NationStates Jolt Archive

Space Station Protector…
Scanning Officer LaRone leaned back in his seat, lazily sipping a carbonated soft drink from one of the cafeteria replicators; white-tipped rust-orange tail flicking slightly as the taste of the brew hit his taste buds, watching one of the two screens before him. The first displayed a simple visual camera view of his little slice of space, endless stars excepting the large dark patch in the upper right hand corner where the moon of Regalis blocked them from sight. The second was more-or-less the same, but criss-crossed with scanning fields, tagging and identifying the slow ship traffic coming in and going out of the Xiscapian star system. Being a Scanning Officer was not a very exciting job, and here in the heart of the Kitsune Empire in what amounted to an orbital stronghold and gigantic scanning and docking station, where there was little chance of direct attack, the monotony of the days were broken only by sleep and those happy times when he was allowed to go down to the surface for leave. The station was fully equipped with just about everything any of the cities of Xiscapia offered, including restaurants, bars, VR chambers, baths, it’s own sports field and stadium and more, but it just wasn’t the same as being planet side.

Placing the paper cup onto the desk, LaRone settled in for another long eight-hour shift of scanning incoming and outgoing vessels for any undeclared weapons, explosives, contraband, illegal aliens, slaves and other items of a criminal nature. The kitsune’s yellow eyes flicked back to the scanning screen as the computer alerted him to a distant blip of movement. Probably another freighter coming in too fast. He thought, leaning forward to confirm the status of the object. He blinked, staring as what had been identified as a ship came closer, staring at the status readout, not quite believing what he was seeing:
WARNING: INCOMING CRAFT IDENTIFIED AS A HOSTILE SHREDDER CLASS AIW FRIGATE. APPROACHING AT RATE OF 12,000 MPS.
“Alarm! Alarm!” he shouted, hitting the button on his desk, activating a blaring klaxon. Instantly the data was transmitted, and half a minute later everyone, including Commander Durc and officials on Xiscapia, knew about it.

The Wasp class Cruiser XIW Knife Catcher (http://www.moddb.com/images/cache/mods/82/8237/gallery/thumbmoty_53379.jpg) maintained it's steady position in orbit above the planet, flanked to the left by the Annihilator class Destroyer XIW Night (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Imperial_Escort_Carrier01.jpg). The two vessels had been assigned routine screening and protection duty, possibly one of the most boring jobs any ship could be given in the Kitsune Empire of Xiscapia. The First, or Home Fleet, were out on maneuvers close to the star, and the Night and Knife Catcher had been put up in their place. Aboard the Knife Catcher, Captain Kosk sighed quietly to himself as he stood on the bridge of the cruiser, looking out into the void, idly daydreaming about when he’d be able to go back and see his girlfriend in the Padgan city of Lune. He blew a bang of purple hair out of his face, adjusting his black cap to fit more comfortably around his ebony colored top ears. Kosk was young, the age of the Grand Admiral, and his duties as Master and Commander of a Xiscapian Imperial Warship were proving to be less exciting than he had hoped.

It didn’t help any that the Knife Catcher, though a relatively new ship, was a part of the Reserves Fleet. Kosk figured he would only see action if one of the other cruisers in one of the deployed fleets was destroyed or crippled, and the Knife Catcher was routed into its place. In the recruitment ads the Navy showed they depicted beautiful kitsune shouting orders as massive guns pounded the enemies of the Kitsune Empire into only so much dust and scrap metal, thrilling and intriguing first contact missions and harrowing exploration of the unknown. So far Kosk had never left the Xiscapian system in his cruiser, he had never so much as seen an alien starship in person, and the only enemies he’d ever destroyed had been in the VR or the occasional unlucky asteroid. In a word, Kosk was dissatisfied.
He wondered if his counterpart aboard the Night felt the same way.

He had never met the one who was Captain of the Destroyer, and though in the Xiscapian military those in command positions were almost always kitsune, in rare cases an alien got though, proving themselves to be exceptional enough to warrant it. While most of the military, nearly all of the Navy and everyone under Kosk’s command was kitsune, the same did not hold true in other ships, branches, and services. In any case, he figured it didn’t matter: It wasn’t like he’d ever need to know the name or visage of the faceless fellow Captain somewhere on the sleek, smaller vessel that was the Night. Caught up in his thoughts, Kosk was jolted out of them by the tense words of his Communications Officer.
“Sir, we’ve received a transmission from the Protector. There is a craft,” he hesitated only slightly, “labeled AIW approaching the planet at a high rate of speed. We are to intercept and destroy, with the XIW Night on our flank to provide additional firepower.”

Kosk almost couldn’t believe his ears, his heart in his mouth. Combat? Here and now, after waiting so long? “Full power to engines and set direct course for the incoming enemy ship,” he ordered, pleased with how professional his voice sounded. “We’ll take the thing head-on. Power up the Heavy Cannons and acquire a target lock, fire on my mark. Inform the Night she’d best run power to whatever weapons her Captain thinks necessary, and to form up on our port flank.”
With a blue-white burst the engines fired, propelling the Knife Catcher towards the obsidian, star-studded emptiness, guns swiveling and settling in their turrets.

The Destroyer Night stuck to the flank of the bigger Cruiser stubbornly, maintaining it's position as the flank protection for the Knife Catcher. The bigger vessel was in command of the joint ships and so the Captain would have to do what he was ordered by whoever was on that ship. He had never met him, he had never even heard of them. All he knew was that the ship was modern, though still a part of the Reserve Fleet. They had recieved the orders from the Protector at the same time as the Knife Catcher.

However, Captain Sandi was the not a normal Kitsune. True, she did have the same tail, eyes and ears as a Xiscapian Kitsune, she had been born on Alversia. On the northern continent to be precise, and she had been given the choice of enlisting in either Force. However, she had chosen the Xiscapian Navy instead of the APN and now she was in command of a Destroyer in the Reserve Fleet. It was not the excitement she had so craved when she had joined up, but it was still her own command and she had the benefit of a lifetime in the Xiscapian Navy, for both her Parents and Grandparents had been in the Navy so she knew a thing or two about warfare. She also knew that what the Captain of the Cruiser was doing was wrong.

"Why's he heading them off?" She frowned lightly to herself, "That just leaves him open to ramming if it gets too close" She shook her head and turned to her own helm,
"Turn us to ninety degrees and bring all weapons to bear, prepare to hit the Frigate as it passes alongside us"

So the Night began to turn slowly, bringing the weapons on her entire flank to bear against the vessel.

Brig, Knife Catcher

"I told you what was going to happen, I warned you about it but no, you had to be a smartarse and try to go through didn't you. All they wanted was our pass number"

The speaker was another Kitsune, a rather fed up one. Her chocolate coloured hair ran down her back and her yellow eyes were narrowed in anger at the Alversian who was sitting alongside her. He was smiling at her, seemingly oblivious to her anger. He grinned at her in a stupid way that only fuelled her anger,

"Well," The Alversian chirped happily, "I thought they wanted our passports, and I don't have one. I suppose the Kitsune Empire doesn't accept Membership Cards to the Illesia City Library does it?"

"What do you think!" Chloe sighed back at him, "You couldn't even get away, you fool! I told you to connect the Hyperdrive before we left, I know I told you!"

"Well, I thought you said to disconnect it so we're both to blame"

"How am I to blame for this!?!"

"You didn't shout and I didn't listen. Works both ways Sister," Nathan laughed.

"If they try to press charges I'm going to say you forced me into it"

"Well, I'm going to say John did it" Nathan relaxed in their cell, and closed his eyes, dozing quietly.

"Who's John?"

"T'hell if I know, but Authourites always seem to accept that someone called John messed something up."

Chloe just rolled her eyes and sighed. What where they doing here? Why had Nathan tried to manourver past the Protector without identifying himself? Because Nathan wanted to see if he could get away with it, for future references.

He was also an idiot.

THe AIW frigate, scard from the first war sped up, it needed the speed for what it was about to do to the Xiscapians and Alversians. As it picked up speed the time machine began to rotate, and slowly, if one looked closely, the armor that was scratched began to reform, its former colors became clear and smooth. A blurry hole appeared above Xiscapian, blending time and space together as the frigate entered, pulling the Xiscapian's and Alversians into the time warp. A moment of darkness and light, spinning in the minds of everything. Then it came to a slow stop, they were in orbit over Xiscapia, everything seemed like it had been when they entered the time matrix. There was in fact a huge change. They frigate carrying the unholy device had changed future as they knew it, the twin allied worlds of Alversia and Xiscapia had met a new or was it now a ..old horror.

Xiscapian Space

The Xiscapians and Alversians that were dragged into the time matrix with the AIW frigate were not noticed as foreign vessels but as members of there "collective." The space station Protecter sent out another message to them. " Alliance vessels why have you come out of patrol?" It's message was a little emotionless, but none the less its sounds came off the tounge of a beutifal Xiscapian.

Xiscapia

Xiscapia's beauty still stayed fresh, but was under new managment, one that could not be seen, or barganed with. The Imitators had changed many things with there time machine. Xiscapia was quieter, no voices could be heard only footsteps of the Imitators and there will. The Emperor was just another member of the collective. Luckily for some, the air was not contaminated yet. Water would have to be boiled for any consumption.
Alversia

Three Surgical Observers hulked over Alversia. Former Alversian warships were painted Observer white and added into the Calaverian navy. Inside these ships Calaverian and Alversian GOU suited up for another incursion into the Imitator Quarrentine zones on Alversia. Since the Great Leader invaded the world, he had put the population into little city's with massive white walls around them, GOU and Alversian Civil Protection roamed the streets, imposing a totalitarian regime. To go outside the citys was forbidden due to risk of Imitator infection. All over Alversia pictures of the Great Leader could be seen as well as the President's mind-washed face. He had been appointed to watch over Alversia, but was merely a puppet. Curfew was at nine, anyone caught outside could be arrested or shot on site.

Captain Kosk knew little about the Imitators, but he knew enough. He had heard the stories, and like every Xiscapian, he knew about the fall of New Haven. He was willing to risk the smaller frigate ramming his vessel, because that would stop it for sure. If it somehow managed to slip by the Knife Catcher, Night and Protector and land, it could cause untold destruction and loss of life on Xiscapia. He had taken an oath upon entering the service to protect the people, the Emperor and Xiscapia at any cost, and if that ment sacrificing his crew, his ship and even himself, that was a price he was willing to pay. He opened his mouth to order the guns to open fire-

And staggered slightly, shaking his head wildly at the portal opened up. He saw none of it, and aside from a slight feeling of unease among the crew and blips on the sensor boards, no one noticed the jump. Dark skin bathed by the glow of various computer consoles, he once again prepared to give the command for the guns to fire-
"Sir, we're receiving a message from the Protector!"
Kosk frowned. "And it is?"
"They wish to know why we have diverted from patrol..."
"We have not. Inform them that we are destroying the enemy frigate as ordered, and request that they check their sensors for malfunctions."
"Aye Captain."

The message was sent and Kosk turned his attention back to the task at hand, not noticing the changed apperance of the frigate though the scanner scope, which did not show such things. "Open fire immediatly, Heavies and MAC only."
Brilliant blue-white beams of energy blasted away at the frigate, followed by massive MAC shells, nearly half the size of the frigate itself and more than capable of smashing it apart in a few shots.

Knife Catcher brig...
The Executive Officer of the XIW Knife Catcher was a portly kitsune with a massive orange tail, small, suspicious orange eyes, light, thin brown hair and a gut like so large on might suspect he had his own orbit. He was flanked by two Marines as he approached, switching off the dampeners placed over the cell to prevent the captives from listening in on outer conversation and attempting to bribe, seduce, threaten or harrass their guards. They could speak freely and be heard by each other, and indeed they heard his grunts as he settled into a procured chair, looking at both mercenaries sternly. AIW frigate or not, he was going to interrogate these prisoners.
"We'll start with names, nationalities, occupations and why you were trying to make a run past the Protector." he said curtly.

Xiscapia...
Nearly all of Xiscapia had been assimilated, and those still themselves had fled from the cities and population centers to live in the forests or mountains of Padga or barren wastes to the south of Forworn and south of Slipslah. No kind of resistance had been organized, the infection had come so suddenly, taking over the military and government so quickly that there had been no time to react. Nothing to do but flee for their lives. The surviving Xiscapians were scattered, living amongst the ruins and in mud or grass huts, terrified and weary.

However, among them two great figures had escaped: Jade Rose, former Empress and wife of the Emperor, and Ginta, a known scientist, even now researching both an Imitator-killing agent and, maybe, a cure. Both, along with several families and other remanents, were holed up in crumbling tower on the island of Rune off the coast of Forworn. The Imitators had overlooked this area, no one had lived here before the assimilation, and it proved a moderately safe haven for refugees. Jade Rose had sensed it when her husband was infected, and she had eluded the Imitators and made her getaway. Ginta had been the first to know of the assimilation when one of his lab assistants began demonstrating abnormal behavior, but by that time the Imitators had infected several policemen and assassins who attempted to silence the scientist permanently. He barely escaped his lab with his life and met up with Jade on his travel away from the city of Lune. Joining forces, the two sought refuge in the island and it's ruins.

"Dinner," came a soft voice. Ginta (http://yami0204.deviantart.com/art/ShinRa-Research-Scientist-Huan-30798880) turned from his desk in his seat to the old wooden door, where Jade (http://www.1999.co.jp/dbimages/user/hobby/itbig/10051368a.jpg) now stood, dressed in her usual close-fitting suit and carrying a metal tray in both hands. It bore what appeared to be a bowl of noodles, a small piece of fruit and a steaming mug of tea, whobbling slightly as Ginta hurried to make room on his desk for it, clearing out papers covered with notes and calculations, pencils and old, tattered books and manuscripts. The female kitsune set it down on the small cleared space and stood back with a slight bow as Ginta pulled his lab coat tighter around him, struck as he always was by her beauty and those luminious, sad eyes. The last dying light of the sun cast the tower room into dark shadow as Jade leaned over to examine the papers on the desk. "Any progress?"

"Some," he responded tiredly, leaning back in his chair and sipping the tea. "The essential problem is the endoparasitic nature of the Imitator-host relationship. It would appear that when the host expires so does the parasite, but the cells remain intact for some time after death, mostly in the fluids. More troubling is that, as far as I can tell, when the parasite dies the host follows suit instantaniously, leaving no room for any kind of cure. The compound community aspect of the assimilation makes it hard to be sure, though, given to how difficult and dangerous it is to claim a live specimen."

Jade sighed. "We have attempted repeatedly to capture an Imitator for you, and I assure you we eventually will." Ginta was so involved in his work he frequently forgot to eat, hence her bringing him food here at the top of their tower home. He constantly indicated he needed an assimilated subject to further his studies, and those here with them were neither close to any Imitators, nor did they want to be. It had been left up to Jade and a couple of farmers to try and bring in an Imitator for the scientist. The former Empress knew the scientist's work was invaluable in understanding the Imitators and could, she hoped, lead to both a killing agent and a cure.
So she would continue to try, for Xiscapia-
And for her husband.

Alversia...
Unlike Xiscapia, on Alversia there was an active resistance to the Imitator threat. The Calaverians had long since taken control of the planet, brainwashing most Alversians onto their side, threatening some and a few joined them willingly, know where the power now lay. Many more were infected by the Imitators, and now a war was being waged on three sides: The Imitators, the Calaverians, and the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, a rouge element of unImitated Alversians seeking to destroy the Imitators and force the Calaverian occupiers from their planet. Again, the PLA had been joined by two notable figures: Silvertooth and Nightshade Rose, heirs to the now fallen Kitsun Empire, choosing to help the PLA in it's operations. The PLA had cells in all the cities and had laid claimed to uninfected areas of the planet, raiding Calaverian shipping and transport when they needed supplies and assaulting Imitator-held territory to gain more land for their steadily growing militia.

OOC: Man, I sure do get my ass kicked in these alternative history threads. :p

OOC: I don't seem to come off very well in them either :p

The Captain of the Night did not notice the change either, nor did he notice the change of the enemy warship. He knew his mission was to desroy it and that was what he would do. The message was directed at the cruiser, not at his humble destroyer, so he clung to the flank of the bigger Cruiser and waited for the first move from them. He was not in command of this small unit. He had to wait for orders before he could fire.

He did not notice anything out of the ordinary on the planet's surface.

Knife Catcher Brig

"Well," Chloe twisted from the bed to face the XO, looking stunningly beautiful from any angle and with any expression, even the way she was sitting offered little modesty
"I am Chloe," She gave a small smile and indicated to a snoring Nathan, "This is Nathaniel T. Barnes. I am a Xiscapian, he is an Alversian. We are both currantly unemployed," She licked her lips. The Authourities did not like the use of the word 'Mercenary'.

Now Nathan was awake and grinning at the XO, he thought about the last question for a few moments before grinning again,
"I'm so sorry, my dear dear friend. I was just docking in Rio Casa when I suddenly realised that I'd left the kettle on at home," He shook his head sadly, as if this was something to be greatly mourned, "I was in a little rush to turn it off. Energy bills and all that" He shrugged and settled back down in his bed.

Alversia

The Alversians had been conquered by both of her enemies. The Imitators were bad, the old Army and Navy were already in their command, as was the Government. There was no effective law system, the only way was the brutal way, for the Calaveran and Imitator Occupiers showed no mercy. Luckily, the Imitators were not the greatest threat on Alversia. That delight lay with the Calaverans.

They were no less xenophobic in control of their old enemies. The rules were harsh and the law brutally against them. There was no more justice in Illesia. The Alversian Populace were little more than test subjects for the Calaverans. Slaves and pets to to be enjoyed by their Occupiers. They were led on collars, treated like animals while those less fortunate were cut open alive to see what made this race tick. Many prominent Alversians had already gone this way, either to the tables or to the beds.

However, there were those who fought back, the PLA had been raised of ex-soldiers and citizens and was spread throughout the former Alversian systems, fighting for freedom. The majority of the Alumina Species had gone the same way as the Alversians, cut up or enslaved, though that had been no easy task.

In one of Alversia's northern jungles, a series of Troopers moved through the trees with a well practised ease, one of them was an old Naval Commander, known as Admiral Sasha, a half-breed. Her old Commander was a Pet as far as she knew,
she looked at the two Bekko as well as eyeing up the Labratory nearby, the one they were to strike at to liberate as many poor souls as possible,
"Ready?" She asked, checking her rifle.

OOC: BUMP for NC.