NationStates Jolt Archive

Erikson Suleiman stood before the tall writhing beast without fear. The huge, eight foot tall creature, was a humanoid one. It’s massive body rippled as it moved its arms and legs, muscles shifting under its tight skin. Red eyes bore at the small fragile looking figure that had dared to enter its hunting territory.

With a roar that could shatter glass the beast charged, massive hoof-like feet smashing rock and stone beneath it as it ran. Large clawed hands reached to tear the life out of Suleiman. Large fang-like teeth were agape in a howl of blood lust as it prepared to bite into this foreign creature.

Just as the creature swung its arm at blinding speed Suleiman moved. Like water flowing between obstacles in a river he dodged the attack with ease. The monster howled in anger and turned to face Suleiman when suddenly it wondered at its arm. It felt less heavy than before. Red eyes looked down and saw that where there had once been a hand and forearm was now a bloody stump. It had been cut clean off. Blood pumped furiously out of the wound and to the ground where the appendage lay twitching.

“You should have known better filthy beast,” said Suleiman.

He hissed and clenched his teeth in effort. A green halo of light sprang from his shoulders and engulfed him. Held in his hands was a long sword, dropping with blood that began to acquire the green hue of the halo light. Suleiman’s entire being was radiating with power. The howling beast’s red eyes widened in an emotion that it had not known since being born as a youngling. Fear.

With a mighty crack the ground split around Suleiman’s feet. With practiced ease the sword rose and with a leap of godlike speed stabbed the beast in the chest, penetrating into the heart and ripping through its back. The green light seeped into the wound. As the creature died, the light ate its skin and flesh. It devoured everything like a raucous flame. Within moments there was nothing less.

Suleiman stood with his sword extended into the air. The monster that had once entrapped his sword with its body was gone. All that was left was a pile of ash and a bleeding forearm of ruined flesh. Suleiman’s green light faded. The halo disappeared and steam gently rose up around him. The blood that had once caked his sword sizzled off, leaving no evidence of it ever having been there. The stink of ozone filled the air as well.

Suddenly the sound of clapping was heard. It came to the right and Suleiman turned to see a man walking towards him, hands clapping.

“Excellent, Erikson Suleiman you do impress me so.” The man walked forwards and stood before Suleiman without fear. It bothered Suleiman too. Most men feared him and when he was near them he could sense it, hear their thoughts. They were afraid of him. But this man was always different. He radiated his own innate power, one not of the psyker caste like Suleiman. No, this man radiated with command, as only few great leaders can.

“I am impressed and glad that you have progressed so far. When he was alive, Simon told me that you one of his most fruitful students,” said Emperor Treize Kushrenada. Suleiman sheathed his sword and bowed.

“I thank you for the compliment your Excellency,” said Suleiman, his voice gravely still from using his psyker powers. “I do miss my old mentor very much. I was but a small boy when he left for the Battle of Thrashia Prime.”

“Indeed, I was young then too,” said Treize. He smiled encouragingly at Suleiman. “Now however my son, I have new work for you and your brothers. I have made contacts with another friendly nation. They, like us, have a psyker program. Their leader has asked me for the opportunity for you and your brothers and sisters to meet their psykers.”

Treize took Suleiman by the arm and led him out of the battle training arena. Huge blast doors opened revealing metal hallways. Men in white lab coats and Emperor’s Own guards filled its passage ways. They ignored Treize in his old blue OZ uniform, something that he wore on occasion, and Suleiman in his bloodied black combat suit. Like a caring uncle Treize chatted with Suleiman, even when he got little response from the quiet psyker.

“They would be coming with the purpose of learning. To see what we can share amongst each other. Our program has been operational for years longer than theirs and yet we can learn many new things,” said Treize. They entered Suleiman’s private study and room. It was spartan in décor, but that suited Suleiman just fine. He only required a bed and his favourite books which stood in a tall case on the far wall.

“However I will not allow them to come unless you say you want to meet them,” stated Treize at last. The heart of the matter that Suleiman knew was coming. He sat on his bed and stared silently at the floor for a moment.

Meet others like myself? Others beside Carol, Hans, and Ibram?

Suleiman looked around the walls. He had known them for more than 10 years since he first entered the program after it was reinstated by the Emperor Treize when he came to power. A scientific exploration into the mind and power of psykic power and its use in human minds. Simon, one of the first ever Thrashian psykers, had come to Suleiman when he was just 12 years old.

He had smiled and seemed just like everyone else. However when Suleiman had attempted to throw a desk at him with his mind he was shocked to find that the desk would not move.

“Trying such a trick with me is useless,” Simon said with a smile. “But, I can teach you to harness your power for the betterment of our nation. You will be happier than you are now, in a school where other children call you names.”

Suleiman had not been able to say no. For the first time in his live he felt acceptance. Not only on himself as a human being but also acceptance of his power. Even his parents had always harbored feelings of uneasiness around him, never fully accepting him into their hearts. It had made Suleiman bitter. Forcing him to make walls around himself and keep others out. Simon broke down those walls with simply his voice and smile.


Suleiman looked up at his emperor. “You say that they are like me?”

“Yes,” said Treize. He sat next to Suleiman on the bed and put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. It was warm still from Suleiman’s practice combat. “I believe it will be good for you. Good for you and all the others. We’ve not had a chance like this ever before.”

“Then I accept,” said Suleiman. The voice that came out of his mouth surprised Suleiman. He hadn’t meant to speak but instead of what he had meant to say, those words sprang forth unbidden. His brows furrowed at it. Treize smiled and slapped him warmly on the back.

“Very good my boy, I’ll go inform your fellows of your decision to join them. I will send a ship to get you.” Treize stood and went to the door. Just as he was reaching for the handle Suleiman spoke.

“Where will we be going?” he asked.

“A place of safety and security, were this meeting can go uninterrupted,” said Treize. “It’s an asteroid base in the Julian System. No one will harm you or your brothers and sisters. That I promise you.”

“I will trust in your word my lord,” replied Suleiman. Treize nodded and left the room. Suleiman laid back on his bed and covered his eyes with his arm. His sword rattled as it fell to the floor beside him.

What have I gotten myself into? he wondered.


====
To: Nation of Trinity Blood
From: Treize Kushrenada I, Emperor of Thrashia

As per request I have agreed to a meeting between our nation's psykers. I have, along with this message, sent the coordinates that you will need to reach the research base where we will do so. I will be providing security for our activities and must ask that no heavily armed ships be in your retinue. We will await your arrival eagerly.

Signed,
Emperor Treize Kushrenada I
Thrashia
====

Dear Emperor Treize Kushrenada I of Thrashia:

I thank you for this opportunity. As there are things I would prefer not to discuss of over a potentially hacked channel, I will be sending a representative in my stead, my daughter, as I'm currently occupied with making sure our new space port gets going under its own steam. She'll deliver what I would like to say but can't over the proverbial 'open frequency' as well as take part in the demonstrations and eventual, if everything goes well, knowledge exchange.

Once again, I thank you for agreeing to our request. Though, I do hope that you have a hospitible planet near this research station of yours as I wouldn't want the demonstrations of any of the people I hand-picked for this assignment to damage your ships or station or injure anyone.

Signed
Abel Nightroad
King of Albion
Member of both the Royal and Imperial families of Trinity Blood

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken some doing, but Abel had managed to convince the Imperial Starfleet's flag officers to allow the assignment of the new Goliath class Star Destroyer, so recently purchased from the nation of Huntaer, for this mission. They did make valid points while voicing their objections, which Abel made sure would be put at ease with a compromise: along with the Espers*, Elementals**, and regular crew of the ship, a group of the latest generation of combat Augments*** would be sent along.

Princess Arya Nightroad (http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o293/True_Human_Empire/Character%20Pics/Aryacurrent.jpg) leaned over the hanger bay's railing as she watched the last of the Type 0 (http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o293/True_Human_Empire/Ships/shuttlepod_type1-1.jpg) shuttlepods carrying the last of those assigned to travel aboard this massive ship as 'passengers'.

"What's wrong?" inquired Doctor Elizabeth Dehner (http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o293/True_Human_Empire/Character%20Pics/Elizabeth_Dehner.jpg), "And don't say nothing, I can see it in your eyes."

"Well," admitted Arya, "its partly that we still haven't decided upon a name for this magnificant craft."

"Is that all," laughed Dehner, "well, I'm sure you'll think up something good en route to our destination."

"I'm sure your right," replied Arya with a sigh, "I sincerely hope that we won't be needing more than the basic flight crew we're bringing."

"You know full well that the navy only had so many unassigned officers and enlisted personnel to work with when we got this ship."

"I know, I know. Its just that I can't help worrying that we'll need more than just the handful of guns fully manned. When we get back, if we get back, I'm going to have to see about getting clearance from those back in Huntaer who built her about refitting her to be less crew intensive."

"Good plan."

"All hands," came the Captain's voice over the intercom system, "prep for departure."

"I hope they've gotten better at stearing this thing than last time," groaned Arya.

"So do I," agreed Dehner.

With quick pufts of gas from dock controlled manuvering thrusters temporarily attached to the external hull, the Goliath's bow swung away from the station and rotated so the ship was now facing in the exact opposite direction it had originally. Then, with a few more pufts, the Star Destroyer was sent on a course that would bring it clear of local ship traffic.

It was at that moment, when the vessel began to roll to avoid a collision, that she glanced the beauty of Terra, not only her homeworld but the homeworld and capital of Trinity Blood. She could still make out some of the remaining craters left over from the nuclear blasts from around a thousand years prior, before the Unification under the Empress.

Once clear of the planes occupied by the current traffic patterns, the thruster pods were remote jettisioned and the Goliath surged foward as her own sublight engines began to burn. Not used to the acceleration compensation systems aboard used by the Huntaer builders, Arya was almost flung over the railing at the moment of the surge

Meanwhile, on the bridge, things had the appearance of calmness. However, the tension was easily apparent and was so thick one didn't even need a knife to cut it.

"Now," exclaimed the helmsman, "let's see if I've gotten this down this time."

"Yes, lets," joked the Captain, "as last time you almost flew us right into the corona."

Rolling his eyes, the helmsman asked, "What's our flightplan?"

"Well," responed the Captain, "first we'll take a trip through the Hypergate to get to the CSP. We're going to be picking up one last individual there. After he's aboard, we'll used the superluminal drive this thing's got to get to the Thrasian co-ordinates."

"Aye, sir."

The trip through the Hypergate and the stop-over at the Constantine Space Port were uneventful, as was the hyperspace trip to the co-ordinates of the research station. However, it would be quite clear that the pilot was a novice at using the controls****. The most obvious proof would be that the ship actually fish-tailed as it dropped back to sub-light on the edge of the Thrasian star system as the control for the braking thrusters hadn't been located yet.

=/\=Attention local Thrasian flight control. This is the I.S.C. Alpha Omega of Trinity Blood here by invitation. As we are still getting accustomed to this control layout, you may want to send a pilot over to bring us in to dock with your station as we don't want to crash into anything on the way in.=/\=

OOC: *Esper: What my psychics are called.
**Elementals: A sub-class of Esper that actually predates the Esper project by, at least, a thousand years (as the first ones were Methuselah that had naturally evolved the ability). Elementals control one of the five classic elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and...well, I'll leave the fifth for a surprise.
***Augments: As I'm using ST tech, excluding this Goliath, you can probably guess what these are. Though, due note, my current ones are evolutions of the ones from the Eugenics War era, and perhaps some from even before that, and now are enhanced using biological and technological 'improvements' that enhances the Augment to excell in the choosen field and not just selective breeding like the originals.
****: Here's a good analogy: My ST tech is like an automatic transmission, but the SW tech on this ship is more along the lines of a stick-shift. Know how hard it is to learn stick?

The Julian System. The crown jewel of the Thrashian combined armed forces. A hive of shipyards, orbital stations, moon bases, and planets completely devoted to the production of war materials and service of the Imperial Fleet and Army. More than 200 Thrashian war vessels were in temporary standby, all sitting in the massive moon-ring parking stations. Massive Imperial Star Destroyers sat attached to the gigantic docking rings alongside diminutive Dreadnoughts.

Flights of fighters flew in their normal patterns, checking and rechecking all known points of entry within Julian space. Armed and dangerous Golan III battlestations hovered in space like silent sentinels. A large asteroid sat in orbit off of the third planet in the system, its cratered surface splotched with large metal outlines showing evidence of human progress.

Within the large asteroid was a vibrant research facility, more than three million square feet in size, that carried up to 3,000 doctors, engineers, and scientists. All of them were devoted to a single task set to them by the Emperor. And their test subjects had arrived just the day before.


"This really sucks ozone," said Hans. Hans was tall for his age. He was only 17 years old but he was 7ft 3 inches tall and more muscular than an old earth rino. "I thought there would be some fun things to do besides test after test after test!"

Carol who stood nearby rolled her eyes. She had long golden blonde hair that reached to the middle of her back. It flowed like silk when she moved and accentuated her bright green eyes. "You're just an impatient idiot Hans."

Hans shot Carol a grim, narrow eyed look. "You're just mad because his Excellency isn't here to faun over you!"

"What! No I am not!" howled Carol. She was turning beet red and fuming, her fists turning into tight knots.

"I think you're both idiots," said a man laying back in a chair behind them. "All you two do is fight and it gets on my nerves."

Both Carol and Hans turned and snatched the legs of the chair, pulling hard. It came out from under the man and Hans shouted "Ha!" in triumph. To their surprise and disappointment the older man did not fall. Ibram simply kept his body levitated. A small smell of ozone came off him and a purple aura was flowing along his skin like electrical sparks. Ibram was 23 years old and one of the strongest psykers in their group. Neither Hans or Carol ever tried to provoke him too much, but the tall, too thin, shaggy Ibram seemed to be full of patience.

"Now don't you feel stupid," said Ibram. He turned in the air and set down on his feet. The aura disappeared and the ozone smell faded away. "Besides you don't want me getting Suleiman to poke you in the butt with his sword now do you?"

All three turned to the 6ft, black cloaked, night-black haired Suleiman who stood with his back to them looking out into space. He turned and regarded them as he realized that his name had been said. "Keep me out of it. I don't want to break up another fight again. Last time I sent Hans to the hospital for three months and Carol got her hair turned to cinders."

Both Carol and Hans blanched at the thought. Ibram smirked and nodded to the one-year younger man. "Quite right. I believe I was the one who had to break up the other one too. Hans was trying to flirt with one of Carol's nurses weren't you?" he asked, smiling evilly.

"No I wasn't!" said Hans in his own defense. Carol fumed even more and reared back to hit Hans when suddenly the sound of warning klaxons blared to life.

"Attention all crew," came a voice over the comm system. "Our guests are now arriving. I repeat, our guests are now arriving."

"Their here!" said Carol and Hans together. Both of them ran to the door and disappeared into the hallway beyond. Ibram sighed and turned to Suleiman who stood motionless by the window looking out.

"Coming?" he asked.

"I sense her," said Suleiman in a quiet voice. A large Huntaerian made Star Destroyer had appeared out of hyperspace in the non-blocked zone used for hyperspace entry to the Julian System.



"Attention Alpha Omega, this is Julian System Traffic Command," hailed Lieutenant Bramide. "You are to take up a docking station at the fifth moon. Here are the coordinates." The lieutenant had her ensigns send off the location for the Star Destroyer. She watched as it maneuvered horribly.

"Whose driving that thing?" she said under her breathe. She turned the comm back on.

"You are free to launch a transport to arrive at the hangers of the Imperial Julian Research Institute. Its the large asteroid off your port bow. Welcome to Thrashia."

"Watch it! I told you that you needed more practice flying this thing, Lieutenant," exclaimed the comm officer hiding under her console.

"You got that right," agreed the Captain with a blanched face as he gripped the armrests of his chair as tightly as he could, "we are really going to have to talk to Huntaer about refitting this ship with a control system we're more accustomed to."

"Hey!" retorted the man at the conn, "I have gotten better."

"Barely," whimpered a security officer clinging to part of the ceiling where he had been tossed after the ship had taken a rapid nose dive under a Thrasian vessel so extreme the inertial dampners hadn't fully countered the forces involved.

=/\=Thrasian flight control, we would appreciate it if you could manage to get a pilot on board who knows local space as ours still hasn't mastered the control systems of his station just yet.

Please.=/\=

The voice of the comms officer, who had reached up and activated the transmit control while she used her headset's mike to send the message was a bit shakey and could easily be indentified as seriously scared and freaked out. Of course, with the driving of their inexperienced conn officer, who wouldn't be.

Meanwhile, Arya had strapped herself into a unit originally designed to restrain uncooperative patients in the medical section of the ship.

"I think I'm going to need another bag," groaned the CMO looking a little green, "excuse me," he muttered as he rushed into the bathroom.

OOC: Only thing I can say in regards to this is....ROFLMAO.

"Ooh, this is one'ah them newer models," said Ensign Madarin. He stepped into the bridge of the Trinity Blood Star Destroyer and looked around. "Of course in my dad's day they were all modeled after the old Venators. Boy but where they hard to handle unless you were skilled." Lieutenant Hawkings, Madarin's superior had a grim, frustrated look on his face.

Hawkings was escorted to the person who was obviously the captain of the ship and saluted. "Welcome to Thrashia sir. I am Lieutenant Hawkings and this is Ensign Madarin. He'll be guiding the ship in for you."

Madarin wandered over to the helm and started chatting to the Trinity Blood helmsman who stood there at the controls. Hawkings hoped he didn't embaress himself or his nation by saying something stupid. "In the mean time captain, if you and your passengers wish to board out shuttle, we will escort you to the asteroid base. I am told that his Excellency's chief adviser will be there to greet you along with the staff of the station."

"Could either of you tell me which is the control for the braking thrusters?" called out the conn officer.

"Greetings later," said the Captain, "right now, take the helm."

"And when you're done," inquired the security officer clinging to the ceiling, "could someone get me a ladder?"

The tactical officer, as per protocaul for such situations, had heavily encrypted the navigation logs so no uninvited guests could back track into Imperial space.

It took less than half an hour for Ensign Madarin to pilot the Alpha-Omega into an orbital ring docking station. Traffic control followed the normal protocol for large ships and had the large ambilical plug lines attached to the hull to keep it from drifting free into space from its attached parking lane. Madarin stated that it was one of the best rides he'd ever been on. Lieutenant Hawkings smashed him over the head.

Hawkings turned to the captain. "Now sir, may I be allowed to escort your passengers to the asteroid base? His Majesty is waiting."

The Captain held up a finger to the Thrasians indicating they should wait for a short time. Now that the ship had stopped moving, he had begun issuing orders that would get the security officer down from the ceiling.

When he was down, he turned back to Hawkings and said, "What was that...oh, yes, our guests. Well, actually, the plan was to invite your representatives to dine with the command staff and our passengers in honor of the occasion. I just hope my conn officer's driving didn't toss up the galley too much," he gave a wry grin at that, "still, if need be, her highness can relay the message in person."

OOC: Sorry, guess I should have mentioned I was planning on hosting a dinner (lets just say its that for the sake of argument) from the beginning.

Lieutenant Hawkings was a bit dumb founded and more than a little shocked. Someone snubbing his Excellency Treize! What is this! Do they think that they can just come into the system and start--

Hawkings train of thought was disturbed as Ensign Madarin put a hand on his shoulder. "Yo Lieutenant, I got his Excellency on the comm here." He handed a small comlink to Hawkings. "I already told him the situation. He wants to speak with you."

"Of course," said Hawkings. He pressed the comm button. "Lieutenant Hawkings reporting your Excellency."

"Aw, Lieutenant James Hawkings. Yes, good to hear you again. Ensign Madarin was kind enough to inform me of our guests plans. Please tell them that I will be more than happy to accept this invitation. I am leaving in my shuttle now. Treize out."

The line went dead before Hawkings could even try mounting a protest to this obvious affront to the Emperor's honor. What was the man thinking!? Hawkings swallowed his pride for the moment and coughed. He turned to the captain with a smile.

"His Excellency, Emperor Treize Kushrenada wishes me to inform you that his shuttle is on his way and that he accepts the invitation to dine with you and your passengers."

OOC: Lol, didn't figure the rescue of the guy on the ceiling before talking to Hawkings would have him get that kind of reaction. Still, as you can see, my Captain puts the safety of his crew, as do all of my others loyal to the Empress, above even diplomatic affairs. IMO, that speaks big to motivation (it would also provide you with some insight into the inner workings of the mind of a TB Imperial Starfleet senior line officer, if your character knew how to read things).

IC: The Captain nodded in acknowledgement. Still, he noted the look in Hawking's eyes that spoke of a carefully controlled indignation. Curious as to the cause, he decided to ask:

"Your eyes give you away, Lieutenant. Do tell what's bothering you."

At that moment, Princess Arya stuck her head in the bridge and asked with a wickedly amused smile, "Do tell me we're going to have a new driver on the home."

"Your highess," said the ship's XO, "the Thrasian leader will be arriving shortly in the hanger bay. Wouldn't it be prudent for you to be there to meet him?"

"Good point," agreed Arya before ducking out.

It took her a few minutes, mostly due to a few wrong turns in places, to get there, but she got back to the hanger bay, after stopping by her quarters to don a more formal outfit and grab a few status symbols for the formal greeting of the Thrasian leader.

Adjusting the rather formal looking coronet on her head, she groaned, "I hate wearing this thing. It pinches something awful."

Piping down upon noting the approach of Treize's shuttle had moved it close enough to be visible through the atmospheric containment fields of the hanger. Smoothing her royal purple (OOC: A special hue reserved for members of the Royal and Imperial families (nobles have their own hue)) velvet dress slightly and adjusting the purely decorative and ceramonial sword at her waist that went with the formal get up, she made herself ready to greet the Thrasian Emperor on his arrival.

OOC: The banter between my characters not only is my way of making them seem more real, but is also a way for another character, like one of yours, who is trained in the art of reading things could pick up on the familial like nature aboard a TB ship. The core part of the crew hail from one of my old pre-warp destroyers that had reached the end of her hull life and was retired (though, she'll likely end up with a rebuilt hull with a Warp 5 engine installed some time later). Ironically, that ship was also Arya's main mode of transportation in my space. The rest of the crew, even though they don't feel the whole ship's compliment (thus why so many turrets are unmanned), are fresh graduates from the academy or enlisted who are currently rotating aboard the Alpha Omega for being swapped to a different ship for more experience.
Also, the fact that a sword is part of the formal garb for a Princess, even though this one would be quite useless in a fight, should also speak quite loudly.

ooc: the lieutenant is a pride-filled type who thinks that his leader's honor is more important than anything else, maybe even breathing. XD So thats why he was suddenly thrown off his horse when you, in his eyes, broached protocol. :D

IC:

The Black Iris, Treize's personal transport, came through the containment field of the Alpha Omega's hangar bay. Four starfighters that had been following as escort broke off from their trajectory and did not follow the transport into the hangar. The pilot followed landing instructions from the hangar's control room and brought the obsidian-black colored ship to a smooth landing.

From under the 'head' of the ship a ramp came down slowly. Exhaust fog rose up and temporarily clouded the ramp area. Within moments however it cleared to reveal four figures walking down the ramp. Three men and one woman. Each was dressed in black storm-trooper esqe armor and a white mantel cloak. At each of their sides was a long sword katana. They marched off and formed up, in pairs, on either side of the ramp way facing each other.

klank-tap echoed throughout the hangar as a single pair of black knee high boots appeared on the ramp. Following that came white dress trousers. Then a blue jacket and black vest and short shoulder-cape. Then there was Treize's face, a warm look of greeting on his face.

Treize Kushrenada I stepped off the ramp and forward to meet Princess Arya, who stood out from everyone else in the hangar.

"I greet you Princess Arya of Trinity Blood," said Treize. He crossed his arm in front of his waist and bowed. "Rumors about your beauty from your father do not do you justice. You are far more brilliant in person." Treize smiled and stood up.

Arya, who had only recently started to grow into her true beauty, one that could rival, if not surpass, that of the mythical elves, curtsied(sp?) as she said, "Welcome aboard the Alpha Omega, your excellency. Before we head to the dining room, is their anything you would like to ask?"

While she seemed to be your average, delicate princess, Arya was fully aware of the location of each of Treize's guards as well as her own. She hadn't brought any Royal Guards and the Empress hadn't sent any Imperial Guards, but the Augments standing to each side of her were impressive in their own rights. Each stood at seven feet in height with broad shoulders and muscles that could rival a pro wrestlers in size. Both also clearly had non-organic enhancements as one had a clearly artificial eye and the other had an ocular implant above the orbit of his left eye as well as an audio implant next to his right ear.

OOC: The two Augments with Arya have Borg inspired implants.

Treize smiled. "Any questions? None that I can think of...but, it seems you are interested in my guards?" Treize turned to the four behind him. "Introduce yourselves to the Princess Arya, please."

The first, the woman, bowed. She had long silky green hair tied in a pony tail and bright orange eyes. Her skin was lightly brown and glowed from any light that touched it. "Hello, I am Ayanami Lyten."

The man across from her bowed next. He was the tallest and wore sun glasses, his shocking white hair, fashioned in a spiky style. "Greetings princess, I am Kariya Getsu."

The man that stood next to Kariya bowed after him. He was a little shorter than Kariya and had red hair. His eyes were pure white and he bore a scar down the left side of his face that bisected his eye and the corner of his mouth. "Thank you for inviting us, I am Jin."

The last man, across from Jin and beside Ayanami, bowed. He had black hair cut in a short manner and his eyes contained no iris, only two black dots. "I am Ryoko Han. Greetings to you princess."

Treize smiled and again and nodded his thanks to his guards. He turned to Arya. "I do not mean to alarm you with their presence. Their purpose is the protection of the Royal Family of Thrashia and for the protection of our capital. These four before you are the four leaders among the 13 Sacred Guard. They call themselves 'Shinigami', a word borrowed from ancient Thrashia back on Terra."

Treize looked around the hangar. "Well I see Huntaer has kept up their practices. I will have to see about getting a few of our own. You have a fine ship." He looked back at Arya. "I don't believe I have any questions, so it would bring me joy if I could taste some of your fine dining."

"Terra?" replied a slightly puzzled Arya, "I assume you don't mean the Trinity Blood homeworld but are referring to the alternate name for Earth, correct?"

As each of those with Treize was introduced, Arya nodded her head in acknowledgement of their presence.

"'Shinigami', you say. Doesn't that translate from the original Japanese to 'Soul Reaper' or something like that?," she continued, "though, personally, I was hoping to see some of those Knights I heard you had. There are a few things in the Imperial collection of items taken as trophys as well as recieved as gifts and obtained in several other ways as well that they may find of interest."

With a nod at the Augment on her left, who departed right afterwards, she and her remaining Augment guard, the one with the artificial eye, led Treize's party to the officer's dining room. If any of the group had any mental abilities, the zone expanding just beyond the door would be easily noticed and just as easily set aside as harmless. Once the doors opened, everyone would see just what they were meant to. The zone caused their brains to perceive the room as a tree ringed grass field with a mahogany table just the right size for the party with just enough seats around it. The two seats at each end of the rectangular table, one for Arya and the other for Treize, were heavily carved with ornate designs in the wood of their arms, legs, feet, and high backs. All the seats were padded with soft, plush crushed velvet.

The Captain, the XO, Doctor Elizabeth Dehner, and others were milling about, with the officers in their dress uniforms, having conversations as they awaited the arrival of Arya and their guests before taking their seats. If any of the Thrasians looked closely, they would notice that Dehner's eyes were glowing silver in color, a clear indication of who was responsible for the current scenery.

"Please, Emperor," said Arya as she gestured at one of the high backed chairs, "have a seat."

"Let me get that for you," said an Ensign in dress uniform who had been assigned to serve as waiter for the dinner.

Said Ensign then pulled out the chair Arya had indicated for Treize to take a seat in it.

"Dinner will be ready in three minutes," stated another Ensign in dress uniform.

OOC: Lol, just finished reading the thread where Treize became Emperor last week.

ooc: one of my best moments, I think, the Treize coronation.

IC:

Treize smiled and took his seat. He nodded to those Trinity Blood officers gathered and then turned back to the princess who had taken her own seat next to a doctor-like woman.

"I refer to the Terra that spawned Mankind as we know it. We Thrashian's left Terra more than 1,200 years ago when our nation first achieved the ability to travel amongst the stars. For that time we were ruled by two Emperors. Emperor's Shadaum III and Emperor Shadaum IV. Each lived for about 600+ years. They were unusual in their long-life spans, but for their blood line it was normal," said Treize.

The four Shinigami captains sat down as well at the table after a nod from Treize. "As to the name Shinigami? No, in the Thrashian tongue, our ancient one, it means Death Gods. Though as to why they named themselves that, I do not know." Treize smirked at Kariya. "And they are a different organization from my Imperial Knights. They embody the living Force. The Shinigami use other techniques to accomplish their tasks."

Kariya stood up for a moment and took his sword from its sash. "Each of our swords is 1,000 times stronger than steel. Woven into the fabric is also cortosis fiber, that allows us to fight on an even playing field with lightsaber users."

Kariya's eyebrows arched over the rim of his glasses as he looked at the Augment guards. He liked the look of them. They looked like they would be fun to fight. Kariya fought his impulse and sat back down. Among all the Shinigami captains, Kariya was most infamous for his blood lust and desire for combat. However this was balanced by his desire to serve Treize.

Treize looked closely at Arya. "Am I correct in thinking that you, your highness are also able to use pyskic powers? I was not formally given information on the subject, but my sources tell me that you yourself are not a helpless, beautiful young lady."

"You could say that," replied Arya with a half-shrug, "the ability to do things kind of runs in the family.

"As for why we've tried to keep it on the down low, as the old saying goes, about what we can do during the communication phase of this project, well, it was mainly about security and not knowing if any intermediate individual would be able to hack into the comm channels we were using. I'm sure you would understand the necessities of security.

"Though, now that we are face-to-face after such long discourse, that security concern has dropped to pretty much as low as it can go.

"While we wait for them to finish preparing dinner, would it be alright if we discussed the major differences between our two original national programs?"

OOC: The Doc is a PhD and not an MD, just an FYI (she's a psychiatrist by profession and training). She's also not an officer or enlisted in any of my armed forces.

Treize nodded. "Security is of course a first priority in our situation. I am sure that there are many who would not wish for our cooperation for succeed." Treize took in his surroundings as he spoke. It was a wonderful place and it even smelled real. He smiled and continued talking to Arya.

"The difference you could say is that you and your special followers are what I like to consider "natural" psykers. My own are beings whom have a special affinity for psykic power or other supernatural abilities but have yet to either harness them or do not know of their existence. More than fifty years ago Dr. Volecu, a brilliant Thrashian scientist, developed a drug that induced pyskic mutation, allowing a human being to tap into his or her hidden psykic strength. Few survived the transition."

"Interesting," replied Arya, "ours evolved from the ancient study of ESP that got halted at the end of our 20th century due to war, long before the Empress unified our homeword. So, you can say we've been studying the nautally occuring forms for over a thousand years but have recently begun to actively work on it. Thus far, our project has utilized selective crossings of genetic material, a from of eugenics if you will, that has gradually increased the level of power in each generation.

"We've also managed to isolate the section of the brain responsible for mental abilities. We call it the paracortex.

"Though, there was that one incident aboard one of our Hypergates back in the 23rd century that created a unique radiation pulse that pushed people with high ESP, or one of the other areas, ratings exponentially higher. Though, due to not having high ratings in all areas, several did not survive and some of those that did had to be killed because they lost their sanity and morals. Those that survived with their sanity intact survive to this day.

"We did manage to get readings of that radiation pulse and brought the prototype generator we built to duplicate a pulse modulated to ensure success depending on the individual, it'll adapt after a quick scan of the test subject, with us.

"But," she continued as Ensigns in dress uniforms brought out silver trays and set them in front of everyone before pulling off the lids, "enough talk for now. Its time to eat."

On each tray was a set of the standard untensials made of pewter. The meal was blackened* catfish that could be cut with a fork.

"Feel free to ask for seconds when your done," said the Captain.

"Drink, sir?" an Ensign asked Treize as he held up a bottle of Romulan Ale for him to inspect, "its a 2263 vintage, a very good year."

OOC: According to the TB calander, its currently the 31st century (3055 was the IC year I've set as the baseline for when my first IC post occurred).
*Yes, that's actually a way of cooking (it uses a special spice) and, TBH, I find it quite tasty.

Treize accepted the drink and food with thanks. He dove into it with gusto and complimented Arya on her cook's abilities. The four shinigami captains ate sparingly, all except for Kariya who went beyond gusto and ordered 4ths. Ayanami was slightly disgusted and stomped her foot on the white haired captain's toes.

"So," said Treize, taking another bite of the fish. "How many psykics did you bring with you?"

"There's myself, of course," said Arya putting her fork down for the moment, "as you've probably already guessed. There's Doctor Elizabeth Dehner (http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o293/True_Human_Empire/Character%20Pics/Elizabeth_Dehner_After.jpg)," she indicates the woman in the seat on her left, "who is responsible for our current surroundings," she then indicated a group of five Methuselah, two male and three female, on her right, "We also brought five Elementals, one to represent their specific elements. Then there's Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell (http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o293/True_Human_Empire/Character%20Pics/Gary_Mitchell_before.jpg)," she indicated the man seated next to Dehner, "Both Dehner and Mitchell are natural born Espers of rather high level, then they were exposed to that pulse of energy I mentioned earlier in 2295."

OOC: I added a pic of what Dehner looks like with her powers activated (ie, with her 'silver' eyes).

"I see," said Treize.

He took his napkin out of his lap and smartly wiped his mouth and hands. He drank the last of his ale and then sighed with content. "I must say I am jealous of you; it must be nice having such a fine cook on hand at all times. I will have to get the recipe for my own palace chef. He likes experimenting with foreign dishes."

Treize looked at each of the 12 psykics that Arya had named. Arya of course had the air of royalty about her, something that brought authority and power around a person by those raised in power. The doctor seemed to be more quiet at the moment, as was the Lieutenant Commander. The five Methuselah, as Arya had called them, were engaged in their own conversation. The five elementals were interesting to think about. Treize would like to see their powers when he got the chance.

"Hm, now that we are done dining on this excellent meal would you care to see the facility we've set up for our work together?" asked Treize. "My shuttle has more than enough room to carry us all over to the station."

"Its just blackened catfish," said the XO, "just have to have the right spices."

"Sure," replied Arya finishing off her fish, "though, if you don't mind, I would like to try our new transporters. We can use the one's aboard the NX-04 in the main hanger."

Dehner blinked and her eyes lost their silver color. When they returned to their normal color, the out door environment faded to what one would expect an officer's mess aboard a Huntaer designed and built starship to look like.

Treize nodded. "You are of course welcome to use your own transports. I however must leave on my own. I have other business, matters of state, that must be taken care of. However I will send Lieutenant Hawking, who is still on board, to guide you into the asteroid station. A warm welcome is awaiting you."

Treize stood up from his seat as did the four Shinigami. He walked around the table and bowed to Arya. "It was a pleasure meeting you your highness, and I truly hope that you enjoy your stay." Treize bent down and kissed Arya's hand. He then stood up strait, nodded to the XO and Dehner, and left the room. The four Shinigami bowed in unison and followed after Treize.

Not more than a few seconds later Lieutenant Hawking appeared. He saluted Princess Arya. "I am ordered to bring you to the station my lady. Will we be going in your craft? If so, consider me yours to command."

"You don't know what your missing," replied Mitchell with a sly wink, "having your molecules sent through a data stream may frighten some away, but others find the experience quite exhilerating, your highness."

Arya rolled her eyes at the Lieutenant Commander's enthusiasm as the Trinity Blood represenatives, including the ship's command officers, stood up along with the Thrasians.

"As you wish, your excellency," she said with a slight blush after Treize kissed her hand, "perhaps you would like to try it another time when you aren't so busy."

When Hawkings arrived, Arya grinned slyly and asked, "Lieutenant, how many times have you taken a trip via transporter beam?"

Hawking shivered, a cold feeling going down his spine. He looked at the evil smile spreading across the young princess' mouth. Escaping so you don't have to go through with it your Excellency? Gah! Is this my lot in life? Hawking sighed and resigned himself to it.

"No I don't believe I have. I've been through a warp gate and that was weird enough as it is. Does...it hurt?"


Asteroid Station Marque Quest

"Grr...when are they getting here!? Its been over an hour!" said Hans. He stood in a tight fitting black combat jerkin tapping his foot to a fast cadence while standing in the hangar bay. Suleiman, Carol, and Hans were all there including Dr. James Wright, leader of the project, and an entire company of gold and white armored clonetroopers, members of the 'Emperor's Own'.

Carol sat on a crate, her legs crossed and hands in her lap. She was dressed in a shining pink dress that showed off her curves. He long blonde hair was in a twisted pony tail and tied neatly. Suleiman was wearing his usual; black pants, plack t-shirt, and a black cloak with the Thrashian royal crest on its back in white. Though his Excellency thought is funny that he resembled the Shinigami, Suleiman just liked the outfit and when he could would often spar with members of that organization.

"Aren't they suppose to get here soon?" asked Carol, a faked sound of woe. "Poor Hans won't get to see the pwetty-pwencess!" She smiled big time and pointed her tongue out at Carol.

"Better keep that tongue in your head," said Ibram, who stood nearby. "Or else someone might catch it and where would you be?" Hans laughed at this and Carol's cheeks became flushed.

"You bastar--."

Carol however was interrupted as a shining light began resonating from the center of the hangar where the usual space craft landed. "What the hell is that?" asked Hans aloud.

"Not from what I hear," replied Arya as she led the way to the turbolift that would take them straight to where the NX-04 was docked*, "though, to put you at ease, I'll gladly go with you in the first party."

Taking the shortest route through the docking port and the corriders of the NX-04, they arrived at the transporter platform roughly ten minutes after leaving the officer's mess. Though, along the way, Arya had ducked into spare quarters aboard the NX-04 and had changed into an outfit that resembled the standard naval duty uniform so she wouldn't have to worry about getting the dress ruined during her part of the Trinity Blood demonstration and that she felt she would need the mobility granted her due to wearing the uniform** with its 'pants' instead of the rather open dress, thus accounting for five of those minutes.

"We're going to need co-ordinates of a rather open place so we don't end up inside any walls," Arya told Hawkings as she gestured at the control panel so he could input the required co-ordinates.

OOC: *I'm picturing it like the way the Blockade Runner (Tantive IV, IIRC) was held in the main hanger of the Star Destroyer (I forget the name) in the beginning of Episode IV.
**The outer part is usually a one-piece jumpsuit like article of clothing (a two-piece does exist, but its more for Captains and command staff officers of ships).

Hawking nodded. "Not a problem." He pulled out a small data slate from his pocket and manipulated it for a few moments. After scrambling around the usual data base that was set up he used his access clearance to get the coordinates of the main hangar of the Asteroid Base. He handed the slate to Arya.

"Here are the coordinates."

Arya transferred the co-ordinates to the officer at the control station as she stepped up on the platform.

"Care to join me, Mr. Hawkings?" she asked.

When he stepped up on the platform alongside her, Dehner, and Mitchell, she looked at the man at the transporter controls and said, "Energize when ready."

"Aye, ma'am," he replied as he manipulated the levers that activated the transportation sequence.

With the usualy accompioning hum of the transporter at work, they dissapeared in pillars of shimmering lights and reappeared in similar columns with a similar sound at the co-ordinates Hawking had provided.

Once the transport had fully completed, and they were able to move once more, Arya commented, as she started to move a few meters away, "We may want to get out of the spot so the next group doesn't beam in right on top of us."

The Doctor and the Lieutenant Commander nodded in understanding and moved to stand beside her. Once Hawkings had cleared the site, the five Elementals would beam over.

When the light faded and warning alarms ceased to resound off the walls at high volumes, Hans managed to pick himself up from the floor where he had been thrown when Carol had fallen off her crate in surprise. He felt around his face and felt the faint impression of a foot print. Bitch!

He turned to look at the center of the hangar and his thoughts of revenge disappeared all together. There standing in a group were their guests, the people from Trinity Blood.

Lieutenant Hawking, a common face seen on the science station staff, was walking forward to the honor guard of Emperor's Own that was assembled. Hans thought it strange he would salute common stormtroopers when he noticed Brigadier General Marc standing there next to them.

"Sir," said Hawking. "May I present to you her highness Princess Arya of Trinity Blood."

As the others from Trinity Blood stood back and kept a respectful silence, Arya strode foward and bowed gracefully. Even though she was dressed in one of the navy's utilitarian duty uniforms, she still made it look good on her.

OOC: Short, I know, but I'm too tired to go into anything else.

Brigadier General Marc Wallace bowed back to Princess Arya. "Welcome at last princess. We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival." He turned and showed a path through the honor guard to where an hangar-exit door was. Ibram and Suleiman stood on either side of it, watching silently.

"If you care to I can show you to our commons area where you can greet other members of our staff and people with whom you will be working with in the near future. We can then also show you to your rooms so that you can freshen up. Dinner isn't served for another six hours, though from what I was told you just got done eating a meal with his Excellency."

Carol squeezed through a pair of clonetroopers and hopped up next to General Marc. She smiled Arya and extended her hand. "Hi! I'm Carol, so nice to meet you finally!"

Brigadier General Marc Wallace bowed back to Princess Arya. "Welcome at last princess. We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival." He turned and showed a path through the honor guard to where an hangar-exit door was. Ibram and Suleiman stood on either side of it, watching silently.

"If you care to I can show you to our commons area where you can greet other members of our staff and people with whom you will be working with in the near future. We can then also show you to your rooms so that you can freshen up. Dinner isn't served for another six hours, though from what I was told you just got done eating a meal with his Excellency."

"That assumption about my dining with your Emperor is correct," said Arya, "as for rooms to freshenin up in....well, we'll see how things play out. Alright?

"Right now, though," she continued, "your suggestion of introducing the rest of your team is quite agreeable."

While she carried herself like royalty, Arya had the air of an experienced warrior as well and she also acted more like a regular person than anything else.

Carol squeezed through a pair of clonetroopers and hopped up next to General Marc. She smiled Arya and extended her hand. "Hi! I'm Carol, so nice to meet you finally!"

Arya's eyes widened slightly in surprise as she hadn't expected someone to be so energetic.

Shaking Carol's extended firmly, but taking care not to squeeze so hard that it was injured, Arya said, with a slight chuckle, "My, aren't you the energetic one, Ms. Carol."

OOC: Bump for Thrashia.

Carol smiled. "You bet'cha. My name's Carol Flannigan by the way. I'm a member of Thrashia's Psykic Corp." General Wallace coughed extravagently and gave a stern look at Carol. As the commanding officer of the station they Corp fellows were suppose to, in theory, follow his orders.

"Now, now Carol, there will be time to greet her majesty later," said Ibram. He stepped up behind Carol and gripped her shoulder. He bowed to Arya and dragged Carol away kicking and giggling. Suleiman disappeared before Ibram had moved to intercept Carol, taking Hans along with him.

"Now if you like your majesty," said General Wallace, "I will show you to our main conference room. It also doubles as the mess hall for those highly placed in the project." He bowed Arya onward and they left the chamber, Arya's followers close behind. A detachment of clonetroopers followed as well, the rest being dismissed to their general quarters.

"Such enthusiam is an admirable trait," Arya told Carol before the General led them to the Conference Room, "do try to not loose that over the years. You'll be all the more sane if you ever have to enter combat. Trust me, some things in war leave mental scars that never really heal."

OOC: Seems like Arya and Carol will be a great match for friends. Perhaps she'll be invited to visit the Trinity Blood Esper facility.