Star Chronicles: Flags in Space [Sci-Fi, Applications required]

[Drakorphobia]

Introduction
For as long as humanity has existed, it has longed for the stars. From the first drawings of the constellations to the small step a man took on the moon. However, the stars had so much more to offer than mere wonder and excitement. As mankind developed and grew, it discovered that there were not only astral vistas and phenomena, but a thriving galactic community of which they were now a part. The Milky Way Galaxy is full of life, some of it more bizarre than the rest, but all of it leading ahead, or following the footsteps along the same path humanity has taken. Many have come before humanity, and many will come after.

You are the leader of your own interstellar state, your own flag in space. It is your job to lead your people to greatness, and to ensure that they remain safe and sound in the endless expanses of space. There are plenty of stars, friend, and they beg for you to explore them.

This is the main thread for Star Chronicles: Flags in Space, a sci-fi nation building roleplay set in the Milky Way galaxy. As per most nation building roleplays, you'll be playing an odd mix of characters and national actions. If you're new to nation building roleplays, worry not! It's rather easy to get used to! To look at all that Out of Character administrative stuff like the rules and map, check out our OOC thread here.​

 

[Drakorphobia]

United Imperial Diplomacy Chamber, Calvaxaron

The Extraterrestrial Embassy Building stood like an acropolis above Calvaxaron's capital city. Its six gleaming towers surrounded a dome shaped main structure, which itself was an impressive work of architecture and engineering when fitted with the many statues of notable past members of the United Imperial Senate that lined the front of the building. Each one stood at least five meters tall, depicting the former senators with traditional Velsyxian robes and either a scroll or tablet in hand. Most notable about the statues was that they were constructed of a smooth, peach coloured stone that was native to Calvaxaron - and highly sought after as a luxury item across the United Empire. Another interesting feature of the statues was that all the depicted figures were female, and for good reason. Not a single male Velsyxian had ever served on the United Imperial Senate.

Inside were marble halls, laden with artistic depictions of the Velsyxian history. The first venture onto land, the mythical king Thraxos, and the deceleration of the United Empire by the first Archon were all such things on display through the medium of oil paintings framed by gold. The hall, however, was eerily silent, as it normally was. The Velsyxians had little use for an Embassy building, despite its opulence, as they had never before come into contact with another alien species. Angry tax payers had called it a frivolous waste of money and resources - until today. The distinctive clicking of heels against the reflective stone floor filled the otherwise empty hall as Head Ambassador Lithla Aragruve strode by the expensive decorum to a set of finely carved double doors. They were made of Durasteel, though painted over to appear gold. Upon their surface was a carving of two Velsyxians, a male and a female, standing tall and shaking hands. Where their hands met, the double doors did as well.

"Requesting entry." Lithla announced, and a fan of blue holographic light emitted from the peak of the doors' frame, and washed over her. The light soon after disappeared, and a loud clack dominated echoed across the entirety of the hall, followed by the whirring of electric gears. The doors slid apart, and revealed a massive circular chamber, with rounded desks ascending along multiple aisles of stairs similar to a lecture hall. At the bottom was a circular stone platform fitted with a podium, where a designated speaker could present. Upon looking at the vista, Lithla huffed, and wandered the room rather mindlessly to examine it for flaws or imperfections. The chamber hadn't ever been used, and she had ordered the staff to ensure that it looked spotless after so many years of neglect.

Just days earlier, a broadcast had been out by all Velsyxian Outpost Stations in hopes that at least someone would get the message.

MESSAGE FROM THE UNITED IMPERIAL OFFICE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL OUTREACH
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

Greetings to whomever this message may reach,

I am Head Ambassador Lithla Aragruve of the United Velsyxian Empire. I send this message on behalf of our leader Archon Veruschka Aliban, long may she reign. The United Velsyxian Empire sends this message in hopes that it will reach any and all who are willing to engage in diplomatic activities with the United Velsyxian Empire and its people. Diplomatic introductions and meetings shall be held on the planet of Calvaxaron located at [these coordinates].

Diplomatic vessels of those representatives attending the summit are instructed to touch down at the spaceport located at these [planetary coordinates]. No military vessels shall be allowed to enter Velsyxian space, and any doing so will be treated as hostile entities.

Long live the United Empire.

​

Now, Lithla waited - as she had for every day since the message was sent, all in hopes that someone would read it.

 

[Succuboi]

Hall of Unity, Li’Taera

“…I still do not agree with this idea.”
“We are aware of your opinion on the matter, Grandmaster, but as it stands you are in the minority on this one.”
“My concerns are valid. I do not trust any one of you and I know you all do not trust me, so why are we so eager to rush away and follow a trail of crumbs of something we have no information on? We’ve deciphered nothing but coordinates!”
“We do not trust you because you are volatile and warmongering. This signal has demonstrated no such ill intent, so it certainly has more merit than you. Now, if we are all done repeating ourselves…”
“…You shall have my delegation, but that is all. I shall be withdrawing any of my forces from this catastrophe.”
“Noted, Grandmaster. Now get out of my sight. Council dismissed.”

…..

This had been a momentous past few months for the typically distrustful Mahadu. A foreign signal, one that no Brood could own up to creating, had been picked up by several fringe outposts and listening stations. Its contents were largely lost in translation, but leading scientists had successfully traced the source of the signal and one small detail of it; coordinates.

The possibility of first contact had, in a very rash turn of events, brought the states together as one. Emergency counsels were held, conflicts drawn to a halt almost overnight and plans were laid out in full light of all for the very first time in years.

The 13 Brood leaders had come together with a mutual understanding; If an alien race saw them squabbling over what little they had, they would be exploited far too easily. If the Mahadu were to continue their necessary expansion into the galaxy, they would now need to do it as one, lest these potential threats from beyond snuff them out.

As such, the Unification Act had been brought to pass. The Mahadu operated as one whole empire, with each Brood leader offering equal counsel to important decisions and discussions. Militaries would now operate as one, led by council appointed staff led by a council appointed ruler. Such a ruler would be chosen for their diplomatic qualities, their ability to win over crowds and their benevolent nature.

…..

Following the trace of the original signal, a significant scientific project had been commissioned by the now assembled council. A satellite designed to withstand FTL travel would be deployed back towards the signal’s origin, coming to a halt just before whatever planet or otherwise had sent the message. It would carry several objects of interest from the Mahadu:

A computer containing the Mahadu language and many famous works of literature
A digital gallery of Mahadu artwork
A small collection of precious gemstones of which many were unique to Li’Taera’s bizarre conditions
Two small freezers containing well-preserved food items, including how they are typically prepared and eaten.

The satellite had also been set to broadcast a signal of its own once it reached its destination, to ensure that it was detected and received by the now unknown recipient. The signal contained a short greeting and an acknowledgement of the signal the Mahadu were responding to, as well as a humble offering of the goods contained within the satellite.

The launching of the satellite was truly a momentous occasion, broadcast across the entire empire and watched by the billions of curious, suspicious or nervous citizens that it would be representing. So many had stopped to watch the event that the council had no choice but to declare the day as a national holiday, Curiosity Day, and upon the successful launch of the satellite, the council clashed heads once more to formulate further diplomatic plans.

 

[RayPurchase]

Primaris Forge, Ortega Prime

The green lights flickered in their fittings far above the room, sending shadows dancing around the small round room. Dominating the room was a large round table, 9 chairs and a singular throne. Whilst the throne and 5 chairs were occupied by physical beings, 4 were occupied by flickering holograms, the representatives of the other 4 cardinal worlds of the Technocracy. The 5 remaining chairs were filled with ministers of the various governmental and military departments, the Navy, the Science Division, External Affairs, Internal Affairs, and The Bureaucratic Administration, and at this moment in time there was no consensus to be found.

“This represents a potential threat, we have survived thus far alone, and alone we shall remain,”

“We would be fools to pass up such an opportunity to make contact with a clearly advanced civilisation High Explorator, we can not simply wield the iron fist without investigating further,”

“I would suggest that we reach a consensus soon, whilst we have tried to suppress news of this signal, word is beginning to leak out. The longer we do nothing the more likely that discontent and fear will grow,”

The argument went back and forth between the figures. Only one member was silent however, and he occupied the throne. Though larger than the other chairs it was without ostentation or decoration, made of simple hammered iron, its dark surface seemingly drinking in the green flickering light, reflecting nothing back. The man sitting on it (if he could be called a man anymore, there was precious little left of his biological nature, the dark red robes concealed much of him, and that which was visible was mostly wires and mechanical prosthetics, only the occasional withered and puckered flesh could be seen) remained silent, allowing the debate to ebb and flow around him for what seemed like an age. Finally, he raised his hand slightly, and the talk ceased instantly. His head rose slightly, the green lights of the augments that had long replaced his eyes shining from beneath his hooded robes.

“I have made my decision. Whilst the High Explorator rightly preaches caution, the Head of Diplomatic Operations is correct that we can not let this opportunity slip by. All we have encountered so far in our journey from Ortega are worlds devoid of any true sentient life. And now here we definitive proof that we are no longer alone amongst the stars,”

His voice contains no trace of humanity, just the harsh bark of a voice modulator, his emotions near impossible to read. He turned his head towards the Head of External Affairs.

“You shall go forth Minister Alexis as my voice and the voice of the Technocracy, see what is to be made of this Velsyxian Empire, and anyone else who happens to attend their summons. High Explorator, I want all forces kept on a heightened state of alert, if this message is some sort of ploy, we shall not be found to be napping. You are dismissed,”

His head lowers, his eyes dimming slightly, and the assembled figures raise from their seats and bow deeply. The holograms flicker out, and the figures present slip through separate doors behind their respective chairs.

---------
The signal had been discovered a week ago, picked up by a deep space communication satellite, stationed between Ortega Prime and the closest Forge World, Perentis Prime. The sole resident of the satellite station, a relatively junior officer who was 2 years into a 4-year rotation, immediately reported it to his superior, and this soon travelled upwards to the desk the Head of Internal Affairs, who subsequently had the officer in charge, and the upwards chain of command liquidated in order to prevent word from spreading, the message had been translated by teams of linguistic scribes, who subsequently went missing as well . In the resultant week the Forge Master General had issued his orders, and despite the best efforts of Internal Affairs, word was beginning to spread of this momentous news, as such plans were quickly accelerated, whilst through a combination of surgery and extensive cybernetics the Ortegans were not one to often cause unrest or show dissatisfaction, such a discovery was still bound to make waves in society. Preliminary deep space photography revealed the presence of a planet, mostly water with 4 major continents. More importantly it appeared capable of sustaining life.

The Ortega system

The shipyards around Oretga Prime spread like a mighty spiders web and were a constant hub of activity, military ships making their way on constant patrols of the home system, countless freighters making their way too and from orbital platforms, incoming ship’s holds full of precious raw materials, and those leaving full of manufactured goods for the further flung regions of the Technocracy. Amongst all this organised chaos, it was easy to miss a single ship slipping its moorings from an anonymous looking mining station, in fact it looked near deserted, a left over of when there were still asteroids to mine in the belt surrounding Ortega before they had all been stripped away. The ship itself though was nothing like the battered station it had emerged from. Sleek in nature with no visible weaponry or much in the way of external features. The hull was matte black, blending in with the darkness of space behind it, the only colour coming from the blue haze of its engines. This was no ordinary ship, but a Shadow Class Long Range Scouting vessel, it had no name but simply a designation Omega- 005. Only a handful existed, owned by External Affairs department as a form of long-range reconnaissance, and 2 by the Internal Affairs department used as a means of monitoring communications traffic of the 4 Forge Worlds. 180m long, it has a crew complement of 5 (Bolstered by a number of non-sentient droids), and room for 20 passengers. As well as the stealth functionalities of the ship, it had a more advanced drive than was found on other Ortegan ships, allowing it to travel longer distances for less fuel consumption, and it has an impressive communications array allowing it to stay in contact with Ortega Prime. It had been decided not to dispatch a militarized fleet, not just due to the nature of the message, but due to the fact that there was a fear that this contact could result in hostilities against the Technocracy. And so in keeping with the Forge Master General’s orders only a single ship wad to be dispatched, with the fleets posted to the Oretgan borders, ready to counter any threat that could emerge.

Onboard was Juliana Alexis, Head of External Affairs and the newly founded Diplomatic corps. Accompanying her was all 4 members of the newly founded Diplomatic Corps, unlike Juliana, who as a senior Ortegan had undergone 87.3% cybernetic augmentation, these diplomats were chosen to try and be as ‘natural’ as possible, still retaining most of their original biological features, with their augments being hidden away internally, if one was to look at their eyes closely they would see the myriad of fine flashing wires laced inside, and their crimson robes masked their other more extensive cybernetics. The final members of the party were 15 members of the Tech Guard, elite soldiers and bodyguards tasked with maintaining the personal security of the Forge Master General, the Forge Masters, and the governmental ministers. Heavily armoured and with numerous weapon augments built into them they trained to lay down their lives if necessary, for the safety of their designated VIP without a moment’s hesitation. Of course, Juliana was hoping that such an eventuality would not come to pass.

Spoiler: Omega - 005

Ship’s Bridge, Omega – 005

The five members of the bridge crew were hardwired into their seats, plugs and inputs linking them directly to their ship. Juliana sat upon the captain’s chair, as the direct representative of the Forge Master General, there was no question or dissent from the crew that she was the one pulling the strings here. As the sublight engines took the ship to the edge of the Ortega system, the view screen in front of her flashed into life. There in front of her sat the Forge Master General himself, the ghostly green vision augments staring at her.

“Do not fail me Minister Alexis. I shall expect your report as soon as you make contact with these Velsyxians,”

With that the channel cut out, the Ortegans were not one for false pleasantries or idle conversation. Wired into the ship herself, Juliana remained motionless as she sent a nonverbal command through the ships’ systems to the waiting crew. As the sublight engines were shut down, a gently rumbling began as the warp engine was coaxed into life, the co-ordinates that had been picked up, extrapolated and inputted into the navigational computer. The rumbling continued, increasing in speed and intensity. If a ship had just so happened to be floating by at that exact moment, and a crewman had just so happened to look out of a porthole, perhaps they would have seen the curious black vessel, and the brief white flash as its warp drive activated, hurtling the ship from the system, and leaving nothing but emptiness in its stead.

 

[Death Korps of Krieg]

“Who reigns from a throne of stone from ‘neath the sea?
Who is chosen by a thousand trials to rule over the people of the sea?
Who rules the Jotaran Imperium with an even hand, a bottomless heart, and an erudite intellect?
Who, of all the lords that reign all of the scattered star polities, is the greatest?
Thar’ be none else, but our own Imperator, whose words are the traitor's bane.
All shall bow to Kaleso Starbane, lest their flesh be stripped from their bones!”

Mazyar Kon Tarzden, chief of the royal poets

The underwater ecumenopolis of Jotar Prime pulsated with the glow of ten trillion and ten thousand lights of the dwellings beneath the calm seas. From space, Jotar Prime looked like a ball of monochromatic Christmas lights hidden under a deep ocean. Thousands of sky penetrating spires rose from the pulsating glow of the supercity that lay beneath the waves. Some were as thick as mega capital ships, and rose into low orbit, where they ended with gigantic and mind breaking arrays of shipyards, docks, and commercial areas. A perfect line of two thousand spires joined their orbital arrays into the Ring of Kila Heg, which formed one huge tethered space station that surrounded the planet's equatorial region. Like a constant stream of water, commercial and civilian craft travelled back and forth between Jotar Prime and its moon, Jotar Secundus. Thousands of freighters and passenger ships came and were gone every hour, and the thousands of star systems that paid fealty to the Jotaran Imperator sent their tributes to the capital regions in the form of raw materials that the Core Worlders bought with very lucrative prices for both them and the colonial systems. The wealth of the Imperium was great indeed, but those in the Outer Fringe territories felt little of their nation's prosperity, for battles between the Jotaran Armada and the many entities that sought to take the Imperium's prized resources for their own gain were the order of the day. As such, evacuations and systematic genocides occured by the month. An enemy would conquer a fledgling Jotaran colony, slaughtering its inhabitants before the Armada could react. Then, the Armada would track down the enemy's fleet, destroy them with asymmetric tactics and massed positron fire, and reclaim the devastated colony.

This is why the most xenophobic and conservative elements of the Jotaran Imperial Senate reacted with suspicion when an unknown transmission entered the Armada's sensors in the deep space station of Mymera, and requested a first contact. The sole resident of Mymera, an Artificial Intelligence codenamed LIGHTNIK, transmitted the the message to Imperial High Command before activating the station’s fleet of automated Nightstalker Class Corvettes as dictated by naval protocol. Why, the Senate’s xenophobes asked, should the wise and ancient Jotaran trust an unknown message when literally every other species they have encountered so far in the last five hundred years slaughtered innocent Jotaran colonists and forced the Armada to destroy them? Why, they asked, would this be any different? The Imperial Senators threw debates and dares at each other in the halls of meeting whilst the Imperator was still absent; his personal starship, the Antiquity Class Dreadnought Heritage of a Thousand Stars, was just being docked into the Ring of Kila Heg as they spoke. 10 more arduous minutes of the many thousands of planetary representatives and ministers trying to shout each other down passed before a hush fell over the entire Imperial Senate. A herald came in bearing the personal seal of the Office of the Imperator into the Senate building, and so he came, surrounded by a retinue of robed guardians, who were protected by invisible forcefields and wielded plasma blades powerful enough to slice through power armour.

The Imperator, Kaleso Starbane, was as wise as he was cunning; days ago, he had brokered a trade agreement between the Imperium and the Salari, securing the northern imperial borders while ensuring that their coffers will be constantly filled. At a ripe age of 120, he was still as lively as he was a century ago, but with a mix of the wise intellect and integrity required to pass the Test of a Thousand Trials. He swam in towards his throne; a seat made up of sea jewels and Steadium starship armor. He has promised an age of resurgence, and it seemed that he was sincere in that respect.

“Your Majesty,”, Senator Cierason of Jotar Secundus started. “The AI LIGHTNIK has intercepted a message from the Veslyxians that request a diplomatic meeting. Many of my colleagues are concerned, and so am I-“

“Damn well that may be!”, hollered the Senator of Kilhasi as he came near. “This is no more than an elaborate trap for our beloved leader!”

“I believe you haven’t been granted the right to speak, Senator Lowko of Kilhasi.”, Cierason shot with a piercing gaze. “In the end, it is the Imperator’s decision. We, the Senators, are charged only with making our laws in conjunction with His Majesty, and to ensure that our individual planets are well governed.”

“If that is the case.”, Lowko said with a snort as he swam back to his seat. “Do not say that we didn’t warn you.”

“And yet,”, Starbane began. “I brokered a trade agreement between us and our former enemy. What will stop me from doing the same with the Veslyxians?”

“Death?”, Lowko said under his breath.

“You are outnumbered, Senator Lowko.”, said Senator Kilya of Soldar. “Our Imperator is an open minded man, and many of us are here are like minded with His Majesty.”

“Well said, Senator.”, Kaleso said as he rose from his seat. “I hereby declare that we will initiate first contact with our mysterious new friends. Prime Minister Calare, get Envoy Toaren Limats to represent the Imperium. Get the best people you can pick on this diplomatic mission. We have to make a good impression.”

“Right away, Imperator.”, the Prime Minister said as he swam away.

Later, a small fleet left their dockings in the Ring of Kila Heg. It was comprised of one modified Prosperity Class Diplomatic Cruiser, which was then followed by two Starseeker Escorts. Before long, these ships disappeared as they initiated Chrono-Jumps into their destination. The waiting Veslyxians would detect enormous energy wavelengths from three points before three equally sized ships at 500 meters each popped out with the trailing energies of their journey behind them.

The time has come.

 

[Drakorphobia]

Calvaxaron Orbital Station
As of yet, today was a normal day in the relay and communications center of the Calvaxaron Orbital Station. Something between a core world and a rim colony, Calvaxaron saw a decent amount of space traffic, though quite frankly it was nothing to goggle at. But a few cargo ships came in and out of the system. Very rarely, those working on board the station would see a military vessel stop in for refueling, though such an event was rather rare, as the United Empire had very little need to shift its navy without any immediate neighbours. The same principle held true for the station's garrison. While there were a few ships patrolling the system for incursions, only about 20 Amethyst Class Corvettes called the station home along with 4 Archon Class Destroyers and a single Dominion Class Light Cruiser. Capable crafts on their own, the state of peace that the United Empire had experienced since its ventures into space had left most of them understaffed or otherwise temporarily decommissioned. With the recent efforts made by Head Ambassador Aragruve, time and resources had been put into revitalizing the neglected fleet, but progress was slow. Recruitment and training was a long process, and very few were willing to volunteer their service during a time of peace. The events of today would change that, however, as multiple contacts materialized on the station's sensor array, at three different points of entry.

"Convoys?" Asked one of the station monitors, swiveling her chair over to her coworker's station and examining the map. At the edge of the system, three separate pings notified the crewmate of incoming vessels.

"No, I don't think so. We don't have any scheduled for jump today." The second Velsyxian said as she narrowed her eyes. While two of the entering contacts seemed to only consist of one vessel each, the third held three craft. "Try and get me visual?"

The first Velsyxian returned to her own station, and adjusted the station's long range telescopes. In the center of the communications center, a rounded kiosk fitted with a large screen allowed the on board officer to view the telescope's feed. It was very clear that each of the 'fleets', if they could be called that, were of completely different models, none of them Velsyxian. The possibility of pirates was thrown about, though a consensus was made that any Velsyxian pirate band which could field five ships wouldn't be attacking Calvaxaron, and certainly wouldn't fail to arm three of its number. They must have been diplomatic envoys. Though what worried the on station officer was two of the ships, which seemed to be escorting one of the envoys - for they were very much armed.

"Contact the Station Naval Command. I don't think we're under threat, but let's not get ourselves blindsided. If they're really diplomats, they'll head to the planetary coordinates. Just don't let those two gunships close to the station." The officer commanded, already frowning with concern. "And for the Moon's sake, tell them not to fire first."

Extraterrestrial Embassy Building, Calvaxaron
Head Ambassador Lithla Aragruve had left for the spaceport the moment she had heard news of the contacts. Police were already swarming the area, trying to evacuate civilians and organize ships already on the ground in such a way that a few landing strips were left vacant for the alien vessels. Aragruve herself was escorted by four armed guards, all of them equipped with a set of armour fitted with smooth and rounded burgundy plates as well as L2-2 energy rifles, and an L1-3 energy pistol sidearm, save for a lack of handheld explosives, the guards were essentially armed like soldiers and for good reason - they had no idea what to expect. Knowing this, Lithla felt rather nervous, and took multiple deep breaths to soothe her nerves, though none of them truly helped all that much. She stood at the exit ramp, and shifted her weight from one foot to another rather impatiently.

"Hello, I am Head Ambassador Lithla Aragruve of the United Velsyxian Empire." She said to herself, before clearing her throat and repeating the phrase in a deeper tone. She repeated the process five or six times until she felt a flickering ember of confidence within her chest, then straightened her posture. Standing by the entry ramp, the Head Ambassador and her guards would be the first things that any diplomats saw. She hoped they wouldn't respond with gun barrels.

 

[RayPurchase]

Like a stone skipping over a pond, the Omega – 005 jumps it’s way across the vast distance between Ortega and the co-ordinates. Despite the warp engine installed being years ahead of standard Ortegan engines, the journey still required multiple hops, the ship briefly emerging into real-space, flashes of worlds and sun’s that no living eyes had ever been set on. Normally such a venture would result in beacons being dropped in systems that appeared to have mineral extraction potential, to be followed up by a slower and more specialised geological fleet. There was no time however, the mission was clear.

The ship slipped out of warp into the outer reaches of the Calvaron system. Juliana And crew on board had been sitting motionless along their journey, most systems aside from navigation and basic sensors had been powered down, conserving energy along the long journey, as well as minimising their radar signature. However as they reached the final destination the reactor sprang into life at a wordless command. Sensor arrays and electronic warfare systems flickered into life, the latter on standby only, whilst the ship may have been lacking in more conventional weapons, it did host an impressive array of electronic weaponry from communication and sensor jammers to EMP bursts. However Juliana hoped these were very much not needed.

Sat on the ship’s command throne vast streams of tactical information was being relayed to her through the hard plugs in her wrists connecting her to the ship. So far the sensor sweeps had picked up approximately 25 warships, seemingly small in nature, perhaps a light cruiser at most. What the sensors also picked up however, though of less tactical interest , was what caused a flicker of excitement within what remained of Juliana's organic brain. Communications traffic. The planet was full of it, from the mundane of loved ones placing calls home, to police and security chatter. The message had not been wrong, the Ortegans were no longer alone. The diplomats began donning robes, the deep crimson of Ortega, fringed with Bronze, the newly added colour of the diplomatic corps. The 15 member sod the Tech Guard were making altogether different preparations. The small armoury deck that they had commandeered was a whirlwind of activity, augmented weapons, implanted directly into the Guard were being powered and loaded up, relatively simple rotary machine guns on one arm, whilst their left simply ended about the elbow, the rest being made up of a darkened steel blade. These guards were born and subsequently remade into a specific purpose. Much like the diplomats in the other room they were geared towards a specific purpose, whilst the diplomats appeared most unmodified, as to appear what was considered less physically intimidating, the Tech Guard had no such lack of modifications. There faces replaced with metallic death masks, their features unmoving , and their eyes replaced with two small red slits, piercing through the dark gloom of their masklike features. Whilst the diplomats would extend the hand of friendship, the Tech Guard were there to back it up with a rod of iron.

The ship streaks across the system, though it had not fully engaged it’s stealth systems, it’s signal would still most likely appear fainter than its size would suggest. With only the briefest of tremors to its occupants it enters the planet’s atmosphere, as it descends beyond the cloud line, the urban centre that is their target dead ahead. The rapidly expanding view of the city fills Juliana’s eyes, the images fed straight to her optical augments. She increases the zoom for a moment, focusing on the fast approaching clear landing pad. A crowd had already formed, and seemed to be being held back by the local security forces. A frown flickers across her forehead, one of the few parts of her left capable of showing emotion. Why they did not simply open fire on these dissidents she did not know, perhaps if she offered the services of her own retinue to clear this disturbance it could prove as quite the positive opening dialogue, the Tech Guard would surely clear such a mob within a matter of minutes.

The Shadow Class vessel approaches the landing pad, it was not the largest of ships, even up close, or even that intimidating given its lack of weapons. But what would be most disconcerting was the sheer lack of noise emitted by the vessel, almost gliding its way towards the landing pad. A hiss of steam escapes as the hydraulic land pads extend from the ship, and it gently settles soon the pad. For what seems like an age nothing happens. The jet black vessel motionless and showing no sign of life. There is another hydraulic hiss however, part of the frame seemingly cracks, revealing a ramp from what had previously seemed to be nothing more than solid hull plating. The ramp clumps against the ground. The noise of boots tramping against metal. The Techguard descend in lockstep, flowing from the ramp and forming a line on either side of the ramp, facing ahead silently, weaponised arms hanging loose and deactivated at this moment in time.

Spoiler: Tech Guard

After a moment the 4 diplomats descend, crimson robes obscuring all of their body from the neck down, only their faces showing, which appeared normal enough, open smiles on all of them, however if one was to look closely as the sun hit their pale flesh, wires under the skin could be seen, crisscrossing like veins and arteries, and as the light caught their eyes subtle augments could be seen. They assumed their positions on either side of the ramp, 2 to each side.


Finally a set of single footsteps can be heard from the top of the ramp. These are the heaviest of them all, metal on metal. Thus emerges Minister Juliana Alexis, her green ‘eyes' glinting in the sunlight. As she reaches the bottom of the ramp the eyes turn towards the official. Her fully robotic arms extend to either side in a show of greeting, the hands open and palms facing upwards. The voice box in her neck crackles into life. From picking up the communications signals around the planet the computers on board the Omega – 005 had managed to listen meaning from the alien words, putting them through multiple translation software. And as such what emerged from Juliana’s ‘mouth’ would be understandable, even through the emotionless medium of the voice box.

“Head Ambassador Lithla Aragruve I presume. I Juliana Alexis, Head of External Affairs and the Ortegan Diplomatic Corps, have the honour of representing the Ortegan Autocracy in this most momentous meeting of worlds,”

Spoiler: Juliana Alexis

 

[Death Korps of Krieg]

The Deliverance - Prosperity Class Diplomatic Cruiser

The three ships appeared out of the void, billowing into the edges of Calvaxron like stones dropping into the sea. Floating like an incandescent jewel of pure white and silver in the blackness of ever expanding cosmos that is the universe, the Deliverance, a modified Prosperity Class Diplomatic Cruiser, headed for the coordinates that the Veslyxian message contained as per the request of their new... friends. Quickly and speedily, the three ships sped like sailing ships in a raging, windy sea, except that the wind was the great and incredible power of their antimatter matrixes, in which the paradoxical antimatter was contained like a raging prisoner in an unbreakable cage of adamantium; the antimatter contained within the reactors of every Jotaran ship is said to be able to power an entire continent for years, and it is said in whispers that the Deliverance is a piece of archeotech dating from the halcyon eras of the Grand Jotaran Imperium of old, of which the New Jotaran Imperium was a mere fleeting shadow; the new empire was merely a silhouette of stagnancy and decay compared to the burgeoning and incredibly powerful Grand Imperium. Sad, it is, that the empire that lasted so long would fall in a civil war of three years, and the majority of its inhabitants would be destroyed in the millennia of anarchy and chaos that would follow before the restoration of the nation as the New Jotaran Imperium by the will of the denizens of the Alliance of Utopia, who had envisioned a new and better Jotaran nation rise from the ashes of the old like a phoenix reborn from the cinders and embers of its father. It was a fortune that the Deliverance survived, as the science ship-turned-diplomatic cruiser provided much knowledge of the old empire's technological prowess; the destruction of many technology vaults and dataslates had destroyed much of the technological achievements of the old, but the Deliverance and other ships of its class survived, providing the technology necessary to keep a semblance of the old epoch's glory. The Deliverance was the reason why the Starseeker Class Escort Vessels existed at all, as the prismatic lance was derived from the data archives within the Deliverance; this powerful weapon was miniaturized from a ore mining tool into a highly destructive weapon capable of piercing through a battleship's shields, given that it has the time and numbers to do so.

The Deliverance sped on, but the two escorts stayed back as to signify that they were present to respond should the envoy be threatened, but they are at a distance far enough to be unable to pose any threat in a realistic duel. Like a silver dart, the Deliverance slowed down as it reached its destination: the empty spaceport on the large station orbiting the planet. The Deliverance landed, and white smoke hissed from the compartments surrounding the ramp that would lower from the ship's underbelly. Slowly but surely, seven individuals walked down the ramp. One had the regalia of an envoy that was used to speaking with various species, and thus, he went ahead of his escort; six robed Guardians that wielded plasma blades, which they held like true swords in front of them as they ceremonially walked to the envoy's side. They wore hoods on their heads that hid their faces, and had these masks obscuring their faces. However, the diplomat was not of the same caliber of dress; he had a golden breastplate that had a glowing gem embedded on its center, while the rest of his person was covered by a rich, blue robe that spoke of aristocracy and nobility at first glance.

They walked down the ramp, one by one. Envoy Touren Limats held a staff with a gemstone that pulsated with a glow of blue and green as he walked down the ramp. The diplomat's boots clacked loudly on the Steadium surface of his walkway, and the aristocratic robes fluttered in the solar wind. He looked at the Veslyxian Ambassador, and immediately took a device that was handed to him by one of the Guardians. It looked like a small head receiver, and he then wore it on his head. This device was no other than a universal translator linked to the Deliverance's
AI, which then translated the Veslyxian based on data derived from the message sent by the Veslyxians earlier. With a negligible margin of error, Touren Limats spoke to the Veslyxians in front of him at this historic moment.





“Greetings, newfound friends. I am Envoy Touren Limats of the New Jotaran Imperium, a nation of the Deep Core Region of the Galaxy. We are honored to meet your species, for our nation’s people has been... suffering from constant alien attacks, and the prospect of a friendly species is a sign of relief.

 

[Drakorphobia]

Calvaxaron Spaceport
Lithla was, for rather obvious reasons, rather intimidated by the appearance of the aliens that stood before her. The fact that they had managed to decrypt and translate the High Velsyxian language despite never making contact with the Velsyxians themselves until now was both impressive and intimidating. That they could speak the language in an understandable manner as well only served to bolster both feelings of unease. It did, on the bright side, make negotiations easier, and the ambassador bowed whilst she spoke.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, and further pleasure that you speak our language. I do hope that such an occurrence is fated for our peaceful negotiations and diplomacy, rather than an easier means to demand for our surrender, yes?" Ambassador Aragruve offered a gentle smile, though in truth she was only half joking. One could never rule out the possibility of hostilities - hence her armed guards. Her status as a high ranking politician was worn on her sleeve, literally. Aragruve was dressed in dark violet robes, plated with gold on the shoulders to form sleek and flat pauldrons and again at the rims of her sleeves, and along the hems. She wore no headdress, but tabbards of cloth hung from her wings, each of them emblazoned with old Velsyxian tribal runes, which were commonly accepted by scholars to mean "peace". Metal bands were also adorned along her tail, giving it a segmented appearance and an extra flare of grandeur.

With a deep breath, she motioned a delicate hand towards the massive embassy building situated at the acropolis of the city. "If you would follow me?"

Calvaxaron Orbital Station
Alarms were sounded on the station's bridge as the Jotarans landed at the station. For now, they were suppressed across the rest of the station, but guards were already mobilized to prepare a defense if need be. The captain suspected that there might have been a mistranslation of the message, causing the Jotarans to attempt docking on the station instead, but just as Aragruve on the ground didn't rule out the possibility of invasion, neither could Captain Therna Rufulu who presided over the Calvaxaron Orbital Station. It was she who was escorted by four guards towards the landing docks, and stood at attention before the Jotarans as they exited their craft. Her stark white naval uniform, combined with amethyst trimmings and a multitude of decorative badges on her chest showed Captain Rufulu off not as a woman of diplomacy, but of war.

"Greetings, strangers." She said stiffly, before offering a salute that brought a flat hand to her forehead, as though she were shielding her eyes from a nonexistent sun. "I am Station Captain Therna Rufulu of the United Imperial Navy. I assume that you are here to partake in the diplomatic missive requested by Ambassador Lithla Aragruve." She paused for a brief moment, before speaking once more. "If that is true, then you have disobeyed orders to land on the planet at the specified coordinates. I will allow you a shuttle to bring you to the planet's surface." Another pause. "Refusal to leave the station will be considered an act of hostility."

At the communications center of the station, there were worried whispers that the landing ship was a band of pirates with the intent of raiding the docks and seizing the station. Or worse, a hostile enemy force. These concerns only intensified as the third alien fleet to enter the system had yet to return the station's hail. One of the officers on board was in direct contact with the captain of a Velsyxian destroyer, the VVC Spark while Station Captain Rufulu was at the docks meeting with the aliens. The entire situation was tense.

"Report on the vessel, captain?" Asked the station officer, voice lined with concern and dripping with uncertainty. The captain of the Spark eased that concern to a slight degree.

"It's hardly a vessel. Looks more like a probe. We're going to bring it on board, stay on the line." The Spark veered closer to the probe, and lined itself parallel to the object. While the ship didn't have a hangar bay like some of the larger vessels in the United Imperial navy, it was equipped with ports that allowed personnel to exit the vessel. A team of suited Velsyxian were the product of the port. They floated through space, guided only by the occasional bursts of air provided by packs on their backs. Each held a metal cable tipped by a hook, which they secured around the probe. Giving a thumbs up to a few other crewmates inside the ship's port, they reeled the probe inside the Spark and followed it soon after. What they'd discover on the foreign object was the chief item on the crew's minds.

 

[Death Korps of Krieg]

Calvaxaron Orbital Station

The Jotaran envoy winced at the foreign captain’s words; it seemed that the AI of the Deliverance wasn’t so perfect in translating alien languages into the context and content of the Jotaran Lexicon, after all. This was especially so, as the Jotaran Lexicon was a strange language to anyone who wasn’t born and reared up in using it, and especially greatly so to non-Jotarans; the Jotaran Lexicon was a complex language from the most basic words up to the most artistic of its hieroglyphic texts, and the slightest change in body posture and eye contact can indicate changes in moods, and the accentation of words can either indicate mockery, pleasure, slyness, and sincerity... or perhaps the lack of it. For this reason, the artificial language known as Imperial Standard was devised as a way to communicate more easily with the New Jotaran Imperium’s other races, like the Remondans and the Okero. Even then, only Jotaran traders and other spacefarers bothered learning Imperial Standard, and diplomats like Touren Limats were as proficient in Imperial Standard as is a Remondan at Remondan Speak. However, it wasn’t perfect by any means; it still had some of the esoteric things that the Jotaran Lexicon had, like the accentations that defined the speaker’s intentions and mood at the moment.

Limats cursed his own misfortune this day; it seemed that he just gave the Imperial Foreign Relations Department another extremely rare blunder of his to report about to the Imperator. Thankfully, Kaleso Starbane is known for being very open minded and tolerant, and would most likely laugh off the report of this day’s bad luck of a first contact scenario. “At least the other races will know us first with a sense of humour and laughter in their hearts and minds.”, Starbane would most probably say after reading the report and dilapidated article from the Imperial Foreign Relations Department regarding the almost emberassing moment that the AI LIGHTNIK of the Mymera deep space station missed out instructions to land on the planet, not on the station orbiting it.

However, Limats would think otherwise. He was just met by a woman of warfare, and the Guardians at his side would probably start to urge him to comply immediately if he wasn’t the one in charge here. With a flutter of his blue robe, he turned back. “Very well. My apologies for us missing the instructions to land at the planet instead of here.”, he said as he then spoke in his own language to the captain of the ship. “Jiya fiak gyayu hauj vaki hure hauow loki tar ven cle ec.” (Get my personal shuttle out of the hangar and leave the station towards the two Starseekers once I and retinue are en route to the planet abord the shuttle.)

With hurried footsteps, Limats and his retinue of robed warriors walked briskly into their ship’s open hangar, out which emerged a small shuttlecraft. The shuttle was no mere transport craft, as it had quite an amount of runic inscriptions that spoke of a certain prophecy about how a great demon will tear at the universe at its seams, and the Elder Gods will fight the great demon until the entire universe lays in ruins before the last of the gods recreate it anew from the devastation; however, the Jotaran themselves are mostly unconcerned about this prophecy, as they believe that such a thing will pass at a time so far into the future that will be none of their concern.

The shuttlecraft slowly lumbered off, its jet engines pulsating with blue plasmatic fire as the Chronormite core that powered the ship was roused to life by the captain’s instructions and commands. As the shuttle lifted off and faced towards the intended coordinates, the Deliverance lifted off as well, leaving the station as swiftly as it came. The silver blur darted back to its escorts' where it waited for further developments.

Meanwhile, the shuttle gathered energy as it prepared a short and quick Chrono-jump to the intended coordinates; whether this was a matter of catching up to the other race that just came down or a matter of showing off their technological prowess, this was, either way, a standard procedure for Jotaran diplomats.

It would be a matter of mere moments before the shuttle disappeared in a flash of azure and blue, and it would then emerge in the lower athmosphere just quite a distance above the empty spaceport. In a few moments, it had already landed, and the retinue of Touren Limats was already outside their ship.

 

[Martydi]

Najklax listening post, on the edge of hive controlled area of space

Listening posts, scattered across Najklax space, are one of the few examples of hive mind utilizing technology related to communications. As all drones share common memories and experiences through the hive mind, there is no need for conventional communication devices. However, listening for communications made by Others, as Najklax often referred to anyone not connected to their collective consciousness, is a good way to find more areas suitable for expansion. When Velsyxian message arrived to Najklax space, it was picked up by multiple listening posts across the border. Drones currently operating the devices opened the message, allowing the hive mind to remember it, and returned to their positions, seemingly paying no attention to the incident. This occurence, however, triggered a response in the Prime Hive.

Prime Hive system, Najklax space

In the orbit above Prime Hive starship movements began, as several ships currently orbiting the planet gathered near a space station, built for dual purpose of mining a barren moon and creating wormholes for fleet travel. Two cruisers, three destroyers, one light carrier, one scout corvette and two troop transport vessels assumed positions, waiting for the hive mind to pinpoint the source of intercepted message and and open the wormhole. Despite not understanding the language of this message, hive mind knows that where technologically advanced nations exist, opportunity lies, for alliances or conquest. As such, it is sending a force of warships to scout ahead and prepare for science ship to come soon after, equipped with rudimentary communication devices to possibly negotiate with whoever is on the other side.

 

[Drakorphobia]

Calvaxaron Spaceport
It was in the brief moment that Ambassador Aragruve had turned to lead the Ortegans towards the Embassy Building that the Jotarans arrived in their flashy manner, prompting the ambassador to once more spin on her heel and examine the alien vessel landing in the strip through a window. Immediately, there came perspiration from her brow, for she had expected perhaps one civilization to answer her call, but two? Perhaps there'd be even more coming, and that thought alone was enough to wrack her body with the full weight of the diplomatic burden that had been thrust upon her. She alone was determining the future position of the United Velsyxian Empire on the galactic stage, and the sheer importance of that fact alone dominated her consciousness. With the exit of the newcomers, Aragruve found herself once again standing with her arms crossed behind her back, and offering a low bow to the Jotarans.

"A pleasure to recieve you. I am Head Ambassador Lithla Aragruve. I trust that you've come to open up communications between our fair peoples?" Aragruve asked with a nervous smile, showcasing her bright white teeth, and pointed fangs. She wondered if she should continue to wait here, even after assimilating these aliens into her party, in case others arrived. The mental gymnastics she conducted in her mind led her to the conclusion that leaving now would be best - it wouldn't be wise to keep these foreigners waiting, especially not as a first impression of the United Empire.

Bridge of the VVC Spark
Diagnostic reports from the aquired probe had come in - rather quickly one might add - and were brought to the captain of the ship, who hurriedly read over the files on the holographic screen of her command terminal. The findings intrigued her, as the probe looked as though it were meant to be found. A primitive form of communication, perhaps? The Velsyxians had done similar things before the creation of the United Empire. Though were the case parallel, it would have to mean that the probe was sent perhaps thousands of years agp; whatever civilization had sent it might even be dead already. Though it was an awfully odd coincidence that the probe would come just as the Velsyxians had come into contact with at least two other alien empires, and the captain of the Spark did not believe in such coincidences.

Before she could read further, the captain's thoughts were interrupted by the blaring of alarms along the bridge as the Najklax ships entered view.

"Captain! We've come into contact with more ships! Looking organic in nature, and seemingly armed! What do we do?"

"Aim broadside batteries against the fleet, and contact the station." The captain said with a dry gulp. The ship garrison at Calvaxaron wasn't prepared for a full out fight, and the strange composition of these space vessels was never even heard or conceived of before except in the wildest of Velsyxian fiction. By the Moon, what the hell had Lithla Aragruve done? "Don't fire unless fired upon, or unless I give the command! Am I understood? We're not going to start a war today! Try and open communications with the alien ships!"

 

[Death Korps of Krieg]

Calvaxaron

And so the meeting with the Veslyxians went; the Jotaran envoy came down from his beautifully adorned shuttle; a piece of technology that seems to have come right out of a fantasy book about knights and princesses in the dark void of space. Touren Limats walked ever so elegantly on the energy based steps that appeared out of the shuttle; every step he took was like walking on cool, stagnant water that formed into coherent steps that solidified from a mass of pure energy. This entrancing entrance of seemingly walking on dihydrogen monoxide was, in fact, a demonstration of another piece of archeotech from the Golden Age of the Grand Imperium; energy and particle based nanotechnology. By manipulating gravitons and nano particles, the erudite scientists during the halcyon eras of the forgotten age were able to form energy based structures with nanomaterials and gravitic generators. With this kind of awe inspiring technology, the Grand Imperium built great hive cities and space stations by first forming the structure of the buildings with nanomaterialsbefore solidifying the entire thing into a single massive piece of reformed metal that has no superficial difference compared to any other city.

Much of this glorious technology has been lost into the tides of time, sadly, but the Jotaran have been able to replicate it in a small degree with simple thingss like gateways and steps, but it has been theorized that an archive vault in the famed El Sorazi Ringworld contains all of its its secrets. El Sorazi is, however, believed to have been destroyed, as the tales says that Royalist forces self destructed it to prevent the Ringworld from being captured by Alliance star cruisers, which were destroyed in the ensuing explosion. To this day, none can hope to emulate the Grand Jotaran, who married technological prowess with military might. Perhaps mankind has that potential, but who can say? All is for nought, as the ecclesiasteians say.

As the envoy and his retinue walked alongside the other alien diplomats as well as Head Ambassador Argrave, he would look around the city. The architecture was fine and polished, perfected with the luxury of the Embassy up ahead. However, another visitor comes...

League of United Planets

Days ago, the deep space station of Murmansk 9 recieved a message from the unknown void. It was a detailed diplomatic entry, seeking for a meeting on a planet called “Calvaxaron.”

The League of United Planets, of course, was not surprised. This wasn’t the first time that the League recieved diplomatic messages, as obviously stated by the presence of voluntary alien species in the League. The League had cordial if not frosty relations with the New Jotaran Imperium to the galactic east of the core, and it maintained a state of neutrality throughout most wars in the Core Region. If anything, responding to diplomacy was a normal thing for the League.

While these developments were witheld from the public for now, the leaders of the League met on the capital world of Prospero. This powerful former colonial holding of humanity was fraught with antiquated alien defenses, man made space stations, and a large home fleet composed of almost 30,000 warships, with most of them being the Andromeda Class Automated Frontal Assault Cruisers, though six Hayajiro Class Solar Defense Superdreadnoughts were also present in the star system. The Supreme Chancellor sat on a podium in the center of the meeting hall of the Senate of the United Planets, where nine hundred eighty-one Senators met for the matters that concerned the League in a democratic fashion.

Supreme Chancellor Riyu Mori stood proudly in his rich regalia, with it being a purple robe filled with the embossed images of Japanese tengu and yokai, Russian witches, and Chinese dragons. On his withered old head was a highly advanced evolution of the sugegasa, which projected an invisible energy shield that would protect the Supreme Chancellor from snipers and other kinds of assassins.

The Supreme Chancellor began. “The hard working crew of Murmansk 9 detected and intercepted an alien diplomatic message six days ago.”, he started as a huge hologram showed up with the message on it, albeit with it being translated to Rusyan and Nihongo. “This message seeks for a diplomatic meeting. I believe this is a rather simple discussion as we have done this so many times. However, I do believe that we should vote for course of action to take. The message demanded for an unarmed shuttle to be the one that makes planetfall, and regarding this, we will have to decide.”

“If I may, Supreme Chancellor.”, started Senator Tharassian of Nordr Kas. “I believe we should send in a transport ship as well, with it being loaded with works of art and the culture of our disparate peoples. We should show them our inner soul for our first impression.”

“That is quite idealistic, no?”, interjected Senator Ivan Ivanovich Ivanovsky of Moskau. “We should send in a battlefleet and show them our might!”

Another Senator sighed. “I once believed that Senator Ivan would be capable of making non-militaristic decisions.”, said Senator Tanikaze of Hinamoto said. “Supreme Chancellor, I believe that we should take Senator Tharassian’s suggestion, but add in a small starfighter wing just in case.”

“And so three options are on the table.”, Chancellor Mori said with a hunt of amusement. “Let the voting begin.”

After a few moments, the votes were in. There were nine hundred cotes for Tanikaze’s option, eighty for Tharassian’s, and one for Ivan’s.

“The Senate and the League has thus decided, and I thereby do not veto this development. A transport for our cultures will be imparted in the diplomatic mission, alongside the envoy’s shuttle and the starfighter escort. The Senate is dismissed.”

Later... the Calvaxaron Station would detect a large amount of contacts 300,000 kilometers away from the planet. Upon closer inspection, they would see that 38 of the 40 vessels were FTL capable starfighters, with the other two being a 80 meter long diplomatic corvette and a 125 meter long transporter.

 

[RayPurchase]

Minister Alexis looks over Lithla. She appeared to be decked with a lot of ostentatious apparel, as of yet undeciphered symbols and meaning behind the bands and decoration adorning her, but clearly she was in charge here. She cocks her head to one side at the Ambassador’s comment about the understanding of language and demands of surrender, it was a rather disconcerting motion, rapid and almost tick like, bending at an angle that appeared a bit too far than was natural. Her own deep crimson robes and hood that obscured most of her body were undecorated aside from a small golden trim along the sleeves and hood.

“I hope so Ambassador. If consensus had been reached to reply to your message with force, then the first you would have known would have been your cities turned to dust, oceans evaporated and atmosphere stripped away,”

She said this with no hint of emotion or tone. It may be conceived as a threat, however this was not actually the case, to Minister Alexis it was more of a statement of fact, jokes were not something that appeared often or even at all in Ortegan society. The arrival of the other ships however prevented any further discussion, the sudden arrival of further unknown parties caused the TechGuard to react as one, stepping forward lock step and placing themselves between the Ortegan diplomatic party and the newly arrived Jotarans.

 

[Death Korps of Krieg]

Envoy Touren Limats was taken aback as the robed warriors of the Tech Guard stepped forward to place themselves in between the Ortegan diplomats and the Jotaran retinue, recoiling as his robe fluttered in the wind. Instinctively, the Jotaran Guardians took defensive stances and stood ready to ignite their plasma blades from their handles, which contained in them antimatter microreactors that could safely power a deadly blade of starfire and fiery ionized particles. The Guardians also hid blaster pistols under their black robes, which were fully capable of frying flesh into ash upon contact.

Envoy Touren Limats stepped a few steps back as the Guardians and Tech Guard faced each other, as if readying for a worst case scenario of a shooting and slicing and stabbing. However, the diplomatic experience of the envoy kicked in as he held up a hand to tell the Guardians to stand down, and then he walked forward to speak to the Ortegans.

“I believe that we have common cause, stranger.”, Touren said in awkward Veslyxian. “We are diplomats, nothing more. I have every reason to deduce that we have been called by the same message by our newfound friends here, and that today may be a day when we are bonded by a common cause.”

 

[Martydi]

Calvaraxon system

Najklax expeditionary vessels hovered silently on the edge of the system, their forms inspired by biological creations, shining in the light of the star. As members of most alien races would judge, Najklax ships were quite beautiful, despite the fact that consciousness behind their design likely had very little understanding of the concept of beauty, if even any. In this instance, however, Najklax vessels seemed more menacing than anything else. Warships turned and positioned themselves in a defensive formation around the transports, carrier and scout corvette. Without any sign of radio chatter or transmitted orders, shining silthouettes formed a half circle around four vulnerable ships. And still no reply has been sent to the Velsyxian communication attempt. After several minutes, another wormhole was torn open, and another vessel emerged. This one was smaller than most combat ships, yet still bearing the same similarity to structures so often encountered within life forms of many planets. As the wormhole closed behind it, Najklax science vessel transmitted a radio message consisting of varied sounds, none of which could be called a speech, at least as most species understood it. Then, two more messages were sent, in two different languages, both being unknown, yet understandable as a language, unlike the first outburst of communication. Hive mind attempted to use all three languages it knew, original Najklax communication method, and speech of two different species, both extinct after attempt at diplomacy with Najklax had failed and hive mind took their worlds by force.

 

[RayPurchase]

The Techguard stood motionless, weaponized limbs still hanging loosely by their sides and powered down. Their cold, dead faces staring down the Jotaran Guardians. Their defensive actions here were not intended to be a hostile act, simply their strategic subroutines implanted within them coming into force, their singular objective was to protect the ambassadorial delegation, and this is what they would do. Thankfully with some limitations in place to prevent them from starting a full scale firefight on the planet surface, if they were fired upon first however that was a very different scenario, at which point they would happily bring their full arsenal to bear.

Juliana let’s out something akin to a sigh. Not exactly like a sigh due to the fact that her lungs had long been replaced with cybernetic prosthetics, the sound was more like a combination of a kettle beginning to whistling amongst some rather disconcerting biological gargling like noise. She takes a step forward, sending an order for the Techguard to stand down, doing it via a burst of binary code from her vocal emitter, coming out as a short metallic burst, far more efficient than the ambiguity and complexities of biological languages, little room for interpretation or miscommunication. The Techguard as one take a step back, 2 clearing a hole for her to step forward to meet the Jontaran Ambassador.

“They are protective if nothing else Ambassador,”

She says, switching back to her monotone but near flawless Veslyxian.

“I am sure your guard would have done the same. Mine are well trained enough not to start a fight unprovoked, you need not fear Ambassador, especially as we are all...friends... here,”

She pauses at the word friends, almost struggling to get the word out. She turns back towards the Veslyxian Ambassador, the TechGuard wordlessly falling into step behind her.

 

[Nyq]

The Most Esteemed Halls of Enlightenment, Qwerk
The Technocrat Council has found itself in another heated debate, this time over an alien broadcast that was received a few days ago.

"This is absolute madness! We can't just show up there and expect sunshine and rainbows over on the other side, what if it's a trap to lure our good people in and slaughter them like they would a Dik (A common species of livestock within the Republic)? We should just ignore these aliens and move on!"

"In all due respect, Councilman Regos, your paranoia is going to impede the progress of galactic civilization. Isolation is never the rational decision to make. There might be risks associated with making contact with a new species, but we could learn much from one another."

"This is where I have to disagree with both of you. These.....'Velsyxians', as they call themselves, are obviously a threat to our Republic, and should be extinguished before it's too late. Allow me to cite my own works, as well as those of Councilman Warakkos, on the very nature of xeno-psychology..."

"We all know that your paper is bullshit, Councilman Srak. I still have no idea how that steaming pile of shit got past peer review!"

"I'll have you know that I had conducted extensive research on every single one of my papers, Councilman Qwark. Would you let your prejudices impede the progress of science?"

Senior Councilman Togok Salf had been observing the argument for at least a few hours, and frankly to say, he had enough of this bickering. He raised his hand and motioned for everyone to stop for a moment.

"Enough of this incessant bickering, Councilmen. This is an extremely important matter to the Most Serene Republic, and we need to come to a consensus about this right now."

Silence instantly reigned in the silver halls, as no one dares to offend the Senior Councilmen, a well respected figure within the Republic.

"I suggest that we vote on a single course of action that we will take regarding this issue. Do you all agree?"

No one dared to oppose the Senior Councilman's decision.

"All who agree to dispatch a diplomatic mission to the alien empire in question, raise your hands."

A majority of the Council raised their hands, to the dismay of a few certain men within the Council.

"I suppose that the majority of us find that dispatching a diplomatic mission first is the most rational choice. So be it then, this matter is closed."


An ship, extremely spartan and ugly by galactic standards, departed from Qwerk's spaceport. Inside is a diplomatic mission composed of a band of senior scientists well-versed in xeno-psychology and political theories, in the hopes that beneficial diplomatic ties may be established with the newly discovered alien empire. Just in case that it is indeed a trap, there is a well-armed host of Pil warriors within the ship, as well as numerous particle cannons on the ship's broadsides.

Within the ship's command center, the captain and his crew are busy inputting various coordinates into the ship's jump drive, preparing the ship for the impending journey. Within just a few moments, the eldritch runes etched onto the ship's beryllium bronze jump drive core glowed green, and the ship disappeared from real space, having begun it's series of jumps towards the source of the alien broadcast.

 

[Martydi]

Li'Taera system, roughly two minutes after Najklax arrival into Calvaraxon system

On the Edge of the system, a wormhole opened. Hole in the fabric of reality itself, window to a distant star system circled by a ring of white light, stuck in place for as long as space remained deformed. From this anomaly, a single ship emerged, shining silthouette resembling structures often created by various evolutionary proceses on animals. Emerging vessel, Najklax hive probe, swiped the system with scanners, and then performer detailed scan of all planets and structures in its range. As its sensor arrays calmed, showing no immediate danger to the ship, radio message shot out of the ship, voice encoded into radio waves by means of antiquated communication, revealing a long burst of unintelligible noise, often associated with insectoid species. After this, two more radio messages were sent, this time identifiable as a spoken message. Both languages initially belonged to two varied inteligent species. Now that both are extinct, Najklax hive mind remains only witness to remember this speech.

 

[Succuboi]

Li'Taera system, roughly two minutes after Najklax arrival into Calvaraxon system

On the Edge of the system, a wormhole opened. Hole in the fabric of reality itself, window to a distant star system circled by a ring of white light, stuck in place for as long as space remained deformed. From this anomaly, a single ship emerged, shining silthouette resembling structures often created by various evolutionary proceses on animals. Emerging vessel, Najklax hive probe, swiped the system with scanners, and then performer detailed scan of all planets and structures in its range. As its sensor arrays calmed, showing no immediate danger to the ship, radio message shot out of the ship, voice encoded into radio waves by means of antiquated communication, revealing a long burst of unintelligible noise, often associated with insectoid species. After this, two more radio messages were sent, this time identifiable as a spoken message. Both languages initially belonged to two varied inteligent species. Now that both are extinct, Najklax hive mind remains only witness to remember this speech.

Orbital Satellite Station Essau, Li'Taera System

The arrival of a foreign object in the system and its subsequent actions would not be detected by the more primitive Mahadu for about half an hour. The first Mahadu to receive the signal was a tiny orbital station locked around Gazara, a frozen dwarf planet close to the edge of the system. It was crewed by only a handful of technicians and defended by an auto-cannon array.

Following 'First Contact', stations such as this one had become the focus of the Mahadu Broodlords once again, and the crew had been showing their relief at the possibility of receiving new support when the signal was picked up.

"Uh... Have we been expecting any ships this way?" A barely dressed woman spoke over her shoulder towards an empty corridor, met with responses from two of her fellow crewmates.

"Why would we? There's like, nothing this part of the system."

"We could be expecting something because of that whole 'First Contact' thing that's apparently happening. It's not like any of us really keep track of that kind of stuff."

"So that's a... No? In that case, we may have an issue...

"Is it another stray asteroid?"

"The 'unidentified thing just appeared in the system and is now hissing at us' kind of issue."

There was a scramble in the cramped station as its crew straightened up and assembled at their designated positions, poring over the signals they had just received to decipher what they were looking at. The station guns were brought to bear as a precaution, and a crew member began transcribing the situation to send back to Li'Taera.

"Do you think it's the same aliens that contacted home?" The station gunner piped up from his display module, carefully scanning the blackness of space for any ships or projectiles.

"I dunno. But they said that signal had coordinates, right? Sounds like they wanted us to go to them. This is probably something else." Another Mahadu responded, busily adjusting settings in an attempt at locating the ship sending the signal.

"It's a bit coincidental though, isn't it?" The gunner tensed up momentarily as he tracked a shooting star in the distance, before relaxing again. "All this activity, suddenly converging on our system, like some unseen fingers are goading it all towards us, or us towards them."

"I think being on this station so long's made you mental. Now cut it out, the rest of us need to listen out for this thing."

 

[Martydi]

Calvaraxon system, Najklax fleet

Unable to communicate with inhabitants of the system, hive mind decided to take more direct approach. 20 drones were loaded into a small shuttle in the hangar of one Najklax ship. Soon, the shuttle emerged from the hangar, and set its course towards the Velsyxian ships. Armed only with a missle launcher and two autocannons, but heavily armoured and shielded, small vessel was obviously meant for personnel and goods rather than direct combat. As the vehicle gained velocity and moved away from the fleet, hive mind once again attempted to communicate with Velsyxians in its own language.

Li'Taera system

Similarly to situation in Calvaraxon, language barriers and technological differences made communication impossible. As such, hive mind once again decided to send away a shuttle and directly communicate with local aliens. As before, a shuttle emerged from the ship. This one however came from a science vessel, not a military ship, and was armed only with a single autocannon. Carrying 40 Najklax drones, the shuttle set its course towards the "Essau" station.

 

[Drakorphobia]

Calvaxeron System, Velsyxian Fleet
The VVC Spark held a crew initially suspicious of the foreign bio-vessel approaching its hangar. However, after having had received two seperate communications, twice, in different languages, the crew had come to the assumption that these were not attempts at hostility, but rather diplomacy. The worries of biological warfare amongst the crew, especially the Captain, were high. Their first contact with alien species, and already so many were appearing. By most calculations, at least one had to be hostile. Would this be it? Or perhaps, were the Velsyxians too pessimistic about the nature of their galactic neighbours?

"Allow the ship to dock," the Spark's Captain commanded upon the bridge, her words mirroring the orders given to her by Station Captain Rufulu onboard the Calvaxaron Orbital Station, "however, ensure that there are armed guards present at all times. I will be going down there myself to greet them. At the first sign of hostilities, shoot to kill." The orders were quickly adhered to, and as the Najklax shuttle came to land inside the Spark's hangar, it would be met by no less than six armed soldiers, standing at the ready while the Captain approached. She waved her hand at the armed men, prompting them to lift their weapons - barrels pointed at the ceiling, to make a display of force that wasn't quite so outwardly hostile. Time would tell, how the Najklax would react.

Calvaxeron Surface
As we've been waiting almost two whole months for this post, I'll take the liberty of nudging the ragtag group of soldiers, gaurds, and ambassadors to the Calvaxeran Extraterrestrial Diplomacy Center. There, they were greeted by the tall, proud building with its peach coloured exterior of stone, and imposing statues of the great senators of the past. Unlike before, when Aragruve first left the Center, there were now armed guards wielding ceremonial spears as well as handguns at their belts. Ambassador Lithla nodded to the two men, who bowed their heads deeply at the contingent of alien strangers as the Ambassador led them all to the meeting chamber, situated behind the ornate stone doors - now left open in preparation for their arrival.

"I do apologize for the lack of ceremony here," Lithla said, turning to face all of her alien guests with what could only be described as a nervous smile. The seeming indifference of Juliana Alexis to the complete destruction of her world may have had part in such an expression. "But this is our first time hosting anyone in the Embassy, let alone foreign diplomats. Please," she motioned to the many empty seats lining the circular rises of the chamber, "take a seat of your choosing. Preferably close to one another so we needn't raise our voices." She tried to laugh after her halfhearted jest, though the noise resembled more of a weak, and dry croak.

 

[Martydi]

Calvaraxon system

Najklax shuttle docked with the station. Forutnately both docking rings were nearly the same size. Shortly thereafter, automatic bulkhead separating the airlock from the station interior opened. Six Najklax entered the room. All of them wore gas masks with small oxygen tanks on their backs, and two carried handheld scanners. After briefly scanning the environment, insectoids seemed confident enough to take off the gas masks. Nearly simultaneously all Najklax pulled off their masks. After several seconds of awkward silence, one Najklax stepped forward and started speaking in its language. Quickly it became apparent that Velsyxians could hardly identify the sounds as speech, much less understand it. Other two languages tried by Najklax, although much more recognizable, still were not understood. Hardly a surprising development, given how original creators of these languages were wiped out before they could make contact with anyone else than Najklax. With this, insectoid visitors decided to try and communicate in a more universal manner. Lead Najklax tapped itself in the chest and simply said "Najklax.". After saying this one word, all insects stayed silent, staring at Velsyxian delegation.

 

[Nyq]

Calvaxeron System

As the Gorstak ship gets closer and closer towards it's destination, it's effects began to be felt by the local populace as the shockwaves sent through reality by it's brutal alteration hits the system. Although nothing bad has happened so far, every sentient being within the system began feeling a sense of wrongness, that the very fundamental laws of the universe was being torn apart and ditched in a trash can, and the feeling only became worse as the Gorstak ship approached it's destination.

Then, suddenly, all within the system felt a pang of relief as the wrongness simply stopped, with a construct that hurts to simply look at suddenly appearing at the edge of the system. A single transmission was transmitted from the construct, and anyone who picked it up was able to at least understand it while knowing with absolute certainty that they shouldn't.

"We...*unintelligible garbling*..Serene Gorstak Republic......diplomatic.....dispatched......Council in order to establish......relations between the Most Serene Gorstak Republic and the United Velsyxian Empire in response to.....transmission. Above this ship is a diplomatic mission that will begin negotiations......anomalous......and trade. Requesting permission to dock with.......begin negotiations."

 

[Succuboi]

Calvaraxon system, Najklax fleet

Unable to communicate with inhabitants of the system, hive mind decided to take more direct approach. 20 drones were loaded into a small shuttle in the hangar of one Najklax ship. Soon, the shuttle emerged from the hangar, and set its course towards the Velsyxian ships. Armed only with a missle launcher and two autocannons, but heavily armoured and shielded, small vessel was obviously meant for personnel and goods rather than direct combat. As the vehicle gained velocity and moved away from the fleet, hive mind once again attempted to communicate with Velsyxians in its own language.

Li'Taera system

Similarly to situation in Calvaraxon, language barriers and technological differences made communication impossible. As such, hive mind once again decided to send away a shuttle and directly communicate with local aliens. As before, a shuttle emerged from the ship. This one however came from a science vessel, not a military ship, and was armed only with a single autocannon. Carrying 40 Najklax drones, the shuttle set its course towards the "Essau" station.

Li'Taera System

As the alien vessel approached Essau station, the technicians aboard were able to pinpoint its location in space and begin tracking it. The usual bored atmosphere aboard the station had been replaced with a trained, if also tense, professionalism as they discussed their next course of action.

"It's definitely a vessel. Doesn't seem that big compared to the fluctuations it was making earlier." One technician spoke up to the others, awkwardly straightening her uniform with one hand.

"It's probably a docking craft. Taigol, get a lock on it, bring the cannons to bear. For all we know it's got a squad of angry religious fanatics on board."

The old autocannons whirred to life, each turning to face the approximate direction of the shuttle before following it's movement path. The guns were outdated even by the Mahadu's standards, crewed by a gunner with little experience shooting anything more threatening than passing asteroids.

"I'm sending a message to home-base and Dvai station, but until it reaches them we're on our own here." The communications technician nervously added, turning from one monitor to another. He began examining the alien signal, attempting to decipher it in some capacity.

With weapons bared and everyone on edge, the station quietly awaited the next move from the alien vessel.