[IC] From Stardust, To Stardust

[Jeddaven]

Sol System, Outer Oort Cloud

"The humans are under threat. Fleet Primaris Sol, commence deployment. You are cleared to utilize lethal force. Target any extraterrestrial forces deemed hostile to homo sapiens with extreme prejudice. This message has been authorize by the High Council. Any extraterrestrials that refuse to lay down arms are to be terminated at all costs."

High Admiral Tripemon paced frantically around the ready room of his flagship, the eyes of the Imperial Quasar, his senior officers watching him intently. When the admiral froze, they did too, hanging on his every movement. He sighed deeply, his battle-scarred tungsten shell glimmering in the artificial light.

"Order all craft to battle-ready status. I want transports ready to deploy supplies and ground troops to Terra by the time we pass Pluto's orbit. Prepare implosion charges for immediate launch. Questions?"

Tripemon's communications officer spoke up immediately. "You're not going to send a message, sir?"

Tripemon chuckled, shaking his head. "No. I want these aliens, whoever they are, to know that any strike against a race of science is a personal affair for us, and I want the humans to know that we intend to protect their freedom. I want them to know that we are not about to be trifled with. You all have ten minutes to prepare for battle. Then I will deliver our ultimatum."

Bridge of the Imperial Quasar

The High Admiral nodded to his communications officer. "All possible frequencies. Open a universal comms channel with advanced linguistic decoding. I don't want any misunderstandings. Send supplemental methods in the form of numeric code."

"You're on, sir."

"Very well, then... Greetings to the invaders, to the human race. I am High Admiral Tripemon of the Bicirrigan Interstellar Meritocratic Republic. The beings of tungsten and technology that inhabit the isolated fringe of the galactic West. I have been ordered here by my government to monitor and protect the human race from outside threats, with lethal force if necessary. I come not as an oppressor, only as a guardian. I have no intention of ruling any part of Sol, not do I intend to establish military bases in Sol without direct permission from the Terran government. Our sensor net has recently detected an unwelcome incursion upon the system of Sol. This an incursion that my government, under no circumstances, will tolerate. This is my only warning to those who would stifle intellectual freedom. My fleet serves only as an arm of Earth, for the time being. I have been ordered to allow a minimum of ten minutes for a response from the invaders before I order my craft to exterminate them with as much prejudice as our guns can muster. Your ten minutes begin...Now."

[null123]

Sol System
A message was beamed back by the Iscandarians, directed at the new contact

"We have no intention of stifling intellectual freedom, the Eternal Union is passionate about the advancement of science and its various fields, however the terrans have committed atrocities that we cannot let happen further. Two atomic strikes were recently launched, both at population centers. Combine this with many past historical documents and media files that the Terrans themselves sent us, it was necessary to intervene to prevent them from destroying themselves."

Several files and videos were sent, detailing several horrors committed by the Terrans themselves. One in particular focused on a past Terran nation called the US, focusing on a bacteria known as Ebola. This was used in conjunction with nuclear weapons to exterminate most of a group of religious people called Muslims. Science centers were also destroyed as a result of the fallout.

"If you do not believe us, ask the Terrans themselves. We are intervening so as to stop them from destroying themselves. They have great potential as scientists, but it is be wasted on violence."

((Before you ask, this is actually a thing me and Key setup. The whole US murdering muslims with ebola and nuke is planned))

[Jeddaven]

Sol System

The High Admiral almost chuckled after watching the videos, smirking at an empty viewscreen. "You expect these things to surprise me? Every species, no matter how noble, makes mistakes. Every being is fallible, driven towards chaos, just as the universe they were born from. Our species has made its own fair of horrible mistakes, just as I am sure yours has. Yes, these things you show me are disgusting and despicable, but I believe it is merely the result of a lack of knowledge. The humans be provided all available information on the matter, and make their own decision, without the oppression of another power such as yourselves. Else, the intellect that is unique to every species is lost upon them. They do not posses human intellect, but that of a puppet. You have five minutes to respond."

[null123]

Sol System
"I can assure you they will retain complete autonomy, and we will not interfere with their scientists or other intellectual pursuits. We consider ourselves a peaceful people, but we cannot standby and let innocents be murdered. Their planet is already ravaged by radiation, and further atomic war will send it spiraling into a hellhole. We merely need the authority to remove the terrorists responsible for the attack as well as educate their government and people with the proper information. This is necessary."

[LaXnyd]

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

The collective command staff fell silent at Captain Magnus' revelation. From what he spoke, this meant that the Iskandarians of the Eternal Union didn't live on water. So where did they live in that case? On land? Beings actually lived on the great dry ocean above?

"Could be possible." The Chief of Science reported. "I mean, we do have signs of life on the dry ocean in atlantis, using what we describe as "noses" instead of our traditional "gills". If these people of the Eternal Union do not have gills, it is very possible they have some way of extracting oxygen from the air."

The admiral fell silent, contemplating the revelations before turning back to the command console.

"...Captain Magnus," Admiral Hei finally repsonded, "We apologize for the communications silence; we were forced to consult with the chiefs of staff for possible solutions. We have, in fact, developed several methods of transportation and temporary survival upon the dry lands."

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

Captain Hign had been awaiting instructions from the Admiralty. After listening to the conversation between the Admiral and the Eternal Union, the Captain finally made a few decisions of his own about the STC Acheron.

"STC Acheron," he transmitted, "THis is the Li Wen. You are welcome to dock alongside us, but, uh, just for confirmation, our species is aquatic based and we do live in water. As a result, the decks of our ships are flooded." he said, confident that the STC Acheron and her crew were also an aquatic species - after all, how many intelligent dry races could there be, right?

"That won't be a problem, would it?"

[Apollo26]

Shao IV
Taoshe, Septonian Core world
Military High Command

“ I call this meeting into effect to discuss our actions to save the stranded crew of the STC Jaques” yelled a senator, standing to make his presence known around the building. The full senate, all twenty members were in attendance to discuss the matter. “ Were they shot down? If so by who? We must take action against these aggressors, war if necessary!” another senator yelled, raising his hands to add animation. Valag Timonus sat in the center of the large room, leaning back in a large stone chair. His eyes roamed the chamber as he silently listened to his senators argue and try to make plans. Their input was valued, every Aradite in this chamber was either a soldier or a student of warfare but Valag already had a plan.

“ We will send a salvage team and the veteran companies of the 1st Marine Division, the 3rd fleet will be their escort. This is not to be a combat mission, this is a search and rescue mission with the possibility of becoming a combat search and rescue mission. Make sure they know not to shoot everything they see, I don’t want to start a war, just get my men back. “ Valag said as he rose from the chair

Within hours, the 1st, 3rd and 5th companies of the 1st marine division were prepped and boarding the ships of the 3rd fleet. Before nightfall, One Aries class ship, two Septum class ships and a Lahai class vessel left the Taoshe dockyards and began traveling towards the direction of the distress beacon.

STC Acheron
En-route to rendezvous with the Pearl Fleet
Deep Space, Alari Abyss
Lt Cmdr. Zilicin

“ I think I put together a rough translation..” said the crypto officer, “ I analyzed repeated sounds and filled in the rest using a logic program. It took about an hour but I think I know what they were trying to say.” As the newly translated message appeared on the commanders console the commander raised an eyebrow, reading it over multiple times before speaking. “ This can’t be right, are you telling me the entire race lives…….underwater? Are you sure you translated this right?”. The cryptologist nodded and looked down at his console again to make a second check, “ Yes sir, this is the proper rough translation”. The commander sighed and shrugged, how would the welcome celebrations work underwater? This would be an unanticipated challenge, do they even eat solid food? With another sigh the commander shrugged and threw his hands up in resignation “ I suppose we are going to find out for ourselves then? Well lets get on with it lads, Tell them we accept”. With that, the communications officer sent another message to the Pearl Fleet confirming their request.

[Keyguyperson]

Sol System
The comms from Earth were silent, and the few ships above Earth surrendered, allowing themselves to be taken prisoner on the Dreadnought. The space battle was won, and the Terrans didn't even so much as whimper. Or so it seemed. In reality, a flurry of messages flew through the system using Quantum entanglement. Every ship above Earth had recieved orders to surrender, but outside of Earth Orbit, the warships had been given the order to load plasma ammunition and group up behind the moon. Within just a few hours, every available military vessel had formed into a single fleet of over five hundred ships over the Dark side of the moon. At that point, a single, simple order was transmitted.

Attack

With that, the Försvarere av Humanity fired it's tachyon lance for the first time. A glowing blue beam of the particles shot out from the direction of Luna, moving faster than light itself. The sheer force of the beam ripped apart any ship that came into contact with it. Just a minute later, the entire Terran fleet appeared from behind the moon. A hail of plasma fire flew towards the Iscandarian fleet, an unexpected weapon for such a primitive species to be using. The plasma bolts tore at the shields and hull of enemy vessels. The humans definitely weren't going to give up.

The Försvarere av Humanity flew straight into the Iscandarian fleet. Using the warp drive as it's only propulsion, it darted between enemy ships, using maneuvers that would have turned the entire crew into red mist had it been using a normal engine. It fired an odd weapon: a mass driver that accelerated streams of molten metal. The metal was absolutely devastating, ripping straight into the enemy vessels and acting like a cutting beam. Any hope of the ship running out of ammunition was shattered when the ammo line to one of the turrets was severed. Instead of becoming useless, it kept tracking enemy targets and doing damage to them with invisible laser beams.

The main fleet was quick to follow, firing plasma bolts and missiles as it stormed towards the Iscandarian fleet. Suddenly, dozens of Iscandarian warships were struck by what seemed to be gigantic missiles, antimatter missiles. What was just now being put into use by the Iscandarians seemed to be plentiful to the humans, the keyword being "seemed". In reality, they were just civilian vessels filled with antimatter and sent on a full-speed collision course with an Iscandarian vessel. Of course, the humans didn't let them know that.

The attacks focused on the battleships in the back, and the ramming combined with plasma bolts from the military vessels were doing significant damage to the group. All of the larger vessels released torrents of fighters, bombers, and gunships, which swarmed the Dreadnought. The bombers picked at shield generators, while the gunships went straight for the hull, drilling into the ship and releasing marines clad in armored spacesuits. They blitzed towards the brig, not a single one even giving a thought about casualties.

Meanwhile, the battle in space continued to rage as the two fleets clashed in melee, the humans had lost at least two dozen vessels in the initial assault, but refused to back down. On the surface of Earth, the UTF forces were ordered to stand down. there was no reason to fight the Iscandarians while they could destroy entire cities with a couple shots from orbit. Instead, they were told to wait until space had been cleared, at which point a rescue operation would be attempted.

Message to the fleets in Sol
"And to think the Iscandarians spoke of peace once." Said a feminine voice, the anger in the voice obvious obvious. "Either they're so stupid that they see a few terrorists as evidence that an entire species in evil by nature, or they planned to conquer us from the start. My money's on the second. To the Bicirrigans, everything the Iscandarians are saying is most likely a lie. They told our greatest warrior that he was actually one of their own people. and that's looking more and more like a lie every second. It seems as though they just wanted us defenseless, a civil war just also happens to be a convenient excuse for the attack. They openly forgave us for that war in our past, but now they judge us by the actions of just a tiny percentage of our people. Our forces have engaged the Iscandarian fleet, it would be a great honor to have a species that knows of our past atrocities willingly fighting alongside us."

Alas Prime
Fergus turned to Basil, his eyes filled with hatred, but a perfectly neutral expression on his face.

"So you're stereotyping humanity? Deciding that an entire species is naturally evil despite the vast majority wanting peace? That's called speciesism, an analog to the racism seen on Earth before humanity's eyes were opened. That racism is something humanity is deeply ashamed of, and you're basically being racist. Humanity got over racism, you apparently haven't. I know for a fact that my people aren't like that, so you;re not my people. Is this planet really called Gliese, despite that being a human name? Or was it all a trick? Logic points towards trick."

He put his hand out, and Basil felt a hand on his neck. The sensation left his skin almost as quickly as it had begun, but in a few seconds, he felt it again. This time it was next to his holster. The pistol limply fell out of it, and Fergus lunged at Basil, knocking him on the floor. He then quickly picked up the pistol and pointed it at Basil's head.

"Low level telekinetics. Not much, but enough to make a pistol flop around. You'll give me an audience with the Immortals right now, or else I'll pull the trigger. There wasn't a single human at that meeting, in other words, you have denied the defense any way of defending itself. I'm that way. I didn't want this, but it's the only way. My ultimatum stands."

[null123]

Alas Prime
Suddenly the pistol was lifted up to the air, as Basil jumped up and Fergus was shoved against the wall with magic

"Fergus, please do not do that again. I do not approve of this decision, nor do I imagine Aaliyah would. She is a immortal, and off on a mission, the meeting this time around was held without her. The Immortals had already considered this path when we first learned of your past history, but Aaliyah defended you, she was almost kicked out of the room for it. Your best chance is to wait for her to return. You most also understand that the Immortals have a lot of stress on them right now, there was recent attacks on a colony world as well as the destruction of a station because of hostile parasites. They aren't in their most rational state." calmly said Basil, putting the pistol in his hand and letting Fergus down.

Sol
"Your greatest warrior is one of, but we never did truly forgive you. The Immortals have been debating this decision for a while now, and your Government launching a nuke at civilians is what finally pushed them over the edge. We could have gotten over your past atrocities but there is a certain stage where a species needs to let go of its violent pulses. Your at that stage, and you haven't. As we said before, we detected the a nuclear strike from a silo of your government, that is not acceptable. They killed innocents and ravaged a already destroyed area. This cannot stand."

The attack was unexpected, as frigates and escorts fell. But luckily the Dreadnought and Battlecruisers held strong, despite much damage to their shields, their shield generators inside the ship working hard. Stealth bombers and fighters began countering their own, holding them back. The Dreadnought and Battlecruisers moved back further, forming the shield wall that had worked so well at the battle over New Condia. They each fired a Balefire Megaspell, moving fast towards the Försvarere av Humanity. Stealth bombers began focusing on their dreadnoughts, as well as taking out the anti-matter ships they were using to prevent them from causing further damage to the ship.

Pearl Fleet
"I have attached coordinates to this message. It is a nearby colony world. We suffered damage due to a unknown attack, but we will be fine. Good luck."

The ship jumped away, heading back to wherever it had come from.

[Jeddaven]

Sol, Outer Oort Cloud

Tripemon smirked, tapping his fingers against the arms of his chair. "I'm glad to hear that you will accept our help. I want you to give the Iscandarians a message for me. If they do conquer Earth... I will personally fire the weapon that cracks their homeworld in half. See you in just a moment. Let's show these bastards what they deserve. Close channel."

"Order all craft to fire bias drives. I want our entire fleet just outside of Earth Orbit. Fire on everything that isn't ours or human."

Within thirty seconds, the BIMR fleet appeared behind the Iscandarians, a massive flurry of firepower slamming into their craft. At the spearhead was the
Imperial Quasar, a slow-moving 30km long giant with a massive RKV gun through the spine, twin gravity cannons hugging its firing tube. It turned to face the dreadnaught, the RKV tube glowing with a small, bright orange light. The light began to move towards the dreadnaught at incredible speeds, but, before the light even struck, the RKV collided with the dreadnaught, unleashing incredible kinetic energy as it soaked the Iscansarian craft in its plasma trail, finally vaporizing only after imparting incredible force. The twin gravity guns fired immediately after the RKV struck, gravitational forces crushing anything in their wake. That was when the full force of the BIMR fleet struck.

[Balena_Rex]

Hazakian Palace floating in the Luna System

Jyasa the first, the leader of the Hazaka Union, smiled hearing the signal playing over the intercom.
"Well well well, it seems we might of finally found who sent the original signal to Uaza" Jyasa the 1st stated to his adviser.
"Sir, would you want me to send a Signal back" asked the diplomatic adviser?
"Why of course, if these are the gods who originally sent the first message then we need to find them".
"Yes sir, I will send the message immediately".

For anyone

Hello, we are the Hazaka Union, great kingdom, we ask anyone or anything out there to send us a reply, wee want to know if we are truly alone, or if there are others

"Hello my people, I, Jyasa the first, might have made contact with the gods. We have heard the signal from far off in the universe, somewhere, we do not know what direction, so we can't track it, but my adviser has sent a signal back, hoping to get contact, we ask you all to support us by joining our army as we don't know if these things are hostile or peaceful. We ask you all, to help fund us, together, we shall find the gods, and finish the mission of our first emperor, together, we shall finish what he started so long ago".
-Speech Televised across the Hazaka Union by Jyasa the 1st.

[WilsonTurner]

Nouvelle
The Tinkerer stared at the General for a long moment with sightless, black eyes. After the short pause, the Tinkerer spoke, saying, "I am the Tinkerer, my bladed companion is the Hunter, and my other companion is the Engineer. From what I can see, you call each other by labels. For us that is not so; none of us have names that you so carry. If you wish to call me something other than 'The Tinkerer,' then simply do so. For... future reference, only I can speak and interact with you. My companions have not the blessing I carry, and so only I can interpret foreign languages. We, my race, come from a neighboring solar system, with another Solar Star, or Sun. We are of the Valkian nation, and we, me and my two companions, are Valkians. Any more information will be withheld until I can speak to your leaders. And while my race are not a warring race, un-needing of a 'police' force, I can see that you do. For your safety and for others, I would suggest that you let it be known that we see all in the areas around us for some distance. We can see your leader, upon her throne within the palace some distance away. And as I have said, there are another race here. Angels, you called us, for we came from the sky, I would assume, and so there are a different type of angel that have already met with your leader. We are eager to meet them, as well."

Throughout his speech, his voice slowly became more and more slurred, as if he was unused to such long speeches. At the end, it was a slurred, low drone, with little emotion, made worse by the sightless black eyes, the hard gray hide, and the crystal spikes that poked out from the Valkians' suit.

[Jeddaven]

Sector Delta, Monitoring Station 92

"Sir, we're recieving a first contact signal! It's coming from system FI-27365-586!"

Alarms began to blare across the monitoring station, personnel frantically scrambling to their stations. The station commander's voice came over the station PA system.

"All personnel, this is not a drill. We have a first contact situation. I repeat, this is not a drill. We have a first contact situation. All appropriate personnel to your stations. Send the standard response message to system FI-27365-586 after translation is possible.

Minutes later, a response message was sent. There were two voices - one low, and masculine(1). The other was feminine, and seductive(2).

(1)"We are the Bicirrigan species. We are a people who believe in science and intellect, above all else."
(2)"We are very glad to meet another species that wishes to know about the universe. We hope our peoples will become very good friends and allies."
(1)"Send your response as soon as possible. We will be waiting."

[Balena_Rex]

Hazakian Palace floating in the Luna System
"Sir" stated one of Jyasa the first's advisers.
"What is it Hydahga"?
"Well um uhh..."
"Spit it out man"!
"We made contact"
Jyasa the first froze, smiling. Thinking, planning, and screaming, all going on in his mind. He lifted his arm up, doing the motion for his adviser to speak the message.
"The Message was: We are the Bicirrigan species. We are a people who believe in science and intellect, above all else." "We are very glad to meet another species that wishes to know about the universe. We hope our peoples will become very good friends and allies." "Send your response as soon as possible. We will be waiting" stated the adviser.
"Oh dear, oh dear, tell these, Bicirrigans, or whatever the plural of there species is, that we welcome them to send embassies, also send them coordinates of our area. We want them to visit ASAP".
"Why is this sir"?
"Oh nothing, just want to see if our gods are as hiped as they are put out to be".

For Jeddaven

Hello Bicirrigans, we are the Hazakians of the Hazaka union, we currently reside in the Luna System, it has a giant Moon that is almost outside of the system, our coords are 27365-586, we advise you to send someone right away to discuss alliances and trading.

[Jeddaven]

Bicirrigan Capital Spaceport

A line of finely dressed statesmen and stateswomen marched up the ramp to a finely decorated transport craft, their fifteen metallic faces betraying no emotion, no expression. The Bicirrigans were not often ones to pay such attention to aesthetic detail, even on diplomatic missions, but they learned that to impress on first contact was crucial. The thrusters fired, lifting the craft into space, and to the craft that would transport it on its mission. Bias drives fired, and the escort fleet was off, to arrive at the Luna System within two days.

Luna System, Outer Edges

"Our fleet has arrived at your system. The diplomats will depart in a single transport, escorted by two frigates and a full squadron of fighters, to ensure their safety. The transport will wait in orbit for your permission to land."

[TehAlphaGamer]

Sol, Asteroid Belt [Exact location unknown, redacted by SBCO authority]

TO: CODENAME: CORCAHN CORCAHN
FROM: CODENAME: THE EYEFUL
MESSAGE: INTELLIGENCE REPORT A00135

For their eyes are always watching.

PASSPHRASE ACCEPTED

Director, for the past several cycles we have been dutifully recording information and transpiring events across the system. There are multiple reports of different races and encounters and we should raise some sort of concern given the proximity of the colony at what apparently is referred to in this region as Alpha Centauri. Our recommendation is to increase military presence here. Since the Terrans are already aware of Turani'dum's blunder aboard Reverence in Silence, us being here should cause no immediate alarm.

[Balena_Rex]

Palace on the Giant Moon
Jyasa the 1st looks outside the window to see a ship orbiting the moon. He smiles, "There here" he thinks.
"Sir, what do we do" asks the adviser?
"Send them a message telling them to land" stated Jyasa.

To Jeddaven

We give you permission to land, look for the palace on the surface of the moon

As Jyasa sits on the edge of his seat waiting for the first physical contact, he imagines something. If he uses these Bicirrigans as allies maybe he could use them to help in his "Friendly Conquest to add people into the union". He smiles, thinking of all the possibilities.

[null123]

Sol
"All ships retreat!"
The Dreadnought and Battlecruisers jumped before they could be hit by the Bicarrrigans , with only a few frigates and cruisers trailing behind them.

New Condia
The soldiers reinforced the barricade, carefully observing the crashed ship. The diplomats had setup some kind of computer setup and were working hard at something, and then after a while approached the ship with a small device in hand, but still staying far away enough from the shape so not to provoke the crew aboard it. They pressed a button on it, it played a very rough and butchered version of their language, but it was enough to get the point across.

"We are not your enemies. You have crashed landed on the colony world of a peaceful nation of peoples seeking to spread prosperity and peace."

Planet UE-2231-H
"They got to many forces on us, this is to risky. We must leave." said Aaliyah, leading her and her team back to the royal stealth ship, and taking off as they headed back for Alas Prime. Today was a loss for them, but Aaliyah was not willing to risk the lives of her team to recover some alien artifact hidden in the depths of a frozen world.

Alas Prime, Immortal Council Room
"David, I return from a mission to find that you have declared war on the humans, without me having any say on the matter. What in the name of the Eternal Mother has happened to you?" angerly spoke Aaliyah, as she stormed into the chamber into her Royal Regalia.

"Under a vote we took a while back in a time of emergency if there is a lack of any then the remaining can make a decision without them." responded David, turning towards Aaliyah.

"You wanting to intervene in the affairs of the humans is a emergency?" questioned Aaliyah.

"I did what I thought was right..."

"Which turned out to cause us more trouble. As if the Ethereals weren't enough you had to make enemies out of a unknown contact who's hostility is unknown."

"Aaliyah..."

"I shall go now David, I'm going to retrieve Fergus and talk to him. As well as my daughter." finished Aaliyah before stamping out of the room.

Fergus's Room
Aaliyah entered the room, her brilliant figure and royal regalia radiating all around her, her wings tucked behind her back. Emily entered in shortly behind her, as Aaliyah took a seat next to Fergus.

"It is good to finally meet you. The legendary lost warrior of the Sky Temple, as the old Sentinel tales would say about you, or the Hero of Gliese if the prophecies are to be believed. I do apologize about Earth, it seems the rest of the Immortals decided to make a decision without me." spoke Aaliyah, pulling out a small kettle with water as she used magic to heat and make tea for the three.

[TehAlphaGamer]

Sol, Asteroid Belt [Exact location unknown, redacted by SBCO authority]

Space was rent asunder as Assault Fleet 021 exited warp, the fleet comprised mostly of Trikolo-Class Destroyers and Darbor-Class Heavy Frigates being spearheaded by the Marku-Class PNSS With Zeal and Vigilance, which coasted around a group of asteroids, deploying supply carriers that were attaching modules to the station. The observation post originally put on there would be a Sazkarjhit firebase for the whole system; and regardless of what the Terrans would have wanted to do it was necessary.

As the asteroid was large enough, two Manumar-Class Light Frigates, Syeani and Forefront entered orbit above the body. While they weren't the most combat-effective vessels, for standard defense they would be suitable.

The area around the fleet was cleared as destroyers used MAC cannons and Mark II FireLance plasma emitters to obliterate asteroids--some even as large as 2 kilometers from end to end--and send them into the direction of the rest of the field.

Soon, the more advanced listening equipment was installed, and Station Karaniasa was established as Sazkarjhia's farthest-operating military installment to monitor activity in and around Sol.

[Kyelin]

Planet UE-2231-H

After sniffing the air a few more times, the Doll lost interest, unable to find the source of the smell, and went back to entering the facility. Once the all clear was established, each unit entered the doorway, lead by the War Maiden, an energy field around her, crackling and arcing with raw power. She would personally lead them into the facility, determined to find The Body and appease her God.

As they descended further, the faint purple lighting dimmed the hall, making the etchings of ancient history on the walls near undecipherable. Such culture once flourished around the galaxy, but was all but lost in the Collapse, when the Yss'Tkuld decimated everything and conquered these stars. To the Ethereals, it was all meaningless, whispers of a time long forgotten, them being the only example left of great powers far beyond anything today.

Without warning, the forward Doll exploded violently, a long spear of light tearing it to pieces, splattering the walls with gore before anyone could react. The Matrons and Sisters howled and hissed, locking eyes with the assailant: A male Warden, with sage in tow. He hung his hands low, swirling with magic, and he growled at them, angered:

"Was it not enough to burn this galaxy to the ground? All your kind want is power, by any means, and it has corrupted you beyond redemption. You will not have the secrets that lie in here! I will destroy you, and bring peace to this holy place!!"

With that, he leapt high into the air, throwing his hand over his shoulder and hurling towards the group a pulsating orb of light at the group. They dodged and rolled in all directions, but some were to slow, vaporized and shredded in the blast wave. A single Matron ran up, and plunged it's blade down into the metal, piercing the floor and narrowly avoiding it's target. Instinct took over, and the Warden plunged his hand deep into it's chest, blowing out it's torso with a shard of crystal. It hung there, dead, black liquid seeping out the wound as he cast it aside like trash.

Sisters took point, and fired weapons, beams burning the walls as he twisted and cartwheeled out of harms way, more shards pierced the flying Constructs, and they exploded violently as another Matron swung it's blade across the man. He grabbed it's weapon and tored it off, metallic screams filling the air as he lifted it off the ground with the force he stabbed it, and let it fly into the ground, twitching and dying.

It was then that the Maiden made her move, and thrust her glaive through the Warden's chest from the back. He choked and spluttered, blood seeping from his lips, as he looked down and saw the instrument of his doing, ruptured through his torso. He was pulled closer, grunting in pain, as his killer whispered: "You are mistaken. Your legacy now belongs to us. We will take what we want. Because with you dead, no one alive can stop us now." Falling to his knees, she withdrew the blade, pushing him off with a foot into his pooling bodily fluids, and zapped the stunned sage with a bolt of energy, annihilating it.

With the fight over, she looked upwards into the massive chasm, and smiled as she looked over her easily-won prize. Her lady would most certainly be pleased.

Uncharted Space: The Valkians

Without reproduction, a significant portion of the Home Fleet was dedicated to creating more Husk Constructs for Ethereals to possess, as each soldier was valuable in a way. These two Cruisers (Now referred to as Temples) were mining for the ores and minerals needed for said constructions, blasting rock with mild lasers and Sisters gathering the debris that attempted to float away.

Such vessels had to be modified to store the extra cargo, and so weren't as formidable as their military cousins. It was believed, however, that their Void Warheads and Entropy Cannon were more than sufficient to deal with threats, other than a well prepared Iscandarian patrol. However, two signatures warped in a fair distance from the asteroid belt of the Binary star, both of which were quite large. One temple ceased mining, gathered it;s Sisters, and began to slowly approach the signature, preparing weapons.

[null123]

Iscandarian Naval HQ, Alas Prime
The various Admirals stepped into the room. The room was darkened as a large table sat in the middle of it. Ironbones already sat at the lead of the room. Interestingly enough Captain Magnus, or as his new badge designated him Admiral Magnus stepped into the room amongst the Admirals. Everyone took a seat as Ironbones cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Gentleman, we stand here today over a number of issues concerning the defense of the Eternal Union. While the Ethereals have not launched any major attacks in a while with the failure to acquire the so called piece at the coordinates given to us by the Shard Guide. Luckily however we have managed to develop anti-matter missiles. The current stock is being distributed to all fleets equally, and they will be replacing our standard missiles, however until such time as we have built up a decent stock your ships will have to use standard missiles along with the anti-matter missiles being distributed. I do not feel as if that is enough to help defend from this threat, and with the increase in R&D budget we have began weaponizing plasma. It was proven to be a force to be reckoned with at the recent Battle of Sol. Also, welcome Admiral Magnus, he shall take control of the 7th fleet." spoke Ironbones, sitting there waiting for other comments and or concerns.

"Bold move Ironbones, but shouldn't we focus on building up the rest of the fleets and repairing damage to current ones? My fleet is in ruins and the Dreadnought and a battlecruiser are currently sitting in dry dock." responded Tuvuru, putting his hands together as he look towards Ironbones.

"I think Admiral Tuvuru expresses some legimate concerns, plus whats with the odd change of orders at the shipyard? You have asked them to work on the battlecruisers and dreadnoughts of the future 9th and 10th fleets first." added Magnus, also turning towards Ironbones.

"I can understand the concern, but I had a few ideas, the 2nd, 9th, and 10th fleets will take on different roles then the rest of the navy. You will see it when we finally roll out the first plasma weapons." said Ironbones.

"With that settled I do want to express some concerns. I was born on the colony of Char, it and another mining colony are close to the galactic core. This is quite a distance away from the main body of the Eternal Union, I do not think fleets are normally stationed there, so what are we going to do about their defense?" asked a unknown Admiral.

"I have already made arrangements. Admiral Magnus will move with the 7th fleet there, as well as Admiral Emily in command of the 8th fleet once she returns with what she was helping Aaliyah with." responded Ironbones.

"Why am I not surprised about Emily? One of the finest Captains in the Union, you made a good choice Ironbones." added Magnus.

"I hope I did, if there is no other concerns then we can adjourn this meeting." finished Ironbones, as the Admirals said they had no concerns to be addressed and left.