NationStates Jolt Archive

Funny isn’t it. The greatest of evils can just pop out of nowhere, an accident, a misconception or even a misplaced calculation can cause the deaths of billions. The greatest and kindest of Empires can, unknowingly obliterate entire species, while the malevolent and tyrannical regimes can purposefully destroy.

Such is the way of life, accidents do, can and most assuredly will happen no matter how carefully they are avoided, and fate, fate always tips the balance.

Super Star Destroyer Executor ~ Day One

Darth Maleficum looked through the bridge windows bewildered. “Captain?” He asked politely. “Where is my burning planet? And where is my BATTLEGROUP?” The Sith lord turned back towards the view port. “ I just don’t get it? WHERE IS MY FLEET!” Working himself into a rage the bridge started to shake, with bulkheads creaking under the strain of the Lords anger.

“My Lord, it appears that the planet and fleet has indeed disappeared.”

Maleficum titled his head towards two storm troopers. “Kill him. Kill him NOW!” With little encouragement the soldiers advanced upon their captain, after a short muffled scream the lifeless body was removed from the command centre. “Now.” Maleficum shook his hands, with a quirky smile. “Can anyone please tell me what I don’t know?”

“My Lord, I believe you may wish to know this.” The newly promoted Captain Cyrus interjected. “We are still detecting one Balroggan vessel in our vicinity, it’s their command carrier Admiral.”

“What kind of devilry have these Godulans worked up now?”

“I find it hard to believe that this is Godulan doing my Lord, after all their world was awash in flames.”

“Open a channel to our ally, their sensors are more adept than ours, perhaps they have more information?”

Admiral Ga’Ton, as you are no doubt aware it seems there has been an immediate alteration in our circumstances, primarily the disappearance of our battlefleets, and our targeted planet. Perhaps you can shed some light on the situation?”

“Any reply from The Shiva?”

“None my Lord, they may have sustained damage in the assault, shall I take us closer?”

The Sith master turned with cold precision. Order the gunners to their posts and take us to docking range. There may be treachery afoot….”

A few minutes later Admiral Ga’Ton entered the bridge of the SSD. The guards stationed on the bridge jumped to defend their Lord but they were staggered by a mental blast that reminded them what the Admiral was. They looked toward Darth Maleficum wondering what to do. Ga’Ton alone entered the bridge while his escort remained in the hallway for his command.

“What the hell happened here? I was transporting between ships when everything went bizarre. The remains of the Thorn system disappeared with the rebel fleet. Where did our fleet disappear to?”

The Ta’Nar walked over to the screen and looked out for a second before turning to the bridge crew; his eyes were taking on a distinct red glow.

“Where the hell did my ships go? Was there any readings on the weapon they used?”

“N-N-No, there were no readings.”

The bridge officer looked fearfully over to his Lord. Darth Malefictum was not pleased he answered Ga’Ton’s question. The sensor technician fell to the floor screaming, clutching his head while blood trickled out his eyes and ears. His screams became more intense and he stopped moving aside from a couple twitches.

“I demand obedience among my crew. Failure means death.”

Ga’Ton walked over to a counsel and laid his hands upon the now abandoned station. Red fire flared from his eyes and his mind merged with the electronics before him. He carefully went through the logs for the past few minutes finding the sudden disappearance of all the other ships. He then compared all the other sensors to the exact moment. He took the results and relayed them to The Overmind, the AI running The Shiva. Through The Overmind, he compared his sensor logs.

Pulling his consciousness out of the machine, he began cursing.

“God damn piece of junk! What good are sensors aboard the two most advanced ships in the Quadrant if they cannot even detect what happened? I even have reports our Space Minus Transmitter is not picking up any signals from the Homeworld or any of the Protectorates. That is physically impossible. Someone would have to take out the entire Empire in seconds for that to happen. The communication is instantaneous so there is not any possibility of signal delay. There has to be another answer. Until we find it I say we celebrate with a Victory Toast, Balrogga style.”

Darth Malefictum was intrigued. He had never participated in the Balroggan Victory Toast. The ritual was very private and to be invited was a great honor.

“Yes, let the technicians work on our problem and earn their pay. Meanwhile we will retire to my ready room.”

“Excellent my brother in arms, that is private enough for our purposes.”

As he followed Darth Malefictum, he signaled the escort to follow him, remaining the prescribed distance behind them. The Sith Lord lead them across the bridge into a well fortifies room. After Ga’Ton’s escort entered, the doors slid quietly shut, sealing the chamber.

The Sith Lord sat at his desk, for the first time looking at the three individuals who escorted Ga’Ton. They wore the faceless robes of the Balrogga Ta’Nar, their elite psi troops. The black robes hid all their features until not even gender was apparent. They appeared to be living shadows, except for the slight red glow through the hood where their eyes would be. The Third was an obvious human but Darth Malefictum could feel an uneasy presence from him. He was dressed in a tattered uniform of a high ranking Triad officer. There was a helmet of some sort locked over his head.

“Well, we caught this person when we raided one of the orbital stations not long before everything disappeared. We found him doing some pretty despicable things to some of your troops. The ones that survived were returned to you when I came over. We interrogated him and broke his mind. He didn’t have much when we found him but we copied everything back to his childhood. My experts are currently going through it at this very moment. We are also interrogating some other prisoners we captured. I will see to it that you get a copy of all the information we can squeeze out of their minds.”

The smile on Ga’Ton’s face chilled Darth Malefictum. Here was one of the few beings who were near to being equal to him. He was still curious as to the identity of the helmed prisoner.

As it appears, we have no use for him any longer. There are not any of the Godular forces left within sensor range, nor the Thorn system. We have absolutely no use for him.”

Ga’Ton motions toward one of the figures. The robed figure reached up and unlocked the helmet, removing it from the prisoner. Underneath was a man that could almost be called bestial. He was whispered about among the empire as the Force Eater. He could and took great pleasure in devouring the Force from his prisoners. He was hated among all who used The Force. Darth Malefictum now understood the uneasy feeling he felt from the prisoner.

“I think you recognize our little prison boy. We felt you would appreciate witnessing the end to one of the Triad Leaders. He was very irritated when he was captured. It seems his little tricks don’t work on Psions, only Force users. He was quite powerless against us. As a matter of fact, it was pitifully easy to nab him.”

Ga’Ton turned to the guards.

“Prepare him.”

The two shadows forced him to sit in a chair and then bound him. One kept control of his body while the other made sure the bindings were intact. From an ornate box Darth Malefictum hadn’t noticed the pair retrieved two rune covered copper chalices. They then approached the prisoner and began chanting the Ceremony of the Victory Toast. One of them slipped into the mind of the prisoner, holding his consciousness in a tight grasp so he would not pass out while the other produced a ceremonial blade. He carefully made two cuts and began to drain the blood from the Godular prisoner into the two chalices. The awareness of what was happening was clear in his eyes as he watched his life’s blood drain into those two chalices.

The two chalices were taken to Ga’Ton and Malefictum. The attendant kneeled and offered them both to Ga’Ton who ceremoniously accepted them. He offered one to the Sith Lord who slowly accepted it.

“You must drink deeply and finish it while it is still warm. The blood carries the essence of the foe. He is being kept aware of what is happening so he will see us as we devour his life’s blood and his very soul. Then and only then will he be allowed to die. That is the Victory Toast, the devouring of your foe. Now, drink of his life so you know yours will last longer than his.”

Ga’Ton took his chalice and raised it to his lips. He could taste the warm saltiness of the thick red fluid as it flowed down his throat. Along with it there was a feeling, an energy present that invigorated his being. He looked deeply into the eyes of his fallen foe as he drained his chalice. He could see the hatred in the shivering form. The despair slowly creeping into his eyes. The fear already rooted within his face. The hatred locked within the jaw. The doom within his falling shoulders as the weakness slowly overcame his bloodless form. He could feel the heart slowing as his life was consumed.

As Darth Malefictum finished his goblet, Ga’Ton gave his two servants a mental signal. They finished the Ceremony and the last bit of intelligence faded from the now lifeless body. The feeling continued to course through the body of the Admiral.

“His life energies are now yours to command. You now have the ability to devour The Force from your enemies much like he did but reduced in power since we both partook of his Essence. Use it on his comrades once we locate them. It is fitting we use their friends ability against them.”

One last act of defiance by the prisoner, a gurgling voice that chuckles at them and says "You think you had the Warlord? You THINK you had the great Maximillian? *gurgling chuckle* You KNOW nothing! Let that blood feed you, it is a pittance, it will FADE."

"I am... an... avataaaaarrrrrrrr..."

Suddenly the Comm unit signaled an incoming message.

“Another damn interruption.” Maleficum sighed. “Well…. What is it?”

“Sorry my Lord, the Shiva has sent a message for their Admiral. They say it is urgent.”


EDIT: changes requested by Godular done

tag.

“Admiral, we have finished running the sensor logs through the Overmind. After a complete scan of the area and triple checking the results, the AI has determined there is nothing wrong with the area we are in. The problem is with us.”

Admiral Ga’Ton walked over to the Comm unit to hear better.

“What do you mean the problem is with us?”

“Well, after running a thorough analysis of the sensors we have determined the ships underwent a W-Axis shift.”

Ga’Ton’s eyes narrowed at this news. Darth Malefictum looked puzzled.

“What degree was the shift?”

“According to Overmind, it was a shift of -257.43.”

“Dammit, is there any way to correct the shift?”

“Not without knowing how it happened. Admiral, there’s more…”

Ga’Ton leaned one hand against the wall and clutched hid brow with the other.

“What is it now…”

“Overmind also noticed the Quantum signature of our ships is different from the hydrogen gas surrounding the area. This means we were also displaced in some other way.”

“Will the difference in Quantum Signatures harm us in any way?”

“He says it will not. Out signature will adapt to the area. Within a few days it should not be noticeable or detectable.”

Darth Malefictum interrupted.

“What does it mean?

Admiral Ga’Ton turned to the Sith Lord and explained.

“The W-Axis shift is a change in the 4th dimension, or Time. A negative shift of 257.43 means we got shoved backwards almost 260 years.”

“But what are these Quantum signatures thingies?”

“Well, every bit of matter in the universe carries a certain identical Quantum signature right down to the Superstring level. If the signatures don’t match, then that means we are in a different universe from where we were. That is what happened to our fleets. We moved somehow.”

The technician on the other end of the Comm link interrupted.

“Overmind suggests it was from some undetectable anomaly. There is no reason for this to occur naturally unless it was caused by the battle. That is doubtful but a remote possibility.”

Ga’Ton looked the Sith Lord in the eye, as if to determine his reaction to the findings.

“Well, Malefictum, it means we are a long way from home so we better make the best of the situation. We need to find an area to make a powerbase so we can set ourselves up as a power. We need to make ourselves a safe harbor.”

The Sith Lord turned and nodded his agreement. “Sssssuplies, is the firsssssst thing on my mind Admiral. My ssssssship alone holds almost three quarters of a million crewmen, we could probably ssssssurvive eight to ten weeks without additional ssssssuplies.” The slurs had appeared almost from nowhere, with no one indigenous from the Imperial vessel realising the apparent change. “I will order my crew to begin ssssssscans for the nearessst habited world.” The sentence had an odd feeling of finality around it. “Until then, I suggessssssst that you return to your ship admiral. Until we can find a sssssolusssssion….”

Maleficum looked inwards, he finally noticed the slur in his voice, but what was causing it? The dark Lord felt different somehow, his power, the force was odd, he…felt, no he knew that the fabric of this reality was changed, it was somehow inconsistent, but yet, overwhelming. This, the emperor had not prepared him for.

“Once we have found the nesssssesary world, I will communicate you Admiral, until then……”

Ga’Ton looked puzzled at Maleficum. Something was not right and if he was trapped here with the Imperials, he will figure out if it was going to be a problem.

“I agree. I will return to The Shiva and conduct our own scans. If we are both searching then we can find something faster. Contact me when you find something.”

Ga’Ton turned and walked off the command deck, returning to his shuttle with his escort. Once reaching it, he quickly disembarked and returned to The Shiva. Within minutes he was entering the bridge of his ship, issuing commands to his crew.

“I want a complete sensor scan of our friend’s ship. Compare it with the records from before the Event. Something is happening to them and I want to know about it before they do. Establish a Core Tap on their computer system. Don’t use mundane means, use the Ta’Nar. I don’t want anything detectable or traceable. Also scan outwards for a source of supplies or any world we can use as a base of operations. Our friends are supposed to be doing the same thing. I want it to look like we are also scanning for systems to cover our real scans. Keep an eye on our internal systems. If there are any deviations I want to be notified immediately. We don’t know how this new universe will treat us. Feed all the data through Overmind.”

Ga’Ton was answered by several “Yes Sir’s”.

“Overmind?”

“Yes Admiral?”

“I want to be notified immediately when you determine the results of any of the scans.”

“Yes Admiral, Your wish is my Command.”

“I’ll be in my quarters. Notify me immediately of any changes in status.”

Ga’Ton left the bridge.

Later, Ga’Ton received a message from the bridge.

“Sir, sensors have detected three targets. Two agriculture colonies and a mining colony in sector 2435-4352-3341-9447.”

“Security profile?”

“Poorly defended. From our scans they don’t even pose a risk. The mining colony would be the toughest. Their equipment might be converted into some sort of make-shift weapon to be used against us. Overmind rates them at a combined risk factor 2, 3 if they can convert some of those mining bots to an offensive usage.”

“Are the calculations including the addition of the SSD?”

Overmind, the ship’s AI answered for the harried bridge crewmember.

“Negative Captain, I only used our resources in the calculations. I am not yet sure of the Executor’s intentions so I took the worse case scenario as the operation being a solo venture.”

“Hmmmm, Transport the data to the Executor. How are the results of our scans on their ship?”

“I am still compiling the data. I will have a report for you as soon as it is ready.”

“Good, keep monitoring all situations and notify me if there is any change in any of them.”

Ga’Ton studied all the data upon those three targets just waiting for The Shiva to arrive, bringing a new dawn to their meager existence.

“Send a couple Class III probes to each colony world. I want to know everything we can about them.”

“Yes Sir. The probes have been launched.”

Several small objects flew through the emptiness of space headed towards the three target worlds. Within moments after leaving The Shiva, they engaged their Stealth Packages and went invisible to just about every known sensor. The spheres entered their respective target’s area and slowed down as they came within range. Each probe perched within the gravitational fields of their respective world and began to transmit their data through Space Minus to Overmind aboard The Shiva. Within minutes, Overmind would be getting a clear idea what is happening in and about each probe, out to several light seconds.

“Sir, the results are in from the probes send to the three colonies.”

“Send the data to my Neurolink.”

“Yes Sir.”

Alpha Colony had a small population and appears to be relatively new, only about 5 to 10 years old, judging by the state of construction and the limited pattern of sprawl. The buildings in the two centers of populations appeared to be pristine and suffered no erosion from the weather. The starport appeared to be fully functional but small. A few vessels seemed to use the planet but mostly it remained somewhat isolated.

Beta Colony contained much urban sprawl, indicating a much longer history. There was extensive surface traffic, as well as space freighters. The starport was busy and large. There were signs of erosion upon the buildings but there were also signs of it being repaired. This colony was several decades old and appeared to be the point of origin for the others in the area.

Gamma Colony was dingy and in disrepair. The space port was large but several of the docks appeared to be malfunctioning and not used. He entertainment bands carried violent gladiatorial games overlaid with subliminal messages designed to keep the workers in line. It was easily apparent the entire colony was being run by several corporations who took advantage of those sent there. There were no private ships in orbit, only freighters bearing one of four or five corporate logos. The atmosphere clearly was polluted and nothing was being done about it.

Ga’Ton carefully studied the data. He examined the defense grid employed by Beta Colony. It was extremely inferior and in disarray. The defenses of The Shiva could easily handle the maximum output of the entire system without being close to dangerous levels. It would fall within minutes to her fighters. Taking over the three worlds would not be a problem. Controlling them would be another matter entirely.

Ga’Ton needed the raw materials to begin building a fleet. He needed to construct shipyards and get the materials needed to them. He needed advanced robotics and crew to build the ships and to man them after they were completed. Granted, he could use the automatics on the carrier to build a few frigates but nothing larger. He needed workers and the means to feed them.

An idea came to him and he thought about it. The idea slowly formed into a plan as he compared different data from each world.

Ga’Ton used his Neurolink to contact the bridge.

“I want a meeting in my War Room in 30 minutes. Make sure everyone is there.”

He then continued to examine the data as it updated with the latest scans. As the minutes ticked away, he was becoming more sure his plan would work.

In time, something strange has occurred within the massive hypermatter reactor chambers of the Super Star Destroyer. At first, it wasn't very noticable. Then engineers noticed something odd, something...disastrous and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The hypermatter reactor detonated before they could warn the Sith Lord. But it wasn't a normal detonation. In fact, it was collapsing in on itself, taking the behemoth with it within a few short moments. Within five minutes of detonation, it became a black hole, crushing all hands in a horrifying fate that befalls all who gets sucked into such singularities. In a thousand years, the black hole would then travel to a local system and swallow an unsuspecting civilization just beginning its space program, becoming a hazard to space travellers who stumble upon it.

Such an ignomious fate for a self-proclaimed Sith Lord!

Deep within the bulk of The Shiva, one of the Ta’Nar assigned to “watch” the crew aboard The Executor noticed a presence on the fringe of her awareness. Curious, she created another tendril and slithered it into his mind.

She immediately became aware of the jumbled mess of thoughts contained within. During her training she had to be able to navigate the mind of those who were driven mad. This person was stark raving mad. All he did in his personal thoughts is repeat the phrase “I fixed it, now we can all be one”. She urged her probe deeper until she could access his memories. She could see him working at a consol. After studying the distorted image, she could finally make out the words “Hypermatter Reaction Chamber” on one of the display screens.

After a few moments, she suddenly felt goosebumps flash across the skin of her clone body aboard The Shiva. She immediately sent a requisitioning thought to her immediate superior.

“Master, I detected erratic thoughts while scanning the crew. I followed the thoughts and found something in his mind that leads me to believe there is something wrong with their engines. I am sending the memories.”

She felt the message leave and went back to her scans. She noticed many of the other crew acting irrational and included that in her report.

Her supervisor received the report telepathically, reviewed it, and sent orders to the Ta’Nar scanning the ship and to Overmind itself. After a few seconds, several incoming reports also indicated severe irrational thought patterns among the crew of The Executor. This data he also relayed to Overmind for a final report to Ga’Ton.

“Captain, I have determined a crisis aboard The Executor. It seems the Quantum Signature Imbalance has caused a sort of lunacy aboard the ship. Several of the crew are behaving irrationally without their noting. One of the crew, an engineer, has locked their engines into a disastrous implosive countdown. He then set the controls on random codelock so there is basically no way to change the settings.”

“What? Show me the details.”

Overmind relayed the results of the scan to Ga’Ton’s Neurolink. He studied them for a couple seconds.

“Use the Cutters to remove the engines from the ship. We can save the crew.”

“Negative Admiral. Their power structure is controlled by Nodes. These Nodes are the only thing keeping the reaction chambers from imploding. Their shields are interfering with any attempts to transfer crew over. We have no way to save them. They are not even answering any of our attempts to tell them of their danger. We cannot save them.”

“Dammit! Why do they have to use such a stupid backwards design? Download all the data you can from their Main Core. We can’t save them but we can save their knowledge.”

“Yes Sir, downloading…”

A few minutes later the ship suddenly began to radiate light as its molecules were crushed together. The ship fell into itself and everything disappeared into a black mass of gravity.

The Shiva lay within the deep expanse of space. Outside her hull and the shields generated by her Mirage Drives howled a maelstrom of berserk gravitational eddies left over from the implosion of the SSD Executor. Sciences Department was studying the entire phenomena so they could learn more about the nature of the Unified Sith’s drive engines. The knowledge that might have helped save the crew from being compressed into a one dimensional state along with their ship was carefully gathered and archived for later study.

The emergency download of the ship’s core was also archived. Study of that data would take precedence over the data from the implosion. It was doubtful they would need to stop another SSD from imploding before they had time to finish with the Core.

Putting thoughts of the SSD crew behind him, Ga’Ton began to assess his plan concerning the three colonies. He was lucky they were on the edge of his long range scanners otherwise the incident with the SSD would have alerted them something was going on.

“Helm, Uplift The Shiva and take us within 1 light hour of the closest colony. Keep us Uplifted so they do not know we are here. We are about to begin Phase 1.”

The Shiva waited near the mid-point between the three colonies. On the bridge, the crew was still busy following the orders left by Ga’Ton.

The Communications Officer monitored the Data Feed signal strengths from the sensor probes surrounding their three targets and relayed it to Overmind. The Officer in charge of Security was busy directing the construction of the three Frigates the Admiral wanted. He coordinated the crew and the computers in the precise constructions of the ships. The Replicators were working overtime producing the components for the ships. Normally only one was constructed utilizing the entire complement of Construction Replicators. The Admiral wanted all three ASAP so each berth was using part of the system to get all three done.

Ga’Ton sat in his quarters keeping tabs on everything using his Neurolink. He also was in contact with Overmind using his CyberPsi.

“Overmind, have you determined why the crew of The Executor went mad?”

“I believe so Admiral. After examining their medical records we were able to get from the Core Dump, it seems there was a genetic anomaly that they possessed which only surfaced when their quantum signature was out of phase with the rest of the space around themselves. Their senses were being distorted by the differences between the two signatures. As the ship slowly acclimated and changed, the differences became more intense. This caused an overload in their sensory perception areas of their brains. They were seeing and experiencing delusions without their minds even knowing. The unbalances that resulted would eventually affect every person aboard that ship, all 100,000 of them.”

“Monitor all crew aboard The Shiva for any similar problems.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. The clone bodies you and the rest of the crew use are all without imperfections. Their problem was caused by a genetic flaw. It is better they perished because it would have been too difficult to control them without hindering our actions.”

“Hmmm… Just to be safe, pass the order for all crewmembers to place their bodies in stasis pods and use their true forms, they don’t exist physically for a quantum signature to affect. As far as your evaluation of the Executor crew, I agree with you. They would have become a liability which we cannot afford. How much of their Core did we get?”

“We were able to get an estimated 76%, chiefly their navigation, medical, and some of their engineering files. There are some interesting files in that last bunch, namely some of their weapon specs but a number of the research files are incomplete or fragmented. It will take a bit to determine if there is anything we might gain from them that we already can’t do. I will keep you informed.”

“Good, what do you think of the Plan?”

“I have analyzed it and it is quite feasible as long as we are not discovered before the critical juncture. According to the data we have gathered, they are quite primitive technologically and we don’t have to worry about them discovering us while Uplifted but they might detect the energy spikes when the frigates Emerge. They would have to be extremely lucky because the only equipment they have that might detect the spike is aboard those orbital defense platforms. They are pointed the wrong way and according to the scans, they are non-functional in their current condition. They would have to turn them planetward and get them operational before we have to begin being concerned. The Ta’Nar also will have to be careful how and who they influence.”

“When will the Frigates be ready for launch?”

“Final construction will be finished in a few hours, about 22:00 hours. The Crew is going through their mission briefing as we speak. They will be ready about 21:00. This will allow them to have time to integrate themselves with the Frigate’s systems before they are launched. Everything is going smoothly.”

“Good, we need their industrial base for both the shipyards and the agricultural. Well, actually we only need the mining colony but they need to be supported by the agricultural colony. Before, they would be used to support the crew of The Executor but we no longer have to worry about that problem.”

“Yes Admiral, they did themselves in at a most opportune moment. If it were to happen in the middle of the Operation, they would have blown everything.”

“We were lucky I noticed their strange behavior when I was over there.”

“We certainly were, Admiral. I don’t know if possessing any of the local natives would result in a similar problem. It would be prudent to take samples but I believe the Ta’Nar lack of dependence upon physical form would insulate you from anything like that. None the less, it would be wise to take precautions and establish lifelines with those on the Frigates.”

“That’s a good recommendation. See to it.”

“Yes Sir. It will be my pleasure.”

Later that day the Shiva waited in T-Space while three frigates left her forward launch bays. The ships turned towards their individual targets and rapidly moved away from the Mothership. Each approached one of the colonies and waited in orbit, its sensors peering through T-Space into Real Space looking deep underground. They were looking for an underground cavern that the bulk of the frigate would fit without being too far away or too close to their targets. Once locating one, the frigate moved into position, aligning itself with the opening before Emerging from T-Space. The ship faded into existence and landing struts materialized as the armor adjusted itself to provide the stable platform for the ship to rest. The frigate landed and cut power. The Stealth Programs worked to mask their signature from detection as several Ta’Nar silently left the ship.

The Ta’Nar floated up through the ceiling like ghosts, their immaterial forms offering no resistance to the bedrock above the ship. They continued to move upwards towards the population of the colonies. Their missions clearly within their minds, they searched for the minds that would be useful. Upon locating one, a Ta’Nar trailed its quarry until it was able to find its unsuspecting target. They attached themselves to the target’s mind and then began to subtly affect their thoughts and prejudices.

Their goal was breed resentment in the mining and agricultural colonies toward the main colony. They were to think they were being used and pitted against each other so the companies could profit from their misery. The main colony would see the other colonies as being insubordinate and attempting to break free. They would all distrust each other very soon.

Soon it would be time for Phase Three.

Several Ta’Nar infiltrated the Colonial Military Forces, taking control of some of the patrol ships as well as key personal in the defense grid and command structure. They continued to feed paranoia to the pilots flying patrols as well as to governmental figures. Several fighters disappeared in the vicinity of the “troublesome colonies” without a trace.

The crew ended up in the labs of The Shiva sharing the fate of their spacecraft as they were dissected to see how they worked. A genetic flaw was discovered and a viral outbreak developed and introduced into the smaller colonies, along with rumors of a corporate conspiracy behind the plague. Nobody died from the sickness because the workers were needed, but they were completely incapacitated. A few colonists were infiltrated into the headquarters of three of the largest corporations, causing panic as a form of the virus designed to die out quickly spread. This was to further make close contact undesirable and to make the Outer Colonies think the companies had a cure.

A few freighters disappeared. Fragments left behind showed signs of Colonial Military Weapon signatures. Several of the freighter captains began to arm themselves with black market weapons in an attempt to protect themselves from the military. Only a few independents would deal with the Colonial Corporate Government, instead they took their ships to the other Outer Colony, establishing an informal blockade of the main colony out of fear of their ships being fired upon. The Corporate Freighters were the only ones traveling safely between the Outer Colonies and the main one.

It was about this time the corporate freighters started being attacked by an unknown enemy. The ships would strike the slow ships attempting to cause fear and loss of cargo, but not to kill. They needed witnesses to carry word back to the corporations. Soon their freighters were being escorted by patrol craft, further making the outer colonist enraged.

They were furious about the military craft around their colony, seeing it as an attempt to enforce the corporate manipulations. They responded by rioting against anyone who represented the Colonial Governments or Companies. Several people were injured before the corporate freighters returned to their companies without their cargo unloaded. Martial law was declared against the Outer Colonies to establish order and peace. Under the manipulation of the Ta’Nar, this further enraged the colonies causing revolt to be whispered.

Each of the two Outer Colonies knew they would not be able to stand alone against the government so they banded together. This allowed them to provide the resources each had in abundance but the other lacked: food and materials. The Companies controlled the flow of supplies and profited from them richly. They saw this alliance as an attempt to ruin them. They pressured the Colonial Government to step up their military actions by bribes and lobbying the government.

The Ta’Nar quietly returned to their waiting ships. The Frigates rendezvoused with The Shiva and waited for the right time. The Shiva retreated beyond the range of the colonies sensor network and waited.

Just before the forces would clash, The Shiva Emerged from T-Space and began to approach the colonies, making sure they were noticed.

This startled both sides and they held back, watching the newcomers approach. The Shiva and her three escort frigates approached the mid-point of the colonies and stopped. Several of the embroiled forces decided upon a cease fire until this new twist could be figured out. They slowly approached the alien ships, watching for treachery from both the aliens and those they were ready to kill.

As the ships approached The Shiva, the Frigates escorted the representatives into the flight deck of The Shiva. They docked in their berths while the colonists landed upon the wide flight deck. Awaiting the colonists were hundreds of Ta’Nar masked in images of angelic beings they plucked earlier from the minds of their captives. Every Ta’Nar was instructed to project these images resulting in what the colonists would perceive as their Heavenly Host arriving at their darkest hour to save them.

Ga’Ton approached the ships of the colonists and waited for them to exit. When they did, he spoke to them using his mind to project a calming voice they could hear.

“Greetings, my Children. We are here because we sensed you needed us. We have stopped your war by our very presence and we wish to bring you peace and prosperity. We wish to lift you up to the stars. We want you to make peace with your brothers and sisters. We will cure your ailments and make both your bodies and souls whole again. We wish you to become our Childer and to take you to the stars. Go back to your worlds and discuss it with your leaders. We will wait here to hear from you.”

The ships returned to their worlds carrying the message from Ga’Ton.

The Outer Colonies quickly accepted the invitation once the plague was cured. They threw in their lot with the Heavenly Host and began to help each other. The Ta’Nar began to show them small technological breakthroughs that allowed their agriculture and processing industries to become more productive. They were inoculated against many of the incurable diseases that afflicted them and the lives of the Outer Colonies improved greatly.

The Colonial Government, backed by the corporations refused the invitation. They saw the heavenly host as interlopers who were stealing the icing off their cake, along with the cake. They refused to give up their slice of the profits and wanted everything for themselves. The government met in a closed session for a whole week debating whether to accept or deny the offer. Word of the debate spread across the planet like wildfire and many of the citizens escaped to the Outer Colonies during the week long deliberation. When the denial was sent to The Shiva, it was delivered by a fleet of warships.

Ga’Ton sent a message to all three colonies.

“Gaminies and Ferous have both chosen to accept our invitation. Corruunigon has not only decided to reject it, but they send a war fleet to deliver their own message. They wish us to leave our Children. They want to take our Children away from us, those who willingly accepted us. Corruunigon has turned from Father and we denounce them as heretics. They are corrupt and decedent. They must be cleansed of their treachery and sent back to Father to be remade, hopefully their souls will be sent back to be born as our children.”

Upon hearing these words, the entire fleet opened fire upon The Shiva. They poured everything they had on the lone ship, the frigates being docked in their berths. The Outer Colonies rushed to assist their new allies against their old enemies. Ga’Ton stopped them with a message.

“Please do not dirty your hands with these. It is our duty to punish those who turn away from Father. We must protect you from harm. Please stay back.”

Suddenly purple beams of energy swept across the fleet, leaving behind shredded ships and bodies. The beams criss-crossed through the fleet, slicing the ships into two meter cubes. After a few moments, there was silence as The Shiva remained unharmed amid a sea of wreckage. Several spheres of light appeared and coalesced into screaming pits of blackness as singularities formed to clean up the mess, leaving nothing behind to show the fleet ever existed.

“Follow us to Corruunigon so you may save those who would be willing to follow you into safety before we cleanse the planet. We will allow you to save as many of your brothers and sisters as you can before we begin the cleansing.”

The Ta’Nar was able to determine those who would truly follow them by looking into their minds, allowing them to be removed from the planet. Those who would resist were left on its surface. After the last of the ships left, The Shiva began to remove the planet from existence. It activated the singularity device left within its crust, resulting in the planet being consumed from within and finally imploding into nothingness. The singularity removed every sign of the planet’s existence before it also ceased to exist.

The Shiva then towed the Outer Colonies closed together, using her Dimensional Anchors to lock their positions and then moving the anchor points closer. The long term effect would unbalance the solar system but Ga’Ton wasn’t planning on being here that long. He was going to get his fleet built and then set off with the crew.

After a couple months, the shipyards were constructed and it began to turn out ships. The Childer began training to pilot the fighters and to operate the ships. Using the information from the captured pilots, the Ta’Nar designed a genetic cocktail that would make the Childer not only immune to almost any virus or bacterial infection but it also began to awaken rudimentary Psi abilities in some of the Childer. They also were implanted with Neurolinks so they could control their fighters with their minds, making them some of the most efficient fighters known. The Neurolinks also allowed Overmind or monitor and make changes to minds of the Childer, unbeknown to them.

Within a year, Ga’Ton had his fleet and a crew of fanatics who believed the Ta’Nar was literally heaven sent. They began to look for the next world to conquer.

OOC:

By now some of you might be wondering what has happened?

A few months ago Siesatia started a thread suggesting everyone having a war against their Alternate Selves. An example of this idea is when Kirk and Spock were switched with their Evil selves in one of the original episodes.

I took this idea and proposed to Unified Sith we start a small RP where we are each RPing one of our ships in a campaign. The background for the setting would be the Alternate Self ship would have been taken to yet another alternate setting (Not NS Space!!!) This means whatever happens to any nations never occurred so players could loose to us without worrying about the consequences. The ships were also moved backwards in time about 250 years. This gives me a superior advantage in technology which will make for interesting battles.

There is a definite plot behind this story and I will slowly unfold it.

The largest stumbling blocks were the inability for Sith to find anyone to RP the nations we storm through. Another was the unexpected retiring of Unified Sith from NS.

I believe the plot needs to be finished so I will not let it die.

If anyone wants to join the RP against my Evil Admiral Ga’Ton and his small fleet, please TG me. I am willing to loose some of the other ships but the Admiral and The Shiva must survive to finish the plotline.

If someone wants to be allies they can allow themselves to be taken over like the NPC nation I used in my last post. If they want to be opponents then we will have some damn epic battles where even the Multiverse cringes in fear.

Please consider this and let me know what you think.


Also, my internet access is pretty sketchy currently so please be patient. I will answer your messages.