NationStates Jolt Archive

Kor'o Na'laer sat aboard the Or'es El'leath-class Battleship, Vior'la's Fire, in the midst of a small ten ship exploration fleet. He had been chosen to lead this small fleet as a respite from the many battles he had served in during the 4th Sphere Expansion. Yes, the 4th Sphere Expansion. Once again, the Tau Empire had seen a chance to expand and clamped on it like a piranha. The Imperium of Man, mighty yet slow, had driven itself to commit massive resources to dealing with some threat within their Empire, rumors spoke of a Chaos incursion. Na'laer could only thank the Ethereal's that the Tau were spared such an event. He had not fought against Chaos, due to its rarity in its encounters with the Tau, but the stories spoke of horrid beings and horrific sights that would send the most battle-hardened Fire Warrior to vomiting. As horrid as the warriors of Chaos were, the Tau were not above using it to their advantage. They did not have the nearly limitless resources that Mankind wielded, so they were forced into using different tactics.

As the Imperium drew away vital resources to defend their borders, the Tau gathered its might and slammed into the edge of Imperial space. They collided with weakened Imperial garrisons, stripped planetary defense navies, and a wide-open swath of worlds ready to be gobbled up by whomever had the strength and foresight to grab them. Unfortunately for the Imperials, the Tau were the ones who had grasped onto this gem of an opportunity. World after World fell into the maw of the Tau, as they expanded and colonized in the wake of their conquests. The Expansion, led by Shas'O'Vaise on ground and Kor'O Shi'tar in space, went on a rapid pace. However, news was coming in quickly from the returning Messenger escorts that the Imperium was beginning to counter their moves, that the Tau were reaching the limits of their current expansion. There had been recent skirmishes with a couple Space Marine chapters, and the siege of Danxis had occurred because of the rapid deployment of several Imperial Guard regiments, forcing the Tau to go into a siege to prevent their numbers from overwhelming them.


Pressing a key, he called up the video of the last known news of the siege. The Tau forces had managed to break through, destroying a section of the capital's wall, allowing them to flood in forces and secure a hold in the city. By the time the Imperial Guard could bring their forces to bear, the Tau were entrenched and in places they could not shell without destroying an entire quarter of the city. Although, there wasn't much left. He watched as the Tau Fire Warriors, with Human auxiliaries traded fire with a group of Imperial Guardsmen whom were taking cover in a crater. The thin slices of lasgun fire and the big bolts of pulse fire criss-crossed the air, causing a stalemate. Eventually, a series of Barracuda fighters, breaking through the weakened Imperial net of air defense, came by on a bombing run and the Imperials were caught within it. The squad leader motioned forward, and the Tau forces continued into the city, pushing ever deeper despite the Imperial's best efforts.

He turned it off and gazed at the space in front of him. He was right now at the edge of the Tau Empire's borders, in a different direction than where the Imperium was located. The Ethereal's had detected a patch of space that was not on any of their charts and had sent him to investigate. So, he ordered for all the Messenger escorts to be sent out from their gravitic sheaths and sent scuttling into this new system, their scanner suites on overdrive as they sought to store and interpret the data they were receiving.

The Tau had expanded and were now exploring once more.

OOC: This is a contact rp, so no giant fleets please at the get go. It can develop (maybe), but lets not go nuts. If there is to be any combat or fleet fighting, at least talk with me about it first.

OOC: Taggage for posible future postage, if I join, they can run into my space if you'd like, I'll have a newly discovered planet that's now beginning to be developed or something along those lines. Not definate if I"ll be able to join 'cause I'm apart of like 10 other RPs, at least 3 of them similar to this.

OOC: That is fine, you don't have to if you don't want to. Hence the open feature.

OOC: Tagged. Might have a small expiditionary fleet make first contact.

(OOC: Tagged for future post.)

"Kennedy," shouted Mac from the radar. "We got something on the edge of the radar system,"

Kennedy turned around as the battle cruiser Valient came alongside them. They were a scouting squad sent out to invesitgate possible pirate worlds and report back to base. Kennedy stuided the radar and pointed out they were possibly outnumbered and maybe out matched.

"This is the Imperial Lynion Navy to unidentify warships, please identify yourself," said Kenney into intercom.

Mac looked around as the outline of warships came into view.

Tag

Na'laer watched as the data from the Messenger escorts came in. It was the same stuff he had seen time and time again. Gas deposits and concentrations, EM levels within the system, radiation clouds here and there, and even the stray asteroid belt, with the levels of metals and types within it. There was a magnetic spike near one of the planets, though, and it was worth investigating. He sent some orders to a group of the escorts, when his console blinked. An incoming message? <"Kor'o! We are detecting a small force of unidentified ships that appear to be in system. Scans are coming in...they are not many, and they do not appear to be too heavily armed. A scouting expedition like ours, perhaps?">

Na'laer stood up. <"We shall see."> He pressed a key and the message from the Lynion forces came up.

"This is the Imperial Lynion Navy to unidentify warships, please identify yourself."

He pressed a key and replied. <"This is Kor'O Na'laer of the Vior'la Sept Expeditionary Force. We are currently scouting out this area of space which we have just discovered. If you would like, we can gather on your ships or my ships and have a meeting to open relations. We do not mean any harm; that is against the Greater Good."> He closed his part of the channel. <"Have a Water Caste diplomat brought up to me, we need one of their services."> A Fire Warrior who had been standing guard slapped a fist against his chest and went out of the bridge to find a diplomat.

A nearby Greywatch outpost in the system picked up the other ships. The commander of the outpost looked over at the holoscreen the ships appeared on. "Tactical, keep us cloaked and blurry. Let's not let them know where we are yet. Comms, send a message to Greywatch Prime via Sniper Network, keep it soft and encrypted. Tell them we need some cruisars herem maybe a Worldslayer if things go sour." The officer nodded as the commander looked to another screen showing the two fleets. "Tactical, see if you can find out what they're doing, who they are, and what they may be saying. Comms, put an open message through."

Untraceble Message [Open]

<Hail unidentified ships you are entering claimed territory. Please identify yourself and state your reason for being here.>

The message from the hidden Greywatch forces startled Na'laer and also made him suspicious. For all he knew, there was a massive fleet of ships in the area, and this was a trap. If so, all he could do was hope for the best and try to work things out. He turned towards one of the bridge officers. <"Have you located the source of the message?"> The Tau shook his head.

<"Whomever is doing this has hidden their tracks well. I cannot go past a rather large portion of the system in tracking them down. And its too large to try a subtle scan without getting caught."> The commander looked at the screen, his eyes blinking as he thought it over and then sighed.

"<Give me a best angle of transmission to send a message through and open a channel. Let's see if they will get this.">

Na'laer turned towards the screen as the channel opened and spoke.

<"We are the Tau, beings who spread the message of the Greater Good to other races like yourself. We have come here on an exploration mission to investigate a recently discovered patch of space. We did not expect to find it claimed. If you would like, we can meet and discuss terms on our first contact."

A message came back quickly, this time on a different frequency.
<Diplomatic relations are something we are interested in. However we have no diplomats. Rest assured they are on their way as of this moment.>
------------
Meanwhile, a Greywatch Worldstarter was on its way with some heavy backup. This was an unknown fleet and the highest of all standards had to be met to ensure any thoughts of hostility were destroyed on the spot.

<"That is of no matter. We can wait until you are able to have some arrive or bring in a substitute. We are not going anywhere as of this moment.>"

A Pressure Space Rift opened up outside the system, a gravity distortion was sent throughout the area, albeit a weak one due to the distance. A Greywatch Worldstarter slowly emerged, accompanied by its companion, a Worldslayer and several frigates. The Worldstarter was 38Km in length while its counterpart , the Worldslayer, was 41Km in length.
<This is Worldstarter Maywater and Worldslayer Chimera reporting to outpost Delta of the fourth system.>
The message was open and unencrypted.
<Delta outpost here, see our new contacts. That's what we called you for, they say they're friendly. Figured we needed a diplomat.>
<Could have said that and we wouldn't of bothered bringing Chimera with us...>
<New contacts, we don't know if they're hostile or not. We need muscle just in case, protocol, remember?>
<New contacts, please identify.>

<"We are the Vior'la Sept Expeditionary Force, sent out by the Tau Empire to investigate the space in this region along our border. We have been informed of your claim to this space and we have offered to open negotiations between our nations so we may discuss the Greater Good which benefits us all. We were awaiting your arrival, so we now wait to know the place of this meeting and whom you shall be sending.">

Na'laer turned to see the Fire Warrior return with a robed figure which wore a stunning set of jewelry and carried a sense of great dignity about him. Na'laer nodded to him. <"Por'El Gar'ath. It is good to see you."> The Water Caste diplomat nodded.

<"Indeed, Kor'El. Have we found out the situation yet?">

<"We are still awaiting the location for the meeting and for their diplomat, of course.">

He nodded, <"I see."> He turned and looked at the main screen, waiting for the Greywatch reply.

<I see. Delta, drop cloak.>
The small outpost appeared clearly in sight only a a few km away from the fleet.
<We will send our diplomat there, you are welcomed to send yours to the outpost as well. As for our claim, we have only taken some of the system. The sun considered pretty open at the moment, and we've seen four worlds which appear habitable. We've already begun planning for colonization of two of those worlds and have marked another as a possible colonization point. You're welcome to claim the other planet, most of the asteroids are open, we've officially laid claim to about fifty of them, there are thousands though.>
Then a message from the outpost,
<That should be discussed aboard. We've a room ready for you both as of now.>
From the Worldstarter came a single small transport. It headed to the station quickly and prepared to dock.

Na'laer listened and then nodded, turning towards the diplomat. <"Are you ready?"> The Water Caste diplomat simply smiled.

<"Of course, Kor'El. See that this fleet is kept on alert, in case the Imperium or any of our other foes show up. I do not want another As'har to happen again."> They both knew of the event he was referring to, when the Imperium made a surprise attack on a world they were negotiating to bring into the Greater Good. The following battle had been won by the Tau, but at a cost, with Gar'ath nearly losing his life in the process. Na'laer nodded.

<"Understood, Por'El."> The diplomat smiled and turned, leaving the bridge as Na'laer opened the channel again.

<"We are sending over our diplomat now. He will be discussing our situation and work out a deal between our nations.">

The diplomat made his way down to the hangar bay, to his shuttle which had a squad of four veteran Fire Warriors standing guard. They were his personal guard, and the reason he had escaped the trap at As'har. Nodding to them, they stepped inside the shuttle and it quickly launched from the ship and docked with the station. Moments later, four armored Fire Warriors escorted the Water Caste diplomat to the meeting chamber where they were to meet. Appearing in the doorway, he nodded to the person inside as he sat down and waited for them to speak.

Inside was the Greywatch diplomat, he was a human, a lot of people in the galaxy were more comfortable with human diplomats for whatever reason. He had well groomed black hair and was wearing a white uniform decorated with medals. Behind him stood two drones, signature Greywatch supersoldiers, they looked identical, black hair, solid black eyes, black teeth, black clothing, pale skin, their teeth shrp as daggers. "Ah, you've arrived. Welcome. I am James. James Steadwake." He stood and made a slight bow. "Since you're the visitor I'll let you open up with the specifics of what brought you here. Then we can just shoot questions at each other and eventually come to an agreement about the next step of this process." He took his seat again.
The room was poorly decorated and metalic. A dull gray color, the wooden table in the center and eight metallic chairs around it. Semi-decent lighting, "Sorry about the accomidations, all starting outposts are this way unfortunantly."

Long range sensors on the Collection Ship Astriatum went off the charts, it had been drifitng around the universe for at least 100 years as such it was a older model of Collection ship one currently not porduced anymore.

The 2km Ship Drifted out from behind a planets moon on the far side of the system scanns showed this moon was ripe for Collection and small Pools had already been started on the far side from the snippets of converstation gather they determined someone owned this system and there presense might not be welcome

Sending a broad message to all It was a audio feed only
"We are the kewen we came to this ssssysssstem not long ago"

The last part was sent in the direction of the new large ships which seemed from what could be told to be owners of the system
"and in the assumption of it not being owned the ssssingle planetiod deemed acceptable in thissss sssysssstem hasss had the formation of a Collection pool implanted, ssssad to ssssay and much to our regret the pool cannot be removed without sssever posssssssible grave conssseqences for the sssolar body it orbitssss the pool will die off when its job issss completed in what is assssumed to be 100-200,000 Draken (years )"

A message was shot back to the new contact from the Worldstarter:
<Well we never said we weren't willing to share.>

"Ah, you've arrived. Welcome. I am James. James Steadwake." He stood and made a slight bow. "Since you're the visitor I'll let you open up with the specifics of what brought you here. Then we can just shoot questions at each other and eventually come to an agreement about the next step of this process."

Gar'ath nodded his head respectfully and then proceeded to speak, his voice slightly musical and a pleasant sound to hear. It was time to get the negotiations underway.

<"I am Por'El Gar'ath of the Tau Water Caste in the Tau Empire. I serve the way of the Greater Good and seek to enlighten all to its path. I also take care of matters such as this. To answer your questions, we were brought here on an exploration mission given to us by Aun'O Shar'ael, the leader of our Sept, to investigate an open spot of space which we had just discovered. We are natural explorers, you understand, we seek to unravel the secrets of the unknown. Be it weapons, planets, or even a society, we seek to understand, so we may help them benefit the Greater Good. Although not our direct objective, we do wish to establish a colony in this system, with your blessing. I am sure we can work something out to benefit the Greater Good of all.">

As he spoke his escort stood at guard, their weapons held in loose hands, but they were able to quickly tense themselves and be prepared in the blink of an eye should the situation demand it. The guards did not seek to provoke a fight, those were detrimental to the Greater Good, but they would not let their comrade be injured or killed during this meeting. For now, they listened with some interest, their helmets hiding their curious looks as they watched the diplomat working his magic to secure an advance for the Tau and to possibly open the door to bringing this new nation into the Greater Good.

The diplomat crossed his legs. "Ah for so long we have been trying to find more like you. More people willing to work in the name of peace. The Greater Good interests me, is it your... religion?" The diplomat said with curiousity. The Drones were completely loose and stood like stone, they did not move and showed no emotions. "You see Greywatch is also expansionist by nature, a road that brings us into contact with many hostiles..." He shook his head, "But for one more to be on the route of peace. My superiors will be delighted."

Gar'ath nodded, smiling. It was odd that they found humans, he had first assumed they were some rogue traders from the Imperium, just under some name, but their attitude was much different. They even sought peace, an astonishing fact to the Water Caste diplomat but he filed it away as a piece of information to hold onto. <"Indeed, we too desire peace. The Greater Good is not a religion. No, it is much more. It is a way of life, a....calling. We seek to banish personal ambitions and work for the Greater Good of the whole, for the Greater Good of the Tau Empire. We have many whom have joined us on our path. The Kroot, the Vespid...even some of your own kind, although from a nation much different from yours. All have seen the Tau'va and have agreed to help spread its message."> He spread his arms out wide.

<"We only seek to benefit all whom will accept us. The universe is beset by war and death, by famine and corruption, by evil and destruction. We seek to fight that by uniting all those we can and making peace through every way we can. Hopefully with words and deeds, but through conflict if we must. We understand not all will accept our way, and some may even try to damage it. And that we cannot allow.">


<"We, too, have expanded quite a bit, liberating worlds from our enemies, whom are legion. We have many enemies whom seek to destroy us for reasons we do not quite understand. The Imperium of Man, whom appear to hate non-humans, the forces of Chaos, whom are a threat to all mortals....and more. We have struggled much to overcome our enemies and have many triumph and many defeats."> He smiled and shook his head. <"But enough of that. I do believe we were about to discuss the planet we seek to colonize and anything else you wish to speak about, Mr. Steadwake">

James smiled, a folder materialized in one of the Drones' hands. The Drone quickly handed him the file. "Yes..." He glanced over it, "Which planet were you interested in now?" He flipped though some papers. "Report says it was along the out rim..."

<"That was more luck than anything, I assure you. We were exploring when we encountered the Lynion forces and then your own outpost. You did mention in the earlier discussions of a couple planets you had your eyes on, and then there is the one that transmission from the Kewen. We would like to possibly take the one you mentioned being free, as well as colonize a significant portion of the asteroid field. It would be a good base and refueling station for our ships. And it can also serve as a trading point, especially between our nations.">

"Hmm. As long as it is within reason. We would also like to have some of the asterid field. How about 40% of it? We will most likely be mining some of them and expanding this outpost as well. As for the unclaimed planet, it's yours. Do keep in mind that as protocol, as this area is developed we will begin construction of anti-spaceial assualt cannons in the area surrounding our worlds. I advise you to do the same, you never know what's out there, as I'm sure you already know." He took out a pen and marked something on the documents. He handed it back to the drone who promptly made the folder vanish. "Now then, a trading post you say? That sounds excellent, I'm sure both of our nations could prosper from such a thing." He smiled. "Ah, I must mention to you though, like you we have other races amongst us, you will meet them in time though, I'm sure." He nodded to one of the Drones who promptly bowed to all in the room and left. "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

Ga'arth cocked his head to one side. <"Do you mean we shall get 40% or that you will? I am just a little confused on that part. Do not worry about our worlds, we have ways of defending our worlds from the perils of our enemies. I thank you for the chance to colonize this world and look forward to further opening relations in the future."> He shook his head at his last question. <"Unless you wish to discuss something, I have nothing else to speak about.">

"I mean 40% for you, if that is accpetable. And I have nothing further to speak of. IF you are finished you are free to leave. I shall make a report the council immediately informing them of new allies."

<"That is fine."> He rose up and bowed. <"I thank you and wish you peace and prosperity. Farewell."> Turning, he nodded to his guards whom took the notice and formed up around him and exited. Soon enough, they had gotten to their shuttle, exited the ship and come back to the main ship of the exploration fleet. Na'laer was sitting in his chair on the bridge, looking at some data when he came walking in. The Tau captain nodded at him and spoke.

<"So, what are the results?">

Gar'ath smiled. <"We have permission to colonize a world in this system and 40% of the asteroid field.">

Na'laer whistled. That was a good catch indeed. He nodded and yelled some orders for the fleet to return to Tau. <"The Ethereals will be pleased with your success here, Gar'ath.">

He shook his head. <"It was nothing, Kor'El. It was for the Greater Good."> Soon enough, the fleet turned and with a series of flashes, was gone from the system. It would be two months before a full Tau colonization fleet would arrive and begin the work to colonize the planet and make the asteroids they owned into a vast trade area, mining facility and important naval base.

ooc: *pout* so noone sends a message/reply to me? and SCrinthia you left without even replying to my ships .. :(

OOC: Yeah I did you liar XD look, my ppl say "We never said we're not willing to share."

OOC: My people were rather focused on their negotiations and your message, for the most part, was towards GW. I acknowledged in one of the last posts, mentioning you were in the system.

OOC: Are we gonna do a time jump? Your last IC post suggested that or at least that's what I thought.

OOC:Nah, I was gonna let you two talk for a bit and then end this thread.

OOC: We should prolly have some other thread about what happens in the future. Now Greywatch is a 22 planet Empire. Ugh, more names to come up with.

ooc: lol i lost this thread and i think i am too far behind *dies and leaves this thread*

ooc: never mind i live again! 22 planets xD nice?
IC:
"Indeed you did not Ships of Greywatch" with the seemingly assurace that they wouldnt be killed the Contruction continued and more pillars and large ditches were dug up around the planet.


"Greetings new ships, We are the Kvenengar or Kewen, who are you?" was sent towards the yet unindentifed ship

"Whatever the hell that means..." Thought the bridge as a whole. It was time then, the Greywatch Worldstarter turned to face a planet as the diplomat got back onboard and the ship headed off to colonize. A few minutes later, another Greywatch Worldstarter arrived. Two planets being colonized at once in a single system didn't usually happen but Greywatch had been looking to expand for awhile.