The Garden Zone

Issachar Remaeus floats in.

Toki can't float in, he was eaten.

Kronedegor was a desolate, forbidden prison world that caused a noticeable tinge to every Coalition citizen whenever one heard of its name. Looking over the table across from him the Federal Bureau official put the tablet device down in front of him and looked at a small carrying case for the piece of machinery. “Alright then, Oria. It is alright if I call you Oria?”

“Well … to be honest right now that really doesn’t matter. Crimes against Peace in the Garden is a very serious offence.” Etching a finger over one of the icons on the tablet device he looked down to a digital readout. “You have been sentenced to exile, the war’s over. We’ve won. Your Aschen, haven’t. There’s a new state in Aschen space now. A democracy.”

“And you, will be going to Kronedegor. You will be interned on the continent of Itperia under the charge of the Western Forces … with that out of the way, though” He stopped idly and rubbed a hand against his nose, sighing as he activated a small audio recorder built in to the tablet device.

“This time here now will be for your explanation and pre-confinement debriefing. You are aware you have been sentenced for actions during the Galactic War that have given rise to your individual criminal responsibility, correct?”

Staring rather boredly at the person, she rolled her eyes and said, "Yada yada yada, I am imprisoned because your people are hopeless jackasses who can't handle one woman screwing their shit up. I am so ashamed of what I done, oh please forgive me." with that she began to cackle, before testing the cuffs holding her, and going on, "Let's see assasinating a general, check, murdering an official, check, almost taking control of your entire weapons program, check, burning down about ten different embassies while people were inside, checkaroony... Hmm, am I missing any, you want their names, you want to know how the general and I made naughty eyes at one another? Would you like to know how I gave him a proper smile? believe me I got all the time in the world, whatever happens, you guys won't keep me long, not Valeria or what was it you called me? I felt it had such a powerful emotion, your media really know how to stir the crowd up. So what was my name again for them?"

“The Balko Butcher, quite a surprise for most people to come home from the weekend after having to leave their homes because of Aschen bombing raids to see you on the screen.” He remarked dryly and the official locked his hands together making a stone’s appearance until he continued. “Unlike your kind though, we understand when we are inappropriate to observe the … proper dispense of justice.”

“Which, is why you are being sent to Kronedegor. There is a planet the Aschen call Hadante, and there is where our two are alike, deep down inside we know that evil like you is only stopped with other evil.” He said coldly before a carton of cigarettes was produced from his pocket and he pulled on for himself while gingerly tossing one down on to the table in front of her. “And we both know that somehow, some way, people like you will always end up in places like Kronedegor, or Hadante.”

“Here though, I don’t need to know their names. That’s the job of the government, the faceless organization the Empire died trying to overcome. What you need to know is that, no matter what you do. How you escape from Kronedegor, where you escape to, there will be nothing for you. Your people are no longer ignorant sheep hiding behind and following madness that controls people like you.”

She smirked and merely replied, "Loyalty is something you will never understand, it does not dies, it does not rot, it lingers on and on. I promise you though, your test in Democracy will fail as will your attempt to curb our people, this is merely just a charade and you will learn in due course. I am Oria Kenton you are bueracrat who thinks himself big. The Divine Shadow is forever, you are a puny human who shall die before the Empire is down for good." she then added with a quick smirk, "Your daughter did scream by the way as I removed each of her fingers, it was rather delightful to watch."

“Until your kind realises a government is a tool of the people rather than people using others as tools, you’re right, democracy will fail.” He replied calmly to her, though his voice took an underlying anger. “Unfortunately for you though none of the people you murdered in cold blood contribute to the victory your government threw billions of it’s own kind into a meat grinder for … but then there’s this.” He said, holding a cigarette in one hand while the other activated an imagery tab on the device.

Suddenly the pictures of Aschen rioting in the streets sprang to life, in a juxtaexposed window a massive explosion rocked the skyline of Caprica city, in another a starship broke apart in the air over Caprica before falling to the ground in a furious red explosion. “You’ve all brought yourselves to the brink of annihilation in the name of authoritarianism and fascism -- and now after all of this it’s still more of you that are dying than us, whatever you wanted you brought it upon yourselves.”

“You’ll be leaving for Kronedegor within the week, in the meantime you will be interned at the nearby penal base … you are aware of the ITDM I assume? Local conscripts looking for something to stick a knife in more than collect a paycheck really, so I think you’ll be getting along finely.”

"Savor the victory UCON scum, it will make all the more beautiful when we come back and glass your entire system, oh yes it will be gorgeous." with that she laughed cruelly before carrying on, "Your mistake is thinking you keep us all imprisoned and do nothing, you will learn. If not due to me, but you will learn and in time your former Confederacy shall become a jewel in our rising empire, I promise you that. This so-called victory is pyrric in nature."

“Where you’re going, you’ll see the fruits of what your victory would entail.” He remarked before raising from the chair, a sound coming through an audio as the official took the tablet from the table and turned away.

“She’s ready for transfer. Move her, now.” The speakers ordered harshly and the door opened to two black clad, masked soldiers with assault weaponry slung over their shoulder. The first soldier stood by the door, saluting briefly to the official as he left while the other took a handheld trigger from his pocket, pressing one button and disabling the magnetic lock keeping her hands bound to the table.

“Time to move, Three Thirty Six. Your sorry ass is off to the Crackden.”

Standing up she nodded and simply remarked, "Toodles, let me know how your daughter feels about being unable to hold anything now." turning away she started following the soldier only saying, "We are off see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz..."

The Janus drifted into The Garden Zone, the large ship appropriaately imposing. It's make and model matching no known nations or organizations. The vessel was as alien as could be. Those onboard the ship weren't as alien.

Crewmen all aboard the ship keeping it running smoothly. Other than it's size, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Seated in a chair in the middle of the bridge was a man in a dark blue suit. His expression unreadable, ever-stoic in the face of travelling into an unknown region. There could be anything, anyone, just waiting to attack. But the man seemed to have no care, he didn't relay orders to his people.

The ship just journeyed further into the region.

"Hail all that you can from UCON, and anyone you can find that's nearby." The man ordered, "Are you sure we're in the right place?" A bridge officer asked, "I'm sure. Hail them. Continue on. The further we get towards planets the better our chances of finding peopl instead of space junk." The man explained.

"Same thing to me." An engineer joked.

"Attention all vessels, military forces and, or, local governments. This is the Janus under the command of Lochlyn Haley. We request an audience." The bridge officer said. The hail being sent out everywhere it could be with their limited knowledge of the area. Someone, somewhere had to pick up on it.

The hope was that it wouldn't awaken space Godzilla.

In the blackness the Garden was a different, almost otherworldly stretch of space. Despite an abundance of traffic and communication’s activity the area around was particularly empty, known amongst the inhabitants of the Garden as a dead sector: there were countless thousands of these that dotted the entire region. Though as the ship made itself known something from the other side of the shores was listening intently.

“Greetings traveller, standby … “

The automaton must have been a custodian in the border spaces: several lightyears away sensors could reveal the small buoy-like installations hanging in the emptiness in a long line that stretched in either direction. As the border buoy seemed to thrum to life with fresh energy powering it’s arrays, a signal from thousands of miles away reached the buoy from a nameless planet somewhere in the Colonial Sphere.

“This is the Federal Border Installation, sector Ragian. Custodian AIs operate along the installations and take charge of the responsibility with trade and travel.”

The janitor intelligence continued on, seeming to wait for one last confirmation before another flickering signal came back from the installation. “Your request for an audience can be granted, as well, there is a Star Fleet escort readying to bring your vessel to a Deep Water station a while away.”

When the AI ended, it closed the communique while it was replaced by a flesh and blood human being. Starchy white walls reached around from a youthful, uniformed sailor and a blue-suited, official-looking man bearing the small flower and tortoise-shell insignia of the Bureau of Government Affairs.

“Welcome to the Garden, this is Karl Yanost, Chairman of the Artifex of Tasiji. The border installation raised an alert with us and has prepared a communique to the Federal government in New Emypria. If you’re in need of docking or a station, the Star Fleet is preparing to receive you -- in the meantime the Custodian mentioned your request for an audience, we’re not the Supreme Assembly here but, we can provide you any correspondence you need until a Federal represenator can reach us.”

"Well, would you look at that. There's more than space junk." A bridge officer said, "I need whatever specs you can get me on the ships that approach. Don't be alarmed if there's things we can't outright see. That's why we have sciency people." He continued. "Sciency? I'm guessing this is why you aren't one of them?" An engineer asked.

"Quiet." Lochlyn said, falling quiet himself as he listened to the spoken by Chairman Yanost. The man wasn't exactly who Lochlyn was searching for, but he clearly had a line to the people in charge. It would do.

"Indeed." Lochlyn said to Chairman Yanost, "I am Lochlyn Haley of the Jupiter Corporation." He introduced himself with the same stoic tone as always, but something about how matter-of-factly he spoke may have come of as unnerving due to the fact that he didn't take the time to list off anything that made him important.

It was hubris, confidence, or naivety.

"I come with a warning for your government." Lochlyn began, "I warn you now that your worlds will burn. The threat comes from the inside and the outside." He continued, "Lesser men will light the fire, greater men will burn or embrace the flame."

The crew of the Janus turned their attention to Lochlyn as he spoke. They weren't quite sure what he doing. They were used to being left in the dark, but knowing the plan would help them to know what their role was.

"I will say more when I have a proper audience. Escort us where you would like. I can wait." Lochlyn told Chairman Yanost.

"I have waited this long."

Onboard a lone heavy cruiser the bridge was steeped in darkness as the radio communique played, while the crew listened in silence. A grey-uniformed Star Fleet officer stretched his knuckles against the railing and loomed out over the bridge under him.

"Have the Task Force appraised of the situation, what are they doing at the Deep Water station?" The ship captain asked, glaring from a holographic video of the Chairman. Two or three meters away a hologram of a large deep space constellation sat over a holotank with other vessels making various insects around the tiny hive-like speck in space.

“They’ve moved to Condition One.”

The captain turned his back on the hologram, to see the vessel’s weaponry diagnostic scrolling by on the main airscreen. The cruiser was at the far flank of the patrol force using the Deep Water station in the borders of the Coalition. Typical of the border patrol, the Apparatus Customs Executive were onboard and also operating several of the SD-3 boarding ships collared with the ship.

“Then we go ahead and follow, we’ll see just what the Chairman can pull before Regional comes in.”



“By all means, Mister Haley, if there is a warning we will all be certain to hear it.”

The Chairman stood alone and only fidgeted with the cuff of his suit for a moment when the sudden turn came. Clear or not to tell he was a remedial official that was merely in the building this day on the planet some lightyears away. “The military forces will go onto a standby on protocol -- something the people on this planet can’t control, it’s beyond us but, we’ll still be able to communicate without any interference.”

Around the chairman the personnel continued on with business as usual, though they boosted communications and transmissions while coordinating with several of the other space-bound bodies beyond the planetary system.

Lochlyn's right eyebrow moved a quarter of an inch upwards before settling back in place. The man wasn't amused. Not one bit.

"Karl, was it?" Lochlyn asked, "I was clear in my words. I will not say more until I am with a proper audience. Your president, king, emperor, prime minister. That is a proper aduience to me. Unless the military is the real power." The man continued, making a shooing motion towards the crew on the bridge with him.

At least half began to leave, the other half still waiting to see what was going to happen. They were confused by the man's actions. It didn't seem to be in his nature to provoke a military power in such a way.

"Whoever is in charge, I want to meet with them. If not face to face, ship to ship." Lochlyn told Chairman Yanost, "The Janus is not equipped for war, only for it's own defense. Shields and small weapons for the criminal type with access to their own spacecraft." Lochlyn said, hoping to assure Yanost that the vessel, large as it was, was not a real threat as is.

"Sending specs over the proper channels now." A bridge officer said, sending proof that all Lochlyn said about the ship was true. "Roughly one and a half kilometers length-wise, nearly one as far width goes." Lochlyn informed the chairman.

"Only this ship's nuclear power source could be of any threat, but I hire the best engineers to ensure that it only does what it's meant to do."

“We will be more than capable of providing you communications with the First Executive, but there are protocol to a situation like this -- there is a militarized border between your location and the first Federal junctions office.” Karl said dryly, watching the uniformed men around him before returning his attention to the camera display. “Unfortunately I can’t grant that an audience with them will endear any more accomplishment. You may just be better off speaking with the military in that regard anyway.”

Meanwhile throughout the control room the personnel continued about their duties, some in communication with the military craft and the Deep Water station nearby. Though the border was still a distance away, the planet was governed as territory that might as well have been the border itself. “Rest assured that any warning from beyond the Garden is one taken in consideration."

The Chairman looked off the screen once more as a telephone rang, a dispatch from the Deep Water station arriving. However many trillions of miles away, Star Fleet officers were gathered in a protected chamber in the bowels of the station with a telemetry display in front of them.

"Give me a moment to consider." Lochlyn said, falling silent. He wasn't considering a thing, he had already made his decision as soon as he heard Yanost. There were some appearances to be kept for the sake of the plan, or to make the Chairman feel like he was in charge.

To Lochlyn no one was in charge but himself. Things went the way he wanted them to go.

"Fine." He finally said, "I will meet with your military leaders, I will tell them what I know and can prove." The man told Chairman Yanost, "And you will do something for me in return. What will be determined soon enough." The man said, flaunting confidence, or arrogance, in the face of the chairman.

"I would like that we do this as quickly as humanly possible."

"When can we land?" The co-pilot of the lone Invictus ship asked the pilot, the spacecraft drifting on the outskirts of the Garden Zone. "When we're told to or we finish the job. This is a dead zone. A good place for pirates to count their booty without being disturbed for a few hours. At least until the military or bounty hunters come to kick ass." The pilot answered.

"Who's idea was it to come out to this place anyways? I didn't have a problem sticking to Terra." The co-pilot complained, "Coaltion is much... different than Terra. More tolerable with better governments. And, the food is good." The pilot said.

"Eh... I can do without the food." The co-pilot said, "I'm guessing Ariadne had us sent here. She's got a boner for expanding business. I heard her father was big on Wall Street." The co-pilot informed his partner. "We'll be official if, when, construction ends on our UCON HQs. I don't know about you, but I'm really not a fan of hotels. I always feel like a mob deal is going to wrong in the next room."

"Are there any mobs out here?" The pilot asked, "There's a mob everywhere, dude. You just gotta know how to find them. Or piss them off enough that they find you." The co-pilot answered.

The Kraken's Shop was a lawless border region between three of several prominent Outland Bloc memberstates, distinct military territories colonized as permanent military installations. Post-Galactic War the resource-plenty nebulas had become a settlers paradise, three decade since the Outlands had become military territories.

The old navigation network from half a century ago still seemef to function, and various stations or depots were provided with coordinates though some seemed far more legitimate than others. Trade convoys and military escorts dotted the expanse, slowly crossing their way to whatever destinations beyond the Shop.

The various flags of the ships revealed the profit-based nature of the Outlands now. Mining and resource colonies dotted the various planets, moons and other bodies that made up the human habitation of the Outlands.

The largest strength of the various factions of Eden and Ayenee lay in their ability to project power over vast distance in the moment. Any organization within the ever warring galaxy that CONCORD watches over could move their forces in an instant to such distant places as Terra or the Garden provided they had the needed equipment at the destination and the departure location. There is no time wasted in travel so it is that any prepared force can respond immediately to any conflict in any part of the universe provided the force is prepared to move and prepared to fight.

CONCORD did not come to the Garden to fight though. They came on a diplomatic mission. The meeting's location and time had been arranged beforehand. The main goal of CONCORD in this meeting was to request a coalition envoy that would venture into CONCORD controlled space with a large degree of freedom. It would seem that CONCORD wanted peace and was submitting to the investigation UCON was intent to continue. To facilitate this CONCORD had requested an exchange of diplomatic teams and in UCON's case they were permitting limited armed escort for those diplomats and the inclusion of an investigation team.

Aaric Arlan's ship dropped out of drift, the ship slowing to hyper warp speeds as it neared the Garden Zone border. CV117 then dropped below luminal speeds producing a few bright flashes of light as the battleship sized vessel continued to slow. Plates shifted across the vessel's hull discharging electromagnetic arcs and venting heat into space. The pilot checked the coordinates and confirmed that they had arrived at the agreed to location at the agreed to time. All that was left to do was wait for the UCON's diplomatic envoy.

CYS-81/923 was a dead space station that had an infamous name across the Garden and the Colonial Sphere beyond it; and was where the coordinates provided would have brought the CONCORD envoy as it dropped out of FTL, the looming wall of the Charybdis Veil making a dark blanket against distant twinkling stars and worlds. In the Imperial Wars it was a dark “hell site” of the Colonial Administration, an ancient torture facility and prisoner depot: in the Iron Revolt it was a bastion for the released prisoners freed from the Commonwealth realms yet unable to make it through the Veil back into the Inner Empire, in the Terran Conflict and Galactic War after that it was the final jumping off point before reaching the Local Region. Now, it was a silent, hallowed ground of sorts for diplomatic missions from all memberstates and the transnational government itself.

Several lightyears away ships of the Tarokanti Navy were patrolling to make sure the area was free of any marauders and pirates that would look to interfere with an international mission, while a lone Star Fleet prowler was decloaked and in orbit about the lonely station. The intelligence vessel was oriented flat along its 100 meter keel, appearing like a lean manta-ray and covered from end to end in low-intensity deceptive plating that was open and “breathing” the ship’s signals and radiation out into the emptiness of space.

Onboard the prowler, a Star Fleet Captain closed the audio channel to the Tarokanti nationals: peering at a star chart in front of him the Commune ships were preparing to depart to a Ships in Contact distress a few lightyears away in the Sphere proper, leaving the dead space station relatively abandoned and out of the prying eye of memberstates for the proceeding mission. The preliminary team, without surprise members of the Blue Legion, was ready on the prowler to meet the CONCORD vessel and start a quick voyage to the Varden home galaxy: time was not on the side of the Apparatus.

“The CONCORD envoy has arrived, Captain.” The prowler’s AI stood beside the Scatterran on the dark bridge of the intelligence vessel, the Federal adjutants standing behind them in the Officer’s Nest of the bridge.

“Activate the Fast-Light array and prepare the station: the quicker we get the first Legion group on it’s way to their home galaxy the faster the Apparatus can move on the Imperial garrisons here.” As he issued his commands the AI disappeared into the vessel’s mainframe: sub-light relays quickly spinning into action and broadcasting the rendezvous while the Apparatus personnel onboard were awoken to their stations.

Time: YC123
Region: Everyshore
Constellation: Odilis
System: Quier
Security: 0.7
Sovereignty: Ardenian Federation

CONCORD had already requested assets of the Federation Navy to facilitate the bridging of the Blue Legion. They had yet to communicate this fact with the coalition and the coalition had yet to discover the true extent and ability of native Ayen drive systems. The evolution of Ayen drive systems had produced five distinct drive technologies.

For sub-luminal movement the majority of vessels in Ayenee and Eden utilize an augmented fusion rocket and thruster system, usually consisting of one or more fusion reactors, an accelerator, a driver coil assembly, and a number of vectored thrust nozzles to direct the plasma exhaust. The fusion reaction generates a highly energized plasma. This plasma, is then employed for propulsion and can be diverted through the EPS to the power transfer grid, via EPS conduits, so as to supply other systems. The accelerated plasma is passed through the driver coils, thereby generating a limited subspace or warp field which improves the propulsive effect.

For faster than luminal movement the majority of vessels in Ayenee and Eden utilize the warp core drive system which warps space-time behind and in front of the vessel causing the fabric of the universe to push the starship in the desired direction at speeds greater than light. To power such a device the ships utilize engines fueled by the reaction of matter (hydrogen) and antimatter (anti-hydrogen) suspended in a strong electromagnetic field and diverted through an assembly of diamondine crystals, which are nonreactive with antimatter when subjected to high-frequency electromagnetic fields.

These reactions also produce highly energized plasma which is channeled by the electro-plasma system (EPS). The plasma is funneled by plasma injectors into a series of warp field coils surrounding the warp core. These coils generate the warp field. Though there is no limit to how fast a ship can move utilizing a warp core drive system the energy demands do increase depending on how massive the vessel is and how fast it is pushed as stronger and stronger warp fields are needed as those two variables are increased and the total measurement of energy in the universe is finite.

The third drive system developed in Ayenee was only recently implemented and is in limited use primarily by CONCORD. The drift drive system, also known as the phase drive utilizes gate technology and the warp core drive system to phase a vessel's mass to the very edge and border of the universe. In this state the vessel skips across a higher cosmological dimension in which space-time and such ideals as the conservation of energy and thermodynamics are bent to the very brink of shattering.

The drift drive system allows for swift inter-galactic travel at speeds that the traditional warp core drive system would not be able to accomplish with the combined total energy in the universe at its disposal.

The forth drive system was introduced with the invention of the gates nearly fifty stellar years ago and is the predecessor to the drift drive system. While the drift drive system causes a vessel to skip across phase space the jump drive system causes a vessel to completely exit the universe and enter phase space to return at any point in space-time through the use of a bridge and a cynosural field, a jump drive and a cynosural field, or two linked gates. Though the system does seem to break some paradoxical laws due to the constant speed of light this is a matter of perception relative to an observer at a defined point in space-time. The system can not reverse the arrow of time in relation to the universe as a whole but does allow for instantaneous travel anywhere in the observable universe provided some conditions are met.

The fifth drive system is a covert version of the jump drive system and changes only a little in application.



The fourteen kilometer long Ardenian titan awaited the beacon and green light outside of the outpost station orbiting the twenty-seventh moon of the fourth planet in the Quier system in Ayenee. The titan was waiting to make the jump into the Garden so that it could bridge the Blue Legion back to Quier.

Location: CYS-81/923

Admiral Arlan directed EGO to send a query for direction and also relay the solution to get the Blue Legion to Ayenee that same day without leaving their equipment or personnel behind.

Onboard the station a Chairman of the Federal Directorate stood beside two marine commanders, the emblem of the Blue Legion emblazoned on their shoulders as the elevator brought them to the empty warehouse decks of the old orbital; they were doubling as the barracks and depot for the first detachment of the Legion to make the journey to Ayenee and Eden.

“Are you sure you have everything you need for the forward mission, Lieutenant General?” The Chairman adjusted the plain suit he wore, straightening the tie that peeked from the neck of the dress shirt. The two uniformed men were a stark contrast to the proper civilian from the Federal Directorate; their stoic demeanor and rigid stance even at rest as the elevator came to a stop displayed a professional and military upbringing.

“We will be ready to handle the Taiyou in Ayenee, all that will matter for you is keeping them out of Home.” The closest officer responded curtly, the black emblems on his chestplate and pauldrons indicating a rank of Lieutenant General as the entourage left the elevator.

“It’s a little more complex than that Lieutenant General, there’s something up in the Imperial circles -- a royal conspiracy, if I am following the Counter-Balance briefings properly.” The Chairman wringed out the cufflink on one arm for a moment before the three men found themselves in a great atrium that, by the looks of it, had once been used as a processing station. “We have reason to believe someone in the royal family is preparing to ouster Nobuo in a coup, now the reigning emperor is no better than a common crook but we are not entirely optimistic about any new leader. The Princess tried her hand at leading once and was nearly murdered for it, now whoever is pulling the strings will be using this incident as an excuse to invade Ayenee and Eden and perhaps, even the rest of Onyx.”

“Some backdoor imperialism, isn’t it?” The Lieutenant General replied shortly and followed the Chairman, their steps all in quick time as they passed along the catwalk leading to a central room suspended over the great warehouse.

“Imperialist or not, no one stands to gain anything from a new Taiyou leader wanting to reassert dominance over territory that’s not theirs -- we’ve let them fester in here long enough, the Charybdis Directive is a flimsy piece of legislature we used to turn our backs on anyone outside of Home, but now we can’t let them sink their fangs into a new galaxy.” The Chairman pushed open the door to the communications office, and dozens of personnel hardly even noticed the three men entering while occupied with their various duties preparing the Legion and guiding the Varden supership to the station.

“Quips aside, we’re ready to stand down the Empire again.” General Waythright finally spoke after following the Lieutenant General in, and the door closed with an automatic wish of hydraulic and air before he removed the long greatcoat wrapped around his shoulders. “Whatever coup is being planned, it will happen in Ayenee and Eden: that’s where the war will start or stop, and that’s where we need to be to keep the traitors from dragging three galaxies into a powerplay for a New Order.”

“I’ll leave the prosecution to your judgement, General.” The Chairman nodded briefly before the two marines left the Federal adjutant standing at the center of the comms room, holographic charts and prompts swirling around him before he was approached by a junior officer.

“Lieutenant General Flint, ready the first detachment and link up with the titan: from here, we’ll establish jump gates to move the rest of the Legion while the Apparatus prepares to move on the Empire in Home. The nearby prowler will be bringing the Counter-Balance team on their own time, they’ll likely be gone before we realize it.”

Meanwhile the transport vessel CNS Promethean detached from the station on it’s rendezvous to the Varden starship, its keel barely a quarter of the length of the great titan that would be carrying it to the CONCORD galaxy. Onboard was a minor detachment of a marine division, only three battalions in strength, and equipped as lightly as possible to maintain speed and precision in a foreign galaxy. While this would be the first extragalactic expedition the Apparatus had ever undertaken, many of those who had volunteered for these duties understood the particularly special episode of history they were now a part of.

A few docks behind that a similar transport was released from it’s couplings with a similar contingent, the vessel’s space in the docks would be required for the incoming transports bringing the Blue Legion from all parts of the Coalition to the station in secrecy. With the Apparatus masking movements all over Home, awareness that the Blue Legion had actually embarked would still be days, maybe even weeks, in coming to the surface to other states and nations in Home.

As the two starships fed power to their rendezvous with the titan the station opened it's relays to broadcast to the staging zones for the Blue Legion all across the Garden, hundreds of commanders across station and planet alike hearing the call many had been anticipating. Some were undeniably frightened, some incredibly anxious, but all were ready to answer the call.

There were brief exchanges and CV117 lit the cynosural field. For a few seconds the system seemed to have a new star. A moment later and the titan appeared issuing a brief but brilliant explosion of electromagnetic radiation. A shuttle departed the CONCORD corvette and made its way to the station. On this shuttle resided the two CONCORD diplomats and would be advisors for the coalition in reference to all things of Ayen origin. The cynosural field vanished after the super capital came through and CV117 approached the titan.

The two ships did have some similarities but there were more differences between the CONCORD corvette and its larger counterpart than could be recorded to a short list. The Erebus allowed itself to be guided and transmitted instructions as the CNS Promethean approached it. Unlike its Aschen equivalent, the Revelation II the titans did not have the room in their hold to carry a battle fleet with them. At most they could carry with them one ship the size of CV117. The space within these super capitals was taken up by its primary and secondary weapon systems and its jump portal generator. Its main role in fleets was to assist in the moment of smaller vessels without jump drives and to destroy capitals and other super capital ships with its primary weapon system.

"CNS Promethean this is FN Bannockburn. Approach to 2,200 meters and prepare for bridge. When you are prepared give us the green light", said a male voice. EGO would then confirm with the coalition AI that CNS Promethean was the only vessel to be bridged.

'A clarion call. I am ready to jump EGO. Green', Aaric commented to no one but EGO. The AI did not reply but did make the Bannockburn's AI aware. "Alloway senior chief", Aaric transmitted from CV117.

"Alloway sir", a female voice came back in reply from the shuttle.

Liam adjusted his suit as he sat in the shuttle, latched inside to be secure. He looked over at Kristin as he heard her speaking and cracked his bones a bit. He was still getting used to his new body, luckily Kristin had been there to help him along the way, which was nice, as he always found comfort in her company. "Kristin, just to make sure I'm briefed on the whole situation, the attack on the bridge, what exactly happened, specific of the sort, describe the situation so I'm up to date on all information so no mistakes are made when we negotiate the peace down there." he remarked to her, his tone professional but a bit relaxed. He wanted to make sure that nothing he said was incorrect, as even the slightest mistake could destabilize the peace they would be trying to negotiate.

Kristen was also seated and secured to her seat in the shuttle. EGO was piloting the tiny ship with very minor input from the both of them. She was dressed in a similar uniform to him and had been watching him in admiration for a moment. A blush came across her cheeks when she eventually realized she had been staring. He was adapting to his predicament quite quickly.

"A prototype frigate class vessel was used in the bombing of The Great Seto Bridge which crosses the Solinus Sea and joins Shintenchi and South East Aslund. This ship was a CONCORD vessel. The weapon system used in the bombing was also of Ayenee origin. The weapon system that was used could have caused an extinction level event on Terra as it involved the use of self replicating nano-machines. These types of weapon systems are outlawed in Ayenee, Eden, the Milky Way, and Andromeda. We do heavily rely on nano-machines for other applications and nano-machine weapons have been used by the various empires and factions of Ayenee and Eden in the past."

She adjusted the front of her uniform. "The Inaya Accord governs what laws we can enforce in high-security space and to a lesser degree, low-security space in Ayenee and Eden. The Accord has no legality outside of Ayenee and Eden. That is a matter of sovereignty and intergalactic law. There has been no committee to establish such laws and I am sure that if we were to find the person or people responsible they would try and hide behind these details. It was a terrorist act plain and simple. Many thousands of people lost their lives and if not for the actions of the Taiyou and their allies every living soul on Terra may have very well been extinguished that day."

She leaned forward in her seat as much as the harness allowed her to. "The Taiyou support Shintenchi and from the briefings I have read there is a great amount of friction between Shintenchi and that nation's allies and the Terran National Government. CONCORD has not had dealings with Shintenchi and our relationship with the Taiyou was tenuous before the bombing. CONCORD deployed the Varden Expeditionary Force to support the Terran National Government and defend them from the Aschen."

Kristen motioned with her hands now as she continued to speak. "Letch Gordon was formerly a CONCORD agent and working on the Starburst project which was in large part the prototype frigate used in the bombing of the Great Seto Bridge. He stole the frigate a few months ago but based on the information we have gathered Letch had nothing to do with the bombing. He was killed by a member of his crew, a crew he picked up in null-security space somewhere in Curse."

She reached her left hand out to the control panel. Her fingers danced briefly across the glasslike surface. "We have reason to believe that the Taiyou intend to launch an attack on Ayenee and Eden. UCON has always been involved with the affairs of Terra and Councilor Chevalle feels they are fair and open enough in their dealings that they are the best candidate to perform an inquiry and investigation among those available. While CONCORD has hired another group and are performing our own investigation we are obligated to allow a group that can remain unbiased otherwise any findings we make can be refuted."

She then smiled brightly at Liam. "Even if we find the culprit and it has nothing to do with CONCORD the Taiyou may choose to ignore the evidence. Our investigative findings would be used to gain support from the empires and other entities in and outside of Ayenee and Eden so we could repel a Taiyou attack on the galaxy. This is why peace with UCON is so important."

Liam listened to what Kristin was saying and then he realized that she had been staring at him for a bit, but he decided not to mention it and focused on the mission at hand. "So the ship bombed the bridge that connects two regions, and we all have reason to believe that it was a terrorist attacked staged to disrupt conversations and communication between different factions." he mulled over, speaking with a tone of professionalism as before. He then rubbed his chin a bit, and looked down at the panel, seeing what she was doing. "So we are here to insure peace and stabilization among the region so nothing like this happens." he added and looked over at her, his face a bit grim.

"Do you feel as though the Taiyou have been looking for a reason to attack, and that they are using this incident to have an excuse to do their attack?" he asked her, he then smiled a bit at her in return, nodding. "If I am correct, then our work will not be easy, we are trying to prevent war and insure peace among the people of this region." he remarked, still rubbing his chin a bit.

She scrunched her face up and then shook her head. "Not exactly this region. We really have enough problems at home with the empires and various factions squabbling with each other. Ayenee is ever at war with itself and our mission has always been peacekeeping. We are here to open talks with UCON, learn about their various cultures and histories, and assist them in the investigation through sharing our own. With this Councilor Chevalle hopes to gain intergalactic support should the Taiyou attempt to invade Ayenee."

She turned back to the view screen and watched the ballet of distant starships briefly before returning her eyes to Liam. "No one outside of Ayenee and Eden grasps the true role of CONCORD or the complex relationships between different corporations, alliances, coalitions, blocs, factions, and empires. If the Taiyou do invade Ayenee or Eden they will quickly find themselves beset on all sides by various factions some of which are quite powerful. While some groups have no love for CONCORD we keep order enough for them to do business and make a profit. They recognize we are necessary."

"All that being said: No one has direct access to empire space from outside the galaxy except us. Once they discover this they will either have to gain the political and military support of various factions in Ayenee and Eden or retreat. It makes no sense to me that they would invade though. Based on every simulation I have seen the Taiyou have no chance for victory in Ayenee or Eden."

In the waning hours of the cycle traffic had picked up around the station as ships came to and from the Varden titan. Troop and matériel freighters like the Promethean convoyed the initial ground and security forces like precious food to the queen of a giant stellar hive, piloting drones and manned craft dipping and weaving through the lumbering vessels that would be the metal homes of the Blue Legion for their stay in Ayenee and Eden. Most of the personnel transported to the Ardenian ship would be the vital administrators and diplomatic personnel that would oversee the expulsion of the Taiyou from the Varden home. These individuals were skilled administrators, capable of speaking several languages and having a propebsity to absorb cultures and civilizations unlike any they had witnessed before. The others would be embedded directly with CONCORD and Varden forces, as both a means of deniability to the Empire as well as maximizing the sparse forces the Apparatus could contribute: while many others would simply be given a ship, currency to raise a mercenary force and the simple order to harry the Taiyou until they retreated or were annihilated.

In the depths of one of the orbital's control station, the Chairman stood across the holographic image of the transnational government's Minister of the Administration: Petros Zhirayr poured over the station's personnel list and contingent, thousands of marines and hundreds of tons of armored vehicles, artillery pieces and would be the first members of the Apparatus to leave the Home galaxy.

"Very good, very good Chairman." Petros steel eyes were bright with a sense of anticipation that not even thousands of lightyears of distance could hide. "From a debriefing with the Military Council, the Apparatus is moving all over the galaxy: your little expedition should be overshadowed by the rest of their movements at the Aschen border and the Local Region."

"While we're organizing the expedition here, we are waiting to recieve a Varden delegation to bring the Apparatus up to date on the situation in Ayenee and Eden." The Chairman spoke from behind a holo-digital overlay, great planes of light shifting around him as they scoured maps od Andromeda, Home, and Onyx. "Initial planning for operations actually on-the-ground in Ayenee and Eden have yet to take shape but we are confident the General Staff will have the information they need soon.”

“Good, Chairman. As you know, the secrecy of this mission is paramount -- duly so, I am the only member of ONE with executive oversight of this expedition. Everything is to be reported directly through the Military Council.” As Petros let his gaze wander from the maps and overlays the Chairman nodded his head slightly, even before the Legion had been assembled the numbers, names and localities of anything involved had been classified into obscurity. Amongst the great bureaucratic ocean of the Coalition, nothing but the most precise eye could even ascertain what these Blue Legion personnel were.




Onboard the central bay of the station, a detail of marine Security Police were waiting behind a grav-dock as the shuttle was ushered in to the orbital’s primary superstructure. As they entered, the two security drones escorting the craft from the titan peeled off to return to duty for another transport, having guided them through the clogged traffic of ferrying vessels.

As the shuttle came to a rest it was restrained in the large bay with magno-gravitic couplings, the device producing suspending fields that shimmered with bright crackling pulses of energy. With the two folds finally stabilizing, the translucent fields were able to hold the bulk of the shuttle over the gaping expanse of the bay under them.

There was a fury of activity on board the Bannockburn as it took on the multitude of administrators and diplomatic personnel. Swarms of heavy hanger drones weaved in and out of the fray to move equipment and stage it away from ammunition and fuel stores. The Apparatus personnel were escorted to a staging area and made comfortable as CONCORD personnel in gray duty uniforms performed checks on fuel levels and maintenance inspections.

A hologram roughly explained the process of a titan's bridge, the use of cynosural fields, and the documented side effects of Ayen drives which amounted to mild nausea to those that had come aboard. Those remaining on the Promethean would not get such a warning or introduction prior to being bridged. Bannockburn's pilot awaited the signal to call for the cyno and engage the bridge.

The shuttle was guided in and set down without incident. Kristen collected a single large black duffel bag after unhooking from her seat. She put the bag over her shoulder. "We have docked. Let us disembark", she said with a smirk in Liam's direction.

Cressida Donadieu has arrived, coming from The Azrican Corridor.

Cressida Donadieu ascends towards Sagittarius Arm.