NationStates Jolt Archive

Long ago, before Humanity's ascention to the stars, the Protoss Carrier was considered a huge ship. It's approximately 200 meter bulk carried only a small number of drone fighters, and all the manufacturing power to produce them nearly as fast as they could be shot down. But within only the past thousand or so Terran years, it's grand scale had been reduced to a tiny helplessness. Some now might consider it quaint. For the benifit of an alien ruler wresting political control over said Terrans, the CStS Faith and Purity was about to smash such misconceptions.

After exiting the Alpha/Beta/Proxima Centauri wormhole nexus, the little carrier broadcasted a single message to the Valinon traffic control system. It translated simply as "Please prepare for the arrival of the Therian Regant Aan of the Empire of Wazzu." Then at a respectful distance (the Regent was comming to sign accords, not to throw rocks at a wasps nest), the little ship went to work.

Drones launched from it's belly, not the combat drones it typically carried, but probes. The probes in turned launched their own tiny devices, beacons that were quickly enveloped by a swirling blue mass of energy characteristic of how the Protoss warped...?buildings? Certainly they had not warped ships in this manner before.

In all, the two minute process saw the materialization of nearly one hundread ships of a wide variety of shapes and sizes and design. Only twenty of these were small to large combatants, though they had a large escort if one could consider 30 meter gunboats large or even an escort. That left for a nearly 30 ship (well armed looking) support fleet, quite respectable in percentage to it's protectors if not as a whole number itself. Indeed, the fleet was small by the standards of the Raumreich, and a chaotic mix of non-matching combat philosophies. But it showed one thing well and good.

There could be little mistake that the Therian Regent Aan now led what was left of Wazzu.

Grossadmiral Count Bafrid Leopold, Seventh Star Lord of Her Imperial Majesty's Kriegsmarine commanding the Vaterland Tactical Theater, looks up over the vast area of data-discs and comp-pads laying out on his desk as Kapitan Ogdin, his chief of staff enters, after a rather terse knock.

"Yes, Thor?" Leopold says, a little bit harried, until he notices the surprised look in his primary aide's eye.

"My apologies, Your Grace, but large contingent of warships registered to the Wazzu just exited from superluminal transit close to the Alpha Centauri/Yaltan wormhole terminus. They apparently used a Protoss recall system, or at least that is what it appears to be. They say they are escorting the 'Therian Regent' of the Empire of Wazzu and are requesting permission to proceed to Proxima."

Leopold sets the comp-pad he was holding down quickly and rapidly brings up his n-plant, reading the reports from the terminus traffic control division located in the system traffic control area of the vast station and shipyards complex known as Her Majesty's Space Station Sanctuary.

"I thought the General Staff dispatched someone to meet with the Wazzu colonial authorities regarding the current situation in the Raumreich."

"They did, Your Grace. The HMS Thunderhead departed Yalta eighteen hours ago carrying Kommodore Broughton from Reichsprotektor Adonis' personal staff to debrief the Wazzu authorities."

"Has there been any word from the Thunderhead or Kommodore Broughton since then?"

"No, Your Grace. The last report from Kommodore Broughton said they had established contact with the Wazzu authorities and he was going planet-side for a conference. That was only two hours ago."

"That is not nearly enough time for the Wazzu to assemble a fleet of this size, not given their present resource status. Did they say why the Regent wished to come to Proxima."

"No, Your Grace."

"Damn it all this is the last thing I need, especially after having to deploy most of our advanced units to the Gregor terminus. Has system control issued any additional instruction to the Wazzu?"

"No, Your Grace. Junction Control is holding them at my discretion."

"Thank you for that much, Thor. Have System Control clear the Wazzu fleet for an initial approach pattern to Proxima after preparing a suitable escort. Then have them query them as to what the Regent's business in Alpha Centauri is, and if they need a reason tell them it is so we may alter relevant parties of the government to their arrival."

"Yes, Your Grace."

The Seventh Star Lord makes a vague wave of dismissal as he turns back to his paper work. Ogdin turns and makes rapidly back to pass along Leopold's orders to the traffic controllers.

**********

Eight minutes later, the clear, crisp voice of one of Sanctuary's traffic controllers reaches out to the Wazzu flotilla.

"Attention Wazzu vessels, this is Sanctuary System Traffic Control. You have been cleared for an initial approach pattern to Proxima Centauri and at present a cis-lunar orbit. The approach pattern and coordinates are being uploaded to you now. We are also dispatching the cruisers HMS Horne and HMS Skorry to escort you in-system. Grossadmiral Leopold also would like to inquire as to the Regent's business in Alpha Centauri, that way he may inform the relevant members of Her Imperial Majesty's Government as soon as possible."

The only human in the Regent's command ship, obviously the largest in the fleet (the Regent was NOT exactly a superior military commander), wanted desperately to look over his shoulder. He didn't dare. But the hiss of anger he dreaded did not meet his back. Either Regent Aan took the message in stride, ignored it completely, or didn't have a strong enough command of the alien human language to understand the undertone. That was of course why Charles Benter was the only human on this ship...to translate.

This was one type of message he had been instructed to simply respond to, the large lizzard-like Therian had no more want to micromanage this sort of thing then a Royal in Valinon would. He took a moment to formulate a reply, then spoke with a smooth voice.

"Sanctuary System Traffic Control, this is Therian Vessel Dagger in the Back." Charles winced at the translation of the name as he spoke it. "We thank you for your escort. Please inform Her Imperial Majesty's Government the Regent Aan, acting on behalf of the Emperor of Wazzu, wishes to sign the Proxima Centauri Accords."

There, Benter thought to himself in a strangely refreshing sarcastic tone, that wasn't so bad, now was it?

An angry hiss sounded at his back....

"The Accords?" Leopold says with some disbelief as Ogdin replays the message from the interestingly named Therian warship. He looks up at the hologram of his chief of staff, with the background movement of Sanctuary's traffic control division filling the are around him, and brings up a small hologram of the space around the Alpha Centauri/Yalta wormhole terminus. His eyes narrowly slightly.

"That is what they transmitted, Your Grace, and they have also forwarded the proper diplomatic protoccols."

"Personally I find this fleet showing a little osentatious just to sign the Proxima Centauri Accords, especially after the mockery Ansel just made out of it," Leopold says with a hint of bitterness is his voice. "But then I suppose the old saying of 'to each his own applies here as well', and we have no reasons to deny the Wazzu and their Regent access just because they decided to parade a fleet around. Give the Regent's fleet clearance to assume a standard orbit outside our inner defensive perimeter and transmit a message to Duke Sterling, Lady Rolt, and Lord Ribbentrop informing them of the reason for the Wazzu arrival."

"Yes, Your Grace."

**********

A few moments after the initial contact, the comm channel from Sanctuary once again fills the Wazzu receivers.

"Dagger in the Back, this is Sanctuary System Traffic Control, you have now been cleared for standard orbit over Proxima Centauri immediately outside the inner defensive perimeter. The courses and orbital insertion coordinates are being uploaded to you now. Her Imperial Majesty, Her Majesty's Government, and Chancellor nar Kiranka of the Liga have been made aware of your presence and your intent to sign the Accords. A formal delegation from the Liga and the Star Empire is awaiting your arrival at the Skye Complex on the Isle of Clouds. We will clear a shuttle course through you once you enter orbit. Welcome to the Alpha Centauri system."

OOC: Feel free to just accelerate straight to the shuttle landing, everything else is routine.

In an act of consensus that was as much a show as the fleet above, 6 beings representing the 6 largest races found in the Wazzu Protectorates walked off the old, tough looking Therian shuttle together. It was obvious who the ringleader was, the reptillian-looking Regent dwarfed the rest of the group. Therians were typically taller and more massive then humans in the first place, their ruling party (in which the Regent Aan currently stood at the top) were even larger, and Wazzuian humans tended to be short. Except for one, the rest of the 'representatives' fared better then the tiny human translator, whom promptly bowed to the reception in place of the rest of his delegation.

He spoke up: "The Regent of Wazzu offers greetings to those Raumreich delegates who are here and expresses his joy at becomming the first nation in both a long line and too long a time to sign the Proxima Centauri Accords." The long-winded sentance was about as long as the apparant shortness of the Therian's joy. Indeed, the reptillian stood behind his interpreter as emotionless as he was clothingless...and not bothered by either.