NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Insert standard provisions against gigantic fleets, but scout detachments and such are quite acceptable. Also, my ship is in the interstellar void, so I'll be transmitting a message.

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Interstellar void, several thousand light years north of the Commonwealth Core; sublocation: KRIS Mariner
Friday October 2, 2995 - 11:00 am ship's time

A quick look through a telescope would reveal a tiny squarish machine proceeding at a rapid clip among the stars. The ship was barely seventy metres long, and about half that in height, but what it lacked in length it made up for in defences and armament. Its angular silhouette took up as little space as possible, to optimise it for the overpopulated space docks orbiting Vanja (formerly known as Kostemetsia Prime), but for all that, size was no indication of power.

The ship's intended destination drew close, and the ship closed on said point as if pulled by an exceptionally long, strong piece of string. Powering down its discreet strip engines, it drifted into place at its target, rectangular silhouette evincing angular malformations as scanning equipment slid from the hull to assure security. The ship's VI was handling scanning, while the sole crewmember was sitting back, chatting with its interaction facade, surfing on a fatband standard zero-width Internet connection and generally appearing a worthless layabout who didn't deserve his commission.

But Lieutenant James Jackson, reconnaissance officer for the Commonwealth Navy, was sharper than he seemed. Which was why, he presumed, perverse Fate had had him assigned to the outer fringes of the seventh Unidentified sector on a bloody banal two-month first contact duty with nothing at all to do and no fellow organics to talk to. Noriko, the ship's smartVI, was nice enough, but she had that slight tinge of eccentricity that disconnected all digisents from organics.

The young lieutenant put such electronicist thoughts from his mind and checked the vector display, a perfunctory rectangle bearing a positional sphere moving along a fading ring and trailing numbers. As the sphere closed in, the numbers got longer and longer while getting smaller and smaller, until synchronously slipping to zero. It was time.

Pushing his skeletal computer aside on its swivel rail, he rose from his seat, tugged at his jacket, and walked forwards toward the full-body holoscanner. He'd been drilling himself in reciting the message on the two-week trip out at a leisurely FTL pace, and it was now time. Even with the expectation that nobody would hear it, he still felt a tingle of excitement.

A teleprompter holo summoned itself at the forward extreme of the Mariner's impressive command-deck panorama window, blocking out the insanely boring vista of darkness for a short, blessed time.

The Lieutenant straightened and gave the short nod that was the signal for Noriko to begin recording.

"Greetings, fellow star explorers. I am James Jackson, speaking on behalf of the Commonwealth of Kostemetsia, and I wish to extend the hand of friendship to you. My People prefer to meet at a neutral point, which I have arrived at - coordinates are enclosed in standard decimalled x-y-z notation, should you wish to explore. I promise, for my People, that your fortitude will be well rewarded." Noriko cut off the recording, attached DXYZ coordinates to its terminus, and initiated the high-power burst that would have the ship show up on every standard sensor within a very large area simultaneously, pulsing the message of greeting from several parts, in several spectra, and in every language known to the Commonwealth.

Now there was nothing to do but wait a standard seven days and transmit the recording again if nobody showed up.

Sector 3447

Someone did appear.

A Greali scout ship was sent to investigate the message. It was cloaked due to a concern that the message was to draw the Greali ships into an ambush. The scout ship jumped in, looked around then jumped around. Then, the Greali Cruiser, the Sanders, appeared in plain view near the Commonwealth ship. Sanders still had clear scars from the previous fights with the Calaverians and more recently, the Danaversians. Captain Epson walked around the bridge, waiting for a report.

"Well?"

"None like any we've ever seen."

"I though so. Send the response."

"Yes, Captain." said a Lieutenant who began typing something into the computer. The message would be displayed in Common.

"This is the Sanders, dispatched on the behalf of the Galactic Empire of Greal. We accept your offer of friendship and we have on board diplomats that wish to discuss a trade agreement and other things."

A sensor digest unfurled itself between two conveniently placed pylons, and Jackson cursed to himself. He wished he'd taken advantage of the new neuroweave line the brass were developing, but nooo, he hadn't wanted his brain hijacked. Still, his basic neurosuite did alright, interpreting the digest's visual information into a coherent visual of the Greali ship. Noriko started summarising it quietly in the back of his mind, and he started smiling.

Ship is designated Sanders. Affiliated with 'Galactic Empire of Greal'. Standard scans ineffective. Well, at least we have a match.

Jackson couldn't stop the encroaching smile of happiness and relief. Within a scant few hours after transmission he'd got an alien cruiser in! How was that for sheer dumb luck?

Putting you on audio now, 'kay?

Do it, Jackson agreed.

Channel open.

The young lieutenant began to speak. "Greali cruiser Sanders, this is Kostemetsian assault scout Mariner, dispatched on behalf of the Twenty-third Border Reconnaissance Squadron. I'm not authorised to make agreements on behalf of my people, but I would be honoured to enter into initial talks with yourself and your diplomatic complement."

Nee, can you transmit that as audio in standard English and Musicode please. Port-23 transmission is optional.

Granted. By the way, I'm opening ports 20, 22, 23 and 115 for your use. Minimal port devotion right now; we don't know if they've got a malware arsenal, but God knows our defenceware has been pwned before.

Yeah. Also, it's pleasing to note that one can actually say 'pwned' without sounding stupid over a neural link.

Bridge of the Sanders...

Epson looked at the scan reports. It was a scout ship they were dealing with. He was more worried about an ambush still, but he ordered the weapons off, and shields on. He walked over to a computer, which was operated by a sergeant. "Do we have anything on this Commonwealth?"

"No information. Must be new." replied the sergeant.

"We don't have many nations in contact anyway," muttered Epson. "What is it?"

"Greali cruiser Sanders, this is Kostemetsian assault scout Mariner, dispatched on behalf of the Twenty-third Border Reconnaissance Squadron. I'm not authorised to make agreements on behalf of my people, but I would be honoured to enter into initial talks with yourself and your diplomatic complement."

Epson went forward and grabbed the communicator and started speaking,"This is Captain Epson of the Sanders. I agree to talks, and we wish to know if you prefer the meeting on board your ship or on ours?"

The Lieutenant quickly walked off to gather a squad of Black Guards to escort the diplomats. Black Guards were deadly special forces that were mainly used to guard government officials and for dangerous missions.

Jackson considered for a moment; as a converted cargo ship with ueberpowerful engines shoved in the back end, the Mariner wasn't exactly an ideal place to hold a meeting - yet, as a navy lieutenant, he didn't really want to leave his command, out of security concerns.

What the hell. The Sanders sounded like a nice ship, but he might as well take a single armament out of tradition. Nothing too big, but something visible.

His mind alighted upon something - a small assault pistol sitting on the item tray at the back of the command deck. It was a finely wrought little thing, the design a subtle nod to the old .45 pistols of centuries gone by. The designers had even worked a slide and recoil in, the slide allowing small singular energy batteries to be placed in at the front when the handgrip's bulk battery was depleted, and the recoil resulting from an interesting power system where excess energy was vented from a tilted vent at the front of the barrel's bottom.

And, of course, there was the prerequisite for any venue full of armed guards - a duress button which turned the entire handgrip slightly rubbery and responsive to squeezes for twenty seconds, and added a function to it as a secondary trigger, eliminating the need to put one's finger near the primary trigger.

Yes, it would do quite nicely. He'd have to wear it on his hip of course, but if things turned bad, he'd be prepared. And Noviko's connection to his ocular suite should increases his chances of survival slightly... but what was he thinking? If they'd brought what were basically commissioned civilians along, they probably weren't intending to fire their weapons at all.

He opened up the audio channel again. "As a gesture of good faith, I'd like to come on-board your ship for the talks - if you've no objections, of course. Regulations would have me summarily dismissed should I come aboard unarmed, so I request your permission to bring aboard my sidearm."

"Sir, picking up massive fluctuations in the Time Dilation Field..." The red alert alarms came on and the overall colour scheme of the BSFS (Bazalonian Space Federation Ship) Hawdon turned red.

"Is the engine stable?" The captain asked as he took a seat as his console the bridge shook along with the ship.

"Yes, all the scanners are showing that energy output is constant... the engine should be in perfect working order." responded the Chief Engineer she was pressing buttons and reading sensors reports. "This doesn't make any sense. All engine functions are normal."

"Is there something interfering with the Field? either case shut down the engine, we should be able to work out what happened."

"Engine shutting down... shutdown complete... Sir... The Time Dilation Fields still there... it should be gone."

"****, alright shut down all power.... Now!"

"Yes, ** sir"

There was something strange that happened between the yes and the sir, a feeling that there had been a displacement but everthing seemed similiar, except they were staring head first at the Greali and Kostmestrian ships.

They entered suddenly as a white flair anyone who had the technology could detect a temporal anomaly.

"The Fields gone, sir."

"Good, now find out who they are and where we are."

"The computer says we're where we were but that can't be right... there's been a change in stellar configuration..."

"okay, work out what's going on in the meantime, I'll contact our new acquatantces see what they can tell us."


To Unknown Ships:

This is Captain Hawdon of the BFSF Hawdon, who am I speaking to?

A longe ripper frigate drifted aimlessly at the edge of the Varian galaxy, its engine leaving a faint blue trail for a few seconds. This was not an uncommon sight lately, the empire had been put on high alert for the invasion of Charzak, like that was nesecery! That tiny empire couldn't mobalize a fleet big enugh to breach the neutralzone, yet alone the shield belt, yet still the Rippers were stuck here untill the battle fleets returned, every vigilent, ever ready. Atleast thats what they were suposed to be.

They weren't, they were bored, especialy the crew of this particular ripper. They were the pathfinder for the swit and striking spear, winning honour and glory in every battle, yet they were stuck here. Imagine thier suprise (and relife)then, when they recived a signal from the galactic void.

Quickly the captain sent a brief message to Ih8uwannakillu and ordered a transwarp jump to the source.

Interstellar void, several thousand light years north of the Commonwealth Core, 2.5 hours later

With a bright green flash the ripper exited transwarp and instantly its outine waverd as it faded away under its cloak before sending out a transmition.

Unknown vessles this is the D.E.S. Pathfinder, responding to a peaceful long range transmition from this secter, and wish to shake your hand of friendship with our own

Placing his pistol on his belt, Jackson heard the holo chime just in time to spin around, take his hand off his gun, and not look like a trigger-happy narcissist. It was, however, a close thing... but wait, the holo wasn't sending him - it was receiving yet another ship in the area, this one with sensor overlays that made it look to be in rather odd shape. Noriko automatically tagged it "BFSF Hawdon", affiliated with a nation identified as the Bazalonian Star Federation.

Jackson stepped forward to speak and waited for the holo to chime before beginning. "Hawdon, this is assault scout KRIS Mariner of the 23rd Squadron, Kostemetsian Outer Fleet. A peaceful first contact is my aim here, and I think I may have, in that regard, more than I set out to do in two months provided to me in two hours."

The 'incoming call' light blinked in the corner of his vision. "Hold on, it appears I'm going to have to put you on hold. Not a very auspicious thing to do for a first contact, but I can't carry on two conversations at once."

The holofield flickered, then defaulted to its dull blank orange again. Ident tags scrolled across his vision: DES Pathfinder, affiliation check negative.

"Pathfinder, this is assault scout Mariner of the 23rd Squadron, Kostemetsian Outer Fleet. As I said, your fortitude will be rewarded, and I would like to thank you for your reciprocation of our gesture of friendship."

Noviko piped up. I can activate my diplomacy sub-processes for you if you like.

Jackson smiled a wan smile. If you want to. At this rate, I'm going to be overcome by contacts. Who says there can't bee too much of a good thing?

(OOC: Going to bed now :P)

"Sir, other contacts are jumping in.

"I'm aware of that. He's broadcasting."

"Alright."

"As a gesture of good faith, I'd like to come on-board your ship for the talks - if you've no objections, of course. Regulations would have me summarily dismissed should I come aboard unarmed, so I request your permission to bring aboard my sidearm."

"You have our permission. See you at Hanger seven."

It was a sidearm. It didn't really matter to Epson. He was always armed when he went to a meeting alone. He went down to the Hanger to wait for the lieutenant's arrival. At the Hanger, ten Black guards had assembled to escort the Lieutenant.

OOC: Sorry for the short post. Very tired here.

The ship may have been small, but it was equipped to handle three skiffs (http://z4.invisionfree.com/NSDraftroom/index.php?showtopic=4528), all of which had been loaded. The spacecraft were tiny, armed with two main maser cannons couched in tough metal pods and three subsidiary flak turrets. Jackson hoped the slightly threatening appearance wouldn't put the Grealis off too badly, and deactivated all the weapons systems.

Sealing the cockpit canopy, Jackson powered up every system on board minus the weapons, opened the bay doors remotely and soared out, engines flaring then settling down into a regular, searing-blue pulse. The Greali cruiser loomed ahead, and Noriko had already tagged hangar seven. Throttling back, Jackson glided in on a smooth, gentle vector and dropped to the bay's floor, engine sound rumbling away into the distance.

He clambered out the rear hatch and turned to his hosts.

The ship may have poshed a threatening appearance, but the cruiser wasn't concerned. It was a massive ship. The skiffs could easily see the massive Megabolt cannons on the cruiser plus AS guns that were deactivated. Two Viper mark II fighters were flying around the cruiser, as part of a patrol. The fighters were also protecting the skiff as it approached the hanger.

Captain Epson watched the skiff "park" next to a corvette and Epson then approached the rear hatch and greeted Jackson.

"Welcome to the Sanders. I am Captain Epson, this is Lieutenant Aragon." said the Epson, sounding diplomatic."And this is The deputy foreign affairs minister, Sharon Review." A attractive blonde nodded quietly at Jackson.

Behind the greeting group was a squad of Black Guards. Armed to the teeth, they kept an eye for any trouble.

Jackson nodded respectfully. "Captain... Lieutenant... Your Excellency." His neuroweave snapped a full-body scan of each, analysing physiologies and other notable features. A high-bandwidth connection which psychosomatically felt like something sucking on the back of his head immediately uploaded the scans to Noriko, who didn't note anything unusual or more than two standard deviations from the mean for situational projections.

Meanwhile, Jackson was quietly scrutinising the area. Noting the squad of armed guards, he kept his hand well away from his sidearm, instead stepping forward to shake the hands of the three senior personnel in front of him. He sincerely hoped he wasn't violating any cultural customs.

Jackson nodded respectfully. "Captain... Lieutenant... Your Excellency." His neuroweave snapped a full-body scan of each, analysing physiologies and other notable features. A high-bandwidth connection which psychosomatically felt like something sucking on the back of his head immediately uploaded the scans to Noriko, who didn't note anything unusual or more than two standard deviations from the mean for situational projections.

Meanwhile, Jackson was quietly scrutinising the area. Noting the squad of armed guards, he kept his hand well away from his sidearm, instead stepping forward to shake the hands of the three senior personnel in front of him. He sincerely hoped he wasn't violating any cultural customs.

The welcoming party lead Jackson to a room, which had comfortable seats. There, they would discuss diplomatic relations, if Jackson had the power.

"Let me get straight to the point." said Sharon. "The Galactic Empire of Greal wishes to establish formal diplomatic relations with Commonwealth of Kostemetsia. You may inform your government if needed."

Outside, the Black Guards stood guard. The skiff at the hanger was not to be entered, but the curious crewmen were looking at the ship with some puzzled looks.

Jackson switched on his neuroweave. Nee? Full spectrum recording, please. Inform the General Secretary, President and Minister-EAD that we have a civilisation wishing to open formal diplomatic relations.

Doing it now.

The young lieutenant leaned forward, making his presence known among the discussors. "Your Excellency, I wouldn't be of any use if I didn't have at least rudimentary diplomatic capabilities. My superiors are watching through a neural link, and I will say what they ask me to when they ask; otherwise, I am an independent diplomatic officer."

Jackson switched on his neuroweave. Nee? Full spectrum recording, please. Inform the General Secretary, President and Minister-EAD that we have a civilisation wishing to open formal diplomatic relations.

Doing it now.

The young lieutenant leaned forward, making his presence known among the discussors. "Your Excellency, I wouldn't be of any use if I didn't have at least rudimentary diplomatic capabilities. My superiors are watching through a neural link, and I will say what they ask me to when they ask; otherwise, I am an independent diplomatic officer."

"Alright. What have they said about the proposal?" asked Sharon. There was a large communicator screen at the end of the table, which was used for meetings sometimes. Epson and Aragon were quietly, letting Sharon do all the diplomatic work. Epson had nothing to say. He was just there to observe for the Naval Command.

Meanwhile, the cruiser was almost still. The bridge had given orders to the cruiser's computers to slow to a crawl. The Shields were still on due to the fact there were other ships nearby.

Unknown Ships;

To be honest we are quite confused about the current situation, we were having problems with our TFME FTL Drive and suddenly the world seemed to change around us. Our computer tells us that we were exactly where we were before hand but that just can't be. There are also other matters that we need to discuss but I would prefer to do that in person. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to come aboard.

This is James Hawdon out.


James had another message, no one seemed to respond to his first one but perhaps this one would grab their attention. Something seemed wrong, and not only because of the weirdness but there was something else, something almost undescribable.

Jackson hesitated for an instant, a calm female voice filling his mind and instructing him. Alayna Martin, Minister of External Affairs and Defence, knew damn well what she was doing.

He spoke. "Our foreign affairs minister equivalent is quite open to the proposal and would be honoured to open relations with you. Additionally, she expresses surprise that this year's first contact duty turned up so many different nations out of nowhere when previous years' yields have been bleak."

---

Noriko was the first to speak among the ragged cluster of ships.

Captain Hawdon, I would be honoured to bring you aboard the starship Mariner. Unfortunately, my human partner, the vessel's commander, is currently engaged in negotiations with the Greali - but as acting captain of this vessel, I do have some discretion.

Lieutenant, junior grade, Noriko two-seven Dejitaru out.

Thank you, That should be sufficient for our needs. A shuttle is being prepared and I will be on my way shortly. Thanks for the hospitality.

Hawdon out.


"Well, perhaps now we can work out what's going on here. XO the helm is yours you know the priority."

"Yes, sir."

About 10 minutes later a small shuttle exited from the BSFS Hawdon and headed towards the Mariner

This is Captain James Hawdon of the BSFS Hawdon, in the 1st Landing Shuttle, approaching the Mariner for a meeting with Acting-Captain, Lieutenant Dejitaru.

Requesting Docking Procedures and vectors.

Jackson hesitated for an instant, a calm female voice filling his mind and instructing him. Alayna Martin, Minister of External Affairs and Defence, knew damn well what she was doing.

He spoke. "Our foreign affairs minister equivalent is quite open to the proposal and would be honoured to open relations with you. Additionally, she expresses surprise that this year's first contact duty turned up so many different nations out of nowhere when previous years' yields have been bleak."



Sharon smiled, then said,"Alright. the Galactic Empire of Greal hereby establishes formal diplomatic relations with the Commonwealth of Kostemetisa. Now that is done, we can discuss trade. What are your Commonwealth's main trade product?"

Epson knew why the Kostemetisa has found the Greali this time. Because the Naval Command was smart enough to put a outpost in the middle of nowhere.