NationStates Jolt Archive

"I think it is ready, sir!" Corporal Gharnak swiveled his hoverchair and reported to his commander.

"Thank you, Corporal. Prepare to transmit message." Provost-General Harix quipped.

It must be transmitted at lightspeed he thought. If we use FTLc, then the Machine pickets in the Outside will pick it up. This is an unfortunate circumstance. Hopefully, a friendly organic nation is close. The machines are gone from this sector, for now, so this is as good a chance as any.

The sound of growing power erupted him from his thoughts. The transmission finally was away, on all bands. Hopefully, they would get a response. Hopefully.

Hello to you who are recieving this message. We are the remains of the once flourishing Concordiat. However, the Machines, following that damned leader Thoma, took over. We have retreated to a shielded colony world. Please respond. We want to communicate with the outside world, but machines prevent us. Please send ship, do not send message. Machines will detect.

I hope that's enough...

"Shut the machine down, we can't afford the power. And I am still leery of those things, even if this one isn't intelligent."

"Aye aye, Provost-General"

One of the multitude of scoutships employed by Theao was travelling outside ONI space when it received the message. The pilot decided to go see the callers, the engines flaring as the ship entered hyperspace and headed to the source of the message.

Sergeant Kaa'Nur was asleep when a blaring alarm klaxon awoke him from his dormant state. He opened the capsule/pod, climbing out and over to the machines. He opened his transmitter.

"Provost-General! A ship has been detected! they appear to be organic, and I am lowering the planetary shield to allow him in. Please respond soonest."

Kaa'Nur awaited the response of the PG, for a 28-minute round trip had to be made. He sat, with the shields lowered, waiting for the scout ship to come within hailing range.

The Mifna headed toward the planet where the message had originated, reaching hailing distance within minutes.

Somewhere in the New Territories-

Marshal Shinseki picked up the message. He then said, "Machines, huh?"

He then ordered a Mao Zedong IIa ship, the Toshiro Mifune, to intervene. He gave them the order: "Go to the remnants of ONI Concordiat. Aid the humans in their War of National Liberation. Provide guns and direct fighting. Call if you need help."

The commander of the Mifune agreed, and soon, the ship went into hyperspace.....heading towards the source of the signal.

Kaa'Nur noticed with satisfaction that the scout ship had reached Hailing depth.

Hello. Please come towards the source of this transmission. It is a large orbital fortress around the northwestern quadrant of the planet. A shuttle there will take you to the planet

He rustled his wings, stepping into a shipcar as it slid through the pathways to the docking bay, and awaited his guest.

The Mifna docked with the station. Leon disembarked, "Hello."

Kaa'Nur looked like a bat. Nay, he nearly was a bat. He rustled his folded wings, his huge eyes stared at the human.

They're huge!

"Welcome! Welcome! Please, follow me. My name is Kaa'Nur"
As they walked through the bright-yellow hallways of the fortress, Kaa'Nur babbled.
"Its nice to know the Machines have not made much progress...have you met them? Oh, and we have much to speak about. Would you like a tour of this fortress? Could I get you a drink?..."

They stopped near a large blast door. The yellow door slid aside, revealing a room full of control panels.
"Please excuse me, I must replace the shields," said Kaa'Nur as he tweaked a red ball. The station shuddered for a moment as the energy pulsed through the appropriate circuits. "You must understand, the Machines...never mind. We now will go to the shuttles."

The shuttle was a large conical device near the side of the station. A tube ejected from the station and onto the shuttle. The tube was made for Oraneks, so Leon had to duck. The shuttle rocketed to the surface, landing near a large city.

"Alright." Leon replied observing the little batish creature. "As to meeting the ONI, what you call the machines, we've had contact with them." Leon replied as he ducked down to get through the tunnel.

Kann'Nur sat stunned in the shuttle. After the automatic takeoff, he had begun to wake up a bit.

"You...you...organics....have made contact with the Machines...and you haven't been destroyed? Your military power must be beautiful. If only we had that power six-hundred years ago..."
He burst into tears as the shuttle began to ripple into the atmosphere of the planet. The shuttle flew through the sky, overflying vast, again yellow, domes and spires, until it reached the only cubic building in the city, and the only black one. The shuttle swiveled in midair, dropping lower towards the ground. Upon impact, there was a hissing sound as the door opened. Three Oraneks stood outside, wings unfolded, wearing body armor and clutching weapons in their talons.

"In truth, we have a peace treaty with them." Leon replied, "I take it this is the seat of goverment?" He asked, gesturing to the black cube building.

"A peace treaty?? They would never sign...unless...erm, yes this is the seat of government. Please follow these Guardsmen. They will take you to the Council Chamber"

The armed guards gibbered something in non-human tons and turned. They flew through many hallways, three of them required to carry the human. They landed on a protrusion from the wall. One of them uttered something in gibberish again, and the wall in front of them slid open. Inside were a group of Oraneks. The one at the opposite end of the circle stood.

"Welcome! I am Provost-General Harix. I am happy to see someone got our message...and someone large! This is the Clan Council. Please, you may come sit next to me."

Harix gibbered something, and the guards turned and flew away.

"So, what have we here! A large organic form. Larger than a Zeget! What race do you hail from, Mr...?"

"I'm a human, and my name is Leon Preton." Leon replied as he folded his legs under him to sit beside the 'bat' by the name of Harix.

The cruiser held a flicker on the sensors. For a short period of time, there was a planet where no planet was before. The picket ship, sitting in the Outside, noted the curious sensor glitch for future rectification. As it filed the erroneous datum away, the controlling machine sentience noticed something. The planet was in a location that had previously been a Concordiat world, when corrected for drift.

Not wanting to bother its certainly busy superiors, the cruiser's engines activaded, as did the Slipsystem. As it left Outside and returned to this universe, the picket cruiser activated the Cloaking ECM that it carried.

"So why did you want to talk with other nations?" Leon asked

The cruiser held a flicker on the sensors. For a short period of time, there was a planet where no planet was before. The picket ship, sitting in the Outside, noted the curious sensor glitch for future rectification. As it filed the erroneous datum away, the controlling machine sentience noticed something. The planet was in a location that had previously been a Concordiat world, when corrected for drift.

Not wanting to bother its certainly busy superiors, the cruiser's engines activaded, as did the Slipsystem. As it left Outside and returned to this universe, the picket cruiser activated the Cloaking ECM that it carried.

~A lone corvette class ship drifted in the asteroids on the edge of the system. It was sent to shadow the ONI Concordiat ship, hoping to find a strategic system, but unfortunately it had never gone to any. The crew was always tired when operating in a cloaked ship for so long, it required a lot of sleepless nights to keep the cloak functioning. As stealthily as always, they followed the cruiser as it moved again.~

The Mifune soon dropped within hailing range. Keeping its distance safely, it moved to try and make contact......

"Mr. Preton. Do you understand our history? Us against the machines. The machines are still out there somewhere, and our emmissions will soon reach the
Outside even through the Shield. Thus, the Mechanical picket cruisers will detect this planet, and we would be hard-pressed to fend them off. We are asking all nations for support..."

Just as Kaa'Nur reached his station, it blared with another Hail. He reached out and squelched the alarm.

Hello, Unknown Ship. Please proceed post-haste, as we will drop the Shield to allow you to pass. MAKE SPEED!

Kaa'Nur sat back and thought for a minute before proceeding to the shipcar and the dock.

The cruiser realized the Enemy had dropped its shields. Now was the time to infiltrate! The ECM4 was engaged, masking the ship except direct astern where the drive field still maintained a faint signature. The cruiser moved closer to the planet, taking data and filing it away to send to the Mainframe and the Extermination fleet that would certainly soon reach this planet.

"Why not see about entering peace with the ONI, or travel to a new world." Leon asked

"Mr. Preton. Do you understand our history? Us against the machines. The machines are still out there somewhere, and our emmissions will soon reach the
Outside even through the Shield. Thus, the Mechanical picket cruisers will detect this planet, and we would be hard-pressed to fend them off. We are asking all nations for support..."

Just as Kaa'Nur reached his station, it blared with another Hail. He reached out and squelched the alarm.

Hello, Unknown Ship. Please proceed post-haste, as we will drop the Shield to allow you to pass. MAKE SPEED!

Kaa'Nur sat back and thought for a minute before proceeding to the shipcar and the dock.

The Mifune moved in as the shield dropped, and proceeded to dock.

Out of it, Admiral Janice Yi stepped out, accompanied by a full Marine retinue. She saluted and said, "Comrades, I am Admiral Janice Yi, from the People's Navy of New Dornalia. I come to aid in your War of National Liberation."

"Why not see about entering peace with the ONI, or travel to a new world." Leon asked

"Any movement of ours requires us to enter the Outside, where the Machine picket cruisers constantly exist. And Peace is out of the option. Their "Prime Code" demands that they annihilate all organic life that they come upon which is less powerful than they are. Have you fought them?"

"We have never had to fight the ONI Concordiat." Leon replied

The Mifune moved in as the shield dropped, and proceeded to dock.

Out of it, Admiral Janice Yi stepped out, accompanied by a full Marine retinue. She saluted and said, "Comrades, I am Admiral Janice Yi, from the People's Navy of New Dornalia. I come to aid in your War of National Liberation."

Kaa'Nur greeted them, and recognized them as a powerful military force.
"Welcome to our only world. Your navy is powerful, I trust?...Bah! Never mind, that is matters for the politicians. Follow me." He turned, rustling his wings, and walked down the hall, stopping to return the shield, as before. He neared the shuttle, and stopped. Without a word, he turned down the hallway again and back to the Control Room. "Great Valkha" he whispered.

Below the screen, a red square flashed. "Unknown presence. Matches Generation Four Machine ECM. Cloaked ship undetectable."

The alarm sounded. "Please excuse me...you would like to get to your ship quickly. There is a Machine presence somewhere nearby. We must destroy it."

Back on the planet, Harix was about to ask a question when an alarm sounded. Gibberish echoed through the halls, and Harix stood. He yelled incoherently, then spoke standard English. "Leon, you may want to find a ship. There is a Machine presence near the Orbital Weapons Platform."

The sentience controlling the cruiser noticed the heightened awareness. The Shield was back on as well, and the cruiser was distressed. It had enough data, of course, but the giant weapons station was powering up, and the Slipsystem drives on the cruiser were not powered, since the ECM4 had drained most of the power.

Point-defense turrets rotated out from in the hull of the ship, and main armament came online. Missile pods rotated from the hull as well, and the ship prickled with deadly spines. It would fight to the death, or until its generators regained the power from the ECM4. The cruiser dropped cloak, swiveled towards the station, and loosed a salvo of Capital-class bombardment missiles.

Kaa'Nur greeted them, and recognized them as a powerful military force.
"Welcome to our only world. Your navy is powerful, I trust?...Bah! Never mind, that is matters for the politicians. Follow me." He turned, rustling his wings, and walked down the hall, stopping to return the shield, as before. He neared the shuttle, and stopped. Without a word, he turned down the hallway again and back to the Control Room. "Great Valkha" he whispered.

Below the screen, a red square flashed. "Unknown presence. Matches Generation Four Machine ECM. Cloaked ship undetectable."

The alarm sounded. "Please excuse me...you would like to get to your ship quickly. There is a Machine presence somewhere nearby. We must destroy it."

Back on the planet, Harix was about to ask a question when an alarm sounded. Gibberish echoed through the halls, and Harix stood. He yelled incoherently, then spoke standard English. "Leon, you may want to find a ship. There is a Machine presence near the Orbital Weapons Platform."

Admiral Yi went, "Very well. We shall deal death to the Oppressor."

She went back to her ship. She then told the crew, "Helmsman, power the Warp Cannons and the Anaconda Torpedo Launchers. Prime the People's Hammer Torpedoes. And get the Amethyst Detectors working-we've got nuts to punch."

The orders relayed, the ship began moving out. All over, Red Alert was sounded, crewmen reported to their stations, and Gracie, the ship's AI, began to crunch numbers and run firewalls to prevent hacking. The Super Warp Cannon began to spring to life.....

Meanwhile, a crewman said, "Admiral, torpedoes, incoming!"

Admiral Yi yelled, "Full power to shields!"

"Yes'm!"

The Shields went up.....

"Why don't you ask for a chance to parley before you attack." Leon replied

The OWP shuddered under the missile impacts. The shield held, and a return bombardment of SBMs erupted from the fortress. Antimatter warheads flailed against the OWP's shielding, but the point-defense came online and destroyed half of the remaining missiles.

Kaa'Nur ran through the hallways, starting up systems and waking crew members. They scampered through the hallway, missile pods opening fire and energy weapons waiting their turn to fire. The lights flickered, and a cry of distress was heard. It was fear. Fear of what had happened to Sol III when the nanobots harvested the slagged planet for metal. Fear of their atoms making up the armor plate on another Machine ship.

Harix turned to Leon. "Parley is out of the question with these Machines! Don't you realize that!"
Three Guardsmen swooped and gripped Leon, bringing him out to a waiting strikefighter. They gibbered at him, then turned and flew back inside the black cube.

Leon glanced at the fighter, seeing the fact that he wouldn't fit, nor could make heads or tails of the controls. "Anyways," he said to the disappeared bats, "I won't be responsible for breaking the peace."

The cruiser's point-defense took a horrible toll of the SBM missiles, but they were not nearly enough. Missiles slammed through the cruiser's shields, their antimatter warheads damaging the generator via overload. The remaining missiles impacted the cruiser's hull, and it writhed, flaming. The sentience ripple fired all of the missiles on the hull, but the ship was a broken wreck. The missiles, without guidance, spiraled out of control into space.

OOC: It was a cruiser. What do you expect? Now, wait until I come with monitors.

EDIT:

Admiral Yi noticed the back and forth salvos, and decided to go into action.

"Start scanning for others. Amethysts at full."

The Amethysts began scanning for more cloaked ships....

OOC: Slow up, some, will ya? I'm finding it hard to catch up.

Leon began heading back into the building.

ooc: is it still possible to join?

~A small blip on any well maintained sensor screen would pick up the small window as the corvette jumped system. It was the perfect opportunity for a small skirmish fleet to destroy the next machine fleet, thereby distabilizing the power structure across the sector. All a part of the plans.~