Sierra

The Last Laugh

I'll just contextualize the "1 light-minute" distance for everyone: ~18 million km. The extent of the gravity well for 1 Earth gravity: 1.5 million km ... or about 1/12th of that. Carrying that through to its logical conclusion has some pretty disastrous consequences for narrative & gameplay.

That number seems just a few orders of magnitude more severe than intended (which is why I used planetary radii earlier).

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[recinded]

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If we take the gravity well definition to its absolute conclusion then you'd never be able to use FTL if you're within 100AU of any star.

I've been operating under the loose assumptions that:

• orbital space gets increasingly cluttered stretching from geostationary all the way down to the karman line and relativistic collisions become increasingly likely ...
• subspace becomes increasingly turbulent as you get closer to a large mass object, becoming dangerous to traverse ...
• The Ashtar fortress a Agdemnar is throwing off heavier subspace disturbances than usual, increasing the hazard zone on that hemisphere.

It thus becomes a bad idea to jump inside of geostationary for any developed world (without going through space traffic control), and basically impossible to jump in closer than ~4-5 planetary radii (unless the goal is to smack into the planet and be annihilated, or be uncontrollably slingshotted halfway across the star system).

I'm also playing a bit fast & loose with it because in-system warp is technically slower than light, due to the primary FTL system I wrote being hard stopped all the way out at termination shock.

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@Predawnia As a fan and practitioner of sci-fi worldbuilding, I took a stab at those technologies. I threw up two possibilities for the shield tech, as dark matter is generally associated with both mass and gravity manipulation.

I also threw up ideas for all the others as well, as the gimbal concept was rather unimpactful in its existing iteration. All these ideas are written for uniqueness, viability, and a general aim of internal consistency (rather than realism because realism is dull).

Expand:

Hydromagnetic Lance Cannons
The hydromagnetic lance cannon is fed with a liquid ferrous-tungsten alloy which is cooled into a semi-molten state inside the chamber. The extreme magnetic forces stretch the metal into a long, thin rod on firing, achieving velocities well above conventional railguns due to low projectile mass. The solidifying rod’s slender profile greatly improves penetration and narrows the focus of damage compared to conventional kinetic weapons of similar impact energy.

Virtualized Mass Barrier Shields (more balanced but harder to miniaturize)
The use of dark matter fields to create virtual mass is a well-understood phenomenon. Its usage as a shield against incoming attacks, however, is a novel concept. A dark matter film, confined by local quantum subspace fields emitted from shield projectors, creates an ultra-high density barrier between the surface of a warship and the surrounding space. Incoming fire smacks into the virtual mass layer as if contacting the hull itself, and finds nowhere for its damage to go, instead blasting its energy off into the surrounding space. The shielding system is virtually impervious to any one attack, but can be overwhelmed by sheer magnitude of firepower due to distortions in the film that must be actively stabilized by the shield projectors. A large amount of dark matter must be stored in order to operate the shields, and account for potential losses from massive, close proximity detonations blasting parts of the film away.

Gravity Shear Barrier Shields (easier to miniaturize but also a bit harder to effectively counter)
A dark matter Quantum Field Core (QFC) aboard warships produces a gravitational distortion effect that is harnessed through the shield projectors to generate a millimeter-scale gravity shear around the surface of the vessel. A conventional ionized gas barrier is projected just beneath. Any object of mass passing through the gravitational shear suffers the extreme shear forces both entering and exiting, compromising its integrity. The resulting shrapnel of the disintegrated projectiles is deflected harmlessly off the plasma barrier. Pure energy weapons contacting the shear are severely redshifted, robbing most of their energy and again being harmlessly absorbed by the plasma barrier beneath. The dark matter fueled QFC requires significant amounts of energy to operate, but the power demands are relatively unaffected by incoming fire. The primary drawback of gravitational shear protection is a relative ineffectiveness versus massive, close proximity detonations.

Blink Drive
A subspace tunneling device is paired with warp field propulsion to launch the equipped vessel at rapid speeds through short-range subspace paths. The resulting effect is the outward appearance of near-instantaneous teleportation. In order to keep the drive profile and energy demands manageable aboard ships already fitted with standard Hybris FTL drives, the range of the tunneling component is exceptionally short, limiting its usage to all but the shortest of interplanetary jumps (and completely out of the question for any interstellar transit). In combat, jumping multiple vessels simultaneously requires careful synchronization to avoid unintentional collisions, as course cannot be altered once the tunneling route is locked in and prepared.

Magnetolevitation Gimbal Turrets
In an effort to improve responsiveness when tracking fast-moving targets, warship cannons were fitted into spherical maglev gimbals that eliminate conventional axis limitations. More advanced warships even include magnetic traversal rails which can relocate turrets between multiple firing positions at a moment’s notice, travelling across the hull or, for large centralized weapons of supercapital vessels, through internal tracks to swap between dorsal and ventral or port and starboard positions. The versatility and responsiveness allows for more effective engagements with hostile forces without shedding relative velocity, minimizing time in the critical knife-fight range where allied forces are subject to the most severe punishment.

Take from those whatever you wish ... all of it, none of it, up to you.

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@Sigma You're both heretics. It's all the same to me. :P

I'll get around to retconning that later today when I have a moment to do so cleanly and thoroughly.

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Whoo, bit overdue. 3000 words of attempted diplomacy that's only expected to go 2 for 3. :P

I don't like tagging IC but I do like tagging so that's @Ozerath, @Aleranicus, and @Liotrent with communiques sent your way.

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IMPERIAL CAPITOL COMPLEX
TIIR
0907 HRS 08.18.3152
Amara and Rose were already having a back & forth over the day’s itinerary. The rowsing speech yesterday afternoon created as much of a stir as expected in domestic politics. The international regime had remained strangely quiet. Evidently the nations of the galaxy were unmoved by a veritable declaration of crusade and intended to withhold judgement until action was presented. “I’ve been trying to acknowledge every MP personally but that’s not even possible anymore. Your office is up to two dozen requests about military action plans, and the primarch has even said that he’s interested in scheduling a vote of confidence on armed deployment by the end of the week if we get the documentation out in time.”
“I need you for the marathon Rose, not the sprint. Don’t overwork yourself just yet,” Her Excellency retorted, “And fantastic work as always. Harvy how fast can you get together an action report for parliament?”
“I already talked to the joint chiefs Madame and we can have it on your desk for review by this afternoon and in the hands of the ministers by tomorrow. Are we waiting for confidence before we pull the trigger?”
“Not on something this time sensitive. We pull the trigger as soon as I can give it a once-over.”

The ensemble stepped away into Rose’ oversized office. “Hey how come my office isn’t this nice?” Harvy’s envy radiating across the space.
“Because yours is issued by military personnel office and mine comes from Madame Empress here,” Rose teased him.
“Guys ...” Madame Lisett restored the collective focus, “Harvy is the Himmenez still here at home?
“No Ma’am I dispatched it late last night with news the Eighth Fleet Expeditionary Corps was incoming.”
“That it?” She suspected there was more attached, seeing as Harvy was a bit of an overzealous go-getter.
“I told Captain Kennedy he was green to make an incursion onto the planetary surface ahead of reinforcements arriving if he saw an opportunity. He knows how long he’s waiting and I trust he won’t make a poor decision on the matter.”
“Is he aware of how large his landing site needs to be to support the incoming ground forces?”
“Yes Ma’am. I included what details had been finalized regarding 8th Expeditionary’s force composition. Himmenez dispatched out of Gate 4 at Centaurus Beta around 1am capital time.”

“Madame we should evaluate our diplomatic options prior to the arrival of a battlefleet. The ambassadorial corps has been pretty silent so far but I doubt that’ll persist once there’s battlecruisers in play.”
Rose ... always the diplomat, and the optimist. Madame Lisett gnawed at her finger, lost in thought. She had doubts that diplomacy could pave a path that avoided carnage. She looked over and gave Rose a nod. “Yeah, walk me through that.”
“Well your office is still blocking the diplomatic credential applications from the Asrians and the Jalaryians-”
“Cancel the Asrian application outright. The Jalaryians should rescind theirs once we start turning them to slag over Agemmar.”
Harvy cringed slightly at the continual mispronunciation while Rose carried on, “Will do. I suspected that was inevitable. Of the nations who have ambassadorial delegations, pretty much everyone isn’t super likely to have a problem with us ripping into the ascendancies but everyone’s a wildcard if we start trying to be possessive over the contents of that Ashtar installation. I get that we’d rather not share powerful weapons but we’re gonna run out of friends real quick if we don’t.”
Madame Lisett huffed. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. In other news, who can we count on as viable alliances?”
“We know the Utopians are with us through hell and high water when it comes to putting the boot to the necks of the ascendancies. The Valerius Federation I think would be receptive, but I’m not too sure about the military capabilities. Harvy would know more.”
“Suboptimal. Not useful for conquesting.”

At least Harvy was straight to the point about it. “Ma’am we’ve failed to consider several key players because of a lack of existing diplomacy channels.”
The Empress gave him the room. “Okay go.”
“The Rolvians control a world with Ashtar ruins. It was conquered and held by the Asrians in the war. There’s a grudge there that can be exploited, and more importantly a strategic asset that needs to be managed.”
“With the right voices in their ear and powerful fleets at their back, they could be brought to bear against the Ashtar worshipers,” Rose obligatorily explored the peaceful option.
“I was going to advise triple-zeroing the dig site but that could work too.”
“Harvy are you seriously going to recommend dropping nukes on a still-neutral party? If they haven’t buried the hatchet with the Asrians yet they sure as hell will after!” Rose spat back.
“We can handle that problem after we handle asset denial. Their force is-”
“It doesn’t need to be a problem at all. This isn’t a dick measuring contest over who’s big gun is bigger-”

“GUYS! Cut it out!” Madame Lisett momentarily lost her temper in the presence of close allies, “Rose is right to not lead with thermonuclear ordnance. I’ll keep asset denial in the back of my mind on that but I won’t jump straight to it. Harvy, anything else? Preferably with less nukes.”
“While I, and most of the joint chiefs for that matter, hate the idea or working with insects ... the Lokoids have come up in discussion.”
“Yeah I already hate this too. Military capability?”
“Naval: garbage. We would have to do the heavy lifting there, not that we can’t. Infantry: promising. Now they fared worse than we during the cult uprising. Local law enforcement handled it for us but they required military deployment. My reports say they’re already on thin ice with the Jalaryians. They could be a decisive player in a ground campaign on Agdemnar.”

Madame Lisett thought long and hard over the collective Alduuri history with insectoid races. “Just to confirm, no relation to-”
“Negative, not a chance. I wouldn’t have said anything otherwise.”
She slowly began to nod approvingly, the ramifications coming clear. “Rose our day just got busier. Can you work on putting together an ambassadorial delegation to send to the Lokoids? I’ve got to work on communiques to the Lokoids, Rolvians, and the Commonwealth.”
“The Commonwealth?”
“They’re far enough away, and their ships tend to broadside enough, that betraying them later is always a viable option. They have a sizable fleet in system already, and they’re already scrapping with the Jalaryians. That’s useful to us.”

COVWAR THIRD RECONNAISSANCE UNIT
AGDEMNAR SYSTEM
1629 HOURS 08.18.3152
The shimmering light racing towards the star flashed into a ship in an instant. AMS Himmenez lit up its drives in the fringes of the system, making a slow cruise inward.
“Orion, Himmenez. Come in Orion.”
“Orion, Himmenez. Please respond.”
Even with light lag, the Orion was slow to acknowledge. “Himmenez, Orion. Welcome back Himmenez. You got news for us?”
Boy did the Himmenez have news. The Orion was clear to attempt a planetary landing if the opportunity presented itself, and the Eighth Fleet Expeditionary Corps was inbound in 48 hours to reinforce. “Good to hear Himmenez. We’ve got an unidentified contact pressing for landing we’ve wanted to get in closer for.”

The Orion’s messages were just coming from an enlisted comms officer. Captain Kennedy was still pouring over the data from the incoming object. Its form had to be highly geometric because the radar signature was near nonexistent. They’d even risked shining a tight-beam radar at it to confirm. It’s trajectory put it on a landing course for a slightly aggressive location, while the area behind it was quite devoid. Kennedy was disappointed that he would not be able to recommend that 8th Expeditionary land in a position to crush either the Asrians or the Jalaryians at the outset, but the overall strategic value of such a potentially costly action at the outset was still questionable. It would have no doubt been incredibly satisfying though. “Nav, can we go for landing in sector 512? I want eyes on the anomaly and to secure an LZ for 8th Expeditionary.”
“Yessir. There’s two spots with enough flat ground for the main landing force in that sector. What is your preference?”

He brought the map back up to reanalyze the terrain. Site Bravo was a bit more defensible, but was farther back. Site Alpha provided more potential as a combat base but was a higher risk to hold with so few forces. They would be running the gauntlet until 8th Expeditionary arrived to reinforce. But it also gave better vantage on the unidentified object attempting landing. “Nav, go for Site Alpha. Take us in. Comms, call our forces into escort formation to cover our descent.”

The ships jumped into formation on the far side of Agdemnar, where the subspace disruptions from the facility were dampened and sublight reloc into lower orbit was possible. Engine plumes lit up in all directions, stabilizing the formation from whatever latent velocity the vessels held from previous trajectories, eventually converging into a retrograde burn. The formation whizzed around the planet, skimming the atmosphere over the enormous shield, and the Orion fired her reverse engines on landing approach. “Shields to full power, weapons prep for atmospheric combat, prime lift engines.”
“Sir, fire condition?”
“Ignore non-contact incoming,” Kennedy ordered, confusing his officers.
“Uhh...”
“Ignore warning fire. If it actually strikes the hull, shoot back.”
“Yes sir, understood.”

The spaceframe shuddered from the turbulence of reentry. The full reverse burn was maintained to escape the plasma shell as quick as possible. The lack of aerodynamic prowess of a tactical cruiser made the deceleration a swift process. The warship’s six main lift engines ignited to abate the freefall and gently cruise to the LZ. The Orion was now on fuel clock: the amount of time a warship could maintain flight in an atmosphere before needing to land or boost back to vacuum. Exceeding the fuel clock risked stranding the craft on the surface, where refuelling was extremely difficult.

Its heavy-duty landing struts extended from the hull as terrain approached. By no shortage of luck, there was no orbit-to-surface fire that came in. Captain Kennedy’s veterancy told him that no such luck would befall the 8th Fleet’s landing forces. They were merely investigators. The larger transports were an invasion. The tumultuous vibrations from the lift engines came to a halt, the spaceframe settling heavily against the soil and stone beneath it. The lift platform in the center of the cargo hold descended on its cables, armored vehicles and marines in full power suits riding to the surface. The blast doors of the flight deck sluggishly heaved open, revealing more crane arms and more forces lined up to be unloaded.

“Cerberus Squad, take a ‘dillo and head southeast towards unknown’s LZ. Investigate and report, do not engage,” the marine commander’s voice came over the radio with orders.
A squad of marines loaded into a lightweight 4x4 and drove off towards the site an unknown obelisk had set down at.

IMPERIAL CAPITOL COMPLEX
TIIR
1648 HRS 08.18.3152
Rose and Madame Lisett were shuffling over drafts of diplomatic communications to be sent out, piecing together a final copy from bits and bobs from their own separate revisions. Harvy was somewhere in the military wing putting together envoy divisions for departure. “I think this draft is ready to go for Rolvius. How goes it on the piece for Lokoid?” Rose looked up from her plex, staring at Madame Lisett still feverishly scribbling away.
“Uuhhh, read it to me real quick.”
Rose cleared her throat and started at the top.

To the Lady Vannifar, Prime Minister to the Star Republic of Rolvius,

I extend my salutations on behalf of all citizens of the Empire of Alduur for your time, and my personal thanks for taking time from your day to entertain this missive. I understand that reconstruction efforts on your world of Manir have proven insufficient thus far. As you may know, the industrial complex of our empire is second to none, having restored the Imperial Navy to a premier fighting force in less than thirty years. I am prepared to offer our assistance in the reconstruction of your world as a gesture of good faith.

Further, I have reason to suspect that the Asrian Ascendancy may seek to regain access to the Ashtar archaeological site on the planet. They, and the similar Jalaryian Ascendancy, have thrown themselves head first into the fray at Agdenmar, based on the intelligence provided by our reconnaissance forces in the system. The relationship between those two is, at present, unknown. We have a vested interest in preventing the Asrians from laying hands on whatever Ashtar technologies and artifacts may remain in the archaeology site, and you have a vested interest in avoiding further ground warfare on the planet. In addition to reconstruction efforts, we are prepared to bring the force of the Imperial Navy to bear in defense of Manir, should you desire such.

My thanks again for your time, Lady Vannifar. I hope we may speak again soon.
Her Excellency Amara Lisett, Throne Emperor of Alduur

“I don’t normally use the title of ‘throne emperor’ but otherwise I like it. Very formal, but I suppose that is what it needs to be right now.”
“Throne Emperor is the most formal title held by the sitting emperor and is only used in formal diplomacy. The gendered form is accepted domestic,” Rose bragged.
“Well in that case, I like it. Save that for sending.”
“Will do Madame, now what have you got for Lokoid?”

Supreme Hierarch Araq,

We have not been properly acquainted since confirmation to my office. I am Amara Lisett, Empress of Alduur. Our nation has kept their distance in the past, seeing little in common and preferring to take care of ourselves rather than rely on external imports. I regret that we have previously passed by the opportunity that presents itself yet again. I am aware that you have experienced altercations with the Jalaryian Ascendancy. You have my sincere condolences for any losses experienced. We have witnessed their belligerence on Agdemnar through our reconnaissance forces. At this time, we do not believe that amicable relations between Jalaryian and Alduuri forces in the system will be possible. It is my concern that this will be the case for your relations with the Jalaryians as well.

It is my understanding that your naval capabilities are currently limited, and that this is a limiting factor on your military options. The Imperial Navy is a premier fighting force, bringing to bear some of the most technologically advanced warships in the galaxy. We expect we will be required to demonstrate its capability to repel aggression in short order in orbit of Adgemnar. It is also my understanding that your land forces are impressive. I believe we can enable your military options in your dealings with the Jalaryian Ascendancy.

This message comes aboard a diplomatic envoy craft and escort. Also aboard are scientific and ambassadorial delegations, sent on behalf of my government as a gesture of goodwill to the Hierarchy. It is my personal pleasure to be Empress for this historic moment. May the future hold much prosperity for us both,
Her Excellency Amara Lisett, Throne Emperor of Alduur

“Also very good. No revisions from me so if you like it, pack and send it.”
“Thanks Rose, now .... Commonwealth ...”
“I actually took a peek at that while you were reading if you don’t mind ...” she admitted sheepishly.
“No not at all. And ... I know, its rough.”
“Yeah, yeah it is. But I think I can fix it. Give me just a moment.”

Esteemed Lord Chancellor Metternich,
Your Imperial Majesty Catherine,

I realize we are hardly the most likely of allies. We both fight for supremacy. To simply ask us not to destroy each other over whatever may lie under that infernal dome shield is no small request, where it only us in the arena of battle around Agdemnar. It is my strong suspicion that the Jalaryians will take exactly as unkindly to us entering the system as your “rogue force” will. I believe we can be honest with each other and call a disavowed military operation what it is. The Jalaryians are beyond reason, and doing battle with them simply to hold our place on the world is inevitable. However, you are not beyond reason. It is my belief that it is in both our interests to see to an assured victory against the Jalaryian forces, and then roll the dice engaging with one another afterwards. While I suspect it is inevitable that our forces shall engage with one another on the battlefield in time, I see no reason we must do so immediately when there are others around who may prey on our preoccupation.

We may not be the right material to ally with one another, but perhaps a common adversary can provide us enough common ground to get something done before we turn our guns back to one another. I thank you for your time and your consideration,
Her Excellency Amara Lisett, Throne Emperor of Alduur

Rose had a shred of a grimace when Madame Lisett went to critique it. “Well ... its certainly candid.”
“You hate it ... don’t you?”
“I sure as hell wasn’t doing any better,” Amara conceded, “and candor might open a door for us that schmoozing doesn’t. I think we should send it.”
“If you’re okay with it I’ll have it packed and sent out, standard diplomatic ciphers.”
The Empress gave a nod, “I’m just worried that yesterday’s speech makes any attempt at negotiating with the Commonwealth dead on arrival. If their intelligence network is remotely decent, they’ve heard it already.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think that message will make things worse, even if it’s laughed at.”
“If you’re so confident then let’s go ahead and package it all.”
Rose gave a thumbs up, and headed off to have the communiques dispatched accordingly: beamed over PsiNet to the Commonwealth and to Rolvius, and sent up to an envoy ship ready for dispatch to the Hierarchy.

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For what it's worth I made it known I didn't approve of the phrasing used either @laserX.

Even while working with him one on one, I had my concerns about whether or not he could cut it here in the big leagues. The GMs evidently arrived at that opinion as well, and decided to act on it.

Which setting would you like to see more of in Roleplays?

Oh we've revived this thread? Cool.

Mecha.

For me its worse than that though because I enjoy the western style more so than Gundam & friends (see Battletech/Mechwarrior franchise) and that's even neglected within the genre ... on top of the neglect the genre seems to get.

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COVWAR THIRD RECONNAISSANCE UNIT
AGDEMNAR SYSTEM
1104 HOURS 08.16.3152
While its existence was officially acknowledged, no information about the mission and purpose of the Covert Warfare Development Group was ever released. The branch existed under the general umbrella of Special Operations Division, but answered directly to the Secretary of the Navy. Its tasks remain heavily classified and compartmentalized. The Third Reconnaissance Unit, a division of four Raider class destroyers and a Hunter series cruiser as lead, officially did not exist and even if it did, would not officially be anywhere near the Agdemnar system. The records of Third Recon’s deployment were kept under the highest classification available. Only SecNav, the rest of the joint chiefs, and the Empress’ advisement team had the requisite access. Only they were aware that a Hunter series cruiser was camping out in the rings of one of the gas giants, or that several destroyers were flying dark, whizzing around the inner system in freefall orbits and gathering data on the situation.

The primary report from Third Recon was overdue by three days. Transmission had been sent prior that both the command cruiser and two of the destroyers had been located and were being pursued. A second ciphered message was dispatched ten hours later reporting all ships safe and undetected. Ciphered messages sent from Agdemnar were very minimal, running over unsecure Ashtar PsiNet beacons until they reached the perimeter of Alduuri space where the Subspace Relay Network could handle the domestic routing. The transmission lag of a tight-beam subspace broadcast was over 9 hours to cross a third of the galaxy, and the act of transmitting would light up the ship to anyone with passive subspace sensors and half a brain all the way from the next star system.

“Captain!”
A buzz of activity wrested the bridge of the AMS Orion from its stupor. As the highest ranking officer in the entire star system, Captain Antonio Kennedy presided over Third Recon from the Orion. Being a veteran of COVWAR, the man was a patient yet ruthless commanding officer, and a master of efficiency. Third Recon needed every bit of that. He leaned imposingly over towards the ensign calling for him to see what the fuss was. “Yes sailor?”
“Multiple subspace disturbances in orbit near objective, bigger than I’ve seen before. Another engagement underway most likely.”
“Hmmm ... eyes on that would be useful.”

He stalked his way over to the main holotable, scrolling over to a system map. He had been taken aback by the vigilance of some of the hostiles’ sensor systems before, and it nearly got one of his destroyers pinned down and killed. He would not make that mistake again. Making a sublight reloc with any of his vessels was near guaranteed to have the ship sighted in by enemy scopes. Jumping in closer to a hostile battlespace, while making oneself a known target, was a recipe to lose a ship. That left options rather minimal.

There was a possibility, however. One of the destroyers was already on a passby trajectory. Firing its engines at more than one half G would light up an unmaskable drive plume, but there was an out for it. A sublight reloc after the flyby and a hard burn could bring the ship into the shadow of a gas giant, stabilize the orbit, and keep the course alteration hidden from any combatants in the inner system that might be tracking it.

“Comms, raise the Namani on tight-beam subspace.”
The comms officer set up the connection while Kennedy went over the orders in his head one last time. “Namani, adjust heading to match the flight plan as attached and go to one G burn. We need a flyby of the battlespace with all sensors active. Egress via sublight reloc to far side Agdenmar Four and course correct. Long range contact is possible. Defend or disengage at your discretion. How copy? Over.”
The talkback from the Namani came in promptly. “Solid copy Orion, coming about, going to one G burn. Wish us luck Captain.”
“Good luck Commander Vitani, and godspeed. Orion out.”

Captain Kennedy paced along the deck, nervously watching the flightpath of the Namani. “Contact the Himmenez and start beaming our data to them. I’m attaching a memo about the Namani and we’re sending the report out now.”
“Sir?”
“We can no longer operate with secrecy here. The deployment of the Namani is probably a mistake. We need backup or an escape plan,” Kennedy declared, turning his attention to the final draft of his report he dragged up on the table while the comms station did its work.

“AMS Himmenez, prepare to receive subspace tight-beam data transfer. How copy? Over.”
“Solid copy Orion. Please relay instructions.”
The captain accessed the channel now, packaging his report and notes and passing them into the transfer. “Himmenez, prep for sublight reloc to low solar and make the jump back towards Centaurus Cluster. Get within immediate range of SSRN, transmit all data to Navy Command, and await their orders.”
“Acknowledged Orion. We’ll see you soon.”

---

IMPERIAL CAPITOL COMPLEX
TIIR
0857 HOURS 08.17.3152
The risk of tardiness by the Empress could be readily gleaned from her walking pace. The present difficulty of her staff to keep up suggested that risk was rather high. One of the aids was carrying a stack of plex tablets in one arm, and an Imperial Navy jacket folded over the other. Others were trading various plex slates back and forth with the most powerful woman in the galactic sector. Several reports on varying intelligence topics changed hands while the ensemble headed into the military wing. The day’s schedule included meeting with the joint chiefs in preparation for armed forces deployment. The logistical back-and-forth of coordinating military strategy had been a nightmare ever since the message. For the first time since, almost every ranking member of Navy Command was here on Tiir, able to meet face to face.

It wasn’t that the empire did not have FTL communications channels -- there were specific channels of SSRN reserved for realtime military & government communications -- but that coordinating availability of individuals in different star systems was difficult on a good day. Comms lag only made it worse, as even tight-beam subspace relays were not instantaneous. With all the relevant faces in one room, weeks’ worth of planning could finally be accomplished within a few hours.

“Eighth Expeditionary is sitting comfortably at Centaurus Beta and was raised to elevated readiness this morning. Most of Third Recon is still lurking in-system but the AMS Himmenez is still waiting to return to them with orders to relay.”
Rose McDowell was one of Madame Lisett’s best advisors. She was a relative newcomer to interstellar politics but she was a go-getter. The four years spent so far with the Empress made up almost all of her political career.
The Empress asked the obvious question. “Is Admiral Cotyar here with us?”
“No Ma’am, he is on call through SSRN from Centaurus cluster. Transmission lag is 107 seconds one way.”
“Understood,” she miffed.
107 seconds was unfortunate, but was still pretty impressive considering that the Centaurus cluster was over three hundred lightyears from the core. “Anyone else of note missing?”
“No Ma’am, all other critical persons accounted for.”
“Thank you Rose, Harvy you got stuff for me on weapons development?”

Harvy Renault was a military cadet trying to also make his way in politics. The man had a knack for the careful blend of military rank and file and political maneuverings. He was also enthralled with military hardware. Were he not quite so green, he could have made an excellent candidate for Commander in Chief. However, Madame Lisett was not ready to hand over that authority just yet. She would bestow the rank when she found a worthy appointee. “Yes Ma’am, updates on all three majors when you’re ready.”
He handed off her navy dress jacket and a red-cased plex angrily stamped “CLASSIFIED from the stack. “The Gojira is undergoing flight trials and, all things being nominal, is scheduled for live fire testing this afternoon. She’ll be back in berth by tomorrow for final inspection & testing. The ship should be fit for combat deployment by the end of the week. Would you like me to organize a ceremony of any sort Ma’am?”
“Not this time thank you. How’s budget doing on the others?” All of the Gojira class dreadnoughts had been running over budget for the duration of construction, which was less than ideal for already-expensive warships.

“All of the ships are still about ten to twelve percent over budget, but are at least proceeding on schedule. The final report isn’t in yet but I have preliminary findings from SecNav about that for the Gojira. There doesn’t appear to be any mismanagement of resources so its looking like that’s just an incorrect initial estimate on ship cost. It's less than ideal but it could be worse.”
His attention to detail was impeccable. His own judgement was sometimes a bit questionable, but his diligence in reporting was never in any doubt. “I suppose that’s good to hear then. Now what about your favorite project you have such keen interest in?”
Madame Lisett was of course referring to the superfortress AMS Pulsar. Harvy obsessed over every detail of the design several times, and kept one eye on its construction near constantly. “AMS Pulsar is still behind schedule, but the extra resources tasked to it have boosted the speed above original plans. The construction is making up ground finally,” he gloated.
It had been his request to task more resources to the project when it was experiencing delays. “Unfortunately we’ve already missed the original launch date, but the ship should be ready for its first set of flight trials in ... six to eight weeks I’ll guess.”

“Noted,” she acknowledged curtly, “finish this after the strategy briefing, game faces on.”
Harvy had pretty well convinced the Empress about the importance of the superfortress project and so the delays were beginning to become an annoyance for her. That of course gave him leverage to pump even more resources into it. For now, that was back-burnered as the Empress and her entourage of support staff, the hallmark of any good Imperial politician, entered into the briefing room.

Per tradition, the capitol deputy on station would announce the entrance of certain ranking government and military individuals and the room was to rise and, if relevant, return a salute. Amara Lisett did not care too heavily for the formality of it all when attending to business. There was no need to reaffirm her position to those well aware of it. Nonetheless, the first thing she heard on entrance was the proclamation: “Ladies and gentlemen, the Empress of Alduur.”
Please, stay seated,” she preempted, “let us dispense with the pleasantries for today. We all know why we’re here so let’s get down to business. We have the intelligence report from Third Recon, therefore we need to plan our mobilization. Mr. Secretary, you have an operations report prepared for us?”
The Secretary of the Navy rose to return the address, “Yes Madame, I do.”
“Very good then, the room is yours.”

---

FIVE CROWNS PLAZA
TIIR
1728 HOURS 08.17.3152
“Go back to that part about ‘we have faced the unknown’. What if we redid that part to be about-”
“Madame it’s fine now will you ...” Rose was getting impatient with the pacing, “okay stop it!”
Madame Lisett gave a perplexed look to her advisor. Few people had the stones to physically get in her way about things. “Madame, the speech is great. Leave it be.”
“Rose this isn’t just another speech,” the nerves showing for once.
“I know, but you’re going to kill it. You never had a problem with that in the past four years. You won’t have one now.”
“This is the joint chiefs, the MPs, the core world magistrates ... literally everyone. And I’m about to ask an entire nation to follow me down the war path.”
The reality of it had evidently sunk in. Harvy, Rose, and the rest of her advising team had written an excellent speech for her, regardless. “Do you think this is the right move?”
Rose’s question was perhaps ill-advised. “I do,” Madame Lisett responded confidently in private, at least.
“Then we’re with you on it. Simple as that.”
“I appreciate your faith, Ms. McDowell. I just worry this will look like I’m trying to prove myself because I’m young and relatively new.”
“And are you?”
“Prove myself to my people? No. Prove ourselves as a nation to the rest of the galaxy? Yes.”
“Then we’ll run damage control on the optics if we need to,” Rose reassured, “now breathe ... and go write history.”

Madame Lisett took a long breath, Rose would not have let her go out without one, and made her way down the steps to the podium. The actual attendance, including all the dignitaries, was almost two thousand. More were watching on live broadcast. The turnout was impressive for something organized just the morning before. She stared out over the crowd. “We are ready,” she reminded herself, and began to speak.

I come before you at a singular moment in history. We have been confronted with unprecedented opportunity, and with that opportunity, the unknown. The unmistakable risk of rolling the dice, and reaping the consequences, for better or worse. But we have faced the unknown before. We have discovered wonders, faced terrors, spat in the very face of danger and dared refuse the advance of false gods. Though our courage, our vision, our faith in our purpose and one another, we have seen our way through even the darkest nights and I am here to tell you from my heart that we shall do so again.

The first step, that most necessary and fundamental beginning, is to recognize the revelations of our enemy not as a final act of defiance, but as a chance to learn. That, I must say with great shame, is the truth that others have turned away from. Given the same opportunity as we, the nations of the galaxy squabble behind denials and falsehoods, instead seeing power as a tool only for destruction, not peace. They look upon this great and terrible moment and they see it as an opportunity to revisit old wounds, to settle scores, to get one over on one another with no end in sight. They have lost sight of our shared history and so they must be reminded.

It is our duty, not as yet another belligerent nation but as the survivors of centuries of warfare ... to remind the galaxy who we are, to stand up and cry out in one voice, we will not bow! To be what we have always been: unbreakable. To come together with the strength we once held, and move forward into this brave new chapter of history!

---

^{If that speech sounds familiar to you, then you have good taste in sci-fi.}