NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Here's the link to the OOC recruitment thread: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=468368&page=2

Councillor Jarharran stood, and spoke, slowly, but with resolve, into the recorder. As soon as he made the speech, it would be travelling out, into the void, at unfathomable speeds. It would reach thousands of people, and hundreds of nations, at the very least.

He cleared his throat, and then spoke, as the recording begun. "Greetings, to the universe. On this day, the League of Hyperspatial Travel has created the Interstellar Alliance of Worlds, an alliance that has been created in order to promote peace and prosperity, for all in the alliance, throughout the galaxy.

In light of this, I wish to invite all interested nations, to a meeting, on the planet Alamar. [co-ordinates transmitted]. A meeting area has been prepared, and safeguards have been taken in order to ensure the safety of this meeting.

We welcome you all in advance to this meeting, in hopes that all nations interested will send a representative. Furthermore, since this Alliance already contains five nations, you may access these nations on our Database, and ask them about the current status of the alliance.

The planet Alamar hung like a bluegreen jewel in the inky void, the white mist of clouds swirling, endlessly, as it seemed from the orbital station Arimas.
The meeting had been prepared, with information stored in easy to copy dataunits, and six capital ships, for security. The League was going to a lot of trouble to hold this meeting, especially considering the exposed location.

Commander Illyuich, a high-ranking infantry specialist, had been delegated to protect the meeting. He, and over fifty men, armed with non-lethal weapons, were to protect the area. Of course, it was doubtful anything was going to happen, indeed, the Alamarii System was secure against anything but a full-scale invasion, however, it could not be said that the League failed to protect its allies.

A technician stood at a console, busily using his cybernetic implants to interface with the system defense controls, and, slowly, but surely, opened a pathway in the FTLi field, with the exception of a tiny barrier at the entrance. Ships would have to slow down, and be identified, before re-reaching FTL speeds, in order to safeguard the meeting completely.

The most important preparations were completed, and Jarharran sat in his hoverchair, and waited for the diplomats to arrive..

A lone D'Kora dropped to sublight outside the area blocked by the FTLi. A message was sent towards the Hyperspatial Travel planet.

Messages

This is the F.C.S. Rules Of Acquisition of the Ferengi Consortium. We are carrying Grand Nagus Zek to your conference. Requesting approach vector.

Jarharran quickly replied, his audio recording quickly being translated into Ferengi script, and then, when finished, sent off to the ship itself.

[co-ordinates transmitted]. We will commence scanning of your ship momentarily, please lower weapons, and shields to a reasonable level, if you have not already. Visual specs of the landing site, as well as approach information, are being transmitted. The planetary shield has been lowered, and we are awaiting your arrival.

It was a simple meeting hall, with a distinct lack of opulency, seats, which were simply padded, a table, which was not made out of some manufactured jewel, instead, a plaswood table, and apparently unarmed guards at every door.

There was a large sect of Isolationists on the planet, who hated all non-League beings, however, they would not protest today, considering the perimetre defenses. Jarharran questioned why the League had chosen to hold the meeting on this planet, unfortunately, he had got no response. No doubt it was some foolery, about showing the Isolationists what friendship could do. He sighed, and waited for the Ferengi delegation. Hopefully, there would be no trouble.

Response Message

To Hyperspatial Travel:

Acknowledged. We will be lowering our shields as we switch from Yellow Alert to Green Alert. We were at Yellow Alert due to having through unkown territory on our way here.

Later...

The D'Kora inserted itself into orbit around the planet. Soon, a small shuttle launched from the large craft and headed for the designated co-ordinates.

OOC: This on a station or on the planet?
Oh, and last post for the night.

OOC: On the planet. We prefer to use stations as purely military installations.

IC: The League delegation awaited the Ferengi delegation, the infolinks updated every second, more, and more information about the Alliance flooding into the various terminals. Although it was not war, these were trained diplomats, and, this was their life.

(I'll reply tomorrow. Bedtime for me)

A twisted hulk of contorted grey metal, the Strogg Cruiser was quite clearly designed with no sense of aesthetics in mind. Its jutting pylons and asymmetrical form was an imposing sight as it blotted out the stars, but it was only a fraction of the size of a Strogg Dreadnought -- those goliaths were reputably capable of facilitating the harvesting of entire worlds by themselves. Still, it was brimming with all manner of different weapons, heavy armour plating, presumably some form of energy shielding, and surely it had a distinct practical purpose. It was one of the smallest vessels the Strogg possessed that was capable of traversing interstellar distances; most of their smaller ships were launched from Dreadnoughts, Orbital Harvesters, or based on planets, and lacked faster-than-light capabilities.

It streaked to a dead halt as its engines shut down. Primarily, the ship stopped not because of the faster-than-light inhibiting field that it had detected on approach, but simply because it had no intention of wasting resources on an unnecessary battle that could have been avoided by communicating their identity and intentions beforehand. Some knowledge remained of the impractical customs practiced by the non-Strogg, even though it was usually regarded as irrelevant data. They didn't believe in deleting things, fortunately.

Nor did they apparently believe in using more words than was necessary in their communications:

"Strogg. Enter?"

The Councillor looked worried, after all, he was used to dealing with diplomatic, articulate races, and quickly sent a reply. Enter. Power down weaponry, permission has been given. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best he could do.

He smoothed his shirt, and, in the spaceport, people hurried about, preparing it, making it immaculate, for the arrival of the allied diplomats.

"Enter." Their acknowledgement was simple. Upon sending it, they immediately accessed the coordinates of this planet 'Alamar' which they had received in the initial communication. Their engines glowed dark orange once again, and the ship streaked off into the nothingness, out of view. It arrived shortly afterwards at Alamar, at just the right speed and distance to establish orbit the second their FTL cut out.



Inside the ship, it was dark. A few lights provided the minimal amount needed for those units which functioned with the visible light spectrum, but that was it. Strogg of all shapes and sizes milled around through the corridors and facilities, maintaining their strange blend of organic and mechanical technology constantly to keep it functioning at peak efficiency. The main control room, as if they needed one, was one of the busier places. Small drones buzzed around maintaining the ship and the Strogg themselves, using a variety of tools as they hovered between systems.

"Orbit," said one of the Strogg, speaking as many and one. "One planet, Strogg designation X-7285181, native designation 'Alamar'. Lifeforms detected. Machinery detected. Atmosphere detected. Minerals detected. Harvesting value moderate. Lifeform status: humanoid. Recommend transportation of humanoid units for communication facilitation."

"Affirmative," more voices, from another unit standing nearby. "This unit shall transport to planetoid." It turned, and made its way towards the main transportation systems.



On the planet at the designated coordinates, a bright light blinded anybody nearby. A high-pitched whine began to pierce the air as the light intensified, pounding the ground with heat. After several seconds, both the light and sound terminated abruptly. In its place stood a Strogg.

Now in daylight, the unit could be seen for all its glory. Machine merged with life in a most disturbing fashion. Its pale, bloodless face had apparently been removed completely to allow for components to be inserted into the skull and eyes, and then grafted back on afterwards. Its teeth had been re-inserted to its mouth as well, probably to give it a more 'human' look for encounters such as this. Whatever changes had been made to his torso could not be seen, as thick armour plating had literally been welded onto it, covering it completely. Given that it didn't seem to breathe, it seemed likely that the changes were quite extensive. 'His' lower arms had been replaced with mechanical arms, presumably to give it greater strength and resilience. The majority of its legs had also been replaced too, leaving only small stumps of the original organic limbs. The unit was armed with some kind of personal defence weapon, though the thing was stored securely in an alcove on its leg.

The final result was a mutilated, seven-and-a-half foot 'man'. 'He' was probably far more capable than he had been as a pure organic, but, from an outsider's point of view at least it didn't look like a whole lot of fun. He certainly wouldn't pull any girls. Though despite the hideous method with which his cybernetic components had been incorporated with what was left of his body, he did not appear to be in any pain. If they could experience such sensations, anyway. 'He' was a misnomer anyway, as Strogg only acknowledged gender for practical purposes, such as their native homeworld breeding programs.

Its metal feet slammed down onto the ground as it took a step forwards, turning its head from side to side as it surveyed its surroundings. It moved its glowing red eyes to look down at the people who waited for delegates, and focused in on them.

"I am the Strogg," it said, with the voices of many, after spending several seconds scanning them. Cocking its head to one side, it quizzed, "Allies?"