NationStates Jolt Archive

In the Xar system, home of the Xaraat, a new era was about to begin. The new interstellar drive had been fitted to its ship, pre-launch checks were complete, and the XES Pioneer (http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg120/Xaraat/frontier_exploration.png) was about to commence its long voyage of discovery.

Voidmaster Xaxvex, the captain of the Pioneer, sat on his new command seat on the bridge. His six legs were locked to the seat, to prevent him from flying across the bridge if the ship accelerated suddenly. His two clawed hands tapped on the main control panel, finalising the procedures needed to make the vessel ready for launch. His single huge eye looked over the readouts, checking for any errors. There were none. Finally, checking that he and the other officers on the bridge had securely locked their 2-metre-high bodies into the safety restraints, he hit the undock button.

The craft slowly clicked out of the magnetic locks of the Glory Shipyard (http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg120/Xaraat/gloryshipyard.png). Once the Pioneer was at a safe distance from the station, the interstellar drive engaged. The Pioneer appeared to become warped and distorted, and then, in a flash, it disappeared, punching through into what the Xaraat scientists called Subspace, but which was more commonly known as the Intervoid.

Finally, after a voyage which took hours but seemed to the crew to take only a few seconds, the Pioneer arrived in a new system. The crew of the Pioneer began scanning the system for anything interesting, and hoped for alien contact. The Intervoid drive on this vessel had been configured to produce a far greater energy signature than it would normally; this was to ensure that any space-faring civilisation out there would notice it. So the crew of the Pioneer hoped and waited...

The patrol ship Gaellica patrolled the outskirts of the Anaecron System, home to the race known as the Zirzlans. On the bridge, captain Vaer Yale sighed as he controlled the instruments. Nothing had happened in the three months he and his crew had been out here, and they were all mighty tired. Behind him he could hear the laughs and cries from a group of crewmen playing a game of xael. It was a blatant breach against dicipline, but he didn't have the energy to stop them. They, like him, were grewing tired of this meaningless patrolling of space no outsider had ever entered, or even discovered. Sighing again, he settled down in his chair and looked at the fur on his arms. Had it really been worth it? When he was young, his greatest dream had been to become a soldier. He still remembered the joy he had felt when he had been choosen for the Merging. He still remembered the sad eyes of the tiger in the cage, the poor animal that would be merged with him. He had been asleep through the process itself and had no memories of it, but the strength of the body it had created was considerable. He was much stronger, faster and agile than normal, could endure wounds that would kill a lesser man and had much keener senses. At first he had enjoyed his life as a soldier, but now the sheer boredom had taken over. Nothing had ever happened, and he had spent his life patrolling the borders.

A blip from the screen in front of him caught his attention. He shook his head in disbelief. Was something really happening, after all these years? Had a foreign vessel at last entered the system?
"Attention!", he roared through the communication system. "We have an unidentified vessel entering our territory. Man your battle stations now, you lazy dogs!"
While the crew readied the ship for battle and informed Space Command of the infringement, Vaer transmitted a message to the foreign vessel.


Unidentified vessel, this is Starship Gaellica of the Zirzlan Federational Navy. You have trespassed the border to Zirzlan airspace. Identify yourself and stand by for inspection. Failure to do this will result in the destruction of your vessel.

On the communications officer's control panel, a light lit up.
"Voidmaster Xaxvex, incoming message!" cried the comms officer, his eyeball quivering and oozing with excitement. He played the message for the bridge crew to hear. They couldn't understand it, as the message was of course not in Xaraatian, but the crew were nevertheless excited to be making contact with another species.
"Very good," replied Xaxvex, "Initiate the contact protocol."

The Pioneer immediately shut down non-essential systems, both to show that they were non-threatening and to allow enough power for the Intervoid drive, if a quick escape was necessary. The Pioneer then transmitted a series of signals; they contained a message in Xaraatian, both in visual and spoken form, and was accompanied by a series of pictograms illustrating the meaning of the message. It said:

We are the Xaraatian exploration vessel XES Pioneer. We mean you no harm. We would like to make peaceful contact with you.

Vaer understood nothing of the alien voice coming through the loudspeakers, but from his interpretation of the pictograms he understood the meaning of the message. The aliens were not hostile. The ship's computers began to examine the alien language while Vaer transmitted a reply.


XES Pioneer, friendly intentions confirmed. Stand by for inspection. We will escort you to the closest inhabited planet.


Gaellica placed itself side by side with the alien vessel. A boarding party prepared to enter the ship.

"We're getting a reply, Voidmaster," said the comms officer, "They appear to have understood at least some of the message."
"It seems they are trying to board us, sir," added the scanner operator.
Voidmaster Xaxvex thought about this for a moment, then replied,
"Very well, I shall greet with them when they board. They sound peaceful, but just in case send two of the crew, armed. But tell them not to look threatening."
Xaxvex then unlocked the safety restraints and heaved himself out of his seat, and lumbered off down the corridor towards where the aliens were boarding.

Liutenant Yaegor Cahll led the boarding team aboard the alien ship. He was nervous. The team was lightly armed, and in case the aliens were hostile they had small chances of surviving. He controlled that the communication device was working. It was a small screen that could show a wide variety of pictures. From the beginning it was a toy that one of the crewmen had purchased for his children, but a technician had modified it so Yaegor could use it to communicate with the aliens. Right now it was showing a smiling face, to indicate that the team had no harmful intention. It also showed an alien word from one of the transmissions, one that the computer had deciphered as "peaceful".

Recognising the word 'peaceful', Xaxvex and the two crewmembers that had joined him relaxed a little. Xaxvex recalled part of the first contact protocol, and turned to one of the crewmembers.
"Voidworker Oxyzz! Go to the cargo room and fetch the contact pod!"
The crewmember hurried off down the corridor. A few minutes later, he returned, bearing a half-metre long steel capsule. He handed it to Xaxvex, who then offered it to the aliens.

The contact pod was a capsule, filled with assorted items that were important parts of Xaraat culture. Most of the capsule was taken up by a simple computer, that was programmed to show a short list of Xaraatian words, enough to allow someone to hold a simple conversation with a Xaraat if they learned them, and pictograms to show their meaning. It also contained many photographs of Xarzyx, the Xaraat home planet, a few preserved items of typical Xaraat food, and a small set of diagrams showing things such as the location of the Xar system.

Yaegor took the offered capsule and looked through the items withing, paying special attention to the computer and the photographs. Then he handed the capsule to one of the other men and touched the screen he has carrying. It began to show pictures of Zirzla, maps and diagrams. He handed it to the alien and took back the capsule from the man holding it. Looking through the wordlist, he began to speak slowly. "We are...friendly. We will...lead you to...planet. Follow...our...ship".

Xaxvex examined the screen for a few seconds, then slowly blinked once at the aliens, the Xaraat equivalent to a nod, and spoke slowly and clearly for the aliens to understand.
"I must go back to the bridge to navigate. We will follow your ship." Xaxvex then turned and left, heading back down the corridor to the bridge. The two crewmembers who had been with him carefully placed their weapons back onto a rack, deciding that weapons would not be needed.

"Seems like they have understood, captain", Yaegor said into the comlink. "The one who appears to be the leader said they will follow us".
"Good", Vaer replied. "Stay were you are at the moment. Try to find out as much as you can about them. Space Command wants a detailed report".
"Understood, captain. Over and out".

Gaellica began to transmit maps to the alien vessel, with the route they would take marked out. Slowly it began to move, leading the way towards distant Zirzla.

Xaxvex reached the bridge, and locked himself back into the safety restraints, and saw that the alien vessel had begun to transmit navigational maps.
"The aliens have asked that we follow them to a planet," he announced to the crew, "We will follow them. Power up and engage all engines, follow the route they have transmitted."

Vaer could hear the powerful engines rumble at the back of the ships. He finished the transmission informing Space Command that they were escorting a alien vessel to the homeworld. He stood up and walked the bridge. A tiny blip on the screen showed that the aliens were still following them. He looked at his watch. Seven hours, then they would be home.

A small frigate, it's heat being trapped in cooled pods in the hull, watched from a small field of asteroids. It would be undetectable to both thermal scans and sonar, as the asteroids would cover it. It was a Soothsayer-class Interdictor/Scout frigate. It had been doing reconasanse, looking for valuable materials on the outskirts of Zirzla. This find was much better than any ore would ever be. The captain pressed a few buttons on the sidepanel of his chair. Only a half hour of stealth capability left.

Oh bugger.

"The course is locked in," said Nxzkzx, the navigator, "It will take four and a half zyxltox for us to reach the planet."
"Excellent. Those aliens that boarded are still here, are they not?"
"Yes, Voidmaster, that is correct," replied Nxzkzx.
"Good. Since we are now on autopilot, you are not needed on the bridge. Go and take the aliens to the living area, I am sure that they will not want to just stand there until we reach the planet. Perhaps you could show them the entertainment or the food, if they are hungry."
"Yes, sir."
Nxzkzx lumbered off down to where Yaegor and the other aliens were, and introduced himself.
"Hello. I am Nxzkzx. I have been instructed to show you around the living area. If you need food or entertainment, please ask."

Indeed?
The scout ship hovered at the edge of the system, spying from afar. The Xar's huge power signiture had caught it's attention, and it moved to this system to investigate. On board was not, as usual, an Xiscapian SRS pilot. Instead it was an android, designed to do all the things an SRS trooper would be able to do, but without risk of loss of life. With the war heating up back home, Xiscapia and the Allies in general needed every soldier they could get, and all the fleets had been recalled for defense. However, probes and unmanned recon fighters still patrolled space, seeking out alien sentiant lifeforms to make contact with. The android's electronic brain debated with the idea of making it's presence known, then decided to settle for watching, but lifting the cloak it had on the ship. If these were observant people, it would be noticed before long.
OOC: Void Templar, you're back!

OOC: Yup. I used my magical powers to revive my computer.
There may also have been a talking dolphin involved. Wow, that was a looong day.
IC: Onboard the frigate, the captain contemplated his options. He had to reveal himself eventually and make contact with the aliens. However, he was not sure how the Zirzlans would react to a heavily armed stealth frigate at the borders of their territories. He decided, now was the time.

"Broadcast this message." He cleared his throat and then spoke, "Greetings, Zirzlans and Unknown Race. This is the VTN frigate Duskfall. We were examining a possible mining opportunity, outside of your territory, and we spotted the unknown ship. We would request permission to come aboard, make contact and possible foster a friendship between our two peoples." He attached the file to the ships AI, Shadow's Step, who sent the message over a local area frequency. The ship revealed itself with powered down weapons. The entire crew waited for a response.

On the bridge of the Pioneer, the scanner operative noticed the presence of the scout ship on the edge of the system.
"Voidmaster! The scanners show readings at the edge of the system. It appears to be another ship."
"Have they moved or tried to make contact?" replied Xaxvex.
"No, sir. They appear to be sitting still at the edge of the system. I'm not sure how they got here, either. It's like they just appeared out of nowhere. Maybe they just have very efficient, undetectable interstellar drives, or maybe they have some sort of stealth system."
"Interesting. I do not think we should make contact yet, however. First we should ask our new friends in the ship we are following if they recognise it."
"I'll send out a message, Voidmaster," said the comms officer.

We have detected what appears to be another spacecraft at the edge of the system. Could you please inform us as to whether this ship belongs to your people, or if not, whether you recognise who it does belong to?

Almost immediately after the message was sent, the comms panel beeped and flashed.
"Sir, we are receiving a message!" shouted the comms officer.
"Is it a reply from the Gaellica?"
"No, sir. It is from another vessel; it has just appeared within the system. I think they want to make contact."
"Again, ask our new friends on the Gaellica whether they know anything about this vessel. Wait for their reply before replying to the unknowns."

"Captain, we have detected two more alien vessels!", one of the officers shouted. Vaer stared at him in disbelief.
"Liutenant, this is not the right time to joke".
"I'm not kidding, captain. I'm dead serious. We've got two more vessels incoming".
Vaer groaned and dropped into his chair. Two more ships? First nothing for ten years, then three ships in a matter of hours. He shook his head. This was getting ridiculous. He sighed. "Prepare all weapon systems. I'll answer these damn aliens".
He walked to the communication centre and sat down, quickly typing.


The ships does not belong to us, neither do we recognize it. We are trying to communicate with them. Proceed to the destination.



Duskfall, this is Starship Gaellica of the Zirzlan Federation. Permission granted. You might send a messenger.



Unkown alien vessel, this is Starship Gaellica of the Zirzlan Federation. Identify yourself and declare your intentions. Failure to do this will result in you being regarded as hostile and dealt with accordingly.



"I am Yaegor Cahll. This", he pointed to the other men, "is Haek Vulic and Faenor Ghot. We are not hungry at the moment, thank you. Could you show us around the ship?"

"Captain, theres a response. They say to send a messenger." The captain nodded. "I'll go. Prepare a shuttle."

A few minutes later, a small Scimitar-class shuttle winged it's way towards the two ships. It stopped by the two ships and sent a request to dock.

Originally Posted by Message to unknown vessel
Unkown alien vessel, this is Starship Gaellica of the Zirzlan Federation. Identify yourself and declare your intentions. Failure to do this will result in you being regarded as hostile and dealt with accordingly.
The android in the ship was not, as such, a droid. A droid merely carried out it's programming, whatever that may be. Rather it was a walking A.I., designed to be a learning system with a huge database for dealing with every possible situation. It had no name, only a designation number: Unit 323956. It could not actually think, and it had no imagination or creativity. However, it could analyze, and after swiftly analyzing the situation before it, it chose the best possible course of action indicated by it's programs, database, and mind, as it were.
Starship Gaellica of the Zirzlan Federation, I am Unit 323956, Xiscapian Android, class 3 model, designed to carry out reconnaissance and first contact missions. I request persmission to land on the nearby planet or board a ship to meet with those beings present to initiate first contact. I come in peace, and when I land I shall carry no weapons with me.

"We're receiving a message from the Gaellica, sir," said the comms officer, "They do not recognise the other aliens but are communicating with them."
The scanner operative added, "One of the aliens has sent a shuttle nearby. I expect they are docking with the Gaellica."
"We should let them finish speaking with the Gaellica's crew before we try to converse with any of these aliens," said Xaxvex, "But I think we should transmit the contact message to these aliens, and maybe they will have time to work out the translations for our language."
The series of Xaraatian words and pictogram translations was then transmitted towards the unknown aliens.

--------
Nxzkzx blinked at Yaegor, Haek, and Faenor in turn, then gestured for them to follow. First, he led them into a large room. There were a few of the crewmembers sat at a small table, playing a game that seemed to involve moving a lot of cubes and tetrahedrons of various shapes and colours around, very fast. Some of them were so engrossed in this that they didn't notice Nxzkzx and the aliens come into the room. There were many beds lined up against the wall, though the only real difference between the beds and the chairs was that the beds had more padding, and the leg restraints were not as restrictive. On the other side of the room, there was a very shiny black cubicle, just big enough to fit one Xaraat in it, with a door clearly designed to make the cubicle airtight.
"This is the living area," Nxzkzx announced, "As you can see, some of the crew are playing a game of ijzij in their free time. Ijzij is a popular game; we encourage them to play it because it keeps their reflexes sharp and improves coordination," Then Nxzkzx pointed towards the black cubicle, "That is the ship's chem-booth, another form of entertainment. Since there is only one of them, only the officers are allowed to use it normally, though the other crewmembers can get allocated time in the chem-booth as a reward for good work. Ah, I forgot to mention what it actually is. The chem-booth has a seat for one person to sit in, while non-addictive hallucinogenic gases are pumped into the booth. Very popular," Nxzkzx looked back at Yaegor, "Do you have any questions or shall we move on?"

One of the officers approached Vaer. "We have a shuttle requesting docking permission. Your orders, captain?"
Vaer thought about it for a moment. "Permission granted. Keep our visitor under surveillance though. I don't want to take any unneccessary risks. Oh, and while you're here, do you know what the hell an android are?"
The man hesitated. "Some kind of humanlike...robot, I think. The Council was looking into creating something like that a few years ago, but the project was discontinued. The costs was too high".
"Interesting. You can go, liutenant".
After seeing the man hasten away, Vaer turned his attention back to the communication machine.


You have been granted permission to board our ship. Come unarmed.

Nxzkzx blinked at Yaegor, Haek, and Faenor in turn, then gestured for them to follow. First, he led them into a large room. There were a few of the crewmembers sat at a small table, playing a game that seemed to involve moving a lot of cubes and tetrahedrons of various shapes and colours around, very fast. Some of them were so engrossed in this that they didn't notice Nxzkzx and the aliens come into the room. There were many beds lined up against the wall, though the only real difference between the beds and the chairs was that the beds had more padding, and the leg restraints were not as restrictive. On the other side of the room, there was a very shiny black cubicle, just big enough to fit one Xaraat in it, with a door clearly designed to make the cubicle airtight.
"This is the living area," Nxzkzx announced, "As you can see, some of the crew are playing a game of ijzij in their free time. Ijzij is a popular game; we encourage them to play it because it keeps their reflexes sharp and improves coordination," Then Nxzkzx pointed towards the black cubicle, "That is the ship's chem-booth, another form of entertainment. Since there is only one of them, only the officers are allowed to use it normally, though the other crewmembers can get allocated time in the chem-booth as a reward for good work. Ah, I forgot to mention what it actually is. The chem-booth has a seat for one person to sit in, while non-addictive hallucinogenic gases are pumped into the booth. Very popular," Nxzkzx looked back at Yaegor, "Do you have any questions or shall we move on?"

The men looked around, amazed at the alien surroundings. Yaegor finally managed to answer the alien. "Yes, we can move on".

The shuttle docked and a man dressed in a black suit, black blazer with red and yellow patches on his shoulders stepped off. Brushing a few specks of dust off his attire, he stood to attention. He was unarmed. The patches on his shoulders showed him to be of the Captain rank.
"Greetings, I am the captain of the VTN Duskfall."

A liutenant bowed slightly. "Welcome, alien. I'm liutenant Jaen Hahren. Follow me please. I'll show you to the captain".

The captain nodded then followed the lieutenant.

The liutenant and two heavily armed guards escorted the captain to the bridge, where Vaer was waiting. "Be welcome, captain of Duskfall", he said. "What is your name?"

"I am Captain Jakob Andrew." He bowed. "And your name is, sir?"

"Vaer Yale. What is your mission here, captain Andrew?"
He pointed to a chair. "You can sit if you want".

The captain thought it over. It may be considered rude if he refused, so he smiled and sat.
"We were doing some reconnaissance into the asteroid field just outside of your territory for a possible mining expansion when scans showed two unknown species ships. The Void has a policy of trying to establish contact with any unknown species, so here I am."

The captain thought it over. It may be considered rude if he refused, so he smiled and sat.
"We were doing some reconnaissance into the asteroid field just outside of your territory for a possible mining expansion when scans showed two unknown species ships. The Void has a policy of trying to establish contact with any unknown species, so here I am."

Vaer nodded. "Interesting. Tell me, what is the Void? I haven't heard of it before".

"The Void is a system in the Elysiani galaxy.It was called that because of a strange anomaly in the systems core. It's not a black hole or a wormhole, it is just a void.We've sent countless expeditions in, but we always lose contact after two days. We've got an empire, but we have no intention of expanding. We are a fairly diverse people, consisting of many different races, such as humans, sanghelli and gorn." He scowled for a moment. "However, we have a rebel problem. But, I have spoken for long enough. Pray, tell me about your culture."

"Well, we are a fairly small people. We only control this star system, called Anaecron, which means "Morning Star" in our language. We only inhabit one of the planets, although we are looking into colonizing another and have outposts one some others. We aqcuired space technology seventy-five years ago. Our warriors are merged with animals at an age of twelve. I don't know exactly how it works, but it is something with DNA. The interesting part is the effect. We are stronger than usual humans, have keener senses and are more resistant to damage and disease. It have some adverse effects, though. We are partly covered with fur, which may affect some inviduals negativily psychologically, and we've had some outbreaks of rabies. Not particulary nice, one may say. The latest outbreak killed almost 500 people before we were able to stop it".

Originally Posted by Message to Unit 323956
You have been granted permission to board our ship. Come unarmed.
Unit 323956 nodded to itself. The probabilities counted a 97.697 chance of such a response. Androids, as they are, are sexless. However, missions this android carried out were sometimes of diplomacy, and a female face was less threatening than a male one. Therefore the android was, technically, female. Unit 323956 (http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/6/6e/Negima_Chachamaru_Karakuri.gif) does not share most female physical characteristics, and is female only in robotic body. In mind and programming it is pure A.I., although it's voice was modified for feminine tones. Not simply the reasons mentioned before, but also some do not expect a female to fight back as hard. Unit 323956 was programmed to be able to defend itself in armed and unarmed combat with all the speed and grace of a biological Xiscapia. It also shared the ears, tail, eyes and teeth of an Xiscapian, so as to give a distant race some idea of what they may look like. The android piloted the scout ship into the hanger of the Gaellica of the Zirzlan Federation and landed. The ramp cockpit opened and Unit 323956 climbed out, jumping lightly to the deck of the ship. The android wore a jumpsuit which was actually body armor to protect against EMP shots and shrapnel blasts.

The two crew members that were waiting for the alien just stared at it in disbelief. Having heard of androids, they had expected something more...robot-like. Not what looked like a female human with rabbit ears and tail. "What the hell is that?", one of the men whispered to his companion.
"I don't know", the man answered. "We'll better take it to the captain".
The first man nodded and stepped forward to the alien. "Follow us, please. We'll take you to the captain".

OOC: Fox, actually. I'm sorry, I forgot to mention, they're kitsune. The two things on the sides of her head are bionic appendeges, not meant to be interpreted as actual biological parts. :p
IC:
Unit 323956 nodded. "As you wish." It's, although for the sake of convenience, her, voice was female in nature but held the undertones of cold robotics. It sounded like the voice you might hear in a base or ship saying "Red alert. Red alert. All personnal evacuate immediatly." The android strode forward without the jerkiness usually associated with robots, oiled joints moving smoothly without a sound.

"I'm sorry. Although, the idea of human-animal DNA splicing is very interesting. The Void does not yet have the technology for that." He nodded, then adopted a more businesslike expression. "So, what of these other aliens?"

"Officer of the Watch!"

The cry had come from an Ensign manning the scanner of the APS Appropriate, an A-Class Destroyer of the Alversian People's Republic. She was on patrol duty, and was also part of the attempt to reconstruct the Alversian Deep Space Fleet after it had been destroyed in battle. For now, however, a small blip had caught her attention.

The Officer of the Watch happened to the be the Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Andrea Voss. She sighed and rose from the Captain's chair occupied by her as the captain was absent. In four graceful steps, she was at the console.

"What is it Ensign?" She asked in her quiet but confident tone

The Ensign brought up the results of the scan he had just completed
"A series of contacts measuring at .5 degrees of our starboard bow. I'm detecting one Xiscapian vessel. The others are unidentified"

Voss stood and stared for a few seconds, debating what orders to give to the rest of the Bridge crew, all of whom sat or stood waiting.

"Set a course for the vessels, raise weapons to 10% strength and bring our shields fully online" She ordered.

The destroyer turned and headed for the Xiscapian and other vessels broadcasting a message as she traveled

This is the Alversian People's Starship Appropriate requesting
permission to enter immediate space

The men shivered as they led the android through the ship. "Did you hear that voice?", the first crewman whispered to the other. "Scared the shit out of me".
"Me too", the other man answered. "Damned aliens. I've never thought that a robot could look like that".
"Not me either. My wife will never believe me when i tell her about this".
"Can't blame her. Three contacts in a matter of hours? Totally unbelievable. Anyway, here we are". They had stopped outside the bridge.
The man turned to the android. "The captain's in there, ma'am". Not finding anything else to say, he retreated, followed by his companion.

"Thank you," said Unit 323956 calmly. She opened the door and entered the room. All thoughout the ship the android had been silently noting ship systems, armor, marines and small craft in the hanger, the lighting and all aspects of the capital. Her deductions concluded that her creator's ships and weaponry and general overall technology was more advanced than these humans. The comments of the two humans leading her supported at least a small part of this. Now in the bridge, the brain of any ship, she stared around once more before focusing her attention on the man himself.

Jakob laughed. "Excuse me one minute." He lifted him arm and pressed a few buttons on his communicator and said, "Orian, can you run a scan on the ID signatures of the aliens? Everyone in the system. Out." He turned back to Vaer. "I'm getting my crew to run checks on the ships, see if we recognize anyone."

"I'm sorry. Although, the idea of human-animal DNA splicing is very interesting. The Void does not yet have the technology for that." He nodded, then adopted a more businesslike expression. "So, what of these other aliens?"

"Not much to say. Frankly, we don't know much at all. They arrived just before you did". He laughed. "The whole situation is quite ridiculous. We have patrolled this area for ten years and encountered nothing. Now, in a matter of hours, we have three ships turning...
He was interrupted as one of the officers came running.
"I'm sorry to disturb, sir", he said while wiping the sweat from his brow", but we have another one incoming".
Vaer buried his head in his hands. "What the hell is going on", he muttered. He raised his head and looked at his guest. "You see what I mean?"
Suddenly the door opened and the android entered the room. Vaer rised to his feet and studied the new visitor. "Welcome", he said. "Are you Unit 323956?"

"Affirmative," The android bowed, then turned to Jakob and bowed again. "Honorable ally of Xiscapia, greetings from the Alliance. And," she turned and set her dead, robotic eyes on Vaer, "Greetings from the Kitsune Empire of Xiscapia. You are?"

"Vaer Yale, captain of the Federational Navy". He bowed slightly. "Say me, Unit 323956, why are you here? Who has sent you?"

--------

In another part of the ship, a senior officer was handling the communications while the captain was busy. He was transmitting a request for reinforcements to Space Command when he gor the Alversian message.


This is the Alversian People's Starship Appropriate requesting
permission to enter immediate space


Quickly, he typed an answer.


This is Starship Gaellica of the Zirzlan federation. Permission granted.

The Alversian destroyer moved into the unoccupied space then sent another message to the vessel

Starship Gaellica,
May we ask the reason for your presence in this area?

Voss was still standing on the bridge watching the ship in front of her. She would have liked to think that the Destroyer would most definitely have it outgunned if it came down to a fight, which she severely hoped it wouldn't.

"Say me, Unit 323956, why are you here? Who has sent you?"
"No one has sent me, Captain. I am here on patrol and explore for the Xiscapians, and you happened to be in the area. I have sent myself. My primary programming is to initate peaceful contact with alien races. Should the race prove hostile, I am to escape and report back to my creators. I have no other purpose."

Starship Gaellica,
May we ask the reason for your presence in this area?


"What the hell", the officer muttered. "Shouldn't we be asking that question? Damned aliens". He started typing.


Starship Appropriate,
We are guarding our own borders. May we ask what the reasons for your presence in our territory are?

TO: Starship Gaellica

We were unaware that this was your border space. We are on a mission
of exploration to increase our knowledge of our universe. We intend no
harm and will withdraw if our presence offends you. If not, we would
very much like to meet with a representative of your people to exchange
information about our two races

"Say me, Unit 323956, why are you here? Who has sent you?"
"No one has sent me, Captain. I am here on patrol and explore for the Xiscapians, and you happened to be in the area. I have sent myself. My primary programming is to initate peaceful contact with alien races. Should the race prove hostile, I am to escape and report back to my creators. I have no other purpose."

"Interesting. So, you are a android, correct? Isn't that some kind of human-like robot?



TO: Starship Gaellica

We were unaware that this was your border space. We are on a mission
of exploration to increase our knowledge of our universe. We intend no
harm and will withdraw if our presence offends you. If not, we would
very much like to meet with a representative of your people to exchange
information about our two races



Starship Appropriate,
You may send a representative to our ship. He/she must come unarmed.

"I might as well go" Voss sighed as she checked her watch, "I am Duty Officer for only another few minutes anyway. Who has the next shift?"

"First Officer, Ma'am" One of the Ensigns replied

"Good. Tell him I've popped over for first Contact and that I'll be back shortly" She stated as she headed from the bridge, "You have command, Ensign"

A quick buzz later and Voss was on the Gaellica. She turned to see if anyone had come to meet her. They probably hadn't expected such a quick arrival.

"Interesting. So, you are a android, correct? Isn't that some kind of human-like robot?"
"No. In my case, I am a kitsune-like robot. I have the physical exterior, for the most part, of a kitsune, but internally I am made of parts, not organs. The most important distinction is my mind. I am a thousand times more capable of storing information, anyalzing situations and more effective at most physical tasks than a kitsune. In short, I am an automaton that resembles a kitsune." She answered in the same cool tone, uncolored by emotion or indeed, life. "And if my sensors are reading correctly, a human female has just beamed aboard this ship in hanger one."

Vaer raised an eyebrow. "Really? How interesting".
He turned to one of the men in the room. "Corporal Ganedor!"
The man saluted. "At your service, sir".
"Seems like we have a visitor in hangar one. Go check it out, please. If there is anything there, escort it here".
"Yes, sir".
The man hastened out. Vaer turned back to the android. "So, madame 323956, what is a kitsune? A cross-breed between human and...fox?"

Ganedor ran into a hangar one, seeing the Alversian woman standing there. And how the hell did you get aboard?, he thought. Teleportation?
"Hello there", he said to her. "How did you get aboard?"

Voss raiser her eyebrows at the man
"I teleported over, using my vessel's teleportation system. I am Lieutenant Commander Voss of the Alversian warship Appropriate and I can assure you, my presence is fully permitted."

"So, madame 323956, what is a kitsune? A cross-breed between human and...fox?"
"Your words refer to an actual Halfbreed, which is when a kitsune and a human breed. That is the offspring, half fox and half human. Kitsune were never cross-bred, it was a fluke in their Deoxyribonucleic acid which occured many thousands of years ago. They were human once but nature and evolution took its course and they are what you see myself as. You may think of them as humans with fox-like characteristics."

"I know", Ganedor answered. "The robot-woman said you would be here. Follow me, please. The captain's waiting".

"The 'robot-woman' said I was here?" Voss repeated with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but she followed the man anyway, curious to see this robot woman for herself. 'Should be quite an encounter', she thought merrily to herself.

"Yep", Ganedor answered while walking towards the bridge. "She's an alien too. We've had quite a bunch of you aliens turn up lately actually".
He pointed her to the right door. "Captain's in there, ma'am".

Voss walked through the door and instantly understood,
"Aha," She said smiling, "A kitsume robot. An Android. From Xiscapia no doubt? And one of the new Mk.XVII Models if I am not mistaken"

Only after she had said this did she turn to the Captain
"Lieutenant Commander Voss of the Alversian People's Navy. It's an honour to meet you, Sir" She gave a stiff military salute.

Vaer smiled. "Captain Vaer Yale. An honour to meet you, liutenant commander. These two", he gestured to the other aliens, "are Unit 323956 of Xiscapia, as you guessed, and Jacob Andrew of the Void".

OOC: Sorry I took so long to reply, I was away from the computer all day today.
IC:
The men looked around, amazed at the alien surroundings. Yaegor finally managed to answer the alien. "Yes, we can move on".
Nxzkzx led the aliens through a door, into a confined metal room. A humming noise filled the room, due to the presence of loud machinery. Walkways surrounded a large, highly complicated device. Nxzkzx pointed a claw towards the machine dominating the room.
"This is the most important piece of equipment on the entire ship; the Intervoid travel drive. This is what allows the ship to travel between systems. I don't know the details, but apparently it works by creating a tunnel through something technically called Subspace, more commonly known as the Intervoid. In fact, this may also be a reason why so many other ships have shown up after we did. The drive on this ship is configured to produce a huge energy signature when used, to attract alien life. It seems to have worked much better than we expected. Do you want to move on?"

--------
"Voidmaster Xaxvex, there is another alien vessel!" cried the scanner operative.
"Another one? When we get back to Xarxyx, I am going to have a word with the engineers about that Intervoid energy signature. Anyway, just send the contact message and the pictograms again."
"Yes, sir," replied the comms officer.

Voss walked through the door and instantly understood,
"Aha," She said smiling, "A kitsume robot. An Android. From Xiscapia no doubt? And one of the new Mk.XVII Models if I am not mistaken"

Only after she had said this did she turn to the Captain
"Lieutenant Commander Voss of the Alversian People's Navy. It's an honour to meet you, Sir" She gave a stiff military salute.
"I am Unit 323956, diplomacy and first contact, Mk.XVII model number three android, to be percise. You are thinking of the original model, although that was not so long ago. What interests do the Alversians have in the area?" The android did not blink or breathe or shuffle or fidgit or in any way so any discomfort as to standing. She just, well, was.

OOC: Sorry I took so long to reply, I was away from the computer all day today.
IC:

Nxzkzx led the aliens through a door, into a confined metal room. A humming noise filled the room, due to the presence of loud machinery. Walkways surrounded a large, highly complicated device. Nxzkzx pointed a claw towards the machine dominating the room.
"This is the most important piece of equipment on the entire ship; the Intervoid travel drive. This is what allows the ship to travel between systems. I don't know the details, but apparently it works by creating a tunnel through something technically called Subspace, more commonly known as the Intervoid. In fact, this may also be a reason why so many other ships have shown up after we did. The drive on this ship is configured to produce a huge energy signature when used, to attract alien life. It seems to have worked much better than we expected. Do you want to move on?"

--------
"Voidmaster Xaxvex, there is another alien vessel!" cried the scanner operative.
"Another one? When we get back to Xarxyx, I am going to have a word with the engineers about that Intervoid energy signature. Anyway, just send the contact message and the pictograms again."
"Yes, sir," replied the comms officer.


"So that's why we have this comedy". Yaegor shook his head. "Yes, we can move on. You have a more advanced ship than we do, mr Nxzkzx. Very interesting".

Nxzkzx walked out into a corridor, and down into another room. It was cramped, as most of the space in the small room was taken up by computer equipment. Five Xaraat were sitting at computer consoles, closely examining the huge reams of data being processed by the main control computer, and entering some of the data into their consoles. The consoles were all huge; the screens had to be large for them to be comfortable to see for the huge Xaraat eyes, and the keys had to be large too, to be easily used by the large claws.
"Here we are in the main computer room," said Nxzkzx, speaking quietly so as to avoid distracting the workers, "All the data gathered by the scanners is examined and processed here. These Voidworkers are also checking the internal diagnostics for the Pioneer, because this vessel is the first interstellar ship we have built, and the data is needed to improve later vessels. Now, after this the only important place left for you to see is the bridge."

Yaegor studied the room. He didn't show it, but he was highly impressed. The Xaraat might be new at interstellar space travelling, but their technology was more advanced than what the Zirzlans had. He nodded. "Impressive. Well, shall we go see the bridge, then?"

Nxzkzx led the aliens down another corridor and, after entering a code to open a thick security door, walked through onto the bridge. There were several seats and consoles arranged in front of a large screen, showing various views of space and the other ships, scanner information, and readouts showing various pieces of data about the ship. The front seat was occupied by Voidmaster Xaxvex, and several seats behind him were occupied by the scanner operative, the comms officer, and the defence officer. The leftmost seat was empty, as that seat belonged to Nxzkzx.
"Here is the bridge. The ship is controlled from here, and scanning and communications are handled here as well. You may have noticed that the bridge is near the centre of the ship, for protection, and so all the views of outside the ship come from a series of small cameras mounted on the outside of the ship. Do you have any questions about us or about the ship? If not, please return to the living area until it is time for you to leave the ship. I must return to my duties soon."

The Zirzlan nodded. "I understand. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, mr Nxzkzx". He bowed. "Good luck". With that, he and his comrades walked back to the living area.

"I am Unit 323956, diplomacy and first contact, Mk.XVII model number three android, to be percise. You are thinking of the original model, although that was not so long ago. What interests do the Alversians have in the area?" The android did not blink or breathe or shuffle or fidgit or in any way so any discomfort as to standing. She just, well, was

Voss smiled at the Android's directness
"I am part of the embryo Deep Space Fleet that we are assembling in an attempt to continue our exploration of the greater galaxy. A mission no different to yours I would imagine." She observed dryly while looking around at the others and giving a small bow to the Void Inhabitant
"A pleasure, Sir" She stated, guessing his rank was higher than her own.

Jakob stood and bowed as well.
"And on my part." He sat back down and watched the proceedings.

"I am Unit 323956, diplomacy and first contact, Mk.XVII model number three android, to be percise. You are thinking of the original model, although that was not so long ago. What interests do the Alversians have in the area?" The android did not blink or breathe or shuffle or fidgit or in any way so any discomfort as to standing. She just, well, was

Voss smiled at the Android's directness
"I am part of the embryo Deep Space Fleet that we are assembling in an attempt to continue our exploration of the greater galaxy. A mission no different to yours I would imagine." She observed dryly while looking around at the others and giving a small bow to the Void Inhabitant
"A pleasure, Sir" She stated, guessing his rank was higher than her own.
"No at all, Captain. Our continued exploration of the galaxy at large is a highly important thing in order to expand our knowledge." said Unit 323956 complacently.

"I'm glad to hear it" Voss replied stiffly, she did not enjoy talking to Androids, but then again, she didn't like talking to anyone, "How has your mission been until this point?" She asked.

"I'm glad to hear it" Voss replied stiffly, she did not enjoy talking to Androids, but then again, she didn't like talking to anyone, "How has your mission been until this point?" She asked.
The android continued in her cold, dead voice. "I have encountered no events of sufficent magnitude to require description until now, Captain. I set off from Xiscapia eight months, three weeks, two days, eighteen hours and fourty-three seconds ago. Since then I have discovered nothing of importance, barring the current situation."

"I am not the Captain," Voss corrected her calmly, "I am the Tactical Officer onboard the Imelia. She was only launched four months ago, brand new! This is her first real mission" Voss puffed her chest out proudly, "Although I have seen many tours of active duty myself"

"Indeed," Voss seemed surprised that an Android had the ability to make small talk but she continued regardless, "Our Deep Space Fleet was destroyed to a ship on the outskirts of our system. We are trying to build a new one as quickly as possible to continue the mission of exploration but it is proving...difficult to find experienced crew and experienced diplomats who are aware of these races" She admitted the key problem facing the new APNDSC, how would they recontact all the races they had lost contact with? And explain all those charming people they met before were dead? It was not going to be an easy mission.

"I apologize, Tactical Officer. I assume the Alversian Peoples Ship Imelia was lauched as suppliment for the Deep Space Fleet after the losses in the Society for the Advancment of Social Medicine War?" the android inquired polietly. Interestingly, there was a "small talk" program imbedded inside the A.I., and it was currently running. The program was activated because neither of the other parties present seemed inclined to speak.

The captain's communication device bleeped. He smiled apologetically. "Excuse me one minute, please." He twisted a dial on his ear piece then pressed a button on the pad. A green AI popped up from the screen. It's mouth moved mutely and the captain nodded. "Contacted: Zirzlan's. First Contact Date: 24/14/2078 Varius Clock. Other known contacts: Xiscapians, Alversian, Unnamed Species." He whispered, then the AI nodded and disappeared.
The android politely gazed at the Captain until he turned back around. "What interests does the Void have in this area, Captain?"

The captain's communication device bleeped. He smiled apologetically. "Excuse me one minute, please." He twisted a dial on his ear piece then pressed a button on the pad. A green AI popped up from the screen. It's mouth moved mutely and the captain nodded. "Contacted: Zirzlan's. First Contact Date: 24/14/2078 Varius Clock. Other known contacts: Xiscapians, Alversian, Unnamed Species." He whispered, then the AI nodded and disappeared.

The android politely gazed at the Captain until he turned back around. "What interests does the Void have in this area, Captain?"

"There is a small asteroid field on the border of Zirzlan space, expected to be rich in raw metals. We were checking it out when we saw unknown ships. The Templars are collecting a Encyclopedia of all known species in order to keep the Void safe through diplomacy rather than our old method of brute force. A welcome change I'm sure you'll agree."

"There is a small asteroid field on the border of Zirzlan space, expected to be rich in raw metals. We were checking it out when we saw unknown ships. The Templars are collecting a Encyclopedia of all known species in order to keep the Void safe through diplomacy rather than our old method of brute force. A welcome change I'm sure you'll agree."
"Only fools and warmongers choose war as their first course of action, Captain. We are doing a similar database compilation ourselves, trying to get to know more races. I am glad to hear that the Void Templarians are doing well." She wasn't, of course, because of her incapability to feel emotions, but if she could have she would have.

All the residents of these ships, planets and stars have no clue what may have happened next. The silence inbetween the galaxies give the universe a lonesome place to live. Black to every corner, with some light to spread across the sky. Oddly enough, the skys hold other secrets, black holes and matter. Invisible to the naked eye.

Traveling to the next sector should have been a easy task, but black holes are unforgiving. The ship in inevitable doom spun out of control. The light around this dense matter bent and was no longer existant. The passengers said their goodbyes.

SPING! They have been engolfed by the collasped star.

But light comes again! They can see once more. Traveling out of this dark area, they realize that they aren't the largest creatures. They back out and look upon where they came out of and they saw they were from...



Barbra Streisand's Nose!

"Only fools and warmongers choose war as their first course of action, Captain. We are doing a similar database compilation ourselves, trying to get to know more races. I am glad to hear that the Void Templarians are doing well." She wasn't, of course, because of her incapability to feel emotions, but if she could have she would have.

"What a coincidence! We all appear to be here on the same mission" Voss observed from beside the Android, "I am curious, the Alversian People have never really come into contact with those in the Void, what is your species like?" It may have been a blunt question but she was a blunt woman in a blunt mood.

Vaer settled back into his chair and listened to the aliens talking. A hidden recording machine in the wall saved everything that was being said for later analyzation. Looking at his watch, he wondered when the reinforcements would arrive. He didn't feel all comfortable being alone with four other foreign ships, even through the aliens had proven to be friendly enough.

The android turned it's lifeless eyes on Vaer. "And you, Captain? What of your people, what are they like?" Information gathering once again for the database.

"Humanoid, except for the soldiers. We have been merged with animals to improve our fighting abilities. Don't ask me how it works, because I don't know the answer. The interesting part is the effects, which are rather spectacular. We are stronger, faster and more agile than normal humans, we can endure wounds that would kill lesser men. Still, we haven't spread very far. We only inhabit this star system, called Anaecron, which means "Morning Star" in our language. Our space technology is, as you may have noticed, rather crude compared to yours".

"Humanoid, except for the soldiers. We have been merged with animals to improve our fighting abilities. Don't ask me how it works, because I don't know the answer. The interesting part is the effects, which are rather spectacular. We are stronger, faster and more agile than normal humans, we can endure wounds that would kill lesser men. Still, we haven't spread very far. We only inhabit this star system, called Anaecron, which means "Morning Star" in our language. Our space technology is, as you may have noticed, rather crude compared to yours".
"My creators have probably been around longer, but their story it similar. They inhabit only a few star systems, and they are like you except there is only a single biological organism that they imitate, which is that of the fox, from birth. Genetic alternations made them this way some three thousand years ago."

"We mainly use larger animals, like bears and tigers. We get more of an effect that way. Fox, you said? What advantages did they get from that?"

"I am curious, the Alversian People have never really come into contact with those in the Void, what is your species like?"

"Well, the main percentage of the species is Human, specifically Varian Humans, with some species that are in the Dominion, such as Sanghelli, Uggnoy and Asari. Most were absorbed through a co-operative action." He leaned forward, avoiding saying what happened to the other species who weren't. "What of your species, lieutenant? The Encyclopedia doesn't have much on the Alversians."

"We are humanoid as well, with minor biological differences. We have more ribs, more organs and bigger brains but apart from that we are identical" She smiled, "We are part of a Republic known as the People's Republic. Our state is entirely democratic. Everybody is equal and no one is left out. We fight for our freedom alone. Never for conquest, never for wealth or power. We fight only to protect those who we proclaim to be our friends" She smiled at the thought of the Alversian homeworld, a Utopian society.

"Interesting." The captain nodded and pressed a small button on the communicator. The AI popped up again.
"You get that?" The AI nodded then disappeared.

Voss stared in interest at the A.I,
"This is all going into the encyclopedia, I presume?" She stated.

"Of course. Orailia is our AI in charge of the Encyclopedia. Every Void captain has a link to her, so as to update information." The comm bleeped again. "Excuse me."

---Tyranovani Sigma---
---Code. . .Creazil---
---Urgency: Immediate Attention---
---Clearance: FYEO---
<MSG BGIN>
Clarify intentions of new species. Hostile? Friendly? VTNF Alert Status raised to 8 pending response. Alean Fleet Admirality Board.
<MSG END>
The captain frowned. This was the first contact made in cycles by the Void, so they were naturally cautious due to the last one being rather... unfavorable. He sighed. He had to remember to keep in mind he was here on business.

Voss noticed the alert but kept a steady face. The last thing she wanted to be reminded of was an AI warning on her first first contact mission. For that was the fate that had sent the previous Fleet to it's doom. It's 75 ships, it's 210,000 crew all wiped out in battle with just four ships. SASM Pathfinders, the most deadly in the universe, prior to their destruction of course.

She instead smiled and asked
"So the Void seeks new information on new species? How so?"

"Well, we take information from every known and encountered race and then catalog it in the Library of Karas, its the single biggest depository of knowledge in the Void."

"And what exactly is the void? Is it actually a void?" Voss asked hesitantly, she knew it was probably a daft question but it was one she was curious to know the answer to. Her shift should have ended an hour ago, but if Captain Harte couldn't be bothered to send an Ambassador down, she couldn't be bothered to return for duty.

"We mainly use larger animals, like bears and tigers. We get more of an effect that way. Fox, you said? What advantages did they get from that?"
"Everything that you have mentioned. Faster reflexes, more agile and graceful, sharp teeth and so on. Aside from these, and also the obvious physical characteristics, the also have very good night vision, sensitive hearing and a marginally better sense of smell. However, these come at a cost: The more sensitive your senses are, the easier they are damaged."

Vaer nodded. "We have experienced that problem too. We have had some rabies outbreaks and problems with aggresive or unstable inviduals. All recruits are scanned for mental health problems, as well as physical ones, but sometimes one slip through the system. We usually put them to death when we find them. No one wants a bunch of phychopathical super-soldiers running around freely".

"I see" Voss made a mental note of what he had said "So you acquired your technology from the void itself? That is a fascinating, you must have quite a little society in there" she stated

"And what exactly is the void? Is it actually a void?"

"It was. When we first took steps into space, we found a huge ring of asteroids and debris. There seemed to be nothing inside. When we eventually did penetrate the field, we found these huge gateways. They lead us to other worlds. There were also old derelict ships which is where we got our original FTL drive and weapon systems from."

Vaer nodded. "We have experienced that problem too. We have had some rabies outbreaks and problems with aggresive or unstable inviduals. All recruits are scanned for mental health problems, as well as physical ones, but sometimes one slip through the system. We usually put them to death when we find them. No one wants a bunch of phychopathical super-soldiers running around freely".
The android nodded. "Renegades, deserters and rouges are always a problem, and Xiscapia has a considerable mercenary business running. Your species and that of my creators seems very similar. It is a shame that an actual Xiscapian was not avaliable to meet with you."

"I see" Voss made a mental note of what he had said "So you acquired your technology from the void itself? That is a fascinating, you must have quite a little society in there" she stated

"No, actually. That's just it. Behind the field is a Void. Every colony ship we've sent in there has been lost. It seems to do something to the crew, melts them away. We've sent drones in but the same thing happens. AI, same thing. It seems to kill everything but the ships. I expect that the species that left the Supergates was trying to use it as some kind of base."

"The crew are lost, but the ship remains?" Voss asked curiously, "Sounds like quite a dilemma although why anyone would want to enter a void in the first place is quite beyond me" She shook her head, "We are lucky, the Alversian has no serious phenomena that we know of. Just a few random Ion Storms"

"Sounds like quite a dilemma although why anyone would want to enter a void in the first place is quite beyond me"

"We stopped trying to, but we've discovered something recently. It hasn't been there for about 17 cycles, but now theres a huge power spike. We don't know what it is. It could be the gates inside the Void activating, it could be one of the derelict ships activating, it could be anything."

OOC: I'll be starting an RP up about this soon, in case any of you are interested.

"Sounds fascinating" Voss replied, thinking. To her, that piece of information meant nothing. However, there were those on her ship, especially Captain Harte, who would love to investigate the spikes and to build better relationships with the people of the void. She nodded smiling,
"We would be delighted to tag to along and see if we can help solve the mystery"

"Sounds fascinating" Voss replied, thinking. To her, that piece of information meant nothing. However, there were those on her ship, especially Captain Harte, who would love to investigate the spikes and to build better relationships with the people of the void. She nodded smiling,
"We would be delighted to tag to along and see if we can help solve the mystery"
"I would need to receive futher instructions, but I am sure my creators would want me to help in this endevor." said Unit 323956 stiffly. "My scout vessal is considerably better armed than it looks, and it's systems in scanning and sensing are unsurpassed by any of the Allies."

The android nodded. "Renegades, deserters and rouges are always a problem, and Xiscapia has a considerable mercenary business running. Your species and that of my creators seems very similar. It is a shame that an actual Xiscapian was not avaliable to meet with you."

"It's a pity indeed", Vaer agreed. "Hmm, before I forget it, would it be possible for you to provide us with maps over space? We wish to trade with the rest of the galaxy, but unfortunately we don't have any good maps, so it would be very haphazard for us to try to get anywhere".

Jakob pressed a few buttons on his comm device and a holographic map popped up. He turned to Vaer. "This is a map of the Dominion. The main military fleets are not shown, of course." He pressed another button and a small disk ejected from the devices holo drive. He handed it to Vaer.

"It's a pity indeed", Vaer agreed. "Hmm, before I forget it, would it be possible for you to provide us with maps over space? We wish to trade with the rest of the galaxy, but unfortunately we don't have any good maps, so it would be very haphazard for us to try to get anywhere".
Unit 323956 nodded and a tiny square hole appeared at the base of her throat. It ejected a flash drive, which she took out and handed to him. "This is a starmap of space known to us. Xiscapian space, as well as routes to get there from different areas of the galaxy. Guard this carefully. It is not hard to locate my creator's space, if you know what you're looking for. However, their relative distance from other nations give my creators some amount of protection."

"Well," Voss went into her back pocket and pulled out a data pad, "If you're collecting info, I suppose you might as well have this," She handed it to him, "This is a map of Alversian space, all of our known territory and surrounding systems. Hopefully it will help you in your expansion."

"Excellent", Vaer answered, taking the items. "Thank you very much. Maybe you'll see one of our ships in your space in a near furure".

"Possibly," said Unit 323956 cooly. "Proper ettiqute must be followed in our space, of course, Attatched to that map is a list of my creator's customs and traditions that any of your people entering Xiscapian space would be wise to follow."

"I would doubt it" Voss stated, "This is far outside of our patrol zones. If you are lucky, you may find a Merchant Vessel but nothing else" She sighed, "We don't have enough ships to get this far"

Vaer smiled. "Of course. It won't happen soon, though. Our technology is quite unsuitable for long journeys".