[center][color=0088FF][b][u]Eastwing ship [i]Gravitational Variable[/i][/u]
[sup]Orbiting Khas, the Eastwing Homeworld[/sup][/b][/color]
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The [i]Variable[/i] was the culmination of decades of effort and theory. Trillions of funds had gone into the project, diverted from public works into the Arts Fund. President Kate had been livid at the time, and still held grudges against certain congressionals. Yet, staring at Khas from the formal ballroom on board the [i]Variable[/i], she felt something stirring in her chest. The clean white lines flowed gracefully away from the window, curving toward Meson's tiny point of green light in the distance. She turned her head at the approach of Fred Kwan, head designer of the [i]Variable[/i]. Her accompianing cloud of microdrone cameras followed her head movement.

Kwan stepped off the pillar he'd been walking down and onto the floor. An equally impressive cloud of microdrones trailed behind him.

"Mr. Kwan," Penelope said, plastering a smile onto her face.
"Madame President," Kwan returned her greeting.
"A very fine masterpiece," she said. "If somewhat expensive." One of Kwan's microdrones nearly fell to the ground as it passed out of the pillar's artificial gravity field and into the floor's.
"If some infrastructure on Khas had to be sacrificed, consider it part of the [i]Gravitational Variable[/i]'s context."
"I'm sure this ship will be a great inspiration to those still suffering from brownouts in the capital."
"People always did seem to appreciate your candor," Kwan said, gesturing to her cloud of microdrones with his drink.
"It's part of my charm. My chief of staff informs me that ratings haven't been higher. Not even for the master designers."
"Hmm," Kwan said. A woman floated down toward Kwan from the zero-gravity dance bubble in the ballroom's center.
"I think your latest wife would like to dance," President Kate said.

His wife landed on the floor, stumbling into Kwan. She practically melted onto his back.

"Oh! Hello, Madame President," she said.
"Hello, Mrs. Kwan. You're looking youthful," Penelope responded.
"Thank you. C'mon honey, I learned how to do this spinning thing I want to show you!"
"I'll see you at the engine shakedown," President Kate said to Fred.
"Of course, Madame President," Fred said before being dragged up the pillar again. The couple bounced back into the dance bubble, Fred's wife executing a complicated twirling maneuver. Penelope walked over to the bar - which snaked its way along three walls and a floor - and grabbed another Chromatic Fizz. The complicated, snaking, tortuous artificial gravity fields  throughout the ship required two fusion plants to sustain. A third plant was dedicated to the sublight gravity drive, and a [b]fourth[/b] one was dedicated to the experimental "warp" FTL drive.

All the while, people in the capital suffered from brownouts as the aging power lines and transformer stations decayed. It should have been easy to appropriate funds to such vital infrastructure. Many congressionals [i]wanted[/i] to appropriate the funds for infrastructure upgrades. But then some artist or another would come by with the latest whiz-bang stardrive or spaceship designs and the public insisted - no - [i]demanded[/i] that they be built. 

Who cared about rusting pipes and powerlines when you could go exploring?

The only congressionals who could do anything against their electorate were the ones about to retire. Everyone else needed some form of deal. Eastwing's laws were already getting rather tangled with loopholes. So Penelope ended up with understaffed work crews upgrading infrastructure as fast as (if she was lucky) it broke. It wasn't technically supposed to be her problem. But nobody else seemed to care.

[center]~o~0~o~[/center]
[center][@ClocktowerEchos]
[color=#66aa11][b][u]Eastwing ship [i]Vegas Aurora 13[/i], approaching the Ryuan System[/u]
[sup]Several minutes ago[/sup][/b][/color]
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With a sound (carefully generated and piped through internal speakers) like space itself was tearing in two, the [i]Vegas Aurora 13[/i] slammed back into realspace. The transit was accompanied by a beautiful wave of blue sparks, most of which proceeded to spin lazily off into space.

[color=gray][i]Bridge[/i][/color]
The bridge was silent save for the hum of life support and the occasional warble of computer input. The [i]Vegas Aurora 13[/i]’s creator had opted for a glossy, sophisticated finish to reflect the scientific and exploratory nature of its mission. Holographic screens flickered in and out of existence all around the bridge, with the attendant Exploration Squad personnel calling up this or that function. A cloud of microdrone cameras wafted through the bridge. You could always count on them being near the bridge or observation lounge after a bluespace transit.

“Translation successful, Captain,” reported Commander Eli Vance. His wrap-around tribal yellow body paint started on his bald head and finished on his feet. “Sensors report seven planets and an asteroid belt.”
“Xenodiplomacy, any contacts?” the captain asked.

[color=gray][i]Xenodiplomacy[/i][/color]
Being a long-range ship, the [i]Vegas Aurora 13[/i] had a dedicated xenodiplomacy department. Said department had a direct link to sensors and telecomms, a small shuttle bay, and xenobiology - a neighboring department with the capability of simulating alien atmospheres. Xenobiology also had a number of pens and dissection equipment for non-sentients, but that section was off in a corner, hidden from any potential alien visitor’s view. 

“We’re picking up what appears to be comms traffic, sir,” Kirra Nerise reported.
“Alright, do your thing, xenodip,” the Captain said.

Kirra accessed telecomms, and sent out a general hail.

[hider=General Hail][b]Attention alien species! Greetings! We come in peace. We are a race known as “Khasi”, from a civilization known as “Eastwing”, and are interested in establishing trade relations. If you understand this message, please respond on a similar frequency. If you do not understand this message, please respond anyway. If your response takes the form of weapons fire, please [i]don’t[/i] respond.[/b][/hider]

[center][color=#66aa11][sup]----->  Now  <-----[/sup][/color][/center]

“Proximity alert,” the computer reported. “Astral object closing.”
“Looks like they got our hail, Captain,” the sensors officer said. “I’ve got a ship coming toward us.”

Captain John asked, “Are their weapons armed?”
“I’m not reading any localized energy buildups,” the sensors officer responded.
“But who knows if they even need to arm their weapons before firing,” Commander Vance commented.
“Xenodip., what’s your read on the situation?” the Captain asked.
“They haven’t fired on us yet. That’s good,” Kirra responded. 
“That’s all your advanced degree gets me? ‘That’s good’?”
“We really don’t have enough data at this point.”
“At least they seem to care about aesthetics,” Commander Vance pointed out. “Reminds me of a space force ship.”
“Fine. Follow them in, helm,” the Captain ordered.