[IC] Sollus Supremus (Dune-like Space Opera)

[Monkeypants]

The Union, Hades rising

New Dawn City
Outlining Slums

The pattering of light footsteps darting through alleyways was deafened by the roar of engines. A stealthy figure pushed forward towards what would be a depot for the APEC, Fuel and ammunition for an potential advance in the city.

It was further drowned out by the sound of aircraft and gunfire. "this sector 20 is a bitch!" A soft female voice whispered. She turned to her right and ran into a nearby structure. Stairs and stairs led to a room with commotion, APEC spotters watching a huge fire fight a few blocks away.

Her gunshots were quiet but effective as two bodies fell onto the floor. She smiled as her silenced pistol was holstered. It was time to her to initiate phase two. "Where oh where could you be?" She said, running her hand from pocket to pocket on her coat.

"Ah!" She exclaimed as her hands drew a small golden cube. Her thumb pressed into a small port which triggered the device. Holographic images of the battlefield appeared as well as a large selection of what would be communications chatter, from civilian to APEC.

And below was her real prize, a rocket artillery piece, fully loaded with ten high explosive projectiles. "Mine now.." She said with an innocent grin. And with a few swipes over the hologram, the device displayed from red to green.

Twelve APEC soldiers below were loading boxes but were abruptly stopped by the sound of motors as the Rocket battery came alive. They watched as the battery aimed towards the ground, right at the men's feet. Two of them started laughing while the others started to show mild signs of fear. Perhaps running would've been wise but there was no time when the rockets engines hit full burn. Their one second adventure from launcher to ground resulted in an immense explosion. Three APC's and at least thirty men and women died in the blink of an eye, followed by a plume of smoke and fire that rose a mile into the sky.

And in the room above, there was no sign of life, only two shell casings and the bled out bodies that overlooked a smoking crater.

[Natsucooldude]

Council hall. Earth. The first day of the council.

King Dimitry of Slavius sat in the decorated meeting hall. He calmly took one more look at the projected agenda for today's meeting. The two most likely topics to be adressed were the wo and the civil war in Kurtiye.

He though about the war raging relatively close to his own domain. Dimitry did not intend to pick a side in the war, it would only invite both sides to spill the conflict over to his own domain. He didn't quite know what to think of the wo yet. Like many more conservative intellectuals, he had regarded them as nothing more than an urban legend before this week. Their behaviour in this council would quite shape his opinion of them going forward.

The emperor of Sol was stirred from his musings by the sound of the grand door on the far side of the hall creacking open. It appeared the other representatives had arrived. "Welcome, my good guests. Take a seat... I foresee we will be having quite a long meeting today."

Wen Ten Xei, the Most Serene One, stood in a regal bearing, flanked by two of her massive Honor Guards. To Dimitry, she bowed gracefully, gave her thanks, and proceeded to her appointed seat. As her dress trailed along the floor, so did her two Guards in her wake. As she took her place in the table, she was shadowed by their great frames.

Following closely after Wen Ten, were Barrier-2 and his compatriot Commisar Vardan. They were flanked by two Crakador troopers, unflinching and enormous as they always were. The two of them made their way to their own little corner of the grand table. One of the crakadors swiftly shoved the chair aside to make room for Barrier's exosuit.

High Commissar Vardan, of the United Socialist Savarog Republics took his seat as per usual, not waiting for the tedious process of having the Crakador move it for him. Though a look of, disgust soon crept across his face as he realised the same grave error as before had been made. The chair was too damn small for his bulk, and barely looked able to support a human, let alone a Savarog. Sighing, he called over one of the Crakadors and whispered in a murderous tone, "Bring a chair, preferably one not designed for a small child." The Crakador left in a hasty fashion, returning moments latter with what had to have been the chair intended for the Commissar. The trooper saluted before standing guard once more, while the Commissar sat himself down for the current discussions.

The Commissar was clothed in his usual fashion, though instead of the normal Commissar robes he wore the other garment symbolic of his position: the Khokmar, a sign of a member of the Savarog diplomatic caste.

Advo, the 37th prime communicator-builder of the Abyssal Domain waddled in without any guards. No need for them, for Advo is completely convinced it would reincarnate if this turned into a massacre anyways. Advo silently moved to the table and pushed its chair aside. Advo than just stood there like a statue while holding a notepad.

From the other side of these chambers a small creature followed by a tree slowly pushed through the crowd. The smaller of the two took a seat that specifically stated "Inner Sphere Union Representative Qu." As Qu took his seat promptly and without much interaction. Perhaps it was brakko the tree that seemed to have the most emotion as he made it a point to say please and thank you, with the occasional "Hello." Or as close as a tree with a translating device could.

Followinging behind was the tall, stalky and extravagantly dressed Aldir Moti, Ambassador of the Ascendancy, flanking to his right was his human assistant. The two continued on ahead into the Council Chambers, Aldir taking his seat, with his assistant Natasha standing by his side. "My sincere apologies for my late arrival." Aldir said. "Shall we get on with business?"

Dimitry looked around the table, it was filled out pretty well. But with one seat glaringly unoccupied. The seat for the representative of Kurtiye. Regardless, Dimitry gestured his own guards at the door of the hall to seal the entrance, the sign that the council was now officially in session.

"You may have noticed that Kurtiye has not graced us with a representative today. I was informed not just one representative came, but several. All representing different factions within the divided empire. Of course it would be unbecoming to see them continue their squabbling in this meeting of high minds, so until such a time as when a definitive representative steps forward, I have elected to leave their chair empty. I hope you all see where I'm coming from."

"Now, to move on to matters that we have direct control of... I think we have a new face at this table." The king of sol directed his gaze to the stunning beauty of the most serene one. It took quite a bit of his restraint to keep his composure... How could a being have such beauty while remaining so dignified?"

Immediately, barrier-2 cleared his throat to interject. "Yes, this representative of the wo was... most unexpected. I have corresponded with her about a matter between my people and hers. And I do believe this concerns those of the union, the federation and the ascendancy as well." The qulseoc stared directly at Wen Ten. Unflinched by her supposed beauty.

Wen rose, and turned her brilliant eyes to Dimitry, bowing respectfully. "Thank you, King of Sol." She then directed her gaze upon everyone else. "Good tidings upon each of you and your wondrous nations. I am Wen Ten Xei, elected by my peers to be the Most Serene One, and repesentative of the Harmony of Wo. Let me speak on behalf of my people that this is a most auspicious and agreeable time for all of us, as we formally initiate ourselves into the greater galactic community. We Wo are a peaceful race who hold joy above all other things. As we are a new face in interstellar politics, we hope that you will treat us kindly."

Wen bowed again, before taking her seat. "I understand that there is a matter of gravitas concerning many of the nations represented in this council and my people specifically. It is a matter of import so it is best that we discuss it immediately: namely, the disappearances of your citizens who were brazen enough to trespass into Harmonic space."

"As the Harmony finds no benefit to be gained from deceit, let me be completely honest with you as I say," she paused dramatically, "that those citizens of yours are all dead, and the locations of their corpses are largely unknown to us." All throughout her speech, her expression was largely indifferent, save for the smallest of smiles tugging on the edges of her lips.

Barrier kept his unflinching stare locked on the wo ambassador, only raising a tentacle to the savarog next to him to signal he woud speak first. " So... you admit to the unlawful execution of possibly hundreds of peopme over the years... tell me, how do you intend to smooth this mattmattematter over? I think I speak for everyone when I say reparations are in order... at lealeasleast."

As experienced a diplomat as barrier was, even he could hardly hide the disgust he felt for how casual this wo ambassador seemed to regard the whole matter.

"There will be no reparations."

Her reply was immediate, and strong.

"Nothing unlawful has happened at all, though we do regret the loss of all these lives. Anyone trespassing Wo space is given ample time and warning to leave, and most are wise enough to heed them. The Harmony is also not bound to any treaty or law that defines justice across interstellar and international borders. For centuries the Harmony has made one thing clear to any who would approach us: our space is forbidden, and trespass will mean danger to your lives. Why ignore the warnings? There is no reason to."

She gave a small bow towards Barrier-2. "I hope that you understand."

"So the charge has altered from unlawful mass kidnapping, to instead mass slaughter of potential civillian target that have no means of defence? I would ask what makes the Wo space so, special, in that you see fit to slay the sentient members of other species merely for trespassing...surely some warning should be given, especially considering the Wo are a new faction at this table." Vardan's tone was, agitated, the lack of ample furniture mixed with general lack of care for the xenos had left him rather frustrated. Though an air of composure was maintained, for a Savarog.

"I see no reason why the Wo have either imposed such, lethal, boundaries or why your people seek to kill off travellers in the area. I do believe I speak for I, and the Qulseoc ambassador when I say that any of our species that travel remotely near your lands, are entirely peaceful. It would seem as if you are, hiding something. Maybe a force should well be sent to ensure...peace..." The Savarog's face shifted from slight annoyance to an almost, smugness at the last set of words, even if the cvillians mattered little this could well be used to gain further traction against hostile alien races.

"The Harmony is a sovereign nation, with all the rights and privileges that entails," Wen said, facing Vardan. "This includes the right to deal with those who would trespass into our territory as we see fit, given how until now we were never formally initiated into the greater galactic community and, as I have said before, unbound by any international treaty pertaining such matters. Let me assure you that the unfortunate incidents involving the deaths of your citizens are quite tiny compared to those who were wise enough to heed our warnings and leave. Our defense system gives ample time for the crew of any ship to make the right decision, and never becomes hostile until it is clear that the ship in question has no intention of listening."

"You have mapped the outline of our region of space well enough," Wen added, "and it has always been clear that Harmonic space is forbidden and dangerous to travelers. While the entire affair is unfortunate, I'm afraid I must say that the only fault here lies within those who were foolish enough to try and penetrate deeply into this border. With that being said, the Harmony is willing to shrink its defensive perimeter in certain areas to better facilitate interstellar travel and communications for the benefit of all those involved."

Qu threw his arms up at that point before calling attention to himself, "Oh.. OH ofcourse we blame people who had nothing to do with it. Why not just announce yourselves decades ago and turn people away? why make it such an intriguing mystery and then have the audacity to just brush it off... We send rescuers and they disappear.. Just two days ago one of our rescue ships chasing the potential crew of a crashed science ship.. the "Wo wreck." as they call it.." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I want those people back.. all of them. I demand it. Now that you've announced yourself as an entitity, I demand your compliance!"

His obvious frustration was somewhat mitigated by his lack of an intimidating figure. Regardless, it was quite obvious that his outburst was reflecting the thoughts of many in not only the room but indeed the majority of the civilized galaxy.. more or less.

Ambassador Moti stood up as he prepared to interjected onto the "discussion", more like a trial. "Now, now, my fellows." Aldir spoke up. "There is a time and a place for such a topic, but this is a meeting of diplmoatic and political importance, not a trial." He paused and continued. "I understand such worry for your citizens, but Immediate threats of violence will only aggravate and increase tentsions." He took a deep breath. "The Wo were but mere myth to my people, and to see them in the flesh, for lack of a better word, is quite a discovery." He sat down once more, but continued, scanning the room, his eyes meeting other delegations briefly. "And although the Wo myths were less then positive. I'm sure if we can come to understanding one another, and one day, the Wo as well as all of you may one day see....the Light." The inner Missionary was peering right out of Aldir, almost attempting to convert, but of course dressed it up to be more subtle, although his speech pattern may more or less be noticed.

Wen gave Moti a small bow. "Thank you, Ambassador. While I understand that our defensive policies are rather extreme from your perspective, please understand that we hold our lands dearly. Not a single alien race has even seen one of our worlds, and most of us would rather keep it that way. In fact, the decision for our newly elected head of state to send me here is an incredibly controversial topic back home. The Most Harmonious One, however, has seen fit that it is time for my people to finally make formal contact with the wider galaxy. My people are... hoping that my coming here will ultimately not be viewed with regret later on."

She turned to Qu. "I am afraid that is going to be difficult. As I said, we do not know the locations of your citizens' spacecraft. The breadth of space will also make any search effort almost unfeasable."

Wen bowed. "I hope you will understand."

"Barrier had listened to the litany of the union's ambassador... It would appear the union was behind him... this quite strengthened his position. He had been careful up until now as to not turn the council against him. That concern was mostly moot now though.

"Delegate Wen Ten... you keep repeating that you were not bound by any treaty to put a stop to your barbaric way of guarding your borders... Perhaps you do not understand that this council has legislation for dealing with rogue non-member nations as well? We are perfectly in our right to visit consequences on your people whether you agree to these consequences or not. This is no longer a question of if you can be considered guilty as charged... It is now a question of what the consequences will be."

Barrier cocked his head to the side ever so slightly, his face twisted into what you could call the smug smile of someone who just won an argument. "From the gathered grievances of my fellow representatives , I think I can compile a concise list of demands."

"Firstly, you will immediately cease this monstrous method of border patrol and bring it in line with standard council procedures... I suspect this will make for quite the transition for your navy, but I trust you'll manage."

"Secondly, you will give us assistance to the best of your ability to recover and repatriate the remains of all those that were killed in your territorrial space over the years."

"thirdly, you will take full responsibility for the death and destruction wrought by your negligence. There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people that would like closure for beloved friends and family... This would seem like the most efficient way to do so."

The qulseoc took a deep breath, subtly, such that it was barely noticeable. " You may argue semantics all evening, miss Wen... but you cannot evade justice... Your people have evaded it for long enough."

Wen closed her eyes, and breathed deeply - even though her body never required respiration. When she opened them, her reply was resolute, "The Harmony will try to return the bodies of your citizens to their respective nations. That is all I can promise you. As for your demanded change of our defense policy, I shall take it up with our head of state and government. And as for justice," Wen paused, "there is no crime. The only negligence here," she was adamant, "is that of your citizens, for trespassing into a clearly restricted area and ignoring countless warnings to rush into their obvious deaths."

Barrier sighed in defeat. He gestured a tentacle and one of the savarog bodyguards answered. "Get me a secure line... I want barracuda and his staff on holo-conference by the time this meeting ends... If they will not listen to reason... they will have to be subdued with force. Wouldn't you agree, Vardan

He made a final closing statement. "Your race isn't the center of the universe, miss Wen... You will regret this arrogance.

Wen Ten Xei shook her head. Perhaps the Captain, who stood by her to the left, and his simple views regarding the barbarians were more apt than hers. "I do not see the point of escalating the issue to this point. The Harmony is a sovereign nation with the right to self-defense."

Barrier's Patience had fnally run out now. "That does not make you judge, jury and executioner you mental defective!" The qulseoc flared up red in anger... He quickly regained his composure, but he had already said the worst insult he could think of... at least from a qulseoc's point of view.

"Ambassador, your current behavior is not befitting for someone of your rank and station." Wen's smile had all but gone away at this point.

Qu had never rolled his eyes so hard in his life, "So Wen are you going to understand the reality of things?" He said with a snarky tone. His words were serious afterwards as anger seemed to flow again, "Look, all this diverting left and right is pointless. You make comments about respecting borders and restricted space... How do you honor borders and adhere to "restricted space" when there's no one there to enforce it? No one to actively declare 'hey we are here!' . " he shook his head in near disbelief, "This is just pure ignorance. I fully support the Qulseoc declaration of sanctions."

Dimitry cleared his throat and exclaimed. "Order! Order!". His voice carried a tone of calm forcefulness. "It would appear a round of voting is in order. Most of you know the regulations surrounding this procedure, but I will reiterate them in the interest of full disclosure to our newest councillor. All councillors get a vote on the resolution of this matter... From what I can see, the current vote for sanctions against the wo is two in favor and one against... I declare the kingdom of sol hereby abstains from voting. This matter does not concern my people one way or the other, and it would be reasonable to assume the representative of Kurtiye would vote the same were they present at this table." The king of sol looked over the other councillors. "Now... pick a side or remain in silence evermore."

Vardan was enitrely resolute throughout the proposed sanctioning of the Wo peoples. Gathered from the reaction of his equal, Barrier-2, and off of his own opinion, he cast forth his vote. "I vote for the setting in place of sanctions against the Wo, untill a time where in they better conduct themselves to the laid out standard of law." Having said that, he scanned the Wo diplomat's face for signs of irritation, it would please Vardan most highly to see some sort of anger out of the thus far calm woman.

Aldir had remained silent, abstaining his vote on the subject. This particular crisis had no effect on the Ascendancy, and would not matter, however, this possible conflict had one upside, the Qulseoc were angered with the Wo's actions, they along with their Savarog puppets, would pour untold resources to enact justice, all the while the Asecendacy is left to it's own machinations as their ideological foes focus elsewhere.

Dimitry waited a few more moments... It seemed everyone present had cast their vote. Three for, and one against... The emperor of sol called a scribe to attention. The council had made an official decision. He dictated, "By the power of the council, I hereby declare the demands that barrier-2 of the qulseoc made to be backed by the council. We command the wo to reform the policies by which they guard their borders, We demand they give us assistance as needed to recover the lost ships and people... And finally, we demand official apology and reperations for this matter, the exact nature of which will be determined at a later date. This council is final and beyond appeal in this decision."

Barrier was pleased to see that none of the other councilors really supported the Wo's stance in this whole matter. Of course Vardan voted the same as he did. He couldn't really think of any time when the savarog had ever defied him. "Thank you, Emperor... I will contact the qulseoc office of statistics concerning the reparations, they will give us their mathematical take on the matter as soon as possible" The qulseoc glanced at the wo one last time. "Now... seeing as we have adressed the Wo's entrance on to the galactic stage... I do believe there is also another crisis that needs adressing?"

"Yes Barrier" Dimitry responded, "But seeing as we currently have no representative of kurtiye present, I see fit to adjourn the matter till such a time as where one can be present, in the interest of not making this council appear despotic towards the people there." He gestured over an archivist. "For now, let's work through the backlog"

The backlog, a big collection of issues that nominally concerned the council but were often shoved aside. Its appearance on the table signified the important matters were at an end for the day and some minor issues were needed to fill the rest of the meeting time."

[Sigma]

The New Dawn Cell was always out of the hundreds of cells all over the planet at most risk, they were among those that couldn't afford to be based in hidden bunkers and the like, and often had to make due with what they had and what was given. Although it was a great risk in establishing camps all over the slums, the Cell could do more then just fight a war, they also helped the impoverished exiled communities trapped outside the wall, both out of the goodness of their hearts and to find potential recruits, needless to say, such a task was not difficult.


New Dawn City
Outer Slums
New Dawn Cell Field Base Delta
The New Dawn Cell were based around three field bases, one of which was a whole city block, code named Delta Base, and it was under heavy attack. The APEC had the rebels surrounded, shelling the fortified block with repeated rocket strikes, unfortunately for APEC, the artillery strikes ceased, the rebels having somehow sneaking past the blockade and wiped out the artillery position, but it was no matter for the APEC Commander at the helm.

From a short distance, the APEC Commander, a woman around her mid thirties, observed the rebel base with a pair of binoculars, taking notice of the jittery sentries, she smirked. "Heh, can't hide forever traitors, I will be coming for you."

"Commander Walton." An APEC Officer spoke up from behind her. "Shall we proceed with the assault?"

"Do what you must Captain." She replied.

With that, the Captain pulled out a small device. "We are green, I repeat, we are green, commence the attack." All around them, the roar of engines could be heard as they flared to life, several Justicar gunships rising from the ground as they soared towards the base, firing off bolts of plasma at the outer barricades, all the while on the ground, APEC soldiers equipped with Tactical Combat armor marched down the streets, supported by Crusader Tanks and APCs.

"Let us end these heretics and traitors."

[Natsucooldude]

@SomeChap

Qulseoc military high command.

Barracuda sat around a holographic table with his staff again, the atmosphere was different than last time. There was a tension in the water. Before them lay a letter calling to mobilize military forces. A first since the qulseoc entered onto the interstellar political stage.

the message

FROM: Barrier-2, Overseer of social sciences.
TO: Barracude-1, Overseer of military industry
SUBJECT: Request for immediate military action
As per standard procedure for the qulseoc governmental intranet, a copy of this correspondence is at the disposal of the grand overseer to freely read.

Greetings esteemed colleague. Important news from the council, reports about the Wo revealing themselves are most definitely not exaggerated.The wo are real, and more importantly, their ambassador revealed the myriad dissappearances in that region of space are a direct result of their border policies.

Overseer, Judging by their ambassador's insistence they cannot be held responsible for these barbaric mass-executions their culture seems to have some sort of ingrained superiority towards outsiders. As we've discussed many times in the past when talking about the ascendancy, such ideas make them a threat to us. I advise we immediately fortify the border sectors. Furthermore, to show we mean business, I also request a complete blockade against all unauthorized traffic going in and out of wo space. Of course, we will not shoot first, lest we forfeit our current moral high ground.

The clerical summary of barracuda's conversation with barrier had ommited quite a lot of emotionally-tinted shouting, the military commander was quite shocked to have heard his normally so level-headed colleague so upset. This wasn't the tone of his usual post-council advice. Whatever happened in the council meeting must have been quite angering to get this sort of reaction out of the old squid.

“My good friends and staff members, today marks a first in our branch of government. A rogue nation has presented itself on the interstellar stage, their policies, culture and proximity to our borders have seen them deemed a threat to our nation.”

The military commander swiped his tentacles over the console in front of him, and a map of the qulseoc's vast empire was projected before everyone. “The situation right now is one that we hadn't considered plausible up until today. The wo exist, that is a possibility we have always paid attention to. What was not expected was the union's government making an unexpectedly reasonable decision to support us in our current efforts.

More trained movements from his tentacles, and a series of lines and shapes formed on the map, their purpose and meaning clear to any trained strategist. “This unexpected ally means we can safely divert resources from the union border sectors for this operation”

“As you can all see, there is a swath of uncivilized space between the wo and us, luckily, we have experience managing this sort of border thanks to our longtime ascendancy rivals. So, we'll just apply the same principles here. A first-response fleet outfitted with autonomous fuel harvesting units for deep space operations. An array of long-distance scanners watching the void day and night. And a reserve force nearer to our core sectors to be mobilized in the event hostile movements would suggest an impending incursion.” Barrier smirked briefly, their longtime rivals had now served them greatly in giving them years worth of training for setting up a border patrol like this.

“Furthermore, as per barrier's reccomendation to uphold a full-scale blockade in this region of space, I recommend we contact The savarog's military command. They will be much better equipped for the boarding operations and direct combat such an undertaking would require. Remember, we're not going to start the war, but we'll be ready to finish it.”

Unlike last time, all of barracuda's staff nodded unanimously. Many of themhad heard about the wo's insolence, and all of them seemed to agree these new arivals needed to be taken down a notch.

---

@Monkeypants

Qulseoc office of foreign relations

The office of foreign relations had been in turmoil these last few days, a stream of tumultous information and worrying reports had found their way to the qulseoc's main diplomatic organ. To make matters worse, the overseer in charge, barrier-2, was away to the galactic council. The first report coming down had been simple. To create a new header in the internal database concerning the Wo, now revealed to be more than mere myth. The news carried with it quite a lot of implications, both good and bad. Most had expected there would follow a steady trickle of instructions on the technocracy's stance on a variety of international matters. Not many had expected the next order to have been so simple. “The technocracy will humor no diplomatic interaction with rogue nations”, barrier's orders had simply read. This new development worried many of the qulseoc working there. Even nations such as the ascendancy had a comprehensive diplomatic document related to them. What might have happened to spark such a heavy response?

The next order was just as confusing for many of the veteran clerks. “Write a rough draft for an offer for military alliance with the union. Focus the writing on our common cause against the Wo.”

At this point, clerks were hotly debating just what the heck was happening in the council. Wild theories bounced around the office, from the union's president having gone mad to barrier-2 going senile. Most of these theories died down when official channels threw more clarity on the situation, and by the time Barrier's transport docked back at his personal facility a mostly finished draft was ready for his approval.

A proposal of alliance to the inner sphere union.

Greetings to the inner sphere Union. Adressed to you is this proposal, written and notarized by the Qulseoc Overseer Barrier-2.

Though our respective nations may not have always seen eye to eye about everything, we can both agree that the insolence of the so-called Harmony of Wo can not be left unanswered. Thusly, we hereby extend an offer of military alliance against this new common foe. We propose this to be an alliance of a military nature in the face of this new possible threat to the security and integrity of both our nations. A bond of coöperation built on mutual trust.

We hope to receive your swift response.

---

@SillyGoy

Qulseoc office of statistics

At the same time as the impassioned turmoil the diplomatis were so known for, another branch of the qulseoc's vast governmental machine was also hard at work. Not in the writing of impassioned offers of alliance, but of a more solemn and precise work. Mathemathicians, economists and criminal justice experts swimmed around the facility. They had calculated comparable matters before, but never before on this scale. Logistical improvement matrixes and economic prediction algorithms had been abandoned, every mind in the facility was hard at work. Reading through news archives, comparing data to eliminate duplicates, looking up old ship blueprints to appraise the value of lost ships. Alongside that also happened a more morbid but equally necesarry work. The tallying of those dead, pinpointing their origin... and calculating the price on their extinguished lives. It might be a cold way of going about things, but it was by far the most objective one

Related to this great project, the facility's economists and accountants were hard at work calculating a rough estimate of how much value could be siphoned out of the wo's economy without causing a market crash. Their matrices were very much a rough estimate, their data likely inaccurate, but despite this they toiled on.

Finally, after several days of calculating, recalculating, adjusting and finalizing, the office of statistics delivered their report to the diplomatic corps. The courier making a light quip about how all that needed to be done now was to write a formally worded letter to go alongside the collection of calculations. The office of statistics meanwhile, went back to their usual routine, calculating, predicting... and simply counting the neverending avalanche of numbers and data that needed to be sorted.

My Hider

Greetings, Harmony of wo. Enclosed with this document is a detailed audit of all deep space disappearances and wrecks conclusively linked back to the intervention of your border patrol. Ships have been valued using the most up to date maintenance log available before disappearance, cross-referenced with the ship's original calculated value. Deaths have been valued using the unified damages calculation index as written and notarized by the qulseoc office of justice in the year 2350 of the unified council interstellar agenda.

Furthermore, we have included a rough projection of what your gross domestic income would amount to under the council's unified credit currency. Following this graph, We have determined reperations, should you choose to accept their instatement, would take you an approcimate fifty council-standard years to pay off. This calculation was made with all involved nations in mind and assuming no interest will be calculated for the debt these reperations will accrue to your state funds.

Also included are a few recommendations to hasten the paying-off of these reperations. A, approximate 70% of the total calculated value comes from lost ships and equipment. Following the assumption that an approximate 60% of value can be recovered from salvaging, a complete salvage of all lost ships would shave twenty-one years off of your total time spent paying reperations. Salvage of bodily remains, though likely good to mend your current public image, will not recover any lost value, and has thus been written off as a total loss.

My greetings.
Nemo-1. Overseer of economic sciences.

[Monkeypants]

Union/Wo Border, Eastern fringes

"Fear is a powerful tool"

Time for the crew of Nate's ship was running out. It seemed as if Coral was destined to be a scantily clad slave-girl while everyone else would either be killed or sold for cheap labor. All in the pursuit of the reclusive race known as the Wo. Who knew anything about them except them.. rumors would bring so many to this frontier where every story could potentially be the truth or in this case, a means to an end.

Nate was quiet, angry even at Captain Lars proclaimation, there was no doubt that they were going to die. "Coral, do not give in to fear, it's what these pricks want from us." But before he could assure her any further, one of Nate's crew began to urinate in fear, prompting the pirates to laugh and close in the group, shoving them lazily around the cockpit.

Coral's already panicked breathing only worsened when the slaver brutes came close and started manhandling her. "Don't touch me you mental defectives!" She screamed as she tried to push back ineffectually. One of the pirates kicked her face-first to the ground, laughing sadistically like his comrades. The Qulseoc slowly rolled around... and then she saw it through a viewport. A looming shadow dwarfing even the slavers ship in size.

One of the consoles in the bridge suddenly began to beep, pinging the paralyzed operator with a receiving transmission. On reflex, the crewman answered the call, and the modulated voice that then blared from the speakers sounded more like twisted junk data being run as audio files than actual language. Perhaps this was made intentionally so to underscore the point of the simple two lines that were playing again and again in many different languages:

"YOU ARE INTRUDING UPON HARMONIC SPACE. LEAVE NOW OR BE PURGED."

Coral sat there in silent marvel, the pirates didn't matter to her anymore, for she had been proven right... the wo really did exist.

As no-one had ever seen a real "Wo", the pirates laughed at the incoming ships. It was pretty lame to them that yet another group would use the "Wo" as bait. But for a pirate to betray a pirate? Blasphemy!

A simple reply was sent to the incoming ship, a simple phrase, "This is our haul, scram." At that point, the pirate vessel showed some of its teeth as its shields activated turrets popped from the armor and they were of exotic design and putting out intense energies. Even this ship would be an imposing sight to a Wo.. This was one of the most feared pirates in the eastern fringe... Known as Horus the manhunter... And he wasn't going to just bail on a prize like a Qulseoc.

At that point, the mystery vessel began to change course, from directly towards the standoff in the dust cloud, to parallel of it. It appeared to mimic the display of the pirate ship as bay doors along its sides opened to reveal long racks of armed torpedoes. The muzzles of its laser battery were also gradually becoming brighter, and a corona of energy made itself visible as its shields powered up. The transmission had also changed,

[b][color=red]"THE WO ARE A PEACEFUL RACE WHO DO NOT CONDONE VIOLENCE. FIRE UPON US AND WE SHALL RESPOND IN KIND. LEAVE NOW OR BE PURGED."[/b][/color]

Coral saw the scene unfolding before her... the mythical beings that she had searched for all this time, flying to their possible rescue... she needed to just make the situation clear... The Qulseoc gathered her courage, the pirates on the bridge were distracted by the two titans of space facing off above them. They only noticed the Qulseoc throwing itself to the comms console when she was already pushing the man there aside and pressing down on the voice broadcast button. "Help us! we have been boarded by slavers!" It was all she managed to say before the man managed to wrestle her away from the console and threw her aside again. But surely, it would be all their rescuers needed to know... right?

On board the pirate ship, all they could do was laugh. The vessel was slightly smaller than theirs. Its true that size matters... To some.

Captain Lars just shook his head before opening comms again, "if you do not want violence then go back to where you came from. This is our haul and our one vs one isn't going to end in your favor. I dont give a damn about your fancy words like "purged" so just take that pompous ass shit back to what ever hole you crawled from." He cut off the comms and put an active jammer directly on the Wo vessel. The jammer didnt block the Wo from in or outgoing transmissions but directly blocked it from talking to Captain Lars.

It was going to become abundantly clear to Coral and Nate that this Horus wasn't going to back down, as the shadow from the Wo ship was blocked entirely by the massive pirate battleship moving to protect its catch. The situation was growing desperate by the second until Nate hatched a plan,



"Coral, even with your ship pierced, you think it could self destruct? The explosion would at least disorient the Pirates long enough to possibly escape. I'd suggest using this ship but the explosion wouldn't do anything but send us to hell for nothing. Maybe we can pick up survivors if we live through it."



As Nate finished talking, one of the pirates leaned in, "I told you to be quiet, talking softly is still talking." When he finished, Nate felt a sharp pain to his gut when the pirate beat him with the stock of his weapon . There was a sharp cry as Nate fell to the floor, leaving only a smiling pirate slowly turning away.

The transmission had changed again, and no longer looped:

"THE SEEDS HAVE BEEN SOWN. NOW, IT IS TIME FOR THE HARVEST.

At that point then, the Wo ship's immense laser batteries flared into deadly life and sent supercharged bolts directly onto the pirate ship's hull, crossing the distance between the two behemoths easily. Simultaneously, twenty-four growing lights against the backdrop of cosmic dust and stars heralded the approach of homing nuclear torpedoes. Horus' own shields brightened like a newborn sun at such a great force colliding with their luminous surface, but after the volley was done, his own proud vessel was ready to answer back in kind.

Coral meanwhile, was considering nate's idea... The pirates attention was fixed on the battle outside and her dataslate was within tentacle's reach. The practical side of things would be easy against the ethical considerations... All systems on the ship seemed disabled, including the escape craft... As another volley of fire was exchanged overhead, Coral made her choice. She swiped the dataslate and broadcast a simple message to her ship. "Acquisition prevention alpha." The standard procedure for qulseoc to scuttle their ships in situations such as this. Better to die than to suffer the ravages of these slavers... Many things could have ptevented this plan. Coral's prime asisstant overturning her order, the ship being too damaged to overload the cores... boarders taking the bridge.

An alert went off on a nearby console. "Dangerous energy buildup detected, explosion imminent" it read. Coral whispered a thanks and a goodbye to her crew. They knew as well as she did how improbable it would be for them to survive this. There was a brief moment of anticipatory silence, then an explosion tore through the hull of coral's ship. A cascading series of secondary explosions rolled through the ship, then the main core gave out. An enormous explosion, sending pieces of the ship everywhere. The shockwave rocked Nate's ship back and forth violently. The ship's stabilizers struggling to prevent the vessel from going into an uncontrolled roll.

The massive explosion from the Qulseoc ship was a fortunate turn of events for the Wo vessel. Just as the ship was preparing a volley of its own, including Horus's devious shield piercing harpoon, the Axis was thrown off from the shockwave. The Pirate vessel began to roll out of control for a moment before stabilizing. Horus was furious,



"What was that!?" He said angrily.



From behind him, a crewman shouted, "We've lost power to the broadsiders! Captain that Qulseic ship just blew itself to hell!"

Horus's gaze sharpened at the Wo ship which was likely gearing for another attack. He still could fight the Wo and possibly win but his hardest hitting guns were offline. "Very clever." He said before standing and walking towards a holographic viewer.

On the viewer he could see an image of what was going on in the rescue ship. "Kill them all." Was the simple words from Horus.

As the pirates began to carry out their order, Nate decided to try and disorient the guards by rushing them. This ended poorly as one of the pirates caught Nate, throwing him onto the ground. Coral was fortunate as when the two men opened fire, one of the union rescuers fell and pinned her to the ground under his dying body. The pirates never checked to see if anyone survived except Nate who they laughed, "Keep this prick alive as a witness and a warning."

Coral found herself alone on the now adrift rescue ship . Horus's attention shifted towards the Wo ship and upon realizing the fight wasn't going to go as he wanted, the order was given to fire five torpedoes towards the Wo ship. As the torpedoes sped towards the incoming vessel, the torpedoes deployed holograms of his own ship. They emitted every signal that the real pirate ship did which would be good for throwing off his foes. And before any shots could be exchanged, the pirate ship rapidly accelerated into light speed. As fast as they had arrived, they were gone.

Coral however, was still fully awake, the pirates had lost track of her, pinned under one of Nate's crew as she was. She could feel the life leak out of the bleeding human on top if her. She shivered as the crewman breathed his last. She remained there , paralyzed in fearful anticipation of a pirate noticing her and finishing her off, but that moment never came. The pirates left the ship laughing in that nfuriating mocking tone. And soon after the ship was rocked by the impact of weapons.

Despite everything that was going on, Coral found herself surprisingly lucid. Perhaps it was some psychological defense mechanism against the stress she was being put through right now, perhaps she just performed well under pressure... Regardless, it was clear to her what she needed to do. Slowly but intently, she wrested herself out from under the bloodied corpse and shuffled over to the comms console. It had survived the mass-execution and sat there, ready for input. On the way she noticed the engines had been shot out from another readout. Did those pirates really have to be so unreasonably spiteful?

She lifted herself into the human-sized seat in front of the console, it was far too big for her smaller body, but she could reach the controls if she stretched her tentacles out. She looked through the available preprogrammed broadcasts... A distress beacon was an option immediately available. It was a good system architecture to not leave such options buried in several layers of menus. A distress signal was broadcast forth into the void. Coral spoke a message into it that made the situation quite clear.

"Pirate attack... Engines disabled... crew mostly dead... send assistance" She was dimly surprised at how shaky her recorded voice sounded... Though she did suppose... that was to be expected... The qulseoc remained seated there, a pitiable pile of misery.

A long shadow lingered upon the shot-up interior of the bridge as the Wo ship, having easily shot down all the oncoming torpedoes and disabled its own, drew nearer. Its void shields were still bright as they operated at their full capacity, and its gun turrets were staring fixated upon the much smaller rescue ship. Gliding gracefully alongside it, its massive, gleaming form dominated the view of every window aboard Nate's vessel. Then, consoles that operated the ship's sensor suite flashed warnings as powerful electromagnetic forces and a deep spacial disturbance made themselves known. A sudden flash and the deafening sound of thunder outlined Coral's shaken form then, as behind her there was suddenly a massive metallic creature.

It was as regal as it was terrible - a towering bipedal automaton with four arms whose hands each clutched a powered saber. All along its armored frame was elaborate, alien calligraphy unknown to even the Quelsoc scientist's learned mind, and other adulant iconography inlaid with gold. From its broad, gilded shoulders hung a crimson cape of fine silk. Its mostly featureless head surveyed the bloody room with a passive disinterest from two glowing, unreadable eyes. Then its alien gaze came upon Coral, and he pointed one menacingly curved blade at her.

"Alien," was his first word. His voice was deep, rumbling, and unmistakably electronic. And yet, his Quelsoc was flawless. "What has happened here?"

Coral was stirred from her shocked state by the computerized voice. Up until now, she had communicated using the standardized interstellar language, so hearing her own native tongue spoken to her was... very unexpected

She swiveled the chair around and stood awed by the alien's unknown heraldry and intimidated by the weapon it was pointing at her. "They killed everyone... and they laughed while doing so... like we were just insignificant krill to them". Coral was a deep dark red. A worrying color meaning an unstable and potentially volatile state of mind. "Are you here to help us?" She saud unsteadily. For some reason she couldn't help but feel threatened by the.. thing. She felt like running and squeezing into a crevice, something she vaguely recognized as a primal instinct of her species.

The Guard nodded. "The Harmony of Wo... sees no benefit in your death." He looked towards the window, where his ship lay ready for the command to fire. "More of my brotherhood are coming. We have orders to keep you safe."

Coral nodded as well... a thoughtful look on her face for a moment. "So... you're the real deal then? please tell me you're real... Tell me this wasn't all for nothing..." The qulseoc looked like she was about to either burst into tears our burst out laughing mad... And then she perked up in realization of something "What do you mean keep me safe? The threat is already gone..." She followed a very sudden train of thought... Ships

had always been disappearing in this region... The wo had never been confirmed as real even though one of them surely stood in front of her... No, she had to get back home somehow. She couldn't just let the culmination of her life's work slip through her suckers like that. "Maybe you should check if anyone else is alive... heh... maybe some of my crew hid under corpses like I did..." Coral laughed loudly at the statement... Why was such a morbid statement so funny to her she now wondered...

[SomeChap]

The Savarog Forge World of Taxik-Pirr



Prokator Cuyax Celak, High Admiral of the Kosmicheskaya Sila, was striding about the command decks of the the great Taxik dry docks. Here, he observed as the immense ships of the void force were forged and created, ever pumping out even greater marvels of steel and shielding. Above him, in the secondary forge basins, the titanic, world shattering cannons that were strewn about the heaviest of capital ships were being pumped out under express orders of the Commissariat. It seemed war was indeed on the horizon, and the Savarogs would not allow themselves to be outdone. The Prokator had largely watched this process with the passive nature that being a ripe eight hundred brings, though he couldn't help himself but give a grin as he watched the last of the modernisations be complete upon his own ship, the behemoth known as the 'SUSR Chugara.'

"May sound cheesy, Prokator, but those aliens will never know what hit them." A voice, clearly that of the Prokator's second in command, the hulking Third Captain of the Line, Tatilak Grind. The Third Captain was an imposing figure, even to the most steely of souls, but the Prokator didn't even flinch at his approach and subsequent outburst.

"Indeed. You are right there, hah." Laughed the Prokator, turning to face his long-time ally and even friend. Shaking the other man's hand, the Prokator took to the fine bottle of Ædrunyak brandy that was sitting atop a sturdy wooden table nearby. Pouring two glasses, he raised a toast to the impending storm of arms that would undoubtedly ensure. "To the commune of the Savarog people! To the power we wield! And to the arms, brother! Korbal Savarog!"

The final sentence was echoed by the Third Captain mere moments after, and was followed by both of them downing the contents of their glass.

Allowing a few short moments to pass before asking, the Third Captain cleared his throat before saying, "And to what of the Qulseoc, Admiral? Are they to, accompany, us?" His tone was almost disdainful, and perhaps rightfully as he was one of the few members of the higher echelons of the navy that wasn't fully under the sway of the advanced cephalopods.

"I do believe they are coming with us, maybe for the best. Who knows, may be a suicide run in all, given that those damn Wo-things were myths until eyewitness reports from High Commissar Vardan and the Crakadors with him." To the casual observer, the Prokators voice was far more in favour of the Qulseoc, though those few that understand the complexities of their speech will realise the opposite. His tone was downright venomous of their allies. Luckily no one had been in earshot to hear of such remarks.

"Yeah. Understandable, I guess. Whole empire just shows up out of no where, bound to cause some sorts of trouble." The Third Captain agreed, pouring himself and the Prokator another drink. He knew he'd be requiring it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Savarog Hive World of Srel Parg



The streets were empty, save for the occasional wandering alien, and even the grand markets where far emptier than they had any right to be at the time of day. In their place, silence and an almost reverent sense was about the place, the sort that only utter devotion to a cause can bring. Where once massive signs advertising local produce and industry stood, there were now immense military propaganda banners held high and fluttering in the gentle breeze. The banners were massive, standing the size of a human at the very smallest and being larger than main battle tanks at the largest. Each shared the same image and message however. The skull and sickle which composed the Savarog's ruling political party, alongside the technological symbol of the Qulseoc. In dandelion yellow, the worlds “Korbal Savarog” were written with pride, each a tempting klaxon call for all able bodied citizens to sign themselves up for service to the nation and to the commune.

All were welcomed, be they alien or pure blood Savarog. All were accepted into the ranks. But not all survived the downright harsh training that would follow. Potential recruits were subject to some of the most gruelling drills that any armed forces in the galaxy sent its men through. It was not by insidious design that some failed, but rather some part of their form failed, be they weaker, slower, or downright less hardy than what was expected.

On top of this grinder of meat and drilling was a single man, Lord Marshall Khinar Nozke of the 9th Rinn'lack Foot Guards. Not nearly as tall as the average, and not nearly as broad. Khinar was still just as feared as any of even the legendary Vonar divisions for his unwavering cruelty and passionate belief that the weak must forever be weeded out lest they corrupt the strong with their pathetic forms. He leapt at any chance to berate or abuse, be it a scathing remark or something more direct, and such an event to warrant this had occurred no less than twenty foot away...in his field of view.

An alien man, one of the hardier species and certainly of the more warlike clans judging from his numerous black markings, was sprawled across the muddy floor clutching at a broken nose that was freely bleeding his thick, purple ichor. He didn't have time to get to his feet, as the Lord Marshall was immediately upon him, pressing upon the creature with his spiked walking cane. He mased his aggression with a soft, almost fatherly voice. “Did y'eh fall there, me boy?” He said, giving a rather dumb look of sympathy.

As the alien even opened his mouth to speak, he felt the biting teeth of a Grumlok's barrel resting upon his shoulder. There was a cackle, then the spite laced words following them. “I said, did you fall?! Do you think the enemy will ALLOW such incompetence on the field of war? Well, do you?! Answer me you snivelling wretch of a waste of matter!”

“N- No, no, sir!” Came the reply in a tone almost reeking of fear..and maybe the stench of the aliens...systems, having let loose. He hadn't time to finish, as a full half-inch bullet pulped his shoulder and collar bone into small splinters and shrapnel. There was screeching, much of it. But the Marshall didn't falter. Those who tried to aid the man were told to keep marching lest they wished the same fate.

------------------------------------------------------
Savarog Fortress World of Cariam.
Murlak District.



Wrakador Khotack, Field Marshall of the Vud Subsystem and governor to the world of Carim, was embroiled in an entirely different pursuit. Instead of slaying his own men, he was leading a glorious march of a million across the entire city centre of Murlak. Millions more had flocked from all around to see the marvel of military might as thousand of soldiers marched in perfect formation in shining Srogas and armed to the literal teeth with their weapons of war. It was an inspiring sight to see, as even heavy vehicles with splendid paint schemes and heaping amounts of kill honours across their chassis. Military bands the size of immense platoons blared both patriotic and military songs from the earliest days of the republics up to the current national anthem. The entire world was an ecstatic mass of people of more or less an entire district joined the songs with prideful voices and hearts brimming with zeal.

The most iconic was undoubtedly the sight of one of the nigh fabled artifacts of the army, that monolithic visage of a fully operation Kraxx Titan. It walked with an amount of effortless ability that seemed almost impossible, and bristled with as much firepower as the other units currently joined in the massed parade of power.

[Arawak]

Valence Point, Prime Mover launch zone

Zafuv, now officially a Diplomat with the knowledge of the universe (or so it is believed) at its hand waddles its way to a great tetrahedron in the distance. It is simply massive, the long street way to the ship is filled with other Calzonit who collectively pass through various supplies to the ship in seeming ritual. Zafuv wants to imagine it is in its name, but other calzonit are also going with Zafuv on this same ship and accompany Zafuv. They are silent, just like Zafuv and do nothing to indicate any excitement. Zafuv doesn't even know how it manages to contain its own excitement for it sees this massive spaceship, the Prime Mover it is called and can only have a sense of infantile glee that it is just unable to even show. For showing any sort of happiness or sadness for that matter is weakness. Neutral thought is the correct way.

On high gravity worlds, the biggest launch vehicles are needed and the Prime Mover is built from ground up exactly for the job. It is 90% thruster and engine, 9% the personal spacecraft it is supposed to assist in going space faring and 1% everything else. Smaller ships can escape this world much more easily, but when dragging cruisers to orbit from the ground a spaceship one could mistake for a mountain is needed. The Prime Mover to Zafuv for all intents and purposes is a mountain. Its slopes fill the horizon as Zafuv nears it and to even get into the Prime Mover there is a massive hike up winding ramps. But Zafuv pushes itself up these ramps and inches its way hundreds of meters up to the loading bay.

On the outside it is too easy to think of the Prime Mover as a primitive craft with its stone-like ablative plating and feedback based shielding system, but Zafuv knew once it saw the inside of the ship the sheer extent of Calzonit engineering. There is very little in the way of visible components; it is all flowing through the panels indivisibly, with panels than appear and dissipate from seemingly nothing. This part of the ship is silent; the other Calzonii from earlier have either already gone through this chamber or have yet to catch up. On the ship is a cybernetic Calzonit admonished in a platinum-like alloy who looks at Zafuv for a moment before looking down the corridor Zafuv is to proceed down. Zafuv compliantly walks down the corridor and through a modular door to its own personal frigate.

In the frigate, there is a archaic device laid on the floor of the shi[s' central hub. It is a digital tablet. Zafuv picks the tablet up and a message plays. There is only a triangular symbol and a somewhat monotonous, but uncaring voice that plays from the tablet.

"Your personal crew, it should be forewarned comes from emancipated slaves from other realms who are waiting for you in the living bays. This choice is intentional. For to be a truly galactic diplomat you must be able to cooperate with all members of your 'crew' regardless of origin. Expect great difficulties, but do not worry. If you die because of accident or mutiny, you will not be resurrected into a meat role. But suicide is no longer a option for you, Zafuv. You have used the suicide path twice in the past three decades* and suicide abuse is something that is not tolerated anymore. Do your task with dignity and diligence, for that is the purest state in life!"

The last sentence seemed a bit contrived to Zafuv, for Zafuv has been given a duty where such purity is impossible in a galaxy of hedonists. Zafuv looks towards the living bay and dreads the potential of having to deal with a vegetable-like Wo or a treacherous Human. A Quelsac or Savarog at least have ethics.

((The Prime Mover is a shuttle-carrier and is more or less a solution to the "built a lot of ships but live on a high gravity world" problem. They take a while to build so they are just used to get ships into orbit or transport a group of ships somewhere for the most part. In short, they're logistical.))

*((using alien time standards will only be confusing, okay? Consider this all translated anyways))