NationStates Jolt Archive

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced the President before a crowd of six million people. "This is a new era for the Britannic Commonwealth! After years of grueling research and development, our scientists have finally constructed a warp drive, which will allow our starships to travel faster than light!"

The crowd cheered wildly.

"Having said that, it is time to renew the genocide on teddy bears for the next week. After that, teddy bear production and distribution may resume."

***

HMS Kensington (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Sovereign_class)
In Spacedock

"All systems online and ready for launch."
"Magnetic moorings cleared."
"Warp drive fully functional."
"Launch clearance granted."
"All supplies onboard."

The HMS Kensington left port and took to the stars.

HMS Kensington
In Jovian Orbit

"Activate the warp drive. Set course to the...Gaian Ascendancy,"

"Aye, aye."

"Estimated time to arrival: Six point eight months."

"Ooh. That's long. Even at Warp 9.9?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh. Let's see if we can find any other civilizations along the way."

"Understood."

"Now, I'm going to go torture a teddy bear."

"Got it."

((OC- Gee, I'm honored.. check your TG in a bit before we continue here. =^^= ))

((OC- Now to go back to the rp this was meant to be. =^^= ))

-----

*Sphere Alliance Confederacy Territories - Milky Way Core Galaxy*

Now over two years since the battle of GT-772.33 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=507533), the Confederacy territory once the realm of the United Mankind before the now ancient military alliance action between the Gaians and the Ahb, was settling back down from the Dark Eternal assault that threatened the territory.

While the territory was well off, only a stage below formal Core Worlds technological standard after over a hundred years of governance, the territory was still not even formally named. The territory was still seen as mainly an extensia of the Confederacy Alliances the Sphere relied so havily upon for it's existence. The territory was well respected, but not a fully holy place persay, compared to the minor holdings on Motherworld Terra in Japan and the embassies and starports in the Sol System.

It had an ambiguous place in the Sphere, a place of many things, but nothing of it's own true identity.

The arrival of the Horshino family would change all of that. Ruri and Hori were determined to transform this teritory into a formally named and recognizable territory. A few hundred Systems, about ten percent naturally habitable, the rest artifical, there was plenty of commerce and resources coming through to make this territory a major hub for all MWCG trade and cultural exchange, moreover than seen normally by the Sphere Council in the Homeland Galaxies.

It was a trap of having a realm this large, it wasn't lost on the Excellency when he assigned the territory to Ruri and Hori. Such things tended to change many things. However everything was in nascent stages, the foundation was there, but the identity was needing work.

On the territorial capital world, Ruri looked across from a standard Palace Tree across a normal looking M-class forest plain landscape. Somewhere a river flowed before her, under the canopy from south to north east. She went to it to listen to the fish often, her favorite pasttime. Just to listen to them swim by, looking at the species that flowed within the waters within, even before she was named territorial governor, before the trauma of the battle that........

...she shook her head. She was too used to thinking of the battle, seeing her old friends and crewmates on her old vessel die. Seeing........................

"Again?"

Ruri thanked the voice for tearing her thoughts away from the all too recent memory. For all the magic the Sphere and Ascendancy contained, none of it could take memories away, especially when they could be recovered so easily as is the breath in a dead body. The price meant the long lives could reflect on many things.

Sometimes it was a curse. Govenor Ruri tilted her head to the left. "Sorry, bad habit."

There was one other person that could relate of immediate note, in the immediate area. Not because they were the only ones that died in that battle and were recovered via Gen-Refab units, but because Hori was the one who died trying to protect Ruri when the deck hatch ripped apart in that final explosion. She remembered seeing the shard of large metal that impaled Hori's skull. She remembered when he woke up from recovery, but didn't even recognize her. She remembered that Aleaic found out from a literally crying Yurika and deliberately took time away from duties to come and help recover his memories in very personal and caring detail. It was the first time she saw the powers of the Power used outside from all the stories of the history holos.

It made her believe of things her more stoic nature beforehand didn't do beforehand. Logic and education could never explain fully miracles, and she was glad to have his Excellency's help. It was a selfish gesture in a selfless way, compared to the billions of others that suffered death and recovery in similar fashion.

But Aleiac said family still came first, no matter how cruel it makes all other circumstances. Only Aleaic would suffer the cruel blames for that, not Hori and not Ruri, she remembered of those word. She looked into Hori's eyes and lost another tear again, still not fully in control of her emotions. Possibly never again in fact.

It was shown as Ruri suddenly rushed into Hori's chest and started crying hard again into his chest, the tear dampening his robe tunic again. And again Hori didn't mind. He remembered her, and he knew it would take a long time for emotions to evolve from it. Time was always everything for everyone, no matter what the Gaians thought of themselves.

That humility kept all their power in the universe in check.

"Cry my love. It keeps us alive."

Hori wrapped his arms around his silver haired fairy, and held tight. They didn't move for a long time. The light even grew darker outside in the meantime, the winds ebbing and flowing calmly all the while.

------

The new chapter for the MWCG for the Gaians was beginning. They just didn't know what in heaven it would all entail.

That was the fun of it.

HMS Kensington
On the edge of Confederate space

Action stations, action stations, announced the 1MC.

"Captain, we're approaching a class-M planet, signs of life," reported the helmsman.

"Finally! Signal the High Command and the Royal Starfleet," ordered the captain.

Finding new life! thought the captain. This beats interrogating and torturing teddy bears any day. I'll be famous. President Swanner might promote me. Or knight me....sweetness!

This was the fulfillment of Captain Tarell's life-long dream. Ever since he was a little boy, he had want to explore the stars, meet civilizations light-years from home, and he was on the brink of doing so.

"Take us into an orbit conducive to mapping the planet," he ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir," replied the helmsman.

"Lieutenant-Commander Vorstellung, what are our sensor readings?" the Captain asked.

"Sir, the planet is inhabited by intelligent beings. Sensors indicate the presence of sprawling metropolitan areas and a wide amount of signal traffic," she replied. "I think, though my knowledge of Confederate territory is sketchy, that this is a world of the Confederacy."

"Can we pick up some of the signals?" asked the captain. He wanted to know all about this civilization.

"Yes, sir. I'm able to get...television programmes. At least, that's what it looks like," replied Vorstellung, surprised.

"Excellent. I'll view them in my ready room," stated Captain Tarell, leaving his captain's chair. "Commander Zabaglione, you have the conn."

The Hikari Shield picked it up as it crossed the formal border, but didn't do much other than inform through the Trees of the new arrival. In fact almost any foriegn power could do such, as long as ill intent was not present.

The Dark Eternals found out otherwise the hard way, when the Shield 'did' work. Living things did make conscious decisions after all when needed. As it was, the new arrival actually was seen with a gleeful inqusitivness by the Trees.

As it arrived into the MWCG-CT-871.3 System, and arrived over the M-Class world of seven hundred thousand over five main cities, the rest of the world a plain M-type landscape with a yellow star shining across it's surface. Only a moon, two other planets comprising what amounted to a Star System, it all was essentially a border end point for citizens that simply wanted a quieter style of life. So much of the Terra sized world was so open and barely touched beyond normal resource mining under the surface, that citizens could go a few kilometers from a city, and be in pure landscape with few interferences other than from other citizens that came by and said hello.

It was the usual kind of place that population growth could be conducted, with few hearing within earshot. Anotehr few decades of such, and another city would be needed anyway.

--

As the unknown starship suddenly appeared over the skies, a starbase traffic controller keeping tabs on incoming and outgoing startraffic, saw and informed defense controllers immediately.

The commander on scene made the inital comm contact, the vessel clearly of Federation technological make, piping many of local interest, given the news the Sphere was looking for the same kind of technology for the new Confederacy Starfleet being planned out. The news of the new acquisitions from Huntear hadn't filted down the holo-grapevine just as yet out here, so everything about the new vessel was of clear interest.

:: ~ Attention unknown starvessel, while we welcome you into Confederacy-Sphere Alliance space, we request identification for formal contact measures, the more detail the better.

We are sending a vessel as escort as per standard procedure. Please do not be alarmed. ~ ::

Not too long after, a single Shiva Class Cathedral Cruiser patrolling nearby moved from a high position along the orbital axis to come from the rear of the foreign starship. A few starfighters swept by, but just on a patrol pass from a seperate direction.

Meanwhile, Territory Capital Command was sent word within very short order through the internal communications network. Word would spread like lightspeed as a result in the territory. The Sphere rarely had a contact on their own territory, normally the Sphere was the one that did such things.

"Sir, sir!" shouted the XO. "We have contact!"

The captain burst out of his ready room, giddy as could be. "Let's hear it," he said excitedly. After listening to the Confederate transmission, he took the communications panel and signalled to the planet below.

This is the HMS Kensington, of the Britannic Commonwealth, registry number NCC-0092. We are not here on any offensive mission, but to explore, as our nation has recently developed an interplanetary starfleet.

I repeat, we mean no harm.

"Now we wait," said the captain. "Signal the High Command again."

***

Londinian High Command

"Sir, the Kensington has made contact," reported Chloe Sinclair, Minister for Defence.

"Excellent," mused President James Swanner. "Order them to comply with all of their directives. No sense starting a war. On a side note, how goes the contruction of the eight other starships?"

"Two more are nearing their completion, the rest remain in varying stages of construction in orbit," Sinclair replied.

"Perfect," muttered President Swanner in Arabic.

OOC:

Will you still RP MT sometimes?

OOC: Stop spamming my threads. But yes, I'm MT/PMT except for the fact I have starships.

((OC- Use quotes instead of code next time, easier to read with. ))

---

:: ~ This is the HMS Kensington, of the Britannic Commonwealth, registry number NCC-0092. We are not here on any offensive mission, but to explore, as our nation has recently developed an interplanetary starfleet.

I repeat, we mean no harm. ~ ::

The onsite Commander gave a slight sigh of relief. Better it was this way in the end. The mesage was relayed back to Territorial Capital all the same. The Commander kept to personal communication for the present to keep things simple.

Traffic was routed around the orbiting starship to keep the small startraffic thread-tubes from getting in the Commonweath vessel's way. It's escort kept abreast to starboard about three thousand meters away.

:: ~ Acknowledged HMS Kensington, you're welcome to scan as you wish, as long as security concerns are kept attention to on both sides. Please state if you will be either passing through, or landing a party. If the latter, please address such to a coordinate of our choosing for First Contact.

My superiors further in the territory are being informed of this situation, so be appraised that added formal contacts may come at any time. Until then, welcome to Sphere Alliance territory. ~ ::

"Hmm..." mused the captain. "Send down a landing party. No weapons," he ordered.

Signal to the Sphere Alliance:
It is our intention to send down a landing party of three officers. Please provide coordinates.

The Commander expected about as much, and sent the following in succession.

:: ~ We'll meet your party in the capital city in twenty minutes. I will take part in inital discussions at that time with an aide. There will be only two meeting you. {Coordinates follow...} ~ ::

The Commander left and called upon the planetary commander to meet him at the coordinates, the center of a large crystal park with multiple tiers of grassy gardens, like a small Hanging Gardens in a way.

----

Meanwhile the conversation became realtime as the Trees established a realtime comm link. At the Territorial Capital, Lady Ruri and Lord Hori were informed. They both arrived at the command center of the capital city governorship center, essentially a replication of the main Palace Tree Command Central, a depression chamber of cicles with stations that gathered all the local territory information needed.

"What's last word?" Ruri asked as she entered. The center commander noted. "The guests are sending a party to the planet's surface of CT-871.3/II. The local commander will be meeting them there."

Hori asked. "Should we go there?"

Ruri shook her head. "Nay. Let the commander there have a talk. We'll know more from it. Meanwhile send word we'd like to make detail scans of that vessel, since Confederacy Fleet Command will like to see them, given the vessel make."

Ruri looked at Hori. "Yurika would be happy with a copy of a schematic, even a basic one." Hori just smiled. "Aye, she would."

The shuttlecraft Goldeneye departed the landing bay of the HMS Kensington, and descended into the planet atmosphere.

Anticipation was building in the three officers on board the shuttlecraft. Captain Tarell selected himself, a plenipotentiary from the Ministry for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and the ship's science officer.

They landed in a shuttle clearance in the capital city, and disembarked. Before them stood two Alliance citizens.

The captain walked to shake their hands.

"I'm Captain Stephen Tarell of the HMS Kensington. This is Mr. Robert Bannister, from our Ministry for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and this is the Kensington's science officer, Lieutenant-Commander Jane Vorstellung," he said, introducing the landing party.

Commander Salazar Kurita nodded and shook Capitan Tarrel's hand. "Welcome to the surface Capitan."

The genetic descendant of the Kurita bloodline from the Inner Sphere Territories the Sphere Alliance owned in the Talos Galaxy in Core Galaxy Space, was a simple aged looking asian decent male in his thirties, sporting a scar from a battle long ago from the old United Mankind War. Dressed in a dark blue uniform long jacket fit for a russian general, Salazar looked every bit a military commander.

His accompaniment however was something else entirely. "This is my accompaniment, Lady Tausul of the Ascendant Avian Lords." ...said of the female dark blue and gray feathered, eleven meter tall griffon Avian Lord, well in excess of a billion years in age. (Ascendance can do that..) A covering robe of green and white more like made for a Shinto Priest covered the large avian in short drooping lengths, as the being bowed her large head towards the Commonweath guests.

"~ Greetings, I am welcomed to meet your acquaintances. ~" ..she spoke more in old English tone, for her dialect. Her mannerisims however befitted her diplomatic station as head of the planetary advisory.

Commander Salazar a moment later touched an apparent earpiece, getting a comm at that moment from Territorial Capital. "Pardon me a moment." ..he appologized.

"It's a pleasure," said Bannister.

This is tough, he thought. I've never established diplomatic channels with a race on another planet. Tricky.

"We're here to expand the Britannic Commonwealth's knowledge of the universe around us," replied Lieutenant-Commander Vorstellung.

"And, of course, to establish diplomatic relations with our celestial neighbours," stated Captain Tarell.

Lady Tausul made a smile through her large silver beak. "~ We've been at it, my originating civilization, for several Eons. Our current partners the Gaians for two hundred cycle years of their home stars Angellus I and II. I am presumed to assure common ground in such learned manner can be attained between our civilizations, with time. ~"

Commander Salazar then pipped in with a slight sweatdrop on his brow. He felt a bit uncomfortable asking this so soon on the spot, but he did as ordered (not just told this time either, so it was all important apparently.)

"Forgive the imputence of this request, but the Govenors of the Territory informed they would arrive upon this world in about two hours after preparations. They also asked me to request if we could make a formal detailed scan of your starvessel for our archives.

Apparently the technical information is important for functional plans being formulated by Fleet Commands in our primary territories outside this galaxy. Forgive if this is too forward, they wanted formal permission first. A bit too forward I must say." ...the last he whispered, in voiced discomfort. He did add.. "I was given permission for your ship to scan whatever assets you wished nearby in compensation, without hesitation during your stay here." ..he informed, Command anticipating the designs would be useful for future use by the Commonwealth.

He still sighed at the end of this, feeling he aged a year just then.

---

((OC- The local ships are a combination of SW, Battletech and various technology designs. The Shiva Class Cathedral Cruiser celestial ship is based on the airships in the FFXII game, the airships in it making good Angelic warship designs. =^^= ))

The three Commonwealth citizens whispered to each other.

"Sir, do we give them?" asked Vorstellung.

"Yes, yes, allow them," replied Bannister.

"Shut up, bitch. I'm the captain, and I run things," shot back Tarell. "I think we should allow them. After all, we're allowed to scan their stuff."

The three turned around.

"That would be perfectly satisfactory," replied Bannister. "We see no reason to hold back the designs, and your compensation will be more than adequate."

Captain Tarell stepped back as to be discreet, and pulled out his subspace-mobile, signalling the HMS Kensington.

"I want full scans of this entire planet, and every military starship on it," he whispered. He shut the mobile and replaced it in his uniform pocket.

"Would we be able to meet with your Territorial Governors?" asked Bannister. "It would be a fabulous step for our nation."

Commander Salazar only nodded, though Lady Tausul eyed a bit hearing the rough language used when the three were speaking to each other. She kept her concerns to herself for the moment however.

"They need to prepare and Fold here from the Capital System in this territory. It'll take a little while. Meanwhile we can offer refreshments and answer questions while we wait. If you'll follow me to the administration center please."

Walking through the short distance through the city proper to the administration center mentioned, everything was of a meld of nature gardens intermeshed within large crystal grown-construct superstructures, many the size of large skyscrapers, a result of Ascendant technologies and decades of hard work since the end of the United Mankind War. Many other Sphere citizens of many races of the citizenry moved about the central gardens complex with their own tasks to perform.

Shuttles and small hovercraft zipped overhead at various altitudes, showing more life. Soon they reached the structure in question, the interior sorta office like for a crystal and whitesteel structure in make. The floors had blue and silver lined carpeting everywhere as they approached a nearby recreation chamber.

HMS Kensington
In Orbit

"Where are we on our scanning?" asked Commander Zabaglione.

"We've completed some thorough scanning of the local starships, and we're being to complete a comprehensive map of the planet surface," reported the tactical officer.

***

The three, walking towards the centre, started to ask their questions.

"Actually, we do have some questions," stated the captain, embarassed by his previous usage of language. "First, I'd just like to know a bit about your nation's history and culture."

Meanwhile, the accompanying celestial warship gave three slow detailed sweeps of the guest starvessel, getting all the data it needed, down to the air ventilation system the life support system worked with. It was the first real data the Sphere go of the object vessel type the wanted, a rather advanced vessel type for certain from the looks of it.

As soon as a scan copy was formally formatted, it was sent to the Territorial capital and held in archives before replicated and sent to the various Starfleet Commands for additional archiving, and then to NIAS for study. Between it and the coming Huntaer vessel purchases, the Confederacy starfleet had it's first nascent nucleus to work with.

The vast Sphere resources that were expanding every day would take care of the rest. They still needed a database for other designs, but that would have to be addressed elsewhere.

--

Meanwhile Ruri and Hori prepared simply in formal yakuta smock jackets and cloth jumpsuits in CAG uniform fashion. Other than giving standard defense orders, they only left for a teleport pad to their transport vessel, a StarLord JumpShip that was nearby in orbit over the Territorial Capital World for diplomatic functions.

--

Meanwhile Commander Salazar offered of the question.. "Well, the history is pretty long, better served with one of our information portal terminals here in the chamber." ..he said as they entered a comfy looking guest chamber, with several couches and seats, a few desks with holoscreens and consoles for the portal mentioned, as well as a wallscreen unit that displayed entertainment and informational feeds from the Sphere Alliance communication networks.

Lady Tausul went over to a standard replication terminal off the right of a set of couches surrounding a crystal table that had a light underneath giving the glass a lighted effect. She offered.. "~ Is there a refreshment I can obtain for you three while we discuss further and wait? ~"

"Er...well, I'm not sure what you guys have," replied Captain Tarell. "I guess I'll take a root beer, if you have it." The Minister and the science officer also indicated a desire for root beer.

The science officer strode over to an information panel.

"Would you mind if I were to download its information?" she asked politely.

The Lady Avian nodded as she asked for two root beers from the replicator terminal, while Commander Salazar indicated. "That would be fine, the terminal is based on a basic LACARS interface with a keyboard and voice interface."

Lady Tausul inferred to the question of culture as she brought the drinks over... "~ Our culture has been one more concerned with elightenment and understanding, preventing the veil of ignorance from reaching any aspect of our society, at least as much as capability allows.

For the two centuries of this realm's formal existence, from a time when the Founders of the Council departed Motherworld Terra-Sol two hundred and twenty two years prior, twenty years prior to the formal Revealing after Foundation, the Sphere and it's core Ascendancy have sought to remove the clouds of blindness from any mind willing to accept such a path.

A great deal of all things we exist with, pertain to a real light in all things. We believe all things are good, with a purpose that attempt to give life and prosperity to all the same things in return. With ascended and celestial beings amongst the mortal majority of the Sphere populace, and the engendered trust of millions of alliances within the Confederacy Alliances, the framework of both gives a culture that gives in return to the same all that looks to learn from us.

We are idealistic, but with realitsic lessons our history has taught us harshly, giving all we do more meaning. The culture is hard to fully appreciate without living it every day as we've done so, with all the spirit we believe in of it all. ~"

"Wow," mused the science officer. "So very different from home. Very different indeed; we can learn alot from this race."

The captain was a military man and had more practical concerns at the moment.

"The Confederacy has been very kind to us," he stated. "And I can't thank you enough for it. But not everyone will be so gracious. Tell us, who should we look out for?"

Commander Salazar imparted to the question.. "We would prefer to await our Govenors to arrive to answer that question. Our only true major enemy at the moment is the Dark Eternals who we are currently waging a total invasion war against across a third of the Inner Universe, down from half of it from when our Second war against them started, two and a half years ago.

However since one major battle in this galaxy about from the onset of the Counterattack War, as we call it, when the Dark Eternals invaded an external border system we used as an observation zone, where we destroyed them in detail, with great casulaties to our forces in a three day period, there has been no further actions in this galaxy with the Dark Eternals, so there is very little possibility of actions in this galaxy.

We know of many other nations, but do not seek to provoke them, and even further usually attempt diplomatic alliances in many forms to further prosperity, despite their many different viewpoints of life and ways of living."

"~ Even of those diametrically, or just alien, different to our culture. We understand a Balance in all things must be maintained. Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Creation and Entropy. All such things allow us to accept, albeit with reservation on cases, many things from other nations. ~" ..Lady Tausul added in.

"Ah," replied Bannister, drinking his root beer.

"I see you utilise replicators," pointed out the science officer. "How do they function?"

"~ A simple recombination of bulk organic matter from storage centers elsewhere in the city, recycled from other waste matter in efficient and sanitary operations, that form with the help of computer aided reintegration parameters that hold the recognition and structural end item in it's database. The matter is integrated in the teleport beam, and with agitation of atomic molecules at certain levels, can replicate texture, composition, and even temperature and exotic qualities of the final product desired.

The data matrix holds all solid and liquid, dietary menus from all participating Confederacy civilizations to meet specific requirements of a race on any foreign world they visit for whatever reason. We hold the matixes of old Terran menus as well, given the drink you asked for. ~" ..the Lady Avian notes of the root beers given.

The large viewscreen suddenly flicks from an entertainment channel, to a comm viewscreen display of the Sensor-Tech Sector, calling for Commander Salazar. He looks up at it. "Yes?"

":: ~ The Governor's JumpShip has arrived in orbit. They be on the surface in a few minutes via shuttle at your location. ~ ::"

The Commander thanks the Tech and jumps up from a seat edge he was upon. "We should meet them outside, as it's proper to meet Council Extensia as such."

The two Sphere citizens prepare to do so, backtracking to the enterance of the building.

The three Commonwealth citizens trailed behind them, straightening out their uniforms as to look crisp for the Territorial Governors.

Sweet. I should look into getting some of those replicators, thought the Captain. I love root beer.

The group ended up outside in the same partly cloudy day, as the sound of passing traffic overhead kept filtering out the approaching shuttle noise hard to do at the moment. However the Lambada shuttle of note made it's own way down with little fuss, and it was more noticed when the nearby traffic clutter cleared off quickly as automated handling systems took command codes from traffic controllers, diverting hovertraffic away within moments, before the shuttle's arrival.

This looked as if from the ground, the passing traffic suddenly veered away in various directions, making the approaching shuttle all too easy to note.

"Those droid systems are a marvel." The Commander noted as the traffic swirled away as if it was a living thing.