NationStates Jolt Archive

-"After spending nearly 11 billion merlons (Approx 3.14 billion dollars) in an unprecedented scientific leap, Schultaria Prime can proclaim success in their current research efforts. Approximately 45 minutes ago in the central plains north of the capital Schultaria Prime, a Schultarian derivation of a Russian-built R7 rocket lifted off at the Eldaimovey Space Research Center."

Read the full story on the national site of Schultaria Prime (pic warning):

http://www.freewebs.com/emschultz/specialnewscastapr5.htm

-BUMP-

After several orbits, the radio operators have still not recieved any recorded transmissions from other nations. A thorough diagnostic has shown that the sattelite's radio transmitters are active and functioning. Mission control has decided to increase the power of the sattelite's signal to boost the chances of contact with other nations.

-The nation of Schultaria Prime would like to know if anyone has yet seen, or documented our space craft.

(OOC: ~Edit: Thank you for replying.)

OOC: Ill get involved with you if you like.

Congratulations. Just try to stay on the space tech track. Do not deviate into biogenetics. We had a revolution that way...

Congratulations on beginning your journey into the heavens. Should you ever want to make a technological leap forward, we'll always be more than happy to help you. ;)

(GENERAL MESSAGE: SPATEN COMM 147.145 KHz)

"From the appreciative nation of Schultaria Prime, we thank the nations of Arenumberg, Muktar, and Juumanistra for responding to our sattelite's message. We hop... [static]... hat this will furthe...[static]... rove relations and establish a new secientific prosperity amongst us all. We would like to apologize for the quality of the tra... [static]... sion, but we hope to further establish contact sometime in the near fu... [static]"

(MESSAGE COMPLETE)

OOC: Do you have any chat programs? if so please telegram me your contacts :)

"Its no good Praetor.. yet another old style communication device, it keeps corrupting into static."

"Very well, Any available ships to be Dispatched?"

"We will get on it Praetor, and dispatch."

(OOC: I'll TG you with the appropriate info some time in the near future)

IC

-Meanwhile in the mission control building, Eldaimovey.

"Flight director, this is CAPCOM, I'm picking up something very peculiar on our recording computer. It seems to be a rapid pulse; for all realistic purposes it appears to be non-natural."

"Roger CAPCOM, has the rest of the team been notified of this 'Pulse'?"

"Affirmative sir, but he haven't had much success in determining where the transmission is originating from. The amount of power we have used to boost the signal strenth of the Spaten has left the majority of the science equipment shut off. There's enough power to activate everything, including the necessary de-orbit thrusters and scientific instruments, for 15 hours sir."

The flight director thought about this predicament for a few minutes. He knew that this sattelite was crude, but he also knew that it's main mission was to contact nations and explore space in close proximity to Earth.

"I've made my decision CAPCOM; begin the necessary procedures to power up the Spaten. We're cutting the mission by 40 orbits, but we might have something that could be far more significant on the line."

ooc what is the name of that game. Ive had it before and could you also tell were you can dload it.

(OOC: It's the newest version of Orbiter 031217 with several modifications [Early Soviet Rockets and Missions])

(You can download it here: www.orbitersim.com)

(Check "Related Sites" for additional mods)

-SSR (Schultarian Space Research) Headquarters, Schultaria Prime

Central Director Schultz had only been recently informed about the news of a potential unknown contact; quickly, his assistants gathered as much relavant data from Mission Control as they possibly could and presented it as it came. Reams of paper with radio spectrums, orbital calculations, and flight logs now were strewn about the oval conference table as Schultz set to set up camp for the next few days.

"As soon as the others arrive, I want you to make sure to encrypt all outgoing transmissions with the highest possible security clearances. Not so much as a single human hair will leave this building until this commission says it's clear."

"Sure thing sir," said the attache, "I will contact security to initiate the necessary precautions."

During this time others began to slowly drift into the room; by the time the meeting was set to begin, the twelve greatest minds in Schultraian space science assembeled. Each had brought with them a unique viewpoint, but they had the same objective: determine the Spaten "contact".

"As all of you now know, Schultaria Prime's first sattelite has now detected something that was not expected by any of us. Mission Control has given the order to activate the Spaten to full capacity to determine what, or who, is exactly out there. Right now, the disorganized binders and stacks of paper represent the total extent of what we know so far, and this won't be the only data we recieve. The mission is now only expected to last 10 orbits at maximum; therefore, we have 15 hours to come up with a reasonable idea of what this mysterious radio signal is. Let's get to work."

-"After spending nearly 11 billion merlons (Approx 3.14 billion dollars) in an unprecedented scientific leap, Schultaria Prime can proclaim success in their current research efforts. Approximately 45 minutes ago in the central plains north of the capital Schultaria Prime, a Schultarian derivation of a Russian-built R7 rocket lifted off at the Eldaimovey Space Research Center."

Read the full story on the national site of Schultaria Prime (pic warning):

http://www.freewebs.com/emschultz/specialnewscastapr5.htm

What game is that from?

OOC: Check out www.orbitersim.com Watch out though, if you consider some learning curves to be steep, this one can be Himalayan without a tutorial.

OOC: Check out www.orbitersim.com Watch out though, if you consider some learning curves to be steep, this one can be Himalayan without a tutorial.

Thank you. Now this add-on page by Rob Coloney. Is any of that workable or is basically the stock version best?

(OOC: I used the mods on www.orbitmods.com . Those seem to work the best. As for the Coloney page, I've never gotten around to downloading there yet.)

-A BUMP to generate interest in SP's Space Program

-Another BUMP to see if anyone else is interested in our initial findings.

-Mission Control: 3 Hours Later

Since initial radio contact, the Spaten had not recieved any abnormal "thump-pulses" as the Mission Directors were now calling them. Nonetheless a slew of people, exahusted from spending 14 hours at their consoles already, were still holding out a sign of hope that these pulses could be better tracked. With nothing to gather a fix, Flight Director Orrow called together a meeting of all senior engineers to discuss the situation.

In a large press conference room adjcent to primary Mission Control, the haggared group of engineers and physicists collected into small groups of 4 or 5, and began to discuss the abnormal reports. Orrow situated himself in the back of the hall, setting up a large video projector and various other pieces of computer equipment during the interim. Once finished, he called the group of Directors to order, and activated the projector.

"These data displays that you see on the wall represent the total sum of what we know from the Spaten. As all of you know, the Spaten was merely designed as an early relay sattelite, but there were some modifications as per the request of the University of Schultaria Prime."

The projection fizzled into static, and a rendered image of the sattelite appeared.

"The University wanted to make sure to utilize every cubic centimeter of space on this capsule, so what wasn't used for retrograde thrusters, radio recievers, and computer equipment were some new technologies that are on the bleeding edge of our research," he begins to point at highlighted sections of the diagram, "mobile mass spectrometers, low power digital optics, and a new collision avoidance radar are all making their intial practial debut with this craft. If the abnormality does show up again, I want you all to double your efforts with these systems. The more data that can shed light on this, the better."

A huge mass of energy appear close to the Craft, and it began to take shape, forming into a Purple Wormhole

OOC: i wont post a vessel coming through yet, i would just like to see the reaction of your scientists etc

-Mission Control (T+ 4 Hours After Initial "Thump-Pulses")

Reinforced with a new sense of pride in Schultarian ingenuity, Mission Control began to monitor the little craft with ever more intensity. All of a sudden one Junior Director became worried, and paged his Senior and the Flight Directors.

"I don't know what's wrong, but there is something that is definitely not ordinary nearby. Our Mass Spectrometer it's... its... recieving data on materials that don't exist!"

"Now calm down, keep your head, and do a hardware analysis," Orrow reassuringly said, "Problems like this tend to propagate, so we'll run it by the numbers." "Jeez as if we didn't have enough to worry about, now we have a damn hardware malfunction?"

Orrow returned to his console at the back of the Auditorium shaped room, and began to open his flight log to make an entry about the malfunction when three directors, all veteran engineers of the SSR, confronted him. Each of them looked out of breath and had a panicked look on their face. "The Spaten's found something, you'd better take a look."

"CAPCOM, place the main camera on screen one; I want to know exactly what all the fear is about. I've never seen so much pani... Oh my dear god..."

The screen was entirely black the moment the camera was activated, but this was not the normal blackness of space. This was devoid of all light, even the reflections from the Earth and the surrounding stars were nowhere to be seen. Then the blackness seemed to ripple, and reddish streaks of what appeared to be lightning boiled over and coalesed into a whirlpool shape.

"Flight controllers, give me a status report."

"Guidance here, sattelite telemetry is nominal, no change."
"Retro here, all space craft control systems are on the line."
"GNC here, the spacecraft's science systems are completely awry. I'm getting reports from my sub teams that the spectrometer is recieving readings on materials that shouldn't physically be there, the collision avoidance radar is not recieving any signal what so ever."

"Copy that GNC. CAPCOM, this is the Flight Director, what is your status."

"CAPCOM here, whatever was causing that pulse appears to be back, with a vengance."

"Roger, I'm calling Schultaria Prime Headquarters. This is beyond our leagues now."

-SSR Headquarters, Schultaria Prime (T+ 4 Hours , 9 Minutes)

The group of thirteen had settled into a pitched debate about the validity of the "Nuclear Radio Pulse" theory when the numberless telephone beside Central Director Schultz's seat began to ring. Everyone stood silent, knowing that this phone was only to be used in the utmost of urgencies. Schultz picked up the telephone, and waited for the other end of the line to respond.

"Director? This is MC. Something very 'significant' has happened, all of us down here suggest that you better watch this footage."

Elliot shuddered, but calmly asked the scientists to turn on their personal consoles and await the news. He then asked for any further information.

"Sorry sir, but I think all of you over there are better equipped to handle this than we are."

As soon as the Flight Director had finished his sentence, each scientist's screen came alive with a flurry of complex numbers, radio patterns, and a haunting live image of a deep purple whirlpool. The scientists ceased to talk amongst themselves; rather, they became fixated on their screens with some shaking their heads in absolute disbelief.

"I think we are dealing with something beyond our knowledge," muttered one of the older scientists, "whatever has produced that... that... thing is absolutely baffling. Look at the numbers! It's nonsensical gibberish!"

Schultz could do nothing but stare.

-A BUMP to generate interest-

Then.. a Piece of Shiny Metal could be seen protruding from the Wormhole, then as quick as water flows from a cup a ship slid out of the Wormhole, the wormhole dissapated into nothingness.

http://www.artemisgames.com/robotech/images/Tokugawa_animec1084p49.gif
(The Vessel)

A Message was Relayed from the Ship to the Spaten, now much more reliable using the ships communications network in such close proximity.

"Congratulations" Was the one word that came through.

-SSR Headquarters (T+ 4 Hours, 15 Minutes)

The message reverberated throughout the room, and once it had dissapated a telling silence remained. Of the thirteen scientists in the room, none of them had ever anticipated that something of this magnitude would have ever occured. In disbelief they sought refuge at their consoles; for them it was safer to stare at this behemoth than to speak.

Dead silence...

Elliot took his seat at the head of the table, his eyes fixed on the images being transmitted by the Spaten's cameras, and began to shake his head. Even with the variety of technological advancement seen on Earth, nothing had prepared either him, or the rest of Schultaria Prime, for this moment.

"Well... They speak English; that's a good sign..." Elliot muttered.

Small chuckles broke out, then it became racous laughter. The room's entire feeling changed, and everyone began to celebrate. This one event, this one small event, had the power to radically change the direction of Schultarian policy for the better and everyone in this room knew it. Central Director Schultz picked up the hotline with Mission Control and requested a status report.

"Sir, this thing's impossible to figure out. With all the interference generated by that 'Whirlpool' we haven't been able to reactivate our mass spectrometer or our radar system. However, we have been able to recieve a fix on what frequency they are communicating with. Should we... contact them?"

"We are a go for contact, let me know when we have an open channel," Elliot then put down the phone and addressed the attache waiting at the door, "Find Directors Damien and Covey and have them meet me here in under 20 minutes. Today, we might make our largest diplomatic welcome."

-Another BUMP to see if anyone else wishes to RP

OOC: wait for your message to come through :)

-SSR Headquarters (T+ 4 Hours, 35 Minutes)

In a converted conference room on the other side of the complex Directors Covey and Damien collected themselves, waiting for Central Director Schultz to arrive. As Director Schultz entered the room, Harlen Damien and Joan Covey took their positions behind the podium anxiously waiting for the go signal from MC.

At 6:30 PM Central Standard Time Central Director Elliot Schultz, through the radio tracking networks at Eldaimovey, gave his speech of welcome to the unidentified craft.

[code:1:f2a0f989d9]
To the unidentified object currently in synchronous orbit with the Spaten, we are Directors Schultz, Damien, and Covey. We are the legally elected leaders of the United Socialist States of Schultaria Prime, and we represent the interests of this nation.

We mean to harbor no grudge, nor bear any ill will, to you or whatever nation you represent. Our nation is composed of industrious and peaceful people whose desires are to grow and learn about the universe surrounding us. This is exactly why we constructed the sattelite known as the Spaten; it is the very embodiment of our pursuit of knowledge and peace.

We desire to know about you and who you represent. Therefore, we offer you an extension of our deepest humility. We only ask that you respond to our message if you find us worthy of further communication.

For the people of Schultaria Prime, we await your response with the utmost anticipation.
[/code:1:f2a0f989d9]

Almost instantly a reply came through.
[code:1:2037337b62]Damien, Schultz and Covey, This is the AAS Ellens, And You are currently in contact with Praetor Ta'Lan, Given Full Authority to represent the Communist Dominion of Arenumberg.

Worthy of further Contact you are, and will be for a long time, You intrigue us.

We extend our warmest congratulations on breaking the restraints of earth in the form of this Craft, the "Spaten". We also ask you to think about this Proposal.

We can either come down to you, or you can come up to us, and do not panic, we are very human.. And Elven.. But we did evolve over 40,000 Lightyears away from you.

Praetor Ta'Lan Awaits your reply with much anticipation.[/code:1:2037337b62]

The three directors stood in stunned silence. All of them had been taught to anticipate and expect the unknown in their 15 years of service to the nation, but nothing had even come remotely close to this revelation. For the first time what seemed like decades, all three broke down and cried. Their expressions were nothing shy of pure unbridled happiness. Tearfully, Central Director Schultz sent the following message.

[code:1:be2de2e1a0]
We wish to visit you, but we won't be ready to launch a person out of the bonds of Earth for 3 to 5 years. However, we would love for you to come visit us.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of power we used in attempting to detect your ship, the Spaten will have to be deactivated in 6 hours and ultimately destroyed. However, even though this mission had to be cut by 72 hours, this mission was a greater success than any of our wildest dreams.

Please, we will do our best to make sure that you are proud of our little nation. If you require anything beforehand, please feel free to contact our Mission Control. They will provide you with access to our national networked databanks on anything that you are curious about within Schultaria Prime. Thank you for making this the proudest day in Schultarian history. Thank you for showing us that we aren't alone in our pursuit of knowledge.

We hope to hear your reply as soon as possible.

-The Directorate of Schultaria Prime
-Central Director Elliot Schultz
-Director Joan Covey
-Director Harlen Damien
[/code:1:be2de2e1a0]

On board the Indra Prime sentry vessel Tregloc, the four hundred person crew was busy monitoring and analyzing the data that was incoming from the sattelite and most recently the wormhole and newly arrived vessel. Captain Robert Supres was glad to be on this mission. He had spent years of his life becoming an expert on civilizations that were about to make the monumental steps into space. Now he was actually commanding a vessel, in orbit above a planet where it was happening in front of his very eyes. When the wormhole appeared, the ship automatically went to battle stations due to the fact that any race with any form of control of space/time like we did, needed to be watched very carefully. Supres stood from his command chair and walked around the bridge surveying the ships systems. He stopped behind his Operations Officer's Station.

" Lieutenant Retala, set a course that puts us within 10,000 km of the newly arrived vessel. Lets see what kind of nerves they have, purge the cloak and let 5% of the residual energy field leak out. That should get there attention."

" Five percent sir? Isn't that a bit excessive?"

" Lieutenant, follow my orders. Five percent."

" Aye sir. Course set. Purging Cloak."

Another almost instantaneous reply came back through.
[code:1:d114865f01]
My my Directors, you dont seriously think we would let you come up here in a vessel that could destroy you? It could malfunction and kill you.. no we would not have that.. we would of course manipulate your atoms and relocate you up here.. and the vice versa can be done, it is very safe, and you barely feel it, we have been using it long enough to know... Ah.. excuse me.. we seem to have picked up something.. Sorry about your Spaten craft.. we await your reply and maybe we will be finished up here when it comes, thank you[/code:1:d114865f01]

"What do you mean your detecting something?"

"A Cloaked vessel Praetor.. but its leaking alot of energy, as if it wanted us to see it, could be hostile"

"Arm the defense systems, charge up the weapons and shields, if they are hostile they will learn to deal with us more trivally in future... But do not fire unless i give the order, but make sure our Capital Turrets track them, Comms, make sure you get a message out there"

[code:1:d114865f01]AAS Ellens to undentified hidden vessel, you have been detected.[/code:1:d114865f01]

The capital turrets on the AAS Ellens swiveled round to the co-ordinates of the cloaked ship.. following its every movement.

Captain Supres stood watching the data coming in on the Operations Console with satisfaction. He thought it was time to change things up on the other ship. He turned to his executive officer.

"Major, contact strategic Command. Tell them I want three battle cruisers, half a dozen light frigates and the Phaeralon here immediately."

"Aye Sir."

"Lieutentant, repair the cloak; Helm, move us to the other side of the vessel, distance 5,000 km."

As the ship moved out all traces of the ship disappeared. Once the vessel was repositioned, the captain turned to his XO.

"Major, report."

"Captain, We have recieved confirmation from STRATCOM. The Phaeralon will be here in approximately 15 minutes."

"Excellent. Lieutenant, open hailing frequencies to the AAS Ellens."

"Hailing frequencies, opened."

"AAS Ellens, this is Major General Robert Supres of the Indra Prime Tactical Sentry Vessel Tregloc, do not make any sudden movements or motions of hostility or we will destroy your vessel. We have been in orbit of this planet for more than 6 months studying this nation and its progress towards space explorations. Utilizing wormholes in the presence of a technologically neglected country will change their course of development unnaturally. They must figure it out on their own. What are your intentions?"

OOC: Seriously.. wtf? lol.. and i dont have crap tech.. if i wanted i could detect you.. but for sakes of RP i wont

"Its gone.. sensors are having trouble.. picked up light communication, but too heavily encrypted"

"I dont like this... open the channel again"

"Aye aye sir."

"Major General Robert Supres of the Indra Prime Tactical Sentry Vessel Treglo, we have no intentions of badwill towards Schultaria Prime, we have been in this situation countless times before, You however are provoking armed combat, and calling reinforcements no doubt, destroying this vessel and letting technology rain down on Schultaria Prime certainly isnt going to help, either."

OOC: Also, Schultaria, you could pick these comms up as the spaten is till around.

A radio transmission issued forth from the high-flying Arêtê, directed at the Schultarian satelite.

Zdravstvuyte. Welcome to space. We are of the Civillian Barge Arêtê, of the Intrasolar Repobulic of the Spacer Guilds. If possible, please reply.

-SSR Headquarters (T+ 5 Hours, 27 Minutes)

"Say again Mission Control? What is the situation? Please speak slower."

"Directors, we have no clue what is going on! GNC is having a heart attack over here; the mass spectrometer is reading unbelievable amounts of high level gamma radiation along with incredible amounts of Hydrogen approaching the 'Plasma' phase. CAPCOM is recieving so many signals that we had to activate another 30 HPC Supercomputers just to seperate the individual channels. We'll fax the transcripts over for you to puruse."

As the seemingly endless reams of paper churned out message after message, the Directors and the council of professors became confused. While sorting nearly 300 pages of frequencies and transmissions with corresponding data from the tracking radar, one undeniable fact lingered; all of the transmissions came from three unique sources with three unique frequencies, but only 2 objects could be identified by the collision radar.

"Honorable Directors," a younger member of the council inquired apologetically, "Perhaps we should just let the situation solve itself? I mean, it looks as if we are dealing with someting beyond our means. Shouldn't we perhaps just order the Spaten to fire into retrograde right now and forget this whole mess?"

Covey and Damien, clearly incensed by this comment, turned to berate the young doctorate but stopped in their tracks. They turned and began to discuss the option of simply having the Spaten dissapear from the scene and ending this whole conflict before it could begin. However, being the politically minded sort, both of them knew that this kind of defeatism had lead to the downfall of Schultaria Prime so many centuries ago.

"Well, you're the boss E," chimed Director Covey, "it's time for the grandson of the fearless revolutionary leader to work his magic."

Elliot put down the transcripts he was reading and faced the group. His demeanor became stoic, and while his body looked tired and haggared from 22 hours without sleep he gave his full emotion to the group.

"The greatest achievements in Schultaria Prime: democracy, philosophy, and academia are something that we should share with all who seek our friendship. 75 years ago, the corporate franchises of the Schultarian proto-state Prmus gave away these interests for the pursuit of greed and a lack of respect for the world around them. The powers that be sought to do nothing more than exploit gave themselves ruin and disaster; not because they did not know how to run the nation effectively, but because they ignored the ideas that have made our people proud of their Schultarian ancestry.

Twenty years ago the late genius of modern Schultarian science, Doctor Kevem Haarvekord, said to the National Assembly, 'If our nation is to become truly one of stability and who's character is a world standard, we must be willing to sacrifice our individual and national industry to the cause of knowledge.' Today the Spaten not only honors him, but it honors every Schultarian who as ever questioned the status quo.

To ask for the destruction of the Spaten at this critical point would be to ask the nearly 200 million citizens of our great land to stop hoping and give up their dreams because it is 'safer' and 'less threatening'. I say to all of you now that we shall continue the pursuit of knowledge until our personal constitustions have been depleted physically. It is our right, nay our duty, to rally behind the Spaten and what ever results it may produce," Elliot immediately got on the phone with Mission Control, "This is Elliot Schultz, I demand an immediate open channel with the Spaten transmitter."

[code:1:9453a3780a]
To all craft within the proximity of the Schultarian sattelite Spaten.

We have detected three transmissions, but have only identified two craft. Nonetheless, we extend our branches of friendship to the nation of Arenumberg and Spacer Guilds. We are deeply honored to be contacted by two highly sophisticated nations, and we hope that your find our nation to be worthy of further relations.

Our best decryption experts are attempting to reconstruct the messages from the third source, but we hope that they also represent another benevolent race who seeks to exchange knowledge and pursue the ideals of peace.

In our native Schultarian: Faer Innazi, holvenna urri bis allnea. (For the universe, divinity for all people.)

-Central Director Elliot Schultz
[/code:1:9453a3780a]

-BUMP

[code:1:70aafc5624] Directors, we are encountering a vessel with seemingly hostile intentions, we may be forced to abandon this vessel if it takes too much damage, we may land, or transport as many of our people to your surface, or even eject lifeboats, we are sorry, but this is one of your 1st lessons, not everyone is nice.[/code:1:70aafc5624]

With apparent tensions reaching critical levels, Captain Supres decided it was time to finally stop toying with this other ship. He sent a short burst message to the Phaeralon and the ships that arrived shortly after her. The message was simple. Decloak.

Moments after the message was transmitted, the enormous 15 km Indra Prime Flagship decloaked along with the ten other ships including the Tregloc right in front of the AAS Ellens and the Arete. As soon as the vessels of the Indra Prime Fleet decloaked a message was sent from the Phaeralon to all listening parties.

"Praetor, this is Supreme Commander Thomas Gharag of the Indra Prime Flagship Phaeralon. We have reviewed the communiques between your vessel and the Tregloc and we wish to assure you that we hold no hostile intentions to you or your vessel. I propose an introduction of our two nations on board the Phaeralon and then we will send a delegation to the surface to introduce ourselves in person to the natives. we await your response.Phaeralon out.

"We dont mean to be uptight, be were liking to do our own business here, Alone, then leave and allow whoever else to interact with the Schultarians at their Discretion, however, in meeting you we do accept."

Praetor Ta'Lan didnt flinch at the sight of a huge vessel, he had seen plenty before.

OOC: I don't mean to be a killjoy, but I have been around the blokc a few more times than you have in terms of space faring R&D. You may say that you can detect my vessels, however your nation is still quite young. But for the sake of RP we'll just continue as before.

"Praetor Ta'Lan, we are sending three escort fighters to stationkeeping 5km off the bow of your ship. Have your transport rendevous with them and they will escort you to the hangar deck on the Phaeralon. Once aboard you will be escorted to the conference room where you will meet with me and with my senior officers to discuss opening relations with the inhabitants of the planet below. Phaeralon out."

OOC: Yeh, but if people decided to read my factbook they would find out i had been a fairly large nation and a plague had killed alot of my people, providing a goode background for the 5 million starting and why i have a respectable level of tech, although you probably wouldnt be detected as sensors were maintaining a lock on schultaria

"We Will comply, however 2 of our own fighters will be launching aswell" Ta'Lan sent back.

"Is the Yacht prepped?"

"Yes sir, so is the fighterbay, the ambassador is in the Yacht and awaiting your arrival"

"Ok.. thank you, Commander Ra'Selak, you have the Command."

"Thank you sir."

Praetor Ta'Lan, proceeded to the Fighter Bay, where he boarded the ships ambassadorial Yacht, Where Ambassadpr Sh'Akal was waiting, the yacht slid out of the fighter bay, sliding through the holding shield, shortly after 2 Hercules Space Superiority fighters cruised out behind, and assumed escort position.

As soon as the escorted yacht left the immediate vicinity of the vessel, three Indra Prime fighters took point and guided the entourage to a secured hangar. Once all the craft were situated a platoon of heavily armed soldiers entered the hangar and took up positions to protect the interests of the visitors on board. The Supreme Commander stepped forward from the entrance where he was waiting for the ships to land to greet the ambassador and the Praetor.

"Praetor, Ambassador. Welcome to the Phaeralon. This is a momentus occasion for our two worlds to be meeting for the first time. This is my second in command, Colonel Mikhial Grodorfsky, my senior operations officer, Major Erin Ronson. If you'll come with me we will retire to a more convienient place for our discussion."

When they reached the observation deck, they all took their places with the Supreme Commander at the head of the table.

"Praetor, I have asked you here for a number of reasons. First off, it is a great pleasure to meet people from another world. We left our homeworld more than five hundred years ago and have developed along our own advanced lines. We conquered the ability to create stable wormholes about two hundred years ago, and now our vessels are equipped with technology far superior to that. As we developed our technological base, we came to the realization that we would have to be careful of who we interacted with, in hopes of preventing less developed planets from destroying themselves with the technology influence we would have undoubtedly given them. In our first century of independence from our homeworld, there was a planet that was in the closest solar system to our own. We made firsst contact with them at about the same stage the inhabitants of the world below us have just now reached. We gave them harmless unlimited energy production devices and within one year, they had destroyed their entire planet. Since that incident, we always watch other less developed cultures, until they reach a point where they can understand the possible technology we can give them and where we could interact on a level of which we are currently interacting right now in this very room. So you see why we had to be sure that you were not trying to interfere with their society. But, with the things that have happened in this system and the obvious observations made by the people of this world, I believe that we need to go to the surface and make first contact the right way. As a technologically advanced society, I hope that you can see the merit to what I propose."

-Merle Thoroughfare, Schultaria Prime: (T+ 5 hours, 40 minutes)

In the busiest pedestrian mall in all of Schultaria Prime, a curious gathering of people crowded the already packed streets. Shoulder to shoulder, lights dimmed by curious shopkeepers, fifty thousand people watched the northern night sky. In the distance, the faint glimmer of the Spaten appeared in the distance with the vessel dubbed the "Great visitor" slightly to the east. Natural curiosity had driven this crowd to watch their great achievement met with such warm acceptance by a technically superior race.

Director Damien had made a speech 40 minutes prior, heralding a new age of prosperity and allaying the fears of most of the country. Now with great pride, many Schultarians set up homemade "friendship stations" consisting of crude HAM Radio sets pointed towards the night sky. Many wanted the chance to talk with the curious visitor, and most were willing to go to any lengths to try to contact them.

Three minutes later, the crowd's joy turned into fear.

9 points of light abruptly appeared south of the last noted position of the Spaten. Their suddenness worried the group, but most were more curious than frightened. As soon as the crowd's demeanor had receded to manageable levels, a giant linear figure appeared directly overhead. The reflection of this massive ship blotted out the reflection cast by the moon, and lingered over the capital. The crowd panicked, and most of them began to scatter. A few feared the worst; that their nation was being directly threatened by an unreachable and un-defendable enemy. The "friendship stations" were quickly looted and destroyed, and many began to take refuge in the capital Metro underground stations.

-SSR Headquarters

Director Schultz collapsed, falling flat on his face.

"Medic, Medic!" cried Director Covey, "Director Schultz has gone unconscious!"

Director Damien, along with the rest of the professors, shook their heads in disbelief. They could make out 12 ships out of the snowy camera footage; the largest one incapacitating Director Schultz. The rest of the data screens had defaulted due the inability of the Spaten's instruments to comprehend the number of contacts. All that was left were the cameras and the radio transmitter to guide their judgment.

"Joan, I think that we might have to consider the option," moaned Director Damien, "Hostile or not, we need to do this to placate the fears of the people."

"Let's wait before we do anything too rash Harlen," noted Director Covey, "We know that in order to enter Schultarian airspace it'll take a spacecraft a minimum of 3 minutes to breach the atmosphere and 15 minutes before that to initiate the necessary de-orbit procedures. Give the situation 7 minutes, and then we'll reconsider our options."

The group, shy Central Director Schultz, retired to the conference room to watch, and wait.

Director Schultz
May we dispatch a diplomatic party to your nation?
~Guild Phoenicia

While the meeting aboard the Phaeralon was taking place a crewman came in and sttod at attention until he was recognized by the Supreme Commander.

"Crewman, are you aware that this is a classified meeting?"

"Yessir, but I have a report that needs your attention."

The crewman came down the length of the room and handed the Supreme Commander a holographic disc which immediately activated a message once it touched the commander's hand. It displayed an activity report regarding the Arete that was lingering on the outskirts of the system. In a small amount of code it described that the ship had sent a signal towards the planet. The Commander deactivated the holodisc and set it on the table in front of him.

"Crewman, inform the bridge to block all transmissions from that vessel. Also have the Vigilante and the Percleadeas to bring that vessel here, now. Tell them to use the utmost stealth in approaching and make them understand."

"Aye sir."


Five minutes later two of the Indra Prime Battleships cloaked from their stationkeeping position with the Phaeralon and moved into flanking position of the Arete. When they were in position they decloaked and sent a message to the vessel.

"Attention Cargo Vessel Arete. This is the Indra Prime Battleship Vigilante. We have been ordered to escort you to stationkeeping with the Indra Prime Flagship Phaeralon. We urge you to comply. If you resist we have orders to 'encourage' you to go. Please set a course for the Indra Prime Flagship at one eighth lightspeed. We will remain on your flank as an escort, to make sure you go where you need to go. No further communication with the surface will be possible. All transmissions will be intercepted. Vigilante out."

-SSR Headquarters (T+ 5 Hours, 47 Minutes)

"Could some one please give us an update on the Central Director's condition? We're extremely worried about his health," inquired one of the professors.

"Doctor Morey here. He's in good condition, though exahusted by this recent stint. He should be ready to go in a few hours, though if you need him I can give him an amphetamine shot at a moment's notice."

"No need to just yet doctor," retorted Director Covey, "let him rest for now. However, make sure to keep someone with a shot at the ready in case we need his assistance. Right now, it looks as though things are turning out quite nicely."

As the message from Spacer Guilds came in, the party within the conference room breathed a collective sigh of relief. Reaffirmed in the knowledge that at least some of the craft in contact with the Spaten had peaceful intentions, Director Damien publicly announced that contact had resumed with the Spaten and that the nation was in no threat. Reports from the various detachments of police forces throughout the larger cities gave clear indication that some form of normality was returning to the Schultarian nightlife.

"Mission Control, this is the SSR, please activate the Spaten's transmitters to send a transmission to the craft known as the Arêtê immediately."

"Negative SSR, this is CAPCOM, it appears that all outgoing radio communication with any nearby craft is impossible at the current moment. It appears that all incoming messages are either white noise or so heavily encrypted that the response is gibberish."

"How are our current efforts to begin decryption?" Director Damien questioned Mission Control.

"Every last amount of computer power that can be spared from the Schultarian Space Agency's central network has been centered on the brute force method of decryption. So far, we have made absolutely NO headway SSR. It appears that the level this type of encryption is using is beyond the current scope of our mathmatical knowledge, but we'll keep on trying."

Undaunted, all of the members within the SSR's conference room agreed that the Spaten should try to establish contact with the Arêtê and as soon as possible. With nearly 3 hours before the sattelite would automatically engage retrograde, every action was time critical. To serve as a beacon and provide contact with the nations already in contact with the Spaten, Director Damien altered the sattelite's automated greeting.

[code:1:e2d29c09ec]
To all interested parties,

We, the leadership of Schultaria Prime, thank you for the kind support that you have given us in our ascent out of the bonds of Earth. As one nation seeking to learn from others, we wish to extend this greeting as a sign of peace. Nonetheless, diplomacy is a two way affair, and the recent drop off in communications coupled with the identification of another 10 unidentified contacts have worried a significant portion of the population.

As leaders worried about the welfare of our nation, we have altered this message to inquire about the recent contacts within 4500 km of the Spaten.

As we have said before: We mean to harbor no grudge, nor bear any ill will, to you or whatever nation you represent. Our nation is composed of industrious and peaceful people whose desires are to grow and learn about the universe surrounding us. This is exactly why we constructed the sattelite known as the Spaten; it is the very embodiment of our pursuit of knowledge and peace.

Please respond.

-Director Harlen Damien
-Director Joan Covey
[/code:1:e2d29c09ec]

-A BUMP to increase coverage of this RP

"We are pleased to meet you, and We understand completely, we ourselves evolved from a island chain on a planet 43,000 Lightyears away from here, to a small confederacy of colonies, we did not have much reason to grow beyond this, and we were happy, we were close to breaking into many new advanced technologies above what we had, when the Plague came, and killed hundreds of millions of people, most of our colonies were lost, 2750 years of work lost, in one year of death and destruction, however, we do not interfere or share technology, we prefer to assume a guardian role, but just speed up their development slightly, there are many hostile races that could easily bend these people to their will, surely you see what we are trying to do."

Ambassador Sh'Akal began to speak

"I am Ambassador Sh'Akal , everything Ta'Lan is telling you is true, First contact on the ground accompanied by you, is acceptable"

-Another BUMP (OOC: I really can't involve myself in this portion of the RP, but I like how this is turning out)

Directors Damien and Covey,
Your words impress. Your kind are few. If you will approve our request to send a diplomatic party, would it be possible to retrieve a delegation of your own for travel to our vessel?
~Guild Phoenicia

-SSR Headquarters (T+ 6 Hours)

"At least someone is making the attempt to contact us now," thought Director Covey, "Harlen, I think we should prepare a response immediately in case there is another loss of signal. The Spaten will only be active for another three hours; we have to make the remaining power supplies worth our while."

Director Damien nodded in agreement; everyone in this conference room and Mission Control knew that no matter what the circumstances, the Spaten had to complete its de-orbit procedure before the internal batteries were depleted. The time for formal responses began to draw thin, but Harlen and Joan knew that in foreign affairs, no matter the nation or the technical level, required time for delicacy. The recent response by the Nation of Spacer Guilds, though anticipated, was not entirely expected.

Even with the apparent calm displayed the the Spaten's snowy camera footage, the two Directors were ill at ease. Both feared for Director Schultz's health following his collapse; they doubted their own ability in handling this kind of "indirect" negotiation, after all, they still held dearly to the belief that face to face contact is the only way to do business.

Nonetheless, both Directors stood up and excused themselves from the room and proceded to the main press room. A link was hastily made from the SSR headquarters to the Spaten. Pressed for time, they decided to keep the message short to conserve power resources.

[code:1:4da7877910]
To any nation within recieving range,

We, the Leadership of Schultaria Prime, thank the nation of Spacer Guilds for their renewed contact. As of now, we could prepare a diplomatic party consisting of Director Damien and several senior officials if you so choose. We thank you for your praise, and bid you welcome to our nation.

Please respond.

-Director Harlen Damien
-Director Joan Covey
[/code:1:4da7877910]

-A BUMP to generate interest

-Another BUMP for the morning

"Attention Arete, no further communication with the surface is allowed and if attempts are made to send a signal through the disruptive field, we will be forced to take offensive action against your vessel. This is your only warning. Our supreme commander is meeting with representatives of Arenumberg to decide on a course of action regarding first contact. We are escorting you to the Indra Prime Flagship Phaeralon so your captain can also send a delegation to discuss this matter with our leaders. If you do not comply we WILL take offensive action to prevent any further contamination of their society by more advanced space faring civilizations without any form of containment. Please acknowledge this transmission and respond. Vigilante out."

"Attention Cargo Vessel Arete. This is the Indra Prime Battleship Vigilante. We have been ordered to escort you to stationkeeping with the Indra Prime Flagship Phaeralon. We urge you to comply. If you resist we have orders to 'encourage' you to go. Please set a course for the Indra Prime Flagship at one eighth lightspeed. We will remain on your flank as an escort, to make sure you go where you need to go. No further communication with the surface will be possible. All transmissions will be intercepted. Vigilante out.""Cargo vessel? Do these people pay any attention at all? One eighth lightspeed? Senka, tell me this is a joke."
"That would be an untruth."
"They're serious?"
"Far as I can tell."
"Sheesh."
"Attention Arete, no further communication with the surface is allowed and if attempts are made to send a signal through the disruptive field, we will be forced to take offensive action against your vessel. This is your only warning. Our supreme commander is meeting with representatives of Arenumberg to decide on a course of action regarding first contact. We are escorting you to the Indra Prime Flagship Phaeralon so your captain can also send a delegation to discuss this matter with our leaders. If you do not comply we WILL take offensive action to prevent any further contamination of their society by more advanced space faring civilizations without any form of containment. Please acknowledge this transmission and respond. Vigilante out."
"Alright, alright, set up a comm channel. Get started on the reply to Schultaria, I'll see what I can do about these Vigilante people. Right. So, is it on? Ah, good."
Starship Vigilante, by what authority do you not allow further communication? Our affairs are not yours. We have conducted numerous other first contact procedures in the past, and are quite adept at them by now. Indeed, it is our purpose for remaining here 'round this miserable ball of rock. If you feel compelled to force our departure from our current orbit, we will have to inquire of you: how in heck do you expect to get this entire Barge up to point-one-two-five-cee? And if you do have an answer to that, I will have to demand that you refund the fuel expenditure. If you really want a to meet us that badly, send a representative here, rather than telling us to go there. You have no authority to direct this vessel or its citizens. Any violence carried out against a civillian city-ship will be interpreted as an act of war. As this is a civilian city-ship, you should probably carefully reconsider your previous communications.
Good day,
~Governor of Arêtê

To any nation within recieving range,

We, the Leadership of Schultaria Prime, thank the nation of Spacer Guilds for their renewed contact. As of now, we could prepare a diplomatic party consisting of Director Damien and several senior officials if you so choose. We thank you for your praise, and bid you welcome to our nation.

Please respond.

-Director Harlen Damien
-Director Joan Covey

<Open Channel:Tightbeam>
Directors Damien and Covey,
It is we who thank you. A delegation will be dispatched immediately. The spaceplane will attempt further contact to pinpoint an approptiate landing site upon nearing your airspace. We look forward to recieving your return officials.
~Guild Phoenicia
<End>

(OOC: FYI, tightbeam= radio-frequency laser= coherent beam= message non-interceptable to anything not in direct line of site, yet powerful enough to drown out frequency jamming.)

-Mission Control (T+ 6 hours, 25 Minutes)

"Flight this is CAPCOM, we are recieving a message from a pack of the three furthest ships. It's a highly directional signal pointed directly at the Spaten's trancievers."

"Roger that CAPCOM, can you make out the signal?"

"Negative sir, the frequency and modulation of this transmission has an unusually large power signature, GNC has taken the liberty of directly transmitting the message to the flight computer banks in the SSR Headquarters. We should be able to sort out the message in less than an hour."

"... in less than an hour?" thought Flight Director Orrow, "That thing's going to be a useless ball of tinfoil if we don't think about knocking it out of the sky in less than 2." He nodded in agreement with his Capsule Commander, then returned to command desk at the rear of the room and pulled out his flight log. He marked the time and date of the discussion.


Flight Director's Log: Cmd. Orrow 22:35 Hrs

Discussed recent radio transmissions and various decryption methods with CAPCOM. We've concluded that we should be able to fully decipher the messages that we have recieved in the last 15 minutes within the hour.

Spaten continues to function at 100% power loads, though we are well into orbit 7 of full power usage. Directors Schultz, Covey, and Damien have yet to officially authorize the de-orbit command, though in recent discussions they know how time critical the situation is. Estimated time to Spaten's total failure is now at 3 hours, 35 Minutes.

Personally, though I think it is a terrible tragedy that we might have to cut the Spaten mission short, the SSA has already earmarked several alternatives to contact the "visitors" curious in our space technology. I can only hope that they will be as successful as what all of us have witnessed.

-BUMP, to ensure that the other parties still awknowledge that they are still in the RP

-SSR Headquarters (T+ 7 Hours, 40 Minutes)

It had been well over an hour and the Spaten had not recieved any transmissions from the spacecraft in orbit. The feeling of intense energy and excitement in the conference room had given way to general malaise; most of the scientists had already succumbed to the effects of fatigue and the three directors were not too far behind. Nonetheless, in a climate controlled room three floors below them, 90 of Schultaria Prime's most powerful Supercomputers were carefully studying the last few transmissions the Spaten had recieved. After thousands of algorithmic translations, a discernable text message was recovered from the pile of data. Immediately, every screen in the conference room flashed the message:

[code:1:1242cca02f]
<Open Channel:Tightbeam>
Directors Damien and Covey,
It is we who thank you. A delegation will be dispatched immediately. The spaceplane will attempt further contact to pinpoint an approptiate landing site upon nearing your airspace. We look forward to recieving your return officials.
~Guild Phoenicia
<End>
[/code:1:1242cca02f]

By this time, Director Schultz had awoken from his 2 hour stupor and shuffled into his chair at the head of the long conference table. Dazed, but lucid, he asked for a situation report.

"Central Director, Sir, we haven't recieved any transmissions within the last hour and a half or thereabouts. However, this transmission was just decoded and it shows some promise," noted Director Covey, "However, we are well into our 8th orbit and Mission Control has been calling us regularly to inquire about the de-orbit command. Even though all of us in this room would hate to see the Spaten destroyed, we have to do it in order to insure that future missions won't be damaged."

"Then we shall respond as quickly as possible Joan," retorted Central Director Schultz, "Even in our spacecraft's final hours we musn't forget to let our guests that we are still ready to listen."

Elliot unlocked a small cabinet containg a slim keyboard and three very small LCD monitors. This was one of only three such devices in the Schultarian Space Administration, and all of them had complete control over the Spaten. As he logged in he muttered to the panel of scientists, "And as quickly as this light has shined on our proud nation we are the ones who will dim it. Do not fear though, for this is only the beginning of Schultaria's greatest dream."

[code:1:1242cca02f]
AAUTH: C. DIRECTOR E. M. SCHULTZ
<DIRECT TRANSMISSION | CAPCOM OVERRIDE OFF>

We awknowledge the message recieved by the Nation of Spacer Guilds. We await your safe arrival on our nation's soil.

This will be the last outgoing message of this satelite. We will continue to recieve messages for the duration of the next 180 minutes, but power restrictions dictate that all remaining reserves ensure proper retrograde and destruction of the craft.

Thank you all for making this a beautiful success.
<MESSAGE TERMINATE>

<ORBIT CONTROL | FLIGHT DIRECTOR AAUTH: OK>
-RETROGRADE SEQUENCE ENGAGE T -35 MINUTES

[/code:1:1242cca02f]

"Must we not go now?"

(OOC: I was kind of worried that you three weren't around, I merely did that to spur on the story. It's an incentive for you to come down to meet us. :D The Spaten's mute, but not deaf; our tracking stations could make a limited form of contact if need be. )

As the the countdown continued its inevitable tick towards reentry of the first artificial satellite os Schultaria Prime, something unexpected happened on the Phaeralon. An object measuring approximately two meters in length was launched from one of the many torpedo ports and was sent on a course that would bring it into direct contact with the satellite. As it appeared to have a speed and course that would knock the satellite out of the sky, the object began a decelleration burn that allowed it to connect with the dying space probe. Suddenly tendrils leaped from the object launched from the Indra Prime vessel and connected themselves onto the satellite. The tendrils began to glow with the energy transfer that was occuring from the power source to the Spaten. The probe sent from the Indra Prime Vessel scanned the probes circuits and remotely disabled the retroburn that would inevitably bring the first concrete step of this nation crashing back to the surface. A transmitter on the foreign probe activated and waited for a signal.

A long, thin torchship drifted away from the Arêtê's southern side Once it reached a safe distance, it fired up its main engine, leaving behind a highly incandescent stream of monatomic hydrogen exhaust as it blasted towards Earth. A few kliks above the atmosphere, a WaveRider detached from the torchship, and began skipping across the upper atmosphere while the torchship shut off it's engines and rammed into the atmosphere to decelerate and pickup extra reaction mass. Ending on a high-eccentricity orbit, the torchship came back around the other side of the Earth and began drifting powerless back to the Arêtê.

After five or six skips, the WaveRider finally sank into the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, and opened up its scramjet intakes, capturing the energy of high-speed air for conversion into electricity while decelerating. After quite some time, the engines finally kicked in, and the WaveRider powered its way towards Schultarian airspace.
Shultarian Ground Control, this is Guild Craft WaveRider Arêtê One. Please respond with landing instructions.

(OOC: Sorry for the delayed post, I had a midterm for Physics that was a critical no-fail.)

-SSR Headquarters (T+ 8 Hours)

"Orrow? Orrow! What in the hell is going on? No more than 20 minutes ago I sent the final command, the DEATH command, to the Spaten!" Schultz furiously iterated, "This thing hasn't budged; and worse yet, what's going to happen when this thing dies? We'll have ourselves a bullet the size of a basketball endangering any future space exploration!"

On the other end of the line, Flight Director Orrow gave an audible swallow, "Sir, we don't know what's going on with the satelite; neither the tracking radar nor the onboard cameras picked up any contacts. However, we do have a little good news though; whatever's happening to the Spaten seems to be creating a miracle with it's power reserves. Recent data has shown that the power reserves are now stable for another 200 orbits. It's probably very likely that one of the nations who contacted us has this sort of technology. Very powerful stuff indeed."

Central Director Schultz put down the telephone reciever, eased back into his seat, and began to type a small message of thanks to be broadcast to the ships above. He was nearly finished proofreading his newest work of diplomacy when the phone rang from mission control again.

"Mr. Schultz, sorry to bother you, but we have recieved reports of an unknown deisgn of aircraft comming into our airspace. The airforce has been dispatched to investigate, but they have already sent us a message requesting permission to land. Sir, from all appearances, they are from the nation of Spacer Guilds."

"If you haven't given them permission to land then give it to them now, and make sure that they have plenty of space to land! Since we don't have any notion as to how much space they'll need to land that they better land near Eldaimovey. At least we should have a better measure of disaster response and protection for the craft," noted Schultz, "Give them access to the 'Guppy' runway. I'll be ready to meet them when they land."

With that, the directors in Mission Control divided themselves to carry out both the mission of tracking down the mysterious source of the Spaten's recovery and guiding an unknown craft to establish the unthinkable: first contact for Schultaria Prime.

-BUMP to bring things back to speed.

OOC: need indra..

The commanders left the Conference room and crossed the threshold that would take them te the Phaeralon's magnificent bridge. They made their way to the railing which ringed the second tier of the bridge overlooking the command center and the Main Holographic Viewscreen. Every station in that enormous room had at least one holographic three dimenional display that showed the three dozen people that monitored those systems the full rundown of each and every vital system on the massive flagship. They crossed the upper level to the ramp that led to the lower command level and the General sat down in his command chair. He turned to the foreign dignitaries.

"Please take a seat at one of those stations. This may take a few minutes."

He turned back to the viewscreen and manipulated a few controls on the arm of his chair. The Viewscreen came to life with readings of multiple things simultaneously, but those in the center of the screen dealt with the remodulation of the probe's communication array, the breakdown of the Schultaria Prime capital City, and the location and capabilities of the Mission control center that was their target. He enlarged the images of the MCC and found where the lead director was located. He turned back to the communications officer.

"Lieutenant Strothberg, lock onto the location of this Director Schultz and prepare to transmit a level three holographic signal." He turns to the Flight Health Officer and says, "This man is wide awake, right?" "Yessir, from these readings it looks like he won't be able to sleep for at least three days." "Good."

He stands up from his chair and motions to Praetor Ta'Lan to join him. "Praetor, if you would please join me so we can provide a united front to these people."

The two men stepped onto the central Holographic Platform down from the center command chair. General Gharag turned to the communications Lieutenant and said," Activate." Suddenly, to the people on the bridge, they appeared to be immersed in a soft glowing white light. from their perspective they were standing in front of a bewildered man who sensors had identified as Director Schultz of the Mission Control Center.

"Director Schultz, I am General Thomas Gherag, Supreme Commander of the Indra Prime vessels orbiting your planet. This is Praetor Ta'Lan, commander of the Arenumberg forces above this planet. We are here to ease you into your First Contact with extrasolar civilizations. You have undoubtedly detected that your probe, Spatan, has gotten some kind of powerboost. That was the doing of our nation. We thought it would be best to allow you to keep your first satellite. We launched a power transfer probe from the Phaeralon, my command ship"

At this point a holographic representation of the Phaeralon popped up infront of the two holographic leaders.
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~palmerts/Nationstates/IPFlagship.JPG

Gharag continued to speak," to extend the lifetime of the probe and to give us a communications relay to you. We are here to offer you peaceful greetings from the Temporal Research Commission of Indra Prime and the Dominion of Arenumberg."

As soon as permission and landing co-ords were recieved, the spaceplane began sending regular status reports every few seconds on speed, bearing, and atmospheric conditions.

Running with engines off for the last half-continent, the flipped on reverse-thrust using the oxidizer picked up by the scramjets on re-entry. Thoguh still supersonic when it entered Schultarian airspace, the spaceplane lacked the loud sonic boom that usually accompanies high-speed craft, as the curvature of its underside acted to trap the shockwave just under and in front of the craft at all times, hence the designation "WaveRider". With jets going full-on until the last possible moment, the engines finally throttled down for final approach and touchdown. The half-power reverse thrust engines acting in place of dragchutes, the spaceplane finally came to a full stop after speeding along on or just above the ground for some 1500 meters, the leading edges glowing a dull red. A few moments after the WaveRider stopped, huge billowing clouds of steam issued forth from vents above and just behind and forward of the deltawings. As the steam cleared, the edges of the craft had returned to their usual black/grey colors, and a ramp began to lower from the belly of the spaceplane.

-Mission Control (T+ 8 Hours, 30 Minutes)

All three main screens were fixated on the foreign plane. As it touched down on runway number 3, known as the "Guppy" runway in honor of the massive cargoplanes that frequently transport sections of rocket to the launch gantries, the flight team within mission control celebrated this phenominal event with champange and cigars. Director Orrow, beside himself with unrestrained joy, gave the final command to the foreign craft. "You.. are go for first contact. Welcome to Schultaria Prime." He slumped down in his seat and began to cry.

Meanwhile, Directors Daimen and Covey had been notified well in advance of the plane's arrival and his motorcade had already reached the outer perimeter of Eldaimovey. Within his entourage, he made sure to pick the best minds from both the government's diplomatic corps and the brightest ones to examine the wonders that awaited them on the tarmack. As their motorcade stopped within a respectable distance of 500 meters from the craft, both of the Directors stepped out and began to walk solemnly twoards the empty ramp jutting out from the black and gray plane.

-SSR Headquarters, Schultaria Prime

Awaiting word from his subordinate Directors, Elliot Schultz began to fidget and pace about the press room. After only 2 hours of sleep and 15 cc's of Amphetamines to keep himself lucid, the powerful effects of both the stimulants and fatigue had reached an uneasy balance within his system. As he began to contemplate what he would say to the citizens of the nation, two bluish-green figures materialized in front of him. To the 1.9 meter leader, these figures well overshadowed his frame.

Once they had identified themselves, Elliot striaghtened his posture and cleared this throat. "Appearances are everything, I'd better not blow this." he thought to himself.

"Let me say that on behalf of all citizens in Schultaria Prime, thank you for allowing us the honor and the priveledge to establish contact between your two nations. I would like to thank you both for renewing our faith in both the purpose and the meaning of our scientific and industrial labors.
And, for the first time, we can finally extend a formal welcome to you General Gherag and the nation of Indra Prime!

Also, a thousand apologies for my appearance. Ever since the Spaten was contacted by your vessels I have made it my personal duty to monitor the situation. As you can clearly see it has negatively impacted my health, but I will not let this stand in the way of peace and progress. I hope that this meeting is the first in many such productive endavours. For all of us, I hope to shake your hands at the steps of the Central Directorate Building in the near future."

"Director how about aranging that handshake right now? If you would be so kind as to step back, we will transport down to your location" Gharag looked out of his field of vision and spoke to the controller on the second level," Major, transport us directly to the Director's location."

Within seconds the holograms were replaced with a shimmering column of sparkling energy and all of a sudden The two leaders of the vessels in orbit appeared in the flesh right before the directors eyes. General Gharag extended his hand. Director Schultz, it is my honor to make first contact with you and your nation. I am sure there is much we can teach each other about our respective societies. This meeting is just a preliminary meeting," He added darkly,"its also to head off the nation of Spacer Guilds."
"We would like to arrange a more formal introduction between our respective worlds if that is suitable to you and your leadership."

OOC: i dont really need to post anything right now.. heh

All three main screens were fixated on the foreign plane. As it touched down on runway number 3, known as the "Guppy" runway in honor of the massive cargoplanes that frequently transport sections of rocket to the launch gantries, the flight team within mission control celebrated this phenominal event with champange and cigars. Director Orrow, beside himself with unrestrained joy, gave the final command to the foreign craft. "You.. are go for first contact. Welcome to Schultaria Prime." He slumped down in his seat and began to cry.

Meanwhile, Directors Daimen and Covey had been notified well in advance of the plane's arrival and his motorcade had already reached the outer perimeter of Eldaimovey. Within his entourage, he made sure to pick the best minds from both the government's diplomatic corps and the brightest ones to examine the wonders that awaited them on the tarmack. As their motorcade stopped within a respectable distance of 500 meters from the craft, both of the Directors stepped out and began to walk solemnly twoards the empty ramp jutting out from the black and gray plane.
A soft whirr of servomotors started up as the Director's approached, and a 2 meter by 1.5 meter by 2 meter tinted tank rolled down the gridded ramp, closely followed by a 5'10" black vinyl human shape, with skeletal bars down the legs and arms and across the chest. A fighter-pilot style helmet capped off the figure with bug-like window-eyes. Printed on the arms of the human and the base of the tank were red-outlined tan dodecahedrons.

The human figure looked left and right for a moment, and then reached up to unfasten a series of clips holding the base of the helmet tight against the neckring. Mechanised fingers took hold of the helmet and lifted it away, revealing a pale feminine face with indian features and large, nearly black eyes. At the same time, the tinting faded from the forward section of the tank, revealing a gossamer male floating inside, adorned in blue silk pants and a yellow vest, face obscured by a breathing mask.

"Zdravstvuyte, tovarishchii."

-The Runway Complex outside of Eldaimovey

Joan and Harlen stood in stoic awe of the two travelers who descended from the mysterious craft. As a sign of deference, both of them bowed slightly and urged the surrounding entourage behind them to do so too. Walking forward, with palms open to show signs of good intentions, the two Directors came to within 3 meters of the two strange and wonderous travelers. Director Covey was the first to courageously speak.

"On behalf of all of the citizens in Schultaria Prime, let us be the first to say thank you for your deference and willingness to meet us on such wonderful terms. In the our native language: Faer nie bissem gutamate [For you, (we) bid good luck]."

"As noted from our transmissions bewteen your nation and ours, we are Directors Harlen Damien and Joan Covey. We represent not only the leadership of our nation, but the citizenry as a whole. Your actions here today have set forth a new age of hope for everyone in our largest cities to the smallest towns. However, let us discuss more candid matters in a more comfortable space away from this tarmack."

Both Directors awaited the travelers decision.

-SSR Headquarters (Media Room), Schultaria Prime

As soon as Central Director Schultz complied with the request of the two etherial figures, a blinding flash of white light surrounded the room. As quickly as it dissipated, he suddenly realized the impossible: "They've actually come... My god, they've actually come to meet us!" Elliot quickly straightened his posture, and began to survey the two impresive figures standing in his presence. The one feature that stood out above all else was their height; at 1.9 meters [roughly 5' 9'], Central Director Schultz was relatively tall by most Schultarian Standards, but these two figures outclased him by more than a foot each. Nonetheless, Central Director Schultz made his best efforts to sidestep this fact.

As soon as General Ghareg extended his hand, Elliot firmly grasped it and smiled.

"It's been a dream of Schultaria Prime's to know that we aren't alone in the universe General, and Mr. Ambassador. I just want to say thank you for this honor you have given our small nation. I know that this will probably be a short meeting at the absoulte most, but if you require anything before you return to your ship," as he motioned to the holographic figure still hovering in the middle of the press room, "and my god is it ever a big ship, we will be more than happy to oblige. Once again, a thousand apologies for my appearance and demeanor if I seem a bit 'Intense'; it's just that between the appearance of your three nations and the diplomatic mission being sent to meet with the Spacer Guilds I have had little time to think about anything else, especially sleep." he smiled broadly now, "But I digress, let us talk about more important things!"

-BUMP to increase coverage

The female spoke, in a mild Russian accent. "The honor is ours. To meet the newcomers is an exciting experience. This is your nation; we shall follow your lead. Where might we find this comfortable space?"

-The Runway Complex outside of Eldaimovey

Director Covey smiled at the question posed by the Spacer Guilds travelers, "We would be more than willing to set up accomodations at our mission control building, depending on the length of your stay. Everything will be done in our power to make sure that you have the amenities you most certainly will require," she motioned one of the younger members of the group, an attache, and spoke with him briefly. "I have been assured by the Schultarian Space Administration that no one will interfere with any of our discussions unless at your discretion."

"We hope that you enjoy your stay here," reassured Harlen Damien as he motioned twoards the director's entourage, "the conference room is not too far from here, only 250 meters or so. If either of you need mobility assistance, we will be more than happy to oblige."

Suddenly a spacecraft appeared as it came out of hyperspace...

http://www.dracova.com/hellfighter/gallery/cg/Alien-02.gif


[code:1:fa32f54b45]Transmit sending to Schultaria Prime.
This is the Black Stalker exploration vessel. We come from Dronios and mean no harm, just to exchange techs and become friends...[/code:1:fa32f54b45]


OOC:hope you don´t mind me joining... :oops:
Also, the transmission were customised to be heard on every channel on Schultaria Prime.

On the surface

General Gharag's communication device beeped signalling that there was a message coming from the Phaeralon for him. He closed the contact and immediately a small hologram faded into view. A woman in a uniform appeared in the image.

"Sir, we picked up a vessel exiting hyperspace and entering the planetary system. We picked up an attempt to communicate with the planet surface. What do you want us to do?"

"Major, make sure the communication signal does not get through and send the Trieste and the Tsun Tzu out to make sure they don't send any landing craft to the surface. Contact them and find out who they are and what their purpose is. I will inform the Director of the newcomers arrival. Until I get back to the Phaeralon make sure they do not get past our lines. Also, send in the Farrad cloaked to backup the other vessels so they don't get any ideas. NO other vessel is to land on the surface of this planet without my expressed permission. I am giving the order for non lethal force to be used against any vessel that does not comply. The Fleet is to protect this planet until the arrangements are made between myself, the Praetor, and the Directors. if ships refuse to comply take out their shields, weapons, and main engines. Gharag out."

The general deactivated the HCD and replaced it in his pocket. He turned back to Director Schultz.

"Director, there has been another vessel that has entered your planetary system. They attempted to send a communication to your nation, however our jamming frequencies have stopped the ttransmission from reaching the surface. My fleet will intercept this newly arrived vessel and attempt to determine its purpose for being here. Once we conclude our business here we will let you decide what nations you want to interact with. Until that point in time, we will have to filter the knowledge that this planet recieves from extra terrestrial civilizations, for your own safety of course. Praetor Ta'lan and I have come to an agreement regarding about how first contact should proceed between our three worlds. But first we need to advise you to proceed with caution with the nation of Spacer Guilds. We know they landed at one of your landing fields, and we know that your nation has begun to interact with them. We suggest that you proceed extremely carefully when dealing with that nation. Praetor, would you care to explain what the policies are on First Contact, or would you like me to continue?"

[code:1:3d80f88480]Transmission to Every spaceship.

This is the Dronian explorer vessel Black Raven. We come with peace and we wish only to become friends with this young nation and maybe share a little of our technology. Please remove all spacecrafts from our course, since we are preparing to land...[/code:1:3d80f88480]

"Please, continue, i will inform you of any discrepancies to our own ppolicy, as im sure we have slightly different ideas."

Attention approaching vessel Black Raven, this is the Indra Prime Battle Cruiser Trieste. Do not attempt to approach the planet or make contact with the planet. Any attempt to do so will force us to cripple your vessel. Do not force our hand in this matter as we are not bluffing. stand down.

[code:1:3ff9b70219]To: Trieste

We do not understand why you are doing this but we will stand down.[/code:1:3ff9b70219] :?

OOC: We will wait until Indra Prime and Arenumberg initiate their discussion on the policies of first contact before we reply.

"This is very kind of you. We should pose little strain on you, our needs are few. Please, lead on. The machines should manage to transport us that far."
A fluid-distorted voice came from the tank, accomapnied by a small flurry of bubbles out of the man's breathing mask. "Unless there are stairs." Though the mouth was hidden, his eyes twinkled in that way that usually indicates a smile.

"Very well Praetor. To begin with we must be allowed to assess first hand the level at which your country is at technologically and what kind of threats face your nation. But from our initial scans we have been able to determine that you are fairly sophisticated in all areas except space travel. Our policy on First Contact is for the commanding officer who makes first contact, to determine our level of involvement in your nation, that is if its wanted. We can either accelerate your development by a few years or a few centuries. Either way we will offer you a trade agreement between our nation and yours. We are a benevolent civiliz..."

He was interrupted by the humming of his HCD. He removed it from his pocket and activated it. Lieutenant Moyes was facing him holographically.

"General, sorry to disturb you but we have a situation. There has been an order issued from Sector 220, sir, its a Fleetwide Combat Alert Status, condition black."

"Are you serious?!?"

"Sir, I wish I weren't. Details are sketchy but it seems that General Tellin has issued the order and Fleet has agreed to the Temporal Incursion Act initiated a little over three hours ago. All vessels in non critical duty are to report to Dock and get reloaded with Gravimetric Singularity Torpedoes and Quantum Matrix Warheads. Sir, Fleet told us that every vessel is being pulled to active wartime duty including the ones barely out of construction. After refit all ships are ordered to Sector Rho 228. What are your orders sir?"

Throughout this conversation the General visibly paled and began to think extremely hard about this new development.

"Lieutenant, under Fleet order 010, I hereby rescend all our previous orders and restrictions. Communicate with the rest of the Fleet. Tell them they are required to return to Dock immediately and if any of the Senior Officers question you, you tell them Fleet Order 010 has been enacted. There is absolutely no time to delay. Get the Fleet to base and then out to Sector Rho 228. Order the Trieste to remain, but the Borealis is to return with the rest of the fleet immediately. Get going Lieutenant. We don't have much time. Gharag Out."

After the communication hologram cut out the General stood there looking at where the hologram once floated. Above the capital, nine vessels plus the pride of the Indra Prime Fleet, the Phaeralon engaged their Temporal Impellors and disappeared from the Schultaria System and reappeared outside the Vorall planetary system where they would be refitted with the weapons their leaders said that they would never use. In less than three hours they would be using those weapons against an enemy which would have seemed like over kill two days ago. The Fleet had no idea what to expect.

-The Runway Complex outside of Eldaimovey

Director Damien had chosen to go ahead and make a quick survey of the conference room designed to receive the Spacer Guilds delegation. In typical Schultarian Fashion, both Directors specifically requested a perfectly round table equipped with the necessary monitors and luxuries for both Schultarian and Spacer Guild alike. "Never forget the cardinal rule," thought Harlen, "In all matters of peaceful diplomacy make sure to have the appearance as though both parties are on equal terms." After taking a final quick survey of the room, he dashed to the diplomatic cadre waiting outside.

"Before we sit down to talk further I wish to apologize if anything either seems out of place or lacking," Director Damien said reassuringly, "Nonetheless, we will do everything in our power to make sure that this meeting is as productive and comfortable as possible. If you would follow us through this gantry, the conference room is 50 meters straight ahead."

-Meanwhile in the SSR headquarters.

As he struggled to deal with the combined effects of the amphetamine and lack of sleep, Director Schultz became even more visibly shaken than his fatigued frame would have otherwise suggested.

"From your discourse with your lieutenant I am truly fearful for you and Praetor's safety. Given that the rest of your nation is threatened by an obviously lethal force there is the assumption that your vessel, the Trieste, could possibly be a target. We shall not inquire as to the nature of your enemy, but if worse comes to worse and this vessel and its crew should come under attack we will be more than willing to provide asylum for any survivors."

Gharag snapped out of his reverie and looked directly at the Director. His complexion immediately cleared up and he cleared his throat before beginning.

"Ahem, Director. Please excuse the interruption but let me bring you up to speed with what has just happened. Every nation deserves to know what is going on right now. Afterwards I will make a request of you. A short while ago there was a major incursion into our galaxy by some extradimensional beings using a temporal device that was illegal from the start. As the leading nation in Tenporal Technology we were sent to make sure the weapon was destroyed. We had a Battle Group dispatched to take care of it but it appears that they are actually invading our galaxy to eliminate our kind from existance. We had to divert all vessels from other duties to help defend from any attack. That was what the Lieutenant was referring to by Fleet order 010. Now we are trying to do everything in our power to protect nations that are on the verge of development like yourselves. We may suffer heavy losses from this attack but you can rest assured that we will fight these people to the last vessel we have if necessary. The one request that we must make of you is to take us to the delegation of Spacer Guilds so we can meet with them and ask for assistance."

He turned to the Praetor.

"Praetor, we must also ask for your assistance in this matter. This is a matter of life and death. Any warships you can spare, it would be appreciated. They can be refit with our weaponry and deployed in Sector Rho 228 within Hours if we act quickly. Will you be able to help us?"

-SSR Headquarters, Schultaria Prime

This was not the news Elliot was expecting...

"I just thought this was merely a test, but he's serious! Well, there's no turning back; everything that has already occured has happened for reasons that I shouldn't think about. Have to deal with the problems as they come..." thought the Central Director as he struggled to keep himself consious, "If he wants to meet that delegation face to face, it'll have to be without me. I don't know if I have the energy to make this kind of diplomacy. But if we could use the government intranet..."

"Perhaps... there is a more immediate way of contacting the Spacer Guilds delegation. As a matter of principle in the Schultarian government, all state controlled services and facilities are connected by a highly guarded telecommunications linkup. Since Directors Covey and Damien will be meeting with the delegation from Spacer Guilds in the mission control building near Eldaimovey, we already have a direct connection with them."

Director Schultz picked up a small briefcase at the edge of the room and headed for the doorway. After briefly talking with a few security personnel for a minute or two, he came back with look of relief.

"We can establish contact with them, the security in this building will ensure the utmost privacy for this transmission. Trust me, it will beat the 45 minute helocopter flight out of Schultaria Prime. If you will follow me to the conference room, we will set up our delegation there."

OOC: sos for the really Late post

IC:

a Hyperspace Jump pointed opened up the DESC Raz'Sin came out, a Tigerclaw Class destroyer. it had picked up the Wormhole Arenumberg used to traval here and had jumped from a nearby system.
"sir its confrimed its a Arenumberg vessal" the Scan Officer reproted
"mmm....what about that crude message?" the captain asked
"we've translated it sir seems to been some first contact message" the scan officer replyed
"raise shields stardard first contact procedures" the captain ordered
the ships gun ports opened up the partical and energy/ray shield went up the hard shields were chargeing slowly.
"is this system populated" the captain asked
"yes sir it is" the scan offer replyed
"mmm..how advaced is the race" the captain asked
"er...not shore give me a few minutes" the scan officer sead
the ship moved slowly towards the planet glideing though space still with gun ports open. it was to show what they had and incase someone tryed to attack they could react quickly.

In Orbit

As soon as the unknown vessel entered orbit above the capital, the Indra Prime Battle Cruiser Trieste immediately armed all weapons and put herself in a position that was directly between the new arrival and the surface. The commander of the Trieste opened up communication with the vessel.

"Attention unidentified vessel. This is Colonel Marcus Poyste of the Battle Cruiser Trieste. We ask you to stand down and prepare for open communication between our vessels. We have a high level diplomat and Fleet commander on the surface of the planet and due to recent activities, will attack and destroy any vessel that approaches and makes threatening moves toward us. Again, we are not going to fire on your vessel unless provoked. There is a matter in which your nation's assistance will be needed if you will stand down and allow us to communicate face to face. Trieste standing by."

"Before we sit down to talk further I wish to apologize if anything either seems out of place or lacking," Director Damien said reassuringly, "Nonetheless, we will do everything in our power to make sure that this meeting is as productive and comfortable as possible. If you would follow us through this gantry, the conference room is 50 meters straight ahead.""Do not worry about appearances. We are on a planet, everything seems out of place." The Guilder pointed at the ground. "Things stick to one wall, for example. Those of us who come planetside are ready for these things. Whatever else you might add is not to be noticed in comparison. A thousand thanks for your concern, however."
The two Guilders walked & rolled along behind Damien, carrying on a short and low-toned conversation in an eclectic mix of Russian, Farsi, and Gaelic sentences. On the off-chance that anyone else would've understood, it amounted to little more than "Why did you get the tank? These stupid g-suits are so annoying." "Because paper covers rock, so meh."

Once in the conference room, the Guilders waited for their hosts to do so, and one took a seat while the second rolled up and parked nearby.

-Mission Command and Control, Eldaimovey

As all of them sat down, several pages arrived carrying various books and binders full of documents, maps, lists, and treaties and placed them on the Directors' edge of the table. When Director Damien dismissed them, the security detail cautiously closed the main doors. When the doors had closed, the entourage of diplomats and scientists took their respective binder and began to page through them intently. While they were reading, Director Covey addressed the Guilder delegation.

"Given the unique nature of this visit, Director Damien and I have decided that perhaps we should deviate from standard diplomatic procedure thus far. Instead of merely working in the single minded pursuit of a treaty with no knowlege of each other's political, technological, and historical cultures, we would like to propose a small question and answer session with you. This way you may ask us anything you need or want to know about Schultaria Prime and it's history, provided that we can ask you the same questions in kind. To ease this dialouge, we'll turn on the monitors in front of you and... oh my."

Canvasing every monitor on the table and in the three large monitors at the far side of the room was the face of Central Director himself. His normal demeanor had changed to a more stoic attitude, amplified by the multiple live reproductions of his visage. Harlen stood up and extended his arm to the three large screens, "This, for lack of a better term, is our boss Central Director Elliot Schultz. He is the grandson of Schultaria's hero and founder Merle Schultz, and has been a good friend both to the nation and also to Joan and me. I'm sure that he has some messages of congratulation for yo..."

"I'm sorry to intervene so unexpectedly, but there is a message of the most extreme urgency that we must discuss."

-A BUMP to increase coverage of this RP.

OOC: I was waiting until you introduced us to the delegates and gave a basis for the intrusion of their conference.

OOC: if someone can give me the low down of the Tech your up to Schultaria and Indra? i can decide what my ship will do next

OOC: Schultaria Prime Technological Status

Space Technology(Overall): ~ 1970 | (The Spaten itself): ~ 1990 (However, Schultaria Prime still lacks the necessary research to develop a manned mission)

Civil Technology (Current City Development): ~ 2020 - 2040 (Great deal of civil planning and a massive telecommunications / transportaion structure are well in place)

-If you require a more specific breakdown on the individual technologies in Schultaria Prime, a good source would be our national storefront. (Just go to page one and click on the web link then National Store). For less tangible developments (Economics / Pure Research / etc.) TG me with the stats you require.

"sir there er......primative" sead the Scanner "well to us anyway i say about 300-400 years behind maby abit more"
"mark the planet for future contact, that ship infront of us has we translated it yet" the Capitan asked "yes sir" *message plays* "mmmm.... open a jump point exit further out in the system carry on exploreing it fully if they try anything open fire at the planet"
"aye sir" the crew sead

the ship moved away from the planet opening a jump point exiting minutes later further out in the system exploreing and charting.

OOC: Sure no problem.

Indra Prime Tecnological Development Stage

Operational Era: circa 3700 AD
Has become the leading nation in Temporal Technology. Controls a vast network of planets and solarsystems.

Operates a Fleet size of approximately 500 Warships and 1500 nonwarships.

-SSR Headquarters, Schultaria Prime

Elliot sat squarely at the head of the table, staring intently at the cameras that had been set up as per his prior instruction. Beside him, the two delegates from Arenumberg and Indra Prime sat ill at ease in their seats; a defening and tense silence filled the room. Seconds ticked away, then the monitor in front of the Central Director's seat filckered on.

"Director... are you okay? We are waiting for your announcement."

He flinched at the sudden response, but quickly regained his composure. Restoring his serious temperment, he reiterated to the delegation at Eldaimovey.

"I would like to intorduce to you the delegates from the respective nations of Arenumberg and Indra Prime. This communique, unfortunately, will have to be brief as time is utterly essential.

If you have not already noticed, a great deal of vessels from Indra Prime have broken orbit over Schultaria Prime in an immediate and hasty manner. I would like to say to you that this was a gesture of peace, but unfortunately I can not. Right now, I would like to turn this communication over to General Gharag of the Indra Prime delegation for further elaboration."

General Gharag leaned forward and entertwined his fingers over his clasped hands. He looked at them for a moment before looking up at the directors and the Guildian delegation on the monitor before him.

"Directors, Delegates, I am General Thomas Gharag of the Indra Prime Second Fleet Command. I have asked Director Schultz to allow communication between ourselves and your delegation and he was gracious enough to allow us to contact you. We have had a recent acceleration of hostilities between our nation and a species that lives in a parallel dimension to our own called the Shivans. These extradimensional beings have made it a point to invade our galaxy and attack the source of Humanity, Earth. So far the conflict has claimed more than 40 Indra Prime Ships of the Line including a Phaeralon class vessel, one of which was here a short time ago. Despite our heavy losses, we have assured nations that we will do everything in our power to repel this invasion force and attempt to restore peace to the Galaxy. The vessels that abruptly left here a few hours ago are just the first part of the fleet that is being assembled in sector Rho 228. We are asking that all nations interested in maintaining the peace, to send any available vessels to help bolster the Indra Prime Fleet in repelling the Enemy Invasion Fleet. That, gentlemen, is the reason we have interceded in your First Contact Meeting."

He paused here to see if the Guildians had questions about this out-of-protocol interjection into their momentous meeting and tried to determine how they would react. He looked at Director Schultz to see how he was handling the news that Earth was about to be invaded.

OOC: corp knows my stats lol.. so keep away :P i feel left out so i will post something about arenumberg lol!

The Dominion of Arenumberg.

Current Date: 2950 ANY (calender .. arenumberg one lol)
that date was after unification, the tech level of the cities around that time was 2040 earth typey.

Temporal tech? Banned, but capable... very capable.

Fleet.. fairly big, pride of the fleet is the mothership, but she is only 6 miles

Dominion.. around 40,000 lightyears away from earth, around 20 systems, though most of the colonies are in infancy apart from the 4 core systems.

My main advantage... well, high psi level... in my elven pop that is.. um.. highly advanced shield systems... nanotechnology.. the likes of that..

anything else you need to add.. hmm alot of ooc there.. lol

IC:

"Pardon me but did you say shivans?" (Freespace w00t)

"Instead of merely working in the single minded pursuit of a treaty with no knowlege of each other's political, technological, and historical cultures, we would like to propose a small question and answer session with you. This way you may ask us anything you need or want to know about Schultaria Prime and it's history, provided that we can ask you the same questions in kind."
...
"This, for lack of a better term, is our boss Central Director Elliot Schultz. He is the grandson of Schultaria's hero and founder Merle Schultz, and has been a good friend both to the nation and also to Joan and me. I'm sure that he has some messages of congratulation for yo..."

"I'm sorry to intervene so unexpectedly, but there is a message of the most extreme urgency that we must discuss."
"If I may first answer Director Covey. Your proposal is most sound. You may ask us whatever you wish."

"I would like to intorduce to you the delegates from the respective nations of Arenumberg and Indra Prime. This communique, unfortunately, will have to be brief as time is utterly essential.

If you have not already noticed, a great deal of vessels from Indra Prime have broken orbit over Schultaria Prime in an immediate and hasty manner. I would like to say to you that this was a gesture of peace, but unfortunately I can not. Right now, I would like to turn this communication over to General Gharag of the Indra Prime delegation for further elaboration."

General Gharag leaned forward and entertwined his fingers over his clasped hands. He looked at them for a moment before looking up at the directors and the Guildian delegation on the monitor before him.

"Directors, Delegates, I am General Thomas Gharag of the Indra Prime Second Fleet Command. ... We have had a recent acceleration of hostilities between our nation and a species that lives in a parallel dimension to our own called the Shivans. These extradimensional beings have made it a point to invade our galaxy and attack the source of Humanity, Earth. ... Despite our heavy losses, we have assured nations that we will do everything in our power to repel this invasion force and attempt to restore peace to the Galaxy. The vessels that abruptly left here a few hours ago are just the first part of the fleet that is being assembled in sector Rho 228. We are asking that all nations interested in maintaining the peace, to send any available vessels to help bolster the Indra Prime Fleet in repelling the Enemy Invasion Fleet. That, gentlemen, is the reason we have interceded in your First Contact Meeting."

He paused here to see if the Guildians had questions about this out-of-protocol interjection into their momentous meeting and tried to determine how they would react.
"Our people are not prepared for combat. What few warships we have would take much time to man and deploy. We have seen these situations before, and the conquerors have never penetrated our domain. If, however, these prove different and manage to enter the inner system, there is infrastructure available to be employed in novel ways. They will not get far. Until that happens, they are of no concern to us, nor should they be to anyone who remains safely within the solar system."

Gharag got a hardened steel look in his eyes as he made eye contact with the Guildian Delegates.

"You mean to tell me that while we risk our necks against an enemy that threatens to Invade this very planet, you won't lift a finger to help us? I can promise you that the enemy will not discriminate between different nations. If they get past our lines and make it back here, they WILL destroy everyone and everything just to accomplish their goal. We have gotten vessels from more than half a dozen nations to help repel the attack and that may be too few. We have committed almost our entire fleet and we don't know if that will be enough. Thats almost 500 vessels preparing to fight against this enemy to save your hides and you won't do a damn thing to assist us?!How dare you call yourself a peaceful nation!"

-SSR Headquarters, Schultaria Prime

Director Schultz never responded to intense anger well; he never knew the reasons why, but it seemed that his family had a track record of intense emotional swings. When Gharag began his diatribe with the Guilder delegation, anyone in the room could see that he was not in a stable or serene emotional state. He began to sweat heavily and his breath also became shallow and rapid. As the general rose in to a fury of anger Elliot rose from his chair, confronted the general, and began to scream at him.

"For God's sake control yourself! The only way we'll solve this problem is if we can talk about this like decent and rational national representatives. I for one will never let this nation fall! My family has spent over 60 years to create and develop this, and I want ALL of you to hear this; WE WILL STAND!"

Central Director Schultz began to pant and looked as if he was in obvious distress. He hunched over, and using his extended right arm on the table to support his body, raised himself to a full standing position. First staring at the group in Eldaimovey, and then making a brief survey of the conference room, Director Schultz began to settle into a more secure stance.

In a conciliatory tone, he addressed the group entire, "I'm sorry everyone, it's just that given the events and my 40 plus hours without sleep I might seem to be more than a little exhausted at this point. It has always been the intention of Schultaria Prime to respect the positions of every nation's defensive status; the affairs of one military are not under the circumspect authority of any other group, but I hope that we can come to some sort of an agreement and soon. I... I... (Pant) I uhhhhhh...."

The Director collapsed to the floor, hitting his head on the desk that was formerly supporting him. The group of aides and technicians surrounding the conference room, frightened and scared for the Director's health, began to run into the surrounding halls for help. One forward thinking camera technician ran to the phone next to her, and immediately called the main office.

"Medic! We need a medic! The Director's unconscious!"

The teleconferenced delegation at Mission Control stood in stunned silent disbelief.

As soon as Schultz hit the floor Gharag was by his side trying to ascertain his status. He felt for a pulse and it was slightly weak but still pulsing at a regular pace. He looked up to the technicians and people that had arrived within seconds of the Directors collapse and told them he would be fine.

"The Director is just unconcious. He is jusst incredibly fatigued. Our arrival didn't do much to alleviate his exhaustion. You should take him to a place where he can rest. In the meantime the Guildian Delegates and I will discuss the situation."

As the medtechs took Director Schultz out of the room, Gharag looked back at the monitors with a look that would have petrified plastic in an instant, the dangerous lack of intonation in his voice became apparent to the Delegation in the Conference room.

"Listen to me carefully. We are risking hundreds of thousands of men and hundreds of vessels in this conflict to make sure that you can hold onto your precious empire. If you will not lift a finger to assist us in defending our whole race, then damn you all. I can assure you, after this conflict with the Shivans is over, we will come back and settle this matter. If you bother to change your mind contact my vessel. If your vessel makes any agressive moves, the Trieste will blow it out of the sky, and I don't give a damn wether it is a military vessel, a civilian cargo ship or a frelling pleasure cruise."

With that said General Gharag swept out of the room into the hallway where he stopped a tech in the middle of his duty to find out where Schultz was taken. He left the tech to resume his duties and went off to find the director and pulled out his Comm Holodisc. He spoke swiftly and with passion and soon after the Trieste began arming for a major confrontation.

-A BUMP to increase coverage of the RP

"You mean to tell me that while we risk our necks against an enemy that threatens to Invade this very planet, you won't lift a finger to help us? I can promise you that the enemy will not discriminate between different nations. If they get past our lines and make it back here, they WILL destroy everyone and everything just to accomplish their goal. We have gotten vessels from more than half a dozen nations to help repel the attack and that may be too few. We have committed almost our entire fleet and we don't know if that will be enough.""No. I mean to tell you that we will do what we can when the opportunity presents itself. A single warship that can't pass the asteroid belt isn't going to do any good. For now, we are completely incapable of doing anything about it. When you can't change a situation, it is best to simply accept it."

Quite obviously, Gharag had no intention of listening, and was quite irrational to begin with. "What a strange person...." would be the usual response in such situations. But there were others watching, and it would be best to put on some show of attempted diplomacy, even if the other party was acting so imbecilic.
"Listen to me carefully. We are risking hundreds of thousands of men and hundreds of vessels in this conflict to make sure that you can hold onto your precious empire."What empire do you mean?"If you will not lift a finger to assist us in defending our whole race, then damn you all."Why should we? We have had no contact with you previous to the recent 'discussion' in orbit, and that certainly didn't give us any reason to trust you."If you bother to change your mind contact my vessel."Changing our minds won't do a darn thing about our hardware. And even if by some magic it could, what makes you think that I have the authority to make such decisions?"If your vessel makes any agressive moves, the Trieste will blow it out of the sky.""Mm hm. And what makes you think we would make any agressive moves, especially considering the lack of armament? Seems to me that you represent the unpeaceful nation."
With that said General Gharag swept out of the room into the hallway."What a strange person. Now then, Director Covey, you wanted to ask us some questions?"

-Mission Command and Control, Eldaimovey

To say that both Joan and Harlen were distracted would be a gross understatement.

Both of them stood at the three large screens, mouths agape, as they say saw the head of the government being wheeled away from the conference room unconscious and helpless. The entourage, usually an enthusiastic and jovial group of academics, took a sobering gaze at the looping footage of the Central Director confronting the General.

"Well, how long will it be?" asked one in the group.

"What do you mean?" replied Director Damien, "until he's up and about? Hopefully soon..."

"No, until his ticker goes just like his father and grandfather."

Director Covey tried her best to ignore the muffled speculation and decided to begin negotiations with the Guilder delegation, despite the painful and sobering setback. Calling one of the senior members of the academic group from the fray, she tried her best to keep a visage of calm with the rest of the party. When the member of the academic group arrived she discussed a few points with him, making sure to peruse the documents he was prepared to discuss. Fully confident in his evidence and presentation, she introduced the first presenter to the Guilder diplomats.

"This is Professor Kaveridge, Dean of History at the University of Schultaria Prime - Tarannu, and he will be more than willing to respond to any counter questions you might have. We would like to begin by discussing our comparative historical cultures first. For lack of a 'softer' term, how far can you trace the recorded history of your nation or your people?"

-A BUMP to increase coverage of the RP

"That's difficult to say. Different frames of reference experience the passage of time at different rates, and while that is unnoticeable on Earth, it can cause problems living in space. The official clock at Tripolis measures 250 years from the founding of the nation, but various ethnic groups can trace their origins back several thousand years. It has been generally accepted that the events which set off the path towards the formation of our republic occured approximately 600 years ago."

"We are a blend of many cultures. The founders were primarily Grecian, while the general middle and lower-class populace of that time was primarily Indian and North African. Then there were influxes of Gaels, Russ, and Mesoamericans. There are those like me who are nigh impossible to fit into any one group due to all the mutation and cross-breeding going on, but near everyone who can identify their ethnicity can do so with very high precision."

-Mission Command and Control, Eldaimovey

Director Covey and Professor Kaveridge passionately listened as the Guilder delegation began to discuss the finer points of their earliest histories. As they were intently recording this discussion for posterity reasons Joan spotted Director Damien pacing back and forth, phone in one hand and a PDA in the other. She dismissed herself from the table and approached Harlen. The two of them began to discuss in a rather fast faced conversation in an unusual form of spoken Schultarian.

"Well, who were you on the phone with?"

"Joan, that was Elliot's personal physician; he reassured me that he'll be all right, but I'm going to personally see that he is safe. His family's health problems could keep him out of commission for at least a day. It seems that you've already made good relations with them so far; I'll manage to the affairs with Indra Prime and Arenumberg."

"All right, but you keep me up to date. We have to make sure that these talks don't die before they've even been conceived. You'd better go."

"I'm sorry, but Director Damien has been recalled to the Capital. He will not be present for the duration of our discussion due to the Central Director's accident, but I have assured him that all of his personal questions will be addressed in due course," said Director Covey. She eased back into her chair, resetting her personal monitor and tracing back the log of text already complied. "Your nation's history is quite compelling; we thank you for sharing this with us. Now, in all interest of fairness, we feel it only proper to grant you the next question."

-Office of the Central Directorate, Schultaria Prime

Following his immediate loss of consciousness, Central Director Schultz was transported to the head offices of the executive. In this old and austere building, underneath three floors of offices, archives, and security, Director Schultz remained bedridden in a personal hospital room. Fortunately, the Schultarian National Assembly knew full well about the Director's condition and had responded by insuring that his personal health was secure and that the remaining Directorship knew about his whereabouts. Security details in the office complex, three blocks from the angular aluminum and steel facade of the SSR Headquarters, were tripled as per the request of Director Damien.

Even with this tight security, Director Damien had made the necessary provisions to allow a certain number of government officials, cabinet ministers, and the delegates from the nations of Arenumberg and Indra Prime access to the Central Directorate. Even though his arrival was expected to take an hour under the best of circumstances, he was already drawing up diplomatic guidelines for the two delegates awaiting him.

-A BUMP to increase coverage of the RP

"I'm sorry, but Director Damien has been recalled to the Capital. He will not be present for the duration of our discussion due to the Central Director's accident, but I have assured him that all of his personal questions will be addressed in due course," said Director Covey. She eased back into her chair, resetting her personal monitor and tracing back the log of text already complied. "Your nation's history is quite compelling; we thank you for sharing this with us. Now, in all interest of fairness, we feel it only proper to grant you the next question.""Very well. How strong are your dairy and meat production agricultural industries, if they exist?"

-Mission Command and Control, Eldaimovey

After intently listening to the Guilder's question, Director Covey turned around in her chair and motioned for two rather plain looking individuals in standard business attire. They briskly approached the Director's chair where she looked at their notes and surveys. Nodding with acceptance, they took their seats on each side of Joan.

"To my left is the Professor of Economics at Colloi College, Gerard Greenfield; to my right is the Undersecretary of Agriculture, Elise Wolfgram. Both of them are experts in the field of Schultarian Agriculture, and will be more than happy to field this question. Undersecretary, would you like to begin?"

Undersecretary Wolfgram pulled a few sheets of loose paper from her briefcase and activated a mobile projector hanging from the ceiling. She began to lecture, as various facts and photographs of Schultarian Farms were displayed on the wall behind Director Covey.

"Schultaria Prime, in no matter what aspect of agriculture, has sought to seek a certain amount of financial and material independence from foreign agricultural markets wherever possible. However, since our nation is confined to one landmass, we have to be careful to manage how our limited supply of arable land is utilized.

Nonetheless, Schultaria Prime does not condone the usage of battery farming practices in any form of livestock. To this extent the prices of 'delicacies', like veal, are extraordinarily high. However, many in the government prefer to say that the nation's livestock supplies are 'Free to roam and happy to live'. The nation makes a concerted effort to limit industrial farming, and rigorous government standards insure that our meat industry offers the safest meat and dairy products on the market."

As she concluded her presentation, Professor Greenfield switched the projector off remotely, and began to iterate the economic implications of Schultaria's meat industry.

"As you can see from your monitors, Schultaria Prime's local livestock production accounted for roughly 85% of all Schultarian meat products. However, there has been a recent and startling trend of cheap and inexpensive foreign corporate imports flooding some of Schultaria's larger marketplaces. Even though most of these companies would fail Schultarian regulation, their imports have fueled consumer consumption.

In the Dairy sector, Schultaria Prime has had great success in production. On an annual basis, Schultaria Prime produced enough dairy products to generate a trade surplus of approximately $345,000,000 per year for the last 4 years in a row. Many have attributed this recent success to the loss in our livestock market, though many of us 'experts' will have to wait for a few more years of hard economic data before we can come to any reasonable conclusion."

"Promising, very promising. We have been able to secure other sources of meat, but not much dairy. Your high meat prices would be easily made up for by the appeal of and 'all-natural' product. Even as much as the average man on the street will say he dislikes planets, such things are in high demand. I believe you have the next question."

-Mission Command and Control, Eldaimovey

Joan dismissed the two delegates, and prepared her next question. She smiled briefly, and presented the Guilders with a question from Director Damien.

"Mr. Damien, in one of his many questions, inquired as to the nature of your government's status on the rights of the individual in relation to the society of the state. So, in a usable question format, how significant a role does the individual play in the general policies of your nation? Is your government more socially oriented, or does it place a greater emphasis on the strength and self sufficiency of the individual?"

-Meanwhile, in the Basement of the Office of the Central Directorate, Schultaria Prime

"Well, how's he doing doctor?"

"Elliot will pull through just fine Director. However, I do have some fears as to his heart health following this incident. I would like to keep him under observation, but if he gets restless you know how he is."

Harlen couldn't help but sigh and laugh as to the physician's remark. "Well, he is his grandfather's grandson; practically indestructible to almost everything, but they would refuse medical treatment even if their lives depended on it." He approached the Central Director's cot in the center of room, "Don't worry E, I'll make sure to keep everything under control for now. God you look like a mess."

He left Elliot's basement hospital bed and proceeded to the elevator across the hall. With the notes he had furiously scribbled during his helicopter flight to the Capital, Harlen made a silent prayer. "Let me have the strength to carry through and fill the gap that Elliot's accident has made. Let Elliot recover swiftly and completely in time to serve us in our times of need, and let me have the fortitude to survive this encounter." As the elevator crawled to a stop, the Director took a large breath, shuffled through his notes one last time, and readied himself for the inevitable.

The doors swung open...

BUMP for replies.

"Mr. Damien, in one of his many questions, inquired as to the nature of your government's status on the rights of the individual in relation to the society of the state. So, in a usable question format, how significant a role does the individual play in the general policies of your nation? Is your government more socially oriented, or does it place a greater emphasis on the strength and self sufficiency of the individual?""Both. Individuals must be able to support the society in supporting other individuals, but they should also never have the need of such support themselves."
"We place a great deal of emphasis on developing individuality. Stamping out a series of like-minded robots from every generation of children is quite apart from our philosophy. Diversity is seen as a very good thing. It allows us to adapt to quickly to an inherently inhospitable environment, both physical and political. However, living in an inherently inhospitable environment also places restrictions on just how divergent anyone can be."
"Some would say that the pillars of our society are safety and efficiency. Emergency procedures and routine maintenances are drilled into every citizen from the day they are born. While mariners of other nations might joke about throwing an annoying crewmate out the airlock, every Guilder knows exactly what that's really like, and it isn't humorous at all."
"Leaning against safety is efficiency. Conservation of fuel, conservation of water, conservation of food, everything needed to support a completely self-contained human environment indefinitely used to its maximum potential. While a planetdweller can come and go as they wish and rebel against the local authority as far as they want without risking the death of the community, the situation is quite different aboard a cityship. Consequently, while an individual may express his political and philosophical opinions and be heard on any issue, all personal issues are set aside when it comes to the care of the ship. Whether it is because we teach it this way, or is simply a product of the environment I cannot say, but while the loyalty of citizens to their government varies as much as, or perhaps more than, any planetdwelling society, there is an extreme sense of devotion to one's vessel. Nearly the only quality that is not acceptable in a Guilder is lethargy. If an individual does not do as much or more for the support of the ship and its inhabitants as the ship and its inhabitants do for him, the government imposed punishments are nothing compared to the consequences imposed by the rest of society. Now, that is not to say that we don't look after our disabled. If they are unable to work, that is a different situation. The public medical system is in fact quite comprehensive, but even the severely physically disabled still have mental faculties to contribute."
"Our general tolerance, in fact encouragement, of diversity and the devotion of our citizens to the operation of their cities produces a society run like liquid clockwork. A place for everyone, and everyone in his place, but with places that can swap and move about to meet the needs and desires of their occupants."

BUMP for Indra and Arenumberg (Haven't heard from either of them in a while. I'll reply to the Guilder post soon.)

OOC: im here just dunno wat to put lol

*boing*

OOC: I've started a new RP, 5 years from where this one left off. You can RP continued relations between our two nations, or a cooling off period if you want.

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=145065