NationStates Jolt Archive

“My Lady, we have been getting reports of strange ships exiting hyperspace above Svartalfheim. They are not of Draconis Nightcrawlis origin.”

Lady Nocturne walked forward. “Who are they then?” she demanded.

A quick silence before a reply came. “We don't know.”

“Pitiful excuse for crew...” she began to say but was cut off.

“They're firing...”

The screen went dead. Nothing more was heard from the ship in orbit.

“Find out what happened,” Lady Nocturne ordered.

Whomever dared to shoot down one of her ships in orbit around one of her planets would certainly come to soon regret their actions.

“Yes My Lady,” a nearby General said and quickly left the room.

Nearby, her son Mordred had been watching. We wondered about the ships.

Nah, couldn't be, he thought to himself. They would have been sent back to their own dimension and still be stuck there. Right?

Since his mother had never noticed his presence there before, she didn't notice him leave the room as well. She rarely did take notice of his presence.

“My Lady we have an incoming transmission, I cannot block it.”

The screen came up and a masked figure appeared. The mask looked like that of a black dragon. Though there was signs of blue hair most of it was covered by a hood. Like the mask, the figure was dressed in black.

Lady Nocturne ran her hand through her long blue hair. “Now dare I ask who you are?”

There was a laugh.

“They call me Darth Karask,” the figure announced.

Lady Nocturne noticed a slight air of familiarity about the voice. She had many enemies whom she had spoken to plenty of times.

“Darth Karask... hmph,” she remarked. “Not entire original.”

The figure on the screen chuckled. “And Lady Nocturne is?” came the reply. “That is rather funny. However, you'd do well to leave my space or suffer the consequences.”

“Your space?” she spat. “You and what army, there is but one of your ships in orbit and my fleet shall be there in minutes. Must I really be afraid of your one little ship?”

There was silence from the figure on screen. Moments later there was a small explosion and the smell of sulphur appeared.

“I can defeat you, one on one easily. I can sense your weaknesses...”

Lady Nocturne scowled. She turned to face her foe.

“One does not sneak up behind in a duel,” she remarked.

“Ah, perhaps my teleportation was not loud enough for you then?” came the replied. “I shall have fun killing you. Again.”

Again? Lady Nocturne didn't know what he meant by that but she knew that he was going to put up an immense fight. She drew a purple lightsaber and moved towards him.

“You've always loved purple,” Darth Karask remarked.

He drew his own blue lightsaber and they began to duel. Lightsaber clashed with lightsaber and Karask even used force lightning. Lady Nocturne used her lightsaber to soak it up and disperse it, never allowing him an opening.

It all came down to who tired and slipped up first. That went to Lady Nocturne as Darth Karask never seemed to tire. With one swift movement he cut at her midsection and she fell in pain before a second swift movement removed her right arm as it still held her lightsaber.

“You should know the one to kill you,” Darth Karask said and removed his mask.

“No.” But that was all she could say before she was beheaded.

“Yes actually,” Darth Karask mentioned and calmly placed his mask back on before retrieving the purple lightsaber as a trophy to his killing.

***

Lady Nocturne's death was immediately felt by her brother. King Kurt II closed his eyes as he felt the pain of death sweep through him and he slumped down into his seat.

“Kurt are you alright?” Quatre questioned him.

Kurt shook his head. “My sister... she's dead.”

“Dead, how?” Quatre questioned him.

“A duel, I don't know who with,” he said slowly. “This could be bad, very bad. I need to organise a meeting. The Kazekage and the Maou should be there and our allies. This is certainly going to surprise Daniel.”

Quatre nodded. “I'll speak to Yuri and Gaara then,” he said.

Kurt closed his eyes and nodded as the blond man walked away. He sighed and moved towards the castles communications systems. Bringing up long-range communications he selected an old friend, Daniel Masaki.

“This is Kurt Wagner calling Daniel Masaki, this is extremely urgent.”

Once his closest ally was on board, Kurt called the kingdoms other allies.

***

Mordred banged the back of his head against the wall. Moments earlier he had seen the clear image of his mothers beheading. It had been as clear as day and the subsequent feeling that came over him, he knew that she was dead. He also knew her killer, he'd head that.

“Darth Karask.”

And if he was here, then his sons were probably close behind him as well. He had to get away, but where? Draconis Nightcrawlis was a definite no-no, but what was the Kings friend called... Daniel? Same name as his own cousin. Konoha, after the trouble he'd helped cause there during the Chuunin Exam he suspected they wouldn't be too friendly. Where else could he go though? His mothers own allies wouldn't be very welcoming.

“Heh.”

The last place he'd ever think of going back to. First he had to escape this planet and in the current climate it wasn't too hard since everything was in chaos. He was quickly away and days later the in orbit over Konoha.

Though there was a sign of life aboard, it floated silently. The life sign was faint, Mordred was unconscious...

***

Elsewhere King Kurt II was preparing a visit from his allies.

First to arrive was The Kazekage and his siblings. Gaara quietly looked at the King as they entered the conference room.

“This is grave indeed,” the Kazekage mentioned.



OOC: This is open to allies of DN and I know that I don't have many still around. Those who wish to join please TG me or find me in #Nationstates.

godulan bump for future post

Fleet Admiral Jacob Ray was off duty. It was the only way he could convince the President to let him join in the survey missions. He had to do so as Chief Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of The American Privateer. Knew he accepted that high-faluting civilian title for a reason when he ordered the nation to become a democracy and stepped down.

So here he was, aboard the Benjamin Franklin, a Sovereign Class Vessel built from schematics purchased from Universe-1819 for the Distortion Shields purchased from Universe-135, his Fleet Admiral's uniform stowed in the bottom of his locker, and wearing a damn civilian suit. He thought he had given those up when the country had gone Republic...

Thus in a bad mood, he was on the command deck of the ship, bored, as the captain of the vessel, Jason Anders, looked extremely nervous about acting stupid in the eyes of the highest ranking officer in the country.

The ship received the message quite by accident, had been monitoring for signals from the Merriweather Lewis and their contact with a new ETI, when the message came in.

The admiral was interested now. He left the bridge, and ran down to his room, donning his uniform and feeling much better.

He was back on the bridge as the Jump-Flower opened in it's yellow green light, and engulfed the ship, depositing them a half-second before the had left over the world that had sent the communications.

"This is Fleet Admiral Jack Ray of the Democratic Republic of The American Privateer, currently in command of the Sovereign Diplomatic Vessel Benjamin Franklin. We are responding to your call for assistance. What do you require?"

"So that will be 132 million credits in damages as well as numerous hospitalizations. Anything else, sir?" An aide asked.

"No thank you, Flint. You may go." I sighed. The Kokkai battle certainly took a lot of work to clean, and that didn't even include the lawsuits that Hyuugacorp was undergoing. I didn't envy Hinata's attempts to reform her family's issues while at the same time cleaning up the mess her father made. At least the Branch Family was freed of that caged bird seal...that had to count for something.

Then something beeped. A holoreceiver on my desk flashed red. Checking the number, I immediately knew that it was King Kurt. Kurt...it's been a while, eh?

I picked up the message. “This is Kurt Wagner calling Daniel Masaki, this is extremely urgent.”

"Kurt. What's the situation?" It couldn't possibly be as bad as my own troubles, could it?

=====

A lone ship with a single lifesign over a planet that has been recently wracked by numerous nuclear detonations certainly did merit some investigation. The patrol ship that wandered by and spotted it was able to take it back to the nearest orbitial spaceport, and the guy that was inside was sent to the port hospital...

Kurt sighed. "It's my sister," he began. "She's dead. Seemingly killed by a Sith..."

It was what a had felt. Another Sith presence as she died. He couldn't put his finger on it but it felt familiar somehow.

"This could be bad, very bad. I'm going to bring my allies to Tortuga, you'll need to come."

***

Mordred finally awoke to find himself in a strange hospital room. Evidently it wasn't easy to escape Svartalfheim after all but fortunately this didn't appear to be a local hospital. Or a Draconian hospital for that matter.

Slowly he found the energy to rub his eyes and look around.

"This is Fleet Admiral Jack Ray of the Democratic Republic of The American Privateer, currently in command of the Sovereign Diplomatic Vessel Benjamin Franklin. We are responding to your call for assistance. What do you require?"

General Stansfield had been slowly drifting to sleep as the call came in. A ship from a nation he didn't know of.

He cleared his throat before replying. "This is General Stansfield of the Tortuga DN Defence, we are in an impending national incident and were looking to contact our allies. How did you intercept our message?"

General Stansfield had been slowly drifting to sleep as the call came in. A ship from a nation he didn't know of.

He cleared his throat before replying. "This is General Stansfield of the Tortuga DN Defence, we are in an impending national incident and were looking to contact our allies. How did you intercept our message?"

Admiral Ray's eyes went cross eyed at the mention of a Tortuga, any long term negotiations with them could get very complicated.

"We have our comm systems set to broad-spectrum scans on a multitude of different methods. Out Ghost was able to decode and present the message. We saw that one of those messages for help was going out to CoreWorlds, and we thought we might be able to help. We have been Isolationist for too long, and it is time for us to emerge upon the galactic scene. If there is anything we can do to help, we would be glad to help you out if possible."

General Stansfield sighed. They were getting lax with their communications security...

"Hmm, well it would be ideal to have more possible allies," he replied. "I will have to refer you to Lady Rasputin, governess of Tortuga if that is okay with you?"

The general suppressed a yawn. He had to be there to make sure the allies arrived safely and had been on duty for a number of hours already.

"Of course, that would be just fine. IF the situation is as bad as you think, then I would suggest you get some sleep. Tomorrow could be a long day."

Jack sat back, and rumamged through a small drawer next to him, looking for the insignia that President St. James had ordered him to wear when acting as both Fleet Admiral and Chief Ambassador. He smirked as he did so, remembering that she had created it just to annoy her mentor, and any children he might have.

He turned to the ship's commander, and said in hushed tones, "Remind me when w get back to get a Constitutional Amendment rolling when we get back home to remove the position of Chief Ambassador from the list of Hereditary positions."

"I'll bare that in mind," General Stansfield remarked. "I'll pass you over now. Please hold."

The General then sighed as he put him on hold, the sound of Ensiferum's 'Dragonheads' was the current hold music of choice.

It took a short while to explain things to Lady Rasputin who like the King was preparing for the arrival of DN's allies. She took her seat at her desk to speak. The hold music was then cut short.

"Admiral Ray, yes? I am Lady Rasputin, governess of Tortuga DN, I understand you have offered assistance?"

"I'll bare that in mind," General Stansfield remarked. "I'll pass you over now. Please hold."

The General then sighed as he put him on hold, the sound of Ensiferum's 'Dragonheads' was the current hold music of choice.

It took a short while to explain things to Lady Rasputin who like the King was preparing for the arrival of DN's allies. She took her seat at her desk to speak. The hold music was then cut short.

"Admiral Ray, yes? I am Lady Rasputin, governess of Tortuga DN, I understand you have offered assistance?"

"Hello, ma'am, I am Fleet Admiral Jack Ray of the Democratic Republic of The American Privateer, and it's Chief Ambassador," Admiral Ray looked annoyed as he said that last part in a partial grumble, "My Ghost alerted me to your possibly requiring assistance, and I felt it would be best to come in and assist if possible. If I can assist in any way, please, just let me know."

"Thank you for the offer," Lady Rasputin said. "The problem we're facing right now is that the enemy is unknown."

She felt strange admitting that. Of course she was suspect about them since they had appeared soon after the death of Lady Nocturne.

"First we are going to need to find out this new enemy. In the meantime I invite you to Tortuga DN."

"Sounds good. Who knows, we might even discover some flora and fauna to add to the Titan Registry. I will be down with a small group as soon as possible. Do you mind if we beam down, or would you prefer us to arrive via shuttlecraft?"

As he spoke, he grabbed his pictor torque and sent a file containing the persons he wanted to bring with him. An actual ambassador from the State Department by the name of Borla Akala (F, Caamasi), a Xenobotanist by the name of Samson Anders (M, Human), and a small holographic projector that would remain tied into the ship to allow the ship's AI to participate.

"Anything my people should be aware of in terms of hazards or laws before we all arrive?"

"I'll have someone to meet you in the spaceport when you arrive by shuttle," Lady Rasputin said.

The next question came as a surprise admittedly. A good one nonetheless.

"Laws, well as long as you are polite I doubt you'll have much problems with any laws. Hazards, well so long as you stay within the colony you'll be fine but since the fire swans are nesting you might want to stay away from the river."

"Sounds like Ilya, our Xenobiologist will love your world, we will be down shortly."

The group of them boarded the Captain's Yacht, and descended down to the planet's surface. The shuttle requested clearance and flight path, and descended down into the atmosphere of the world. Landing at the spaceport, the admiral stepped out first, testing his muscles as he got used to the gravity of the world.

He was in his Dress Whites, a full fruit salad on his chest, and sword at his side. Behind him came the Caamasi Ambassador, her snout smelling the air, and her ears bare of earings. Alongside her came a hologram of a young woman in female greek hunting clothes with a laurel wreath upon her head who seemed to be hovering a half inch above the ground. The two Xenos where the last to come out, each one wearing plain jumpsuits with markings showing them to be affiliated with New Tortuga University Xenological Studies Department.

The Admiral stepped forward, his hand out, and a dazzling smile on his face. He took his hat off and swept back the shocking red hair as he said, "Fleet Admiral Jack Ray, at your service."

Lady Rasputin was there to greet them, taking a quick time out of the busy schedule to do so.

"It is an honour to meet you," she said, shaking hands. "I'm sorry that I can't stay long myself but as you can understand we are a little busy here due to circumstances."

Two Tortuga DN Defence personnel stepped forward.

"Lieutenant Sercombe and Lieutenant Seabourne will be here to answer any questions you might have."

"Of course, let me know what assistance I can render if there is any."

He saluted her as she left, and snapped his arm to his side. "Hello Lieutenants, any chance you can tell me what exactly is happening around here? We got a message of distress, but not much more, and I would like to help if possible."

"I will," Lady Rasputin said.

She bowed and left.

"We don't know much ourselves," Lieutenant Sercombe admitted. "What we do understand is that the thorn in our side, Lady Nocturne is dead. She has however been killed by a potentially very dangerous Sith."

The admiral stopped. Dead. He looked over to the hologram, and ordered, "Get in contact with Daimyo Kolhe and Ryukage Holson. Tell them to both send a team here, now. And then contact Xavier, I want Alpha Team down here to assist and co-ordinate."

Turning to the lieutenants he said simply, "If what you say is true, then we will need some backup, and the Samurai and X-Force are our best option."

Marquesas, Large Magellenic Cloud
The communication banks in the Hidden Dragon Village, Daimyo High Council, and Xavier Institute all lit up at once, requesting the presence of a team of all groups to report to Tortuga, Draconis Nightcrawlis.

Samurai Master Ichigo Kunoha grabbed his lightsaber and his equipment, and alerted his Ashiganu Warriors. They boarded a Tesseract Jumper, and where in orbit, awaiting the other craft within minutes.

He was soon arrived by a Scythe Class Courier carrying a team of Chunin and their Jonin mentor. Anderson O'Neill sat teaching the Chunin as the Ship's Ghost took care of rendezvousing with the Samurai.

A Blackbird Expeditionary Vessel was the last to join them, as Alpha Team of the Xavier Institute joined the other three, and made the jump to the edge of the system, where they spread out, waiting to be called in officially. Until the civilian government of the world okayed their arrival, they would wait.

Kurt sighed. "It's my sister," he began. "She's dead. Seemingly killed by a Sith..."

It was what a had felt. Another Sith presence as she died. He couldn't put his finger on it but it felt familiar somehow.

"This could be bad, very bad. I'm going to bring my allies to Tortuga, you'll need to come."
I raised an eyebrow. Darth Nocturne, killed by another Sith? Normally, I would be dancing on her grave, so to speak, but this *was* the sister of one of my oldest friends. And I'd probably feel the same things he was feeling if Nightshade kicked the bucket too. "Very well. I'll bring Naruto and Ryujin. If it's truly as bad as you say, then I'll come as soon as I can."

With that, I switched to Hanger Control. "Ready the Much Ado immediately."

And I switched again to another link. "Naruto, get your ass to the Much Ado immediately or no ramen for you."

I switched before the blond-haired Jounin could curse. "Ryujin, please get to the Much Ado ASAP. Kurt called."

Satisfied, I cleared my schedule for the next few days and headed down to the main hangar bay, where a smug-looking Ryujin and a scowling Naruto was waiting.

"Hey! What's the big idea threatening me with deprivation of ramen? That's like, against the Geneva Conventions or something!" Naruto grumbled.

"Kurt called." I replied. "Something's come up in DN."

"Again?" Naruto scowled. "It seems like every day some problem crops up there. It's almost as bad as that Wormhole X-treme holovid!"

I chuckled. "Yeah. Probably. Well, we're going anyway."

And so we did, lifting off and heading into hyperspace.

***

Mordred finally awoke to find himself in a strange hospital room. Evidently it wasn't easy to escape Svartalfheim after all but fortunately this didn't appear to be a local hospital. Or a Draconian hospital for that matter.

Slowly he found the energy to rub his eyes and look around.
"Well, hello young man. What brings you here to Konoha?" A ninja with the Leaf symbol on his forehead asked, smiling kindly.

Much had changed in the Godulan embassy since the incident, dubbed quite eloquently by the analysts as 'Magic-using twats trying to off our chief diplomat,' had taken place. The building had undergone extensive renovations in order to repair the damage caused by a fight between a pair of zombie dragons and a M'Lekk'Torr Agent equipped with a rocket launcher, and the nature of the building's inhabitants had altered significantly since that time. No longer did cyborgs roam around performing typical diplomatic duties while legions of metallic insects scurried around underfoot in an effort to keep the place clean. No longer was only the courtyard forested and tranquil.

Nowadays, the place was a veritable wildlife sanctuary. Rooms had been removed in favor of creating a single chamber in which the Godulans used their architectural expertise to recreate for themselves the environment of the Godulan jungle world of Terivine. The structure was supported by what appeared to be a vast network of branches that stretched across the floor and ceiling in equal measure, the only difference being that the floor had a layer of soil and pleasantly plush moss to improve the 'comfort' of the environmental replication. In the center of the chamber there existed a surprisingly large lake, complete with a small island in the center and a number of little walking stones for one of sufficient balance to travel from one side to another without going around.

On this central island, there rested four Godulan Avatars, the only visible Godulan presence in the room. They sat on stone pedestals, cross legged and in a state of apparent meditation, apparently heedless of the tourists roaming around the arboretum. The building was open to the public, after all, and so long as folks obeyed certain rules of etiquette and courtesy they were permitted to meander throughout the room with relative impunity.

Their apparent state of repose aside, they were not so much meditating as they were scanning. They flew through information networks and public communications channels like eagles soaring through the bluest skies, not paying attention to anything in particular but latching on to items of interest when such things arose. This was not done out of any desire to gather tactical information, but more towards simply learning how the Draconis people saw things and reacted to randomized occurrences.

One of the Avatars quirked an eyebrow. Something of interest had been noted. The others showed no sign of 'altered circumstances', but they immediately broke into an internal conversation.

Just got a call from Head Honcho Kurt Wagner. Says something about Lady Nocturne getting her book read.

The Godulan colloquial term for 'killed' wasn't used often, due to connotations that the Godulans often found disagreeable to ponder. Nowadays it was meant more for when somebody important met their end in a strange manner for which the 'twist' would be, as the Godulans might phrase it to avoid mentioning their 'patron', 'known only by the gods'.

Lady Nocturne... ain't she the Draconian equivalent of the Queen Bitch Nightshade?

Yarp.

Ding dong, the bitch is dead, the bitch is dead, she lost her head...

Apparently that's how it happened.

Dude, you totally called it.

I rock. So... what's the problem? Shouldn't there be parades in the streets and that Circle of Life song playing somewhere?

Apparently she got deaded by another Sith. I assume that you can guess where there might be concern.

The queen is dead, long live the king.

Yarp.

Exactly. If Nocturne got deaded by another Sith, the concept of 'the devil you know' goes out the window. For all we know, she has been usurped by an entity of significantly greater threat to the Draconian people, and to our interests as well.

Ah. So everybody's worried that whoever did the deed is gonna try and clean the rest of the house, hmm?

Indeed. So the honorable Kurt Wagner has asked for representatives of various Draconian allies to make their way to some place called Tortuga. We have a fix on the location... we think. Who wants to head outside for a bit?

Screw that. I like it here. You're the ranking representative, Sevren. You get to deal with the big piles of shit that pop up.

But somebody might try to kill him with an explosive rune on a sticky note, or somebody might wander into a junkyard and send a swarm of zombie cars at him!

Thanks for the vote of... confidence? I was hoping to see if any of you would prefer to actually do some of the nitty gritty instead of surfing for Draconian porn... Sarko.

But what they do with their tails is fascinating!

I would prefer not to have heard that excuse.

Nor I.

Hear hear!

I could stand to hear a little more.

In the interest of keeping this argument from spreading further, I shall accept the fact that you bastards want the senior diplomat to take the helm in this particular interaction.

Fleein' the scene!

Indeed. Psychoport.

Oh fu--

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

The guards at the entrance to Tortuga might have been both surprised and perplexed at a 'man' suddenly appearing some thirty feet in front of them in what appeared to be some form of plainly colored monk's robes. For a moment after his sudden arrival, he looked off in a strange direction (which happened to be directly back towards the Godulan embassy), and smiled in a manner that suggested somebody had just been victimized by a particularly nasty prank. Immediately after, he turned and stepped towards the guards.

"Greetings and salutations. We are Erathaol, Godulan envoy and host of chief diplomat Sevren Aktei. Our presence was requested in light of 'recent events'."

I raised an eyebrow. Darth Nocturne, killed by another Sith? Normally, I would be dancing on her grave, so to speak, but this *was* the sister of one of my oldest friends. And I'd probably feel the same things he was feeling if Nightshade kicked the bucket too. "Very well. I'll bring Naruto and Ryujin. If it's truly as bad as you say, then I'll come as soon as I can."

With that, I switched to Hanger Control. "Ready the Much Ado immediately."

And I switched again to another link. "Naruto, get your ass to the Much Ado immediately or no ramen for you."

I switched before the blond-haired Jounin could curse. "Ryujin, please get to the Much Ado ASAP. Kurt called."

Satisfied, I cleared my schedule for the next few days and headed down to the main hangar bay, where a smug-looking Ryujin and a scowling Naruto was waiting.

"Hey! What's the big idea threatening me with deprivation of ramen? That's like, against the Geneva Conventions or something!" Naruto grumbled.

"Kurt called." I replied. "Something's come up in DN."

"Again?" Naruto scowled. "It seems like every day some problem crops up there. It's almost as bad as that Wormhole X-treme holovid!"

I chuckled. "Yeah. Probably. Well, we're going anyway."

And so we did, lifting off and heading into hyperspace.

"Alright," Kurt said and once the screen went off he would await their arrival.

That was what he did so now in the conference room as he quietly watched Gaara and Lord Weller discussing recent events.


"Well, hello young man. What brings you here to Konoha?" A ninja with the Leaf symbol on his forehead asked, smiling kindly.

Mordred coughed as he looked over at the ninja. "Heh, needed a place to go," he chuckled. "I'd have been killed if I'd stayed on Svartalfheim. Who'd have thought Darth Karask could return here..."

"Greetings and salutations. We are Erathaol, Godulan envoy and host of chief diplomat Sevren Aktei. Our presence was requested in light of 'recent events'."

The guards were actually rather used to strange goings on in Tortuga so the appearance wasn't too strange for them.

"£20 says it's Godular," one guard said to another.

As he moved towards them, that guard won his bet.

"Ah yes," one of the guards said. "His Majesty is expecting you..."

They were cut off by the sound of a lound 'bamf' noise and the sudden appearance of a young blue elf. Gabriel Daniel Wagner.

"Huh? You don't look like how I remember..."

The admiral stopped. Dead. He looked over to the hologram, and ordered, "Get in contact with Daimyo Kolhe and Ryukage Holson. Tell them to both send a team here, now. And then contact Xavier, I want Alpha Team down here to assist and co-ordinate."

Turning to the lieutenants he said simply, "If what you say is true, then we will need some backup, and the Samurai and X-Force are our best option."



The two lieutenants looked at each other.

"Well strategies aren't our area," Lieutenant Seabourne admitted. "That's all up to His Majesty and advisor's."

The two lieutenants looked at each other.

"Well strategies aren't our area," Lieutenant Seabourne admitted. "That's all up to His Majesty and advisor's."

"Then please, show me too whoever is in charge here, those re-enforcements that I called for won't get past your Oort Cloud without approval. Oh, and if you have any Psychers, tell them to feel free to read me, I am going to need your nation's trust if I am going to assist you."

He turned and nodded to the Xenos, "Get your HazMat suits and find some guides if you are going to go get samples, otherwise get back onboard the Franklin, and make sure they are ready to repel a Sith."

He started mumbling about something called Hive and how he didn't know which was worse, Sith or Hive, under his breath as the Hologram began to look distant as she activated various security-protocols on the ship.

Indeed, Sevren's appearance had changed since the fiasco. Though there was nothing overt in the alteration, Sevren/Erathaol's appearance seemed to suggest a more 'sculpted' aspect that lent itself to a somewhat disconcerting demeanor. As though he were more of a flesh-colored statue than a real human. He recognized Gabriel immediately and smiled with an ever so slight tinge of sheepishness.

"Ah yes. My surprisingly effective protector throughout my time of need. We are honored by your presence. We are glad that you appear well, for we were uncertain of your status in recovering from the psychotropic battering you suffered at the hands of our own rogue element. We pondered the notion of asking, but did not wish to appear rude."

"Ah yes. My surprisingly effective protector throughout my time of need. We are honored by your presence. We are glad that you appear well, for we were uncertain of your status in recovering from the psychotropic battering you suffered at the hands of our own rogue element. We pondered the notion of asking, but did not wish to appear rude."

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. The same weirdness as before, some things didn't change.

"No one can break me," the young prince then grinned.

"Then please, show me too whoever is in charge here, those re-enforcements that I called for won't get past your Oort Cloud without approval. Oh, and if you have any Psychers, tell them to feel free to read me, I am going to need your nation's trust if I am going to assist you."



Lieutenant Seabourne nodded. "If you'll follow us then," he said.

Lieutenant Seabourne nodded. "If you'll follow us then," he said.

The admiral nodded, and waved for the holographic woman to follow him.

"Sorry Ambassador, but it looks like you should get back up to the ship. You should be safe up there, this isn't the Hive after all."

"Of course Admiral, stay safe, and don't do anything too stupid."

"Hey, it's me," Ray responded, a look of mock affront playing across his face.

"Hence why I said it." With that, the Ambassador returned to the shuttle, and took it up to the orbiting ship, and to his rather stately quarters therein.

"Indeed," Erathaol/Sevren replied with a visible smirk. "We recall how stubborn you could be. That being said, shall we repair to the location at which this meeting is intended to take place? We are afraid that we do not know the layout of this installation, which would have made the psychoportation somewhat more difficult, even if it were not unacceptably rude to materialize in the middle of a military installation. Comaterialization is not a pretty thing to witness."

The admiral nodded, and waved for the holographic woman to follow him.



The two lieutenants led the admiral and the holographic women up to the governors palace. There they were greeted by General Flack.

"This is General Flack," Lieutenant Sercombe said. "He is in charge of security around Tortuga DN."

"Indeed," Erathaol/Sevren replied with a visible smirk. "We recall how stubborn you could be. That being said, shall we repair to the location at which this meeting is intended to take place? We are afraid that we do not know the layout of this installation, which would have made the psychoportation somewhat more difficult, even if it were not unacceptably rude to materialize in the middle of a military installation. Comaterialization is not a pretty thing to witness."

"Heh," Daniel remarked. "This is the governors palace not military. The meeting is being held in the conference room and my fathers will be happy to meet you."

The two lieutenants led the admiral and the holographic women up to the governors palace. There they were greeted by General Flack.

"This is General Flack," Lieutenant Sercombe said. "He is in charge of security around Tortuga DN."

The admiral extended his hand, "Fleet Admiral Jacob Ray, Democratic Republic of The American Privateer. And this is my daughter and ship's AI, Artemis. We understand you have a Sith problem, and would like to help."

"Fathers?" Erathaol/Sevren replied with a significantly raised eyebrow, and emphasizing the plural indicator. "Is there some biological quirk inherent to your species that has heretofore gone unrecognized by our continuous scrutiny of unrestricted communications networks? We shall have to inquire further when things are somewhat less tense. Perhaps you could regail us with the basics as we proceed to the conference hall. Do lead on."

"Fathers?" Erathaol/Sevren replied with a significantly raised eyebrow, and emphasizing the plural indicator. "Is there some biological quirk inherent to your species that has heretofore gone unrecognized by our continuous scrutiny of unrestricted communications networks? We shall have to inquire further when things are somewhat less tense. Perhaps you could regail us with the basics as we proceed to the conference hall. Do lead on."

Daniel laughed and said nothing furthermore on the subject.

"They're waiting for us," he then said and quickly headed up to palace.

The King and the others were in the conference room already waiting.

The admiral extended his hand, "Fleet Admiral Jacob Ray, Democratic Republic of The American Privateer. And this is my daughter and ship's AI, Artemis. We understand you have a Sith problem, and would like to help."

General Flack nodded. "We don't know how much of a problem it is going to be."

General Flack nodded. "We don't know how much of a problem it is going to be."

"If it is Sith, it is a problem." Admiral Ray said simply, his eyes flitting skyward as the Franklin passed overhead in it's orbit.

"What can you tell us about the situation here? We are sadly...uninformed as to the cast of characters to whom you are referring. Perhaps it will help us to better understand what we are dealing with," Artemis prompted, her image seeming to shift into that of a greek huntress.

Erathaol raised his hands out wide in a gesture of greeting, very nearly smacking Gabriel upside the head, though only because the calculations made before the maneuver's undertaking showed that only a hair or two would be rustled. "So what is all this about Sith on Sith crime, and why should we mind when one Sith Lord drops another? It leaves us with less trouble in the long run, does it not?"

He leaned over to Gabriel and whispered "We do not recognize several of these individuals... we might require introductions."

Daniel shrugged off the Godulan weirdness.

"Because taking one out means they'll go after a new target, namely us," Daniel pointed out as he looked around. "Worse thing is we know bugger all about this new Sith."

He could see his father talking with the Kazekage and the Maou.

"Well surely you recognise Gaara, the Kazekage from asking Suna for help," he then pointed out. "The black-haired guy is Yuri, the Maou. Looks human but he's half demon."

Once Lady Rasputin re-entered the room he pointed Erathaol in her direction. "And that is Lady Rasputin, the Governess of Tortuga."

"If it is Sith, it is a problem." Admiral Ray said simply, his eyes flitting skyward as the Franklin passed overhead in it's orbit.

"What can you tell us about the situation here? We are sadly...uninformed as to the cast of characters to whom you are referring. Perhaps it will help us to better understand what we are dealing with," Artemis prompted, her image seeming to shift into that of a greek huntress.

"Not a lot I can't tell you I'm afraid," General Flack admitted. "All we know is that there is the presence of a new Sith."

"Not a lot I can't tell you I'm afraid," General Flack admitted. "All we know is that there is the presence of a new Sith."

"Well, I have contact some...consultants on the matter. They are currently sitting a half light year outside your cometary cloud, and will not come closer without permission of a Civilian Executive, with the exception of a major emergency in terms of danger to the Admiral's health, in which case they will be required to come immediately and offer assistance." The hologram turned to her father and smirked at him. "It is required in TAP'ian law for them to do so for the man permanently third in line for the Presidency."

The admiral rolled his eyes, "Ghosts, can't court martial them for insubordination, and our ships won't run right with out them. Where did the attack take place, we might be able to track down the attackers with our sensor systems and get you some readings if not."

Erathaol nodded acknowledgement of the clarifications and stepped forward into the conference chamber, approaching Kurt Wagner with a slight air of purpose in his gait.

"Mister Wagner sir, our presence has been requested and we have come. Though we can make some guesses about why, we would wish to hear the whole story in order to acquire as clear a picture of the situation as possible."

Kurt nodded. "I'm glad you could make it," he said. "These are worrying times for us." He scratched the back of his head. "You have heard that Lady Nocturne is dead, killed by another Sith. That is the concern, we have no idea who this Sith is and right now they have not announced their presence."

The admiral rolled his eyes, "Ghosts, can't court martial them for insubordination, and our ships won't run right with out them. Where did the attack take place, we might be able to track down the attackers with our sensor systems and get you some readings if not."

It is impossible to go there," General Flack pointed out.

Erathaol rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. "So what exactly is keeping us from bashing down their proverbial door and taking advantage of the 'political situation' presently taking place within the late Lady Nocturne's territory and perchance finding out who this supposed usurper is that way? We are certain that Warlord Maximillian would take great pleasure in... confusing them greatly."

"Unfortunatly they have something that prevents hyperspace travel within there space in any ship that isn't theirs," Kurt sighed. "We've lost two already. Ever since a Suna ninja squad made it in, no ones been able to do the same since."

Of course that only brought up more questions.

"Which means this new Sith was there already with their own ship."

It is impossible to go there," General Flack pointed out.

"Impossible eh?" Ray sighed, frustrated that he could do nothing more.

"Well, I was hoping we could do something, but there is not much we can do until they show up again, so I am going to return to my ship until something happens. If they do show up, send a message up to us and let us know, we will do what we can."

Artemis spoke up then, "Impossible how? We might have something that will allow us to bypass it."

"But we do not use hyperspace," Erathaol replied with a quirked eyebrow and a slight smirk. "You have had sufficient contact with us to realize that we do not exactly march to the standard-issue drummer, particularly in terms of technology. Most likely this unknown Sith utilized an alternative method of travel in order to circumvent this purported barrier. Would you like us to lend a few bulk transports?"

"All that science mumble jumbo is pretty much bollocks to me," Kurt shrugged. "All I know is of the ships that previously went it, two were instantaneously shredded and the others took nearly a year to come back out." He shook his head. "Of course I know you lot are insane, your method of transport you're really willing to take such a risk?"

Artemis spoke up then, "Impossible how? We might have something that will allow us to bypass it."

"Not much we know about it, but it kills the use of hyperspace," General Flack explained.

"Not much we know about it, but it kills the use of hyperspace," General Flack explained.

"Sounds like it might have something to do with gravimetric disturbances. if we can..." And with that, Artemis began to go into technobable. Admiral Ray's eyes started to glaze over until he cut her off with a simple, "Artemis, can we get a probe in there?"

"Yes, I think we can, might allow us to bypass the Hyperspace Disturbances. Though if they extend into the quantum phoam..." with that, she just shrugged.

"See if it can work, get a Tesseract Probe ready and waiting to fire off on my signal."

"Yes, sir," and with that, the small holo-drone cut power, and Jack reached out his hand and caught the drone, slipping it into a side pocket.

"One good thing about Tesseract Drives, we don't have to worry about stable Gravimetric mass shadows, we travel straight through the quantum phoam and half-way into another part of the multi-verse. Unstable ones on the other hand, those can be tricky. Lost a good man when he tried to jump into an unstable gravimetric field..."

"There are a great many benefits to having taken on our new form," Erathaol said, stretching out his right arm and 'removing' the fleshy tint to reveal a translucent body of some strange green crystal-but-not-crystal with what looked like patterns of circuitry and some inner brilliance that almost gave the Godulan an appearance that one might attribute to an angel.

"The most important aspect is that death is no longer of significant concern to us. We could send a probe of sorts to travel through this supposed barrier and ascertain to your satisfaction whether we can survive traveling through the barrier with no ill effect? We might even be able to do so by implementing an amusing little 'barrier' of our own that should at the very least inconvenience them long enough to provide us with more time to initiate a full-fledged assault.

"And if the device were sufficient to obliterate our 'how-do-you-do', we would be able to ascertain how such obliteration were achieved, and thus have an inroads towards circumventing the device responsible. We do so enjoy the challenge of reverse engineering a weapon working from nothing other than the way it caused damage. We are surprised that you did not approach us with this conundrum before, or we would have set to work long ago. We would not even have charged you for the service."

"OK, that is just disturbing," Kurt dryly remarked.

He shook his head and looked around the conference room.

"Because it's never come up before. Besides, I didn't know you had the methods to do that and like I said before, scientific methods mean bugger all to me."

"One good thing about Tesseract Drives, we don't have to worry about stable Gravimetric mass shadows, we travel straight through the quantum phoam and half-way into another part of the multi-verse. Unstable ones on the other hand, those can be tricky. Lost a good man when he tried to jump into an unstable gravimetric field..."

"Right," General Flack said, getting somewhat lost through all the science mumbo jumbo.

He was after all a General and not a technician, engineer or scientist...

Erathaol 'replaced' the fleshy appearance on his arm and flexed his fingers meditatively. For all intents and purposes his body looked and felt human, but now they could understand why his body seemed 'sculpted' rather than grown.

"Science is everything to us," he replied, his mouth did not move as he spoke now, but his entire body vibrated enough to generate the proper tone and pitch needed to convey speech. "It is our method of understanding the universe and all the glorious things within it. The universe is beautiful to us, and in our understanding we gain a greater appreciation of that beauty. It drives us to broaden our horizons ever further, and any challenge is one gladly taken."

He gave Gabriel a momentary glance, showing an expression that displayed an ever-so-momentary flash of regret. "It has driven some of us to things we would not wish to think about, but it is always so we can find the greater beauty in all things.

"That being said, did it not occur also to establish lines of inquiry centered around circumventing this supposed barrier? You were presented a conundrum, that hyperspace was disrupted in a spectacular manner. Yet alternative modes of transport abound. Was it not attempted to send in probes equipped with such alternative means of transport? Just because you might have difficulty understanding the scientific method does not mean you should discard its applications."

"Just let us know if we can help with this, we have to get permission to launch a probe inside another nation's space. Especially if it is close to a planet. The gravimetric Spike from one of these things can cause...problems if their isn't a ghost aboard to trouble-shoot as problems occur."

"No problems on this side, but on the other side, there could be some problems that will...shift inter-stellar debris...for three hundred light years around."

"What the hell?!" Naruto stared at the chronometer like it was a snarling demon we exited hyperspace over Tortuga. "We're...late?!"

That was weird. We expected to arrive at the appointed time, but ended up ten minutes late. Is hyperspace getting screwed up around DN as well?

Well, whatever the case, we gave our IFF codes to the traffic control and landed as quickly as we could, a little hard on the landing struts, but the Much Ado has had worse landings. A little Shunshin later and we arrived at the meeting place.

And finally we went through the door. Naruto looked sheepish. "Sorry about that, guys. We got lost on the road to life."

I scowled at his comment. "Really, Naruto...well, actually, there was something weird going on. We were supposed to arrive ten minutes ago, but actually arrived now. Never had that happen before, not with hyperdrives..."

Mordred coughed as he looked over at the ninja. "Heh, needed a place to go," he chuckled. "I'd have been killed if I'd stayed on Svartalfheim. Who'd have thought Darth Karask could return here..."
"Karask?" The ninja hmmed for a moment. This information could be important. "Well, asking for asylum will require a visit to the Hokage. I trust you are well enough for one?"

"Admiral, CoreWorlds is here, and my cameras indicate Naruto is with them. Just a heads up."

The voice sounded in the Admiral's head as his daughter, the Ship's Ghost, alerted him to the arrival of the new ship.

He turned to the general, "It would seem CoreWorlds is here."

"That being said, did it not occur also to establish lines of inquiry centered around circumventing this supposed barrier? You were presented a conundrum, that hyperspace was disrupted in a spectacular manner. Yet alternative modes of transport abound. Was it not attempted to send in probes equipped with such alternative means of transport? Just because you might have difficulty understanding the scientific method does not mean you should discard its applications."

Kurt managed a wry smile. "Of course, as it is to our scientists," he said. "The beauty of the universe to me is in it's mystery. While some mysteries must be found out, this new Sith for instance, others are better off staying that way."

Daniel seemed to be ignoring them right now.

"Yes we do have alternate methods of transport," the King continued. "The engines are slow and are taking their time to penetrate Svartalfheim Space. There is however one route, but I can only take one person by that route a day. Thor on the other hand has no such limits but I have not heard from him in a while.

"In the meantime we are relying on the Kukai Foundations drones to scout."

And finally we went through the door. Naruto looked sheepish. "Sorry about that, guys. We got lost on the road to life."

I scowled at his comment. "Really, Naruto...well, actually, there was something weird going on. We were supposed to arrive ten minutes ago, but actually arrived now. Never had that happen before, not with hyperdrives..."


"The main thing is that you are now here," Kurt pointed out. "I am glad you have arrived."

Gaara moved forward. "It would be unlike you to be on time... Naruto," he said. It was hard to tell if that was a joke or not.


"Karask?" The ninja hmmed for a moment. This information could be important. "Well, asking for asylum will require a visit to the Hokage. I trust you are well enough for one?"

Mordred smirked. He knew exactly what the Hokage was like.

"Knowing my past, I'm probably in better shape now then I will be after I meet the Hokage," he grinned.

"Just let us know if we can help with this, we have to get permission to launch a probe inside another nation's space. Especially if it is close to a planet. The gravimetric Spike from one of these things can cause...problems if their isn't a ghost aboard to trouble-shoot as problems occur."

"No problems on this side, but on the other side, there could be some problems that will...shift inter-stellar debris...for three hundred light years around."

"Without permission, it would be highly unlikely that you would get it from this Sith," General Flack pointed out. "And if it is that risky, the King would not go for something that could potentially give the Sith reason to attack."

"Admiral, CoreWorlds is here, and my cameras indicate Naruto is with them. Just a heads up."

The voice sounded in the Admiral's head as his daughter, the Ship's Ghost, alerted him to the arrival of the new ship.

He turned to the general, "It would seem CoreWorlds is here."

General Flack nodded. "As they were invited," he said. "They are our closest ally."

"The main thing is that you are now here," Kurt pointed out. "I am glad you have arrived."

Gaara moved forward. "It would be unlike you to be on time... Naruto," he said. It was hard to tell if that was a joke or not.
"Yeah...so, anyway, you said something about Lady Nocturne getting knocked off the mortal coil?" I said, getting down to business.


Mordred smirked. He knew exactly what the Hokage was like.

"Knowing my past, I'm probably in better shape now then I will be after I meet the Hokage," he grinned.
"Perhaps." The Leaf-nin merely said. "Come with me."

The ninja headed out of the medical bay and down the hall for the hangar bay.

ooc: please tell me that your not declaring war on my Sith Order.

"I figured as such. Perhaps we should head over that way and see what they have. The more information we can get, the better."

"For us, the beauty lies in the exploration of those mysteries and the challenge we are presented in doing so."

Erathaol stopped speaking the moment Daniel Masaki and Naruto entered, and a gave them a remarkably chilly stare. His expression was not threatening in nature, so much as it conveyed an air of... vigilance.

"Yeah...so, anyway, you said something about Lady Nocturne getting knocked off the mortal coil?" I said, getting down to business.


Kurt nodded. "By another unknown Sith," he explained. "We have no idea of the identity, even the name of them."





"Perhaps." The Leaf-nin merely said. "Come with me."

The ninja headed out of the medical bay and down the hall for the hangar bay.

Mordred got up and followed.

"For us, the beauty lies in the exploration of those mysteries and the challenge we are presented in doing so."

Erathaol stopped speaking the moment Daniel Masaki and Naruto entered, and a gave them a remarkably chilly stare. His expression was not threatening in nature, so much as it conveyed an air of... vigilance.

Kurt just nodded. "Different minds think differently."

"I figured as such. Perhaps we should head over that way and see what they have. The more information we can get, the better."

"Indeed," General Flack agreed.

The Admiral led the way, Artemis whispering in his ear as he was led down the streets to the meeting location.

OOC: Let's get this show back on the road

IC:

Kurt groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Trouble is, this reminds me of my fathers death," he admitted. "We didn't know who or what had killed him and I fear that this might go down a similar route."

General Flack led the Admiral inside the governors palace. "Here we are."

OOC: Let's get this show back on the road

IC:

Kurt groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Trouble is, this reminds me of my fathers death," he admitted. "We didn't know who or what had killed him and I fear that this might go down a similar route."
"Much as I hate to say it, I think it's best to have patience and wait till the new player makes his/her next move." I suggested to my friend. "And just in case that move's you...a subtle increase in security may be in order."

=====

Soon enough, Mordred was more or less hauled before the Hokage. She took one look at the young Sith boy and scowled deeply, wondering whether to pummel him or not. "Why has this piece of trash been brought before me?"

"He says he seeks asylum, Hokage-sama." The ninja escorting Mordred said.

The scowl shifted to a raised eyebrow. "Oh? Pray tell why I should let you live after you've betrayed Suna and Konoha? Tell me why I should allow you asylum anywhere near here, hmm?"

Kurt sighed and nodded. "Would seem the case," he admitted. "I'll order more ships to patrol the colonies." He ran a hand through his hair. "Which means taking some away from elsewhere and that means I should consider an expansion of the fleet."

***

Mordred gave a sly grin. "Just being a good son to my now late mother," he remarked. "I'll be needed, I know things. More than my uncle will know for sure. Did Naruto ever tell you of someone called Darth Karask?"

Kurt sighed and nodded. "Would seem the case," he admitted. "I'll order more ships to patrol the colonies." He ran a hand through his hair. "Which means taking some away from elsewhere and that means I should consider an expansion of the fleet."
"That helps with the usual suspects, but not the ones that would be unseen until it's too late. Perhaps I could loan a squad of ANBU to your person?" I asked.

***

Mordred gave a sly grin. "Just being a good son to my now late mother," he remarked. "I'll be needed, I know things. More than my uncle will know for sure. Did Naruto ever tell you of someone called Darth Karask?"
"We'll see what use you can be. And no, Naruto didn't mention a Darth Karask. Who is he?" Tsunade asked.

"There is the Sunarachi," Kurt mentioned. "Need all the help we can get, we really need to find all we can about this new Sith and that means taking a group into Svartalfheim..."

***

"Basically? Basically he is King Kurt II," Mordred smirked. "From another universe, Naruto and Travis both know all about him."

He watched her careful. It did seem like she didn't believe him, he never expected that she would but being here was certainly a lot safer then being back in Svartalfheim."

Lady Rasputin walked up to Kurt, a look of concern on her face. "Your Majesty, we have lost contact with Exetergrecia," she announced.

Kurt bit his lower lip. This was not good.

"You know what that means, yes?"

The King nodded. "This new Sith is making a move..."

"Suna is offline as well," Gaara then mentioned. "This is very concerning."

***

"And no doubt he'll make contact with Nightshade," Mordred then added. "I'd have gone there else."

Lady Rasputin walked up to Kurt, a look of concern on her face. "Your Majesty, we have lost contact with Exetergrecia," she announced.

Kurt bit his lower lip. This was not good.

"You know what that means, yes?"

The King nodded. "This new Sith is making a move..."

"Suna is offline as well," Gaara then mentioned. "This is very concerning."
"He moves quickly." I mused. "I'd say it's about time we started making our moves, yes?"


***

"And no doubt he'll make contact with Nightshade," Mordred then added. "I'd have gone there else."
That did it for Tsunade. "Well, well. Certainly we'll have to do something about that. For now, though..."

The door knocked and in came the very dangerous Morino Ibiki. Though he's getting long in the tooth, he hasn't lost his touch one bit. He gave an evil glare at Mordred.

"You'll have to be remained into custody for the time being." Tsunade smiled darkly. "Ibiki-san, be sure to be...gentle with him. I'll expect a report every three hours."

"As you wish, Tsunade-sama." Ibiki grinned. Then he barked. "Come, boy!"

Kurt nodded. "We'll need to send a ship out to the Draconian homeworld to scout it out, I fear the lack of communications is on their end not ours."

"Indeed," Lady Rasputin nodded. "I have been able to contact the other colonies. Daniel, you should contact home to see if you can."

***

Mordred just smirked. Saying nothing he placed his hands behind his head and followed Ibiki.

Kurt nodded. "We'll need to send a ship out to the Draconian homeworld to scout it out, I fear the lack of communications is on their end not ours."

"Indeed," Lady Rasputin nodded. "I have been able to contact the other colonies. Daniel, you should contact home to see if you can."

"All right." I said. I tried comming my forces, and got a reply. "I got contact!"

"Cool. Let's call 'em in..." Naruto said.

"Right." I called in some ANBU units. "They'll come. Where should I send them again?"

***

Mordred just smirked. Saying nothing he placed his hands behind his head and followed Ibiki.
"In front." Ibiki growled and forced the boy in front of him to ensure no tricks are played. Soon enough, Mordred was lead to Konoha's dungeons. Cold, dank and full of malcontents whispering ill intents...

Kurt looked towards Gaara who just nodded at him. "Suna, they should go to Suna if they can get anywhere near the planet. If not there's a Kukai Colony on the outskirts of the system. We'd have to launch a fleet from there if we need to liberate my people from the clutches of this Sith."

***

"Yes Sir," Mordred said mockingly. "I do like the accommodation... very musky and the threats? It's like a strange song."

He continued walking until told to stop.

“Huh?” Jr thought to himself. “Draconis Nightcrawlis was here just a moment ago. How can a whole planet just disappear like that?”

“I don't know Little Master,” Mary replied.

Shelley tapped into her console. “I've made contact with the colonies and let them know what has happened...”

They were interrupted by static on the viewscreen followed by laughter. Though there was a lot of interference they could see a shape.

“Is that Prince Gabriel?” Mary wondered.

“Who?” The figure asked. “They call me Jacen... Jacen Wagner. Draconis Nightcrawlis is ours now and the colonies will be too... oh and hello Daniel, I look forward to seeing you again.”

Then the static was gone.

“Did you get that?” Jr asked.

Shelley nodded. “Recorded every last word of it,” she replied. “Shall I send it to the colonies?”

“Do it.”

***

“Whoa!” Kurt said as his arm beeped at him. “It's the Kukai Foundation... There's a video.”

Being a conference room there was a large screen available, Kurt transferred the video over and it played. The exact same as Jr and the crew of The Durandel had seen.

They call me Jacen... Jacen Wagner.

Daniel went cold, a person he hoped to never see again.

There were murmurs between those attending. Kurt looked between the image on the screen and his son. Had he been seeing things or did he see his son through the interference. It couldn't be?

“Not good, that's not a Sith,” the King said.

“But the son of one,” Gaara mentioned and looked toward Naruto. “Remember him?”

"Yeah. That weird alternate world the kids and I took a trip in had a fellow like that." Naruto said, wincing at the events.

"I wonder if he's the guy behind Nocturne's death." I mused. "Probably explains a good bit."

Gaara nodded. "Well if Jacen is here then I think it's a safe bet Darth Karask is too," he mentioned. "Which would mean he is the one whom killed Nocturne."

"Who... what?" Kurt was puzzled.

"An alternate universe version of you," Gaara explained. "We bumped into him when we were in the void world, that was after I quit as Kazekage."

Kurt looked even more confused. "Wait... when did you quit being Kazekage? I think I would remember that."

Gaara sighed. "Of course you won't remember that because you weren't in the void world, only those who were there remember it."

The King continued to look confused.

"So this Darth Karask is an alternate Kurt?" Lady Rasputin asked.

Gaara nodded.

"Yeah. Now that we have a name and a face to go with our enemy, let's consider the facts. Whatever he is, he has enough resources to make a threat of DN, including cutting off communication." I said. "I figure we should play at his own game and start breaking his own resource base."

Meanwhile...

The Defender-class Star Destroyer Enterprise dropped out of hyperspace near the Suna System with a tiny task force of two escort gunships.

"Suna Control, this is the CSD Enterprise, Captain Bismarck speaking. I have orders to deposit ANBU agents to assist you, over."

"Which means entering Svartalfheim space right?" Kurt asked.

Gaara nodded.

"Then I'll get the forces ready," General Flack suggested.

"Do it," Kurt said. "An enemy with my face, that's going to be hard to deal with."

General Flack nodded and left the conference room.

***

No reply... There would be no sign of the planet.

Instead the only contact came from The Durandal.

"This is The Durandal calling Enterprise, do you copy?"

"Wait a minute. Where the hell is Suna?" Bismarck asked.

"I don't know, sir. It looks like it's not even there!"

"Damn. This is a problem..."

Then, to his relief, a call came to him.

"This is The Durandal calling Enterprise, do you copy?"

"Durandal, this is the Enterprise. What the hell happened over here?

"This Jr of The Durandal speaking," came the reply. "It would appear that the Draconian Homeworld has simply vanished along with billions of Draconians..."

Jr still didn't believe it was possible but here they were. No planet.

"I suggest meeting us back at out colony just beyond the system. We have been running some tests on the area and the results should be coming through."

***

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Kurt stared in disbelief at the recent information received from the Kukai Foundation. "That's impossible, a whole fucking planet just can't disappear like that."

"This Jr of The Durandal speaking," came the reply. "It would appear that the Draconian Homeworld has simply vanished along with billions of Draconians..."

Jr still didn't believe it was possible but here they were. No planet.

"I suggest meeting us back at out colony just beyond the system. We have been running some tests on the area and the results should be coming through."
Impossible! A whole planet just can't disappear! Captain Bismarck thought. In shock, he could only reply. "Very well. We'll do what we can as well."

"Start scanning every inch of this system and...call in Vector Industries. No doubt the eggheads will want to take a look at what went wrong." The Captain ordered.

"Aye, sir."

***

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Kurt stared in disbelief at the recent information received from the Kukai Foundation. "That's impossible, a whole fucking planet just can't disappear like that."
"And no disturbance in the Force either." Naruto muttered, just as disbelieving. "What the hell happened?"

"I wonder if this is just the beginning..." I groaned. Every time in DN...Every time!

As the scans apparently brought nothing up, The Durandal rturned to the Kukai colony to wait for them. Leaving the ship, Jr looked up toward the stars.

"It's impossible," he said.

"Yes it is Little Master," Mary agreed.

A flash of blue and a sudden headache appeared. For a brief moment Jr had the urge of blood thirst but it quickly passed. He shook it off.

"You okay Little Master?"

"Yeah I'm fine," he replied, wondering how Mary could continue to sound so cheerful at a time like this.

***

"I think I saw that on Doctor Who once?" Daniel thought, hanging from one of the chandeliers by his tail. "I thought that was impossible."

"Gabriel get down from there," Kurt warned his son.

In a flash Daniel teleported beside his father.

"It's the beginning all right," The King then said. "It's another test of my skills and I think you all know who's doing the testing..."