The Aschen Cluster

Admiral Nash's eyes briefly flitted to the officer that spoke common, if they were in view from beyond the screen. her ears seemed to grate at the strange dialect of Anquietas that was being spoken, so she paused a moment, and cleared her throat to speak.

"Perhaps, it is better if I speak in your words." She said in heavily accented common, the years of speaking her native language gave her speech of the common tongue a warbled effect, distorted syllables, and the odd grammatical error, but like most high ranking Imperial officers, she was required to learn the various languages of the Galaxy, and it's people. "To be fair, your Anquietas is terrible, but I appreciate the effort...?" She leaned forward slightly as if expecting the Admiral to introduce himself, the soft azure glow of the command console casting shadows across her face, she was quietly pondering her next words, before she cast a nod over towards EVE.

"I will stand our alert down." EVE replied in Anquietas, the formation of Aschen vessels loosened up, and weapon emplacements that were trained on the incoming UPC fleet had began to stand down one by one.

At that moment, the Admiral cast her gaze to a nearby bridge officer, someone standing just adjacent to her command station.

"Colonel Aurelius, prepare a conference room for our guests, first contact protocol." She ordered firmly, and the Colonel offered a crisp salute.

"Sir!" He called out, before turning to leave, while the Admiral redirected her attention back to the screen. "Our primary docking bay will be sufficient to accommodate your vessel. Maintain your present course, and disposition, I will arrange a reception so that we may formalize our first contact." Her accent made some of her words difficult to pronounce, but the gist of what she was trying to say stuck. Several CIC officers turned from their stations, and one of them offered a shrug. She watched quizzically at these humans, or so they appeared that way. They appeared to be some kind of splinter group from Terra? Or did they originate from somewhere else entirely? The Admiral pondered this for a moment as she studied the Admiral in the screen.

"You'll understand we cannot be too careful, we have many enemies, and the treachery of Xenos is without limit. I will ask that you deactivate your weapon platforms prior to docking, and you do not take any sudden actions. If you comply with this protocol during docking procedure, I assure you no one will be harmed. If you have transport craft, you are welcome to use that, but my vessel is capable of accommodating your entire ship."

"Admiral." EVE chirped. "Design parameters of Xenos vessels is not previously encountered in known space. Advise caution."

Nash wasn't going to call it in just yet, with much of the fleet spread thin, and the Emperor currently embroiled in a Quorum session back on Langara, it was up to Nash to decide if it was worth calling in. Yet something about these people seemed peculiar. They knew enough to speak Anquietas, but the dialect was off.

"His Dialect of Anquietas is pre-exodus." EVE commented, as she faced Nash once more. "Yes, I know." The Admiral replied in Anquietas once more, looking to Stratcona quizzically.

The hesitation in the Aschen Admiral amidst Stratcona's speech did not go unnoticed. The woman was curious, perhaps intrigued, though still not without caution. Douglas was studying the woman opposite of the projection, her mannerisms, the way she went about delegating her subordinates. The woman was direct, as most Aschen naval officer were. While this was a first encounter for Douglas, the stories certainly held their merit.
"My deepest apologies, Admiral Nash..." Stratcona continued now in his own native tongue, "... My dialect is less Aschen Anquietas and more Earth Latin."
The Admiral, as his presence was now visible to the Aschen officer, appeared to be a rather straight cut fellow. A veteran in life as the marks of age decorated his face. Additionally his combat veterancy also left its resume across his visage. The right eye was covered with a patch, hiding the disfigured socket beneath. A litter of scars varying in length lay scattered over his aging face, the most prominent cascading to under his ocular coverage. His mane consisted of deep brown hair, which surprisingly did not carry the silver discoloration that comes with age, likely some form or other of hygienic care that maintained the natural, youthful colour. This application also seemed to carry on to the facial hair that covered his mandible, and the swath beneath his nose. The uniform was more leather based, at least the most outer shell, with a composite mantle that circumvented the neck, minus the front most of the man's neck. This uniform accessory stretched over the shoulders, though did not inhibit the movement of the arms. At the back it connected with a two gold plated clasps. The shoulders displayed a series of four chevrons, which in the UCP was a display of Admiral. Oddly a reminiscence of old army rankings, if only holding an extra chevron. This the UCP used as a throwback to the old days of earth bound military.
The captain was also in view, a woman airing on the younger half of human life. She was in her thirties, long brunette hair tied into a tight and proper bun, as was the custom uniform appearance. Unlike her superior, Captain Kalenskov wore a wool uniform, traditional of the forces of old Earth, though it would likely be impossible to determine this through the likes of holographic projection. The woman herself bore the insignia of Captain, which were four straight bars on her epaulettes. They did not bare the star of old as such was abolished when Earth was united as a planet, not under the United States of America. The star was indicative of the United States Navy.
"With your permission, I would like for my flagship to remain in orbit with my fleet." Stratcona now addressed, eager to commence the negotiating, though not so much so as to risk his vessel. "I understand completely the procedures and precautions you wish to take, however I too must be cautious. While we seek peace, we have had our own encounters that have made us careful. Myself, my second in command, and a small security team would like to dock aboard a corvette class of our own making."

The Admiral raised her eyebrow and offered a slight huff. "Earth?" She said under her breath, but it was barely audible. "Isn't Earth a Myth?" She asked EVE in Anquietas once more.

The Holographic intelligence acknowledged the inquiry and then nodded. "The existence of a planet called Earth is unconfirmed based upon Imperial records, though records of the exodus were lost following the Great War of Magellan." The Intelligence explained, answering the Admiral's question for the moment as she focused her attention back on the screen.

"I've transmitted docking coordinates, I expect to see you soon."

With the abrupt conclusion of her sentence, she terminated the live broadcast, and turned back to EVE. "Prepare to receive our guests, notify security to stand by." She instructed, clasping her hands behind her back, and turning to leave the CIC.

With the Aschen fleet standing by, they awaited the arrival of their new guests, and it seemed, once they disembarked from their starship aboard the vessel of their choosing, the closer they came to the Aschen vessels, the larger, and more intimidating they became, the sheer size of each Imperial warship was only becoming more, and more obvious. A Docking signal was broadcast from the Reverence II, which now identified itself as the AHSC RII Absolution - Imperial Command Vessel on any IFF and tracking systems, and the names of each Aschen vessel was revealed, most noteably the three Iconoclast Battleships, the Legatus Stygies, the Inomine Veritas, and the Charon. Each Iconoclast Battleship was massive in it's own right, the light from a nearby star glinting off from it's gunmetal grey, and muted red hull while they passed them.

The closer they came, the larger the Reverence II seemed, massive armored bay doors would open up to accompany them should they proceed inward.

"Absolution LSO to Xenos vessel, proceed on designated final approach, checker's green, call the ball."

Upon docking with the Reverence II, the sheer size and scope of it's interior was made apparent, as docking clamps moved to interact with the smaller ship, and the armored doors sealed shut behind it, allowing the interior bay to pressurize, a mixture of nitrogen, and oxygen injected into the bay until it was brought up to the rough equivalent pressure of one atmosphere. They would find themselves suspended below a Hastati Class cruiser that was in the process of being retrofitted, several large armored plates missing from the ship, exposing it's frame, and internal components. Immediately to the right of the cruiser, a large unusual looking machine began firing off beams of light, printing a large hull plate from nothing, which was promptly carried through zero-gravity towards the cruiser.

On the far side of the docking jetway, Admiral Nash was waiting with a small group of Imperial Marines, each clad from head to toe in all black combat gear, clutching sleek, elegant looking disruptor rifles, immediately behind them, two towering behemoths in power armor could be seen, each clutching the equivalent of a 20mm cannon.

The Aschen were taking no chances, as they waited to see what would happen next.

The final exchange between the admirals came one sided, the Aschen clearly in what seemed a sense of denial at the mention of Earth. Douglas had managed to catch the exchange with the AI, but hadn't fully translated due to the difference in dialect. What he had managed was the translation of Earth and Myth, which left little to truly ponder. The communication had been cut off, with Nash's final proclamation of their imminent face to face.
"Admiral?" Aroia, aka the Captain, called forth. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" her question came with pause both for the inquirer and the inquiry.

"The Aschens do not seem much different than the Krauskarian regime we fought to be free of, and now we're licking the boot of a new one?" a certain angst laced the Captains tone.
"I understand your concerns, Captain..." the Admiral finally spoke, as he did so his single functioning ocular remained trained on the now non-existent holo-projection that once held the Aschen's visage, "... and I share in your concerns."
Though the Captain was relieved that she was not the only skeptic within the senior ranks, the strong sense of 'but' held within the air.
"You know why we need this alliance, why the UPC dared reach out beyond the Septem to contact the Aschens."
The Admiral's words seemed enough to quell the Captains further pursuit on of matter.
"Now, lets go meet this Admiral Nash."

A travel into the belly of the carrier was carried out via mag-lift tram, perhaps overkill in only 11km of starship, but it served to disperse the crew efficiently, a strive the UPC always aimed to maintain. This tram took them towards the bow of the great vessel, if stopping at the three quarter mark. This grand hangar served as a maintenance for the smaller, though still sizable, cruisers and the like. At one time, the carrier could house as many as five heavy cruiser class within, all of which could be retrofitted with varying menagerie of systems, weapons, and the more. A cruiser was not the aim for transportation, instead the duo had come to stand upon a mag clamped corvette. The craft was 291 meters in length, with a carapace of a darker teal colouration. The craft would be nimble, perhaps even surprisingly so considering the overall mass.
Aboard the craft the security team in which Stratcona had mentioned to the Aschen was assembled. Each stood at six foot and bore combat attire that appeared old Earth Marines. Nylon straps and what almost appeared to be a kevlar frame. However, beneath the old world rigging lay the true kit of the UPC. Each soldier was encased in what appeared to be a contorting number of synthetic muscle, the woven materials reminiscent of the human musculature system. This was mostly black, with the odd chrome linkage shining through. The helm each wore was an angular, boxy, triangle that fully enclosed the wearer's head. There were no signs that these suits even contained a human within, and yet when the Admiral approached one, in particular bearing a rather well garnished skull painting upon said helm it would speak.
"Sir, Legion Alfos is ready to step off under security measures." spoke the man behind the mask.
"Excellent, Lieutenant. Best we not keep our Aschen friends waiting."

The departure would be quick, overall taking only five minutes for the craft to leave out the ships primary bow point, the destination took roughly an hour with ample thrust.

As they corvette drew ever closer to the Aschen flagship the sheer weight of the vessel through appearance alone was crushing. Such a behemoth alone must have made for more than adequate deterrent. Since the weapons were mostly, if not all tucked away, the entourage aboard the minuscule corvette could only contemplate the sheer amount of firepower just waiting to be unleashed.

Within the colossus, the navigator and communications officer both coordinated with the Aschen flight director, bringing the 291 meter craft to dock at the desired location. Already Stratcona, the captain, as well as thirty of the aforementioned exo-suited marines, exited the craft at the mid-drift, whereupon their boots made contact with Aschen steel. They had officially stepped within Aschen territory. The Admiral took point with this company, showing that was willing to put trust in these xenophobics rather than remain surrounded by his guard; the captain in toe beside him.
"Ah, Admiral Nash!" beckoned the elder fellow, as he closed the gap between them. He did stop a fair twenty paces away, not wanting to provoke the cautious nature of his counterparts.
"It is truly an honour to meet you in person." this was said with his hand moving to his chest, whereupon Douglas' hand pressed to his breast, and he took an ever so subtle lean forward; a bow of sorts.

Inside the primary bay of the Absolution, the tension was palpable. Admiral Nash was situated just behind a stack of crates, which had been kicked over in anticipation of armed boarders. She was standing between two Imperial Marines, who were crouched behind the crates, though they didn't have their weapons pointed they were watching the thirty some marines closely, but they weren't the only ones. Dozens more positioned themselves along catwalks above, and below the jetway, training their weapons on the armed Marines, but holding fire.

The Aschen Marines didn't have an exosuit of any kind, rather they wore chest carriers with hardened plates made from an alien appearing material painted black, they had plates protecting their shoulders, calves, and thighs, worn over a dazzling fractal patterned camouflage of blacks, greys, and whites.

Nash took a single step forward, the sound of her boot muted against the plating of the jetway, which upon close observation seemed to subtly ripple with each footfall, it was barely noticeable, but a keen eye could pick up the faint, almost organic ripple of the alien material, which was comprised of elements not known to those outside of the Aschen Empire.

Nash took five steps forward before she stopped, far enough that she stood out, but not far enough that she was in any danger.

"I ask that your soldiers remain aboard your ship, and that you surrender your weapons. Xenos are not permitted to carry weapons aboard Imperial warships. You have my word that none of you will be harmed during this exchange. But these terms are non-negotiable." The Admiral stated, as she clasped her hands behind her back, and stood up straight, pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail under the peaked officer's cap, which glinted in the muted white light of the hangar bay.

She cast a brief glance at the other ship, and then bore her gaze back down to Stratcona, her visage hardened with resolve. The woman was devoid of any obvious implants, yet she appeared youthful, her face without blemishes, and like nearly every Aschen in sight, appeared perfectly healthy, without any sign of someone of her stature that should bear their share of scars.

Truly the Aschen were a vain people.

The first contact thus far appeared more a stand-off as the two groups of militarized terrans stood to face one another. This was supposed to be a meeting of peace, and yet the old wisdom of offer peace with one hand, a knife in the other never held more merit than this moment now. The Marines of the UPC remained in their tight formation, a box like parade fashion behind their senior staff.

While the captain and the entourage of armed soldiers had each trained their attention to various points of Aschen fortified positions, the Admiral had remained trained upon the officer and her many mannerisms. For the most part she was poised, her demeanour maintaining that cold and commanding presence, as an officer should in the face of the unknown. Whats more, since the Aschen officer stepped forward, the Admiral would be the only individual to truly pick up on the seemingly alive floor. The metal seemed almost liquid, rippling out as if each foot step were a drop in a pool, adding a near mysticism to the Aschens' overall visage.

"Sir..." the marine lieutenant called out, if only loud enough for the admiral to hear, "... I don't like leaving you alone and unarmed."
The admiral's response came with a reassuring nod, "It'll be alright, I doubt the Aschens are in the business of holding hostages."
Concluding the brief exchange with the marine, Stratcona soon turned to his captain with an expectant gaze. Aroia glanced back, almost double taking with the understanding of her superior's notion, though clearly not comfortable with the idea. A heavy sigh exuded as her hands moved to procure her PSP-5, her standard issue sidearm. The captain relinquished her weapon to the nearest marine behind her before once again directing herself towards the Aschen Admiral.

Once all arms had been surrendered, the senior staff duo both stepped forward towards the Aschen defence line, ensuring to keep their hands visible. The closer the pair came to the Aschen officer, the more detail that could perhaps been seen in the UPC uniforms. The admiral's main coat was a fine leather, likely an organic material save for the polycarbonate mantle that bore his ranking. The captain wore less decore, if only a white uniform of a wool outer coat and trousers, polyester undershirt, a uniform more reminiscent to the military of old Earth; obviously a pattern developed of old Earth and UPC.

"We are ready to proceed when you are, Admiral." Stratcona announced, awaiting the Aschen officer's next direction.

Admiral Nash watched the exchange closely, she was unwavering in her resolve, but she was also unwavering in the execution of Imperial protocols, so she sat there and observed their exchange, she noted they were rightfully apprehensive about surrendering their weapons, but it was a crucial first step to showing that the Aschen could trust them, and it had always worked for them in the past.

Briefly, her blue-eyed gaze flitted over to the captain, her displeasure at the situation was noted as well, briefly, Nash's face twitched into a smirk, a single upturned corner of her mouth while she stood there, with her hands clasped behind her back. She watched them approach. The detail of the Aschen would be more apparent, wool uniforms carefully tailored for an almost perfect fit, with leather sam browne style belts polished in black.

"This way." Nash instructed as she turned around, one of the Adepts directly behind them took a step to the right, shouldering his massive twenty-millimeter heavy magnetron, which looked like it could put a round clean through an armored vehicle. The Adept grunted, and then let the massive weapon come to rest, barrel down on the platform below him. Nash walked past the Adept without so much as a second glance, while the rest of the Aschen in the room stared at Stratcona, and Kalensov as they walked past, some clenched their weapons, standard issue Type 53 disruptor rifles, their sleek design made their designs as energy weapons clear, but some of the Marines carried somewhat different weapons, contrasting the sleek disruptor weapons were the MC1 Kinetic Carbines, which had a silver finish, and modular design to them.

Moving through the door to the main corridor, it emanated a crystalline chime before sliding open, two engineers in dark blue jumpsuits stopped what they were doing to salute, bringing their fists to their chests and shouting 'Ad Victoriam' before quickly returning to work, they seemed to be working on a conduit of some kind, resembling a cable filled with an unusual gel like material, which seemed to be in the process of being replaced.

Nash walked past the pair without affording a second glance, as she looked up to the Anquietas sign that would lead them to the main tram hub. At the intersection, Nash took a sharp right towards a wide corridor, people coming and going on what could only be described as golf carts could be seen, just adjacent to a trio of Marines sitting on crates, intently cleaning carbon from the muzzles of their disruptor rifles, while a fourth was tossing a fusion cell into the air, and catching it. They moved across the cooridor into the next room, which was a large tram hub, designed similarly to a busy train station, with large trams coming, and going, carrying their crew to various points within the massive carrier.

Nash quietly boarded one of these trams, and turned so that Stratcona and Kalensov could follow.

The doors to the tram would close behind them with a hiss, and the tram would begin moving.

"It's a short ride to the CIC, we will meet in my ready room." Nash said, before she looked up.

"EVE, please arrange for a small meal for two guests to be sent to my Ready Room before I arrive."

There was a chirp, and a female voice over the intercom. "Of course, Admiral."

Nash finally turned to face Stratcona, and she offered a smile.

"It's not often someone seeks us out, it's normal for our neighbors to fear us, we're wary of outsiders, so I'm curious as to what made you seek us out. You seem to know much of us, yet, you claim to be from a planet that does not exist." Nash said with a slight tone of curiosity.

"Earth was destroyed eons ago." She remarked.

With what could only be surmised as approval, both the admiral and captain would proceed to follow the Aschen officer. Both Douglas and Aroia focusing specifically upon the officer's back. The last thing the pair wanted was their diplomatic meeting to be mistaken as an infiltration. This was maintained for most of their walk, though a few side glances to a few individuals along the route, mostly workers and a few marines attempting to quell their boredom with routine weapons maintenance; additionally tossing about what could only be a possible detonation device or ammo cartridge. All in all the behaviour of the Aschens were quite human, despite of the stories regarding lacking humility.

A note had gone noticed, specifically the use of artificial intelligence when the admiral hailed for meals. This was an intrigue to the admiral, as AI was one field the UPC had ventured down once before. As the vessels previously mentioned lacked the incorporation of such intelligence, it would seem that the UPC was not so successful with the creation. Perhaps a topic for future encounters, assuming all went well with initial contact.

Soon they would gather within a tram, a mode of transportation both of the UPC occupants were familiar as it was the best method of moving about these space behemoths. It was on the tram that Admiral Nash seemed to entertain in true negotiation.

"While I'm sure the Aschen Empire has assured dominance over their dominion, and asserted themselves as once not to trifle with, I can assure you that we are not from your woods, as the saying goes." a smile was offered in turn from the seasoned officer, a gesture and perhaps some comedy to accompany his facts.
"I've spent quite some time preparing for this meeting, under the direction of our own council as well as personal interest. The Aschen people have been known to quite the engineers, apart from ruthless to those that dare threaten their way of life."
At this point, Stratcona took pause, casting a sidelong glance to his captain, whom stood rigidly at his side with her hands firmly clasped behind her back.
"Captain, care to explain to the admiral our information regarding Earth's status?" he chimed at the lass, whom beamed him a short glare. While the two were professional in carrying out their jobs, they also had a friendly relationship that often saw the admiral tease his subordinate, whom for the most part tolerated it likely out of respect both for the rank this man held, and mutually feeling the same.
"Earth exists, in accordance to our records and recent contact with said planet. While the planet is completely depleted of any natural resources, reduced to nothing but a desert planet with the odd settlement and launch facility, the planet itself still exists, and contains a small population." the captain spoke in a matter of fact like manner, maintaining a rather direct approach to her negotiating method.

Admiral Stratcona would add, "The final elements of Earth's resources were excavated around 4,700 to 4,800 years ago. Since then, what population existed at the time spread into space. The moon is now basically a giant city while Mars became the next eden for those either refusing to leave the sol system, or were simply incapable."

Nash listened intently to their explanation, but visibly frowned at the mention of the state that earth was in. It was clear in her facial expression that she was deeply offended, but she kept it inside, opting instead to turn to face the window of the tram as it began to pass over another one of the Reverence II's behemoth maintenance bays, below them a large frigate of some kind could be seen below, crews working on scaffolding, and in Zero-G welding structural braces, armor plates, and installing electronics, various flashes of arc welds could be seen below, while Nash pointed to a large platform across the way, two large apertures hanging above it.

"We have broken our need to extract raw materials from our worlds roughly a decade ago." She commented, as brilliant flashes of light engulfed the platform, the apertures spewing beams of flickering blue light, 'printing' a large metallic I beam from seemingly thin air.

"We call it Light-mass fabrication, it's revolutionized the way we manufacture, and harvest materials, by eliminating the harvesting, and processing of raw materials, we can streamline our manufactoring processes to further suit our Imperial needs with minimal impact to a planet's Eco balance."

She clasped her hands back behind her back as the tram passed the maintenance bay, but she did not look towards Kalenskov and Stratcona for several moments, until she turned to face them.

"Langara, and every other world we inhabit are fertile, and rich with wealth, this sector of space has been our promised land since the great exodus of our ancestors. We defend this promised land with everything that the gods have given us, and we rely on the wisdom of the great Athena to guide us forward." Nash said with an almost religious ferver, while thumbing a small medallion that she kept under her uniform. It was an enameled stylized owl, with sapphires for eyes. After a brief moment, Nash placed the medallion back into her uniform.

"Admiral, we will be arriving in the main section within the millicenton." EVE Chirped. "The Kitchen has prepared a fresh vegetable dinner with shellfish and garum, served with rice and flatbread."

"Thank you, EVE." Nash replied, lightening the subject. "Fortunately, I don't know how your vessels prepare food, but everything here is freshly harvested from our livestock pens, and aeroponics bays, the only way to get fresher food, is planetside." Nash explained, one thing was for certain, Aschen troops were well fed.

As it was explained, both UPC officers would divert their gaze to the great lights, the fabrication process of the Aschens. Both inwardly admired the ingenuity, but refrained from displaying such externally. The Aschens clearly excelled technologically in more ways than one. One note was the use of workers in fabrication, something the UPC had phased out in favour of automated manufacturing. While AI were still beyond the UPC, programmable machines were one of their strongest investments, again trailing back to their desire for maximum efficiency.

"The UPC has learned from the past, and we tend to avoid mineral collection on habitable planets. We use them solely for population, farming and agriculture, as well as revitalization of Earthen animals." Stratcona submitted, having noticed Nash's displeasure concluding his explanation of Earth.

The offence of Earth's fate seemed deeply seeded within the Admiral, as she did not face her guests for a period.
"We hope to one day restore Earth to it's former glory, making it the oasis it once was." he paused, admiring the Aschen fabrication one finally time before the tram moved beyond visibility of the machinery.
"Perhaps, if all goes well diplomatically, we could all work together in such an endeavour."

When finally Nash would grace her guests, she would be doing so whilst thumbing an auspicious medallion of the faith. While Stratcona's beliefs were none that of gods, he had a respect for the structure and hope religion could provide. Additionally, many of the stories that accompanied the many faiths.
"Better to wage war in the unending heavens than on the oasis of one's home." commented the fellow, his tone having eased.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." Captain Kalenskov added, though she remained stoic in stature, poised more so in her military discipline than friendly negotiator like the Admiral.

The promise of food was one the admiral never passed up, especially such of quality. He had not the luxury of trying Aschen cuisine, and was eager to try it. The Captain on the other hand finally displayed emotion across her otherwise blank expression, soon contorting into a subtle frown, one Stratcona clued into the moment shellfish was mentioned to be on the menu.
"I am terribly sorry for the fuss, Admiral Nash. While I am privy in trying such a delectable dish, I'm afraid my Captain is unable to partake." said captain, remained unmoved, though inwardly she wished her superior would not speak of her ailments.
"I'm afraid she is allergic to Shellfish, anaphylactic even. To eat shellfish has the potential to kill her."

The Admiral slowly raised an eyebrow at the mention of a shellfish allergy, she seemed visibly confused at the prospect while the tram slowly came to a stop, and the doors opened with an audible chime, exposing another large ship terminal, EVE's voice coming over the intercom.

"I have arranged a vegetarian dish for the Captain." The AI remarked curtly, and suddenly.

Nash still looked towards them with confusion on her face, before EVE spoke up. "Allergies are a result of the body's immune system attacking otherwise harmless material, a condition that was eliminated with childhood tretonin vaccinations." The AI remarked, and Nash offered a nod. "Oh, I see." She said, understanding for a moment. "Your body reacts poorly to compounds in the shellfish, I understand now." Nash remarked, as they rounded a corner, past a trio of officers that were going over paperwork. Despite being such a technologically advanced vessel, there was a great many officers moving through the ship's corridors, carrying physical paperwork between their stations.

Now that they reached the main conference room, they would find a large circular room before them with a large round glass table, already service staff were working on setting the table with fine cutlery and dishware from the ship's stateroom, Nash took a seat at the far side of the table, while one of the servants, a young man in a white uniform poured her a glass of wine from a large pitcher, he slowly moved around the table, pouring a glass for the Admiral, and the Captain, into stylized, futuristic looking copper and glass wine glasses.

The plates were starkly reminiscent of pottery, and mosiacs found back in Earth's ancient greece, with the resemblance between the ancient artwork almost uncanny with a few Aschen takes on the artwork. Much of the art on the plates depicted things like Olympic sport, or hunting, and the material was almost like a fine china, with gold inlays.

"Pax per Bellum." Nash reiterated, as she raised her glass. "Aeternit Imperii." Before she took a sip of the glass, while the white uniformed men moved around the table, placing what looked like prawns, and scallops with cucumber, olives, peppers and onions on the Admirals's plate, with a side of what looked like souvlaki, and flatbread, and a small side of layered pastry soaked in honey, and filled with finely chopped nuts.

The Captain would have an assortment of fresh greens, olives, and crumbled cheese placed on her plate, along with a side of a dish that was comprised of layered eggplant in tomato sauce, both guests would be served several pieces of flatbread, and a side of mash chickpea blended with herbs.

Clearing her throat, she gestured out to the food before them. "Inevitably, we aspire to bring the entirety of the galaxy under our banner, and unite a fractured humanity under a wizened, firm hand of our Imperial leadership, purging undesirables, Xenos, and others that would threaten our way of life."

Taking another sip of her wine, she smiled.

"I would be interested to see this world restored to it's former beauty, and placed under Imperial stewardship, where it, like our original homeworld, Kobol, can be reclaimed by the gods." Nash added. "I am certain our leaders would share the same sentiment, if this is truly the same earth from the guidestone."