"This'll certainly be an interesting stay. I just might take you up on the offer of some sparring matches with your soldiers." The group then continued towards the fortress, the walls growing ever taller as they closed the distance to the gates. The Nightmare Emperor was silent a moment before speaking once more. "I will admit, I have never heard of these ABH before. I'd like to know more about them, but it seems you are needed elsewhere. I'll keep this meeting short, but first I'd like to offer my condolences for your citizens who were lost. I will not lie, I have personally committed mass genocide before, long ago, and I am horrified by it. I was not always a sane ruler of the Roa'marii Empire. In our early history I went to great lengths to free us from oppression by an alien nation and lost my mind in the process. I have since gained it back, but not before doing a great many things I regret. If there is any way I can help your people let me know. The Roa'marii are committed to ending these great wars that wipe out entire civilizations. We will support you in your endevor to avenge your fallen planet. Besides, bonds formed between allies on the battlefield are often times the strongest. If you will allow it, a portion of the Roa'marii Battlefleet Beta will accompany you to assist in your war." In an underground chamber of the keep where ancient stone pillars held up the ceiling of large tunnels, a great many wounded fairies had been layed down on various bedsheets across the chamber. A makeshift medical operation had been set up in the tunnel system, one of the few places in the keep that lacked an abundant amount of metal and the only such place with enough room to house the number of fairies brought in. Many of the fairies had begun to wake from unconsciousness over time, but they still suffered a number of injuries that left most of them incapacitated. In one corner, General Zer'icia Velkorn was mending to a bullet wound one of the fairies had suffered. This specific fairy still clutched a pot of gold in its hands and despite the efforts of a number of doctors would not release his grip. As the general mended to the fairy, his eyes slowly opened and a groan escaped his lips. Then, after a brief moment of confusion, he noticed the general standing above him. Higher up in the Keep, the non fairy wounded were being treated. Roa'marii and xenos alike were layed in cots lining the walls of the medical wing. The Valkyrie had suffered heavy casualties attempting to rescue as many xenos as possible and those that were in the cots were generally missing at least one limb. The xenos were generally better off, few having sustained heavy injuries. Many had waken already and had received an explanation for what had happened and where they were. Those that were capable of work were helping to deliver care to the others of their species by providing much needed information on their physiologies. In one cot lay the Sakari Magus who had been saved by general Sta'falia. He too woke slowly, the overuse of his magic definitely taking a toll on his body. When he realized his situation, he began to panic slightly before flagging down a passing Roa'marii doctor.

Invasion Fleet 3a-HS

"Sir, the Iron Harpy just left the formation! It... seemed to have been sucked into a spatial vortex, and transferred into Hyperspace... or something, sir!" The officer's tone was perplexed- as it should be, since a ship had literally just disappeared into an anomaly. Another officer spoke up, saying, "Hostiles closing through the gap left by the Iron Harpy! Shields are down to sixty-two percent and falling, sir!" At the same moment, another officer called, "Cruiser War's Vengeance, Transports Steeled Voyage and Infinite Fire have fallen!" Moments later, another of the bridge officers reported, "Sublight antimatter missiles away, sixty out of three hundred made contact with enemy warships." The lights flickered; the ship shuddered. The Major War Lord Hele'Streth growled in anger- Minor War Lord Vari'Tel's fleet was gaining the advantage against his own. The four transports that he meant to invade his planet with now only numbered as one- two destroyed, one disappearing to... Goddess knows where. They were in high orbit- and the odds were against the Major War Lord. Because of the Draconian hyperspace drive, a ship could only jump to interplanetary space- jumping into or out of orbit, or too close to another ship, will result in the ships involved being torn apart and scattered among a lightyear or more. A ship couldn't ever hit a planet at lightspeed- if at a angle to the gravity well, the hyperspace bubble containing the ship will simply bounce lightly off of it. If directly at it, with no chance to just bounce off, then the ship will be turned to dust and fragments that'll burn up a moment later as it enters atmo. The hostiles had known they were coming, that was for sure. A small fleet and risen up from the system's most populated planet, clearly intending to contest the Major War Lord's right to take the system, but didn't reach high orbit. Foolishly, he had gone down to deal with the fleet and then send the transports to the surface- but a larger fleet had exited hyperspace above them, and they were smashed between two hammers. "Honor comes for them this day. Continue on- we must reach the surface of the planet, and take it! The Forerunners would not approve of our defeat. Surround the remaining transport with all our drones and fighters- let none take its life." The various officers called an affirmative as messages were sent out, and the ships began rearranging themselves. The weaker, but more heavily armed droneships, moved to the fore of the fleet, spearheading into the enemy fleet. Three of the sixteen droneships went up in flames as antimatter missiles darted through weakened shields, and the ships collapsed into tiny suns, leaving glowing gases and a few great blackened, cracked pieces behind. The droneships' compatriots fired off a full salvo of missiles each- the thirty enemy warships, half of them droenships, lit up as small suns appeared all across their shields. Moments later, shields within the glowing explosion began to flicker, and follow-up missiles darted through and detonated against the hulls of ships. The enemy Battleship took a direct hit from a particle cannon, followed by half a dozen antimatter missiles- great ravines were torn into the hull of the hulking ship, one of the few real space warships, and the antimatter missile detonated within. The ship was torn in half, almost painfully so to any watching, as the backbone of the ship, a strip that connected the entire ship to the primary power supply, with the thickest armor and a separate energy shield, slowly tore itself out of the smallest half of the ship. Moments later, as the majority of major and minor systems were annihilated, the self-destructs enabled, and the ship disappeared in another sun, a few blackened husks remaining behind, surrounded by a cloud of luminescent gas. The thirty hostile ships quickly degraded to four, as their commander had fallen and disorder began, leaving the ships ill at hand. Major War Lord Hele'Streth smiled, a gruesome sight on his scarred face, and silently gave honor to Vari'Tel, the strong Minor who had managed to defeat half his fleet. The larger fleet coming to flank them on his rear sent a message shortly- they were now under Hele'Streth's command, due to Vari'Tel's fall. This was a victory indeed- had Vari'Tel been dishonorable and hid in a bunker on-planet, he would be forced to take the colony by force, and hunt him down. By taking Vari'Tel's life, he had been able to effectively end the battles to come by Right of Rule. Not only did Hele'Streth defeat his rival and keep the system firmly under his control, but he also managed to take the majority of ships under his rival's command, and take the planet without even getting in low orbit. This was a good day, indeed.

Exploration fleet 03a-HS, Several Hours Later

Hele'Streth was three systems away from his home system, about sixteen lightyears away from the planet he had invaded and taken without even landing. He had his fleet replenished- his own battleship, three warcruisers, two dozen droneships and six transports- and was heading out to find a system with rich planets to claim before anyone else. He had already used three of his six transports, leaving four droneships in orbit of each planet that he had set to colonize. His fleet was much less powerful than what he set out with, but he was still confident of being easily more powerful than most other exploration fleets. The only troubling thing was the loss of his Minor War Lord, his second-in-command, a Forerunner-in-waiting, Vala'Keer. He could find him later- now, he needed to find more territory and expand. He knew the other territories were expanding- Forerunners' orders, actually. They sensed something wrong, and so they ordered rapid expansion. As their stomachs lurched and they exited hyperspace into realspace, the ships flickered and then came fully back online. A minute later, data started coming back in from sensors, and seconds after that, "Major Warlord! We have a situation. Unknown entities further into the system! Orders, sir?" Hele'Streth smiled coldly, and ordered, "Pull farther into the system. Scan the most distant planets- if these aliens have something I want, we'll take it from them. Don't hail them, though, they may not have noticed us."

Kiddik's Ched House was a small eatery located on a miserable scrap of soggy 'land' in the middle of nowhere of one of the larger islands on the surface of Koros. The establishment itself was surprisingly upscale for its dreadful locale, and according to Ged'Kronna you couldn't find any better Grund cuisine anywhere else. Considering that it was his brother who filed the after action report of that near disaster, it was his turn to pick location. Dol'iktha walked inside the restaurant and was immediately greeted by a Hruul hanging from bars on the ceiling. The Hruul waved one of its vines towards the back room and hooted and burbled in its native tongue, "Right this way Councilman Iktha, your party has already arrived." Of course they have, Dol thought. The dining room laid out for him was done in a traditional Grund style, it was a large pool filled up to just below waist height for a Cephalid with small fish and other river creatures darting around in it and a large stone slab serving as a table. The fish were meant to serve as appetizers of sorts, the Grund never quite took to cooked food as keenly as the Min'Vakai did despite being the race that spent more time on land. For the Cephalid clientele they had installed a grill at the center of the table to cook whatever they caught, or if they found the game of snatching darting critters too challenging they could always just order something else to hold them over. The other three members of his little cabal of movers and shakers had already arrived. In classic form Ged'Kronna was busy searing a medley of creatures that he had caught while Zol'Dronta and Ced'Drokva were bickering about something. Plopping a small crab like creature into his mouth, Ged'Kronna waved his hand at Dol beckoning him into the water. "Come on now Dol, we've got things to discuss, the critters won't bite, in fact you're supposed to bite them!" he hissed and grabbed another creature off the grill to eat. Pleasantries were exchanged and the Ched, a large arboreal creature native to the region, was phenomenal. As the various members of the Group of Four finished their meals the talk came back to the task at hand and the Reason for Dronta and Drokva's sour moods was apparent. "You led our people into a trap Iktha!" Zol'Dronta cried, Ced'Drokva nodded in agreement. "Gentlemen please, I nor any of my associates knew anything about this tradehouse before we set out on our little expedition and were in just as much danger as you were. If anything you should be commending the efforts of Ged'Kronna's staff for ensuring that nobody was killed from our teams and for all the information we got back. Overall I consider the operation to be a surprising success, shame we couldn't set up any contracts but I think that may be coming to an end." Ged nodded at the praise leveled against his house but narrowed his eyes at the last comment. "What are you saying Dol, the expedition did nothing for us but answer questions we'd hoped to never answer about the black zone," referring to the strange things that had accosted Dai'Kronna and his crew on their escape from the doomed tradehouse, "We didn't even stay long enough to get much info out of the boss man of that place, let alone anyone else's info." the Kriel and Vex councilmen nodded in agreement to this as well. "Indeed Ged the operation was total bust in that regard, it was a bust in every regard but giving us nightmares. If those monsters really are what's gobbling up the Black Zone then I think we need to convince the navy and somebody," he glared at Ced'Drokva, "that we need to start a new shipbuilding program and strengthen the fleet." "But no, gentlement, I am no longer speaking of that nightmare. A deep probing squadron from one of our family's Interdiction Fleets was performing a survey operation beyond our charted territory when they discovered this," the holo projector he placed on the table displayed an image of an alien vessel, a world, and a long-eared creature, "my friends I give you the Abh" the name was mangled into just Ahh by the lipless Cephalid. "The world our probe squad discovered was highly advanced, surely not as advanced as our own technology but they are no cavemen. They possess FTL drives of some sort, advanced ship building, Counter-grav technology, advanced materials manufacture, and are by all regards a pretty powerful player in the great game. They are nothing to slouch at and certainly not the type to try to directly exploit, however another probe group working in the same stellar neighborhood uncovered something equally interesting." The images were replaced with a planet scrubbed of life by orbiting warships. "It would appear that these Abh folks are at war. Their enemy appears to be a race known as Romans who before withdrawing from the battle you saw there, had unleashed a rather strange weapon which scrubbed a large chunk of the Abh fleet. We managed to pick up enough of their communications to develop a functional language codex and it from what we've been able to glean from it I'm willing to wager that the Abh would probably lose this war if it keeps on for long enough. Therefore I think that it would be highly profitable for all of our houses to... render assistance to them as soon as possible. If they win we secure a powerful ally for when the Black Zone comes knocking on our door and if they lose even with our assistance than surely the Romans will be bloodied enough to not get in our way for quite a while." There was silence around the table as the other members of the Group of Four considered the information given to them from Dol'Iktha and the files the holo-projector was programmed to deliver to all of their personal devices. Eventually looking up from his pad Zol'Dronta hissed and met Dol'Iktha's gaze. "Why is it that you are always the one who has the surprises for us Dol?" "Well its no secret that House Hrok has half again as many hulls as the entire navy, not to mention bigger hulls. But if you want a body to get in the way of the Black Zone then why don't we side with the Romans if they are in fact already winning? Seems like the safer bet from a military perspective." Ged'Kronna ever the pragmatist was the one to point out the glaring flaw in the plan. Dol'Iktha had an answer for this as well. "Simply put gentlemen, the Abh aren't particularly expansionistic, the literal translation of their nation is 'The Syndicate of Eight Planets' or whatever it comes across in their tongue. The Romans on the other hand are textbook expanders. They're the bigger Empire strictly speaking, they're on even if not greater technological footing to the Abh so not too far gone from us, if they see somebody they can crush they'll do it. An admirable if crude stance, but they're close enough to us that at some point they'll pose a problem to us and the sooner we nip that threat in the bud the lower the chance it will grow up and try to strangle our metaphorical gardens. I don't doubt our ability to defend ourselves against them should the time come, but I do doubt our ability to contain them in the long run without something or someone helping us out." "So then by backing these Ahh people we solve two problems in an ideal situation and one problem in the worst case. I'll admit Iktha, I still hardly trust you Hrok people but I cannot really argue with your logic. Who knows, this little alliance of ours may just work out in the end. Know that I, and through me House Kriel, is in favor of entering dialogues with these Ahh and render aide in their war against these Ro-uns" Zol'Dronta stood and raised his arm in affirmation. "I'm for it also, and I know for a fact that Ced is as well. Though from an Admiral's perspective I think it may be wise to just send a drone ship with out with our message of peace and alliance. No reason to risk our people's lives on a hunch again. It will be pretty easy to get the council behind this if we need extra muscle. If we're all in agreement then I say we pay these fine people for the food and go about drafting our message of first contact." With that Ged'Kronna also stood up out of the water and made his way to leave. The Drone courier dropped out of hyperspace on the periphery of the Tsutā system and began a 5G burn with its Gravity Drive towards the inner solar system playing a message on all conceivable wavelengths of the EM spectrum in SPACE JAPANESE! the Abh language. The first part of the message instructed any that passed that it was not a threat and had arrived in peace with hopes of opening a dialogue. The second part of the message provided a basic outline as to how to interface with the courier and get the information it was carrying. The Courier held basic information about the Syndiarchy(carefully worded to imply they weren't a bunch of crooks), basic biological informatio, a coordinate for a neutral meeting ground, and a short message. The message was a recorded message provided by the Hrok Family-Syndicate Matriarch Jan'Iktha(also translated into Abh). "Greetings and salutations oh great Empire of the Eight Worlds. I am Jan'Iktha [Empress] of the Hrok [Empire Family] and representative of the Min'Vakai [Empire of Empires]. We come in [Non belligerence] with a [Threat] of friendship and [Mutual success]. We understand that you are currently in a rather [expensive] war with another race and we wish to [Threaten] you with talks of assistance and rendering aide to your people. [Buried] in this ship are coordinates to a patch of [Unowned] space where we may [Threaten] with each other without [Betrayal] by either party. We hope our two [Empires] may [Strike a deal]." So the language codex wasn't perfect, hopefully it would get the point across.

As Guthan, Aradna, and Archtepin stepped into the other ship the increased gravity of the other environment was immediately noticed. Exerting a force almost twice as much as that of the Sakari home-world it presented only a minor inconvenience due to the implants received by all C'ran military personnel, namely the synthetic muscle and cermaite bone bonding techniques. Such invasive procedures allowed C'ran personnel to withstand much greater strains than any normal person would be able to support and with much longer endurance. In front of them were three of these 'Abh', seemingly a young man, a young woman, and a significantly older man. Each wore uniforms of white and gold trim, patches attached to their shoulders, indicative of some rank or award as of yet unknown. All sported blue hair of some shade and pointed ears with skin a much lighter color than that of most Sakari. A most interesting species indeed. The wonders that they could add to the Great Record would be amazing indeed. Even as he was commencing to step through, a psychic message pinged off his brain. Accepting it he pursed his lips at the turn of events with Task Force Odin. If it were to be noticed by these here then some excuse would have to be made. Hopefully they would believe it. Returning the bows of the three in respect of their traditions, the three Sakari stood quietly as this 'Imperial Princess' spoke her piece. By her words the Abh seemed to be subjected to constant attacks, most likely by the Romans only. A telling detail that would be useful later. Bowing his head slightly to Laidach, Guthan stated, "It is my honor to meet you, Laidach Na'brel, and you as well Baron Socal and Ensign Danroc. I am Fleet Sovereign Guthan Erebus, leader of Expeditionary Fleet Dorgar. My companions are Cosmoseer Aradna Erebus and High Chaplain Archtepin. Why we are here can be answered as simply as this: exploration. Space is a vast gulf of darkness and we journey forth to bring light. We had no reason to fire upon you nor have we ever in most cases of first contact between the Holy Dominion of C'ran and another species. As such, I extend a hand of greeting as a representative of the Dominion." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Encryption established, psycho-link activated ///Organon: What is the problem? ///Merchant Marine 031-450B: Convoy attacked by unknown forces, no time to respond to attack effectively ///Organon: Reason for conducting non anti-space travel? ///Merchant Marine 031-450B: Carrying precious cargo between planets easily disturbed by fluctuations caused due to anti-space system ///Organon: Registration and event logged? ///Merchant Marine 031-450B: Yes ///Organon: Further action report? ///Merchant Marine 031-450B: One bandit vessel crippled, seemingly on its own. Crew extracted and taken for questioning ///Organon: Nature of species and vessel? ///Merchant Marine 031-450B: Species resembles four-legged equine creatures of various planets visited. Exhibit unnatural intelligence and magical affinity. On-station mage used to subdue. Ships powered by acne sources, small in size compared to C'ran military vessels. Weaponry magical in nature ///Organon: Log information into Great Record and extract species information for categorization. Destroy crippled ships and finish transport ///Merchant Marine 031-450B:Roger ------------ ///Organon: New civilization encounterd, psychic ping placed by crew of Merchant Marine 031-450B. Tasking unit to coordinates ///Task Force Kontakt: Mission conditions? ///Organon: Peaceful contact, low combat status ///Task Force Kontakt: Deployment strength? ///Organon: Four ships ///Task Force Kontakt: Class? ///Organon: Three Altar, one Cantarin ///Task Force Kontakt: Organizing to travel. Link closed Dropping out of anti-space, the four C'ran ships gazed upon the asteroid complex. Vessels teemed among the floating objects, moving in and out of the buildings implanted into the chunks of rock. The appearance of four large ships caused panic among the assembled Siastrapilanicorns, believing they were about to die. A psycho-message, able to be translated by any sufficiently intelligent sentient being, broadcasted from the Cantarin battle cruiser, "We bring greetings from the Holy Dominion of C'ran. Do not be alarmed by the appearance of our ships, we wish only to establish contact." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Waking groggily, Alik shook his head. Memory was fuzzy, denying him access to events that seemed so gravely important. What were they? Looking around, he noticed the alien surroundings and alien creatures. Definitely not Sakari. Panic gripped him slowly. He was a Sakari magus. There was no need for him to panic, now was there? Surely he would be valuable enough to be kept alive. Whatever information his mind contained urgently needed to be returned to Morval. Something told him that. Soreness and exhaustion fought him as he brought himself into a sitting position, common signs of overexertion of mana reserves. He certainly had been doing something strenuous. Spotting a doctor- hopefully- rushing by, he flagged down the Roa'marii before spilling out, "Where am I, why am I in a bed and injured, Whoareyou and whatspecies do youbelongto, whatishappening, oh Light! What the hell happened?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morval glanced over at Al'za and Jagar, both sitting on seats behind the piloting seat of the ship. Despite not having touched the command console or established a link with the VI of the vessel for centuries Morval still knew how to pilot the craft. Skills such as that were never forgotten, especially by one such as he who could recall events almost at will. A scant twenty meters, the vessel featured some of the most advanced technology available to the Dominion of C'ran. Looking out through the view port into the swirling chaos of the Fell Plane, Morval reached out to the ambient energy present, tapping into a source of power far outstripping that of any fabricated construct. Rushing into him was raw, unadulterated power, threatening to consume him upon losing control. The threat to his life was well worth the experience: his senses, already sharpened to unnatural keenness, perceived even more. Raging fires and titanic icebergs shifted through his body, now simply a vessel for the mad experience of chaotic wonder. Clamping down on the opening which he had made, Morval deactivated the Fell Transport, opening a gate to the physical dimension. The exit made an impression. Leaving the safety of the Fell Plane, the three Sakari were subjected to the full magical and psychic might of the region. In the depths of the Dark Zone, they three sought the source of an immense magical and psychic signature, crawling slowly behind the burgeoning mass of the Aeon Brood. None expected such strength. A crash sounded from behind. Jagar lay on the ground, eyes rolled into his head, silver hair and robes spread over the floor in the rush of his fall. Al'za muttered gibberish feverishly, grasping and screaming at figments of hallucination, terrorized by a force that even he could not picture. As to himself, Morval struggled. For once in his life after ascension, he encountered an obstacle. Pounding resonances of psychic and arcane energy washed over him, threatening to lacerate his consciousness to blankness. Awed by the sheer power of entering the region, Morval reached to the Fell Plane and once again drew in the energy. Drawing in the chaotic morass, he screamed. The two resounding tides crashed against each others, screeching to unfathomable depths, wracking his body for control. Ebbs and flows brought the swirls of pain through to him clearly, accentuating each individual sting of horror. Morval collapsed crying as he released the Fell, smote by the wrath of the encounter of such aberrant energies. Dragging his body to the view port, he glanced out to behold a sight not seen by any living eye. In the distance lay a massive emptiness. Not in the sense that there was nothing there, no, much worse than that: it simply didn't exist. Reality warped around the massive being, devouring spatial and dimensional barriers as it advanced. Locking eyes caused eruptions of psychic resonance to erupt, screams countless in number filling his mind. Nothing left. Doom. Hopelessness. Nothing. Visions of empty worlds, splintered and devoid of presence filled his sight, visions of countless dying, converted into the aberrant arcana which faced him. Extending past the pain, Morval touched the creature with a psychic gesture. Echoing back, the scream crescendoed, breaking his mind for a moment. Grimacing, he repeated the action, each time suffering the same drastic effect. Eventually a response came. His response. A parroting of the message sent, warped beyond understanding yet clearly apparent in meaning. Drastically closer, Morval watched as celestial tendrils extended from the emptiness. Closing the distance, they hovered around the tiny vessel, gently probing nearer and nearer, exerting a force that overcome the guidance of the ship. An opening, if it could be called that, formulated in the massive emptiness of space, a gateway into chaos unimagined, outstripping that of the Fell Plane. As Morval and his two broken companions passed under the maw one word became clear among all others. Hellstar. A whimper came from his parted lips, the last sound before all experience broke down. The Hellstar would decide his fate now and he, a self-made god, was powerless to escape.

Siastraplinicorn Interdiction Vessel Asteroid Pen SS-50 Captain Daintyflash galloped through the winding halls of the core installation of the asteroid network at full speed. On his mad dash to the command center, he passed by many siastraplinicorns that were in a similar frenzied hurry, bolting off in every direction. The base was in complete disarray, with the wailing sirens providing the soundtrack for the collapse of anything resembling routine. Panicked voices barked order and counter order at each other over the station intercom system as they tried in vain to reach consensus on some course of action. This was the first time any Interdiction Vessel Pen had raised their alarm for a reason other than training drills. Daintyflash recognized one of the siastraplinicorns he passed as Ensign Hubert Bright, one of his own crew. He was sat against the grilled deck of one of the passages of the stations, his frontal hooves rested against his shaking head as he murmured incomprehensibly to himself. Daintyflash had no time to pause and comfort him. As Daintyflash made it to headquarters, he found the door left wide open. At the far end of the room was base commander Rear Admiral Wellrock, his gaze stuck on the view screens lining the circular room. "Sir, I--!" Captain Daintyflash called out. "I damn well -know-, captain!" Wellrock snapped back, interrupting him. Captain Daintyflash suddenly rose from the floor. He kicked about in futility as he was tugged into the air. The artificial gravity hadn't given out, or otherwise the rest of the personnel in the room would be levitating as well. It was at this moment he noticed the arcs of blue electricity dancing around Wellrock's horn and emanating from his intensely glowing eyes. As Wellrock yanked his head back, Daintyflash came flying across the room. He came to an abrupt halt just before the view screen, which he was then rotated mid-air to face towards, Wellrock magically forcing him to take in the view outside of the compound. Daintyflash's mouth hung wide open. The reports of enemy vessels were a certainty, but... "They're... no... they're... b-battlecruisers, sir?!" Daintyflash stammered in astonishment. While there was only battlecruiser in the formation, the three Altars were nonetheless much larger than anything the Captain was used to serving on, or indeed anything stationed at the base, barring a few tender vessels they kept for long range missions. That and this was afterall their first contact with an unfamiliar race, so misindentification was to be expected. "How did they find us?!" Wellrock scowled. The sapphire glow once isolated to his eyes and horn now enshrouded his entire body. Daintyflash was suddenly flung around in the space above Wellrock violently. "You, you idiot! You! The quartermaster has informed me that one of the self-destruct devices was left in the storage bay, and gee I wonder who's formation was the one that forgot to pick it up!?" Wellrock harangued. "They never would have detected this installation through the magical shroud, never pinpointed our position, without interrogation of captured personnel!" This, of course, wasn't at all true. Siastraplinicorn stealth measures weren't anywhere near as impervious as Wellrock reckoned them to be, but extreme arrogance is endemic to their kind. In the confusion and agitation, the commander had not heard his attendant inform him of the incoming message. By the time his angered rant had simmered down, the transmission had been decoded. The siastraplinicorns gathered in the command center collectively flicked their ears up attentatively at the new voice. Daintyflash was at last set back down, where he then collapsed in exhaustion and pain. "We bring greetings from the Holy Dominion of C'ran. Do not be alarmed by the appearance of our ships, we wish only to establish contact." "Contact, huh..." Wellrock tiredly muttered to no one in particular, he himself drained from exerting all his magic reserves through taking out his anger upon Daintyflash. Wellrock raised a hoof to draw the attention of those in the room. "Under normal circumstances, procedure dictates that we get in contact with the Splendiferous Leader and gain his input, but these aren't normal circumstances." Wellrock spun about to face the personnel arrayed around the central terminal banks. "Try to send a response. Convey to them that this is a military base belonging to the Social-Nationalist Interstellar State of Siastrapliny, that we will not attack unless if provoked first. Furthermore, if they're here about the... convoy." Wellrock turned to Daintyflash, who was still sprawled out against the floor. He scowled again. "... That we would be more than willing to let them detain those responsible, as an apologetic gesture."

1,000 km above orbit, Roman Colony World A-01 The sleek, unidentifiably hardlight Teynen jumped outside of Slip-space, its front shaft spun rapidly, and in front of this floated the Builder, in tow was a massive sphere of sparks and slight distortion. The Teynen's forward shaft slowed its spin. And its four long arms started to extend outward, the tips of the arms started to glow, and brigten. The arms started moving upward, downward, and sideward, carefully, intricately, the light streamed from the tips of the arms toward a portion of space in front of the Teynen, the space started glowing a white-blue light that kept getting brighter as the arms gracefully weaved the oscillations of the Electro-Magnetic Field called light. The mass of light grew slowly, larger and brighter. As the light expanded, so too did it move, it contracted and expanded, it seemingly shaped itself, first was its base, formed into a massive sphere, the sphere then expanded its sides to form corners, the light turning from a bright blue-white to something that was more native to space itself, and the stars. The material started changing color from its base, a dark orange hue. In front of the mass's base, blue-white light started to dance forward, for a time, they seemed like they were alive and aware of themselves, tendrils of bright light. A time afterward, the tendrils spiraled into each, creating different clumps of light. It expanded and extended until the tendrils became solid. And sharp. The color flooded the blue-white light, from base to the tips of its newly-"born" tendrils, once the color reached the ends, the space around the tendrils seemed to briefly distort, but revert back to its normal state shortly after. One of two Xurs was created and formed, within only a matter of minutes. The second mass of light now started creation, in the same period of time, before long, the second Xurs was created. The Congregation, Builder and his Teynen, and with the two Xurs following just behind the massive planet-sized distortion and sparking, they closed on to the planet, but abruptly stopped at 700 km from the world's orbit. The Congregation projected its presence unto the vacuum of space, into the lightwaves, the arcane atmosphere, and into the minds of those that were willing enough. Several decades of drifting through space in pursuit of wisdom, and they have perfected their first words. In the minds of many, in the light of the world, in the very arcanic existence of the world, ringed their/its voice. For all to hear: "We seek knowledge. Not war."

A flash appeared in the dark night sky of Arcadia momentarily, looking like just another star while it was there. It disappeared in a mere second, leaving behind only the question of what it was. A few minutes later, the northern hemisphere of Arcadia would witness a shooting star, a single object shining thanks to the plasma that charred it's surface as it fell down from the sky. It seemed like an insignificant meteor, doomed to a fiery death in the atmosphere, but the few awake in a small town would know that it had no such fate. It continued falling through the sky, revealing itself to be a saucer-like craft as it cast a shadow on the town from above. It flew towards a nearby forest, ramming straight into the trees and running them down with barely a scratch on its graphene hull. As its bow hit the ground first, it flipped over multiple times before finally coming to a rest against a large hill outside of town. A flag was painted on the side facing the town, the impact having scratched off some of the paint, it looked like a flag that had been intentionally torn apart. From the charred and broken spacecraft, a single woman crawled. She was wearing a white and gold uniform, a circular patch on her right shoulder and a red armband on her left arm. Her uniform was torn almost to shreds, a large piece of it dangling off of her stomach to reveal a gash from which red Abh blood spilled. Her hair was a long mass of dark blue, matted by the blood of her comrades. A piece of ornately shaped metal was embedded in her left arm, sticking through her armband. With one hand she clutched her shoulder and with the other she held her katana. Despite her injuries, the stood up against the gravity of Arcadia, walking towards the town. Apparently, her seemingly dainty figure held surprising strength. Standing up after thank kind of crash was not an easy thing to do, and yet she even carried a weapon with her. However, her strength couldn't hold out for long, and she only got as far as the entrance to the town. There, she collapsed, not sure if anyone could see her due to the extent of her injuries. She spoke, her voice weakened greatly, but still strong enough to be heard. "Demons... servants of Draka... you... will... fail..." While the Knightmares easily crushed any Abh unit that dared to challenge them, the Roman Imperial Guard and Legions that were charging soon discovered their folly. The Abh, though almost identical in stature, were immensely more powerful than the Romans. For every Abh that fell, two Romans did the same. The Space Marines seemed to be the only units that didn't need to use specialized tactics against the Abh. Unfortunately, the Abh could easily use specialized tactics against them. To the Abh, the planet had low gravity, and thus they could leap much higher than the roman troops. Using the urban setting to their advantage, they jumped from one building to the next, opening fire on the marines from above with RPGs. When faced with the Knightmares, however, the Abh retreated further into the city. They continued to be pushed back, past the impossibly tall skyscrapers held up with antigravity technology. Still, they refused to surrender. Surrender meant dishonor, and death was a preferable alternative to dishonor. The Abh tanks attempted to take down the Knightmares at first, but all attempts were met at failure due to their immensely superior mobility. They instead concentrated on the Roman armored divisions, their railguns punching holes in even the Emperor Tanks thanks to the plasma coating caused by the sheer velocity of their projectiles. Meanwhile, the light tanks mowed down the enemy infantry in droves, their flamethrower-like plasma weapons causing a fitful death for anyone unlucky enough to get caught in the fire. As the Abh retreated further towards the city's center, the battle reached the Secondary Defense Line. For whatever reason, the vast majority of the Abh forces were there. For the entirety of the battle so far, the Romans had been fighting Abh in either light exoskeletons or none at all. Now, they met the Abh defensive infantry, fully adorned in Semarri Type 2 Combat Exoskeletons. These forces were even more effective at taking down the Imperial Guardsmen and Legions, shredding them apart without any sign of mercy. Tanks lined up all along the defensive line, alternating between heavies and lights. The lights only added to the immense losses taken by the Roman infantry, while the heavies' dual railguns sent rounds deep into the Roman armor divisions. The tanks also began to utilize their missiles, sending swarms against the Roman armor and Knightmares. Abh gunners bolstered the line with both their machine gun and railgun emplacements, only adding to the already immense death toll of the Imperial Guard. Artillery gunners situated far behind the line fired explosive shells at the Roman armor divisions, as well as incoming infantry. They made sure to avoid the buildings, however, which raised the question of just why the buildings were important. That question was answered quite quickly. As if they had planned to do so on their own, the windows of every building in the Roman-taken part of the city shattered. Glass shards fell onto the advancing Romans, bouncing off of the helmets of soldiers and the armor of tanks as they littered the streets, reflecting the events above. Like an Ōkamaka pack descending on their prey, a hail of bullets and missiles fell upon the Romans marching to the battle at the Defensive line. An army of Abh could be seen through the smashed windows, mowing down the Roman troops with ruthless efficiency. These Abh didn't look the same as the soldiers, and only a few wore the same combat armor. Most wore no armor, and just white military uniforms. Quite a few wore uniforms one wouldn't see on the ground, Spaceborne Navy, Sea Navy, Airborne Forces, all of them were represented. Yet more of them wore green camo and outdated armor, and some wore ancient plate and chainmail armor over their uniforms, quite obviously knowing it was useless against the Roman weaponry. Their weapons varied just as much, though the majority wielded the same weapons as the main force, there was certainly quite a bit of deviation. Some of them were carrying black powder weapons, outdated, but nonetheless effective. Many carried RPGs and railguns, though the railguns were vastly rarer. The RPGs, meanwhile, differed greatly in appearance, many of them using black powder instead of acceleration coils. Even so, the ammo of the RPGs was what mattered most, and everyone was supplied with standard issue explosives. A few of the older troops, presumably veterans, were equipped with miniature antimatter explosives for the purpose of taking out larger targets. The Abh troops in the buildings were taking cover behind sandbags set up before the ambush, confirming that it was clearly planned far head of time. Behind the sandbags, more Abh wearing civilian clothing could be seen. They were cowering in fear, many of them begging the gods to let them live. The Abh positions would be completely useless if the Romans chose to take down the building, and it was clear that they let the civilians be seen in order to stop the Romans from doing so. Most species would call it dishonorable, of course, to the Abh, it was anything but. Originally, only a few fighters had been dispatched to deal with the Roman Knightmares. However, after they had easily torn apart the unsuspecting first defense line and everything thrown at them, they decided to take a different tactical stance. On the other side of the city, Abh airships launched off of their landing pads, marking the first time the Romans had ever seen them. The Romans must have been intimated, having never constructed such giant aerial vessels. An entire fleet of aerial battleships moved forward, firing rounds down at the Roman armor as they advanced. As they got into range of the Knightmares, all hell broke loose. Countless flak explosions appeared in the sky, concentrated around the Knightmares. The AA guns on the battleships fired constantly in tandem with their railguns, which fired with such power that they slightly rocked the ships. Having come into range of the Roman forces outside of the city, mortars on the battleships started shelling them, refusing to let any Roman live. From behind the battleships, another fleet approached, These ships were clearly made under a different design philosophy, and echoed the designs of oceangoing vessels. Airborne fighters launched from the vessels, taking off from the large, flat flight deck that spanned the entire length of each ship. The fighters swarmed the Knightmares, missiles coming in torrents as they approached. Having expended their missiles, they opened up with coilgun fire, using their overwhelming numbers to defeat the Knightmares. The carriers also started firing their AA cannons, adding to the massive bombardment that was constantly tearing into the ten Knightmares. However, they made it a point to stay away from this fire, and thus kept a safe distance from the Knightmares. AA guns on the ground also began to fire on the Knightmares, the Abh apparently unsatisfied with even the statistical possibility that anything could survive existing. However, they were also quite sure that the absolutely ludicrous amount of fire being put on them would be able to take down the Knightmares, and thus a few of the guns began to fire on any landing craft still coming down. Since the Romans refuse to fight any "civilians" as they seemed to call non-combatants, they hadn't bombed the weaponry and military bases in the middle of the city, which was where most were anyways. Obviously, this allowed the Abh to have the advantage despite the Knightmares. The quite respectable Abh fleet in the docks of the capital city was almost certainly the best post to have during the battle. As the Romans had neglected to bring any naval forces whatsoever in their invasion, the Abh held complete and absolute naval superiority. It was a massive folly on the part of the Romans, likely because they didn't expect a navy at all. And if there was anything the Abh knew how to do, it was how to take advantage of the enemy's folly. The carriers launched yet more fighters to attack the Knightmares, adding to the excessive overkill that was focused on them. All the ships opened up with AA fire as well, the Abh most certainly believing in being thorough. Every railgun in the fleet started firing on the Roman forces on land, explosive rounds landing across all of the Roman army. With no substantial airforce to speak of, and no units to deal with the navy, the invasion was starting to look bleak. An orbital bombardment would likely solve all of their problems, as well as preserving the resources they were fighting for, but the question was: were they willing to stoop to the level of their enemy? They would likely have little choice. The Abh were fighting for their homes, all the Romans were fighting for was a bunch of useful rocks. A Kyūsei House battleship picked up the alien message in the midst of a flurry of radio broadcasts. Most were propaganda for the war, calling for anyone that didn't sign up to donate everything they could to the war effort. Since Abh warships were armored in graphene, the vast majority of materials sufficed. Of course, the best donation the army could get was a personal starship. The richer families of the Empire owned personal vessels which were usually stripped for valuable parts, then scrapped and used to build new ships. However, a few survived the process and ended up as command vessels behind the lines ("command" referring to the tacticians onboard that would give advice to the actual commander, who would would be found charging into battle, of course). Excited by the prospect of getting assistance in the war, the battleship quickly sent a message to the capital planet of the system to inform them of a gap in the patrol routes. It then immediately diverted course to the coordinates specified by the message, "ascending" into the fifth dimension to reappear at the rendezvous location less than a second after they left. "Well met, honorable people of the Holy Dominion of C'ran." Responded Laidach, smiling softly at their returned bow, it being something nobody expected (aside from them being aliens, the return of a bow depends on social stature, and bowing back to someone of an equal or lower rank is usually considered condescending). The name was pronounced surprisingly well, with even the accent being replicated as well as possible. "We never knew that there were explorers in the stars. To continue your analogy, we thought there was only darkness. We are incredibly happy to know that there is light! This is the first time one of us has spoken with another species, so please excuse any mistakes we might make. Many of our people wished for exploration after the colonization of our fifteenth system, but ever since the first attempt at making contact, we've been engaged in a war, as you saw here. After that, nobody wanted to explore anymore." Funnily enough, the young man appeared to be resisting an impulse to bow a second time. Unbeknownst to the aliens, Socal House traditions were essentially the reverse of the common ones, with bowing last being a sign of servitude. The Socal rulers always bowed last to their subjects, showing that they served them.

"Well. That was fast." Admiral Val'Kronna noted to nobody in particular as the blip appeared on the sensor screens. The battleship Ikk'it and her escorts had only just arrived a little less than an hour before, the diplomats were still asleep as the ship was deep in its night cycle. "Bring the ship up to condition 2 and get me a better picture of who or whatever that blip is. There's no way the Ahh are here this early." The sleeping vessel was soon awoken as crewmen and damage control crews rushed to their positions. The Ikk'it wasn't fighting. Yet. But an potentially unknown object had just arrived and they weren't taking any chances. "Sir, the vessel appears to check out. It matches known Ahh configurations and is approaching the rendezvous point steadily." "That is very interesting stuff Coms, open a communications line with the Ahh and somebody wake up the diplomats. Our honored guests have arrived." The Ikk'it sent a simple message over most EM frequencies towards the Abh battleship. "Greetings Abh diplomats, I am Admiral Val'Kronna of the Navy Syndicate, I welcome you in the name of the Hegemony. We will admit that you surprised us with your early arrival. We look forward to opening diplomatic dialogues with your people. If you would kindly send us any atmospheric concessions that need to be made we will prepare chambers for your party and ours to discuss matters in, though we both seem to be oxygen breathers."

The Hellstar The small craft of the C'Ran leadership was quickly subsumed by the nebulous abyss of the Hellstar, the entity itself deviating its course ever-so-slightly to more quickly do so. Passing through the "opening" offered by the existential phenomenon, the craft convulsed wildly, tossing its occupants haphazardly within it. However, this turbulence only lasted for a moment, and soon the motion of the craft lulled to nothing. As far as its occupants could tell, the vessel was not actually moving at all; even the subtle movements of the galaxy around them couldn't be detected. The viewports showed nothing but the infinity of void around them, and the ship's sensors had gone offline minutes ago. Jagar and Al'za had both ceased their seizures, and were both resting peacefully on the floor of the craft. Even Morval no longer felt the Hellstar's crushing weight on his mind. Had the Hellstar rejected them? Had it sent them somewhere else? Was it some manner of portal to whatever impossible dimension its Brood had originated from? Answers came quickly. The void surrounding the craft suddenly vanished, and it was now suspended in what any interplanar physicist would quickly recognize as hyperspace. The undulating chaotic energies of hyperspace twisted about colorfully, raw aether crackling and billowing like a storm of pure, deadly euphoria. The presence of something so familiar, even a dimension divorced from reality and hostile to all forms of known life, was reassuring. And yet, it was somehow different. There was a method to the madness, a pattern hidden within the chaos. It was subtle, but the powerful mind of Morval could intuitively sense its presence. Mana floes pulsed with an almost undetectable rhythm, and ether squalls bounded between nodes of tass and quintessence. It was calming, almost; the ecstatic energies reminding Morval of the firing of synapses, and the constant motion like a child at play. Even so, there was something still truly unsettling about this place, wherever they were. The oppression the Hellstar wrought on Morval's mind was gone, but something else had risen in its place. A creeping intrusion wormed its way into his consciousness, sharp and unsubtle, but gradual. It felt as though his brain was slowly being lowered into icy water. Jagar and Al'za stirred uncomfortably, but it was a far cry from their earlier convulsions. Though the presence was distinct, Morval could not find the source of this intrusion. A chill crawled up his spine as a distant memory was suddenly forced to the forefront of his thoughts, then another. He tried to recall a similar experience, but was unable to for just a brief, glimmering moment before it came back to him. Whatever this thing was, it was digging through his mind with little care to what it did with its contents. He tried shutting it out; turning his mind into the adamantine fortress to which even the Fell Plane broke itself against. This seemed to have no effect at first, but the chill in his skull withdrew, and the ancient Sakari breathed a sigh of relief. "Hello." Morval whipped around in shock upon hearing an unfamiliar voice. Behind him stood a young Sakari girl, looking up at him in wonder. She was small and strange, with chalky skin, hair the color of deep sea and eyes like strikes of lightning, but she was undoubtedly Sakari. Her age was indeterminate, but she only seemed to be on the eave of pubescence, judging by her budding body, clothed in only a simple, silken white dress. Her face, charming and childish, was almost familiar to Morval, like a distant memory or a forgotten dream. Her presence carried an unusual air of calming, not unlike subtle pheromones used in C'Ran interrogations. Whatever she- or it- was, the features seemed opposite of that of a normal Sakari. Yet such appearances were not uncommon nor were they discriminated against. Simply strange to see one such as her. Perhaps the body or memory of one consumed by the Aeon Brood. Al'za recounting of the debacle over the unknown world tugged at him still. Simply being there caused death, death unimaginable for simply observing. Perhaps she had been real but no more. No more was she real. That face. It resembled the one from so long ago. He would never again do so. Never again... The memory came unbidden, wrenched from the depths of blissful forgetfulness by the Hellstar. He had built himself to be able to forget, to truly forget. Never should rememberance have come to him of that day. Why did it pain him so, even after a thousand years? He sank into the occurence, reliving his actions. The death. Was he himself better than these Aeon? A world consumed in his rising, a lover dead in his conception, and a morality destroyed in ascension. Her blood ran through his fingers. Looking down at her face, it bore similarity to that of the Sakari imposter in the ship. What ship? Only the blood was real. Her throat lay on the ground, flesh among an ocean of bones. His bones. They were his, just as much as the Dominion was his. The price of a god. Metal crumpled under Morval's fist, splintering around his hand as it drove into the ship. Screams. So many screams. Why did he hear them? Magical fire began to wreath his arm, low blue blaze running along the creases of his armor. Turning to face the thing, he growled, "What are you, demon?" Not flinching in the slightest from Morval's outburst, the girl continued to look up at him, smiling coyly. "I am I. All you see here, and nothing less." She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned closer to the imposing man, eyes sparkling with curiosity. Playfully shifting her weight from foot to foot, if the cold metal floor of the craft was uncomfortable on her bare feet, she did not show it. "But what are you? I've never had a visitor before. Are you real?" Laughing wryly, Morval bent the metal of the wall back into place, magical fire melting the sheet it touched before causing it to solidifying once again. Content now that the hole in his vessel was less obtrusive, he turned once again to face the doppelganger. Revulsion rose upon every glance yet her face remained ingrained in his face. Was this Hellstar manipulating him? Releasing the magical flames from his arm, he motioned to one of the benches along the wall before taking his place on the other. Steepling his fingers, he looked over them consideringly. "I do not know, doppleganger. I do not know whether I exist anymore. To my knowledge, the galaxy may no longer exist as it was when I entered this place. As to what I am, you would know if you happened to be real. So I ask once again. What. Are. You? Do you even know what you are?" Ponderously, the strange girl sat down across from Morval, listening to him speak with the rapturous attention that only a child could possess. As he spoke, she parroted the occasional word after him, as though savoring the feeling of it on her lips. "Galaxy...." She whispered, her head tilting in confusion. Again the feeling of cold, surgical invasion entered Morval's mind. Not a general sensation as it had been before, but this time a focused probe, working its way through his skull. Visions of space flashed before his eyes; stars, planets, constellations, the wonders of the cosmos. The icy probe retracted, and the girl's face lit up with understanding. "You're learning." The girl giggled, her white teeth showing through her smile, "You're learning from me as I'm learning from you. You might be real, or not. It doesn't matter. What is real is not what is true. I am truth; that is what I am." She leaned back in her seat, lackadaisical as she continued to speak, "I have seen you before. The kind that calls itself 'Sakari,' but you are different. What are you?" This question Morval did not expect. Never had he been asked this before, not by his closest advisers, nor his enemies, nor those that knew him before and after his ascension. Was this 'girl' a seemingly physical manifestation of the Hellstar? A celestial being of unimaginable power taking the form of a youngling. Why? Most importantly, how did it overpower him so easily? Reaching out slowly with both psychic and magical tendrils, Morval attempted to grasp the scale of this Hellstar from the inside. Outside was seemingly nothing, only a roiling torrent of aberrant mana common to all Aeon if the reports he heard were true. The only irregularity was her. Magic fell towards her, warped and heaved in her direction, a resonating psychic ping emanating each time he fought the tug. Bowing his head, the gargantuan Sakari sighed softly. Looking at the sprawled bodies of Al'za and Jagar on the floor, he thought of what he was about to reveal to this creature. Something told not even to them. "You want to know of my birth, Hellstar? Why would it matter to one such as you when such information can be requisitioned from my mind, as you have proven apt to do? Tell me, would the destruction of this small physical presence you plant before me hurt you at all? I suspect not. For all your madness and all your thoughtlessness, there is a cunning. Very well. No, I am not Sakari. I was, once, but no longer. That ended a millenia ago. I am a god now. A bastard of technology and magic, twisted into form by something far greater than me. Surpassing you, perhaps. You most likely do not understand the concept of a soul nor will memories ever fully furnish such knowledge. But for all it is worth, I gave my being for this power. The price: a world. Does that answer your question?" "Hellstar," again the girl murmured, though lacking her usual spark of curiosity, "Is that what I am called? I don't think I like that name..." In response to his question she chirped, "I don't know why you would. I appear as I am for your benefit. You see me as I would see myself through your eyes." She listened to Morval monologue a moment longer, her expression further shifting into something much more difficult to read. "Power... A god..." Again, she murmured, before focusing her attention directly to Morval. "Is any being with enough power a god? Am I a god? Far more than a single world empowers me." She tilted her head, almost seeming to pout. "I'm learning so much, but the more I learn, the more there is I don't seem to know. Do you know everything? Is that part of being a god?" "You really are a child, aren't you?" Morval said. This seemingly great being knew little about several things that would appear common to others. Was he perhaps the first being of sufficient power to actually contact the Hellstar? And why hadn't it absorbed the memories of those consumed before? "You interest me. If you do not like the name Hellstar than I shall refrain from calling you that. The very fact this apparition of you displays any form of sentiment towards what one would name it indicates something different from the rest of your Brood. I suppose you could call any being of sufficient power a god. But power has nothing to do with it. It is belief. That is what gods of made of. Not magic, nor physical prowess, nor omniscience. It is the unfaltering and fervent belief of others that raise you to god-hood. For that reason you never were, never shall be, a god. That is what marks the difference between us." "A child?" The girl sounded dejected, pulling her knees up to her chest as she pouted. "Just a moment ago I was a god..." Continuing to listen, she parroted more words back at Morval as he spoke, as seemed to be her habit. "Brood... You call me all manner of unsightly names, it seems. You called me a demon earlier. Is that what I am to you? Something unpleasant? And yet you say yourself that you are a twisted thing, no longer one of your kind. Is that the sort of thing your kind believe in? They prefer a god of lies to a demon of truth?" "I do not know what you are, for you are quite different from the rest. It is almost as if you weren't related to the rest of the Aeon," Morval stated. Raising his hands to the gilded armor adorning his body, he began to remove pieces of his armor. Small hisses sounded in the compartment as seals were broken between the armor plates. Quite rapidly most of the protective equipment was off his body, placed beside him on the bench. Underneath the extravagant armor he wore a simple tunic of white cloth, shining softly under the light. "No, you are no demon. Such things are myths. I do not know why such superstitions yet carry on. Maybe because there are no other words better suited to describing that which is unknown, horrifying. God and demon are simply labels. Yes, the Sakari prefer a god of lie to a demon of truth, as you put it so eloquently. Most species do. Lies have a way of becoming truths, however. Sometimes it is safer. You resemble neither of those descriptions. You do not lie or speak with candor, nor can you be called a demon or god. Existence is much of what you are, existence and nothing else. Until now, it seems." The child of the Hellstar giggled, her dour expression from before now lifting. "You say such interesting things. I'm learning more from you than I've learned from entire races. So many ideas that just exist inside thoughts... like galaxies inside minds." She looked up at him, expectantly. "Will you stay with me? And teach me more? There are so many words that I don't understand: aesthetics, wisdom, ethics, science, love..." She trailed off, looking wistful. So innocent. Was this really what the Hellstar was? A curious child, seeking answers to everything, destroying the object in the process? There was more to this than he originally thought. Much more. Seeing the gaze of wistfulness on her face tugged at him. Feelings he had not felt in centuries welled inside him. Grief, joy, love, pity. Emotions sealed away during his creation and kept suppressed afterwards. Why did it have to choose that face? Realizing he had spoken aloud, Morval sighed. "You say you do not understand these words. What makes you think I can help? What makes you think I would want to stay? I owe debts, long unpaid, to those that are dead. I cannot do that here. Every moment I stay here, the Aeon come one second closer to consuming the galaxy. Every moment I am away from the tiller of my metaphorical ship, opportunities disintegrate into the void. So tell me. Why should I stay?" Pondering his question for a moment, the girl seemed to grow flustered, and pouted impudently. "I don't know." She said in the exact tone of a whining child. "You don't have to stay, but... will you come back?" It was Morval who was flustered this time. He understanded her desiring him to stay but to come back? "You don't know. I see. Logic tells me I shouldn't stay. So does everything else in me that gives any sort of advice. Will I come back? The question is will I ever leave. I do not know where you brought me nor where it is in relation to that of the physical plane. There is always the option of tearing through your essence, scarring your being and myself by opening into the Fell Plane. But I am not wont to leave those I call friends. Nor do I believe that you don't have a way of removing me from this place and back to where I was in the physical plane. I shall not stay, no, but I shall come back. Does that suit you? She seemed to loll the thought around in her head for a moment, before eventually smiling at Morval. "I suppose. But before you leave..." The girl stood and breathed deeply before rising up off the floor of the craft. Her eyes closed gently and her limbs grew limp, and suddenly her body was bathed in otherworldly light. Without warning, what could only be described as great leaves or petals sprouted from her back, filling the chamber with her bioluminescence as she bloomed. Before her seemingly unconscious form, matter and energy compiled and reformed itself, eventually coalescing into a geometric shape. Or rather, several. A glimmering hedron of aether, its facets shifted, merged and broke apart at random, but its mass stayed constant. Chaos in a beautiful, perfected form; truly an avatar of the Aeon Brood. The girl reawoke and descended back to the floor, though her glowing "wings" of flora stayed in place. The Aeon Hedron hovered near her, and with a gesture, it floated to Morval and began to orbit him. "Here," she said softly, "When you come again, if you have this with you, I'll know it's you." With that, the craft was bathed in darkness for time indeterminate. It shuddered and shook as it had upon entering the Hellstar, but again only for a moment. When the darkness lifted, the craft was aloft in deep space, well within the Dark Zone, with the Hellstar nowhere to be seen. Upon exiting, Al'za and Jagar began to shift slowly, waking from whatever limbo their minds had been subjected to during the encounter. Delving with magical and psychic tendrils, Morval analyzed their condition. The same as before they had left. "At least they're fine." Looking at the tiny fluxating object orbiting around him, Morval replaced his armor gently, avoiding contact with the Aeon Hedron. Sitting in the pilot's chair, he glanced towards the physical presence of the Hellstar. Still a tear in reality yet it held new meaning. Activating the anti-space drives of the craft, he jumped out of the system. A psychic resonance remained for the Hellstar, meaning, to one who could understand it, "I shall be back, child. Sometimes a god of lies tells truths." With the fading of that message nothing remained but the void of space and the lonely heart of the Aeon Brood.

Kibō-hosh, Ground Battle The Imperial Guard’s mechanized divisions and infantry kept on dying in waves, but it seemed for everyone one the Abh killed another 10 took his place. The Imperial Guard’s number never wavered, however the mechanized divisions began suffering as their numbers decreased, with the Bellator and Roman Armed forces filling in the gaps. The Knightmares above ceased their attack, as the amount of firepower concentrated on them despite their heavy armor and shields was enough to take them out, however before they fell they took out many Abh with them. The Imperial Guard shot through the building, apparently no longer caring about the “civilians” as they called them and now only focused on attempting to take the city. Above the city one of the Knightmares was seen falling towards the flying carrier, as drop-pods began raining from the sky, carrying a few Space Marines. Those who landed began fighting the Abh, and surprisingly the size of their armor literally allowed them to crush Abh tanks underneath them. Kibō-hosh, Air Battle As the Knightmares fell to the vast assault one was sent crashing into the air carrier that had come to engage the Romans. When it impacted a large explosion could be seen happening, a purple dome of sorts spreading from the impact site and consuming the entire carrier and a few naval battleships. When all was said and done the carrier as well as several battleships were entirely ruined as chaos further occured. Roman Gunships were quickly falling, but precision air-strikes from orbit on Abh military bases in other cities began happening. While they only struck the military bases, it was likely one or two missed their mark and caused damage to the surrounding city. Vast swarms of Roman Bug Fighters and bombers descended from orbit, backing up the gunships and attempting to wipe out Abh air support and anti-air weapons so as to allow more troop carriers to reach the surface. The battle quickly turned intense as massive casualties occurred on both sides. Arcadia “Thank you Nox, your assistance is greatly appreciated. We need some space forces to help us enforce a blockade and some ground forces to assist in the invasion.” said Apollo, handing Nox a small computer disk that contained the coordinates to the world. He began speaking again, in a more calmed tone. “With that matter out of the way, we would like to know if you be willing to set up academies on a few of the major Roman Worlds to help train us in magic, as well if you be interested in a full military alliance.” asked Apollo, looking at Nox. Colony World A-01 Many Roman citizens dropped what they were hearing upon the message, as they turned to the sky to see what they had heard. A Psionic was sent aboard a ship and into orbit, where they approached the newly arrived contact and began using his psionic power to telepathically communicate with them. “Knowledge you say? What kind of knowledge do you seek? And if you do would you be willing to trade for it?” Briggs Fortress “You will probably be wrapped up fighting for a while, you already got quite a few of…” said Oliva, pausing as the message was heard by all of the Romans and the Roa’marii, she turned back towards the Roa’marii, asking them a question. “Did you hear that to?” ((This post is horrible I know, but I needed to get something done.))

((there being an invasion, and there being Draconians who have yet to be contacted by anyone, and there being an interfering hyperspace entity.))

The Major Warlord's fleet

Having checked the system, and taken note of a primitive, though intelligent, species on the richest planet in the water zone, Major Warlord Hele'Streth sighed in frustration. Again, no deposits of the rarest kind, nothing that he can jump ahead with. Angrily, he fingered the sword strapped to his side. Usually, Draconians wouldn't wear swords- or daggers- but the custom of honor duels was increasing again, as they had back when they were still planetside, stuck there. He clenched his other fist, then forced himself to relax. The next system he will clear, and if he finds nothing, he will return home. He still had multiple ships left, but he didn't feel the need to take this system- it was too far out of his influence, anyways, and it's not yet worth it. He did fire several portable probe/beacon pieces down. For the primitives on the ground, it would be, no doubt, treated as if it were a beacon from the Goddess. For Draconians, though, it would say that the planet has been claimed by Hele'Streth, and to take it is to start an honor war. But the Major Warlord wasn't quite finished. "Set course for the next outer system. Launch drives on my mark." He waited a few minutes, as Navigation plotted the course. They returned with an, "Aye, course set, sir." Moments later, communications reported each of the ships in his fleet, that they are ready for the jump. "On my mark... Mark." Spatial vortexes appeared in front of the silent, gleaming warship, and it disappeared into it, as other vortexes appeared around it, other ships entering and being swallowed. Vortexes were two-way things, where the side that faces the drive takes you to the plotted coordinates; entering the opposite side of the vortex will give you a mirror-image of the coordinates, except in the opposite direction. Tricky business- the Draconians have yet to figure out how to make it purely one-sided, and besides, there was much more entertaining research to be done in new explosives. Making things explode is always more interesting than anything. He watched calmly as the blackness of the void swirled past him, flashes of purple and blue occasionally taking over from the white of the vortex. Even without anything to really base your speed off of, besides the blackness going to a whiteness incredibly quickly, you had the sense of flying extremely fast. Then the ship shuddered, and groaned. Hele'Streth removed himself from his wonderings and turned his attention to the viewscreens. Slowly, the fleet that he had taken with him appeared, shockingly close by- and in hyperspace. All the bridge officers would've paled, had they been human. Each ship creates its own bubble- when two bubbles collide, they might bounce off each other, or pop and toss its contents out into open space over multiple lightyears. But never before had they been sucked into the same bubble before. Still, the multicolored swirls continued to appear, weaving around ships and on the perimeter of the bubble. And then he noticed something- a shuttle bearing the ID of Vala'Keer's personal shuttle, from his lost transport. They somehow weaved throughout the hyperspace, and docked with one of his transports. Minutes later, his communications officer reported that Vala'Keer and his closest had been found, after being sucked into and escaping from a strange intra-space dimension. No matter, thought Hele'Streth, The Hyperspace anomaly is more important at the moment. Vala'Keer will have to wait. As he finished the thought, his navigations officer called out that they should be exiting hyperspace shortly. Half an hour later, they still hadn't exited. Hele'Streth feared the worse- an anomaly pulled them into a shared bubble and forced them to remain inside until they hit something. If they even could, that is. An idea came to him, suddenly- what if the way out was to create another spacial vortex? It might just take them out of it, the opposite of how to get in. He issued new orders- to open a spontaneous vortex, and leave as soon as possible. He hoped it would work, and he'd rather not follow this vortex to its end. As Navigation called out his readiness, and Communications reported the ready status for all ships, Hele'Streth gave to go-ahead- "Mark."

Kibō-hosh High Orbit

The droneships went first- the moment their vortexes opened, their speed shoved them through in seconds. Following shortly behind were the transports, then his own ship, and then the rest of his true warships. Instead of the usual white swirls as he was expecting, he could see an inky blackness, and a glowing planet sitting in the middle, as his ship hurtled through the portal and into realspace. The ship shuddered again, groaning and creaking, clearly showing strain at the abrupt changes, and his ship hurtled even faster, it seemed, towards the unknown planet. He saw the rest of his fleet appearing, spread out over several hundred kilometers, and he ordered a full stop among all of them, and then to regroup around him. Taking count, he noted two droneships had yet to report. Nearby was a suspiciously advanced debris field- it was possible that the ship was torn apart in its exit. The other... appeared to be dust when it followed the hyperspace path, and impacted the planet's atmosphere. The atmosphere worked similar to water- it can soften your landing, but if something moves fast enough and is blunt enough, it's more like a hammer traveling at several hundred kilometers a minute, and smashing into the ocean from directly above. It was clear that there was nothing left of the ship. Hele'Streth signed, rubbing his temples, the one spot on a Draconian that a knife could penetrate- and is often the focal point of all headaches brought on by stress. Already, he knew that he was in a foreign system, probably far from his space. How could this get any worse?

Krieg Admiral Jargen Von Ored looked at the floating holograms on the command bridge, occasionally swiping one away just for another to take it's place. It was mostly meaningless chatter among the ships in his fleet and personal messages or complaints from the crew. The Freedom's Right was one of the huge Tak'Wal class Carrier, top of the line and powerful. The carrier and her escorts had to link up with the 101st Exploration Patrol for they were organising another reach into space. He heard the occasional clank clank clank from Ti'Fin Universal Unmanned Starfighters, moving on the hull wanting to irritate the engineers because of the scrapes they make on the metal. "Dammit TF2876, keep your men in line" Jargen hissed into the communications holo, ordering the sentient to keep his troops in check. "Yessir" TF2876 started "I'll get right to it. ALRIGHT YOU SORRY LOT, ALL OF YOU AROUND THE SHIP 20 TIMES AND YER BET YER ARSES THAT YOU WON'T BE SLEEPING IN THE BAY TONIGHT!!! Get a move on!" The tired Admiral shut the holo off, letting the platoon commander do his thing. Jargen sighed as he signalled one of the comms. officers to send a fleet wide message "Krieg Admiral Jargen Von Ored of the Carrier Freedom's Right reporting before Flingshot Jump." "Tar'Lik Captain Jai'Tu Ta'Tis of the Dreadnought Democracies Shield is reporting for duty, sir. I am ready to serve." "Tayt Captain Or'Ora Jane Ti'Kar of the Cruiser Release The Shackles of Oppression coming in and functioning, sir." "Tayt Captain Ta'Ri Von Tagen of the Cruiser Death to Slavery is ready to serve, sir." "Tayt Captain Lar'Ri Ta Vyon of the Heavy Frigate Redemption for the Shackled is tip top today! Um, sir." "Tar'Lik Captain Ja'Tug Tar'Venci of the Patrol Frigate Greed's Reaper is hoping to actually find something out there. Sir." "Krieg Captain Willhelm Von York of the Light Frigate Light Hope is you know! the usual, sir." Jargen shut the comms. off and ordered the bridge crew to get ready for the Flingshot jumps. Flingshots work most of the time and it is very rare for a ship to end up elsewhere other than the coordinates set. It helps to confirm that the drive works. You never know. A green light pinged on his command chair, signalling that the fleet is ready for the Fling. "5" a blue portal appeared in front of every ship, perfectly oval. "4" a blue tentacle extended from the portal, streams of unknown words etched on every surface. "3" It started pulling the ships in. "2" The pull becomes stronger and stronger, the ships letting out a whine. "1" It suddenly pulled the ships in, disappearing after full entry. "0" The ships appeared in a blue cylindrical realm, the strange language still etched on every surface. "Flingshot Succesful" A small cheer came from the bridge, feeling relief. Jargen however was not as enthusiastic. He knew that sometimes, even successful looking Flingshot Jumps may still make the patrol arrive somewhere else. Jargen held his clenched fist, silencing the bridge and signalling the comms. officer to send the fleet wide message. "Okay people. This is not over. We are reaching beyond the edge of our borders. This means we may meet extraterrestrial life" everyone in the bridge brightened up. The Democracies, despite having been in space for centuries, has not encountered alien life yet. "We can hope for peaceful contact but be ready for hostile actions. Our Army and Drop Tayt contingents shall keep us safe from boarders. We are using Standard Fay'Ran Jik pattern 2-9-7-0-0-1. Good luck to us all" he ended the message and the bridge crew started bustling with life again. "5 minutes till arrival" one of his Tayt officers informed, looking at the hologram in front of her. The Admiral calmly waited, anticipating the end of the journey. The massive space station was filled with wonders beyond belief. As colourful as Fay'Ran Jik itself, it stood out in the black background. It was the capital of the Fay'Ran Jik Democracies and it was a sight to behold. But all that wasn't important. For what was important was the room at the top of the Tri-Tower. The President's Office. President Clement Jane Ta'Lu was looking at the holograms around her, interest and wonder in her eyes. The 5th annual Expansion was taking place and she, Lugen and Chi'Ti were the lucky ones to be coordinating it. A report came in from the 101st Exploration Fleet. The Flingshot Jump was successful. She sighed in relief. The 101st was given an important mission. To explore the far reaches of space and look for alien life. The door opened and revealed the Krieg Admiral Baron Jak Von Claude and her secret lover. He was holding a bottle of champagne and Clement looked on with fake concern in her eyes. "Jak, you know I can't drink while in office" Jak put a hand on his heart and pretended that he was offended. He walked towards the desk and gave Clement a kiss on the lips. He retracted and looked at her in the eyes. "Princess, you think a bad boy like me would follow the rules" and swiped the things off her desk. Clement responded in kind and sat on the desk. "Oh you are a bad boy, aren't you?." She grabbed Jak's shoulder and pulled him in. "Ma'am" the young Tayt secretary at the door came in and was almost looked horrified at what was going on in the office. Jak stopped what he was doing and grinned. "Threesome!" Clement looked at Jak with fake frustration and slapped the back of his head. "No Jak. Now get dressed, I have official business to take care of." The Krieg whined and put on his Admiral robes and left the room. Clement covered herself up with the presidential robes and looked at the blushing secretary with an accusing look. "Sister, this has to be extremely important or I have just wasted my relief per month and I will blame you." The secretary cleared her throat and covered her face with her holo. "The 101st Patrol Fleet have arrived at a completely different coordinates than what you have given." Clement motioned her to continue. "They found something" Clement's eyebrows raised and raised as the secretary continued. The fleet appeared into sub-space, coming out of the perfectly blue oval shaped portals. Flingshot Portals, for unknown reasons, release an incredible amount of radiation almost immediately. This just means that when exploring, most coordinates given are at a solar system. Unfortunately for the 101st, they arrived somewhere far away from where they were supposed to be. A great distance from unknown ships of completely unknown design. The bridge dimmed down to a dark red glow, lights flashing. The bridge crew stood in shock but worked to get the ship up and running again. Jargen pointed at one of the crew, an engineer. "What's the status of the ship!?" The engineer flinched at the noise but responded with "The engine is down Admiral. It is similar across the fleet. We still have comms. though." The Admiral pondered on this. "Send a fleet wide message, tell them not fire on the unknowns. Send first contact message and give me a comms. with the extraterrestrials." The engineer saluted as a holo appeared in front of him. A Tar'Lik gave a grunt, signalling him to start speaking while he psychically sent the message to everyone on the unknown ships. "I am Admiral Jargen Von Ored of the Fay'Ran Jik Democracies. I welcome you. We come in peace. I hope the first contact message is sufficient to satisfy your knowledge of the Democracies. May I ask for a diplomat to come and we can discuss negotiations with my leader. May you have a great day." Jargen wiped the sweat off his face and sighed. Now all he can do, is wait. (This is probably the worst post in the rp. Sorry! I need to work on everything more, don't I -_-')

"I heard it, and I must say it intrigues me quite a bit. That message was sent psychically. I'm willing to bet the entire planet heard it. It would seem we aren't the only aliens you'll get to meet today." The Nightmare Emperor took the disk and handed it to a nearby Roa'marii soldier before responding. "As I said before, I will send Battlefleet Beta to the coordinates you have given me. I will also personally make sure that academies are set up among your people where they can learn magic from us at least until enough Romans are capable of teaching magic to others. It is the Goal of the United New Roa'marii Empire that all nations be united under a single governing body. Each nation would remain sovereign and free to rule its own territory as they see fit while all are subservient to a single central force that has authority and power. We have set up the United Empire as a prototype of this. I don't expect you to join us, but I do encourage you to join forces with us in our attempt to spread knowledge of other nations across the stars." The town of Cathacia stood near the border of the Great Arcadian Jungle, the largest rainforest on the planet which spanned the majority of the continent it was on. Just minutes before the cloud cover had been momentarily broken as a ship crashed not far from the town. As a number of citizens moved towards the town's edge, an alien came stumbling out of the forest. It stood a moment before collapsing, a few words being heard from its mouth, but not understood. A couple Roa'marii moved to examine the creature and noticed a number of wounds likely caused by the crash. They picked up the xeno and carried her into the town, careful to avoid contact with the largest wounds. The xeno was brought to a small hospital run by members of the Queen's Cross medical organization. There she was treated to the best of the abilities possessed by the doctors. Once the alien was stabilized, a message was sent to the capital informing those in charge of the newly found xeno. The Roa'marii doctor did her best to calm the Sakari before stopping another who possessed a translator ring. This doctor asked the now noticibly calmer, yet still panicked Sakari to repeat his questions which he did. Hearing the worry in his voice, the doctor set quickly to answering them. "I am Doctor Cat'eri Pirees. We are members of the Queens Cross medical organization of the Roa'marii Empire. I assure you we are doing our best to treat your injuries. You were among a number of xenos brought with General Sta'falia Silvad and her Valkeries aboard what remains of Expedition Fleet A-9. As we have learned from some others brought here, you were saved from an abomination in a place called Finnegan's. If you will remain calm I will bring General Zer'icia Velkorn, leader of the Queens Cross to speak with you." The two ships from Expedition Fleet A-9 sat in formation with a small fleet belonging to the planet below. When another fleet shot into the system, they immediately turned to face the newcomers. The planet raised its great shield once more and were about to send a warning when they received a message from the new fleet. In reply, a message was sent back in what was hopefully a correct translation into their language. "This is the Sovereign System of Dullahan, part of the United New Roa'marii Empire. A diplomat will be sent to your ship shortly. We are prepared to fire if you make any sudden moves. Stay where you are and stay in your current formation." From the Roa'marii ships, the lead ship of the Expedition fleet moved forward, carrying aboard it General Sta'falia Silvad. When the ship got close to the lead xenos ship, the general moved to the docking bay and put on her Aether Wing suit. She and a squad of other Valkeries in the same suits then prepared for launch.

The Congregation communed with the Builder quickly, instantaneously. The Builder floated forth, detached from his Teynen. The Congregation did not wish to accidentally overload and injure this Psion with its vast presence, so it opted for the Builder, a singular voice to speak with the Psion. "To trade, for the knowledge we seek, we have knowledge to share. If your people may allow me passage into your planet, then we may discuss this further." The technological, yet melodic voice of the Builder rang in the Psion's mind. The Builder drifted backward. "The Congregation shall remain here, and I shall take my Teynen with me unto your orbit. Know this, though, the we are not your brothers in battle, if your adversaries come with a vast army and wrath to pay, then we shan't attack them, but if they wished to invoke the Congregation's wrath and indeed, mine, then they shall taste it in full."

Jargen rubbed his eyes in frustration. This was above and beyond his pay grade. First contact with a possible hostile species was not what he signed up for. He looked at his options. Either fire on the ships or be peaceful about it. The Admiral didn't like both. But he had to choose the second. He pointed to another comms. officer. "Send a message to High Command. Tell them of what has transpired exactly and to the letter. We need them to know about this." The man quickly set off to work while the Admiral sent a message "TF2786, you and your men go into escort formation with the unknowns that are heading towards my ship. And for the love of Fay'Ran Jik, explain your actions before formation." He heard a dozen clunkity clunks before the sound of Ti'Fin's heading off the hull. 'While I have to head down to the docking bay' he got off his command throne and stretched his legs and arms. Sitting on that for 4 straight days hurts you a bit. He stepped down and walked towards the sealing door and headed down towards the barracks/docking bay. 5 minutes later Jargen headed into the barracks grounds and shouted "OKAY YA LAZY CASTAWAYS!! WAKE THE HELL UP, YOU JAVE A JOB TO DO!!!" Before long, 900 Tayt Troopers appeared in full armour plus the 50 Krieg Troopers they picked up from Ly'Nus system. Jargen started walking back and forth in front of the formation. "While you lazy foot sluggers were sleeping in your beds, we navy pukes had to deal with a bloody first contact! I need Trooper Sergeant Daniela Carmine Tar'Tar's company as a bodyguard formation while the rest of you put dress gear on and show our might to these aliens!" The group broke off, Daniela and her company the only ones left. "Come with me. We are to meet the unknowns heading into the docking bay." They marched towards the docking bay and saw the contingent already making drills and marches. They walked down the isle of troopers and soldiers and stood tall as a squad of suit wearing unknowns landed in front of the 951 Democracies Soldiers.

Guthan nodded at the statement made by Laidach. So they had only recently begun to explore the stars, had they? Perhaps it was these Romans which had first attempted to conquer them. Xenophobia from invasion upon first contact could be a powerful force. Lucky indeed that they had not fired upon his task force without asking questions first. Lucky that he had not decided to destroy them. It was always better to wait in these situations of unknown magnitude. "It is an honor to us as well. Many of our first contacts went well, resulting in peace of some sort. In the end there was always death. Militarism ran rampant through most civilizations we met and the others imploded, destroying themselves in the throes of civil war. Fortunate it is that we find another civilization that is stable," Guthan responded. Perhaps we was giving away too much with his hints at the earlier meetings. Perhaps not. They had no way of knowing that it was C'ran that had initiated the conflicts and if they surmised so...his fleet outnumbered theirs enough to cleanly destroy it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ships sat above the asteroids, having spread out to ensure maximum coverage of the area and so that no one weapon could destroy the small group in one shot. Though looking at the stations below them, it seemed to be more of holding area than a fort. As the response was received a message was sent back to Organon, the coordinating center of all actions military in nature. Orders were received and began to be carried out. "The release of those responsible for the attack into our custody would be most desireable. One of our ships shall move forward to dock with your station and pick up the prisoners. A diplomatic envoy will arrive after we have left to initiate true diplomatic contact." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Pirees. Talking to General Velkorn would be most helpful. I am ready to go to him immediately if you are." (Horrible post but something needed to be put up)

The Grand Admiral, accompanied by two of his elite guard, shifted nervously. Ilak'Hrak did not usually come even remotely close being nervous- today was an exception. He conquered all the Major and Minor Warlords through Honor duel, beating every single one of them and anyone else who challenged him. He was the first in three hundred years to do so without being maimed and mortally wounded, much less win them all. But it had been more than six hundred years since someone had been "invited to the Major Forerunner's Citadel, the most heavily defended building in the empire- which says something. Oddly, it stood on eight legs about three miles above the planet's surface, radially arranged so that it looked more like a giant octopus, bristling with shields, weapons, sensors, collectors, and other items that would have use in one way or another. A single arm extended straight down from the middle; a hundred feet above the ground, it stopped had was busy using mining lasers and various advanced mining equipment to drill into the planet's core, for some unknown purpose. The Grand Admiral couldn't help but shiver in the air. He was outfitted in his ceremonial- though it can certainly be used- white-gold armor, minus the helmet. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly meant to keep the wearer warm or comfortable, but present the most imposing, commanding image. And the Forerunner's citadel was frigid to the point of freezing, and as desolate as a tomb. Around him, in the 'waiting room,' pillars that were decorated to be stone (but probably made from reinforced titanium alloy) stood along the edges of the room, towering and powerful, runes that even he didn't know etched into their sides. Benches stood along the perimeter of the room, hidden in even colder shadows. He couldn't believe this was the most impenetrable fortress; it seemed to be completely unarmed, at least on the inside. As if in reaction to his thought, doors opened in each pillar, and a small black-glass ball extended halfway out. Moments later, the high-frequency lasers emanating from them began heating up the room, and moments later, the doors on the far side of the room opened. A Draconian, wearing only the Draconian equivalent to trousers of spun titanium, strode into the room. The Grand Admiral angered slightly- so this was the one that kept him waiting in a freezing room in the legendary Forerunner fortress. The Major Forerunner himself was astonishing- his eyes were probably the only organic things left, and even then, you could see augments embedded in them, little blue lights shining next to his slitted pupils. His scale must've been painstakingly removed- every single of his normally-light-blue scale had been replaced by shining, glittering alternating scale- they seemed to alternate between black, electronic pieces and pure titanium-alloy scales, presumably to act both as shields, sensors, and armor. And looking at the Forerunner closer, the Grand Admiral felt, for the first time, afraid- The Forerunner is a female. Female Draconians were rare, and were often tenfold as dangerous as males, being smarter, faster, and far more aggressive. Physically, the only differences were that they were finer, more wiry than thick, and with smaller scale. The eyes that glittered at him shone with a very dangerous light- one that clearly saw him as either a great ally, or a great threat. She regarded him from the doors, before, in a so very small gesture, jerking her head behind her, before she turned and walked back through the doors. The Forerunner's posture was perfect; shoulders squared as any proud Draconian would do, with her chin up, tail swishing slowly behind her. The Grand Admiral felt like he was walking into Hell's palace as he followed numbly behind her. He had two soldiers, the best in the empire, and himself, with armor and weapons hidden within. And he felt as if he were as outmatched as a scrat to a drake- small prey-slug against a young Draconian.

***Several long minutes later of walking through an icy fortress***

Each door opened at their approach, a host of locks and bolts clicking back to allow them to open, acting as airlocks, blast doors, and obstacles, each one with laser defenses surrounding it, all down the hallways. Nothing was connected; the lights were fist-sized glowing balls of light, hanging in the air without help. His two companions stared at them in awe; there was no evidence of anything of the anti-grav nature, nor was there the faint shimmering of a shield. The hallways were long and frosty, bare and undecorated- the larger rooms extended from great, empty ballrooms with shimmering chandeliers to central rooms with great ice sculptures extending from the center through level after level, towering up. They seemed to walk endlessly; it didn't seem possible to be walking in a straight route, and not end. He knew she was not going to kill him, for sure- she could've done that at any point along the way. Everything was designed to let her kill anything and everything inside the building; the hallways had no cover whatsoever, making hiding from lasers next to impossible. Frost covered everything, and ice sculptures were in every room, leading to the possibility of melting and being re-frozen to trap any unwary. The design of the place made it seem like an old medieval castle- titanium bricks, more like, though holes could be seen everywhere, leading to a conclusion of spikes or weapons, energy or not. Countless smaller doors stood, flush with the walls, suggesting escape routes or places where drones might appear. At first glance, it had an icy royalty, but on inspection, it looked more and more of a death trap. Finally, though, a door opened and she strode through, her body shimmering slightly as she entered. Wary, he followed her, unsure of what might happen. As he did so, he felt his entire body lurch slightly, as if everything was trying to go in a dozen different directions, each organ pressing against another in the most uncomfortable way. Inside, there was a frosty mist hiding the floor- another possibility for a trap- with guards with similar wear to the Forerunner herself standing along the perimeter. The room was circular- and massive. In the middle, there stood what could only be described as a giant vat of pink/red colored liquid, hoses leading from the hidden floor into various different parts of it, presumably pumping in and out materials. The Forerunner stood in front of it, again, regarding him coldly. The empty room felt weird, as if there was something coming from the vat, bouncing off the walls and across the room, just to bounce off again. It had a power, he decided, that he couldn't explain. His two guards shifted nervously, very clearly disliking the current position. The Forerunner gestured at them vaguely; relieved, they took the message as dismissal and hurried out. It seemed that their loyalty meant little in this place, and indeed, Ilak'Hrak felt the mental barriers of discipline and willpower eroding the longer he stayed here. He met her eyes, with effort, and kept them, trying to force his barriers back up. The Forerunner's face twisted in confusion, and the Grand Admiral felt that ever-present erosion suddenly burst, as if it were trying to flood his barriers and tear them down with it. He kept his eyes locked; he feared what she was doing, but wasn't going to give up. Moments before his barriers fell and he burst into anger, the pressure dropped away. But nothing was how it had been before. Perhaps he had blacked out, or simply not paid any attention to his sight, but now there were a dozen of the silent guardsmen, with their white-and-black scale, standing around him, each drawing two weapons- what appeared to be technologically advanced throwing axes, presumably as both a melee and throwing weapon. Unusual, but tradition does have its little things that stick by through the ages. He faced enemies before, outnumbered or fair, but never ones with such advantage, nor with the numbers or weapons these had. He was unarmed, more or less, and the Forerunner may or may not have him killed. Then they were gone, in a blink of an eye, and icy mist floated down from their positions. He blinked; then it hit him. She was manipulating him, making him feel what wasn't actually there, making him see. He didn't break down from a mental attack, nor did he try to surrender or attack when surrounded. He followed but kept wary of his surroundings, not following blindly, and all throughout, she never said a word. She didn't have to- he suddenly knew that she was, indeed, pleased with him, and that he had her support. He was receiving a new flagship, one of the Forerunner fleet, and that she was watching him. He looked towards the vat, about to question her, and again, she put the answer right into his head. That vat was a collection of blood, support, and brain cells, interlocking into a massive, five hundred kilogram brain that connected to her remotely. He turned, examining the guards along the walls, half-hidden in darkness and mist, and studied them as best as he could. He came to the same conclusion as the one that she gave him- each of them were copies of herself, each of them controlled by her. She wasn't really a she- she was an it, and it has been alive for thousands of years. And yet, it thought itself a she. He gave her a slow smile- a human would call it a grimace or a bearing of the teeth- and bowed to her. The next moment, he was in a flagship's CIC, the world spinning and the sound of an explosion ringing in his ears. He fell to the floor, banging his shoulder against what is presumably a command seat, and he looked up. Draconians looked up from their stations, regarding him with hostility and anger before recognizing him, where they then relaxed and shook their fists at him, a Draconian symbol of respect for a leader. Standing up, shaken, he waved off the first inquiry for orders, and retreated to the captain's quarters. He sat down, breathed out a sigh, and waited to calm down so he could be the same disciplined soldier as he was before. That Forerunner- she must've been an emmer- with a vat that size, psionic energy has a great deal better of a chance to be made, and with a 'brain' the size of a tank, she could probably control the electromagnetic fields inside the entire fortress. She's the one that kept the lights floating in air, the one that kept it freezing and cold. It would be several days before he was back to himself. ((Sorry if I'm all over the place with this post. No one was posting and I had an idea I took from the book "Force Cantrithor," so I just went ahead and used it. And Duck, if you wanna complain, then know that if you wanna go against her or do anything with her, you're going to have to defeat the entire Draconian nation, both on the ground and in the sky, so at that point, you're overpowered anyways.)) ((I wrote this on a hunch and did absolutely zero to organize it or anything.))

Long Ago, In a Galaxy Far Away "Falling out of warp in five... four... three..." "Prepare for realspace emersion!" "One!" The burgeoning craft of ethereal metal wrenched itself back into reality at the furthest fringes of the galaxy, where the accumulated light of billions of stars pulsed brightly behind it. The shadow of the Leviathan was cast into the dark depths of intergalactic space, where only the distant twinkle neighboring galaxies illuminated the void. A keen eye could make out the shape of Andromeda, the largest galaxy in the local cluster, twenty million light years away. Though there was something closer that glowed dully, quite unlike the keen pinpricks of brilliance that were stars. Whatever this thing was, it was powerful; its energy reading surpassed that of a supernova, despite being on the size of a smallish space station. Such a small anomaly would be overlooked by most galactic empires, their sensors unable to detect an object of such miniscule scale at such a great range. The crew of the Leviathan, however, thrived on such anomalies. Their precisely-tuned sensors were designed to pick up on that which others ignored. Space pirates in this day and age were able to get by without such equipment, as well as a great deal of tenacity. The latter of which had been mostly important. This anomaly was not only powerful, it was mobile, hurtling through space at sublight speeds. They had plotted its course through intergalactic space upon detecting it, and planned this point to be its closest approximation to their galaxy. Sure enough, there it was, hurtling through the void like a comet from hell. The Leviathan deployed its tractor field, a multi-purpose tool designed to either stop enemy projectiles, or steal enemy cargo, directly before where the anomaly was predicted to pass before them. The crew held their breath in anticipation, awaiting the capture of this thing, or the failure thereof. Then, faster than they could comprehend, the anomaly struck the field, rocking the entire ship. The lights flickered, the power drain of the tractor field threatening to shut down the entire ship. It shuddered and groaned from exertion, but the ship held, as did the field. And the strange thing caught in it. The object, clearly some manner of arcane, alien ruin, was larger than they had predicted. It was not the entire thing that was approximately space-station sized, merely only its glowing core. The entirety was far larger, easily eclipsing the Leviathan. Battered and broken by eons of spaceflight, the anomalous ruin held together by unknown means, most likely the power source deep within it, which threatened to overload the ship's sensors. A squattish creature at the ship's controls tapped at them wildly, amazed by the readings from their capture. "Captain, we've secured the anomaly. Should we send probes to investigate?" The captain of the Leviathan, a renowned and reviled plunderer and war-criminal, infamous across the galaxy, rubbed his beard thoughtfully with his organic hand. "No. Prepare a boarding party. Whatever this thing is, it's special. And I want to experience it firsthand." Their boarding craft was prepared in minutes, the Captain choosing his most trusted crewmates to accompany him. They sailed directly into the open core of the anomaly, soon enough finding that the labyrinthine structure within was far larger than they anticipated. Even so, they traced the tremendous energy signature to deep within the core of the structure, flying steadily through the cavernous ruins. The Captain barked orders all the while, some to his crew, most to those still on the Leviathan. "Do we have the translation matrix running?" "I've started on the runes on the exterior. 'The least of gods shall rule over the greatest of mortals, and death shall reign over all.' Something to that tune, anyway." The Captain liked the sound of that. "Any word on the composition?" "Carbon dating is still processing. Considering this shouldn't take more than ten minutes, my guess is that this thing is older than we can measure." The Captain really liked the sound of that. Eventually the caverns narrowed, and the boarding craft could no longer fit through them, and so the boarding party proceeded in exosuits. Quickly, caverns became hallways, and artificial gravity flooded the chambers. The party's instruments detected an atmosphere, but the elemental composition was mostly unknown. None risked removing their exosuits. Even so, the energy readings were growing stronger, as it seemed they were growing closer. All of this so far had just been structure around the actual power source. Could the energy of a supernova actually be contained in something small enough to fit in here. They soon had their answer. At the end of the hall, the maze ended abruptly, with their goal clearly visible. It didn't look like much, but all of them could feel the power of this artifact in their etherite augmentations. The entire room thrummed with energy, and the pirates were awed into silence. Something so mighty and so ancient could not be crafted by any being they knew of. The creator of this thing was merely the first mystery; why had they made it? What purpose did it serve? Finally Sha'ruu, the masked and winged genius that padded behind them on his metal paws, spoke up, "Well, Veldal? We've found this impossible thing. What do you want with it?" The Captain of the Leviathan, Veldal Kalen, grinned and spoke, "Have you ever heard, Sharry, old girl?" He clenched his etherite hand, electricity arcing up the length of his augmentation. "To make an omelette, you need to crack a few eggs."

Doctor Pirees led the Sakari through a series of hallways, each one lined with cots holding injured members of many different species, the majority Roa'marii. As they walked, they passed a steel door, muffled screams could be heard from behind it along with the sound of power tools being used. Seeing the Sakari glance nervously towards the door as they passed it, the doctor began to calm his fears. "This is a medical facility of the Queen's Cross. Many of the soldiers who brought you here were injured in the fighting at the place they found you. The Valkerie are excellent fighters, but due to the augmentations to their bodies allowing them flight on their metal wings they are quite hard to operate on. Damaged wings need to be fixed, and the process is unfortunately quite difficult and painful. Don't worry, your state seem to be caused by an over exertion of mana rather than any major physical injuries. Now, the General is currently working on another species which we have found are quite averse to iron And as such are kept in an old underground facility. Please watch your step, you don't want to add to your injuries." After going down a set of stairs, the two entered a large room in which the fairies were being kept. As the Sakari watched the gathered creatures, they approached general Zer'icia Velkorn who was tending to the needs of one of the creatures who was clutching a pot of gold in its hands. "General Velkorn, this patient of ours wished to see you. He is apparently the only of his race picked up at Finnegan's and now that he is awake you should be the one to assess his state of health." "Thank you Doctor for bringing him here, I will be sure to explain everything I can to him. You may go back to those above. Now, my new friend, who exactly are you?" General Sta'falia Silvad and her squad of Valkyrie landed smoothly before the xenos. Her helmet then brightened, allowing the xenos to see her face. Then, folding her wings once more, she began to speak. "I am General Sta'falia Silvad of the United New Roa'marii Empire. It is a pleasure to meet you and to welcome you to the Sovereign State of Dullahan, a part of the United Empire. Now, I would like you to explain who you are as well as your purpose for being here."

"You are in the Carrier Freedom's Right and the flagship of the 101st Exploration Patrol and one of the many in the Fay'Ran Jik Democracies. We were given coordinates and were else there to find new territory for our Democracies. I presume that this is your nations territory? I can send you a first contact package containing Democracies culture, people's and such. I hope for peaceful contact between our nations." Jargen set his clenched fist over his heart, a sign of Krieg respect. The Admiral studied the alien a bit closer. The presumably female general had wings like the Tayt, a gene from their previous avian heritage, Jargen presumed. He led the group through the parade lines of Tayt and Krieg. Their armour was polished and shining in the light, all of their medals were showed proudly and the advanced weaponry of the Democracies was resting on their shoulders. "We want peaceful contact" the Krieg continued "and an ally in this galaxy. I would assume that you would as well, yes?" He led them through the blast doors and into the metal corridors of the Freedom's Right. He turned a right and stepped into the first door. If a room could be described, this room would be called humble. It was a rectangular room with an oval table with chairs in the middle of the room. There was a blue holo at the end of the table and a 3D map of the Galaxy on the wall. He motioned for them to sit and when everyone was seated, Jargen sighed and went into a cold demeanour. "To be honest with you, we need allies. Our other mission was to apprehend a threat to national security. The Krieg Warlord Adolf Von Hilfer." He brought an image of a normal Krieg with oversized pauldrons "This was a mission sent from the highest in the command chain. This is important. He escaped from High Maximum Security Prison, killed most of the staff and gathered a huge amount of murderers, serial rapists, thieves, cutthroats, the lot. Threats to Democracies safety. He stole the Heavy Frigate docked onto the station, took the crew hostage and took off. The problem is, that frigate was containing a high amounts of explosive residue. Enough to destroy a planet." He sighed and finished with "Ever since, he gathered his old "crew" and has rampaged across our territory. He disappeared four weeks ago. He was gone ever since. We need help. This man is a threat, a high security threat. And I need allies." A savage grin appeared from the shadows of the room. Blood trickled from the black teeth and a pus loaded hand touched the table. "Brothers, our renewal has begun. We have gathered our forces. The death of Life itself is at hand. Ready yourselves, for the Crusade will begin." (I am so sorry. I am incredibly tired. This is literally the worst. I just need rest)