NationStates Jolt Archive

Ships float above the surface, pursuing the last shattered survivors of the NEVEC group deep into the snow plains of EDN III, killing Akrid and securing every visible energy source, starving the fleeing vital suits of energy, and killing their supporting infantry in mere seconds, while PTX-140 Vital Suits pursued on the ground, capturing stragglers and adding to the fledgling republican arsenal. Far overhead the ships break off, leaving pursuit to the ground forces. They have more important things to attend to, as the first ftl capable squadron of Republican warships has just had their own debut, using their ability to disappear from reality to shatter the NEVEC space fleet. Ten ships, crushing nearly ten times their own number in less than an hour, and now they need the rest of the fleet to help mop up the remnants. Thirty ships, two thirds of which are only warships because they're called that, and the shards of the NEVEC fleet. Not even a close match. Marines and light vitalsuits flood the corridors of rebel ships, crushing resistance in a storm of machine gun fire and automatic shotgun blasts, before scuttling the scrapped ships, and returning to the surface.

"Wayne. It's over, NEVEC's as good as done."

A man turns, and looks at the woman addressing him. Neither of them looks like a major politician or military leader, but they're both exactly that. Wayne Holden, High Commander of the Republican VS army, and his old comrade Luka, commander of the intelligence service.

"Hm?"

"They've surrendered. They had less than a company of VS left, and their infantry was gone."

"Good to hear. The fleet too?"

"Scrap. Akrid are contained for now. No major threats at least. Actually one nutjob the military contracted to farm them for training. That could be VERY interesting."

"Yeah, maybe for you. I'm the one that has to clean it up. Me and my troops."

"Sorry Wayne, but the senate agrees with the other commanders. The Akrid are always going to be here, training to kill them is just good sense. Maybe if there were more of us we could eradicate them, but we'd need millions of VS to win that fight, and you know we don't have anywhere near that many."

"I know, and I'm sure that somewhere out there we have worse problems than the Akrid."

As the two old friends speak, the Hyper capable warships of the republic skipped about the system, lighting it up like a sun as they sought out any stragglers of the enemy fleet. There weren't any left, but they had to look. They couldn't be sure what they were going to find, and it was almost certain they'd find things they weren't looking for.

Three months have passed since the cataclysmic clash between republican forces and NEVEC's corporate army. Society is being rebuilt in the wastes of EDN III, marred only by occasional attacks by the Akrid, easily beaten back by the military. Now it was decided among the Senate and top military brass that they needed more resources. Easy resources, and fast. Salvaging from the destruction only netted so much resuseable material, and only the most powerful settlements and companies had the equipment to brave the infestation zone and acquire new raw material. Three of their precious warships departed, carrying entire battalions of VS and infantry support on each. Crammed to the bulkheads, it was a desperate mission. They didn't have enough supplies to last very long away from base, and anything out there that couldn't fight back was a target. They'd try to trade, but they would not accept refusal. They needed supplies more than anything.

ooc: is it ok to jump in. I'm FT as well

The Pioneer class starship 'Princess Miyu' was on it exploration duties nearly a year out of the homeworlds.

Samurai Captain Kayuri Toranaga knew they would soon be returning home and knew how weary her all female crew felt even with the chance to relax in a holosuite.

They were cruising along at warp 5 her crew doing their jobs and following up a report of a type 4 nebula which was forming on the fringes of this stars system.

She didn't know what was going on in the system but they were always ready.

ooc: the ship looks like this minus the big bird
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/nihongaz/pioneerclass.jpg

"I've got torchship signatures about half a light-year out, domine," a tech reported, just as the signatures themselves blinked onto Navarch Tiberius Verres' command holoscreen. His vessel, the Republican battlecruiser Aristeia, was on patrol 3 million klicks out of its base system of Dracious. "Their current course will bring them into Republican space in several months."

"Ea video," the Navarch confirmed. "Three of them, eh? Large, too, to put out that strong of a signal at this distance."

"There are no civilizations on record in that particular sector, domine," said another tech, "nor along the vector they are traveling along."

"Then we're dealing with a first contact," Verres concluded. "Fire off a drone to take a closer look, I don't want to spook them by dropping a battlecruiser right on top of them."

A Neo-Roman pattern Lumen drone was fired from one of the Aristeia's gravitic launchers, streaking away from the battlecruiser for a tenth of a second before its tesseract module engaged. The drone spat itself back out on a vector that took it several hundred klicks in front of the EDN vessels and across their path of travel, sweeping the small convoy with multiple active sensors. A message prepared by Verres was also broadcast over several broad frequencies in a multitude of languages, including binary code. Odds were one of those would be intelligible to whoever was on the receiving end, if they had a halfway competent decoding program.

The message ran:
Unidentified vessels, we bid you greetings in the name of the Senate and People of the Republic. Your current course will soon bring you into Republican territory; we seek to open friendly relations, as we have not encountered your nation/state/species before now.

Speaking for the Republic at this time is Navarch Tiberius Verres of the battlecruiser Aristeia, via unmanned drone. We inquire as to your name, your intent and your disposition, and await your reply.

As all that was taking place, Verres sent a report back to his commander at Dracious to be relayed to the Senate and the Magister Militum.

OOC: Mind if I join in?
Again..I'm FT too. www.freewebs.com/thetruewayofalan

IC:

The Slaveraider Godslayer cooled its Particle Reducers as it slowly drifted into realspace and into a new quadrant of space.

Commander. The helmswoman thoughtspoke directly to Lt. Cmdr. Diego Cortez Algirs. We're coming up on an unidentified area of realspace. The Exploratory Fleet as asked us to make contact and identify and classify any indigenous peoples.

Algirs leaned forward in his command chair on the bridge and nodded as he psychically activated his personal communicator. His mellow baritone voice rang out through the crews psyche.

I want weapons hot and code 3 classification. Prepare for anything. Algirs out.

ooc im sending one of my 2 fully sentient battle carriers

ic the mighty form of the 3.5km wrath of zeus exiteed from warp speed coms to the edn shinra bids you greetyings

Fresh from the Golemnus shipyards in Marionetonia System, the prototype Battle Plate Surgeon's Hammer joined her brothers from the Neo-Roman province of The Republic. Sitting in her skipper's chair, Hillary W. Hitler sent a message to her compatriots aboard the Aristeia.

"Well, domine Verres, looks like The Republic's got some new friends here. Mind if we join the party? This ship could use a little shake-down."

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

OOC:

Dastardly Stench, an independent nation, and Marionetonia, a province of The Republic, have the same owner. He will post using either nation interchangeably, though he will always use only the resources of Marionetonia in this thread.

The provinces of The Republic function as a single nation. And we're coming out with a new, large class of warship. Surgeon's Hammer, however, isn't really one of these. She's a prototype. They're looking to take the kinks out of the design with her before they start building the real things.

OOC: Shinra, no. I know your dyslexic, but you also don't even try to do anything about it, so no.

IC:

Two of the three ships had found empty systems, and were setting up the incredible mining facilities of the engineering corps, stripping raw materials loose at an increible pace, and using a bare fraction of what was harvested to both increase capacity, and store the majority of the resources being mined. The third ship, however, was not so lucky.

"Colonel Holmes, an unmanned drone of some type has hailed us. Would you like to respond?"

"Yes. Begin transmitting."

The commander of the Republican VS forces held his position only by date of rank. It had been decided that the infantry would always outrank their VS comrades, due to the raw firepower at their command. Wayne Holmes was the first of 5 Colonels in the Republican VS Battalions, and one of the greatest hereoes of the rebellion.

This system belongs to the Republic of EDN III. We are in desperate need of materials to rebuild our planet after a bitter civil war that nearly resulted in all our deaths. We are terraforming our planet as we go, but it is incredibly material intensive, and we cannot proceed without outside materials. We would welcome any peaceful discourse on your part, or any trade that we might be able to engage in.

"Ave, Hitler," Verres replied. "You are welcome to join us. Having a battleplate around definitely will not hurt, although I pray the firepower goes unneeded." ((OOC: Nice setup for having Verres say the equivalent of Heil Hitler, Mar. XD))

At that moment he recieved the reply through the drone. "I see," he said to himself. "Run a search of our records," he said out loud. "I want to know if their claim is valid or not."

"It's not ours, domine," came the report. "A surveying squadron passed through there several years ago and mapped the system, but there was no perceived need at the time to claim and develop it and it was passed by."

Verres nodded. "Then they're here to stay, which makes establishing a relationship even more critical. Feed this through the drone, and link the Surgeon's Hammer in with this exchange as well."

Colonel Holmes, we recognize your right to the system. With that, we are quite interested in establishing relations with the Republic of EDN. If you are in need of raw materials, the Republic can furnish large amounts of anything you might need; although, you must understand, I can make no guarantees, as I am a military captain and not a diplomat. Such deals must be made with a representative of the Senate.

((OOC: When he says Republic that second time, he means our Republic, since that's what we call ourselves.... dunno if that needed clarifying but it might cause confusion having two governments with such similar names XD))

"Ave, Hitler," Verres replied. "You are welcome to join us. Having a battleplate around definitely will not hurt, although I pray the firepower goes unneeded." ((OOC: Nice setup for having Verres say the equivalent of Heil Hitler, Mar. XD))

At that moment he recieved the reply through the drone. "I see," he said to himself. "Run a search of our records," he said out loud. "I want to know if their claim is valid or not."

"It's not ours, domine," came the report. "A surveying squadron passed through there several years ago and mapped the system, but there was no perceived need at the time to claim and develop it and it was passed by."

Verres nodded. "Then they're here to stay, which makes establishing a relationship even more critical. Feed this through the drone, and link the Surgeon's Hammer in with this exchange as well."



((OOC: When he says Republic that second time, he means our Republic, since that's what we call ourselves.... dunno if that needed clarifying but it might cause confusion having two governments with such similar names XD))

I don't like talking to machines. Our mining efforts are already underway, and if we are going to trade with you, I will need to speak with you face to face. You obviously know where we are, and I will remain right here.

Shuttles moved frantically between the ship and the surface, hundreds of trips in hours would put the military forces groundside, and set the mining crews to work. Early surveyed deposists were hit first, while VS spread out among among the several mountain chains and mineral rich areas, looking for large concentrations of useful ores.

Verres raised an eyebrow at the Colonel's reply. They had backbone, that was good; Holmes' response earned him a little more respect in the Navarch's eyes than was perfunctory, for it was a very Neo-Roman kind of response.

"The drone's starting to stray, domine," the tech controlling the Lumen said suddenly. Verres looked on his holoscreen, and it was true; in the several minutes of the exchange, the Lumen had shot along its trajectory at several thousand kilometers per second, and was now almost a light-minute from the EDN vessel it was hailing. No cause for alarm, but it was starting to cause lags in the radio transmissions, and that was a distasteful prospect. Neo-Romans disliked inefficiency.

"Slingshot it around that gas giant and bring it back around," he ordered. "We can sling it back and forth as long as we need to before we recover it."

He returned to considering Holmes' statement. <What do you say, Hitler?> he beamed to the Surgeon's Hammer, which was presumably still on its way. The corner of his mouth tugged upwards in the beginnings of a smile. <Shall we go drop in for a chat?>

"Couldn't agree with you more, Domne," Hitler replied. "Helm, join the formation. End transmission."

The huge ship lumbered into a place alongside its comrades.

As the 'Princess Miyu' continued to enter the star system the other ships were picked up on its sensors.

"Multiple contacts Captain sama. It looks like they come from different cultures judging from the designs and engine signatures" the tactical officer reported.

Kaori Toranaga was always cautious in dealing with ships bigger and more heavily armed than her own cruiser but they had a cloaking device which got them out of trouble a lot.

"Comms send this message in all languages and known forms of communications including binary notation. Voice and visual.

This is Samurai-Captain Kaori Toranaga commanding the Neo-Kirisuban starship 'Princess Miyu'. We are on a peaceful exploration mission and we would be interested in making contact."

This was sent and as they gracefully cruised on at 1/4 impulse they waited for a reply. Her all female crew would be ready for anything and the tales of the Neo-Kirisubans had been spread far and wide by old spacers.

Tall tales which hinted at them being warrior amazons and young and pretty to boot. Partly true because they were asian and very few crew members were older than 30. They also fought to the death.

OOC: Marionetonia, when I'm not using it as a vehicle for satire (which is the case this time), is patterned a bit after Nazi Germany. It was no coincidence that Germany and Japan were allies. Their cultures shared a Warrior Ethic. Like the Kirisobans, the Marionetonians will fight to the death, and, should she lose a campaign, Hillary Hitler will waste no time in shooting herself to death.

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

"My god. Someone's transmitting?" said Polly Dung from the com console.

"Who?!?" said Hitler.

"That's just it," Polly replied, "I don't know. There's nothing on the screens!"

"Hmmmm," Hitler said. "Cloaking device. Alright, boys and girls, a week's bonus to the first one who breaks that cloak!"

Neo Kirisuban's routinely ran with cloaking devices active at least while scouting out a star system.

Now contact had been make they dropped the cloak themselves and this ship appeared on the screens of anybody looking.

( http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/nihongaz/pioneerclass.jpg - same as this only no big bird on it )

Captain Toranaga could raise the cloak anytime again but they liked to talk face to face.

"Ship decloaking off the starboard bow!" said Dung.

"Did you get the decloaking sequence?" asked Hitler.

"Got it!" Dung replied.

"Send the data to the astrophysics lab. They should have no problem making our newfound friends' decloak permanent now. What can you tell me about the ship?"

"Warp drive vessel, similar to the old Potemkin design."

"That small?"

"Shielding and armaments heavily augmented."

"So, the nastiest things can come in small packages. Hail the Aristeia. Get me Verres. Scrambled com. I don't want our little friends listening in on us."


Well, Domne, it looks like our quiet little chat is turning
into quite a little costume party. You were first on the scene,
so, by Republican tradition, that gives you command--but I
think that it's only fair to warn you that, acting on our own
initiative, we're well on our way to seeing through the latest
mask.

Have you contacted Wrath of Zeus, yet? From what I
gather, she's almost as large as we are.


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

OOC: just to make it clear, I'm NOT using Marionetonia as a vehicle for satire. I'm playing this one straight, except for the names. All work and no fun makes Jeff a very dull boy. :) :) :)

OOC: EDN booted Shinra from the RP, so the Wrath of Zeus isn't there anymore.

IC:

<These first contacts always do seem to turn into international potlucks> Verres replied to Hitler. <Does the Surgeon's Hammer not have gravitic scanners? That little vessel's gravity field is quite visible on our readouts, cloaking field active or no. She's only hailed the EDN thus far, so let's just continue to keep an eye on her for now. I don't want to intrude on the EDN's authority in their space> Chances were, the sudden materialization of a 3-kilometer battlecruiser and a 12-kilometer battleplate would catch the interest of just about everyone in-system, so Verres wasn't too concerned about making overtures to third parties.

The Neo-Roman captain switched over the channel he was using to talk to the EDN. <We have arrived to talk face-to-face as you suggested, Colonel Holmes. Would you care to join us on the Aristeia or the Surgeon's Hammer, or would you prefer that we meet somewhere on your ground?>

The astrophysics boys came back with their data--and Hitler released funds from her personal accounts to pay their bonuses.

Gravitic sensors, as Verres should well know, are imprecise things. They only give a general accounting of where, or how big, something is. When the astrophysics boys got done, there was a way of using tachyon emission scanners to light those ships up like they weren't even cloaked.

"Get Verres the data," Hitler ordered. "Scrambled. But don't target the Neo-Kirisobans. They've shown no hostility so far. We're Republicans, and we don't fire on non-hostiles."

"Sir, Wrath of Zeus has just disappeared from our screens. Looks like she's left the system."

"Well," Hitler said, "that makes things a little simpler. Maintain course and speed."

OOC: EDN booted Shinra from the RP, so the Wrath of Zeus isn't there anymore.

IC:

<These first contacts always do seem to turn into international potlucks> Verres replied to Hitler. <Does the Surgeon's Hammer not have gravitic scanners? That little vessel's gravity field is quite visible on our readouts, cloaking field active or no. She's only hailed the EDN thus far, so let's just continue to keep an eye on her for now. I don't want to intrude on the EDN's authority in their space> Chances were, the sudden materialization of a 3-kilometer battlecruiser and a 12-kilometer battleplate would catch the interest of just about everyone in-system, so Verres wasn't too concerned about making overtures to third parties.

The Neo-Roman captain switched over the channel he was using to talk to the EDN. <We have arrived to talk face-to-face as you suggested, Colonel Holmes. Would you care to join us on the Aristeia or the Surgeon's Hammer, or would you prefer that we meet somewhere on your ground?>

If you could join me planetside that would be preferred, I'm a tad busy. Even colonels need to work sometime, and there's no leading from the rear in a VS Battalion.

You have entered the territory of the Republic of EDN III. As you can see, it's already explored, making you rather redundant. Also notable is the fact that we have made contact. Have you anything pertinent to say, I'm a tad bit busy.


a

"Oh. He's 'busy'," Verres' first officer, Centurion Gaius Metellus, remarked sarcastically with a smirk. The centurion had just returned to the bridge from business elsewhere on the ship, and now took his place before the command holoscreen at Verres' side.

"Down, Metellus," Verres said in a low flat voice that extinguished any argument. "Running an operation on the scale of what they have going here is no picnic. We hailed him, remember, when he probably just as soon would have liked to be left alone." The Navarch's eyes never left the holoscreen, on which the myriad shuttles and vessels of the EDN bustled back and forth between the planet's surface and orbit.

Metellus raised an eyebrow. "Tamen, you'd think he would be a little less brusque with the people ready to offer him more resources than his little republic will know what to do with."

"No, you would think that, because you are a Neo-Roman and Neo-Romans are used to expecting that behavior from everyone else." Verres scratched reflectively at his chin. "This Colonel Holmes is rather much like us, which is why I'm interested in meeting him. The Senate is interested in branching out relations with other states, and we could well benefit from this EDN Republic owing us a favor. This is something worth pursuing."

He turned to leave the bridge. "I am going to collect an honor guard and meet this Colonel planetside," he said over his shoulder as he walked down the central catwalk towards the door. "You are in command of the Aristeia until I return, but you will report to Captain Hitler aboard the Surgeon's Hammer. Take the Aristeia to Lagrange point 2, and report to her and tell her as much immediately." The double-doors *whooshed* shut behind him as he finished.

Metellus saluted after him, and opened the requisite channel to the Surgeon's Hammer.

As Verres descended the many levels of the 3-kilometer Aristeia, he contacted Holmes on the same channel they had been using. It was standard Neo-Roman practice to equip their soldiers with microscopic radio and tightbeam implants for easy communication on the battlefield, and it was a handy thing to have in general. <Colonel Holmes, I am preparing a transport and an honor guard to meet you on the surface. You can send coordinates for a landing zone directly to me. I will be down shortly>

Several minutes later, a Fury fighter-bomber carrying Verres and his dozen Republican legionary bodyguards was spat from its hangar by the Aristeia's gravitic launchers. The 30-meter craft fired its fusion engines and shot towards the planet. It would break atmo in five minutes.

Hitler gazed upon the EDN's activities with a touch of admiration.

"It would seem that they value commerce," she said. "We may have a great deal to share with them."

It was no secret that Marionetonia was the investment capital of the Republic. Her monied class, though not so great in number, had tendrils of investment that spanned the entire Republic, making her indispensible to their economy. Originally acquired in a hostile buy-out, Marionetonia had turned out to be a profitable acquisition. And even her military people could smell a deal a mile away.

Sometimes, much, much more.

"Oh. He's 'busy'," Verres' first officer, Centurion Gaius Metellus, remarked sarcastically with a smirk. The centurion had just returned to the bridge from business elsewhere on the ship, and now took his place before the command holoscreen at Verres' side.

"Down, Metellus," Verres said in a low flat voice that extinguished any argument. "Running an operation on the scale of what they have going here is no picnic. We hailed him, remember, when he probably just as soon would have liked to be left alone." The Navarch's eyes never left the holoscreen, on which the myriad shuttles and vessels of the EDN bustled back and forth between the planet's surface and orbit.

Metellus raised an eyebrow. "Tamen, you'd think he would be a little less brusque with the people ready to offer him more resources than his little republic will know what to do with."

"No, you would think that, because you are a Neo-Roman and Neo-Romans are used to expecting that behavior from everyone else." Verres scratched reflectively at his chin. "This Colonel Holmes is rather much like us, which is why I'm interested in meeting him. The Senate is interested in branching out relations with other states, and we could well benefit from this EDN Republic owing us a favor. This is something worth pursuing."

He turned to leave the bridge. "I am going to collect an honor guard and meet this Colonel planetside," he said over his shoulder as he walked down the central catwalk towards the door. "You are in command of the Aristeia until I return, but you will report to Captain Hitler aboard the Surgeon's Hammer. Take the Aristeia to Lagrange point 2, and report to her and tell her as much immediately." The double-doors *whooshed* shut behind him as he finished.

Metellus saluted after him, and opened the requisite channel to the Surgeon's Hammer.

As Verres descended the many levels of the 3-kilometer Aristeia, he contacted Holmes on the same channel they had been using. It was standard Neo-Roman practice to equip their soldiers with microscopic radio and tightbeam implants for easy communication on the battlefield, and it was a handy thing to have in general. <Colonel Holmes, I am preparing a transport and an honor guard to meet you on the surface. You can send coordinates for a landing zone directly to me. I will be down shortly>

Several minutes later, a Fury fighter-bomber carrying Verres and his dozen Republican legionary bodyguards was spat from its hangar by the Aristeia's gravitic launchers. The 30-meter craft fired its fusion engines and shot towards the planet. It would break atmo in five minutes.

Coordinates are included. I hope you have VTOL.

The Colonels VS is deep in a ravine, chewing through a layer of rock to excpose the ore beneath, before leaving a marker, and moving on to his next stop. All around him his troops are doing the same thing, chain blades cutting away layers of rock, marking deposits, and generally prepping the area for the engineers that are following them. The colonel's VS is only notable for the second chainblade his VS bears on its right arm, and the single star blazoned on the side of his cockpit.

Samurai Captain Kayuri Toranaga noted she hadn't gotten a reply and gave an order for a general hail to the EDN ships.

The message was repeated as they slowed even further still heading towards the planet.

"Sir, the new ships are hailing the planet."

"Perhaps we should make this little love fest into a three-way," Hitler replied. "Hail them."


Attention unidentified ships. This is Hillery Hitler commanding the
Surgeon's Hammer, ship of the line for The Republic. We have
noticed your apparently peaceful intent, and, as the Republic seeks
peaceful relations with all civilized peoples, would be interested in
an introductory conference. Reply at your leisure.


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

OOC @ Neo: What do they call the rank of a starship commander in the Republic again? I keep forgetting the name that Tal used.

Samurai Captain Kayuri Toranaga noted she hadn't gotten a reply and gave an order for a general hail to the EDN ships.

The message was repeated as they slowed even further still heading towards the planet.

You have entered the territory of the Republic of EDN III. As you can see, it's already explored, making you rather redundant. Also notable is the fact that we have made contact. Have you anything pertinent to say, I'm a tad bit busy.

OOC: Yeah ya did Just make sure to read it this time.

OOC: We did hail you, you could at least do us the courtesy of a reply! :rolleyes:

@ Mar: I don't remember either, and it doesn't seem to be written down anywhere in the Legion pages on the forum. Historically the Roman ships were commanded by Trierarchs, and each squadron of ships was under the command of a Navarch, but maybe Tal has a special name that he's come up with to make it harder for us to guess? I've just been using those two titles for my characters because they were Neo-Roman titles.

The Fury touched down gently near the lip of the ravine, the force of its exhaust scattering loose rocks in all directions. The door of the large troop hold folded down into a ramp, down which Verres and his legionaries descended. The legionaries in their form-fitting silver power armor fanned out in several directions, plasma rifles in hand but lowered. Verres was clad differently in his traditional white Neo-Roman battle armor and the black cape of a navy officer. The Navarch walked over to the edge of the ravine and looked down on the Vital Suits performing their surveying duties. <As you can see, we have arrived> he beamed to Holmes. <Why don't you come up to us, since we have come down to you?>

Message to Colonel Holmes:

Since you seem quite busy we will leave you to your work and thank you for the welcome to the star system.

Captain Toranaga out.


Message to Future Rome:

Thank you for your hail. Our purpose it to make contact and establish relations with other space faring nations.

Could I suggest a meeting since we seem to be in the same space and both appear to have time?

"Well," Hitler said, "aren't they friendly." Some might have thought her comments indicated annoyance, but, actually, she was amused. The Marionetonians had hailed them, and, like Marionetonia, Neo-Rome was in fact a province of a greater nation known as The Republic. Of course, the fact that these bumblers couldn't be bothered to get their facts straight was...amusing. Any Marionetonian would hope that they were equally well-prepared during the economic negotiations that were sure to follow. They'd lose their shirts.

ooc: Sorry about this confusion but I couldn't see the post where the hail was made and who made it.

ic:

So Captain Toranaga waited for a reply as she sat in her chair. Perhaps it was a translation problem or a time lag in the subspace transmission but it had been sent.

She could wait.

They were only interested in establishing relations not trading. This wasn't a merchant ship.

"OK, Teirarch" said Dung, "looks like we've finally figured out their transponder codes. The name of the ship is the Princess Miyu."

"Thank you," Hitler replied. "Let's respond to their message."


To Leaders and Crew of the Princess Miyu: we welcome
your presence among us. Where would you prefer to make
acquaintances? Surgeon's Hammer is equipped to house
diplomatic processions, but we would understand your desire
to conduct a first meeting at some other location.

Captain Toranaga had her XO searching for information on Marionetonia and Neo-Rome.

The comms officer had realised her commanders mistake and discretely pointed it out. They may have hailed the wrong ship but this Captain was determined to talk to both of them anyway.

She'd also given orders to hail the Marionetonian's as well with the same offer of diplomatic relations and friendship. Her XO Leona Yabu would handle this contact.

"to the commander of the Neo-Roman starship.

We would be honoured to meet you on 'Surgeon's Hammer'. I will shuttle over and represent my crew along with a pair of samurai which by the rules of honour I have to bring with me.

Would an hour from now be agreeable to you?" she spoke into the comms station sending the message herself.

OOC: Technically we're both Republican starships. Neo-Roma and Marionetonia are provinces within the Republic, and those are just our characters' ethnicities, so to speak. Just a minor nitpick to make sure we're all clear. ;)

IC: Metellus reviewed the message as his commtech received it. His interest was piqued; he had heard of these space-faring warrior women once or twice, and thought it would be only a matter of time before they and the Republic formally encountered one another.

<Their proposal looks good to me, domine> he said to Hitler, <but you are in charge up here. I would prefer to stay aboard the Aristeia during the meeting, but I can attend via hologram. What is your word?>

The Fury touched down gently near the lip of the ravine, the force of its exhaust scattering loose rocks in all directions. The door of the large troop hold folded down into a ramp, down which Verres and his legionaries descended. The legionaries in their form-fitting silver power armor fanned out in several directions, plasma rifles in hand but lowered. Verres was clad differently in his traditional white Neo-Roman battle armor and the black cape of a navy officer. The Navarch walked over to the edge of the ravine and looked down on the Vital Suits performing their surveying duties. <As you can see, we have arrived> he beamed to Holmes. <Why don't you come up to us, since we have come down to you?>

The Colonels VS shifted slightly, looking towards the landed ship, before it moved slightly down the ravine and jumped to the legionaries level. It landed in a puff of dust, twin gatling lasers visible on its shoulders, before the cockpit opened, and the Colonel himself steped out. He was in uniform, such as it went for VS pilots. He wore only his badge of rank over blue denim pants and a light shirt to identify him as an officer. "I'm colonel Holmes. It's nice to meet you all, though I think the guards are hardly necessary."

"It is merely the tradition of my people for officers to be accompanied by an agema, or honor guard, on occasions like these," Verres replied smoothly. "As you say, they are not strictly necessary, merely ceremonial; though you might be surprised by some of the aggressive and barbaric people we have come contact with over the years." His mouth quirked in a quick smirk. "I am Tiberius Verres, commander of the Republican battlecruiser Aristeia," he continued in a friendly fashion. "Ave." He raised his hand in a quick salute before extending it for a handshake. Neo-Romans traditionally clasped forearms, but their experience with other human civilizations had been that they predominantly shook hands instead.

"We have been watching your shuttle traffic since we arrived in-system," Verres continued as he made his gesture, as a means of breaking the ice. "The organization and efficiency of your operation here is commendable."

Surgeon's Hammer to Princess Miyu:

Agreed, but we must insist that all weapons be left at the meeting
room door. We, too, will have a small honor guard--also unarmed.

Hitler to Verres:

Agreed, if you can make the meeting. Otherwise, we'll provide a
data feed.


"You heard them," Hitler said. "Prepare to roll out the red carpet. We'll need two guards and a contact specialist--and make sure that they're all as fully briefed as possible on the cultural niceties of the Neo-Kirisubans. Prepare accommodations accordingly. Do not under any circumstances offend their sensibilities. We are Republicans, and that means that we are civilized. Understood?"

"Understood."

"For the Republic," Hitler said.

"Hail the Republic!" the bridge crew called out in unison.

Message to Surgeon's Hammer.

This is agreeable to us as well. Providing a sword stand would be a welcome addition to the rooms furnishings in that case.

I will see you in an hours time in that case.

Samurai Captain Kayuri Toranaga, commanding NKS Princess Miyu.

###

So as Kayuri got ready for her meeting which needed a change of uniform.

The cream coloured fleet kimono in this case. The four stripes and crossed Katanas on the right sleeve showed her rank and she read over the data her XO had came up with.

Both Marionetonia and Neo-Rome were member states of The Republic, a grouping similar to the Neo-Kirisuban federation in some ways.

They had strong merchant ideals and Neo Rome had its roots in the old Terran Roman Empire.

There seemed to be enough common ground to make things to run smoothly so as one of her guards tied the red obi for her Kayuri brushed her long dark hair and applied a little makeup.

They would find out some of the old spacer stories were true since the Neo-Kirisubans were all female crews, good looking, stunners and very few of them were over 30. It was also true about them being amazons and warriors.

Her samurai were only 20 and 21 respectively and just as good looking as this Samurai-Captain.

They would be wearing the normal red wrap over jacket, knee length skirt uniform and thigh high black boots along with their paired swords and no other weapons. It was a diplomatic mission after all.

###

So 55 minutes into the hour a shuttle left the Princess Miyu. This carried Captain Toranaga who was also the pilot and two samurai.

The little twin of the Princess Miyu flew gracefully towards the Surgeon's Hammer and Kayuri asked for docking instructions.

Lance Spears, Surgeon's Hammer's Chief Cultural liaison, stood ceremoniously at the meeting table, admiring his place right next to the Heirarch's. He reached to the back of his neck and once again secured the small knot that held in place the flowing robe of a Samurai on his short but lanky body. As he watched, one of the servants reached out to straighten a bamboo place mat. Quickly, he reached out and slapped the hand away.

"Don't you touch a thiiiiiing!" he whined, giving the man a glance that could have killed at twenty paces. He smoothed back a blond lock of hair that fell out of place in the exchange.

There was no such thing as a homosexual in Marionetonia. They simply didn't exist. Still, there were an occasional few, like Spears, who, despite ostensibly being of the masculine gender, had trouble putting down occasional rumors that they were pregnant.

-----------

OOC: Do not confuse the attitude of the RP Nation with that of the author--but, yes, the name "Spears" was intentional.

Also Spears isn't a homosexual...as we shall all soon see... :) :) :)

-----------
IC:

He heard the door open behind him and, turning crisply, snapped to attention. Her Ubermajestyness of All Creation, Heirarch Hitler, had just walked into the room.

"Hail the Republic!" he shouted, his right hand ascending straight into the air in the customary Marionetonian salute.

Hitler raised her right hand to shoulder height, extending her fingers to show her palm. "At ease," she said.

"So," Hitler asked, "how are the preparations going?"

"Oh, jusssst perfect!" Lance replied, the slight lisp with which he spoke becoming quite pronounced.

Hitler caught herself before she could roll her eyes. "Good," she said. "Our guests should arrive any moment."

"Remember," Lance said, "they're a warrior culture. Any mention of defeat or weaknessss will put them off, so we gotta be ssstrong."

"Thank you, Mr. Spears. I shall take that under advisement."

Metellus' hologram flicked into being a pace behind Spears as Hitler entered the room. The Centurion watched the exchange between the two, and then couldn't resist stepping up behind Spears and whispering "Boo!" into his ear. Something about the skinny little man irritated the Neo-Roman on sight; he thought Spears looked ridiculous in his samurai costume, and while the Neo-Romans fully acknowledged the necessity of diplomatic niceties, they also believed that there was such a thing as trying too hard.

The Centurion, unlike Verres, was clad not in battle armor but in a trim black calf-length coat with a laurel wreath emblazoned in gold across the chest. "Centurion Metellus reporting present, domine," he said to Hitler and saluted, suppressing his playful smirk and clasping his hands behind his back as he waited for the Kirisubans to arrive.

After getting docking directions from the Hammer's bridge the Neo-Kirisuban shuttle gracefully landed and its wings folded onto the top of the craft.

Then Samurai Captain Toranaga and her pair of samurai left the shuttlecraft.

Kayuri didn't wear the kimono formal uniform very often but did look really good in it. These visitors were small women but even the way they walked and moved showed self confidence and power.

She then looked round for an escort or welcoming committee. They only had their swords with them in regards to weaponry but they all had crossed katana comm badges on.

Spears almost jumped out of his skin. Some knave behind him had screeched something into his ear! Before he could even think about it, the slightly-built man delivered a back tiger tail right at the miscreant's nearest knee. The kick sailed clear on through. It was a Hologram.

Then, to his horror, Lance looked back and saw that he had just tried to Kung Fu a Teirarch! Oh, mercy! How would he ever smooth this one over?

He twirled on his heel and, clasping his hands together, bowed humbly before his superior officer. "I'm ]sssso sssorry, your worship," he intoned. "I didn't know that it was you! I mean, I'm--."

"That will be enough, Mr. Spears," Hitler said. "I'm sure that Mr. Metellus is fully aware of the," her lips raised at the corners in a hint of a sarcastic grin, "ramifications of his little prank. Please be seated. Our guests have arrived and are on their way to this room."

Metellus? thought Spears. I thought he was Verres! Whoo! Today must be my lucky day!

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

"I am Centurion Dung, second in command of Surgeon's Hammer," the young lady said, bowing curtly--and making sure that her head bobbed below that of her guest, who, technically, outranked her. "It is my duty to escort you to our meeting room, and to answer any questions that you may have along the way. As soon as you are ready, it will be this way..."

The hanger was a model of spit-and-polish perfection. The crews were crisp and well-disciplined. Even allowing for the differences in design, they quickly attached a power umbilical to the shuttle and began servicing its every need. The Neo Kirisuban delegates would find their ship in absolute top condition when they returned. A fighter craft sat in a repair bay not far away, with three technicians working on its far-side engine. Uniformed security men carrying light firearms stood at each exit. In an adjacent room, behind a thick plate of transparent material--shined to a gleam--three traffic controllers monitored the space lanes around the hulking Marionetonian ship.

OOC: Mar, the hologram is of Centurion Gaius Metellus, Verres' second-in-command. Verres himself is down on the planet with Holmes, and he won't be at the meeting with the Kirisubans. And a Navarch would outrank a Trierarch, if we're going by the historical precedent. Second-in-commands on Roman vessels were Centurions, that's why Metellus is one. Sorry for the nitpicking, just wanted to clarify! :)

OOC: Not a problem. In fact, it makes ol' twitter even funnier.

"It is merely the tradition of my people for officers to be accompanied by an agema, or honor guard, on occasions like these," Verres replied smoothly. "As you say, they are not strictly necessary, merely ceremonial; though you might be surprised by some of the aggressive and barbaric people we have come contact with over the years." His mouth quirked in a quick smirk. "I am Tiberius Verres, commander of the Republican battlecruiser Aristeia," he continued in a friendly fashion. "Ave." He raised his hand in a quick salute before extending it for a handshake. Neo-Romans traditionally clasped forearms, but their experience with other human civilizations had been that they predominantly shook hands instead.

"We have been watching your shuttle traffic since we arrived in-system," Verres continued as he made his gesture, as a means of breaking the ice. "The organization and efficiency of your operation here is commendable."


Wayne reached out and shook hands with the gentleman. "I understand the need for guards at times. I wish we'd had more during the war, but it is what it is at this point. I am Colonel Wayne Holmes, High Commander Republican VS Forces, of the Republic of EDN III. We desperately need more materials, and we lack the extravehicular capability to mine the lucrative asteroids within our own system, so we are forced to make a six month mission of resource gathering our top priority. With what we gather in these six months though, we'll be able to launch much broader and more efficient civilian operations, and possibly expand into asteroid mining as well. We're efficient because at one point we were all "snow pirates" and we had no choice but to learn how to scrape and scavenge every scrap of useful material from a location just to survive. Now that hard earned skill set is coming to good use today. But, enough about myself and my men. What can I do for you Commander?"

Samurai-Captain Toranaga and her samurai were guided by the welcoming committee and Centurion Dung to the conference room.

She had also spotted the crews getting to work on her shuttlecraft and was sure they'd find it an interesting ship as well.

"I'm pleased to meet you as well Centurion Dung. My name is Samurai-Captain Kayuri Toranaga" she gently replied bowing to her in the traditional way before the journey commenced. She also noted she bowed in the correct manner as well.

It didn't look like these people were barbarians after all.

"Centurion Dung, our records show that theres another member of The Republic here in the shape of the 'Aristeia'. Will one of their officers be at this meeting?" she gently asked as they walked.

Dung looked at Toranaga with an almost mechanical glance. "There is currently no province of the Republic by that name," she said. "Only those provinces whose command structure is in the fleet will be among those attending the introduction. Currently, this would be ourselves and the honored province of Neo-Rome."

She continued down the hall, coming at last to a room with a red carpet in front of its hatch.

Which was what she had meant.

The Neo-Roman ship the 'Aristeia' which would be sending an officer over.

"In that case I will also look forward to meeting them" Kayuri gently replied as they walked down the red carpet and into the meeting room.

"This system lies approximately half a light-year from the current border of my Republic's space," Verres explained. "In interstellar terms, it is practically on our doorstep, so naturally we take great interest in the rise of a new state so close to us. And in your case, I believe we can be of great assistance. I am certain that the Republic could provide you with the necessary materials to jump-start the EDN Republic's industry without missing it; the only hitch is, such a deal would have to be approved between my Senate and your government." Verres spread his hands. "I am but a military man, so I unfortunately do not have the authority to make promises, but I will make a full report to the Senate upon my return and make the suggestion. Not all of the members believe in altruism, but the Neo-Roman voice is strong in the Senate chamber."

The Neo Kirisoban delegation found an opulent but understated welcoming chamber. A large, shiny black marble table sat at the center of the room, with chairs--black with cream beige upholstery, at regular intervals around it. Rich wooden panels decorated the walls, giving the place a lived-in feel. A small cup and saucer was set at each place, and a plain, white ceramic pot of fresh, hot tea was set at the center of the table. The entire congregation rose from their seats as the Neo Kirisobans entered the room.

"Marionetonia bids you welcome," said Spears, bowing low in honor of his guests. The other members of the congregation repeated the gesture.

Again noting the correct bow and a good attempt at the correct dress Captain Toranaga and her guards bowed in the same way.

They were equals in this meeting and hence the bow reflected this.

So after leaving their swords as promised at the door, the samurai left their Captain moving slightly out of earshot.

"Thank you for the welcome. I also bring greetings from the Neo-Kirisuban space federation. My name is Samurai-Captain Kayuri Toranaga" she softly replied as she slipped into a seat at the table.

The cream kimono suited her on this formal occasion. It was so important to get a first contact right and this really made a good first impression.

Heavy martial arts training, by working the muscles, has a certain affect on a woman's buttocks. This is visible even through most types of clothing. That, and the superior sense of balance that it gives, which is evident even in a practitioner's walk, had a particular affect on Lance. To him, it was almost irresistible.

Thus, he was slow to note that these women were taking on a roll that would be considered quite un-feminine in traditional Japanese Warrior societies. In those cultures, it was normally the men who did the fighting, the men who did the killing, and the men who gave the orders. Men, men, men. This was, in fact, why he had been chosen to speak first and not Hitler, though she was certainly most abt for the job. He was worried that a Traditional Japanese ship commander would take it as an insult that a mere woman would speak to him. Of course, this an immense shame. Monetonia obviously practiced a Warrior Tradition that was more like the Neo Kirisobans than the Samurai-era Japanese, and that was the way that Lance liked it. Powerful women excited him.

To Spears, this was actually a windfall. This meant that he could leave the diplomacy to his commanding officers and pursue some international affairs of his own! All he had to do was find one of those cute little samurai babes when she was off duty, introduce himself...and hope that the Nekis weren't as xenophobic as their Japanese counterparts. So...without any further ado...

"Thisss is Tierarch Hillary Hitler," Spears said. "As commander of thissss vessel, she will be representing usss from now on. Forgive me if I ssspoke above my rank, we meant no ssslight againssssst you." He thought it best not to bring up the whole man thing. "To my immediate left is Cccenturion Metallus, sssecond in command of the Ariesssta, representing our beloved brothersss in the province of Neo Rome. Surgeon'ss Hammer, is, of course, a Marionetonian vessel."

"Please make yourself comfortable," Hitler said. To her credit, she did not so much as wince when Spears said "beloved brothers." "If there's anything that you would like to make your stay more comfortable, you have merely to ask."

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

OOC: feel free to gloss over the niceties like describing system boundaries and the like. Hitler and her crew will bend over backwards to convince Torenaga that the Republic is among the ultimate civilizations in the Universe--which they happen to believe--and is willing to be one of the best friends that Neo Kirisobu will ever have--which they are cautiously optimistic can be the case.

Remember, Marionetonians are fascists. They negotiate from strength, but, if you can get their respect, they'll go to the ends of the universe to help you. It was not a coincidence that Japan and Germany were allies in the '40's.

"Tierarch Hitler, Centurion Metallus, Spears sama thank you again for the welcome to your fine starship.

We're fine for now Tierarch but I will bear your kind offer in mind" she gently and politely replied before she gave them a brief description of the Neo-Kirisuban federation.

Starting with their location within the Federal Union she added "We have a twin planetary system and I'm sure you've heard old spacer stories about us.

Most are true. Our population is 90% female and our males although equals in society are forbidden to leave our star system for obvious reasons.

All military ranks are female as are all members of the exploration and defence fleet.

The 'Princess Miyu' is a pioneer class exploration starship which I have the honour of commanding. She's small but powerful just like the population of Neo-Kirisubo."

ooc: no problem. The Neo-Kirisubans would be more Conservative and traditional intheir politics than Facist but there should be enough common ground given they are both warrior races.

"Don't let that get loose among our men," Hitler said. Though she had a wry grin on her face, she did manage to glance over at Spears, who was all but drooling over the nearest of the honor guard. "I may have to execute a few of them to keep them out of...an extended shore leave--and I don't want that."

"But I digress. Marionetonia is a Military and Industrial center of the Republic. We help our fellow Republicans to stay strong. Our shipyards, located in the Golemnus system, produce better than one third of all Republic ships, both Military and private. Surgeon's Hammer is an example of our work. Though quite formidable, she's still a prototype, and on her shakedown cruise. It is both fortunate and unfortunate that she hasn't been given a proper test of her battle-readiness. We believe that she'll make the Republic's enemies think twice before they try our borders. The new line will enhance a fleet that is already quite formidable--as the greedy Dratherians are now learning, much to their dismay."

"Tierarch I don't think I can help it if your crew knows theres a Neo-Kirisuban ship in the area" Kayuri softly replied with an equally wry smile on her face.

So after listening to a bit of information about Marionetonian ship building she softly added "I'd have to agree that the best defence is a good offense and with ships like the Surgeon's Hammer who would mess with The Republic's starships?

I take it you also share a warriors outlook on life. We are peaceful people but the way of the warrior is still strong with us.

We're honour bound to wear swords and blades. Everybody on my ship, even my Medical Officer has to wear an honour blade to remind us of where we came from and what we are.

Our roots come from the old Kirisuban Empire on Earth and the imperial line of the old monarchy survived through a young imperial princess who travelled with us all those centuries ago.

The Empress Fujiko is the latest Empress to carry on the line just like her distant ancestor pledged to do."

And so the process continued, the two leaders sharing the information about their cultures, their governments, their people. To Spears, it was all summed up in only one word: maximum bo-ring.

OOC: ;)

IC:

He just sat there and bided his time, waiting for the moment when he would have his chance to ask the Samurai Princess in front of him if, when she was off-duty, it wouldn't be too much of an imposition for a round-eye to show her around the Republic's newest Big Gun. Sex really wasn't on his mind right then. He just wanted to get to know her a little. Maybe even sneak a kiss. With eyes like hers, she had to be a hot kisser. She just had to.

Samurai Lt Eriko Ito was the hottie Spears was admiring and she could read his body language very well. She didn't care much for what she was picking up either since she had a lover back on board ship.

She still had a job to do and until dismissed would remain standing in that spot, the fleet uniform flattering her figure.

bump

The meeting went on and on. Dinner was served--Japanese carry-out with a twist. The food was served as a variety of ingredients--rice and lo mein, meat and fish, a variety of sauces, different vegetables--and the participants merely assembled their favorites according to taste. To the surprise of many, Hitler was even proficient at the use of chopsticks. Lance, of course, had his own way of holding them--pinching one between his ring and pinky fingers--but, wonder of wonders, he could actually use them that way.

Finally, the two commanding officers ran out of things to say publicly. They even swapped a few war stories--and it was then that they found out how similarly the two cultures viewed the world. The meeting was adjourned, with Hitler respectfully requesting a tour of the wonderful starship that Kayuri had described, and offering her fellow starship leader the same. Formality dictated that the Kirisobans were to return to their ship, but Hitler did make a point of explaining that they seemed to have enough in common that they would be welcome to stay "in an unofficial capacity" if they so chose. "Just don't try to take over the ship," she joked.

"I'd be delighted to give you a tour Hitler Sama although our ship isn't as grand in some ways as the Surgeon's Hammer is. I won't try and take over your ship either" Kayuri replied chuckling slightly as they swapped stories and business gave way to getting to know each other.

Her Samurai were also now off duty so were able to mingle and enjoy the food and company of Marionetonian officers present as well as the Neo Roman representative whom Kayuri was also chatting to as they talked about getting to know each other better.

His duties ended, Spears walked up to the Samurai Princess, smiled his friendliest smile, and introduced himself, hoping to do his share to further the cause of interstellar relations.

"Hi, there. I'm Lance Spears, the Cultural Liason. Might I asssk you name? It would be such a shame to have to call you 'angel' all the time..."

"Samurai Lt Eriko Ito" Eriko softly replied seeing the man approach her.

She sipped her wine after she spoke and added in the same soft and sexy accent "so what does a Cultural Liason do round here?" as she tried to make small talk. She knew he was trying to make an advance on her and didn't mind.

In her culture everyone was an advert for the Neo Kirisuban Federation. So you couldn't be seen to lose face or disgrace yourself. Whatever the outcome of a meeting she had to leave people with a good impression of her people.

This was good. The Samurai Princess saw fit to talk with him even though he was a round-eye. Of course, women love to talk--they say so many more words than men do--and, especially, everyone loves to talk about themselves. So, the first thing he felt he should do was get her on to the subject that everybody loves. He might even learn something.

That was another thing he liked about the Princess. Even if he struck out, she could help him with valuable knowledge about her people and how they and the Republic could deal with each other. He hoped that they could be friends even if they couldn't take it to the next level.

"Well," he said, "I'm the one who is responsible for briefing the people on the Hammer on how to act respectably in front of people from different cultures. I musst ssay, though, that the concept of your culture jussst simply fassscinatesss me! I mean, c'mon, girlfriend, you don't just take a male-dominated culture like Samurai Japan and reverse the roles! There's got to be more to it than that! I mean, like, I know I'm sooo wrong about this. Can you help sstraighten me out?"

-----------

OOC: No puns on that last sentence!

:) :P :)

"Spears san it just kind of worked out that way for us.

The space ships that brought us from earth didn't all make it and according to our historians they were the ones with a mostly male crew.

So we had to disregard gender issues and get on with building a colony world based on the Samurai principles of the Kirisuban Empire which had fairly good gender equality anyway. At that stage the imbalance wasn't as bad as it was now but there were still women who couldn't have a normal married relationship with a man since there wasn't enough of them to go round.

So the seeds of what you see now were planted. Same sex relationships were already very common so this formalised. Most people in Neo Kirisubo grow up knowing two mothers and no father as a result.

Women had to have at least two children and men have a civic duty to keep the species growing either by having sex or with regular sperm bank deposits. Thats also why they don't leave our star system because we value them".

She sipped her drink as she gave the little potted history and was open to more questions.

"Well, yeah. I mean, like, I already gathered that much from what your captain told me. (Be careful, girlfriend. There are a lot of people on this crew who are homophobes. I'm not one of them, of course, but there are a lot of them, and they sssimply will not undersstand. In fact, I wouldn't put it passt that dweeb Veres to be one of them!)

"What I'm really interesssted in isn't sso much how things got the way they are as what the way they are issss! I mean, in Samurai Japan, the women raised the children, and that was it. When they had the kids, they were sso busy that they didn't even get to sssee their men that much. And the men, who were never allowed to do so-called women's work, would sometimess be left lonely and sssometimes even gave in to the temptation to ssow their wild oatss somewhere else. And they were even sstricter homophobes than we are!

"But now I lissten to that cute captain of yours talking, and I what I hear is that thingss have changed! I need to know how much, sso I won't be dissrespectful--so I can keep the others from being dissrespectful.

"I mean, for example, would your people be open to a relationship between one of you and a round-eye. I mean, mercy! In Samurai Japan, that would jusst be totally shhhtrengverboten! If ssomeone like, oh, I dunno, me were to assk someone like, say, you out to dinner, would it be acceptable? And if that persson who was being assked to dinner was already sspoken for, would it be acceptable for her to, oh, I dunno, help sset her new friend up with ssomeone who wasn't?"

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

OOC:

Ain't it subtle?

I didn't think so, either. :) :) :)

ooc: very smooth ;)

ic:

Despite the clumsy nature of the conversation Eriko smiled softly and looked into his eyes.

She hadn't had sex with a man since she was back home and he could help her out. After all most Neo Kirisubans in the space fleet were highly stressed professionals in their field and needed to relax from time to time. Hence the reason why most of them were at least bi-sexual. There also wasn't the same taboos about sex that other cultures had. Just like in Samurai Japan they valued the art of pillowing and kept it simple.

"We are open to a relationship with a foreigner. We reside in Federal Union space so we're more open to the idea than people realise. We also still believe in honour and the way of the warrior but that dosen't make us xenophobes or homophobes.

If you wanted dinner with a fleet officer like myself all you would have to do it ask her and treat her like a lady. We're still women even if are warriors and amazons. And yes we try and help each other out on our ships.

When its only you and your crewmates bottled up in a ship for a years tour its essential to be kind and help each other out" she softly replied in answer to the question.

OOC: Is EDN II still involved in this thread? If not, I vote for letting it die.

ooc: if it does die then we can always move this first contact to a new thread very easily and continue to play it out.

The diplomatic meeting had served a variant on oriental food, so Eriko and Spears agreed that dinner, since there really wasn't time to go over to the Princess Miyu, would be served Marionetonian Style in the Officer's Club. As it was dinner time, Spears opted for a three-course meal, starting with a tossed salad, continuing with the best cut of Prime Rib of Beef that could be made--Spears knew the chef, and had, it turned out, showed him how to wow a date or two--and finishing off with a wickedly delicious mudslide cheesecake-- the kind with a chocolate frosting and swirls of peanut butter rippling through it. Spears even arranged to have a rich Chablis served alongside dinner--it just didn't get any finer, girlfriend. Not in this neck of the woods.

Before it ended, both of them were insulting their commanding officers--very quietly--and giggling away like two children. "Toast 'em, Spears," Lance said with a mock look of authority, "that's an order!" They both laughed and took another long sip of wine.

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

Before the evening wore on, Hitler and Kayuri had formed a friendship as well. Kayuri had offered to reciprocate Hitler's tour of the ship, and Hitler had ordered Surgeon's Hammer to stay an extra day to allow for the meeting to take place. Verres' first contact was going splendidly, and it was felt that the Hammer would be better off helping keep the peace near Dratherian space. Nothing intimidated the Dratherians, but a ship like the Hammer could get their attention--not to mention that of others who may have wished to take advantage of the vacuum left from the recent conflict there. The message would be simple: the Republic stands with her vassal states.

This would eventually be turned over to the diplomats. In the Republic, this, unfortunately, meant that most of them would be Taledonians--but Hitler was sure that the wet heads would be able to muddle through. They weren't Marionetonians, but they were competent. The Republic had a great deal in common with the Neo Kirisobans--both were civilized lots, looking to help civilize the universe.

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

OOC: Apologies to Taledonia, the force behind the Republic. The Marionetonians stand with them, even if they do have just a little bit of natural self-pride. Republic diplomats will find that, though they may think prideful thoughts, the Marionetonians will always describe their fellow citizens to others in none but the best of terms. Hail the Republic!

Kayuri JUST MIGHT inform Eriko that there will be an extra day of visiting...and Eriko might just invite Spears over to her ship for a little early preparation...who knows?

The evening was going extremely well and Kayuri Toranaga passed the order to the XO that they'd be staying an extra day in the general area so Hilary Hitler could visit the Princess Miyu the next day.

She was also happy that a formal diplomatic contact would be picked up later on as well as making a friend.

Duty would pull them apart although. It was also understandable.

She also told her off duty samurai they would be staying as well.

Eriko smiled at this and made a point of continuing to spend time with Spears as they enjoyed the fine wine and good company. She also invited him over to her cabin so he could see the crews customs and avoid any cultural mishaps.

Naturally she had another reason as well...

The next morning, Erico awoke in her cabin to find Spears next to her, gently stroking her hair. As she looked into his longing eyes, he gently, wordlessly, kissed her forehead.

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

"Well, Mr. Spears," Hitler said, having arrived to find him already there, in full dress uniform, "you must be certainly doing your share for intergalactic relations." Her demeanor showed that she was plainly shocked. She had obviously thought that he didn't have it in him.

"Ohh, jussst keeping the up Marionetonian end of the bargain, sir," he said.

None of the honor guard, who were all also present, said a word, but a few of the normally impassive faces did briefly sprout knowing grins.

"Good," she replied. "I'll expect a full report when you get back."

He almost choked.

Eriko had to say farewell to her lover for the night and get back to her security duties. It had certainly been a fun night for the both of them.

She would be accompanying Samurai-Captain Toranaga as she gave the tour and Hilary Hitler did get the full tour starting with the shuttle bays and working up to engineering, the science labs, hydroponic bays and then finally the bridge.

Everything was neat, compact and efficent on a Neo Kirisuban starship and every crew member the Marionetonians seen was female, young and carrying some kind of bladed weapon.

Most of the crew had daggers resting on a hip while others had short or long swords. Only the samurai wore both curved swords with their uniforms which also showed their status.

So when the tour ended at the compact round bridge Kayuri then led the way into her ready room attached to the bridge.

Hitler's log would record the incident as "refreshingly uneventful"--by which it was meant that no new enemies were made on that day. Privately, she would say that it was "the best part of history in the making."

For all his lack of discipline, Spears actually came through. He made some observations about the Neo Kirisobans--things ranging from matters of etiquette to the Neo Kirisoban take on the Japanese concept of "pillowing"--that Hitler felt would prove invaluable to the Diplomatic Corps when relations were normalized.

Hitler would correspond with Toronaga for years. Despite their obvious differences, Hitler respected Toronaga's judgment. She was something unusual: a female leader who didn't have to contend with the "old boys' club," and Hitler found her perspective helpful.

Spears was a changed man when he came back--his normal flamboyance was marked with a solemnity that he had not shown before. From that day on, he wore a ceremonial daggar on his right hip. Those who knew of such things would easily be able to identify its markings as Neo Kirisoban.

Thus it was that, with engines warm and crew confident, that Surgeon's Hammer pushed forward, onward, through space, toward the next events that fate had in store for her.

So the voyages of the Princess Miyu continued as well.

Spears wore Eriko Ito's dagger, her parting gift to him with the binding on the handle being traditional knotted cord in red and black.

Kayuri Toronaga also kept up her friendship letters to Hilary Hilter although they met very rarely after that first contact.

A contact that would lead to a further diplomatic contact with the Republic and the start of a good working relationship.