NationStates Jolt Archive

Imperial Base 001, Milky Way Galaxy
During the late reign of Emperor Belcameron II, he funded a project that would see the Empire finally expand into the Milky Way Galaxy. 001 was the first starbase to be constructed outside and the construction of a nearby stargate in which the base watches over allowed for more accurate travel into this galaxy.

If this star system belonged to anybody they did not know, they just constructed the base and used the solar power from the lone star to power the Warpgate. The base had no defences save for contacting Alpha Fleet to come and protect them.

The next phase was to colonize a world, they had already about 2 decades back dropped off a Terraforming factory on a planet in a nearby system and now the planet was due for completion. After a ship is sent to investigate the world and give the Imperial Senate the clearance to allow the handout of a Colonial Charter then the Empire will finally have a presence and a reason to meddle in the Milky Way Galaxy.

A revelation class arrived in the system and hailed 001.

"This is the IPN:Gremlin under the command of Captain Jenkin Horus, please respond"

"This is 001, welcome to the Milky Way galaxy Captain. The coordinates have been sent to your navigation computer and you have permission to continue with your mission"

The Gremlin enters slip-space and heads towards what should now be a habitable planet, and continue the Phenixican Policy of aggressive colonization.

((OOC:Somebody could of claimed the planet, somebody might own the system or somebody might simply want to stop Phenixica from gaining a foothold in the Milky Way. I have allot of time on my hands for a few days so why not have even a minor war over this :P))

OOC: sounds good and a minor war is necessary for me to start up my own colonisation/exploration thread that will be upcoming, and very open.

IC

As the Phenixican vessel entered the system, it was under the scrutiny of a million eyes. Scattered around the system, Treuhelfer bio-com drone's cheerfully laboured away, preparing and refining ore for the fledgling industries now circling the fourth world in the system. A lush, green world a Tannelornian Colony fleet had discovered and refined a few years earlier, shortly before the Prefecture-Divine republic war. Now the Colony was under the jurisdiction of the Divine Kingdom once again, and under the rule of the council of Star lords.

This meant little, the colony was far away from the hub of Tannelornian civilisation, and military forces in the system itself were meager. Considering the colony of just over eight thousand souls was still busy setting up its first real city, and discovering just what "identity" they may have. Mercantile pursuits, Esoteric, or simply a recreational world. So the meager military forces, consisting of just two hundred Militia VMF and HMF mecha as well as the Ikazuki refit MK II battle-carrier, relied heavily on the Treuhelfer's to keep them updated on goings on in the system. After all with just one military ship, and only two hundred mecha, patrolling and entire system would be difficult. However with the sheer number of Treuhelfers, this job was made vastly easier.

The Treuhelfer's dutifully reported the presence of the strange ship to the planets military Overlord, Captain Jaden Herad of the Whisper of the star's.

++++

"Captain, unknown ship entering the system, the treuhelfers are watching them, but making no moves, orders?" a voice rang out from the comms, the Captain, short for a Tannelornian at 6' looked small in his chair, but spoke with a voice of authority. "Make contact, order a full military launch, notify the civilian admnistration of the situation. Comm's, contact the Divine Kingdom, keep them updated."

The Captain looked at the information piling up in the hololith and sighed. Unknown contacts were always tricky, sometimes even if peaceful they can be provoked by the most innocuous of things. So Captain Herad put on his most cheerful face and composed a simple greeting.

++++

Alien vessel, you have entered the Territory of the Divine Kingdom, what is your reason for doing so

The Venator Class Star Destroyer Inspector dropped from hyperspace into the system. Star Republic Science had been observeing the apparent Colonization of a planet from afar and it was now time to send a ship to take a look and see if the Terraformers were still around or if the planet was free for colonization. The Inspector began to run sensor scans as soon as they returned to normal space.

Bridge, Inspector

"We've got two ships on sensors" Tactical Officer John Solo reported.
"Take us in, slowly don't spook them, thats all we need" Captain Mace Jackson ordered "Send a message back to Command, tell them we've entered the system and are ventureing inwards"

Captain Horus raised a eyebrow and looked over to his navigation officer.

"What did we leave on this planet exactly? anything to show it was taken?"

"You know the drill with terraforming, the factories are self-maintained by Dvslandians robots until our arrival. By what we are finding in sensor readings this colony is only a few years old, they could of simply found a habitable world and colonized it. It is what we get for not checking on these things"

"Surely the court ordered it to be checked before now"

"Empire been busy the last 20 years, consolidating it's position in the Citerian and putting down a rebellion, This project wouldnt of seemed as important"

The captain then looks over to Communications

"Open a audio link, just what we need"

A quick beep is heard to show the link had been opened

"This is Captain Horus of the IPN: Gremlin, we were sent here as part of a final observation of a planet we were terraforming. Funny enough the exact planet you have founded a colony on yourself"

He knew where this would lead the second he knew he had to open communications he knew what would happened, the Court will order him to make them leave and yet they wont oh no....the Captains Monran mind was quick to know exactly what will happen.

The Sensors then picked up something else

"Captain, Ventator Class star destroyer but it doesnt appear to be Galactic Empire issue"

The captain sighed, he turned to his Communications Officer

"Tell 001 to prepare to contact Alpha fleet, this is going to get more and more interesting"

The Inspector continued heading slowly towards the ships and planets. The Sensors scanning both ships and the planets.

Captain Herad pressed his face in to his palm and sighed. "Great, now they will likely ask us to leave, and the trouble is, it really is their planet, though we did make quite a few improvements on the bio-sphere." He produced a pipe and started to smoke from it. "Problem is, even if the civilians would want to leave, our jump drive has been broken for months, and high command has not seen fit to provide us with any spare parts. Notify high command of the need for more spare parts comms, and prepare a return message to the aliens."

The Captain composed himself and cheerfully replied to Captain Horus last transmission.

"Really, that is quite an amazing coincidence Captain Horus, amazing work you people have done down there, we have made quite a few improvements of our own mind you, but a very good template. If you would like, you could come over to talk more about such things in person, we are having our weekly barbecue and the boys have broken open a few kegs." Captain Herad hoped that would properly confuse them, at worst, at best, have the IPN captain over for drinks, which would buy some time, and hopefully alleviate any animosity over the ownership of the world.

"Captain, we have another contact in system, this one identifiable. Venator Class Star Destroyer." a shout from tactical disrupted the Captains train of thought. "Send a flight of VMF's to scout it out." he grumbled.

This really was a bad day for a war to start, the barbecue started in fifteen minutes.

++++

A flight of twelve Morning Ray VMF's launched from the Whisper of the Star's ventral launch bay. The mecha were only recently acquired for the Militia's, the overall volunteer military, which normally fought only in defense, or support of the Knight Fleet's, after the fall of the Prefecture. It was such a superior machine in comparison to the Alpha II that it was ordered to replace the lighter mecha in all space based operations, aerospace operations was still a craft the lighter unit excelled in, though it shined with the support of its larger cousins.

The flight of Morning rays formed up and headed straight for the unknown Venator Star Destroyer.

OOC
Morning Ray High Maneuver configuration:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o133/Conan2525/MorningrayBattloid.jpg?t=1239524697
Morning Ray High Speed configuration:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o133/Conan2525/MorningRay1.jpg?t=1239524737

"Contacts, inbound" John reported.
"Who from?" Mace asked.
"Apparently from the Planet's ships" John responded "Orders sir?"
"Launch 8 V-Wings, and 8 ARC-170's, order them not to fire unless Fired upon" Mace instructed.
Two Minutes Later the Sixteen Starfighters had been launched and we're in a defensive formation around the ship, and the Inspectors shields were raised.

Horus smiled, what Herad did not know if Phenixica has only one legal alcoholic beverage which is Pheni Ale which is practically drank like it's on rations in the Empire. He was not one to ignore food, he turned to his communications Officer.

"Any word from Admiral of Alpha Fleet?"

"Yes he has replied, telling us to stay diplomatic and wait for this fight to come to us"

Horus sighed while scratching the back of his head, the Empire these days never toke any situation seriously enough until it was rammed up our backside.

"Prepare my shuttle"

Horus (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i116/Belcameron/hmday.jpg) arrives alone, the shuttle had 2 soldiers ready to come to the rescue. He was still in his captains uniform, still being only 28 he would not look much like a Captain but thats how good and naturally suited the Monra Tribe was to command they tend to get high positions right out of the Academy.

He waits standing outside the shuttle, it would be rude to barge into the Barbeque without a escort

meanwhile back on the Gremlin
"They launched observers to checkout taht Venator and it's responded by launching fighters and raising it's shields"

"A Revelation Class can manage a Venator, besides we can have reinforcements here in a hour"

While the captain was away the commanding staff were incharge and pretty much had to make decisions based on whoever had the loudest voice. Phenixican ships can be lost without a Captain.

The Fighters remained static above the Inspector, waiting for the incoming fighters to declare their intentions.

"Wait, your telling me they are actually coming over?" Captain Herad stated with more then a little disbelief. "Aye Captain, they are, well I guess you managed the best result then." First mate Aretta Nontiar stated with an air of sarcasm. "Well then, I suppose we should open a few more kegs." The Captain rose and turned towards the main elevator to the lower levels. "Nontiar, you have the bridge. Aretta krinkled her fine star elven nose in distaste. Once again she would miss the barbecue. The Captain had been finding many excuses for that lately.


++++

The Captain was a full bloodeded Arendacilian, which meant to say that he was almost human aside from slightly lengthened fangs and sharper incisors, due to a Arendacilian Tannelornians slightly more carnivorous bent. As well as being a perfect physical specimen produced after a thousand millenia of genetic engineering and selective breeding. Truthfully he only had Arendacilian lineage, which of course ran strong, strong enough to wipe out the Herigenes cluster of genes.

However the Captain was not a Knight, no matter the amount of swagger and pomp he presented to his crew. The Phenixican shuttle was nearly to the bay, and the steaks were just being thrown on the barbecue, improvised this week from a large hoist and a fusion engine.

The Phenixicans were cleared for landing just as the Captain assumed the place of honour, seasoning the first of the steaks. Diplomacy didnt have to be dull, and even if it came to war, it would at least come to that, civilly.

++++

Reskin Tarendil sighted the first of the Lingards fighters, smirking slightly as he recognised the older imperial, or more rightly republic designs. However they were making no hostile moves as of yet. He sent out a transmission to the ship, a simple generic message asking what their business in the system was, and if they needed assistance. Then for emphasis they started to maneuver around the Lingards fighters, switching from High mobility, to high speed mode to emphasis what a mistake it would be for the Lingard forces to attack unprovoked.

The Morning Ray was the final word in Civilian built combat mecha, outside of the Knight mecha of the Divine Navy, the Morning ray was simply the most powerful thing anyone not of knight blood was allowed to fly, and unlike their Captain, Reskin's Raiders were far more willing to test out their new toys on anyone who gave them a reason.

Alpha Squadron

"Well, they're fast, but I'd say we could take them if we had to" Alpha One commented on the secured channel "We've made alot of modifications to these things over the years"
"Besisdes we've got another 250 fighters sitting in the Inspectors hanger bay anyway" ALpha Two responded.

Bridge, Inspector

"They're hailing us" John reported "Inquiring to our intentions"
"Unidentified Fighters, this is the Star Republic Ship Inspector, we are on a scientific enquiry, our Science bureua detected the unexplained terraforming of a planet in this system, we were sent to investigate and find out if it was avaliable for colonizatio" MAce responded "CAn I take it that your from that planet?"

"Hmmm..." Aboard the Eagle, one of the Immortal Lands' Raptor-Class Carriers (http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/3/12/21/f_Demonm_f834a62.jpg), Admiral Loki Wright, commander of the 5th Assault/Planetary Engagement (A/PE) Fleet watched the little would-be war wagers dart around in their tiny fleets on the Realspace sensors; inaccuracy was a rule when watching events in reality from the dimension known as Slipspace, but few things could see a ship in Slipspace from Realspace -- or in this case, 49. As an A/PE Fleet, the 5th had four Raptors allotted it, the same as the larger Defense Fleets; they also had a half-dozen Death-Class battleships, and about 25 and 15 of the Plague Destroyer and its bigger cousin the Demon Battlecruiser, respectively.

More intriguing, however, was the habitable planet in-system. Well, actually, it wasn't quite habitable, but it was in the process of terraforming and looked to be on the brink of being a full-blown life-sustaining planet. The Immortal Lands liked those. Furthermore, there seemed to be few enough enemy ships that, even if they banded together against the "common enemy", Imglot should still emerge victorious.

"Send Fleet Message: breach Slipspace and hold on periphery of system." Wright watched as the simulated viewports around the ship's bridge -- buried deep within the structure, not exposed like some terrestrial navy trash -- flickered and grew hazy as the ship's multiple Hantog Drives tore a hole in the dimensional veil to allow the 50-strong fleet to escape to reality. Wright had no illusions about what the sudden appearance of so many ships would do to an already tense situation. He decided to make light of it.

"Greetings, fellow interstellar races! Unfortunately, we can't simply sit here while you continue your pointless ship-to-ship standoffishness and whatnot; so, to alleviate a bit of the strain, we decided to grace you with our presence." Wright affected a frown and speech pattern as if delivering a eulogy. "However, as you may know, even the best of interstellar empires need new planets, and there's a ready-made one right there. So, pip pip, so long, and I hope you enjoy your little mind games elsewhere." Flicking off the transmission, he turned to his bridge crew, he announced, "Welcome, gentlemen, to Tigeria 4."

The carriers released their full complement of 120 Orion-Type Starfighters (http://gregar2001.cwahi.net/airrivals/gameinfo/gears/I-Gear/rapidbinder.png), blisteringly fast dedicated starfighter killers. These swarmed defensively around the fleet, as the ships readied their myriad of weaponry to unleash on resistance.

As the fighters came rushing towards the Gremlin a small sphere object was jettisoned behind it, after about 3 seconds a huge power surge came from the object as it spewed out a signal to be heard all round.

The Great Lord Tiger had triggered the first defence that Phenixicans rush to in such situations, if under threat call Alpha Fleet which has a responsove time of 5 minutes and the a communication was sent.

"This is the Gremlin of the Imperial Phenixican Navy, Halt your aggression or you will be destroyed"

Electro-Magnetic shielding was raised and the Cruiser was ready to fire at the fighters with it's high powered anti-fighter turrents ready to shove plasma down there throats. The large Energy cannon mounted on the top of the ship was being rotated ready to fire but it did not matter, soon the Empire will swarm this system and remove any further threat made againsts them.

"Sir, enemy fleet has sent off a message to us, and we have detected a burst communication from their ship, likely to call for reinforcements."

"So I'm aware," Wright said in response. He made a sweeping gesture with his arms. "Recall all starfighters and retreat!"

"Sir?" the lieutenant said questioningly.

"The reinforcements have got to be pretty big if they're this confident. A planet isn't worth obliteration of our entire fleet. Retreat into Slipspace."

As quickly as the Imglotian ships had entered, they left, and nothing remained of them but dust and echoes.

Already involved in my own war, and not about to get entangled in suicide. To be honest, I looked at your factbook, thought you were just wanking, and then looked at your NS page. I'll be honest, my jaw dropped a little. Do not want. Buh-bye.

((OOC:Ok....anti-climatical))

"Shut off the Buoy and get it back in here"

"It's burnt out, we only have one left now"

Alien Vessel
Horus entered the room with the BBQ and he did admit the smell was good, better then the ration like meals you got onboard Phenixican craft. As he looked to the Captain of this vessel he did raise a eyebrow and realize he had been quick to call these people Terrans.

Phenixicans are Human, but scans would show a denser brain, higher body temperature, greater average muscle mass and most of all a armoured Spinal Cord which was all things which showed only on the inside and Terrans (none-Devenis humans) where seen as inferior

He walked up towards Herad with his hand out to shake.

"Captain Jenkin Horus of the Imperial Phenixican Navy, Alpha Fleet"

OOC agreed Great Tiger, we are looking for minor wars, not galactic conquests, right now neither of us are in a real position to engage in wars of conquest.
Tannelorn just got out of a massive civil war and Phenixica is just trying to get a foothold, not conquests.

IC

Reskin was slightly Dissapointed the Lingard fighters werent game, they responded curtly, and politely, informing them they were from this system. Then the Great Tiger forces appeared, and released several messages in a short period of time. The first spurred Reskins raiders to action, the second caused them to stand down in confusion...Aliens could be a little strange at times.

++++

Captain Herad took the Captain Horus' hand in a hearty hand shake. "Greetings Captain Horus of the Imperial Phenixican navy, and welcome to the Whisper of the Stars. If this were a Knight ship of the Divine Navy, you might expect a more formal greeting, but we are on a Militia ship here, and Diplomacy here is conducted as one friend to another." the Captain grinned and flipped over some of the choicest cuts of steak. "So Captain, Rare, medium rare, medium or well done?" he asked. The Captain was not exactly authorised as a diplomat, but as the only official representative of the Star Lord's on Guttenheim, it was his duty to at least entertain the Phenixicans until a real diplomat arrived.

That being said he also had a duty to his crew, to ensure that they had a good time and most importantly remained safe. So he decided to skip the matter of ownership of the world until he absolutely needed to address it.

A blonde little half elf girl walked up with a few fresh mugs of ale, her Arendacilian parentage showing in her broad hips and large bust. Star Elven men and women, were made from a mix of Moon and sun elven lines, with Arendacilian coding thrown in to "unite" the gene structure. That being said they still didnt manage quite as curvaceous a frames on average as an Arendacilian girl. Half elves on the other hand, quite often did. She flashed a few smiles at the foreign dignitaries then retreated to join the drunken carousing.

The Captain was cunningly trying to distract the foreigners with all of his diplomatic weaponry. However he was a Captain in the Militia, and he was doing all of this in the hopes high command would send someone..anyone from the real militaries of Tannelorn to negotiate in his place. His job was hunting pirates and stopping raiders. Not dealing with delegates from a large galactic empire, whose project they had inadvertantly stolen.

Still he had reason to smile, the steaks were coming out nicely.

((OOC:a Skirmish or a small fight is all I am willing to do,

"Well done, raw meat from a alien world could have anything in it which our immune system wont be able to handle"

The women intrigued him mostly because he had been serving on the Gremlin for 4 months now, had nobody waiting for him and the navy was still mostly dominated by males.

He hated inter-galactic politics, more so first encounters. When this colony was captured Alpha Fleet was to be stationed and a Fortress created out of the entire system.

After that the Imperial Court will most likely order expansion and create a quasi-independent colony that will probably be assigned it's own Imperial Council to organize efforts to expand the influence of the greater empire.

The Inspector remained in posistion and was monitoring the situation, her fighters keeping in formation around the Ship.

Horus who was still waiting for things to go diplomatically bad was first to ask a question.

"Tell me about your race, I must admit the empire tends to take races in the Milky Way with a bit of salt in the wound"

Horus knew one thing about Phenixican Policy, that it is best for the enemy to make the first slip. Diplomacy was nothing about another warzone except with words and this would be treated no differently. We might not be the most powerful Empire in the Universe but we know how to manipulate things from the background.

"Well done it is my friend." Captain Herad decided to engage in light conversation now, a barrage of well timed questions about nothing in particular would have to suffice. High Command had been notified and was dispatching the nearest Knight ship's to the area, to take over diplomatic negotiations. "So you boys from around here?" he asked politely, flipping the steak a final time before putting it on a plate and handing it to Captain Horus.

The Captain did however, being a fellow male, and though being on a ship with a fair few women, noticed the same look in Captain Horus' eye that he often shared after a few drinks and a drunken stumble back to his quarters. Knight Captains were always considered more dashing, not simply for being nobility but generally because Knights almost never engaged in drink, Militia captain's however, were famous for indulging, and it was for that quality exactly that they were generally delegated duties such as guarding backwater colonies.

He nodded slightly to Talia, the girl who had served the men drinks. "We are always willing to welcome new friends." Talia sauntered over once again, this time seemingly more intoxicated then the last, she moved in front of the table, and deliberately bent over in front of Captain Horus and his delegation, affording them a view up her regulation skirt. She picked up a case of beer and walked over to a group of girls sitting on a Alpha II VMF, she winked at the one of the Horus bodyguard, a fine drunken blush on her face as she turned to look at them.

"After all who better to trade tales with around the fire then those with interesting, and new story's to tell hmm?" Captain Herad handed out a few more steaks to the crew members milling about.

++++

The mecha returned to the lingard ship, offering to escort their captain to the Whisper of the Stars to join in on the barbecue.

***178 ly away***

"Lord Kendall, are you serious..Diplomacy?" Knight General Yannericil narrowed his eyes at the frustrated Lord. Kendall had taken over command of the Mythrandir invasion and ordered a retreat though the Tannelornian Forces were still in top fighting shape. The reason was simple, the Mythrandir were not an aggressive nation preparing for war as they had been told by the Prefecture representatives to the old Federation. Even though he had performed admirably since, gaining distinction and being involved in several majour actions and personally commanding the Durandal in several decisive victories. He still carried the stigma of the retreat at Mythrandir. Though he was just, he was considered to willing to flee the field by many of his compatriots. Especially in Fleet Abbarrakh.

"Star Lord Rendacil needs Knight's at Guttenheim now, it doesnt matter who, just so long as it isn't one of the Progressive faction." Yannericil sighed. "Very well set course, how many ships are with us." Yannericil asked casually. "Two Skoffnung class DEM battleships, The Arclight and the Bahadur as well as the Monitor Light of Wrath." Yannericil nodded. Between them they carried almost seventy HMAF's and eight hundred VMF's. As well the Massive Strategic Graser on the Monitor would be of extreme value if it came to any conflict in an orbital system, especially if the enemy favoured projectiles and missiles. "Well Kendall, I will lead any planning to you." Yannericil turned and walked away, preparing to brief the Divine Celestial Cavaliers aboard ship.

++++

"Janus, we are redeploying in a few moments to Guttenheim, a minor colony near us, apparently there is a diplomatic crisis brewing and we need to get there as soon as possible, the fleet will be ready to jump as soon as they recall the treuhelfer's and survey teams." Selsharril Aelothi, Janus Tsaratov's elven Back seat since she helped him and MAIA escape from the Prefecture world of Derengard. She smiled sweetly, arms locked behind her back as she waited for him to respond. "Mission parameters?" Janus asked casually. "Just a sweep, plenty of time alone amongst the stars." she cooed at him. Janus gave her a look that he had many times. One that made her stop that line of thought immediately. She pouted a bit then slapped him on the arm. "Suit up, we have to go." she smiled again at him, he simply smiled awkwardly back. three and a half years of war and the death of billions in the plague that killed every Tannelornian with the Heregines cluster had robbed him of his humour.

"Alright, lets go." the young star lord stood up automatically, then proceeded to the flight deck, Selsharril followed quickly behind him.

OOC

This thread takes place five years after is anyone out there, fluid time is being used for Janus and crew.

Janus Tsaratov.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o133/Conan2525/Tannelornian%20Characters/janus2.gif?t=1239710381

The Inspector replied the following
"Our apologies, our captain is currently tied up with ship business, but if allowed we would like to send out Diplomat Sifa Dos"

"The Empire comes from the Citerian Galaxy, Phenixica our capital city being the shining light of civilzation. We control the entire galaxy thanks to agressive colonization and our calm diplomatic manner, we have our own Alien species but they are completely under our control thanks to our strict control over the galactic economy. My personal story is not that interesting compared to others, I have served with the navy ever since I Graduated from the Academy at 24 and was given the position of first officer in Alpha Fleet. Average day sums up in battle exercises and drills waiting for one of our many explorers to get into allot of trouble and then we go in and pull out, the real action in our empire is serving in the colonial garrisons"

Horus raised a eyebrow and smirked at Talia, his bodyguards were pretty much had a eye on her but noway would Horus allow that sort of behavior to happen. If he couldnt get any noway his soldiers would. He simply gives a polite nod in her direction....saying a Phenixican was above sleeping with such women was simply propaganda put in place to make us think ourselves more civil and they were simply men with needs.

"Also dont get many attractive alien races in the Citerian"

OOC: Do you mind if I become an Alien and also an ally?? Well we could say one of our ships has been infected and mutated it into somewhat a alien controlled ship? Well, somehow our fleet is finding that ship to be destroyed to prevent additional disaster. Well it somehow like to Starcraft, the Hive, you know. :)

IC:
Several miles away, an unknown ship is floating over space. A big ship, maybe a battlecruiser type, was heading towards to them. The ship looks like it was destroyed on a fierce fight, but the ship is an Infested alien ship. Inside the ship is full of flesh, a flesh that is wet and sticky. A man is standing by the bridge, his face is full of infested flesh, it was the known admiral of the ship, Admiral Ariel Tulibas, many of the Martilians thought he was dead, as the alien species, known as the Hive, attacked the ship and destroyed it. "Oh....some flesh to be infected with...", then Tulibas licked his mouth, like an animal who is hungry, then a strange voice talked to him, "Hmm....it's a nice idea. It's not bad that I made you one of mine", then the strange voice laughed as like there's no tomorrow. The Infected ship quickly made a full speed ahead to the location of the ships.

((OOC:That should be fine, Im familiar with the Zerg so it shouldnt be any problem. You do whatever you want, StarCraft is a fav of mine which is why some of my ships are based on Terran designs))

Captain Herad raised an eyebrow at the comment on controlling an entire galaxy. That one simple fact told the Captain all he needed to know. He was completely out of his league. Economy or no, this meant trouble, and he did not want to inadvertently offend his guest.

"Really, interesting enough to me, I served in the old PTSS, that was the civilian space service, like police. I was too old for the GTFOA when it was still around, so I joined the Celestial Militia when i was ready. Now I serve in the Divine Militia, under the Star Lords." he spoke casually, as if it was information anyone would know.

"Well we I saw action in the big one, the war against the prefecture, did alot of medevac work when the heregines plague hit. That killed alot of people, grim work that. Everyone we evacuated died. See seems that just not having a simple set of genes left a third of our population vulnerable. Only disease to ever hit Tannelorn I can remember." he sighed softly then looked up.

"Mostly just dust up's with raiders now." the Captain said, looking over at the ladies. "heh, and yes, we do have quite a few attractive women, even heard about one race where the women are not only beautiful, but really raring to go...all the time...and they do anybody, boys..girls..if you could believe that heh, girls doing girls." the Captain said with a smirk. "Have it on good authority from my friend Aramar, he is a Knight, even says the young Tsaratov lord shacked up with one of them himself."

Herad had found a weakness, and he would now exploit it, he would start discussing women, in great detail and varying levels of graphicness as descriptions would require, until someone from the lords council got here...

++++

"Come on Janus whats wrong." Selsharril purred, she had removed her flightsuit and come down to the lower cockpit of the Blue Swan where Janus was busy reading instrumentation and looking for any signs of hidden vessels. "Divine light Selly what the hell are you doing." Janus exclaimed loudly. The sun elven girl was floating right in front of him, with her hands on his shoulders, and wearing little more then her beaming smile. "Come on Janus, we are alone out here, nothing is going on and we can relax, I know you have been wanting to as well, and I know your some big hoity toity Star Lord now, but no one is going to see what we do here." she moved in and tried to kiss him, but a klaxon interrupted her as assuredly as his quickly raising hand would have.

"Shit, incoming vessel, moving towards Whisper of the Stars and the unknown contacts." Selsharril exclaimed. As heated as she was, she was still a soldier and duty always took precedence..well almost always. She quickly donned her flight suit as Janus accellerated sharply in system, towards the vessels.

++++

Reskin opened up a communications channel to the Inspector. "Alright Alien' foreigners, go ahead and send a diplomat, but I hope you can hold your liquor." he laughed at himself for the joke. Reskin was never a witty man, but he didnt have to be. He was simply put the best pilot on the ship. That fact got him more action on board that ship then any single other crew member. That was all he needed.

Reskins Raiders circled in position, waiting to escort the diplomatic convoy to the Whisper of the Stars

The 'Diplomat' Were Jedi Knight Kenobi Wan and his Padawan John Hunter. They got into their Delta 7's and headed to the Raiders.

((OOC:Oh good, some stimulating conversation and dont be surprised when the Phenixicans act negatively towards Force Users :P))

"We just have human in Phenixica, alien races tend to be to exotic in the Citerian. Phenixican Women are usually pretty reserved about sex, the most open are the Dvslandian human girls are the best ones out there which is what you get for a republic which had enforced nudity. Imperial Culture is very againsts that kind of thing"

The Alien-controlled Admiral Tulibas was on his way to the fleets, when an unidentified ship is headed to his way. "Ah, Human scoundrels?? Shouldn't we let them have a warm welcome to our ship??", Tulibas asked jokingly, again the unknown voice talks again "Well....Tulibas...make sure start the ritual for the welcome", then the unknown voice laughs again.

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

Meanwhile, a Martilian Space Fleet is patrolling nearby where the meeting is taking place, their ships was picked up by the SMSS Jacinto radar system. The Admiral of the Fleet is Admiral Henry Ulusta, a colleague of Admiral Tulibas, Ulusta knows about the Alien species of the Hive and their capabilities and weaknesses. Ulusta have experienced fighting with these creatures and have able to survive mind control attempts of the Hive.
"Sir, we're picking up of several unknown ships into the radar", one of the staffs in the bridge said. The staff put the information in a wide screen so Admiral Ulusta will clearly see it. "Alright, I want to establish communications with those ships, tell them we don't pose any threat at all". A communication request was sent to the Inspector. They waited for the ship to reply.

*BumP*

Comm responce
TO: Martillian Space Fleet
FROM STS Inspector

Hello there, from the Star Republic, and who might you be?

Comm Response:
TO: STS Inspector
FROM: Martillian Space Fleet

We are from the Space Union Socialist State of Martilia. We do not pose any threat to you, unless you're controlled by Hive.

Comm Responce
TO Martillian Space Fleet
FROM STS Inspector

We have not encounted a species called the hive as of yet,

Comm Response:
TO: STS Inspector
FROM: Martillian Space Fleet

Very well then, by the way, what's with a huge fleet in this region?? Is this an invasion?? And if you may want, we need to talk to you, in your ship.

COMM Responce
TO: Martillian Space Fleet
FROM: STS Inspector

It would appear so, but we have not stake this far out from our own borders, not yet anyway. And yes, you may come aboarrd our Ship.

COMM Responce
TO: STS Inspector
FROM: Martillian Space Fleet

Alright then.

The ship rushed in to the location of STS Inspector. The Martilian ship have other 4 ship escorts.

Captain Herad smirked at Horus comment. This was one advantage he did have. Tannelorn had about five types of woman, Moon elves, Sun elves, Star elves and Half elves As well as Arendacilian. He looked over at Talia glancing sternly and nodding for a moment. She turned to the four girls next to her, coincedentally one of each type, and they clambered off the HMF and disappeared for a few moments, as Captain Herad started to speak. "Really, enforced Nudity you say?" Herad gave a wolfish grin. "Personally I like a little peekaboo myself if you know what I mean, but that could be a nice vacation spot." The Captain took a beer and started to drink.

"So mostly human in the Citerian, any other types of Alien? Out here we have plenty of Aliens, plenty of pretty ones too...though we got some real uglies out there too," he decided to gain a little more information on the Citerian in general. "We have plenty of humans here too, nice guys, but a little on the fragile side, like the elves before we got to them." he winked. Tannelornian genetic engineering was, needless to say almost godlike in its capability, nearly anything could be done with it, though they often chose not to. The greatest example of this was the creation of various pieces of technology using only cellular nanomachines, though it takes time, it is what makes the massive vessels of the Knight's so resilient and deadly in battle, as well as their crews.

Star elves were another fine example, taken from DNA from the two dozen sun and moon elven refugee's rescued by Tannelorn early after its isolation ended, they were mixed together and then blended with Arendacilian for good measure.

Suddenly the Captain recieved a knock on the Aethernet, the psychic communications network that served the Tannelornians as an internet, and secure channel in wartime. His First officer was frantically trying to reach him, cute as she was..she could be dreadfully stubborn. So Captain Herad answered.

[I]Captain, they sent the Blue Swan.... Captain Herad jumped a little bit. It seemed like he would see his old friend Yannericil, as well as the Star Lord Janus Tsaratov. A thought that at once relieved and frightened him more then anything he could imagine.

He looked up and smiled at Captain Horus, taking a swig of his beer.

++++

"Selsharril, make contact with the Whisper of the Stars, ask them for their status." Janus casually mentioned while moving to intercept the vessel that was closing in at high speed. He connected a transmission to the strange, lone vessel which was moving rapidly towards the Whisper and the Gremlin. "Alien vessel, slow your acceleration and change your vector immediately, you are in Divine Celestial territory, come to this heading or we will be forced to open fire on you."

Janus immediately transmitted the coordinate he wished the lone Martilian ship to go towards, and unlocked the clamps on the Blue Swan, a sixty meter long High Maneuver Armoured frame, essentially a two man attack frigate geared towards speed and firepower. It was the first craft in the Divine Navy to be powered by MAIA's improved DEM [Divine energy manipulation] powerplant.

A host of small gun drones lifted off from the frame, each one controlled by Selsharril's heightened consciousness, another side effect of getting the DEM powerplant working the way it was supposed to, was an enhanced spacial awareness and prescience for Aether sensitives, prescients, telekinetics and telepaths were common amongst the nobles and knights of Tannelorn. Janus was a reknowned prescient, and Selsharril had a highly enhanced spatial awareness to begin with.

They were a deadly team, and Janus had a bad feeling about that ship. Before making contact with the Gremlin he would first ensure that the incoming vessel altered its course.


++++

Reskin was delighted to see the little fighters come out of the Inspector namely because he had once bought something similiar for an ex girlfriend, and it made him chuckle slightly, but business was business.

"This is Commander Reskin, you Aliens come this way, and follow exactly the way we go, otherwise you will be considered hostile and shot by PDS." he ended the transmission then laughed at the joke, his squadron powered away, maneuvering wildly in a roundabout course that took them around the Whisper of the Stars several times before landing.

The two Jedi Starfighters followed a course that took them straight for the alein ship, ignoring the Resikin and his squadron.

Admiral Tulibas see two starfighters incoming. He quickly open the starfighter hatch, and wait for the starfighters to go in. The outside of the ship looks a scratched ship, no holes or destroyed points, but in reality there are, the alien within the ship is using an illusion to make it look like steels. "Come....starfighters....come", Tulibas said.

Horus laughs at the first comment

"Dvslandians are a liberal bunch, they came from our home planet like all humans in the Citerian. But naturally we gave them there own planet so they could develop away from the Empire, but they do make the best machinary and AI in the galaxy"

"There are 4 other races in the Citerian. Hursi which are feline Humanoid, Orchandians name speaks for itself, Orca-Suri practically smart Orchandians and the Mys bunch of pirates and Brigands. We are part of the first generation of space civilizations in our galaxy so we are a rare find, there were 4 others who at one time were our rivals but they all vanished. except for the Qwelva who were our archrivals for control and a race of advanced insects died of disease"

Horus decides to delibrately let a few things be known about the difference between Humans and Terrans (Terrans being non-devenis humans)

"We know from our travels that Terrans are fragile, they dont grow as much muscle mass and there brains mass has been proven to be six-percent thinner then Humans. Phenixicans go one step further, we have natural advantages based by our tribes you see if I was a Ruid I would have the strength of five Terrans or a Grun I would be able to shoot a pin out of the hand of a person from three football fields away. Me being a Monra am simply a natural commander and learn quickly"

Horus then pats his back

"Also Phenixican spinal cords have a hard yet flexible casing, giving it extra protection and making it impossible for a injury to paralyze us"

The Martilian fleet have arrived to where the Inspector is. They have sent a request message to enter the ship itself.

COmm responce
To Martillian Fleet

You are welcome to come aboard

Captain Herad took in the information given and referenced a few parts, particularly about the strength and spinal casing. Standard enhancements built in to the Arendacilian Genome included enhanced and hardened cardiopulminary systems, muscles twice as dense as normals, bones with the resiliency of steel, enhanced memory and vision as well as reflexes were also the norm. This was not to mention the myriad optional and "caste" specific enhancements of the Knights, Lords and scientists. "Well we are tougher and stronger, smarter and faster then a normal human, I myself weigh about four hundred and seventy pounds by human estimates." he casually omitted the Knights, whom the vast majourity of wore built in nano machine colonies that continually enhanced them, making them stronger, faster and tougher as they grow, not to mention the link to the Aether it granted. He also omitted the scientists and their myriad enhancements, as well as the mentat training that enhanced a Tannelornian mind past the capability of most AI.

This was intentional, after all he didnt want to give away too much to a potential enemy, or even new friend. "So then, what happened to these Qwelva, that sounds like quite a story." he noticed as Talia and the girls walked over, well stumbled more like it to the barbecue. One of them, a young star elf with light brown hair, slipped and fell, her skirt indicated that she likely only joined the crew in the last year, being so short as to show a considerable view of what she was, or more appropriately, wasn't wearing under it. She giggled and her friends made a show of helping her up as they clumsily grabbed at some more food.

The brown haired elf batted her lashes and a smile at one of the marines behind Captain Horus. She whispered in Talia's ear, who then promptly smirked and rose her eyebrow at the marine in question. The girls walked off as a group giving looks that invited the marines in general to follow.

++++

"What in the hell are these Aliens doing, they opened their launch ports, at least I think thats what they are, Janus they have to realise the Blue Swan wont fit." Selsharril stated, more then a little dumbfounded. "Contact Whisper of the Star's Tell them I want a squadron out here now, as well as a team of soldiers." Janus replied.

"Janus..its a militia ship, are you sure about this?" Selsharril asked with a little laugh. She really thought he was joking, even though she should have known better. "They fought with distinction and valour during the war, they are soldiers like we are Selsharril, and they can be expected to do their duty." Janus replied, then grinned and looked back.
"Dont worry Selly, I wont do anything too stupid. You cover me as I take a look inside." he turned back as his chair retracted in to the floor of the forward cab.

"Janus what in heavens name are you doing, no dont go in there alone!!" Selsharril was unbuckling herself from her seat now, hoping to pull him out of the chair before he did something so stupid as go in alone in his Kernschatten VMF. She was too late, the airlock had already sealed and his command seat was now back in place in his Kernschatten, and he was launching. The Blue Swan was equipped with one fighter bay, which coincided with the location of the forward cab.

Selsharril gained control of the Blue Swan in time to watch him power towards the Martilian vessel. He switched to high maneuver mode and entered the flight bay of the vessel that was still coming towards them.

After all he reasoned, if they were hostile, a few nukes inside the hold would really make a mess of things for them.

++++

Reskin walked over to the Jedi starfighters, sweeping his blonde hair out of his eyes as he removed his flight helmet. He waited for the first to step out of their fighter before offering his hand, politely he welcomed them. "This is Captain Reskin of the Whisper of the Stars nice to meet you and welcome to the barbecue.

The jedi were greeted with a scene of drunken revelry that would make any sailor proud. The fact it was happening with an ongoing possible diplomatic crisis didn't help to impress matters more.

OOC
Janus Kernschatten: http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o133/Conan2525/Kernschatten.jpg
Kernschatten High Maneuver mode. http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o133/Conan2525/kernschatten3.jpg

Admiral Henry Ulusta entered the Inspector ship, quickly rushed into the aliens who are talking. "Good Day...gentlemen", and he smiles to them.

"Is this really worth our time?" The John muttered to Kenobi as they stood by their Fighters waiting for someone to come over.
"We have to try Padawan" Kenobi said "But keep your lightsaber handy"
Reskin walked over, The Jedi had learnt something about Reskin as a person as although he had told them to follow them in a rediculous route and threatened destruction, when they had just gone straight for the ship nothing had happened.
"Kenobi wan, and this is my PAdawan John Hunter" Kenobi said polietly

The Martilian-infested Alien Ship closed it's bay doors. Leaving one of the soldier inside. "Ah...another ally to be force with...take him to the bridge", Brigante said, "And we will make him ours". The ship quickly sealed doors that will lead him to other parts of the ship, the doors that remained open are the ones going to the bridge of the ship.

"Qwelva were a Insect race which homeworld was called Serdiers, they invaded us while we were still new borns in space without even warpdrive. The war was rightly named later the 'War for Dominance' with there defeat thanks to a mix of our resourcefulness and adaption we quickly grew into a Empire to rival theres. There were plenty of Skirmishes and battles afterwards but so far apart they were not a real war, there was the devastation of the Expansionist War but when Emperor Belcameron II got the throne he decided to try and improve relations. In four decades we went from bitter enemies to Respected Rivals and thus when the disease hit we did everything in our power to stop it spreading luckily they gave us rights to colonize there space after they went away as long as we dont touch worlds they used to inhabit"

That was the history in a nutshell, told them pretty much nothing about Phenixica. Horus turns around to see his guard about to walk off, being a marine he had the body armour but his helmet was off when around company and Horus looked over to the women who quite obviously wanted his company.

"Control yourself, your on duty. If I catch you trying that move again il cut it off with a rusty blade"

Horus then looks torwards the women with a stern look, his patience was wearing thin and he was getting tired of this captains attempt to stall the proceedings.

"How long have you been in this system and how many people are on our colony?"

Captain Herad kept smiling, he knew that Star Lord Tsaratov was in system, investigating an incoming alien vessel. Back up was already en route, the Star Lord, had in typical fashion gone on alone.

Well times up, got to start talking about things I shouldn't be talking about.
"Well, colony is eight thousand strong as of now, and we have been here about three years." he didn't bother lying about something so obvious, after all sensor scans would detect only enough dwellings for around that number anyway's. "We done alot of work on biodiversity as well." he smiled calmly preparing to eat his own steak now that the crew had each been given their share.

Talia and the girls knew the gig was up. Tannelornian women were not overly promiscuous, though they were also not entirely prudes. They made a silent scene of how upset they were the nice marine couldn't come play, then wandered away from the Captain and his guest's.

++++

"Seems they locked the door on me, Selsharril, get ready to make an exit or two if I need one." Janus calmly transmitted to his backseat. Her frantic reply came seconds later. "You idiot, get out of there right now, this is not the time to be stupid." Selsharril was close to tear's and Janus could hear it in her tone. He frowned slightly, he simply meant to investigate the damaged vessel and leave, not worry his close friend. "Do not worry Selly, I will be fine, they seem to wish me to go somewhere specific. I will send Siebzahn and a few gun drones to see what they want, and leave soon after."

"Promise me." Selsharril replied. Janus sighed, she always did this when he tried to do his duty. After all he had been in more unfamiliar, and frightening surroundings before. When he rescued MAIA at hel station, he was surrounded by the walking dead, brainless automatons left, walking the same halls they had been when they died, thirty years before. Some however, a small percentage turned in to ravening beasts, seeking only to feed and grow. When MAIA had tried to revive the crew after the atmosphere blew out with nanites, she did it too late. In some cases, rather then simply reanimate them, the nanites went out of control over the years.

"I promise Selly, I will not try to do anything too heroic, if the ship is bad, a few reaction [Nuclear] missile's down the hatch and I leave." Janus would do exactly what she asked him to, he was a Knight born and bred, and his word was truly his bond.

"Siebzahn, time to work." Janus commanded. "Wheeeeee!!" a high pitched electronic voice sounded in the cockpit of his Kernschatten as Siebzahn, a TreuhelferBio-com drone exited his storage compartment. Normally they were carried for repair in case of damage that would not completely cripple the VMF, as well as protection and utility tasks.

The nine foot long drone looked vaguely like a termite, however with a smiling happy faceplate and six mechanical tendrils. "He" sped off down the corridor as fast as he could, following the path their hosts left for them.

++++


"Hi there Kenobi Wan, and John Hunter, and welcome once again, if you will come with me, the Captain is already speaking to the Captain of the ship identifying itself as the Gremlin." he walked over to the rest of the gathering. "Sorry for the little joke back there, we aren't exactly regular military, we are a bit more relaxed around here. Not everyone takes too kindly to the joking around, so we dont push as hard as we could."

Reskin walked over to the Captain interrupting. "Captain, May I present Kenobi Wan and John Hunter, from the Inspector.

Horus raised a eyebrow at the new arrivals...Kenobi was a name he did recognise....not the person but he have heard of such a name before but he could not remember where.

"3 years, that means you should be entitled to a Colonial Provincial Grant which under the empire would mean you control your little patch of the planet under our supervision. By the way, didnt your scans detect the huge factories sucking and blowing out immense amounts of air? I mean sure it's old technology but it sure as hell leaves a mark"

Captain Herad sighed. "Well there were some dilapidated ruins on the planet, we checked them out, set about sustaining the biosphere. The Planet was going pretty well still, despite the stop in terraforming procedures. We had assumed it was left by some long dead alien race, the state of disrepair it was in." Captain Herad grinned sheepishly. "As for provincial status, thats a problem, I can't make any such negotiations myself, the Star Lord Tsaratov will be aboard shortly, then he can discuss this business with you. Though I will warn you...the boy is..Intense, Knight through and through. His father was assassinated by a foreign power as a punishment for standing up to them, and he was raised in the old ways."

Herad started to eat his own steak, picking it up and taking a large bite.

++++

The shuttle launch from the Whisper of the Star's had finally reached the incoming enemy vessel. Upon recieving the information from Selsharril they moved to the door hatch that he had entered, docked with it and blew it open with charges. Upon entering they attempted to relieve the Young Star Lord, who argued for a few minutes before they finally told him his duty was to speak with the Aliens on board the Whisper and they as soldier's would be the ones to examine this alien vessel.

Janus recalled Siebzahn and exited the ship, annoyed that mere militia men would have the temerity to actually remind him of his duty. After all, the Militia men spent more time chasing skirts and beer's then training. Still he respected them enough to let them do their job without interfering. As a Star Lord his duties were clear, and in the end they were right, so he did not tarry.

He docked with Blue Swan and recieved a rather fierce hug and severe tongue lashing from Selsharril as they proceeded back to the Whisper

The Crew of Militia marines however, advanced in to the Martilian vessel.

OOC

Trying to move the diplomacy along so sorry Martilia about moving the characters along. The Militia are going to be more interesting for it anyways.

OOC: No problem at all

IC:
On the Inspector Ship:

Oh...I see. By the way I'm Admiral Henry Ulusta of the 6th Galactic Patrol Fleet of the Space Union Socialist State of Martilia. Nice meeting you all. By the way, why are you all in here...didn't you know this is an Alien-infested Zone of the Space Union of Martilia?

"We are talking 20 years, not centuries. If the factories were in ruins it must of been recently and the damage would of been detectable, we are talking 300 factories spread across the planet. Tsaratov I dont care about, this isint up for discussion this world was funded by the royal family they arent going to allow me to just back down or even give you a offer without there approval. He might be old fashioned but it will be a cold day in hell before I do anything againsts the Empress"

This project was funded by Belcameron II and I doubt his daugther will allow her fathers most prized project to be wasted. As a member of the military Horus must obey the demands of the Empress.

"Listen friend, I am telling you now that it was dilapidated, we wouldnt have been given the ok to land if they had not been in a state of utter disrepair, we even had a survey ship come by and tell us it was alright." Captain Herad was nervous now. He had just been notified Janus was enroute, and it was likely he had his love struck backseat with him. Things could get very, very bad if Yannericil didn't show up..and soon.

Suddenly a message came that Herad did not need to open. Janus was here. The light thud against the hull signifying the magnetic tether had been activated. Whisper of the Stars was built hundreds of years earlier, and only to accomodate something as large as the old beta's. A sixty Meter long HMAF wouldn't likely fit.

Herad continued to smile, praying to heaven that Horus wouldnt notice the sudden perspiration on his forehead.

++++

Selsharril and Janus sealed their suits, Selsharril of course had to remind Janus that even a thirty second space walk without a helmet might intimidate or otherwise unnerve many prime human's, and they didn't know enough about these Citerians to do so. Thanks to the extreme modifications, as well as protein based nanomachines that circulated freely in his blood, he was capable of being exposed to total vacuum for over five minutes before suffering too many ill effects. However, most people would be rather unnerved by a man floating in space without a helmet.

Janus and Selsharril made their way in to the main hangar bay, and removed their helmets. It was quite obvious to anyone who would look, that by the distance which Selsharril maintained and the constant, very blunt looks she gave Janus that she was at least interested in him. They talked until they reached Captain Herad and his guests. Janus looked at Captain Horus and then to Herad. "Eh young master, hungry?" Captain Herad smiled nervously.

Normally he would be happy to see his friends, but not today. "The usual my friend, Selly you too?" Janus turned back to look at his backseat, she smiled softly at him, biting her lip. "Mmm absolutely, I am more then a little peckish myself, the rations on Blue Swan aren't as good as your barbecues Captain." she winked at him. Captain Herad smiled and quickly put two steaks on the grill. He counted to five, flipped them, then counted to five once more and handed the steaks over to Selsharril and Janus, who took them in their hands and started to dig in hungrily, eating it like it was any other sandwich. After he had a few bites, Janus wiped his chin and hand. He bowed slightly to Captain Horus.

Selsharril continued to devour the steak, eating as if she had never eaten before in her life. She was not so polite as to wipe the blood from her chin before smiling politely at the Citerians.

"Captain Horus of the Gremlin I am Janus Tsaratov of the Divine Celestial Republic. I will speak with you on the matter of ownership of this world and System." Janus looked at the man, trying to gain his measure. The Brooding young man seemed to stare straight through Horus as he looked at him with his icy blue-brown eyes.

OOC

Sorry for the lateness of the post. Also MArtilia there is a group of marines inside your infested ship.

Horus raised a eyebrow to the weird behavior but all seemed explained when the new arrivals showed up, unfortunately they didnt understand the position Horus had to take in such a matter. No 'talking' to discuss ownership was going to take place, it was claimed by the Empire the moment they put 200 factories on the planet to Terraform a barren rock into a livable planet.

Those Factories would of had written on it in Galactic Common that this planet had been claimed, listed also would be several commonly used Calenders which would state when the claim was made. Horus knew exactly what to do, all of a sudden the colours of his eyes shined a fire like orange before returning to green.

"The matter has little to talk about, the planet was claimed 20 years ago by the Imperium Company funded by Emperor Belcameron 2nd. I cant leave until we have that colony"

He would of added 'peacefully or forcefully' but he knew that was not the right words to use in diplomacy.

OOC my post last night didn't go through....I am also tying this in to an intrigue for my own upcoming thread, with the return of the kings of Tannelorn. It will be an intrigue thread starting as exploration/colonisation. The survey ship removed all mention of the claims and ok'd the colony, knowing it could cause conflict..especially as it was in the domain of Fleet Tsaratov.


Janus knew that something was wrong with those comments. The survey vessel assigned to the Whisper would not have lied, at least not if it was from Fleets Rendacil or Tsaratov. However, Janus knew of at least a few Knights who were willing to engage in subterfuge in all areas, not just the simple subterfuges of Diplomacy, namely the other Lord's who, like Yannericil often behaved like drunken delinquents at diplomatic meetings.

Some Knights, such as those who worked under the Star Lord Abarrakh, had been known to engage in the basest trickeries in combat, diplomacy and at home. Worse still, they used espionage as a tool. However, Janus had no proof of any wrongdoing and had to take the word of the survey vessel.

"No colony would have been allowed on this world if your claim's were intact, whatever happened in the twenty years you left this place, we do not know. The fact's are simple, though this world may have been yours and the process of terraforming started by you, this was not the case when the ships arrived. Since then the colonists have done as much work on the biosphere as you yourselves did, as well as placing infrastructure in the system itself." Janus put his hand under his chin.

Selsharril, find the name of the captain of the survey vessel, and his allegiance, which faction, lord and Star Lord does he follow. Janus suspected something was up, but without proof he could only act in the best interests of the colony.

"We are not unreasonable, however and we can indeed come to an understanding..you do have some claim to this world, how much however has yet to be seen. If your empress has sent you here as her representative, then it is likely you can negotiate for her..that is the way of Tannelorn as I assume it is the way of most civilised worlds." Janus finished and stood stoically. Selsharril wiped her chin and looked at Janus, biting her lip as she stepped closer to him. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Horus, for only an instant. She then smiled softly again, if Janus noticed her demeanor he made no mention of it, or even showed that he noticed. He had far more important things to think about then the attentions of the love struck sun elf.

"I only make the intentions clear, I dont do the actual act. That will be up to a Imperial Senator that reads the report and gets back to me. I do hope you trust whoever surveyed this planet because we are going to send a team down to check the ruins of our factories and if there is any hint of foul play you can bet pretty surely who the Imperial Governments will point the finger at"

Horus smiled at the thought of conflict, his Tribal Monran blood craved a good battle to prove himself.

"Very well Captain, then we shall gather information for your Senator, why do we not go together then, this way we can be sure there is no tampering possible, by either party." Janus looked at Horus with little emotion. He turned on his heels and started towards the hangar bay, preparing to exit the Whisper of the Stars and enter his own waiting HMAF.

Selsharril followed quickly. Janus had not asked Captain Horus, but stated his intentions. It was not that he was undiplomatic, he simply assumed the good Captain would follow with his team, scouting out matter's personally as befits a delicate situation as this.

Horus stayed there with a eye raised

"you can send somebody to observe us. that is it, it will only be a Phenixican research team down on the surface. Your men wouldnt know what exactly it is we are looking for anyway"

The Factory should have matinance workers, Dvslandian robots keep sensory information and the war droids would of had some sort of tactical records if a battle toke place. This case was a no brainer, somebody had to of destroyed those factories by force as they are so far wide spread on the planet that anything short of a world-wide earthquake would not of destroyed every single one.

"I will head towards the Gremlin and prepare my team, I dont personally do the research as I am not qualified"

Also it would be againsts the books for the commanding officer to put himself in the middle of such a dangerous situation. Atleast on the Gremlin he would not be such a easy target and he could foward what they had talked about so far to the Imperial Senate. Janus was naive to think the Phenixicans would trust a foreign team who had claimed the planet to come to a conclusion.

Janus stopped on his way out of the hangar bay in response to Captain Horus last comment. "Very well then send your team Captain, we will meet them on the surface." Janus could not believe his ears. Such situations as these required hands on observation by those in charge. To a Knight of Tannelorn, staying behind while the survey team did its work would be cowardly at worst, and irresponsible at best.

Janus leapt in to the air, activating the jet's on his DCC armour, gliding silently in to space through the magnetic screens keeping the atmosphere in the Whisper of the Star's launch bay. He exhaled deeply before doing so of course, after all it would waste time donning his helmet.

It took him less then fifteen seconds to reach the Blue Swan upon which, he entered the craft and proceeded for the planet Guttenheim, waiting upon the survey team from the Gremlin before entering the atmosphere.

OOC
Much apologies for late posts, last minute wedding planning has kept Mel M tor and I away from posting.

The team consisted of four people and leading the group was the Engineer of the name William Kireson.

"We are to wait here until they arrive but what readings are we getting from this factory?"

"If it was attacked it's was awhile ago, at the moment the signs can go either way since some of the damage was caused by a explosion from the inside but these factories are powered by a fusion reactor and if they exploded it would of caused more damage then this"

They stood and waited for Janus to arrive, the team had been told to give try and make the foreigners feel like they had some control over what was going on.

Gremlin, Captains Quarters
"You do realize how early it is on Devenis captain?" it was Nadines voice over Audio, since they were in different galaxies a live video feed was hard to establish

"I understand your majesty, but I trust you heard the report I put forward to the Imperial Court?"

"Yes and thats why I approved of your request for a personal audience now tell me what you personally think of the situation"

"They seem in general good people and the colonial garrison of this system appears to be honestly unaware of any attempt to destroy our bases, but that doesnt take away the fact that 200 factories so wide spread on a single planet cannot be wiped out that easily"

"So you think maybe higher ups that maybe gave the green light to the colonist are to blame?"

"It seems like it your Majesty, what I have seen so far is a calm and laid back race. But when I met there leader things sure changed, he seemed more tense and authoritarian"

"Simple people tend to have complex leaders, best thing for now is to assure that the findings cannot be tampered with what about the team?"

"While they are getting a closer look we are scanning multiple factories to try and find one which still has a intact Communications Array which will allow us to find information which might help us shed light on what happened here?"

"Everything seems pretty alright over there captain is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"Nothing else, I was just told by the Imperial Commissioner to give you the news personally"

"Just make sure that planet is ours by the end of this situation, we have a entire fleet ready to invade and force the colony to submit if we must"

Janus and Selsharril followed the Phenixican shuttle down to the planet. As the Blue Swan landed Janus and selsharril alighted from a tiny hatch on its side. They had taken the time to change from DCC armour to a formal uniform. Janus wore a sky blue tunic that buttoned up the middle, with a high, tight collar. On his legs he wore loose pant's tucked in to metal boot's at mid calf. However the most striking feature was the massive cloak on his back, made from the pelt of a lion, with its head still attached, to serve as a hood.

Selsharril wore a similiar tunic with loose flowing sleeves, and a skirt that went to just above the knee, she too wore fur, though it was only a shawl and was little more then a strip of lion pelt. She wore knee high metal boots, almost the same as Janus, however cut more for a feminine figure. It was painfully obvious that the knight uniforms were inherently chauvinistic. Showing the strength of the man, and the inherent femininity of the woman.

Janus strode confidently up to the head of the scientific team, announcing his presence with cough. "Greetings, I am Star Lord Tsaratov, what finding's have you come across in your search." Janus barely asked.

William couldnt help but look as tho he was holding back a laugh at the outfit of the pair of them, they were just in typical naval uniform resembling that of WWII british airforce officers.

"Nice to know we are going with a practical outfit for this, im William Kireson and im in charge of Engineering on the Gremlin and this is my small team. Our findings show this factory has suffered great damage, not even the slightest hint that so much as a Scutter Droid moving around on the inside"

William all of a sudden got serious

"Readings from the ship above are reporting exactly the same thing with every Factory they are scanning. nothing is left and by the looks of some of these burn marks they came from the outside of the factory, We cant know for sure what has happened until we can retrive a memory core from one of the robots who worked on this facility"

The situation was obvious, they didnt need the memory core to know that these factories have been attacked but the Imperial Court will not declare war on a gut feeling. The Empress herself might arrive since it was a colony funded out of her Treasury.

Janus looked over the information, seemingly daydreaming. In reality he was using total recall to go over every last bit of information he was briefed on before arriving, as well as comparing it with newer data. Selsharril, the surveyors claimed that the damage was primarily due to age, could they have truly been that wrong. Janus spoke telepathically to his back seat. She returned, smiling happily and responding. It is possible Janus, but then again is it not possible this was someone elses doing? Lions claw perhaps? Janus nodded slightly. "Mr Williams, I assure you this suit is quite functional, however about this robot you require, where are they and is it possible that they are no longer present in this facility, if this is the case what then." Janus was scowling slightly, this annoyed him. Either his own underlings were incompetent, or lying and both held connotations that could not bode well.

++++

Several bright flashes of light signalled the arrival of the Fleet Tsaratov battle group that was behind Janus Tsaratov. They did not deploy, instead the three Skoffnung class super battleships, and the Arondight, the first of the Ascalon series of Super dreadnought's and command vessels stayed with their escort of six Zweihander Battle cruisers and two Morgenstern battle carriers. They waited silently, not drawing too much attention to themselves for any hostile activity. Hopefully they would stay in this position until the negotiations were over, but they were wary for any overtly hostile moves on the part of any of the intruders.

((OOC:Sorry computer has been down))

"Dvslandian robots were the height of VI technology in the Citerian Galaxy, lifelike intelligence without independent thought. We use them for maintenance and for places like these even the defenses are controlled by a local VI mainframe. Now lets enter"

The team walks into a small blasted hole in the side of what was a Factory being taken back by nature, inside you could hear the noise of water and the air was stale which was a sign the factory had not been working for a long time since air in these factories tends to be the freshest you can manage.

The rusted, dirt covered walls were simply metal fused together as there was no thought to decoration as the factory would of been taken apart to help in building the colony.

"Mainframe will as always be near the air processing plant, which is deep inside and will take us about a hour to reach. These factories are huge structures going deep underground"