NationStates Jolt Archive

The time was 0600, Zirzlan Standard Time, when the Minotaur-class cruiser Medusa leaved the Anaecron system behind and entered the vast emptiness beyond it.
At the bridge, Commander Vaenir Khahn turned to one of his officers. "Are we prepared for the Leap, liutenant?"
"Yes, sir. Everything has been calculated. We will enter cyberspace in five minutes".
Seeing the older mans worry, he smiled. "No need to worry, sir. The risk of hitting a supernova or other celestial body is only 0,0000001%".
"I know", the Commander answered. "But that is, by Taurus, high enough".
When he turned back, one could see the black fur on his muscular arms. He was a Bellua, a man merged with a beast, just like all of Zirzla's soldiers.
In his case, the animal in question had been a bear. The merging had been painful, but it had granted him superhuman strength and senses.
Still, he was an old model, his body showing signs of the animal inside.
The young liutenant, on the other side, had no outstanding signs, just the golden eyes of the panther that was part of him.
The Commander's thoughts were interruped as his body felt the light vibration experienced while entering hyperspace.
With a sigh he sat down in his comfortable swivel chair, trying to relax. A hand gently tapped his shoulder. He pressed a button at the arm rest.
Slowly the chair rotated. The young liutenant was waiting with a tray. "Thaer, sir?"
"Yes please". The young man gave him a cup of the sweet, hot beverage, created from the sap of the giant birches on Vaempir.
The Commander sipped his hot drink. "Thank you, liutenant. We will exit hyperspace in five hours, correct?"
The officer nodded. "Correct".
"Good. I will try to get a few hours worth of sleep. Wake me up when we make the exit".
"Yes sir".
The Commander swallowed the last of his thaer and walked to his cabin. As he laid down on the bed, he realized that he already missed his wife.
Dalyan was too a warrior, a lioness both in battle and in private. She had always supported him, even saved his life on more than one occasion.
Now, for the first time since the Haelicon Campaign, he would sleep alone.
He missed his daughter too. Talyn always managed to get him to laugh, even when he was worried or tired.
She would have her sixth bithday soon, and he had promised to bring her some gifts from his journey.
That thought brought his attention back to the mission ahead.The scientists wished for alien lifeforms to study and, if possible, use in the creation of even better warriors.
He was leading the the first expedition, his orders to capture inviduals of any unknown species encountered.
He wondered what the aliens would look like. Would they have tentacles, like in the movies? Would they have a hundred eyes and bloated, gas-filled bodies?
The only thing the Zirzlans knew for sure was that they existed. For 200 years, they had catched transmissions from outer space.
Even the finest linguists could not decrypt them, but one thing was sure: someone intelligent was sending them.
Finished with his thoughts, he finally fell asleep, dreaming of the wonders ahead.

A light knock on the door woke him up. He growled. Was it already time? He rose to his feet. Once again he felt the light vibration.
The ship had exited hyperspace. Slightly nervous he dressed and walked to the assembly room. His officers had already gathered.
Some were muscular brutes, created from bears and large apes, others agile warriors, their human forms merged with panters, lions, tigers or wolves.
A few were Aenorii, bird-people, with wings sticking out of their battlesuits.
One was a scaly Aquaticus, designed to be able to breath both above and beneath water.
There was massive silence as the Commander cleared his throat. "Good morning to you all, gentlemen. I will now reveal our orders, so listen carefully.
The Senate has decided to send out an expedition to try to make contact with other intelligent races. You, my friends, are part of that expedition.
Our primary goal is to seize genetic material for the scientists working on developing better, more efficient warriors". He smiled.
"I wonder why that is neccessary, for there is no better warriors than you, the sons of Zirzla!" A storm of applauds and roars broke out.
The commander waited for the audience to calm down, then continued.
"We will focus on achieving this peacefully, through negotiations or trade, but we will show no mercy if we are attacked. I trust you to carry out my orders. Dismissed".
The officers saluted and left the room. Only the young liutenant, the Commanders aide, stayed. Vaenir smiled at the young man. "So, how was my speak, liutenant?"
"Most excellent, sir", the young man answered. "You truly know how to set their feelings ablaze".
"I had a seat in the Senate for ten years. Believe me, with those dull bastards you must learn to speak with passion to achieve anything at all".
The man chuckled. "I certainly believe you, sir"
The Commander laughted. "Politicians. It's a wonder society has survived this long".
The young man looked at his watch. "I believe it is time for me to leave, sir. I must check that my men are doing their duties".
"You are a good officer, young man. It may be time for a promotion when we return. You may leave".
The liutenant saluted and walked out. Vaenir poured himself a cup of thaer and turned his attention to the televisor screens.
It had begun...

*Note that the author of this thread has no intention of seizing your population and forcing them to breed with gorillas. The author has much more sinister plans than that.*

probably my fault, could you please briefly restate what this RP is all about?

OOC: Introducing my nation. I was planning something like either a small skirmish or some trade/negotiation thing. Sorry for the confusion.

thats fine, and a good intro as well. I suppose a skirmish would be OK- im in. please continue.

The commander was sitting in his comfortable chair, watching a book-movie. Suddenly the face of one of his senior officers appeared on the televisor. "Sorry to interrupt sir, but we might have detected something".
"I'm coming at once", Vaenir said into the communication system. He hurried up to the bridge. "Yes?"
"Here sir". The officer pointed towards one of the screens covering the walls. A tiny blip was moving over the map. "It might just be an asteroid, but I figured you might be intersted sir".
"I'm interested indeed. Prepare all weapon systems, just in case".
"Consider it done, sir".
The officer rushed away, yelling orders. The Commander leaned closer to the screen. His heart was beating faster. They might have made contact...

The Admiral Gouth stood at the head of his Ragnarök capital ship, the Blade of independence, surveying the radar screen that had been handed to him by a young ensign. Unknowns had been spotted, yet Gouth was sure he had not authorized a flight into this area of space.

"This is unusual. Have the necessary repairs been made?"

"Yes, sir." Replied the pilot behind him. "When we were dispatched from the docks this morning, we had been returned to 100% operational status."

"Good. We cannot be sure what the intentions of these unknowns are. We will head towards them, but be prepared to call for backup. Surely, this ship will be enough to handle any minor threat."

"Yes sir. Setting a new flightpath, entering hyperspace now."

Gouth flinched as they slipped into hyperspace. It was not a sensation that he had ever enjoyed.

The blip had suddenly disappeared from the screen. "So it was a ship after all", the Commander whispered. The senior officer, returning from giving orders to the weapon system crews, only heard the last two words. "Excuse me?"
The Commander pointed to the screen. "The blip disappeared. It must have been a ship entering hyperspace".
"Shit. Do you think they have detected us?"
"Probably. Ready the crew. We don't know their intentions and I want us prepared for all eventualities".
"Yes sir".

Sirens started to shriek through the ship. Crew members and soldiers ran to their battle stations. Everyone waited.

The Blade of Independence exited hyperspace around four miles from the Zirzlan vessel.

"Sir? It seems that the ship has entered a defensive position. We are in range of most of their guns, but they don't seem to be preparing to fire upon us."

"Curious." Murmured Gouth. Most enemy ships out here were raiders and pirates who laid into anyone they saw. This ship seemed- different. Gouth didn't know why, but something about the vessel made him on edge.

"Put out a communication. Universal galactic channel."

To unidentified ship:

This is the blade of independence. In the name of Sharfghotten, reveal your purpose in this system. Remember that this is Sharfghotten controlled space, and if you fail to comply, we are fully prepared to fire. If you do not respond in 1 galactic hour, we will open fire.

Gouth hoped they would reply. He did not want to fight anymore today.

"Commander, we have some kind of communication coming through on Channel 1".
"Understood. Thank you, colonel".
He turned on the comlink and listened to the message.
"To unidentified ship:
This is the blade of independence. In the name of Sharfghotten, reveal your purpose in this system. Remember that this is Sharfghotten controlled space, and if you fail to comply, we are fully prepared to fire. If you do not respond in 1 galactic hour, we will open fire".

He took of the earphones and looked at the colonel. "Are they serious?"
"We have all reason to believe so, sir".'
"Then I will speak to them".
He walked to the communication central and quickly transmitted a reply.

This is Starship Medusa of the Zirzlan Federation. We did not know that this is Sharfghotten-controlled airspace. We do not even know what Sharfghotten is. We are here as traders and explorers. We wish you no harm, but we will defend ourselves if attacked.

"Sir, we've received a reply."

Gouth quickly stepped over to the comms desk, and read the Zirzlan message. He was incredulous.

Sharfghotten is one of the principle war nations in this sector. Perhaps next time you may wish to check charts and maps of your route, and such situations can be avoided. We will escort you to wherever you need to go, but do not- we repeat, do not- attempt to enter hyperspace or otherwise evade us. Think of this as chastisement for embarking into space so poorly prepared. We will not fire unless you breach our terms.

Gouth stepped back, reread the message, and sent it. Hopefully the Zirzlans would be content to be escorted for the remainder of their journey.

Seeing the answer, the Commander smiled. Escort, huh?, he thought. Not bad. Not bad at all.
He transmitted an answer

There are no maps or charts. Part of our mission is to make some. We accept your terms. Take us to the closest inhabited planet.

Gouth wiped his brow. He was not afraid of a fight: far from it. Gouth had won the Sharf Brastung Natsis, a medal only bestowed to 300 individuals. It signified extreme bravery in the face of danger.

"Excellent. Which is the nearest inhabited planet to here?"

"Aaridan IV sir, but it requires a level 4 clearance. The second option is Valhalla II, in the other direction. Its a political planet, with a big space dock."

"Perfect. That will be great."

To Starship Meduse:

We will be bearing 30 degrees South West, basing on galactic point C. We will dock in the orbital docks around the planet, and proceed via shuttle to the surface of the planet, and await further instructions.

At Medusa, the Commander let out a sigh of relief. There would be no need for fighting. He transmissed a reply.

Most excellent. We will follow your directions.

He walked out of the comcentral. "30 degrees South West, basing on Galactic Point C", he said to the colonel. "Alert level two. I think these guys are friendlies, but keep some of the guns manned just in case".
"Yes sir".

Slowly, the ship turned into the ordered direction. The massive nuclear reactors powering the ship worked at full power.

The docks at Valhalla II had been built in the second age of Sharf expansion, in which colonial ships the size of worlds had been built and serviced. Now, much of the dock's space was empty, but when a Ragnarök capital ship, accompanied by a sizable trading ship, lands, the whole area looks more full.

Gouth stepped into the pressurized tunnel that had been attached to his ship. He and a team of honor guard entered the terminal, where a shuttle was waiting for him to board. Turning his head, Gouth saw a man in strange clothing, along with a group of others, walking towards him.

"So, we meet face to face." Stated Gouth. "This way."

He waved his hand towards the shuttle, and calmly walked up the boarding ramp.

The Commander and his group, consisting of the colonel, the liutenant and two muscular guards in ceremonial battlesuits, followed the stranger, curiously looking at the spaceport. "Do you have gene banks here?", the Commander asked the Sharfghottan.

"Not here." Replied the admiral. "When we reach the planet, you will be requisitioned a room, along with whatever you need. You will be kept in the ambassador suite, and your subordinates can stay in a location of their choosing."

Gene banks? Gouth could not understand. The only Sharf experiments with gene technology had been performed at the hiatus of the second cold war in 2551. The subjects had died within two hours of alteration.

Shaking the thought from his mind, he closed his eyes. The shuttle shuddered, and left the spaceport. Gouth was always happiest in space flight.

"Excuse me." He said, and walked into the cockpit. "Get me a channel with the commander of this planet. I suppose he should know he's entertaining guests."

Settling down, the Zirzlans studied the vessel. The design was radically different from their own, and so was the system powering the ship, they figured. The Commander traded a look with the liutenant. They were both amazed. They could never have imagined that other races could be this advanced. But these people, it seemed, didn't have much experience with cloning techniques. Vaenir had seen the mans confused expression. He was amused that such an advanced race didn't know of techniques that the Zirzlans had used for 300 years.

"We have arrived." stated Gouth. He and his honor guard stood up, and waited for the ramp to lower. They stepped out into the bright sunlight of Valhalla II, and turned to wait for their guests.

"You can stay as long as you wish. there is a trade ministry building there, along with many other political structures. However, i must leave now, on urgent business. If you need help, show this badge to a soldier. They're everywhere."

Gouth bowed, and turned 180 degrees, reboarding the shuttle.

"Trade Ministry, he said", the Commander remarked to his companions. "We check there if we can acquire maps over this part of the universe there".
"A sound plan", the colonel agreed. The others nodded their approval. They walked towards the building.