NationStates Jolt Archive

Located far off, outside the normal shipping lanes and traveling routs of the rest of the nations. A massive vessel floated amongst the asteroids. Its flat black surface broken by hundreds of hangar bays and its belly was dominated by a massive construction array. The vessel was nearly 20 miles long. Hundreds of smaller vessels buzzed between it and the asteroids, endlessly harvesting the space rocks. Just above the massive ship sat a smaller vessel. Measuring just under 3 miles, Two massive hangar bays running along its undersides, one on each side. 3 battleship class vessels sat outside the asteroids, systems running on minimal power, devoting power to the sensors, reaching out into the blackness to detect any incoming vessels. Sitting below the asteroid cluster sat a single heavy cruiser. On its bridge sat a Neko, clad in black raver pants, combat boots, and a fishnet shirt.

His hair was chalk white and just shoulder blade length, perfectly straight and flat. Two black and white striped ears poked out on his head, a matching tail from the seat of his pants.

"Whats the status of the mining operation?" The neko asked idly. One of the bridge crew turned over, a fox anthro wearing an eye patch. "Deployment is complete. Projections indicate the field will be gathered in 3 standard days at this rate Admiral Roze" Roze nodded, pressing the ships com. "This is 5/4 to all ships. Keep your eyes open. Crown of Swords, Fireflush, and Desiny. Keep interceptors on standby. Pegasis, deploy scout drones to possible asteroid fields.

Fine points of light dropped from the carriers hangar bays, darting off with a burst of engine flame before their thrusters shut off, powering down to minimal power while activating optical cloaking. Collectors opening to supplement their mini Induction cores.

The multiple bays of the factory ship bustled with activity as mining frigates deployed to collect every speck of material from the asteroid cluster. Inside the massive vessel thousands of hands moved ore carts to dump the raw space rock into chutes. Each chute leading to massive flat space storage cells, others directly to the building vats, where the nanite soup would break down the matter to its base components and reassemble it into the desired material. Nothing was wasted by the gray soup of nanites.

5/4 yawned from his station on the bridge of the Kergerin. "I hope this goes just as smoothly as the last few. I don't want to encounter another rival pirate group again...." At that moment, an anthro raptor, wearing a grayish full body armor stepped onto the bridge. "Alpha team leader reporting Admiral."

5/4 turned to face the soldier. "X, good. What is your report on the military strength of the area?" He asks calmly, looking up at the 6 foot fully armored raptor. "At ease by the way." 5/4 waved his hand.

X reached up, depressing and then flipping a double action catch on the underside of his chin. The flat piece clicked down with a soft hiss as the armor s seal was broken. The plate slid forward and angled up over the faceless metal helmet. The back curve of the helmet did the same, popping back and up away from the head about an inch. He removed the helmet with a click as the neck plates released from the main helmet piece. X was a black scaled raptor, bearing a long X shaped scar over his left eye. The left eye itself was snow white with three black dots at its center in place of a pupil.

"We're outnumbered. Any form of direct conflict stated would end negatively..." The raptor stated flatly. "If we encounter any force in greater numbers than us i dont see us surviving."

5/4 growled, standing up. "I am an immortal Ctarl Ctarl!" He snarled. glaring at the raptor. "I assembled this fleet with my own blood and sweat. If anyone dares threaten what i've done i'll collect each one of their heads!"

At that moment, a second neko. stepped onto the bridge. This one wore a formal samurai robe, his hair was a dull gray as was his ears and tail. His facial structure was slightly diffrent, as was the placement of his ears. Suggesting he was from a diffrent race. At his hip he carried a Daisho. Katana on the left, wakazashi on the right. His feet made no sound on the wooden floor despite the fact he was wearing wooden sandals.

"I suggest we lay low and stay quiet untill our numbers grow. We cannot afford to overstep any hospitality." The new one said calmly. His eyes remained closed as he spoke. His hands held in their sleeves in front of him. He turned to look at the two, smiling slightly. "We didnt come all this way from what was left of our home just to blunder around blindly. You should open your eyes and see the world around you for a change."

5/4 sighed and shook his head. "Yes Isahil, i know. I know... We have no reserves... We're it. But i didnt get to where i am in life by turning tail and running every time an enemy showed up. This is what i have left and i'll defend it with my life if i have to."

Isahil smiled "Thats all well and good. but remember, what good will you do if your dead. Injuries can be healed, the loss of a life cannot. We cannot afford to loose what we have because of your pride."

5/4 nodded. The raptor shook his head. "If we had our full force back we wouldnt need to lurk in the shadows like this. We could stand up and be recognized."

Isahil chuckled. "But we do not. so we must play the part of the scavengers. Now, i have to get back to my meditation." With that, the robed neko seemed to fade away, the mental illusion vanishing. X shuddered slightly. "That guy creeps me out every time he does that. Why cant he just come up here himself instead of sending a mental image."

5/4 chuckled. "Because, He's currently on the Pegasis overseeing the newest batch of conscripts. He cant very well walk across a hundred miles of space now can he?"

X nodded slowly. "Well, i have duties i must attend to." He saluted 5/4 sharply. "Thank you Admiral." He stated before donning his helmet and turning sharply as the visor less helmet closed back onto his head with a soft hiss, the armor vacuum sealing to his scales and stabilizing.

5/4 sat on the bridge. He idly fondled the hilt of the katana he wore on his back. sighing softly.



ART!!!
Admiral 5/4 Tiger Roze (http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QADID!0SD2EcFpk8UeNj8JhQqxoRh*o*NPUO9FTdE22egH4hE4ySrQ8HpJ0ssUeBnWs*RzNOjXe0AwiFF!U9lS5HGbAdQPEWAAA AAAAAAAA/justin2.jpg?dc=4675607164777857188)

((Ship pictures will change when i find something that better represents the way i see it in my mind D: atleast for the non combat class.))

Factory ship (http://www.ogame.com.es/img/wallpapers/battleship_1280x1024.jpg)

Pegasis Supercarrier (http://shipyards.relicnews.com/hw2/images/hw2_0403-e.jpg)

Kergerin Battlecruiser. (http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs23/i/2007/355/6/d/Dragon_Battlecruiser_by_TheOrangeGuy.jpg)

Battleship class (http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs22/i/2007/360/3/6/Tempest_Class_Battleship_by_TheOrangeGuy.jpg)


Supply and cargo transport (http://wizards.com/d20modern/images/d20f_gallery/82830.jpg)


X with armor on (http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs18/f/2007/165/a/1/PULVIS_RAPTOR_by_shadowhacker7.jpg)

Isahil Traekith (http://fc01.deviantart.com/images3/i/2004/141/b/9/Neko__Bishie_.jpg)

“Commander, we’re nearing the system.”

The words snapped the drowsing officer awake from his command seat. After weeks of blissful but boring scenery of stars bent by the gravity fields created from the new space-fold or ‘warp’ drive. He was the commander of a Phoenix-Class, which meant that he of course was a veteran of the war twenty years ago, but he had to admit he would have preferred being assigned one of the new Destroyers, not a scout ship!

“Finally, some action hopefully,” he’d sigh after seeing the boring scenery once more, stretching out and lifting his arms to awaken the lethargic flesh, resulting in the ever classic ‘snap’. “Are we sure that this is the system this time? This is the third one we’ve visited.”

“The Emperor’s Council believes that there is an eighty-seven percent chance that we could find a data-base here. Of course we don’t know if it has survived or not, but there should at least be waste left from its nuclear reactions we could detect.” The announcement evoked another sigh from the Sertian commander, which just made the Lessie at the controls smirk - unlike his commander he loved the scenery the new drives created, so much better than the bleak nothingness of the Drift Drive.

“Alright… AI, display sensor info on the system,” the commander wasn’t speaking to a person of course, rather it was a command to the tactical AI that also controlled the automated systems of the ship. Of course, it wasn’t a sentient computer - incapable of learning and self awareness, however it performed its jobs as a Tactical Assistant Computer admirably. Which is why within seconds of his command a low powered magnetic field generated itself before his seat to be occupied by specialized plasma particles that locked into the field, creating the holographic technology the Sertian commanders used to extensively.

“Hmmm… That’s a large asteroid belt, best steer clear of that if we can help it - don’t want any accidents that might damage the ship. Greg, drop us out of FTL speeds five hundred kilometers from the outer asteroids then send a communication to the Outpost that we’ve arrived. Afterwards… Scan the system for anything, keeping in mind ships or nuclear waste. Got it?”

“Yes commander,” the pilot still retained his smiles. A riplord he was, a slim and agile lizard race that seemed to be engineered for mechanic and engineering fields, his mind however was attuned to knowing the ins and outs of how a ship worked and moved.

“Darn ship…” the commander cursed now, having to wait another half hour before the view changed. “At least when we flew blind with a Drift Drive, we weren’t vulnerable to attack - unlike this system!”

“If you prefer, Sir, the Fireclaw is equipped with a Drift Drive if you would prefer traveling at one-tenth our current speed…” the pilot just loved this, not only did he get to man one of the newest ships in the fleet he got to goad a commander who abhorred it!

“…Point taken Greg…” The commander sighed and leaned as far back as he could get in his chair, Commander Anathon was of slightly taller than average height and medium built muscles and weight and was assigned to a ship underneath Lieutenant Alexander in the fight for the Globule Cluster, he had been marked as a legendary commander after he led a suicidal charge with failing systems, ending up scattering the Resistance’s ships and buying his engineers enough time to repair the Drift Drive for an escape - and it had led to him being assigned to this boring task on a ship that used the Resistances technology no less!

The kergerins sensors lit up the instant the scout ship dropped out of warp. A lan-sat laser transmission was instantly bounced to the factory ship and to every other ship in the small fleet. The smaller ships cutting to minimal power, just enough to operate thrusters and grappling systems as they continued their mining routines. 5/4 snapped up as the alarms rang. "Tactical, report! whats out there!"

A human, wearing an old and worn officers uniform, running fingers rapidly over the controls. "Phoenix class, scout ship. I don't think they've picked us up yet. Shall i initiate preemptive measures?" The man asked, not looking from the screen. The rest of the bridge crew sat at their various stations, awating orders or relaying data to other ships. 5/4 closed his eyes, calling with his mind.. ~Isahil. We need you on the bridge, Physically.~

After a slight pause he heard the other neko's voice as if the man was standing behind him. ~Yes Admiral. I'm on my way.~

"Hold position for now. Send a probe drone one kilometer below us. Prepare to relay a transmission." A small drone, the size of a 50 gallon drum left the bottom of the Kergerin with a gentle puff. Its thrusters firing just enough to position it. A lan-sat transmission relaying to the drone before projecting out on all shortwave bands.

5/4 stood, resting his hand on the hilt of his katana. "This is 5/4 to all ships, use passive visual sensors to target the ship and be ready to fire on my order, Communications, if the drone ready?" The fox nodded from his station. "Good. Open the channel." He shifted his stance slightly as the main screen powered up.

"This is Admiral Roze of the Red Talons. State your intentions in this system!" He commanded. Waiting patiently for the signal to be received. In the meantime the 4 other ships adjusted their angles. Lining up their sleek black hulls with the scout ship. Main guns were primed to fire. Their gravity induction cores running on minimal power. The ships energy weapons wouldn't be operational immediately. But the ships bore enough power to fire their ballistics. The super heavy mass drivers possessed by the three battleships the carrier and the Kergerin lined up on the scout ship like oversized snipers. Their cores ready to cycle up to full power at a moments notice. Relying on their black hulls and EM dampners to stay undetected.

The factory ship went dark the instant the alert went up. All lighting shutting down as it projected an EM dampener field of its own to mask its massive energy signature. The masking wasn't perfect, Now was it reliable. The enemy fleet most likely had more advanced sensors. But the magnetic interferance of the asteroid belt as well as the 'chaff' effect of the rocks would more than likely ensure that they remained undetected for the first crucial minutes when it would be determined the nature of the scout ship.

Isahil arrived on the bridge after a moment. His sandals making a hollow wooden sound on the deck of the bridge. His eyes remained closed. Sending to 5/4. ~I sense a full crew. The captain was half asleep before you sent that transmission... I do not believe they knew we were here. They seem to have been searching for some sort of remains of something.~ Isahil moved to stand behind 5/4. Both of them awaited the Scout ships response.

"Hmmm... Basic EM sensors don't show anything to unusual. No signal stronger than back ground interference, the stars output seems normal. No explicit signs of nuclear decay. We might have to get closer to it though - the signal might be weak by now," the riplard pilot stated with the same slightly cheerful tone.

"Alright, nothing out of the ordinary yet... Deploy a Drift Sensor Array, after that just keep scanning for anything out of the usual. We'll plot an exploration course after that."

Soon after he stated his commands the ship seemed to move, the blue-glowing light of its plasma sub-light engines pushing the ship forward ever so slightly so that they weren't 'idle', and as the ship began to turn a small projectile was fired from the under side of the ship. However, shortly after deployment the object seem to dissolve in a stream of particles, looking as if it was simply washed away from the universe.

A few minutes later the pilot was about to announce the information gathered, but to his disdain the communications and sensor officer had finished getting ready and walked up to the bridge just as he was about to open his snout. "Ah, Officer Rick, pleasure to see you fifteen minutes late to the bridge..." the commander spoke with a slow but steady tone to the Sertian, "Please take your post and we'll talk about the issue lat-."

Once again an interruption occurred, but this time it came when the pilot suddenly spoke, "Rick, get to your station! There's a signal coming straight to our location, it's organized like a data stream!"

After one fast sprint by a neohuman to get to his station and a rapid tapping of keystrokes the message was played out to all on the bridge.

"Red Talons huh..." Anathon stroked his chin, eager that there was finally something to do. "Open a communication, standard EM and also focus the DSA's array towards where the message came from."

"Roger Commander, recoring... now!" the sensor officer stated, tapping a final keystroke on his last syllable.

"Greetings Admiral Roze, this is Commander Anathon of the Sertian Empire, commander of the Phoenix-Cruiser Fireclaw. We're currently in your system looking for something that may relate to our history. You wouldn't be willing to help us would you?"

Meanwhile Rick was busy looking over the data pouring in from the Array. He had nothing to report though, it appeared that the communications was coming from a relatively empty space of the asteroid belt, except that is for a few large metal rich rocks that must have cleared the space of their smaller cousins.

5/4 considered for a moment. Wondering if he should offer their help or not. The drone continued to drift away from the belt, giving the impression of a moving vessel. He though about what would work the best. The Pegasis' sensors were busy taking detailed surface scans of the scout ship.

Isahil nodded. ~We should help them. They pose us no threat...~ Isahil opened his eyes to view the screen. Looking over the other ships bridge crew, blushing slightly at spotting the com officer. He resisted the urge to reach out the other crew. Instead focusing on reading their surface thoughts. Closing his eyes again to keep his concentration to avoid detection by the bridge crew.

5/4 nodded. thinking to himself. ~try to find out what their looking for~ "Tell me, what are you looking for in this asteroid belt... If we do decide to help you, We want to know what you plan to pay us in return for our services?" He lifted what appeared to be a bottle with a rich amber liquid in it, taking a swig as he smiled leeringly at the bridge crew. "We could always use some... Personal servants. Maybe that reptilian on your bridge. He seems like he'd be quite fun." He chuckled.

Isahil shook his head, he knew what the admiral was doing. He was toying with the captain. Testing the mans temper. 'It just lets me get in all the easier.' He used 5/4's banter to weed a probe into the captains mind. Reading across the mans mind. Being careful not to alter anything in the mans mind, nor take any information forcefully.

The worker frigates and smaller corvettes continued to slowly gather asteroids for the factory ship. The massive hunks of rock seemingly drifting toward a central point.

Besides the occupation for their current duties, the surface glance of the bridge crew members were occupied by feelings of curiosity for the people they were talking to, but underneath that was a subtle anxiety about being so far away from home or even the Outpost. However, three minds proved to defy this tendency, namely those of the riplard pilot, Commander Anathon, and a sertian soldier currently stationed on deck.

The riplard's brain seemed to be wired different from those of the neohumanoids that dominated the ship. He seemed to be capable of higher analytical thought, a process that allowed his kind to excel in engineering and mathematics, and a talent he employed to learn how to pilot a ship in his own unique way. Besides that, his mind registered a slight bit of shock and embarrassment at the nekos proposal.

The Commander proved to be a bit more 'flat' than the riplad, however it was obvious that he was a capable leader given the fact that ever since his teens he had a personal interest in making his mind more efficient, using memory techniques that allowed him to recall things much better than the average person - allowing him to make accurate snap judgments. It was also obvious that he had a craving for glory, and moments to use those snap decisions. However the deeper the psychic went, it proved hard to read - as his memory training put all of his past experiences in a filing system utterly unknown to him.

The soldier though, proved to be the most dangerous for the psychic. For, the most casual glance over of his mind was rewarded with a twinge, as if the soldier felt the neko's intrusion and retreated to wall itself off to further advancements. Indeed, his action induced a jump in the soldier that hanged at the back of the bridge.


Back to the people however, the Commander could only raise an eye before chuckling, looking over at Greg, "Looks like you got a fan Greg. Unfortunately, I must say Roze, Greg is one of our most adept pilots and as much as I would like to space him, we need him." Another slight chuckle and he settled back against his chair, his brain sorting thoughts while calling up previous negotiating experiences with his memory technique.

"As for what we're searching for..? The remains of an ancient Bussard Ramjet Engine, believed to might have a still working data base on it. We believe it may have belonged to a sect of Sertians that migrated from our Homeworld after the planet experienced a tragedy, rather than taking their chances on it." But the psychic could plainly tell, that was what his orders said, he had no interest in ancient history and thus didn't bother to find out for himself. "In exchange for your help, we could perhaps let Greg and an engineer of his kind travel over to your ship and perhaps see if there's anyway they could improve your engines or piloting systems. They would have to be guarded by a single soldier of ours, though." Already in his mind he was picking the engineer and 'soldier' to accompany them - having made his decision based on Roze's earlier compliment. The riplard wasn't one of the best engineers they had, but he was competent, but more than that he had a subtle gray coloration and bright green eyes that Roze might find 'cute'. His choice for a soldier however, was a selac - a race that looked like a cross between a fennec fox and a rodent. Specifically he was thinking of one of the few special forces operatives he had on board, bright copper fur with dark blue eyes and a skill with an G-16 Sniper Weapon System that allowed him to hit small mammals a kilometer away without a scope.

Meanwhile Rick had discovered something odd as the Sensor Array continued to narrow in around the source of transmission. The object was moving yes, but that wasn't so bad - everything in a solar system was. However what he noticed was that the asteroids he had noted earlier were longer than they were thick. Not only that, but they weren't rotating like most normal space rocks, instead they seemed to stay pointing straight at their ship... It was to soon to say it might be war ships belonging to the strangers they had located, but he tapped a quick few keystrokes here and there which sent a silent message to Greg's station as well as the Commander, alerting them to keep the Drift Drive ready in case they needed to leave normal space - fast.

5/4 nodded. Considering the other captains offer. "Very well. I accept." The drone stopped moving as he signaled with a flick of his arm. "All ships stand down from alert." At those words the running lights of the factory ship lit up, showing its full glory. The combat ships stopped their jamming fields as well, powering down their weapons as they raised their turrets barrels away from the scout ship. "Halt mining operations and begin a search. Locate A derelict ship." Turning to face the captain of the scout ship. "Do you have anyythimg more specific to go on? hull shape? Anything?"

Isahil quirked an eyebrow, sensing the soldiers resistance. He drew back from the soldier, hovering outside his mind simply reading any surface thoughts. His own mental abilities allowing him to sense vaguely beyond the comparably flimsy barrier. He sent to 5/4. ~There is one among them who may have latent psi abilities. I do not believe he knows how to use them though.~

5/4 nodded, turning to the side as a new screen popped up. It showed the commander of the factory ship. "This is Sanctuary. We're prepared to begin output." 5/4 nodded "You have a green light." At his words the factory ships EM signiture increased by over one third. Its multiple Gravity Induction cores cycling up to full speed, its massive nanite and assembly systems began to produce and assemble both destroyers and frigates. It would be a few minutes before the first floated out of the massive factory ship.

“What we know, is that we think it was powered by a nuclear generator - most likely plutonium or uranium,” Greg butted in, scratching his chin as he recalled what their orders had stated. “It relied on a large magnetic field to collect and compress interstellar hydrogen while using Carbon as a catalyst. Other than that… There’s speculation that its hull was made of Titanium, but we can’t confirm that.”

Rick however, was rewarded with various signatures of ships coming alive, within a second of rapid keystrokes he had all the ships he could locked into the targeting system. Even if it didn’t come to a fight it was useful to know where they were in case they needed to dock or if they found the derelict vessel. But after he was finished locking in the commands to the array as well as the ships sensors he had nothing to do currently but sit back and wait, listening to another discussion that was happening on the bridge.

“Sir…” the soldier that seemed to have detected the psychic’s intrusion spoke out, “Did you have the feeling that, you were being watched?”

The Commander, at response to his soldiers words just merely chuckled, “No, but we are being watched as we’ve just confirmed…”

“Not just that, I don’t know… It’s gone now but a few minutes ago I thought there was someone watching me, like eyes on directly kind of watching… I don’t know, it’s not something I’ve felt since I worked under Trilano.”

“Grand Admiral Trilano?” the Commander had to think now, Trilano’s past was mostly classified, especially how he made that stunning re-entry into the Battle for the Globule Cluster… But he did know some things, for one the Admiral had taken just one fleet of ships and assaulted the United Resistance’s holdings in the main galaxy. There was something else, something about the Illusionist…

“I think it might have something to do… With that psychic he killed. Whenever I was around him when he had an episode, when the Illusionist was speaking to his mind… I don’t know, that’s how I would feel.”

“Alright Xeon, I’ll take your words for truth… It could mean they have a psychic on board if your feelings are right, keep me posted if you get more of those tingling sensations,” the Commander spoke with a hushed sigh, taking his fingers on the armrest of his chair. “Until then, Rick and Greg, start scanning for any radioactive materials you can, perhaps locate any large concentration of helium or heavy particles in the interstellar medium. I doubt we’ll find a trail after centuries of drift, but it’s something.”

Isahil flicked his tail from side to side slowly ~Admiral, I believe there may be a psi adept among them.~ He shifted his senses to the bridge of the other ship. Looking around as if he was actually there. Making sure to carefully mask his presence from the soldier, should the man be able to sense him.

5/4 nodded, looking to the side slightly at another screen. "Pegasis, launch scout fighters and have them perform a search of the outlying area. Scan for radioactive materials as well as concentrations of metal." The captain on the Pegasis saluted and the screen went blank. He turned back to the main screen.

"So captain. Would i by chance be able to join you for a meal aboard your vessel? We haven't had any contact in a long time that hasn't tried to kill us, and i'm interested in the cuisine of your people." He said, smiling warmly and leaning back in his chair.

Meanwhile, the far side of the factory ship. The first of the frigates began to slip out of the massive bays. One every half hour, one destroyer for every four frigates. The smaller ships moving on remote as they docked with various gantries that extended form the factory ship. A cargo transport docking as well as hundreds of people began to awaken from cryo sleep in the bays of the colossal black ship.

The Commander thought about the option of a dinner, before softly chuckling. "You do realize this is a military vessel, not a luxury liner? Our foods aren't exactly prepared for their taste more so than their nutritional supplement. But, I'm sure there's at least one member of my crew who has a flair for cooking that might be able to make something a bit tastier if you want."

Meanwhile Rick had managed to follow a lead on something, tapping away madly at his controls to focus the array, only to be rewarded with scans of an asteroid that possessed an unusually high Uranium concentration but no ship. He did however, think that it was slightly possible that somehow the Bussard Engine, in an attempt to save itself, ejected a nuclear power core on the verge of meltdown which saturated the asteroid. He followed up on the theory by scanning asteroids in the general vicinity of his find but the chances were still slim to none.

On the other hand, surprising Greg, freed from his occupation of piloting for the moment, let his thoughts idle to just what kind of races where aboard the Red Talon's vessels, and if he really appeared attractive to their own kind.


As for what the psychic saw on the ship, it possessed a holographic tactical unit which currently displayed a zoomed out map of the solar system with areas that were heavily scanned, lightly scanned, and not currently scanned with background zones of varying colors - in addition to small tracker labels that identified the Red Talons' vessels and even created a new label for the ship that was finished. Beyond that, there seemed to be a total of ten people on board the bridge, two of which being soldiers stationed there in case of boardings. The floor was mainly uncolored metal and the officers all used touch pad keyboards to carry out their duties. On either side of the captains chair and to the back seemed to be doors that led to the rest of the ship, which seemed to total in length around two kilometers from initial scans.

As for more facts about the ship, unfortunately there was no engineer officer currently stationed on the deck to get a sneak peek at.

5/4 nodded. "That will be fine. I look forward to having a more private discussion." He smiled.

Isahil noted the area's already scanned and transferred the information to the command carrier's captain via mental link. ~Search these area's.~ He said over the link. still looking over the bridge.

Aboard the Pegasis, their scanners shifted to the area's not scanned. Within moments one of the officers on the bridge called out. "We've located trace amounts of radiation from an asteroid in the belt." The captain nodded. "Pegasis to Kergerin. Admiral. We've located what looks to be a uranium rich asteroid." He paused, watching the results as they played across his monitor. "According to its level of decay its fairly recent, cosmicly speaking, and fairly localized. The computer is plotting the asteroids traveled path along with the rest of the belt. We should have a target search area soon." The ships astrogate computer tirelessly calculated the asteroids paths back into the milenia. Normal computers would take weeks due to the variables. The Red Talons systems could do it in a matter of hours. Their life was space, they had to be able to quickly chart the movements of an entire field of freefloating rocks to not only plot a course into it. but remain in it without having to make sudden and drastic course changes to avoid the giant space rocks.

Another frigate slipped out of the bay on the other side of the factory ship. The frigate looking like a fighter craft next to a carrier as it moved to dock on a gantry to the factory ship. The first frigate loosing itself as it came fully online, taking a position near the factory ship, its scanners coming online.

Rick continued to tap at his consul but got nothing out of his search, the asteroid really was just naturally radioactive. However, as he slid back to a more comfortable position in his chair and set the array to wide scan again he came up across something he really wasn't expecting to find, "Sir, I've found traces of Dueterium within the interstellar medium, about one thousand times more concentrated than the average and in a wide path."

"Where does it end?" he blinked, looking over at the officer while Greg seemed to have slaved his consul for the time to Rick's, allowing him to read the sensor data as well.

"Scanning... The array loses it on the asteroid belt about an AU away from us. I'm focusing the array now, but I think it's safe enough to send in a Recon and Retrieval Team?"

"Hmmm... Alright. Neiss, send a message to the pilots of B1, B2, A1, A2, A3, and A5. Have them jump to Drift and start close range scans of the area and prepare to derelict if it's there," he stated in his usual manner, however after a second he added, "Also give a ship wide message for whoever has a hobby for cooking to prepare a meal for our quests. I'm sure Grand Admiral Trila... I mean Grand Admiral Alexander would love to meet up with them after all."


About five minutes later the pilots had been found, suited up, and had checked their systems of their fighters. Since the Phoenix-Classes were known to be large vessels it had plenty of room to include a few fighter compliments to help in defense and scouting missions. Specially he had called for two Grand Drakes and four Light Drake fighters to be dispatched. The Grand Drakes were two-person fighters, one gunner and one pilot while the Light Drakes used a computer assisted targeting system. While they had some of their shield capabilities replaced for more advanced sensors, they were still equipped with their usual compliment of weaponry in case things got hairy.

They had also a Sertian that was planning to open a restaurant after his tour of duty for his citizenship, who was now preparing a meal for at least ten out of what he could find.

Rick continued to tap at his consul but got nothing out of his search, the asteroid really was just naturally radioactive. However, as he slid back to a more comfortable position in his chair and set the array to wide scan again he came up across something he really wasn't expecting to find, "Sir, I've found traces of Dueterium within the interstellar medium, about one thousand times more concentrated than the average and in a wide path."

"Where does it end?" he blinked, looking over at the officer while Greg seemed to have slaved his consul for the time to Rick's, allowing him to read the sensor data as well.

"Scanning... The array loses it on the asteroid belt about an AU away from us. I'm focusing the array now, but I think it's safe enough to send in a Recon and Retrieval Team?"

"Hmmm... Alright. Neiss, send a message to the pilots of B1, B2, A1, A2, A3, and A5. Have them jump to Drift and start close range scans of the area and prepare to derelict if it's there," he stated in his usual manner, however after a second he added, "Also give a ship wide message for whoever has a hobby for cooking to prepare a meal for our quests. I'm sure Grand Admiral Trila... I mean Grand Admiral Alexander would love to meet up with them after all."


About five minutes later the pilots had been found, suited up, and had checked their systems of their fighters. Since the Phoenix-Classes were known to be large vessels it had plenty of room to include a few fighter compliments to help in defense and scouting missions. Specially he had called for two Grand Drakes and four Light Drake fighters to be dispatched. The Grand Drakes were two-person fighters, one gunner and one pilot while the Light Drakes used a computer assisted targeting system. While they had some of their shield capabilities replaced for more advanced sensors, they were still equipped with their usual compliment of weaponry in case things got hairy.

They had also a Sertian that was planning to open a restaurant after his tour of duty for his citizenship, who was now preparing a meal for at least ten out of what he could find.

5/4 stood, nodding to Isahil before turning and walking off of the bridge. He headed down to the Kergerin's lone launch bay. It too held a single wing of fighters. He stepped aboard the ships launch, a small transport shuttle. Waiting patiently before an anthro raptor stepped aboard, taking a seat across from him. The raptor wore a leather jacket and baggu camo cargo pants. A pistol holstered on his hip and a combat knife hanging from his jacket. The door of the launch closed and a moment later as the two could hear it powering up around them.

X smiled, looking at 5/4 "Ya know, if you want to meet that reptilian you'd be better served staying here." 5/4 shook his head, giggling to himself. "No, i have you for that X." He said smiling.

It was the raptors turn to blush slightly as he grinned. "Yes well, i just hope they welcome us as openly as they appear to be." He said, one of his toeclaws tapping idly on the deck plate. 5/4 shrugged a bit. "They wont have anything we cant handle, and i've left Isahil to oversee the two coming over here."

Meanwhile on the bridge. Isahil stood, hands clasped in his robes infront of him. "The launch is away," He paused looking at the captain on the view screen. "when you do send them, send them to the Pegasis command carrier." He smiled, his body seeming to fade away, but before it could be better looked at the screen went blank.

In his quarters on the Pegasis, Isahil opened his eyes, standing up and lightly stretching. He wore, in fact, not the robes that had been seen on the viewer, but a black and red robe. a purple trim bordering the robes hem as well as highlighting certain spots of the stitching. He stepped over to a table where incense sat burning. Picking up first a katana, Unsheathing the blade partway and letting its black crystal blade gleam in the light. sheathing it with a snap before affixing it to his waist. Repeating the process with his wakazashi. He pulled down the top part of his robe, showing a lean build. He picked up two bandoleers of kunai knives, slipping one over each shoulder before pulling his robe back up. Slipping on bracers under his sleeves on his upper arms as well. Walking to the bridge at a steady pace. He could have simply stayed in his quarters, but he wanted to physically go somewhere once in a while. His collar around his neck assisting in keeping his mental shield up so he didn't hear the thoughts of every sentient being in the asteroid belt. The small coin shaped tag was warm against his neck.

By the time Isahil reached the bridge, the small transport would have cleared the expanse between the Kergerin and the scout ship. Its pilot hailing for permission to offload.

As the fighters slipped out from the cruiser the two largest ones seemed to disappear in the same manner of the array the scout ship had launched earlier: seeming to blend and dissolve in a string of particles before reappearing in a similar manner a few seconds later nearby the asteroid belt, beginning to scan the space rocks for the radioactive material as well as the derelict they were searching for. The smaller space fighters, the Light Drakes, began a brief burn of their plasma drives to get them to relativistic speeds, catching up to their larger cousins in a few minutes.

Meanwhile as Five-Four and his companion drew closer to the Sertian ship the commander and the three personal he had mentally selected to cross over as advisers made their way to the starboard hanger, as well as a few of his most trusted soldiers to accompany the dinner party (this included Xeon, the minor psychic Isahil had detected earlier). The hanger was mostly open, the few fighters that were stationed there were on the left side along with a ‘shuttle/drop ship’ that was being prepared for the engineer, pilot, and special forces operative to travel. As a response to the hailing Rick, still up at the bridge, gave them the directions to the hanger while also sending information about the temperature and atmospheric conditions of the vessel in case they were of a species that was used to a different environment.

To make way for their entry the plasma shielding around the hanger’s entrance was dropped, however they were notified ahead of time that there would be a slight ‘bump’ upon entrance given that their technology wouldn’t properly mesh with the electromagnetic field that kept the air contained, creating a slight bit of turbulence.


“Now Greg, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that if you screw this up Grand Admiral Alexander will personally punish you?” it was a joke of course, but if the lizard anthro did screw up bad enough to damage future relations with these new species then he would have to be properly punished, perhaps even court marshaled and denied his citizen rights.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… At least they think I’m cute though…”

There was a slight rumble through the ship as it passed into the bay before a soft thud as it rested on the deck. The light by the door flickered from red to green as it slid open. X was the first one out, looking around. His cybernetic eye scanning for anything cloaked. 5/4 was out next, his outfit suggested someone who was going to a rave party more than an admiral of a mercenary nation. His ear gave a flick as he stretched, looking around. "nice place." He said, patting X on the shoulder. "calm down, we'll be fine."

X nodded slowly. "Yea, never hurts to be cautious though." the raptor said. relaxing a bit. He could see the other ship prepping for launch and got a glimpse of the reptilian. "he is pretty cute." He said, a half smile spreading across his muzzle.

Meanwhile, the factory ship slipped out two more frigates. the first two detaching from the ship to assist with the search. A destroyer slowly dropped out of the bay on the belly of the factory ship. Hundreds of worker ships scoured through the field, searching for anything that wasn't an asteroid on their mineral scanners. Each worker looked like a small freighter, and in fact most of them were.

Shuttle (http://wizards.com/d20modern/images/d20f_gallery/82810.jpg)

Worker (http://wizards.com/d20modern/images/d20f_gallery/82812.jpg)

Frigate (http://fc04.deviantart.com/fs13/i/2007/043/7/3/Expediteure_class_Frigate_by_Jager375.jpg)

Destroyer (http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs24/i/2008/022/1/3/Champion_Class_update_by_TheOrangeGuy.jpg)

The shuttle slid forward, being pushed out by the magnetic field technology of the hanger before activating the plasma sub-light drives, relying on a similar burn the smaller fighters did. They weren’t designed for long term operations but they did have enough fuel to travel about the local stellar system, that is from planet to moon to perhaps a nearby planet so they would be able to make a safe return to their Cruiser afterwards.

On board Greg was feeling slightly anxious about the whole ordeal, so much so that he was grating his teeth. The engineer seemed to be almost oblivious to the situation, instead his mind seemed to preoccupy itself with a theory, or rather gadget of his that he was trying to design. Their Selac soldier that was accompanying them was the calmest of all, for now just thinking, “I wonder if there will be cake.”


Back in the hanger bay, X had virtually nothing to worry about. The Sertians weren’t exactly known for their stealth technology, the best they had being used for their Spider Droids. However, after a few seconds to let the two acclimate to the new surroundings Anathon stepped forward with Xeon following a few feet behind him, “Greetings Roze, a pleasure to see you in person. We found a cook who should be mostly finished with fo-” he was interrupted for a second, causing him to glance down at his armor’s gauntlet which seemed to be displaying a message. Tapping the electronic plate he would whisper in Sert, a language surprisingly close to English, before turning back to the nekos. “Sorry about that, our fighters just discovered the nuclear power core of the ship we’re looking for. We presume that in a few minutes they’ll have the data bank located and we can retrieve what we’ve been looking for. Until then, I assume you would still like to have some dinner?”

5/4 nodded as did X. "Our carrier has already back plotted the asteroids drift patterns, we'll be able to give you a better direction to search in a few minutes." 5/4 said, smiling softly. His tail flicking from side to side. "I was wondering if you have the authority to discuss terms of trade?" He asked. walking the short distance and offering his hand tor a handshake.

X stood with his hands clasped behind him. watching the Admiral and the captain. Looking around at the other soldiers

meanwhile. The Pegasis sent a com to the shuttle, transmitting an updated flow map of the asteroid field. the carrier itself actually in a stationary spot inside the massive field. Isahils face appearing on the com screen. "Your cleared to dock in Bay 2. Proceed through the field with caution." He smiled a bit.

Two more frigates slipped out of the side bays of the factory ship. following the pattern of the ones before, docking on gantries of the factory ship.

Greg only took a light glance at the information about the nearby asteroids, although regretted it afterwards as a 'cheat sheet'. One of the more humorous aspects of his disciplinary profile was that while going through training he had been busted more than a few times for engaging in after-training races against fellow pilots in an asteroid belt.

Coming to the bay the neko had pointed out, the riplard heightened the deceleration of the craft even more than when it had entered the asteroid field, aiming itself towards the open bay that the information guided himself to. With somewhat of a small chuckle he noticed that he was approaching upside down towards the hanger, but fixed it a few meters from the entrance by forcing the shuttle into a make shift barrel roll, fast enough and in such an unexpected engine that the z-inertia field of the shuttle couldn't keep up, tossing the engineer and soldier to the floor before docking.


"Unfortunately no, in fact so far as I know there isn't a significant enough presence in this galaxy of our kind to start trade agreements. However, that may change if we start a colony here, then your best bet would be to travel there and bring up the subject," the Commander stated while guiding the Admiral towards a doorway in the hanger, and from there through various walk ways and a few ramps to the galley.

At his side Xeon walked a few feet off of the two, as per his commander's orders to remain close to see if he had any more 'feelings'. Behind the neko and the raptor were two more soldiers although they had their rifles unloaded for the time but in their hands in a non-offensive manner. But what the cybernetic raptor would notice about the soldiers was that the majority of them wore full body armor made mostly from metals and colored in green and brown camouflage. They all seemed to be around Terran height, and asides from a few Selacs, Riplards, and the occasional rarer species the sertians seemed to be the dominant race on the ship, and thus composing most of the armored troops he saw.

Isahil was waiting in the bay. Oddly there was no personell beyond the normal deck crew. Comprised of various races, most of them human or some type of anthro. Isahil waited patiently for the shuttle doors to open, hands clasped in the sleeves of his robes. The bay door wasnt all that large, though inside the hangar bay was truely massive. hundreds of fighter craft sat in rows. As well as shuttles and what looked to be small boarding craft.

X noted the unloaded weapons, his tail swaying slowly from side to side as he walked. His talons making a distinctive clack on the deck plating with each step. He wore no apparent armor, just the baggy black and grey cargo pants and leather jacket.

5/4 nodded "I'll make a point of doing so when i get the chance." he said smiling. Oblivious to the guards around them. "We don't know of any civilizations in the area. So we dont know who we want to contact for alliances." he said with a shrug.

While the procession was going on, the fighters had located the main hull of the vessel they were searching for. Located embedded in one of the larger asteroids, apparently the area of the ship that included the nuclear core had been almost completely crushed, whereas the back two-thirds of the vessel remained mainly intact, albeit embedded under a few meters of space rock. All six fighters latched on to the rock, firing their towing cables to carry it with them as they started on their path out of the asteroid field, neatly blowing away any rocks that would endanger the reclamation project with their plasma canons.


Greg would give a whistle as he stepped out of the shuttle, amazed at all the fighters that lay ready to be used. But, he didn't get much more to say than that, for a second after he stepped out he was suddenly tackled by the near-fox race as payback for the fly boy stunt he had pulled. Indeed, even the other riplard as he walked out seemed disoriented.


"We have made contact with a number of nations, although right now we have only entered an alliance with the United Terran Federation. From what we can tell they are, protective, of smaller nations and seem to be very trade oriented." Anathon spoke briefly before walking to the table that lay reserved for their party. The Sertian he had made prepare the meal seemed to know what he was doing as it was lined with various dishes of different varieties, including what seemed to be a rather scrumptious platter of meat, some various salad, and what seemed to be some sort of soup that resembled the Vietnamese pho-tai. The remarkable thing was that he had pulled such food from simple rations, which either credited the skills of the cook, the quality of the rations, or in this case both.

Isahil giggled, covering his mouth as he did so, his tail flicking from side to side. His mind reaching out to the three to insure no ill intent was meant from their visit. "Hello, I'm Isahil Traekith. Red Talons Ambassador and acting commander of the Pegasis. Welcome aboard." He said bowing in traditional Japanese fashion. It was fairly apparent that he wore no clothes under the black and red yukata robe. his chest partly visible through the v neck of the robe. He offered a hand to the fallen reptile to help him get up.

X took a long breath, smelling the layout of the dinner. The smell was wonderful, his mouth already watering. 5/4 had a similar reaction, having to resist the urge to dive at the table. Instead the two waited a moment for their host to take his seat before they did. "I think i recognise some of this. though it may just look similar." 5/4 said, looking over the table. X shrugged a bit, "Its all mostly new to me. the meat looks good though." He smiled a bit. looking over everything as well.

The reptile had to push the Selac off, grumbling to himself and glaring at the furred being. Due to his distraction of wanting to pay back a sniper, he didn't notice the psychic's hand until he was almost to his feet already, "Oh sorry about that... Will you excuse me while I go STRANGLE A RAT! YOU HEAR ME ZIR-... Where'd he go?"

Zirken had quickly rolled to his feet, realized he had left his G-16 inside of the troop transport, and quickly hopped inside to place his las-plasma sniper rifle on his back, letting it lock with the magnetic plate that was there, before hopping back down in such a matter that his knee pushed the riplard back to his hands and knees, "Oops Greg, hehe, didn't see ya there."

"Zirken... Selac senses my ass! When we head back I am SO venting your ass into the nearest asteroid I can get to!" Unfortunately for Commander Anathon, he hadn't realized that when he had picked out this team, solely to take advantage of the preferences of the other ships, that he had assigned two buddies who had been together since basic training and that, when together, tended to amplify the disciplinary problems they both had.

Out of all of them, it seemed the engineer was the most serious. Having caught his bearing within the ship he smiled at the neko, "Hey umm... Sorry for those two. They make such a ruckus on the ship, I wonder why the commander assigned them together..."


Back at the dinner party, Anathon and Xeon quickly sat themselves next to each other on one side of the table. On the other side were two more chairs for their guests, while the soldiers who guarded them stood on duty on either side of the doorway. Fortunately though, having won a raffle, they were rewarded for their service by any left overs the four had left out of a meal that could serve ten terrans.

the space marine battle barge wrath of the blood angels exited the warp

coms to unknown vesel

we are the emmeseiry of the grand human imperium we wish to hire private contractors end coms

Isahil simply smiled and shook his head, nodding to the engineer. "We don't usually bother with the more formal military protocols. You'll see most of us out of uniform save for formal occasions, and even then most people come in their own attire instead of uniforms." he said, smiling. he sensed no ill intent from the three. "Shall we proceed with your assessment?" he asked the engineer.

5/4 and X both took their seats, not sure if there was any type of grace that they should wait for. so they simply looked to the other commander. "So, may we begin?" 5/4 asked smiling slightly.

On the bridge of the Pegasis, a rather well dressed human answered the com. "This is acting captain of the Pegasis, Well met Emissary. Our admiral is currently unavailable, as is our captain. I am qualified to secure any requests you have for buisness." He stated, smiling politely.

i am the blood angels brother captain dante on behalf of the astartes legion the blood angels and the grand human imperium we wish to hire you to scout the steepe empires defences you will be well rewarded with cash

The captain nodded. "What is the nature of the Steppe empire and what are its coordinates." He asked, waving to one of the bridge crew to begin a record.

hostile xenops empire bent on the destruction of the god emperors realm five trillion light years from us

The captain nodded, "Can you transmit the coordinates of their home worlds and known colonies?" He asked in a business like fashion. his suit appeared to be a worn old officers uniform. A red and black armband bearing the nations flag on his left arm.

The Commander chuckled and nodded, "Of course, we are not a religious people, although those few who are perform private prayers while eating. And besides," he said with a small smile, "It wouldn't be polite if we didn't dig into this delicious meal my soldier prepared as soon as could."


Nodding, the engineer would hold out his paw to the psychic, "Sorry, again... I'm sure after they've knocked each other around for a bit they'll act more appropriate. Meanwhile, we could start on that tour of your facilities and I can try to see any improvements we could make?"

5/4 and X both nodded and began loading their plates. X taking a bit of the different kinds of meats and some of the bread stuffs. 5/4 loading his plate with litterally a little bit of everything. "I havent had so much new food since i cant remember!" 5/4 said excitedly.

Isahil smiled, touching his fingertips to the others palm in the standard telepaths greeting. Physical contact created a near unblockable mental link with the two subjects as it bypassed the outer mental barriers. He nodded "Shall we begin the tour then, Greg, Zircon, come along please. He looked at the engineer. This way Carl." he gestured along the flight deck and began the tour.

Meanwhile, the Sanctuary continued to produce frigates at a steady pace. one destroyer for every four frigates slipping out of the bay on the underside of the massive factory ship.

the emesery jestured to the tech marine transmit the coroidnates he uttered a bendiciton of terra under his breath may the god emperor guide my hand and bolter in battle against xenos chaos and our rouge kin may he also protect and watch outher our younger brethren as they progress

The captain nodded as they received the data. "Standard procedure is half up front, half upon completion. These terms are negotiable, though we request that at least 25% of payment be provided up front to ensure our trust in our employers. Should the job not be completed to your specifications final payment is negotiable." The captain continued after the marine recited his benediction.

Zircon decides to end the bout for now with a shoulder bump against the smaller anthro, before all three of them followed the psychic. Both of the riplards had their eyes on the ship, analyzing the control consuls or guessing at the schematics and science behind how everything worked. The selac however, seemed to be a bit more comfortable. Keeping his eyes mostly wandering between person to person they came across, not even seeming to mind the way his rifle wavered by a decameter while he walked.


The Commander smirked seeing the guests dig in, taking a few pieces of meat as well as some bread to go with it, then placing a small bowl of soup off to the side. The soldier next to him seemed apprehensive about eating though, or at least slow about it as he picked apart his meals before taking a leisurely amount of time to chew.


Back outside, the fighters were half-way through with their trip, carting behind them the space rock which contained their find.

The variety of races was abound, all humanoid. The only similarity between the dress of them all was an armband with the Red Talon flag. Displayed on the left arm of every crew member. There seemed to dominantly be humans, though races of all sorts of anthros, both neko type and full were abound. Isahill led the group into a small elevator, pressing a key on the small panel next to the door after the other three were all inside. "Central Engineering." he said, the doors sliding shut as the turbo lift began its journey. "So, what do you think of the Red Talons so far?" He asked, a soft smile on his face as he looked to the reptilian. Trying his best not to stare too much. 'by gods he's amazing.' Isahil thought to himself. His collar psi buffer amped up to prevent him from hearing the thoughts of the entire crew, just those near him.

5/4 and X ate at a normal pace. 5/4 wasn't worried about poisons, his body being immune to natural poisons, where as X could detect anything poisonous either through taste or smell. Pausing a moment, X looked up. "I was wondering, do you train your soldiers individually or en-mass?" He asked before tearing a piece of meet and chewing it only briefly before swallowing. His teeth were definitely not those of a plant eater of any kind. 5/4 on the other hand appeared to be human save for his tail and ears, his eyes as well. His right eye was teal and catlike, his left was blood red, also catlike. his left eye, if looked at closer, the red of the iris seemed to shift and flow like liquid, bits of teal shot in like oil in water.

"It's nice for one thing, you seem to be a diverse people. Doesn't that make it hard for breeding purposes?" the engineer asked, his eyes scanning along the ship, even keeping his attention to what he could see of the superstructure. Greg on the other hand, paid attention to whatever consuls he could to get a hint at how they piloted their ships.


"Our training program has different groupings depending on the level of training. For the most basic of programs, such as how to handle and aim a weapon, crawling, basic close range combat, that sort of thing are generally handled by an Officer with a semi-large group. After they've passed, they're put into training groups that generally range from as many as five to fifteen. We find this to be a good number so that every soldier gets adequate training, while they get the added experience of working as a group, in a squadron," Xeon spoke for his Commander, letting him enjoy the soup he was currently drinking. "Of course, for our most advanced courses, such as those for Commandos and other special forces, we rely on pretty much one to one training."

The pilot interfaces seemed to be not too different than old style fighter cockpits, one stick for acceleration and vector control, another for maneuvering thruster control. Other than that they were no different than normal controls. Each interceptor however bore a 40mm gauss cannon mounted off to its right side, and bearing just enough recoil dampeners to prevent it from tearing itself off.

The turbolift arrived in main engineering, showing a large room, dominated by what looked like a high tech version of an old generator. It was in fact, a gravity induction coil. One of four that powered the massive ship. Isahil led the engineer to one of the consoles, which noted that the core was operating at only 10% of normal power. "Reproduction is handled on the crews level. We don't make any rules pertaining to it, we simply allow them to pick their own mates." The superstructer was smooth, bearing no sign of outer supports, leading one to believe that the walls were bolted onto the supporting beams.

X nodded. "It goes the same with us. Myself and my team were trained individually, as with most of our special forces. while our standard soldiers are trained somewhat en-mass." He paused to tear another chucnk of meat and swallow it. 5/4 paused from an almost continuous intake of food. "Isahil handles the recruits in groups. his psi abilities let him train them in a matter of hours what would take months to do." He shrugged a bit, showing he didnt quite understand the whole process.

Outside, the factory ship continued to slip out frigates and destroyers.

The overlord slipped though light space, gliding though time as elegantly as an eagle on the wind. The massive ship could not be expressed in comparison to any other ship. It’s massive slightly oval body was the color of sun baked earth, and was so large, that it was comparable to that of a planet, or perhaps larger.

Mattox stood in total darkness, hearing only the soft hum of the overdrive. They were burning through space at an alarming speed, ever by the standards of light travel. His hands rest at his hips, waiting patiently for the ship to exit overdrive. The engines started to scream as the ship jumped from their light jump. The blast shields started to retract over the view screen on the bridge, sending a bright and slightly blinding light throughout the entire bridge.

Mattox took a few steps forward, looking out into the system which seemed rather uninhabited. Placing both of his arms across his back, he turned slightly to look over his shoulder at his crew.

“The overlord is with us brothers… It seems that we were correct in assuming that this system was nearly empty.”

He said, turning around to face his crew. Looking about the room with a soft smile, he nodded slightly for their slight victory. Walking back though the crew, he spoke now, in a commanding voice to get everyone well on their way.

“I want a full status report on this system. I want to know what blasphemers reside here, how many, and where they call “home” in this system, and I want it now!”

The crew quickly scrambled to do his bidding. The bridge turned into what seemed like an ant hill, with many of the crew running about franticly as Mattox took his seat at the rear. His eyes watched as his crew worked as fast as they possibly could try to answer his questions.

“Sir, it seems there are many different vessels in this system, or at least what we believe to be. It’s hard to tell right now, especially with all the debris about. We won’t know for positive for at least six hours!”

Mattox folded his arms across his chest letting out a deep sigh. Nothing was ever simple, and it never would be. Placing both of his hands on the handles to his chair, he pushed himself up to stand once again. Lowering his head slowly, he stood silent for a moment.

“Let us pray for success my brothers, but, the time for action is now. I want you to send a hail to everyone in the area…”

The crewmen gave the admiral the thumbs up, and the viewscreen for the bridge turned into a giant hud, waiting for someone to hail back.

“This is Admiral Mattox Nanakovitch of the Holy Empire. Anyone who is in this system will respond”

On the bridge of the Pegasis, alerts sounded, along with every ship across the Red Talon fleet as the planet sized vessel dropped into normal space. The captain put the Imperial barge on hold as The com officer called out. "We're recieving a wideband transmission from that ship. Putting it on screen." The forward screen lit up showing Capiain Mattox. Captain winters signaled the nav officer. "Inform the admiral that there is a rather large potential customer knocking. Then patch me through to them." he waited a moment before the screen flickered and the com officer nodded. "This is Captain Winters of the Red Talons Mercenary Republic carrier Pegasis. Do you request our service?"

In the didnig hall on the scout ship. X stopped eating for a moment as he looked over at Roze. "Sir, a ship just dropped into normal space. It appears that its got the fleet rather edgy." 5/4 blinked, swallowing a mouthful of noodles as he looked over. "Why, The Pegasis is the largest ship in the sector save for the Sanctuary." X shook his head. "Not any more its not." 5/4 stared blankly, taking a long drough from his glass. "My apologies Captain, but it would appear that i have some urgent buisness to attend to." He stood, bowing formally. "Thankyou kindly for the meal. It was wonderful, my compliments to the chef." He turned, walking briskly out, followed By X who briskly saluted the two before leaving as well.

The darkness of space stretched on, only broken up by the stars and the occasionaly planet. Suddenly, there was a distort. The fabric of space bent slightly out of shape, then tore. A brilliant flash of light appeared. As it faded, it illuminated a ship. Trails of energy floated off of its sides and Void Shields faded back to transparency as the extreme pressures they had held back were released. On the bridge of the Litany of Fury, Atrius winced.
"I hate translating. I always feel like I'm being stretched every direction at once." He leaned forward, pressing a button on the console before him. "This is Atrius Drakuith, of the warship Lucius Arcanum. State your business."
As he said this, the rest of the fleet warped in behind him, 1000 warships and 500 other ships in all.

((OOC: You do realize there is a ship the size of a small planet in this system.))

Mattox placed both arms behind his back, standing as straight as he possibly could. When the view screen came up with both the voice and video feed of an unknown persons, he wrinkled his brow slightly as he squinted momentarily at who was speaking back to him.

“I am Admiral Mattox, and this is my ship, the overlord. We do not seek your assistance, nor do we want it. We are not here for pleasantries, nor are we here to make friends. I am an emissary of his holiness, and I come with tidings of peace. We do not wish to intrude on what ever your fleet might be doing in this sector, but, we will also make some demands.”

He said in a commanding voice. He could feel the slight rush of Adrenalin rush though his body as he issued his response. No matter how many times he had to do this, it was still very unsettling. Tilting his head back slightly, he looked down his nose at the one he was speaking too.

“Now, that I have announced why I am here, I have a few orders that I would like you to follow… First off, we want you to power down your shields, and come to us. Do not worry, we will give you the same respect. I wish to board your ship and speak in person to you with our demands, and not to the common rabble that is on your ship or ships. Just a friendly chat is all I am asking.”

Just as he had finished his speech, the sounds of alarms could be heard coming from all around the bridge. The Admiral looked over his shoulder slowly to see what all the ruckus was about, just to hear his crew shouting back at him.

“Admiral! Over one thousand ships just made the jump from hyperspace! They are still coming sir!”

Mattox looked back to the screen with the slight look of anger about his face. He thought that for sure now he had got his reply. He dealt off with all his pleasant talk, and the happy faces and spoke once again to the Pegasis.

“I see that we have your reply to my questions… If this is the way you would like it, then so be it… But I warn you, the Empire does not fear numbers.”

The captain shook his head as alarms could be seen sounding on the Pegasis aswell. A voice calling out. "Approximately 1500 ships exiting warp, unknown origin or intent." The captain nodded slightly. "Sorry to disapoint you sir, but those arn't with us. We'll be more than happy to meet with your demands, Our commander is currently on his way back as we speak." The com officer called up to the captain. "Sir, incoming feed from the unknown fleet that just warped in." The captain went silent as he listened to the message, keeping the feed open with Mattox.

Meanwhile, both Roze and X stepped into the shuttle, deploying from the Sertian scout ship, darting back to the Pegasis at tactical speed. Within moments Roze was on the bridge.

Roze signaled the com officer to switch to wideband. "I am Grand Admiral Roze of the Red Talons Mercenary Republic. To the Overlord, we welcome you and i would be more than happy to enjoy your company. To Atrius I believe we should be asking you that very question, as you have warped into our mining operation. We're in the ass end void between two arms of the galaxy. Why are you here?"

As he spoke, thousands of non com ships streamed into the massive bays of the Sanctuary Its 20 mile long bulk lit up by various bays and gantries. Some dragging asteroids in tow, others not.

((OOC: You do realize there is a ship the size of a small planet in this system.))

OOC they a 08 nation no way they have the money to have one or to keep it running

OOC they a 08 nation no way they have the money to have one or to keep it running

OOC: Actually his last nation was much older, it just got wiped for being inactive.

OOC: Actually his last nation was much older, it just got wiped for being inactive.

OOC it don't matter you don't take a dead nation into count of a new one or wise we have 08s with forces bigger then new nations that are new

OOC it don't matter you don't take a dead nation into count of a new one or wise we have 08s with forces bigger then new nations that are new

OOC: More feasable than Lord Melvin who has 6 million people for over a thousand ships. Atleast Korhaul has 20+ million pop

OOC: More feasable than Lord Melvin who has 6 million people for over a thousand ships. Atleast Korhaul has 20+ million pop

OOC that wrong too and would not get away with it by older RPers

OOC that wrong too and would not get away with it by older RPers

OOC: I actually know Korhaul, he's a good RPer, the posts he's been doing are his version of "one liners" I dont lack faith in his RP skills or experience. That and he only has one manned ship. which technically means that he could man it and keep it going.

OOC: Well this is hardly my whole fleet. Just the military/expedition section.

OOC: I actually know Korhaul, he's a good RPer, the posts he's been doing are his version of "one liners" I dont lack faith in his RP skills or experience. That and he only has one manned ship. which technically means that he could man it and keep it going.

OOC half crewed and half automated yur you could, as that how my ships are

OOC half crewed and half automated yur you could, as that how my ships are

OOC: thats how he does it, its mostly automated, as are the other ships. only his boarding parties arn't automated.

As newer guests arrived the fighters had just reached the ship again, the vessels already decelerated with the asteroid in tow. It was, unfortunately, to large to fit into the ship - but that was fixed by several tow lines that shot out and grappled the rock against the underside of the hull, where it would remain until the parts of the rock that didn’t contain the derelict could be cut off. If worse came to worse though, the rock would remain in place in Warp, but wouldn’t come with them in a Drift Jump.


Nodding to his guests as the Commander was busy taking note of a message that had appeared on the armguard of his armor, “Understood, it seems like I’ve got to deal with the same problem. Take care of our three men on your ship, it’s to dangerous to have a transport cross that distance with possibly hostile forces in the area. Best of luck to you though,” giving one more nod towards the two the soldiers that had waited at the doorway quickly guided them back out to the shuttle bay.

Now then, freed off his guests the commander got up and rushed to the bridge, sliding into his chair moments before Xeon managed to slip into the doorway his commander had entered from. Once there he was displayed the message from both of the arrivers to the system, “…Great, we got an arrogant race that controls a planet sized ship and a fleet of over a thousand ships…”

“Orders sir?”

“Open a channel with the planetoid first, filter everything from the communication but me, got it?”

“Alright sir, channel opened.”

“Greetings Admiral Mattox Nanakovitch of the Holy Empire, I am Commander Anathon of the Sertian Empire, Commanding Officer of the Phoenix-Class Cruiser Fireclaw. I would suggest that you keep your tone on a more even level, since we represent the entire Empire to your ship.”

“End transmission, open another one to the fleet that just arrived.”

“Yes sir, same filtering?”

He nodded, waiting for Rick to type in the commands at his station before being given a nod in return. Turning to the screen before speaking, “This is Commander Anathon of the Sertian Empire, Commanding Officer of the Phoenix-Class Cruiser Fireclaw hailing Atrius Drakuith of the Warship Lucius Arcanum. We, are here salvaging a relic that we believe is connected to our past and while here engaged in first contact with the Red Talons. What we would like to know is what you are doing here, as this system seems to be under Red Talon control, at least for the moment.”

“End transmission, meanwhile while we wait for a response I want to get our warp-engine online, keep plasma shields offline though - we don’t want to damage the asteroid tethered to our hull.”

"We are..." Atrius paused, "were on an expeditionary mission, but our homeworld was attacked while we were away. We attempted to warp back, but something scrambled our jump drives, and we ended up a few jumps from here. We have not charted this region of space yet, so it was pure chance that brought us here. As soon as we get our drives back online, we'll be on our way."

Roze nodded from the bridge as the acting captain stepped down. "Well. That makes a bit more sense. Take as long as you need to repair your fleet. We would like to inform you that should you require any assistance, we would be more than happy to help for a fee. We are the Red Talons Mercenary Republic. At your service." He bowed slightly.