NationStates Jolt Archive

Beyond the transparent surface of the observatory, there was space. An ocean of darkness, flecked with white foam. And across that ocean... It was too much to contemplate. For millennia they had remained within their own little star system, orbiting the same sun, under the same skies. This was the full domain of life, these four rocks tracing endless circles around an endlessly burning sun. Yes, there were other systems out there, but they were lifeless, barren. This was the only place where humanity had left its vibrant mark. This was the way things had been understood for generations. They had sat here, their mighty starships not used for exploration but for the movement of materials and people between the four worlds that made up their home. Rugged, wild Firlen, the second to outermost world in the system, its majestic mountain ranges rising far above the clouds to scrape the void. Isel, the second to innermost, wrapped in warm oceans, where the rock only rarely rises above the rippling surface. Tarn, the innermost world, its lush and steamy rainforests containing a vast abundance of life. And finally, Atlantea, the outermost world. Atlantea, the cradle of humanity, the birthplace of knowledge. Or at least, it was thought to be so… until two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago the system had been rocked from end to end by a discovery deemed impossible. Two weeks ago a miner in the asteroid field had discovered something strange. Uncomprehending, they towed it back to Atlantea, believing it to be a stray ship. Upon inspection, it was discovered to be an armed single-seat craft. The pilot was slumped over the controls. She had been dead for a long time, judging from bio-scans taken. She was dressed in unfamiliar clothing, apparently a uniform of some sort. But it was the ship rather than the pilot that the scientists assigned to check it over found interesting. The design was completely alien. Rather than trade or transport, this little vessel seemed to have been designed with combat in mind. It was lightly armoured, and possessed an energy shield impervious to the few small arms that they carried. Not only this, but it was armed to the teeth. Directed-energy weapons were mounted on the front, under the predatory-looking nose. After hooking them up to a fresh power supply, the engineers were surprised at the power of the weapon. And this ship had apparently been fired upon: the rear of the cockpit had been blasted clear, and the hull was criss-crossed with burns. While it could have been caused by natural phenomena, this was unlikely: the burns matched almost exactly those caused by the energy weapon, and were centred around the engines, the prime target.

The repercussions were obviously enormous. This tiny vessel did not belong to them, so it must have come from beyond. Which meant that they were not alone. This dark universe contained far more life than believed, indeed it could be teeming with humanity. The small domain was suddenly just that. They were surrounded by obviously warlike races, ones who would fall upon this defenceless realm like wolves. And there was nothing that they could do about it. Ytrius ignited his lightsabre in impotent rage. While he was powerful, and his fellows also, they would not be able to stem the tide. They would build up an impressive body count, but that would be all. His people would be killed or enslaved, and he would be powerless to prevent it. While their army was spirited and well-trained, they were not a warlike people, and all the spirit in the world would not stand up to the combination of experience and bloodlust.

So there was only one option. The docks that had once constructed merchant vessels, liners, and mining ships would be turned over to the production of warships. All the technology that they needed, they had, they had merely never applied it this way. And, reluctantly, he gave the order. The warfleets would assemble. Meanwhile, he ordered the construction of a vast communications array, greater than any conceived before. They had to talk to these strange spacefarers from so far away.

ooc: Well, I decided to start a new FT nation. While the LTG was cool, I just didn’t seem to be able to work with the concept. Hopefully this will work out better. My nation is much like the Old Republic from Star Wars: ruled by an elected government, and supported by a cadre of force users. However, this is where the similarities end, so don’t worry, there won’t be any Death Stars. At the moment, I only want one other nation involved, first come first served. They will be the owners of the ship, and be tracking it down. Don’t bring too much, I’d rather that this nation wasn’t destroyed in its first thread. For the rest of you, this will open up more later. I reserve the right to kick you out at any time.

ooc: would you mind if my main nation, was looking for a prototype lost by a puppet?

ooc: Thats fine.

On board the dreadnaught, Vox
"Captain, what are we doing out here?"
"Looking for something the Secrinans lost."
"Why arn't they looking for it then."
"Easy, they are in the middle of one of thier wargames again."
"Again, that's the third this month."
"Send out a frigate group to system XT-109, let see if it crashed there."

On board the Picto
"Sir, we're getting a message from the Vox."
"Patch it throught."
"Sir, the Captain has ordered that you take your group and go to XT-109."
"Alright, Picto out."
"You heard the man set course for XT-109."

The Picto and it's escort, engaged thier engines and headed to XT-109.
A while later they flickered into the outer edge of the system.

~Tag
OCC: Damn you Theao for gettin the spot! Well can't wait till it opens up.

ooc: Okay, I know you only wanted one nation, so I'll stay out for now, but I would really like to open relations, if at all possable. Thank you.

The Picto was detected as soon as it entered the system, but the response was almost non-existant. There were no blasts of energy, no scream of missiles. No dreadnaughts sallied out to meet this encroaching vessel. The worlds ahead were ripe for the taking, undefended and unprepared.

Despite this aura of calm, on the surface people weer panicking. Despite the lack of an official announcement, rumours were flying about this event, each more wild than the last. Tales of vast armadas were widely told, although not anywhere near as widely believed. Many people were transforming their basements into makeshift bunkers in preparation for the coming attack.

Inside the Senate building there was uproar. The normally restrained senators and officials were shouting at the tops of their voices to make themselves heard. The quiet, majestic hall was quite the opposite.

"We will be destroyed! The best thing that we can do is surrender now, before they reduce our planet to dust."

"Don't be a fool, Senator Adrius! We must converse with these people. After all, their mission could be entirely benign. We must not judge them too quickly."

"You accuse me of being too hasty? Armed vessels have entered are system, and will soon be within striking distance of our planet. They are closing in as we speak."

"They could be closing in to land and talk. For all we know, that ship could be packed to the bulkheads with diplomats."

"For all we know, it could be packed to the bulkheads with shock troopers!"

"And in that case, what do you propose that we do? We can't fight them: we have no fleet, and our army is too small to halt a determined invasion force. We must send a representative to talk with them. By encouraging dialogue between our peoples, we may even be able to halt an invasion."

The tide in the senate building had turned. While they were still nervous, they had mostly decided that sending an envoy would be the wisest course of action. And so it was that a small space yacht cruised from dock and towards the oncoming ships. As soon as it was within range, it hailed them...

ooc: Thanks for the reactions, dudes! This will open up eventually, once I get a communications array built...

TAG ( and awaiting the communications array completion )

As the Picto headed toward the world with what seemed the greatest activity, it picked up a smallish craft headed toward it.
"Sir, the LI planet appears to be sending someone out to meet us."
"Tell the corvettes and two cruisers to continue scanning and searching the outer worlds, while have the Kev come with us."
"Open up all channels to see if they are sending or trying to send us a message. When they get within, oh MCR, if we havn't received..."
"Sir, we are picking up something."
"See if you can isolate and get information off that signal."
"Yes sir."

OOC: I'd like to open relations if possible, prehaps I could've recived the distress call from the small ship, and wasnt able to get there before the other guy did.

Space was calm, at least for the moment. The four spheres that were once thought to conatin the entire human race floated serenely around the vast star, as they had done since their creation. Vessels moved to and fro between them carrying goods and people, each one contributing a little to the life of the system. In the distance was the framework of the vast Central Communications Array, its construction well on schedule, ships swarming around it like wasps on a fallen apple. All was peaceful, save for the possible invasion fleet that hung menacingly at one edge of the peaceful system...

The sleek pleasure yacht moved a little closer to the frigate, blue running lights flashing to alert the warship to its presence. It was bone-white from end to end, with fluted gold scrollwork across the fins. The thrusters pulsed gently, moving the little yacht at cruising speed. It could go far quicker than this if it had to, but the pilot had been instructed to make no sudden movements. If they appeared aggressive, the entire mission would have been for nothing.

The interior of the ship was clearly not designed for last-minute desperate negotiations. It was a pleasure yacht by designation, and the interior reflected this. A vast refrigerator unit sat squatly at one end of the sumptuously-decorated room, stocked with fine wines and various cold foods. Plush chairs were arranged in a slighty squashed circle, their softness matched only by the thick carpet. Indeed, the ship even smelt of luxury, a combination of wood panelling, champagne, and expensive perfume.

In the cockpit, ignoring the lavish surrounding entirely, were four people, in varying degrees of panic. The command seat was occupied by the pilot. He looked as if he had been incredibly athletic in his youth, but had since discovered the pleasures of good food, good drink, and good entertainment. While by no means massive, he seemed to fill the white leather seat more and more each time he flew the yacht. His skills, however, had lost none of their edge. While not a showy pilot, he was able to perform any action asked of him with ease and grace. However, his hands were gripping the stick as if he was strangling a man, and his forehead was lined with concentration.

Much of the rest of the cockpit was taken up by two armed soldiers, their bulky armour making them appear far larger than they actually were. Each one gripped a blast rifle like a drowning man grips a log, only with far less screaming. Their gazes were fixed dead ahead, unblinking, and their jaws were set. This would be their first contact with someone who could actually want to kill them. While they were both deadly accurate on the range, and disciplined on the parade ground, they had never actually been in anything approaching a combat situation.

The only person maintaining a modicum of calm was Garan Tost, the selected diplomat. A skilled wielder of the force, as well as an adept negotiator, he appeared resolved and focused. His face was almost expressionless, but it radiated an aura of calm confidence. His cream-coloured robes swished a little as he moved up next to the pilot, and his short-handled lightsabre bounced against his leg.

"Are they responding to our hailing?"

"No, my lord. They... wait! We have contact! Channels are open!"

"Pass me the microphone."

"Yes, my lord."

Garan took the microphone carefully, unsure as to how fragile it was. He held down the button and began to speak.

"Greetings, spacefarers. Welcome to the Taldaan system. We mean you no harm. Please, state your business here. Over."

He waited for the reply, while behind him the other three occupants looked at each other in terror.

"Sir, we've got a message."
"Play it."
As the message played the captain got ready to reply.
"Open channels."
"Channels open."
"Greetings, I am Captain Hirosho of the Theao navy. We are here in the XT-1 ... I'm sorry Taldaan system, as we've been tasked to look for an experimental craft lost by one of our allies."

The message was recieved with great joy in the cockpit of the yacht. While it was not exactly a declaration of friendly intent, it was also not a combat mission. One of the soldiers even went so far as to go to the drinks cabinet and pour everyone a glass. As they sipped the gently bubbling liquid, Garan made his reply, clicking in the microphone button.

"Captain, I believe we may have found your missing craft. She was found around two weeks ago drifting in the asteroid field, having apparently been attacked. We regret to inform you that the pilot was dead, killed as her cockpit was ruptured. The vessel itself remains in good working order, save for the engines which suffered critical damage in the attack. If you wish, we can return both your ship and the body of the sadly deceased pilot. We send our regrets at her untimely death."

"That would be excellent. Would you mind telling us which planet the ship is on so that we may facilitate pick-up. Also we note there are only limited numbers of ships in the system, is that because this is a sparcely settled system or because you are new to the world of deep space?" Hirosho transmitted, while the XO sent a message to the corvettes and cruisers that the craft had bee found and to close up.

"Your ship is currently on Atlantea, the outermost world and our capital planet. Landing may be a problem, however. Vessels as large as yours moor in orbit. While we can certainly bring the vessel up to the mooring point, it would be a tricky and time-consuming procedure as our docking personnel have not had occasion to deal with your class of ship before. We can arrange for the ship to be brought here by transport if that would be preferable."

He was suddenly overtaken by inner struggle. Should he reveal to Hirosho why the Taldaani people had so few ships? He decided that maybe that would be a story for later on: if these spacefarers decided that the Taldaani were stupid for their assumptions, they would certainly pay for it.

"As for your question about our small numbers of ships, I can explain. We are not new to space travel, we have travelled the void for nearly a millenium. We are also not sparsely populated. Every world in this system is inhabited. We simply never saw the need for a large fleet."

"Ah, a dropship should be able to pick it up, if you don't mind us picking it up ourselves. As to a fleet, we would advise that you develop at least a few warships, as there are numerous pirates, raiders and nations with a conquistador mentality, flying around out here." Hirosho sent back while the rest of the force closed up into the same formation they were in when they'ed entered the system.

"That would be completely acceptable. I will inform the dock that your dropship is en route, and arrange for the ship to be brought up as quickly as possible. Ah yes, I forgot to mention, our scientists conducted several tests on the craft to discover what it was and what its capabilities were. They did not inflict any damage on it, I just thought that it would be best to tell you."

This was, in fact, unnecessary. The entire conversation was being transmitted to Atlantea, and the ship was being brought up to the dock even now.

"As for your advice, I thank you for it. We are in the process of constructing several warships: the discovery of your ship, in the state it was, gave our arms industry something of a kick in the rear."

The combat shuttle exited from the Picto and headed to target planet.
"Would you mind if we had a DS came to see about establishing diplomatic relations between us?" Hirosho asked

"That would be absolutely fine. We welcome the chance to make friends with other nations. After all, both safety and prosperity can be found in numbers."

And then the cockpit went wild. Having gone into the meeting fully expecting to be reduced to molten slag, they had not only pulled off a peaceful conclusion, but also raised the possibility of further diplomatic relations. Luckily they had turned off the microphone, although the channel was still open. The same soldier as before poured everyone another glass, and they downed their drinks happily.

The Picto replayed the message as well as the request for a Diploship, which was loaded and sent off to the Taldaan system, having updated the starcharts.

At about the same time the dropship was making it's decent, the DS arrived in system and headed to the Picto.
"The diplomatic ship is here, and they are requesting information on where to go."

"Tell the diplomatic vessel to head for Atlantea, then once they get close enough Space Traffic Control will open a line to them. It isn't a difficult landing, so they don't have to worry too much. They'll be met on arrival by Lord Ytrius himself. He is anxious to meet them."


The dock at Atlantea was buzzing with activity. This was the first time in Taldaani history that a foreign vessel had moored anywhere in their system. Men, women, and robots scurried to and fro across the pad, ready to recieve this strange craft. Suddenly there was a rumble of thrusters as it landed on the platform. After a wait of around five minutes, the crew was instructed to use their engines at low power to hover to the ship elevator. They complied, luckily, and they were whisked down into the underground loading and parking bays.

The bays were a marvel of engineering, and a very well manned one. Seemingly hundreds of people were on the floor and the metal mesh walkways above, some shouting orders, some repairing ships. There was a low swish as a mag-lev train pulled up in the distance, people spilling out of the doors as they slid open. By the dropship a mighty automated loading vehicle lifted the experimental ship firmly, yet also incredibly gently. It placed it into the dropship with hardly a sound. Then, with somewhat more ceremony, the vacuum-casket containing the dead pilot was wheeled slowly on board, her body safe from decomposition, and her face locked into the same resigned expression that it had been found in.

Tag-just waitin for that comms network to be finished *whistles to Japanese music*

ooc: Yeah, the comm array will probably wait until the end of talks with Theao.

The pilot of the dropship, seeing what they had done thanked the person(s) who delivered the body.

The DS arrived in orbit.
"This is a Diploship of Theao, requesting landing co-ordinates and approach vectors."

ooc: sorry for disappearing, some telecom people were being asshats and messing with my net/phone wires.

"We read you, Diploship. Stand by for co-ordinates."

There was a pause of around thirty seconds before the transmission started again.

"Diploship, proceed to co-ordinates 132-825 at current altitude, then to co-ordinates 135-859 at vector of 30.6 degrees, which will leave you around three-hundred metres above the pad. From there make a vertical descent. Once on the pad taxi to the VIP area: the ground crew will point you in the right direction. Over."

The DiploShip followed the co-ordinates, before setting down where the ground crew directed them.

The DiploShip was rapidly directed into the VIP area. This area was slightly smarter than the main body of the pad, and was certainly far less crowded. The pad was empty, and there seemed to be fewer staff as well. Once on the elevator, the DiploShip was rapidly carried downwards, to the VIP loading/unloading area.

Down there, it looked exactly the same as the area the dropship had found itself in, except much less crowded. A trio of yachts sat by the wall, spotlessly clean and beautifully decorated from end to end. The diplomatic crew were helped off the ship by a group of attendants. Unlike in the main bay, the staff were dressed in white suits. They bowed to the newcomers, and then led them into a spacious room to one side.

The room was elegantly built, tall columns supporting the ceiling. The floor was made of black marble, and was so clean that it shone. The walls were decorated with rich hangings showing various scenes. Even the ceiling was decorated, the supports intricately carved.

In the centre of all this artwork stood Ytrius. His dark hair was cut short, and his beard trimmed. He was dressed simply, in a white robe that came down to the floor. The thing that most drew the visitors eyes was the pair of lightsabers in his belt, one on each hip. Despite this armament, his face was welcoming and his smile reached his eyes.

"Welcome to Atlantea. Please take a seat. Would you care for any refreshments? Your journey must have been a long one."

Vitae, the primary diplomat, noted the sabers and wondered to herself I wonder if they have Jedi/Sith here? "Greetings, my name is Vitae. Would you have water?" She asked

OOC: Tag for reply later. When my life does not involve the draining of my mortal soul :(

"Yes, we have water. Excuse me one moment."

He got up and walked over to the back of the room, then returned with a glass of water.

"I don't hold with servants, they weaken the will. Well, we may as well get down to business. What do you wish to speak about?"

"To discuss the idea of an embassy exchange, and possible a economic/technologic deal." Vitae replied

"Well, its good to see that you can be frank about these things. I certainly have no problem with either the embassy exchange or the economic deals. As for technology, due to millenia of peace we have all sorts of interesting devices we can trade. Unfortunately, given the apparent nature of life beyond our system edge, it looks like we will be forced to exchange our medical, construction, and civilian transport technologies for weapons designs.

As we may have already mentioned, we began construction of war vessels when we discovered your experimental ship. However, current armament is based on the energy drills and explosive charges mounted on our mining vessels, which may well be very inefficient. If we are to make technological deals, we would be interested in acquiring weapons schematics.

We have many tradable resources in this system: you probably already know about our mining operations in the asteroid field, and this has indeed given us surpluses of many useful minerals. We are also adept in the manufacture of electronic goods, especially medical devices and FTL communications networks.

Naturally, this would be of no use without knowing where your system or systems are located. As such, may we have your maps uploaded into our data network?"

"Alright. This is a map of explored systems, relative to here." Vitae motions to an aid, who pulls out a data chip. This will be interesting, seeing how they reacted when they find we don't have a 'system' persay.

Ytrius slid the chip into a nearby HCDS (Holographic Communications and Data Storage), then activated it. A map filled the 3-d space that served as the screen.

"So, which area are your worlds in?"

"Last time I checked, it was around here," Points to a star, "but it could have moved by now." Vitae replied

Ytrius was rather taken aback, but his Force training had always had a huge emphasis on self control. His face remained impassive, and his body did not twitch. His mind, however, was working out how this could be possible.

"Is your nation shipborne then?"

"Close, but not exactly." Vitae replied, "Think more worldship."

"A worldship. That must be quite a feat of engineering. I would love to see it sometime. Well, to get back on topic, I would be completely happy with an embassy exchange, and indeed can reserve a building right now. It is easily spacious enough to fill anyones needs: we used to use it for council meetings until we built the Force Academy."

"That would be great, once we get back in-touch with the worldship, they'll send out an embassy group. If you want we could take you to see it." Vitae replied

"As tempting as your offer is, I have much work to do here. The Taldaan system must prepare for contact with other peoples. I must oversee the construction of our space navy and our intergalactic communications array. Not only this, but this new discovery has made internal politics far more turbulent. I hope that you understand."

ooc: got to go for a while, will be back as soon as I can

Three people were still working on the communications array, putting finishing touches on it. Suddenly one of them slipped and let go of his plasma cutter. He looked on in horror as it fell away, then hit the side of a passing shuttle with a loud bump. It bounced off and drifted away into the void, never to be seen again.

"If not you, perhaps a chosen diplomat?" Vitae replied

"Just what I was about to say."

He smiled again. This was a lot nicer than dealing with internal politicians: they took hours to say anything.

"Would it be possible to set up a permanent embassy on your worldship? And if so, would it be possible to rotate staff occasionally? While students at the academy are trained in negotiation, I believe that it would be a valuable experience to see international diplomacy first-hand."

"That would be acceptable, would you have any objection to us basing an embassy on your world?" Vitae asked

"No objections at all. Oh yes, this may sound like an odd request, but could I have a picture of Captain Hirosho? Council has moved to have a statue erected of him meeting Garan Tost, the representative sent out to greet your fleet. A stylized one, of course. It would be fairly boring if they made an artistic representation of their actual meeting."

"That would be fine." Vitae pulled out a gizmet from his belt. He tapped in a few commands. He then inserted a chip into a port on the gizmet, waited till it beeped. "Here you go." Hands the chip over.

ooc: if you want an actual pic, I'll find one.

ooc: Don't worry, I don't need an actual pic.

IC: "Thank you very much. Well, if there isn't anything else you wish to speak about then I believe we can draw this to a close. I can arrange accomodation for you if you wish, or we can have your ship prepared for departure."

"At present there is nothing else. If you don't mind, we shall leave the Picto and escorts in-system until your diplomatic staff is ready as it may be difficult to find the worldship." Vitae replied

"That is fine. The ambassadorial staff will be selected as quickly as possible. Will armed guards be necessary, or will your own security forces look after that?"

ooc: Theao, could you have Vitae leave the room at the end of your next post? No offence, I just can't be bothered to post "Goodbye!".

"If you wish for guards that is acceptable, thought there is no need for them." The gizmet beeped, "You'll have to excuse me the captain of the Vox is insisting that I report in. Have a nice day." Vitae said as he got up, shakes Ytrius's hand and leaves.

Ytrius stood up as Vitae left, and then punched in a few buttons on his wristpad. He had selected his ambassadorial team already. It would contain a Council representative, a master force user, two junior ambassadors, and three of the older students at the Force Academy. In Taldaani fashion, they were self-sufficient enough to make servants unneccessary. He began to give his orders.

Around an hour later, a small group of people were moving purposefully along a corridor towards the yacht that would serve as their diplomatic vessel. Like most if not all Taldaani pleasure yachts, it was very decorated, but tastefully so. The bone-white hull was painted with black designs made to look like vines, twisting around the hull and over the atmospheric wings. The tailplane was painted with the Taldaani flag. The ship was long and sleek, and contained all the facilities nexessary for the diplomatic team. While they would be granted an embassy, it could easily come in useful even after they had landed on the worldship.

The group was headed by Tost, as he was the only dispensable master force user who had any experience with the foreign nation. Rather than seeing it as an excuse to remove him, he had decided that this was not only a recognition of him and a great responsibilty, but also an adventure. He had a noticeable spring in his step as he walked, his boots clicking on the floor. His lightsaber was, of course, in his belt. While he would probably not need it, it could be useful, and it would allow him to keep his skills polished. It would also serve as a reminder of what he was doing this for.

Standing behind Tost were three of the older students at the Academy. They would continue their training under Tost, and also see first-hand a lot of diplomatic meetings. It would also give them a wider cultural experience to draw on: the life of a Force user was not all about lightsabres and powers after all.

In a group slightly apart were the ambassador and his juniors. Ambassador Tethyn was an experienced Council member, and a seasoned politician. He knew politics inside and out, and this was tempered by a cool-headed approach that had made him many friends and few enemies. Most would be sad to see the veteran go, but they agreed that his skills would be well-used.

He was joined by two younger junior council members. One was a typical enthusiastic hot-head, but the other was more interesting. Colder, more rational. And he also believed that he was being sent out of the way for a reason. Hyrn was not just ambitious, he was paranoid. And he believed, had for some time, that the council were trying to thwart him...

So it was not a wholly happy group that cruised away from the surface of the planet, out towards the waiting fleet...

Fast-forward three weeks or so...

The frigate Hieros shuddered a little as the massive engines, originally designed to power cargo ships but modified for this use, ignited. Twin streams of charged particles erupted behind them, lit by the eerie blue-green glow of the thrusters. A noise, not the light hum of a yacht or the booming of a mobile smelter but a sort of bass growl, echoed around the orbital dock as the ship began to accelerate. The control room of the dock suddenly came alive with wild cheering as the ship pulled away slowly.

The sleek vessel then executed a smooth turn, cruising slowly around the end of the mooring structure until it was broadside to the dock. More cheers in the control room. The ship maneouvred out a little further, and then came a slightly trickier part of the test.

From out of nowhere, at high speed, fifteen unmanned ships raced along the side of the frigate then looped over it. They were moving almost too fast for the eye to follow, blurring as they simulated attack runs on the ship. Point defence guns began to flicker, and one of the rapidly-moving craft disintegrated under the attack. A second one soon followed, clipped on one side and sent spiralling away. The dock crew threw themselves flat, but it was pointless as the careening drone bounced off the shields. In the space of half a minute, all of the drones were registered as destroyed. A resounding success. The Hieros had passed the tests, and was ready to join the fleet.

It was not exactly a large fleet: three frigates, twenty-four fighters, and twelve torpedo boats. But it was a start. It was protection.

Floating in space off Atlantea, the communications array powered up. It glowed in a cliched sort of way as it did this, white pulses running along the vanes. And then, in a rush of light, it began broadcasting. It spoke of friendly intentions and a longing for peace with other spacefarers. It spoke of trade links, embassy exchanges. And it spoke of the Taldaan system...

The PSN Hero was a relatively new ship with a “virgin”crew. By Phalanix standards a virgin crew were right out of the academy and not even been in a single battle yet. Though the ship was a Peace class destroyer the name literally was the exact opposite for the destroyer’s design. She was easily 9.03km long and bristled with weapons. Only the observation post and the five launch bays were unarmed. Though the one advantage of this design was the fear that it imposed when it defolded from slipspace.

Onboard her captain paced the bridge. She normally was stationed on ships that simply ran recon but being station on one of the newest ships in the PSN was another thing. Though while she pondered this question her train of thought was shattered as her neural link with the shipboard AI activated. “Captain we have a unknown signal emanating from a uncharted system. Should we make a course correction and investigate? Or shall we continue with the tests?” the disembodied voice said in Laura’s head.
Quietly she went over the pros and cons of changing course before she replied “Change course. The crew needs to learn what to do in dealing with a new group of people.”
“Aye ma’am. Shifting course and entering a spatial fold. We will reach the system in ten minutes.”

As the destroyer lurched to port slowly she was covered in a sickly green light that hid her entirely until she vanished in a flash in to the realms of slipspace.

Only ten minutes later she reappeared in an aurora of green and white at the edge of the system. Though as the RA protocol went she had fighters launch from the bays and go stealth and be ready for combat. “We’ll let them make he first move,” Laura said the AI as she sat in her command chair and waited. As she looked out across the system on the main viewscreen she grabed her officer's cap and put it on preparing to look her best to respond to any messages.

ooc: sorry about not replying earlier, was gone.
Is the diplomatic yacht FTL capable?

OOC:Nice to see you again, Taldaan. Glad you've still got FT going. Cool idea, as usual.

BIC:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just off the world of Firlen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Second Eastern Rim Police Group was one of the larger police groups that the Rebels had. It contained nearly a thousand ships, though most were weak and easily destroyable. However, that wasn't enough, not nearly, to occupy the billions of miles of open space that the group was assigned to protect. The Entire Southeastern Rim was under their control, a vast area full of uninhabited planets and other such devices. Now, they had more to find out.

The squadron they had sent to take care of this area was a tiny one. Three Imperator Class Cruisers, sleek black, gleaming spacefaring vessels, mighty when they had to be. Cloaking devices up, these transgalactic battleships moved cautiously into the system, prepared for anything...

...or so they thought. How were they to know what would come their way? It was strange, whatever it was, a strange communications signal from a species with near-human intelligence. Or possibly human. They thought they knew all settlements in the galaxy, but the Yaforites could be wrong.

Anyway, the commander of the squadron decided to send a polite, diplomatic message just to be safe.

To Unidentified Signal:
Who are you?
We ask for Yaforite ships to be allowed to enter. We are a small, lowarmed squadron.

The commander had forgotten that his ships were still cloaked.

With no warning what so ever, the KNS Kitt arrived in system over the most populated world. Like a whale in the deep sea, it was massive and alone. It sent out the First contact message that it had sent so many times before; with a brief history, wishes for trade, peaceful relations, and the possibility of an alliance.

"This mission better work out better than the last." The first officer had awaken just minutes earlier.
"When you go on this many first contact missions, you must expect some failures." The caption of the ship had done this many times before.
"If you say so." The first officer was skeptical, but would not disobey his caption.
"Prepare the ambassadorial team."
"Right away sir."

VSEP (Vuhifellian Space Exploration Program)
Space Control Center Delta
20 km Southwest of Golden Skies City

Professer Provoskt: Well Tim, how's today goin'? No luck as usual huh?

The professer began to sit down as he normally did, watching the VCNN while drinking out of his favorite mug of coffee when Timother replied.

Tim: No sir, signals, I've send them into VSEP HQ in Comberth sir, do you want to hear?

Tim switched on several of the outdated computers and they both heard a crackling signal, almost exactly like the one used on the VSS Nortoga and the VSS Echelon on their deep space exploration missions.

Provoskt: Oh hell, great, I can just see it now, the Press, the President, and complaining to me as why we didn't release this in time! Tim, keep quiet about this, at least until Comberth luanches the Kriushu.

Two Weeks later

President Stevan Daniels: It is with my greatest pleasure that the VSEP luanches our new space exploration ship, the VSS Kriushu!

A system of cranes hoisted the .5 km long exploration vessel into the magnetic luanch pad. The crew off 400 had loaded several Elite Black Guard dropships, soldiers, and tanks into the cargo bay, as well as several space probes and experimental terraforming equipment...

OOC: I had to type this really fast before school today so I will finish it in 7 hours, I am sorry for any typo's.

ooc: Yes, the yacht is FTL capable. Yes, I know that I don't have any reason to use it for system-to-system jumps, but it is still a long way from the outer edge to the centre in the system.

IC: And the space control centre on Atlantea erupted into chaos. The outer reaches of Taldaani space were suddenly wild and confused. It was as if someone had released sharks into the shallow end of a swimming pool. From out of nowhere contacts were appearing, causing the sensor map to crackle and blur for a second. It stabilised rapidly, showing contacts appearing. The young operator practically fell out of his seat, before rushing across the floor to his supervisor. The supervisor, although slightly irritated, recognised genuine panic when he saw it.

"What is it?"
"We've got contacts, Sir. Lots of them."
"Where?"

The supervisor was on his feet now. This was serious, and he knew it. While they had expected contact, they had not foreseen it happening so soon.

"Where are they?"
"We've got one big one at the edge of the system. I'd say nearly ten Ks."
"Ten K's? Shit! Thats like a mobile smelter! Is it armed?"
"Not sure at this distance, Sir, but it looks like it. Its not hailing us, its just waiting there. And we got another one emerged right over Atlantea! Its right on top of us!"
"Is it hostile?"

His panic was evident now. A hostile warship over Atlantea would mean death for all of them. An attacker could probably level strategic targets before the fleet got to them, and then...

"No Sir! They're hailing us! They're friendly, sir! They want to send a diplomatic vessel to the surface!"
"Anything else?"
"We got one wierd one, Sir. We got a signal from near Firlen, but we don't have a contact. Either there's a bug in the system, or they're jamming us."
"Are they friendly?"
"Very polite. They want permission to enter."
"Forward all the information to Lord Ytrius. Its an emergency situation, so it won't have to go through council."

_______________________________

Lord Ytrius recieved the message slightly before it was sent. Such were the oddities of FTL communications. It was best not to think about it, really. People had gone mad. But it was not the method arrival of the message that concerned him, it was the contents. The two friendly groups were sent friendly greetings. The diplomatic ship was given permission to land, and the mysterious visitors at Firlen were sent permission to enter the system, and a request to turn off all sensor jamming devices so that Space Traffic Control could help them navigate. Of course it would also cost them some surprise if they tried anything, but Ytrius didn't say that.

It was the large ship on the edge of the system that was the problem. While they were motionless and silent, this was somehow infinitely more menacing than if they had been moving insystem at attack speed, screaming "Blood for the blood god!" over all channels. At least then the Taldaani would know where they stood. He sent a signal to the Taldaani fleet taking them up to full alert and ordering them to disengage docking clamps but not to move, and then sat back to think about the situation.

If I open fire now, then we may lose an ally, but if we don't then it leaves us open to attack from it. But then pre-emptive strike is not the way I have been taught. It leads only into darkness. But then, which is more important, myself or the entire Taldaan system? The lives of billions hang in the balance, and I would not so lightly condemn them. Of course, if they survived the attack, then they would die anyway.

He rubbed his brow. All this mental debate had given him a headache. Then he began to punch in his message.

Greetings, unidentified ship. Welcome to the Taldaan system. Please state your purpose here.

Short, sweet, and hopefully not grounds for high-energy annihilation. He waited for a reply.

OOC: yup, get to finish my message

IC:

Ground Control: VSS Kriushu, you are cleared to luanch on magnetic track 9, have a nice flight.

VSS Kriushu: Will do.

Ground Control: Magnets will activate in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Magnets activated! Kriushu is moving, repeat Kriushu is moving.

As the VSS Kriushu slowly moved off the track, then finally it sped up to about 900 MPH at the end of the track, its engines activated 200 km away from the luanch pad, accelerating it to a speed of 2000 MPH, when it broke through Earth's atmosphere, its experimental KAL Fusion Reactor pulled it into a speed of 7 MPS and increasing at a rate of 1 MPS every twenty minutes.

Captain Paul Bradley: Whoa, that was quite the luanch, alright people, even though this thing ain't armed doesn't mean that whatever is sending out that signal is friendly. When we reach System Mobius 439-A Eureka, I want all of the luanch bays ready to expel all dropships if we get attacked.

Rest of Cockpit crew: Yes sir!

OOC: Can you tell me how far your system is from Earth

OOC: Can you tell me how far your system is from Earth

ooc: I really hadn't thought about it. Just make it a couple of hundred light years.

The massive bay door opened on the side of the Kazeci Super Cruiser. A pause, then an object a little bigger than a fighter came zipping towards the planet at lightning speed. It would have been very hard to identify at that speed. It continued on a straight course towards the surface, without stopping or slowing. Then, 35 meters from crashing, it made a sharp arc upward and leveled off. The water beneath it shot up in a magnificent spray. It circled the planet once while slowing down and began to circle what looked like a landing area. It was now easy to make out the sleek silver hull of the Bullet, Kazecistan's light transport.
"Requesting permission to land."

Just as the message was sent the destroyer lurched forth slowly her fighter escorts swinging out around her slightly further out around it's hull. The scilence was a standard proticol within the PSN and PSA since the AE attacks.

Onboard special forces troopers were taking up stations throughout the primary ares of the destroyer before permitting a response. Laura looked over the quick scan of everything that was visable to the shipboard AI. "Hmm a minnor fleet and several forign vessels. I want the closest RDF ready to drop out in a moment notice. Open a line and prepare to transmit. Lets try and make this as friendly as posible," she said as she turned to glair at the pair of heavily armed gaurds behind her.
"Channel open ma'am. Transmitting when you want."
"Thank you," she replied before speaking again "This is Captian Laura Robins of the Shadow Realm of Phalanix's Peace class Destroyer Hero. As per the AE proticol we are scouting and hunting down traitors to our government. As it stands your system was detected by one of our ship's AI constructs. You have no need to worry unless you decide to do anything drastic or if you are harboring traitors."
With a simple hand movement the mesage was cut off and Laura breathed easy. She hated video messages more than the Elites on her bridge.
"You know you lack the projected image of a Phalanix captain," a voice said from behind Laura. She jumped slightly and turned to see one of the Avanger agents only five centimetres from her head.

"Requesting permission to land."

The message ran through Space Traffic Control like an electric shock. The second foreign landing in a month. This was unprecedented. However, the workers were under orders to allow all friendly vessels to land or moor. And so that is exactly what they did.

"Permission granted. A vector and waypoint package has been uploaded with this transmission. Follow the course exactly."

_________________________________________

And another message, this time from the previously untalkative warship. This was greeted with far more interest, and indeed immediately patched through to Lord Ytrius's personal quarters. He would, of course, keep a record for the Council to view if necessary, but the shift-workers at STC would quite possibly never know what exactly had been said.

Still, the message was peaceful enough, although this "hunting down of traitors" business worried Ytrius more than a little. His frown was luckily not visible over the audio-only channel.

"Well, as long as your intentions are not hostile, neither are ours. We ensure you that we harbour no traitors against your nation, as this system contains none of your people save yourselves."

Random crew member: Sir, Mars FTL Sat is currently cleared, we can jump the rest of the way to system Mobius 439-A Eureka.

Captain Paul Bradley: Okay, everybody, when we reach the system, I want all dropships ready to attack if anything is out there. BUT FREAKIN REMEMBER THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT!

By the last line several gun happy crew members groaned, in about 30 minutes the Mars-Earth FTL Sattellite Network would propel them about 10 Billion Kilometers from the source of the signal.

==================

Fast-Forward

Two days into the voyage, 4 Billion Kilometers from source of alien signal.

Captain Paul Bradley: Alright everyone, we're entering system Mobius 439-A Eureka now, I want half the dropships loaded with military systems and I want the other half to be unarmed and loaded with Dr. Alexon and his entourage*

*OOC: Is that how you spell the word, sorry, but I'm just too lazy to use spell check right now.

IC:

Dr Alexon: Captain, the boys in the comms room have decrypted the message, the signals appear to be human, at least, according to the similarity between those and the frequency used on our Shuttles and Space Explorers.

Also, it appears that this signal appears to be centered around a massive array of communications, in laymans terms, there's something as advanced, or even more advanced, as us out there.

Captain Paul Bradley[on intra-ship radio to comms room]: Colonel Santiago!

Colonel Santiago: YES SIR!

Captain Paul Bradley: Put me on the radio, I want all channels clear! NOW!

Colonel Santiago: YES SIR! Putting you through on all channels now sir!

Captain Paul Bradley[to Taldaan]: This is the crew of the Vuhifellian Space Exploration Ship Kriushu...respond!

"We've got another ship entering."

This was becoming somewhat of a routine occurence now. The communications array was attracting ships like large, heavily armed moths to a flame. So the appearance of the Kriushu was actually met with almost a deadpan.

"Welcome to the Taldaan system, Kriushu. Watch out, the traffic is a little heavy."

After landing and unloading, the tiny ship shot back up to the SC orbiting the planet. Left on the pad was Daniel and 2 other diplomats of lesser degree. They wore traditional earthen robes and carried intricately engraved white silver staffs. Behind them, in 2 perfect rows, were 8 soldiers. They wore full dress uniforms and also carried the beautiful white silver staffs.
"May we meet with your leaders?"

Captain Paul Bradley: Roger that!

The captain turns around to talk to chief Vuhifellian Space Security Officer, Jason Hoif.

Captain Paul Bradley: Jason, I want you and your men ready to luanch immediately, these people didn't state wheather or not they were a hostile or friendly civilization, so once our scientists, diplomats, and businessmen land, I want you all ready to seperate from your docks.

Jason Hoif: I will try my best sir...

Captain Paul Bradley: I know you will, dismissed!....[On Kriushu Intercom system]: Zanzibar dropship squadron, load up with the scientists and deploy immediately; Ascent dropship aquadron, load up with the diplomats and deploy immediately, Polaris dropship squadron, load up with the businessmen and deploy immediately.

Kriushu A.I.: Cargo bay doors opening, repeat, cargo bay doors opening, all personel must get to the nearest MOLIGNAR bay or a locked down sector of the ship immediately.

Repeat cargo bay doors opening!

Captain Paul Bradley[to Taldaan]: This is the Captain of the Kriushu, again, requesting permission to land dropships on the surface of your homeworld loaded with scientific, diplomatic, and economical officials...

Laura looked over the message and sighed quietly. She didn’t expect this relatively newly blooming Space Empire to have heard of the AE rebellion and the hunt the ensued.
She flicked a switch on her command chair and activated the video messaging system and gave the system a few seconds to warm up before activating the recording system.
As the video of a 19 year old young woman with purple hair sitting in the captains command seat came into view. Her uniform was new, as was her insignia, that still had the original bronze finish shining in the light, she spoke in a crystal clear voice that easily demanded respect, “I’m sure you haven’t heard of the rebellion that occurred roughly twenty years ago. The forces that rebelled were the absolute best at infiltration and other military operations that they had been trained in. They have an unlikely tendency to appear without warning and not be noticed for years even decades. So they might have infiltrated your little nation without your knowing.” She paused and pressed a few buttons on the left arm of her chair and outside the fighter escorts began to deactivate their stealth systems and begin to land in the destroyer until their number still flying reached only three squadrons (24 fighters). She quickly resumed where she was, “Since we both are on friendly terms I hope you don’t mind us getting a little closer. Don’t worry I’ll make sure that the Hero keeps her fangs in check.” With that the message ended with her sly playful smile.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Near Firlen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The commander grinned as the other man, the transmission man, entered. "Sir, they are requesting for us to enter."

The commander interrupted him. "Good. Enter." The other man bit his, not sure of what to say, should he say anything at all.

"But sir?" The man said nervously, not wishing to incur his commander's wrath.

"Yes?" The commander asked, annoyed and puzzled.

"We still have our shields up."

"Bring them down and enter!"

OOC:Crap post, but I'm having writer's block at the moment...

The landing pad crew were very surprised at the appearance of the diplomats. The silver staffs were certainly impressive, but they seemed a little.. pointless. The full dress uniform they could understand, but each of the guards also held a staff. The general concensus was that there was more to those sticks than met the eye.

The team who sallied out from comfort of the workers lounge greeted the diplomats politely and efficiently. They did, however, turn down the requests to meet the leader.

"Unfortunately Lord Ytrius is very busy right now. If you want we can arrange accomodation for you all."

_________________________________________

And indeed Ytrius was busy. Laura's message had seemed friendly, but it had chilled him to the bone. That smile at the end... a distraction technique for sure. It was the last thing he needed- an empire of paranoid witch-hunters breathing down his neck. And witch-hunters tend to find heresy and sorcery wherever they look. Still, Ytrius did not want to turn their request down. It would be a disaster if they became angry and decided to wipe his small domain clear of all life.

"Yes, we will allow you to get closer. Any searches that you wish to make planetside will be assisted with by our local law enforcement staff. We would not wish to see your search fail. Also, it is only natural that a nation should keep some secrets, and so some areas will be off-limits to search teams."

___________________________________________

[Transmission-port 10a6- Target- #Vessel$- ***Kriushu***]

Permission to land granted. Vector and waypoint package uploaded with this signal. Please follow course exactly. Any large vessels landing must use orbital mooring stations.

Captain Paul Bradley: Affirmative, Kriushu now engaging orbital docking system, 15 dropships will be entering your atmosphere within the next hour, instruct them as where to land en route to the surface, Kriushu out!

Daniel responded politely, "We would very much like that. Do you have any idea when Lord Ytrius may be ready for us?"

Laura smiled and began to type on a counsole quickly issuing orders to the Ghost agents stationed on the ship. They were second to none except the AE forces when it came to stealth and infiltration. She felt they would be useful when it came to sneaking past security for their own personel investigation.
Laura rose and quickly activated the message system once more and spoke "Thank you for your co-operation. We will be sending down two dropship. We can talk further when they land." With that the message was sent and she jogged toward the elevator. She turned and nodded to her first officer and entered the lift.
In the hanger Elites and Hunters piled into the first dropship while a group of five S-Elites waited with XR-70 multirifles. Laura nodded to them and thye quickly boarded before her. Secretly behind her a trio of cloaked Ghost agents entered.

Five minutes later the pair of dropships shot out of the forward hanger of the Hero and roared towards the planet. A trio of VBR-5's broke off of the Hero and began to fallow the dropships escorting them to ensure their safety.

Daniel responded politely, "We would very much like that. Do you have any idea when Lord Ytrius may be ready for us?"

"Lord Ytrius will probably be busy for the rest of the day., but he can see you tomorrow morning. Here is a map of the city- I took the liberty of marking your hotel, as well as the quickest route to it from here."

_____________________________________

At Space Traffic Control, messages were sent to all of the incoming ships, complete with vector and waypoint packages. Although nervous at the prospect of fighters landing, they would do their job quickly and efficiently. Again.

The drop ships began their decent into the atmosphere closely followed by the fighters who's heat sheilds covered their bellies and other critical equipment. As they broke into the stratosphere they roared forth towards the direction of the landing area they were assigned. Even before they could be seen by the naked eye the fighters were already over the landing area circling like vultures wating for the dropships to land. As they did the fighters sifted to the hybrid form and began to set down.
After only a few minutes Laura rose from her seat and walked to the side hatch of the dropships and picked up the standard equipment pack she was required to carry on any mission. When the green light appeared she punched the open command on the hatch's pannel and waited for it to drop before walking out.

Back on the Hero it was slightly diffrent the council agent smirked slightly to himself as he sat beside he counter part in the ship's fore armoury.
"So looks like we should check in soon. Alert the council of a fruit ripe for the picking and the fact it would only take possibly one super cruiser and a destroyer to do the job," the male said as he toyed with a plasma blade projector changing the color and feild settings.
"I wonder if this is actualy worth the effort. I mean from what I can gather they seem to be scared shitless of this ship. Hell I'm sure it can total the oppostion and still be in a good enough condition to take over planet."
"Well we can wait to send our report untill we get information from the unit going groundside."

The Kazecis thanked him. The guards swiftly brought their outside hand around and smacked their staves. They shiny objects spun all the way around once, twice, and were stopped by the impact of the hand once again. The butts of the staves pounded the ground once, and then were spun in the opposite direction as before once around. They departed. Once they reached the hotel they would eat dinner and sleep.

Lord Ytrius had gone to meet the Phalanix delegation alone. He was dressed simply, as usual, and his lightsabres were concealed under his robe. It would probably be better not to alert them that he was armed. Still, it would be good to meet Laura in the flesh. It would be far easier to negotiate at close quarters.

He walked onto the landing pad, which was seemingly swarming with dropships and fighters. So much defence for a diplomat... hadn't his messages made it clear that the Taldaani meant them no harm? They were either paranoid or aggressive, neither of which were good. Either way it meant that out there were people who would attack Taldaan without a second thought. Perhaps these were the imperialist nations that Vitae had told them of...

"Welcome to Atlantea. Was your journey comfortable?"

Laura shook her head and laughed slightly then spoke, "Dropships were never designed for comfort. She motioned forth to the three S-Elites and let them come out to quickly sweep the area. Their XR-70 14.7mm HE multi-rifles were imposing enough but when combined with two meter tall armoured figures with enough training to butcher a enemy squad it was just alittle over the top.
Behind her the second dropship opened and the twelve trooper team piled out and took up the standard drill formation waiting for orders.
Laura looked at them and turned to Lord Ytrius. "I hope you don't mind putting up with them. When you've had almost five years of training and other instructions practicaly drilled into you they can be fairly tough to deal with."
Hidden inside the first dropship the three agents sat stealth systems ranging from thermal nulifiers all the way to mental ECM. Their orders were simply to wait until nightfall before they could move.

ooc: Bump.

"I'd rather that you hadn't brought them here, but as they are here we'll have to make the best of it. I can arrange for accomodation for them- I would appreciate it if they did not participate in the talks. Would you care for any refreshment after your journey, or would you prefer to get down to business right away?"

"Well procedure states any commanding officer must have three combat personel at their side at all times during landings on foregin lands. It is punishable by my comand being revoked," Laura said as she looked over the S-Elites, "The other twelve are the search team. I hope your own forces don't have any problems when they are searching for their targets."
She stopped and looked at the pilots who unlike the others had begun to act clearly unprofessional by congrigating around one of the newwer looking fighters and begining to goof off. "Damn flyboys," she muttered before continuing "I'm sure we can get right down to buisness. I'll also have my guards strip down to a less imposing level of equipment. Having armoured bemoths at a diplomatic talk is rather impossing."

"Well, three guards is acceptable. As for the Atlantean search force, they should be arriving..."

A trio of troop carriers rolled to a halt behind him, disgorging twenty-four armed men and women. They formed up into three rows of eight, stood to attention, weapons shouldered. Their faces were expressionless, their eyes staring into the sky like an anti-aircraft battery. It was pure theatre, but impressive theatre.

"They know the city perfectly, so they'll be able to assist your troops. Don't worry, they won't be anywhere near as conspicuous once they get down to business. This way."

He led her into the same room that he had used for Vitae, shutting the door quietly behind them.

"Well, what did you come to speak about?"

"I'm just here to smooth over any ruffled feathers that might have occured. Most people tend to beg for mercy when a ship with the capacity to decimate their civilization appears. When the ship is commanded by a 19 year-old female captian it also tends to result in some unwanted critisim. I'm just trying to make it seem that the armoured leviathan in orbit isn't here to conqure and destroy," she said before giving Vitae the same smile she had given in the message, the sly yet playful one that usualy made people worry.
Behind her the S-Elites now carrying stripped down XR-60 rifles.

Outside the troopers stood waiting for orders before finaly one of the dropship pilots , a master warrent officer, walked over to them and spoke, "Well go search damnit. We got nothing better to do!"

He smiled, and made sure that it reached his eyes.

"Well, thank you for assuring me of that. I was worried, yes, but I saw no reason why we should be attacked. Was that all? I'm sure that you wouldn't have landed just to say that, warship captains are surely busy people after all."

"Well back home the council has been pushing for a expansion and all captains have been placed on orders to assure stellar empires that we arn't invading," she said her voice shifting to a serious tone but reverted to her normla playful one, "And yes normaly we are busy but with shore leave almost impossible to gain it's very useful to use this diplomatic missions for such things."

"Well, thats alright then. At least you aren't going to start another game of verbal chess. Well, I certainly see the attraction of this shore leave. I certainly need a break now and then: if you think running a ship is difficult, try running a country."

He laughed then, meaning it. Governing was certainly a difficult job, but also a rewarding one.

"Still, if our talks are done, would you care for accomodation for the night?"

Inside, he felt somewhat sick. An empire with ships that could probably defeat the entire Taldaani navy, coupled with an expansionist council? They may not wish to invade now, but they would most likely return.

"Ah well I'm to younge to gain any clout in the council or the government. But you havn't had to manage a starship in the midst of a battle that is turning against you. The stress can realy get to you," she said as her eyes could easily show the horors she had seen in combat but she quickly hid the silent outburst and spoke once mroe, "But yes a place to stay would be nice becasue sleeping in a dropship designed to simply drop troops is not exactly pleasent. Though I'm sure you'd want to know more about a nation that can obliterate you and attempt to become allies with it."

ooc: Kazecistan wants a turn!

Ic: Brian was listening to loud music. "Bump ba ch, Bump Bump..."
"Would you turn that down!"
"What?" He screamed back.

Oh dear. Threats. This really wasn't good. Still, it would be best to play along. Humour her. Persuade her not to push that big shiny red button that would turn all he surveyed, plus more, into superheated gas.

"Well, I suppose so. Would trade links and a non-aggression pact be acceptable?"

Laura could see that her words didn't leave little marks, they left big gaping holes. Then again this was a young adult making a natonal leader worry without even meaning to.
"Well I'm sure the council would have prefered total oppression," she said before quickly continuing, "I'm jsut kidding about the oppresion part but I'm sure they would enjoy it." She was quiet for short moment as she let the words sink in, jsut to maximize the effects, before speaking again, "I'm sorry if I seem to be worrying you. I have a habit of toying with people's heads. Still don't know how my parents put up with me. So anyways you want to know anything about my homeland?"

Polaris 1: This is the leader of the Vuhifellian Dropship group, if ground control would be kind enough to direct us as to where to land, that would be helpful.

"Yes, why not? Tell me some basic things about your homeland. I really don't know much about it, having not had much contact."

So, they would enjoy oppressing Taldaan, would they? Well, the only solution would be to make sure that no-one could. Already the fleets in orbit were growing, another two frigates joining the ranks, and the designers churning out schematics for new, more deadly weapons. A lot of money had been poured into arms research, and it was paying off. After all, the scientific principles needed were solidly there. By the time any attack could amass, Taldaan would be ready to fight back. After all, they were surely being underestimated. Rather than not being able to build weapons, they had simply never needed to, and that gave them a better chance of survival. Of course, Ytrius didn't let this show. He knew better than to do that.

_____________________________________

"Polaris, permission granted. Vector and waypoint package uploaded. Please follow all directions carefully, and do not deviate from the course."

"Well let me try and recall my old history class," Laura joked, "Phalanix was formed well over two thousand years ago. Orginaly three provinces from a nation that has long since been forgotten requested atonamy. They recived it from their mothernation and joined together to becoem Phalanix. They quickly advanced through the scientific feilds at a unforseen rate and swiftly a year later invaded their ex-motherland and annex her and it's population. After that it just began to build and build into the stellar empire it is today. Though the fact that we've already reached four billion people who are legal citizens is as astounding as how far we have come. That fact that at one point we had roughly twelve other nations to scared to do a thing. Though when you have a flagship equiped with a doomsday weapon it tends to make things alittle easy."

"Four billion. Certainly an impressive number of people. If you don't mind my asking, how long did it take your ship to jump into our system?"

"Well with rerouting to avoid hazzards and such it took about three days at full speed from Reach Orbital Command. If I'm correct thats about twice as long for a friggate to fold here," she responded quickly already knowing he was attempting to assess the military abilty of the PSN. She decided to lead him on with slight tidbits of information to perk his intrest.

"Well, that would be of great help should we begin trading. Anyway, is there anything else that you feel we should discuss?"

"Well it's all up to you realy. Latter I'll send the requests through for a diplomatic cruiser to be sent here. I'll also send my report to the more sane member of the council just to make things slightly less likely to end up being a full scale war. already got enough fronts to fight on and don't need another," she said before streching and yawning. She had to write three reports already becasue of this little stop and wasn't looking foreward to anymore. "Though I'm sure the Shadow Realm isn't going to be getting bigger for a while."

The Kazeci diplomats woke up and had a very heavy breakfast in the midmorning.

ooc: When is the sun ever going to rise? ;)

"Well, I'm sure that you have other things to do, and I believe that the diplomatic cruiser staff will be able to answer any other questions. I think that we can draw this meeting to a close. Its been very nice talking to you."

ooc: Unless Phalanix thinks of something else for Laura to say, I think that the sun is rising.

ooc: Thank you, I've been a bit jumpy I know, but I don't want to be left out *snivel*

OCC:Well I could ahve Laura say soemthing like "You're demise is at hand." but then again that just means she won't likely leave the planet. But ya she is done I'd say. I'll convert to a better IC post after work

Polaris 1: Roger that ground control, Polaris 1, out! Okay boys, fly in single file line following me, once we reach destination land and open cargo bays to let out the representatives.

All other dropships: Roger that!

*bump*

Steam rose from the landing pad, a side effect of the recent launch of a ship, and it mingled with the early morning mist, shrouding much of the spaceport. Ships buzzed overhead, following the invisible lines that marked the flightpaths out into space. Around two-hundred metres away, the monorail shot like a bullet through the pit dug for it, carrying passengers and cargo towards the nearby city. All around the shops were still lit up from the night, advertising refreshments and small but useful commodities in tastefully small white lights. Atomic toothbrushes, skin repair spray, all the sorts of small items that a person could find useful in flight.

The landing pad was cleared for Polaris 1, engineers and their assistant robots stepping out onto the flagstones around it. It hovered above the pad, like a great bird of prey, then touched down on the energy field above the pad, which then weakened to allow the vessel to touch the floor, absorbing the shock of the landing.

As the representatives stepped out, they were met by one of the younger force users of the order, along with a small group of guards, and were informed that they would have to wait for their talks, but accomodation had been prepared for them.

ooc: Kazecistan, you're on.

ooc: Thank you.

Ic: The Kazeci diplomatic party was still finishing their breakfast when they were informed that it was time. The cheerful group went from talking and laughing to preparing in silence in a matter of seconds. They did not want to keep the most important people of an entire race waiting. They worked quickly and were soon back in full dress uniform, staffs and all, when they departed. It was a silent procession through the city to the meeting place. When they arrived, Daniel asked, "Could you please direct us where to go?" The other two diplomats laughed under their breath at her over polite tone. The 8 soldiers behind them were silent and motionless. Their staffs gleamed in the light as they shifted ever so slightly.

The young law enforcement officer who the visitor had just addressed smiled.

"Yes, I can do that. Follow me."

He led the representatives along corridors, and up a flight of stairs, pointing out interesting things and talking energetically. He gestured a lot as he spoke, and his hands flew manically in front of his body. When they got to the door, he knocked. It was answered by Ytrius himself, who was still slightly tired after his encounter with Laura. At the sight of the diplomats, though, he smiled and motioned for them to come in. With the other hand, he waved the officer away. He silently shut the door, and then invited the visitors to sit down.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long. How are you?"

"We are well, thank you. Your accommodations were quite pleasant and the food was good. And yourself?" Daniel replied, again with the over politeness so common to her.

"Oh, I'm keeping well. Up to my eyebrows in international diplomacy though, which is a whole new experience."

He smiled engagingly.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?"

"The usual, peace, trade, and alliance. We would be very interested in hearing about your culture and society as well, although this is not an official request." Her overly polite manner often lead to people trusting her absolutely as 'she would never lie to me'. And the truth was that she rarely would, but it still made people more at ease around her.

"Well, peace and trade we can certainly do. An alliance, well that we would need more information on.

"Still, you said you wished to learn something of Taldaani culture and society? Well, we're ruled by a council of elected representatives, which certainly slows administration down but seems to work. What few laws there are are enforced by the military, who double as police."

Probably best not to reveal that they have Jedi yet. Its never a good idea to show your hand straight away, and every precaution had been taken to ensure that no clues had been given.

"Our culture is a very tolerant one, with great emphasis on community. Our economy provides what we need, plus a surplus in many areas, as up until now we have been forced to be self-sufficient. For trade, we can sell cargos of advanced medical and FTL communications equipment, as well as luxury goods. Our information technology is also very good.

"Well, unless theres anything else you wish to know about Taldaan, we can get to business."

OOC: Is it too late to join?

OOC: Is it too late to join?

ooc: Nope.

OOC: And the story so far?

OOC: And the story so far?

ooc: Well, reading the thread would have helped with that one.

Long story short, isolated society discovers that they aren't alone in the universe. Sends out omnidirectional FTL signal because they want to talk to nations. Nations arrive. Diplomacy.

"Peace is simple, neither one of us shoots each other and we live happily ever after. Trade is welcome, but I'm afraid our government will not use any technology that is not made by Kazecistan, although we are very open culturally. We would be interested in raw materials and information trade. Other members of The Republic may be willing to trade luxury goods.

Alliance, the main reason we are here. We are part of a grouping of nations called The Republic. We would love for you to join us. Although we would prefer your joining, we are also open to a basic alliance, you having an embassy and us both aiding in each other's defense. I know you have many questions you will want answered before you will commit to something like this, and we are fully prepared to answer them."

ooc: Check out our region, The Republic, we would love to have youRegion's forum (http://s10.invissionfree.com/republic_forum)
Region's websight (http://www.geocities.com/taledonia/title_page.html)

"While your offer of membership in the Republic is certainly kind, I must sadly decline your offer. I do not feel that it would be wise to commit to any one group so early. Your proposal of a simpler agreement, though, is tempting. However, our space fleet is weak beyond mockery, so any mutual defence pact would not be worth the paper it was written on. We are willing to accept embassies, though."

"You would only be required to help if it did not endanger your own nation, and you would benefit from the protection of 17 nations' military, you really can't loose."

ooc: If you set up an embassy, you would really get a section in our forums to post embassy things. Or relation ship could start out small and grow too you know.

"Well, I'll think about it."

"Is there anything else that might hep you make your decision? We would be glad to give you any information you require."

I BUMPed my TV today and busted my toe.

"Actually, there were one or two things I meant to ask. Firstly, does your alliance have any ongoing feuds or poor relations with any other nation or organisation that could transfer onto Taldaan if we were to apply?"

ooc: I'm not joining. While I have high respect for your alliance, ICly I'm not willing to commit yet and OOCly I don't like large alliances.

ooc: That's fine. Oh, and today is my last day to RP for quite a while, so I'll need to make an exit soon.

Ic: "Unfortunately, not all nations in this galaxy are friendly to us. For some it is because they fundamentally disagree with the freedoms our people have, for others, it is simply out of fear of our enemies. Joining us would offer protection, but it would also bring the chance for war. We are willing to die for our cause, but others aren't."

"Well, thats everything I wanted to know. Unless you want to talk about anything else, we can end this meeting. Go in peace."

"Farewell and may this be the beginnings of peace and prosperity between our two peoples." With that they turned and left.

So many people beyond the fringes of Taldaan. So many other people, playing out their lives under alien suns. The old bubble that was the Taldaani domain had been burst in a spray of insubstantial mist, and suddenly the sheltered men and women inside were exposed to a living, breathing, hungering universe. And yet their spirits had not been diminished. They would not retreat under their shell, they would stand tall and radiant in the universe. Life went on. The crops still grew, the stars still shone, the monorails still ran, and there were whole new worlds to explore. New enemies, yes, but also new friends. The communications array would attract both like moths to a flame.

It was early evening, and Ytrius was enjoying a moment of respite. The talks had gone on all day: a punishing schedule. They would continue the next morning, but for now he could relax. Being both head of the Jedi and Chief Councillor was incredibly tiring for him. He had already been warned to cut back by his doctor. However, his mind was still sharp, and his Jedi skills were unparalleled.

Reaching across to the low table, he poured himself a glass of wine. He was not a frequent drinker, none of the Jedi were. But he did enjoy a good vintage occasionally. He took a sip and savoured it on the tip of his tongue, then lay back in his high-backed chair. The cool breeze through the curtains caused him to turn his head, and he noticed the drawing fixed to the wall above the window.

It was a picture of himself, rendered in coloured ink. The arms stuck out at odd angles, and the fingers were ridiculously large, each hand looming larger than the cartoonishly small head apparently grafted onto his stick-like body with no neck or shoulders intervening. His hair seemed to have made a fighting retreat to the top of his head, horrifically mutilating the pursuing ears. His clipped beard and moustache had been transformed into a veritable forest, almost concealing the wicked smile that seemed to snarl beneath. While it was supposed to be an expression of joy, the combination of pointed teeth and ruby-red lips made it appear that he had just feasted upon living flesh. In one hand, the ghastly apparition carried what was just about recognisable as a lightsaber. The other hand was unoccupied, and so it was stuck out at ninety degrees to the body with the fingers splayed. Underneath, in large handwriting, was scrawled Master Ytrius.

He smiled as he saw this. It had been drawn for him by one of his younger students, and given to him as a gift. From that day forward, it had been tacked up in his room, where it made a very nice conversation piece. It was by no means the greatest art known to mankind, but it certainly had a personal touch, and made a nice contrast to the lavishly decorated Council Chambers. After finishing his glass, he lay back in his chair and went to sleep.