NationStates Jolt Archive

'The massacre of over 75 million innocent men, women and children on the planet of Grascos (renamed Paulo III by the Dictator) is a great injustice. It has rallied all enemies of the Family and their barbaric regime to the forfront. People can no longer sustain this wheel of genocide and vengence. The time has come to rise and free the planet of Arborius from the shackles of evil. The noble Arborian race has fallen under the spell of a False God. Paulo Von Gerrit is a lunatic, and a murderer. We have evidence, that he killed all other Lord Chancellors on the planet of Arborius and then framed the humans of a nearby colony in order to massacre them. We have now the means for a strike against them. One of the Family, Reein Vespeterium, has joined our revolution. He can no longer take part in the cruelty of the regime. With it, he has brought a devided loyalty from the Kyrakeen shock troops. 1 million have joined our cause. We must strike now against the False God or we will suffer and die. we call for an uprising amongst the Arborian citizens, and any aid that we can recieve from the Interstellar community. This is our one chance, to rid ourselves of the Xenophobic regime forever.'

Crevil Somerk, an Arborian, finished the adress and turned to Reein. 'We can't thank you enough for this oppertunity' he said, bowing. Reein's eyes flashed blue. 'I've betrayed my Family, it is a most heinous crime. I will be lucky not to burn in the eternity of the Underworld.' Crevils eyes flashed grey, a sign of confusion. 'You're really rebelling because he won't let you practise your religion?' he asked. Reein nodded. 'Faith is a powerful thing,' he said, 'that can lead people to commit great good..... and great evil.' His eyes flashed blue again. Crevil rested a skeletal hand on Reeins shoulder. 'There is nothing evil, about overthrowing a tyrant.' he said reassuringly. Crevil turned to his second in command, an old human named Uri. 'Prepare the fleet' he ordered. 'Our first step is to stop the genocide on Grascos.'

The planet of Grascis, renamed Paulo III, had been decimated. It had taken untolerable damage, the forests burned and the cities lay in ruin. The few million people that remained on the planet were in hiding. Only a few hundred had flocked to the place where Crevil had promised to defend them.

'Where are they?' asked one citizen. 'They said they'd meet us here.' Another screamed. 'I told you this was a trap by the Family I did. They've brought us 'ere to kill the rest of us, just like they killed everybody else!!' The sound of a horn behind them alerted the civilians. 'Oh my God, the Kyrakeen have found us!' yelled a woman. They've come to finish us off.' She was interrupted as a whiring sound came from above. A fleet descended and landed around the survivors. Thousands of Kyrakeen poured out. This was met by a scream from people, but they were silenced by a tall figure stepping out of the Ship. It was Cevil, who was shortly followed by the even taller figure of Reein and the short old man Uri. Cevil raised his hand. 'We have come to protect you' he bellowed out to the crowd. He turned to Uri. 'This is the first Battle. We will set up our base here.'

OOC: Those are good posts. However may I send a alien missionary that represents the Eternals to Paulo III?

[I would quite like to send an envoy of the Alterans to your people to express his disappointment in humanity :)]

[I would quite like to send an envoy of the Alterans to your people to express his disappointment in humanity :)]

Lol. sue, you can both send envoys. I thought I'd do this because almost all the good guys have upped and left.

The commander of the battleship of The Ancients, Aurora burst out of hyperspace at the heart of the Vespeterium civil war, and was immediately unimpressed. He turned to hs bridge crew, and grinned.

"It appears we have found our 'noble' escendants. A cursory scan reveals they have none of the intellect or healing ability that we have evolved... These must be the second evolution. Raise the shields to full and disable any ships that come close. Hail the biggest ships you can find. Stupid monkeys."

This is the Alteran capital cruiser, Aurora. You will not fire on this ship or you will regret it. Now, despite that little warning, we are here on a peaceful mission. We have just returned from 10,000 years of being ascended beings of pure energy to help clear up the mess your little species has caused. We need to contact your government.

The commander of the battleship of The Ancients, Aurora burst out of hyperspace at the heart of the Vespeterium civil war, and was immediately unimpressed. He turned to hs bridge crew, and grinned.

"It appears we have found our 'noble' escendants. A cursory scan reveals they have none of the intellect or healing ability that we have evolved... These must be the second evolution. Raise the shields to full and disable any ships that come close. Hail the biggest ships you can find. Stupid monkeys."

:D OOC: My people aren't humans.

[You would have to piss on my chips, wouldn't you? :D]

"Ooops. Our sensors aren't working. However, we are still concerned about the current trend towards conflits in this galaxy."

Lol.

IC: Paulo Von Gerrit stood in his Palace. His eyes were flashing a number of colours in his anxiety. 'Reein has the secrets of our greatest technology!' he said to the rest of the Family. 'How could he betray us like this?' A Ferra-Ka servant walked into the room. 'We have just recieved a transmission from a ship within the galaxy.' he said. Paulo looked anxious. 'Put it on screen.' he ordered.

Paulo began to watch the message through when it suddenly cut out. 'The rebels are scrambling our communications' shouted a Ferra-Ka. Paulo hissed, his eyes turning a deep shade of red. 'Blast them from the sky' he ordered.


Meanwhile, Crevil had picked up the message, and he ordered the message on screen. When the Ancients appeared, Uri (the human Commander) bowed down. 'It's the Gods themselves' he said. Crevil's eyes flashed yellow in confusion, but Reein Vespeterium stepped foward.

'Greetings mighty Ancients' he said bowing. 'Patriachs of humanity and messengers of the Gods. I, am Reein Vespeterium. I have spoken with Ancients before, and I will be brief. My brother has gone too far. He has expanded relentlessly and his greed goes beyond all Arborian nature. We need aid in order to overthrow his regime and bring order to the Galaxy. Will you aid us?' A red light flashed behind him. 'Paulo has dispatched a group of V Wing fighters. It seems he no longer identifies with messages of peace. They will be no match for your ship If you wish to destroy them, concentrate fire below the fuel cells. That is where they are week. I must go now, I have a Battle to plan. May the Gods be with you.' The screen went blank.

Wthin a great hiding place were the surviors Paulo III had fled an signal representative of the Eternals had come. He had come no to harm, but to offer salvation through righteous action and salvation for those that believed in the Eternals. The first message he spoke was," Your false god has betrayed your people. He hass masscered your people and has chased you into caves and other places of hiding. I have been sent here by the Eternals to offer you a new and better life on this place, as well as salvation after death."

The heaven's themselves bled, like pustulant wound upon the void itself; foul Immaterium bleeding into existence, staining the vacuum of space with the ichors of the Warp. The ship slid forth; it's surface gleaming with rune and weapon; alive with writhing daemon scripts; dancing with energy. It was black, black as night; as satcloth upon the canvas of innumerable stars; and it was mighty, terrible and great.

We come to aid our allies, true The hissing voice declared; as of some tortured thing; an eyeless astropath that sang in silent songs of psychic strings. We come to aid in this time of blackest need; a glorious savior from the void. We are the sons of Chaos And knowledge and power seemed to pulse from the vessel..

With good reason...

Sprawled on his rune laden throne; staff at his side; Severino Jeriacor gazed out with blazing eyes upon the yearning vessel; and the plump, ripe universe beyond.

"Our aid must begin soon..." He hissed; his voice seductive and black; a terrible whisper of sepulchre power.

The Ancient commander sighed.

"I will see what I can do. If it will bring peace... Fire 300 drones, targetting the fuel cells as directed. In the name of peace."

The lower ranking officer turned to his console and tapped in the targetting parameters. The glowing, squid-like dronesmoved to their targets, working like wolves, in an effort to pick off the stragglers and the damaged, then smash the rest.

Wthin a great hiding place were the surviors Paulo III had fled an signal representative of the Eternals had come. He had come no to harm, but to offer salvation through righteous action and salvation for those that believed in the Eternals. The first message he spoke was," Your false god has betrayed your people. He hass masscered your people and has chased you into caves and other places of hiding. I have been sent here by the Eternals to offer you a new and better life on this place, as well as salvation after death."

The people gasped as they saw the Eternal. 'It's an Angel!' sighed a woman. 'Come to save us from the Arborians 'e 'as.' Another man groaned. 'It's not an angel my dear' he said cynically. 'But it is an Eternal.' he bowed to him. 'I am Radhan. I have searched for your civilization for years. It's a great honour to finally meet one of you. Your race is more maginificent than I could have ever dreamed.' They heard a trumpeting of horns above and a bone chilling Battle Cry. Children began to cry and people hugged into each other. 'The Kyrakeen!' a man screamed. Radhan turned to the Eternal. 'They hunt us like animals' he said sadly. 'They've killed every member of my family. They're exterminating every person on the planet.' He put his finger to his lips. 'Best be quiet'. he said the the Eternal. 'There aren't many that have met a Kyrakeen battalion and lived to tell the tale. We have worshipped the people of the stars for years. Those people, I believe, are you. Please, deliver us from this hell.'

Meanwhile, Crevil, Reein and Uri stood speaking in the corner. Uri looked at Reein as he pondered whether to ask the Arborian a question. 'Can I ask you Master Reein' he said slowly. 'You were the Vice Chancellor of the Empire and Lord of the Ferra-Ka. Why have you abandoned that comfort to fight for us?' Reeins eyes flashed yellow (a sign of humour). 'You humans are an inquisitive species' he answered. Uri waved the reply away. 'It's not that I'm not grateful' he said, 'But I wondered why you'd abandon a life like that to join our side.' Reeins eyes flashed a number of colours as he considered his answer. 'I've always been...unique within the Family' he said quickly. Uri looked at him. 'What do you mean unique?' he asked. Reein turned to him. 'I felt... bad whenever the Family ordered a massacre of the lesser species' in the Empire.' he said. Uri laughed. 'You felt guilt?' he asked. 'I didn't think Arborians could feel guilt.' Reeins eyes flashed a sombre yellow. 'Yes, it seems the Creators built some flaws into my design.' Uri shrugged. 'Maybe they saw it as granting you a gift?' he said. Reeins eyes turned a sombre grey. 'I suppose so' he said sadly.

A human messenger ran up to the Commanders. 'My Lords' he said panting. 'The Kyrakeen approach.' Crevil looked at Reein with a mutual sombre blue flash of their eyes. 'It seems' said Crevil, 'That we have our war.'

Bump sorta. Actually, I just want to get the post count off of 13. Unlucky number and all that.

The people gasped as they saw the Eternal. 'It's an Angel!' sighed a woman. 'Come to save us from the Arborians 'e 'as.' Another man groaned. 'It's not an angel my dear' he said cynically. 'But it is an Eternal.' he bowed to him. 'I am Radhan. I have searched for your civilization for years. It's a great honour to finally meet one of you. Your race is more maginificent than I could have ever dreamed.' They heard a trumpeting of horns above and a bone chilling Battle Cry. Children began to cry and people hugged into each other. 'The Kyrakeen!' a man screamed. Radhan turned to the Eternal. 'They hunt us like animals' he said sadly. 'They've killed every member of my family. They're exterminating every person on the planet.' He put his finger to his lips. 'Best be quiet'. he said the the Eternal. 'There aren't many that have met a Kyrakeen battalion and lived to tell the tale. We have worshipped the people of the stars for years. Those people, I believe, are you. Please, deliver us from this hell.'The Eternal answered," Fear not, this within this place will not come to anymore harm. I have come to offer you the chance to come with me to the Eternal Empire where you will be granted a new world free from the horrors that have befallen this world. Upon this world you will be under the protection of the Eternals and the Eternal Empire. Also I will speak more to you if you and your people agree to come with me."

OOC: Speaking of Unlucky, you ignored my post ;)

OOC: Speaking of Unlucky, you ignored my post ;)

:eek: Sorry bout that. I'll just find it.

The heaven's themselves bled, like pustulant wound upon the void itself; foul Immaterium bleeding into existence, staining the vacuum of space with the ichors of the Warp. The ship slid forth; it's surface gleaming with rune and weapon; alive with writhing daemon scripts; dancing with energy. It was black, black as night; as satcloth upon the canvas of innumerable stars; and it was mighty, terrible and great.

We come to aid our allies, true The hissing voice declared; as of some tortured thing; an eyeless astropath that sang in silent songs of psychic strings. We come to aid in this time of blackest need; a glorious savior from the void. We are the sons of Chaos And knowledge and power seemed to pulse from the vessel..

With good reason...

Sprawled on his rune laden throne; staff at his side; Severino Jeriacor gazed out with blazing eyes upon the yearning vessel; and the plump, ripe universe beyond.

"Our aid must begin soon..." He hissed; his voice seductive and black; a terrible whisper of sepulchre power.

OOC: Aha, here we are. I don't know how I missed it.

IC: A Junior Ferra-Ka walked in to the Palace. 'We have contact with Chronosia, the ally of the Empire' he said bowing. Paulos eyes flashed yellow. 'Good' he answered. 'I must speak to the Chronosian delegation.'

The ground around the Primeter seemed to come alive as horns and fierce Battle cries echoed out across the planes. The Civilians that had come to this place (some 8000) huddled in a mass in the Middle of the ships. Then, out of the burning forests of Grascos, came the Kyrakeen. The lizard like troops salavated as they approached, hissing and shouting. The 25,000 that had come to support Reein and his troops hissed back at them. Reein looked at the Battle screen, surveying the area. 'They outnumber us by around 15,000 troops.' he said the Crevil. 'The Arborian smiled. 'They call this place Point Hope you know.' he said to Reein. 'Lets hope the humans named it that for a reason.'

Ga'Har, the Kyrakeen Commander, walked foward to adress the rebels.

Traitors to the Gods. We are giving you this one oppertunity to repent and destroy yourselves. You must prove youselves to be worthy of the Great God, Paulo. Show your loyalty. And die.

With no answer, the Kyrakeen began to roar again. And began an advance on the circle. Reein sighed. 'I suppose it's not all bad, dying for a good cause.' Uri smiled at him. 'But even better, is living for a good cause.' The rebel Kyrakeen formed into a tight knit group and the two armies faced eachother for the first time.

Ont hebridge of Aurora the command crew fidgeted. They all realised that they had involved themselves in a war with a powerful regime merely because they saw one human on their main screen.
The captain knew he had done something very, very bad.

"Contact the rebels. Offer to dispatch fighters as air support to wherever they need them, and tell them that this ship is at their disposal. We'll hold as many civilians as we can should it coe to that. I have some misgivings about this, but I think it's too late to get out. I want you to scan the warzone with everything we have, and give me a report on the progress of the civil war. Prepare to seed weapons satellites, and offer to give them some hand weapons. I don't like giving people our technology, but if humans are at risk of being killed it is our duty to protect them. Oh, and get me a scan of one of these 'Eternals'. Deep surveillance heard mention of them as some kind of deity. I want to know who and what they are, and if necessary, how to kill them. Our initial scans show they are very powerful, and we need to know how to remove them should the need arise."

OOC:can the SGC join in with the Deataleus and Prometheus?

OOC: Errrrr, I have no idea what you're talking about. But you can join in whenever. Of course, it'd take time and effort to get troops to the planet. But yeah, it's an open bar. Just come into it when you feel like it.

if you have ever seen stargate SG1 then you'll understand who i am.

To all human's within the the rebelion, and to all civilian's.
We are the Crew of the Teran Attak cruiser Daetaleus. We have been monitering your rebelion and have lanched the Daetaleus to help your plight, as well as colectany people who wish to head to earth in a refugee program. We are bringing a Stargate with us that will provide a wormhole to Earth. During the evacuation we will lanch several megaton nuclear devices over the enamy forces to cause EMP damage.
Unfortunatly we are at least a day away from your location, please keep us posted on your progress

Daetaleus comand out

OOC: wth is goin on???

IC: Zactarn Prime's great ally in Vespeterium Minor is under attack and Zactarn Prime stand by them.

Message to Reein from Darth Zlo:

"I Darth Zlo am Darth Vaclavious's apprentice and am hereby asking Reein of the Vespeterium Family what has happened. We will assist to our brothers of vespeterium Minor and will destroy all resistance. You have The Federal Alliance's backing." End Message as backing echoes in his squeaky little Jawa voice.

OOC: Jawa Sith... so cool.

Paulo Von Gerrit appeared on screen.

'All forces within the territory of the Corporate Empire. This is the matter of divine vengence. The heretic rebels on the planet have turned on their Gods, the Family, and are trying to create a hell on the planet. We will purify the planet with fire. All forces are to remian outside of the system or be fired on by our ships. We are no longer in need of allies. We have ascended to the position of Gods.'

The Family Kyrakeen began to advance toward the rebel forces. Thousands of Kyrakeen-human forces stood ready. And then the loyalist army began to open fire, decimating the front lines.

4 hours into the battle and the situation was looking grim for the rebels. Thosands lay dead and a seemingly endless stream of Family Kyrakeen forces poured from the burning forests. It was at this point, that Uri, Commander of the humans, stepped foward. The old man smiled at the two Arborian commanders, and then stpped out supporting himself on his staff.

Uri stpped out and limped to the front of the human troops, picking up a gun and leading the defense. This seemed to rally the humans who began a vicious defense of the ships once more.

Another 3 hours and a red rain began to fall on the plains as the sky darkened. The rebel forces had been reduced to half their strength, the Vespeterium forces had lost much more. But the Kyrakeen continued to pour from the forests in a never ending trail. It was at this point thagt the old man was hit, twice in the chest and once in the stomach. He fell backward and was carried back onto the ships.

On board, Crevil was panicking. 'We must withdraw now!' he shouted at Reein. 'We'll all be killed for sure!' Reein walked towards him. 'You're suggesting that we leave all of these humans to their deaths?' he asked. 'How will we ever be able to ask for human support again if we abandon them?' Uri was carried towards the two visably shocked Arborians. 'I told you it was a bad idea to fight!' Crevil shouted at Uri. The old man simply smiled. 'I think it's time for plan B' he said to his chief scientist. 'Is it charged?' The younger man nodded. 'Just about' he said nervously and began to turn a dial on the side of the ship. 'Is what charged?' asked Reein, but the old man put his finger to his lips and beckoned to the screen.

A whirring sound occurred, and then a great flash of light. A shock wave echoed out across the plains and all of the Kyrakeen fell. Reein looked shocked at this. 'What in the Underworld just happened!?' he exclaimed. Uri smiled. 'We're not quite as stupid as you always take us for.' he said weakly. 'We've been coming up with a way to disable the Kyrakeen brain function for the past 8 years.' Crevils eyes flashed a yellow. 'You're a genius!' he shouted at Uri. The fall of the Kyrakeen had signalled cheering from the men outside. The scientist smiled. 'Unfortunatley, it's also disabled your Kyrakeen' he said nodding to Reein. 'But we can reactivate them in time.' Uri, the old man, smiled one last time. 'We have this small victory at least....' he said with his last few breaths. 'Now we must win the war.'

OOC: Good post and also please reply to my post at the top of page 2.

OOC: Sorry.

IC: Radhan nodded to the Eternal. 'We would be honoured to come to the land of the Eternals. We wish to be free.'

Severino chuckled; a dropships sliding from the writhing underbelly of his vessel; sliding like a serpent through the void; dropping through the scalding atmosphere like a dagger of flame; blazing with the righteous fury of the Imperium. He stood; surrounded by guards; armored men whose forms were marred with runes. Indeed, if the helmets were removed; there would be nothing within. Simply spirits bound to empty, soulless armor. Alchemy and Sorcery; a simple experiment in the manner of Ahriman's Rubric; had delivered such Terminator Clad, hollow servants to Severino. A simple matter indeed....

"Open Vox channels; inform the Vespeterian rulers that we are here to aid them in their time of need. Let them know that the Imperium stands ready to help them cull this wretched heresy. We also require details on the triffling little things in the skies above; one must know ones neighbours..."

A junior Ferra-Ka arrived at the Vespeterium Palace. 'My Gods' he said bowing, 'I have two events to inform you of.' Paulo glanced around and hissed at the Ferra-Ka. 'What are they' he asked. The Ferra-Ka bowed again. 'Your forces have been defeated on Paulo III' he said said keeping his head down. This was greeted by shock by the Family. The Ferra-Ka used this silence to state his second piece of news. 'And an Emissary from Chronosia has arrived.' Paulo hissed. 'Some good news at least' he said. 'We need to marshal our allies. We can't lose anymore ground to the rebels.' Send this message.

A small, ape like creature appeared before the Chronosians on their screens. 'Greetings repsectful allies' he said bowing. 'The Gods are glad that you have arrived here in their hour of need. We will be transporting you to the Palace if it so pleases you. There, you can meet with Paulo.' he bowed again before closing the frequency.


Meanwhile, Reein and Crevil discussed the situations. 'I hear the Chronosians have arrived in the system' said Reein to his Co-Commander. 'They are powerful allies of the Family. Paulo will be attempting to bring his allies together now. Zactarn and others will soon be called. This isn't going to be an easy stuggle.' They looked out across the plains as thousands of humans were constucting the new rebel base. 'We have to make allies of our own. Send out a message. Ask for help.' he said to Crevil. The other Arborian shook his head. 'Who will care?' he asked. 'No, we're alone. We need to construct these defenses and concentrate on holding the planet. We're little more than a thorn in the side of the Family. We have to hold this planet.'

Severino let a wry chuckle slip forth as he watched the debased 'thing' make its message. He stepped forward; eyes blazing like sapphire set aflame within his helmet-mask. "It would please me greatly. The Imperium shall not falter in its alliance to the Family; in fact...I am certain that it will be beneficial on both accounts. Now-" He paused, smiling softly; disarmingly. "Tell me; who are those that dawdle above with their little drone toys; they amuse me..."

"Let me speak with your leader; for I shall indeed grace your palace; and I will give you a victory they will speak of for a thousand years in hushed wonder...You will see how the iron fist of the Emperor closes about those who are too weak to comprehend power; and yet greedily seek it for themselves. The cattle must acknowledge the shephard; must understand the wolf...And the power they have over them...."

OOC: Sorry.

IC: Radhan nodded to the Eternal. 'We would be honoured to come to the land of the Eternals. We wish to be free.'The Eteranl nodded his head in response. Then he waved his hand and a portal opened to fair and green world and then the Eternal said," This world is open to all your people as it is has wide and green fileds ready to be plowed and tilled. Their is already a few scattered settlements of humans on this world who will be more then glad to help. The Eternals shall also watch over you on this world. Go now and be at peace."

Severino let a wry chuckle slip forth as he watched the debased 'thing' make its message. He stepped forward; eyes blazing like sapphire set aflame within his helmet-mask. "It would please me greatly. The Imperium shall not falter in its alliance to the Family; in fact...I am certain that it will be beneficial on both accounts. Now-" He paused, smiling softly; disarmingly. "Tell me; who are those that dawdle above with their little drone toys; they amuse me..."

"Let me speak with your leader; for I shall indeed grace your palace; and I will give you a victory they will speak of for a thousand years in hushed wonder...You will see how the iron fist of the Emperor closes about those who are too weak to comprehend power; and yet greedily seek it for themselves. The cattle must acknowledge the shephard; must understand the wolf...And the power they have over them...."

The Ferra-Ka once again bowed, his green eyes glowing. 'My Masters would be happy to speak with you. Stand by for teleportation.'

The Eteranl nodded his head in response. Then he waved his hand and a portal opened to fair and green world and then the Eternal said," This world is open to all your people as it is has wide and green fileds ready to be plowed and tilled. Their is already a few scattered settlements of humans on this world who will be more then glad to help. The Eternals shall also watch over you on this world. Go now and be at peace."

Radhan nodded again. 'We will be forever in your debt for this my Lords' he said bowing. The people then began to proceed through the portal.

The Eternal said," Radahn, I will come to you and your people within a few days to further talk to you and your whole people, but for now I must attend to other urgent matters."

With this the Eternal left without a trace. Then a few seonds later he appeared before Reein ,Crevil, and Uri and said," Greetings to both of you and your human friend. I have urgent matters to discuss to the three of you about your rebellion."

The commander of Aurora didn't want to be outdone.

"Project a hologram on the location of that... Thing."
With thought, a subordinate officer activated the holoprojection system of the 10,000 year old battleship.

"I'm sorry to drop in on you like this but I must warn you not to trust this being. When my people ascended, we realised that to interfere with the universe is just bad. Even an action such as opening a portal can have dire consequences. Whilst these 'eternals' are not quite on the same level as ascended people, their interference could be bad for all concerned. We learned over the last several millenia that beings of such power who stay here often have motives you will not like. If we still had the powers we had during our asension, we would show you... But we chose to lose them. Regardless, I beg you not to trust them. We Alterans have a deep love for all sentient beings, and we who chose to return to this plane especially so. Trust me, this offer of help may seem good, but they will milk it as much as they can in future. If you allow us to build a stagate on your world, you will have unlimited instantaneous travel throughout this galaxy, without having to contend with the machinations of these eternals. Nu ani Anqueetus, nu fallatus. Nu comdo. We are the Ancients, we are powerful. We can help. "

Severino prepared; fading into ether, into nothingness; the joys of being everywhere and nowhere all at once; the crackling hiss of teleportation. He felt himself fade; fragment; become nothing more than aspects of himself, and then he was gone....He was elsewhere.

The ship opened up communications with the Ascendant beings; the vox hiss of a Tech Priest booming forth to greet them. He began to speak; slowly, in measured tones...

"Identify yourself in the name of the Hallowed Machine God. We are his servants; Worshippers of the Divine Machine!"

The First Officer of the Aurora responded.

"Nu ani Anque... Pardon me. We are the Ancients, seeders of humanity and much more besides. Greetings, followers of the venerable Machine God. We are here on a mission to maintain the power and glory of a race directly descended from ourselves. Our scans are having trouble discerning wether or not you are human... There appears to be quite a lot of mutation... Regardless, we greet you with open arms. We have heard of you, and know that people fear power. We are sure you are not the monsters that the stories say you are."

The officer made a gesure of open arms.

"Much of the Mechanicus are machine and man in glorious merger; in imitation of the Machine God and his divinity. What you most likely detect is the influence of the Imperium; our benefactors and allies. We serve them, attending to the needs of their Machines; venerating the Machine Spirits within. Thus, your sensors would be impaired; both by us, and by the Servants of the Four Powers."

They bowed lightly. "The Lord Severino, currently attends to matters upon the Earth; we would know your purpose here; for though you claim to have seeded humanity, we are long seperate from Humanity as a whole...We serve the Great Daemon Emperor; who reigns from his throne world beyond the Stars"

" A... Daemon? What do you mean by that? It appears in our long absence, we failed to watch many things, so focused were we on our philosophy and sciences, we neglected the physical universe. Your choice is... Unique, given that in most cultures daemons come to represent the things most hated. Even members of our species have been called daemons, Orii. Forgive my question, but my people are inquisitive by nature."

"Daemons dwell in the Immaterium; the Wartp; the Sea of Souls beyond reality. They are predators; vicious things that prey upon souls themselves! They are the embodiment of the Gods!" He chuckles softly. "Sometimes mortals who are truly blessed; who serve the gods; are granted the ascension of Daemonhood; to become a true servant of the Powers. And thus is he; a mighty lord of Chaos; our ruler, the leader of the Imperium; it's beating heart"

"I see both our peoples speak of ascension, but of different kinds. I can see you have gained knowledge and power in your time. I am authorised to ask for information on systems which are suitable for the construction of system-wide shipyards. In return, we have a database which includes the database of many of our 'stargates', which may be useful for your people. Unfortunately, much has happened over the many years we have been gone, and the stars have changed."