NationStates Jolt Archive

The beautiful ecumenopolis of Neconstani, on the third planet of the Elasmus System covered the entire planet's surface. The massive city covered 3/4 of the planet, the remaining quarter being covered by oceans. The Government-1, the President's personal transport, landed outside of the huge tower. Two guards moved from the ship, followed by Isaac Stein, the President of History lovers. Under the Constitution, he was President-for-life, but was merely an elected figurehead for the Chancellor and the Parliament.

He wore a black suit, with a tie. He wore a talit, with a white yarmulke on the top of his head. It was nighttime, and he walked forward toward the Synagogue directly before them. As he approached the Synagogue, he suddenly grasped his chest. His guards went toward him, but he gasped as he collapsed to the ground. They rushed him back to the transport, and lifted off.

President Stein was rushed to the hospital, but to no avail. He was announced dead on arrival. Doctors have determined that he died of a massive heart attack. He will be buried at the family yard on the moon Markis, in orbit of Neconstani. May he rest in peace. The election for the next President will be in one month.

OOC: Information on the Star Confederation of History lovers will be forthcoming on my upcoming factbook. This is an open FT RP.

OOC: I wouldn't mind joining this thread as a first encounter between History lover and the Eternals (my FT race). Also if you want to have a first enounter do you want it with the mainstrem Eternals or the smaller group that grants a afterlife to those who have faith in the Eternals and are good beings?

OOC: Sure it can be first contact. Make it as if the broadcast was the first transmission you recieved. History lovers controls 13 systems, as will be shown in my factbook. All of these are fully colonized to the max, with every planet/moon possible Terraformed, though the outer planets have sparser population.

OOC: Offering them eternal life may be a bad idea... I'm guessing that with a jewish leader, he'll have a generally jewish nation. Jewish and mysterious beings offering Eternal life are, at leat in my opinion, going to be a VERY bad combination.

On that note, meet the Terrans.

IC:

"Sir, we've detected a space faring civilisation in a nearby system, shall we make ourselves known to them?"

"Indeed. Let us move out."

The new Caelocanth Class Battlecruiser was a powerful upgrade from the older Leviathans. It entered the system without much flash or fanfare, simply appearing, and then announing its presence in an open broadcast.

Transmission to Unknown Civilisation:

We are the Terran Dominion, I am captain Young of the TDS Lhurgoyf. I bring greetings in the name of Arcturus I, Emperor of the Dominion.

OOC: My nation is simply humans, their leader just happened to be Jewish.

IC:
The Saber-class battleship, the HLS Battlestar moved toward the incoming battlecruiser. They sent a transmission:

"Lhurgoyf, this is the battleship Battlestar, a ship of the Star Confederation of History lovers. You are currently in the Bethellami System. We welcome you to the Confederation.

A fairly large ship that was about two kilometers long and three hundred meters long entered the capital system of the History lovers. The ship glowed as the sun hits its diamond like hull and made it look like a small star in its own right. As the ship closed in the ship began to scan the system to see how much the people of this civilization were developed and how technologically advanced they were.

After a minute of scanning and analyzing the gathered information the Eternals decided that the civilization was interstellar and thus advanced enough for them to contact them without breaking any of their laws of non-interference with non-developed races and civilizations. Upon determining this they sent a message on multiple frequencies,” We upon picking up signals from this sector of space during one of our patrols have come to investigate the source of the signals. If you wish for contact with just sent d response message or a ship to meet us.”

OOC: My nation is simply humans, their leader just happened to be Jewish.

IC:
The Saber-class battleship, the HLS Battlestar moved toward the incoming battlecruiser. They sent a transmission:

"Lhurgoyf, this is the battleship Battlestar, a ship of the Star Confederation of History lovers. You are currently in the Bethellami System. We welcome you to the Confederation.

OOC: Well, that's no fun... Oh well.

IC:

Reply:

Thank you. Is there perhaps any way we could meet with your leaders?

Several of the Saber-class ships, including the flag-ship, the Puller Lunphi, which was a Supersaber, 1.5 Kilometers in length, came to meet the Eternal ship. They then sent a transmission:

"This is the HLS PULLER LUNPHI, Admiral Carith Messith commanding. We need contact with you."

IN Bethellami, the BATTLESTAR sent back "I, as Captain Galloway of the BATTLESTAR can meet with you, but unfortunately, our President died recently, which is probably the transmission you picked up. The Government is not here, but in Elasmus."

The Eternal ship began to stop upon getting close to the ships and then an Eternal replied to their message,” Forgive us if you will, but by signals we meet we picked up high speed ship reading that gave us reason to search here because those were signs that there was an interstellar civilization in the area. Now that you have confirmed this we are willing to procedure on a more open scale, but yet we are saddened by the loss of your leader and we hope that he is let into the after life that the Eternals had prepared for mortals. As for contact what do you wish?”

"Let us meet in person" returned a transmission, "I can have a shuttle bay prepared on my ship within a few minutes. Or, alternatively, I can bring a shuttle over with some of my officers. Or, if you wish, we can go to the nearby moon of Darquinii. It has a very sparse population. Sending the location now."

The Eternal responded,” Let us meet in person upon the moon Darquinii. There let us discuss further and let us get to know each other.”

Several of the Saber-class ships, including the flag-ship, the Puller Lunphi, which was a Supersaber, 1.5 Kilometers in length, came to meet the Eternal ship. They then sent a transmission:

"This is the HLS PULLER LUNPHI, Admiral Carith Messith commanding. We need contact with you."

IN Bethellami, the BATTLESTAR sent back "I, as Captain Galloway of the BATTLESTAR can meet with you, but unfortunately, our President died recently, which is probably the transmission you picked up. The Government is not here, but in Elasmus."

Reply:

I am willing to meet with you, especially since the death of your president makes my meeting with him impossible. When would we be meeting then, immediately?

Please take a smaller ship. A shuttlebay will be prepared to meet you, and I will personally meet you in the shuttlebay.

OOC: Sorry, missed the Eternal reply

IC: I will meet you there.

The LUNPHI then moved toward the moon, entered orbit, and launched a shuttle down.

Upon the moon a lone being was standing that had an aura around that appeared to be caused by its armor of silver the reflected the solar rays. As the being saw the shuttle land it approached the landing area and waited for the beings inside to come out.

The shuttle's doors opened, and four guards came walking out. They wore blue cloth uniforms, with black laser-rifles that shined in the sun. Their uniforms had an insignia, a gold-colored cross, stitched on their arms, with a metal version attatched to their upper-left chests. Behind them walked a man with a similar uniform, but had a different ranking symbol on it. He was noticably, considerably older than the guards. He then approached the being, while one of the shadows cast from the being went a bit onto him, with the other going off to the left (we're getting both solar rays and rays from the Gas Giant we're orbiting, making two shadows). He then said:
"I'm Admiral Messith of the Star Confederation of History lovers."

The gentleman was seated in his favorite chair listening to recordings of ancient music he received as a gift on his last mission. The Thranx music was very alien but it was also relaxing and meditative. Within his mind an alert sounded, letting him know he was getting an incoming message via his Neurolink. He let out a sigh and directed the player to lower the volume.

“Stark here.”

“This is Commander Deveron from the Imperial Palace. I have a message from the Diplomatic Corps to be relayed to you. This mission has been approved by The Emperor. Prepare for transmission.”

“Go ahead.”

Suddenly Anthony could feel the data flooding into the storage of his Neurolink. He accessed the files, using his personal code to unlock and disarm the data. After reading the message he instructed his Virtual assistant, the AI controlling the Neurolink, to cancel all his appointment. He then got up and went to pack a few things before donning his coat and leaving for his transport.

Minutes later the sleek craft was rising into the atmosphere. It achieved orbit and headed away from the planet. Once it was far enough away, Professor Stark contacted the Diplomatic Corp using the Space Minus Transmitter.

“This is Anthony Stark upon a Class B diplomatic mission. I need an Event Transport to these coordinates upon authority Alpha-Zeta-Niner-Five-Epsilon.”

Anthony sent the telepathic key codes along with the alpha-numerical ones. After a few moments he received a confirmation and he sat back to wait for his ride. A few minutes later reality rippled and collapsed in upon itself as a wormhole formed. The long event tunnel stretched into nothingness at the center, a path he knew would get him just about anywhere within ten minutes. He directed the flier into the wormhole and it closed behind him.


Eight Minutes Later:

Near the third planet of the Elasmus System reality again collapsed in upon itself and formed a small wormhole, just large enough to allow passage of the flier so as not to disrupt any local traffic. The Stiletto Flier cleared the Event Horizon and held position while the wormhole disappeared.

Anthony instructed the Stiletto’s AI to open a Comm channel and transmitted a message.

“This is Anthony Stark from the Diplomatic Corps of The Balrogga Empire. We have recently received your message about your fallen president. We would like to request permission to attend services if it would be culturally permissible and to open First Contact Diplomatic talks with your nation.”

“I will continue to hold my position until I receive word from your government and I would also like coordinates where to land.”

Professor Stark activated the Stiletto's entertainment system and leaned back in the pilot’s chair waiting for the reply. The Thranx music calming his mind, preparing him for whatever happens next.

They then sent back a message: Mr. Stark, this is the Confederation Foreign Ministry. We are sending landing coordinates now, near the Foreign Ministry. We apologize, but you cannot attend the funererary services for the President because such have already concluded, as per his religion, Judaism's, Torah, or Law.

Battlestar Gemenon Rising, Investigating Possible Water-Bearing Asteroid

Commander Sun stared blankly at the DRADIS screens, an excited ensign virtually salivating at the readings.

"...So this one HAS to contain water!"

Sun stifled a burst of laughter at the ensign's excitement at the prospect of fining more ice asteroids. The problem being, most of the ones they'd found were poisoned with some kind of fuel, probably due to ships flying close by.

"I'm sure, Ensign Kayn, much like the last four asteroids you picked up."

"Ah.. Well... CONTACTS! Multiple unknown ship configurations, no IFF idents or standard transponders. We're definately a long way away from the colonies, commander."

"Ahead full, I want our wireless transmitting my words to that entire area. Light it up like Caprica City in a fireworks festival."

"Aye commander."

"This is Commander Sun of the Colonial Battlestar Gemenon Rising. We come in peace, as the result of a freak accident. we are now seeking friendly relations with anyone who can help us. repeat, we come in peace. Please contact us."

In the Gumisari System, where the Battlestar was, a Saber had sent two fighter patrols to discover what was the anomaly on sensors. As the fighters had approached the Battlestar, they had detected the transmission. The Transmission was also detected by the Darwin, the saber that had launched the fighters. They replied:

Colonial Battlestar Gemenon Rising, this is Captain Harding Machina, Commandant of the Star Confederation of History lovers Battlesaber Darwin. We have recieved your transmission. What kind of help do you need

"We're in desperate need of water. Our battlegroup was supposed to refit and resupply last week, but unfortunately we now find ourselves in this charming sector of space. Our need is dire. We have the lives of 12,000 crewmen on 4 Battlestars in our hands. We do have items we can trade... Hang on... Yeah. If you need 14,000 cans of peaches, we can definately help you out."

We can send over some water for now, but the next shipment of water coming from Elasmus II is not until tomorrow. If you can wait until then, we can trade you...peaches sounds like a great thing to replace the boring rations on the moons we're terraforming in this system.

The shuttle's doors opened, and four guards came walking out. They wore blue cloth uniforms, with black laser-rifles that shined in the sun. Their uniforms had an insignia, a gold-colored cross, stitched on their arms, with a metal version attatched to their upper-left chests. Behind them walked a man with a similar uniform, but had a different ranking symbol on it. He was noticably, considerably older than the guards. He then approached the being, while one of the shadows cast from the being went a bit onto him, with the other going off to the left (we're getting both solar rays and rays from the Gas Giant we're orbiting, making two shadows). He then said:
"I'm Admiral Messith of the Star Confederation of History lovers."
The Eternal turned around from staring at the gas giant. After turning around the Eternal revealing a being that it was fully covered with a diamond suit of plate mail. Then the Eternal said to the Admiral,” Yes, I am aware of this because during my millions of years of wandering this universe. Yet this moon is unique and beautiful in its own right.”

OOC: I usually do not send in Eternals in their true forms or without armor that covers them completely. This is due to the fact that the Eternals have not known you long enough to appear before you in their actual forms.

"Right. I apologize for not having you meet with a diplomatic representative, but the entire government has torn itself to pieces over this Presidential election..."

-----------On Neconstanti-----------

The Liberal Democratic National Committee was meeting. Liberal Democrat Party Chairman Puller L. Titcheras was speaking with them on the upcoming election. Among them was Prime Minister Dairin Jowsta. They sat in the mansion of Chairman Titcheras. After finishing speaking, they all began to stand up, besides Titcheras. As they began to leave, Titcheras said "Dairin, please stay." After the others had filed out, he said to Jowsta "Is it ready?"
"Yes, my lord. The result-changes have been prepared and will occur tommorrow."
"Excellent."
"My lord, are you sure they will not discover the poisoning on President Steiner?"
"I am positive, Dairin. It could only be discovered by a full autopsy, and such would violate the religious law of Steiner"
"Right..."
"I hope you realize the price of failure."
"Yes, my lord." The PM left the room. Suddenly, another door opened. A woman entered, clothed fully in black, entered and came behind the Sith Lord. "Master?" she said, "What is your command?"
"Keep an eye on our friend Dairin. Also, if he fails...you know what to do, my apprentice."
"By your command, my master."
She then moved out of the room, and secretly, silently, followed Prime Minister Jowsta.

CIC, Battlestar Gemenon Rising

Commander Sun grew impatient, waiting for authorisation to begin diplomacy.

"We can get our authorisation later, but to hell with the wait. Send a message to the authorities here. We want to set up friendly relations as soon as possible, and we have a delegation ready to go. I'll go, I want the CAG and Chief ready to go."

"Yes ma'am."


To: History Lovers Authorities

The authorities of Battlestar Group 74 wish to begin diplomatic relations with your state. We have an unarmed delegation ready to go on an unarmed ship should you wish to begin talks.

"We can meet at a government facility on Gumisari IIa, also known as Pittbari-1. Sending the coordinates now."

Anthony stark continued to wait, relaxing to the alien music flooding the cabin of his Stiletto Flier. His AI monitored the Comm for any signals it could pick up.

OOC: We already sent landing coordinates...

"Right. I apologize for not having you meet with a diplomatic representative, but the entire government has torn itself to pieces over this Presidential election..."The Eternal replied,” It quite alright when a people are uncertain with their leader their tends to be great confusion amongst the people and government over it.”

"Yes. In fact the voting starts tomorrow, they will be fully counted tommorrow, run-off election the next day, second count, and then sworn in, in less than a week."

“Humans have always been quick to choose their leaders, but as long as it is democratic humans have chosen fair leaders nearly always. For this the human race has been able to expand far more rapidly and before long will overcome the old races of the universe.”

"Planetary landing authorities, this is callsign Flame-out, carrying our diplomatic party. With permission to land we'll be there in four minutes. Awaiting permission."

The raptor waited in the area they were told to go to, it's passengers preparing papers and swapping nervous looks.

"Permission granted for landing. Welcome."

Back in the System:

"Yeah, the problem is that the President is in charge of foreign affairs...and there have been no foreign affairs in a long, long time, since the unification. This is far more key than it has been previously."

"Permission granted for landing. Welcome."

Back in the System:

"Yeah, the problem is that the President is in charge of foreign affairs...and there have been no foreign affairs in a long, long time, since the unification. This is far more key than it has been previously."

OOC:

I will assume the permission to land was not aimed at me because the post did not include "Balrogga" or "Anthony Stark".

"Your people are now approaching a critical point in your history, but yet there seems to be a greater picture then what is shown then on the surface. This election will surely be a great part of this. From this I believe you want us to play a part in this, is that correct?”

"Thank you landing authorities, flame-out landing now."

The small ship circled, getting lower and lower, finally landing at the area indicated. Two unarmed military officers in dress uniforms of Colonial Colonels emerged, one carrying a suitcase. One of them spoke.

"I suppose we just wait until someone comes to check us out."

They then sent back a message:
Mr. Stark, this is the Confederation Foreign Ministry. We are sending landing coordinates now, near the Foreign Ministry. We apologize, but you cannot attend the funererary services for the President because such have already concluded, as per his religion, Judaism's, Torah, or Law.

I did so say "Mr. Stark"....

--------------------
"What do you mean?" he said to the eternal
--------------------
Three men in green uniforms came out, with slightly metallic battle-armor, unarmed. One said "Sirs, I am Sergeant Matthew Jarkuma of the Confederation Marine Corps. I need to do a check on you and then bring you to the meeting room, although the Navy people aren't here yet.

The Eternal replied,” The upcoming election will the effect the future of your nation as would any election, but this one seems from what I can sense and understand of it seems to be a force at work in the shadows working towards some goal. Yet I will not tell you what is in the shadows because you will have to either let it come out of shadow or find it yourself.”

"I dunno...there IS some weird cult I have heard of, can't even remember the name, that proclaim that the Parliament is under the control of an "evil man". They claim it to be the Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party. I personally think that these cultists are wackos. But, the Chairman is...elusive. He is running for President, but he rarely campaigns. He speaks very well and is very charismatic, so his Holonet commercials are doing very well, and his speaches before Parliament have always been cheered, even by his opponents, but evil? I don't go for that sorta thing. I respect people's rights to think and believe what they wish, but I really think that it's a load of tegin, pardon my language"

OOC:

I am truly sorry. I completely missed that post. I think it is because I checked the Thread using my phone but that is not a valid excuse.


IC:

Anthony was sitting with his seat reclined all the way back. The Thranx music was flooding the cabin until it was interrupted by a beeping. Anthony opened his eyes.

“Yes James?”

The AI muted the volume by half and answered Anthony.

“Sir, we have an incoming signal.”

Anthony returned the seat to the upright position and paused the music.

“OK, patch me through.”

Mr. Stark, this is the Confederation Foreign Ministry. We are sending landing coordinates now, near the Foreign Ministry. We apologize, but you cannot attend the funererary services for the President because such have already concluded, as per his religion, Judaism's, Torah, or Law.

“That really is a shame. You can learn so much about a culture from their funeral rituals. James, open the Comm line.”

“Yes Sir”

“This is Anthony Stark, I regret I was too late to attend the Funeral but I will land my flier at the coordinates you provided. Thank you.”

James cut the Comm signal.

“James, take the flier down to the coordinates they provided.”

“Yes Sir”

The Stiletto Flier smoothly cut through the atmosphere as it descended to the coordinates provided.


OOC:

You can post my landing when you reply.

As he descended into the pristine atmosphere of Neconstanti, he could see many skyscrapers, platforms, establishments, everything. If he looked at people nearby, he could see many ethnic groups, and you could see different religious centers and cultural 'enclaves', as he moved through the atmosphere. Suddenly, before him, there was a square where there were few skyscrapers, and there was a tall but not-skyscraping building, and rounded about it. It had enscribed upon it, in Elasman and English "Democracy, Liberty, Freedom"

The coordinates were in a tall building adjacent and attatched to the larger building, and it had a symbol on top and said, in English and Elasman, "Ministry of Colonial Affairs" He landed down, and several tall men clad fully in yellow armour, with large blue crosses on their torsos, carrying red staves, with laser pistols attatched to belts. There were several other men behind them, not as tall nor in uniform, but they were several distinugished Senators and Members of Parliament. They waited for him to exit his ship.

As the flier came to a halt, it hovered silently about 6 inches off the ground and held position. The waiting officials could see a figure through the darkened windows of the Stiletto Flier moving about. A set of triangular steps formed, as if the hull itself grew them. The door slid silently open.

A human climbed out of the cabin and faced the representatives. He appeared fully human, at least. He stood slightly less than two meters in height with a modest graying at the temples, marking his age. His build was typical of an average human. His pale green eyes were the only thing that seemed out of place, almost as if they could see right to your very being.

When he saw the assembly, his face lit up. His enthusiasm seemed almost contagious.

“Hello, hello, hello! I am most certainly glad to have finally met you.”

He rushed forward to shake the hands of the Senators and the Members of Parliament. He stopped himself at the last moment.

“Pardon me, but is shaking hands culturally permissible here? It is standard in many worlds but also considered taboo to force contact in at least 23 worlds I have been to. You must be careful with these culture issues. We don’t have any information on file about your nation so I could not study up before our meeting.”

He looked around at the buildings.

“Your city is absolutely beautiful. There is so much symbolism in the architecture and in the décor. Even down to the design of your uniforms…”

Suddenly the figure stopped and an expression of disgust washed over his face.

“I must absolutely apologize for my rude behavior. I haven’t even introduced myself.”

He stepped forward towards the individual who seemed to be in charge.

“My name is Anthony Stark. I am here on the behalf of the Balrogga Empire. We are interested in opening relations with your nation, perhaps even an exchange of Embassies.”

They were all surprised, to their faces, with his seeming jocularity. Not in an unpleasant way, mind you, but surprised. You could not tell with the guards, who's faces besides their eyes were covered completely by yellow metal masks. The leading member of the delegation then said
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Senator Tind from Hallorwen, an ex-nation here on Neconstani, and I am chairman of the Senate Colonial Affairs Committee." Senator Tind was slightly heavy, and wore more simple clothes than the others, but by no means simple clothing. He was graying partially. One interesting point was a yellow cross that hanged from his neck. "The Minister of Colonial Affairs is away at this time, she is out-of-system on an assignment. While at most times we'd introduce you to the President, you are probably aware of President Stein's demise." He then said "You must be tired from your journey. We can provide a room for you here in the Ministry for tonight. They aren't five-star hotel rooms, but they're comfortable. The day after tomorrow, when we are able, we'll call you before the Committee for an interview. We'd do it tomorrow, but Parliament won't meet tomorrow because of the Presidential election." As though reinforcing Tind's point, the shadows on the docking platform were lengthening as the sun began to dissappear behind the skyskrapers to the west.

"I dunno...there IS some weird cult I have heard of, can't even remember the name, that proclaim that the Parliament is under the control of an "evil man". They claim it to be the Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party. I personally think that these cultists are wackos. But, the Chairman is...elusive. He is running for President, but he rarely campaigns. He speaks very well and is very charismatic, so his Holonet commercials are doing very well, and his speaches before Parliament have always been cheered, even by his opponents, but evil? I don't go for that sorta thing. I respect people's rights to think and believe what they wish, but I really think that it's a load of tegin, pardon my language"
"The answer that you have come to is well based and is correct, but I will not reveal the others involved in it or how deeply it runs because that is for you to figure out yourself. Yet I am allowed to provide with aide and information if you need or desire it about other matters.”

"That would be completely acceptable. It would give me time to aquaint myself with your culture. Would you suggest any databases I could access to study your history and culture? Is the meeting tomorrow closed to the public? Will it be broadcast?"

"I am sure the quarters you are offering will be more than adequite. To demand more than what is offered or needed is rude. I graciously accept whatever you offer."

Over his Neurolink Anthony could hear James laughing at him. He looked around at the archetecture again.

*Boss, aren't you laying it on a little thick?*

*Nonsense, how else will we find out about them unless we ask? I will resort to psi only as a last resort.*

*I remember your Ethics lectures at the University. You want me to monitor the transmissions?*

*Yes, and keep an eye on the other races. I want to know if any of them try to influence the presidential election process. It will also give insight on the others. Their methods will tell a lot about them.*

*You never stop working. Just whistle if you need me.*

Anthony turned back to Senator Tind.

"I'll be ready to go in a minute. I need to get a few things from the flier."

He turned and walked back to the open hatch and reached inside, pulling out two cases. He stepped back and looked around the landing area.

"Let me clear this space for you. Ship, secure and park."

The flier withdrew the steps and closed the hatch. It then immediately rose quickly into the sky, only stopping once it reached a safe place in low orbit away from traffic. Anthony turned towards the Senator.

"OK, I am ready now."


OOC:

Pardon the typing, I am using my phone.

"The answer that you have come to is well based and is correct, but I will not reveal the others involved in it or how deeply it runs because that is for you to figure out yourself. Yet I am allowed to provide with aide and information if you need or desire it about other matters.”

Yes...well, in History lovers Standard Time, it must be...7:00, 7:30. Polls are opening in about five hours across the Confederation. If you wish, I can try to get contact from the Ministry of Colonial Affairs, who can try and set up a meeting between you and a representative from Parliament. I hope you will excuse me, I have a ship to attend to.

snip

"Of course, Mr. Stark. There is going to probably be a computer terminal in your room with basic access to historical and cultural information, and if you want more details, there is the Parliamentary Library. Just follow signs to the Tunnel, and then you can use a digital map near the tunnel to direct you to the Library. The Parliamentary Library is the second-most complete in the Confederation, and has more information than I think anyone could absorb in an entire lifetime.

Also, I think you misunderstood the election. There is no meeting of Parliament tomorrow, because of the elections. Most of the time, Parliament meets every weekday, but elections are a special case.

These guards can escort you to your room. Now, I apologize for not taking you myself, but..." suddenly, there was a beep coming from the Senator's robes. He checked it "Minka" he said under his breath. He then said "I apologize, I must return to Parliament straightaway, as must the rest of us, there's a roll call occurring, which means an important issue has come up." They began to leave. The only remaining persons were a few dock personell and two guards.
As Stark was able to get a better look at the guards, he saw many things.

The guards wore bright yellow body armor, covering their entire bodies, with yellow robes behind them, and with the blue cross on their torso armor. the yellow armor only broke slightly at joints, allowing for a bit of freedom of movement. They wore large metallic helmets, with small air strips near the mouth for breathing. The only way in was to see into the eye-holes, which were open and allowed them to see through. Their red staves were as tall as they were, and had no appearance of anything besides a metallic walking stick. They had black cylinders hanging from their belts, seemingly a type of grenade. One of them said, after the last members of Parliament were gone, "We shall take you to your quarters."

"Certainly, please lead and I will follow you to my quarters. I am sure you want to go and vote so I will try to take as little of your time as possible."

Stark looked around as they walked.

"Could you give me a tour as we walk? It would be most helpful. I don't want to know anything classified, just information about what we are passing."

The guard looked toward him and said "These halls are mostly newer than the rest of the Building, since this part of the building was constructed after the first colonies outside the system. The building was almost being set to be demolished before now, now that the Colonies have full representation in Parliament. As you can see here, this is where colonial magistrates would stay when reporting to Parliament. Now that the magistrate system was abolished after the Civil War, the Ministry of Colonial Affairs was where you would put a minor party that you needed their support on for some bill, and you'd create jobs here when there were unemployment problems since the end of the war about two decades ago. They were setting this up to be demolished, but since the aliens..."

He seemed more talkative than the other guard, who was silent during this entire time. He then suddenly turned to the other guard and said something: "Do you se..." the other guard interrupted him "yes."
"Do..." "I don't know." "Maybe..." "Hold it for now." "Yes, sir."

They then arrived at the room "I hope you find your stay pleasurable Mr. Stark." said the first guard.

Yes...well, in History lovers Standard Time, it must be...7:00, 7:30. Polls are opening in about five hours across the Confederation. If you wish, I can try to get contact from the Ministry of Colonial Affairs, who can try and set up a meeting between you and a representative from Parliament. I hope you will excuse me, I have a ship to attend to.The Eternal responded,” Yes, if you may I am willing to meet with a member of your parliament, but please tell them I will meet them in person only in a secure place and will not communicate to you directly. Yet, if you wish I have a device that your people do not have any knowledge of on how to track of listen to without another device. Please, use this if you wish to contact either me or my kin.”

"I thank you. I must now leave you. Garisadamiar ((Elasman for "good-bye", literally, "Gari sada Miar" or "Go with God", but has become a secular phrase when merged together.)) He and the naval security went into their shuttle, which launched and then approached into space, going to the flagship.

"I plan on enjoying my visit a great deal. Thank you for your kindness."

After the two guards left, Anthony took his two cases into the assigned quarters. He set the smaller of the two on the desk and took the larger into the bedroom. Once there, he quickly unpacked his clothes and sundries, placing items in the closet, in the bathroom, and upon the night stand.

He then returned to the office area with the promised computer terminal. He took the small case and placed it on the desk and opened it. After examining the terminal for a few seconds, he took out a small object and closed the case. He attached the device to the terminal data feed cable and then walked toward the small kitchenette to find something to drink. While he was looking in the fridge, he used his Neurolink to connect to the Data Interface he attached to the terminal. He looked around for a few minutes while pouring a glass of some sort of native fruit juice.

He then used his Neurolink to contact the flier in orbit.

James, I have established a connection to the computer terminal. Download the cultural data and compile it into a suitable profile. I want to be able to interact with them without violating any taboos they might have.

I was expecting you to call. I am connecting now. The download speed is limited by their system but I think I will be able to comply.

Good, contact me when you are done.

Stark then returned to the terminal. He knew they would monitor his access because that is what he would do. He reached over to his case and removed a cylinder. He linked to the processor and the cylinder opened, releasing a soothing scent in the air. He knew billions of nano-probes would be riding the pheromones to circulate throughout the room. Within minutes the entire suite would be covered. They would seek out any eavesdropping devices and allow his Neurolink to access them. He again reached over to the case and pulled out another small device. He set it down on the coffee table. He returned to the kitchen to refill the glass.

A few minutes later he was reclined upon the couch with sounds of the Thranx Ritual music flooding the room.

OOC: It's going to take an ultra-long time. The 'database' is basically an uneditable wikipedia, only containing the more basic information.

The computer system is barely passed modern. It would be considered "standard" which would be "about Alienware level" to us.

IC: As the database download took place, there were very many taboos that would be found, but only applicable to some people. It seemed basic etiquette was shaking hands at meeting, eating with utensils, drinking from a cup, wearing suitable clothing, and other minor things. Otherwise, the culture was very accepting, everyone considering that everyone else had taboos, and while they may be broken, it may be understood.

From what was told in the database, however, the Yellow Guard that had escorted him to the room, little was known about them. The article on the Yellow Guard contained only that
A. They always wore their full armor, as far as was known
B. They had been around since before the Confederation was founded, almost a millenia ago.
C. They lived in a Yellow Temple, near the southern pole of the planet
D. They generally guarded the Parliament, but some acted as generals and elite soldiers during wars, especially the Independence Wars 23 years ago.

There were actually guesses in the article. Some said they were psychic, some said they used mystical weapons from their spears, but it seemed that anyone who had witnessed their true capabilities had died soon after. They had ever acted only in the service of the Confederation, though.


OOC: Soon, there will be a factbook-forum and NSWiki articles about this stuff, but I've been too busy to get them done.

"I thank you. I must now leave you. Garisadamiar ((Elasman for "good-bye", literally, "Gari sada Miar" or "Go with God", but has become a secular phrase when merged together.)) He and the naval security went into their shuttle, which launched and then approached into space, going to the flagship.The Eternal remained on the planet meditating on so as to monitor the situation that was developing in the History Lovers government and waited for a representative of the History Lover parliament to contact him. As for the Eternal ship it left the system without even being seen going into hyperspace or a wormhole.

As the Eternal mediated he saw the plot slowly reveal itself as he saw the people weave themselves into the plot. Also he began to put the pieces together hoping to be able to get a view of what the end game would be like and whom the victor would be in the end.

As hours passed, the polls opened. At 3:00 AM, HLST, leading in the polls was Mariska Tarussi of the Fiscal Responsibility Party.

As of 4:00 AM HLST, Jonathan Morsti of the Democratic Conservative Party is in the lead.

Anthony stark gently napped upon the sofa while James was busy crunching the cultural data into a profile that could be used for the interactions Anthony would obviously be engaging in the near future.



OOC:

I am giving you some opportunity to introduce your vision of your nation. I am not doing anything sneaky.

OOC: Most of that kind of information will be in my Info Forum, which will be posted in my sig as soon as I hit the halfway mark, which is soon.

IC: What James discovered was of much interest. It seemed there were over 100 Parties with members of the Confederation Parliament, and over 1500 members of Parliament. The Liberal Democrats were the largest party, but they by no means had a monopoly on power. They seemed the frontrunners in the polls pre-election, as they downloaded. It seemed that they were more conservative than they sounded, and were very much in favor of contact with the outside. The article on Puller Titcehras, the Liberal Democrats' chairman, stated "He is a moneyed, reclusive man, but is a profound internationalist."

At 6:00 AM HLST, as Neconstantians in the time zone with Parliament began getting up and preparing to go and vote and work, Paul Pasulisk of the Communist Party had taken the lead.

While Anthony napped, James was busy compiling the information. When he was finished with the profile, he downloaded it directly into Anthony's Neurolink.

When he awoke hours later he found a large file waiting for him to load and absorb. He sat down and entered a meditative state and began to absorb the data directly into his mind, familiarizing himself with it in order to be able to easily find what he was looking for. He paid particular attention to the language files.

After he was done he began to surf the terminal to see what he could find for maps, entertainment, and restaurants. If he was going to be here for a while, he wanted to be sure he could enjoy himself.



OOC:

I will consider this took all the time until the election is done, unless you have something planned for me. If you do, consider it happening while I am surfing the internet or sleeping later.

I was not trying to make you create things for your nation, I was attempting to give you a chance to tell us some of the things you already created, giving us a hint of what you were going to have in your FAQ. If I gave you the wrong impression, I am sorry.

OOC: Ah. I see. I will display it in more detail.

IC: As the files downloaded, the files were full of the cultural data of dozens of cultures from the planet, as well as across the Confederation. The dominant culture was the Elasman Culture, from a set of Islands on Neconstanti. The Elasmus Star System, it seems, was named for either the Islands or for the founder of government on those Islands, Elasmus I. Stark was on one of these Islands, where the Parliament Building and Government District took up the entire area that was once the city of Senamari. Through the past of the Confederation, there had been light conflict since the rise of those Islands. The Dating system counted from the Declaration of History lovers, almost a millenium previously. Recently it seemed, though, that there was corruption. Three decades ago, a ten year war had begun known as the Independence War, between the outer systems and the inner systems. The War was devastating, with millions of deaths, on both sides. In the end, the Confederation took back the Colonies, and restyled them the Outer Systems, with full representation in Parliament.

The Yellow Guards however remained a total mystery. They had existed forever, it seemed, yet the information was non-existent, anywhere on the Internet.

OOC: A good way you can RP across election day would be to move around Neconstanti, look at different areas and cultures, look at Parliament's library, and to try and discern what the Yellow Guards are, because of questions that could arise in your mind.

As of 12:00 PM HLST, Puller Titcheras of the Liberal Democrats has pulled into the lead.

OOC: Just to stir things up a bit.

IC:

As Stark was surfing the Internet, there was a sudden massive alarm. The computer screen suddenly left his control, with information in Elasman and English appearing on the bottom of the screen:

WARNING - CODE RED, ELASMUS SYSTEM. FANATIC INDEPENDENT WARSHIPS INBOUND. ALL HANDS TO BATTLESTATIONS IMMEDIATELY. ALL CIVILIANS ARE TO MOVE INTO PROVIDED SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

The message then began to repeat itself.

-In Space-
Three Battlesabres entered into the system. Rather than the majestic silver sabres of the military, these were in far worse shape. They were painted an ugly shade of red. Instead of just lasers on the broadsides, as on standard HL craft, they had a laser anywhere where one would fit. The lasers were fired very ineffectively by a horrible computer system, unlike standard HL manually-fired guns. But with the hundreds of guns glistening, not much accuracy was needed. The ships had gashes and tears, scars and missing hull. Dozens of Starfighters in a similar shape entered with the Battlesabres, firing on any traffic in the area, civilian or military. Several Battlesabres of the SCHL moved to meet them, but they just kept firing and continued on a direct course for Neconstanti. Several Military-Transports, the same model as the Government-1, but older versions, flew without reactor containment directly at the planet at full speed.

The Lunphi was in command of the battle.

"What's in those ships?"
"Standard, Admiral. I'm detecting...at least 10 Quastins of explosives on each, with enough explosives to cause damage up to nuclear catastrophe, but without much radiation."
"Starist. Take down those transports! We can't let them hit. Remember the last attack, we got lucky that they couldn't change course from the ocean, and that caused tsunamis across the planet!"
"Yessir!"

All of the lasers fired on the military transports.

"James, advise me of the situation"

"My scans show the aproach of three vessels. They are overgunned and internal scans show they are stuffed full of explosives. They also anve an accompiment of fighters. Several appear to be unable to support life so either the pilots are wearing viro suits or they are drones."

"Local reactions?"

"The local military appears to be firing upon the intruders. I cannot determine if they will be sucessful."

"Keep me informed what is going on."

"OK, should we offer assistance?"

"You don't have the firepower to take on them. If they are far enough we might be able to call in help but they would have to be at least 15 minutes out. It will take about 10 minutes to wormhole in help. How far out are they?"


OOC:

I'll let you answer this for me. My ships are pretty advanced so I make the 10 minute limit to balance them out.

OOC: Well, these attacks, while not common, are not unexpected. Also, the warships are overarmed. The TRANSPORTS, maybe the size of the Millenium Falcon or smaller, are filled with explosives. There are also starfighters.

TO further explain: The Fanatical Independents are those who did not accept the Treaty of Dunsilman at the end of the war, and continue their fight against the Confederation. However, they are so very fanatical, that they make suicide-bomb attacks. They also arm their warships to the teeth, and care not about the exterior.
These ships are basically the same design as my warships, which, depending on the class, have 80-100 guns, manually fired but very powerful. Their warships are of the same design, but have basically added a whole bunch of guns, which retards speed, retards accuracy, but makes the ship far more damaging in a suicide assault as this one. Another difference: the Fanatic Warships do not have Antifighter defenses, but use the Main Guns for Antifighter protection (Antifighter defenses are lighter lasers, most similar to what you see on the Millenium Falcon). My battlesabres have lots of AF defense guns.

IC:
"They are just outside of the furthest Lunar orbit (Neconstanti has three moons)"

The massive battlesabres clashed between eachother, as squadrons of Fanatic Scissorfighters flew at the Confederation Battlesabres, launching missiles and firing lasers. AF guns on the Battlesabres fired down toward the Scissorfighters, while many Tigerfighters, the more advanced standard Confederation fighter, went after the Suicide Transports. A request for assistance was sent out across the system for other military vessels to assist in the protection of Neconstanti.

“It is difficult to judge their speed. The military seems to be able to handle the ships. They are making a stand just outside the orbit of their furthest moon”

“Put in a request for assistance just in case.”

“Yes Sir, relaying order.”

“Good, let me know when they reply.”

“Anthony, I am getting a reply already. They say The Panic Attack will be arriving in about 10 minutes. She is going to wormhole directly into orbit.”

“Damn, they are sure of themselves. Ready yourself for a quick pick-up. I don’t want to be around when it hits.”



OOC:

Let me know when 10 minutes pass in your battle so I can make The Panic Attack arrive...

OOC: Alright, but things are going pretty fast. The ships are slower, but not much.

IC:As the Fanatic Battlesabres continued fire, on the several HL Battlesabres, 4 more came from further out of the system, firing at the Fanatics from the rear.

On the Lunphi Supersabre, things were frantic.

The Admiral yelled "Get us full broadside on the nearest Battlesabre. Hold fire and get all cannon ready!"
As the Lunphi aligned itself, the Admiral yelled "FIRE!"
As he did so, 65 laser beams flew forth simultaneously from the starboard-side of the vessel, directly at the nearest fanatic vessel, which was frantically attempting to shrink itself as a target as its' uncoordinated guns tried to compensate.
A lieutenant screamed "ADMIRAL! The Union is taking heavy fire! She's lost engines, her life support is going to critical. Captain Sneider is ordering abandon ship."
"Confirm her order, Lieutenant!"
"Yes, sir." he then sent a transmission "Union, this is Flag. Abandon ship order confirmed. Repeat: Abandon order confirmed."

Hundreds of escape pods began launching from the Union. The Union began to drift in space, as the Captain, who had remained on the ship, focused life-support on the Bridge. The last but one escape pod launched, as over a thousand escape pods fell to the Farmer's moon, Markis.

The squadrons of HL fighters continued to focus fire on the suicide-transports, which had just entered the first moon's orbit. Only two were left.

Seven Minutes Remaining

OOC:

I don't mind arriving too late. Just make it a good read.

Thanks for the countdown. I will check later on tonight. Gotta get to bed so I can go back to work....

The two transports flew into the outer atmosphere as one of the fighters shot down another one. The singular remaining transport broke through the ozone layer and entered the atmosphere. It became obvious what it's target was: the massive YellowGuard Temple that was situated on the geographical north pole.

Back in space, there was a massive explosion as one of the Fanatic warships bit the dust. There was a rousing cheer on the bridge of the Lunphi, before they got back to work. The Admiral said "Get a full broadside on the second ship and open fire immediately!"
The starboard lasers let loose a hail of fire at the second fanatic battlesabre. Suddenly an explosion could be heard.
"ADMIRAL! We've got torpedoes lodging in our engines! We can't..."
*BOOM*
The explosion rocked the ship. The Admiral dragged himself back up to his chair as he said "ALL HANDS ON DECK!" Another explosion rocked the proud flagship as a full broadside from a fanatic battlesabre smashed the starboard side.
"DAMAGE REPORT!"
"WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE HULL BREACHES ON DECKS 16 to 31, SECTIONS 51, 64, 93 THROUGH 96 AND 124! SIX STARBOARD LASERS DESTROYED, THREE DAMAGED BUT REPAIRABLE! STARBOARD ENGINES FULLY OPERATIONAL, SHIELDS REPAIRED BACK TO 18%!"
"KEEP THOSE GUNS FIRING!"
"Sir, We've got fires on deck 17!"
"Makintir! Get firefighting squads to the area immediately!"
"Sir, COMMUNICATIONS ARE DOWN!"
"SIR, the Battleship, the Imperius, and the Jochi are moving in between us and the enemy!"
"Good! Give us a chance to repair. Who's got second flag?!?!"
"The Blizzard, sir!"
"Commandant?!?"
"Fleet Captain Johannsson, sir!"
The Admiral said quietly "Good luck, Sven."
"Alright, pull us away from the battle! Order our fighters to continue as usual!"
"YESSIR!"
--On the Blizzard--
"Keep us on a full broadside with the second warship and fire at will!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Open hailing frequencies!"
"Channel open, sir!"
"All vessels, this is Fleet Captain Sven Johannsson. I'm taking command of the fleet. Flag is this vessel! Blizzard out!"
The transmission cut.

Four Minutes Remaining

The Panic Attack was hurrying through the worm tunnel, the connection between two wormholes.

“Come on, we need to go faster.”

“Sir? If we try, we would collide with the walls of the tunnel.”

“I know, I just hate this wait. Are all systems running hot?”

“Yes Sir, Sensors is Go, Weapons are hot, and shields are at full. The reactive armor is functioning at max efficiency and Proteus Fighters are on standby and ready to launch as soon as we exit the other end of the Wormhole.”

“Let’s just hope they can hold out a few more minutes. Prepare the Cutter Beams. Warm up the SGE. I want to be prepared for anything”

At the YellowGuard Temple, in the top spire of the Temple was Lord Master Jairek-ti Inyo of the YellowGuard. He was considering something as the proximity alert beeped, and the computer detected the incoming military transport. The YellowGuard computer system, which was seemed more advanced than the standard system, chipped out "Proximity Alert."
"What is it?"
"Ship incoming, Serenity-class Military Transport, Mark I. Suicide Assault toward Temple."
"Reccommended course of action?"
"Processing...Processing...boarding party and attempted landing of the transport is the most likely action to succeed in the small amount of time remaining"
"Send a boarding team."

Two YellowGuards in their full body-armor were standing on a platform a few kilometers from the Temple. As the Transport passed, they both made a great leap to the transport from the platform. They landed on it's top as they both retrieved the grenade-looking things from their belts. They crawled their way to the center of the transport, and as they approached the cockpit, one of them activated his blade and stabbed a yellow beam through the plastic, causing it to shatter, and the pilot was sucked out into the atmosphere. As metal secondary-skin closed in, they both jumped into the ship, blades extended as laser fire immediately came at them. They reflected the laser beams backwards, as one of them sat down at the pilot's station and began to type. The first one replaced his blade, pulling his staff, and did an almost "cocking" action with it, and then released a hail of orange beams from the end of the spear. As the ship slowed, and they cut off the cockpit, they moved the ship to a very slow speed and they landed on an external landing platform from the Temple, which retracted inside. As the doors of the Transport opened and the terrorists ran out to face whoever it was, 20 YellowGuards stood with their spears pointed at them, surrounding them. The lead said "Under the constitution of the Star Confederation and the laws of the Confederation, I place you under arrest for attempted murder."

-----
In space, simulataneously, the second Fanatic battlesabre was disabled and drifting. The Blizzard signalled for a boarding action onto the vessel, and the Blizzard and the Jochi both attatched themselves to opposite broadsides of the third ship, and hundreds of marines began pouring into the ship.

Arriving any second now

“Sensors detect the end of the tunnel. The aperture is opening. Readings shows we are close to the atmospheric envelope.”

“I hope we don’t cause too much damage to their weather systems. The wormhole should not be open long enough to affect anything too much.”

In a near orbit, reality collapsed upon itself and a vortex appeared. It was a small one but its effects were dangerously close to the atmosphere of the planet. The Panic Attack emerged from the center of the event horizon and the wormhole collapsed after the ship left.

“This is the Balrogga Imperial destroyer, The Panic Attack. We have arrived to assist you. Please direct us to where we could provide the most help.”



OOC:

The Panic Attack (http://balrogga.beldragos.com/vengeance.htm)

"Panic Attack, this is Fleet Captain Sven Johannson of the History lovers Starcraft Blizzard. Our flagship is incapacitated currently, so I am in command of the fleet. It seems you arrived just after the action was ending. The enemy have been pushed back and..."
an ensign interrupted him "Captain!"
"Hold on one minute." said the Commandant as he muted the transmission. "What is it, Ensign Harcourt?"
"SIR! The Union is being sucked into Neconstanti's gravity well!"
"CESTIS! Are you sure?"
"Positive, Commandant!"
He swore in Elasman as he reactivated comm:
Panic Attack, we're having a problem with one of our Battlesabres, please stant by."
-------------
The Union cut through the Ozone layer and began glowing a bright orange as the burn-in to the atmosphere occurred. The massive ship began moving in toward the surface of Neconstanti, within a few hundred kilometers of the Government district! It was headed, it seemed, almost directly toward the Parliament!

OOC: Waiting for your to send the Eternal the message to meet with a representative of your parliament, History Lovers.

OOC: Parliament doesn't meet again until tomorrow, after election day, and it's still election day. Don't worry, it will be soon.

OOC: Cool, I am willing to wait a little longer.

“Quick, lock tractor beams and try to pull it out of its collision orbit.”

The Panic Attack swiftly swooped in using their Mirage Drives. Several tractor beams locked onto the large craft and the ship began to pull The Union out of it’s collision course with the planet below.


OOC:

Please take over. If you want me to save the ship, allow me to do so. If not, it is your choice. My engines are powerful enough to pull it into orbit but your structure might not be...

I am not sure what you want done here.

OOC: You're right: our structures aren't strong enough to take the stress of both a dramatic pull from nearby planetary gravity, a pull from tractor beams in orbit. You'll start to tear the ship apart.

IC: As the Union continued over the Parliament building, it was suddenly grabbed by the tractor beam which slowed it greatly. The structure began falling apart.

The Blizzard, in orbit, sent a transmission:

Panic Attack, please cease! The engines will allow it to a safe landing in the ocean! The structure is not powerful enough to sustain your tractor beams, and it could break Field Containment. It's almost directly above Parliament, and an antimatter explosion there will not exactly be good. Cease! Immediately, please!

"Dammit, cut the power to the tractor beams, NOW!"

"Yes Sir, beams disabled."

"Place us between the ship and the city. If the ship blows, at least our sheilds might sheild the city from most of the damage. Sheilds at maximum. Concentrate them between us and The Union."

The Panic Attack took position a safe distance away from The Union.

"This is The Panic Attack. We are attempting to use our ship to shield you from any potential explosion. We will maintain a healthy distance from any object so we would not cause any further damage."

"If there is any way we could assist, please ask."

The Eternal upon the moon had been keeping track of the battle and had been about to go help out where he could, but he decided to monitor the event further in the hope that those involed in the rescue of the Union would at least save her if not all the ship.

OOC: How do you shield a planet-wide (besides a quarter of the planet, which is ocean) ecumenopolis? No matter.

IC: The Union continued forward after being let go as it glided past Parliament and into the nearby ocean. It smashed in and slowed down as it went. It began to sink, but several shuttles came over toward the majestic ship and rescued the Captain and other remaining officers.

The majestic starcraft sank into the ocean.

A transmission was sent:

Panic Attack, this is the Blizzard. The ship cannot be aided more than it is. The Union will be retrieved. We developed a form to reconstruct the ship underwater, because of several warships downed into the ocean during the Independence Wars.

"We understand."

"It is such a shame she had to crash. A ship belongs among the stars unstead of in repair dock."

"This is The Panic Attack, returning to orbit. If there is anything we can assist, please do not be afraid to ask."

The imperial vessel slipped into it's assigned orbit.

OOC: Unless anyone protests, I'm zooming to the end of election day.

12:01 AM, HLST:

"World Holonet Service is declaring at this time that, with 69% of the vote confirmed, we are calling the race for Puller L. Titcheras of the Liberal Democratic Party and Jonathan Deskira of the Imperial Republican Party. The votes will be reconfirmed and fully counted tomorrow."

7 AM (assuming that Anthony Stark is still in the room)

A Parliamentary aide came to the Balroggan's room, finding him awake (sorry for slight GM). He said to him "Mr. Stark? Parliament is beginning in one hour, if you wish to watch. So you know, Parliament Sessions last for four hours, and then there are four hours of Committee hearings, and then one full hour of Parliamentary Session. You'll be called before the Colonial Affairs Committee as soon as it is open.

If you're interested, feel free to come to the entire meeting of Parliament. If not, just report to this room" he said, handing him a datapad-map of the Parliament building with a yellow star in the room, "and the Committee will call you to "testify". It doesn't really mean "testimony" in the real sense, it means they ask you questions. I don't really know what it's going to be about."

Stark woke up to the sound of someone knoecking on his door. He was still on the couch where he had been dozing, his neck aching from not using a pillow.

He answered the door, inviting his guests in. When they entered they would see a nearly empty juice glass on the coffee table and the data terminal stoll on from his resturaunt and entertainment search.

"Can I help you?" He was rubbing his sore neck.

"Mr. Stark? Parliament is beginning in one hour, if you wish to watch. So you know, Parliament Sessions last for four hours, and then there are four hours of Committee hearings, and then one full hour of Parliamentary Session. You'll be called before the Colonial Affairs Committee as soon as it is open.

If you're interested, feel free to come to the entire meeting of Parliament. If not, just report to this room" he said, handing him a datapad-map of the Parliament building with a yellow star in the room, "and the Committee will call you to "testify". It doesn't really mean "testimony" in the real sense, it means they ask you questions. I don't really know what it's going to be about."

"I will attend the entire proceedings. Give me a few minutes and I will follow you there. Is it allowed to make a recording of the proceedings?"

Stark was over by the desk picking up his briefcase. He set it on the table and went into the bedroom to freshen up for a minute and to change his clothes. He returned after a minute or two. He grabbbed his case and followed the Aide out the door, locking it behind him.

"Of course. The entire thing is already tape-recorded and available fully on national television, though I imagine few watch it."

After they went out, they went over to a tunnel. The large tunnel was full of mini-speeders. They boarded one, and it began at high speed toward the other end. As it arrived, they got off, and he could see the magnificence of the halls outside. The halls were purely gold-colored, blue, and white, with the walls appearing to be carved out of marble. As they walked through the hallway, they arrived at the guest lookout point over the Grand Parliamentary Chamber. About 1/2-2/3 of the gigantic hall was full of representatives and senators from across History lovers, of many different ethnicities, religions, etc. As it had taken a good twenty minutes to get to Parliament, it would be about forty minutes until Parliament started.

((If you want anything done after this point and before Parliament begins, just post it))

As Stark sat in his seat in the guest area, at precisely 8 AM you could see a platform descending from the top of the massive hall, stalling just before reaching ground-level at the center of the massive circular room. There were three people upon it, a YellowGuard in full armor, and what appeared to be the Secretary of Parliament, a dark-skinned man. They were on either side of a regal brunette woman wearing a golden robe with a crystal tiara upon her head, who was sitting down in a chair, which was directly below a larger chair, which was empty.

The Secretary read from a sheet "Members of Parliament, Senators, and guests, may I present her Serene Highness Lady Elissa da Tainess, Chancellor of the Senate."
The lady hit a gavel several times to quiet things down, as she stood and said "Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I hope you all have voted and are ready to begin after our day-long rest on election day. As the votes are counted, I remind you to attempt to keep gloating to a minimum level. Our first order of business: the educational redistricting of Neconstanti. I call to the floor the Honourable representative from Jegantari, Jentis Moresku."
"Thank you, your highness." came a male call, as a hologram appeared on a pedestal above the Chancellor. It was almost blue in entirety, but had a sense of the colors. He began speaking on the redistricting and how it was bad for the different cultural areas of the ecumenopolis.

((I'll let you get your response in here))

Anthony watched the blue monochrome holo display, carefully recording it with his Neurolink.

He was interested in everything that happened.

As they debated for a full hour on the subject of redistricting, with the constant argument on cultural areas of the planet, with many different MPs and Senators arguing the subject. Senators were able to continue speaking indefinitely, it seemed, while MPs could only speak for two minutes at a time, and could donate their time to others to speak. Chairs of Parties, it seemed, were not debating the issue.

As the nine-o'clock hour began, the Chancellor hit her gavel several times, thundering thorugh the halls and said "Does anyone protest the postponement of the question of Educational redistricting for the present time?"
Silence. She then said "Very well. Next is a new issue being called forward by the sovereign Senator David Harkenson of Judenlind."
"Thank you, your highness." As the light-skinned hologram of a Hasidic Jew appeared up on the screen, the man held up a paper and began reading from it. He pulled it over his long grey beard, reading "Resolved by the Legislature of the United People of Judenlind, Realizing the great service done for us by the Military, Remembering that the Independence War ended peacefully two decades ago, Reminding that before the war, there was no military of the Star Confederation, Taking into account the many who work for the service, and reminding all of the exemplary service of the YellowGuard, I propose that the military of the Star Confederation be totally dismantled and taken apart, in the spirit of this body."

There was a tremendous uproar across the Parliament, some yelling "Yeah!" and some yelling expletives and such, with a huge noise filling up, that even the banging of the gavel wasn't silencing.

((Insert your response))

Anthony could not believe his ears. The nation had actually proposed leaving themselves defenseless if another of the many hostile space faring races came across them. That would be horrific to their survival. If there were nothing to protect them, then simple pirate attacks like the one that occurred last night would ravage the nation. A single ship almost destroyed their temple at the North Pole.

“James, scan the area for all ships. See if there are any at the edge of the system. This sounds like a set up of some sort. Plot the position and origin of every ship and other material that seems to be foreign to the system. Also monitor the Hyper-spatial Frequencies to see if there is anything waiting on the other side of some closed gateway.”

“Yes boss, what is up?”

“Monitor the feed I am sending. It feels like something is amiss. “

"Senator Harkenson!" Yelled the Chancellor as she tried to quiet everything down, "This is the nineteenth such proposal you have made in the last eight years, and it is not getting any more welcome in this body, especially with the recent alien contact and the terrorist attack just yesterday. The chair orders you to take your seat."

"James, still keep an eye out for anything suspicious. It looks like this was old business but you can never be sure."

"I will, so far everything looks like standard traffic although there are suspicious reading in the Hyperspacial bands. They could be random fluctuations or a sign of cloaked vessels. I'll continue monitoring them."

"OK, let me know if anything develops."

Anthony continued watching the govermental proceedings.

As Parliament continued debating, now on the anti-trust lawsuit against Melinkor Corporation, with the massive debate continuing for another hour, when they began debating farm subsidies on an obscure world in another system, which lasted for another 45 minutes. They then debated for another hour on the issue of taxing of trade routes at the edge of the Elasmus System.

At 11:45, the Chancellor declared that the Parliament was dismissed for an hour and fifteen minutes, at which time, committee meetings would begun.

Anthony checks the printouts he made of the resteraunts to find something nearby. He arrived and ordered one of the local dishes for lunch.

He was back 10 minutes early.

((OC- A belated welcome to FT History lovers. Probably can't really join in this thread at this point though. =^^= ))

((OOC: Thank you.))

A Parliamentary aide came up to Anthony and said "Mr. Stark? You're going to be called before the Colonial Affairs committee in about ten minutes." the aide directed Anthony to the Committee-room.

"Certainly, lead on."

Anthony followed the aide to the briefing room.

"Is there any way I coukd possibly get a list of possible questions that are going to be asked of me?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but because of corruption in Parliament two centuries ago, such a thing is not allowed"

"I will just have to play it by ear."

Anthony calmly took a deep drink of the cold water from the decantour on the table.

OOC: Would you mind if I rp my Eternal to meeting with a member of your Parliament? Something just like the Eternal disgusesd as normal person just greets them.

OOC: Sure, you can appear as a normal human, disguised as an aide or something, but you WERE going to be called by the device by the Colonial Affairs committee after the Balroggan.

OOC: I was referring to the actual meeting between the Eternal and the member of your Parliament.

OOC: Oh. Alright, that's fine.

I'll post the RPing of the beginning of the interrogation of Anthony Stark tomorrow, too tired right now.

Interrogation???

*cowers in fear*

HEHEHE

OK, catch you tomorrow.

OOC: I meant questioning....I was too tired.

IC: As they entered into the room, it appeared to be a metallic domed room, with a high bench for members of the Committee, a chair and a desk for the ones being questioned, and area for spectators be. Anthony was directed to sit with spectators until called forward.

As different Senators began to file in behind, he recognized Senator Tind from the day before last, as he sat in the center of the rear stand, holding a gavel. There were other senators that were filing as he began to hit the gavel several times. He said:

"I declare this meeting of the Senate Colonial Affairs Committee is now in session. Mr. Secretary..."
The secretary of the committee stood, ringing a small bell, "Senate Colonial Affairs Committee, Wednesday, 12 March 926. Senator Mark Tind presiding. Members present: Senators Jungar Mentisa, Jaina Tahari, Mista Tenhassi, Jehil Morin, Dakarus Jentissa, Yohanan Chaim, Sesseria Trankis, Abdullah al-Denkiwa, Selessi Transhu, Menkira Hudara, and Julia Corust. No members are absent."

"Thank you, Mr. Secretary." said Chairman Tind. He then said "The Colonial Affairs Committee calls to the stand Anthony Stark, the honorable representative of Balrogga."

Anthony stood up and identified himself.

"Professor Anthony Stark, Represenative of The Balrogga Empire."

When it was indicated, he picked up his briefcase and walked down to the table. Setting the case on the floor, he took a seat.



OOC:

I'll let you control him until it comes time to answer questions.

"Thank you, Professor Stark" said the Chairman. "We must first ask you to describe Balrogga, your...I don't know the words...your...nation of origin." said Tind.

“Certainly, one moment please.

He opens his case and pulls out a small device. Closing the case and setting it on the floor, he placed the device on the table. He sent an activation command using his Neurolink. The device came to life. The Holo-projector projected an empty image in the air above the desk

"To begin, The Empire is based off a small planet called Earth in the Sol system. It seems Earth is one of those planets that generate many nations, a birth planet if you will." (Hehehe)

An image of the Earth appears, slowly pulling out showing Sol and her children. Much activity can be seen as spacecraft of all sorts are moving about.

“Like I said, Earth has given rise to many nations. The Imperial Palace is on a small chain of islands in the largest ocean. We first started as a small nation but when we saw all the other nations warring among themselves, we decided it was better to develop space technologies instead of nuclear weapons. The Technomages levitated part of a small island into orbit, where we constructed our first orbital city. Over time we established other holdings in the system such as mining the belts, solar collectors in near orbits, a shipyard near the sun, converting the orbital city into a space tower, and even interstellar travel.”

The holo-projector showed images of each subject as Stark spoke about it. It showed archive images of the Babylon city at it’s height, the mining operations in the belt, hundreds of thousands solar collectors tightly orbiting the sun, The Sol Station along with the shipyards along with the gravity scoop capturing resource pods shot there from the railguns in the mining vessels, The historic footage of the orbital city connecting to the space tower base, and then an image of The Divination as she left the Oort station only to be destroyed after she left the system.

“We have had our ups and downs as a nation but it seems we have always come out on top. The Empire currently contains about 40 inhabited systems and many that are not. We have constructed a network of wormholes and established the Intergalactic Trade Hub to get dozens of nations together in the interests of trade instead of war. The ITH currently has over 120 member nations, each with multiple worlds.”

The projector showed brief images of each of the worlds, the Threshold system with it’s three dozed neutron stars where the Worm Hole Device is located, and images of local gates with gate stations showing traffic from many nations entering and leaving.

“The Empire is run by Emperor Nhur-Galladu from the Imperial Palace on Earth. He takes much interest in what is happening in the Empire and thinks nothing of traveling to see his people.”

The projector shows the Emperor, an elderly man dressed in the white and gold of the Empire.

“Is there anything else you would wan to know? Please ask.”

OOC: Damn, another good Rper leaves the ranks on MT, it has been good RPing with you my friend.

"Very interesting, Professor Stark" said an Arab senator wearing a full dress including a tribal hood. "What is the government of Balrogga like? Is it a democracy, meritocracy, what?"