NationStates Jolt Archive

High Orbit, Feazanthian System, second planet
Cetra Galaxy

Static. All there was was static

Bloody EM interference. At one time, the Feazanthians had fielded one of the mightiest militaries in the universe. Now? A single solar flare could fuck up the entire communications network.

"This is Feazathian Star Command vessel Dawn Under Heaven. Is anyone even listening on this freq?"

The grey hull of the FSC Dawn Under Heaven slid through the inky blackness. Technology had taken a downward spiral in the United Planets of Feazanthia ever since the Collective swept through and nearly assimilated all sentient life. If not for a fatal flaw in the computer's programming, the human resistance would not have beaten it.

"Oh, fuck it. Helm, set in a course to Concordia. Let's just get on with the bloody mission," Captain Jacob Markos chewed on his old, wooden pipe. Tobacco had long since been banned by the beurocrats, but he still liked the taste of old wood. It'd been his father's, and it was the only piece of his family that had survived the war against the Collective.

---

Three hours later, the Dawn Under Heaven slipped out of slipspace above the eight planet of the Feazanthia system, known as Concordia. The Halcyon cruiser's mission was one of demolition. The old Feazanthian Empire had constructed some sort of ring-shaped structure in orbit around the planet. Damned thing was too thin to even fit a man inside, yet it was large enough that two Halcyon-class cruisers could cruise right through it side-by-side without touching the ring's edge. The metal used in its construction was unusually tough - a long range missile from Feazanthia Prime had done absolutely jack shit against it. However, command believed that the DUH's magnetic accelerator cannon would put a fairly large dent in it. And that was the goal - people were unsure about settling on Concordia with a big piece of metal that could plummet from the sky any moment.

"Fire control, this is the bridge. Full power to MAC. Ready a cluster shot."

"This is fire control. Confirmed, bridge."

"Helm, take us to optimal firing range. No...scratch that. Get us as close as you can without endangering the ship. I want no screwups. Last thing we want is to have to shoot it again."

Suddenly, the massive cruiser shook.

"REPORT!" screamed Markos.
"Sir!" shouted one of those nameless techs in yellow shirts, "gravitic fluctuations eminating from the ring! High-yield energy reactions reported!"

The bridge of the cruiser became awash in blue light, but not because the captain had ordered Combat Condition Blue. The ring had filled with what appeared to be water, though such a thing was impossible in the vacuum of space.

"Emergency thrusters, back us away."

"Thrusters not responding, Cap!"

The ring structure drew the aging cruiser in towards the blue light...


...and the next thing they knew, they were two galaxies away in the Tarsonis system.



((Mini Miehm has the next IC post))

"Sir! The Anomoly!!!"

"What about it?" A man in a colonels uniform made a mad dash towards the sensor techs station.

"It's Activated itself, and something came through it sir!"

"WHAT!? That's impossible, show me the readings." The sensor tech pulled up the logs of the recent event, detailing the activation of the Anomoly, and the appearance of the unknown vessels, as well as a Terran Heavy Cruiser being sucked in, and presumably transported to the other side of what was apparently a massive Warp Gate. "Hail them, and activate the System Defense Pods."

Throughout the Tarsonis system, defenses came online, APOLLO and Ghost Rider missile pods came online, as well as surface based Photon Cannon.

Transmission to unknown vessels:

This is Tarsonis Defense Command. State your nationality, why you are here, and how you arrived here. Be warned that if you make any hostile actions there are enough system defense units and ships here to break a fleet, so please keep your weapons offline.

That message came too late.

Instantly, the MAC was brought back up to full power and all ARCHER-IV Missile Pods were armed. The two primary SHIVA torpedo tubes were also loaded. The bridge of the cruiser was awash in blue light once more, but this time it was because of the captain's order.

"This is Captain Jacob Markos of the Feazanthian Star Command vessel Dawn Under Heaven. Our weapons are hot and will not power down until we are returned from...wherever the hell this is."
He cut the channel and motioned to one of the blue shirts.

"Where the hell are we, lieutennant?"

"Dunno, sir," said the science officer. "Stellar cartography's all fucked to hell. If I didn't know better, I'd say we were in another got-damn galaxy!"

"Launch a pattern, 6 pods, across their bows if they don't power down after this transmission."

Reply:

You are in Tarsonis, we did not bring you here, we have no idea how you GOT here, and have no idea how to send you back, now, power down your weapons, you will get exactly one warning shot before we fire into your ships.

In space, 12 Ghost Rider pods oriented themselves so that they would fire across the bows of the unknowns.

Far from Tarsonis:

A Terran Heavy Cruiser appeared from nowhere, at the other terminus of what they referred to as "The Anomoly", they had no idea where they were, or how they had arrived there...

"The hell's a Tarsonis?" asked Markos aloud. "Sounds like something out of a hologame."

"Sir? What should we do?"

Markos thought for a moment. He had to proceed cautiously. If they were somehow on the other end of the universe, they were in uncharted territory...and possibly hostile territory.

"Main cannon to standby mode, disarm all missile pods."

"...sir?"

"Redirect primary fire control to the CIWS."

"You sure that's such a good idea?" asked a sultry, female voice. "I much prefer using the big guns over those peashooters."

"Dawn," said the captain, addressing the purplish holographic figure in front of him. "This is not the time or the place. Where the hell have you been?"

"I've been trying to figure out how that ring worked. It's obviously some sort of wormhole generator, though I don't know how they managed to activate it," the ship's AI, nicknamed Dawn, placed her hand on her hip and stared Markos dead in the eye. "Not that you'll listen to me, but I recommend keeping the main guns online."

"Dawn..."

"Alright! Alright! I'm putting the MAC on standby myself. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

"Thank you, Dawn. Now, keep a close eye on those alien weapons and keep those 50mm guns running."

"Please. I could mark a rat with those pieces of shit from a lightsecond out if I put my mind to it."

"Just do it, and figure out how to get the hell out of here."

The holographic figure vanished, and Markos opened the channel once more.

"There. Now, who are you?"

---

The carrier FSC Mustavan was doing a routine patrol and had just dumped itself out of the Slipstream when the terran Heavy Cruiser popped into existence.

..."what the devil?"

Reply:

I am Colonel Edwin Hammer, Terran Dominion defense command, Tarsonis. I can't tell you much more than that as to "who" we are. Who are you?

The pods that had oriented themselves for an attack now went back to standby, they could be active and firing in seconds, but it wasn't likely to be an issue.

--

"Sir, there's another ship out there... Of a type that is NOT contained in our records..."

"Activate the Burst Lasers, and prepare for action, assume they're hostile until they prove otherwise."

Lt. Comdr. R'eghc Da'eldig leaned forward in his command chair and studied the scene in front of him. His Slaver Dreadnaught, Humansbane.
Commander Da'eldig. We've picked up two signatures from FTL transit.
R'eghc nodded and replied in thought-speak. Arm weapons. Prepare the slave guard. Prepare to drop into real space.

OOC:Here (freewebs.com/thetruewayofalan) is my site with info.

((Sorry about that, mate. School and whatnot.))

"Guess we should report this," said Captain Morris of the Mustavan. "Scramble Alpha through Delta wings, bring up fire control," he said, leaning back in his chair as if he didn't care. "Probably just some pirate leftovers from the war. Ship's definately not Collective-built. Looks to good to be one of theirs."

"Sir? I have FleetCom on long-range."

"This is Captain Julian Morris of CV-121, FSC Mustavan, security code Morris Alpha-nine-one-six-oh-delta. We have an unknown vessel of unknown design and origin on scope, orbiting Concordia. Fighter wings have been scrambled and we have missile lock. Please advise."

Twenty C709 Longsword-class Fighter-bombers and four D77-AC Angry Pelican attack carriers screamed through space towards the cruiser.
"Attention, unidentified vessel. This is Alpha-1 of the carrier Mustavan. We have you on our scopes now. Please be advised that we have missile lock and are authorized to fire. Shut down engines and identify yourself."

---

"As I said, Colonel, this is the Feazanthian Star Command cruiser Dawn Under Heaven. We are on a mission to the planet Concordia in the Feazanthia home system. Something...tells me that something went wrong."

((Sorry about that, mate. School and whatnot.))

"Guess we should report this," said Captain Morris of the Mustavan. "Scramble Alpha through Delta wings, bring up fire control," he said, leaning back in his chair as if he didn't care. "Probably just some pirate leftovers from the war. Ship's definately not Collective-built. Looks to good to be one of theirs."

"Sir? I have FleetCom on long-range."

"This is Captain Julian Morris of CV-121, FSC Mustavan, security code Morris Alpha-nine-one-six-oh-delta. We have an unknown vessel of unknown design and origin on scope, orbiting Concordia. Fighter wings have been scrambled and we have missile lock. Please advise."

Twenty C709 Longsword-class Fighter-bombers and four D77-AC Angry Pelican attack carriers screamed through space towards the cruiser.
"Attention, unidentified vessel. This is Alpha-1 of the carrier Mustavan. We have you on our scopes now. Please be advised that we have missile lock and are authorized to fire. Shut down engines and identify yourself."

---

"As I said, Colonel, this is the Feazanthian Star Command cruiser Dawn Under Heaven. We are on a mission to the planet Concordia in the Feazanthia home system. Something...tells me that something went wrong."

Concordia:

Reply:

This is Captain Lord Pavel Young, of the Heavy Cruiser Warlock, I am unwilling to shut down our wedge, as it doubles as our shielding, and we know as little of your intentions as you know of ours.

Tarsonis:

Reply:

I am relatively sure that is the case. This is not Feazanthia, wherever that may be. This is Tarsonis, Capitol of the Terran Dominion. So far as we can ascertain, you appeared through the Anomoly, as one of our Heavy Cruisers was carried through from our end.

The fighters broke formation and began locking on to various points of the cruiser.

"Repeat, shut down engines. Identify yourself and prepare for potential boarding. You are within Feazanthian Union territory without a permit or registered flightplan. Lower energy fields. You will be given one last warning."

The rounded tips of SHIVA torpedoes descended from the lower launchers of the Longswords and their 50mm guns armed.

"Unidentified vessel, please respond."

---

"Anomoly?"
"I believe he means the Ring Structure, like the one orbiting Concordia, captian," said Dawn, who had reappeared. "I believe I am reading something similar in orbit around the nearest planet of this system, directly behind us."

"Can you possibly hack their Com networks? I want to know exactly who these Tarsonians are. Let's find out if they're anything like us. Find out if they mean us harm."

"I've already begun, captain. They'll never know I was there."

The fighters broke formation and began locking on to various points of the cruiser.

"Repeat, shut down engines. Identify yourself and prepare for potential boarding. You are within Feazanthian Union territory without a permit or registered flightplan. Lower energy fields. You will be given one last warning."

The rounded tips of SHIVA torpedoes descended from the lower launchers of the Longswords and their 50mm guns armed.

"Unidentified vessel, please respond."

---

"Anomoly?"
"I believe he means the Ring Structure, like the one orbiting Concordia, captian," said Dawn, who had reappeared. "I believe I am reading something similar in orbit around the nearest planet of this system, directly behind us."

"Can you possibly hack their Com networks? I want to know exactly who these Tarsonians are. Let's find out if they're anything like us. Find out if they mean us harm."

"I've already begun, captain. They'll never know I was there."

"Sir, they don't seem to be recieving our replies."

"Fine then, Roll Ship, and try transmitting again, using a whisker laser this time."

The Heavy cruiser recognised the threat posed by the unknown fighters, and deployed a recon drone to act as a relay for their whisker laser, since punching ANYTHING through a ships impeller wedge was impossible, without ripping the nodes right out of the ship.

---

An entity had entered the system... and it met the Terrans own AIs. The one that the unknown entity encountered gave of a vaguely "feminine" sense, and, if it had been vocalising, would havbe spoken with a contralto.

"And who, may I ask, are you?"

"They're not identifying or shutting down anything, sir," said Lieutennant Pierce "Hawkeye" Jones, pilot of Alpha-1 communicated to the Mustavan. He then opened a channel to the terran ship again.
"This is your last warning. Shut down all propulsion and defense systems. Refusal to do so will be considered a hostile act and will be met with force. Repeat, this is your last warning."

---

Dawn withdrew. So, these Tarsonians had AIs of their own? Intriguing. The one she had encountered didn't seem as advanced as herself. While she mused on this, she began prodding for a backdoor into the com networks. She targetted a non-essential system in one of the nearby vessels - something that wouldn't be heavily secured. If their systems were anything like the ones on the Dawn, they'd be interconnected somehow.

Next thing they knew, the waste disposal systems on a nearby Terran vessel was innundated by several trillion simultaneous requests and error messages. Dawn slipped into their database in the confusion.

The whisker laser reached out for a connection with the seemingly hostile Carrier, it carried the same message as previously.

---

The Terran AIDs were only in the major systems, but, as soon as the other AI entered one of them it would be caged, hard.

Transmission:

My AID has just informed me of another AI inside our ship. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you? Because we consider that very bad form. If it IS your AI, please just ask us any questions you want answered, we'll answer them as best we can without violating our security. If it should tangle with Shelly, it will likely be a computational fight to remember.

Dawn withdrew again to the systems of the Dawn Under Heaven.

"Sir," she said, reappearing in her holographic form. "They're blocking me something fierce. I don't know enough about their encryption protocols to slip through."

"Yeah, we know. They just called us," he said to her out of the corner of his mouth. He was on the line with the Colonel. "Colonel, perhaps it is better if we met face-to-face. Radio chatter does bore me so. Say...my ready room in one hour?"

---

The Longswords banked hard across the bow of the Warlock. They doubled back and took up a escort pattern around the cruiser. The Pelicans began roaring their way back to the carrier at high speed.

"This is the FSC Mustavan. Transmission recieved. In accordance with Dorn Protocol, article 7 subsection 13, you will prepare to be boarded by two transports of UFSC marines and diplomatic staff. Failure to do so will be met with hostile force. Be aware that fighters have targetted your vessel with nuclear torpedoes."

Dawn withdrew again to the systems of the Dawn Under Heaven.

"Sir," she said, reappearing in her holographic form. "They're blocking me something fierce. I don't know enough about their encryption protocols to slip through."

"Yeah, we know. They just called us," he said to her out of the corner of his mouth. He was on the line with the Colonel. "Colonel, perhaps it is better if we met face-to-face. Radio chatter does bore me so. Say...my ready room in one hour?"

---

The Longswords banked hard across the bow of the Warlock. They doubled back and took up a escort pattern around the cruiser. The Pelicans began roaring their way back to the carrier at high speed.

"This is the FSC Mustavan. Transmission recieved. In accordance with Dorn Protocol, article 7 subsection 13, you will prepare to be boarded by two transports of UFSC marines and diplomatic staff. Failure to do so will be met with hostile force. Be aware that fighters have targetted your vessel with nuclear torpedoes."

I'll have my Dropship there in time. I will enjoy meeting you in person...

---

Reply:

Do not be surprised when we meet your marines with our own. Standard Operating Procedure mandates that all armed non-Dominion personnel be accompanied by a Marine Detatchment at all times while on board. I will be there personally to meet your Diplomatic Team. Please try not to send them over-armed... Dealing with Marines bearing Rocket Launchers, Plasma Guns, or whatever you use as heavy weapons would be something we are not prepared to allow on this ship.

[ Um.
Is this closed?

If not, I'd like to join in, if that's all right. ]

[ Um.
Is this closed?

If not, I'd like to join in, if that's all right. ]

OOC: It's kind of incidentally closed. He's in my home system, but you could show up in the system we're in that ISN'T Tarsonis...

[ All right, then. ]

TABWhile on routine antipiracy patrol in the area, the heavy cruiser RNS Quiddity (designation CA-4) spotted a gravitic anomaly while in transit between systems. By the nature of Warshawski sensor arrays, they could detect h-space phenomena in n-space, caused by the ripples that reached into the alpha band, as well as detecting those same ripples in h-space and locating their source. The anomaly wouldn't be an anomaly, however, if it didn't look so strange--it simply did not match what should be happening when a ship made transit, or was moving under impellers. It was like that, but slightly different. The astrogator wasn't able to put a definite finger on it, but he felt something was up. As their patrol was rather unimportant (except, of course, to the beaurecrats in New Dublin), the captain decided to translate, just to check it out.

[ All right, then. ]

TABWhile on routine antipiracy patrol in the area, the heavy cruiser RNS Quiddity (designation CA-4) spotted a gravitic anomaly while in transit between systems. By the nature of Warshawski sensor arrays, they could detect h-space phenomena in n-space, caused by the ripples that reached into the alpha band, as well as detecting those same ripples in h-space and locating their source. The anomaly wouldn't be an anomaly, however, if it didn't look so strange--it simply did not match what should be happening when a ship made transit, or was moving under impellers. It was like that, but slightly different. The astrogator wasn't able to put a definite finger on it, but he felt something was up. As their patrol was rather unimportant (except, of course, to the beaurecrats in New Dublin), the captain decided to translate, just to check it out.

OOC: Sweet... Another Honorverse(ish) nation. My strategies are almost useless here! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Oh well... I think I left a few missile pods on the Heavy Cruisers, if things get really messy...

IC:

The Terran Cruiser was on a VERY high state of alert, this was liable to go from bad to worse, especially if talking with the other ship produced a negative result...

TABThe Rowlan ship entered n-space almost right on the system ecliptic, well within the one-light-minute safety margin of the hyper limit that the RSN mandated. Vast shields fore and aft bled transit energy in a huge light-show, blue lightning shrieking off into space, where it tapered off and dispersed harmlessly. The Warshawski shields were soon reconfigured their their wedge shape, and the cruiser began moving forward at four hundred fifty gees.
TABOn the bridge, the tac officer's repeater plot showed one ship that BatComp recognized as a Miehmian ship, but could not place the second. In fact, there wasn't even an impeller signature that they could detect--was it down? A radar map of its surface was ordered, and when the image stabilized, someone sucked in a breath of air.
TABIt didn't have impeller nodes. Nor did it match any sort of design from the universe's past. A breeze of frigid air seemed to course about the bridge of the heavy cruiser.
TAB"Hail them," said the captain. "Make sure the Miehmian knows we're friendly. And try to figure out just what the hell that thing is."
TABA simple reply came back from the comm officer's station, with a twinge of unease that refused to go away. "Aye, Captain."

TABThe Rowlan ship entered n-space almost right on the system ecliptic, well within the one-light-minute safety margin of the hyper limit that the RSN mandated. Vast shields fore and aft bled transit energy in a huge light-show, blue lightning shrieking off into space, where it tapered off and dispersed harmlessly. The Warshawski shields were soon reconfigured their their wedge shape, and the cruiser began moving forward at four hundred fifty gees.
TABOn the bridge, the tac officer's repeater plot showed one ship that BatComp recognized as a Miehmian ship, but could not place the second. In fact, there wasn't even an impeller signature that they could detect--was it down? A radar map of its surface was ordered, and when the image stabilized, someone sucked in a breath of air.
TABIt didn't have impeller nodes. Nor did it match any sort of design from the universe's past. A breeze of frigid air seemed to course about the bridge of the heavy cruiser.
TAB"Hail them," said the captain. "Make sure the Miehmian knows we're friendly. And try to figure out just what the hell that thing is."
TABA simple reply came back from the comm officer's station, with a twinge of unease that refused to go away. "Aye, Captain."



The Miehmish Heavy Cruiser accepted the communication:

This is the Warlock we're not sure exactly where we are, or jhow we got here, but it's nice to see a semi-friendly face.

[ Scratch that. Make it they couldn't recognize any of the ships, except for the Warlock in the system, and ordered a map of the Mustavan. ]

A reply was sent over whisker-laser to the Warlock.

[I assure you, we are not hostile. Could you explain in any way how you came to be here? It is rather far off the beaten track.]

[ Scratch that. Make it they couldn't recognize any of the ships, except for the Warlock in the system, and ordered a map of the Mustavan. ]

A reply was sent over whisker-laser to the Warlock.

[I assure you, we are not hostile. Could you explain in any way how you came to be here? It is rather far off the beaten track.]


Reply:

We have no idea, we were on a routine patrol near the Tarsonis Anomoly when we detected a power surge, and here we are, with a similar Anomoly nearby. Do you know where "here" is?

[ I hope Feazanthia doesn't mind this.

If you really are that far away, I'll have to withdraw, as I can't figure any other realistic way to join in. :/ ]

TAB[You are to the galactic west of Matapan. May we offer a squad of technicians to repair your navigational equipment?]
TABThe message presumed that the Terran's astrographic software had malfunctioned, as it was easy to position one's self in relation to other stars, and it was quite inversely hard to simply pass away into an entirely uncharted region of space.

[ I hope Feazanthia doesn't mind this.

If you really are that far away, I'll have to withdraw, as I can't figure any other realistic way to join in. :/ ]

TAB[You are to the galactic west of Matapan. May we offer a squad of technicians to repair your navigational equipment?]
TABThe message presumed that the Terran's astrographic software had malfunctioned, as it was easy to position one's self in relation to other stars, and it was quite inversely hard to simply pass away into an entirely uncharted region of space.


Reply:

MATAPAN??? What are we doing all the way out here???? We started in Korpulu, and we're about halfway across the galaxy now...

TAB[You mentioned an anomaly? Could you describe it? We can only guess it may have been a Junction.]

TAB[You mentioned an anomaly? Could you describe it? We can only guess it may have been a Junction.]


Reply:

Nothing like a Wormhole Junction. It was probably a massive physical Gate to somewhere...

TAB
TABThe [i]Quiddity came to rest five hundred thousand kilometers from the Warlock, with some change left over, and began sweeping the area about it with passive radar and gradar. Assuming the gate was not made of a radar-absorbing material, and had some mass, the ship would pick it up shortly.

TAB
TABThe [i]Quiddity came to rest five hundred thousand kilometers from the Warlock, with some change left over, and began sweeping the area about it with passive radar and gradar. Assuming the gate was not made of a radar-absorbing material, and had some mass, the ship would pick it up shortly.


OOC: It's huge, and readily visible, even at interstellar distances. I'm thinking like HALO huge...

IC:

Reply:

No clue. The only warning we got was a detected power spike, before we appeared here.

TAB[Perhaps there was a proximity trigger? Or a self-defense mechanism? On another note, do you have any visual record in your computers of the transition? It may ease the analysis.]


[ Wow. If it's that big, then it'd have to be Dyson Ring/Swarm big. o.o ]

OOC - I say, so much mucking around in my home system, which is where the Warlock is. Alright, c'mon then!

IC -

Now this was unprecedented. Just as the Pelicans were launched from the Mustavan, another vessel appeared out of nowhere. Two Longswords broke formation from their charge and locked missiles on the newcomer ship. An identical transmission was sent to the Quiddity using all known bands.

"This is the carrier Mustavan of the Feazanthian Union. You have violated Feazanthian space without permission. Shut down engines, weapons, or whatever the hell you have on that crate and identify yourself. Ordinance is locked and holding. I'm damn tired of this crap!"

OOC: Sorry Feaz... I thought it was a minor outlying system...

IC:

The Captain thought this was getting rather rediculous himself. What were the odds that multiple nations would appear in the same area, so close together?

TAB"Emissions from two LACs read targetting systems are online and locked!" shouted the tac officer.
TAB"Incoming message!" came another shout, this time from the comm officer, before he shunted it to the bridge speakers.

...carrier Mustavan of the Feazanthian Union. You have violated Feazanthian space without permission. Shut down engines, weapons, or whatever the hell you have on that crate and identify yourself. Ordinance is locked and holding. I'm damn tired of this crap!

TAB"Prepare a message," snapped the captain, turning to face the pickup, his face hard, and serious. "Message begins. This is the cruiser Quiddity of the Rowlan Space Navy. We were not aware that this was sovereign space. We were investigating what we took to be a gravitic anomaly." Pause. "As you may note, our targetting systems are at standby levels. We are not, however, prepared to cut our wedge. Message ends."
TAB"On the chip, sir. Sending now."

The Mustavan's captain was beginning to get overwhelmed. Was this some new Collective ploy? No matter. Feazanthia Prime was three hours away at normal cruise speed, less if they put on the gas. Reach was closer, but he doubted the ONI snoops on the homeworld would let FleetCom get wind of this before they got their grubby claws in it. He was on his own until they sent reinforcements.

"This is the captain. All hands, action stations. Fire Team Zulu, report to Hanger Bay four."

The two Pelicans skimmed over the surface of the Warlock, probing for access hatches as two more Pelicans were prepped for a rendevous with this new ship.

---

As the Dominion dropship neared, several C77s took up position around it and began escorting it towards the Dawn Under Heaven's primary launch bay.

The Mustavan's captain was beginning to get overwhelmed. Was this some new Collective ploy? No matter. Feazanthia Prime was three hours away at normal cruise speed, less if they put on the gas. Reach was closer, but he doubted the ONI snoops on the homeworld would let FleetCom get wind of this before they got their grubby claws in it. He was on his own until they sent reinforcements.

"This is the captain. All hands, action stations. Fire Team Zulu, report to Hanger Bay four."

The two Pelicans skimmed over the surface of the Warlock, probing for access hatches as two more Pelicans were prepped for a rendevous with this new ship.

---

As the Dominion dropship neared, several C77s took up position around it and began escorting it towards the Dawn Under Heaven's primary launch bay.


The dropship settled in the launch bay. It was a decently large vessel, but still small enough that it would fit easily within the carriers bays. Captain Young emerged from the hatch encased in the light armor of a Terrran Marine. He didn't carry the standard Gauss Rifle, and he didn't have the palmate blade that usually graced the hip of a Marine, but he still wore his sidearm.

"Permission to come aboard?" The proper protocol had to be followed when entering another ship, and he intended to follow it to a letter.

((I assume you're using the standard NBC Terran Marine armor?))

Marines stood at the ready, not as heavily armored as their dominion equivalents, but hefting large BR55 Battle Rifles and older MA5B Assault Rifles. Captain Markos stood at parade rest in front of them in his uniform (http://halomania.tripod.com/keyes.jpg).
"Permission granted, Captain, I presume?" This form of battle armor was...strange...to Markos. The only thing like it that he'd ever seen...

He sent a command via his neural lace to Dawn, who relayed it to Cryo Bay B.

<<Unseal the Hushed Casket>>

((I assume you're using the standard NBC Terran Marine armor?))

Marines stood at the ready, not as heavily armored as their dominion equivalents, but hefting large BR55 Battle Rifles and older MA5B Assault Rifles. Captain Markos stood at parade rest in front of them in his uniform (http://halomania.tripod.com/keyes.jpg).
"Permission granted, Captain, I presume?" This form of battle armor was...strange...to Markos. The only thing like it that he'd ever seen...

He sent a command via his neural lace to Dawn, who relayed it to Cryo Bay B.

<<Unseal the Hushed Casket>>

Captain Young stepped off of the ramp, and on to the ship proper. "I am Captain Young. You would be the captain as well I assume?"

OOC: Yeah, just the regular suit for Marines.

"Captain Jacob S. Markos, Feazanthian Space Command cruiser Dawn Under Heaven," said the captain, stretching out his hand. "It is an honor. There has been no contact with an alien government in generations."

[Is it too late to join in?]

"Captain Jacob S. Markos, Feazanthian Space Command cruiser Dawn Under Heaven," said the captain, stretching out his hand. "It is an honor. There has been no contact with an alien government in generations."

"I can honestly say that it's also an honor. We meet other nations and races on a fairly regular basis, but you are the first ones we've met that didn't actually shoot at us when we didn't power down." He took the captains hand, very carefully, the Marine Armor wasn't as muscular as the ACS Troopers, but it could still break bones if he wasn't careful.

Markos chuckled.
"Not like we could. How many missiles did you have pointed at us, anyway? Somehow I doubt my ship's AI is that good." He knew he was going to catch it from Dawn later on for that quip. "So, let's get right to the chase. We're in orbit above...Tarsonis, is it? And one of your ships is missing?"

Markos chuckled.
"Not like we could. How many missiles did you have pointed at us, anyway? Somehow I doubt my ship's AI is that good." He knew he was going to catch it from Dawn later on for that quip. "So, let's get right to the chase. We're in orbit above...Tarsonis, is it? And one of your ships is missing?"

"Just 96. A standard spread. Now, as you say. This is Tarsonis, capitol of the Terran Dominion. And the Heavy Cruiser Warlock is missinbg, presumably sent to wherever you came from."

Markos suddenly looked worried.
"I was afraid of that. That means they're in orbit around Concordia, in the Feazanthia System. It also means...oh dear Lord..."

The captain downloaded the patrol routes of all FSC vessels within the Feazanthia system to his neural lace.

"First ship they'll come in contact with is the Mustavan. CO's a maverick, been on his entire career. Damn good warrior, though. Killed two Collective orbships with four functional missile pods and a handful of MAC rounds."

Markos suddenly looked worried.
"I was afraid of that. That means they're in orbit around Concordia, in the Feazanthia System. It also means...oh dear Lord..."

The captain downloaded the patrol routes of all FSC vessels within the Feazanthia system to his neural lace.

"First ship they'll come in contact with is the Mustavan. CO's a maverick, been on his entire career. Damn good warrior, though. Killed two Collective orbships with four functional missile pods and a handful of MAC rounds."

"Maverick huh... Him and the captain are birds of a feather then. So long as Pavel plays his cards right he'll be fine. Pavels a better diplomat than a fighter though, so things oughta be fine."

((Vhere did Rowle go?))

((Vhere did Rowle go?))

OOC: No idea man... Disapperared I guess...

Pale-white beams barely penetrated the cloud of dust that was kicked up as a marine kicked open the hatch seperating the Pelican from the Warlock's access hallway.

"Charlie team, move out!" FSC marines piled from the specially fitted Pelicans, their rifle flashlights splaying over everything in the dark corridor. "LZ secure. Nothing moving."

Pale-white beams barely penetrated the cloud of dust that was kicked up as a marine kicked open the hatch seperating the Pelican from the Warlock's access hallway.

"Charlie team, move out!" FSC marines piled from the specially fitted Pelicans, their rifle flashlights splaying over everything in the dark corridor. "LZ secure. Nothing moving."

Put up your weapons,. and we'll come out to greet you. If you do not stow them within the next minute, we will be forced to consider you hostile. Your commander was told to send a small force and a diplomat. This is not a small force.

Outside the landing bay a full Company of Marines was assembled, along with a pair of Goliath Walkers. Behind the troops, the Captain waited to see what the apparently zealous marines would do.

A large, dark-skinned man in fatigues stepped from the transport.
"At this very moment," he said aloud, knowing that the Dominion troops could hear him. "There is a heavy Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and about seven dozen missile pods locked on your ship at this very second, not to mention a pair of our biggest, baddest warheads. We'll be making the terms here, got it? Put down your weapons and open up this hatch."

A large, dark-skinned man in fatigues stepped from the transport.
"At this very moment," he said aloud, knowing that the Dominion troops could hear him. "There is a heavy Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and about seven dozen missile pods locked on your ship at this very second, not to mention a pair of our biggest, baddest warheads. We'll be making the terms here, got it? Put down your weapons and open up this hatch."

The hatch opened. The man would find himself looking directly into the barrel of a 30mm cannon.

"You're treatening us with Nukes, KEWs, and MISSILES? Solid shot just isn't gonna fly against a Wedge my friend."

OOC: What's the megatonnage on those Shivas? Depending on how much it is, and where it ends up hitting, the Captain may actually be telling the truth with that bluff.

OOC - Don't think it's actually been calculated, but the things are designed to obliterate a ship in one or two shots (first shot knocks out shields, second shot vaporizes the ship itself). The main threat is the MAC.
Quoted from WIKIPEDIA: The primary offensive armament of UNSC spacecraft are Magnetic Accelerator Cannons [MACs]. These use powerful superconducting magnets to accelerate projectiles weighing 600 tons in the case of ships, or 5,000 tons in the case of Super MAC platforms. These projectiles are composed of Depleted Uranium, Titainum-A and/or Tungsten with a Ferrous Core are accelerated to over 40% of the speed of light by linear accelerator coils (coilgun). So the Nukes are to be less powerful than your standard S-MAC round, but a good deal more powerful than the standard MAC.

IC-

"Boy, get that oversized tube outta my face 'fore I find some creative uses for these 'nades."
He approached the gathering, unafraid of the cannon. "Sgt. Avery Brooks, Feazanthian Space Command. Dun' think you boys are Collective, but yer still a long way aways from the cavalry to be pointin' guns."

OOC - Don't think it's actually been calculated, but the things are designed to obliterate a ship in one or two shots (first shot knocks out shields, second shot vaporizes the ship itself). The main threat is the MAC.
Quoted from WIKIPEDIA: The primary offensive armament of UNSC spacecraft are Magnetic Accelerator Cannons [MACs]. These use powerful superconducting magnets to accelerate projectiles weighing 600 tons in the case of ships, or 5,000 tons in the case of Super MAC platforms. These projectiles are composed of Depleted Uranium, Titainum-A and/or Tungsten with a Ferrous Core are accelerated to over 40% of the speed of light by linear accelerator coils (coilgun). So the Nukes are to be less powerful than your standard S-MAC round, but a good deal more powerful than the standard MAC.

IC-

"Boy, get that oversized tube outta my face 'fore I find some creative uses for these 'nades."
He approached the gathering, unafraid of the cannon. "Sgt. Avery Brooks, Feazanthian Space Command. Dun' think you boys are Collective, but yer still a long way aways from the cavalry to be pointin' guns."

OOC: Ok. According to Xess(only NSer I know that bothered to waste his time doing the math) the wedge is ripped from a ship at something like .25 petatons. I think that's a bit much, so it actually happens at about .25 Terratons.

IC:

"How about you put up your guns, and I'll let the Goliath move out of your way? Because until you either set up your guns, or send out an honest-to-God Diplomat, this Walker is not moving." A squad of Marinbes stepped forward in their armor, flanking the large Goliath Walker.

[ I'm sorry. I've had to practice with my culinary team for the recent FCCLA event yesterday, and I've had a lot of backwork to do as well.

So, last thing was that I lased the Mustavan, but it didn't reply. Unless Fire Team Zulu was for the Quiddity, but it seems that it was meant for the Warlock. ]

[ Allo....Allooooo-oo?

{::echo::} ]

((Fire team Zulu was meant for the Quiddity. Standard Feazanthian procedure is to board unknown vessels within Feazanthian space, as my sensors aren't that sophisticated.))

[ All right, then. Is the Mustavan going to reply, and can I roleplay them launching, or do you want to do that? ]