The Pearl Fleet
"A cultural exchange would be nice, but we feel that we do not know you enough to commit to such a thing yet. We will however invite you to New Condia, it is a nice colony world and it is the closet colony, but it is still a distance away. The coordinates are attached to this message. We would like to request also information about your biology, so we can prepare the necessary accommodations."

New Condia
The ship was totally unexpected, as many of New Condia's stations were still damaged after the heavy aftermath of the Ethereal battle. It managed to slip through the atmosphere. Ships scrambled around and arrived in New Condia's atmosphere, preparing in-case some kind of warfleet arrived to pick up the ship.

Meanwhile ground crews scrambled as the news of the crashed ship was relayed across New Condia's network, with many citizens fearing the new ship as the Ethereals had many them slightly xeno-phobic. It did not take long for crews to scramble as they surrounded the ship, weapons pointed but not activated towards the ship. A few mages setup a translation spell. When it was activated the crew aboard the crashed ship could feel a presence in their minds, it was not hostile, but seemed to bring about a sense of calm and under-standing. The soldiers awaited for the aliens to leave their ship, a few diplomats stepping forward.

STC Acheron ( BH-23)
Conduction Long Range Recon Patrol, running stealth protocols
Deep Space, Alari Abyss ( Stalking the pearl fleet)
Lt Cmdr. Zilicin

“ Stalk….stalk….stalk, if I was hunting, I would have at least taken a shot by now.” said the weapons officer turning his head towards the officer next to him. “ Would you want to shoot at that?” said the radar officer pointing towards the mass of ships to their front. The radar and the view screen was filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands of ships, all of them outclassing the Acheron. “ No, this would be a one way fight, I doubt wed even dent anything over there” the commander said before getting up and walking to the star map, marking there location. “ How this force surprised us is beyond me? either they have been here sitting dormant for a bit or their radar defeat is insane” Zilicin shrugged “ Either way, they will find us, its just a matter of time”. One of em is going to get close enough to visually spot us or they will see us when we move”. The commander sighed and walked to the fore view screen looking at the shimmering expanse of ship before him, then almost as an after thought turned towards the communications officer “ Hail them and shut off the stealth protocols, we are going to find out what they want”. The entire crew looked shocked for a minute before realizing that he was in fact serious and went about contacting the unknown ships.

Sent message-Burst traffic
“ Unknown vessels, This is the STC Acheron of the Septonian Concordant. We wish to make peaceful contact”

STC Jaques ( BH-44)
Crash landed on New Condia
Cmdr. Deaxja ( KIA)
Lt. Cmdr Sinidas Kalai ( Now in Command)

The smell of burning flesh and the pain in his ribs roused sidings from his stupor, he didn’t remember much of the crash. He was knocked unconscious after the engines exploded and half assumed he was dead when he woke up. As he slowly yet painfully rose to a sitting position, he realized that he was laying on the bridge, in some sort of throw together triage unit. A member of the medical team noticed him sitting up and immediately went over the brief him on the situation, quickly running over to kneel beside him “ Sir, I must be brief but you are in command now, Commander Deaxja is dead and some alien force has the ship surrounded.” she said before her attention was called elsewhere “ Gotta go..” she said quickly before getting up and walking away.

Sinidas slowly got to his feet and walked off the bridge, moving towards the now exposed engineering deck. The halls were packed with crewmen with rifles and light armor, moving weapons and ammunition down to the engineering deck. The ship looked relatively fine on the inside but he expected the exterior to be much worse. Sidings wasn’t a Naval officer, he was a Marine special operations officer, but he was the highest ranking officer left. His plan was to defend this ship with his life if need be, there were things on this ship that no one could get their hands on. Throughout training Sinidas was taught to ignore the impulses his mind gave off and focus on the task at hand, but he couldn’t shake the calm feeling he felt. Despite the chaos, he was pretty at ease, should really help if they ended up getting into a firefight.

Down in engineering the crew has set up defensible fighting positions with machine guns and even a recoiless rifle. It never ceased to amaze him how much the crew could do in such a short amount of time. They even took the 20mm point defense turrets out of the mounts and placed them on the fighting positions around the perimeter of the ship. To anyone watching it would look like the crew of the Jaques was setting up for a fight.

Planet N-1

The Plearique could sense the tool and the affects as it started to growl and curl up. It twitched wildly and gave odd but aggressive barks. It started to slow its breathing but used more energy as it clawed at the wall and floor surrounding it.

Meanwhile the hive the tinkerer was approaching almost laid dormant. It's mouth wide open, fumes and smoke still idly drifting out, aside from its tendrils swaying or it's occasional interal groans, it was frozen in place.

Combat Information Centre, Zhang He, Flagship of the Pearl Fleet

Admiral Hei turned to his officers for a moment, silently asking for their opinions. All of the gathered officers and specialists gave a nod and Admiral Hei nodded back. Turning back to the communications console, the Admiral began speaking.

"Captain Magnus, on behalf of the Pearl Fleet and all Alarai I would be honoured to accept your invitation. My ship's science officer will send you the data on our physiologies, but I do not predict any difficulties."

XXXXX

Combat Information Centre, Combat Carrier Li Wen, Pearl Fleet Vanguard Squadron Flagship

Captain Hign floated on the command platform of the Carrier, listening as the static-burst transmission came in from the STC Acheron. Two races in one area? Both of them contacting the fleet independently? The Admiral was already in talks with the Eternal Union, as such following protocol it came to him to handle the discussion with the STC; a responsibility that he was suddenly very much feeling the weight of.

"STC Acheron, this is the Li Wen, Flagship of the Vanguard Squadron of the Pearl Fleet." Captain Hign spoke. "We have received and return your request for peaceful contact with the same."

How a stealth ship just managed to appear near the Vanguard fleet, the first line of defence for the Pearl Fleet against any possible hostile forces, was completely beyond him. He would be sure he would be having a very stern and angry discussion with his chiefs of staff. This security breach was unacceptable; had the Acheron been hostile then there may have been tragic consequences.

Interrogation Chambers

It took time, but the Witch was able to give the translation as desired. It read out the coordinates, before silencing itself, and watching for the Doctor's reaction. It spoke, lower now, locking eyes with her.

"The translation, as you have asked for. Do not be mistaken, we are not allies. Your species will play a great part in our Ascension. Free us, and be thankful you still serve a purpose. Our patience grows thin."

Facility A-1: The Weapon

While working meticulously and with extreme care, something indeed went wrong with the deconstruction of the Cathedral's main cannon. Though not as catastrophic as one might think at first, it was quite a dangerous situation. But there was no way of telling what exactly had happened, as there was no reference to the technology anywhere and it was completely foreign to them. Fortunately, they were still able to decipher some of it's inner workings.

The machine utilized a small dimensional rift to feed energy in from an unknown source. The crystals were, essentially, both a capacitor for the weapon and a short range signal relay for close quarters communication. That was how the Ethereals moved in such synchronization and reacted so quickly, being constantly in communication with each other and orders being followed almost instantly. There was no telling how many roentgen the crystals could store, but it was known that after two minutes of charging, it had the power to punch a hole clean through fleets, the singularity pulse tearing anything that gets in it's way to molecular shreds. This weapon, had it connected with the Union fleet and not intercepted by the allied reinforcements, would have demolished their shielding and resulted in heavy casualties.

Mars

The Warden followed them, climbing up the ladder as Sage floated beside her. "These people are really trusting, letting an unknown species join them in their vehicles." Sage nodded in response.

"Yes, we could potentially be tricking them so we may drink their blood. Or lay eggs in their brain. Or both. I would certainly be a little smarter about the whole situation... I don't feel so comfortable letting them drive me somewhere anymore. Or fly a starship."

"Sage, your lucky they can't understand you." Tiy entered the airlock, and the humans offered her a helmet and breathing gear, thinking she needed it on account of them requiring it out there. She pushed it away politely, indicating she was fine without it. The air hissed, and the humans began to unsuit. "By the way, we need to work out a better method of communication. Any plans Sage?"

Gathering together outside the door, the crew lead the visitors down corridors and around corners. "Of course. If i can get to some sort of computer terminal, I can decrypt and study the syntax of their language, and speak out loud with them. Not ideal, but it's a start, and it shouldn't take me long. We probably don't want to risk killing them just to say hi."

Unknown space

Pain was foreign to the Gathering. They had not felt any kind of sensation for eons, so to speak. Unfortunately for the Sazkarjhit prisoner held in place by the stasis field, the Ethereals knew that it affected organics. He screamed again, crying, as the intricate thin wires crisscrossed through his brain and electrocuted him again, targeting the areas that processed pain. The room was surgical white, and only had a single entity with him: An obelisk-like floating device, with a single red eye and many dozens of arms with various operating tools and gadgets at their ends. Used as scientists and prisoner interrogators, they would become known simply as Nurses to the wider galactic community.

"Again: Where is the Warden? We ask that you cooperate with us, or we will be forced to motivate you again."

He blubbered and sobbed, yelling in terror at the drone with such ferocity it floated back an inch from him. "I DON'T KNOW WHO OR WHAT THAT IS! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US!? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US!!?" Floating in silence for a couple of seconds, it started to whine again, preparing another charge of the electrical device. The Sazkarjhit pleaded and begged, all too familiar with that horrible sound, as another jolt was delivered, forcing him to cry out and writhe in his invisible restraint. While he squirmed, the Nurse responded to his question,

"We want everything, organic. Everything you know."

Saturn's Orbit
Robert was throughly disgusted with the Admiral now.

"Mandalorians do not wait. We will join the peace conference if that's what it takes."

Finch put his helmet back on and signaled the Bridge to make way to the third planets moon.

"Tell me Admiral, what do your people believe in?"

Interrogation Chambers
The walls of the Witches chamber slid down, as something moved him into another.

"We disabled all of the weapons on your Cathedral, so you can't damage the station. Do not come here again." spoke Vahlen, as she went elsewhere in the facility. Two guards appeared and lead the Witch out to the Cathedral, the thing he was sealed in was put onto the Cathedral, then opened. The last personnel had moved away from the Cathedral.

Facility A-1
Scientists were working heavily with the data acquired, analyzing the black fluid found in the Matron armor using very detailed scanners as well as carefully dissembling the matron armor, documenting each part and trying to figure out how to adapt it for Eternal Union use. Meanwhile a group of weapons specialists were analyzing the data from the large weapon that had destroyed the Sazkarjhit fleet, intent on replicating it for their own purposes.

Vahlen had retreated to a hidden part of the facility. She realized her work, the immortals would probably not approve of. Vahlen knew however that her project could be a very big boon, so she would proceed as she normally did with projects she knew the Immortals wouldn't approve of. She began them in secret, only working on it with her most trusted colleagues, and then when the project got along far enough reveal it to the Immortals, they be forced to accept because of how valuable it was and for the greater good of the Union.

Alas Prime, The Palace
Aaliyah looked at her armor. It had been so long since she had worn it, first having used it during the Gamilas first contact. Taking the helmet she put it on, shining in the sunlight. The armor was 100% Archnite, a extremely are magical metal found only on Alas Prime. Not only could it resist direct explosions and suffer a lot more without so much as a strong, it also heavily amplified the abilities that magic gave to the various Iscandarian sub-types. Casters in the past had worn armor with only a small concentration of Archnite, usually 1%, and even with such a small concentration it made a armor extremely hard and strong, and still amplified the abilities of a person significantly. As such a suit of 100% Archnite was almost god-like. and the fact that it was reserved for the Immortals made it obvious.

Aaliyah finished putting on the Archnite suit, the gold shining in the magical fires of the palace. She looked up, and noticed one of the Archmages. It was however not just any Archmage, it was Gabriel, one of the youngest Archmages in existence. He had become one at the age of 80, which may seem old but most Iscandarians lived to 300. Becoming a Archmage required a lot, most becoming one at the age of 110. He was also currently a 120. He was also one of the most powerful, and was a clear choice for the position of High-Archmage when Basil retired.

"Love, why do you do this? The mission is risky, epically considering the coordinates come from the Shard Guide." questioned Gabriel, revealing his relationship to Aaliyah. The two had fallen in love when Gabriel had first become a Archmage, and he was also a Father to Emily, the famous captain of the Starfire. This was however secret, both the relationship and Emily's parentage, with only a select group knowing both. Officially Emily's biological parents were unknown and she had been raised by two of Aaliyah's most trusted guards. However they did raise her in secret, epically Gabriel who cared for her the most.

Aaliyah walked over to Gabriel, both of them being equal in height, but Aaliyah certainly looked more majestic and beautiful, with her Golden armor and young looks, compared to Gabriel's simple mage robes, as well as his straight black hair, green eyes, and silver flowing veins.

"I feel it is necessary my love. Whatever is their is dangerous, not something I can just trust to a few scientists and soldiers. Basil I could but he is to old." admitted Aaliyah.

"If you do go I will have to come with you. And we must tell Emily, she has to be aware of the danger we are walking into."

"If you must... But I feel she will be against it, remember the last time you told her you you had to go off to fight more cultists? She was not pleased."

"Always caring about us getting into danger, yet she is a ship Captain constantly out on the frontiers. She needs to worry about herself for once."

"She does, now anyways I need to finish the preparations for the mission. I will add you to the roster. Goodbye my love." finished Aaliyah, as the two had a small kiss before they headed off.

STC Acheron ( BH-23)
Contacting new Species
Deep Space, Alari Abyss ( By Pearl Fleet)
Lt. Cmdr Zilicin

“They are sending a message back!” the communications officer yelled over the commotion on the bridge. Commander Zilicin waded the the chaos before coming to a stop behind the communications officer, looking at the alien language scroll across the screen. “ Any idea what its trying to tell us?” Zilicin said, turning towards the cryptologist next to the communications station. The Crypto officer shook his head and shrugged “ I dont know sir, they could be saying anything from I want to kill you and eat your eyeballs or Hey!, you can come over and eat my food, drink my wine and fuck my sister..”. The commander laughed and shook his head before running it through the translation package, which did not recognize the language. “ What good a multi-million dari translation package does when it doesn’t recognize the bloody language, and to add insult to injury my Cryptolotigst is useless”. Zillicin said with a broad smile. “ Hey Cap’n, I just work here” he Crypto officer said with a laugh “ So what our move skipper?” the communications officer finally chimed in “ I have another message written up and ready to send”. “We move to make physical contact, Helmsman plot an intercept course towards the fleet and ‘try’ to look non-hostile. In the meantime, break out our finest meat and wine….we need to be good hosts”

New message, Burst Traffic
“ Moving to intercept fleet, wish to meet physically and begin welcome celebrations. Location?”

The Pearl Fleet
Captain Magnus watched the new contact, the translation spell already working its magic. The same presence as ever was felt on their minds.

"Greetings new contact, I am Captain Magnus, I represent the Eternal Union."

Meanwhile another transmission was sent to the Alari

"We might have a slight problem. We do not live in water, we live on the surface as you might call it. Do you have anything to assist with this?"

New Condia
With the translation spell, the diplomats approached, weapons holstered.

"Stop! We do not mean harm, but precautions needed to be taken. We are a peaceful species." spoke one of the Diplomats, the language coming out as the Ardite's.

STC Jaques ( BH-44)
Crash landed on New Condia
Cmdr. Deaxja ( KIA)
Lt. Cmdr Sinidas Kalai ( Now in Command)

Sinidas couldn’t shake the feeling of something trying to penetrate his mind, this new sensation was both calming and a nuisance. He wanted his men sharp and he could tell this new feeling was providing a mild distraction. What were they feeling? did it have something to do with this species that was surrounding their vessel? Sinidas shook the thought out of his mind and focused at the task at hand, staring down this new force long enough for the salvage team to come and get them off this bloody rock. “ Sir, contact twelve-o-clock” a crewman said quickly snapping his rifle to the diplomat approaching. Reflexively the rest of Sinidas’s special operations platoon ran to point of contact as well, putting six guns on target. “ If this thing gets any closer sir, its getting wasted” an operator yelled as they watched it slowly approach them. Sinidas had already raised his rifle towards the contact but decided to step out from cover, his weapon still drawn and leveled at the diplomat.

The alien spoke in some weird language as it came closer, but as it spoke the feeling in Sinidas’s head intensified to the point of being uncomfortable. Stopping a few steps outside of the defensive perimeter Sinidas pointed at the approaching diplomat and made a waving off motion “ Flascht, Flascht!” ( Away, Away!) he yelled, hoping the alien would understand.

STC-Acheron ( BH-23)
Contacting new Species
Deep Space, Alari Abyss ( By Pearl Fleet)
Lt. Cmdr Zilicin

Commander Zilicin shook his head slightly as an odd feeling washed over him, feeling like an odd pressure under his eyes. “ Does anyone else feel this? Do we have a radiation leak?” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The rest of the crew definitely felt it too but also wondering about the source “ No sir, reactor is running at full capacity, no leaks or cracks. Any other ideas where this is coming from”? said the propulsion officer rubbing his eyes in the same fashion. Zilicin shook his head and studied the ship schematics for a second. “ Check the pressure seals in engineering, make sure our stealth run didn’t melt anything. Maybe thats it?” he said before continuing on his way towards the Pearl Fleet.

Planet Nouvelle, Capital City Hollie
Skies above Hollie, 8:35 A.M.

As the city of Hollie began to awake in a hustle and bustle, people moving to and fro as word spread of extra-terrestrial visitors, a new vessel slowly drifted down from the heavens above. This craft, yet another ship belonging to these new and alien beings, made its way down from the endless space above, into the atmosphere, and through the sporadic clouds that hung over Hollie. People pointed and motioned to this new visitor above; excited that yet another “Angel” had come forth to visit their moon home world.

This vessel, this object, was heading straight for the capital’s main parade ground, situated outside of the Royal Palace. By now, the fledgling Royal Nouvellian Air Force had been mustered, its loud and rickety Biplanes circling the skies above the capital, while three massive zeppelins floated towards the palace from their airfield. The Nouvellian aircraft took notice of this newcomer, and flew towards it to flank it as it made its way to the parade grounds. The biplanes broke off as it landed, and those upon the ground await for whatever was to come out of this “Angelic” vessel.

Capital City Hollie
Central Trade District leading towards Capital

The police captain nodded, and nudged his horse forward. The police that had formed a barrier between the people of Nouvelle and the vessel that had landed within the trade district moved aside as the party made its way onwards to the Palace. Mounted police rode ahead, clearing the street of people as the Nouvellian police forces and these “All-Seeing Angels” made their way down it. People looked down from their homes, out from their windows at these strange new beings. Many whispered excitedly, talking of how “The gods have returned,” or, “Blessed be the Angel’s, disciples of the gods,” and the like.

The populace was more interested in the aliens than they were afraid, if at all. Of course there were those that were apprehensive, or skeptical, but overall, the vibe in the air was a positive one. The police forces moved at a brisk pace, not rushing, but not taking their time to make it to the palace. Off in the distance, the glittering spires and towers could be seen, the looming walls and fortifications that made the palace, and above all, the gleaming green and red jewel that stood held in a massive statue’s hands. It was surely a sight to behold, perhaps even for off-worlders.

A ship would fly overhead, some of the police within the escort breaking off to race ahead and alert the palace forces of their imminent arrival, and no doubt, to pass on what they had seen of late. Ahead, one could see the massive gates of the palace slowly creaking open, as numerous police and military forces mustered, readying themselves for both the air bound and ground bound newcomers. At the head of all these forces was a very well dressed man.

His hair was speckled with gray, and his mustache grand and well groomed. His clothes embellished with regalia and accruements. It was clear to all that he was in a position of authority. His hat was grand, with a dark green plume of feathers coming from its right side. He wore an archaic breastplate, polished to a high sheen. His sword and revolver drawn, he awaited patiently for the group coming from the trade district to arrive. His boots shone brightly as he moved to his left, letting a retinue of guardsmen pass by him.

He bowed his head slightly to the police and “Angels” from the trade district, offering a smile even. He spoke with a tone of authority and power, but with respect. “I am General Orlock, commander of the Royal Police Forces of Hollie. It is an honor to have such dignified guests among us. I am told you have come to treat with our Grace and Majesty, Queen Sabine. It is up to me if you shall go further.” He paused, looking up to scan over the incoming vessel of the gods, before looking back at the party before him.

“Would you be so kind as to enlighten me as to whom you are? I have only hearsay from my subordinates, my comrades in arms. I mean you no disrespect, but, I must insist that I know whom I am sending before my beloved Queen, to ensure that no harm comes to here, and those that reside within our palace. And, if I could have your names as well, so that we may also know you on a bit more… personal level, less we disrespect you, and ourselves by referring to you as ‘Angels’ or ‘Visitors from beyond the Stars’.” He smiled to them, sheathing his weapons as he awaited their response.

Planet Nouvelle, Frontier Town of Cherac

Captain Reynald stood quietly as the reptilian beings conversed amongst themselves. He wondered what they were saying, curious as to whether it was good or bad. Either way, he decided that it was best he not eavesdrop, even if he could not understand them. He took this time to issue a few orders to his troops, having them move about to ensure that the populace of the town was safe, and that no one got too close to these “Angelic” beings. After ensuring that his troops were taking care of his orders, he turned his attention back to the “Angels”.

The honorable Captain Suren’kum spoke to Captain Reynald after he finished speaking with his own troops. His words were kind and respectful, and held no amount of deception. Captain Reynald listened closely as the “Angel” spoke. He turned to look upon his fellow Nouvellians as Captain Suren’kum addressed them. He looked at their faces; as they listened to the “Angel” address them now. If any had fear within their hearts, it was relieved by the words of Captain Suren’kum. Reynald looked back at his counterpart from the heavens above.

“Captain Suren’kum, I would be honored to meet with your commander.” Reynald spoke politely, before continuing. “I am sad to say we do not have transportation like what your great people have, and I find that I must request your help in getting to this meeting.” He turned and ordered one of his subordinates to retrieve his dress uniform. “I can be ready to go in five minutes, if that is acceptable Captain.” He smiled, and awaited Saren’kums response.

Planet Nouvelle, Capital City of Hollie
Royal Palace, Eastern Wing, Guest Quarters.

Sgt. Caudill led the group of humans towards the quarters where they would be staying for their duration within the capital. He could not help but chuckle at their banter as the humans spoke amongst each other. They were an odd bunch, far different from those that Sgt. Caudill dealt with on a regular basis. The men reminded him of commoners who worked and lived in the wilderness and frontier of the kingdom, having little interaction with those that lived in the cities and towns. The woman was far more refined, and her mannerisms showed this.

He led the group to a set of doors. He opened them both, leading the group into a large living area, which had four more doors, each leading to its own sleeping area. He smiled, turning to the group. “Names are important. It gives a person worth, lets one know who they are talking to, and allows respect to be endeared unto one another. I know, it seems so… archaic to you no doubt, but, it is who we are, and it is something we hold dear to ourselves. Everyone has a name, and everyone has a story to tell.” He moved to stand back by the door way that led into the room.

“There are baths that can be used for freshening up and making yourselves feel more at ease. There are clean towels and clothes, if you wish to change. The choice is yours. We can also have your clothing cleaned and returned to you within two hours, if that would be appealing to you as well. You can ring the bell over there for service, and a steward will be with you shortly to help with whatever you need. That includes food as well. Hmmm…” Sgt. Caudill pauses, before remembering what he wanted to say.

“Also, we ask that you leave your weapons in these quarters upon the next meeting with the Queen. No one will enter your rooms nor dare touch your belongings. That should cover it. Now, I must excuse myself, and head back to my post. Take care new comers.” With that, Sgt. Caudill walked out, closing the doors behind him, and headed about his business.

Orbit of Nouvelle, Outer Reaches.

The heavens above Nouvelle were soon abuzz with life. A massive fleet of vessels appeared, shining specs against the brightness of the rising morning sun. The glinted and glowed, reflected and sparkled. They were a sight to behold. Never before had so many object been spotted in the skies above Nouvelle. The moved in a formation, never getting too far apart. There was order to them all, each having its own significance. The people of Nouvelle were truly blessed. So many “Angels” had come, and yet even more were coming. And of the mass of “Angels”, one broke away from the congregation, and flew downwards to the earth of Nouvelle below.

Facility A-1: Departure

Once released, the Witch whirled around, and stared as if warning them.

"We will personally meet again. Remember me, when you are bowing in fear at us..."

It then glowed a bright white, before dispersing in a cloud, having regained function of it's dead ship. The Cathedral slowly melted away, disintegrating into nothing as it could now be retrieved. As the scientists watched all the remaining debris and artifacts disappear, they revised all collected data, and discovered more intricate workings of the Matron armor. Possessing a bio-interactive layer on it's inside, it would theoretically react and augment itself as the user wore it, using intelligent materials to strengthen weak areas or direct more power into more commonly utilized weapons, tailored to each specific Essence that Possessed it. It would not be hard to fabricate, but the black ooze was key. And it's contents were disturbing.

It was most definitely organic, and it's DNA signature matched that of the mummified corpses. It infused and spread throughout the material, and activated a small magical link to the armor's disk, allowing connection to be established between planes of existence. Ethereals lacked any apparent magical ability or substance, and so they instead distilled it from prisoners they had captured. Ones who possessed magical power. Like the Iscandarians. Magical organics were key in the Gathering's reproductive cycle, so to speak. Without it, it's just another type of armor, though much more entropy resistant.

One researcher looked up at his colleague, after revising the data, and looked him stone cold in the eye.

"We have to stop these things."

The Void Expanse: War Maiden

"Unrelenting Retribution returns. And with the information I seek...
Our mission was a success. and we are one step closer to My return...
However, those pests continue defying Me, refusing to submit...
I ask you, My child, Bringer of the Third Cataclysm, to carry out My will...
Go forth to this place, and bring about another. Show them we are to be feared..."

Standing before the Queen, was a humanoid figure, clad in ancient armor that also ended in a magnificent gown, that spread about on the floor. It was detailed beautifully, and wisps of grey smoke leaked out of it's cracks It muttered outloud, in a feminine voice that sounded as if it was from an angel itself, and turned, leaving the chamber. Her helmet was open, and situated in the billowing smoke was two dark orbs.

"As you wish, My lady."

New Condia
The diplomat stopped, not moving any further but not moving forwards.
"The translation spell is working for us but not for them... Dammit this makes things worse." thought the Diplomat to himself. The diplomat spoke again.
"Do not fire! You would cause a war! We are a peaceful people!"

The Pearl Fleet
Magnus looked, why weren't they responding he thought? He sent just a few signal beeps to see if he could get anything out of them.

Nouvelle, the Parade Grounds
6 people stepped out of the shuttle. 4 appeared to be some kinda of soldiers, however their weapons remained holstered, but they were clad in full armor. One of the most interesting things about them was their wings, they were pure white and looked angelic, it was almost if they were actual angels. The two diplomats wore robes, as their hands lit up and a presence washed over the mind of all nearby Nouvellans. It was not bad, but friendly, it seemed to bring a understanding, a understanding of what though the Nouvellans would have to guess. The diplomats veins were also obvious, as they flowed with different colors.

"Greetings, we represent the Eternal Union. We have come here in peace and to help you prosper." said one of the Diplomats. It was in a very friendly and happy tone, and oddly it came out as the Nouvellan's language.

Facility A-1
"Yes we must stop them... but to do that we need to adapt their technology. I have a theory, we might be able to replace this black substance in the armor." said another Research, running off somewhere. When he came back he had a large barrel, and in it a pure white substance known to the Iscandarians as bio-mass. It was ground down from plants, and certain bio-mass was magical since it was made from magical plants. They drained a matron suit of the black substance, and replaced it with the magical bio-mass. A brave researcher entered the matron suit, to see if they could still control it.

The Royal Shipyard, Alas Prime
Aaliyah, clad in her golden archnite suit, looked at her personal ship. It was small and sleek, colored gold and silver. One of its most unique features was its stealth drive, which was extremely advanced. Behind her was those she had chosen, Gabriel, two of her best guards, a talon synth, and two scientists. They all boarded the ship, as it launched off and began heading for the coordinates recovered from the shard guide. A message was sent to Emily about where they were going before they left.

Nouvelle, Frontier Town of Cherac
Ranan nodded. "Excellent!" he declared exuberantly. "I will have our transport within the next ten-or-so minutes."

He ordered his communications and navigation officer in Sazka to contact Might for a Sparrowhawk transport, with said officer shortly after confirming the order was acknowledged by their superiors. After some time of waiting the droning rumble of a HV-6's J3 PlasmaJet engines could be heard as two balls of fire loomed over the horizon from the mountains. Once it approached closer certain details could be made. It was about 15 meters long, with two slightly angled-down, triangular wings with missile pods underneath. In the front was a tandem cockpit where the pilot and copilot/gunner sat, the Mark IV autocannon relaxing in its positing and its barrels unloaded. As it neared closer to the group the two engine couplings aft of the troop bay swiveled forward, blasting forward a strong gust and a bit of heat as it slowed down. The couplings slowly rotated until the Sparrowhawk was hovering above the group and behind the marines. It lowered three skids and slowly touched down.

The troop bays opened with a hiss of yellow gas and the strong smell of chlorine gas. A soldier strode over with two things: a chlorine rebreather and a chlorine breathing tablet for Captain Reynald. He gave these to Captain Seren'kum, who then turned back to the leader of militia.

"While not pleasant at first, to get on the ship you're going to have to ingest this capsule. Your species, as we can determine from atmospheric reports, are aerobes and oxygen is toxic to us. As we imagine, chlorine, the gas we respire, is extremely toxic to you. This capsule will temporarily alter the makeup of your body, causing you to breathe in chlorine gas and excrete carbon tetrachloride gas. It will last about 24 hours which should be enough time for a meeting with the captain of Might of a Thousand Suns, so I insist that you take it and put on the rebreather."

After agreeing, Captain Reynald threw the capsule down his gullet. Similar to Captain Suren'kum (Who shortly after Reynald ingested his own and put his helmet back on to adjust to the ship) he had a coughing fit, and swiftly adjusted the rebreather to his face. Captain Suren'kum and the marines led him to the ship. After he got on, the troop bay doors slid closed, and the HV-6's engines ignited as it lifted into the air. It changed its bearings by 180 degrees, and swiveled its engines as it continued back to the destroyer.

---

When looking through the windows on the HV-6 as it cleared the range and reached the plateau, Captain Reynald probably was surprised as to what he believed the "Angel" actually was.

PNSS Might of a Thousand Suns, a Trikolo-Class Destroyer, was a colossus of a vessel. About 700 meters long and 100 meters wide, it had a polygonal architecture with a large bridge at the fore of the ship above the bow. Two stabilizing wings towards the rear of the ship balanced it on the plateau as well as the landing pedestals holding the ship up. Maintenance crews and drones were making repairs to areas damaged by the emergency exit from Slipstream Space while Sparrowhawk VTOL's and AV-1 Furosi Fighters, heavily-modified variants of the HV-6 used for aerial combat, flew practice runs to refresh pilots after the long journey through space. Maintenance checks and practice fires were being performed on the ship's 100 magnetic accelerator cannons as well as its missile launchers, plasma emitters and legions of point-defense cannons.

The Sparrowhawk dodged into one of the destroyer's two ship bays, which carried many VTOL and strike aircraft as well as two dropships. They touched down on the obsidian-colored landing pad, where many soldiers came to greet them. At this point Captain Reynald had removed the rebreather and stepped out, drawing many a stare from fascinated sailors. Most of them wore their powered armor, while a handful wore naval dress uniforms. One of those in the uniform was High Marshal Surek'sum.

Compared to other sailors milling about, Marshal Surek'sum was a bit smaller, however, the posture and look of the experienced sailor completely trumped physical size. She was in Sazkarjhit standard naval dress, with a white and blue suit consisting of many adornments and red and silver stripes on broad shoulderpads identifying her rank as High Marshal. She was about as tall as Captain Reynald, with blunt horns and two yellow stripes running down the middle of her forehead and sides of her face. She stood crisply at an attention-like stance, her stone-cold, glossy black eyes locked onto Reynald. After a short amount of time she broke this gaze with a smile, offering her hand in greeting.

"Welcome aboard PNSS Might of a Thousand Suns, Captain Reynald. I've heard a few things about you and seen through my troops' helmet cameras who you are. You seem like a good man. I am High Marshal Safarat Surek'sum, captain of this fine ship. Why don't we go to the bridge of my ship? I'm certain there is much to tell you as much as you can tell us!" she declared.

Frontier Colony Near Sol System

"This is Govenor Yara'kum of the colony of Erarak. We accept your offer and you are willing to work alongside the titanium mines we have here. However, you will be under strict military observation due to security concerns regarding newfound races."

Facility A-1: Heavenly Voice

Splitting open as if inviting the Iscandarian in, the Matron Armor's Chest was sleek on the inside, and carved with ancient runes. While it was 11 feet tall, he had no trouble entering as he began to float upwards, almost drawn to it. He was sealed inside, and all was silent for a split second, before a brilliant white flash enveloped him, and he was turned white, lost in a trance as the armor searched him over. In his mind, the room had gone, and their was no one around him, the void terrifying yet peaceful.

Then, the researcher saw it: A figure sitting on the ground, wearing the most wondrous garments he could ever hope to lay eyes on. Combined with a majestic metal headpiece adorned with rare and exotic jewels, the first thing he could think of was royalty of some kind. She sat up, and turned to face him, walking towards him slowly and smiling, her face seemingly flowing with mystical energies that warmed him as she approached. He was floated up towards his face, and her brilliant blue eyes were stained with tears, like she had been crying for a long time. The figure kissed him on the forehead, and smiled weakly.

"We failed you once before. There is no hope, for our minds were lost to us, long ago. But you... You can redeem us. This armor is not meant for you, but there is one who may help you unlock it's secrets, to truly awaken the power of this suit. Events are being set in motion, events that will draw what you need to this place eventually. All you must do is survive. Survive, and the Sage will eventually find you."

Te researcher woke up, on the floor in front of the Matron, as several medical personnel worriedly checked his vitals, a long and flowing streak of blood dripping from his nose, pooling around his head. He was not injured in anyway way, but it was clear that how the armor interfaced with one's mind was dangerous, at least for the time being. Something was still missing.

Planet UE-2231-H

In orbit, two Cruisers hung lazily above the surface, accompanied by a Cathedral of impressive size. The ionic storm hanging around the ships was annoyingly interrupting their sensors, making detection difficult regarding incoming hostile ships. On the upside of this, any ships entering the storm would be blinded, making warfare extremely difficult. However, it was deemed the safest place to hide, as it masked their sensors well. Soon, two Amazons descended towards the dead surface of the world, carrying a squad of Matrons and Sisters, as well as the War Maiden and something else. A new weapon and tool, devised to be effective against an organic with morals that would hopefully hinder them from firing.

The Gathering had researched heavily into the force that the Iscandarians wielded against them, and while no massive breakthroughs had been made, they had at least come up with better shielding against their Bale Fire that wouldn't cause them to collapse after a single shot. Ethereals were unique in that their memory does not work at all. They have no way of recollecting the past themselves, so instead used organic batteries to store memories for transfer throughout a group, without having to process it themselves. They received instructions and information already analyzed. Their job was to simply obey.

The Amazons screamed through the icy atmosphere, frost forming on the external areas of the units. The planet was covered in massive ice sheets, that were honeycombed with tunnels and massive chasms beneath the surface, a result of the intense geothermic activity in the crust. This made landing extremely dangerous, but they did it anyway, the frozen earth cracking and sinking beneth the massive supports of the war machines. IT shook off it's Construct cargo, who immediately set up a perimeter. One walker settled on it's knees, opening it's front panel and allowing the War Maiden to evacuate. She surveyed the area, and held her hand high. She was searching for something.

Deep Space, Near the Pearl fleet: Unwanted visitor

The dead Iscandarian ship hung there, undamaged and unmoving, it's mineral cargo strewn everywhere in the space around it. Two cruisers held the object securely with their shield plates, which were acting like arms, the long tendril fingers of the ships wrapped around key areas. The Engines of the mining vessel were suspended in the recently developed stasis fields, shutting them off as they were no longer technically attached to the ship, but were temporarily in another dimension. This new weapon could only target one ship at a time, so it was most useful as a sort of ambush weapon against lone craft, like the mining frigate they had captured just now.

On board, people either screamed as they were dragged off by SIsters to the Cruisers, executed or hid in closets and other areas, praying to whatever God they believed may save them. The work of the Ethereals was horrible, as all aboard the ship faced a terrible fate worse than death.

Facility A-1
The researcher looked up, the small drops of blood falling to the floor. The researchers not assisting there friend began analyzing the data from the suit test, including the brain-waves of the researcher at the time. They took the suit for further analysis, observing the helmet piece to see if they could decipher how the suit interacted with the mind. Meanwhile the researcher who had entered the suit was taken to the med-bay, as they wrote down what he had seen and heard. They researchers were deep into their work now, realizing that from all they had seen, all they had gathered. This war with the Ethereals was not a regular war...

It was survival.

Planet UE-2231-H
"Looks like that brought a much bigger force then us..." commented the pilot, seeing the cruisers and the Cathedral. The small frigate sized ship began moving towards the planet, stealthed of course to prevent detection. Aaliyah looked towards the Ethereals ships, she did not like this at all. Gabriel stood behind her quietly, now wearing a light suit of carbon-fiber enchanted with extra protections. Two of the foreboding Talon Synths, made from the Gamilas, stood at the back. Their black armor and visors striking fear into the hearts of normal men. Two royal Sentinel guards also sat nearby, their golden armor gleaming in the artificial light of the ship. Two scientists also sat, with various scanning equipment. Much like Gabriel they wore carbon-fiber enchanted suits, and they also had a small magical pistol on their hips, in case things got nasty.

The ship took a few quick scans, identifying the rough location of the artifact, and landed. They moved out, trying to avoid the Ethereals.

Near the Pearl Fleet
The surviving crew had retreated to the bridge, just barely managing to raid the armory. Weapons in hand they sealed the door to the bridge, weapons pointed at the door, prepared to make a last stand.

Weapons Testing Ground, Char
"Goggles on!" shouted a scientists, as they all looked out at the window from the bunker they resided. A button was pressed, a missile was then seen crossing over the horizon. When it landed the explosion was immense, although luckily the bunker was far enough away that it was not affected. The scientists took off their goggles, and began analyzing data that had appeared on nearby monitors.

The lead researcher declared the missile a success, and sent the plans off to weapons facilities. The Iscandarians had just tested their first successful anti-matter weapon.

Shipyards, New Alas
The shipyards had been hard at work ever since the order for the new fleets had come in. The new gleaming frigates and cruisers sat in their bays, awaiting launch. However farther way from the main ones was huge shipyards, vast as they were working on the battlecruisers and the dreadnoughts. Once they were finished, the 7th and 8th fleets would enter service.

STC Jaques ( BH-44)
Crash landed on New Condia
Cmdr. Deaxja ( KIA)
Lt. Cmdr Sinidas Kalai ( Now in Command)

Sinidas continued to point his battle rifle at the diplomat as it game to an abrupt stop and began speaking, it must of understood what he said, or just read his body language. It didn’t matter much to Sinidas, he accomplished his goal of getting the diplomat to stop and avoided a firefight that would probably be his last. Keeping his rifle leveled, he slowly backed away from the diplomat and back into the ship’s defensive perimeter. This was all quite odd, they must of crashed on another species home world, or maybe even a core world. Adding to his confusion was the fact that they weren’t blowing them to bits. The crew was outnumbered at least 2:1 and some of the firepower they had looked devastating. These Aradite would sell their lives dearly however, Sinidas was confident that they could even the odds before they were killed. Victory of course was the only thing on his mind, Aradites don’t believe in loosing.

“ Go into the missile bay and splice all the nuclear warheads together before settting them to a dead-mans switch. In the event of a firefight, the last man will detonate the warheads and destroy the ship. That will be our contingency plan if we get overrun before a salvage teams comes to get us”

Sinidas and his crew had to protect the sensitive technology and data on this ship, with their lives if need be.

STC Acheron ( BH-23)
Conduction Long Range Recon Patrol, made contact with new race
Deep Space, Alari Abyss
Lt Cmdr. Zilicin

Commander Zilicin raised an eyebrow as he received a mysterious ping, it wasn’t from the large fleet ahead of them, but rather from another entity. “ Trace that ping….” he said quietly as his communications officer broke into a flurry of typing. “ four points off our starboard, towards the stern sir, they must of have been lying in wait.” the communications officer said looking towards the radar operator. “ I saw no such signature, it must of been drifting. No thermal or EM signature” the radar officer quipped turning back towards the commander. This worried Zilicin, how long have they been there for? was the Acheron being followed? He pushed these thoughts out of his mind as he typed in a few commands, logging the location of the mystery vessel on the star chart. “ Send back two pings, one for confirmation and another for range, if we have to defend ourselves I want to know how much of a window we have”. the commander said before sitting back in the captains chair.

Earth Orbit, EUV Starfire
"By Faust's name..."

Up until now, nobody had said anything about the planet below. Partially because nothing interesting was happening, and partially because the nuclear fallout was sickening to look at. What was even more horrifying was that an entire region had no structures larger than a hut in it at all, nothing but a flat expanse of desert peppered with craters. Another region had a large concentration of orbital bombardment sattelites stationed above it, apparently a police action. Judging by how old they were, it had been quarantined for decades. Forgiveness did not appear to be a common quality.

"What is it, officer?" Asked Emily, standing up from her Captain's chair.

"Two atomic detonations, one in the second most populous continent and the other in a small village in... in... that place."

"Are they-"

"Yes, full ground force mobilization all over the planet... Another detonation! Smaller, no sign of a missile launch... no artillery, maybe handheld? But how could anyone outrun an atomic blast they fired with a simple gun?"

Remembering the information that she had been given, Emily had a sudden realization. Her face was bleached white with horror, her mouth dropping open. The entire bridge crew turned to look at her, the same expression on their faces.

"I did some reading on human military history." She said "Over a century ago, one of the nations involved in what they call World War 2 used air attacks to take out oceangoing vessels. Instead of using missiles or bombs, the pilot rammed the vessels, killing themselves and the crew of the ship. Whoever caused that detonation caused it knowing full well they would die."

"How could anyone do that?" Said the tactical officer in shock "That blast killed at very least ten thousand people, and they knew it! Are they so full of hatred that they are willing to die for the sake of killing others?"

"Open a channel to the homeworld..."

"Channel open."

"This is the EUV Starfire, currently stationed in the Sol system. The Terrans are engaged in an atomic war, and the tactics being used here... we don't even have words for them. The humans call it a 'Kamikaze', which literally translates to 'divine wind'. It's an attack where one person gives their life to kill others. It's not used as a last resort, instead, the death of the attacker was planned and known to all prior to the operation. I'm requesting reinforcements and a decision to be made as soon as possible on this matter."

Nouvelle, Capital City of Hollie
"It's not archaic, just different. I come from a place where the most important thing at my age was how well you could hide, and nothing else mattered. Then... something happened, and that wasn't important anymore. Then the most important thing was the whole, I started to introduce my team, not myself. That group mentality never left."

After the man had left, the crew began to look around the room. They were obviously surprised by how similar it was to Terran layouts, the only notable differences being the absence of digital devices and nanorobotic furniture.

"Such a similar design for living spaces, perhaps evolution really does use the same tricks no matter where you are." Said the Captain, looking around the room. "Reminds me of the old palace back in Siberia."

"This whole planet reminds me of 19th century Britan. Kinda uncanny, it's like we're on an alternate Earth. Like in that one Star Trek episode with the Romans that had that one bit with the hilarious gladiator fight." Said one of the marines, looking at the Captain.

"That was a good one." Responded the other marine.

"Next Gen is the best series." Said the Captain, a smirk on her face.

"I know for a fact that your favorite is Voyager!" Yelled the marine in a mock accusation.

"Hey, I've gotta have fun somehow!"

The three laughed, and began to get ready for their official audience. Due to their inexperience regarding royalty, the Captain ended up guiding the two marines through how to properly bow. The process definitely took much longer than it should have, mainly because the marines didn't expect bowing to have so many rules.

Alas Prime
Fergus was being taken to the palace, but on orders of the guards was redirected elsewhere. He was taken to a hotel-looking place, and Basil stepped in.

"Fergus, I'm sorry but the decision has been made to invade Earth. Recent events there and more thinking by the Immortals about your past history have determined your species to violent to continue on their own. You will remain here till further notice." spoke Basil.

Earth, about a hour after Emily's message
Suddenly without any response to Emily's message the entire 2nd fleet arrived, and looked prepared for war.

"Emily, this is Admiral Tuvuru of the 2nd Fleet, with the recent actions and with study of much of the Terran's past history the Immortals have determined there to violent to continue on there own. We shall begin a full military occupation, and your help is requested." broadcasted a message to Emily's ship.

As soon as the broadcast was done the fleet moved in and began striking at the Terran's defenses, the Dreadnought and Battlecruisers remained out of the fighter however. Auxiliary craft deployed fighter and bomber wings and began fighting the Wing of Gliese, however rather then destroyed they merely disabled them and captured them, bring them to prison cells aboard the main Dreadnought. Troop carriers began moving to the surface, focusing on taking out military centers. Waves of armed soldiers fired on those who attacked, however those who surrendered were merely captured. Iscandarian Gunships blazed across the surface, as siege tanks setup and fired balefire rain down upon Terran soldiers.

"We are so sorry, but this is a must. You are to violent to continue on your own, you need guidance." broadcasted a message in all frequencies across the Earth.

Sazkarjhit Colony Near Sol
"Excellent, we shall begin construction immediately"

The freighters divided in half as one half went to the planet's orbit and one to the asteroid field and began setting up mining posts as well as the station for shipping and living quarters for non-sazkarjhit personnel. A few prospectors went down to the surface, looking for a place with sufficient metal.

Near the Pearl Fleet

This raid had been successful, more so than the others, and the Ethereals were well on their way to finishing up this task. As they prepared to disembark, a team of Sisters lead by a Matron followed the biological detectors recently installed in them, towards the bridge, to try and collect the rest. They gathered around the door, one of the Constructs firing a small mining laser through the crack, flashing blue as the concentrated heat melted through the door with ease. Slowly, the spot of light traveled down the door seal, ticking down as the Ethereals prepared to ambush.

Then, they detected the Alarai ships, from the Cruisers, and froze. New contacts, unlike any encountered before. There was no chance the Cruisers could destroy the entire fleet, yet they had to complete their objectives. After some time, the Squad turned, joining the others in the retreat back to the Cruisers. They couldn't risk losing their progress, and the much needed organic replacements they already had.

UE-2231-H

"There. Under the ice."

The War Maiden lowered her hand, having found the entrance to the ancient holding ground. The problem was that it was under five hundred feet of ice, which could take a while to dig through. She failed to notice the small Iscandarian squad observing them from a ridge, and proceeded to clear the ice in a much more violent fashion. With a flick of her hand, a glowing white glaive like weapon materialized in her hand, and was lazily pointed roughly at the entrance.

Flashing brightly, a stream of ice erupted from the ground, followed by an explosion as the door was blown to fragments. Chunks of permafrost and solid ice rained down all around the area, as the other Constructs braced themselves against the shock wave, even the Amazons had to dig their feet into the surface. The War Maiden, however, moved unflinching, and barked an order. "Quickly, send the Dolls in first. We will follow, and let them set off any traps."

What moved out from the group looked strangely organic, an actual living life form. Several of them scuttled towards the entrance, some dragging their weapons and knuckles as they moved like some sort of primate. They were stick thin, the skin stretched tight over their bones, giving off an overall emaciated appearance. Plates of metal coated certain limbs and joints, with the top half of the face covered in a pattern of symmetrical metal frills, which flicked out in a fan shape and seemed to taste and sniff the air. One suddenly stopped, and looked towards the hill, teeth bared and showing off horrible metal gums, the face plates glowing a light purple as it sniffed towards them, growling and trying to find what it thought it had observed.

It was an Iscandarian. At least, it once was.