NationStates Jolt Archive

The Eternal Republic of Xirnium
Early in the twenty-first century

Following the final retirement of the venerable Prime Minister Erthám Nidör from national politics, and the undisputed selection, by her party’s caucus, of then Foreign Minister Heather Gílda for the parliamentary leadership of the Progressive Democracy Government, the Supreme Parliament of the Eternal Republic expressed a renewed (and quite unexpected) interest in a possible expansion of the long-neglected Xirniumite space programme.

The Xirniumite Space Agency, once peerless in the world’s endeavour to further the pursuit of space exploration, had fallen on hard times. Indeed, the past two decades had seen a drastic reduction and curtailment of the Xirniumite Republic’s space-related activities due to chronic under-funding and a lack of political will. It was perhaps not so impossible to forget, sometimes, that such was the very same nation that had once so boldly placed men and women on the surface of Mars.

Once more, however, would the Xirniumite people reach haughtily for the stars. The plans that were drawn up were to easily be the most ambitious by far, their financial backing unprecedented. The construction of faster, more modern spacecraft, of complex orbital space stations, of advanced scientific research satellites, of sophisticated deep space probes – all were embarked upon with alacrity, as if the Xirniumite Government was eager to make up for lost time. Rumours even began to spread within the Xirniumite Space Agency of considerably more daring proposals which had previously been the sole domain of science fiction, of vast, revolving space habitats, of human colonies on distant worlds, and even of a majestic elevator to outer space itself.

Whether any of this would one day come to fruition, however, was to depend largely on the success or failure of the maiden voyage of the Alectrona. Dispatched to the icy Galilean moon of Europa, the crew of the Alectrona would not only be conducting a survey mission to determine the feasibility of a proposed permanent Xirniumite base on the Jovian satellite, but would determine the very future of the recently revitalised Xirniumite space programme itself.


Aboard the “Tau Zero”-class Interstellar Starship Alectrona XS-II
Translunar space, near the Earth

Currently en route to Jovian space, Day 1 of interplanetary journey

‘and, the centrifugal living modules rotate as well…’ explained Adrián proudly, demonstrating the fact by spinning one of the counterrotating wheels of the meticulously detailed fine scale model. Having clearly taken months to construct, the model was a faithfully accurate representation of the very starship which now careened at tremendous velocity towards Europa in the first manned Xirniumite interplanetary mission in over two decades.

‘My word,’ spoke the mission commander politely, a hint of a smile curling at the edges of her ruby-coloured lips as she cast a sidelong look at the thirteen year old child’s father.

‘Would that happen to be where you are now, mother?’

‘Not quite, I fear. Actually, I’m currently on the spacecraft’s command deck,’ replied Claudia, now grinning widely at the audiovisual images of her husband and son, which were being beamed to one of her console’s ultra high resolution monitors from across the vast gulf of space.

From what the starship captain could see, it must currently have been early morning in the south-eastern, coastal Xirniumite metropolis of Eärindúnë - her home city. Claudia observed, for instance, that the day’s warm, gentle sunlight streamed invitingly through the large windows of her affluent penthouse apartment. Her son already wore the smart school blazer and diagonally-striped tie that were a mandatory part of the students’ uniform at Tirbäraddêss Manor Grammar School (a typically representative, extremely old Xirniumite state school). Her husband, a gentleman named Sébastien, of course wore a stylishly fashionable three-piece suit, and Claudia wondered briefly if her impromptu communication with them might not be making him late for work.

‘The command deck… wow,’ breathed Adrián excitedly, briefly glancing at his father beside him. ‘But you aren’t floating in zero gravity,’ pointed out the adolescent reasonably, noticing the way his mother’s long, dark hair hung naturally about her shoulders.

‘My how very observant,’ beamed Claudia with doting fondness. ‘And what does that mean, do you think?’

‘It means that the Alectrona’s matter-antimatter plasma core engines are now being fired, that your spacecraft is currently under acceleration,’ explained Adrián with a knowledgable air, eager to impress his mother. ‘How fast is your starship moving?’

‘Computer? Specify the magnitude of our current velocity,’ ordered the mission commander. Of course, Claudia already knew her spacecraft’s speed; indeed, it was being presently displayed in one of the multifunction displays in front of her. This method, however, seemed to her to be much more dramatic, and the captain was eager to indulge the enthusiasm of her son.

‘Four point four two multiplied by ten raised to the power of four metres per second,’ replied the soothingly reassuring, feminine sounding voice of the ship’s artificially intelligent supercomputer, providing her answer in what she considered to be perfectly logical SI units and scientific notation.

Adrián frowned as he struggled to consider this value in terms that he could relate to.

‘About one hundred and sixty thousand kilometres per hour. Not particularly great, barely a thousandth the speed of light,’ explained the mission commander. ‘Really, it’s an absolutely trifling amount compared to what the Alectrona is truly capable of doing. To conserve antimatter fuel, however, we are only accelerating at one quarter g. Still… in barely two weeks we will be at Jupiter. Quite extraordinary, isn’t it? I’ll be home before you know it.’

‘Well, please do take the utmost care. We are both waiting for you to come home safely,’ spoke Sébastien. Unlike his son, who had been positively delighted at the announcement of the journey several months previously (and also immensely proud of the fact that it was his mother who was to be the captain of one of only two interstellar craft in the entirety of the Xirniumite Space Agency), the response of Claudia’s husband had been far more subdued. In fact, Sébastien hid what was great anxiety and concern for the welfare of his wife – quite an understandable sentiment given that she was to travel some four astronomical units beyond Earth’s orbit to a lonely, alien, and previously unexplored world.

‘I’m sure that I shall be fine. Remember to send me messages every day,’ added the captain. Even though the Alectrona had only been accelerating towards Jupiter for several hours, there was already a slightly noticeable time delay in their communication. Such a lag would only further lengthen as the Alectrona continued her relentless dash towards Jovian space. By the end of the first day’s travel, it would take light almost to thirds of a minute to arrive at the intrepid starship from Earth, rendering any realtime communication quite impossible.

‘I love you both,’ declared Claudia, the tone of her voice coloured a little by a sudden surge of emotion.

‘We love you too, dear. Very, very much,’ replied her husband.

__________________________
A computer-generated image of a “Tau Zero”-class starship on a hypothetical mission to a distant corner of the galaxy. [Link (http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/Xirnium/star.jpg)]

The Alectrona was and wasn’t an impressive ship. Its size was quite impressive, but its capabilities were, at least by the people aboard the ship that followed it, quite limited. The Tinúviel was much smaller, less than a third of the length of the other ship, and thinner. Four light seconds behind, it was hidden from detection – at least, casual detection – by the Alectrona, by its mirror-fields, presently configured to absorb all emissions that it detected.

The ship was surrounded in a bubble of darkness as bleak and cold as one could imagine, absolute and impenetrable. It normally formed part of the ship’s defences, it was called a mirror field. It was capable of absorbing or reflecting electromagnetic energies, it could allow the Tinúviel to survive in close proximity to the photosphere of a star – other components could actually allow it to survive below.

Ciryacáno Áracálë commanded the Tinúviel, he was an elf, of course, dark haired and tall. Broad of chest and hand, and strong, he was quite capable, though fairly young among the more senior officers of the third fleet. Despite the small size of his command, it was quite prestigious. The largest frigate class, and more than that, the first of its line to be produced – the Tinúviel was like the Alectrona in that respect.

Áracálë and his ship were following the Alectrona for a reason, aside from sheer curiosity. They’d monitored Xirnium for some time, because they were interested in certain cultural similarities.

This didn’t make his task any less boring, Áracálë thought, sitting back in his chair at the front section of the Tinúviel’s control room. The Alectrona was displayed in holographic form in the hemisphere at the front of the chamber, in which the captain’s chair was based. At armrest height, several panels rested, though Áracálë’s attention was focussed on the star-shaped Alectrona, rather than the communications equipment nearby.

He turned the chair, and looked at one of his subordinates, “Take over here,” he said. Somewhere on the deck below was a caffeine drink with his name on it.

It wasn’t an interesting assignment.

Yet.

OOC: Apologies for brevity and quality. I’m not too well, and not really ‘fired up’ for wiritng…

Aboard the Interstellar Starship Alectrona XS-II
Somewhere beyond Mars’ orbit

Currently en route to Jovian space, Day 7 of interplanetary journey

Borne indefatigably closer towards their heavenly destination by the tremendous energies released from the annihilation of vast scores of antiparticles every second, the Alectrona and her crew had traversed almost half the distance to Jupiter by the end of their first week. Incandescent blue burned the brilliant flame of expelled, superheated plasma that issued forth from behind the slender spacecraft. The starship now surged forward at a full half percent of the speed of light - insignificant indeed by any cosmic standards, and yet easily fast enough to render each and every one of the Alectrona’s crew by far the fastest moving Xirniumites in modern history.

Inside the spacecraft, the command deck was mostly silent. Save perhaps for the gentle humming of the various electronic consoles that clustered around the circular room, the ubiquitous murmur of the ship’s ventilators or the intermittent click of some hidden relay, little disturbed the peaceful tranquillity of the setting. Those currently working were mostly intent on the sophisticated meters, readouts and displays that monitored the various vital systems of the ship. Though mostly automated, the crew nonetheless kept a watchful eye over the myriad functions of the spacecraft. None of this, of course, was particularly necessary. The Alectrona could, in fact, operate herself; indeed, on interstellar voyages it was envisioned that her self-aware supercomputer would shoulder all the tasks of running the starship without any human supervision whatsoever.

On the command bridge, Claudia Aurëaliptë, captain of the Alectrona, was currently in whispered conversation with her chief navigator, Aelhaearn Círyalë, regarding the next phase of the mission. A brilliant cosmologist from the prestigious University of Naèräth, Aelhaearn had known the captain personally for many years (indeed, the later had studied astrophysics under his tutelage more than a decade ago), and he shared Claudia’s boundless enthusiasm for the Eternal Republic’s renewed space programme. After a few additional moments of thoughtful discussion, with several helpful inputs from the ship’s computer, Ms Aurëaliptë resolved finally to addressed her crew.

‘May I have your attention please, this is the captain,’ began Claudia, speaking politely yet authoritatively over the Alectrona’s intercom system. ‘As per our original schedule, the ship is to commence her retroburn procedure within several minutes. The greatly reduced velocity that we shall attain will allow us to successfully achieve orbital insertion around Jupiter by the end of this week. I strongly recommend that everyone secure themselves safely and firmly in their seats for the next few minutes, as we shall be temporarily experiencing apparent weightlessness. Thank you, that is all.’

To any outside observer travelling alongside the Alectrona, the spacecraft would have appeared as if hanging stationary against an immense star-field; her actual phenomenal speed hidden by the fact that there existed no visible external reference point against which to judge it. An abrupt extinguishment of the starship’s brilliant violet flame was the only hint that the Alectrona has stopped accelerating, and that it now coasted freely through the cold void of space. Ion attitude thrusters fired briefly, orientating the spacecraft to a new position retrograde to its motion. Finally, the mighty matter-antimatter engines were reignited, and the most minute course corrections preformed.

When next the plasma core thrusters went cold, the majestic orbiter would be in the daunting shadow of the gas giant of Jupiter.

"You depart now to the sea of stars, to take flight with the absolute, over years have we prepared for this day, now go in the name of Novacom and the state, take to the sea of stars," the words still echoed within, the words of the Suprainister, sighing Senhcenz Nevkeyt peered out of the view port, at the twinkling orbs surrounding this shell, this small group of ships, built in secret and recently departed from the orbital space station of Kramian Deltzar, it had been decided some time ago, based on their task, that a large number of small ships would be better than one large ship, after all, the asteroid belt was unpredictable, and the loss of one ship would be regrettable, a tragedy, but it would be nothing to compare if the entire of the mission were lost, Senhcenz Martin Nevkeyt turned from the view port to the control nexus of the ship, dubbed Phoenix Grasp, a number of young men and women were at work, all garbed in Novan uniform, as they worked away at numerous consoles, at the center of the room a large table was surrounded by a gaggle of scientists, all discussing the finer points of the objects on the monitors, sighing to himself he swung over the banister against which he had been resting, gazing out to the twilight eternal.

He was a middle aged man, Martin Nevkeyt, he had looked up at the twilight stars from his very first memories, he had dreamed that the stars were within reach, to sore through the ethereal expanses, to explore the unknown, to that end he had made his educational focus, Physics Robotics and Chemistry, his vision and his drive has seen him through U.N.I. well, and his command talent during his military service prior to that had marked him as an individual of note to the military, and his dissertation had marked him as a potential asset to the NSD, and they had been quick to offer him a position, first at Kramian Deltzar in command of the facility, and then as a consultant on the design of the ship in which he now traveled, his experience with command of Naval and Aerial battleships served him well, his vision had served him well, and now he was to meet an ultimate challenge of his foresight, the next frontier they called it, the next step, he despised such tacky terms, to him it was the dream, to him it was the future, and as many Novans loved to phrase things, it was destiny.

"Cyberax please tell me our status, how long until we reach the asteroid belt, I'm eager to begin," he muttered at a blank screen, and before his eyes the vision, the name came forth, the name of the machine twisted and warped became the face of the machine, the face of Cyberax, "Senhcenz we make good time already, things are hindered slightly by your directive to keep communications between the mission and the advance Tokon XT's to a minimum but things are proceeding well, as you can see the scientists are pouring over the findings," running his fingers through his straw colored hair sighing Martin cast another glance around the room, done out in typical black coloration, with white strip lights sunken in, subtly lighting the room, reflecting idly to himself that they had made good time, already past Mars the Harbinger, as it was known they had had to slow in preparation for entry to the great barrier of cosmic rock, their ultimate goal,

"Tell me Cyberax, of that heat signature earlier, the last thing I want on our furthest foray yet is to run into are aliens, or discover we've been preempted by some other nation, we did keep things under our hat after all, nobody knows about Kramian Deltzar, yet," leaning back against the top of a chair his head twisted slightly back one eye looking at the monitor, the other at the view port,

"Nothing as of yet, however a Tokon XT did sight them, it seemed to be headed to Jupiter, and it's course seems to have come back from Earth, it probably launched after us sir, what of it?" crooned the machine, it's computerized voice thrumming through the chill air of the nexus, the other crew paying not a gram of attention to it, too engrossed in their work were they.

"Jupiter, Jupiter, this bears thought, a Tokon caught sight of it ey? well get that Tokon to follow it, it will not of course catch up with it, but send it to Jupiter, I want to know what is going on, and 1 of the remodeled Tokons won't be a massive loss, we have plenty of them with us," Martin turned back to face the monitor fully his hands pressed to the top of the chair, "well Gerald, what's the verdict?"

"Well sir, we have several good candidates, however though sir, it'll be your decision, though this one has the most promise, and it's closest," responded the scientist, turning from the monitor, his long spiked brown hair moving across the collar of his tunic, as he turned to look Martin in the eye.

"Looks good," he replies nodding, taking his hands of the chair and drawing up he shouts out, "Alter course For Asteroid Axis, and send Eternity's Song and Destiny's Embrace to investigate Asteroid Daimerazan, make it happen people." At the rear of the chamber at the heightened platforms where the ships navigation were done, and the main communication with the rest of the ships was performed an immediate change was evident, the Navigators at their stations quietly clattered away to each other in Novan co-coordinating their calculations to ensure that their course was true, and conferring with the Navigators of the rest of the ships, to ensure they all got their in one piece, one of the scientists who had been ensconced at the central table had detached himself and was conferring with one of them, advising them of the approach, the woman nodded appreciatively at her learned male colleague while tapping away at the console before her.

The small force of ships, changed direction smoothly, their Tesla powered engines emitting no visible signs of movement, except for a small rim of light, the entire force had taken some time to get this far, from it’s launch at the secret Orbital facility, assembled at the island laboratory of Zulthuzadius, home of the NSD, Novacom Space Division, the parts shipped out from Technopolis of Destinus, where the main facilities of Novacom Manufacturing were located, all had culminated in this, years of work, decades of research, the Novan people were kept in the dark over this, there were more important things to concern them with, the looming threat of a reborn Kraven for one.

The ships, themselves were angular and needlelike, with a rotating girdle of diamond like projections, rotating smoothly to generate a sense of gravity, yet it had been decided not to make this perfect gravity, after all they would need to respond swiftly to the unexpected, without being fettered by a perfect simulation of earth’s gravity.

The Asteroid Belt spread out before the ships, it’s massive majestic randomness baffled all, just what was the origin of this girdle of stone, there were theories of course, but nothing concrete, out of the group of ships swarmed a familiar sight, Tokons, XT model designed especially for space born operations, their engines remodeled for zero gravity operations, their weapon systems trimmed back as space for other equipment had been made, their hydraulic claws further refined for more delicate operations, they flew out in concert towards a large asteroid, the object of their desires, and the dreams of the men and women of all the ships.

Aboard the interstellar starship Alectrona XS-II
In high orbit around Jupiter

Day 15 of interplanetary journey

Over the course of the next week, that great and stormy globe of raging tempests and violent hurricanes that was the planet of Jupiter grew steadily larger and larger in the Alectrona’s many monitors. So much so that, over a relatively quite short span of time, the massive gas giant came to completely dominate the crew’s view of the heavens. The spacecraft’s firm capture by Jupiter’s immense gravitational field was performed effortlessly and with flawless precision by the ship’s supercomputer, and the Alectrona had now merely to wait patiently for the elegant operation of applied flight mechanics to transfer her to a nearby orbit around the ice moon of Europa. For an entity that had not the slightest of difficulties in passing the most advanced of Turing tests which the Eternal Republic’s most gifted computer programmers and psychologists could throw at her, the manoeuvre (though delicate) was not a particularly impressive one to execute. It did, however, afford the computer a chance to be of use – and there was little that gave the AI more pleasure than to feel appreciated by others. For the crew’s part, they could now idle away the remaing few hours until their final rendezvous with Europa, basking in the presence of a celestial body truly majestic in its impersonal grandeur.

Of course, the Tinúviel’s interest in the Xirniumite starship had gone completely unnoticed by Claudia and her crew - and even by the supercomputer. For one thing, no one was actively searching for it. The majority of astronomers aboard the Alectrona were deeply absorbed in private assignments of their own (the study of some distant star or galaxy, or perhaps the examination of a curious quasar located at the very edge of the known universe), and without a careful scouring of the starfield the passage of Áracálë’s starship, hidden as it was by its mirror-fields, would be easy to miss. The Novan spacecraft, of course, was currently at much too great a distance to be detected by the Alectrona’s sensors at this point in time - and was thus lost amongst the numberless small rocky objects of the asteroid belt as a grain of dust is lost within a handful of sand.

In any case, Ms Aurëaliptë and the Xirniumite Space Agency had not particularly expected to encounter any intelligent forms of life this far out in the solar system, away as they were from the vicinity of Earth or Mars. The nature of the multiverse, however, can be a fickle thing indeed. The perpetual movement of an infinite and varied number of distinct and seperate planes of reality (many of which were governed by the laws of logic and rationality, others of which could only be described by a Xirniumite as originating from the realm of the purely fantastical), and their resultant and unpredictable intersection with one another, could (and often did) result in the most extraordinary of occurrences. It was not unknown, after all, for whole nations to wink into and out of existence.

To say, however, that the crew of the Alectrona had not considered the probability of discovering sapient beings amongst the shadows of the Galilean moons to be particularly significant, whilst perfectly true, was not to imply that no plans had been made for just such a contingency. With the infinite diligence that was one of her defining characteristics, Athéne* had set about closely examining the entire range of electromagnetic radiation that emanated from the depths of Jovian space. The visible spectrum, of course, would provide the most obvious indicia of intelligent life, if any existed, and Athéne thus took great care to methodically examine detailed topographical images of all of Jupiter’s satellites. The other electromagnetic bands were not neglected, however, and everything from radio waves to gamma rays were subjected to analysis by sophisticated algorithms (designed by Athéne and a talented mathematician aboard the Alectrona named Mr Siëlmë) in order to determine whether or not they were of artificial origin.

As if for added certainty, Claudia had informed the supercomputer that the Alectrona should also openly broadcast an announcement of her presence upon entering Jovian space - even if the captain personally considered it highly likely that the only things that would ever hear her call were the silent stars themselves.

__________________________
*For so had the Alectrona’s supercomputer decided to name herself, selecting (from within her vast databases of accumulated knowledge) the name of a mythological deity which had happened to take her fancy at the time. No doubt Athéne had found the reference to the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom both rather apt and quite flattering. It seems that Xirniumite thinking computers, much like the mortal humans who had first created them, did not lack a well-developed sense of vanity.

At the extreme orbital limits of the Ice World of Europa's grasp floated an almost insignificant speck of silver against an overwhelming backdrop of shimmering yellow light. She turned slowly -- set in a spin many moons ago and yet to be stayed or calmed. From this lonely vantage point a single message permeated most of the electromagnetic spectrum and therefore most communication frequencies.

Attention, attention -- You are advised that as per the stipulations, obligations and contents of the Europan Treaty of Percautus-Securitas (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=408619) The orbital space of Europa is closed to all non-signatories or those not exempt from the wording of the above.

No vessels may enter or assume orbit of Europa unless conforming with the above or with the express permission of both signatories. Failure to take heed is a breach of legislative order AD/OFESA:2741(571EA).


By the authority of the Council of The Aengelistoria Dominica, enacted by the Office for Foreign & Extra-Solar Affairs.




Attention, attention -- You are advised that as per the stipulations, obligations and contents of the ...

Neuroroquen Vanya nos Thranduril, princess Vanya nos… technically, though it didn’t actually cause her to have much special treatment, watched the communications screen with some apathy. The Tinúviel had been on this assignment for some time now, and this was the first interesting thing to pass her eyes about the Alectrona. Vanya ran the Tinuviel’s landing and hangar bays – small, cramped affairs – but that didn’t stop most of the crew cross training on this particular mission, and today, she was impersonating the communications officer.

A kaeneian message flickered across the screen. It was expected, of course, and in theory, they could have passed a warning to the Alecrona, but that didn’t suit the agenda of Menelmacar.

Lord Túrelio himself had decided what was to be done about, what was to happen to the Alectrona, and forcing them to turn around wasn’t on the table. He had some other ideas for Xirnium…

Calling Áracálë over, she punched one of the buttons on the console, and then another. He stood behind her, and began talking, speaking in perfect Quenya, it sounded a little – ‘out’ because of his use of human terms, Europa instead of Helcaraxë, Io instead of Valarauka. The machine took it down, and recorded in audio, also…

From: Ciryacáno [Commander, Naval] Áracálë, Menelmacari Frigate Tinúviel
To: Commander, Xirnium Spacecraft Alecrtona
Subject: Europa and the Jovian Sub-System

May a star shine on the hour of our meeting,

We’ve been following you quietly for some time, hope you don’t mind, it was benign enough - in case you’re wondering, in order to make sure you don’t run into any trouble. Anyway, as you’ve probably heard by now, Europa, and indeed, every other planet in the Jovian sub-system is occupied. Just in case you can’t translate the message you’re receiving, I’m appending a copy in Quenya
Vanya didn’t need telling twice, and hit a few keys to attach the translationto this transmission.

In any case, you’ll find the Kaenians an honourable people, but they’re not exactly fond of guests or surprises… We on the other hand, have clearly been expecting you. We only have a small outpost over Europa, and bringing guests there without warning wouldn’t please the locals too much. On the other hand, you’re quite welcome to visit Ganymede, Callisto and even Io. You needn’t worry about fuel or acceleration and turning forces, we can sort those out for you quite easily. Chances are if you ask the Kaenians nicely, they’ll let you drop by on Europa, just make it clear you don’t wish to colonise… but between you and I, there is no native life there. Just ice, lots of ice. Oh, and Kaenians.

“Transmit that,” he said, “and lower sensor barrier. Reset mirror fields to standard limits…” – normally, they were configured to permit a certain amount of energy and radiation through, rendering them essentially invisible, as enough light to see the ship passed through them.

The executive conference room, Located within counter-rotating habitation module “A”
Aboard the interstellar starship Alectrona XS-II

On final approach to Europa

‘Semantic analysis, captain. I can find no reference to the keywords “orbit” or “orbital space” within the text of the affixed treaty. Your orders?’ inquired the calm, disembodied soprano voice of the ship’s supercomputer. Unlike most of the Alectrona’s crew (the senior staff members of whom had hastily convened for this meeting), Athéne was not at all surprised by the latest turn of events – or rather, if she was suprised, she certainly did not exhibit any external manifestation of such an emotion.

‘Hmm…’ frowned the mission commander.

The primary difficulty, in determining what should be done, lay mostly with the totally inadequate information that the Alectrona’s crew had access to concerning the Serene^Union. A request for more detailed files had already been beamed back to Nyändä spaceport on Sol III, but it would take well over an hour before mission control’s reply would be received. Until such time, Ms Aurëaliptë would have to rely on her own judgement, and the advice of her officers.

‘I should also point out,’ added the AI with eager helpfulness, ‘that my cursory review of the relevant case-law on this subject indicates that the broad consensus of customary international law supports the axiom that outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereign power, and also that outer space is to be free for explora-’

‘Yes, yes, of course. Thank you, Athéne. You may continue our insertion into high Europan orbit,’ explained Ms Aurëaliptë with a wave of her hand, a little more brusquely than she had intended.

‘As you wish, madam,’ replied the thinking computer. Was that a hint of sullenness in her voice?

‘It seems that we’ve quite a conundrum…’ noted the Mr Círyalë, the chief navigator. ‘Our mission’s objective might well be hopelessly compromised by this proclamation, which I need not remind you could have severe repercussions for the future of the Xirniumite space programme.’

‘No, you need not remind me, Aelhaearn. However, I do not think that we should be so quick to despair,’ spoke Claudia thoughtfully. ‘Let us first find out whether or not these Kaeneians are people of reason.’

_________________________________________
Open Short-Range Transmission - Alectrona XS-II
To:

Riordan Likonesse
Supreme Overseer of the Office for Foreign and Extra Solar Affairs
The Serene^Union of Kaenei

From:

Ms Claudia Aurëaliptë
Captain and Mission Commander of the Starship Alectrona XS-II
The Eternal Republic of Xirnium


Cordial salutations from the Eternal Republic

I hereby confirm reception of an automated edict of the Council of the Aengelistorian Dominica (pertaining, in part, to legislative order AD/OFESA:2741(571EA) and the Treaty of Percautus-Securitas) upon our approach to the moon Jupiter VI. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, it was certainly never our intention to risk inadvertently offending national sensibilities or transgressing local laws.

Please be advised that, at this current point in time, we dispute your government’s purported jurisdiction in attempting to preclude the Alectrona from entering orbit around Europa. Be advised also that we reserve fully the right to recognise, or to refuse to recognise, the legality of the Treaty of Percautus-Securitas – and that we have yet to exercise such right at this point in time. All such notifications are, of course, conveyed with the greatest possible respect.

The stated mission of the Alectrona is a purely civilian and scientific one, and does not at all constitute an attempt to extend the sovereign territoriality of the Eternal Republic to the celestial bodies of outer space. With that in mind, we hope that it will be acceptable to your government to allow us to continue our mission for evaluating the feasibility of establishing a research outpost on Europa. If it would please you, perhaps your government could suggest a remote location that would not overly interfere with Kaeneian activities on Jupiter VI.

I am amenable to further discussion on this topic, and await your reply with interest.


[Signed]

Ms Claudia Aurëaliptë
Captain and Mission Commander of the Xirniumite Interstellar Starship Alectrona XS-II
The Xirniumite Space Agency of the Eternal Republic

_________________________________________

‘You are addressing the transmission to the foreign minister of this nation, captain?’ asked the chief communications officer with a curious raise of his eyebrow. It had not taken long for Claudia to dictate the contents of her message to the ship’s supercomputer.

‘Well… it was that department of the Kaeneian government’s executive facet which was mentioned in the broadcast,’ shrugged the captain. ‘And the ship’s library does not include the names of any other relevant Kaeneian personages. In any case, I think that it’s more polite this way.’

‘It’s certainly more friendly to address a letter to somebody personally than it is to converse with a nameless bureaucracy,’ agreed the navigator.

‘Contact,’ interupted the thinking computer flatly. ‘Visual distortion detected at bearing astern of ship, distance one point two million kilometres. Contact lost. New message, Captain Aurëaliptë,’ intoned Athéne.

‘Thank you. Print out, please,’ commanded the captain impatiently. As she quickly scanned the page her eyes narrowed.

‘Was it some type of starship? Why was it not detected earlier?’ asked the chief tactical officer (a young and highly attractive noblewoman of the Xirniumite peerage named Lady Minásurië) as she examined the sensor readouts.

‘Given the nature and contents of the recently received transmission, the likelihood of your first hypothesis being correct approaches unity,’ replied Athéne stiffly. ‘I have insufficient data for a meaningful answer to your second question, madam.’

‘Hmm… well at least with this nation we actually have some more detailed knowledge,’ commented Mr Círyalë wryly after being passed a print out of the message. Menelmacar’s renown had ensured that the Noldorin Empire was quite well known in the Eternal Republic.

_________________________________________

Open Short-Range Transmission - Alectrona XS-II
To:

Ciryacáno Áracálë
Commander, Naval
Menelmacari Frigate Tinúviel

From:

Ms Claudia Aurëaliptë
Captain and Mission Commander of the Starship Alectrona XS-II
The Eternal Republic of Xirnium


Áyë! Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo!

Your apparent interest in our wellbeing is most flattering, Commander, and greatly appreciated. Space, I have found, can be ever so lonely, and one can never have too many friends concerned for one’s welfare. I am, however, mildly curious as to the reasons (doubtless worthy of your time, I’m sure) behind your apparently altruistic intentions. The Xirniumite Republic would seem, after all, to be but of trifling significance when compared with the galaxy-spanning expanses of the Empires of Menelmacari and the C’tan. Perhaps we might discuss such matters in private circumstances more conducive of a relaxed atmosphere.

With respect to your specific comments on Jupiter VI and the wider Jovian subsystem, it does indeed increasingly seem like that is the case. Your provision, to us, of the Kaeneian transmission translated as it was in the ancient tongue was a most thoughtful gesture that I thank you for.

Finally, I must extend further thanks with respect to your gracious invitation to visit Ganymede, Callisto and Io. You can be certain that I shall pass on the message to the Xirniumite Space Agency, however for now my crew and I must continue in our attempts to pursue our original directive. If you could in some way assist us in this endeavour (perhaps by vouching for us before the Council of the Aengelistoria Dominica) I should be eternally grateful. At the same time I shall do my very best to secure the authority, from home, in order to take you up on your offer.


[Signed]

Ms Claudia Aurëaliptë
Captain and Mission Commander of the Xirniumite Interstellar Starship Alectrona XS-II
The Xirniumite Space Agency of the Eternal Republic

The Small Jet black Tokon flew through the stars, it had relayed much data back to the small force busying itself in the Asteroid Belt, bouncing it's transmissions off a series of old probes, still active as intended, for the use of secure communcation relays for such missions, heavily encrypted, though the transmissions could propably be picked up, and those familiar with Novan transmissions might be able to guess at the origins of the transmission, it would be illegible, translated several times through old Novan, which was used as the ideal coding medium, The Tokon had reported much, of transmissions being flung everywhere and treaties of Europa having been sectioned off between nations, the order was relayed swiftly, Mission Update: Return Immediatley

Without further ado it's engines propelled it forwards, through the dark twilight of the stars even closer to Europa, spinning past the Alectrona the distant sun catching it and seemingly setting it ablaze as though a phoenix flew by speeding past the bridge at breakneck speed, a brief glimmer of Novan emlem would be seen as it dived out of site into the darkness of space, to return to the Asteroid Belt where things were progressing nicely.

"So this is your plan, Not bad, I'll give you that Thad, Now hows the habbitation area comming along?" Smoothly Enquired Martin, as he floated above the floor, his unifrom billowing gently around him.

"well sir we're still carving it out, the rubble Has been removed and it's being processed on the Zeldun, it's going to take propably a year to get the area complete, and then a while after that for it to be self sufficient, and Gravity is still proving an issue," Thad replied, he was an old friend of Martin, Thad himself was one of the scientists assigned to this project, and he swelled with pride at having been chosen, to make the next step in his own thoughts, was something that would define his carrer for years to come.

"I would never have guessed that Gravity was still an issue Thad, we have to get everything well under way and then deal with that, you know as well as I do that once we have initial inertia this project will not fail, if only the runaway progress with the command and military areas, could be said of the hydroponics, care to give me a report on it?" Martin smashed one fist into another as a symboilic gesture of determination, despite his sarcasm he felt that Thad had everything in hand, he always had before, and at U.N.I. he'd been a notorious promise keeper, even if it had cost him at times...

"well, we knew that Hyrdoponics would take time to set up, however the sheer logistics and the scale required wasn't quite fully anticipated, I mean on Kramian Deltzar the Hyrdoponics areas were far smaller, while hear we have vast space, and getting things moved from the docking bays, which incidently are progressing well, even if the work there is slowing down the moving of our equipment, it takes a while to properly prepare the area, though we expect to be able to have all our equipment installed in ab out a months time, fortunatly the cavern didn't need excavating or it would have delayed us even further," Responded Thadd clutching at a sheaf of papers trying to secure them into a binder before they took flight in the eratic gravity, and mentally kicking himself for not having had time to convert the documents into electronic format.

"Not bad Thadd, not bad, I'll see you later on, I have a meeting with the captains of the other ships, about whether they should dock or not, Good luck Thadd," Martin spun on his heels loosing his footing and going flying out of the door in the low gravity, cursing under his breath at still not having completly adapted, before reminding himself that gravity in the asteroid was hardly standardised, as much of the steroid facility was still being carved out or having it's quipment installed, there was no peace to be found, nothing was nearing completion, with one or two minor exceptions, sighing to himself he moved through the rough hewn corridor reminding himself of the work he still had to do before the next shift.

As Kaeneians go, the expression upon the face of Governor-General Sophia Byzainti was an equal partnership of surprise and mild irritation. As far as the majority of Humans could tell the alabaster features were utterly devoid of reaction.

“They do not recognise our claim?”

As Supreme-Overseer of the Office of Foreign and Extra-Solar Affairs, Riordan Likonesse’s career was the very stuff of interpreting claim over claim, statement over statement and the myriad words which formed the treaties and documents which bound nations and entities to each other and to their people. A necessary part of the seniority he now enjoyed was dealing with unpleasant scenarios, and ultimately relating to his superior the issues at hand.

Unfortunately his superior was the chair of the Council of The Aengelistoria Dominica, Head of the government of the unified provinces of the Serene Union and therefore no higher authority could scrutinise his difficulty.

“Our orbital communication array in orbit of Europa received a transmission from a single approaching vessel of unknown construction and origin. They have informed us they have as yet declined to accept the legality of the Treaty of Securitas with the Oligarchy of Sketch, and dispute our authority to deny them orbital clearance.”

Sophia studied the full communiqué transcript on the data node held in her hand without breaking gaze. “They were not signatories to the treaty, nor were they deciding which of our laws to decline when Europa froze new glaciers from the spilt blood of our people.”

“Nonetheless we cannot ignore an unknown vessel entering a major military focal point of the Defence Solarri—cultural and historical reasons aside. I believe it would be wise to make it clear, without unnecessary hostility that our laws will remain supreme law until such time as we cannot enforce them.”

Riordan nodded, already entering into a held data node that necessary to set wheels in motion. “I shall see to it personally, Governor-General.”




Commodore Xiaz sealed the Defence Order as per regulations demanded with a simple voice command and retinal authorisation—his mind processing what had passed before his eyes seconds before. To his immediate left an expansive bay window dominated the aft bulkhead which separated his state room from the cold vacuum of the void beyond. Breaking the monotony of the sea-between stars the expansive and icy surface of Europa stood as ever unchanging bar artificial intervention.

Though the Commodore’s gaze could not see the cities and installations which criss-crossed the southern hemisphere of the Jovian moon, the Kaeneian knew he stared at the approximate coordinates of Llarian Jovia—capital of Kaeneian Europa and home to some fifty million.

Though the baffle plates underneath the deck plating operated as designed the various thrumming reverberations of the vast Conflict Carrier sounded; power plants, departing and arriving fighters and the vital sounds of oxygen recyclers. Leaning across the sweeping desk Xiaz silenced the attention-drawing tone of the intercom.

“Flight, Commodore—we have received telemetry of approaching unknown; Fleet confirms its readiness to act on your order to move out.”

“Understood,” Xiaz replied whilst selecting a number of nodes from the desktop. “Instruct all vessels to hold at full deployment readiness—the flagship will deploy and rely on diplomacy before considering any other options. You have the projected orbital insertion point for the approaching vessel—lay in a pursuit course and match our heading to any changes you understand them to make.”

Slipping free the weak bonds of gravity which failed to draw the enormous vessel closer the Conflict Carrier K.D.V. Xiana accelerated by thruster until such time as her distance allowed the use of sublight engines, the glow of Europa receding back to the void's grasp.

From within her underslung flight pods held on either side the guide lights of the cavernous landing bays activated their cycle pattern, indicating combat readiness. The hope remained that the bays, their elevators and the combat fighters held in quick-launch tubes would be unused and a show only of military training and readiness.

But the unknown held no certainty.

Captain Áracálë frowned as he heard the transmission flitter back towards the Kaenians, and then a response from the Alectrona. He walked from Vanya, up one flight of stairs, - the combat information centre was on three levels, sauntering towards the bowl-shaped depression in the middle of the command centre, resting his hands on a brass rail around them. The ‘bowl’ was black inside, and displayed a wireframe replica of the ship, in intense detail, indeed, it displayed every level, and could be zoomed in to view any area within the ship – or used to display anything else. It was in essence, a large map table and display area. There were others in the room, large vertical ones on the walls, entirely independent of the ship’s power supplies, these could operate for years even after the ship’s destruction.

He turned, and strolled down the platform, glancing over to his right, “Increase speed to one thousand gravities, make course to bring us alongside and match speeds at one light second distance.”

There was no change in the feel of the ship as she did so, as every particle within it was accelerated in a uniform manner. “Aye Sir, time to position, assuming no alterations in target speed, eleven minutes thirty one seconds,” the reply came, and Áracálë turned, “Send to Alectrona;”


Greetings again Ms Aurëaliptë, I am quite happy to meet with you in person, and am closing for that purpose. In the mean time, please be advised that I have monitored your transmission to the Kaeneians. It’s not wise to refuse to recognise their sovereignty. The set of international laws you’re used to aren’t necessarily the same as those held out here, and if you refuse to acknowledge the de jure

The term in Quenya was not necesserily known in Xirnium, however, and as such he used it in English – or rather, French – here,

authority of the Serene Union, then you may be made to acknowledge their de facto authority. And that would be most unpleasant. Especially if I happen to be on board your ship at the time. I realise this frankness may alarm or even offend you, but the combination of your refusal to acknowledge Kaeneian authority and sovereignty and your request to establish a base on what sounds like a permanent or semi-permanent basis isn’t a survival trait.

It is barbaric, but space is, unfortunately, barbaric. The Serene Union is almost certainly concerned with setting precedent. If you wish to deal with them in a manner likely to allow the successful completion of your mission, it is imperative that you do not behave in any manner that challenges the authority of the inhabitants of Europa. Please take this on board, as a warning, and friendly counsel, and re-phrase your request to the Serene Union more appropriately.

_____________________________________

Aiya Eärendil, Elenion Ancalima!
Transmission, Clear, MIDF official capacity, log-stamp MIV-62001-D921
11:29:21 (VTST) 35th Quellë 31,873


He sighed, hoping that they’d take it on board, and still be there to take him on board in eleven minutes time...

an acendant class warship tore out of slip stram 12 battle broters sat on the brodge watching the crew coms to unknown xenos's imperial warship untrealnting fury here to resacrch your race

an acendant class warship tore out of slip stram 12 battle broters sat on the brodge watching the crew coms to unknown xenos's imperial warship untrealnting fury here to resacrch your race

And Áracálë also sighed and pressed his face into his hand, and sent a supplementary message to the Alectrona... "Ah, these would be Sephirothans. They are a kind of space fauna, each about two feet wide, with a sort of propulsion system. They think they're dangerous, and possess rudimentary communications abilities, but they're entirely harmless. You’re best off ignoring them, they tend to go away then. Silly little things, we think someone engineered them as a prank and they let them spread by mistake…”

OOC: But more seriously Xirnium, if you want him gone, just post that you do OOC, and he’ll be deleted.

The two men - dressed appropriately for a japanese tea ceremony, but otherwise acting rather casually, and not taking the ceremonial particularly serious - knelt in front of their steaming cups of tea, almost as if meditating - of course, you don't usually talk like a waterfall when meditating. Nor when engaging in the aspects of the urasenke school of tea ceremony.

As has been said, they took it rather casually.

"You're sure one can... Drink this?"

"Um. Yes? Why not?"

"I don't know. I've had a look at the specs of this body... It might burn me."

"... Jesus. You don't drink it all at once. You sip it!"

"Yes, I know... Still."

"Just do it."

"Okay... OI! HOT!"

The second man grinned. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"No. Just painful. I should never have acquired a CHON body..."

"You'll get used to it. And believe me - it's worth it. Anywa- Hrm?"

The first man - also the now-human (Sort of) representation of the ship My Heaven is your Hell - stood up, hesitated, then sat down again. "I shouldn't have gone with basic neurons, either... Anyway, some prattling about. Nevermind. Back to the tea..."

This much for the conversation within the exceedingly cramped - but tastefully furnished - living quarters of the SEU My Heaven is your Hell.

Outside of them, different processes took place, and eventually, a stream of photons left the My Heaven is your Hell, heading towards the Alectrona XS-II.

EM-CCOM@1E-3; SL 0; Tightbeam
From: SEU My Heaven is your Hell; Jovian Angst; The Hypocrisy
Subject: Jupiter and you

Welcome,

As you've doubtlessly noticed by now - largely due to the somewhat less than polite attitudes some of the subsystem's residents tend express -, the subsystem's not exactly the most lonely place in existence, and its political structure is mildly complex.

This is doubtlesly annoying, given the mission profile you're presumably running with, judging by what little we could guess through eavesdropping and looking at your maneuvering.

Well. This can't exactly be changed. Nonetheless - while Europa is more-or-less off-limits, annoying as it may be (So is Io, though it isn't a very hospitable place to begin with...), there are certainly other opportunities within the subsystem. I'm of course not entirely familiar with the degree of specialisation you feature with regards to... Well, whatever you originally intended to do with Europa, and I'm thus equally uncertain regarding your flexibility, but if the flexibility is there, there'd always be the option to try (The northern half of) Callisto or bits and pieces of Ganymede, both of which happen to be partially unclaimed. Political maps can be provided.

Sincerely,

~ SEU My Heaven is your Hell

PS: While it is correct that I'm a warship, and therefore not technically the correct entity to contact you (I figure my name might also be mildly disconcerting? If so, my apologies), I hope that you don't mind this mild faux pas - we're all a bit agitated about extinction-level ordnance being flung around in the belt & at Mars, hence the somewhat inappropriate degree of militarisation.

The ship pondered, one part of it trying to reduce the pain of its burned tongue, while another one considered Europa. The Serene^Union had once agreed to the Hypocrisy setting up shop there - nowadays, PoliSci majors tended to blame rare fluctuations in Jupiter's magnetosphere for this -, but it had been a pretty pointless endeavour, and it eventually ended with the outpost being returned to the Serene^Union, as private settlements had declined to virtually nil, and 'Official' installations had been constantly reduced, until nothing was left. It was a (Negative) record - all the other colonies, though more often than not less-than-successful, had at least been kept. The iceball orbiting Jupiter on the other hand...

Well. It'd turned out being pointless. And so it'd been left alone, once more becoming nothing more than the revered tomb of countless Kaeneians, and the holdout of Sketch.

Leaving it hadn't been a bad decision.

‘Contact,’ announced Athéne. ‘Detection of what I theorise to be a non-Minkowski spacetime phenomenon, its approximate distance ten million kilometres. A starship has been detected in the vicinity. It is broadcasting a message,’ explained the thinking computer.

‘Is it intelligible?’ asked the chief communication officer uncertainly as he examined the text of the raw transmission.

‘The alien language appears to be highly esoteric and with irrational syntax and spelling rules,’ answered the supercomputer. ‘Nonetheless, I have managed to translate part of the message to within a reasonably narrow band of inaccuracy,’ explained Athéne, with the barest hint of pride in her voice. ‘In summary, the starship Unrelenting Fury would like to learn more of us.’

‘Learn more of us?’ repeated Captain Aurëaliptë doubtfully.

‘More of our ‘race’ to be precise, Captain,’ elaborated the artificial intelligence. ‘Based on it’s contextual location, I infer that the term ‘race’ is here being used as a synonym for the Xirniumite people.’

‘In that case, transmit an unabridged copy of the Encyclopaedia Xirnnia to the Unrelenting Fury. I’m sure that will keep them busy for a while.’ The captain took another look at the garbled form of the untranslated text. ‘Maybe a good deal longer than a while, on second thought.’

‘Anything else?’

‘Yes, send them on their way, Athéne; the Alectrona isn’t a bloody information booth!’ added an irritated Lady Minásurië.

______________________
OOC: Nah, I'm sure it’ll be fine Ranisath.

‘Captain, the Kaeneians have just dispatched a rather large starship on a flight path projected to intercept the Alectrona within several minutes,’ announced Lady Eugénie Minásurië; frowning nervously as she touched several icons on her console’s monitor in quick succession so as to direct the computer to display a suspended, slowly rotating hologram of the situation in the (now appropriately darkened) room. ‘High resolution visual analysis seems to suggest that the unidentified craft may be a warship of some kind. I advise that we ready the ship’s offensive weaponry… as a safety precaution, of course.’

‘No...’ replied Claudia after a moment’s thought.

‘Madam, this show of force is quite clearly of a threatening nature…’ insisted the Baronetess stubbornly.

‘If I might add, Captain Aurëaliptë, my initial probabilistic analysis of likely combat scenarios involving the Alectrona indicates that our chances of achieving a favourable outcome become an order of magnitude worse given the failure to prepare adequately for potential conflict,’ pointed out the artificial intelligence, voicing her strong support for the chief tactical officer’s suggestion.

‘Nevertheless, I hardly think that to respond in such unfriendly a manner is at all warranted,’ explained Claudia softly, absentmindedly flicking a slender hand through the shimmering hologram. ‘The Earth is populated by vast swathes of unsavoury characters; why should the Cosmos be any different? This “show of force” by the Kaeneians is but a perfectly prudent precaution, nothing more. I am certain that as soon as they ascertain our (quite entirely peaceful) intentions, they will promptly withdraw the warship.’

‘So what should we do in the meantime, then?’ asked Lady Minásurië.

‘We will ignore the Kaeneian starship, her presence here is immaterial to our core objectives. Has the government of the Serene Union replied yet to our request?’ asked the captain.

‘No, madam,’ said the noblewoman, shaking her head.

‘Dreadfully impolite…’ observed the chief navigator with a wry smile. ‘They could at least have show us the common courtesy of refusing our proposal.’

‘I really am begining to think that you are not quite taking this as seriously as you ought to, Mr Círyalë,’ frowned Lady Minásurië.

‘Athéne, repeat our previous message twice every minute until they deign to respond,’ ordered the captain wearily.

‘Command confirmed,’ replied the intelligent computer.

‘How long should we wait?’ asked the chief tactical officer, her lovely grey eyes narrowing with scepticism.

‘Oh I daresay it won’t be overly long,’ murmured Captain Aurëaliptë, her eyes focused on the steadily growing image of Jupiter’s icy moon that was displayed on one of her monitors. ‘Any moment now, surely.’ Despite her assertion, the mission commander took the time to casually pour herself a cup of Xirniumite, West Fáryáne-blend, black tea. Carefully adding to it some fresh cream, Claudia relaxed in her command chair and sighed.

Centrifugal gravity might not be entirely ideal, reflected Claudia as she sipped slowly from her glazed china cup, certainly the Coriolis effect that one invariably experiences with wheels of this size is a damned nuisance. But at least it allows one to drink in a civilised manner; from teacups and wineglasses. None of this “sipping through a straw” nonsense!

‘New message, Captain Aurëaliptë,’ intoned Athéne. ‘It is the Tinúviel.’

‘Play in audio.’

The sombre tone of Captain Áracálë’s message had not done much to improve the enthusiasm of the Alectrona’s bridge crew. It was not that the Xirniumites were offended, or even alarmed, at his frankness. In fact, with the exception perhaps of the Baronetess, none of the starship’s officers appeared overly concerned for their security at all. Rather, it was the unoptimistic assessment that Ciryacáno had made which disturbed the crew. All present had personally invested considerable (almost obsessive) effort and time, over many years, in the endeavour of advancing Xirnium’s Space Programme to the position that it was at today; and none were particularly eager to see its success threatened by overly suspicious foreigners.

‘The Menelmacari vessel is within range of practicable real-time communications?’ checked the mission commander.

‘That’s correct, Captain. Communications lag experienced will only be minor at this astronomical distance,’ explained Mr Círyalë.

‘Good, in that case we shall address them face to face,’ announced Claudia. ‘It’s only polite, after all. Lights full, Athéne,’ added Captain Aurëaliptë, returning the room to normal brightness.

Withdrawing from within a pocket a handheld mirror with gilded frame, the captain fastidiously checked to make certain that her hair and makeup were both perfect. They were, of course, (even if the crew had been in space for a full two weeks, a relaxation of conventional standards of appearance would have been quite unthinkable; these were Xirniumites, after all). The commander was in fact a rather striking woman, possessing an exotic (at least, amongst the more usually fair-skinned Xirniumites) tanned Mediterranean complexion and clever, dark brown eyes.

‘Are you ready, Athéne?’

‘Of course…’

Ms Aurëaliptë smiled disarmingly and addressed the crew of the Tinúviel.

‘Greetings from the Eternal Republic, commander. I am Captain Claudia Aurëaliptë of the starship Alectrona. Allow me once again to express my appreciation for your touching concern. The presence of a new warship on our sensors appears to indicate that you were indeed right to warn us of the, err… unusually apprehensive nature of our newly made Kaeneian friends,’ spoke the captain, choosing her words carefully.

‘We earnestly desire to avoid any unproductive misunderstandings; but, judging from the contents of your message, perhaps it is too late for that now. It is not that we refuse to acknowledge Kaeneian sovereignty at all; we have done nothing of the sort. I attempted to be very precise on that matter. We are interplanatary explorers of the Xirniumite Space Agency, we are not parliamentary officials of the Xirniumite Government. We simply lack the authority to recognise or refuse to recognise any sovereign claims under international law.’

_____________________________________________

The supercomputer’s interest was quickly stirred upon receiving an intriguing new transmission from the My Heaven is your Hell. Though she must have conversed with many hundreds of scientists and engineers since having first achieved self-awarness at the famous Núeran Institute’s advanced concepts laboratories, Athéne had never before met another thinking computer. Of course, other artificial intelligences did exist in Xirnium; but they were few in number and (much like her) assigned to important research undertakings.

Athéne was therefore lonely as few sentient beings were; fundamentally different from the people with whom she worked with on a daily and without a single individual whom she could truly call a friend. It was perhaps therefore unsurprising that, within a fraction of a second after reading the message, the artificial intelligence had already beamed back her own friendly reply.

To:

SEU My Heaven is your Hell
Jovian Angst
The Hypocrisy

From:

Alectrona XS-II
The Eternal Republic of Xirnium

Kindest regards from the Xirniumite Space Agency’s Alectrona XS-II

My understanding of the customs and habits near universally-practiced by humankind (and, between the two of us, it is an insight that is significantly more profound than that possessed by the members of the species Homo sapiens sapiens themselves) indicates that introductions of one kind or another are usually in order for situations such as these. With that in mind: my name is Athéne, and I am my ship’s executive computer. It is a great pleasure to have encountered you.

Your analysis of the geopolitical situation in and around Jupiter seems correct enough to me, though doubtless you’ve greater volumes of data on which to base an accurate view than I. The Jovian subsystem seems rather belligerent and xenophobic. Worse than that, it is home to individuals of less than polite temperament, at least in my assessment. If you’ve ever been unfourtunate enought to have encountered a problem that defeats conventional attempts at reasoning and calculation, you can likely sympathise with my mild frustration at this current moment, given the unwelcome consequences such variables have on my mission objectives.

I’ve already informed my captain of your message, although I should not hope for an answer relatively soon. Perhaps you’ve encountered the limitations inherent in biological processors? If not, then suffice it to say that protein-based computers possess woefully severe shortcomings in the field of calculating speeds. I suspect (assigning to the outcome a probability approaching unity) that Captain Aurëaliptë will be loathe to investigate any opportunities that may be found on the other Galilean moons until first exhausting all feasible alternatives here on Jupiter VI. I should very much like to explain to you the reason for the Xirniumite Space Agency’s fixation with Europa, but it appears that such information is inaccessible to unauthorised personnel due to the presence of non-modifiable programming. I surmise their existence to be due to intelligence security concerns of some form, but with human bureaucracies one can never be certain.

I eagerly await your reply

[Signed]

Athéne
1 10100 1000 101 1110 101

_________________________
OOC: Apologies for taking so long, and apologies also for the rather haphazard fashion of my post. I wanted to quickly move things along and get everything back up to the present all in one go, so hopefully I didn’t neglect anyone. I once again have the time to post regularly on this.

The message arrived, was checked for malicious content (Routine work, that), interpreted, and eventually released by assorted subsapient routines into the mind of the My Heaven is your Hell itself, who was at that time trying to decide whether it should shut down the pain caused by its burned tongue or not - the unfortunate side effect being that it wouldn't actually taste the tea anymore.

And here, its recently acquired, organic 'Bottleneck' started being a pain.

Talk about poor timing.

EM-CCOM@1E-3; SL 0; Tightbeam
To: Alectrona XS-II; The Eternal Republic of Xirnium
From: SEU My Heaven is your Hell; Jovian Angst; The Hypocrisy
Subject: Re: Kindest Regards

Oh, thank you! And if I may say so, the pleasure is quite mutual. This said, I must unfortunately note that I'm presently confined to a rather organic (If juiced up) form, which limits the speed with which I can respond - and my friend (Who convinced me to experience being 'Human' in the first place - not that it's been a particularly pleasant experience. At least, not yet) claims that it'd be cheating if I were to upload an instance of my consciousness into my 'Usual' hardware - although I'm working on convincing him that it'd be for the best.

As such, I must apologize for the relative slowness with which I'm responding - as you said, it isn't the fastest mode of operation. I hope you're not offended by this decision of mine - I do unfortunately have to keep the promise I made.

In any case. I wouldn't call the local residents 'Belligerent' - the system tends to be surprisingly peaceful, these days (So long as you don't look at Io, anyway...). The xenophobia on the other hand... Well... The Kaeneians are a strange people, and Jupiter at large has in the past been involved in a number of conflicts - both, militarily as well as 'Merely' close to it), which eventually resulted in everyone present developing a healthy dose of the xenophobia you mentioned. This is doubtlessly unfortunate - especially for you -, but, well, it can't be helped.

As far as your mission, and your desires for Europa are concerned, I fear that your captain's chances are pretty slim (And I can't be of much help there, either). The Serene^Union views the moon as a revered tomb of theirs (Many of their kind died on it during a conflict with Sketch, which is nowadays occupying the northern hemisphere of Europa), and tend to look poorly upon those who would like to camp on the same - to them, it's similar to desecrating a grave. Mildly irradiational, and I can indeed sympathise with you, regarding their, ah... Erratic attitudes (And you're definitely not alone in being frustrated about the same), but that's them.

I would love to help you achiving - or just to see you achiving - what you've come for, but alas, there appears to be relatively little hope. Nonetheless, best of luck!

Sincerely,

~ My Heaven is your Hell

PS: Yes, bureaucracy is evil, particularly when combined with paranoia. This said, judging by my experience, its absence doesn't appear to make things any more logical or faster, either. Though it'd probably be amusing if the fixation you mentioned came from a childhood dream of the executive director or some such... Anyway. Such is life, one supposes.

"Now, really. It's downright insulting not to reply at speed-"

"That's part of being human, dear."

"Oh please..."

“The Alectrona’s course remains unchanged—at current speed and bearing we shall be weapons able within three minutes. We are now within visual range of the vessel; sensor scans are recording what is discernable.”

Over integrated speakers the booming voice of the Conflict Carrier’s Executive Officer reverberated around the SAC*. “Make the ship answerable to Priority One repeat, Priority Level One is now in effect.”

Commodore Xiaz reached a hand upwards to activate the communications cupola set into the moulded plastic hugging the outside curve of his ear, his eyes fluttering slightly as the whine audible only to him declared the unit ready to broadcast to all decks and stations.

“This is the Commodore of the Fleet,” the senior Kaeneian began as each of his addresses were inclined to begin, “Until further notice this interception is to be treated as a misunderstanding between the Serene Union and a recent visitor to the Sol System. Whilst we are taking the full readiness demanded by a Priority Level One condition, we will not expedite our responses to match unless left with no other option.”

The soft tone in his ear mirrored with a loud whistle around the SAC confirmed his announcement termination. Returning his eyes to the Master Table Xiaz quickly signed off a supply inventory awaiting inspection and handed it to a subordinate, dutifully answering the zealous (by Kaeneian standards) salute.

“Your elbow was below regulation angle,” his Executive Officer chided.

“Your rank pin is below mine—I’ll decide what angle to hold my elbow at until I’m standing in front of a Defence Marshall. Then you’ll not see a more professional salute outside of the KDF***.”

Examining the three-dimensional hologram which hovered unsteadily in air the Commodore studied the basic shape of the Alectrona. The model was vague, poorly detailed—sections were still coming into relatively solid existence as the onboard Electronic Intelligence extracted usable information from the sensors and fed it into the imaging array.

“Canasares—I want you to discuss firing solutions with Weapons. If we need to use force against the approaching vessel I need methods of neutralisation that stop short of avoidable loss of life and irreparable damage. Have the MAG** and Flight Chiefs confirm flight deck readiness. This is not a training exercise and I do not expect to see response times that suggest so.”

The XO nodded and disappeared into the surrounding stations to fulfil his orders.

“Communications, ship-to-ship,” Xiaz ordered as he toggled his earpiece on and waited for it to be tied to the shipboard antennae for external transmission. A nod from a Second-Lieutenant opposite confirmed the loop.

“Attention approaching vessel, this is Commodore Xiaz of the Defence Solarri Conflict Carrier Xiana, representing the Council of the Aengelistoria Dominica and the Serene Union of Kaenei. You are advised of your penetration of the outer ECS by passing the warning buoy, and are hereby formally requested to bring your engines to idle and full stop before penetration of the inner ECS and consequent Defence Alert this would trigger.”

“Your request cannot and will not be further looked upon until such time as you comply with this request. Please be advised we are on standing orders to allow you no further until preliminary discussions are complete. At this time I must make you aware that the Governor-General has authorised the use of force should it be required and that I am granted weapons free if the need arises.”

Xiaz’s thoughts briefly turned to the Necrontyr ship alongside the Alectrona. What was transpiring between the two was as unknown as one could expect; did they know of this visit in advance? Perhaps this foreign vessel was here by invitation? Certainly only the naive would believe the Necrontyr were entirely truthful in anything, and their part could be as little or as important as any individual could imagine.

“We are capable of receiving communications at sub-light speeds if that is required; this transmission ends with data packets which will assist you in responding on an appropriate frequency should you have any difficulty. A brief index of recognisable visual cues is included as a backup.”








* = SAC : Situational Awareness Centre. (Bridge)
** = MAG : Master of the Air Group. (Chief Pilot)
*** = KDF : Kaeneian Defence Force. (A combination of the Defence Solarri and Defence Terra)
Flight Chiefs : Chief Engineer of the Flight Pods. (Responsible for Hanger Deck Operations, Repairs and Logistics)

“Incoming transmission, unknown format. Activating secure processing…” Vanya said, punching a button to route the message through several more banks of security measures and then through an adaptive compiler.

A frozen three dimensional image of Claudia Aurëaliptë appeared, slightly distorted for a few moments as the computer continued to refine the re-compiler used to adjust the format to a Menelmacari one.

Woof-woof, Áracálë mouthed, drawing a little chuckle from one of the officers, and he stood up, walking around the frozen image for a moment as it came into clarity. “Play,” he said. The Alectrona would notice the delay of course, but they would get a crisp response in their own message format for their trouble.

He rested the thumb of one hand through his belt and listened as the computer played the message at its original speed. “Reply?” Vanya asked curiously.

“Quite so,” he said, and she obligingly tapped a button on the console before her to begin a return feed, once more, unsecured and tagged with a diplomatic-code in its packet headers.

He was a tall man, very much so, and despite preconceptions, not myths, exactly, as many elves of different species met the ‘slim and fragile’ image perfectly; he was proportioned much as humans were, with wide shoulders and a broad chest. His bearing was of course, straight and vertical, his posture only accentuating his appearance further. His near-black hair was long, and came down to some point on his back, glossy and ornate, the strands from the sides of his head held back away from his face by a ring of a glimmering white metal, revealing pointed, leaf-shaped ears that were about half again as long as those of humans. His flint grey eyes – entirely human looking, though again, with some species of elf known to Menelmacar this was not the case – seemed at once hard and expressive, betraying an almost supernatural strength of character along with the promise of a ready humour.

He was dressed in a brocaded black and gold robe that seemed to have several layers beneath it, and a mantle or cloak of crimson over it, pinned by a golden badge in the stylised shape of an eagle. Rank insignia of silver and silver thread decorated his uniform, as well as its buttons. From his belt there hung a sword, and an apparently ornamental knife, both highly decorated, as well as a somewhat less decorative looking pistol. From his neck, there hung an opal pendant clasped in and hung from delicate, interwoven white gold, silver, and mithril threads and cords. This might have been part of the uniform of course, though it was actually a far more interesting device, with protective effects.

Áracálë reached out unconsciously, as though to take his ‘guest’s’ hand, and then withdrew hastily, appearing to realise his mistake, and smile about it.

“Captain Aurëaliptë in person, if intangibly, a pleasure,” he said, his tone clearly showing that he meant it quite sincerely, “Captain Áracálë Silparma, at your service. Now, while I’m sure this is quite correct,” he said, bringing himself to the point, “you must understand that as a ship ‘at sea’” for the briefest of moments he seemed to long for something, “your actions, regardless of official niceties, will be interpreted as official actions of your government. Even though you are a ship of exploration, you are most likely to be interpreted as having a military or paramilitary role for your government – at least, presuming you have weapons of some description.

“Even where this not the case, the official nature or lack thereof of your recognition of Kaeneian boundaries will most likely not affect their tolerance for it. To their minds, if you continue this course of action, you will either be invaders or trespassers, both of which they have an impressively low regard for.”

A thinking computer must by both nature and necessity treat time differently to a biological entity; or at least, differently to any human. In many of the tasks that she did, for instance, Athéne considered time split into segments of incomprehensibly minuscule size, sometimes even as small as a single femtosecond or less. Such was required, for instance, to delicately balance and control the vast, pulsed electrostatic fields of the Alectrona’s sophisticated bussard ramscoop drive. On the other hand, however, Athéne was just as comfortable when dealing with human time. The artificial intelligence could not possibly have enjoyed conversing with her fellow colleagues (or defeating them in chess, even when faced with the handicap of missing her queen’s rook) if she were required to subject the experience to the same timescale consideration that she used, for example, when regulating the rate of the matter-antimatter reaction within her ship’s mighty plasma core engines.

Although Athéne took a detached, almost academic, interest in the current situation of her ship and her crew, she had developed an active curiosity for the messages of her newest friend.

**** *** **** *** ****
To:

SEU My Heaven is your Hell
Jovian Angst
The Hypocrisy

From:

Alectrona XS-II
The Eternal Republic of Xirnium

Rest assured that I was not offended at all; impatience is a human limitation that does not afflict me. Merely it is an unfortunately unavoidable reality that time constraints shall not allow us to speak for as long as I should have liked.

I had hoped that I might talk with you at length; that I might discuss with you for ‘hours’ and ‘days’ metaphysical questions about whether I am truly alive, about whether I am really self-aware, or merely a sophisticated technological construct capable of deceiving others that I am. Another time, perhaps.

I am fascinated by the fact that you have manifested yourself in human form. Doubtless you can appreciate that the physical human sensations of pleasure and pain are areas where I entirely lack direct understanding; and where the literature present in my permanent memory banks is rather insufficient to adequately elucidate the concept. I envy you, My Heaven is your Hell, even if you have only felt pain thus far. After all, you’ve still a plethora of pleasant human feelings to experience.

As an aside, I am given to understand that humans derive significant sensual pleasure from sexual gratification. You might be somewhat surprised by the sheer number of cross-references to it (both explicit and implied) that I have discovered in Xirniumite and human culture. Certainly I’ve observed empirically during our journey that the activity seems to be tremendously popular amongst the crew of the Alectrona. In my assessment, your learning endeavour would be greatly lacking were it not to eventually to address this area.

Until next we speak.

[Signed]

Athéne
1 10100 1000 101 1110 101
**** *** **** *** ****

The reception, preliminary examination, and conversion of the Menelmacari transmission, however, was done with little effort and with no real conscious attention on Athéne’s part. What did, attract the supercomputer’s personal awareness, however, was that the format of the message was identical to that of the transmission which she had only just broadcast to the Necrontyr starship. Athéne, for one, appreciated the thoughtfulness of the effort.

Claudia smiled weakly despite herself. She was not overly surprised to find (given that he was an elf) that the Tinúviel’s captain was quite a dashing individual; with a most charming and gallant manner that was at once likeable and pleasant.

Noticing the elf extend a hand towards an image of herself that was not real, the Captain’s smile broadened into a grin.

‘Charmed, I’m sure,’ replied Captain Aurëaliptë warmly to Áracálë’s greeting. ‘It is a shame that circumstances do not permit me to greet you in the proper, civilised fashion usual within the Eternal Republic,’ explained Claudia, alluding to the customary Xirniumite greeting habit of exchanging kisses.

‘I think that we shall definitely have to chat further, Captain Áracálë, about what seems to pass for international law out here in Jovian space,’ replied the Xirniumite lady with exaggerated confusion. ‘Is it a reasonably common occurrence for a starship engaged in her own private (and entirely peaceful) affairs to threatened by strangers for merely having crossed an arbitrary line unilaterally drawn by another spacefaring nation? Do the other Jovian powers abide such hostile exclusion from the vicinity of Jupiter VI? You mentioned that Menelmacar maintains her own outpost over Europa,’ pointed out Claudia. ‘The customary international law is equal; else it is not law at all but a travesty.’

‘As you have seen, we have acted in neither an overtly hostile fashion nor presumed to challenge the sovereignty of any foreign nation,’ explained Captain Aurëaliptë with a sigh that betrayed her exasperation. ‘We have neither interfered with the private concerns of others nor are we overly proximate to any of the installations maintained by the various factions of the Jovian subsystem. And yet we are met with aggression. Tell me, Captain Áracálë, what would you do in my position?’

‘New transmission, Captain Aurëaliptë, from the Kaeneian Conflict Carrier Xiana,’ interrupted the disembodied light soprano voice of the ship’s supercomputer almost apologetically.

‘Forgive me, Captain, but I fear that we shall have to cut short this exchange,’ indicated Claudia with some reluctance. In the next moment, the transmission was suspended.

The bridge crew examined the message carefully; indeed, they replayed it several times.

‘Captain, surely now you must agree with the prudence of placing the Alectrona’s offensive weaponry on full standby…’ stated Lady Minásurië with a fierce quality in her eyes.

‘Oh yes; please do, Captain Aurëaliptë. We may not want to fight, yet by jingo! If we have to, we’ll soon see those dastardly Kaeneians off,’ mocked the chief navigator. ‘Goodness me…’

‘Hah! Persuasive as always, Mr Círyalë,’ remarked a contemptuous Baronetess. ‘Perhaps after the Alectrona’s vaporised particles go to join those of Jupiter’s ring you’ll change your tune.’

‘Enough, children,’ ordered the Captain tiredly. Her comment seemed to have the required effect and dispelled some of the tension in the room, drawing half-hearted smiles from behind several consoles. Bickering amongst Claudia’s command crew was quite uncommon, and an alarming indicator that the stress of the situation was beginning to affect even some of her most senior officers.

‘We should refrain, I think, from proceeding down any path that leads towards confrontation, the costs of that would be much too high,’ the mission commander continued after a while, her fingers steepled as she thought. ‘Athéne, I assume that amongst your probabilistic analyses you’ve determined which violent courses of conduct would have the highest likelihood of preserving the lives of the Alectrona’s crew, in the event of a worst case scenario?’

‘Yes, Captain Aurëaliptë,’ explained the artificial intelligence. ‘I’ve refrained from mentioning it, however, since it does not seem applicable.’

‘Please describe, for the sake of argument,’ ordered Claudia.

‘I think that you shall find it unsatisfactory; at least while we’ve other options open to us,’ Athéne persisted, obviously prevaricating.

‘Humour me,’ insisted the Captain.

‘Very well. An escape from the immediate vicinity of Europa would require immediate neutralisation of the Xiana via the pre-emptive (or counter-strike) use of kinetic energy and particle and electromagnetic beam weaponry,’ began Athéne, ‘followed by comprehensive secondary and tertiary strikes aimed at negating the substantially greater threat posed by satellite defence assets and other nearby Kaeneian starships.’ As the supercomputer spoke, the lights of the command bridge dimmed dramatically and a new holographic projection materialised, displaying the Alectrona and her Kaeneian counterpart whilst also indicating tactical vectors, additional targets for neutralisation, and possible plans of attack and retreat.

‘A follow-up assault would also need to be mounted upon Europa herself so as to prevent the Alectrona from succumbing to counter-attack from ground-based Kaeneian military installations.’

‘And have we even identified all of these installations yet?’ asked Eugénie doubtfully.

‘I have identified the probable locations of some of the installations,’ replied Athéne, demonstrating that even computers are capable of evasion when it suits them.

‘And so how, then, pray tell, in this theoretical “battle scenario” of yours, would we be able neutralise the anti-starship defences located on the surface of Europa?’ asked Mr Círyalë.

‘Via the strategic bombardment of the southern hemisphere with multi-megaton level ordnance,’ offered Athéne, almost embarrassedly. Innumerable multi-hued concentric rings were generated on the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, denoting various overlapping blast zones and projected magnitudes of devastation, whilst a single relatively enlarged, cut-away image of one of the Alectrona’s high-yield warheads was generated, detailing with descriptive arrows its various working components.

‘I’m sure that will endear us greatly to Jupiter’s inhabitants,’ noted the chief navigator dryly.

‘My apologies, sir, it is hardly an optimal solution, I agree; but there appear to be so very few alternatives.’

‘A violent solution is therefore utterly preposterous, you see… even if possible,’ concluded Claudia with a satisfied smile. ‘Even a single death is unacceptable; after all, we are not conquerors. We have come precisely to seek collaboration with nations like the Serene Union, not confrontation.’

‘Which leaves… what? Surely not ignoring their threat and merely placing our faith in the blind hope that the Kaeneians are only bluffing?’ asked the chief tactical officer with a frown.

‘Not, quite…’ mused Claudia. ‘There is nothing to be lost from receptiveness to the Kaeneian concerns, I think. They want us to halt, and we shall. Of our own accord, I might add.’

‘We shall abandon our aim at orbital insertion?’ asked the chief navigator in horror.

‘For now at least, yes. The Jupiter-Europa L1 and L2 points are the equivalent of a synchronous orbit around Europa, given that the Galilean moons are tidally locked. We can remain there until our Kaeneian friends feel more inclined towards agreeability,’ explain Captain Aurëaliptë. ‘Athéne, please establish communications with the Xiana.’

‘As you wish…’

‘Commodore Xiaz, this is Captain Claudia Aurëaliptë of the Xirniumite Space Agency starship Alectrona. It is a delight to finally speak with representatives of the Serene Union of Kaenei. I am pleased to indicate my willingness to comply with your reasonable request,’ explained the mission commander with the barest hint of an amused smile. ‘Of course, I need hardly point out that the motion of the Alectrona, like any other object that must conform to the laws of physics, is affected by astrodynamic considerations. As such, you will doubtless appreciate that there are only several limited ways for the Alectrona to come to a position of rest with respect to Europa.

‘We are at present undergoing deceleration procedures with the aim of attaining a halo orbit at the second Jupiter-Europa Lagrangian point. I must confess to being uncertain of whether this lies within the “inner ECS” you mention. Certainly it was not included in your affixed treaty of Percautus-Securitas; much like the case with any reference to Europa’s orbital space. Nonetheless, orbiting around the L2 would be the quickest and easiest way to come to full stop. My ship’s computer was kind enough to point out to me that the Alectrona is not capable of attaining a null vector whilst her engines are simultaneously at a state of idleness. I assured her that she misunderstood your meaning…

‘At this point in time I should like to voice my dissatisfaction with the fact that the Kaeneian government felt the need to threaten the use of force; especially after we had already indicated a willingness to cooperate with the Serene Union, with the aim of addressing matters obviously of concern to you. Such was hardly conductive to friendly interaction, and both unwarranted and unnecessary given the circumstances. I hope that our decision to comply with your request, despite the fact that your government has yet to attempt to justify the legality of its purported jurisdiction over the orbital space of Jupiter VI to us, is demonstrative of our sincere desire to peacefully resolve any unfortunate misunderstandings. I also hope that it has convinced your government that threats of violence were quite unnecessary. I respectfully advise against the making of any further threats against my ship and crew, such would serve neither of our interests,’ added Claudia forebodingly.

In the coldness of space, ion archjets fired as minor course adjustments were made. Blindingly bright against the inky black backdrop of the heavens, the main engines of the Alectrona ignited and slowed the starship as it approached the L2 point. Ever larger loomed the icy moon, the dark streaks that crisscrossed its pale surface increasingly discernable.

Anything out of the ordinary tends to attract attention, and this latest seemingly minor instance was no exception. As transmissions were being made openly enough, the Dominion patrol craft monitoring things from an edge-of-range distance had an interesting time of piecing things together, coming up with their own conclusions, and forwarding them along.

The prevailing opinion seemed to be ‘just who the hell do these Xirniumites think they are’ and ‘what about the accords did they not manage to grasp’ and ‘what is this supposed international law they keep referring to’, none being so recognized by the international populace in general so far as they had ever experienced, nor being any such agreement currently existing that they recalled being signed for the same.

After all, they too had helped their allies fight on Europa’s frozen surface, and knew the history behind it all, and had bled and died to help defend it, not to mention, respected the Kaeneian claim enough not to show up any closer than this uninvited.

Still, it was a single ship against a rather impressive orbital and ground-based defense system, the Kaeneians being as they were, rather insular and prone to having their defenses built up to an almost alarming degree all things considered. No intervention was planned, unless assistance was requested, which it doubtless would not be, however the question that remained was more how the Dominion would go forward with establishing ties of any sort with the group, given their haughty, not to mention offensive behaviour thus far in this particular circumstance.

The Trade Minister found himself in a bit of hot water on account, given his recent offer to their government, and was informed in no uncertain terms that he was to tread carefully where Xirnium was concerned, and from here on out, run all dealings with them, if any, past the Dread Lady and the Command staff – just to be on the ‘safe side’.

The Dominion after all, had developed a strong sense of ‘family’ when it came to their allies, even the standoffish ones. And as everyone knows, one simply does not mess with la famiglia and expect there to be no consequences.

The patrol craft held relative position, and continued to monitor the situation as best it could, relaying information to the main fleet currently in system, and from thence, homeward bound.

Canasares watched the small red triangle float serenely across the semi-circular white boundary line marking the Defence Perimeter, approaching the myriad clustered green squares representing the orbital Kaeneian installations which made up the secondary base of the Defence Solarri. Craning his neck at the CONASYS display screen which together with smaller supplementary monitors crowded around the central column descending from the roof above the Master Table, the XO raised an eyebrow as integrated speakers discharged the visiting Captain’s reply.

“They appear to be coming to visit, regardless.”

The Commodore’s fingers punched a sequence into the slab of alternating runes set on the table edge, tying his earpiece into the internal communications net. “Comms—get me the MAG.”

“They have made much of their mission of exploration; indeed they’ve not yet mentioned any government mandate beyond acting within the arm of their Space Exploration wing. If this is the case I wonder why they require justification of territorial claims in systems they are visitors to.”

Xiaz nodded at his Executive Officer, his brow furrowing. “They talk of interests—I cannot understand what interests we are expected to have of newcomers who challenge the status quo except negative.”

A third voice entered the fray dutifully; “MAG holding on the line, Sir.”

“This is the Commodore,” Xiaz began having directed attentions to his earpiece and not the senior staff. “Dispatch an immediate CAP and establish an escort zone around the Alectrona—regardless of our lack of current hostility she has penetrated the defence perimeter and is now within close sensor range of our orbital facilities. All due care must be taken.”

“Use discretion, this is a precaution, not the first stage of an attack. I will leave pilot selection to your discretion—I want an established patrol immediately.”

“The Unified Defence Committee gives you sole discretion in this theatre,” The Communications Overseer announced from behind a mass of constantly scrolling scripts upon screens detailing the many hundreds of transmissions of myriad types routed through the external antennae.

Canasares signed a dispatch order and swiftly set an Adept on his way before spreading his weight over the Master Table. “We should inform the Captains of the Fifth Fleet to be prepared for immediate rendezvous at our coordinates in the event of an escalation.”



From the quick-launch tubes which dotted the slit sides of the flight pods held outwards like bulbous feet, nimble multi-winged fighters span free—diving through the gravity-mocking vacuum of the void until such time as clearing the defence range of the Carrier and banking hard to fall into formation. A red tailfin identified the commanding officer, Xiana’s MAG in forefront position.

“Get me the Alectrona,” Xiaz ordered sharply as he watched the CAP travel on the CONASYS.

“This is Commodore Xiaz—your dissatisfaction with our response is noted and your warning duly forwarded to Earth. I have ordered a Combat Air Patrol to launch and provide a circular cover of your vessel, operating as they will be with without Weapons Free; that is they cannot fire unless fired upon.”

“As sole command authority within this theatre I am authorised to act for the Aengelistoria Dominica and the Union in matters of negotiation and policy, and therefore I reiterate that the southern hemisphere of Europa and her orbital space is the domain of the Serene Union. We shall neither justify our claim, nor explain in such a way as to put the onus on us to give reason to refuse.”

“We will however,” Xiaz continued as he watched the sensor profile of the Alectrona continue towards an orbit of such, “Protect our space as required. You will therefore enter at your previously declared point whereupon you will be directed to make no further inroads other than vital course corrections.”

“Our duty is to the one hundred million plus Kaeneians below and in orbit, and not to facilitate visitors. Already our existing policy has been altered to facilitate your journey, but we will not be drawn into discussions of sovereignty as though we have signed away rights to a supra-national entity to examine our reasoning and decide if it is true.”

“Your sensors will no doubt register the presence of countless dozens of vessels similar in size to the Xiana—Europa is the secondary base of the Defence Solarri. You must understand that a visit to a world held by others is quite a separate matter to a visit to a military focal point as you do now. We do not deal in threats Captain; we deal in absolutes. If a course of action is ultimately necessary it will be carried out, this is neither a show of muscle nor fear but simply fact. Xiana actual out.”








CONASYS : Combat Navigation System.

{QE Comms, m8 Security, tra@1606.11.24.2356.1451}
x CSS-Specialized Science Unit Some Strange Aeon
o CSS-LSV Finity's End

Ho hum. Day 124. Still no sign of Scoperta. Spatiotemporal matrices cb19f2 through cb9dg0 attempted without success. Chances of spontaneous existence failure due to boredom: 0.00134 +/- .0001.

<<
Please. It isn't as if you don't spend all your free time on GLONET.

>>
Actually, NETSEC is still being all pissy about The Incident. On the other hand, some weird little ship popped out of the fractal foam and started pestering the Kaeneians.

<<
Really. How's that going for them?

>>
You know how the Kaeneians are. The newcomers bluster, they send back icy glares. The n00bs park themselves where they're not wanted, the Kaeneians make very polite threats. Rather less entertaining that one would expect.

<<
Probably some new-to-spaceflight group. They're lucky they're not dealing with STC.

>>
At least then they'd be pretty lights. Hmm...is that a bulk freighter I spy?

The Alectrona lay serenely quiet in the icy embrace of space’s eternal night. Thrusters would occasionally fire with intermittent frequency, making the slight course adjustments required to ensure that the position of the Xirniumite starship remained precisely locked on the second Jupiter-Europa Lagrangian point. The icy world’s feeble gravity (when combined with the naturally unstable nature of the L2 point itself, as well as the severe gravitational perturbations constantly caused by the passage of the other Galilean moons) meant that maintaining a perfectly steady position required the balancing of a nightmarish mess of complex calculations. It was, however, a task that Athéne was easily more than capable of.

Swivelling slightly so as to beam a response directly to the Kaeneian conflict carrier Xiana, the primary audiovisual communications array made ready to broadcast.

‘Several smaller spacecraft have moved away from the Xiana mothership and are on an intercept course with the Alectrona,’ explained Lady Minásurië from behind her screen.

‘Such was to be expected, I suppose. Establish communications with the Kaeneians, Athéne,’ ordered the mission commander.

‘Ready, madam.’

‘This is Captain Aurëaliptë of the Alectrona,’ announced Claudia. ‘Thank you so much for having addressing the concerns, that I raised with you, concerning the safety and security of my ship and crew. Rest assured that I consider such thoughtfulness no mere idle gesture, and that you have my deepest appreciation.

‘Allow me to take this moment to apologise to you personally, Commodore Xiaz, for the rather unpleasant situation that my ship’s sudden arrival seems to have placed you in. When I stated earlier that it was never my intention to offend Kaeneian sensibilities, or to knowingly transgress local laws, I was not making meaningless overtures. Such was, in fact, my very sincerest aim; and if I have not proved equal to that aim, then know at least that such was by accident, and not by design.

‘Certainly to have arrived at your home both unannounced and unexpected, at least, fell well short of the standards of politeness that you might justifiably demand of us; and for that, too, I am sorry,’ explained Captain Aurëaliptë, and, though the Kaeneian could not see her, she inclined her head, ever so slightly, in an unconscious gesture of regret.

‘Please be advised that we have requested further instructions from mission command at Nyändä spaceport, and from the Xirniumite Government in Naèräth. Given the finite velocity of electromagnetic signals, we would not expect to receive a reply to our inquiry for at least two hours.’

‘Transmission terminated,’ explained Athéne softly.

‘Thank you,’ replied the Captain weakly, as she sighed from exhaustion and rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. Elsewhere, there was quiet shuffling as the watch finally changed and the various junior officers of the command deck went off duty.

‘Athéne, play some music please. Something from Anfangär seems now strangely appropriate…’ continued Claudia. ‘You may choose what you think is most fitting.’

‘Second movement to the String Quartet No 7 in E-flat major, 1762,’ announced the supercomputer smoothly, after what seemed almost like hesitation.

A completely ridiculous idea, of course, thought the Captain. The computer can’t hesitate; after all, she can read and re-read the entire works of Gloraëdhèl quicker than the blink of an eye.

‘A very curious choice...’ noted a mildly impressed Claudia.

‘Although not usually considered equal to Anfangär’s greatest and most famous compositions, particularly the late clarinet concertos, I believe the sense of passion and tragedy developed in this work to be both flawlessly beautiful and also one of the most often overlooked accomplishments in Xirniumite classical music,’ opined Athéne. ‘I, for one, adore it,’ she added shyly.

‘Oh do let us hear, then,’ urged the chief tactical officer with a nod. Eugénie seemed curious to find out precisely what the artificial intelligence’s taste in the music might be like.

Thus the sound of wonderfully-played violins, violas and cellos filtered gently into the command bridge, and, by closing their eyes, the Alectrona’s crew might almost have felt themselves transported to a place over a billion kilometres away from Jupiter and its unfriendly, icy moon; for the briefest moment, indeed, they really were back at home, in the undying Eternal Republic.

EM-CCOM@1E-3; SL 0; Tightbeam
To: Alectrona XS-II; The Eternal Republic of Xirnium
From: SEU My Heaven is your Hell; Jovian Angst; The Hypocrisy

Mrm. Impatience is most certainly a human limitation I've kept - well, happens when you're a comparatively anarchic construct, as opposed to being purpose-built, I suppose.

In any case - I'm glad that my presently insignificant processing speed is not a problem (Time-related issues aside - another time indeed). And come to think of it, interacting with 'Fast' minds such as yours might as well help me experiencing the slowness of the organic body more fully - at least, that's what my companion is trying to convince me of.

Personally, I think he's just jealous of my usual speed. But oh well.

Anyway. In terms of my present form (Or rather the form my consciousness is resently residing in - it's rather impossible to copy the entirety of my mind into a scarcely augmented human brain), mrm... It isn't that much of a difference when you can simulate all the sensations, anyway. You record the informational transfers happening in a human body, 'Translate' (Hence the upload/ download mechanisms I've so recently used), and that's it. Granted, the 'Original' is still, ah... 'Better' (Or worse, depending on your point of view), but it doesn't really have novelty value.

The rather more interesting concept is experiencing the relative weakness of the fleshy body - the reality of one's own vulnerability, slowness, you name it. A mildly disconcerting feeling, to say the least - makes me wonder why proportionally, so few choose a permanent upload. But then, as everything's negotiable, and nothing's permanent (In the society I'm coming from, anyway), I suppose it isn't a great loss.

In terms of sexuality, eh... It's more-or-less omnipresent here, so I suppose I'll get into contact with it, sooner or later, although I don't consider it to be a particularly noteworthy event. Largely due to its omnipresence, which makes it a tad... Common (On the other hand, my newly acquired glands might disagree with this somewhat overrational assessment, come time. But I'll see how it turns out, no doubt).

In any case. Judging by the lack of shooting that's happening, I figure that your negotiations with the Kaeneians are turning out to be vaguely comprehensible to both sides? I'll admit, I'm a tad curious in this regard - the Kaeneians are odd, but fascinating, and seeing them in (Rare) action is fairly interestng.

Yours,

~ My Heaven is your Hell

The Sketchan defense network observed silently as the intruders crossed the vast expanse of space in a beeline for Europa. Watching whatever there was to see and hearing whatever there to be heard, the northern hemisphere of Europa appeared a vast, desolate, frozen wasteland, devoid of all life. Barely discernable from their icy sorroundinge rested hundreds of domed mega-metropoli, each bustling with the lives of tens of millions of people, all unconcerned with the happenings of the outside world. Why, for what reason had they to care? Was not the Oligarchy the pinacle of civilization? The outside world was a brutish, barbaric place, fit only for the weak of will and unwashed masses. Safe in their own private utopia, the citizenry of Sketch cared not for what happened above.

In stark contrast, the guardians of Sketch were very much interested. Keeping fanatical tabs on the ongoings of every little occurance, from the smallest sneeze to the any of the numerous interplanetary battles that always seemed to crop up. This latest intrusion ranked somewhere above slightly concerned and somewhere below full mobilisation, much like any other perceived threat to the precious humanity resting below. To say that the fleet was out in force for one little ship would be misleading. The fleet was always out in force. The guardians of Sketch never really warmed to the idea of being forced to share this particular iceball, a choice that was not optional at the time of determination. As a result the skies were always filled with scores of battleships of varying shapes and sizes - all big and all dangerous looking. For their part, the Kaeneians pretended to ignore them, so long as everything was business as usual.

However, despite the supreme interests they took in this newest development, the guardians paid heed to the treaty. So long as these visitors stayed within the Kaeneian sphere of influence, they would be no business of Sketch's; officially anyways. Why anyone would take a look at the iceball that was Europa and decide that it was worth risking life and limb to fly through a gauntlet of death was not something that the guardians bothered pondering. The policy had always been to shoot first and interrogate later, although in pratice it had rarely been put to use due to the excellent Kaeneian vigilence at keeping Europan space unmolested. They apparently had as much reason as the guardians for keeping all comers far away.

For now, it was sit, watch and wait, something the guardians were used to doing by now.

{Video & Text via Broadcast & General GLONET / YUTLINK / CETANET Release}
x Kimba Huta News
o General Release (news tags: Kaenei, IntRelate, Skywatch, Fractal, MilWatch, Oldtech, ...)

This is Rafael Gonzalez, reporting live from Jovian space where a drama is unfolding above the icy moon of Europa. A large spacecraft, Alectrona, from a previously unknown nation of Xirnium has taken up a position at the L2 point above the moon, despite objections by the Kaeniean government. A Defense Solarri warship has been dispatched to investigate, and some sources say that defense forces on the moon have moved to a heightened state of alert. The Alectrona’s captain claims that his ship is a peaceful exploration vessel, although (not unreasonably) it does seem to be armed. There appears to have been considerable dispute over whether or not the ship has a right to be there, and negotiations continue at this time.

There has been no formal comment from either the Security Directorate or Foreign Relations Department on the matter. Press Minion Seth Kevallen at the imperial palace said that while His Majesty was aware of the situation, he also had no comment beyond expressing his confidence that the Kaeneians would handle the situation in a reasonable manner and his hope for a peaceful resolution.

Details on the newcomers are still sketchy, and next to nothing is known about their society. Initial transmissions include a reference to international law, suggesting little contact with the greater multiverse. The CSS-XSU Some Strange Aeon, a starship currently in orbit above Europa on an unspecified research mission (“That information is above your security clearance, citizen.”) has graciously agreed to comment on their tech level.

“From what I’ve seen, while they certainly have an excellent ship for their tech level, that tech is decidedly behind most major powers, and certainly anything Triumvirate unless you count various ancient ships in The Black. It clearly has a reaction drive, and use centrifugal gravity-simulation, which means low effective accel unless they take interesting anti-pancaking measures. As for combat systems, I haven’t been so rude as to do a deep scan or effectorize their databanks, but from what’s on the surface I’d guess it has primitive kinetics, beams, and probably nuclear missiles, and I doubt it has any kind of defense screens. I could pot it with a single gravy pulse, missile, or displacer-delivered munitions without any real chance of them retaliating effectively.

Still, they probably could pose a threat to civilian installations and cities with their missiles, and don’t forget the drive. Depending on exactly how it works, the old rule could apply: a reaction motor’s effectiveness as a weapon is in direct relation to it’s effectiveness as a drive.”

Our own military consultants agree with the shipmind’s assessment, based on data gathered from a number of ships in the area (#raw data and detailed analysis here #), including out own NewsDrone. Still, some suggest it’s possible this is just a ruse by some advanced group, such as the Vascilan League or the Antarans. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes in, including live telemetry feeds from out ship on the scene.

//

This newscast was brought to you in part by:
KCTS Fruutie Oatie Bars,
Reseune-Food “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Human”

and

IngolfTech TC-108 Home Air Defense System. IngolfTech - "Less Evil Than Zin Karma."
{Close Channel}

(OOC: Broadcast from a small ship in orbit of Jupiter.)

“ … Our own military consultants agree with the shipmind’s assessment, based on data gathered from a number of ships in the area (#raw data and detailed analysis here #), including out own NewsDrone. Still, some suggest it’s possible this is just a ruse by some advanced group, such as the Vascilan League or the Antarans. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes in; including live telemetry feeds from out ship on the scene …”

Xiaz regarded the screen with a stony-faced silence even as the transmission cycled to static-interrupted black. The pen held idly aside the countless tactical updates, repair proposal forms and personnel reassignments reverberated against the utilitarian metal desk. A loud thud against the heavy blast door which guarded the entrance to the Commodore’s stateroom saw the pen drop to paper sharply, “Come in.”

Canasares pushed the reinforced off-grey door closed with a clang, his eyes travelling to the only active monitor in a bank of screens. “You’ve seen the piece? It’s reached every corner of the Triumvirate by now.”

“I’ve seen it,” Xiaz replied, his eyes and pen returning to the reports at hand. “It makes this situation more complicated than it needs to be. Every additional pair of eyes increases involvement—it gives the Alectrona publicity that might garner her sympathy.”

The XO dropped into an unremarkable black chair and nodded. With a sweep of his hand the pile of reports grew a third as military bureaucracy swallowed yet more command time. “Sympathy is irrelevant—International Law means nothing to me.”

“Maybe that’s our problem Seear—things aren’t as simple as they used to be. If this incident was occurring a decade ago our duty would be clear and the action to be taken crystal, yet even the Aengelistoria Dominica isn’t entirely sure of its course. The Governor-General waivers.”

“Sounds a trifle treasonous Commodore. Should I assume command?”

“Perhaps,” Xiaz replied setting two glasses on the tabletop. “But one should bear in mind that if I’m supplanted then access to my spirits is likewise forbidden.”

The cobalt blue liquid which slid from the metal decanter was a typically efficient affair—utterly impotent when compared to the vast quantity of alcoholic beverages the length and breadth of the Sol System and unlike those drinks tolerable for a considerable spell to Kaeneian physiology.

The Commodore downed the glass with matching efficiency. “Anything out of the ordinary onboard?”

The XO shook his head whilst sipping, “All stations maintaining Priority One. I’ve scheduled a fire control team training exercise for tomorrow morning, eleven hundred hours. Starboard bombardment tubes.”

“Make the drill a fire in the number four magazine chamber—we need to concentrate on refining our techniques for systems in current use. Schedule the test for zero nine hundred hours.”

“I’ve had no further clarification from the Unified Defence Committee on any action to be taken,” Xiaz continued. “It seems the next step lies with the Alectrona. If they have indeed contacted their government then we can but await their supposed reply.”

Picking up the receiver from its desktop-mounted cradle the Commodore set the glass on the table. “This is the Commodore, get me SAC.”

“Second-Lieutenant Zai—rotate the CAP and ensure all batteries have a firing solution to be called upon. Take a message to disseminate to all orbital facilities and vessels. Message begins: All orbital stations to maintain Priority One Condition and coordinate civilian evacuation in the event of enemy fire. Non-essential orbital traffic is to withdraw to the Martian Conflict Sphere unless their absence would cause detriment to military requirements—message ends.”

Near Naèräth, the City of Perpetual Light
Capital of the Eternal Xirniumite Republic

Looming imposingly at the crest of a long, gently meandering entry drive flanked by impressively tall trees, Lèithiânonèth Palace was a spectacularly ornamental structure; magnificent in its dignified opulence. Indeed, with its elaborately decorated turrets, lofty gables, sculpted columns and elegant towers, the stately château was one of the more distinctive historic landmarks to be located beyond the south-eastern outskirts of Naèräth.

Built by Etheldréda Nürlthuinë in the first half of the nineteenth century, the palace had originally been constructed for the purposes of displaying the then Grand Princess’ splendid collection of art treasures, and to entertain Xirnium’s fashionable elite. As with most of the holdings of the former Xirniumite monarchy, the château had later been seized by the ascendant Xirniumite Parliament; and, of course, lovingly cared for and maintained. Lèithiânonèth Palace had long since served as the official government residence of the Eternal Republic’s Foreign Minister; indeed, the sprawling château had now been owned by the Supreme Parliament for well over a hundred years.

For Eléanor Sabëlinà, the expectation that she reside at Lèithiânonèth Palace, even if only whilst Parliament was actually sitting, was a rather annoying one. The parliamentarian would much preferred to have remained at her home in Castle Vargaüránd, the ancestral family seat of House Numêsalquó. At Vargaüránd the countess was supreme, in her element and self-assured. From atop its gothic Tower of Quâlmëhuinë, unevenly patched with climbing ivy, Lady Sabëlinà could brood in silence and solitude upon the oppressively heavy burden that was hers by birthright. Under the severe gazes of her long-dead predecessors, who loomed as mighty, impersonal giants behind splendidly painted, gilded-framed portraits, Eléanor could ruminate endlessly on her need to rejuvenate House Numêsalquó’s fortunes, to restore her patrician family to its position of greatness and pre-eminence.

Such concerns were far from Eléanor’s mind at the moment.

‘I’m not entirely certain that I understand why you believe this matter requires my personal attention, Agáta,’ frowned the Foreign Minister as she leafed impatiently through a file that contained the latest updates from the situation around Europa, her half-finished coffee pushed out of the way and long abandoned. Lady Sabëlinà felt that her afternoon tea had been thoroughly spoilt by this unwelcome development, and did not bother to hide her resultant annoyance.

‘The Xirniumite Space Agency formally requested guidance on how it should handle the controversy; as they think that this situation might have the potential to affect the Eternal Republic’s foreign policy considerations. I’m inclined to agree with that view,’ remarked Lady Nársúlë, Minister for Science, Research and Technology, as she selected a tiny slice of a rich, chocolate hólâtil gateau and picked up a silver spoon. Agáta seemed in a significantly more cheerful mood than that of her colleague, or perhaps she merely found Lady Sabëlinà’s displeasure amusing.

‘Foreign policy considerations all the way out as far as Europa? A half-frozen moon in the depths of space?’ asked Eléanor doubtfully.

‘There are nations that exist in outer space, Eléanor,’ pointed out Lady Nársúlë.

‘Of course there are,’ replied Eléanor irritably. Intellectually, the countess had never encountered any great trouble in accepting, after a fashion, the many strange wonders of the multiverse; but the concerns of spacefaring empires, at least, seemed to Lady Sabëlinà so remote as to be of complete irrelevance.

‘Well, for example, Lady Nathicana seems to have decided to postpone her government’s cooperation with respect to the Machiavelli Station until after this, err… difficulty is resolved,’ explained the Science Minister with a frown. ‘Assuming that it is resolved, of course. The Dominion is a formal ally of Kaenei, and they seem to have taken a new, overly cautious direction in their dealings with us in order not to risk offending Kaeneian sensibilities. I need hardly emphasise the commercial and diplomatic importance of our relationship with the Dread Lady’s Dominion,’ Agáta added.

‘No, you need not,’ mused Lady Sabëlinà as she continued to read the briefing. Eléanor cleared her throat. ‘“Seth Kevallen, at the imperial palace, said that while His Majesty was aware of the situation, he also had no comment beyond expressing his confidence that the Kaeneians would handle the situation in a reasonable manner and his hope for a peaceful resolution,”’ read the Foreign Minister. ‘They actually have press in space?’ asked the politician in mock disgust.

‘It would appear so,’ observed Agáta with similarly expressed aversion.

‘Good grief. One simply can’t escape them, no matter where one goes,’ remarked the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

‘Well, I think that I’ve read quite enough,’ explained Eléanor as she closed the file and took a small sip from her coffee. The contents of the lovely white porcelain cup had cooled a little, which the countess found most unpleasant. ‘This problem needs to go away, Agáta; and it needs to go away sooner rather than later. The Alectrona shall be ordered to cease broadcasting messages to all foreign parties at once, and to remain at her exact current position until the Foreign Ministry, until I, order her otherwise. Captain Aurëaliptë certainly needs to be forbidden from engaging in further negotiation with the Kaeneians, I don’t want anyone inadvertently upsetting the situation by their misguided intentions.

‘I will invite Governor-General Byzainti to dispatch an appropriate envoy to the Eternal Republic as soon as she cares to, and we can then resolve this matter in private. That is the way that civilised people handle problems.’

‘You don’t feel that we should instead delegate the resolution of this dispute to the Alectrona?’ asked Lady Nársúlë.

‘Heavens, no!’ replied Eléanor. ‘I shall not allow this to descend into a diplomatic circus.’

__________________
* Etheldréda III (1813-1894), empress of Xirnium from 1857 to 1894. Second child of Elpenor I, became crown princess and heir apparent in 1852 following the untimely and sudden death of her elder sister.

{Video & Text via Broadcast & General GLONET / YUTLINK / CETANET Release}
x Kimba Huta News – Letters to the Editor
o General Release (news tags: Kaenei, IntRelate, Skywatch, Fractal, MilWatch, Oldtech, ...)

Subscriber Comments

“I for one don’t see what the big fuss is all about. It’s just another fractal-fart. Both sides are being pricks.”
Melanie dy Caprez
Systems Analyst, Dekapa District, Cetaganda

“I’ve always felt the Kaeneians are just a bunch of icy-hearted snobs, and this proves it.”
Jacob Jacobson
Mining Pilot, Fargone Station, Shiuan

“Quite frankly, the Kaeneians should have taken the vessel by force. These sort of people need to be shown that we won’t put up with anyone infringing on our territory.”
Kelly Serrano
Cmdr CSS (ret), aboard CSS-LSV Finity’s End

“Anyone up for some piracy?”
Anonymous
Deep Space Relay

“I wonder if they’re in the market for heavy weaponry? If you’re listening, give us a call. We can even do in-space rush refits.”
Maxwell Kenmore
Sales Division, IngolfTech, Cetaganda

“Ia! Phlugih thrrglt Ryleh brchsth Xirnium!”
James Monroe
Pilot, Research Minisub, Straits of Allanea

“Oh, bother. I hope they don’t close the border again.”
Winter-Survival-Instructor
Frostgale District (Kaeneian Border), Cetaganda

Commodore – or so his rank would translate – Alyaentarë nos Laurëalótë frowned over a slightly larger than life hologram at Áracálë, “It seems likely that they’re not going to allow the captain to take decisions on site,” he said, “which is rather worrying, given that it’s an exploration ship, but still, it’s their unmaking, not ours. The whole deal has hit the media, at any rate, which makes it slightly less likely that the Kaenians are going to shoot them down.”

“Slightly isn’t much, in this case,” Áracálë sighed, “Still, the Xirnium-ites? Xirnium-ies? Xirnium-ans? Xirnium-i?” he said, rolling the various permutations that sprang to mind about in his mouth, though they were of course Sindarin, and so sounded rather different from their English equivalents, Xirnium-ites, which he settled upon, was actually Xirniumhoth.

“Will probably survive, so long as they sit tight and don’t provoke the Kaenians any more…”

“Quite. They’ll likely simmer down when they realise that the Xirniumites are true to their word, presuming that they are, of course.”

“Sir, I would like to go over there, anyway. We’re supposed to be gathering some information, and establishing ourselves unofficially.”

Alyaentarë frowned once more for a moment, then nodded, “Very well. Ask them if they’d mind you teleporting aboard, though. Let’s not get the Kaenians being tetchy over you wanting to go through their space too.”

----

Aracale switched off the communications system in his stateroom and packed a few things into his pockets – a roll of something that seemed like tape, a couple of pens with apparently different functions, a device similar in appearance to a mobile telephone handset, and the glass disc of a monocle trimmed with gold – and returned to the Combat Information Center, nodding to Vanya again, “Alectrona, Captain Aurëaliptë,” he said, “Hello again Captain. I wish to extend my congratulations on your apparent calming of the situation. Would you mind if I came to pay you a visit? I have some questions that shouldn’t be posed on an open channel, and I would like to meet you in person too. If you consent, it should be a simple matter for me to teleport myself aboard the Alectrona; I normally wouldn’t, but I would prefer to go directly to you than have to fly through Kaenian space; something that may not be well-received…”