NationStates Jolt Archive

[ooc: I've got the same thread in II, but reposted it here for all you that refuse to go to II for one reason or another. >ahem<]

Alkanphel and Melkor sat conferring in the Throne Room of Angband, deep beneath the earth. Melkor's voice filled the hall. "These attempts at deep space exploration are troubling. News has reched me of attempts by Titan and several others to explore the depest reaches of space. If they're allowed to spread unmolested, we must make Sol our stronghold."

Alkanphel bowed his head. "With strongholds on Mars and Io, it's only a matter of time. We've managed to form a gauntlet of sorts around earth, stretching out almost to Titan itself. With a stronghold on the far side of the Saturnian system, our enemies won't be pleased with their position. We need to put Horizon into motion."

The Dark Lord nodded sagely. "Indeed we must. Now is the time to consoldiate our strength here. If Yut is to expand, so too are we. Bear in mind, Horizon station will merely be a stepping stone. We'll need to start exploration ventures ourselves, even if it means reallocating some funds. I want that station built within 10 years."

Alkanphel stood and prepared his documents. "I'll set the men to work on it at once, with the plans that we've given them. They've been ready to start now for some time, now that the 5th Fleet is done."

"Excellent."

***
Well above Io, construction crews began assembling the frame to what would later become a massive starbase, dubbed tentatively Horizon station. Imperial officials hid all evidence of Horizon for as long as possible, as per custom. Now, however, the actual construction was to begin, and it was hoped that it would progress relatively unmolested.

Several shipyards initiated a hyperspace jump, coming out midway between Neptune and Uranus. There, the heaviest construction began. The lesser components--docks, hangars and what have you--would be shipped in from Io, but the main frame and most of the facilities were to be built into what would become an almost 'rogue' orbit.

Melkor, Lord of Darkness
He who Arises in Might
Emperor Eternal of the Imperial Dominion of Melkor Unchained, Lord and Master of Arda
http://people.vanderbilt.edu/~darion.c.smith/melkor.jpg

From their vantage point on Gammak, the Indiastan station that hung in Jovian orbit, the construction of Horizon was watched carefully. Obviously such a project couldn't be concealed; space was simply too large and open for spies not to see. The Admiralty wasn't terribly interested in the details of why this... thing was being built. All that mattered at present was how. What really concerned them was that the construction frame that had built so far was the about the same size as Gammak - 20km long - and it was still growing. The possible uses of such a ship or station were myriad, but anything that large could only mean trouble. They weighed sent daily reports back to Earth, and waited for advice.

The construction was also being watched by the eyes and computer aboard the Battle station Fury and long range sensors from Base station New Hope .

The eyes of the occasional surveillance drohnes didn´t follow too closely. Once the stations left Io, they were lost for some time, and the semi- sentient drohnes didn´t collect any more data... nor did they come too close to Io, since the place was considered sort of... well, dangerous.

However, the oligarchs enjoyed their actual position, without any really threatening enemies, and the information was saved somewhere without being considered important...

Angstian interests rarely reached beyond the Jovian system, the outpost on Triton as well as the Sisgardian Craftworld project in the Kuiper Belt were considered sort of... well, a burden, rather than a chance, whatever happened out there was... less than interesting for the Jovian- concentrated expansion projects.

OOC: This strangely reminds me of Bush' aspirations :shock:

IC: The Brotherhood always applauds the expansion of those who know what's good for the world.

TAG