NationStates Jolt Archive

The Ganoxian Alliance Destroyer Belldandy had suffered through its long journey. Jumping randomly from one system to another wasn't only taking its toll on the equipment but also on the crew, whose morale begins to sink with each jump, almost getting destroyed on two occasions. Now the Belldandy in hyperspace begins to slow down.

"Reverting to realspace sir." Lt. Jlineas said.

"Frenck whats going on?"

"Fuel reserves are low sir. The Palladium is mostly used up and theres no way we can reuse them again. We only have enough to power sublights and life support."

"Damn."

Lingun watched as the streams of light reverted to the black space normally seen. "Lieutenant you know the drill."

"Already made scans sir. We seem to enter into a solar system, one habitable planet."

"Make course for that planet."

"Yes sir. Course heading at 1-3-2."

The ship pulled up to what seemed like a desolate world. The look on Lingun's face startled Jilneas. "Well sir according to the scans the world is habitable to some degree."

"It looks like a warzone!" a tech blared.

"Sir! Scans are picking up life forms. Major activity on one continent but minor on the others."

"Despite past encounters, I think we should check this out. I want a Signal Corps fighter to perform surface scans."

Meanwhile in the locker room Sargent Seli Grostin was playing cards with the other pilots. Telling jokes and laughing the only morale they get from this long journey. Suddenly the intercom began to come on. "Sargent Grostin report to the flight deck. Sargent Grostin report to the flight deck."

"Aww" the men started to shout.

"Ya ya. I'll take your money the next time." he smiled while they laughed at him.

After a brief change into his G-suit, Grostin reported to Sargent Major Polis. "Alright Sargent, routine assignment. Just deploy to the surface and get some scans of the surface. Understood."

"Yes Sargent Major."

"Good. Now get going."

Grostin made the routine checks on the fighter. Everything seemed okay but the power seemed a little off. Grostin ignored it and gave the go ahead."Control this is Phantom, ready for launch."

"Copy that Phantom you are cleared for launch out the Port Side hangar."

"Port side hangar copy."

The fighter launched out of the destroyer and headed for the planet's surface. The fighter built with an increased sensor suite and increased engine package made it an excellent scout and used for ship to ship communications. Grostin's fighter entered into the atmosphere turning the ship read briefly and returning normally. "This is Phantom I entered the planet and performing scans."

"Copy Phantom, receiving the image now. Over."

As the fighter made its fifth pass alarms started to blare in the cockpit. "Aw shit."

"Phantom come in. What the hell is going on?"

"Power systems are shorting out, engine systems are offline. I'm going down."

The fighter began its descent over the western most continent. Although devastated it seemed to be covered in farmland, mostly grain. Grostin ejected the parachutes manually to slow the fighter down. The regression was noticeable but only moderate he was still coming warm. "This is going to hurt!"

The fighter slid into the field unearthing it as it slide. The ditch in its wake was meters on end. The canopy opened but Grostin was unconscious.

Meanwhile on the Belldandy, Lingun received the report about the crash. "Damn. Is he alive?"

"We don't know sir, he isn't answering. He may be unconscious."

"Well see if you can lock onto his location then send in a rescue team."

"Yes sir."

"Also sir here is the initial scan of the planet. It would seem there is a massive war being waged on the Eastern continent. Their technology is advanced to the point of digital. Advanced computers and the such."

"I see we maybe able to get our hands on those electronics to jury rig the navigations. Secondary orders Lieutenant, I want a team to go down in a transport in their civvies and infiltrate the cities to see if we can obtain them"

The transport (http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a287/GeneralZhukov3333/?action=view&current=SpecOps.jpg) landed without incident on the outskirts of the nearby metropolis. The team consisting of five members trekked to the city, no one seemed to notice them or simply didn't cared. People chatting in the small cafes, children playing the parks, normal city life. "Man this place is like my hometown Caris." Corporal Jimison said.

"Keep it down!" Sargent Thompson whispered.

"Sorry sar..uh Jim."

"Alright split up and see what you can find. Any information will do. Report back to this spot in six hours."

They all acknowledged with a nod and headed off at different directions. Private Halenska noticed some computers in a shop, noticed the advancement of their technology. She pulled out a camera and took some pictures and walked by. Suddenly a nearby shop exploded a block away from her location. She immediately hit the dirt. "Sarah whats going on?!"

"I dunno! Maybe some sort of bombing."

The sounds of sirens could be heard in the backdrop of the city. "Get out of there now!"

"Yes sir." she whispered.

As she ran down the street another police vehicle came around the corner and pulled up beside her. The officer rolled down the window, "Excuse me miss!?"

Halenska stopped and turned to the officer, trying to act natural, "Yes?"

"Did you happen to witness anyone suspicious going into that shop?"

Jim face showed concern as he heard the officer's voice over the radio.

"No I was just doing some shopping, and suddenly there was this big explosion."

"So why were you running from the scene."

'I didn't know what to make of it. Almost dieing, the shock." she lied.

"I see. Well thank you for your input, carry on."

The officer rolled up the window and drove off. "Do you think he noticed?" Jim said.

"I dunno but I'm going to keep a watch for them."

The officer looked back at the woman walking away. He turned to his partner, "I want someone to track her, she might have had something to do with this."

Halenska walked down a kine alley way to avoid a police vehicle that drove by. Suddenly a voice was heard, "Whats a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this?"

Halenska looked around to see where the voice was coming from. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and instinctively elbowed the stranger. She took up a fighting stance afterward. "Quite a feisty one," he groaned.

"Who are you?" she said.

"I should be asking the same thing. Seeing that you are wearing foreign clothes." the stranger said.

"More foreign than you think," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just a tourist."

"Right, a tourist from where? Cazellia? I know you're a Cazellian you terrorist!" the stranger charged her.

Halenska grabbed the man and kneed him in the stomach. She threw him down on the ground. "W-Who are you?!" the man asked stumbling to get up .

"A tourist." she said then punched him in the face. She smiled as he hit the floor once more. "What happened?" Jim said over the radio.

"Nothing. Just had to stretch."

"Alright the situation is becoming unstable, meet back at the rendezvous."

They all acknowledged.

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

"Uhhhhh. Uhhhhh. Ugh. W-Where am I?" Grostin said as he woke up in a bed. The ceiling was covered in straw and wood. A rooster could be heard in the background. "Where am I?!" he said with a confused look.

"Oh? You're awake."

Grostin looked over to see a woman standing by the doorway, then he looked down and realized he was naked. He began to pull the covers to hide his manhood. The woman started to giggle, "How do you feel?" she asked.

"Still have this pounding headache but I'm alright. Did you, did you pull me out of my fighter?"

She nodded, "We heard your fighter crash into our fields. We went over to investigate and found you lying on the side. We immediately grabbed you and brought you here. I stripped you of your clothes, so I could wash them."

"Ah I see. Thank you for your hospitality but I must be--." he grunted as he got up.

The woman walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "No you mustn't. You're still hurt!"

"I need to call for help from my ship."

"Your ship? Are you from a carrier?"

"Uh yea." Grostin said.

"I see, then you must have flown far to crash all the way over here in Iolia."

"Iolia? Nice name, say whats your name?"

"Nisa Olgander."

"Nisa, thats a pretty name. My name is Seli Grostin."

"Well Seli you get some rest before getting up and about, okay?" she implied.

"Alright."

Grostin got back into bed and began to rest up some more. Nisa walked for the door and looked back at Grostin. She smiled and walked out of the room.

ooc: is it ok to jump in. I'm future tech as well so a Neo Kirisuban exploration ship could well be in or around the area.

OOC: Sure my destroyer is about to land on the planet though to mine for its fuel source.

IC:

Lt. Jilneas came to Lingun with a report about the western continent. "While we were looking for Sargent Grostin we have found something useful on the scans," he pointed at a specific area, "That mountain range is rich with copper-nickel deposits to which we could extract palladium from."

"Hmm. I guess the search for Grostin has proved to be profitable. Prepare to land the ship over to that mountain range. We shall also make our repairs there."

"Yes sir. Course heading planet side."

The destroyer moved into the atmosphere and lit up. To any unsuspecting person this would have been like a large meteor flying through the atmosphere. The destroyer found the range and landed by the largest of the deposits. Three Arm Slaves moved out of the hangar to secure the perimeter as the engineers began their work on building the mine.

Officer Wilhelm found the stranger on the floor, "What in the hell? Powell what happened?"

"The woman sir!," he grunted

"Ha I see she got the best of you." he laughed.

"Its not funny! I was caught by surprise!"

"Ya sure you were. Wait till the guys hear this hehe."

"No sir, please don't!" he pleaded.

"Well get up and resume your assignment Powell. Oh and don't forget to call in back up instead of going rogue."

"I could've taken her."

"Just get the back up Powell, I don't want to clean you up from the street." he smiled.

"Alright,"

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

"I'm here," Halenska said.

"Alright I'm over at the fountain. Lewis, Thompson, Jimison?"

"Heading there now sir," Thompson said.

"On my way!" Jimison said.

"Almost there!" Lewis said.

The five met at the fountain as planned. "Alright the situation seems to be unstable here. We might be in the middle of a major guerilla attack by some sleeper cell. Lets head back." Jim looked over his shoulder and saw two men approaching. They looked suspicious to him. "Alright fan out."

They nodded and split up. The two men undecided also split up. Halenska noticed one of the men, it was the stranger she had beaten in the alley. She began to smile. A glutton for punishment she thought.

"I notice one of those guys, I believe the local police is following us."

"Hmm. Alright all head back to the ship. If the officer's intervene, neutralize them. BUT DON'T KILL THEM."

"Yes sir." they all said.

Lewis noticed two men following him. Looking at the map provided to them from scans from the Belldandy Lewis decided to take a shortcut. The two men still followed him and were pulling out their weapons. Lewis saw this and ran into another alley. The two men walked down the alley but didn't find the man they're chasing. Suddenly they got hit from behind by Lewis, "Too easy," he smiled.

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

Grostin smelled something good seeping through the door. Deciding he can't sleep with such a pleasant smell he got up to investigate. Although he still had slight pains it wasn't that bad. Putting on some clothes he opened the door and went down the hallway, and by the walkway into the kitchen. There he saw Nisa humming as she was cooking. He looked at her, her beauty piercing his eyes, the sound of her voice in his ears. "Oh you're up?"

"I couldn't help but smell your wonderful cooking."

Nisa blushed, "Now I wouldn't say wonderful, but if you say so."

"Don't be modest, I haven't had a meal like since I ate at home in Gano..xa" he said.

"Ganoxa? I never heard of such a place?"

"Its far away from here, very far."

"I see. Dinners ready."

"I'll set the table," he smiled.

Soon the plates were empty of food as Grostin sat back in his chair. "That was delicious!"

"Really!?"

"Yes! Best meal I had in ages!"

"I'm so happy that you like it!"

"So Nisa why are you alone here? Don't you others living with you?"

"Well, you see. My father and brother left to fight in the war over in Trela. Iolia is allied with Trelka is fighting the war with Spirus, but what am I saying you should know of this."

"Yea." I'm tired of lying like this to her. he thought.

The Commissariat of Science vessel Lewis and Clark was lumbering through the galaxy, feeding information to its large databanks and occasionally trying to send it home to Los Angeles with FTL communication. So far, it had not done much, except lumber about, collect data, conduct scans and experiments on gravitational eddies, and occasionally play matches of Bow Bow Footy Kick on their game system. It was a rather boring experience, and one many of these grad students doing an "Internship in Space" would rather not be doing at the moment. One man, a Qiangquan Acolyte, was busy practicing his moves in a small gym downstairs.

The pilot of the ship (also the Captain) was, at the moment, dozing off and watching a taped episode of Hong Kong Supercop. As he saw Inspector Whisky slide across a bar and unload dual pistols into a horde of incoming mooks at center of mass, he simply yawned. Boring. He had seen this episode twenty times. It used to be his favorite.

Then, a blip on the scanners. It would otherwise be just another planet with civilization. But, there was one vessel on it with strangely familiar energy signals and comms traffic. He then spoke to the Gracie unit onboard the ship, saying, "Gracie, could you scan that ship and run it through the databanks of all known vessels?"

Gracie said, yawning herself, her avatar spinning her virtual leek with no enthusiasm whatsoever, replied, "Yeah, sure. Anything to get out of this crap." She then put down the leek, and her avatar picked up a copy of "The Big Book of Shooty Ships." Scanning through it, she said, "A-ha! I don't know the exact class, but I know it's Ganoxan."

The pilot shrugged, saying, "Figures. I didn't want to be alone anyway. Lemme hail them." Picking up the comms, he then said, "Ganoxan vessel, this is the NDCSS Lewis and Clark. Please reply, over."

"Sir our sensor arrays are barely picking up something. The atmosphere is makng the transmission worse," Jilneas said.

"Well. Play it." he pointed out.

"Gan..an vessel, th.. .s t.e N.CS. Le..s and Cl.r.. Pl..s. r..ly, o..r."

"Huh!? I can't make it out. Frenck see if you can clear up that chop."

"Shit! I got better things to do then clear that up. I'll get Helson to clear it up."

"Well if you got better things to do then repair that fucking array."

"Fine! Frenck out."

"I tell you that man, oooh!" he muttered.

"Send out another Signal Corps Fighter back up. I don't want the locals to trace our whereabouts."

Soon a fighter launched out of the hangar and headed back up into space. The fighter pilot Jovas Ilgram saw the vessel in space, it didn't look much but he kept his distance. "This is Sargent Ilgram from the GAS Belldandy. Our ship's communications array has been damaged and is being repaired."

Soon a fighter launched out of the hangar and headed back up into space. The fighter pilot Jovas Ilgram saw the vessel in space, it didn't look much but he kept his distance. "This is Sargent Ilgram from the GAS Belldandy. Our ship's communications array has been damaged and is being repaired."

The reply came through to the ship's comms array. The captain then nodded, acknowledging the response. It was a pretty scary thought, losing one's comms array. The comms array on a CoS vessel was one of its most vital portions; it was the only way one could call back home and get mail, if ever. Gracie shook her head, and said, "Wow. These guys need our help...."

The Captain then radioed back, "This is Captain Anton Tsu of the New Dornalian Commissariat of Science ship Lewis and Clark. Does your comms array need repairs? We can get some spare parts to ya."

KSS Red Phoenix (CC-335)
Edge of system designated Valentin

The combined-arms battlecruiser Red Phoenix slid out of hyperspace. One of a thousand-ship production run of the Zeus-class, it had some of the most powerful weapons available to humanity. Kinetic turrets dotted the upper hull, with ten zero-gravity fighter/transport bays placed at regular intervals along the three-kilometre ship.

Commodore Damien Ashe was one of the people who could command such a battlecruiser. A 25-year-old recipient of the Combat Action Ribbon and Navy Distinguished Service Medal, he was one of the more powerful officers of the Kostemetsian Navy.

The battlecruiser had come for an aggressive investigation - some odd readings in a regular pattern had been detected from this system, and they seemed to match up with the old United Earth codes. Fearing a reassertation of colonial rule, the Navy had sent out one of its most powerful vessels.

What they saw, though, was much different.

Ships of at least three races were in the system. None of which had been discovered by the Kostemetsian Republic. The entire bridge crew were staring in wonder at the sharp but fragile infrared webs left by the ships' drives.

A stream of binary disseminated into the system from the high-powered communications dish, hoping for a response or responses.

This could well be one of the most scientifically and diplomatically valuable expeditions ever.

KSS Red Phoenix (CC-335)
Edge of system designated Valentin

The combined-arms battlecruiser Red Phoenix slid out of hyperspace. One of a thousand-ship production run of the Zeus-class, it had some of the most powerful weapons available to humanity. Kinetic turrets dotted the upper hull, with ten zero-gravity fighter/transport bays placed at regular intervals along the three-kilometre ship.

Commodore Damien Ashe was one of the people who could command such a battlecruiser. A 25-year-old recipient of the Combat Action Ribbon and Navy Distinguished Service Medal, he was one of the more powerful officers of the Kostemetsian Navy.

The battlecruiser had come for an aggressive investigation - some odd readings in a regular pattern had been detected from this system, and they seemed to match up with the old United Earth codes. Fearing a reassertation of colonial rule, the Navy had sent out one of its most powerful vessels.

What they saw, though, was much different.

Ships of at least three races were in the system. None of which had been discovered by the Kostemetsian Republic. The entire bridge crew were staring in wonder at the sharp but fragile infrared webs left by the ships' drives.

A stream of binary disseminated into the system from the high-powered communications dish, hoping for a response or responses.

This could well be one of the most scientifically and diplomatically valuable expeditions ever.

The Captain, whilst he waited for a response from the Ganoxans, heard Gracie let out a curious, "Hmm......." Turning to the Avatar Screen, Tsu proceeded to ask, "Um, Gracie? What's up?" Gracie's Avatar then held up a finger, going, "Ahem. Hold on." She then sniffed the virtual air, and then said, "Hold on. I'm picking up a string of binary. It's not from the shuttle, its from another location."

Gracie then said, "Hold on....its harmless. It's people trying to say hello."

The Captain then instructed, "Well, I'll send them a reply. Tell them hello. We mean no harm, the usual niceties." Typing up the reply, Gracie then translated it into binary and then sent it through to the source of the foreign signal:

"Attention foreign broadcaster. This is the New Dornalian Commissariat of Science vessel Lewis and Clark. We mean no harm. We are here on a scientific voyage."

EDIT OOC: Not sure if anything would show up on infrared from my drives, just so you know. We've got singularities, all sorts of things like that. If anything, you'd pick up other sorts of energies, but not infrared.

Ilgram looked over to see the other foreign ship come out of hyperspace. He heard the messages being exchanged between the two and decided to keep quiet. He released a sensor pod that should clear up some chop from the atmospheric interference. When they finally finished their chat Ilgram commed the mic. "This is Sargent Ilgram from the GAS Belldandy. My ship is currently making repairs and refueling on the planet."

The team had made it back to the ship without any more trouble, just "minor resistance. "Alright you're sure no one has followed you?"

They all nodded. "Good. Lets get out of here and report back to Lingun."

As soon as they got inside the AI alerted them that they had received and alert from the Belldandy. "I see. They landed on that continent. Alright looks like this is going to be easy."

The team securely got in their seat when suddenly the proximity alarms rang. "I thought you said you weren't followed!"

"I thought so too heh." Lewis said.

"Warning. Ten hostile targets approaching from the southwest. Armaments: Small arms, Assault type."

Jim prepped the ship for launch while the men outside were wondering what the hell they were looking at. "Alright lets get the hell out of here."

The men outside aimed their rifles at the ship and fired. The bullets just ricocheted off the hull as it passed them. As the ship passed they were blown away by the engines. "Hahaha" Lewis laughed.

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The code flooded in. Lieutenant Ulrich, the communications officer, quickly translated it into Kostemetsian Standard. Another stream was quickly sent in clear text.

> ATTN. LEWIS AND CLARK. THIS IS THE KOSTEMETSIAN STARSHIP RED PHOENIX. WE MEAN YOU NO HARM, AND ARE SIMPLY HERE TO ASSESS A POTENTIAL THREAT. SO FAR, NO THREAT HAS BEEN LOCATED. [END]

> ATTN. SERGEANT ILGRAM, THIS IS THE KOSTEMETSIAN RED PHOENIX. WE READ YOU. WE MEAN YOU NO HARM, AND ARE SIMPLY HERE TO ASSESS A POTENTIAL THREAT. SO FAR, NO THREAT HAS BEEN LOCATED. DO YOU REQUIRE ANY ASSISTANCE? [END]

(OOC: Well, okay. I'm seeing the infrared drives of the other ships then. ;) Also, Eckdom is my puppet - sorry about that.)

Sargent Ilgram listened to the message. He opened all channels "So far our engineers are mining for our fuel source on the planet. If you can send us some better mining equipment we can extract the resources we need, but be discreet we want only minor interaction with the locals."

Meanwhile in the nation known as Spirus, a facility with several radio telescopes were picking up on something. An intern from the Technology Institute of Spirus called out to the lead scientist. "Dr. Halingway I got something. Something clear."

"So far our engineers are mining for our fuel source on the planet. If you can send us some better mining equipment we can extract the resources we need, but be discreet we want only minor interaction with the locals."

"Maybe you're picking up some radio chatter from the soldier again. Better to just ignore, continue with the research."

"Yes sir," the intern said with a boring look.


OOC: Just so you know the planet is full of MT nations. There is no third FT race.

>> /VOICE

"Acknowledged, Sergeant Ilgram. We'll send down a cloaked transport with laser-based mining equipment if you so desire. Phoenix out."

As Ashe spoke, one of the bridge crew was quietly releasing clamps on a heavy V11-type dropship.

"Lieutenant Ulrich, get me the communications for that dropship please."

> BZT! <

"Attention, Victor one one Romeo Papa eight, please stand by for cargo loading and possible lift off. Bridge out."

The code flooded in. Lieutenant Ulrich, the communications officer, quickly translated it into Kostemetsian Standard. Another stream was quickly sent in clear text.

> ATTN. LEWIS AND CLARK. THIS IS THE KOSTEMETSIAN STARSHIP RED PHOENIX. WE MEAN YOU NO HARM, AND ARE SIMPLY HERE TO ASSESS A POTENTIAL THREAT. SO FAR, NO THREAT HAS BEEN LOCATED. [END]

The Captain recieved the message, and he noted the fact these guys knew English. Well, a lot of people in the universe used English, calling it "Standard," or something like that. As it was, the Dornalians simply stuck to the old ways, and called their tongue New Dornalian English. But enough of that.

The Captain noted that these people were here to defend their borders. Might this planet be on their borders? Not really, scans of transmissions from the planet indicated a level of technology equivalent to the later 20th century. So what were these people about?

He then asked the Red Phoenix, in New Dornalian English, "This is the Lewis and Clark. Kostmetsia doesn't show up on our records. Please provide more information, if possible, over."

"Switch encoding and transmit in text."

> Kostemetsia is located in and around New Sol and Novus Ceti. We gained sovereignty nearly two hundred years ago, but our people are still leery of the United Earth Fleet. We came here to assess the probability of a United Earth fleet in this system, which is in a perfect position to be used as a United Earth staging area. [end]

"Hostile aircraft approaching, from the Northwest. Speed Mach 1" the AI said.

"I see we attracted attention. How far are we from the ship."

"Approximately two hundred miles."

Jim gritted his teeth as he increased the ship's speed. "Warning missile lock. Missiles have been fired."

"Disperse countermeasures."

"Dispersing countermeasures. Countermeasures effective."

"Good," he said with relief, "Lewis, Halenska. Take up gunning positions."

The two sat in the gunner seat of the ship. They began to fire at the fighters that shot the missiles, deliberately missing to scare them off. Although the flak shells bursted they still pursued. "Sarge I don't think they're going to be scared that easily!" Lewis said.

He nodded and decided. "Shoot them down."

They began to take aim at the fighters and fired into them. The fighters then exploded into burning hulks as the crashed down into the sea.

"Distance, 50 miles."

"Good send out a transmission to Belldandy that we're coming."

"Roger."

Romeo Papa 317

The small, diamond-shaped fighter sat placidly in the fighter bay. Until suddenly the order to scramble came through.

Shooting out of the fighter bay at nigh on a thousand kilometres per hour, the ships just gained and gained speed... until they hit the atmosphere, slowing down.

Their orders were to protect the Ganoxan dropship, and so they came in next to it, easily keeping pace and firing backwards to knock out any esoterically concealed attackers.

"Ganoxan dropship, this is Romeo Papa three one seven. We've got you. Don't worry."

"Thanks for the assistance Romea Papa 3-1-7." The ship landed by the destroyer situated near the mountain. The team exited the ship and headed inside the destroyer. They stood in the bridge at attention. Lingun saluted them, "At ease."

"The city seemed to be under attack by guerilla forces. The place is a total mess. We only proceeded with protocol and extracted ourselves."

"You did well. It would seem these people are in their early digital age. We have reports that there is a major war in that area. Your reports seem to confirm this and translate that our time here is going to be cut short."

"Sir, what about Grostin," Jilneas said.

"We'll find Grostin and retrieve his fighter, meanwhile continue your search for him."

"Yes sir."

"Activate selective full-spectrum countermeasures and bring us into orbit. The denizens' sensors shouldn't pick us up if we're meticulous enough."

The Phoenix's slower-than-light engine cluster flared for a second, propelling it to the chosen orbit and gaining speed and momentum as the ship slid forward.

The front thruster bank was activated to bring the battlecruiser into a seven hundred kilometre orbit. The kinetic defence mounts slid back into the hull, and the optical distortion went up, making the starship all-nigh invisible except to those who were specifically looking for it.

"AHHH!"

Grostin got up out of bed to find Nisa on the floor. "What happened!?"

"I was trying to get some wood for the fire but it was too heavy for me." Grostin noticed her hand was bleeding. He went over to his jumpsuit and pulled out the firstaid kit. "You know you could've asked me to do it. After all its the least I could do."

Nisa looked at him, his face filled with concern. "Thank you."

"There all done," he smiled. He looked outside the window,"Did you hear something?" he said

"No what--" he laid a finger on his mouth.

"I hear footsteps. Stay here."

He peeked out the window and saw nothing. He leaned against the wall near the door and opened it. He peeked outside and again nothing. What the hell is out there? he thought.

He heard the footsteps again from the corner of his ear. The rustling of bushes. Grostin looked up to find several men coming down from the sky with the moon in the background. Paratroopers?

"Nisa lets go!" he whispered.

"Wha-Whats going on?"

"Paratroopers."

"Para--"

"No time lets go."

The two got out of the house and into the fields. "Which way to my fighter? If I can get to it I can get my rifle."

"Over there." she pointed.

Noticing she wasn't wearing any shoes and was slowing down Grostin grabbed her from underneath and carried her. Her face filled with surprise looking up at Grostin. Who is he?

"Yes. Here it is." The fighter was banged up, but it was designed to take severe damage to ensure the safety of its vital information, if it had it.

He opened a compartment and got his assault rifle and a few magazines. He hooked up a couple grenades and got another 9mm. Although he thought he had everything to his surprise there was a bolt action rifle with a scope in it. "Who the hell put this in here? Oh well."

Grostin could hear the footsteps again. Coming to this direction, "Nisa would these troops be from Spirus?"

"I don't know."

"Alright. Lets go--" he just remembered something.

He went over to the fighter and activated the emergency beacon. "Lets hope I get some attention from my ship."

Nisa not knowing what he meant simply gave him a firm nod. "This way. There should be a safe place."

Grostin followed her as the paratroopers inched their way to the fighter.

KSS Red Phoenix (CC-335)
The sensors picked up an emergency beacon broadcasting loud and clear from the planet below. It appeared to match the frequencies that the Ganoxans broadcasted on, so a dispatch asking if the Ganoxans needed assistance was immediately sent off.

Tango 19 Squadron "Skyblades" docking bay
A voice echoed through the dark metal docking bay.

"This is the bridge. 19th Transport Squadron, make preparations for liftoff. You may be needed - we are picking up an emergency signal from the inhabited planet, and it can't hurt to help out others."

"Sir we are getting a distress signal. Its Grostin sir."

"So he is alive. Where is he located?"

"According to the map he is located on a continent southeast from here. We are translating the message now."

"This is Sargent Grostin. I have an urgent message. I am under attack by local military forces. I repeat I am under attack by local military forces."

"Sir we can't prep a ship in time, but there is an alternative. We can launch cruise missile with an Arm Slave onboard to aid him."

"Do it!."

Soon a missile launched out the front of the ship. The missile turned and headed southeast towards the signal. The trip would take thirty minutes to reach Grostin.

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

Machine gunfire was heard throughout the fields. A man charging in was immediately shot by Grostin. "Keep moving!"

"I am!" Nisa said.

Gunshots started to come in. Grostin can see the flash of the guns. He lobbed a grenade to that position and saw two men fly through the air. Suddenly he saw a missile fly over head, he saw the Ganoxian flag on the missile as it floated down on parachutes. They sent me an Arm Slave?

"Nisa I need you to go to that safe place. I will be right back I promise." he said as he went to the missile. Nisa unsure of Grostin's reaction did as she was told.

Grostin finally got to the missile. Where is the damn hatch? Oh there it is.

When he climbed into the missile bullets just missed him. The men were approaching him when the missile opened up to reveal the Arm Slave climbing out. Looking in horror and surprise to see such a mammoth machine they simply ran away. Grostin laughed. He looked over to where Nisa was, "Warning hostile infantry are in that area."

"Shit! Nisa!."

Grostin jumped his Arm Slave to Nisa's position and intercepted the men chasing her. Using his air tazer he neutralized them, watching them fall down to the dirt. Nisa look up at the tall machine with awe. "Seli?" she said.

The loudspeaker sounded with Grostin's voice, "Yes its me. I have something to tell you."

In the kitchen Grostin finished tying up the paratroopers on the chairs. "You remember when I told you Ganoxa is very far away. Well that was the truth, its another planet."

"What? You're from another planet?!"

"Yes, you see I was making routine scan of our planet making maps for my ship. Suddenly I had power failures and crashed here. We made it a policy to make interference in local affairs minor. I guess with that outside we made it major. We got ourselves involved with a war, but I am glad I did this. To save you."


Nisa looked at Grostin, "Thank you again. For saving me. Sometimes I feel so helpless here alone. Now with you here I feel like I can do anything again."

One of the men began to wake up. "Wha-What the hell?"

"Wakey wakey private."

"How did you know my rank?"

"Just the way you acted on the battlefield. SO where are you from?"

"I'm not telling you?"

"You won't will ya? I was willing to let you go, but if you insist I'll take you to the middle of nowhere with nothing but your undergarments. I wonder how Iolian soldier gawk at you."

"Ok, ok. we're from Spirus. We were sent ahead of an invasion force bound to invade, but thats all I am giving."

"Good that all I wanted to know," he said cutting the rope loose off of them,"Now get going." he pointed the rifle at them.

As they left the house, he shouted, "Don't bother coming back that giant robot there will fire upon you if you dare to seek revenge."

[OOC: Is it okay if I join, Kost sent me a TG for the thread. Also, Comm Govts; FMP and Ah! My Goddess much? :p]

A brilliant white light erupted from the edge of the system, and two ships emerged: one was a small exploration vessel, barely 200 meters long. The other was its escort, a five-kilometer long Vuhifellian cruiser.

Captain Miles O'Connor could not believe it. They were being recalled to Vuhifell after recieving an urgent message from Naval Command, and their slipspace engined died out mid-slip. It would take forever to repair them in the middle of space.

"Sir. All engine cores have spun to zero. We're drifting."

"Set course for 43-million kilometer orbit around this system's star. Use emergency thrust and vector in once we pass waypoint Alpha." he began tapping on his PDA, setting in directions for the ship.

"Sir!"

The captain let out a small sigh. His comms officer was being really jumpy as of late.

"Yes...liuetenant?"

"We have contacts. Two ships near orbit of a populated planet in this system. We're receiving radio traffic from the planet, sir. It's inhabited."

"No shit? Maybe they can help us."

Attention, contacts. This is Captain Miles O'Connor of the Vuhifellian Cruiser, Serpent. Our engines are damaged, can you assist?

Nisa was picking up some objects on the floor and put them back on the counter. She reached for the high riser and slipped. Grostin rushed to catch her, "Thank you again. Seems that I'm helpless."

"Now I wouldn't say helpless. You did rescue me after all."

He looked into her eyes breaming with beauty, her face. The faces getting closer and closer till their lips kissed. Suddenly he pulled away, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do--" Nisa interrupted him with a second kiss. They soon made their way to the floor.

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

Ilgram wondered what the hell this is turning out to be. Is this planet some sort of pitstop? "This is Sargent Ilgram of the GAS Belldandy. Our ship currently making repairs herself on the planet's surface. I am sorry to say that we cannot give you the support you need."

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

"The team is ready for launch sir," Jilneas said.

"Its the same infiltration team?"

"Yes sir. They volunteered for the mission. They already launched."

"Well damn. Anyways how goes the mining operations."

"Frenck is reporting that they have reached the deposits and beginning extraction. Thanks to the mining equipment provided to us the operation will be swift."

"Thank god."

OOC: Ya FMP is my tech base, well for ground operations that is.

Bright lights shown through the windows of the house. Grostin got up from the floor. "Whats happening?" Nisa said.

"I don't know," he looked outside the window to see something in the air hovering. Not knowing what it was, he grabbed his rifle and went outside. "Stay here. Take this." he gave her the sniper rifle, '"Do you know how to use this?"

"Looks like my father's hunting rifle. I think so."

"Okay." he kissed her on the cheek and went outside.

The light floated towards the fighter and stopped suddenly. Grostin hid in the bushes and watched what was going on. Ropes fell down the craft and he saw three people repel down. Grostin sneaked by them and immediately grabbed one of them and put a knife to his throat. "Who are you?!"

"Seli? What the hell man?!"

"Jim? It was you guys?!"

"We came all this way to find you. I see you got the M9."

"Came in handy too."

"Well lets get going."

"Wait. I met someone."

"You what? Who?"

"A girl, she rescued me from the wreck."

They walked back to the house and walked in. Seli grabbed the barrel which Nisa pointed at them. "Thank goodness. I thought you were those men."

"Actually..."

Jim walked into the house. "Nice to meet you Nisa."

"Oh is he from the ship."

Jim walked by Grostin. "You told her about the ship?! he whispered.

"Don't worry. Nobody will believe me anyways. So.. you're going to leave?"

"Well I don't know. I've grown accustom to things here, but I need to see if my people have made it. I wish I could take you with me, but I don't know."

"Well theres nothing here for me now. If those paratroopers are correct then theres not future for me here. The invasion will devastate this land."

"Well its settled then."

"Seli I don't know if the captain will allow this, but she can come."

"Sarge! The fighter is wrecked badly, we extracted the Palladium and information. Placing charges on it." Lewis said over the radio.

"Alright. Get over here and load the AS onto the ship."

"Sargeant! We are getting multiple contacts incoming. Seems like a goddamn invasion."

A loud explosion was heard as the ship floated by the house. "Come on!" Jim said.

"Shes getting a few mementos hold on."

"Done."

"Lets go already. I don't want to get the honor of getting the first shot."

They climbed up the ramp of the ship. "Harnesses are secure on the AS."

"Crank it up!"

The AS was pulled into the empty storage space and the ship sped off towards the Belldandy. Grostin and Nisa looked at each other and smiled. "Aw how cute?"

Halenska smacked Lewis in the head. "Shut up!"

"Hey what was that for?!"

Outer System...

The probe popped into real space, scanned the entire system, dispatched its info, then self-destructed.


Probe 56,046,431 Info Coming In...

Analysis confirms, third planet habitable, planet inhabited by seperately evolved human species with Level IV Technology.

4 Ships detected, 1 landed, 3 in system. 99.45% probability of not belonging to planet's inhabitants.

85.32% probability of each ship belonging to different space-faring nations.

Recommended course of action: Dispatch cruiser detachment for planetary cleansing and colonisation operations, attempt diplomatic contact with space-faring nations. Prepare for possibilaty of hostile reaction to cleansing operations.

Recommendations approved... dispatching cruiser detachment. Cruiser 47 given over-all-command.

The detachment of two, three kilometer long cruisers, five, kilometer long destroyers, and twelve 750 meter long frigate hyperjumped as close to the third planet as possible.

A message was broadcasted to the ships of the obviously space faring nations.

The message's voice sounded like that of a cold, uncaring, robot.

"This is Heart Of Armaggeddon Cruiser-47 of Cruiser Detachment-17. We intend to claim this system in the name of the HOA. Do any of you wish to establish relations with the HOA?"

As the message was broadcasted, the ships began to propel themselves on their sublight drives closer to the third planet.

Attention, contacts. This is Captain Miles O'Connor of the Vuhifellian Cruiser, Serpent. Our engines are damaged, can you assist?

The Captain too, was wondering what was the big deal. The residents of this small backwater world must be wondering what was going on, with backyard stargazers no doubt witnessing flashing lights of all sorts.

He radioed back, "This is Captain Tsu of the New Dornalian Commissariat of Science ship Lewis and Clark. What kind of damage, over?"

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

To the Kostmestians:

"I see, over. We are from the Workers State of New Dornalia. The Earth we come from must be different; it got nuked a long time ago, leaving us to crawl out of the woodwork. So I'm a bit unfamiliar with this United Earth Fleet you speak of. Over."

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

Radioing back to the shuttle, "Right, we're sending some people down. It looks like you've got some incoming forces last time we checked in; mind if we bring a few armed guards?"

The Captain too, was wondering what was the big deal. The residents of this small backwater world must be wondering what was going on, with backyard stargazers no doubt witnessing flashing lights of all sorts.

He radioed back, "This is Captain Tsu of the New Dornalian Commissariat of Science ship Lewis and Clark. What kind of damage, over?"

"The slipspace drives on our vessels have been rendered inoperable due to exposure to heavy radiation. We would appreciate help. We're switching our weapons to standby mode as a sign of solidarity." The ship jerked just as he finished, and the hologram of the ship in front of him began flickering red.

"Our fusion reactors are also badly damaged. We're almost dead in space right now."

This is Captain Lingun of the GAS Belldandy calling out to the vessels in orbit. Our sensors can now pick up your messages and will relieve Sargent Ilgram of being a relay. To the New Dornalian vessel, you may bring down armed guards to the site. To the Vuhifellian vessel, there is enough room on the continent to make repairs on. For some reason it is uninhabited for now. The situation between nations on the continent to the west seems to be heading for world war.

Captain.

I'll get back to you.

"What is it Lieutenant?"

"We are detecting new contacts coming in. We are getting a message from them."

"This is Heart Of Armaggeddon Cruiser-47 of Cruiser Detachment-17. We intend to claim this system in the name of the HOA. Do any of you wish to establish relations with the HOA?"

"What the hell gives them the right to claim this system?"

Attention HOA vessel we do not recognize your claim to this system as it is clearly occupied. Do not interfere with their internal affairs.

"Right." Captain Tsu then had everybody assemble on the bridge. He explained simply, "Gentlemen, Ladies, we have a situation. We've got two ships that need matenance, one on the surface and one in space. We've got an interstellar warfleet that's claimed this area for themselves. And we've got plain old first contact. Who's willing to do what?"

A silence, then one raised his hand and went, "Sir, I'd be willing to handle repairs of the damaged ship in space." The Captain nodded, and said, "Singh, take a shuttle to the ship with some parts and a few skilled engineers." Others raised their hands, and soon, the Qiangquan Acolyte was leading his team down to assist the Ganoxans, dual pistols in hand and with enough supplies to repair their comms array. Thanks to teleportation, they were down there in moments....

Meanwhile, the Captain turned and spoke to the HOA, saying, "HOA, this is the New Dornalian Commissariat of Science vessel Lewis And Clark. We are here on a mission of exploration. We do not intend to induce conflict. We do wonder though, whom do you serve?"

The other grad student that volunteered kept the channel open for the Kostemetsians....

"Vuhifellian ship, this is the Red Phoenix. We'll send Tango 22nd Group over to assist you."

The battlecruiser jumped out to near the ailing Vuhifellian ship, and a flight of squarish transports boosted out of one hangar bay. The Republic had made first contact with the Vuhifellians before, and so knew what to expect somewhat.

Suddenly a new message came in.

"This is Heart Of Armaggeddon Cruiser-47 of Cruiser Detachment-17. We intend to claim this system in the name of the HOA. Do any of you wish to establish relations with the HOA?".

Ashe didn't even bother to dignify that comment with a response - just prepared the ship's weaponry and strikecraft for a battle.

"I think we should let these people know of what they're facing here." Jilnea's said to Captain Lingun, "After all this sounds like the Cyveron War all over again."

"Yes you're right but the ship has yet to attack the planet yet."

Lieutenant Calnus the comms officer yelled, "Sir Sargent Ilgram is reporting that the HOA vessels are heading towards the planet."

"Damn my intuition!. First of all we need to get those locals attention. As soon as we get the ship fixed we will do a fly over and land at their capitals."

"Are you certain this will work Captain?" Jilneas asked.

"Dammit its our only option to help these people."

"Sir the dropship has just come in." Lt. Rathel said

"Right on time. Alert them to land and get Grostin back here."

"They said they brought a local. A woman."

"They what?"

"They say Grostin will explain it sir. They are requesting info on further orders."

"Relay them the information to their AI."

"Yes sir relaying now sir."

Grostin better have a damn good reason for this.

(ND, did you teleport onto my ship, too? I'm not sure on your post.]

"Roger. We'll keep our hanger doors open for your transports. Please land on A-level hangers located on the port side of the ship." the Captain relayed to Tango 22.

Foxtrot 23 - 29 Squadrons Docking Bays
"Bridge to Foxtrot Squadrons twenty-three to twenty-nine. Scramble and assume a defensive perimeter around the Phoenix."

Foxtrot 30 - 36 Squadrons Docking Bays
"Bridge to Foxtrot Squadrons thirty to thirty-six. Scramble and protect the Vuhifellian ship."

Foxtrot 37 - 43 Squadrons Docking Bays
"Bridge to Foxtrot Squadrons thirty-seven to forty-three. Scramble and escort twenty-two Tango to the Vuhifellian ship, we have incoming."

The dropship flew above the given coordinates. "Explain it to me again?"

"What!? Again Lewis?!"

"Yes again Sarah."

"Its simple just alert the locals that they are being invaded by beings from another world and explain that we ourselves are from another world."

"Oh. Is that all? Should I just shoot myself now or should I let the locals do that." he said.

"Thats why we have the Arm Slave for. If we show them that then they can't deny what we are."

"Ya but there tech level is not so far off. All they need is a little guidance--"

"Well we're that guidance Lewis."

"Ah I see I see."

"Anymore stupid questions?"

"Hey!"

The dropship showed up at the given coordinates. The people stared at it with awe until they dropped the Arm Slave on the ground.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Where are they from?"

"Man thats awesome!"

More and more whispers began to flow throughout the crowd. The loudspeaker began to sound towards the capitol. "We wish to see a representative of your government. We have urgent news."

The dropship landed in the park in front of the government building. The team exited the craft as TV vans began to pull up in front of the park. "This is TNN reporting live as a strange visit from people claiming to be not of this world arrived on the front lawn of the capitol builing, we are, wait the military is coming out towards the park. I see several armored vehicles and tanks approaching the perimeter."

"The representative chosen to meet with these "aliens" is John Gludin, senator from the state of Kolado. The three aliens have been introduced and invited inside the capitol to speak about the urgent news at hand. Perhaps they will help us win the war against Spirus or give us grave news from out of this world. More news at 7. Bob"

"We now interrupt this broadcast to the proceeding of the aliens at the Senate building. First is Sargent Jim Kiltia."

"We have urgent news about your situation. As of right now your nation is a target of invasion by a automated fleet bound to claim this world as their own. We do know that their intentions is not for the benefit of your civilizations. We ask that you set aside your differences and set your sights on the coming invasion. We too have faced invaders in the past with less advance technology then you people have now. I am confident that you will be able to repel this invasion. Especially with our help, you will be better prepared."

Senators began to whisper amongst themselves some not knowing what to believe. Were they telling the truth or was it some sort of Spirusian hoax? Well their machine seemed to be real. "We acknowledge your help, but it will not be easy to convince the Spirusians."

(ND, did you teleport onto my ship, too? I'm not sure on your post.]

"Roger. We'll keep our hanger doors open for your transports. Please land on A-level hangers located on the port side of the ship." the Captain relayed to Tango 22.

OOC: Nah. I used a shuttle. Oh, Comm. Govts, I landed on the surface.

The thruster ports flamed up and Tango 22 Squadron shot towards the Vuhifellian docking bay. Tango 221 got there first, with its valuable load of repair equipment and computers.

The squarish singleships settled into the A-level hangar, and ten hatches popped and clanged down onto the ground. A repair crew, accompanied by several repair bots, strolled out and transmitted a clearance code to the hangar computer.

Commander Frenck met with the Dornalian repair crews and show them where they can be useful. "You can help use by repairing our engines and hyperdrive. During our last two jumps it put a strain on the system also the forcestorm didn't help either," Frenck pointed out, "In the meantime I am overseeing the mining operation for palladium to load up with hydrogen to make our fuel."

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

The dropship sped its way towards the Spirusian capital hoping to garner their support in focusing their attacks on the HOA. They soon followed the same action as they did in Trelka. They stopped above the main government building and drop down the Arm Slave. Since their briefing by the Trelkans the Spirusian were headed by a ruthless dictator, it sounded very familiar to the team. The Arm Slave jumped towards the government building and blared its loudspeaker. "We have an urgent message to give to you."

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


The team went inside and met with this dictator, in his main office. "What do you want?" he said getting to the point.

"I see straight to business. Your world is under invasion from an offworld nation. You must cease your attacks on Trelka and Iolia and ally with them against this new foe. If you remain divided your nation, no your civilization will fall."

"How can I believe you? Maybe you're some sort of Trelkan spy?"

"Believe us or not, but once the invasion starts only the Trelkans and Iolians will be prepared. Do you want Spirus to be left out?"

"Well no.... alright we will have the peace talks in one of the captured cities, Opal."

"Good. We will see you there." The dropship landed on the roof and the team walked onboard. They picked up the AS and sped off.

Who the hell are those guys?! he thought looking out the window.

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

"God Lewis you almost jumped on the goddam building."

"Ya hehe. I guess I was cutting it close." he scratched his head

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

Grostin walked into the bridge with Nisa to meet with Captain Lingun. "Sargent you better have a good explanation for....this," he said turning around. He saw the beautiful woman next to Grostin, holding his hand. "Oh. I see."

"Sir, this is Nisa from Iolia."

"Pleased to meet you Captain." she bowed.

"No please just call me James. Since you're a civilian and all."

"Ok James." she smiled.

"Sir I decided to take Nisa with me since the Spirusians attacked her house with a paratrooper squad. Also the threat of imminent invasion---"

"Cut it out Grostin, I know you have the hots for her." Nisa blushed at the comment.

"Uh...umm, yes sir."

"Meanwhile you have missed all the fun. Theres a code 421,"

"No you mean--"

"Yes an offworld invasion."

"This is Keltia, coming in at Point 2-3-0. Mission was a success Captain."

"Thats good to hear. Frenck where are you?"

"Showing our guests the engines."

"Alright get a few engineers to go with the dropship to Trelka, their going to show the locals on building Arm Slaves."

"Alright."

Frenck turned off the commlink. "You see the shit I have to put up with? Damnation!"

"Sargent you have a new mission." he said.

"Yes sir," Jim said with Lewis groaning in the background, " picking up the engineers now."

OOC: School blocked this site, then I get home to find the internet is out for a good three hours! :grumbles:

IC:
'Initiating broadcast sequence...

Broadcasting...

Every television, every radio, every communication device on the planet was subsequently overwhelmed by a single audible message that was the same one transmitted to the various other space-faring nations ships.

"Attention citizens of Planet #55321. You are witnessing a great moment in the history of your civilization. We are the Heart of Armaggeddon, our wish is to protect the human race-all the human races-whether it came from Earth or evolved seperately. We are giving the opportunity to include your race in the grand scheme. Our benefits are many, we can bring about technological advances of which you can only dream of. However, if you resist, you will be annihilated from the sky."

"In light of the fact that we recognize that your planet is divided, we have selected a demonstration of our power so that the rest of your civilization may come to a decision quickly."

The target was selected in nanoseconds, a small, out-of-the-way country. Only a couple of million people. On station near the moon, the Cruiser-detachment stopped. Then the destroyers and frigates launched ten of their missiles.

The missiles were specially designed for planetary bombardment from a Earth-like planets moon-orbit. Each one could travel 384,000 kilometers in a matter of 10 seconds.

Only automated particle beam weapons could defend against such an attack.

Each missile was tipped with a 80 megaton pure-fusion nuclear weapon, detonated at optimal burst altitude. Although nowhere near the most powerful of weapons in the HOA's arsenal, the weapon was well suited for planetary bombardment without any major ecological damage that could prevent colonisation.

The Lewis and Clark's crew was stunned, recognizing the wanton act of gunboat diplomacy that was unfolding in front of their eyes. If somebody didn't act to shoot those missiles down, that planet would be introduced to nuclear winter in a hurry.

Gracie then piped in with a suggestion.

"We've got ten particle guns ready. They're not much, but that's all we got."

The Captain then said, "Fire them at those missiles. I don't want them hitting the surface." The captain then picked up his communicator, and then asked the Kostemestians if they could assist with taking down the bombs before they could hit the innocents below as the Dornalians fired their guns...

..as this occurred, the Dornalian crew went to work, taking out parts and beginning repairs of the communications array. As the sound of hammering, welding and machinery began to play out, the Qiangquan Acolyte in charge heard Commander Frenck's request for assistance with the hyperdrives. Another vital part that had to be fixed, and one the Dornalians barely brought parts for. Contemplating a solution, the Acolyte replied, "Yes. I see your predicament. I will have one of my men evaluate the damage. We brought parts to repair the communications mostly, but if we can contact the ship above, we may be able to secure some spare hyperdrive bits."

Luckily, the Red Phoenix had more than its fair share of automation. Even before the bridge crew knew the threat was there, the onboard AI noticed each missile and opened a wormhole in front of it. The exit termini of the wormholes were pointed back at their nameless originators - but that was only a precaution, as wormhole travel tended to do strange things to anything smaller than a capital ship.

Frenck looked at the Acolyte, "Oh we have the parts, we're just short on manpower. They should be in the engine room--" his commlink rang," excuse me"

"What?" he said.

"Commander we have the palladium ready to go. All excess materials and equipment have been stored in the cargo hold. We are delivering the Palladium to the reactors."

"Well its about damn time!" he turned to the Acolyte once more, "looks like we have some fresh fuel for the reactors. We can launch off the planet!"

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

"What in the hell?!" Captain Lingun was outraged by the sudden attack by the HOA.

"Sir enemy missiles have been neutralized."

"Thank god." he sat back down relieved, "Sargent what is your progress?"

Jim was at the Trelkan military command, it was a frenzy as the Trelkans are deciding what the hell to do against the HOA. "Not good sir, the shit has hit the fan now. Our engineers are working with theirs on constructing the ASes."

"Sargent!"

"Excuse me sir."

"Alright. Frenck is the Palladium in?"

"Yes, goddammit. Shes ready to go nose to nose."

"Ok Jilneas you have the helm. Lets get up there." he turned on the commlink "Sargent Major, alert Arm Slave and fighter pilots to their stations, I have a plan."

The destroyer lifted off from the ground and made its way into space.

Roger. Two-two-niner.
Activate VOICECOM.
I need engineers on level 14-C.
Roger. Roger.
Hey, Mack!
Uhh...yeah?
We got foreign engineers on A through B port airlocks.
Open the gates.
Roger.

Radio chatter cluttered the frequencies of the ship as human technicians slowly opened the airlock doors to the aircraft hangers. Outside of both hangers (A is for Kost, B is for ND), were several marines.

"Okay, please follow us and be sure to keep in line with all safety placards and lights along the way."

Engineer Richard Ramirez saluted his Vuhifellian counterpart. As leader of the Kostemetsian engineering team, he was considered to have the most expertise with alien equipment, working on data sent back by the Vuhifellian crisis response group. He was pretty sure the Vuhifellians had a lot of Kostemetsian technodata as well.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Ramirez reporting as ordered."

"Ah. Sergeant Major of the Marines, Jerry Fuscum. I believe this is the first time our civilization have met? Please follow us to the main reactor room, where the majority of the damage is."

[OOC: They haven't been informed of First Contact yet.]

Ramirez followed obediently. Obviously this part of Vuhifell didn't know about First Contact yet. Another, darker thought struck him: given that they didn't know about First Contact, they might not know of a darker event that had happened to their civilisation. A homeworld lost.

(OOC: What happened to that thread, by the way?)

Ramirez followed obediently. Obviously this part of Vuhifell didn't know about First Contact yet. Another, darker thought struck him: given that they didn't know about First Contact, they might not know of a darker event that had happened to their civilisation. A homeworld lost.

(OOC: What happened to that thread, by the way?)

[OOC: Well, I'm waiting for Ruthless Slaughter to draw up a treaty, and I don't know if there's anything else Jackson can do.]

As they arrived in the reactor room, large pools of black, tar-like fluid began to seep out of massive, black metal pipes encasing the entire room.

"Careful for that. That stuff will kill you if you touch it, but it's also the main fuel for our slipspace drives, which are those large black poles." he pointed towards the leaking pipes.

"It might seem simple to just repair the hole and re-pump the fuel, but once it reacts with oxygen, it loses its temporal distortion abilities and becomes a poison more potent than liquid cyanide."

"I'd say suit up and remove all oxygen from the room. I don't want my engineers dead."

Ramirez directed his team back the way they had come, and stared in fascination at the Slipspace fuel. He'd never really thought of ripping a hole in space as something that would require fuel of any kind.

(OOC: Sure there is. Check your TGs. :p)

As soon as the Belldandy came into orbit its fighters immediately expelled out of the hangars and flanked the destroyer. "Fighters are out and awaiting orders," Jilneas said.

'Have them standby."

"Yes sir."

"Okay, please follow us and be sure to keep in line with all safety placards and lights along the way."

The engineers, led by their stout leader, Mr. Singh, followed their new hosts to their objective. As the chaos went on outside, they didn't feel much, as they focused on getting these guys up and running.

As he approached the area to be fixed, Singh then said, "I am Mr. George Singh. I'll be fixing your systems today. What exactly is the situation?"

As the marine lieutenant in charge of leading the Dornalian engineers to the reactor room was about to answer, he saw the flashing of red lights and the closure of blast doors to the room. They were venting the atmosphere.

"Our slipspace engines have encountered a fuel leak. Our on-ship scientists are preparing a fresh batch of temporal-distortion mysterium, but until that happens, we're shit outta' luck. Apparently, though, several of the argon cooling lasers that were designed to keep the main reactor at a stable temperature have sliced through the plasma steel casing for both the slipspace and fusion reactors. In short, everything's broken."

Having been told the facts at the same moment, the now-suited Ramirez decided to sort out his priorities. Repairing the argon lasers would prevent the repeat puncturing of the plasma steel casings, which were second on the repair list.

"Sir pilots are at their Arm Slaves."

"Good now we wait for them to make their move."

"Yes sir."

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

On the surface the Trelkan lead scientist Ora Salas was showing Jim the height of Trelkan military. We have developed a laser technology intended to stop the Spirusian's constant missile attacks on our cites. I believe it should be sufficient if we found a better power source then our batteries or we would have to constantly replace each battery which would take precious minutes."

"I see. I believe our allies can help with that," he rose his commlink,"Captain is Ilgram still out?"

"Yes Sargent, he is."

"Good. Come in Ilgram I need you to relay a message the Dornalians."

"We need your help down here I believe the Trelkans might have a defense against the missiles but needs a few slight alterations."

"We need your help down here I believe the Trelkans might have a defense against the missiles but needs a few slight alterations."



A reply came down from the ship:

"Depends on what kinds of alterations, over. We have fusion generators if you need power, plans and replicators to make Mass Drivers, and other stuff. We are quite limited--so be somewhat specific."

Meanwhile, the Captain got reports from the Belldandy from his Acolyte; it seemed he was onboard with the repair crew. Acknowledging their presence, he told them to stand by for further orders.

Aboard the Vuhellifelian ship, Singh nodded and looked at his crew. The situation had gotten worse, it seemed. It was fortunate that the Dornalians had brought safety gear with them as well; though it was admittedly less elaborate. With the new threat in mind, Singh instructed his men to put on their HAZMAT gear and oxygen masks/rebreathers. With precision, they put on their simple suits, made of ceramics and plastics, and installed the gasmasks hooked to air supply units on the waist. Singh told his crew once they suited up, "Gentlemen, ladies, we have a more elaborate challenge to fulfill. The reactor is failing, we must try to contain the lasers and if possible correct them. If someone gets to that before us, we can correct other parts of the reactor too."

"Anything will do at the moment can you send down a few engineers to help with the process. Our engineers are currently downloading an AI into their systems to help with the accuracy of the weapons."

"Sargent AI download complete. The AI will be calibrating the laser defenses soon. All we need now is the power source." an engineer said in the background

"Alright. Thats about it. Just get some of those fusion generators down here."

"Anything will do at the moment can you send down a few engineers to help with the process. Our engineers are currently downloading an AI into their systems to help with the accuracy of the weapons."

"Sargent AI download complete. The AI will be calibrating the laser defenses soon. All we need now is the power source." an engineer said in the background

"Alright. Thats about it. Just get some of those fusion generators down here."

The Captain acknowledged the request, simply saying, "Acknowledged. Beaming down some fusion generators with a guy, over." Hanging up, he sighed. The Lewis and Clark was an exploration vessel, not a S-Mart. But as it was, it couldn't be helped. After all, these people were about to be attacked--no, were attacked--by a race of robots. He had to do something.

With that, he called for some spare fusion generators, and people who could operate them. Of course, being about 500 people onboard, a good number were out on business on the other ships. So, he got the reply that the fusion generators could be spared, but the men may not be. So, with that, the Captain looked at the manifest, and Gracie assisted. Turned out that there were a couple of people who could operate the devices. So, they were called up, paired with some assistants and the generators, and sent to the surface. Zeroing in on the location of the Ganoxan transmission, the Dornalians beamed down to the surface, and immediately greeted the Sergeant, saying, "Here's your goods."

Luckily, the Red Phoenix had more than its fair share of automation. Even before the bridge crew knew the threat was there, the onboard AI noticed each missile and opened a wormhole in front of it. The exit termini of the wormholes were pointed back at their nameless originators - but that was only a precaution, as wormhole travel tended to do strange things to anything smaller than a capital ship.

OOC: :pouts: Thats one of the point defense technologies that I REALLY dont like...

Ah well, cannot do anything about it.

IC: Of the ten missiles that entered the wormhole, eight were shredded inside it, one damaged so severely that it merely exploded against its originating frigates shields, and the last one detonated against its originators shields... dropping aforementioned shields by less then a percent.

The AI onboard Cruiser-47 recognised the wormhole tactic, wormhole technology was taken as a 'quirky' technology by the HOA, but that apparently just changed as the AI was beaming back second-by-second results to whatever system it had originated from.

Obviously, the wormhole trick could only be bypassed by using energy weapons, which presented another problem... the only ships outfitted with energy weapons in the HOA, beyond point defense that is, were the HOA's Heavy Cruisers and Battleships, whose expense and importance could not be justified wasting on a Class-IV tech planet.

Therefore, it would come down to a ground invasion...

It didnt take long, on signal, ten HOA factory ships hyperjumped as close to the planet as possible and began to enter the atmosphere. The factory ships only defenses were point-defense energy and electromagnet(railgun) weapons, but these alone could slaughter any small fighter/missile-sized aircraft. But the factory ships main purpose was to produce the robotic armies of the HOA.

They could nano-fabricate virtually anything, from the basic android soldier, armed with a handheld, rapid fire Gauss Rifle, to automated battle tanks, mechs, atmospheric aircraft, and even smaller, ocean-going ships.

A bright flash illuminated the room as Jim saw the generators and two Dornalians materialized. "Thank you," he said.

"Lewis, Halenska. Help them with the equipment. Follow me." he said.

"Goddam, this is heavy!" Lewis cried.

"Suck it up," Halenska said.

"You're so mean!"

"Thats what they pay me for." she replied.

The group went outside towards the Mobile Laser Defense Tanks outside the military building. "Alright here you go."

The lead engineer from the Trelkans came up to the Dornalians, "Good day, here is the system specs of the Tanks. Power supply should be entered here and here. Also I have written down the necessary power input needed to keep it from overloading."

"Sargent! AI has calibrated to the systems!"

"Great lets get this party started!"

The lead engineer from the Trelkans came up to the Dornalians, "Good day, here is the system specs of the Tanks. Power supply should be entered here and here. Also I have written down the necessary power input needed to keep it from overloading."

"Sargent! AI has calibrated to the systems!"

"Great lets get this party started!"

The two men nodded, and marshaled their team to work, calling out, "You heard the men! Get these generators hooked up to where they want 'em! Set the generators to that level!" As the Dornalians moved to set up the generators, a cacophony of "Somebody crank that motor!" and "Keep it steady!" and other such chants and cries emerged. The Fusion Generators then hummed, and glowed with life, as they began feeding power to the guns at the needed frequency to keep them going.....

"Sir ten contacts have entered the planet's atmosphere."

"What! How did they get their so fast? Bring the ship around. All batteries open fire."

All thirty two dual railgun battery turrets began to rain down on the enemy ships descending on the planet as the destroyer raced down after them.

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

Jim looked up at the ships raining down on the planet. "Oh no! We need to hurry!"

"Looks like there not sending missiles anymore." Ora said.

"Look sarge, the ship!"

He saw the blaze of fire coming down towards the ten ships. Jim rushed back into the building. General Suis came up to him, "We got reports of ships over Iolian Airspace, and reports are the same down in Spirus."

"A full scale invasion. I hope you're ready General. Its going to get worse."

bump

OOC: Sorry, sorry, internet has REALLY been on the fritz...

But before I can make an IC post, those railgun shells, are you using kinetic slugs or some sort of warhead? If the latter, what kind and yield? If the former, how fast are they moving?

OOC: Kinetic slugs. Standard railgun speeds.

I'm going to use a method of firing that's damn near impossible, and I may be accused of godmoding in future if I don't expound, so I'm going to explain it here. All of my more advanced short-range kinetic guns have microwormhole generators attached, reducing the distance for the slug to travel to a few centimetres from the barrel. Sorry for the inconvenience.

BTW, long range is maser, so the discharge travels at the speed of light.

OOC: I dont think there is such a thing as a 'standard' railgun speed...

Ill investigate on Wiki...

OOC 3.5 kps at sea level so in space the speed would be much higher say around 5-6 kps. But since your ships are heading planet side I would assume the gravity would increase the speed of the shells coming down.

OOC: Assuming a 2 meter (200millimeter) slug(assuming it is perfectly spherical), travelling at about 5 kilometers-a-second, that is a kinetic yield of 12 tons of TNT.

In other words, peashooting compared to what my shields and armor are designed to handle.

IC: The HOA factory ships shields vaporised the railguns shells without sustaining any major damage as they descended into the planets atmosphere. No sooner had the facotry ships entered the planets atmosphere then did their manufacturing systems come online. With multiple quantum singularity reactors producing enough energy to planet a galaxy, the factory ships began to convt energy into any kind of matter they wanted.

By the time the ships touched down, a vast automated army and airforce had been manufactured. Immediatly upon touch down, the armies began to unload. Automated main battle tanks and mechs churned up the soil, with androids acting as infantry support. Mixed in amongst them were anti-air vehicles and mobile shield generators. In the sky, fighters, fighter/bombers, close air support aircraft, and tactical bomber screamed through the air.

The primary weapons available to the HOA grounds forces were gauss guns firing kinetic energy slugs. An infantry androids 7.62mm gauss rifle against a human had the same equivalent as one of today's 30mm autocannon shells against a human. That is, it left nothing of the human behind.

Missiles also played a major role in the HOA. Ultra-manueverable anti-ground and anti-aircraft missiles tipped with futuristic high explosive warheads could level lay a serious smackdown on anything they acquired a lock too. All vehicles were provided mini-fabricators and fusion reactors to produce their own ammunition. The androids could retrieve their ammunition and repair minor damages from the nearest vehicle.

And finally, the factory ships had also provided a serious arsenal of intercontinental cruise missiles with pure-fusion nukes and futuristic nerve agents, in case the nessecity to use them arrived.

Each ship had onboard an army of 100,000 androids, 2,000 automated tanks, 1,500 automated mechs, 3,000 self-propelled artillery weapons, 400 mobile shield generators, and 4,000 aircraft. No sooner had they landed then they began to produce more.

There were three for the major three powers of the planet(Iolia, Spiruis, and Trelka) while the last one descended into the most important minor power.

The railgun shells were ineffective, no surprise to Lingun. The railguns were damaged during their many random jumps the strain on the weapons system was moderate. Nevertheless, Lingun wasn't going to back out on helping these people. "Sir they have landed and begun immediately dispersal."

"Goddamit!. What do we have left with a punch!"

"A couple diamond-boron armored nukes."

"I guess we should have gathered materiele for nukes too."

__________________________

"They have landed and we are taking heavy casualties." General Salthuras said.

"It will take us some time to build those mechs of yours. We have to use our own forces in the meantime. If it comes to it we will have to use our hydrogen bombs on them." General Orthos said.

"Save those bombs for later General. We don't know if they will be effective and will work."

"Mobile Laser Defense Tanks are in position General."

The crew working on the fusion generators, meanwhile, stepped in with a suggestion when they heard the awful news. Presenting the idea to Lingun, the main crewman said, "We've got replicators and sh-stuff on our ship above. And, we've got man-portable gauss tech if you want us to distribute it to them."

Jim took back the radio that the man took from him. "It seems like a good idea sir."

"Well at least its something! Give them the go ahead," loud noises were heard in the background "Damm----" the transmission ended.

"Alright get going, we need to hurry!"

Ora came up to the two men, "These replicators you speak of? Will they be able to produce the mechs?"

OOC: I write a huge post, describing my stuff, and the internet caves out!

Anyways, here is the important part.

-My forces are approaching the first major city in Iolia.
-My forces are killing any living thing that gets in their path. Civilians are shot on sight and their buildings are completely levelled.

Ora came up to the two men, "These replicators you speak of? Will they be able to produce the mechs?"

The men looked at each other, and replied thusly, "Well, it depends on the size. If its a standard issue Arm Slave, we can get the parts made quickly, but we'll need to bring down some larger replicators for that, or get one made from scratch ASAP. As for other stuff we can give you, sure."

Calling the Dornalian vessel above, the request was met with grumblings, but they knew it was needed to stop the robotic invaders, who had paradropped soldiers below and begun to wreak havoc. In reply, two Portable Replicators materialized in the same room, along with a larger one, presumably for making Arm Slave parts, along with a couple of Fusion Generators. On the Dornalian's communicator, a cry of, "Here ya go! Take care of them!" could be heard.

"This is great, now we can hope this will be formidable against the threat." Ora said, looking up at the replicators.

"Don't get your hopes up, we still don't know if these mechs will be effective against the enemy--"

'General its from Iolia!"

General Salthuras picked up the phone "Uh huh. Yes. Goddamit!."

"We have word that the enemy is heading towards Loran, in Iolia. Its a major city with a population of one million."

The war in Iolia was not looking good, already thousands had died trying to fight the onslaught of androids and other machinery, there shields defending their vital units. For every android destroyed many more wood take there place. Civilians were evacuated from the major cities and piling into the naval vessels.

Meanwhile the situation wasn't all that pleasant in the east as well. The Trelkans were providing heavy resistance to the invaders with help from the offworlders, but they are taking heavy casualties across the front. They barely got their Arm Slave units constructed from the replicator walking out and heading for the front line. Although the pilots got a crash course on operating the mechs they quickly used to the easy controls, thanks to the onboard AIs.

OOC: Motherboard is being screwy so im not going to be able to post often.

Heres the Battle lines (http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a287/GeneralZhukov3333/?action=view&current=BattleLines.jpg)