NationStates Jolt Archive

As Doron travelled aboard the Raptor with Admiral Adama, he placed a call through his clyuno back to the imperial capitol. These clyunos were great communication devicse but they were better suited for short distances between two people, not for interstellar calls to a floating city.

The Abriel had to wait for a time on his flight with the Colonials before it was even patched through to the communications office at Lakfakallae. Damn communication uplinks. They took forever to navigate. "Yes this is Force User Abriel requesting permission to speak with his majesty the Imperial Admiral."

A staticy voice of a woman came back on the other end asking for him to standby while the identification of his clyuno and voice pattern were identified along with DNA sample. Not that they would go over board on their security or anything. After a time, a gruffy voice was established on the other end of the line. "This is Imperial Admiral Abriel contacting the Force User. You are late Abriel Doron and the entire ex-Emperor's council is an uproar over you. Right now they are interrogating your apprentice to the recent events and are not satisfied. Be advised that you will likely be under similar questioning once you return to the capitol. The Emperor has also been informed of your situation and would like a debriefing from you as soon as possible. Now what is it that you would like to discuss with me?"

The young prince hated his conversations with the older Abriel. He always felt inferior around the Abh and had the sense he was constantly being judged. Gaf'ton was much colder than most Doron had decided but he was an Abriel and lived up to their expectations perfectly. Doron gulped down a bit of nervousness. "I am travelling aboard one of the Colonial's vessels with Admiral Adama. I have ensured him that the Abh Empire will help them in their crisis."

The response was immediate. "That alliance was never properly sanctioned by the Abh. It would be the doing of your friends on D'Hara. They made the alliance then they should live up to it."

"I understand your Majesty but now it can become a proper alliance one that will benefit the Colonials as well as us. Your Highness, we cannot abandon everyone in the universe. These Colonials are more to our own way of thinking than most other races. Surly there is common ground to honor such a union."

A long pause crept over the communication between the two Abriels. Finally Gaf'ton's voice came back over the line. "Why should I agree to this?"

Doron swallowed then went forward with an answer his mother had given an admiral under similar circumstances when she was merely a deca-commander. "Because I made a promise. In the honor of the Abh and Abriels, I am asking that you help the Colonials."

The response was rather similar to that of the one his mother received. "You stubborn little bastard. Your antics have already cost us one potential incident, pray that this does not result in a second. If the council does not kill you, then I surely will. Where am I to meet them?"

Doron breathed a sigh of relief and even dared a small smile. "Mon Calamari. It is the remnant of the Wickian territory."

Dead silence. Then Gaf'ton returned. "You will have a lot of explaining to do. Inform both parties that I will be there so I do not want any unpleasant surprises."

The connection was cut by the Imperial Admiral, apparently he had nothing else he wished to say to Doron. Thankfully to Doron though, the entire conversation had transpired in Baronh so none of the Colonials had any idea what was said though most of them probably could understand tones in the two voices. Doron simply smiled up at Adama. "I just finished talking with the Imperial Admiral. He has agreed to meet us at Mon Calamari to discuss what I hope will be the reclaiming of lost territory. An ammends to the wrongs that have been committed to you and your people."

Doron hung his head in exhaustion. He felt like he had just taken a beating with a brick stick.

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

On the other side of the galaxy, a quite angry Abriel sat aboard his own personal flagship as it drifted through Hyperspace towards its destination in Mon Calamari. The entire bridge was quiet, charred with the electrical anger fuming within the Imperial Admiral as they travelled.

Even his chief of staff, a beautiful young Abh, had taken the liberty to go to her private quarters and plan for a battle strategy. Gaf'ton sat in his chair alone even as it prepared to exit from Hyperspace some on hour later.

Pouring out of the vortex of the jump gate were four Roth-class patrolships, three Guardships, and Gaf'ton's flagship the Gairh. Once all were out and accounted for, they began hailing the Colonials.

Two hundred flashes of light, two hundred ships, some damaged, others barely hanging on to life appeared at the Border of Mon Calamari. Two hundred ships filled with those who had no clue what was to become of them, yet still they trusted in others. THey had no choice, no where else to turn, they were amongst the last of their kind as their homes were now ravaged by many alien races. These ships were the last free humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobal.

Doran waited onboard the ADama's ship, the Galactica. His stomach for a second felt like it was in two places at once, as the ship folded space, and arrived at the safe coordinates that Daneh had provided him.

Along side Galactica, waited two Mercury class battlestars, Triton and Pegasus, as the ships along with 54 other battlestarsand numerous other warships appeared, including the Battlestar Hera, appeared. They were the last of the free members of the colonies.

As the ships appeared, they transmitted their IDC tags to Moncal, to identify themselves as friendlies. Soon they would recieve a hail, not from Mon Cal, but from a different source, from those who with held info, the Abh

"New identifications. Matching similar classes of ships that were seen at Asfaltum."

Gaf'ton merely nodded his head at the Senior Communications officer's assessment. Instead of communicating via normal communication links, the Abriel used his clyuno once again. This time the link was coming through much clearer due to the close proximity. "Force User Abriel, inform the Admiral of my arrival and my request to meet with him."

"Yes your majesty." Doron stood and prepared to translate for Adama.

"The Imperial Admiral would like to permission to meet with your personally." He sort of shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Apparently he would like to handle affairs between your people and our own from this moment on. I suppose I am not so trusted among my own race anymore."

It was truly a dark time, a time in which Chaos stemmed, a time in which a people laid shattered, broken, divided, and scattered throughout the stars. All that remained of the old government, all that had remained of the lives that the colonies once lived, all that there was left that was not under the boot and heel of a military coup was one hundred and ninety five warships, out of which only fifty seven were battlestars.

The crews had done their duty, they had protected their ships, their people with their lives, but in the end, they lost. Holes stood where armor once was, wires hung down where once there was a roof. The world had turned on it’s head... the world had ended.

As the Abh shuttle approached, the fury of the colonial civil war could be easily witnessed. Black marks adorned every hull, holes the size of small craters, lined the armor. Some were missing gun turrets, and in the case of the Pacifica, a Columbia Class Battlestar, it had lost it’s starboard flight pod. The fury of the enemy was ruthless, the incompetence of the alliance ever present, the failure was complete.

“Abh vessel, this is Galactica, you are clear to land in the starboard flight pod. “ an ominous voice was sent to the small Abh shuttle in route.

As the shuttle began to approach, flying underneath the aged battlestar, her size could be appreciated. Galactica was a large ship, although it’s class was in fact the smallest of the battlestar designs. Roughly the same size as an ISD, just a little bit thinner, and shorter, and instead of a wedge shape, it was more of a box shape, still though it was an impressive ship, especially considering it’s age.

The small Abh shuttle began to swing around, as it changed it turned, slowly and began to line up on the runway, inside the flight pod.

“Abh Shuttle this is Galactica, the light is green, you have the ball.”

The shuttle slowly entered the flightpod. As it moved, a clear spot was soon visible, to an elevator lift that would take it inside, to the flight deck below.

Gently, like a leaf touching water, the abh shuttle landed, as the lift began to magnitize the shuttle. The shuttle slowly descended to the decks below, where men and women in orange jump shits could be seen repairing vipers, and preparing their plans for an assault. The floor was white, and the florescent lights covered the ceiling. As the abh shuttle was secure, a small tow truck attached itself to the shuttle, and brought it to a parking spot.

As the Abh began to leave the shuttle, they were greeted by a marine detachment. The Marines saluted the foreign diginataries, as over the loud speakers, the Abh could hear orders being issued to different departments to go to their stations.

“Welcome onboard the Galactica, ambassador.” one of the marines stated, as he approached. “However due to the current, situation, I must ask that you consent to a search, to insure that you are not carrying any weapons on board. These days it is hard to tell who is friendly and who is not.”

The marine did not wait for a reply as he patted down the abh, finding nothing more than a scepter like instrument, which was nothing more than a cultural symbol of power.

“Thank you sir,” the marine replied, if you will follow us, Admiral Adama, and Prince Doran are awaiting you in the Briefing room.

Up a ladder like staircase, and through wide open corridors the abh traveled, as marines wearing black, crewmen and officers alike continued to walk by, doing their duty.

After a ten minute walk, the ambassador of the Abh had entered, the Briefing room, where Admiral Adama and Prince Doran waited.

The pilot of the Abh vessel made a few slight adjustments for the technology involved in landing a shuttle within a ship. Quick manuevering of the thrusters kept the shuttle from speeding straight into the wall at the end of the docking bay. "Sorry your Highness. They lacked electromagnetic absorbers."

The old Abriel merely grunted and descended the ramp out of the shuttle followed closely by his chief of staff. Standing tall and proud Imperial Admiral Gaf'ton was indeed a sight to behold. A golden double winged tiara glinted in the light of the docking bay while his long blue cape hung loosely around his shoulders. His pressurized suit hung tightly to his muscled body which was an oddity among natural Abh who were more ideal for life in space. He however was taller and thicker than most. With one eye gone, the Abriel bore a figure of experience in combat as well as age that brought much experience to his decisions.

Gaf'ton had to smirk slightly when he was called an ambassador for this was certainly not the type of meeting. When asked about being searched, he merely shrugged and held out his arms while his Chief did the same. The Abriel's one eye took in the innards of the ship quietly studying its layout.

As soon as he entered the room where Adama and Doron were waiting, the younger Abriel snapped to attention and saluted. Obviously the lesser of the two, a rare sight for Doron indeed, Doron deferred everything to the Imperial Admiral. "Your majesty. Thank you for coming. May I introduce Admiral Adama to you. Admiral Adama, this is Imperial Admiral Gaf'ton and Chief of Staff Lareish."

The young Abh woman behind Gaf'ton quickly saluted the Admiral. Gaf'ton however let his one grey linger on Doron. His nose slightly scrunched up and the corner of his mouth pulled back in a sneer. Apparently anger was the only emotion the Abriels showed. Finally, Gaf'ton turned to Adama and saluted as well then let his two fingers fall. "Admiral Adama, let me be blunt. I am here under the orders of the Ex-Emperor's Council to right a wrong a certain whelp has made. Some of the situation is already known to me but I would appreciate your version of the story on the matter."

Adama began to speak of the past few days, the dark and deadly civil war, what he knew had occured. How a couple of Abh had been on Caprica during the time of the civil war, how the Masaki's denonated a WMD inside the capitol, how the empire had come to aid Helena Cain, during the dark time, and how the cylons destroyed 11 billion people. He did not know as much as Doran, nor as much as Daniel, all he knew for certain was his people had to survive, they had to be free.

Hours went by, as the debriefing continued, and Gaf'ton was aprised of the situation. After the debriefing, Adama turned to Gaf'ton. What can be done to rectify this situatuon?

Gaf'ton listened as the Admiral divulged the happenings of the Civil War neither shaking or nodding his head to betray any sign of emotion or understanding of what Adama was exactly saying. The Abriel spoke finally spoke once again as the debriefing finished. "I now have two sides of this story though I was not aware of the Coredian detonation. I must say, that is sneaky even for them."

The Imperial Admiral shifted his weight slightly as he placed his hands on his hips. "I've also been informed of the details relating to the events on Jurai. Sadly, it doesn't surprise me that you did not receive much more attention other than the care of what civilians made the escape with you. Unlike those scheming selfish fools you witnessed on the ground world, we Abh are far more aggressive and willing to help others in their times of need. Call it a weakness if you must, but we are different than those you saw at Jurai. Is it not amazing to you how quickly they were able to amass such a large military force but refused to help you take back your home? Simply because they believed their numbers were too few and because Jurai was more important. How quaint."

Doron looked as if he were about to contest the point but an angry glare silenced the young Force User. Gaf'ton cleared looked back to Adama to finish. "While we cannot raise the number of ships that five nations together can bring to bear, we can put forth a considerable effort to help you. If I am not mistaken, I can see in your being a desire to take back your colonies. For that we can help you. This is how the Abh Empire can rectify the situation. We can push an effort to take back the Colonies, that is if you so desire it along with help rebuilding your fleets. And do not be concerned about the number of ships at our disposal, if you have truly gained allies in the universe then they shall come to your aid when you need it. I say it is time you find out who your true allies are and who are simply using you for political purposes. The choice is yours Admiral Adama. If you say no, then I shall simply take the boy with me and the Abh will wish you well on your journey."

Adama listened to Gaf'ton as he spoke. The man who had little contact in what had occured, still seemed to hit the nail on the head. The Coreworlds, and the Colonies other allies, supposidly could do little to aid the colonies, yet when a perceived threat to one of their planets occured, they were able to muster up a massive armada.

Adama did not show any sign of emotion, or as little as any human could, instead he knew Gaf'ton to be correct.

"Yes I want to retake the colonies, I desire to go home." he said, as he paused for a moment. "I am not concerned with the corrupt coredian government, nor their underhanded tactics with a nation they are allied to. They are self centered, desiring their own ends. To that point, I am not sure Admiral Cain is wrong. She seems to have been correct on everything that she believed, and we laughed at, but her actions are what is important here. She led the enemy into the heart of our nation, she caused too many deaths, and as such she needs to be removed from power.

I will accept your purposal, Gaf'ton, and I would like to thank you for it. However it will take time, planning. I understand that your resources are limited, all of ours are."

Adama reached down and picked up a glass of scotch, and offered it to Gaf'ton. "To Victory, and righting the wrongs."

Gaf'ton took the glass with a slight nod of thanks. Being a pure bred Abh, it was practically impossible for them to get drunk. With all of their genetic alterations with longevity of life and the froch, this was a trait that most humans did not envy. Getting drunk was sort of a necessary evil for some, but the Abh merely took a pill to help them sleep.

The old Abriel tilted his glass up. "To victory then and the stars." He took a long swallow of the scotch and set the glass back down. It was perhaps the first smile he cracked since coming aboard the ship, a smile of appreciation.

"Not bad. Now if you don't mind me pressing forward a bit here, I would like to start planning for a counter-attack. You'll have to forgive me but a quick attack could be beneficial at this time. Admiral Cain has just come off of a civil war bloodied but not beaten. From what I've heard, you have taken part of her fleet away from her putting her strength back even further. I understand that your forces are most likely not in a position to launch a full scale invastion either but I do have a solution to the problem. First though, I will need any and all information you have on the Colonies as well as Admiral Cain. To better plan for this my Chief of Staff and I will need to know her mind as well as her holdings."

Gaf'ton nodded towards the chair. "Lareish, take a seat."

The young Abh woman, who looked not much older than twenty, walked over to the table and set up her datapad. The glass screen flashed to life filling up with a foreign alphabet. Her little computer held enough information for the two admirals to begin preliminary planning phases complete with holographic displays and a link to Star Forces headquarters. For all purposes, Imperial Admiral Gaf'ton wanted to walk away with as much information as possible. The first mission would set the tone for the rest and that had to run as smoothly as possible.

"The holdings that I know of, Admiral Adama replied are the twelve colonies, which you know all too well, and possibly Kobal. Kobal however was not considered part of the colonies, instead it's own seperate entity, as they did not have a representitive in the Quorium, and the politicians did not want to add a new seat to the Quorium. Aside from that, the exact nature of the damage on the colonies, shipyard status, and defenses are quite unknown at this point, although all indications point to a massive and devestating attack against the colonies defenses.

Admiral Adama looked down, as he took off his glasses. "Any attempt to reclaim the colonies will have to be done with care. The reports of the damage the cylons have done, would mean the peopel of the colonies are damn close to extinction, and I would rather have Cain rule those planets than force my nation into extinction.

Admiral Adama then slowly reached down to a briefcase and pulled out a folder on Admiral Cain (http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Admiral_Cain). "It is not a comprehensive folder on her, but it does have the records up until the end of the second cylon war. It is not perfect but it will give you an insight into her personality.

Lariesh computed everything that she deemed was tactically important. As soon as Adama finished, the chief had a list compiled of possibilities and assumptions of the Colonies. Her computer quickly materialized a holographic display of the twelve planets of the Colonies and Kobal off in the distance, separate from the Colonial system. The system itself was not meant to be an accurate representation of the colonies, but it served a logistical purpose extremely well.

The Chief of Staff then looked to her Admiral. "Majesty? What is your opinion on the enemy commander?"

Gaf'ton flipped through the folder on the history of Admiral Cain. Oddly enough, the old one-eyed Abh smiled as he read it. She would have made a great Abriel, though he never let's anyone know his own belief. Instead he focuses more on her guerilla tactics and unwavering attitude. Finally finished with the reading, he slid the folder over to Lariesh for her own evaluation. A common practice in Star Forces where the Imperial Admiral's Chief of Staff doubled as a military operations planner. "I believe that no matter the damage the Colonials received during the attacks, this Admiral Cain is capable of taking a smaller, weaker military force and turning them into a capable and effecient offensive force. The damage sustained during the attacks should not lead us to believe that these next battles will be so easily."

The Imperial Admiral walked up to the table where the holographic representation hovered and began to read the Baronhic words. As an afterthought, he turned back to Lariesh. "Translate it into Galactic Standard. The Admiral here should not feel left and might like to know what the markings around his planet are."

"My apologies, Admiral." The blue haired woman punched a few prompts on her glass console and the foreign alphabet was quickly replaced with an english version. Most of the targets were reading at less than combat ready strength. Old shipyards were still marked but assumed out of commission or barely functioning. Caprica itself was marked as the worst of them all and more detailed thanks to Erickson's report. A practical miracle that the planet was not a glowing ball of rock.

"While the state of these planets can be assumed the worst, it is difficult to judge what sort of condition they will be in if we decide to attack. Also, the presence of the Galactic Empire throws in a variable into our calculations. Chief, what is your assesment?"

Lariesh quickly changed the damaged planetary systems back up to near full strength. "Depending on how well Cain is received within the Sith alliance, I would assume that their industry is bringing her quickly back up to full strength. In a years time, the only sign of battle could perhaps be the decrease in planetary population. Otherwise, ships will be rebuilt and Sith planetary defenses might take up the large slack in Colonial defenses. Also we must look at what Cain's membership into the Galactic Empire will bring. By Admiral Adama's report, the Colonials use largely kinetic based weaponry and their ships are relatively unshielded. This could all change with Cain adopting shields and some energy based weaponry."

Gaf'ton was nodding his head at the young woman's assessment. "Are you sure you are not giving the Galactic Empire too much credit in rebuilding the Colonial fleet in a years time?"

"They are comprised of some of the older nations on the galactic stage. Depending on how much they must sacrifice in their own economies and how quickly the Colonial shipyards are rebuilt, it is not such a far fetched assumption. Less not forget that this is an alliance that has a habit of building rather large battle stations or planet killing weaponry. Death Stars and Galaxy Guns are a much loved source of entertainment for them. We should not assume that it will be difficult for them to put aside projects like these to help build up a new ally."

The Abriel stroked his chin for a moment. "I suppose you are correct then. It seems that our window of opportunity is a narrow one at best but I still have some reservations."

"An Abriel being hesitant? Are you feeling alright sir?"

Gaf'ton glared off the smirk on Lariesh's pretty face. "I want to gain the response of the Colonials that are loyal to Cain without having her entire fleet and that of the Galactic Empire coming down on top of us. At least not yet. I would like time to prepare for that but I also want to establish a front in Colonial territory from which to strike from. I believe I know of a way though."

The Imperial Admiral turned to Admiral Adama. "What is your take on the situation, Admiral?"

Admiral Adama watched, and listened to the Abh’s speak of his home, and the potential of freeing them from the clutches of the Empire, and regaining independence. The prospect sounded good, but he knew that the situation was far more grave than the Abriel would say.

“Any attempt at the moment to bring an invasion force within the twelve colonies, would in fact bring a response of nearly the entire colonial fleet.” he replied calmly. He turned his head to Gaf’ton, “Your assessment of Colonial technology is somewhat inaccurate. Since our alliance with the Coredians, they provided us with many new weapons, but mainly they provided the Colonial Fleet and the planets below with shielding. Shields are in fact widely used, however due to them being Coredian in nature, I can see why you would think they are barely shielded.” Adama replied with a smile.

“When we discovered the nature of shielding, the colonies also have come up with many different methods of getting around that problem. The first is the EMB, or Electro-Magnetic Bullet. In short, it is a kinetic shell, that can be fired out of any of the main and secondary cannons, but emit a blue energy as they emit a electromagnetic field in order to disrupt and drop shielded objects. With the Colonial rate of fire from our kinetic cannons, and rail systems, these shells can be quite devastating against any aggressor.

Adama sighed, as he knew had he still been in the Colonial Fleet he would not be convicted of treason and espiongage. He was giving away the tactical secrets of the colonies, but it was a minor sin, compared to letting his home be over run with the horrors and terrors of the Sith Empire. Adama slowly glanced down. The other solution was an early attempt to attack shielded targets with minimum casualties. The project was overseen by Admiral Cain herself, and it merged a missile with an FTL Jump drive. The Warheads can be Conventional, but are usually nuclear warheads, and by pass shielding and jump into an room within a ship big enough for it. However due to the expense, these missiles are rarely used, and the obvious draw backs of FTLi against Space fold are apparent.

Adama reached down to the chair beneath him, and grunted slightly as he stood up. Dispite being in good shape for his age, he was getting old. His bones slowly popped as he walked over to the hologram. He lifted his hand to Kobal. “Kobal is too remote and has too little to gain by jumping in guns blazing. Besides it would take one jump for Cain to begin her operations there, and push back our forces. What we need is a staging ground that she would never expect.”

Adama reached down to a paper copy of the star systems that surround the colonies. Slowly he put his finger on one planet about fifty light-years away from the “red line”. Here. He said, “This was once a staging ground for the cylon’s during the first and second cylon war. There is not much here, and last we heard it was abandoned. The planet is covered in Ice, and there is not much there, but it is not very well known. Here we can begin the staging ground to prepare to fight her.

Gaf'ton listened as Adama spoke of changes in the Colonial fleet that would need updating within Star Forces records. Lariesh was more than content to do this as the Admiral went on. Even this new ice world was added in as well to the list of planets named in the Colonial system.

Surprising maybe to some, but the Abriel was already quite pleased with the Admiral. He was displaying thoughtfulness that was often absent among human commanders and other races. Adama had even given him the target that he so desired.

"I would have to agree with your assessment Admiral. This planet does look ideal for a beach head back into your territory. It is secluded enough so that we can heavily fortify the space around it and far enough away that the rebels will have to readjust their positioning to come at us in an organized manner. At the same time it is close enough for us to strike quickly then return to base.

We can also begin moving ground units and equipment to the surface of this world and establish a ground base. Unless I'm wrong, I have the feeling we will need as many soldiers as possible to retake your home. All in all I have to agree with your choice in targets. Standard protocol requires that we send a probe to scout out this planet but it should not be much of a problem."

Gaf'ton turned his attention back to his Chief of Staff for a moment. "Go ahead and move to Vobayrunay."

The blue haired woman looked at the Abriel only for a moment to be sure then went to work on her keypad. The holographic representation shifted from that of the Colonial system to a massive orbiting structure. Gaf'ton smiled proudly as it came into full view. "Larger than any moon in the system, it gives birth to every form of ship that Star Forces employs in its arsenal. Vobayrunay (http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/Abh_Empire/Seikai%20no%20Senki/SNS-13-21.jpg) is the great naval yard of the Abh Empire. The Sith have their Star Forges, the Kythons have the unique ability to poop out an enormous amount of ships after they've eaten just one, and we Abh have this. It is good that you have received technology from the Coredians to strengthen your ships and added a few personal touches to circumvent shielding. Now I would like to offer you the ability to rebuild the Colonial fleet to greater strength than it was even before the civil war. I have the authority of the Emperor to offer you sections of this ship yard for this purpose. Should you accept, there will be security restrictions placed on your people for obvious reasons. Still, it is something you may want to consider."