NationStates Jolt Archive

The Gerdt-Koser drive was undoubtedly the greatest invention in Tocrowkian History. Invented in the late 24th century by Dr. Klaus Gerdt and Dr. Henry Koser, Klaus being a brilliant engineer and his counter-part being a physicist together they invented a device that created an 'umbrella' around any given object and make it unbound by the laws of motion which allowed the said object to accelerated infinitely, breaking not only the laws of motion but the laws of physics as well, as even the first probes outfitted with the device were capable of traveling up to 120% faster than the speed of light.

In the centuries since the devices invention the technology had been perfected and stream lined. Though not the first of the Reich's adventures into the void (They had sent out generation and sleeper ships in the years before the invention of the Gerdt-Koser drive), they were the most fraught with accidents and disaster. The most pressing issue was decelerating and it's effect on the ship and crew. One of the drawbacks of FTL travel without leaving the material universe was slowing down once the Gerdt-Koser drive was switched off. Many hundreds died when their ships essentially turned into projectiles, slamming into planets and other orbital bodies.

A combination of forward-facing nuclear powered thrusters, metallic safety parachutes and pin-point exit vector done by a ships computers did wonders, but exit was still a dangerous and potentially fatal process. Crews needed to go through years of training to plot a safe re-entry course. Despite the dangers, The Reich prospered. It grew from a lone empire based on Earth to an Interstellar Reich. It consisted of over two hundred colony worlds stretching across the galaxy, and the resource wealth of thousands of resource worlds flowed into the coffers. With all of this wealthy they also possessed a mighty fleet of tens of thousands of ships. But until now...the Reich had been relatively isolationist. Afraid of the corruption of alien and chaotic influences. This policy, however, was soon to change.


From: The Interstellar Reich of Tocrowkia
To: The Galaxy & Beyond

By the grace of God, we have extended the Nordic race deep into the stars. And by the will of the Steward, we extend our hand to the other nations of the stars. We invite all to the Fortress world of Jericho IV, to discuss terms and relations and treaties.

((OOC: Bump XO))

From: The Interstellar Reich of Tocrowkia
To: The Galaxy & Beyond

By the grace of God, we have extended the Nordic race deep into the stars. And by the will of the Steward, we extend our hand to the other nations of the stars. We invite all to the Fortress world of Jericho IV, to discuss terms and relations and treaties.


The transmission crackled to an end, filling the bridge of the Alliance capital ship Light of Progress with the sound of static. Ethan raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the strange message. The holographic images of the Founder and his Council were silent. His bridge crew continued about their business as if all were as normal, but he could tell the message had thrown them off a bit. A few technicians exchanged nervous glances, first at the Ethan, then double-taking back at each other.

Ethan Castro was the grandson of the Commonwealth's Founder and current High Chancellor, and thus an heir to the Chancellorship and entitled to a position of command within the Commonwealth's military. The Light of Progress was one of twenty-four sister ships, each one commanded by one of his fellow heirs, each one a capital ship in a fleet of four Atlas Class Destroyers, two Achilles Class missile frigates, and a Poseidon Class carrier. These capital ships were half the size of the massive frigates but were nearly twice the speed of an Atlas, and as heavily armed as any ship in the fleet. These keyships were unparalleled in their power, and in many battles proved the turning point in such conflicts. However, Ethan's fleet was on a mission of escort, not destruction, with their primary objectives being to protect their numerous science and colony ships in their custody, and keep watch until they arrived safely at Abyss. He was looking forward to the long and monotonous assignment as a makeshift vacation from his duties as an heir... what a surprise that something like this would happen.

The Founder's hologram stood up and turned to Ethan. Despite pushing over a thousand years of life under his belt, his bionics kept up the appearance of a forty five year old man. The only hint of his age lay in the dignified streaks of silver in his sideburns. His his deep blue hardsuit and the long, intricately patterned cloak flowing behind it made him look like a medieval king more then a modern chancellor. "Loyal Ethan, you are the nearest in position to this supposed rendezvous point. The duty falls on you, my heir, to establish diplomatic communications with this new species and any other force or species you encounter at this location..."

"Yes, Grandfather. But, what of the scientists? Without us, who shall keep vigil over their travels?"

One of the other holograms, a figure wearing a set of jewlers lenses and a soft smile, stood up. He was wearing a teal and black hardsuit. The General of the Broadside Legion, Mel Blake, nodded towards Ethan, his mid-length light brown hair floating around his head as if in zero-gravity. "They shall be fine, as this will be a diplomatic mission. Leave the majority of your fleet with the scientists; take only two Atlases with you to escort the Light of Progress. The remaining ships should be more then adequate enough until you return... if they require assistance, you can always return to them, and if things should be so bad, my fleet can provide assistance..."

"Yes, General Blake. Thank you for your assistance." Ethan nodded towards the Chancellor and forced a smile, "Don't worry, Grandfather, I shall do you proud."

"I know you will, my heir. I know you will. You all do. If you want any help or advise, contact Virgil. He’s done this sort of thing before… good luck, grandson." The Chancellor smiled and nodded to the other holograms, and one by one, the images dissipated, leaving Ethan alone on his command precipice. One of his crewman, Ensign Jericho, swiveled his chair at the helm to face Ethan.

"What's your orders, sir?" The other crewmen looked up to Ethan on his platform with uncertainty. Even the hardsuit-armored Azure Guard, the most elite of fighting men and women in the Alliance assigned with the singular duty of defending the Chancellor, his AI compatriot Chaos, and the Chancellor's many heirs, renowned for their stoicism in the face of danger, seemed to shuffle nervously at their posts on the bridge.

Ethan sighed, "Well, you heard the old man. Ensign Jericho, begin cycling the drives: get this ship ready to space fold. Ensign Mark, relay the Chancellor's orders to the remainder of the fleet and contact Atlas Destroyers Adversity and Honor to pull into escort formation with the Light. Also, slave their drive units to our navigation systems so that we jump simultaneously. Oh, and prepare my AVATAR for departure on arrival. I'd rather not chance them misinterpreting a docking attempt from this ship as an act of aggression on our part."

Within minutes, the fleet enacted Ethan's orders, and the Light of Progress, flanked by the Honor and Adversity activated their drives. With a shockwave that rippled through the fabric of reality, space bent and warped, hurling the three ships within ten miles of the Fortress world, where upon they reappeared with another space-shaking concussive wave. The Light of Progress and it's flank guards popped into existence, the silver and blue hull of the Light silhouetted against the stars like a brilliant predatory bird. Ethan surveyed the scene. Ethan allowed himself a strained smile.

"Looks like we're early for a change. Ensign Mark! Open a non-encrypted channel, broadcast to all ships..."


All attending craft, this is the cruiser Light of Progress, bearing the diplomat on behalf The Commonwealth of the Second Alliance. We apologize for not showing up sooner, but we were held up. I am Ethan Castro, twelfth heir ascendant of the Commonwealth, and commander of this fleet. My ships will stay at our current positions unless you would have otherwise. We seek to engage in diplomatic talks and peaceful exchange.

The GAS Chrono (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a287/GeneralZhukov3333/KotorMkIII.jpg) cruised along in the infinite star ocean, as some Ganoxians had termed space to be, continuing on its exploration mission. Its crew had just finalized another diplomatic meeting with the world of Prosper. Captain Isaac Torich was in his quarters getting some well deserved rest, when suddenly an alert rang on his bedside commlink. He woke up with a groan, rolled over to face the commlink, and reached for the activation button. "Yes?"

"Sir? Sorry to wake you, but we are receiving a message from another unknown nation. Another First Contact sir."

As Torich entered the bridge still buttoning up his tunic, his executive officer Commander Henry Negoya, greeted him with a PDA. Torich took the PDA as he walked over to the Tactical Display area, or TacDis, which housed the command chair within a ring of holo displays providing the captain with vital information quickly and efficiently, although some Captains still prefer to talk to techs.

From: The Interstellar Reich of Tocrowkia
To: The Galaxy & Beyond

By the grace of God, we have extended the Nordic race deep into the stars. And by the will of the Steward, we extend our hand to the other nations of the stars. We invite all to the Fortress world of Jericho IV, to discuss terms and relations and treaties.

"Hmm, I see..." he looked over to Negoya.

"Jump to coordinates sir?"

"Hey, you said it," Torich chuckled.

Once the Chrono had jumped out of hyperspace, it started to relay a message.

"Greetings, I am Captain Isaac Torich of the Ganoxian Alliance Destroyer Chrono. We have picked up your message and would be interested in conducting diplomatic talks with your people."

Angenterian Destroyer (http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/d/d8/AvengerClassGrandCruiser.JPG)
Divine Faith

Captain Tobias stood on the bridge of his ship, looking out into the depths of space. It was an incredibly vast place, and in the time the Holy Imperium has been an interstellar empire, it has come into contact with many races of aliens over the years. Some of them friendly, some...not so much.

"Captain." An officer reported "We're receiving a transmission. De-coding now."


From: The Interstellar Reich of Tocrowkia
To: The Galaxy & Beyond

By the grace of God, we have extended the Nordic race deep into the stars. And by the will of the Steward, we extend our hand to the other nations of the stars. We invite all to the Fortress world of Jericho IV, to discuss terms and relations and treaties.

"Interesting. These being have reached this stage without the divine guidance of the Emperor." Tobias mused.

"Shall I relay coordinates to the navigators, sir?"

"Make it so."
--------------------------------------------------------------
A short while later...

"We've reached their system, sir. Systems are nominal, no warp entities detected."

"Open a coms-channel."

"Channel open."

This is Captain Tobias, representing the Holy Imperium of Angenteria. We have recieved your transmission by the grace of the Emperor, and would like to conduct diplomatic talks and trade opportunities.

It took about half a day for the council to look over the message sent out by this 'Interstellar Reich of Tocrowkia,' but as soon as that was done, they sent in a diplomatic team to check thing out. A frigate and Explorer were loaded up and sent to go and see what this was all about.
A PSR was opened up a few hunndred kilometers away from the coordinates that were provided and the two ships came out. As soon as they could, scans were performed, looked like Greywatch had some allies here, that was a refreshing thing to learn. The Explorer put out a message:

Greetings Tocrowkia, Greywatch has answered your call and we are here to talk diplomacy. Also, we greet our friends who also happen to be in the system. Hello to you from The Second Alliance and Angenteria.

The two ships began moving forward.

So many things have changed since the Diaspora, as no longer the borders of new and old revived nations could be traced into a single world map, but among the maps of many colony worlds split between different powers, with very few being those which were settled exclusively by one nation. The planet know as Komorowski was one of them, a relatively young colony settled by the Federation of Poland, or of Polish Worlds, a people who survived countless storms in human history in their fight for sovereignty, raising again every time they fell, more nationalistic and resolute than ever.

Komorowski, a land planet with no open seas, stood in the farther half of the distant inhabitable zone of a white star, a planet with temperatures ranging from extremely cold poles no lifeform could survive at to the pleasant subtropical and Mediterranean-like climates features in its equator, hosting unique vegetation, which photosynthetic chemistry gave to them an alien bluish hue rather than the typical green of pre-industrial Earth. Harsh winters, poisonous gases humans, a higher rotation and tidal effect challenged the colonists to envisage ways to survive the constant challenges of its unforgiving nature, even though the world was so old that much of its seismic activities have vanished.

Cities were built in it with a the visible contrast of a strangely anachronistic, arguably retro architecture reminiscent of Eastern Europe in the 1930s of Earth to the advance infrastructure that was set among cities that would otherwise be no different in aesthetic to the cities of the Old World, unless for the additional exceptions of towering buildings much beyond the engineering of such time could achieve, albeit still sharing the same style of design, of the pedestrian transport tubes that connected the city, allowing for fast and efficient move and for the titanic dome covering the entire eight hundred square kilometers of the city, enclosing it from the dangerous and unknown world beyond, feared to host bacteria and chemicals to which human body could not stand.

Amidst the city of Nowy Warsawa, which external surroundings were mostly covered by the conifers of the planet, in its very center, a towering, kilometers tall toroidal superstructure with four massive white and red flags at each corner of its center came all the way from the ground to the top of the dome, serving both as its primary structural beam as as the house of the local government, contrasting with the architecture of the city. Inside it, among what were only redundant maintenance accesses and elevators, no meeting rooms, war rooms, cabinets or anything, only a hollowed interior built like the interior of a towering silo, with a monolithic electronic computing machine in its center, coming from top to bottom and supported by horizontal beams, with many consoles next to them filled with enough buttons, levers and light indicators to make any non-initiated avert their eyes from the complex machinery attached to it. Such machine was the government, known the Nowy Warsawa Autokrata, which also served as the ruler of the entire world, and decided upon the future of the people it was entrusted to lead, based on its complete lacking of all known human vices. Able to speak, read and listen simultaneously it managed with wisdom, incorruptibility and absolute logic the affairs of the people, never questioned nor challenging in its decisions, as an ancient machine-father taking off the burden of such responsibility from the men.

It was it that would receive the message, a message arriving from a distant star system, which seemed to lack malice, or hostile intent, without any specific receiver, a message that asked for diplomacy rather than war, but nonetheless a worrisome message, as the self-sufficient robot analyzed the same with care, with small light display flashing among a pre-set pattern as it engaged into full activity, thinking upon a fraction of second:

"Message subject is the discussion of diplomatic relations, however mentions of Reich and Nordic race exist, suggesting high likelihood of connection with the Greater Reich, which status is unknown since 1955. Reply may endanger the sovereignty of the Federation, but refusal might mean the loss of a potential opportunity, for the likelihood of the Nation-socialist terminology Aryan being substituted by Nordic is for all practical reason nil. Limited data suggests that contact is a recommended idea. Issuing orders to Scout fleet."

Polanski was an young man by the times all that could fly at their disposal were piston prop aircrafts, a survivor of the great tragedy that struck Earth, now relegated to the position of a Rear Admiral, rarely if ever in active service, due to his complete lack of experience in the field, and to see the decommission of the very Navy organization he lived for, deemed unfit for this new world. His peers insisted that it was a honorary retirement for his deeds, although he had other thoughts on the subject, although fortunately a chance to prove himself. Sitting into the bridge of the refitted PZL. 58 Kometa Heavy Fighter, purportedly atmospheric-able, he stood next to two men of his crew, the astrogator and the pilot, and looked upon the window-like screens where the awareness of the outside arrived, to answer to an order. Inside his small recon flagship, a single diplomat stood, a man called Hubert Olek, chosen to represent the Federation of Polish Worlds to a force that could be the very men who nearly destroyed their Earthly nation times ago.

Although relatively small, even though packing the dimensions that certain civilizations would classify as belonging to corvettes, it was enough for its role, and specially important as space could not be shifted over a too large dimension by ray drives. The spacecraft has taken a few days of travel to reach a safe distant, as too rays which seemed to dislocate space itself ahead of the PZL. 58 came from its rear, heat-less drive, engulfing the very craft into total blackness, as it simply vanished from sight in the system.

At the same moment, based on the precise coordinates given with the message, it arrived boldly very close to the orbit of Jericho IV, out of a miscalculation error, as immediately Polanski would realize who they were dealing with. It seemed similar in few aspects, but it was definitively another type of Reich. Observing the impressive world ahead of them, the crew of the Heavy Fighter became alert by the possible mistake their wise ruler has for a change done, with the small corvette standing amidst foreign space of a Reich, packing the checkered red and white symbol of the Armia Kosmiczny as Hubert prepared to send their first message, being well aware of the language they likely spoke, he then took a seat next to a device full of buttons set to the right wavelengths and coordinates by the crew, and taking a microphone, he spoke in an accented German, giving away his origins:

"This is the Diplomatic Corvette Kosmita-8 on behalf of the Autocratic Federation of Poland. I am Hubert Olek, diplomat chosen by the Autocrat machine of New Warsaw. We seek for diplomacy and likely for commercial agreements."

Hopefully they have not entered into a huge trap by taking such risk. Otherwise, they would be, as always, the first ones to fight.

(OOC: Consider this fluid-time, and many years after the events of PW FT Intro. And don't blitzkrieg me plz D: )

Jericho IV was, as listed in the transmission, a fortress world. Roughly the size of Earth it was also a considerable distance from the systems star. It was a bleak, harsh and cold world. But to the Tocrowkians, it felt just like home. Vast military complexes were spread through out the planets continents, barracks, storage facilities and of course ground-based anti-ship weapons. And aside from the twelve million enlisted and officers, there lived one billion civilians. Some were dependents of their kin in the military but the over whelming majority lived simple lives in factories, producing munitions for the Interstellar Reich's military. Many worked in the ship yards constructing the massive vessels of the Steward's navy. And many more owned small taverns and bars that played host to off-duty military personnel.

And so it was that the Armored Might of the First Fleet, the Mailed Fist of the Second Fleet, and the Horrifying Vengeance of the Sixth Fleet were alerted to the presence of other ships in the system. But as a flurry of messages bombarded the Naval HQ, the fleets, superlative titles and all moved forward with no malice, but rather to act as escorts and and greeters. From this far out Jericho IV appeared as a glistening blue-white gem in space, the result of the the light from the systems star reflecting off the vast regions of snow. Six thousand silver-gray MAC stations also twinkled like miniature stars, the shield of the planet it self.


To: All
From: Fleet High Command

Greetings, friends. We are delighted to receive so many at once...however, in keeping with the Inter-Species relations act of 2451, we ask you to state your race. Human or xeno?

The reply was strange, likely the result of some machine unable to identify languages doubtlessly human, or to double-check with a databank packing the history of all symbols of human history, or perhaps the reason was a mostly impersonal, generic address unintended to answer to specific arrivals. Hubert felt a certain disappointment to have never his message directly answered, and nearly felt the urge to answer it by questioning how it was obvious to realize they were human. Obvious unless, to his fears, the word "xeno" also encompassed the same ethnic groups targeted by the past nightmare, consider nonhuman out of extreme racial hatred.

If that was the reason, then the greatest mistake of the Federation was done. However, it was best to not make any preemptive assumptions and to carry on with a proper reply, as patiently Hubert motioned through the microphone and spoke:

"I have mistakenly assumed it would be obvious for any other human civilization that the Autocratic Federation is human."

Hopefully he would not have to interact with a machine built with pre-set messages rather than with a real diplomat, and even more hopefully, xeno was not a new terminology for "untermensch" attempting to dehumanize ethnic groups by packing them together with those truly nonhuman.

A message from the Explorer was sent back quickly:

Greywatch is a mixed society, though I don't see how or why that matters. We currently have 6 different races all socializing together, human would happen to be one of them.

This was already being taken as a bad sign, in a large galaxy like this, such a thing realy shouldn't matter whatsoever. The fact that it was asked meant that diplomats had to be on the watch for Xenophobia.

Hey guys, look what I found!

Oh god, not him again. Quick, pretend we're not here.

Too late, he put out a trace. What do you want, GPAC?

Oh come on guys, is that any way to greet an old friend?

Friend? Your kudos bottomed out after the stunt with the Rhun and the Star Destroyer. I had to apologize twice for that idiocy. They're still trying to get the bloodstains out of the thing!

Sheesh, said I was sorry a thousand times. Anyway, I got something even better this time.

Here it comes...

Oh ye of little faith. Anyway, picked up this probe floating in space a couple hours ago. Uploading data now.

Interesting. You've notified the Three?

Well, not so much notified as...

You know that's against protocols?

Yes, but I thought...

Right. And you had it for an hour. MLSS, if you'd do the honors?

With pleasure.

Oh crap.

Node, initate QUETZAL override of Otagian Naval Vessel Arachne-6531, nom de guerre Gave Peace A Chance, authorization given by Otagian Naval Vessel Bellerophon-317, nom de guerre Mind Like a Steel Sieve, kudos account ##########643.

Goddamit, this always hurts like a bi- YEARGH!

...Did it take?

Balls if I know. Oy, GPAC, you still there?

Luckily for you, no. This is QUETZAL, hearing you loud and clear.

Ah, good. I've uploaded a transcript, so you know the details. Probe from an as-of-yet unknown xenological civilization. Unfortunately, their message didn't see fit to provide coordinates.

Not a problem. I'm digging through Gave Peace's memories, found the location and trajectory of the probe. Should be able to backtrack the launch site, assuming it didn't do something silly like randomly change course.

Excellent. Have you chosen a diplomatic vessel yet?

I have. I think Pax here could use a chance to redeem himself. Under my constant oversight, of course, so he doesn't have a chance to do anything rash.

Fair enough. That would wrap up our business then. Talk to you in a few microsecs. Ta.

Auf wiedersehen, Seive. Gourmand.

_____________________________

Like all Otagian vessels, the Gave Peace a Chance appeared suddenly, without warning, and sans fanfare of any sort. It simply was there, as if it had every right to be. Puttering happily towards the system's sole inhabited planet, it chirped politely across the electromagnetic band.

Ah, testing, testing, is this thing on? Ah, good. Now, where was I? Right. This is Otagian Naval Vessel Gave Peace a Chance. We backtracked a message probe to this location. Is this by chance Jericho IV, do you have a fortress, and are you to be holding some sort of conference? Because if I'm wrong, this will have been just dreadfully embarrassing for all of us.

Occasionally an alien race would broadcast a message of such importance that it would be picked up by dozens of species regardless of where and when they were in space, the Klikiss were no different:

From: The Interstellar Reich of Tocrowkia
To: The Galaxy & Beyond

By the grace of God, we have extended the Nordic race deep into the stars. And by the will of the Steward, we extend our hand to the other nations of the stars. We invite all to the Fortress world of Jericho IV, to discuss terms and relations and treaties.

It was an oppertunity of sorts, and the Klikiss, being eternally concerned with how they could get as much as possible from various situations, were intent on coming. Of course, each Klikiss Hive was a nation unto itself, yet they will still bound loosly together by another alien government, and the original Breedex which had first achevied space flight and escaped from their homeworld, it was thrgoh this Breedex that communications and information were directed, and it was through her that it was decided they should send a representative.

--------------------

Since such events were often fraught with peril, the Klikiss decided to dispach a Swarm ship to carry their envoy, hundreds of small crude boxy craft locked into and immense recantangular shape, and continually shifting places, simply appeared in the system with the help of a Hive ship on the other side of the galaxy. The Klikiss drones piloting the vessel took note of the gathering of various alien craft before broadcasting their own mssage of greeting:

"Attention, i am the envoy of the Klikiss race responding to a message extending and offering diplomatic talks with your kind and any others who come. We have heeded thte call."

With that the Swarm ship simply headed at a calm speed towards Jericho IV

Greetings, friends. We are delighted to receive so many at once...however, in keeping with the Inter-Species relations act of 2451, we ask you to state your race. Human or xeno?

"In our system we have a variety of races living there. Mostly made up of humans, there is also the Zentradi residents and other types of humanoids."

Ethan's eyes glided over the numerous holographic displays that hovered in the air above him, each a screen one shard of a greater collage of the world outside their ship. What he saw significantly lightened his mood. The Greywatch explorer eclipsed the viewscreens, followed soon after by the Klikiss Swarm ship. Allies.

Ensign Mark sat upright and spun his chair about to face the Heir Ascendant on his command precipace. "Sir, the Reich has broacast a wideband tranmission to all ships. I'll transfer it to your command display..."

With a soft beep, a hologram in the shape of a hexagonal tablet expanded into existance in front of the seated Heir. Ethan touched the translucent panel and pulled it closer for him to read, gazed over the responce Mark had received, and sighed in disappointment. It was never a good thing for a budding interstellar power to be concerned with race. He cast his gaze upward towards the Greywatch Explorer which still flooded his vision, and allowed himself to relax. He was in the midst of friends and allies: whatever would follow, at least he had back up. "Ensign Mark, open FLEETCOMM..."

"This is Heir Ascendant Ethan Castro of the Light of Progress. The Commonwealth of the Second Alliance of Human Nations is just that, human. We offer shelter to non-human species and have strong alliances with many such creatures, however, and one's biology is not a factor as far as our government is concerned."

Ethan opened a private comm channel to the Greywatch Explorer and Klikiss vessel nearby and began tranmistting with his internal comms.

Hello there, Greywatch and Klikiss allies. It's nice to see a friendly face here."

(OOC: So you know Angenteria it's not a Hive Ship it's a Swarm Ship, which is essentially several hundred small rectangular craft which interlock together to form a larger vessel, this Swarm Ship is about four hundred meters in width and height but three hundred meters in length)

As the Swarm Ship approached the planet it received an irritating message from their possible hosts:

"Greetings, friends. We are delighted to receive so many at once...however, in keeping with the Inter-Species relations act of 2451, we ask you to state your race. Human or xeno?"

The Klikiss had a deep intolerance for humanoid cultures which labelled themselves as the Galaxys most important species. Their Ciscilian partners had many flaws, but they had taught them two important things, firstly that co-operation was a worthwhile goal and secondly that all species were equal regardless of intelligence, strength, culture and any other factor which someone wished to apply. The Ciscilians may have forgotten about the second point for several hundred years but the Klikiss had held onto it throughout time. As such they sent a rather explanatory, if not a down right complaint, in response to the message:

"We are Klikiss, insectoid base, and you are humans? Therefore biped primates, to us you are the xeno's here, as are the other races, to you of course we are the xenos in this situation. Is there a particular reason as to your interst apart from mere curiosity?"

Of course, the Klikiss, concerned that this new race might be aggressive reassessed their situation accordingly, an act which sent a change through the Swarm ship. To outside observers it would seem as if the Swarm Ship was disintergrating, the individual box like vessels which made it up unlocked themselves from each other, suddenly becoming a cloud of metal cuboids swirling round each other, comparable to a swarm of nats, hence were it got it's name from. But suddenly it began to gain shape once more, re-forming into a tube like structure, six hundred meters in length and two hundred meters in diamter, but with a great tunnel running throughout it's length. Despite it's rapid reformation it kept it's trajectory and steady speed. As the last craft locked into place they received a message from a far more reassuring party:

"Hello there, Greywatch and Klikiss allies. It's nice to see a friendly face here."

They composed a reply befitting of them, although this Hive had no contact with Angenteria they were more than aware of past co-operations involving other Hives, they knew that they were friendly however and were happy to co-operate with them, for now the Klikiss Hives continued to co-operate with each other and therefore a friend of one Hive was a friend of hers:

"Greetings indeed, i am more than aware of your dealings with the other Hives, do you have any information on this civilization? Their actions seem to be somewhat off key."

The tactical officer of the Explorer looked to the captain, "We have new contcats. One of them is... Klikiss." The comms officer took it from there, "Shall we hail them?" The captain nodded and an encrypted channel was opened:

<Greetings Klikiss, I am glad to see that Greywatch has other allies here. May I ask, do you have an odd feeling about the last question that was thrown out by our hosts? I suggest we all be on guard.>

Ethan paused and continued the dialog with his internal comms to the Klikiss, routing it so that it also was broadcast to the Greywtach craft.

"I've checked every file I could get my hands on and I can gaurantee they are new to the galactic scene. They are certainly technologically advanced, at least as advanced in some ways as Second Alliance technology. Clearly, they are also capable of defending themselves, as evidenced by the array of MAC cannons below.

My best guess: self-imposed isolationists. They've sat on their proverbial hands while they developed their technology base and now that they're satisfied with the results, they feel more comfortable with the idea of heading out into the stars.

As far as their motives and racial tendacies, I'll be frank, I've no clue. Some species, particularly isolationists, simply develop superiority complexes in regards to the other myriad species of the galaxy because it's psychologically comforting. Clearly they're not xenocidal, or they wouldn't have been as calm as they are, but xenophobia is quite possible. Anyway, I say our best bet is to simply take things as they come. This nation will reveal its intentions soon enough, and we will deal with them then. Until then, I say we simply remain cautious and chalk this up to a minor miscommunication or misinterpretation than malevolence."

Aware that communications were beginning to turn into a three way open conversation between Greywatch, the Second Alliance and themselves the Breedex set up the communications so that it was open to Greywatch and the Second Alliance:

"In response to Greywatch, and to the Second Alliances theory, i'd say that there was something slightly odd about our hosts last question. Self imposed superiority hostile or not they are to be considered carefully. The Ciscilians were once self imposed superists correct? Their intentions were by no means activly hostile but you will be more than aware of what it led them to at times, my kind was on the receiving end of that once, the backlash is ending of course... Their defenses however do not irk me, i will call in reinforcements if the situation calls for it, the Klikiss are looking for a chance to commence a Great Swarm, a chance they are exploring in other encounters and places i believe. Nonetheless, we shall soon discover the answer."

There was an approximately as all the data was processed through FLEETCOM's diplomatic channels. Two thousands ships moved steadily toward the alien vessels. They were lead by a gigantic vessel, stretching over two kilometers in length. The light of distant stars reflected off it's silver gray hull as it cruised through the void, toward the alien vessels.


This is Vice-Admiral Pilate, Commanding Officer of battle group 2 of the Horrifying Vengeance of the Sixth Fleet. We have been ordered to escort you to the surface of Jericho IV. Welcome and relax...for you are in the company of friends.

The Klikiss received the message, admittedly disturbed but unwilling to admit it, they instead sent a confirmation:

"We understand you, we shall follow."

The now tubular shaped Swarmship sat, awating to be escorted, the Hive's Breedex wished that wished that it was one of her Hiveships present instead, but was calmed that at least she would be able to get the Swarmship out of there if worst came to worst. For in each of the rectangular craft making up the Swarmship sat a obelisk shaped structure, calculaitng and analysing the area around it and feeding the informaiton back the Breedex's Hiveship half a galaxy way, if worst came to the worse she could translocate the entire ship out of the area. But hopefully it would not come to that.

Greetings Tocrowkia, Greywatch has answered your call and we are here to talk diplomacy. Also, we greet our friends who also happen to be in the system. Hello to you from The Second Alliance and Angenteria.

Tobias smiled a bit upon hearing this message. He was only a young lieutenant in stationed aboard the Pax Imperialis, when contact with the Greywatch Empire had first been made. He decided to send a friendly hello to those he'd encountered.

Greetings to those of the Greywatch Empire, Klikiss race, and that of the Second Alliance. We are glad to be in such good company in these times.

"Captain, another transmission."


"Greetings, friends. We are delighted to receive so many at once...however, in keeping with the Inter-Species relations act of 2451, we ask you to state your race. Human or xeno?"

Captain Tobias sat back comfortably in his command pulpit, which linked him to the ongoing exchange of communications between the alien vessels. There seemed to be a private channel going on between that of the ships of the Second Alliance, Greywatch, and the Klikiss vessels, all of which the ships of the Holy Imperium had come across at some point in time. Perhaps they were concerned over the question posed by the new aliens. Tobias thought about it for a moment. The Second Alliance, Greywatch, and Ciscillian Ascendancy all incorporated alien races within their empires, and perhaps were slightly concerned over why the questioned by the question. For the Holy Imperium, however, the question was a lot more simple.

The Emperor has gifted us with the grace of the Human form. However, we must ask you to reconsider this question. To many, including us, it is YOUR race that are the aliens.

The captain of the Explorer was slightly awed by the number of ships approaching, but not the lead ship. The Explorer itself was a good 1.5Km in length, and that was considered small compared to a Worldstarter... The captain nodded, sending a quick message to the frigate escort before sending a message back to the hosts.

<Understood, you lead and we shall follow.>

Torich sat back in his chair with his hand to his chin watching the fleets close in. Negoya looked over to him for orders, as the message played out. "Well, here goes nothing. Follow the fleet to the planet,"

"Yes sir, setting course on fleet trajectories." Lieutenant Liost from navigations confirmed. The 300 meter long destroyer came about and headed towards the planet following the fleet as agreed.

Bridge of Second Alliance Keyship Light of Progress---------------------------
Ethan nodded towards the Ensign at the helm. The warm greeting of the Reich having substancially eased his mind, he allowed himself a smile. However, it did not ease him enough to keep him from running a series of combat simulation algorythyms through his fourth aspect, just in case things went sour. "Take us in steady, Ensign Jericho. Slave the drive units of the Adversity and Honor to the Light's so that we all move simulatneously. No sudden moves or anything... just fly casual."

Ensign Jericho raised an eyebrow, "Sir, it's a one-point-four-kilometer-long Keyship of the Second Alliance fleet, not a personal yacht. It's not exactly the sort of thing that can fly casual, if you catch my drift..."

Ethan rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean, Jericho. Just don't go doing anything too dramatic or showing off. I don't want to spook these guys. There are way too many guns below us to be foolish. Not to mention we must be mindful that we also have our allies present, and if we act foolishly, it could cause them great trouble, even if it causes us none."

Jericho nodded shortly and spun his magnetically levitating chair back towards his panel. "Yes, sir. Charting course."

"Ensign Mark, if you would please open FLEETCOMM..."

Outside------------------------------------
With a short burst from it's long engines, the Light of Progress moved forward gracefully, flanked by the two Atlas-class Destroyers. The small fleet-strength moved forward steadily, trailing the dim blue energy exhast behind them. The Light of Progress was a departure from the conventional capital ships of most other species; it wasn't the biggest, but it was the best. It's sleek, 1.4 kilometer long hull glided forwards.

"This is Ethan Castro, Heir Ascendant of the Second Alliance and commander of the Light of Progress. We acknowledge your request and grant it. Lead on, Vice Admiral."

Whenever Trooper Joha heard the term 'unbreathable atmosphere' at the beginning of a deployment he imagined a world with no sound, no air to speak of - or with - and a sort of serenity that could be comforting. He was usually wrong, however, and as he walked precariously across the rocky landscape in his sealed, scuffed white trooper armour, he found that his assumption was in error yet again. A howling wind cascaded across the uneven surface of this planet, kicking up dust and battering his body so hard that it nearly knocked him from his feet a couple of times. Had it not been for his helmet's radio, he'd have had trouble communicating with his nearby companion, Trooper Molass, and if not for his visor's light amplification system he wouldn't have been able to see either.

All in all, not a pleasant place to be. Joha wasn't even sure what they were doing there; the grand plan was to terraform the world so that, in a century or two, Tropicopans could colonise it. It was the only star system nearby with a planet that had any potential for habitation, so they were laying claim to it. But that needed scientists, not soldiers, and Joha couldn't fathom why they had been deployed there to 'secure the area'.

"What's that?" Molass asked, disturbing Joha's thoughts. He stopped and turned around to look at Molass, who had dropped down to one of his armoured knees and was prodding something with the barrel of his blaster rifle. Joha sighed and turned around to walk back to where Molass was kneeling and took a look. It looked like a large bone, lying partially buried in the dirt, its white surface stained and eroded by the endless winds of this planet.

"It's a bone or something," Joha said. "Will you quit messing around and come on? I've got a call of nature to answer, and if I don't get this armour off soon..."

"Alright alright, I get the idea," Molass said, standing up. Something caught his attention as his helmet turned to look off behind Joha and he pointed with his rifle. "I think it's probably off that."

Joha turned around and saw what Molass was looking at; an enormous skeleton, towering above the rocks, its bare ribs poking up into the sky like daggers from the ground. Its skull, lying nearby an outcropping of rocks, looked large enough to contain both troopers standing upright. When it was alive the creature must have been mighty indeed, probably some kind of carnivorous reptile not unlike dinosaurs, but it now lay humbled and weary from the wind. The only thing Joha could think was, thank the Force it's dead.

"TR-9178, this is Captain Lorna," a voice came through Joha's radio, distracting him momentarily. "You and TR-9817 are to report back to the shuttle for immediate evac - out."

"Do you think there could be more of them?" Molass asked, apparently ignoring the radio transmission.

"Don't be stupid," Joha snapped. "The atmosphere probably changed or something, killed them all off. Nothing could live here. Now come on, we're being recalled!"

***

Commander Novak Horde paced with frustration outside of the shuttle. Theirs was the last one to remain on the planet, and it was two troopers on recon who were holding them up. The Captain herself had ordered them to return, but still they were out wandering the wastelands. Horde would have to give them one hell of a reprimand when they got back to the ship, though he was half-tempted to just leave without them and teach them a lesson.

His pacing stopped, however, when he felt the ground rumble slightly. He looked around in confusion and a few seconds later, it rumbled again. And again. As he looked down at the floor he saw pebbles rattling around as the rumbling increased in frequency and intensity, as though there was an earthquake rapidly approaching them - but this planet was not tectonically active.

"Commander! Start the ship! For the love of the Force start the ship!" a voice yelled into his radio as Troopers Joha and Molass suddenly burst out into the landing area from behind a series of rocks, sprinting towards him and firing their blaster rifles blindly over their shoulders.

"What the..."

An enormous silhouette appeared behind them, and quickly the sandy, cloudy winds gave way to a colossal reptile stomping through the rocks in their direction. It opened its mouth, which looked almost big enough to swallow their shuttle, and let out a bellowing roar which completely silenced the howling winds.

"Sithspit!" Horde cursed. "Start the shuttle! OPEN FIRE! Troopers, get aboard, NOW!"

They didn't need any encouragement. As the remaining troopers at the shuttle shouldered their blaster rifles and unleashed a barrage of blue energy bolts at the creature, lighting up the entire area, Joha and Molass continue their sprint and virtually dove up the boarding ramp. The reptile maintained its stampede towards them despite the ferocious assault of blaster fire, and the troopers backed up the ramp without once taking their fingers off the triggers. As soon as they were all aboard the shuttle lifted off the ground, just narrowly avoiding a bite from the creature, and they were away.

"So much for nothing living here!" Molass shouted at Joha, who proceeded to shove him.

"What the hell was that thing?" Horde snapped.

"Local wildlife sir," Joha said. "I don't envy those colonists... where are we being redeployed anyway?"

"The Dawn Horizon had been ordered to investigate a signal the Admiralty picked up a couple of days ago," Horde told them as the shuttle finally stopped its rattling and reached space. "Unless you wanted to stay down there?"

"No, that's fine..." Joha shuddered.

***

As soon as the shuttle was aboard, the Hammerhead-class Dawn Horizon entered hyperspace. The signal they now moved to investigate had originated from a location several thousand lightyears from their previous location, so it wouldn't take especially long for them to get there, so they didn't need to head home and resupply first. Captain Vel'i Lorna remained on the bridge for the entire journey, sat at one of the forward consoles contemplatively, occasionally reviewing their orders and the intercepted messages to keep them fresh in her mind.

Ordinarily Tropicopa didn't bother with things like this. The Republic had little interest in 'stumbling upon' new or old civilisations - if aliens wanted to talk to them, they were only a comm signal away, and it wasn't as if their world didn't give off more than enough superluminal radio signals for people to track them down. Likewise, Lorna wasn't especially interested in leading such missions, when intergalactic history clearly showed that they turned into gunfights more often than not. But the Dawn Horizon had been orbiting that dead rock for two weeks now, doing nothing but supporting the science teams and deploying troopers to secure the area, and she was glad of any sort of relief, even if it were... disconcerting.

Admiral Donnoak had forwarded them their orders, and copies of all the messages they had received from this 'Interstellar Reich', directly from the office of the President. Lorna had been reading them repeatedly since then, and wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. What manner of species were these 'Nords'? Why were they so concerned about 'xenos', which she presumed to be a word taken from the word 'xenophobia'? Whether or not they believed in a god was uncertain as well, as their 'by the grace of god' statement could just have been a cultural hang-over from days gone by, but they seemed to say it an awful lot. Despite all of this, the original message at least seemed amicable enough, and she felt confident that their turbolasers would remain cool during all of this. By and large, though, Lorna remained undecided.

Her sense of trepidation came to a head as the colourful tunnel of blue and purple swirling lights ahead of her suddenly gave way to the black void of real-space, signifying that either the hyperdrive was broken or they had arrived at their destination. Even with the vast distances between them Lorna could see numerous starships in the distance with her naked eyes, so she assumed it was the latter .The Rutian Twi'lek woman stood up and tugged her red and white jacket straight as she moved towards the communications station.

"Anything, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am... all sorts of things," Lieutenant Malar nodded. "There are communications being swapped all over the place, like they're having a chat or something. Numerous different types of ships, don't recognise any of 'em though."

"Let's not get involved in any of that, that's their own business," Lorna said decidedly. "We should do what we came here to do and nothing more. Put me on audio."

"You're on, ma'am."

To the Interstellar Reich,

I am Captain Vel'i Lorna in command of the Republic ship Dawn Horizon. We are representatives of the Tropicopan Republic, dispatched in response to your cordial request for diplomatic contact and we sail under a flag of peace. A diplomatic representative of the Republic is aboard, and is eager to speak with you at your convenience. Our greetings and well-wishes to you all. Dawn Horizon out.

To Angenteria, a polite but curt message was sent in reply.


We too, have been blessed with the beauty of humanity. If you would follow Vice Admiral Pilate, we can discuss this in person?

And to the new comers, another diplomatic greeting.

It is an honor to receive your company, Captain Lorna. We are pleased that our message has brought us so many guests. If you follow Vice-Admiral Pilates ship to the surface, we can begin.

Aboard the TRS Holliday, Vice-Admiral Plate, a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair felt uneasy. He was an warrior, an officer of the Interstellar Navy charged with protecting the Reich's colonies, not a diplomat nor a baby sitter. And the fact he was being made into one made him annoyed. But then again...he was two full pay grades above everyone else on the bridge, so he did not openly show this. "Take us in over the Shipyards, McTavish" he ordered his navigator as he walked over to the windows to stare out into the void...and out to the other ships.

The idea that aliens were aboard some of these ships made him...uneasy. Pilate was not a xenophobe. He prided him self on having a rather liberal, contrasting view on alien species when it came to him and the rest of the officers in his fleet. But so many aliens had just as much racist tendencies as humans, and Pilate did not like anyone to consider him inferior. As the ships passed through the shield of MAC cannons, Pilate (and more than likely, the visitors as well) noticed that they did not power down their weapons systems. They kept them ready to fire, ready to plunge a solid slug of depleted uranium/tungsten right into the hull of one of the alien vessels....he only hoped the aliens wouldn't taken offense to the fact they were being so cautious.

"Wakey Wakey! I have a new mission for you!"

"Go away. Your missions always suck.... and so do you. Put me back in stasis and send one of your precious robots instead."

"Tut tut! So grumpy and so rude. That's no way treat your significant other... Besides, I can't send a droid, regulations require that the highest ranking biological unit be send for first contact with an intelligent race."

"For the last time, I am NOT your significant other. As I said millions of times, I lost the draw at last Rendezvous and got stuck with you! And whats this crap about 'highest ranking biological'? I'm the ONLY biological in your tin butt. And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the diplomat type. You know, lack of face, the tentacles, the overpowering urges to figure out the way things work, the impulsive need to touch things. Any of this getting through to you? Now, put me back into stasis and wake me when the mission's over. Damned young defective AI that can't eveOUCH! That was a feedback surge! YOU'VE TAKEN ME OUT OF MY STASIS POD?!"

"Of course I have lover, how else could I load you into a class 1A3 probe? Your stasis pod's too big to fit into such a tiny cargo hold. And why can't you be like other hentai monsters and get excited about going to new places and meeting new people?"

"No. No no. No no no! Every time you've sent me somewhere 'new', I've ended up in the regen pod for months after wards!"

"Oh quit being silly! New here's all the data logs I have from the comm intercepts. They seem like nice biologicals and there's probably plenty of fun things to learn there! I've taken the liberty to download a back-up AI into a Type 5 droid and pack it in with you. Now hold on, I'm about to initiate the probe's jump drive to get you insystem."

Veiled against a curtain of stars a shining silver shape glides through the cosmos with nary a drive flare or beacon emitting from it. A beautiful composition of organic curves and mirror metal, it looks like some magical creature amidst an ocean, with only the sharp and neat lettering spelling out the word "Molly Rose" doing anything to break the illusion. By contrast the small probe gliding away from it on a pillar of white flame has all the grace of a rock. Dark with sharp angular features the probe is little more then a booster system strapped to a jumpdrive with just enough mass left over for a decent comm and sensor suit and a tiny cargo bay. A bay currently containing a very irate Exploration Biological unit "C", or "hentai monster" as others call them with a snicker, and a some what confused AI trapped in a Type 5 Droid.

"Your sending me through a jump while AWAKE?! I HATE YOU MOLLY ROSE! When I get back I'm going to lobotomize you you sorry tin can!"

"Hello, I'm Erma 1124, pleased to meet you. Why are you distressed?"

"Shut up...I hate you..."

"But we've never met biological... ahil925, how can you hate me?"

His only reply was a scream as the small probe made the instantaneous Tybalt-Yuma jump to the Jericho system, a jump that affected 23% of sentient biological being by making them feel as if every nerve in their system were simultaneously set afire. Ahil925 was one of those biologicals...

A single Infernal Frigate was scouting ahead of the main fleet, searching for harvestable candidates among the stars. Red giants usually contained the heavy elements they were seeking but the prime candidates were the Neutron stars. The lower temperatures made it easier to extract the desired materials for the Fist’s Gravity Catapults. This area mostly contained yellow and white stars so hunting was not good. The Night Terrors was just about to return to the Sixth Fleet to begin searching in another vector when it picked up the message from a probe.

The captain immediately fed the incoming data from the sensors and the Comm system through the Space Minus transmitter. Aboard the Deity command carrier, Admiral P’Ain was interrupted by a junior officer.

Admiral, The Night Terrors has just picked up an alien probe sending out an invitation.

That’s silly of them; blanket invites allow anyone to arrive.

Yes Sir.

Dispatch The Ddamm to their location.

Yes Sir.

Several minutes later, a single ship faded into view as it Emerged from T-Space, or the 7th Dimension. The sensors sweeping over the area would immediately detect the mass signature of a small star and once the sensors were adjusted to read through the massive signature, the power readings would be equally amazing. Many a technician would look at the reading in disbelief and wish to run a diagnostics on the system to be sure the readings they were looking at were real or just a glitch.

A single message was transmitted.

We are the Ta’Nar.
We detected your message and came.
What do you desire?

When they received the message asking about species another message was sent.

We are neither.
We are Ta’Nar.

The 60 meter ebon ship sat in silence while they waited for word from the Hosts.

((OOC: Anyone else wanna post before I continue?))

ooc: I think everyone is waiting on you.

((OOC: I was just giving everyone who had posted a chance to do so again, a chance to reply to my latest post...I hope this hasn't died.))

OOC: It's only died because we're waiting for you. Once you post we can continue.

The Modular Taskforce Cruiser Merriweather Lewis sat silently above the Galactic Disk, most of the crew asleep in the middle watch.

Lieutenant Sarah Hammilton was awake though, and in command of the ship during the Middle Watch, had been since the Christmas Party, had been since Captain Halsey caught sight of her in that strappy red dress and those red shoes.

When the message came in, no one was really that surprised, if anything interesting was going to happen, it always happened on the Hamster Watch. Which meant that either way, the Captain never got much sleep.

"Captain, we are receiving a message from a new civ. Look to be TL 7 or 8. Can't tell you more until we reach their EM Bubble."

"Copy that." The captain was out of his bed and into his khaki's before he was out the door, skidding in the low grav of the Middle Watch. He had his commanding officer's sweater on and his boots laced by the time Sarah had time to acnowledge his arrival on deck.

His bridge crew returned to duty after coming to attention.

"What is the status of the Civ, any information for me?"

"No sir, still too far away to get a good reading. Their EM bubble will be within scan range in seven minutes at Threshold."

"How long to get there at Threshold?"

"Seven days, nine hours, soemone else would get their first." The tech at the navigation screen commented.

"You mean there isn't someone else there first?" The tech at tactical grumbled, "Like Huntaer for example?"

"Quiet, I never said we were going in at Treshold, not from here at least." Looking around, he saw Lance Hammilton come on deck and almost gagged when he kissed his wife lightly on the cheek, even at night he still looked perfect, damn Xenobiologist and his machines.

"Navigation, plot jump to the world, take us in a planet away and get their under Kauffman Drive."

"Jump plotted and co-ordinates seat. Drives will be ready for jump in Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Jump!"

The ship disappeared in a burst of yellow-green light, resembling a burning flower according to many of those who saw it.

A half-second before it left, it had arrived a planetary orbit out, it's sensors on active scan mode, as the Xenos pumped the language into the Universal Translator.

"This is captain Jason Halsey of the APNS Merriweather Lewis to the...Tockrowkian Reich, greetings and well met."

The com line went dead as the signal ripped off towards the planet.

"Sam, I am seeing a busy sky over here, why is that?" the captain asked his XO.

"Must be the other repliers."

"Okay, Sanders, keep a wide berth away from them, this ain't a battleship, and let's remember that." the captain told his navigation tech.

"Aye sir."

OOC: We're following you like you asked, what else can we really do?

OOC:

My entrance was after you left with the tour. I am waiting to see what you wanted to do with me

(OOC: On standby for posting...)