Trade lane 875 I-W. The three warships sat, weapons trained on the unknown ship. messages were bounced rapidly and as they stopped, there was a short silence before the collectives response was recieved, "Greetings. No attacking. Peace" There was a general sigh of relief on the bridge of the lead ship as they were always weary of a new pirate threat. The two flanking ships turned away and cloaked in to the darkness but the third remaining. The captain stood up and walked over to the communications officer, "Call for a trade enforcer. It was only a few minutes before the collective would detect another warp signature incoming. The ship moved closely to the collective ship and from the underbelly, a long mechanical arm extended and at its tip, a large cylindrical silver colored object. At this point a special message was sent along with it. "This is a commerce up-link. Within is a series of sample phrases that are commonly used by the races of this region of space. Please accept it as a gesture of friendship." There was a pause before another message was sent. "Please know that friendship is a rare thing in this part of the galaxy so please respect those who are around you while within the trade lanes and the nations borders. Is there anything else we can assist you with?" As that message was sent ,the ship turned to broadside but its very visible weapons pointed away. It would likely be seen as a gesture of good will. Along with the Commerce up-link, was a series of trade lane safety rules and protocols, frequencies for emergency aid requests and basic maps of the Ahmun Sul nations major landmarks. It was a lot to process all at once but it was set up as simple as possible. Nearby, the collectives sensors would likely see the trade lanes returning to its normal position. At this point, there were a few options. If the Collective had any more complicated questions, the ship would be more than happy to answer. If not, the ship was free to travel the lanes. There were a few worlds nearby, the most prolific being the Sevren system itself. There were docking systems that used simple codes rather than the traditional "may I dock" communications of old days. This was all made to streamline the process. You send the signal, you get a directional beacon transmitted for a dock. The "Commerce Unit" is rather simple. It is more or less a universal translator and if the collective decides to use it, they would input their language to the best of their ability and it will wireless transfer the information between other devices. The only downside to this unit is that it -always- transmits positional data for security purposes. If it is deactivated, the nearest defense force unit will be dispatched. The reason is that low level pirates will usually try to disable the unit as to keep from being tracked. The faster forces arrive, the faster a crime can be averted. ============================================================================================ Sevren System, Ahman Sul Space As the "Kaku" moved through the outer regions of the Sevren system, many eyes were on it. The Terrans may have thought their warp drive to be un traceable but in fact, there was a sensor system quite adept at detecting faster than light vessels. The Capitol system was by far the most protected of the entire nation and they spared no expense in making sure it stayed that way. Sensor pods pinged the FTL signal pretty far out. Inside a hidden command center, there was a hustle as the Outer most sensors picked up the FTL object. Various people could be heard "Track the damn thing!" "I'm trying!" "Its using some sort of H-class drive. Outdated but it could be a new threat." "Signal the Defense force, we have a possible hostile." "Pirates aren't that stupid, are they?" The Defense force required powerful sensors as they didn't have the forces to patrol the entire borders. They were well coordinated though and were rapid in their response. As the "Kaku" emerged from warp speed, there was a force waiting behind the ship as well as a small flotilla in front. Planetary shields were on as well as station defenses. Trade ships were re-routed away by the time the Kaku had arrived. It would be very obvious at this point to the Terrans that there would be no surprising the Traders. They were paid to be safe, their single goal was the protection of the lanes and their people. There was no real desire for the high galactic politics of the major nations. One of the ships moved towards the Kaku right as it began to transmit its message. The message was obviously received well as once it was fully transmitted, the entire fleet dispersed with the exception of two ships. "Terran Vessel Kaku, You're cleared to dock. We will guide you. Be prepared for any decontamination procedures. We appreciate the forewarning." At this point, there was a few options for the Kaku. They could ask the ships any questions they wanted or proceed to follow the ships. If they follow, they would be led over a massive trade lane. "below" the vessels would be a myriad of random ships of all types moving along with almost robotic precision. Engine lights could be seen far in to the distance before hitting a massive circular structure which served as a jump gate to some other location. Following them would lead to a major dock that would resemble a tuning fork. The arms would expand or contract to match the size of the hull. As the ship reached the correct docking position, the dock arms would latch on to the ship and small drones would deploy to map the hull and any other significant data the traders wanted. The inside of the docks would be a long hallway that used a blue scanning beam that would gather information on the surface details of the individuals boarding. It would gather basic information that would then be followed by a red radiation beam that will neutralize any chemical or radiation that would cause harm but not destroy the individual being scanned. Once inside, it would seem like a waiting area. People in chairs waiting and a desk up at the front. A lovely lady was sitting there and behind her was a giant see through wall that revealed a massive warehouse. The traders were very good at getting the most out of their property. A command station that doubled as a warehouse.

Almost immediately after the other ship sent out the message Legion detected the approach of another ship. However, they knew that, for the most part, they were safe now. This was not a hostile race, or a hostile system. In fact, judging from the messages they were getting and the amount of variety in the trade lanes, both in ship style and technological advancement, it appeared to be a trade hub of sorts. To verify this Legion began constructing a more advanced quantum structure within their ship, though the outside did not change. By the time the Trade Enforcer arrived they were applying the finishing touches to the Quantum Entanglement Viewing platform, or QEVP. They diverted their attention between the Enforcer's delivery and the use of the QEVP. While one portion of them accessed the main Collective and processed more of the languages and phrases, in addition to receiving what they quickly deduced to be a sort of translator, Legion additionally scanned the surrounding systems, and even further, galactic arm within several million light years. What they found were several more trading hubs, all with similar crafts as those they were currently interacting with, in addition to more trade lanes filled with a variety of ships. This was indeed a nation focused on trade, and this suited them just fine. With this discovered they began to focus their efforts on detecting the capital system. From the information given they were even able to construct an accurate multidimensional map of both the Ahmun Sul systems, the locations of trade lanes, and where their territory ended. Finally their knowledge of the alien species' language finished decoding, though it had not taken long in truth. It was at this point that their comms relay systems altered slightly so as to meet the frequencies upon which this race communicated. By doing so they made contact with the four nearby craft and began speaking, now fluently, in their language. The sound of the voice was biological, coming from one of the several ambassadors on the bridge of their ship speaking through a comms relay hub that had been integrated into said area of the craft. "Greetings once more, those of the Ahmun Sul. We graciously accept your gifts and thank you dearly for your hospitality. We will be heading to the nearest center of trade, or speaking to this Trade Enforcer if that is the necessary course of action to begin trade relations. We are, the Legion Collective and, as was said before," there was a light, somewhat feminine laugh then before the ambassador continued, "...we come in peace and wish no harm on you or any of those who trade with you unless fired upon or gravely threatened with legitimate hostile intent, which we genuinely hope to avoid. There was a brief silence as Leraeni, the ambassador who was speaking for the Collective, allows her kin, in their entirety, to transmit and process more data. In this silence Leraeni, who was the equivalent of a female for Legianan species, waited for the response of the Ahmun Sul Trade Group via which ever ship choose to first. Multiple comms links had been established so there would be no interruptions or feedback even if all four ships spoke to her at once. This, in addition to the mass processing power of Legion, and through them, her own mind, she would be capable of understanding all four simultaneously with little effort. In fact, even as they spoke with the ships they began reaching out, attempting to glean more information on their next destination--aka the nearest trade planet or hub, which would allow them to discuss trade agreements in length. While they could make contact from their current location it took more power from their ship to do so, and while such was not difficult for them to generate, they preferred to be as efficient, and as polite, as they could. Thus they would make an appearance once done where they were at that moment. It would be far more socially acceptable to make an appearance anyways, and likely better for the reputation they had just begun to create for themselves. This was just the first step of many after all. While the first exploratory craft had made peaceful contact already, one heading on a trajectory far from the Ahmun Sul Trade Group had just exited their Quantum tunnel to detect something rather troublesome. A small fleet of unknown armed craft, which upon detecting them, began to close the distance. Their ambassadors were not awoken upon the occurrence of this, but instead were placed under extreme defensive precautions, the portion of the ship--the middle--that they were in quickly prepared for quick locational alteration should such be needed. A null shielding system was quickly built to protect the ship and beneath the immediate surface of its hull weapons were constructed. While Legion was a peaceful people they did not take lightly to threats or threatening vessels bearing down on them. They were right to ready their defenses too, for the vessels approaching were pirates, unaffiliated with any one nation, who had happened upon their ship. However, the location that the Legion ship had exited the quantum tunnel had left them in an area of space, which belonged to the United Terran Federation. Perhaps the Collective would be assisted before it became necessary to mercilessly disable the systems of the pirate ships and subsequently devour their ships--at which point the pilots of said ships would be entered into stasis and quantumly scanned so as to discovered anything of interest in regards to their species and biological make-up.

Lt.Cmdr Nikal Ahman Sul Territory Nikal floated in the space behind the Tumen watching as the unknown aliens unloaded his crew, taking his own stock. Next to him floated the special operations platoon leader, a lieutenant and a fairly new one, this was his first command. A large command level radio sat between them, hooked into Nikal’s and the lieutenant’s suit as they listened to the evacuation underway. The bridge crew had already destroyed all of the equipment on the bridge and elsewhere but there was still a good amount of weapons and ordinance onboard the ship, all of this new nation to plunder and study. The two of them communicated with the rest of the crew in a half awake zombie like state, a skill the two haven’t used since training. Most of the crew was on their last couple hours of watch when the pirates attacked and had been up ever since. Everyone has visibly tired, even for a race who trained for conflict constantly and relished in their ability to deal with any hardship. This whole scenario was embarrassing for Nikal, not only did a singular rogue ship nearly destroy the Tumen but they had to be rescued by some unknown nation. As far as first impressions go this was not the best, they seemed pretty weak. After the evacuation ended the pair met the rest of the ships officers on the 12D docking spire, to discuss their next moves and how they feel about this new nation. “ 200 assigned 170 present sir, 30 dead from combat action with pirates” the officer, sighed obviously annoyed “. As far as the people who rescued us, they look like honorable people, they even have Aradites in their staff. They have put the wounded crew into some sort of medical ward, while the rest are in a holding area”. Nickel nodded “ Good, well I’m about to find out what they want in a second. Stay with the crew and monitor the wounded, I want one or two of you with each group at all times. Lt. Jilaal…” he said turning towards the Special operations platoon leader “ I want two of your men to accompany me up there, get the rest ready to operate at a moments notice” he said as two operators were waved over. Nickal peeled the emergency pressure suit off his body, revealing his disheveled and dirty dress uniform. Blood, probably his own, stained the collar and there was still the remnants of vomit on the front. Both of the operators that were with him were equally as dirtied, Aradite blood was spattered all over their, charred and pitted armor. The fatigue could be seen in their eyes and movements, they were slow and lacking the normal grace by which Aradites move with. While Nikal only had a pistol stuffed into the back of his uniform pants, both operators had their primary and secondary weapons on them in different states of readiness. Both pistols were holstered and their rifles were either slung off to the side or slung behind them as they walked up to the group of soldiers. Some of the non Aradite members might of found it funny that both weapons were loaded with the safeties off as they casually walked, this was business as usual to them. “ I am Lieutenant Commander Neavou Nikal of the Septonian Concordant, on behalf of my crew I would like to thank you for saving us and welcoming us to your home” he said, the guilt in his voice nearly too obvious.

Trade lane 875 I-W As the last warship left, the enforcer slowly began moving away to a decent distance, giving the collective "room" so to speak, a gesture of acceptance perhaps? The ship stayed with them though, the questions the collective asked required their presence a bit longer. "Greetings 'Legion Collective', we welcome you to your space faring neighborhood. We are capitalists by default and hopefully the information in that device makes our version of that practice understandable." The message was unassuming if the collective knew what capitalism was but the traders knew that not every race grew up with that in their background as prolific. "We have analysed your ship and your ASR (Ahmun Ship registry) is 75-n-Collective. This may or may not be needed in your future travels as some races that are clients or partners require a background check which that number will enable." The message had a short pause then began again. "We do hope this is not a burden but it is our way." At that point, the ship answered the question regarding the collectives next course of action. "You are free to travel as you see fit. The nearest trade hub is our capital world, expect the navy presence to be high and likely be watching you closely. With your vessel being very new to our nation, the information is not wide spread yet. Though they will likely not randomly stop your ship." After the message was received, the enforcer cut comms and turned away. Its engines lit up and it started to fly off before entering light speed. Space was cold here but the collective was obviously used to being alone among other races of this number. They were welcome though and the device aboard had the directions to the 'Market' which is a giant space station near the capital of Sevren IV. It operates as not only a front for the Ahmun Sul trade system but also many of the other nations. This place is where other smaller and larger nations set up as meeting places to discuss affairs between them. It may be the single most populated location, aside from planets, in the entire nation.

Taoshe Valag backed the group of senior admirals over toward the group before turning to face the Terrans, nodding in agreement. “ Actually that is the reason exactly, we are a simple and very communal people at heart. What you see on the surface is our history, what this planet would of looked like from the at the beginning of the Septonian age. However, every civilized planet needs a metropolis, a place for business and pleasure so we hollowed out the iridium caverns you see now and built truly massive underground cities. We used the iridium to build our starships and armor, making further excavation viable. We still have tons of it down here. Nearly 40% of the capital lies on a huge Iridium vein, who knows what else is down here” he said with a particularly excited tone. The senior admirals led the group down a series of corridors until reaching what looked like a huge conference room with a large table in the center. A large holographic star chart floated above the table while at either end holographic screens provided a closer view for those who needed it. The table was full of food, wine and other random delicacies from around the concordant. Cooked beasts, steamed and cooked plants and vegetables, wine, ale and a local honey mead that only makes appearances during harvest festivals, this was certainly the feast they were told about. In the room were two men, both in plain naval uniforms bearing the rank of lieutenant. They wore no campaign medals, no unit patches or anything. Usually this wouldn’t be an oddity by itself but given the high value visitors they had, why were two lieutenants with no combat experience in the room at all. The answer was known to Valag and the senior admirals in the room who could spot a JIIC spook from a mile away, but to Velka and the crew of the Syren these men would remain unknown. “ Please sit” one of the JIIC officers said “ Eat, drink…we have much to discuss” They pair introduced themselves as “Naval Intelligence Officers” and waited for everyone to sit before continuing. “ First I would like to welcome you to the Septonian Concordant, I hope our people and city are to your liking” The “ Naval Intelligence officer” said as manipulated the star map “ So far, we have fought two major battles with the Iscandarian threat, here at Jaques rest ( New Condria) and here at planet 11-A ( Falacia). One was a resounding defeat while on 11-A we failed to penetrate the outer defenses of the planet. At this stage in the war, we are looking to open another front to hit them where they are weakest, hence the reason we have brought you here. We would also like to hear of any other problems that could be a threat to our civilizations, and the own state of affairs in your areas of the sector”. Although friendly, the two JIIC officers were collecting intelligence on these new races, they wanted to know who they were but also wanted to know how the concordant could help. Being a small nation, the Septonian Concordant understood the importance of allies and would try their hardest to gain the trust of those in the room.

Sol System Trenderhoof horn started glowing for a minute as a small USB-like device floated out of it. Pock pulled out something similar, as both handed them to the Terran diplomats. The small devices seemed to radiate a small amount of heat, as if something flew through their casing. "These devices use a simple machine code system to interface with computers, and in the event that they do not fit your computers the interior is made of nanobots, so it can shift to be able to fit your computer. It contains all information regarding what we are capable of eating, what will poison us, preferred atmosphere composition, preferred gravitational force, and some cultural information." said Trenderhoof. The data on the them indicated that the Saratine and Equestrians would be perfectly fine eating whatever the humans would serve them, although it did state that besides the Griffons, Dragons, Seraphram, and Tygochan all Equestrians were herbivores. The guards left boarded the Equestrian's diplomatic ship as the diplomatic party stepped forward with Trenderhoof and Pock in the lead, no weapons on hand. Trenderhoof horn once again started glowing as a few objects floated out of his saddle bags. Amongst them was a bottle of Vodka, what was clearly a Russian Ushanka, and a set of pins for the Ushanka. "I have brought a few gifts, a bottle of Vodka, a traditional pony Ushanka, along with a set of pins for it. The pins represent various races and cultures within the Union of Equestria. I also like to ask, how did you manage to translate our language so quickly?" spoke Trenderhoof, handing them to the lead Terran diplomat. Amongst the symbols was a Dove holding a olive branch, a Dove alongside a Bald Eagle, what appeared to be a German Iron Cross, the head of a pony with a long horn, a sun, a moon, and most noticeable to the Terrans, what appeared to be a Hammer and Sickle inside a Soviet Star.

Noting the information given to them, the Collective utilized their newfound map, in addition to the one they had constructed themselves, and inputted the proper codes for re-initialization of their quantum travel. The ship, rather than turn, morphed, which would be in view of the departing Enforcer before it accelerated to light speed. The ships front became its side and what had been the back became the other side. In this way it changed directions without wasting any fuel. Energy efficiency was highly important to the Collective afterall. Even if they had plenty of it. Following this their systems entered activity, the ship's appearance began to warp, and then it suddenly snapped out of view, entering a quantum tunnel of its own creation and rapidly moving towards its destination. It arrived promptly, exiting the quantum tunnel, which folded back into its natural state immediately after. The Legion ship had exited practically on top of the trade "market", and thus only needed to fly through a small amount of space and then send a message requesting they land. This was a defining moment, the Collective concluded. This and all that followed would be a test of their diplomatic skills and ability to establish a stable trade route with the nation of Ahmun Sul. Once permission was granted, the Legion vessel, which they decided needed a name for the ease of other species, began to enter the docking area, moving into place. They were not sure what to do following the docking process. It depended on whether or not any instructions were provided. If they were not then two biological members of Legion, accompanied by a one non biological "swarm" of Legion nanites. These nanites would take the form of several orbs. The orbs would be silver in coloration and simply hovered on either side of their biological kin, with the third of them placed between their shoulders in the air. If something else was told to them this might change of course.

Lt.Cmdr Nikal High orbit, Havurna. Ahman Sul core world. It wasn't long before the Aradites were evacuated from their devastated ship. Triage units were working hard to save the lives of the survivors of their pirate encounter. At the triage center, there were multiple tables set up. Doctors seemed to hover around half of the group while nurses dealt with the others. A careful eye would notice that the majority of the nurse attended soldiers were hooked up to some sort of hovering IV machine. They were being pumped with sedatives to help with the pain. These people were not going to be saved, their wounds far too grievous for battlefield medics to heal and would take too long to reach an actual high end medical facility. The ones that can be saved though, it would be obvious that there was no expense spared in treating the survivors. This situation was dire, but over. There were no threats here that one would easily notice. The Aradites were always ready to fight at a moments notice, even the way they walked showed a general preparedness. Something the Karaut ahead wasn't used to seeing. "Are your weapons ready?" he said softly to his gaurds as Commander Nikal approached. A soldier near the Karaut was quick to respond. "Do not worry, if they intended conflict, they'd already be shooting by now." This only caused the Karaut to cross his arms and look towards Nikal. As Nikal moved ever closer to the station itself, the Tumen was being pushed out of the dock. Next to that, the triage was packing up and the newly deceased were being placed in to special caskets. It would be a while before the survivors were up and ready but at least they were stable. for the time being. “ I am Lieutenant Commander Neavou Nikal of the Septonian Concordant, on behalf of my crew I would like to thank you for saving us and welcoming us to your home” The Karaut took a step forward and eyed the Aradite up and down. noticing the clear damage to not only the soldiers physical appearance but seemingly his morale. No one could blame him though, losing so much so quickly. Being so far from home wouldn't help the situation either. "Well.. mister Nikal." The Karaut leaned over a bit to his left, eyeing the status of the Aradite commanders uniform and then sizing up Nikals entourage before returning to his original stance. "My name is Ufrid. I'm the emergency response liaison." He didn't seem to happy at the last part though "You're at station 12, orbiting the planet Havurna. Welcome, to Ahman Sul." "Your wounded will be in wing fifteen, which i'll grant you full access to. The ones who didn't survive are in warehouse two-twenty.. which will also be opened for you. Please forgive your dead being in a shipping warehouse but in all honesty, we really didn't have any other room aside from drifting in the vacuum."

Fergus responded to Lahnha, his voice so entirely monotone that nobody could tell just what he meant by it. "Whatever must be." A portal opened up in the room, but it wasn't the usual glowing blue one. The portal seemed less like a portal and more like a merging of the room and the destination. There wasn't even an outline to mark it, it simply existed, and seemed to toy with the minds of the others. A pain took hold in the heads of anyone who tried to figure it out, as if Fergus didn't want anyone to learn how he created it. It clearly wasn't a normal spell, as Fergus didn't move an inch when it opened, he didn't even speak. "Enter first. I must wait." Was all he said, apparently deep in thought about something. The Kaku chose to follow the alien ships, its crew floating in the giant room at its center in order to observe the scenery. They were amazed by the sheer amount of vessels in the system, as well as the present infrastructure. The crew chatted among themselves as they followed the aliens ships, kept away from the plasma window by a system of repulsor lasers that covered the inner part of the window. "Their ships are as common as cars are on Earth! They have to be the most advanced society we've encountered!" Another one took notice of the jump gate, pointing it out to the others who all stared in amazement. "The Krasnikov tube to Pluto is still under construction! They already have some kind of interstellar gate!" The gawking of the crew came to an end as the ship docked, some of them observing the alien drones outside of the plasma window. Both Rin and Hugh chose to enter the station, the rest being told to wait until they gave the okay signal. They found it odd that the Captain and First Officer were both going onto an alien station together without any backup, but then again, most of the best Terran leaders were extremely reckless in similar ways. Praskoviya Lovisa and her idea that the Captain should always be in the most danger, Fergus McClain and choosing to pilot a fighter instead of command a warship, and Archangel with his choice to always take point during the Second American Civil War. Rin and Hugh both complied with the decontamination procedures, somewhat surprised that such an ancient civilization didn't have major problems with drug-resistant diseases. Both of them took great interest in the decontamination equipment itself, carefully observing it before exiting the chamber and heading into the waiting room. That tech would save millions without access to nanobots Thought Rin, wondering if they could buy it somehow. When they entered the waiting room, they were shocked. Not at the number of species present, but that there were plenty of humans there as well. They immediately wrote it off as some kind of ridiculous evolutionary coincidence, but they couldn't help but remember the Mars Incident where dozens of flashes of light suddenly appeared over Mars. Earth hadn't yet recovered from the Third World War, and humanity was unable to cope with the constant natural disasters, so nobody was on Mars to see what the flashes truly were. Both Rin and Hugh had the same thought in the back of their minds: Perhaps there were Assuming it was what they were supposed to do, the two approached the woman behind the desk. They acted as if they were talking, though neither of them actually spoke. Standing just far enough away from the desk so as not to block a path to it, the two conversed silently, trying to decide on something. After a short while, they apparently reached a consensus and approached the woman. Hugh spoke first, assuming that his words would be translated. "Hello, I'm Hugh Klopas, Captain of the Terran Science Vessel Kaku." He said, then gesturing to Rin. "This is Rin Tomiko, my First Officer. We just arrived here, so we don't know much beyond old radio broadcasts, but I assume you're who to go to after arrival?" The Terran diplomat frowned at the mention of a defeat at 11-A. He knew little about the Iscandarian colonies, but he did know that A-11 was tens of thousands of light years from their homeworld. Being defeated a such a distant world was surely not a good sign, but whether it implied Iscandarian strength or Septonian frailty wasn't something he could deduct. Instead of asking how many ships they sent and what their capabilities were, he decided to present the Terran side of the war, not wanting to come off as condescending to the Septonians. He pointed to a star not far from Jaques rest (On a galactic scale, at least), he zoomed in on it, leaving the hologram to display a 25 or so light year sphere of space. Keeping his finger pointed at it, he spoke. "This is our home system, where we fought two battles against the Iscandarians, both before the current war began. One after that meaningless peace treaty, too. From what I know, we're either currently engaging them at that system or the battle has already been decided. Given the strength of our forces there, it is likely that we won already. They apparently attacked with eight hundred vessels, representing the bulk of their fleet. If they lost, then the Iscandarian war machine will be broken. According to the plan, if we've won, then their home system here is currently under attack." He pointed to a second star with his other hand, about twenty light years from the first, then continued. "We have enough firepower to decimate their homeworld, which is what we plan to do, but there's also an experimental weapon of some sort there. I don't know the details, but it's supposedly some kind of planet-killer. If that thing worked, then that firepower can be saved for upcoming battles. The invasion plan calls for every enemy world we come across to be ordered to surrender and threatened with bombardment. If they resist, then we destroy the planet's crust or use that superweapon on them. It sounds harsh if you haven't seen what they'll do to have their way, but believe me, it's the only way to defeat them. Their magic would tear apart any forces on land, so even if we could transport enough troops, they'd be slaughtered." Oh, and the horse-alien things are Russians too. Of fucking course they are. Oh look, Earth animals and Earth symbols. Why the hell is there an Iron Cross with a Hammer and Sickle? That makes no fucking sense, why would a ushanka have an Iron Cross on it? You know what, fuck it. Just fuck it. Alien horses and Vulcans exist. Nothing is going to make sense today. As he came back into reality, the diplomat heard them talking about them translating their language. He was obviously confused by the remark, and spoke while taking the gifts. "Thank you, but I do have to ask, we thought you were translating our language. Surely you are, after all, you are the ones with magic. We didn't even have an interstellar fleet until recently, relative to our extremely long history, of course."

Taoshe The JIIC officer saw the reaction of the Terran diplomat as he mentioned their defeat at 11-A. Raising an eyebrow, he decided to tackle that problem at a different time and focus on the task at hand. "So you are already fairly well aquatinted with the Eternal Union, I fear we all well behind the curve then". The intelligence officer manipulated the star chart so that he could view a system 50 light years from Jaques rest. Our most forward scout teams are setting up listening posts here" he said while drawing circles parallel to where the scout ship was. " this is our most current sensor net, which has been quiet since it was established. This used to be a source of worry for us but now that you have informed us of this battle It makes sense". The officer sighed, feeling like he was now ready to tackle the problems of their own defeats. " both defeats were due to naval supremacy by the Eternal Union. Our starships were designed with infantry and ground support in mind. Therefore we lack the anti-ship weapons so prevalent within this galaxy. On the ground, both on Jaques rest and 11-A our ground forces have the ability to win. Eternal Union soldiers seem to be undiciplined and inaccurate with their weapons, they also rely to much on stationary defence tatics which is easily countered by our mobile force. The only problem is getting there. We deployed 50 ships to Jaques rest to their 101 while deploying a special operations team to an asteroid outpost of theirs. They were compromised and escaped but the element of surprise was lost and their fleet moved into position." One of the admirals stood up and manipulated the star map, studying the systems that the Terran diplomat spoke of. " we would like to join your campaign, if their attention is focused towards your forces then it would seem that the weakest front would be to their rear." He zoomed in on a small system just outside of Sol, about 10 light years from Jaques rest. " we can set up a staging area here, on one of those planets and attack their flank from the rear. It would be an all in move for us, all 100 vessels would have to be employed." The other Admirals in the room nodded in agreement as they looked to the Terrans for a response

Taoshe Major Voroei let out an annoyed grunt "Destroy their worlds from orbit? What are you, one of the [Knights?]?" He growled as his tongue slid along his fangs, the translation device slipping up on the final word of his sentence "Have you no honour? A kha o a lor clearly that such a tactic may only be employed if you have already won, or in only the most extreme of circumstances. If you are so terrified of them and their magic, Terran, we shall crush their warriors for you." Voroei raised and clenched his right fist tightly around a piece of fruit, turning it into mush to punctuate his point before moving his hand to his mouth. His tongue darted out to the strange alien food, tasting the foreign flavour before rolling around it and bringing it into his mandibles, disappearing down his maw. "We shall grind them into dust, and scrape them as excrement from our boots." A minor finished for him, not approaching the table at all. In fact, both minor kept their distance behind their commander. Their rank did not permit them to join him, and he only could due to his position as the tongue of the council (at least, he was for the moment) Major Voroei paused for a moment before bowing his head down and taking a few steps away from the table. He spoke again in a the honour tongue, a short, untranslated prayer or perhaps wish. He reached down to his side and silently a small sphere raised from its resting place inside his armour. He took it and tossed it into the air... Suddenly it burst to life, hovering beside him as the holograms of the four high councillors came into view. Voroei dropped to his knees and spoke again "Foreign ones, these are our noble hierarchs; Mercy, Respect, Integrity and Wisdom." He gestured to each one in turn as he named them so that the aliens would know who was who. Their armour was much more decorative and ceremonial than his own, many symbols carved into it. The Minors behind him had likewise fallen to their knee, arms crossed over their chest almost like an Egyptian, a hand resting on each of their hearts. Respect turned his head slowly to face them and raised his hand into the air, speaking to them in a softer tongue. They replied in kind and slowly rose to their feet, but keeping their heads bowed down towards the floor. Respect slowly turned to face the aliens again and Major Voroei turned towards his four superiors, speaking softly. Mercy nodded in response and gestured, with the grace and deliberation of a dancer, for Voroei to return to his minors. He had been relegated, the council no longer needed him to speak for them. He stood as still as a statue next to his two minors, the trio obeying their councils orders to the letter.

Taoshe By the time the the major finished speaking Valag already had a tentative plan in mind. He watched the introduction of the Lorca hierarchs with great interest, it was all horribly foreign to him. Valag couldn’t understand living in such a restricted society, Aradite society was very similar but far more open. Junior officers constantly questioned their superiors and it was up to the senior officer to defend their experience. This made sure that the rank was earned and constantly upheld, you won’t see any Aradite not truly deserving of their rank. The result of this culture was mainly positive, soldiers became more candid with their command structure and crews were able to better mesh with each other. Every company had a different personality, combat style, strengths and weaknesses and every battalion has a different personality and specialty. The discipline remained however, due to the loyalty of soldiers to their command structure and their fellow soldiers. Training is tough, sometimes even tough then the conflicts themselves and every soldier has the utmost confidence in their leadership. “ Hierarchs” Valag said with the bow of his head “ I have seen Terran naval might and I have seen the power of the Lorca navy but I also see great potential in your infantry. Our weakness is in orbit but our strength lies on the ground, If the Terran navy can be the main force in space then I can pledge that the Septonian Concordant will take the fight to the Eternal Union on the ground. I do wish and cannot speak for the Lorca military, I do not know your capabilities or your willingness to engage in a war that isn’t yours. Any assistance you can muster will be matched in kind by Septonian forces, I want to crush this foe and I want to do it on our terms.” Valag manipulated the main star chart in the center of the room, zooming on the same system as Jaques rest ( New Condria) “ This is where we start, we will planet hop to the rear of the Terran home system and then attack the main Eternal Union naval force from the rear. From there we can consolidate our resources and forces and make the push inter Eternal Union territory.” Valag looked at the collection of people at the table and the holographic images of the Hierarchs “ Any questions?” he said gracefully swiping a glass of wine off the table before drinking it. Ahman Sul Territory Havurna Lt. Cmdr Nikal Nkial nodded and listened to where his crew was, it was clear that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The anger he felt made his blood boil but no one would guess that by looking at him, he wanted revenge. His ship was destroyed and his crew was either injured or dead with maybe a quarter still fit for immediate service. “ So you have a pirate problem” he said calmly “ A fairly serious one based on the strength of that vessel and your response.” The lack of sleep made Nikal extremely direct and blunt, he cared little for formalities right now. Lt.Cmdr NIkal was alway a direct man but he would give no attempt to try and curb that now. “ I need to communicate with my command, and if you could I would like to speak to a military leader”. Nickel blinked, his eyes staying shut for a couple seconds longer than he expected before looking back towards Ufrid. “ Is there a place I could sleep….” he said in a softer tone, the fatigue was starting to get the better of him

Taoshe The High Councillors spoke in their white tongue to each other for a few moments, soft and friendly, most of their speech ended by the same word, repeatedly, which must have been some title or address. "Ehlnada emero ni, Timinous." Mercy said, his hologram leaning forwards slightly towards the Aradite before looking around the chamber and setting his gace on the two JIC officers for a moment before drifting back to Valag "Your people do not wait for the command to eat; How archaic." He commented before allowing Wisdom to take over his line of thought "You do not know our capabilities, Timinous? Were it not for our ability to fight, the Ghaj would have fallen centuries ago." He waved his hand almost dismissively, as if waving off the mere thought of the Ghaj not being capable combatants "And neither for that matter is the honour of either of our parties." Wisdom concluded, clasping his hands before him as he allowed Integrity to take over, whose hands lay limply on the sides of her chair. She was the only female on the council, not that an outsider could readily identify that, especially not once she was covered in her ceremonial councillors armour. Indeed, it was hard to identify the gender of any of the council members. "What Wisdom means is that your honourable response is most admirable; These Iscandarians quite clearly hold considerable advantages over you Septonians just from your own descriptions; That your ships are not prepared for combat and that even your technology appears to be considerably behind theirs makes it most impressive that you stand your ground. Most Pellani do not." She commented, now straightening her posture and tensing her arms; It looked almost as though her relaxed position was now forced, like a display more than the more true relaxation she had been showing a few moments before. Mercy took over again, Respect remaining oddly silent rather than taking a turn to speak "We shall send warriors to that location, that we can promise. If we cannot spare a standing force or near-age Creche then we may raise a world-levy. No word, on the other hand, shall we make about ships, for sparing a true battle-group may be difficult given our current and long standing conflicts." Mercy bowed his head slightly at the phrase 'long standing conflicts' and then raised it again not a moment later "As for questions, Timinous; What are your forces for this conflict? Outline yours and I will outline what you can expect."

Taoshe Valag’s thoughts were not betrayed by his facial expression, ‘Archaic?’ he thought ‘ Do they think us savages?’. Valag dismissed the possible insult and tapped a series of commands into the display command panel. A flow chart of units appeared on the holographic display along side a smaller star chart. “This will be a fleet wide operations, all 100 ships will be utilized along with elements of the terrestrial navy. Task forces 1-4 of the terrestrial navy will be employed for any water borne threats we may encounter.” Valag pulled up an image of the different ship in the water based navy, which included four carriers and their destroyer and cruiser escorts “ The veteran 1st special forces group will spear head planetary landings, they will establish landing areas for the rest of the assault force. This will happen in secret and hopefully at night. The first combat forces to hit the ground will be the veteran 1st marine division, they will create a “beachhead” and destroy any enemy forces on the landing site.” Some may find it funny that they still use the term “beach-head” to describe a landing site, but Valag was deadly serious when he said it. This maneuver was practiced and re practiced with every possible wrench thrown into the mix. “ Once we have a presence on the ground, the Army’s 12th infantry divison will construct a forward operation base or secure a city if available. From there, we will begin landing supplies ammo and begin the invasion process. This may change from planet to planet but the process is basically the same” He looked towards Lorca Hierarchs in the room “ Questions”

Taoshe The councillors hologram emitter hovered towards the table, Mercy keeping his hands clasped before him as he examined Valags plan with no small amount of interest. He appeared obsessed with detail, his shimmering hologram leaning forwards towards the map. Respect, as was seemingly common for him by now, remained silent and gestured with his hand to Voroei and his two minors, apparently the silent gesture was easily interpreted and the trio returned to the table from their shadowy corner of the room and began to eat modestly in an effort not to insult their hosts customs... A sharp and obvious contrast to Mercy's comments on "archaisms" Integrity spoke again, maintaining her forced pose and composure "Timinous, a very wise warrior once said that knowledge of your enemy and yourself was the pillar upon which Empires are built. I expect knowledge of these Iscandarians will be routed through Voroei and to the appropriate warrior channels." Integrity silenced her own question to let Wisdom speak his mind, who had signal with a quiet raise of his hand. "This first veteran special forces group, Voroei and his Lance shall assist them in this task; Deadly shadows may lend themselves well to this cause. What defences can they expect to encounter? We do not want to lose the advanced force because someone missed some planetary security network..." Wisdom trailed off and Mercy interjected quite suddenly, cutting into the conversation "The Warriors inform us that for the initial invasions you can expect an Warrior Legion and one, possibly two Crèches Legions nearing age; They are of an average stock. We anticipate no problems with the Crèches', however the shapers shall not hesitate to dispatch discipline in the case that there are. It should amount to at least 10000 warriors, it is vert small but I pray it is sufficient. We can raise levies if not, parts of the Ghaj have not seen combat in a while. As for the navy, we shall send what we can spare. It wont be much but it may provide a relief force when we head to the Terran system and catch the Iscandarians in the flank." Mercy concluded, and Wisdom quickly took over, ifinishing off a point "Many more forces will likely be available shortly, we are exterminating the last traces of the invaders in the outer colonies, for now this is all we dare spare in case of another offensive, but our military commanders believe another offensive so soon to be unlikely." Wisdom stated matter of factly, and it was obvious from his tone of voice that the Ghaj was used to foreign invasions and warfare, so much si that he clearly thought little of the offensive. Indeed, they were rather cool in their attitude towards this war as well; War in general seemed an immutable fact of life in their eyes rather than something to be avoided or disliked.

Taoshe Valag enlarged the system he was talking about earlier and double tapped on Jaques Rest. " This looks like a nice place to start" quipped as the observation data synthesized, providing a visual overlay of the defenses. " From what we have gathered, it looks like this is a pretty standard defensive structure among Eternal Union worlds. Orbital platforms provide long range defense against ships while terrestrial defense platforms provide close proximity defense. The orbital platforms can be taken out at a range, we have discovered that if you sit outside of sensor range you can shoot and move before they get an accurate firing solution. The terrestrial platforms however must be taken out the old fashion way, charges and manpower". Valag sighed as he typed another series of commands into display and began drawing tentative battle plans. The images of 100 different Septonian vessels appeared on the edge of Jaques rest's sphere of influence " Sensor range is about here..." he said as he drew a circle around the planet " It requires a more forward ship to send targeting data but it can be done, we employed this tactic on 11-A and it was very successful. All we need to account for now is the shields which are immensely powerful, it would take a steady barrage to take them down. Once we do however, the planet will be ours". Choosing Jaques rest wasnt just a chance at revenge for Valag, but he knew that it was the only planet in the system that they knew.

Lahnha stepped through the portal, awaiting to see what was inside. Trenderhoof pondered the question for a minute before speaking again. "No I did not use the translation spell because the area of effect would have been huge, and their was left over mana from your fight with the species you mentioned. It seemed twisted in a way so I did not risk casting such a large spell might have caused some unwanted problems. I just found that I would instead use our much more simple computer translators, but because of your message we assumed you had already managed to translate our language."

"The shields will be easy to take out with our weapons technology." Said the Terran diplomat, downsizing the holographic map and bringing up a new image of a 12-turret warship, which he drew by hand in just a few minutes. "This is a Bastonge-Class warship, our standardized, modular-built frontline vessel. Those turrets are pretty standard fare, plasma and tungsten slug rounds, nothing special. However, it was designed with versatility in mind, so our engineers added this."

He carved away the hull, showing a cross-section of the ship. There was a long corridor in the center, running its full length.

"It's a weapon we call the Shackled Tachyon Lance, it has more power than the rest of the ship's weaponry combined. It fires a constant stream of tachyon particles using a superconducting railgun, a process that uses extreme amounts of power to accomplish. Tachyon particles, as you likely know, are not bound by the speed of light, and can move at any speed. Thus, when combined with this kind of weapon, they are absolutely devastating. I doubt a shield could hold out for long against multiple vessels employing these."

He returned to the holographic map, zooming in once more on Jaques rest.

"Now, I'm sorry that I didn't say this sooner, but there will be no need for invasion at Jaques rest. The Iscandarians bombarded their colony there without a second thought, it's what kicked off our war with them... aside from their greed. I can't go into detail as to their full intentions, but suffice to to say that this war is the most important conflict any Terran can imagine, and our imagination knows no bounds."

Switching back to the image of the ship, if only for the background it provided for his speaking, he continued.

"We cannot tell you how to create the tachyon ammunition for the lance. Not to sound hostile, but that information can only be revealed by the head of state under specific circumstances. What we can do, however, is ship you the ammunition and give you the plans for the firing mechanism. While the shield could likely be taken out conventionally, this weapon can do if far, far faster. Once our forces fully convene, our ships can take on the bombardment role. I suggest that we meet in our home system of Sol, as it has the best-developed industry in the region. Some repair and resupply, and we can move on into the rest of Iscandarian space."

Once again switching back to the holographic map, he marked Sol with a blue X and drew multiple arrows to it, marking the quickest and safest courses to Sol from allied space.

"A word of warning: do not protect us if the Iscandarians breach our defenses at the fourth planet in our system. If they do that, then you are to leave our space immediately. Again, I cannot give details. I apologize."

((Nowhere near everything I need to do, but I needed to at least get a Taoshe post out. Gonna post more later, I'm really busy failing English the day before the quarter ends.))

Taoshe

The Councillors glared at the Terran for a few moments "Orbital bombardment? You are an honourless, mongrel pup. We'll occupy your worthless, leashhead rocks, take your inane weapon and feed it to the reckless fools who created it. You have not considered what you have made have you?" There was a brief pause as Mercy took over, shaking his head slowly and clasping his hands in front of him
"And even if we didn't think it would cause a horrific fall out, we would still defy you for you defy them their right to trial by combat, and in turn you defy honour. Their honour and your own." The hologram Mercy declared, letting out a low and solemn growl and Respect quickly cut in to mediate, speaking for the first time. His voice was noticably more strained and his movements slightly slower; For Respect wasn't just old, he was the oldest living Lorca; A natural life of nearly 500 years

"If the Terrans did not feel that this was a necessary course of action then we would not be discussing it I am sure. However, as my brothers rightly note, this course of action stands against A Kha O A Lor. You are denying them a trial by combat and you ask us to condone it. The political, social and religious ramifications would echo for years. I am certain the Terrans meant no offence, they do not see our way." Respect noted, gliding slowly forwards over to the table and with his hand, the hologram had become solid by some alien technology, and swiped away the humans images as if demonstrating his disdainful opinion of their plan. Mercy took over from him
"There will be no orbital bombardment. We will give them a trial by combat; If you are too coward to carry out the sentence yourself, go hide in your third rock." He let out a low snarl and then turned his head towards Valag, clasping his hands in front of him peacefully again "Valag, I assure you the shields will be dealt with; The Ghaj has dealt with foes who hide behind such items before; This alliance can pop their bubble and continue our march to glorious salvation!"

((Yes, I know it's short. I'm very busy as of late))

The Terran diplomat simply listened to the councilors as they explained the various reasons why they would never bombard a planet and why the Terrans were honorless dogs. After everything was over, he spoke, his words taking the place of a heavy sigh that was building up for quite some time.

"We were talking about the shields. Since you are confident that you can invade one of their worlds, I have already composed a message to our High Admiral requesting that no further orbital bombardments take place. You are far more experienced than my people in interstellar warfare, and if you say you can do something, I have no doubts in your ability. I cannot deny that this weapon was designed to bombard and kill the populace of a planet, but you must understand that we had no choice. As you have likely noticed, my species is quite frail and our planetside weapons technology is not quite up to par. Do not get me wrong, orbital bombardment was the last thing we ever wanted. You can claim us to be ignorant, you can say that we are blind, and you can say that we are cowards, but in all those I must respectfully say that you are wrong. We know the horrors of genocide quite well, thanks to our own blunders. You might be able to argue that the dehumanization-pardon the term-that results from the impersonal murder of millions from orbit makes us blind, but what I refuse to let you say is that we are cowards. A hundred thousand of our warriors died fighting in a battle they could have refused, only to have the survivors return to say that the Iscandarians had destroyed the planet they were asked to protect. It is an insult to them and every other Terran servicemen and women that has died in this war."



"The only reliable method of translation we have is cranial nanobots, and we only use those if we have no idea what is being said... no, there must be some explanation... but... do we speak the same language?"