NationStates Jolt Archive

In response to continued international criticism of Indra Prime and the Temporal Accord, The Alphin of Mirfak petitioned the Council for funds to create a Temporal Research Agency (Böl Oĭdl Tĕpäl) today, asking the legislative body to approve creation of the BOT so that the nation would have a "wider range of options for dealing with threats autonomously in the future." This latest petition by the anti-TA Alphin Vinessa Burkavik comes after a string of allegations of TA leaders' abuse of power by the international community and several unpopular public statements made by its founder, Indra Prime.

The Council, which has thus far leaned slightly in support of the Temporal Accord, which Mirfak signed in 2890, recently issued a call for a change of the organization's leadership, a petition that has thus far gone without international support. With the nation almost evenly devided on the issue, the Council's vote on the establishment of an independent Mirfakan research organization is seen by most press agencies as too close to call. Floor debate on the BOT is set to end tomorrow afternoon, followed by a vote.

General Jonathan Harding, Commander of the Indran Temporal Incursion Fleet, walked the halls of the Omega, the first Omega Class Temporal Dreadnaught ever created. During the War against the Suchae, she had been sttuck in dry dock due to some major damage she took from enemy fire. In fact, she was the only Omega Class Dreadnaught from the actual battle against the Suchae in Triangulum, to survive the cataclysmic temporal shockwave. She had been repaired to the absolute best that could be done with the serious depletion of manpower, under the command of then Lieutenant General Harding. After the remnants of the Indran Civilization managed to come back together in the Triangulum Galaxy, and he was identified as the most senior military officer left alive, he was immediately promoted to Fleet Commander and General of the TIF.

As he strolled the corridors of the ship, he pondered his duty that he was about to perform. Even though he was the ranking Military Officer in this small fleet of vessels, Actual Command of the Omega belonged to a close friend of his, Major General Alex Rheinhart. She was probably one of the best tacticians left in the Indran Navy, so he had no question whether she was worthy of that command. Hell, he chose her specifically for her abilities not necessarily as a friend. He changed his direction of stroll from the ships corridors and found himself walking onto the Command Deck of the Omega. AS he walked down the ramp and approached the command chair and his friend/subordinate General Rheinhart, she was looking over ship status reports in preparation for what was about to occur.

"General Rheinhart, status report."

She looked up from her data pad on the arm of her chair and looked at her friend and her superior.

"Sir, no indications from long range sensors that Mirfak is expecting us. We will be there within the minute..."

AS soon as she said this the fleet dropped out of temporal hyperspace one hundred million kilometers from the Mirfak Homeworld. The slowed their approach until they reached seventy five million kilometers at which point they ceased all forward motion of the fleet.

"Transporters are at 100% and ready to beam us down on your order and confirmation of our arrival to the system. Weapons and Shields are remaining offline as per your order, ma'am. Communications are on hot standby."

Maj. General Alex Rheinhart listened to the report and then turned to the General, who is now sitting beside her in what is usually her XO's chair. She spoke softly so only he could hear what she would say.

" Jonathan, are you absolutely sure about this? I mean, with all the nations trying to get ahold of temporal technology, is this a wise idea to start endorsing temporal research on this scale?"

"As a matter of fact, Alex, I do. We need as much help as we can get protecting the STC from any agressor, friend or foe. With the Temporal Research Council in disarray, the TIF down to less than six percent, we cannot and would not be able to stop every single agressor every time someone tries to screw with the timeline. The best way we can achieve our goals is to actually trust some people from the Temporal Accord. Plus, the Accord specifically states that they are allowed to develop programs like this one. So yes I'm sure."

At that point Maj. Gen. Rheinhart leaned back in her chair for a second and thought things over, then stood up to make the communique.

"Lieutenant, Open a Channel to the Council Offices on Secure Comm one."

"Yes, ma'am. Channel open, encryption engaged."


"This is Major General Alexa Rheinhart of the Indra Prime Temporal Incursion Fleet Vessel Omega. I am here with the TIF Fleet Commander, General Jonathan Harding. We are here to request to speak to the Council on behalf of the Temporal Research Commission of Indra Prime and the representatives of the Temporal Accord. We request to be allowed to send a transport down to the Council chambers so we can address the Council regarding the formation of the Temporal Research Agency by Mirfak. Our party would be four people, including myself, the General, and two personal guards for us. Our vessels will remain at a distance of seventy-five million kilometers from your world and have orders not to raise shields or weapons to prevent any appearance of a hostile act. We will await your response. TIFV Omega OUT."

There is a slight delay, then a response on a text channel from the Office.

"Your request to testify before the Council has been recieved and sent to the floor. If accepted, you may send your full party, but only the person that intends to testify will be allowed into the Council chamber. Pending acceptance of your testimony, we are transmitting the appropriate arrival coordinates to you. Carrying of weapons is forbidden in government buildings, as are recording devices of any kind. If such objects are brought by your party, they will be confiscated with no guarantee of return. Notice will be sent of acceptance within thirty minutes. You may move into orbit and beam down your party anytime before then if you so wish."

The Labule Second Fleet arrives about two minutes later, and its ships glide easily into defensive positions around the Omega. In diplomatic instances such as this, it is standard procedure for a Labule fleet to be present for guarding a vessel in Mirfakan space. If they had had notice, they would have been waiting for the Temporal Dreadnaught when it arrived. As it is, they settle for being fashionably late. Its purpose is a dual one: to protect the Omega from any danger posed to it in the busy system, and to protect the system should the intentions of the Omega's crew not be as pure as they attest.

(*Sighs not you to man.. getting in to temp wank, well one less nation i can rp with sorry but those who temp wank are ignored by me )

OOC: Well, not only does Mirfak not have temporal technology, but they're also less advanced than your nation. I don't ignore temporal technology, and though I reserve the right to develop temporal shielding (I'm not touching temporal incursion ability, I didn't even do that with Xanthal), I don't have it yet. Based on all that, I'll assume your ignore was based on ignorance of the reality of the situation. If not, fine. Ignore me. Considering you could kick my ass IC, it's probably a benefit to me anyway.

OOC: Hey, I have a 100 percent effective, and 100 percent free temporal sheilding system... the Ignore Cannon...

OOC: Hey, I have a 100 percent effective, and 100 percent free temporal sheilding system... the Ignore Cannon...Yeah, one would think that was the best solution. I have a policy though: no ignores unless something is done to violate a declaredly preset storyline or seems to lack adequate RP backing, and no national ignores ever. Ignoring creates barriers that I don't want to deal with. While I respect other people's right to ignore me, I don't reciprocate. After all, if someone has fairly developed a planet killer, I can't realistically just say it did nothing when it's fired at me. That's not fair. Now, enough OOC. If people want to discuss this further, they can do so via IM or TG.

With the escort vessels of Mirfak just off the port and starboard bow planes of the Omega, and with her shields and weapons down, there could be no possible way that the Indran Fleet's presence in the Mirfak System could be constituted as a threat. With that said and the transmission from the Council offices acknowledged, a bay opened in the aft of the ship and what can be described as a small fighter inteceptor left the enormous hangar and proceeded to enter the atmosphere of the planet. The vessel in question was still a vessel of the Temporal Incursion Fleet, or otherwise known as an Aeon Class Timeship. With a standard crew of six persons, it was filled to capacity with General Jonathan Harding, Major General Alex Rheinhart, both numbers one and three in the Indran Military heirarchy, as well as four personal guards from the Elite Indran BlackOPS division. Like her carrier ship, the Aeon Class Timeship remained powered down in her weapons systems and had only minor shielding activated to make her flight into the atmosphere a bit more aerodynamic. She glided down towards the continent with the Council chambers and positioned herself in direct line with the Capitol City Space Port, where she was designated to land and have her entourage escorted to the council chambers. As soon as she set down using her AG Field Thrusters, two of the guards immediately went out to secure the outside of the vessel. Once the all clear had been given, General Harding, and General Rheinhart stepped out of the ship being preceded and followed by one of the Elite Guards from their entourage. They waited just off the ramp to the vessel, for the arrival of the Mirfak Escort to take them to the council chambers.

A convoy of government-marked cars arrives shortly thereafter and, after a formal greeting, the party is taken through the city on a trip that lasts just over a half-hour and delivered without incident to the Council building. The Indrans are allowed inside, where they are checked for weapons and other technology, both external and implanted, in the entryway.

Generals Harding and Rheinhart had not had this done to either of them before, at least in the last seventy years of their service. Being searched for weapons, while completely understandable, was still an unusual thing for the commander of the Indran Military to undergo. For the sake of Diplomatic relations between Mirfak and Indra Prime, he let it slide on by. Almost as soon as they started they had been given the all clear to enter the council chambers. On the way down to the space port, Alex had refused to do anything but make sure her superior and her friend stayed safe. He tried to tell her that the Mirfakians only allow people into the council chambers who intend to speak and for that reason, only one was needed to give the Indran Position of the development of a Mirfakian Temporal Research Agency. Eventually, she managed to Convince him to allow her to introduce him to the Mirfak Council so she could technically be allowed into the room, if only to watch her friend give the speech. Seeing the logic in her request, he agreed.

The group is led to the front entrance of the Council chamber, where they are met by an attractive young Xanthalian man who bows shortly to the visitors before giving them a quick runthrough of the process to come. "The Council has agreed to hear your testimony. Those that plan on speaking may enter, but your guards must remain here. You'll walk to the podium, where you will be asked to take an oath of truthfulness. You'll be allowed up to ten minutes for your initial statement, then you'll be questioned by Councilors. When the Speaker dismisses you, you should leave through the door you came in, and I'll be here to escort you and your guards out of the building." He hands them each an earpiece. "Put these on. The translator will speak to you through them."

The doors open as he finishes his monologue, and he prods the two through into the large chamber. Rows and rows of desks stand before them on a slightly-graded platform, one for each of the five hundred Council members. Some are vacant, but the 472 that are filled with representatives of myriad species, races, and genders are an impressive sight. The room is equipped with modern technology, but the theme is twentieth century, and most of the furniture is made of metal and wood. The walls are bare, and an observation deck for curious citizens or visitors is on the back wall, raised two stories and divided from the room itself by thick glass which serves the triple purpose of being bulletproof, soundproof, and a one-way mirror that prevents the Council from seeing the goings-on among the observers.

Directly to their right is the 'stage' of the room, with three podiums on the left and an area raised on the right, where the Speaker sits. At this moment, he is addressing the body's guests in Mirfakan, which is translated by an unseen interpreter through their earpieces. "...appearing to offer testimony before this Council, General Jonathan Harding and Major General Alex Rheinhart of Indra Prime, representing the leadership of the Temporal Accord." He indicates the two, and beckons them onto the stage, placing the General at the center podium and the Major General to his left.

Some of the Councilors, mostly supporters of the Temporal Accord, stand and bow respectfully as this is going on. By the time the representatives are situated, everyone is in their seats again. A clerk comes forward and addresses the two Indrans in a dutiful and serious tone, whch is agains translated for the foreigners. "Repeat after me please. I do solemnly swear that the testimony I give before this Council of Mirfak shall be the full truth, and realize that I am bound to this oath by Mirfakan law."

As they entered the council chambers the room was deathly silent. They could tell that it was a very unusual situation to have someone from such a high position in a potential enemy's military walking down the aisle to the podium at the center of the room. As per Indran Military procedure, Maj. Gen. Rheinhart approached the podium and stood in the lights beaming down on it, while her superior stood back behind his podium waiting for her introduction and the oath to be said.

Together they both raised their right hands and repeated the Oath:

"I do solemnly swear that the testimony I give before this Council of Mirfak shall be the full truth, and realize that I am bound to this oath by Mirfakan law."

Alex cleared her throat and began her introdruction.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Councilbeings, and Citizens around the sector (she said this as she knew the Omega was watching on holovid as well). It is an honor to be allowed in the Council chambers of the Mirfak Nation. I am Major General Alexa Rheinhart, commander of the Indra Prime Temporal Dreadnaught Omega that now site in orbit of your world. I am not here to give the official Indran Declaration to you and your people. I am here, to introduce the man who is responsible for all Military Actions made by the Indran Temporal Incursion Fleet. Ladies and Gentlemen, it brings me great honor to introduce our leader, my commander, the Commander of the Temporal Incursion Fleet High Command, General Jonathan Harding."

With that she stepped back to the back right, did a sharp turn to face her commander (who had turned to face her as well) and snapped him a salute. He returned the salute in traditional style then approached the podium with the official document from which he would be reading from.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as my subordinate mentioned, I am General Jonathan Harding, Senior Commander of the Temporal Incursion Fleet High Command. I bring to you greetings and salutations from the Senior Directorate of Indra Prime. I have been ordered to present this document, signed by all twelve members of the Senior Directorate. It reads:

Greetings, Citizens of Mirfak. It is our distinct pleasure and honor to bestow upon you, the full support and blessing of the Indran People for the creation of a Mirfak Temporal Research Agency, effective immediately. With your assistance, we will be able to maintain a peaceful relationship, as well as protect the Space/Time Continuum, as it is the one thing that has the ability to affect the lives and property of both our civilizations. We will assist you in the initial creation steps of developing your Temporal Research Agency so that your nation will be able to responsibly, and proactively be able to take control of your nation's situation without the interferance of other Temporal Nations at a later date. We wish you and your people good luck and God Speed with all your endeavours.

Signed,
The Senior Directorate."

He looked up momentarily to finish what had to be said.

"On behalf of the Temporal Research Commission of Indra Prime Senior Directorate, and the Temporal Incursion Fleet High Command, I hereby present this declaration to your nation, and approve of the development of a separate, and autonomous Temporal Research Agency under the control of the Mirfak Government. Thank you."

A slight muttering runs through the Council and continues for several seconds until the Speaker calls for order. A human female rises and addresses the General. "Sir, you mention assisting us in the 'initial creation steps' of the Temporal Research Agency. What does this proposition of assistance entail, and at what point in development does it terminate?"

"Madam, the proposition is very simple. You will get the best help we can provide you, in the form, initially, basic research information, actual assistance in the labs, Critical Formulae required for defensive shield technology, certain loopholes that must be introduced at the right time to prevent inadvertant temporal causality loops, paradoxes or time inversions, enhancing your radiation shielding to enclude the higher ends of the Temporal Spectrum, which you will need later on down the road, and also... we have been authorized to introduce you to a substance we have come to know as Chronotonium. It is the only substance that exists that allows for development of much more complex temporal technologies AND shields. Any nation that intends to develop their temporal development beyond level fifteen MUST use Chronotonium as there is no alternative that can be used. As it stands right now, Indra Prime Temporal Incursion Fleet HQ is the only group that has Chronotonium in its possession, and the only method of being able to collect it from the universe, if there were any in addition to what exists in our stockpile. The Assistance will go on for as long as your nation requests it."

A Than rises next. The green bug-like creature's gender is difficult to ascertain, and it speaks in Than. A different voice translates this new language of clicks and hissing screeches. "Forgive my ignorance General, but are you saying that there are tiers of temporal shielding, and we will need this 'Chronotonium' to fully defend ourselves?"

"The 'tiers' as you call them, are what we call temporal levels of development. Basically each level of temporal development requires an exponential increase in power, resources and the ability to control that technology. If they were given arbitrary numbers with level 1 being equal to 1 unit of power, 1 unit of resources and 1 unit of ability, then level 2 would equal 2 in each, level 3 equal 4 in each, level 4 equal 16 in each, etc etc. Once a nation gets to level fifteen, it would require approxmiately 1.030225e2466 units of each power, resources, AND ability to correctly use this technology, and safely. When power requirements leap that high they begin to become temporally unstable and can lead to a temporal explosion or a temporal implosion which if the former can cause a temporal rift and paradoxes, or if the latter can cause virtually irreversible temporal causality loops. The only way to maintain such a power output, is to use an elemental temporal magnifyer, which only exists in one form, Chronotonium. It was discovered through a device which remains highly classified to this date. Use of this device has collected every trace of this element from this multiverse and we have stored it in a classified location.
Depending on a nations level of development, determines how much of the attack is deflected or how much power the attack can deliver. For example, if a level five shield is attacked by a level five temporal disruptor, it would take approxmiately thirty minutes to beat down the shield. However, if the shield was level five and the disruptor was level 6, it would take about fifteen minutes. Level seven, about seven and a half minutes, level eight to a level five shield about three and three quarters, so on and so on. The scale also works the other way, a level five disruptor and a level six shield, approx one hour, level five disruptor and a level seven shield, approx two hours, etc etc.

So if a nation had level three shielding or so, and a nation with level twenty one disruptors came along, it would happen in a matter of seconds, the shielding would be destroyed and so would the vessel."

The Council rumbles again with private conversation as the Than returns to his seat. This is ended by another representative, a human male, who asks the next question. "If you can reasonably estimate Sir, what cost will this Council have to sanction to develop, say, level ten temporal shielding?"

"The Levels and the fiscal requirements of each level advancement, increase in an exponential fashion. We cannot give you a specific cost to benefit ratio as the financial standing of Indra Prime is quite different from every other nation with this technology. Due to our matter replication technology, and the virtual infinite power sink we have access to, We have no need for financial influence within our nation. But we do, however, use Credits between other nations and ourselves. If my gross estimate is about right, it would cost in the upper trillions upon trillions of credits to develop that kind of technology. If you had matter replication technology it would siginificantly reduce those costs, but not below the trillion mark. So without it, its more along the lines of hundreds upon hundreds of trillions to develop it. With it, tens of trillions."

At this, half the Council stands up and a floor argument breaks out. The Speaker spends a full two minutes restoring order over the shouting, then asks, "Are there any more questions for the General or his companion?" The room is silent except for a few mutterings, which the Speaker ignores. "In that case, you are dismissed," he says, looking at the two Indrans. "Thank you for your testimony today. It has been most helpful to me, as I am sure it has been to the rest of this body."

"We appreciate being here and being able to give our advice and information to your nation. If you wouldnt mind, we would like to formally request to remain to witness, but not participate in the following proceedings to find out first hand if you wish our assistance or not."

The Speaker looks over the Council. "Are there any objections to the representatives remaining in the chamber?" He waits. A few of the Councilors look as though they want to object, but no one speaks. The Speaker then nods. "Very well." The same clerk from earlier leads the General and Major General to seats at the back of the stage. Their position is raised, so they can see the Council, but from their out of the way position it is obvious they are not in a participatory position any longer.

The Speaker checks the clock. "There is time for one more proponent and opponent speech. The chief sponsor and critic may step forward." Two Councilors rise and move to the podiums on the left of the stage. The first, the female human that asked the General a question earlier, takes the podium on the left. The second, a xanthalian male that has not spoken since the Indrans arrived, takes the podium on the right. The central, raised podium where the General had stood remains vacant.

The xanthalian speaks first. "As chief proponent of the Temporal Research Agency's creation, it is my wish, as I know it is all of yours', to ensure Mirfak's protection from the many threats of the Universe. As a nation that consistently interacts with others and participates in galactic events, we are open to attack on many fronts. As those entrusted with the governance of Mirfak, it is our duty to preserve the lives and liberties of those that elected us. Developing new technologies is always expensive, but cost cannot be allowed to stand in the way of progress. The help offered to us by Indra Prime will help reduce the cost to the minimum it may be, and to reject funding for temporal research now will likely mean denying its development in Mirfak permanently. As long as we lack the ability to protect ourselves from temporal incursions, we will be forced to rely on others to protect us. As governors concerned with building a strong nation unbound by overdependence on other nations, we simply cannot afford to not protect ourselves from this possibly greatest threat of all, that has the potential to not only destroy all we have created, but erase us entirely from history as well. We must act to preserve ourselves in the face of such danger, else we be failures to our nation and our people. Thank you."

The human then takes her turn. "Of course we are all concerned with Mirfak's safety. Temporal weaponry is a scary thing, that poses the same unparallelled threats that Councilor Kanesaka has just spoken of. However, you should not allow your fears to dictate your judgement in this case. Mirfak, as you all know, is protected. We have the protection of an entire coalition behind us, and it costs us next to nothing. It is our policy in this Council to not incur deficit unless in dire crisis. Comrades, this is not a crisis. There is no imminent threat to us or our people here. We have been called upon to make an objective decision regarding a new development program that will either force deficit spending or take potentially hundreds of years to obtain any useful results from. This is a multi-generational project, one that is beyond our fiscal means and beyond necessity. I urge you to be reasonable and fair in your consideration of this proposal. Between its cost and the lack of necessity, there is insufficient reason to burden ourselves and our posterity with such a commission. If this body wishes to establish temporal shielding, let us obtain it from outside sources, where the cost will be certainly much less substantial. Thank you."

The two step down and return to their seats, and the Speaker nods to them each in turn. "The Council will now vote." Each member present takes out a datapad and begins working on them. Some simply register a vote and return their datapads to their desks. Others take longer, sifting through the evidence and testimony given throughout the debate one final time before making a decision.

The voting finishes in just over a minute, and the Speaker reads the results aloud. "The final vote is 240 for to 232 against passing the bill and creating a Temporal Research Agency for Mirfak. The legislation is therefore rejected by the Council. We will observe a thirty-minute recess, then proceed with the next issue." The Speaker bangs his gavel and the Council chamber is filled with the rumblings of many conversations and members walking across and out of the room. The General is approached by the xanthalian that spoke in favor of the bill. "I'd like to personally thank you for coming Sir. It's always a great honor to have someone of your standing speak before the Council. I'm sorry that my colleagues did not take you up on your generous offer."