“Wait, you know what I’m saying?” Innes was somewhat taken aback. “But… how?” Was it that clip thing? The weird electric tentacle? Did she know all the time? How strange, and yet utterly fascinating - a creature that knew her language.
“I... yeah, I’m okay.” Innes thought it best not to mention the strange moment they just had. Might take it the wrong way. And there were Knights aboard the ship, so if they started asking questions…
Speaking of the ship, she still had a squad on board waiting for her. Turning around to face the craft, she waved at the cockpit. The soldiers inside responded almost immediately, and within seconds five well-armed and fully armoured soldiers stood just behind Innes.
“I hope I’m not expecting too much by bringing them all along. I don’t mean to impose…”
“We are actually talking through our translation programs.I hear you and you me from the audio system in my helmet. The device I planted on us basically reads your thoughts and translates them.” Astra explained, wondering if these people could appreciate the science behind it. Nonetheless, the science was apparently working rather well.
When Innes said she was alright, Astra nodded. “Very well. If you start feeling badly, tall us. We are not sure your atmosphere and everything is entirely habitable to your people. Now, if you please?” Astra said, motioning to the elevator again and leading the way. “your troops can keep their weapons, but be advised there are extensive intruder countermeasures in the ship. They may as well leave them in your ship - it will not be manipulated without your agreement.” the captain said concerning the others, “but they are welcome to join us.”
Innes nodded solemnly. Paardveid really did have a lot of catching up to do. Translation software, military countermeasures, ships the size of a small moon - it made them look like fur-wearing primitives in comparison. Which, to these people, they probably were.
But now that she was here, what did she talk about? “Hey, we’re from a planet far away that is absolutely dwarfed by yours. Please don’t hurt us?” Was that the kind of thing the famous Chancellor Innes was going to have to resort to? No way.
“Alright, chaps, you heard the lady - no shooting, no hurting, no religious questioning. Sergeant, I’m looking at you. Follow me, stay close and for Konja’s sake, don’t touch anything.”
After catching up with her host, Innes started to look around the ship proper. Everything on board this vessel was at least twice as powerful as anything at home. She half-thought of asking to borrow some of it, but quickly shook that idea from her head. It would be of no consequence to these chaps if they advanced or died out - which was exactly why she was here.
“All of this stuff is amazing. How did you get it all? It’s like being in a workshop run by a magician” if that magician liked to make his guests feel annoying buzzes over their skin and give them migraines, she thought, but didn’t say.
Astra smiled. It was like teaching young children. she could go on about everything, but she figured all was in due time. First she lead them to a briefing room and motioned for them to take seat. “I’d like to start again with introductions, now that we can actually understand. I am captain Astra of the Faira people. We are a race of explorers and we do not come as a threat, we are merely passing by and would ask your kind to allow us this passage. We can of course offer something in return. I need to ask you - if we were to take you there, would you facilitate contact with your leadership for us?”
Introductions. Of course. she thought that her simple language in the hanger might have been enough, but as the good lady suggests.
“My name is Innes. Chancellor of Paardveid, and I suppose the…” she sighed. Why did the theocrats insist on having such long, complicated names? “Loyal Servants and Knights of the Konjan Faith - though between you and me, Paardveid is long enough.”
She said they were explorers, but that didn’t add up. The probe had definitely said that the life was in a small, fixed area. If the ship couldn’t move, that was one thing, but then why did the probe supposedly pick up on a planet?
Whatever. It was unimportant.
“You know, from what I’ve seen, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from passing by. Why don’t you just fly past anyway? The army shouldn’t be patrolling the stars just yet.” Right as she said it, she regretted it. This is what professionals called “Giving too much away”. She was inviting destruction by saying all their weaknesses out loud.
“I mean, yeah, sure, I could get the council to talk to you if you want. You might have to use our gear, though - our computers won’t be compatible with yours, after all…”
Astra was surprised to find out their guest did in fact belong to a governing body. Who sent their governors on a hastily built ships to the edges of one’s system? Well, sure, Admiral Cygnus was here, but the Trigati did a good job of protecting her, certainly better than that shoe box of a shuttle Innes was found in.
the Captain’s eyes went wide as Innes shared what the Faira would definitely not disclose in a meeting like this. Strange people, had they no regard for their safety? “I do not wish to sound patronizing, but you may not want to speak about your military to people you have only just met. But to answer your question - we would not like if unknown forces were transiting our home. We merely wish to extend the same courtesy.” the captain explained.
true, if the… What was the name again? It really was a mouthful, so she supposed Paardveidians would have to do. If they refused to grant them said access and a jump node was found in the system, the Faira might just do what she suggested, but they needed to be none the wiser.Besides, they only could gain from this deal from what Astra could see.
“We would like to speak to this council then. I do not wish to offend you but we can not exactly verify you are who you are.” Astra said, still remembering the debacle in the Machina system. They did not need another one of their contacts to be a rogue nobody. “To save time, I suggest travelling with one of our ships. The Trigati might be a bit too threatening, I will admit, but we can tow your shuttle into subspace with any of our capital ships. the trip should not take long, if that’s acceptable?”
Capital ships. Subspace. Every word that came from the Faira’s mouth practically leaked superiority. How did so much happen without their knowledge? “What do you mean, you can’t verify who I am? I’m Chancellor Innes of the Paardveid Republic. Did I not say that? And anyway, how do I know you’re who you say you are? You could be a bunch of…. marauding space pirates for all I know.” Innes was offended. Incredibly offended. This was the first time in ages someone had questioned her credibility. “You might be superior, but you’re not smarter, miss. Show a bit of respect, would you?”
“Anyway, I could probably contact Weyss from here, if we’re permitted to hook up some of our equipment to yours. That is, of course, if we’re not too primitive or untrustworthy to attach something to your headache-inducing supercomputers”
An angry Innes was a rare sight. Her face went bright red, her mouth quivered and if you looked closely, you could almost see her tremble with rage. None of that alleviated the fact that, since that was combined with her small stature and youthful face, she looked more like an angry toddler that had been told to go to bed than a professional diplomat. Ever her own troops were struggling to contain giggles, so gods only knew how the Faira was supposed to react.
“It’s amazing the kinds of things that piss her off” on soldier whispered to another, not quite quietly enough.
The outburst took the Faira by surprise. Why was she still here? This was captain Libra’s territory! Astra was no diplomat! She did well with the machines before because they were exactly that - no emotions attached, just logic. Maybe now the admiral would see it fit to relieve her? Astra could only hope.
“If we were pirates, would we bother talking at all?” Astra suggested, trying to keep her voice calm and not let her distress show. “And you just might be right about the smarts. When we first encountered another species, it turned out the contact that presented itself to us as a diplomat was in fact a rogue. So please, pardon our caution.”
Astra took a deep breath and sighed. “Anyway, We have the capability to make said contact, so it should not be a problem.” she confirmed, before realizing something else the chancellor said. “Headache inducing? I did ask you if you were alright. A moment, please.” Astra said, thinking quickly. How could a computer affect them? It had to do with EM. Tapping the controls on the panel in front of her, an eerie blue glow surrounded the walls of the room as a shield enveloped them - one of the countermeasures Astra mentioned before. but right now, the shield was blocking almost all EM radiation that would come from the outside. “Is this better?”
For someone who had just been yelled at, the Faira was taking it pretty well. She didn’t shout, scream or demand - Temair would -, but handled the whole thing very rationally. Still, she had managed to offend her host and it wouldn’t be right to continue without an apology.
“I-I’m sorry It’s been ages since someone last called me a liar, it’s kind of a sore spot.”
She still wasn’t sure though. Some nations liked to keep pets and concubines. Maybe this one was just trying to win her over. Though, would that be so bad? No responsibilities, no jobs, just lay on your back and look pretty - everything she was good at.
Nope, she was getting distracted. Concubinage second, duties to the Republic first
What truly took her breath away, out of all the things on this ship, was those blue shields. The second they were up, the pain started to fade. As she stood there, surrounded by machines, the most she could feel was a little tingle. The first Sinnsyk in history to be this close to computers and barely feel a thing.
“How in the name of the Old Gods did you do that?” She stammered, earning glares from the more religious of her soldiers. “This is amazing - I feel like a new person”
Anyway, down to business. She wanted to talk to the big guy, well, that was who she was going to talk to. How would Weyss react? Confusion? Terror? Joy? She could practically see the look on his face.
“Captain, run back to the ship and disconnect the comms system. Bring it back as quickly as you can, if you please.”
The soldier returned with a makeshift system that looked about as slapjob as the craft it had been on. There were wires hanging out of it, loose knobs and wonky buttons and a screen that was somewhat discolored from age. Still, it was the only thing backwards enough to connect to Paardveid and the machines on board would give them the strength they needed to make contact.
“If you don’t mind, we have to plug this thing into one of your things” Innes explained, hoping it didn’t sound too suggestive. “You don’t happen to have a port you're not likely to ever need to use again, are you?”
Having located a somewhat suitable drive, the soldier that got the machine started taking it apart. He unplugged things, disconnected others and made quite a mess of the station, but in the end, the little device was hooked up to the ship - no, it was more than that. The little box had been attached to it. It was unlikely they would ever get it back without causing irreparable damage to both the ship and box. Ah well, they had plenty others at home.
Explorer Ship Scientiae-II Property of Deminutian Empire Ryukyuan Space – 500,000 kilometers from Gaishia @ClocktowerEchos
Inside the little ship it was pandemonium; the control surfaces ceased function as it was drawn back into the larger ship behind it. The officers and packages of cargo all went flying. “Report, report!” shouted Illani, trying to catch the crates of medical supplies. “Sound off roll-call!” “Never mind that, secure the cargo before it kills everyone!” Cnaeus shouted over the hubbub, rolling and barely missing being impaled by a kitchen knife. “Why are all the knives out, anyway?” “I was just trying to fix dinner and then you called me; I thought I’d only be a moment or two!” Illani cried.
Suddenly the shaking and jerking stopped, and then all the control panels went dark. Everything was still working, but none of the machines were getting any signal. “Aenara help me.” Regylis muttered, slapping one of his radar screens with a webbed hand. “The radar and everything is unresponsive.” “Those big ships, one of them must have swallowed us.” Alena whispered. “Let’s make sure that the colonists are okay, and then we’ll go see what just ate us.”
Regylis looked at her in disbelief. “Of all the ideas I’ve heard from you, that’s got to be the most idiotic. Go see what kind of ship just swallowed up our own, when they just pulled us in like a fish on a line?” “Well, I can’t be smart all the time.” Alena snapped. “Just shut up, you two!” Cnaeus shouted. “We put on our helmets and tanks, because we don’t know what kind of air is out there. And then we do what Allie says, because she’s not led us wrong before.”
“Well, it’s obviously another sentient species; shouldn’t we bring gifts?” Alena suggested, a little timidly. “What do we have onboard this ship that could be gifts?” “And what makes you think they won’t just eat us?” Regylis asked. The others ignored him. “Uhm… Fruit? Clothing?” “If they’re big enough to haul our ship in like it’s a fish, they won’t want our clothing.” “Well, then. Fruit and… Hmm, we don’t really have all that much else to work with. Maybe a bit of tech. We’ll figure something out.” “If they don’t eat us.” Regylis muttered; as always the others ignored him. “Shut it, Reggie. Let’s go put our masks on and go see what’s going on.”
They strapped each other into their miniature hydrogen tanks and put on their helmets. Illani and Alena stuffed the pockets of their uniforms with freeze-dried fruit. Thumbs-ups were exchanged and Cnaeus, being the only one tall enough to hit the button, opened the cargo bay, allowing the four Deminutians to step out into whatever unknown environment there was. The Lake The Grounds of the Imperial Palace Planet Aurae of the Deminutian Empire @HounderHowl
Aelia stared speechless as the box propelled itself to the shore. “Follow me please.” It said. IT SPOKE?!
“Um. Excuse me, I know it’s terribly rude of me to question you, but who are you, why have you come here, and how do you know our language?” she asked, hovering just above the enormous object. In the distance she saw the rest of the royal family and a goodly delegation of ambassadors take to the air, headed towards the large box and the trio of Aurae hovering over it.
At a glance they are implacable, emotionless and terrifying warriors... the emissaries of death itself. Yet on closer inspection of a Warrior Fabricant, aberrant details become visible that act against the image of the perfect soldier.
This is because Warriors are in no way autonomous. They are bound entirely to their commander's will. Outside of simple instructions, a Warrior's tactical awareness is almost nonexistent. However, what Warriors lack in intuition they more than make up for in determination and durability. Once orders have been received, they are completely single-minded and will follow commands through to conclusion without question. Furthermore, individual warriors can suffer grievous damage before they cease fighting. Even dismemberment or decapitation cannot be counted upon to stay them, for its sophisticated self-repair systems in it's 'programmed metal' through it's nano bot design may eventually return it to it's original state. The Warrior will carry on its fight to almost unbelievable degrees, marching heedlessly through minefields, bombardments or other battlefield hazards that will surely see it destroyed if ordered to.
All this they do in utter silence, for Warrior fabricants can never speak... vocalisation is rendered practically impossible, the feature was simply never added as the Starchild does not need these drones to speak. However, if heavily damaged, a Warrior emits an electronic scream as it's systems begin to fail, an ear-piercing shriek that is an eerie parody of a creature's cry of pain.
Doom Gliders are heralds of terror and dismay, supersonic fighter craft that range far ahead of an invasion. Doom Gliders can function in a highly independent manner. Much of the aircraft’s super-structure houses datastacks that are in turn heavily laden with strike plans, stratagems and tactical variants. When faced with a situation outside of known parameters, the pilot can sift through and retrieve the correct response from this datastack. Thanks to the ruthless precision of his android brain, the pilot can simulate billions of possible strategies in the span of a few nanoseconds.
A doom glider is entirely autonomous and thus has no 'pilot' but is actually a robot in and of it's self. As such, it is uninhibited by mortal frailties and is able to steer the craft to higher speeds and perform more extreme manoeuvres than pilots of flesh and blood. In addition, a doom glider is a small spacecraft that fulfils the Attack Craft role.
Doom Gliders are often deployed to sap the resolve of the enemy before the battle beings in proper, for its presence induces an almost irrational terror in living creatures. A Doom Glider primary propulsion systems is strange dimensional repulser device. The whine of the drive is piercing and discomforting. On a Doom Glider, the scale and amplitude of the sound is many hundreds times greater; it resonates deep within the primitive core of living brains, playing havoc with memory, perception and sanity.
Armed with two gauss autocannons that strip targets down to their base components and disperse them. Due to the destabalisation on an atomic level caused by the weapon, only the most heavily armoured of vehicles can face this down with impunity for even thick armour plating can be dissipated into nought but air by this weapon. It's secondary and by far more devastating weapon is the Energy Projector Array. Mounted on the underling turret, this array fires a narrow beam of intense energy capable of passing through many enemy units and vehicles before the energy is dissipated, often vaporising battle groups with a single shot and leaving nothing but a line of scorched earth in its wake. This requires a substantial amount of energy and as such Doom Gliders must be somewhat conservative with it's usage due to it's long recharge period. None the less, it remains a devestating weapon of warfare capable of destruction on a large scale
The Night Glider is somewhat similar to the Doom Glider in terms of speed and armaments, however it replaces the Doom Ray with a wormhole portal. This captive wormhole portal bound into the lower hull serves as a dimensional passageway through which the Hierarchy can move forced from one destination to the target destination once the Night Glider has landed or even while moving if the units going through are somehow able to survive disembarking. This can also be used to deliver warheads. Note that this portal can only be active in one direction at once. That is to say, it can either be bringing forces in or taking them away, not both at the same time. Attempting to enter the portal from the receiving end results in a most unpleasant experience and subsequent destruction as the atoms of a being are taken apart by the device, which then attempts to transmit the structure to the same gate, resulting in the atomic bonds simply being broken down on the spot and the energy dispersed. This experience is similar to being shot by a gauss weapon and just as painful.
The Night Glider almost inevitably heralds an invasion, attempting to take an opponent by surprise. Due to the portal it bears, it can bring in surprisingly large numbers of troops when considering it's small size, which may be able to take defenders by surprise and overwhelm them before they regroup.
Unlike Doom Gliders, Night Gliders do have an interior 'cockpit' due to their status as a transport craft, though this is a non-essential area and destroying it will have little to no-impact on the crafts performance. Night Gliders also have a minor 'cloaking' device that bends light around it to appear invisible and uses stealth ablative plating in order to hide from some basic forms of sensors.
Automated defense grid Fabrication facility 001 Communications systems Stealth device Scanning and detection systems Power Core 001 Propylaeum 001 Propylaeum 002 Propylaeum 003 Propylaeum 004 Propylaeum 005 Propylaeum 006 Propylon Chamber 001 Processing Facility 001
On the surface ancient obelisks sprouted from the ground and into the air, pulsing with energy as, in their pairs, they formed The Propylaeums, ancient portal frames from which the Hierarchy could enter and exit their underground structures. These Propylaeums could be accessed from any active Propylon Chamber. Their design no longer bore any controls from the outside for the Hierarchy had never intended anything to get in from the outside until the Starchild had awoken.
Starchild watched the view of the Night Glider as it was loaded into the Propylon Chamber, the roof closing behind the Glider as it hovered within the chamber. Then, the wall before the view exploded into a swirling portal and the glider zoomed towards it.
The dark of the chamber was replaced by the glare of a sun as the Glider zoomed out of one of the Propylaeums, exiting over a mountain and flying over the plains beyond it. The world had changed a lot since the Hierarchy first occupied it 100 million years ago, though it appeared there was no sapient life on the planet, or at least no sapient life that had formed a civilisation.
Excellent, it would have been a rather wasteful use of time and effort to remove them from the New Hierarchy's Homeworld.
Four university freshmen sat at the bar, their light, wooden-brown faces framed by the black cloth draped around their heads. The rest of the bar's customers looked on in surprise at the spectacle, trying to figure out just what they were doing there. Nobody had ever seen a blank at the department store lunch counter, and no blank had ever tried to go to the lunch counter. The customers knew the blanks weren't supposed to be there, but they had no idea what to do. They'd never had to think about what to do.
"Well you boys are stubborn, aren't you?" Said the server "What the hell are you even trying to do?"
"We're trying to get a meal, Sir." Said one of the four, keeping a completely innocent tone. "What's the matter with that?"
"You know damn well what's the matter." Responded the server, his voice taking on a more hostile tone. "We don't serve blanks."
"We won't leave until we get our food."
"Oh my God." Said the server, placing his hand on his forehead. "Just give up, you stupid blanks."
The students were silent, simply sitting there, waiting for the food they knew would never come. The minutes turned to hours and clients came and went, each and every one of them staring at the students. The server just gave up on them, deciding to just let them stay there. When the time came for the store to close, he expected to have to shoo them off like they were dogs getting into the trash. Instead, they walked out of the door along with everyone else.
"So you sit down at the dark-only counter, but leave when we close?" Said the Server, almost ready to laugh "You're not all that good at breaking rules, blanks."
"Unless we're dogs, we didn't break any rule." Said one of the students.
"You weren't supposed to sit down at the counter, that's a rule."
"Just as I said." He said in response "We never broke any rule fit for a Rissan."
Deep space, one day from the Asteroid Belt
"Alien mothership on radar! Heading is approximately 30, 0.017, solar relative!"
"Futaskai." Growled the Commander, his teeth clenched. "They haven't come for our resources, they've come for our people."
The bridge of the Dreadnought was lit in a bright yellow, making sure the crew could easily see their controls. The windows looked out into the vast expanse of space before there, a tiny dot of light barely visible to the right of the ringed gas giant that filled the left of their view. The rest of the fleet could be seen on either side, advancing towards that tiny dot. The nuclear pulse tugs had broken away from the fleet, all docking with the carrier. If things went south, they could do a "ten ten" burn to get out of the area. That is, 10g acceleration for ten seconds. Needless to say, that wasn't something anybody wanted.
"High-def ladar scan complete!" Yelled the sensors officer, turning around to face the Commander "Multiple possible weapons identified, all apparently anti-ship cannons."
"Cannons? Are you sure?"
"Yes, Commander Shou, about sixteen or so of them."
"So the aliens don't have a concept of fighters?" Said Shou, oversimplifying the situation "Every time we learn something new, this whole thing becomes closer and closer to that of a B-movie."
"Orders, sir?" Said the tactical officer, his hands on his keyboard.
"Launch the fighters! Take out those cannons and move in the fleet, the plan's been altered!" Yelled Shou "The heavies will encircle the ship and cut into the airlocks, then attach to the alien mothership and deploy marines!"
"Understood, Sir!" Responded the crew, frantically inputting the orders. The voice of the communications officer filled the bridge as she ordered the other ships to launch fighters, while the others typed orders into their computer terminals. Streaks of rocket fire filled the windows as fighters launched out of all three heavies, flying towards the alien vessel at reduced speeds so as to not end up overshooting their target.
The fighters launched missiles at the weapons emplacements, which were unfortunately far more effective than they had thought. A dozen fighters were torn apart by precision fire, a sight which made Shou cringe. The attack plan was adjusted, with the fighters getting too close for the alien weapons to track them effectively. The alien ship was using solid slugs instead of flak, which made their job significantly easier. Their missiles made short work of the weapons, thanks to the apparent damage they had suffered over years of spaceflight.
With the alien defenses crippled, the fleet moved in. After cutting into the airlocks using plasma torches, the four heavies latched onto the alien ship. Inflatable air seals were deployed, to prevent depressurizing rooms where the abductees might be held. The moment preparations were complete, marines stormed into the ship from all sides, opening fire the moment the doors opened. Instead of finding themselves in a lift-or-death struggle with a crew of alien monstrosities, they found that their bullets had hit only the walls. There wasn't anybody there.
Commander Shou walked in behind the marines, who continued to advance cautiously as if there was an ambush waiting for them. Still, they found nothing. It seemed to be a ghost ship, its crew long gone. Then one of the marines called out to Shou.
"Sir... you're gonna want to see this!"
Shou ran over the marine, taking out his own pistol just in case. When he got there, he saw a giant row of pods. Through the glass on top of them, he could just barely see the silhouettes of some kind of creature. Above each was a computer monitor, displaying what seemed to be vital signs.
"What the hell is this?" He said, examining the computers. "It looks like whatever these things are, they're asleep."
He suddenly realized what was going on, and turned to the marine.
"Oh my God they're prisoners!" He exclaimed, running over to the nearest one. "Can we free them?"
"None of the other teams found a single walking alien." Said the marine "I think this is the crew. Perhaps controlling the ship telepathically?"
After thinking for a moment, Shou decided to agree with the marine. It made more sense than keeping prisoners in suspended animation, at least.
"How do we open them up?" He asked, looking at the computer monitor.
"We could just start pressing buttons." Suggested the marine
"I don't see any buttons..."
"Maybe the screen is touch sensitive?"
"Why and how the hell would you even make something like that?"
"They are aliens."
Shou tapped a button displayed on the screen, and saw an increase in heartbeat rate on it. The pod below drained fluid out of it, and opened to reveal an alien that looked like a wet bird. To Shou, there honestly wasn't any difference. He pointed the pistol at the alien, and screamed at it.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY PEOPLE?"
After getting no response from the confused and terrified alien, he pointed the pistol at another pod. A shot rang out through the room as he fired, the bullet smashing through the glass. The heart monitor flatlined as fluid leaked out of the pod, signaling the fate of its occupant. He quickly pointed the pistol back at the awake alien's head, finger twitching on the trigger as he stood above the odd creature.
"You'd better give me a response right the fuck now or you'll get a bullet just like that inside of your goddamned brain!"
That was all Yuuyami said, as she took notice of the unknown faction within the vicinity, who seemed to be rushing towards a combat ready status. "Do we really impose such a sense of danger to others~?" Oh so calmly, she had that ever present smiling expression that almost seemed to say, 'oh you poor plebeians'.
Despite the rest of the crew shivering at that expression, they continued on with their work. No matter what, they all seemed to respect their leader both out of awe and fear.
"Ma'am, your orders?"
Shifting her line of sight, she rested it on the one who spoke. Second in command. "Yes, what shall we do? Perhaps we should scare them a little, while preparing to help little Mayumi~" Once again, all they received was a rather vague response. Sighing, the second in command turned to the rest of the crew. "Alright! Fire up the stealth drive, and shift our position. Have the strikecrafts move independently out of formation!"
Many of the crew were probably thinking along the lines of 'How the hell did he translate her?!' But otherwise did as they were told. Meanwhile, their leader stayed in her seat, her expression staying the same, her inner thoughts unreadable.
Eastwing ship Gravitational Variable Orbiting Khas, the Eastwing Homeworld
The Variable 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 Variable, 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 Variable. 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 Gravitational Variable'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 fourth 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 wanted 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 - demanded 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.
~o~0~o~
@ClocktowerEchos Eastwing ship Vegas Aurora 13, approaching the Ryuan System Several minutes ago
With a sound (carefully generated and piped through internal speakers) like space itself was tearing in two, the Vegas Aurora 13 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.
Bridge The bridge was silent save for the hum of life support and the occasional warble of computer input. The Vegas Aurora 13’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.
Xenodiplomacy Being a long-range ship, the Vegas Aurora 13 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.
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 don’t respond.
-----> Now <-----
“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.
Jia-Jio's emotional standing, after having processed the Straylight Institution's compelling discourse, quickly shifted to eerie motionless and crisp taciturn as opposed to fiery zeal and mild trepidation. Precious, nerve-racking minutes would elapse before her hulking vessel exhibited the telling signs of mechanical life. RCS hardpoints—supplemented by reaction wheels for heightened precision---engaged in work, the two apparatuses operated in near-tandem to redefine the Watchman's Eye's spacial position to where the exhaust nozzle of its burly reaction engine pointed away from Enned's foregone surface.
She uttered not a word--not even after the Eye's sensors detected the Federation opening fire upon her vessel--with this informal declaration of war only succeeding in strengthening Jia-Jio's distaste for sapient extraterrestrials by an exponential factor. Of course, fleeing the scene wasn't especially challenging, for the Watchman's FTL drive had already completed its spooling cycle long ago.
In a blinding flash of volatile radiation (and with a deafening roar from an enraged star lord), Enned's feline visitors were gone.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY PEOPLE?" The strange thing before Kinnikara started screaming in its unworldly voice as soon as it'd climbed out of its cryogenic pod, expecting to see her new home. Before that, she had been dreaming her life over and over for 17 decades, with real dreams in between lifetimes. Needless to say, the transition from familiar memories and old hope to the alien before her wasn't smooth. Petrified with shock, it didn't dare even make a sound. And the thing, the alien, didn't like that either. Before she knew it, the alien had reached for its old-tech weapon and fired at her cryogenic neighbour, who happens to be her mother. Kinnikara was too shocked to even say anything, and all she did was to cup her eardrums with her taloned four-fingered hands when it happened, "You'd better give me a response right the fuck now or you'll get a bullet just like that inside of your goddamned brain!"
The reality struck Kinnikara faster than consciousness did. They'd journeyed together through lightyears and three decades (at least that's what she last knew) only for her mother to die in an instant. Feeling faint, Kinnikara's legs and wings weakened. Bluish tears welled up in her four reddish eyes, turning them purple, and Kinnikara cawed sadly after her mother. She covered her eyes and slumped down the foot of her cryogenic pod in tears, which were actually Kraikiran blood; Kraikirans cry blood as a physiological effect of expressing sadness.
Despite being only slightly shorter than the horrifying, featherless and wingless alien that threatened her (standing at 1.6m), Kinnikara was only 13 and terrified, naked, wet, cold and vulnerable.
Her cryogenic pod, unknown to the Rissans, had displayed these infos outright with pictures; A small head with undeveloped beak and features, a book with simple alphabets were printed on the pod, indicating that she was but a child and a student. Her mother was described by a mature looking head with long feathers and a large beak, and a picture of some kind of a syringe with a pair of abstract wings on each side. The alien had killed the very person who might have been able to free the captive Rissans. It was just unfortunate, that even such seemingly simple pictures meant for colonists suffering from amnesia caused by extended hypersleep would still be nearly undecipherable to aliens from another planet.
As the sleeper ship loomed closer to its destination planet, the ship was beginning to come to life. Androids and robots were being released to clean and prepare the ship. Many were service bots, meant to assist the colonists. The lobbies at the main exits of the ship lit up with a strange choral music being played. Holographic sky-dancers filled the air with artificial clouds and spotlights, made possible by the cavernous insides of the ship. Announcements were also being played. To an alien, however, it would all just be weird noises and gibberish resembling intelligent and long bird calls. Greeter androids were released into the lobbies, which could dispense food (saccharide and protein cubes) and water for both Kraikirans and their pets. Unfortunately, they would identify Rissans as pets, and would treat them as such. Hostile action would probably result in the androids attempting to put the 'pets' in the pound.
“Contacting Paardveid now.” The soldier declared, standing back to let Innes take up center stage. “In a few moments, the Patriarch should appear on screen.”
“Actually, Miss Astra, do you have a larger screen we can make the call through? It’s just this thing isn’t very good for talking through.”
“I’m afraid I can not share details about our technology, at least not yet, but if this is as serious health issue for you as it looks like, I’m sure my superiors would be inclined to help you do something about it.” Astra said, and it was at this point when she started wondering whether she should have already introduced them to the RLC members on board. Although as far as she knew, they were watching through the security cameras in the room.
When asked for a bigger screen, she had to think for a while to remember what a screen was. “Oh! A minute.” she said and fired up the scanning equipment in her suit. The rather primitive communication device was easy enough to get readings at and after fiddling with the room’s controls for a little while, the holographic projector came to life, displaying whatever it was on the device.
“And please, it’s captain, if you don’t mind. Names in our culture are reserved for acquaintances.” Astra said. She knew it wasn’t the chancellor’s fault for not knowing, but that didn’t make it any less awkward for her.
“That’s dumb. I wouldn’t want to be Chancellor all the time.” Innes huffed “But, if you wish, [i]Captain[i/].”
After a bit of fiddling, there was a noise and Innes stood back “So, is this like, a camera or…” She stopped because, in answer to her question, the Patriarch’s face had appeared on the projector. He did not look good. His face was red and his eyes were damp, and when he saw Innes, he practically exploded.
“CHANCELLOR!” He screamed “What in the name of Konja are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too, boss” she smiled in return. “I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. Captain, if you will”
“Oh no, Innes, you're not getting out of - never mind, I’ll talk to you later. Who is this person you want me to meet?”
Innes just pointed at the alien. Weyss followed her finger to Astra and nearly jumped out of his seat. Still, he regained control of himself quickly and managed to keep cordial.
“A pleasure meeting you, Captain. I trust Innes hasn’t been too much trouble, though knowing her, you may have a few repairs to do by the time this meeting has concluded. Can I ask your name?”
Astra gave the chancellor a glare to the back of her head along with slightly bared teeth when she called their customs dumb, however she did not intend to make a scene out of it like Innes. When the Patriarch came on the screen, his reaction made Astra wonder if they just have a natural explosive temper like that.
Waiting patiently for their own exchange to finish, she was finally addressed - and to her dismay, still not substituted by someone with more of a diplomatic skill. One of these people was difficult enough to manage, but two? Well, she’d have to make due somehow.
“Greetings, Patriarch. I am captain Astra, speaking for the Faira people. We come in peace and are seeking passage through your system. The chancellor is a… unique person, but all is well.” she said with a smile.
“Unique is the wrong word, Captain. I prefer such adjectives as ‘mad’ ‘insane’ and ‘eclectic’.” Innes shot the screen a look, which Weyss pretended not to notice “Either way, she’s done her job - she has contacted you and informed us of your existence. The rest, I’m sure, falls into my department.”
“I should warn you, first of all, that our’s is a rather zealous faith. Some of us, like Innes over there, worship Old Gods, whilst some of the others give praise to a strange notion called Konja. My suggestion? If anyone asks you your religion, don’t answer them.”
“In fact, that’s kind of the reason we had to contact you. You see, the Theocrats of this planet have decided that anyone who isn’t of the faith is unworthy of existence - if you’ll forgive the florid language. I personally find it rather ironic that a religion with so much hate has a homosexual leader” there was a yell off-screen, something along the lines of ‘I am NOT a lesbian’ but Weyss again ignored this, “even though it claims they are impure. Word of the wise, hide your homosexuals if you come for a visit.”
“Moving swiftly on, the Chancellor actually shouldn’t be there. She didn’t exactly leave legitimately, so this meeting is technically off the books. I know, I should say ‘we’re recording everything you say and do’ but deceit is not the best way to start a cordial relationship and I’d rather be honest with you. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you were to send a landing party with you when you drop off Innes -” Innes tried to protest she already had a ship, but Weyss was having none of it “And you can take the one she came in apart for scrap - gods know it’s past it’s heyday. Ahem. Yes, so when you drop off the Chancellor, be sure to bring a few diplomats with you. I’d like to conduct a meeting face-to-face.”
Astra was flooded by what she considered TMI. She shot a deathly glare to the security camera, hoping the Admiral would notice. She will exact payment for this. These people were by the Faira standard far too open about… well everything really.
There was the strange notion of religion again, something they didn’t even conceive until the SAAIL told them of the concept. “Then it is going to be very simple. Our people are of no belief and as long as nobody tries to impose theirs on us, we will not have a problem.” the captain shrugged.
She was surprised that Innes, while technically being a diplomat, apparently once again did not have the proper blessing to be here. Could these contact situations go smooth for once? Well, at least they got somewhere again without having to fire a shot. The invitation was intriguing however.
“Thank you, we would very much like the same thing. One of our ships will arrive at Paardveid shortly. I would prefer though if the meeting could take place onboard, if that is acceptable. Our species is a physically weak one and we would have hard time adapting to your planet’s gravity. I believe the chancellor can testify that you’ll come to no harm here.” she shared.
Meanwhile on the command deck… The admiral was watching the exchange with mixed emotions. These people could stand to get a lesson in manners, however Astra seemed to think otherwise, and so far trusting her in these matters proven to be the correct thing to do. As soon as the invitation was accepted, Cygnus gave the confirmation.
Conference room… A chime sounded throughout the whole ship. “Ah, we are about to depart and lose contact. I am looking forward to meeting you, Patriarch.” Astra finished, and on cue a deep hum resonated through the air as the subspace motivator came to life.
A short moment after, the Trigati sunk into subspace. Being the science type she was, Astra pointed her guests to the window where they could see the swirling blue and white of the subspace tunnel running by.
The sight did not last long, as within half a minute the destroyer emerged in low orbit above Paardveid, The trip lasting a fraction of the time it took Innes’ shuttle to get to the node to meet them. Turning to the chancellor, Astra nodded. “Well, I suppose you should take your ship down, I believe the presence of the Trigati here is concerning enough. Will you be present at the meeting?” Astra asked. Even though the chancellor was indeed quite strange, at least Astra would know what to expect and it was a familiar face.
“I kind of have to be” Innes said, getting flustered all of a sudden “I’m Chancellor, so I’m part of the council. Weyss is going to give me an earful…”
But then, she shrugged, still red-faced, and moved on “Okay lads, pile in. We’re going home”
On her way back to the hanger, Innes took the opportunity to ply her host with questions , mostly personal ones “So, you looking forward to Paardveid? I’m sure you’ll love it, though it’s a bit dark for strangers. Have you see many other planets? Actually, where’s your home planet? What’s it like? Vigdis says other planets need heat and light, but ours doesn’t. I wonder why?” Then she gasped, and her inquisition got all the faster, and more intense “Do YOU have a dark planet as well? Is it covered in shadows and doesn’t ever see light like ours? Is it cold? Ours gets really cold in the winter - some of our people actually have to put clothes on! Can you believe that? I mean, yeah, I’m wearing stuff right now, but that’s cause I’m in space and I can afford it - you should see the peasantry. Poor things. I’d love to help them, but Gydja is all like ‘They don’t need the money as much as we do’ and I’m just a Chancellor, so it’s really none of my business, so she gets all the money and the peasantry never really see it. It’s all water and mud outside and it is just unbearable to see them like that when I know we can help them. I don’t like her - she’s mean. Oh, and Asta as well. You won’t have a problem with her, I’m sure, but she keeps making fun of me because I’m small and have funny eyes. It’s not my fault I’m not a big, bulky thing like she is. Once she said I could never be a soldier cause I wasn’t strong enough to hold a pistol, never mind a rifle. You’ll like Weyss, though, he’s a nice guy. Actually, he’s just about the only guy of any importance - ah well, easy pickings, I guess. He’s the only person I know who treats everyone equally, regardless of age, gender or status. Oh, and I haven’t even started on Temair. Don’t talk to her about religion - seriously, don’t. She’ll go off on a big theological speech about how ‘everyone should be Konjan’ and that ‘men and homosexuals are all alike - lustful, greedy and evil’, which is hurtful, you know, cause Weyss is a man, and he always says that Temair is …”
“Chancellor” The pilot interrupted “You’ve been getting louder and more fervent the more we walked. We are here. Give the poor alien a rest, would you?”
“Yes, right, sorry, Captain. And you, Astra, I might have gone off on one a bit. It’s just - this is so exciting! I’ve never even seen an alien before, and now there’s one actually coming to Paardveid. It’s like a dream come true for me. Did I tell you I’ve never seen an alien before? I must have. I…”
“Chancellor, for Mercy’s sake, please get into the spacecraft and stop talking” Her pilot interrupted again, all veils of subordinance lifted. He was tired. It’s hard enough being the only male on a ship without having someone like Innes talk your ear off all the way.
To the Faira’s credit, she would have probably remembered all of the questions and answered them - if there was time - but one of them struck too close to home, causing Astra’s face to twist in a hurt grimace. Libra wouldn’t have even flinched, but Astra wasn’t trained for this. “I can not yet speak of our planet. while I do not believe you to be a security threat to us, pardon me, but you do not strike me as the best keepers of secrets. Perhaps if these talks go well, we will share. Anyway, have a safe trip. We shall meet again soon enough.”
Innes gave a funny little salute before climbing back onto the rustbucket she called a ship. Just before her own captain followed, he turned to Astra “I’m sorry about Innes. She gets a bit… excitable. You should be fine when you actually land on Paardveid. You are coming down, yes?”
“It would appear I am indeed. I have to say I am interested to see your world, I wasn’t planetside in some three hundred years.” Astra smiled. The last ‘planet’ she was on was a chunk of their dead home. She kept for herself that she is only coming because they wouldn’t let one of the only four admirals go to a neutral planet without a battalion escorting her, and since they lacked any ground forces whatsoever, that simply was not an option.
“Very well. I guess I’ll see you when I see you. Goodbye, Captain. Safe travels.” With that, the last of the Paardveidan troops got on-board and fired up the engines. It was an uneventful journey back, as Innes took up her typical travelling position - lounged across a long seat, scribbling away at the diary that never seemed to run out of pages - and the rest of the crew were busy managing the ship.
“Prepare a shuttle!” Astra shouted over the noise of the Sinnsyk ship departing before patching through the ship’s intercom. “Admiral? Permission to take a guard and proceed to the planet?” she asked, but knew the answer already. “Approved, but you’ll need to be wearing something else than that science project of yours.” the admiral said, sounding entertained. Astra only grunted in disgust.
After a few minutes, she was back in the hangar wearing the lightest model of their combat suits, all with the stripes of her rank and other diplomatic garbage. At least she was surrounded by four other Faira in heavy duty exoskeletons to act as her guard. They boarded the shuttle and the engines came to life, taking them out of the hangar bay.
Her hands itching, astra took the controls and put the craft into an almost vertical descent. The shield on the shuttle was pretty much only there to block the re-entry heat, but seeing the fireball that enveloped them from the inside was one of the most impressive things the captain saw in a while. No doubt it would make an impression on the ground as well.
Astra followed to the coordinates that Innes’ ship took since they received no instructions as to where to go, but she figured it was a safe bet the council would be located there. The captain slowed the shuttle down into a crawl as she approached the location, hoping to not look like a threat. The shuttle was unarmed after all. Soon enough she saw the familiar slapjob ship and pulled up next to it. Taking a breath, Astra nodded to one of her guards to open the door and looked out to see if anyone was there to meet them.
Dun Ara, Paardveid
Dun Ara was an impressive sight by anyones reckoning. Over the course of the years, this historical capital had been improved, extended and refined, until all that was left was a paltry village dominated by a huge castle. Even with such a small population, it was clearly an affluent and desirable area to be in.
Awaiting the visitors were the council. First and foremost was the Patriarch himself, Weyss, who was dressed in a very formal robe, all gold baubles and lining. It was clearly a religious thing. Next to him, in full power armour bar the helmet, his Marshal, Asta, who looked at the visitor’s craft in awe. She was stern-faced and pinched, but even she couldn’t hide her amazement at the newcomer’s craft. Vigdis, of course, also in formal attire - her’s taking the form of a long red dress. Her hair was let down and she was trying to appear as uninterested as she could - it wasn't working for her. It may have amused the Faira to see Temair and Innes standing together. Well, not that Innes really had a choice, since the Inquisitor had pinched her ear and was proceeding to give the Chancellor a most blistering tongue-lashing. Innes, in typical Innes fashion, had managed to change into what could only be described as paper-thin curtains to keep herself covered - how and why was a mystery to all. And finally, clearly not giving two damns about the visitors, was Gydja, who looked about as interested as a man watching paint dry on grass growing. You’d think aliens coming to one's door would add a bit of excitement, but apparently not.
The Faira disembarked, their forms towering over the Sinnsyk by a quarter of their height. Two of the guards stayed with the shuttle while the two others bracketed Astra as she made her way to the council. the suit helped her move, but she still felt the uncomfortable tug of the planet below. The planet itself was easily the strangest thing the scientist has ever seen, and she has seen a lot.
The darkness was disorienting. Every body shone brightly to the Faira’s eyes in the blackness of everywhere around - the lack of any radio waves or any other input their antennae might detect did not help. Fortunately her helmet came with some basic filters and she was able to navigate the terrain easily enough.
It shocked her to the core when she saw what conditions these people lived in. It was just like Innes said - And she remembered the name Gydja that ruffled her antennae the most. Perhaps they arrived just in time to help the loon woman do something about this. But first, Astra needed to know more.
They made their way to the rather colorful assembly and whipped up a salute in perfect unison. “Greeting Patriarch, Councilors. We thank you for the invitation. Shall we proceed?” the captain asked, wanting to go straight to business.
Asrabhal Interstellar Exploration Command, Ravan City, Asrabhalanda
It was clear, morning. The sun was peaking over the horizon as it cast its warm rays across the city skyline. A distant ways off was a massive, sprawling complex, many hectares in size. While Ravan City did contain its own spaceport, much like many other large cities on the planet, none had a specific launch complex. Both for large military starships and for any experimental vessels. Making this definition worthwhile, a Rastan-Class Battlecruiser, NPAS Kastakor, over a kilometer in length, was docked on the ground, preparing for launch.
Looking towards the large ship was a tall office building, serving as a control center; the brain of the entire operation. Standing and looking through the tinted glass was an Asrabi leader in formal dress, a pristine white jacket and trousers, with a taut back to keep his long spines down, and polished black boots that uniformly--although uncomfortably--pressed his two toes together neatly and triangularly. He rubbed his chin quizzically, looking at maintenance being conducted on the spacefaring vessel.
Not much later, a door in the back of the room hissed open, and through it stepped a man of similar height and in a similar uniform, although this one more of a dark gray, and on his chest rather than adornments were the emblematic colors of the United Indigenous People of Asrabhalanda and Its Protectorates. Everyone in the room, no matter rank or occupation, stood up from their desks and their computer terminals and faced the man. The commandant about-faced and looked stalwartly towards the Asrabi, crisply saluting him.
As this gray-suited dignitary stepped forward, he was accompanied by a small security detail of three soldiers. They were in advanced black armor, with armored plates around a gray bodysuit, helmets removed revealing the faces of the squad, the eyes on their foreheads glaring forward, the rifles they carried relaxed in their grips and pointed towards the air. The man nodded the white-suited soldier, who lowered the salute, and cleared his throat.
"Emperor Ly'tee, I trust this is about my call." the solider nervously choked. Even though they were equally matched (at least physically in appearance), the Emperor carried an air around him that was both reverent and intimidating.
"Marshal, I do trust that this is worth having me stop what I was doing to hear your word." he replied a bit gruffly. "I have a nation to lead, Parliament can't handle all of this by themselves."
"Yes sir, of course. What you see here, the Kastakor, is implementing a new SlipDrive that will be capable of launching it distances farther than ever before, and is capable of including a small fleet. It will help us for exploring, and for discovering what else is out there based on Doctor Ven'ma's report a few decades back. This goal will finally be realized!"
Emperor Ly'tee chuckled, smiling a bit. The soldier wasn't sure if it was in agreement and equal glee, or ridiculing such an incredulous notion.
"Marshal Shaki'dan, it is great that you do this for our people. A new opportunity arises us, but I have two questions to ask of you-"
"Of course sir, what are they?" he interrupted, his eyes widening a bit. The dictator scoffed slightly at the act.
"Well, Marshal, first I want to know what prompted you to mount such a powerful, volatile contraption onto such a large, cumbersome starship, and not in orbit?"
Marshal Shaki'dan puttered nervously, before snapping up and returning. "This device is too large to easily mount in an orbital shipyard for how much the ship needs to be taken apart and reassembled, and getting it into orbit in the first place would be extremely cumbersome. Plus I feel this is something that will make history of our people, and should be witnessed by all as a powerful launch from the surface as it coasts the stars."
"You remind me of my niece with the drama, Marshal." Ty'lee chortled. "But, regardless, that's reasonable. My second question is what is the risk this puts Asrabhal, both economically and at the expense of the lives of these men, to take such a large project?"
"Well, sir, while this did cost us billions upon billions of Dasra to construct and to ride on numbers alone, but our calculations have given us a mostly confident 53.2% chance of safe travel and return. While that seems like relatively low odds it's quite excellent given the nature of the operation. Kastakor and the small fleet joining her are also well-armed to combat any major opposition."
"I see...very well! I'm not very fond of those odds but this is indeed a historic day to record in the annals of the Asrabi. I will have Parliament take control to view this spectacle."
"Of course, sir. Launch will be in a few hours."
Launch Platform V01A, Asrabi Cruiser NPAS Kastakor, Ravan City, Asrabhalanda
High Commander Yarr Banan'um looked forward through the bridge viewscreens as the angled platform pointed her massive cruiser pointed towards the sky. They all sat buckled in at their stations, all personnel on the ship were required to as preparations for launch. Head Engineer, Junior Officer Gurka'me, confirmed that all systems were go and the ship was prepared to launch. Commander Banan'um reviewed the command order delivered to her computer.
Y. BANAN'UM, HIGH COMMANDER, NAVY OF THE PEOPLE OF ASRABHALANDA
MILITARY DESIGNATION: A591591 SHIP: NPAS KASTAKOR ADDITIONAL SHIPS IN FLEET: NPAS RAVAN, HEAVY FRIGATE NPAS VEROKA RUNI'YU, HEAVY FRIGATE NPAS ASDARAN, DESTROYER NPAS PEACEFUL ACCORD, DIPLOMATIC VESSEL [3 CORVETTES, CLICK TO SHOW NAMES AND DESIGNATIONS]
By order of Emperor Baswok Ly'tee, your fleet is to use the ZAS-1 Slipstream Space Drive to travel to Point [REDACTED, REPORTED TO ASTRONAV OFFICER] at [REDACTED, REPORTED TO ASTRONAV OFFICER] light years away. Your fleet is then to begin broadcasting a signal to look for signs of new life and new intelligences, and report findings to NPA Authority for further analysis.
More details have been included in DataPak No. 1-3, specifically detailing navigation information. Most is to be sent to your ship's Astronomic Navigations Officer to process.
Are these orders clear?
Y [X] N [ ]
Commander Banan'um relayed this information to her Navigations Officer, and then loudly declared into the ship PA system. "All personnel, prepare for launch."
Outside, many kilometers away, thousands watched and cameras panned to view the massive spaceship began its final preparations for launch. A countdown began as the engines of the craft began to fire up, the Rastan-Class's four nuclear reactors beginning to increase reaction output and providing great thrust to the engines. Once the countdown hit zero, flame erupted from the rear of the craft, and it slowly separated itself from its mooring. Slowly rising into the air, it turned as it began to fix its course, being tangential to the curve of the planet as it planned to meet up with the fleet.
After the influence of gravity began to dim, artificial gravity was switched on and the crew got to work as it organized with the small fleet. After some preparations, they began for jump. The drive began to increase in intensity, to the point where its rumbling could be hard through the bowels of the vessel. After some time two tubes in the bow of the ship fired two lines into the bleak emptiness of space. Once they connected there was a brief shine and soon the workings of time and space tore apart as a portal to SlipStream space was torn open. The ships cautiously entered, soon feeling the pull as the rip began to seal itself again. As the last ship entered, the portal closed.
Most of the crew went into stasis while a group of technicians continued to monitor them, preparing for the destination.
After some time the fleet emerged from Slipstream Space and were now in another star system. Following commanded guidelines, all ships began broadcasting a signal in all known languages to the Asrabi (There were few others besides Azri). Playing a message containing the anthem and warranting their arrival in peace. They remained in the bleak, hostile depths of the universe, hoping for some kind of return or contact.
Weyss smiled. He liked this kind of practicality. No tedious hows and whys, just get down straight to business. “Very well, Captain. We both have things we need to do, after all. I won't lie, our contact is mostly in an attempt to prevent a war. Some of us -” he shot a withering glance at the Inquisitor, who scowled in return “- would rather see your kind wiped out. I, personally, would like to avoid any unnecessary conflict. Besides, I'm certain there is much we can offer each other - technology may be scarce, but you'll be surprised what our kind can do, if they put their minds to it. Speaking of which, what is it exactly that you want, and what are you prepared to offer?”
No-one on the council was surprised at Weyss’ direct handling of the situation. This was how he usually worked - what do you want, and what are you offering. It was rare for him to say much more than those two lines.
At the mention of war, Astra did a step back and her guards raised their arms and stood in front of her, two menacingly red glowing barrels deploying form each of their wrist pods. It was a nigh-instinctive reaction by the Faira. When it become apparent the threat wasn’t there they relaxed, but despite Astra’s dismissing gesture, the guards refused to sheath their weapons despite lowering them.
The Captain shot the same person Weyss looked at a deathly blue glare. “They would try, they would fail, and then your world would fall. Perhaps we should exclude these elements from the negotiations, Patriarch. Obviously their tactical and strategic sense does not go too far beyond their zealous animosity if they did not stop you from inviting a warship to your orbit if they intended hostilities. They have little to contribute then.” Astra said to Weyss, not able not to shoot back.
“I will overlook this fact because we want to cause no… incidents. I must also inform you of another thing. Our treaties prevent us from sharing military technology without your signing a mutual defense treaty - something I believe will come up later. However, everything else is on the table. We only really need your approval to travel freely through your system and scan for possible FTL routes, but we are open to other trade negotiations and if you wish, we can also introduce you to our allies.” Astra continued on a more friendly note, intent on completely ignoring the inquisitor for the duration of these talks unless her attitude improved.
Temair hissed uncomfortably as the stranger shot her a look. She was used to Weyss’ taunting by now, but coming from a heathen, it meant a world of difference. “I’ll have you know, Ma’am, that most of the Republic goes to Weyss through me. I will not be absent from negotiations as long as either my Republic or my religion is at risk.”
“Peace, Temair” the young man tried to placate the angry zealot “I will not have you stand down - however, I will ask you to acknowledge that these people are of a different culture and faith, and we shall respect that. This is not an attempt at conversion, this is simply business.”
The Patriarch was taking the supposed hostility surprisingly calmly. Everyone else froze when the Faira soldiers drew their weapons, but he simply shook his head and frowned. Some part of him knew that they would not open fire, but it was a rather insulting diplomatic gesture. Not allowing his offence to show, he pressed on.
“Getting back on topic - I must apologize, Captain - this is an interesting proposal. I have a feeling yours is a practical people, not given to romantic notions, and thus, our trade would be of limited value to you. On the other hand, a mutual defence treaty is something I am happy to discuss.”
At this point, the Marshal piped in “We are aware you may have more advanced weaponry and armour, but I must pride myself on the rigorous training that I put my men and women through. If you like, we can offer similar training to your own units and combine irresistible discipline with exceptional equipment to create a near unstoppable force. And I wouldn’t mind meeting your allies. I have a feeling we can learn a lot from each other.”
The Seneschal, Vigdis, smiled brightly “And I see no reason why we should prevent you travelling through our system, as long as we receive the same benefits from yourselves.”
All eyes turned to Gydja, who yawned tiredly and mumbled “I’ve got nothing to add. The trade might be nice, but I have my doubts you’d find the Republic a valuable partner.”
Innes, at this point, was about to burst. She really wanted to add something, but nothing came to mind. Once again, her positioning on this council had meant nought practically, something that was becoming more and more evident lately.
“What about me? What could I do?”
Weyss smiled at the girl. It was hard to believe that Innes was only a year younger than himself sometimes. They were like chalk and cheese - he was serious, she was jovial, he got straight to the point, she got sidetracked easily. Still, it was nice to see she at least wanted to do something, unlike some people he could name.
“Captain, if I may be so bold, could I discuss a matter with you - privately? You can keep the guards if you wish.”
Astra weighed the options she was given carefully. It was good to see that the hostile notion wasn’t a majority. Even her guards seemed to relax after a while, the weapons’ hum and glow dying down. One of the councillors - a military leader by the looks - made several proposals. They were nice gesture, although for the Faira both were out of the question. Still, if anything the smaller build of the Sinnsyk would be useful onboard their ships without a doubt. “I appreciate the offer, and the meeting should not be hard to facilitate - in fact, they have representatives on board our ship. If you are interested, perhaps I can arrange a tour later. I should warn you though - They are not like you and us. Theirs are mechanical people.”
Asta knew that kind of response was coming so she accepted it gracefully. Until the Faira actually saw the troops in action, they would probably refuse the offerings of a comparatively primitive fighting force. There was some hope from her allies, however, so she wasn’t entirely written off.
It seemed that majority of the council favored deeper relations between their peoples, which was good. Astra had to try really hard not to giggle at Innes’ behavior, but she could think of one thing. The Faira needed to either post an ambassador here, which would be uncomfortable for the poor soul AND they were short on hands as it was, or a Sinnsyk could come to the Hexus in the Machina system. The chancellor seemed eager to get away from here anyway. Fortunately the Patriarch provided a distraction. “Certainly.” she nodded, wondering whether the Patriarch requested this as a reaction to Innes, out of spite for the Inquisitor or something else. Nonetheless, she doubted she was in any real danger. She instructed the guards to wait on the spot and waited for the Patriarch to lead the way.
Weyss took them down a narrow corridor into a small room. It was reminiscent of the conference room aboard the Trigati if it had been made a few hundred years earlier. The chairs were wooden and the table in the middle was a kind of polished stone. Despite this, the chairs were comfortable enough to sit on and there were few distractions in the room.
“It is concerning Innes,” he sighed. He knew what he was about to ask went beyond the barriers of a normal relationship, and that it might be too much for the Captain to respond to, but it had to be done.
“The reason I’ve called you in here privately is because I wish to spare the girl any further embarrassment. As you’re probably aware, she isn’t… altogether with us. For years, we tried to place the exact symptoms and cause of this issue, with limited success.”
“Innes doesn’t form relationships the normal way. Her mind just doesn’t register anything beyond certain traits and qualities of a person. She usually doesn’t get attached to people - in fact, that’s one of her best qualities as a diplomat. It means that she is thinking clearly whilst the other parties are distracted”
“There have been exceptions, though. Myself, for example, who our local physician claims she sees as a brother. That in itself shouldn’t be a problem. The problem occurs that she doesn’t… well, her boundaries are very clear, shall we say. Until the day she dies, she considers me a friend and brother and nothing I can do or say will make her think any less of me.”
“What I’m trying to say is that you, my dear, have caught Innes’ emotions. You might have seen it yourself - maybe she picked up on a particular word you said or seemed oddly fascinated at a physical trait of yours. It is of no consequence as to the hows. She sees you as one of the few people worthy of emotional conduct, and it won’t change. Yes, she will still get angry or upset with you, but it will disappear rather quickly, since she has one primary emotion that she associates with you.”
“What you saw today wasn’t the normal Innes. If you were anyone else, she would have appeared at that meeting nude and wouldn’t have said a word. She is trying to impress you. I don’t know the exact details yet, but she wants your approval. Psychologically, she couldn’t handle it if she thought you were displeased with her.“
“So what I’m suggesting is this - I’d like you to take Innes with you. I have plenty of other diplomats willing to take her place. I’d like your people to study her in more depth - gods know we’ve tried, but progress is slow and unpromising. The benefits for your people is that you will have access to a live Sinnsyk specimen, twenty-four seven, who will do anything you ask her. Literally anything. She can also act as an ambassador from the Republic to yourselves. It also means I have a legitimate excuse to drop her from the council - I love the dear girl, but she’s not cut out for the world of politics. Her position as diplomat would be purely for her benefit. So, what do you say?”
Astra listened with a neutral face up to the word ‘specimen’. Truth to be told, the culture of these people would probably take more getting used to than actually converting to whatever the religion was. It was all so… feudal. Chancellor one day, specimen the other, with a single word from the person one notch above you. If Astra lived here, she probably would have already devised a prehistoric siege machines and laid waste to this regime. Unfortunately, the Admiral probably wouldn’t like that.
“I thought as much. I will take her as a liaison to your people and pretend I did not hear that horrible reason you gave before that.” she said, her nose covered in a few wrinkles as she frowned in disgust. “I will have you know that none of us would ever intentionally harm a living being. If she wishes, we’ll look into her sickness, if it is a sickness at all. From what i’ve seen, some of her ideas could stand to get implemented, Patriarch.” the Faira hinted at the issue.
“But since we’re already here, I had the text of the treaty translated for you for review, if you would like to see it before the council does. I’d direct you especially to clause 1.2. I did not see much of your technology and apparently you have some hidden surprises if you can make it to space, but I believe you still stand to gain a lot by signing. Of course at the moment your nation’s admission would be pending the decision of the RLC, and while I have no ill will towards her, the good chancellor probably shouldn’t be the one handling that.” the captain suggested. “Regardless of the signing of the treaty, for our own race I will put this on the table: We are short on resources and your system, according to our preliminary readings, is rich in some we need. I would ask for mining rights to your system. You would of course receive a share, which would jump-start you on shipbuilding so you could soon join us among the stars.” As long as your inquisitor and her religion stays on Paardveid. Astra thought bitterly. If they weren’t so resource starved, she might have not bothered.
Weyss was not blind to the disdain of the Captain, but he paid it little heed. She didn’t understand their systems - how could she? - but it was all so natural for him. It was what he grew up with, what he was trained for.
“You must misunderstand me, Captain.” he smiled “Innes is not a disposable resource to me. She is no mere subject. I grew up with her, watched her become the young lady she is today. I must confess I have had a certain degree of emotional investment in that girl. Which is why I find it necessary for me to offer this. She may have a smile on her face, but she is tortured inside. Old memories keep resurfacing. Nightmares keep recurring. It would be unfair of me to watch who could be her only hope walk in here and not ask for help. And I must consider my Republic as well. Every day, the tension in the air seems to thicken. Theocrats and Republicans hardly seem to get along anymore and we’re hearing rumours of peasants gearing up for another civil war. People know that I have attachments to the Chancellor, so she would likely be the first target of any attempted kidnappers or assassins. No-one can hurt her if she’s with you. That is, of course, assuming you do actually care about her fate?”
“Do not let my florid language and robes put you off, Captain, you must remember I am still a boy. It takes a certain level of… experience to be able to put a good friend in the line of danger. Innes owes me nothing, and I owe her much. If I was older, wiser and perhaps a bit crueller, I would have her stay. As it stands, it would be selfish of me to do so. She’s too important to me to have her life risked, but she is too volatile to send into hiding. And remember, she will not care - I have a feeling that as long as she is with you, she will enjoy it. If you like, we could ask Innes what she makes of the situation..?” He left the question hanging in the air, not quite threatening, but not quite passive either. His face was unreadable.
But at the mention of the treaty, Weyss lightened up a little, realising that they were back on passive ground.
“It would help to see the treaty before all others, but that would be unfair - I have a Council and we must make these decisions together. They are hard people, I know, but they put up with me, so I must put up with them. I am keen to meet these RLC chaps.”
“I am opposed to the strip-mining of our neighbouring planets, especially our own. If my council approves, I will give you mining rights, but I must ask you to be careful not to disturb the planet's natural systems. Our own planet is homage to the things that get done in the dark - even the most inhospitable planets may have things of importance on them. You should know the drill - don’t leave litter, don’t hunt the animals, don’t spread yourselves out too much, etcetera, etcetera.”
Weyss wasn’t keen to have a foreign presence so close to home, especially one with so much power, but they could use the help. Right now, they were self-sufficient and nothing more. They couldn’t spare the time and resources to expand further - these people could help that. It was vital that they came across as worthy of help, else they might say hang it all and look elsewhere for allies, or worse. Theocrats were bad enough, he didn’t even want to know the kind of system this lot would set up
“Our race values life above all things, Patriarch. Barring injuries, one of us is yet to die of old age. To be honest, we do not believe our bodies even degrade in that way. So whenever one of us is lost, we forfeit an eternity. It might explain the reaction of my guards. I apologize for that, but it is their job. My point is, do not worry. If you feel the chancellor is in danger here, we will grant her asylum. Furthermore, my Admiral has already hinted to me that I will be sent back away from the frontlines, so I should be able to keep her company personally.” the Faira smiled.
“I will ask our allies to come of their own accord then, provided none of you wishes to travel with us to meet them. We would of course transport your delegation back home as well.” the captain offered.
It amused her that everyone thought of planets instantly where mining was concerned. “Then let me put your worries at ease, Patriarch - we recognize your claim to this system, it’s planets included. It is also much harder to transport large quantities of resources from the surface to the orbit. No, we are interested in asteroids and comets. The worlds are yours to explore and exploit.”
Well, it seemed like everything that needed to be discussed right now was said and talked over. “If there is nothing else, then by all means don’t let me keep you.” the captain nodded, ready to get away from the tiring pull of Paardveid’s gravity.
“No. I have nothing more to add.” Weyss shook his head “If all is good, I’ll have Innes pack her things and she can go with you today. You can call in your allies and, when the treaty is signed and discussed, we will send a copy of it back to the ship that the Chancellor contacted”
He rose from the table and bowed to the Captain before making his way back to the rest of the council. They seemed to be in heated discussion about something and before he took his place amongst them he gave the Faira guards an apologetic look as if to say ‘sorry you were stuck with this lot’
“Well, it seems we’ve reached an agreement. Innes, get your things - you’re going with the Faira”
There were somewhat stunned looks from the rest of the council. Innes, for her part, looked more surprised than shocked.
“You mean… I’m going back on the spaceship?” she asked bewilderedly.
“You are to return with Captain Astra to further study the Faira way of life and to maintain a diplomatic conduit between the Republic and the foreigners. So yes, you are going back on the Faira craft”
There was a moment of silence as the full weight of the Patriarch’s words descended on all present. Everyone except Innes knew what the Patriarch meant and it was taking them a moment to muster up the right feelings. Then Temair unexpectedly drew the girl in for a hug and kissed her forehead.
“Be a good girl while you’re away, okay Innes?” the Inquisitor managed to choke out.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say you’ll be missed.” Vigdis added, not looking at them.
“And learn how to fight while you’re gone” the Marshal chuckled
“I don’t like doing this” Weyss said, taking a sudden interest in a piece of the floor “but sometimes what’s important comes before what you want.” It was painfully clear that he wasn’t just talking about diplomacy here, but Innes didn’t seem to mind. She just smiled, showing her little sharp teeth, and waved it off.
“So how long am I away for, boss?” she asked “A week? A month?”
“No, Innes” Weyss stared at the floor as though his life depended on it. “You’ll be away until I have called you back explicitly. This is too important, and too temperamental, for me to set dates and times.”
He felt bad for lying. Deceit was not in his nature. But this was a chance to get Innes out of the line of fire, as well as give her some much-needed physical and mental support. Her growth had been stunted because they didn’t have the capabilities to deal with whatever problem she had. The Faira might fix that.
“So what you’re saying is, I’m going away with Astra until you want me back?” Innes didn’t stop smiling
“I’ll want you back the second you leave, my dear. You’re going away until I decide that the time is right for you to return.”
Innes’ face went faux-serious and she did a mock salute “I won’t fail you boss.”
She scampered away to grab a few things, though most of her stuff was in the spaceship she came in. She came back with a little bag and suddenly it dawned on Weyss how little Innes actually had. She might not be a very material girl, but did she really have so few things that meant something to her?
“Wait, am I going to have to wear one of those monkey-suits again or is what I’m wearing fine?” She directed the question at the Captain
“You won’t need much of anything. I will have to build you a scaled down version of one of our suits. Our ships are relatively safe in a fight, but a subspace turbulence can still rattle it. That and i’ll be able to put shielding on it to allow you to move around without a headache.” the Faira stated matter-of-factly. Of course, she was above all else worried about the Sinnsyk promenading around naked - the admiral would throw her out the airlock. Or both of them.
“The Faira and Innes will be departing shortly. We still have duties to attend to. If you wish to see our guests off, stay, but this council is technically dismissed.”
Gydja didn’t even hesitate. She got up and left without further word, earning her glares from all others. Everyone else stayed, however.
“Hey guys, don’t be upset!” the ex-Chancellor gave them all a haunting grin “I’ll be back! And I’ll write to you as often as possible!”
“That might be sooner than you think. We’ll have to keep ferrying back and forth for food that you can eat alone. I imagine it wouldn’t be too much trouble for you to visit monthly or every quarter. I imagine you would also like to deliver your reports in person.” Astra hinded. If what Weyss said was true, than Innes had the same attachment to him. she was no medic, but she could guess keeping her away from him for too long wouldn’t be healthy for the little woman at all.
“Well, I believe that would be all. Unless you request otherwise, our ships should be done scanning your system and gone within few hours. Expect a RLC ship to pay you a visit in close future. As for us, we’ll leave a communication terminal here.” Astra said and nodded to her guards to unload the suitcase sized machine from the shuttle, “It has a built in power unit so you can move it wherever you want to and it will last a few years. You can use it to contact us or the chancellor.” she finished explaining.
“It has been an interesting visit, thank you for the invitation, Patriarch. I hope we’ll find a way to coexist peacefully.” she ended and nodded the council a farewell. “Shall we?” Astra asked, offering Innes a hand to help her up to the shuttle.
Innes took the hand and stepped up. She gave her co-councillors a little jaunty wave before she disappeared out of sight. By the time any of them could wave back, she wouldn’t have seen it.
“It has been an honor, Captain.” The Patriarch bowed. There was no need for long farewells. What had happened here was business. Just business.
The rest of the council followed Weyss’ lead, bowing a saying their thanks. It was hard for Temair not to shoot a cynical response at the leaving visitors, but she managed to hold her tongue long enough for them to get out of earshot. “Bloody heathens. Konja knows what they’ll do to her. Why did you let her go, Weyss?”
He shrugged “Safest option. It was either let her stay here, where she is at constant risk, or give her to the superior race with their fancy technology and advanced medicines.”
“If you say so…”
Weyss sat down - he had been standing the whole time, something he only now realised - and massaged the side of his head for a few minutes. When he recovered, he stretched his arms, stood up and walked away without a word.
FD Trigati, A while later Astra let Innes have the co-pilot seat on the way up, turning the shuttle in a way that would allow her to see her home from the large window. Astra was visibly relieved by the lowering gravity as they left the planet’s sphere of influence.
Once on board the destroyer, she dismissed the guards and lead Innes to a bunk room. “I’m sorry, I know our quarters are nothing much, but this is a warship. Once we got to a civilian ship, we’ll be able to do better. I suppose you’ll be staying with me for the while, so I’ll see to have something arranged for you. I have to go report to the Admiral, but would you like a tour of the ship later?”
Innes had a funny feeling in her tummy. It was a queer mix of excitement, nerves and anti-gravity. What did Weyss mean, he would decide when the time is right? And why did everyone look so upset. Ah well. It was of little consequence up here. Plus, it meant that she had all the time in the world to better know these weird Fairy people. Especially Astra.
“Is it a good idea for you to leave me alone?” she wondered “I mean, I might end up doing something that I’m not supposed to. I still don’t know all the customs and rules of this place yet.”
Astra expected as much. She wasn’t sure how to handle this properly. Was raising a child like this? The only person who could tell her that… hey wait a minute. “You know what? How would you like to go see the admiral as well? After all you have a diplomatic status, you’ll meet all four of them sooner or later. There is one thing I need to say though - there’s going to be a resemblance, for yes, i am the admiral’s daughter. Please try not to mention that, it was hard enough to be allowed to be in the same fleet as her, and we had to keep our relation under the lid.”
“You mean,” Innes voice went quiet, with the air of one imparting a secret “That you’re not meant to be here?” Well, it seems like they had more in common than they thought. “Well, yes, I would like to meet this admiral fellow. I suppose it’s important to make as many friends in the high-ups as possible.”
“Well, It’s more of a case of me not supposed to be anywhere near the front lines. The fact that we’re family was in my opinion used as an excuse. I don’t mean to brag, but I am sort of a national treasure. I designed both our faster-than-light drives AND our shielding. They want me safe home in a lab, but you try to spend two hundred years doing just math and stuff. It got too boring.” the captain complained. “Very well then. Let us stop by the manufacturing on our way to have your measures taken for the suit.”
Command deck… Cygnus was busy reviewing the reports. The cruisers have found several jump nodes out of the system, but none stable enough to allow anything larger than a gunship through. It would appear that this system was a dead end. Good thing too. Until the RLC could get their ships modernized, they wouldn’t be able to go too much further anyway. and there was yet another system to explore beyond Machina.
She was interrupted from her work by the comms officer who notified her Astra would like to report. Confirming, she left for the briefing room. She was not ready to still see the Sinnsyk on her ship. “Captain?” she asked, her tone enough to ask for clarification.
What Innes would see could have been a mime show. The Admiral and the Captain were almost a carbon copy. the only difference was that where Astra’s skin pigment and eyes were blue, Cygnus’ were dark red.
“Admiral. I have successfully negotiated free passage through the system. The Sinnsyk sent chancellor Innes as a diplomatic contact. They expressed interest in joining the MDA, so I suggest we tell Carn to send one of his ships to get a picture of these people on his own. Pending his approval, I recommend we allow them in. We have little to gain in technology, but they have certain abilities that would be of great use.”
Nodding, the admiral thought for a while. “Very well, I’ll translate your recommendation to the other admirals. I assume you would like us to deliver the Chancellor to the Hexus then?” Cygnus asked. Captain Libra will not be pleased with her colony ship being turned into a diplomatic hub, however it seemed like the most logical choice.
“Yes, and if it is still on the table, I will request to be transferred there as well. I have been working on ways to integrate RLC technology into our ships, and it would be convenient to be near the source.” at those words Cygnus finally smiled a little. “Very well, i’ll sign the papers once we’re there. thank you, and good work.” the admiral said and turned to Innes, her red eyes studying her for a second: “If it is alright with you, ma’am?”
Innes was more than a little stunned. Where was the contrast? The difference? If it weren’t for those enchanting eyes, how would she tell the difference between Astra and the Admiral?
Oh crap, she’s addressing you. Say something, Innes, say something smart!
“Y-yes, I don’t see a problem with that.” In truth, she hadn’t really been listening. she was more concerned with how two people could look so alike bar one tiny and easily overlooked change. She tried to look clever and serious, but her face just wouldn’t contort the right way and in the end, she looked more frightened than anything else. Which was justified, she supposed, but probably not best to display.
Something about the way the Admiral and Astra talked to each other reminded her of the way Weyss and Temair spoke to each other - very slight aggression, using long and fancy words like ‘transferred’ and ‘diplomatic contact’ and ‘pending his approval’. And then she got a picture of Weyss and Temair as Fairy people in her head and couldn’t help but let out a giggle. The more she tried to suppress it, the more it came out and she tittered unstoppably to herself until the image was no longer funny.
The admiral nodded, trying her hardest to ignore the fit of giggles. If Astra wanted to spend time with the alien, she could have her. as for Cygnus, she’d love to visit a system void of life for once. “Wery well. We’ll be leaving for Machina in an hour. I suggest you get a suit made for the chancellor in that time, subspace seems to be rather volatile in this system.” the admiral finished and left.
“Well, that went well.” Astra said, unhappy about having to go back behind the lines. but what she said was true, and it was necessary evil. She already had an idea on how to use the RLC FTL gates to launch fighters, and more. “Very well, to the lab it is. I think I’d rather take care of your suit personally. I don’t know if we’ll have time to see the ship, but there should be plenty of that once we get where we’re headed. Would you like to talk in the meantime? I’d be interested in hearing about your history.” the captain said, waiting for Innes to join her before she lead them to the labs - her own little kingdom.
Having an attack of giggles is not uncommon for Innes, so she knew what to expect when she got over it. These people might be foreign, but look at their faces close enough and - yup, there it was. Thinly veiled contempt. A shame - she was planning on being really clever and funny.
The Admiral took her leave, and Astra seemed to be unhappy about it. Maybe being off the front lines was a good thing, Innes thought. Less danger and you’re more likely to do something that benefits the race as a whole. She thought of saying this, but decided against it in the end.
“Do I have to wear one of those weird space-suits? They always feel too tight and cutting and they never let my skin breathe.” She huffed in a most undiplomatic manner
But, in the end, she toddled along like a good little diplomat. Sometimes that was the best thing to do.
“D’you mean my history or the Republic’s?” she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful - and failing.
When Innes complained about the suit, Astra grinned a spiky, shiny smile. “Challenge accepted. I’ll make you a suit you’ll never want anything else. But yes, I’m afraid I’ll have to insist. You don’t want to have just cloth on you when the ship rocks and you’re tossed about ten meters like a ragdoll.” the captain shuddered at the thought.
“Both, if you don’t mind.” the Faira smiled. She did not want to ask for the chancellor’s personal history not to sound prying, but since she offered…
They arrived at the labs soon enough. The inside was probably the exact opposite of what Innes expected. Equipment was everywhere, lying without any semblance of order. The strangest thing was a cot built out of empty cases and a sheet of sound insulating foam. Astra’s little backdoor for when she spent too much time thinking and needed some time to let the lamps in her suit recharge her body.
She found a chair on the other side of the room and offered it for Innes to sit while she fetched a scanner. Of course, she wouldn’t need this particular scanner just to take her measures, but she would accommodate the Patriarch’s request and see if she could figure out something about Innes’s condition - as long as it remained uninvasive. “This might feel uncomfortable for you, Em and all, but it shouldn’t take more than few seconds. ready?” she asked before she would turn the machine on.
“How uncomfortable are we talking?” Innes flashed her a grin. This lab was huge by her standards. There were things literally everywhere. It looked like some angry giant had marched into a perfectly nice lab and had a temper tantrum. Bits and bobs looked stuck together in patterns that she just could not fathom. There was a pile of something that looked like boxes and foam - closer inspection revealed it was some sort of makeshift bed. She shuddered at the thought of having to sleep in such a place - who knows what might happen? And Innes tended to thrash. Actually, that shouldn’t be a problem. She didn’t think she could mess the place up worse.
“Do you mind waiting until after I’ve got the monkey-suit on before we start baring our souls to each other? It’ll be hard to focus if you’re fiddling about with me while I talk.”
“Just a few seconds of nothing worse than what you felt when you first came aboard. In fact you’ve gone through a security checkpoint that would have hit you harder than this I imagine.” Astra said and switched the machine on. “It’ll take a while to make the components, and before that I have to do some changes to the design. See, our people come form a place where the star was shining a very intense red light, and it’s how our bodies get their energy.” Astra gone into encyclopedia mode.
Speaking of the suits, she needed to shed this god-awful diplomatic attire. “Come have a look.” she pointed to where her jet black experimental suit stood on a rack. Fiddling with the controls on the wrist, the machine powered up and made a few clicks as locks released and the suit opened to admit the wearer. Astra pointed to the padding on the inside, where giant lamps were built in on the inside. “Naturally there’s no sun on the ship, so we had to get around it. We carry our sun with us. It is not so efficient though, hence the bunks. At some point we still have to lie down and recharge for the lack of better terms, despite the fact that we don’T need to sleep like you do.” she gone on.
“Suppose that particular feature is one your suit can do away with.” she said and reached into one of the piles, knowing perfectly where anything was - and being probably the only one at that. She pulled out two pieces of cloth-like material: “Which padding would you like? One is a memory cloth that will practically be unrecognizable from your skin, the other is a bit more sturdy and offers more protection.”
The mention of a planet was new to Innes. She knew they must have had a homeworld but no-one had mentioned it in detail until now. “We don’t have a star. We’re all dark.” Innes wondered what having a star so close to home must be like. Warm, probably, and very bright. She was probably better off not having one.
The suit made her blanche. Jet black? Did they not have something a little lighter? Her own was always a nice, calm gray shade. “That stuff looks like something out of…” she shut herself up before she went further, not trying to offend the people who were kind enough to let her aboard their ship.
The fact that the creatures didn’t sleep was interesting. She fully understood what they meant: it was like how she had to use her journal every so often to avoid burning out. But never laying down and closing your eyes? It was an aptly alien concept. “So, what you’re saying is that you won’t be sleeping with me?” she said innocently.
But the padding. Soft and smothering or tough and rough? If she had to wear it all the time, something comfortable would go well, something she could sleep easily in. At the same time, she didn’t want to appear weak.
Practicality won out. “I’ll wear the softer one, please…” she cast eyes at the floor, cursing her scrawny frame.
“Oh don’t worry, my suit is a prototype so I didn’t bother to paint it because I’m constantly making modifications here and there. You can have yours in any color scheme you like. Most of ours are the classic grey and red. It goes a long way with us. Our homeworld used to be grey, our sun used to be red.” the Faira explained the reason behind her people’s favorite.
“To be honest I find the need to sleep as alien as you find the lack of it. To need to shut down for hours and just lie there unaware of your surroundings and unprotected? How did your kind make it to technology let alone space? I would have thought something would make you a prey a long time ago. the universe is a strange place.” Astra noted. “Look, I don’t even have those, those… eyelids you do. Our planet was always facing one side to the sun, with the dark side being practically a dead world. It is jsut strange to see life flourish on a place as dark as Paardveid. Truly interesting.”
Astra felt a little more at ease making conversation as time went. It might have been because it was one of the nerdiest conversations she had recently, but whatever worked. She was a bit taken aback by the suggestion in Innes’ inquiry, but shook it off rather quickly. “Oh, sorry. I will probably outlive you by several of your lifetimes, it will be hard enough to say goodbye to you as a friend when your time comes.” the Faira said, her tone rather gloomy. “But you’ll find the Faira rather liberal as far as relationships go. It just happens when your race is 90% female I suppose. Most of the time we find a life companion in another woman. Let’s not tell the inquisitor about that.” she smirked, wondering whether Temair would just immediately declare a crusade on them if she knew.
“Soft it is. My choice as well, the cushions just dull your sense of touch that’s limited by the hardshell already.” she agreed on Innes’ choice of material. “What’s the temperature and humidity on your world? I’ll adjust the life support system to fit you the best. As you might have probably guessed, our suits keep us rather warm.”
Oh good. They had grey after all. She hoped it was as light as the one she had brought with her.
Wait, wouldn’t that one be just as practical? They were too far into the process now to back out so it meant nothing.
“I’m surprised you noticed the eyelids. Most people think I don’t blink.” she said, pleased to see that Astra paid enough attention to details to notice.
But the discussion about relationships threw her off. Why was she talking about that? Did that have any relevance to what she was talking about?
Oh no. nononono. Oh, by the Old Gods, no. That did not just happen. Innes thought about what she said a little more carefully and her face went as bright as a cherry with sunburn.
Congratulations, Innes. You are now officially Sapphic. Welcome to the party, please watch your step and prepare for the ribbing of a lifetime.
“I didn’t - I mean, I shouldn’t... “ Words failed the diplomat as she desperately attempted to explain what she actually meant. The problem was, she didn’t quite know herself whether what the Captain was insinuating was true or not. Her face was probably brighter than the star that once lit the Faira homeworld.
In fact, she was so shut down that she couldn’t even answer the question about the humidity and temperature. She couldn’t say anything. Her mouth would not open and for one of the few times in her life, Innes was well and truly speechless.
Swallowing didn’t help. Neither did telling herself to calm down. She just sunk to her knees, making her seem a lot smaller than she had already been. She wasn’t even upset, just lost. How do you come back from something like that?
“You aren’t the only one of your kind I met, remember? If not on you, I’d notice on some of the others. But I’m a scientist. Paying attention and observing is in my job description.” Astra shrugged.
Things took an interesting turn afterwards. She would be lying she didn’t want to make Innes feel a little awkward in return, but this was just comedy gold. “Oh? Was it something I said?” She said in a clearly mocking tone when she saw the chancellor utterly gobsmacked.
“I’ll forget this conversation if you wish.” she said when she thought she let the Sinnsyk cook for long enough. “Anyway, I think most of the standard specs will do for you. The suit shouldn’t be giving you as much of a strength boost as it does for us given your species is naturally stronger, but it will still allow you to carry a lot of stuff if you need to. I’ll have to do away with the weapons though, the added shielding that will run nigh permanently will require more power, and there shouldn’t be any action on the ‘Hexus anyway. In case you find yourself in need sometime, I’m sure we can give you a sidearm.” Well that and of course letting someone unproven walk around with a weapon was just bad idea. She did not think Innes capable of such betrayal, but the Faira did not live this long by not being careful.
It took a while for reality to come back to the Chancellor and when it did, it came in the form of her host’s mocking taunt.
“Why, why, why in the name of all that is good, merciful and holy, did you do that?” she said, almost in tears. She’d put up with some mean things in her time, but that was just… sadistic. Did she enjoy that? “What, you get off to making young ladies question themselves? You’re mean.”
Childish, yes, but it was all she could do to alleviate the pain. Anyway, duty called.
“If I can breathe, walk and otherwise survive at your standard rate, I’m sure the standard specifications will do” She wasn’t looking the Captain in the eye anymore. “Oh, and I wouldn’t give me a gun. Might do naughty things with the handle” She spat out the last line, metaphorical venom dripping from her tone. Somehow she didn’t seem to care about offending her hosts anymore
“I might be 387 years old, but I suppose I did not mature out of the need for payback just yet.” the Faira smiled, “Do you know at how many occasions you made me feel awkward in just the day we knew each other? I realize some of the time it was just being unfamiliar with our culture but calling me by my name in front of the whole hangar? The rumors that were bound to go around the ship by now will be horrible.” Astra shivered.
“Cheer up, no word leaves this room, I promise.” she tried to lift Innes’ mood as she sent a request to manufacturing to make the suit while she got busy searching for the extra parts she would need for the modifications. She would have made a comeback about the gun, but she decided there was enough awkward in the air as there was and dropped the topic.
“Oh, by the way, about sleeping and all - something else we need to set up for you? I am not sure what you need to prepare your food, keeping yourself clean and other day to day things. Better have any appliances made for you now instead of solving a crisis later.” the practical side of her mind took over.
Note to self - don’t call anyone by their name. Ever. Innes resolved to have that written down as soon as it was viable.
“You’re going to need to give me a list of things that I should and shouldn’t do.” She muttered “Don’t want to accidentally hit on anyone else. Or deliberately, come to think of it”
It would take her a while to overcome the shame she felt today. Maybe weeks, maybe months, maybe never. Stop going over it, Innes, you’ll only make it worse.
“Before we bury this subject so deep underground it’s being fried by whatever planet we buried it on’s core, if you don’t mind my asking: Do you genuinely think I may have a… thing for you?” There was no challenge in the voice, just simple curiosity. She thought it best to establish boundaries as to avoid any further awkwardness until the time was right
What did she need set up for herself? Best to go over everything. What would be important? Sleeping, eating, washing and leisure. The four main parts of life outside of work.
“Something soft and comfortable to sleep on would be nice. Preferably isolated without anyone able to sneak up on me. It’s something of a phobia. I could stay in your quarters, but that might not be entirely appropriate for now. More practical though.”
“For food, it has to be natural. Fruits and berries mostly, though a bit of meat now and then doesn’t go awry. Doesn’t matter if it’s raw, I can still get it down.”
“Cleaning… there’s a mix of two chemicals on our planet, oxygen and hydrogen. We call it water. If you get a warm tub full of water, and three types of soapwort - one for the hair, one for the body and one for more sensitive parts of the body.”
“And for fun?” she winced, awaiting a taunt “I’d like to see what your culture do to entertain themselves. I do have a book I take with me, so I could use that. You know what a book is, right? It’s like bits of paper jammed into a filey-foldery bit of paper…” Innes thought it best if she just showed the Captain the book, so she went into her bag and retrieved her diary. It was plain blue and smooth to touch, with the words ‘Innes’ Journal’ scrawled on the front.
“And that should be it…”
Thinking for a little while, Astra decided to answer the other things before coming back to the list of things-not-to-do, as that would take the most time to explain. First and foremost she needed to end this thing. “Moot point, I already said I am not interested whether you are or not, sorry. Let’s… never talk about that again.” she cut it before this got way too awkward again. “But as I said, unlike on your world, I don’t think anyone would frown upon it, hypothetically.”
“Your sleeping accommodations won’t be too hard to make then, the civilian issue quarters are good enough in that regard I think. If your food needs heat to be prepared, that shouldn’t be a problem. Ourselves as I mentioned we get most of our energy from the light, we need food practically only to heal, not to live, but it shouldn’t be hard to re-purpose some equipment to your specification. The water, which is a compound and not a mix mind you, should be OK. We use sonic cleaners so you may wish to give those a shot first though. As far as the chemicals go, I think we’re better off getting them from your world along with the food, at least you’d get what you’re used to.” Astra crunched through the information.
“An entire tub?” she said in amazement, “so that’s what it is like not to be short on resources. Must be nice.” she sighed. “It shouldn’t be a problem as long as it’s just you here though, so if the sonics don’t work, it should be alright.”
She looked in amazement at the diary. It was such a space wasting way to store data, and yet it somehow made her envious for not having one. “Huh, I’ve never seen anything like it. You’ll soon see why, we had to make a rather large technological leap in our development so we probably skipped several eras other races would have gone through. It does seem nice though. I guess it would feel better in the hand than reading off of a screen.”
”Well, as far as things not to do go, It’s in part to why I wanted to know your people’s history and give you ours, to prevent exactly that. One thing the history won’t give you about us - our antennae.” Astra said, pointing to her head, “to us, those count as your ears, tongue, and much more. We’re able to process a lot of input from our environment through them, but they are also extremely sensitive. Try not to yell too loud and in high pitch, and for the love of Old Gods, don’t touch them without approval or at least notification.” she said, thinking the words Innes used would give them the appropriate weight, ”’Coming through’ will do if you have to squeeze by someone in a jammed hallway, but give us a heads up.” the Faira explained, choosing to omit the fact that they were also a highly erogenous zone. She did not think Innes should back to that line of thought.
“Anyway, make yourself comfortable, the history part is going to take a while.” Astra warned and fished in her file storage for a while until she found the appropriate file. The holo came to life, making it seem like the two of them were stood in the Faira system like some sort of gods looking down on their playground that was the universe. “What you see is our home some 350 years ago.” the captain explained, zooming in on the red giant and the gray world that orbited it flashed, drawing Innes’ attention to it. Six red dots were shown leaving it and heading for a green sphere on the edge of the system before vanishing in it - the indicator for the jump node. Fast forward for a little while, it was as if the star hiccuped a few times before it exploded brightly.
The blast was so strong it obliterated the grey world into small chunks and blown away the gas giants behind it, merging them into the expanding blue nebula that was left in the wake of the event. If Innes looked, she would find Astra facing away, unable to watch this again.
“That is probably the single most important thing you need to know about us. Our home is no more. Billions of us perished that day, we were not fast enough to save them. there is only about a million of us left, living on our ships. It’s why we are so advanced - we had to if we did not want to die. We are so desperate for all resources for the same reason.” she explained, her tone still a bit dark. “The only gift is that the nebula that is our system now is also the best place to hide. The EMP of the nebula blinds almost every sensor and the storms would obliterate any unshielded ship, making for a relatively safe haven.” she said, taking a pause for herself. It was still hard to speak of it.
“Sorry. It’s just… I am one of the youngest that still remembers the homeworld. It’s a very sad topic for us, so don’t mention it unless we do. Ever. Our people don’t get angry easily, but over this, they will. It’s also the why to how my guards reacted when Weyss spoke of preventing a war. Not only are our lifespans so long, but there are too few of us as well. any threat to us, however small, we’ll crush, so I hope your inquisitor will see reason and not provoke us.” the captain said darkly. She did not wish to see Paardveid burn, but knew it would happen if they pushed too far.
Innes nodded her head. Moot point, never speak of it again. She could live with that.
“It’s not really a chemical, it’s a plant…” Innes started, but her voice barely got above a whisper and she decided that such minor details would be unimportant.
But when the Captain looked at the diary, it was her turn to laugh. “Really? You’ve never seen a book before? We use them all the time. Sometimes we read from them, sometimes we write in them. It’s kind of nice to have something that is just yours that no-one else can access. Speaking of which, don’t bloody open that or I may treat your innards to an outdoor holiday” she said the threat so casually and without a change of voice that if one had not been listening they would see no danger in it.
Looking at the weird tentacle things on the head of her host, she tilted her head slightly and studied them closely. They didn’t look particularly sensitive. But then again, one usually doesn’t find shame in being addressed without proper rank, and she had gone out of her way to make reference to her own religion. She had a lot to learn about these people.
“If we’re going to talk about sensitive things, I suppose I better reciprocate” She giggled at the long word, before getting serious again “I’m probably too small to touch them without trying anyway, so I guess that shouldn’t be a worry. In response, I must ask you not to touch my hair or my mouth - back home, it’s kind of taboo. The breast area and backside are both off-limits, as are the thighs, soles of the feet and underarms. And never, ever touch around here” she implied one very particular spot that the writer is loathe to describe in detail. “That’s probably even more sensitive than your tentacle-hair. Please, not even as a joke, don’t touch it. Ever.”
She sat back and watched the pretty light show as the Faira went to to describe the history of her race. She oohed and aahed at the shiny lights, but when the star went supernova, she went all quiet. Astra wasn’t looking at it. Something had gone horribly, unfixably wrong.
“I-I’m sorry…” she whispered, somewhat disturbed. So much life, snuffed out by something no-one could have stopped. It was a cruel universe they lived in and Innes had to stop and think of all the other worlds that shared the same fate. Not for the first time, she was glad there were no stars near Paardveid.
“Miss Captain Astra, I wish to apologize for earlier. If I’d known…” She was, of course, referring to her endless inquisition before they met the Patriarch. “I didn’t mean to open old wounds, I was just curious…” Tears were falling down Innes’ cheeks as she sat, shocked and horrified. She had a renewed vigour, though - these people did not deserve what happened to them. If it was the last thing Innes’ did, she’d find them a new, safer planet with a younger sun, or perhaps one like her own, life supporting without a star.
“It is alright. You did not know, and I couldn’t have told you - you understand, we are so few that we can’T tell the location of our home to just anyone. First we had to be sure you could never threaten us, and despite what the Inquisitor probably thinks, your military left me, well, sorry, but I was not impressed. Which is probably good for you though, given her feelings.” Astra explained, the semi-threat not apparent in her tone.
“Feel free to share that in your report. I did not give you the location to our home, so I would not be breaking regulations by telling you that much. But I could only invite you to our home if your government joins the mutual defense act, sorry.” the captain finished.
“anyway, past this event, our history is a big reconstruction project. It is why we are a military state, why we send a whole battlefleet to explore. Crush a threat before it can crush us, simple as that. We only started exploring past our own borders this month, and already you are the second species we encountered. We expected the universe to be a lot more barren than this. Fortunately, so far we made friends everywhere we went.” Astra shrugged, walking over to her prototype.
Her suit made a few snapping sounds as it released her and she traded the attire. For a moment Innes could see that the suit was really a two-piece, and undersuit of the thicker memory cloth, Astra’s lined with additional circuitry, and the hardshell itself that encompassed it.
“Much better.” the captain said for herself once her normal suit snapped shut around her. “Well, is there something more you’d like to know? If not, I’d like to hear your side.”
“Well, I guess that about covers it from your end.” Innes really wasn’t keen to delve deeper. Chances are there was just as much pain and hurt in the other aspects of Faira life.
“I guess Paardveid’s history must seem a lot brighter. Years and years and years ago, there used to be lots of intelligent things that shared the planet with us, but they all sort of… died off” Innes frowned for a moment before getting back on track “It wasn’t war or anything, they just faded away.”
“The whole Sinnsyk race used to fit into a bunch of big villages The more races that died out, the more space we got to ourselves. Eventually, we managed to take up the whole dang planet. And that’s when all the fighting started.”
“It seems so silly to me now, but back in the day that sort of thing was important to everyone. Religion, I mean. It used to be there were a bunch of old dudes who ran the sea and skies, but some people thought some old dudes were more important than others. The whole planet was divided on which old dude to worship and some genius got the bright idea of just killing everyone who didn’t worship the guy he liked.”
“Some old woman, they called her Alfsighr the Naive, tried to get everyone to unite. The religious groups united solely to take her down, before turning on each other.”
“The winner of that big fight was the guys who are in charge today - the Konjan church. They used to be nice guys as well, from what I can tell. They used to think it didn’t matter who you are or where you came from, but who you were as a person that counted.”
Innes laughed bitterly “Not the case anymore. Some people thought that the church was too weak and easy to ignore, so they started looting and rioting again. The church fought back hard. They started to let people take slaves. They made it so that people like Mama and Cousin Pyrrha were ‘unclean’ and had them put to death. Turns out, annoying people you promised to free isn’t such a good idea, so there was another big war, lead by some disgruntled soldiers.”
“That war went on and on. They called it the War of the Kings. So many people died trying to do what they thought was right. Blood and violence everywhere.”
Innes looked a bit sickly, going even more pale than she already was, but she pushed it down and continued “They promised to bring back the old system. Monarchy, they called it, but they decided that sounded too old-fashioned. So instead, we now have a Theocratic Hereditary Republic - where if you’re not either a priestess or the person in charge, you’re treaty horribly. And Weyss is the most recent descendant of the first Matriarch.”
“I don’t know what to add. That seems to be it, up until recently. But we’re like you. We only achieved faster than light travel recently and everything is still really experimental. And I’m scared that if we keep looking upwards, then the Church is only going to get nastier and nastier.” Innes couldn’t repress a shudder, remembering her ‘purification’ after her Mama was executed. “They’re mean people, the Konjans. That’s why I keep talking about the Old Gods. It means I amn’t associated with them.”
The Faira were not easy people to anger, but what Innes said made Astra furious. also, she noted to rather not speak of her family unless Innes brought it up. “Such disregard for life, it’s appalling!” she grunted. “I was willing to give the Konjan the benefit of the doubt but after you told me this, I am afraid we will have to take them more seriously. It could put a hitch to your joining the alliance in fact. If they are as bad as you say - you understand why our vote would be not to associate with them.” Astra shared uneasily.
“Well, unless… Unless it wasn’t a problem anymore. Am I correct that you do not think of the church too highly? What I am about to say would be… blasphemous.” she said, fairly certain of the answer to follow, but she needed to be certain.
“They’re mean people, sure, but they kind of… saved my life.” Innes looked uncomfortable “I hate them and I hate what they want to do, but that doesn’t change the fact that they did save me.”
“But I won’t tell them if you won’t. As long as you’re not about to threaten my life, that is…”
“And took your family from you for no apparent reason.” Astra said angrily. “If someone took my mother…” she didn’t finish, too scared of the thought. It might have not appeared to a sinnsyk that way from how they poke to each other, but there was a deep bond between them. It just was that the Faira didn’t express it all that much. “And I won’t let anyone threaten you any more. the patriarch was right in one thing, there’s no danger to you here.”
“What I meant though… We could support opposition. Help the right people and get rid of the church once and for all. By force if necessary, but I believe we’d all rather avoid that. Does anyone who would champion that cause come to mind? The Patriarch himself did not seem too keen on the church either, although in his case I would be wary. he is after all directly affiliated with them.” Astra thought out loud.
“Weyss hates them. He says that they keep hurting those they try to save. But they won’t listen to him cause he’s a boy, so he’s a ‘lustful, inferior heathen’” There was no mistaking the voice that Innes was putting on - whether she meant to or not, it sounded almost exactly like the head Inquisitor herself. “Asta says that she’s not a fan of them, but they pay her wages so she guesses she has to work with them. But Vigdis… she’s a girl, high position, well respected. Much prefers the Monarchy. Wouldn’t try Gydja, she’s too lazy. Temair is a big no-no.”
And then she sighed “The problem is the opposition is almost a total fifty-fifty split. And everyone who’s important seems to prefer the church. And I mean, it’s better than before, right? Better a tyrant than no leader at all…” But her words faltered and it was all too easy to tell that Innes just wanted them to go away.
Once more, she started crying. She sank to her knees, head in her hands, and lamented mournfully “Mama… why Mama?” her voice was not much louder than a whisper, but in the quiet room it was as clear as a bell.
Seeing Innes crumble like that should have jsut blown Astra’s fury out of proportions. But something else took hold of her core and wrenched hard, as she felt overpowering need to comfort the woman. Maternal instinct? Perhaps. Alright, not the back, not the… Ah. she thought, as she gently laid a hand on Innes’ shoulder, hoping she’d help somewhat.
“And how many side with the church only because they are afraid of repercussions?” Astra asked, “When they see the church can be done away with, they might turn. And leaders will always rise. In fact, we need not get rid of them, only the church. As you said, Weyss doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t seem like a bad leader from the brief time I spoke with him.” she theorized. “Tell me more of them. Their beliefs and all. Most made up things have a way of destroying themselves when logic is applied. there could be a way to invalidate the whole belief.” she thought out loud.
“They’re beliefs? Ha!” Innes scoffed bitterly “Once upon a time, they had a belief system. They wrote a book on it. They used to say ‘hey, if the gods are looking out for us, why wouldn’t they want us to be happy’. They gave that idea up pretty quickly, though. Have you ever heard of a thing called a…. a mafiya? It’s like a group of people who control things and if you don’t join them they step on you until you either do join them or crush you into the dirt. Now imagine if they owned a planet. That’s Paardveid. The Church isn’t so much a church as a Mafiya. They offer things that hard work and prosperity can’t - money, power and respect. Men can’t join, though I’ve seen them being used as concubines before. And they say that homsexuals can’t join either, even though I know for a fact that Sister…” she clammed up, realising she might say too much.
“My point is” she said swiftly “ they don’t have a fixed belief system. They have power because they were born with power and work hard to absorb those who want that power. Join up now, and in a couple decades time, your dynasty might make a name for itself! Of course, they act like rising through the ranks is a big deal, but step back and look at it from an outsider's point of view and it’s a loooong way to the top. That’s why they're so powerful and that’s why they’re unassailable.”
Nodding grimly, Astra thought for a while. “And did our arrival change that, I wonder. Maybe the joining of the treaty under the condition that this has to stop would be enough to convince a few otherwise. Your people have it all to gain, but the treaty also promotes equality. Their ways are simply unacceptable. It does seem like we’d have the support of the male population of your world at the very least though. I don’t know, there is not enough information and it is not my decision either, but you should go tell the Admiral all this - or all of them. Possibly convince Weyss to come along for that discussion. The marshall won’t be a problem, if it is a paycheck that has her loyalty, that will not be hard to arrange.”
the captain sighed. thsi took a rather grim turn, and frankly she was happier with the awkward. “Well, no sense bothering ourselves with it right now, nothing will change in the foreseeable future. If the RLC gets this information, then from what I know of them they will feel similarly to us. We would have to be mad to arm someone who would fight us. Let us talk about something else.” she suggested, “although from what you told me I understand if you do not wish to talk about your past anymore.”
“I feel like I have to get it out.” Innes growled - yes, actually growled - “If I can’t discuss it now, I’ll never be able to talk about it with anyone.” “You know how I said the church saved my life? Well, it’s a well known fact I’m lowborn. No dynasty for me. So that makes a lot of new people think ‘How did she get a place on the council?’ I’ll tell you how. It was Weyss.”
“Back when I was just a kid, Mama used to take care of me. She said Dad had died, but she never said how. It’s a seven month gestation period, I mean, what can happen in seven months that you forget the cause of death of the love of your life? Anyway, Mama had this thing called depression, which meant sometimes she got really, really sad. Like, so sad she wouldn’t feed or wash herself. So she went in and out of the local asylum to try and get it fixed. Every time she came out, i was like ‘ maybe she’ll be fixed for good this time’ but she always had to keep going back.”
“When Mama was away, Cousin Pyrrha would look after me. and she was nice too, she fed me and clothed me and kept me company when it was dark. But Pyrrha had a problem. A problem called a ‘girlfriend’. Pyrrha was a lesbian, and her girlfriend was nice too. But one day, the church found out. They broke into our home, dragged Pyrrha and her friend away and had a mockery of a trial. They were executed. Since Mama was technically still my guardian, she was charged with child abuse for ‘leaving me in the company of dangerous individuals’. Mama was also executed.”
“And then there was me. The rest of my family couldn’t be traced, so some wiseguy thought ‘hey, let’s make her a priestess’. But first you have to go through the Purification before they let lowborn - sinborn, they started to call me - girls join the priesthood. And during the Purification, you get put into a dark room on your own, just you and some other high-ranking church woman.”
“She… wasn’t a very holy woman” Innes tittered like she had made a great joke. “No, she was a very bad Priestess, one that the faith would not approve of at all. She was… was…”
Innes stopped. And then, from the depth of her stomach, she laughed. It was not the nice, friendly laugh of someone laughing at a joke, nor the nervous giggle of someone telling an embarrassing story. It was a hearty, maniacal laugh, one that can only come from someone who has experienced too much pain to care anymore.
It took several minutes for her to stop her insane chuckle, and when she did she had a crazed grin on her face, talking at a hundred miles an hour.
“They said Pyrrha and Mama were bad people. The Konjans, the big, all-important church whom we owe our very lives to, said that my family were bad people and to repent for their sins, I had to be alone with a woman who made all but the worst crimes seem like minor grievances. It’s funny, when you think about it. You're a bad person, now be alone with this even worse person and you’ll be a good person when you come out! Genius!”
She giggled again, having lost what little sanity she clung on to for the time being “And then they had the nerve to say the ritual didn’t work. Back into the dark room again, different priestess. Should be better, right? Wrong! Same thing happened, same result! Went back out, still wasn’t cleansed. Back in again! In! Out! In! Out! Pain, pain, pain! I went through that damn ritual 14 times before they said it worked. You know how many people were on the council that decided if I was pure or not? 14! Coincidence, uh? Isn’t that funny?”
For a moment, it seemed like Innes had tired herself out. She swallowed, panted and tried to get her breath back. When she did, she gave one final giggle before talking in a slower, more sane tone
“When Weyss found out, he was furious. He said one ritual was too much and that I should not be accountable for other people's supposed crimes. He called one of the priestesses scum, and another a monster. He took me back to Dun Ara, where I’ve been ever since. And Weyss never did those things to me. He gave me food, warmth and comfort and asked for nothing in return. Then he made me Chancellor. Chancellor! It was the greatest day of my life, getting that promotion.”
“You see, Weyss’ the leader of the church, technically. If he hadn’t come in when he did, I have no doubts that those priestesses would have killed me. Slowly, cruelly and sadistically, I would have died by their hands. Weyss is the church. He saved me. So the church saved me. Get it?”
And at that, this poor, lost little girl gave a howl somewhere between delight and despair and sank her head back into her hands, laughing while crying all the way.
Astra didn’T know what to do. Well, other than rid the universe of every single one of the Konjans. Well, maybe save for the Patriarch, but he should have made certain a situation like this never happened. Inappropriate to hell, she had to give the crying girl a gentle hug.
“It was Weyss that helped you, not the church, get it?” she replied in the same tone as Innes. “If Temair was in his position, would she bother?” she argued her idea. Then she got up, pressed a few buttons on her wrist control panel and sent a copy of everything that was just said to the Admiral. This needed to be brought to her attention immediately. She just wondered why the Patriarch didn’t bring this up. No, he definitely wasn’t as holy as Innes thought him to be.
“Shh, it’s alright, no one will hurt you here.” Astra tried to comfort her again, unsure about what to do.
Innes snuggled into the hug that the Captain offered her. She was running on instinct. To all intents and purposes, Innes was no longer here, just this shell of a young lady who didn’t know whether she was happy or sad.
It was slow, yes, but gradually she came back to the fore. The tears dried up and the laughter died until naught was left but it's faint echo.
“So yeah, I’m not a big fan of the church.” she said, as though nothing had happened. “But that’s fine, cause they don’t like me either. And I’d like to be rid of them, but it’s either them or back to the days of the cults.”
She yawned, gave a shy smile and said “I’d… like to discuss something else now, if that’s okay with you.”
“If the correct people make the cult, why not. But yes, please, new topic.” she smiled weakly. An alarm beeped then and Astra went to answer the door. A little while later, Astra wheeled in a gurney carrying a blackish bits of a scaled down suit. “Gotta love the manufacturing dept. They sure are quick - when it is me calling.” she said, knowing full well that as the local mad scientist she had priority call for whatever it was she was doing. “Let’s see if it fits you?” she offered to change the topic.
Innes didn’t reply, just smiled. She removed her old clothes and was surprised to find herself blushing. This was what she wore most days - nothing at all, that is - so why did it feel strange now? Whatever. She put it down to having just given the only other person in the room a mad ramble that pretty much summed up her life. Yeah, that ought to make one ashamed of oneself.
“So, how does it work?” she said, looking over it “Is there a zip, some buttons or what?”
“Here. You can have it password protected if you wish, although I believe that is more of a sentiment for our people, something like keys to your house. We do live mostly in these.” astra noted and pressed the buttons that opened the suit in a way that Innes could easily see.
The suit opened from the rear. The sleeves remained closed, but the thighs also folded down to allow the wearer to get in easily, sort of like putting on high boots and sleeves. “It will detect you are in and power up, allowing you to move and press the buttons to seal it. I’ve already instructed Manufacturing to minimize its electronic signature and put in passive shielding. The suit alone should make you feel much better, let alone when the active shielding is installed.” the nerd in Astra gloated. “Oh, but before that, here. This will act as a conduit for your muscle to the suit’s motors.” she said, handing Innes the memory fabric undersuit and stepping aside facing away to give her enough privacy to change. “Security cameras are off, go ahead.”
“Um, thanks…” she said, before laughing “Why bother turn everything off? It’s nothing they haven’t seen before. And it’s not like it’s something unnatural now, is it?”
It certainly lightened her mood as she stepped into her memory suit. Astra was right - it was pretty comfortable. Maybe not quite as comfortable as not having anything, but good enough. Then she tried to get into the oversuit, slipping a couple of times before finally pulling it up over herself.
“Oh…” she whispered. She could still feel the buzz of electronics, but now it was more like a vibrating blanket. Though nothing was physically shaking, it still felt kind of funny.
“Is it meant to feel this - I dunno, weird? It’s like I’m being shook about without any movement.”
“And here you go again. Making it awkward.” Astra hissed in frustration, “Different culture, we like our privacy. Roll with it. think of it the same way as you wanting a secluded place to sleep. same principle.” the captain said in frustration, glad to hear the suit snap shut around the woman.
“Define weird. I hope you are not having an allergic reaction to the cloth, that would make me look terrible.” the scientist said, not thinking of that as before when Innes tested the fabrics for which she would like nothing happened, but perhaps she needed bigger exposure? “Is it like anything you felt before?” she inquired, wondering whether it was related to her computer problem.
“You like your privacy, but I don’t mind.” she shot back, a naughty smile playing at her mouth “It’s not you stripping off, is it? Why should you get embarrassed over me getting changed?”
“Unless” time for the icing on the cake. “Unless, maybe you've got some sort of inferiority complex? Me being compared to you, you’d rather look like me? Maybe you think I might tempt one of your superiors, is that it?” she had no idea how she managed to keep her voice even. Even though she was smiling like a cheshire cat, Astra could put it down to Innes just being incredibly confident with herself.
And then came the punch “Or maybe you are attracted to me and seeing me in the nuddy-pants gets your motor running?”
Still with that smile on her face, she answered the second question “It’s kind of like when I had a nightmare back at Dun Ara and Weyss would give me a hug, but our breathing was out. I could feel him shaking and moving but it was out of time with my own. Thats what it feels like.” She gave a little twirl, like she was wearing a designer dress “Feels quite nice, actually”
“Huh? Wha? OOooh! I seee! It’s fine when you’re the one doing the payback, is it? Oh, no. I’m not playing your game.” Astra grinned at Innes’ attempt to make her as awkward as she made her before. “And sheesh, you’re going to the ‘mine are bigger than yours’ territory? You are such a child!”
Then she said something about superiors. “Just as long as you don’T hit on my mother, go after anyone you like. But remember, all women here. Last time you did not seem all too thrilled by the idea.” Oh, if Innes wanted to play this game, Astra was happy to play. “Unless you are attracted to women and being on a ship full of them gets your motor running.” she said, perfectly mimicking Innes’ tone and body language as she did so.
Sobering up a little, she checked around the suit. It was too regular to be a mechanical problem, so it had to be related to her special condition - oh wait a second. “Damn, they insulated the suit but not the motors themselves. Cheap, lazy ...” Astra sighed, “If you want something done right, do it yourself. Alright, climb out, this will require a disassembly.”
Innes didn’t react badly this time. In fact, she was ready for it. She was planning on turning on the charm, but Astra fell right for it herself.
“Oh, Astra!” she said, all melodramatic “I said it felt nice, yet you still wish to strip it from me? And with the cameras off as well! Are you sure you're really going to insulate the suits motors? Or is there a different motor on your mind” That smile reached from one ear to the other, practically taunting Astra to trump it.
“I know I said you’re in no danger here, but I will hit you.” Astra said in a deadpan, although it was obvious she never would. “Besides, you really think you’re so appealing to different species? Not that’s a lot of self esteem crammed into one tiny shell. What’d I even do with you? ‘T would be like molesting a child. No thanks.” she shot back, ready to get to work, or do anything really that would end this conversation.
“You’ll hit me?” Innes was not done. Not by a long shot. “Sounds kinky. And no, maybe I’m not appealing to a whole species, but even blind people can see I’m appealing to YOU. And you know what they say about small girls - can get into a lot of tight spaces.”
Bringing up child abuse was kind of far - Innes probably should have laid off. But she didn’t “I suppose, compared to you, I am a child. I’m in my early twenties and you’re 387 years old. Talk about an age difference.”
Astra stared at Innes blanky. If she had eyelids, she would do a double take. “Right. Diplomat, they said. More like a wh*” Astra stopped herself from the insult - well, halfway - but turned around and gone to fetch the parts she would need for the insulation and the added shielding, while putting on her helmet and turning the visor opaque. “Knock when you feel like having a civilized conversation and not being twelve.” she said as she sat down and got to work.
Innes almost cheered. She won! she trumped everything Astra threw at her and still managed to play on her mind.
It was actually a very clever diplomatic technique, one that Innes had resorted to many times in the past. The idea was that the opposing party didn’t know whether or not Innes was being serious. It played on their mind and helped distract them. It meant that the other party was confused and started questioning themselves, but were unable to get a straight answer out of the diplomat. Sometimes this was helpful, since it meant that some people were unaware of deals that could be turned against them later, but sometimes it was just used for fun, as it was here. She did, however, run the risk of it being turned against her. It had happened once before and she shivered at the memory of where she ended up that night.
But she had to reign it in. If she kept pushing, Astra might decide she wasn’t worth her time and abandon her, or worse, think her serious and end up doing something about it. That could go one of two ways, neither of which appealed to Innes.
But until Astra was finished, she had nothing to do. Back to the drawing board, she thought, digging out her diary and pen. She flicked over to a blank page, then started drawing the working Faira. Despite her somewhat shoddy handwriting, her artistic skills were actually pretty good. She kept sketching until the image was near completion, before looking up to see if Astra had finished.
Astra was fully intending to demonstrate that it would indeed be beneficial for Innes not to go there ever again. If the other thought of this as a victory, it would be pretty short lived as the Faira moved back and forth between the workbench and the suit, without sparing the sinnsyk a single look from behind the shut visor or a word.
When she was done insulating the servos, she mounted them back to the suit along with several modified shield projectors. It was a rather challenging task to make them work continuously. It has been a problem she had for a long time, and even with the RLC power unit in her own prototype, there were issues. In general, the shielding got more power consuming going smaller or bigger from a certain size. Their combat suit models could only hold under fire for five minutes before the shield gave out. Her prototype could expand the field to encompass a small unit, but it still didn’t last under fire for more than ten.
She tried solving the problem for Innes by setting the shields to a lower power setting. She never expected the chancellor to get into combat (provided she did not hit on the wrong people), and it did not take full output to keep the harmful frequencies out.
Still without a word, the Faira simply nodded towards the suit for Innes to try it again.
“So it’s done, then?” she asked, eyes bright. “You know you didn’t really have to play with it. It was fine the way it was.”
Putting the journal to the side, she toddled up to the waiting scientist. The suit looked the same, to be sure. Changes were internal. Would she feel any different?
Trying her best to remain supported, she slipped into the new gear. It did feel different. The vibration was gone and she felt less of a headache coming on. But it still felt a little strange. She put it down to it being unfamiliar material.
“Thanks, Astra.” she smiled, then realised her mistake “Oh, sorry, erm, Captain. What happens now?”
Wordlessly, Astra reached to the gurney and pulled out the helmet, carefully fitting it over Innes’ head. The thing sealed shut with a hiss and the internal life support kicked in. Taking the chancellor’s forearm to access the controls, she pressed the bigger red button to the side and a shimmering blue field enveloped the suit, completely blocking off anything harmful.
Finally taking her helmet off, Astra took a few measurements with the scanner which Innes wouldn’t even feel now. “Looks like it works. Now the suit comes with wireless fleetnet connection and communicator, but all that won’t work while the shield is up, so if you want to connect, you’ll have to drop them or plug in to a socket with an actual cable. The visor in your helmet has a HUD which should display translations to anything you see, so getting around the ship should be as easy as following the signs. Both the Raider-class and the Hexus are rather large though, so try not to get lost?” the Faira noted, unsure whether the slightly air-headed chancellor would be a subject to that.
Innes rolled her shoulder. This was going to take some getting used to but it was nothing major. If it meant she could walk around without getting lost and talk to people without needing to use foreign tongues then it was absolutely worth it. The dropping of the shield to use the communicator was a major drawback, but she considered herself lucky to have this much.
“Anything else I should know about this suit? Does it come with an instruction manual or will I not need to use it all that much?”
“Not once we’re on the Hexus, since it won’t be going anywhere unless it comes under attack, in which case we’Re screwed suit or not because the colony ship is not made to withstand that.” the captain shrugged. “It responds to the neural input that moves your muscle, so it should keep it’s low response time and pretty much reacts to movement. All controls are translated to your language. The control panel is wrist mounted for access, but you can also control the systems with just your eyes. If you’Re still wearing the thing I put on you in the hangar, I can rig it up to respond to your thought alone.” Astra said in just a little bit boisterous tone. “and I did need to ‘play’ with it. I don’t send unfinished things to the field. It’s a matter of pride.”
“Alright, calm your pants” Innes put her hands up placatingly “I just have a certain way of speaking, that’s all. What’s the matter with you?”
“Calm your pa… How much more can a language be bastardized?” Astra thrown her arms high in exasperation. “The translator does not do well with idiomatic expressions you know? I did not exactly understood one earlier, what was it, something about fitting into tight spaces? Yeah I suppose you’d be awesome for ship maintenance, we have to resort to drone manipulators at times, but I don’t think that’s what you meant?” Astra rambled, liking the logical and determined nature of her native language, blissfully unaware about the trap she was setting for herself.
Innes didn’t even say a word before bursting into a fit of laughter. Oh gods, could she have stumbled any further into that?
“You mean, you like to use drones to maintain your ship? Well, I suppose they won’t ask for dinner and a date first.” She tittered “No, Ma’am, I have the most awkward feeling that we are discussing two very different spaces. Or maybe we are thinking of the same one and you're just trying to offset the whole premise. Tell me, are those drones all female too? Or are there some lads amongst the ranks? No, no, do you use drones often? What kind of maintenance do they perform? Percussive? Invasive? Oh bloody hell, my sides - I can't, I just can’t”
The more she laughed, the more a little inside voice told her that she was for it now. There was a reason that she waited until the suit was on before discussing this, she felt, but the promise of a good chuckle lured her in without thinking. First diplomatic mistake, possibly her last.
Despite the laughing, very little explanation was actually given. “nonono, from the context of the earlier conversation, I got the general meaning mind you. I don’t get the etymology, what does fitting into tight spaces has to do with any of it? I don’t compute. Your language is the strangest thing.” the captain shook her head in frustration.
“You’re really going to force me on this?” Innes hadn’t quite got over the laughter “I thought it was obvious.”
A cruel thought entered her head, one that on Paardveid would see Innes forced against a wall and screamed at for even thinking it.
“Oh no.” She smiled evilly “Nature wasn’t very kind to you, was it? Maintenance shafts a bit loose? Heh, comes with age. The problem with these old ships is if you keep stitching the old parts together, they lose their luster. You don’t want to overuse them, of course, but they need to see something every now and again, lest they start to fall apart. I assume that’s what's happened here.”
Astra did not look any more enlightened than before. “You’re not helping one bit, …” and then it hit her, “Oh wait, this has something to do with your biology right? Ehm, I’m not sure - and I don’t want to know - how it works for you, but with us, the only thing involved in… conception… are those.” she said, pointing to her antennae. “So yeah, again - Don’t. Touch. EVER.” she warned.
“Well” said Innes “you seem very liberal with your information. Why would you bother explaining all this if you didn’t want me to reciprocate?” If it was anyone on Paardveid, they would have simply said ‘shut up, Innes’ and that would have been the end. The Chancellor was genuinely confused - why was she still going on about it if she didn’t want to discuss it? “I mean, I could give you a rudimentary biology lesson, but part of me tells me you’d rather find out what parts do what for yourself. Am I right?”
“Also, that’s just dumb. You spend all this time panicking about someone seeing you nude, yet you’re not wearing a hat. Your most sensitive and vulnerable parts are all out in the open, but you don’t want anyone to see your body? Is that not kind of like me wearing an outfit with the chest cut away, yet worrying over whether I still have it on or not?”
“Nope. Biology is not my area of expertise, so you go and be lewd somewhere else.” Astra huffed with a wave of the hand to close the matter. Why in the universe did she even… Oh whatever. “Let’s just agree to disagree and move on.”
As if she had it planned, the chime announcing their departure echoed through the ship. “I’d hold onto something.” the captain said as she moved to grab the safety bar next to the door, nodding to Innes to do the same.
The ship momentarily entered subspace, and for a little while everything worked as it should. But then the ship shook rather violently, slamming Astra against the wall before stabilizing again. “Well, that was less than expected. You should have seen the turbulence we hit on our way here.”
Innes tried, she really did. But it had been a while since she last had to move quickly and she was too busy puzzling over what the sound might have been. By the time she was aware of what was going on, the ship was already in motion and she hurtled violently into the closest wall arms first.
“Owww” she moaned, rubbing her arms “You could have warned me that was going to happen. I mean, I could have hit my face off the wall and then where would we be? This is pretty much the only asset I have, you know.”
Shaking herself off, she clung to the wall and shot Astra a look. “So, is it safe to let go yet, or am I going to be here awhile longer?”
Astra snapped her fingers and pointed up in a ‘wait for it’ sign. Then another tone sounded, and the Faira nodded: “Should be safe now. It only takes a few seconds in subspace to get really far away from your system. I don’t know what makes it such an unstable region - maybe Paardveid itself, being a rogue. But I don’t know for certain. Our science is good, but our own FTL is still quite a mystery. We were glad to get it working in time to escape the Cataclysm.” she explained.
Machina system, Faira Hexus The rest of the trek was fairly uneventful. The duo got Innes’ suit finished along with the paint (Astra suggested neon pink with some flashy blue vinyl), and soon enough they were on a shuttle heading for the colony ship turned diplomatic station. The three shuttles they had in tow were loaded to the roof with the contents of Astra’s lab and their own carried the stack of food and other things for the chancellor.
“I still get jealous every time I see this.” Astra pointed out the window as she rolled the shuttle. The massive swarm of activity that was P1 came into view. “Aaaand, there’s home!” she exclaimed, her finger pinning down one ship that was quite larger than the others and obviously of different design. It looked different form the Faira warships though. The slab-like structurre was still apparent, but rather than a monolith, the ship was several blocks arranged around a long, cylindrical spine.
Innes was impressed. The kinds of things that went on behind close doors were not limited to Paardveidan cultural advancements, it seems. Once again, the idea of the universe advancing without them entered her head and she wondered whether it had been a good idea for her to leave the relative safety of her own system.
In fact, she realised that she was in the belly of the beast now. If at any any time the Faira decided that they didn’t like her or that she was of no use to them, she could do nothing to stop them. And that thought terrified her. She started asking herself questions. What was she doing here? Why did she come? Why wasn’t she at home right now, reading a book, irritating Weyss, curling up in bed? Did she really trek halfway across the galaxy at the behest of a charming stranger?
“Well, I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty face” she mumbled, not quite quietly enough.
“So, Miss Astra, what happens now? Do we wait for someone to pick us up or are we to go ourselves?”
Just as Innes asked, a hangar bay came into view. “Door’s right over there. We may be military but we’re also efficient, so I apologize if you were expecting a diplomatic welcome with fanfares and confetti. I’d be only half joking if i said we can’t spend any resources on that. Right not the Striker fleet and the Hexus are our only ships in the system, the rest belongs to RLC.” she noted.
The shuttle touched down in it’s parking slot with a soft thud and the click of docking clamps locking in place. With a small hiss, the door opened to the brightly red lit hangar. Astra stepped off the small craft, and was approached by another Faira, one that unlike almost all the others was in just a uniform. “Welcome back, captain, you’ve been gone for far too long.” Libra nodded with a smile.
“Thank you, it’s good to be back. Eager to get back to work, but first - “ She turned around, beckoning Innes to come out, “Chancellor Innes, this is captain Libra, CO of the ‘Hexus. Captain, Chancellor innes of Paardveid.” Nodding at the introduction, Libra gave the chancellor a salute.
To be honest, she wasn’t expecting much of a welcome anyway. These people were like Republicans - efficient, productive and pragmatic. Big fanfares and grand welcomes always made her blush anyway, so it was probably all for the best.
She stepped forth cautiously, trying not to make any mistakes. Of course, once one tells oneself not to make any mistakes, one is doomed to failure. Murphy’s Law was a dick sometimes.
Returning the salute in the most ridiculously cute way, Innes then proceeded to make a huge diplomatic blunder “It’s an honour to meet you, Libra.”
The second it came out of her mouth, she instantly regretted it. She could feel herself flushing and she prayed that she had said it quietly enough so no-one else heard it. She hadn’t.
“I-I mean, Captain Libra -” She could feel her chest tightening. She decided that the best course of action was to take a sudden interest in the floor. It was a very nice floor, after all, and at least it wouldn’t berate her for something so simple and yet so major.
If Libra was taken aback, she did not show it, unlike Astra who was throwing her arms up behind Innes where she couldn’t see her. That alone gave Libra the idea that this was probably to be expected of their guest on more regular basis. Fortunately, unlike Astra, she had proper training,
Returning on the same informal note, Libra bent down to Innes’ eye level and gave the chancellor a quizzical look. “So, you’re one of dem Sinnsyk, huh?” she said, observing her features for a second longer, “Damn, you’re so tiny!”
Astra simply facepalmed. Now there were two of them.
Relief flooded the Chancellor. Though she knew she was going to get it in the neck from Astra, at least this other captain seemed a lot less fussed over what was really a minor mistake.
“I might be small, Miss, but that just means I can get into tighter spaces!” she declared proudly, only half meaning it in a dirty sense “There’s nothing that a Faira can do that I shouldn’t be able to do either. Except maybe open large doors - that I’ll need help with.”
“That’s what the buttons at the side are for, chancellor. In any case, welcome aboard. I will have quarters ready for you in a minute. If you have any official business to discuss, come find me. Unless there is something else, i’ll leave you in captain Astra’s hands for now.” she said, earning herself a glare from Astra. Of course Libra couldn’t have known, but Astra was already weary of every sequence of words that could have another meaning. Well, at least they sent the specs in advance and Innes’ room should be done to how she wanted it. “Alright, let’s see if local manufacturing is as good as the military’s.”
“Thank you, Captain” Innes said, the image of pleasantry and innocence “I look forward to the stay.” She did not allude to any double-entendres, not even a nudge or sideways glance. Instead she just grinned and waved her new host off.
“So,” she said to Astra when Libra was out of earshot “Where will we be staying?”
Leading towards the crew quarters located at almost the very back of the ship in a rotating segment, Astra pointed along the way where everything was so Innes would have easier time navigating the ship. It was obvious the ship’s design was still heavily utilitarian, but the lack of heavy armor allowed more resources to be spent on infrastructure, so there were halls that could fit more than two people next to each other.
Astra gave particular note to the recreational rooms, where the native environment of their homeworld was emulated for the Faira to recharge. She gave a very stern warning for Innes to stay away, as the temperature alone would have cooked the sinnsyk.
Finally they arrived at the quarters after passing the science department. “Well, you did want a place for your own use.” she said, giving Innes a keycard to the door. “There should be most of what you ordered already. I’m not sure they had time to actually synthesize enough of the water for the taps to run, but it shouldn’t be too long.” she noted and beckoned the chancellor in.
Looking around the room, Innes was actually quite taken aback. They had got her specs down to a T for the most part. Okay, sure, the bed could do with a little bit of build-up and the bath was in the same room as everything else, but other than that, all seemed good.
Wait. There was something missing. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she felt the horrible feeling that there was something she’d forgotten.
“Um… where’s the toilet?” she asked her partner.
“Eh, while we’re not in constant need of food, we aren’t free form it either, but due to the infrequent use it’s just a waste of space to put those in every bunkroom.” Astra said and sent a map to Innes’ HUD that highlighted its position.on the deck. “I take it the rest is acceptable? The storage area is this way - ” she sent another map, “- your stuff will be there if you need it, including supplies. there’s cold storage compartment as well if you need that. Lastly If you need to find me, I’ll be either in the labs we passed on our way or in a bunk a deck up and three to your left.” the captain explained.
“Wait, what?” Innes looked a little stunned “You’re not staying with me?” She had been laboring under the assumption that she was to stick to Astra like glue. This was news to her.
“Well, believe it or not, I do have work to do.” Astra grinned, “You’re free to come around and make things awkward any time I am not testing heavy weapons, but I would send you in captain Libra’s direction otherwise. She knows much more about our history than I do, among other things. You’ll have better luck talking to her about these things. And between us, she’s not as busy as she made herself look. there’s nothing to do here other than the occasional diplomatic visit from the surface.” astra smiled knowingly.
“Right.” Innes nodded. “So is there a timetable or something, or do I just potter about until one of you two look relatively free?”
“There are other people here you know. Go make some friends. Also there’s a terminal in your room if you want to look something up. What is there of our literature, games and stuff. I’m sure you’ll find plenty people online playing something when you’re bored. It should all be translated for you already.” Astra thought for a while, “You know you never really told me what your people do for fun aside from that book you showed me.” astra said in an inquiring tone.
Go make friends. As if it were so easy. Just walk up to someone and say ‘Hi, I’m a total stranger. Wanna be friends?’. Every other diplomatic mission she ever had, she had people of her own race and culture around her to talk to, and she always took her ship with her, so she had her own place to stay.
How enormous the situation, how ridiculous it seemed. Innes shook her head. “I’ll be fine, I suppose. I mean, it might pay not to get too attached to too many people.” She was worrying about the temporality of her placement. If she knew too many people, it could cloud her judgement. Also, she wanted to fit in seamlessly. By going out and making a name for herself, she was attracted attention. Attention is bad. As few people should know about her as possible - that’s what Vigdis had always said. Don’t be too obvious and you won’t attract unwanted affection.
For fun? Now there was a good question. She was so busy all the time that outside of writing in her book during travel and talking to those at Dun Ara, she never really did much for fun. It struck Innes that she never officially took holidays. It was always downtime between jobs. That was partly her fault, actually, since she went out into the field whenever she could. The other diplomats were secondary to her.
“I don’t know…” she mused “I guess I never found the time for fun. It just kind of enjoy what I do. Heck, you should know, I did it to you on the way in.”
“Don’t remind me.” Astra rolled her eyes. “You are cruelty itself.” she added in jest. “Well, I need to go sort my equipment out, so I’ll be in the lab if you need me. I suggest getting some sleep though, you’ve been up for hours. I don’t know how long a time you need between those but I guess you’ve got a lot to process.” the captain said and excused herself, about to head to the lab when her suit’s controls flashed.
“Oh?” she asked herself, pulling up the message. A few seconds later, she stumbled back into Innes’ room and plopped down on one of the chairs, looking utterly gobsmacked. She needed a full minute to recover. “Oh, ehm, sorry I...” She stammered, slowly coming to terms of what she just read. “Damn, Ma, why didn’t you tell me?” she cursed silently. “So, yeah, I’m a rear admiral now, apparently.” she said, not quite believing it yet.
“You’re not the Admiral of my rear yet” Innes grinned, unable to resist. “But seriously, congratulations! I bet you’ll be great at it!”
Innes had literally just taken her bag off and was in the process of getting her pyjamas on when Astra came back. As such, her helmet was off and her suit only half-on. She had, at least, the decency to not remove it any further until Astra wasn’t looking.
“So what does a rear admiral do exactly?” She asked, not being familiar with such military terms.
“It… It mean they’re going to give me my own bloody fleet!” Astra exclaimed with a twinkle in her eyes akin to a human child on christmas. It took a little while for the overly loud YAAAAHOOO! to follow before Astra bolted out of the room with just a quick wave and anote that she’ll be in her quarters.
Faira Fleetnet News
New contact 36 hours ago, the Striker fleet travelled through one of the newly discovered jump nodes in the Machina system and discovered an infant civilization beyond. First contact was initiated without hostilities and diplomatic talks are in progress. the admiralty has been secretive about the direction these talks are taking. For what reasons their offices refused to comment. A Sinnsyk ambassador has however been appointed to Faira Hexus, suggesting that for the moment our relations are friendly.
the new system has been christened Paardveid. Striker fleet is now returning to the Nebula for repairs and resupply, putting the exploration of the other system beyond Machina on hold.
Formation of a new fleet announced
The admiralty has announced the formation of a new fleet. Unofficially called the Response fleet, it’s mandate will be to fill in the blanks in the spaces patrolled by any of our current fleets, perform special operations and evaluate new technologies.
With the resources we received from the RLC as a payoff for some of our technological patents, the engineers on Faira Tris estimate the first of the new classes of ships should be completed in a month.
A new admiral? The admiralty has refused to comment on who will be the head of the new fleet. Unconfirmed information state various outcomes, ranging from joint command of the current admirals to the new fleet operating entirely outside of the standard command structure. A highly positioned source however stated that given the new fleet’s focus on technological advancements, a new admiral would likely be selected from within the scientific rank of our officers.
Shou watched the alien, following it with his pistol as it moved. Everything it did made him regret what he had done. It acted just like a Rissan would if someone close to them had been killed, and his first instinct was to feel sorry for it. He wrestled with himself silently, telling himself that an alien wouldn't be anything like him. He pretended that its tears were just a defense mechanism, that its cries were of battle. He turned away from his eyes and into his mind, making sure that the alien's obvious horror and pain wouldn't be seen until it was too late.
He took aim at the alien's head, having tamed his automatic reactions to its mourning. As his fingers clenched down to end the alien's life, the pod behind it opened to reveal the dead body of its occupant. Blue liquid streamed out of the entry wound, matching the color of the living alien's tears. Similar tears laid upon the body's face, her final action being to cry for her daughter. Shou had no idea how to react. The alien was so different, but its body invoked the same feelings any Rissan one would in Shou. Even though it was a creature fron thousands of light years away, he wanted to avenge its death.
He just stood there, staring at the body. There wasn't any way for him to ignore it, nor did he have the power to pull the trigger before his thoughts compiled enough to prevent it. In the end, they didn't have to. With a quiet clak the pistol fell onto the floor, narrowly avoiding an unintentional discharge. He looked up, finding one of the marines standing next to the monitor.
"It's obviously horrified." Said the marine "Whatever was in that second pod, it meant something to it."
Shou looked at the marine as if he was going to scold him, but decided not to.
"Electroshock." He ordered "Take it to the Carrier, confine it somewhere. If it ever calms down we'll be able to get what we need."
"There aren't brigs in starships, crews are well-disciplined and the rules are lax. Everyone but the officers sleep in bunks. Where can we put it?"
"This just had to be complicated, didn't it? Dammit, the thing can have the captain's quarters and I'll bunk up with the XO on the way back home. With any luck it won't remember much, last thing we need is a prisoner who can't do anything but scream when it sees a Rissan."
"Understood, sir."
The marine took out a baton, and whacked the alien with it. A zap filled the hallway as it overwhelmed the alien's nervous system, knocking it out cold.
League Carrier Sisu, Captain's Quarters
The alien laid in the room's bed, strapped to it by what would initially appear to be a method of restraining a prisoner. However, they were actually only there to keep the alien from floating away. It didn't seem like it was used to microgravity environments, especially considering the artificial gravity on the colony ship. A Rissan floated midair next to the alien, a pistol attached to his belt using velcro. Despite the weapon, he didn't look like a soldier. He was wearing the red of a military doctor's uniform, and while the alien wouldn't understand what it meant, it was plain to see that the Rissan wasn't planning on fighting anytime soon.
The room was dimly lit, providing enough light to see but not enough to make out complex facial details. A window beside the bed displayed the void of space, and a picture of five Rissan in uniform holding up a circular mission patch was haphazardly taped to it. All of them were smiling broadly, which was a detail that the man in the red uniform was understandably quite nervous about. The mission patch in the picture showed a blue and green planet with dozens of people reaching up from it. Each had a rectangle on their chest which displayed a pattern of colors, likely national flags. Text on the patch in Litvani read "Foundation One".
As the alien woke up, the man in the red tensed up. He clenched his hand around only of the many rails in the room, and made sure he was ready to draw the pistol at a moments notice. Knowing the alien couldn't possibly understand him, he cautiously spoke.
"You're safe. I won't hurt you, so please don't hurt me."
Dun Ara, Paardveid "Seneschal Vigdis, Ma'am!" Vigdis looked up from the report she was writing and sighed. She had been trying to get this done for the past three days but she wasn't getting anywhere. The more she tried to write, the more distractions came her way. "Yes? What is it, Astrid?"
The maidservant waved a file about "It's about the probes! Another one's come back positive!"
Vigdis sat up. Another one? In so short a time? Did this mean there was even more intelligent life out there?
"Have you informed the Chancellor?" she asked, temporarily forgetting Innes wasn't with them anymore. "No, Ma'am. I thought with her being away and all that it was best I take it to the Patriarch. He says that I should take it to you." Ah, of course. Weyss had sent the girl away. A shame - she would have loved to see the expression on her face when she found out there was more than one kind of alien out there.
"Thank you, Astrid. Leave the report with me and return to your duties."
"Cheers, Ma'am. I've been told it's mighty interesting."
The report was a strange one. The more she read, the more fascinated she became and eventually her old report slipped out of her mind completely.
The probe had come back damaged but functional. The engineers didn't think it was down to space dust or asteroids either. They concluded that it had been caught in a firefight and had taken some stray shots. That meant two or more factions were fighting on whatever path this machine had been down.
It's discoveries were inconsistent, however. It had been down a path of planets that once may have held life, but had been stripped of anything of value. The path was systematic and calculated, probably not just some galactic barbarian's warpath. Paardveid was well out the way of this path, and it was moving in the opposite direction, but the presence of such entities sent shivers down the Seneschal's spine.
There was also signs of a mechanical presence on whatever path the probe had been down. Whether they were friendly or not, the Republic couldn't afford to meet with them - the EM in the air would be unbearable.
There was more hopeful notes. Details were scarce, but it had picked up on a heavily colonised planet ripe with life. Whether such life was intelligent and friendly or not was questionable, but it wouldn't hurt to check the planet out, meet the locals and possibly discuss the future with them. It was possible they hadn't discovered space travel yet and may be willing to negotiate over it.
This planet seemed the most interesting. She would like to see the locals and assess whether or not they were worth her time. But she knew she couldn't call a council - it would degenerate into another talk-shop without any real progress being made.
She thought it over for a while, weighing up pros and cons, before finally asking herself 'what would Innes do?' That was question she knew the answer to.
Vigdis pulled out another piece of paper, picked up her pen and got writing. In a few hours, an ambassador would be on it's way to this new planet and it would be too late for anyone to oppose her, whether it be Temair, the Council or even the Patriarch himself.
Sometimes, being the top level of a bureaucracy had its perks. -----
Innes couldn't sleep. She tried her best, but it wasn't happening. It wasn't the bed: it was perfectly comfortable. It wasn't her clothing: she always had these pyjamas. It wasn't even the EM, though she could still feel it tickling her. Was it the foreign environment? The atmosphere? Something she ate? The lighting?
No. She couldn't sleep because she was caught up in thought. She was thinking about home - more specifically, she was thinking about her old home, the one she lived in before she met Weyss. Whether she tossed, turned or curled up, it wouldn't leave her mind. She tried distracting herself, playing mind-games, counting Schapen, even singing herself a lullaby. Nothing was working.
Every time she thought she would doze off, the old house entered her mind. It was subtle, but distinct. She turned one way and she thought she could smell Mama cooking. She turned the other and she cold hear Cousin Pyrrha's laugh. It was disturbingly real. It almost felt like if she could roll over and go to sleep she'd be back with them, in that old, run-down house, Mama, Pyrrha, Aela and her. They were waiting for her, she told herself, all she had to do was close her eyes and drift off back to the place she once knew. But she couldn't.
She wasn't going to have it all torn away from her again.
Sometimes, it wasn't a laugh or a sweet smell, it was something crueller. The smell of burning, a horrified scream, the feel of sweat, tears and that wretched 'purifying oil'. And then she'd feel the pain all over again.
Knowing full well that it wasn't going to leave her alone until she confronted it, she thought about it a bit more. She focused on Weyss, just a boy, coming into that dark room and seeing her. She remembered the anger and sorrow in his face, the way he trembled with rage, the gentle way he spoke to her and the fury with which he denounced the priestesses. He was just a child himself, but he was her hero. She could still feel the cloak he wrapped around her shoulders, warm and soft, no doubt made from the finest materials. And even at that young age, he was so authoritative, demanding that Innes be taken to the physician at once and to have a room prepared.
He stayed by her all night. She felt asleep with him watching over her and woke up with him passed out on her lap. And from that day on, Innes swore to pay back what she owed. And she never, not even for a moment, resented him finding her.
But what really got her was the look on Temair's face when he told her the situation. She looked so angry and confused and ... hurt. Even though he wasn't blaming her, she looked so ashamed of herself, like it was her who had done all those horrible things and not the priestesses.
Temair never knew what went on in her own church.
The realisation made Innes sit up. She was fully awake now, no longer interested in trying to doze off. It all made so much sense. That was why she was so resolute in her faith. That was why she was so zealous and angry. That was the reason she looked so upset when Innes left - by the Gods, she kissed her! Temair, who was so anti-homosexual she would probably cry if she saw a rainbow, kissing another girl. She felt like she had to conform. She wasn't leading, she was following. The whole system was backwards, with Temair being the one to hold the whole thing up.
And Astra looked furious with her. If Astra ever saw Temair again, who knew what would happen?
Oh gods. Astra was a rear admiral now. She had authority. And they both knew that she only needed a sliver of what she had at her command to completely crush Paardveid.
Innes shot out of bed, giving herself a rudimentary check-over. Hair? Not a problem. She'd even braided it at the front. Face? Clean. Clothes? Well, with sleep being so foreign to these people, a set of white cotton PJs shouldn't look too ridiculous. Smell? She'd been for a bath not even an hour ago - she could still smell the vaguely honeyed scent of the soapwort.
All in all, she was in a perfectly acceptable state to conduct a diplomatic meeting.
The labs, she had said. She should be in the labs, getting her equipment checked out. No, wait, her quarters. She said that before sprinting off. Damn, she wished she had put a little more thought into what she was doing before she ran off.
She left the room, making her way up towards Astra's bunk. A deck up and three on the left.
Of course, in her haste, she had neglected to put on the helmet and suit that were supposed to guide her. The signs were all foreign and though the translator helped decode what others were saying, she didn't want to interrupt anyone unless it was absolutely necessary.
What would she say to her? Exactly what she realised. It wasn't Temair's fault. This wasn't a wild animal - if you cut off the head, the rest would not die. This was more like a batch of fruit. If you didn't take the good ones away from the bad ones, then they would all start to turn. If Astra disclosed what Innes had said to her to anyone else, they'd probably do more damage than good. It was vital that any confusion was cleared up immediately.
When she arrived at the door she believed to be Astra's - not having her suit meant she couldn't know until she entered - she knocked on it. But the door was thicker that what she was used to and she was unsure whether any sound got through. She needed to talk to the Captain-stroke-Admiral now
What title should she use? Captain? No, she had been promoted. Admiral? Maybe she didn't want anyone to know of the promotion yet. Screw it, there were more important things at risk here than Astra's embarrassment.
"Astra! Are you in there? We need to talk!" Innes called through the door, ignoring any passerby. "It's properly urgent!" She prayed she wasn't interrupting anything crucial, but this was mega important
After she left the chancellor to her devices, Astra needed some time still to recuperate from the shock of the promotion. She has been pushing to get higher in command for years, but it took contact with aliens for the admiralty as a whole to realize three fleets weren’t going to cut it, nor would their current level of technology. And now? Now Astra had a serious budget to play with.
Naturally it would be months before her first ships even left the berths of Faira Tris, but finally things were progressing. And progress she would take care of. As soon as she recovered, the Admiral sat behind a desk and got to work. Pulling a 3d schematic of the raider class, Astra started stripping away systems and weapons that would need replacing and improvement.
As she worked on implementing some of the RLC technology to be used on her ships, another thought entirely started creeping into her mind. Certainly, the scale of her idea was huge and wouldn’t fly with everyone right away, but she got a feeling her counterparts in the robot society would back her up. She pulled up the comm app and contacted Libra, asking her to come and talk.
After a while (or was it hours? She was too absorbed in her work to care) an all too familiar voice echoed - urgently - from behind the door. With a few movements of the hand Astra shut the holo down - she didn’t believe in the slightest Innes would be interested in her schematics let alone understand them, but protocol was protocol. Walking towards the door she pushed the button, watching it open with a silent hiss.
“Chancellor? Is something wrong?” Astra asked, inviting Innes in with a wave of a hand.
Innes didn't even wait to be accepted. The second she was inside, she started talking at a thousand miles a second
"It's not Temair. It was never Temair. She's the fall guy. There's something more to all this. And I know you're thinking 'Innes, how ever did you come to this conclusion?'. Well, I was in bed and I was thinking about it and I realised that Temair's actually a really nice girl. Properly nice. And when I saw you talking to your Mama, I thought 'That's the way Temair and Weyss speak to each other' and when Temair kissed me I was like 'woah, why did she do that?' and then I realised that Temair's all talk and no action. She mouths off to anyone who'll listen, but she won't do anything. And I realised that she's not actually as powerful as everyone makes out she. She's like everyone else, just going along with it, but because she's Head Inquisitor, she has to be seen upholding church values, you know? So I'm thinking maybe there's someone else, someone who's really in charge, like a sort of cult within the church. And now I'm worried because that might mean that they'll try to overthrow Temair and Weyss and me."
"And then I thought about your face when I told you my story and you looked so angry, and now I'm thinking that maybe you don't like the Konjans and they're not all bad people! They're just doing what they think is right, but these other guys are manipulating them into doing bad things. And I'm scared cause now you're Admiral that you might say 'hang it all! these Konjans are nothing but trouble' and attack them and then the Church will be in ruins and then the Republic would fall apart because they don't have anyone to back them up, and it would be just like the old days. It's like..."
For a moment, Innes stopped, looking around for a suitable analogy. She settled on her Pyjama top.
"It's like my PJ's. When you've got them on, you're all warm and safe and snuggly. But if you take the buttons off - " to demonstrate, she undid the buttons, leaving the shirt hanging loosely over her like a cape -" and yeah, it still works, but there's no support so it just all falls off when you try to move. BUt if the shirt was off, but the buttons were on - "she took the shirt off entirely, then buttoned it back up "- then yeah, it's all nice and buttoned, but it won't help you cause it's not on and you feel like if it was on, you'd be all warm and safe, but since it's off, then you're out in the open, you know?"
"And you might be like 'yeah, but we can set up a new system if we get rid of the Konjans' but that won't work because then you'd have to be on the planet, or at least looking over it, and then yo might think 'what a waste of time! these people aren't worth helping' and leave and then we'd fall apart anyway, or worse, maybe someone will be like 'they're already part of us. We should just integrate them fully' and then we'd all be nothing but slaves and..."
Realisation lit Innes' face. She looked at Astra in absolute terror and shrank back, backing away from her.
"Unless that's your plan all along! You're going to take over Paardveid, aren't you? You know we can't fight back, so you'll use your new, fancy Admiral title to declare war on us! Is that why you brought me here? So you could see what having a Sinnsyk slave is like? Try before you buy, is that it? Well, let me tell you, missy, that it's not going to happen! I would rather die than live a slave! You think I'm going to run about, do this, do that, dance, monkey, dance, cleaning up your mess? No, not going to happen, no way no how!"
Innes had slowly backed herself into a corner. With nowhere else to go, she started curling up into a ball.
"I won't let you enslave my people! I can't! They might not be very nice people, but they deserve freedom, as much as your race does! If you think I'm going to lay back and let you take over, your dead wrong!" Innes sounded desperate, switching between anger and fear at a moment's notice. It was like she was afraid Astra would suddenly declare war on Paardveid right now and could have a battalion there in minutes
"I - I - I'd do anything to keep them safe. All of them. I'd sacrifice myself if I could. I..." she stopped short, swallowing her words, then continued in a low, defeated voice "If it means keeping the Republic safe, I'll do it. I'll be your slave. Anything you ask, just please, don't hurt them. I know you don't think much of me. I'm just a scrawny little girl with a pretty face. You'll probably laugh at me for offering something so pathetic. But I can change! I'll be anything you like! Just don't hurt Paardveid!"
It never crossed Innes' mind that maybe Astra didn't want to enslave her, or that maybe she wasn't quite capable of invasion. In her head, she was all that stood in the way of her Republic becoming a vassal-state of the Faira. She didn't break down in tears, or yell or cry, she just looked at Astra with a grim resolution on her face.
The B.S.S. Rolank, an Orca Battlecarrier that sat outside of the Sol System on an Intelligence gathering expedition. They currently had 14 Kavrt's running silently under cloak in the Sol System. Luckily, the fighting going on allowed for them to go completely ignored. One of the Kavrts was in High Orbit above the most populated planet, running silent. The only energy emissions being that Tachyon particals that bent the light and sensor waves around the ship, and the scanning equipment that was looking for any sign of their lost civilization. Captain Malakan, a female Levinti, stood on the bridge, looking at the scanner results. "I... I can't believe this..." she said. "Are you trying to tell me that these creatures have been here for over 7000 years, and they never found this?"
"Well, sir." replied the Galfan scanner officer "the entrance to the chamber is in this area of one of the largest continents, Geographical scans show that the ground was left mostly infertile and looking at the life signals, I'd say that the area was never fully colonized." he said.
"Alright, break orbit, we'll return to Rolank, then come back with the equipment to infiltrate without letting the locals know... With the combat raging, who knows what will they do if they pick us up on their scanners." she said. The ship quietly broke orbit and began to head out of the solar system, at quarter impulse, the fastest they dared move, it would take several hours to clear the solar system and return to their mothership.
=Primaris=
several hours later
Saint Solus' Cathedral buzzed with activity as the many exitted the building, the service having just concluded, Pope Favius had retired to his room in the mighty building, having just finished. Favius sat down in a chair and rubbed his eyes, preaching for hours on end did become tiring. He was glad that he only had to make one sermon a month, but being the leader of the faith, naturally, his had to be bigger and more extravagant than the average Vicars. A console began to beep on his dresser and he pressed a button. A picture of Admiral Jamac, a female Straln, and the commanding officer of the B.S.S. Protoris "Admiral... Do you require spiritual advice?" He asked.
"No." replied Jamac "I had the feeling that you might be interested in a discovery that one of our scout-ships turned up... We think we have found one of the 7..." Favius was immediately on his feet, both hands pressed on the dresser.
"WHAT?!?!?!" he exclaimed, thoughts raced through his head, the 7 were Solus and his 6 disciples, they had never found anything to do with the 7 in all of their searches.
"We have found a chamber on the third planet of the Sol system. Intelligence reports a warp-capable, humanoid civilization is there." she reported. "Although the chamber has Old One technology written all over it, the chamber does have a weak signal emminating with a single code... 45BEO-5TN94E-2E0T9R-FHU839-494GID..."
"That's an Old Ones designation code... 494GID..." he thought for a second before looking at the screen. "494GID That's Gideon's... That's the unit number that the Old Ones christened Gideon with... How did they locals not find it?" he asked.
"It's on an Old One secure channel, I doubt anyone would pick it up unless they were specifically looking for it. Which we were. What's more purplexing is that it's the only sign of Old One tech on the whole damn dirt-ball. No other indication that they were ever there."
"Why would Gideon be there?" he asked.
"I don't know... But we were hoping to get access to the church's archives, with your permission." she asked. He sat back down in his chair and thought for a minute, contemplating what the implications of this were.
"I..." he began. "Permission will be granted on one condition... I want to be with the team that goes into the chamber..."
"Out of the question." she replied "Your holiness isn't going to set foot in a chamber with who know's what kind of defensive mechanisms."
"I was a soldier for 15 years, I can handle myself." he said. "This is potentially the greatest religious discovery in the entire of Galfan history, you can't just expect me to be content hearing about our first contact with one of the seven, rather than being there myself." he growled. The Admiral sat back in her chair, as a Levinti ensign handed her a cup of a hot, green liquid.
"I'll see what I can do, but the Military Senate is not going to like this. Remember, you're a Civilian now. And sending a civilian, especially one of your stature, is going to cause nothing but problems."
"I understand... Just try and make it happen." he said.
The Citadel, Sol The Citadel acted as the center of Sol’s space-faring operations. It held both military and civilian sections, including the offices for Military High Command. The Station itself was a long spike like shape, with various sections branching out to act as either docking stations for ships, defense systems, or offices, homes, and businesses for various civilian and military branches and organizations.
Meagan McClain, Supreme Commander of the Federation Military had docked at the station. As she stepped off the ship she had tied her blonde hair back in a long ponytail. She wore the standard black stretch uniform of the Federation Military, with her rank and medals tacked on to the suit. Her green eyes stared down at a mass of reporters, barely being kept back by the Citadel’s inhouse police force. Docking space at the military sections of the Citadel was full, so Meagan had been forced to dock at a Civilian section close to her office.
While reporters would have normally not been an issue, the recent attack on Sol was weighing heavily on the mind of the Federation populace. Meagan was forced to push reporters out of her way, while being hounded with questions from all sides.
“With the recent attack on Sol, is there any plans to increase ship production?” questioned one Reporter, speaking rather fast and holding up a Mic
“Robert has personally spoken to me and says the Senate and Parliament are currently voting on bills to increase funding to the Federation Military and R&D departments. Beyond that I can not guarantee anything.” plainly stated Meagan, quickly pushing the Mic and reporter away.
Another reporter was quick to take his place, and ask a question, a camera hovering behind him.
“Is the Federation fully aware of any civilian casualties from the attack yet?” spoke the Reporter, pushing his own mic into Meagan's face.
“No, scouts are still sweeping the wreck to confirm the dead..” commented Meagan, whose stone-faced look was now turning into one of annoyance.
After a huge battery of questions Meagan called in more of the Security forces who pushed them away. Meagan quickly grabbed stood up on the edge of one of the Fountains that had been installed as decoration.
“At the current moment I am not willing to answer any questions. I have yet to be fully-briefed on the situation as I was in a meeting on Earth at the time of the attack, and not near any stations from which I could have assumed command. I shall be speaking to the Admirals and will begin developing plans and further action regarding the attack. After I am done with any meetings, I will be more then willing to conduct interviews and address any concerns the general public may have regarding the Federation’s response.” finished Meagan, stepping down as the forces continued to keep the reporters back. She stepped into the military section, military soldiers guarding the way.
Compared to the Civilian sections, the military sections were a lot more foreboding. No decorations, such as the fountains or gardens helped lighten the atmosphere. The music played in the plazas was absent, the only sounds being the hums of lights, or the echoing of boots on the metal floor of the station. Meagan quickly stepped into her office, leaving behind the normal section.
Inside her office there was not much. A simple metal desk with a worn office chair behind held a holo-projector for interaction as well as a small computer tower necessary to store the OS and and info Meagan needed for her position. Various rewards also decorated the wall, commending Meagan for her excellent service record. A door was also inlayed into the back wall of the office.
Meagan quickly went behind her desk, turning on her computer. Checking her messages she saw only one unread, a message from Robert about a meeting that he would like conduct after Meagan finished hers with the Admirals. Taking note of it, she opened the door at the back of her office.
The new room she stepped into was darkened, with a large meeting table in the middle of the room. The table had a large holo-projector embedded into the middle, currently projecting a blue map of Sol, with various strategic locations marked. The Admirals were already seated, with those who were out on missions conferring by Ansible to maintain secrecy.
“Greetings. First order of business is the discussion of the attack on Sol and how the Military should proceed.” spoke Meagan, arms crossed and leaning back in her chair.
“The General Public is going to want a large increase in funding. This could be beneficial for our research.” commented one of the Admirals.
“Is the increase necessary though? While we did suffer losses, most of them were initial civilian stations from the surprise attack. Otherwise our forces handled the attack quite well and bested the enemy.” responded a female Admiral looking at the other one.
“Yet the threat we encountered appears to have been some robotic force stuck on the same mission initiative. Its likely they will never advance in tech, we could easily encounter a much more advanced ET threat that could want to harm us. The increase in funding is necessary if we want to get to a level were we are prepared for all threats. Our efforts on Enned will help this goal as well” said Admiral Yamada, his hologram flickering.
“On the subject of technology, the R&D department has finally managed to develop our first-generation plasma weapons. With repairs still being made to ships from the attack, we can not begin refitting yet, but a new Supercarrier is under construction that shall be fitted with them” stated Admiral Wright.
“Supercarrier? When did I authorize the construction of a new one?” asked Meagan, starting down Wright.
“The construction was authorized by the Senate and Congress Meagan. They were pretty clear that construction should be started on it as soon as possible.” responded Wright.
“Did the research council decide what to focus upon for the upcoming budget cycles by any chance as well Wright?” asked Meagan, settling back into her seat.
“Yes, they plan to focus on gluon-disturbers. As it stands they do not believe they can develop a capable containment system for antimatter so it can be used in missile or torpedo form.” once again responded Wright.
Meagan turned one of the female Admirals.
“Any news of other possible xenos, Aaliyah?” questioned Meagan.
“Long range detection near Alpha Centaurii has picked up a few signals coming from a system a few light-years away. A carrier group has been sent to investigate. In addition we detected a strange signal consisting of mainly dots. The signal was well-cloaked, we have triangulated down to a small triangular area, but that area consists of a bit over a hundred systems. I have scouts working full time on it. We are broadcasting a similar signal in response in hopes that they will respond themselves.” stated Admiral Aaliyah.
“Seeing as we have no more to discuss, I call this meeting to a conclusion.” finished Meagan, standing up as the Admirals walked out of the room.
A few light-years from Alpha Centaurii ((@TehAlphaGamer))
Federation ships arrived in the system, a single Carrier as well as two frigates. They had similiar designs to those that had been sent to Enned, but weapons and other features shifted here and there. They slowly began moving into the system, obviously scanning for signs of the aliens.
The Captain watched from afar as he saw the ships, as well as watching the screen which provided scan results of the ships.
“Broadcast a We are friendly message in binary code, and we shall proceed from there.” said the Captain, as they beamed messages to the alien ships in binary code.
“We are friendly. Do not fire.”
The Federation ships raised their shields, but did not warm up their weapons.
Eastwing ship Gravitational Variable Orbiting Khas, the Eastwing Homeworld
"After so many years of hard work and calculation, with great pride and humility, I'm humbly pleased to present the heart of my masterpiece," Fred Kwan said. Microdrones had fanned into a loose crescent in front of him. The corporate backers and chief constructors were stirring. They'd been sitting in the background of the stage, trying not to fall asleep during Kwan's rather longer-than-it-needed-to-be speech. The stage was a raised white chunk of the Variable's formal dining room. President Penelope Kate had the honor of a front row seat, next to her media advisor, bodyguard, and the opposition party chief congressional, Emmit Brown. The OP2C was a stooped old man with more wrinkles than guile, but the Independent party always seemed to have a thing for easily-manipulated leaders. Penelope briefly considered elbowing Mr. Brown awake. An errant microdrone, however, bumped into his forehead. The camera's rotor had been bent into uselessness, and it dropped like a stone into the OP2C's lap. He started awake.
Behind the Kwan and the other guest speakers, a long, curving bay window looked out onto the Gravitational Variable's after drive section. A digital projection of the bridge shined in the corner, transmitted by one of Captain Smith's microdrones.
"The natural warp effect is actually rather dull. At only a 47% loss of efficiency, I've managed to visually represent the warp field and the flux of eddies in spacetime passing through it. Captain Smith, the ship is yours," Kwan said, officially handing over control of the ship from designer to captain. Of course, the Captain had been unofficially in command ever since the last builder had left the space scaffolding.
"Thank you, Mr. Kwan. Helm, set course for System 32. Engineering, power the warp drive," the image of Captain Smith ordered. Background characters suddenly made themselves busy. Outside the bay windows, the arc containing the warp drive lit up, panel by panel glowing a pleasant blue color.
"Course set," the helmsman reported. The view had cut to him at his console. The controls were esoteric; a set of spiraling spikes and stems sprouted from the console. The helmsman moved his hands through the maze at near random, the only feedback being a set of beeps and different-colored glows. "Engineering reports warp drive is ready, Captain."
A close up of Captain Smith's grizzled face, done so that they were looking up at an angle, slowly zooming in. Light glinted off of his eyes. "Engage," he said.
The warp drive glowed ever brighter, a mechanical spooling up noise filling the ship. Gradually President Kate became aware of a ring of what looked like the darkest possible shade of red glowing around the ship. Then, with a great outrush of energy (at least, that's what it sounded like, and if Kwan was worth half his boasts, that was what just happened), the ship entered warp. Apparently the eddies in spacetime took the form of lines slowly moving sternward; it looked like the stars themselves were streaking past. The ship would shortly arrive at System 32, an unexplored blue giant.
Penelope clapped appreciatively.
Eastwing Ship Discovery One Near the Faira Nebula
Dr. Tycho Clavius stalked toward Engineering. Despite being Research Director, despite being the impetus for the entire Discovery expedition, he had little authority on board the ship. Oh, sure, theoretically he was on par with the other heads of Discovery One, but Captain Needlemeier had taken an instant dislike to him.
“Bluespace translation in 5...4...3...2...1,” the ship’s computer announced. Dr. Clavius leaned against a nearby bulkhead, bracing himself. A bright flash dazzled away his vision, but the characteristic tearing noise was faint in this particular corridor. Likely a speaker was malfunctioning nearby. His labcoat fluttered slightly as his eyesight returned.
He entered Engineering, the automatic double doors gently whooshing aside. The engineer on duty started to stand up, saw that it was only Dr. Clavius, and sat back down.
“I demand to see Chief Nedry!” Dr. Clavius said, slamming down the “Power Requisition Form” he’d received minutes ago. “He said he was busy,” the engineer on duty said. “Busy! We’re about to translate the nebula probe, and he’s giving me power requisition forms! The nebula probe is the entire for this expedition!” Dr. Clavius could just make out Chief Engineer Nedry through the window. He was leaning back in his chair, fiddling with something. Nedry glanced up and gave Dr. Clavius a four-fingered wave. “Nedry! What in the name of Tr-tza is this?” Dr. Clavius said, slamming the form against the glass. “We need unrestricted access to ship power for the probe launch! Cutting me off not only endangers my research and this expedition, but the entire ship!” Nedry went back to fiddling with the thing. Dr. Clavius glimpsed a pot of body paint.
“Dr. Clavius to Research, please,” the ship’s intercom crackled. Nedry looked up at Dr. Clavius, and then meaningfully looked at the engineer on duty. “Oh, a power requisition form? Is it purple?” the engineer on duty said. Dr. Clavius didn’t speak, only glancing at the obviously blue form and back to the engineer. “Hmm. Clerical error. Should’ve been sent to medical. Sorry about that,” she said, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Hey, Dr. Clavicle, I think you’re late,” Nedry said, peeking out of his office door. He was laughing. Dr. Clavius managed a growl, ripped the paper in half, and left back toward the research department.
By the time he got there, Dr. Romanova had already taken charge.
“Oh, Dr. Clavius, how good of you to join us. I was just about to inform my husband that the probe was ready for launch. Unless you wanted to ‘manage’ us.”
Tycho glared at Dr. Romanova. “No, that’s fine. I’ll be in my office,” he said. Natasha turned away, giving orders to his department. He slumped into his office chair, monitoring the process through the microdrones. The lone bright green microdrone that bothered to follow him bumpted on the glass. Tycho opened the door for it.
“At least you’re still here for me,” he addressed the anonymous viewer, Dhrmi knows how far away. “Though why you insist on watching my life is beyond me.”
Dr. Romanova’s tinny voice said, “Probe systems confirmed green. Helm reports that we’re holding station 250 million kilometers from the nebula. Nedry, dear, we’re clear for the translation.”
Researchers backed hurriedly away from the spherical little probe. It had a tiny shield generator, a locator beacon, battery, and not much else. The sphere was hollow inside, designed to lever open and obtain a sample of the nebula’s gas.
“Bluespace translation in 50 seconds,” Nedry reported. Orange triangles winked into existence around the probe. A high pitched whine rapidly approached supersonic.
“Probe geodesic shielding on,” one of the researchers reported. A beehive barrier of pale blue hexes flickered around the probe. The limited battery life meant that the probe would only have shields for seven minutes, but the plan was to translate it back to the ship before then, presuming it didn’t move from the location it was translated to.
“Bluespace translation in five seconds,” Nedry said. With a bright blue flash and space-ripping sound (this one real, not piped through speakers) the probe disappeared off the Discovery One.
In the Faira Nebula
The probe flashed noisily into existence, blue sparks lazily trailing off into the nebula. The geodesic shielding immediately flashed orange, suddenly under strain. The probe levered open, and a section of shielding dimmed, allowing the hot gas to fill the probe. Five minutes later, the probe disappeared in another flash.
FD Nyxa, Faira Nebula “Talk to me! What is it?” Admiral Sola roared from her station, “And silence that alarm!” In a few seconds the antenna wrenching screech and flashing green light shut down. Her holo displayed the nebula, slowly zooming in on a certain sector as their sensors did their best to pinpoint the location of the intruder.
“High power energy discharge, Ma’am. Unknown configuration, possibly an FTL dropout. None that we met before, but the output is consistent with the general requirements.” the officer at the sensors reported, her eight fingers waving over the controls. “Watcher fleet drones have been dispatched to get a visual.”
Shaking her head, Sola called for her diplomatic ataché. “Not good enough. Bring us in. Full combat readiness. Train weapons on target the second you have a lock, but hold fire. I don’t want this to turn messy unless it has to.” the violet accented Faira decided. A chime rang throughout the ship and the destroyer sunk into subspace. They emerged on the outskirts of the nebula momentarily. “Anything on scope yet?” the admiral demanded.
“We have them, but barely! It’s either stealth or tiny, weapons are having trouble getting a lock. Visual coming now!” the officer hollered, pointing to the main holo. A picture of the blue nebula appeared before moving in closer, displaying a spherical… something. The thing opened to suck in some of the nebular gas. “Looks like a probe, scientific if anything.”
Nodding, Sola briefly weighed her options. Maybe if they didn’t act, the probe wouldn’t notice them. But then what would happen? If it was them sending the probe, the Striker fleet would follow. No, better to know what they are dealing with. “Active scan. I want to know what there is to know about that thing.”
A moment later, extremely powerful sensor flash hit the probe, analyzing it nearly to the atomic level. “Detecting transmission. Attempting to locate the target… It’s heading somewhere outside of the nebula. Impossible to tell the distance without knowing the power output.” the tech reported.
“Bring it aboard. I want it torn apart if that is what it takes.” the admiral ordered, but to her dismay the probe vanished a short while before the Nyxa could scoop it up in it’s hangar. “Damn. Any idea where it was headed?” she asked, but knew the answer already. Without a working example to study it wasn’t likely they would be able to tell how that particular FTL even worked, let alone where the probe went.
“Negative. Well, if we’re lucky, they’ll run scared. Our sensors must have messed the thing up good for a few seconds. If they were listening in, they’ll have a nasty headache.” the tech tried to stay optimistic. If only it ever worked that way.
Eastwing Ship Discovery One 250 Million Kilometers from the Faira Nebula
Red warning lights flashed around the probe’s pad, klaxons sounding. The researchers were behind protective barriers facing the pad, equipment at the ready. The lights were dimming as the ship’s power grid underwent extreme strain. Bluespace translations from a location other than the ship of origin were always much more difficult and power-hungry, even if there was a locator beacon acting as an anchor.
“Translation in 3...2...1,” Nedry reported over the ship’s comm. The probe crashed into existence on the pad, violet arcs of electricity slashing out. The geodesic shielding was an angry scarlet. Seconds later, the shield vanished. “We’ve angered Tr-tza!” one of the more excitable scientists shouted. “Don’t be a fool! Obviously we’ve miscalculated the energy load the probe had to withstand,” Dr. Romanova said, fingering her copper bracelets subconsciously. They were a wedding present from Dennis, supposed to offer her Tr-tza’s protection from electromagnetic discharge.
The microdrones were fluttering about madly. A few had even been hit by the electrical discharge.
“Is everyone okay?” Dr. Clavius asked. Natasha glared, kicking herself for not asking the question first. The researchers responded with a chorus of “I’m fine.” The protective barriers had done their job. “Good. Let’s proceed. Electrics, download the probe’s logs; toxins, you’ve got the gas,” she paused. “Unless you’ve got a better idea, Dr. Clavius?” “...no. Oh, electrics, see if you can analyze the shielding power draw. Even if the probe didn’t have the sensors to know what hit it, at least we can figure out when it got hit.”
The researchers looked at Dr. Romanova. She nodded.
“And prep the pad for a sensor probe series. I want to find out if it’s a localized phenomenon,” she ordered. “Yes, do that, too,” Dr. Clavius chimed in. Natasha rolled her eyes.
The toxins department rolled off the gas chamber on a dolley. Dr. Clavius watched them for a moment before his lone green microdrone follower waggled in front of him, motioning toward his console.
“Right, thanks,” he said. Whoever was controlling the thing, at least they were being nice. Tycho thumbed the vidcomm on, contacting the captain.
“What now, Tycho?” Needlemeier growled. “We’re sending out a sensor drone series,” he responded. “The hell you are. The last bluespace retrieval nearly turned off the bridge lights. I don’t want to know what seven will do.” Dr. Clavius sighed. “I’ll tell Dr. Romanova it’s a no-go, then.” “Ah, I see. Tell her she can proceed in half an hour. I’ll reposition the ship closer to the nebula. Bridge out.”
Half an hour later, with the ship only 50 million kilometers from the nebula thanks to a short bluespace translation, seven four-meter-long, pole-shaped probes were sent into the nebula in sequence, one minute apart. They were translated into a octahedral formation with the seventh in the center where the gas probe had been. Each probe acted as an antenna, and each was packed with sensors and a significantly larger battery. Even so, the probes’ shields would only last 10 minutes, giving a grand total of three minutes time for all probes to be in position simultaneously.
FD Nyxa, outskirts of Faira Nebula “Fleet reporting multiple signatures matching the previous one! There is also something matching but with several times the output barely outside of the Nebula. Could be a carrier, but it’s at the border of our intrasystem capability. Only the Nyxa can make the jump, we’ll be alone if we go.” the XO reported as she took over from the sensors tech.
“They’re combing the nebula to find us. We can’t let them get away with that information. Plot the jump, and ancestors aid us.” Sola decided and Nyxa’s jumpdrive whirred into life.
It was the most turbulent jump of the admiral’s life. The nature of subspace at the channel their FTL used was such that the farther one was from a source of a gravitational field, the less stable it was. And they were on the limits of what the structural integrity of the destroyer could take without damage.
Finally the window spat them out. Immediately the holo displayed the sensor readings. They had them, all but five kilometers in front of them. “Visual?” sola asked, and the Xo nodded, changing the view as requested. Getting the lay of the contact, Sola decided upon their course of action. “full power to frontal shield quadrant and approach them from behind. Hail them, and follow with the standard first contact package. They must not be allowed to run before we have a chance to either talk or go over their computers. That ship has quite clearly defined engines - if they try to run, hit there. And hope they won’t overload. If they fire, fire right back, target this sector, it appears to be a weakspot.” the admiral said, pointing to the windows - perhaps a bridge?
The grey and red mass of the Nyxa moved as ordered, its guns trained on the target while every available communication array was trying to make contact with the unknowns.
Eastwing Ship Discovery One Bridge
Captain Needlemeier’s face was outlined by the rainbow-colored glow of rows and rows of buttons and indicator lights. His Exploration Squad uniform, bright purple against his gray body paint and green skin, almost looked striped. The bridge window, a graceful arc, showed stars with a subtle blue gradient going left to right. The nebula’s boundary wasn’t a definite line as much as a gradual gathering density of particles. Scientifically, Needlemeier supposed there was some definitive density where the nebula began.
He pulled up C.E. Nedry’s image on his console. “Report,” he ordered. “Yeah, all the outbound translations are done. I started the auto-retrieval already. Supercapacitor charge looks fine, but the crystals are going to be pretty brittle after retrieval,” Dennis said. “How long before we can-” “Kron’s dice!” the sensor tech shouted. The shout drew the microdrones like dogs to a box of biscuits. “New contact, five kilometers to stern.” “On screen,” the Captain ordered. He pressed a switch on his command chair’s arm. The computer played the appropriate boatswain’s whistle. “This is the Captain. Blue alert.” Needlemeier thumbed another switch. An automated message played: “The alert level is now blue. Security may have their weapons out. Random searches are allowed. Shields are online; please refrain from excess power usage.”
A faint blue series of hexagons and pentagons shimmered into life around the ship. On the bridge, an image from the Discovery One’s stern cameras lit up the main window. A large, rather blocky, red and gray ship floated among the stars. It was bristling with obvious weaponry.
The sensor tech frowned. “They’re a bit blunt with their design aesthetic, aren’t they?” His console pinged at him, diverting his attention. Captain Needlemeier called up Nedry again.
“Dennis, stop the retrievals,” he ordered. Nedry opened his mouth to say something, stopped, and then said, “Aye, sir.” “Captain, we’re probably being hailed; telecomms is being flooded with… something,” the sensor tech reported. “Or they could be trying to jam our communications before blowing our butts out of the sky,” Lt. Ray Arnold, the Head of Security, pointed out.
Discovery One had no weapons; it was built and equipped solely for missions of science. There really was only one choice. Captain Needlemeier called up C.E. Nedry again.
“Yeah? You know I’ve got things to do, right?” Dennis said. “Dennis, get us out of here. Go anywhere, as long as it’s nice and far,” Needlemeier ordered. “We can’t! We jump again so soon, the crystal’s will fracture. Pieces of the ship would end up not even Kron knows where,” Dennis said. “How long?” “At least half an hour,” Dennis said. Needlemeier growled. “And that’s assuming we can charge the supercapacitors in time anyway!” “Fine,” Needlemeier said, ending the call. He mulled for a second. Discovery One had no xenodiplomacy department; the odds of running into aliens near the recent supernova were enormous. Given their lack of weaponry, a confrontation would be bad. And they couldn’t leave. That left stalling. Procedure called for the R.D. to step in for xenodiplomacy on ships lacking it. He smiled. “Let’s assume it’s a hail for the next half an hour,” he said. He called up Dr. Clavius. “Tycho, get up here; as research director, you’re now officially in charge of contacting the… friendly… ship that’s on our tail.”
Dr. Clavius blinked. This wasn’t his field of expertise. He desperately tried to remember the one required class on xenodiplomacy that he’d taken.
“Okay. Um. Okay. Are they… signalling us?” Tycho asked. “In a manner of speaking,” the Captain said. “Send it back at them? And then play our standard greeting. I’m on my way up now.”
Greetings, xeno-lifeforms! We are a species known as Khasi, of the nation Eastwing. Our ship is called Discovery One. We come in peace! If you can understand this message, please respond on a similar frequency. If you don’t understand, please respond anyway. If your response is weapons fire, please try and miss.
Eastwing Ship Nostromo Ennedi System
Armament: 10 multichromatic laser cannons 5 red high-explosive torpedoes 5 blue high-explosive torpedoes
The Nostromo screamed into existence with a bright blue flash. Sparks of blue spiraled off into the night. Those sparks weren't holographic projections; they were intentionally engineered flaws in the bluespace crystal matrix that resulted in pairs of clumped charged particles exiting at high speed post-translation. Through careful application of magnetic fields, the particles were made to spiral away in a safe direction and fascinating manner (although, truth be told, the particles were no more dangerous than micrometeoroids).
Captain Rollins stretched back in his command chair. "Navigation, report," he said. "We're in high above Enned. Ship is currently in free-fall," the navigator said. This was standard; the farther the bluespace translation, the less likely your momentum would be a useful direction or speed.* While freighters got around this through a long and energy-taxing series of maneuvers that mostly involved falling in the right relative direction, most space force and exploration squad ships had chemical rockets to execute orbital maneuvers. "Helm, calculate and execute a burn-to-orbit maneuver," Rollins ordered. "Burn-to-orbit maneuver, aye sir," the helmsman said. "Patch external telecomms to the vidscreen," Rollins said. The Eastwing logo took up the main viewer. A little red light in the corner turned green at Rollins' nod.
This is Captain Rollins of the Eastwing Space Force ship Nostromo to the Straylight Institute. I'm here to formally request that Eastwing be included in this expedition, and all former grievances be forgotten. It is my impression that we've gotten off on the wrong foot.
*This is another reason why ship-to-ship or ship-to-surface bluespace translations are so rare. If one ship isn't matching the other ship's velocity vector precisely, splat. That is, assuming the object has even managed to fully emerge before the ship has moved out from underneath it. Then it's stuck in space without a ride.
Quite aside from the energy requirements (which often necessitate a lack of shielding while translating something), this has limited bluespace weaponization potential. And then you have to factor in delay between starting a translation and actually executing it, which can be a problem if the enemy ships refuse to maintain course and speed for some reason. On the whole, lasers are just easier. And more flashy.
