NationStates Jolt Archive

On the outskirts of the Nationstates Solar System, a tiny miniscule pinpoint of light suddenly flares open, as the wormhole attached to that area of space is forced to a diameter many thousands of times bigger than normal.. From it a small Bio Probe, no bigger than a large car spews forth.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/totalrandom/probe.jpg

As the glowing wormhole behind it collapses back to its tiny normal self, the probe orientates itself, seemingly taken aback at the amount of traffic its sensor systems are picking up.. Then, with a heading locked, energy flares from its thrusters and it accelerates towards the centre of the system..

OOC: Tagged for later action.

Its many sensors flickering over space before it, the probe chitters to itself, inside its living body, many other smaller minds go about their task, cleaning, repair and so on.

OOC: What would you say this relates to, for OOC knowledge? Yuuzon-Vhon? Phyrexian? Borg?

The Venture B Tagus zipped past the tiny probe as it raced back to Mars from a edge-ward system it had been surveying. As a matter of prudence it's sensor arrays were wide open to make sure it didn't hit anything that it's navigational deflectors couldn't handle. The probe wasn't directly in the ship's path but it was picked up none the less.

"Captain - we are coming up on a probe that matches one seen in Martian orbit several years ago. Records indicate no further contact with similar craft."

The bridge officer manning the sensor station was interested - it had been a long cruise with nothing of interest. Just dead system after dead system.

"Not exactly the best time to stop and say hello is it? We are supposed to rally with Knootoss fleet elements in 2 hours."

"I was thinking we could drop a comm sat - 10 seconds until we pass it."

"Why not? We drop the things everywhere anyway... Go ahead, but don't get distracted. Once we reach the rally point we will likely move out again fairly quickly."

----

The Tagus whipped past the tiny probe, and a single torpedo shot from the aft tube. The warp kicker engine cut out and the torpedo dropped into sub-light and slowed. The casing spread as the comm sat deployed fully and began to initialize it's normal functions until the sensor officer took over. Starting along the lower EM bands it began to send regular on/off signals at the probe trying to illicit a response.

OOC: Muktar, anyone who has encoutered the probe before, or anyone who can see whats going on really..

IC The tiny probe monitored the approaching Venture B Tagus with what passes for curiousity, moving slightly to avoid hitting it, tiny sensors followed its passing, but as soon as the comms torpedo was dropped, the little Bio Probe pulled to a stop as quick as it could, after several kilometers, it turns round and heads back to the probe torp.
Pulling roughly twenty or so meters close to it, the probe sends out an inquisitive pulse of light, its skin flickering with patterns, in response to the torpedo.

The pulsing light activated one of the older comm-laser uplinks on the comm satillite and displayed the results - gibberish - on the console in front of the sensor officer. He was also watching the main sensor readout and it was a moment before he noticed the activity.

"Ensign Walker - take over here. I'm going to pipe this to one of the auxiliary stations."

The two officers switched places and Chakravanti pulled the comm feed onto an auxilary station. Setting the language core to work on translating the recording he activated a comm-laser and began pulsing back in the same simple on/off pattern. At this point he just wanted to establish that this was a communication method - he would branch out from there.

The Bio probe was silent for a second, almost s if it was pondering developments..

Then it pulsed out some high frequency radio communication that seemed to correspond with the lights rippling over its skin.


Ferradur: Lekun ke thu, men lekun ya jiggen?

A UHF antenna - designed to pick up and relay radio transmissions from nearby ships through it's FTL comm system - picked up the transmission and started streaming through another buffer on Chakravanti's station. It as well was buffered into the translation core, which immediately returned more data.

'Audio possiblity?'

He ran the sample through the audio output using a couple modulation types before he got what he thought was the original transmission. Hard to tell.

Lekun ke thu, men lekun ya jiggen?

"A question perhaps? Though assuming pitch and tone is a no-no..."

Using the same modulation he 'replied' with a simple on/off, then with a numeric series - 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 - using the low end of the modulation as the starting point. He had been assuming the probe was mechanical only, but that assumption was changing. Pulling up the manifest he found a linguist and asked them to come to the bridge. While they walked he would try a couple more things and let the translation core absorb more information.

If the Bio Probe could have blinked, it would have, several of the smaller minds on board had stopped their apointed task and were attempting to grasp the goings on in their instinctive kind of way, with a thought the command mind sent them back to work. After a few seconds deliberation and digestion of the torpedoes response, it replied again..


"Ferradur: Lekun are thu, and lekun is jiggen?

thuk untar, are hum thuk lamen?"

This was followed by a burst transmission of some high powered communications, aimed not at the torpedo, but at the Bio probes point of origin on the outskirts of the Solar System.

(TAG!)

"So - how do you intend to communicate without knowing the meaning of anything?"

"Err..."

"It knows how to communicate, so the problem is half over. But you need to figure out what the intentions are."

"Well, there isn't exactly a holo projector on the comm sat."

"I think the best thing to do would be to get it to a science facility. Mars isn't the best place right now, but if we could get a ship from Titan to pick it up..."

"Takes us out of the loop though..."

"I wouldn't be worried about getting taken out of the loop - in a couple hours we could be worried about getting taken out."

A request was forwarded to GEC command for a ship to be dispatched out, and an Endeavor was dispatched to pick it up. The comm sat started jetting off toward Titan while flashing the exterior lights. Hopefully the probe would follow, and wind up at a better facility.

The Bio probe continued flickering colours and radio at the satalite.


"Ferradur: What are thu, and what is jiggen?

thuk untar, are hum ...."

And then the Sunset probe flies off...

"Opur! Leekan are thu rotoss?!?"


"... Lipesta..."

Then flaring its drives, it spins and follows it.

The satillite expended the last of it's manuvering mass as it accelerated - it wasn't designed to go very far or fast. Just enough to maintain an equatorial orbit until it could be replaced or was assumed to be destroyed.

It could still see though, and it saw the approaching ship and established a link. The small Endeavor scoutship - larger than both the probe and the satillite - came up behind the two in realspace and opened it's ventral bay. A small shuttle dropped out and lights flashes as it pulled up to the satillite and latched on. It pulled it aboard and waited with the bay open for the probe to come aboard.

"Do you think it will come aboard?"

Chakravanti was in communication with the commander of the scout and was watching it's sensor readouts through his own station.

"Perhaps it will just want to follow. I'm thinking we give it 10 minutes then start off at the probes' median observable speed. I'm not sure where we can take it yet though - orders from Titan say to keep it away in case it's some kind of beacon for the Vernii."

"Well, we need some kind of research facility - how about Io?"

"Er - why Io?"

"Well, if it is a beacon an attack will piss off Melkor. Never hurts to have someone else in the fight."

The Bio probe regards the vessel with several curious sensors,

"Ferradur: Lekun are thu, and lekun is jiggen?

thuk untar, are hum thuk lamen?"

Carefull it approaches.. a burst transmission spears away from it towards the wormhole it enterd through..

Then with a mental shrug, the probe comes closer, nose to nose with the ship, then slowely does a 180 degree rotation around it.. a few minutes later, a burst beam transmission flies back to the probe, still for a moment, it then enters the ships hold.

OOC: just as a side not the comm link to the wormhole seems to remain open.

"Close her up - let's get underway. Don't want to stick out here too long."

The bay closed and the scout began accelerating in-system at a leisurely pace. With Martian and Titan space closed to it the probe would have to be examined aboard ship - though experts would travel out to assist. As soon as the Valinon/Vernii mess cleared up it could be moved to Titan, but for now the tiny bay on the Endeavor-Class Marcus would have to do.

"Let's open the bay and let it out - don't want it to feel like it's trapped here. Get a holo projector down there though so we can start trying to establish a language."

The holoprojector was installed and started setting down the language the old fashioned way - an object would appear, and an english term for it would be played over UHF. The probes response was recorded - as long as it was pursuing the same logic it wouldn't take long to get a language up and running. Along with the data from the Tagus this would hopefully jumpstart the translation process.

The first object was a naked male human.

The Bio Probe had settled in the bay, humming gently to itself, occasionaly a small skittering thing would dart out from under the carapace and start reconstructing the occasional rent in the chitin, caused by micro meteors. A the bay doors opened, it didn't move, just spun on its axis to look at the opening doors.

"Are thu Ggan je hek gon id poa ne?"

Then it twistedround to face the holo projector, t start with it didn't quite catch on, at first it thought the naked human was an avatar to communicate with,..

"Ferradur: Lekun are thu, and lekun is jiggen?

thuk untar, are hum thuk lamen?"

But soon it catches on, its specialised mind having been altered for this very task, as each human picture flashed up, it repeated the name, then flashes up the Dargon equivilent with the Dargonese name for it..

Eventually, after rapidly flicking through it, a message is flicked out,
(it still ripples its exterior colours to the sentences)

"How are you.

I am fine."

"Um - did you see that?"

"I think I did..."

The two techs looked at each other and grabbed for the UHF transmittor at the same time. There was a bonk of heads, then one managed to hit the button.

"Ow... Hello? I'm not fine. Er..."

The other tech slapped the mic link off.

"How professional is that?"

"Have you ever done first contact then? Bet you haven't."

"No - but I do know procedure."

The first tech summoned the Captain to the bay. She fairly sprinted down to the control room where the techs were watching the probe.

"What I miss?"

"It said something."

"It's been saying something all along."

The tech played the recording again over the control room speakers.

'How are you. I am fine.'

"Did you answer?"

"Er, yes - but we thought we should get you down here for a formal greeting."

The Captain considered the situation for a moment. Breaches in procedure, unauthorized contact... Whatever. She hit the button and started to talk.

"Greetings. I am Captain Ernesta Von Greg, commander of this ship. Might I have your name?"

The bio Probe took a few seconds before replying.

"I am liesse thinker of long reacher."

Many light years away, on the opposite side of a tiny natural wormhole, a hum and a softly glowing flicker brought minds more sentient to a sudden flurry of panicked attention.. and a message was beamed back, it took several minutes to reach the probe. a voice more feminine and stronger spoke.

"We are Dargon"

'A group mind? Or simply speaking in the Imperial...'

"Greetings Dargon. I represent a nation known as Scolopendra and am part of an organization called the Triumvirate of Yut. We are a group of sentients that desires peaceful co-existance with all other sentients and nations. You are currently in the system called Sol, heading for the moon Io in orbit around the planet Jupiter. Please tell me something about yourself - why you sent this craft, who you are, and maybe something about yourself."

'Nothing risky there - nothing you couldn't find out from looking at the side of the ship...'

"You speak with Yatess of the Sisterhood, from the family Karinth, The Dargon race seeks knowledge of those outside, to find knowledge brings honour to the family, to find knowledge opens new doors."

The Bio Probe pulses with new light, a small creature of some sort drops off and skitters across the deck, a sensor on it giving close ups of some piece of equipment in the bay, then it scurries back.

" I wish to entertain possabilities of diplomacy between us, I will act for the Dargon race..."

You swear you can almost hear a smile

"..and for my family"

'Certainly sounds benign though that could be deceptive. And that tone... Maybe some prestige associated with this? Or a trap.'

Von Greg paused for a moment before replying.

"The Triumvirate is always interested in opportunities for knowledge and information. Certain diplomatic possiblities along those lines are possible. Perhaps an exchange of information - I can send you information on the nations of the Triumvirate in exchange for information on your own nation?"

All of the information was public - and why not be as helpful as possible?

"Or simply access - in exchange for information on your people and nation I could give your probe access to the data networks routed through this communications satillite. From there you would have access to the system wide internet and all the public information you could want."

"An exchange of information would be admirable"

The little skittery thing skitters out again, this time leering in the viewing screen, before scampering back.

"After that, I merely need assurance from yourselves that the area is safe, and I shall come in person as an ambassador, to set the seal, for now i will leave you with the probe mind"

The probe makes a querying noise and ripples some more colours.

A large multi spectrum communication signal is opened fro mthe Probe, that blins its sensors expectantly.

OOC: This is interesting. The MS nation has been testing space craft for some time now, so I think I'll throw one of my primitive space craft into the equation, if that's okay with the three of you.

"You heard her - let's get an information exchange going. First send over the RFC for TCP/IP and binary in plain text - it should be able to setup an address from there and initiate a connection to the satillite via UHF. Bit slow but they should be able to find documentation on how to connect via a higher speed link."

Captain Von Greg considered the idea of recieving a visitor - an important visitor - in the cramped mess on the Marcus while the techs started sending over the data needed for the link. It wasn't the best idea to have a unknown ship appear in orbit over Io either. One shouldn't risk one's guests. Opening a channel to the bridge she put in the order to head to Earth.

OOC: sure, I have no objectios! as long as Sunset has none, should be OK.

Far across the galaxy on the otherside of the wormhole, Yatess held a flat data being in one handm her golden eyes reading the information flickering on its screen, every now and then one of the two tendrils from her forehead snaked down and touched a peice of information, psychicaly reading the bullet points.


http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/totalrandom/Sisterhood1.jpg

"Helm, take us to Suspension point, were going through, inform the two escorts of our move, and send a message back to home stating our intentions."

With a fluid motion, the garaden Cruiser and two destroyers, manouvered into step off point and engaged their expansion drives, that for a brief instance widened the wormhole to many times its diameter, sucking the ships through.

On the otherside of the wormhole, the ships flash into being, just outside the orbit of the last planet. Briefly orientating themselves they pull into formation and flare their drives, accelerating towards the rondevouz.

Yatess, surveys the many ocular screens set into the organic walls, and does a slight intake of breath.

"By the Seeds, Haresto, tell me, how many different factions?"

A large male Dargon sivels around on his conforming chair.

"Over a thousand plus, many very heavily populated space going races of all kinds.."

Yatess turns her eyes to the main screen.

"We have many questions for this,.."

She touches one of her tendrils to her personal data pad

*Scolopendra, let us hope that we can bring glory to our family and our race..*

She smiles and settles back into her command couch.

"Olmen, filter out some of the more intresting data and direct it to me.."

Seemingly from around her a voice speaks as the ship se is linked to speaks.

"Yes Commander, would youl ike me to order them according to military, culture or politics?"

Yatess relaxes back

"I dont know Olmen, suprise me! in the meantime, send a message to the Commander of their diplomatic vessel, inform him we are on our way."

The Marcus was in a race - it was trying to reach Earth (or properly Luna) before the Dargon ambassador showed up.

"Captain - VLA shows a wormhole opened in the area the probe was encountered in."

Von Greg breathed a sign of relief. At least she wouldn't have to play host. There was a SDF diplomatic cruiser in lunar orbit - they had the facilities to host a diplomatic reception and she and her crew could just sit in the background and do some science. Accessing her ship database she initiated a connection with the Halo-Class currently in lunar orbit.

"Captain... Napolin? I've got a plum to hand you..."

Hurriedly she explained the situation to Napolin as the Endeavor rushed closed and closer to Luna and the SDF cruiser.

"...thank you Captain. I'll have my crew ready as soon as we arrive."

It was an hour at sub-light from their current position to Luna and the Camp David - hopefully the Dargon ship would keep a leisurely pace so they had more time to prepare.

It had taken some time for the Dargon Cruiser and her escorts to reach the inner orbits, passing through Mars's orbit path, the bridge crew noted an unusually large amount of debris, most of it carrying weapon burns.

"I doubt they even need tofire weapons here, there is so much space traffic, they would be ramming into each other anyway.."

Yatess looks up fro mthe data pad, eying the Comms Officer that had spoken his mind.

"Anything dangerous within our zone of operations?"

"No Commander"

"Very well, just log what you see and let us continue.."

Several hours later the small squadron pulls near to Earth, the sensor operator lets out a startled gasp.

"Commander! there, there are billions of people down there..."

Yatess was stunned to silence for a moment, but ony a moment, they had pulled within range of the Diplomatic Cruiser, and a life time of conditioning as an imperial Princess re-aserted themselves.

"Bring us around and inline with their docking solution, hail their Commander and issue greetings..."
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/totalrandom/Cruisin.jpg

"We will be expecting Princess Yatess shortly..."

Captain Napolin cut the voice link to the Dargon vessel. It was... a little larger than the Camp David's 216 meters and certainly more than Napolin had been expecting from a first contact with an alien species. While the ship had docking facilities he had instead arranged for the Princess's ship to send over a shuttle. They had been sent docking information for the large aft shuttle bay and the exterior lights had been lit on the cruiser.

"Lt. Crispin - how are preparations coming?"

"Almost done Captain. I've got a large room set up for a reception. Some of the other diplomats that happen to be aboard have been asking if they can attend though."

"I think we will leave that up to the Princess. Tell them that it is private for now, but I will see if she is willing to entertain other envoy's."

"Alright - I'll return to the preparations then."

Napolin stood and headed to his quarters just off the bridge - time to put on the penguin suit.

OOC: The Camp David is Sunset's central embassy to Sol. Diplomats and envoy's from any friendly Earth nation would have reason to be aboard or in transit, and word of a new nation tends to get around quickly. If you want to attend this reception - post.

OOC: If you scan the vessel the majority of it is living tissue and strange organs, with a miriad of symbiotic life forms clustered through out it.


IC:
Yatess walked the few meters from the inter ship transport tube to the min hangar bay, one of her sub commanders who would be attending the meeting leaned in.

"My lady, are you not taking Tarthen-kai?"

Yatess rubbed the back of one ear with a forehead tendril, something she did when thinking.

"No Orlens, we are going to be at a diplomatic meeting, and Tarthen, no matter how much she might sulk, is a war creature."

Yatess sighed, Tarthen had a soft spot in her heart.

"Tell her not to fret, I'll spend some time with her when I get back, from what Ive seen these people are inorganic users, and would probably feel a little uncomfortable with living creatures like ours around."

Yatess didn't mention that she would feel equally uneasy in a non living ship. With this at the back of her mind she boarded the shuttle for the short flight to the nearby diplomatic cruiser.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/totalrandom/Shuttle.jpg

In a few moments, that seemed like hours to Yatess, the shuttle pulled into the Camp David's rear bay. After settling on its shock pads, it rested there for a few minutes as the science team onboard checked out the envioment and made sure there were no harmful contaminants. After that the shuttles hatch opens, the hard chitin cover clanking as it hits the metal deck....

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

Meanwhile, a querying communication flickered out from the Dargon ship, directed at the Camp David, not her crew, but the ship itself..

"Hello"

OOC: The Camp David is Sunset's central embassy to Sol. Diplomats and envoy's from any friendly Earth nation would have reason to be aboard or in transit, and word of a new nation tends to get around quickly. If you want to attend this reception - post.(What of non-Earth nations?)

The test flight of the RDMA's prototype carrier, the Wasps' Nest had gone admirably well for a heavily modified cargo vessel retro-fitted with a bank of sublight engines & an accelerator unit (primitive hyperdrive-like component). At the moment, the Wasps' Nest carried a pair of the first prototype RDMA space fighter craft, nothing more than a pair of Harrier 2's with small sublight engines in place of the usual turbine jets.

The three ships had a total crew of fourteen, two pilots & twelve crewmen to keep the Wasps' Nest in decent working order. Currently, there was only a single modified Harrier on patrol, piloted by Major Killian Casper. Major Casper had been more than a little worried when he'd first left the carrier in something that wasn't meant for space flight. His craft had been sealed to keep air inside the cockpit, and had also been outfitted with a layer of composite plating under the aluminum skin to keep space debris out of the sublight engines. The Harrier's gattling gun had been replaced by a primitive version of the prototype Gauss technology that the RDMA R&D teams worked furiously to get into reliably working order.

The thing was a series of steel gunbarrels wrapped in copper wiring, attatched to a battery pack on the reciever of the weapon. Magnetized steel slugs where fed into the barrels, & then accelerated to great speeds by the like-pole electrical current running through the copper wiring wrapped around the barrels. It wasn't completely reliable, as the electromagnetic barrels changed polarity on occasion, causing slugs to stick to the rifled bores of the weapon. The pilot was apprehensive to test the weapon, as it was mounted on the underside of his cockpit.

As he deliberated with his flight officer over the safety of his vehicle, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye, something... alive-looking. The first test of the accelerator had been a flight along Scolopendran spaceways, and had brought them close to a Sunset cruiser, which dwarfed the Wasps' Nest in size & firepower comparisons. There where several of these living ships. Ignoring his flight officer, Major Casper swung his ship around for a closer look...

bump

Captain Napolin walked over to the foot of the ramp along with his first officer and the liason in charge of extra-solar diplomacy. Commander Steven Rogers and Envoy Cheri Cross, respectively, took their positions beside Napolin as they waited for the Dargon envoy to exit the shuttle.

----

OOC: Ok, pretty much anyone could be there as long as they have a good reason to be on a SDF cruiser in orbit around Luna.

OOC: Im happy to go with that..

IC:

Yatess took a deep breath and cycled the airlock, it opend like a giant heart valve and the artificial air of the cruisers bay wafted in, she winced slightly, then flanked by her two commanding officers, descended the ramp. (see above picture for Yatess) her golden eyes surveying the small party at the bottom of the stairs, then giving a small friendly smile she descended the rest of the way, placing a tentative step on the metal deck.

"Heshleteth i ja Thoom Narawat Yatess, Kilos ta da Pharome Dargon lirien, ki shi benos vo thuk tirenda men tu magan."

A tiny creature resembling a dragon crossed with an armadillo sat on her shoulder, about a foot long, it watched her intently as she spoke, then turned to look at the greeting party, it spoke in a netral voice.

"Greetings, I am Link Commander Yatess, Princess to the Imperial Dargon throne, I wish honour on your families and your Nation."

Yatess turns to both of the people standing either side of her and this time the creature speaks without any sound from Yatess (all though you do notice one of her forehead tendrils is touching its neck)

"This is Sub Link Commander Orlens and Feresh"

Meanwhile onboard the Swift Dance, one of the escorting Dargonese destroyers, the ship's mind noted with interest a small craft flying towards them, it then informed its link commander with a hopeful message that maybe it could go and chase it, who promptly told it calm down and wait while he informed the Comamnder oboard the Cruiser.

A few seconds later one of the destroyers peeled off and started an intercept course with the small RDMA fighter.

Wormhole formation being somewhat hard to hide, it was noticed by several StarFish escorting a Leviathan and its accompanying symbiotic entourage of Skysharks, Spacecows, etc. Not that such things were at all unusual, what with the huge amount of traffic going through Sol- the notable bit was that the ships coming through were not the usual metallic constructions.

A message was fired off to the various major Nodes, plus the little one sitting of the coast of Arda on Earth, and the network quickly resolved to find out who the heck they were. Being as the Arda installation was supposed to be at least semi-secret, and didn't have shipbuilding capacity anyway, an Odin was dispatched from Venus, travelling through hypercylinder to emerge just behind Earth in its orbit, and pulling a hard deceleration "burn" of its reactionless drive cells to enter orbit 'round Selene.

bump

"Greeting Link Commander Yatess, Sub Link Commander Orlens, Sub Link Commander Feresh. On behalf of the nation of Sunset and the Triumvirate of Yut I welcome you aboard the Camp David. I am Captain Peter Napolin and this is Commander Steven Rogers and Envoy Cheri Cross."

----

Captain Napolin escorted the Dargonese party through the ship as soon as the greetings were complete. The meeting room was not far from the shuttle bay, and they passed few crewmen on their way. The room itself was laid out with comfortable chairs and couches from a dozen terran cultures as well as end tables and table lamps. A coffee table held just that as well as tea, fruit juice, and ice water.

"Please - have a seat."

"Greeting Link Commander Yatess, Sub Link Commander Orlens, Sub Link Commander Feresh. On behalf of the nation of Sunset and the Triumvirate of Yut I welcome you aboard the Camp David. I am Captain Peter Napolin and this is Commander Steven Rogers and Envoy Cheri Cross."

----

Captain Napolin escorted the Dargonese party through the ship as soon as the greetings were complete. The meeting room was not far from the shuttle bay, and they passed few crewmen on their way. The room itself was laid out with comfortable chairs and couches from a dozen terran cultures as well as end tables and table lamps. A coffee table held just that as well as tea, fruit juice, and ice water.

"Please - have a seat."

Yatess settled uneasily into a chair near the table, moving slightly to get comfortable.

"Thank you Captain Napolin, it is a pleasure to be aboard your fine ship, If I might enquire, what diplomatic relations we could possibly come to?"

She makes a slight face, you get the feeling she wasn't to happy how the translator creature put that across.

Meanwhile Sub Commander Orlens was investigating the table with drinks on it, the small translator creature (a Reffulk as you know know it is called)around his neck scurries down his arm and peers at the fruit juice.

OOC: Snel, are you coming in on this?

"I would first suggest an exchange of embassies - diplomatic relations and an opportunity to get to know one another better. Then a cultural exchange and trade agreements would be a fair next step."

Napolin sat opposite Yatess on a comfortable leather couch. Pouring himself some water he sat back and watched Envoy Cross who was attempting to strike up a conversation with Sub Commander Orlens.

"It's orange juice - slightly acidic and sweet to the tongue. Tastes differ, but I like it with small bits of the fruit pulp still in it."

Yatess nodded as the Reffulk relayed this to her, both her hands came in front of her on the table, then the creature speaks..

"Yes, this is what I am here for, I represent the Dargonese race, and my family, it is my honour to be the diplomatic envoy, to .."

She turns and gives a funny look to the creature, trying to transmit a conceptual word.

" dirt?"

Meanwhile Orlens was looking at Envoy Cross, and so was the little creature that was curled around the glass of orange.. when she finished Orlens nods at the creature who's long tongue flicks out and tastes the juice, for a few seconds it tilts its head to one side, then looks back up at Orlens, who smiles and takes the glass swallowing it down,.. while he is swallowing the Reffulk looks up at Cross,

"it tastes similiar to a Boyaba fruit, they grow in clusters of about six, from wall vines.."

"Then let us talk - tell me something about your home. Where is... Dargon? and what is it like there?"

Over at the table Envoy Cross has a sudden thought.

"Do you have any of these fruits? Or perhaps their seeds? Given a little time I could have some samples of various plants sent up and we could do a trade. An orange tree for a boyaba vine?"

Napolin overheard this and eyed Yatess thoughtfully.

"You know - an exlusive trade agreement with the Triumvirate for the import and export of products could bring much wealth to both our peoples. The products of three trillion people passing through your house - and the products of..."

Napolin was leading the conversation - perhaps a solid number on the Dargonese popultion would be forthcoming.

Meanwhile onboard the Swift Dance, one of the escorting Dargonese destroyers, the ship's mind noted with interest a small craft flying towards them, it then informed its link commander with a hopeful message that maybe it could go and chase it, who promptly told it calm down and wait while he informed the Comamnder oboard the Cruiser.

A few seconds later one of the destroyers peeled off and started an intercept course with the small RDMA fighter.

Major Casper expeirenced an 'Oh-Shit' moment when he noticed one of the larger crusiers break formation & begin to come his way. His Harrier had no external shielding, and there was no way he was going to be able to out-run or out-gun the approaching ship. His last resort was that he might be able to out-fly it & get back to the carrier. He waited, hoping the ship was just dropping by to say 'Hi', or to perform some other benign task...

Yattess smiles a small feminine smile over the edge of her glass, she knew what the Captain was aiming for.

"Dargon is a large lush planet, in a system of six planets, only three of which are in the bio zone, Dargon being the middle one, the other two life bearers are Fattar and Kingo, we also have qite a number of depots and bases in outlying systems."

She leans foreward, her goldens metalic eyes reflecting the lights in the room.

"Dargon is of course the most pleasant, a lush world covered in tropical and sub tropical forest, our cities are grown in each location to support the enviroment, so we do not disrupt it. The one unfortunate thing about Dargon is its complete lack of mineral resources, which is why we evolved biological systems that fill the same niche as machines."

A coy look in her metalic eyes.

" have told you of one of our worlds, now tell me of yours.."


Meanwhile across the room Orlens looked up from examining the juice, and the Reffulk speaks his thoughts.

"A trade?"

He smiles and flicks a glance across at Yattess who gave him a dirty look.

"I would be more than happy to trade, say thirty Boyoba vine saplings for thirty. .Orange trees?"

You get the feeling that some sort of exchange has happened between the Princess and one of her commanders.


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

Meanwhile outside, the escort destroyer Swift Dancer was having fun, playing a friendly cat and mouse game with the forign fighter, that was until with a cross word its commander tells it to settle down and pull alongside.

"Well, as you might be able to tell this system is fully inhabited - some might say down to the smallest rock. From the inferno that is Mercury to the icy dirt ball that is Pluto they all have someone on them. The center of spacefaring civilization is of course Earth - all the human majority nations in the system started there in some fashion. After that you have Mars and Saturn for the next largest centers of civilization. Mars is our home and home to around 30 other nations as well. Saturn is the seat of power for the Triumvirate of Yut and is home to the Ring."

Napolin stood and walked over to the table where he grabbed a piece of fruit before sitting down again. He talked as he walked, carefully directing his comments and voice only towards Yatess.

"Sol is by no means unified. While you have a single nation spread over a single system we have hundreds in all shapes and sizes. Everything from backwater nations who still use crude chemical weapons to hyper-advanced virtual civilizations and even a few hive societies where the individual is undistinguishable from the whole. It's a lot of chaos but with some schrewd leadership anyone can find a place and thrive."

----

Cross nodded and took out a datapad.

"Thirty for thirty - done. Do you have any sub-species of these plants? I can get my hands on all different types of oranges. Mandarin, naval, and engineered varieties. Since you have access to the intrasystem networks you can get all kinds of data on growing them - similar data would be appreciated by the people who will try to grow your plants."

Yattess nods as her eyes follow the Captain, both her tendrils flowing in the air and moving gently as she moves her head.

"Yes, that makes sense,. like thefamilies of Dargon, constantly striving, looking for that toe hold, that little bit of prestige.."

She makes a face as Orlens makes the trade agreement.

"Like Orlens over there for instance, having made the first ever trade agreement with your people, by our laws, his family will gain point one percent of all public non personal trade that we have with you for a year, this will give his family a major boost up the ranking ladders, and possibly move them into one of the Imperial courts."


Across the room Orlens smiles a huge smile as the trade agreement is secured, he places out one tendril to 'shake' on it.

"Do not worry, we shall send al lthe data you need for growing them, as well as a large shipment of Dargonese style soil. Sub species wise.. well.."

he shrugs

"What do you want? we can modify it to your needs.."

The Mangalan liasion officer assigned to the Camp David had been sleeping soundly when he had a rude awakening from his adjudant. Practically flinging the sliding cabin door open, she had come stomping in and started shouting about a possible class two (highly intelligent) sentient alien race being on board.

"You didn't anser you comm unit! I've been trying for almost 20 minutes! What do you think you're waiting for?"

"I was asl-"

"Sir! You need to get up! Captain Napolin is meeting with them right now. I'll start the 'fresher."

Groaning, and cursing whichever god sent a first contact situation right after a reception at the Terran Distilled Spirits Council offices, Col. Francis Azra rolled off his bunk and started oozing towards the 'fresher.

---

15 minutes later, Col. Azra strode down the corridor towards the diplomatic reception pulling on a dress uniform jacket and trailed by adjudant DeMonte.

"Interesting - anything else I should know? Exchanges of gifts, who should be offered the first go at any trades? What about the nature of Sol? Will trade with Sunset be considered seperate from trade with all nations?"

Napolin paused as a steward came over and whispered in his ear.

"Ah - we might be about to find out. The Mangalan ambassador has headed this way along with his aid. The Mangalans are one of our greatest friends and well respected by both our nations and many of the Sol nations for their nuetrality and reason. They do like a party..."

Envoy Cross nodded her head in the same manner as Orlens - she would have to remember the gesture for later.

"Some soil would be very appreciated. Perhaps a human gesture then? A toast to many more successful trades!"

Lifting her glass she walked Orlens though the motions of the toast, ending in a clink as the two glasses met.

Yattess narrows her eyes in concentration as the little Reffulk creature attempts translation.

"Trade will be with the indeviduals that have negotiated it, and whatver family they represent..."

She tilts her head, thinking for a short moment, her forehead tendrils lazily wafting

"I grasp your meaning, well, when one visits a family that is not your own, it is customary to take a small gift to show there is no hostile intent.. of course there hasn't been that kind of hostile intent for millenia, but the custom remains, and is an endearing one, thinking of which..*

Her golden eyes open slightly and she leans down to a small bag at her waist, it seems to open on its own, and she reaches in and pulls out a small flower, which she places on the table in front of Napolin.

"I am Link Commander Yatess of the Sisterhood, from the family Karinth Princess to the Imperial throne, I come with hostile thoughts for you and your kin, I bid greetings, and submit myself to the arms of your family of...."

She leaves the end of the sentence open, waiting for Napolin's reply.

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

Orlens goes through the toast, it was very important that he remembers such things, with his sudden elevation as a first trader, his families eyes will be upon him

"Tell me, what family are you from?"

He directs a query to Cross.

*The flower on closer examination has petals made of miriad of tiny crystals, gemstones infact, each seemingly grown through its delicate surface*

"Napolin."

Captain Napolin paused for a moment - he had no such gift to give in return. A discreet cough came from behind him and he turned in his seat to find one of the stewards standing there. The young woman leaned over and whispered discretely in his ear.

"The ambassador's gift will be delivered shortly - I'll go pick it up myself."

She winked and straightened before walking out of the room. Napolin mentally marked her down for a promotion and turned back to Yattess just as Cross was sitting down in a chair with her new trade partner sitting next to the Dargonese ambassador.

"I was just about to tell Orlens about family structures in human society and I figured you might want to contribute."

"A good idea."

For the next half hour the two went through the complicated mess that was human family structures and related structures like businesses and governments.

For that half an hour Yattess listened intently, while Orlens occasionaly whispered to the little Reffulk now curled about his neck.

After the half an hour Yattess leans back slowely, her golden eyes slightly wide.

"Well it seems your not that different after all.. al lI can add is, try to imagine it when members off your family include warships and buildings to..."

The Major executed several high-G evasive manuvers in an attempt to evade the alien craft... Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the thing broke off pursuit & rejoined the formation...

'Thank god...'

Major Casper was able to breathe a sigh of relief for the moment... His request for back-up obviously hadn't gone through, otherwise he wouldn't be alone out in the empty vaccum...

"Well in some cases they do. Depending on where you go you will find a greater or lesser amount of artificial intelligences - some nations reserve their use, " Napolin says this with some measure of distaste, "to only warships and other military facilities. In others you will find a more enlightened view - AI's are treated as sentients with all the rights of a regular citizen. There are also several nations which are made up completely of artificial sentients."

"Many of the artificial intelligences seen in Sol seem to be reflective of their creators in some way. Those from Sunset tend to be more creative and flexible, while those from more imperialistic or dictator controlled nations tend to be very cold and inflexible in their thinking." Cross finished her interjection and looked at Yattess.

((To Mercenary Soldiers))

Just letting you know, the Ships Link Commander told it to pull alongside you! not the fleet!


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

*Yattess leans back in her chair, eyeing the two diplomats carefully.*

Ours are not Artificial Sentients.. they are grown, yes, altered by us.. but from natural material, and are accorded all rights by our laws.. some of our best philosophers are ships.. hundreds of years old..

*She looks from one to the other,*

As to how we treat Artificial Sentience.. well, where do you draw the line at Sentience?? isn't any AI a creation of its maker, who in some form or another has given birth to it? either by mind, creation, or activation? how can you say it is artificial?

In the end, it has to be judged by the laws of the society it has been born into, like all the other sentients that exist in that society.

*her forehead tendrils move agitatedly*

Napolin took the wiggle of the head tendrils to mean aggitation and commented on it.

"Remember that you are dealing with a multitude of nations and indeed species here. We use artificial to refer to any sentience that required outside modification to become so. It is not meant to be an insult - though with all things the perception of the term is much dependant on the listener rather than the person who used it. It is good to know that your people are so enlightened - I'm just warning you that not everyone has the same enlightened attitude.

Rest assured all sentients are afforded the same rights as any other sentient in Sunset - whether they are evolved or artificial. Perhaps it would be best to move on to another topic. I am not the best person to explain the complex status of sentient life in Sol and there are many sources on the public datanets that can do a much better job than I."

*Yattess's tendrils calmed down and wafted gently*

Allow me to offer my apology, I did not mean to come across as angry, but from our lands, sentients, are considered family, so suggesting they are reserved for Combat or slavery is like suggesting that is appied to..

*her face looks a little strained as she tries to put it into words*

Our children?

*she places a hand in the air palm upwards in a gesture*

Of course we do create non sentient drones, for mundane and dangerous tasks, not every, creation of ours, is sentient, capable of free will.

*she makes the face again*

I think maybe it is coming across in translation, badly?

Ok, yes, let us move on to other topics, ones which are perhaps closer to our mutual interest?

Trade, for example.

*She smiles and her tendrils gently play over the items on the table in front of her.*

What can Dargon offer you, I think is of most interst, yes?

*One tendril touches her bio Data Pad delicately*

Mainly we can offer expertise in genetic manipulation, medicine involving such things, food, alternative solutions to industrial 'problems' that might not be so enviromentaly friendly, self repairing and cleaning goods such as house hold furniture, vehicles, and buildings..

*she reels off a list mch in this same vein*

"As far as our own nation goes we are always looking for everything - but especially the exotic. Art takes many forms and the average Sunset citizen thrives on individual expression through their possessions and interests. I am not a merchant - though I am skilled in negotiation it is on a diplomatic level. What I can do for you however is work as a middleman to introduce your house to several import/export companies who you can then negotiate with to establish trade agreements. I can also function as a middleman to introduce your houses to other Sol nations that we are friendly with.

As far as our own nations products go you will find us a valuable resource for extreme high end computers and software, media in all forms, and educational facilities. Once formal relations are announced and an embassy established you can expect to be bombarded by requests for Dargon teachers and scientists to join research universities and labratories as well as for their own staff to join similar institutions. Another thing that typlifies our culture is an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and you can expect thousands of requests for access for documentaries, access to libraries, and similar."

*Yattess taps her chin thoughtfully with one tendril,*

Yes, I see now what you mean, our two races are different, very different.. you would feel.. strange? with living ships? as we would with metal ones.. So it comes down to what drives most economies, pleasure and luxury goods, Yes?

*She tilts her head at her second in command, who shrugs, smiling a little, having gained the first trade, she turns back to Napolin, her metalic eyes reflecting the light.*

Tell me, have you heard of Veleran Grass??

"Veleran grass? I have not." Napolin wondered if this was a narcotic of some kind - though the grass reference was probably his own human-centric viewpoint speaking. He was probably wrong and he knew it.

----

Cross leaned across to Orlens. "Would it be possible to arrange a tour of your ship? Perhaps see what it is like inside? With more information it might lead to more trade opportunities. I'm sure the captain would let me take you on a similar tour."

* Yatess steeples her fingers*

Ah, it is one of these luxuries we are talking about..

*One tendril strokes the translator creature negligently*

It is like, a living carpet.., that senses stress levels in those stepping on it.. it orginaly used it as a survival mechanism in the wilds, but we have altered it to a different type, now it resonates and massages.

*she checks herself as she remembers something*

And it survives on dust and other waste particles.. it especially flourishes in places that have a lot of wood furniture, something about it simulating its natural enviroment..

Is this the sort of luxury you are talking about?

*Orlens looks across at Cross, leaning in slightly, then he glances across to Yatess, their tendrils touch briefly, at which orlens stands*

Certainly.. do you wish to come now?

Napolin smiled - he loved heading back to his cabin after a long day and taking a long shower. Something like this would certainly have definately possibilities on the open market. "I'm interested in it myself. Love to have something like that for relaxing after work. Tell me - can it be isolated into shapes and colors?" Napolin tapped the table and brought up an image of a Persian rug. "Wealthy individuals value the hand made character, intricate design, and to a certain extent cost of rugs like these. If this Veleran grass is capable of keeping this kind of shape or color I could see it being a very high end item. If not it would probably still be popular in indoor gardens or in rooms that need a lot of carpetting."

Napolin took a sip of water. "What chemicals does it process for growth? And does it give off any gases during that process?"

----

"Let's go then." Cross stood and walked out of the room with Orlens.

The Sisterhood commander, tilted her head, delving into her memory.

" No, it cannot be grown into complex patterns, it can be grown in any miriad of colours, including illuminats.. We DO however have complex patterns like those..

*She points at the Persian Carpet picture with her forehead tendril*

But it involves highly skilled crafts people, slicing and splicing many different types of the grass together, a process that can sometimes take weeks, depending on complexity and quality..

As to processing, it has a standard Plant like lifecycle , ingesting carbon dioxide, etc.. Nourishment comes from particles, such as dust, alltohugh it does benefit from watering with nutrients occasionaly.

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

*Orlens lets Cross lead him down to the launch bay where the Dargon shuttle rests.*

"Tell me, are you nervous watching medical programs?"

"No, not at all. Should I be?"

Cross had sudden mental images of a control panel that was a mass of writhing organs or similar. Shuddering a little mentally she remembered all the other strange and odd things she had encountered during her career - not just alien species but the horrors that human could inflict on human.

"No matter - can't very well explore the unknown and be afraid of it. Let's go."

----

"Much as these are. Goods like this will fetch a high value depending on their scarcity. Given that they are made by individuals I expect certain makers will find their designs more popular that others. Though like anything else in our society this is as fickle as the weather."

Yatess smiled a small smile that spoke of experience,

"Yes Fickle...

Which is why you must not rely on a single thing, take us for instance, rugs are not the only produve we have.."

She slides what looks like data pad across the table, it would be ok if it didn't have several fronds gently swaying in the breeze from the onboard airconditioning.

"From what our initial probe picked up, I hope we have made a fair aproximation of your written word?"

Most of it is understandable, but several words are in different languages, including, bizarely, Ancinet Summerian.

On the pad is al ist of luxury items ranging from rugs, through pets, building materials, craft designs, al lthe way up to gene manipulated living houses and such.

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

Orlens smiles and leads Cross up the gangway to the Bio Shuttle, te steps are like a hardened chitin, and when she steps inside, the underflooring is a rubbery consistency, good for grip, everything is curved, and allthough the rooms are recogniseable for what they are, most look 'grown' and are coloured in a soft red.

"So why red? Is it cultural? The current favorite color?"

Cross sat down at the chair offered and waited for the shuttle to exit the bay before continueing.

"Tell me a little something about yourself Orlens. Do you have a wife and children? How long have you been doing your job - and what would you call your job?"

----

Napolin looked through the list bringing up several items for further information while skimming past most.

"You know with such a large variety avaliable I might suggest a trade show. Get a lot of samples together, some advertising, and lease a big convention center. Match it up with a virtual trade show and you will attract a lot of potential clients. You can then negotiate with them in the way you feel best to proceed. I could see either a specific Dargonese product store run by your own houses or you could become a supplier to existing stores. The first would give you more control for less competition while the other would be better to reach a wider audience though existing store chains.

Not to say I'm not interested in making several purchases myself. In fact what I'll do is forward this list on to our own logistics department. Given the size of the fleet we could probably make bulk orders as we do now with established companies. They will probably winnow the list down to militarily useful items as well as reasonable comfort items of course."

Orlens looked across from where he was sitting in his conforming couch, small fine tendrils wrapping to his body to keep it in place, the same was happening with Cross.

"Red? oh, yes, in a way it is a cultural thing, we can change the colour, but in most of our society, it symbolizes the birthing of the first seeds from the cosmic tree,"
his tendrils touch gently to a panel on the side of his couch, and a deep throbbing rumble can be felt through the shuttle.

Orlens looks a bit thoughtful at her question.

"Well, I am of the family Giir, which is a sub family to Yatess's own family, which in turn is directly under the Imperial Family, I myself have not taken a mate but one day I hope to add to my families numbers!"

The last part was said with a light good humour, it didn't sound like Orlens was planning a family any time soon..

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

Yetess's head was cocked to one side, then deftly she gets out of the chair and slides around so she can look at the pad with Napolin, one of her tentacles brushes his hand as she touches the data pad with it, it feels wamr and their is a strange tingle, Yatess nods an apology and points out some details on the pad.

"OK, we can possibly do both? have a basic selection open to the existing stores, then a more varied range of more complex and less every day items from specialised stores?"

She nods at the pad

"Interested in what we have? well, just show me what your after, Id be more than happy to provide it, as a gesture of goodwill of course."

"So no mate. Tell me if it's not intruding too much - how old are your people when they usually take a mate? For humans it used to be around their twentieth year but now it is more common to see people in their late fourties instead. They find that they have established a place for themselves and are ready to branch out a little. That and artificial birth methods."

----

"As far as our nation is concerned you are free to do whatever you want - we don't regulate commerce except for the basics of patent and trademark law. If you desire to set up a store you simply find a place to do it, purchase that place from the current owner, and set up shop. It is the consumers job to verify the condition of the goods they recieve and make sure a business is legitimate. I can hook you up with Senator Wilson though - he is the head of the Senate Commerce Division and can give you a rundown on what you would need to purchase to do business in Sunset and who to go to. Things like credit card readers, electricity contracts, building owners and leasers, and similar. There are also directories of businesses that are looking for new items to sell. Most of the business infrastructure is handled in c-space, virtual space, or whatever you want to call it. Your drone and your ship already have access to it and with a bit of searching you could start making contacts once you get some method of contacting yourself established."

Orlens looks askance for a second at Cross, before smiling and shrugging.

"Well life mates are usually taken around our.."

He concentrates for a second

"Well, going by your year, it is usual for us to consider life mating around our thirtieth year. Usually they are from another affiliated family, child rearing is the job of their whole family segment, I have four fathers and six mothers..."


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


Yatess smiles and nods,

"we do have something similiar to what you call the net, its called the Bio Matrix, its not as.. hard data as your net, think more transmitted concepts and such, as to transactions, we use Delgadi.."

She holds up what looks to be an irridescant Scarab Beetle about two inches long..

"This Senator Wilson, he is of your family?"

"In a sense, yes. He is the head of the commerce division which might be considered a branch of the senate family. I am a member of the defense division which is a larger branch of the senate. Despite the fact that we are considerably larger he holds authority over me by virtue of a senate seat though I don't report to him. The president is the direct authority over the defense division though since he is selected by the senate they hold some measure of control over him."

----

Cross, being somewhat out of conversation points, nodded and sat quietly until they reached the Dargonese ship.

The Bio Shuttle was almost at the Gareden Cruiser, but Orlens decided to take the initiative.

"Tell me, tell me a little about yourself, What do you enjoy doing, are you mated? tell me a little of your family maybe?


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

Yatess nods

"Oh, so you are of a sub family allied to his? "

She nods as he details some more of the workings of the 'Senate' Family.

"A pretty powerful family, not unlike our own Imperial Family, Kagare.. If yu will forgive me for asking, we are very much interested in the way that other societies work, perhaps you could tell us a little about yours?

She smiles as she settles back into her chair.

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

Meanwhile the Shuttle had entered the main hanger of the Cruiser, a massive space, at least a couple of hundred feet high, and with a gentle movement, the Bio Shuttle settles into its cradle.

"Well, allow me to be the first to welcome you, Envoy Cross, to the Garaden Class Cruiser, Distant Thunder"

With that he executes a short nod of the head with one hand touching the opposite shoulder, then leads Cross down the ramp into the main hanger.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/totalrandom/DargoHanger.jpg

"That is a lot to describe - and I don't think I can really do it justice. For much of our society they simply want the freedom to go about their daily lives undisturbed by others. They want to be able to run their own business, create their own creations, or have their own children without interference. Another section of society - and the two do mingle - wants to make sure that others have those opportunities even if it means giving up some of their own rights in return. I suppose you could say those of us who prefer more structure in their lives use that structure to make sure that others don't have to. It's a delicate balance with many forces working to both ensure it and against it.

I suppose you could call that the key structure of our society and much of the reason why we do some of the things we do. We maintain a large military to defend the rights of our people to do what they want to - just as we also provide some free education to make sure that they have the ability and knowledge to do what they want. We educate our people so they will have the ability to deal with the corporations who wish to maximize their profits over the individual on a fair basis. We emphasis that everyone from the poorest mother to the wealthiest tycoon and most influential senator is responsible for their actions and what happens because of those actions."

----

"I don't have a husband - I've had a few boyfriends here and there but when you move around a lot it's hard to make attach... Holy..."

Cross looked around the vast space for a minute before turning to Orlens.

"It's, uh, certainly not like most shuttle bays I've seen. Perhaps you better explain some of the key features while I hold my mouth shut."

Yatess takes this all in, her head tilted to oneside, tentacles swaying intime to his voice.

"To an extent we to have this freedom, but we work to .. "

She looks a little strained as she struggles to find meaning

"Better the family?? To us the family is everything, but it is an extended family, consisting of several hundred people for the larger ones, several thousand if you keep the Imperial family in mind.., we all work to make the family group stronger.. but within that group we work to our own ends!"

She takes a sip of the orange juice.

"Of course there are power struggles between the families, but no where near as bloody as they were several centuries ago, and having the Imperial throne has really helped stabilize things.."

She looks back to Napolin

"Tell me, does your.. President? have many wives?"

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


Orles smiles up at Cross, the turns, and starts to point at some of the features, he is briefly interupted as some sort of security creatures stomps up , Spider like it shoots a query at Orlens in Dargonese, who replies, and then it turns and hheads off.

"Right, where were we.. Those towers you see in the centre of the bay, are the main flight control, supply, logistics and nurturing habitats... "

He points upwards

"I know you cant see it to well from here, but up there is a second level to the hanger, that deals with the smaller vessels like fighters, repair drones, and infant ships.."

He points to the left at the two humanoid figures standing twenty meters tall in their bays..

"Ah, those are Bahloc-Cha"

He gives her a half smile,

"Only Imperial Princess get those, the One on the left is Tarthen-kai, Yatess's own, and the one on the right is Defil-kai, Gifess's, "

He takes a look around

"Oh yes! that big fellow you can just see through there is Feruder, we only have four of them on board, they are usually in hybernation, but we like to keep one in the main hanger for security purposes.."

He takes a deep breath and lets it out, turning back to Cross.

"So, any questions?"

For the next several hours Orlens and Cross wandered the Dargonese craft as he explained how things worked and what they did - frequently several times. This was all new to her and though there were frequent similarities between her own craft and theirs she was an envoy not an engineer. She only came close to freaking out once when they were in a control center and Orlens compared it to standing in the brain of the creature and Cross realized it was exactly that. After a momentary desire to seal off her ears to make sure no one could do the same to her she followed as they returned to the hangar and the Camp David.

Then came her portion of the tour with the first stop being the command bridge. Crewmembers went about their assigned tasks quickly and quietly as she came through - they were clearly used to guests. They visited her quarters and the quarters of the common crewmember and chatted with an envoy from another nation who they happened across in the hallways. Engineering almost engendered the same effect in Orlens as Command had in Cross as he watched machinery of metal and plastic provide power, life support, artificial gravity, and all the other technological marvels that made life in space possible without a single growing thing in sight.

Finally she took him to the crew recreation facilities and they watched as crewmembers mixed with officers who mixed with the assistants and envoys of other nations stationed aboard the 'David. They swam together, ate together, and even shot each other in tactical simulation chambers. For the last bit of her tour she took advantage of the age of the old starship and put him in one of the tactical chambers while she simply jacked in to the 'David's network. Soon they were hovering over the solar system and flitting from planet to planet as she introduced him to the solar data networks. The grand finale was a quick peek at the largest virtual mall where hundreds of thousands of stores and millions of shoppers passed by in a blur.

"I think you will do well here Orlens - after all you closed your first deal within the first day."

----

Napolin and Yatess were no less busy while their assistants were away. Calls were placed and with the aid of Senator Wilson's office numerous arrangements were provided for the Dargonese. At this stage of the game they had no currency or bank accounts in the system but such were speedily arranged by several investors after some holo-face to holo-face sessions between Yatess, Napolin, and investors who had worked with unknown aliens before. Accounts were set up for their use and funds made avaliable and within seconds of the new businesses setting up shop they already had their first spam, cracking attempts, and fraudulent offers.

"Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. This applies to the seller as well. Trillions a year are lost to criminals and especially virtual criminals but sellers can and do fight back. The poor kid who sent that offer for 'illegal' aphrodisiacs probably lost his system when it was caught by the investor and destroyed remotely but there will be more. The market moves extremely fast and so do the criminals. while I can understand if you want to keep this in the family I would suggest adding a local security expert or ten. Your best will come from 'Hack, Sunset, Eniqcir, or Zero-One. Though if you can manage to get a Zero-One EI to work for you I'll be suprised."

Napolin began to find himself edged out slowly as the Dargonese found themselves spinning rapidly into the world of solar commerce. While he had started the process he could only watch as the masters took over and made arrangement after arrangement seemingly at the press of a button. By the time they were done Yatess's familiy had the ability to do business in Sunset, New ArAreBee, Mangala, Knootoss, and a host of other capitalist nations. They would need to deliver and fast to get a good foothold in the market but they were ready to try.

Despite all the had happened at the end of the day Yatess still came to him with a smile. "Thank you Ambassador." "Your welcome - but you better get moving. Word spreads quickly and apparently half the crew has already bought into your new companies. Small money to be sure but they have high hopes."

Orlens bid Cross goodbye, marveling at the 'dead' technology around him.. he still felt a little uneasy on the ship, but he was fast getting used to it and Cross had done a good job in explaining the workings of her races ships.

"Thank you, you have been most acomodating! you have brought honour to your family, maybe someday our families will come together."

At which he gives a little bow of his head.

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

Yatess smiled at Napolin

"That is the nature of my people, they are all of families tied to my own, so to strengthen the families they are snapping up what trade they can.

"Your Computer systems are still a tad alien to us, so yes, we would like a security expert."

She gives Napolin a shrewd look

"As we have allready dealt with your family, id rather have a computer security person that you recommend."

At that she stands a little straighter and her golden eyes go distant for a moment, then she frowns.

"There seems to be a problem around Mars..."