounds and alloys, grown in a vat, from a true flesh-and-blood Siridar.
As the shuttle – ornamented and patterned like its parent – shot down to the planet, the drones inside woke, running through nanosecond checks and ensuring the neural link functioned perfectly. This done, they waited patiently as their ship scored a line of fire across Air’s atmosphere, passed through the sterilization loop and settled, with pin-point accuracy, in the centre of the indicated pad, the greenish motes of the gravitic shields and drive systems fading to nothing.
The airlock irised open, interlocking leaves of metal peeling away, and Dawn Delphinion led the way out, his eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight. The drone was a faithful representation of him, tall and willowy, flowing black hair done up in elaborate braids and electric-blue wings, clad in rich azure silks that shimmered and changed colour in the light, patterned and ornamented with golden braid. Jewels glowed at his hands and a medal sat like a self-satisfied star at his breast, dripping gold and diamonds.
He swept a courtly bow, along with his retinue, to the waiting welcome party. “Dawn Delphinion,” he announced, in rolling, hypnotic tones. “Duke of Calraiso and Captain-Diplomat Plenipotentiary of the Rubicon Pale, representing the interests of the Siridar Diplomatic Service and House Delphinion. Pleasure to meet the Qujoray.”
The Siridar Imperium
Siridar Imperia
Faerin
Imperial Admiralty, Conference Room V
The Imperial Admiralty, an airy, towering building close to the Palace in the shimmering city of Siridis, was always busy.
Streams of Siridar were constantly landing on the ledges, disembarking from personal flyers or appearing in gravity globes, filling the building to capacity. There were always pirates, incidents, training exercises and wargames to be organized and dealt with, border reinforcements to be drafted in and fleet positions to be adjusted.
Supply lines had to be maintained, contracts had to be awarded, maintenance performed and shipyards commissioned.
With a nation the size of the Imperium, and all its disparate regions, there was always, even on the slowest day, something that required the attention of the Stellar Service and her General Staff.
The Admiralty liaised closely with the Exploration Service (based out of Morningstar Prime in Great Violet’s Flower) and the sanctioned Imperial Eyes, the Siridar Secret Service. Other, more shadowy groups also reported to the Admiralty, through the services of the House of Hellebore, and it was one of these currently reporting to a grouping of senior staff.
“...so, gentledar all, as I was saying, certain groups in the service of the House of Hellebore-”
“Why don’t you just say criminals and spies?” asked one of the admirals bluntly; he was cowed to silence by a blistering glare from the businesslike Siridar with hard white wings giving the briefing.
“Certain groups in the service of the House of Hellebore have recently become aware of an ancient artefact of unknown make having surfaced recently. The...organization...that currently possesses the artefact is not aware of the true value of what they have, which is fortunate. If we move quickly, it should be possible for us to...acquire this object with a minimum of fuss and bother. If the Admiralty approves, we shall...make it known, shall we say, that a certain group under our control is interested in acquiring the artefact. Then we can send in a few vessels to quietly recover it, with no-one really any the wiser. Other nations are probably aware of the artefact’s existence – or if they are not, they will be soon, so we must be swift.”
The assembled senior staff blinked. “And why has House Hellebore come to the Admiralty with this?” one enquired. “We know you have your own forces that you have doubtless empowered to collect it.”
The Hellebore liaison spread his hands. “We are simply doing our sworn duty, to defend and enrich the Imperium at any opportunity. This artefact could easily be a great asset or a terrible threat, so naturally we could not simply sit upon the sidelines.” He paused. “That, and my lord the Duke of the Diadem wishes to improve his standing in the Imperial Court. Strictly off the record, of course. Should this object be recovered, it would be a significant aid to the Imperium.”
The staff frowned, but the Hellebore dar remained transparent. He was probably hiding something – a lot of things, as Hellebores were known for plans within plans – but such an opportunity was not to be missed. Even if it meant treating with pirates.
Some of the brighter members of the General Staff saw that this prospective mission could furnish them with lots of juicy details of a major pirate haven (a perennial thorn in the Merchant Navy’s side) which could then be used at a later date to plan a purge.
“Oh, very well, Liaison. Let us commence planning. If you would furnish us with the details...”
Free Union System, Outskirts
KSP Gold Group Light Cruiser Auric
The captain, Lilith wing-Hellebore, of the KSP cruiser Auric shifted uneasily in her chair, her wings rustling, as they drew in closer to the mission objective.
KSP Gold Group was officially a firm dealing in luxury goods and exotic specimens, both in providing them and transporting them from place to place. A third-generation company, the name KSP is well-known among high-end jewellers and antiques dealers, and is almost a byword for security and discretion in acquisition and delivery.
Unofficially, KSP moves a lot more than luxury goods, hiding an awful lot in the endless lists of KSP ships and transport missions. KSP is also one of the arms of one of the largest Siridar cartels, a primary method for them to dispose of ill-gotten gains. The revenues from the legal side of KSP’s operations are not inconsiderable, too.
Thus it was that orders had filtered down from on high for KSP to signal (discreetly, naturally) its interest in the artefact, and put together a task force to either purchase the Key outright or simply take it.
And so, KSP Gold Group mobilised some of its assets – the modified light cruiser Auric, with its EMP pulse turrets replaced with pulse-plasma cannons, stealth plating and its overcharged engine systems, along with two subsidiary KSP destroyers, all modified to carry small amounts of high-value cargo (or, indeed, drones – a full complement of Penitents waited, hidden, just in case).
“We’re in position at the edge of the system,” murmured one of the techs.
“Very good,” replied Lilith. “Commence signalling, narrow-band transmission, standard stealth scattering and encryption. Hopefully we’re expected. Commence gravity scans, too – we don’t want any surprises, but keep the nets tight.”
The Borders of the Interstellar Kingdom of Draok
SINS Rubicon Noir
Far out beyond the gravity wells of the system planets, the sun just a slightly brighter star among a million others, space twisted and inverted in upon itself, disgorging seven shining vessels, sleekly organic-looking. Six of these were obviously heavy warships, a large cruiser-class, surrounding the seventh in a defensive sphere.
This last was very obviously not a military vessel, with a precious-metal hull ornamented with the elaborate angel-crest of the Siridar Imperium, no gunports or external weaponry and in the centre of the sphere of armed vessels.
"Jump to normalspace confirmed, honourable sir," reported one of the crew, rather unnecessarily - the gas-plasma viewscreens that ranged around the armoured bridge clearly showed a completely different system to the one the Rubicon cruiser had left. "Coordinates achieved."
The captain leaned back in his thronelike chair and took a contemplative sip of raku, allowing the chatter of the crew to wash over him, a practiced litany of order, check and counter-order, communication between the diplomatic cruiser and their escort warships, the escort warships and the Imperial Admiralty and more.
"Excellent," he opined languidly. "Prepare for transmission across all known communications media in-system, Miss Vervain. Thank you."
Three seconds later, the communications tech nodded at the captain, who straightened in the elegant thronelike chair and faced the holograph recorder.
"This is the Siridar Imperium Diplomatic Service Rubicon cruiser Rubicon Noir, under the command of His Excellency the Count of the Starward Reaches, Elphin wing-Hellebore, Knight of the Flowered Blades, Captain-Diplomat Plenipotentiary of the Siridar, representing the Imperium and the interests of Hellebore House, requesting the opening of diplomatic communication lines for the negotiation of mutually-beneficial arrangements."
Elphin was a distinguished Siridar of five and a half centuries, lean and corded with muscle thanks to his rigorous training regimen and former days in the Stellar Service; he still kept his hair in the standard military braids of the Navy, even if as a Captain-Diplomat and former Star-Senator he had considerably more leeway in what he wore and what he looked like. The Diplomatic Service had only four absolute rules, after all: Keep calm, look smart, carry on - and if attacked, bring in the dreadnaughts.
Krups System
Air
SINS Rubicon Pale
“Receiving return transmission,” one of the techs reported, and the message echoed over the bridge speakers.
“Very well. Mr. Speedwell, please give us a scan of the planet. Miss Osier, kindly bring us into high orbit.” Dawn leaned back in his chair as the cruiser rapidly approached Air, staring down at the watery globe.
“Mr. Hollyhock, Viscountess Brier, Miss wing-Cherry, you’re all with me.” He nodded to the executive officer of the Rubicon Pale. “Prepare to launch the shuttle.”
Dawn Delphinion and those he’d chosen all closed their eyes, seeking the exquisite drones stored in one of the cruiser’s shuttles in their second-sight, linking their minds to the intricate bio-metallic systems of the machines.
The Siridar abhorred the loss of their own lives; thus, save for in exceptional circumstances or a very long alliance, they did not contact others in the flesh, rather remaining safe in armoured cocoons in their ships and linking to drones which they controlled from afar.
The Rubicon vessels of the Imperium had a full complement of exquisite drones for just this purpose, keeping their valuable diplomats as safe as possible from harm. In any case, it was extremely difficult to tell an exquisite drone, one mostly built from Violet bio-organic compounds and alloys, grown in a vat, from a true flesh-and-blood Siridar.
As the shuttle – ornamented and patterned like its parent – shot down to the planet, the drones inside woke, running through nanosecond checks and ensuring the neural link functioned perfectly. This done, they waited patiently as their ship scored a line of fire across Air’s atmosphere, passed through the sterilization loop and settled, with pin-point accuracy, in the centre of the indicated pad, the greenish motes of the gravitic shields and drive systems fading to nothing.
The airlock irised open, interlocking leaves of metal peeling away, and Dawn Delphinion led the way out, his eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight. The drone was a faithful representation of him, tall and willowy, flowing black hair done up in elaborate braids and electric-blue wings, clad in rich azure silks that shimmered and changed colour in the light, patterned and ornamented with golden braid. Jewels glowed at his hands and a medal sat like a self-satisfied star at his breast, dripping gold and diamonds.
He swept a courtly bow, along with his retinue, to the waiting welcome party. “Dawn Delphinion,” he announced, in rolling, hypnotic tones. “Duke of Calraiso and Captain-Diplomat Plenipotentiary of the Rubicon Pale, representing the interests of the Siridar Diplomatic Service and House Delphinion. Pleasure to meet the Qujoray.”
The Siridar Imperium
Siridar Imperia
Faerin
Imperial Admiralty, Conference Room V
The Imperial Admiralty, an airy, towering building close to the Palace in the shimmering city of Siridis, was always busy.
Streams of Siridar were constantly landing on the ledges, disembarking from personal flyers or appearing in gravity globes, filling the building to capacity. There were always pirates, incidents, training exercises and wargames to be organized and dealt with, border reinforcements to be drafted in and fleet positions to be adjusted.
Supply lines had to be maintained, contracts had to be awarded, maintenance performed and shipyards commissioned.
With a nation the size of the Imperium, and all its disparate regions, there was always, even on the slowest day, something that required the attention of the Stellar Service and her General Staff.
The Admiralty liaised closely with the Exploration Service (based out of Morningstar Prime in Great Violet’s Flower) and the sanctioned Imperial Eyes, the Siridar Secret Service. Other, more shadowy groups also reported to the Admiralty, through the services of the House of Hellebore, and it was one of these currently reporting to a grouping of senior staff.
“...so, gentledar all, as I was saying, certain groups in the service of the House of Hellebore-”
“Why don’t you just say criminals and spies?” asked one of the admirals bluntly; he was cowed to silence by a blistering glare from the businesslike Siridar with hard white wings giving the briefing.
“Certain groups in the service of the House of Hellebore have recently become aware of an ancient artefact of unknown make having surfaced recently. The...organization...that currently possesses the artefact is not aware of the true value of what they have, which is fortunate. If we move quickly, it should be possible for us to...acquire this object with a minimum of fuss and bother. If the Admiralty approves, we shall...make it known, shall we say, that a certain group under our control is interested in acquiring the artefact. Then we can send in a few vessels to quietly recover it, with no-one really any the wiser. Other nations are probably aware of the artefact’s existence – or if they are not, they will be soon, so we must be swift.”
The assembled senior staff blinked. “And why has House Hellebore come to the Admiralty with this?” one enquired. “We know you have your own forces that you have doubtless empowered to collect it.”
The Hellebore liaison spread his hands. “We are simply doing our sworn duty, to defend and enrich the Imperium at any opportunity. This artefact could easily be a great asset or a terrible threat, so naturally we could not simply sit upon the sidelines.” He paused. “That, and my lord the Duke of the Diadem wishes to improve his standing in the Imperial Court. Strictly off the record, of course. Should this object be recovered, it would be a significant aid to the Imperium.”
The staff frowned, but the Hellebore dar remained transparent. He was probably hiding something – a lot of things, as Hellebores were known for plans within plans – but such an opportunity was not to be missed. Even if it meant treating with pirates.
Some of the brighter members of the General Staff saw that this prospective mission could furnish them with lots of juicy details of a major pirate haven (a perennial thorn in the Merchant Navy’s side) which could then be used at a later date to plan a purge.
“Oh, very well, Liaison. Let us commence planning. If you would furnish us with the details...”
Free Union System, Outskirts
KSP Gold Group Light Cruiser Auric
The captain, Lilith wing-Hellebore, of the KSP cruiser Auric shifted uneasily in her chair, her wings rustling, as they drew in closer to the mission objective.
KSP Gold Group was officially a firm dealing in luxury goods and exotic specimens, both in providing them and transporting them from place to place. A third-generation company, the name KSP is well-known among high-end jewellers and antiques dealers, and is almost a byword for security and discretion in acquisition and delivery.
Unofficially, KSP moves a lot more than luxury goods, hiding an awful lot in the endless lists of KSP ships and transport missions. KSP is also one of the arms of one of the largest Siridar cartels, a primary method for them to dispose of ill-gotten gains. The revenues from the legal side of KSP’s operations are not inconsiderable, too.
Thus it was that orders had filtered down from on high for KSP to signal (discreetly, naturally) its interest in the artefact, and put together a task force to either purchase the Key outright or simply take it.
And so, KSP Gold Group mobilised some of its assets – the modified light cruiser Auric, with its EMP pulse turrets replaced with pulse-plasma cannons, stealth plating and its overcharged engine systems, along with two subsidiary KSP destroyers, all modified to carry small amounts of high-value cargo (or, indeed, drones – a full complement of Penitents waited, hidden, just in case).
“We’re in position at the edge of the system,” murmured one of the techs.
“Very good,” replied Lilith. “Commence signalling, narrow-band transmission, standard stealth scattering and encryption. Hopefully we’re expected. Commence gravity scans, too – we don’t want any surprises, but keep the nets tight.”
The Borders of the Interstellar Kingdom of Draok
SINS Rubicon Noir
Far out beyond the gravity wells of the system planets, the sun just a slightly brighter star among a million others, space twisted and inverted in upon itself, disgorging seven shining vessels, sleekly organic-looking. Six of these were obviously heavy warships, a large cruiser-class, surrounding the seventh in a defensive sphere.
This last was very obviously not a military vessel, with a precious-metal hull ornamented with the elaborate angel-crest of the Siridar Imperium, no gunports or external weaponry and in the centre of the sphere of armed vessels.
"Jump to normalspace confirmed, honourable sir," reported one of the crew, rather unnecessarily - the gas-plasma viewscreens that ranged around the armoured bridge clearly showed a completely different system to the one the Rubicon cruiser had left. "Coordinates achieved."
The captain leaned back in his thronelike chair and took a contemplative sip of raku, allowing the chatter of the crew to wash over him, a practiced litany of order, check and counter-order, communication between the diplomatic cruiser and their escort warships, the escort warships and the Imperial Admiralty and more.
"Excellent," he opined languidly. "Prepare for transmission across all known communications media in-system, Miss Vervain. Thank you."
Three seconds later, the communications tech nodded at the captain, who straightened in the elegant thronelike chair and faced the holograph recorder.
"This is the Siridar Imperium Diplomatic Service Rubicon cruiser Rubicon Noir, under the command of His Excellency the Count of the Starward Reaches, Elphin wing-Hellebore, Knight of the Flowered Blades, Captain-Diplomat Plenipotentiary of the Siridar, representing the Imperium and the interests of Hellebore House, requesting the opening of diplomatic communication lines for the negotiation of mutually-beneficial arrangements."
Elphin was a distinguished Siridar of five and a half centuries, lean and corded with muscle thanks to his rigorous training regimen and former days in the Stellar Service; he still kept his hair in the standard military braids of the Navy, even if as a Captain-Diplomat and former Star-Senator he had considerably more leeway in what he wore and what he looked like. The Diplomatic Service had only four absolute rules, after all: Keep calm, look smart, carry on - and if attacked, bring in the dreadnaughts.
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Border-Sector of the Draok-Kingdom
Walhalla System
Near Orbit of Planet Freya
Command Bridge of "Gualo", Achilles; Political Expedition.
Admiral Liang looked at the received message.
Liang nodded and then replied to the message.
Admiral Liang then turned and went to his private chambers, and changed from his army uniform to the traditional Maunkee army uniform, and then along with the representatives he entered the Drop Pod.
The diplomatic representatives wore more Maunkee diplomatic clothes, and the representative of the Order of the Greater Good was an elder amongst the Maunkee.
The Drop Pod took off and headed towards the planet "Corak II" to meet the baron. The Drop Pod AI send a message to the locals telling them which platform they would land on and how soon, so they could meet as quickly as possible and start getting political negotiations going.
Liang was not at ease, nor were the representatives. It had nothing to do with the fact they would be talking with a new specie, no far from it. It was unnerving the fact that they would be talking to dictators! Monarchy was known to the Maunkee, in their brief past they too have had these forms of ruling however it only lasted for three centuries before democracy, councils and voting came into the minds of the Maunkee.
This civilization still depended on kings and queens to run the land, and it had been scaled up from landmasses to entire planets!
The Maunkee representatives felt it would be hard to get anywhere with these people. How many nobles would they have to meet before a decision was made? How many times would they have to convince nobles, generals, even the people, to join The Greater Good? Liang felt it would take far too long. Would it be worth it? Would these...civilized aliens? If you could even call them that, even listen to what the Maunkee had to offer?
Liang doubted it, but then again, The Greater Good had convinced the Shaun-Tee to join the Maunkee, and as far as Liang knew, the Shaun-Tee lived outside the The Code of Honor and they were one of the most underdeveloped specie that Liang had ever studied.
The Drop Pod landed on the platform, and the doors opened. Liang felt the tension inside himself and then took a step out to be the first to show himself. He breathed in the atmosphere. It was breathable, they would be safe for now.
Maunkee Empire
Phophies System, Phophies I
External Communication Center
Room 307-BF
Cang Guang was a bit confused, at first there was the voice of an organic creature and then it switched over to a robotic voice. Cang simply concluded that the person was not a good public speaker and replied the...message.
With the message send to the Qujoray Confederacy Cruiser, Cang send another message to T'au, informing the Internal Government of the Qujoray Confederacy Cruiser's presence and that they came for a diplomatic and economical reasons.
Maunkee Empire
Planet T'au
External Government of Planet T'au
Room 125-T
Chao read the message that the 'Oracle' send, and he felt like leaping to joy, these creatures had come to join the Maunkee in trade! They had come to share their technology, they had come to ask the Maunkee for help. Chao felt honored, another race added to the Greater Good. This was going fantastic, oh Sha'O'Shi would be so proud of the progress that the Maunkee Empire was making.
Of course the Maunkee would help any race that joined them in their Greater Good. Chao, as the leader of the Internal and External Government knew well that those who joined The Greater Good would go through several processes that would make their system, economy, military, politics, and even social life a part of the Maunkee Empire.
These Feline would become one with the Maunkee Empire, they would be able to keep their spiritual beliefs, of course, but everything else would be "modernized" and these people would finally be "civilized" with the Maunkee Empire's enlightenment.
Chao began to send massages to the local militia that they would have to pick up representatives who came with positive political reasons, and their leader, and his adviser would be directly shown over to the External Government and whoever else who had accompanied him would be taken to the closest Foreign Hotel, where they would stay, under watch of the Maunkee AI cameras, or if they wished to have a tour of the magnificent city then it should all be ready.
Chaos didn't want to give a bad impression, no quiet on the contrary, he wanted to show this 'Oracle' that the Maunkee meant peace, prosperity, good economical benefits and evolution of technology. Chao could already see, no. He could hear how this Oracle would simply refuse to have any form of debate about what was to be sold and bought, he would sign the contracts, the files, whatever else he needed to in order to join the Greater Good. Who could resist it? Those who did refuse it would then suffer in other forms, not physically, no, economically, politically, even territorially, the people of this 'Oracle' would soon find that they are being strangled till they joined The Greater Good.
Chao then wrote the following message to the Oracle:
Chao send the message and then stretched out.
A few more messages were send and a room was prepared for the meeting, the guards were informed of the arrival of the 'Oracle' and the cleaning drones were prepared for when they would come.
Maunkee Empire
Park'tau System, Park'tau III
Maunkee Empire Army HQ
Office of Commander Chiang Zhi; room 405
Chiang opened the message that he was receiving and a blue screen appeared before him with a direct video of a border watch.
"Greetings commander, I bring grave news," the soldier reported.
"Report your situation," Commander Chiang ordered, and the soldier nodded.
"At approximately 18:46, T'au local time, the sensors of the Ur'Guan System picked up a signal of a vast space vessel, thirty kilometers across, and its length is yet to be identified.
So far our computers has gone over any possible nations that it can belong to, with no results. However so far we can only believe that it is a pirate ship from the Free Union, although the sensors were able to get a quick picture of the vessel, we were only able to make out the name, "Rinewood". Based from the name, we believe it's a human ship.
These are all assumptions, we can't tell for sure, as it could also be a larger vessel from a yet to be discovered nation, or perhaps it is a Ghost Ship. Pirates do tend to simply leave their boarded ships floating around in space. It isn't impossible.
What are your orders, Commander Chiang?"
Chiang sat for a moment and gave it some thought. The Maunkee Empire had rarely dealt with pirates, and even when they had, powerful navies had been send to chase them away, and he then asked, "What information do we generally have on the "Free Union" and on the general behavior of Space Pirates?"
Chiang's own computer answered the question and several files appeared, not as many as he would have liked but it was something. Quickly skimming over these files he concluded that they were rouges, corrupt, used slaves and and the Order of the Greater Good had placed them under the Semi-Hopeless, meaning that the pirates themselves were useless and should be killed on sight, however the slaves were to be spared.
"Soldier, do you have the USV's current location?" Commander Chiang asked.
"Yes, commander," the soldier replied.
"Good, for we will now make a liberation operation. I have read that these pirates takes slaves, and these slaves have not been deemed as hopeless. Thus I believe we should save these poor souls, and perhaps bring these pirates to justice.
I will send one Fist of Maunkee to divert the attention of this large space craft, and simply create holes in the armor of the ship, allowing Drop Pods to come near it and let robotic infantry and Stealth Units into the ship and hijack it."
"Commander, how do we know it is a pirate ship and not a ghost ship?"
"We don't. If it is a pirate ship, I predict that it will be aggressive and will attack our ships, however, if it is a Ghost Ship we will not have any problems taking the ship, or if a space vessel of another nation, then we will make contact with it and perhaps gain new political allies, either way, it should very well work in our favor. Now, keep an eye on this USV, we need to know its location when the Fist of Maunkee arrives.".
The Fist of Maunkee slowed down and locked on its target. As the admiral had been informed, it was massive, and it seemed to be above a planet.
"Computer, identify planet," the admiral commanded. Within a few moments the computer identified the planet as the capital of the Free Union system, and the admiral frowned. He and his men had been selected to attack the biggest ship that the Free Union had in its procession? This was suicide, utter suicide.
But every suicide mission was for the Greater Good, and thankfully, the Maunkee Empire had managed to get more photos and information about this vessel, and they have identified tons of information from the clearer images and the Commanders had formulated a plan that may just work, however it required a marriage of skills between organic Maunkee technicians and the computers of both ship; Maunkee soldiers and robotic battle suits; the admiral and his battle canons.
The admiral sighed. Everyday thousands of heroes dies, unnamed, never sung about, and forgotten. Today we may be these heroes.
The admiral then grabbed the speaker and called over the radio to the Maunkee space sailors, soldiers, and technicians.
"Men, brothers and sisters. Believers of The Greater Good. I am not speaking to you because I wish to tell you that we will be victorious, I am not going to give you a lengthy speech that this battle will any different from any other previous space battle that we've ever had. No.
I am talking to you now because I wish to tell all of you that I am in the center of my heart proud of you. For having followed me, trusted me, and come with me to this task.
We stand before an enemy, who has a thousand more guns, who has millions of more men at our disposal, however we will not back down like that. We are the Maunkee. We are the most enlightened specie in the universe! We will not go down without a fight. Didn't Sha'O'Shi, the most holy Maunkee ever to live, stand his ground and fight, even though he was greatly outnumbered?
He most certainly did. Today will be no different. Today, brothers...Sisters...We stand, like Sha'O'Shi, and we will bring down the titan that attacks our village.
If we die today, we die for the Greater Good. If we win today, we win for the Greater Good.
Remember, the duty of a soldier is as heavy as a mountain upon the shoulders of a warrior, however the death of a warrior is as light as a feather.
Go now, do what you must. We have nothing to loose."
With that, the Maunkee cheered and ran to their battle stations. Soldier went into the Drop Pods, armed their plasma rifles and prepared to board the massive space ship. If you could even call it that.
The wood of one of the crates was splintered, and out came a Stealth Unit, it quickly stood up, armed its weapon and looked to left and right, up and down. No one was there. Good.
Activating its sensors, the located its comrades, some were lucky to be near the edge of the stacking of goods, while others were a bit unlucky and had to be dug out, and thus it stole precious time for the Stealth Units to dig out their comrades, however in the end there stood four Stealth Units, armed with Snipers, Plasma Rifles, and one was even armed with a flamethrower.
Before the Maunkee Empire had begun to send messages to gather together the units which were to attack Rinewood, they had send off four of the Empire's best Stealth Units, who had entered the unknown territory of the Free Union, smuggled themselves into crates and come on board Rinewood. Of course, it required a bit of cutthroat methods, re-arranging the sending of the crates and even where the crates were to be placed on board the Rinewood, but they were there now.
The Stealth Units' mission was to get into the system and shut down Rinewood's canons, and then lower its systematical defenses, allowing the Maunkee technicians to hack into the system and take control over the entire spacecraft, and from there they would lock these pirates into their rooms, and those who could still move freely would be hunted down by the Maunkee soldiers.
However it all required that the Stealth Units did their job flawlessly and with absolute timing. The Fist of Maunkee couldn't hold off the canon fire forever and it certainly didn't have the best armor or shields of the entire Maunkee Space Navy, thus they would have to hurry, but first they had to find a pirate and make him talk.
The Stealth Units then stole themselves, and mingled into the shadows, moving quickly through the storage room, making little to no noise as they moved through the storage room, looking for one or two pirates that they could quickly kidnap and torture for information.
Unlike their other Brothers and Sisters, the Stealth Units were prepared, in fact, they were trained to do the worst they could think of to achieve their goal, whether it meant genocide, torture, or even chemical warfare, obviously a spaceship had toxic fumes stored somewhere so the Stealth Units could just make them explode and let the entire ship be filled with this gas and do most of the job for them.
The battle for Rinewood had begun.
Walhalla System
Near Orbit of Planet Freya
Command Bridge of "Gualo", Achilles; Political Expedition.
Admiral Liang looked at the received message.
From: Baron Williams, Baron of the Zulian continent on planet Corak II
To: Admiral Liang xin Bossxher
You're representatives are of course welcome to our planet. As described in the laws of our nation your envoy is allowed to bring ten armed soldiers as honor guards with you. The envoy in itself should not be armed. If you would like to be transported from your ship and back, we will gladly offer you one of our shuttles. Your ship may remain where it is. If you would be so kind to deliever us a notice about your favorite food, our cooks will provide what they can for you.
Sincerely,
Baron Williams.
Liang nodded and then replied to the message.
From:Admiral Liang xin Bossxher
To:Baron Williams, Baron of the Zulian continent on planet Corak II
I am more than honored to hear this. There will not be need for transport, as kind of you as it is, we have our own Drop Pods to use.
In order to avoid any misunderstandings between our nations, myself and the representatives will come in this Drop Pod, military ranked representatives will, however, wear traditional armor and carry a Katana Sword with them, as it is a tradition of the Maunkee military officers to dress like this in public.
May The Greater Good be with you.
Admiral Liang then turned and went to his private chambers, and changed from his army uniform to the traditional Maunkee army uniform, and then along with the representatives he entered the Drop Pod.
The diplomatic representatives wore more Maunkee diplomatic clothes, and the representative of the Order of the Greater Good was an elder amongst the Maunkee.
The Drop Pod took off and headed towards the planet "Corak II" to meet the baron. The Drop Pod AI send a message to the locals telling them which platform they would land on and how soon, so they could meet as quickly as possible and start getting political negotiations going.
Liang was not at ease, nor were the representatives. It had nothing to do with the fact they would be talking with a new specie, no far from it. It was unnerving the fact that they would be talking to dictators! Monarchy was known to the Maunkee, in their brief past they too have had these forms of ruling however it only lasted for three centuries before democracy, councils and voting came into the minds of the Maunkee.
This civilization still depended on kings and queens to run the land, and it had been scaled up from landmasses to entire planets!
The Maunkee representatives felt it would be hard to get anywhere with these people. How many nobles would they have to meet before a decision was made? How many times would they have to convince nobles, generals, even the people, to join The Greater Good? Liang felt it would take far too long. Would it be worth it? Would these...civilized aliens? If you could even call them that, even listen to what the Maunkee had to offer?
Liang doubted it, but then again, The Greater Good had convinced the Shaun-Tee to join the Maunkee, and as far as Liang knew, the Shaun-Tee lived outside the The Code of Honor and they were one of the most underdeveloped specie that Liang had ever studied.
The Drop Pod landed on the platform, and the doors opened. Liang felt the tension inside himself and then took a step out to be the first to show himself. He breathed in the atmosphere. It was breathable, they would be safe for now.
Maunkee Empire
Phophies System, Phophies I
External Communication Center
Room 307-BF
Cang Guang was a bit confused, at first there was the voice of an organic creature and then it switched over to a robotic voice. Cang simply concluded that the person was not a good public speaker and replied the...message.
From: Planet Phophies I, Head of External Communication, Cang Guang
To: Qujoray Confederacy Cruiser
Fantastic. The coordinates will be send to you computer, and the Maunkee Empire believes that your space vessel will not endager any of the planets along the way.
Our satellites will, however, keep an eye on your movement, and if any hostile actions are recorded, you will be warned, if any damage done to satellites, spacecrafts or the likes, you will answer to the Maunkee Space Navy, and pay for all damages done.
The External Government will now be informed of your presence and have a meeting ready for you when you arrive.
May the Greater Good be with you.
With the message send to the Qujoray Confederacy Cruiser, Cang send another message to T'au, informing the Internal Government of the Qujoray Confederacy Cruiser's presence and that they came for a diplomatic and economical reasons.
Maunkee Empire
Planet T'au
External Government of Planet T'au
Room 125-T
Chao read the message that the 'Oracle' send, and he felt like leaping to joy, these creatures had come to join the Maunkee in trade! They had come to share their technology, they had come to ask the Maunkee for help. Chao felt honored, another race added to the Greater Good. This was going fantastic, oh Sha'O'Shi would be so proud of the progress that the Maunkee Empire was making.
Of course the Maunkee would help any race that joined them in their Greater Good. Chao, as the leader of the Internal and External Government knew well that those who joined The Greater Good would go through several processes that would make their system, economy, military, politics, and even social life a part of the Maunkee Empire.
These Feline would become one with the Maunkee Empire, they would be able to keep their spiritual beliefs, of course, but everything else would be "modernized" and these people would finally be "civilized" with the Maunkee Empire's enlightenment.
Chao began to send massages to the local militia that they would have to pick up representatives who came with positive political reasons, and their leader, and his adviser would be directly shown over to the External Government and whoever else who had accompanied him would be taken to the closest Foreign Hotel, where they would stay, under watch of the Maunkee AI cameras, or if they wished to have a tour of the magnificent city then it should all be ready.
Chaos didn't want to give a bad impression, no quiet on the contrary, he wanted to show this 'Oracle' that the Maunkee meant peace, prosperity, good economical benefits and evolution of technology. Chao could already see, no. He could hear how this Oracle would simply refuse to have any form of debate about what was to be sold and bought, he would sign the contracts, the files, whatever else he needed to in order to join the Greater Good. Who could resist it? Those who did refuse it would then suffer in other forms, not physically, no, economically, politically, even territorially, the people of this 'Oracle' would soon find that they are being strangled till they joined The Greater Good.
Chao then wrote the following message to the Oracle:
From: High Councilor Chao Lin.
To: The Oracle, Cyan diplomatic fleet
I am most eager to await your arrival. No need to worries about your foot wearing, I am prepared for such a situation.
The transport and escort will be ready when you arrive, and will take you and your adviser straight to the External Government. Guides will be at the disposal to inform you of everything you may have interest in and to explain the Maunkee Empire's general goals and past achievements.
It is understandable if you do not wish to listen to our tales simply tell the guide.
I predict that the Greater Good meant for this. I can see a powerful bond between our two nations!
Nothing will be restrained from you and your kin. All of our technology, help, and finances will be at your disposal once we have signed a few papers.
May the Greater Good be with you.
Chao send the message and then stretched out.
A few more messages were send and a room was prepared for the meeting, the guards were informed of the arrival of the 'Oracle' and the cleaning drones were prepared for when they would come.
Maunkee Empire
Park'tau System, Park'tau III
Maunkee Empire Army HQ
Office of Commander Chiang Zhi; room 405
Chiang opened the message that he was receiving and a blue screen appeared before him with a direct video of a border watch.
"Greetings commander, I bring grave news," the soldier reported.
"Report your situation," Commander Chiang ordered, and the soldier nodded.
"At approximately 18:46, T'au local time, the sensors of the Ur'Guan System picked up a signal of a vast space vessel, thirty kilometers across, and its length is yet to be identified.
So far our computers has gone over any possible nations that it can belong to, with no results. However so far we can only believe that it is a pirate ship from the Free Union, although the sensors were able to get a quick picture of the vessel, we were only able to make out the name, "Rinewood". Based from the name, we believe it's a human ship.
These are all assumptions, we can't tell for sure, as it could also be a larger vessel from a yet to be discovered nation, or perhaps it is a Ghost Ship. Pirates do tend to simply leave their boarded ships floating around in space. It isn't impossible.
What are your orders, Commander Chiang?"
Chiang sat for a moment and gave it some thought. The Maunkee Empire had rarely dealt with pirates, and even when they had, powerful navies had been send to chase them away, and he then asked, "What information do we generally have on the "Free Union" and on the general behavior of Space Pirates?"
Chiang's own computer answered the question and several files appeared, not as many as he would have liked but it was something. Quickly skimming over these files he concluded that they were rouges, corrupt, used slaves and and the Order of the Greater Good had placed them under the Semi-Hopeless, meaning that the pirates themselves were useless and should be killed on sight, however the slaves were to be spared.
"Soldier, do you have the USV's current location?" Commander Chiang asked.
"Yes, commander," the soldier replied.
"Good, for we will now make a liberation operation. I have read that these pirates takes slaves, and these slaves have not been deemed as hopeless. Thus I believe we should save these poor souls, and perhaps bring these pirates to justice.
I will send one Fist of Maunkee to divert the attention of this large space craft, and simply create holes in the armor of the ship, allowing Drop Pods to come near it and let robotic infantry and Stealth Units into the ship and hijack it."
"Commander, how do we know it is a pirate ship and not a ghost ship?"
"We don't. If it is a pirate ship, I predict that it will be aggressive and will attack our ships, however, if it is a Ghost Ship we will not have any problems taking the ship, or if a space vessel of another nation, then we will make contact with it and perhaps gain new political allies, either way, it should very well work in our favor. Now, keep an eye on this USV, we need to know its location when the Fist of Maunkee arrives.".
Seven Intergalactic hours later
The Fist of Maunkee slowed down and locked on its target. As the admiral had been informed, it was massive, and it seemed to be above a planet.
"Computer, identify planet," the admiral commanded. Within a few moments the computer identified the planet as the capital of the Free Union system, and the admiral frowned. He and his men had been selected to attack the biggest ship that the Free Union had in its procession? This was suicide, utter suicide.
But every suicide mission was for the Greater Good, and thankfully, the Maunkee Empire had managed to get more photos and information about this vessel, and they have identified tons of information from the clearer images and the Commanders had formulated a plan that may just work, however it required a marriage of skills between organic Maunkee technicians and the computers of both ship; Maunkee soldiers and robotic battle suits; the admiral and his battle canons.
The admiral sighed. Everyday thousands of heroes dies, unnamed, never sung about, and forgotten. Today we may be these heroes.
The admiral then grabbed the speaker and called over the radio to the Maunkee space sailors, soldiers, and technicians.
"Men, brothers and sisters. Believers of The Greater Good. I am not speaking to you because I wish to tell you that we will be victorious, I am not going to give you a lengthy speech that this battle will any different from any other previous space battle that we've ever had. No.
I am talking to you now because I wish to tell all of you that I am in the center of my heart proud of you. For having followed me, trusted me, and come with me to this task.
We stand before an enemy, who has a thousand more guns, who has millions of more men at our disposal, however we will not back down like that. We are the Maunkee. We are the most enlightened specie in the universe! We will not go down without a fight. Didn't Sha'O'Shi, the most holy Maunkee ever to live, stand his ground and fight, even though he was greatly outnumbered?
He most certainly did. Today will be no different. Today, brothers...Sisters...We stand, like Sha'O'Shi, and we will bring down the titan that attacks our village.
If we die today, we die for the Greater Good. If we win today, we win for the Greater Good.
Remember, the duty of a soldier is as heavy as a mountain upon the shoulders of a warrior, however the death of a warrior is as light as a feather.
Go now, do what you must. We have nothing to loose."
With that, the Maunkee cheered and ran to their battle stations. Soldier went into the Drop Pods, armed their plasma rifles and prepared to board the massive space ship. If you could even call it that.
Rinewood Storage Room #4. One hour before the Arrival of the Fist of Maunkee
The wood of one of the crates was splintered, and out came a Stealth Unit, it quickly stood up, armed its weapon and looked to left and right, up and down. No one was there. Good.
Activating its sensors, the located its comrades, some were lucky to be near the edge of the stacking of goods, while others were a bit unlucky and had to be dug out, and thus it stole precious time for the Stealth Units to dig out their comrades, however in the end there stood four Stealth Units, armed with Snipers, Plasma Rifles, and one was even armed with a flamethrower.
Before the Maunkee Empire had begun to send messages to gather together the units which were to attack Rinewood, they had send off four of the Empire's best Stealth Units, who had entered the unknown territory of the Free Union, smuggled themselves into crates and come on board Rinewood. Of course, it required a bit of cutthroat methods, re-arranging the sending of the crates and even where the crates were to be placed on board the Rinewood, but they were there now.
The Stealth Units' mission was to get into the system and shut down Rinewood's canons, and then lower its systematical defenses, allowing the Maunkee technicians to hack into the system and take control over the entire spacecraft, and from there they would lock these pirates into their rooms, and those who could still move freely would be hunted down by the Maunkee soldiers.
However it all required that the Stealth Units did their job flawlessly and with absolute timing. The Fist of Maunkee couldn't hold off the canon fire forever and it certainly didn't have the best armor or shields of the entire Maunkee Space Navy, thus they would have to hurry, but first they had to find a pirate and make him talk.
The Stealth Units then stole themselves, and mingled into the shadows, moving quickly through the storage room, making little to no noise as they moved through the storage room, looking for one or two pirates that they could quickly kidnap and torture for information.
Unlike their other Brothers and Sisters, the Stealth Units were prepared, in fact, they were trained to do the worst they could think of to achieve their goal, whether it meant genocide, torture, or even chemical warfare, obviously a spaceship had toxic fumes stored somewhere so the Stealth Units could just make them explode and let the entire ship be filled with this gas and do most of the job for them.
The battle for Rinewood had begun.
0.00 INK
Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
Diplomatic Fleet Cyan
Bridge of fleet flagship The Uturia
The Oracle lent back on his command chair, another grin appearing on his bestial face. This Maunkee leader seemed child-like, naive and over-enthusiastic. Did he even suspect that the Kirans were here with no intend to work towards an alliance or anything peaceful. No papers would be signed, or if they were they would be nullified. The Kirata didn't even need trade, except for a little extra income. All they wanted and targeted was the trade routes.
This "Greater Good" seemed to be a fairy tale, a idea of perfect harmony that is impossible to gain, and impossible to desire. Leaving Chao Lin's overly optimistic and disillusioned message The Oracle left the bridge, commanding an officer to prepare the barracks for his comming.
The Oracle stepped into the Elite's barracks. Every Kira in this room had serviced in countless battles and killed countless enemies with the utmost brutality and skill. Almost every one of them stood higher then the imposing figure of the Diplomatic envoy. They were toned and enhanced cybernetically. The ultimate warriors, and the perfect images of terror. He strode down the long chamber, Kirans standing to attention on either side. Three of these warriors caught his attention, two were foot soldiers, gigantic and perfect representations of their race. He indicated that they follow him, which they did, wordlessly. The third was a smaller Kira, from one of the clans that specialised in special operations. All three followed him from the room.
The Oracle paced down the corridor towards the hanger, dictating to his followers. "We are to make contact with a new, unknown alien race." He began. "They do not know who we are or what we look like. I chose you because you served this purpose. We shall make them tremble at our approach, be they smaller or larger then us. You shall also act as my escort, we must have them believe we are dangerous and reinforce their escort. As such an act will give a better idea of the Maunkee's capabilities." He gestured the Special Operative to walk beside him. "You however are to remain cloaked at all times and survey the area. Finding a rough idea of technologies and population. You must not give any cause for alarm. I shall forbid these peaceful beings to set foot in our transport, so it shall be a sanctuary if you are in danger of being discovered."
The group entered the hanger and The Oracle boarded the Mercury which would serve as transport. The ship was pronged and studded spines, giving the appearance of some devil-crab. An ideal imposing welcome for the Maunkee Empire.
-----
Nearby Xr'ii'ra space
Free Union Space
Unnamed Humanoid System (Class 3 Star - System AA1232)
Strike Force Terminus Etheron
Space twisted itself, some stars in the blackness warped and were displaced. Until all returned to normal. However, invisible against the stars a small strike force had emerged. Strike frock Terminus Etheron consisted of a single Spec-Ops modified Privateer named The Killith and 21 independent modified Hawks. Every ship invisible to regular sensors and eyesight. They were here for something called the key. A talkative freighter pilot blurted something about a alien artifact somewhere belonging to a gang of pirates in this area. More information had been squeezed out of the humanoid before his spine was gruesomely removed, to the joy of the interrogator. Apparently there were three pirate bases in the area. Exact co-ordinates and details of the bases were unknown.
The Privateer shifted through the darkness, slipping into the system as far as was sensible. The fact a mere pilot knew this information meant that it was likely to be common knowledge and so others would come sniffing. Silently the formation split. The single-man fighters separating into three seven man squadrons and and engaging drives to separate points of the edges of the system. The search began.
Orbiting T'au
Diplomatic Fleet Cyan
Bridge of fleet flagship The Uturia
The Oracle lent back on his command chair, another grin appearing on his bestial face. This Maunkee leader seemed child-like, naive and over-enthusiastic. Did he even suspect that the Kirans were here with no intend to work towards an alliance or anything peaceful. No papers would be signed, or if they were they would be nullified. The Kirata didn't even need trade, except for a little extra income. All they wanted and targeted was the trade routes.
This "Greater Good" seemed to be a fairy tale, a idea of perfect harmony that is impossible to gain, and impossible to desire. Leaving Chao Lin's overly optimistic and disillusioned message The Oracle left the bridge, commanding an officer to prepare the barracks for his comming.
The Oracle stepped into the Elite's barracks. Every Kira in this room had serviced in countless battles and killed countless enemies with the utmost brutality and skill. Almost every one of them stood higher then the imposing figure of the Diplomatic envoy. They were toned and enhanced cybernetically. The ultimate warriors, and the perfect images of terror. He strode down the long chamber, Kirans standing to attention on either side. Three of these warriors caught his attention, two were foot soldiers, gigantic and perfect representations of their race. He indicated that they follow him, which they did, wordlessly. The third was a smaller Kira, from one of the clans that specialised in special operations. All three followed him from the room.
The Oracle paced down the corridor towards the hanger, dictating to his followers. "We are to make contact with a new, unknown alien race." He began. "They do not know who we are or what we look like. I chose you because you served this purpose. We shall make them tremble at our approach, be they smaller or larger then us. You shall also act as my escort, we must have them believe we are dangerous and reinforce their escort. As such an act will give a better idea of the Maunkee's capabilities." He gestured the Special Operative to walk beside him. "You however are to remain cloaked at all times and survey the area. Finding a rough idea of technologies and population. You must not give any cause for alarm. I shall forbid these peaceful beings to set foot in our transport, so it shall be a sanctuary if you are in danger of being discovered."
The group entered the hanger and The Oracle boarded the Mercury which would serve as transport. The ship was pronged and studded spines, giving the appearance of some devil-crab. An ideal imposing welcome for the Maunkee Empire.
-----
Nearby Xr'ii'ra space
Free Union Space
Unnamed Humanoid System (Class 3 Star - System AA1232)
Strike Force Terminus Etheron
Space twisted itself, some stars in the blackness warped and were displaced. Until all returned to normal. However, invisible against the stars a small strike force had emerged. Strike frock Terminus Etheron consisted of a single Spec-Ops modified Privateer named The Killith and 21 independent modified Hawks. Every ship invisible to regular sensors and eyesight. They were here for something called the key. A talkative freighter pilot blurted something about a alien artifact somewhere belonging to a gang of pirates in this area. More information had been squeezed out of the humanoid before his spine was gruesomely removed, to the joy of the interrogator. Apparently there were three pirate bases in the area. Exact co-ordinates and details of the bases were unknown.
The Privateer shifted through the darkness, slipping into the system as far as was sensible. The fact a mere pilot knew this information meant that it was likely to be common knowledge and so others would come sniffing. Silently the formation split. The single-man fighters separating into three seven man squadrons and and engaging drives to separate points of the edges of the system. The search began.
0.00 INK
Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 23-44-CF
Four militia Maunkee soldiers stood and watched as the Kirata ship landed, it was unlike any form of space vessel that the Maunkee soldiers had ever seen, and trust them when they claimed that they had seen a lot of different spaceships in their time of service.
The militia quickly fixed their armor, katana and and armed their plasma guns and rifles, unlike the average Maunkee soldier, they didn't wear a helmet however they still have the ear communicator, like every other member of the Maunkee army.
They watched as the Kirata and their Oracle leader came out of the spaceship, and they saluted and bowed slightly before these towering aliens. The Kirata, compared to the Maunkee, were like towers, broader, taller and far more muscled than any Maunkee would ever achieve. The beastly appearance of the Kirata made the militia sunk a large clump of spit, for they looked more like a barbaric race that had been given spaceships and weapons from another alien race.
How could this race possibly have unlocked the capability to leave their home planet? Yet expand and communicate with others? It was absurd, heresy for that matter. One of the militia couldn't hide his disgust and fear from these creatures, and openly frowned at the first sight of these beings.
The militia themselves didn't even look threatening compared to the Kirata. Their armor didn't cover much more than their chest, shoulders and upper parts of their arm, and they had shin guards but nothing else. If it hadn't been because the Maunkee militia had know that their plasma rifles would cut clean through the Kirata's flesh, they would had turned and run for their lives.
The militia, save for the one that was still frowning at the sight of the Kirata, all stood still and silently watched the Kirata, observing their body structure and thinking about how these species had evolved so far to have been given such powerful bodies, though they then remembered, the Maunkee had evolved far into technology through determination, so these creatures surely had done something similar, determination must have given them these powerful bodies.
The commander of the militia stepped forward and announced, "Welcome to T'au mighty ones, it is indeed a pleassure to meet you, please, go on board the transport we have brought, the one to the left for for all non-diplomatic members, and the one to the right will take the Oracle and his adviser, only one adviser, to the External Government to meet Chao Lin.
Those who will not be taken with the Oracle will be placed in a nearby hotel, where you can stay or look around, however you will have to call the reception first and then you'll be picked up by a squad of militia to help you around our beautiful city," the commander explained in the intergalactic language, where he had a slight accent of the Maunke, and then waited for the Kirata to do as they were instructed.
The city of T'au was filled with skyscrapers colored with the paint of gold, and although they were slightly outside the central of the city they could already sense how busy the life was in the massive city. Flying cars could be seen in long lines, inching their way around in the "streets" of the large buildings.
The atmosphere of T'au was surprisingly clean. As the Maunkee had long since turned their backs to getting their needed energy from fossil fuel and the likes which caused damaged to nature, they had turned to natural energy and plasma energy, it polluted significantly less, and even in a large city like this one.
One of the militia leaned over and talked to the one besides him in the local language of Maunkee, "Rather primitive, aren't they? They seem more like the types that depends on their fangs and claws to fight. A good shot to their chest will stop them for sure."
The other nodded and replied, "However, they would make great co-workers with the Shaun-Tee, just imagine the Shaun-Tee and these attacking any enemy that we may have to fight."
The militia then awaited till either the Kirata moved into the vehicles or say something to the Maunkee. There was a guide in the vehicle that went to the External Government, a female Maunkee. She wore colorful clothes, had golden jewelry and seemed to be a prettier one amongst her fellow race. She sat patiently and awaited for the Oracle and his adviser to come.
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 23-44-CF
Four militia Maunkee soldiers stood and watched as the Kirata ship landed, it was unlike any form of space vessel that the Maunkee soldiers had ever seen, and trust them when they claimed that they had seen a lot of different spaceships in their time of service.
The militia quickly fixed their armor, katana and and armed their plasma guns and rifles, unlike the average Maunkee soldier, they didn't wear a helmet however they still have the ear communicator, like every other member of the Maunkee army.
They watched as the Kirata and their Oracle leader came out of the spaceship, and they saluted and bowed slightly before these towering aliens. The Kirata, compared to the Maunkee, were like towers, broader, taller and far more muscled than any Maunkee would ever achieve. The beastly appearance of the Kirata made the militia sunk a large clump of spit, for they looked more like a barbaric race that had been given spaceships and weapons from another alien race.
How could this race possibly have unlocked the capability to leave their home planet? Yet expand and communicate with others? It was absurd, heresy for that matter. One of the militia couldn't hide his disgust and fear from these creatures, and openly frowned at the first sight of these beings.
The militia themselves didn't even look threatening compared to the Kirata. Their armor didn't cover much more than their chest, shoulders and upper parts of their arm, and they had shin guards but nothing else. If it hadn't been because the Maunkee militia had know that their plasma rifles would cut clean through the Kirata's flesh, they would had turned and run for their lives.
The militia, save for the one that was still frowning at the sight of the Kirata, all stood still and silently watched the Kirata, observing their body structure and thinking about how these species had evolved so far to have been given such powerful bodies, though they then remembered, the Maunkee had evolved far into technology through determination, so these creatures surely had done something similar, determination must have given them these powerful bodies.
The commander of the militia stepped forward and announced, "Welcome to T'au mighty ones, it is indeed a pleassure to meet you, please, go on board the transport we have brought, the one to the left for for all non-diplomatic members, and the one to the right will take the Oracle and his adviser, only one adviser, to the External Government to meet Chao Lin.
Those who will not be taken with the Oracle will be placed in a nearby hotel, where you can stay or look around, however you will have to call the reception first and then you'll be picked up by a squad of militia to help you around our beautiful city," the commander explained in the intergalactic language, where he had a slight accent of the Maunke, and then waited for the Kirata to do as they were instructed.
The city of T'au was filled with skyscrapers colored with the paint of gold, and although they were slightly outside the central of the city they could already sense how busy the life was in the massive city. Flying cars could be seen in long lines, inching their way around in the "streets" of the large buildings.
The atmosphere of T'au was surprisingly clean. As the Maunkee had long since turned their backs to getting their needed energy from fossil fuel and the likes which caused damaged to nature, they had turned to natural energy and plasma energy, it polluted significantly less, and even in a large city like this one.
One of the militia leaned over and talked to the one besides him in the local language of Maunkee, "Rather primitive, aren't they? They seem more like the types that depends on their fangs and claws to fight. A good shot to their chest will stop them for sure."
The other nodded and replied, "However, they would make great co-workers with the Shaun-Tee, just imagine the Shaun-Tee and these attacking any enemy that we may have to fight."
The militia then awaited till either the Kirata moved into the vehicles or say something to the Maunkee. There was a guide in the vehicle that went to the External Government, a female Maunkee. She wore colorful clothes, had golden jewelry and seemed to be a prettier one amongst her fellow race. She sat patiently and awaited for the Oracle and his adviser to come.
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Nearby Xr'ii'ra space
Free Union Space
Unnamed Humanoid System (Class 3 Star - System AA1232)
Strike Force Terminus Etheron
It wasn't long before Myrashka Wing reported detecting a presence dug into an obscured moon a fair way of where anyone would look. It didn't surprise that the mass of rock and dust irradiated the word "pirate" with a multitude of anti-spacecraft weaponry, defensive systems and a botched load of ships docked or floating around. This was a tough nut against any all out assault. A Privateer fleet would have a tough time breaking this treasure trove. However 7 cloaked fighters wouldn't have much of a chance. That is, if they wanted to attack the facility but it seemed to have little defenses against covert infiltration. Which was the Kirans' intentions. A encrypted transmission was burst from the lead fighter, disguised as radiation scrambling from intergalactic phenomena. The message was quickly received by The Killith decoded. And passed on to the Captain, a representative of the Stalker himself. The message read thus:
31:42 Myrmadon time.
04:22 Local time.
Approaching unknown satellite based military installation. Large amount of scrambling radio cover. Multitude of languages. Interpretation of transmissions, Intergalactic Common: Station known as Blackheart. Pirate operation theater. High defensive quotient. Offensive capability minimal; poor quality spacecraft of varying, inferior design. Approach opportunities minimal. Confirmation of further Pirate installations received. Unknown knowledge of artifact's location. Large powerful fleet approaching system, suggest caution.
All intercepted message, synopsis of facility weapon systems, critical coordinates and imagery of station attached.
Approaching station, infiltration commencing. Contact closing.
Good Hunting.
It took only moments for the information attached to the report to be streamed through to relevant operation stations. Co-ordinates to other installations were communicated to Kirashka Wing and Touraus Wing. Efficiently and quickly plans were set in motion. Wings breaking for their targets.
Near Blackheart station Myrashka Wing shifted into position, avoiding the multitude of ships drifting around. Once assembled, unnoticed. Their reaper drives activated, summoning minor rips in the fabric of space. On the far side of the moon the twins open and the ships slipped silently through. Now approaching the dark side they closed in on their prey.
-----
Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 23-44-CF
The Oracle stepped out of the Mercury. Leaving shadow behind him and exposing himself to the Maunkee. He had seen them arraying before he landed. Pitiful creatures, how they survived was unknown to him. As they saw his kind for the first time his eyes surveyed their every move. Many managed to keep their composure. However with most of them he could see the fear, hate, distrust and multitude of other feelings in their eyes and small movements. One of the ensemble couldn't control himself, openly frowning at the Kira. The Oracle's remaining eye locked on this being. He took a threating step forward, a low snarl emitting from his throat.
But he was distracted as the emissary started speaking. He nodded politely as the basics were relayed to him. By now his escorts had left the transport. Behind their towering figures Sai'Lajt crept, padding, making no noise. His stealth generator making him almost completely invisible to the average observer. If one was to watch slowed footage of him however, a slight blur in the air would be slightly noticeable. The Oracle spoke, his tone commanding and overpowering, "I thank you for such a welcome Maunkee" with this he glanced at the assembled troops. Surveying them a second time before turning back.
"However, before I set paw out of this spaceport I request that transport be isolated from crew and artificial devices" The astute Kira had noticed the multitude of drones and machines present.
"I also ask that no member of your species sets foot on this ship. And that no whispering in my presence!" His volume rose considerably as his ear twitched, picking up th hushed tones of the conversing Maunkee. He turned towards, lips pulled back to expose viscous fangs. It was obvious He was no peaceful creature. He turned back and indicated his guards head towards the transport to the hotel speaking to them in his native language
"See as much as you can, we must know all about these... inferiors." He nodded and approached the transport on the left. He himself stepped towards the ambassadorial transport, waiting for the envoy to agree to his conditions before stepping on board. 'These Maunkee shall be amusing' he pondered as he waited.
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Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area
Man of War Cruiser
The Qujoray diplomatic ship had moved very cautiously. The ship was preparing to seal off those inhabitants who hadn't acquired basic immunities. Quincy was to be lowered onto the platform without any protection. The Qujoray were not looking for war. If anything, they were testing the Maunkee's aggressions. Anything too extreme and Quincy would be pulled back into the ship as fast as possible, and war would probably commence. Perhaps not a legal one, but the investors in Quincy would certainly have something to say.
The ship received its permission to land on one of the many different landing docks. Its various tendrils receded, they were supposed to produce shields, but none had been used. The Qujoray were very foreign and hardly paranoid. The ship landed on its curled tendrils, and Quincy stepped onto the platform.
His first assignment. Joy of joys. He approached bowing and arms held out in the most unassuming manner he could. It was time to pander. He approached with the most genteel expression he could. Of course, the Maunkee didn't see the other Qujoray sending Quincy his lines from within the ship. They were not simply a blue, glowing human with bright orange eyes set behind a solid visor.
However, despite the disturbingly bright eyes and lack of lids or sockets, Quincy was an easier sell to humanoids.
"I am here to represent the Qujoray, and hope to create a conversation between the Maunkee Empire and the Confederacy of the Qujoray. I am sure a mutually beneficial agreement can be made." He said, making sure not to get too close to anyone, anything...
Qujoray Confederacy
Krups System
Air
Diplomatic Landing Area
The Qujoray were hardly aware of what the Siridar looked like. They had pictures, holograms, basic briefing material. They weren't aware they were speaking through a medium. A slender Qujoray, with an athletic form and minty green hue stepped forward. His spins and fins were a shade of blue against his mint green, faintly glowing skin.
"We deeply appreciate the interest taken by the Imperium in Qujo-Siridar relations. We are convinced many mutually beneficial agreements can be made. Duke Dawn Delphinion."
The Qujoray tendrils never ceased to move, they were constantly balancing themselves on one tendril, then two, then another two entirely. They looked like they were floating in air as though it were water. Their bright eyes looked on with fascination at the Siridar's fantastic architecture.
The drone they were talking to was hideous, charming, perhaps, in its sheer horrifying visage, but so foreign to the Qujoray that they would have to get used to this very, very different species.
"Would you like to speak here or move somewhere more comfortable?" The Qujoray asked, completely ignorant to the fact that he was talking to an unfeeling machine, however realistic.
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area
Man of War Cruiser
The Qujoray diplomatic ship had moved very cautiously. The ship was preparing to seal off those inhabitants who hadn't acquired basic immunities. Quincy was to be lowered onto the platform without any protection. The Qujoray were not looking for war. If anything, they were testing the Maunkee's aggressions. Anything too extreme and Quincy would be pulled back into the ship as fast as possible, and war would probably commence. Perhaps not a legal one, but the investors in Quincy would certainly have something to say.
The ship received its permission to land on one of the many different landing docks. Its various tendrils receded, they were supposed to produce shields, but none had been used. The Qujoray were very foreign and hardly paranoid. The ship landed on its curled tendrils, and Quincy stepped onto the platform.
His first assignment. Joy of joys. He approached bowing and arms held out in the most unassuming manner he could. It was time to pander. He approached with the most genteel expression he could. Of course, the Maunkee didn't see the other Qujoray sending Quincy his lines from within the ship. They were not simply a blue, glowing human with bright orange eyes set behind a solid visor.
However, despite the disturbingly bright eyes and lack of lids or sockets, Quincy was an easier sell to humanoids.
"I am here to represent the Qujoray, and hope to create a conversation between the Maunkee Empire and the Confederacy of the Qujoray. I am sure a mutually beneficial agreement can be made." He said, making sure not to get too close to anyone, anything...
Qujoray Confederacy
Krups System
Air
Diplomatic Landing Area
The Qujoray were hardly aware of what the Siridar looked like. They had pictures, holograms, basic briefing material. They weren't aware they were speaking through a medium. A slender Qujoray, with an athletic form and minty green hue stepped forward. His spins and fins were a shade of blue against his mint green, faintly glowing skin.
"We deeply appreciate the interest taken by the Imperium in Qujo-Siridar relations. We are convinced many mutually beneficial agreements can be made. Duke Dawn Delphinion."
The Qujoray tendrils never ceased to move, they were constantly balancing themselves on one tendril, then two, then another two entirely. They looked like they were floating in air as though it were water. Their bright eyes looked on with fascination at the Siridar's fantastic architecture.
The drone they were talking to was hideous, charming, perhaps, in its sheer horrifying visage, but so foreign to the Qujoray that they would have to get used to this very, very different species.
"Would you like to speak here or move somewhere more comfortable?" The Qujoray asked, completely ignorant to the fact that he was talking to an unfeeling machine, however realistic.
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Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 23-44-CF
The leader of the present Maunkee troops didn't respond at first. He thought over about what the large Oracle commanded and then answered, using an indifferent tone to the towering beast before him.
"I understand. No Maunkee personal, nor drone will enter your ship, however, as you must understand, it will be removed from the platform and placed in one of our Spaceship Storages, you aren't the only ones coming and going to our Capitol.
I understand your dislike for personal chat between my men, however, as you are not a member of The Greater Good, nor a significant trade ally of the Maunkee; I will not order my troops to show you anymore respect that we would to any other indifferent species that comes to this planet, for the same reason as you," the commander said, his tone was indifferent, and he portrayed no form of emotions as he told the Oracle these facts and he then pressed a few bottoms and the vehicle with the Oracle and the Guide took off.
The other transport that contained the guards of the Oracle was taken to the city, where the hotel where they would be for their staying.
As the Kira guards came to the hotel, the vehicle began to gain altitude and stopped at the 78th floor, where the window, which looked more like a mirror, opened and a surprising sight greeted them. In their room, fifteen Maunkee soldiers, proper soldiers, stood, facing the Kira, their large shoulder pads, which functioned like shields against fire, faced them, and they stood in a posture as if they were prepared to do an execution.
All the Maunkee soldiers were armed with katana swords, what seemed to be deadly plasma rifles, in their many forms and ranges, and their armor wasn't made for hiding or blending in with its environment, no far from it. Being painted dark yellow, and having the Maunkee banner painted on their large shoulder pad shield, they would stand out in any thinkable environment.
The Maunkee who seemed to be in charge of this company of soldiers stepped forward, he wore a white helmet and when he took it off, it revealed a female face! "Greetings, warriors of the Kira. I have been informed of your arrival, and I shall be here to lend you any assistance that you may require while you stay here. As the Maunkee empire government demands, you will have this room, and the other three to the left, however, if you wish to leave, there is a phone, here, which I presume you know how to use. Dial the number 0012, and you will contact my company.
You can call me if you will be in the need of any food, be it meat or vegetables, it will be ready, or if you wish to stretch your...limps in our gardens or streets. You will be under watch of the militia, and our AI cameras, so you are warned, we know where you are and what you are doing.
I must inform you, however, your time amongst our people is limited, and if I, or any of my soldiers here, feels you don't have a purpose amongst our people, we will have to bring you back here, whether you like it or not; without or with force, and if you wish to purchase anything, we have a currency system we can use to exchange your money to ours.
Any form of trouble, and you will be turned over to our laws, and you will not be given back to your nation till you have served your punishment here, at T'au.
If you are unclear about anything, contact me. The number has been written down besides the phone, so for now dear...guests, please make yourselves at home," with that said, the company of Maunkee soldiers saluted to the Kira, and then bowed slightly to their commander who then awaited any forms of words from the Kira, if they didn't speak up now she, and her soldiers, would leave the room and let the Kira enjoy their stay at the three large rooms, which they could use for the time that they stayed at T'au.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
T'au Central, nearby External Government.
The vehicle with the Oracle and the guide was flying at a significant speed while the guide talked. The Guide had mostly explained the basic history of the Maunkee Empire, how they had gone from being a war torn race to a peaceful and insightful people who now followed the belief of The Greater Good.
The Guide explained that The Greater Good was a belief that the Maunkee should unite the galaxy, and its people under a single government and thus stop all the problems that the universe faced: War, poverty, hunger, lack of understanding. The Maunkee Guide explained, with great enthusiasm, how the Maunkee Empire had used this belief to unite the many planets under its rule, using politics, economy, technology and military warfare to bring its people closer together.
The Guide talked about a specific Maunkee, whom the Maunkee people saw as the "Father of the Empire," ; Sha'O'Shi, whom she told had united the Maunkee and begun the Order of the Greater Good. Although she didn't go into great details about it, she seemed to be rather proud, and yet sad, about Sha'O'Shi's history.
The vehicle stopped outside the External Government building, which had a typical golden color to its structure and was made out of some sort of metal with many windows in it.
There was thirty meters between where the vehicle had landed and the entrance, and the space was filled with trees, streams, and five silver statues.
"Please, mighty one, take a look at these statues. They represent everything that the Maunkee Empire wishes to do to bring peace, prosperity, and love to the universe.
The first statue is a priest of The Greater Good, meaning we wish to unite all under a single belief that is logical and yet spiritual.
The second one is an engineer, meaning we wish to improve all qualities of life by improving the availability of better technology and rely less on organic power and more on mechanical power.
The third one is a politician and economist, meaning that politics are the way to unite the people, and bring equality amongst everyone, both politically and financially.
The Fourth one is a Commander, meaning even though we stand strong in the belief that we should engage in peaceful meetings to bring the many species together, we are aware that not all are as enlightened and wise as those who has seen our logic, and we are not afraid of standing our grounds against foes larger than ourselves.
The Fifteen one is a monument to Sha'O'Shi, and he is a living example of how we can combine all of these four principals together into a single being and unite otherwise hostile species together and live in harmony."
After the explanation, the guide show the Oracle to the External Government, where the guards stood ready. Unlike the militia, or any other form of soldier that the Oracle may have seen on the trip, these guards wore much more traditional clothes, their armor was of wood and leather, and they were armed with katanas instead of plasma rifles.
One of the guards stepped out in front of the Oracle, "Please, this is a holy place, a place where the Principal of Politics is being practiced. No weapons are allowed in this area, and we have been informed of your...physical conditions and has prepared the cleaning drones, please place all weapons, projectile and melee, here on the table, they will be given back to you when you leave this place," the guard informed and observed the Oracle with some interest and disgust.
"Chao Lin will await you inside the External Government and lead you to to meeting, please excuse me, I have another duty elsewhere, mighty one," the Guide explained, bowed and then left.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 04-22-9F
As Quincy showed himself, four militia guards saluted and bowed slightly, "Welcome to planet T'au, we will supply you with transport to the External Government where you will be placed in a conference room, however, if you need to rest from your long trip, we are prepared to offer you a place which to stay until you have recovered and adapted to the time difference here on Planet T'au," the leader of the militia stated and the awaited for a reply.
The Maunkee looked with interest at Quincy, he seemed somewhat like the humanoid 'humans' that they had as allies on one of their planets, however there was something different about him, especially his skin color and eyes. They had read and physically seen strange beings in the universe, yet it seemed that the dark universe was still full of surprises for them.
"Sir, are you ready to depart for the External Government or are you in need of time to recover?" the Maunkee militia leader asked.
The borders of "The Kingdom of Draok"
Walhalla System
Low Orbital
The Drop Pod landed on the Space Station Landing Area, and the representatives were then taken to the Baron's mansion where they would discuss the political matter.
"Sir, with all respect, I need to point out that before any agreements are made with the Maunkee Empire, we need you, and your people to turn to a slightly more democratic government. The Maunkee Empire believes that the people shouldn't be suffering under a dictator, and I do not wish to come back and tell the Council that I have made a deal with a dictatorship, for all we will get out of it is an embargo," the political representative stated, however the Baron wasn't pleased.
"Our government is ruled as it is, you have no business coming and telling us how to rule it, and that is final. If you do not wish to enter a diplomatic relationship with us if we have a monarchy as a government, then fine, there will be no point having this meeting," the Baron stated.
"Very well. May the Greater Good be with you," the political representative said and then, all the representatives left the room and traveled back to their Drop Pod and returned to their spaceship and went straight home to their home system.
A message was send to the Park'tau System, about the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom and how it was ruled by a dictatorship and not any form of democratic government. The Arch-Commander, Joice San-su, replied to this message by sending 5 Achilles towards this system with the sole intention of liberating the system from all forms of dictatorship.
These 5 Achilles were then supported by 15 The Light Bringers, a combined force of 25 Maunkee Sword and Fist of Maunkee, and with a strong contact with this fleet, there would be another ready as reinforcements if they should fail to use the given plans for the invasion of the system.
The borders of "The Kingdom of Draok"
Walhalla System
High Orbital
Planet Njörd, Freya, & Heimdall
The Maunkee Space Navy broke out of hyperspace and jumped straight into action. Orbital pictures were taken, Drop Pods were send down into the Planets' atmosphere, and began to attack strategical important locations and destroyed all form of enemy war vehicles and supplies, all military personal was taken as POWs and placed in POW camps where they were watched by a small amount of Maunkee soldiers.
The Maunkee used their superior technology to quickly move through the territory, attacking military points only, and quickly replacing local leaders with their own and plans were already being made for how the government and society should be changed to adapt for the new rulers.
Planet Freya, there was a bit more resistance, as the sheer population refused to accept these new rulers, and thus the Commander of the invasion declared the people for Semi-Hopeless, and the soldiers and robots began to open fire at any hostile mobs of people that tried to resist the will of the Maunkee Empire and The Greater Good.
The The Light Bringers proved to be an unstoppable weapon against the locals, both the mobs and the military, as it simply used its plasma canons to blast away the mobs of people and laid waste to all military bases. The sheer presence of these mighty space vessels brought fear to the locals and they ran whenever it appeared, knowing well that if they didn't, they would soon be scattered in a hundred different pieces.
The Maunkee army continued its advance further into the Walhalla System, fighting ferociously with the Space Navy of the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom, as the two forces clashed, however it was again thanks to the preparedness and the sheer advancement of the Maunkee empire that caused it to be such a close victory.
Those who had died during the invasion and space battles were mourned for and then the invasion carried on.
The Maunkee continued to send signals to the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom that it should surrender to the Maunkee Empire, however they never received a satisfying answer, and thus they continued to press on.
The Maunkee was now in control of two of the agricultural worlds, which would prove both useful for the Maunkee army and a powerful blow for the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom, as they would face food shortages and possibly even starvation.
The next planet to fall was Loki, as the Maunkee did its best to track the miners down and bring them into custody. The Maunkee Commander still believed that there was need for a few extra soldiers to keep order amongst the miners as they didn't have any form information about the mines and thus needed to be able to hold the most significant locations under Maunkee control till the invasion was over.
With the Walhalla System being under the control of the Maunkee Empire, the invasion force moved on to its next destination, the Cerberus System, which the Commander knew they would have to fight a lot harder for.
Industrial worlds were, by the commander's experience, one of the most well defended worlds of them all, and thus they would need to bring in heavy artillery for taking the cities and fighting the ground armies, and by now, the Draok-Kingdom knew well of their actions and would likely retaliate against the Maunkee
Planet T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 23-44-CF
The leader of the present Maunkee troops didn't respond at first. He thought over about what the large Oracle commanded and then answered, using an indifferent tone to the towering beast before him.
"I understand. No Maunkee personal, nor drone will enter your ship, however, as you must understand, it will be removed from the platform and placed in one of our Spaceship Storages, you aren't the only ones coming and going to our Capitol.
I understand your dislike for personal chat between my men, however, as you are not a member of The Greater Good, nor a significant trade ally of the Maunkee; I will not order my troops to show you anymore respect that we would to any other indifferent species that comes to this planet, for the same reason as you," the commander said, his tone was indifferent, and he portrayed no form of emotions as he told the Oracle these facts and he then pressed a few bottoms and the vehicle with the Oracle and the Guide took off.
The other transport that contained the guards of the Oracle was taken to the city, where the hotel where they would be for their staying.
As the Kira guards came to the hotel, the vehicle began to gain altitude and stopped at the 78th floor, where the window, which looked more like a mirror, opened and a surprising sight greeted them. In their room, fifteen Maunkee soldiers, proper soldiers, stood, facing the Kira, their large shoulder pads, which functioned like shields against fire, faced them, and they stood in a posture as if they were prepared to do an execution.
All the Maunkee soldiers were armed with katana swords, what seemed to be deadly plasma rifles, in their many forms and ranges, and their armor wasn't made for hiding or blending in with its environment, no far from it. Being painted dark yellow, and having the Maunkee banner painted on their large shoulder pad shield, they would stand out in any thinkable environment.
The Maunkee who seemed to be in charge of this company of soldiers stepped forward, he wore a white helmet and when he took it off, it revealed a female face! "Greetings, warriors of the Kira. I have been informed of your arrival, and I shall be here to lend you any assistance that you may require while you stay here. As the Maunkee empire government demands, you will have this room, and the other three to the left, however, if you wish to leave, there is a phone, here, which I presume you know how to use. Dial the number 0012, and you will contact my company.
You can call me if you will be in the need of any food, be it meat or vegetables, it will be ready, or if you wish to stretch your...limps in our gardens or streets. You will be under watch of the militia, and our AI cameras, so you are warned, we know where you are and what you are doing.
I must inform you, however, your time amongst our people is limited, and if I, or any of my soldiers here, feels you don't have a purpose amongst our people, we will have to bring you back here, whether you like it or not; without or with force, and if you wish to purchase anything, we have a currency system we can use to exchange your money to ours.
Any form of trouble, and you will be turned over to our laws, and you will not be given back to your nation till you have served your punishment here, at T'au.
If you are unclear about anything, contact me. The number has been written down besides the phone, so for now dear...guests, please make yourselves at home," with that said, the company of Maunkee soldiers saluted to the Kira, and then bowed slightly to their commander who then awaited any forms of words from the Kira, if they didn't speak up now she, and her soldiers, would leave the room and let the Kira enjoy their stay at the three large rooms, which they could use for the time that they stayed at T'au.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
T'au Central, nearby External Government.
The vehicle with the Oracle and the guide was flying at a significant speed while the guide talked. The Guide had mostly explained the basic history of the Maunkee Empire, how they had gone from being a war torn race to a peaceful and insightful people who now followed the belief of The Greater Good.
The Guide explained that The Greater Good was a belief that the Maunkee should unite the galaxy, and its people under a single government and thus stop all the problems that the universe faced: War, poverty, hunger, lack of understanding. The Maunkee Guide explained, with great enthusiasm, how the Maunkee Empire had used this belief to unite the many planets under its rule, using politics, economy, technology and military warfare to bring its people closer together.
The Guide talked about a specific Maunkee, whom the Maunkee people saw as the "Father of the Empire," ; Sha'O'Shi, whom she told had united the Maunkee and begun the Order of the Greater Good. Although she didn't go into great details about it, she seemed to be rather proud, and yet sad, about Sha'O'Shi's history.
The vehicle stopped outside the External Government building, which had a typical golden color to its structure and was made out of some sort of metal with many windows in it.
There was thirty meters between where the vehicle had landed and the entrance, and the space was filled with trees, streams, and five silver statues.
"Please, mighty one, take a look at these statues. They represent everything that the Maunkee Empire wishes to do to bring peace, prosperity, and love to the universe.
The first statue is a priest of The Greater Good, meaning we wish to unite all under a single belief that is logical and yet spiritual.
The second one is an engineer, meaning we wish to improve all qualities of life by improving the availability of better technology and rely less on organic power and more on mechanical power.
The third one is a politician and economist, meaning that politics are the way to unite the people, and bring equality amongst everyone, both politically and financially.
The Fourth one is a Commander, meaning even though we stand strong in the belief that we should engage in peaceful meetings to bring the many species together, we are aware that not all are as enlightened and wise as those who has seen our logic, and we are not afraid of standing our grounds against foes larger than ourselves.
The Fifteen one is a monument to Sha'O'Shi, and he is a living example of how we can combine all of these four principals together into a single being and unite otherwise hostile species together and live in harmony."
After the explanation, the guide show the Oracle to the External Government, where the guards stood ready. Unlike the militia, or any other form of soldier that the Oracle may have seen on the trip, these guards wore much more traditional clothes, their armor was of wood and leather, and they were armed with katanas instead of plasma rifles.
One of the guards stepped out in front of the Oracle, "Please, this is a holy place, a place where the Principal of Politics is being practiced. No weapons are allowed in this area, and we have been informed of your...physical conditions and has prepared the cleaning drones, please place all weapons, projectile and melee, here on the table, they will be given back to you when you leave this place," the guard informed and observed the Oracle with some interest and disgust.
"Chao Lin will await you inside the External Government and lead you to to meeting, please excuse me, I have another duty elsewhere, mighty one," the Guide explained, bowed and then left.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 04-22-9F
As Quincy showed himself, four militia guards saluted and bowed slightly, "Welcome to planet T'au, we will supply you with transport to the External Government where you will be placed in a conference room, however, if you need to rest from your long trip, we are prepared to offer you a place which to stay until you have recovered and adapted to the time difference here on Planet T'au," the leader of the militia stated and the awaited for a reply.
The Maunkee looked with interest at Quincy, he seemed somewhat like the humanoid 'humans' that they had as allies on one of their planets, however there was something different about him, especially his skin color and eyes. They had read and physically seen strange beings in the universe, yet it seemed that the dark universe was still full of surprises for them.
"Sir, are you ready to depart for the External Government or are you in need of time to recover?" the Maunkee militia leader asked.
The borders of "The Kingdom of Draok"
Walhalla System
Low Orbital
The Drop Pod landed on the Space Station Landing Area, and the representatives were then taken to the Baron's mansion where they would discuss the political matter.
"Sir, with all respect, I need to point out that before any agreements are made with the Maunkee Empire, we need you, and your people to turn to a slightly more democratic government. The Maunkee Empire believes that the people shouldn't be suffering under a dictator, and I do not wish to come back and tell the Council that I have made a deal with a dictatorship, for all we will get out of it is an embargo," the political representative stated, however the Baron wasn't pleased.
"Our government is ruled as it is, you have no business coming and telling us how to rule it, and that is final. If you do not wish to enter a diplomatic relationship with us if we have a monarchy as a government, then fine, there will be no point having this meeting," the Baron stated.
"Very well. May the Greater Good be with you," the political representative said and then, all the representatives left the room and traveled back to their Drop Pod and returned to their spaceship and went straight home to their home system.
A message was send to the Park'tau System, about the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom and how it was ruled by a dictatorship and not any form of democratic government. The Arch-Commander, Joice San-su, replied to this message by sending 5 Achilles towards this system with the sole intention of liberating the system from all forms of dictatorship.
These 5 Achilles were then supported by 15 The Light Bringers, a combined force of 25 Maunkee Sword and Fist of Maunkee, and with a strong contact with this fleet, there would be another ready as reinforcements if they should fail to use the given plans for the invasion of the system.
The borders of "The Kingdom of Draok"
Walhalla System
High Orbital
Planet Njörd, Freya, & Heimdall
The Maunkee Space Navy broke out of hyperspace and jumped straight into action. Orbital pictures were taken, Drop Pods were send down into the Planets' atmosphere, and began to attack strategical important locations and destroyed all form of enemy war vehicles and supplies, all military personal was taken as POWs and placed in POW camps where they were watched by a small amount of Maunkee soldiers.
The Maunkee used their superior technology to quickly move through the territory, attacking military points only, and quickly replacing local leaders with their own and plans were already being made for how the government and society should be changed to adapt for the new rulers.
Planet Freya, there was a bit more resistance, as the sheer population refused to accept these new rulers, and thus the Commander of the invasion declared the people for Semi-Hopeless, and the soldiers and robots began to open fire at any hostile mobs of people that tried to resist the will of the Maunkee Empire and The Greater Good.
The The Light Bringers proved to be an unstoppable weapon against the locals, both the mobs and the military, as it simply used its plasma canons to blast away the mobs of people and laid waste to all military bases. The sheer presence of these mighty space vessels brought fear to the locals and they ran whenever it appeared, knowing well that if they didn't, they would soon be scattered in a hundred different pieces.
The Maunkee army continued its advance further into the Walhalla System, fighting ferociously with the Space Navy of the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom, as the two forces clashed, however it was again thanks to the preparedness and the sheer advancement of the Maunkee empire that caused it to be such a close victory.
Those who had died during the invasion and space battles were mourned for and then the invasion carried on.
The Maunkee continued to send signals to the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom that it should surrender to the Maunkee Empire, however they never received a satisfying answer, and thus they continued to press on.
The Maunkee was now in control of two of the agricultural worlds, which would prove both useful for the Maunkee army and a powerful blow for the Interstellar Draok-Kingdom, as they would face food shortages and possibly even starvation.
The next planet to fall was Loki, as the Maunkee did its best to track the miners down and bring them into custody. The Maunkee Commander still believed that there was need for a few extra soldiers to keep order amongst the miners as they didn't have any form information about the mines and thus needed to be able to hold the most significant locations under Maunkee control till the invasion was over.
With the Walhalla System being under the control of the Maunkee Empire, the invasion force moved on to its next destination, the Cerberus System, which the Commander knew they would have to fight a lot harder for.
Industrial worlds were, by the commander's experience, one of the most well defended worlds of them all, and thus they would need to bring in heavy artillery for taking the cities and fighting the ground armies, and by now, the Draok-Kingdom knew well of their actions and would likely retaliate against the Maunkee
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Dawn winced at the mangling of his title. “It’s Your Grace, or Duke Calraiso,” he murmured softly.
“But come! Let us not debate semantics, especially with more profitable things to be discussed – preferably somewhere that is comfortable to the both of our races, sir. Do you have such a facility available? If so, I would suggest we progress to there with all seemly speed and commence our negotiations.”
Dawn’s eyes were sparkling at the thought; all those trade contracts, supply routes, business permits, transport tariffs and lots of lovely lucre for the Imperium and her merchantier princes, the exotic goods for the wealthy classes and perhaps even xeno slaves for the fleshpots of House Lily and dark Regale.
The Interstellar Kingdom of Draok,
Corak System
SINS Rubicon Noir
“Sir Elphin?” came the tentative voice of a tech while the cruiser drifted aimlessly in-system, still beaming out its messages.
“Hmm?”
“We’re receiving conflicting signals from the Corak planets, sir. There seems to have been some sort of disaster, or some sort of coup – there are thousands dead, and these people are without leadership. Their space forces – such as they are – are apparently engaged elsewhere. We aren’t going to be able to treat with whatever power once existed here; they’ve collapsed in on themselves.”
Elphin half-jerked out of his chair, his wings rising from their usual lazy beat to a far more frenzied whirl. He rapidly regained his composure, however. “Priority Rainbow message to Faerin and the Imperial Admiralty!” he snapped. “Copy to all House Navies too.”
Elphin wing-Hellebore took a deep breath. “This is Sir Elphin wing-Hellebore, Count of the Starward Reaches and Captain-Diplomat aboard the Rubicon Noir. The power we were sent to investigate, the Interstellar Kingdom of Draok, has collapsed in upon itself due to some unknown force and we are unable to treat in any coherent way with their former territories. Please advise at once.”
Elphin collapsed back with a sigh as the quantum pair arrays shifted and changed, transmitting his message across the light-years to the plush Admiralty and glittering Faerin.
“Now what?” asked one of his aides.
“Now, we wait.”
They did not have to wait long – the news had obviously sent Faerin and the Great Houses into convulsions and galvanised the Parliament into action. Perhaps even an Exigent Gathering had been called on short notice.
Whatever the reason, the communications nets of the Imperium had burned with message and counter-message, with the result that was now unfolding before Elphin’s eyes.
Space tore in front of the Rubicon cruiser, disgorging mile upon mile of glittering metal.
Sleek and organically beautiful, one of the Siridar Fleets shot into normalspace before the solitary Rubicon vessel; the flagship a gargantuan dreadnaught emblazoned with the royal purple crest of House Violet.
“What ho!” came the cheery call over the comms nets. “SINS Rigoletto here, and the Seventh Fleet dancing attendance. Admiral Sir Refinia Violet in command. Elphin wing-Hellebore, isn’t it?”
Elphin smiled. “Yes indeed, sir. Good to serve with you again – even if it is in a decidedly civilian capacity.”
“You still have your subsidiary defence escort, don’t you? Then you have a fully-functional double maniple of heavy cruisers, dar! Do take a shuttle over to the Rigoletto, Elphin! We’ll have a strategy meeting and bring you up to fighting speed.”
Interstellar Draok-Kingdom
Corak System
SINS Rigoletto
Sir Refinia Violet, the esteemed Emperor’s cousin and Admiral of the Seventh Fleet met Elphin’s shuttle on the docking bay, with a broad smile. The two had served together many a time as Knights of the Imperium, and were old friends.
“What ho, Elphin! This way, I’ve had the staff lay on raku and cake. We’ve just resupplied at Gigantine, so we’ve got something to rival the spreads the Diplomatic Service can lay on, at the moment, anyway.”
The distinguished Elphin and the energetic, slightly manic Refinia Violet bowed, the white and purple of their wings almost meeting, and then the two of them vaulted effortlessly into the air, a natural and hypnotic dance of wing and body as they spiralled out of the docking bay and into the myriad passages of the vast dreadnaught.
Staff leapt aside and braced at attention as the two of them progressed down the halls and shafts of the vessel.
“So tell me, why did the Admiralty send a dreadnaught, Refinia?” asked Elphin curiously as double doors were thrown wide by ratings and he was led into a dark and well-appointed ready room. An Iribian hardwood table, covered in a snowy tablecloth embroidered with House Violet’s crest, groaned under the weight of silver cake stands and raku pots that steamed faintly, filling the air with their rich scent. “I expected a few cruisers or an order to return Home, not the entire Seventh Fleet!”
Refinia sat down and poured a large, fortifying cup of raku before he answered, sighing into the piping hot beverage. “Landgrab,” he answered bluntly. “We had the Imperial Eyes looking into the Kingdom for a while, standard practice as you well know, and they could have been very lucrative trading partners, and potential allies, too – they had a similar system of government, see. Now they’re gone, the Great Houses and the Admiralty have drafted a fifteen-point plan for the integration of the Kingdom as a principality of the greater Siridar Imperium. There is important technology down there, too, which we – House Violet, that is,” he admitted with an embarrassed grin, his fingers twitching “-are naturally champing at the bit to get our hands on. Aurelius Foxglove is slavering at the thought of a completely new market, and all those minerals just there for the taking, too. Lord Lily – I’ll leave it to your imagination to think of what he wants out of this. Lady Delphinion supports House Violet, of course, no surprises there, and Orion Rose is very interested in the new crops they must have. Serelle Holly just wants something to smash, really. Five of seven, and the imperial vote, too. The Parliament voted to integrate the Kingdom into the Imperium as a principality, by all means necessary, too. We have authorization to civilise with extreme prejudice, should it become necessary. It won’t of course.”
Elphin paled. “I should hope not!” he said fiercely. The obliteration of a stellar system was not something he particularly wanted to consider.
“It’s not just one dreadnaught, either. We have the Sorceress and the Enchantress on standby in warp space, if we need them. Now, let’s get down to planning, eh? We know that Corak I is the capital planet with the greatest population and the most defences, along with Corak III a close second. Now...”
Several hours later, the Siridar Fleet moved. Powerful transmitters beamed out a message from Sir Refinia Violet, formally requesting the peaceful surrender and assimilation of the Corak System and its former power into the Imperium as a royal principality. He ended on the note that resistance would be met with punitive civilisation, and that at any point the Imperium would be willing to talk terms.
“Any response?” the Admiral asked languidly from his thronelike chair, sipping at his raku cup. “How is the other task force faring?”
The other task force was the Sorceress and a half of the Seventh Fleet, sent to secure the nearby Oni system in the name of the Imperium.
“They’ve encountered picket resistance only. Sorceress anticipates system lockdown and civilisation to have been completed in fifteen hours, with minimal casualties all round.”
“Excellent. And responses from our end?”
“Nothing coherent. There seems to be fighting around the space-capable communications stations.”
Refinia sighed. “Xenos,” he said tiredly. “They really can’t be trusted with space, can they? All right, they’ve had enough time to finish this peacefully, wouldn’t you say, Elphin? All ships, prepare to civilise! I want scanner ships on Corak I pinning any orbital defences and surface-to-space sites before we’re anywhere near in range, understood? Jolly d.”
The imposing Seventh Fleet of the Siridar Imperium advanced into the Corak system, contemptuously sweeping aside the confused picket forces and any planetary defences under a hell of chaos-gravity and plasma shot, and shortly Elphin and Refinia found themselves looking down on Corak I.
“In position for orbital bombardment,” reported one of the crew.
“Thank you, Lady Holly,” replied Refinia. “But I do wish you’d use the correct term. It’s civilising, Lady Holly, civilising. We don’t do this for fun, you know.” He sighed as she carefully said nothing. “Target military installations, kinetic harpoons and singularity bombs, full volley.”
“Kinetic harpoons and singularity bombs only, full volley aye! Volley firing...” there was no perceptible recoil – the dreadnaught was enormous and the planetary batteries were on the very bottom decks – but hundreds of kinetic harpoons had been hurled down onto the planet, each one with the power of a multi-megaton fusion missile in sheer kinetic energy, along with singularity bombs for those tougher bunkers and base complexes.
Other vessels were civilising the secondary planets in the Corak system, with kinetic harpoons, plasma bolts, singularity bombs, Red Seconds and other plagues, any means necessary, and seeing the casual ruthlessness of the Siridar – the population of the research world of Corak IV was wiped out to the last Lerian by a volley of Red Seconds plague-rockets – the channels were quickly clamouring a surrender.
The Seventh Fleet would remain in the claimed systems for some time, overseeing their fortification and integration. Already, Siridar bureaucrats, diplomats and PR officers were launching from the Imperium to take over management of the new territories and smooth over relations.
Orbital command complexes, modular and functional, were already deployed to serve as temporary capitals for the incoming civilians and serving as rudimentary SD Commands, in accordance with the doctrine of Astra dominus.
A little longer, with the shipments of materiel increasing all the time, and Refinia could congratulate himself on a job well done.
“But come! Let us not debate semantics, especially with more profitable things to be discussed – preferably somewhere that is comfortable to the both of our races, sir. Do you have such a facility available? If so, I would suggest we progress to there with all seemly speed and commence our negotiations.”
Dawn’s eyes were sparkling at the thought; all those trade contracts, supply routes, business permits, transport tariffs and lots of lovely lucre for the Imperium and her merchantier princes, the exotic goods for the wealthy classes and perhaps even xeno slaves for the fleshpots of House Lily and dark Regale.
The Interstellar Kingdom of Draok,
Corak System
SINS Rubicon Noir
“Sir Elphin?” came the tentative voice of a tech while the cruiser drifted aimlessly in-system, still beaming out its messages.
“Hmm?”
“We’re receiving conflicting signals from the Corak planets, sir. There seems to have been some sort of disaster, or some sort of coup – there are thousands dead, and these people are without leadership. Their space forces – such as they are – are apparently engaged elsewhere. We aren’t going to be able to treat with whatever power once existed here; they’ve collapsed in on themselves.”
Elphin half-jerked out of his chair, his wings rising from their usual lazy beat to a far more frenzied whirl. He rapidly regained his composure, however. “Priority Rainbow message to Faerin and the Imperial Admiralty!” he snapped. “Copy to all House Navies too.”
Elphin wing-Hellebore took a deep breath. “This is Sir Elphin wing-Hellebore, Count of the Starward Reaches and Captain-Diplomat aboard the Rubicon Noir. The power we were sent to investigate, the Interstellar Kingdom of Draok, has collapsed in upon itself due to some unknown force and we are unable to treat in any coherent way with their former territories. Please advise at once.”
Elphin collapsed back with a sigh as the quantum pair arrays shifted and changed, transmitting his message across the light-years to the plush Admiralty and glittering Faerin.
“Now what?” asked one of his aides.
“Now, we wait.”
They did not have to wait long – the news had obviously sent Faerin and the Great Houses into convulsions and galvanised the Parliament into action. Perhaps even an Exigent Gathering had been called on short notice.
Whatever the reason, the communications nets of the Imperium had burned with message and counter-message, with the result that was now unfolding before Elphin’s eyes.
Space tore in front of the Rubicon cruiser, disgorging mile upon mile of glittering metal.
Sleek and organically beautiful, one of the Siridar Fleets shot into normalspace before the solitary Rubicon vessel; the flagship a gargantuan dreadnaught emblazoned with the royal purple crest of House Violet.
“What ho!” came the cheery call over the comms nets. “SINS Rigoletto here, and the Seventh Fleet dancing attendance. Admiral Sir Refinia Violet in command. Elphin wing-Hellebore, isn’t it?”
Elphin smiled. “Yes indeed, sir. Good to serve with you again – even if it is in a decidedly civilian capacity.”
“You still have your subsidiary defence escort, don’t you? Then you have a fully-functional double maniple of heavy cruisers, dar! Do take a shuttle over to the Rigoletto, Elphin! We’ll have a strategy meeting and bring you up to fighting speed.”
Interstellar Draok-Kingdom
Corak System
SINS Rigoletto
Sir Refinia Violet, the esteemed Emperor’s cousin and Admiral of the Seventh Fleet met Elphin’s shuttle on the docking bay, with a broad smile. The two had served together many a time as Knights of the Imperium, and were old friends.
“What ho, Elphin! This way, I’ve had the staff lay on raku and cake. We’ve just resupplied at Gigantine, so we’ve got something to rival the spreads the Diplomatic Service can lay on, at the moment, anyway.”
The distinguished Elphin and the energetic, slightly manic Refinia Violet bowed, the white and purple of their wings almost meeting, and then the two of them vaulted effortlessly into the air, a natural and hypnotic dance of wing and body as they spiralled out of the docking bay and into the myriad passages of the vast dreadnaught.
Staff leapt aside and braced at attention as the two of them progressed down the halls and shafts of the vessel.
“So tell me, why did the Admiralty send a dreadnaught, Refinia?” asked Elphin curiously as double doors were thrown wide by ratings and he was led into a dark and well-appointed ready room. An Iribian hardwood table, covered in a snowy tablecloth embroidered with House Violet’s crest, groaned under the weight of silver cake stands and raku pots that steamed faintly, filling the air with their rich scent. “I expected a few cruisers or an order to return Home, not the entire Seventh Fleet!”
Refinia sat down and poured a large, fortifying cup of raku before he answered, sighing into the piping hot beverage. “Landgrab,” he answered bluntly. “We had the Imperial Eyes looking into the Kingdom for a while, standard practice as you well know, and they could have been very lucrative trading partners, and potential allies, too – they had a similar system of government, see. Now they’re gone, the Great Houses and the Admiralty have drafted a fifteen-point plan for the integration of the Kingdom as a principality of the greater Siridar Imperium. There is important technology down there, too, which we – House Violet, that is,” he admitted with an embarrassed grin, his fingers twitching “-are naturally champing at the bit to get our hands on. Aurelius Foxglove is slavering at the thought of a completely new market, and all those minerals just there for the taking, too. Lord Lily – I’ll leave it to your imagination to think of what he wants out of this. Lady Delphinion supports House Violet, of course, no surprises there, and Orion Rose is very interested in the new crops they must have. Serelle Holly just wants something to smash, really. Five of seven, and the imperial vote, too. The Parliament voted to integrate the Kingdom into the Imperium as a principality, by all means necessary, too. We have authorization to civilise with extreme prejudice, should it become necessary. It won’t of course.”
Elphin paled. “I should hope not!” he said fiercely. The obliteration of a stellar system was not something he particularly wanted to consider.
“It’s not just one dreadnaught, either. We have the Sorceress and the Enchantress on standby in warp space, if we need them. Now, let’s get down to planning, eh? We know that Corak I is the capital planet with the greatest population and the most defences, along with Corak III a close second. Now...”
Several hours later, the Siridar Fleet moved. Powerful transmitters beamed out a message from Sir Refinia Violet, formally requesting the peaceful surrender and assimilation of the Corak System and its former power into the Imperium as a royal principality. He ended on the note that resistance would be met with punitive civilisation, and that at any point the Imperium would be willing to talk terms.
“Any response?” the Admiral asked languidly from his thronelike chair, sipping at his raku cup. “How is the other task force faring?”
The other task force was the Sorceress and a half of the Seventh Fleet, sent to secure the nearby Oni system in the name of the Imperium.
“They’ve encountered picket resistance only. Sorceress anticipates system lockdown and civilisation to have been completed in fifteen hours, with minimal casualties all round.”
“Excellent. And responses from our end?”
“Nothing coherent. There seems to be fighting around the space-capable communications stations.”
Refinia sighed. “Xenos,” he said tiredly. “They really can’t be trusted with space, can they? All right, they’ve had enough time to finish this peacefully, wouldn’t you say, Elphin? All ships, prepare to civilise! I want scanner ships on Corak I pinning any orbital defences and surface-to-space sites before we’re anywhere near in range, understood? Jolly d.”
The imposing Seventh Fleet of the Siridar Imperium advanced into the Corak system, contemptuously sweeping aside the confused picket forces and any planetary defences under a hell of chaos-gravity and plasma shot, and shortly Elphin and Refinia found themselves looking down on Corak I.
“In position for orbital bombardment,” reported one of the crew.
“Thank you, Lady Holly,” replied Refinia. “But I do wish you’d use the correct term. It’s civilising, Lady Holly, civilising. We don’t do this for fun, you know.” He sighed as she carefully said nothing. “Target military installations, kinetic harpoons and singularity bombs, full volley.”
“Kinetic harpoons and singularity bombs only, full volley aye! Volley firing...” there was no perceptible recoil – the dreadnaught was enormous and the planetary batteries were on the very bottom decks – but hundreds of kinetic harpoons had been hurled down onto the planet, each one with the power of a multi-megaton fusion missile in sheer kinetic energy, along with singularity bombs for those tougher bunkers and base complexes.
Other vessels were civilising the secondary planets in the Corak system, with kinetic harpoons, plasma bolts, singularity bombs, Red Seconds and other plagues, any means necessary, and seeing the casual ruthlessness of the Siridar – the population of the research world of Corak IV was wiped out to the last Lerian by a volley of Red Seconds plague-rockets – the channels were quickly clamouring a surrender.
The Seventh Fleet would remain in the claimed systems for some time, overseeing their fortification and integration. Already, Siridar bureaucrats, diplomats and PR officers were launching from the Imperium to take over management of the new territories and smooth over relations.
Orbital command complexes, modular and functional, were already deployed to serve as temporary capitals for the incoming civilians and serving as rudimentary SD Commands, in accordance with the doctrine of Astra dominus.
A little longer, with the shipments of materiel increasing all the time, and Refinia could congratulate himself on a job well done.
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Qujoray Confederacy
Krups System
Air
Diplomatic Landing Area
"Your grace?" Oh Sweet Motherfish of Kektnu Above, the Qujoray were dealing with an Aristocrat. They hid their guile well, and bowed as lowly as they could. Lords and Serfs made a mockery of everything they had ever believed.
But dammit all this one was too valuable a customer.
"There is an open negotiation area above the menagerie." A Qujoray girl said. Her webbed tendrils in shades of turquoise and mint made it look like she was wearing a many layered, flitting gown, and her breasts were covered by a sash hanging from her crystal gill-brace. The idea of clothing was obviously new to her.
The Qujoray led their client to a platform hovering above a small ecosystem. The Qujoray usually built homes around Menageries, which housed household pets and dinner, along with the vegetables, fruits, and spices to cook them in. The platform was settled under a massively high billowing-tent dome, whose arches and massive height gave a feeling of being just barely inside. The great crystal dome around the Menagerie was letting in a kaleidoscope of light, ad the land below was bursting with greens and bright colorful flowers, as well as whole sections cut off containing coral and massive, terrifying fish.
The hologram generator in the center would act as the centerpiece for the discussion. The Qujoray had never used chairs, they simply sat on their woven tendrils. Knowing nothing of their client, a giant throne of a chair was left to be used at his discretion.
"Your grace, please present your intentions." The Qujoray girl said, before stepping away, the Qujoray were so low to the ground, their tendrils billowing around them, they looked like slaves bowing to a master.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 04-22-9F
"I am reader to depart. I need no rest." Quincy had no knowledge of "sir." Marks of status were ghastly to the Qujoray, and one was expected to speak to everyone as though they were equals, there was never anything inherently better than another in the Qujoray mindset, everything had three parts, three parts to any argument, and never was one thing better than another. Learning the word "better" had proven very difficult for Quincy, as he was usually used to complimenting three contrasting virtues of any person or situation, as was taught to educated Qujoray. Already he felt uncomfortable.
The Maunkee weren't ugly, persay. They were shorter than the long, slender Qujoray, though of course Quincy feigned a proportional body. They were, however, concise in their speaking, a trait loved by all Qujoray, and not possessed by Quincy.
Quincy made sure to follow, he was still skeptical of his immunity processor and knew that he would never be allowed on his home planet again, but such was the price for another economic line cast. He obeyed the Maunkee with a soldierly visage.
Krups System
Air
Diplomatic Landing Area
"Your grace?" Oh Sweet Motherfish of Kektnu Above, the Qujoray were dealing with an Aristocrat. They hid their guile well, and bowed as lowly as they could. Lords and Serfs made a mockery of everything they had ever believed.
But dammit all this one was too valuable a customer.
"There is an open negotiation area above the menagerie." A Qujoray girl said. Her webbed tendrils in shades of turquoise and mint made it look like she was wearing a many layered, flitting gown, and her breasts were covered by a sash hanging from her crystal gill-brace. The idea of clothing was obviously new to her.
The Qujoray led their client to a platform hovering above a small ecosystem. The Qujoray usually built homes around Menageries, which housed household pets and dinner, along with the vegetables, fruits, and spices to cook them in. The platform was settled under a massively high billowing-tent dome, whose arches and massive height gave a feeling of being just barely inside. The great crystal dome around the Menagerie was letting in a kaleidoscope of light, ad the land below was bursting with greens and bright colorful flowers, as well as whole sections cut off containing coral and massive, terrifying fish.
The hologram generator in the center would act as the centerpiece for the discussion. The Qujoray had never used chairs, they simply sat on their woven tendrils. Knowing nothing of their client, a giant throne of a chair was left to be used at his discretion.
"Your grace, please present your intentions." The Qujoray girl said, before stepping away, the Qujoray were so low to the ground, their tendrils billowing around them, they looked like slaves bowing to a master.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Orbiting T'au
T'au Space Station Landing Area.
Platform 04-22-9F
"I am reader to depart. I need no rest." Quincy had no knowledge of "sir." Marks of status were ghastly to the Qujoray, and one was expected to speak to everyone as though they were equals, there was never anything inherently better than another in the Qujoray mindset, everything had three parts, three parts to any argument, and never was one thing better than another. Learning the word "better" had proven very difficult for Quincy, as he was usually used to complimenting three contrasting virtues of any person or situation, as was taught to educated Qujoray. Already he felt uncomfortable.
The Maunkee weren't ugly, persay. They were shorter than the long, slender Qujoray, though of course Quincy feigned a proportional body. They were, however, concise in their speaking, a trait loved by all Qujoray, and not possessed by Quincy.
Quincy made sure to follow, he was still skeptical of his immunity processor and knew that he would never be allowed on his home planet again, but such was the price for another economic line cast. He obeyed the Maunkee with a soldierly visage.
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Near Xr'lii'ra Space
Free Union System
Edge of The Hyperlimit
Right on the edge of the system, far from any military sensors, a trio of blips pop into exsistence. Each is very small, around the size of a Light Cruiser. The three ships look the same, with the disturbing, flowing style favored by Xr'lii'ra ship growers. It is as if the bugs cannot understand the concept of an 'edge'. There are points, obviously for military troops, but no edges other than that which lays on the edge of a blade.
Each ship is difficult to describe in words. The hulls of the light cruisers look as if a trio of beetle's decided to smash their stomachs together and fuse their shells into one triple-faceted ship. The front slopes to a blunt point, while the rear tapers to a point. The ship is flat and smooth, other than the small holes and blisters that house weapons and sensors. In the crevices made by the edges of armor sit three hangers. Each ship has six fighters, which are launched as soon as the gravitonic sleds stabilize. Eighteen minuscule scout fighters float into the system. Their powerful sensors begin to decipher the hash of energy sources from the system. They start to pinpoint targets to the three ships: ship drives, planets, any emissions from a ground base, and so on. The three cruisers also sneak in-system after their fighters. Each is a scout cruiser tasked to intelligence.
It is quickly found that the Free Union's ships are poor rejects of more advanced and rich nations. They are at least twenty years out of date, maybe more for the smaller ones. Not a single deep-space sensor station is found among the asteroids at the edge of the system. Any good Xr'lii'ra defense network would have hundreds. They would be cloaked passive systems, which would hide as space rock and only communicate through the Xr'lii'ra hivemind. Totally undetectable via conventional means. There might actually be cloaked sensors here too, which keeps the three ships in strict emmisions control and under stealth the whole time they slowly move in towards the sun.
The ships, once again, are total trash. Maybe fifteen useless excuses for cruisers for the system. A system poor as the Free Union should not even have that many ships, maybe half as much if they were lucky, which points to income that does not go to the population. Something like pirate loot, money that never reaches the planet, would create the revenue needed to get such a fleet of ships. It is only one of many red flags that the scouts turn up.
The second is powerful emissions on one of the moons in the outer edge of the system. The fighters detect a base, but whiffs of active searching lidar and radar force them to back off. Being discovered now would ruin the sense of surprise. It is obviously an installation, and its far position from the center speaks of things that the occupants want to keep a secret. Furthermore, the lidar and radar are far more modern than the piece of crap installations of the Free Union. This means one of two things:
1. The Free Union has a secret base that they wish to keep secret from the population.
2. Another group has a hidden base in the system they wish to keep secret.
Either way, it is a target, and will be dealt with when the time comes.
*******
Xr'lii'ra Space
Hiveholm
The Time is four days later. A day of sneaking into the system, two days of snooping, and one more day to leave the system. The scouts, with their fighters docked, Reap out of the system to report back to the fleet. While Xr'lii'ra telepathy is instant-communication, it cannot travel between systems. Thus scouts have to return to give their information, which these three scout do.
On the planet, Hybrids stir. A total of ten, out of the three hundred or so, move into shuttles to reach orbit and the waiting ships. Each is an armored tank in their own right and just large enough to fit in most space station tunnels. They are perfect boarding troops, tough as a vehicle, but smaller and more mobile as well. All are humans, for humans react the best to the changing procedure. Their DNA is just easier to modify. It is something with the way their DNA is formed, and that it is DNA at all. Splicing in Xr'lii genetic material is as easy as modifying a few base pairs and stitching the whole thing together. Easy as pie and more useful to boot.
The small shuttle docks with one of the pair of Jumper Dreadnoughts waiting. The massive ships are like slabs of jet black chitin, vaguely shaped like an elongated egg. An elongated, flying, heavily armed and armored egg. In the front and sides of the ship lay giant tentacles. Each is as long as the ship, and more armored that the ship itself. There are four reaching back from the front, and four on the top, sides, and bottom of the sides of the ship. Together they make the Jumper look like a flying octopus, of all things. The tentacles are hollow, used to grapple immobolized ships and send boarding troops through them. All Xr'lii'ra close-ranged ships have the boarding devices as well as heavy tractor beams, all the better to hold the enemy in place.
Around these two giants are many other ships. The Jumpers have five slightly smaller ships nearby, gathering biomass from a group of tankers. Omen battleships to be exact. They look very much like the Jumpers, but less bulbous and smaller. They lack the tentacles, for they are primarily long to medium ranged vessels. They mix a decent missile broadside with acceptable beam mounts. The Omen have acceptable engines too; not too slow but fast enough to move where it needs to go and still have usable armor. The Omen is a versatile ship that is able to switch from long-ranged missile and fighter strikes to medium and close range energy weapon attacks at the drop of a hat.
Scattered around are a total of twelve cruisers, eight Light and four Heavy. The heavies are Joker-class cruisers, armed with heavy beam weapons for their size. Their primary weapons are a trio of spinal-mounted Plasma Lances. Spinal weapons are powerful with a capital "P". Most are rated over twenty times the power of a comperable turret or broadside mounted energy weapon! Sadly, they take up space over the entire length of the ship, which gives the Joker weaker engines, shields, and armor. It only fields six total launchers, a laughable number against the Jumpers 40+, with pitiful broadside energy mounts. It is called the Joker for a reason. When you underestimate it's pitiful missile volleys, the joke is on the enemy when triple spinal mounts put holes in Dreadnoughts at close range. The light cruisers are a venerable stable of the Xr'lii'ra fleet. The Hex-class cruisers and Claw-class carriers are tiny things, but well-built, as are all Xr'lii'ra ships. The Hex cruisers mix fast engines with evenly mixed energy and missile batteries, while the Claws field over fifty fighters in their cavernous bays. Less about holding fighters, the Claw light carriers excel at rearming fighters launched from larger ships, cutting down time by a large amount.
All the ships meet up and move within the hour.
Six hours later of travelling, the ships Reap to the Free Union, and the planet Taurus, to exterminate a particularly bad pirate problem.
Free Union System
Edge of The Hyperlimit
Right on the edge of the system, far from any military sensors, a trio of blips pop into exsistence. Each is very small, around the size of a Light Cruiser. The three ships look the same, with the disturbing, flowing style favored by Xr'lii'ra ship growers. It is as if the bugs cannot understand the concept of an 'edge'. There are points, obviously for military troops, but no edges other than that which lays on the edge of a blade.
Each ship is difficult to describe in words. The hulls of the light cruisers look as if a trio of beetle's decided to smash their stomachs together and fuse their shells into one triple-faceted ship. The front slopes to a blunt point, while the rear tapers to a point. The ship is flat and smooth, other than the small holes and blisters that house weapons and sensors. In the crevices made by the edges of armor sit three hangers. Each ship has six fighters, which are launched as soon as the gravitonic sleds stabilize. Eighteen minuscule scout fighters float into the system. Their powerful sensors begin to decipher the hash of energy sources from the system. They start to pinpoint targets to the three ships: ship drives, planets, any emissions from a ground base, and so on. The three cruisers also sneak in-system after their fighters. Each is a scout cruiser tasked to intelligence.
It is quickly found that the Free Union's ships are poor rejects of more advanced and rich nations. They are at least twenty years out of date, maybe more for the smaller ones. Not a single deep-space sensor station is found among the asteroids at the edge of the system. Any good Xr'lii'ra defense network would have hundreds. They would be cloaked passive systems, which would hide as space rock and only communicate through the Xr'lii'ra hivemind. Totally undetectable via conventional means. There might actually be cloaked sensors here too, which keeps the three ships in strict emmisions control and under stealth the whole time they slowly move in towards the sun.
The ships, once again, are total trash. Maybe fifteen useless excuses for cruisers for the system. A system poor as the Free Union should not even have that many ships, maybe half as much if they were lucky, which points to income that does not go to the population. Something like pirate loot, money that never reaches the planet, would create the revenue needed to get such a fleet of ships. It is only one of many red flags that the scouts turn up.
The second is powerful emissions on one of the moons in the outer edge of the system. The fighters detect a base, but whiffs of active searching lidar and radar force them to back off. Being discovered now would ruin the sense of surprise. It is obviously an installation, and its far position from the center speaks of things that the occupants want to keep a secret. Furthermore, the lidar and radar are far more modern than the piece of crap installations of the Free Union. This means one of two things:
1. The Free Union has a secret base that they wish to keep secret from the population.
2. Another group has a hidden base in the system they wish to keep secret.
Either way, it is a target, and will be dealt with when the time comes.
*******
Xr'lii'ra Space
Hiveholm
The Time is four days later. A day of sneaking into the system, two days of snooping, and one more day to leave the system. The scouts, with their fighters docked, Reap out of the system to report back to the fleet. While Xr'lii'ra telepathy is instant-communication, it cannot travel between systems. Thus scouts have to return to give their information, which these three scout do.
On the planet, Hybrids stir. A total of ten, out of the three hundred or so, move into shuttles to reach orbit and the waiting ships. Each is an armored tank in their own right and just large enough to fit in most space station tunnels. They are perfect boarding troops, tough as a vehicle, but smaller and more mobile as well. All are humans, for humans react the best to the changing procedure. Their DNA is just easier to modify. It is something with the way their DNA is formed, and that it is DNA at all. Splicing in Xr'lii genetic material is as easy as modifying a few base pairs and stitching the whole thing together. Easy as pie and more useful to boot.
The small shuttle docks with one of the pair of Jumper Dreadnoughts waiting. The massive ships are like slabs of jet black chitin, vaguely shaped like an elongated egg. An elongated, flying, heavily armed and armored egg. In the front and sides of the ship lay giant tentacles. Each is as long as the ship, and more armored that the ship itself. There are four reaching back from the front, and four on the top, sides, and bottom of the sides of the ship. Together they make the Jumper look like a flying octopus, of all things. The tentacles are hollow, used to grapple immobolized ships and send boarding troops through them. All Xr'lii'ra close-ranged ships have the boarding devices as well as heavy tractor beams, all the better to hold the enemy in place.
Around these two giants are many other ships. The Jumpers have five slightly smaller ships nearby, gathering biomass from a group of tankers. Omen battleships to be exact. They look very much like the Jumpers, but less bulbous and smaller. They lack the tentacles, for they are primarily long to medium ranged vessels. They mix a decent missile broadside with acceptable beam mounts. The Omen have acceptable engines too; not too slow but fast enough to move where it needs to go and still have usable armor. The Omen is a versatile ship that is able to switch from long-ranged missile and fighter strikes to medium and close range energy weapon attacks at the drop of a hat.
Scattered around are a total of twelve cruisers, eight Light and four Heavy. The heavies are Joker-class cruisers, armed with heavy beam weapons for their size. Their primary weapons are a trio of spinal-mounted Plasma Lances. Spinal weapons are powerful with a capital "P". Most are rated over twenty times the power of a comperable turret or broadside mounted energy weapon! Sadly, they take up space over the entire length of the ship, which gives the Joker weaker engines, shields, and armor. It only fields six total launchers, a laughable number against the Jumpers 40+, with pitiful broadside energy mounts. It is called the Joker for a reason. When you underestimate it's pitiful missile volleys, the joke is on the enemy when triple spinal mounts put holes in Dreadnoughts at close range. The light cruisers are a venerable stable of the Xr'lii'ra fleet. The Hex-class cruisers and Claw-class carriers are tiny things, but well-built, as are all Xr'lii'ra ships. The Hex cruisers mix fast engines with evenly mixed energy and missile batteries, while the Claws field over fifty fighters in their cavernous bays. Less about holding fighters, the Claw light carriers excel at rearming fighters launched from larger ships, cutting down time by a large amount.
All the ships meet up and move within the hour.
Six hours later of travelling, the ships Reap to the Free Union, and the planet Taurus, to exterminate a particularly bad pirate problem.
0.00 INK
Near Xr'lii'ra Space
Free Union System
Edge of The Hyperlimit
Right on the edge of the system, far from any military sensors, a trio of blips pop into exsistence. Each is very small, around the size of a Light Cruiser. The three ships look the same, with the disturbing, flowing style favored by Xr'lii'ra ship growers. It is as if the bugs cannot understand the concept of an 'edge'. There are points, obviously for military troops, but no edges other than that which lays on the edge of a blade.
Each ship is difficult to describe in words. The hulls of the light cruisers look as if a trio of beetle's decided to smash their stomachs together and fuse their shells into one triple-faceted ship. The front slopes to a blunt point, while the rear tapers to a point. The ship is flat and smooth, other than the small holes and blisters that house weapons and sensors. In the crevices made by the edges of armor sit three hangers. Each ship has six fighters, which are launched as soon as the gravitonic sleds stabilize. Eighteen minuscule scout fighters float into the system. Their powerful sensors begin to decipher the hash of energy sources from the system. They start to pinpoint targets to the three ships: ship drives, planets, any emissions from a ground base, and so on. The three cruisers also sneak in-system after their fighters. Each is a scout cruiser tasked to intelligence.
It is quickly found that the Free Union's ships are poor rejects of more advanced and rich nations. They are at least twenty years out of date, maybe more for the smaller ones. Not a single deep-space sensor station is found among the asteroids at the edge of the system. Any good Xr'lii'ra defense network would have hundreds. They would be cloaked passive systems, which would hide as space rock and only communicate through the Xr'lii'ra hivemind. Totally undetectable via conventional means. There might actually be cloaked sensors here too, which keeps the three ships in strict emmisions control and under stealth the whole time they slowly move in towards the sun.
The ships, once again, are total trash. Maybe fifteen useless excuses for cruisers for the system. A system poor as the Free Union should not even have that many ships, maybe half as much if they were lucky, which points to income that does not go to the population. Something like pirate loot, money that never reaches the planet, would create the revenue needed to get such a fleet of ships. It is only one of many red flags that the scouts turn up.
The second is powerful emissions on one of the moons in the outer edge of the system. The fighters detect a base, but whiffs of active searching lidar and radar force them to back off. Being discovered now would ruin the sense of surprise. It is obviously an installation, and its far position from the center speaks of things that the occupants want to keep a secret. Furthermore, the lidar and radar are far more modern than the piece of crap installations of the Free Union. This means one of two things:
1. The Free Union has a secret base that they wish to keep secret from the population.
2. Another group has a hidden base in the system they wish to keep secret.
Either way, it is a target, and will be dealt with when the time comes.
*******
Xr'lii'ra Space
Hiveholm
The Time is four days later. A day of sneaking into the system, two days of snooping, and one more day to leave the system. The scouts, with their fighters docked, Reap out of the system to report back to the fleet. While Xr'lii'ra telepathy is instant-communication, it cannot travel between systems. Thus scouts have to return to give their information, which these three scout do.
On the planet, Hybrids stir. A total of ten, out of the three hundred or so, move into shuttles to reach orbit and the waiting ships. Each is an armored tank in their own right and just large enough to fit in most space station tunnels. They are perfect boarding troops, tough as a vehicle, but smaller and more mobile as well. All are humans, for humans react the best to the changing procedure. Their DNA is just easier to modify. It is something with the way their DNA is formed, and that it is DNA at all. Splicing in Xr'lii genetic material is as easy as modifying a few base pairs and stitching the whole thing together. Easy as pie and more useful to boot.
The small shuttle docks with one of the pair of Jumper Dreadnoughts waiting. The massive ships are like slabs of jet black chitin, vaguely shaped like an elongated egg. An elongated, flying, heavily armed and armored egg. In the front and sides of the ship lay giant tentacles. Each is as long as the ship, and more armored that the ship itself. There are four reaching back from the front, and four on the top, sides, and bottom of the sides of the ship. Together they make the Jumper look like a flying octopus, of all things. The tentacles are hollow, used to grapple immobolized ships and send boarding troops through them. All Xr'lii'ra close-ranged ships have the boarding devices as well as heavy tractor beams, all the better to hold the enemy in place.
Around these two giants are many other ships. The Jumpers have five slightly smaller ships nearby, gathering biomass from a group of tankers. Omen battleships to be exact. They look very much like the Jumpers, but less bulbous and smaller. They lack the tentacles, for they are primarily long to medium ranged vessels. They mix a decent missile broadside with acceptable beam mounts. The Omen have acceptable engines too; not too slow but fast enough to move where it needs to go and still have usable armor. The Omen is a versatile ship that is able to switch from long-ranged missile and fighter strikes to medium and close range energy weapon attacks at the drop of a hat.
Scattered around are a total of twelve cruisers, eight Light and four Heavy. The heavies are Joker-class cruisers, armed with heavy beam weapons for their size. Their primary weapons are a trio of spinal-mounted Plasma Lances. Spinal weapons are powerful with a capital "P". Most are rated over twenty times the power of a comperable turret or broadside mounted energy weapon! Sadly, they take up space over the entire length of the ship, which gives the Joker weaker engines, shields, and armor. It only fields six total launchers, a laughable number against the Jumpers 40+, with pitiful broadside energy mounts. It is called the Joker for a reason. When you underestimate it's pitiful missile volleys, the joke is on the enemy when triple spinal mounts put holes in Dreadnoughts at close range. The light cruisers are a venerable stable of the Xr'lii'ra fleet. The Hex-class cruisers and Claw-class carriers are tiny things, but well-built, as are all Xr'lii'ra ships. The Hex cruisers mix fast engines with evenly mixed energy and missile batteries, while the Claws field over fifty fighters in their cavernous bays. Less about holding fighters, the Claw light carriers excel at rearming fighters launched from larger ships, cutting down time by a large amount.
All the ships meet up and move within the hour.
Six hours later of travelling, the ships Reap to the Free Union, and the planet Taurus, to exterminate a particularly bad pirate problem.
Free Union System
Edge of The Hyperlimit
Right on the edge of the system, far from any military sensors, a trio of blips pop into exsistence. Each is very small, around the size of a Light Cruiser. The three ships look the same, with the disturbing, flowing style favored by Xr'lii'ra ship growers. It is as if the bugs cannot understand the concept of an 'edge'. There are points, obviously for military troops, but no edges other than that which lays on the edge of a blade.
Each ship is difficult to describe in words. The hulls of the light cruisers look as if a trio of beetle's decided to smash their stomachs together and fuse their shells into one triple-faceted ship. The front slopes to a blunt point, while the rear tapers to a point. The ship is flat and smooth, other than the small holes and blisters that house weapons and sensors. In the crevices made by the edges of armor sit three hangers. Each ship has six fighters, which are launched as soon as the gravitonic sleds stabilize. Eighteen minuscule scout fighters float into the system. Their powerful sensors begin to decipher the hash of energy sources from the system. They start to pinpoint targets to the three ships: ship drives, planets, any emissions from a ground base, and so on. The three cruisers also sneak in-system after their fighters. Each is a scout cruiser tasked to intelligence.
It is quickly found that the Free Union's ships are poor rejects of more advanced and rich nations. They are at least twenty years out of date, maybe more for the smaller ones. Not a single deep-space sensor station is found among the asteroids at the edge of the system. Any good Xr'lii'ra defense network would have hundreds. They would be cloaked passive systems, which would hide as space rock and only communicate through the Xr'lii'ra hivemind. Totally undetectable via conventional means. There might actually be cloaked sensors here too, which keeps the three ships in strict emmisions control and under stealth the whole time they slowly move in towards the sun.
The ships, once again, are total trash. Maybe fifteen useless excuses for cruisers for the system. A system poor as the Free Union should not even have that many ships, maybe half as much if they were lucky, which points to income that does not go to the population. Something like pirate loot, money that never reaches the planet, would create the revenue needed to get such a fleet of ships. It is only one of many red flags that the scouts turn up.
The second is powerful emissions on one of the moons in the outer edge of the system. The fighters detect a base, but whiffs of active searching lidar and radar force them to back off. Being discovered now would ruin the sense of surprise. It is obviously an installation, and its far position from the center speaks of things that the occupants want to keep a secret. Furthermore, the lidar and radar are far more modern than the piece of crap installations of the Free Union. This means one of two things:
1. The Free Union has a secret base that they wish to keep secret from the population.
2. Another group has a hidden base in the system they wish to keep secret.
Either way, it is a target, and will be dealt with when the time comes.
*******
Xr'lii'ra Space
Hiveholm
The Time is four days later. A day of sneaking into the system, two days of snooping, and one more day to leave the system. The scouts, with their fighters docked, Reap out of the system to report back to the fleet. While Xr'lii'ra telepathy is instant-communication, it cannot travel between systems. Thus scouts have to return to give their information, which these three scout do.
On the planet, Hybrids stir. A total of ten, out of the three hundred or so, move into shuttles to reach orbit and the waiting ships. Each is an armored tank in their own right and just large enough to fit in most space station tunnels. They are perfect boarding troops, tough as a vehicle, but smaller and more mobile as well. All are humans, for humans react the best to the changing procedure. Their DNA is just easier to modify. It is something with the way their DNA is formed, and that it is DNA at all. Splicing in Xr'lii genetic material is as easy as modifying a few base pairs and stitching the whole thing together. Easy as pie and more useful to boot.
The small shuttle docks with one of the pair of Jumper Dreadnoughts waiting. The massive ships are like slabs of jet black chitin, vaguely shaped like an elongated egg. An elongated, flying, heavily armed and armored egg. In the front and sides of the ship lay giant tentacles. Each is as long as the ship, and more armored that the ship itself. There are four reaching back from the front, and four on the top, sides, and bottom of the sides of the ship. Together they make the Jumper look like a flying octopus, of all things. The tentacles are hollow, used to grapple immobolized ships and send boarding troops through them. All Xr'lii'ra close-ranged ships have the boarding devices as well as heavy tractor beams, all the better to hold the enemy in place.
Around these two giants are many other ships. The Jumpers have five slightly smaller ships nearby, gathering biomass from a group of tankers. Omen battleships to be exact. They look very much like the Jumpers, but less bulbous and smaller. They lack the tentacles, for they are primarily long to medium ranged vessels. They mix a decent missile broadside with acceptable beam mounts. The Omen have acceptable engines too; not too slow but fast enough to move where it needs to go and still have usable armor. The Omen is a versatile ship that is able to switch from long-ranged missile and fighter strikes to medium and close range energy weapon attacks at the drop of a hat.
Scattered around are a total of twelve cruisers, eight Light and four Heavy. The heavies are Joker-class cruisers, armed with heavy beam weapons for their size. Their primary weapons are a trio of spinal-mounted Plasma Lances. Spinal weapons are powerful with a capital "P". Most are rated over twenty times the power of a comperable turret or broadside mounted energy weapon! Sadly, they take up space over the entire length of the ship, which gives the Joker weaker engines, shields, and armor. It only fields six total launchers, a laughable number against the Jumpers 40+, with pitiful broadside energy mounts. It is called the Joker for a reason. When you underestimate it's pitiful missile volleys, the joke is on the enemy when triple spinal mounts put holes in Dreadnoughts at close range. The light cruisers are a venerable stable of the Xr'lii'ra fleet. The Hex-class cruisers and Claw-class carriers are tiny things, but well-built, as are all Xr'lii'ra ships. The Hex cruisers mix fast engines with evenly mixed energy and missile batteries, while the Claws field over fifty fighters in their cavernous bays. Less about holding fighters, the Claw light carriers excel at rearming fighters launched from larger ships, cutting down time by a large amount.
All the ships meet up and move within the hour.
Six hours later of travelling, the ships Reap to the Free Union, and the planet Taurus, to exterminate a particularly bad pirate problem.
0.00 INK
The borders of "The Kingdom of Draok"
Cerberus System
High Orbital
Planet Sija, Jases, Hedas, Hedas Moon
The Maunkee Space Navy entered the Cerberus system. First the Moon of Hedas was invaded, as the locals already knew of the Maunkee empire's advance, they surrendered in fear that their moon would be blasted to smithereens and its people massacred. Because of this action, the commander announced the locals for 'hopeful' and they were only asked to turn over all their military weapons in order to prevent a rebellion against their authority, and the local leader was allowed to remain in power and when the war ended the Maunkee would educate him in how they wished the system to be ruled.
Hades was then under attack. The Maunkee send down millions of soldiers, tanks, robots and AI machines to fight against the local military. The battles scarred the land, cities became ruins, and as the local military made use of poisonous gas, the Commander demanded that orbital bombardment was to be used against any and all military stations.
The Maunkee spend 16 months besieging this planet, slowly gaining more and more ground, and with their occasional quick raids against the Draoks, they eventually managed to bring the planet to a conditional surrender, and after one week of negotiating, the planet gave up and surrendered all its military weapons and defenses to the Maunkee and became a member of the Maunkee Empire, their economy would merge together with the Maunkee's and their people would gain more social benefits, and even financial aid to rebuild the large planet's houses and infrastructure.
With that set, there was deployed a rather large force to maintain the peace and participate with the rebuilding. The locals weren't happy that they had lost their nationality, nor that they lost the war against the Maunkee Empire, and thus there was a small amount of unrest, though it wasn't anything that the deployed Maunkee forces couldn't stop.
Jases was attacked in a different way than any of the previous other planets. The Maunkee Empire had suffered heavy losses from the attack of planet Hedas, and thus they couldn't launch a full scale attack against the industrial world, instead the Maunkee attacked them technologically. The technicians hacked into the satellites of the planet and from there they began to get access to the many different computers, cameras, and information bases.
Within a week of laying in High Orbital over planet Jases, the Maunkee clicked a single bottom and the entire planet went into a standstill as there was no electricity through the entire planet, effectively stopping communication and preventing the military from being able to communicate at all.
Then the last of the Maunkee forces invaded the planet and took it by force and surprise. The planet remained in darkness as the Maunkee refused to let the electricity be given back to the people as they didn't have enough men to monitor the planet and collect in all the weapons that the military had, so instead they send a signal to the Maunkee Empire, asking for reinforcement, which arrived two days later, and they ordered all Draok military personal to return to their families, their duty was over and they weren't needed to protect the planet any longer.
With the reinforcements, the Maunkee began to strip the locals from all their military weapons and set up monitors to keep an eye on the production that was happening in the factories.
There was a wide scale uprising against the Maunkee, however like every other planet, they couldn't stand up against the technologically advanced Maunkee, and the people were told that if they would continue to resist the Maunkee Empire, they would be forced to commit genocide against the Draok people, and that decreased the amount of resistance significantly.
Next, Sija was attacked, the commander gave them an opportunity to surrender, however the local leaders refused, as well, and then the Maunkee Empire invaded the planet, using both their former hacking tactics and battlefield tactics to put stress on the Draoks and force them into surrender.
It never came. No matter how many cities fell, no matter how many times they attacked their supply lines, destroyed their military bases, or bombed cities. declaring them "Semi-Hopeless" didn't work. The Comander declared them hopeless, and then the Maunkee began a series of campaigns that focused on destroying the Draok people on planet Sija.
The people was systematically murdered, orbital fire destroyed cities and with little electricity and the danger of being detected when one went online a computer, the Draok was quickly pressed into a corner, and although they began to plea for negotiations, the Commander refused to listen. The Commander claimed that they had been given a chance and they had wasted it. They were hopeless and their existence served no purpose for the universe anymore.
After 3 months of ethnically cleansing, planet Sija was a dead planet. The former Draok inhibitors gone, murdered by the Maunkee soldiers and robots.
A message was send back to T'au, about the victory that the Maunkee Empire had in the The Kingdom of Draok, and that they would, for now, bring peace and prosperity to the people of Draok.
Troops were send out to maintain order, leaders were either replaced or re-educated by the Maunkee, the currency was changed and to ensure that there was no inflation, the Maunkee directly converted the money that the people had over to Kee, their currency. Jobs were created to rebuild the cities that had suffered from the war, and the Maunkee provided with the goods needed to re-build the buildings.
Sija became a planet that was off limits for both Draok and other races, as the Maunkee Empire didn't wish to show the effects that the declaration of being hopeless had on planets.
A second military expedition was send off to find the next system which belonged to the Kingdom of Draok.
"The Kingdom of Draok"
Corak System
High Orbital
Planet Corak I
The fleet had broken out of its high speed. It had sighted planet Corak I, and immediately the Commander believed that it was in allegiance with the Draok. Orders were given, and soldiers were send into Drop Pods, Orbital Pictures were quickly taken, and a plan was formulated within the time of fifteen minutes.
The Maunkee technicians wasted little time and began to hack into the many satellites and other orbital facilities and then got connected to whatever online network they found and hacked into the unknown, and began to tear it all apart, causing the people on planet Corak I to be offline. Every form of communication from the planet to any other vessel would either not be received to come in a very bad quality...it wasn't impossibly to send small, but highly vital, messages to nearby orbiting vessels.
Orbital missiles were send down on the planet hitting what was presumed to be military bases, however, the Maunkee was confused by the pictures the computers had given them, they saw mass destruction and death on Corak I, not the large cities or green fields that they had expected, so they presumed it was some sort of newly colonized planet that the Draoks had recently found.
The orbital missiles flew straight down into the military camps of the Siridars of The Siridar Imperium, and obliterated the camps completely, whatever task forces that were dispatched amongst the ruins of the cities soon saw small dots in the skies, which grew in size.
The Drop Pods fired missiles down at the military units, forcing them back from their landing points, and then the Maunkee robots and military personal came out of the AI Drop Pods.
Street battles broke out in a matter of minutes between the Siridar and the Maunkee and their robots.
The Maunkee called in for air support, and their Space Drones were send down from the spaceships and began to attack the Siridar infantry, and the Jet Fighters were also send down and served as a sort of Heavy Air Artillery.
The Maunkee were very quick to get their Offensive Tanks down, and used them to gain a strong grip of the center of Corak I as they took control of the highly military valued places, such as the train stations, the center of all the communications, and the power stations.
The Maunkee then allowed a temporary online for the Siridar, sending them a message:
The Commander then ordered the Siege Warriors XX43 to standby and protect the area that they had just gained from their shock attack against the Siridar forces.
Maunkee Empire
Planet T'au
External Government
Enterance
When the Oracle entered the External Government, Chao Lin extended his arms and spoke, "Ah! Mighty one, welcome to Planet T'au, please, come in, I shall lead you to the conference room so we can start the talk immediately," Chao said and led the Oracle to room 305.
Small drones followed the Oracle wherever he went, cleaning the floor from his dirty steps, and as the Oracle looked closer, everyone wore special sock and special sandals while they were inside the External Government.
Chao opened the door and there were four other Maunkee representatives, they all stood up and bowed to the large Kira, and they then seated him at s stage like seat where they began to present to him their offer for what they had planned for the meeting.
”Good day Oracle, now to go straight down to business, we are delighted to make this meeting and here is what we are prepared to do once you have joined the Maunkee Empire.
Once you become a part of our Empire, you will be given permission to rule your own systems under the rules of the Maunkee, you will receive financial aid to improve your livelihoods, our technology will become your technology, and vice versa.
You will not be required to become a part of the army, it is entirely voluntarily, and the Maunkee Empire will guarantee the protection of your system against any and all attackers, as you will become a member of our great Empire.
You will be allowed to have a certain number of representatives in the Council, and participate in voting for new laws and regulations.
Your currency will be directly transferred into our currency, Kees, and we will monitor your economy to ensure that inflation doesn’t happen nor that poverty becomes a word in your dictionaries.
Of course, we do demand that your agricultural worlds participate in what we call for Community Farms, and although it may sound alien to you, believe me when I say, it is very easy.
It will improve your efficiency, your capability to produce larger quantities of food for your population and our population.
If you understand these terms, I’m sure we can give you the papers that will merge your system into the Maunkee Empire.
We will send a representative along to explain to your people what will happen over the course of two to three years, T’au time, and explain the benefits that you’ll gain from this agreement.”
The main talker stopped and then another representative, this one seemed more priest-like, stood up and added, ”The Maunkee Empire will not only protect you, but also ensure that your resources are dived perfectly, so your people can still earn a living from finding these resources, and knowing that they will be paid and the raw materials used for The Greater Good.
With every system that is united, the closer we come to uniting the universe as a single nation, for this will not only band all the many species together, it will create a better world for every organic creature in the universe. Better education, better stand of living, and not to forget, that the people will still have the rights to live their lives and to have the freedom that they believe is right.
The Maunkee Empire takes into consideration every opinion of every planet and system.
We only ask that you sacrifice your independence to The Greater Good, we only ask you to become one with your former enemy and forget your grudges and hatred and replace them with love and care.
Thank you,” the representative said and then sat down.
All the representatives were looking eagerly at the Oracle, waiting to see what he said about this deal, surely he would see the benefits about merging his people with the Maunkee’s and become one with one of the most technological advanced Empires in the universe.
The meeting was suddenly interrupted as a screen appeared before Chao.
It was the face of a female Maunkee, and by the look of her, she seemed to be rather satisfied, if not slightly happy.
”Your honor-” the Maunkee female started-”I bring good news. The Kingdom of Draok has proven itself to be a dictatorship, with no form of democratic government, and thus I have send a military force in and begun an invasion of their systems to liberate the people from this tyrannical form of sovereignty, and thus far, the Walhalla System and the Cerberus System has been conquered.
A second invasion fleet has another system held by the Draok, and are currently fighting to gain control over a planet so we can further our influence over this misled nation.”
Chao nodded and then closed the window and turned his attention towards the Oracle
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
External Government
Conference Room 207
Quincy was brought to the External Government, and like the Oracle, he was given a guide that explained the past of the Maunkee Empire, and told him about their aims and how they wished to unite the entire universe into a single nation and to get rid of all the poverty, wars, hunger and destruction tha was happening throughout the universe daily.
Quincy was also explained what the statues represented and how the Maunkee people worshipped Sha’O’Shi like a God of the Greater Good.
Quincy was then given the shoes he was required to wear while he was inside the External Government, the guards didn’t care if he was a representative, soldier, or even a god. He would wear those shoes, as he was humanoid, and their External Government was considered “Holy” to the Maunkee and defiling these grounds would be met by death to who ever refused to show respect to the place.
Inside the conference room, four Maunkee represented the Empire, one from each sector of the Empire. Technology, the Army, he Order of The Greater Good, and a member of the Maunkee council and economist.
”Now...you claim to have come here on political and economic terms. Very well, here is our offer:
-We will set aside scientists that can help you with possibly improving your technology, however what they will help you improve will be limited, as you are not a member of The Greater Good.
-We can lend you financial aid and send economists to help you make sure that whatever you wish to achieve will be done.
-Our trade for raw resources, and industrial goods is limited but open. We cannot, and will not sell you everything that we have.
However, we would like to hear, what is your proposition? What do you wish to gain from this meeting? Surely you weren’t simply send here to let the Maunkee Empire know of your existence, for we have known of it for a little while.
What is your true purpose here?”
The representatives all looked at Quincy, waiting patiently to hear his answer to their question.
Free Union
Rinewood Space Station
High Orbital
The Maunkee battle ship fired its canons at the Rinewood spaceship, it send out its Space Drones and began to battle against the poor pirate ships.
The Maunkee had the upper hand when it come to the technological advancement, however they lacked the numbers that the pirates had and thus they worked hard to both avoid the pirate battle ships and the canons that were fired at them from the Rinewood.
The commander ordered that the Death Canon was to be fired whenever it was ready. The Fist of Maunkee suffered from the many minor attacks that the pirates did against them, and thanks to the better sensors they were able to detect the stealth mode ships that came against them.
Four Space Missiles were shot out against the shield generators of the Rinewood, and along with that, the Drop Pods were send off.
The missiles caused a temporary lack of energy around a certain area in the Rinewood, allowing the Drop Pods to attack and break through the hangars of the Rinewood.
Once the Drop Pods were inside, the robotic soldiers and the Maunkee soldiers went into actions and began to infiltrate the Rinewood.
The Maunkee soldiers had been instructed that they were to show no mercy and to take no prisoners during this operation as the pirates had been deemed semi-hopeless by the Council of T’au, and their word was law.
The Maunkee aimed after the generators of Rinewood, attacked where the energy was given to the spaceship.
The Stealth Units made their way through the hallway as quickly as they could. They had found a pirate, quickly tortured him and now knew where they were to go; it wasn’t all too easy, the entire place crawled with activity from the pirates and the Stealth Units had to make it into the center of the Rinewood while their brothers, sisters and robotic allies were all fighting in the hangars of the massive ship.
The positive thing was that the attack in the hangars were diverting most of the attention of the pirates towards the Maunkee infiltrators, and thus it allowed the Stealth Units to move relatively easy through the Rinewood hallways.
The Stealth Units eventually came to the control centre, and as they opened the door they fired their weapons, killing the staff that was operating the control room, and without wasting any further time, they connected a device together with their computer and then began to go through the computer.
The computer was filled with information, not just about the Rinewood ship but also the Free Union System, all the information that the Maunkee Empire would need to invade the system within a month, if not less.
The Stealth Units began to download these files, however the elder computer was slow and the quantity of files that it needed to download was massive, and with every minute they wasted, the greater the risk of failing the mission became.
The Stealth Units tried to operate another computers, however due to the download of all the files, all other computers was slowed down significantly and they couldn’t back down now that they had started.
Outside in Space, the Fist of Maunkee was facing a critical moment. The shields of the spaceship were down, the metal of ship was being shot to pieces, and their Space Drones were slowly being shot down, one by one.
Reports from the Hangars were being send as the Maunkee soldiers and Robots were facing an overwhelming amount of pirates that were attacking them, and as the pirates were armed with both legal and illegal weapons through out the galaxy, the Maunkee soldiers weren’t able to find a form of pattern in their battle tactics, nor were they able to fight back the pirates as they came in powerful waves.
The admiral took off his hat and looked down, smiling. He and his crew had known from the start that they would die from this mission, however they surely had given the pirates a damn good fight. He couldn’t be more proud of them.
”Brothers…Sisters…I am deeply honored to have been your leader. I am honored to have led you in combat and you have seen you emerge victorious.
You have done your duty, and more. Rest in peace,” and with that, the admiral send a message that he had prepared from the start of the mission, a message that would let the Maunkee Empire know that he had failed and wouldn’t return home, neither him nor any of the men deployed.
A shot from the Rinewood hit the Fist of Maunkee right at its generators and all the power of the ship died out.
Within minutes the pirate ships were all over the battleship, boarding it, shooting it to pieces and doing whatever they could to get rid of its existence.
The soldiers onboard the Rinewood were now cornered and decided that instead of simply going down, one by one, they would drag as many pirate scums as they could with them, and thus they threw all their plasma grenades and ran out to meet the pirates in an open fight.
The Fist of Maunkee exploded as the generators were hit by a powerful ray of laser from the Rinewood and the admiral and his personal all died along with it.
The Stealth Units grapped their device and ran as fast as their robotic suits allowed them. The pirates had discovered what had happened and were now after them, they ran as fat as they could down the hallway, armed with their ranged weapons and their katanas, they shot and stabbed everything they came across, however…The pirates weren’t stupid and sat up traps for them to run into, killing one of the Stealth Units as he ran into a grenade trap, the explosion killing him.
Another Stealth Unit was killed as a pirate sniper shot him down, right in the head, and the next Stealth Unit shot him back with his own plasma sniper.
The Stealth Units were now on their way towards the hangar of the Rinewood, and there were hundreds of pirates waiting for them there…unless…
The last two Stealth Units quickly split up, the one with the device crawled into the air conditioner system and made his way through the maze of tunnels there, and the other Stealth Unit, got the flame thrower and ran right into the mob of pirates, setting two dozen of them in flames before the hail of fire brought him down.
The final Stealth Unit made his way to one of the side hangars where he entered a pirate smuggling ship.
There were still goods inside the ship, slaves, drugs, stolen and illegal goods. The Stealth Unit got to the cockpit and began to hijack the ship and flew out of the Rinewood pirate station. The Stealth Unit immediately began to put in the coordinates for the Maunkee Empire, for he still had a duty to do to his nation.
Cerberus System
High Orbital
Planet Sija, Jases, Hedas, Hedas Moon
The Maunkee Space Navy entered the Cerberus system. First the Moon of Hedas was invaded, as the locals already knew of the Maunkee empire's advance, they surrendered in fear that their moon would be blasted to smithereens and its people massacred. Because of this action, the commander announced the locals for 'hopeful' and they were only asked to turn over all their military weapons in order to prevent a rebellion against their authority, and the local leader was allowed to remain in power and when the war ended the Maunkee would educate him in how they wished the system to be ruled.
Hades was then under attack. The Maunkee send down millions of soldiers, tanks, robots and AI machines to fight against the local military. The battles scarred the land, cities became ruins, and as the local military made use of poisonous gas, the Commander demanded that orbital bombardment was to be used against any and all military stations.
The Maunkee spend 16 months besieging this planet, slowly gaining more and more ground, and with their occasional quick raids against the Draoks, they eventually managed to bring the planet to a conditional surrender, and after one week of negotiating, the planet gave up and surrendered all its military weapons and defenses to the Maunkee and became a member of the Maunkee Empire, their economy would merge together with the Maunkee's and their people would gain more social benefits, and even financial aid to rebuild the large planet's houses and infrastructure.
With that set, there was deployed a rather large force to maintain the peace and participate with the rebuilding. The locals weren't happy that they had lost their nationality, nor that they lost the war against the Maunkee Empire, and thus there was a small amount of unrest, though it wasn't anything that the deployed Maunkee forces couldn't stop.
Jases was attacked in a different way than any of the previous other planets. The Maunkee Empire had suffered heavy losses from the attack of planet Hedas, and thus they couldn't launch a full scale attack against the industrial world, instead the Maunkee attacked them technologically. The technicians hacked into the satellites of the planet and from there they began to get access to the many different computers, cameras, and information bases.
Within a week of laying in High Orbital over planet Jases, the Maunkee clicked a single bottom and the entire planet went into a standstill as there was no electricity through the entire planet, effectively stopping communication and preventing the military from being able to communicate at all.
Then the last of the Maunkee forces invaded the planet and took it by force and surprise. The planet remained in darkness as the Maunkee refused to let the electricity be given back to the people as they didn't have enough men to monitor the planet and collect in all the weapons that the military had, so instead they send a signal to the Maunkee Empire, asking for reinforcement, which arrived two days later, and they ordered all Draok military personal to return to their families, their duty was over and they weren't needed to protect the planet any longer.
With the reinforcements, the Maunkee began to strip the locals from all their military weapons and set up monitors to keep an eye on the production that was happening in the factories.
There was a wide scale uprising against the Maunkee, however like every other planet, they couldn't stand up against the technologically advanced Maunkee, and the people were told that if they would continue to resist the Maunkee Empire, they would be forced to commit genocide against the Draok people, and that decreased the amount of resistance significantly.
Next, Sija was attacked, the commander gave them an opportunity to surrender, however the local leaders refused, as well, and then the Maunkee Empire invaded the planet, using both their former hacking tactics and battlefield tactics to put stress on the Draoks and force them into surrender.
It never came. No matter how many cities fell, no matter how many times they attacked their supply lines, destroyed their military bases, or bombed cities. declaring them "Semi-Hopeless" didn't work. The Comander declared them hopeless, and then the Maunkee began a series of campaigns that focused on destroying the Draok people on planet Sija.
The people was systematically murdered, orbital fire destroyed cities and with little electricity and the danger of being detected when one went online a computer, the Draok was quickly pressed into a corner, and although they began to plea for negotiations, the Commander refused to listen. The Commander claimed that they had been given a chance and they had wasted it. They were hopeless and their existence served no purpose for the universe anymore.
After 3 months of ethnically cleansing, planet Sija was a dead planet. The former Draok inhibitors gone, murdered by the Maunkee soldiers and robots.
A message was send back to T'au, about the victory that the Maunkee Empire had in the The Kingdom of Draok, and that they would, for now, bring peace and prosperity to the people of Draok.
Troops were send out to maintain order, leaders were either replaced or re-educated by the Maunkee, the currency was changed and to ensure that there was no inflation, the Maunkee directly converted the money that the people had over to Kee, their currency. Jobs were created to rebuild the cities that had suffered from the war, and the Maunkee provided with the goods needed to re-build the buildings.
Sija became a planet that was off limits for both Draok and other races, as the Maunkee Empire didn't wish to show the effects that the declaration of being hopeless had on planets.
A second military expedition was send off to find the next system which belonged to the Kingdom of Draok.
"The Kingdom of Draok"
Corak System
High Orbital
Planet Corak I
The fleet had broken out of its high speed. It had sighted planet Corak I, and immediately the Commander believed that it was in allegiance with the Draok. Orders were given, and soldiers were send into Drop Pods, Orbital Pictures were quickly taken, and a plan was formulated within the time of fifteen minutes.
The Maunkee technicians wasted little time and began to hack into the many satellites and other orbital facilities and then got connected to whatever online network they found and hacked into the unknown, and began to tear it all apart, causing the people on planet Corak I to be offline. Every form of communication from the planet to any other vessel would either not be received to come in a very bad quality...it wasn't impossibly to send small, but highly vital, messages to nearby orbiting vessels.
Orbital missiles were send down on the planet hitting what was presumed to be military bases, however, the Maunkee was confused by the pictures the computers had given them, they saw mass destruction and death on Corak I, not the large cities or green fields that they had expected, so they presumed it was some sort of newly colonized planet that the Draoks had recently found.
The orbital missiles flew straight down into the military camps of the Siridars of The Siridar Imperium, and obliterated the camps completely, whatever task forces that were dispatched amongst the ruins of the cities soon saw small dots in the skies, which grew in size.
The Drop Pods fired missiles down at the military units, forcing them back from their landing points, and then the Maunkee robots and military personal came out of the AI Drop Pods.
Street battles broke out in a matter of minutes between the Siridar and the Maunkee and their robots.
The Maunkee called in for air support, and their Space Drones were send down from the spaceships and began to attack the Siridar infantry, and the Jet Fighters were also send down and served as a sort of Heavy Air Artillery.
The Maunkee were very quick to get their Offensive Tanks down, and used them to gain a strong grip of the center of Corak I as they took control of the highly military valued places, such as the train stations, the center of all the communications, and the power stations.
The Maunkee then allowed a temporary online for the Siridar, sending them a message:
From: Commander Zhao Su
To: Local Governor.
Surrender your planet and forces to the Maunkee Empire. What you have been show right now is but a minor taste of the military supremacy that the Maunkee Empire holds, and the technological advancement that we posses.
If you surrender peacefully we will allow you to have terms of surrender and the following is a taste of what will applied for your government and your citizens:
-You will become members and citizens of the Maunkee Empire.
-The Maunkee Empire will cover all damages done to the planet.
-All military personal won't be requiered and will be send home.
-Protection from foreign invaders.
-Higher technology, better education, better Standards of Living.
-Your governor will be re-educated and will become a member of the Council of the Empire.
-Better Welfare State
-Financial aid.
All of the above terms will be done by the Maunkee Empire's government, thus your government is not forced to use a single penny of rebuilding any buildings.
The Commander then ordered the Siege Warriors XX43 to standby and protect the area that they had just gained from their shock attack against the Siridar forces.
Maunkee Empire
Planet T'au
External Government
Enterance
When the Oracle entered the External Government, Chao Lin extended his arms and spoke, "Ah! Mighty one, welcome to Planet T'au, please, come in, I shall lead you to the conference room so we can start the talk immediately," Chao said and led the Oracle to room 305.
Small drones followed the Oracle wherever he went, cleaning the floor from his dirty steps, and as the Oracle looked closer, everyone wore special sock and special sandals while they were inside the External Government.
Chao opened the door and there were four other Maunkee representatives, they all stood up and bowed to the large Kira, and they then seated him at s stage like seat where they began to present to him their offer for what they had planned for the meeting.
”Good day Oracle, now to go straight down to business, we are delighted to make this meeting and here is what we are prepared to do once you have joined the Maunkee Empire.
Once you become a part of our Empire, you will be given permission to rule your own systems under the rules of the Maunkee, you will receive financial aid to improve your livelihoods, our technology will become your technology, and vice versa.
You will not be required to become a part of the army, it is entirely voluntarily, and the Maunkee Empire will guarantee the protection of your system against any and all attackers, as you will become a member of our great Empire.
You will be allowed to have a certain number of representatives in the Council, and participate in voting for new laws and regulations.
Your currency will be directly transferred into our currency, Kees, and we will monitor your economy to ensure that inflation doesn’t happen nor that poverty becomes a word in your dictionaries.
Of course, we do demand that your agricultural worlds participate in what we call for Community Farms, and although it may sound alien to you, believe me when I say, it is very easy.
It will improve your efficiency, your capability to produce larger quantities of food for your population and our population.
If you understand these terms, I’m sure we can give you the papers that will merge your system into the Maunkee Empire.
We will send a representative along to explain to your people what will happen over the course of two to three years, T’au time, and explain the benefits that you’ll gain from this agreement.”
The main talker stopped and then another representative, this one seemed more priest-like, stood up and added, ”The Maunkee Empire will not only protect you, but also ensure that your resources are dived perfectly, so your people can still earn a living from finding these resources, and knowing that they will be paid and the raw materials used for The Greater Good.
With every system that is united, the closer we come to uniting the universe as a single nation, for this will not only band all the many species together, it will create a better world for every organic creature in the universe. Better education, better stand of living, and not to forget, that the people will still have the rights to live their lives and to have the freedom that they believe is right.
The Maunkee Empire takes into consideration every opinion of every planet and system.
We only ask that you sacrifice your independence to The Greater Good, we only ask you to become one with your former enemy and forget your grudges and hatred and replace them with love and care.
Thank you,” the representative said and then sat down.
All the representatives were looking eagerly at the Oracle, waiting to see what he said about this deal, surely he would see the benefits about merging his people with the Maunkee’s and become one with one of the most technological advanced Empires in the universe.
The meeting was suddenly interrupted as a screen appeared before Chao.
It was the face of a female Maunkee, and by the look of her, she seemed to be rather satisfied, if not slightly happy.
”Your honor-” the Maunkee female started-”I bring good news. The Kingdom of Draok has proven itself to be a dictatorship, with no form of democratic government, and thus I have send a military force in and begun an invasion of their systems to liberate the people from this tyrannical form of sovereignty, and thus far, the Walhalla System and the Cerberus System has been conquered.
A second invasion fleet has another system held by the Draok, and are currently fighting to gain control over a planet so we can further our influence over this misled nation.”
Chao nodded and then closed the window and turned his attention towards the Oracle
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
External Government
Conference Room 207
Quincy was brought to the External Government, and like the Oracle, he was given a guide that explained the past of the Maunkee Empire, and told him about their aims and how they wished to unite the entire universe into a single nation and to get rid of all the poverty, wars, hunger and destruction tha was happening throughout the universe daily.
Quincy was also explained what the statues represented and how the Maunkee people worshipped Sha’O’Shi like a God of the Greater Good.
Quincy was then given the shoes he was required to wear while he was inside the External Government, the guards didn’t care if he was a representative, soldier, or even a god. He would wear those shoes, as he was humanoid, and their External Government was considered “Holy” to the Maunkee and defiling these grounds would be met by death to who ever refused to show respect to the place.
Inside the conference room, four Maunkee represented the Empire, one from each sector of the Empire. Technology, the Army, he Order of The Greater Good, and a member of the Maunkee council and economist.
”Now...you claim to have come here on political and economic terms. Very well, here is our offer:
-We will set aside scientists that can help you with possibly improving your technology, however what they will help you improve will be limited, as you are not a member of The Greater Good.
-We can lend you financial aid and send economists to help you make sure that whatever you wish to achieve will be done.
-Our trade for raw resources, and industrial goods is limited but open. We cannot, and will not sell you everything that we have.
However, we would like to hear, what is your proposition? What do you wish to gain from this meeting? Surely you weren’t simply send here to let the Maunkee Empire know of your existence, for we have known of it for a little while.
What is your true purpose here?”
The representatives all looked at Quincy, waiting patiently to hear his answer to their question.
Free Union
Rinewood Space Station
High Orbital
The Maunkee battle ship fired its canons at the Rinewood spaceship, it send out its Space Drones and began to battle against the poor pirate ships.
The Maunkee had the upper hand when it come to the technological advancement, however they lacked the numbers that the pirates had and thus they worked hard to both avoid the pirate battle ships and the canons that were fired at them from the Rinewood.
The commander ordered that the Death Canon was to be fired whenever it was ready. The Fist of Maunkee suffered from the many minor attacks that the pirates did against them, and thanks to the better sensors they were able to detect the stealth mode ships that came against them.
Four Space Missiles were shot out against the shield generators of the Rinewood, and along with that, the Drop Pods were send off.
The missiles caused a temporary lack of energy around a certain area in the Rinewood, allowing the Drop Pods to attack and break through the hangars of the Rinewood.
Once the Drop Pods were inside, the robotic soldiers and the Maunkee soldiers went into actions and began to infiltrate the Rinewood.
The Maunkee soldiers had been instructed that they were to show no mercy and to take no prisoners during this operation as the pirates had been deemed semi-hopeless by the Council of T’au, and their word was law.
The Maunkee aimed after the generators of Rinewood, attacked where the energy was given to the spaceship.
Hallway 224-AG
The Stealth Units made their way through the hallway as quickly as they could. They had found a pirate, quickly tortured him and now knew where they were to go; it wasn’t all too easy, the entire place crawled with activity from the pirates and the Stealth Units had to make it into the center of the Rinewood while their brothers, sisters and robotic allies were all fighting in the hangars of the massive ship.
The positive thing was that the attack in the hangars were diverting most of the attention of the pirates towards the Maunkee infiltrators, and thus it allowed the Stealth Units to move relatively easy through the Rinewood hallways.
The Stealth Units eventually came to the control centre, and as they opened the door they fired their weapons, killing the staff that was operating the control room, and without wasting any further time, they connected a device together with their computer and then began to go through the computer.
The computer was filled with information, not just about the Rinewood ship but also the Free Union System, all the information that the Maunkee Empire would need to invade the system within a month, if not less.
The Stealth Units began to download these files, however the elder computer was slow and the quantity of files that it needed to download was massive, and with every minute they wasted, the greater the risk of failing the mission became.
The Stealth Units tried to operate another computers, however due to the download of all the files, all other computers was slowed down significantly and they couldn’t back down now that they had started.
Outside in Space, the Fist of Maunkee was facing a critical moment. The shields of the spaceship were down, the metal of ship was being shot to pieces, and their Space Drones were slowly being shot down, one by one.
Reports from the Hangars were being send as the Maunkee soldiers and Robots were facing an overwhelming amount of pirates that were attacking them, and as the pirates were armed with both legal and illegal weapons through out the galaxy, the Maunkee soldiers weren’t able to find a form of pattern in their battle tactics, nor were they able to fight back the pirates as they came in powerful waves.
The admiral took off his hat and looked down, smiling. He and his crew had known from the start that they would die from this mission, however they surely had given the pirates a damn good fight. He couldn’t be more proud of them.
”Brothers…Sisters…I am deeply honored to have been your leader. I am honored to have led you in combat and you have seen you emerge victorious.
You have done your duty, and more. Rest in peace,” and with that, the admiral send a message that he had prepared from the start of the mission, a message that would let the Maunkee Empire know that he had failed and wouldn’t return home, neither him nor any of the men deployed.
A shot from the Rinewood hit the Fist of Maunkee right at its generators and all the power of the ship died out.
Within minutes the pirate ships were all over the battleship, boarding it, shooting it to pieces and doing whatever they could to get rid of its existence.
The soldiers onboard the Rinewood were now cornered and decided that instead of simply going down, one by one, they would drag as many pirate scums as they could with them, and thus they threw all their plasma grenades and ran out to meet the pirates in an open fight.
The Fist of Maunkee exploded as the generators were hit by a powerful ray of laser from the Rinewood and the admiral and his personal all died along with it.
The Stealth Units grapped their device and ran as fast as their robotic suits allowed them. The pirates had discovered what had happened and were now after them, they ran as fat as they could down the hallway, armed with their ranged weapons and their katanas, they shot and stabbed everything they came across, however…The pirates weren’t stupid and sat up traps for them to run into, killing one of the Stealth Units as he ran into a grenade trap, the explosion killing him.
Another Stealth Unit was killed as a pirate sniper shot him down, right in the head, and the next Stealth Unit shot him back with his own plasma sniper.
The Stealth Units were now on their way towards the hangar of the Rinewood, and there were hundreds of pirates waiting for them there…unless…
The last two Stealth Units quickly split up, the one with the device crawled into the air conditioner system and made his way through the maze of tunnels there, and the other Stealth Unit, got the flame thrower and ran right into the mob of pirates, setting two dozen of them in flames before the hail of fire brought him down.
The final Stealth Unit made his way to one of the side hangars where he entered a pirate smuggling ship.
There were still goods inside the ship, slaves, drugs, stolen and illegal goods. The Stealth Unit got to the cockpit and began to hijack the ship and flew out of the Rinewood pirate station. The Stealth Unit immediately began to put in the coordinates for the Maunkee Empire, for he still had a duty to do to his nation.
0.00 INK
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
T'au Central, External Government Building.
The Oracle snarled low as his demands were denied. This Greater Good may prove to be a obstacle rather then
an advantage. However he agreed to the commands and dismissed them, agreeing with a sweep of his paw. He spent his trip to the External Government in silence, noticing and not appreciating the sights and vistas provided by the journey. All the guide said sunk in, filed away for reference to be used against the race in future engagement, political and military.
He only registered response as he approached the External Government building. He looked at the Maunkee guards here. Primitively armed, the weapons they bore would be of no use compared to the natural weapons of the Kirata. He brought himself to his full height, and looked down on the miniscule guard as he made his request. The Oracle strode past him, ignoring the table. He only whipped his regal looking cape of, depositing it in a pile on the table top. Underneath he was wearing little. There was little to cover fur blanketed the Kira's body. He carried no weapons, indeed there would be no place to hide them. He looked at the guards as if daring them to move. He stepped through the entrance to be greeted by Chao. At first he though it was some kind of scam, such a puny specimen in power over a nation. The Chancellor was small and weak even compared to the guards that defended him. The Oracle understood that other nations are not founded on the same principles. He still did not understand how such an individual inspired following or loyalty.
He followed the Maunkee to the conference room, ignoring the cleaning drones following his footsteps. Inside the conference room he did not sit, shunning the uncomfortable looking seat in favour of standing on his legs and overpowering the representatives. As the presentation bombarded him his face obtained a look of disgust and eventually total mirth. He burst out in a throaty laugh that sounded more like a roar. He stopped quickly understanding that if he continued the council would get over the shock and take offence. He stood in front of the chair he was provided, looking pointedly at the main speaker.
"So I am to understand that if The Khan so chooses our dominion would become merely an extension of yours? I am to understand that we do not have permission to rule our own empire? Since you will give us permission?" He continued, his voice laden with accent.
"Our economy is our economy; we never intended it to be otherwise. We are self sufficient, we do not need you economic support" The last word was stressed to breaking point. "And you are aware that you our dealing with a carnivorous race" we bared his razor fangs to prove his points "We do not maintain farms and our hunting grounds are almost as sacred as this building" His claws extended from their shelter's in his hind paws, as if threatening to scratch the floor. "In simple words, The Kirata Empire will remain independent from the Greater Good. And my decision echoes that of The Khan"
Turning his attention to the priest figure The Oracle simply shook his maned. Indicating in one movement his response to the Maunkee. He would enjoy the look on the faces of the assembled, the look of shock and surprise that would cover their visages as he denied their firm belief that their 'Greater Good' would sway him.
Before he could observe their responses a screen activated. The Kira could not see what was shown but heard every detail. He cocked his head sideways as he heard of the event. It seems this nation was more militaristic then he thought. All because of a dictatorship government. How would they class the ruling of the Kirata Empire? He filed the record away, planning on sending word of the invasion, a fleet of privateers could easily 'acquire' any 'lost' cargo.
Free Union Space
Unnamed Humanoid System (Class 3 Star - System AA1232)
Strike Force Terminus Etheron
Myrashka Wing approached the hulk of the moon, they were inside the shields and therefore the minimum range of most of the station's weaponry. However the team was taking no chance, they ran silent and invisible against the void. The ships gracefully slipped parallel to the rocky surface. Devices on the lower hulls of their ships activated. Small mining lasers began to slice into the rock. The ships effectively landed on the black dust surface, a vacuum seal was created around the parasite boarding devices. The mini lasers worked away at the rock, the first one penetrated the bulkhead, cutting a neat sealed hole. The first Kira stepped out of the small stealth fighter and into the Pirate base. there were multiple insertion points, some on the same level, however several ships penetrated one level above. The Kiras themselves had not yet
activated their clocking devices. And were at the mercy of whatever crew saw them, or more likely, the crew were
at their mercy.
----
Kirashka Wing were the closest to the Planet of Taurus, they received the transmission of the believed co-ordinates of the nearest pirate base. It seemed to be in orbit of the planet itself. They quickly changed course. Quickly enough the spotted the ponderous, ugly heap of metal that seemed to serve as a space going warehouse, however the number of weapons it boasted, as well as it proximity to the supplied co-ordinates made it the target of the second 7 fighter squadron.Kirashka Wing closed quickly, still fully sheathed the surveyed the base, less cautious. As they approached all hell broke lose. As a war revealed itself.
Floating along side the Rinewood station floated a battle cruiser, almost as if exchanging broadsides. Indeed the damaged sustained by both combatants was representative of that form of warfare. Blood red and orange suns blossomed against the hulls of both ships, before snuffing out in the deadly void. Instinctively the wing broke formation, dodging stray fire. The small, deadly craft slipped through the inferno heading full speed to the remainder of the Rinewood. The thought on the Wing commander's mind was that someone else was here for the artifact, and failure was not a word uttered by a Kira. Most of Hawks survived the crossfire, one clipped by a erratic space drone, sending both the fighter and the drone up in a catastrophic release of anti-matter and enerjax, pulverizing a nearby pirate ship. Another fighter was lost in the preliminary sweep of the Rinewood, the damaged Hawk careening into the station itself. Blowing a hole in the hull and letting the ugly hulk vent atmosphere.
The scan complete the remain five fighters pulled out of the combat zone, skimming the top of Taurus's atmosphere to avoid fire. An urgent tight beam message was sent to The Killath. A request for immediate intervention. These kills were theirs.
----
Touraus Wing had discovered Slasher's Hold before they received the co-ordinates. Because of the base's poor quality of construction and defence systems it was simple for the wing to penetrate the defences and cut into the asteroid. As Ji'rall, Tra'Zil and the rest of the infiltration squad assembled they felt they were getting the poor deal. The seven Kirans split, a group of three going either direction down the abandoned corridor they penetrated. The seventh, and youngest Kira remained to guard the ships. They weren't exactly hidden. Aggravated Gir'alit activated his cloaking system and slunk to the wall of the main corridor as the searching teams disappeared.
----
quickly The Killath appeared at the field of engagement over Taurus. Reaper drives propelling it from the side of the system to the centre in moments. Its weapons were charged, ready to appear out of nowhere and claim victory for The Kirata Empire. However all that filled the view screen was a dying explosion as the detonation of the Fist of Maunkee dissipated in the emptiness of space. All that was left was debris, metal and charred flesh drifting in a final, unending silence.
With the battle over the Kirata force turned its attention to the Rinewood, the intend and threat of its destruction gone. The order was given and the insertion wing closed on the station, unnoticeable by multitude of ships buzzing around likes around a disturbed nest. Kirashka Wing flew past for another scan, everything seemed almost peaceful after the fury and chaos of battle. An safe insertion point could not be discerned, there was too much damage to the hull and substructure. A sealed and atmosphered route could not be found. Maybe the pirate tactics from hunting convoys would still come in useful. Another message was sent, this time to the pair of Spec Ops Privateers waiting in an adjacent system. A call for a recovery crew. Kirashka Wing left, reaper drives activating, their destination was to scout the other side of the system. Heavy traffic indicated heavy presence, something big was coming...
0.00 INK
Near Xr'lii'ra Space
Free Union System
Deep In-System
Right on cue the Xr'lii'ra fleet arrives.
They appear in the Free Union system not in a blossom of might, nor do they slink in like snakes. They simply... appear. First the dreadnoughts Reap deep in-system. Then the battleships, along with the cruisers, Reap in after the dreadnoughts, after the two leviathans clear the RZ (Reap Zone). Their powerful, albeit short ranged, sensors pick the near space apart. Nothing can hide, not even ships with cloaking systems. Gravity sensors detect a ship's very mass, which means no amount of cloaking can hide the enemy.
The fleet appears two-thirds of the way into the gravity well of the sun, which is the true power of Reaper drives. A 'normal' FTL drive can only skirt the outer fifth or so of a gravity well, depending on the quality. Most drives cannot penetrate a gravity well at all, forcing days of sublight travel to get into a system. A Reaper drive is, as well as being many times faster and more efficient than a multi-dimensional drive like a hyperspace drive, allows ships to penetrate deep into a sun's gravity before having to switch to sublight.
Like now, for example. The small fleet has, in one swoop, bypassed the out sensor nets and are in a perfect place to intercept either Rinewood, Slasher Hold, or the third unknown power source far out in the system. With so much firepower, the small number of cruisers of the Free Union, most just borrowed pirate vessels, are powerless to stop the Xr'lii'ra from doing whatever they want. They Might be able to stop the cruisers, or at least drive them away, but the capitals alone could destroy any organized resistance in space. The Free Union Navy tries to defend Taurus, effectively writing off the asteroid mining stations and all off-planet bases. The group of low-quality cruisers form up into a loose formation in preparation.
Their grouping is... shoddy. When the first ship moves, a Polo class heavy cruiser acting as flagship, it takes a few precious seconds for the others to comply. Their sensor net has a high level of overlap, leaving small gaps that fast ships can exploit to break missile lock and such, while their own networked Pd defense net is clunky if their clumsy lidar and radar scans are any indicator. The Mind would laugh out loud if it had the emotion to do so. They are cycling missiles ahead of time! it balks. Older missile doctrine, at least twenty years out of date.
Old missile systems were slow firing and sensors were dumb, which required some thinking to get large enough volleys to overpower the enemy point-defense. Most space forces would cycle missiles out of their launchers and float them next to their ships ahead of time. The first launch would be massive, helping to damage the enemy before the navies had to deal with slow launchers. It was a viable tactic for ships like the cruisers hovering around Taurus.
Was. Now, such systems are just a waste of missiles. Technology like antimatter create massive zones of hard radiation and EMP when they go off, which gives them special area-of-effect properties. Tight groups of missiles, massive first vollies for example, can be taken out with a single antimatter missile. Also, better ECM (Electronic Counter Measure) systems and beam weapons can quickly swap massive waves of close-together missiles with no trouble at all. In only a few words, the Free Union ships' doctrine is as hopelessly out of date as their ships.
The name of the game for new missiles is speed and targeting, not weight of fire. New missile designs can cost as much as five times as older designs, but they are much better with a better than 600% increase in chance to hit. Now, rather than just being a dumb bomb with an engine, controlled from the ship, they are self-intelligent weapon packages with evasion drives as well as internal ECM and counter-ECM to both hide from enemy point defense and to break past jamming and stealth countermeasures. Each missile is faster and smarter than before, which means that only a few are needed to hit the enemy. Any more than a few at once and the enemy can take many out at once, so less is more at this point.
A pair of Omen battleships and eight of the cruisers, all the Joker heavy cruisers and the rest lighter ones, break for Taurus and the small fleet there, as well as Rinewood. The [pair of Joker dreadnought takes the three remaining Omens and follow that elusive energy source.
*******
Taurus
The captain of the leading cruiser stares blankly at the aging sensor plot. The wall of organic ships outweighs his 'fleet' by at least two to one. He knows that the Xr'lii'ra fleet will fly in perfect order. They always do. Their sensor nets will be linked flawlessly, their point-defense will be balanced, their ships just so... it sickens him.
What did that fucker Garius do to enrage the Xr'lii?!
Their system is poor and decadent, not even a viable target for their big insect brother next door. For some odd reason the Xr'lii'ra do not conquer like most races. They expand slowly and only after a long period. It is almost as if they are scared to anger other nations. They are one of the largest, so why should they fear? Captain Nellar realizes why the Xr'ii are going to kill him.
Were the pirates stupid enough to prey on Xr'lii shipping? He wonders idly. The homicidal, restless, hivemind race with a huge amount of ships and the balls to step over alliances when they need to? Are they THAT stupid? He wonders as a pit opens in his stomach. His body feels cold and far away, as if his mind is running from the situation to save itself.
Although it was only a guess, Nellar was right. The pirates were really that stupid. Garius even more so. That... slime would be the best term, slime of a man actually sanctioned the pirate raiders to prey on passing merchants. All unofficially of course, but that did not stop the Xr'lii Mindreapers from pulling the coordinates of the bases from the skulls of screaming pirates in their interrogation cells. The Xe'lii'ra hate politics so no amount of veiled threats and small lies could scare them out of enacting justice. So now a simple, hard-working ship captain is going to die all because Garius wanted more money in his personal bank account.
"Sir! The Xr'lii'ra are cycling missiles!" one of the sensor techs announces. All eyes are on the captain.
"Range?" He asks quietly. He is confident, but it is all just a show. Inside he is cold and terrified.
"Right around two light-hours, sir." The tech replies fearfully.
"Hmm. Interesting." The captain murmurs. "All units! Keep on station and prepare to fire once they get within one light-hour."
"Aye... sir."
Nellar is baffled for a second. Two light-hours!? Impossible. No drive goes that far! But... of course! Those goddamn gravity-rams. Nellar decides. The Xr'li'ra are firing from their internal rams, rocketing the missiles to somewhere around the speed of a mass-driver slug, with no work from the engines. They are firing out far, and letting the missiles coast on velocity from the rams before firing. A great way to launch out of range of relatiation.
At 1.5 light-hours, Xr'lii'ra missile drives light up. The small packets of antimatter rapidly accelerate and the wash of jamming static and decoy sensor images start up from the internal ECM of the missiles, as well as the enemy ships. 1.5 lhrs, not as bad as we thought. I guess we get to die just as we thought we would, rather then from some superweapon.
"Ships, begin Pd missile launches at 1.1 light-hours!" Captain Nellar barks.
********
Taurus, 1 hour later
As the Xr'lii ships streams past, the Mind, and the linked Hybrids, wonder. Why did that one heavy cruiser fight so well compared to the rest? A full third of the cruisers, what was left after three missile waves, surrendered. Not the heavy cruiser. It fought to the end, all the way until an Omen's heavy Plasma Lance vaporised the bleeding wreck at the end. The Mind is sad. It wishes that such a fighting spirit did not have to be wasted on a group like the Free Union.
Suddenly, a check for life pods picks up an odd one. It is odd because it's serial number is alone. That means that it is the only survivor of its group. The numbers correspond to... that heavy cruiser! Immediately a trio of Hybrids is sent into one of the shuttle bays of one of the Omens.
The battered, burned, and dented pod is grabbed by tractors and placed daintily on the black floor of the bay. One of the hybrids, a male Humanform, leaps up and unceremoniously rips the heavy airlock off with some help from a plasma torch.
What stares up at him is four people. A tech, probably the one who started the pod, a pair of Marines, aiming their flechette guns fearfully, and a bloody, unconscious Captain Nellar. The gash on his head looks very much like the butt of a flechette gun, and the one held by the blond female has blood encrusted on it.
The Hybrid gives them a curious look, then extends a long spiked leg from his back. He has four, very much like a giant spider decided to fuse to his back. The pair clench their guns, but the spike at the end does not stab, rather it hooks over their heads.
"Would you like to come out of there? The atmosphere in there is rather hot and I promise the temperature out in the bay is much cooler." it asks in a pleasant baritone. The hybrid's voice is two-toned, mixing a normal human voice with an odd insect-like buzz underneath. It is close enough to be familiar, but different enough to be alien. Both Marines cover the knocked-out Nellar, but the tech shakes his nerdy head once, then reaches up to grab the leg. The Hybrid checks his grip, then hauls him out of the upturned pod. He is deposited hard, but not cruelly so. The two Marines gawk, but the Hybrids annoyed look at them is withering. "It is not like you can kill me with those..." he remarks. A few seconds later the same Hybrid is lifting out Nellar and depositing him with his Marines. Another Hybrid, female Humanform, leads the trio away from the pod.
"We will care for your captain, then he will join you in your rooms. Yes, you have rooms. We Xr'lii are not savages! You will not even be able to do any sabotage of any sorts as well." she tells them. At their confused glances, she explains.
"The Ship do not have pilots of any kind. This Ship is alive. All processes are internal. All the hangers, the bays, and the rooms are just added outside the body of the ship. If you were to blast your way inwards, you would only find nutrient vacuoles and blood vessels over top of the generators and antimatter storage. Xr'lii'ra ships are smaller than you think, simply because we do not need hallways or rooms on the inside. More armor that way too. Now please, warm food and even a shower waits for you ahead!" she sooths. Nellar goes to the infirmary, or the Xr'lii'ra equivalent.
Those ships that were captured are being boarded. If any Hybrids chose to watch, they could sense the psi-lense of the massive ship brains scanning the men and women on the ships. Very few are useful. Those are spared for later use, either in the hybrid program, or are released back to the planet after a short stay for medical reasons.
The rest are massacred. Any Hybrid could watch through the eyes of combat constructs as they methodically went through each of the ships, killing any who tried to retaliate, which was most of the crews. Petty pirates could not be prepared for the discipline of the biological monsters that attacked them. Any amount of fire was either absorbed by disturbingly powerful armor or was simply absorbed by the corpses. The Xr'lii's living weapons would climb over their dead to get to the enemy, firing all the way. Long-legged Marineforms bounded down the tight halls while firing built in missile launchers and flechette guns before ripping men in battle armor apart, limb by limb. Baseball sized bugs, living grenades, rushed in suicide attacks through vents and over the heads of their larger brethren as dog-sized Rippers flowed underneath them all. The Xr'lii attack was sudden and violent which left the already battered pirates no time to rest and reconsolidate.
******
Rinewood
After the battle, one of the Omen move towards the Rinewood. Really what is left of the Rinewood. Half is slagged, and the other half is merly trashed. Floating nearby is the wreck of a large ship. Hull size denotes it as a battlecruiser, only a step below the Omen that watches it. What was such a large ship doing here? The hull is destroyed, probably a blown fusion reactor, or maybe antimatter, so there is no one to question and no computer to hack.
The Omen's troop detachment, thousands of sleeping constructs and a hundred or so armed Xr'lii are led by four Hybrids as their boarding shuttles arc across the vacuum to the Rinewood. Each enters the station via hangers or cutting a hole in the hull. The Hybrids enter via three hangers, all of which are hotly contested.
Neon purple Xr'lii blood and the blood of various pirate species flows all over. Piles of corpses show tough opposition, but most have dead pirates in the center. One hybrid watches as a Marineform picks up a screaming pirate and rams its flechette launcher into it's spine and blows organs and blood across the bay before stomping a third pirate. The pirate's only had a chance if they could repel the initial landing. Powerful armor, powerful handheld weapons, inhuman speed, and support from lander weapons denied them that chance. Not that the pirates didn't try. In another hanger a pair of landers lay shattered on the hard metal, twitching slightly. Even though they are bleeding to death, they still fire what weapons are left at target to support. One even lurches forwards on failing drives to crush a pirate squad leader. He was grappling with a Marineform, clad in expensive powered armor. He was equal, even better, than the seven foot insect, but not to a hundred-ton dropship. With most bays under control, the Hybrids sprint behind a vanguard of heavily-armed and armored Heavy Marineforms. They search for any captains, or even the leader of the base. They desire information on that odd hulk next to Rinewood.
********
Blackheart Base
The missile duel against the base is less one-sided than the one against the cruisers.
While the capital ships outmass the entire Free Union navy by at least forty times, the base below can afford huge bunkers for huge missiles. Even worse, the missiles fired from it are only a few years obsolete, with modern ECM and engines. The capitals, lead by the Jokers, dance in a sea of flame.
Apparently the pirates got a hold of antimatter, for some of the missiles detonate in that massive way that only antimatter does. The Joker's shields take scores of hits from various warhead types and do not falter, but a full trio of antimatter torpedoes detonate on the weakened shield of an Omen. The massive missiles erase the Omen like it never existed in a holocaust of fire and light. The other Omens remain intact, albeit weakened.
After two hours of steady firing, the base's launchers are mostly exhausted and the massive base shield is hammered flat. Antimatter detonates right on the hull of the armored blister that is the above-ground base. It holds, but all sensors and blast doors for missiles, as well as all energy weapons, are melted to slag and fried by ECM. The dreadnoughts and battleships move onto the now blind and toothless base with dropships and Joker boarding tubes. This wave features massive combat forms, the size of tanks, as well as six heavily-armed Hybrids to lead it. The pirates are doomed when the first boarding charges blow in their halls and bays.
Free Union System
Deep In-System
Right on cue the Xr'lii'ra fleet arrives.
They appear in the Free Union system not in a blossom of might, nor do they slink in like snakes. They simply... appear. First the dreadnoughts Reap deep in-system. Then the battleships, along with the cruisers, Reap in after the dreadnoughts, after the two leviathans clear the RZ (Reap Zone). Their powerful, albeit short ranged, sensors pick the near space apart. Nothing can hide, not even ships with cloaking systems. Gravity sensors detect a ship's very mass, which means no amount of cloaking can hide the enemy.
The fleet appears two-thirds of the way into the gravity well of the sun, which is the true power of Reaper drives. A 'normal' FTL drive can only skirt the outer fifth or so of a gravity well, depending on the quality. Most drives cannot penetrate a gravity well at all, forcing days of sublight travel to get into a system. A Reaper drive is, as well as being many times faster and more efficient than a multi-dimensional drive like a hyperspace drive, allows ships to penetrate deep into a sun's gravity before having to switch to sublight.
Like now, for example. The small fleet has, in one swoop, bypassed the out sensor nets and are in a perfect place to intercept either Rinewood, Slasher Hold, or the third unknown power source far out in the system. With so much firepower, the small number of cruisers of the Free Union, most just borrowed pirate vessels, are powerless to stop the Xr'lii'ra from doing whatever they want. They Might be able to stop the cruisers, or at least drive them away, but the capitals alone could destroy any organized resistance in space. The Free Union Navy tries to defend Taurus, effectively writing off the asteroid mining stations and all off-planet bases. The group of low-quality cruisers form up into a loose formation in preparation.
Their grouping is... shoddy. When the first ship moves, a Polo class heavy cruiser acting as flagship, it takes a few precious seconds for the others to comply. Their sensor net has a high level of overlap, leaving small gaps that fast ships can exploit to break missile lock and such, while their own networked Pd defense net is clunky if their clumsy lidar and radar scans are any indicator. The Mind would laugh out loud if it had the emotion to do so. They are cycling missiles ahead of time! it balks. Older missile doctrine, at least twenty years out of date.
Old missile systems were slow firing and sensors were dumb, which required some thinking to get large enough volleys to overpower the enemy point-defense. Most space forces would cycle missiles out of their launchers and float them next to their ships ahead of time. The first launch would be massive, helping to damage the enemy before the navies had to deal with slow launchers. It was a viable tactic for ships like the cruisers hovering around Taurus.
Was. Now, such systems are just a waste of missiles. Technology like antimatter create massive zones of hard radiation and EMP when they go off, which gives them special area-of-effect properties. Tight groups of missiles, massive first vollies for example, can be taken out with a single antimatter missile. Also, better ECM (Electronic Counter Measure) systems and beam weapons can quickly swap massive waves of close-together missiles with no trouble at all. In only a few words, the Free Union ships' doctrine is as hopelessly out of date as their ships.
The name of the game for new missiles is speed and targeting, not weight of fire. New missile designs can cost as much as five times as older designs, but they are much better with a better than 600% increase in chance to hit. Now, rather than just being a dumb bomb with an engine, controlled from the ship, they are self-intelligent weapon packages with evasion drives as well as internal ECM and counter-ECM to both hide from enemy point defense and to break past jamming and stealth countermeasures. Each missile is faster and smarter than before, which means that only a few are needed to hit the enemy. Any more than a few at once and the enemy can take many out at once, so less is more at this point.
A pair of Omen battleships and eight of the cruisers, all the Joker heavy cruisers and the rest lighter ones, break for Taurus and the small fleet there, as well as Rinewood. The [pair of Joker dreadnought takes the three remaining Omens and follow that elusive energy source.
*******
Taurus
The captain of the leading cruiser stares blankly at the aging sensor plot. The wall of organic ships outweighs his 'fleet' by at least two to one. He knows that the Xr'lii'ra fleet will fly in perfect order. They always do. Their sensor nets will be linked flawlessly, their point-defense will be balanced, their ships just so... it sickens him.
What did that fucker Garius do to enrage the Xr'lii?!
Their system is poor and decadent, not even a viable target for their big insect brother next door. For some odd reason the Xr'lii'ra do not conquer like most races. They expand slowly and only after a long period. It is almost as if they are scared to anger other nations. They are one of the largest, so why should they fear? Captain Nellar realizes why the Xr'ii are going to kill him.
Were the pirates stupid enough to prey on Xr'lii shipping? He wonders idly. The homicidal, restless, hivemind race with a huge amount of ships and the balls to step over alliances when they need to? Are they THAT stupid? He wonders as a pit opens in his stomach. His body feels cold and far away, as if his mind is running from the situation to save itself.
Although it was only a guess, Nellar was right. The pirates were really that stupid. Garius even more so. That... slime would be the best term, slime of a man actually sanctioned the pirate raiders to prey on passing merchants. All unofficially of course, but that did not stop the Xr'lii Mindreapers from pulling the coordinates of the bases from the skulls of screaming pirates in their interrogation cells. The Xe'lii'ra hate politics so no amount of veiled threats and small lies could scare them out of enacting justice. So now a simple, hard-working ship captain is going to die all because Garius wanted more money in his personal bank account.
"Sir! The Xr'lii'ra are cycling missiles!" one of the sensor techs announces. All eyes are on the captain.
"Range?" He asks quietly. He is confident, but it is all just a show. Inside he is cold and terrified.
"Right around two light-hours, sir." The tech replies fearfully.
"Hmm. Interesting." The captain murmurs. "All units! Keep on station and prepare to fire once they get within one light-hour."
"Aye... sir."
Nellar is baffled for a second. Two light-hours!? Impossible. No drive goes that far! But... of course! Those goddamn gravity-rams. Nellar decides. The Xr'li'ra are firing from their internal rams, rocketing the missiles to somewhere around the speed of a mass-driver slug, with no work from the engines. They are firing out far, and letting the missiles coast on velocity from the rams before firing. A great way to launch out of range of relatiation.
At 1.5 light-hours, Xr'lii'ra missile drives light up. The small packets of antimatter rapidly accelerate and the wash of jamming static and decoy sensor images start up from the internal ECM of the missiles, as well as the enemy ships. 1.5 lhrs, not as bad as we thought. I guess we get to die just as we thought we would, rather then from some superweapon.
"Ships, begin Pd missile launches at 1.1 light-hours!" Captain Nellar barks.
********
Taurus, 1 hour later
As the Xr'lii ships streams past, the Mind, and the linked Hybrids, wonder. Why did that one heavy cruiser fight so well compared to the rest? A full third of the cruisers, what was left after three missile waves, surrendered. Not the heavy cruiser. It fought to the end, all the way until an Omen's heavy Plasma Lance vaporised the bleeding wreck at the end. The Mind is sad. It wishes that such a fighting spirit did not have to be wasted on a group like the Free Union.
Suddenly, a check for life pods picks up an odd one. It is odd because it's serial number is alone. That means that it is the only survivor of its group. The numbers correspond to... that heavy cruiser! Immediately a trio of Hybrids is sent into one of the shuttle bays of one of the Omens.
The battered, burned, and dented pod is grabbed by tractors and placed daintily on the black floor of the bay. One of the hybrids, a male Humanform, leaps up and unceremoniously rips the heavy airlock off with some help from a plasma torch.
What stares up at him is four people. A tech, probably the one who started the pod, a pair of Marines, aiming their flechette guns fearfully, and a bloody, unconscious Captain Nellar. The gash on his head looks very much like the butt of a flechette gun, and the one held by the blond female has blood encrusted on it.
The Hybrid gives them a curious look, then extends a long spiked leg from his back. He has four, very much like a giant spider decided to fuse to his back. The pair clench their guns, but the spike at the end does not stab, rather it hooks over their heads.
"Would you like to come out of there? The atmosphere in there is rather hot and I promise the temperature out in the bay is much cooler." it asks in a pleasant baritone. The hybrid's voice is two-toned, mixing a normal human voice with an odd insect-like buzz underneath. It is close enough to be familiar, but different enough to be alien. Both Marines cover the knocked-out Nellar, but the tech shakes his nerdy head once, then reaches up to grab the leg. The Hybrid checks his grip, then hauls him out of the upturned pod. He is deposited hard, but not cruelly so. The two Marines gawk, but the Hybrids annoyed look at them is withering. "It is not like you can kill me with those..." he remarks. A few seconds later the same Hybrid is lifting out Nellar and depositing him with his Marines. Another Hybrid, female Humanform, leads the trio away from the pod.
"We will care for your captain, then he will join you in your rooms. Yes, you have rooms. We Xr'lii are not savages! You will not even be able to do any sabotage of any sorts as well." she tells them. At their confused glances, she explains.
"The Ship do not have pilots of any kind. This Ship is alive. All processes are internal. All the hangers, the bays, and the rooms are just added outside the body of the ship. If you were to blast your way inwards, you would only find nutrient vacuoles and blood vessels over top of the generators and antimatter storage. Xr'lii'ra ships are smaller than you think, simply because we do not need hallways or rooms on the inside. More armor that way too. Now please, warm food and even a shower waits for you ahead!" she sooths. Nellar goes to the infirmary, or the Xr'lii'ra equivalent.
Those ships that were captured are being boarded. If any Hybrids chose to watch, they could sense the psi-lense of the massive ship brains scanning the men and women on the ships. Very few are useful. Those are spared for later use, either in the hybrid program, or are released back to the planet after a short stay for medical reasons.
The rest are massacred. Any Hybrid could watch through the eyes of combat constructs as they methodically went through each of the ships, killing any who tried to retaliate, which was most of the crews. Petty pirates could not be prepared for the discipline of the biological monsters that attacked them. Any amount of fire was either absorbed by disturbingly powerful armor or was simply absorbed by the corpses. The Xr'lii's living weapons would climb over their dead to get to the enemy, firing all the way. Long-legged Marineforms bounded down the tight halls while firing built in missile launchers and flechette guns before ripping men in battle armor apart, limb by limb. Baseball sized bugs, living grenades, rushed in suicide attacks through vents and over the heads of their larger brethren as dog-sized Rippers flowed underneath them all. The Xr'lii attack was sudden and violent which left the already battered pirates no time to rest and reconsolidate.
******
Rinewood
After the battle, one of the Omen move towards the Rinewood. Really what is left of the Rinewood. Half is slagged, and the other half is merly trashed. Floating nearby is the wreck of a large ship. Hull size denotes it as a battlecruiser, only a step below the Omen that watches it. What was such a large ship doing here? The hull is destroyed, probably a blown fusion reactor, or maybe antimatter, so there is no one to question and no computer to hack.
The Omen's troop detachment, thousands of sleeping constructs and a hundred or so armed Xr'lii are led by four Hybrids as their boarding shuttles arc across the vacuum to the Rinewood. Each enters the station via hangers or cutting a hole in the hull. The Hybrids enter via three hangers, all of which are hotly contested.
Neon purple Xr'lii blood and the blood of various pirate species flows all over. Piles of corpses show tough opposition, but most have dead pirates in the center. One hybrid watches as a Marineform picks up a screaming pirate and rams its flechette launcher into it's spine and blows organs and blood across the bay before stomping a third pirate. The pirate's only had a chance if they could repel the initial landing. Powerful armor, powerful handheld weapons, inhuman speed, and support from lander weapons denied them that chance. Not that the pirates didn't try. In another hanger a pair of landers lay shattered on the hard metal, twitching slightly. Even though they are bleeding to death, they still fire what weapons are left at target to support. One even lurches forwards on failing drives to crush a pirate squad leader. He was grappling with a Marineform, clad in expensive powered armor. He was equal, even better, than the seven foot insect, but not to a hundred-ton dropship. With most bays under control, the Hybrids sprint behind a vanguard of heavily-armed and armored Heavy Marineforms. They search for any captains, or even the leader of the base. They desire information on that odd hulk next to Rinewood.
********
Blackheart Base
The missile duel against the base is less one-sided than the one against the cruisers.
While the capital ships outmass the entire Free Union navy by at least forty times, the base below can afford huge bunkers for huge missiles. Even worse, the missiles fired from it are only a few years obsolete, with modern ECM and engines. The capitals, lead by the Jokers, dance in a sea of flame.
Apparently the pirates got a hold of antimatter, for some of the missiles detonate in that massive way that only antimatter does. The Joker's shields take scores of hits from various warhead types and do not falter, but a full trio of antimatter torpedoes detonate on the weakened shield of an Omen. The massive missiles erase the Omen like it never existed in a holocaust of fire and light. The other Omens remain intact, albeit weakened.
After two hours of steady firing, the base's launchers are mostly exhausted and the massive base shield is hammered flat. Antimatter detonates right on the hull of the armored blister that is the above-ground base. It holds, but all sensors and blast doors for missiles, as well as all energy weapons, are melted to slag and fried by ECM. The dreadnoughts and battleships move onto the now blind and toothless base with dropships and Joker boarding tubes. This wave features massive combat forms, the size of tanks, as well as six heavily-armed Hybrids to lead it. The pirates are doomed when the first boarding charges blow in their halls and bays.
0.00 INK
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
External Government
Conference Room 207
Quincy, for all his awkwardness, adopted foreign customs with ease. The quick briefing turned him into the quickest Maunkee gentleman he could become, and he waited calmly as he let his superiors speak.
Quincy nodded, and prepared to propose the Qujoray agenda.
"The Qujoray do not send me for the purpose of seeking financial aid. Far from it. I am here to propose an extension, rather, an entire wing of the Qujoray economy to provide for your systems and only your systems." Quincy let the strange concept hang in the air for a moment.
"You are a more civilized people than most. Your beliefs are rooted in something great and true, and the Qujoray are aware that your purposes are not the same as other, lesser systems. I have come to arrange for the collaboration of Qujoray scientists with your own. I know the threat of espionage is great, so these scientists will become, for all intents and purposes, your property, and any manufacturing firms created under this agreement will be run by Qujoray, but under the jurisdiction of your society, and thus meant to adhere to your laws and customs." Quincy took a deep breath.
"It is obvious that these workers must not only conform, but truly accept the purpose of the Greater Good, so you will be supplied with many young Qujoray very willing to accept your views." Quincy knew, of course, that they were being paid, and the Qujoray, ultimately, worshiped the almighty dollar.
"We have extended similar services to a variety of other systems, and each system has, without fail, gained a significant amount of revenue and final goods from such agremeents. Our ability to supply is built on our well tested factory system, and specialization sets the Qujoray apart from any other supplier"
"The Qujoray would do everything in their power to supply your systems with unique technologies, built with the Maunkee in mind. We will fund the entire creation of this branch of factories and economies, knowing that, when the trial has ended, you will see the true value of our combined technologies, and a Qujoray synergy system which will ripple through your entire economy." Quincy was selling a world at this point, and he was making sure to stay rather subdued about that.
"Our primary goal is to supply you with the raw material, processing power, and productivity of Qujoray scientists and workers, and perhaps lay the foundation for even grander economic alliances to come, so that the Maunkee empire may expand ever farther."
"We want nothing more than to provide a service which is beneficial to the Maunkee empire, and I guarantee you will see immediate improvements in both quantity and quality of whatever you have us produce. Your powers will overlook every step of the process, and allow for conformity to the systems which have made the Maunkee great." Quincy wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but in his heart he believed his speech, and he knew too little of the Maunkee to question them.
"This is the offer, which I can explain in greater detail, and certainly configure to your purposes and desires."
Now Quincy felt he had laid out his purpose well enough, it was now his purpose to remove any skepticism.
Planet T'au
External Government
Conference Room 207
Quincy, for all his awkwardness, adopted foreign customs with ease. The quick briefing turned him into the quickest Maunkee gentleman he could become, and he waited calmly as he let his superiors speak.
Quincy nodded, and prepared to propose the Qujoray agenda.
"The Qujoray do not send me for the purpose of seeking financial aid. Far from it. I am here to propose an extension, rather, an entire wing of the Qujoray economy to provide for your systems and only your systems." Quincy let the strange concept hang in the air for a moment.
"You are a more civilized people than most. Your beliefs are rooted in something great and true, and the Qujoray are aware that your purposes are not the same as other, lesser systems. I have come to arrange for the collaboration of Qujoray scientists with your own. I know the threat of espionage is great, so these scientists will become, for all intents and purposes, your property, and any manufacturing firms created under this agreement will be run by Qujoray, but under the jurisdiction of your society, and thus meant to adhere to your laws and customs." Quincy took a deep breath.
"It is obvious that these workers must not only conform, but truly accept the purpose of the Greater Good, so you will be supplied with many young Qujoray very willing to accept your views." Quincy knew, of course, that they were being paid, and the Qujoray, ultimately, worshiped the almighty dollar.
"We have extended similar services to a variety of other systems, and each system has, without fail, gained a significant amount of revenue and final goods from such agremeents. Our ability to supply is built on our well tested factory system, and specialization sets the Qujoray apart from any other supplier"
"The Qujoray would do everything in their power to supply your systems with unique technologies, built with the Maunkee in mind. We will fund the entire creation of this branch of factories and economies, knowing that, when the trial has ended, you will see the true value of our combined technologies, and a Qujoray synergy system which will ripple through your entire economy." Quincy was selling a world at this point, and he was making sure to stay rather subdued about that.
"Our primary goal is to supply you with the raw material, processing power, and productivity of Qujoray scientists and workers, and perhaps lay the foundation for even grander economic alliances to come, so that the Maunkee empire may expand ever farther."
"We want nothing more than to provide a service which is beneficial to the Maunkee empire, and I guarantee you will see immediate improvements in both quantity and quality of whatever you have us produce. Your powers will overlook every step of the process, and allow for conformity to the systems which have made the Maunkee great." Quincy wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but in his heart he believed his speech, and he knew too little of the Maunkee to question them.
"This is the offer, which I can explain in greater detail, and certainly configure to your purposes and desires."
Now Quincy felt he had laid out his purpose well enough, it was now his purpose to remove any skepticism.
0.00 INK
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
T'au Central, External Government Building.
Chao and the other representatives were stunned when they heard the Oracle's answer, and it took them some time to understand what he had just answered, and then the military represent turned to Chao, "这是什么想的呢？这怎么野兽相信他会阿恩只是来这里的东西？" he said in the native tongue of the Maunkee, and the others nodded and the economist then added, "我认为他是欺骗我们，他需要我们的产品不是我们的帮助...让我们看看这个照顾."
Chao nodded and then stood up and left without bowing or saying anything to the Oracle, and the priest representative said, "Master Chao has a lot to do in this schedule and we feel this may take longer than he needs to participate."
"Now..to answer your questions.
Yes, your Empire will become a part of the Maunkee Empire, however there is a lot of rules that will give you freedom to be independent from the Maunkee Empire as well. For example, your leader will be able to rule his own system, however he must respect the Overall Rules that we have, but don't worry we'll go more into details about that, later.
As for your economy...We can't allow that to happen, it will cause inflation for your people, and in the end...you'll be in an economical crisis...Really, do you wish to see the effects of an economical crisis? I hope not," the economical and political representative said.
The soldier representative then stood up and said, "We understand and respect your biological standards, however...you are currently in a position where your people are starving, you need to hunt down these animals, I presume, instead of simply herding them and using them to breed larger quantities.
Also, with all due respect, your form of sacred lands is nothing compared with our sacred governmental soil, as it has political, historical and economical importance, thus your...hunting grounds, are and will remain, nothing compared to this beloved governmental foundation where Sha'O'Shi himself is buried beneath.
Now, to bring this matter to a level you, and your fellow specimen may understand. If you have any business here, state it, or you will all be escorted right back to your ship and forced to leave our space territory.
We have shown you our generosity, given you a much worth while offer, and you have turned it all down, now. State your business or you'll be escorted out of our Space Area."
The other representatives didn't look happy with the military representative taking the lead in such a rushed manner. These Maunkee were rather slow when it came to thinking in political terms, and those who did somewhat match others in making decisions were obviously from the army.
"I must stress, Oracle, that we Maunkee are diplomatic, however we will not simply sit and watch as we are being mocked by other lesser enlightened races. What is your answer to my question, or must I call the security to show you the door?" the military representative said with an angry voice.
The military representative was now standing up from his seat, his hands were at his katana, and the others seemed to look with both angry and frightened eyes on the military representative.
The diplomatic representative clicked a few bottoms and within moments, guards entered the room, rather calmly. They weren't traditional guards, instead they were Maunkee soldiers, armed with plasma rifles and stun guns. "Military representative, please behave yourself," one of them stated and then turned to the other representatives, waiting patiently for them to tell him what to do.
The military representative sat down, still looking at the Oracle with angry filled eyes. All the representatives were now awaiting the Oracles answer, if he told them something which they found valuable enough to continue discussing then they would let him stay, if he didn't, then he would be escorted straight back to his ship along with his other warriors which were still in the hotel.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
External Government Building
Conference Room 207
The representatives listened to what Quincy had to say and they would often nod in agreement to what he had to say and offer the Maunkee Empire, and when he was done one of the representatives clicked a few bottoms, spoke a few quick words in his native tongue, and Chao Lin appeared in the room within a few moments.
Chao was briefed about what had happened and he looked at Quincy with a most pleased look. ”This is a good sign indeed, my dear representative, these terms are most acceptable, if not even too much for your behalf.
The Maunkee Empire would greatly accept any form of trade between our nations and we are willing to share our technology with you.
Your offer is accepted and the Maunkee shall present their best gift, for the Qujoray. Our technology for having plasma generators will be available for you and your people, along with our anti-gravity motors, of course I’ll let our scientists explain it once they arrive in your system,” Chao explained and nodded.
A few papers were printed out, and the representatives signed them, and Chao handed the papers over to Quincy; the papers were basically the trade agreements, and the Maunkee would supply with their technology for the Qujoray and the Maunkee would provide safeguard for the transport of the goods.
”I predict this will be the beginning of a great relationship between our two great nations,” Chao said as he signed the documents and handed them to Quincy to read over and sign.
There was nothing fishy about the documents, they were honest and accurate for what had been agreed upon thus far.
Planet T'au
T'au Central, External Government Building.
Chao and the other representatives were stunned when they heard the Oracle's answer, and it took them some time to understand what he had just answered, and then the military represent turned to Chao, "这是什么想的呢？这怎么野兽相信他会阿恩只是来这里的东西？" he said in the native tongue of the Maunkee, and the others nodded and the economist then added, "我认为他是欺骗我们，他需要我们的产品不是我们的帮助...让我们看看这个照顾."
Chao nodded and then stood up and left without bowing or saying anything to the Oracle, and the priest representative said, "Master Chao has a lot to do in this schedule and we feel this may take longer than he needs to participate."
"Now..to answer your questions.
Yes, your Empire will become a part of the Maunkee Empire, however there is a lot of rules that will give you freedom to be independent from the Maunkee Empire as well. For example, your leader will be able to rule his own system, however he must respect the Overall Rules that we have, but don't worry we'll go more into details about that, later.
As for your economy...We can't allow that to happen, it will cause inflation for your people, and in the end...you'll be in an economical crisis...Really, do you wish to see the effects of an economical crisis? I hope not," the economical and political representative said.
The soldier representative then stood up and said, "We understand and respect your biological standards, however...you are currently in a position where your people are starving, you need to hunt down these animals, I presume, instead of simply herding them and using them to breed larger quantities.
Also, with all due respect, your form of sacred lands is nothing compared with our sacred governmental soil, as it has political, historical and economical importance, thus your...hunting grounds, are and will remain, nothing compared to this beloved governmental foundation where Sha'O'Shi himself is buried beneath.
Now, to bring this matter to a level you, and your fellow specimen may understand. If you have any business here, state it, or you will all be escorted right back to your ship and forced to leave our space territory.
We have shown you our generosity, given you a much worth while offer, and you have turned it all down, now. State your business or you'll be escorted out of our Space Area."
The other representatives didn't look happy with the military representative taking the lead in such a rushed manner. These Maunkee were rather slow when it came to thinking in political terms, and those who did somewhat match others in making decisions were obviously from the army.
"I must stress, Oracle, that we Maunkee are diplomatic, however we will not simply sit and watch as we are being mocked by other lesser enlightened races. What is your answer to my question, or must I call the security to show you the door?" the military representative said with an angry voice.
The military representative was now standing up from his seat, his hands were at his katana, and the others seemed to look with both angry and frightened eyes on the military representative.
The diplomatic representative clicked a few bottoms and within moments, guards entered the room, rather calmly. They weren't traditional guards, instead they were Maunkee soldiers, armed with plasma rifles and stun guns. "Military representative, please behave yourself," one of them stated and then turned to the other representatives, waiting patiently for them to tell him what to do.
The military representative sat down, still looking at the Oracle with angry filled eyes. All the representatives were now awaiting the Oracles answer, if he told them something which they found valuable enough to continue discussing then they would let him stay, if he didn't, then he would be escorted straight back to his ship along with his other warriors which were still in the hotel.
Maunkee Empire Territory
Planet T'au
External Government Building
Conference Room 207
The representatives listened to what Quincy had to say and they would often nod in agreement to what he had to say and offer the Maunkee Empire, and when he was done one of the representatives clicked a few bottoms, spoke a few quick words in his native tongue, and Chao Lin appeared in the room within a few moments.
Chao was briefed about what had happened and he looked at Quincy with a most pleased look. ”This is a good sign indeed, my dear representative, these terms are most acceptable, if not even too much for your behalf.
The Maunkee Empire would greatly accept any form of trade between our nations and we are willing to share our technology with you.
Your offer is accepted and the Maunkee shall present their best gift, for the Qujoray. Our technology for having plasma generators will be available for you and your people, along with our anti-gravity motors, of course I’ll let our scientists explain it once they arrive in your system,” Chao explained and nodded.
A few papers were printed out, and the representatives signed them, and Chao handed the papers over to Quincy; the papers were basically the trade agreements, and the Maunkee would supply with their technology for the Qujoray and the Maunkee would provide safeguard for the transport of the goods.
”I predict this will be the beginning of a great relationship between our two great nations,” Chao said as he signed the documents and handed them to Quincy to read over and sign.
There was nothing fishy about the documents, they were honest and accurate for what had been agreed upon thus far.
0.00 INK
The nation of Acirema has closed its borders...
Attempts to cross them were met with overwhelming force and termination by the AutoD Net.
Their unencrypted, uncompressed transmitters system went silent three days ago. A new message began to repeat exactly twenty-four hours after that event. It is as follows:
"Buck Seven-Seven-Three-One-Three."
-
acir.outnet.http://www.watts.com/forum/---
Anonymous930842343 Wrote: I think the Bucky code is for some superweapon. Bucky, Buckminsterfullerene, Nanobots, Self Replicating Devices! It's some thing that will destroy Acirema if the signal goes down without the right codes!
[OOCly: Acirema is on extended hiatus until his life vanishes again.]
Attempts to cross them were met with overwhelming force and termination by the AutoD Net.
Their unencrypted, uncompressed transmitters system went silent three days ago. A new message began to repeat exactly twenty-four hours after that event. It is as follows:
"Buck Seven-Seven-Three-One-Three."
-
acir.outnet.http://www.watts.com/forum/---
Anonymous930842343 Wrote: I think the Bucky code is for some superweapon. Bucky, Buckminsterfullerene, Nanobots, Self Replicating Devices! It's some thing that will destroy Acirema if the signal goes down without the right codes!
[OOCly: Acirema is on extended hiatus until his life vanishes again.]
- 45 posts here • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
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View All » Add Character » 18 Characters to follow in this universe
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Koramee Empire
Old race that's starting to decline under rules of terrible Emperors, but still retains a lot of power and wars are breaking out all over thier borders.
Valkura
A small, relatively new nation just expanding its wings. More information will be added later.
The Xr'lii'ra
A race of insects, linked by a single all-powerful hivemind. All are just cogs in a machine to be spend as needed, or killed as warranted.The race are masters of biotech, and adore both biological constructs and viral weapons.
The Qujoray Confederacy
The Hyperadvanced Merpeople of Space. Reborn in this century, tempered by plague, disciplined by a hard and bitter transformation, proud of an ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness the slow undoing of their pure capitalist empire.
THE TEMPLATE AND REQUIRED INFO
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Trending
The Xr'lii'ra
A race of insects, linked by a single all-powerful hivemind. All are just cogs in a machine to be spend as needed, or killed as warranted.The race are masters of biotech, and adore both biological constructs and viral weapons.
The Qujoray Confederacy
The Hyperadvanced Merpeople of Space. Reborn in this century, tempered by plague, disciplined by a hard and bitter transformation, proud of an ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness the slow undoing of their pure capitalist empire.
THE TEMPLATE AND REQUIRED INFO
This is where you learn the proper format for your nation sheets.
Valkura
A small, relatively new nation just expanding its wings. More information will be added later.
Koramee Empire
Old race that's starting to decline under rules of terrible Emperors, but still retains a lot of power and wars are breaking out all over thier borders.
Most Followed
Koramee Empire
Old race that's starting to decline under rules of terrible Emperors, but still retains a lot of power and wars are breaking out all over thier borders.
Valkura
A small, relatively new nation just expanding its wings. More information will be added later.
The Xr'lii'ra
A race of insects, linked by a single all-powerful hivemind. All are just cogs in a machine to be spend as needed, or killed as warranted.The race are masters of biotech, and adore both biological constructs and viral weapons.
The Qujoray Confederacy
The Hyperadvanced Merpeople of Space. Reborn in this century, tempered by plague, disciplined by a hard and bitter transformation, proud of an ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness the slow undoing of their pure capitalist empire.
THE TEMPLATE AND REQUIRED INFO
This is where you learn the proper format for your nation sheets.
Fullscreen Chat » Create Topic » A Galactic Picasso: Out of Character
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A Galactic Picasso (Scifi Nation Roleplay)
1 ... 7, 8, 9by TatersAndTots on Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:17 pm
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on Sun May 02, 2010 2:54 pm
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A Galactic Picasso (Scifi Nation Roleplay)
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Diplomatic Talks and Such (OOC)
by TatersAndTots on Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:40 pm
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Diplomatic Talks and Such (OOC)
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GM Events
by TatersAndTots on Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:43 pm
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