NationStates Jolt Archive

In the troubled times of the 30th Millenium, the ancient cradle of mankind burned. What was once a centre of science and technology had crumbled over the previous millenia into a ruined rock scourged by techno-barbarian kingdoms fighting over what scarce resources and technology remained. As the millenium ground on, in a minor kingdom centred on a mighty fortress in the mountain region known to the barbarians as the Himalaysia, a sleeping giant awoke. The culmination of centuries of resource hoarding and research, Twenty great legions of superhuman wariiors in ornate armour poured out of the region and brought fire and death to the world. The Yndonesic block fell after a bloody campaign fought with chemical weapons and rumours of foul sorcery. Fortified by the great Warhawk IV Stormbird transports captured in that campaign, the mighty Legions gained the ability to fall on any kingdom of Terra. The rest of the planet fell slowly but inevitably, the fractious kingdoms too insular and xenophobic to seek aid from each other. The power-armoured warriors and their golden king brought the world together, deposing all those who fought and absorbing those with the vision (and self-interest) to co-operate. Soon the stars beckoned, a whole empire waiting to be reclaimed from the shadow of Old Night. The shipyards at Luna came willingly, faced by the antique fighters and warships salvaged from the ruined world below.

A century of frenzied preparations after nearly a decade of wrangling with the newly rediscovered Mechanicum of Mars prepared this unified Imperium with all the materials that would be needed for the reconquest. All that was needed was a first objective, something to start the ball rolling. it was all well and good simply telling your navigator to go 'that way, roughly', but without an actual target, finding one of the lost colonies of humanity was a crapshoot. It would later be discussed as something of a 'miracle', that shortly after the First Crusade Fleet was completed and idling at the Luna Shipyards, a transmission was picked up. Faint, almost impossible to discern from the noisy cosmic background of a system that had been host to countless battle over the millenia, but there. The Emperor's scientists toiled away at their cogitators, examining very bit fo the signal until finally a decision was made. The signal was artificial in origin, in all likelihood just one of the junk bits of electromagnetic radiation thrown out into space by the miscellanea of civilisation, but very real. It was a target.

So, the First Crusade Fleet set out, some 100 ships stuffed to the rafters with engines of war. Mighty Titans that had stood immobile in the bunkers of Mars since the beginning of Old Night, Baneblade tanks fresh from the Forges and Astartes clad in ornate Mark II power armour, specially and lovingly manufactured by the Mechanicum specially for the crusade. Two full Legions would stand ready for the order to descend and bring the Imperium to wherever the master of mankind needed it. This armada set out on the long journey in high spirits, overjoyed at the prospect of undoing the isolation of a hundred centuries.

It was four months (in so far as time can be measured at all in the Empyrean) before the fleet reached the jump point that by some quirk of warp mechanics lay far beyond the rim of the target system, and it was a sullen crew that welcomed the translation to real space. Four months of nightmares and the near-disasters that plagued fleet movements had played on the nerves of the whole fleet, so it was a tense honour guard that accompanied temporary Master of the Legion Ignatius Cosades of the Dusk Raiders to the Stormbird transport that would take them into the system. Cosades wanted to be able to get a good look at the system with his own eyes, and to be granted the honour of presenting his report on the system to the man that he and all his men (and indeed every man woman and child on Terra) held in awe. The Stormbird could have easily held a full company, but for this flight would hold only Cosades and three of his Captains who advised him.

The pre-launch rites completed by a team of augmetics-encrusted tech-priests, the bulky transport was finally granted permission to begin its mission.

Strike Cruiser Imperial Crusade, this is Eagle 21 launching. Ave Imperator.

With a roar of powerful engines, the Stormbird shot off into the system, entirely unsure of what to expect.

USC patrol Zeta 4, Outskirts of the Gaia system, Particle sphere region 14-A

Lt. Adrian Brennan shifted uncomfortable in his seat as his Raiper class M5 scout ship exited the trans orbital accelerator point, having accelerated him the 12 AU's from the mid system defence station in orbit around the gas gaint Sakura, his nerves flayed. It had now been over ten thousand years since the last plague of the Gaian people had been driven out, a plague of thier own creation, a mechanical menece that had almost destroyed the entire Gaia people, but the fear of generations was still thier. The hushed tales told by parents to thier children about the folly of mankinds greed and impatiance, and of the lives that had been lost because of it, and the greatest loss of all, the loss of thier one link to Earth, the fabled planet where mankind first stepped out into the sun.

as Adrian checked his instraments and began to head to the edge of the thick particle cloud that sealed the Gaia system away from the rest of the galaxy, and who's unique properties created an almost complete sphere of enclosure away from the turbulant currents of the Warp, he had no idea that he was about to be the first child of Gaia in ten millenia to meet those who came from thier long fabled home, the first in ten millenia to meet a man of Earth.

An uneventful four hours of travel and the constant droning of incense-burning prayer servitors ministering to the sensitive machine spirits of the Stormbird autosenses had dulled the senses of the Dusk Raiders chapter serf who monitored the screens. It took five minutes for the serf to notice the almost imperceptible green dot on the edge of the panel. After assuring himself he wasn't seeing things, and after a futile attempt to wipe it off the glass, the faceless servant plucked up his courage and left the cramped cockpit and made his way through purity seal encrusted pressure doors to the more spacious holding area.

The bay was cavernous, capable of holding a full company of Astartes or a fair number of their armoured support vehicles, and the sense of the size of the place was only enhanced by the forms of three 9 foot warriors in unpainted Mark II plate. Cosades, like his captains, wore a helmet with a crest running from ear to ear over the top, denoting high office in his Legion. Unlike others, the Dusk Raiders kept their armour simple, in keeping with their reputation for being brutal no-nonsense footsloggers. The only decoration they wore was the crimson paint on their right arms, symbolising their status as the Emperor's bloody right hand.

Maintaining a respectful distance, the cringing chapter serf bowed, and gave his report.

"My Lord Cosades, the ship's machine spirit has located an object moving fast on the edge of autosense range. It appears to be a ship of an unknown pattern and what limited scans we can perform at this range indicate unfamiliar materals. The system is, as our master suspected, inhabited by highly intelligent life. What course of action shall we take?"
The faceless helmet stared for a moment, before a distorted and scratchy voxcaster spoke.
"I will contact them. Alter course to pursue and keep the targeting system ready but dormant. We will approach peacefully, but ready."

"As you wish, my Lord."

After a short period of preparation for high-power broadcasting systems not used in months, the Stormbird began transmitting a short message in the direction of the object.

In the name of the Master of Mankind, the people of Terra greet you warmly, in a spirit of peace.

Tag

The message sounded through the ships cockpit, unfamiliar words and language pouring over Adrian, before the ships computer finally translated the message, and transmitted it back to the Sakura security station as it did. Adrians orders came through moments later:
Unknown vessel is to cease and disist all activities on the edge of our solar system, and is to await escort fleet for thier delegation to be recived

With a silenced boom the afterburners of the Rapier M5 ignited, shooting the tiny craft otwards the unknown ship, as the cargo bay doors of the Rapier open slowly, and 5 cansiters are dropped, each blowing open to reviel tiny Keris class fighter drone, which began to orbit the rapier, buzzing around like mechanical bee's defending thier hive, as Adrian sent out a text only message, translated into the ships native language:
This is Gaian United Space Command patrol craft Zeta 4 to unknown craft, you are ordered ot halt your ship at once and await USC escort to the Sakura naval command station, failure to comply will result in immediate action

Sakura Naval station, L1 orbital point above Sakura gas giant

The Pink swirls of the giant gas planet Sakura reflected off the white shining hull on the Sakura Naval command station, the central command and control centre for the entire Gaian defence fleet. Commisioned over 10 millenia ago, the station still shone with the luster of freshly pressed metal, made with techniques long since forgotten by the Gaian people. Docked at its many births, numerous Tokyo class carriers and Osaka class battleships gleaming as if freshly bolted together within the massive foundaries of the station, completely automated, continuing ot produce these ships when asked, even though no Gaian of the current generation understood how, only that it happened.

The Gaian nation had long ago stagnated, satisfied with automation of all major industaries, they where free to go about thier lives peacefully and contently, with only a few of thier greatest scientists accending to the level of understanding capable of running the nation, and understanding the science behind its greatest technologies....though few people knew about this, they assumed that the elected goverment ran thier lives, though history has long ago shown that those who desired to be elected into power where the worst people to recive it, and that in reality, the smartest must rule.

Silently a Tokyo class carrier disconnected its docking couplings, slowly pulling away from the pier, as Cutless class superheavy fighters begin to pour from its massive bay, moving into a protective shpere around thier mothership as it slowly heads towards the Transorbital accelerator gate to the system edge, the Gaian's where about ot say hello to earth, in a big way.

The stormbird's limited translation cogitator banks briefly struggled with the task of turning the alien message into something the Terrans would understand completely, but already Cosades could see basic similarities in the thick printed parchment handed to him by a blank-eyed servitor. The language seemed to be a distant successor form of perhaps multiple ancient Terran dialects, predating the introduction of Lingua Technis. Even with his warrior's education, Cosades could deduce that at the very least a human language was the language of choice, and that boded well for both their people.

"We'll do as they say. Inform the Crusade Fleet that we are being escorted into the inner system, and have a light cruiser break off to monitor our progress and maintain a non-hostile posture."

It would be a minute or two before a suitably unthreatening ship could be assigned and a course plotted, but the reassurance of having a friendly ship properly tracking the shuttle would provide much-needed confidence in the meeting to come. Cosades was glad his helmet couldn't show his face as he saw the rapidly filling sensorium screen and the plethora of ships filling his viewport. If it came to a war at this early stag against such an evenly-matched opponent, the Crusade would be stalled perhaps indefinately, and the dream could die right there.

Local ship, we will gladly comply with your request.

The bulky and comparatively badly armed Terran ship moved into formation with the local ship, guided by a pilot sincerely hoping that nothing he did would be considered aggressive. In another time, he would've prayed.

With a mighty flash the Gaian carrier and its escort wing exited the accelerator gate, slowly moving towards the terran ship, as its bay doors opened, beacon lasers creating a straight path for the transport to follow, as huge matter/anti matter launchers tracked its position, slowly following its path into the bay.

An electronic voice, synthesising the terrans language, poorly but well enougth to be understood, sent out a message:
The Gaian people thank you for your co-operation, please disembark from your vessel once the hanger bay has been sealed and re pressurised, your delegation will be escorted to a decontamination chamber before being taken to meet our representatives, be warned, any hostile actions will be met with force.

As the ship was gently lowered onto be bay landing pad, 20 Gaian marines, the EM plasma rifles primed moved into position, lining up in escort formation, 10 men on ether side of the ships main hatch, each one checking over thier enviromental protection suits, ensuring that the armoured seals where secure

With a low rumbling, the heavy ceramite rear hatch of the Stormbird slowly lowered. Eventually, with a loud clang, it hit the deck. At the top the three armoured warriors seemed seemed small in the oversized exit designed for formations of tanks. Slowly they marched down the ramp in lockstep, bolters held across their chests in a manner meant to be intimidating, short tactical transmissions passing back and forth on encrypted channels. The typical talk of tense (but never afraid, of course) Astartes veterans.

+20 near-enough baseline humans, pressure suits (unknown pattern), high-energy weapons (unknown pattern, plasma rifle derivative likely), 6 to 1 numerical advantage but heavy melee disadvantage in strength and speed indicated. Favourable.+

++I say a skirmish would be a poor start to our relations.++

+Point taken.+

The scratchy voxcaster came to life again as the bolters were returned to magnetic holsters.

"I am Brother-Captain Ignatius Cosades, temporarily master of the Dusk Raiders Legion of Astartes, and representative of the Emperor of Mankind."

The visitors had been escorted through pressurised corridors, sealed to keep any foreign microbes from wiping out the whole crew, to decontamination chambers, where combinations of gases and low level radiations completely steralisedthe outside of the terrans strange armour, that moved almost like a second skin.

Finally, the process was completed, and the visitors where lead into a spacious meeting room, simply furnished with a table, three seats on ether side, one side empty, the other seating three Gaian's. The central one, a woman wearing a simple dress uniform, with several shining decorations attached, stood and saluted "Greetings, I am Admaril Jullia Gardana, Commander of the USC Archangel, on behalf of the ruling council I bid you welcome to the Gaian system."

Returning the Gaian's salute with the aquila salute of the new Imperium, Cosades removed his his helmet with a hiss of released pressure and set it down on the table. Like his battle-brothers, he was of old Terran stock and had grown up in the Hives of Alba. The natural pallour of a Hive-dweller was augmented by a life spent in the shadows of a helmet, a sickly face at odds with his Astartes build and numerous battle scars.
Eyeing the seats, Cosades smiled and remained standing, as did his captains.

"I hope you won't be offended if we choose not to sit, but I don't think they'd handle the weight well. No matter how light I feel, I'm told by our tech-priests that our armour is quite heavy despite their best efforts." returning his face to it's customary grimness, Cosades coughed and began his more formal greeting. "As I seem to have said half a dozen times since I arrived in the system with my lord's fleet, I am Brother-Captain Ignatius Cosades of the Dusk Raiders Legion, representative of the Emperor of Mankind and his domains. I originally intended only to scout out this system, but circumstances have forced a greater responsibility in my hands, one which is crucial for both our futures. As I said, I arrived with a fleet. This fleet recently set out from Terra to re-unite those colonies cut off from Terra ten millenia ago, with the aim of bringing all of mankind under a single banner. His banner. I am taking the opportunity here and now to offer you a chance to be the first colony to be reunited with Terra, and more importantly for both of us, to accept that honour without a bolt being fired."

The admaril frowned slightly as the Marine explained his offer, knowing that such an offer should not be taken lightly, especially considering the fact that if this turned out to be true, then it would mean the old fables where true.

"I see uhmmm, Brother-Captain, Still, we are a self autonomous socaity here, to do what you are asking would mean giving up our ability to self govern, and our freedom, unless ofcourse I have misunderstood your offer"

"Our Emperor is a fair man. He wouldn't ask you to turn over your world to our administration.All the Imperium asks is to defer to His word on certain matters of external policy and to support His crusade fleets. The day-to-day running of your world and your military would remain in your hands, so long as Imperial Army and Administratum representatives could remain on your worlds in a symbolic capacity."
The small matter of a little imaginative representation of the strength of the Navy didn't strike Cosades as important. A second fleet was being constructed at the Luna shipyards, so in a sense 'fleets' was a suitable term.

"I see" said the Admaril, the thought of a mutual co-operation on this level tugging strongly at her military ideals, especially as it would ensure the menece of AGI could finally be eradicated.

"I cannot speak for my goverment Brother captain, but I beileve your offer is one they will be intrested in, we will escort your party of negotiators to Gaia for you to meet with the central council."

"The pace of our meeting has been nothing short of unbelievable. I hope you'll understand if I request your leave to return to my superiors and have someone more qualified to meet with your government? I'm a born soldier, not a diplomat, and it's an unusual situation for me to be in pursuing peaceful co-operation."
[shortpost is short.]

"Yes, ofcourse, it has been a pleasure meeting you Brother-Captain, I hope this marks the start of a strong alliance" Admaril Gargana said, shaking hands with him from across the table

And it did, within weeks ambassidors and deligates had arrived, and after several long months of talk, a treaty was finally reached, and signed by the head of the Gaian council, and the Emporor himself, accepting Gaia into the Imperium, as a self autonomus vasal state, with a condition that a sizable fleet be commisioned to an operation that had been granted the name: The Great Crusade.