Echoes from the Void (An Interstellar Empire Roleplay)

[Alator]

If you have an issue with any of this, or have a suggestion/wish, please let me know/ bring it up.


Oh, and sorry about the wall of text :3


Main plot below in the "Story" section!





Map of the Milky Way with our Empires, which will updated as we proceed with the Roleplay. I will start this when two Empires have been approved, and people can join in as we go.

Each player has the ability to create their own species, or possibly borrowing existing ones (Movies, TV-Series etc included) such as humanity (if they are approved that is), they get to choose the technological tier that their species is on, how great their fleet/army is. In this, try to stay realistic, even if you are a massive Empire. I will not be approving races that could easily wipe out all others.


You can at highest start with four fully colonised planets, keep in mind that planet size affects the gravitation force and thus your race and civilisation. So having a massive planet that can feed trillions won't be allowed, due to that the massive gravitational forces would crush it's inhabitants. The greatest fleet size you can start with is a few thousand. I'm not setting a population percentage limit for Military Forces in the case of someone choosing to be a militarized autocracy, however military forces is still capped at having max 3000 divisions (each containing 1 000 000 Soldiers with their vehicles). Though keep in mind that having a massive army in comparison to your population will render your Empire poor. Building new ones if of course possible, and I will explain how fast in the ruleset. Be sure to describe your ships, even add pictures if you'd like to!


Rules:


(TRY TO STAY REALSTIC AND PLAY FAIR, OTHERWISE MORE RULES WILL BE ADDED This is for fun after all ^^ So I'm trying to make this as little complicated as possible. What I meant with the text above is, there area few rules that are necessary to have, but I hope that we can go about this a mature way and solve things mainly between ourselves. And while there are no rules against it... If you go with let's say Tier 1 Empire, then maybe you could go with fewer ships so that others can beat you? Or go about it another way (Civil War etc)? It's more fun for all that way, and if all picked a tier 1 species, it just wouldn't be as fun in my opinion.)


1.) No godmodding.


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2.) Do not force other player's actions.


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3.) Dont pick a Tier 0 species, I have other plans that tier which you will discover


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3.) You can not start with more than a few thousand ships.


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4.) You can not start with more than 30000 army groups (each of them containing 1 000 000 soldiers with vehicles, both various transports and offensive/defensive ones). This is a very high percentage, seeing as with four planets at highest, having beyond 50 billion citizens in your Empire is not extremely likely due to the high demand it puts on your planets. (Using this number for simplicity, otherwise it would be hard to get this to work.)


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5.) You can not start with more than four colonized planets.


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6.) There are three types of ships. Corvettes, cruisers and battleships. A battleship is worth two cruisers in an outright battle (not counting ambushes) or four corvettes. The same principle works with technological tiers. One battleship from Tier 2 roughly equals two battleships from Tier 3.


If engaged in battle, they are likely to take out eachother. If two forces are evenly matched, the side who manages to strike an unexpected blow on the other wins. Such as suddenly emerging out of hyperspace with weapons ready etc. Battles and wars and to be worked out between the participants. So dont expect to win everything (unless your side is absolutely superior), it's more fun for all that way


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7.) Planetary wars: Should it come to a planetary invasion. Your technological level counts for a bit less than it does in Space battles. As an attacker, even with orbital support, you need to have at least 50% more divisions to win. That would however lead to you only having a third of your original force left. With around twice as many Soldiers your losses would be about half your force. With three times as many troops though, you'd have about 3/4 out of your original force left.


Everything above is if you want to capture the planet and keep everything relatively intact. You can simply choose to bombard it from orbit and suffering a 10% loss of the original defence force in guerilla attacks. However the planet will be of no real use to you, and millions if not billions of the enemy population will die.


You can wipe out a planet completely from space, this would be breaking a Galactic agreement on the matter though. This would turn everyone but your closest allies against you.


Conquering a planet "carefully" will take five days. Conquering it "ruthlessly" will take three days. Wiping it out however will only take one day.


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8.) Time: The time in this RP will move at a steady pace, one day in real life equals one day on here. Due to technology, it is easier to do everything this way. And the actual "Main plot" of the RP will kick in relatively quickly. If you fall behind, dont worry. Just write what had happened before you come back to the present.


TIME WILL BE SLOWED DOWN DURING SPECIAL EVENTS


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9.) Repleneshing: If you lose ships, you will be able to build 50 new ones (choose which, but at highest 30 of them can be Battleships) within three real life days.


If you have sustained ground losses, you can replenish your armies with either clones or robots with 100 army groups in three real life (and RP) days.


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10.) Space Travel: For a Tier one and Tier 2 Species, crossing the Galaxy takes two days with their ships. I will be dividing the galaxy into 24 zones (it takes one to cross a zone). This is to make it easier to understand where everyone are.


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Story: The year is 2113, and the United Nations of Earth have long since discovered that they are not alone in the Milky Way, confirming what was long suspected. However with the recently developed Hyperspace technology, enabling ships to break the lightspeed barrier, mankind is in the process of developing their own first interstellar spaceships. Many on Earth believes that it would be foolish to venture out. Due to the fact that Humanity is barely out of it's diapers in comparison to many other races out there. And some of the most advanced races have discovered something strange. Their long-range sensors are picking up signals from outside the Milky Way, far out in the void. And they are growing stronger.


History: While Humanity evolved on it's own, many species did not. Many of the existing races today were created as a consequence of a certain Progenitor species' fascination with genetical experiments. Causing dozens of planets to be seeded with life by the Progenitors tens of millions years ago. Other races have tried to replicate this process, without either much results or unwanted ones.


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(A part of the credit goes to the Halo Wiki for this)


(If you have any questions regarding anything in here I would be happy to explain. )


Technological Tiers:


This is just a means of better measuring the technological achievements of our species. And of course does a species in one tier possess all the technology of the tiers below them.


Tier 0 - Ascendancy


The species in this tier can accelerate the evolution and create life with desired traits, it also has the ability to use teleportation with an accuracy on a molecular level. The species also possess everything required for a Tier 1 species. This is a theoretical ceiling and the Progenitors are the only known species that has achieved this level of technology.


Tier 1 - Intergalactic


The species in this tier possess extremely effective energy production methods, such as extraction of Zero Point Energy and an extremely deep understanding of particles, engineering etc. The species also possess and understand how to fabricate super-dense materials, perform super-accurate Hyperspace navigation, possess the ability to create life, and the ability to terraform and create worlds. Tier 1 species has mastered very accurate teleportation. It is also possessing extremely sophisticated weaponry and shields. The species in this tier is capable of travelling between Galaxies close to them.


Tier 2 - Interstellar


The broadest of the tiers. The species has the ability to perform exceedingly accurate Slipspace navigation, teleportation, near-instantaneous communication, they are required to possess very effective and clean energy production, a very deep understanding of particles, engineering etc. They are capable of fabricating very dense materials, aswell as having very sophisticated weaponry. Having developed energy shield technology is a requirement for this tier, usage is not. The species also possess an extensive knowledge of matter manipulation, such as being able to create regenerating materials. They can create sentinent AIs.


Tier 3 - Space-Faring


The species in this tier have efficient Slipspace navigation, mass drivers, advanced matter accelerator weapons that fires hyper-velocity high-density projectiles, holocrystal storage and are capable of creating semi-sentient AIs. They have had no outside influence.


Humanity reached this tier in 2113 with the creation of the Schwarz Engine, enabling Hyperspace travel.


Tier 4 - Space


Tier 4 is often the final resting place for species intelligent enough to break free from their cradle's surface only to fill the gulf surrounding it with war. Their comfort-focused technology can include medical advances.


Humanity reached this level in 1957, when the first artificial satellite was launched.


Tier 5 - Atomic


Tier 5 species usually begin focusing on clean energy production. The occasional belligerent species will use atomic energy for weapons, often resulting in mass extinctions. In-atmosphere craft are a hallmark, often leading to manned space flight, albeit on a short-scale.


Humanity entered this age in 1945, when the first atomic bombs were deployed, and manned space travel was accomplished for the first time in 1961.


Tier 6 - Industrial


Tier 6 is the outset for massive urbanization. Agrarian societies can remain stable in the pre-industrial stage, but Tier 6 population strain and mechanized food production invariably create political and economic pressures very few can balance. Moving past this usually promises advancement. Some societies improve environmental and medical understanding concurrently with mechanical and transport advancement. Those that do not are frequently doomed. Humanity entered this Tier in 1781 with the advent of steam technology.


Tier 7 - Pre-Industrial


Tier 7 is one of the most common and stable states, with limited weaponry and environmental threats. Societies tend to be small and scattered, driven by subsistence farming, foraging, or hunter-gathering needs. Technology is limited to simple hand made tools, weapons, or agrarian implements and methods, but a very broad understanding of planetary and solar mechanics is not uncommon.

 

[Alator]

2nd of May, 2113


Aegir


Thor, the Supreme Commander of the Asgardian fleet was observing a sleipnir-class vessel taking off from one of Aegir's many spaceports in a distance, though it quickly vanished behind the many soaring buildings. However as he looked up, it astonished him how heavily occupied the skylanes for private and commercial ships, the sky was barely visible one multiple spots. He assumed it had something to do with the Galactic Stock Exchange, who's massive office and buisness building was clearly visible, dwarfing most building around it.


The news of the demise of the Quarra species along with it's home system, Oralia, was on everybody's lips and on every screen. Apparently their new method of extracting energy from the sun's core hadn't been such a good idea at all, despite all the advice from the Asgard and several other species which the Quarras had neglected to heed. And as a trade partner, this had caused a large impact on the market and many headed to consult with the professionals that worked there.


His thoughts were interrupted by a government official that came in through the teleportation system into Thor's personal office. From here, Thor could monitor the galaxy via the multiple holographic screens in front of his desk. "Supreme Commander, I am sorry if I am interrupting, however Odin has summoned all members of the High Council to an emergency meeting."


Thor turned around and nodded, now this had gotten his interest. Whatever it was, he was sure that it was serious. Odin would never have called it an emergency for nothing. He accompanied the the Official onto the lightly illuminated circle on the floor that was the portal connected to Aegir's teleportation network. As always, he felt a tickling feeling before he reappeared inside the Council Chambers. Odin, Freyr, Baldur and Freyja was already there. He greeted them all by respectfully bowing his head towards them. He walked over to them and took a seat at the left side of Odin, and once he had taken his seat, Odin spoke. "Now, I am sure that you are all interested in why I summoned you here..." He pressed a button on the screen attached to his chair and a screen arrived.


It was a massive map of the Milky Way, and via data sent from long-range sensors detecting non-cloaked ships, Thor could see where all larger Collections of ships where. However that wasn't the most interesting thing on the screen." Thor gasped "That isn't from another Galaxy is it? Our sensors does not have the range..."


Odin sighed "No, that is coming from the void."


For far above sector three, strong signals were picked up, indicating that something was moving far above the speed of light, and those signals were growing stronger. Thor swallowed "It seems, that we have to prepare a grand welcoming for whatever that is..."

 

[Grammatic]

Second Solar Season-2nd day


The world of Indal was massive. Larger than many gas giants, the world in of it self was a mystery. Velt scientists had been working for years to find out why the planet hadn't crushed itself from the sheer mass of, well, itself. Covered in a single, massive, endless jungle, the world appeared from space to simply be a green, and slightly brown, sphere, held in space.


Despite initial issues, Velt colonists had been able to establish colonies on the surface, but they soon came under attack by extremely hostile natives. Large insect like creatures, with six legs and four arms each, standing nearly two meters tall, had been encountered by initial colonists in the first few days. Since then, the Velt had been fighting a constant ground war against these creatures, whom they had officially named the Turik.


Crouched down behind a tree, Commander Nastar reloaded his rifles, the roar and gunfire of battle raging around him. Scattered around him, broken trees and bodies lay everywhere, most of the Turik species, but a few Velt forms were present as well. Wearing the green and brown armor of the Renegade Battalions, the other soldiers continued to push forward while Nastar reloaded.


Conventional combat tactics had proven ineffective against the Turik. Imperium Legions could not be brought to bear effectively against the insects within their forest home, and so it was left to the Renegades to drive them out. It had been that way for the past 100 years. Every Renegade soldier was first deployed to Indal, and only after ten years of successful service, were they sent out to serve the Imperium elsewhere, then a scarred veteran. Through the continuous sacrifice of Velt forces in the war, they had claimed nearly the entirety of the northern hemisphere of Indal, and currently, Commander Nastar was leading the final push to secure half of the planet.


Hearing a familiar screeching sound, Nastar threw himself forward, his armor contorting to fit his body perfectly as he rolled away from the tree, which exploded in a shower of bark and splinters as a warrior Turik charged forward. Its double jawed face opened in a roar, a roar silenced as Nastar came out of his roll, and fired his rifle into the creature, the blue plasma shots ripping through its head and thorax.


As the smoking body crumbled to the ground, Nastar rose his feet, his helmet feeding him information about the rest of the battalion. They had suffered nearly fifty casualties so far, but, since most of his battalion were raw recruits, he couldn't have expected much else. Seeing three soldiers approaching, Nastar turned to look at them, his four fingered hand closing into a fist, briefly waving in front of his face as they approached. The figures returned the greeting, before addressing him.


"Sir, the Turik forces are in retreat. We have taken the day." Nodding at his words, Nastar turned away, opening a comm to the command center several kilometers away. "Command, the Turik raiding party is in retreat. We have secured the sector."


"Very good commander, return to base. You are being issued new orders..."

 

[Most Notable Gareth]

8th Kra'Rakk, Year 21334 (R'Juk Calendar)





The General, decked out from head to toe in exquisite artisan velvet, gazed out on the streets of his humble city from his hilltop palace. It was an average day in Frdwel, the metropolis in which the Prince-General resided. The pristine towers stood tall over the busy streets which were brimming with activity as citizens made their way from place to place and vendors sold their wares. The air was clear and starships flitted to and from the city spaceport off in the distance like little bugs. It was all well and good, but the Prince wished he could be in a grander palace, looking over a grander city. The city of Thandilsdk, capital of the Empire, jewel of the Federation. Oh, how he wished to rule over the capital city. However, only the eldest Prince got to do that. The Eldest Prince, a scoundrel and liar. The Eldest Prince, a fool and coward. The Eldest Prince, a scumbag and-


"Sir Ok'Wuul, we have a situation on our hands," came a voice from behind him. The General spun around to see Yar, his Governor of military affairs.


"What is it, Yar?" asked the General.


"Rioters, and lots of them. They crash through the streets of Ydel'sk, looting the place and killing innocent civilians! They must be stopped," replied the Governor.


"What about the garrison we have there? Where are they?" the General asked.


"Off fighting against the Rebellion on Ikk'Vii. You sent them yourself, remember?" answered the Governor.


"Dammit!" the Prince shouted. Short-term memory loss, something that came to many Kraaf as they aged. "There isn't a single soldier in the city?"


"Nothing. That's why the rioters have gotten so bad."


"Curses!" shouted Prince Ok'Wuul. "Dispatch a Unit there immediately. I will command them myself. I wish to see what these rioters want from me."


"As you wish," replied the Governor, "shall I fetch your beast?"


"That won't be necessary, Yar," said the Prince, "I will be personally teaching these bastards a lesson."


"As you wish," said Yar, then scurried out of the room.


The Prince strode over to his exotic wood-framed trophy case and slipped on his leather war-gloves. He didn't expect that he would be needing these again. He withdrew fro the case a fine curved blade, crafted with the finest Idra metals in all the land. He ran his gloved fingers along the precisely sharpened edges. The blade had never felt better in his grasp. He slid the blade into its jeweled sheath and attached it to his belt. Finally, he threw off his elegant velvet cloak and put on something more suited to battle. The light of the trophy case glinted off of his 'Huan, the finest armor in his realm, recently outfitted with modern technology, including a small embedded energy shield and life support systems. He turned off the suit's power. He wouldn't be needing all the silly little trinkets. Instead, he walked over to his old armor stand that stood against the far wall. On it was a full suit of dull silver plate mail armor, passed down through his family for millennia. He equipped the ancient armor, readying himself. The crown of Wrkk sat upon his head. His blood rushed and his heart pounded. For the first time in one hundred and thirty years, the Prince of Frdwel was going to battle.

 

[Irish_Dragon_76]

2nd of May, 2113


On the home world of Farren, sitting at his desk on the top floor of Central headquarters which floated high above the many nations like a majestic vessel, Central commander, Arin Flor was going over the status of the colonies, reading each message that was personally sent by the Central operatives that kept up with the colonies and reported back to him monthly. He looked over the blue glowing screen carefully, making sure not to miss a single detail as he wrote down his notes on key problems he might see.


Alibastern- All is normal as usual. A need for more Solar plants is still evident for many of the larger subterranean cities, but planetary laws are making it quite difficult for them. If the cities were to be any bigger, blackouts throughout the entire area would be, as they put it, annual and frequent. Everything topside is normal as well. Although, poaching of marine life is also still evident. At least a quarter of an entire species will be gone within a year. Many city officials are beginning to feel a need for more patrols topside due to this.


Arin thought for a bit about the energy crisis, wondering on how to fix it. "Hmmm... I'll need to talk to the men down in technology innovations..." Arin mumbled to himself, typing down, Work on new, less invasive, solar plant tech. He then set his eyes on the poaching. "Best send this to Faris Cray" Arin said to himself, sending the last bit of the message to Faris, one of the Central military officials with a note of his own. Ideas? Send in whatever you find necessary, I don't want this planet changing on our behalf any more than it already has. You have complete control of this mission, just keep bloodshed to a minimum and do your best not to disturb the wildlife more than it needs to be. In other words, armored tanks and heavy equipment will not be needed, I expect this problem to be dealt with within a month. Thank you -Arin


Arin then set his eyes on the report for Talgrinor. "Oh boy..." Arin huffed, expected another mind-numbing problem with the planet.


Talgrinor- Another Crofawnd attack on multiple mining parties. three were reported to of happened at the minefield itself and fifteen were reported during departure to and from the mines on transport ships. Miners are demanding more protection from Crowfawnd attacks. So far, the death toll has risen to 400 in the last three months all around the planet. World wide, there are about 2 million miners in and out of those mines every week, and every month, those damn birds come in and viciously attack them. Excuse the language, sir, but the matter has grown much worse. The Crofawnd have shown much more aggression towards us. The head miners I've spoken to have told me the Crofawnd are much more likely to attack, and less likely to give up. I've spoken with head scientists on the matter and they say that the Crofawnd are indeed intelligent enough to work in groups and even plan out attacks, but they haven't proven if their attacks are anything more than hunting strategies changing as a reaction to us changing. The most unsettling part about this all is how many cities have reported more Crofawnd activity near their borders. Security guards all around the planet have already taken down over 200 Crowfawnd.


"Damn birds... Why can't those poachers in Alibastern just move to Talgrinor and take those Crofawnd instead...?" Arin grumbled, frustrated by the whole situation. He sent a message back to the operative, saying. Tell the Nation leaders to double up security around their borders and shoot any Crofawnd on site, they are to be treated as enemies and vermin. I want seven troops on every transport in and out of the mines and 12 at all the mines at all times. I expect a letter from all of the nation leaders by the end of the week saying they got the message. Thank you. -Arin





Taking in a deep breath, Arin stretched his arms. He had been up the entire day and night making sure everything was in order. Making sure the economy of the Farren nations was well; still working on it. Seeing that the military was in check; not a man in low spirits there. And, last on the agenda, making sure the colonies were fine. "I need a day off..." Arin grumbled continuing on to the next report.


Sa'alu- All fine here. Although, rumors of illegal trafficking of plasma weaponry in the Southern hemisphere has been going around but hasn't been proven yet. I've been looking into it a little and from what I can tell, they must be getting these weapons from people in national affairs... I can't say for sure but I think we may need some more personnel down here to check it out just to make sure.


Thinking carefully, Arin weighed everything. How far he could stretch the military forces, chances of successfully taking down organized crimes such as this one. The amount of money it would take for such a mission. "Hm... alright then..." Arin said to himself, preparing a message for the operative in Sa'alu.


Expect reinforcements on Sa'alu and equipment to take these guys down by next week. I expect some results before the end of the year. -Arin





Arin typed down some notes on what to send to the operative and took a deep breath, relieved to have finished for the day. "I'd go home... But I'm expecting messages back in about two hours..." Arin leaned in his chair and closed his eyes, and began falling into a deep sleep, expecting to wake up drowsily as usual. "You're welcome..." Arin grumbled, not even half awake at this point.

 

[Alator]

3rd of May


Aegir


Thor took his seat at the bridge of the Asgard sleipnir-class vessel Mjolnir. It was identical to all their other battleships, but none the less it was an impressive and formidable ship. The Bridge itself was a large room with multiple screens and a large special glass window, allowing the crew to see what was ahead of them with their own eyes. Thor's chair was in the middle of the room with various holographic Control screens that Thor could bring up when he needed them. With access from everything such as weaponry to navigation. To his left and right, slightly below him, sat two commanders that assisted him.


He could see far across the massive military spaceport, the largest one in Aegir, that covered several square miles. Surrounded on all sides by massive buildings. He could see AI engineerers flying all around the massive amount of ships that was docked here. He could see thousands of soldiers marching onto the battleship to the right of Mjolnir.


A message appeared on the main screen, the combination of Asgard runes informing the vessel that they had clearence to take off. Thor proceeded by activating the ship thrusters, and enabling automatic ascent to space. The entire ship shook somewhat as the tremendously large ship became airborne, before gaining a higher and higher altitude. He saw on the screen that two cruisers took off behind Mjolnir. As planned.


As he did not entrust any form of communication besides that of the verbal one with the information he had to share, he had decided to go himself. The Vand'jin, if they hadn't discovered what the Asgard had discovered themselves, had to be informed of what was coming. And the reason for visiting the Vand'jin was simply that they where close to the Asgard territory. Aswell as being very technologically advanced. It seemed reasonable to reach out to them, just in case, and inform them of the situation first.


The stars shone as beautiful as ever when the three ships entered hyperspace.

 

[Hazeron]

1st of July, 2113


Gottlieb leaned back into his chair, his face bathed in blue light. Slipspace was a chaotic, yet strangely beautiful thing; it was why he had these windows installed in his office. They ran from the floor to the ceiling, giving him a clear view of either space, or the other worldliness of slipspace. He was glad he decided to get real leather; it felt great to just lean back into, and forget everything in the world.


The Pinta was 1 day out of Sol space, and was about to transition into the next frontier of humanity; the Alpha Centauri system. For decades, telescopes had been trained on the closest system to Earth; more specifically, the planets orbiting it. They had noticed the green and blue Alpha Centauri B b orbiting Alpha Centauri B, one of the three stars in the system. It was always out of reach, but with the advent of Slip space technology, it was finally a possibility that humanity would set foot on it. That was the purpose of this expedition; survey the planet, and claim it for humanity.


Gottlieb was simply a representative of Mars Tech; they, of course, wanted first pickings on any minerals and thermal vents. They were the ones who funded this expedition, and they would get exclusive rights to the planet. It was only a matter of hours until they arrived. With a grin, Gottlieb opened up one of the drawers of his desk, and took out a bottle of Stout.


FIVE HOURS LATER


"...oxygen content, 0.9 argon, and 0.1 trace. It's perfect Earth standard, sir." Several rooms were very silent for a few moments, before erupting into noise. Mission control, the board of directors, and a panel from the Astronomical Organization were practically going insane over this announcement, while a German man fist pumped quietly in the corner of the bridge.


ONE HOUR LATER


"...we're gonna be sending you all down in hazard suits. We have no idea what kind of foreign bodies are down there, so they'll be fully sealed and running off of internals. Make sure to top your tanks off. We leave in thirty minutes."


Humanity had taken a second giant leap into space, and were now poised to explore an alien world.


(That a good opener?)

 

[Irish_Dragon_76]

3rd of May


Central Defense Ward -Talin


One of the personnel sitting in front of their many blue, glowing screens quickly sat up and rushed towards General Talin, the leading Defense Official "General, sensors are detecting multiple large unidentified objects headed into our sector. We presume the objects to be ships. At their current speed, they'll be here within hours. Contact has not been made yet." General Talin stood there for a moment, a stern expression on his face. "I want all defense turrets online and prepped, tell them to hold fire until either I give the command or whatever is coming shows no sign of playing nice... I want three battleships ready to mobilize and for contact to be made the SECOND they are in range." With that, Talin turned around and looked over the large screen in front of him. Everyone in the room were quickly moving. "Things are starting to get interesting, aren't they...?" Talin whispered to himself as three, small red dots appeared on the large map that represented their sector. "Solar cannons are online, sir. Farren defense systems are warming up as well." Someone reported at Talin's side. A man sitting nearby, working at the large console added. "Just got word from the Military Ward; their prepping three battleships for takeoff as we speak. Everyone is awaiting your command, sir." Talin couldn't help but grin. The idea of an attack against the Vand'jin excited him. Seeing how active the Defense Ward was all of a sudden made him feel he had succeeded as a leader. He was proud to be the general of such a group today. "Sir, we have just verified that the objects are indeed ships and are now in range for contact." Another Vand'jin said, still working at his computer. "Alright boys, let's see what the neighbors want, ey?" Talin said, not taking his eyes off the blue glowing screen. Pressing down a number of different digital buttons, Talin began to speak. "This is General Talin of the Vand'jin Central Defense Ward, we have taken notice of your entrance of our sector and request clarification on your purpose here." Talin pressed a small series of buttons and the recorded message was sent. Now all they could do was wait for a response.


Central Office -Arin


Woken up by the sudden sound of messages popping up on his desktop visor, Arin jumped up a little in his chair. He blinked his eyes a few times and looked at the screen. After a few moments, his vision finally focused and he opened the first message.


Defense Ward. 9:03 a.m. Today.


Three unidentified objects were caught moving into our sector. They appear to be vessels of some sort and are headed straight towards Farren. Defense weaponry are now online and the fleet is being mobilized. Contact has not been made but a message has been sent. A reply back is yet to be made. We expect you to represent our race if they are to show signs of peace.


Closing the message, Arin let out a long sigh. "Jeez... The one day we finally might make contact with another intelligent species, and I just want to be alone..." Arin mumbled as he got out of his chair and walked towards the door that led outside his office. He had to get ready to represent a species, and looking the way he did would not make a very good first impression... "At least it's an excuse to go home..." Arin said to himself. Walking down a large, hall, he made it to a wide room with small, cylinder platforms on the ground. The usually bustling room was relatively empty, but it made getting to the teleporter simpler and quicker. Arin walked over to one of the platforms and said where he wished to go, being his street number, and in the literal blink of an eye, he was three blocks away from his home. "Why can't they just put it right next to my house..." Arin said to himself, still feeling as though he hadn't slept at all. It was a big day though, news was soon to spread and Arin had to be ready. Meeting a new intelligent life form could be the biggest change of all time; and that could be good, or it could be bad...

 

[Alator]

The Vand'jin had obviously prepared themselves for their arrival, the ship sensors detected a tremendous activity from both the planet and the stations and fleet orbiting it. As they were nearing the planet, they recieved a message. It was obviously spoken in Vand'jin, a simple request to learn the intentions of the ships.


Thor allowed himself a smile, did they honestly expect an attack by such a small fleet? Granted, the Asgard ships were extremely advanced. But a mere three vessels would be no match against the defences around the Vand'jin home planet. The interior of Asgard ships was very airy, and everything made made in a polished white material and the silver-coloured alloy mainly compromised of Neutronium. Most of the content on their screens was mainly coloured in blue, a colour that the Asgard found pleasant for their eyes.


"Send a message back, in text. Just put in their symbols for peace and diplomacy." He declared.


Within an hour the Asgard would have their first close encounter with the Vand'jin species, that they had been observing from afar for a very long time. The thought thrilled even Thor.

 

[Most Notable Gareth]

9th Kra'Rakk, Year 21334 (R'Juk Calendar)





Pilt Ok'Wuul sat in his high leather throne and looked out at the realm he had so long controlled, grieving. His eldest brother, Wraf, had been slain just a day ago, trying to put down a rebellion in the city of Ydel'sk. Wraf had fought gallantly, personally slaying at least fifteen enemies before being struck by a concentrated energy bolt and collapsing, according to reports by the surviving soldiers. Wraf had forgone his specially outfitted armor, which would've protected him in such a situation. Pilt sighed. Wraf was a brave and heroic character, but he had become over-confident and it had costed him his life. After Wraf fell, his regiment fought bravely but sustained many losses and were forced to withdraw from the city. Now, the city was completely overrun with rebels, and the revolution was spreading over the provinces that Wraf had formerly controlled. In the emergency situation, the eldest Prince, Kulf, had ordered for all military units in the provinces stationed in smaller villages and towns to withdraw to the large city of Frdwel to defend its walls. In doing so, he had surrendered many towns to the rebellion.


With the death of Wraf, a large power vacuum had opened. Wraf was one of the seven High Princes of Dong'Ur, the group that led the Empire. The Grand Count, the merciless and unseen ruler who oversaw the doings of the Princes, usually appointed new Princes from one of the three royal families of the Federation. However, currently there were no eligible Princes in any of the royal families, leaving the question of what was to be done with the chaotic, leaderless provinces being overturned by rebellion. This was the first time that Pilt could remember where there was an empty position on the Council of Princes. It was also the first time he had ever seen a rebellion sweep the lands since he was just seven years old, when his cousin, Drak, had gone off to fight with the rebellion and lost his life. These were greatly changing times for the Empire of Dong'Ur, and everyone knew it. If the government was weakened any more, it would surely collapse.


--------------


"Get down, men!" shouted Rav. His troops, wearing stolen power armor and other garments, dove to the ground as a mighty roar sounded. An immense shadow swept over them as a hulking bomber ship passed overhead. Concentrated energy bolts slammed into the ground around them, the dirt hissing and steaming as it got hit by the supercharged particles. Rav crawled behind a large boulder than got into a crouched stance, huddling behind the rock for cover. "Find cover!" he shouted to his troops.


Rav peered over the boulder long enough to see Imperial soldiers standing in the dense foliage at the top of the ridge with energy casters, firing the bolts of thousand-degree, skin-melting energy down onto his men. "Top of the ridge," he yelled, "give em what you got!"


Rav's men reached into satchels they carried around their waists and all withdrew small, glowing red orbs, throwing them into the line of soldiers at the top of the ridge. Before the soldiers had time to react, the orbs exploded into a magnificent, purple flame that consumed the soldiers, instantly killing all of them. However, as soon as the soldiers fell to the ground, the flame quickly died out, not even slightly affecting the foliage around them, or the equipment the soldiers carried. The devices that Rav's men had thrown were Ekk'l bombs, something that Rav's father, Unl'l, had created. The bombs worked by releasing large amounts of unstable oxygen, causing the clean nitrogen in the soldiers bodies to hyperreact and explode, effectively killing them.


Rav and his small band of troops quickly made their way up the ridge and found the soldiers' corpses. The men dug through the bodies, looting anything of value to them, including the few energy casters that the soldiers possessed. Rav refused to take an energy caster. He had always worked with a bow, learning to shoot when he was only five years old. The bow he was carrying right now, Serpentine, was passed down from his father. He also carried a full quiver of Idra metal-tipped arrows, with the capabilities to pierce even the heavy armor worn by some Imperial soldiers.


"Alright men, let's get moving," said Rav. "The Empire isn't going to liberate itself."

 

[Irish_Dragon_76]

Central Defense Ward -Talin


The Defense Ward was still full of movement. Everyone was doing something. General Talin continued to watch the three small dots on the screen, excitement coursing through his veins. Suddenly, the Vand'jin working at his right side bolted up and turned to face Talin. "Sir, we've just got a message back! It wasn't exact on their intentions, but it spoke of peace." The Vand'jin reported. Talin stood there for a moment, thinking about the news. He turned to face the Vand'jin who gave such news. "Very well, tell everyone to keep on standby. Inform Arin of this immediately." Talin replied before turning to face the bustling sea of blue screens and working personnel. Talin smiled once again, overcome by an almost comical joy; he felt like laughing for some reason at this all.


Arin's home -Arin


Showered, dressed, and fed, Arin said goodbye to his wife, not telling her of the encounter which was soon to come. He knew it was best to keep things as simple and calm as possible. Just as he passed the doorway of his home, which was a rather large home at that, his portable messaging device, which was like smartphone with a retractable screen and a top and bottom piece, let off a small ping. He took the device out from his pocket and pulled it open, looking over the new message.


Defense Ward. 9:40 a.m. Today.


Contact has been made. A message, in text only, spoke of peace. We have put everything on standby until further notice. We haven't calculated exactly where they are to land but we are making preparations for that as we speak. They should be here within less than an hour now.


Arin closed the device and put it back into his pocket as he continued towards the teleportation platform. Today was the day; the Vand'jin were about to make their first ever contact with another intelligent life form, and Arin was representing them all.

 

[Hazeron]

1st of July, 2113


Nathan carefully snipped a leaf from one of the nearby trees. It resembled a sort of palm; it's trunk was short and stubby, coming up to Nathan's neck, with a pineapple like skin texture. It was clearly made of wood; some things never changed, regardless of planetary distance. It's leaves were arrayed around the top in a starburst pattern, to maximize coverage, and were covered in small pricks, probably to dissuade leaf eating herbivores. They were on one of the beaches; they had landed on the coast of one of the larger continents, and had immediately got to work, setting up a base camp and collecting specimens from the surroundings. It appeared the beaches on this planet had a thriving ecosystem, owing to the three suns of the system; the amount of solar energy being directed into the water allowed a flourishing of plant life such as algae, allowing amphibious creatures to make their home on the beach. A small crab like creature scuttled by, a tiny face hidden under a spiraling shell. Nathan kneeled down and observed it. It waved one of it's appendages at him menacingly (it was a small spike, with what appeared to be retractable barbs a little above the end), before crawling into a little hole at the bottom of the 'palm' tree. Nathan noted that on his PDA, and continued down the beach.


It was a wonderful planet; it would still take months to even begin cataloging a fraction of the species on this one island alone, and years for geological surveys to be complete. Fortunately, the life on the planet was close enough to Earth life that food there was edible, and vice versa. The first outposts (mainly mining, surveying, and research based) would be set up in several months, and the planet would be open to habitation by civilians within a few years. The flag of the RUS was erected on that vibrant beach, and on a large holographic map in the command center of the RUS navy, a sphere of blue bulged outwards just a little.


(GIB CLAY.)

 

[Alator]

((To make everything easier with time etc, the new day came shortly before their arrival ))


3rd of May, 2113


Farren


Thor held his breath as the three ships exited Hyperspace, looking as they appeared from some form of a portal very suddenly. He quickly invesigated what the sensors picked up, the planet was obviously well-defended, even though their technology still seemed a bit primitive to the proud commander. He saw a great fleet lie before him, and what they lacked in size and firepower against the Asgard vessels, they made up for in sheer numbers.


He exhaled with relief, had they not sent the message they might've been blown to pieces. One of the two commanders, Vile, stated "We are being hailed." Thor nodded "Open up a channel." he straightened his back.


He spoke into a small device that would transmit a recording of his upper body and face, along with his words, to the Vand'jin vessels. "I am Thor, supreme commander of the Asgard fleet. We have been watching you from afar, and despite all hardships you came through... I respect that. As you are likely wondering why we have revealed our presence today, I will keep this short. My species has discovered something that may affect the Galaxy as a whole, and I need to speak with your leaders. It is utmost urgent." He made sure to fill his voice with authority as he spoke, as was appropriate when an elder species spoke to a younger.


((Haha @Hazeron ))

 

[Hazeron]

((To make everything easier with time etc, the new day came shortly before their arrival ))
3rd of May, 2113


Farren


Thor held his breath as the three ships exited Hyperspace, looking as they appeared from some form of a portal very suddenly. He quickly invesigated what the sensors picked up, the planet was obviously well-defended, even though their technology still seemed a bit primitive to the proud commander. He saw a great fleet lie before him, and what they lacked in size and firepower against the Asgard vessels, they made up for in sheer numbers.


He exhaled with relief, had they not sent the message they might've been blown to pieces. One of the two commanders, Vile, stated "We are being hailed." Thor nodded "Open up a channel." he straightened his back.


He spoke into a small device that would transmit a recording of his upper body and face, along with his words, to the Vand'jin vessels. "I am Thor, supreme commander of the Asgard fleet. We have been watching you from afar, and despite all hardships you came through... I respect that. As you are likely wondering why we have revealed our presence today, I will keep this short. My species has discovered something that may affect the Galaxy as a whole, and I need to speak with your leaders. It is utmost urgent." He made sure to fill his voice with authority as he spoke, as was appropriate when an elder species spoke to a younger.


((Haha @Hazeron ))

(Wait, who are th Asgardians contacting now?)

 

[Irish_Dragon_76]

Central Defense Ward -Talin


Everything was the same; everyone was busy and doing something just as it had been for the past few hours. That was until someone stood up and spoke to the General. "Sir! The ships have just left hyperspace and are hailing us now!" General Talin looked over at the map and backed away slightly, standing up straight and bringing back his stern, emotionless look. "Hail them back, it's about time we see who our new friends are..." Talin replied, waiting to finally see whoever was in the ships that had come to them. The map on the large screen blinked away and the upper body of something Talin had never seen before came up. Talin didn't blink an eye once he saw the new race, and continued to stand tall as the the one, who introduced himself as Thor, spoke. Although Talin was slightly annoyed by Thor's tone, which he had noticed a touch of authority ran through his words, he disregarded it and continued on, seeing this news to be important and of quite a bit of urgency. "Very well, Commander Thor. We are sending you coordinance on a landing space. Arin Flor, our species' representative will be there shortly to speak on this matter." Talin made sure to show no emotion whatsoever as he spoke, he had worked on doing so for most of his military career and had gained the title of "The Iron Warrior" due to his constant somber expression, even when fighting against opponents in a duel. The Asgardian ships were escorted by a small troop of five corvettes to a large docking station where Arin Flor, Central Commander, was waiting.

 

[Alator]

(((They are still visiting the Vand'jin @Hazeron ^^) It's technically a new day now, so I'll just RP it out like this haha)


Farren, several hours ago.


Thor had his doubts how they would manage to properly dock the massive ship, however somehow they still managed to. Thankfully they seemed to be clever enough to understand when something was truly urgent, even though he knew that he personally would have had them undergo greater security checks. The Asgard sensors detected the lifeform that could only be the one that they called Arin. As this was urgent, he decided to use the ship's teleportation capability to get there. He rose from his chair, curiously looking out the window and studying the Space Station briefly.


Then he proceeded to turn to face the commanders "I will not fail." he promised, before entering the coordinates where he wanted to be teleported. He felt the tickling feeling, saw the flash of light, and in the next second he was standing in front of a Vand'jin.

 

[Doncaster]

3 May 2113


High Executive Prass was staring at the intelligence report which sat upon the screen of his data slate. Unmanned exploration drones had picked something up on their long range scanners in the galactic north, the far north. They had been looking for mineral deposits, rare elements and habitable worlds. What one of them had apparently found was a huge, poorly defined, signal from beyond the galaxy’s northern rim. The reading was incomplete and taken from well beyond the drone’s normal scanning range. It would not have been noticed at all were it not so huge. According to what he saw before him the massive reading, which might have actually been a collection of smaller ones, was not drifting idly. Tell-tale signals hinted at some previously unknown method of propulsion. This told Urthgann that some form of intelligence was at work here. But what did it want, why was it coming and what should they do?


If, whatever it was, had the ability to traverse the great expanses between galaxies it would be in possession of some fearsome technology. But that scarcely clarified things, it only made the stakes altogether higher. Re rapped the elongated fingers and thumbs of one of his ice white hands against the desk whilst he waited for his guests to arrive. He had summoned various senior members of his cabinet to discuss this issue. When his colleagues arrived in his cavernous office, which seemed more like the inside of an ancient cathedral with vaulted arches and gothic flare designed to impress foreign dignitaries and impress upon everyone the importance of this office, they knew their leader was not in the best of moods. The swirling mix of ink black and custard yellow in the bony appendages that served as hair to a Delvonian let anyone who knew Urthgann know he was feeling both uneasy and grimly stern at the same time.


“You’ve all read this.” Said the High Executive almost curtly as he idly tossed the slate on the table before leaning back in his high backed leather chair. “What do you make of it?” Several seconds of heavy silence, each member of the cabinet occasionally moving their three eyes independently of one another to glance sideways at their colleagues. The one to break the silence was Selissa Frixia, head of the secret service. She and the high executive had always had a strangely friendly relationship, one the Inquisition had briefly investigated only to discover nothing was amiss. She gave out a little sigh before walking over to a nearby chair and dragging it over to the High Executive’s desk, taking a seat whilst the rest of her colleagues remained standing. She would never have been so informal in most settings. But this was a closed meeting of part of the upper cabinet, everyone here knew they were amongst friends. Plus meetings called at 1 am tended to be inherently informal.


She looked up at her old friend Urthgann Prass with what passed for a wry smile amongst the Delvonians, though it’s hard to smile when you have less of a mouth and more of a beak. Her hair began to pulse a deep orange however, it always did that when she was teasing Urthgann.


“You know we can’t make anything of it.” She said. “So let’s work with what we do know. It’s big, it’s technologically advanced and it’s heading roughly in this direction. Roughly. If it maintains its projected course it should hit the galactic rim fifty thousand lightyears to the Northwest. Still, that’s closer than we would like.”


The High Executive seemed to visibly calm at the bold and mocking attitude of his colleague. The colours in his crest seemed to slow slightly, though they did not fade. Most people underestimated Selissa when they met her. They thought no one that friendly could be so effective. But she was utterly ruthless and amazingly gifted at her job. She could topple Empires as surely as any admiral.


“The signal will pass closest to Vespasia.” Interjected Altworth Vas’kelleran, head of the combined military. “We should take steps to protect the people there.” He stood out from the other Delvonian’s in the room not by virtue of his stone grey skin but by his minimalist yet impressive uniform. He was the only man here in military garb, whilst everyone else was wearing almost monastic robes, a symbol of their humility, poverty and moral purity.


“Agreed.” Stated the High Executive. Until we know their intent we must assume they are hostile. Dispatch as many armies as you think necessary, a hundred seems about right but I leave the details to you. They leave today. Dig in and bring a lot of anti-orbital gear with you.”


The Foreign minister, Villian Vas’thuros, looked momentarily confused, all three of his green eyes registering a moment of surprise.


“If we allow the enemy to land civilian casualties will be far higher than if we engage to foe in deep space. Should the fleet not mass to intercept?” He said, in uncertain and slightly disbelieving tones. The High Executive had barely opened his mouth before Altworth spoke for him.


“We know the enemy ships have better propulsion than us at the very least. Likely better weapons and armour as well if this is a military fleet. Our ships will be outclassed and likely destroyed in a fair fight. On the ground technology counts for less. Troop quality, will power, reserves and defensive positions count for much more. We have those in spades. We fought technologically superior foes to a standstill on the ground before when they got the better of us in space.” Altworth sounded a little short, as if explaining the most obvious of military concepts to a child but he was often like this with anyone not in uniform.


Thinking for a moment the military man continued. “Besides, the enemy is likely not to want to engage in prolonged ground battles at all if he can avoid it and he will certainly not want to launch costly attacks unless he absolutely has to. He’s come from another galaxy, at the very end of his supply chain. It might take months or even years for reinforcements to reach him from his home. I can draw up reinforcements in less than a day. When he starts loosing men he can’t replace them. We can.” It was clear the Admiral hopped to such the enemy into a ground based war of attrition, if such a thing proved necessary. It was a sound plan.


“The Admiral is correct.” Concurred Prass. However, he was not entirely in agreement with his military colleague, as shown when he continued. “But these visitors are not our enemies yet. They could be invaders true, but they could be refugees fleeing from some great crisis. We won’t know unless we do some investigating.” Pointing at the admiral he ordered. “Altworth. Ready one of the stealth flotillas. When our new arrivals reach the galactic rim send them out to have a closer look, maximum sensor range, don’t provoke them and don’t get spotted. Just look.”


Turning to the foreign minister the High Executive continued. “You meanwhile, need to talk to some of our neighbours. I know our diplomatic relations are more of an observant silence than anything else at this stage, as we have been focusing on our kin to the south who remain dear to us. But I fear now is the time to reach out. Reports indicate a slightly more primitive people calling themselves Dong’Ur who lie closer to the path of this thing. Reach out to them, they might know more, and we might have to use them to help deal with this situation.” There was then a pause, followed by an audible sigh before he continued with obvious reluctance and a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “Also reach out to Asguard.”


As one all of the other voices seemed to rise up in various disbelieving protests. But it was Selissa’s voice that eventually came to the fore. “Urthgann, you can’t be serious. You know as well as anyone that we can never submit to being the junior partner again! Ever! We were as slaves once we cannot risk that a second time. In the future we may talk to Asguard, as equals. But for now they outstrip our technology. They may be able to take control, dominate us. We must not expose ourselves to that risk.” She didn’t just seem shocked, she seemed angry that the High Executive would voluntarily engage with something as threatening as Asguard unless it was totally necessary. Always negotiate from a position of strength it you could, and compared to Asguard they lacked strength. Technology alone gave the aliens an edge. But Prass would not be moved.


Narrowing his eyes he reiterated.


“What’s coming is more technologically advanced than them. If these things are hostile we need the best technology and best fleet we can get and right now that belongs to Asguard. Besides, Asguard has to be nervous as well. Their position is not as strong as it might seem. If this new arrival is hostile it will try to knock out the only real threat first, Asguard. Asguard is going to be looking for allies as well and they will not risk conflict with us for fear of weakening themselves before these travellers arrive.”


His intelligence chief seemed less than convinced “But sir.” However, she would not be permited to finish the sentence.


“My order is final. Foreign minister Villian Vas’thuros, I hereby order you to make contact with Dong’Ur and Asguard. Do you understand?” His tone made it clear there was only one acceptable answer.


“Yes sir.” Said the Foreign Minister, quietly but respectfully.


“Good, then all of you. Be about your business.” With that Prass seemed to return to his work, looking at his monitors and clearly unwilling to hear any further disagreement. Usually he would have talked at length about this kind of thing. But time was of the essence and he could not afford for caution to lead to their doom.


Quietly the three visitors stalked out of the grand office that was almost a temple to the idea of secular power. They may have been Prass’s friends. But sometimes they needed to be reminded of just who was in charge. Prass understood their concern. But he didn’t see any other way out of this. Not if the visitor was hostile. He hoped it wasn’t. He would have prayed if he believed in any kind of a god. But for now he could only hope for the best and plan for the worst.


Later that same day both Asguard and Dong’Ur would be able to detect a single unmanned drone sitting at the edges of their respective territories. A little way behind them were stealthed corvettes, concealing their presence for fear of being destroyed but carrying diplomatic delegations. One corvette would not pose a danger to either nation. But the ships would not enter their territory uninvited.


Should either of the two peoples attempted to interact with or scan the probe in any way they would have been greeted with a pre-recorded transmission containing the decidedly alien looking Villian Vas’thuros. His skin so pale as to be almost translucent, hinting at the movement of muscles beneath. His three large eyes, one to either side of his head and one facing forward were all a deep, jade green and what would have been a cornea in most species was all iris in theirs. The bone like tendrils that seemed to stand in for hair resembled the blue of a still lagoon. His long beak like face made him appear decidedly avian and it all came together to make it very obvious that this was a true alien.


When he spoke he spoke in formal Delvonian, a written version of whatever he was saying projected at the bottom of whichever monitor the viewer happened to be using, along with translations in every known language. Meanwhile, the drone scanning technologies were analysing civilian frequencies in an attempt to rapidly decipher the host nation’s language, resulting in a slightly clunky and occasionally inelegant translation appearing amongst the others. The message ran thusly.


“Fellow sentients. I am Villian Vas’thuros, foreign minister of the Ascendancy and I have been nominated to send you this message of greeting. The Ascendancy is a nation of hard workers and upstanding citizens who have laboured hard and suffered much to carve out their place amongst the stars. But we do not live in this galaxy alone, no do any of us and now we would seek to open formal relations with your people. We would seek to begin this new phase in our history with brothers amongst the stars, and not enemies. If you are amenable to this, please signal your consent and diplomats will arrive shortly. May this message mark the beginning of an era of cooperation between our peoples.” Now the diplomats just had to wait.

 

[Most Notable Gareth]

10th Kra'Rakk, Year 21334 (R'Juk Calendar)


"We have neither the resources nor manpower to carry out a drawn-out war against the Empire."


"What about the captured towns? They were full of food, and they have farms that we can use to produce more."


"General Rav, you need to be aware that we are a ragtag group of peasants fighting against a major interplanetary empire. Whatever we throw at them, they can just shrug off and then hit us back with ten times the force. The government might be unstable right now, yes, but we still are nothing compared to them."


Rav sighed. Over the past few days, the revolution had been gaining momentum, only to be stopped by a massive wall of Imperial forces that stretched for miles, presumably protecting the city of Frdwel. The particular cell that Rav commanded had about five hundred men at their disposal, while he guessed that the Imperials nearby had nearly five million. Rav and his men were outnumbered ten thousand to one.


-------------------


"So, how goes the construction?" asked Gad.


"It's going all according to schedule, Sir," responded the short man in the red robes.


"Great," Gad chuckled to himself. Soon, he would be sitting upon the finest throne in the finest palace on the whole planet. "How much longer until we reach the next phase?"


"About a half cycle more..." responded the short, red robed Minister. "My Lord," he began. "Shouldn't we be worried about sending men to Lord Kulf to put down the Rebellion? There could be millions of rebels by now, destroying the Empire as we know it."


"Oh, please." replied Gad in a snide tone. "Dong'Ju politics don't concern me. Kulf can keep hiding behind those big walls of his. They won't protect him forever."


"But Sir," began the Minister again, "we've already lost a Prince to the Rebellion. The rebels have gained more ground in the last week than they have in two hundred years! We can't just sit around here and wait while your fellow leaders die! We need to-"


"Hush!" shouted Gad, "get me some wine, and shut your damn mouth. I'm sick of people telling me that I need to help those snotty homeworld kings. When was the last time they did something for me?"


The Minister stared at Gad in disbelief.


"What at you looking at?" questioned Gad. "Go!"


"Yes, Master." replied the Minister in an angry tone, then stormed away.


Gad looked up at the unfinished stone structure of the main hall and admired its glory. It was going to be a grand palace indeed.


----------------


Grand Warren Kulf, Eldest Prince and Chief of the Imperial Navy, strode through the control room of the Thandilsdk Planetary Spaceport, which was abuzz with activity. Screens blinked and personnel scurried around the room, making way for the tall figure of the Eldest when he passed. They shouted in excitement.


"Contact?"


"No, this can't be."


"What is this?"


"Who sent this?"


"This has to be some Rebellion hoax."


"It's a trap! They're tricking us!"


Kulf scanned through the masses of spaceport personnel, finally finding the person he was looking for.


"Admiral Jun!" shouted the Prince. The Admiral looked up from where he sat, hunched over a small, flashing screen.


"My Lord, Master Kulf!" the Admiral exclaimed. "We didn't expect to be seeing you at such an hour."


"I can forfeit sleep for a planetary emergency. What's going on?"


"Yes, yes," replied the Admiral, looking back down at his screen. "The station has recently received a strange signal from the outer bounds of the system, at the edge of our Empire. The signal was a few hours old when we received it."


"What did this signal say, may I ask?"


"Well, it was sent in very poor Yd'Lor, but we've been able to glean from it that there is some other civilization out there, among the stars. They call themselves the 'Ascendancy.' They wish to land diplomats on our world. What will we do?"the Admiral asked, urgently.


The Prince took a minute to step back and think about the whole situation. This was both exciting and terrifying to him. What this meant, provided it was true, is that the Kraaf species truly weren't alone in the Universe, and centuries of research hadn't been in vain. However, it also meant that this other civilization had the advanced technology needed to contact another star system, which meant that they surely had the technology to wipe out the Dong'Ur as well. Also, this outsider civilization somehow knew how to speak Yd'Lor, which surely meant they knew other things about the Dong'Ur.


"Send word back." said the Prince. "Tell them that we will receive their diplomats here in Thandilsdk. Send them the coordinates of the Spaceport and have them land here. Tell them that if they land anywhere else, force can and will be used against them. Prepare ten regiments to stand by the spaceport and ready another twenty more in case the need arises. We need to be prepared for anything. What's the status of the battleship here?"


"Incomplete, but functional." Replied the Admiral.


"Good. I want the full fleet in orbit, including the Battleships. If this is a trap, we aren't going down without a fight."


"Yes, my Lord."


First, the rebellion resurfaced, now a Prince was dead and the Empire was receiving interstellar communications. This was quite the week for the Empire of Dong'Ur.

 

[Grammatic]

Second Solar Cycle-Day 2-Year 1407


Standing on board the bridge of a transport vessel, Commander Nastar watched in awe as the newest warship came out of drydock. Nearly five kilometers from end to end, the VWS Daerdra was the epitome of Velt war technology. Armed from bow to stern with weapons of destruction, it also came equipped with a small underside hangar bay. As well, at the front of the vessel, sticking out several meters, was the vessels main weapon. And experimental particle cannon designed to rip clean through an enemy vessel. Well that is if it actually hits its target. Initial testing for the weapon had not gone so well...


As the transport flew past the drydock, Nastar turned his attention to his destination. Appearing to be small moon, the mobile command center measured about twenty five kilometers in circumference, easily the largest Velt construct in space. As they approached, one of the hangar doors was opened, and even though the transport he was in was nearly two kilometers long, the ship was dwarfed by the size of the hangar they entered.


Solid white walls dominated the hangar, and scurrying in innumerable directions, hundreds of Velt personnel went about their daily tasks and orders. A wide range of colors greeted the eyes of anyone arriving, for in the Velt Military, every branch had a color, and each had a sub color to denote position or rank. Nastar himself wore a long black cloak, its twin tails parting in the back slightly as they dragged along the ground. With orange trim, the uniform denoted someone within the military, then also denoted his rank as commander.


As the ramp lowered for him to exit the transport, Nastar was greeted by the armored form of four Velt legionaries waiting for him at the end of the ramp, their gleaming armor and sloped visors giving the menacing appearance the designers wanted. As Nastar walked down the ramp, the soldiers quickly saluted, their left hands forming fists and touching their left temples. Nodding them to relax, Nastar turned and began walking across the floor of the hangar, the four legionaries forming up behind him, their plasma rifles humming slightly.

(Velt Legionary)


As Nastar and his guards made their way across the floor, he watched as other workers quickly moved out of his way, clearing a path for him all the way to the far door of the hangar. He supposed he knew why. A Commander within the Velt Military, instead of being promoted to general, was actually outside the chain of command. Only those of noble blood became Commanders, while only soldiers of true talent and skill became generals, through fighting their way through the ranks. Nastar was technically ranked equal with a general in all sense, but most people deferred to the generals in a combat situation, something Nastar approved.


As he entered the corridor, the echoing beat of the legionaries synced boot claps dominated his hearing. As they rounded a corridor, they came towards a elevator, guarded by two more legionaries. As Nastar approached, they saluted in the same way as the others, before one of them placed their gloved palm against a part of the wall, which looked exactly like the rest. A near inadubile hiss signaled the release of the door lock, and the elevator opened in front of him. Stepping into the elevator, Nastar nodded to the soldiers as the doors sealed in front of them. The chamber was barely big enough for a single person, let alone a full escort force. It was built this way to prevent a invading force from being able to move large amounts of soldiers to other floors at any one time.


After waiting for several seconds, the doors opened once more, and Nastar stepped into the hall, where four new legionaries quickly fell into step behind him. As they rounded another corner, Nastar actually stopped in his tracks, seeing six new figures standing outside his destination. Shining in the light, the pure white armor of the Praetorian's gleamed. Their armor was similar to that of the legionaries, but for arched shoulder blades, as well as a long flowing red cape down the entire left side of their body. In their right hands, long energy pikes sat at the ready. Their glowing and crackling blue blades able to cut through a man with a single slice, Nastar was thrown into confusion. He had assumed he was coming to meet the stations Admiral for simple reassignment orders. If the Praetorian guard was here, that meant only one thing...


As Nastar entered the dimly lit command center, he immediately took a knee, bowing his head low, and spreading his arms out to either side of him. "High Lord, I am honored by your presence." Hearing two boot taps across the room, Nastar rose to his feet slowly, keeping his head bowed in the process. The command center, unlike the rest of the station and most Velt designs, had dark grey walls, with a single massive monitor dominating the far wall. In the center of the room, a large holo table sat on standby. Raising his head slightly, Nastar was able to see the High Lord.


Wearing a dark purple robe, with a yellow circle on his chest, High Lord Martus regarded Nastar with a cold smile on his face. His head,like all Velt, was completely bald, but, he also had several evident different color shades. He was old, very old. Everyone knew he was nearing the end of his life, and everyone figured Nastar would take his place. Martus knew this too, and he had made it his life goal to ruin Nastar, whom he saw as a upstart. All his attempts had failed, but the hatred remained.


"Commander Nastar, kneel." He did so. "Nastar, son of Tastar, Commander of the Renegade Battalions, and blood of blood. It is with a grave heart that I must inform you of the passing of High Lord Opal. He was killed by poison in his estate home late last night. As the most senior Commander, you are called to serve. Rise, now, as High Lord Nastar."


Slowly rising on shaking feet, Nastar looked into Martus's eyes. The cold hatred was their still, but also, a slight amusement. The hatred between High Lord Opal and Martus was widely known, and Nastar had little doubt his new peer had something to do with it. "I stand ready to serve, from now, to my dying breath." A tablet was passed across the table, and Nastar quickly picked it up, reading through it.


"We had detected unknown signals coming from our galactic north. As your first task, you shall take our newly completed ship, the Daerdra, as well as the entirety of the Fourteenth Velt Legion. You shall push forward, and establish outposts and military stations along the way to your target. Once you find the origin of the signal, you shall investigate. While you are gone, we shall begin the mass production of new warships, hundreds of them. We must prepare for the possibility of war..."


Nodding, Nastar quickly nodded, before turning and departing the room. Outside, instead of a legionary escort, Nastar was faced with six Praetorians. Taking a breath, Nastar walked forward, the Praetorians quickly falling in.

 

[Irish_Dragon_76]

Central Docking bay. Farren -Arin


Arin waited patiently at the docking bay, watching the massive vessel float above. Even compared to their battleships, it was quite large. Suddenly, a bright light shined in front of Arin, making him squint slightly from the sudden light. Arin's eyes refocused quickly to reveal a strange, surprisingly shorter being. The seriousness on the alien's face, who's name was Thor, was almost hard to take seriously at the moment, but Arin didn't allow his childish emotions to get in the way. This was, indeed, a serious matter and had to be treated as so. Arin did his best not to seem as though he was looking down on Thor, and went straight to the point, not wishing to keep the brief silence between them going. "Greetings. My name is Arin Flor, Central Commander. I represent our species here." Arin paused for a moment, thinking of what to say next. "I was informed you are here for an important matter. I would like to discuss that emediately. If you wish to speak in a more private setting, we may take this conversation to my office. Otherwise, we can speak here." Arin stood in front of Thor, arms crossed behind his back, face completely empty of emotion as he waited for a response.

 

[Doncaster]

Spoiler

Unification. They had been chasing it for decades and at times it had seemed only like a distant dream. But now, with an unknown threat coming from beyond the stars and this little galaxy getting ever more crowded it had become more vital than ever. The Delvonian Empire had once been so much more than four worlds and the Ascendancy would not rest until the scattered remnants of its people were again united under a single banner, their banner. They did not want to retake these worlds by force, they had rebelled against tyranny themselves, they did not want to become the next tyrants. But they would if they had to. However, subtlety and diplomacy were the weapons of choice.


These worlds ran a little distance to the galactic south and west of established Ascendancy space but the citizens of the Ascendancy very much thought of them as part of their cultural sphere, one people, one culture, one nation. To that end most of the Ascendancy’s limited trade was focused on these worlds, and on beneficial terms. Permanent trade posts were established, well-staffed embassies. Ascendancy citizens were often occasionally ordered to set up community centres and charitable organisations on these worlds. Meanwhile Ascendancy cultural contributors flooded the markets of these worlds with art, music, literature, philosophical thought, rhetoric and history texts that either subtly or overtly promoted their shared identity and their manifest destiny to be one people again. “Do not let the tyranny of the past divide that which was always meant to be whole.” One text read. “For no injustice and no suffering can ever lessen the fact we are as one brotherhood, one people. Born of the same world, to the same ancestors under the same skies. We were always made to be as one, and now let us restore that harmony.”


The success of the Ascendancy allowed it to outstrip these individual worlds in terms of wealth, power, image and quality of life. The promise of a better life and the consistent rhetoric of unity were powerful motivators to the common man, and the Ascendancy hoped to persuade these people to voluntarily elect to join the Ascendancy. Though they would give a few helpful pushes if need be. They were also ever vigilant for less than scrupulous and effective leaders on these worlds, anyone who would give them half an excuse to occupy the world in the name of protecting the people and then just, never leaving. Not only that but Ascendancy Intelligence, with the knowledge and cooperation of senior elements of the Foreign Office, had been channelling dark money and lending political advisors to pro unification political parties on these worlds, helping to make unification that bit more likely every day.


The closest of these worlds was Wallacin, like all of the independent worlds this planet could not afford to specialise in anything, but that also meant it was not truly lacking in anything. With a population of about four billion it was not the richest prize in the skies. But it was a prize none the less and every Delvonian world was precious to the Ascendancy. With the galaxy entering troubling times High Executive Prass had summoned the head of the secret service to his office again for a private meeting. The gently swirling mix of red and black in what stood in for his hair signalled he was not only full of grim and earnest purpose, but also passion and high emotion. A man in his position would almost never be seen in public with red in his hair. But to people like Selissa, probably the closest friend he had, he could afford to be a little more open with his emotions.


For her part she knew to tread carefully, whatever this was about it matter to Prass, he didn’t tend to get this moved by anything. She took a seat opposite the man she had known for years and looked up at him in hesitant silence, the slight tinge of yellow entering her previously transparent follicles betraying a tiny hint of nerves she never showed to anyone else. It was only once all of their eyes had locked that Prass spoke.


“Commence operation Ashen.” He spoke quietly, but every word was heavy. It needed to be. Operation Ashen was one of their more controversial plans, even the foreign office did not know about it. This was between the High Executive, and intelligence. Operation Ashen was to be triggerd on the world of Wallacin when they could no longer wait for the diplomatic wheels to move at their own pace. A substantial proportion of the population wanted unification, well over fifty percent according to their secret polling data. But the world was relatively comfortable and so there was no huge outcry for change. Operation Ashen was designed to change all that. Agent provocateurs embedded into political movements on the planet years ago would be activated, and start pressing hard for a unification referendum. Meanwhile, manipulated economic data would create problems for the economy of Wallacin, adding to the Ascendancy could provide a better, more stable life. The results would not be fast, it would take a few months, but they would come.


Selissa’s own hair began to flush red and black as she smiled and straightened up, she had been asking for the go signal for years, but Prass had always wanted the polls to show better numbers. He knew he would only get one chance and he didn’t want to give the order without showing 70% in his own polls. Now he had it.


“We’re ready sir.” Said Selissa, an almost predatory lilt to her tone. “We have been for years.”


“Then I expect success.” Replied Prass. “Now get to it. You are going to be very busy over the next few months.






Operation Ashen was not the only move towards total Delvonian unification that the Ascendancy had planned. With this extra galactic presence soon arriving, possibly with hostile intent, High Executive Prass knew he had no further time to waste. He would have preferred to have waited for a more powerful diplomatic position, but he no longer had that luxury. A few hours after his meeting with Selissa High executive Prass made a declaration, not just to his people, but the galaxy. Within the borders of the Ascendancy his address ran on every station whilst live feeds were played on every Delvonian world, whether or not it answered to the Ascendancy. Beyond that the message was broadcast into the infinite depths of space, for any species with the technology to detect hyper long range trans-light broadcasts to hear.


The message was a brief one, designed to run as the headline news on every network that could carry it. On the purely domestic channels the address began with an excerpt from the national anthem played over sweeping shots of bold new space ships launching from their bays, titanic factories pouring rivers of liquid metal, hardworking factory workers happy in their labour, the great smoking stacks of the new ore refineries, the rhythmic rise and fall of monolithic pumps, torrents of water gushing from newly installed hydroelectric dams, scientists hard at work in the lab, doctors in the surgery, images from the old revolution and the time their flag first flew over the oppressed peoples of their capitol, warships and reels from the heroes and martyrs of the past and their great founder, Alasan. Shots of when their flag at last flew over the Imperial palace in Delvonia, surrounded by the worn but quietly elated soldiers who had put it there, cutting edge ships, farmers, titanic interstellar trade barges, windswept mountains and sunlit fields, millions of cheering people at the Independence Day parade. Men women and children, young and old alike, marching as one and so much more before ending on a shot of their government building.


After a moment the image would change to High Executive Prass, standing behind a podium in the press briefing room of the Crucible, the unofficial nickname for the main government building. It was from this moment that those beyond the border of the Ascension would be able to see the broadcast. Outside viewers were spared the brief propaganda reel, or stirring display of national achievement as it might have been called within the Ascendancy.


The milk white skin of High Executive Prass was sharply offset by his plain black, monastic style robes. A few simple symbols demonstrating his supreme rank. Gross displays of wealth or social privilege were more than just looked down upon in the Ascendancy and whilst most civilians were allowed to wear whatever stylish and comfortable clothes they chose, every senior government official outside the military wore these robes to show their humility and lack of wealth. But as understated as they may have been, these simple robes seemed to emanate power and awe, instilling instant respect and obedience from the citizens of the Ascendancy, just like the robes of a priest. His bone like hair was, for the moment black, demonstrating sombre and earnest purpose whilst his purple eyes looked straight into the camera.


“I speak to you now as a Delvonian deeply concerned for the future of his people. Not just the Ascendancy, but all Delvonians on all worlds. This Galaxy is entering uncertain times and the life of all my fellow Delvonians is dear to me, as is the wellbeing of every sentient life form amongst the stars. We are as one people, and no Delvonian should have to face the terrors of the galaxy alone. Our unity is our strength, and this is a strength I would offer to you all. The Ascendancy will not allow the forces of exploitation and cruelty to set upon any Delvonian world and in that spirit I now make the following declaration.”


“All worlds once held by the Delvonian Empire at any point in history are now under the protection of the Ascendancy. Any hostile action taken against them will be considered a declaration of war upon ourselves. Any exploitation of these worlds by manifestly unfair, disingenuous or manipulated trade will be treated as though it were done to ourselves and receive the appropriate response.”


“To this end I am also announcing the creation of the Delvonian Combined Arms Treaty. All Delvonian worlds, should they be forced to fight a defensive war, will go to war as a single military with Ascendancy headquarters serving as high command. Several worlds are already signatories to this pact and I would encourage any Delvonian leader to join our number, for a safer tomorrow.”


“It is altogether appropriate and necessary, that people so closely intertwined and so deeply conscious of their common interests should join together in expressing their determination to maintain their current peace and prosperity, and to preserve it into the future.”


“We do not believe that war is inevitable. We do not believe that there are blind tides of history which sweep men one way or another. In our own time we have seen brave men overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable and forces that seemed overwhelming. Nations with courage and vision can still determine their own destiny, they can choose slavery or freedom, isolation or unity, war or peace.”


“This treaty is a simple document. What it achieves is a grand step towards security and prosperity for us all, and brining the Delvonian people ever close together. If there is anything inevitable, if there is anything unconquerable in the galaxy today it is the will of the people for unity and peace.”


With that, the broadcast ended and normal programming resumed, whilst diplomats and news anchors alike began discussing this address in their offices and on the air. It had been a short speech, but effective and to the point. Delivered levelly, and seriously, but with a hint of earnest purpose and contained passion that might stir a sympathetic soul. High Executive Prass’s declaration to protect all Delvonian worlds was universal and real. However, he had made the combined arms treaty sound more than it was. True, it effectively unified the militaries of all signatory worlds in the event of a major conflict. But not every Delvonian world had signed up. Still, he hoped to build on this momentum and add more worlds to the treaty.


High Executive Prass really did think this was the right thing to do, with the galaxy becoming ever more turbulent military cooperation protected them all. But it also served an alterior purpose. Cultural unification, followed by military unification would, he hoped, shortly be followed by political unification. Soon, soon, the Delvonian people would be whole once more. And after that? Well, a man can dream.






A few hours after broadcast the diplomats sitting at the edge of Dong’Ur territory at last received the all clear message to land at the port of Thandilsdk. Coming out of stealth mode and at last appearing on the local’s sensors the single corvette moved at two thirds speed towards their indicated landing zone. It was unescorted and no grand fleet was waiting in the wings to pounce if this went awry. Should the men of Dong’Ur chose to attack the corvettes only chance would be to stealth and run, and there was no guarantee of success. But, if their hosts did choose to trample upon the sacred and hopefully universal tradition of diplomatic immunity and the honour of the white flag of peace, then they might not suffer retribution today. But they would tomorrow.


The comparatively small Corvette still carried a sizable crew, and every man amongst them was slightly tense. First contact was an inherently unnerving proposition. This may not have been the first alien race they had ever met. But they were the first one these people would be meeting. This was a critical moment in all their histories and the weight of it did not elude them. Added to this was the realisation that, despite their superior technology, they were seriously outgunned. They were navigating carefully through the Dong’Ur fleet the sheer number of cannons here did not escape them. True a single Ascendancy fleet could likely deal with this, but a fleet was not here to protect them if this went wrong. They were sacrificing their own safety to appear as non-hostile as possible.


Grand Warren Kulf was right about one thing though, the Ascendancy had been watching. They were not foolish enough to make first contact blind. Encrypted military channels had been a bit more of a challenge to monitor, but civilian frequencies were a breeze. As such news reports about the death of the Prince and the building revolution had not escaped them. As a fellow revolutionary nation the men of the Ascendancy had a natural sympathy for anyone rebelling against a monarchy. If the situation were different first contact might well have been a secret meeting with the rebels to discuss how to overthrow their vile imperial overlords. But with this presence from beyond the stars that was a concern that would have to wait for another day.


Eventually the corvette came to rest at its designated landing point. Within the confines of the ship marines and droids alike beat to quarters and armed up, not to launch an invasion, there were far too few of them to do that, but to try and repel borders should their hosts ground the ship and attempt to capture their technology. Meanwhile, by the main loading ramp the diplomatic delegation prepared themselves. Most of them were wearing the plain grey robes or middling to senior foreign office officials. Whilst their leader wore a plain black robe, indicating a slightly higher rank but still spurning material greed. After all, the leaders always held themselves to a higher standard than they held their people to. She was a relatively young Delvonian woman, but highly capable and a product of their intensive education system. Her sandy ochre skin was compliment by her deep crimson eyes which bordered on purple. Meanwhile her hair was currently lagoon blue, often seen amongst the Delvonian’s as a sign of someone calm, reflective and in control. Her features were slightly finer, thinner and more angular than many of those around her, making her beautiful by Delvonian standards, though any other species would likely completely fail to notice this.


When the ramp eventually lowered, she and her delegation would walk down calmly, her hands in her sleeves as was traditional whilst those behind her seemed to be carrying a number of small crates and boxes. Moving with an odd grace inherent to all those in robes but amplified by the nature of their species the delegation made their way to the bottom of the ramp and greeted the diplomats who were presumably awaiting them.


Members of the Ascendancy did not bow to one another, they hated it with a passion, it reminded them of having to bow to their old royal overlords. But, the foreign office usually took a more pragmatic approach when dealing with other cultures and so the ambassador gave a small bow before speaking in a strange mix of both soft and harsh sounds, all of which was interlaced by a strange and almost musical rhythm.


After she had finished, presumably speaking, one of the boxes behind her suddenly began to speak in only slightly inelegant Yd'Lor. The drone had been constantly scanning civilian chatter and already its translation had significantly improved, which was now being relayed by this box. The machine spoke in, what would be to a Kraaf, soft female tones to match the impression she left on Delvonians.


“Greetings. I am Sarina Vas’Delliath and I have been sent here by the Ascendancy and by the power of our leader High Executive Urthgann Prass to welcome you and your people to the brotherhood amongst the stars.” She spoke with respect, but without fear. Her life may be at risk but what did one life matter to the Ascendancy, even hers? Any sacrifice was worthwhile to maintain the whole and the whole would have no difficulty dealing with whatever took place here, or so she thought.


After a slight pause to allow for her hosts to respond, which would be translated back by the box, she continued.


“I bring you gifts as a token of good will and understanding between our peoples.” Gesturing behind her for a moment several of the boxes were brought forward and opened up for inspection. The largest of them was about the size of a suitcase but all were immaculately presented in elegant, cold steel, minimalist designs. “This box contains an electronic copy of the Story of the Delvonian, the name of our species. It is generally thought to be one of the core history texts of our people and seeks to provide an over view of our entire history from the time we formed our first primitive tribes to today. It of course cannot comment too deeply on any one area but this serves as a solid foundation for understanding. It has been installed with the same translation software that allows us to speak. I also bring you some of our latest works of art, music and literature from the shining minds of our culture.” She indicated a few abstract statutes, a bold piece of canvass artwork depicting a, idyllic countryside scene on Delvonia so life like it might be a photograph as well as what would be described on earth as an impressionist piece showing the sky at night over Ascension, laced with glowing city lights, strangely coloured gas clouds and forking lightning erupting some of these vapours in multi coloured flame in a hauntingly beautiful depiction of environmental disaster and a subtle tribute to anything that could have survived on that world.


But the star painting was a simple picture of a grey skinned Delvonian, hair strands devoid of all colour, with muted coper eyes, staring out of the painting, and seemingly into forever. On Delvonia this was considered a masterwork with a slightly enigmatic quality like the Mona Lisa. But rather than an odd smile it was the figures eyes that were the talk of art critics everywhere. These seemed to be staring into destiny itself. The Kraaf likely did not realise it, but to be gifted this picture which was described as a masterwork within two years of it being completed, was a tremendous gesture. They had also received some classic folk stories, more modern works of fiction which espoused Ascension morality via the actions of their heroic characters, and some music which would resemble the classic romantic movement of earth when listened to, all be it with very different instruments.


With these gifts given Sarina Vas’Delliath patiently waited for her host’s response.

 

[Hazeron]

@Doncaster


5th of July, 2113


"...confirmed reports from the SETI institute that the transmissions did originate from within the Milky Way. Further news a-"


"Worldwide, communication hubs were suddenly bombarded with transmissions from an unknown source. Startlingly enough, it appears to be made by non huma-"


"...over that transmission for 4 days, man! To everyone listening to Far Out There, that transmission was not fake-"


"...we're now getting a live feed from Vandire Hall, in Moscow..."


"...urrently investigating the transmissions. Rest assured; the finest scientists of the RUS are working on-"


"...THIS MEAN FOR US? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR EARTH? WHAT DOES I-"


Sighing, President Goge turned off the television, resting his face into his hands. The whole world was going berserk, stirred up by the proof that extraterrestrial life was real. All he could do was give speeches while RnD figured out what the hell was going on. He was snapped out of his funk by the phone ringing. His head darted to it, and he answered it. "Yes?" He listened for a few seconds, and his eyes widened. "Well, then send a reply!"


Focusing their powerful satellite arrays, SETI sent a simple reply the way of the Delvonian people.


It was a repeating signal; the word "Hello" in binary, followed by the same in 50 different languages.

 

[Most Notable Gareth]

11th Kra'Rakk, Year 21334 (R'Juk Calendar)


The bright sunlight shone down onto the gathering of officials and soldiers on Docking Pad 11-A of the Thandilsdk Planetary Spaceport. By now, it was late morning in the grand capital of the Empire. The Spaceport had been awake with activity for most of the night after they discovered signals from an interstellar race called the Ascendancy, triggering the Empire of Dong'Ur's first ever intergalactic communications. Somehow, the word had gotten out to the general public of the communications, and it had set them into a frenzy. Many protested in the streets for hours, before several Palace Guard regiments came in and shut them down. Others were now gathered outside of the Spaceport, eager to catch a glimpse of the intergalactic visitors. The Eldest Prince, Grand Warren Kulf, stood out on the platform, flanked by numerous important politicians and city administrators, including the commander who first received the message, Admiral Jun. Behind the Prince and all of his politicians stood a large column of Guards, armed with spears and energy casters. Kulf, being the eldest and most intelligent of all the Princes, understood that there was always a risk of invasion. More than twenty regiments of infantry stood at the ready in nearby Hr'kk square in case something were to go awry. The whole city held its breath.


Soon, a small vessel was seen descending towards the station. This obviously wasn't one of the Dong'Ur ships, it looked to be much more advanced than the small fleet that the Empire possessed. The crowds in the streets oohed and ahhed, and the Guards shifted, readying themselves for a possible attack. However, the lone ship seemed unlikely to be a threat at the time being. "At ease, men," instructed Prince Kulf. He wanted to put on a show of force, yes, but he also wanted to make clear that the Kraaf were an elegant people, not war-crazed barbarians.


The small corvette touched down on the landing pad and its engines slowed to a stop. The Prince stepped forward, awaiting the diplomats which were supposedly within the ship. After a minute which felt to all the onlookers like hours, the landing ramp hissed to the ground and out came a group of the strangest people that Kulf had ever seen. They were tall, many of them as tall as or even taller than the Kraaf. Many of them had pale grey or white skin, wearing robes of nearly the same colors, however the one who Kulf believed was the leader had a deep, sandy complexion, standing tall in simple, yet elegant black robes. She stood there for a moment, taking in the congregation of Kraaf before her before some of the others behind her brought forward various boxes and crates. One was set next to the woman and looked to be some sort of device. The woman made a gesture that Kulf did not understand, closing her eyes and briefly bending over before standing and looking at him. She began speaking in a foreign tongue, her deep red eyes entrancing the crowd. After she was done speaking, the device next to her began to speak in Yd'Lor which Kraaf could understand.


The tall woman introduced herself as Sarina Vas'Delliath, sent by someone named Prass, the leader of their nation. "Welcome to the brotherhood among the stars," she said in a smooth and elegant tone. Her lack of fear amidst the show of force all around her annoyed Kulf.


"Yes, it is a pleasure to be meeting you, Mistress Vas'Delliath," replied Kulf, "welcome to our homeworld. We have been eager to finally host you here in Thandilsdk. Welcome." The device by the Ascendancy leader's feet began to speak, but this time spoke Kulf's words back to the diplomat in her language. She began to speak again as her men brought forward the boxes and crates and opened them up. Inside were many small metal devices, as well as various artwork and stories. These trinkets were of little interest to Kulf, merely a peace offering and formality.


"Men, bring forward our gifts," commanded the Prince. Several soldiers carried forth three large crates and set them in front of the alien party. Sarina's men walked forward and carried them back to their ship.


"Now, with the formalities complete, shall we head to the meeting hall to continue the peace talks?" Asked the Prince. The message was put through the device and was read back to the alien leader. Kulf stepped back and awaited her response, ordering his men to form up and prepare to escort them, and ordering this group of politicians to proceed to the grand meeting room down the corridor.


@Doncaster


------------------------


Rav held his breath tight in his lungs as he drew back his bowstring and focused intently on his target. The tall, red-clad general stood chatting with a deputy officer, clad in a deep blue. The two stopped talking for a moment, both getting the faint feeling that they weren't alone. Rav released the bowstring, and with a sharp twang, the arrow made its way away from the string and cut through the air. The general spun around at the noise, but it was too late for him. The razor-sharp arrow pierced its way into his throat and blood gushed down his neck. The panicked general clawed at the arrow embedded in his flesh as blood overflowed into his windpipe. The general began to choke, drowning in his own blood as his hands fruitlessly scrabbled at his mortal wound for one last time before his own forsaken life slipped away and he crumpled to the floor, spilling his deep crimson blood onto the pristine polished tile.


The deputy officer stood in place, staring at the body of the man he had been chatting with just moments before, mortified. Before he could react, Rav emerged from the shadows of the tall boxes where he had been hiding and drew his long hunting knife, forcing the young officer to the floor and stripping him of his weapons. The young man pleaded mercy to Rav over and over, obviously greatly fearing for his life after what had happened to his comrade just moments earlier. Rav withdrew some spare rope from his satchel and tied the officer's hands and feet together and left him there. Rav then got up and strode over to the tall, elegant wooden doors and pulled them open.


The hall outside was full of Rav's men, standing over the dead bodies of several Imperial soldiers. They looked to Rav for further orders.


"Take what is useful and then form up and prepare to move at moment's notice. We need to be ready for more soldiers at any moment."


Rav's men voiced agreement and then proceeded to loot the bodies of the soldiers which they had slain. Rav himself headed back into the command room from which he had come. The corpse of the general laid in a pool of blood on the floor, but the officer that Rav had bound was gone, his restraints lying loosely on the floor, the window opposite shattered, presumably where the officer had escaped through.

 

[Alator]

Several hours ago, Farren





"As this is urgent and my presence if required elsewhere..." He picked up a small device from his pocket and handed it to Arin. "The Asgard long-range sensors has found proof of that something is approaching our galaxy. We have made the decision of setting a trap, by activating an... By expressing it simply, an anti-hyperspace device once they are in close proximity in a decided spot in the outer rim. And then we intend to face whatever it is before it can enter, preferably peacefully, but if this is a threat we intend to neutralise it, or die while attempting to do so. The device contains coordinates to our capital system, Aegir, should you decide to join us in this endavour. And should you ever wish to contact me, I added the feature to the device. As it is in your language, it should not be too hard to find. I will answer any further questions on my way back." As he finished he entered a code on a small device around his wrist. Signalling that he wanted to come onto the ship again.


And simple and swift as that, Thor was teleported back to the ship. Oddly amused at how confused the Vand'jin must be now. His musings were however interrupted by one of the commanders. "Supreme commander, we have been contacted by the Delvonians. Shall we hail them back?" he asked. The Delvonians was yet another species that the Asgard knew of, yet had allowed to develop on their own without interference. Thor nodded.

 

[Doncaster]

Spoiler

Kulf was lucky that his body language was not immediately understood by the Ascendancy diplomats. Had his disinterest in their gifts been noticed it would have put their relations on a slightly awkward footing right from the off. Not appreciating their art was one thing, such subtle expressions of culture would of course, not be instantly understood by a truly alien civilisation. But the history text, that was another matter. History was the foundation upon which any understanding of a people was based. If you knew a people’s history you could better understand their motives, their nature and what they might do next. For the moment he was given the benefit of the doubt and it was assumed that he would look at them later.


For her part Sarina Vas'Delliath would not stumble into the same faux pas. Carefully moving over to the gifts she had been presented with the woman gestured for her aides to open them, asking Kulf respectfully.


“I thank you for these gifts. I know our arrival was not anticipated. To ready these so promptly shows you are a generous host. May I ask what these are?” She wasn’t just being polite, she actually wanted to know. The choice of gifts would reflect what this culture thought was important, what part of themselves they first wanted to show to a new nation. How they wanted to be thought of. The contents of these boxes would speak volumes.


A little while later, when invited to move on she said simply


“Of course, please lead on.” And began to move towards whatever form of transport their hosts had presumably arranged. Sarina was keen to get a look at the crowd which had turned out to see her arrival. She would not divert from the course the Prince was leading her on, that would be rude, but if the opportunity arose she wanted to see the masses, and let them see her. She wished to take their measure, were the crowd happy and enthusiastic, angry and intimidating, muted and down trodden, well looked after, or mal contended and hungry. She was also curious to see how they reacted to a true alien, fear, hostility, wonder and awe were all realistic results and whilst the Ascendancy had known about advanced alien civilisations for their entire life as an independent nation state, Sarina knew this moment would be quite a shock to the Kraaf. She wanted to see how the populace were handling it.


But that was not the only thing on her mind. The Prince had used the phrase peace talks. You had peace talks at the end of a war, not when first meeting a new person. It spoke as to their nature as a species. She had come here wanting to use the diplomacy of ideology, hope and optimism for this bright new chapter in their history and she still intended to try. But now she was prepared to play real politick as well. She had a great many questions to ask and points to put. But that would wait until they were behind closed doors. True diplomacy should never be carried out in front of a crowd.






The galaxy was a surprisingly noisy place, if you had the ears to listen. Ancient radio signals drifting perpetually through the void, radiation bombardments from every star in the heavens, the constant criss-cross of faster than light communications relayed by as many different types of technology as their were civilizations. Picking one voice out from the crowd was sometimes difficult. But the advanced stellar nations had all learned how to do it, by one means or another. Without such refinement interplanetary communications would have been beyond cumbersome.


But sometimes you needed to listen to the white noise of the universe, just in case anything interesting popped up. To that end a number of sensor drones and deep space listening stations, some funded by the scientific community others run by the intelligence services, were always listening. Scientists hoped to understand more about the universe and perhaps give forewarning of any natural disasters, whilst the intelligence services were keeping an eye out for secret messages and off the grid communications.


It was one of these listening posts that picked something out of the constant hubbub of creation. A signal, seemingly deriving from far to the Galactic South. It was short and made no sense but it was undoubtedly artificial and distinct from the natural cacophony. Such things were almost always some form of communication and, considering how outlandish it was, it went through the intelligence code cracking teams, under the suspicion it was some form of encrypted communication. But the code boys could make neither head nor tail of it. Eventually, after a day or two it ended up on the desk of the foreign secretary, no need to bother the High Executive with this until they knew what it said.


"So it's not a code?" Confirmed a slightly perplexed foreign secretary, a look of doubt on his brow.


"No sir." Replied the both nervous and excited scientist in front of him. "Codes have a certain internal logic or structure. It can be extremely opaque but it's always there. This is gibberish. But it's not an accident. Someone did this on purpose." He said, tapping the display of the data slate with a sense of urgency. But the foreign secretary was not so easily moved to excitement, instead calmly asking.


"What are your thoughts?"


"Well it would be conjecture sir." Replied the scientist, hesitantly. But the Foreign Secretary just smiled and waved a slightly dismissive hand, trying to put the man before him at ease.


"You have permission to speculate, go ahead."


Taking a moment or two to gather himself and think through the half formed idea squatting in the back of his mind the Delvonian slowly began.


"Well a few days ago the High Executive sent out his address. We meant for it to be picked up by the news stations of our neighbouring worlds and civilisations as well as anyone who might threaten our new protectorates. But to ensure it was heard we broadcast broadly into space, rather than on set narrow band frequencies like most communications. I think someone we weren't expecting to hear, heard. Someone who made as little sense of what we were saying as we are of them." But the Foreign Secretary was not entirely convinced.


"If that's the case why didn't the translation programs make at least a crude translation of the message?" But the scientist had a ready response.


"There isn't enough data sir. Think of the drone we sent to Dong'Ju. It scanned that entire worlds civilian communications. Hundreds of thousands of words a minute, perhaps millions. With a sample size that large it can strip out rare communications in other languages and really start to break down the main language and even then the translation wasn't perfect first time off. It took a bit of time to finesse the language. Assuming these pauses signal individual words, which is a big assumption, this message is only fifty one words long. It can't decrypt something that small. Plus, listening to the audio I think those who sent it made life harder than they had to for themselves."


"How do you mean?" Asked the Foreign Secretary with a little muscular twitch over his eyes signalling what would be to a human a perked brow.


"I talked to a professor in Xeno linguistics.” Began his guest, enthusiastically. ”A man who worked on that very drone I mentioned before. He can't be sure but he thinks he can make out at least three distinct language groups. Not individual languages but language groups and who knows how many dialects and languages there are within each group? I think they were hoping we would understand at least one, but by putting so many alien languages so close together, we can't be sure where one begins and one ends."


"So what are you saying?"


"I think this is a short message repeated again and again and again and in lots of different languages." At this point the conjecture was starting to become a little more shaky, even if he was right. But the Foreign Secretary only added fuel to the fire of speculation with his next question.


Leaning forward, concerned the man asked.


"Could we be dealing with a large stellar Empire, one that has absorbed all of these different cultures?" Fortunately, the scientist was a little more measured.


"I don't think so. A civilisation like that would be very advanced and likely be able to work out a more efficient way of communicating with us. I think this is more like how the Delvonian people were before the rise of the old Delvonian Empire. Before we had one common language and when each of those ancient nations on our home world had their own set language, some wildly different to one another."


"You think this is a pre space faring civilisation." Pressed the foreign secretary, leaning back in his chair and seemingly relaxing. He had already had to come to terms with talking to Asguard recently and the presence of an extra galactic people. He didn’t need one more superpower on his plate.


"That's too specific. But pre cultural unity. So they are throwing every culture they have at us, hoping one makes sense."


"How sure are you?"


"You asked me to speculate." Quipped the scientist, a slight smirk on his face, which was quickly followed by a look of nervous apology as he remembered just how senior the man he was smirking at was.


The Foreign Secretary for his part scoffed slightly at the remark, but it masked a quiet laugh and a wry smile. He had asked for that one.


"Very well then. If we can't understand it we can at least show we received it. Broadcast the exact same message back. Then add in our number sequence, our alphabet and some things that cannot be misunderstood.” He seemed to pause for a moment, searching for inspiration before seeming to start suddenly and continue. “Pictures. Pictures of our species, male and female, all our different colours. Show them one picture from the surface of each of our worlds and send a galactic map with our location marked. Do we know where they are?"


"Their transmission was far more narrow band. We have traced it back to their home world, but it's a long way from here." The Foreign secretary was unconcerned by mere distance.


"Send a drone to what seems like the edge of their space, have it monitor their communications and start translating. Listening in we might learn a thing or two about them before we decide to visit."


"We might not need a drone sir. I can probably imbed the software in our reply. Have it auto install onto whatever receives it." It was a decent scientific idea, and a terrible diplomatic move that the Foreign Secretary was quick to put down, gently.


"No, a drone is more reliable. Plus that might be interpreted as a hostile action." However, the scientists pride was slightly wounded and he felt the urge to defend his idea.


"Drones move more slowly than messages, even under FTL drive. It will take some time to get there." But the Foreign Secretary was having none of it.


"We aren't in a hurry, dispatch it. We can give it remote orders if we need to change its mission"


And so it was that drone M18 GS 117 began its journey towards the Sol system, bringing with it the means to at last communicate meaningfully. However, the returned message would arrive far faster than the drone. An exact copy of the original message from earth, followed by the Ascendancy alphabet, number system and a series of photographs as well as an indication of their location amongst the stars. Meanwhile the mechanical messenger carried with it a message from the Foreign Secretary, similar to the ones recently sent to two other civilisations, though this time no diplomatic ship followed behind due to the unusual distance, only a drone. It would be enough for now.






The diplomats above Asguard were the most uncertain of them all. For once the Ascendancy was not in a position of comparative strength, though they would not allow themselves to be bullied by anyone. They had to be cautious, but they would not be subservient. Not now, not ever, never again. Unlike with the Kraaf the language of Asguard was well understood by the Delvonians. Asguard had been the neighbourhood super power for quite some time and whilst the Ascendancy had been more isolated than the old Delvonian Empire, they had not shut away the galaxy and pretended it did not exist.


Having received an all clear signal their corvette came out of silent running and would suddenly appear on Asguard sensors. From there it navigated carefully along the path set out for it by Asguard forces before eventually coming to rest. Once there they remained at a halt, weaposn and shields powered down, and awaited further instructions.