Planet N1
As the creature nuzzled the Tinkerer, the others looked towards the closest hiveship, marveling at the organic creature living in space. They didn't actually look, of course, but simply turned their heads so that their senses could extend farther. In the vacuum of space, they could see almost endlessly, and they knew that if they pissed it off, there would be many more of the little dog-things.

However, they weren't going to piss it off. The Engineers lowered their weapons, and returned to the ship, making sure not to let any of the foreigners in, and leaving the Hunters and the Tinkerer to communicate. The Tinkerer knelt down in front of the dog-thing, and whispered in his language, "Who are you? What are you? May you bring peace to our planet?" It really sounded like "Whodayo? Whadayo? Brinpee-so beiobawl?"

As the Tinkerer talked with the creature, the other two Explorers and two of the three Battlecruisers began to disengage from formation, regrouping and accelerating away from the planet. Once fully outside of the gravity well, they vanished into a flash of light. It took about ten minutes overall, and they planned to follow the traces of the enemy's FTL drive and counter-attack.

Their little mind-message wasn't accepted as it was; rather, it was accepted as "HOLY ANTICHRIST THEY CAN READ OUR MINDS! END THEM! EENNDDD THHEEMMM!" And so they went off to war.

Lunar Station
"I'm sure we will be able to come to an agreement between our governments, what concerns me are the terrorists. They are drawing support from moderate members of most large religions, who think your demons posing as angels or something. To be honest, with Fergus revealing that he is Iscandarian, they might just hate you. Fergus has had some... well... you tell them, Fergus." Said the Constable, motioning to Fergus

"Yeah, a lot of them don;t exactly agree with my views on, er, certain subjects. Usually involving... let's just say that their religious texts specifically say that something I fully support is appalling and all who allow it to exist will go to hell. Even after the whole 'incident' in Huntsville, those intolerant views still persist. Our religious tolerance laws prevent us from stopping them, and as a result, the religious majority of humanity sees your people as demons, in the most literal sense. We might be able to deal with them, orbital strikes can easily-"

An odd sound came from Fergus' pocket, it sounded like music, but definitely not in any language the Iscandarians had been exposed to. In fact, the language was completely alien. it was hard to believe that the cultures that created English and this other language even lived on the same planet. He quickly reached for the source, tapping a few buttons on what appeared to be a small electronic tablet. The music stopped as he put it up to his ear. His face quickly changed from a look of mild worry to a look of horror.

"Well, looks like we'll be testing that a lot earlier." He said "Move into geostationary orbit and open fire. Leave nothing standing, don't send anyone down to take prisoners, just rip that cell apart. Make the others thing twice about trying to murder innocent people because they don't want to commit genocide."

He put the device away, and quickly turned to the diplomats.

"Apologies, more terrorist trouble. We should get to the meeting room, quickly."

He began to float towards the room, which was apparently only a small bit away from the docking port, and in a straight line as well. Extremely helpful in microgravity. After a short float, the group entered the meeting room. It was quite simple, a single table in an architecturally unimpressive room. Interestingly, the walls were decorated with pictures of seagoing vessels, aircraft, and spacecraft. Some appeared quite old, many of the sea vessels had giant masts with what were probably sails hung from them, and one of the aircraft looked absolutely worthless. In fact, it probably wouldn't fly for any practical distance.

The table had what seemed to be white cloth covering it, almost certainly some sort of tradition. On the table there was a variety of different foods, at least, it was probably food. Some was definitely recognizable, mostly the plant based dishes. Many others seemed more like works of art than food, and others still looked completely ridiculous. One in particular appeared to be a slab of ground up meat sandwiched between two dome-like slices of bread. The meat clearly had more ingredients on top of it, including multiple differently colored pastes, perhaps signifying different flavors. Another one of the dishes was simply repulsive, it was like the odd meat/bread dish, but was instead lengthwise. Instead of ground meat, it had a long cylinder of meat (at least, it was probably meat) in the center, which to be honest, looked like it was manufactured in a factory. Overall, that dish was just repulsive, especially with the erratic toppings it had on it that made one slightly sick. One had to wonder why they would put such repulsive food next to such beautiful dishes.

"If the sight of meat is repulsive, I can have all dishes involving meat taken out." Said the councilman "We wanted to show you as much of our cuisine as possible, the dishes such as this one are from specific cultures."

He pointed to a plate that seemed to be decorated with brown objects and (surprisingly appetizing) paste, apparently, those objects were actually food. He then pointed at the odd meat/bread dish.

"The ones such as these are taken from the global culture, though they were associated with the United States for a time, it was a large nation in North America. The reason they are so popular is because they are cheap to get, quick to make, and easy to eat. People often eat similar dishes while in their car. Oddly enough, there may also be a genetic disposition towards such food. You see, it is extremely rich in certain nutrients. So rich, in fact, that one meal is usually more than any one human actually needs in a day. Our ancestors hunted prey by simply chasing it until it ran out of energy, at which point they killed it and took any usable parts back to their camp. This required a lot of energy, so we became conditioned to eat the richest food we could find. This is not a good thing by any means, displayed perfectly by the fact that another United States stereotype was that anyone from that nation was morbidly obese."

Saturn
The moment the fleet realized what had happened, they slowly backed away from the alien vessel. A single message was sent, as they charged their engines in case retreat was required.

"What 'Warden'? We haven't taken a single non-human prisoner in our entire history! This 'Warden' may be in the system, but we definitely don't have her in our possession. Surely we can be reasonable here! We can give you search rights, or even help you! Just give us a description, surely you can understand out situation! We haven't even left our solar system, much less developed the capability to wage war against a species as vastly powerful as yours! We could only gain extinction from lying to you!"

Sazkarjhit Contact
"This is the bulk transport Icarus, we apologize that you have been transferred to us, but the vessel you contact is multiple light minutes away. The comms lag would be far too great. Our vessel is only a few hundred kilometers out, and they have decided to let us make first contact. I'm no diplomat, so don't expect me to be that formal. We're kind of surprised that you responded, you see, that transmission was actually meant for a different vessel. What surprises us even more is that you didn't run, instead you calmly explained why you were here. That's good enough for us, you've earned quite a bit of trust through that action. I'm willing to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability."

Mars, Sol
A blue patch of light stood out against the red Martian sky, just above the setting sun. If the same color was in the sky on Earth, nobody would care, but on Mars it was an alien color. One only seen through telescopes. Sure, cryogenic trips from Mars to Earth in an hour or so were possible, but nobody outside of the military and those funded by major corporations actually had the money to pay for the expensive process. So they made do with that rare patch of sky that reminded them of their homeworld, which now felt like a distant place, alien in all ways.

However, as is human nature, they were not content with the harsh red rocky soil and gigantic biospheres, in which they grew just enough food to last until the next trade ship. They wanted something more, the ability to breathe outside the artificial biospheres, the right to tell any visitor that they earned that ability. It was an odd goal, for it would not be accomplished for centuries. For some reason, though, they decided that they might as well get on with it. Thus they planted the algae. With no life to consume the oxygen it put out, the terraforming project was making good progress compared to the somewhat pessimistic predictions.

A convoy of odd vehicles rolled over a hill on treads, obscuring that little patch of Earthly blue. Headlights illuminated the red ground in front of them as they rolled up onto the rim of the awe-inspiring crater. The tank-like vehicles were gigantic, probably closer to the size of an old 18th century frigate than the side of a tank. With the light gravity and thin atmosphere of Mars, they worked perfectly fine.

As they rolled over the rim, their crews began to swarm for a good view. Most of them were fresh out of university, trying to get something that would look good on a resume. Not the best choice for an inspection crew, but the head of the project had learned that if someone is offering to do something for just room and board, then you should always say yes. Especially if they're actually more qualified than some of the people asking for money.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Said the head of the project, staring out into the vast expanse of green algae. "We've got one of these in every nearby crater, this is the largest though."

She pointed to a small building in the center of the crater, barely visible from the rim. It was definitely prefab though, just like every other building outside a biosphere.

"And there's our home for the next couple weeks, now remember, no matter how welcoming it looks, don't take off your helmet. You do that, you're dead in minutes."

The crew didn't listen, they were too busy taking in the sight. Most of them had never seen anything green outside of a biosphere before, the algae aside the red soil didn't quite register for them. Suddenly, one of them called out to the project lead.

"What's that?"

She quickly got up, leaving the driver's seat to a nearby botanist. The person that called out was one of the interns, a man who had majored in xenobiology. With the Iscandarians, it suddenly seemed like his major had actually meant something. He was looking out of one of the telescopes, which he quickly surrendered to the project lead.

"There was something moving out there." He said "Can you see it?"

"Oh my god..." She responded, her breath taken away "Whatever it is, it's not a vehicle, and it's not in an environmental suit."

The convoy came to a stop, and the rest of the crew just stared at the two. Finally, someone spoke.

"There's no way algae could produce enough oxygen for that in a few years!"

"Then what the hell is this?" Said another "Some remake of Red Planet? Are we going to be attacked by space cockroaches now?"

"A bunch of aliens that literally look like angels are on Luna Station right now, talking over dinner." Replied the first "I think that's plausible at this point."

"Move us in!" Said the project lead, turning to face the botanist. "I'm suiting up."

After what seemed like an eternity of driving, the convoy reached the unidentified lifeforms. It was clear by now, they were not human. It must have been an intimidating sight, gigantic vehicles lumbering towards you over a sea of algae. The convoy, despite being made up of large vehicles, was still able to outmaneuver the aliens, forming a circle around them. They did, however, go to great lengths to appear non-hostile. They moved in a deliberate fashion, taking great care to not go anywhere near the aliens in case it would look like they would try to run them over.

The hatch on the largest vehicle opened, and the project lead stepped out. She was accompanied by the man that first sighted the aliens and another man who had served in the military for a few years in order to get his education paid for. They slowly walked towards the aliens, with their hands kept far away from suit pockets. They stopped a few meters away, and activated the external speakers of their suits. They didn't expect the aliens to translate the language, but they thought that a soothing tone and the intent to communicate could go a long way.

"I am Oumou Nasri," She began, pointing to herself "I am a citizen of the United Terran Federation, we mean you no harm. We wish to welcome you to the planet Mars, the closest planet to our homeworld, Earth. We are attempting to terraform it, these plants were put here artificially to produce oxygen, the element we require to survive. If you can somehow understand any of this, please respond. No harm will come to you."

Eternal Union

Are you still there? We can come to an agreement... You had other food on the station, the same gloop we construct ourselves from. Last chance for us to come to an agreement, Union. -S'Ark

New Condia: Inbound

AS the frigates descended through the atmosphere, they lit up, blazing red as they moved to a cruising altitude and buffered there shields further, attempting to evade and tank the incoming ground fire. They were not in the best of condition, as more were shot down, tearing apart and smashing into the still ocean. After moving further away, only three ships remained, in what most species would consider a disastrous run. But unlike other species, death would not come so easily to them. They were not afraid to sacrifice themselves temporarily for a greater goal.

The Ethereals approached the Iscandarian search parties, and slowed to a halt approximately three kilometers away. Each ship folded down three segmented pylons, and dropped to the ground, supporting their weight into the soft ground and bracing from the force of the impact. But each ship quickly recovered, and began to walk towards the artifact site, shaking off Matrons and Sisters to the earth to attack from the ground. They were so close, victory was almost within their grasp, despite the heavy losses. The Black Fleet was unique, and would return to full strength quickly after the battle.

New Condia: Defeat

In orbit, things had not gone so well. With the arrival of the new comers, ttactics had turned to desperation, and the Ethereals had shown worse for it. The combined salvos were too much for the tattered Black Fleet, and there were numerous explosions as ships were literally torn into half, then quickly to shreds. Even the Cathedrals were unable to withstand the impacts, shields dropping and rounds piercing the hulls, detonating powerfully and hurtling chunks of debris off into space. The only noticeable and distinguishable wreckage was a huge fragment of a Cathedral, lights flickering and howls emanating from it, silent to all but those on board. Some Matron fighters jumped from the wreckage, and attempted to engage, but were quickly destroyed.

And so, the orbital confrontation ended, with victory to the Union and Sazkarjhia, bested by their superior numbers and mysterious magical ability, a contingency the Gathering could never have anticipated. It would be some time before the Ethereals dared to face this foe again, but when they did, they would be prepared.

---

"... And I repeat: You said somewhere SAFE. So this is technically what you asked for. Unless, of course, the algae is carnivorous. Which I honestly can not be sure of. If it is, when do you think it will make it's move?"

Tiy sighed, and lifted a hand in the air. "Enough. We need to focus and figure out how to get off world. Or at least a source of nourishment." The duo had traveled for two hours, with little to no change in the scenery. The only thing to change was the slow dimming of the planets crimson sky, and the thickening of the planted biomass, proving difficult to walk through. The Warden had started to grow weary of the Sage's constant attempts to shift the blame to someone else. Which could only be her.

"Well, you could always eat the ground scum. Before it tries to eat you-"

"ENOUGH! I AM NOT GOING TO SAY IT AGAIN! QUIET!" With that, the conversation ended abruptly, and the two continued onward, both not so much upset at each other, but rather unsure and anxious of what was going to happen to them. It was then that the Sage first spotted the convoy.

"What's that?" As the vehicles approached, Tiy stiffened and stood still, unsure whether to stand her ground or try to hide. Sage made clear that this was their best hope, and if worse came to worse, they could just kill the occupants and steal the vehicles to save time walking to death. So she calmly waited, as the convoy circled, hands ready to strike them down if they were hostile. As they stepped out and approached, they made noises at her, loud and piercing her ears, she jumped back, stunned, before regaining her composure and looking at Sage, confused.

"Uh, what are they doing with their mouths?" She made no noise, and it appeared that she could not talk. Her species communicated telepathically, and this was very foreign to her. Normally, a Sage would communicate between them, but the species was unknown to him. There was no way he could know their language

"I believe they are attempting to communicate. Obviously sentient, but we may have hit a wall. If you tried to speak back as you normally do, you could give them severe cerebral hemorrhaging. Which wouldn't be good, and not nearly as funny as you might be thinking."

Tiy thought intensely, then decided to go for it, taking care to walk slowly and calmly towards them, copying the gesture. She stood a head taller above the leader, and gently ran a finger along the outside of the helmet, where the cheek would be, and gazed into it's eyes, lost in it's stare. So this is what her kind had fought so hard and long to protect? When the Warden was younger, Tiy had failed to understand the point of it all. Now, it made so much more sense, now she could see the fruition of her people's work in front of her. She had to attempt something, anything. After a brief pause, she decided simple images would suffice.

She grasped the human's helmet with her hands, and bent forward, resting her forehead against the helmet. Then, a blast of images swept through the being's mind. of sparkling alien lakes in the shadows of mountains, lush tropical foliage all around the edges and three silver moons hanging in the sky, surrounded by stars. Of great cities built on it's surface, soaring into the sky, and millions of her kind walking the busy walkways and streets. Hundreds of unknown star ships, speeding through nebulae, floating majestically in the vastness of space. Many more of her memories cycled through the humans head, before she released her, and gently let the female go, watching for it's reaction. Hopefully, it would understand the Warden's intentions for peace. Maybe even her happiness.

Planet N1

When the Plaerique heard the being try to speak in its language it backed off, feeling threatened and it hissed, but as it it did the other Plaeriques grouped up on it and shoved it, making clicking sounds as they spoke to each other, forcing it to calm down. However, as the Plaerique hissed, one of the Hiveships began to move in. The largest one, the one that had stayed back from earlier.

SHHHHJJJZZZZSSHHHHHRRD CHIK

"Beings."

A message was being broadcasted. Telepathically, as a radio signal, sound or electronic wave, anything. The Praefectus decided to communicate, but it didn't know the best way.
It's telepathic communication is non-invasive compared to what it does to other Esurienti. To non-Esurienti it's like whispers, not really inside the head at all.

"We. Are. Convergence."
"We. Studied. You. To. Learn."
"Sorry. If. We. Frightened. Beings."
"We. Did. Not. Know. Your. Language. Until. Now."

There was a pause, a silence.

"We... ... ... call ourselves... ... The Convergence."

There were pauses, but they were quickly getting better at communication with the other beings, grasping their language.

"We sensed the fighting, and we... witnessed another species that... acts like... us? We wanted to kill them. We are... attracted to war, we like to... observe. Learn, evolve, spread. Th... things. Like us, we dislike. We... wanted to see if you would attack us if we.... attacked them."

"We will not fight beings like ...You. Unless you harm Us. If Co-existence is possible, we must meet."

And then everything went silent. The whisper did not speak again, it waited for the beings response. However, on the hull of that ship, something began to happen. A few of the Plaeriques began to make noises and curl up, some lost their hold on the hull and began to float off. They began coughing and gagging, one by one they eventually stopped moving, excreting secretions from their mouths and other areas. It was harmless bodily fluids, but what it meant was that they were beginning to die.
The last few of the Plaeriques would only have mere minutes before they would begin to die as well. They made barking sounds at the Beings and opened and closed their mouths, trying to simulate something... what they needed, but they didn't think the Beings would catch on, as they didn't know how to properly communicate. The Praefectus had released control of them, as they were dying from being without oxygen for too long.

New Condia
From the open field where they had simply watched, Rasis and Skaroth eyed the defenders that had gained huge advantages over the invaders. Then their gaze turned over to the invaders, who, as menacing as they look, saw them as viable candidates for the Farming Program, the proposed idea that would render mass invasions obsolete and instead rely on raising intelligents for personal consumption. Here however, they would have to continue their observation and not interfere, but in order to get more defined views, the two roamed around in space, gathering the debris of both the invaders and the defenders.

New Condia
The Space forces began securing the area, wiping out any last traces of the Ethereals. Cargo ships and freighters moved in, securing the wrecks of the Cathedrals for study. The Space forces began orbiting the planet, preparing to orbitally bombard the Ethereal forces on ground if needed, however they did not want to risk it as it was a civilian world and they could potentially harm there own forces.

Meanwhile on the ground what scrap the two could find was mostly Eternal Union armor chunks. It was mostly scorched, but a lot of it was either a silver color with gold trimming, or a purple color with black trimming. The pieces were everywhere, and a few teams of Iscandarians could be seen approaching over the horizon, recovering what was there.

At the landing place of the Ethereals the Iscandarian team that was securing the Shard Guide had worked themselves up into a wide hill, that had a flat top. It seems they were intent on making this as difficult as possible for them. A few large tanks could be seen upon the hill, as huge metal spikes launched out of there bottoms and there cannons turned up into the air, turning into large artillery pieces, as they rained down Balefire upon the Ethereals. Magical spells from the magi as well as kinetic fire from other soldiers also rained down upon them. Drop pods could be seen landing on the other side of the hill.

Luna Station
"We do not eat meat that often, but we still enjoy it from time to time. On the subject of the terrorists however... If your species truly enjoys peace, they will be replaced by other religions sooner or later. As for peace, we have some rather simple terms. We would like a station, the right to station a single ship in orbit of Earth, and we have a few pieces of technology to give to you."

S'Ark
"Go to these coordinates, there you will find the bio-mass, enough for you to leave us, and our Sazkarjhit allies, alone."

New Condia

Fleetmaster Suretak'kum looked over damage reports for her fleet. The numbers were staggering. A heavy loss, but for a decisive victory. she thought to herself, her white, razor-sharp teeth gleaming in her grin. She looked over to her Assistant Commanding Officer, who was, too, overlooking damage reports.

"Marshal, send a fleetwide message ordering all non-jump capable ships to be abandoned and scuttled. They're too large to be salvaged and we cannot risk other groups scavenging for Sazkarjhit technology. Send Deep-Space Insertion crews to attach nuclear devices, make sure that the ships don't become a liability."

"Aye, Ma'am." the officer replied gruffly. He strode over to the Bridge's Communications Officer and repeated the command over FLEETNET. Crews soon after quickly got to work, boarding shuttles as they went to the many damaged frigates and destroyers and placed nuclear charges. Fleetmaster Suretak'kum activated her personal communications network and sent a message to the Eternal Union Fleet.

"Sazkarjhia Assault Fleets 003 and 011, and by extension the Peoples' Navy of Sazkarjhia, stand to voice the pleasure of assisting our new ally. Given that writ demands we do not use any other technology nor let others use our own, we will leave the Ethereal ships be, but also require that you do not attempt to salvage from our damaged warships; which we are scuttling to prevent anyone else from doing so. If you wish to communicate with Sazkarjhit higher authority over the victory, the Eternal Union can be patched through to the military cabinet and the Vesselage of Sazkarjhia."

Terran Contact, Asteroid Belt, Sol

High Marshal Turani'dum let her head sink into her hands, her skin flushed a shade of orange like Sol itself. 1st Officer Turon'bum did not make any kind of motion, but it was clear that the hardened sailor wanted to throw a tantrum; his breathing hard and heavy, and his whole body shaking.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Marshal Turani'dum wanted to scream, her claws digging into her face. The bridge of Reverence in Silence all stopped what they were doing, turning around and looking at their captain. She quietly whispered to her Communications Officer to send a message.

"We formally apologize for the confusion. We had assumed from observance of radio traffic that the warning was being directed to us. We thought that the area was relatively clear and Saturn had been the closest point of contact for any kind of military investigation. We are currently setting an observation post in your system's Asteroid Belt, we had no intent for aggressive military action. If you would we need to finish our mission. I will notify my superiors of presence here and have diplomats sent after we are finished."

Lunar Station
"Humans are stubborn. Those religions won't go away unless every last follower is killed, something that we consider an unforgivable crime. As for your terms, we accept. There is an old station in high orbit above Earth, it was supposed to be deorbited decades ago, but the company hired to deorbit it instead boosted it into a graveyard orbit. It doesn't have a gravity ring, and the computers onboard are like stone knives and bearskins, but it's the best we can do. I'm kind of surprised that you even considered giving a species like us any kind of technology, we fired first, and you've seen our past. Are you sure you want to uplift us?"

Sazkarjhit Contact
"Understood, I don't exactly have the right to give you construction rights, but I don't think the government will object. With what happened on Pluto, they would probably be happy if the entire system was occupied. We'd have more protection that way. I have business as well, if you need to contact anybody, send a message to the largest grouping of spacecraft in the belt."

Drydock 003, Earth Orbit
A frigate-sized vessel floated in the drydock, held in place by magnetic grapplers. It was half finished at best, missing large parts of it's hull. It was going to be one of the first vessels designed purely for the purpose of space-space and space-ground bombardment, it's main armament a spinal tungsten-load railgun. A single load would be capable of destroying an entire city, just through sheer velocity. Officially, it was being built in the event that a hostile species took a human world. In truth, it was for total war. Everyone knew that there would be a war with the species contacted at Saturn, and the sole purpose of this new vessel was to assist in the inevitable genocide of that species.

A giant ring was pulled into place by grapplers, having been brought up secretly by an Armstrong booster rocket. Only those working at the drydock stations knew it's purpose. It was to be part of the vessel's FTL propulsion system, using an updated version of Edward White's old design. Instead of requiring contact movement, it could stay in place, and would use a manageable amount of fuel. However, concessions in the design of the rest of the spacecraft had to be made. Since the ship had to be compact, the plasma drives would take up most of the vessel. The crew would be forced to sleep in a single room without artificial gravity, certainly a major step down from existing vessels.

As for weaponry, it had the spinal railgun, but also a large complement of missiles. The one thing nobody would admit was that every singe one of those missiles carried a nuclear payload. This wasn't just a starship they were building, it was a weapon of mass destruction. Even the drive system seemed to be designed to kill billions, if it didn't shift particle buildup to the aft of the ship, then it could potentially destroy an entire star system. An atrocity such as that was so unimaginable horrific that the government refused to authorize it even if humanity was in danger of extinction.

Every once in a while, one of the workers would stop and think about what they were doing. Everyone knew an interstellar spacecraft would be built, but nobody expected that the first two would be built to fight. Even while the government drew up interstellar courses with the hope of finding the homeworld of the species that had threatened them, terrorists still killed people by the thousands, with no end in sight. Humanity would have to adapt to survive, and the course that adaptation seemed to be taking was sickening.

Mars, Contact
Oumou smiled, interpreting the pictures as an attempt to explain their culture. She knew the protocols for such an encounter, but now that it was actually happening, she didn't want to show them what had happened. However, the faces of her colleagues told her that she had to do it. She took out an electronic tablet, and tapped on it's screen for a few moments. She then displayed it so that the aliens could see.

"Who we were." She said, knowing they couldn't understand. Regardless, she tried to make it obvious that she was saddened by what she was showing them.

A picture of a rocket launch appeared, with thousands of humans cheering at it. After a few moments it changed to a picture of Sputnik, and then to Yuri Gagarin. The picture switched to the Apollo 11 Moon landing, with Neil Armstrong stepping onto the lunar surface. His famous first words played through the tablet's speakers, just before a picture of an old space shuttle appeared.

"Our punishment for daring to escape."

A picture from the destruction of Challenger appeared, then one of Columbia. The Space Mirror Memorial appeared, the names of every astronaut who died displayed in such a way that it appeared that they were floating in the sky.

"Our retaliation." She said proudly

The ISS was shown, then the first Lunar colony. It continued on, showing the first landing on Mars, then the first pictures of Europa's oceans. The two SETI transmissions sent to the Gliese 581 system played, showing a video of a male human happily speaking in hundreds of different languages. The Voyager and Pioneer space probes, and the first manned mission to an asteroid.

"The evils we are capable of." Now her voice was almost unbelievably sad, with disgrace in every word.

The pictures changed tone drastically, now showing missiles, then mushroom clouds. They likely held little cultural significance to the aliens, but every human cringed and shifted their gaze downward at the sight.

Pictures of deformed children, people with blood flowing out of every orifice. Railgun shots falling from orbit, cities vaporized in the blink of an eye. Hundreds kneeling with rifles pointed at their heads, their spirits broken. A man leading an army, then that man being killed by the same one that appeared in the message earlier. Somehow, the faces of the humans showed even more disgrace than they already did.

Before continuing, she quickly drew something on the tablet, then threw it down on the ground. It was a crude drawing of what the alien had done to her, the 'mind meld' as humans would refer to it.

The humans knelt on the ground, and Oumou held up a sword, made of steel like one would expect of a pre-gunpowder civilization. Making sure the aliens could pick it up, she spoke again.

"You have a choice." Was all she said.

Luna Station
"I'm sure we can get the station to working order, although we will probably have to rip it apart. And yes. we are sure. The Eternal Mother sees something in you as to have given a small select group, the Wings of Gliese, the gift of magic. All races have potential, it just needs to be cultivated and guided properly. With that said we will proceed forward and give you the technology. It is not much, only the pieces needed for safe and comfortable space travel, and the means to travel quickly across the stars and produce fuel, so it is not like we are giving you the technology necessary to rampage across the galaxy."

Basil handed the humans a small disk that they had manufactured to work with current human computers.

"On this disk is a warp drive, one of are most advanced designs, but we have a better form of FTL. It also includes radiation shielding, a specialized titanium alloy for space travel, and efficient designs for negative energy factories. Before I go, the E.U.V Starfire shall be stationed here, her Captain is Emily, she shall be here as apart of the peace treaty and diplomatic duty. And the Immortals would like to speak to you Fergus, so I need you to come with me."

New Condia
"We would not think of stealing the wreckage of your ships. We are also sending over a small cargo ship, while we do not have the time to host a full rewards ceremony on board it is enough medals for every Sazkarjhit in the fleet. Its a medal from before we were a fully united nation. It was handed out by a Kingdom to foreigners for helping defend the nation."

New Condia

"We humbly accept your reward. We are grateful to have fought among your ranks to help in your defense. Once we detonate the damaged ships we will leave this system. Hopefully in the future our leaders can physically meet, and collaborate to help work towards a strong and healthy alliance. May your future endeavors be fruitful, and may the just Hand of Zarwaun guide you forth!"

Small tunneling beams shot from the ships as ruptures in space were torn open to access Slipstream Space. As they began to enter, the ships rendered FUBAR were corralled together and had their nuclear detonators simultaneously set off. A large, bright blossom of fire enveloped the ships. After the powerful shockwave resonated across space, and the corona of nuclear fire settled, all that was left was a debris field of molten metal and an intensely concentrated pocket of ionizing radiation.

Terran Contact

"We formally thank you for your benignity. It's rare that such a nation encounters an alien one and acts so peacefully upon it. We will make contact if we need to regarding the actions of placing a station in your system. Once again, thank you for what you have done."

Luna Station
The councilman simply sat there, the look on his face making it clear that he simply couldn't believe what had just happened. He then began spurting out thanks to the Iscandarians, often mixing his languages up. Fergus turned to basil and spoke.

"The Immortals? I've never been exposed to Iscandarian culture, but that sounds pretty important. Then again, I do appear to be part of a prophecy, so I suppose it makes sense. You'll have to forgive me for being skeptical, though I am Iscandarian at heart, I am probably more human than anything. I think like one, you see, I cannot accept anything I don't see with my own eyes. Unless I'm indoctrinated into believing it."

The comment earned a chuckle from the Constable, to which Fergus responded with a smile.

"Keep these people safe, President." Said Fergus

"Have fun out there, Captain." He responded

The two laughed, and Fergus slapped the Constable's back. He then walked away with basil, waving back to the Constable.

Sazkarjhit Contact
"If the world is filled with war, then a single handshake can change it. I believe that holds true for the whole universe. Might as well give as many handshakes as I can."

New Condia: The Advance

Even in the time span of the short conflict, the Gathering had gained a great deal of knowledge on the Union's attack strategies and capabilities. The walkers (designated Amazons) buffed their shields against the incoming artillery fire, absorbing as much damage as they could with their two ablative shield plates. Chunks of external armor boiled and melted off the Amazons as a thick slag, but their heavy armor prevented a great deal of structural damage. One walker, however, had a limb blown off, and it collapsed to the ground, flailing it's two remaining legs as it succumbed to the barrage and detonated ferociously.

One of the remaining machines fired zero point mortars, crushing tanks as the shots landed in intense gravity fields, as another fired decay lasers as a sort of flak against the drop pods, hoping to disable or destroy them before they hit the ground and release their cargo. As for the ground troops, the Matrons were much more fighter capable, bearing a strange insignia and being colored a black and red pattern, indicating they were special forces of some kind. They rushed up the hill as fast as they could, some dropping from the infantry fire of the Union soldiers, and were soon upon them, slashing and stabbing at them with their blades.

New Condia Orbit

The large Cathedral wreck showed signs of life, as it flickered and moved sluggishly, unable to fight or escape but still very much alive. Inside, a strange signal indicated a sentience unlike the other Ethereals, a still functioning intelligence on board. The main Witch was still connected to this realm, and trapped in a bizarre circumstance where it couldn't severe it's link. With no means of communication to reach the Home Fleet, it simply waited to be captured, desperately trying to hatch a plan of retreat.

---

Mars

Madam Tiy watched the primitive device, as it gave a brief but succinct insight into human history. It frowned visibly, as the images of their struggle to control their primal urges of war and bloodshed flicked over. For her species, war amongst themselves had never occurred, even early on in their history. Being constantly linked to each others mind made lies and deceit impossible, and the fact that their power diminished as others were lost meant that, at least to them, war was always a hindrance and travesty that no one came out top of, ever. She did, however, understand that these impulses were impossible to ignore for some races, and that their true mark was in the ability to overcome and thrive despite these instincts.

The Warden noticed the humans were ashamed, and was surprised to see them hold up a blade of some kind, almost as if she was being offered... Horrified, she just stood their unmoving and watching them motionless, accepting of their potential fate. If only Tiy could tell them of what had happened, that they were, like all life, precious and sacred. That they shouldn't feel this way, that even her kind-

"No" was all Sage said, watching intently as well. "They are not ready. To share that with them now, would only break their spirit. With time, they will learn of the dangers of this galaxy, and how little time is left." The orb glowed brighter, and shone a light green, thinking intently. "Our duty is to protect them. Even to our last guardian. The Yss, or whatever monstrosity they have become now, must be stopped. But not by us. Our time has passed, and we shall fade away to nothing, eventually forgotten. But this species, and all the others that may still dwell in the galaxy... They are it's last hope. All we can do is guide them, and show them the tools they will need to survive."

TIy nodded, and lifted the sword from the female's hands, inspecting the blade, fascinated by it's intricate patterns and expertly crafted design. There is a certain beauty and wisdom to all things, even war, the Warden thought to herself. Perhaps, even her kind could have learned a thing or two from these creatures. She stabbed the sword into the ground beside the human, and held out her hand to help it up, smiling and teary eyed. They were kindred, and both knew of the prices they had paid to be here today. But only the Warden knew of the sacrifices to come, the sacrifices she would ask of this race and it's allies.

New Condia:Stopping the Advance
The tanks were ruined, however before the Ethereals could march much further sentinels gathered and formed a tight phalanx. The Sentinels were packed tight in as they used mounted energy shields on their arms to from a near-impenetrable wall of shields. Energy spears were distributed throughout the phalanx, forming spears poking out from the bottom and top and causing damage to Ethereals who dared get nearby. The Magi refocused, all directing there magic to one walker and amazon at a time, as to destroy them quicker. If that was done they focused their fire on destroying those who got to close to the phalanx.

The next blow to the attackers was the arrival of air-support. One massive gunship, on the side marked as a Phoenix-Class Gunship, came and hovered above the hill. It unleashed a storm of fire from its auto-guns(weaker automatic rail-guns), onto the enemy forces. It next fire a barrage of balefire from a few cannons mounted onto it, and then paused. It weapons seemed to be recharging from the barrage it had unleashed.

The next attack was very much unexpected. 10 Iscandarians hopped over the Phalanx, a feat that should not be possible for a Iscandarian, and then approached the Ethereals. They moved extremely fast, and it was and felt unnatural. Their visors, unlike the other soldiers, were obscured. While they had no visible weapons two energy blades projected from their gauntlets, hacking and dicing at the Ethereals extremely fast.

Luna Station
"This way then Fergus, and the Immortals lead the Eternal Union. They are our Princes and Princesses, and they are all 3 of the Iscandarian sub-types wrapped into one. They gained there status and position by committing great deeds that assisted the entirety of the Union." said Basil, as they boarded the Iscandarian's ship.

"On the way I will need to explain to you quite a bit about our culture, history, and religion, so you know what you are walking into when you step onto Alas Prime, or Gliese as you would likely call it. Where would you like to start first, our history, our culture, or our religion?"

Planet Nouvelle
Hollie, Capital of Nouvelle.
"People of Nouvelle, my people, sons and daughters of Tem'plar, rejoice in this year, in this great time of happiness. Our harvests have never been more bountiful, our coffers never so full, and our people never so happy. I am truly honored, with all my heart, to have the privilege of being your Queen, your ruler. I've seen so much progress in the last five years, seen so much change and become a part of the norm for all of us. We've overcome the last of the damages left from wars past, we've overcome adversity and differences, we've overcome much and more, to stand where we are today. And, as we look to the stars above, to our beautiful skies, look, and know that the angels watch over us. That they are looking down upon us, and shall forever ensure that we will forever be a part of this galaxy." Queen Sabine smiles, looking over the crowd of nobles and commoners alike that pack the palace square. They had all come to celebrate her name day, another year older, another year wiser. All across the planet, the people were holding similar celebrations, thanking their queen, and their gods, for all the good that has come in the past seven months.
Food was abundant and none were hungry. The great rebirth of the Kingdom's navy well underway, as people looked to the future. Of course, no one was working today, even the military were celebrating. The shipyards and factories lay silent, the soldiers, workers, farmers, nobles, and all others from their walks of life had come out into their town squares, their central plazas, and so on, to revel, to drink, eat, and party the day away, until the moon was to arise, the twins, along with their Goddess.

And in the skies above, the glints of light blinked and flickered, little angles far above, doing whatever the gods needed of them. The people of Nouvelle cheered, and wished the angles luck in the battles against the darkness. Against evil and bad, against all that would seek to cover the galaxy in darkness. As was customary, massive bonfires were being lit all across the main continent of Nouvelle, along with the frontier towns and cities. Fires to light up the planet's surface, to show their support of the angels above, and to guard their world from the darkness that was always lurking.

"My people, thank you again... I am forever a proud Queen with such loyal and true subject as you all. Let us celebrate, and enjoy all we have earned. Viva la Nouvelle!" The queen cried out. She smiled and bowed before her people, before making her way into the palace proper to celebrate with her friends and family, with those that were given a royal invitation to the ball that was to start shortly. Sabine smiled, and hugged her two guards, before rushing off to join in the fun.

Resident System of Nouvelle

WARNING!

WARNING!

SLIPSTREAM FAULT DETECTED. EMERGENCY EXIT PROTOCOLS IN EFFECT

DEADLY CAPACITOR DISCHARGE IMMINENT

DROP FROM SLIPSTREAM SPACE? [Y/N]

One blunder after the next... High Marshal Turek'sum groaned to herself. She firmly pressed the confirmation key, and soon the white light enveloping the viewport of the Trikolo-Class Destroyer PNSS Might of a Thousand Suns cleared as an emergency Slipstream drop was enacted. An emergency access tunnel being opened.

Slipstream Faults were common as the transition to the more "efficient" HyperJump Engine developed by the Translight Aerospace Corporation meant kinks still needed to be ironed out. It was not surprising if a single ship needed to drop from a fleetwide jump, be forced to wait a few days for the capacitors to charge again, and then make another jump to regroup.

What caught Marshal Turek'sum off her guard wasn't why the fault occurred, but where it landed them. Suddenly the destroyer was facing a large, colorful planet surface, and the ship jumped relatively close, being caught in the planet's gravity. The captain was about to order an exit burn but she realized that at their position it would heavily damage the ship. "A planetside landing it is, then." she grumbled.

The Trikolo fired a sequence of turning jets as it righted itself, a slight amount of friction being caught on its two aft stabilizing wings. As it made approach to the surface said friction increased dramatically until a burning fire enveloped the warship as it made a steady descent down. Once about 70 kilometers from the surface she ordered the ship to protract its landing pedestals and fire liftoff rockets. This was a praised versatility of the Trikolo-Class; it's able to land planetside if needed and doesn't require docking equipment most warships need. For the ship to take off, however, was a different story.

The ship had eventually reached a clearing among mountains as seen from geographical mapping systems and the ship drifted to that region. It landed on a large plateau maybe 1 or 2 kilometers in diameter, slowly and carefully touching down. After this an antenna was protruded from the top of the ship, and a support beacon for the nearest launch-capable fleet began broadcasting.

Earth, Arabic Wasteland
A hundred soldiers walked through the scorched wasteland, clad in armored radiation suits. The crackling of a geiger counter filled everyone's ears, a display on their HUD showing the radiation levels. Even for their radiation suits, the levels were getting close to dangerous levels. Each one of them was pumped full of nodified antibodies and white blood cells, in case they encountered the remnants of a bioweapon. It was never easy, walking there, but their mission made it even harder.

They were searching for a small terrorist cell, and those in this particular branch were known for their sneak attacks. Nobody quite got why they had to stay on watch, there wasn't any cover for kilometers. Nevertheless, they advanced with their coilguns drawn. Off in the distance they could see a bombed-out city, over the years, the names of the lost cities had been forgotten, but someone commented on it.

"This place meant something once."

That's when it happened.

A sniper's bullet pierced the heart of one of the soldiers, dropping him to the ground instantly. The rest scattered, desperately searching for cover in the barren wasteland. More sniper bullets came down, each one hitting it's mark perfectly. An aircraft wing flew above them, dropping paratroopers. The Federal soldiers opened fire, dropping many of them. However, the terrorists already had their weapons assembled, spraying bullets indiscriminately across the Federal troops.

When the paratroopers hit the ground, it was all over. They must have trained their entire lives for combat, as they could drop a dozen soldiers each. Those that were left alive were brought aboard a landed helicopter, and one of the terrorists walked up to the Federal commander.

"We will rise again." He said

"With what? A few guerrilla fighters?"

"Look outside."

The Federal commander looked out the door into the wasteland, and in the distance he saw a missile rising into the sky. Suddenly, he realized what he was looking at. It was known that the nations that once stood nearby had nuclear capabilities when the war began, but all supported the attack. If the terrorists had managed to get their hands on a missile...

"You're right. It's a nuke. Pretty soon the news will be full of broadcasts about how Paris is burning in nuclear fire."

Drydock 003, Earth Orbit
"Captain! Captain Lovisa!"

The new frigate stood in the background, the railgun firing assembly being fixed into place. No sparks flew, the vacuum of space wouldn't allow it. Instead, there was nothing more than a bright light at every seam, the melted metal solidifying instantly in the void. The Captain turned around to see Admiral Yakov running towards her, and couldn't help but chuckle a little about the predicament. She never thought of the Admiral as someone who ever left their desk.

"What is it, Admiral?"

"It's from SETI, they've detected a radio transmission from a nearby system! It looks like a distress call!?"

"How could we possibly know that?"

"It's from a recently contacted species, the Sazkr... Sazkara... Saza... Sazkarjhit? Something like that. Anyway, we're pretty sure they sent it. They weren't hostile, and I want you to return the favor. Is the Alcubierre spaceworthy?"

"Well, the tertiary railgun accelerator isn't operational, the port armor hasn't been installed, and the plasma engines haven't been broken in yet. However, if you really need us out there, then the Alcubierre Drive is fully operational. We've even got the Iscandarian modifications in place, we can be there pretty fast. Of course, the crew needs more train-"

The Admiral cut her off, something admirals seemed to do quite often.

"The best training is a mission. I want the Acubierre outside Sol today!"

The Captain opened her mouth, then decided it was futile. She turned to a comm panel and picked up the microphone.

"The TSS Alcubierre will depart Drydock 003 for interstellar space at 19:00 hours today. You'd better be ready, because the ship sure as hell isn't."

Luna Station
Fergus' eyes positively lit up, and it was clear he could barely contain his excitement. His mouth dropped slightly open, and his body straightened out instantaneously.

"Religion." He said "Definitely religion."

Mars, Contact
When she heard the sword come down, Oumou expected pain, or at least someone else screaming out. Instead, it was a different sound. She felt no pain, and the only sound was comparable to the dull thunk of a book against the imported Terran soil. Then it hit her -the aliens hadn't killed anyone- they understood what they were doing fully. It was incredibly that a species so different could have such a similar way of thinking. Tears began to fall from her eyes onto the transparent surface of her helmet, and a smile spread across her lips. The smile of someone who had been rescued from certain death.

She took the alien's hand, letting her help her up. The others got up as well, the Martian gravity making their transition somewhat slow. They floated up in the air for less than a moment before coming back down, but their descent wasn't assisted by the heavy pull of Earth's gravity, so they fell in an almost graceful manner. The one that had held up the sword unexpectedly jumped at the alien, but her hands weren't in any position to indicate an attack. Her arms were spread wide, but the moment she reached the alien, her arms closed around her. She knew it must have looked odd, but it was an almost instinctual response.

"Hug." She said, her voice shaky even through the speakers. "Friend."

Nouvelle Orbit, TSS Alcubierre
A blinding flash of blue light filled the skies of Nouvelle, clearly visible to anyone below. It was like another sun, but it only blazed for a few moments before disappearing completely. Anyone with a telescope pointed the right direction would see an odd object, tumbling around in the sky like a top released at a bad angle. An ice-like substance covered it, being shed due to the sheer speed of it's rotation. Another flash of blue light could be seen, though much, much dimmer. It went on for a longer period of time as well, and seemed to surround the object. After it cleared, the object was no longer rotating. However, it was still speeding across the sky at unimaginable speeds.

A radio message was beamed from the object to a plateau in a large mountain range, using all radio frequencies. If anyone else was listening in, then they wouldn't know the language. It was obvious it wasn;t meant for any eavesdroppers.

"This is the Terran Star Ship Alcubierre to Sazkarjhit vessel. One of our SETI installation picked up your message and this vessel was dispatched to assist if needed. Please inform us of the situation and what you wish for us to do here."

The transmission was cut off there, but the speaker certainly didn't stop talking. Though nobody outside the vessel could hear it, everyone on that ship was speaking by now. Cheering muffled the Captain's speech as she practically screamed at her fist officer.

"Okay, yeah. We're going to land the ship."

"What the hell?" Responded her first officer "This thing may be a lifting body, but it sure as hell can't land without a runway!"

"Sure it can, you just have to distribute the negative mass correctly. The warp rings can provide an antigravity effect."

"Do you even realize how hard-"

The captain ruched off to her quarters, determined to land the ship. She had majored in quantum physics, but her first officer had his doubts about the possibility of calculating the precise distribution of negative mass required to land a frigate.

Unknown Region in Nouvelle

High Marshal Surek'sum replayed the message, baffled.

"Those were the same Terrans that the prowler ran across, right?" a crew asked. Despite the covertness of the mission the blunder involving PNSS Reverence in Silence spread across the Peoples' Navy like wildfire. Regardless, Marshal Surek'sum replied with her own message.

"We thank you kindly for the assist. However we do have to ask as we had assumed we broadcast on a secure channel since we requested a support fleet. So we appreciate the help but don't be too surprised if you see a Sazkarjhit warfleet suddenly coming out of warp above you. T-" she paused for a moment as something caught the sailor's attention. It was several red and orange blazes, seen through patches through the mountains. They weren't spreading out of control, they may have been controlled. Perhaps the sign of another race.

"Alcubierre, I'm going to ask that you actually leave us planetside for the time being. I'm going to send parties out to see what the commotion is." she clicked the "STOP" key and sent the message. She then ordered a squadron of loaded Sparrowhawk VTOL aircraft to make headway towards some of the blazes for investigation.

E.U.V Phoenix
Basil smiled, picking up a small black book, labeled Stardust.

"The best way I feel to teach you about our religion is through reading a few passages from this book. Our holy book" spoke Basil, opening it and reading aloud to Fergus.

"Book 1: From Stardust

Passage 1

In the beginning Gliese was merely a torn desolate plain, fire and smoke rising into the air. A star exploded, from which the first speckles of Stardust landed on Gliese, and through that Faust was born of of a golden energy, on the highest plain of existence. She began exploring the universe, seeking to spread harmony and peace, but all she found was war and destruction. Despite this she became known as the Goddess of Harmony. Distraught she returned to Gliese.

Using the Golden Energy she forged us, her children, and became known as the Eternal Mother. She then forged magic using the golden energy, and gave it to us as a gift. However our early ancestors were misguided, causing harm to themselves. Faust knew that she could not intervene directly, or influence a few for scaring them. Thus she created Lahnha, her agent and a guide to us."

Basil paused for a minute, giving Fergus time to reflect on it.

On the Explorer
After being thoroughly freaked out at the beginning-to-die creatures, the Tinkerer caught on as the one in front of him began to drift. Because he was the only one with hands, and because of his higher intelligence, he was able to see what was happening. The vacuum was affecting them, where it didn't before. Moving as fast as the magboots let him, the Tinkerer grabbed the one dog-creature, and began 'running' as fast as he could to the airlock. The Hunters trailed behind, not understanding but only understanding that the Tinkerer knew what's up.

Once he reached the airlock, only a short distance away, he essentially threw open the door, jumped into the airlock, waved for only one Hunter to accompany him, and then shut it. Shortly afterwards, the chamber sealed and air began filling the chamber. More carbon dioxide than oxygen, but still with oxygen. Not knowing what the creature needed, or its reactions when it woke up, he set it down in the corner, and had the Hunter stand next to him, ordering him to make sure it didn't hurt him.

However, the ship itself was sending out orders to the others. Two of the Explorers and two of the Battlecruisers were heading out, to new destinations instead of war. It was decided, it seemed, to not pursue the actions of a warring race, and only retaliate if the assailants attempted to take life or land once more. One pair of the two different ships 'ported out to the original destination, while the other pair set out for a new random one.

Resident System of Nouvelle, shortly after Alpha's peoples arrived
Light rippled as faster-than-light drives tore through it, revealing two large ships of differing size, length, armament, and crew appeared. One, was the Explorer, two, was the Battlecruiser. Both were silent and still for several minutes as they continued on a corse from the outside of the system, inwards. Both ships had crews too large to quickly re-establish control of the ship after a long-distance jump.

As they began moving in-system, they began scanning each planet and moon, already designating them with little nicknames, and checking for life or terrability, or the statistics relating to the difficulty and the time period needed to terraform an area or planet. Most of the solid planets showed a good possibility, with a bit of ozone-layer tinkering and other environmental and atmospheric maintence, while others were completely unable to even do that.

It'd take a while for the two ships to reach Nouvelle, though their telescopes may pick them up moving around- they were not small, nor were they shy about lights- they can't see light, so lights aren't a legitimate danger to the stealthiness of a ship. That meant there were quite a few places, such as docking ports, extra pieces of added-on-armor and other aesthetic places where it was just really bright. The main armor pieces of the ship, however, did not have neon tube lights compromising the hull.