**Colony World A-01** The Imperator took the blade and made a bow, placing one arm behind his back and one across his chest. While Rhe'Deri did not know yet this gesture in the NRE was either meant as a sign of respect or a thank you. In this case it meant both, however while Ettore did do this bow he thought over how he had just seen Rhe'Deri summon the blade, it was not like anything anything the Romans had seen before. "_Do I dare question him about it? He could take offense and High Command would have my head if I did such a thing. No I must question him, for security of the Empire I must ask._" thought the Imperator to himself, as he finished his bow and once again spoke to Rhe'Deri. "I apologize General Rhe'Deri but I do not have a gift for you, we did not know of your arrival so we did not have anything prepared. I have a friend on New Rome, our capital world, who is a fine jewelery maker. I shall arrange for my government to pay him to craft you one of his fine pieces of jewelery, and then I shall make sure it gets sent to you. Before you continue with any alliance offers or treaties I must state something and ask a question. I will not lie, we initiated the war we are currently in. And my question is in regards to the power you just used, we Romans have never seen anything like it, could you tell me what it is?" asked Imperator Ettore.

General Peltis was silent for a moment, his mind taking in the question he had just been asked. Did these Romans not have access to magic? But no, he could feel it, especially now as he actively searched for it, there was definitely something there, hidden deep within these Romans. It seemed absurd that a nation of such strength and sophistication as the New Roman Empire quite obviously had would not have used, or even seemingly noticed the abilities they had been born with. Did they honestly had no clue as to the power they held inside? These thoughts all crossed through his head in an instant though his facial features betrayed not even the slightest hint of surprise. Instead the General began to speak. "I apologize, I would have told you what I was doing first had I known you had no knowledge of it. I used a form of energy we call magic. It is a powerful force and can become very dangerously the user if not handled carefully. Though, the uses for it in the hands of a master are limitless. I was not aware that you lacked access to it. I could have sworn I sensed its presence among you and your soldiers. I still feel it in fact. Have you never known of the power hidden inside yourselves? I'm sorry if I accidentally offend you, but I can hardly believe you made this obviously strong empire without ever tapping into your most powerful abilities. I can feel it within you, can you not do the same?"

**Colony World A-01** The Imperator seemed surprised by the answer, especially when Peltis stated that the Romans were in possession of the ability they referedto as magic. "No we have never been aware of such abilities. We have psionics, which allows us to dominate minds and do other telepathic things, and the Void which allows the user to go invisible but we have never seen anything like that before. As to why we have not discovered this ability yet and used it... I need to contact the Emperor before I can tell you why I think we have not unlocked this ability yet." commented the Imperator, disappearing off for a minute as the Bellator assured the General he would be back in a few minutes. When he returned he held in his hand a small silver device, with a piece of glass and a blue light on the top. "What I am about to tell you is classified information, and under normal circumstances telling anyone not authorized for the information is punishable by death. We will not stop you from telling anyone who you want about this, but we do request that this be kept between those of us here and any of your higher government officials." spoke the Imperator, turning on the hologram as it projected into the air a planet, it held to giant landmasses. "This is New Rome, the homeworld of the Romus Humans and our Capital, however we Romus Humans are a different breed from regular humans. Humans did not come from this galaxy, which we call Andromeda, but rather Andromeda's closet neighbor." said the Imperator, switching the hologram to a picture of another spiral galaxy, then to another planet which held 7 continents, one of which was made of ice. "Here is the actual home of the humans, in the Milky Way Galaxy. It is called Earth, and towards the end of a war there known as WW3, several fled from a country known as the USA, taking DNA and other things to create new humans with them. They jumped aboard the first warp drive ships ever built, but upon launch hit a anomaly, arriving in Andromeda." The Imperator paused for a moment, before speaking again. "The ships crash landed on what became New Rome, and while they were exploring our Emperor who is the sole Immortal of the NRE came across a artifact of great power. It made us stronger, faster, smarter, and gave us our powers and do to its nature I believe magic, however for some reason unlike Psionics and the Void it did not become discovered immediately. We took the name of one of the greatest Empires from Earth's history, and we built what you see today." the Imperator shutting off the hologram. "The Emperor told me to ask something of you and your Empire, and that is if you would be willing to help us unlock and grow the ability you call magic. So will you?" asked the Imperator.

**Shōrino'ba, Bridge of the _Baguyoka_** A muffled hiss could be heard, signaling the success of the undocking sequence. The dim blue glow of the bridge's tactical lighting illuminated the Na'brel house crest: an eagle soaring in the atmosphere of Orenjiro to signify the family's traditional control over the gas giant. Deck plates shook slightly as the engines lighted up, pushing the ship into a higher orbit and away from the fleet basing structure. "All ships are reporting green status, we are prepared for jump to Outpost 12." Said the ship's navigator, turning his head to face the Deca-Commander. "Jump!" yelled Deca-Commander Na'brel, standing up from her chair in a somewhat melodramatic way as was her usual style. "Jumping!" The space-time bubble generators of the five destroyers in the Deca-Commander's squadron activated, lifting them up into the fifth dimension. It took nearly two hours for the entire squadron to reach their destination, and the Deca-Commander took that time to research the local Baron's family. He happened to be the last of the Socals, an unfortunate child, to be sure. His parents had died in the First Battle of Shōrino'ba, leaving him as the only remaining Socal. He didn't own any land on the homeworld, and the outpost was all he had left (along with a battleship). To any other species, it would seem odd that the heir to the throne would be sent to protect such an insignificant outpost and man, but in the Abh military, nobody cared about your social status. All that mattered was your rank, because that was a reflection of your combat experience. Favoring nobles and royals would be illogical and dishonorable. Though it felt like two hours for the crew, it was barely an instant in real space, with the squadron exiting into the battlefield almost exactly when they left for it. Immediately, they got to work. It was a pretty standard op: destroy the enemy. **Outpost 12, Abh Fringe Space** The beam impacted the outpost, cutting deep into it's walls. However, something unexpected happened. The entire asteroid it was on erupted in a massive explosion, throwing debris everywhere. They rained down on both fleets, one chunk smashed into another Abh destroyer, the shields overloading so heavily that the entire electrical system of the ship blew out, causing an substance fuel containment breach that resulted in both the debris and the ship erupting in an antimatter detonation. The largest chunk, however, impacted three Roman ships, crushing two entirely and leaving one disabled and leaking atmosphere. Suddenly, five more ships emerged, their space-time bubble dissipating as their shields came online. A blast of antiprotons came from the bow of each one, striking multiple enemy frigates. The Baron's battleship opened fire with antiproton streamers, ripping deep into the hull of the alien command ship during the short window of opportunity. However, the momentum held by the Abh would be shattered by the alien missile barrage, which struck down the remaining mercenary ships. The shields of the Baron's ship started to glow brighter and brighter as they took hits, coming closer and closer to their breaking point. **Outpost 12, Bridge of the Baguyoka** "Alien vessels entering system! Assuming defensive formation, holding their fire!" "Holding their fire?" Asked Deca-Commander Na'brel in disbelief "Why?" "Ship profiles are completely unknown, I don't think they're the enemy!" "Impossible! Another species? Open a channel! We can't let them hear from the enemy first!." "Channel open, Deca-Commander!" She stepped up out of her chair, the artificial gravity keeping her from tumbling every time the ship took a hit. Control was transferred to the secondary pilot (The commander usually controls destroyers). The cameras on the bridge turned to record her message, transmitting it to the newly arrived alien fleet. "This is Deca-Commander Na'brel of the Eight World's Empire, you have trespassed into a battlefield and into the territory of the Socal house! Identify yourselves immediately, or at least send confirmation that you have recieved this message!"

**Outpost 12, Bridge of the *Molotter* ** Guthan Erebus looked on the svicht holo-display, an ethereal blue swirl of light that coalesced into individual particles, affording exact details of the ships despite the range between the two fleets. One of the attacking ships struck a defender, causing an explosion to ripple along the defender's length. Unwittingly, this resulted in the annihilation of two of the attacking ships and the crippling of another by the debris that had flown out from the wreck. If it weren't for the fact that thousands had just dies in seconds the sight would almost have been amusing. Maybe for another day. Sensors rang quietly as five more ships warped into the system, matching the profiles of the defending fleet. The vessels spat out antiprotons on the attackers, causing even more casualties. Missiles flew from the attacking ships, dozens impacting on those of the defenders, destroying several of the original defenders. As quickly as they had arrived the battle was over. Beeps rang as some sort of transmissions was received by the sensor arrays on the *Molotter*, the signals being rewritten as neuropsionic coding so as to be accessible by the Sakari I addition to expedite the transfer of information to the rest of the fleet should it be necessary. An unoccupied svicht table began to shape an image, that of a face slightly similar to that of a Sakari. Basic structure and the ear shape appeared nearly identical, yet that was where the resemblance ended. Colors formed as the svet emitters adjusted, allowing Guthan to make out the blue hair and pale skin of the mysterious alien race. Despite the best efforts at decoding all that came out were garbled words, sounding nothing at all like any languages Task Force Osveti had encountered. Perhaps one of the Altar transports retained a database to ease with communication. Heuristic scans were being run in the meantime to attempt some sort of decoding. Even without understanding the words Guthan assumed they requested some sort of identification, none of which would mean anything to the mysterious civilization. After a brief thought, Guthan responded as best he could. "We are Task Force Osveti of Expeditionary Fleet Dorgar in the Tenth Emergence Front. Under Independence Protocols of the Standing Emergence Code, I am authorized to act as an official representative of the Sakari people and the Holy Dominion of C'ran. We extend greetings." As he finished, the svicht table compiled the information and reworked it into something resembling the structure of the code received by the sensors and transmitted it back, some of the translation work hopefully finished and implemented.

**Deep Space** In one of the few populated worlds at the galactic rim, far from the grand conflicts of interstellar empires, a terrible plight befell a simple people. The Joraga were a tribe of the earth, deeply attuned with their world and its natural processes. They lived in harmony with the cycles of their world, ebbing and flowing with the seasons, in perfect harmony with every natural being on their planet. However, what plagued them was most certainly not natural, nor of their planet. Earthcaller Doria, a strong, well-respected tribesman, observed the destruction from his arboreal perch. In the distance was the most horrifying sight he had ever looked upon. A monstrosity of twisted flesh and distorted energy laid waste to the horizon; where there had once been a thick jungle, only a barren wasteland remained. The blue faded from the sky around it, and even the browns of the earth seemed to dull away to darkness. It hurt his head to even look at it, its shape bleeding and twisting before his eyes. Its mere footsteps wasted away all life around it and eroded the earth under it, leaving a trail of ruin in its wake. It was not moving in the direction of his village, but that was of little comfort. There were far more invaders than that particular one, and many of them were more terrifying that what he had seen. Scrambling down from his vantage point, he ducked into a wooden cabin, where a concerned members of his tribe gathered worriedly around one of their elders. Her eyes had rolled back into her head as she seized and convulsed unnaturally, moaning and writhing in agony. Earthmother Naia had attempted to commune with the World Spirit, seeking a solution to this crisis, some hours ago. She had been in this state since then, and their fate had only seemed graver since then. "Any news, Doria?" Asked one of the Earthmother's attendants. "There is no word from the Skydancers. They may have run into a swarm of the Blight," Unable to find words in their tongue for such monsters, they euphemistically referred to the invaders as a disease. "The Seawalkers have been gone for a week without a sign from them, also. We may be the last Joraga left at this point." Most in attendance had a grave look cross their face, accepting this news solemnly. Only one member of the gathering cried out, weeping bitter tears of anguish. They envied her in a way, able to express her grief so clearly. The rest were too confused over what they grieved for more: the world, or themselves. An explosion sounded in the distance. Doria dashed back up to his perch to see what had happened. A distant mountain, known to be a dead volcano, had just exploded in a fiery rage. It was far enough that it posed no threat to the Joraga, much like the virulent giants that had been causing similar destruction, but Doria had a good view of it none the less. Ash poured into the sky and molten rock flowed down the mountain's sides in great, flaming waves. This was not what most bothered Doria, though. Another one of the invaders, this one larger than any that Doria had ever spied in the distance, climbed atop the mountain as a child might crawl atop the stump of a tree. Its many tendrils sunk into the molten caldera of the mountain, and seemed to suck the very lava from its depths. Doria watched in horror for some time, shocked by both the impossible size of this beast, and the fact that it drained the very volcano to a husk in the time it would take Doria to clean a fish. How could they possibly contend against such monsters? Doria returned to the Earthmother's gathering, weighing heavily whether it was worth it to dishearten his tribesmen with such news. However, a more important occurrence was transpiring: the Earthmother was awake! Pale, hollow-faced, and her eyes dark and shrunken, she drank heavily from a waterskin as her attendants gathered close. Each questioned her with desperation in their voice, asking for any wisdom or solace that the World Spirit had to share. Having drained the waterskin, the Earthmother stayed silent for a moment, before finally speaking in a dull, deadened tone. "The World Spirit is dying. As the Blight rapes and mutilates her, all things of this world are dying, too." "What do we do, Earthmother?" Asked the Joraga that had cried earlier, now out of tears to shed. "Your path is your own, child, but I shall pray." The Earthmother said, her voice now soothing as was more normal. This change brought a spark to Doria's eyes. "For what, Earthmother? Salvation? Resurgence?" The Earthmother looked back at him, all life and light gone from her eyes. "I pray for a quick death." Such was the fate of many worlds in the outer rim. The Aeon Brood spread like a contagion, each ruined system birthing a nest of them triple the size of the last. Their kind spread across the galaxy like a horrifying stain, wiping away peoples, planets, stars, constellations, anything that crossed their path. In the heart of this, as always, was the Hellstar. As more and more systems fell to the Brood, it grew, a horrifying mass of the plundered mana of a thousand ruined worlds. As it grew, it advanced, the paradoxical thing flying through the empty space that had been picked clean by its Brood. At the edges of the Brood's advance, Titans pulled their burgeoning masses through hyperspace. Despite being tucked away in a dimension of unreality, their intense metaphysical presence left a distortion on real space. Gravity wells grew and faded away, various space debris suddenly appeared or vanished, and space probes and unmanned craft shut down without warning. Every so often it would release scouts; smaller members of the Brood shunted out of hyperspace to detect nearby systems or worlds that the Titans were blind to while in the other dimension. How this information was relayed back to the Titan in hyperspace was a mystery, but none the less, the path of the Brood was altered slightly by the signs of starlight far away, and their diverted course now lead them deeper into the depths of the galaxy. Closer to the galactic core, the greatest wellspring of mana in the entire sector of space.

General Peltis thought on the request he as received for a few seconds. On one hand, these magic lessons would surely bring the two empires into a much stronger alliance than simple trade relations could. On the other, the time and resources required for the training of enough Romans to access a force they had never tapped into let alone used would be immense. But an alliance could lessen the burden of this cost while another powerful nation's help would greatly expand the protection project of the Roa'marii helping newfound space faring nations to grow strong. Yes, an alliance would easily outweigh the costs and possibly even usher in another era of expansion and prosperity for both empires. "It would be an honor to teach your people, but I'm afraid I am not the best person to ask for teaching in how to find and use magic. I rely a bit too much on large pools of it and don't practice the finese you would require to truly make use of your abilities in an efficient fashion. Our own Emperor would be far better suited as a teacher than myself. I will send a message back to our own home world of Arcadia to inform the Emperor of this rather interesting development. In the meantime, another colleague of mine could show you the basics. General Jer'rahd Kaisur isn't very fond of species outside the United Empire or diplomacy, a product of past wars, but he can help you get a basic grasp of your magic, or at least learn how to feel it for yourselves. I'll go and get him from our ship while I send a message to the Emperor. I'll leave these six soldiers here with you. I give you authority to do with them as you wish. They shouldn't be a problem." With that, General Pelt turned and began to walk back to the transport shuttle the Roa'marii had come in on. The six guards stayed back with the Imperator to wait aboard the Roman ship for either orders from the Roman Imperator or the arrival of the other Immortal General Jer'rahd Kaisur. They watched with emotionless stares as the shuttle lifted up then flew off into space towards the waiting ship to deliver its message to the Nightmare Emperor.

**Colony World A-01** "Thank you General, I hope we can meet once again." bowed the Imperator a final time, waving the General off. The Imperator after the meeting could feel a new power rising within him, and while he had asked both Psionics and Void Users how the power within in them felt, what they had described as nothing like this. Being around magic had seemed to awaken it in the Romus Humans. The Imperator was not a idiot however and did not dare experiment with it just in case it could cause damage. After asking the other Romus Humans if they felt the power, each feeling it to varying degrees, he approached the Roa'Marii guard and spoke to them. "I have nothing for you to do, so if you would like to rest and relax we have a few spares beds. Scans have also determined that food we make is edible by your civilization, so if you would like that we can provide that as well." said the Imperator. **Outpost 12, Abh Fringe Space** While the debris had managed to destroy a Tyrol-Class the two frigates were agile enough to escape, the count for this mission's losses being at two ships. Aboard the Battleship the decks rattled as the antiproton beams hit, knocking out a large chunk of the maintenance deck. Imperator Aurora stabilized herself, holding as fast ever. She returned to her seat and made her next move. "Order a retreat, the objective has been accomplished." said Aurora. "But the enemy is not yet dead!" shouted a Bridge Officer over the alarms. "But the objective is accomplished, and I rather not risk another ship." responded Aurora. "Yes mam" said the communications offer, sending out the message as in mere seconds the New Romans drives warmed up and jumped away from the area, likely to somewhere were they could repair.

####**'\|Deep Space|\,** Sanja had to leave, and that was disappointing. The planet was being consumed. It had been a very beautiful place once. Everything was very predictable; there was even some sort of planetary spirit that regulated verdant year after verdant year. Most importantly of all, however, the locals left her gifts of intricately knotted branches, woven into minute trees and crops. They were small things, some better crafted than others, only ever worth small favors. Often she'd just steal crops from neighbors who'd failed to leave her something this month and leave them for those that did. A simple repayment with oh-so-interesting consequences. It was one of those worlds that really inspired a Fairy to spread her wings and flit about in the double moonbeams. Which was why she felt it really deserved something more than simply running away. Something more interesting than just dissolving into such an ugly morass of... wrongness. All the locals, however, had been too busy fighting the "blight". Their attempts weren't going so well, however, and Sanja liked to think that was in no small part due to her own curses. Serves them right for failing to present offerings. And then they had the nerve to run away and fight! If they'd just stayed, all she would've done was steal their crops. But no, they had to be macho, and so she was forced to foul their weaponry. Curses were so much more draining than simple theft, the wretches! Whatever was eating the world was also throwing the Path into nervous fits. Every time she felt its familiar resonance, it would shift deeper into the jungle, or behind that waterfall, or somewhere *else*, just out of reach. So there was no *time* to stop for theatrics. She had a Path to catch. The Path had been lying still in one place for the past half hour or so. Perhaps there was nowhere else for it to go; Sanja did feel like she'd been chasing it for half a continent. Her wings could certainly use a rest. There was a clearing ahead; perhaps-. The clearing was Joraga-made. Wooden dwellings clustered around a larger cabin, as if huddling for warmth. A tribe was inside; Sanja could hear crying and... song? No, it was prayer. Sanja re-assumed her glamour, covering up her wings with the vision of a beautiful two-piece woven garment as was height of local style. Her face was as perfect as the ugly local faces could be, which almost made it to "plain" in Sanja's estimation. It was still more radiant than anything the dirty, tear-streaked cabin dwellers had to offer. Her bare feet padded softly on the ground as she entered the cabin. "The Wandering Spirit!" cried out a small child, pointing at Sanja. Apparently she *had* made an impression on these people. "Hush, little one. Good spirit, forgive the child, he is young and foolish," the Earthmother said. "Many are," Sanja said. She felt the Path writhe, but its entrance was steady. All eyes were on her. Some had a look of confusion or disbelief. Others had hope. "What brings you to our gathering, gentle spirit?" asked the Earthmother. "I've come to like this world, and your people's art. I'd like to offer you a gift: your lives. I know how to escape the Blight." "A fine gift, but I cannot accept. My place is here," said the Earthmother, who knew the Wandering Spirit's gifts always came with a price. "I accept!" Doria said. He looked around the room. "We must survive, at any cost!" Eight more accepted her bargain. She left the cabin quickly, the path twisting and twitching constantly now. But the entrance was always in the same spot. Two trees, one leaning on the other. "You must follow my steps exactly and closely. If you wander off the Path, you will likely die," she informed her troupe of followers. Past the trees, the Path took a sharp left, over a muddy brook. The mud was a disturbing shade of brown-red. After the brook, up a short hill, under bowed branches and - no, it shifted - up a short hill, and around a square stone. Her sudden change in direction confused a child (the same who had spoken up earlier), and he went right instead of left. The boy disappeared into the brush. His mother screamed, and reached for the boy. Doria grabbed her arm. "He's gone! We have to follow the Wandering Spirit!" he shouted. Sanja paused. The path was about to shift again. It was bunching together behind them, a wave of energy rushing toward their location. "You must follow closely!" Sanja said. There was no time for more. There was no time for walking, either. She broke out into a run. Around the rock; into the hollow; climb the wa- no, straight ahead; take the left fork; keep left; straight across the bridge- no, scramble over rocks; duck under branches; brave the vines; and-! ___ ####**'\|Much Less Deep Space|\,** Sanja halted abruptly. The jungle had changed. Where once there were towering trees with lush undergrowth, there now was clear ground, fat trees, and a low overhanging canopy. They'd made it. "Why are we stopping?" Doria asked. "We're here," Sanja said. "The trees - I've never been in this part of the jungle," someone said. "The jungle feels wrong. It's too fast here." The mother was still bawling. Sanja was half-surprised she hadn't begged to go back. Not that they could - the Path had retreated from the planet, probably just in time, too. "I've given you nine lives. Shall you give me nine in return?" Sanja asked. "There are only eight of us, you-" Doria covered the mother's mouth before she could insult the Wandering Spirit. "True. You owe me a life then, in addition to your own." Sanja adjusted her glamour to a more Fairy standard. Much less ugly. The Joraga recoiled. "There's no need to kill us, gentle spirit," Doria protested. "Kill you? I hadn't thought of that. Ooh, I do like it. Although... hmmm. Very well, you eight shall be my servants. But you still owe me the life of another of my choosing." "Of course," Doria said. The mother was tensing up again. All the Joraga were. Doria looked meaningfully in Sanja's direction, clearly indicating that this wasn't the time to talk about this. "Good," Sanja said. "Come along then, we've much traveling to do before we reach the start of our Path!" And she flounced on ahead, the last Joraga following.

**Outpost 12, Abh Fringe Space** _I'm not dead_ Baron Socal floated in the bridge of his warship (Artificial gravity systems are expensive), staring off into the void of space with disbelief. The engine ports of the squadron that had saved him were visible on the viewscreen, their blue glow was almost soothing to him. _I'M NOT DEAD!_ He closed his eyes and folded up into the fetal position, lightly bounding off of the wall and being propelled into the air, where he lay motionless. He'd never actually fought before, but he knew the markings on the enemy ship, and he knew them damn well. He'd just won a battle against the ship that took away his parents at the Battle of Midway, then his sister at the Battle of Lakfakalle. He might have lost the last of the family's territory, but it was still one of the best days of his life. He could hear the crew chanting, faintly, as he had been somewhat disconnected from it all by the excitement. "Socal" was all they said for what felt like an eternity, yet the Baron knew he wasn't the one they should be praising. Whoever had commanded that squadron on the viewscreen had saved their lives. He was still floating with his eyes closed, but another image appeared on the viewscreen. It was a long-haired man wearing a headband that identified him as a member of the Kyūsei house. "Imperial Princess Laidach Na'brel requests that a meeting take place on your vessel, she also apologized for not being able to make this request in person and hopes that you do not take it as an insult." _The princess?_ Though the Baron, his mouth dropping open in surprise. _The Imperial Princess saved me?_ Baron Socal left the fetal position, pushing off from the ceiling to get into view of the bridge's camera. He floated down to the platform that protruded from the highest floor of the bridge, as he didn't want to appear disrespectful by responding without being in the proper location. "Of course, we understand fully. I do hope that nothing interrupts this meeting, it will be an honor to offer my thanks." "It will be an honor to receive them. Gurōī a Mei!" "Gurōī a Mei!" The viewscreen switched back to showing the aft exhaust ports of the destroyer squadron, and the crew fell silent. The Baron turned to them, a smile on his face. "You know Socal law. Unless you want to end up in the brig, I'd suggest that you follow it." He said to his crew, who immediately began to chant. This time though, it was "Na'brel!" they were chanting. **Bridge of the Baguyoka, Outpost 12** "They responded! They actually responded!" Explained the Deca-Commander, a smile almost glowing on her face. "Send an audio-visual dictionary! This is the first time an Abh has actually heard the voice of an alien! Record another response to go with the dictionary, start right now!" "Recording, Deca-Commander." "You honor us with your response! Enclosed in this message is a dictionary that a computer system using binary coding should be able to scan, assuming you have some kind of translation system, you should be able to hear or read what I'm saying. My vessel has no such system, you will need to translate any message to us before you send it."

**Bridge of the Molotter, Outpost 12** Guthan chewed his thin mustache worriedly as he watched the remaining attackers flee from the scene of the battle. Whatever they used as an FTL system it most certainly was different from what the Sakari used. In fact, it seemed markedly similar to the way the reinforcements for the defenders had arrived. The are around the ship seemed to change before it disappeared, no trace of it. Now that he thought about it, most of the readings he had received from both groups of ships appeared to be almost the same. Were they perhaps in some form of civil war? That might have been an explanation had not their ships looked different. Perhaps the two factions had discovered the same cache of technology and that was what sparked the war. Whatever the reason for the conflict, learning the technology of one would be a cornerstone of learning about the other's. Turning to the ship's cosmoseer, his wife Aradna, he asked, "Do you know where they went or what they used to move faster than light?" Shaking her head, the cosmoseer responded, "I can make no sense of it, Rear Admiral. It is in a way similar to some forms of faster-than-light travel written about in the Great Record yet I do not know if it is the same. Wherever they are, it is not in this physical plane. My psychic powers can only reach so far outside of the dimension in which we reside and they have disappeared. When they fall back into space, if they do, a psychic tag will resonate from their location. A few hours after that we should know where they exited. It would not hurt to pursue negotiations with both factions, regardless their hostility towards each other." Adjusting her voluminous robes of purple satin, she inclined her head towards him slightly, a show of respect between equals when a formal greeting had no opportunity to be given beforehand. Sighing, Guthan turned back towards the svicht table. On it, he examined the floating ships. So very different from theirs. What could await the Sakari? If this new state was a power larger than those encountered before then the techniques of the Emergence would have to be adjusted in some way. He did not doubt that the Holy Dominion could overcome obstacles in its path. What he doubted was if the cost of such a war would be worth the cost and impediment to the Emergence for the sake of removing the species. Maybe some day far from now it would be easier but not today. A beeping sounded again, indicating the reception of an unknown message by the communications suite. The source was not unknown however. A message appeared on his screen: *Message structure is similar to last packer received. Partial encoding- unknown decryption method. Does not match any psych-network technology. Scanning Great Record for reference. Decoding may not be possible.* Deciding to wait as the ship's VI translated the message, Guthan took to establishing psychic links between the rest of the cosmoseers in his fleet. Preparation for eventualities was what had preserved the Sakari thus far. *Decoding complete, adding to database. Ready to transmit reply.* Listening to the message from the other fleet, he considered his next move. If the coding in which the message had been sent the psych-network translations would not be able to translate into their systems effectively. He could, however, simply work that out later and settle for pre-transmission translation. "The pleasure is mine. I am Rear Admiral Guthan Erebus. I propose we meet face to face so as to make speaking easier should this be acceptable." Sending the message, he stood up from his chair, awaiting their response. --- **Sokalus Station, Deep Space** Al'za quivered as she stepped out of the teleporter room on her flagship, the *Zornigerech*. Sourvar Mettanii pushed his boundaries too far! If not for the Patriarch's personal appointment of the man to Project Gideon Al'za would have murdered him, damn the consequences! The things he had done to the creatures in holding appalled her. Most were not alive anymore but neither were they dead. Whatever bodies they had left were unimaginably twisted, dislocated appendages common and inside-out body structure only slightly less so. Abominations. Stalking onto the bridge, she ordered the fleet to begin a jump to the coordinates provided by the scout returning from the 10th front. Deep Space. An uncharted area. Within minutes, the 100-ship strong fleet jumped out of system, heading into the unknown.

The soldiers merely shrugged and began to follow the Imperator to a large mess hall. Various Romans were seated around the hall each eating his own food or talking to nearby friend of theirs. Upon the entrance of the six Roa'marii soldiers many heads turned and the sounds of idle chatter quieted down. The six soldiers picked up some food and sat down at a nearby table which had previously been empty. As the soldiers ate, they could hear hushed murmurs coming from the aliens. While the majority of the words were either too quiet to make out or couldn't be understood by the basic language rings the six wore, a few words rang in their mind. Words such as "aliens" and "outsiders" tended to come up quite frequently. The soldiers were battle hardened veterans of many battles along the fringe worlds of the Roa'marii Empire, but never before had these soldiers been guests in an alien vessel belonging to a group that they had never before made contact with. It didn't matter, however, what the Romans thought of these six Roa'marii soldiers at their first meeting. All that mattered was the first contact and the relations that would be built from there. The six soldiers were largely quiet before one of them spoke up. "Ebo'name, what do you suppose the aliens think of us here in their ship?" one of the 96th legion guards asked another. "I'm not entirely sure what they think of us Str'odis, but i'm sure they are both curious and wary of us. We are entirely new to them, and now we eat at the very same tables they do." "I suppose you are right." "I think you both need to stop thinking about it so much. Whether they like us being here or not doesn't matter. we'll be gone soon anyway i'm sure." A third soldier of the 42nd said to the other two. "Well I'm sorry if we aren't as heavy handed as you are Jos'arro. We weren't all trained to be killing machines like your general and nothing more" Ebo'name replied "Oh yea? Is that supposed to be an insult? You shadow walkers wouldn't last ten minutes on the front lines like us." Jos'arro shot back before another 42nd soldier spoke up. "Hey, quiet. It appears your argument caught the attention of a few of these Romans. look over there, we've got company." ----- **Roa'marii Flagship** With the message sent to the Nightmare Emperor, Rhe'deri Peltis was to stay behind and await a response. Meanwhile, General Jer'rahd Kaisur was in charge of heading back to the Roman ship to provide a basic understanding of magic. With his black armor on, still bearing a number of scars gouged into the outer plate from previous battles, Jer'rahd strapped his double bladed sword to his back and prepared to depart. The sword was known by most as the Waning Moon, one of the few remaining crescent blades used ages past in the old draconic wars. It was a relic from a time forgotten by most, but it was far greater than an antique. The Waning Moon was made of Arcadian Steel, one of the strongest metals known to the Roa'marii, and one of the rarest. It's properties were the stuff of legends, being able to block access to magic through a mere scratch and absorbing any that was used on it, draining the user at incredible speeds. Few could even hold the blade without becoming fatigued. But General Kaisur was not a normal man. He was an immortal general of the Roa'marii. The most decorated warrior of all since the New Empire's founding, and also the most feared on the battlefield. But today was a different battlefield. Today was the time for diplomacy and magic lessons. Today a new race joined alliance with the Roa'marii. And so, the transport took off once more with an entirely different man aboard.

**Roman Mess Hall** A few of the men approached the Roa'Marii's, fists raised as if they were ready to start a fight. "Seems like they are talking about who can fight better, I say we show them the Roman Way!" said the first soldier. "Yeah, bet the little sissies can not stand for a minute!" added the second. As the first began to swing the door to the mess hall could be heard opening, and while the language he was speaking with definitely the latin of the New Romans, it was a completely different sounding accent. "You two! These are guests, no fighting with them! If I catch you again you will be in the brig till we report back to High Command." said the new voice, entering into the Roa'Marii's line of sight. He was not a Romus Human, but rather a Solusi, a member of the feline race that had been conquered by the NRE almost 200 years ago. His accent was quieter and more fine, rather then the rough speech of the soldiers attempting to attack them. The two walked off, grumbling words about the Solusi as he approached with his white and grey fur. He wore the same black stretch uniform as the rest of the Roman Navy, but with a hole to accommodate his tail. He sat down with the Roa'Marii soldiers, and begin speaking. "I apologize if my men caused trouble, it takes most Romus Humans a while to adapt to tolerate new alien species. I am First Officer Shiklon of this ship." said the Solusi. **Hangar** Imperator Ettore had ordered the docking area cleared of most of it's cargo, with mats and dummies setup to prepare for learning magic. Ettore prepared as he gathered the 5 men aboard who had felt the greatest degree of the new power that the Roa'Marii coming aboard seemed to have activated. After hearing of the General's shuttle approached he transmitted the docking procedures and opened the hatch. When the General left his shuttle he was greeted by the Imperator and the five men, all standing in a line. "Greetings General, I was told you would be the one teaching us magic. Ever since your kind came aboard we have all been feeling a new power inside of us, the five here are those who feel it to the greatest degree. They are ready to go." spoke the Imperator. The five men stood in a line, unwavering and not flinching. It was clear by this display that the Roman Military expected nothing less then absolute discipline.

####**'\|_Finnegan's Trade House_, Hyperspace |\,** *Finnegan's* was one of a handful of Inns between Worlds - establishments built on semi-stable hyperspace nodules in the middle of the Fairy Path. You could walk there, the Path could suck your spaceship into the "parking lot", or (if you were well-regarded by Finnegan or the staff) you could follow the directions from a Fairy pendant. The pendants were a relatively new thing, made with the cooperation of a well-inebriated Guan. Activated by body heat and only operable in the unique physics of hyperspace or the Path, the pendants pointed the way toward *Finnegan's* using a tiny homing microchip blessed with Fay magic. If you owned one, you could always find your way back to *Finnegan's*, and if you could find your way back to *Finnegan's*, you could make yourself very wealthy. They had paid for themselves many times over. The introduction of the pendants had turned *Finnegan's* from a jovial pub and inn to a neutral ground where a select number of merchants, mercenaries, secret government officials, Path-walkers, and ship-captains could meet, barter, trade, exchange information, and get a good night's rest. Meanwhile, Finnegan was getting a never-ending source of staff from those unable to pay for their food and drink. Not to mention the hundreds of rare treasures hidden away in secret rooms. It was a very lucrative business, and recently Finnegan had installed an entire warehouse to facilitate it. You could, if you paid Finnegan a "fair" price, rent out space, set up shop, and make yourself a pretty penny. The pub itself, once entirely made of a two-story brick-and-glass storefront, now had expanded out in a slew of directions and materials. There was a modern plastic, alloy, and glass edifice with flashing lights and smoky air that always had a heavy bass song blaring; a thirteen-story concrete hotel jutting out the back of the pub; an oaken longhouse with a roaring firepit, bawdy bards, and a heavy smell of meat; a rather extravagent five-story stone gothic ballroom with stained glass and peaked roofs and flying buttresses; and, of course, the new warehouse, made of a shimmering bronze and marble. The parking lot was weightless, but atmosphere-filled. Finnegan had had to strike a bargain with Queen Titania herself to get the Path to do that, but it was much better than when the first spaceships had stumbled onto the node and crashed dramatically into the forest. The Fairy Path itself was a woodchip road lined with small mossy stones. At one point, this chunk of Path had been part of a pine-needle forest, with rotting trunks, rings of mushrooms, and beds of moss two inches thick covering the ground. If you could make it to *Finnegan's*, the next hundred meters of Path was incredibly obvious to even non-magical species: a rarity along the Path. That's why it was a popular destination for would-be adventurers, most of whom would wind up dead on an airless rock somewhere. It was an uneasy air in the pub this morning. Rumors were flying. A severely burnt Path-walker had died the night before; apparently somebody had glassed her planet. She had stayed in one of the guest's rooms: a surly Roman by the name of Seth. Romans were rare. Like most non-magical species (or unawakened ones, at any rate), they had difficulty walking and finding the Path. Meanwhile, there were wild claims of empires making actual contact with each other. Peaceful contact. The kind that might result in trade. *Finnegan's* might no longer have a near-monopoly on interspecies trade. Oh, sure, some "rare artifacts" could always be sold, and "new" inventions could always be patented. No species was in contact with every other species. If the rumors were true, it was the end of an era. Potentially, however, it was the beginning of another. Finnegan thought that this could be an opportunity. Grabbing some of his closest staff at random, he made an offer: freedom in exchange for making contact with alien diplomats, and giving them pendants. A small few accepted, and he sent them out to walk the Path. Perhaps a few would make it somewhere interesting. Likely they would all die. But it would be worth a few good stories, at any rate.

**New Rome, Research Lab 0-1** The Emperor and the Head Captain of the Space Marines entered the Lab. The Emperor Apollo had black hair, and deep green eyes. Unlike most Romans he had not experienced the same changes in appearance, with the rest of features looking very much like the Southern Slavs of Earth. The Head Captain had the look of most Romans, with dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes. Unlike most of the time he was not wearing his heavy Space Marine Power armor, rather he had taken on a more simpler suit of power armor used by the Bellator. The man approaching them unlike the Emperor in his fancy robes or the Head Captain wore a simple lab coat, with is hair being dyed a light lavender color. His glasses stood straight on his face, his cheek bones coming down at a angle to form a pointed chin. His eyes were a light blue, as he took a short bow before the Emperor and the Head Captain. “Greetings your majesty, I am Lloyd Ashland, and I am honored to have you in my lab today. I have quite a few things to show you that we have been developing lately, the first of which is new shell we have been developed for our rail-guns and siege tanks.” said Lloyd, leading the Emperor and Head Captain to a firing range. A siege tank rested there as four spikes came from its underside and fired into the ground, with its cannon now pointing upwards like an artillery piece. It fired a single shell at another tank down range, when the shell impacted its outer layer split into 100s of pieces of shrapnel, that had clearly been superheated by the firing of the shell. The sharpnel shredded the tank and much of the ground around it. “The outer coating on that shell is what we call depleted uranium, rather effective and brutal do you not agree? I estimate it is about a 50% increase in combat effectiveness.” stated Lloyd. “While this is a nice advancement, when you called me the Emperor here we were expecting more than just a new shell.” responded the Head Captain. “Indeed, I thought we were getting something to turn the tide on our alien enemies.” said the Emperor. “Oh I do have something to do so, just follow me this way please.” said Lloyd, leading the two to a different part of the lab. When they arrived in the other section standing before them was a large mech. Unlike the other two mechs used by the Imperial Guard or the Roman Armed Forces it looked much more sophisticated and futuristic. The metal the robot was built out of shone a bright silver, with the head of the mech and arms and legs being colored blue. The mech appeared to have several cannons attached to the arms, including one on each arm that glowed the red of antiprotons. The mech also had an artillery piece loaded on the back. The rest of its weapons consisted of large rail-guns and plasma cannons. Also on its back was a wing like structure that what was labeled as a anti-gravity generator. “Behold the weapon I promised you! I call it a Knightmare Frame, it is the first of its kind.” stated Lloyd, gesturing to the large mech before him. “A mech? Hardly something that is going to help us.” responded the Head Captain. “Ah yes but the Knightmare Frame is unique! It’s float system makes it capable of air travel unlike our other mechs, and it is capable of spaceflight. It’s weapons include multiple plasma cannons and space ship rail-guns, with an artillery piece using the shells I showed you earlier. It’s greatest weapon however, just let me show you.” narrated Lloyd, as the Knightmare Frame began moving to a range, pointing its fist at a target on the range. The weapons attached to its arm spun around, changing to the red glowing weapon from earlier. Upon firing it shot a pure red beam of antiprotons, annihilating the target it had fired at. “Was that a antiproton beam!? How did you get it on a unit of that size?” asked the Emperor, turning towards Lloyld. “A mining team recently discovered a new material I call Sakurdite, however it is rather rare so do not expect to see thousands of knightmare frames on the battlefield. And do how extensive it is with controls it will either require Space Marine pilots or extreme amounts of training.” stated Lloyd. “Regardless this will definitely allow us to turn the tables on the aliens. You may continue Lloyd.” said the Emperor. “I will gladly your majesty.” responded Lloyd, bowing as the Emperor and Head Captain left the lab.

**Fleet Nova- Capital Ship meeting room** Admiral Ro straightened up his uniform before throwing on his trench coat which was a simple grey color with gold bars on the shoulders to indicate his rank as well as metals and ribbons on his chest to show the campaigns he had been in. As he walked into the meeting room he was greeted with a insect like creature which had to be the alien captain but he also saw that there were six elite guards in the room which had replaced the Shock soldiers that had escorted Idliss to the room. The elite guards wore completely black environmental suits with the only color showing being the red glow that came from their helmets indicating where their eyes were located and each carried a two foot long jagged dagger on their hip and a miniature rail gun in their arms. Each one straightened up and stood at attention when the Admiral stepped into the room and two monitors turned on to reveal the other two Grand Admirals of the fleet. "Welcome to Fleet Nova. It is an honor to meet someone of an alien race. We are the three Grand Admirals of this fleet and we are the current rulers of this group of Korwrath." Nak Ro told the guest before gesturing to a table in the middle of the well lit and empty room which had to chairs on either side of it. **Unknown Space/ Unknown Roman Space** A small fleet of Korwrath privateer ships drifted through an unknown system as they explored new land. Commander Dova stood aboard the bridge of the sole heavy cruiser in the fleet while the rest of his twenty ship fleet rotated around his ship as they just entered the system. Privateers were a important part of the Korwrath as they not only brought in money for the main fleets by being mercenaries but they also doubled as exploration fleets to unknown empires and systems which the Capital Fleets had not encountered yet. "Commander we are detecting unknown ships in the system. What are your orders?" Dova stroked his short beard has he contemplated what they should do. "Have all engines go dark and tell all squadrons to be on standby for the time being. WE will see if we can drift farther into the system without being detected. Prepare a message stating that we are friendly and do not mean any harm but do not send it without my order."

**Kamasabaku Desert, Imperial Proving Grounds** A blue beam shot out into the desert towards a block of metal, glowing as bright as the sun itself. It impacted the block, instantly punching a small circular hole straight through it. A group of observers standing behind a blast shield looked on in awe, some of then started to take off his protective goggles, but a woman wearing a lab coat stopped him. "We are not done yet, Admiral." She said, tapping a button on her small personal tablet. "If you thought punching a hole through a solid block of steel was impressive, watch this." The beam activated again, this time widening to engulf the entire block. The light was so bright that it blinded the observers despite their goggles. When their vision returned, they couldn't see anything left where the block of metal was. Their mouths dropped open in shock, and the same man from earlier turned to look at the woman. "How is that possible?" The woman turned to the man, cracking a smile. "It tears apart the bonds between quarks, destabilizing matter in the process. This prototype you just saw was one similar to what would be deployed on one of our main battle tanks. I am requesting your permission to send them into mass production." "Of course, Countess Lasis! I'll give your team extra resources as well, I expect great things from you!" Said the man, reaching his hand out. Countess Lasis returned the gesture, a quite buzz being let out as her exoskeleton moved her arm for her. She had been born with a genetic disorder that caused her body's muscles to be extremely underdeveloped, though she didn't look like it. The disorder only affected muscle density, muscle size remained the same. Interestingly, the disorder also caused her skin to be a light brown. The common theory on the disorder was that it was a mutation to adapt to the weightless and irradiated environment of space (Abh evolutionary theory states that mutations occur in response to the environment, not randomly). "Oh, believe me Admiral, I will go beyond those expectations." **Imperial Warship Tomerarenai-fū, Captain's Quarters** The Countess' dark blue hair floated in the microgravity environment, flowing well over half a meter behind her. Unlike most Abh in the Spaceborne Navy, she hadn't cut her hair to a manageable size when she entered. It was an odd choice, especially for someone with such a major disability. Her head was already heavy enough on her neck, and the hair didn't help. Still, she chose to wear specially designed supports instead of cutting her hair. She had always refused to change herself to accommodate for the disorder, instead acting like it wasn't even there. As a child, she had spent most of her time in a hoverchair. Even after she got her exoskeleton at age six, she ended up breaking her bones quite frequently from taking off the exoskeleton. She reached down to a button on her belt, pressing it. Her exoskeleton came apart with a click, slowly drifting away from her in dozens of pieces. She sighed happily, moving her body on her own for the first time in weeks. The exoskeleton was uncomfortable, and often felt like it was pressing into her skin. It felt wonderful to finally have it off. Swinging herself into the bathroom in her quarters (Teikkupuraim-Class vessels are even more extravagant than smaller ships, even normal crew quarters have full bathrooms), she bumped into the wall lightly. The very fact that nobody else was there to ask if she was alright made her smile. She might be disabled, but her bones were more than strong enough to handle a little bump. In fact, she could be fine even if she was punched. Even so, people acted like the slightest touch would kill her. A small bubble of water formed in the air as she squeezed the liquid out of a small pouch. She snatched a relatively large bottle of pills off of the velcro on the walls of her cabinet, and took one out. She gently threw it up towards the bubble of water, which absorbed it and kept it within itself. Placing her feet on the wall, she pushed off towards the bubble. Opening her mouth as wide as she could, she swallowed the bubble and pill all at once, slowly continuing forward towards the other end of her room. The pill was a neural blocker, designed to prevent her from feeling all of the artificial muscles that kept her organs functioning. _Taking pills like that never gets old._ She thought, stretching her arms out to stop her "fall" towards the opposing wall. She swung herself towards the ceiling using a handhold, "jumping" off of it and returning back to the bathroom. She began to undress, taking off her labcoat and unzipping her military uniform. Surprisingly modest underwear was underneath the two layers, baring her midriff, lower thighs down, and little more. The garments were stark white, with the symbol of the Spaceborne Navy prominently displayed. The upper part would slide off easily, but the lower part was notoriously nicknamed "The Labyrinth of the Stars", referencing a myth of the same name and the famous complexity of the process of removing it. A purely practical design, of course. It's hard to put a bunch of people of both sexes-many of whom are homosexual, bisexual, etc.-into a spacecraft which could spend years away from port and have everything work out just fine. Thus, the uniform designers had created an infuriatingly complex undergarment that was so hard to remove that sexual assault was unheard of in the Spaceborne Navy simply because everyone knew it was impossible to get away with. Suddenly, a sound pierced her ears. A bright light shone on the wall before her, her shadow clearly shown. Turning around in surprise, she gasped at the sight of an odd being. Its body was similar to that of an Abh woman, but the torso was oddly small, and they had swept-back ears (a rarity among the Abh). Their skin was a light purple, something no Abh had ever seen before. The largest oddity, of course, were the wings. They were like those of a butterfly, an insect referenced only in the texts found in the Sūkaiisutshō. Frightened, she reached for the nearest weapon. In this case, it was an iron katana that her family had kept as an heirloom for over a thousand years, she always carried it with her. She held it with both hands, knees bent, right foot in front, and her left foot rotated sixty degrees to the left in classical Abh dueling style. The stance held no practical use in microgravity, but it was considered the honorable way to face an opponent, and honor was more important than practicality. "I am Countess Lasis of the Eight World's Empire!" She said, hoping that the alien had some kind of translator device. "Are you from that cursed fifth planet? Are you the face of the demons that we fight? Answer me!" **Bridge of the Baguyoka, Outpost 12** A response was sent as the ship moved in to dock with the large Abh vessel, presumably a battleship. "Agreed, if you would, please come up alongside our largest vessel. We can connect to your ship using an automatic docking adapter, and I have to be on that ship anyways. A commander must always be their to celebrate with her crew, if only for a few moments. I can promise you that it shall take no time at all."

Idliss watched as his guards stood at attention when a new figure entered the room. Not wanting to appear rude, Idliss mimicked their actions and watched as two screens lit up showing two other figures, the other admirals, if Idliss were to guess. He listened to Admiral Ro’s introduction and was surprised when he mentioned being in charge of “this group of Korwrath”. Strange, Idliss thought, are they not a unified species? Pushing this thought aside Idliss sat at the table Ro had gestured to and spoke. “I am honored to meet with you all. I hope that we can establish peaceful relations that will benefit us both. Although, I will admit that as a mere Captain, the decision is not up to me, I know our Queen would like for our two races to work together. We know this sector fairly well, and if you are in need of supplies or resources we should be able to help you locate them.” Before Idliss could continue his communicator began to blink, signaling a message from Captain Jok’tal. “Please forgive my rudeness, but my fellow Captain would not call unless it is important.” Idliss pressed a button on the communicator and allowed Jok’tal to speak. “What is the matter, I am still talking with the Admirals.” “We may have a problem Idliss,” Jok’tal said. “I just received word that a fleet from our home world is coming to investigate the alien sightings. I wanted to let you know in advance so that the Korwrath would not be alarmed when they arrive.”

#\(^o^\) Finnegan's \(^o^)/ Tradehouse (/^o^)/ It was a normal day for the semistable for hyperspace module, whatwith all the different peoples doing things, the occasional small spaceship crashing into the forest, etc., but then there was quite a sight to suddenly see- A great big spaceship, a really big one, massive compared to the usual fare, not even close to being a frigate, much larger, suddenly appeared, and was at a near 45 degree angle towards the ground. The ship closed with terrifying speed, and though one might see the engines fire to try and point it farther up, it was pretty futile. The ship was a great distance away- far enough away that it looked more like a frigate than a large capital ship, but it was unmistakable. Fires poured out black smoke from holes in the hull, suggesting some comflict where it was, before it suddenly entered the Path. Escape pods could be seen flying from its sides like machineguns, many of them, for whatever reason, popping and exploding in mid-air before they reached the ground- only the ones the fired facing the Tradehouse seem to have survived. By the time the ship crashed into the ground with a sickening, explosive *crunch* that sent the ground shaking and rumbling, several dozen escape and droppods had fired, some of them large enough to hold equipment or tanks. After it fell, most people shrugged and turned away- just another ship. Everything went back to normal. A few scavengers, maybe, set out to go see what they could find from the unfamiliar ship. They disappeared into the forest, heading towards the great pillars of fire and smoke that rose into the strange sky. It wasn't but ten minutes when one could hear *pop*s and *thud*s coming from the forest, from the direction of the wreck. Perhaps the scavengers had to shoot a wild animal that attacked them? Five minutes later, the sounds of tracks and trees crashing down slowly came into hearing. A few people gathered outside, pointing and talking about what might be out there. They could see the tops of the trees shaking and falling towards the ground, disappearing and leaving a line. One of them went inside to warn others; several more came out to join them. They caught a few flashes of metal, something moving in the trees, then with several smaller trees being shoved down into the woodchip path, two tanks burst forth, engines roaring as they shoved through branches and saplings. Behind one came what appeared to be an tank armed with a 'small' artillery weapon, though it was actually meant for anti-air. Behind the other, came a squad of unmanned infantry-sized bipedal walkers, which immediately passed the Steelback heavy tanks and moved to different spots around the perimeter, scanning for hostiles. The tanks had unceremoniously crushed half a dozen various spacecars and hovercars in pushing into the clearing, creating a rather dramatic entrance, but the sight of two really big tanks, armed with missiles, machine guns, and those really big barrels are probably enough to stop people from complaining. After the perimeter had been secured by the drone infantry, two squads of armored Draconians, covered head-to-toe in differently covered armor that more resembled a Knight than a battlesuit, with the leader very obviously wearing golden-colored armor, and his three bodyguards, purple. Four of the dozen soldiers ran forward to the tradehouse, weapons raised, and shouting very clearly through translation pieces, **"*Hands up! On your knees! Questions! Where the hell are we, what is this place, how do we get back to normal space?! And who the hell are you?! Answer in THAT order!*"** Behind them, as they shouted, one may notice three very distant helicopters rising from the crash site, approaching the rather obvious Tradehouse with full intention to support. So much for all friends-and-fun at Finnegan's Tradehouse, yeah?

**Bridge of the Molotter, Outpost 12** Guthan laughed as the message came back to them from the alien battle-group. "Quite trusting of them to let us on their ship, isn't it Aradna?" Shifting his weight, he began to stride towards the teleporter room, followed closely by his wife and two C'ran infantry. The infantry, both clad in full power armor and carrying Sonic shotguns, were coming along with him to ensure that any hostilities that occurred would not be one-sided. Fairly modular, the armor was nevertheless heavy looking, providing good physical protection in addition to the shields which came installed. Hopefully that measure would not be needed. Violence upon first contact always resulted in a delayed, expensive, and unsuccessful cataloging. "I am not so sure that you should go, Guthan. While they may appear friendly they have just recently fought against an enemy and may betray us out of safety," Aradna cautioned, ever worried about the safety of her husband and the fleet that he commanded. That was one of the reasons he married her: she counterbalanced his bravado and recklessness. An admirable woman. One he loved. As they reached the teleportation room, one of the ships resident Synod priests, a High Chaplain named Heinrell Achterpin, one of the highest ranking clergy positions achieved in the military, approached him vigorously. "I am coming with you, Rear Admiral Erebus. As High Chaplain of this vessel and this fleet, it is my duty as a representative of the Synod to examine those we are about to meet with," said the Sakari. Old by Sakari standards at 234 years, his hair was beginning to gray and wrinkles forming on his skin. Despite this his experience was invaluable at times, providing insight that the Great Record could not. "If you wish, High Chaplain Achterpin," Guthan responded, bowing his head to the man. Stepping into the teleportation module itself, they were beamed to the forward most Cantarin-class battle cruiser. Better at knife-fighting than a Dasius or Altar it was also less expensive to replace than the other ships. Making their way via in-ship quantum portals to the airlock which would dock with the alien ship, they stood waiting. Excitement filled Guthan as the two ships touched, airlocks adjusting to fit together without seam. As the doors hissed open Guthan and his retinue stepped through to meet a new species face to face. --- **Finnegan's Trade House, Hperspace** Alik Rai woke with a pounding sensation in his head, no recent memories coming to his mind that would explain it immediately. Sitting up, the Sakari brushed dirt and leaves off of his green robe, gold-thread running through the clothing. A small design lay on his shoulder, a snake-biting it's own tail circled around a star, the symbol of a Dominion magus. Examining his surroundings, Alik saw a wood-chip road lined with small mossy stones leading off into the distance. Following the path down one direction he spotted a building in the distance. Or rather, a collection of buildings. There was a small pub of brick and mortar standing two stories. Stretching up behind it was a structure with flashing lights, shrouded in smoke; a thirteen-story concrete hotel jutting out the back of the brick building; an oaken longhouse with a roaring fire pit, meat roasting over fires with singers performing all around; a massive five-story stone Gothic ballroom; and some building made of bronze and marble. A rather perplexing sight. Standing up, he shaded his eyes against the light that seemed to come from nowhere yet everywhere. He had no idea where he was or why he was there. As a magus presumably something had gone terribly wrong during a spell. He simply wished he knew what had gone wrong and where it had sent him. Deciding there was nothing better to do than to approach the complex, he began limping, legs mysteriously sore. His light blue skin stood out starkly against the green robe, marking him out for any who would be watching, although he saw no one at the moment. Nothing resembled this in the Great Record. Everything known was written into that tome of universal knowledge. He must have discovered something new. Tapping into his mana pool, he drew some of the True Source into this 'world', crafting a small disc of light upon which he could rest as it traveled autonomously. Though not terribly strong in magic neither was he weak, though at this moment he did not think that he could conjure up much. Reaching the complex he saw it was a bustling place, hundreds of people milling about, going to and fro from building to building, talking, eating, fighting, writing. Lively. There seemed an air of anxiousness despite this however. The galaxy was changing, that much Alik knew, but how much? That was a question no one would know the answer to until everything was over. While there was a plethora of species the most common was a magical creature of some sort. They all looked widely different in appearance but each gave off a magical resonance, indicating that their features were most likely the works of illusion. Stepping through the door into the small brick building, Alik took a seat at the counter, watching as a man- the proprietor possibly?- grabbed several people, spoke to them, and sent them off running to do some mysterious task. For now, Alik would just wait there. He had no idea what he was doing. Suddenly explosions sounded from outside, startling Alik. Jumping up from his magical disk in haste, the others around him began to mutter worriedly. Pounding emanated through the floor and shouts in an unknown language came from some unknown assailant. What was happening? Stepping through the door, Alik saw various mechanized walkers, a few tanks, and some unknown species seemingly holding up the entire complex. Smoke rose in the distance, a group of flyers coming from that direction. Had they somehow ended up here as he had? Most likely. Enacting a small spell that would hopefully help with translation, Alik stepped forward, his hands up. "Now, let's settle this carefully. I'm just as lost as you are and I don't think these people know how you got here either. --- **Sokalus Station, Deep Space** Sourvar Mettanii watched through the blast screen as the [abomination](http://th07.deviantart.net/fs44/PRE/i/2009/108/7/b/The_Thing___style_Creature_by_sketchbencky5.jpg) walked through the doorway into the massive testing room. A one kilometer by one kilometer space, it was designed for testing a large variety of objects of varying sizes. It was large enough to host a battle even. He was fidgeting under the gaze of Jagar Hais, Prime Magus of the Dominion and one of Morval's personal advisers. A dangerous man, a powerful man. And now he was on this station. Al'za Kail had been easy enough to deal with. Despite her rank as High Seer she was unsure of herself, easily flustered by the unknown. Not to mention she wouldn't stab him without a though as Marek would. Damn, this man was dangerous. Clearing his throat slowly, he turned towards the Prime Magus, holding his hands still momentarily as he gather his thoughts. The seven foot tall Sakari was imposing to say the least. "Lord Jagar, it is an honor to have you here. I assure you that everything is- gach!" His voice was cut off as Jagar grabbed Sourvar by the throat, hoisting him into the air. "I could have you killed Sourvar and none would question my actions, even Morval. He may have assigned you but I am his arm, his will. If that is all you have to show me I will destroy this station. Gideon can always be completed somewhere else," he whispered. Throwing Sourvar into the blast screen Jagar brooded. A Fell creature was in that room, a being not from this dimension, chaos unimagined and Sourvar had one. More than one. Dozens were kept in this facility, direct opposition to the commands of the Patriarch himself. The Fell Plane was never to be accessed without authorization from one of Morval's own advisers. Sourvar stood shakily, trembling in fear. *Why did I have to go and summon those creatures here? Damn me! Those magi should never have followed my orders! They knew the rules as well as I. Oh stars, he is going to kill me,* Sourvar thought, standing there. Relief flooded his body as Jagar waved his hand contemptuously, signalling to continue. "My apologies, Lord Jagar. What I came to show you is something different entirely. It utilizes Fell energy in combination with magefire, fused together through holon crystals. We have not tested it yet but our predictions show something outstanding, something we have never seen before. It will revolutionize everything. We call it the Bale energy." Jagar simply waved his hand again. Establishing a psych-network link with the other hundreds of scientists, he lowered a large contraption from the ceiling. Runes glowed along the triangular structure, split into two pieces along the entire length until the base where the two joints connected. Light pooled in the opening of the mouth yet the complex appeared darker than before. Letting go of the 'trigger', a beam flashed out, struck the abomination, and reality screamed. *One hour later* Sourvar woke groggily, staring at the ceiling. What had happened? Standing slowly and straightening his clothing, he looked out through the blast screen. Or where it had been. All that remained of the massive testing area was...nothing. A piece of metal snapped at the bottom, opening into the void of space. Objects began spiraling towards the opening until a shimmering barrier formed over the opening. A hand grabbed the back of his head and he accepted his death. "I am sorry, Sourvar. But Chaos must not be allowed to reign." Clenching his hand, Sourvar's head crumbled into dust in Jagar's grip. Dropping the body to the floor, Jagar strode out of the room. A failed visit.