NationStates Jolt Archive

Emperor Syro sat back in his chair, thinking hard. The morning was fresh, and there was so much to do. His agenda included a meeting w/ Baron Andrews about the wheat harvest, public relations, and a chance to create an heir. Of course, the last one happened every night, but anyway...

"Stop worrying, Syro," said his wife, gently massaging his shoulders. "You can get everything done. The nobility do have some duties, you know."

"Thanks, Melissa" he replied, giving her a quick kiss. "My only real problem right now is trying to spread our empire's fame. Our systems are kind of far out, so nobody much comes by here."

"You know," she mused, "why don't you hold some war games? We could host them- not at the capital, of course, but on some moon. It would give us a chance to shine among the other space nations, and it would remind the barons and others that it's not their troops, it's ours."

"That's a great idea,' he replied. "i think I'll do that."

She pulled the curtain down and gently pulled him around. "Now if you're not busy, can we get busy?"
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OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION

In order to test the skills of the various nations and improve intergalactic relations, Emperor Syro and Empress Melissa are pleased to announce a series of friendly tournaments and war games. The festivities will take place on the moon of Desh in one week. Any space nation is allowed to bring competitors of either gender. We will provide all hospitality necessary. Please contact us with reservations and questions. Early arrivals are permitted.

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The Republican Province of Neo-Roma is interested in leading a delegation of Republican soldiers, and inquires how many soldiers would be reasonable to bring? We do not want to over- or under-represent ourselves.

Greywatch would like to assume that no soldiers will be killed during said games. If so we will make the necissary... adjustments to what we bring. How many warriors would you like to see?

The Workers State of New Dornalia is interested in sending a unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces to compete. We have the Red Army and the People's Navy (including an Aviation Arm for fighter work), so whatever your rules stipulate, we can prepare for.

We think that a team of 50 should be fine for each state.

We think that a team of 50 should be fine for each state.

OOC: Gotcha.

IC:

The New Dornalian People's Navy Marine Corps will send a platoon of Marine Commandos to represent us at this event.

Greywatch will send 25 drones, 3 Leanorian warriors, 2 Kiixori commandos, and 5 Dragonkin guardians

The Republic will be sending 50 soldiers from the provinces of Neo-Roma and Arcadia.

all of your applications are accepted. The competitions start in three days, on the moon of Desh. Any officials coming are invited to stay at the imperial retreat house there. We hope to improve future relations with all of you.

Three Greywatch frigates were already on their way with the precious cargo. A PSR opened near the moon as they shuffled out slowly. On board were soldiers and spectators, all of which were waiting to see what was in store.

A message came in.

"You are cleared to enter." They then sent them signals signaling where to land, in the middle of a small woods.

The New Dornalians, meanwhile, were taken to the moon of Desh aboard a simple vessel--a Lin Biao Heavy Cruiser. The fifty Marine Commandos aboard had been training extensively, and checked their equipment. Teleport homers, check. Portable Lascannons, check. 20mm Squad Support Railguns, check. And so on.

As they hailed the local authorities, they readied to go to battle...

The frigate carrying the prescious cargo made its way to land as the others maintained orbit. The soldiers were told to get ready for a possible welcoming party.

Several diplomatic officials stepped out to receive the ships from New Dornalia and Greywatch. They waited politely for their leaders to step out.

The frigate maintained altitude whilte transports were launched. They landed near the diplomats and when their doors opens, out came two diplomats followed by three honor guard. Behind them came the five Dragon-kin komodo dragon/human hybrids) who smiled kindly and awaited further orders. "The others will be here soon," said one of the diplomats, "for now we would like to know where the troops will be staying."

"the soldiers will be staying in a special housing unit we constructed," replied Count Deshi, the local noble and head diplomat here. "you are welcome to stay at the Singing Falls House."

Several diplomatic officials stepped out to receive the ships from New Dornalia and Greywatch. They waited politely for their leaders to step out.

The Lin Biao then sent a dropship to the surface, and landed. Out of its belly came several large crates, as well as fifty men and women. They were rather tall, rather stone faced, dressed in seagreen BDUs with berets. Marching in perfect formation, the squarish column stopped in front of the welcoming party. Two men, one white and one black, in front of the column in formal dress step forward and salute the welcoming party and the Greywatch forces. One has the seagreen of the others, the other has a black uniform resembling a mix of Soviet and American designs.

The one in black then speaks in a Scottish accent, "Captain Travis MacQuarrie of the New Dornalian People's Navy ship Monocacy." The other in seagreen speaks and says, "Colonel Leonard Stimson, People's Navy Marine Corps Commandos." He then gestures to the men behind him and says, "These are my men."

"the soldiers will be staying in a special housing unit we constructed," replied Count Deshi. "you are welcome to stay at the Singing Falls House. we will escort you there shortly.

"the soldiers will be staying in a special housing unit we constructed," replied Count Deshi. "you are welcome to stay at the Singing Falls House. we will escort you there shortly.

The Admiral nodded and said with a smile, "Understood." The Colonel nodded as well, and turned to his men, saying, "Gentlemen, you heard the man!" He was decidedly more businesslike than his superior, and more interested in how his men were doing.

The Admiral, concerned with looking good, smiled and asked the Count, "So, will my commander stay in Singing Falls, or with his men? I imagine he'd like to stay with his men."

The dragon-kin looked over at the other soldiers, scanning them and smiling solfly. The Greywatch diplomats gave a nod of approval before looking forward. "We will wait until then." One of them said, the other pulled out a small device, "Bring the rest of them," he said into it and soon after another transport was loaded and sent.

"the commander can stay with the rest of them, of course," Count Deshi said. A craft pulled up. "and we have special transport for the diplomats."

"the commander can stay with the rest of them, of course," Count Deshi said. A craft pulled up. "and we have special transport for the diplomats."

"Ah," the Admiral said, nodding in acknowledgement. "You'll find that convieniently, under the Dornalian Law of Field Diplomacy, I am effectively the diplomatic representation for New Dornalia here." He then looks inside and goes, "Nice, nice."

The Colonel, meanwhile, nodded at the last bit. His men stood in silence.

"Well, come along," said the Count. 'ask me anything you like along the way. The imperial couple will also be there."

The diplomats moved forward with a nod, "Can at least one of the honor guard follow? It's standard Greywatch protocol unfortunantly." One of them looked back at the Dragon-kin, "Be good and play nice." The Dragon-kin laughed softly and nodded back.

"Go ahead," he said.

The diplomats moved forward with a nod, "Can at least one of the honor guard follow? It's standard Greywatch protocol unfortunantly." One of them looked back at the Dragon-kin, "Be good and play nice." The Dragon-kin laughed softly and nodded back.

The Admiral boarded the diplomats' transport, and turned to make eye contact to the Greywatch diplomats when they inevitably boarded Deciding to get to know his opponents and maybe even pass the time with the Dornalian tradition of Small Talk, he extended his hand and said, "Greetings. Admiral MacQuarrie of the People's Navy. May I ask what part of the Universe do you hail from?"

The lead diplomat answered by extending his hand back, "I am Pegasus Silverkin. We hail from the Greywatch Empire, those are some impressive soldiers you have there. May I wish you good luck in the upcoming games." The other diplomat looked up, "I'm Kira Kallfear, nice to meet you." The honor guard with them only nodded to the others.

The shuttle zoomed along low in the air. All of a sudden they neared a large manor house next to a waterfall and lake. there was a lot of intricate glass and crystal structures right over this. this created the special sounds which gave the place its name.

The lead diplomat answered by extending his hand back, "I am Pegasus Silverkin. We hail from the Greywatch Empire, those are some impressive soldiers you have there. May I wish you good luck in the upcoming games." The other diplomat looked up, "I'm Kira Kallfear, nice to meet you." The honor guard with them only nodded to the others.

The Admiral shook both of their hands, and noted their replies. They seemed nice enough, so he replied cheerfully, "The best of luck to yours as well. They seem quite strong." He then said to Kira, "And I'm charmed, really. So, tell me, what brings you to this place?"

The shuttle zoomed along low in the air. All of a sudden they neared a large manor house next to a waterfall and lake. there was a lot of intricate glass and crystal structures right over this. this created the special sounds which gave the place its name.

The Admiral was amazed at the place, and shook his head in amazement. "My God," he said in his Scottish burr. "It's amazing. Absolutely fantastic!" Turning to the Count, he seemed genuinely amazed as he asked, "Count, how did your people make this place?"

"it was made over 100 years ago," he replied, "commissioned by the emperor of the time. This was before the Collapse- we ad more money and more manpower and more taxes and taxpayers, and there was great peace in the galaxy for us to build such things. After the Collapse, pirates sprouted everywhere, and now the military budget is swollen and we are not yet as dynamic, and certainly not as large, as we used to be.

"The emperor had it built in the hopes that it would convince a certain girl to marry him, actually, which it did. they went here for their honeymoon, and it's been the main imperial retreat ever since."

The Greywatch diplomats looked at the structure ahead, "Reminds me of my very own Pegasus Gardens..." said Pegasis with a grin. Kira looked back at the Admiral and blushed a little, "The pleasure is all mine."

Meanwhile the new transport landed near the other one and unloaded the Drones and the Leanorians, the remaining soldiers had chosen not to come to the surface quite yet. The Leanorians jumped off, they were all female (Leanorians can best be described as Anthro-lions/lionesses). The drones on the other hand looked almost all the same, there were about three different faces amoung the group, each face of the same type had a distinct marking on it. They all had black, charp teeth, black hair, and solid black eyes. They stood without even so much as glancing at anything else around them. The Leanorians looked over at the others and smiled like the Dragon-kin, hey were feirce-looking, tall creatures with golden fur and blue eyes. They, like everyone else chose not to bring any weapons, not even ceremonial ones. The honor guard stood with them silently awaiting command from the ship captain.

OOC: There's a thunder storm where I am so this may be my last post for tonight.

The remaining grywatch forces were escorted to their housing as well.
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The shuttle landed on a small landing area 200 feet from the manor. A man and woman stepped out from the door, holding hands.

The Greywatch diplomats got out and bowed respectfully. The honor gurad stood silently, its face masked by its helmet. It saluted and then eased.

The Greywatch diplomats looked at the structure ahead, "Reminds me of my very own Pegasus Gardens..." said Pegasis with a grin. Kira looked back at the Admiral and blushed a little, "The pleasure is all mine."

Meanwhile the new transport landed near the other one and unloaded the Drones and the Leanorians, the remaining soldiers had chosen not to come to the surface quite yet. The Leanorians jumped off, they were all female (Leanorians can best be described as Anthro-lions/lionesses). The drones on the other hand looked almost all the same, there were about three different faces amoung the group, each face of the same type had a distinct marking on it. They all had black, charp teeth, black hair, and solid black eyes. They stood without even so much as glancing at anything else around them. The Leanorians looked over at the others and smiled like the Dragon-kin, hey were feirce-looking, tall creatures with golden fur and blue eyes. They, like everyone else chose not to bring any weapons, not even ceremonial ones. The honor guard stood with them silently awaiting command from the ship captain.

OOC: There's a thunder storm where I am so this may be my last post for tonight.

"it was made over 100 years ago," he replied, "commissioned by the emperor of the time. This was before the Collapse- we ad more money and more manpower and more taxes and taxpayers, and there was great peace in the galaxy for us to build such things. After the Collapse, pirates sprouted everywhere, and now the military budget is swollen and we are not yet as dynamic, and certainly not as large, as we used to be.

"The emperor had it built in the hopes that it would convince a certain girl to marry him, actually, which it did. they went here for their honeymoon, and it's been the main imperial retreat ever since."

The Admiral nodded and listened to both sides, and was particularly fascinated by the story behind the House. He recalled something he had heard before, and spoke as they landed. "It reminds me of a story from my homeworld, though sadly it was for a much less happy occasion. A fine masoleum built of marble built by a member of royalty to commemorate his true love, who had passed on. I hope it doesn't put a pall on things."

When he left the Shuttle, he greeted the two figures with a bow and a salute.

OOC: I assume the Dornalians go to their housing as well?

The Republican Patrician-class destroyer Deianeira tesseracted smoothly into low orbit around Desh. After exchanging the necessary formalities with the Deatan space control, two Fury all-purpose craft were dispatched to the surface, carrying the Republican delegation. Accompanying the 47 infantrymen and 3 Cataphractus battlesuit pilots was Senator Viridomara, a newly appointed Senator from Neo-Roma, to tend to diplomatic matters.

The two transports touched down smoothly at the coordinates indicated to them, and the Republican soldiers disembarked swiftly and efficiently. Optio Fabianus, the officer in charge of the delegation, strode to the front of the group and looked around for someone to check in with. He was joined a second later by Senator Viridomara.

Two diplomats intercepted Viridomara, giving him the same instructions as everyone else. the troops were escorted to the housing, and the diplomats were hurriedly taken to the lodge.
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"Not at all," Count Deshi replied.

the couple walked towards the delegations until they were at last ten feet from them.

"Greetings," said Emperor Syro. "I hope you enjoyed your trip here."
"We've prepared rooms for all of you," said Empress Melissa.

The King of Marzulli will dispatch 50 of his finest guards.

OOC: Will this count as elite training?

OOC: what do you consider as elite training? It will b potentially dangerous, and a chance to bring glory to your country.

The Alversian People's Army will send a Company of Infantry to take part in these war games, although they do have a question. Will these games include our own weapons or holographic versions?

your own weapons. if anything specialized is necessary, we will provide it.

OOC, @Deata: Viridomara's a woman. ;)

Viridomara smoothed her chiton (http://www.twinrosesdesigns.com/chiton.jpg) as she caught up to the other diplomats, just in time to be there for the Deatan royal couple's approach and greeting.

"Your hospitality is beyond expectation, Emperor and Empress," she said gratefully, dipping her head respectfully.

"Not at all," Count Deshi replied.

the couple walked towards the delegations until they were at last ten feet from them.

"Greetings," said Emperor Syro. "I hope you enjoyed your trip here."
"We've prepared rooms for all of you," said Empress Melissa.

The Admiral replied with a nod and said, echoing Vindomara's comment, "I would be inclined to agree." He then turned to look at Vindomara's chiton, and was struck by its presence. He seemed rather struck by a lot of things today, but then again sharing space with a nation he didn't know about with some anthro-types (which would have been met with sarcastic replies of "furry" among civilian types), a crystal palace, and what looked like an Ancient Greek woman was giving him a lot to be struck about today.

He then bowed to Vindomara, and said, tipping his hat and then saluting upon getting back up: "Apologies. The name's Admiral Travis MacQuarrie, of the New Dornalian People's Navy. I'm enterin' my boys in this tournament--which is what I presume you're here for."

Viridomara smiled charmingly back at MacQuarrie. "You are correct, Admiral. I am Senator Viridomara of Neo-Roma and of the Republic, and it's a pleasure to meet you. You must be very excited to see your men compete. I'm looking quite forward to it myself - I haven't seen a war game since my term in the home legion."

Pegasus smiled at the welcoming, "Well it seems this will be quite an interesting time for all our nations..." He then bowed along with Kira. Kira looked around, "Well this should be a comfortable stay. I hope the soldiers are happy with their quarters."

Viridomara smiled charmingly back at MacQuarrie. "You are correct, Admiral. I am Senator Viridomara of Neo-Roma and of the Republic, and it's a pleasure to meet you. You must be very excited to see your men compete. I'm looking quite forward to it myself - I haven't seen a war game since my term in the home legion."

"I haven't been on exercises myself in a while, Senator, and its good to get out from the desk once in a while. So this would be a good way to show how the guys are doing," MacQuarrie replied. He noted the fact Viridomara mentioned her people were from the Republic. That might prove interesting later on...

A man in a blue, high collared uniform and officers cap walked at a brisk pace towards the senator. Above his nameplate read the word 'REPUBLIC', although he wore the patch of one of the providences, rather than the flag of the empire itself.

"Mamzel", he nodded to Viridomara and then turned to salute Fabianus. "Sir, The troops are settled in and the equipment has been offloaded safely."

Major, Van Tull took in the other delegates as he waited. The spectacle left him somewhat amused.

Fabianus had been standing a bit to the side, silently watching Viridomara and the other diplomats at their schmoozing. He was aware that he was a bit out of his depth in diplomatic situations that weren't being conducted at the business end of a gun, and just a little uncomfortable at being in his dark green dress uniform and not his power armor. You'd never know it looking at him, though. Neo-Romans had seemingly been endowed with the most impenetrable poker faces in the universe. "Thank you, Major," he said, returning the salute.

"Ah, Admiral," Viridomara said, turning from her conversation to include the two soldiers. "This is Optio Fabianus and Major Van Tull, the first and second commanding officers of our group. Gentlemen, this Admiral MacQuarrie from New Dornalia."

"Ave," Fabianus said, offering his forearm. Hand! he remembered at the last second, in time to save the gesture. These people shake hands. "My men and I look forward to meeting yours in combat these next few days."

Syro spoke up.

"The events are going to be both ground-based and in outer space," he said. "I'm sure your men were already prepared, but you should tell them anyway. As it is, we are keeping specifics a secret, even from our own men. It lets us judge their reaction times, and prevents cheating across the board."

Melissa added, "if you'd like, the maids would be willing to show you to your rooms now." The rooms were simple and elegant but comfortable. Each had a feather bed which could fit two, three chairs, a desk, a dresser, a fireplace, and some artwork on the walls, along with a window. Each delegation had a series of adjacent rooms with doors in between that locked on both sides. "It's rather late now on this moon- we can resume any talks over dinner, which we have planned in 1.5 hours. if you need anything, please don't hesitate to use the intercom."

Pegasus stepped forward, "Then we will see you there, Kira and I shall like to be escorted to our rooms now so that we may freshen up a bit before then." Kira nodded as she stood behind him. The Guard who followed themstepped forward to be beside Pegasus who looked up at it, "I'm sure it will be fine. I think you can join the soldiers and check up on them. Unless they don't mind having you here." The Guard nodded and looked forward, a voice came through the armor, "It up to you then. Will they be safe enough without me or would you not mind having one more guard on the grounds?"

"You can stay if you want,' said Syro, "but we don't have a room prepared for you."

Pegasus smiled, "No need, his armor canteleport him between the ship and the last place he teleported from. I doubt he'll need to be here though." The honor guard bowed be dematerializing. Kira looked over at Pegasus, "I suppose if we ever need anything badly we could just call him back."

"Ah, Admiral," Viridomara said, turning from her conversation to include the two soldiers. "This is Optio Fabianus and Major Van Tull, the first and second commanding officers of our group. Gentlemen, this Admiral MacQuarrie from New Dornalia."

"Ave," Fabianus said, offering his forearm. Hand! he remembered at the last second, in time to save the gesture. These people shake hands. "My men and I look forward to meeting yours in combat these next few days."

Syro spoke up.

"The events are going to be both ground-based and in outer space," he said. "I'm sure your men were already prepared, but you should tell them anyway. As it is, we are keeping specifics a secret, even from our own men. It lets us judge their reaction times, and prevents cheating across the board."

Melissa added, "if you'd like, the maids would be willing to show you to your rooms now." The rooms were simple and elegant but comfortable. Each had a feather bed which could fit two, three chairs, a desk, a dresser, a fireplace, and some artwork on the walls, along with a window. Each delegation had a series of adjacent rooms with doors in between that locked on both sides. "It's rather late now on this moon- we can resume any talks over dinner, which we have planned in 1.5 hours. if you need anything, please don't hesitate to use the intercom."

After listening to the briefing, MacQuarrie said as he went to his stateroom, "And I would certainly look forward to meeting your men as well."

"Space based? Shit, I only brought one Heavy Cruiser to this event. If only I had brought a Mao Zedong Battleship," the Admiral thought, uneasy at the prospect of facing enemy ships which would probably possess more firepower and size than him. Put it to Dornalian paranoia, or anxiety, or whatever, but he was uneasy now even in the comforts of his stateroom.

the Emperor and Empress took their leave. the maids waited around.

The members of the republic delgation quietly went to their room, intent on getting a full nights sleep before the games.

OOC: Wondering--when will the games start?

Pegasus and Kira took no time in letting the maids lead them to their rooms. They wanted to up fresh and early the next morning.

ooc: the next day, at noon.

OOC: So, anything happening here?

not unless we start something.

OOC: I hope its okay if I do this...

IC:

The next day, Pegasus and Kira were up early. They knew that today was the day and wanted to be fully prepared to watch the games. The Greywatch soldiers were up too, the Leanorians were doing morning physical activities to get them ready as well as meditating. The drones were using CN communication to go over the plans they had for the games, they had not slept that night for they required no sleep. The Dragon-kin were tith the Leanorians, performing stretches and and various other excersises before battle. The few soldiers who'd stayed on the Greywatch ships were told they were to get ready, they were going to the srface ASAP.

OOC2: I'll edit this if I have to but I just kinda felt it needed a nudge.

ooc: sorry, I honestly forgot about this thread.

A maid appeared at each door to tel the occupants that breakfast was in an hour.

Outside, a large thundering could be heard. 50 Deatan soldiers were jogging in various formations around the grounds, exercising in preparation.

OOC: Wow... that takes some skill LOL, jk. Wait, did I just become the saviour of a thread? Nice.

OOC: Hey, I'm the one that bumped it after 4 days of silence, don't take all my credit! XD

I'll make an IC post in a couple hours, gotta do some yard work first.

OOC: Fine fine, you get the credit for bumping and I take credit for just kicking the story in the @ss so that it'd start moving again. XD

The emperor and empress were sitting at a dining table in a simple yet elegant room, waiting for the others to arrive.

Pegasus and Kira entered the room and took their seats, they sat next to each other and began waiting patiently. "We're early I presume?" Pegasus said with a smile.

Admiral MacQuarrie, on cue, wandered into the room and sat at the breakfast table. Glad to see the others weren't as nervous as he was, he folded his hands together, twiddled his thumbs, and smiled.

"So, how's everybody doing this fine day?" he said to the assembled so far.

Fabianus roused his men at dawn, when the sun had just peeked over the horizon and Desh's planet already filled the sky. The Neo-Romans donned their powered armor and assembled next to the Arcadians, who had less gear to put on and were already ready. Fabianus led his men outside and set them to wrestling and warm-up exercises. "Nothing too fancy, lads," he warned them with a smile no one could see. "We don't want them to see what we're capable of just yet."

But more impressive than the regular infantry by far were the three Cataphractus mechanized-armor units in the Republican delegation. The 18-foot bipedal mechs couldn't help but set the ground trembling every time they threw each other during their exercises.

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Viridomara smiled a greeting to everyone as she slipped into the dining room, her sandals making a bare whisper on the floor. She was clad in a chiton, as she had been the day before, though this one was blue instead of white. She took a seat, not wanting to interrupt the conversation, and listened for a place to join in.

"Good morning, everyone," said Syro. "today we'll be having a bit of a race- in outer space and on the ground."

Pegasus smiled, "Sounds dangerous... and exciting..." Kira gave a side grin of expectation.

"What are the terms?" Admiral MacQuarrie said. A race, eh? This was going to be fun. Marine Commandos had a way of moving quickly. Double marches, commandered transport or teleport homers, they'd move quick.

'well, no teleportation and no violence, for one," said Melissa. "They start in a forest, loop a certain track through an asteroid field in the system, and then race through a gorge, with spacecraft allowed for that step. Obviously, such speeds would be risky for close confines, but..."

"Each nation is allowed three 5-man crews," said Syro. "We do first, second, and third place."

"Hmm..." Said Pegasus, "Do the runners also need to be the same people who will pilot the craft used in the gorge?" Kira nodded, "And may we assume one runner is allowed per track?" They looked at each other and whispered, "The Leanorians hunt all the time so they should be able to run at high speeds..." Whispered Pegasus. "But the Drones are barely even what one could consider living beings... Their capacity is much higher than anything elses." Kira whispered back. Pegasus nodded, "So maybe a Drone is best?" Kira thought for a moment, "I think so but we'll discuss that later."

"it's not tracks," answered Syro. "We drop them at one end of a wilderness. they make it through to the other end. There, they hop in a spacecraft- no autopilot, by the way- and they take off. They race, reenter the atmosphere, race through the gorge, and then they have to be first to land on the landing pad."

Pegasus and Kira looked at each other and nodded, "Dragon-kin, Leanorian, and Drones will most likely be used then." They said at the same time.

"I assume that all troops used will be living?" Melissa asked. "We have no objections to cyborgs and prosthetics, but no pure robots should be allowed. No capital ships or the like for space races, either. The point is rather defeated when you can plow through asteroid fields rather than navigating them."

"Of course, of course." Said Pegasus. "Leanorians are an actual race, Dragon-kin were bioweapons that now are a sub race, Drones are..." Kira stepped in, "They are not machines but they are not really alive either. They are best described as being ghosts... but with an actual physical form... they has a few... supernatural abilities but we can tell them not to use those. If you'd like we'll show you one."

'I would appreciate that," said Syro.

"No pure robots, of course," Viridomara murmured. "I didn't intend to field the Cataphracti for a race against non-mechanized soldiers anyway. It would be very unsporting of us. However, will our soldiers who have powered armor be allowed to keep it?"

Pegasus nodded, "Would you like to see them now?"

"very well," Syro said. To the others: "Please stay and eat breakfast. Melissa will be here to answer all of your questions." he stood up and pushed in his chair, waiting to follow Pegasus.

Pegasus chunkled, "Oh no, not like that." Kira pulled out a small communicator, "Ope a blinking network. Bring a random drone to us, doesn't matter which one." A voice came back, "Setting up, established. Drone chosen, on its way." A humanoid creature materialized behind Pegasus. It had black hair, eyes, teeth, nails, and lips. It stood still and quiet. It was dressed in black. Pegasus smiled, "Drone, identify yourself and greet." The thing nodded, "I am 'Falchion,' Thorned Rose caste, number 02 of 50." The thing said in a monotone before taking a step back to bow to everyone.

The emperor and empress nodded their heads respectfully.

"What i he made of?" he asked. "And yes, you can keep the powered armor. We use that too."

The drone decided to answer. "I am one of Greywatch's expendable soldiers. The Drone, we are the combination of the supernatural energies known as cryption and the blood of elite soldiers. We are synthetic lifeforms that act as nothing more than a hollow shell." The drone pulled out a scalple and opened its robe. It stabbed itself and pulled its 'flesh' open revealing only a gray, ecoplasmic material that made up its insides. He then pulled the 'flesh' shut and the wound healed instantly. Kira then started, "As I said, they are more or less like ghosts. To be perfectly honest, when we first created them we had no idea what they were, we still don't know that much about them other than that they have little emotion, but are still flesh based to an extent. They come in 'packs' of fifty, each pack member is hive minded and shares thoughts with all the other pack members. What one knows they all know, they are strong and inhuman, but they are not machines."

"interesting," the empress said. 'we're going to have to ask you not to have them teleporting around the manner, though."

"Understood. We only did that because it was much faster. Drones hav a fast landspeed already and few of them have any blinking capabilites. The only reason he was able to get here was because of the blinking network we established'. Said Kira with a smile. The drone nodded, "I'm sorry if I have offended you in any way."

"it's perfectly alright," she smiled. "Toast?" she offered it. "i don't know if you eat or not," she said in advance.

"Thankyou." The drone said as it began eating the toast, it acted like any other creature and had very good manners. Kira smiled, knowing the drones to be well-behaved for emotionless soldiers.

"in two hours, if that is enough time, we wish to see everyone assembled on the green near the area where you landed," said Syro. "bring your troops."

Tonight, after the winners were rewarded, he had in mind a little negotiation on a nonaggression pact.

"That will be plenty of time." Said Pegasus as he and Kira got up. "We must go check on the others and choose the soldiers we will use. Drone, come along." The Drone nodded before obediantly following.

the imperial couple left.

the emperor read a message.

"Mr. Pegasus?" he called. "if you're not busy preparing for the games, could you come here for a moment? we have a problem."

bump for edit

Pegasus lifted an eyebrow and nodded, "Kira, go to the soldiers.... I will be there soon enough." She nodded and left, drone following her.

The imperial couple whisked him inside a small room.

"We have a report that one of your fleet's may be assisting a hostile presence in area we alone patrol," the empress said. "Could you clarify on this?"

Pegasus shook his head. "I'm not aware of the actions of others in Greywatch. I am but a diplomat and owner of a resort world." He pulled out a communicator, "Ships, please establish Sniper Network and contact Prime. I need to know about all offworld fleets. Where they are and what they've come into contact with. Look up fleet with either Worldstarters or Worldslayers first." A voice came back, "We're accessing histories... One fleet recently contact Prime about needing backup for a possible conflict. There's been no word since." Pegasus closed his eyes and sighed, "Get comms through, I need to know what's going on..."

the emperor and empress waited politely.

The voice came back, "We're getting a messgae from the other fleet in question. yeah, they said they ran into some Deatan forces... hostilities... they're conducting diplomatic relations aboard the Worldstarter... I'll come back with more when I get it." Pegasus nodded "Thank you." He looked over to the couple, "This is slightly embarassing..."

"well, I doubt it's your fault," Melissa replied. "Let us know when you learn more. As of now, we should prepare."

"That I will do." Pegasus nodded, he put the communicator away. "I'll be checking up on my soldiers then. I'm sorry this had to happen."

"its perfectly fine,' Syro replied. 'well, it isn't fine, but you know what I mean."

they walked off to rally the Deatan troops.

Dammit... only a few days into this mission... games haven't even started yet and this happens... Pegasus thought as he walked to get his troops.

Viridomara caught Fabianus up on everything as the meal came to an end. Mara had served the compulsory year in the Neo-Roman home legions when she was younger, and still had the communicator implants that let her communicate silently and securely with anyone in the Republican military comm network.

"They want us to fly, too?" Fabianus said out loud inadvertently, drawing stares from a couple of the men. <They call us foot soldiers for a reason, you know> he continued over the link.

<I'm aware of that> Mara replied, her voice carrying subdued amusement at the commander's exasperation. <But there are capable pilots among our entourage. I was not involved in their selection, but I do know that this contingency was planned for.>

<I flew three-quarters of a transport skimmer out of that snafu on Aquaria, but I wonder whether the experience will carry over>

<You will make the best of what you have to work with, Optio> The Senator's voice went hard, brooking no further pessimism. <I will find our hosts and inquire whether we will be using our own craft or whether they will be provided. You will choose your three teams in the meantime>

<Yes, Senator> Fabianus said, stifling a sigh. He saw that his men were curious as to the exchange, so he called them all over and explained the terms of the race. "So," he finished, looking mostly at the Arcadians, with whom he was less familiar, "who here can fly a spacecraft?"

Admiral MacQuarrie took in the challenge. It was simple enough. No teleporters made things a little more difficult, but more fair. Otherwise, people would be able to win too quickly. However, it would be a bit more of a challenge. The Marine Commandos included some veterans of the People's Guardians program, but most of them were unaugmented soldiers trained in clever tactics, insane bravery and enough MacGyverisms and Bamboo Technology Courses to conquer North Korea with a wooden ladle and a worn out shoe.

But three teams. Hmm...this was going to be fun. As he walked to rally the Marine Commando platoon, he contacted Colonel Stimson, and said, "We need three five man teams. The event's gonna involve a cross-country foot race of sorts. No teleport, no bloodshed, no robots. Who's our most agile and our best pilots?"

Stimson replied matter-of-factly, "I know a few men. Let me assemble the squads, you worry about the rules."

"Alright, Colonel." Admiral MacQuarrie nodded and then moved to inspect the men. Colonel Stimson had kept them doing pushups, runs, and practice sparring matches unarmed and with practice knives to stay in shape. This was good. They'd need to be in their top shape to go and compete....

Three five-man teams prepared hurriedly. The emperor and empress watched them, offering words of support on occasion.

Kira looked over the the soldiers, "Alright, its a race first. Three teams of five apparently. Who can run, who can pilot a ship?" Drones looked up and raised their hands, in unison they all spoke, "We have the skills you require. All of them." Some Leanorians also looked up, "Our kind hunts from childhood, the only ones who compete with our natural speed are the Drones..." Kira smiled, just then Pegasus walked in, "Okay guys listen up. Apparently a Greywatch fleet is encountering some troubles with a Deatan fleet and an unknown fleet somewhere in Deatan space, so make us look good. We have a lot hanging in the balance here, winning... Screw it. I care much more about making alies than winning some war games, understood?" Everyone, including Kira nodded, "Yessir."

Viridomara caught Fabianus up on everything as the meal came to an end. Mara had served the compulsory year in the Neo-Roman home legions when she was younger, and still had the communicator implants that let her communicate silently and securely with anyone in the Republican military comm network.

"They want us to fly, too?" Fabianus said out loud inadvertently, drawing stares from a couple of the men. <They call us foot soldiers for a reason, you know> he continued over the link.

<I'm aware of that> Mara replied, her voice carrying subdued amusement at the commander's exasperation. <But there are capable pilots among our entourage. I was not involved in their selection, but I do know that this contingency was planned for.>

<I flew three-quarters of a transport skimmer out of that snafu on Aquaria, but I wonder whether the experience will carry over>

<You will make the best of what you have to work with, Optio> The Senator's voice went hard, brooking no further pessimism. <I will find our hosts and inquire whether we will be using our own craft or whether they will be provided. You will choose your three teams in the meantime>

<Yes, Senator> Fabianus said, stifling a sigh. He saw that his men were curious as to the exchange, so he called them all over and explained the terms of the race. "So," he finished, looking mostly at the Arcadians, with whom he was less familiar, "who here can fly a spacecraft?"

The Arcadians looked back behind their helmet visors impassively. After a moment, major Tull spoke up, looking identical in his helmet and uniform. “I can, sir. I flew navy fighters for several years.” He said in a mechanically filtered voice. “Should I change into flight gear?”

Empress Melissa addressed the troops. the lucky- or unlucky- 15 were standing near the front.

"Guys, this is not the Imperial Games," she said. "yes, it's a competition, but we're not really competing. We're trying to establish good diplomatic relations with the others. That means be fair and sportsmanlike,"- there were very few women in the military, thanks to post-Collapse demographics, and none in the teams- "don't cheat, and always shake hands, bow kiss, or whatever whether you win or lose. No vibrant cursing, no rude gestures. Invite them to have dinner with you or something. Be good. winning isn't the only thing that will make us proud."

The commander of the troops shouted something as the emperor raised his hand, his wife soon following. Ceremonial spears-collapsible and still functional, but mostly for show- thundered on the ground in a salute. They moved towards the start area of the competitions.

OOC: Just to make sure I understand, is this a relay race or are there 3 teams of five from each side competing for the exact same goal?

OOC: exact same goal. If any team makes it, it counts for the whole nation. Each nation's chances are simply increased.

"Okay then," said Pegasus, "three Drones, one Leanorian, one Dragon-kin for two of our teams. Another one will consist of Drones only, no offense but we haven't had a chance to test them like this before." Kira nodded, "Move people, form up into groups, decide who's best and let's go." Within seconds the teams formed themselves and followed Kira out. Pegasus nodded to the other soldiers who went back to relaxing. He walked outside and took out his communicator, "Get the buggers down here please. I know they're picky but this is no time for them to be not showing themselves." A voice came back, "We'll get 'em sir. Please know we have a response from the fleet, they say their not interested in the system and are taking the unknowns out. Apparently escorting them or something, the info is still coming in." Pegasus nodded to himself, "Thankyou, good job. I'm going to contact royals now." He put the communicator away and went of the find the Empress and Emperor.

Melissa saw Pegasus trying to find them. She walked over.

"What is it?" she asked. "Do you have news?"

Syro spoke up.
"News just came in. We have a problem."

Pegasus nodded, "Yes indeed. I'm suprised you haven't been contacted, Greywatch warships... known as Worldslayers entered the system a few minutes ago. Apparently the other force there wants to leave and they've ask for Greywatch assistance in finding another world. Two Worldslayers are now assisting in the moving process, from what I've heard, Greywatch was offered a chance to lease the planets in the system even though the fleet contacting them stated it was not under Deatan control. For this reason, Greywatch has said it will no longer be conducting any business wahtsoever in that system." Pegass spaused to catch his breath. "So as far as I know, the situation has been resolved."

"Sorry about that," the emperor said. "But we did just get news. The Blasfisians blew up the star and then escaped."

Pegasus looked shocked, "Blew it up? Really?"

"Well, more like mortally wounded it," said Melissa, "but you get the idea. We hope that you won't try to obstruct out pursuit. In fact, if you could send our fleet their new coordinates..."

Pegasus listened to the communicator, "Coordinates we actually do not know... they jumped before we used PSR. We don't know where they are other than the civilian vessels who obviously had nothing to do with the attack."

"Damn," Syro said. "but we'll be keeping their civilians detained for a while. they'll be well-treated, but now their nation will have something else to worry about."

"Hopefully the Greywatch military won't go overboard, they're prode to do that at times." Pegasus said quietly.

"So are ours. However, we will insist on imprisoning some Blasfisians. That isn't all I'd like to do to this Admiral Armstrong, but we'll leave it at that. As of now, he's banished from the empire, and i don't care what diplomatic immunity he comes sporting."

"Our fleet, if I know the men aboard the Worldslayers, will most likely not give up the citizens... an unfortunant move but the council is very stubborn when it comes to civilians." He pulled out his comunicator, "Anything?" A voice came back, "Sir, you're gonna want to hear this," after the voice stopped, the transmission from the Worldslayer was put through. It wa sloud enough for both Pegasus and the Emperor and Empress to hear.

"that doesn't sound too good,' Melissa commented.

Pegasus shrugged, "The military is the most unfriendly force when they've been given an order directly fomr the council. And the council is most unfriendly when they have to care about another race's civilians."

"oh, well," said Syro. "We might as well prepare for the games now. The Blasfisians can be looked at some other time."

"Agreed. And military protocols and concerns are something I hate being bothered with." Said Pegasus. "Well then, I'll see you during the games."

Syro nodded, and he and his wife walked off. the games were due to begin very soon.

bump

Empress Melissa addressed the troops. the lucky- or unlucky- 15 were standing near the front.

"Guys, this is not the Imperial Games," she said. "yes, it's a competition, but we're not really competing. We're trying to establish good diplomatic relations with the others. That means be fair and sportsmanlike,"- there were very few women in the military, thanks to post-Collapse demographics, and none in the teams- "don't cheat, and always shake hands, bow kiss, or whatever whether you win or lose. No vibrant cursing, no rude gestures. Invite them to have dinner with you or something. Be good. winning isn't the only thing that will make us proud."

The commander of the troops shouted something as the emperor raised his hand, his wife soon following. Ceremonial spears-collapsible and still functional, but mostly for show- thundered on the ground in a salute. They moved towards the start area of the competitions.

"Ladies, Gentlemen!"

The Colonel addressed the Dornalian squads assembled now, twelve men standing in a line with the three squad leaders in front, line abreast. All were at ease, all looked ready to go. They were dressed in BDUs and with survival gear, and were ready for combat. Well, more like an elaborate survival crosscountry footrace with piloting too.

Stimson then began briefing his men, like he usually did.

"Today, you will be tasked with making a cross country journey over rough terrain. You will be tasked with surviving this terrain, and making contact with shuttles which will be piloted through a dangerous asteroid belt. You will then race through a gorge. Rules of engagement--you cannot hurt, harm, or distrupt competing activity. I know, I know. But this is a race, and we are to be judged on speed and skill in manuevering. SO I ASSUME!"

He then capped it with a speech, like he usually did.

"I hope you brought flight gear. I hope you brought survival knives and vibro-kukris, and a good sense of direction. I hope you have self-control! I hope you ladies and gentlemen brought all those skills you learned at Fort Bragg! Because if you don't, you will have a lot of people to answer to! IS THAT CLEAR!?"

A cry of "SIR YES SIR!" from the Commando teams emerged.

"Now, fall out and report to the start line!"

Thus, they moved out....

Pegasus walked over to Kira where he found two teams. One had four drones and a Leonarian, the other had all drones. Pegasus looked from them to Kira, "What's happening? I thought we had three teams." Kira looked over at him, The soldiers and I talked it over, we only have 35 soldiers, unlike the other forces here, which have 50." Pegasus nodded, "Yes, the council wouldn't permit anymore because we have the drones." Kira smiled, "Exactly, we can't be getting nearly half of our team tired in the first event, so therefore, we're only using about a third of them as opposed to nearly half." Pegasus nodded, "Okay, makes sense but why a squad of drones?" Kira smiled, "They don't need to rest, they wil keep moving while the other one will have a Leanorian to make it a little more fair." Pegasus shook his head, "You mean you don't want there to be a crash that ends up that destorys our precious drones..." One of the drones looked up, "We do not die sir, as soon as one dies we come back from the Drone Hive." Pegasus looked at him, "But we don't-" Kira cut him off, "I had three installed in the ships we brought here, remember, they are expendable to no end." Pegasus looked from the two groups to the other people around them, "Hopefully no one else will mind."

The Arcadians looked back behind their helmet visors impassively. After a moment, major Tull spoke up, looking identical in his helmet and uniform. “I can, sir. I flew navy fighters for several years.” He said in a mechanically filtered voice. “Should I change into flight gear?”

Fabianus nodded. "I'll put you in charge of our second team, Major. I'll take the first, Catulus will take the third." He indicated a big Neo-Roman who'd grown up on Chaonia, and thus had a lifetime of experience living in difficult terrain.

Fifteen minutes of discussion later, the three teams were chosen and headed towards the starting area.

A band was on either side of the field. the imperial couple were standing near the front.

"Is everyone here?" Emperor Syro asked.

Pegasus nodded, "Ready and waiting..." he mummbled. Kira stood next to him, their two teams stood behind them.

On cue, Colonel Stimson and the Fifteen Chosen did a quick march onto the field. Falling into three lines of five men each, they did an about face to face the Imperial Family, and saluted, to the tune of Stimson's "ATTENTION!"

Stimson then said to the Imperial Family, "Colonel Stimson and the three requested teams reporting for duty, sir." The Dornalians certainly looked spot on, and professional. Of course, there was still the matter of the field, but they looked prepared for that.

"Good," said Syro. He turned and gestured to a dark forest in a valley. "the teams will enter through there. there is only one exit to the valley. At the end, they will be shown to their spacecraft and given the next route of the race. All diplomats will be moved to the end of the valley after this. Are there any questions?"

"None," said the entire Greywatch group simutaniously.

"Anyone else?" Melissa asked.

"None." One of the Arcadians said mockingly towards the Greywatch. The soldier was rewarded with a chorus of laughter from the rest of the Arcadians around him. More comments were made involving improbable situations with the greywatch soldier's mothers and it was all met with unanimous laughter.

Major Tull made no attempt to corral his troops. The greywatch were irritating robots who aligned themselves with strange things that should have been shot first and never asked a question. Although Tull wouldn’t voice his opinion of them openly he still found the mockery very humorous.

The USSPP would like to send a delegation numbering 10 battlecruisers, configuration to be decided upon recieving the rules and limits.

The Drones paid no attention to the other soldiers, the Leanorian on the other hand to a quick glance over to the enemy soldiers. "Come over here and say that little boy, unless of course you wish to keep your manhood between your legs." Pegasus shot a look back at her, "Soldier, at ease. If these buffoons wish to mock let them, you know Greywatch policy. We deal with intelligent beings only." Kira chuckled. The Leanorian went back to facing forward.

If the Arcadians heard the greywatch then they obviously didn’t feel the need to respond and simply continued laughing and joking amongst themselves. The commander of the Arcadians however wasn't making jokes. Major Tull’s body language clearly said that he was impatient for the games to begin.

"Gentleman, shut up," said Syro dryly. Then: "Go." The three Deatan teams raced into the woods and split up, using electromachetes to cut trees behind them across convenient paths. if anyone wanted to complain about his choice of words, fine. They could just fall behind and lose while doing so.

ooc: Penguin Protection, sorry, too late

The ground exploded as the Drones (and one Leanorian) pushed off. The Drones needed no equiptment, they simply waved their arms and anything in their way was instantly cleared. The Leanorian stayed a little bit behind them, her eyes focused in on things that could be used to the teams' advantage.

The Deatan teams waited until they were completely obscured by the scenery and activated some boosters on their armor. Suddenly fast was an understatement.

They move using boosters.... team one, increase speed to 130mph as of now. The team completely consisting of Drones sped up considerably, speeed meant nothing to them. They could see everything, they moved gracefully through the trees as if they weren't even there. Approach and pass them. Increase speed to 150mph now. The Drones increased again, the other team moved a little slower to compensate for the Leanorian. Do not push yourselves too much, two teams is good. Where one fails the other will find success, protect every member. The Drone listened to their hiveminds and followed every word.

Each team dropped a small capsule. Smoke and random static ad electrical and radio signals flared up everywhere, designed to throw pursuers off balance.

Meanwhile, a luxurious craft appeared to take the diplomats off to the end of the first leg of the race.

One of the Drones fell back to pick up and carry the Leanorian on its back. It was easily able to care her and keep up with its team, the Drones themselves ran through the man-mad eobstical without taking any effect. They were not mortal or natural creatures and played a completely different game. Lightning Caste drones, prepare to sent out an electrical pulse at the Deatan squads, diable their boosters, if they fly off into a tree, so be it. The Drones nodded. No, that is too risky, even if they bend the rules, you don't have to. For the moment, stay on task, activate Genocide Protocol rank one. If they try to combat you directly, nuetralize, but do not kill, them. The Drones nodded again before continuing after the Deatan teams.

No further order was needed after the Deatan emperor said "Go": the three Republican teams took off like bats out of hell. The Neo-Romans in their powered armor had no trouble pacing the Deatans and Greywatch drones; Fabianus actually chuckled at the Deatans' tactic of felling trees across the path, as he and his countrymen cleared them effortlessly with little more than powered strides. <Mighty clever, aren't they?> he remarked over the Republicans' comm channel as the other teams began flinging countermeasures at each other. Fabianus didn't plan to waste time with such antics, but thought he'd let the other teams foul each other up while his teams shadowed them.

The Arcadians, wile trained well and equipped well, were only human. Armed with body armor, helmet HUD systems, and digital camouflage there was nothing to do but slog it out on foot. Following their fellow republic teams, the Arcadians paced themselves as fast as they could. All the wile thinking that the whole business was a little unfair.

<Ohh! smoke and random radio noise. I do belive we are up against some tough customers> Major Tull said over the comms. <Still I woulden't mind haveing a fast attack buggy right now>

The Dornalians began moving quickly, running after the competition. So far, the three teams focused on running their own race, moving at a brisk but steady pace with fancy footwork and endurance, with the occasional assistance of jump packs to keep up with the competition. The competition had so far been faster than expected, but it wasn't like the Marine Commandos to give up now.

Like Fabianus, Stimson and the others noticed their erstwhile competitors deploying devices to frustrate one another. The Marine Commandos simply responded by manuevering around the lot and even trying to outrun their Republican opponents, hacking paths using vibromachetes and other tools and simply moving a lot with rather delicate silence and care.

The Drones gave quick glances back at the competition behind them, As Pegasus said, winning is secondary. We want these people to understand that we are friendly, this is a diplomatic mission. The Drones continued at their speed, they were comfortable and boosters only lasted so long, there was no point in over-rushing things. Second wouldn't be that bad a position to come in, especially if they were behind the home team. However, deploying devices on the track was annoying, and the Drones would make sure that an eye was always kept on the Deatans from now on, not only in this competition but in every other competition following.

A tree crahsed in front of one of the Deatan teams. They collided, and fell back. They were still alive, but the Greywatch unit had likely passed them. the other two teams were still ahead.

The two Greywatch units had dodged the tree effortlessly but this foreshadowed things to come. They were out of the smoke and the drone let the Leanorian continue her own running. The all-Drone squad was only a little ways ahead since the Drones had been given the order to remain at the same speed. The Deatans weren't too far ahead however, the leading Drones could see them through the foliage. It matters not if we win or lose so long as there is a show. The drones nodded, the Leanorians looked at them with curiousity, she'd not worked with drones before and knew very little about these Greywatch constructs. She pushed her judgements of them aside and focused on the race once more.

One Deatan team scrambled inside a tunnel. The other kept on running.

The team consisting of four Drones and a Leanorian quickly pursued the team that had broken off. Interesting... this may be a trap, or a shortcut, either one is plausible... The other team followed the Deatan team that had kept running forward, nothing could be done now, it was all up to chance.

the diplomats were watching this all from large viewscreens at a pavilion at the end of the trail.

"I'm impressed," Melissa said to Pegasus. "your troops know what they're doing."
---------------------
the team in the tunnel turned on their many different visions in different helmet screens and zoomed along, using sound waves to try to locate dead ends.

The team on land sprinted along. suddenly, they ran up to a cliff. the only opening was a waterfall. They sprinted into it.

Pegasus nodded, "They are very compitant indeed... more than I even knew." He smiled, "Your soldiers seem to know what they're doing as well."
-------------------
The Drones followed behind closely, their eyes and ears were honed in on the Deatan team, the echos didn't bother them, neither did the lack of light. They knew they were behind the Deatans, the Leanorian was especially good at this, she was a hunter and had to track animals into caves like this all the time.
The other Drone squad dived forward through the waterfall and rolled, quickly, they were back on there feet and running at their speed. The Deatans were not too far now. I'm proud of all of you, show everyone your capabilities. Make the world understand what you are.

Suddenly, the tunnel entrance collapsed. the Deatan team raced on.

The other Deatan team came out upon a pavilion. they immediately ran to their spacecraft, where instructions awaited them on a holographic map.

Through the asteroid belt, around the far planet, back, and through the gorge to the flags at the end...

OOC: Not sure which tunnel, the one that your team broke off into?
IC: The Greywatch team sped up in order to catch the Deatan team that had also done so. The other Greywatch team appeared on the same pavilion, they didn't bother to slow up now, they ran even faster to get to their ship.

OOC2: So which teams are where?
OOC3: I won't continue on until some other people can respond.

ooc: yes, that tunnel. one of my teams is boarding its craft, one is nearing the end of the tunnel and the one delayed by the tree is nearing the waterfall. and I'll wait too.

The sound amplifiers in Fabianus' armor picked up a rumbling sound from the upcoming tunnel. It could be any number of things, but Fabianus wasn't about to risk proving his suspicion right. <Tunnel's out> he barked to his teams, <Up and over, we're making our move now!> He had expected a much longer running course, but there was the launch pad location blinking on his GPS readout, very close. Dust and dirt flew with every pistoning footfall as he pushed his suit to its greatest possible speed; the hill that the tunnel was supposed to be a shortcut through flashed past and he was airborne, careening off the crest of the hill like a motorcycle off a ramp. His arms and legs windmilled as he sought to keep his orientation for a decent landing, and in an adrenaline-filled moment he caught sight of the Deatan teams below him racing for their spacecraft.

He hit the dirt right in the midst of the lead team like an artillery shell, his armor straining and protesting with the effort of absorbing that impact like a spring, conserving it and redirecting it into his next leap. His squad made similar landings around him, their own suits coiling and compressing and rocketing off again like pinballs. One Republican trooper had the presence of mind to yell a quick "SORRY!" before leaving the ground again.

ooc: the lead team was actually boarding its craft, so that would be kind of hard to land in the middle of

OOC: My bad, forget that last paragraph then. It was really only to illustrate that Fabianus and his squad caught up to your folks. It's still a cool image though.:p

ooc: right (on both counts)

The all Drone team got into their craft, made sure they had the map and took off without second thought.

OOC: I'll post more later.

The Deatans took off.

OOC: Crap. Sorry for the late post, work's been hard recently. Wouldn't you know it, people have bills to pay at the beginning of the month and they need a teller to handle the inevitable flow of money orders and other such things....

IC:

The Dornalians, admist all the shenanigans involving the tunnel and the other teams reaching the pavilion, began to pick up the pace. Stimson himself was concerned about his level of caution, which by now was causing them to lag behind.

By now, Team One's squad leader began leaning on his jump packs, and he could be seen moving quickly as he moved towards the pavilion. With time of the essence and the other teams busy with one another, Stimson gave the order for all squads to pick up the pace with packs, whilst keeping up the stealth. Before long, the Fifteen could be seen in the air, as the groups of five men alternatively leapfrogged over one another in an attempt to get to the objective.

Eventually, Team One got close to the objective, and then, waiting for the Deatan craft to take off, dashed to its own shuttle and got inside, taking off.....

The Deatans hurtled into the air at breakneck speeds.

Two Drones looked over the map while the other three concentrated on steering and direction. There were up and off in no time at all.
---------------------
Pegasus and Kira nodded as they watched all of this taking place. Kira then looked over, "Where's the other team I wonder?" Pegasus looked over at her and shrugged, "Dunno."
---------------------
The other team was pursuing the Deatans at a breakneck pace. The caves meant nothing to them, they could track the Deatan team's movement wherever they went.

Emperor Syro walked over to them.

"You know, I've been wondering," he said, "are your drones entirely natural? We've never seen anything like it."
------------
The Deatan team in the caves hurtled out and leaped into their spacecraft. Seconds afterward, the ones hit by the tree made it out of the woods.

Pegasus smiled, "Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure what they are, they were initially weapons created by a faction in Greywatch known only as 'The Forbidden Ministry.' Then we began using them as special forces, police, agents, guards, even diplomats in some cases." Pegasus shrugged, "They're like ghosts really. They are life energy, but in a different form. A form most people aren't entirely used to, here, Kira could probably explain some of this better." Kira walked over, "Do you have any water? Then this would become much more clear and much easier to explain."
------------------------
The Greywatch team bolted out of the caves and to their ship, it only took a few seconds for them to hit the controls and shoot off the ground. They made sure they had the map and before even bothering to look it over, targeted their friends in and simply followed.

Emperor Syro held out a canteen. If needed, they could walk over to a faucet nearby.

Kira took the top off and handed it to Pegasus, then she waved her hand over the top of the canteen. The water inside flowed out and followed her hand's movement. When She brought her hand away, the water followed and then floated above her palm in a sphere. "This is my natural ability, it is known water-based Cryption, Cryption can do many other things. It a way that one may bend and manipulate the niverse to their will, to an extent. Drones are darkness, or shadow-based Cryption. They are natural dark energies that have been mixed with the blood of soldiers, creating powerful 'clones.' They are by all means, artificially produced, and they respond to things in an artificial manner, but, to an extent, they are 'alive.'"

"And do they die? they seem rather tough. And how rare is this ability?" He knew it wouldn't be 'how common.'

"They die when their bodies are completely destroyed. Otherwise, they will keep regenerating anything they lose. They are born in packs of 50, each pack-member is hiveminded and shares this connection with the others, making them very potent when in groups being used for assaults or raids. Anythingone drone knows, the others know. When they die, a Drone Hive will simply create a new body with all the old Drone's thoughts and memories stored inside." Explained Pegasus. Kira nodded, "As for Cryption, out of the many billions of humans in Greywatch, only a few thousand possess the Cryptic gene. Every Leanorian, the other being traveling wiht the Drones right now, has Cryption. The Elden, who are the original race that possessed this ability, have more or less mastered it, no suprise though, the remaining Elden number in the thousands, each one is about three thousand to eight thousand years of age."

"Well, that's useful isn't it,' he said. Deata would be looking into this.
--------
The first two Deatan teams entered the asteroid belt.

The Greywatch teams were very close behind, they were deciding when to make a move and try to pass. It was a group decision, not yet.
----------------
Kira nodded, "Have we said too much? The Drones aren't hostile mind you, they only get violent when they encounter violence, other than that they are harmless. As for Cryption, its just our special little something."

'oh, they seem friendly enough," Melissa added, walking up. "And polite."

"Yes, well, we try." Said Pegasus, "The original ones made by the Forbidden Ministry were different. The Leanorians actually hate the Drones, they consider them abominations, a mockery of life. To an extent, they actually are, but we've been working on making the Drones.... more human, so that people don't feel so uncomfortable around them. I really don't think their gothic appearance helps remedy the way people feel about them but that's just what comes with the process if making them."

"what abut Greywatch humans? how do they feel about them?"

"Humans don't mind them too much." Said Kira, "But that's because the Drones don't spend that much time around people. They don't really sit out in public, when used as police or guard, they become almost invisible. They sit in hard-to-reach places and watch society do what it does. The few times that humans and Drones have mingled in normal society, humans don't mind them too much because they look like an alien race." Pegasus then took over, "In the military, most soldiers love and dispise the Drones. They're good companions in a fire fight, but are prone to 'hog all the glory' due to their abilities and their nature of being. The other two primary races of Greywatch don't care one way or the other about the Drones."

"And who are the other two races?"

Pegasus took out a small data pad and held it out, "Here's the basic informayion I have stored on here." The data pad read:

[[Kiixori: Insectoid race, aggressive, various sizes and classes, they like light weapons which fire quickly and they attack en masse. They have hard exo-skeletons and wear little to no armor. Most danerous are their claws and the usually poisonous spines that jut from their arms. They possess the ability to fly. They make fantastic generals as they are very war oriented, they tend to stay out of the other affairs of humans as well as all the other races.]]

[[Xarniosi: Believed to once be human, they are now flesh underneath but their skin is a thick and dense armor. They build weapons onto their bodies and are exceptionally strong in combat, they love heavy weapons and are like walking tanks amoung men. Young ones have flesh but as they grow their skin begins absorbing minerals around them and slowly becomes armored. They are typically indifferent to the affairs of humans but can often be seen in Greywatch Prime socializing wiht the other races.]]

Pegasus smiled, "That's just the basic info."

"I see," Syro said. 'We mostly have humans here, though occasionally we have immigrants or guests."

"We don't typically get people wandering into our systems. We usually find other people while we look for places to expand."

"Right now we're not focused on expansion so much as galaxy-wide repairs," Melissa replied. "We controlled the thing before the Great Collapse."

"I have a direct link to a lot of the Greywatch databases. That has come up a lot, I've only heard that it was more or less like an apocolypse. Care to expand on this a little? I'm interested in knowing exactly what happened."

"Well, it was basically a lot of separate apocalyptic situations at once," said Melissa. "Supernovas, radiation, diseases, a certain bacteria which reanimated dead bodies- we could have handled those individually, but when they hit at the same time, it hurt- badly."

"That's unfortuanant, though I imagine having control of a galaxy would significantly increase one's chances of having to deal with a supernova." Said Kira. Pegasus nodded, "It's a known fact that the bigger and more complex something is, the more maintainance it requires. And it's amoung my own belief that the more one pushes their boundaries in trying to expand, the more the universe as a whole will resist and push back. Diseases are the perfect example."

The Arcadians were doing their best to keep up with their mechanically assisted counterparts. Eager to end the race quickly the soldiers had abandoned any sense of pacing themselves and were now sprinting up the hill.

If the Neo-Romans had been gracefully or at least shocking in the way they crested the hill, the Arcadians were anything but. Soldiers tumbled down the hill as their speed and momentum carried them over. Cursing and shouting in anger, the Arcadians wasted no time in returning to a sprint.

As the two other teams were engaged in their little chat, the Dornalians--whom by now piled into their shuttles--flew into the first part of the course and then into the asteroid belt. The last two teams had caught up quickly and made it into their craft just in time to do this; and none too soon as well.

For as it was, it seemed that the other two teams in the lead were still there.....the Dornalian pilots thus began to manuever around the asteroids, seeking to outmanuever the Greywatch forces and catch up.

The Drones and single Leanorian were not concerned about the others at this point, they were now doing this simply for the fun of it. The Leanorian was finding that Drones, despite what they were, could still make good companions and was enjoying seeing them in action. The Drones themselves were begginning to develop their first emotion, happiness, they were enjoying pushing themselves to the limit and testing their full capacity. The lead, all-drone team sped up and began manuvering wildly so as to get closer to the Deatans who were leading. The other team was also beggining to accelerate, they wanted to catch up with their own leading team.

The first Deatan team continued to dodge through the asteroids as the others followed. the other two teams were right about the center of the pack.

As the all Drone team closed the gap between them and the Deatans, the other Greywatch team worked to pass the Deatan team that had led them through the cave.

The Dornalians, in turn, kicked their engines into overdrive--in fact, they were pushing their engines just beyond safe levels, and the onboard Ship's AI, Gracie, was freaking out.

"Umm....guys? The engines are getting just a teensy bit overworked. Can you, like, calm down? It's just a friendly competition."

"No can do, Grace. We gotta do this" was the terse reply from the lead shuttle in the Dornalian pack, piloted by Team One's lead pilot. Stimson was onboard the same shuttle and noticed the Greywatch forces moving quickly to keep up with the Deatans.

"Any way to move us past them, Captain?"

The Captain replied, "Yeah; it's a matter of movement at this point. Also, I'd get Teams Two and Three to flank our competitors. Keep them busy."

Stimson radioed the calls as the Captain soon kinked upwards, moving through the asteroids above the Greywatch forces at top speed and keeping up with them. The other two shuttles, whom had been moving in pursuit of the lead one, broke off, Team Two moving level and Team Three moving under the Greywatch units, staying within the asteroid belt as it manuevered around some pretty big ones.

"We have company." Said one of the Drones, "Yes we do." Said another. "Our ship is not yet running at full capacity, shall we?" Asked one Drone. "No, we must navigate as well, speed is not the only factor here." Said the first one.

The first Deatan team skimmed along the edge of an asteroid, then hurtled out of the belt towards a small planet at the end of the system, which they were supposed to turn around.
---------
Emperor Syro walked over to Pegasus.

"You know, I think it would be highly beneficial for both our nations to pursue some kind of nonaggression pact."

The lead Greywatch team followed closely behind before initating thrusters. They were attempting to blast straight past the Deatans, they had done enough shadowing and drafting, it was time to get out in front. The second Greywatch team also decided it time to speed up, they weaved through asteroids at breakneck speeds taking plenty of risks but figured it was well worth the fun.
------------------------
Pegasus smiled, "I figured there was something else to these games... yes. I can agree on you about that, especially with the project our two nations are undertaking right now as we speak. A Non-Aggression would be quite beneficial." Kira let out a small laugh, she was enjoying seeing what the Drones could do. The sphere of water she'd pulled from the cantene was now in three pieces that were spinning around her.

The first team neared the planet. the other two exited the asteroid field.
---
"Well, of course," said Syro. "I was hardly using them as a threat- if I wanted that, I would have set a Phobos ball on something."

"So tell me," added Melissa, "who would have the authority in Greywatch to sign such a pact?"

The Greywatch pulled up to the Deatan team and began slowly pulling in front, the other team was ahead of the Deatans but would have to really move to get closer to the lead Greywatch team.
-------------------------------------------------------
"I doubt that War Games would serve as a threat, otherwise, we'd have a few Worldslayers here to make sure nothing... funny happened." Kira smiled, "But enough talk of hypothetical threats and hostilities..." Pegasus nodded, "I'm a senior diplomat so I have the authority to say that Greywatch will consider. However, I'm not a representative of anyone in the council so I can't sign off on anything. There are currently four heads to the council, they will decided whether they want this or not. I doubt they'll turn it down but, rules are rules."

The Deatans attempted to speed up as they looped the planet in a short suicidal burst.
-------
"I understand," said Syro. "Could you get me in touch with them?"

The Drones smiled as the Deatans matched them and kept up the pressure. If the Deatans wanted to make sure they won on their home turf, the Drones were just the artificially created people to make sure the Deatans worked for their victory.
------------------
Pegasus was holding his comms pad, "Possibly, they never leave Greywatch Prime. I can, perhaps, set up a video feed or something of the sort. But even that would most likely require the help of one of the Greywatch ships." Kira nodded, "That means he'll see what he can do. He'll probably be establishing a Sniper Communications Network so I hope you have a nice conference room that can handle something like that."

The ships zoomed back towards Desh.
----
"Well, don't worry about it now," said Melissa. "maybe tonught we can work on it. Do your troops have any dietary needs we should know about, by the way? we wouldn't want to feed them poison during the celebration."

The lead Greywatch ship once again initiated thrusters and began pulling ahead, flying straight was remarkably easy. The other Greywatch team wasn't too far behind.
OOC: Not gonna go any further than here without the others.
-------------------------
"Yes, I suppose that is best." Said Pegasus calmly. Kira looked over at Melissa, "Drones don't need to eat, Leanorians are very partial to meat and fish, Dragon-kin like just about anything, and the other two soldiers you haven't met yet.... well..." Pegasus decided to finish for her, "They will eat on the ships and come down to the surface later tonight or tommorrow. We decided it was best they not show up too early."

ooc: right

Melissa nodded, and Syro followed. They both rose and walked backover to their seats.

OOC:

Good thread so far, but I would like to request that you slow down somewhat. I had some computer hiccups yesterday and some 4th of July celebrations to go to, and it's becoming difficult to keep up.

Apologies for the crappy post. If it doesn't work, I can fix it.

IC:

Not far behind the Greywatch teams and the Deatans were the Dornalians. They stormed through the asteroid belt, keeping a tight bead on the Greywatch, even as the latter began to push forward beyond their opponents. This was something that fancy manuevers on the Dornalian part partially fixed, but the fact they were gunning their throttles at their maximum without using hyperdrives and being outpaced was somewhat disconcerting.

Nonetheless, they did the slingshot around the planet well enough, and then surged forth, the Dornalian teams coming just ahead of the second Greywatch team as they did so.

ooc: of course. sorry about that.

The second Greywatch team changed priority to making it a very hard time for the Dornalians, they began adjusting speed to keep it neck and neck between them. The first Greywatch team was still powering their way through whatever came at them, intent on giving the Deatan team a very difficult time, whoever wanted to win had to earn it now. Going soft and havnig fun wasn't going to be too much of an option now. The Drones wanted to show that for the inhuman creatures they were, they still wanted respect.

The second Greywatch team changed priority to making it a very hard time for the Dornalians, they began adjusting speed to keep it neck and neck between them. The first Greywatch team was still powering their way through whatever came at them, intent on giving the Deatan team a very difficult time, whoever wanted to win had to earn it now. Going soft and havnig fun wasn't going to be too much of an option now. The Drones wanted to show that for the inhuman creatures they were, they still wanted respect.

Gracie reported the results from onboard the shuttle, with a worry and a slight whimper.

"Umm....the Greywatch team, what looks like the second, has caught up with us. Advance units of Greywatch Team One have moved forward. Also, the engines are freaking out. Please!"

The Pilot frowned and muttered, "Damn. Grace, remove the speed limiter, flush some coolant into the engines. Let's see if these bastards can beat Sub-Ludicrous Speed."

"You jsut made that term up," Gracie shot back. "And are you sure you want to do that? You know the engines are stressed out as is; pushing them beyond--"

"I know. I learned in school there's a good chance of a burnout. Hence the coolant. So remove the speed limiter and flush the coolant!" The Pilot of Team One was pissed off now, and Gracie's Avatar rolled her eyes and went, "Fine." A rumbling, then a hissing accompanied Gracie's announcement of, "Limiter released. Enjoy."

With that, the Pilot boosted the speed, and zoomed ahead of Greywatch Two, putting Team One on a straightaway course closing in one Greywatch One like a runaway train, as he controlled the thing to prevent collisions. The pilot radioed the other Dornies, and said, "Release your Limiters, do a coolant flush. NOW!"

That done, the other two also began a wobbly, lightning fast journey as they moved ahead of Greywatch Two, weaving in and out to try and keep up with Dornalian Team One.

"They shot past us!" Said the Leanorian, "We got 'em! We got 'em!" The Drones in the ship used their haive minds to communicate ahead. They've maxed themselves out. The forward Greywatch team did what they were entending to do, the engines on their ship practically expoded as they flooded with the ship equivalent of jet-afterburner. Control was almost gone but the ship went ahead at such a speed that it didn't really matter. By the time the extra boosters settled down they'd be at the finish pad. The second Greywatch team did the same thing, sending their ship forward towards the Dornalians, a message was put through to them.
<Win if ya want, but we're gonna make it sh!tasticly difficult for ya!>

"They shot past us!" Said the Leanorian, "We got 'em! We got 'em!" The Drones in the ship used their haive minds to communicate ahead. They've maxed themselves out. The forward Greywatch team did what they were entending to do, the engines on their ship practically expoded as they flooded with the ship equivalent of jet-afterburner. Control was almost gone but the ship went ahead at such a speed that it didn't really matter. By the time the extra boosters settled down they'd be at the finish pad. The second Greywatch team did the same thing, sending their ship forward towards the Dornalians, a message was put through to them.
<Win if ya want, but we're gonna make it sh!tasticly difficult for ya!>

Team One's pilot replied simply, "Bring it on." He was being brave, but he was also focusing on how to control his ship-cum-torpedo with due diligence and deftness. Gracie by now was screaming at him to get things under control, and the status dialog screens were angrily beeping with red flashes. Sighing, the Pilot flushed some more coolant, and kept on moving, tuning the engine up just a little more.

By now, the other two Dornalian teams had done the same, and careened past Team Two to keep up with Dornalian Team One. But, the first Greywatch team was moving ahead of all of them now, and Stimson grunted. On one hand, they could gun their engines and move faster. On the other hand, they only had so much coolant, and they were sure to risk damage to the engines which would no doubt have to be fixed. The Lin Biao in orbit had parts, but it would take valuable time. And, as it was, he was nervous about the potential issues Team One's Gagarin II shuttle would experience from this behavior. On the other hand, it was built to be somewhat rugged and it didn't explode quite yet.

Team One's Pilot then decided to solve the problem for Stimson, as he ordered the other two teams to gun their engines and do a series of carefully metered coolant flushes. Stimson then reached into the mike and said, "Belay that. Gun the engines carefully. Raise power slowly and carefully, as much as your vehicles will allow. Flush coolant every so often, and watch your supply. GO!"

That being done, the other two Dornalian Teams rushed forth to meet the challenge of the first Greywatch team, interpreting "carefully" somewhat freely as they did so.

The Deatan teams formed a careful triangle, speeding along through space. they were using special energy beams connecting the ships to reduce their friction against the tiny particles in space, giving them an edge.

They were right on level with the other lead teams as they zoomed into the atmosphere. The second craft pulled up too slowly, crashing into a craft from another nation and hurtling into a side of the canyon wall.

Both Greywatch vessels pulled to the side to avoid being hit in the crossfire of the crashed vessel before hitting thrusters and speeding through the canyon. The first team espescially, having no lives and thus being completely expendable, went through the canyon without concern for themselves or anyone else. The second team deicded to punch it but still maintain some sanity.

the two remaining Deatan craft pushed on. chasing pirates through asteroid fields made this kind of work almost routine.