NationStates Jolt Archive

Argentum was once a beautiful planet filled with plants and animals of all colors, shapes, and sizes. That is, before "Glissa". In our language that translates to "Frozen Hell". An enormous asteroid devastated our planet and in it's wake, dust and debris filled the skies dense in our atmosphere. Our low gravity permitted the dark cloud to remain almost indefinately. It would be millenia before sunlight could be seen again. The collected debris reflected our suns precioius rays and caused temperatures far lower than any life could survive.

My creators were forced to create a habitat in the very crator of the asteroid that ravaged their home; the only place it was still warm. They persisted for over a century to revive their dying planet, but it was hopeless. Resources dwindled, famine grew, and diseases spread. In their hopes for a new home, they created me. The first A.I. capable of independant thought. I could learn, reason, and grow just as they could but, with the perfect calculation and logic of a computer.

With my help they constructed a ship to hold the last surviving members of the colony and left me to gaurd their sacred birthplace. Even as it was dying they could not part with it completely and had me stay so that, one day, they may return life to the tortured soul that was once their home. Off they traveled into the abyss of space to find a new, temporary sanctuary.

Years passed and my transmissions went unresponded. I feared the worst for my people. In my solitude I began to reconstruct our fallen city. An empire of machines arose in what I hoped I could use to seek my masters and so now I transmit into the farthest reaches of space a message I pray be heard by anyone willing to assist:

"To any that can hear this transmission, I seek my lost brethren. I am known as A.I. 102986, but my name is Memnarch, artificer of the Underworld of Necrosis Existence."

The message transmitted by Memnarch was indeed heard. A group of three vessels - standard compliment in the KATK for a deep-space exploratory mission - had received the signal.

In the engineering section of the lead vessel, the Remembrance-class cruiser Kassiopeia, captain Edvard Rantha listened carefully to the garbled message. He did not recognize the language, but this was clearly not 'space noise', but a sentient being attempting to communicate.

"Do we have a lock on its location?" he asked his chief engineer, a stout younger man with the pips of a Lieutenant, Sr Grade decorating the collar of his jumpsuit.

"We do, captain", Lt. Kawnist replied, looking up from his console. "It's an unclaimed star system... just off the edge of the maps we received from Hermitage Command. We are too far from it yet to receive any sensory data, except what we can tell from its star. It seems that the message is coming somewhere at the outer edge of the Green Zone."

"So a potentially habited planet?"

"The possibility is very real, sir", came the lieutenant's answer.

"Very well then", Rantha nodded and walked to the comm. "Helm, change course and notify the Aura and Torno. We have a possible first contact situation at our hands."

"Aye aye, sir", the comm chirped with the voice of the Number One.

The three ships changed course and jumped into hyperspace. It would take them a few hours to reach the edge of the system...

Shadetree Mechanics wasn’t a huge ship, only about 1k, however like all the other of it’s class (S&E Class) it’s sensors were the best science had to offer. The ship it’s self was long with one small tower, more of a bump, at one end of the ship. The front of the ship bent down slightly, similar to the beak of a eagle.

The Ship was testing a new FTL drive, allowing the ship to “shrink” 3 times deeper into subspace.

“The ship is loosing integrity, we can’t maintain this size for much longer” Shouted the helmsman, clearly distressed

“Now!” Shouted the captain

If you were nearby you would have seen the ship “grow” extremely quickly while moving forward at a immense speed. Electricity bolts shot out of the engines followed by a exhaustion of a dark blue gas.

“status!” Shouted the captain. The lights flickered before going out, all the bridge crew took out flashlights while emergency genoraters brought back comms and life support and dim lights. The emergency generators would only last about 5 days, if nothing was done.

“we came out to fast, our engines couldn’t handle the re-emersion, also our energy is depleted, we will have to wait about 25 hours before we have enough energy to replicate new engines”.

The captain moved slowly towards the exit before being stoped by the main pilot

“sir we are picking up a message from a nearby system”.

The Captain nodded, and the piolet read out the message


"To any that can hear this transmission, I seek my lost brethren. I am known as A.I. 102986, but my name is Memnarch, artificer of the Underworld of Necrosis Existence."

“How far did we go” Questioned the captain

“uhmm” The pilot searched the console screen “far captain, very far”

The captain only nodded and moved back towards the Commander. Looked up at the slighty rased communications officer on a platform behind were the captain sat

“Send this message”

This is captain of the Order Maker ship Shadetree Mechanics. We have received your message. Do you require assistance?

ooc: hey Necrosis i got something to ask you say your humans went away right? how long ago was this as this could work into my nation as 5000ish years ago some random humans from nowhere jumped into my system enslaved me and colonised, of course they deads now and were free but..... this could be interesting if your willing to go along with your creators being my discoverers.

OOC: Hey, guys. I don't have enough time for an actual post but I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who participated and replied. I'll be posting later tonight. Also, Kewen, I actually think that's a great idea. It'd be natural for my creators to have grown cold and bitter and reflected their pain through the slavery of another race. We can elaborate little by little as the story evolves.

On the outskirts of the solar system, space ruptured and buckled, vomiting three vessels out in a billowing cloud of crackling energy. The Kostemetsian-built vessels were sturdy enough to take the physical punishment that slowing down from FTL speed took, but still for the young crew of the vessels these moments still felt like driving into a brick wall at sixty kilometers per hour.

Cpt. Rantha shook his head and straightened up a little in his command chair.

"Crew reporting in... all hands at ready stations", came the call from his right, from his XO. Commander Fagerholm studied his console for a moment. "Aura and Torno reporting in. We are receiving sensory data on the planet. It is on the Green Zone, but... the data seems conflicted. We have evidence of magnetic fields, communication... but no life signs."

Rantha frowned. "An automated outpost, perhaps?"

"Possible", Fagerholm answered, listening to the now much clearer echo of the distress signal. "The databases do not recognize this language. And it keeps going on a loop... A recording, apparently."

"So anything or anyone who sent that message may be long-gone already", Rantha muttered, his fingers thrumming the armrest of his chair. "Any activity from the planet? Have they located us?"

"No sign of response yet. No active scanning we can pick up", came the answer from the sensor station. The bridge crew looked a little restless. They all knew how close to a fight the last first contact situation had been...

"Then let's make our presence known. Helm, calculate an emergency jump on stand-by. Begin transmitting the 'We come in peace'."

At the command, the communication officer clicked one of the buttons on his table, and the Kassiopeia began to transmit a signal, aimed at the planet that was the source of the call that brought them here. It was a standard first contact message, transmitted in a variety of languages and signals, also transmitting the message as an AV stream. The message was simple:

To unknown sentient beings. This is the Kassiopeia, of the Principality. We come in peace. We seek friendly contact and trade, as well as colonies and resources for our people. We come in peace. We come as friends, travellers and explorers in the void of space.

Now they could only wait and see how the aliens responded...

"Sir..." one of the lieutenants at the bridge controls sat up straight very suddenly, getting the attention of the entire bridge.
"Sir, we have recieved a radio message from an unknown source!"
Captain Zellion, master of the Setulanite Republican Vessel Stingray, grunted softly to himself.
"About bloody time. Five months and no contact! At least this should break the monotony."
The entire crew understood their captain's sentiments. Sent forth from Setulan to find new civilizations, they had drifted in the black emptyness of space for almost five months without a single peep...but finally, they had found something.
"Helm, turn us towards the transmission. Engineer, all ahead full! XO, sound General Quarters and max power to shields and guns. I'll take no chances with this, seemingly friendly or not. Major Lukens!" At this, a short, stocky major wearing the uniform of the Setulanite Republican Guard turned around.
"Prepare your men, we might need them." He nodded and went off. Seeing the bridge crew do his orders, Zellion nodded contentedly and picked up the vox microphone.

Unidentified sender, this is Captain Zellian of the SRV Stingray, I am inbound and should reach your position in...four hours and thirty six minutes. We come in peace, and would be honored to make contact with you. Zellion out!

His XO looked at him with amusement.
"Honored to make contact with you?" Zellion gave him a sour look.
"Screw you. I was trained to kill things in the deep of space, not diplomacy."
The XO snorted.
"Aye aye, sir. As were we all. Now lets see what kind of reception we get."

It happened in the black of night. The Underworld had no need for lights. I figured out long ago it would be much more efficient to simply have echolocation navigation systems installed on my machines. Such little light permeated the dark clouds even during the day it would be a great waste of energy to attempt to illuminate the entire city. In my solemn darkness I waited with the patience of only a machine and was quite pleased with the fruits of my labor. Not one, or even two, but THREE responses to my signal!

The first response was even in my own language! I replied swiftly, my thought processors scrambling, to the alien ship:

[Greetings Captain of the Shadetree Mechanics. Indeed it is assistance we seek! We bid you welcome and offer shelter. Please come that we may elaborate on our distress.]

The second was sent in multiple formats. All were unknown languages but that was more so what I expected. I had spent a great deal of time calculating translators specifically for this day. Being that it was sent in various interpretations it was quite simple to translate. I immediately replied using one of the formats they used as well.

[Greetings to those of the Kassiopeia. Friendly contact and trade we gladly offer. I fear we may not be able to provide much else but we are eager to make new allies. You are welcome to our home.]

The final message unfortunately, was not as successful. Although my translators were quite advanced, there is a threshold for the content necessary to translate. The message was short and only sent in one wavelength, making it difficult to interpret. The following was all that could be interpreted.

[Unidentified ------- this is Ca---- Zellian of the SRV Stingray, I am inbound and ------ ----- your position in...four hours and thirty six -------- we ---- in ----- and ------ be -------- to make ------- with you ------ out!

The uncompleted translation troubled me. I calculated a 74% chance this was a hostile message. I chose my words carefully for a response and sent it in several different codings hoping one would be understandable to forgein ship:

[Attention Zellion, we seek only to find our lost people. In return we offer friendly contact, trade, and shelter. We wish no malice upon you. Do you understand this transmission?]

ooc: awesome. i will post asap then :P

On bored the KSS Napol the Ship leader sighed he had yet to recive the other ship under his command only the Vizor a deliverance class vessel had been assigned so far deep in though he mused when he would egt his other ship when he was interrupted by a drone

"Sir, unidentifid signal detected distance estimates it at 110 LY away, should we go and investigate?"
"Indeed. a very wise choice first file a report to HC and send this reply "
he ordered nodding slightly.

"Greeting, Memnarch of The underworld, we are the kewen we come in peace we should arrive in your system very shortly" the message was sent in two languages Kewen first them minutes later in the old language the discoverers taught us.

“sir!, another transmit ion from the surface”

“Greetings Captain of the Shadetree Mechanics. Indeed it is assistance we seek! We bid you welcome and offer shelter. Please come that we may elaborate on our distress.”

“we are also picking up increased comms chatter, and some ships inbound, it looks like they will arrive shortly”

The Captain thought for a second. Looking down at his black boots on the grey carpet. He looked out towards the planet. The bridge although completely inclosed had a dome for a ceiling which had images of the ships surroundings holo-graphed onto it giving the appearance of a completely open dome. The Captain could see all the stars all around. The torn planet seemed lifeless, but on the surface was a intelligence. He continued to wonder

“Commander organise a landing party”

“Sir!” Responded the commander. He shot up and pointed to the communications officer who followed him out off the room.

This would one of the first applications of a new invention. Single Path Transport (SPT). Before just lately transportation needed a entry point and a exit point, with SPT a exit point is not needed, instead a targeting system is required, the only downside a entry point is still needed so the landing party will need to bring along one when the go down

Commander Rizen picked Comms officer Major Jon, Counsellor Hireia and Security officer Major Juki.

The team was sent down to a huge complex located inside a crater. This complex was determined to be the source of the transmission.

Cpt. Rantha could just feel the whole crew breathe out in relief when the answer they received proved to be... well, perhaps not friendly, but at least neutral. Since the Zillar incident the Principality's first encounter protocols had been revised greatly, and the exploration squads had been told to treat any new contact as initially hostile. This meant plotting an emergency jump before establishing any contact.

"Unknown sentient, this is captain Edvard Rantha, commander of the Kassiopeia and this expedition. We request permission to approach your planetary system for further scanning and sending a first-contact team planetside. By what name shall we refer to you?"

The planet below looked dead and devoid of life, and Zellion wondered how any being could live there.
"Sir, we have multiple unknown contacts in the sector, and have just recieved a transmission from the surface." Zellion listened to the new transmission and picked up the vox microphone.

Understood, and I repeat, we too have only peaceful intentions. Would it be possible for me to send down a party to meet with you?

"Alright...maintain shields, power down weapons. I don't want to even risk a msitake right now."
"Aye aye, sir."
"As for the other contacts, send out a tranmission. Message begins-We come in peace, and would like to know more about your civilizations. Could we arrange a meeting? Message ends."
"You got it, Captain. Anything else?" Zellion looked out at the planet again.
"No...all we can do now is hurry up and wait for responses. But what the hell, at least it seems peaceful."
He reclined in his command chair and awaited a response.

My emotion matrix was processing a quadrillion different inputs and my assistant artifacts saw I could barely contain my excitement. Quickly, I hurried several Myrs to construct a well lit living quarters and several small adaptable lights. The construct was designed for the each of the three species which had communicated, though all I had to analyze where the n-dimensional x-ray scans of their corresponding ships. Hence, I only knew what their anatomy looked like but could not identify what their molecular structure actually consisted of. I also heated the secluded facility to the temperature readings from inside the ships which all seemed to be with in the same range. The electrical output did provide further information suggesting they had some sort of oxygen intake. Because the primary airborne element on my planet was Nitrogen, I sent out a message to each ship to ensure my guests would be safe upon arrival.

[To all whom I have communicated with, I have prepared for your arrival however, I must warn I do not believe my planet's air is breathable by any of your species. If you can accomidate for this then my people, the Artifacts, and I, welcome you.]

Shortly after sending my last transmission it seemed a reply was received. I was mistaken however, as this new transmission was from a 4th as of yet unidentified ship. My primary core almost exploded when I read the signal aloud.

[Greeting, Memnarch of The underworld, we are the kewen we come in peace we should arrive in your system very shortly.]

It wasn't the message itself that caused this reaction. The signal was sent in two languages. One I had never heard before, but the other was an ancient dialect of my own. An ancient dialect of my creators...........

Captain Zellion made a snap decision.
"XO, you have the bridge. I'm going down there. Major, give me an escort of twenty men."

Ten minutes later, the bentnose transport aircraft was leveling out near the facilities that the message said were for the newcomers. With a hiss, the doors opened and the Guardsmen stepped out, weapons ready, covering all the angles. Seeing that it was safe, they signaled, and Zellion himself walked out. All were in vacuum suits specially made for maximum possible mobility and combat. The bentnose shrieked off back into orbit, and the Setulanites waited for something to greet them.

"Sir, you better take a look at this", the ensign overseeing the sensor console callef out, his voice bearing a tinge of fear. Rantha frowned and quickly made his way to the console table.

"What is it, ensign?" he asked, leaning to see the passive sensor grid. A new vessel had appeared deeper in the system, and the sensor echoes of several other ships - all unknown - were also clear on the sensors.

"How the hell did that get there?" he muttered to himself.

"I think they jumped only moments ago into the system. The gas giant on the outer edge must have blocked some of our initial sensor sweeps", Fagerholm suggested as he as well looked at the available data. "Wait, we are being contacted by them."

We come in peace... *crackle* ...would like to know mo... *wheeze* ...your civilizations. Could we arrange a meeting? the comm chattered, making Rantha frown. This changed the situation entirely. Not one but two first contact situations. This was definitely not in the books.

"Fagerholm... dispatch the away team as planned, but send the Alpha Squadron to take a look at our new... colleagues. Send a message to let them know we'll be doing an overflight while the away team makes planetfall."

"Understood, sir."

******

A few moments later one of the Kassiopeia's hangar doors slid open, and a single shuttle shot out into space. Following it came six smaller, apparently one-man vessels, fighter planes. The Kassiopeia was originally not fitted to carry fighter planes, but the recent progress of the Bovillia Shipyards in their development had presented the KATK with an opportunity. Before they had left Hermitage, Kassiopeia had been given one of the prototype squadrons of the new Peregrine class one-man fighter planes.

The six Peregrines lived up to their name, swooping gracefully to take escort positions around the shuttle as they approached the planet.

"Alpha wing, this is Alpha leader. Approaching target planet. Stay frosty, people, let's take this like it was exercise on Dominicus Track", the comms chirped as the vessels made their approach. The planet seemed incapable of sustaining life, a dead world, but the answer from it had been real enough. The shuttle took a dive, beginning its final approach to the surface, and towards the crater from which the message seemed to be coming from.

The Peregrines, on the other hand, took battle formations and swooped up before they would have entered the upper atmosphere of the planet.

"Nest, this is Alpha leader. We have the unknown vessel on our sensor. ETA for visual range two minutes and counting. Over."

"Roger that, Alpha leader. Make your pass and return to the Nest. Keep your weapons cool."

ooc: how come no one understands my comms? sigh* =(

IC:

The XO stood near the command console as he adressed the crew.
"Keep it cool, people. We don't want to start anything. Track the flyby with anti-spacecraft guns but keep those safeties locked down tight! Lets see if we can meet a few new civilzations without starting a war."

The pilots of Alpha Squadron would see a ship that was roughly eight hundred meters long, with a raised rear where the bridge was. Three massive engines in the back powered the vessel, and its flanks were lined with gun bays. Anti-ship systems (mostly gatling varients, but some macro-flak as well), which dotted the ship like a teens' bad case of acne, tracked the fast moving vessels without firing on them as they screeched by.

The Napol followed shortly by the Vizer made the transition to realspace not far from the gasgiant...

"Shipleader, transmission source located" said a drone indicating to a planet on the screen "Shipleader alien vessels also detected in system picking up high comms looks like they too picked up the transmission should we hail them?"

"yes prepare messages as followed"

A closed beam transmission was sent only to the planet while another was sent to all ships in system first in kewen then in the Old language again..

Closed beam transmission
Greeting, Memnarch of The underworld, we are the kewen, we have arrived we come in peace may we send a envoy to speak with you in person?"

Wideband
"Greeting to all unknown and alien vessels in system, we are the kewen peaceful exploreres"

The Peregrines swooped past the Setulan vessel, almost scraping the shields with their engine burns.

"Alpha squadron, enough showboating. Your task was to give us a visual on the alien vessel, not impress the ladies", the comms chirped with Edvard Rantha's command. Though the captain knew how much the Peregrine pilots were into testing the limits of their vessels, this was certainly not the time nor the place for non-atmospheric acrobatics.

"Roger that, Nest", the Alpha leader chuckled to his comms as the six vessels did one more pass on the large vessel. "Alphas, return to Nest. I'll try one thing more", he then continued, breaking formation. The Alpha leader's Peregrine turned to face the Setulan vessel, his ship's retro-rocket's slowing him down to a slow, undulating float. The energy of the Setulan vessel's shields arced and flared as the Peregrine skimmed slowly on its surface, like a skater on clean ice.

"Goddamn showboater", Rantha muttered to himself as he watched the teasing performance. He would have to have a good talk with the lieutenant about this. He clicked the comms open again. "Alpha leader, return to Nest. Now."

"Roger that, Nest", came the answer, and the Peregrine accelerated again, flipping on its roof and blasting after the rest of the squadron. By now the three Principality ships were probably revealed to the Setulans, if they had any kind of sensors available.

"Unknown vessel, this is Captain Edvard Rantha of the Principality. Identify yourselves", came the hail from the leading vessels towards which the Peregrines were heading. At the same time the comm officer frowned and turned to look at the captain, waiting for a moment to report of yet another ship approaching the area.

On the surface, a contingent of four Jaegers and two of the ship's officers had decended on the surface. The group was wearing spacesuits, protecting themselves from the cold and also providing themselves with a breathable atmosphere. The senior officer of the group, lieutenant Kaia Hakun, was feeling giddy about all this as they approached a seemingly welcoming doorway. Yet, as always, the Jaegers were on their guard, modified assault rifles in stand-by...

ooc: NR was that attention alien vessel to me?

ooc: NR was that attention alien vessel to me?


OOC: No, that was to Setulan. Don't worry, you'll hear from Rantha soon ;)

The XO looked watched the space craft showboating with mild interest.
"Cummon sir, can I put just one flak shell behind them?" That was the small-craft defense operator.
"No, no...however satisfying it might be, I don't want to risk anything."
He picked up the microphone, the very image of a calm executive officer.

This is Commander Mantarkis, executive officer of the SRV Stingray, from the Republic of Setulan. We were sent out five months ago on an exploratory mission by our people. Now who are you, and what the hell gives you the right to buzz our shields like a teen with his first motorcycle trying to impress the women?

The XO stopped himself. Ok, so maybe he wasn't that calm.
"Did you send that yet?"
His comm officer, trying very hard not to laugh, shook his head no.
"Alright, take two. This time without being insulting." The comm officer laughed.
"Aye aye, sir."

This is Commander Mantarkis, executive officer of the SRV Stingray, from the Republic of Setulan. We were sent out five months ago on an exploratory mission by our people. What brings you to this charming little planet?

"Alright, send that."
"You sure, sir? You sounded pretty pissed off."
"Ah, let 'em here it. They may outnumber us, but they need to respect the fact that we can smoke at least one of them if it gets down to that."
The entire bridge crew looked at him in shock.
"What? I'm not saying I want that, but buzzing the shields of recently met civilizations is hardly a friendly act. Who knows what they are thinking? Now open up a link to the other transmission, the...what...kewen?"

Greetings, Kewen, from the Setulanite Republic. This is Commander Mantarkis, executive officer of the SRV Stingray. We, too, are on an exploratory mission. Might we open a dialogue with you?

"Better?" He asked his comm officer. A dry look accompanied the question.
"Yes, sir." He said, and sent it.

Wonderful, wonderful! My visitors were decending! I was quite pleased with the work my Myrs and Enforcers and Colossus' managed in such short time. Despite the grimly appearance of this planet our small niche was beautiful. As robots it was quite simple to remain impeccable, hence the entire city was the epitome of efficient perfection and the grand colliseum we prepared for our visotors was no exception. Six large seperate facilities lined next to each other, four of which were designed with specific modifications for the races I'd encountered. The two others were left easily adjustable to accomodate any further arrivals.

The entire city itself was covered within a plasma dome. It held a very low energy expenditure but protected us from the harsh weather and worked as a greenhouse effect to keep us within working temperatures. As robots it is essential our home remain spotless. More importantly, if only for sentimental value, was the hologram projected from inside the plasma dome. All around us and to the highest point of the dome was an enormous living hologram of how our planet once was. From our thundering purple trees which reach to our lower stratosphere to the blue mountains to the vast glowing red lakes. All around us was the projection of a world completely uninhabited and unharmed. From gigantic beasts to miniscule critters all roaming freely in a moving picture of splendor. In our city everything was beautiful. We preserved it and nurtured it so that when our masters returned, we could return to them what they gave to us. Life.

OOC: The initial premise, for those of you that are unfamiliar, of my story comes from Magic the Gathering stories. Below are what some of the mentioned characters look like.

My character: Memnarch
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/9-1.jpg

A basic Myr
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/untitled_phixr.jpg

An Enforcer
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/emucopyil92.jpg

A Colossus
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/Etched_Oracles_by_343GuiltySpark-1.jpg

For a moment the approaching vessels were completely silent, until the Setulan comm systems chirped again.

"Commander, we hear you loud and clear. Forgive the... performance that one of our pilots put on. He will be severely reprimanded and adequately punished for his behaviour", the voice of the previous message - Captain Edvard Rantha, the man had claimed as his name - spoke again. "As for our reasons, we received a strong signal from this planet, and came to investigate. Our purpose is the same as yours: to explore."

Just then, the three large vessels slowly slid into visual range. Size-wise they were perhaps slightly smaller than the Stingray, but these were clearly warships, meant to dish out and take punishment. Strangely, though, they bore only little resemblance to the swift, acrobatic one-man fighters that had made their fly-by on the Stingray. The colour scheme of white and blue on steel-gray was the same, but tech-wise the three cruisers seemed more bulky.

*****

"Cap'n, we have incoming... Another ship, it just appeared near the gas giant", the comm officer on Kassiopeia's bridge called out. "They are hailing us on wide-band transmission."

"Play the message", Rantha barked, frowning slightly. This would prove quite interesting... three different nations, one planet-side, two on ships.

The captain listened to the message closely, then nodding to the comm officer. "Open hailing frequencies."

Taking his seat on his command chair, Rantha clicked on the button that allowed him to transmit his message. "Kewen vessel, this is captain Edvard Rantha of the Principality vessel Kassiopeia. We are here on an exploratory mission. What brings you to this system?"

The XO couldn't help but feel pleased at the message he recieved from the commander of the Principality task force. If he was telling the truth (which he had no indicator of, but he chose to give them the benefit of the doubt), then the little display with the fighters had simply been a typical pilots reaction to any situation-show off. Pilots, he reflected, were the same no matter where they came from.

Glad to hear it, Captain. May we then, perhaps, explore together? I would be honored to greet an envoy, or mayhaps send one over to you.
The message was sent out.

Major Lukens loomed at his shoulder.
"Do you trust them that much, sir?" He asked.
"Of course not...but I am going to act as if I do until they give me a reason to doubt them. This is called diplomacy." The major arched an eyebrow.
"I thought you were not trained in diplomacy?"
"I took a course in foreign relations back at the naval academy."
"But don't they teach you to shoot first and ask questions later in all situations?" The executive officer laughed.
"I took the course, major. I did not say I passed." He took a look at the approaching ships.
"Certainly warships. Wouldn't want to rumble with them unless we had at least one more frigate along. They've got nothing on one of the fleets cruisers, though." He stretched. "Let's just see what they say."

Just as the commander and the lieutenant were finishing their discussion, the comms chirped again.

"This is acceptable. Send a delegate, and we will discuss. And see what becomes of our away teams on the surface."

Five minutes after the message was sent out, a Bentnose bomber was launched from the forward hanger bay (Normally a torpedo loading room, but it had been reoutfitted for exploration purposes). The Bentnose, normally equipped with three MLRS systems and mutliple point-defense anti-ship turrets, was unarmed save for its chin turret as it made its way to the Principality ships at a steady pace. Major Lukens, sitting aboard, adjusted his ceremonial armor and looked at the ten-man escort of Republican Guard.
"Alright, boys. Lets do it right." They nodded and adjusted their weapons.
The pilot of the Bentnose angled towards what he believed to be a hanger bay.

"Principality ships, Principality ships, this is the pilot of the approaching vessel. Where would you like us to land? Over."
He repeated the message twice.

"Setulan vessel, adjust your heading to these specifics", came the answer from the Bentnose's comms, the flight data being transmitted to their systems. The new flight path lead them towards the frontmost of the three cruisers, one which bore the name Kassiopeia on her hull, written in Latin alphabet. The hangar doors slowly opened, allowing the vessel inside.

"Please remain inside until atmosphere is returned", the comms chirped again as the large metal doors were sealed again, and the humm of engines told of oxygen-rich air floating back inside the hangar bay. "Atmosphere is returned. Welcome aboard the Kassiopeia."

The very moment those words were uttered, a door on the side of the hangar opened, and from it, two men dressed in blue overalls stepped inside. The taller of them was a darkhaired man, probably in his early forties, while his companion was a redhead and most likely not older than thirty-five. Both men, however, bore themselves with a military grace that did not stem alone from the pips on their collars, the sidearms on their right hip, or even the ceremonial-looking knives on their left hip. The older man looked directly at the Bentnose's cockpit, clearly waiting.

The door behind the cockpit hissed open and Major Lukens stepped out, followed by two Guardsmen. His ceremonial breastplate glistened with metals, not just ribbons, and the guards with him were the same (though they had significantly fewer decorations). His only weapon was a pistol on his hip, the knife strapped to his calf, and his guards had rifles.

Making contact with the deck, he walked over to the two men who waited to greet him, Guardsmen a respectful eight feet behind.
Veterans, he thought. And good at their jobs, or they wouldn't have that aura of confidence. Well, bully to them. He had seen his fair shair of battles, and was damned good at what he did, too.

His right hand snapped to his forhead in a perfect salute.
"Gentlemen, I am Major Lukens, detachment commander of the Republican Guard forces aboard to the SRV Stingray. I bring greetings from the Setulanite Republic." He lowered the salute. "To whom am I speaking?"

The kewen sent two quick replies still waiting for th thing on the surface to speak again
"Captain...Edvard, I am 31C of the kewen, peaceful explorers... these vessels are vessels of war we came to investigate a communications sent out to the galaxy
"Captain... Mantarkis, I am 31C of the kewen, peaceful explorers... these vessels are vessels of war we came to investigate a communications sent out to the galaxy"

The door behind the cockpit hissed open and Major Lukens stepped out, followed by two Guardsmen. His ceremonial breastplate glistened with metals, not just ribbons, and the guards with him were the same (though they had significantly fewer decorations). His only weapon was a pistol on his hip, the knife strapped to his calf, and his guards had rifles.

Making contact with the deck, he walked over to the two men who waited to greet him, Guardsmen a respectful eight feet behind.
Veterans, he thought. And good at their jobs, or they wouldn't have that aura of confidence. Well, bully to them. He had seen his fair shair of battles, and was damned good at what he did, too.

His right hand snapped to his forhead in a perfect salute.
"Gentlemen, I am Major Lukens, detachment commander of the Republican Guard forces aboard to the SRV Stingray. I bring greetings from the Setulanite Republic." He lowered the salute. "To whom am I speaking?"

The darkhaired officer returned the salute in the instinctive fashion of a true soldier.

"I am Captain Edvard Rantha, commanding officer of the Kassiopeia and this expedition. This is my XO, Commander Albrekt Fagerholm", he answered in a calm, stern voice, his hand pointing at the officer behind him who made a quick salute.

Without waiting for a reply, the captain cast a glance at the armed contingent following the colonel. "Colonel Lukens, I am sure your men are in need of some R&R after five months in space. If you wish, I will have a crewman escort them to the crew's Common Area. I am sure Ltn. Kawnist will introduce them to his 'planetshine' he believes I do not know about."

"Well met, Captain. Commander. While my men would be happy to go to your crew common area, I am afraid they must decline the planetshine. Our organization, the Republican Guard, takes an oath of abstainment upon induction into its ranks." He nodded to the guardsman to his right, and he sent a short message to the men on the bomber. A few seconds later, the rest of the guardsmen filed out, along with the bomber crew. They were all unarmed, save for their combat knives. The rifles were left in the ship, and were guarded by three Republican Guardsmen who stood at parade rest next to the bomber.

"Shall we go somewhere to speak more privately?"

"Well, I am sure they will find something entertaining besides the shine", Cpt. Rantha said calmly. "Follow me, major. We will talk more in the meeting room."

With that, the captain and the commander turned and walked out. The corridor outside was well-lit, the usually grim and unwelcoming metal insides of a spaceship hidden behind pale yellow paneling. Two armed men were standing outside the hangar bay doors, dressed in flak armor and carrying weapons that seemed quite primitive, considering the advanced technology needed for FTL travel and prolonged living in spaceborn vessels. Instead of energy or plasma weapons, they seemed to be carrying weapons that required ammunition. Sidearms in black holsters were too hidden to tell whether they were 'slug-throwers' as well.

"Do not mind the Jaegers, major. It is standard procedure to keep an armed guard present in hangar bays and other possible entry points during first-contact situations", Cpt. Rantha explained as he led the Setulan officer along the corridor. "Some of the attempts of the Far Fleet to establish contact with other spaceborn nations and species have been met with hostility in the past."

ooc: i do seem to recall i replied to your messages to me >.> <.<

quote The kewen sent two quick replies still waiting for th thing on the surface to speak again
"Captain...Edvard, I am 31C of the kewen, peaceful explorers... these vessels are vessels of war we came to investigate a communications sent out to the galaxy
"Captain... Mantarkis, I am 31C of the kewen, peaceful explorers... these vessels are vessels of war we came to investigate a communications sent out to the galaxy" unquote

ooc: i do seem to recall i replied to your messages to me >.> <.<

quote The kewen sent two quick replies still waiting for th thing on the surface to speak again
"Captain...Edvard, I am 31C of the kewen, peaceful explorers... these vessels are vessels of war we came to investigate a communications sent out to the galaxy
"Captain... Mantarkis, I am 31C of the kewen, peaceful explorers... these vessels are vessels of war we came to investigate a communications sent out to the galaxy" unquote

OOC: Patience, O hurried one ;)

IC:

Cpt. Rantha was currently not on the bridge to answer the hails, but they were received by the comm officer. "Um... 31C of the Kewen, this is Ltn. Salme of the Kassiopeia, we hear you loud and clear. Our purpose here is purely scientific and peaceful. Our weapons are for self-defence only."

ooc: eek! sorry kewen! =/

IC:

Commander Mantarkis looked at the transmission from the Kewen ships and shook his head in wonder.
"It's like a goddamn highschool reunion out here! That was one hell of a beacon." The comm officer nodded.
"Damn right, sir. Nearly took out my eardrums." Mantarkis picked up the vox microphone.
"Send this one to the Kewen."

Greetings, 31C. I am glad to hear you are peaceful, and explorers. I repeat my last message-would it be at all possible for you to send an emmissary to our ship? We would like to send one of our own, but they all seem occupied at the time.

***

"I do not mind, captain. As this is my nations first real attempt at expanding our knowledge of the stars, we have little experience. So far, however, all of our contacts have been peaceful."
Idly, Lukens wondered what had happened to the other two frigates, Hammer and Firestorm, that had also been sent out to explore the stars. He hoped they were all right-he had friends on both ships. Meanwhile, his bodyguards had departed to the crew common area.

"Lead on, sir."

Cpt. Rantha nodded calmly. "For all our sakes, let us hope it stays that way. Besides us two, there are the aliens on the surface... and now these Kewen. I simply hope none of them are smokers, because this situation is like sitting on a barrel of gunpowder. One spark and..."

ooc: HA i knew someone forgots or didnt see my post



"A evony will be preapred" said 31C..

a very short while later.
A small tranport flew out of the hanger bay and spedtowards the alien vessel(setulan) the diplomate reheasring his english
"Which landing bay we land in" said the transport piolet

All the while during the commotion of preparing for the newcomers the message from the Kewen Empire bubbled thoughts in my processors. There were other explinations. The fact that their message was encoded in my forefather's language does not necessarily mean they know or even are my ancestors. Discouragingly though, the calculations read that there was less than a 3.2% chance this was the case. Possibly as low as 1.6% with unfactored variables.

I looked out to the hologram of our forest from the old world. The Karplusan forest had a very distinct species of tree. The species of tree we call "Doran". In our language it translates to "Intelligent Tower". It is one of a few trees from our planet that we believed developed a nervous system. The trees first start growth a deep purple color, with their leaves as red as the sun. Then as they age, the flesh like trunk fades to white and the leaves wither into the branches. It was theorized with the aging of the tree the culmination of data in experiences throughout the years was actually stored in a central nervous system. Essentially we calculated a 76% chance that the tree could actually learn and would grow accordingly. Of course this was all theory. All the trees were dead and gone before I was even created.

I broke out of my trance and commed one of my Alpha Myrs over.
"Send the following message to the Kewen Empire." I instructed.

[We are a peaceful nation simply in search of lost friends. In our search for them we wish to make new friends and can assure you no good deed goes unrewarded. We have already prepared for your arrival as well as the arrival of others nearby that we may discuss how all parties may benefit from this relationship.]

As I read the communication to my Alpha Myr the word peaceful rang out in my emotion matrix. I thought back to the countless wars my creators had gone through before me. And how even the few semi-sentient species we studied off on other planets had also had a penchant for war. It disgusted me that I had to worry of something so ridiculous as war. So mindless and revolting. I purposely removed all emotion from my war machines. I did not want them to feel the heartache of death by their own hands. If we went to war only I should feel that pain as only I could make that decision. A reprecaution I hoped I would never have to use.

"Kewen ship, proceed to the prow. You will see the launch bay there."

The Kewen vessel landed gently in the hanger and air pressure was restored to the former torpedo bay (some loading chains still hung from the ceiling). Waiting outside what they thought was the hatch were ten Republican Guard in dress armor and Commander Mantarkis.
"Safeties on, boys. Let's do it right." They waited for the hatch to open.

Back on the Alien vessel(setulan) the kewen shuttle door hissed as it opened revealing dark and lightless interior with a faint green glow at the back when the Kewen diplomat stepped out his black caraparaceshining in the light as he stepped down the ramp to guads followed his with tier riles by their side emitting faint green glows

The Diplomate 60K blinked his many eyes and turned to what he though was the leader/greeter and spoke in passable engligh(gal-standard)
"Greetings i am 60K diplomat of the holy kewen empire."

OOC: Oh wow I just realized I had overlooked that Northern Rangeria was landing on my planet, sorry! I'm assuming your race is Terran? If not I'll change the post accordingly.

A rift opened from the plasma dome to allow the aliens enter our city. Ever so briefly, as the visitors decended, the skies of my dead planet were visible. The dome sealed once more as they entered. I organized a couple enforcers and one Colossus within the Colliseum but far from the landing area, as security. I glanced over at the construction facility where the War Machines were held. If I had lungs, this would be the point where I held my breath.

I greeted the aliens with a small contingent of Myr and covered myself in a hologram appearing as one of them. According to the data from their systems I am the size of one of their species called an Elephant. I did not want my first impression on my welcome guests to be intimidating and hence took a much more humble form.

"Welcome." I said simply. "I am Memnarch, the one who transmitted the signal."

I had much more to say and even more to ask, but I took patience with my new guests. I'm sure they had questions of their own and I would gladly answer them.

ooc:Necrosis, a bunch of my guys landed too...

IC:

Mantarkis looked at the alien in shock for several moments. It was so...so...different! Alien, in otherwords. The brief, humorous thought broke him out of his impolite reverie.

"Greetings, 60K. I am Commander Mantarkis, Executive Officer of the SRV Stingray. Welcome aboard. If you will follow me, I will take you to a place where we can speak more privily." He turned around and beckoned the alien to follow.
"You can leave your guards if you like, or take them with you, it matters not. You are safe here." The Republican Guardsmen waited for the Kewen to exit before most of them left the loading bay. A few still remained, casually leaning against bulkheads and talking...and making sure the aliens didn't do anything crazy. Who knew what aliens were capable of?

[QUOTE=Setulan;13704247]ooc:Necrosis, a bunch of my guys landed too...
OOC: Bah! I swear I'm reading everyone's posts it seems I just keep missing crucial lines.

IC:

Before I could receive a responce from the newly arrived, another of the races decended past the opening of the plasma dome. I held back the temptation to joke with my guests. A quip such as "Necrosis is a big attraction this time of year" may have been considered disrespectful during such a serious matter.

"Forgive the intrusion." I spoke calmly. "It seems my transmission was more successful than I anticipated."

The idea itself was quite ludicris. A robot's calculations incorrect? But, alas there are always variables that can not be calculated with accuracy. That is both the gift and curse of life. It is why I and my empire have come to respect it so much. It remains the only mystery left unsolved.

Still ever so patient I awaited the new arrivals so that all may converse freely and glanced once more in worry at the construction building of the War Machines. Statistically the probability for war grows with the number of nations involved in a conflict.

"vert well then" said 60K motioning for the guards to stay behind he followed the man standing on his back legs 60K walked like a hunman although he looked like a overgrown spider

ooc: no worries, necrosis, I know the feeling. And Kewen...what are you?

IC:

"This way." Mantarkis led the aliens to the one moderately plush room in the ship, the Captain's lounge (actually the senior officers lounge). Waving the alien to a seat across from himself (and briefly wondering if the alien would fit), he sat.

"60K, I am sorry that I was rude earlier; however, your appearance is something of a shock, as this is the first time I have ever set eyes upon something that isn't, well, human. Please, tell me about your people."

***

Lukens chuckled softly at Rantha's joke.
"Too right, Captain. Too bloody right."

***

On the surface, the republican guardsmen were getting frisky, and Zellion knew that was not a good thing to happen when the men in question had high powered rifles. Waiting obviously was not going to work.
"Sergeant! Send out two two-man teams. See if we can find anything else out here." The sergeant looked unhappy for a moment, and Zellion continued to look at him steadily. With a resigned sigh, he nodded.
Thirty seconds later, the two teams were ghosting through the seemingly empty city.

ooc: i am a race of exactly 1.6meter tall spiders who use guns with green glowy bitz also we have 8 eyes and are lighting blue - darkish blue depending.

OOC: Quite alright, Necrosis. I was gone for a few days anyway, so no harm, no foul ;) Just out of curiosity... what are the Myr?

IC:

The Jaegers' guns immediately rose, knees hitting the floor as they took up firing positions at the appearance of apparently mechanical sentinels, but it was a brief but stern bark of a command from their leader, a small-framed Terran female with the name Hakun inscribed to her spacesuit that made them lower their weapons. Their breathing made deep 'hosh' sounds as they looked at the Myr, the leader stepping forward.

"I am lieutenant Hakun, of the Principality of Northern Rangeria", she introduced herself. "Pardon my men. Our encounters with new civilizations have not always been friendly, and we did not expect to discover an advanced civilization in this region of space."

The lieutenant cursed under her breath. She was babbling again. She hated when that happened. "My captain", she began again. "My captain has ordered me to deliver a message of peace to you and your people, Memnarch. Despite our warships and weapons, we are a peaceful people in a sometimes hostile galaxy. We were dispatched to seek out new friends and allies, and it is our sincere hope that our two peoples could one day see each other as such."

*****

Captain Rantha cast a glance at the major and nodded calmly.

"Indeed. This is why I believe we should learn of each other so we can all stop pointing guns at each other", he said with a wry smile as he lead Lukens into a meeting room. One wall was wood-panelled, bearing paintings of other vessels of this class, one set against the background of a pale blue nebula, the other shown orbiting an emerald-and-blue planet. The other wall showed a scene of space, with the Stingray as a tiny dot in the distance, and the planet floating silently below. The captain and his XO walked to the large, deep-brown table and took their seats.

"Please, take a seat, major", the captain said calmly as he opened a small case on the table, procuring three glasses - real glass, apparently, not synthetic or plastic cups - and poured water in all three.

Lukens sat and accepted the glass with a nod of thanks. Taking a sip, he decided that when the captain said "we should learn about eachother", it was an invitation to talk.

"Captain, I'm new to the whole diplomacy thing, but I passed my history classes, and I imagine I can give you a pretty solid rundown of Setulan."
He looked at Captain Rantha for a moment before continuing.

"The thing you have to understand about our history is that most of it past about sixty years ago is conjecture. At that time, we had an Emperor, Alfonso XI, and, not to put too fine a point on it, he was insane. And I mean insane. Making a long story short, he ordered one of the three moons of Setulan gassed and the population exterminated because they demanded to have representation." His voice was flat as he continued-most of his family had died in the Poison Rain that devestated Limur.
"It broke the Empire. The Traitor General Mantebo turned on the Emperor for his own jealous gain at the same time the great Maxellian led us into rightous battle. The Emperor was dead, executed by Mantebo in three years, but the war went on for another five. I enlisted when I was fourteen, in the fifth year of the war. If you can call it enlistment. I pretty much just picked up a gun and went off to fight."
He took another sip of water. Bad years brought back bad memories.
"In the end, Maxellian won the war. Billions were dead, but we rebuilt from the ashes and created the Republic of Setulan. It's been fifty years, and the people finally decided it was time to explore the stars." He sat back and reviewed in his own mind what he had just said.
It would do for the history of Setulan until someone more educated than he informed the Rangerians.
"But what of you, Captain? What are your people like?"

***

The two man elements of Guardsmen continued to search the city.
"Nothing yet, sir."

Capt. Rantha and Cmdr. Fagerholm did not interrupt the major as he recounted his tale. At some points one of them had a brief flash of the eyes or other sign of heightened interest. Perhaps living through similar memories?

"We are a young people, in all honesty", Capt. Rantha finally said. "We derive from planet Earth, which I am sure you have heard of. Which one of them, is a matter of some debate. It seems that for reasons unknown this galaxy houses several planets that claim the nomenclature and history of Earth, or Terra, if you will. Geography, political history, biology... They all seem to carry similarities that are simply beyond probability. But let us say that our nation is still planetbound. Our colony worlds, however, are growing, and one of the reasons we are here is to seek new worlds to colonize. The world below us, of course, is out of the question. Not simply because of the climate, but also because it is clearly inhabited."

The captain took a small sip from his glass. "We are an old-fashioned nation in many senses, you could say. A principality, ruled by our current Prince, Mikhail IV Halsar." At that point Rantha leaned over to a small holoemitter on the table, activating it. In the air above formed a bust of a young, light-haired man with a neatly cropped beard and moustache. Probably no older than twenty-five, or however these people measured maturity.

OOC: I'm reposting this because it seems it didn't actually show on the forum until after the other posts even though it was posted before. Rangeria, this includes a picture of Myr.

Wonderful, wonderful! My visitors were decending! I was quite pleased with the work my Myrs and Enforcers and Colossus' managed in such short time. Despite the grimly appearance of this planet our small niche was beautiful. As robots it was quite simple to remain impeccable, hence the entire city was the epitome of efficient perfection and the grand colliseum we prepared for our visotors was no exception. Six large seperate facilities lined next to each other, four of which were designed with specific modifications for the races I'd encountered. The two others were left easily adjustable to accomodate any further arrivals.

The entire city itself was covered within a plasma dome. It held a very low energy expenditure but protected us from the harsh weather and worked as a greenhouse effect to keep us within working temperatures. As robots it is essential our home remain spotless. More importantly, if only for sentimental value, was the hologram projected from inside the plasma dome. All around us and to the highest point of the dome was an enormous living hologram of how our planet once was. From our thundering purple trees which reach to our lower stratosphere to the blue mountains to the vast glowing red lakes. All around us was the projection of a world completely uninhabited and unharmed. From gigantic beasts to miniscule critters all roaming freely in a moving picture of splendor. In our city everything was beautiful. We preserved it and nurtured it so that when our masters returned, we could return to them what they gave to us. Life.

OOC: The initial premise, for those of you that are unfamiliar, of my story comes from Magic the Gathering stories. Below are what some of the mentioned characters look like.

My character: Memnarch
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/9-1.jpg

A basic Myr
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/untitled_phixr.jpg

An Enforcer
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/emucopyil92.jpg

A Colossus
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/EquanimicAtaxia/Etched_Oracles_by_343GuiltySpark-1.jpg

**********************

"No apology is neccesary." I replied to the alien. "We too hope for peace. Please come, four different races converging at once leaves much to do. For added security the meeting room I have prepared for us is protected by a Damping Matrix. We developed the technology originally for controlled demolition and construction into the planet's caves. It slows all forces in the room by absorbing the kinetic energy whenever a force exceeds....." I stopped. "I apologize, I tend to get carried away with physics. Let us discuss more prevalent matters. I have theorized that our civilizations can make enormous leaps in technology with concentrated effort." I finished. This was addressed to both the nations that had just landed.

Ltn. Hakun nodded at Memnarch's words, and she then signaled to his Jaegers to put their weapons aside. Without a word, the dour-faced men in combat-ready environmental suits slung their assault rifles to their shoulders.

"We will follow you", she then said.

A small kewen shuttle launched from the hanger bay on the lead craft decending to the dome part of the planet the shuttle landed with a soft thud two small ACM light vechiles deployied from the rear of the shuttle and made their way to want scanners showed as the "home" of this AI

ooc: will post up replies to all convos with me just reakkk buzy with IRL stuffs ATM