NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: well I guess its time to try and actually use this nation. Prates
IC:
The newly renamed world of prates was finally united. Three years ago in a sweeping victory, the empire of Prates took over the planet with the end of the last cold war. The emperor defeated all his enemies and took over Now however, that same emperor was looking to expand his borders. A recently shot down alien ship has spurred weapon, defense, interstellar ship construction, and propulsion along. Now the first fleet was ready, it had Prates's best and brightest, it was also the most heavily armed military group in Prates.
...space above prates III...
The sleek pratese ships were finally assembled. The crashed ship was fully reverse engineered and all of is technologies were present on the ships, with several minor improvements. On the bridge of the IPS FengHuang the admiral was quickly pacing in the holographic bridge.
"We have permission to leave sir." said a ensign tapping a screen that appeared to hover in mid air."
"Good, Signal all ships for maximum speed to the Dawn System." Soon the craft were gone in a bright flash of light leaving the developing system behind.
...Dawn System...
The dawn system consisted of a yellow main sequence star surrounded by two Terrestrial Planets, a planet with a high content of CO2 (now I would normally use Star Trek classifications or this but I'm to lazy) and three gas giants. It also had several belts of asteroids. The system was a treasure trove of resources and was the first step in the Pratese plan for expansion into the galaxy.
The first ship of the fleet, a remote operated colony preparation ship, began to drop pods into the first M class planet. These pods each contained trillions of nanobots. The nanobots were dispersed over the continents where they began to replicate and build the infrastructure necessary to maintain a colony. By this time the ships had begun to send out shuttles with people and supplies. The people dispersed into the predesigned city that was constructed by the nanobots, It was by a large ocean and used fusion for power. The planet was also having a large scale defence system installed. Several large Magnetic Accelerator Cannons began to rise out of the ground and ascended at a fast pace to geosynchronous orbit. In just one month the planet was fully completed and a shipyard installed. All was peaceful until that day that ships emerged into thin air with the deactivation of their FTL drives.

(I'm also yoo lazy to correct any gramitical errors, so whatever)

They arrived at the far edge of the system, as per standard operating procedure when entering unexplored systems. Astronomical surveys could only do so much from such large distances, so jumping further in would be tantamount to suicide. Scanning sweeps were initiated as soon as the five ships joined formation, and communications quickly grew hectic.

This system appears to be all that we expected. The debris rings in and of themselves would make this system a perfect addition to our own ends, to say nothing of how remote this system is.

Agreed, though the lack of any other distinguishing features make it decidedly more dull than the other systems we have surveyed.

Scans show... two habitable worlds, another semi-habitable, three gas giants, and enough munitions fodder to pelt the imperials into submission without breaking a sweat... they're mineral rich too! LOTS of iron and titanium. These are some pretty high-grade pain-bombs...

Two habitable worlds? Check for civilization. If this system is settled we're in for some issues.

Signs of comms traffic, and also ship contacts. Interstellar capacity but relatively low-grade. Large, but only lightly armed... multiple escorts, power readings suggest combat vessels... massive power readings on the surface of the first habitable planet evidencing replication efforts. It would appear we have stumbled upon a colonization effort.

So they have not been here long either, hmm?

Correct. Colonization effort shows signs of only having just been initiated. Much less than a year, perhaps a month or two.

Prime-Ping them. Reveal our presence but maintain position here.

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

Shortly after, a sequence of high frequency comm spikes radiated out into the system like a curious form of morse code. One ping, two pings, three pings, five pings, seven pings, eleven pings... and so on. Triangulation of the signal would point to a location some distance away from the furthest edge of the system...

There were thirty ships above Dawn I, of these fifteen were transports, and fifteen were warships. The planet below them only had 10,000 people on it as the next scheduled shipment was not yet due for another two weeks. The planet was sending constant information back to Prates on a newly developed subspace communicator. This time however the information was far from normal. There were "pings" that were arriving at the planet. The system immediatly went into a state of high alert. On the ground automated defences sprung up from place to place around the main city. The ships in orrbit were also triangulating the origin of the pings. Eventually the ships determined it to be a location on the outskirts of the system and one ship used its sublight engines to travel there.
The ship sent was a lighly armed transport. It was going to be used to acirtain the intentions of the arrivers. The ship activated its warp drives and sped away at c to the location that the pings originated.
Message: (in pictures because I couldn't think of another way to communicate without something like a universal translator)
We prates ask your actions in our system.

Well, they didn't respond by shooting at us, which is good.

One of the ships has broken off from the main group and is closing in on us.

Mindscan when the vessel reaches proximity. Do not go too deep as they might notice it and take umbrage, we only need linguistics.

Acknowledged.

As the Prates ship arrived, some of its crew would note a fleeting sense of being watched, and while the message itself was effectively ignored, the intended meaning was gathered long before the message's formulation, such that a response came almost before the message was done transmitting.

Ahh, much better. We needed one of your vessels to get closer in order to acquire the nature of your speech patterns.

We are adjuncts of the Godulan Legion, surveying systems for potential colonization and material appropriations. It would appear that you have begun colonizing the system of your own accord, and it has been noted that the multiple fields of stellar debris orbiting through this field are exceptionally preferable for our operations. Rather than move on to the next system on our list, we would inquire as to the possibility of a negotiated agreement to... share the wealth.

The one transport moved closer to the ever enlarging view of the unknown ship in responce to the message. The mesage actually suprised the crew and they didn't actually know how to act as first contact was dissmissed as unlikely by the pratese council.

a small scout ship entered the system

The colonization of worlds in a galaxy so large would be hard to ever notice, one would think. However, in truth, the lack of planetoids with the ideal conditions suitable for the creation of sentient life made the discovery important both politically and economically, as well as the colonization that usually followed shortly thereafter. This meant that there was always a search through the intricate anatomy of extremities that coalesced into the galaxies current form: through the stellar and globular clusters; star forming nebulae, and those lone Montag stars whose connection to the greater galactic whole was so tenuous that none could say definitively say whether or not it was a true member, or merely a slowly passing stranger.

The searches often yielded nothing of value; either the planets when discovered were already colonized, or too far away to reasonably claim, that also assuming someone else from that sector of the universe had not already claimed it themselves regardless. Still, the unattainable and unreachable were cataloged and stored in some obscure quadrant of the database owned by the corporation that had the luck to find the space jewel first. Others were made aware of the claim, the government would then confirm it, and if anything interesting were to happen to that system, then the discovering corporation had the first opportunity to react if it so desired.

The colonization by an advanced race was just that kind of interesting event.

--

"So it's confirmed?" Division Manager Don Morrison asked incredulously, as he always did even in the face of the blatantly obvious.

"Yes, system CS-133.b is... uh... in the process of being colonized by what appears to be an advanced race of... uh... space faring beings, uh... sir." An eager and young assistant said with his characteristic stutter; always trying to please often interfered with one's ability to appear intelligent.

"Ah, any information from the d-cubes?" The plain-faced and wide-eyed Morrison said as he rose from the black leather chair from which he had previously been reclined.

"Er, nothing truly definitive yet: the model of cube in that um, area is quite old and less refined than the ones we have now, or even the ones we had er, several generations back, so we only have a rough idea of what these people are like and what they've brought into the... uh... area." The scrawny shorthaired Jocef Accolii said at an ever quicker but remarkably more coherent pace.

Don simply stared out the wide-paned window of his office in his solid-black office suit, into a ocean of stars seemingly transfixed in their current location by some all-reaching ethereal chain. Each representing a possible venue for increased profits and another step upwards on the corporate later. If only he had access to them all instead of the meager multitude that Copex was able to scout with its exploration division; so much water, but none to drink. that's how the blond-haired Don looked at it.

"Thanks, Jocef; I'll submit the proper paper-work. That is all." Don said almost absentmindedly, the way he said most things and one of the principal reasons for his low status in Copex Inc; how can you keep your cards close to your vest if you reveal them without realizing it?

"Er, thank you, sir." Jocef said as he walked quickly down the strip of blue carpeting that led directly out of Don's office through a sliding electro-door.

--

The room was a massive empty space contained by a floor incised by a vast menagerie of work stations and consoles in the form of strange and very surreal geometry, supporting twisting columns and beams that rose to the vaulted ceiling, disappearing into darkness. The forewall was nothing but a great expansive pane of fiberglass, bathing in the silent transparent energies of cascading forcefields, and virbrous electromagnetic barriers that kept the harsh spatial environment outside.

It was in this room that Jocalyn Braaci presided over like a silent queen. Sitting in a highly cubical chair made of various metal alloys encasing a myriad of electronic devices geared towards controlling all that happened in that immense room, the First Contact and General Logistics manager had many responsibilities. Ones she took on without a second thought in her blue pinstriped suit.

Now the still decidedly young manager was sitting cross-legged in that oddly comfortable chair, sipping from a glass of wine out of instinct instead of desire. Then the call came in.

"Hello? FCGL Manager Jocalyn Braaci reporting." She said tersely while her thin fingers weaved their way through her long, lithe hair black as a grave raven.

"Ah, this is Don Morrison, Copex Incorporated General Manager of the Exploration Division. Hello, Jocalyn." Don said with his prototypical nervous enthusiasm over a virtual network that spanned the distance of three light-years separating he and Jocalyn.

"Hello mister Morrison, what may I do for you today?" She responded coldly as her cerulean eyes traced constellations old and new through the massive viewing pane.

"Right. It has just come to my attention that an advanced race has begun colonization of CG-133.b, and as head of the First Contact department, I am authorizing an expedition to ascertain their exact capabilities." Don said as he fiddled with a holographic piece of paper on his desk, filling out the form that was more of a way to keep track of his every movement than do ensure any degree of efficiency when missions like this came to head.

"So we don't have a complete picture yet? Of a system over a thousand light-years away? Aren't we supposed to utilize d-cubes for this sort of mission?" She responded in a slightly hostile tone, hoping to underscore the perceived ridiculousness of the current situation.

"Don't blame me for this; according to the file the d-cube was placed in that sector over ten years ago. Since then electron storms have degraded the cube's communication abilities, all manners of subspace dust has collected on its instruments, and nothing of note has happened in that area to warrant a new one since. It's not our fault we're lacking a bit in information." Morrison replied in a defensive tone without realizing it.

Morrison signed the digital document and sent it to the Corporate Office of Proper Procedures before heading down to the cafeteria; doing any work at all always made him hungry. Sometimes he spent more time eating than he did actually working, in fact.

"Sure. We'll all get right on sorting this thing out, then." Jocalyn said in a subtly acidic tone, "What are our orders when we arrive, and at least tell me they're more likely to talk first than shoot, please."

"Follow first-contact guidelines and see if we can't establish some sort of trade relationship. And we're almost certain that the race is more peaceful than warlike..." Don said with an uncertain tone, as he passed several technicians repairing a computer that had been damaged in a power-surge earlier in the day. Honestly he wasn't sure; the file only said that an advanced race had been colonizing it, and that they had brought in warships; that was all he knew in truth.

"But not to worry, I'm going to authorize the use of above-standard force and an increase on the internal insurance policy just in case. Anything else, Jocalyn?" He said with a tone that reflected his desire to end the conversation.

"No sir, we're on it." She responded with a mischievous tone and an outward grin just as Don cut the connection. "Well at least we know you're also impolite."

"Ma'am?" An intern said from a console about five-yard in front of the now-standing Jocalyn.

"Nothing. Prep D-fleet for launch, coordinates to be provided shortly."

"Aye, ma'am."

Jocalyn checked her AuthFo inbox over the datasphere for the required forms, smiling on the inside at what she had just accomplished if all went as she had planned.

--

"I'm bored." D-Fleet captain Orlan Tescoma said from his command chair.

"Won't be for much longer sir: we've got a mission." His second in command Lieutenant Yvir Nicomsky said with his typical booming voice from behind the curving half-wall console that was the ships general command station.

"Really? Were to, Lieutenant?" Orlan said with a now lively tone.

"It's about a thousand LY away, and its designation is 133.b, sir, other than that it's all we know."

"So why are we going there?" The middle-aged captain asked as he rose from his seat to stretch some before embarking, with bones popping from under a set of muscle that still gave him a very imposing appearance. He then patted away some dust that had collected on his uniform: a teal-blue affair made of soft and airy cloth that was adorned with various white medals over the chest and humorous. Whereas the edges of the extremities were bisected by white-bands just as the officers cap was, though the center of the later mentioned was emblazoned by the Copex Eagle, the same chroma of white as everything else.

"Why else? To make first contact with a group we know nothing about. And with more than the usual number of ships." Yvir said with his typical sarcasm.

"Great. They could be hostile and we're going in with even more guns. Who authorized this fiasco?" Orlan said as he sat back down, hurling orders through the fleet's local datasphere telling everyone to be ready within the next two minutes to launch.

"Don't know, sir; same as it always is." Yvir said as his station lit up like the sky-line of a midnight city, the various consoles raising up from the floor slightly while previously power-down terminals and screens activated. They displayed a myriad of information; graphs, numbers, line-commands and other assorted things the local AI ran through as the engines powered up.

"Whatever. Let's just get going and hope we come back alive." Orlan said with a bit of a sneer, the rest of the crew frantically trying to carry out their rather simplistic orders, nearly oblivious to the exchange that happened within the room between there captain and the XO, who had both disconnected themselves from the virtual network a short time ago. They needed a break from such a bustling virtual world.

Soon they reconnected, entering a surreal world of digital constructs surrounded by crew yelling commands and status reports. Events that here, took place in an infinitesimal timeframe within the physical world.

"Alright boys, let's hit it." Orlan said enthusiastically as the lights further dimmed and the engines roared.

--

D-Fleet was comprised of about twenty ships, five more than usual. Fifteen were corporate warships of various calibers; squat silver creatures with a very modernist design and armed with more weapons than ships of their size usually came with.

Four others were giant Leviathan class freighters carrying as much cargo as any general space-faring race could want in their train-like bodies.

The last one was a diplomatic cruiser, armed and armored, but by many degrees less threatening than other ships of its size.

The idea, however, was not to jump into mid-system with this mass of warships and freighters when the native race may be decidedly less than friendly, or simply paranoid. No, instead the plan was simply the get near the system and dispatch the cruiser to initiate talks, with the other ships merely acting as a form of backup in case things went awry.

Soon all twenty ships shimmered in a cobalt-violet light that cascaded through the heavens like a gentle rain. Their shields refracted this light into queer phantasmal forms as spatial material collapsed into a silent firestorm of blinding light every shade and tint of rose.

All were soon engulfed in this storm, carried off into a dimension lacking any of the physical laws and properties that governed the actual universe; entering into a dimension devoid of sanity and reason. Where all aspects of time were separate and all dimensions could be experienced. Where the fundamental particles did not exist and all properties of electromagnetism ceased to function as they were designed; warped beyond their original powers into something all-encompassing and definitive, till you could see the twisting storms of electric and magnetic forces as one may see the sun at mid-day.

The jump of a thousand light-years was over within an hour, though it felt like an eternity. The fleet remained in a dimension that kept them from manifesting in the physical universe, somewhere between the dimensions with scanners active, searching for any anomalies that might indicate a hostile action from native or foreign forces. They were many AU away from the system truly, about twenty-five thousand, but that offered no guarantee of stealth in real-space if the capabilities of the colonizing forces were especially great.

--

“Huh.” Yvir ‘said’ within the digital bridge.

“What is it?” Orlan said, expecting bad news.

“From what we are able to gather, the system is being colonized with a nanite method.” Yvir said, morphing next to his captain’s side with the byte of data containing updated sensor information.

“So they’re suitably advanced I take it.” Orlan said as his eyes scanned through the cloud of information. “Seems we’re not the only ones here, Yvir.”

“Aye, sir. Not sure who they are exactly, but we’ll run what data we have through the computer and see if the library has anything on them.”

“Good. Have they seen us yet?” Orlan said, turning to Yvir with questioning eyes.

“Unknown, but doubtful; we know they’re here because of the amount of noise they are broadcasting out into the system. We haven’t reentered realspace quite yet, and the likelihood of either of us being within the same sub-dimension is quite slim. We could look for them, though.” Yvir responded with an inflection indicating what he thought they should do.

“No…” Orland said, handing back the data cloud, “… if they don’t know about us yet, then that’s a good thing. For all we know they’re the hostiles we should be worried about. And in any case, if they’re hidden I’m not sure they want to be startled by us, really.”

“So keep silent?”

“Indeed. Shields to full and have weapons of both natures ready to go, especially defensive. Also have all comm. Chatter moved to more secure and subtle lines: standard should be enough, but we don’t know if they can detect our tight-beam Tolean transmissions or not, so it’s best to take the safer route.” Orlan replied as he manifested his virtual self over the infinite pool of data that pertained to the current situation. It was a giant miasmal storm cloud of information, totally unreadable golden characters and geometric shapes to anyone without the necessary implants.

“Aye sir.” Then Yvir disappeared. The entire conversation haven taken place in an instant too small to be measured.

D-Fleet took up a defensive posture, yet no aggressive action was taken. As far as anyone could tell D-Fleet was good with live and let-live. Other than that all possible stealth programs and systems were activated, whereas the scanners searched all the more harder for anything that could ever be construed as a threat.

--

Soon the d-cube, a small electronic device whose shape was perfectly described in its very name, began to configure internal systems and devices for communication with the Prates as the diplomatic cruiser readied for action. The cube, which was only about four square feet in size, started to broadcast a signal.



Hello,

This is Alexander Moar of the Copex Incorporated Diplomatic Corporation. News of your recent activity has reached us through the device now transmitting this signal, and this has piqued our interests in this system considerably. We request a meeting, if such is not an inconvenience.

-Alexander Moar

It looks like we startled them with that...

Indeed. We are a tad faster than most in that respect, aren't we?

Universal translators be damned.

Incoming... um... lots. Extrasolar origin. One ship and one fleet. Ship shows signs of Sephrion manufacture--

Aw geez... batten down the hatches.

--and the second only shows up on our spatial scanners... difficult to identify without matching their superspace coordinates... and they went WAY out there.

Beyond the 'wacky regions'?

In the 'wacky regions', but along the physical disruption axis... looks like these people prefer one seriously dysfunctional dimension for their Faster than Light.

'Liberate Tute me Ex Inferiis?'

Very probably that bad. If they do not come out holding their eyeballs in their hands and spouting apocalytpic latin gibberish between bouts of agonized screaming, it might be worth the time to inquire as to their dimensional containment methods.

I'm surprised you got the reference.

I didn't. I looked it up.

Oh well.

It is a very good equivocation, though, now that I looked it up... it has a surprising amount of bearing on the consideration.

In any event...

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

The five Kython Slaughterkings backed away from the Prates vessel as it approached in a manner best described as 'instinctively'. One of them seemed to shift curiously, its center section suddenly polymorphing within the crystalline ring into a strange pincer-like apparatus that crackled and sputtered with excess energy. Stranger still, the ship that performed this odd display of mutability directed the obviously weaponlike mechanism in the general direction of the Sephrion vessel.

It would appear that you have been noted by more than merely us. We would advise caution when dealing with the scout ship, as they are a... disagreeable folk.

There is also another fleet incoming, sizable... possibly superior to your own... this is worrisome. Perhaps you would be so kind as to escort us closer into the system. We really would seek to negotiate the possibility of coexistence.

wide band coms scan this scount it is unarmedb but fire up on us and fleet will beforcedto interve panik out

Rubble was all that remained.
The once-proud standing of the Progenitors-eons ago, a power above powers, now for millenia little more than metal and ash. A seperate threat, one that had started with the advanced race but spiraled out of control, had forced the hand of the Progenitors to action, action that had taken them out, yet not even cleansed the threat. But some, though little still remained. Indeed it was little, yet enough to carry on the message, enough to continue a proud legacy-and a destiny, a journey, never completed or to be completed.
It remained, and carried on.

- - - - -

The depths of space encompass the stars, the planets, life, and death. Yet there are those who watch space, and all that are strewn through its strings. Those who did not wish death and rebirth, but simple balance-equilibrium.
So it was when in the Prates system, a small green-radiating metallic sphere floated gently through, carrying on for eons through the galaxy. Ancient and neglected, yet never dead, never gone. It had met countless, carried on the deeds of the past, ignorant to the workings of most of the galaxy yet totally emerged in its sole purpose. And now it slowly eeked its way towards Prates III, where the Prates people were coming into contact with others-and the sphere had its own tale for the new spacefarers.
It would carry on, and persevere.

((Drat I hate when things become multifronted oh well))
...Prates III...
Prates III was the capital of the newly formedInterstellar Empire of Prates, Its one moon contained a large natimatter production facility and the planet below it had 200 MAC cannons along with several prototype Planetay based anti orbital directed energy weapons and a planetary shield grid. (more like several thousand seperate shields but whatever) When the planets rudimentary sensors detected un unknown object a small frigate was sent to investigate.
...Dawn System...
The Transport invited the Godular ships to the second planetary orbital but they would only alow one ship into the main orbital. Also after the message from the Cube arrived the same message was sent out to Alexander Moar.

coms to prates vesel from imperium scout eplion we care to meet you race over and out

The five Kython ships seemed not to react to the invitation at first, but after a number of seconds, a simple message came back:

Be Ready.

And with that they vanished from existence rematerializing in the dictated areas, four Kython vessels hovering at equally distant points along the described orbit, while the fifth moved forth towards the portal. This relocation was as non-descript as it was instantaneous, no flash of light took place, no ripple of displaced space-time, the ships simply vanished from the edge of the system and reappeared in perfect orbital vectors.

The operators at the government headquarts were suprised at the sudden siddapearence and reappearence of the unknown ships. However they also invited them and any other races in the vicinty of the system to send a diplomat down to the planet.
The diplotmat would have been alowed to have 6 guards and a confrence with the proper planetary authorities, or other races would be set up.

((now I just hope that a turpitude ruler deosn't come but whatever)

the scout recloaked and geaded for the planet

The invite recieved and (ooc: hopefully) the landing coordinates given, the Kython vessels continued in their standard orbits, showing little, if anything, in the way of perturbation or activity.

Then, at the designated landing spot, he appeared. There was slightly more notice for the newcomer's arrival than the strange jumps made by his ships, as his arrival caused a great PWUMM along with a momentary burst of displaced air. He stood approximately six feet tall and was ostensibly human in form. Though his body was meant to be aesthetically pleasing, his musculature and posture both gave a sense that the diplomat was less of a human so much as a statue of one, given life. He wore an ornately patterned and decorated vest and pants, but also walked barefoot. He wore his hair short with the occasional strand drifting artfully down his face, and his stoic expression bore an emerald eyed gaze of almost tangible intensity.

Hands clasped before his chest as if in prayer, he bowed curtly to his reception party. When he spoke, his mouth did not move, instead seeming to vibrate his entire body in order to generate his deep, penetrating, almost inquisitorial voice.

"We are Geryon. We are here to conduct negotiations."

((yes landing coordinates...))
Three soldiers from he interstellar navy of prates waited at the given coordinates. They stood in a large, recently made shuttle craft lading area with a bridge behind them that gracefully spanned a large forested gorge. On the other side of the bridge was a large building. The landing pad was defended. All along the perimeter were flack cannons. These flack cannon could easily reach low orbit craft and had a maximum range of 150,000 km (of course with sensors its easy to doge things that high) The flack shells they fired used a small fusion reaction that would eventually wear the containment down and blow up about 1 cu km. There were also several automated defence turrets that would respond to any unrecognized weapons fire in their vicinity.
The three soldiers that were stationed there for the arrival of the first race were feline, and yet they were also humanoid. ((who said I was human, besides how can there be humans outside of sol and its colonies)) Their apparent leader walked up to the man that appeared on he platform and greeted him.
"Bienvenue. This is the Dawn system belonging to the (compassionate) empire of prates. We are here to escort you to the building where the meeting with the proper authorities will take place." He led the man to a waiting vehicle. The vehicle itself was completely chromed and carried an unknown elegance and grace. The leader stepped into the driver's seat and started the car up. As soon as they entered the "car" lifted off the ground with its basic anti gravity propulsion and speed off the waiting building. Along the way they passed another like car that was heading back to the landing pad.

the scout ship begain landing

His movements struck as curiously slow in nature, but somehow, despite the ponderous nature of his walking, he nearly outpaced his escort to the vehicle despite their purposeful march. Upon his entering the car, the leader would have noted the vehicle shifting unexpectedly under the guest's apparent weight, before grav compensators set the vehicle back to rights.

As they departed, the 'man' closed his eyes and seemed to enter some form of meditative state, becoming as immobile as a statue.

((you know, this being an intro rp i have no idea about toher races))
The modern looking building (think frank loyd wright or whatever his name was) loomed over the surrounding forrest. It was constantly patroled by several squads of men. The first grav car arrived at the gate. The passangers were then cleared and given a destination. The car then proceeded to go around the complex and enter the building. It entered throught he west wing. The car came right up to the wall, which then retracted, and parked in the almost empty hanger. There were ten other grav cars but here was room for much more. Here two officially licenced diplomats of the empire of prates awaided the diembarking of the car's passangers.

...Landingpad...
three more soldiers and a grav car waited for the disembarking of the diplomats

the scout ship decloaked the crew ofloaded a single tech priest escorted by a space marine

If one could listen at the proper level, it might almost be possible to note the sound of the universe screaming, as several laws of physics were brutally violated. The pair of Solari Battleships, both badly battered and leaking atmosphere(a minor inconvenience, they had no crews to speak of), and pursued by nearly a dozen heavy cruisers, erupted into the system with a violence rarely observed anywhere. Normally any single battleship would be more than a match for any few cruisers, but when struck from ambush, with no shields to blunt the damage, the pair had little hope of defending themselves much longer. Both Battleship AIs noted the presence of the other vessels in the system, but there wasn't much they could do beyond asking for assistance against the Pirate Militia. Slugs leapt across the intervening distance, and shields snapped into existence, blunting the fire, and turning aside several in a massive eruption of light and heat.

A desperate communication went out through the depths, seeking any friendly ships that might aid them.

SNS BENJAMIN BREEG

This is the Solari Battleship Benjamin Breeg, requesting all available assistance, we were struck from ambush, and lack the remaining combat capability to defeat our opponents, or the ability to E&E out. Central has indicated to us that no assistance from our own navy will be forthcoming, and that we are on our own. Any assistance rende--KSSSSSSHHHHT!!!!

A lucky shell from a pirate cruiser smashed into the communications array, cutting off the transmission at its midpoint, and punching through to cut the primary ammunition feed to the third main turret. An entire third of its armament was now inoperational, and a majority of its secondary weapons had already been destroyed. Things were looking a mite bit touchy...

coms to solrei ships from the scout ship dommion we han have some destroyers bought in over and out


coms to fleet comand we need some ships in sector


4 destroyers and 2 battle ships exited the warp

coms to pirate vessels cease your attack or be destroyed

IC:"Herr KomLeu. We are in the fringes of Unhab-A7A-47."

Kommandant-Leutnant Peter Scherer, Communication and Sensor chief on the jaegerschiff Oberst Herschel, as well as the officer of the watch, glanced momentarily at one of the screen's at his own station, verifying the Unter-Leutnant's statement. He did not actually have the authority to order anything warp-related, being neither an FTL officer or of sufficient seniority, but he did have standing orders from the captain. And on the J-Ships, the captain really was second only to God. Admirals were people a very long way away who read reports and signed paychecks.

"De-warp on my mark, all crew to stations..."

The helmsman (who was actually a woman, an Ober-Stabs Schiffrau named Vera Köstritz) stabbed the sublight-station alarm.

"Mark!"

Godular has already refered to "apocalyptic Latin gibberish" being induced by certain dimensions. The warp is one of them. In a moment of brain-melting unreality, the Herschel became visible as conventional physics and luclidean geometry went out the window. And in another moment, the many-cornered spheres and other shapes of rather more dimensions than those hailing from realities of three or four shoud even try to imagine were gone, leaving only the distinctly real J-Ship.

It was about the same moment that the ship's commanding officer, Käpitan Gustav von Gneisanau, who was even more distinctly real, appeared on the bridge in a flurry of attention-snappage.

"Report."

"Liebe Gott!"

The duty sensor officer, stirred into action by the appearance of his CO, had noticed the Kythons.

"Godulan bio-ships, inhabited planet, and auto-ships under fire from several vessels!"

Gneissanau kept his cool. Relaxing as it was, "Explore hundreds of dull, useless unhabs yearly!" wasn't what had attracted him to J-Ship service.

"Take us in closer to the engagement. Try to remain unseen, but we'll probably be noticed if experiance tells. Go for..."

"Message inbound."

"They've spotted us alreayd?"

"Nah, it's general. Here it is:"

The CO listened to Breeg's SOS carefully.

"Let's get in the mix, people. It's calculated act of mercy time!"

There was some cheering from other bridge-crew who prefered the glamorous aspects of J-Shipping as the Herschel prepared to render some very painful assistance. The torpedoes were already flying.

7 cruisers exited from the warp
the admril said fleet form up on my mark

his ship the fist of the fist of the imprium a cruiser coms to boozian vessel it is strange we fight along side each other

coms to solrei ships from the scout ship dommion we han have some destroyers bought in over and out


coms to fleet comand we need some ships in sector


4 destroyers and 2 battle ships exited the warp

coms to pirate vessels cease your attack or be destroyed

Half of the fleet footed Cruisers broke off their attack on the embattled Breeg and its consort. Accelerating past .6c with frightening ease, they turned their batteries on the Sephrion destroyers, and unleashed a torrent of fire, slugs and missiles ripping the distance between the two groups to shreds. Each impact would be like a hammer blow to bamboo, with 400 tons of solid Chromsten traveling at nearly .9c, and several megatons in WEIGHT of antimatter coming at them, it was going to be interesting to see how mere destroyers survived the fire of their betters.

With Turret 3 unable to receive more ammunition, its last shot had to be made to count. Both mighty battlewagons, Benjamin Breeg and Showboat, targetted a single cruiser with their combined batteries. 18 shells and numerous smaller rounds punched out, shattering plate and bulkheads in a titanic eruption of light and metallic shards. When the debris cleared, there was nothing left but scrap. 1 down, 11 to go.

forward lance batries damaged

nova cannons on my mark said the captian 5 4 3 2 1 Mark

forward lance batries damaged

nova cannons on my mark said the captian 5 4 3 2 1 Mark

Explosions kissed the fringes of the pirate shields, as the agile cruisers dodged the brunt of the fire, and returned with shots of their own, slugs shattered the void, and missiles detonated with teratons of fury, capable of shattering continents at one go.

Torpedoes slammed home in the side of the cruiser most towards system north, ripping away at shields, armor, and finally tearing great rents into the hull. A volley of missiles roared out in reply, carrying enough warheads to put down whatever might have struck at them, or so they hoped. With 24 missiles in a single volley, it was difficult to be sure of success, but against a light opponent, with little or no warning, the effect should be devastating.

coms to solrei ships from the scout ship dommion we han have some destroyers bought in over and out


coms to fleet comand we need some ships in sector


4 destroyers and 2 battle ships exited the warp

coms to pirate vessels cease your attack or be destroyed

Half of the fleet footed Cruisers broke off their attack on the embattled Breeg and its consort. Accelerating past .6c with frightening ease, they turned their batteries on the Sephrion destroyers, and unleashed a torrent of fire, slugs and missiles ripping the distance between the two groups to shreds. Each impact would be like a hammer blow to bamboo, with 400 tons of solid Chromsten traveling at nearly .9c, and several megatons in WEIGHT of antimatter coming at them, it was going to be interesting to see how mere destroyers survived the fire of their betters.

With Turret 3 unable to receive more ammunition, its last shot had to be made to count. Both mighty battlewagons, Benjamin Breeg and Showboat, targetted a single cruiser with their combined batteries. 18 shells and numerous smaller rounds punched out, shattering plate and bulkheads in a titanic eruption of light and metallic shards. When the debris cleared, there was nothing left but scrap. 1 down, 11 to go.

Half of the fleet footed Cruisers broke off their attack on the embattled Breeg and its consort. Accelerating past .6c with frightening ease, they turned their batteries on the Sephrion destroyers, and unleashed a torrent of fire, slugs and missiles ripping the distance between the two groups to shreds. Each impact would be like a hammer blow to bamboo, with 400 tons of solid Chromsten traveling at nearly .9c, and several megatons in WEIGHT of antimatter coming at them, it was going to be interesting to see how mere destroyers survived the fire of their betters.

With Turret 3 unable to receive more ammunition, its last shot had to be made to count. Both mighty battlewagons, Benjamin Breeg and Showboat, targetted a single cruiser with their combined batteries. 18 shells and numerous smaller rounds punched out, shattering plate and bulkheads in a titanic eruption of light and metallic shards. When the debris cleared, there was nothing left but scrap. 1 down, 11 to go.

By now, Herschel, no longer silent and near enough to the fray to engage with main batteries, would be visible to all. The torpedoes she had sent ahead by way of introduction had been targetted at one cruiser. Spam is, after all, an acccepted procedure.

"Breeg, hope you can hear us. This is Oberst Herschel."

With that, the J-ship swung around and opened fire on the neraest enemy ship. Another message had been sent requesting a squadron of re-enforcements. There being a small flottilar assigned ti the various J-ship operation zones, it could be there in a matter of hours.

coms to solrei ships from the scout ship dommion we han have some destroyers bought in over and out


coms to fleet comand we need some ships in sector


4 destroyers and 2 battle ships exited the warp

coms to pirate vessels cease your attack or be destroyed

Half of the fleet footed Cruisers broke off their attack on the embattled Breeg and its consort. Accelerating past .6c with frightening ease, they turned their batteries on the Sephrion destroyers, and unleashed a torrent of fire, slugs and missiles ripping the distance between the two groups to shreds. Each impact would be like a hammer blow to bamboo, with 400 tons of solid Chromsten traveling at nearly .9c, and several megatons in WEIGHT of antimatter coming at them, it was going to be interesting to see how mere destroyers survived the fire of their betters.

With Turret 3 unable to receive more ammunition, its last shot had to be made to count. Both mighty battlewagons, Benjamin Breeg and Showboat, targetted a single cruiser with their combined batteries. 18 shells and numerous smaller rounds punched out, shattering plate and bulkheads in a titanic eruption of light and metallic shards. When the debris cleared, there was nothing left but scrap. 1 down, 11 to go.

By now, Herschel, no longer silent and near enough to the fray to engage with main batteries, would be visible to all. The torpedoes she had sent ahead by way of introduction had been targetted at one cruiser. Spam is, after all, an acccepted procedure.

"Breeg, hope you can hear us. This is Oberst Herschel."

With that, the J-ship swung around and opened fire on the neraest enemy ship. Another message had been sent requesting a squadron of re-enforcements. There being a small flottilar assigned ti the various J-ship operation zones, it could be there in a matter of hours.

Lances of fire blasted deep into the hull of yet another cruiser, drawing off a further pair from engaging the battleships. Both unleashed a volley of missiles, and brought their own guns to bear against the intruding vessel. As large as any ship present, the newest opponent could hopefully be brought down swiftly by concentrated fire. The two cruisers that remained to face the battleships were now in dire straits. They couldn't flee, both were damaged, and would be caught, but they couldn't survive this encounter either. The odds were finally more than even. Slugs flew thick and fast, and one of the Cruisers staggered, before blowing apart in a runaway fusion reaction.

**Channel Capacity Exceeds Informal Interactivity, assigning differentiators**

11) Whoa! Y'all see what I'm seeing?

1) Do we have telemetry on that battle out there? Seems quite frantic.

2) We are not involved and the battle will be over by the time the Prates folks can intervene.

1) Irrelevant. Any combat telemetry is good combat telemetry, note how quickly the Sephrions managed to bring in reinforcements. Those ships must have been held waiting not even a light year from the system heliopause.

5) Telemetry acquired. Unknown1 profiles non-recognizable ship structure, secondary evidence suggests utilization of linear accelerator-type weapons consistent with Solarin methods. Unknown2 profiles ship structure consistent with Nova Boozian vessels, weapons utilized supports analysis. Unknown3 profiles ship structure consistent with documented pirate activity in the general vicinity which, curiously enough, is also Solarin in origin, weapons utilized supports analysis, numerical fleet strength recognized as uncharacteristic to documented operational records. Weapons exchange shows that the pirates are presently both outnumbered and outgunned yet also displaying a curious level of adamance in the pursuit of their objective.

2) They're staying to fight against all that?

5) Indeed. Initial information recognizes the Solarins as their initial target. Reasoning for staying when battle has turned in such a manner is unknown. Normal piratical operating procedure suggests a swift departure in the face of organized resistance yet these do not do so.

2) Maybe they're just stupid?

5) If they were 'stupid' they would not have been able to muster the resources to support such a large force. Pirate fleet numerical strength is uncharacteristic to standard pirate operations. Pirate fleet combativeness is uncharacteristic to standard pirate operations. Pirate fleet downfall is inevitable unless swift egress is enacted in accordance to standard pirate operations. Signs show desperation, not stupidity, which raises questions as to the nature of this Solari-On-Solari hostility.

7) I bet they just REALLY hate their official counterparts.

2) Did the Solaris take something important?

1) Possibly. We must make a point to raise an inquiry on the matter. This situation flies in the face of what was documented previously.

2) I say they're just stupid. Like a plot device to introduce tension into an otherwise dull story.

4) What, the Solarins hired their own insurgents to shoot at them?

2) Nope! They are just stupid! If they'd been hired to shoot at the solarins they'd've scarpered off at the first sign of stiffening resistance like pirates and rebel-types are supposed to do.

6) Mind control?

8) Extreme levels of crystal meth?

12) Sudden bouts of collective insanity?

7) All of the above?

3) I do not know about the rest of you lot, but I am getting a kick out of watching it, whether its rigged, a turkey shoot, or just a whole bunch of coincidences stacked all nicely in a pile.

9) Hear hear. Questions can be asked later. For now let us simply collect data on a fight that for once does not openly involve us.

1) Indeed. A refreshing change of pace.

7) Did they not ask for assistance though?

1) We are not a combat expedition. Grinding pirates to dust is neither our primary nor secondary objective. Neither is this system in our possession, partially or otherwise, whereas the Prates forces might be obligated to respond in order to enforce tranquility in its own system territory, we are under no such obligation. Besides, the fight is one-sided enough as it is. Any more forces entering might hinder the pirates eventual departure and we would prefer that some of the subjects be kept alive so that we might track them down later and conduct inquiries on our own behalf.

7) Ah, okeydoke. Just confirming stuff.

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

On the ground, Geryon's first statement to the two diplomats waiting for him was thus: "There appears to be a combat engagement taking place at the edge of the system. Quite frenzied but also quite one-sided. Combat projections indicate a high probability that the scenario will be concluded before in-system reinforcements can arrive. If reinforcement of defending forces is being considered, we would respectfully advise towards making haste. If not, no worries."

**Channel Capacity Exceeds Informal Interactivity, assigning differentiators**

11) Whoa! Y'all see what I'm seeing?

1) Do we have telemetry on that battle out there? Seems quite frantic.

2) We are not involved and the battle will be over by the time the Prates folks can intervene.

1) Irrelevant. Any combat telemetry is good combat telemetry, note how quickly the Sephrions managed to bring in reinforcements. Those ships must have been held waiting not even a light year from the system heliopause.

5) Telemetry acquired. Unknown1 profiles non-recognizable ship structure, secondary evidence suggests utilization of linear accelerator-type weapons consistent with Solarin methods. Unknown2 profiles ship structure consistent with Nova Boozian vessels, weapons utilized supports analysis. Unknown3 profiles ship structure consistent with documented pirate activity in the general vicinity, weapons utilized supports analysis, numerical fleet strength recognized as uncharacteristic to documented operational records. Weapons exchange shows that the pirates are presently both outnumbered and outgunned yet also displaying a curious level of adamance in the pursuit of their objective.

2) They're staying to fight against all that?

5) Indeed. Initial information recognizes the Solarins as their initial target. Reasoning for staying when battle has turned in such a manner is unknown. Normal piratical operating procedure suggests a swift departure in the face of organized resistance yet these do not do so.

2) Maybe they're just stupid?

5) If they were 'stupid' they would not have been able to muster the resources to support such a large force. Pirate fleet numerical strength is uncharacteristic to standard pirate operations. Pirate fleet combativeness is uncharacteristic to standard pirate operations. Pirate fleet downfall is inevitable unless swift egress is enacted in accordance to standard pirate operations. Signs show desperation, not stupidity.

2) Did the Solarins take something important?

1) We must make a point to raise an inquiry on the matter. This situation flies in the face of what was documented previously.

2) I say they're just stupid. Like a plot device to introduce tension into an otherwise dull story.

4) What, the Solarins hired the pirates to shoot at them?

2) Nope! The pirates are just stupid! If they'd been hired to shoot at the solarins they'd've scarpered off at the first sign of stiffening resistance like pirates are supposed to do.

6) Mind control?

8) Extreme levels of crystal meth?

12) Sudden bouts of collective insanity?

7) All of the above?

3) I do not know about the rest of you lot, but I am getting a kick out of watching it, whether its rigged, a turkey shoot, or just a whole bunch of coincidences stacked all nicely in a pile.

9) Hear hear. Questions can be asked later. For now let us simply collect data on a fight that for once does not openly involve us.

1) Indeed. A refreshing change of pace.

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

On the ground, Geryon's first statement to the two diplomats waiting for him was thus: "There appears to be a combat engagement taking place at the edge of the system. Quite frenzied but also quite one-sided. Combat projections indicate a high probability that the scenario will be concluded before in-system reinforcements can arrive. If reinforcement of defending forces is being considered, we would respectfully advise towards making haste. If not, no worries."

OOC: Godular... The CAs are rogue Solari ships, manned, and therefore considered obsolete, but still as advanced as Showboat and Breeg, and still Solari. They're not JUST a plot device. Well, not just one for this thread anyway.

IC:

Showboat had received less damage to her sublight comm array, and one of her remotes finally replaced several damaged components, restoring it to operation.

SNS SHOWBOAT

Oberst Herschel, all assistance is greatly appreciated, the same applies to the vessels of unknown origin. If possible at least one vessel should be rendered inoperative, as opposed to destroyed. The pirate militias are becoming more violent, and are receiving increased funding from an unknown source. We have captured several key members of their operation, and were ambushed while running under a comms blackout. We both currently lack the ability to contact our superiors, and my own communications gear has limited functionality. I am able only to transmit, as my receiver has been damaged beyond my ability to repair in combat. At current I am unable to transition to lightspeed, and my consort has limited range. The majority of these "pirates" are deserters from the Solari Navy, disaffected after the WRATHCHILD changeover, they stole or bought scrapped vessels, and attempt to disrupt our shipping, while building a power base. They accumulated a rather large fleet, but until recently the majority of it was effectively scrap. We have information that they acquired several larger vessels, and are refitting at least one Superdreadnought. We cannot be allowed to reach our superiors in their eyes. Capture of senior bridge officers of pirate vessels will be rewarded with a sum of money, as well as prize value of the vessel in question.

OOC: Godular... The CAs are rogue Solari ships, manned, and therefore considered obsolete, but still as advanced as Showboat and Breeg, and still Solari. They're not JUST a plot device. Well, not just one for this thread anyway.

IC:

Showboat had received less damage to her sublight comm array, and one of her remotes finally replaced several damaged components, restoring it to operation.

SNS SHOWBOAT

Oberst Herschel, all assistance is greatly appreciated, the same applies to the vessels of unknown origin. If possible at least one vessel should be rendered inoperative, as opposed to destroyed. The pirate militias are becoming more violent, and are receiving increased funding from an unknown source. We have captured several key members of their operation, and were ambushed while running under a comms blackout. We both currently lack the ability to contact our superiors, and my own communications gear has limited functionality. I am able only to transmit, as my receiver has been damaged beyond my ability to repair in combat. At current I am unable to transition to lightspeed, and my consort has limited range. The majority of these "pirates" are deserters from the Solari Navy, disaffected after the WRATHCHILD changeover, they stole or bought scrapped vessels, and attempt to disrupt our shipping, while building a power base. They accumulated a rather large fleet, but until recently the majority of it was effectively scrap. We have information that they acquired several larger vessels, and are refitting at least one Superdreadnought. We cannot be allowed to reach our superiors in their eyes. Capture of senior bridge officers of pirate vessels will be rewarded with a sum of money, as well as prize value of the vessel in question.

"This just gets better and better. What's the situation combatively?"

"We got one mauled in our opening salvo and two are after us." That was the tatcical officer, the duty watch having been replaced with a full battle crew.

"Let's go after one with everything and kill it dead, then see about battering down the shields on the other and send some marines over once it's sufficiently neutered."

"Aye sir."

"Aye sir."

Herschel's not inconsiderable weapons loadout was quickly, if ungracefully, turned on one foe. Not all of it, that being the disadvantage of broadside fire, but plenty. A storm of kinetics to hammer down shields through impact, followed by the mostly armour-piercing lancers on whatever looked likely to make the most impressive boom: the standard modus operandi for a J-Ship in a duel. You wanted to kill quick and be gone quicker. Most of the time.

The teleporter, meanwhile, was being readied. It was a decidely crude device, and most any shields would ensure that if anything came through, it would be a tad messy. But the same techniques as before could batter down the shield on the second vessel once the first was finished, and lances could then be aimed at those vitals which were not quite so boomy.

Of course, it didn't help that the navy had very little info on Solarin ships, but a poor guess wouldn't harm anyone. Except the pirates, anyway.

OOC: Maybe ya could've been so kind as to mention as much when you introduced them into the thread, then, hmm? All I saw was 'pirates', with no secondary mention of what exactly those pirates actually were. Truth be told it doesn't change their reaction to it though, as if they have been operating for more than a few months they'll still fall under 'documented pirate activity'.

Plus... dude... the comment about the plot device was a joke.

In any event, it still changes their analysis, but only slightly.

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

6) Intercepted comms from the Solarin vessels... apparently the pirates are Solarin vessels too, some form of resistance movement apparently. The two mainstream Solari vessels have vital information that the 'pirates' can not allow to be conveyed to the home systems.

2) Phooey, my SECOND guess was right. Bloody exceptions to the rule.

6) They are also speaking of rewarding any who capture the pirate command staff alive.

7) OH! CAN WE? CAN WE? CAN WE?

11) It would mesh with our objectives to ensure that at least some of the pirates escape alive for further questioning.

10) Well, we only wanted to question them to figure out why they were being so foolish.

11) Both sides of a story would be preferable to just one side that has been given.

9) Agreed.

1) Queing inquiry to initiate subdual protocols to higher authority, please wait... temporary dispensation granted. Execution of Subdual protocols authorized.

7) WOOHOO! SKIDMARKING TIME!

1) All vessels allocated to combat scenario. Focus targeting on enemy thrusters and weapons batteries. Infection protocols authorized but discouraged. There is an extra bounty for intact pirate vessels. If any Slaughterking is wounded, permission is granted to depart combat until regeneration is completed.

7) Serpentine! Serpentine!

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

Without much in the way of warning or apparent preparation, the five Kython vessels vanished from existence, materializing in the midst of the frenzied fight like a school of hungry sharks descending upon wounded prey. Great pulses of condensed momentum lanced out at the pirate vessels as Quantum Renders added their persuasive voice to the rapid stuttering streams of Kython Shardbolt fire. While the small crystalline bolts of Kython-matter would simply explode on impact, doing minor damage per individual bolt (but also coming in extremely large amounts), the Quantum Renders would hit like a small asteroid, inflicting severe damage and also knocking the targeted vessel around like a punching bag.

The Kythons' lightning swift advance was marked by a sudden jerks left, right, up, down, seemingly at random, less like a hungry shark in movement and more like the movement pattern of a mosquito, a relatively simple maneuver utilized to prevent enemy fire from having a consistent targeting solution on the target. All the while, they kept their weapons fire targeted on various weapons batteries while specific attention was given to any exposed engine blocks that happened to be presented to the Kythons' insertion vector.

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

1) Keep to a mix of Quantum Render and Shardbolt fire. The pirate vessels are agile, so the volume of fire from the Shardbolts should be sufficient if they start attempting to dodge us, and the Quantum Renders should be sufficient to disable the personnel within the enemy vessels long enough for them to be properly subdued.

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

And so the battle was joined.

coms to boozian fllet my ships are pllullong out masive battle dammage to foroward weapons arays

...command center...
A group of ten men stood in a circle in a holographic chamber (apperantly prates doesn't focus only on nanotech) showing the entire system. The men poked and prodded at the hologram in turn. With each tough the hologram moved in and out. The focus of all the pokes and prods was a position on the outside of the system. There were flashes between ships of various size. Each ship had a chevron over it that was either red, puruple, blue, or green standig for enemy, unknown, neutral, or ally, respectivally. Sometimes the officers would touch the moving chevrons and a pannel would appear either over the chevron or as a literal popup. It would show all the information gathered about it and general stats about the poweroutpud, confermed and speculated weapon types, etc. All the ships gathered there had a power outpus that mesured at least 10 times greater than the greatest prates vessel in the system.
"We should send out vessels in," said one officer "it would show that we are hear and that we intend to stay here."
"Do you see those power rating we would be destroyed." The two kept on arguing before a third officer spoke up.
"Send five ships in to show that we mean to say here but keep the rest back so we dont lose to many." The two instantly shut up following the rigid hiarchial structure tht was set up. The man that spoke up wore many decorations on his cloths. He also had the rank of Grand Admiral [of the first pratese interstellar fleet]. The orders were quickly relayed and five ships moved from orbit around the planet and in the blink of an eye the ships flawlessly exectuded a maximum warp (warp 8.9+) burst that brought them to the sight in mere nanoseconds. ((another benifit on having tiny computers as your principle technology is fast computers)) As soon as the ships exitied their subspace bubbles they launched all their avalible weapons in one salvo. With this unstable fusion shells were launched at the enemy ships. These shells were encased in tigsten carbide and were preset to detonate at a specific location. Numberous missiles also spewed out of a metal storm derivitive that would launch missiles within miliseconds of each other. These missiles were either fusion or a nanobot shrapnle shell. The nanobots would act as flack and then attack itself to whever unshielded target that it may have happened to latch on to. The ships of prates were now engaged int eh battle and there would be no turning back.

"This just gets better and better. What's the situation combatively?"

"We got one mauled in our opening salvo and two are after us." That was the tatcical officer, the duty watch having been replaced with a full battle crew.

"Let's go after one with everything and kill it dead, then see about battering down the shields on the other and send some marines over once it's sufficiently neutered."

"Aye sire."

"Aye sir."

Herschel's not inconsiderable weapons loadout was quickly, if ungracefully, turned on one foe. Not all of it, that being the disadvantage of broadside fire, but plenty. A storm of kinetics to hammer down shields through impact, followed by the mostly armour-piercing lancers on whatever looked likely to make the most impressive boom: the standard modus operandi for a J-Ship in a duel. You wanted to kill quick and be gone quicker. Most of the time.

The teleporter, meanwhile, was being readied. It was a decidely crude device, and most any shields would ensure that if anything came through, it would be a tad messy. But the same techniques as before could batter down the shield on the second vessel once the first was finished, and lances could then be aimed at those vitals which were not quite so boomy.

Of course, it didn't help that the navy had very little info on Solarin ships, but a poor guess wouldn't harm anyone. Except the pirates, anyway.

Snip

OOC: I thought it was obvious. And they really ARE a plot device. Just not for this thread alone, so your joke had some truth to it. And I did note(only once, my bad) that it was a pirate militia. It's a pain in the ass to write pirate militia ship every time. Sue me.

IC:

With the Sephrions retreat the odds once again tipped in the favor of the Pirates. 6 undamaged cruisers ripped back towards the battle, unleashing a salvo at the prates ships in passing, and shaking at the impacts of missiles and their detonations. Millions of rounds of point defense ammunition plucked missiles from the void with sheer volume of fire. None of the nanite weapons made it through the cloud, as anything that didn't have an explosive trigger was immediately regarded with suspicion, and given higher priority. Ships shook under the fire, and several sustained damage, but most of it was noncritical, and they continued on their course towards the larger clash.

Scattergun shells swept the volume between the Kythons and the pirate ships as they crossed their T, A few swiftly targeted warp torpedoes would suffice to rip the Kythons from this dimension for a millisecond, and set them in a dimension where radiation levels were so high no vessel had come back with a living crew, and shields were stripped, while hulls disintegrated under the concentrated impacts of millions of suoerluminal particles, ranging in size from subatomic, to greater than the size of an Imperial Star Destroyer. It was the Solaris last desperate weapon, and no matter the Godulan skill with dimensional travel, superluminal impacts were not something easily survived, and it would take no more than the barest fraction of a second to wreak their damage, it was the only chance they had, and they would get but one shot. Shardbolts splattered across shields, and gouged hulls as the cruisers blew past, ignoring anything but their primary targets now. They had lost too many to defeat those that had come at the call of the battleships, as well as the battleships themselves.

The three cruisers danced their waltz, the swifter pirates dancing out of the way of the brunt of attacks. Shield levels dropped and dropped, but shells and slugs continued to hammer out from the cruisers, until finally weapons began to be wiped into oblivion. Secondary and point defenses were shattered by near misses or direct hits that gouged rents in the hulls, and engines along the flanks and surfaces of the ships were blasted to uselessness as lucky strikes damaged their ability to propel the ship. Against an opponent where they had the luxury of utilizing their greater mobility and speed, they would continue to survive, if not defeat their foe. Missiles rippled from the ventral surface of one cruiser, reaching out to hammer at the defenses of the J-ship.

The last cruiser engaging the battleships began to attempt to maneuver to put its undamaged broadside to the fore, and stave off destruction long enough to make the kill, but it was not to be. A slug smashed into the magazine, setting off a vast quantity of antimatter, and gutting the aft portion of the ship, leaving it broke backed in space, a floating hulk, with barely any chance of survival for the trapped crewmembers.

OOC: I THINK I got to everything, nudge me about anything I may have left out.

OOC: Ya said pirate militia, could've been any pirate militia that one could throw in as a gimme for any generic thread. Nationality/Prior history was not mentioned until your communique, which seems to be the critical thing that you were ragging on ME for not spotting.

The Scattergun shells pinged happily off of the forward shielding of three Kython Slaughterkings, causing a surprising display of lights and ripples, but only momentarily. Another Slaughterking got struck by a warp torpedo, vanishing curiously, but immediately rising back into space as if emerging from a black sea.

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

9) Holy shit! We got company!

1) Explain.

9) PROTOSPACERS! Fuckers must've been sniffing around and caught us when the shunt disruptor kicked in! Watch those warp torpedos they're throwing at us, it'll just piss the wankers off more!

4) We should tell the guy who designed those shunt disruptors that setting protospace as the alternate-destination was one shitty shitty shitty move.

1) I'll raise a formal complaint later. For now, pay attention to the targets... time to play hopscotch.

7) FOCUS FIRE ON THE ENGINE BLOCKS, YOU IDIOTS! THEY CAN'T MOVE IF THEY DON'T HAVE LEGS! EXCLUDE ALL OTHER TARGETS AND WHACK THE BLOODY THRUSTERS!

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

As if to reinforce the affected Slaughterking's point, just after rising back into existence the vessel Probability jumped away, freeing the space behind it for what came after whilst sending a contemptuous message of "Nice going, bastards." to the pirates.

With a great flash of black mist, several giant tentacles tore forth from dimensions unknown. Several times the size of the largest vessels in the battlezone, they were studded in equal amounts with roving eyes, chomping razor-toothed maws, twitching blades, and grasping claws. Showing an immense level of mutability, they stretched to an almost unnatural extent to reach forth from the hole that led them to this universe to grasp at a nearby ship, yet as it came into contact with the vessel, it passed straight through the surface, trembled as if with rage, and retracted to find another target.

OOC: This will be something of an ongoing condition. There's gonna be bigass insanity-tentacles trying to grab at people, but they always go straight through... They do not care about who they attack, so really anybody can RP a tentacle 'passing through' their ship if they wish. It doesn't really do anything other than cause a quick scare.

Another Slaughterking got winged by a torpedo, and its accompanied rise from Protospace was punctuated by weapons fire directed into the portal it had emerged from, along with liberal amounts of cursing on comms.

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

2) If somebody pulls any kind of shit like that again those suckers might actually become corporeal!

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

As it became obvious that attention was being payed to the Kython Slaughterkings by the Solari pirate vessels, the Kythons did what they always enjoyed doing in fleet fighting: Using their mobility to their advantage. As fire began to pick up against the Slaughterkings, they simply vanished, materializing at near point blank range and announcing their reappearance with a massive alpha strike of Quantum Render pulses and charged shardbolts before vanishing and rematerializing somewhere else. With no recognizable FTL inhibitor fields in effect, the Slaughterkings were free to jump about like jackrabbits on crack, and they exercised their freedoms with extreme levels of enthusiasm.

It served two purposes, for the most part. First and foremost was to get from spot a to spot b without having to travel the space between, removing themselves from the conditions prevalent at spot a and placing them in relatively clear space at spot b whilst also giving the jumping ship a new bead on its targeted opponent. The Second reason of course was to confound enemy targeting. Known as the 'underspace' method, it was the rather simple technique that could be best summarized as 'When the missiles come, your best defense is to be elsewhere', though the technique was best reserved for the more easily activated drives.

The Pirate Cruisers were mobile, but the Kythons were faster still, and the pirates still had to worry about several other fleets pounding away at them.

In one particular case, a pirate cruiser that had turned its better defended side towards the two 'Official' Solari battleships in order to protect itself from assault, however futile the maneuver was when one shell from the larger vessels found a bunch of its friends on the smaller cruiser and decided on a collective explosion to mark the occasion, suddenly found itself splattered in several spots by infectious shardbolts launched from a Slaughterking that had honestly not been there before, and was on the other side of the battlefield mere moments later, Alpha Striking towards another Cruiser's engine block and even activating the light-disc to slice away at the set-upon pirate ship.

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1) Report

5) All ships remain intact, sir. Though SK-341 took some damage from Protospacers before it could rejoin the squadron, though nothing is significantly hindered. SK-339 has suffered a small amount of hull damage after taking a scattershot blast at point-blank range. Its shields continue to hold however, and it will depart to regenerate if it takes another big hit. All the others are experiencing acceptable shield drain and are not expected to suffer any form of distress in the near future.

1) Continue the assault. Be certain to focus fire on the engine blocks. We must break them before we take them.

7) KNOCK THEM THE HELL OUT! RAWR!

OOC: I'm assuming that combat has dragged on for a little while.

IC:"Sir... I got really abnormal readings for a second. Few explosions lit up something, like a huge bio, but nothing on the densies, the heats... nothing."

"Probably one of those crazy Godulan weapons. Fortunately, they appear to be shooting at the enemy."

"Just as well, too, sir. Sephs are pulling out. Say "critical damage to forward weapons arrays" or something to that effect."

The captain spat. Sephrioth was representative of just about everything the Boozians either hated as abominable or derided as stupid. And one thing that they found extremely stupid was refusal to retreat, but withdrawal to prevent loss was a whole differant game than withdrawal because the forwards (most of which appeared to be the inversatile Nova Cannon anyway) had taken a beating. Why have broadsides if you weren't going to use them?

"Shield blown, I've got a crew down there but recomend we pull off a second. The armour's looking strained and... ah, first one's back up."

The ship's two void-shields (as well as the navigationals, but they were pretty much irrelevant against a warship) flicked off under hammering assaults and back on as they cooled and the blow-outs were repaired, sometimes leaving the ship open to damage, which rendered it steadily more battered, but not critically. A particularly intense salvo inflicted what was roughly one "standard damage unit", as used by the Schnapsemarine to give a meaure of the overall condition of hull and vitals, which was certainly bad for a j-ship, but all things considered, this op seemed to be going well. They had been actively engaged for perhaps an hour, and relief could be there in three. If all else failed, disengagement didn't look too hard.

OOC: Arr. Things have progressed a good deal since a few days go it seems: sorry for my lack of posting but some obligatory school activities came up on Friday-Saturday that precluded my posting. Just stopping by to let all concerned know I am still here, and will get an IC post up tomorrow.

The five pratese ships were all heavily damaged. One was destroyed and the other four were all damaged, two of them critically. The ships were all venting atmosphere and one is having trouble containing its fusion reactor.
...brdige of the FengHuang...
"Report" said the captain. As numerous officers began to shout out their respective departments' damages.
"FTL drive down, sublight down to 30%. Also the reactor containment field at 10%." said the engineering representitive.
"Reports indicate that about 1/2 the crew are dead or injured."
"Weapons down, shield are recharging and are at 5%, armor is down to 26% adn fluctuates down to nothing on some parts of the ship, there is also a hole clear through part of the ship. Also people are manually aiming the point defence guns... for all the good that will do us if we get hit again." The captain thought for a moment.
"Tell the ships to return back to the planet, Also since we are still alive I assume the battle is over so powerdown and begin to repair the ship. All avalible crew members are to help in damage control. (to bad I need more nanites)" The crew responded with the maximum possible effecency as the nanites joined together in a large mass. (if you watched stargate, think second generation replicators) Repairs were conducted quickly and efficently as power and ship operations were restored slowly. Meanwhile the other pratese ships left for the shipyard at mest possible speed.
...Dawn I...
the solderies guided the godular representitve into the building and to a confence hall. The hall seemed to have pure white light eminating from the floor that solftly accented the furniture in the room. It was elegant, yet simple and fuctional. There were also two people in ceramonial clothing that stood.
"Please be seated." said one as the other signaled for the soldiers to leave.

the space marine stood ever alert the tech priest sat down

The Godulan Avatar took his seat without question, flowing into the chair with a curious grace and fluidity. As if to initiate negotiations, the green-eyed Avatar spoke without prompting.

"Your ships fare poorly against the Solari pirate forces. This is unfortunate, but we feel it provides us with a method to initiate negotiations.

"We will not hide our objectives from you. The asteroids prevalent throughout this system are very metal-rich and as such something of a premium source of ammunition for our purposes. We have little need for metals as they are, as we have replication arrays capable of constructing the necessary materials, but such things take time, and such things would be better served crafting material for other purposes. This system would save us time and aggravation.

"We would seek to propose a trade of sorts, one that you might find beneficial. We would seek to have relatively unlimited access to the asteroids in this field, along with the property rights to construct a base of sorts upon the third world of this system. In exchange, we are prepared to furnish a significant array of technological information, taken from enemies we have fought in the past, yet also tweaked and upgraded to put them in line with Godulan expectations. Specific technologies can be discussed as this negotiation proceeds, but we feel it necessary to place our offer on the table first, in order to understand whether it is acceptable to your purposes."

grabsy black grab! hurt tear feed! hurt pain runsy get faster all over!


With that, a lilac phosphorescent, 276 tentacled/antennaed, squid-like, fourty-meter long thing found itself shunted into this dimension. The rather large, black tentacled thing remained safely non-corporeal its own dimension. In something that resembled a fit of rage, lashed out with its tentacles, spreading fear into anything it passed though.

place?
place?

pulls Warmsy radiations molecules didymium hygrogens popses chromsten non measure insoluble vectors Touchy hydrogen floating



The thing floated around the battlefield. Perhaps oblivious to what was happening. Instead, it happily used its brightly colored tentacle/antennae/arms to latch on to the accumulated space debris the battle had created. Bits of metal were heated to liquid form then pushed though the mouth membrane where they floated about in the creature's semi-transparent body like the blobs of metallic dough in a lava lamp. Tachyons, ions, radiation, and ambient atmosphere were likewise absorbed as the creature floated.

((seprioth, could you please elaborate? I dont ever recall your shuttle ever setting down or I would have posted the same thing as I did with godular))
...Godular confence room...
((you know replication only takes energy, and some form of matter (or just energy but then you need massive ammounts) if you just had one system deicated to the production of reaw materials via the transforming of gas giants into the suitible materials your problems would be gone))
The head representitive thought for a moment. "We shall allow you to do both of those actions, however, the we will only alow you a base size of 1,000 sq mi (which is actually a gernerous ammount of land but whatever) to use to your liking."
...Space above Dawn I...
The ships arrived in the planets sapce and immediatly proceeded to enter the shipyard for repairs.

OOC: Wasn't expecting anybody to actually RP the tentacles... they're kinda background characters of mine that are really really really smart and also really really really angry.

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"Such an area is extremely generous in terms of our needs. Would you object to a fleet presence in this system? We would assist you in the event of assault by external forces, as it would be protecting our own interests to do so. And no doubt you would enjoy the additional security."

Geryon seemed distracted for a moment, then returned his attention to the representatives before him. "We would also seek to bring in a replication array. We would be... willing to share this with your people, though not in terms of the specifications, as technically they are not ours to give in the first place. We speak of allowing you a measure of fleet construction capacity. Our Replication Arrays can be programmed to construct a vessel's superstructure as a single molded piece of whatever metal you should choose to utilize. This would provide your ships with a far greater measure of stability and durability, particularly in the face of combat conditions."

i landed it while cloaked

The diplomats (mentally... what i ahve neural interface computers so it should have mental communications) contacted their supperoirs.
"We will not object to you having a fleet presence int he system, however none of your military ships may enter the area from a distance of two light seconds of the orbit of the first secondary body. Also after contacting with our supperors, we would like a 15% portion of whatever you mine in this system. You may also contruct facilities that orbit the primary body in the system, however these must be contsructed in the orbit of the primary body and not a secondary body or tertiary body."

"We have no intention to mine the asteroids," Geryon replied. "Our intentions are for a very specific range of Asteroid Size, and possible compression of existing asteroids into a form suitable for our intentions. As for the Replication array, we are afraid that construction cannot take place within this system. A Heighliner is required to transport the array entire, and upon deployment folds out as required. We would prefer to keep it over our base in Geosynchronous orbit over the third planet, and would be willing to take commissions on a reasonable basis. As for the distance to be kept, all forces shall make their home in the debris fields.

"It simply feels... safer there."