NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: This is for the residents of the Sslaa System and nations friendly to them. Not-so-friendly nations can join in, but TG me first and we'll discuss what might happen. Nothing too disruptive, I hope. Info on the Sslaa System can be seen at the Wiki Page (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Sslaa).)

The Sslaa System has eight planets, 12 moons, 2 asteroid belts, a heliopause and a yellow giant star. It also has seen an inordinant amount of traffic. Nearly every planet is inhabited, or at least has mining colony interests; even the two gas giants.

A variety of peoples inhabit it, from the Ur-Quan who have taken up residence on Sslaa I to the Trilarians of Sslaa IV (The Ur-Quan have renamed Sslaa I to Kzer-Za, after one of their legendary leaders). Each planet is unique in its own right, and each solar body has a story worth telling. It is with this in mind that we turn our attention to a small exploration ship. Nothing remarkable is apparent about this craft from the outside, save it has been refitted to not only serve as an exploratory vessel, but a transport as well.

"So why are we going to Sslaa I? The climate there is ludicrous, to say the least!" Minister Gaark of In-System Relations and his aide, Vice-Minister Hulroo, are on-board this exploratory transport, on a fact-finding mission as to the status of the individual colonies.

"We're checking in with the system's residents. See if they need aid and so on. And it's Kzer-Za now. Remember that." An admonishing finger waggles at the Vice-Minister. "Just making sure everyone seems satisfied with their lot and all. The newest residents are the Ur-Quan, so they're our first stop."

From the port-hole windows, the pair could see Kzer-Za as the transport begins making its final re-entry run. "By the Pantheon it looks like a dismal place. Why would any rational species desire such a place?" Green clouds of chlorinated gases swirl and whorl below them, making it appear as a giant green eye looking right at them.

"Let's just say some see it as a challenge to test their mettle. Now settle in; we're making final approach and the winds here can be exceedingly rough." A warning light comes on at this, punctuating the remark.

The pilot of the transport raises the comm. "This is ship's captain Elron of the Swarthy Strumpet preparing to make final approach. Minister Gaark and Vice-Minister Hurloo are onboard in an Imperial capacity. Requesting security checks and landing protocols and transmitting SigIdent now." The transmitting button is pressed, and Elron leans back a bit, his comparatively-nimble human fingers resting on his neck.

"So we're on this job for how long now?" His co-pilot, a Sakkran female named Preem, casts one eye on him while keeping the other on the display screens around her.

"For the whole shebang. And it's at quite a nice price, too, so don't complain. When this is over, we'll have enough to go on a loooong expedition with a fresh crew and an updated ship." Elron begins whistling a slow, somber tune at this, while Preem rolls her one eye, and gets back to the task at hand.

Colony Prime - Sslaa 6 (Kzer-Za)

"Ambassadorial ship on approach, my Lord", rasped the Ur-Quan Controller, "their SigIdent is affirmed".

"Very well sub-lieutenant", choked Death 19, an aged Ur-Quan Overlord, and commander of the small and hastily established spaceport. "Notify security, and have them escort the Sakkran Ministers to Colony Prime!"

"Yes my Lord"

Death 19 withdrew slightly from the control pit, his eight greyed tentacles drawing him up into the shadows away from his subjects. A move he often made when he wished to think in private. No lesser hierarchy member would bother him there unless it was an emergency.

It had been 12 standard months (as the Terrans measure time) since the disaster at Orion. As the most technologically advanced, and aggressive species, it had been left to the Ur-Quan to provide rearguard while the other sentients made their escape. The Antaran attack had been swift and unexpected, and when the hammer fell, no species could resist. The Ur-Quan, once the dominant species in the galaxy, had been reduced to a handful of survivors with their planets put to the torch and their once mighty fleets vaporised in space.

Of the rest of the sentient milieu, there was little sign. The Sakkrans, perhaps detecting catastrophe on some subconscious level, had left Orion months before and returned to their home world of Sslaa. The noble Trilarians had succeeded in evacuating their aquatorial homes, migrating in time to save their species, but at the loss of many Ur-Quan who had died protecting their allies. Of the other races, the Terrans, the Syreen, the Psilons, and the Darloks, there was nothing.

Death 19 adjusted the monitor of his personal VidCon and surveyed the Ur-Quan's new home, a small and some might say inhospitable planet, but to him, a glorious and challenging environment that would help the Ur-Quan focus through the coming months.

Colony Prime had been established in excellent time, thanks to the engineering technology and expertise available to the Ur-Quan, and as the Sakkran transport slowly edged its way onto the landing platform, Death 19, allowed his maw to curl into what passed for a smile. The Ur-Quan would be safe here for a while, and would have time to regroup, multiply, and rebuild. One day the Ur-Quan fleet would be ready once more, and would take revenge on the Antaran usurpers…

A small pinging sound alerted Elron to the approaching escort. He sat up from his pensive position and scratched at the stubble on his jaw. "Ah, here's our escort. Strange ships.....eh. Seen wierder." A shrug of his shoulders later, he mans the pilot's controls and jinks the ship a bit to get in line with the escorts.

The entry to the planet's surface is jarring, to say the least. Violent winds seem to blow constantly, buffeting the exploratory transport about as it dives. "Dammit! I need to get one of those gravy-powered insertion drives. This is ridiculous!" As it stands, slight thumping sounds could be heard in the ship as wind-gusts pummel the sides of the ship.

"We're approaching the spaceport now. Adjusting speed and trajectory; bringing retro-thrusters on...." Preem moves her largish fingers with more deftness and grace than one would assume she had, and the whine of thrusters is heard as they enter the bubble-dome structure of the spaceport. Entry doors close and the buffeting winds are silenced.

The gang-plank lowers shortly after, and the Ministers make their exit, wearing simple robes of office in deep purple tones, offsetting their deep-green scaling. Gaark looks out in the distance of Kzer-Za, seeing massive lightning strikes hitting a mountainous range many miles distant in the greenish-yellow sky. Hulroo lets out a small cough, looking in the same direction. "Oh yes. It's lovely." The statement is whispered and veritably dripping with sarcasm.

Gaark levels one eye on him. "Hush, you."

Confederate Space Exploration Command, CSS Austerlitz

"Captain, we’re entering the Sslaa system…" - said the adjutant as the miniature - only thirty meters long vessel exited hyperspace. The Hughey gunship (with most weapons removed and modified for deep-space exploration, of course) was diverted to CSEC after the destruction of mainland Allanea, back in Haven. While the Greater Prussians have donated a large piece of land for Allaneans to settle on, the disaster - as well as the typically high pace of population growth on Earth - prompted the Confederacy to speed up its search for worlds to colonise - or for civilisations to trade with.

A major reward was announced by Congress by anybody who would discover a valuable world for the Confederacy, and a slightly lesser reward for anybody who helped establish contact with another sentient civilisation. After several military pilots ‘strayed’ from their official routes in order to fish for the rewards, the military decided to ‘divert’ large amounts of pilots to ‘search missions’ - in effect legitimizing what was previously a disciplinary violation. The crews liked it - after all, the rewards would be divided among all hands.

The Captain smiled happily as he surrendered sensor inputs. "It seems we’re going to come home rich, boys."- he commented. "Launch the exploratory drones, at my order!". The sleek, long bodies of the drone craft detached from the CSS Battle of Austerlitz like military missiles, and began throughout the systems, taking photographs, taking in intra-system media and communications broadcasts, and transmitting them through subspace communications - in triplicate - to Port-Allanea, Reischburg, and aboard the Battle of Austerlitz.

Slowly, acting merely on resultant inertia from its journey, the CSS Battle of Austerlitz slid into the system, a 30-piece bit of metal a lot like other asteroids floating through Sslaa’s Kuiper belt. The passive sensors - of dozens of various kinds - were turned on, feeding on information from Sslaa and rebroadcasting it to Earth via tight-beam. So far, the Allaneans knew very little about this system - and so they wished only to learn, to avoid acting until enough information would be present until a decision could be made.

The former gunship was not a stealth vessel and was not hidden completely. Still, a thirty meter vessel in a system such as Sslaa is a needle in a haystack - and is unlikely to be found unless someone is deliberately looking for it - and knows what they are looking for. Still, ‘unlikely’ does not mean ‘impossible’ - which the Allaneans, which had a history of braving and beating incredible odds, knew more than any other people. And so, despite the odds being stacked against their detection, the Captain of the CSS Battle of Austerlitz could not help but feel a bit … not, not scared. Nervous.

Just a little bit nervous.

This is Merry Confederate Tag

Colony Prime - Sslaa 6 (Kzer-Za)

The Ur-Quan ambassador made his way slowly across the conference chamber to where the two Sakkran ministers would soon be directed.

Lord 311 had, until the war, been an agricultural engineer, his greenish skin tones reflecting his Kzer-Zan heritage and distinguishing him from the pure black Kohr-Ah warrior caste. As far as the Ur-Quan were concerned he was now the closest thing they had to a diplomat.

He had watched through the VidCon as the awkward and bulky looking Sakkran freighter had made its way to the landing zone, and at the two wraith like Ur-Quan fighters which had escorted it. He found it difficult to understand how the once proud Ur-Quan military, for all its technological might, had been reduced to ashes so quickly. Arrogance and complacency were the only logical conclusions that came to him.

Still, the Ur-Quan had much to be proud of, and he could imagine the surprise on the face of the Sakkran ministry when they saw how quickly the Ur-Quan had adapted to the harsh environment of the planet and how much had been achieved.

The Ur-Quan colony was already reasonably large, and growing fast, situated in an ancient crater approximately 25 km across. The surrounding mountain range was over 5 km high protecting the colony from the bulk of the meteoritic perils. Lightning storms pierced the dull yellowing fog, but few storms entered the valley area to disrupt Ur-Quan activity.

The night usually saw an end to the distant storms, resulting in an eerie silence across the valley, and the thin chemical soup that this world called an atmosphere took on a eldritch purple glow for which the science corps had yet to bother with an explanation.

Lord 311 snapped his attention back to the moment, pointless reflection did not befit these times, and he continued across the chamber to prepare for the Sakkran visitors…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sslaa System - Outer Reaches

Meanwhile, millions of spatials distant, an Ur-Quan Recon Scout emerged from the dark side of the enormous Gas Giant Sslaa 6, which traced its inexorable orbit in the outer reaches of the system. The ships octagonal sensor cluster aimed steadily at a fixed point at the edge of the system, approximately one hundred thousand spatials distant.

With its Black Globe Generator active, the Vengeance Of Za was immune to any but the most advanced detectors, and to the Ur-Quan pilot’s knowledge, only the Psilons and the Antarans had that kind of technology.

Death 831 analysed the data flowing into his SensorCom. The ship was of unknown configuration, but there was a strange familiarity about the small silver vessel. He turned his optical scan units to the library computer, and in the Milieu history data banks he found what he was looking for. The similarity of this ship to the Terran Mark 3 "Orion" Class Gunboat was too close for coincidence, and while this ship certainly did not belong to the Terran Empire of Orion, there was no doubt the occupants must surely be human.

Although the Terrans of Orion had briefly been allies of the Ur-Quan in their battle against the Antarans, the human species had a reputation for arrogance and a desire for empire almost as well developed as the Ur-Quan themselves, and therefore "human" did not necessarily mean "friend".

After sending a tight beam meson communication back to Colony Prime, Death 831 armed weapons and manoeuvred the Vengeance Of Za to an intercept course. While his ship might only be a scout, a poor remnant of a lost fleet, no Ur-Quan vessel was designed without battle in mind, it was simply not in their nature.

The CSS Battle of Austerlitz fell inwards towards the Sslaa sun, very slowly by planetary terms. For any outward appearance - unless you just ‘happened’ to intercept the tighbeam subspace communications to Earth, you’d have no idea that the ship was still alive - until the Confederate crew finally received authorisation to broadcast their message. Slowly, a big globe of transmitters, mounted where a cannon turret should have been. It ‘glowed’, transmitting it’s message in all directions simultaneously, in several spectrums - including visible light. Of course, the message would be repeated in several available languages of the galaxy.

Good day, evening, morning, or whatever time of the day it may be! This is the CSS Battle of Austerlitz, Confederate States Stellar Navy. This is an exploratory vessel only, as can be seen by the absence of ship-to-ship weapons mounted on it. We seek friendship and trade with the residents of this system, whoever they may be, and we do not wish to provoke a confrontation of any form… unless of course it’s a drinking competition, and if it is, we assure you of our ability to out-drink a dwarf.

If it is not too much trouble for you, can any of the inhabitants be so kind and radio us the location of something like a nice port in the area? Or maybe a restaurant? We’d kinda be happy to have a normal meal after three months in space, instead of those shipboard ‘delicacies’.

Then, the transmission turned off and the electronics and active sensors on board the miniature vessel turned on, making it appear suddenly on every device that was watching - radars, telescopes, or whatever else the locals might be using. The engines turned on, putting the vessel into a heliocentric orbit around the Sslaa star. ‘Well,’ said the Captain, ‘Let’s hope this one is either totally uninhabited, or has like ten different civilisations crawling it. The latter would even be better, boys - the total reward would make us even more rich."

The crew laughed.

Sslaa System - Outer Reaches

The Vengeance Of Za, executed the final manoeuvre to bring it directly behind and slightly above (if such a term can truly apply in space) the incoming ship which had just identified itself as the "Battle Of Austerlitz".

That Death 831 had been correct in his assessment of the vessel came as no surprise to him, confident as he was in the vast knowledge banks of the Ur-Quan. The passive scanners revealed no evidence of energy configurations which would indicate any significant weapons systems, and in a way Death 831 was almost disappointed. However with no reply as yet forthcoming from Colony Prime, and with the alien vessel further encroaching on Sslaa space, action was mandatory.

Death 831 disengaged the Black Globe and emitted a low level quantum Damper Field, effectively stretching the localised area of space around the intruder to near infinity and bringing the ship to an effective standstill.

"Intruder", he began with the standard Hierarchy challenge, "You have encroached upon the domain of the Ur-Quan. This is not tolerable."

Death 831 had considered his next words carefully, and decided it would be inappropriate for the Ur-Quan to take unilateral action. Lord 311 would be pleased at his most un-Kohr-Ah thinking.

"Alien vessel, you will proceed immediately to the fifth planet of this system where you will power down and await further instructions from the Sakkran government. Any deviation from this course will be met with destruction. You will receive no further communications or warnings from the Hierarchy"

He closed communications and released the Damper Field. The next actions of the humans would determine his own.

Shortly after the ministers exited the craft, the pilots appeared on the gang-plank. Elron took a look around, noting the workers at the spaceport and their multi-tentacled forms. Mmmmph. Now THERE'S a sight. His eyes wandered over to the environment around them, noting it's inhospitableness. A shrug of his shoulders and he hoisted up his kit bag and headed to the ship's underbelly. "Time for a maintanence check, Preem."

The female Sakkran glowered at Elron. Maintanence my foot! He's a snooping bastard, he is. Trying to catch a look at the Minister of this .... place. A rather large caliper-like tool was picked up, and she joined Elron in the belly-section.

Meanwhile, the Ministers ran through their checklists, with Gaark reading them off. "Dockets?"
"Check."
"Data-chits?"
"Check."
"Diplo-Packages?"
"Check."
This went on for a time until their greeter showed himself.

**********************************************************

Meanwhile, the Vubz System Coordination Basenoted the presence of the small craft of humans. Director Seerak is in the command center when the audio message is brought to his attention. "Confederate States Stellar Navy, eh?" A display screen pops up next to his chair. "Allanean. Hrrrmmm....bring up the info-pump on them from the databanks."

Information scrolls up and is tabbed as it goes. "Hmmm....bad bit of history there with the Trium, but that's old history. Wonder how our allies of Zero-One would feel about this? What else .... hmmmm. Interesting company they're keeping there. This could be a trick. Is one of our system patrols nearby?" An eye levels on one of the surveillance systems operators.

"Aye, sir. We got Patrol Groups Zeta and Epsilon in the area. Drone defenses have been keep a discreet eye on them since they entered our space." The operator continues scrolling through displays with his multi-optic helmet on.

"Dispatch Epsilon to see what these beings have to say. 'Twitch' is the order of the day."

"Aye, sir." A clawed hand taps the side of his helmet. "P-G Epsilon; destroyer Bulwark. Route divert to sector [xyz]. Ident possible trespass craft. Approach with caution. The order is 'Twitch'."

The reply comes through clearly and with no delay. "Confirmed. Vectoring now."

Seerak listens to the message again. "They must be mad. A restaraunt? Drinking contest? They must think we're loose in the heads."

**********************************************************

A standard patrol compliment consists of two Iguana-class destroyers, one Gecko-class light corvette and three Caiman-class heavy corvettes. 160 meters long, 60 meters and 63 meters respectively. The six crafts break from patrolling the exterior space of the Sszeera Belt and approaches the foreign craft at 3/4 speed, transmitting audio only as they do so.

"Attention foreign vessel. Cease your in-system progress, power down your engines and prepare to be subject to a search. Your captain will meet with Sergeant Draabb for interrogation." As they approach, they keep a 100 kilometer distance from the ship, flanking it on all sides.

"Sir, we have the Ur-Quan on the scene as well."

The Sergeant continues shrugging on his encounter-suit armor, taking care not to scrape the interior with the bony spines protruding from his lobster-like plated skin. "Yes, we know. They're flexing their muscle, so to speak. Not to worry." he looks at one of the Tac-Soft Troopers doing the same. "Ghrenn, remember to patch that scuff you got there when you're on break."

The Sergeant's second looks one eye quickly at the spot indicated. "Huh. Never saw that before."

"Alright, troopers. Clamp down your helmets and get ready for the green light."

"Right."

Sslaa System - Outer Reaches

Death 831 regarded the approaching Sakkran vessels via the Vengeance Of Za’s ScanCom. The practical design of the alien craft reflected perfectly the philosophy of the species that built them. Death 831 had a great respect for Sakkran efficiency, for non Ur-Quan they were admirably single-minded of purpose.

Although the Battle Of Austerlitz had not responded to either his own or the Sakkran challenge as yet, Death 831 considered his duty done and reactivated his Black Globe Generator, effectively vanishing from the scanners of the surrounding ships. All the same it was standard protocol to stay on station pending further orders from the Hierarchy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

The Sakkran ministers were swiftly ushered into the Conference Chamber, a large domed half sphere of approximately 50 meters in radius. The walls up to a level of 5 meters were of a glossy black volcanic rock, while the upper portion was solid PolyGlass which allowed those present an excellent view of the galactic rim through the wan purple haze of the sunset.

Hovering over a steaming pit at the far end of the enormous bubble was the cyclopean form of Lord 311, an ancient and therefore massive Ur-Quan, around 8 meters in height and massing half a metric ton. His eight green/gray tentacles protruded at sharp angles giving the impression of an Octopus or Arachnid hanging from the rear of the chamber. In front of the ambassador was an octagonal table of the same black material as the lower walls, and around the table, a number of seats.

When he spoke, Lord 311's voice was a low rumbling baritone, which mirrored the distant storms perfectly.

“Welcome to our new home, honoured ministers, please take a seat”, came the guttural greeting.

This is CSS Battle of Austerlitz, broadcasting to all foreign vessels in sector. We are shutting down all engines and weapon mounts, and proceeding to receive inspection boarding. We would like to note that you are likely to find a small amounts of weapons, recreational drugs, and various kinds of erotic artwork aboard the ship. None of it is intend for smuggling, but rather, for personal use by the crew.

The captain shrugged sadly as he locked the ship’s armory shut. All crew weapons - both issued and private - were now left behind the thick metal door. While, as any Allanean, he disliked the idea of disarming anybody - it caused him discomfort even though his own ceremonial handgun remained on his hip - he knew it would be unwise to greet an unknown-before civilisation with a band of sailors bristling with weapons. War wasn’t the purpose of this voyage - neither was dying stupidly.

As the boarding door of the Allanean vessel swung open, perhaps the first thing Sakkaans would see would be a penguin-like being that gave their commander a bow, surprisingly graveful for his anatomy. "Hello, gentlemen"- he said. "I am Preekwheeek Narn, Adjutant of the captain of this vessel. Let me take you to our captain."

OOC: Not All Allanean are human…

The Minister and the Vice Minister both look at the massive frame of Lord 311. Although the outer face on them looked cool and composed, both were internally blanched. Minister Gaark and Hulroo took the indicated seating.

"Greetings to you, Lord 311 of the noble Ur-Quan. I see you've adapted quite nicely for your purposes here. Most commendable. As you may know, if the DiploCorp Offices did their jobs, that we're here to check on the status of all Sentients civilizations in-system, and compose a report as to the state of said system." A hand is leveld at Hulroo, who produces a datapad, inserts a chit into it, and hands it to Gaark.

The pad is activated, and Gaark places a monocle on one eye, looking at the pad with that eye while keeping contact with Lord 311. "Emperor Gorrm had a couple of questions he set aside specifically for yourselves. Namely, what happened with the Orion System. We had left some time ago, and have recently seen vestiges of the civilizations in that system spread asunder. Do you have any insight as to the events leading up to your arrival here?"

**********************************************************

The six-being boarding party EVAed to the Battle of Austerlitz, encountering the odd flightless avian. Their translators were shut off, and what could be heard sounded akin to a fork scraping on a dinner plate while the Sergeant gesticulated with his massive lobster-like claws.

"<<What is this? Space-Penguins? Remind me to contact the Earth holdings and see if any evolutionary jumps have occured there.>>" He returned the focus of his helmeted vision to the penguin, with the translators activated again while chuckling sounded among the other members of the boarding party. "Adjunt Preekwheeek Narn, I am authorized through the Herpetological Empire to conduct a search of this vessel for signs of hostile intent or espionage. Compliance with System Law is mandatory."

A motion is made with his claws, and the team breaks into two groups, spreaing out and covering the area in case of an ambush. "I would meet with the commander of this vessel. Ship's logs and manifests will be searched."

‘Very well, Sergeant." - the expression of the penguinoid’s eyes shifted slightly - to what one would be able to understand as a friendly, welcoming smile. ‘I will take you to Captain Dleen." - he turned, and led his guests through the science vessel - equipped, of course, with all the usual equipment of a science vessel designed to look for civilisations and inhabitable world. Nothing was hidden by the Allaneans - it seems that they did not believe they had anything to hide at all.

As the Sergeant was led through the craft, he would note the genus Homo Sapiens Sapiens was not represented on the vessel at all. Rather, the ship was staffed by various Dohwar and their subspecies - like a Linux fanatic’s dream.

Indeed, as Captain Dleen’s chair spun - to reveal that the being that was sitting in the human-sized chair was a Dohwar as well. He made a friendly motion towards them with his flippers.

"How are you, gentlemen?" - squeaked the Allanean starship commander - "Welcome aboard the Battle of Austerlitz. I hope you enjoy your stay aboard. Would you like tea? Or coffee? Beer?"

.

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

Lord 311 raised his bulk from the steaming trophy pit, exposing the myriad bones beneath, and then lowered himself slowly onto a black obelisk located at the far end of the octagonal table. A lightning strike flashed in the near distance illuminating the atmosphere outside and bathing the chamber in a purple afterglow.

At all times the Ur-Quans’ tentacles were in perpetual movement, sometimes curling and uncurling and at other times stretching out in some seemingly random direction or other. The effect of these motions, coupled with the ethereal glow outside from the dying storm on the cliff tops, gave the occasion an almost gothic fascination.

“It is always an honour to greet our Sakkran allies”, he began, his three lidded eyes rotating from one Minister to the other, blinking asynchronously. “I trust your descent was without incident. The skies can be a little turbulent, especially at dusk." Unlike the other Ur-Quan the Sakkrans had seen, Lord 311 had a greenish tone, while the others had all been black.

“In response to the request from your noble Emperor Gormm, I will gladly share what information we have regarding the death of Orion…”

“Ten thousand years ago, during the time of the first Sentient Milieu, when the Ur-Quan had only begun reaching towards the stars, there began a war on such a scale that the face of the galaxy was changed forever. Stars were extinguished, constellations sucked out of reality, and billions of species were to die, burning in agony.

“The war was between the Antarans, xenophobic marauders from an unknown dimension, bent on the extermination of life, and the Sentient Milieu. Eventually with our combined might we triumphed, destroying our enemy almost entirely, and casting the remnants back into their empty and unknown plane of existence.

“Ever afterward we maintained a vigil around Orion, the last stronghold of the enemy, so that we would be ready should they ever return. Alas, ten thousand years is too long a time for some species, and one by one the members of the Milieu faded to dust, until only the Ur-Quan remained. After a time even we thought the vigil was needed no more, and when the Sakkrans, Humans, Psilons and all the other species began to expand, our attention was drawn away from our ritual guard.

“It was then that the insidious enemy returned. Barely months after your species had left Orion, the Antarans attacked, and it was as if our millennia old war had begun anew. Only this time we were alone, no other species had the capability to fight the Antarans, and there was no time to teach them. All we Ur-Quan could do was honour our allegiances and sacrifice our mighty fleets so that some might survive. It was the sacrifice of our warriors that allowed the last remnants of civilisation to escape

“The detonation of our last ultimate weapon, the Sa-Matra, provided a sub-space shockwave of such power, it effectively hid the survivors warp trails allowing them to flee to this corner of the galaxy, where we found our Sakkran allies of old”

The aging Ur-Quan raised himself from the obelisk where he was perched, and hauled himself toward the roof of the globe, moving amazingly fast for a creature of his size. His gaze turned to the view of the galactic rim through the PolyGlass, and then back to the Sakkran Ministers.

“They will find us”, he rasped, “no sentient life shall be safe”, he paused again momentarily and then returned to the conference table “we must prepare…”

At that moment, as if on cue, a gigantic hidden bulkhead camouflaged against the cliff face grated open, revealing a hangar deck, a hangar deck lined with black wraithlike war ships…row upon row…upon row…

(OOC: Please address all telegrams intended for the Ur-Quan to "Death 390" - Thanks to the Mods for bringing my favorite nation back!! :) )

OOC: Just so you know, the Sarge looks like this (http://www.5amfunnies.com/sakkra/hell.JPG) in his armor.

The Sergeant gave the Dohmar in the command chair one eye from his helmeted and opaque visor. Sensor eyes scanned the area he was in, rotating and swiveling silently.

The translator kicks in half a second after the language is spoken, allowing some measure of the screeching and grinding of Draabb's mouthplates to be heard. "You are Captain Dleen, I take it. This is no social call. You have been scanned uninvited and unexpected in Imperial Space. For all we know, you could have been planning espionage, sabotage or fomenting dissent. Surrender your logs and ship's manifests for inspection. My troopers will scan the ship for harmful and/or hostile agents. Consider this craft siezed until our inspection is complete."

The Sergeant's head cocks one way, then the next. The two troopers accompanying him fan out to opposite ends of the command center, where datapads unfold from their forearm casings in their armor.

**********************************************************

Hulroo could not seem to pry both of his eyes from the sight unfolding in the distance. If a reptile could sweat, he would be drenched. As it was, he started wafting a heady cinnamon scent denoting adrenaline in the works. Gaark, however, is the picture of distanced calm. "I see. Hmmm...that means an industrial stimulus package is probably in need, yes? Raw materials, funding and the like? On that end, I could leave a chit with you giving instructions on acquiring these resources from the Imperial Holdings. All you would need do is describe the resources and anything else in question required."

The chit is produced, and Gaark lays it next to him. "Now then, it appears that you are preparing for the Antaran's return at the moment. Is this a permanent state of readiness, or is there an ETA for their appearance? Also, you realize that the sole mention of the Antaran's has been in the Tomes kept by the Order of Rragg on our end. I'll need to know what we need to do to be prepared; if there are technologies we lack, tactics and S.O.P. for the Antaran Fleets and all from your records, if possible. Any intel on them would help quite a bit."

After speaking, he looks at Hulroo with one eye. "Compose yourself, Vice-Minister. You need to note down a meeting with the First of the Order in relation to this."

Hulroo stares a second more, then turns his attention back to what he is doing. "Apologies, Lord 311. The Antaran threat has been, in my town, a bit of a bogey-man. To hear that the threat is real....it's a bit much for me." His fingers drag and swipe across his datapad. "There. Noted, Minister."

The Captain nodded. "I understand. You need to realize that up until very recently - the moment when we entered the system and detected life - we were not even aware of the fact that the Herpetological Empire existed - or that there was any life in the are at all. You are welcome to our log. It is an ordinary log of a military exploration vessel, and there’s no place here for any cargo but the personal possessions of the crewmembers. My words can be verified by a simple sweep-search of the boat. I ask, however, that a minimal respect to the privacy of the crew be accorded. I again assure you we had no hostile intent - and in fact no intent regarding the Herpetological Empire - which we are most glad to find out about."

TYWS-SCV Sirius
Flagship, Galactic Antispinward Colonial Fleet

"Activity," the sensors officer says with a voice a thin sliver of excitement above boredom, "Ur-Quan vessel of uncertain class on stealth, bearing two-five-five inc eight self-planar-relative dist two-point-three gee-kims; heading naught-naught-eight dec one, also ess-pee-arr. Datup ess-eye-bee, Sierra-Golf Eleven-Three." Talking quickly in battle-speech just to keep in practice, he reads off the numbers after the speck appears as a green icon in the royal blue spherical cloud that serves as the control room's strategic indicator board. Around the icon are the various icons denoting planets and the mother star of Sslaa, with only items of 'interest' noted due to the high volume of traffic. The entire gallery of sensor technicians along the sides and back of the command room are dedicated to sufficiently small portions of the rest. "Contact, Sakkran fleet maneuver bearing two-five-four inc seven ess-pee-arr dist one-point-nine gee-kims, Contact Foxtrot-India-Sierra-November Twelve. Check Sierra-Golf-Eleven-Three, dropped stealth."

"Ack," Fleet Admiral Nevue, currently Officer of the Watch for the TYCS fleet stationed in Sslaa, acknowledges as he folds his arms and leans back into the utilitarian yet comfortably ergonomic cusions of his seat. "The Ur-Quan don't get around much... I wonder what they're doing with the Sakkrans."

"Ess-Gee-One-One-Three raised stealth again. Signature holding position."

Hm. Maneuvers? They get along, but that well? "A read, Sirius?"

-Not altogether sure, sir,- the ship replies over the command room's public address system, -they don't appear to be acting in concert. Probability analysis based on known doctrine and psychology suggests reacting to a mutual stimulus--note both contacts changed course to converge, and not to most-efficient- or best-speed-rendezvous--and so they may be moving to intercept something we're not picking up.-

"Hrm." The Admiral rubs his chin. "FleetCom, set Alert Condition One throughout the active fleet. Let the ____th Guard know what's going on. Comm, contact Vubz and ask idly what's going on and if they'd like anything from us."

"Acting, sir," reply the various officers addressed as they set to their tasks. A yellow-green alert and some taskings--it's not much, but it's General Quarters, and that at least has to count for some action.

"Captain, we will in position to come out of transit in five minutes, thirty-nine seconds."

Sarah Jansen nodded curtly to the metallic form standing at the navigation console. "Thank you, R-Siobhan. Jason, sound the bell."

Throughout the cargo vessel yellow lights blazed and a low buzzing alarm echoed along the bulkheads. There was some noise and confusion as the crew made way to their emergency stations, but not too much. Wormhole transit was old hat to most of them. Their relative inefficiency was due to over-familiarity with the event. Still, they were spacers, and space is a particularly unforgiving environment. It didn't do to play games with their lives. Everything was stowed away and locked down before the lights flashed red.

"Disengaging transit engines in five...four...three...two...one. Transit engines offline, we have re-entered normal space."

Sarah forced herself to stop gritting her teeth. "Erik, got a fix yet?"

"A moment, Ma'am," replied the old navigator. He worked diligently at his console for several minutes before he coaxed an answer out of the computer. "We have a fix on our position. We are seven astronomical units out from the Sslaa home star approximately thirty degrees off the standard orbital axis. We are not in proximity of their asteroid belt."

Tension drained from the room as folk smiled and nodded to each other. Just because the jump hadn't gone wrong this time didn't reduce the chance of it happening again. But they were relieved to know that once again they had beaten the odds.

"Jason, please alert the colony we're here and will deliver their supplies as soon as we can make orbit. Also broadcast to the Sslaa comptroller and advise them of our position and destination. Stand down re-entry alert."

"Yes, Ma'am." The communications officer bent over his board to carry out his orders, speaking softly into his microphone as he worked.

"Captain," Erik began. He frowned at his board. "I'm picking up a TYCS transponder code. It's the Sirius, Ma'am."

"On patrol? Are they broadcasting any advisories?"

"Not yet. The data is still coming in; they're fairly far out."

"Okay, Jason. Add the Sirius to our list for hails. Give them my compliments, and be ready to transmit our manifest for inspection."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Sarah picked up a datapad and continued with her paperwork. So far, this run was fairly uneventful.

Colony Prime – Kzer-Za

Lord 311 rotated his trinary vision towards the chit that had been placed on the obsidian table before him. “On behalf of the Hierarchy”, he began, “we thank you for your offer of assistance. In return I am authorised to share with you the fruits of ten thousand years of technical evolution”.

A panel slid open in the centre of the conference table and a small Holo-Emitter flickered into action. Above the table flashed a number of three dimensional schematics, including weapon designs, propulsion systems, agricultural technologies and automated factory blueprints.

“These technologies and more shall be available to our Sakkran allies, and any other species that pledges itself to the struggle against the Antarans”, he rasped while turning his mighty bulk to face Minister Hulroo directly, “and I assure you honoured minister, the Antarans are very real, and after almost ten thousand years they have indeed returned..."

Lord 311 paused for a moment, allowing the Sakkrans to absorb the situation before continuing. "Our analysts estimate that the Antaran expansion should reach this sector within 18 Terran months, and we Ur-Quan only hope that it is time enough". Resuming his position on the black obelisk he pressed on, "It is essential that we regain contact with the remaining members of the 2nd Sentient Milieu as soon as possible as only together might we have a chance of victory".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sslaa System – Outer Reaches

“Confirmed Lord”, replied Death 831, orders having finally been received from Colony Prime. The Sakkrans clearly had this situation well under control and Death 831 had been ordered to continue his patrol.

He emitted a small howling sigh from his maw. Things were not as they once were; five hundred years ago Death 831 had captained a fleet of Mobius Class cruisers in battle with the Jaggaroth, destroying them utterly in a spectacular display of plasma pyrotechnics. Now he was a scout, patrolling the outer reaches of a borrowed star system.

With the return of the 5th fleet, however, led by that legendary Kohr-Ah Overlord Death 390, the days of glory might yet return and the Antarans would finally, after all these millennia, be defeated. The 5th fleets return had been a massive boost to the defeated Ur-Quan. Presumed lost in battle during the first Antaran war, it transpired that they had in fact been caught in temporal flux, the result of some unknown Antaran device, and that the sub-space shock wave that resulted from the destruction of the Sa-Matra had somehow released them.

As a warrior, the physics behind this phenomena was beyond Death 831 (he would leave that analysis to the green hued science corps) he was simply pleased what the return of the 5th fleet signified. The Ur-Quan would retreat no more.

Leaving the Sakkran ships to their duty, Death 831 plotted a new course spiralling the Vengeance Of Za outward to the edge of the system.

Draabb loaded the logs and manifests intp his armor's databanks, and conducted an auto-search with several keywords implanted. The datascreen unfolded from his forearm, allowing him to view the progress. His head turned toward Dleen. "Your statement has been noted. And you need to understand that, when you detected life and a civilization in the system, that trumpeting your arrival to any and all that might hear would raise wariness. At the very most, it might make your situation .... perilous. Had unsavory elements been located here, it is likely your ship would have been siezed and the entirety of your crew spaced. Feel fortunate."

His head returned to looking at the datascreen while several gnashing sounds could be heard through his helmet's speaker. The other team of three conducted sensor sweeps throughout the small craft, looking for biological virae agents or nano-agents. Trace radioactive emissions and the like were also looked for.

In the command center the other two troopers with Draabb scanned the confines of the center for the same. Untranslated, they reported in. "<<We've completed our scan, sir. No trace of blatanly hostile devices found. No trace of weapons-grade molecular agents found. Light radioactive emissions from the engine banks, but within nominal operating parameters.>>"

Draabb nods his head, and opens his helmet's visor revealing his slightly glowing red eyes and crustacean head. "Our scan is complete. It is as you said. Control of this vessel is returned to you. You will be escorted to Vubz now. Attempts to flee will be viewed as enemy action, and will be handled as such."

**********************************************************

Hulroo looked at Lord 311 and Gaark at the same time. "This is why you want notation sent to the Order, Minister? You think this would warrant the rebuilding of the War Clerics?"

Gaark nods his head with lidded eyes. "Yes. The Order has records and tales of that time. The War Clerics figure heavily into it." Then his head shakes slightly. "18 months, though. Hmmm....we will have to move quickly, I assume. I'll alert the Emperor about this. And i'll need to uplink this data to my system to have Vubz look it over. They'll probably call Jouhha out of retirement for this."

Looking over the data as it is uploaded, Graak cups his chin in his hand thoughtfully. "For a mobilization of the possible degree needed, we'll need to increase resource shipping, and probably transfer constructor crews. Will you be developing the two moons orbiting Kzer-Za?"

**********************************************************

The comm was received at the Vubz command center. "Director Seerak, we've got incomming transmit from the TYWS fleet out-system."

Seerak looked at the comm officer with a 'Hmmmm?' expression. "Ah, patch them in to my headset." A moment was allowed to pass before he spoke. "Greetings SCV Sirius. What has occured is that we have found a snooping trespasser. We've got them in hand at this time, and will be bringing them in for interrogation. Does your fleet need resupply at this time?"

**********************************************************

Meanwhile, one of the coordination officers in Vubz picked up the incoming comm from the Treznorian vessel. A reply was shot out shortly afterwards. "We've received your manifest. Everything appears in order. Be alert for foreign vessels in the area. Do you require escort?"

"We've got Vubz on the line, sir. "

"Good. Patch them through to bridge speakers, prepare for immediate response." Admiral Nevue leans forward as he listens to Seerak's response; then the audible mechanical click from the switch on the communications officer's console announces to the room that the microphones are active before he replies. "Vubz, Admiral Nevue of Sirius. Message acknowledged, but we're not seeing any bogies. It's not a sensor fault because we've checked with the other ships of the fleet--are they operating under some kind of stealth?

"Negative on resupply, but thank you for the offer. We'll be in for triple-romeo as previously scheduled."

Dleen smiled: "Most certainly. The cruelty, barbarism, and sheer ignorance of other spacefaring nations is a constant risk to anybody serving in the CSSN Exploratory Corps, really. We know that each time we go into subspace or hyperdrive, and we know that each time we send out a greeting signal. It is one of the reason we have Dohwar on such missions - we tend to be far more polite then our human countrymen." One of the sailors giggled. The rudenes of the human-Allaneans was legendary, and in fact has probably caused their downfall in the One Day war and the War of the Wolf.

He nodded as he received the Sergeant’s instructions. ‘We will happily proceed there. I will note that in my capacity as the captain of this exploratory vessel, I am authorised to conduct limited international negotiations with your authorities, should the need arise. Would you be so kind as to, first of all, allow us to maintain tightbeam subspace communication with my superiors, and, second, provide us with some of the local seafood upon arrival? Shipboard food can get rather old on you after several months of journey, if you know what I mean, Sir."

He smiles to the Sakkran as the crew take their places aboard the Battle of Austerlitz, preparing to launch the vessel towards Vubz - just as soon as the conversation would be over.

Colony Prime – Kzer-Za

Lord 311 blinked in affirmation, “Indeed Minister, we intend to utilise the resources of both satellites for the coming war effort.” The Ur-Quan deactivated the Holo-Emitter and continued, “Automated factory units have already been deployed there and we hope to begin the construction of beam and projectile defences within days.”

The entrance to the conference chamber slid open and two smaller Ur-Quan entered, one a bright green, the other ebony black.

“I trust that our meeting has been of value, honoured ministers, but for now please excuse me, there is much to attend to this evening”, Lord 311 gestured toward the new arrivals with an extended tentacle. “Please accompany my two aides who will show you to your chamber, and feel free to explore the complex as you wish."

“However I would ask that you comply with any restriction notices you may come across as critical work is being performed and we would not wish to endanger you in any way.”

With that, Lord 311 retreated to the far side of the chamber where a portion of the obsidian wall split revealing a darkened corridor. “Good evening Ministers”, he rumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hangar Bay Alpha – Location of the Ur-Quan 5th Fleet

Death 390 examined the maintenance crew currently working on his flagship “The Righteous Claw”. While much had changed in his ten thousand year absence, he was pleased to see that Ur-Quan efficiency was unaltered. He watched as the engineers removed the now outdated Heavy Lasers from the port weapon module and begin installing the latest Plasma Converters.

Although it would be some months before the fleet had been completely refitted, and the crews retrained, Death 390 hoped to have at least one combat wing ready for patrol with the next few weeks. He had been briefed on the current situation and was eager to resume the war against the Antarans, or with any of the other filth of the galaxy for that matter.

Death 390 was no follower of Za, no peace loving diplomat; he was a full breed Kohr-Ah and was rightly proud of his heritage. He and his warriors had been the most zealous and the most feared of all the Ur-Quan legions. Let others study and philosophise; Death 390 was an Ur-Quan of action.

The small craft is escorted in-system by the six flanking warships. Weapons are hot, but remain on stand-by. Targetting systems remain passive for now. Several planets are passed until they come into view of Vubz (http://www.5amfunnies.com/sakkra/space/Vubz.JPG) System Coordination Base.

Basically a large, hollowed moon, it bristles with all manner of weapons emplacements. Multiple entry points stretch to dozens of kilometers wide each. "This is Vubz. Manual control can be relinquished now; the escorts will guide your ship in." A moment after this is said, tendrils shoot out from multiple points on each of the flanking ships, securing their hold and towing the small craft in.

**********************************************************

"And good cycle to you, Lord 311" they replied in unison. "Indeed it has been of value." Watching the retreating form of the massive Ur-Quan, the pair wait to speak until he has left.

Looking at the much smaller beings, they bow slightly. "If you will, we would like to see our chambers, please." They follow the beings, not knowing if they have a separate designation from the Ur-Quan name or not.

**********************************************************

The comm officer looks over to the sensor-suite operators, who points out an odd signature from the small craft currently being towed in. The comm officer nods his head, and returns to his seat.

"Admiral Nevue; Vubz. Seems the unseen bogie in question does have a stealth measure of sorts. Once a rare device, it's called the IG Field. Seems to be selectively stealthy only for certain frequencies of sensors, depending on the beings viewing them. Not sure how it works, but you haven't seen them, which means it seems to work. What a strange fractal-verse we live in, eh?"

The miniature craft entered the depths of the Vubz base, guided in by the local flight guidance computers. The Dohwar were slightly nervous of course - everybody is when entering a Death Star. It’s a strange, heretofore unexplored quality of Death Stars - and it really merits detailed more scientific attention.

The Dohwar captain had already guessed he wouldn’t be able to negotiate a full-on free-trade treaty with the Sakkrans - it didn’t seem as they had the right attitude for it. But, in his private documents was a wide stock of sample treaties he was authorised to try and sign with new civilisation - and, he thought, he knew exactly which one would fit.

It wasn't exactly clear how, but it seemed that a computing error had given the crew of the destroyer TSS Thunderbolt a thankless job, shuttling various foodstuffs to and fro various planets. Why they used a destroyer instead of, say, a corporate cargo ship (as was the norm) was beyond Colonel Malhotra's grasp, although given the number of "computing errors" that had resulted ever since Major Fukuda had transferred over, he was beginning to suspect that something not too pleasant had occurred when Fukuda was maintaining the service computers.

...And, of course, they were denied Jump Nodes to make room for the cargo, turning what should have been a short, 11-day trip into a 3-month voyage. Maybe if they had an "incident", they would be relieved of this thankless job...

Which is how they found themselves at the cusp of the Sslaa System.

Aboard the TSN Thunderbolt

"Uh, sir? We're showing an increased level of activity in this system."

"I see. Identify all ships and inhabited areas, and respective countries."

"Yes, sir. We've got... 8 planets, 12 moons, 2 asteroid systems. S1 is also known as Kzer-Za, and is inhabited by the Ur-Quan. S2 is occupied by Nathicana, S4 by Trilar and Sunset, S5 by Sakkra, S6 by Menelmacar, and S8 by Treznor. Of the ships in the area, there appears to be a TYWS ship of 'Pendran design, a Treznorian ship, a Sakkran force and an.... Allanean ship?!"

"What the hell? What are the Allaneans doing here?"

"I don't know, sir, but it's definately an Allanean ship, being escorted into Vubz by the Sakkrans."

"Hail the Yuttian ship. Ask them what the heck is going on. And for damn's sake, Lands, put that bottle away! This is no time to be drinking."

"Sorry, sir."
--------------------------------------------------
<Sent Via ANSINet>
<Classification: Declassified>
<To: TYWS-SCV Sirius>
<From: TSS Thunderbolt>

{Query Type: Request}

Greetings, Yuttian ship. This is the light cruiser Thunderbolt from the USF Aerospace Force. We were passing by, and are interested in knowing what exactly is occurring here, given the large volume of armed ships in this normally peaceable area.

Sincerely,
Colonel Malhotra,
USF Aerospace Force

The Vengeance Of Za - Outer Sslaa System

If Ur-Quan possessed eyebrows, then Death 831 would certainly have raised his by now. As it was, his lateral tentacles twitched spasmodically as he viewed the data readouts from the ScanCom. This system had suddenly become a hub of activity, first the odd encounter with the Allanean ship, and now several different vessels of unknown design (at least to the Ur-Quan) seemed to be gathering at the rim.

It never ceased to surprise the Ur-Quan how rampant sentient life seemed to be; hardly a system existed that wasn’t home to some creature that had crawled, clawed or swam its way to the stars. The only concern for Death 831 was that all this activity might attract an unwanted visitor. While the Kzer-Zan analysts had predicted that the Antarans were most likely months if not years away, that might change should their attention be drawn here.

Death 831, transmitted this latest intelligence to Colony Prime, and being a Kohr-Ah warrior made the pre-emptive decision to give one of these newcomers a closer look. He verified that the Black Globe was fully operational, and plotted a course for the Vengeance Of Za to intercept the nearest ship, currently transmitting under the ident “TSS Thunderbolt”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

“Of course honoured Ministers”, replied the green hued Ur-Quan, “If you would follow me please.” With that he retreated through the main entrance, a confusion of tentacles, there was no discernable pattern to his gait.
“I am Vassal 2046", he remarked, "and I shall be your first point of contact should you require anything during your stay.” The Ur-Quan then gestured towards the second Ur-Quan who was bringing up the rear. “This is Death 4020, of our warrior caste, who shall act as your bodyguard”. The black Ur-Quan at the rear performed a curious bowing motion, lowering itself almost imperceptibly by first contracting, and then expanding, his tentacles.

“Please don’t alarm yourselves”, continued Vassal 2046, “it is purely a ritual duty, as no harm could possibly come to you while you are our guests.”

After a few minutes navigating a maze of dark tunnels, the small party emerged at an underground monorail station; built on several levels through the black volcanic material that most of the colony seemed to be constructed from. The journey to the Sakkran habitat took a further 15 minutes, the transport taking a circular route around the main complex itself and ending at a small biosphere on the edge of the colony.

The Sakkran ministers had been allocated separate quarters in the diplomatic section of the habitat, adjacent to a huge hydroponics dome with a 100 metre high PolyGlass domed ceiling. Clearly this area was designed to provide a relaxing atmosphere for Ur-Quan guests, as the Sakkrans had certainly never noticed such ostentation in the Ur-Quan habitats they had passed through.

“I will leave you now Ministers”, rasped Vassal 2046, handing the Sakkrans their lodging KeyCards. "You will find standard terminals inside with VidCon and entertainment facilities”.

The Ur-Quan then departed, while the Kohr-Ah assumed a guard position between the two apartments allocated to the Sakkran Ministers, producing two ornate blades from beneath his carapace.

Admiral Nevue simply looks tiredly at the bridge staff, then waves a signal to the communication's officer. The transmit switch clicks audibly into the active position once again. "Thunderbolt, Admiral Nevue of Supercarrier Sirius. Check your intel--the Ur-Quan, Sakkrans, and indeed us, command section of the AntiSpinward Colonial Fleet and the Guard fleet we've got hanging around--are completely nominal presences in this area. Even if they weren't you're a bit out of your jurisdiction, Colonel. Now, would you like to try again in a way that doesn't make it seem like you are either butting in or trying to tell parties involved how to do their jobs? We are perfectly capable of policing Triumvirate interests--of which I am certain you know there are quite a bit of in this system--without the assistance of a Tiburonese light cruiser nor the protective aegis of the Tiburonese navy looking over our shoulder." 'Protective aegis' comes out in a very wry voice.

"To actually answer your question, the status quo is what's going on. The Ur-Quan and Sakkrans are responding to some sort of visitor we're not seeing. Somebody Else's Problem and all that. I'll note that to us the only people increasing the warship-per-unit-volume density of the system are yours, Colonel. Over."

Slicing his hand palm-down under his chin, Nevue signals for the connection to be cut. "Response transmission to the Director: message acknowledged. IG fields well-understood. Will operate under SEP procedures. Sirius out."

"Acting, sir."

As Jason read back the response from Sslaa command, Sarah frowned and drummed her fingers on her chair. "I don't know. Do we? Erik, you're not picking anything else up besides that Sirius transponder, are you?"

"No, Ma'am." The navigator worked for a moment on his console. "There's scattered traffic around the system, a few signatures I don't recognise but the Sirius doesn't appear to be maneuvering for any intercepts. Nothing that says 'pirate' to me."

"What's our time to intercept the colony in orbit?"

"One hundred and fifty-one hours at present velocity."

Sarah nodded and made her decision. "Jason, tell them thanks but no, everything looks fine up here. Laser a message to the captain of the Sirius to let them know the captain of the Aethra would like to offer a fruit basket while we've got it fresh."

Jason quirked an eyebrow and glanced back at his commander. "Ma'am, you do remember that the Scolopendrans invented the 'Tactical Fruit Basket.'"

Sarah blinked as she searched her mind for the reference, then chuckled and shook her head. "No, no. Not that kind of fruit basket. A literal one. Ask her captain for any requests."

<To: Admiral Nevue, the TWCS Sirius>
<From: Colonel Malhotra, the TSS Thunderbolt>

Admiral Nevue,

The SEP status of the situation at Sslaa has been recognized, and we apologize for any misunderstandings that our presence here has been, as Tiburonese ships in this area are usually in the form of unarmed corporate cargo ships. In any case, we have no doubts whatsoever of our allies to protect themselves and maintain a forward projection capability. Because we have no major interests to defend in this sector, we shall take your suggestion and continue on our journey. We thank the ToY for updating our information banks on the Sslaa system.

As we leave, we would just like to note our mild surprise at the implied hostility of the message. ...Regardless, we should be leaving now. We don't want to cause any trouble. Thunderbolt out.


Sincerely,
Colonel Malhotra,
USF Aerospace Force
-----------------------------------------------------
"Set new course area- T3.902, N1X-DV2."

"Yes, sir. There appears to be another ship coming to intercept us on our present course. An Ur-Quani ship, the Vengeance of Za.

"Inform them that we're leaving, and continue on new course. We are done with this place."

"Yes, sir!"
-----------------------------------------------------
<To: The Vengeance of Za, Ur-Quan>
<From: TSS Thunderbolt, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon>

To the Vengeance,

We understand the intentions of the Ur-Quan in securing their defense. We wish to assure the Ur-Quan that Tiburon has no intentions in Sslaa. We have changed our direction, and are heading out of the system as we speak. We're not interested in stirring up trouble, just finishing our mission to various other systems.

Sincerely,
Colonel Malhotra,
The USF Aerospace Force

"Oooh, fresh non-nanolathed fruit. Comms, reply with a request for strawberries and that we'll earn them. HangarCom, dispatch two Loki gunships to intercept Aethra and escort her to wherever she's going. It'll give the DropShip corps something to do."

And so two gull-winged dropships detach from one of Sirius' thick wings and gravy off on an intercept course. Normally they would be nearly graceful in appearance, but these have the twin-fanged bulbous underslung pods of heavy anti-capship gunships.

Sarah breathed a silent thanks to the lessons handed down by the now Vice-Admiral Shayna Richards from her first launch of the Zeus. Admittedly, the Centipede-class haulers purchased from Scolopendra were by now decomissioned and out of use, but the Scolopendrans themselves still demonstrate an almost greedy eagerness for planet-grown foods, especially fruit.

"Rachel," she said as she turned to the quartermaster. "Put together that fruit basket, heavy on the strawberries. I don't want to see any green on those berries, either. Get with Jason to coordinate with the crews of those Lokis as well. We're going to supplement their evening meal tomorrow night."

The quartermaster blanched. "This is turning into an expensive gift, Sarah."

"It's worth it," the captain replied airily. "Think of it as promoting good international relations. Or think of it as a big tip. You usually get better service that way."

Death 831 acknowledged the incoming transimission from the TSS Thunderbolt.

"Affirmative alien vessel, your change in trajectory has been registered." Once he was satisfied that the Thunderbolt was indeed leaving the system, he sent a standard hail request to the Sirius,

"Attention Sirius, Ur-Quan scout Vengeance Of Za requesting permission to dock for drive charging, in line with current treaty stipulations." Death 831 disliked the fact that the Ur-Quan currently relied on other species for certain supplies and materials, but the war had cost them much of their self sufficiency. "I am also instructed to deliver a data package to Admiral Nevue - Priority Beta - direct from Colony Prime".

Death 831 then dissengaged the ships Black Globe* and prepared to alter course.

* OOC: An obviously outdated stealth technology as everyone seems to be able to detect the Vengeance!! ;)

Traveling through the massive corridor leading to the inner workings of he Vubz station is done at 3/4 normal power. Multiple merchant freighters from a variety of civilizations come and go, as well as whole patrol squads. The native vessels sport translucent red sails on them, which seem to furl and unfurl in a sequence. Running lights of an odd blueish hue also blink on and off in a sequence.

Coming into the nexus of Vubz, it looks to be a perfectly spherical space carved out of the moon itself about 80 kilometers in diameter. One could see several hundred warships either in dock or on standby. Scores of maintanence crews swarm all over evey craft, with tools that would only be described as non-standard. One ship even seems to be having what looks like a massive hairbrush combed down its under-belly.

THe Sergeant leans forward a bit, enjoying the view if the gnashing of his claws could be interpreted as eagerness. "Captain Dleen, this is Vubz nexus." He then puts his tiny manipulator fingers to his ear, nods, nods twice and gnshes out a quick, untranslated response.

"Command instructs to dock at berth 37. Right there." His lobster-claw indicates a point just off to the left of what could be considered the median area of the nexus.

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

Under the watchful eye of their guard, the ministers retired to their separate rooms. Hulroo decided to see what was on the local entertainment grid to get a better sense of the Ur-Quan and their culture. He made notes as he did so, deciding the DiploCorp might find this info valuable.

Gaark, however, was being industrious in a different sense. Looking over the info given him by Lord 311, he compared it to the various stimulus packages he was licensed to distribute. Notations were made, and standard-band comms were prepared. He wasn't sure if bursting a comm right now would not only be considered rude to their hosts, but if it would even leave the planet uncorrupted by the toxic and radioactive elements in the planet, Plus, if the Sslaa star was experiencing solar flares, the close proximity to the star would most certainly make the comm-burst completely unrecognizable.

The comm-burst he prepped was directed to CEO Kargaah, head of Trade and Finance, on Titan in the Sol System. Also included in the comm were Emperor Gorrm and ex-Chief Engineer Jouuha. To Jouuha was included brief snippets of the tech-info garnered from Lord 311's file. Nothing that a snoop would be able to make heads or tails of, but something a technical wiz like Jouuha would understand.

"Magnificient." - said the penguin-like being as the ship moved calmly and carerfully through the worm-like internals of the Sakkran ship - or station, moon, whatever it was. Clearly, the Sakkrans were into really heavy firepower. As the Dohwar inspected the huge Sakkran fleet - outnumbering the Confederate Stellar navy at apparently twenty to one, he could not but admire the one thing any Allanean would recognise in such a vast array of destructive tools.

Beauty.

He turned to his sailors and spoke, squeaking out commands. The ship turned - sharply, yet gracefully - and began to land at the designated berth - with precision that would put a Zara-Khristan heart surgeon to shame. Well, any sort of precision would do that, really.

Captain Dleen then addressed the Sergeant. "So where would you be taking us now, Sir? To the authorised diplomatic authorities on this planet, I would presume? Or to the dark-and-evil-dungeons-of-doom?" The slight nervousness in the penguinoid’s voice showed he wasn’t entirely joking.

Quick check of a databoard and ticking off a box in a list of them. "HangarCom, authorize Vengeance to dock, soonest operations slot. Prep a fueling team to draw on stores."

"Acting, sir."

"They say they have a package to give you," the communications officer reminds.

"Yes, yes," Nevue replies as he stands up. "Captain, you've got the watch. I'll go pick up my package. Standard operating procedures and all that."

The Vengeance Of Za - Sslaa Space

Death 831 acknowledged the communication from the Sirius and brought the Vengeance Of Za in on approach vector. As the Vengeance glided silently into her designated hangar bay, Death 831 cast an approving eye over the design of the Sirius, an impressive vessel of war. An alliance with the Triumvirate would be a valuable asset in the war against the Antarans, and the Ur-Quan only hoped that the myriad species they were now exposed to would recognise the Antaran threat and act upon it. Too often the younger space faring races, arrogant in their fledgling powers, did not recognise the true horror of the cosmic unknown until it was far too late.

With the Vengeance docked, the massive Ur-Quan slid from the ships exit tube onto the hangar deck and awaited an escort, noticing how the efficient crew, wary of this strange visitor, had already begun preparations for refuelling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

Death 19, lowered his aging bulk into the control pit to examine the latest reports. It had been relatively quiet of late, after the huge upheaval of only months ago when the Ur-Quan had begun settling their species on this small alien world.

Scout 831 reporting: Allanean activity in outer rim - Sakkran intercept and escort confirmed.
Scout 831 reporting: Tuberon war ship detected in outer rim - Responded to Challenge and retreated from Sslaa space.
Scout 831 reporting: Docked with TYWS-SCV Sirius - Proceeding with primary mission.
A busy day for that particular scout, Death 19 mused, still Death 831 was an experienced Ur-Quan, and although it had been an eventful mission so far, it was nothing the Kohr-Ah veteran was not accustomed to. Death 19 proceeded to read the final few reports of note from the DataCom.
Lord 311 reporting: Amicable meeting with the Sakkran Ambassadors - offer of raw materials and processing packages accepted on behalf of the Ur-Quan. Reciprocal arrangement for technology sharing approved.
Scout 907 reporting: Long range recon confirms unusual temporal activity near Orion space.
Lord 42 reporting: Scout 907 detected by enemy vessels and has self destructed as per standard Hierarchy protocols.
The last two entries disturbed Death 19 noticeably, temporal activity? was this some new device of the Antarans, or some unaccounted cosmic phenomena?

"Lieutenant!", barked the Ur-Quan Overlord, his tentacles flexing as he pulled himself towards the main control area.

"Sir?", replied the younger, green hued Ur-Quan manning the communications post.

"Send to Death 101 on the Doctrinal Blade, scrambled and coded, message begins - 'immediate communication required pending matter 0010324 - priority mission to sector 511/023 essential' - message ends"

"Immediately sir!", responded the young officer, hastily preparing the coded message.

Death 19, satisfied that his orders were being carried out, retreated back to the shadows to brood over these recent events.

Draabb seems to listen in on his ear-bud comm unit, and grumbles lowly. Then his attention is redirected at Captain Dleen. "A security detail will meet you. After that, it is out of my claws." he stands and heads out of the control center, out to where the hatch is.

Exiting the craft, a membraneous tube extends into Vubz itself. Hatchways open, and an even dozen TacSoft troopers , of normal Sakkran descent, stand at parade rest. The Sergeant salutes, left hand splayed over chest, and the squad leader does the same. "Sergeant Draabb, reporting completion of duties."

There is no grinding sound as the trooper speaks, and one can easily see he is substantially smaller than the Deep One sergeant. "Noted, Sergeant. We will take possession now." The Sergeant drops the salute, and signals to his soldiers. The six move off, entering a maglev tube, and head for parts unknown.

"Captain Dleen? I am Corporal Hleek. We are to escort you and your crew to a waiting chamber while the officials prepare to speak with you. If you will follow me...." The Corporal maks his way to one of the banks of maglev tubes. One could see a personal cannon strapped to his back as he activates the console. The squad falls neatly into place around the crew of the Battle of Austerlitz.

**********************************************************

A couple of hours pass, and Hulroo seems satisfied with his findings. Entering the quarters of Gaark, he leans against a wall. "I see you've been busy. We can only learn so much from the local programming. I think we should, perhaps, see some of the public sector?"

Graak looks up from behind the lens of his monocle. "Hmmmm...yes. My eyes are feeling strained looking at this paperwork. We can guage if any local economic stimulus packages may come into play as well. Let's see if our guard can give us a tour."

The pair peek out the door at their bodyguard. "Excuse us. Would it be amiss to look about the public areas a bit?

"Good day, Corporal." - the penguinoid says with politeness. Most Allaneans are not as polite as the Dohwar - they are in fact one of the rudest nations in the multi-verse. The Dohwar’s unique character - and their sometimes brutal temper - has eventually brought them to a different conclusion. A race of homicidal penguins with a taste for the still-palpitating flesh of their enemies has to learn to be polite to each other - or self-exterminate. As an Allanean comedian said: "A beaked society is a polite society"

The penguinoid beings chuckle under their breath as the guards surround them. Evidently, these foreigners seek to impress them by mere armed might. A bad idea if anything - Allaneans have been known to grow defiant when confronted with a bare strength argument. They were of course known to be killed afterwards, but the method of arguing via muscle still failed to get any respect. Nevertheless, Captain Dleen nodded politely to the Corporal. "Very well sir. I hope you will enjoy our visit to your world as much as we intend to enjoy our stay. May you water be cold and your fish many."

Colony Prime - Diplomatic Quarter

The Kohr-Ah guard looked momentarily surprised at the request, although it was difficult to determine what the thoughts of an Ur-Quan were. It took years of exposure to the Ur-Quan to form a realistic interpretation of what the various tentacle motions and eye blinking actually signified.

"Certainly", came the response after a brief pause, the Kohr-Ah speaking in a low, rasping tone and beginning each syllable with a peculiar coughing noise. "If you will follow me, I will escort you to the gardens".

Death 4020 had already began to move down the corridor towards the hydroponics dome they had passed earlier. His head was slightly turned back at an awkward angle, tracking the Sakkran Ministers.

The hydroponics dome had indeed been developed with visitors in mind, another concession the Ur-Quan had made in recent years to their stellar neighbours. The area was a huge dome around two hundred metres in diameter and containing numerous pathways through rich vegetation and flora, most of which were of unknown origin to the Sakkrans.

"From here you may visit the public communications area, the stellar observatory, the alien quarter or the main habitat area", began the Kohr-Ah, vaguely indicating in a number of directions. "The complex is not signed in your language but I trust you have lingual translation capability?"

Although vocalised as a question, the Ur-Quan did not seem to wait for a response, and began moving toward the entrance. The Ministers gained the distinct impression that he was bored of this duty. "I shall be monitoring you remotely, and should you require anything please use one of the public terminals."

With that Death 4020 vanished down the corridor, leaving the Sakkrans alone in the garden.

With the Vengeance docked, the massive Ur-Quan slid from the ships exit tube onto the hangar deck and awaited an escort, noticing how the efficient crew, wary of this strange visitor, had already begun preparations for refuelling.Said escort is provided in the form of two fatigues-wearing Mobile Infantrymen, looking to be a couple of privates from one of Sirius' embarked divisions. It's an armed escort, certainly, but such a thing is unavoidable on a ship where everyone is armed whilst on duty--have to protect from those decisive boarding actions, after all. The two don't look particularly enraptured by their duty, but they seem to be less disturbed with having to be in close proximity to some sort of three-eyed tentacle beast than one might expect. If one can deal with Snel, after all...

The hangar bay is not as massive as might be expected, really no more than a large compartment beyond the vehicle-sized airlock. Large open spaces are bad for warships, and while large, nominally open bulkhead doors connect each compartment they can of course be shut in case of emergency for safety. Anything less would just be silly. Vengeance is the only ship in this bay, and red lights indicating the presence of a visitor without security clearance spin under their plastic domes whilst the two M.I. escort the Ur-Quan over to a bridge officer wearing the usual green-and-black Class A's associated with the TYCS' space arm, under a green officer's wheel cap.

"Admiral Andre Nevue," the man introduces himself brusquely as he bows shortly. He looks to be in his late fifties with gray hair, a stern face, and spectacles that occasionally glint in the light; his attitude points him out to be something more of the stereotypical career military man and less of the diplomat, as can be seen by him failing to extend a hand in greeting as is practically universal. All business, this one. "Sky Marshal Farentino is out at the moment, leaving me in command for the time being. How can we help you?"

The tube ascends, traveling up the circumfrence of the docking area of the station. Eventually it stops, and the troppers exit the tube. "This way." The Corporal points towards a largeish door mad eout of an odd material to the Dohmar, but to those in the know it's simple resin extract. Several resin beetles flit down and surround the Corporal, who hands each of the four of them some stones which they munch on noisily. A yellowish light eminating from their thorax provides sufficient illumination for the area.

The doors open, and a female Sakkran is there. "Good cycle, visitors. I trust the escort has not been rude?" She walks next to a wooden desk, sturdy and very heavy looking. Several circular seats surround the desk in a semi-circle, and these are motioned to. "I am Liaison Cchott. Interviewer Ghalroo Tweel will be here in a moment. She's just finishing her meditations."

As if on cue, the Grass-Walker known as the Interviewer enters. Far different than even the Deep Ones, Ghalroo Tweel is much shorter than a normal Sakkran, far more slender and lithe in form and grace. Her silver-scaled skin reflects light prismatically, and when her eyes open, it seems the eye itself has multiple pupils to each one. She looks at the Liaison, who nods her head, then turns her attention to the Corporal. With no words exchanged, the Corporal and his squad salute, and leave the room.

"The interviewer asks if you are averse to mental speech. If so, she will speak through me." Tweel steeples her thin fingers together, seemingly taking in each of the penguin-like beings one at a time.

**********************************************************

"Ah. I like this hydroponics area very much. Almost as comfy as the Bog on Sslaa V." Hulroo breathes in deeply, chest expanding dramatically.

The Minister seems to roll his eyes. "Very concise and to the point, these beings are, eh? That's good. Saves us having to dance about with the language." He looks over to where the guard designated the Alien Sector was. "Let's see the main habitat dome. I'd like to get the feeling of the lot of the average being here."

The Dohwar pass through the door, the Captain first, the crew waddling behind in a penguin-pace, one after one, hiding their curiosity politely. The Captain looked at the Interviewer attentively, as if trying to fix every feature of her strange - to him, of course - body in his memory forever. Or perhaps that was exactly what he was trying to do. He then turned his head, his sharp beak pointed at the interpreter. "My race is not actively telephathic - we wouldn’t be able to respond to the Honorable Interivewer’s words. We could received, but not give. Perhaps you should interpret what we say, if it’s not too hard, Sir."

The Liaison chuckled a bit. A sound like a broom passing over linoleum tiles. "Do not concern yourself with translation. The Honorable Interviewer can understand as well as anyone else. The Grass-Walkers lack any true vocal capability. And that is why I speak for her for now. All you need do is think it, and she will understand. If that is your wish, of course. And she will speak to you in the same manner. Their morals dictate that this is not to be done for anyone not of the Empire without their consent, though. Which is what she requests. Do you consent to mental speech?"

"I see" - said the Captain. He hesitated for a second. Who knows how deep the strange being would probe into his min? But then, if they had wanted to probe him mentally, they probably would have done so already- or maybe already were. At any rate, a little politeness never hurt anyone, and the Dohwar speaks: "Yes, your honour. I consent to a conversation via telepathy". With this, the Captain and his associates take their seats. And so, without any extra ado, begins the frist negotiation between the Confederate States and the Herpetological Empire.

The Interviewer clasps her hands together and leans forward a notch. Everyone in the room would be able to hear the words as they are transmitted. The 'voice' is quite soft and feminine. "It is good we meet, Captain Dleen. Normally the Empire enjoys meeting new species and civilizations. These are trying times for us, though, and we have grown a mite paranoid as a people. I had gotten from the Sergeant, who you first met, that beer was very high on your desires." She shakes her head slightly, almost apologetically.

"We do not have this beverage on-site at this time. What we do have is Paroo. It is a stimulant drink, akin to coffee, save the stimulant is quite potent and it is brewed from the fruit of the Paroo tree. If you desire this, I have a cistern of it prepared. Before I begin this interview, is there anything else you desire?"

The Captain smiled "That was mostly a joke - meant to ‘break the ice’, so to speak. Please forgive my crew - sailors are always a rowdy lot. Allanean sailors are something else again. However, I note that stimulants are quite the thing for long business talks - so if you could arrange for this drink to be made available, it would be so very, very wonderful - and very practical, to boot."

The penguinoid relaxes in its chair, it’s "face" beginning to express a sort of strange calmness, waiting for the ‘interview’ proper to begin.

Ghalroo Tweel nods knowingly, the lids of her eys closing solemnly. "It is good. I have summoned a Servitor to bring in a cistern." As she states this, the Servitor in question enters bearing a large tray. A short bow is offered to the interviewer and the Dohwar. The tray is placed down on a small nearby table, and several large mugs are filled with the nutmeg-scented black liquid.

This is distributed to each individual in the room, and the Interviewer takes a slow, soundless sip from her fluted mug. "Very good. Now then, what is it that brings you to Imperial Space? Our Pakayg have looked over your vessel, noting little in military-grade equipment. It is too small to be a merchant vessel. I'm assuming it is exploratory in function. So you have found us. To what end?" Her eyes, moving independently of each other, take in the faces of the crew before her.

OOC:Check telegrams

IC: "It is very simple, your Honor" - replies the Dohwar as he accommodates his beak for the mug. - "We are constantly on the search for new places to establish colonies - or, failing that, for new worlds to trade with. It seems to me that this system is pretty well occupied - so I guess no surface colonies. This also seems to be a Yut system - and I don’t think any member of the Triumvirate would like us mere mortals setting up orbital systems next to their worlds. So I guess what remains for us is the usual - embassies and trade rights.

But I get ahead of myself. Would the Honorable Interviewer like to know more about me, my mission, or the Confederate States of Allanea?"

The Sirius - Sslaa Space

Death 831 (http://www.classicgaming.com/starcontrol/sc3/images/kohr_sc3.gif) returned the humanoids bow with the Ur-Quan equivalent, an odd looking lowering and raising of his trunk by the retraction and extension of his primary ambulatory tentacles.

"Greetings Admiral, the Hierarchy has ordered me to deliver this", Death 831 croaked - simultaneously withdrawing a small DataCom disc from beneath his carapace. "Please consider the information provided within to be of the greatest urgency", he grated.



From: Lord 311
To: Commander - AntiSpinward Colonial Fleet

Sir, it is with the gravest aspect that I bring the following to your attention -

History Of 1st Sentient Milieu
<attached Library Data: Contextual reference to 1st Antaran War>

Antaran Race
<attached Library Data: Extra-Dimensional Theorem, Antaran Psychology, Biology and Technology Reports (declassified)>

Ten Millennia Vigil
<attached Historical Notes: Ur-Quan Archives>

The Battle Of Orion
<attached Military Reports regarding 2nd Antaran Invasion - including reference to:
* Orion Colony Report: Infrastructure/Resource/Casualty losses
* Milieu Report: Casualties/Communication Reports
* Military Report: Fleet Activity - Detonation Of Sa-Matra
* Military Report: Discovery of 5th Fleet
* Xenology Report: Projected Antaran Expansion>

In light of this information, it essential that a conference of all sentient species in this system be organised as soon as possible, as it is highly unlikely that any species would survive if left to organise a defensive solution in isolation.

With Respect

Lord 311 - Ur-Quan Colony - Kzer-Za (Sslaa 1)

After offering the DataCom disc to the Admiral, Death 831 cast a cursory glance around the hangar bay. "Do you have some small space available where I might meditate while my ship is refuelled?", rasped the Ur-Quan Scout, "it has been an eventful journey…."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colony Prime (http://www.nprime.net/aeonsociety/trinity/gallery/colony.jpg) - Kzer-Za

The main habitat dome was accessible via the same monorail system the Sakkran ministers had used earlier. Built on fifty levels, it rivalled only the main spaceport area in size and allowed an amazing view of the purple shrouded valley where the Ur-Quan colony was based.

The habitat was constructed, as usual, from the same dense black volcanic rock as the rest of the colony, with only PolyGlass view ports and odd silver conduits breaking the endless dark façade.

As the Sakkrans proceeded further into the habitat they noticed that several alien species, in addition to the Ur-Quan, were bustling around the area, as well as a number of artificial lifeforms who seemed to be responsible for general maintenance and repair duties. Amongst the alien species recognised were a uniformed Ilwrath Pilot, a pair of Mrrshan soldiers and a lone Psilon Engineer…

Not having anything appropriate on his person at the moment to read the alien media, Andre accepts the disc and tucks it safely into his Class A's behind the double-breasted duty flap. "Thank you. I'll have Sirius transmit it immediately to HQ for analysis. I'm sure WANCC will want to see this. As for meditation room, yes, we have some." The Sky Marshal glances at the two privates flanking the Ur-Quan. "Troopers, take our guest to QR. Make sure h--our guest--is comfortable there."

A lot of species don't like having their gender misidentified. It's better just to avoid the issue altogether. "I'll be back on the bridge if you need me. Otherwise, troopers Rockford and Norris will take care of you." Nodding curtly, the Admiral turns on his heel and walks back towards the airlock in the back. Definitely not a diplomat.

"Hope you're not offended that The Enforcer's putting you in a quarantine room," Private Norris says once the officer is out of earshot, "but they're big and comfortable, at least. It is the closest form of temp quarters we've got on this boat."

" Yes, there are questions about your mission and yourselves I would ask. First would be about your mission." The Interviewer pauses a moment, adjusting herself in the seat. A data-terminal pops up on her desk from a concealed compartment to her left.

"I would ask what your point of origin is, what impetus was given to send you out on your mission, and what the goals of your mission are as well as how long you have been at the mission in question."

**********************************************************

Hulroo looks about while Gaark seems to continuously make notations in his datapad. They come close to the Psilon engineer, and an *ahem* sound is made by Gaark.

"Good cycle to you. I'm Minister Gaark of the Herpetological Empire, and this is Vice-Minister Hulroo. We're on a fact-finding mission on behalf of Emperor Gorrm to ascertain the state of conditions of all colonies in this system. Would you happen to have a statement on the conditions here as pertains to yourself?"

"It is very simple. This ship is property of the Confederate States Stellar Navy, deporting from Egeruo, my homeworld, where the water is cold and the fish are fat. We are under the flag of the Confederate States Armed Forces, and so are under orders. This crew however will receive an award of fifty million Universtal Dollars per habitable planet discovered and five million Universtal Dollars per civilisation discovered. We have explored several star systems in the past two months since we left port, and so far you are our first discovery. There are twenty men crewing the Battle - we intend to buy ourselves new comfortable homes when we get to Egeruo."

The Super Carrier Sirius - Sslaa Space

The Ur-Quan paused slightly and cast a quizzical gaze at Private Norris. “No apology is necessary, trooper!” he remarked “compared to the cockpit of the Vengeance, I’m sure it will be a most welcome and relaxing environment.”

Once located in the Quarantine bay, Death 831 assumed a meditative posture and allowed himself to search the myriad connective strands of his memory, probing that ancient database for any parallels and historical precedents that might assist in his analysis of recent events.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

“Oh, hello!” replied the Psilon cheerfully “Ministers Gookeyhooly now? very pleased to meet you!” The Psilon then extended his hand in the customary manner.

“I am Prex, Engineer 2nd Class, formerly of Mentar, but now a resident on this world!” he began, handing the strange device he was holding to a passing repair-bot.

“So you want to know how I’m doing? Pretty well actually, thanks for asking! There are simply loads of interesting projects on the go, more than enough even for a life form with a brain my size! Eh? Eh?” he grinned.

“I just wish I knew where the rest of my people were…I seem to be the only Psilon around here, I was seperated from the rest of the Psilon fleet when the Ur-Quan blew up that Sams-Nachos thingy! and one of there capital ship wotsits brought me here!”

Prex was clearly either an eccentric genius, or a total looney…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Game Update[/B]"]

1 day ago from The Republic of Creative Psilons

Greetings from your allies the Psilons!
Emperor Kresh invites you to attend a celebration in his honour in two planetary rotations!

Ambassador Do'Ray
Psilon Flagship

PS - Ummm can we live on one of your moons? Mentar has been blown up!

1 day ago from The Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah Legions of Death 390

"Greetings friend Psilon - You are welcome in this system.
Moon Alpha has been allocated for surviving Milieu members
Minimal Star Base and Spaceport facilities are currently availbale.
<edited for continuity>

12 hours ago from The Republic of Creative Psilons

Indeed, Moona Alpha looks a promising place for our species.
We thank the Ur-Quan for their generosity.
Plantary landers are bing dispatched, and terraforming equipment prepared.

Ambassador Do'Ray
Psilon Flagship

The quarantine room is large and self-contained, giving it two degrees of separation from the rest of the ship--the first being the self-contained hangar blocks--and relatively comfortable for warship accomodations. The two M.I. give Death 831 some privacy to meditate, simply remaining outside in case they're needed.

OOC: Seems to be just us at the mo Scolopendra....everyone on holiday? ;)

OOC" Actually, my whole family's here at my house at this time. I'm trying to keep casualties to a minimum, and will be frazzled for the time they're here, which will be monday morning. And btw; Happy B-Day to me!

IC: The pair of ministers look at each other, and then at the engineer. Gaark returns to making notation in his pad, while Hulroo looks over the device being worked on. "I see you're at work. Could you divulge what it is you're working on?"

**********************************************************

Ghalroo continues making notations in the terminal as she 'speaks'. " Ah, I see. So this is not exploration for exploration's sake, yes? But financial reward is often the impetus for such a thing. Else, none in their right mind would do it." She makes a few more keystrokes, and turns in her chair.

"We of the Empire would, of course, appreciate any possible breaches of security be kept under wraps, of course. If anything of a sensitive nature is disclosed, it would cause great consternation among the beings that dwell here."

OOC" Actually, my whole family's here at my house at this time. I'm trying to keep casualties to a minimum, and will be frazzled for the time they're here, which will be monday morning. And btw; Happy B-Day to me!

OOC: No worries mate! RL can certainly intrude sometimes!! Oh and happy birthday dude!! :) :D

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

“Of course!” replied Prex, who was clearly very enthusiastic and eager to please. “It’s no secret, not like that other stuff”, he continued, whispering the last few words under his breath. “I’m working on these power transfer terminals here”, indicating towards the silver cores embedded in the wall. “As you know Kzer-Za has an abundance of solar and geothermic energy, which can fluctuate substantially at times. These terminals essentially regulate the flow ensuring that each part of the colony receives the most efficiently produced power at any time”.

Prex then briefly outlined the general power requirements of the colony and the continuing need for expansion, given the size of the current Ur-Quan birthing broods recently.

No one in the group seemed to notice the shadowy figure apparently monitoring them from further down the corridor near the central TravelPod…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sslaa Space - Outer Rim

With the Vengeance Of Za refuelled, Death 831 emerged from his meditation trance and headed back to the ship. He then powered up the Vengeance main engines, disengaged from the Sirius docking system, and manoeuvred carefully through the hangar door.
"Vengeance of Za to Sirius", he reported, "I have successfully cleared the hangar and am returning to patrol. I thank you for your……"
The sensors of the Vengeance suddenly exploded with activity, quantum fluctuations, temporal instabilities, and the Ur-Quan pilot instinctively looked up from the controls at the area of space in front of his ship. A strange spatial warping seemed to be taking place approximately two thousand meters aft of the Sirius - a warping the Kohr-Ah veteran recognised all too well.
"Attention Sirius! Incoming hostile! be advised the interloper is Anta….. ZZZZZKKKK…..".
The communication was never completed as the sleek silver Fighter screamed through the dimensional rift, a high energy particle beam slicing the Ur-Quan vessel neatly in two. The engine section of the Vengeance spiralled away for a moment before exploding in a brief display of pyrotechnics, while the foreword section shattered, exposing the Ur-Quan inside to hard vacuum.
The unknown vessel then performed a brief strafing run along the hull of the Sirius, firing several short bursts before altering course, right angling away from the super carrier towards the planetary systems beyond…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ssla Space - Sslaa 2

Oblivious to the drama unfolding at the edge of the system, the Ur-Quan Far Trader "Grey Haven" approached the Nuova Toscana controlled space around Sslaa II, Colony Primes nearest planetary neighbour. In the cargo hold of the Far Trader were 250 tons of machined iridium wiring, one of the few elements in relative abundance on Kzer-Za with its anti-corrosive properties making it perfect for conductor work in hostile environments.
The Captain of the Grey Haven, was a relatively small emerald green Ur-Quan named Qirik-Zen. Being neither in the military or official administration he preferred to use a name rather than a Hierarchy designation, as it made his customers more relaxed.
The Ur-Quan itched his maw with one of his frontal proboscis and opened a communication channel.
"Attention Sslaa II traffic control, this is the Ur-Quan trader Grey Haven requesting clearance", he began, while simultaneously transmitting the standard ships SigIdent.
He then brought his ship to a full stop, and awaited a response.

The penguinoid chuckles - in a manner that would seem friendly in a human. The Dohwar’s voice makes it sound… strange.

Certainly, Honourable Interviewer. It is never in the intent of the CSA to cause anybody any trouble. We’re just often misinterpreted that way. So. Would you let our merchants into this system?

OOC: Oh, and happy birthday.

It can't be said that the TYCS learns from its mistakes. Ever since two Angelic Skies destroyers managed to defeat a numerically and qualitatively superior detachment of corvettes, the Combined Services have been taking measures to improve reaction time.

-Attention Sirius!-

Both Admiral Nevue on the bridge and the shipmind of Sirius itself figuratively perk up their ears.

-Incoming hostile!-

While the meatbrains on the command deck are still assimilating this information, Sirius immediately reassigns power from reserves to shielding and point-defense weapons while disengaging safety locks on its rather prodigious arsenal. Like any other President-General-class supercarrier, Sirius is a queer animal--it is a Supreme Emperor-class battleship heavily modified to carry a large aerospace and ground contingent without compromising its armor--and thanks to Death 831's efforts it has about three seconds to react. The particle beam fractures and fans out upon hitting the shield, streaking through to scorch the armor, the metal glowing before quickly dissipating. The carrier's rather prodigious anti-fighter arsenal also lights up, tracking the Antaran fighter with beams of appropriately invisible malice.

The next two words out of the Admiral's mouth are relatively reasonable. "Sirius, report!"

-Cosmetic damage only. Shields active. Point defense engaged,- the ship replies through the public address system. -Power reallocated to EvCon Zero.-

Training and experience take over. Frowning as he peers at the quickly updating strategic indicator board, he quickly snaps out orders in battle language, the TYCS' older method of improving reaction time. "Fleet, comp EvCon Zero, take bogie. Weap, PCs to spread, bring to bear. Helm, steady. Comm, tell all. Ex!"

All officers so addressed reply with a quick "Act!" and turn to their duties. The fleet communications officer informs the rest of Sirius' component--missile frigate Saguenay and destroyers Moisie and Mish-te-shipu--to go to full alert and assist in engaging the enemy with the same terseness as the Admiral. The weapons officer gives final clearance to the HNPPC anti-naval crews to fire at will, directing them to set their weapons to fire in anti-fighter cones to reduce the disadvantage of their slow traverse. The helmsman keeps the ship on course and in formation, and the communication officer sends an alert out to the rest of the TYCS fleets in-system... which is decently sizable.

For the immediate moment, however, the ships in Sirius' deployment component share overlapping point-defense areas and so Moisie and Mish-te-shipu respond with their own close-in beam weapons whilst Saguenay fires off half a dozen engagement kinetic-kill missiles. Meanwhile, their captains, shipminds, and crew remain alert for more attackers, not about to be completely distracted by a single fighter. Such is the point of decentralized execution.

"Captain to the bridge!"

The call was so unfamiliar, it took Sarah a moment to realise that something was very wrong. The Aethra was not a military vessel and beyond mandatory conscription her crew had never been military. Other than the occasional decompression drill or mock pirate raid, the merchant ships didn't expect and rarely saw any kind of emergency situation.

Even more than that, it was the sheer panic in the crewman's voice that confused her. Sarah had never heard anyone so completely afraid. She dropped her tray and hustled out of the cafeteria, snapping "Make a hole!" at two crewmen just about to wander in. Their eyes followed her in wonder and dismay.

She made it to the bridge in record time, smoothly settling into her chair. "Report!"

"Ma'am, something came out of nowhere and just...vaporised a fighter next to the Sirius. It looks like more are on their way. The Sirius is under attack!"

"Calm down, Iggy," Sarah admonished the young navigator tech. "Whoever they are, whatever they are, are they coming after us?"

The young man glanced at his board for a moment. "N-no. No Ma'am."

"Okay, prepare for full acceleration. We don't have anything to fight with, so let's the hell away from here." She turned to the middle-aged woman sitting at the communication console. "Rachel, radio our escorts and let them know we're running. They'll do more good helping the Sirius than watching over us."

"Ma'am?" The woman was clearly not happy at losing their only protection.

"Now, Rachel."

Unwillingly, the communication tech turned to obey.

"Andrew, full power to the engines please."

"Yes, Ma'am." The man at helm quickly complied. After a moment he shook his head. "We're not accelerating very quickly. There isn't much around here to pull or push against. Magnetic fields are at maximum but our velocity has increased by only a kilometer per hour."

Sarah suppressed a curse and wished that the builders of these freighters hadn't spared the expense for a good old-fashioned rocket booster. It would take her the better part of a day to get to where they could accelerate any faster.

"S-should I call back the Lokis, Ma'am?" Rachel asked.

Sarah shook her head. "If whatever is out there decides to come after us, those ships will already be in position to intercept. Let them go. We'll be fine. Iggy, plot a best-course solution to reach anything that'll help us go. I don't care if it takes us out of our way so long as it gets us moving faster."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Now all they could do was wait and see.

" Before I agree to or decline your wishes, I would need to see what documentation you may have that would warrant allowing new merchants into the area. This would include what goods would be brought into the system. Also, I would have to meet with a representative of the interested parties involved, and a go-over of their plans. Merchants would indeed be allowed here, but we'd have to make sure the merchant's goods won't conflict too much with what is already presently traded."

The interviewer fans out the rill on her neck expectantly, a small fan of scaled skin ringing her throat like a collar.

**********************************************************

Gaark continues jotting notes on his pad, focused on the task at had. "Resource allocation, expansion needs for growing populations, collector banks and storage modules; hrrrrmmmmmm..... yes. Yes, I think something could be done to stimulate growth via one of the Imperial Stimulus Packages." He seems to be talking to no particular individual.

Hulroo nods his head as Prex speaks. "With all the planned expansion, I assume that transportation needs and agricultural needs will increase as well. I'm not certain how the allocations for this are going so far, but it sounds as if an increase will be sought for. And from the looks of the planetary surface, those needs will have to be supplied through outside parties. Hmmm..."

**********************************************************

Meanwhile, the command center at Vubz had kept track of the Ur-Quan vessel, their rendezvous with the Sirius, and its subsequent departure and destruction. The Antaran craft was now on their radar, and Vubz came alive with activity.

'We have incoming hostile breaking system rim. Shots fired on allied interests."

The flight coordinator spun in his chair, planted the multi-sensor helmet on his head, and began his task. That of coordinating ship movements around the station. The duty-master would take over afterwards.

"Group Aleph. Tunnel 6 has been cleared for approach. Proceed at intercept speed and maintain contact."

Group Aleph consisted of two Caiman heavy corvettes and two wings of Swatter aero-space superiority drones. Each corvette coordinated one wing of six drones. "Copy that, Command. Approaching now."

They exited Vubz at half speed and increased to full intercept speed towards the bogie. "Approaching coord {xyz}. Awaiting orders."

The duty-master fired off a quick audio message to Sirius. "We have tracked hostile element heading in-system. What is your status?"

"Vubz, Sirius. No dam." Admiral Nevue speaks quickly in battlespeak, not out of anxiety but out of training to get more information through in less time, and lets the Sakkran base know that his ship has taken negligible damage. By now, the Sakkrans should be completely fluent in what was originally 'Pendran battlespeak, due to exercises and occasional bored practice. "Six-Fifth Mec'r Comp, Six-Eighth Mec'r Comp on bogie path. Cordate Colin Powell, Phantom." This short sentence, said in just a hair over four seconds, informs Vubz that the Sixty-Fifth and Sixty-Eighth Medium Cruiser Components are along the bogie's extrapolated course and to coordinate with Medium Cruiser Colin Powell and Medium Cruiser Phantom.

These ships--along with their attendant component support consisting of Missile Frigates Musashi Miyamoto and Jupiter; and Destroyers Bato, Ozero Baykal, Beira, and Beloye--have already taken up extended combat formation and set a course on maximum necessary distort to intercept the fighter along with Group Aleph. Meanwhile, before they get into effective combat range, they run the sensors hot, trying to acquire as much information about the enemy as possible.

The two Lokis dispatched to protect Aethra remain there. The Admiral's orders trump the order to fall back... and there are more dropships where they came from.

While all that is going on, the Fourth Triumvirate Guard fleet scrambles to its rally points around the second, fourth, and fifth planets in the system. Crewmen hoof it to battle stations in whatever they happen to be dressed in, grimacing at the notices coming over the public address systems reminding them that this alert is not a drill. No one knows that they're fighting the Antarans at the moment... as if it would really make a difference except invoke the name of a bogeyman occasionally broached by the locals.

No, it's simpler than that. There's people a bit more than simple allies--more like extended family--that need protecting and the troopers of the TYCS are the ones who signed up to protect them. Then there are those who signed up to see the 'verse, and those who just wanted to work on starships...

Most troopers were inevitably bored with their otherwise uneventful patrols in Sslaa. Now everyone is in this together, depending on each other to do their jobs the best they can so everyone can go back to the boredom.

Wreckage Of The Vengeance Of Za

Death 831 knew he was dying. Despite the powerful exoskeleton and steel hard carapace the Ur-Quan had evolved to protect his vital organs, no life-form could survive the cold vacuum of space for very long. As his great tentacled bulk spun slowly through the darkness, Death 831's three red misting eyes briefly made out the strafing run of the interloper and the subsequent hot pursuit of the Sirius. At least he had warned them in time, he thought, albeit at the expense of his own life. The immediacy of the situation had demanded a simple choice from the Ur-Quan veteran, either raise the shields or raise the alarm…and as a pragmatic soldier he had chosen the latter. After a few moments his vision faded and his thoughts became a jumble of incoherent dreams of his childhood, until eventually even these faded to nothing…

(ooc: what a hero! ;) )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sslaa Space

The unknown Fighter continued to accelerate away from the Sirius at an incredible rate, achieving near relativistic speed, and penetrating still deeper into Sslaa space.

Although shrouded in a sensor disrupting energy field (rendering internal scans of the vessel unreliable) the Fighter (http://www.eon3d.com/Archives/CF_Beauty.jpg) was clearly emanating an enormous energy spike - far greater than that which would be expected for a ship of its size.

As the speeding fighter neared the inner solar system, and the intercepting craft vectoring ahead, the fighter emitted a broad active scan of the nearest planetary bodies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

Prex watched the Sakkran ministers jot down their notes with polite amusement. A few moments later he was joined by what appeared to be an Ur-Quan Engineer who emerged from the shadows.

"Engineer Prex, once work has been completed here report to Deep Core Mining for reassignment."

The Psilon looked rather disappointed in this new duty to which he was allocated, but merely shrugged his shoulders and nodded at the newcomer in affirmation.

"Well it it's been great talking to you guys! I'll have to clear up here now so please excuse me, Minister Hooley? Minister Gookey? Have a nice stay!"

Prex then began sorting and packing his tools with the assistance of the nearby repair-bot.

Dleen smiled: How can I know in advance what tradesmen will come here? Maybe even none at all. Whatever the locals allow onto their orbitals and planets - and whoever wishes to come. Perhaps it is best that we set up an embassy of sorts here - or perhaps if you have some colonies on Earth, that'd be easier - and coordinate visits into the system with you

The Interviewer smiled in her own way, and steepled her hands. "Normally, when one seeks trade and merchant access, a representative of the interests of the company makes an appearance. As for establishing an embassy here; that most likely will not be agreed upon. if you desire to open diplomatic channels you would need speak to Ambassador Bosska in Guaah City on Earth. There is the Embassy Hub there, and if he agrees to it, you would likely have a floor of your own. But we would have to meet with your Ambassador first, of course."

She signaled to the Servitor for another mug of paroo. "As for opening trade capabilities here, that is my business. Opening trade in Sol is the business of CEO Kargaah, Trade Minister for that system." The steaming mug is handed to her, and she drinks soundlessly. "I will tell you, though, that we would need to meet a representative of the companies that wish to establish a presence here. This way we can guage intent and such. It's how we maintain quality control. And if we don't know anything, we can't do anything one way or the other. So I will offer you a tentative OK on the condition that meeting the representative/s goes well."

*********************************************************
((OOC: 390, your link is busted or something))

Vubz command receives the message from Sirius "Copy. Cordating Colin, Phantom. TF Aleph enroute." The comm officer turns to the duty master and nods his head, who rifles out a message to Task Force Aleph. "Coordiinate with medium cruisers Colin Powell and Phantom. The Sixty-Five and Sixty-Eight are on the chase."

The return comm comes in a touch on the staticky side. "Copy. Adjusting trajectory to coordinate."

Seerak heads over to the sensor station and looks at the display. Seeing the energy spike from the Antaran craft. he grows a bit worried. "Have the missile defense drones been updated with that craft's silhouette?"

The Station Hackmeister seemed to have five sets of arms as his fingers flew over the various displays, sending commands here and altering AI programming there. "Just did that now, Director. Looks like they're trying to get a peek in-system. Passive sensor systems detect a pulsing scan from the spike."

"Great. An advance scout. Activate the defense array and target that ship before it sends out a message!"

Sensors that would show active energy signatures should display several-dozen new points. About 48 DefSat systems come online from the asteroid belt in the path of the Antaran Scout. Missile targets are acquired for the plasma warhead missiles, and firing protocols are activated for the Gauss cannons of some of the other satts. When the Antaran vessel comes into range, a full volley would be shot from both the missile and gauss satts.

**********************************************************

'Hrrmmm...well, that was abrupt." Hulroo seems to shrug his shoulders and carry on. "Good cycle to you, engineer? I'm Vice-Minister Hulroo and this is Minister Gaark of the Imperial Census. We're here to see about the conditions on this planet and how the populace is coping overall. Have you a statement of the conditions here? Could they be improved? And how?"

Gaark seems to stop for a moment, and sniffs the air a tad. Then he returns to making notations on his pad, but with one eye on the new Ur-Quan engineer. Something is strange. This one doesn't smell like the others..better keep an eye open.

"The who of the what?"

"Unfamiliar ... check it."

Aboard the Pallas Athena, brows arch and databases are searched before the newcomer is answered.

"Acknowledged, Grey Haven. We have no record on system of any incoming traffic with your designation or origin. What is your purpose here? This area is restricted to allied interests and pre-approved trade ships."

The Dominion's Malleus res Divina fleet stationed in the Sslaa system has been going about its usual duties of hovering around Sslaa II, with one squadron assigned in rotation to Sslaa IV, where Trilaran interests exist, though still technically in the works. It's been a quiet system, with little trouble, and until now, no outside visitors. The presence of an unknown is at the very least, a diversion from the norm, though currently of little concern.

The arrival of TYCS ships, however, raises the alarms. Preset orders are delivered and carried out over Spook, and the fleet begins to ready itself for trouble over both locations. Knowing full well the combined forces would not be deploying without previous notice, given the Dominion's shipyards and sensitive installations on Sslaa II - not to mention, the strong NDA presence there, under Dominion guidance - word is sent to the yards and the facilities below, and a brief message is sent to the TYCS forces.

"Pallas Athena requesting sitrep. What's got your back up, folks?"

Taking no chances, preparation for evac begins on the outlying facilities and shipyards to the more secure underground holdings. So far, so good. Just like the drills.

Sslaa II Space

Qirik-Zen opened communications to the Pallas Athena.

"Apologies Pallas Athena - This is the independent trader Grey Haven, One standard day from Sslaa I."

Perhaps the residents of this world were unaware that Sslaa I had recently been renamed Kzer-Za and that the Ur-Quan had been granted colonial rights according to the Ur-Quan/Sakkran Treaty of Orion.

Qirik-Zen considered his position. True the Ur-Quan were relative newcomers to this system, and up until now the Ur-Quan had been relatively insular, however it was curious that Kzer-Za’s nearest neighbour seemed oblivious to their presence.

“Pallas Athena”, he continued, “I was not aware that formal inter-planetary trade recognition had not been agreed and as such I shall of course withdraw from your space.”

Damn! Where was he going to sell all this machined iridium now? Maybe the Trilarians would be more receptive – diplomatic ties with them had been strong for some time and being an aquatorial species, the anti-corrosive properties of his cargo may fetch a reasonable profit.

Even the basic scanners aboard the Grey Haven had detected the sudden activity within the Sslaa II system. Surely all that activity wasn’t a result of his presence? All the same Qirik-Zen quickly powered up his engines in order to beat a hasty retreat…

"Ma'am, our escorts are staying with us. They say their orders are to stay put, but they thank us for our consideration."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief and didn't stop herself from letting the crew see it. She didn't want them to go either, she just felt it was the right thing to do. "Okay, that's something." She hit the button for her intercom. "Chief, isn't there anything you can do to get this tub going any faster?"

"Sorry Captain, but this is it. You want I should get out and push?"

"I might." Sarah frowned. "Couldn't our friends out there help us?"

"If they've got tractor beams or something similar. They're too small to take us aboard; we've got a better chance of berthing them if we had the doors for it."

"No, I mean by pushing off them. They're metallic, right? And their engines can handle the stress."

There was a pause as the engineer contemplated this. "I'm not a scientist, Sarah. I'm a glorified mechanic. Is it possible? I suppose so. I don't know that it'll help us accelerate much, but it might some. What it might do to them I don't know. It could very well fuse all their circuits, if they still use electricity. I suspect it would be a very bad idea."

"But they're military ships," Sarah argued stubbornly. "Surely they're hardened against strong electromagnetic pulses, right?"

"You'd have to ask them. And better you than me: I'm not game enough to suggest it."

"Fine. I'll do that." Sarah closed the connection and turned to the communications tech. "Eric, see how generous our escorts are willing to be. Ask them if they'd be willing to give us a push off with our EM drive."

The tech swallowed hard. Like the engineer, he was not keen to annoy the folk responsible for their safety. On the other hand, he had been given a direct order. "Yes, Ma'am."

He hoped they were understanding about these things.

TYWS-SCV Sirius

"Pallas Athena, Sirius.[/i]" The Admiral is too busy commanding the fleet; local communications have been delegated to communications technicians in the back gallery. "Antaran fighter bogie heading insys; Six-Fifth, Six-Eighth Mec'r Comp, Tasfor Aleph incepting. Standord cordate with Grauu on Mangy."

Of course, the flag of the Eighth Guard isn't actually System Defense Fortress Mangy. That's simply the short form for Mangar-kunjer-kunja, which is a bit... long for battlespeak.

Loki Sirius-Eighteen

Major Kell looks wryly over to Lieutenant Blake, his flight-suited copilot, and frowns slightly before toggling his mike. "Aethra, Sirius-Eighteen. I'll have our flight engineer run the numbers, but trying to use your EM drive as a tow line at the moment would probably screw with our targeting systems. For now, consider it a plan of last resort. Over."

Sslaa Space

The Antaran fighter continued its high velocity intrusion into the Sslaa system, a sleek silver missile penetrating the void; the ships active scans returning gigabytes of data to the onboard systems. Information on planetary conditions, artificial structures, energy ratings, life form readings and planetary and fleet defence compositions were all eagerly received by the pilot.

As the fighter cut through the oncoming asteroid belt, and with the ships sensors occupied by the pursuing fleet, the Antaran only seemed to detect the DefSat systems at the last moment. Clusters of Plasma Missiles raced to intercept the alien vessel, which banked and turned in a frenzy of evasion manoeuvres. Countermeasures were launched, and just as it appeared that somehow the ship might actually make it through the trap unscathed, it was finally caught by the sledgehammer blow of a Gauss Cannon volley.

The Antaran ship spun out of control, trailing plasma until it was inevitably caught by a second high energy volley. The pilot had no chance of recovery and the damaged fighter soon collided with one of the many small and fast orbiting asteroids.

Moments later came a shocking concussion, a massive thermonuclear detonation which vaporised all unshielded matter within a thousand kilometres and masked momentarily the brief sub-space transmission…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

The newly arrived Ur-Quan Engineer eyed the ministers in a curious manner, his eyes blinking in unison.

"If you would follow me please, I am sure we can find a more private area in which to hold these discussions", he ventured.

The Ur-Quan then proceeded towards the shadowy area of corridor near the TravelPod, his movements an odd lumbering quite unlike the usual graceful blur of tentacles that the ministers were becoming accustomed to...

A short acknowledgement and intention to coordinate efforts is passed on to the TYCS forces, the information relayed down the line. Where there was one, there were likely others - preparations continued.

As for the trader, it hasn't been forgotten.

"No such formal relations have been established as yet. Stand by, Gray Haven. TYCS reports Antaran hostiles in the area. No need to go haring off into the unknown. We've got your back."




ooc: Apologies - to us, this arrival of yours seemed almost instantaneous. Granted, I've not been around much, but there you have it. Call it fluid time/borked reality or whatever, hence the whole 'who?' business. Until now, we've had zero interaction. And no, that I'm aware, there are no standard interplanatary trade agreements across the board. Someone feel free to set me straight if that's not the case. We're not averse to trade at all - we just like to know who we're dealing with first.

Sslaa II

A cold dread seeped through Qirik-Zen as he listened to the communication from the Pallas Athena…Antarans? So soon??

"Confirmed Pallas Athena - although no formal trade negotiations have been established between our two worlds, in the circumstances I would greatly appreciate sanctuary until this incident is over."

Qirik Zen eased himself away from the Grey Havens controls - things were looking decidedly bad…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

((OOC: No worries Dread Lady, it is an odd situation - I've been in the region for only a few weeks RL (I've RP'd briefly with the Sakkrans and Trilarians before) but in RP terms the Ur-Quan have been established on Sslaa I for around 12 months - I'll prepare the Ur-Quan diplomats… ;) ))

Gaark raised his neck-crest slightly. A tiny hint of cinnamon could be smelled if one was close enough. A more private area? I don't like this..... not one bit. Hulroo was wafting the same level of scent, one eye looking at the Minister quizically, the other focused on the Ur-Quan engineer. "Minister....?"

Gaark waved his hand. "We'll have a polite conversation, perhaps over a drink of some manner? Just let me comm the info i've gathered to my superiors. If I miss a scheduled data-burst, they'll have my scales don't you know?" Gaark began to make his way to one of the public terminals, his datapad in hand. A chit was produced from the pad, and plugged into a compatible port.

While he made it appear that he was uplinking a transmission, he was acually signaling Death 4020, their bodyguard. My sirrah rasied no fools. If it smells bad, and feels bad, it's most likely bad. He turned to the Ur-Quan, with what passes for a smile on his face. "While that's uplinking, could you tell me of some of the more interesting sights to see here?"

**********************************************************

THe Vubz station tracked the whole thing, surveillance systems catching every nano-second from nearly every concievable angle with a full spectrum of vision. Sensors from the CommSatt system monitored every trace of energy and transmission, from what manner of exhaust the Antaran fighter produced to what type of polish was used on its hull.

THey all watched the fighter buck and jink through a volley that would be enough to wipe out a patrol group, until the Gauss Satts hit their mark and the local asteroids pounded it into dust. The command center erupted in a cheer, save for Seerak.

He kept staring at the displays in front of him worriedly. This is not good. If it was one of our remote drone scouts, and it was about to be destroyed, it would have sent a transmission right before impact. We have been compromised. He looks about at the cheering crowd, and roars out an order. "Silence!" The hush is almost instantaneous.

He scans the room a moment. "Are you all fools? That was only a scout, a gnat. The firepower it took to bring down a gnat could have destroyed one of our cruisers!" The scent of cinnamon was heavy from Seerak.

"Get Task Force Aleph to that site. Have them scour the area for any traces of that craft. Have that footage copied from start to finish, and send it to every military branch in the Triumvirate. We are not out of trouble yet." With that he sat back down in his chair, one hand on the side of his head, staring unblinkingly at the footage as he wound it back and played it over and over.

Colony Prime - Alien Quarter

The Ur-Quan Engineer twitched ominously. "I see no reason for delay", he hissed. "Transmissions are currently offline due to aberrant weather cycles"

The Ur-Quan then manoeuvred himself behind the Sakkrans. "This way", he insisted, attempting to shepherd the Sakkran Ministers towards the dark maw of the TravelPod…

The Sakkran Ministers signal was automatically routed by SecCom directly into the HUD grafted into Death 4020's carapace. As such he picked up the emergency transmission almost instantly.

At last! Had the interloper filth finally revealed itself? the Ur-Quan warrior mused. He just hoped that Lord 311 would not realise that he had been using the Sakkran ministers as bait. The followers of Za were very particular about etiquette and the rules of war. As a Kohr-Ah, Death 4020 cared little for protocol - in the final analysis results meant far more than methods.

This ruthless approach, embodied in the ancient and xenophobic 'Eternal Doctrine', had resulted in the Kohr-Ah extermination of countless of life-forms over the millennia. That was until after years of civil war they were defeated by their brothers, the Kzer-Za, who forced them into the more tolerant path of "Now And Forever".

Death 4020 drew his doctrinal blades and, silently mouthing the litany of Kohr, launched himself into action. Despite his faked indifference he had not ventured far from the ministers location, and with his ebony tentacles a flash of writhing and pulsating movement, he stormed the large PolyGlass lined corridor down which the Sakkrans were being ushered…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ur-Quan 5th Fleet Vangaurd - Sslaa Space

"Vubz command, this is Death 390 of the Hierarchical 5th Fleet"

Death 390 growled these words into the communications panel.

"We are receiving conflicting signals from the system edge, including reports of the destruction of our scout ship the Vengeance Of Za. Can you confirm?"

Death 390 was perched in the command pit of the Titan class warship the "Sacrificial Pain", the only capital ship in the fleet to have been fully refitted. The Sacrificial Pain now boasted the latest in Ur-Quan engineering systems as well as weapons and defence technologies. Death 390 was highly confident in the abilities of both his ship and his crew.

Providing a nominal escort were the cruisers "Fire Halo" and "Scythe". Neither escort had been fully refitted and as such were not entirely comparable to other ships in their class, never the less they were still quite capable vessels.

Circling these three ships like angry wasps was a halo of thirty Ur-Quan Fighters, handpicked by Death 390 himself to join this vanguard. All thirty pilots were amongst the most ruthless and loyal Ur-Quan a Hierarchical Lord could wish for.

"Sir! Scanners are now showing evidence of a nuclear detonation and trace debris in the outermost asteroid belt", reported the Operations officer.

"Very well, Lieutenant. Helm!"

"Sir?", came the swift response.

"Plot a course to the asteroid belt", Death 390 hissed, "And notify our escorts"

"Yes, my lord!"

Death 390 raised himself over the control pit to gain a good vantage point over his underlings. From there he contemplated the rumours of Antaran warships that were flying around subspace. He hoped that these were just the idle chatter of bored pilots…

Sanctuary. The idea was quickly tossed back and forth between the flagship and command. It would of course be the 'neighborly' thing to do. However, the holdings on Sslaa II were more sensitive in nature than your usual outlying colony. The idea of bringing in an unknown did not sit well.

Nor did leaving a potential friendly hanging with their ass in the breeze.

They were confident enough that they could handle the simple trading ship if it turned out to be other than what it claimed. Increased scans of the area were already being carried out as they watched for any signs of additional trouble. Several Lokis are sent out to offer the trader some protection. And to help keep an eye on it.

"Escort en route, Grey Haven. If things get hairy, they'll guide you down to port. Please await further instructions."

Planetside, more information gathering, along with continuing to oversee the evac of the outer facilities was going on. Alessandra Bartolio, Dominion Governor of the Nuovo Toscana Colony, was more than a little concerned with their apparent lack of intel on these new races. The trader had been their first contact with the Ur-Quan, and truth, they hardly knew what to expect. As for the Antarans ...

"Not a clue. Obviously not a pleasant race if their first instict is to shoot and ask no questions whatsoever." She rubbed her temples tiredly. This was to have been a relatively quiet assignment. Already she had been called on to broker a deal with the Trilarans, given their odd request for assylum of sorts. Work was underway to create the first Dominion protectorate in regards to their needs - something unheard of before now.

"Esini, I want all the information we can get on the Ur-Quan and the Antarans. Our databases and ready information are insufficient. Contact the Sakkrans, and get in touch with our Trium and NDA allies to see what we can learn. I don't want to be blindsided like this again. I'll send word back home myself of our potential trouble," she directed her secretary, already calling up the proper program.

"Yes ma'am. We'll let you know as soon as we have anything."

Messages were sent out first to those allies in the area - Sakkra, Treznor, Sunset - directed to their local holdings, leaving the military assets free to take care of business. Further down the line, requests are sent to the Scolopendrans, and then any other Triumvirate or NDA allies likely to have something of use in learning more. Hopefully something of use could be gained, before things truly got out of hand.

The Grey Haven - Sslaa II

"Acknowledged Pallas Athena - the escort is appreciated", replied Qirik-Zen.
At least they weren't about to leave his ship undefended, he mused.

The Ur-Quan trader still found it amazing that neither the government of this world, or the Heirarchy leadership back on Kzer-Za, had opened a dialogue in the last 12 months. Still, in astonomical terms a standard year is such a brief period of time.

He chuckled to himself, amused that the first Ur-Quan this species would meet would be an independant trader like himself. A distinctly unusual Ur-Quan that was certain...

"I see no reason for delay", he hissed. "Transmissions are currently offline due to aberrant weather cycles"

"Really? I was not aware of this...." He turned his head to look at the 'transmission' progress he sent, to find the engineer maneuvering behind them. One eye leveled on Hulroo, while the other stayed on the engineer. The scent of cinnamon coming from the pair became quite sharp suddenly, and their neck-crests raised to full height.

The pair separated in an attempt to flank the 'engineer', stepping slowly and at a half-crouch as they did so. "Your demeanor insults the Minister and the Empire. I would speak with your superiors about this!" Hulroo half-yelled this. Something stank of the whole affair, and the more public attention drawn, the better as far as they were concerned. Gaark, in the meantime, had slid his PDA into his robes and began brandishing his claws.

*********************************************************

The request from the Sslaa II colony of Nuova Toscana drew the attention of Director Seerak. He turned to his comm officer closest to him. "Have we gotten the data-burst from the Order yet?"

"Negative, sir. They need time to compile a report from the archives. ETA is three days for a cohesive report. But I managed to dredge up some information from old stories told by Tenders to hatchlings."

Seerak nodded his head from side to side. "Rrrr....it will have to do until a cohesive report is made. Send it out."

"Done, sir."

((The data sent contains a snippet of the info found here (http://moo3.quicksilver.com/game/background.html)))

*********************************************************

The lead ship of T.F. Aleph is the Joyce, and as a result is the ship that gets the comm from Detah 390. "This is the I.S.N. Corvette Joyce, returning transmission from Death 390 of the Heirarchical Fifth Fleet. We have confirmed data that the Vengeance of Za was destroyed by hostile craft of unknown origin. Said craft has since been eliminated, and i'm conducting sensory scans of the area. Vubz has visual, sensor and radio data and is compiling the nature of the craft as of this time."

The pair of Caiman corvettes unfurled their flesh-like sails and began absorbing ambient radiation, emissions and trace gases from the exploded vessel's area. A couple of fragments from the craft managed to pit the skin of the corvette, and she decided to isolate the fragments before they could be dissolved by her. Tha sails continued to 'smell' the area.

Colony Prime - Alien Quarter - Kzer-Za

As Death 4020 raced down the corridor towards the confused scene, he quickly assessed the situation before him. The Sakkran Ministers had assumed obvious aggressive postures and were attempting to flank….

That was no Ur-Quan! he realised, that was a facsimile! The creatures stance and movement were all wrong! Death 4020 roared the Kohr-Ah battle cry "Death to the Interloper!" at a thunderous level, momentarily drowning the sound of the distant storm.

The 'Ur-Quan' Engineer was likewise assessing the situation before him. The alien scum had evidently seen through his disguise and the element of surprise had clearly been lost. With the battle cry of a Kohr-Ah warrior heralding reinforcements, it was clear that the only option now was to flee.

The gathering crowd present at this little altercation were suddenly witness to a bizarre occurrence. The image of the 'Ur-Quan' warped before them, becoming a twisting, writhing mass of shape and colour, and as the creature bolted towards the TravelPod, it seemed to coalesce into something far more humanoid…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Acknowledged I.S.N Joyce", responded Death 390 aboard the Sacrificial Pain, "I look forward to receiving a copy of their report".

The Sakkran ships were now visible on short range scanners. An interesting design, he mused.

"We offer our assistance and protection should further hostile intrusion be imminent."

If this incursion was indeed an advance scout of the Antarans, as he feared, then the estimates of the analysts back on Kzer-Za had been wholly inaccurate.

If the Kohr-Ah Doctrine was still prevalent then those fools would be put to death….but alas that was not The Path, and so they would receive only a reprimand.

THe enginner that had been harrassing the Ministers seemed to stop for a second, as the sound of 'Death to the interloper' carried through the air. Then it bolted for the TravelPod, seemingly changing shape as it did so into a humanoid frame. The Minsters first looked at the bellowing sound, and spotted the source as their 'bodyguard', them both turned their heads entirely, both sets of eyes focusing on the fleeing shape. "Assassin!"

Now the Sakkrans, as a whole, are hunters. Social hunters in the sense that wolves are. And when a hunter sees something running, they tend to give chase. And that's pretty much what unfolds here.

They both throw down their robes, revealing leathery sleeveless shirts and a waist wrap, and start sprinting after the 'engineer' with their tails stiffened behind them for balance. If they manage to catch the assassin before it can close the doors of the TravelPod, one would try to leap and land on the spy's back while the other went for a leg.

*********************************************************

The pair of corvettes circle the area of the explosion in a 50 kilometer circumfrence slowly. "We copy that, Sacrificial Pain. We'll keep eyes open for incursions." The Swatter drones turned and headed back to Vubz.

Already Terrapin-class ships had been dispatched to resupply the DefSatts with gauss rounds and missiles. Others began to head out-system to check on the Interdictor emplacements there.

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

The shape-shifting entity raced for the TravelPod, the Sakkran ministers moments behind and Death 4020 quickly gaining a few metres back. A Klaxon started sounding and the lights in the corridor turned crimson. A few aliens close to the mayhem shrieked in alarm, while further down the corridor another TravelPod opened revealing a squad of three Ur-Quan security troops wearing full battle dress and carrying organic looking particle weapons.

The entity reached the Pod and frantically began pressing buttons. The doors slid shut, but far too slowly to avoid the acrobatic antics of the pursuing ministers. All three tumbling into the back of the Pod and collapsing to the floor. With one of its free limbs the entity drew a vicious looking blade, and as its form coalesced into full humanoid shape, the Sakkrans could just make out the shape of a ThermoCharge wrapped around its neck.

"Too Late you alien scum!", the alien gargled…."Too…Late…."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outer Asteroid Field - Sslaa System

The Sacrificial Pain and its escorts assumed a defensive perimeter around the Sakkran vessels and scanned nearby space.

"Sir!", the Ur-Quan at Ops began. "No sign of additional activity at present, but residual Graviton traces do indicate the use of Antaran propulsion systems."

"Affirmative Lieutenant", replied Death 390, his bulk shuddering at the news.
So it was true then…Antarans. Za save them all.

Hulroo and Gaark both looked at the humanoid's neck. "Coward!" shouted Gaark, and he prepared to charge, but was stopped by Hulroo, who bodily lifted him and threw back away from the entity while yelling "Down!". He spun quickly and leapt at the spy, intent on decapitating the humanoid with a scissoring jab of his claws right in the neck above the thermo-charge.

If it works, it might stop the charge. If not, i'll have to shield the minister. He didn't care if the blade hit; he might survive that. He would try to save as many in the Travel Pod as he could, though.

**********************************************************

"Scarificial Pain, this is Joyce. We've completed our scans. No sub-space or other FTL eminations at present. Quiet as the tomb out here. Heading back to Vubz for debrief and SitRep. Thanks for the escort." With this the pair of corvettes furled up their sensor-sails, and banked for a return trip.

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

As Gaark fell back from the TravelPod, the doors closed behind him effectively separating the two Sakkrans. The spy raised the wicked looking blade towards the leaping Hulroo, simultaneously pulling its head back.

A Mrrshan warrior at the back of the Pod, unaware of the proximity of the deadly explosive at the intruders neck, wrapped his muscular arms around the throat of the would be assassin and attempted to drag him to the floor.

It was at that point that the ThermoCharge detonated. Although the charge was small and not fragmentary in nature the explosion emitted an enormous amount of energy in the form of heat and light.

The top half of the spy was instantly incinerated, as were the arms and face of the unfortunate Mrrshn. The circuits on the TravlePod walls were likewise fried, signalling the beginning of a rapid descent...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hierarchical 5th Fleet

"Acknowledged Joyce", came the reply from the Ur-Quan war ship.

"We will escort you out of the belt, please inform Vubz that we shall begin a full sweep of this sector. Sacrificial Pain out"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grey Haven - Sslaa II Space

Qirik Zen surveyed his scanners. Activity in this system seemed to be calming down - that was fortunate. The Ur-Quan trader did not relish the idea of being stuck in an unarmed ship in the middle of a war zone….

"Pallas Athena - this is the Grey Haven - any update as to the situation? I'm eager to put to port as soon as possible."

He was glad that these people had provided him with protection during this uncertain situation, but he still felt vulnerable and wished to return to the relative safety of Ur-Quan controlled space as soon as possible.

While electing to work outside the Hierarchy as an independent, Qirik Zen occasionally wondered if he had made the right decision….

Gaark skidded on his back after being bodily flung out of the TravelPod. When he came to a stop, he looked up to see the doors close, sealing the leaping Hulroo in. This was supposed to be a peaceful mission. Interview officials, write reports, file and go home. Not a bloody Jugg Match! The sound of a muffled explosion was heard. He stared for a moment at the doors, then looked for the bodyguard. "What in the Pit is going on here!?"

**********************************************************

Hulroo seemed to miss his mark as the Mrrshan grappled the spy and began dragging him down to the floor. His claws on his feet and hands gripped the side of the TravelPod's walls, and then a blast of heat hit his back. He fell to the ground with a hiss, and lay there a moment.

From his position, he could see the mess that was once the spy, as well as the scorched remains of the Mrrshan. The air smelt of burning hair and melting synthetics, and smoke began filling the pod. A sense of vertigo hit him as the pod began to fall, and he assessed his situation.

Well, it's doom for certain. He tried to get back up, and his skin gave off a crackling sound as pain shot through him like fire. With a loud hiss, he dropped again, and decided to look about as best he could. There must be a manual brake. There's always a manual break. He crawled towards the doorway, looking for some compartment that might house a lever or something. Whatever it may look like, he plans to put whatever strength he has as well as all his body-weight into it to at least slow the TravelPod down.

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

"Remain calm", hissed Death 4020 at the Sakkran Minister, before tapping on the communicator at his neck with a free tentacle.

"Control, this is Death 4020", he reported, "Emergency level 17, Biosphere Kappa. Override TravelPod 9. Authorisation Gamma Nine Seven. I want that Pod stopped!" The reply to this order was too low to be audible by those nearby, but the Ur-Quan bodyguard appeared satisfied with the response.

Turning to the three Ur-Quan troops nearby, he continued. "Proceed to level three - Control has deployed an emergency bubble. Extract any survivors from the Pod and await further orders." The Ur-Quan troops confirmed the order with a unanimous "Sir!" and departed to the clanking of armour.

Death 4020 then addressed the Sakkran Minister once more. "Apologies Minister, this incident was unfortunate. We have suspected that there might be a spy within our midst for several weeks, but were not certain until now. I trust you are unharmed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile aboard the TravelPod, Hulroo's frantic search for an emergency brake was rewarded by the scorched and cracked pane of PolyGlass on the opposite wall.

Through the glass the Minister could just make out a border of black and yellow chevrons surrounding a large handle….

Gaark stood and dusted off his shirt, trying to straighten himself out with as much dignity as he could muster. "Yes, I am unharmed, but that sounded like a proximity charge! The Vice-Minister may well be a heap of ash. My government will not take a kind eye to that."

He picked up his discarded robes, and tucked the Vice-Minster's robe under his arm. Damn you, Hulroo. More bravery than brains.

**********************************************************

Through the smokey curtain just over his head, the Vice Minister saw the cracked pane, and groggily aimed a fist at it. A dull crack was his reward, and his hand was once again aimed at the handle within. A tenuous grasp was made on the handle, and Hulroo managed to prop himself up a bit with one arm under him.

I hope this is enough leverage. He stiffened his arm and allowed his body weight to replace what would need to have been done with strength.

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

"Again, my apologies Minister, I will ensure that a full report will be available to your government within 24 hours. In the meantime we should prioritise your safety and attempt to ascertain the situation regarding your colleague"

Death 4020 opened a Comm Channel to the three Ur-Quan troopers.

"Situation report, Sergeant", he demanded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The unfortunate Minister Hulroo pulled desperately at the emergency handle with all the strength he could muster. The result of this effort was a high pitched metallic screech. The lights in the Pod flickered momentarily and failed but were quickly replaced by the dull blood red glow of emergency lighting.

The TravelPod began to slow noticeably but began shaking violently, rocking back and forth. As the metallic shrieking continued the main PolyGlass view port shattered, littering the Pod, and the Minster, in shards of friction heated polymer.

After a few more seconds the violent movement suddenly ceased resulting in an unexpected silence, seeming as if the TravelPod was momentarily in the eye of a storm. But this brief silence was then shattered by a further metallic grinding, followed by a brief juddering descent. The emergency lights in the pod then dimmed further and all motion ceased…

The outward demeanor of Minister Gaark could be construed as one who is calm and cool. "Yes, that might be best." He decided to step away from Death 4020, as to not interfere with his work.

Inwardly, the Minister was anything but calm and cool. Violent thoughts, foul epithets and a multitude of hexes on anyone involved with this incident were mentally hurled all about. If he was a psycher, there would be headaches aplenty for many in the surrounding area.

**********************************************************

Hulroo, meanwhile, allowed himself to go slack in the carnal Travelpod. I think it stopped. Now I can pass out in style. He blacked out even before his head hit the floor as his slack body went prone. His final thought was I want a raise.

Inspection would reveal 3rd degree burns all over his back and the rear of his legs, charred meat showing the tips of exposed verterbrae on his spine surrounded by blackened and crackling skin.

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

The Ur-Quan Sergeant cut through the buckled TravelPod doors with a high energy plasma torch, revealing the carnage within. The Pod was filled with a mixture of acrid smoke and emergency flame retardant foam, which had settled to form a sticky residue on the floor riven by streaks of blood.

The remaining troopers then proceeded to drag out the corpses, beginning with the alien intruder and the unfortunate Mrrshn. It was only when the body of Minister Hulroo emitted a small groan did they realise that the Sakkran was still alive.

"Sir! This is Sergeant 5961 we have accessed the TravelPod as ordered and have recovered three bodies. The Sakkran Minister is among them and is still alive, we have contacted MedCon who are dispatching a Trauma Team."

The reply came swiftly, "Acknowledged Sergeant, I will contact Central and report this incident, in the meantime arrange for Beta Watch to lock down the Alien Quarter and send additional patrols immediately. Death 4020 out"

Sergeant 5961 examined the unconscious Sakkran. Although battered and burned he would clearly live. These Sakkrans were pretty tough he mused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Death 4020 closed communications and addressed Minister Gaark once more.

"It is essential we move you to a safe location at once", he said, "escorts will be here momentarily who will see you safely to Central Command. I am sure Lord 311 will wish to address you personally on this matter when he has my report."

As if on cue a platoon of heavily armed guards rounded the corner and took up flanking positions around the Sakkran Minister.

Gaark looked about him at the contingent of guards. Then he eyeballed the prone frame of Hulroo in quite the state of unconsciousness. "That's well and good, but I will file a request now to have the Vice-Minister transferred to Palaai Medical on Sslaa V as soon as he is stabilized. I'm quite certain your MedTechs are capable at their jobs, but our biological systems are possibly incompatible with your medicines. The poor bastard has been through enough shock for now, I think."

He then looks for who may be the commander of his guard detail. "I'm ready at your leave."

The information provided had not comforted the Dominion colonists, nor their superiors back home. Any threat which carried with it so many unknowns was simply unacceptable. Where one scout showed up, there was at least a forward force to deal with, that much they felt they could be certain of. What was bothersome was the timing of all this. With other commitments at home, their defenses would be divided, moreso than usual. While production was well under way, the new fleet currently in the works was in no shape to help hold off an attack. Given the history between the races involved here …

“What in hell have we gotten ourselves into?” Governor Bartolio scanned the list of assets currently involved in the Sslaa system, including the number of persons living there. Far too much had been invested to simply cut and run if it came to that. There was little concern for the underground complexes, hence their designation as a sanctuary. The few domes above ground could be sealed off if needed – again, little concern there. The shipyards were where the heaviest losses would be should an open attack come. Luckily, given the fleets, they were also the easiest to defend. Yes, they did have substantial allied support in the area, but there was also a lot of area to cover.

“You don’t think perhaps we’re being a bit pessimistic, perhaps overreactive with this?” Esini asked, one brow arched as he scanned the reports.

“In looking at the information available, and considering the fact that we are the farthest-outlying installation in the Empire,” Bartolio replied sardonically. “No. No, I don’t. Fortune favors the prepared, no? So lets get preparing. And make sure we get that Ur-Quan vessel out of here – I don’t want any factors we can’t account for in the area, or any more opportunities for an ‘incident’. See they make it home, safely.”

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

“Grey Haven, prep for departure. Our Lokis will escort you back to Ur-Quan controlled space. Seems our unwelcome visitor has things in a bit of a stir. Hate to have you caught in the middle of anything if things go sour.”

Grey Haven - Sslaa Space

"Thank you", replied Qirik Zen - Grateful for the apparent lull in activity, and pleased to be returning to the relative safety of Ur-Quan space.

Perhaps the life of an independent was not as promising as he had once thought….

Kzer-Za - Colony Prime

With the condition of the unconscious Hulroo stabilised, preparations were made for the Minister to be urgently returned to Sakkran space.

Meanwhile a communication was dispatched to Minister Gaark from Lord 311, inviting him to an conference within the hour…

Gaark recieved the notice of the conference, and tried his best to retain whatever semblance of calm he could. He checked his scent glands under his forearms and on the rear of his legs to make sure there were no ambient traces of combat scent, and scrubbed off whatever he did find there. No sense in making them think i'm going in loaded for Hhoular!

At the appointed time, he made his way to the designated area for the meeting.

**********************************************************

Meantime, on Sslaa V, the DiploCOrps there received notice of Hulroo's return, and the condition precipitating that. Bosska shook his head slowly. "Shameful doings, that such a thing should happen on a relatively peaceful mission. Well, I expect Minister Gaark to have a report for us. In the meanwhile....." He checked the inactive service roster of the DiploCorps. Hmmm....off in TRD, so he's unavailable. Those two are off looking over the Rayverr. This one's in Titan Space ..... Hmph. We've been pretty busy as of late! Ah, here we are.

A button was depressed summoning his persoanl assistant. "Pkweet, send a message to Economist Brron. Give him the dossier on Nuova Toscana. Despite incidents on Sslaa I, the mission must go along as planned."

The 'voice' of Pkweet Twaarl came through the comm. "Of course, Prime Ambassador. And should I have the Servitors prepare a cistern of Paroo? We just recieved a fine shipment of vanilla-scented roast."

Thoughts of the murky black liquid pouring down his thorat encompassed Bosska, bring olfactory visions of the scent to him. "Yes yes. Do that. It sounds delightful."

Colony Prime - Kzaer-Za - Audience Chamber

Ambassador Gaark was duly escorted into the audience chamber he had visited only the day before. Although that must surely have surely seemed like an aeon ago to the Sakkran minister. At the head of the now familiar gleaming black table was the impressive figure of Lord 311 who, with the slightest flick of a tentacle, motioned for the ambassador to be seated.

"My dear Ambassador", boomed the cyclopean Ur-Quan, "I trust that you are well considering last nights events, and I am pleased to report that minister Hulroo is in a stable condition and has safely been returned to your government."

At that moment the sun crawled above the mountainous horizon, heralding a new dawn on Kzer-Za. The light filters built in to the PolyGlass windows activated, automatically rendering the light safe and bearable for the two occupants. The atmosphere in the valley reacted to the sunrise by slowly morphing to a dull purple hue.

"I apologise on behalf of all Ur-Quan for the harm that has befallen you while guests on our world", rumbled the overlord, "but I assure you that this incident is indicative of a far more sinister development".

The Ur-Quan extended a tentacle and activated a small pad on the VidCon situated to the left of his great bulk. Immediately a series of reports appeared on the screen in front of minister Gaark. These reports, when viewed individually did not appear to present anything of undue concern, but when viewed together seemed to highlight a disturbing, and increasing, trend….

Reports filled the screen relating to industrial accidents, computer failures, weapon malfunctions and the unusual disappearance of intelligence, materials and cargo. These reports spread back to the founding of the Kzer-Za colony and had been increasing in frequency slowly and steadily ever since. Worse still, these incidents did not seem confined to Ur-Quan space.

"It is my belief", continued the Ur-Quan, "that this system has been compromised, and that some unknown power is pursuing a strategy of spying, sabotage and even assassination in order to destabilise this region as a prelude to invasion."

The Ur-Quan extended his bulk across the diplomatic table until his maw was only a few feet from the Sakkran, his voice low and harsh.

"Intelligence does not conclude that this is the work of Antarans….they are too…'direct' in their methods, but one thing is certain, the would be assassin who attempted to take your life, was a Darlok…."

(ooc: Apologies for the delay posting! RL has been intruding a lot recently!!)

Gaark nodded his head as Lord 311 mentioned Hulroo's status. "Good, good. He's a bit green at his job. but never shirks from a challenge. I hope this hasn't soured him on retaining his position."

He listens as Lord 311 details events on the displays. "Darlok? Darlok...... the name sounds familiar, but i'm not sure ...... someone more knowledgeable in extra-speci relations would know who they are more likely. Regardless, they seem troublesome to me based on what's happened here. I'm sure my government has assigned another pair to treat with the other inhabitants of the system, which frees me to find out more here."

He peers at the displays closely. "You say the system is compromised? Director thress will be most vexed at this news."

Colony Prime - Kzer-Za

"I am sure", replied the Ur-Quan Overlord. "We Ur-Quan believe it is essential that the residents of this star system act…and act quickly…if we are to cleanse these worlds."

Lord 311 tapped a few commands into the control panel with the tip of an elongated tentacle. Moments later a data crystal emerged from a small compartment to Garrks right.

"This data crystal contains a proposal from the Ur-Quan to the Sakkran people and all other inhabitants of Sslaa. It relates to the deployment of our combined military and intelligence services."

"It is clear to us that there is more than one power ranged against us…the Anataran scout that your defence network so efficiently destroyed was just the beginning. And now, with spies and saboteurs in our midst, there is no longer any room for the luxury of complacency."

Death 311 activated the control pad once more and the audience chamber door slid open. Two Ur-Quan guards were silhouetted in the bright light that spilled into the room.

"These guards will escort you to your chamber where you may collect your things. From there you may proceed to your ship where you will be escorted by the cruiser "Dangerous Liason" into Sakkran space."

"I urge you honoured minister, to bring these matters to the attention of your director with haste, and wish you a safe voyage"

Gaark fingered the data crystal in his hands, a thoughtful look coming over his face as the scent of myrrh wafted off him from his scent glands. "Hmmmmm....then it should be so. I leave you, Lord 311, and bid you good fortune in your doings. Director Thress will have this hand delivered by myself." With that, he gave a short bow, and left to return to his shuttle.

Meanwhile, the appointed next minister dutied to the task of fact-finding in the system was looking over the packets given him as his shuttle left Vubz Station. Not a normal Sakkran, Economist Brron was in fact a Grass-Walker. But aside from that, he wasn't as interested in his psychic abilities gained during the Awakening on Titan. Sure they helped him ferret out embezzlement and corruption while he was employed with Hreer Weapon Works, but his interests lay more in the physical reality around him as opposed to mental pursuits.

And so he stayed on as an accountant, and rose through the ranks of Imperial Service until his path led him to where he is today. A regional director's position within the Imperial House itself. And now his shuttle was on its way to Nuova Toscana. The pilot of the craft sought the go-ahead in advance of their arrival.

"Colony Nuova Toscana, this is shuttle Nephron requesting landing protocols and coordinates. Bearing passenger Economist Brron on Imperial Duties."

After a quick scan to verify identity, control sends coordinates along with their reply – while a message is sent to Governor Bartolio so she can prepare. It wouldn’t do not to be on hand for the Sakkran’s arrival.

”Nuova Toscana control to shuttle Nephron – please proceed along the following coordinates to hangar three. Be advised, escort is en route as per standard procedure. On behalf of the Governor, it is an honor to receive Economist Brron.”

The hangar itself is built into one of the low-standing rock formations, two sets of heavy composite doors shielding the interior from the harsh environment of the dusty planet. Once safely navigated past each, and the shuttle has landed safely, Alessandra Bartolio steps forward, straightening the front of the jacket she wears over a matching grey skirt, both long and business-like. Also on hand are the usual workers and technicians going about their business, though keeping a respectable distance, and of course the ever-present soldati doing much the same.

While the atmosphere is concerned, it seems clear enough the Sakkrans are not the cause of it. Governor Bartolio greets the representatives with a warm yet close-lipped smile that many diplomats have become accustomed to using around several races, the kzinti having been the ones to originally inspire it.

“Welcome to Nuova Toscana, Economist Brron,” she says with a brief yet respectable bow. “How can we be of assistance?”

Standing head-high among the humans, the Economist would not cut a formidable presence save for his eyes, sporting multi-faceted pupils. Holding what almost appears a stone tablet in one hand, he fingers an organic device at his throat with the other. "Good cycle to you, Governor Bartolio." He gives a short bow in response.

The device is fingered again. "As you are quite aware, I am here in an official capacity. Seeing how the colonies in-system are fairing and such. We've had a nice surplus in the Imperial Treasury, and the Emperor has ordained it be used where it would be best applied; mainly to make our guests lives more hospitable." He looks about at the hangar, looks at the workers and soldati and sniffs the air deeply.

"It seems health is not a paramount concern here. You all have a fair pallor on your persons. That will be noted." The rill on the sides of his face extend slightly, much like a frilled lizard. "Perhaps as we walk, you could tell me of developments here, and how the Herpetological Empire could aid your peoples?"

“It’s good to know our gracious hosts take such an interest in us,” Bartolio replies, still smiling as she makes a gesture towards the door, then walks along Brron’s side for easier conversation. “I’m afraid that having an enclosed environment is something we Dominion folk are less than accustomed to. Still, adapt and live as I’ve heard the saying go. We are making headway – in no small part, being able to move forward more quickly thanks to the environments you had already prepared for our initial crews.”

“We do by necessity import most of our food products, though we anticipate water becoming more readily available should recent talks come to fruition. I’m afraid that even hauling ice from the Treznor colony can be an irritating expenditure, but when one’s habitat is a desert planet, one does what one must, no?”

The corridors they walk down are neat and functional, the overall design seeming to utilize the space available in the most efficient way. However, Dominion aesthetics had not been lost. To distract from the harsh constructed environment, there were carpets in rich, tasteful colors, the overall structure done in a warm antique white. Occasional greenery of sorts that could live well enough under the artificial light were placed in strategic spots, and occasional arches and curves were used to accentuate the crisp lines of the basic architecture.

“One of the problems we’re hoping to settle is the bombardment. If so much toxic matter continues to be violently introduced, it will be difficult both to clean up, and to expand our holdings. We’re approaching this opportunity your people have granted us with a very long-term plan in mind. We’re uncertain just how much it can be better adapted, but we hope to do what we can.”

So long as nothing comes up to prevent it, of course. Time enough to ease into talk of the recent intrusions after we have some refreshment. This visit cannot possibly be mere coincidence, she thought to herself. It was after all, tradition to get down to the more gritty business after some measure of polite conversation had been broached, and the guest's needs seen to.

Brron looked about with one eye as they walked; his multi-faceted pupils taking in a variety of light spectrums. UVb and A levels seem right. The foliage here seems to do fairly well enough. The finger goes to his neck again. "Your people have done well accomodating to the environment here, from a cursory examination. The problem with meteorite impactions? Hmmmm.....our xeno-ecologists have been experimenting with something to aid terraforming without making drastic changes to the planet's existing ecosphere. I'm no technician, bear in mind, but I could make a note to increase imperial funding by a score towards that end. Something to do with technology our military uses. Very classified hush-hush stuff."

He focuses one eye on Bartolio. "And you say you're having trouble with water distribution? Tricky territory, that. Hard to irrigate with no storm systems in existence. Hrmmm..... that would take drastic measures indeed. No telling what the effect on the planet would be. Could angle some of the ice from the asteroid belt this way, but it would become contaminated on entry."

"Indeed, the contamination is a good deal of the problem, as well as the simple logistics of hauling something that is so heavy and takes up so much space as water between colonies." Reaching the conference room, she gestures for Brron to join her, and offering him the opportunity to enter the room first if he so chooses.

"We're hoping to study the current environment in more detail before launching any large-scale changes to it," she continues once they've entered, making herself comfortable in one of the curved leather chairs that join back to seat along only one side, with ample adjustability for both smaller and larger-framed anatomy - an adaptation in many offworld or diplomatic installations, due to several differently-built races whom the Dominion is allied to or friendly with.

"It may well be that we will continue to live in protective domes and underground for the most part, mining what we can and going from there. But if the opportunities are right ..." Bartolio shrugs slightly, gesturing for the attendants to ready themselves to serve the refreshments.

"On behalf of the Dominion government, I thank you for your most generous offer, Economist Brron. Any assistance would of course be very much appreciated once we have a better understanding of what all we have to work with, though we certainly would not wish to burden you with anything after your already amply generous gift of assistance and land as is. Now, is there anything I can offer you, perhaps to drink, or eat?"

Economist Brron bows slightly at the gesture made bu Bartolio, and enters first taking a seat. He wraps his tail around the back of the seat in the space provided, and eases himself slowly into it. The hand goes to his neck again, and his voice comes from unmoving lips. "Refreshment would be good. A bit of black tea? No need for food as yet. I had a goodly meal last cycle; should be set for the week." A monocle of some manner is produced, and placed over his eye.

An attache of sorts is placed on the conference table and opened. Chits are brought out and placed in a small slot in the monocular device. "I will apprise the Treasury to allocate some additional funds toward their terraforming efforts. It will benefit all if there are positive results, yes? I was wondering myself, however. In your minings and exploration of the planet, if you had found or discovered anything problematic with this sphere? Aside from the ever-present contaminants, that is. Any unexplainable occurences involving equipment and the like? Data that seemed to just 'get lost' or anything like that?"

The changes the Sakkrans had gone through ever since the Awakening had been interesting, to be sure. For herself, Alessandra was impressed with how they had managed to adapt. Had something of that magnitude happened in the Dominion ... Best not to think about it.

“Excellent,” she replies, making a quick gesture to one of the attendants. “And a cappuccino for myself,” she adds before turning back to Brron. “Again, your generosity is most appreciated, sir. I will compile a more complete report detailing our own plans for development, along with what monies our government has seen fit to offer for it. Given your advanced expertise in the area, perhaps your people could suggest more effective ways of utilizing those funds as well. We are hoping to make this a more universally hospitable place, yes.”

Her brow arches only slightly when he touches on more delicate matters. “The most problematic thing I believe has been the occasional bombardment and toxicity levels we encounter here and there. As for the unexplainable, I think I can say with some assurance that I do not believe we have had any ... unfortunate troubles that could not rationally be explained. Which leads us to our present troubles. I take it there have been incidents? Some concern with possible infiltration? Just how much of a threat are these Antarans, and what does your government propose we collectively do about it?”


ooc: Apologies again for delays, just haven’t been posting anywhere what with irl issues and such. Figure we ought to wrap this to be able to continue with the other, where I really ought to be doing something all things considered – delays and being a lil out of my league there. *grins*

Brron mimics the motion of clearing his throat, with his translator issuning out a squeaking sound. " icould not surmise how to make a habitat universally acceptable. From our view, making the habitat tolerable for the chief specie would be primary concern. Hosting guests and making them comfortable would be secondary, yes?"

He leans forward, and steeples the smallish claws on his fingers together. "The Antaran problem is a strange situation, from what the Tomes tell us. They always send out advance recon units; sometimes drones, sometimes crewed scouts. These recon units probe the capabilities of a system and report back their data in the event they are overcome. That is the situation previously." He activates his portable terminal, displaying some of the info.

"They always return, the probings becoming greater in intensity. Then they begin sending out espionage units to uncover weaknesses in the culture and the people themselves. Then sabotage and thievery accompanies the intensified probings, sometimes simultaneously. When the probings give all the information they need, they emerge in force. And when they emerge in force, it is always a high cost in casualties, equipment and sometimes whole systems."

The display closes, and Brron leans back. "At this time we are still seeing the tentative probings. So right now additional fundings are being allocated towards improving internal security before it becomes a real problem, as well as bolstering colony defenses. What my government has advised is that supply lines and shipping lanes be slightly different each time. Can't disrupt the supply line if you can't find it, yes? Aside from that, i'm still awaiting information on events and plans."

“You do have a point there,” Alessandra admits, paling visibly at the description Brron offers of the Antaran method of operation. “Perhaps simply ‘less hostile’ would be more appropriate, given the racial diversity we enjoy in our allies. As for the Antarans, it would seem that increased security would indeed be our first priority, including perhaps a temporary quarantine and prohibition on new transfers until we can be assured that no such sabotage and infiltration is going on. Just because we haven’t had anything go awry that we’re aware of, all things considered, doesn’t mean we can take it for granted. I will pass on your recommendations to the Dominion and our trading partners so we can organize something along those lines.”

“I won’t lie to you – the forces we have here presently are not our most experienced, given this is where we’ve been building our ships and working on preliminary training. However, I believe that in light of your information, other fleets could be called in to assist. I only hope that the situation doesn’t become as bleak as it sounds.”

"Hrrmmmm...I'll rifle out a reccomendation to Director Thress to send a training detachment of Skeen agents to aid your personnell. It should help some considering the inexperience present, as you stated." His speech cuts off abruptly it seems, and Brenn is silent for a moment. "News from the datafeeds. Seems an Antaran probing incursion has been repulsed, with casualties from the Cetagandans primarily." From what could be seen from the monocular device, on the opposite side of it, tiny cuniform symbols stream and fade with new ones popping up for a scant second before they, too, fade and are replaced.

"Scolopendran forces are running patrols, and Imperial naval units are running salvage and survivor procuring operations. Tiburonese elements are bolstering the existant forces and prepping evac procedures for those willing. Hmmm...Emperor Gorrm is reccomending a tightening of security along in-system and out-system traffic lines. We'll just see where that leads to."

He straightens up a bit, and flexes his rill on the back of his head. "Director Thress may want to make an appearance herself to guage the readiness of your forces, should she take my recccomendation."

“I believe that we could make certain arrangements in light of the current situation, yes,” Alessandra replies. “Any expertise regarding this new threat would of course be appreciated.”

Her brow furrows at the updates, and she bows her head and murmurs a quiet prayer for the departed before looking back to Brron with a grave expression.

“It would seem it’s time to make those preparations then,” she says, getting to her feet and extending her hand. “Please forward on our appreciation both for your assistance and advice. I look forward to coordinating our efforts to keep our mutual interests in this system as safe as we can manage. I suppose it was too much to expect that it remain quiet, though to date, we have enjoyed an extraordinary peace. If you would excuse me cutting things short, there is much that needs to be seen to. I would be happy to escort you back to your ship, or you are more than welcome to remain here with what hospitality we have to offer.”

Brron nods his head slowly, and touches his finger to his neck. "Your offer of hospitality is appreciated. But I should return to Sslaa V and file an across-the-board reccomendation for increased funds allocated towards security and manufacturing for the colonies in-system." The monocular device is shut off, removed and packed away.

He packs up his case, and gives a short bow. "Governor Bartolio, it has been a pleasure. I'll send my reccomendation along to Thress, and see where she goes with it. You should hear something by Cycle's End from her or myself."

“Understood completely. Again, my thanks to your and yours. We will do our utmost to be prepared,” she assures Brron, returning the bow politely.

Ye gods, but there is a lot to be done. Home is not going to be pleased.