NationStates Jolt Archive

After the first few successful weeks of establishing a precedent for the governance of the ITF, it is here that the Vuhifellian Federation calls the first Meeting of the ITF; whereby even non-members may participate and add to our forum of nations.

Any topic of discussion may be raised by any participating nations at any time. Discussion about the new budget and its breakdown among member states, however, is a mandatory topic of debate.

ITF Interim Headquarters
Farbanti Station, Geosynchronous Orbit around Hivezopolis, New Vuhifell

Prime Minister Yoko Kayabuki sat in her crimson chair in the main meeting hall of the station. It was once a military installation, but had since been converted into a station of peace. The entire cabinet was here on the station, with the exception of the designated survivor, and she patiently waited for a bright flash of light to indicate the arrival of other participating nations and their delegates.

OOC: My apologies about the new home thread, RL can really stink sometimes...
Before I post there isn't an OOC thread I need to register on is there?
IC:
The otherwise undisrupted serenity of space was shattered as a large, red vortex forced itself into being, manifested as a violent eruption of powerful energies. From its threshold emerged a single Raven class Capital Ship (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y90/DominionofRS/p2prototype.jpg), hailed as the workhorse of the Dominion Starfleet. Once the most numerous, and the most respected as well as feared vessel in the fleet, precious few were left in the wake of blood that was the Civil War.

This particular Raven, the Pride of Homeworld, was now almost exclusively relegated to the transport of diplomatic personnel. It was arguably the galaxy's largest luxury shuttle at 2km long by .75km tall by 1km wide at its widest. The advent of wormhole technology allowed it to travel unescorted, with the only two instances it would be in normal space being at its starting point and final destination.

Aboard the utilitarian, but nonetheless spacious bridge, Captain Marco Jameson stood with the rest of his senior staff. Formerly a Commodore, he'd lost his command during the outset of the Seige of the Antares Fleet Yards. His command was not lost due to any infraction or act of treason, but that all of his ships were destroyed during the opening salvo from the Seperatist forces. He'd wanted to take command of the forays and rescue missions into the Old Dominion, but was instead relegated to transporting diplomats, his superiors contending that his personal vendettas would interfere with his judgement.

Sighing deeply, he keyed the ship's intercom, "Ambassador Altair, please report to Transporter Room 7," not waiting for a response, he then opened a channel to the station, "Farbanti Station, this is Dominion Starship Pride of Homeworld, requesting permission to beam in three individuals: Ambassador Ashelin Altair and her personal guard."

[OOC: No problem, if you want to pick it up again, that's cool. No OOC thread; unless you want to join the ITF that is ;)]

OOC: Request to join submitted on the original thread (found it! :D)

Space erupted momentarily as a group of three ships emerged from slip-space. Two missile fregates, escorting a light cruiser. All of the ships were of Kostemetsian make, but their symbols and names were not Kostemetsian. The light cruiser bore the blue- and white colours of the Principality of Northern Rangeria, a Terran nation that had only recently taken her first steps into space.

"Farbanti Station, this is KATK Kronstedt. Requesting permission to dock."

A single Wasp class Battlecruiser (http://www.moddb.com/images/cache/mods/82/8237/gallery/thumbmoty_53379.jpg) exited hyperspace next to the vessals from the Principality of Northern Rangeria. Unlike the counterparts beside it, this ship was far larger, although Xiscapian Intelligence did not indicate the armor or armament on the ships. The ship halted without apparent effort and hailed the station:
Greetings to our new allies of the ITF! This is the XIW Snow, escorting a diplomatic party to the first ITF conference. Requesting permssion for our Ambassador to dock.

"KATK Kronstedt, please dock at docking bay M-22. Uploading coordinates to your NAVCOM now. XIW Snow, please dock at docking bay A-11. Due to the nature of Farbanti Station, we request all weapons be disabled past the marker buoyes."

Several Vuhifellian frigates descended upon their ITF counterparts and began flashing their civilian safety lights; signalling the ships as to which space lane to follow to the station. A sphere of red buoyes surrounded Farbanti Station, housing flashing white and gold lights; signalling for all weapons to be disabled past that point.

Marines were dispatched to both docking bays to salute the respective delegations and escort them to the main meeting hall.

"Acknowledged, Farbanti Station. Beginning approach and docking procedures."

The two missile frigates, designated KATK Shining Blade and KATK Viapor fired their retro-engines, grinding to a halt outside the traffic surrounding New Vuhifell. The Kronstedt veered off from her escorts, following the signals of the Vuhifellian vessels as she made her approach towards the station. The frigates she left behind maintained radio silence and their position.

Copy that Farbanti Station. Pulling into dock A-11 and deactivating weapon systems now.
The Battlecruiser powered down it's weapons and, upon reaching the docking bay, it's sheilds. Sliding smoothly into place, the ramp extended from the bow point to the inner docking station and three figures strode out. The first was a young kitsune with blood red hair and fur, yellow eyes and extremely pale skin. This was The Vanadict (http://photobucket.com/mediadetail/?media=http%3A%2F%2Fi166.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu90%2Fskyrocks93%2Ffox-2.jpg&searchTerm=kitsune&pageOffset=19), Chief Ambassador from Xiscapia to oversee the first meeting of the ITF. The IFT would be getting it's own permanent delegation, but until that time Vanadict herself would attend the confrences. On her hip rested a black katana sword. Flanking her on both sides were two black armored kitsune (http://web.nafcs.k12.in.us/users/galena/Classrooms/Fifth/student51_Smith_Web/TANNER/Tannerpix/Shadow%20trooper%20II.jpeg). These were the elite Black Guard, specially trained soldiers to escort and protect dignitaries and the Imperial Family, as well as important structures and installations. Entirely covered by multi-plated jet black armor with blaster rifles on their backs and black katana swords at their hips, they were an imposing sight.
OOC: Okay, I really hate to do this, but Altairan, there's several problems with your post:
1. You have a (NS) population of 146 million. I have no idea of what your FT pop is, nor do I care. No one can build, supply and mantain a ship the size of Jupiter. Your economy would implode, you would have no budget for anything else at all, and the ship would eat up a massive amount of raw materials.
2. If you actually, against all sense and economical reasons, were able to construct such a ship, it would be impossible. A ship of this size would disrupt everything around it with it's gravity field, locking other ships, asteroids, space stations, ect into orbit around it. Just moving would be a massive undertaking.
3. You have a ship the size of Jupiter. And you are requesting to dock at the space station? Tell me, what part of this makes sense? The space station would be more likely to dock with you.
I beleive I have established why this ship is utter bull. Please edit your post accordingly if you wish to stay in this thread. And, seriously, a peice of advise:
READ
THE
STICKIES
Link to the stickies explaining general PRing. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=543994)

[OOC: NR, I shall assume you have docked. Xis, thank you; Altairan; this may be FT, but I expect the laws of physics to be respected. Including the fact that such an object would lietally rip my world apart.]

At both docking bays, rows of ODST (http://www.bungie.net/images/Games/Halo2/Gallery/Renders/ODST.jpg) and marines (http://images.wikia.com/halo/images/8/8c/H3_Zune_Marine.jpg) were lined in two rows, saluting the delegations as they exited their crafts and entered the station.

Normally, the Lesser Councillors would be there to greet the delegations; but the Federation had recently converted to a Parliamentary Republic. The councils no longer existed.

A female voice came from nowhere in particular and reverberated throughout the docking bays. It was the AI Mateus.

Welcome to Farbanti Station; interim headquarters for the Interstellar Trade Federation. As you are the only two delegations which have arrived so far, please follow the marines and ODST to a waiting room. The Vuhifellian cabinet will meet you shortly. Thank you. She repeated the message again in Japanese, Kazach, Pan-Ceres, and Russian: the official languages of Vuhifell; before the various soldiers bowed deeply and turned on their heels in unison to lead the delegates to a waiting room just outside the main meeting hall.

(OOC: Xiscapia, regarding the logistics of supplying a gas-giant-sized ship, the Time Lords might disagree with you there, but I digress. Altairan, raus. VS, I'm placing clandestine surveillance in your conference room, hope you don't mind :D)

The neophyte came online.

Information rolled past its consciousness, imparting knowledge unto it of its purpose and its identification. A communication channel automatically opened to its supervisor, the Central Polysentience Gestalt on Kostemetsia Prime.

Your designation is Adam-1343, Gestalt transmitted. Deploy to tagged locus Farbanti-A13 and begin observation.

A tiny plasma flame speared from one point of the neophyte's spherical 'body', pushing it gently to a place of advantage located precisely on top of A13, which was in turn located a few kilometres north of the Farbanti Station conference room.

Glinting darkly, the neophyte unfurled part of its body, allowing a tiny metal fragment, no bigger than a human hair, to pass into open space. If the station's sensors had been purposefully aligned on the neophyte, they would have had a minimal chance of detecting the fragment as it disappeared in a flash of light.

Microseconds later, the fragment materialised in a tiny, barely-perceptible nook in the conference-room wall. That nook had been put there by a visiting Kostemetsian counsel a few days ago, who had come to the station to complete the tedious bureaucracy of sorting out the Commonwealth's financial contribution to the Interstellar Trade Federation's finance office.

A pulse rippled back quietly through the ether, signalling to the neophyte that the fragment was ready. Unfurling its hitherto-dormant sensors, the neophyte was rewarded with an unrivalled depth of perception through the conference room. Visual and audio sensors tagged a human seated in the conference room, confirmed quickly by thermal and biosignal.

The neophyte activated its metamorphic shielding, rendering it (to the eye and most sensors) nothing more than another patch of space. It had nothing to do but wait.

* * *

The fast passenger frigate CNDS Friedliche Lösung rippled into existence a scant thousand kilometres (give or take a few) from the Farbanti installation. Unbeknownst to the Captain, her crew, and the passengers onboard, the Central Polysentience Gestalt was observing quietly through the ship's sensors, adding a wealth of high-quality data to its file on the system.

Subluminal engine processors came out of sleep mode within a few seconds of stellar-area entry, powering up the plasma tubes and incurring a rather charming titian glow from those tubes' recessed depths.

Starweb processors followed, maintaining a superfast, picosecond-latency connection to the Naval Headquarters on Erste, the first moon of Kostemetsia Prime. Hundreds of datalines were opened, allowing Erste Command to look through the frigate's "eyes", still unaware of the Gestalt's subtle observation.

Finally, communications processors came online and powered up the twistspace audiovisual antenna. Swiveling round to line up on Farbanti station like a gun turret, it transmitted a short message across.

>> This is the Kostemetsian diplomatic ship Friedliche Lösung, requesting permission to dock. <<

Welcome to Farbanti Station; interim headquarters for the Interstellar Trade Federation. As you are the only two delegations which have arrived so far, please follow the marines and ODST to a waiting room. The Vuhifellian cabinet will meet you shortly. Thank you.
The Vanadict and her guard followed, mantaining a careful silence. There was a number of ways the three could communicate other then by direct speaking, but it was not needed, now. Vanadict could sense a great deal around her: The Marines and ODST, station personnal, the pilots and passengers of ships pulling in and around the station, as well as the ships themselves and the complex systems controlling the station, including the A.I. which had spoken seconds ago. The entire sector buzzed with energy.

The airlock leading to the Kronstedt had hissed open mere moments before the station AI had broadcast its/her welcome to the diplomats. First from the airlock emerged two Principality soldiers, black-uniformed men with assault rifles, bayonets fixed. Their expressions were grim, the eyes quickly scanned the room before they lifted their rifles to their soldiers.

Only when these men - Black Pikes, Northern Rangerian Defence Corps's elite - had relaxed, did the Principality delegates appear. A rather short older man with auburn hair, his dark grey suit neat and trim, a light green tie around his neck and a blue-and-white delegate's sash running from shoulder to hip. Beside him walked a taller, younger man of thirty-five. Unlike his formal companion, this man wore a blue KATK dress uniform with lieutenant commander's pips on his collar. Notably both men - as well as the Black Pikes - carried a blade on their hips. The older man's blade, however, was purely a dress blade, judging by its decorations; the three soldiers' blades were not.

BUMP for earlier edited post

"Friedliche Lösung, please dock at docking bay B-17. Dominion starship Pride of Homeworld, please beam your personnel at the following location within the station." the officer handling communicatons quickly transmitted a map of the station to the ship, indicating the waiting room for the delegation to be beamed down.

Near the Rangerian delegation, a marine staff sergeant saluted, before looking at the bayonets on the soldiers near him.

"Your soldiers will either have to disarm or stay here under Vuhifellian guard if your delegation wishes to see the cabinet."

Waiting Room

"Please wait here," was said to the Xiscapian delegation as they were led into the waiting room, before the officer in charge opened the door to the meeting room.

"Madame Prime Minister, the first delegation has arrived."

She stood up and walked to the door; the meeting room, lavishly decorated with real mahogany panels on the walls and large windows overlooking New Vuhifell.

Yoko Kayabuki, 26th Executive of the Vuhifellian Federation, was a bio-android. She wore a red skirt and blouse, and her black hair came down in sharp angles to her shoulders.

"Welcome, I trust you're the Xiscapian delegation. Please come in, the others will arrive soon, and we have much to discuss in terms of the ITF."

Vanadict's guards took up positions by the doors, not following her into the meeting room. If they needed to get into the room, they would. Vanadict bowed to the android meeting her. She was not unfamiliar with such, as androids were used extensivly thoughout the Empire. "I am the sole Ambassador from Xiscapia. My guards will wait outside." She entered the conference room.

"I understand", the older man said, nodding to the two Black Pikes. The dour-faced soldiers said not a word as they detached their bayonets, sliding them into their hilts. As a show of good faith, they also removed the ammo cartridges from their assault rifles, sliding them on to their belt pouches.

"I trust we may keep our knives? They are dictated by tradition?" the younger man asked, removing the bullets from his service pistol before putting it back in its holster.

By now the Vuhifellian marine's visor should have displayed the ID of these two men, delegates of the Principality. The older man was Ilya Kanerw, the Minister of Foreign Trade. The younger man in KATK uniform was Lord Samuel Halsar, the current monarch's cousin.

A flash of light and two Alversian warships appeared near to the station. One was an F-Class Battlecruiser, the APS Federal and the other was a Cruiser, the APS Independent. On board the Battlecruiser was a Diplomat by the name of Hans Linderman, the new Alversian Representative for the IFT. As he waited calmly a message was sent to the Station

This is the Alversian People's Starship Federal requesting
permission to dock a shuttle with the Representative for Alversia to
the ITF.

"Thank you Farbanti Station, coordinates received and stanby for beamdown," the Captain replied.

In the waiting room, two columns of light briefly flashed into being before fading. In their place stood an attractive woman of about 5'9" with long, brown hair and gray eyes.

The other was a fully armored and armed Dominion Defense Force trooper. His pulse rifle was slung on his back. and he was carrying a large, apparently heavy briefcase that the Ambassador had shoved into his hands before beamdown. Delicately, she relieved the soldier of the case, much to his relief, and tucked the padd she was studying inside.

Patiently, she smoothed out her skirt and put the briefcase down next to her. A slight smile crept across her face as she touched the communicator concealed as a button on her blouse, opening a channel to her guard within the armor, "Weakling. What did they have you in boot camp? Pillow fights? Makeovers maybe?"

The soldier shifted uncomfortably, but one thing they did teach him was discipline. He kept his mouth closed despite the scowl concealed by his helmet. He knew full well Ashelin enjoyed poking fun at her bodyguards, seeing just how far she could push them.

"Roger, Federal, please come up to docking bay A-01. The Prime Minister has speed-cleared your envoy to a direct, unescorted route to the meeting hall."

Waiting Room

She was about to turn around when she noticed the beams of light coming down from the cieling. ONI techs were studying the technology, but the sheer risk of disassembling and reassembling a person's particles was...controversial. Vuhifell had stopped all research to the technology.

The Prime Minister, herself not all that tall, at 5'5", looked up towards the delegate. The marines nearby still had their cool, calm complexion, silently communicating to each other through the military neural net. In the physical realm, they were calm; in the virtual, they were snickering and poking fun at the bodyguard.

"Welcome ma'am. I trust you are another delegate in attendance to this conference. I am Prime Minister Kayabuki of the Vuhifellian Federation; please, come in."

As the prime minister extended her arm toward the door, the Rangerian delegation arrived, escorted by two columns of ODST and marines. All snapping to a halt once a command was issued via the neural net. They saluted, bowed, turned on their heels, and marched off in the opposite direction.

"Yes Madam Prime Minister, I am Ambassador Ashelin Altair, representing the Dominion," she inclined her head, "It's an honor to meet you, and I am looking forward to these talks. It would be the first official alliance we have been a part of in over a millenium"

She accepted his invitation and entered, her bodyguard in tow. It was always difficult to read body language through armor, but he was sure the guards were at least amused at his poor showing.

Not my fault that devil woman keeps tritanium ore in her briefcase just to make us grunts look bad...

He tried to puff out his chest and broaden his shoulders as much as the armor would allow. As the Ambassador found her seat, he unslung his rifle and lowered it until the stock touched the floor. He then snapped to attention, the barrel of the rifle in his right hand and tilted exactly 75 degrees to the floor. He remained unmoving from his position.

The two Black Guards looked at the Dominion Defense Force trooper with something akin to amusement, if such an emotion was possible in the hardened soldiers. Vanadict herself sat quietly on the near right of the room, high up but still only a few rows away from the door. She did not hum, did not smile, did not fiddle with her hands, she did not do anything but observe the Prime Minister and the delegate from the Dominion, as still and silent as her guards.

While the Prime Minister took her seat at the end of the long wooden table, she began introducing the various members of her cabinet. Indeed all important officials, but most of which would ever interact with the ITF ever again outside of this first meeting. The only exceptions being the Chief Cabinet Secretary; and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance.

Near the wall, on either side of the Great Seal of the Federation; were a sailor and a marine. Both were standing at attention; accompanying the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy; each carrying the flag of their respective service. Mateus kept a watchful eye on the bodyguard still wielding his weapon within the conference room; broadcasting a live feed of the event to every Vuhifellian soldier within the station.

"I am aware that almost all of the members of the Interstellar Trade Federation are here; shall we begin now or wait until an acceptable majority arrive to discuss negotiations?"

Linderman landed quickly and was soon at the meeting himself, flanked by the Captain of the Federal as well as his Tactical Officer.
"My apologies for being late, Ladies and Gentlemen" he said as he smoothly entered the room and took his seat, "It was not easy to find escort ships for this assignment. I am Hans Linderman, the new Alversian Representitive to the ITF."
The two Alversian sailors just stood against the wall behind him, hands behind their backs.

I am Hans Linderman, the new Alversian Representitive to the ITF."
Vanadict gave a single, slow nod in the humans direction. Xiscapia and Alversia were old allies, going back to the days of the Korr war, and more recently the SASM attack and the Rebellion. The man probably had a lot of stress on his shoulders, in such dangerious times diplomacy could make or break an entire country.
"I am aware that almost all of the members of the Interstellar Trade Federation are here; shall we begin now or wait until an acceptable majority arrive to discuss negotiations?"
"I feel," said Vanadict softly but so everyone could hear, "that everyone who is going to arrive has. I propose we begin now, if no one else has any objections."

Ambassador Altair spoke up, "I would be willing to wait a while longer if no one else objects. In the meantime," she turned to the Xiscapian and Alversian representatives, "I'd like to get to know my colleagues. I am Ambassador Ashelin Altair of the Dominion."

She inclined her head in the standard greeting.

Behind her, the guard had locked the joints of his armor into position and increased the firmness in the hydrostatic gel layer. He then used his neural lace to download the latest updates from the Dominion NewsNet. He was perfectly confident in the abilities of the station's security forces, his presence being little more than a formality.

The Northern Rangerian minister and his royal companion had taken their seat by the table. As per tradition, both of them unclipped their knives from their belts and placed them lying on the table, as a show of good faith. The two Black Pikes had stepped back, standing by the wall after a nod from Lord Halsar.

"I agree with you", Kanerw said, looking at Altair. "I believe the Kostemetsian delegates are yet to arrive. And it would definitely be a faux pas to begin the meeting without them."

Kanerw and Halsar sat quietly in their chairs, both of them following the conversation intently. They knew their situation: the Principality was a young nation among these space-faring empires. They were behind them technologically, yes. Their colonies included only a handful of worlds in the Prates cluster, none of them possessing a population past two million. Still... they were here, and they intended for their voice to be heard.

(OOC: man Im late)

Space opened up with a golden burst of crackling energy, as a black, grey vortex whirled around a pitch black center, A massive Warrington class cruiser jumped out a golden hue escaping the back of it, the cruiser was flanked on both sides by SA-40 Star fighters, six on each side, its body ominously shimmered over the station, the small fighters securing the sides of it.

Secretary of State Bester kayborn was on board, his tall stature, and pressed black suit made him look professional, he grumbled a bit as the vortex closed behind the ship, the cruiser moved slowly flanked by its brand new escorts towards the conference, they were late but with good reason Bester had to deal with some things., Commander Robison Was sitting on his chair, he looked passed Bester and sent a telepathic message via AI interlink to his communications officer to open a channel and let the station know a Terran federation delegate was coming on board ..
The communications officer tapped his 3D holo console with a gloved hand , and sent a message.

This is the UTS Republic , to all alliance assets, our delegate will be beaming aboard in to the conference room shortly, please do not be alarmed.

Bester walked off the bridge towards a side door, his feet tapped on the metal hull beneath him as made his way towards the ID transporter room, his hair was black, his eyes brown, he was well groomed and well mannered he walked as if he had confidence and style, his suit was black and pressed, he looked as if he was in his middle ages. He entered the sleek looking Inter-dimensional Transporter chamber , he looked around as he wandered up to the shimmering glassy pad, standing confident looking straight forward, he was flanked by two PSADU officer warring the most advanced armor the federation could provide. He nodded saying in a rough commanding voice “Go for it”

The forms of all three people shimmered, a bright light engulfed them as they disappeared with in a split second , Bester was taken aback , as he suddenly appeared in to the main conference room, the two PSDU officer dawning somewhat sleek looking powered armor, carrying DEAR-19’s stood on both sides of him, they had their perception filters activated , meaning someone could tell something was there, but they couldn’t tell if it was really there or what it was.
He was waiting to be greeted a sly grin over is toned yet pale and smooth face…

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/USFU/Closeup.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/USFU/SA-40views.jpg_

The bio-androids and the enhanced humans in the cabinet had already known of the TUS Republic's delegation being beamed down into the conference room. Their neural nets had been notified by Mateus. And as the delegate arrived, they were as calm as before.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takamura, however, was a natural. Natural being a human who was not enhanced by technology in any way. He had almost jumped out of his seat when the delegate arrived via beam transmission; sending the other members of the cabinet snickering within their neural sphere.

"Very well, then. However, it would appear that the Kostemetsian delegation is already within this station's neural sphere coverage. Mateus should be able to automatically direct them to this conference room. Now; has everyone been briefed on the current budget? And are there any comments or questions; if not we shall proceed to the breakdown of the budget."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takamura had recovered and was now passing out several PDAs, laptops, and folders. All containing the budgetary information for the ITF. Alone, the Terran and Vuhifellian Federations were to pay in excess of 86 percent of the budget.

"Due to a direct communication from the Terran government; we will also be forcing the issue of an ITF headquarters upon this meeting. But we shall get to that later."

"I am Ambassador Ashelin Altair of the Dominion."
Vanadict stood briefly to bow a greeting before sitting again. "I am Chief Ambassador Vanadict for the Empire of Xiscapia." At that moment the air to the side of the hall seemed to shimmer. The Black Guards both let their hands stray to one of their various weapons as they watched the air. Vanadict merely nodded in the direction of the light as her bodyguards relaxed at her signal. Vanadict took one of her own PDAs, scrolling though. Xiscapia was to pay a total of three percent of the total ITF budget.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance," she responded with a smile.

As the delegation from the Fedral Union beamed in, Ashelin simply cast her eys in their direction. The guard's hand holding the rifle twitched ever so slightly, his thoughts curbing the reflex sent to his armor by the neural link to in a split second raise and level the rifle at the new arrivals. He relaxed and thus the armor followed suit, his neural lace making it little more than an extention of the body.

Ashelin accepted one of the laptops, hooking her padd into one of the ports and downloading the proposed budget. Looking it over, she replied,

"Being a rather new arrival to this organization, I don't believe we're down for covering any part of the budget. If possible, I'd like to remedy that. Being untouched by war save few instances, we have developed a very diverse and successful economy. To be frank, we're not afraid to pull our weight."

While the Captain and his Officer were surprised, all that Linderman did was offer a greeting,
"Welcome to the ITF," he said in a light voice, "And I am pleased to meet you all" He said to the rest of the congregation, "It is an honour"

"To be frank, we're not afraid to pull our weight."

"I do not doubt anyone is afraid to pull their own weight, ambassador", Minister Kanerw remarked as he and Lord Halsar went through the budget proposal. The young nobleman seemed to show genuine interest in the documentation, his grey eyes flitting down the lines and graphs appearing on the PDA screen. Thus far he had remained quiet, allowing the older - and perhaps more experienced - politician do the talking.

"Admittedly, the acquittal of the Principality from paying for the ITF is a double-edged sword. Our economy is of... smaller scale compared to those present here", Kanerw continued, looking up. "Still, it places us in a rather negative light, denied the chance to contribute to this alliance. His Majesty the Prince himself takes great interest in these proceedings, and like ambassador Altair so eloquently put it, we are not afraid to pull our own weight. If not monetarily, I hope we can find a solution where the Principality may contribute to the ITF through other means."

"Very well, I've approximately calculated the Dominion's share to the ITF and altered the budget proposal as a result. The budget is hereby raised to a proposed 800 Billion Universal Standard Dollars. Or just under 1.5 trillion Vuhifellian Credits. The Dominion is expected, as per their economic performance, to contribute 14 percent of this new budget. Regarding Northern Rangeria's contributions to the ITF; this alliance exists not only for the common defense and welfare of all member states, but to exponentially increase their economic output. I trust that Rangerian assets will be put to great use within the other branches of the ITF?

Vuhifellian contributions have been lowered to 29 percent; Terran contributions have been lowered to 43 percent. All other member contributions have been unaltered. Is this new proposal acceptable?" the Prime Minister merely said this while looking at the various reports in her neural net.

"Mr. Linderman, it is an honor to meet you as well. I trust your nation is well? It has been so long since our two nations have discussed politics like this, has it not?"

Bester wandered over to the table and took a seat on an idle and free chair , he placed his smooth hands on the table and nodded at the question saying.

“That is satisfactory with us, now the Terran federation has an idea for the headquarters of this alliance, We would be happy to provide housing for it, in a secure part of Terran space on a space station, we are even willing to build Void space gates to access it. We also have some other proposals to tell this council about.”

He smiled a bit folding his hands he was quiet, confident looking, somewhat modest it was obvious.

The human Commonwealth delegate, Julian Richter, stepped down from the airlock tube, running a hand through his short brown hair, and knowing and regretting the fact that he was rather late.

Following him was a seven-foot-tall metal monster, painted in gloss blue with the rank insignia of a Rear Admiral occupying the area on her bodywork where a human man's shirt pocket would be. This was Olivia Robinson, the oldest person in the Commonwealth (at two hundred and fifty-three years) and one of the Foreign Affairs Ministry's most senior figures. Her career's ascent defined all convention - after all, Olivia's cybernetic body gave off a rather shocking impression: she'd purposely chosen the gigantic killing machine look when her brain had been transplanted from her failing human body.

Everyone who met her, though, knew she was just as human as ever. Among her qualities - being an excellent conversationalist and diplomat, an exemplary strategos, and overall a great person to be around.

Especially when one was lost.

"Julian," she said calmly, and pointed along a corridor, "that direction."

Richter shot a sardonic glance her way, and turned down the corridor. Olivia kept up easily, while the young Navy sublieutenant accompanying them was stuck in the uncomfortable area between a power-walk and a jog.

Reviewing the sensor data from Adam-1343, Olivia saw, with a flash of anger, that the Xiscapian envoy had attempted to cut the Terrans and Kostemetsians out of the meeting. Granted, she might not have done it deliberately, but it sure looked a hell of a lot like it.

An extra edge came into her stride, and the sublieutenant (and Richter) were forced into a full jog.

(OOC: Xiscapia, sorry, cyborgs have to be paranoid to live as long as they do. No offence intended :p Others, sorry I'm late, Internet access is patchy)

Kanerw glanced at the Terran Federation delegate, thrumming his fingers against the handrest of his seat.

"The Principality is also willing to offer a location for the ITF headquarters, or for other facilities, if need be. We have colonies in the Prates Cluster, and in the spirit of boosting our economies" - at this point the Minister gave a polite nod to Prime Minister Kayabuki - "we would be willing to offer land for terrestrial offices, or the possibility of building a space station in orbit. Milord...?"

Lord Samuel Halsar nodded and opened his PDA, starting to type in. He cursed slightly. "Just a moment, ladies and gentlemen... It seems that the connection to the Kronstedt's memory banks is a little edgy today..."

(OOC: Will post details of possible HQ sites as soon as I get home and review my notes :) )

Olivia turned up at the door a good twenty metres ahead of Richter and the sublieutenant. Placing a finger on the door controls, she ran a cybernetic bell pulse through them, requesting entry for two to the conference room.

Turning around, she let a hint of uniquely female evil creep into her distinctly Australian-accented synthesised bass rumble, and zeroed in on the young officer.

"Wait out here. We'll only be five hours or so, that's easy enough for you, isn't it?"

She didn't need the hundreds of spectra built into her visual sensors to see the poor sublieutenant go as white as a sheet.

OOC: Perfectly understandable, Kostemetsia. ;)
IC:
Vanadict nodded, almost to herself. Xiscapia had plenty of places to house a facility of ITF headquarters, but most of them weren't very comfortable, in frozen moons and on stations orbiting dead worlds and the like. She had not expected the representatives from The Federal Union to show up at all, but their budget size had probably motivated them. And these Kostemetsians. She didn't know anything about them, the Empire had nothing logged into their databanks about such a nation. Still, as a part of the new ITF she was obliged to find out as much about them as possible. And if she was correct, they were right outside that door.

"Ah, here we go", Lord Halsar said with relief in his voice when the PDA finally chose to work. Something in this environment must have clashed with the signal. Not surprising, really, considering the sheer amount of IT technology present.

A few clicks of a button, and the young nobleman had downloaded a brief introduction into the PDAs. They showed a small, Earth-like world, in the Astra Princeps star system which was part of the Principality's claim in the Infinitus Tractus sector, discovered by Prates a few years earlier. The world was designated Princeps III, AKA Vestal. The diagrams showed a population of 1,500,000, mainly concentrated in the main colony of Vestal City in the southern continent. Most of the world was still wilderness, but a healthy mining industry had already been established.

"Vestal City. It is, I admit, a small location, but it is also a quickly growing city, thanks to the booming industry. We have discussed the matter with the local-level government, and provisions have been made to meet the demands of the headquarters. Also, Vestal is located closest to the Cluster's center, and as such is the easiest of our colony worlds to reach."

Linderman still sat back in his chair and said nothing. The Alversian capital, Illesia, was a bustling metropolis with frantic business sectors, calming beaches, peaceful suburbs and a wild nightlife. She also had numerous buildings would do the ITF justice. But, for now, he was happy to sit back and wait to see what would transpire from this discussion.

"The Vuhifellian Federation does not petition for an ITF headquarters within its space. We cannot guarantee the safety of such an installation against a seperatist threat. We can safely say, however, that such a headquarters must be capable of running the whole of the ITF from day one. It must be safe and secure, and above all else, the people of the host-nation must agree that all ITF Offices are extraterritorial and shall provide adequate security for the HQ. If an existing installation is not available; but a host-nation acquires the rights to the ITF HQ, then we approve the use of ITF funds to construct a headquarters complex."

Ashelin had finished reading the new budget assessment, "We accept and are more than happy to cover said amount.

We also have multiple decomissioned warships that we desperately need to be rid to make room for new projects. We are willing to freely give these to the ITF for use as an escort force for all allied trading vessels. They are in perfect working order and are very capable in combat, but we no longer have need for the number that we have.

We will, however much I am advised to say otherwise, pass on petitioned to have the headquarters located within Dominion space. Should the need for it arise, we can supply one of two derelict starbases (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y90/DominionofRS/starbase.jpg) that we have in storage at the Antares Fleet Yards. They are kept fully functional and in a state of minimal power to maximize core life and minimize cost of maintenance. We would be able to transport said base to the agreed upon site if you wish."

She sat back and smiled, "You see, with the dawning of a new democratic government and the smaller amount of space the Fleet must oversee, our joining the ITF benefits us in more ways than just the standard benefits. Putting our surplus technology to use here is a far more noble function for the ships than decomissioning or heaven forbid selling them. Both were options the government was dreading, as they are all proven vessels and once on the market could potentially be put to ill use. Here, they would be used with peaceful intentions, something the government has been stressing since..." she faltered for a moment, "...our last war."

Having waited for more than a reasonable time, Olivia pushed open the door with one hand, quietly clomped in, and took her assigned reinforced seat at one side of the table, next to Lord Halsar. Richter took his assigned seat next to her, while the sublieutenant nervously stood outside, aimlessly hefting his stubby automatic rifle.

The fragment's sensor filled her in on the discussion up to her point of entry, a summary which she quietly copied to a PDA under the table for Richter's benefit.

OOC Sorry for being late, i would've joined sooner had I seen the ITF anyways, I had an idea for the HQ location and just had to put my 2 cents in before the matter was closed.

IC:
The doors quietly opened, and closed, the Warhaven delegaate arrived. It was a black six foot Octopus loking creature. It appeared to have a shell inside its body, and two Aquamarine blue eyes. It had no beak under its body, instead, a very small mouth on the front. It was completly sealed inside a suit filled with with water, it moved over and sat in its designated spot, its tenticles neatly folded beneath it and infront of it. Of course as some people knew, it was an Aquamarinian, though few understood the reasoning behind the diffrent colors.

It looked over the notes of what had been discussed just recently recorded by a little mechanical octopus made entirey of nanites, and it nodded, mostly too itself, as a discussion filtred in through the hive mind.

"Ahem, sorry for being late, being a full Galaxy away increases travel time considerbly. Anyways, my name is unneccessarily long and complicated, but feel free to call me Ambassader Calimari. I believe the present discussion was on an HQ location, and I do believe we have a solution to offer as well. The Great Ocean is in another dimension, connected by The International Trade Hub, and as trade is our primary function, trade vessals should pose no threat to the ITH. We can get the station so generously offered by Ambassador Altair to Fluidic Space via The Warhaven Military, who possess the Dimensional Tech neccessary to get one to and from Fluidic Space, and can even establish our own gateways to and from ITF headquaters. The most ideal space in The Great ocean, would be in orbit of Oceanus the homeworld of my species. If you want, we could even share the tech with you.

Secondly we would like to be amended into the budjet, being fairly new, I don't think we're on the Tax rolls yet." Ambassador Calimari said.

His eyes closed, and his mind visably pulsed as thoughts ran through his head. Another thought came through from the Hive Mind.
"Oh yes, my government offers to connect the ITF and all Member nations into the Inter-Galactic Trans-Dimensional Communications Network, known as the IGTDCN for short. It takes time for a message to get from one side of the galaxy to the other, let alone Milky Way Galaxy to Andromeda, giving monsterous lag times that are more or less ignored in most communications, some can't even communicate across the galaxy! One of the precepts of joining was fast communication, and the IGTDCN answers this, by offering standardized quick, effecient comunications." Amabassador Calimari said moments later.

Bester smiled a bit he folded his hands together on the table looking at the other delegates, He opened a holographic panel to show a massive station plan it flickered and crackled as it engaged he started to speak.

"This is our plan for the headquarters, space station alpha, located near the Federations core systems , in a heavily defended pocket of space only accessible via void gates, it will be considered a neutral area, not affiliated with any one nation but we will how ever provide several ships and two squadrons of fighters, as well as an enhanced defense grid to protect those inside."

He coughed a bit pressing his smooth hand down on the button again, the image changed to a map of federation space it was located deep with in UTF territory it also showed a plan for gates to be built to allow access from every other member states area of space.

Ambassador Altair nodded to the Warhaven delegate, "We have achieved similar results using our wormhole technology, the result being the Dominion ComNet. Though it is much faster than most systems in intergalactic communication and once linked can maintain a real-time live feed, there is still lag between transmission and receipt. We would offer use, but after our civil war, much of the network was in ruins and we have barely reestablished it here in our new home. Fleeing our old galaxy, people and supplies were deemed a higher priority."

This was obviously not information she cared to share, but it did explain why there was a surplus of ships instead of a shortage after the war. Most were modified to carry as many people and supplies as possible as the Loyalist forces retreated from the Old Dominion, leaving the warring factions of the former Council and any half-brained military officer-turned-warlord who had more then one ship to duke it out.

There were still reports of massive pockets of civilians trapped in the crossfire or oppressed under the new factional leadership and much of the Dominion Starfleet was preoccupied with forays and rescue missions, aided by surviving Loyalist Task Forces who elected to stay behind and maintain a safe entry point after missing the initial exodus. Unfortunately, the number took a huge hit during the war, with potentially trillion perishing under heavy bombardment. The survivors had to be reclaimed fast or succumb to starvation, mistreatment, or a host of previously curable diseases now rampant due to the squandering of medical supplies by thr new 'governments'.

Indeed, we can achieve Real-time if we so desire, but that is saved for important transmissions. the network also offers secure transmision capabilities, as not every message needs to be seen by anyone who cares to browse the network.

OOC: Basicly, its a massive network that offers very little lag time. Its more a set of software than it is hardware though there are hardware requirements. In short, I'm offering to station highly advanced communications satelites in everyone's space, and turn primary control over to said nation. Although, communication speed never seems to be a factor in FT, nor does FTL travel. but enough ooc from me lets get back to RP.

"This sounds a lot like the Vuhifellian Neural Sphere; but on a much greater scale. We ask the Dark Empire of Warhaven to present the costs and pro-con breakdown of the system to this ITF meeting."

At this, a rather tall, slim man in a crisp business suit and sunglasses stood up. He was Finance Minister: David Macker XIV.
"Madame Prime Minister, permission to speak?"
"Granted."

"As per the Warhaven budget request; the budget has been amended to 870 Billion Universal Standard Dollars. The Terran Federation's payments have been lowered to 34 percent; Warhaven is to assume 9 percent of the ITF budget. There will be no change in the budget appropriations with other nations. Prime Minister, do I have your consent?"

"Yes, Minister Macker. Thank you for your comments."

"If I may interrupt for a second," Olivia rumbled, surprisingly gently.

"Thank you, esteemed delegates. The Commonwealth would like to offer a new system under development - the Neural Starweb technology. It is transmitted and received via a nanoscale filament web in the brain. As well as providing a platform for the hosting of documents, images and interactive content, it can also be used to drive ground vehicles and pilot strikecraft and capital ships. May I request the esteemed delegates' opinion on this?"

Vanadict tentively raised her hand. "We have something almost indentical to what you have described, but only on a very small scale, as it is expensive to impliment and there is danger involved. The system is used in the military and government, and is only avalible to the public via large amounts of money and a great deal of medic insurance."

Looking impassively at Vanadict, Olivia explained.

"Neural Starweb technology has been in development for the past thirty years. It has a ninety-nine-point-nine-percent success rate; it's just a question of network scale. For example, we can maintain a star-system network without effort; we can theoretically comfortably run a network over most of the galaxy; but if we're asked to deploy intergalactically... well, that might be somewhat difficult."

OOC: I'm going to need help with that part, mostly costs. Pros and cons I can do myself easy, but I've always assumed a billion a year for my little network, keeping some satelites in international space, allied territory, and my own space. I mean, the IGTDCN is supposed to be a top of the line network. Thoughts?

IC:

"Well, Pros and Cons are easy.
First, Anyone can get on it, which is both a pro, and, admittidly, a Con. An old proverb says that Security is only for honest people. Now don't get me wrong, the IGTDCN offers a wide range of Security methods, but with enough time and dedicated effort anyone who really wanted to stick their nose into your private business could get past them. To date it hasn't happened yet, but all the same, the possibility is there.

IGTDCN is not exclusive, its standardization. We are all highly intelligent civilizations, we all have advanced technologies and methods of communication, but no one nation uses the same method, which means the reciever has to take the time to convert your message into something they understand. You can still communicate with nations not in the IGTDCN, and, as an added bonus, the Network's Information conversion system is able to quickly adapt to most foreign and unknown communications methods, and this information is saved and stored for all members of the IGTDCN.

There once was a nation I read about, that became as a great melting pot of cultures, thus forming its own unique culture. I forget its name, but IGTDCN has the same possibility, technology wise, that isn't to say we would all gain each other's Technology, unless we so wished to share it with each other, it is to say, that if we gave you the hardware specifications, and you could meet them, then we could integrate your hardware into the network with our software." Calimari said. He had stopped to take a breath, water flowing through his suit, he clearly had more to say.

Vanadict interrupted now. "Say you were to make contact with another civilization while you had this in you possession. The aliens are hostile, and a battle ensues. You lose the device, and they now have it. What is stopping them from hacking the network, or pretending to be the original owners, all the while obtaining critical information?" Vanadict had once heard of a civilization, far away that the Xiscapians had only met once, briefly, that had a network covering it's planet set up, allowing both government and military and citizens to access it and obtain a large variety of information in hundreds of different forms. This sounded no unlike this IGTDCN.

Vanadict interrupted now. "Say you were to make contact with another civilization while you had this in you possession. The aliens are hostile, and a battle ensues. You lose the device, and they now have it. What is stopping them from hacking the network, or pretending to be the original owners, all the while obtaining critical information?" Vanadict had once heard of a civilization, far away that the Xiscapians had only met once, briefly, that had a network covering it's planet set up, allowing both government and military and citizens to access it and obtain a large variety of information in hundreds of different forms. This sounded no unlike this IGTDCN.

"Its all in the Hive-mind, the utter basis for the IGTDCN. This isn't to say I'll know everything you transmit, but The Hive-mind was studied as the basis for the network. Without our hive-mind nestled in the satelites, the network cannot function, its simply not possible. This isn't to say your transmissions will ever cross our hive, most transmissions won't, however, encoded within the software are unique protocols that link the network into the hive-mind, and within the hive, is all the infomation on who does and does not own a network satelite. As was stated earlier, anyone can access the network, in the same fashion anyone on a city street could walk up to you and strike up a conversation. There are security protocols to keep the network safe, and your free to add your own, but for the most part, it is very difficult to pretend to be the original owners." Calimari replied.

"Once again," Altair chimed in, "stressing the con of security. Otherwise the theory, technology, and benefits are all resounding pros. Though we can have real-time streaming with our network across galaxies and encryption keeps out most eavesdroppers, our network is not on the level of speed and efficiency of the IGTDCN.

I, personally, would be in favor of using this communications outlet. It would be extremely convenient and would standardize our network. Until we can find a way to encrypt it, if at all possible, truly secret or classified information can be transferred via each nation's own developed means. I know a few Dominion cryptologists who would love to earn to earn their overtime pay developing encryptions for a network of this magnitude, or even experiment to see if it could be done. I'll admit that scrambling a signal might have an adverse effect on the hivemind; that would be the only note that would give me pause."

Bester stood up and looked around he raised his hand rather quickly, coughing a bit , after he crossed his arms and started to speak in a diplomatically loud voice saying.

"I'd like to bring several matters to vote, first is the HQ, second I'd like to propose a gate system , interlinking all powers in this alliance ran by an alliance sanctioned cooperation, charging tolls for its use, the third thing is the establishment of several military installations, many people see the ITF as weak, with a little work we can prove them wrong."

He said this with a grin coming over his face, he looked around the room, his pressed suit and well done hair made him look regal.

Prime Minister Kayabuki stood up, motioning a hand towards the Terran delegation.

"We second the proposal to bring these matters to a vote within the ITF, although we don't agree with the tolling system; I'm sure that issue will be resolved soon. As for military installations, this too, we do not agree with; but if it the will of the member nations of the ITF, we shall cooperate and lend our full support behind the ITDF (Interstellar Trade Defense Forces)."

Up until this point, Linderman had been silent, listening to his colleagues argue and finally cleared his throat to add to the discussion,
"I feel the point about the military is well validated. However there will a problem across all of the ITDF with different procedures. I don't know about the rest of you but I know that Xiscapian Procedures are vastly different to our own."

Kanerw and Halsar had remained silent after offering their proposal for the HQ site, listening to the octopus-like creature and the other delegates discussing the finer points of FTL communication.

"We have donated ships and troops for that purpose, Mr Linderman", Lord Samuel Halsar said calmly. "I believe they will deal with the most of these logistical issues, and perhaps function as a kind of intermediary, should the ITF nations ever need to go to war as a unified force."

Vanadict too spoke up. "I agree with the honorable Prime Minister Kayabuki. Tolls are entirely unnecessary. This was created as a free trade alliance, was it not? However, I feel Delegate Linderman was correct in his assessment on military matters. The military is a joint group effort if I am not mistaken. Therefore ITDF would be manning any military installations put in place. The more we can learn from each other faster, the better it will be for the Federation as a whole, both in trade, war and communication."

"First, let me finish my line of thought with the network, The thought of assistance in developing security methods is well accepted. Your fears about the hive-mind are taken into consideration, and to lay them to rest, we shall send King Howard to assist in your cryptologists efforts. King howard of course, is from the Royal species, and is the leader of our species, leading even the other Royals. We can help you create encryption codes, and so long as the Royals understand them, our hive won't be adversly effected. There is more to it than that of course, but their secretive about their ways on some things.

The second issue of a defence force, is a fine concept, but as has been pointed out, diffrent nations have diffrent methods of doing things. I'm almost certain you don't know what Code V is, and on a Warhaven ship, such knowledge is neccessary, otherwise, the results are, they were, messy. However, there is a workable solution. I'm sure in each of our militaries, there's some up and coming leader just itching for a promotion. You know, a fellow that should be in a high position, but for which none exist or are availible? Well, if we all sent an effective leader we trusted to form the defence wing, then they could discuss miltary topics among themselves, and hammer out an effective working order, you know, some method by which we can all cooperate together for the common purpose of the ITDF, without having to worry about what a Code V is, or any other such problems we can think up.

Third, is the Gate system, is already solved. The International Trade Hub is an organization working out of the Balroggan Empire, and they have such a gate system. They ask only hat it not be used for military purposes, and in return, establish and maintain jump gates outside star systems. In this fashion, one's defences are not compromised, and you still get a handy gate system. The Warhaven Government is already using the ITH's services, and if anyone here is not, all it takes is a conversation with the ITH.
I'm not proposing we link to sensitive systems, however, a trade world, or station, would be a great place for us to link to. The HQ, once its location is decided, can also be added, but if we choose Oceanus, we already have a link.

This brings me to point four, an HQ. I propose we take a tour of each possible location. I know most are in this dimension, which is easy enough to move through with our ships. Some might be afeared of the effects of The Great ocean, in the dimension of Fluidic Space, and so far, ships from this dimension only seem to suffer a slight drop in all aspects of speed, except deceleration, which is increased.

After we have seen first hand, each possible location, and seen for ourselves what each section has to offer, we will be better equiped to make an informed decision about where our HQ should be located. Clearly such a decision should be made with a clear mind and data about he decision. I could talk for hours on end about the benifits of Oceanus versus putting it somewhere else, just as anyone else coud talk for the same amoun t of time about putting it in there space, but in the end, its just talk, and does not replace first hand experience." Calimari said.

The Prime Minister stood up again, taking her turn to address the delegates.

"If the security of the ITF-Comms Network should be in question, the Vuhifellian Federation would be more than willing to develop specialized AI for the task. We have been editing sentient matter for over three centuries, so such a task would not be too hard for our Office of Naval Intelligence. In fact, I myself started out as a thirtieth-generation polysentience. Most members of my cabinet, are, in fact bio-androids such as myself.

As for the matter of the ITDF. We propose common training, communications channels, and standardized military doctrine. Member nations are, of course, permitted to use the ITDF to train their own forces, however, we propose that only the forces under direct command of the ITDF operate under a standard military doctrine throughout ITF space.

As per the issue of free and secure routes between all ITF controlled stars; should the ITF and the Balroggan Empire ever come to bad terms, our most vital space-highways would be out-of-commission, ne? I believe we need an independent, though not totally exclusive, ITF controlled space-highway network."

Ambassador Altair nodded in agreement, "Though the inherent benefits of a third party system are many, the one ever-present disadvantage is the possibility of coming to bad terms with said party. Perhaps an agreement can be reached while still devising a secondary system? Redundancy's only disadvantage is cost, after all.

As for the situation of the military, I am in agreement with Mr. Calimari. Creating a military cabinet would indeed be the logical course and these officers would be perfect for teaching ITF military doctrine to the new members of the ITDF. Though ITDF doctrine may be very similar to all of our military protocols, there are bound to be inherent differences that capable military, not political, leaders will need to iron out."

Sub-space travel between galaxies was not typically a pleasant journy. Poor ether-flows could leave one drifting for months, even years, if conditions did not pick up. Typically a ship would simply ride a handy flow, hardly using its engines at all as it approached its destination.
Unfourtunatly, between galaxies, proper ether currents were rare and difficult to find, sometimes they died out mid-voyage, forcing a ship to use its conventional engines to maintain speed in sub-space. This was not terribly ineffecient with fuel, but few ships within Earth's armory had the fuel capacity to make the full journy on thrusters alone. The new Algorethmic Drives solved some of the problem, but they were expensive and rare.
So, when the Trezion popped out of sub-space next to the station, it was rather low on fuel, as well as bearing numerous scars from the Battle of the Core which had yet to be properly repaired.
Despite its apperance, its comms system was quite functional, promptly blasting out an ID code, followed by the standard formalities.
"This is the Republic of Earth diplomatic mission to the ITF. Our apologies for the delay in our arrival. Request permission to dock and offload our delegates...
Uh...also request permission to access fuel stores somewhere or other. We're running on fumes as it is."

Then there was another delegation approaching the ITF meeting particularily late...

The Ships emblazened with three white letters in the ancient earth script known as english, an early form of the language used commonly around the galaxy. TGM.

They were making an entrance and wanted everyone to know they were there, obviously in this case it set the ship apart from the others. The Ship itself didn't seem to have a single style to it. Almost as if it was formed from the wreckages of a number of various civilisations. The ship was disjointed and seemed that it would fare quite badly in any atmosphere at all.

Of course looks were deceiving but they were right in that the basic architectural components of the ship were scavenged.

"The ITH is an independant business, uncontrolled by the government itself, but there is also the stargate systems, jumpgate systems, we know how to construct a Warp Point, a gate that will allow the near instant travel to any other point in the warp system, similar to a stargate, but is uneffected by the expansion and contrction of the universe. We have another method, but we're not certain you can withstand it.

As for Military, we should draw up a list of thing for the Military cabinet to sort out when they first meet. Above and beyond that, we should finish attending to the matter at hand, The HQ.

Before we vote we should list the pros and cons of each location, and to that end, I present the following.

Oceanus, located in the Dimension of Fluidic Space, specifically in the section known as The Great Ocean, offers security from wars, and a stabile point of trade, for Oceanus is our prime city of Trade, next to Ri-an, in Andromeda.
It has long been known that watching Aquatic Life, well, live, has been beneficial to many species, and The Great Ocean offers a wide variety creatures that dwell off Planet for your viewing pleasure. On the planet itself, Oceanus contains a wide variety of Resources should the station ever find it needs something for maintenence. The Warhaven Trading Fleet is being re-established, and will be able to routinly supply the station with anything Oceanus cannot offer.

The only con, is getting to the Dimension of Fluidic Space, but we can share that technology easily, provided you can't do it yourself. However, the same thing that makes it a con makes it a pro. Except for the ITH, nobody visits Oceanus on their own, so who's going to know the ITF HQ is there to take us down? If you choose to visit Oceanus, you might need a space suit, so you don't drown. Its the same reason why I wear a suit filled with Water, so I don't suffocate in your atmosphere.

"I'd agree with the jump gates for now," Altair spoke up, "but only until an safer, first-party alternative can be created.

This fluidic space certainly sounds like a secure location, though I do have one question: would our artificial wormhole generators be able to be calibrated to reach it? If so, I may be able to convince the higher-ups to make some concessions regarding the release of our technology."

Calimari caused a series of notes to appear on a digital pad via Cyberpsi, and then made it slide over to Altair. The notes were a complicated series of calculations and adjustments, broken into two sections.

"The first section of calculations and adjustments are what our generators must meet before opening a rift to Fluidic space. They will also enable your sensors to tell you where your going to end up before you get there. The area around Oceanus is nice and peaceful, beyond that, your safety is in your own hands. The second section more specifically applies to your hull, if it can withstand the pressures indicated by that second section, then you won't be crushed under the mass of The Ocean. Mind you this has never been witnessed, but all the same, better to be safe than sorry.

If you can calibrate to both sets of calculations, then yes, you can get to The Great ocean on your own, or at least your technology can. Persuading your collective bosses is another matter entierly. It isn't a difficult matter, and we're certain you can, but we have no experience with your technology and so can only give you the equations so you can see for yourself." Calimari said.

The Ambassador quickly downloaded it into her padd and cross-referenced the data with the information on the Dominion TacNet. With a satisfied nod, she responded, "All but some of our logistical vessels would be able to withstand the pressures. The wormhole generators will take some work though, but nothing I'm sure a few weeks of work at the Fleet Yards won't fix."

"But yes," she said with a smile, "I think we'd send an 'expeditionary vessel' first to make sure that the trip is perfectly safe for my superiors. Personally, I'm of the adventurous type and wouldn't mind being on the maiden voyage, but the older members of our diplomatic corps are a little more narrow-minded.

It's alright," she noticed slightly stricken expressions at the boldness of this comment, "They'll tell you so themselves. Repeatedly."

Minister Canerw coughed slightly. For the past ten minutes, the Principality official had been looking increasingly annoyed at the direction the discussion was taking. Understandable, perhaps... The Principality of Northern Rangeria was still an Earth-bound nation, most of her population still residing on that blue speck of dust. And to be here in the presence of powers that spoke of interstellar or even intergalactic travel like taking the bus to the next town... It certainly must must have felt daunting.

"Ambassador Calimari, while the Principality applauds your efforts to establish a safe HQ for the ITF, there are still some of us who are just taking their first steps into the wider galaxy", the Minister said sternly, standing up from his seat. He was a short man by Principality standards, closer to five than six feet, but his eyes let it be known that he would not let his physical frailty be perceived as weakness. "The establishment of the ITF headquarters in another... dimension of all places... would effectively leave the Principality stranded and dependant on the courtesy of others to even reach the headquarters. Not to mention the message such an establishment would be giving to other lower-tech nations..."

Kanerw drew a deep breath, apparently trying to calm himself. He coughed slightly, adjusting the sash on his shoulder. He then began again, his voice much calmer, collected. "The Principality has no illusions about our current standing. We are a nation that counts its population in millions, not billions. The settlement project in the Infinitus Tractus cluster was celebrated as a leap from Earth to the stars. We would not even be here, were it not for the kindness of our Kostemetsian allies" - at this point he paused to offer a polite bow to the ironclad Kostemetsian delegate - "But we are here, and we are willing to grow. We only request that you remember... We are taking our first steps into the galaxy, just like your ancestors once were."

The Minister fell silent again and took his seat.

"Minister Canerw, I fully understand and appreciate your position, and, if you wish to stand on your own, then we will sell you such a vehicle. Mind you it will be one you can take care of, but it will get you around the galaxy, and even to Oceanus." Calimari said. He felt like he was offering to buy a teenager a used car and teach them to drive it.

"It won't be some small one man craft, it will be a small carrier, from our saucer design series, commonly known as a Mothership. We will teach you to fly it, care for it, and build others like it, all included in the price. Better that someone use it than to let it sit around and get eaten by space creatures. If you like, after we're done here, we can go get it." Calimari said.

OOC: Yes, I'm offering to sell you a UFO. Atomic drive, requires a 3,000 man crew, can carry up to 6,000 troops and equipment, or three smaller UFOs. Has Turbolaser armament, a regular Star Trekish shield, a tractorbeam, can reach Warp 3, and can penetrate the Dimensions between here and Oceanus. Comes free with one small UFO for scouting. I'm not making fun of anyone, or anything, nor am I trying to crack a joke, I once used these ships on a regular basis.

Canerw turned to look at the Warhaven representative. Try as he might, he still had some trouble maintaining his posture when addressing a giant, talking squid.

"We thank Warhaven for their offer, and we are willing to accept it."

The Republic of Earth ambassador stepped into the chamber, adjusting his uniform in a slightly annoyed fashion. The khaki cloth was crisp and new, its occupant looking uncomfortable with the newness of the clothing than anything else. A modest sheet of ribbons and medals decorated the left breast of the uniform. A cap of the same color was tucked into his elbow, displaying the crest of the RoE navy, which, while rather ugly, was at least quite distinctive.
His eyes widened slightly at some of the delegates appearances, but he managed to maintain his composure quite handily. This was nothing next to mile-long space bugs.
"Apologies. We were...delayed. Extra-galactic travel is not something we partake of on a regular basis."
He cleared his throat, "I am Colonel Ivan Fedotov, appointed ambassador for the Republic of Earth to the ITF." The colonel glanced around the room before finding somewhere to sit, "If security is an important factor in the location of this headquarters, I would be pleased to propose Earth as a location. Fourtunatly or no, it is quite isolated. Aaand we are currently experiencing some...climate-related issues, but those will be corrected quite soon."
A slow smile spread across the mans somewhat overwide face, "And we even have a building that would be quite suitable, once properly rennovated. A very fine piece of real-estate located in a pleasant and historic city, if you believe the brouchures the Americans put out."

"Wonderful, we're glad you are able to join us, Colonel," said the Prime Minister.

"The Rangerian concerns have been noted, and rest assured your nation will be termed an "expedited response nation". Simply put, you will, as the ITF's smallest economy, recieve the largest per capita distribution of development funds from the ITF Finance Ministry. To this end, in order to accomodate our newest members into the budget, we raise the ITF budget to 1 Trillion Universal Standard Dollars."

She still stood, putting on her glasses, before looking up at the Earth delegation, "now, regarding your climate issues, I believe climate alteration is within the ITF's grasp, should the Republic of Earth need emergency relief or assistance, the ITF will mobilize as such. At least the Finance Ministry will."

The colonel nodded, "That would be much apperciated. Our prime concern right now is the safety of our populations...any food, medical supplies...well, anything you can provide, would be quite welcome. We are currently attempting to adjust Earth's orbit somewhat...but gravity manipulation is a somewhat new technology to us..." Fedotov trailed off, then, after a brief pause, sighed and went on, "In fact, I am given to understand that, in comparison to most of those present, our nation is a veritable toddler. Once the current matters are settled, if it is required, we have prepared a brief report on the situation in the Republic of Earth...and our own galaxy. To assist those present in understanding what happened and the reasoning behind it."

Olivia leaned forward slightly, intrigued, and signified that she wished to speak.

"That would be most appreciated, Colonel Fedotov. The Commonwealth's own records on Sol Three are almost four hundred years old. I myself come from the Australian Catholic State - while I'm not... or rather, wasn't myself an adherent of their rather strict Christian religious policy, I'd be pleased to know how they and Earth as a whole are getting on."

Turning her massive head smoothly towards Yoko Kayabuki, she continued, "Prime Minister, the Kostemetsian nation feels that it is not contributing sufficiently to the ITF. Might there be any duties our personnel can take on?"

Fedotov nodded, "Ah...another Earth. It seems to be a case of a rather strange parallel evolution across the galaxy. Apparently there are many Earth's and many systems called 'Sol'."
"Unfourtunatly, our current situation is rather dire. The loss of Jupiter has destabilized the system as a whole, although the Mars and Venus colonies were not as severly affected as Earth at the time. The trouble is, we have ten billion people to feed and we were forced to evacuate the Mars colony...which was our only source of food off of Earth."
"And now our prime food growing regions are either underwater or turning into desert. My own hometown in the Ukrainian provinces is currently being evacuated in the face of the rising Dnieper, although there are few places to go, unfourtunatly. Summer in Russia is quite deadly now, 'though winter is hardly better."
"But I am rambling...we have other business for now, but if you wish to look over the report I have several copies here."

"Haha, if there are too many earths then perhaps we should destroy a few... " a strange man at the door laughed, and alughed heartily, in quite an usual array of clothing flashes of various colours, were sown together. He looked more like a medieval joker than anything else.

Coming to the tabled he bowed with his left arm across his midsection and using his right to create a bit of a flourish with his cape. "Forgive me for not introducing myself before, My name is Trevor Desorté, CEO of The Garbage Men... This is the ITF meeting is it not?"

Calimari slid a padover to Minister Carnerw, a deed of ownership for said craft. He would need it to claim his new starship. On the area of price it was marked 500 million, half of which was the ship, half of which was broken down into education, liscensing, transportation fees.

Then he turned his attention to what Colonel Fedotov had said.
"I am very sorry your homeland appears to be in such distress. If there is anything we can do to help, do not hesitate to ask. You mentioned food supplies were in short supply, and likely, high demand, later perhaps, I can trade you some bushels of some aquatic varieties of food. Fish, and fruit, a most delicous variety of fruits that grow underwater." Calimari said.

"It is a pleasure to see the Garbage Men have survived into the second existence, even if the Ri-anese did not." Calimari said in greeting to Trevor Destorte

"Duly noted. The Republic of Earth shall be classified as an "emergency status" nation under Vuhifell's foreign policy. I will consult my the National Diet after this meeting is over to request direct Vuhifell-RoE materials transfer. The ITF can be a great asset, however, and I do not mean this with any intention of insult, colonel; but at this early stage in the ITF's history, it is better we focus our finances on more pressing concerns throughout the whole of the ITF.

CEO Desorté, welcome. Yes, this is the Interstellar Trade Federation meeting. Please, take a seat. We have been discussing the Republic of Earth's current climate problems as well as discussing the matter of a common ITDF doctrine and ITF general headquarters."

"Thank you... And yes, I had heard about all that nasty mess, pity it result in it's destruction. Oo, I think perhaps we may have a Jupiter analogue, see me afterwards and I'll take you on an inspection, or perhaps we can help with altering the atmosphere and weather patterns to be more condusive to food production."

Moving around to a spare seat "don't mind if I do" he spoke and sat down listening to what might be said in response...

The colonel gave Desorte what would probably be classified as 'a look' by most species, while keeping his face perfectly impassive, he managed to convey a certain 'die in a fire' mentality through a few moments of eye contact.
Turning his attention to the...squid, Fedotov spoke, "That would be most welcome. As I said, we have little to trade as of yet. Our mining facilities on Venus should be operation shortly, however, and we will be pleased to pay you at that point. Or perhaps a small claim of Venutian land? The planet has not been much exploited, and if you are willing to comply with local environmental regulations, we could easily come to a deal. I am given to understand that some quite valuable metals and minerals are simply lying around on the surface of the planet."
And, finally, focusing on the Vuhifellian, "Pefectly understandable. We had a plan to get ourselves up and running, but it would have taken some time. With aid from the ITF we should be functioning nicely again in a few years, however."

Canerw glanced through the Warhaven delegate's pad, then gave it to his young associate. Lord Samuel's eyes ran quickly down the schematics and agreements, but unlike Canerw he really seemed to be taking in all the technical data of the craft that was being offered.

"Hyväksyttävää. Alus on hintansa arvoinen."

That was all the young officer said before returning the pad to Canerw for signing. 'Acceptable. The ship is worth its price' would be the accurate translation.

"I trust this also includes the technical data for building these vessels, as you promised us, ambassador?" Canerw asked Calimari after nodding to Lord Samuel.

"Oh now, I would need a much bigger Pad for that. The ship itself will contain that data. However, more to the point, we're going to need a couple volunteers to temporarily let us connect them to the Hive, so we can tech them in the most effective manner possible everything about that ship. They will be disconnected, with a slight feeling of nausea and light-headedness, and 100% of their individuaity intact." Calimari said

Canerw clearly flinched at the idea, but it was Lord Samuel Halsar who actually showed curiosity and interest at the experience.

"How many volunteers would you need? And I presume prior knowledge of piloting a space-born vessel is a necessity, of course?" the young officer asked, clearly curious.

Minister Canerw, on the other hand, had turned back towards the Vuhifellian cabinet.

"Madame prime minister, perhaps it would be feasible if all nations willing to house the ITF headquarters would each in their turn offer a brief description of their respective locations for the headquarters? I understand we have quite a number of candidates for that honorable duty. We could then put the matter to vote."

Canerw clearly flinched at the idea, but it was Lord Samuel Halsar who actually showed curiosity and interest at the experience.

"How many volunteers would you need? And I presume prior knowledge of piloting a space-born vessel is a necessity, of course?" the young officer asked, clearly curious.

"Let's see, one for engineering, one for weaponry and defense, one for piloting, and one or two for theory. We won't just tell you about the ship, we'll give you enough of a basic general education and give one or two hints or suggustions, so that within a few years of research and study, you can build your own unique variety of ships." Calimari said.

OOC: that can be our own thread though, to keep from cluttering this one up.

The colonel gave Desorte what would probably be classified as 'a look' by most species, while keeping his face perfectly impassive, he managed to convey a certain 'die in a fire' mentality through a few moments of eye contact.
Turning his attention to the...squid, Fedotov spoke, "That would be most welcome. As I said, we have little to trade as of yet. Our mining facilities on Venus should be operation shortly, however, and we will be pleased to pay you at that point. Or perhaps a small claim of Venutian land? The planet has not been much exploited, and if you are willing to comply with local environmental regulations, we could easily come to a deal. I am given to understand that some quite valuable metals and minerals are simply lying around on the surface of the planet."
And, finally, focusing on the Vuhifellian, "Pefectly understandable. We had a plan to get ourselves up and running, but it would have taken some time. With aid from the ITF we should be functioning nicely again in a few years, however."

OOC: My apologies, I missed your post.

IC:

"Just as soon as you tell us where to ship, we shall send them out right away. There will be several varieties of fish, easily adaptable to most environments, and easy to keep under control. The fruits grow opposite the land's growing season, never quite figured out why either. Most grow in shallow watters and float when rpe, but Pearl Melons grow at the bottom of Oceanus in caves, and so would require land near underwater Magma vents, as deep in the ocean as you can get. They sink when ripe, but boy are they good." Calimari said.

OOC: No need to RP this branch out unless you want to. With good care and management, you'll have a good steady food supply only a super strong drought can kill off.

"Yes, well; before we can decide on the matter; each nation must submit its GHQ schematics to the neural sphere to be distributed throughout your local networks and data connections," she pointed to the various PDAs and laptops cluttering the long wooden table.

"As previously stated, due to recent actions by seperatist rebels in the Aurora Cluster, we cannot guarantee an ITF HQ's safety in Vuhifellian space, and the Vuhifellian Federation will not petition for a spot in the nomination. As for the situation regarding the Republic of Earth; I shall call a Security Council meeting at a later time to discuss appropriate actions to deal with the climate crisis there."

Olivia leaned forward, brightened her eye-sensor luminosity slightly, and replied in her distinctive bass rumble.

"Prime Minister, the Commonwealth would be delighted to host an ITF HQ in the Kostemetsian colonial area known as New Kostemetsia, which comprises the forty stars granted to us by the Compassionate Empire of Prates. There are plenty of unoccupied stars, and three have been selected as possible military-base candidates so far. We propose that the ITF base be located in the nearspace of one of those stars."

Fedotov sighed, "Our situation is more of a...galactic level problem than anything. With your permission, I will give a basic summary of the events which have led us here, as well as distributing the more...detailed report. If any aid is to be rendered, these details will be somewhat important."
The colonel waved at an aid, who stepped forward, bearing an impressive stack of documents, which, being on traditional paper, no doubt weighed something approaching a ton.
"Warrant Officer Kiel is my scientific attache. He is somewhat better versed in the subject than I am."
Kiel attempted a nod at the delegates, causing the stack of paper to sway dangerously.

While Lord Halsar was discussing with ambassador Calimari of the finer points of this "training session", Minister Canerw stood up, nodding politely to the Kostemetsian ambassador.

"The Northern Rangerian candidate for the ITF Headquarters is located in our claim of the cluster where New Kostemetsia and other settlement projects are underway. We have thus far discovered seven planets that can support life in that area, and it is on Vestal, the third planet of Astra Princeps system and the area's capital, that we propose the headquarters be settled."

Ambassador Altair had been listening intently the entire time. Content with the Dominion's place in the organization and the current stances on the issues debated, she had taken to perusing the Dominion Network, the central hub of all sub-Nets. Upon hearing of the situation of the people of Earth, she wanted to say they would have a response force ready, but of course the force had to be ready before she said anything. What she found intrigued her.

"Colonel Fedotov, as I understand it my nation already has a vessel in your galaxy. A science ship. They were studying the formation of a black hole of galaxy-altering proportions when they rendezvoused with your fleet. I assume this is what your report is about?"

The colonel nodded as the report circulated, "Yes. You'll find the details in there, along with other important information regarding the specific details of the action, and our enemies at the time, as well as a few of the challenges expected in re-stabilizing Sol."
Kiel cleared his throat, earning a look from Fedotov, "And if there are no objections, Kiel will begin."

"You will find, that in Vuhifell's efforts to restore our own destroyed homeworld; we have developed technologies which may reverse the tide of destruction brought upon Earth. Of course, however, democratic steps must be taken before any such help is offered to the Republic, and this is merely, as of now, an offer.

We have concerns about a joint Kostemetsian-Rangerian ITF GHQ bid, however. Before we put our support behind either option, we would like a guarantee that the ITF headquarters would be completely independent from Kosto-Rangerian politics.

Officer Kiel, unless anybody in this meeting raises a fair objection, I see no reason why you cannot begin your explanation on the current situation on Earth."

"We have concerns about a joint Kostemetsian-Rangerian ITF GHQ bid, however. Before we put our support behind either option, we would like a guarantee that the ITF headquarters would be completely independent from Kosto-Rangerian politics."

Canerw nodded. "This is clear without saying so; the ITF General Headquarters should be, ideally, like the United Nations headquarters in the Earth history: located on the soil of one of the member nations, but by no means part of said nation - an entity on its own, so to speak. We would note, however, that New Kostemetsia and the Northern Rangerian claim are separate political and regional entities. They are located in the same star cluster, but they are not united."

Fedotov nodded at Kiel, then retired to a handy chair, where he proceeded to mop his brow with a handkerchief.
Kiel, stepping forward, was tall and thin. A stereotypical scientist, he even had a slight German accent. The papers were handed out, which contained a basic summary of these events (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=551046), along with some biological data on the space monsters.
"The Republic of Earth was founded some thirty years ago, ladies and gentlemen, shortly after our first faster than light voyage, by the starship Luxion. As is noted in the report, Luxion was, on its first extra-solar stop the ship was attacked by what the Japanese crew termed 'uchuu kaiju', literally 'space monsters', a name which stuck."
"Later voyages revealed that our entire galaxy was full of these creatures, and that they attacked all spacecraft immidiatly after detecting them. Our estiates placed their population in the hundred trillions, mostly clustered in the galactic core."
"As far as we can determine, their species was dedicated soley to wiping out any intelligent life they encountered, although we have not encountered any other sentient life in what is left of our galaxy as of yet."
"One of the more startling aspects of the species is their strange reproductive process. It seems that they breed inside stars, although the exact process is unknown, it rapidly accelerates the aging of a star. As an example, RZ-112, the star visited by Luxion was reported as a fairly young yellow star. On the arrival of the second expeditionary fleet the star had expanded from its previous diameter of roughly 850,000km to nearly 165,000,000km, along with a significant red color shift."
"Ah...any questions?" Kiel adjusted his glasses, peering at those present in a fashion which suggested he would start using words like 'quantum' at any moment.

Altair nodded, "Easy to digest so far. Funny that I probably know more now than our scientists do at this point. We've yet to find a way to allow the Dominion Network to transcend galaxies at any appreciable speed. The same goes for data they send back. Unfortunately, they won't submit anything until their return. We're tracking them via one of our deep space oberservation arrays.

These 'creatures' you mentioned. Just how much damage can they do? I would imagine they would have to be extremely tough to breed inside stars and survive in vacuum, but what makes them such a big threat?"

Trevor spoke once more, prefering to listen than to speak.

"As for the Headquarters I agree, it just so happens that we've got our own sector in this cluster, however the size is vast compared to our needs to service our clientelle, we'd be happy to give the ITF a single system or perhaps a few systems near each other. Think of it as our contribution to the ITF, oh and, we've had some experience with inter-dimensional travel, we come across all sorts of things in our business, I should be able to find someone who weould be able to integrate what we know into a communications system."

Kiel smiled slightly, "We ourselves know little of the creatures. It seems that their anatomy is roughly similar to a number of insect species, although with a number of important differences, obviously."
"As to how much damage they can do..."
"Page 15 of the report is a summary of the Battle of the Core, which precipitated the current black hole situation. I believe the deployed Earth fleet was roughly 20,000 ships, many very recently constructed and specialized to fight the Space Monsters. Of those roughly 4,000 returned to Earth safely. The battle lasted...about 28 minutes before the Core Expedition retreated."
"They seem to come in two types, as far as damage goes, there are large 'rams' or 'spikes' which attempt to bludgeon or impale ships, those get up to five kilometers in length, and the 'carrier' sort which launches lots of little crab-things which can tear a ship apart a piece at a time. That sort also have a sort of organic plasma launcher, as well as some sort of 'torpedo' analog which we've never managed to study closely. They are quite powerful, however."
"We've only managed to capture a few specimines, and all of those are of the small sort. All our other studies come from post-battle analysis of destroyed 'capital' type monsters."

Fedotov stood once again, interjecting into the conversation regarding the placement of the ITF HQ, "A thought occures to me. If security is an issue, I might suggest Earth's moon. The Sol system is very heavily guarded, and while our moon is not particularly hospitable, it is a prime location for the docking of spacecraft, as well as having many excellent and well protected building sites. At present Lunar Tokyo is, in fact, the capital of our world, since the previous site is underwater."

"If there is an area where many have intrests nearby, then that is in the end, the most ideal HQ location, and we submit it should be placed there.

As for the monsters, perhaps instead of sending our own ships, we will send our own space creatures. I speak of the Stargons, known historically as Celestial Dragons. Some of them actually work for our military, a way of earning their keep and keeping their space protected. I'm certain they would enjoy proving their dominance over another species of space monster, especially if they could heard a school of Space Mambos with them, damn things blow up like a space mine when their killed. Its all that radiation you know. But oh! their so delicious if properly caught and killed. Its all that radiation you know. Secondly, The Eon Light Year Eel is alive and active again, perhaps if he got lost in this dimension instead of The great ocean in Fluidic Space, his apetite would be helpful instead of destructive. Why should we endanger our own lives, when Nature has willing fighters ready to help? This does not mean we aren't afraid, merely that using other space monsters one can directly or indirectly control is a wiser option." Calimari said.

"This is an interesting prospect. We could try using Theta radiation bombs or Omega radiation bombs. But, judging from experiments taken upon...special organisms, that could either wipe friendly forces out as well or merely provoke the creatures. The Vuhifellian Federation proposes an investigation and study of these creatures to further the security of the ITF and to expand our understanding of the current hostile environment of Galaxy 449-75A; locally known as the "Milky Way". The stated objective being to capture a "capital type monster" and return it safely for study within ITF controlled space.

Maybe we could even cultivate these beings as weapons of war? The possibilities would be endless if they were connected to either the Vuhifellian Neural Sphere or the ITF-TransLight Network."

"Fourtunatly they arent much of a threat any more. Our chief worry came from their sheer numbers." Kiel nodded, "As I said, there used to be many trillions of them, usually moving in packs. Most of them were concentrated in the galactic core, which we believe was their primary breeding ground," He paused, then went on, "We estimate that there are only a few million left in the entire galaxy, a billion at most, and from what we've seen, theyre mostly acting independantly of each other, roaving around rather mindlessly. They're still quite aggressive, but they lack the...coordination they had previously."
"We think they may have been some form of hive mind, and the galactic core was home to some sort of...central switchboard, if you will. A 'queen' maybe, 'though I would hate to see such a monster as could be queen of those things."
"Regardless, without the galactic core, they will not be able to achieve such massive numbers again, and while tough, individually they are not near as great a threat as they were."
"Should the ITF approve of the...venture to capture a Space Monster, we would suggest liasing with the Republic military. I understand that for the inexperienced, combat against the Space Monsters is both unnerving and quite difficult. They often emerge from sub-space at point-blank range, and charge in at close to light speed."
"They also emit a rather high-pitched 'scream' over the local comm channels. It seems to be a sort of 'hunting cry' which attracts more of them. It also interferes with most normal forms of communication that we've tried."
"Also, I would strongly suggest putting any idea of using them as weapons from your mind. Imagine if one was to break loose from its connection and nest in the star of a populated system. Even if the chance was quite low, I do no think the risks of such an operation would be worth the benifits."

Ashelin nodded, "I could agree with that. One thought of these things living in the primary star of the Epsilon system is enough to convince me. I could talk with government about sending in a task force. We already have a ship in the area, and I'm sure with the new information about these 'monsters' they would be more than happy to agree."

"You say they have a hive mind. We could, seperate a portion of our hive mind, for our own safety, and try to convince them to surrender peacefully, or else find a way to talk to them. They may be distant relatives of ours, though we can't be certain, and as such, may prove to have some influence over them. Still, I won't get my hopes up. Such an effort though, would have to be headed up by the Royal Aquamarinians, for they hav the most powerful and influential minds of us all." Calimari said.

"If the Warhavenian delegate will excuse me," said Olivia peacefully, an odd change for her, "we do have some mind-amplification technology of our own. We're currently developing a specified targeted neuronal pulse initiation mechanism, STNPIM, or colloquially 'stunpin'. It fires specified patterns of selected neurons in the areas of the brain known to process higher functions, thereby creating a neural communication channel. Technological telepathy, if you will. It also supports emotion broadcast, or empathy. Perhaps that could be used to negotiate with these Monsters."

Canerw leaned back in his chair, sighing slightly. The Principality had little they could donate to the discussion of these aliens, so he decided to just bide his time.

(OOC: Why do something to tell us you're doing nothing? :p Anyway, Richter's P.O.'d that Robinson's getting all the exposure, so he's diplomatically rude to the other delegates. Immaturity ;))

The slightly harassed Consul Richter fixed the Northern Rangerian with a penetrating gaze.

"As I seem to remember, Minister Canerw, we shipped some experimental stunpin technology to your government science offices about three weeks ago. It was signed for by a Nils Aho."

"But if they cannot be reasoned with," Ashelin spoke up, not sure this was going down a productive path, "we must certainly be ready to neutralize them as a threat. Are we not forgetting that this speices has openly committed genocide on all it comes into contact with?

Surely a more...aggressive contingency must be established should reasoning with them fail. Let's not forget they are not some 'science project'. They are, from what the report has shown me, an extremely resilient and aggressive species who have plasma weapons capabilities. The Dominion Starfleet uses plasma weapons. We see them as state of the art. I don't know if they are on par with our own, but the simple fact that they have them leaves the potential for a very deadly threat."

(OOC: Why do something to tell us you're doing nothing? :p Anyway, Richter's P.O.'d that Robinson's getting all the exposure, so he's diplomatically rude to the other delegates. Immaturity ;))

The slightly harassed Consul Richter fixed the Northern Rangerian with a penetrating gaze.

"As I seem to remember, Minister Canerw, we shipped some experimental stunpin technology to your government science offices about three weeks ago. It was signed for by a Nils Aho."

((OOC: Even inaction is an action in itself, Kostemetsia ol' boy ;) Besides, I just wanted to keep this thread pretty high on the forum. Oh, and nice comin' up with the name. Kudos :) ))

Minister Canerw frowned slightly at the sudden aggravation of the Kostemetsian consul.

"Consul Richter... Such matters usually go by the Ministry of Defence, not through a former cabinet member. And even if we had received them, we have yet to implement them, as we are also waiting for news from Lady Raikone and her negotiations with the Kostemetsian delegates."

(OOC: Juuuuust remindin'... :D )

Shooting as close as she could get to an annoyed look at Richter, Olivia covertly electrified his chair for a fraction of a second and enjoyed watching him restrain a yelp of surprise.

Canerw leaned closer, seeing the Kostemetsian actually flinch a little.

"Consul, are you feeling alright?"

An embarrassed Richter sat back in his seat, resisting the temptation to elbow Olivia in the mid-left torso component.

"Yes, I'm alright, thank you. It must have been something I ate."

"If the republic would allow us, perhaps we could go on a monster hunt, study these creatures properly to give the republic a chance to develop weapons that are more suitably adept at defending yourself from these mindless monsters. That's of course, if you will accept our help."

Trevor paused, perhaps the little comment before about destroying an earth was perhaps not the best way.

"Yes, indeed. The Neural Sphere can probably be used to communicate directly to these monsters should they emit at least one of the nine types of radiations, as all sentient life forms do.

If they have plasma weaponry, that does indeed pose a grave threat to the ITF. While plasma steel, or a metal of higher strength, is surely used in all of our great nations; a weapon such as a plasma beam or torpedo in the hands of a hostile alien race poses a grave threat to internal financial security.

Their survival on the inside of a star would mean that energy weapons are most ineffective against them, ne? And a creature able to navigate the slip-stream more precisely than our current drive technology would mean that the study of these creatures is imperative for the survival of the ITF. We propose that the scientific discoveries made by the capture, dissection, and experimentation upon these creatures be freely available to all ITF member nations."

The Prime Minister then turned her head to the Rangerian delegates.

"Minister Canerw, if your nation wishes to use any Vuhifellian infrastructure, such as the Neural Sphere or our Deep Space "Halo" Projects, you are more than welcome. The benefits to your economy would be exponential, and Vuhifell would not mind the traffic that your citizens would bring to her networks."

Realizing that she was on the verge of standing, Ashelin leaned back in her chair, a slightly relieved look on her face. She had seen too many After Incident Reports of overzealous science teams going to capture an undiscovered species to dissect and study only to have the communications channel cut seconds later. Dominion Starfleet vessels found what was left shortly after and the creature long gone.

"Perhaps a well-escorted, multinational force of scientists to go and capture a creature would be the most prudent course. I'm sure all of us have vessels capable of housing an on-site laboratory."

"Thank you, madam Prime Minister. Your offer greatly enhances our possibilities to stay in contact with other ITF nations. However, we would be equally interested in trading for such technology as well. Technology-wise, we are behind you. Luckily, we have discovered some quite interesting ore deposits in our Infinitus Tractus claim. We presume we can begin mining operations in the Harpagon system within the next three months."

Dropship Sigma-38 (D77, Diplomatic Variant)
Attached to IFN Mercy, Monk-class Carrier (Decomissioned)
Approaching Farbanti Station, New Vuhifell

"This is Dropship Sigma-Three-Eight to Station Farbanti, requesting permission to dock. We are carrying Ambassador Reza Armakan Nabaal, representative of the Daiamid and the Feazanthian Dominion. Relaying clearance code. Over."

Damn the military, thought the retired Nabaali Jak'sa. They were already late and, if it hadn't been for the red tape at the border, his nearly ancient Monk-class carrier would have made it to this out-of-the-way system in time for the meeting. Now, they looked arrogant at best. Of course, Nabaal mused, this was a fairly accurate assessment of the Daiamid's attitude towards this Trade Federation.

Reza Armakan Nabaal, one of the few living veterans of the Collective War, ran his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair instinctively. He'd been specifically picked to be the voice of the Daiamid at this and, he hoped, future meetings of the Interstellar Trade Federation. He had always been a charismatic leader, having spearheaded the counterattack at Gehenna and leading the combined Nabaal-Soban defensive charge in the Prime system. But his time was over. He had fallen into obscurity as newer, younger officers had risen through the relative peacetime ranks. And that was fine with him. War was a young person's game. He was quite happy to live up to his kiith's reputation as diplomats to this new, alien organization. He looked to his left at the younger "spook" from the Office of Naval Intelligence. Her Gaalsien features were obvious even to his aged eyes - her raven hair tied up in a conservative bun, her face hard-set with determination. Leave it to ONI to send a young Gaalsien with an old Nabaali.

But now was not the time to dwell on old inter-kiith disputes. They were rapidly approaching Farbanti, and awaiting the station's reply.

"The only contact the Space Monsters have attempted to make with anybody has been of the physical and very terminal kind, I'm sorry to say. And we are unsure of WHAT exactly they are, the hivemind idea is simply a theory, as we've been unable to locate anything resembling a brain in their anatomy. Which doesnt mean they dont have something which serves the same function that we simply havent been able to figure out, of course."
Kiel looked over to Trevor, and shrugged, "Our own weapons have proven quite effective thus far. As I said, it was more a matter of sheer numbers. Could any nation here stand for long against a fleet number in the trillions?"
"In any case, we would be pleased to share what scientific date we have acquired on the Space Monsters. It is not much, but we have found numerous vulnerabilities in their 'design'. Until recently the most effective weapons we had agains them were based on electricity, designed to pierce the exoskeleton and electrocute them, but such weapons were difficult to build on a large scale."
"Most commonly, a standard laser will take care of them. The material which composes their exoskeletons seems to be vulnerable to rapid changes in temperature."

By this time, most personnel, with the exception of the station's large levels of marines and ODST, were in the main cafeteria; eating dinner. Mateus had retired to her "quarters", if you could call a three-story computer mainframe a living space; and the AI Belthias had taken her stead. He directed the dropship to its place in the station, a slight level of irritation in his voice from having to direct these late arrivals.

You're late. Sigma-Three-Eight; please report to docking bay V-01. There's an express elevator which should take you a few rooms away from the Conference Hall inside the docking bay. AI Belthias, out.

Conference Hall

"Very well, then. I propose that the Security Council look into the matter at their next session. I hereby propose to close the debate on the RoE "Space Monsters" and re-open debate on a location for military and civilian headquarters for the ITF."

"I second that motion" Calimari said.

"As do I," murmured Vanadict from her seat. Judging by the looks, apparently several of those in the room had forgotten she was there.

Calimari was very visably startled, he had been so absorbed in the discussions he had forgotten that Vanadict indeed was there.

"Seconded", Minister Canerw said sternly, casting a glance at Lord Halsar, who stopped 'interrogating' the Warhavenian diplomat about the finer details of the Hive Mind.

Ashelin turned and nodded, "Seconded, we can discuss this at a later date or, better yet, leave it to the proper channles once the committees are formed."

"I'm in favour of this too, but shouldn't we just move on? It's clear that we've got enough people in favour of it, and 3 too many secondings, we're upto 5th-ings now."

However as for Vandict, Trevor didn't forget he just... was presviously ignoring someone who wasn't taking part in the debate. A tactic that he used a lot.

"Affirmative. Well then; I believe that we currently have three proposals for a permanent civilian headquarters for the ITF? However, in order to decentralize the ITF, we propose a permanent military headquarters, in a seperate location from the civilian GHQ; and preferably a seperate nation."

[OOC: The Security Council's meeting on the off-site forum; I suggest you all take a look at the current vote when you have the time]

"The Terran Federation proposes that the Headquarters for the ITF now in fact be built in neutral space on the border between our nations, so it can be an impartial complex, a massive
space station jointly built by all powers, the military HQ would be better suited on the Home world of the Terran Federation because of its massive security measures, its copious amounts of defense. as for a jointly ran gate system, Union dynamics has expressed interest in helping what ever other cooperation that may be willing to help in construct a gate system, I officially would like to request all these Items go to vote"

Bester said wit ha small grin warping his arms around him self.

(think B5)

"Would not the defense of such a spaceborn installation prove problematic, sir?" Canerw asked as he turned to look at the Federation representative. "I applaud the idea, make no mistake about that, but I also wish to point out that relying on a space station as the headquarters is quite risky."

Ashelin chimed in, "Not at all, we have some spacebourne 'buildings' if you will that have defenses on par with our homeworld. In a way, it's better because space stations are mobile. Our fleets yards, because of their location, are run out of starbases. With proper positioning, escort, and equipment, a space station is quite the formidable fortress. Should things get desperate, not that they will, it can be towed through a wormhole or jump gate. We can't do that with a planet...well, yet, at least."